The Politics of Yankee Doodle Dandy
The notion for a biographical film about legendary show business powerhouse George M. Cohan had been kicking around Hollywood since the late 1930s. The father of American musical comedy claimed to be born on July 4, 1878 and began treading the boards at age eight in...
75th Anniversary of Casablanca
It is a life-enriching event to watch Casablanca on the big screen. In commemoration of the film’s 75th anniversary, I urge everyone to take in the nationwide TCM/Fathom theatrical screening on November 12-15. For more info:...
NOIR TALK Podcast Episode 2 with Alan K. Rode
I had the privilege of being a guest on the FNF’s NOIR TALK podcast with host Haggai Elitzur. The discussion includes the recently concluded NOIR CITY, HOLLYWOOD festival and the upcoming ARTHUR LYONS FILM NOIR FESTIVAL in Palm Springs next month. Enjoy the chat!...
Top Ten Film Noirs
Ten of My Favorite Film Noirs Ten isn’t nearly enough, but there you have it. Here are some of my faves that are seminal genre entries, a classic that can’t be denied or, I just plain dug the hell out of the picture. The order of these films is not hierarchical. Like...
Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film
“In a superbly researched, highly compelling account of one of cinema’s most gifted and underrated directors, Rode provides a vivid description of Curtiz’s personality and work- ing methods. It is di cult if not impossible to imagine a more complete account of his life.” —Steven C. Smith, author of A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann
TV’s Mightiest Mouthpiece—The Noir Roots of Perry Mason
CROOKED MOUTHPIECES date back to the era of 1930s porto-noir gangster movies (reaching their apogee with Louis Calhern’s turn in The Asphalt Jungle), but crusading defense attorneys who trod the line between cleverness and corruption proved to be scarce onscreen. ...
Dinner with Alfonse: A Family Remembrance
Alfonse at work Grandfather lit up a Salem and recalled the young Joan Crawford as we sat around the dining table. “She would do anything with anybody,” he said with a knowing wink. Grandmother shushed him with “Alfonse!” as she and Mom cleared the table. Mom...
Thar She Blows!
Twilight Time releases a restored Blu-ray® of John Huston’s essential Moby Dick (1956) In the film, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), there is a beach scene with an alluring ingénue telling James Stewart that she began reading Moby Dick but gave it up because, “who...
A Few Thoughts on NAPOLEON
The presentation of Abel Gance’s NAPOLEON this Saturday at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California, dwarfs any previous experience that I’ve ever had in a movie theatre. I have never seen a film of such epic scale with the most amazing attention to authentic...Books
Blu-ray Discs
Alan contributed numerous commentaries and special feature appearances for a variety of Blu-ray© and DVD classic film releases.
Several recent releases include documentary featurettes produced by TVP Enterprises, Alan’s production company that he co-founded with filmmakers Steven C. Smith and Patrick Francis.
