Superstar Marilyn Monroe passed away in 1962, but her legacy lives on in the form of several classic movies that still hold up today. The actor and model appeared in plenty of great films across her lifetime, including several that have only grown in public estimation since their release. Among the best: crowd pleasers like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "The Seven Year Itch," and "How To Marry A Millionaire," plus stone-cold classics "Some Like It Hot" and "All About Eve."
Surprisingly, though, Monroe's most popular and obviously beloved movies aren't actually her most acclaimed –- at least according to one major metric. Only one of the films she appeared in during her too-short lifetime has a perfect critical score on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, and it's not any of the titles listed above. Instead, that coveted 100% score goes to "Don't Bother To Knock," a comparatively underseen thriller Monroe starred in...
Surprisingly, though, Monroe's most popular and obviously beloved movies aren't actually her most acclaimed –- at least according to one major metric. Only one of the films she appeared in during her too-short lifetime has a perfect critical score on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, and it's not any of the titles listed above. Instead, that coveted 100% score goes to "Don't Bother To Knock," a comparatively underseen thriller Monroe starred in...
- 5/18/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
On October 23, 1941, "Dumbo" soared into audience members' hearts. With his wide, bright blue eyes and floppy ears as big as his whole body, he quickly stood out as one of the cutest Disney characters ever. Sadly, the playful baby elephant is mocked by others, referred to as "Dumbo" instead of Jumbo Jr., and ridiculed for his oversized ears which give him the ability to fly. In the book "The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney," author Michael Barrier notes that the Walt Disney movies "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" failed at the box office because World War II disrupted the European markets. A successful film was crucial for the studio's continued survival.
Working with a small budget, the filmmakers came up with what Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called "the most genial, the most endearing, the most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney's wonder-working artists.
Working with a small budget, the filmmakers came up with what Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called "the most genial, the most endearing, the most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney's wonder-working artists.
- 2/13/2024
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
Frank Sinatra went through phases like he went through wives. The legendary crooner and movie star could exhibit impeccable taste for what people wanted to see and hear, and then, in a few year's time, completely lose his grasp of the zeitgeist.
Sinatra was threatening to enter one of his down periods in the mid-1960s. The popular music scene was in the throes of Beatlemania, while moviegoers were tiring of the Rat Pack's antics. Who wanted to see Sinatra and the gang saunter their way through Western and gangster pastiches like "4 for Texas" and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" when they could watch Elvis Presley set the screen ablaze with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"?
To be fair, Sinatra was still Sinatra, but after giving one of his finest performances in John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate," he started playing it way too safe. Bud Yorkin and...
Sinatra was threatening to enter one of his down periods in the mid-1960s. The popular music scene was in the throes of Beatlemania, while moviegoers were tiring of the Rat Pack's antics. Who wanted to see Sinatra and the gang saunter their way through Western and gangster pastiches like "4 for Texas" and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" when they could watch Elvis Presley set the screen ablaze with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"?
To be fair, Sinatra was still Sinatra, but after giving one of his finest performances in John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate," he started playing it way too safe. Bud Yorkin and...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
by Chad Kennerk
Considered the first film noir to feature a leading black protagonist, Odds Against Tomorrow is a vital entry in the noir canon. Directed by legend Robert Wise and produced by star Harry Belafonte’s HarBel Productions, the gritty look at racial tension is also one of cinema’s most important films about prejudice. Created amidst growing disquiet in America, the film heralds the explosive events to come at the dawn of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
The screenplay was based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat) and secretly written by Abraham Polonsky, who penned the screenplays for films such as Body and Soul and Force of Evil. Polonsky had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, so Belafonte approached black novelist and friend John O. Killens to serve as the credited screenwriter. It would take until...
by Chad Kennerk
Considered the first film noir to feature a leading black protagonist, Odds Against Tomorrow is a vital entry in the noir canon. Directed by legend Robert Wise and produced by star Harry Belafonte’s HarBel Productions, the gritty look at racial tension is also one of cinema’s most important films about prejudice. Created amidst growing disquiet in America, the film heralds the explosive events to come at the dawn of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
The screenplay was based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat) and secretly written by Abraham Polonsky, who penned the screenplays for films such as Body and Soul and Force of Evil. Polonsky had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, so Belafonte approached black novelist and friend John O. Killens to serve as the credited screenwriter. It would take until...
- 1/20/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
The Killer.How do you make a good movie in this country and be jumped on?Once, in 1967, in the opener for her Bonnie and Clyde review, Pauline Kael asked the opposite question: “How do you make a good movie in this country without being jumped on?” Now, times have changed. Nothing provokes us to jump and say, “Hold the torches! That’s the key! The way forward.”An automatic film like David Fincher’s new thriller, The Killer, comes and goes with the velocity of a Twitter news cycle: about six fervent days of talk. (The seventh and beyond? Fits and bursts of takes amid miles of silence.) Whether you think it’s good or bad, The Killer has not lingered in the popular consciousness. And I can’t imagine it lingering. It might have passed me by with the similarly fleeting presence of recent moving-image works like Richard Linklater...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
Lelia Goldoni, who sparkled as the lead in John Cassavettes’ Shadows and played a friend of Ellen Burstyn’s character in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, has died. She was 86.
Goldoni died Saturday at The Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, her friend Jd Sobol announced.
Goldoni also appeared in the original The Italian Job (1969), in John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust (1975), in Philip Kaufman’s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and in Robert Mulligan’s Bloodbrothers (1978).
A second cousin of famed New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto, Lelia Vita Goldoni was born in New York on Oct. 1, 1936. She was raised in Los Angeles, where she was one of the Lester Horton Dancers alongside Alvin Ailey and Carmen de Lavallade.
Goldoni studied acting with Jeff Corey and at age 19 moved back to New York, where she became a student at a drama...
Goldoni died Saturday at The Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, her friend Jd Sobol announced.
Goldoni also appeared in the original The Italian Job (1969), in John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust (1975), in Philip Kaufman’s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and in Robert Mulligan’s Bloodbrothers (1978).
A second cousin of famed New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto, Lelia Vita Goldoni was born in New York on Oct. 1, 1936. She was raised in Los Angeles, where she was one of the Lester Horton Dancers alongside Alvin Ailey and Carmen de Lavallade.
Goldoni studied acting with Jeff Corey and at age 19 moved back to New York, where she became a student at a drama...
- 7/27/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’ “Cleopatra,” which opened in New York on June 12, 1963 and in Los Angeles a week later, was not a flop. In fact, the 243-minute film was a box office champ making $26 million at the box office, $6 million more than the Cinerama epic “How the West was Won.” But being the most expensive movie of its time — the budget ended up being around $44 million which would be around $429.5 million in 2023 — it took a long time to recoup its staggering costs. The film was such a drain on Twentieth Century Fox, the studio ended up having to sell nearly 300 acres of its backlot. That acreage was transformed into Century City.
The budgets started to soar when the original production with Elizabeth Taylor, who asked for and received $1 million for her services, Peter Finch as Julius Caesar, Stephen Boyd as Marc Antony and veteran filmmaker Rouben Mamoulian as director, stopped production...
The budgets started to soar when the original production with Elizabeth Taylor, who asked for and received $1 million for her services, Peter Finch as Julius Caesar, Stephen Boyd as Marc Antony and veteran filmmaker Rouben Mamoulian as director, stopped production...
- 6/19/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The Beatles received a number of Grammy awards, but in 1971, they joined a prestigious group of musicians who have won an Oscar. By the time they won, the band had already broken up, and the relationships between the former members were publicly fraught. They did not appear at the ceremony to accept the award, but the four of them are now permanently known as Oscar winners.
The Beatles | John Downing/Getty Images The Beatles’ film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ received 2 Oscar nominations
The 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night brought The Beatles their first brush with the Academy Awards. While the Academy recognized none of the band members for their acting, the film received nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Score. They had no experience as actors, but the film received positive reviews from pleasantly surprised critics.
“This is going to surprise you — it may knock you right out of your...
The Beatles | John Downing/Getty Images The Beatles’ film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ received 2 Oscar nominations
The 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night brought The Beatles their first brush with the Academy Awards. While the Academy recognized none of the band members for their acting, the film received nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Score. They had no experience as actors, but the film received positive reviews from pleasantly surprised critics.
“This is going to surprise you — it may knock you right out of your...
- 4/15/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Quentin Tarantino has found the perfect goodbye to Hollywood.
The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” auteur is rumored to be announcing his final film, titled “The Movie Critic,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Tarantino is said to be directing the feature film in fall 2023, per THR sources, but is still shopping the script for a studio home.
IndieWire has reached out for comment.
While the logline is still under wraps, “The Movie Critic” is expected to be set in late 1970s Los Angeles with a female lead. THR reported that Tarantino may have used famed film critic Pauline Kael as inspiration for the film. Kael briefly worked as a consultant for Paramount in the late 1970s and closely collaborated with Warren Beatty — her support of “Bonnie & Clyde” when some older critics such as Bosley Crowther hated it helped kick off the whole idea of the New Hollywood.
Tarantino...
The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” auteur is rumored to be announcing his final film, titled “The Movie Critic,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Tarantino is said to be directing the feature film in fall 2023, per THR sources, but is still shopping the script for a studio home.
IndieWire has reached out for comment.
While the logline is still under wraps, “The Movie Critic” is expected to be set in late 1970s Los Angeles with a female lead. THR reported that Tarantino may have used famed film critic Pauline Kael as inspiration for the film. Kael briefly worked as a consultant for Paramount in the late 1970s and closely collaborated with Warren Beatty — her support of “Bonnie & Clyde” when some older critics such as Bosley Crowther hated it helped kick off the whole idea of the New Hollywood.
Tarantino...
- 3/14/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Hollywood’s postwar shift to social consciousness addressed familiar issues like bigotry and discrimination. On his way to making his gargantuan, serious epics, famed director George Stevens paused for this almost entirely forgotten contemplation of American anxiety in the business rat race, with a side order of alcoholism and potential adultery. Ray Milland is the troubled ad man who tries to help the drink-impaired actress, Joan Fontaine. Wife Teresa Wright waits patiently back home, but for how long? Is Stevens just dabbling in neorealistic doldrums, or did he feel the wave of dull existential despair as well? It’s one of his least-known films.
Something to Live For
All Region Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #199
952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / au 34.95
Starring: Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, Teresa Wright, Richard Derr, Douglas Dick, Harry Bellaver, Paul Valentine, King Donovan, Kasey Rogers, Douglas Spencer, Mari Blanchard.
Cinematography: George Barnes
Production Designer: Hal Pereira,...
Something to Live For
All Region Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #199
952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / au 34.95
Starring: Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, Teresa Wright, Richard Derr, Douglas Dick, Harry Bellaver, Paul Valentine, King Donovan, Kasey Rogers, Douglas Spencer, Mari Blanchard.
Cinematography: George Barnes
Production Designer: Hal Pereira,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
On March 2, 1964, nearly 60 years ago today, The Beatles began filming A Hard Day’s Night. This was The Beatles’ first film, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The band, having enjoyed success in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, were now international stars. On this day, George Harrison also met his future wife, Pattie Boyd.
The Beatles with actors from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ | Max Scheler – K & K/Redferns ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was a way for The Beatles to capitalize on their success
When The Beatles traveled to America in early 1964, Beatlemania followed them across the Atlantic. They were at the height of their fame, and those around them decided to capitalize on that by putting the band in a movie. They wanted to do something different than typical music movies, too.
“We’d made it clear to Brian [Epstein] that we weren’t interested in being in...
The Beatles with actors from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ | Max Scheler – K & K/Redferns ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was a way for The Beatles to capitalize on their success
When The Beatles traveled to America in early 1964, Beatlemania followed them across the Atlantic. They were at the height of their fame, and those around them decided to capitalize on that by putting the band in a movie. They wanted to do something different than typical music movies, too.
“We’d made it clear to Brian [Epstein] that we weren’t interested in being in...
- 3/2/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
There’s a film in the Oscar best picture race that has younger Academy voters and a new generation of film critics excited, while their older peers in both camps appear more what one might call agitated.
It’s a fairly neat generational split. The film’s anarchic spirit and unorthodox mix of genre filmmaking and biting social commentary is seen as daring and refreshing by its young fans, while its older detractors are scratching their heads over weird tonal shifts, from comic and rollicking one minute, serious and reflective in the next, shifting from spoofing genre tropes to questioning of societal norms.
The year is 1968 and the film is Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde.”
But you’d be forgiven if you found the paragraphs above an apt description of this year’s Producers Guild Awards best feature winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Just as “Bonnie” was a landmark film in Academy history,...
It’s a fairly neat generational split. The film’s anarchic spirit and unorthodox mix of genre filmmaking and biting social commentary is seen as daring and refreshing by its young fans, while its older detractors are scratching their heads over weird tonal shifts, from comic and rollicking one minute, serious and reflective in the next, shifting from spoofing genre tropes to questioning of societal norms.
The year is 1968 and the film is Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde.”
But you’d be forgiven if you found the paragraphs above an apt description of this year’s Producers Guild Awards best feature winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Just as “Bonnie” was a landmark film in Academy history,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Miiko Taka, who made her film debut with a starring turn opposite Marlon Brando in Sayonara, the 1957 Korean War-set drama about “defiant desire,” has died. She was 97.
News of her death was posted Jan. 4 on social media by a grandson. Details of her death were not available, with her son informing The Hollywood Reporter through a spokesperson that his family did not want to participate in an obituary.
Taka also appeared with Glenn Ford and her Sayonara co-star Miyoshi Umeki in the war comedy Cry for Happy (1961), alongside Bob Hope in A Global Affair (1963), opposite James Garner (another Sayonara actor) in Norman Jewison’s The Art of Love (1965) and with Cary Grant in his last film, Walk Don’t Run (1966), set during the Tokyo Olympics.
Directed by Joshua Logan and adapted by Paul Osborn from a 1954 novel by James Michener, Sayonara featured Brando as U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Lloyd...
News of her death was posted Jan. 4 on social media by a grandson. Details of her death were not available, with her son informing The Hollywood Reporter through a spokesperson that his family did not want to participate in an obituary.
Taka also appeared with Glenn Ford and her Sayonara co-star Miyoshi Umeki in the war comedy Cry for Happy (1961), alongside Bob Hope in A Global Affair (1963), opposite James Garner (another Sayonara actor) in Norman Jewison’s The Art of Love (1965) and with Cary Grant in his last film, Walk Don’t Run (1966), set during the Tokyo Olympics.
Directed by Joshua Logan and adapted by Paul Osborn from a 1954 novel by James Michener, Sayonara featured Brando as U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Lloyd...
- 1/14/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When MGM’s Singin’ in the Rain, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s musical valentine to Hollywood’s silent film era as it transitioned into the world of talkies, opened in the spring of 1952, it instantly won over moviegoers. Writing in The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther enthused, “Compounded generously of music, dance, color spectacle and a riotous abundance of Gene Kelly, Jean Hagen and Donald O’Connor on the screen, all elements in this rainbow program are carefully contrived and guaranteed to lift the dolors of winter and put you in a buttercup mood.” The movie went on to become a box office hit, ranking as the 10th highest-grossing film of the year in North America. The Writers Guild awarded Betty Comden and Adolph Green its prize for best-written American musical. The Directors Guild nominated Kelly and Donen for outstanding direction. And the Golden Globe Awards nominated it as best comedy or musical.
- 1/10/2023
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With half the decade spent in the midst of a century-defining world war and the other half spent recovering from its horrors, it's understandable that cinema in the 1940s would be a little bit on the dark side. While films explicitly about World War II dominated the early years of the 1940s, they quickly gave way to utterly unique film noir movies. Less a genre and more a series of stylistic elements, these pictures were defined by their seediness, cynicism, and focus on crime that reflected the trauma of filmmakers and audiences alike.
Still, 1940s cinema isn't all dark! The decade actually has a surprising amount of humor, with both satire and romantic comedies proving popular in Hollywood. You can almost feel films from this era negotiating between two powerful emotions: the anguish that the turbulent 1930s and 1940s brought along with them, and the joy that existed in spite of it.
Still, 1940s cinema isn't all dark! The decade actually has a surprising amount of humor, with both satire and romantic comedies proving popular in Hollywood. You can almost feel films from this era negotiating between two powerful emotions: the anguish that the turbulent 1930s and 1940s brought along with them, and the joy that existed in spite of it.
- 11/20/2022
- by Audrey Fox
- Slash Film
Patrick Hamilton's play "Gas Light" debuted on the London stage in 1938. It was about Jack and Bella, characters who had recently married but whose relationship is immediately rocky. She hates his flirtatious ways and mishandling of money. Most frustratingly, he seems to disappear from their home for hours at a time without explanation. During this time, the gaslights in the house would dim. Whenever Bella brought up this odd quirk or mentioned any missing objects, Jack would assure her that she was imagining it -- indeed, that she might be going insane. It is from Hamilton's play that the modern vernacular has taken "gaslighting" as a verb.
"Gas Light" was first adapted to film in 1940 by director Thorold Dickinson. That version starred Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, and it was a modest hit. The 1940 version, however, is not nearly as well-remembered as George Cukor's far more popular remake only four years later.
"Gas Light" was first adapted to film in 1940 by director Thorold Dickinson. That version starred Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, and it was a modest hit. The 1940 version, however, is not nearly as well-remembered as George Cukor's far more popular remake only four years later.
- 10/11/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
It’s pre-war Los Angeles and you’re a young and rather dashing British actor. You’re newly arrived in Hollywood and looking to make friends, and preferably ones who understand the importance of a properly made cup of tea. Look no further, then, than the Hollywood Cricket Club.
There you’ll find fellow famous Brits abroad such as David Niven, Boris Karloff and, thanks to the suspect nature of colonialism, an honorary Brit in the shape of Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn. Across the 1930s and 1940s, these stars (and more) could be counted on to drop by the club’s nets in their flawless whites. Cinema luminaries such as Cary Grant, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Leslie Howard would all also play for the team, while a young Elizabeth Taylor might be around to serve cream tea.
Like any sports team, each player brought their own distinct style to the game.
There you’ll find fellow famous Brits abroad such as David Niven, Boris Karloff and, thanks to the suspect nature of colonialism, an honorary Brit in the shape of Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn. Across the 1930s and 1940s, these stars (and more) could be counted on to drop by the club’s nets in their flawless whites. Cinema luminaries such as Cary Grant, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Leslie Howard would all also play for the team, while a young Elizabeth Taylor might be around to serve cream tea.
Like any sports team, each player brought their own distinct style to the game.
- 10/8/2022
- by Leonie Cooper
- The Independent - Film
Less sexualized than Gary Cooper and less filled with warm-hearted optimism than James Stewart, Gregory Peck nonetheless found a place for himself in classical Hollywood with a stoic (if occasionally muted), comfortingly authoritative presence. His career began in the early 1940s, when he found quick success as a leading man, and developed throughout the 1950s and 1960s when he took on the role that most people identify him with to this day: Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Beyond that, he continued making appearances in film and television until 2000, just a few short years before his death in 2003 at the age of 87.
Although he's occasionally overlooked in favor of the more overtly charismatic leading men of his day, Gregory Peck has an incredibly impressive filmography that could go toe-to-toe against any other actor from the classic Hollywood era. He even has the awards to prove it, with one competitive Oscar to his name,...
Although he's occasionally overlooked in favor of the more overtly charismatic leading men of his day, Gregory Peck has an incredibly impressive filmography that could go toe-to-toe against any other actor from the classic Hollywood era. He even has the awards to prove it, with one competitive Oscar to his name,...
- 10/6/2022
- by Audrey Fox
- Slash Film
The world was at war 80 years ago. The United States was grieving over the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 by the Japanese military and the defeat of our forces that month at Wake Island. And then the beloved Carole Lombard, her mother, servicemen and the crew perished in a plane crash west of Las Vegas on January 16, 1942. She was returning to Hollywood after raising 2 million in a war bond drive in Indianapolis.
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
How would Hollywood and audiences respond to World War II? They certainly didn’t shy away from the war. If you look at the top 10 films of the year, there are some escapist films but also movies dealing with the global conflict.
In fact, the No. 1 film of the year William Wyler’s “Mrs. Miniver” broke records at Radio City Music Hall in New York playing 10 weeks. Production began on the stirring, sentimental drama about a British...
- 9/18/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Alfred Hitchcock is behind several decades' worth of celebrated films, but some of the English director's best works were adaptations of stage plays. "Dial M For Murder" was one such adaptation, based on Frederick Knott's Broadway hit concerning an affair, a murder plot, and the trial that followed. Meticulously plotted and visually sparse, the thriller has one of the most satisfying endings of any of Hitchcock's films.
"Dial M For Murder" came to him from one of his previous players. "Notorious" star Cary Grant brought the project to the filmmaker with ambitions to play a hired killer, an appealing role after the suave menace he showed years earlier in Hitchcock's "Suspicion." At the time, Hitchcock was with Warner Bros., who paid thousands of British pounds for the film rights from filmmaker Alexander Korda (who had previously acquired the rights for much cheaper). After previously scrapping a feature adaptation...
"Dial M For Murder" came to him from one of his previous players. "Notorious" star Cary Grant brought the project to the filmmaker with ambitions to play a hired killer, an appealing role after the suave menace he showed years earlier in Hitchcock's "Suspicion." At the time, Hitchcock was with Warner Bros., who paid thousands of British pounds for the film rights from filmmaker Alexander Korda (who had previously acquired the rights for much cheaper). After previously scrapping a feature adaptation...
- 8/22/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Humble Marty Piletti finally gets to home video in its proper widescreen format. Paddy Chayefsky’s TV play-turned theatrical feature really shines in Kino’s new 4K remaster. The performances of Betsy Blair and especially Ernest Borgnine provide the gentle magic, as non-glamorous Bronx-ites learn that two lonely people can find romance. It’s a winning formula and a thoughtful meditation on social reality in the pursuit of happiness. With a new audio commentary by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry.
Marty
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen + 1:37 flat open matte / 90 94 min. / Special Edition / Street Date July 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, August Ciolli, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, Frank Sutton, James Bell, Jack Klugman.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Art Directors: Ted Haworth, Walter Simonds
Editing Supervisor: Alan Crosland Jr.
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Paddy Chayefsky from his teleplay
Produced by Harold Hecht,...
Marty
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen + 1:37 flat open matte / 90 94 min. / Special Edition / Street Date July 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, August Ciolli, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, Frank Sutton, James Bell, Jack Klugman.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Art Directors: Ted Haworth, Walter Simonds
Editing Supervisor: Alan Crosland Jr.
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Paddy Chayefsky from his teleplay
Produced by Harold Hecht,...
- 7/12/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Lady in a Cage
Blu ray
ViaVision [Imprint]
1964/ B&w / 1.78:1 / 95 Minutes
Starring Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Directed by Walter Grauman
Though the title suggests anything from a feminist manifesto to a women-in-prison melodrama, Lady in a Cage is in fact a home invasion thriller with a mile-wide mean streak. Critics in 1964 saw the film itself as the intruder, a smash and grab aberration wallowing in bloodshed and perversion. In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther labeled it as “reprehensible.” Gossipmonger Hedda Hopper wailed, “The picture should be burned.” Chances are good the reaction to Walter Grauman’s claustrophobic shocker would have been far less shrill without the presence of its leading lady, Olivia de Havilland—according to Hollywood taste-makers, Maid Marian should not be consorting with such riffraff.
De Havilland plays Cornelia Hilyard, a ripely beautiful dowager who lives in a spacious if drably generic house in an unnamed city.
Blu ray
ViaVision [Imprint]
1964/ B&w / 1.78:1 / 95 Minutes
Starring Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Directed by Walter Grauman
Though the title suggests anything from a feminist manifesto to a women-in-prison melodrama, Lady in a Cage is in fact a home invasion thriller with a mile-wide mean streak. Critics in 1964 saw the film itself as the intruder, a smash and grab aberration wallowing in bloodshed and perversion. In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther labeled it as “reprehensible.” Gossipmonger Hedda Hopper wailed, “The picture should be burned.” Chances are good the reaction to Walter Grauman’s claustrophobic shocker would have been far less shrill without the presence of its leading lady, Olivia de Havilland—according to Hollywood taste-makers, Maid Marian should not be consorting with such riffraff.
De Havilland plays Cornelia Hilyard, a ripely beautiful dowager who lives in a spacious if drably generic house in an unnamed city.
- 2/8/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Are you looking for a light and breezy flick to stream at home? Well, you may want to look elsewhere. The movies we’ve compiled below test the merits of the phrase “all publicity is good publicity.” Whether controversial due to violent or explicit content, on-set occurrences, or tackling weighty topics like race or religion, the following films were lightning rods for conversation around the time of their release, sometimes overshadowing the quality of the films themselves.
Thankfully, all of these disputed movies are readily available to modern audiences right now, allowing us to see whether all of the hubbub surrounding these films was warranted. They’re also a great litmus test for determining how our standards for “decency” have warped, shifted, or stayed the same in the ensuing years. Without further ado, here are the 10 most controversial movies now available for streaming.
[Trigger Warning: This article makes references to acts of sexual assault, both fictional and real.]
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
HBO Max
While modern...
Thankfully, all of these disputed movies are readily available to modern audiences right now, allowing us to see whether all of the hubbub surrounding these films was warranted. They’re also a great litmus test for determining how our standards for “decency” have warped, shifted, or stayed the same in the ensuing years. Without further ado, here are the 10 most controversial movies now available for streaming.
[Trigger Warning: This article makes references to acts of sexual assault, both fictional and real.]
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
HBO Max
While modern...
- 1/28/2022
- by Nick Harley
- Den of Geek
Above: detail from the Argentinian poster for Magnet of Doom. Artist unknown.Jean-Paul Belmondo, the great French movie star who died last week at the age of 88, had a marvelous face. He wasn’t a classic matinee idol like his friend and compatriot Alain Delon but with the combination of his soulful puppy-dog eyes, lopsided boxer’s nose, and luscious feminine lips he could play both hoodlums or heartthrobs (and in Breathless he played both at the same time). A classic tough guy best known outside France for art movies, he was initially synonymous with the angry alienation of the French New Wave and starred in films by Godard, Truffaut, Melville, Malle and Lelouch. But he could play comedy as well as action (he was renowned for doing his own stunts) and was for a while promoted as a French James Bond. By the ’70s and ’80s—when he was...
- 9/16/2021
- MUBI
Paul Greengrass’ western drama “New of the World” starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel is gaining traction during this pandemic awards season despite the fact that sagebrush sagas often get short shrift at the Oscars. Only three traditional Westerns — 1931’s “Cimarron,” 1990’s “Dances with Wolves” and 1992’s “Unforgiven” — and one contemporary Western (2007’s “No Country for Old Men”) have won the Best Picture Oscar.
Among the oaters to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards: John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” William A. Wellman’s 1943 “The Ox-Bow Incident,” Fred Zinnemann’s 1952’s “High Noon” (Gary Cooper won the Oscar for Best Actor), George Stevens’ 1953 “Shane”; 1960’s “The Alamo;” 1962’s “How the West Was Won”; and George Roy Hill’s 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
But some of the most acclaimed, treasure and influential Westerns have been all but ignored. Here’s a look at some of the...
Among the oaters to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards: John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” William A. Wellman’s 1943 “The Ox-Bow Incident,” Fred Zinnemann’s 1952’s “High Noon” (Gary Cooper won the Oscar for Best Actor), George Stevens’ 1953 “Shane”; 1960’s “The Alamo;” 1962’s “How the West Was Won”; and George Roy Hill’s 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
But some of the most acclaimed, treasure and influential Westerns have been all but ignored. Here’s a look at some of the...
- 1/12/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
War was raging in Europe in 1941. Though the U.S. hadn’t joined the fight against Hitler and the Nazis, there was a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before we would get involved in the conflict. In fact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had just won his third term as Commander and Chief and was situating the country as the “Arsenal of Democracy,” was urging the Congress to pass his Lend-Lease Act in order to supply our Allies with badly needed ammunitions and equipment.
And it was in this atmosphere that Warner Bros. released its patriotic “Sergeant York” that September. Directed by Howard Hawks — John Huston and Howard Koch were among the four screenwriters — the film chronicled the life of Alvin C. York, a pacificist Tennessee backwoodsman who became one of the most famous World War I heroes.
York only agreed to have Hollywood make his...
And it was in this atmosphere that Warner Bros. released its patriotic “Sergeant York” that September. Directed by Howard Hawks — John Huston and Howard Koch were among the four screenwriters — the film chronicled the life of Alvin C. York, a pacificist Tennessee backwoodsman who became one of the most famous World War I heroes.
York only agreed to have Hollywood make his...
- 10/14/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.
Thanks to the hot popularity of Robert Aldrich’s you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” hagsploitation movies starring your favorite screen dames nearing or passing their prime were briefly all the rage in the 1960s. “Lady in a Cage,” a claustrophobic and fright-filled horror picture directed by William Grauman, was the grand (and fleeting) entrance into the hagsploitation genre for then-48-year-old Olivia de Havilland, who died just this past weekend at the age of 104. The film was excoriated upon release, when The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther deemed it as “socially harmful.” And yet all these years later, “Lady in a Cage” remains a doozy.
De Havilland wasn’t even the studio’s first choice to play Mrs.
Thanks to the hot popularity of Robert Aldrich’s you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” hagsploitation movies starring your favorite screen dames nearing or passing their prime were briefly all the rage in the 1960s. “Lady in a Cage,” a claustrophobic and fright-filled horror picture directed by William Grauman, was the grand (and fleeting) entrance into the hagsploitation genre for then-48-year-old Olivia de Havilland, who died just this past weekend at the age of 104. The film was excoriated upon release, when The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther deemed it as “socially harmful.” And yet all these years later, “Lady in a Cage” remains a doozy.
De Havilland wasn’t even the studio’s first choice to play Mrs.
- 7/28/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Lady Eve
Blu ray
Criterion
1941/ 94 min.
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, William Demarest
Cinematography by Victor Milner
Directed by Preston Sturges
In The Lady Eve a wealthy ophiologist named Charlie Pike and a sexy card shark named Jean Harrington fall in love. It’s a rapid-fire romance fueled by equal portions of love and lust and when the affair crashes and burns, director Preston Sturges simply restarts the movie: Jean reintroduces herself to Charlie as a British socialite named Eve and la affaire d’amour begins anew. The brazenness of her charade is part and parcel of Sturges’s own impudent take on the Human Comedy – the result is a screwball work of art.
Henry Fonda is Charlie and Barbara Stanwyck plays Jean – they meet aboard a cruise ship where Jean’s father, an avuncular but remorseless con man played by Charles Coburn, has pigeonholed Charlie as a sucker par excellence.
Blu ray
Criterion
1941/ 94 min.
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, William Demarest
Cinematography by Victor Milner
Directed by Preston Sturges
In The Lady Eve a wealthy ophiologist named Charlie Pike and a sexy card shark named Jean Harrington fall in love. It’s a rapid-fire romance fueled by equal portions of love and lust and when the affair crashes and burns, director Preston Sturges simply restarts the movie: Jean reintroduces herself to Charlie as a British socialite named Eve and la affaire d’amour begins anew. The brazenness of her charade is part and parcel of Sturges’s own impudent take on the Human Comedy – the result is a screwball work of art.
Henry Fonda is Charlie and Barbara Stanwyck plays Jean – they meet aboard a cruise ship where Jean’s father, an avuncular but remorseless con man played by Charles Coburn, has pigeonholed Charlie as a sucker par excellence.
- 7/25/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Murder, He Says
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1945 / 1.33:1 / 94 min.
Starring Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Peter Whitney
Cinematography by Theodor Sparkuhl
Directed by George Marshall
The Snopes family were a collection of Southern-fried scoundrels introduced by William Faulkner in 1940’s The Hamlet. Over the course of three novels and several short stories, the clan proved themselves capable of just about any atrocity. They were so comically loathsome they could have been kissing cousins to Mamie, Mert and Bert: the Fleagle family – a slapstick version of the Snopes. Even the local sheriff is terrified of the Fleagles and a greenhorn census taker from the big city is about to find out why.
Fred MacMurray plays Pete Marshall, the eager beaver field man for the Trotter Poll who’s searching for a missing colleague last seen headed toward the Fleagle house, way, way out in the woods (where presumably no one can hear...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1945 / 1.33:1 / 94 min.
Starring Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Peter Whitney
Cinematography by Theodor Sparkuhl
Directed by George Marshall
The Snopes family were a collection of Southern-fried scoundrels introduced by William Faulkner in 1940’s The Hamlet. Over the course of three novels and several short stories, the clan proved themselves capable of just about any atrocity. They were so comically loathsome they could have been kissing cousins to Mamie, Mert and Bert: the Fleagle family – a slapstick version of the Snopes. Even the local sheriff is terrified of the Fleagles and a greenhorn census taker from the big city is about to find out why.
Fred MacMurray plays Pete Marshall, the eager beaver field man for the Trotter Poll who’s searching for a missing colleague last seen headed toward the Fleagle house, way, way out in the woods (where presumably no one can hear...
- 3/28/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The taglines for the 1966 overstuffed turkey “The Oscar give viewers a preview of the machinations of this camp delight- “The Dreams and the Schemers… the Hustlers and the Hopefuls…All Fight for the Highest Award!”
And you thought there was a lot of campaigning now for the Academy Award!
Kino Lorber has unleashed “The Oscar” just in time for the Academy Awards Sunday on Blu-ray with a brand new 4K restoration and two audio commentaries- one with film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and a much more funny and caustic one with comic/actor Patton Oswalt, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”) and producer/writer/director Erik Nelson.
“The Oscar” was penned by Harlan Ellison, yes Harlan Ellison of “A Boy and His Dog,” “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” fame and the team of Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, who penned the 1949 classic noir “D.O.A.,...
And you thought there was a lot of campaigning now for the Academy Award!
Kino Lorber has unleashed “The Oscar” just in time for the Academy Awards Sunday on Blu-ray with a brand new 4K restoration and two audio commentaries- one with film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and a much more funny and caustic one with comic/actor Patton Oswalt, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”) and producer/writer/director Erik Nelson.
“The Oscar” was penned by Harlan Ellison, yes Harlan Ellison of “A Boy and His Dog,” “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” fame and the team of Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, who penned the 1949 classic noir “D.O.A.,...
- 2/6/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
In the fall of ‘64, while Hollywood was gently satirizing the battle of the sexes with Send Me No Flowers and What a Way to Go!, Europe was at work in the trenches, peppering art houses with piercing dramas like François Truffaut‘s The Soft Skin and André Cayatte’s dual release, Anatomy of a Marriage: My Nights With Francoise and My Days with Jean-Marc (“One Ticket Admits You to Both Theaters”). Perhaps most unforgiving of all was Jack Clayton’s The Pumpkin Eater starring Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch and James Mason.
Bancroft plays Jo Armitage, a fragile beauty who responds to her husband’s infidelities by getting pregnant. Finch is Jake, a screenwriter whose recent success has emboldened him to walk on the wild side thereby provoking Jo to over-crowd the nursery. Mason is, once again, the odd man out, the deceptively genial husband of one of Jake’s conquests.
Bancroft plays Jo Armitage, a fragile beauty who responds to her husband’s infidelities by getting pregnant. Finch is Jake, a screenwriter whose recent success has emboldened him to walk on the wild side thereby provoking Jo to over-crowd the nursery. Mason is, once again, the odd man out, the deceptively genial husband of one of Jake’s conquests.
- 12/17/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Perhaps Renee Zellweger will have better luck than Judy Garland did at the Academy Awards. Zellweger, who won supporting actress for 2003’s “Cold Mountain,” is the favorite to take home the Oscar next February for her haunting portrayal of the legendary star/singer in the acclaimed “Judy.”
Exactly 65 years ago, Garland was the front-runner to receive her first Academy Award for her powerhouse performance in “A Star is Born,” George Cukor‘s lavish musical version of the 1937 William Wellman classic tale of a matinee idol on the descent who marries an ingenue on the rise.
When the star-studded premiere at the Pantages Theatre aired live on TV on Sept. 29, 1954, star after star told host Jack Carson, who also appears in the film, that Garland was a shoo-in for Oscar gold. Dean Martin told the crowd Garland would probably take home every accolade and Lucille Ball echoed his sentiments.
Reviewers loved...
Exactly 65 years ago, Garland was the front-runner to receive her first Academy Award for her powerhouse performance in “A Star is Born,” George Cukor‘s lavish musical version of the 1937 William Wellman classic tale of a matinee idol on the descent who marries an ingenue on the rise.
When the star-studded premiere at the Pantages Theatre aired live on TV on Sept. 29, 1954, star after star told host Jack Carson, who also appears in the film, that Garland was a shoo-in for Oscar gold. Dean Martin told the crowd Garland would probably take home every accolade and Lucille Ball echoed his sentiments.
Reviewers loved...
- 11/22/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
When the lineup for Disney’s new streaming service, was released last week, there were so many obscure titles on the list that even the most diehard fan was left wondering whether they really existed, or were just an elaborate prank conceived of by Disney CEO Bob Iger. (If anyone in the history of human existence seen a single frame of Fuzzbucket, Mr. Boogedy, or Sammy the Way-Out Seal, first of all, how, and second of all, why?) There was one relatively well-known film, however, that didn’t make the list,...
- 10/22/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Agnes Varda is deservedly eulogized in newspapers and on social media all over America today, but critics, programmers and audiences in the U.S. took time in recognizing her accomplishments. It took several decades for her work gain appreciation in the U.S., and during that time, I witnessed Varda’s ability to continue evolving as an artist every step of the way.
While Varda’s debut feature, “La Pointe Courte” (1955) has yet to have a theatrical release in America, her early short, “L’Opera Mouffe” (1958), was distributed by Cinema 16, an important film club run by Amos and Marcia Vogel in the 50’s and early 60’s dedicated to the showing and release of experimental and avant-garde cinema. The film won some notoriety because of its casual nudity — then still rare on American screens — and it was booked in film societies around the country seeding the bed for later Varda appreciation.
While Varda’s debut feature, “La Pointe Courte” (1955) has yet to have a theatrical release in America, her early short, “L’Opera Mouffe” (1958), was distributed by Cinema 16, an important film club run by Amos and Marcia Vogel in the 50’s and early 60’s dedicated to the showing and release of experimental and avant-garde cinema. The film won some notoriety because of its casual nudity — then still rare on American screens — and it was booked in film societies around the country seeding the bed for later Varda appreciation.
- 3/31/2019
- by Laurence Kardish
- Indiewire
Arriving more than a half-century after Arthur Penn’s violent folk-ballad “Bonnie and Clyde” tapped into the zeitgeist and caught lightning in a bottle by portraying the Depression-era gangster couple in a manner that recast them as anti-establishment rebels, “The Highwaymen” aims to set the record straight with a respectfully celebratory depiction of the two lawmen most responsible for ending their bloody crime wave. Bosley Crowther, among others, likely would have approved of such revisionism. Still, this workman-like Netflix production — set to kick off a limited theatrical run March 15 before streaming March 29 — commands attention less as historical counterpoint than as a sturdy showcase for the neatly balanced lead performances of Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson.
While Bonnie Parker and Clyde Parker are represented here more or less as fleetingly glimpsed abstractions, embodied by Emily Brobst and Edward Bossert in the manner of anonymous re-enactors in a cable-tv historical documentary, legendary...
While Bonnie Parker and Clyde Parker are represented here more or less as fleetingly glimpsed abstractions, embodied by Emily Brobst and Edward Bossert in the manner of anonymous re-enactors in a cable-tv historical documentary, legendary...
- 3/11/2019
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
The reviews were strong. Filmgoers in key markets lined up around the block. Enthusiastic media coverage of the $3.2 million dark horse stunned industry veterans. Given this reception, the confrontation between producer and distributor was inevitable: With the Oscars looming, there surely had to be a campaign to support the film’s chances for an award. The response from mogul Joe Levine, whose Embassy Pictures funded the film: “I’m not spending a dime.”
Lawrence Turman, producer of The Graduate, this week recalled the events surrounding the release of his film exactly 50 years ago. His low-budget indie would go on to gross almost $800 million in today’s dollars and win an array of Oscars and Globes (it lost Best Picture to In the Heat of the Night). Its Best Director winner, Mike Nichols, was to go on to a brilliant career in film and theater, as would stars Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman.
Lawrence Turman, producer of The Graduate, this week recalled the events surrounding the release of his film exactly 50 years ago. His low-budget indie would go on to gross almost $800 million in today’s dollars and win an array of Oscars and Globes (it lost Best Picture to In the Heat of the Night). Its Best Director winner, Mike Nichols, was to go on to a brilliant career in film and theater, as would stars Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman.
- 12/13/2018
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Xavier Dolan's Heartbeats (2010) is showing November 10 – December 9, 2018 on Mubi in the United States.Xavier Dolan is infatuated with image. The Louis Vuitton model makes films of meticulous composition, color, and sartorial specificity. The filmmaker’s life, as he completes a decade of making films, is well known: a wunderkind-cum-enfant terrible, Dolan made his first film at nineteen. The film, I Killed My Mother (2009), played at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, where he’s become a house cat amongst toms, racking up prestigious awards and adulation while arrayed in the finest of fashion—the man has style. Somewhere along his ascent the critical discourse began to curdle. Flaws and weaknesses (excessive fealty to Wong Kar-wai and overly-simplistic character dynamics) in his first few films were absolved under the auspices of youthful promise. Critics and viewers were excited to discover a new cine-stylist, but around the time of Mommy (2014) the pools of disfavor began to form.
- 11/12/2018
- MUBI
In 1961, Shirley Clarke finished directing her first feature film and debuted The Connection at the Cannes Film Festival to much acclaim.
Previously, Clarke had begun her creative career as a dancer before moving on to direct many well-respected short experimental films, such as 1958’s Bridges-Go-Round. Clarke had always aimed her sights high with her career and, despite the improbability of a woman directing an independent feature film in the early 1960s, she accomplished just that.
The Connection was originally a play written by Jack Gelber and performed by New York City’s Living Theatre in 1959. The plot revolves around a group of junkies waiting around one afternoon for their drug dealer to arrive.
Clarke had seen and loved the play, but it was her brother-in-law — theater critic Kenneth Tynan — who convinced her to make a film of it. Money was raised through Lewis Allen, a theater investor who wanted to move into producing films.
Previously, Clarke had begun her creative career as a dancer before moving on to direct many well-respected short experimental films, such as 1958’s Bridges-Go-Round. Clarke had always aimed her sights high with her career and, despite the improbability of a woman directing an independent feature film in the early 1960s, she accomplished just that.
The Connection was originally a play written by Jack Gelber and performed by New York City’s Living Theatre in 1959. The plot revolves around a group of junkies waiting around one afternoon for their drug dealer to arrive.
Clarke had seen and loved the play, but it was her brother-in-law — theater critic Kenneth Tynan — who convinced her to make a film of it. Money was raised through Lewis Allen, a theater investor who wanted to move into producing films.
- 9/9/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It was dismissed as a ‘sugar-coated lie’ by Pauline Kael – but The Sound of Music’s enduring success suggests audiences enjoy being manipulated. Just look at Mamma Mia!
The cinemas are alive with The Sound of Music once more as the classic musical returns to the big screen. With five Oscars under its belt, legions of devoted fans including those prone to dressing up and singing along, and having taken so much box-office cash that it is in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, The Sound of Music is comfortably, and indisputably, a resounding hit. Take a bow, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Rodgers and Hammerstein, director Robert Wise, all the warbling Von Trapp children and even that saucy, if wooden, yodelling goatherd – you created a movie that is inordinately beloved. However, the question many word-perfect fans may not want to ask is this: is The Sound of Music actually any good?...
The cinemas are alive with The Sound of Music once more as the classic musical returns to the big screen. With five Oscars under its belt, legions of devoted fans including those prone to dressing up and singing along, and having taken so much box-office cash that it is in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, The Sound of Music is comfortably, and indisputably, a resounding hit. Take a bow, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Rodgers and Hammerstein, director Robert Wise, all the warbling Von Trapp children and even that saucy, if wooden, yodelling goatherd – you created a movie that is inordinately beloved. However, the question many word-perfect fans may not want to ask is this: is The Sound of Music actually any good?...
- 5/16/2018
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
New Yorkers of two centuries ago surely complained loudly about rampant street crime, but in the 1960s the media really ramped up the reportage paranoia. Had a new age of senseless violence begun? A New York play about terror on the subway is the source for this nail-biter with a powerful cast, featuring an ensemble of sharp new faces and undervalued veterans.
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
- 2/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s an Army booster production that got way out of hand: it’s a semi-docu using real soldiers, and filmed in Korea near the real combat zones – and filmed in full-scale 3-D. The soldiers, the equipment, everything is real — even the ammunition used is live, not blanks.
Cease Fire!
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date November 21, 2017 / 34.96
Starring: Captain Roy Thompson Jr., Corporal Henry Goszkowski, Sergeant Richard Karl Elliott, Sergeant First Class Albert Bernard Cook, Private Johnnie L. Mayes, Cheong Yul Bak, Sergeant First Class Howard E. Strait, Private First Class Gilbert L. Gazaille, Private First Class Harry L. Hofelich, Corporal Charlie W. Owen, Corporal Harold D. English, Private First Class Edmund Joseph Pruchniewski, Private Otis Wright, Private First Class Ricardo Carrasco, John Maxwell.
Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter
Film Editor: John Woodcock
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Written by Walter Doniger, story by Owen Crump
Produced...
Cease Fire!
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date November 21, 2017 / 34.96
Starring: Captain Roy Thompson Jr., Corporal Henry Goszkowski, Sergeant Richard Karl Elliott, Sergeant First Class Albert Bernard Cook, Private Johnnie L. Mayes, Cheong Yul Bak, Sergeant First Class Howard E. Strait, Private First Class Gilbert L. Gazaille, Private First Class Harry L. Hofelich, Corporal Charlie W. Owen, Corporal Harold D. English, Private First Class Edmund Joseph Pruchniewski, Private Otis Wright, Private First Class Ricardo Carrasco, John Maxwell.
Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter
Film Editor: John Woodcock
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Written by Walter Doniger, story by Owen Crump
Produced...
- 11/11/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ghosts are famous for their flexibility, spiraling through keyholes and up from the floorboards in search of their next mark. But movies about ghosts can be flexible too. Three classics of the genre, The Uninvited, House on Haunted Hill and The Innocents, demonstrate that there’s more than one way haunt a house.
These films never appeared on any triple bill that I know of, but I’d like to think they did, somewhere in some small town with a theater manager that knew a good scare when he saw it. How could the programmer resist it? Each film is united by a beautiful black and white sheen, eerie locales and their ability to scare the bejeezus out of you. But they’re also alike in their differences, coming at their specters from distinctly different vantage points.
1944’s The Uninvited, a three-hankie haunted house tale with a dysfunctional family subplot,...
These films never appeared on any triple bill that I know of, but I’d like to think they did, somewhere in some small town with a theater manager that knew a good scare when he saw it. How could the programmer resist it? Each film is united by a beautiful black and white sheen, eerie locales and their ability to scare the bejeezus out of you. But they’re also alike in their differences, coming at their specters from distinctly different vantage points.
1944’s The Uninvited, a three-hankie haunted house tale with a dysfunctional family subplot,...
- 10/28/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
This time on the podcast, Trevor Berrett, David Blakeslee, and Scott Nye discuss Jack Clayton’s The Innocents.
This genuinely frightening, exquisitely made supernatural gothic stars Deborah Kerr as an emotionally fragile governess who comes to suspect that there is something very, very wrong with her precocious new charges. A psychosexually intensified adaptation of Henry James’s classic The Turn of the Screw, cowritten by Truman Capote and directed by Jack Clayton, The Innocents is a triumph of narrative economy and technical expressiveness, from its chilling sound design to the stygian depths of its widescreen cinematography by Freddie Francis.
Episode Links The Innocents (1961) – The Criterion Collection The Innocents (1961) – IMDb The Innocents (1961) – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Trevor’s review of The Innocents – The Mookse and the Gripes Bosley Crowther’s review of The Innocents – The New York Times 1961 Tasha Robinson’s review of The Innocents – The Dissolve 2014 Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw (1898) – Wikipedia,...
This genuinely frightening, exquisitely made supernatural gothic stars Deborah Kerr as an emotionally fragile governess who comes to suspect that there is something very, very wrong with her precocious new charges. A psychosexually intensified adaptation of Henry James’s classic The Turn of the Screw, cowritten by Truman Capote and directed by Jack Clayton, The Innocents is a triumph of narrative economy and technical expressiveness, from its chilling sound design to the stygian depths of its widescreen cinematography by Freddie Francis.
Episode Links The Innocents (1961) – The Criterion Collection The Innocents (1961) – IMDb The Innocents (1961) – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Trevor’s review of The Innocents – The Mookse and the Gripes Bosley Crowther’s review of The Innocents – The New York Times 1961 Tasha Robinson’s review of The Innocents – The Dissolve 2014 Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw (1898) – Wikipedia,...
- 10/25/2017
- by Trevor Berrett
- CriterionCast
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. David Lean's Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952) is playing October 14 - November 13, 2017 on Mubi in the United States.John (J.R.) Ridgefield is a man possessed. The wealthy and influential aircraft industrialist is consumed by his desire to manufacture a plane capable of penetrating the inscrutable sound barrier. This supersonic obsession is a blessing and a curse for the Ridgefield family, providing their ample fortune and triggering largely latent rifts in their ancestral relations. It’s an opposition at the heart and soul of David Lean’s 1952 film The Sound Barrier, a post-war endorsement of British ingenuity and determination, and an emotional, blazing depiction of sacrifice and scientific achievement. The opening of The Sound Barrier (also known as Sound Barrier and Breaking the Sound Barrier), spotlights Philip Peel (John Justin), one of the film’s principal test pilots. In just under two minutes,...
- 10/18/2017
- MUBI
Now restored to perfection, this genuine classic hasn’t been seen intact for way over sixty years. Michael Curtiz and Robert Rossen adapt Jack London’s suspenseful allegory in high style, with a superb quartet of actors doing some of their best work: Robinson, Garfield, Lupino and newcomer Alexander Knox.
The Sea Wolf
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 100 min. uncut! / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Alexander Knox, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Gene Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald. Stanley Ridges, David Bruce, Francis McDonald, Howard Da Silva, Frank Lackteen, Ralf Harolde
Cinematography: Sol Polito
Film Editor: George Amy
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Special Effects: Byron Haskin, Hans F. Koenekamp
Original Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Written by Robert Rosson, from the novel by Jack London
Produced by Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Chopping up films for television was once the...
The Sea Wolf
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 100 min. uncut! / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Alexander Knox, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Gene Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald. Stanley Ridges, David Bruce, Francis McDonald, Howard Da Silva, Frank Lackteen, Ralf Harolde
Cinematography: Sol Polito
Film Editor: George Amy
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Special Effects: Byron Haskin, Hans F. Koenekamp
Original Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Written by Robert Rosson, from the novel by Jack London
Produced by Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Chopping up films for television was once the...
- 10/14/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David O. Selznick’s marvelous romantic fantasy ode to Jennifer Jones was almost wholly unappreciated back in 1948. It’s one of those peculiar pictures that either melts one’s heart or doesn’t. Backed by a music score adapted from Debussy, just one breathy “Oh Eben . . . “ will turn average romantics into mush.
Portrait of Jennie
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W w/ Color Insert / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date October 24, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, David Wayne, Albert Sharpe.
Cinematography: Joseph H. August
Production Designers: J. MacMillan Johnson, Joseph B. Platt
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin, also adapting themes from Claude Debussy; Bernard Herrmann
Written by Leonardo Bercovici, Peter Berneis, Paul Osborn, from the novella by Robert Nathan
Produced by David O. Selznick
Directed by William Dieterle
Once upon a time David O. Selznick’s Portrait of Jennie was an...
Portrait of Jennie
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W w/ Color Insert / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date October 24, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, David Wayne, Albert Sharpe.
Cinematography: Joseph H. August
Production Designers: J. MacMillan Johnson, Joseph B. Platt
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin, also adapting themes from Claude Debussy; Bernard Herrmann
Written by Leonardo Bercovici, Peter Berneis, Paul Osborn, from the novella by Robert Nathan
Produced by David O. Selznick
Directed by William Dieterle
Once upon a time David O. Selznick’s Portrait of Jennie was an...
- 10/10/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
There appear to be no rules governing tricky politics in movies — Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel about terrorism in French-held Vietnam completely reverses the author’s message. Does a conspiracy theory about a movie still carry any weight, when our daily political life now plays like one giant conspiracy?
The Quiet American
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1958 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin, Giorgia Moll,
Bruce Cabot, Fred Sadoff, Kerima, Richard Loo.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: William Hornbeck
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a novel by Graham Greene
Produced and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Fans of author Graham Greene know him for his political sophistication and his adherence to Catholic themes; he’s found holy values in a razor-wielding Spiv in Brighton Rock and...
The Quiet American
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1958 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin, Giorgia Moll,
Bruce Cabot, Fred Sadoff, Kerima, Richard Loo.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: William Hornbeck
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a novel by Graham Greene
Produced and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Fans of author Graham Greene know him for his political sophistication and his adherence to Catholic themes; he’s found holy values in a razor-wielding Spiv in Brighton Rock and...
- 7/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Crime novel The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. While her husband is away during World War II, housewife Lucia Holley – the sort of “Everywoman” who looks great in a two-piece bathing suit – does whatever it takes to protect the feeling of “normality” in her bourgeois, suburban household. The Blank Wall is a classic depiction of an attempted cover-up being much more serious than the actual crime. Sound bites: Remembering the classic crime novel 'The Blank Wall' and its two movie adaptations – 'The Reckless Moment' & 'The Deep End' Crime novel writer Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889–1955) is not a name familiar to many, and yet Raymond Chandler described her as “the top suspense writer of them all. She doesn't pour it on and make you feel irritated. Her characters are wonderful; and she has a sort of inner calm which I find very attractive.” Holding has been identified as “The Godmother of Noir” and, more...
- 7/17/2017
- by Anthony Slide
- Alt Film Guide
'The Magnificent Ambersons': Directed by Orson Welles, and starring Tim Holt (pictured), Dolores Costello (in the background), Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter, and Agnes Moorehead, this Academy Award-nominated adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel earned Ricardo Cortez's brother Stanley Cortez an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. He lost to Joseph Ruttenberg for William Wyler's blockbuster 'Mrs. Miniver.' Two years later, Cortez – along with Lee Garmes – would win Oscar statuettes for their evocative black-and-white work on John Cromwell's homefront drama 'Since You Went Away,' starring Ricardo Cortez's 'Torch Singer' leading lady, Claudette Colbert. In all, Stanley Cortez would receive cinematography credit in more than 80 films, ranging from B fare such as 'The Lady in the Morgue' and the 1940 'Margie' to Fritz Lang's 'Secret Beyond the Door,' Charles Laughton's 'The Night of the Hunter,' and Nunnally Johnson's 'The Three Faces...
- 7/8/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Blake Edwards: Director of the 'Pink Panther' movies – and Julie Andrews' husband for more than four decades – was at his best handling polished comedies and a couple of dead serious dramas. Blake Edwards movies: Best known for slapstick fare, but at his best handling polished comedies and dramas The Pink Panther and its sequels[1] are the movies most closely associated with screenwriter-director-producer Blake Edwards, whose film and television career spanned more than half a century.[2] But unless you're a fan of Keystone Kops-style slapstick, they're the filmmaker's least interesting efforts. In fact, Edwards (born William Blake Crump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 26, 1922) was at his best (co-)writing and/or directing polished comedies (e.g., Operation Petticoat, Victor Victoria) and, less frequently, dramas (Days of Wine and Roses, the romantic comedy-drama Breakfast at Tiffany's). The article below and follow-up posts offer a brief look at some of Blake Edwards' non-Pink Panther comedies,...
- 5/29/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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