Category Archives: Musicals

Suspicious Minds: “Elvis” (2022)

     “Elvis”  (2022)       Is it possible to know even less about a prominent cultural icon after viewing a major motion picture about them than before seeing that film? This is one of the lingering problems with … Continue reading

Posted in Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, biography, Elvis Presley, Movies, music, Musicals, Tom Hanks, writing | 1 Comment

Eye of the Needle: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, April 2022 Edition, Vol. 60

Eye of the Needle: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, April 2022 Edition, Vol. 60 You are invited to a very special edition (not really) of this belated edition of the Classic Film Images Photo Quiz in which we celebrate a very … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, Elvis Presley, Movies, Musicals, Romance, theater, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

When Your Fingers Did the Walking: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2022 Edition, Vol. 411

When Your Fingers Did the Walking: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2022 Edition, Vol. 411      In a world in desperate need of all of the humor one can muster, it never fails to entertain to seek out a … Continue reading

Posted in Cold War, comedy, crime, Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, photography, Romance, women, writing | 3 Comments

Slippery Slopes: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2022 Edition, Vol. -10

Slippery Slopes: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2022 Edition, Vol. -10     As the world blithely careens down the precipice of vaudevillian burlesque, led by that old tried and true tacky combination of a cranky baggy pants straight … Continue reading

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They Had Lenses Then: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm

They Had Lenses Then: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm Eschewing the usual mockery of political and social buffoons in the course of shamelessly circuitous introduction, current events demand that a passing dismissal of the criminally … Continue reading

Posted in Audie Murphy, biography, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, History, Mimsy Farmer, Musicals, politics, Romance, women, writing | 2 Comments

Family Ties: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Nov. 2020 Edition, Vol. 2.4

Family Ties: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Nov. 2020 Edition, Vol. 2.4     Recently it was reported that America’s most prominent Chicken Little,  Dr, Anthony Fauci was informed by his family that due to the conditions of the pandemic, they … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, children, comedy, Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, Musicals, women | 4 Comments

Java Buzz: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Special Caffeine-Fueled B. Sisters Café Mid-May 2020 Edition, Vol. 1/2 & 1/2

This gallery contains 27 photos.

Java Buzz: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Special Caffeine-Fueled B. Sisters Café Mid-May 2020 Edition, Vol. 1/2 & 1/2  é     Live and more alert than is (in theory) humanly safe after nine straight large cups of Cold Brew … Continue reading

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Firearms For Fun and Profit: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Aug. 2019 Edition, Vol. .38 Caliber

Firearms for Fun and Profit:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Aug. 2019 Edition, Vol. .38 Caliber     Let us consider, for a moment,  the strained logic inherent in the Constitutional inalienable right to be contrary, hypocritical and downright stupid … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Drive-In Movies, film noir, grindhouse, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, photography, westerns, women | 1 Comment

67 Years and No Relief in Sight: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2019 Edition, Vol. 1952

  67 Years and No Relief in Sight: Classic Film Photo Quiz, Mar. 2019 Edition, Vol. 1952     Some men are born to greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them, And some just won’t go away. Which brings us … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, British films, comedy, crime, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, Romance, women, writing | 7 Comments

Nakedly Revealing: “Oh! Calcutta!” (1972)

`           “Oh! Calcutta!”  (1972)     “In America, sex is an obsession. In other parts of the world, it’s a fact.”                             … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, dance, erotica, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, sex, theater, writing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Twenty Five on the Black Hand Side: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2019 Edition, Vol. 46

Twenty Five on the Black Hand Side:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2019 Edition, Vol. 46     Being that February has been designated Black History Month by every U.S. President since 1976 (while Congress has been completely inactive … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, Blaxploitation, books, comedy, Drive-In Movies, History, Jim Brown, Movies, Musicals, women, writing | 2 Comments

True Confections: “Trottie True” (1949)

         “Trottie True”   (1949)     “Trottie True” (stupidly retitled for U.S. distribution as “The Gay Lady”) is a colorful not quite rags to riches story (more like a tale of working class to upper crust … Continue reading

Posted in British films, comedy, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Romance, theater, women, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Saving Santa: “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t” (1966)

         “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t”  (1966)     Hollywood (a popular cultural abstract which we use as a convenient shorthand to identify the purely commercial cinema regardless of geographical origin) may be many things, but a … Continue reading

Posted in books, children, children's books, Christmas, fantasy, holidays, Movies, Musicals, Santa Claus, writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ho Ho Ho: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec 2018 Edition, Vol. $50hr

Ho Ho Ho: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2018 Edition, Vol. $50hr     If not the oldest profession, it certainly would counted high on the list of most depicted professions on the silver screen. We are, of course, … Continue reading

Posted in books, cinema, Eartha Kitt, History, Italian cinema, Movies, Musicals, sex, Sophia Loren, theater, westerns, women | 11 Comments

The Return of the Classic Film Clip Quiz

  The Return of the Classic Film Clip Quiz     Let us reintroduce this minor little visual quiz where we ask the musical question: Name the film clips shown. (Well, it’s not really a question, but it’s our discretion … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, comedy, dance, erotica, History, horror, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, Romance, silent films, westerns | 8 Comments

Labor Pains: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2018 Edition, Vol. 925/Remedial Reprint

_______________________________________________________________ Labor Pains:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2018 Edition, Vol. 925/Remedial Reprint     The American cinema celebrates many things-  vacuous comic book heroics, scatological crudity, infantilism, serial sadism, non-NRA gun violence  -but the labors of the American working … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, comedy, History, Movies, Musicals, New York City, politics, Reviews, silent movies, theater, women, writing | 7 Comments

Labor Pains: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2018 Edition, Vol. 925

Labor Pains:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2018 Edition, Vol. 925     The American cinema celebrates many things-  vacuous comic book heroics, scatological crudity, infantilism, serial sadism, non-NRA gun violence  -but the labors of the American working man and … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, comedy, History, Movies, Musicals, photography, politics, Puzzles, Romance, theater, women, writing | 13 Comments

Who Needs That Ther’ Book Lernin’?: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2018 Edition, Vol. 451

  Who Needs That Ther’ Book Lernin’?:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2018 Edition, Vol. 451     Despite such contemporary wizards as Mark Zuckerberg asserting the notion that modern life requires little more wisdom than can be drawn … Continue reading

Posted in book reviews, books, Boston, children's books, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, short stories, women, writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Revisit: Scenes From the Scrapbook: “That’s Entertainment” (1974)

        “That’s Entertainment”      (1974) (Originally posted on May 18, 2014)         “That’s Entertainment” is a compilation of some of the best (many not) musical numbers extracted from the great musicals (many not) … Continue reading

Posted in Documentaries, Frank Sinatra, Movies, music, Musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Revisit: Beatles in a Bell Jar: “Let It Be” (1970)

“Let It Be” (1970) (Originally posted on Nov. 5, 2013)     Sitting through Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s “Let It Be” is not dissimilar to sitting behind someone in a theater and staring at the back of their head, mentally trying to … Continue reading

Posted in Documentaries, movie reviews, Movies, music, Musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Revisit: The Colour Out of Place: “South Pacific” (1958)

       “SOUTH PACIFIC” (1958) (Originally posted on April, 15, 2013) The 1958 Joshua Logan film of “South Pacific” is a perfect demonstration of the value of the movie soundtrack album as a preferable experience over a film. In … Continue reading

Posted in books, Movies, Musicals, Romance, theater, women, World War II, writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Habit Forming: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, April 2018 Edition, Vol. 3:10

Posted in biography, books, History, humor, Movies, Musicals, religion, war movies, westerns, women, writing | Tagged | 10 Comments

Ups and Downs: Classic Film Photo Quiz, March 2018 Edition, Vol. B-10

Ups and Downs: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2018 Edition, Vol. B-10     Life has its ups and downs. One day you’re assured to ascend to the throne of power armed with a sense of entitlement second only … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, comedy, crime, grindhouse, humor, Movies, Musicals, Puzzles, Romance, silent movies, women | 11 Comments

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Go to Gift Wrap: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2017 Edition Part Deux, Vol. 25

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Go to Gift Wrap:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2017 Edition Part Deux, Vol. 25     In Tom Stoppard’s absurdist play, two minor figures from Shakespeare’s Hamlet are granted the center stage in a theatrical … Continue reading

Posted in book reviews, books, Christmas, Entertainment, History, holidays, Movies, Musicals, photography, Reviews, Romance, women, writing | 4 Comments

“All Aboard!”: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2017 Edition, Vol. 3:10

“All Aboard!”:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2017 Edition, Vol. 3:10 With the exception of the horse, the automobile, the airplane and the whore with the heart of gold, there is, perhaps, no mode of taking a ride more … Continue reading

Posted in animation, book reviews, books, espionage, Hitchcock, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, Romance, westerns, women, writing | 5 Comments

What a Dip: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, August 2017 Edition, Vol. H2O

What a Dip: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, August 2017 Edition, Vol. H2O     During the current climate in which it seems many who should know better, by all appearances, are all wet, allow us to present this month’s … Continue reading

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Build the Wall: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2017 Edition, Vol. 1812

Build the Wall: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2017 Edition, Vol. 1812 Walls are structural. Walls are decorative. It seems that, lately, talk of building walls has become in vogue, as the attractiveness of just thinking about constructing barriers … Continue reading

Posted in books, espionage, History, horror, humor, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, Reviews, women, writing | 6 Comments

The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2016 Edition, Vol. 241

The Gift That Keeps on Giving:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2016 Edition, Vol. 241     It is said that it is better to give than to receive, though this overlooks the fact that in the act of … Continue reading

Posted in books, Christmas, Film, History, humor, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, Romance, westerns, women, writing | 3 Comments

June Brides: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2018 Edition, Vol. 121

June Brides:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2016 Edition, Vol. 121      During the month of June, we engage in the annual observance of a wide variety of events: academic graduations leading to a closer inevitability with unemployment, … Continue reading

Posted in Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, photography, Reviews, Romance, weddings, women | 2 Comments

Life in Bloom: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2016 Edition, Vol. 111

Life in Bloom:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2016 Edition, Vol. 111     Despite the grand apocalyptic allusions to global warming, orbital rotational shifts or the mysterious shortage of stylishly lapelled union suits, there can be no question that Spring is … Continue reading

Posted in blogs, books, Entertainment, Film, food, humor, Movies, Musicals, photography, Puzzles, Reviews, Romance, theater, women, writing | 3 Comments

Garters, Glitter and Gauze: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975)

     “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”  (1975)     Frank N. Stein:  There’s no crime in giving yourself over to pleasure.     Audience Response (Boston):  There is in Massachusetts.     Long a staple of the disappearing urban … Continue reading

Posted in comedy, Culture, Film, Film Reviews, horror, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, science fiction, sex, theater, writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mother, May I?: Classic Film Images Quiz, May 2015 Edition, Vol. 6

Mother, May I?:  Classic Film Images Quiz, May 2015 Edition, Vol. 6 In this month’s edition of America’s favorite waste of time, The Classic Film Images Quiz-  brought to you, as always, by the international smugglers who supply “the streets” … Continue reading

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I Been Naughty But in a Nice Way: Cinematic Santa Wish List for 2014

    In the continuous spirit of the late lamented Sears Wish Book- that compendium of childhood greed (ignoring the adult sections which focused more on anti-urchin merchandise such as clothing and dehumidifiers) that provided invaluable practical experience in the lost … Continue reading

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NOVEMBER 2014 CLASSIC FILM IMAGES QUIZ, VOL. 5050

“Don’t do as we do, do as we say!”: Mid-Term Election Edition: November 2014 Classic Film Images Quiz, Vol. 5050      To those selfish American citizens who enter into the month of November only with eager thoughts of holiday cheer … Continue reading

Posted in books, Culture, Film, Film Reviews, Gary Oldman, History, humor, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, politics, Puzzles, Reviews, theater | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Scenes From the Scrapbook: “That’s Entertainment” (1974)

        “That’s Entertainment” is a compilation of some of the best (many not) musical numbers extracted from the great musicals (many not) from the studio era known by some (many not) as “the Golden Age of Hollywood”.      The … Continue reading

Posted in dance, Film Reviews, Frank Sinatra, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, Romance | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Chandler’s Trailers: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007)

      If Johnny Depp lacks the particular furnace-in-the-belly manic projection of a Len Cariou from the original Broadway production, he still projects an admirable ferocity (it helps that his rogue’s gallery of prior roles has given his an … Continue reading

Posted in acting, Film, Film Reviews, Johnny Depp, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, Stephen Sondheim, theater | Tagged , | Leave a comment

From Little Acorns: “New Faces” (1954)

        Essentially a filmed record of the successful Broadway review originally titled “The New Faces of 1952”, the film version retains most of the original stage version’s talent including such notable talents as Paul Lynde, Ronny Graham, Alice Ghostley, … Continue reading

Posted in black cinema, comedy, dance, Eartha Kitt, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, theater | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ruins Among the Love: “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973)

     Norman Jewison is not what you would call a particularly imaginative director; his skill set positioned somewhere in a middle ground of narrative competence and skilled craftsmanship that is all too frequently taken for granted amid the never ceasing … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's movies, Film, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, religion, Reviews, theater | Tagged | 1 Comment

2013 EDITION: ULTIMATE MOVIE QUIZ- OUR HOLIDAY GIFT TO YOU

     The featured film is courtesy of those good folks at the Film School at Smarterin University, replacing- for the moment -Chandler Swain Reviews’ monthly Movie Photo Quiz. Featured are over two hundred films. Your task. Identify them. In order. … Continue reading

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A Brief Rumination on the Modern Cinema and the Demise of Classical Dance in the Movie Musical

     At what point in film history did the movement of dancers in a musical film become an impediment to the director’s visual leanings?       In the classical Hollywood studio era musical, the frame is carefully composed to elicit a … Continue reading

Posted in black cinema, Boston, cinema, Culture, dance, Film, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, music, Musicals, theater | 1 Comment

MONTHLY PHOTO QUIZ VOL. 1620

SINCE YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, YOU MUST  HAVE HAD A LOVE AFFAIR WITH BOLOGNA: NOVEMBER 2013 CLASSIC FILM IMAGES QUIZ, VOL. 1620     Here we are, boys and girls, with another exciting edition of America’s favorite duty free brain … Continue reading

Posted in clint eastwood, Film, food, humor, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, Puzzles, science fiction, Thanksgiving, westerns | 2 Comments

Death of a Thousand Cuts: “Les Miserables” (2012)

   There are a thousand reasons to dislike Tom Hooper’s “Les Misérables”, not the least reason being the perfectly execrable vocal renditions of the familiar Claude-Michel Schönberg/Alain Boublil/Herbert Kretzmer score, stagnantly directed with a paralyzing laziness of directorial imagination which … Continue reading

Posted in acting, books, Culture, Film, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The Colour Out of Place: “South Pacific” (1958)

    The 1958 Joshua Logan film of “South Pacific” is a perfect demonstration of the value of the movie soundtrack album as a preferable experience over a film. In the former, there is much pleasure to be gained aurally … Continue reading

Posted in 1950's movies, cinema, Culture, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Films, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Reviews, Romance, war movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Brice isn’t Right: “Funny Girl” (1968)

    Film biographies have always been a tricky business. Subject to less than scrupulous adherence to the factual as opposed to an almost shameless gravitational pull toward the predictable formulaic Hollywood elements of high melodrama and low soap opera, the … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's movies, Barbra Streisand, cinema, Culture, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Films, movie reviews, Movies, Musicals, Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments