Jennifer Kellow FioriniMay 164 minBogart - Before he was Bogey Pt 1A young Bogart arrives in Hollywood circa 1930. Humphrey Bogart wasn’t always “Bogey.” His journey to legendary superstar was longer and...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniApr 184 minRita Hayworth - The Girl Behind the Goddess Pt 2The Life Magazine portrait, August 11, 1941, that became one of the most popular pin-ups for American soldiers fighting World War II....
Jennifer Kellow FioriniMar 64 minRita Hayworth —The Girl Behind the Goddess, Part 1Rita Hayworth famously said, “Men go to bed with Gilda, and wake up with me.” Who was the me behind “Gilda” and “The Lady from Shanghai?”...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniJan 255 minMaurice Chevalier – The French lover and the modern movie musical.Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in The Merry Widow, 1934. Valentine’s Day is almost here, and we wrap our series on pre-Code men...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniJan 83 minKay Francis is Star of the Month on TCM in January.Happy 2022! Birthday girl Kay Francis is TCM’s Star of the Month. Francis was featured in Women of pre-Code last year, this is a great...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniNov 12, 20215 minBela and Boris - the Birth of Modern Monsters pt 2By Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini Boris Karloff in the 1930's Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt November 23, 1887, in London England....
Jennifer Kellow FioriniOct 26, 20214 minBoris & Bela – The Birth of Modern Monsters pt 1Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in The Raven, 1935. Both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were foreigners in their 40s when they became famous...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniSep 22, 20214 minClark Gable - Ohio Born King of HollywoodGable is easily the most famous of any actor we’ve talked about from the pre-Code era. But the “King of Hollywood,” who is mostly...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniAug 28, 20214 minRichard Barthelmess - A Modern HeroIn the silent era, Lillian Gish proclaimed him the most beautiful man in movies. But by the time talkies arrived, Richard Barthelmess was...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniJul 23, 20214 minEdward G. Robinson - The Unlikely StarEdward G. Robinson in the early 1930's. In the pre-Code era audiences loved personality types we would now call character actors. In the...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniJun 26, 20214 minLee Tracy - The Guy with all the AnglesAmerica in the early 1930’s required a different mindset to survive and thrive than the generation before. Young men lamented that their...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniMay 13, 20215 minWilliam Powell - From Ladies Man to Debonair DetectiveUrbane implies high cultivation and poise coming from wide social experience — debonair, suave, smooth, sophisticated. Urbane is a word...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniApr 23, 20214 minWarren William - The Wolf in Wolf's ClothingOften referred to as “the King of pre-Code” and “The Magnificent Scoundrel,” Warren William made 20 films between 1931 and the...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniMar 17, 20214 minJame Cagney - Sensitive Artist and Public Enemy James Cagney worked on stage as a dancer/actor before becoming part of a new group of stars who, in 1931, were experimenting and refining...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniFeb 23, 20214 minThe Making of the Modern Man in Pre-Code Cinema.Left to right, Richard Barthelmess, James Cagney, and Clark Gable Although societal shifts for women from the teens through the 1920s and...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniJan 22, 20215 minLadies They Talk About - The end of an eraClaudette Colbert and Clark Gable in It Happened One Night, 1934. In selecting a handful to write about, there were so many wonderful...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniDec 31, 20205 minBarbara Stanwyck - The Tough CookieBarbara Stanwyck at the height of her career in the 1940's Barbara Stanwyck is easily the best-known actress of pre-Code in this series....
Jennifer Kellow FioriniNov 15, 20204 minNorma Shearer - The love realist.By Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini Norma Shearer, if known at all by casual moviegoers, may be remembered for playing the lead in the 1939 film,...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniOct 15, 20205 minGreta Garbo - The Virtuous VampToday Greta Garbo is remembered for uttering one of the most famous quotes in film history, “I want to be alone.” She made only...
Jennifer Kellow FioriniOct 7, 20203 minJean Harlow - Hollywood's First Platinum Blonde part 2In the first half of her career Jean Harlow was cast as the unapologetic bad girl. And though Jean hated this image, because she was...