Frankly, My Dears: Recent Episodes
Aimee King
Frankly my dears, we miss the Golden Age of Hollywood! Our podcast covers films from the silent era to 1969 - westerns, noir, romance, musicals - we'll cover it. Nikki, Suzanne, and Aimee chat about what they love and don't love about these films. Listen in and reminisce about your favorite old movies, or get introduced to some new ones! Share with us your thoughts and any movies you'd like us to cover.
It's our final episode! What better way to end, than with some laughs? We talk about Mel Brooks' The Producers (1967)!
The original power couple: Nick and Nora. They're on the case! The case of the eponymous thin man, who isn't as scary as he sounds. In fact, it's barely about him. William Powell and Myrna Loy star in The Thin Man (1934).
William Powell and Carole Lombard star in this screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey (1936). Meet the Bullock family - they are rather crazy. Bless Godfrey for putting up with them.
This is the story of Tracy Lord and the three men vying for her affections. It's also the story of Katherine Hepburn's glorious comeback from being labelled "Hollywood Poison." It's the Philadelphia Story (1940).
Rio Bravo (1959), starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickenson, is the hangout movie you've been waiting for!
Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin go on the town in... On the Town (1949)! They're in New York City for 24 hours and they're out to find dates!
Watch out, Katherine Hepburn! A computer might steal your job! And Spencer Tracy just might steal your heart! It's Desk Set (1957)!
He's cool. He's Luke. He's got cool hands and an indominatable will. He's also got a failure to communicate. Cool Hand Luke (1967) is a prison movie classic!
The first and only time Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn shared the big screen together! It's the ultimate date night movie, Charade (1963). Full of laughs, thrills, twists, turns, a Texan, and a hook-handed man, it's sure to please.
A beautiful haunted house by the English sea, a gothic mood, a widow who has never been in love, and the dashing, yet cantankerous, ghost who haunts her. You couldn't really make a more appealing movie for Aimee. It's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison.
Good Morning! Gotta dance, sing in the rain, and make 'em laugh! We chat about Singin' in the Rain (1952) and its lasting legacy. It is AFI's #1 musical for good reason.
It's perhaps the most oft-quoted film of all time. It's also AFI's #1 Passions film. It's Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Some Like It Hot (1959) is AFI's #1 Laughs film. Billy Wilder's masterpiece of comedy still makes us laugh today.
Visit the Bates Motel. Meet Norman Bates. He's a pretty nice guy. I hear his mother is just the best. Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) is AFI's #1 Thrills film.
The Wizard of Oz (1939) is AFI's #1 Fantasy film. Ruby slippers, witches, a horse of a different color, lions, tigers, bears, oh my!
AFI chose Hitchock's Vertigo (1958) as its #1 Mystery. It is truly a mystery to as to why.
John Wayne and John Ford team up again for this odyssey of the West: The Searchers (1956). It's AFI's #1 Western. Could it ever be replaced? That'll be the day.
The masterpiece that is Lawrence of Arabia (1962). What is true and what is myth? Is it deserving of AFI's #1 Epic status? Short answer: YES.
AFI's #1 Romantic Comedy, City Lights (1931) is a masterpiece in silent filmmaking, a representation of the Roaring Twenties, and full of Charlie Chaplin.
Is Bedford Falls the most nostalgic town in America? Does George Bailey live in the Truman Show? Are you crying? I'm definitely not crying. We're talking about It's A Wonderful Life (1946)!
It's the motherload. It's the number one movie of all time. It's the inspiration of the greatest directors of our time. Xanadu. Rosebud. CHARLES FOSTER KANE. It's Citizen Kane (1941).
A sinister ingenue, an aging star, and a superb comeuppance. All About Eve (1950) snagged the Best Picture Oscar in 1951 and we discuss whether it was warranted.
It's a journey around the world! In 81 days. Yes, that's right. A technicality wins the day. We chat about Around the World in 80 Days (1956), starring Cantinflas and David Niven, which won Best Picture at the Oscars. For some reason.
Scarlett O'Hara. Rhett Butler. Tara. Iconic names in an understandably iconic, yet problematic film. It's four hours of Gone With the Wind (1939) starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. So much to love and so much to hate.
Could this movie be the genesis of the tried-and-true plot line wherein a love/hate relationship blossoms into true love in three days? What is the Wall of Jericho when it's in a bedroom? Will Clark Gable successfully hitchhike? It's all in It Happened One Night (1937) starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.
Shirley Temple is all grown up - but not grown up enough for Cary Grant! It's The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1947), starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple, and Rudy Vallee. Full of laughs, charismatic characters, and Cary Grant in full charming bachelor mode, this is a delightful romantic comedy.
William Powell and Carole Lombard star in the romantic comedy My Man Godfrey (1936). It's a zany love story between a grounded, sophisticated butler and the borderline insane family he works for. What more could we want?
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr begin a clandestine relationship aboard a cruise ship. Destiny awaits. And so does the Empire State Building. Not to be forgotten, it's An Affair To Remember (1957).
James Garner has an unusually stressful honeymoon with his new wife as his first wife (not dead, as everyone thought) crashes the nuptial night. Doris Day costars in this hilarious romantic comedy, Move Over, Darling (1963).
Daphne Du Maurier's thrilling short story is adapted by Hitchcock in this simultaneously terrifying and hilarious romp with avians and Tippi Hedren. The Birds (1963) is a feat of special effects and a rare supernatural turn for the master of suspense.
Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock team up again for The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), a classic thriller that will induce anxiety into every parent watching. Doris Day sings the Oscar-winning song "Que Sera" in the unforgettable climactic scene. And some bonus talk about Universal Studios.
Is murder justifiable? Are there inferior and superior beings? Can you hold a dinner party with the guest of honor being a dead body hidden under the food display? Is the perfect murder executable? Can Phillip keep his mouth shut and stop perspiring? All these questions are answered in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948).
Mystery, melodrama, and murder all in one Hitchcock film! What's new? Hitchcock's first and only foray into 3D, Dial M for Murder (1954) has a place in history. And still stresses the heck out of the audience.
A film for all seasons (but mostly for Christmas!), it's Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)! There's trolleys, telephone calls, a boy next door, a bonfire, and a snow people massacre. In other words, it has it all.
A film about believing in things just because. A film about Santa Claus. Or is it? The Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
A man comes to dinner... and stays for months. Monty Woolley takes over the house and there's penguins, Bette Davis, a mummy sarcophagus, and lots of insults. And since it's a Christmas movie, there's a change of heart too. It's The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942).
Look it up, why don't ya! Judy Holliday in her Oscar-winning performance, probably because of that outstanding, abrasive voice. Born Yesterday (1950) is a cerebral Cinderella story where a crook's girlfriend gets an education and a mind of her own instead of glass slippers and a prince. Well, she does get William Holden in the end. So maybe a prince as well.
Welcome to the eternal medieval summer of bravery and romance! Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland light up the technicolor screen with their chemistry in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). It's exactly what you think it is!
It's Rogers and Hammerstein! In Siam! Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr star in The King and I (1956), a film based on a true story that is mostly untrue. Beautiful sets, memorable performances, and the coolest, random-est 20-minute sequence that has nothing to do with the main plot in a movie ever.
Walt Disney's first classic, happier-than-the-Grimm-fairytale animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). An unfortunate 14-year old princess who is already treated like a slave in her own house is relentlessly pursued by a grown woman who is jealous of her. Somehow. She makes friends and grows up along the way.
Buster Keaton's favorite film he made, The General (1927) is a masterpiece of the Silent Era. As per usual with Mr. Keaton, it's full of impressive stunts. And we ask, "why can't movies be more like this these days?" There are reasons.
The classic tale of man and monster - and which is which. We watch both Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and decide that the Monster really can't catch a break. And that the Bride deserved more screen time. It IS her movie, after all.
Freaks (1933) is a controversial film, to say the least. Does it champion disability rights? Or does it demonize people with disabilities? Whatever those answers are, it is certainly true that audiences in 1933 were not prepared for this film and it flopped hard as well as scared the crap out of viewers. Not these viewers, though. We were mostly bored. We are joined in this episode by the loverly Cassi Davis, who offers much needed insight for this doozy of a movie.
Audrey Hepburn is blind and alone. Alan Arkin is waiting in the dark. An elaborate scheme turns sour and Audrey must fight for her life. All over a doll. Wait Until Dark (1967) delivers on thrills and one particularly nasty jump scare will get you every time. What we would wish to tell Audrey (and everyone who's listening): LOCK YOUR DANG DOOR!
For a gallon of elderberry wine, one teaspoon of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon of strychnine, and a pinch of cyanide. "Should have quite a kick." Yes. A kick into two perfectly lovely grandmas' basement graveyard. It's Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and it serves up some murder and ahem killer laughs. We're kicking off our month of Halloween-y movies with this spooky comedy from Cary Grant and Frank Capra.
It's the Marx Brothers! One of their most nonsensical, borderline surrealist, possibly Dada-esque films, Duck Soup (1933) is a classic, but is it really that great? Frankly, My Dears, we're not sure.
Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! That's Auntie Mama (1958) for you. A film about living outside of the box and not being ashamed of it. Also there's so much redecorating. We definitely recommend. And remember: LIVE!!
When your daydreams start becoming reality, it's time to see a psychiatrist. Except when the psychiatrist is Boris Karloff. Then you should question everything. Check out the OG The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) starring Danny Kaye and listen in as we compare it to the Ben Stiller remake in 2013. And we give Walter Mitty some better life advice than the movie does.
Just about every American girl's dream is to experience 'the season' in London as a glamorous debutante, among high society, being introduced to English men. Sandra Dee couldn't care less in The Reluctant Debutante (1958) as her father, Rex Harrison, and stepmother, Kay Kendall, try to fix her up as a London deb. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee are joined by some special guests as they discuss the surprises and questionable moral compass this movie offers.
Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray are three criminals on Devil's Island who turn into one family's three angels one fateful Christmas Eve. We're No Angels (1955) is one of Bogie's few comedies and his talent shines. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee talk about this unexpected gem.
It's Bogie and Bacall for the last time! Gangsters and a hurricane are the main dangers on Key Largo, and only Bogie can save everyone. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee talk about Key Largo (1948) and how these gangsters really need to take courses on murder, body disposal, and taking care of witnesses.
A love story on an unnavigable African river rife with crocodiles, bugs, leeches, and WWI Germans. Two great stars and an intrepid director teamed up for this one and ACTUALLY filmed in the jungle. The African Queen (1951), starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, continues our month of Bogie movies with this romantic tale of survival.
Our month of Bogart movies continues with The Big Sleep (1946)! Bogart and Bacall's second film together sizzles with chemistry and baffles the mind. "Famously incomprehensible" to say the least. A film noir that's hot on romance and full of so many twists and turns, every viewer will end up somewhere different. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee try to make sense of the plot and discuss the whole Bogart/Bacall thing.
We're kicking off our month of Humphrey Bogart with the noir that started it all: The Maltese Falcon (1941). One of two Bogie films in 1941 that rocketed him to superstar status, The Maltese Falcon has it all: murder, femme fatales, corpulent gangsters, Peter Lorre, and the eponymous bejeweled statuette. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee talk about what makes Humphrey Bogart one of the greats, what makes a good noir, and whether the ending was justified.
A film whose writers, cast, extras, and animals were ALL women?! Sign us up! Seriously, there is not a man in sight in this film. That doesn't stop the characters from talking about them most of the time. A timeless film about female relationships in the wake of deteriorating male relationships, The Women (1939) tackles serious, heartbreaking, and tender themes. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee discuss their interpretations of the events that unfold, and try to dissect what is good advice and what isn't.
Befuddled professor meets daffy society girl. It's a recipe for disaster. A comic disaster that stands the test of time as two films, forty years apart, present the same scenario with devastatingly hilarious and heartfelt consequences each time. Bringing Up Baby (1938) and its homage film, What's Up, Doc? (1972), serve up the laughs and romance every viewing. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee discuss how the films are similar, and what makes them so funny and enduring.
Danny Kaye is in top form as he plays two roles, twin brothers, switching between the two on the turn of a dime. A ghost story, musical, comedy, gangster drama, special effects extravaganza, and romance all wrapped in one, Wonder Man (1945) is truly a Danny Kaye must-see. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee are joined by Aimee's sister-in-law, Lacey, for this one, delving into what makes the movie special.
"She looks kinda teenage, just in-between-age, looks about 4 foot 3...Gidget is the one for me!" And when it comes to comparing Gidget (1959) and Beach Party (1963), Gidget is definitively the one for us. It's summer and the absolute ultimate surf movies are up for discussion. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee discuss the ups and downs of beach movies of this era, and of teenage-hood.
Who knew a shared party line could be an accomplice to fate? Doris Day and Rock Hudson share a party line in this steamy romantic comedy, their first in a string of three successful films together. First comes hate, then comes love, then comes a whole lot of deception, revelations, and interior decorating. Enjoy our discussion of Pillow Talk (1959), joined by Aimee's sister, Brittany!
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." Atticus, you're not wrong. A film about injustice, recognizing prejudices, and protecting innocence, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) has captured hearts and helped change people. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee go deep to talk about its relevance today.
An all-star cast, tunnels, Nazis, brotherhood, sick motorcycle moves, and cool nicknames - this movie's got it all! Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee talk about The Great Escape (1963), a true-story film that captured our attention (and our hearts - we're looking at you, James Garner).
"They're here already! You're next! You're next!" Chilling final words from a suspenseful, eerie sci-fi B-movie that has become entrenched in our pop culture. What are "pod people?" Who are the body snatchers? And why can't we ever sleep again??? Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee delve into the sci-fi genre for the first time on Frankly, My Dears with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)!
A unique entry among John Ford's Westerns, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) shows us how the West was tamed with words and laws, not guns (well, except the titular gunshot). Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee invite Aimee's dad, Eddie, for a contentious discussion about civil progress, on-set drama, and age-appropriate casting.
There's no business like the newspaper business in this fast-talking screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Suzie, Nikki, and Aimee discuss His Girl Friday (1940) and how unique it was for its time in its delivery of fast, overlapping dialogue and its representation of women in the workplace.
Mail, physical or electronic, has never been more exciting (or romantic). Nikki, Suzie, and Aimee discuss The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and You've Got Mail (1998), comparing these two romantic comedy classics. Welcome to the love/hate relationships that have sustained many a heart.
The king of jesters, jester of kings, Danny Kaye whips up a comedic gem in The Court Jester (1956). We chat about our favorite parts and try our best to repeat 'the brew that is true' tongue twister. Of course, no one can do it like Danny Kaye.
They dance with class and occasionally some sass! Nikki, Aimee, and Suzie chat about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' films and careers. Do the movies have great plots? No. But the dancing is unparalleled and will sweep you off your feet to a bygone time where people fell in love on cruise ships.
Loverly costumes, elocution lessons, wistful stalker songs, THE Audrey Hepburn, and some chauvinism - we're talking about My Fair Lady (1964)! Nikki, Aimee, and Suzie revisit this classic and work out their feelings about the ending. Also, is Henry Higgins the worst?
Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: a comedy tonight! Suzie recommended Nikki and Aimee watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), a slapstick, witty, bawdy tour de force of comedy. Did Nikki and Aimee like it? Well, no. No they didn't.
Director, writer, producer, absolute Hollywood legend. Creator of such classics as Sunset Boulevard (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), Some Like it Hot (1959), and The Apartment (1960). Also had side gigs like helping out with psychological warfare in Berlin after WWII. NBD. This is Billy Wilder. Listen in as Nikki, Aimee, and Suzie chat about their favorite Billy Wilder films - answering the big questions, like: Is Linus Larrabee just too darn old for Sabrina??
Mystery! Romance! A dead wife! Olivier! Today we discuss Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940). One of Aimee's favorites, Nikki and Susie share their impressions of this forgotten Hitchcock masterpiece.
Our first podcast! We only thought it appropriate to talk about the films that did us in and introduced us to a life-long love of old movies. We chat about Jane Eyre (1943), Calamity Jane (1953), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), discussing what made them special to us when we first saw them, and what makes them still worth watching today.