Cinema Cemetery

“May God grant me vengeance. I pray you live until I return.”  While not the most conventional way to say farewell to an old acquaintance, this remark by Judah Ben Hur to his childhood friend definitely makes sense under the circumstances.  Formally a prince of Judea, Ben Hur and his family are wrongly accused and sentenced by the invading Roman legions as an example to those who would oppose the...

“On all hallows ever, when the moon is round, a VIRGIN will summon us from underground!” This cult classic never gets old. Follow Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson and their journey to suck the lives out of all the children in Salem.... In multiple centuries! From talking black cats, zany hijinx, and arguably age inappropriate humor, Hocus Pocus gives you all the 90’s nostalgia you could want!

"Ah yes, I remember it well..." If you remember, this film well, it might be time to take a second look.  Gigi follows of the story of a rich, bored social celebrity Gaston in Paris at the turn of the 20th Century.  While he seeks for more than fame and gossip, he finds himself spending more time with a friend of the family, the eponymous Gigi.  A courtesan in training, Gigi too wonders...

“I hate the British! You are defeated but you have no shame!” Welcome to the River Kwai; as captured British soliders adjust to life in a Japanese prison camp, Lt. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) struggles to maintain British order in a place of chaos. Meanwhile, Japanese Colonel Saito, desperate to get a bridge constructed on schedule, fails miserably to motivate his captive crew.  This story o...

“1000 pounds to ride an elephant? Outrageous!” “Yes, but it’s not often one need to ride an elephant in a hurry”.  Meet Phineas Fogg (David Niven) and his servant Passepartout as they set off on a well-planned whim to win the bet they can travel the globe in less than 80 days.  From England to Spain to India to Japan, and finally the untamed American West, comical epic provides a colorful (if not...

“And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it.” Meet Marty, local butcher in the Bronx still unmarried at the ripe old age of 34.  This simple film (only 90 minutes, the shortest of all the Best Pictures!) follows Marty over 36 hours as he meets Clara, a woman abandoned by her blind date.  While he is initially hopeful, Marty’s mother and friends are not s...

“I coulda had class, I coulda been somebody.”  This week’s entry focuses on Marlon Brando’s career-defining role as a former “contenda” who finds himself in the center of a waterfront labor struggle which has now threatened the lives of his peers and friends.  Another star-studded cast tells this well-known story based on true events.  Does “On The Waterfront” deserve the hype?  Dan and Kate disag...

“Gee, I wish I were back in the Arrrrrrmy!” is probably NOT what you’ll be singing after this film.  This star-studded cast featuring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Cliff, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra and more depicts a pre-WW2 Army Corps in the middle of the Pacific which is anything but functional.  Though famous for an iconic beach scene, this film tells the story of young Private Prewit...

Before Hugh Jackman starred in the Greatest Showman , there was The Greatest Show On Earth .  Part documentary, part soap opera, and a large part commercial, The Greatest Show on Earth is Cecil B. DeMille’s first (and only) Best Director win, as well as the first appearance by Charlton Heston in our Cinema Cemetery line-up.  Even Jimmy Stewart Is back, this time as Buttons the clown, as one of his...

“I’ve got rhythm, I’ve got music…” Gene Kelly and crew join the Cinema Cemetery line up with this week’s episode “An American In Paris”.  This proto-musical serves as a Kelly/Gershwin revue…and also includes a story of an artist struggling between his career and love interest.  Do Gene Kelly and Paris stand the test of time? Find out this week! Current Rankings: 3- Lawerence of Arabia (change!) 4-...

“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night”. Join us as we enter the 1950s with “All About Eve”, a story not only of young actress’s rise from devoted fan to broadway star, but everyone else in her orbit along the way.  Starring the redoubtable George Sanders and Betty Davis, “All About Eve” does what Hollywood does best; makes drama out of the drama department.  Is “All About Eve” tru...

“Nail up anyone that gets if your way.  And if they don’t deliver, give me the hammer and I’ll do it myself!’   This week, Cinema Cemetery wraps up the 1940s with a look at 1949’s All The King’s Men, the story of Willie Stark’s rise from “hick” lawyer to governor and aftermath left in his wake.  The story is not just about the controversial politician, but the team that gets (and keeps) him in pow...

“This is a story of a man who could not make up his mind.” Summarized by actor/director Lawerence Olivier, Hamlet tells the classic tale of the Danish prince torn between challenging his uncle to avenge his father, or leave his home for a life in peace.  A tale which is has been told time and again on stage and screen, this 1948 version sets itself apart with minimalist sets, a streamlined script...

This week on Cinema Cemetery, two years removed from World War II, we explore a battle of a different kind against segregation on the home front.  Gregory Peck, in a role that may foreshadow his iconic Atticus, plays the role of an investigative journalist who seeks to experience the true impacts of anti-semitism in the United States by posing as a Jewish American himself.  This “experiment” impac...

The war is over!  As WWII draws to a close, the soldiers are finally home to rejoin their families…but for many, their struggles are just beginning.  “The Best Years of Our Lives” follows three very different men (with both visible and invisible wounds) as they attempt to find their place in post-war America.  A movie that no doubt reflected many of the real concerns of the country in 1946, “The B...

This week Cinema Cemetery kicks off this pre-summer weekend by exploring a far bleaker one. 1945’s The Lost Weekend explores the life of Don Birnam as he bounces from bottle to bar on a 48 hour+ bender.  Birnam’s conversations and flashbacks reveal his lifelong battle and goals of writing a novel, all while struggling with the virtual prison of his own addiction.  At the time, and even today, this...

Cinema Cemetery continues its World War II mini-series with a look at 1944’s “Going My Way”.  Starring the iconic Bing Crosby as the young Father O’Malley who is sent St. Dominic’s to aid the aging Father Fitzgibbon.  In this cross between Sister Act and Mary Poppins, Bing Crosby use the classic tropes of music…and reverse psychology to help aid this struggling community.   While Mr. Crosby isn’t...

"Round up the usual suspects!" Casablanca continues Cinema Cemetery's trek through World War II, this time exploring life in "unoccupied France" on the outpost city of Casablanca in Morocco. Here, refugees both wealthy and poor, await the chance to flee the war-ravaged Europe and escape to the United States.  Deception, treason, bribery, and an occasional bout of Dueling P...

Cinema Cemetery jumps headlong to this tail of life on the homefront during World War II.  Dealing with everything from flower contests to Anti-Gift-Of-The-Magi to Dunkirk to literal-shotgun marriages, Mrs. Miniver, a near-propaganda film, shows the new reality of life in Europe as the second World War breaks out.  Does this film stand the test of time?  Find out on this week's episode! Curre...

"How green was my valley then!"  A great question for a podcast that is half color blind.  In this week's episode, Cinema Cemetery explores How Green Was My Valley ,  a tale of loss and change in a small Welsh mining town during the late Victorian era.  As Huw Morgan, played by a young Roddie McDowall looks back on his life and his family, he reflects on how a community must sometim...

"I dreamt of Manderly last night..."  The iconic opening line from Daphne du Maurier's novel introduces us to a "haunted" setting, which is just fine with the crew from Cinema Cemetery.  Alfred Hitchcock's first (and only) film to win Best Picture tells the tale of a nameless young woman who finds herself swept away by Lawerence Olivier's brooding Mr. DeWinter. ...

"Did Tara still stand? Or was it gone with the wind that had swept through Georgia?"  This week Cinema Cemetery takes a look at the second-longest (by one minute) Best Picture ever, 1939's Gone With The Wind.  Set in the Antebellum South, this film follows Scarlett O'Hara, spoiled Southern Belle who, along with her family, town, and nation, has her life completely turned upside...

Cinema Cemetery is introduced to a young James Stewart in his breakout role as Tony Kirby, son of the successful banker Anthony P. Kirby and heir to the Kirby fortune.  As her grandfather, Martin Vanderhof holds up a major land deal, Alice Sycamore struggles with introducing her new beau, Tony, to her eccentric family.  Will Tony and the Kirbys be able to bridge the gap?  Will the Cemetery be able...

Trapped in an unprecedented Quarantine, Cinema Cemetery explores two classic films from the 1990s: Space Jam and 10 Things About You!   Dan, Kate, and Special Guest Teresa take a look at these two childhood nostalgia-triggers to see if, in fact, these films still hold up in these New Roaring 20s.   Join us...and perhaps add these films to your Quarantine Bucket List!

J'Accuse!  Cinema Cemetery explores the Life of Emile Zola, the famous French author and social advocate of the Dreyfus Affair.  In a tale largely forgotten to modern audiences, this film explores Zola's life from "starving artist" to a successful celebrity who is drawn back to a life of civil unrest when he learns of corruption and cover-up in the highest levels of the French...