Any kid who ever dreamed of striding the boards, meticulously prepping for their glamorous on-camera close-up, or adorning the walls of teenagers all over the world as the most fetching heartthrob on the planet, did not entertain for a second that steady work as less-than-studly screen presence like M Emmet Walsh could be its own gloriously gruff reward. If you were born with a face that looked like it went 12 rounds with Sonny Liston before exiting the birth canal, or walked in heels like they were a pair of Carhartts, you're probably destined to be a working stiff like the rest of us for the remainder of your life.
And there is dignity in this. There is meaning. And not to get your hopes up too high, but if you can strut across the stage like you were born to it, hold the gaze of a camera, or fire off one-liners with buffoonish aplomb,...
And there is dignity in this. There is meaning. And not to get your hopes up too high, but if you can strut across the stage like you were born to it, hold the gaze of a camera, or fire off one-liners with buffoonish aplomb,...
- 9/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Song and dance man or gangster? Few stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era could claim they were equally well known for two such diverse genres. Yet, the legendary James Cagney worked hard to be able to make such a claim.
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
- 7/11/2024
- by Susan Pennington, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Actors do not get to pick the roles that make them stars. They might have an inkling in certain cases that a part has the potential to catapult them off the B-list (look no further than Humphrey Bogart convincing George Raft to surrender the lead in Raoul Walsh's 1941 gangster classic "High Sierra"), but, ultimately, the public chooses. And this can be the source of lifelong agony for actors who envisioned entirely different careers for themselves.
Take Christopher Plummer. The great Canadian actor worked steadily in theater, film, and television for over seven decades. He was equally at home playing Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway or hamming it up as a paganistic reverend in Tom Mankiewicz's irredeemably silly "Dragnet." He won an Oscar, two Tonys, and two Primetime Emmys, and seemed to be having the time of his life even in the worst of movies (and they don't get...
Take Christopher Plummer. The great Canadian actor worked steadily in theater, film, and television for over seven decades. He was equally at home playing Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway or hamming it up as a paganistic reverend in Tom Mankiewicz's irredeemably silly "Dragnet." He won an Oscar, two Tonys, and two Primetime Emmys, and seemed to be having the time of his life even in the worst of movies (and they don't get...
- 2/24/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
I’ve loved gangster movies since I was four years old and saw Humphrey Bogart and Sylvia Sidney in Dead End (1937) on TV, and Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) at the movies (My dad pinched a lobby card for me). Every Friday night, a local NYC station ran old crime flicks on a slot called “Tough Guys.” Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and George Raft were the faces over the title. Today that might be Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, and James Gandolfini.
The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...
The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...
- 5/6/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
With his 1959 comedy "Some Like It Hot," director Billy Wilder crafted a Prohibition-era fantasia, telling a wild, exaggerated story of dangerous gangsters on the tail of witless witnesses. Those two male musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in one of the great cinematic double acts) end up masquerading as women to evade being found out by the mob, and in the process fall in love with a fellow musician, a singer who sparks the interest of both men.
It's that wacky screwball cross-dressing comedy that makes "Some Like It Hot'' the classic that it is, but the movie's first act actually draws from a tragic and violent historical event. While the musical comedy comprises most of the meat of the movie (as well as what most viewers remember), the Prohibition-era backdrop of speakeasies and dirty dealings was very important for Wilder.
The movie's basic premise came from a French film from 1935, "Fanfare of Love,...
It's that wacky screwball cross-dressing comedy that makes "Some Like It Hot'' the classic that it is, but the movie's first act actually draws from a tragic and violent historical event. While the musical comedy comprises most of the meat of the movie (as well as what most viewers remember), the Prohibition-era backdrop of speakeasies and dirty dealings was very important for Wilder.
The movie's basic premise came from a French film from 1935, "Fanfare of Love,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
British director Mike Hodges, known for directing “Get Carter,” “Croupier” and “Flash Gordon,” died in Dorset, England on Dec. 17. He was 90.
His death was announced by Mike Kaplan, longtime friend and producer of “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”
Hodges’ crime dramas came at the beginning of his career — “Get Carter” (1971) and “Pulp” (1972) — and the end — “Croupier” (1999) and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” (2003). In addition to his crime dramas he was known for his campy, stylized take on “Flash Gordon.”
Andrew Sarris wrote in the Observer in 2000, “Director Mike Hodges has become one of the most under-appreciated and virtually unknown masters of the medium over the last 30 years” and “Mr. Hodges has been hailed by everyone from Martin Scorsese to Pauline Kael as a stylist of the first order.”
Hodges adapted “Get Carter” — one of the greatest British gangster movies of all time — himself from a novel by Ted Lewis.
His death was announced by Mike Kaplan, longtime friend and producer of “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”
Hodges’ crime dramas came at the beginning of his career — “Get Carter” (1971) and “Pulp” (1972) — and the end — “Croupier” (1999) and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” (2003). In addition to his crime dramas he was known for his campy, stylized take on “Flash Gordon.”
Andrew Sarris wrote in the Observer in 2000, “Director Mike Hodges has become one of the most under-appreciated and virtually unknown masters of the medium over the last 30 years” and “Mr. Hodges has been hailed by everyone from Martin Scorsese to Pauline Kael as a stylist of the first order.”
Hodges adapted “Get Carter” — one of the greatest British gangster movies of all time — himself from a novel by Ted Lewis.
- 12/20/2022
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Humphrey Bogart is one of the great icons of classic Hollywood. His trademark snarl and surprising romantic heroism sealed his legendary status in pop culture at large. For how inescapable his impact was, it's hard to imagine a period in sound film before him. But his rise to stardom took time. He wasn't exactly gunning down Nazis in Casablanca in his first year on the Warner Bros. lot.
What he was doing for most of his '30s performances was playing the background gangster in the studio's many crime melodramas. In movies with titles like "Bullets or Ballots" and "Racket Busters," audiences could rely on him showing up, grimacing, and probably dying in a moral way by movie's end. If he wasn't in a gangster movie, he could be oddly miscast, such as his appearance as an Irish stable master in the Bette Davis weepie "Dark Victory." No role was...
What he was doing for most of his '30s performances was playing the background gangster in the studio's many crime melodramas. In movies with titles like "Bullets or Ballots" and "Racket Busters," audiences could rely on him showing up, grimacing, and probably dying in a moral way by movie's end. If he wasn't in a gangster movie, he could be oddly miscast, such as his appearance as an Irish stable master in the Bette Davis weepie "Dark Victory." No role was...
- 11/25/2022
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Film noir represents the illusive charm of black and white cinema and of its stars that graced the silver screen in its glory years in the 40s and 50s.
Film Noir meaning “black film” in french coined by the critic Nino Frank in 1946, defined an era of stylish visually moody black-and-white crime mysteries. The plot of the film could be told in one dramatic photo promoting the central figure either portraying the private investigator, grifter and the elusive femme fatale. The images are always bold and the use of lighting and shadows created a noir universe that invites you into an erotic and scandalous world of deceit and conspiracy.
Robert Coburn, Ernest Bachrach, and A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s portraits captured the A-list superstars Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart to the character actors of the period Gale Sondergaard, Delores del Rio and George Raft who...
Film Noir meaning “black film” in french coined by the critic Nino Frank in 1946, defined an era of stylish visually moody black-and-white crime mysteries. The plot of the film could be told in one dramatic photo promoting the central figure either portraying the private investigator, grifter and the elusive femme fatale. The images are always bold and the use of lighting and shadows created a noir universe that invites you into an erotic and scandalous world of deceit and conspiracy.
Robert Coburn, Ernest Bachrach, and A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s portraits captured the A-list superstars Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart to the character actors of the period Gale Sondergaard, Delores del Rio and George Raft who...
- 11/23/2022
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Irene Papas, the Greek actress who starred in such films as The Guns of Navarone, Z, Zorba the Greek and dozens of other films, playing opposite many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, died Wednesday in her hometown of Chilimodion. She was 93.
No cause of death was given, but Papas was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the mid-2010s.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news. “Magnificent, majestic, dynamic, Irene Papas was the personification of Greek beauty on the cinema screen and on the theater stage, an international leading lady who radiated Greekness,” Minister Lina G. Mendoni said in a statement.
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Papas was a veteran of French and Italian cinema as well as Hollywood. During her nearly six-decade screen career, she starred with such screen legends as Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton, James Cagney, Maximilian Schell, David Niven,...
No cause of death was given, but Papas was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the mid-2010s.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news. “Magnificent, majestic, dynamic, Irene Papas was the personification of Greek beauty on the cinema screen and on the theater stage, an international leading lady who radiated Greekness,” Minister Lina G. Mendoni said in a statement.
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Papas was a veteran of French and Italian cinema as well as Hollywood. During her nearly six-decade screen career, she starred with such screen legends as Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton, James Cagney, Maximilian Schell, David Niven,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Box office is big news this week, not so much for its totals as for its totemic significance. Throngs will greet Top Gun: Maverick, but will kids join the grownups to see a nearly 60 year-old actor starring in a sequel to a 36 year-old hit? At the other end of the audience spectrum, will seniors conquer their torpor to catch the new Downton and even lure their kids – the movie is dubiously titled Downton Abbey: A New Era to motivate the youth quadrant.
These are edgy days for an industry seeking clues to two big puzzles: Does a broad demographic truly crave a return to the cool comfort of their movie theaters? And, if so, what sorts of movies would best combat their streamer fatigue?
In Los Angeles there’s one dark portent: The multiscreen Landmark Theater on Pico, long the cathedral of indie films, will shut its doors forever shortly...
These are edgy days for an industry seeking clues to two big puzzles: Does a broad demographic truly crave a return to the cool comfort of their movie theaters? And, if so, what sorts of movies would best combat their streamer fatigue?
In Los Angeles there’s one dark portent: The multiscreen Landmark Theater on Pico, long the cathedral of indie films, will shut its doors forever shortly...
- 5/19/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
This knockout comedy rates as one of Hollywood’s funniest ever — although it could be ‘cancelled’ any day now, so get ready to deny ever having laughed at it. Ultimate movie star glamour meets the apex of screenwriting hilarity: liberated by 101 cross-dressing jokes Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond jam sly sex innuendo into almost word spoken. We still don’t know how the censors passed one of of Marilyn Monroe’s costumes: Raymond Durgnat described the resulting visual effect as ‘The Hanging Gardens of Marilyn.’ Everybody’s tip top in this one: Jack Lemmon prances, Tony Curtis does his Cary Grant imitation, and Billy Wilder tosses in a score of his favorite 1920s tunes.
Some Like It Hot 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date February 8, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown.
Some Like It Hot 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date February 8, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown.
- 5/10/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Gangster icons aren’t always determined by top billing. Sometimes it’s decided by a flip of a coin. Director Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangster classic Scarface recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. Producer Howard Hughes was so committed to presenting a realistic depiction of mob violence that the film pushed the Motion Picture Production Code to its limit. Paul Muni puts in a gritty, animalistic performance in the title role of Antonio “Tony” Carmonte, modeled after Al Capone, but the actor with the gangland bona fides was the co-star, George Raft.
Hired for his dark and menacing presence, Raft doesn’t have many lines in Scarface. To give the inexperienced actor something to do, Hawks directed him to flip a nickel. Raft practiced the toss to perfection, setting the film up for one of the most memorable mob movie moments: a coin rolling across a floor to a dead stop.
Raft would...
Hired for his dark and menacing presence, Raft doesn’t have many lines in Scarface. To give the inexperienced actor something to do, Hawks directed him to flip a nickel. Raft practiced the toss to perfection, setting the film up for one of the most memorable mob movie moments: a coin rolling across a floor to a dead stop.
Raft would...
- 5/8/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
In film history, the anthology genre is the most challenging. Episodic films often have several directors and screenwriters which gives them an inconsistent tone and quality. But the genre’s pitfalls haven’t stopped such filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa (“Dreams”), the Coens (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”); Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese (“New York Stories”); and Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg (“Twilight Zone: The Movie”).
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
- 10/30/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Robert Sacchi, the actor who so closely resembled Humphrey Bogart that he starred in the 1980 20th Century Fox comedy The Man With Bogart’s Face, died June 23 in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to a family spokesperson. He was 89.
The Rome-born, Brooklyn-raised actor played Bogart or Bogart look-alikes in several films, TV shows and commercials, including on the series Fantasy Island, Sledge Hammer! and Cybill and Tales From the Crypt on which he lent his voice. He also played Bogart in Phil Collins’ 1990 music video for “I Wish It Would Rain Down.”
Sacchi also starred in a one-man show, Bogey’s Back, and in touring productions of Play It Again, Sam. He even had a top 10 hit single in Germany with 1982’s “Jungle Queen,” a rap performed in Bogart-ese.
In The Man With Bogart’s Face, directed by Robert Day and based on Andrew J. Fenady’s book, Sacchi starred as Sam Marlowe,...
The Rome-born, Brooklyn-raised actor played Bogart or Bogart look-alikes in several films, TV shows and commercials, including on the series Fantasy Island, Sledge Hammer! and Cybill and Tales From the Crypt on which he lent his voice. He also played Bogart in Phil Collins’ 1990 music video for “I Wish It Would Rain Down.”
Sacchi also starred in a one-man show, Bogey’s Back, and in touring productions of Play It Again, Sam. He even had a top 10 hit single in Germany with 1982’s “Jungle Queen,” a rap performed in Bogart-ese.
In The Man With Bogart’s Face, directed by Robert Day and based on Andrew J. Fenady’s book, Sacchi starred as Sam Marlowe,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Robert Sacchi, known for his close resemblance to Humphrey Bogart, died June 23 at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 89.
Sacchi played the title role in the 1980 feature “The Man With Bogart’s Face.” He also appeared in many films, TV shows and commercials playing Bogart or a Bogart look-alike. That list includes appearances on the sitcom “Cybill,” a Phil Collins musicvideo and “Fantasy Island,” as well as his one-man show, “Bogey’s Back” and touring productions of Woody Allen’s comedy “Play It Again, Sam.”
He also played other characters in such works as the Mike Hodges-Michael Caine movie “Pulp,” the Anthony Quinn-Yaphet Kotto drama “Across 110th Street” and “Die Hard 2,” among others. He also had a top 10 hit in Germany with the 1982 single “Jungle Queen” and authored the book “Willie Pep Remembers … Friday’s Heroes.”
“The Man With Bogart’s Face...
Sacchi played the title role in the 1980 feature “The Man With Bogart’s Face.” He also appeared in many films, TV shows and commercials playing Bogart or a Bogart look-alike. That list includes appearances on the sitcom “Cybill,” a Phil Collins musicvideo and “Fantasy Island,” as well as his one-man show, “Bogey’s Back” and touring productions of Woody Allen’s comedy “Play It Again, Sam.”
He also played other characters in such works as the Mike Hodges-Michael Caine movie “Pulp,” the Anthony Quinn-Yaphet Kotto drama “Across 110th Street” and “Die Hard 2,” among others. He also had a top 10 hit in Germany with the 1982 single “Jungle Queen” and authored the book “Willie Pep Remembers … Friday’s Heroes.”
“The Man With Bogart’s Face...
- 6/29/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By Raymond Benson
The witty, controversial, and fabulous actress/comedienne Mae West displays her jewelry to the coat check girl. “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!” the girl exclaims. Mae West coolly replies in her sultry, New York-accented signature voice, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.”
The line was also the title of West’s memoir, published in 1959, and is one of her many memorable utterances, along with “Come up and see me sometime.”
Kino Lorber has just released in restored, high-definition presentations every Mae West film made between 1932-1940—the Paramount years, plus one with Universal. This review will cover the first four out of nine titles, with the remaining five to come in a later “Part Two.”
Hollywood knew that Mae West would be trouble (but a possible box office winner) before she was invited to the west coast to star in films.
By Raymond Benson
The witty, controversial, and fabulous actress/comedienne Mae West displays her jewelry to the coat check girl. “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!” the girl exclaims. Mae West coolly replies in her sultry, New York-accented signature voice, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.”
The line was also the title of West’s memoir, published in 1959, and is one of her many memorable utterances, along with “Come up and see me sometime.”
Kino Lorber has just released in restored, high-definition presentations every Mae West film made between 1932-1940—the Paramount years, plus one with Universal. This review will cover the first four out of nine titles, with the remaining five to come in a later “Part Two.”
Hollywood knew that Mae West would be trouble (but a possible box office winner) before she was invited to the west coast to star in films.
- 6/13/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Still the fiercest and most cinematic of the first wave of gangster classics, Howards Hughes and Hawks’s pre-Code rule-breaker was the one that brought down the ban on ‘glamorous’ gangster movies. In this case classic hardly means dated: the cars and clothes are vintage but the sex and violence are sizzling hot. Paul Muni is the primitive killer who falls in love with submachine guns and George Raft is his loyal trigger man. Karen Morley and especially Ann Dvorak are indeed the hottest pre-Code seducers in film. Plus, Boris Karloff contributes a mobster snarl as a lightly-disguised Bugs Moran. It’s a bullet-ridden city, that’s for sure, and the filmmakers frequently use expressionist effects: like X Marks The Spot!
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
- 6/5/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
James Cagney and George Raft in Each Dawn I Die (1939) will be available on Blu-ray April 27th from Warner Archive
Framed for manslaughter after he breaks a story about city corruption, reporter Frank Ross is sure he’ll prove his innocence and walk out of prison a free man. But that’s not how the system works at Rocky Point Penitentiary. There, cellblock guards are vicious, the jute-mill labor is endless, and the powers Ross fought on the outside conspire to keep him in. Frank’s hope is turned to hopelessness. And he’s starting to crack. Two of the screen’s famed tough guys star in this prison movie that casts a reform-minded eye on the brutalizing effects of life in the slammer. James Cagney “hits a white-hot peak as [Ross,] the embittered, stir-crazy fall guy” (Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide). And George Raft (Cagney’s friend since their vaudeville days) portrays racketeer Hood Stacey,...
Framed for manslaughter after he breaks a story about city corruption, reporter Frank Ross is sure he’ll prove his innocence and walk out of prison a free man. But that’s not how the system works at Rocky Point Penitentiary. There, cellblock guards are vicious, the jute-mill labor is endless, and the powers Ross fought on the outside conspire to keep him in. Frank’s hope is turned to hopelessness. And he’s starting to crack. Two of the screen’s famed tough guys star in this prison movie that casts a reform-minded eye on the brutalizing effects of life in the slammer. James Cagney “hits a white-hot peak as [Ross,] the embittered, stir-crazy fall guy” (Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide). And George Raft (Cagney’s friend since their vaudeville days) portrays racketeer Hood Stacey,...
- 4/12/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Gloria Henry, who appeared in movies with Gene Autry, Lucille Ball and George Raft before portraying the mother of a chaos-causing kid on the 1960s CBS comedy Dennis the Menace, has died. She was 98.
Henry died Saturday, one day after her birthday, at her home in Los Angeles, her daughter, Erin, told The Hollywood Reporter.
For four seasons starting in October 1959 — and then in reruns for years — Henry played the loving Alice Mitchell opposite Herbert Anderson as her hapless husband, Henry, and Jay North as Dennis on the Screen Gems show that was based on Hank Ketcham’s ...
Henry died Saturday, one day after her birthday, at her home in Los Angeles, her daughter, Erin, told The Hollywood Reporter.
For four seasons starting in October 1959 — and then in reruns for years — Henry played the loving Alice Mitchell opposite Herbert Anderson as her hapless husband, Henry, and Jay North as Dennis on the Screen Gems show that was based on Hank Ketcham’s ...
Gloria Henry, who appeared in movies with Gene Autry, Lucille Ball and George Raft before portraying the mother of a chaos-causing kid on the 1960s CBS comedy Dennis the Menace, has died. She was 98.
Henry died Saturday, one day after her birthday, at her home in Los Angeles, her daughter Erin told The Hollywood Reporter.
For four seasons starting in October 1959 — and then in reruns for years — Henry played the loving Alice Mitchell opposite Herbert Anderson as her hapless husband, Henry, and Jay North as Dennis on the Screen Gems show that was based on Hank Ketcham’s ...
Henry died Saturday, one day after her birthday, at her home in Los Angeles, her daughter Erin told The Hollywood Reporter.
For four seasons starting in October 1959 — and then in reruns for years — Henry played the loving Alice Mitchell opposite Herbert Anderson as her hapless husband, Henry, and Jay North as Dennis on the Screen Gems show that was based on Hank Ketcham’s ...
“Since studios keep making remakes, why don’t they at least remake them better?” Billy Wilder had a right to ask me that question 20 years ago, since the many remakes of his movies never matched the originals.
The Wilder conundrum seems relevant today when the studios and streamers are announcing more and more remakes. Paramount says it’s developing Love Story, Flashdance and The Parallax View, among others. It is not remaking The Godfather, which went into production 50 years ago. But there are two projects in the works about the making of the movie, and there also is Francis Coppola’s refreshed Godfather III, made in 1990 and re-edited by Coppola now out under his preferred title Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
While I share Wilder’s skepticism about the remake business, a case could be made that the entire gangster genre deserves a revisit.
The Wilder conundrum seems relevant today when the studios and streamers are announcing more and more remakes. Paramount says it’s developing Love Story, Flashdance and The Parallax View, among others. It is not remaking The Godfather, which went into production 50 years ago. But there are two projects in the works about the making of the movie, and there also is Francis Coppola’s refreshed Godfather III, made in 1990 and re-edited by Coppola now out under his preferred title Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
While I share Wilder’s skepticism about the remake business, a case could be made that the entire gangster genre deserves a revisit.
- 3/4/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
The Berlin International Film Festival has set its full slate for the upcoming 2021 edition. Berlinale usually follows Sundance with a February festival, but the pandemic has forced organizers to develop a new festival format for 2021. The 71st Berlin International Film Festival is set to take place with the “Industry Event” from March 1 to 5, which will include the European Film Market (EFM), the Berlinale Co-Production Market, the Berlinale Talents, and the World Cinema Fund in online forms. From June 9 to 20, 2021 the Berlinale will launch a “Summer Special” with numerous film presentations in Berlin, both at indoor and outdoor cinemas.
Included in the March event is the traditional film festival slate, which includes the main Berlinale Competition lineup as well as sidebar sections such as Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series, Encounters, Berlinale Shorts, Panorama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, and Retrospective. With the exception of the Retrospective, the films will be shown at the March event.
Included in the March event is the traditional film festival slate, which includes the main Berlinale Competition lineup as well as sidebar sections such as Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series, Encounters, Berlinale Shorts, Panorama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, and Retrospective. With the exception of the Retrospective, the films will be shown at the March event.
- 2/11/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Albert Hughes takes us on a wild journey through the movies that made him, then explains why he’s not a cinephile (Spoiler: He is). Heads up – you’re going to hear some words you’ve never heard on our show before, and only one of them is Metropolis.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Gremlins (1984)
A Christmas Story (1983)
The Candidate (1972)
Menace II Society (1993)
Die Hard (1988)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Scarface (1983)
Goodfellas (1990)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Raging Bull (1980)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Alpha (2018)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
True Romance (1993)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
The Matrix (1999)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
A Serbian Film (2010)
Scarface (1932)
The Book of Eli (2010)
The Departed (2006)
Infernal Affairs (2002)
The Godfather (1972)
Casino (1995)
JFK (1991)
Dead Presidents (1996)
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Psycho (1960)
The Cremator (1969)
The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
Halloween (2018)
From Hell (2001)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Hoffa (1992)
V For Vendetta (2005)
Spartacus (1960)
You Were Never Really Here...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Gremlins (1984)
A Christmas Story (1983)
The Candidate (1972)
Menace II Society (1993)
Die Hard (1988)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Scarface (1983)
Goodfellas (1990)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Raging Bull (1980)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Alpha (2018)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
True Romance (1993)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
The Matrix (1999)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
A Serbian Film (2010)
Scarface (1932)
The Book of Eli (2010)
The Departed (2006)
Infernal Affairs (2002)
The Godfather (1972)
Casino (1995)
JFK (1991)
Dead Presidents (1996)
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Psycho (1960)
The Cremator (1969)
The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
Halloween (2018)
From Hell (2001)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Hoffa (1992)
V For Vendetta (2005)
Spartacus (1960)
You Were Never Really Here...
- 9/29/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Witness one Robert Lippert, an American independent producer who flourished in multiple eras of Hollywood. We discuss his adaptation to changes in the movie biz in conjunction with a double bill DVD of two typical Lippert shows from the very early fifties, one produced in Hollywood and another in England. Robert Lippert is the proof that ‘Life Finds a Way’ in the movies as well, a sentiment reinterpreted as ‘staying in the game.’
I’ll Get You + Fingerprints Don’t Lie
Forgotten Noir Volume 6
DVD
Vci / Kit Parker
1951, 1952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / Street Date April 24 2007, 2020
Starring: George Raft, Sally Gray, Clifford Evans; Richard Travis, Sheila Ryan, Sid Melton.
I’ve wanted to review the two ‘programmers’ in this double-bill disc for some time, not realizing that I was really more interested in a producer associated with them. The name Robert L. Lippert pops up continually in the history of some of my favorite genre pictures.
I’ll Get You + Fingerprints Don’t Lie
Forgotten Noir Volume 6
DVD
Vci / Kit Parker
1951, 1952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / Street Date April 24 2007, 2020
Starring: George Raft, Sally Gray, Clifford Evans; Richard Travis, Sheila Ryan, Sid Melton.
I’ve wanted to review the two ‘programmers’ in this double-bill disc for some time, not realizing that I was really more interested in a producer associated with them. The name Robert L. Lippert pops up continually in the history of some of my favorite genre pictures.
- 9/15/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Our 100th Guest! Comedy icon Martin Short joins us to discuss a few of the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Innerspace (1987)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
On The Waterfront (1954)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Terms Of Endearment (1983)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Exorcist (1973)
King Kong (1933)
A History Of Violence (2005)
A Song To Remember (1945)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Oscar (1966)
Sleeper (1973)
Bananas (1971)
City Lights (1931)
September (1987)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
Bad Day At Black Rock (1955)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Kiss Me Stupid (1964)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
The Bad And The Beautiful (1953)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Spartacus (1960)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
Klute (1971)
Blow-Up (1966)
Blow Out (1981)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Burn! (1970)
Reflections In A Golden Eye (1967)
Grease 2 (1982)
The Conversation (1974)
Back To The Future (1985)
Other Notable Items
Saturday Night Live TV...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Innerspace (1987)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
On The Waterfront (1954)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Terms Of Endearment (1983)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Exorcist (1973)
King Kong (1933)
A History Of Violence (2005)
A Song To Remember (1945)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Oscar (1966)
Sleeper (1973)
Bananas (1971)
City Lights (1931)
September (1987)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
Bad Day At Black Rock (1955)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Kiss Me Stupid (1964)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
The Bad And The Beautiful (1953)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Spartacus (1960)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
Klute (1971)
Blow-Up (1966)
Blow Out (1981)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Burn! (1970)
Reflections In A Golden Eye (1967)
Grease 2 (1982)
The Conversation (1974)
Back To The Future (1985)
Other Notable Items
Saturday Night Live TV...
- 8/25/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Above: The Light that FailedShe had the beauty and talent of the most captivating star, the unwavering determination of the most ambitious producer, and the fervent creative vision of the most gifted director. Ida Lupino could fall into any number of categories, yet with a significance that remains almost immeasurable, perhaps the one word best describing this groundbreaking artist is simply this: she was a pioneer. Born February 4, 1918, in South London, Lupino belonged to a revered family of entertainers. Her mother, actress Connie O’Shea (also known as Connie Emerald), and her father, music hall comedian Stanley Lupino, were part of an ancestral dynasty of performers, and young Ida was accordingly encouraged to take the stage during her earliest years. In addition to writing her first play at the age of seven,...
- 7/27/2020
- MUBI
The Oscar winning co-writer and producer of Brokeback Mountain takes us on a cinematic journey through her life, and talks about the pleasures of writing with Larry McMurtry and Joe Bonnano, and what Ken Kesey’s favorite movie was.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Good Night, And Good Luck (2005)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Red River (1948)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Hud (1963)
Piranha (1978)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
They Drive By Night (1940)
Kings Row (1942)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
The Grapes of Wrath (1942)
Buffalo Bill (1944)
Laura (1944)
Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)
The Day of the Triffids (1963)
Moby Dick (1956)
Village of the Damned (1960)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
There’s Always Tomorrow (1956)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Brazil (1985)
Lost In La Mancha (2002)
The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys (1996)
The Fisher King (1991)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
A History of Violence...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Good Night, And Good Luck (2005)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Red River (1948)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Hud (1963)
Piranha (1978)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
They Drive By Night (1940)
Kings Row (1942)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
The Grapes of Wrath (1942)
Buffalo Bill (1944)
Laura (1944)
Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)
The Day of the Triffids (1963)
Moby Dick (1956)
Village of the Damned (1960)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
There’s Always Tomorrow (1956)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Brazil (1985)
Lost In La Mancha (2002)
The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys (1996)
The Fisher King (1991)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
A History of Violence...
- 6/23/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Although only one of these 1950s B&w thrillers falls within a mile of a hard definition of film noir, all give us glamorous actresses in interesting roles. Claudette Colbert takes her turn at playing a nun, Merle Oberon tries a femme fatale role on for size and Hedy Lamarr does very well for herself as a man-hungry movie star. Kino gives all three excellent transfers, and one comes with an appropriately gossipy audio commentary.
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema II
Thunder on the Hill, The Price of Fear, The Female Animal
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951-58 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / 84,79,82 min. / Street Date May 12, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Connie Gilchrist, Gladys Cooper, Michael Pate, Phillip Friend; Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, Charles Drake, Gia Scala, Warren Stevens, Phillip Pine, Konstantin Shayne, Stafford Repp; Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell,...
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema II
Thunder on the Hill, The Price of Fear, The Female Animal
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951-58 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / 84,79,82 min. / Street Date May 12, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Connie Gilchrist, Gladys Cooper, Michael Pate, Phillip Friend; Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, Charles Drake, Gia Scala, Warren Stevens, Phillip Pine, Konstantin Shayne, Stafford Repp; Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell,...
- 5/25/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The star-studded biopic Capone is due to be released via digital platforms on May 12th. Tom Hardy plays Al Capone in his later years in the movie and he looks fantastic. Linda Cardellini, Kyle MacLachlan, and Matt Dillon co-star. Al Capone is America’s best-known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city and an interesting variety of Hollywood stars have had the leading role as Al Capone in the many films that have been made that featured him as a character.
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when...
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when...
- 4/29/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
” I just met the swellest dame… She smacked me in the kisser. “
The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 11th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the second film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.
Fast-tracked into production on account of Ladd’s rising stardom, The Glass Key is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1931 bestseller, previously adapted just seven years prior as a George Raft vehicle of the same name. Here we have Ladd playing Ed Beaumont, something of a fixer for corrupt politician Paul Madvig. Ed falls into a dangerous love triangle with Paul and Paul’s political rival’s daughter, Janet Henry (Lake). Things get even more complicated when Janet’s brother turns up dead,...
The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 11th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the second film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.
Fast-tracked into production on account of Ladd’s rising stardom, The Glass Key is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1931 bestseller, previously adapted just seven years prior as a George Raft vehicle of the same name. Here we have Ladd playing Ed Beaumont, something of a fixer for corrupt politician Paul Madvig. Ed falls into a dangerous love triangle with Paul and Paul’s political rival’s daughter, Janet Henry (Lake). Things get even more complicated when Janet’s brother turns up dead,...
- 2/6/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Song and dance man or gangster? Few stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era could claim they were equally well known for two such diverse genres. Yet, the legendary James Cagney worked hard to be able to make such a claim.
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
- 7/17/2019
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Mill Creek and Kit Parker package nine mid-range Columbia features from the 1940s and 1950s, not all of them strictly noir but all with dark themes — crime, creepy politics, etc. None have been on Blu-ray, and all but one are in fine condition.
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection
Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95
Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.
Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection
Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95
Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.
Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...
- 4/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s looking at you, Humphrey Bogart. The Oscar-winning leading man would’ve celebrated his 119th birthday on December 25, 2018. Best known for playing a tough guy with a heart of gold, Bogart made dozens of films before his untimely death in 1957. But how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at...
Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at...
- 12/25/2018
- by Chris Beachum and Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Here’s looking at you, Humphrey Bogart. The Oscar-winning leading man would’ve celebrated his 119th birthday on December 25, 2018. Best known for playing a tough guy with a heart of gold, Bogart made dozens of films before his untimely death in 1957. But how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.
His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at an isolated diner with a hobo and a waitress. When...
Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.
His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at an isolated diner with a hobo and a waitress. When...
- 12/24/2018
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Fox touted Black Widow as the first murder mystery in CinemaScope. Ace writer / tyro director Nunnally Johnson tries an ‘All About Eve’ dissection of Broadway swells but in a mystery context, with beaucoup flashbacks. The result is something akin to Rope, with scenes all taking place in apartments with views of Central Park. Nobody complained about the big marquee names Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney and George Raft, but I re-watch to marvel over the dreamy, interesting Virginia Leith. Raymond Durgnat encouraged us to indulge our screen fantasies!
Black Widow
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier
Cinematography Charles G. Clarke
Art Direction Maurice Ransford, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor Dorothy Spencer
Original Music Leigh Harline
Written...
Black Widow
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier
Cinematography Charles G. Clarke
Art Direction Maurice Ransford, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor Dorothy Spencer
Original Music Leigh Harline
Written...
- 11/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
On March 24, 1933, Paramount and producer B. P. Schulberg unveiled the George Raft and Sylvia Sidney starrer Pick-Up in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below.
Pick-Up is a program picture so far above the average that your cash-registers should click a merry tune, even in these sorry times. The picture is packed with down-to-earth speech and sentiment and is of the human interest variety that has been plenty scarce for a long time.
The charm of the film lies for the most part in its simple, straightforward story and the utterly natural and sincere performances of...
Pick-Up is a program picture so far above the average that your cash-registers should click a merry tune, even in these sorry times. The picture is packed with down-to-earth speech and sentiment and is of the human interest variety that has been plenty scarce for a long time.
The charm of the film lies for the most part in its simple, straightforward story and the utterly natural and sincere performances of...
- 3/9/2018
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Google “Valentine’s Day movies” and you’ll find all sorts of links to stories about romantic movies to watch on Valentine’s Day with your significant other.
I don’t have to actually go to any of those links to know what I’ll find there: “When Harry Met Sally,” “Titanic,” “Pretty Woman,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “The Notebook” and some versions of “Romeo & Juliet” and “An Affair to Remember.” (Okay, I did go to one link and found the subversive suggestion of “Harold and Maude.” I liked that.)
If you were to confine your search to romantic movies that won the Oscar, you’d be surprised how few there are. In nine decades, voters found less than 10 swooners to honor as the year’s best picture. And that counts love stories that do not end well for the lovers, including “Casablanca,” “West Side Story,” “Titanic” and “Out of Africa.
I don’t have to actually go to any of those links to know what I’ll find there: “When Harry Met Sally,” “Titanic,” “Pretty Woman,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “The Notebook” and some versions of “Romeo & Juliet” and “An Affair to Remember.” (Okay, I did go to one link and found the subversive suggestion of “Harold and Maude.” I liked that.)
If you were to confine your search to romantic movies that won the Oscar, you’d be surprised how few there are. In nine decades, voters found less than 10 swooners to honor as the year’s best picture. And that counts love stories that do not end well for the lovers, including “Casablanca,” “West Side Story,” “Titanic” and “Out of Africa.
- 2/14/2018
- by Jack Mathews
- Gold Derby
Fritz Lang continues his take-no-prisoners indictment of America’s curious relationship with crime; this time he presents the thesis that an innocent man can be a pawn in cosmic game of injustice. Three-time loser Henry Fonda, the glummest actor in ’30s films, doesn’t mean to rob or kill, but gosh darn it, They Made Him a Criminal. Those considerations aside, it’s a wonderful cinematic achievement, made all the better by a decent digital restoration.
You Only Live Once
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1937 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 86 min. / Street Date July 25, 2017 / 29.98
Starring: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon,
William Gargan, Jerome Cowan, Charles ‘Chic’ Sale, Margaret Hamilton, Warren Hymer,
Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Ward Bond, Jack Carson, Jonathan Hale
Cinematography: Leon Shamroy
Art Direction: Alexander Toluboff
Film Editor: Daniel Mandell
Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer
Written by Graham Baker and Gene Towne
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Fritz Lang...
You Only Live Once
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1937 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 86 min. / Street Date July 25, 2017 / 29.98
Starring: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon,
William Gargan, Jerome Cowan, Charles ‘Chic’ Sale, Margaret Hamilton, Warren Hymer,
Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Ward Bond, Jack Carson, Jonathan Hale
Cinematography: Leon Shamroy
Art Direction: Alexander Toluboff
Film Editor: Daniel Mandell
Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer
Written by Graham Baker and Gene Towne
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Fritz Lang...
- 7/31/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Al Capone is America’s best known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city and an interesting variety of Hollywood stars have had the leading role as Al Capone in the many films that have been made that featured him as a character.
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when he and director Howard Hawks filmed Scarface during the Great Depression. Camonte shares more than the same initials with one Al Capone, who was about to begin his eleven-year sentence for tax evasion when the movie was released...
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when he and director Howard Hawks filmed Scarface during the Great Depression. Camonte shares more than the same initials with one Al Capone, who was about to begin his eleven-year sentence for tax evasion when the movie was released...
- 6/20/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Tony Sokol May 22, 2017
The Scarface remake looks like it has a new director, as David Ayer enters talks...
Suicide Squad director David Ayer is in early talks to direct and write Universal’s new take on the gangster classic Scarface. Ayer steps in for Antoine Fuqua, who couldn’t fit the film into his schedule, given his current commitment to making The Equalizer 2.
Scarface will follow the rise and fall of a Mexican gangster. It will star Diego Luna, who played Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as the bad immigrant made worse. It will be set in the El Sereno area of South Los Angeles
Ayer has form in the genre. Before Suicide Squad he directed the gritty crime films End Of Watch, Hard Times and Street Kings. He also wrote the screenplay for Training Day. Right now, he's currently directing and producing Bright, which will also star Will Smith,...
The Scarface remake looks like it has a new director, as David Ayer enters talks...
Suicide Squad director David Ayer is in early talks to direct and write Universal’s new take on the gangster classic Scarface. Ayer steps in for Antoine Fuqua, who couldn’t fit the film into his schedule, given his current commitment to making The Equalizer 2.
Scarface will follow the rise and fall of a Mexican gangster. It will star Diego Luna, who played Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as the bad immigrant made worse. It will be set in the El Sereno area of South Los Angeles
Ayer has form in the genre. Before Suicide Squad he directed the gritty crime films End Of Watch, Hard Times and Street Kings. He also wrote the screenplay for Training Day. Right now, he's currently directing and producing Bright, which will also star Will Smith,...
- 5/19/2017
- Den of Geek
Boss Man: Interview with the director and star of Live by Night, Ben AffleckBoss Man: Interview with the director and star of Live by Night, Ben AffleckBob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine1/12/2017 10:01:00 Am
Back in the day, Warner Bros. was known for making tough crime movies and the roster of stars — Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft — who headlined them.
Things have changed a lot in Hollywood since the old contract-player days. However, if there’s any talent who’s identified with a particular studio at the moment, it’s Ben Affleck.
The square-jawed, 44-year-old Bostonian produced, directed and starred in Warner Bros.’ last Best Picture Oscar winner, Argo. He’s also made The Town and The Accountant for the company in the past few years. And Affleck not only plays the most important character, Batman/Bruce Wayne, in Warner’s latest round of DC Comics-based movies,...
Back in the day, Warner Bros. was known for making tough crime movies and the roster of stars — Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft — who headlined them.
Things have changed a lot in Hollywood since the old contract-player days. However, if there’s any talent who’s identified with a particular studio at the moment, it’s Ben Affleck.
The square-jawed, 44-year-old Bostonian produced, directed and starred in Warner Bros.’ last Best Picture Oscar winner, Argo. He’s also made The Town and The Accountant for the company in the past few years. And Affleck not only plays the most important character, Batman/Bruce Wayne, in Warner’s latest round of DC Comics-based movies,...
- 1/12/2017
- by Bob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine
- Cineplex
Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher will be buried among many other famous stars at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Reynolds’s son and Fisher’s younger brother Todd Fisher told ABC’s 20/20 that he is planning a joint service with Billie Lourd, 24, his niece and Fisher’s daughter. According to Todd, his mother and sister will be buried “among friends,” at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Fisher, 60, was aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 23, when she went into cardiac arrest. She later died that following Tuesday in the hospital. Reynolds died a...
Reynolds’s son and Fisher’s younger brother Todd Fisher told ABC’s 20/20 that he is planning a joint service with Billie Lourd, 24, his niece and Fisher’s daughter. According to Todd, his mother and sister will be buried “among friends,” at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Fisher, 60, was aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 23, when she went into cardiac arrest. She later died that following Tuesday in the hospital. Reynolds died a...
- 12/31/2016
- by Blake Bakkila
- PEOPLE.com
The already-incredible line-up for the 2016 New York Film Festival just got even more promising. Ang Lee‘s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk will hold its world premiere at the festival on October 14th, the NY Times confirmed today. The adaptation of Ben Fountain‘s Iraq War novel, with a script by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire), follows a teenage soldier who survives a battle in Iraq and then is brought home for a victory lap before returning.
Lee has shot the film at 120 frames per second in 4K and native 3D, giving it unprecedented clarity for a feature film, which also means the screening will be held in a relatively small 300-seat theater at AMC Lincoln Square, one of the few with the technology to present it that way. While it’s expected that this Lincoln Square theater will play the film when it arrives in theaters, it may be...
Lee has shot the film at 120 frames per second in 4K and native 3D, giving it unprecedented clarity for a feature film, which also means the screening will be held in a relatively small 300-seat theater at AMC Lincoln Square, one of the few with the technology to present it that way. While it’s expected that this Lincoln Square theater will play the film when it arrives in theaters, it may be...
- 8/22/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.
- 8/8/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
June is ending on a quiet note for horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases, as we only have six titles coming our way on June 28th.
Blue Underground has shown some love to two cult classics with their Blu-ray double feature of Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons, and Arrow Video is resurrecting another cult classic (albeit one that is a bit more recent) with their Return of the Killer Tomatoes Special Edition Blu-ray.
Other notable titles being released this Tuesday include Alien Strain, Shark Exorcist, Forgotten Tales, and Hotel Inferno.
Alien Strain (Mti Home Video, DVD)
After his girlfriend vanishes without a trace on a camping trip, he quickly goes from witness to suspect. Now, a year later, she returns to the very spot from which she was taken, but not like she was before.
Circus of Fear/Five Golden Dragons Double Feature (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)
Circus Of Fear...
Blue Underground has shown some love to two cult classics with their Blu-ray double feature of Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons, and Arrow Video is resurrecting another cult classic (albeit one that is a bit more recent) with their Return of the Killer Tomatoes Special Edition Blu-ray.
Other notable titles being released this Tuesday include Alien Strain, Shark Exorcist, Forgotten Tales, and Hotel Inferno.
Alien Strain (Mti Home Video, DVD)
After his girlfriend vanishes without a trace on a camping trip, he quickly goes from witness to suspect. Now, a year later, she returns to the very spot from which she was taken, but not like she was before.
Circus of Fear/Five Golden Dragons Double Feature (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)
Circus Of Fear...
- 6/28/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
By John M. Whalen
It’s night and a ship moves in the water through a dark curtain of fog. We see George Raft as Captain Johnny Angel on the bridge peering out into the pea soup as another vessel looms ahead suddenly in the darkness, abandoned and drifting in the water. Raft sounds the foghorn but there’s no response. He boards the derelict with several of his crew to search for clues as to what happened. They go below to the captain’s quarters and finds it wrecked. A picture lies on a desk in a shattered frame. Raft picks it up and we see it is a picture of him as a younger man standing next to an older one. A crew member enters the cabin and says there is blood below, and water in the hold, but no signs of life.
“Maybe your father’s okay,...
It’s night and a ship moves in the water through a dark curtain of fog. We see George Raft as Captain Johnny Angel on the bridge peering out into the pea soup as another vessel looms ahead suddenly in the darkness, abandoned and drifting in the water. Raft sounds the foghorn but there’s no response. He boards the derelict with several of his crew to search for clues as to what happened. They go below to the captain’s quarters and finds it wrecked. A picture lies on a desk in a shattered frame. Raft picks it up and we see it is a picture of him as a younger man standing next to an older one. A crew member enters the cabin and says there is blood below, and water in the hold, but no signs of life.
“Maybe your father’s okay,...
- 6/24/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Holliston: Friendship is Tragic, the graphic novel based on the Holliston TV series from Adam Green (Frozen), features characters from the show and will be released in October. Also: Alexandre Aja’s curator collection on Shudder, Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons double feature Blu-ray details, a Viktorville poster, and a Shark Exorcist trailer.
Holliston: Press Release: “Source Point Press has announced they are currently in production on a graphic novel titled “Holliston: Friendship is Tragic”, based on the horror sit-com Holliston tv series created by filmmaker Adam Green. This announcement coincides with Source Point’s debut publisher booth at C2E2 in Chicago, and to celebrate the announcement the first promotional image for the comic will be available as a C2E2 exclusive art print limited to only 50 copies. Writer Greg Wright, artist Stephen Sharar, Editor Travis McIntire, and colorist and letterer Joshua Werner will...
Holliston: Press Release: “Source Point Press has announced they are currently in production on a graphic novel titled “Holliston: Friendship is Tragic”, based on the horror sit-com Holliston tv series created by filmmaker Adam Green. This announcement coincides with Source Point’s debut publisher booth at C2E2 in Chicago, and to celebrate the announcement the first promotional image for the comic will be available as a C2E2 exclusive art print limited to only 50 copies. Writer Greg Wright, artist Stephen Sharar, Editor Travis McIntire, and colorist and letterer Joshua Werner will...
- 3/18/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
By John M. Whalen
“A Bullet for Joey” (1955) with Edward G. Robinson, George Raft and Audrey Totter is one of those “Red scare” movies from the mid-fifties that combines elements of a crime plot with espionage and the evils of communism. It was the Cold War era and people were digging bomb shelters and practicing “duck and cover” air raid drills, while at the same time, congressional committees hauled in suspected Communist Party members, including actors, writers and directors, to testify and name names. Hollywood did its part, in turn, by black listing suspected commies and turning out anti-communism films like John Wayne’s “Big Jim McClain” “The Woman on Pier 13 (“I Married a Communist”), and “I Was a Communist for the FBI.” “A Bullet for Joey”, despite having two of Hollywood’s toughest tough guy actors in the cast, is one of the weaker examples of this sub-genre.
“A Bullet for Joey” (1955) with Edward G. Robinson, George Raft and Audrey Totter is one of those “Red scare” movies from the mid-fifties that combines elements of a crime plot with espionage and the evils of communism. It was the Cold War era and people were digging bomb shelters and practicing “duck and cover” air raid drills, while at the same time, congressional committees hauled in suspected Communist Party members, including actors, writers and directors, to testify and name names. Hollywood did its part, in turn, by black listing suspected commies and turning out anti-communism films like John Wayne’s “Big Jim McClain” “The Woman on Pier 13 (“I Married a Communist”), and “I Was a Communist for the FBI.” “A Bullet for Joey”, despite having two of Hollywood’s toughest tough guy actors in the cast, is one of the weaker examples of this sub-genre.
- 3/16/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
William Cameron Menzies. William Cameron Menzies movies on TCM: Murderous Joan Fontaine, deadly Nazi Communists Best known as an art director/production designer, William Cameron Menzies was a jack-of-all-trades. It seems like the only things Menzies didn't do was act and tap dance in front of the camera. He designed and/or wrote, directed, produced, etc., dozens of films – titles ranged from The Thief of Bagdad to Invaders from Mars – from the late 1910s all the way to the mid-1950s. Among Menzies' most notable efforts as an art director/production designer are: Ernst Lubitsch's first Hollywood movie, the Mary Pickford star vehicle Rosita (1923). Herbert Brenon's British-set father-son drama Sorrell and Son (1927). David O. Selznick's mammoth production of Gone with the Wind, which earned Menzies an Honorary Oscar. The Sam Wood movies Our Town (1940), Kings Row (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). H.C. Potter's Mr. Lucky...
- 1/28/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Donald Trump vs. Starbucks' War on Christmas. The War on Christmas: The movies that come to mind We're still in November, but the War on Christmas – according to online buzz, a second cousin once removed of the War on Cops – has begun. Weeping and gritting of teeth has seized certain population segments in the U.S.A. (and perhaps other countries as well) after Fox News, that beacon of intellectual freedom at the end of the cable news tunnel, announced that … Starbucks' holiday season cups are a) red b) devoid of Christmas decorations. Could it be a satanic conspiracy disguised as politically correct inclusiveness? The result of a communist takeover at the Seattle-headquartered company? Cruel and unusual Christian persecution in the form of paper cups? Your guess is as good as mine. Far-right Republican icon, U.S. presidential candidate, and 2015 political circus ringmaster Donald Trump seems to think that Starbucks...
- 11/15/2015
- by M.T. Philipe
- Alt Film Guide
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