Matinee At The Bijou

Celluloid Christmas Cheer

2011-12-23T06:30:00.004-08:00

As 2011 comes to a close, the elves at the Bijou are working overtime putting together the final pieces that will soon deliver the Matinee at the Bijou sequel series, in HD and hosted by America's cinematic sweetheart Debbie Reynolds. Watch for some exciting news here early in the coming New Year! During this season of warmth and festivities, we at the Bijou are saddened by the plight of rare

The Big Country: A Big Mess

2011-11-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

In the 1950s movies had to be big to compete with the rival challenge of television, and nobody could make big movies like director William Wyler, the guiding light behind such blockbusters as Ben-Hur, Funny Girl, Friendly Persuasion and The Best Years of Our Lives. In fact The Big Country is so big it takes two blogs to spotlight it! Join us now as Bijou Blog's Victoria Balloon discusses big

Money Madness and Movies

2011-10-14T10:19:00.002-07:00

Many Americans are feeling outraged by what they see as the vast inequalities manifested by Wall Street. We at the Bijou try not to express political leanings (although we will lean left or right to reach for the popcorn), but we do want to point out that banking and finance make for some wonderful films. Join Bijou blogger Victoria Balloon as she takes a look at movies that are snapshots

From Hollywood Babylon to Wall Street Jungle

2011-10-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

Actor Richard Ney tried to warn us about the shortfalls of stock short-selling when he abandoned a 25 year Hollywood career to become a best-selling author of books critical of Wall Street obfuscation and greed. Ney made his screen debut as Greer Garson’s son in William Wyler’s 1942 wartime drama Mrs. Miniver, which garnered six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actress (Garson). In

Start Your Day With A Song

2011-08-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

Lately, Bijou Executive Producer and Festival Films founder/proprietor Ron Hall has been watching a lot of Paramount Screen Songs that feature the Famous Bouncing Ball. We're in the process of reviewing and selecting the very best in the sing-along series genre, where high quality original 16 or 35 mm film prints exist and are suitable for transfer to HD. Here Ron shares some of his original

My Life with Andy Hardy: Carvel, USA

2011-05-23T06:23:00.001-07:00

The scent of lilacs on warm breezes reminds us of school graduations then and now, of hometowns and our old high school haunts. Join us at the corner drugstore for a soda as Bijou writer Victoria Balloon muses on America’s favorite high school youth of the 1930s. Whenever I need soothing, I watch an Andy Hardy movie. MGM made this series of B movies from 1937-1946 featuring the lives of the

From Plato’s Cave to Ike’s Church

2011-03-09T05:37:00.001-08:00

In this digital age, movie fans experience films “on demand.” Watching movies on a phone or a laptop, the world is your Bijou! Still, there’s something to be said for the ornate movie palaces of the 20th century, whose grandly themed interiors were as much a part of “going to the movies” as the films themselves. It was in this architectural frame of mind that we found a neat little post by Marco

Rudy and Rich: The Bijou's Connection to the Golden Era

2011-02-01T09:44:00.004-08:00

While Matinee at the Bijou hasn’t been seen nationally for almost a quarter of a century, we at the Bijou still get comments from readers about the show’s memorable theme song. How did a multifaceted megastar with a six-decade-long career end up crooning a tune for a low-budget show on PBS? And who was the composer who wove history and rhyme into such a memorable musical snapshot? Reality

The Search for Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde

2011-01-01T15:37:00.011-08:00

Among the many unsolved cinema mysteries is the original running time of the 1931 Fredric March version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and exactly which provocative scenes may have been cut from the original release print. Considered by many the finest screen version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel about dual identity, audiences attending special 1931 New Year’s Eve presentations in

Just a Little Christmas

2010-12-10T03:08:00.003-08:00

Have standard Christmas classics lost their luster for you? Perhaps you’re tired of heavy holiday fare and seek just a little Christmas cheer. Come a’caroling with us as we deck the Bijou halls with films you might not think of for their celebrations of yuletide spirit, and help Bijou writer Victoria Balloon (Angel, 2nd Class) earn her wings! There are so many wonderful classic films that have

Roy Rogers: Under California Stars

2010-10-30T10:40:00.006-07:00

Saddle up! The Bijou hits the trail with an offering from that prolific purveyor of B-Westerns, Republic Pictures, while taking a look at one of America’s incomparable white-hatted heroes both on and off-screen. Cowgirl Victoria "Buckaroo" Balloon rounds 'em up! A Saturday afternoon at the movies was practically synonymous with seeing a cowboy picture. From exciting serials with cliff-hanging

Poverty Row Jewels

2010-09-10T16:27:00.001-07:00

While major studios staged decadent productions that took months to shoot on bloated budgets of millions, there were numerous studios in Hollywood that were lean, fast, and hungry. Collectively known as "Poverty Row," they shot entire films in a matter of days, wrote scripts on the fly, and filmed scenes wherever and whenever they could get a camera rolling. Dismissed as the purveyors of “

Kick-Ass Funny! Francis the Talking Mule

2010-08-16T12:50:00.003-07:00

Stubborn as a mule, a mule in horse’s harness, mule-headed—none of these phrases are complimentary. As fans of one of Hollywood’s most endearing stars, we’d like to show our readers that not everything mulish is so difficult to love. For some Hollywood gossip with kick, join Bijou writer Victoria Balloon as she delivers some little-known details about Francis the Talking Mules’ backstory! Only

Celluloid Superman: Feature Film to Television

2010-06-29T13:11:00.005-07:00

Ever since she discovered her mother’s water-damaged comic books in her grandparents’ basement, Victoria Balloon has been a fan of both comics and Superman. Today the Bijou’s own cub reporter gets the scoop on a little-known Superman film as well as how the Man of Steel made the leap from the cliffhangers of the silver screen to television. Already popular in comics and radio, Superman had

Celluloid Superman: The Serials

2010-06-17T13:07:00.011-07:00

The iconic superhero known as Superman first appeared in comic books, newspapers and on radio during the late 1930s before taking the leap to the movie screen in 1941, where he starred in a series of animated cartoons created for Paramount Pictures by Max and Dave Fleischer. Superman’s live-action debut came about in 1948 when actor Kirk Alyn donned the suit and cape to star as a “real live

Celluloid Superman: The Cartoons

2010-05-27T18:17:00.033-07:00

The origins of many American pop culture icons can be traced to The Great Depression of the 1930s. They served to lift the spirits and feed the imagination of countless millions of disillusioned and often desperate souls trying to survive the day to day challenges of a failed economy. Such is the history of the famous superhero known as Superman, created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe

Comeback Kids: Child Actor Success Stories

2010-04-10T13:46:00.078-07:00

With so many former child actors in trouble these days, Bijou correspondent Victoria Balloon profiles a handful of remarkable success stories about some who managed to survive, and even thrive, beyond the years when they could no longer list “child actor” on their resumes. People have always been enthralled by showbiz talent in the very young, and movies are the ultimate showcase for young

Film Noir Forever

2010-02-23T12:56:00.043-08:00

We at the Bijou consider ourselves pretty tough customers. Oh sure, maybe not as hard-boiled as the egg salad in that dive of a deli off 2nd Avenue—where you gotta make them toast the bread twice and they never give you your pickle—but flinty nevertheless. Doing a post on film noir seemed like a cinch. Only we got in too far, too fast, and too late we realized that defining film noir is like

Jean Hersholt's Dr. Christian

2010-01-07T21:26:00.052-08:00

In the classic MGM Dr. Kildare films the stories revolve around progress in medicine aided by cutting edge diagnostics and technology. By contrast, the plots in the RKO Dr. Christian films involve the conflicts triggered when Tradition meets Progress. The central message being that without the humanity and compassion of traditional values, progress is meaningless (if not downright harmful). Jean

Calling Dr. Kildare!

2009-12-12T04:41:00.040-08:00

Today we present a Bijou Mini-Matinee from Christmas Past. But first, with healthcare on everyone’s mind these days, we got to wondering how movie docs like Dr. Kildare dealt with healthcare on America’s movie screens during decades past. Bijou’s Victoria Balloon put the cinematic Dr. Kildare series under the microscope for a glimpse of how medical science has long been a vital component of

Captain Video in the Movies

2009-11-17T05:45:00.015-08:00

Long before Star Trek skyrocketed from a hit television series to the big screen, another pioneer sci-fi series had successfully navigated the transition. While the advent of 1950s television was triggering the demise of the cliffhanging movie serials, Columbia Pictures was busy repurposing a popular late-forties live-television series called Captain Video into an exciting 15-chapter theatrical

Hollywood Halloween Treats

2009-10-29T19:56:00.037-07:00

Halloween is almost upon us, so Bijou Blogger Victoria Balloon performs the grave duty of digging up some Halloween DVDs for our viewers’ delight. In our grab bag of tricks and treats we have something for everyone, from little ghouls and goblins to Mummys and Daddies, too. So draw the curtains, turn out the lights, pop in any of these DVDs and relax... if you can! First up is the cute and cuddly

More Unforgettable Cartoons

2009-10-05T12:06:00.034-07:00

We had such an enthusiastic response to our recent “Unforgettable Cartoons” post that we couldn’t resist doing a second round. Here are more remembrances from industry colleagues and friends. We invite our readers to contribute your own recollections in the comments section below. Jerry Frebowitz is living his dream of being a full-time movie enthusiast as president of Movies Unlimited and

Unforgettable Cartoons

2009-09-18T16:26:00.039-07:00

Name the most unforgettable classic cartoon you saw in your youth! It doesn't have to be a great cartoon or necessarily a favorite, just a single cartoon that really impressed or scared or convulsed you with laughter at a young age. We asked members of our Bijou team, some industry colleagues and other fans of classic cartoons what their most unforgettable cartoon was and received some delightful

All-Girl Bands: The International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Tiny Davis

2009-08-24T11:11:00.038-07:00

Musical ensembles consisting of all female players had existed since the 1920s, but their popularity really took off during World War II. It wasn't just the draft, though - all of America was on the move, and the fixed cultural "norms" of segregational Jim Crow laws were about to be curved and bent like the brass instruments of a swing band. Contributor Victoria Balloon takes a look at one such

All-Girl Bands: Phil Spitalny and Frances Blaisdell

2009-08-07T09:00:00.010-07:00

Many think of all-girl bands as a World War II phenomenon made necessary because of the draft, but musical ensembles consisting of all female players had existed since the 1920s. Phil Spitalny’s orchestra had 20 years (1934-1954) of coast to coast success that included concerts, movies and network radio sponsorships usually reserved for male bands. Join us now as contributor Victoria Balloon

Some Enchanted Evenings: American Picture Palaces

2009-07-24T07:30:00.038-07:00

We at the Bijou believe that the movie houses of the early twentieth century are every bit as entertaining as the films they showed and equally worthy of a closer look. For today's post we are pleased to present an excerpt from Some Enchanted Evenings: American Picture Palaces. Written by Mary Halnon Kadera, a former American Studies student at the University of Virginia, it offers a look at

Winsor McCay: Animation Pioneer

2009-07-03T10:24:00.043-07:00

According to animation icon Chuck Jones, "The two most important people in animation are Winsor McCay and Walt Disney. I'm not sure who should go first."Although we at the Bijou would add Max Fleischer to the list, we too would find it difficult to determine who would go first.Though in his lifetime he enjoyed considerable acclaim for creating the Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strip and the

Forgotten Hollywood Treasures

2009-06-03T16:44:00.038-07:00

Where on television today can you find Betty Boop, Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang or Flash Gordon? Sadly, these and countless other pre-1960 pop culture icons continue to be ignored by cable and network television gatekeepers. A multitude of classic cartoons, short subjects and serials were last seen on our original Matinee at the Bijou series on PBS during the 1980s. Though not a prime-time show,

Ma and Pa Kettle in Cyberspace

2009-05-15T06:57:00.048-07:00

Victoria Balloon described how Betty MacDonald’s novel and Universal Picture’s screen version of The Egg and I inspired the 1950s Ma and Pa Kettle movie series. Victoria picks up where she left off and provides an engaging behind the scenes look at this pop culture phenomenon. In 1945 Betty Mac Donald’s “The Egg and I” was a wildly successful book, and in 1947 Universal Studios turned it into a

The Egg and I: Which Came First?

2009-05-01T13:59:00.030-07:00

First was the real life experience, then the book, magazine serialization and movie version followed by literary and movie spin-offs. The Egg and I has a rich amusing back story and contributor Victoria Balloon takes us behind the scenes. Today’s movie audiences have rediscovered The Egg and I (1947), a movie based on the hugely successful autobiographical story of Betty MacDonald published just

The Serial Squadron

2009-04-20T12:48:00.032-07:00

The technological wonders of the Web continue to foster a wide array of fascinating and important new social networks. Communication concepts once considered sci-fi are now common place on our home computers.Comprehensive histories on most any topic, once locked away in private collections or someone’s brain, today are being collaborated into virtual online repositories of instantly accessible

A Face in the Crowd

2009-04-08T06:32:00.032-07:00

If challenged to determine the top five movies ever made, with social satire centered on a rising star as the dominant theme, most lists would be populated with such timeless treasures as Citizen Kane, Meet John Doe, Network, Being There, The Candidate, Dave, Bulworth and Bob Roberts, among many more. However, among the most provocative in this genre is the little-known and rarely-seen A Face in

The Three Faces of Tom Keene

2009-03-25T17:33:00.046-07:00

Under the old studio system movie moguls groomed promising new stars by first creating for them a new name. Today we look at the curious screen career of a B-movie star who acted under three different names, but is remembered today mostly for his many roles as cowboy star Tom Keene. Keene was born in New York state in 1896 and eventually began an acting career in live theater and the movies

Our Daily Bread (1934)

2009-03-16T16:11:00.045-07:00

OUR DAILY BREAD (1934) Victoria Balloon provides a timely and compelling background on this controversial and rarely-seen film classic about the Great Depression. With dialog by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, Guys and Dolls) and a score by Alfred Newman (Wuthering Heights, The Seven Year Itch) director King Vidor found the inspiration for Our Daily Bread in a Reader’s Digest article. The

Screwball Comedies

2009-03-07T11:47:00.028-08:00

There’s no better way to escape life’s troubles than by watching a laugh-filled classic film comedy! Contributor Victoria Balloon takes a look at those wonderful screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s. Combine outrageous scenarios with slapstick humor, then add witty, fast-paced dialogue and light romantic situations and you have that wonderful cinematic treasure called the screwball comedy —

Theatrical Newsreels

2009-03-01T16:53:00.090-08:00

Traditional movie Newsreels, produced between their theatrical debut in 1911 and their demise in 1967, are wondrous windows on the world that once was, and collectively serve as a perpetual record of our shared history and popular culture. Today we have instant and worldwide access on our televisions, computers and hand-held devices to witness news in real time as it happens. Prior to the advent

The Relevancy of Betty Boop

2009-02-22T12:32:00.039-08:00

Cartoons, shorts and features of the depression era entertained and inspired a burdened nation, often sending audiences home with the illusion, however brief, that things would work out OK. The exaggerated characters and plots in the Betty Boop cartoons were set in the real world and often satirized real world issues of the day. Many of these issues are just as relevant today.Betty Boop began her

Our Funny Valentine: Debbie Reynolds

2009-02-13T07:32:00.034-08:00

Cinema superstar Debbie Reynolds is a national treasure! Frequent Bijou Blog contributor Victoria Balloon shares our great admiration for Ms. Reynolds, so it was with extra pleasure that she produced this homage to our sweet and funny valentine: Like so many others, I first saw Debbie Reynolds in Singin' in the Rain. She later said of the experience, "Singin' in the Rain and childbirth were the

Will Rogers: Movie Star Statesman

2009-02-03T17:10:00.031-08:00

Clearly we have a dysfunctional education system in America when the spirit and memory of Will Rogers are left in the dust during the historic Obama inaugural celebrations. It can be argued remembrances of Rogers should have shared the stage with fellow national icons Abraham Lincoln, FDR and Dr. Martin Luther King, all of whom contributed abundantly to America's history, politics and popular

Ambassador Will

2009-01-25T17:34:00.024-08:00

Abraham Lincoln isn't the only iconic American political figure whose life journey in many ways parallels that of our freshly elected President Barack Obama.Will Rogers entered life as part Cherokee Indian in 1879 Indian Territory, 25 miles NW from what is now Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, Clement Rogers, was a rancher, a judge and a five-term Cherokee Democratic Senator. Young Rogers often

Industrial Strength Max

2009-01-15T22:10:00.003-08:00

While Max Fleischer is best known for his Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman cartoons, few realize his role as an artist in the creation of innovative industrial, technical and scientific films. We asked our colleague Ray Pointer to tell us more about Fleischer as an artist in his own right. Max Fleischer always claimed that his career as an artist began when he first stood up in his crib

So You think You Know George O'Hanlon

2009-01-09T07:41:00.002-08:00

For 30 years before becoming known as the patriarch on the 1960s TV cartoon series The Jetsons, George O'Hanlon was a very familiar face on movie screens and TV sets around the world. Born in Brooklyn NY in 1912, the teenage O'Hanlon was determined to break into movies and at age 20 began his remarkable career as an extra in a 1932 B-movie mystery called The Death Kiss, featuring Bijou favorite

Movie Prologues

2009-01-02T08:11:00.001-08:00

Imagine if when going to the movies instead of being barraged by commercials before the movie begins you were treated to a live stage show featuring performances by popular entertainers and accompanied by a live orchestra. There was a time when going to the movies in any major American city included all that, and more. The history of the "movie prologue" intertwines the eras of silent and sound

2009 Vintage Film Festivals

2008-12-26T10:53:00.019-08:00

Each year brings a new round of film festivals devoted to classic films, silent films, B-westerns and serials from the birth of film through the 1950s -- the Bijou Years! While the films get older every year, fan enthusiasm to see any unseen gems grows stronger. The festivals are usually held in a hotel to accommodate fans from all over the country, Canada and often Europe. They feature

Meet Otto Soglow

2008-12-12T07:29:00.001-08:00

When the subject of famous cartoon stars comes up, names like Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and Popeye come to mind. But within the larger galaxy of 20th century animated celebrities, the rarely seen "Little King" character is one of the most artful and esoteric. Since their theatrical release in the early 1930s, only one of the RKO Van Beuren Little King cartoons, out of a dozen produced

Making History

2008-11-28T13:04:00.022-08:00

With the historic election of Barack Obama, the Bijou Blog has been inspired to focus on selected short subjects and feature films that reflect cinemas' slant on American history. This week, we welcome back guest contributor and Bijou Friend Laughing Gravy (aka Cliff Weimer). whose entertaining and informative In the Balcony is the hellzapoppin of classic movie Websites. Today, Cliff talks

Theatrical Short Subjects and the Presidency

2008-11-21T08:29:00.001-08:00

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