From Chaplin to Madonna: Why You Must Listen to "You Must Remember This"

I have been really getting into movie podcasts lately. And each new podcast sort of leads me to the next one. Two weeks ago I became obsessed with You Must Remember This, a podcast "dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century" as told by the host Karina Longwoth. I have devoured 30+ episodes in that time. I discovered this podcast when Longworth was a guest on another show I listen to called The Canon where she passionately defended The Godfather Part III's place in the canon of important films.

You Must Remember This chronicles the history of Hollywood. Longworth dedicates an episode (or series of episodes) to one subject and details their life and Hollywood legacy. These episodes will often interact with each other, contradict each other and complement each other in interesting ways. The show is amazingly researched. Longworth uses biographies, news stories, gossip, interviews and film clips to tell each story. Because these stories are so old and often clouded by legend, Longworth finds herself telling multiple versions of one story. Sometimes we'll never know what really happened.

Longworth talks about old Hollywood actors' personal lives. She chronicles celebrity romances, battles with addiction and other diseases. Some of these stories are so heartbreaking; it's hard sometimes to reconcile the image we have of some of these stars with their very serious personal problems. If you're looking for a good cry, listen to the episodes on Gene Tierney, Rita Hayworth and the romance between Clark Gable and Carole Lombard (pictured above).

For me, this show is at its best when Longworth explains how stars struggled and sometimes thrived under the studio system. Hearing their battles with producers and how they were forced to perform roles they didn't want to is so fascinating. Longworth mentions a few times how studios would assign roles to actors they knew the stars wouldn't want to do and suspend their contracts--forcing the actors to take unpaid furlough days. Longworth talks about this in an episode dedicated to Olivia De Haviland and she also details Bette Davis' unsuccessful lawsuit against studios in the 1930s.

Karina Longworth is a great host. She keeps a tone that finds a balance between academic and conversational. Refreshingly, she gives her opinion sparingly and does not often comment on what she's discussing. I like that she's trying to be as objective as possible. Her subjects are also varied. It's not just old Hollywood but she also talks about modern stars and how they survived new Hollywood and learned from the past. The only thing about Longworth I don't care for is when she quotes people. She does an "old-timey" voice that is jarring. Because she's not doing an exact impression of anyone and uses the voice for everyone, it loses its cutesy-ness pretty quickly.

Fans of cinema should definitely check out "You Must Remember This." It's funny, informative, sad and rather eye-opening. Some of my favorite episodes: Bette Davis, Frances Fisher, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Gene Tierney, Clark Gable/Carole Lombard, Charles Chaplin, Errol Flynn, Bing Crosby/Bob Hope.

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