Sunday, January 31, 2016

CMBA Blogger Profile: A Person in the Dark


The CMBA profiles two classic movie blogs per month, on the 1st and the 15th. Today we're celebrating Marsha from A Person in the Dark, who is also our current CMBA Chairperson.

Classic movie bloggers have a great sense of humour, and no one demonstrates that more than Marsha of A Person in the Dark.

Marsha's blog will make you laugh out loud, but she also writes with great empathy about some of classic Hollywood's tragic figures. One example is this profile of actress Alma Rubens.

"I do not consider myself a critic, only a fan," says Marsha. "I love the movies and I love the stars of old Hollywood. I especially like to write about them from a fan's perspective and am always happy if I can collar a convert along the way."

Marsha's twin passions for classic film and Cary Grant is evident in this post HERE. She's sharing it because, she jokes, "the restraining order has expired."


Thursday, January 14, 2016

CMBA Blogger Profile: Caftan Woman


The CMBA profiles two classic movie blogs per month, on the 1st and the 15th. Today we're paying tribute to Patricia from Caftan Woman.

Remember when you were a kid and you had that one relative who really understood you? When it came to special occasions, that relative always gave you gifts you couldn't wait to show your friends.

Patricia from Caftan Woman is just like that relative. Her blog covers many films that don't receive a lot of love these days, and her reviews make you want to watch these films and immediately show them to others. This is because her well-researched posts shine with a passion for classic film.

"John Ford is my religion," she writes in her profile, and says she has a "particular fondness" for westerns, screwball comedies, musicals, B mysteries and film noir.

An example of Patricia's fondness for film noir – that is also an example of her shrewd powers of observation – can be found in this post on Claire Trevor's fashion decline in Born to Kill (1947).



CMBA: What sparked your interest in classic film?
Caftan Woman: Bonding moments with my movie buff dad and three younger sisters.  TVOntario's (public television) Saturday Night at the Movies hosted by Elwy Yost, produced by Rise Schuman. A double bill each Saturday of uncut, commercial free classic films with interviews and an educational component. It made reverence for the films acceptable. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide and other books which inspired a personal stewardship toward the movies I loved.