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Author: Ron Kibbey
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Reel Classics: Harold and Maude
When initially released in 1971 Harold and Maude was panned by critics and moviegoers alike. However, it found a group of younger, college-aged viewers that adored it and turned it into a cult classic. It was quirky and has been described as “an offbeat movie fairy tale which is a fairly original slice of black…
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Reel Classics: Them!
Today Reel Classics takes a look back at one of the classic science fiction movies of the 1950s — Them! Released in 1954, just a few years after the explosion of the first atomic bomb, it was one of the first films to depict the “unintended effects” of nuclear radiation on the environment. The film…
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Reel Classics: Five Easy Pieces
In a previous Reel Classics review of the film Easy Rider, we talked of how Jack Nicholson's role in that film revived his acting career. It led to the starring role in this edition of Reel Classics—Five Easy Pieces. We see him as Robert Eroica Dupea, a troubled soul trying to find out who he…
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Reel Classics: Way Out West
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, two kind-hearted souls, are headed out West to try to locate a young lady by the name of Mary Roberts. They are accompanied by their faithful mule, Dinah. They possess the deed to a gold mine that was owned by Mary's father. As he was dying, they promised him they…
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Reel Classics: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Today's Reel Classic is set in the year 1925 in the Mexican town of Tampico. We meet two down-and-out drifters named Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt). Their fortune takes a turn for the positive when they are offered jobs by contractor Pat McCormick (Barton MacLane) to help build an oil…
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Reel Classics: Easy Rider
Today's Reel Classic looks at the story of a couple of young men meeting up with a rather well-to-do businessman, who is in his Rolls Royce accompanied by his chauffeur. They complete the business transaction and decide to take a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. The film is set in the late sixties at the…
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Reel Classics: Lady Sings the Blues
Billie Holiday is one of my favorite jazz singers; in my opinion, she was the best. But she was a troubled soul. She wrote an autobiography in 1956, Lady Sings the Blues. The title was taken from one of her well-known songs. The Reel Classic we look at today is loosely based on that autobiography and shares…
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Reel Classics: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Today's Reel Classic, as you can see from the poster, includes an all-star cast — Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poiter, and Katherine Hepburn. Also starring in her film debut is Katherine Houghton who is Katherine Hepburn's niece. The film is set in San Francisco in 1967. Joanna “Joey” Drayton (Katherine Houghton) is the 23-year-old daughter of…
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Reel Classics: The Bad Seed
To begin today's Reel Classic, I will quote from a description of the movie from the magazine Paste: “The Bad Seed is one of the most disturbing American portraits of pure psychopathy or sociopathy, coming from the least suspected of all sources: an 8-year-old girl. The piercing eyes of little blonde, pigtailed Rhoda (Patty McCormack) are terrifying to…
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Reel Classics: Annie Hall
In the previous edition of Reel Classics we looked at a film described as “a classic romance.” Today we take a look at another classic described as “a nervous romance.” Released in 1977, Annie Hall features Woody Allen as Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton as Annie Hall. I would describe them both as two of our…