Old Acquaintance, 1943, Warner Bros. Starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins. Directed by Vincent Sherman. B&W, 110 minutes. Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis), a critically successful author, has returned to her hometown to see her closest childhood friend, Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins). …
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce, 1945, Warner Bros. Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth. Directed by Michael Curtiz. B&W, 111 minutes. A sharp psychological drama that has had feminists debating the nature of its leading lady’s motivations and decisions from …
People Will Talk (1951)
People Will Talk, 1951, 20th Century Fox. Starring Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. B&W, 110 minutes. A movie best enjoyed when you understand the politics of the time, People Will Talk is a meandering film …
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year, 1942, MGM Pictures. Starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Fay Bainter. Directed by George Stevens. B&W, 114 minutes. An incomparable combination of cast, director and screenwriters created a timeless film about a powerful woman with a notable …
Love in the Afternoon
Love in the Afternoon, 1957, Allied Artists Picture Corporation. Starring Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier. Directed by Billy Wilder. B&W, 130 minutes. Ariane Chavasse (Audrey Hepburn), a young Parisian woman living with her private investigator father, Claude (Maurice Chevalier), …
My Man Godfrey (1936)
My Man Godfrey, 1936, Universal Pictures. Starring William Powell, Carole Lombard. Directed by Gregory La Cava. B&W (colorized version also available), 94 minutes. Society elite Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) and her sister Cornelia (Gail Patrick) are seeking a “forgotten man” …
In Name Only
In Name Only, 1939, RKO Radio Pictures. Starring Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, Kay Francis. Directed by John Cromwell. B&W, 94 minutes. Julie Eden (Carole Lombard), a widow with a young daughter, has taken a summer home in the country. She’s …
Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944, Warner Bros. Pictures. Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair. Directed by Frank Capra. B&W, 118 minutes. Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has just eloped with the girl next door, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). …
Love Crazy
Love Crazy, 1941, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy. Directed by Jack Conway. B&W, 99 minutes. It’s their fourth anniversary, and Steve and Susan Ireland (William Powell, Myrna Loy) have plans to celebrate a loving union. Their evening is interrupted …
The Women (1939)
The Women, 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland. Directed by George Cukor. B&W, 133 minutes. Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) believes life with her husband and daughter is idyllic. That is, until—with …
Classic for a Reason 