theater Archives * Spellbound with Beth Ann

Things You Find When You Live in a Former Movie Theatre

Beth Ann Gallagher
1950s, 1960s, Directors, Era, John Cassavetes, Judy Holliday, Nightmare in Wax (1969), Roger Corman, The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956), Vista Theatre
Feb 25, 2017
18 Comments

Living in a former movie theatre, it was the architecture of the place that connected my home to its former function–until this week. This week I went up into my attic, the former projection booth, to see how its roof has been holding up under the recent barrage of rain. My landlord was too good at…

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things have been hectic at chez Spellbound. We’re moving! As I pack today, my husband’s been cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. While we hadn’t planned to move yet (our landlords are resuming occupancy of our apartment), something stressful has turned into a blessing. We’re relocating to a cool, new home–a loft on the second story of what…

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Preview, Why Be Good? (1929)

Beth Ann Gallagher
Colleen Moore, Film Festivals, Louise Brooks, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Silent Film
May 31, 2015
2 Comments

My San Francisco Silent Film Festival preview was interrupted due to being felled by a bug, but I want to mention a surefire hit of the fest screening today–Colleen Moore in Why Be Good? (1929). Thanks to Ron Hutchinson and The Vitaphone Project, Colleen Moore returns to the festival in Why Be Good (1929)! Her Wild Oat Screened…

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Preview, Part 2

Beth Ann Gallagher
Film Festivals, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Silent Film
May 26, 2015
0 Comments

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,…

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Preview, Part 1

Beth Ann Gallagher
Film Festivals, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Silent Film
May 25, 2015
0 Comments

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is almost here! Its first film fills the Castro Theatre’s screen on Thursday night. We’ll rewind our scene to before its audience sits, before they pile into the picture palace, before they stand in a line snaking down Castro and stretching around the corner down 17th, and stop where they chat with anticipation about…

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Official Press Accreditation

Beth Ann Gallagher
Film Festivals, Film Posters, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Sherlock Holmes, Silent Film, William Gillette
May 18, 2015
0 Comments

Saturday’s post was the start of my San Francisco Silent Film Festival coverage. I’m happy to announce Spellbound by Movies has received official press accreditation to the festival! In the coming days, look to this blog for an in-depth preview to the festival, an interview or two, and onsite write-ups. I’ll be live-tweeting the event here…

You Know You’re A Film Fanatic When–Judy Holliday!

Beth Ann Gallagher
Appreciations, Awards, Comedies, Judy Holliday, Oscars, Performances
Apr 5, 2014
0 Comments

You know you’re a film fanatic when you get emotional defending Judy Holliday‘s 1950 Oscar win for Born Yesterday to your husband–and he agrees with you the whole time! Judy had formidable competition that year. She was up against Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, Bette Davis and Anne Baxter for All About Eve, and…

Elsa Lanchester, What A Character!

Beth Ann Gallagher
Blogathons, Classic Hollywood, Elsa Lanchester
Sep 2, 2012
2 Comments

This month I’m participating in the What A Character! Blogathon. Organized by Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club, Kellee of Outspoken & Freckled, and Aurora of Once Upon a Screen, the blogathon celebrates those character actors and actresses whose impact on classic film warrants as much attention and discussion as any star’s. My subject is Elsa…

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