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Celebrity Mastermind
Specialist subject: Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Tag Archives: film
No Mr Bond, I expect you to cry.
This column (updated since it appeared in The Big Issue last week) explores whether old James Bond films can still be enjoyed in a more feminist, more racially equal society. And then Danny Boyle put him at the heart of … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Design, Film, Uncategorized
Tagged 007, 60s, Anthony Horowitz, books, cinema, culture, feminism, film, FTW, George Lazenby, james bond
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Casablanca: When refugees were glamorous
This was written for the Spectator Coffee House blog, ahead of the Casablanca night at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on June 22nd, to mark Refugee Week. “I don’t buy and sell human beings,” says Rick to the rival club … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, Uncategorized, War
Tagged 40s, Casablanca, cinema, culture, film, Hollywood, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, literature, Nazis, refugees, war
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Aliens, abortion and baby machines: HG Wells & John Wyndham
Woman’s Hour ran a fascinating interview today with novelist Kishwar Desai, about India’s burgeoning surrogate baby industry. Her exploration of this massive business (an estimated 20,000 babies produced each year) seems to differ from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale only … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Children, Culture, Film, Politics, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged 50s, 60s, abortion, aliens, books, cinema, culture, film, HG Wells, John Wyndham, literature, Martians, science fiction, zombies
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The Fantasies of Youth
Every generation has its teen moral panic exploitation movie. In the 1930s it was Reefer Madness. In the 50s it was Beat Girl (the evils of Soho coffee bars and bongos). For my generation it was 1982’s Mazes and Monsters … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Culture, Film, Uncategorized
Tagged Brontes, culture, fantasy, film, Harry Potter, literature, science fiction, Tom Hanks, Warhammer
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A Smashing Time: Murray Melvin on busting taboos in the 60s
For the third of my One to Ones for Radio 4 I wanted a Missing Angle on the golden age of British theatre and cinema — from the late 50s to the early 70s. You can listen to it here. … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, Radio, Theatre, Uncategorized
Tagged 60s, Alfie, cinema, culture, Dirk Bogarde, film, HMS Defiant, Joan Littlewood, Ken Russell, kitchen sink drama, michael caine, Murray Melvin, Stanley Kubrick, The Devils, Theatre Royal Stratford, Victim
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Natalie Wood’s last film: How Hollywood tried to wreck Brainstorm
This week the Los Angeles Police Department reopened enquiries into the death of Natalie Wood. Many people will not be aware of her work. She had been making the film Brainstorm (1983) at the time — and it’s such a … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged 80s, Brainstorm, Christopher Walken, cinema, Douglas Trumbull, film, Hollywood, media, Natalie Wood
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A Taste Of Honey: 50 years on
I’m an extraordinary person! There’s only one of me, like there’s only one of you. We’re unique! Young! Unrivalled! Smashing! Bloody marvellous!” (Jo and Geoff in A Taste of Honey) ”Now? We’d probably have to make it via reality TV.” … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Culture, Film, Theatre, Uncategorized
Tagged 60s, A Taste of Honey, cinema, culture, Doctor Who, elitism, film, kitchen sink drama, Murray Melvin, Rita Tushingham, Shelagh Delaney, Smashing Time, Theatre Royal Stratford, Torchwood
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New York Fever: Strutting with Travolta
This is a talk I gave at the British Film Institute last night at the launch of a new book series on World Film Locations in major cities. The books pick 1 key scene and its locations from each film … Continue reading
1951 then and now: Britain Mended, Britain on the Make
If you want to know what Britain was like before The Festival of Britain you should watch the masterful 1950 film noir, Night And The City. The clip is a bit of a spoiler, but features a chase around the … Continue reading
Posted in Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Design, Film, Religion, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged 50s, cinema, culture, design, elitism, Festival of Britain, film, FTW, politics, Richard Widmark, universities
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The space shuttle: the shape of things that never came.
Or How The Space Shuttle Promised Me The Universe, But Left Me On The Gantry Of Broke Dreams. It seems appropriate that the final Space Shuttle mission launch got pushed off the front pages and main broadcast news coverage by … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Uncategorized
Tagged 70s, Carl Sagan, cinema, culture, film, Obama, Outer space, politics, Space shuttle, Star Trek, war
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