Farran Smith Nehme
@selfstyledsiren.bsky.social
Film critic; NSFC, NYFCC. Bylines at Criterion, Sight & Sound, Noir City, my own Substack, and wherever fine film geeks are found.
https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/
https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/
Pinned
I've been dying to tell people I wrote the essay for TROUBLE IN PARADISE, a true Lubitsch masterpiece, and now I can. It's hilarious, it's gorgeous, there's nothing like it, and spending time with Trouble last year soothed my soul. www.criterion.com/films/723-tr....
I'm a little in love with the way that guard (diplomat?) strides across the lobby to let the ICE agents know just how unwelcome they are.
1/27/2026 - Minneapolis
ICE just attempted an illegal entry into the ECUADORIAN CONSULATE to abduct someone
They did not have a warrant
ICE just attempted an illegal entry into the ECUADORIAN CONSULATE to abduct someone
They did not have a warrant
January 27, 2026 at 10:26 PM
I'm a little in love with the way that guard (diplomat?) strides across the lobby to let the ICE agents know just how unwelcome they are.
Charles Laughton was not the only great actor of Classic Hollywood to direct a film no one appreciated at the time. Here’s my essay from last year about Peter Lorre’s The Lost One—unique, ill-fated, and now darkly relevant.
open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...
open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...
The Lost One's Long Journey
After 75 years, Peter Lorre's sole film as director finds its dark moment at last
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Charles Laughton was not the only great actor of Classic Hollywood to direct a film no one appreciated at the time. Here’s my essay from last year about Peter Lorre’s The Lost One—unique, ill-fated, and now darkly relevant.
open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...
open.substack.com/pub/selfstyl...
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
William 'the Conqueror' Stancil >>> Walter 'Weasel Words' Kirn.
January 27, 2026 at 6:25 PM
William 'the Conqueror' Stancil >>> Walter 'Weasel Words' Kirn.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
This pic was taken for Warner Brothers’ Kid Nightingale (1939) during Hurrell’s two year stint as the studios‘ head of portrait photography.
January 27, 2026 at 6:46 PM
This pic was taken for Warner Brothers’ Kid Nightingale (1939) during Hurrell’s two year stint as the studios‘ head of portrait photography.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Celebrate the Ingrid Thulin Centennial 🎂💯
A photo from the same 1965 session with Dennis Stock. Such style; so much cool!
A photo from the same 1965 session with Dennis Stock. Such style; so much cool!
January 27, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Celebrate the Ingrid Thulin Centennial 🎂💯
A photo from the same 1965 session with Dennis Stock. Such style; so much cool!
A photo from the same 1965 session with Dennis Stock. Such style; so much cool!
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Ingrid Thulin by Loomis Dean
"No other woman actor - not even Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, or Eva Dahlbeck - could express as much of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's complex, often tortured view of womanhood as Thulin, who could match his intricacies step by step."
- Derek Malcolm
"No other woman actor - not even Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, or Eva Dahlbeck - could express as much of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's complex, often tortured view of womanhood as Thulin, who could match his intricacies step by step."
- Derek Malcolm
January 27, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Ingrid Thulin by Loomis Dean
"No other woman actor - not even Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, or Eva Dahlbeck - could express as much of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's complex, often tortured view of womanhood as Thulin, who could match his intricacies step by step."
- Derek Malcolm
"No other woman actor - not even Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, or Eva Dahlbeck - could express as much of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's complex, often tortured view of womanhood as Thulin, who could match his intricacies step by step."
- Derek Malcolm
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
For anyone who could do with kittens... 🐾🐾 and incidentally Gable & Lombard. (Credit: 1940, John Kobal Foundation)
January 27, 2026 at 6:02 PM
For anyone who could do with kittens... 🐾🐾 and incidentally Gable & Lombard. (Credit: 1940, John Kobal Foundation)
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
“This is a preschool you stupid motherf*ckers!”
(From Somali Snaps)
(From Somali Snaps)
January 27, 2026 at 5:08 PM
“This is a preschool you stupid motherf*ckers!”
(From Somali Snaps)
(From Somali Snaps)
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
"The musical is based on the memoirs of entertainer Rose Louise Hovick"
I think Gypsy Rose Lee would set the world on fire over that billing.
I think Gypsy Rose Lee would set the world on fire over that billing.
Japanese Revival of GYPSY Will Be Titled ROSE for 2026 Production
Japanese Revival of GYPSY Will Be Titled ROSE for 2026 Production
The upcoming Japanese revival of their 2023 production of Gypsy will be presented under a new title. When the production returns to the stage in 2026, it will be known in Japan as Rose.
www.broadwayworld.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:28 PM
"The musical is based on the memoirs of entertainer Rose Louise Hovick"
I think Gypsy Rose Lee would set the world on fire over that billing.
I think Gypsy Rose Lee would set the world on fire over that billing.
Even for her early days in Hollywood, when they were still deciding what to do with her, this is an atypical pose and get-up for Jane Wyman. Dig that gorgeous dress. Photo by the one and only George Hurrell.
January 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Even for her early days in Hollywood, when they were still deciding what to do with her, this is an atypical pose and get-up for Jane Wyman. Dig that gorgeous dress. Photo by the one and only George Hurrell.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
1/ Probably my last gift WaPo article, and one that fills me with rage: wapo.st/4rjXAMQ #AI #theft #plagiarism #Anthropic #chatbots
How Silicon Valley built AI: Buying, scanning and discarding millions of books
Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.
wapo.st
January 27, 2026 at 1:50 PM
1/ Probably my last gift WaPo article, and one that fills me with rage: wapo.st/4rjXAMQ #AI #theft #plagiarism #Anthropic #chatbots
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
more of this please Catholic bishops and pastors
Newark’s Cardinal Tobin: Defund lawless ICE
[Catholic pastoral messaging in the Trump era]
greydanus.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:33 PM
more of this please Catholic bishops and pastors
A Separate Peace was once a common book to read in high school (freshman year in my case). I remember being very moved by it, which certainly was not the case for everything we read.
I’ve got three books going right now. 2 I’m reading and this one I’m listening to. I read this book in high school, as I’m sure many people did. I liked it then and I do now. I’m more of a book reader than listener but every once in a while it’s nice to escape into another world this way.
#books
#books
January 27, 2026 at 1:55 PM
A Separate Peace was once a common book to read in high school (freshman year in my case). I remember being very moved by it, which certainly was not the case for everything we read.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
All of Agatha Christie’s Poirot has just appeared on Netflix. I knew this week had to have at least one redeeming feature.
January 26, 2026 at 7:56 PM
All of Agatha Christie’s Poirot has just appeared on Netflix. I knew this week had to have at least one redeeming feature.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
January 27, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
If you're looking for a bellwether....
Rep. Tom Suozzi(D-NY), getting raked over the coals for his vote for more ICE funding, says in a campaign email that he didn’t understand what he was doing
January 26, 2026 at 6:09 PM
If you're looking for a bellwether....
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Bluesky should change the "30+" tag when you have a lot of notifications to say "oh no" instead
January 26, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Bluesky should change the "30+" tag when you have a lot of notifications to say "oh no" instead
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
It is extremely rare that Suozzi will risk alienating the many moderates he represents in our purple district. This means he senses a large vibe shift.
January 26, 2026 at 5:54 PM
It is extremely rare that Suozzi will risk alienating the many moderates he represents in our purple district. This means he senses a large vibe shift.
Pithy, scathing, and funny, as one expects from my bunny friend Glenn. But my favorite sentence is: “The ‘Nordic Noir’ series on the Criterion Collection is lit, I recommend every title.” Too true! open.substack.com/pub/glennken...
We Saw "Hamnet"
And now cinema is over for us.
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Pithy, scathing, and funny, as one expects from my bunny friend Glenn. But my favorite sentence is: “The ‘Nordic Noir’ series on the Criterion Collection is lit, I recommend every title.” Too true! open.substack.com/pub/glennken...
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Carroll Gardens Brooklyn - 11:27 AM
January 25, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Carroll Gardens Brooklyn - 11:27 AM
I never get tired of photos of New York in the Great Blizzard of 1947—26 inches in Central Park, making today's storm look like a picnic. This is a lone pedestrian making their way through a peaceful Times Square, showing the Pepsico sign and a marquee for "The Voice of the Turtle" at left.
January 25, 2026 at 3:04 PM
I never get tired of photos of New York in the Great Blizzard of 1947—26 inches in Central Park, making today's storm look like a picnic. This is a lone pedestrian making their way through a peaceful Times Square, showing the Pepsico sign and a marquee for "The Voice of the Turtle" at left.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
The nursing subreddit changed their pic to one of Alex
January 25, 2026 at 4:14 AM
The nursing subreddit changed their pic to one of Alex
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
No matter the quality of the nurse the one thing I’d do is never, ever cross them
The nursing subreddit changed their pic to one of Alex
January 25, 2026 at 4:34 AM
No matter the quality of the nurse the one thing I’d do is never, ever cross them
There goes my respect for Ellen von Unwerth.
January 25, 2026 at 4:11 AM
There goes my respect for Ellen von Unwerth.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
January 25, 2026 at 3:13 AM