Lilies of the Field
Who The Hell Are We?
Lilies of the Field is a 1963 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson. Praised by critics, Lilies of the Field earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Skala. Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first Black actor to win in a leading role. 📧 📖 melanieanded.substack.com
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Prodigal Summer
Who The Hell Are We?
It's book review week, Melanie and Ed discuss Prodigal Summer (2000) by author Barbara Kingsolver. Also, Melanie explains why it has been her best sports weekend EVER. More at melanieanded.substack.com or email melanded@whothehellarewe.com
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Special Holiday Edition!
Who The Hell Are We?
Our hosts seem to have hit the eggnog early as they discuss The Shop Around the Corner, a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, and Joseph Schildkraut. More at melanieanded.substack.com or email melanded@whothehellarewe.com
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Quiet Dell
Who The Hell Are We?
Robert Mitchum’s preacher in The Night of the Hunter was inspired by real murders that also shaped Jayne Anne Phillips’s novel Quiet Dell. Ed and Melanie trace the link between book and film, exploring how truth becomes myth and how art transforms tragedy. More at melanieanded.substack.com or email melanded@whothehellarewe.com .
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Night of the Hunter
Who The Hell Are We?
Robert Mitchum's sinister preacher, Charles Laughton’s only directorial effort, and one of cinema’s most haunting thrillers — The Night of the Hunter (1955) went unappreciated in its day. Ed and Melanie explore its striking imagery, Shelley Winters’ fate, and Lillian Gish’s quiet strength. More at melanieanded.substack.com
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Laughing Gas
Who The Hell Are We?
It’s Book Club week as Ed and Melanie take on Laughing Gas (1936) by P. G. Wodehouse. A book with aristocrats colliding with Hollywood child stars in a screwball farce of body-swapping and mischief. 📧 📖 melanieanded.substack.com
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Falling In Love At Cambridge
Who The Hell Are We?
Melanie and Ed discuss Maurice (1987), the Merchant Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel of forbidden love. They explore the film’s emotional tone, literary legacy, and what it meant to tell this story in 1987. 📧 🔗 melanieanded.substack.com 🌀 Originally released: July 8th, 2023
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The Champ
Who The Hell Are We?
A 1931 film about a washed-up boxer and his son turns into one of the most emotional episodes Ed and Melanie have ever recorded. They walk through The Champ scene by scene, with reflections on Frances Marion, child actors, and a performance by Jackie Cooper that still stuns. 📬 📰 melanieanded.substack.com
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Sexy Rexy
Who The Hell Are We?
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), a ghost story with real romantic power. Gene Tierney is luminous, Rex Harrison is “Sexy Rexy,” and the ending still breaks our hearts. 📬 Email us: 📰 Substack: 🌀 Originally released: July 4, 2022
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Rules of Civility - Amor Towles
Who The Hell Are We?
Melanie and Ed begin a new movie-book rhythm with their first book episode: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles — a novel of restraint, elegance, and quiet ambition in 1930s New York. 📧 🔗 melanieanded.substack.com
info_outlineLatest social-distancing podcast from Melanie and Ed. Realization sets in that this will be a long healing process for the country and the world. Books and movies to lift your spirits; Melanie's NYT word puzzle addiction and Ed's crafts come out of the basement.
Send comments and suggestions to help each other out to melanded@whothehellarewe.com
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