James Cagney

I just know many of you out there are scrambling to catch up on your holiday gift giving. This article's for you.

This was the not the first title I had in mind for this piece. But when I dug into Clint Eastwood's life and career, it seemed particularly apt -- and not even close to an overstatement.

Christian Bale strikes me as a complete enigma. Yes, his acting chops are prodigious, but he seems to me to be all technique and no heart; we get buckets of perfectly formed ice, but very little fire.

Crime has not just been good to the criminals; it's been awfully good to Hollywood as well.

As we head into the Independence Day weekend, I wanted to suggest some classic titles scattered over the decades that each in their way evoke our country's unique character.

When Cagney smacked ya, he did so with grace. He could, quite literally, tap dance on yer face. An accidental poem to wish my netless Dad, ...

One of the finest actors and leading men from Hollywood's Golden Age, William Powell was born towards the end of this month way back in 1892. It's unlikely most people under 30 would even recognize his name, which is sad, but also easily remedied.

There are certain actors we encounter as children having grown up on classic film who have a profound impact on us, and no one knows this better than David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door.

What follows are my favorite under-exposed Bogie picks. I'm consciously omitting what are arguably his most famous "landmark" films.