Bud and Lou (1978)

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Phil Hall

Biopics of legendary entertainers rarely work, if only because it requires actors to achieve the impossible effect of duplicating the charisma and nuances of the stars they are supposed to be imitating. The classics of this genre work when the headliners give their own personalities and quirks into their roles rather than trying to create a reasonable facsimile of the stars they were hired to reenact. Thus, James Cagney did a great James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” while Barbra Streisand was the perfect Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl” – no one ever confused them for George M. Cohan and Fanny Brice, even though they were supposed to be recreated the performing styles of those respective talents.
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I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song (1933)

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Phil Hall

During the 1930s, several animated shorts presented silly caricatures of celebrities in unlikely situations. The 1933 Warner Bros. offering “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song” is among the most interesting of this mini-genre, with some genuinely amusing gags involving the big names of the day.

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Pecos Pest (1955)

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Phil Hall

I don’t know how many people would agree with me on this, but I think that “Pecos Pest” is the greatest of the Golden Age Tom and Jerry cartoons. I am enthralled with this short because it deviates from the usual knockabout of the series with the inclusion of an audacious new character who shakes up the comedy with inventive humor.
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The Misfits (1961)

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Phil Hall

A classic example of actors being better than their material, “The Misfits” offers a slate of diverse talents who use the force of their respective energies and charismas to give magic to material that, quite frankly, is not very good.
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Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes (1926)

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Phil Hall

This silent two-reel comedy from Hal Roach’s fun factory is better known for the talent involved in its production than its contents: character actor James Finlayson has a rare starring role, vaudeville funnyman Ted Healy made his film debut, and Stan Laurel was behind the camera as the director.
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Oh No! Here Are 10 More of the Worst Musical Numbers of All Time

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Phil Hall

Last Friday’s feature article “Are These the 10 Worst Musical Numbers of All Time?” generated a great deal of reader response on social media, with multiple people offering suggestions for wonderfully awful musical sequences that deserved to be recognized. Well, in the tradition of movie sequels, here is our follow-up edition with 10 more of the worst musical numbers ever put on film.
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Are These the 10 Worst Musical Numbers of All Time?

Posted on October 17, 2025 by Phil Hall

We’ve recently offered several articles celebrating some of the most wonderful musical numbers that might be unfamiliar to most movie lovers. Today, we go to the opposite end of the spectrum with 10 musical numbers that could easily turn movie lovers into movie haters. We apologize in advance for any offense created.
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