When Movies Were Good Rachel Jay & Matthew Ducza

Another podcasting year is coming to a close. As always it was a great pleasure picking and choosing different movies to share and converse upon. We thank you all for sharing the journey with us and wish you a happy new year.
In this episode we discuss one of many versions of A Christmas Carol that have been made over the years, this one made in 1938 starring Reginald Owen. No doubt we will discuss many other versions of Dickens' classic tale in seasons to come.
Please note that we were required to record remotely and this may have some impact on audio quality.

This episode is all gladiators, chariots and epic battles in our Ben Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960) feature. With Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas as the leading men and the directing talents of William Wyler and Stanley Kubrick this is a fantastic Hollywood double feature.

It was not long ago that you could not go into any grocery store without hearing on the loudspeaker songs from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s version of A Star is Born. Many know that this was based partially on a 1970s film starring Barbra Streisand. But even earlier there were two other versions. The first, made in 1937, stars Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. In the first movie the leading lady has her eyes set on conquering Hollywood as an actress rather than a singer. The following version, made in 1954, is well cast with Judy Garland and James Mason in a familiar storyline but in a time when Hollywood is dominated by technicolor musicals, and is also aware of its ratings battle with television. The melancholic story of an underdog just beginning to make it big and reaching their dream life, paired with a star at the peak of their fame but struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse is a story that strikes at the heart and evidently continues to appeal to each generation.

Greer Garson is the topic of this episode. She was known for playing strong female parts and we had great joy in seeing her talents in Goodbye Mr Chips (1939) and Mrs Miniver (1942).

Orson Welles regarded him as perhaps the greatest actor ever to step in front of a camera. He was one of a handful of actors to be awarded the AFI’s Lifetime Achievement Award. James (Jimmy) Cagney was a silver screen tough guy who was as good with his dance moves as his gun toting. For Jimmy’s episode of When Movies We’re Good we talked about the early Prohibition era gangster flick The Public Enemy as well as the rhythm loaded musical Yankee Doodle Dandy.

We cannot believe we are already uploading the second Christmas special of When Movies Were Good! Thank you all for listening. We selected two well-known Christmas classics to cap off the year. The first, Meet Me in St Louis (1944), is a Technicolor marvel. Starring Judy Garland, this movie was where the staple Christmas carol 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' was introduced to the public. The second move, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), is a heart-warming tale. It is a film that has stood the test of time not only because of its great cast including a young Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, and Maureen O'Hara, but because of a very well-executed script.