Raquel Stecher

The Life and Words of James Coburn
by Robyn L. Coburn
“I take in all the impressions and information [about the character]. And when the time comes for action, I just let it go. It’s jazz acting. It’s like when Sarah Vaughan sings a song. She sings the lyrics, but she doesn’t sing it exactly the way it was written. It bears her style. That’s the way it is with roles. Each character has a style. Once you find out the character’s style it becomes really simple.. You don’t think about it. You ju...

Actresses have been at the forefront of fashion trends since the early days of cinema. Incorporating menswear into their wardrobes was a revolutionary idea, one that defied gender norms and gave women more freedom of expression. The 20th century saw radical changes in womenswear often influenced by what movie stars were wearing on screen. Women were entering the workforce and Greta Garbo wearing trench coats and pants and Marlene Dietrich shocking everyone in her tuxedo and top hat set the st...

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs discusses Claudine, Cooley High and the #TCMFF reunion

What would you do for a million dollars? For Patricia O'Day (Marion Davies), she would go as far as live her life as a boy so that her family could inherit what was rightfully theirs. When Patricia's rich American uncle passes away, she and her father John (J.M. Kerrigan) are visited in Ireland by the uncle's proprietor. The uncle's will stipulates that the sole heir of the $1 million fortune is Patrick O'Day (Stephen Carr), Patricia's brother. Patrick has two months to travel to New York to ...

Thursdays | 13 Movies
Anna May Wong, the TCM Star of the Month for May, was the first major Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood. With her charisma and delicate beauty, Wong graced the silver screen in a career that spanned over four decades. She became an international celebrity and fashion icon donning her signature bangs, meticulously arched eyebrows and gracing magazine spre...

Waterloo Bridge (1940)
Bright and early on the final day of the festival, I headed over to the Chinese Multiplex for a special screening of Waterloo Bridge (1940).
The film was introduced by author Sloan De Forest. I'm a big fan of her books and it was great to finally see her in person (had a great chat with her afterwards!). Waterloo Bridge (1940) stars Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor as two lovers from completely different social sets who get separated during WWI only to have a devastating ...

Mondays | 46 Movies
Busby Berkeley has become synonymous with lavish musical numbers choreographed to precision. As the creator of human kaleidoscopes, he singlehandedly developed his signature style in which movement, props, costumes, an elaborate set, a rotating stage and a single camera would come together to create a visual spectacle. Best known for his pre-code musicals with Wa...

The Flame and the Arrow (1950)
My day started with an impossible time block. There were so many good events happening at the same time and it was difficult to chose. It came down to one person: Gordon Gebert, the child star of one of my all-time favorite movies of all time, Holiday Affair (1949). It was imperative that I see him in person! And he was going to be at the special screening of The Flame and the Arrow (1950).
This swashbuckler starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Nick Cravat, N...

Festivities on the second day of the TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off with a hand and footprint ceremony honoring actress Lily Tomlin. Hosted by TCM and held on the courtyard of the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre), the event began with introductions by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and actress Jane Fonda as well as a speech by Lily Tomlin herself. Special guests included producer George Schlatter, actress Rita Moreno and fellow Grace and Frankie star June Diane Raphael. In addition to her hand and footprints, Lily Tomlin added small footprints and signature commemorating

Lily Tomlin Hand and Footprint Ceremony
Festivities on the second day of the TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off with a hand and footprint ceremony honoring actress Lily Tomlin. Hosted by TCM and held on the courtyard of the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre), the event began with introductions by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and actress Jane Fonda as well as a speech by Lily Tomlin herself. Special guests included producer George Schlatter, actress Rita Moreno and fellow Gr...

The festivities kicked off on Wednesday, the day before the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival began. First up:
We trekked over to the Academy Museum for a pre-festival visit. I was very excited to visit as I'd heard great things since it officially opened in September of 2021. And unfortunately, it was a disappointment. I was hoping to see a rich array of artifacts from Oscar history on display. Instead the museum offers an immersive experience that is visually interesting but ultimately superfi...

This episode of the Forgotten Filmcast is brought to you in Technicolor! Todd is joined by Raquel Stetcher from Out of the Past to look at 1948’s The Boy with Green Hair, starring a very young Dean Stockwell.
Download the Show:
iTunes
Podomatic
Music:
“Protofunk” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off with the opening night red carpet event at the TCL Chinese Theatre leading up to a special presentation for the 40th anniversary of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). I was on hand to photograph and interview the special guests as they walked the red carpet. I'll have video clips from my interviews available on my YouTube channel and will be sharing them here too. In the meantime, here are some of the special guests who attended the event!
Actor ...

Director Daniel Raim continues his quest to champion the art of filmmaking with his latest documentary Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (2022). Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, this documentary takes a deep dive into the making of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), director Norman Jewison's personal and professional journey and all of the key players who came to together to make one of the greatest musical films of all time.
Fiddler on the Roof was the brainchild of composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldo...

Dubbed the Queen of Italian Cinema, actress Monica Vitti graced the silver screen for over four decades. She was best known as director Michelangelo Antonioni’s muse and together the pair made five movies including his “Trilogy of Decadence”: L’avventura (1960), La Notte (1961) and L’eclisse (1962). Vitti made films in Italian, French and English and thrived in both comedy and drama. She was a celebrated beauty and often referred to as the Marilyn Monroe of Italy. Vitti’s allure came from her...