Rachel Robbins
Bio
Writer-Performer based in the North of England. A joyous, flawed mess.
Please read my stories and enjoy. And if you can, please leave a tip. Money raised will be used towards funding a one-woman story-telling, comedy show.
Stories (162)
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Johnny Guitar (1954)
At the weekend, I went to see Johnny Guitar (1954) at the local art house cinema, as part of their season of Women and Westerns. I don’t usually watch Westerns so I only have a passing knowledge of the tropes and conventions of the genre. When they appeared on the TV in my parent’s sitting room, westerns rarely grabbed my attention. I came up with a theory that I don’t like “sandy” films; the colour palette bored me. Same as I’m not good with the over-use of metallic hues in sci-fi.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Geeks
This is not my room. Runner-up in Unreliable Challenge. Top Story - September 2024.
Date Unknown – Nobody will tell me This is not my room. There is sun outside The red trousers came to see me today. He held my… It is all… My fingers they are different. They have painted nails and notches and you can follow the grain of them to my wrist. He held my wrist once. His shy eyes darted to the ceiling.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Fiction
Women in a Man’s World
I had it planned for a couple of weeks. I was going to write my 100th Vocal piece on the film that ignited my love of classic film – Calamity Jane. It was showing at a local cinema and I was going to see it on the big screen for the first time. Then, I would write a breezy piece about Doris Day’s ability to pull faces and her fabulous voice.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Viva
1940s Films and the Unreliable Narrator. Top Story - September 2024.
“I remember the day that Vocal challenged me to write a story with an unreliable narrator.” So says the disembodied voice, just a heartbeat after we hear the shots and see a corpse face down in the sparsely furnished, cheap motel room.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Writers
Men Seldom Make Passes…. Top Story - August 2024.
As I sit typing away in my imaginary 1940s writers’ room, I know that a woman who looks like me rarely makes it onto the screen. And definitely not as leading lady material. You see, my reading habits have led to an unfortunate condition – I wear glasses. And I have watched enough films to know Dorothy Parker’s little poem, News Item, has a ring of truth about it:
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Judy Holliday – The Controversial Oscar Winner
Born Yesterday (1950) was the kind of film my imaginary 1940s screenwriting persona was destined to write. It’s funny, topical, features a sassy female lead and just occasionally tips over into preachy. (I know my faults).
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Geeks
The Legend of Lucille Ball
Lucy Ricardo: [Lucy gets caught spying on the neighbors] I was, uh... bird-watching! Ricky Ricardo: Bird-watching? Lucy Ricardo: Uh, yeah! Do you know that there's a yellow-bellied woodpecker on our lawn? Ricky Ricardo: No, but I know that there's a red-headed cuckoo in the living room.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Geeks
A Footnote to a Courtroom Drama. Top Story - July 2024.
Dear Reader, I’m going to suggest that if you are planning on reading this aloud, spend the previous evening shouting until hoarse. According to the fanzines of the time, that’s how Lauren Bacall found her depth, her gravel – and she would make the perfect voice-over for my story.
By Rachel Robbinsabout a year ago in Fiction
