New York Archives * Spellbound with Beth Ann

Guest Appearance on First Time Watchers

Beth Ann Gallagher
First Time Watchers, Harold Lloyd, Movie Podcasts, Podcast Guest Appearance, Silent Film
May 19, 2016
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I’d been keeping a secret for a little while, in case it fell through, but it happened! I made a guest appearance on First Time Watchers this week. It’s a movie podcast hosted by Tim Costa, Hermano DaSilva, and Walter Vinci. I want to disclose the last host is one of my cousins! Movie madness runs in…

Book Review: The Ice Cream Blonde

Beth Ann Gallagher
Biographies, Book Reviews, Patsy Kelly, Thelma Todd, ZaSu Pitts
Nov 28, 2015
4 Comments

While Thelma Todd‘s death often overshadows her work, Michelle Morgan has written the biography the actress deserves. Any book about Thelma must mention her death and the mystery that surrounds it, but Morgan spends the majority of The Ice Cream Blonde discussing the slapstick comedienne’s life and career. Morgan researched her subject well. The book…

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Preview, Part 2

Beth Ann Gallagher
Film Festivals, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Silent Film
May 26, 2015
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Saturday morning’s program starts with the family-friendly Speedy (1928), and some parents likely will bring their tots for an outing to this screening. I love seeing kids getting their introduction to silents or enjoying a return trip to the festival. Comedies are a great gateway into silent film for all ages. In this slapstick feature,…

Cinefest 35 Storifyed!

Beth Ann Gallagher
Cinefest, Comedies, Cowboy Films, Documentaries, Drama, Film Festivals, Musicals, Pre-Code, Romantic, Silent Film, War Films, Westerns
Apr 7, 2015
2 Comments

In advance of my write-up of Cinefest 35, I’ve curated an account of the Syracuse Cinephile Society‘s final film festival from my and other attendees’ social media postings. You can read our shared excitement as the festival unfolded and all the great tidbits we shared about the films and our experiences. It was over much too…

Road Trip to Cinefest 35!

Spellbound By Movies is going on a road trip this month! I’ll be flying out to Syracuse for my first and last Cinefest. I’ve always wanted to attend this film festival. Some fellow film fanatic friends have raved about the rarities and camaraderie they’ve enjoyed at Cinefest year after year. I could not miss its…

Fabulous Films of the 50s CMBA Blogathon: It Should Happen to You (1954)

Beth Ann Gallagher
1950s, Blogathons, Classic Movie Blog Association, CMBA, Comedies, Era, Fabulous Films of the 50s, Jack Lemmon, Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford
May 26, 2014
10 Comments

Garson Kanin originally wrote It Should Happen to You as a vehicle for Danny Kaye. When his creative partner and wife Ruth Gordon read it, she knew who would be perfect for the part—Judy Holliday! The script was rewritten for her. What resulted was part satire on the pursuit of fame and part…

Elsa Lanchester as Queenie in Bell, Book and Candle

This post is part of the What A Character! Blogathon. It runs September 22 through 24. It celebrates the character actors who helped make classic film as great as it was. One of my favorite movies to watch at Christmas-time is Bell, Book and Candle. Growing up, I’d often watch it with my family as…

Accents & Sally’s Diction Lessons from Radio Days (1987)

Beth Ann Gallagher
Comedies, Directors, Judy Holliday, Mia Farrow, Old Time Radio, Woody Allen
Sep 8, 2012
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My husband told me he heard a young actress being interviewed who pronounces her Gs the same why I do. More specifically, she uses a hard G when saying words ending in -ing. That means walking would be pronounced as walk-ing-guh. The last syllable is more of a half-syllable and softer in the throat than…

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