In September 2015, I was invited to co-introduce a film for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) alongside Ben Mankiewicz. I chose to discuss the 1936 film, Theodora Goes Wild, starring Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas. I chose this film for several reasons, because I met two significant people when I had screened the film in the past–one of these people being Irene Dunne’s granddaughter, Ann-Marie.
Here is my initial interview:
After the film was played on TCM, this exit interview followed:
After these segments aired, TCM sent me this great thank-you package! I encouraged my students to tune in for some extra credit, so TCM sent me a little “extra credit,” too.
In addition to my film pursuits, I also teach Film and English at the high school level. Below is an article that details how my experiences and passions shape my film study course.
Hometowns to Hollywood 
Annette, I was so glad to meet you Thursday night at the Arlington Heights Library–a “genuine” celebrity. And it’s quite interesting that here you’re discussing “Theodora Goes Wild” because back when I was in my movie nerd “infancy”, in 1972–when I was about your age now–I was 24–I finally, FINALLY had found a list of all the previous movies nominated for acting Oscars–that info wasn’t very easy to find back then if you didn’t know where to look. I had already seen a couple thousand movies by this age (I’ve seen over 15,000 now at age 68)–and once finding this info I went on a very long quest to try to see each of these Oscar nominees–and pretty much the only way to see them was on commercial TV–yes, usually edited for time and chock full of commercials (NO VCR’s yet–not til 1979)–and “Theodora Goes Wild” was one of the very first movies I was able to see onh this quest and I liked it a lot. I look forward to perhaps seeing you at another Dann & Raymond function in the future–and perhaps again on TCM. My name is Lloyd Rutzky and I have known Dann Gire since before you were born. And Raymond Benson for about 8 years now.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I can completely relate to an insatiable need to see all the classic films. If you’re ever in the Westmont area,I highly recommend stopping by Westmont Movie Classics Club. The owner rents out rare and hard-to-find classic films from his jam-packed storefront. It’s a gem. I hope to see you again soon!
This is awesome! You are so lucky to have been able to do this.