About Cameron
I’ve adored classic Hollywood ever since I was a little kid. While my friends were watching “Full House,” I was falling in love with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Top Hat, and The More the Merrier, and discovering the wonders of Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, and my particular favorites, Joel McCrea and Esther Williams. I taped TCM’s schedule onto VHS tapes, and later infuriated my family by filling up the DVR with movies they’d never heard of and didn’t really care to watch.
I studied film at Duke University before doing graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I earned an M.A. in Film from the Department of Communication Arts. After finishing at Madison, I began writing a regular column on sallycooks.com before starting The Blonde at the Film. I also write a monthly column for ClassicFlix.com, and I’m working on a book about Old Hollywood.
Now I’m having a wonderful time providing what I hope are enjoyable, informative, and lovely essays on movies that I find interesting, beautiful, funny, or special. I don’t entirely understand why, but my taste and sensibility are stuck firmly in 1930s-1950s Hollywood, and I adore sharing what I love about these fantastic movies. I recently became an aunt, and I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit thinking about which classic movie I should show my nephew first. Poor thing–he has no idea what’s coming!
And the name? When I was thinking about what to call my blog, I kept returning to a photo a classmate took when I was in graduate school. We were in a screening of The Blood of a Poet (1930), and my classmate snapped a photo from behind me in the theater. In the darkness, my blonde head glimmers in the foreground from the faint, silvery light cast by the distant screen. And I thought, “That’s me! I’m the ‘blonde at the film!'”
You can email me at BlondeAtTheFilm@gmail.com, and follow me on Twitter, tumblr, pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Thanks for reading!
-Cameron
ps. My reviews are full of spoilers. I want to talk about the whole movie, not just discuss what happens until a crucial turning point, so I give away just about everything. I can’t help myself.
The Blonde at the Film 
I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award!
Here’s the full post:
http://cinemattire.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/versatile-blogger-awards/
There’s absolutely no obligation to take part unless you wish to ~ if not, please simply take it as a tribute to my appreciation for your wonderful blog!
~ Clara from Cinemattire 🙂
Thank you so much, Clara! I really appreciate it!
Hi,
I would like to use a little photomontage of The Awful Truth that you posted. I Was wondering if I can have your permission to do so.
Thanks
Hi Eric,
Yes, that would be great! But please give me credit and also link back to me, if possible!
Thanks!
Hi Cameron,
I wonder if you can help me with the name of a classic screwball comedy that I have been looking for since the 1900s. 😉 I came across it ages ago by accident (it was already on) and I never saw the name of it. I laughed all through it and always hoped I’d come upon it again, but never have. I *believe* the lovable ditzy blonde was Carole Lombard, and I believe it was from the 1930’s (it was black and white). It took place mostly in rooms and there are a couple of small scenes that I remember. One was that the line, “stuck like a limpet” was repeated many times in the movie, after which everyone would say, “like a what?,” and the speaker would say, “like a limpet.” (No, it was not a Mr. Limpet movie). Also, there was a guy who was trying to iron his shirts and kept burning the shape of the iron into each one. Please, do you know which movie this is? I have googled and inquired on other sites, etc. over the years. If you do not recognize this movie, can you tell me of a site at which I can pose this same question?
Many Thanks,
Mary
Hi Mary,
It didn’t ring any bells with me, so I checked with some other classic movie blogs and couldn’t find an answer for you, so sorry! I will keep an eye out for it, though!
I love your blog! I teach at the Women’s Institute College Denman (www.denman.org.uk) and use you a lot to find fun quirky facts for my students.
It’s good to see some love for the old films out there, especially by women!
Claire
Thank you so much, Claire! This made my day!
I so happy you have a blog, I love old hollywood and I like your blog 🙂 I have a couple of youtube channels that I upload video’s on, reviews of old movies, and collection’s, things like that. And I was wondering if I review a movie and I find out you did a review on the same movie would it be okay if I put a link in my description box for people to find and check out your reviews?
Courtney
Thank you! Sure, please link to me! What are your channels?
My channels are called clhpjudygarlandlover & Old Hollywood Lover
I saw a film last night released in 1944 that was about the home front during WWII. Claudette Corbette , Jenefer Jones and a teenage Shirley Temple. Very sad at times because of bad news from the front. But it ended suddenly on a positive Note! As a guy that has studied WWII for years I thought it really showed a touching side, A definite must see
I’m sorry, the above film I commented on was called Since you Went Away. Again a must see
I need to give that another watch! Thanks, David!
That is one of the best films I have ever seen. Another WWII movie with Claudette Colbert is So Proudly We Hail. Wonderful
THIS is an interesting blog. RTF grad from TCU. As a high school kid I worked as an extra in Giant. Also worked in the local theatre (the only one). Depending when the plane returned from Hollywood, we watched the rushes with the stars. Man, the stories I can tell you on that alone would fill a book. I think of Chill Wills and Monte Hale and I crack up even today. C.B. DeMill was a cool character and Rock and Elizabeth were a delight. That was a chapter in my book of life, that movie. At least once in your life, everyone should work for and experience a major film. I already knew I wanted to study RTF at TCU in high school, but this experience sealed the conviction.
How cool! What an incredible experience. Thanks for commenting!
What I really like in this site, apart from the good information and the beautiful pictures, is the no orthodoxy style. In a cinema site, is easy to find Citizen Kane or Vertigo, but Harvey Girls or Cover Girl not so much. And, like you, I studied movies in university and I prefer Harvey than Citizen Kane.
Thank you! So glad you like my approach. There are so many great movies, and most of them are not in the “canon,” so it’s fun to be able to spotlight some of the lesser known ones or the films that aren’t taken as seriously today.
I’ve nominated you for a One Lovely Blog Award:
https://jesgear.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/the-one-lovely-blog-award/
🙂
Thank you! I appreciate it!
Hey, Cameron!
First off, I love your site! This is my very favorite place to read reviews of classic films.
I know how much you love Esther Williams, so I thought of you when I watched this episode of “What’s My Line?” today. Esther is the Mystery Guest, and she’s marvelous (as always): https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqsaqh5sqUxr7GdO0jBQGXR_d7tx0TJ50¶ms=EAEYATgBSAFYA2ILalhuS1lfMnNWS0loAQ%253D%253D&v=hEpSVCYok8s&mode=NORMAL
I don’t know if you’ve seen it already, but I thought I’d share it in case you haven’t.
Thanks for the great work you do!
Thank you so much for posting this! Wonderful! And thanks for your kind words about my site! It made my day!
Hey Cameron. Did you ever think about creating a FB group about your blog or even an Esther Williams group?
Hello! I’ve got a Facebook page (and instagram, twitter, tumblr, and pinterest, just look for Blonde at the Film), https://www.facebook.com/TheBlondeAtTheFilm/, but I don’t have a group.
Oh cool! Do you ever join in on other stuff on fb? I’m part of a group on fb on Esther Williams that I think you may like. Just throwing it out there! 🙂
I simply adore your blog. Old movies are the best.
Thank you!
I’ve reviewed many an old movie on my blog.
This blog is wonderful! I will have to keep myself from reading spoilers. With tcms 31 days of oscar, I am also filling up my dvr. Random movie question: whats the movie where a man and wife are on their honeymoon but one of them gets sick?
Thank you so much! The only one I can think of is THAT TOUCH OF MINK? They aren’t on a honeymoon but it’s a romantic getaway and one and then the other keeps getting hives?
Hey Cameron,
Wanted to say how much I love your blog, and also to say that everybody thinks I’m weird . . . but I *Love* so-called “spoilers.”
I don’t know if this is common, none of my friends say they do this, but I develop a sort of mental picture of a film, thinking about it laid out in time as well as space, and I love making those connections between foreshadowing events and objects and what happens later. I have even more fun going in to a movie with many of those ‘spoilers’ (a horrid term; I prefer ‘juicy details’) already giving me an overview to enjoy the film even more.
So please never apologize for including juicy details. It shows what an intelligent and accomplished film expert you are!
Thank you! I love the idea of the “mental picture!” I agree–sometimes the movie gets even more interesting when you know what to look for! Thanks for this comment and hope you continue to enjoy the blog!
I had a blast reading the “Love Before Breakfast
“ entry. I can already tell I’m going to be “obsessed” with your blog. Thank you!
Thank you! This made my day!
Hello, I’ve discovered your blog after I’ve watched ‘The Charade 1963’. A agree with you, old Hollywood movies, stories and actors were great. I prefer watching old films too. Great site, thank you very much.
Loves from Ankara, Turkey.
Thank you! Glad you’ve enjoyed the site and it’s always nice to hear from another old movie fan!
Cameron is not only the most detailed evaluator of (certain) movies I have ever encountered: we need more people like her, experts in her subject, if just to demonstrate how many aspects of film there are, how each film touches our lives. Please keep up the great work – I’m interested in seeing what you do next.
What a lovely compliment, thank you! I really appreciate it and hope to post more soon. Thanks again!
Hi, Cameron! Great article! Just found it while doing some research on Pride & Prejudice. I’ve been trying to figure out if that was the movie that my aunt Sunny was in with her good friend Frieda Inescort. I decided that the costumes they are wearing in a picture she gave to my father are the same ones Frieda is wearing in a picture from IMDB–just different lighting. But, why the same?! In fact, they look very similar–clothes, hair, makeup, etc! Then it dawned on me that–duh!–Sunny must have been Frieda’s stand-in/ double! She did that in ’30s & ’40s & was married to a stuntman, I believe. My memory is that she was in Gone With The Wind. She told a story of the filming of Scarlett’s falling down the stairs scene. Would love to show you that photo. Would that be in email? Thanks!!
So cool! Sure, would love to see the photo! blondeatthefilm@gmail.com