By Alan Hurst With the release this year of Mary Poppins Returns (2018) there has been a resurgence of interest around the original Mary Poppins (1964) and Julie Andrews’ performance in that classic film. It’s the film that launched Andrews’ movie career and within a year she had overtaken both Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor…
By Alan Hurst The Editorial Team at Foote and Friends on Film have been asked to come up with their top five holiday-themed films before Christmas. As I started to pull my list together (hoping that it wouldn’t overlap too much with some of the other lists), I was challenged in getting my choices down…
By Alan Hurst A few weeks ago I looked at the Best Actress Oscar races from 1950-59 and now it’s time for the actors. This time I find myself disagreeing with the Academy’s selection’s a little more often. While none of the performances honoured are bad – far from it – I just think there…
By Alan Hurst It was exactly 70 years ago that television networks in the United States started broadcasting full prime time programming during the week. Television had been around for a while, but it was in the 1948-49 season that things really started to take off with shows like Toast of the Town with Ed…
By Alan Hurst I have been a fan of Ann-Margret’s since my introduction to her one Saturday afternoon watching Bye Bye Birdie (1963) on television. I remember thinking parts of the movie were quite silly, but Ann-Margret’s singing, dancing and overall volcanic presence as a “typical” American teenager were mesmerizing to a 10-year old. Of…
November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada. For our American neighbours, it is Veterans Day and is also known as Armistice Day. We here at Foote & Friends On Film decided to offer a few recommendations for films that shine a spotlight on war times and those to whom we owe our freedom. Please…
By Alan Hurst As we’ve said before, sometimes the Oscars get it very right, and sometimes they miss the mark. With the advantage of hindsight, here is a look back at the Best Actress Oscars awarded during the fifties – the winners, the should have been winners, and some alternate nominees. These are always fun…
By Alan Hurst We were asked to pick our favorite movie for Halloween and there were many that could have made my top spot. I love the Universal monster classics of the thirties and forties, particularly The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and The Wolf Man (1941). The Uninvited (1944) is probably the…
By Alan Hurst You always hear some older movies described as “the perfect rainy-day movie” (I’ve done it myself numerous times). But I think Now, Voyager truly is that movie. It’s one of the great bittersweet romances in film history, the ultimate depiction of the ugly duckling turning into a swan, and one of the…
By Alan Hurst The prognosticators are out in full force, so here’s a first attempt to predict the ever-unpredictable nominations for the Hollywood Foreign Press Golden Globe Awards. The Golden Globes are known as the “fun” awards. They’re a big party, there’s food and alcohol so the atmosphere is a little looser and the show…