Tony sits down with Brandon Davis, from NPR Illinois for the first of two episodes with the host of "Front Row Classics" podcast! In this first, we trace Brandon's path from grandma’s Rodgers and Hammerstein VHS tapes to a 350+ episode archive of interviews with film historians, authors, TCM personalities, and even cast members of "The Love Boat". What starts as a get-to-know-you quickly turns into a golden age tour of "what-ifs"—Bette Davis and James Mason in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf", Claudette Colbert as Margo Channing, Lucy as the Manchurian mastermind—and why the versions we got endure. Then it’s Hitchcock vs Wilder, "Double Indemnity" to "The Apartment" and the darkness lurking under the romantic comedy benchmark, "Sabrina".

Brandon opens the playbook on research and booking—building publisher relationships, prepping with audiobooks, and keeping conversations guest-first—while Tony and Brandon swap stories about encounters with legacy keepers like Lucy Arnaz and Lorna Luft.

Love classic cinema?Hit play, subscribe, and tell us your boldest old-Hollywood what-if. Then share this episode with a fellow film fan and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

For more information on Brandon's podcast, go to: https://classics136634685.wordpress.com/

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To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

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