Going Hollywood - Movies and Television from the Golden Age to Today

“I sing for myself. I sing when I want to whenever I want to. Just for me. I sing for my own pleasure.” Was Judy Garland playing a character—or revealing herself? In her final completed feature film, “I Could Go On Singing “ (1963), Garland plays Jenny Bowman, an international singing sensation adored by millions but desperately lonely when the curtain falls. It's a haunting swan song in which the line between performance and reality becomes almost impossible to distinguish. This week, ...

Remember “The Swan,“ “The Biggest Loser” and “Extreme Makeover”? Reality TV promised us that with a little help, anyone could become a whole new person. But what if the ultimate makeover cost you your soul and ultimately your life? Think “Extreme Makeover: Nightmare Edition.” This week, for our Halloween celebration, we dive into just that proposition as we discuss John Frankenheimer’s “Seconds” (1966), a chilling psychological thriller starring Rock Hudson as a man desperate to escape his se...

What happens when a man turns his back on everything society tells him he should want? In the aftermath of World War I, one man’s search for spiritual enlightenment takes him from the glittering drawing rooms of high society to the mountains of India. But the pursuit of inner peace comes at a price—and not everyone is willing to pay it. Based on W. Somerset Maugham’s celebrated novel, The Razor’s Edge (1946) stars Tyrone Power in one of his most unconventional roles, alongside Gene Tierney, A...

Mel Brooks famously said that the only way to get even with Hitler is to make fun of him. Although Mel said it, he wasn’t the first to do it. That honor goes to Charles Chaplin (The Great Dictator”, 1940) and to the director of our film for today, the legendary Ernst Lubitsch and his brilliant political satire from 1942, “To Be or Not To Be.” To be or not to be, that is the question of this movie. A troupe of second rate actors are the last line of defense against the onslaught of fascism and...

A great sitcom can survive a lot, but it can’t survive forgetting who it is. We’re back for Part Two of our “Laverne & Shirley” 50th anniversary celebration, and we dig into why that basement apartment window, the working-class charm, and “Making Our Dreams Come True” still feel so alive 50 years later. The early seasons don’t just deliver laughs, they build a world where being the underdog is the whole point. So, we give one last hurrah to the Milwaukee era, remembering a few more of ou...