Busby Berkeley Articles

Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Dames Joan Blondell has always been a favorite of mine, much like fellow wisecracking 1930s Warner Bros. players Aline MacMahon and Glenda Farrell. The fact that Blondell never became a top star says more about audiences — who preferred, say, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney — than about Blondell's screen presence and acting abilities. As part of its "Summer Under the [...]

THE GANG'S ALL HERE (1943) Direction: Busby Berkeley Cast: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, James Ellison, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Sheila Ryan, Eugene Pallette, Tony De Marco, Bando da Lua Screenplay: Walter Bullock; from a story by Nancy Wintner, George Root Jr., and Tom Bridges Oscar Movies Highly Recommended From the moment The Gang's All Here opens with a nightclub production [...]

Van Johnson, Esther Williams Esther Williams Box Set, Vol. 2: Part I If you find yourself unmoved by what you've read so far, then I suggest you skip this Esther Williams set altogether as, historical and sociological dimensions aside, these films are pretty dreadful. The visual style usually hovers around the level of "faceless competence" (but, curiously enough, the dullest-looking of the bunch, This Time [...]

Set in a 17th-century Danish village, Carl Theodor Dreyer's masterful Vredens dag / Day of Wrath is a stark, but deeply felt indictment against religious fanaticism and intolerance. Moving performances by ingénue Lisbeth Modin and accused witch Anna Svierkier add a touch of humanity to the horrors shown on screen. It is not a coincidence that Vredens Dag was made in 1943, a time when [...]