“The Cary Grant Divorce Cinematic Universe”
A tongue-in-cheek ranking of all of the movies where Cary Grant plays a divorced man trying to win back his ex-wife by sabotaging her new relationship.
“Yapping About Madam Satan (1930) for Three Minutes Without a Script”
A recap of one of one of Cecil B. DeMille’s camp classic and one of the weirdest movie musicals ever made.
“Which movie stars did Clara Bow grow up on?”
Dispelling misconceptions about how long the silent film era lasted and who its first stars actually were while revealing Clara Bow’s childhood favorites.
“Who was the first movie star?”
The rise of Florence Lawrence, Universal Studios and Hollywood’s star system.
“Why does The Jazz Singer get to be the first talkie?
A brief history of the beginnings the origins of sound on film, the actual “first talking picture,” and the legacy of The Jazz Singer.
“Was The Wizard of Oz the very first movie shot in color? (No.)”
A crash course in early color processes and the films that used them first.
Field Trips
Dispatches from the travels, museums and concerts that inspire my writing and video content.
“TWA Hotel”
Celebrating my thirtieth birthday at the iconic midcentury airport terminal-turned-filming location-turned-boutique hotel in New York.
“Face Value at the MoMA”
Visiting the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibit on celebrity photography and exploring the long, analog history of photo retouching and manipulation.
“Alaska”
A montage of my summer sailing through Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.
“Janet Gaynor Double Feature”
A vlog recapping the Philadelphia Film Society’s free double feature of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and A Star is Born (1937).