Shea Cinema: The Best Picture Project

(Episode recorded November 15, 2025)

Review #12 of the season, and another bonus episode! Plus, it's our second musical in a row! Come listen to Sara and Dad literally giggle about this ridiculous, lovely film.

Gold Diggers of 1933 - A Classic Musical with a Bold Social Message

Join us as we explore Gold Diggers of 1933, a dazzling pre-Code musical that captures the spirit and struggles of the Great Depression era. We dive into its production, cultural impact, and the remarkable sequences that made it a cinematic milestone.

Plus, our history timeline includes the first (?) sighting of the Loch Ness Monster!

In this episode:

• The historical context of Gold Diggers of 1933 and its relation to 42nd Street and other musicals
• The influence of the 1919 stage play The Gold Diggers and its evolution into a film franchise
• Insights into the star-studded cast, including Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, and Warren William
• The film’s notable musical numbers, especially "We’re in the Money" and "The Forgotten Man"
• Behind-the-scenes production stories, including the earthquake during filming and censorship challenges
• The film’s social commentary on the depression and the Bonus Army
• Critical reception then and now, and its lasting legacy

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(Episode recorded May 7, 2025)

Review #11 of the season, and our 7th nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. 42nd Steet is a full-blown musical, and we have a full-blown stupendous guest in Klarissa Beckstead from I've Seen That One!  

The film's musical numbers are staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars an ensemble cast of Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers. It was one of the most successful motion pictures of the year, and is often regarded as one of the greatest musicals ever made. And while we don't talk about this on air, in 2013 42nd Street was included on the list of films that pass the Bechdel test.

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

(Episode recorded November 2, 2024)

00:00 Introduction to Shea Cinema and King Kong
01:54 Guest Intro: Andrew Corns
05:31 The Academy Awards and Cultural Context
10:52 Production Insights and Screenplay Details
14:29 King Kong Musical
18:00 King Kong's Legacy and Influence on Cinema
28:17 Connections to Literature and Personal History
36:33 Character Development and Themes in King Kong
45:06 Censorship and the Evolution of King Kong
51:54 History Timeline, Feb/Mar 1933
52:08 Historical Context and Cultural Impact
01:09:25 Box Office Success and Challenges
01:10:33 Top Song of the Day
01:16:53 "Day Of" Headlines, March 2, 1933
01:28:50 Plot Summary and Character Analysis
01:35:25 Adventures on Skull Island
01:36:43 Watching The Lost World
01:40:39 The Lost World vs. King Kong
01:46:46 Sympathy for the Monster
01:52:54 The Evolution of Special Effects
01:57:22 Contemporary Review, NYT, March 3, 1933
02:02:45 Roger Ebert Review, 2002
02:08:43 Keely Joins the Discussion
02:08:54 Thumbs Rating
02:14:24 "You're Not Women"
02:18:43 Exploring Racial Themes in Classic Cinema
02:22:35 Likes and Dislikes
02:26:52 Visual Effects and Their Impact
02:31:58 The T-Rex/Allosaurus Scene
02:35:43 Arrowsmith Questions
02:36:05 Cultural Reflections and Allegories
02:41:11 Rewatchability and Legacy of King Kong
02:44:31 Shea Cinema Stats: Wedding and Death Count
02:52:42 Bimbo Award
02:56:52 Andrew Loves Overtures

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
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(Episode recorded November 2, 2024)

While the official episode on King Kong is just over three hours, Sara, Dad, and guest Andrew Corns recorded for nearly four hours! Not everything deserves to wind up on the cutting room floor, however. Case in point, this little snippet was too fun to discard entirely, but didn't fit into the larger discussion of the film (plus it was before we started the show--which you can hear at the very end). It's a little look behind the curtain, or behind the microphone, if you will. 

We discuss prepping for podcasting (read: watching dozens of movies), the topic of lost films, and, of course, we talk about sports specifically college football and basketball).

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

(Episode recorded October 26, 2024)

It's our ninth review of the season, and our sixth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. State Fair is based on the bestselling 1932 novel by Phil Stong, and was the first of three film adaptations of the novel; the others were both musical adaptations made in 1945 and 1962. This family adventure at the local fair boasts the return of Janet Gaynor (our first time seeing her in a talkie since our first season where she starred in two incredible silent films) as well as our much anticipated first encounter with Will Rogers. 

Our history timeline does get a big heavy (Hitler's rises to power and all), but the film, despite censorship, is lighthearted and fun. Listen in and find out if Sara cries over the romantic ending!

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

(Episode recorded October 25, 2024)

It's our eighth review of the season, but only our fifth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. In fact, She Done Him Wrong is the shortest film nominated for the top prize...and the top prize was it's only nomination. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil, penned by and starring Mae West. Despite it's success on the stage, the play was actually banned, which led to multiple issues once production on the film began. Fun fact: this is our first official encounter with Cary Grant for this project!

Our song of the day is a surprise treat, and our history timeline includes veering off into a 1933 true crime segment...related to the death of Knute Rockne?

Books mentioned by Dad:

• Boller, Paul. Hollywood Anecdotes. William Morrow & Company, 1987.
• Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Penguin Random House, 2004.

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

(Episode recorded October 19, 2024)

It's been three months since our last episode, but it's been even longer since we recorded this one!

In our seventh review of the season, we are exploring the actual winner of the Oscar for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards, Frank Lloyd's Cavalcade, based on Noel Coward's play.

This smash hit was nominated for four Oscars, and won three. The film covers 30 years, following two British families starting from the Boer War, through several other massive historical events, all the way into the current era of the 1930s. We discuss the film's historical context, character dynamics (or lack thereof), the challenges of censorship and adaptation (the Hays office took special exception to the language in the film), and the themes of love, war, and loss. Oh yeah, and Sara keeps referencing Forrest Gump.

As always, we have our history timeline, top song of the day, and an interesting legal follow-up to I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang.

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

WE ARE BACK!

In our sixth review of the season, we are back on track with an actual Outstanding Production nomination. We dive into A Farewell to Arms, based on Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel (which supposedly had 47 different endings!)

We discuss the film's historical context, character dynamics, the challenges of censorship and adaptation, and the themes of love and war. 

Did you know Hemingway had a tiny feud with Mussolini? 

We also speculate that this might be the most sexually explicit film we've watched so far...

As always, we have our history timeline, top song of the day, and perhaps a few disagreements along the way.

Books mentioned by Dad:

• Boller, Paul. Hollywood Anecdotes. William Morrow & Company, 1987.
• McKuen, Rod. Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows. Random House, 1966.
• Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Penguin Random House, 2004.
• Wilson, Edmund. “Ernest Hemingway: Bourdon Gauge of Morale.” Edmund Wilson: Literary Essays and Reviews of the 1920s & 30s, edited by Lewis M. Dabney, Library of America, 2007.

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

This is our third bonus episode and our fifth review of the season! We are covering one of Dad's childhood favorites: Cecil B. DeMille's notorious tale of forbidden love and Roman Empire decadence, The Sign of the Cross. With scandalous scenes such as the Dance of the Naked Moon and an over-the-top extravaganza in the Roman Colosseum (naked women! elephants trampling gladiators! lions mauling Christian traitors!), Sara and Dad discuss whether this movie is a hidden treasure or a guilty pleasure.

PLUS, our history timeline includes a perplexing moment where Albert Einstein is...a villain? 

Books mentioned by Dad:

• Louvish,  Simon. Cecil B. DeMille and the Golden Calf. Faber & Faber, 2007.
• Quirk, Lawrence. The Films of Fredric March. Citadel Press, 1971.
• Boller, Paul. Hollywood Anecdotes. William Morrow & Company, 1987.
  
  

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

For our second regular nomination review of the season, we are excited to welcome Kieran B. from Best Picture Cast as our first official guest host! Kieran, Dad and Sara take a deep dive into this classic Warner Brothers prison flick, making connections to Les Misérables, Ben Hur, The Shawshank Redemption (of course), and even Stranger Things.

As a special treat, our history timeline includes a game-by-game look at the 1932 World Series, which features some surprises of its own.

Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!
Email us rants as well as raves: [email protected]
You can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema