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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.

Dame Angela Lansbury is a screen legend. Most younger audiences would know Angela for playing mystery writer Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote as well as the witch in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks. We discuss two of Angela's much earlier roles in this episode of When Movies Were Good. In The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) Lansbury plays the love interest of Dorian Gray, a young and wealthy Londoner who makes a wish to stay forever young while his portrait ages for him and takes on the consequences of all his actions. Based on the novel by Oscar Wilde. In the next movie The Court Jester (1955) Lansbury is a Medieval courtier in a satirical play on the Robin Hood genre. Danny Kaye brings all his slapstick skills to good use to foil the plans of an evil usurper king.

Joan Crawford entered into pictures during the silent era and proved very early in the new age of talkies that her presence, both vocally and visually, was a force to be reckoned with. We chose two high quality Film Noirs for discussion that show Crawford at her absolute best. The first one we look at is Mildred Pierce (1945). Crawford had created a film identity for herself as a rags to riches girl throughout her career. This movie earned Crawford an Oscar for her portrayal of a struggling mother whose troubles only increase with success. Sudden Fear (1952) on the other hand, is a well-planned crime story worthy of the best mystery writers. Crawford, playing a successful playwright, does not know she has a target on her back as she lives through her apparently perfect life.

Cary Grant, it’s impossible to imagine the silver screen without him. The embodiment of all the charm of the Golden Age Hollywood. We had great fun talking about two films that Grant made his own with his fast-talking style and dapper flair. His Girl Friday (1940) is one of the perfect examples of the screwball comedy genre. Grant plays a cunning newspaper man with an eye for achieving success both with his paper and his heart. North by Northwest (1959) on the other hand is a gripping spy thriller. It is arguably one of the most famous movies ever in the careers of both Grant and director Alfred Hitchcock.

Clark Gable, a star like no other. Mr Gable is of course most well known for his portrayal of charismatic and strong-willed southern gentleman Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. We wanted to explore some of Gable’s other legendary screen performances in this episode and we chose two movies made near the beginning and end of his film career. It Happened One Night (1934) is one of only three films to ever win all five major Academy Awards; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Gable gives a fantastic performance in this pre-Code comedy. Director Frank Capra would comment later that this was the one opportunity that Gable had to truly be himself on screen. The next film Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) is a gripping submarine thriller, The Hunt for Red October of the fifties. Gable plays a submarine captain who loses his vessel in unexplained circumstances when fighting the Japanese in WWII in a section called the Bungo Straits. Determined to avenge his loss, Gable usurps Burt Lancaster as the commander of a new submarine and defies orders not to return to the dangerous section of ocean.

There was only one person in Hollywood who could pull off a top hat and tuxedo as good as Fred Astaire and that was Marlene Dietrich. Despite the fame of Marlene's black tie ensemble, the two movies we will be discussing in this episode will feature the legendary actress in much less formal outfits. The first film, Destry Rides Again (1939), is a Western with equal combination of slapstick and gun toting. Dietrich portrays a cabaret singer in a corrupt saloon in the Wild West where if you just lose your money you've done ok. Jimmy Stewart is also in this film doing a fantastic job as the new sheriff in town who spends more time whittling than shooting. The next film is Touch of Evil (1958), a film noir directed and starred in by Orson Welles as well as Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. The film begins with what is perhaps the greatest single-take scene in history. Marlene Dietrich, portraying the long-term owner of a brothel frequented by Welles' character, only makes a relatively short appearance in this film. But those few minutes are all she needs to make a glamorous entrance and exit. Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We apologise for any disruptions in audio caused by our needing to record remotely to comply with COVID conditions.

After one dose of the original Frankenstein movie series we could not help coming back for more. After looking at the original Frankenstein movie (1931), we decided to finish watching the original Boris Karloff Frankenstein trilogy. So it is with great pleasure that we now present to you our thoughts on the two Frankenstein sequels that followed a few years after the original. These are The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). They include some impressive cast members including Bela Lugosi, famous for portraying Dracula, as well as Basil Rathbone, who would go on to star in one of the most famous series of Sherlock Holmes films. We advise that the Marlene Dietrich episode which was intended to be aired as episode 33 will now be released as episode 34.

Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931), two of the most iconic horror movies in history. These motion pictures by Universal cemented the identity of their title characters in the popular imagination. They also changed forever how people dressed for Halloween. It took more than just a costume though to create a great character. Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi made these roles their own and all who followed them had big shoes to fill.

In this episode we talk about the iconic 'girl next door' Doris Day. We have selected two very contrasting movies in order to highlight the breadth of Day's talent. The first, Storm Warning (1951), features Doris alongside Ginger Rogers, Steve Cochran and Ronald Reagan. Day portrays the newly-wed wife of a man who she finds out too late is a member of the Ku Klux Klan. What's worse is that they have committed a vicious killing that her sister, played by Ginger Rogers, has witnessed. Next we discuss the very different Pillow Talk (1959), a romantic comedy in glamorous New York. In one of her most well-known roles Doris is caught in a romantic wild goose chase with her regular screen partner Rock Hudson.