Raquel Stecher

How Garbo Conquered Hollywood
University Press of Mississippi
November 2021
Greta Garbo was extraordinary in many ways. She was one of the most beloved and sought after celebrities of her time. Her level of fame was astonishing for the era and nearly unmatched today. Despite coming to America not speaking English and also despite her deep aversion to publicity, she quickly became one of MGM's most bankable stars and was embraced by the public. Everyone knew who Garbo was and audiences flocked...

Girls on Film
Lessons from a Life of Watching Women in Movies
Mango Publishing
Paperback ISBN: 9781642506563
March 2022
As movie lovers, what we watch during the different stages in our lives really shapes the person we become. This can have both positive and negative effects on our emotional well-being. Especially for women and minorities, who may see themselves reflected poorly or not represented at all in the movies that they consume.
TCM host and author Alicia Malone explores the films sh...

August 8th
A delicate beauty whose poise and charm captivated audiences throughout the 1930s and ‘40s, Maureen O’Sullivan was best known for her role as Jane Parker in the popular Tarzan series. Starring in six movies alongside Olympic swimmer-turned-actor Johnny Weissmuller, the role brought O’Sullivan immense fame and scrutiny. As the phrase “me Tarzan, you Ja...

Directed and produced by Samantha Wishman and Christina Thomas, Free Puppies!: The True Story of Rescue Dogs explores the lives of abandoned and neglected dogs in the rural South and the extraordinary efforts made to rescue them and to control the ever-growing population in the community.
This documentary focuses primarily on the work of Monda Wooten, a small business owner and city commissioner for Trenton, Georgia, who has made it her life’s mission to help rescue dogs in her area. We follo...

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling (1946) stars Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman as Penny and Ora, married pioneer farmers who live and work deep in the Florida backwoods. Their son Jody (Claude Jarman Jr.) is their sole surviving child. Fearing that her love and attention was responsible for the death of her other children, she exudes a cold demeanor to Jody as a way of keeping him alive. Jody finds joy in his close relationship with his father and...

New classic movie related books shared.

Directed by George Roy Hill, Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) stars Julie Andrews as the eponymous Millie. As a young woman living in New York City, Millie has big dreams. She sheds her out-of-date style for the new 1920s flapper look and sets her sights on a job so she can ultimately marry her boss and live a life of luxury and stability. Millie is staying at Mrs. Meers' (Beatrice Lillie) boardinghouse where the elevator requires its riders to tap dance for it to function and where a series o...

Mini reviews of classic film books I've read in the first half of 2022.

I'm excited to share the first round-up of reviews for this year's Classic Film Reading Challenge. I'm so impressed with the reviews in this batch. A wide variety of selections and there are some very thorough reviews as well as great YouTube videos from Lee, Andy and Robert! Chris and Andy are the leaders of the challenge with 4 books reviewed by each so far. I'll be doing another round-up next month so stay tuned.
Alejandro on Goodreads
"The book is the portrait of a complicated man, and Ey...

Colorization
One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World
“If Black Americans were to fight back against what cinema had now done to them, they would need their own filmmaker. They needed someone to tell their stories, stories with nuance and honesty and respect and comedy and joy—all the things that this magical thing called cinema was offering to mainstream society. And if such a person were to emerge, he would have to possess fortitude, and a wide vision that would remain steadfast ag...

From the early days of cinema, Black independent filmmakers have been making films outside the confines of the Hollywood system. Their films explored different forms of Black identity and important race issues while eschewing the harmful stereotypes that were commonly found in mainstream entertainment. These artists often worked with small budgets and limited resources and would source local Black communities for talent. Funding was hard to come by and theatrical releases weren’t a given. In ...

It's that time again! I've poured over countless publisher catalogs to find some classic film book gems so you don't have to. Here is another robust list of new and upcoming releases with something for every classic movie enthusiast.
Are you new to my list? Here are the details. The books include biographies, memoirs, scholarly texts, coffee table books and more from a variety of publishers. For any scholarly books I make sure the ones included are affordable. There are also some reissues add...

There’s something a little off about Aubrey Plaza. And that just happens to be why we all love her. As the unofficial queen of quirky independent films and the much-beloved star of Parks and Recreation, Plaza’s immense appeal comes from her deadpan humor, mischievous stare, sarcastic and cynical nature, and innate ability to go from funny to terrifying at a snap of a finger.
She’s got a deranged sense of humor, making her a prized guest on the talk show circuit. Just look her up on YouTube an...

Bank clerk Ruth (Nancy Carroll) is a prized date for a "hot Saturday". Fellow bank employees Archie (Grady Sutton) and Connie (Edward Woods) have their eye on Ruth. But they're about to face major competition with rich playboy Romer (Cary Grant). He's invited the bank employees and all their friends for a weekend party at his lakeside mansion. It's an opportunity for Romer to get some extra time with the beautiful Ruth who attends the party with Connie. When Ruth rejects Connie's advances, he...