A discussion with Dr. Christopher Ames, the president of Russell Sage College, about his book “Movies About The Movies: Hollywood Reflected”. We focus on two movies from his book - Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels (1942), and Gene Kelly, and Stanley Donen’s Singin’ In The Rain (1952). We also look at two movies not in his book - Michel Hazanavicius’ black and white, mostly silent Best Picture winner The Artist (2011), and the Coen Bros.’ Hail, Caesar! (2016). What do these movies say about Hollywood? What do these movies say about America? And why are movies about Hollywood and the moviemaking process so popular?

In this episode, I talk with author John Oller about his biography of Jean Arthur entitled Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew. Mr. Oller’s biography was hailed by Leonard Maltin as “An exceptional piece of work.” We discuss Jean Arthur’s rise to fame and her career in Hollywood. The focus is on her work with directors Howard Hawks, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Click on the title above to purchase from Amazon.

My, now annual, Halloween episode of season two looks at the connection between comedy and horror. My guest Jason Zumwalt and I talk about both classic and contemporary comedy/horror films such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Cabin in the Woods (2012) and Get Out (2017). Jason is a screenwriter who works in both the comedy and horror genres.