Showbiz History: Skeksis & Mystics... and Judy Garland & the Supremes?

7 random things that happened on this day, December 17th, in showbiz history

1943 Now forgotten Universal B franchise "The Inner Sanctum" begins with Calling Dr Death featuring Lon Chaney Jr. Intended as a series that would be carried by Chaney and Oscar winner Gale Soondergard, only Chaney actually made it to the screen. There were six films in all. 

1965 Judy Garland and the Supremes perform at Houston's then brand new 60,000 seat Astrodome Theater. Wait, what? Judy Garland AND Diana Ross and you could attend for a single dollar...

Click to read more ...

Monty @ 100: The recent documentary "Making Montgomery Clift"

by Sean Donovan

As a kind of epilogue to our Montgomery Clift Centennial series, in which we revisited every film of his, let's discuss a curio that made the festival rounds in 2018 and 2019. The documentary Making Montgomery Clift was co-directed by Hillary Demmon and Monty’s nephew Robert Clift. Robert is very much foregrounded as a protagonist of the film as he attempts to do much of what the Film Experience team has been attempting over the past two and half weeks: to grapple with the legacy of Montgomery Clift and bask in the immortal work he has left behind. Making Montgomery Clift is an imperfect project, and those imperfections arise out of an enormous emotional attachment to the subject that can’t hep but obscure our view of the man and his work.

Making Montgomery Clift provides an overview of the star’s life and career trajectory, the highlights and lowlights that have been gestured to in posts throughout this series: Clift’s struggles with alcohol and pills, his queer sexuality, the traumatic car accident that transformed his career, his reputation as a difficult diva of a movie star, etc. But the film also does the invaluable work of tracing the discourse of our pop culture knowledge of Clift himself: when and how the legend of Monty Clift was written...

Click to read more ...

Monty @ 100: Oscar nominated again for "Judgment at Nuremberg"

by Baby Clyde

1961 Monty was a shadow of his former self. Long gone were days of matinee idol status and teeny boppers swooning over his dreamboat looks. As has already been expertly detailed by my colleagues Montgomery Clift’s career is one of two halves. By this point he was deep into the second half and the eventual outcome seemed inevitable, but that didn’t mean he was unable to still produce the goods...

Click to read more ...

Showbiz History: Hamlet's Wins, Natalie's Child, and Judy's Premiere x 3

12 random things that happened on this day, September 29th, in showbiz history...

Natalie Wood gave birth to her first child on this day in 1970

1940 Strike Up the Band starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland is a hit in its opening weekend. One of my favorite old review blurbs ever is for Judy Garland calling her "oomphy". Hee.

1948 Hamlet has its american premiere in New York City. 176 days later it wins 4 Oscars: Picture, Actor, Art Direction... and Costume Design...

Click to read more ...

1938: Judy Garland in "Love Finds Andy Hardy"

by Nick Taylor

Love Finds Andy Hardy is the fifth of sixteen films made about the life of its titular character, and one of three Andy Hardy films released in 1938. It's also first of threeto feature Judy Garland as Betsy Booth, the shy out-of-towner girl nursing a crush on Andy. This marks the first Andy Hardy movie I’ve seen, and given my severe allergy to Mickey Rooney I might leave it here for now. That being said, my dislike of Rooney pales in comparison to my adoration of Garland's lovely, roseate performance. 

Our story begins in early December. Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) has just learned from his girlfriend Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) that she’ll be visiting family for Christmas, meaning she won’t be able to attend the town’s dance. Andy is distraught, but an unexpected opportunity arises when his friend Beezy asks him to date his girlfriend Cynthia (Lana Turner) for a few weeks. He doesn’t want some other guy making the moves on his girl while he’s gone...

Click to read more ...