The Classic Film and TV Cafe is a blog devoted to classic movies and television series, ranging from the silent film era to the 1980s. Come into the Cafe and join in the conversation!
Boone as David Wilkerson. Based on the 1963 autobiography, The Cross and the Switchblade (1970) tells the true story of David Wilkerson (Pat Boone), a small-town Pennsylvania pastor who moves to New York City to minister to gang members and drug addicts amidst the violent, crime-ridden streets of the late 1960s. Facing intense hostility, Wilkerson attempts to bring a message of hope to rival…
Robert Donat as Chips. Based on James Hilton's novella, Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) follows the life of Mr. Charles Chipping (Robert Donat), a shy and somewhat rigid Latin teacher at the English boys’ school Brookfield. Early in his career, he struggles to connect with students and colleagues, remaining an unremarkable figure—until a chance meeting changes everything. While on holiday in the Alps,…
We have described the 15 movies below in one sentence. Your task is simple: Name the movie! As always, please answer no more than three questions per day so more people can play and have fun. Try not to research your answers as it'd be pretty easy to google the plot and get a film's title. Note that all these movies are connected...and it's a pretty obvious connection. 1. A troubled con artist…
Connie Francis & Harve Presnell. When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965). What possessed a Hollywood producer to pitch a 1960s update of the George and Ira Gershwin stage musical Girl Crazy starring Connie Francis, Liberace, Louis Armstrong, Herman's Hermits, and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs? We may never know. But shockingly, the movie was made and now we can experience When the Boys Meet the Girls .…
Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett. These days, The Family Way (1966) is best-known for featuring one of Hayley Mills' first grown-up roles and a music score by Paul McCartney. Viewers expecting a song-laden soundtrack by McCartney will be disappointed. It's a pretty pedestrian instrumental score, to be honest, though notable because Paul did it while still a Beatle. On the other hand, Hayley Mills…
Stanley Baker as Captain Langford. Set during the Burma Campaign of World War II, Yesterday’s Enemy (1959) follows a small, exhausted remnant of a British Army brigade struggling to escape through the jungle after being cut off by advancing Japanese forces. Led by the hard-edged Captain Alan Langford (Stanley Baker), the group stumbles upon a village held by the Japanese and seizes control after a…
Richard Greene as Robin Hood. Sandwiched between The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) and A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967), Hammer Films produced Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960). This action opus about the legendary English outlaw stands out for one big reason: It stars Richard Greene, famous for playing the title role in The Adventures of Robin Hood TV series. As all Robin Hood fans know, that's…
We love classic cinema throughout the year, but Saturday, May 16th, is a special opportunity to share that love with others. It's the 12th annual National Classic Movie Day! Here are 12 ways that you can celebrate this wonderful day: Host a Watch Party : Gather friends or family to watch a favorite classic film. You can make it special by creating a "theatrical" atmosphere with dim lighting, cozy…
Pat Boone. Pat Boone as a bad boy? Well, he doesn't really play a bad boy in April Love (1957), but his character Nick is sentenced to probation after being arrested for joyriding in Chicago. To keep him out of trouble, his mother sends Nick to his uncle's rural Kentucky farm. Aunt Henrietta welcomes him, but Uncle Jed (Arthur O'Connell) isn't so sure about the big city troublemaker. Nick feels…
Ida Lupino as Emily Bronte. With a top-flight cast, rich source material, and high production values, Devotion (1946) has all the makings of a classic film biography of the Bronte sisters. And yet, when "The End" finally flashed on the screen, all I could do was ponder how things went so terribly wrong. It's not a dreadful movie, mind you--but it's inaccurate, inconsiderate, and empty. The…
Yul Brynner as an android. Delos is a luxury resort made up of three immersive, android‑populated theme parks: Westworld, Romanworld, and Medievalworld. Guests are greeted with a polished, almost too-perfect welcome that promises “the vacation of your dreams” in a place where nothing can go wrong. The staff present the resort as a flawless, high‑end escape where every desire can be indulged…
Maureen O'Hara and Walter Pidgeon. How Green Was My Valley (1941). One of John Ford's most beloved movies, How Green Was My Valley won five Academy Awards including Best Picture. It ranks #75 in the 2007 edition of the American Film Institute's 100 Years…100 Movies . In 1990, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, recognizing it as a "culturally, historically, and…
John Forbes-Robertson as Dracula. I first saw The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires in a re-edited U.S. print called The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula . Let me start this review by encouraging you to never see that movie! It eliminates 14 minutes of plot and, if memory serves, still repeats a couple of scenes. Even the title change makes no sense as one of the "brothers" is a sister. So, it was with…
Raquel Welch was at or near the peak of her career when she starred as a roller derby queen in Kansas City Bomber (1972). It's not the kind of role one would typically associate with the 1970s biggest sex symbol--but that's probably why she took it. Throughout her career, Welch sought out unexpected roles in films like Hannie Caulder (1971), The Wild Party (1975), and The Legend of Walks Far Woman…
Bronson in The Dirty Dozen . 1. Charles Bronson and Jack Klugman were roommates early in their careers. According to Klugman, Bronson was by far the neater of the two--in other words, he was sort of the Felix to Klugman's Oscar. When Bronson died in 2003, Klugman wrote a farewell tribute to his friend for Entertainment Weekly. 2. Charles Bronson had become an in-demand supporting actor in 1960s…
Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. Love Letters (1945). During World War II, soldier Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) writes eloquent love letters on behalf of his less‑articulate comrade Roger. The woman receiving them, Victoria (Jennifer Jones), falls in love with the writer--whom she believes is Roger. She and Roger later wed, but the marriage ends in tragedy. The trauma results in amnesia, with…
It's a tradition at the Classic Film & TV Cafe to close out the year with a countdown of our ten most viewed posts. We published a total of 24 in 2025. That was our lowest number ever and a far cry from the days when we typically authored 100 posts or more annually. Naturally, the countdown is a skewed, since those posts that were published at the start of the year will have more views. But that…
Shirley MacLaine in an Edith Head gown. When widow Louisa May Hopper Flint Anderson Benson tries to give $211 million to the U.S. treasury, she is referred to a psychiatrist. She explains that she hates money and only wants to be happy. However, every time she marries, her current husband seems to make a boatload of money...and then die! Louisa (Shirley MacLaine) tells her story in flashback,…
Edward G. Robinson & Margaret O'Brien. Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945). A year after receiving a special "outstanding child actress" Oscar for Meet Me in St. Louis , Margaret O'Brien teamed up with Edward G. Robinson in this earnest family film. They portray father and daughter (along with Agnes Moorehead as the mother) who live in a rural Wisconsin town settled by Norwegian immigrants. Like…
John S Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel. 1. Patrick Macnee played John Steed in 159 of the 161 episodes of The Avengers from 1961-69. The two episodes in which he did not appear were "Girl on the Trapeze" and "The Far Distant Dead," which aired in the first season. Both of those focused solely on Dr. David Keel, a medical doctor played Ian Hendry. Initially, Steed was a supporting character, who teamed up…
We thought October was the perfect month to unveil our choices for the 25 Greatest Classic Horror Films. Note that these are "classic" horror films, which means they must have withstood the test of time. Thus, you won't find any movies made after 1980. You also won't find any science fiction films, though sometimes the horror and sci-fi genres seem to overlap. But, on the basis they were more…
Grace Kelly starred in five movies released in 1954, including Rear Window (a bona fide Hitchcock classic), Dial M for Murder , and The Country Girl (for which she won a Best Actress Oscar). Her least impressive film that year was undoubtedly Green Fire , which she made so that MGM would "loan her out" for The Country Girl . Kelly plays Catherine Knowland, a strong-willed young woman who runs a…
Geneviève Bujold as Dr. Wheeler. Bestselling author Michael Crichton ( Jurassic Park , The Andromeda Strain ) directed seven films during his career. They ranged from very good ( Westworld , The Great Train Robbery ) to very lame ( Looker , Physical Evidence ). From a directorial perspective, his best work may be Coma (1978), a smart medical thriller which Crichton also adapted from the popular…
Susan Blakely as Maggie. With Airport '77 ranking 19th at the box office in 1977, it was inevitable that another Airport sequel would soon follow. Alas, The Concorde: Airport '79 , which appeared two years later, turned out to be the installment that killed the series. A shoddy affair from start to finish, it's hard to believe it was produced by Jennings Lang, whose films were noted for their…
Brando: Director and star. Movie buffs and Western fans should to check out One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Marlon Brando’s flawed, overlong—but always interesting—sole directorial effort. Brando allegedly took over the reins after getting Stanley Kubrick fired as director. It was a rocky production, according to most sources, with an ever-changing screenplay (Rod Serling and Sam Peckinpah worked on early…