#130: Nightmare Alley (1947 vs. 2021)

It's TCM Classic Film Festival time once again and we're back with a special bonus episode highlighting all our picks. Author Lara Gabrielle joins us as does Ava Gardner expert Lora Stocker to break down the questions we have about this year's festival (what does "corporate daddy" Warner Bros. Discovery have in store?) and the movies we aren't gonna miss. PROGRAMMING NOTE: In light of the festival, our next episode will actually debut on May 1st.  This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Nicholas Montano Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson Susannah Burger Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

It was a hard day's night getting this episode together after our guest backed out last minute. Thankfully, Emily is back and we're celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' cinematic debut in A Hard Day's Night. We talk about the Fab Four turned actors, the way this movie tried to sell a soundtrack, and far too many connections to Spice World. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Nicholas Montano Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson Susannah Burger Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

We're celebrating the dueling centennials of Marlon Brando and Tennessee Williams with a look at their most enduring collaboration: 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire. Historian and author Foster Hirsch joins us to break down the film's complicated subject matter, Marlon Brando's Method acting, the gender and class politics and everyone's old friend, the Blacklist. Buy Foster's book Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties here. This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Nicholas Montano Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson Susannah Burger Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Kerry Ahern Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

Marilyn Monroe writer Elisa Jordan joins Kristen to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Some Like It Hot. The pair discuss Marilyn Monroe's career during this film, whether Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis could pass as women, and how the movie's connections with the LGBTQ community.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Nicholas Montano Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson SofiaCopilled Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Kerry Ahern Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

Love Month comes to a close with Marion Davies biographer and Olivia de Havilland expert Lara Gabrielle joining us once again to talk about 1949's The Heiress. We discuss its adaptation origins, why Livvie de Havilland was not feeling this movie, and why Montgomery Clift is so damn hot.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson SofiaCopilled Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

Paul Newman biographer Shawn Levy is here to help us celebrate the month of love with a look at the 1958 film The Long Hot Summer. Levy explains the enduring love story of Paul and Joanne Woodward, why this movie isn't better known, and why we should all ready Shelley Winters' autobiography.   Buy Shawn's books here.   This episode was created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson SofiaCopilled Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

It's the first new episode of the year and you know what that means? Kristen and Emily are looking back at the classic films they discovered in 2023. We talk about great fashions, movies we loved thanks to this podcast, and what movies almost made our lists.   Share your new discovers of 2023 with us and you can hear them on the next episode!   This episode created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Krista Painter McF Rachel Clark A Button Called Smalls Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson SofiaCopilled Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

There are a few James Dean biopics but we decided to look at the most famous version of his life, TNT's 2001 biopic starring a pre-fame (and problems) James Franco. Kristen and Emily deconstruct the Dean mythos, why he holds a lot of commonalities with Marilyn Monroe, and how this movie was originally planned to star Leonardo DiCaprio.

In this special bonus episode you can hear our interview with Gary Cooper's daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, as well as author Bruce Boyer, authors of Gary Cooper: Enduring Style. We're hard at work on 2024 and will return January 31st with all new episodes!   This episode created thanks to our Patrons: Ali Moore Amy Hart Andrew Hoppe Christine Mier Danny David Floyd Donna Hill Gates Jacob Haller Jonathan Watkins Kimberly Krista Painter McF Chris McKay Debbi Lynne Jeffrey Kayla Ewing Peter Blitstein Peter Bryant Peter Dawson SofiaCopilled Willowgreene Andrea Basora Brittany Brock Cat Cooper Daniel Tafoya Diana Madden Emily Edwards Harry Holland Lucy Soles Nick Weerts Rosa

Happy New Year! We're sharing our favorite episode of our new series, But Have You Read... looking at that timeless tale of a young girl and the grown man who keeps a woman in his attic. Yep, we're looking at the two versions of Jane Eyre.