Watching Classic Movies

By K Cruver

An interview podcast featuring conversations with fascinating guests who love classic movies.... more

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FAQs about Watching Classic Movies:

How many episodes does Watching Classic Movies have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.

Watching Classic Movies episodes:

November 29, 2024 Helen Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star Author Christopher S. Connelly
My guest is Christopher S. Connelly, author of Helen
Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star. Morgan was a hugely popular singer and actress who set the template for musical theater performance
style. We talked about Morgan’s big heart, her deeply emotional connection with audiences, and how her approach to life was more Auntie Mame than as the
downtrodden songstress she has been typically rumored to be.

Learn more about the book and where to buy it here:
https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781985900592/helen-morgan/

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music,
PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a
month:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies
...more
28min
November 22, 2024 Talking Sudden Fear (1952) with Robert Bellissimo of Robert Bellissimo At the Movies
Robert Bellissimo has had me as his guest on his excellent
Robert Bellissimo at the Movies video podcast two times: once to discuss the sci-fi/film noir Repeat Performance (1947) and recently to talk about Joan Crawford in
Autumn Leaves (1956). In this episode we discuss Sudden Fear (1952) which has the noir and theater world characteristics of that first film and the star of the
second. We talked in detail about the look, sound, plotting, and stars of this fascinating independent production that served as a perfectly noirish backdrop
for one of Crawford’s best performances.

Robert Bellissimo at the Movies YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies

Follow Robert--

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/robertbellissimoatthemovies/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/RobertBellissimoAtTheMovies/

Our conversation about the film noir Repeat Performance
(1947):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emz7yABM4kU

Our conversation about another Joan Crawford film, Autumn
Leaves (1956):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq9jzs2dqOU

Robert interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition
author Robert Dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd00zZdaUIA

Kendahl interviews Joan Crawford: Ferocious Ambition
author Robert Dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3iiOsCwM8

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music,
PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a
month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies
...more
33min
November 15, 2024 Corpses Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema co-author Willow Catelyn Maclay
It is rare to find a new film book that is destined to be a
classic, but Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema is just that. Co-written by Willow Catelyn Maclay and Caden Mark Gardner this well-curated mix of films, criticism, and history covers the highs and lows of trans representation both in front of and behind the camera and celebrates the wealth of trans talent now making films. I spoke with Willow about some of the stand-out films from the book, what it was like to write and research such a complex project, and what trans filmmakers need to thrive as they expand their presence in the movies.

Buy Corpses, Fools and Monsters:
The History and Future of Transness in Cinema--
https://bookshop.org/p/books/corpses-fools-and-monsters-an-examination-of-trans-film-images-in-cinema-willow-maclay/

Follow Willow Catelyn Maclay:
https://www.instagram.com/willowcatelyn/
https://www.patreon.com/willowcatelynmaclay

Follow Caden Mark Gardner:
https://www.instagram.com/corpsesfoolsandmonsters

Follow a trans film maker. Buy a DVD/Bluray/VHS/streaming access! Buy some merch!

Louise Weard:
https://louiseweard.bigcartel.com/
https://linktr.ee/LCWJ

Vera Drew:
https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-peoples-joker/umc.cmc.7h7jov9x5534llwd5a3bu5kf9
https://diabolikdvd.com/product/le-slipcover-peoples-joker-altered-innocence-blu-ray-all-region-preorder/
https://diabolikdvd.com/product/vhs-peoples-joker-altered-innocence-ntsc-vhs-preorder
https://www.patreon.com/veradrew22

Jane Schoenbrun
https://www.janeschoenbrun.com/
https://www.instagram.com/janedoesnotknow

Alice Maio Mackay
https://www.instagram.com/alice_maiomackay/

Isabel Sandoval
https://www.instagram.com/isabelvsandoval/?hl=en
https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/377-isabel-sandoval-s-top-10

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a
month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies
...more
31min
November 08, 2024 Save our Scarecrow: How to Help Preserve the 150K Archive of the World's Biggest Video Store
With a collection of nearly 150,000 titles, Scarecrow
Video in Seattle, Washington is one of the largest, if not the largest publicly available archives of film in the world. US customers can rent in the store or by mail and anyone can purchase all sorts of amazing items from its official
website. Open since 1988, and a not-for-profit run by its employees since 2014, it had never been easy to keep the store going, but this collective has set a goal to raise 1.8 million dollars in order to keep its doors open and to build
a sustainable structure so that its employees can focus on what they do best: sharing the amazing world of movies with its loyal customers.

I spoke with Scarecrow Social Media Manager and
Development Assistant Malakie Peters about the progress the not-for-profit has made in its fundraising efforts, how anyone can benefit from and support Scarecrow, and what her current favorite flicks are in a collection so massive that even as an employee she finds new treasures all the time.

Direct donation link:
https://scarecrow.app.neoncrm.com/forms/sos

Scarecrow Video Official Site:
https://scarecrowvideo.org/

The Scarecrow Video Shop:
https://sv-archive.square.site/

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a
month: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies
...more
31min
November 01, 2024 Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances Author John DiLeo
My guest is John DiLeo, author of eight film books,
including his latest, Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked
Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances. We talked about the common characteristics of great performances that nevertheless get overlooked for awards attention, some of our favorite deserving performances, and the way perception makes a movie a unique experience for each viewer.

Learn more about
John DiLeo’s many film books, including Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked
Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances here:
https://www.johndileo.com/works.htm

Follow John on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/john.dileo.12/

Listen to our previous chat about his book There Are No
Small Parts: 100 Outstanding Film Performances with Screen Time of 10 Minutes
or Less:
http://www.watchingclassicmovies.com/2022/07/watching-classic-movies-podcast-john.html

The show is available on— Apple,
Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the
podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also
support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

...more
31min
October 25, 2024 Nat Segaloff, Author of The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear
My guest is Nat Segaloff, author of The Exorcist Legacy:
50 Years of Fear. Nat is uniquely qualified to write about this controversial classic. As a publicist working for the film, he was standing guard outside the auditorium doors for the first press screening . He knew director William Friedkin, and wrote his authorized biography and spent time with Exorcist novelist/screenwriter William Peter Blatty. We talked about the many versions and
sequels of the Exorcist, the women who were integral to the creation and execution of the story, and how while nothing can match the original film, the movies it inspired have a lot to offer.

More about the books we discussed:

The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear
https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806541945/the-exorcist-legacy/

Breaking the Code: Otto Preminger vs. Hollywood’s Censors
https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Code-Preminger-Hollywoods-Censors/dp/1493074881

The Naughty Bits: What The Censors Wouldn't Let You See in Hollywood's Most Famous Movies
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-naughty-bits-nat-segaloff/1145630555

A previous episode where we discuss Nat’s book about Scarface:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nat-segaloff-author-of-say-hello-to-my-little-friend/id1595631474?i=1000644783035

More about Nat Segaloff:
http://www.natsegaloff.com/

The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music,
PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a
month:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/k-cruver/support

You can also support my work on ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies
...more
35min
February 23, 2024 Talking Melodrama with Millie De Chirico
Melodrama, it’s much more than Douglas Sirk-directed mid-century dramas, I had a great talk with writer, film programmer, podcaster, and teacher Millie De Chirico about what melodrama really means, what we love about it, and the surprising places you can find melodrama, from horror to action flicks.
Subscribe to Millie’s Substack, Professional Sweetheart
Check out the fantastic book Millie wrote with Quatoyiah Murry
TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema
My video review of the book
Millie’s official website
Millie co-hosts the fabulous I Saw What You Did podcast with Danielle Henderson
Follow Millie--
Twitter: @milliedechirico
Instagram: @debbie_country
BlueSky: @milliedechirico.bsky.social
The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public
Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month:
You can also support my work on ko-fi

...more
32min
February 16, 2024 Robert Dance, Author of Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford's March Towards Stardom
There are few stars who have reached the heights that
Joan Crawford did. In his book Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford’s March to Stardom my guest Robert Dance explores how she rose from childhood poverty to the top of her industry where she maintained a successful career for over four
decades. We talked about her drive and talent for business and how she was a surprising feminist presence in mid-century cinema.

You can purchase Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford’s
March to Stardom here

Check out the gorgeous photos on the official Ferocious
Ambition Instagram account

The show is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music,
PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public

Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent
episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month

You can also support my work on ko-fi

...more
31min
February 09, 2024 Nat Segaloff, Author of Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface
The two cinematic versions of Scarface were influential films which reflected their times, the thirties and eighties respectively. The prolific Nat Segaloff explores their legacy in Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface, a fascinating book that draws on Nat’s industry experience and considerable research skills. We talked about the effect these movies had, the people who made them remarkable, and what it was like to meet Scarface director Brian De Palma.
Learn more about Nat’s many film books at his website
http://www.natsegaloff.com/
You can purchase Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface here
https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806542966/say-hello-to-my-little-friend/
The show is available on— Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Google, and Radio Public
Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month: https://anchor.fm/k-cruver
You can also support my work on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/watchingclassicmovies

...more
31min
February 02, 2024 Odie Henderson, Author of Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema
Film critic Odie Henderson has applied his vast film knowledge and solid storytelling skills to the writing of an excellent new book
Buy Odie's Book
Check out Odie's Blaxploitation Playlist
Keep up with Odie on BlueSky

Odie's film reviews:
Boston Globe
Roger Ebert

Like the podcast? Want to hear more frequent episodes? Subscriptions are as low as 99 cents a month

You can also support my work on ko-fi

...more
34min

FAQs about Watching Classic Movies:

How many episodes does Watching Classic Movies have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.