From Beneath the Hollywood Sign Podcast By Steve Cubine & Nan McNamara cover art

From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

By: Steve Cubine & Nan McNamara
Listen for free

If the Golden era of Old Hollywood is your thing, our podcast is for you! If you want TYRONE POWER instead of TOM HARDY, JENNIFER JONES instead of JENNIFER LAWRENCE, or ROBERT MITCHUM rather than ROBERT PATTINSON, then FROM BENEATH THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN is the gin joint for you. Each week, writer and producer STEVE CUBINE and actress and writer NAN MCNAMARA explore, discuss, and dissect the magical, mysterious, amusing, and sometimes bizarre tales of Old Hollywood. So sit back and revisit a time when the pictures were still big and everyone was ready for their close-up.© 2023 Eleven Eleven llc Art
Episodes
  • JAMES WONG HOWE - 132

    JAMES WONG HOWE - 132
    Mar 23 2026
    “JAMES WONG HOWE: THE MAN WHO PAINTED WITH LIGHT” - 3/16/2026 (132) Today, we’re going to step behind the camera and shine a spotlight—quite literally—on one of the most brilliant craftsmen Hollywood has ever seen. A man who helped shape the way movies look. If you’ve ever admired the stark black-and-white photography in Hud, the shadowy nighttime streets of Sweet Smell of Success, or the striking boxing scenes in Body and Soul, then you’ve already seen the artistry of cinematographer JAMES WONG HOWE. And whether you realized it or not, you were looking at the work of someone who had a huge influence on the visual language of film. Join us as we examine the life and career of this technical master. SHOW NOTES: Sources: James Wong Howe: The Camera Eye (2010), by Alain Silver; “Focusing In On James Wing Howe,” May 31, 2024, TriviaMafia.com; “James Wong Howe: Unsung Hero of Golden Age Hollywood,” April 27, 2022, by Nicholas Rapold, The Financial Times; “James Wong Howe: Master of Lights,” December 14, 2012, by Roger Ebert; RogerEbert.com; “James Wong Howe Dies; Noted Cinematographer,” July 16, 1976, by Robert Hanley, New York Times; Oscars.org Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned: Hud (1963), starring Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, and Melvyn Douglas; The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, & Susan Harrison; Body & Soul (1947)l starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Anne Revere, Hazel Scott, & Canda Lee; Male and Female (1919), starring Gloria Swanson; The Spanish Dancer (1923), starring Pola Negri; Peter Pan (1924); Shanghai Express (1932)l starring Marlene Dietrich & Anna May Wong; Manhattan Melodrama (1934), starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, William Powell, & Mickey Rooney; The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy; Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), with Freddie Bartholomew; The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), starring Madeleine Carroll & Douglas Fairbanks Jr,; Algiers (1938), starring Charles Boyer & Hedy Lamarr: Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), with Raymond Massey; Fantasia (1940); The Strawberry Blonde (1941), starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, & Rita Hayworth; King’s Row (1942), starring Ann Sheridan & Ronald Davis; Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Garfield & Joan Leslie; The Hard Way (1943), starring Ida Lupino & Joan Leslie; The North Star (1943), starring Dana Andrews & Anne Baxter; Air Force (1943), with John Garfield; Confidential Agent (1945), starring Charles Boyer & Lauren Bacall; Nora Prentiss (1947), starring Ann Sheridan: He Ran All the Way (1951), with John Garfield & Shelley Winters; The Baron of Arizona (1950) starring Vincent Price & Ellen Drew; The Rose Tattoo (1955) starring Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster & Marisa Pavan; Seconds (1966), starring Rock Hudson; Go, Man, Go (1954), starring Dane Clark & Sidney Poitier; Funny Lady (1975), starring Barbra Streisand; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    35 mins
  • "SNUBBED BY THE OSCARS: CLASSIC PERFORMANCES THE ACADEMY IGNORED" (131)

    "SNUBBED BY THE OSCARS: CLASSIC PERFORMANCES THE ACADEMY IGNORED" (131)
    Mar 15 2026
    What does HUMPHREY BOGART in “The Maltese Falcon,” INGRID BERGMAN in “Casablanca” (1942), and GARY GRANT & ROSALIND RUSSELL in “His Girl Friday” (1940), all have in common? They are all iconic screen performances that were not — clutch your pearls! — even nominated for an Academy Award. This week, in our annual Oscar episode, we take a look at some of the classic film performances that were completely ignored by the Academy when it came time to hand out the Oscar statues. Some will shock you, some will anger you, some will leave you scratching your head and wondering, “WHY?” SHOW NOTES: Sources: Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned: M (1931), starring Peter Lorre; Picnic (1955) starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field, Rosalind Russell, Arthur O’Connell, Cliff Robertson, and Susan Strasberg; Shadow of a Doubt (1943), starring Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, MacDonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, & Hume Cronyn; Baby Face (1933), starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Theresa Harris, and Margaret Lindsay; White Heat (1949), starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Steve Cochran, Margaret Wycherly, & Fred Clark; It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), starring James Stewart. Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchel, Beulah Bondi, & Gloria Grahame: Night of the Hunter (1955), starring Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, Shelley Winters, James Gleason, Billy Chapin, & Sally Jane Bruce; Play Misty For Me (1971), satrring CLint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, & Don Siegel; Psycho (1960), starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, & Patricia Hitchock; The Sting (1973), starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Dimitri Arliss, & Harold Gould; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    50 mins
  • "THE MANY FACES OF ROBERT DUVALL" (130)

    "THE MANY FACES OF ROBERT DUVALL" (130)
    Mar 9 2026
    "THE MANY FACES OF ROBERT DUVALL" (130) --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    44 mins
All stars
Most relevant
The stories behind Hollywood, both good and bad. Steve and Nan bring weekly interesting stories about the golden years of Hollywood's actresses, actors, players and movies. What you will notice is that each series flow very well and it doesn'tsound like they are just reading from a page. You will be searching on the internet after each podcast to check the names you just heard. Very easy to binge on this podcast.

Something old is something new...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you’re interested in classic movies and the stories about those making the movies or in the movies, this is one of the best podcasts I’ve heard. Much of the information and stories told in this podcast are those that aren’t as well known, so I learn a lot from each episode.

Steve Cubine and Nan McNamara know a lot about the film industry and their rapport and interaction with each other makes it a delight to listen to them. The performance and production value is elevated by Lindsay Schnebly’s editing, writing, etc.

I anticipate and look forward to the release of each new episode and a few times I’ve even gone back and relistened to episodes. That’s how much I enjoy this podcast.

One of my favorite podcasts!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.