Classic films get bad wrap in this generation. People give excuses such as bad quality or black and white or out dated material! I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I was brought up on classic TV and movies. I marveled at the antics of Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke and Jackie Gleason. I was enthralled by the hilarity of Ma and Pa Kettle, Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello. And I enjoyed going along for the ride with Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and John Wayne.
Now as lucky as I was not everyone was as lucky to be brought up on these amazing tv episodes and films. But thanks to many great companies these classic films and TV shows are alive and well! One such company is The Film Detective. And they have a new and exciting project for families to enjoy together.
Cinedigm, the leading independent streaming company and The Film Detective will premiere the original film series, Classic Films for Kids, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Classic Films for Kids will be hosted by Jennifer Churchill, classic film enthusiast and author of Movies are Magic, the children’s book dedicated to an engaging and educational look at the history of film, which features an introduction from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) primetime host Ben Mankiewicz. She is joined by co-host, son Weston,7, exploring family-friendly programming with Golden Age stars from Abbott and Costello to Shirley Temple.
The first season will feature full-length, classic films, contextualized with insight and commentary. In this first season there will be such classic stars as Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Shirley Temple and Buster Keaton. New episodes will premiere every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET on The Film Detective channel, followed by SVOD releases on TFD’s classic film and television app.
Phil Hopkins, The President of The Film Detective said of this new project, “We are thrilled to partner with Jennifer to bring new life to these family-friendly classics, audiences of all ages will enjoy Jennifer and Weston’s love of the classics and learn why teaching new audiences about the history of film is so essential.”
The show's co-host Jennifer Churchill said, “It’s so important to make sure kids know about these films, a lot of kids only see modern movies with fast editing, explosions and CGI. It’s really important for them to know the history of film and that these movies exist.”
Now the first episode is going to feature the amazing comedy fantasy film Jack and the Beanstalk featuring the comedy teams Abbott and Costello. I always felt this film didn't get the love and respect it truly deserves. I was glad to see it receive a nice Blu-ray release though. You can read that review here.
Saturdays were always a real fun time for most kids. As we would wake up early with a big bowl of Fruit Loops, Coco Puffs, Fruity Pebbles or Cookie Crisps and watch cartoons till midday than g out a play all day till night. Sadly those days are long long gone. But maybe with this new show families may get together and enjoy classic films on Saturdays.
The Film Detective’s classic film and television app is available to stream on web, iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. For more information on TFD, visit www.thefilmdetective.com.
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