Movies 'Til Dawn BLOG

BIG FIGHT AT BLACK ROCK

Much as I deplore seeing people physically fighting in real life–it’s always such a jarring and disgusting sight–I LOVE a good fight scene in a movie. Let’s watch a few this week. First up is this fabulous sequence from ‘Bad Day At Black Rock’ in which Spencer Tracy (who has

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WEEKEND STOOGEFEST

‘Three Little Twirps’ (1943) is the 71st short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Monday, August 3rd through Friday, August 7th, 1942 and was released on Friday, July 9th, 1943 (the 190th day of the Gregorian calendar). It marks the second and final

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WEEKEND STOOGEFEST

‘Matri-Phony’ (1942) is the 63rd short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed over a period of three weeks, beginning on Thursday, March 5th and ending on Wednesday, March 25th, 1942, and was released on Thursday, July 2nd of that year (the 183rd day on

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JAMES CAGNEY’S DEBUT (AND MORE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1DTKhVlUMYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-z4L1-lEtU When exactly did James Cagney first appear on screen? According to IMDB, he plays the ‘handsy patron at Blackie Joe’s’ in the Al Jolson vehicle ‘The Singing Fool’, made in 1928 as the follow-up to the enormously successful ‘The Jazz Singer’ (1927) and shot at the Warner Brothers Studios

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CAGNEY DOODLE DANDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm2wRqrOttU Continuing our exploration of the dancing technique of James Cagney (click here, here and here for other magnificent examples) behold the full ‘Give My Regards To Broadway’ routine from George M. Cohan’s show ‘Little Johnny Jones’ (1904) as recreated in Warner Brothers Cohan biopic ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ (1942). It’s

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CAGNEY + SHANGHAI LIL

Apropos of our previous posts this week featuring James Cagney and his singular style of hoofing, here’s the audacious and highly entertaining ‘Shanghai Lil’ number from ‘Footlight Parade’ (1933). As with yesterday’s clip featuring Bob Hope and Cagney dancing on a table, once again Cagney dances…on a table! (This time

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CAGNEY/COHAN + HOPE/FOY

The extraordinary screen dance-off of James Cagney and Bob Hope that I’ve posted above is from ‘The Seven Little Foys’, a 1955 biopic of vaudeville star Eddie Foy as portrayed by Hope. Cagney is once again reprising his role as George M. Cohan–see yesterday’s clip from Yankee Doodle Dandy for

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PREZ DAY WITH CAGNEY

The above number, from ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ (1942) is the great James Cagney performing the delightful ‘Off The Record’. He’s playing George M. Cohan playing Franklin D. Roosevelt and his distinctive, one-of-a-kind ass-in-air dancing style will be the subject of further posts this week. Whether you like it or not…

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WEEKEND STOOGEFEST

‘Some More Of Samoa’ (1941) is the 59th short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Monday, May 12 through Thursday, May 15 1941 and was released on Thursday, December 4th of that year–the 338th day of the Gregorian Calendar and a scant three

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THE HARRY WARREN SHOW (HARRY WHO?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDlnp880Lds Harry Warren was an eminent composer of literally dozens of hit tunes written for movies from the early 1930s through the late 1950s. His last big song was the haunting theme from ‘An Affair To Remember’ and his earliest works include depression-era ditties like ‘Jeepers Creepers’, ‘Lullaby Of Broadway’,

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