CHICAGO – YIPPIE! It’s back, in the neighborhood of its roots. YippieFest 2023 will be August 4th-6th in the Lakeview/Buena Park venue of PRIDE ARTS, 4139 North Broadway in Chicago. The space is less than a half mile from the former Mary-Arrchie Theatre, whose “Abbie Hoffman Festival” was the template for the three-day performance celebration. YippieFest currently has slots for theater acts, including one-act plays, monologue, sketch, improv, vaudeville and other stage performance arts. Artists get free admission to the rest of the festival, so click YiPPIE FEST 2023 to sign up.
1950s
Audio Film Review: Wartime Flyboys in Black & White in ‘Devotion’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 24, 2022 - 9:03pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Devotion,” a based-on-truth scenario regarding Jesse Brown, a Navy black aviator who broke through barriers during the 1950s Korean War, in theaters on November 23rd.!—break—>
On-Air Film Review: Lift Every Voice and Sing for ‘Till’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 28, 2022 - 5:09pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 27th, 2022, reviewing “Till,” a narrative re-telling of the Emmett Till civil rights incident from 1955, in wide release beginning October 28th.!—break—>
Podtalk: Chinonye Chukwu & Danielle Deadwyler for ‘Till’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 19, 2022 - 10:05amCHICAGO – The film “Till” is the story of Emmett Till, a black Chicago boy who was murdered in 1955 while visiting relatives in the American South. Instead of hiding the killing, Till’s mother Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) chose to show the world the result of her son’s hate crime murder. Chinonye Chukwu directed the film.!—break—>
Film Review: Florence Pugh Captivates in ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 22, 2022 - 4:48amCHICAGO – A sure hand behind the camera and a dynamic performance from Florence Pugh help “Don’t Worry Darling” pull off an extremely difficult balancing act. This isn’t a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it inspires the kind of impressions and ideas that you will still be talking about a week later.
In Memoriam: Unpublished Exclusive Photo of Child Star Tony Dow
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 31, 2022 - 10:59amTOPANGA, CALIF – Tony Dow is still dead. The featured cast member of the iconic 1950s sitcom “Leave it to Beaver” joined the ranks of Mark Twain and Generalissimo Francisco Franco on the list of deaths that were announced before the individual had died. On July 26th, 2022, a rep inadvertently leaked that Dow had passed, after a battle with cancer. His family had to intervene, expressing that he was still alive. Dow officially died on July 27th at his home in Topanga, California.
On-Air Film Review: Tailor Made Film Noir in ‘The Outfit’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 18, 2022 - 9:09amCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 17th, reviewing “The Outfit,” a new crime thriller noir set in Chicago, in theaters on March 18th.
Via Zoom: Barry Gifford Appears for ‘Roy’s World’ at Chicago Critic's Film Fest, Nov. 13, 2021
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 12, 2021 - 8:44pmCHICAGO – The Chicago of the 1950s and early 1960s was a different city then what it is now, and to capture that in a documentary is quite remarkable. “Roy’s World: Barry Gifford’s Chicago” is a look at the city in that era, and it will screen at the 2021 Chicago Critics Film Festival. Click ROY’S WORLD for details.
Via Zoom: Director Sam Pollard Revives the History of 'MLK/FBI'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 14, 2021 - 12:19pm- 1950s
- 1960s
- Alabama
- assassination
- Civil Rights
- Director
- Editor
- FBI
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- J. Edgar Hoover
- January 15th
- John F. Kennedy
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Martin Luther King Day
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- MLK/FBI
- Montgomery
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Sam Pollard
- Selma
- Spike Lee
- Surveillance
- USA
- Wiretap
- Zoom
CHICAGO – Sam Pollard has been a behind-the-scenes film editor/producer for most of his career, best known for his work with Spike Lee. But recently, after sporadic director assignments over the years, he has broken out with two major profile documentaries, one on Sammy Davis Jr. in 2017, and his most recent “MLK/FBI.”
Film Review: HollywoodChicago.com Reviews of ‘The High Note,’ ’The Vast of Night,’ Bonus
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 1, 2020 - 10:04amCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 29th, 2020, discussing new releases “The High Note” (VOD) and “The Vast of Night” (Amazon Prime) and BONUS review.!—break—>
Film Review: ‘The Wife’ is Classic Drama & Relevant Social History
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 24, 2018 - 12:58amCHICAGO – One of the more fascinating questions about civilization is ‘how much talent went unrealized because of time and place of birth?’ The patriarchy – which denied people of color and women for so long – often reduced fellow travelers into subservient roles. For example, there were women who were just known as “The Wife.”
