If we are to believe what the small town melodramas tell us, then every village and burg dotting the map is filled with deviants, hypocrites and mothers pretending to be their child’s aunt to hide the “shame of illegitimacy.” To mix a metaphor, these stories are all about ripping the lid off small town America...

Whenever a movie star dies, it is both expected and natural to use the occasion to reflect on the times that that actor helped to define.  After all, we have a natural human need to look back, and the nostalgic pull of movie stars – particularly the passing of one – offers us a doorway...

It’s Always Fair Weather, Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen By Ron Falzone Why is It’s Always Fair Weather, available on Amazon, always left in the backwater when talking about the great MGM musicals?  The failure of It’s Always Fair Weather at the box office signaled the beginning of the end of the glorious Arthur Freed unit...