Will McKinley

Will McKinley

Writer, producer, digital marketing consultant, old movie weirdo.

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  • Character Studies

  • How to Make Movies

    ★★★

  • The Automat

    ★★★★½

  • Death of a Cyclist

    ★★★★★

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  • Character Studies

    Character Studies

    Carter DeHaven transforms into Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, Roscoe Arbuckle and Jackie Coogan (age 9) in this ingenious parody of a “quick-change act” set on a proscenium stage. The gag, of course, is that each plays himself (with the edits masterfully hidden).

    Produced for DeHaven’s Vaudeville act in 1924, CHARACTER STUDIES was later released to theaters by Educational Pictures as a one-reel comedy. It’s a fascinating curiosity, featuring a collection of icons still beloved by silent film fans…

  • How to Make Movies

    How to Make Movies

    ★★★

    Charlie Chaplin directs and stars in this fictionalized "day in the life" documentary about film production at his newly constructed studios.

    Chaplin (in street clothes) shows off his new Hollywood digs, eats a lemon off a tree, rehearses with his stock company (including frequent co-star Edna Purviance), applies his Tramp makeup, and shoots a comedy sequence on a golf course. He also figures out a way to feature women in bathing suits, bless his heart.

    Filmed in 1918 but mostly…

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  • Young and Innocent

    Young and Innocent

    ★★★★★

    The teen daughter of the chief constable of a British seaside town helps a murder suspect evade the police in this underrated 1937 Alfred Hitchcock thriller.

    Eighteen-year-old Nova Pilbeam stars as Erica, the plucky teen who falls for charismatic murder suspect Robert (Derrick De Marney). Edward Rigby is also a standout as Old Will, a charming vagrant who teams with Erica to search for the real killer.

    YOUNG AND INNOCENT — clumsily retitled THE GIRL WAS YOUNG For American audiences…

  • History Is Made at Night

    History Is Made at Night

    ★★★★½

    Skittish American Irene Vail (Jean Arthur) meets cute with Parisian headwaiter Paul (Charles Boyer), much to the consternation of Irene’s wealthy, jealous husband Bruce (Colin Clive) in this unforgettable romantic pastiche from director Frank Borzage.

    Independently produced by Walter Wanger and released by United Artists, HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT is a romantic melodrama with the soul of a screwball comedy. And there's murder, suicide, an iceberg, and a sinking ocean liner to add to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink fun.

    Antic Arthur…