DVD Classics Corner On the Air features Vincente Minnelli

Dick Dinman, host of DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR, interviews biographer Mark Griffin as part of his four part audio feature on Vincente Minnelli.

DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is a weekly show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD. Host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music, and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors.

Follow the links below to listen to his four-part series, Versatile Vincente. The last two weeks in April you will also find these shows on TCM.COM.

If you live in Maine, you can hear this weekly program Fridays from 1:00-1:30pm on FM radio station WMPG.

VERSATILE VINCENTE (Part One)
Although principally remembered and revered for his astonishing contribution to musical cinema the Warner Archives' recent release of four beautifully remastered widescreen and color Vincente Minnelli non-musicals (THE COBWEB, TEA AND SYMPATHY, THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE and TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN) graphically demonstrate his inventive mastery of both stark drama and lighthearted comedy and who better to join producer/host Dick Dinman in turning the spotlight on the length and breadth of Minnelli's amazing versatility than Mark Griffin, author of the acclaimed biography A HUNDRED OR MORE HIDDEN THINGS: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF VINCENTE MINNELLI.

VERSATILE VINCENTE (Part Two)
VERSATILE VINCENTE (Part Three)
VERSATILE VINCENTE (Part Four)

Peter Filichia's Diary: The Movie That Should Have Been Made

Theatremania's Peter Filichia recently read Mark Griffin's new biography on Vincente Minnelli and wonders about the movie that should have been made...

Had a good time reading Mark Griffin’s very well-written and researched A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnelli. How nice to know more about such films as Cabin in the Sky, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Clock, Ziegfeld Follies, An American in Paris, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, Kismet, Tea and Sympathy, Gigi, The Reluctant Debutante, Bells Are Ringing and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. None of us, I suspect, can resist any book that includes the line “I witnessed a nasty scene that Dolores Gray made.”

But the most intriguing paragraph for me was the one that started Chapter Five. “In January, 1937,” it began, “Minnelli drove through the Paramount gates for the first time. Never one to start small, he proposed that his first production should be an innovative musical mystery entitled Times Square. Minnelli envisioned the film as an all-star extravaganza that would incorporate scenes from actual Broadway shows currently on the boards.”

Read the full article at this link.

Today's Vincente Minnelli Trivia

Classic Film Fans:

Judy Garland performed a lovely Rodgers and Hammerstein tune for Vincente Minnelli's "Meet Me In St. Louis" but the number was dropped from the final version of the film. What was the title of the song?

Go to the facebook page for Mark Griffin's "A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnell" and post your answer!

http://www.facebook.com/HundredOrMoreHiddenThings

The first person to answer correctly will receive a signed copy of the book.

Vincente Minnelli author at Maine Festival of the Book

Yesterday, Maine author Mark Griffin read from his new book A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnelli at the 4th annual Maine Festival of the Book in Portland, Maine. View photos at this link.

Later that evening, friends and family gathered for a party celebrating the release of this new book. Photos from the event at this link.