The Hollywoodland Revue

There are few figures in the history of motion pictures whose artistry seems as inseparable from the very evolution of the medium as Lon Chaney. Known to generations as “The Man of a Thousand Faces,” Chaney was more than a performer—he was a pioneer who transformed the possibilities of screen acting, makeup, and emotional expression at a time when the cinema itself was still learning how to speak.

Hollywood moves into May with a slate that reflects the industry’s enduring balancing act—nostalgia-driven sequels, literary adaptations, genre fare, and a scattering of independent voices hoping to break through the noise. It’s a weekend that offers audiences a little of everything: glamour revisited, allegory reborn, psychological unease, and smaller, more intimate stories fighting for attention alongside bigger titles. Whether you’re drawn to star power or something more off the beaten path, the choices this weekend reveal, once again, the many directions modern filmmaking continues to take.

Hollywood’s silent era was filled with young actresses who rose quickly, shone brightly, and vanished almost as fast—some by choice, others by circumstance, and a tragic few by death. Among them was Lillian Webster, a motion picture actress whose career unfolded during the industry’s most volatile years and whose life ended abruptly in 1920, just as her screen future appeared to be taking shape.

The extent to which the American electorate and Congress’ work habits are at odds with one another is apparent—and widening every day. Congressional schedules—especially during election years—paint a picture lawmakers will soon struggle to defend. Few accomplishments will outweigh the reality of congressional calendars filled with repeated weeks-long recesses, bloated “district work periods” and what feels like an obsession with legislating off session. In 2026, Congress took roughly a two-week vacation for Easter and Passover. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Both chambers went home for recess from the last week of March until the middle of April. Only to come back into town for three days, kick off a month filled with short work weeks, long weekends and more breaks on their never-ending summer vacation.

In the shifting social landscape of early 1930s Hollywood, where image and illusion were currency and privacy, a rare and guarded luxury, Miriam Hopkins found herself inhabiting not only a new role in her personal life, but a house already steeped in mystique. Recently separated from screenwriter Austin Parker, Hopkins was, as one contemporary account observed, living in that peculiar state so often assigned to women of her era—socially independent, yet publicly scrutinized, a “young divorcée” navigating both freedom and expectation. Her solution, at once practical and symbolic, was to retreat into a residence whose very architecture seemed to echo her condition: a house of glass, open to the sky, yet shielded from the world.

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael arrives less as a conventional biography than as a massive, estate-approved act of cinematic resurrection: polished, expensive, musically electrifying, and deeply controlled. The film, written by John Logan and produced by Graham King with Jackson estate figures John Branca and John McClain, follows Michael Jackson from his Jackson 5 childhood through his solo superstardom and the Bad era, stopping before the later allegations and scandals that would permanently complicate his public legacy. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew and the son of Jermaine Jackson, makes his film debut in the title role, with Juliano Krue Valdi playing the young Michael, Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, and Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe.

Every spring Hollywood magically transforms from being simply "a place where films are made" into Hollywood at its Golden Age zenith - a city that celebrates movies. April 30 through May 3, 2026, will mark the seventeenth TCM Classic Film Festival, when the mecca of moviemaking turns into something of a museum for enthusiasts, film historians, archivists and filmmakers from all corners of the globe. This year's festival theme, "The World Comes to Hollywood" couldn't be more appropriate as we honor and remember the talent from around the world who helped build the American film industry into what it is today.

It was evening on September 25, 1931, and twilight had fallen over Hollywood Boulevard. Sally's Candy Shop at 6711 Hollywood Boulevard was closing up shop for the night. Inside, 28-year-old Wilma Etta McFarland was preparing to end another typical day at work. Described by newspaper reports as a dark-haired, neatly dressed, reliable saleswoman, she would be dead within hours. Her murder would become another entry in Los Angeles' infamous list of unsolved homicides.

As spring settles in and awards season fades into memory, the late-April box office offers a revealing glimpse at the industry’s shifting priorities—balancing star-driven spectacle with daring independent voices. This weekend’s lineup reflects that duality, from a major musical biopic aiming for broad appeal to smaller, more stylized films that challenge audiences in unexpected ways. Whether drawn by the promise of performance, story, or sheer curiosity, moviegoers will find a range of options that speak to both Hollywood tradition and its evolving future.

During the infancy of Hollywood and its growing motion picture industry stars were few and legends were just beginning to be made. Many bright careers would burn intensely for only a moment before going out. Unfortunately for young leading man Page Peters, his flame would go out far too early. In the summer of 1916 at the young age of twenty-seven Peters was found dead in the Pacific Ocean causing shock to spread through the film industry.

Today we conclude our look at central Pennsylvania-born personalities—with a personal twist. Janet Blair was part of that bright constellation of performers who came to Hollywood with song-filled hearts and dreams of showbiz success, made famous starring in the cheery, upbeat musicals audiences craved during World War II and its aftermath. A talented dancer and vocalist who was never a diva type actress, Blair enjoyed success in movies and worked steadily throughout her career as cinematic musicals went out of style, performing in television shows and onstage plays before retiring from the industry. For me, however, her name has always carried an additional, more personal resonance—one woven into the half-remembered stories and unanswered questions that live quietly inside families.

As we continue our look at celebrity beginnings in Pennsylvania, small-town life in central Pennsylvania might seem an unlikely launching pad for Hollywood heavy hitters. Yet less than thirty minutes outside my hometown of Tyrone, sits the borough of Hollidaysburg. And it was there that one of Tinseltown's most powerful and feared Hollywood characters was born Elda Furry on May 2, 1885 (she would later alter her birth certificate to June 2, 1890, to disguise her true age). Hopping from these humble roots in Blair County, Hedda would go on to not just work as an actress but become the most influential gossip columnist in the movie business.