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RT Archives
Even the oldest movies were new once. With the RT Archives, we're digging through newspapers and magazines from the past to find out what the critics said about classic movies -- before they were classics. What did the critics say about your favorites when they were brand new? Take a deep dive into the RT Archives and find out.
Rt archive sources
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John Kinloch
As a reporter and editor for Los Angeles's California Eagle, John Kinloch was a tireless advocate for equality; as a film critic he was witty and incisive. He died at 23 in 1945 serving his country in the Battle of the Bulge.
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Nell Dodson Russell
In her column for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Nell Dodson Russell was brutally honest - whether commenting on the state of the world or the latest films. In addition to film, Russell was a sports expert. During her time at the Baltimore Afro-American, she became possibly the first Black female newspaper sports editor.
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Baltimore Afro-American
The Baltimore Afro-American is the oldest family-owned Black newspaper in the United States, and among the most influential. Its editorial ranks included Maybelle Chew, who wrote drama and film criticism for the paper in the 1920s.
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New York Age
From its inception in 1887 to its closure in 1960, the New York Age was a powerful advocate for civil rights and a home base for a number of exceptional writers, including polymath Lester Walton, the paper's theatrical editor and a writer of prescient film criticism.
Recently added archive reviews
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Intruder in the Dust (1949)
"The great significance of the definition of Lucas Beauchamp's role in Intruder in the Dust is that it makes explicit the nature of Hollywood's changed attitude."
Ralph Ellison, The Reporter (Dec. 6, 1949)
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Set It Off (1996)
"It is perhaps one of the best of the few films in the last several years to give voice to the stress and struggle of being poor, working class, black and female in downsized America."
Rosalind Bentley, Minneapolis Star Tribune (Nov. 6, 1996)
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Shaft (1971)
"Most of the characters are poorly cast and unconvincing. And except for some souped-up violence, especially at the end, there just isn't much to the movie."
Ron Hutson, Call and Post (Cleveland) (Nov. 6, 1996)
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Up Jumped the Devil (1941)
"There are some funny scenes, but it's a good deal like laughing in the midst of of a vomiting attack."
Almena Davis, Pittsburgh Courier (Sept. 20, 1941)