An Interview with Leonard Maltin film critic, historian and co-host of the weekly movie review show Hot Ticket

Leonard Maltin, film critc, historian and co-host of the weekly movie review show Hot Ticket, recently shared his thoughts about APT's new Warner/Turner/MGM Classic Film Collection ...

Q: How did you get your start reviewing films? What intrigued you about cinema?

A: I got hooked when I was very young, as a child of the first television generation. In those days, television was a living history of motion picture. I grew up watching Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges and the show The Little Rascals. My parents had to explain to me that they were old — that they had seen them when they were young. This intrigued me. I was a precocious reader, and when I was young, I went to the library to find books about this history [on television]. The first book I ever took out of the library was the autobiography of Mack Sennett, the famous silent film comedy producer. I couldn't get enough. I started collecting films on 8 mm film — not 8 mm video. This is when almost every family had a projector and camera to shoot home movies. I would save my money, and on birthdays or holidays I would ask for movies. I got Charlie Chaplin films or Laurel and Hardy films. My curiosity was stirred. At the same time, I loved to write; creative writing was my favorite thing in school. I started writing articles about these films and the people who made them and the things I was learning.

Q: APT will be distributing the 1962 film The Miracle Worker this spring as well (directed by Arthur Penn, and starring Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke and others). Both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Oscars for their performances in this movie. Tell us a little bit about this film and why it is so highly acclaimed.

A: The Miracle Worker started out as a television play in the days when a great many original, daring and provocative plays were performed on live television every week. Some of them came and went the same night. Others made such an impression on people that they were turned into films — like Twelve Angry Men. The Miracle Worker was so well received that it then became a Broadway show. The author, William Gibson, adapted it for Broadway. Arthur Penn directed it (as he had on television). It starred Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. And the creative team responsible for the Broadway show also made the movie; that doesn't happen very often. I saw it not too long ago, and the thing that struck me most about the film is not only how well it adapts to the screen, but how different it is from how we think of a typical American movie. It is a very austere, very spare film. Not just because it's filmed in black and white and doesn't have flashy camerawork or editing, but it simply lets the material speak for itself. The power of these performances, the remarkable story it's telling about these two amazing women (Helen Keller and the teacher Annie Sullivan), and the dynamics within the Keller family, are what make the film unforgettable. It's a singular work. The story could be told with much more sentiment, but it doesn't need any of that; it doesn't need any adornment. We don't need to be sold on how moving the story is.

Q: What is it about classic films that people enjoy? Why do you enjoy them so much?

A: When people ask me why I like old Hollywood films so much (especially films from the 1930s and 40s), I say that there's a joy in these films that is palpable. At one time, people used to put down old Hollywood movies as being nothing more than escapist fluff. Much of it was. But at its best, Hollywood entertainment had a way of lifting your spirits. Not just in a button-pushing, superficial way that we associate with so-called feel-good movies nowadays, but in a way that left you walking on a cloud, and believing — if only for a short time — that life could be beautiful. Dreams were worthy of dreaming, and some things were worth shooting for — like romance and happiness. We don't get much of that today because we live in such a cynical world. I don't think people are all that cynical. I think many people have become cynical, but they really long for a lot of these emotions that the old 30s and 40s movies stir up. That's why the films hold up so well.

Q: Do you know any funny anecdotes or unknown facts about any of these films?

A: The thing about the great musical performers of that era —Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, and some of the other great stars — is like all great artists, they made what they did look easy. That was part of their charm. They were tremendous perfectionists — both the performers and the people behind the camera — but you never saw them sweat. One of the problems I have with a musical like Chicago (which is an entertaining movie), is that it seems as if they want you to know how hard they're working. It's a personal gripe of mine. And of course, they gave endless interviews about how hard they rehearsed, and how they had to learn to tap dance and such. In the old days, they never wanted you to peek behind that curtain and see the wheels turning. It's a huge difference. We also live now, in what I call, the "Age of the Amateur" —the American Idol era. A lot of the musical performers we see now (both amateur and professional) send out a vibe that makes people say, 'I can do that.' No one ever looked at Fred Astaire and said, 'I can do that.' You might say, 'I want to do that,' and that could become your goal. Many people went into musical theater or attended dance classes hoping someday they might be a fraction as good as Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, or to sing as well as Judy Garland. But for most of us, that was a pipe dream. Their art was in their seeming effortlessness. If it makes me sound like an old fogey, so be it.