Each month, the CMBA profiles a classic movie blog written by one of our members. This month, we’re featuring Rick Armstrong, the founder of the Classic Movie Blog Association and the reason why we’re here! Rick blogs at the Classic Film & TV Café.
CMBA: Why did you start your blog?
Rick: I’ve
always enjoyed writing about films. I moonlighted as a newspaper film critic for
several years and then my wife Mary and I wrote the Encyclopedia of Film
Themes, Settings and Series (aka The Movie List Book). Around 2008,
I discovered TCM’s Classic Film Union, which was sort of a “Facebook for
classic movie fans.” I had a lot of fun writing about classic movies and
interacting with other film buffs. Unfortunately, a couple of folks started
flooding the site with their content or using it to discuss topics other than
cinema. So, in September 2009, I decided to create my blog: the Classic Film
& TV Café. Like many CMBA members, I knew nothing about blogging, so it was
an adventure at first. Also, my original intent was to manage a collaborative
blog and I invited a handful of other people to join me (including former CMBA
head Patty Schneider). Over the years, the others dropped out for personal
reasons or to start their own blogs. Since 2015, my wife and I have written all
Café content except for occasional guest posts.
CMBA: In your 2015 profile on the CMBA website, you mentioned your interview with Piper Laurie. Who are some of your other favorite interviews?
Rick: I’ve
been fortunate to interview some wonderful actors. Piper Laurie was indeed
delightful and I was able to spend an afternoon sitting next to her at a
nostalgia convention. Elke Sommer, Julie Adams, and Audrey Dalton were utterly
charming. Barbara Bain, Ruta Lee, Jacqueline Scott, and Constance Towers shared
some wonderful anecdotes, especially in regard to working in television in the
1960s. I was particularly impressed by the respect that Barbara Bain held for
ex-husband Martin Landau as an actor and a drama teacher. Ron Harper was a
friendly, frank, down-to-earth person (e.g., he didn’t like working with George
Burns). We talked at length at another convention and watched one of his rarely
shown movies, Savage Season (1971), together.
CMBA: Besides classic movie and TV blogging, what are some of your other passions?
Rick: Watching
classic films and TV shows with my wife Mary is my #1 passion! We also enjoy
watching British detective shows like Shetland, Foyle’s War, Poirot,
and Endeavor. I also love to walk our two dogs, Tony (a long-haired
Chihuahua) and Sienna (a Dachshund-Terrier mix), daily. We’ve been blessed to
have loved several dogs over the years. Dogs are the most wonderful of all
animals!
CMBA: What is a classic TV show that you love, but most people don’t know about -- and what do you love about it?
Rick: Two
little-known shows that I always recommend are Man in a Suitcase
(1967-68) and Coronet Blue (1967). The former is a sharply played,
well-written British series starring American actor Richard Bradford as a
disgraced former espionage agent known only as McGill. Branded a traitor by
U.S. intelligence, he makes a living doing freelance work in Europe and Africa
– dealing with blackmailers, protecting stool pigeons, finding kidnapped
victims, recovering lost art treasures, etc. Coronet Blue stars Frank
Converse as a man who is attacked aboard a luxury liner and tossed overboard.
He is rescued, but with no memory of his past except for the words “coronet
blue.” It’s also well-scripted with intriguing plots, and features great guest
stars such as Juliet Mills, Susan Hampshire, and Denholm Elliott.
CMBA: What is something that most people don’t know about you?
Rick: I
have a doctorate of education degree from Indiana University in Bloomington,
Indiana. My major was instructional systems technology.
CMBA: If you could program a perfect day of classic movies for TCM, what would be the seven films on your schedule?
Rick: Assuming
TCM could get the broadcast rights to these films, I’d opt for a day of classic
made-for-TV movies. The 1960s and the 1970s were a “Golden era” for television
films and featured stellar writers (e.g., Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, Gene
Roddenberry) and good actors (e.g., Angie Dickinson, Suzanne Pleshette, Ray
Milland, Myrna Loy). I’d limit my seven picks to lesser-known films that
appeared on the ABC Movie of the Week (1969-75):
Seven in Darkness (1969) – A plane crashes in the wilderness and all its passengers are blind.
Daughter of the Mind (1969) – A psychic researcher investigates when a
famous scientist claims his dead daughter has been appearing to him. Stars Ray
Milland and Gene Tierney.
Along Came a Spider (1970) – A thriller with Suzanne Pleshette. It’s a
wonderfully twisty plot, so no details.
How Awful About Allan (1970) – A man (Anthony Perkins) suffering from psychosomatic blindness returns home to live with his sister (Julie Harris), but thinks someone is trying to kill him.
Dr. Cook’s Garden (1971) – Is there a pattern to the deaths in a small
rural town where a kindly physician (Bing Crosby) and his protégé (Frank
Converse) practice?
The Birdmen (1971) – During World War II, POW prisoners try to fly to
freedom by building a glider. Incredibly, most of the film really happened! The
unusual cast features Richard Basehart, Chuck Connors, Doug McClure, Tom
Skerritt, and Max Baer, Jr.!
Assault on the Wayne (1971) – Sabotage aboard a nuclear submarine with Leonard Nimoy, William Windom, Lloyd Haynes, and Sam Elliott.
CMBA: If you had a bucket list, what would be on it?
Rick: I’ve
done most everything on my bucket list: wrote a book; got a doctorate degree;
visited England, Scotland, and Prince Edward Island; and – of course – married
a fabulous person who loves classic movies and TV, too. However, there are some
DVD sets that I’d love to see produced: the complete ABC Movie of the Week (see
above!) and seasons 2-4 of the brilliant 1961-65 legal TV series The
Defenders. Those would be awesome.
I also want to reach 25,000 followers on Twitter. If all goes well, that may happen this year. I have a grand time with my Twitter followers. I host monthly “tournaments” on classic films and TV shows. The results are interesting, but the comments from my followers are the best part!
We thank Rick for participating in our Q & A profile and encourage you to visit the Classic Film & TV Cafe!
