I hope that all of you had a great holiday season and that 2024 is treating you well!
With the new year comes resolutions, plans and... blogathons. My second hope for 2024 is that all you bloggers out there will resolve to participate in the second annual "Favorite Stars in B Movies" blogathon, scheduled for Friday, April 12, 2024 through Sunday the 14th.
I was extremely gratified by the response to my first ever Favorite Stars blogathon. I think part of the reason is that the topic conjures up a number of interesting possibilities:
- Future A-list stars who paid their dues doing B quickies
- Former A listers who, in the twilight of their careers, accepted roles in low-budget movies in order to keep working
- Stars who got fed up with oppressive studio control and struck off on their own in independent pictures
- Actors who never made it out of the B leagues, but whose work nonetheless made them instantly recognizable
- Unheralded actors who labored all their careers in the Bs, and merit recognition
A reminder (in case you missed the last blogathon): Being a laid-back sort of guy, I am open to various interpretations of the term "B movie." For a convenient yardstick, let's consider Wikipedia's definition: “a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not an arthouse film.”
Per last year's guidelines, we're looking for new posts, podcasts or YouTube videos on the topic. We'll also stick to the "one movie title per blogathon" rule, so if you want to write about, let's say, the stars of The Devil's Rain, get your reservation in early before someone else claims it (but other mentions of the film in the context of a career overview or list are perfectly fine).
Last year's contributions were largely about stars and films from the 1930s to the '80s, and that seems like a good bet for this go round. But if another era interests you, or you want to write about a performance in a direct-to-video title, that's fine by me (with the exception of episodic shows and broadcast TV movies, which we'll save for another time).
Thanks to everyone who made this year's blogathon a great success! Here are the day by day entries:
The Details (what, when, where, why, how):
What: The 2nd Annual 'Favorite Stars in B Movies' Blogathon
When: April 12 - 14, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)
Where: Filmsfrombeyond.com
Why: Because you know you want to.
How: Contact me with your blog/vlog/podcast name and actor/actress and film (or just actor name if you're doing a career overview or list); use the comments below, email me at brschuck66@yahoo.com, or reach out on X (formerly known as Twitter) via @brschuck66.
I will use this page to keep track of the participants. On or around the dates of the blogathon, send me the link to your post via any of the contact methods above, and I will publish submissions in three daily, digestible parts in the order I receive them.
Hope to hear from you soon!
And now, the roster of blog and film stars (so far):
Brian at Films From Beyond the Time Barrier: Ginger Rogers in The Thirteenth Guest (1932)
Marianne at Make Mine Film Noir: Gene Kelly in The Devil Makes Three (1952)
Barry at Cinematic Catharsis: Jack Palance and Martin Landau in Without Warning (1980)
Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews: Franco Nero in Enter the Ninja (1981)
Rebecca at Taking Up Room: DeForest Kelley in Night of the Lepus (1972)
John at tales from the freakboy zone: Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Ruth at Silver Screenings: Loretta Young in Cause for Alarm! (1951)
Joey at The Last Drive In: Ava Gardner in Tam Lin (1970) and Carroll Baker in Baba Yaga (1973)
Joey at Wolffian Classic Movies Digest: Basil Rathbone in The Magic Sword (1962)
The Flashback Fanatic: George (Superman) Reeves and Ralph (Dick Tracy) Byrd in Thunder in the Pines (1948)
Andrew at The Stop Button: Dana Andrews in Zero Hour! (1957)
Mike at Mike's Movie Room: Veronica Lake in Flesh Feast (1970)
Quiggy at The Midnite Drive-In: Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
Rachel at Hamlette's Soliloquy: Alan Ladd in Paper Bullets (1941)
Kayla at Whimsically Classic: Steve McQueen in The Blob (1958)
Virginie at The Wonderful World of Cinema: Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Robert Young in Crossfire (1947)
Debbi at I Found it at the Movies: Ray Milland in Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937)
Michael at Maniacs and Monsters: Raymond Burr in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954) and Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
Dustin at Horror and Sons: Peter Cushing in The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (1957)
Daffny at A Vintage Nerd: Vincent Price, John Carradine and Donald Pleasence in The Monster Club (1981)
Andrew at Maniacs and Monsters: George Clooney, Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen in Grizzly II: Revenge (1983)
Frank at Smoke in the Library: Ross Hagen in Wonder Women (1973)
Christianne at Krell Laboratories: The "graylist" films of Edward G. Robinson after his encounters with the House Un-American Activities Committee
Kristen at Hoofers and Honeys: Lucille Ball in Du Barry was a Lady (1943)
Crystal at In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: Bette Davis in Dead Ringer (1964)
If you'd like to help promote the blogathon, grab one of these fine, informative banners for your own site:
