It Happened One Night is one of three films to win the Big Five at the Academy Awards and put Columbia Pictures on the map. Originally titled Night Bus, the film is based on the short story, “Night Bus,” by Samuel Hopkins Adams in Hearst’s International-Cosmopolitan (August 1933). Until the film swept every nominated category at the Oscars, Columbia Pictures had been a Poverty Row studio. Everything would change in light of the Oscar wins. The…
"It Happened One Night Put Columbia on the Map"Tag: Alan Hale
In watching Santa Fe Trail, one starts wondering if this Western was the consolation prize for Warner Bros. after losing Gone with the Wind. In the first moments after pressing play, my first question was just what the hell was Warner Bros. thinking? It’s not just the studio. Michael Curtiz is a filmmaker that is better than this pro-Confederate propaganda. Leave it to him to read into the history of the Santa Fe trail but…
"Santa Fe Trail: What Was Warner Bros. Thinking?"
The Sea Hawk reunites director Michael Curtiz and swashbuckling star Errol Flynn, resulting in one of their best collaborations together. This film might be a period adventure film but it was an allegorical film about Hitler and the need to fight back during WWII. King Philip II of Spain basically stands in for Hitler in the 1940 swashbuckler. While the film takes place in the late 1500s, one can definitely see how they use the…
"The Sea Hawk is One of Errol Flynn’s Best Performances"
Adventures of Don Juan marks Errol Flynn’s return to the swashbuckler genre after a nine-year absence and it was a hit with audiences. Well, it depends on the continent. The film did better with European audiences than it did domestically. Flynn was still a popular actor but the studio would lower budget on his films. This was his first film under a new contract with the studio for $225K per film through 1961. But because…
"Adventures of Don Juan: Errol Flynn’s Swashbuckler Return"