Attaboy Clarence

Let's start the new year off right, with a visit to Old Hollywood, and in the company of two very different movies... The first is a curious experience - a drama masquerading as a musical comedy, but featuring little of either, and an uneasy voyage into some questionable attitudes of the day...  The second is a startling thriller featuring a taut plot, a high-level stakeout, and the debut of an ac...

There is something so special about history and its figures seen through the eyes and the storytelling techniques of Old Hollywood. Take this edition's movies for instance, two history lessons told with all the style and panache that only Hollywood could muster. I'll tell you all about the birth of the news itself in the company of Edward G Robinson, and then we're off to a most remarkable town ru...

Before we step into the shadows of Halloween, it's time for one last glimpse of sunshine, as I whirl you through the back catalogue of Joan Blondell! I've got two Joanie movies to tell you about, including a romantic crime thriller set in the fast-moving world of telephone... engineering...? And then we're off to Paris, as Joan puts into action a series of schemes designed to teach a haughty royal...

We're in that strange nether-period, when the lights are drawing low and a chill is in the air. However, it's still slightly too early to jump feet first into Halloween... So this time round, let me show you around two chilly tales that might keep your inner ghoul satisfied until Spooktober arrives! First of all, a shadowy, supernaturally-tinged murder mystery with a very famous pair of investigat...

Attaboy Clarence returns with a double-bill of juvenile energy! Shirley Temple heads up a forerunner of The Parent Trap in 1940's Kathleen, her first role away from curls and lollipops, trying her darnedest to match Herbert Marshall with Laraine Day, while scheming to keep Gail Patrick at bay... And in Mad About Music, Deanna Durbin's doing the exact opposite - trying to match Herbert Marshall wit...

This time around, join me as I present two movies in which the girls are planted squarely at the heart of matters.  In 1939's Within The Law, Ruth Hussey is the wrongfully convicted shopgirl who exacts a diabolical revenge on the big business magnate who showed no mercy. In 1937's She's Dangerous, a thief turns out to be a double-agent, working for the law to defeat a gang of racketeers, but endin...

This time round, I'm paying tribute to one of Old Hollywood's most remarkable character actors - the wonderful Alan Mowbray - and his appearance in two films, in which he played the very same character... Elsewhere, who knew there was a board dedicated to the survival of cupcakes? We're dropping in with the What's My Line gang for another round of Who The Hell Is That Hollywood Legend? And radio e...

It's spring time, and we're celebrating in the company of some great ladies - Ginger Rogers in a reverse-Cinderella tale set in the opulent world of Park Avenue, and Claire Dodd turning the tables on a gang of conmen trying their best to influence her love life! There's also a sad note in the air as we say a fond farewell to another grand old lady. Radio entertainment comes this time from the Lux...

There's never been a better time to escape into a world of pure imagination than now, and to help you along I've picked out three stunning escapist movies to whisk you away! First up, an unintentionally hilarious take on A Star Is Born starring the most wooden actor since Dracula's stake. And let me then tell you of a Hollywood epic so perfectly executed that'll it'll restore your faith in the pow...

Join me as I pose an all important question: are you in the market for a revolutionary new way to cook eggs? I review three movies - a high concept Bob Hope comedy later remade as a Jim Carrey film, a war-time espionage thriller with a cute romcom angle, and Frank Morgan is in full murder mystery mode as he attempts to solve a crime for which he is accused... Radio entertainment comes courtesy of...

Welcome to an all-new season of Attaboy Clarence, your one-stop guide to all things Golden Age, in which I present the movies that might've passed you buy, and the radio that lit up yesteryear. In this edition, let me tell you about three movies - a locked-room mystery with a twist, a Judy Garland showcase spectacular, and a fairytale case of mistaken identity! Radio comes courtesy of Suspense, wi...

Come and celebrate Christmas with me this year in the form of time travel.... yes, let's whisk ourselves back to a special Christmas Cracker episode from some time ago... (we all love a re-run at Christmas, right?) Join me for the finest Christmas music of yesteryear, the best in Hollywood Christmas cheer, reviews of two outstanding cinematic Christmas fairytales, as well as some warm-hearted radi...

Unlock a treasure chest of Old Hollywood storytelling! Every series of the Secret History Of Hollywood unlocks when you sign up at https://www.patreon.com/attaboysecret But that's not all! The Secret History Of Hollywood will now be arriving with you far more frequently! Hear the chapters of these epic stories as they're produced, by becoming a Co-Producer at https://www.patreon.com/attaboysecret...

This time, a show dedicated to one of the most spellbinding actresses of her generation - Ava Gardner - and a trio of movies she made before she became the icon we know today. She's a big city girl who returns home for one last try with her down-at-heel boyfriend in 1946 thriller, Whistle Stop, a bride-to-be whose home is being menaced by Bela Lugosi and The East Side Kids in 1943's Ghosts On The...

In this edition of the show, allow me to introduce you to two of the weirdest, yet joyously entertaining B movies from one of Hollywood's pioneering studios on Poverty Row... First up, its bloodsuckers ahoy in 1945's The Vampire's Ghost starring one of the most unlikely leading men of the forties. Then we're heading into supernatural mind swap territory for 1945's The Phantom Speaks, in which one...

This time, a brace of movies starring the King of The High Concept, the man who starred as The Bigamist for Ida Lupino, a man who solves his own murder in DOA, and a man who must do battle with a serial killer and his own masculinity in The Hitch Hiker - Mr Edmond O'Brien! I'll tell you all about O'Brien's appearances in Columbia's first ever 3D movie, a noir mystery based on a Ralph Bellamy sci-f...

Welcome once more to Attaboy Clarence, in which I shine a light on some of the Golden Age treasures you really need to check out! In this edition, it's action all the way, as I turn your attention to a jungle adventure with some terrifying twists and turns, and a society treasure hunt masquerading as a race against time! I'll also take a dive into the Question Pot, there's a chance to guess the id...

Attaboy Clarence returns with a bumper edition of Old Hollywood treasures, including... ...music from Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland and George Sanders! ...reviews of two movies - a blissful 1938 romantic comedy that's as soothing as a bowl of ice cream, and an Anna May Wong thriller from 1939 that sees our intrepid hero as a doctor fighting to save the life of a crime kingpin! ... special guest,...

Welcome to the New Year, and to kick off the classic movie jamboree... ...two reviews, both of an intriguing nature - Myrna Loy is a very pre-code espionage queen in 1934's Stamboul Quest, while Jack Warner is the methodical detective on the trail of a grisly killer in 1962's Jigsaw... Bing's here to sing us into the new year, and it's a positive radio festival in the company of MGM and their nost...

The holidays are here again, and to kick off the festive season, join me on Attaboy Clarence for a Christmas Cracker of yuletide delights, including... ...MUSIC from Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra... ...a festive dive into the QUESTION POT... ...a visit from Mr Christmas himself, as he guides us around a very special establishment... ...a ghost story with a twist, courtesy of the fie...

In this edition of Attaboy Clarence, I'll be taking a tour through film noir with a brace of reviews... First, a twisty tale of loveless marriages and lovestruck marksmen in The Great Flamarion, starring Erick Von Stroheim, Dan Duryea and Mary Beth Hughes. Then Ray Milland is in spidery villain mode, turning good girl, Ann Todd into a femme fatale before our very eyes, in gaslight noir, So Evil My...

In this special, Halloween edition of Attaboy Clarence, we're visited by three spirits... of radio, as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and The Great Gildersleeve provide chills and laughs... I'll be directing your attentions to three movies that might send a chill up your spine this Spooktober, including The Monster Walks, The Flying Serpent, and The Catman Of Paris! Join me for a spooky, ooky ride int...

A bumper edition of Attaboy Clarence this time, including... ...a dive into the Question Pot in which I'll name my favourite Golden Age studio in terms of stars, and my Top Five Movie Series... ...a very special appearance from stand-up comedian, The Simpsons producer, part-time orang-utan, and classic movie lover, Dana Gould... ...reviews of TWO spellbinding crime thrillers - 1931's Bad Company f...

In this edition of Attaboy Clarence, join me as I review three classic movies, including an all-timer of a rom-com, a noir thriller set in the world of golf (no, really...), and a police procedural with a decidedly modern flavour. There's music from Hank Williams, a chance for you to guess the identity of another Hollywood legend, and a radio play that'll twist you in all kinds of knots (it's a re...

Attaboy Clarence returns, and to usher in the summer let's step into the shadows with two fine examples of Golden Age thrillers that bear more than a passing resemblance to the work of The Master Of Suspense - one tells the tale of a blind playwright who overhears a most diabolical plot, and the other is the twisted story of a murderous couple with very different ideas about the outcome of their r...