• Movie Monday: The Big Heat (1953)

    If you are like me and enjoy a good drama film every now and then, The Big Heat is the movie for you! This black and white classic is real, raw, and gripping. It is no wonder critics and fans alike view it as a timeless piece of cinematic history! The Big Heat is held is such high regard that it even made it on the National Film Registry list of the Library of Congress in 2011. These photos are not mine. Before this film was made in 1953, gangster movies were always portrayed in a more Al Capone kind of light where it was the mob versus the police.…

  • Movie Monday: 12 Angry Men (1957)

    It was my college Psychology 100 class of freshman year that prompted me to watch 12 Angry Men for the first time. We were learning about group think and (like any good student) I was watching YouTube videos about the subject. One of the videos I watched used 12 Angry Men as an example of group think, the video showed a clip of the film and I was hooked! I couldn’t wait to watch the full movie! The compelling story about the American judiciary system and how one man standing up for what he believes is right has gone down in history as one of the most notorious films of the…

  • Movie Monday: A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

    In the mid-1960’s, while a slew of Elvis Presley films were dominating theaters all around the world, the United States experienced something of a British invasion. Beatlemania had taken over seemingly everywhere, and this band was considered a fad of it’s time. The decision to make a semidocumentary, semicomedy was an urgent one! In 1964, A Hard Day’s Night was made in six and a half weeks. These photos are not mine. Scenes like the one pictured above could only be shot once or twice before fans would cause them to have to move along. In the opening scene of the film, The Beatles were truly chased by fans to a…

  • Movie Monday: Rear Window (1954)

    These photos are not mine. Possibly one of the most iconic Hitchcock films, Rear Window has a special place in cinema history. This was one of the first movies Hitchcock made in color. There are many fascinating aspects to this film, but one I found particularly interesting was in order to simulate daylight the set required numerous lights. With all of the necessary lamps on the set, at one point the heat they generated set off the sprinkler system! Rear Window was one of five Hitchcock films that was off limits for years because of  production rights. Alfred Hitchcock bought back the rights to these “Five Lost Hitchcocks” and left…

  • Movie Monday: Casablanca (1942)

    These photos are not mine. Casablanca is arguably one of the most iconic and influential films to ever hit the silver screen! The music, the movie lines, the clothes, and the love story are all components that helped catapult this movie into instant success! At the time of Casablanca‘s release, the world was in complete turmoil. It was in the midst of World War II and many people went to the theatre to escape reality even if it was just for a little while. Rick and Ilsa’s love story endeared audiences all over the world, and impacted society in a way those who made the film would have never thought.…