Cinema Remembered


 The Magic of Cinema

For as long as I can remember films have enthralled me. The first film I ever saw was Tom Thumb in 1958. A decade before that one of my all time favourite films was made and twenty five odd years before I saw Tom Thumb some of the most amazing films ever made at played to audiences.

In 1946 a book was published in the USA that was a runaway best seller and a two years later the film version was on our screens. It was to be the third and last pairing of Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in the charmingly gentle, “Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House.” It’s seldom shown these days and hard to track down at a reasonable price on DVD. Remastered and released in 2004 it has been a treasure in my collection that never fails to reward me. Stifled by a small apartment in New York they buy a ruin in Connecticut and are gently fleeced by the country folk. Not a great plot but the house is finally built. By this time Myrna Loy was ceasing to be a draw at the box office, she had been a film star since before the talkies. Seldom remembered today she was once a giant of the silver screen.

Fifteen years before Busby Berkeley (Director and Choreography) had arrived with a bang giving depression era America the fantasy lift it needed with the spectacular musical series Gold Diggers of 1933 and Gold Diggers of 1935 and 1937 plus many more. His camera work and visual style still stun today, the dance scenes being out of this world. The camera angles and choreography have never been surpassed and I know that’s a big claim. You may not be familiar with these films but I urge you to seek them out, ignore the stories they are no more than pegs on which to hang songs and dance sequences.

Lots of well known songs arrived with these musicals for example We’re in the Money, The Lullaby of Broadway and many more including I Only Have Eyes For You.

Sky Cinema does tend to focus mainly on big name films, blockbusters and super heroes but as many have observed the old studio system is beginning to fail as it loses direction and  focus and most of all originality. Many of these films are still worthy but if you really want to experience the magic and history of cinema and the Golden Age of Hollywood you need to read up and do your homework and seek out the many wonderful films made in the early part of last century. With Halliwells by your side ( the Bible for all film buffs) you can unlock a lifetime hobby. I started my love affair in 1958 and it still thrills me after all these years.


Happy Hunting!

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