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Everybody know the music of Casablanca, right? There's "As Time Goes By" sung by the sterling Dooley Wilson in his indelible performance as Sam (who prompts Ingrid Bergman's often misquoted line 'Play it, Sam'). And we all remember that stirring scene of the crowd singing "La Marsellaise". But that's about it.
Not quite. Leonard Maltin recounts the many different songs that dot the soundtrack - tunes from such stalwart tunesmiths as Cole Porter, Eubie Black, Ray Noble, Harry Warren, and Johnny Mercer. He explored the Warner archives for background on the score by the esteemed Max Steiner, uncovering fascinating and detailed memos from producer Hal Wallis. Your next time watching Casablanca will be a whole new experience after reading this feature story!
Our CONVERSATIONS feature presents part one of our interview with the charming George Sidney, who began his career running screen tests at MGM and directed some of that studio's great musicals, including Anchors Aweigh, Annie Get Your Gun, Show Boat, and Kiss Me Kate. We also have George's photos - taken behind the scenes at Good News, his father's weekly radio show in Hollywood - featuring a young Judy Garland, Fanny Brice, Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Jimmy Stewart and others.
In STILL LIFE we have Jimmy Durante promoting the NRA (when that stood for the National Recovery Act); EPHEMERA shows you the bridge craze of the '20s - Hollywood style; and just in time for Halloween, our COLLECTORS' CORNER presents movie star masks from 1933. Who wouldn't want to go trick or treating as ZaSu Pitts or Slim Summerville?
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Remakes have been with us since Hollywood began, and our second installment covers the silent films remade after the introduction of sound. Some used the new technology to improve their storytelling, some were classics that are retold for each generation, but Leonard focuses on remakes of well-regarded silents such as Way Down East, 7th Heaven, The Miracle Man, Tol’able David, and Broken Blossoms – films overlooked or too easily dismissed by film buffs and film historians alike.
We also have part two of our Conversation with Dick Jones, best known as the voice of Pinocchio, who continues his tales of westerns in the 50s – both in the movies (sharing vivid memories of his favorite film Rocky Mountain, and its dashing star Errol Flynn) and on TV (where he starred in The Range Rider and Buffalo Bill, Jr.) You’ll find a studio pass in our Collectors’ Corner provides, and Ephemera features letterheads from the ‘10s and ‘20s that will have you longing for the days of paper-and-ink correspondence.
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 Tinseltown's tendency to remake past hits isn't a recent phenomenon: Hollywood's love affiar with proven stories,
goes back to the silent era. Leonard Maltin fills in the history with remarkable anecdotes and photos, include those of Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford,
who even remade their own hits!
Dick (formerly Dickie) Jones, of Pinocchio, Our Gang and westerns fame, is
our remarkable subject in Conversations. Dick tells of life as a child actor in 1930s Hollywood: the Our Gang comedies, appearing in westerns with
the likes of Hopalong Cassidy, Randolph Scott, and Buck Jones, and being
selected by Walt Disney himself to be the voice of Pinocchio.
Rare Three Stooges photos grace our Still Life page, and our
Collectors' Corner is supporting publication transportation
with movie-sponsored bus passes.
All that and more in this issue.
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Our feature story is part two of the great musical mystery of the 1930s: how did On Your Toes, the Rodgers and Hart hit Broadway musical of 1936, lose all of its Rodgers and Hart songs by the time it reached the screen? Leonard Maltin wraps up his account by delving into the Warner Bros. archives, revealing the inside story of this troubled production.
Our interview subject s Paul Wurtzel, whose family roots go back to the early days of Hollywood (Tom Mix was his godfather!) Paul’s tales of B-movie production the ‘40s and ‘50s help bring that aspect of Hollywood history to vivid life.
This issue’s Art Corner is a striking caricature of Pappy Ford, while our Collectors’s Corner features some high-and low-end ticket promotions.. Our Feedback section is chock-full with letters from the sharpest readers in the world.
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Issue 24’s feature is “Where Did the Music Go?” - the amazing saga of On Your Toes, Rodgers and Hart’s hit Broadway musical of 1936 that made the move to the silver screen three years later. But somewhere along the way all the Rodgers and Hart songs disappeared! Leonard Maltin sleuthed through the archives to provide some answers in Part One of this musical mystery.
Our CONVERSATION dates back thirty years, when Leonard interviewed Marc Connelly, the famed dramatist, author, screenwriter, and all-around wit. Mr. Connelly talks about bringing his Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Green Pastures to the screen, and discusses his sporadic film career, which included several stints as a script doctor.
We’ve also got a rare Hopalong Cassidy caricature, a vintage W.C. Fields greeting card and a knockout photo of Laurel and Hardy with Orson Welles. Quite an issue!
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 Issue 23 continues the story of the intertwined destinies of the movies and vaudeville. Despite the general belief that vaudeville died with the introduction of talkes and radio, it actually staged a comeback in the 1930s. This was vaudeville with a musical bent, sparked by the emergence of the Big Bands.
Our Conversation in this issues is with revered trumpeter Uan Rasey, a member of the famed MGM Orchestra from the late ‘40s through the golden age of MGM musicals. He offers rare behind-the-scenes observations of the talents – and the distinct personalities – of that time. And, in a rare treat, our Still Life and Collectors’ Corner features both celebrate Jackie Cooper, child star extraordinaire.
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 There was a day when where you saw a movie was as important at the movie itself. Issue 22 recounts the sumptuous extravaganzas presented by Sid Grauman and the showman known far and wide as “Roxy”. Read about the behind-the-scenes drama
that unfolded as Radio City Music Hall opened, and the legal battle that played
out in the papers! Our Conversation features Arthur Gardner, who started out acting in All Quiet on the Western Front and wound up producing movies and TV series like The Rifleman. A rare vintage drawing of Buster Keaton, the Collectors’ Corner…and more!
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 The Busby Berkeley classic Golddiggers of 1933 headlines Issue 21, with never-before- published details on that film's sensational finale "Remember My Forgotten Man", including behind-the-scenes productions notes and insights into the origin of number.
Plus Part 2 of our conversation with Les Martinson, Hap Lee caricatures, Collectors' Corner, and more!
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 Issue 20 tells the story of Young and Beautiful, the last of the films featuring the WAMPAS ‘baby stars’; while it was a Grade B movie (despite a script by Dore Schary), it featured Grade A character actors, and one of the most unusual musical numbers ever filmed, complete with bogus ‘appearances‘ by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Our Conversation is with Les Martinson, a legend of early television; we go back to his beginnings at MGM as script clerk to Vincente Minnelli and John Huston. The Collectors’ Corner asks for “The Envelope, Please” - and more!
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 Issue 19 of Movie Crazy recounts how stars
of the silent era found a welcome Third Act in the television world of the 50s and 60s.
Plus, a delightful interview from the early
70s with director John Cromwell. Best known for such classics as Of Human Bondage, The Prisoner of Zenda, and Since You Went Away, his account of being a ‘man of the theatre’ making the transition to the new
world of talkies and his take on the many
stars he worked with are not to be missed.
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 Issue 18 leads with the story of two programs unique in American broadcast history, entitled “Hollywood Fights Back.” These radio programs brought together an unprecedented group of stars on successive Sundays in the fall of 1947 to protest the investigations of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. This edition’s Conversation is with noted cinematographer Richard Kline, who shares amazing stories of working on The Lady from Shanghai, I Love Lucy, and other landmarks. Still Life features Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein — together again for the first time? — plus Ephemera, and the Collectors’ Corner.
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Ray Bradbury gives new definition to the term ‘lifelong fan’ in Issue 17’s feature story. We think you’ll be delighted with Ray’s accounts of star sightings from the 30s and 40s.
This issue’s Conversation is with the lovely Joan Leslie, who gives a fascinating and detailed account of life as a contract player under the studio system. A collection of Loew’s Weekly programs from 1929 conveys just how revolutionary the change from silents to sound was. Plus the Art Corner, Still Life, and more!
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The third and last installment of our series Lost in Movie Limbo brings tales of Nancy-Drew-like rights detectives, disgruntled heirs, and the origin of the term ‘Abend titles’ that describes many of the limbo’d movies from It Ain't Hay to Viva Zapata.
We’ve got a second installment of our interview with director Norman Taurog, raconteur extraordinaire, detailing his experiences from the dawn of the sound era and his dealings
with personalities from W. C. Fields through to Martin and Lewis. Plus, Xavier Cugat is in the Art Corner, and our Collectors’ Corner turns into a mail room.
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 The Swiss Family Robinson of 1940 is just one of the many films covered as Issue 15 brings us Part 2 of “Lost in Movie Limbo”. Read about its fate, and that of The Constant Nymph, The Dance of Life, and Where’s Charley? (starring the unforgettable Ray Bolger) and many others.
A fascinating interview with Norman Taurog on the wild days of making silent films. Orson Welles is in the Art Corner, the Marx Brothers inaugurate a new feature, and a tribute to Robert Benchley.
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Performances by such fabled artists as Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, the Barrymores and Myrna Loy sit on shelves in studio vaults, Lost in Movie Limbo. Issue 14 tells you the behind-the-scenes reasons why.
We also present Part 2 of our Conversation with Jimmy Lydon, raconteur extraordinaire. We have some exceptional line drawings of silent stars including Gloria Swanson and Norma Shearer; plus Jackie Coogan in the Collectors' Corner!
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Come Meet the Stars -
and catch a glimpse of some forgotten film appearances by Orson Welles, Anna May Wong, Roy Rogers and others in the series of shorts hosted by Harriet Parsons,
daughter of the famed Louella O.
Part 2 of our interview with Jimmy Lydon offers compelling details of his unique Hollywood story. And, as always, rare photos, movie ads and collectibles.
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Issue 12 concludes Music and the Moves with Part 3 - Hollywood on the Record, the story of the record business and its unique relationship to the movies from the ‘30s to the ‘50s. Our Conversation salutes Betty Kimball and Marie Johnston, two of “The Women of Ink and Paint”, the legions who brought animation to life, plus Still Life, Collectors’ Corner and more!
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Issue 11’s Music and the Movies installment
picks up the story when the movies began to talk - and sing! Our Conversation features Joseph Biroc, ASC on working with Orson Welles & amazing behind-the-scenes glimpses of those extraordinary Astaire-Rogers numbers. Line drawings from the ‘20s & ‘30s, sheet music collectibles & more!
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 The Sound of Silents begins our series on the dymanic relationship between music
and the movies. Issue 10’s Conversation is with Janet Waldo, radio actress extraordinaire & the voice of Judy Jetson!
More caricature art from Disney legend Joe Grant... our Flashback: movie theatre handouts of the 1930s...and the Collectors' Corner features film stars who became radio favorites.
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Movie Crazy begins its 3rd year with Issue 9! Join Laurel & Hardy, Gabby Hayes and others on the promo train the saga of Movie Junkets, in Peace and War continues.
Our in-depth interview this issue is with film & TV favorite Noah Beery, Jr. Plus unusual caricatures of James Cagney and Cary Grant in the Art Corner, and a dazzling array of stamps featuring stars & studios.
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Issue 8 offers up the low-down on Hollywood’s all-star junkets for 42nd St. and Dodge City in “The Ballyhoo Express” .
Plus part 2 of our interview with Alexander Courage on a life well-lived in Hollywood. We've got a long-unseen Hirschfeld movie caricature from 1943, plus Gloria Stuart on screening I Like It That Way, which she starred in 70 years ago!
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 Issue 7 looks at Hollywood’s
conspiracy to rewrite silent film history. Leonard's conversation is with famed composer/arranger
Alexander Courage on the glory days of the MGM music department.
Plus samples of movie art by Xavier Cugat and Keye Luke, vintage fan mail replies from Ronald Reagan, W. C. Fields and others,
collectible movie star coins and more!
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 “The Soundies” headline Issue 6 as we take a look at the musical shorts that introduced many a film star, including Doris Day and Cyd Charisse (seen in rare photos).
In our Conversation, Grace Bradley Boyd talks about her days as a starlet and life with Hoppy. We've got further adventures in fan mail, plus movie art collectible movie bookmarks...and more!
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Issue 5 brings us the unique biography
of Cole Porter’s cowboy anthem, “Don’t Fence Me In”.
More of our exclusive interview with Robert Young, who talks about working with Hitchcock. Jane Russell poses for James Montgomery Flagg, the early days of fan mail...& vintage movie tickets in the Collectors’ Corner.
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Issue 4 features the first installment
of Leonard’s fascinating in-depth interview
with Robert Young, who talks about his years at MGM, working with Spencer Tracy, Marie Dressler and others, and his days in radio
Director Edward Bernds on the early days of Westerns, movie art by James Cagney, and more!
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 In Issue 3’s “Sorry, Wrong Movie”, read how Barbara Stanwyck carried a grudge against Bette Davis for more than 50 years.
Jane Withers offers a delightful interview on life as a child star, we have some great movie art...collectible movie star playing cards...and more!
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The story of a town
whose streets are named after MGM stars,
and more from Mary Brian, who talks about
making The Front Page and The Virginian.
Arthur Q. Bryan (the voice of Elmer Fudd)
is our first Unsung Hero, plus
perfumed movie collectibles & more!
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 Our Premiere Issue features Leonard’s exclusive account on how Orson Welles, Cary Grant, and John Barrymore almost became The Man Who Came to Dinner.
Plus, part 1 of an eloquent conversation with 1920s/30s
film star Mary Brian on working & playing
in the Hollywood of the era.
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Issue 12
Issue 8