Bowling, Tim Matheson, and “Dreamer”

by | May 14, 2017 | David Krell

“You just dream about something, that’s all it’s ever gonna be.  Just a dream.” So says Harold Nuttingham in the 1979 film Dreamer, a post-Watergate, feel-good movie with a down-to-earth vibe. Nuttingham dreams of being a bowling...

Football and Comedy

by | Feb 18, 2017 | David Krell

Football, a brutal sport symbolizing man’s primal quest to conquer territory, offers humor as compelling as the viciousness of Dick Butkus, the grace of Lynn Swann, and the agility of Walter Payton. Necessary Roughness exemplifies the underdog theme, a common...

Whose Life Story Is It Anyway?

by | Nov 3, 2016 | David Krell

The life story genre is a staple of baseball films. Fear Strikes Out depicted the anxieties of Jimmy Piersall.  William Bendix and John Goodman played Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story and The Babe, respectively.  42 spotlighted Jackie Robinson’s story of...

Lonesome Rhodes, Will Stockade, and Andy Taylor

by | Oct 29, 2015 | David Krell

Corruption rooted in ego, fame, and power forms the foundation for A Face in the Crowd, a 1957 film; Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplay based on his short story The Arkansas Traveler. Andy Griffith stars as Lonesome Rhodes, a country bumpkin discovered by television...

Bacon Popularity Sizzles

by | Feb 23, 2015 | David Krell

“Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” is a game that can be played anytime and anywhere by anybody.  It is, indeed, light enjoyment perfect for holiday conversation around the dinner table during dessert.  The game’s purpose is to connect an actor or an...