Biography
Diana Reep (D. C. Reep) has been a writer since she invented horror stories for classmates in elementary school. As an English professor at The University of Akron, she taught technical writing, film studies, popular culture, and the Arthurian legend while publishing textbooks and literary biographies. No longer grading papers, she's writing historical fiction for YA and adult readers focused on events around the beginning of the 20th century, e.g., Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, World War 1 military action and non-combat support, and the early movie business. She is a member of the Authors Guild, Women's Fiction Writers Association, Historical Novel Society, and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Publishers Weekly has called her historical fiction "vivid," "fast-moving," and "entertaining." Living in the Midwest, she crosses her fingers every fall, hoping the coming winter will be mild.
As a lifelong lover of movies, I have many favorites. The following brief list of recommendations represents only a sampling of the thousands of movies made by American filmmakers in the over 100 years of the film industry.
Favorite Classic Thrillers
Night of the Hunter (Robert Mitchum, 1955)
Point Blank (Lee Marvin, 1967)
Rider on the Rain (Charles Bronson, 1970)
Strangers on a Train (Farley Granger, Robert Walker, 1951)
Wait Until Dark (Audrey Hepburn, 1967)
Favorite Classic Westerns
3:10 to Yuma (Glenn Ford, 1957)
The Naked Spur (James Stewart, 1953)
Ride the High Country (Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, 1962)
Rio Bravo (John Wayne, 1959)
The Searchers (John Wayne, 1956)
Favorite Classic Films Noir
Criss Cross (Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, 1949)
Double Indemnity (Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, 1944)
Gilda (Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, 1946)
The Killers (Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, 1946)
Out of the Past (Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, 1947)
Favorite Classic Musicals
Band Wagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, 1953)
Cabaret (Liza Minnelli, 1972)
Oklahoma (Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, 1955)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, 1954)
Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, 1952)
Favorite Classic Comedies
Father of the Bride (Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, 1950)
The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, 1948)
The Out of Towners (Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis, 1970)
The Seven Year Itch (Tom Ewell, Marilyn Monroe, 1955)
Favorite Classic Romances
Christmas in Connecticut (Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, 1945)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, 1947)
Pillow Talk (Doris Day, Rock Hudson, 1959)
Roman Holiday (Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, 1953)
The Swan (Grace Kelly, Louis Jourdan, 1956)