Before you begin to digest my thoughts of movies and stars long gone, you might want to know something about the source of the ramblings.
Who I am: It might surprise you to know that despite what I consider to be a decent knowledge of films dating back to the art’s inception, I am rather young to be so well-read on the subject – age 30. I am a former full-time reporter covering Ohio’s state government and politics and a part-time Turner Classic Movies addict. I graduated from Ohio State University in 2007 with a degree in journalism and a minor in film studies.
Favorite Actress: Audrey Hepburn Carole Lombard
Favorite Actor: Robert Montgomery (This area was blank when I started the blog)
Favorite Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Favorite Film: If I’m obligated to choose one, I’ll take the embarrassing route and say Newsies. Yep, you read that right. I’ve held the Disney live-action musical as my favorite for nostalgic reasons for about a decade now. I watched the movie growing up and rediscovered it in high school only to have an obsession begin.
But typically I employ a “Top 5” approach to my favorite movie. It allows me to select from my favorite genres. So here it is in no particular order:
- Newsies – for nostalgic reasons
- High Society – favorite musical
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith – favorite Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery, plus it’s a Hitchcock.
- Charade – favorite Audrey Hepburn
- Princess Bride – favorite can’t-watch-it-enough flick
How’d this all start?: My interest in film as an art form did not begin until late in high school, and to be honest, Newsies was to blame. When the movie was released from the cursed Disney vault in 2000 and issued on DVD for the first time, I was introduced to this concept of “widescreen.” Geeminy what a wonder! Being as in tune as I am with every detail of Newsies, seeing it in widescreen only offered that much more to look at and discover about all the backgound activity in which those silly characters were indulging.
As far as my love for classic films, that also can be traced back to Newsies. Upon researching my favorite actor of the time (Max Casella, of Newsies) I discovered a bio reporting his favorite music was Frank Sinatra and the like. So that Christmas I requested a Sinatra CD and fell in love (this also led to my passion for old jazz, but that’s another subject). So part of being a Sinatra fan is not only consuming his music but his movies, which led me to the Sunbury Community Library and it’s awesome collection of VHS. In viewing Sinatra, one inevitably is exposed to other actors of the time.
The next ingredient was Audrey. While visiting Chinatown, New York on a senior class trip, I found a vendor selling purses with photo images of old celebrities on them. It came down to an Audrey Hepburn one or Marilyn Monroe. So somehow I chose Audrey (probably only because that one was black and white, my favorite colors). Well, I couldn’t walk around with an Audrey purse and not have seen her work, so I was back at the library renting every VHS and DVD they had. I fell in love, and who could blame me. Although she made only a couple dozen movies, the majority were major hits and paired her with considerable stars of the day, so thus more exposure to the classic cinema realm began.
Relevant Experience: Besides the aforementioned minor in film studies (which involved half a dozen courses, including ones focused on Hitchcock, German and Italian cinema), I worked at a retail movie store for a couple of years. I was with Suncoast Motion Picture Company after high school on and off until the store closed because of company bankruptcy in 2006. The store had the best selection of for-sale movies you’d find anywhere. I was also surrounded by other movie-buff employees (including my boyfriend since 2005 husband, Ryan). I loved that place.
So now that you have the skinny on me, I hope you’ll give my opinions some credence. Feel free to contact me via comment any time if you’re on the hunt for a particular movie.
–Rachel Buccicone
MacGuffin Movies 
Hey, I like the GWTW pic at the top. One of my top faves.
I really enjoyed reading everything and of course appreciate your writing style.
Great start, Rachie! What a great idea. I love the Robert Montgomery stuff too, but don’t know that movie. My two favorites are Night Must Fall, 1937 and They Were Expendable. He shows an unusually quirky style in Night Must Fall, creating a great sociopath character. Good luck.
I agree, Night Must Fall is a fantastic Robert Montgomery flick. As soon as I read the film description characterizing him as a killer I had to see it. I love instances of casting against type, and when you consider how many sophisticated charmer roles Montgomery played, it is great to see him so twisted.
I suppose my favorite Robert Montgomery film is the 1943 classic, “I’ll Have Melon”. He plays the proprietor of a fruit/vegetable stand during the Great Depression who falls in love with an elderly Slovenian scrub woman. They fall hard and fast for each other but their love cannot overcome their age and cultural differences.
Dear Rachel – I have enjoyed your blog and was particularly drawn in for your affection for Splendor in the Grass – an excellent and under-appreciated movie for sure. I wanted to get your opinion on another overlooked movies that got bad reviews when it came out, but I think is very enjoyable – Breathless with Richard Gere (1983). I thought it was one of Gere’s best performances as this impetuous punk who accidentally kills a cop and tries to run off with his French girl friend. What do you think of it?
Hi Jeff. Thank you for your comments. I have not seen that “Breathless”. Is it a remake of the French movie of the same name? The plot you described sounds similar. I am on the fence about the French one – I recognize it’s uniqueness at the time from a filmmaking perspective, but the story dragged for me. Perhaps an American version would be more to my liking.
I must confess I have not seen the original French version (although I really like French cinema), so I don’t know how similar the plots are. The Richard Gere version does not drag. You might check it out.