The Front Row Network

We're taking another look at one of the greatest comedies in movie history. Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot is celebrating its 65th anniversary and remains a fresh and funny as it was in 1959. Jackson Cooper joins Brandon this week to discuss every memorable moment/ We also pay tribute to the incomparable performances of Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

Front Row Classics is pleased to welcome renowned Wizard of Oz expert & Judy Garland historian, John Fricke. John has contributed his knowledge and expertise to countless books, documentaries, and home video releases over the decades. He provides insight into why Garland remains a powerful pop culture figure more than fifty years after her death. Brandon and John discuss his earliest experiences a...

Front Row Classics is celebrating its 200th episode! I'm so very grateful for to you ,the listeners, for continuing to support this labor of love.  For our 200th episode, we're welcoming a very special guest : legendary actress and wildlife activist, Stefanie Powers. Powers grew up in the heyday of Los Angeles and even attended Hollywood High School. Brandon and Stefanie discuss her decades-long c...

Front Row Classics welcome Turner Classic Movies host, Dave Karger, this week. Brandon and Dave are discussing his newest book "50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins". Dave sat down with 50 past Oscar winners to recount the details of their respective victorious evenings. Some stories are triumphant & celebratory. Others are poignant & complex. In this conversati...

Front Row Classics is celebrating Valentine's Day with one of the most popular romantic films to ever come out of Hollywood. Breakfast at Tiffany's remains one of Audrey Hepburn's most iconic works. Beyond the Mouse's Vanessa Ferguson and NPR Illinois' Bea Bonner join Brandon to discuss all aspects of the movie. The hosts discuss Hepburn's unlikely performance as call girl, Holly Golightly. They a...

We at the Front Row Network love how movies still have such an impact on our culture at large. Front Row Classics host Brandon Davis welcomes professional wrestler, Benjamin Trust to the network this week. Ben is from the St Louis area and is making a name for himself in both Illinois and Missouri. We're taking a look at how Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick inspired Ben's wrestling persona and look....

It's the best time of year for all of us cinephiles: Movie Award Season is BACK!  The Guilds have begun logging their results and it's time to discuss the official nominations for the film industry's top prizes! The Academy Awards nominations are here and there is PLENTY to discuss. Ryan, Jeremy & Brandon break down the big 8 categories (actors, director, screenplays, picture) and give their thoug...

Front Row Classics has "got a lot of livin' to do" this week. Brandon is joined by Larry Aubrey to pay tribute to 1963's Bye Bye Birdie. Brandon and Larry discuss this fun and vibrant adaptation of the classis Broadway musical. The two talk the differences between the film and stage versions. Much of the conversation is spent lauding the star-making performance of Ann-Margret. We'll also pay tribu...

Brandon welcome filmmaker/producer Doug Pray to Front Row Classics. Doug, along with Laura Gabbert, has helmed the six-episode docuseries "The Power of Film". The series stars UCLA Film Professor, Howard Suber, and shines a spotlight on film's impact on the human experience. Suber tells us why certain films remain forever ingrained in our memories and psyches. Brandon and Doug discuss the origins...

Front Row Classics is taking a look at one of the most poignant melodramas of the 1950s. Brandon is joined by Jackson Cooper to discuss 1955's All That Heaven Allows. The two pay tribute to the work of director, Douglas Sirk, and his immaculate visual storytelling. We're also celebrating the performances of Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson as two people who buck the trends of the social mores and class...

It's the best time of year for all of us cinephiles: Movie Award Season is BACK!  The Golden Globes have come and gone and the Critics Choices are logged. But now it's time for the biggest voting block to make their winners known! That's rigth the SAG Awards are back for the 30th time and this year promises to be a truly competitive affair. Many races remain WIDE open with the critic guild wins co...

Front Row Classics is thrilled to welcome back authors/journalists, David Fantle and Tom Johnson.  David & Tom regale Brandon with incredible stories from their forty plus years of interviewing Hollywood legends. These stories can be found in their 2018 book, "Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews with Golden Age Legends". We discuss their initial encounters with Fred Astaire & Gene Kelly. These...

Front Row Classics is taking a look at one of the most popular comedies of the 1950s. How to Marry a Millionaire brought together three of Hollywood's most charismatic leading ladies: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. Brandon is happy to welcome Marina Tucker to discuss the movie. Marina (also known as Penelope Pink) is a professional wrestler who also happens to be a Marilyn Monroe...

It's the best time of year for all of us cinephiles: Movie Award Season is BACK! The annual kick-off of the battle for the statues begins again in 2024 with the 81st Golden Globe Awards. As usual, the Globes serve their unique place in not only honoring both film and television, but also as being the most free-for-all, anything goes, don't ask us our choosing methods, let's just party event of the...

Happy New Year from Front Row Classics! We're kicking off the new year in style with something fun and frothy. Our friend Emmett Stanton joins us to celebrate the work of choreographer/director, Busby Berkeley. Brandon and Emmett are taking a look at three films with the Berkeley touch. All three films were, miraculously, released in 1933. 42nd Street, Golddiggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade rema...

Front Row Classics welcomes content creator and independent filmmaker, Hey Marianne to the podcast. Brandon is always excited to speak with someone who is engaging young people in watching classic film. The two discuss several topics including introducing classic film to millennials, holiday movies and movie musicals. Much of the discussion is spent discussing her favorite film, The Sound of Music...

Merry Christmas from Front Row Classics! We're celebrating the season with a classic holiday farce from Warner Bros. The Man Who Came to Dinner remains one of the greatest adaptations from stage to screen. Ben Burke, from the Hollywood Babylonians, podcast joins Brandon to discuss all of the wacky fun from this 1942 film. Discussion includes topics such as the unusually subtle performance from Bet...

Front Row Classics is thrilled to welcome actress/producer, Jennifer Grant this week. Jennifer, the daughter of Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, has co-produced the series  Archie  for BritBox. The series, starring Jason Isaacs, gives viewers a personal look at the man named Archie Leach. Leach would overcome childhood poverty and abandonment and create the persona of the ultimate movie star, Cary Gran...

Front Row Classics is taking a look at the Best Picture winner of 1944. Leo McCarey's Going My Way is a charming film that lifted the spirits of war weary audiences in 1944. IndieWire's Christian Blauvelt returns to pay tribute to this uplifting film that is perfect holiday viewing. Brandon and Christian discuss the Oscar winning performances from Bing Crosby & Barry Fitzgerald. They also make men...

Front Row Classics welcomes celebrated author & film historian Donald Bogle. Bea Bonner ,with NPR Illinois' Community Voices, joins Brandon to discuss Bogle's new book, "Lena Horne Goddess Reclaimed". The book tracks Horne's trailblazing life & career which spanned remarkable triumphs and heartbreaking disappointments. Bogle discusses Horne's early life, activism and groundbreaking stardom.  Lena...

Front Row Classics is taking another look at a holiday staplee 1942's Holiday Inn. This joyous musical is perfect for any time of year. But. it's especially fitting to view during the Christmas season. Brandon is joined by Kevin Hart and Jacqueline Keysear. Kevin is currently directing a production of Holiday Inn at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield, IL. Jacqueline, whom our listener...

Feeling like you didn't get enough leftovers from Turkey Day? Well have no fear because we've got the latest episode of #FullDisclosure breaking down the new horror film sensation #Thanksgiving. Ryan Lootens and Steve Sykes return to spoil everything in what many are calling the new horror classic in the vein of the greatest slasher films of all time. SPOILERS FOLLOW! After a Black Friday riot end...

Happy Thanksgiving from Front Row Classics. We're celebrating Noirvember with the Czar of Noir himself, Eddie Muller. Eddie has penned a new children's book, "Kid Noir: Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey". The book is a charming introduction to the world of classics film for younger kids. Brandon and Eddie discuss the inspiration behind the book and importance of introducing classi...

November 22 will be the 60th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American History. President John F. Kennedy's assassination has long been the subject of discussion and debate. Brandon Davis (Front Row Classics) and Lou Hare (Guilty Pleasures) are marking this anniversary by discussing one of the most talked about movies of the last generation, Oliver Stone's JFK. This 1991 film boasts one o...

Front Row Classics is taking a look at one of the great film epics, George Stevens' Giant. This 1956 film still resonates with its themes of family, changing times and race relations. Tristan Tapscott joins Brandon to discuss the legendary production. The two take a look at the fine performances from Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. The film would mark Dean's final screen appearance b...