Canning's Celluloid Classics
Lesser-known
Gems from Hollywood’s Golden Era
From time to time, this site will single out certain
movies from the major Hollywood studios produced during
the so-called “Golden Era” of American film making, those
roughly two decades dating from the advent of sound
pictures (1927) until after World War II and with the
emergence of television (1948). The criterion is personal,
but the films cited are those that, while successful upon
release, have been largely forgotten except by film
historians and buffs—and addicts of Turner Classic Movies.
Pictures of this vintage were once the fare for repertory
houses and film clubs that sprang up in the 1950’s and
1960’s but then were mostly unseen until video outlets and
online collections became available. Those recommended
herein are cited because they are now available for rental
or purchase by regular video outlets—and ready for
rediscovery. Most offer well-known stars and directors at
the peak of their performing powers, just not in movies
that have become household names.
The trigger for compiling these forgotten classics came
from a project with which I was involved for 10 years.
“Films on the Hill” was a regular series of classic films
shown on Capitol Hill at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.
The series ran from 1999 to 2009, over that time showing
hundreds of vintage films in excellent 16mm versions from
the vast assortment held by local film collector John
Stone (and others). With films
accompanied by thoughtful program notes and introductions,
the series was unique at the time in the Washington area
and was a boon to film buffs as well as to younger
filmgoers discovering these motion pictures for the first
time.
While these classics are almost all in black-and-white and
may seem staid to some,don’t let that deter you from
giving them a chance. They stand up because of the
individual quality of their writing, directing, and
acting, a basic combination that has always produced the
best movies. The Celluloid Classics are listed below:
Desire
Love Me Tonight
Theadora Goes Wild
Trouble in Paradise