If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Darlene Love’s annual television performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” was essentially orphaned after “Late Show With David Letterman” went off the air in 2015, putting an end to the 28-year streak that had the music legend singing her signature holiday song with Paul Shaffer’s band on Letterman’s last original show before Christmas each December. But they all reunited — not over the air, but on YouTube — for a resumption of the tradition, nine years after the last time this particular caroling took place on CBS.
Watch the video, below.
Love has sung the modern standard she originated on “The View,” but her song has not had a regular nighttime slot since 2014. She recently sang it on the Rockefeller Center prime-time special with Cher, who also asked Love to perform it with her on her recent Christmas album. But Love still has some feelings about never having been...
Watch the video, below.
Love has sung the modern standard she originated on “The View,” but her song has not had a regular nighttime slot since 2014. She recently sang it on the Rockefeller Center prime-time special with Cher, who also asked Love to perform it with her on her recent Christmas album. But Love still has some feelings about never having been...
- 12/20/2023
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Edward Hume Dies: ‘The Day After’ Writer, ‘Barnaby Jones’, ‘Streets Of San Francisco’ Creator Was 87
Edward Hume, a prolific TV writer who created or developed such 1970s episodic crime classics as The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon and Barnaby Jones, and was Emmy-nominated for the startlingly realistic, much-watched 1983 nuclear holocaust drama The Day After, has died. He was 87.
According to an obituary posted this week by his family, Hume died July 13. A cause was not stated.
With his first TV credit coming in 1967 (an episode of The Fugitive), Hume would go on to develop such popular detective and cop fare as Toma (1973); Cannon, the 1971-76 series starring William Conrad; the 1972-77 series The Streets of San Francisco, starring Karl Malden and a young Michael Douglas; and Barnaby Jones, the 1973-80 series starring a post-Beverly Hillbillies Buddy Ebsen as an elderly private eye who comes out of retirement following the murder of his son.
‘The Day After’
While Hume would write many TV movies in the 1970s and ’80s,...
According to an obituary posted this week by his family, Hume died July 13. A cause was not stated.
With his first TV credit coming in 1967 (an episode of The Fugitive), Hume would go on to develop such popular detective and cop fare as Toma (1973); Cannon, the 1971-76 series starring William Conrad; the 1972-77 series The Streets of San Francisco, starring Karl Malden and a young Michael Douglas; and Barnaby Jones, the 1973-80 series starring a post-Beverly Hillbillies Buddy Ebsen as an elderly private eye who comes out of retirement following the murder of his son.
‘The Day After’
While Hume would write many TV movies in the 1970s and ’80s,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Prior to creating "Star Trek," Gene Roddenberry had spent a decade as a TV journeyman, writing for multiple hit shows of the day including "Highway Patrol," "I Led 3 Lives," "Dr. Kildare," and 24 episodes of "Have Gun – Will Travel." He became adept at multiple genres and had a very good sense of how TV trends flowed by the time he went to pitch "Star Trek." Famously, Roddenberry pitched his sci-fi show as "Wagon Train to the Stars," referring to the massive hit Western that debuted in 1957 and ran until 1965. That notorious pitch has worked its way into known Trek lore and can be heard quoted by good Trekkies everywhere. These days, "Star Trek" is far more popular than "Wagon Train" ever was.
Looking over "Star Trek," one finds a lot of Western-inflected language, notably how space is referred to as the Final Frontier. While Roddenberry wanted to pointedly avoid any...
Looking over "Star Trek," one finds a lot of Western-inflected language, notably how space is referred to as the Final Frontier. While Roddenberry wanted to pointedly avoid any...
- 8/27/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Nicolas Coster, the soap opera stalwart who starred on Another World, Santa Barbara and All My Children and appeared in such films as All the President’s Men, Reds and Stir Crazy, has died. He was 89.
Coster died Monday in a hospital in Florida, his daughter Dinneen Coster announced on Facebook.
“Please remember him as a great artist,” she wrote. “He was an actor’s actor! I will always be inspired by him and know how lucky I am to have such a great father!!
A familiar character actor who often portrayed officious types, Coster played chief of detectives J.E. Carson on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and later recurred as the millionaire father of Lisa Whelchel’s Blair Warner on another 1980’s NBC sitcom, The Facts of Life.
He appeared often on Broadway, and in his 1961 debut, he understudied for Lawrence Olivier as Henry II in Becket. Two decades later,...
Coster died Monday in a hospital in Florida, his daughter Dinneen Coster announced on Facebook.
“Please remember him as a great artist,” she wrote. “He was an actor’s actor! I will always be inspired by him and know how lucky I am to have such a great father!!
A familiar character actor who often portrayed officious types, Coster played chief of detectives J.E. Carson on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and later recurred as the millionaire father of Lisa Whelchel’s Blair Warner on another 1980’s NBC sitcom, The Facts of Life.
He appeared often on Broadway, and in his 1961 debut, he understudied for Lawrence Olivier as Henry II in Becket. Two decades later,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gunsmoke was an adult Western ensemble that put James Arness’ U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon at the center. He played the character for 20 seasons, starting in 1955 until its surprise cancelation in 1975. However, the creatives behind the scenes had a strong understanding of the American West and the real-life names that lived during that time. An early episode of Gunsmoke featured a real-life stagecoach robber that Matt had on his radar.
‘Gunsmoke’ U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon kept Dodge City safe James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS via Getty Images
Arness took on the role of Matt on Gunsmoke from radio actor William Conrad, which offered a slightly different version of the character. Conrad utilized a voice narration that wasn’t present in Arness’ iteration of the television show. The original version of the character was a bit darker, as Matt was quick to anger and violence.
In the Gunsmoke radio show,...
‘Gunsmoke’ U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon kept Dodge City safe James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS via Getty Images
Arness took on the role of Matt on Gunsmoke from radio actor William Conrad, which offered a slightly different version of the character. Conrad utilized a voice narration that wasn’t present in Arness’ iteration of the television show. The original version of the character was a bit darker, as Matt was quick to anger and violence.
In the Gunsmoke radio show,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
A 4K Steelbook! Haven’t seen this show lately, and discovered that it holds up remarkably well. Mr. Qt’s sophomore outing made an indelible mark on American movies — the darling of hipster crime filmmaking dazzled viewers with showcase set-piece scenes, entertainingly profane dialogue and ultra-hip inside-out time-shuffling narrative tricks. Add to that genuine star turns, especially Uma Thurman and John Travolta’s iconic dance scene. It’s old-fashioned movie-going in an avant-garde pattern, with raw violence and even rougher language. The stars include Samuel L. Jackson, Harvy Keitel, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Bruce Willis.
Pulp Fiction 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code
Paramount Home Video
1994 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 154 min. / Street Date December 6, 2022 / Available from Amazon / 30.99
Starring: Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Whaley, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, Eric Stoltz, Uma Thurman, Steve Buscemi, Emil Sitka, Christopher Walken, Maria de Medeiros,...
Pulp Fiction 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code
Paramount Home Video
1994 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 154 min. / Street Date December 6, 2022 / Available from Amazon / 30.99
Starring: Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Whaley, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, Eric Stoltz, Uma Thurman, Steve Buscemi, Emil Sitka, Christopher Walken, Maria de Medeiros,...
- 12/10/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The new animated anthology miniseries "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi" is now streaming on Disney+, and brings us a new perspective on Count Dooku: a view of him in his earlier years before the corruption of the Sith took him and twisted him into Darth Tyranus.
The man behind Count Dooku's voice, Corey Burton, has been a voice actor for decades, providing voices you hear almost every day. From the tram operator at Disneyland and "Star Wars" characters like Count Dooku and Cad Bane, all the way to Captain Hook, Spike Witwicky and Shockwave from "Transformers," and even James Bond, Jr., Burton has shaped the audio landscape of Saturday morning cartoons and theme parks for decades. We were able to have a wide-ranging conversation with him about the beginnings of his career, his work as Count Dooku, and the legacy of "Star Wars."
'Who Is That?'
I'm a...
The man behind Count Dooku's voice, Corey Burton, has been a voice actor for decades, providing voices you hear almost every day. From the tram operator at Disneyland and "Star Wars" characters like Count Dooku and Cad Bane, all the way to Captain Hook, Spike Witwicky and Shockwave from "Transformers," and even James Bond, Jr., Burton has shaped the audio landscape of Saturday morning cartoons and theme parks for decades. We were able to have a wide-ranging conversation with him about the beginnings of his career, his work as Count Dooku, and the legacy of "Star Wars."
'Who Is That?'
I'm a...
- 10/29/2022
- by Bryan Young
- Slash Film
Antonio Campos, creator of the new HBO Max miniseries The Staircase, walks hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante through his favorite films noir.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Afterschool (2008)
The Devil All The Time (2020)
Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera (1996)
Raw Deal (1948) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
T-Men (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)
House of Bamboo (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Pickup On South Street (1953) – Sam Hamm’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Naked Kiss (1964)
Reign of Terror (1949)
Detour (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Scarlet Street (1945)
The House on 92nd Street (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Barry Lyndon (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Killing (1956) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary
Kiss of Death (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Kiss of Death...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Afterschool (2008)
The Devil All The Time (2020)
Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera (1996)
Raw Deal (1948) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
T-Men (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)
House of Bamboo (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Pickup On South Street (1953) – Sam Hamm’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Naked Kiss (1964)
Reign of Terror (1949)
Detour (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Scarlet Street (1945)
The House on 92nd Street (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Barry Lyndon (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Killing (1956) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary
Kiss of Death (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Kiss of Death...
- 5/31/2022
- by Alex Kirschenbaum
- Trailers from Hell
This creepy-crawly epic enjoyed a strong reputation on my grade-school playground! Does George Pal’s man-versus-the-elements saga hold up 68 years later? The ‘exotic’ special effects get the point across but the real appeal is the suppressed lust between Charlton Heston and his mail order bride Eleanor Parker — all heavy breathing and stern reproaches. I’m surprised nobody has fully exploited the original short story, which back in the ’60s showed up in numerous best-of collections. “Marabunta” is not a new fragrance line from Arpege.
The Naked Jungle
All- Region Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1954 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021 / Available from [Imprint], Amazon.us /
Starring: Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, William Conrad, John Dierkes, Abraham Sofaer, Douglas Fowley, Rodd Redwing.
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Production Designer: Art Director: Hal Pereira, Franz Bachelin
Film Editor: Everett Douglas
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton
Matte artist Jan Domela
Miniatures Ivyl Burks
Optical cinematography Paul K. Lerpae...
The Naked Jungle
All- Region Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1954 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021 / Available from [Imprint], Amazon.us /
Starring: Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, William Conrad, John Dierkes, Abraham Sofaer, Douglas Fowley, Rodd Redwing.
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Production Designer: Art Director: Hal Pereira, Franz Bachelin
Film Editor: Everett Douglas
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton
Matte artist Jan Domela
Miniatures Ivyl Burks
Optical cinematography Paul K. Lerpae...
- 1/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sunshine and noir are antithetical, as probably anyone who knows even a word of French could tell you. Sunshine and film noir, nearly as much so. Yet summer’s here and the time is right for skulking in the murderously foggy streets, thanks to a three-day festival of vintage ’40s and ’50s crime dramas being presented this weekend at the newly reopened Hollywood Legion Theater by the Film Noir Foundation.
In a year that hadn’t started off with a pandemic in full force, or wasn’t continuing with Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre being closed for renovations, noir fans would have already something close to their fill with the annual Noir City festival that’s usually co-sponsored by the American Cinematheque every March or April. But with the absence of that 22-year-old standby leaving a doom-shaped hole in L.A. repertory moviegoers’ hearts, the Noir Foundation has stepped in with a shorter,...
In a year that hadn’t started off with a pandemic in full force, or wasn’t continuing with Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre being closed for renovations, noir fans would have already something close to their fill with the annual Noir City festival that’s usually co-sponsored by the American Cinematheque every March or April. But with the absence of that 22-year-old standby leaving a doom-shaped hole in L.A. repertory moviegoers’ hearts, the Noir Foundation has stepped in with a shorter,...
- 7/8/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Movies to watch when you’re staying in for a while, featuring recommendations from Dana Gould, Daniel Waters, Scott Alexander, and Allison Anders.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Destroy All Monsters (1969)
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970)
Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)
Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)
Suparpie
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Hello Down There (1969)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Thirteen Days (2000)
Stalker (1979)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
No Exit (1962)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
Sleeper (1973)
The Tenant (1976)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
La classe américaine (1993)
The Sex Adventures of a Single Man a.k.a. The 24 Hour Lover (1968)
The Omega Man (1971)
Soylent Green (1973)
Knives Out (2019)
The Hunt (2020)
Banana Split (2020)
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Monkey Business (1931)
Horse Feathers (1932)
Duck Soup (1933)
A Night At The Opera (1935)
The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)
Susan Slade (1961)
My Blood Runs Cold...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Destroy All Monsters (1969)
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970)
Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)
Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)
Suparpie
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Hello Down There (1969)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Thirteen Days (2000)
Stalker (1979)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
No Exit (1962)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
Sleeper (1973)
The Tenant (1976)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
La classe américaine (1993)
The Sex Adventures of a Single Man a.k.a. The 24 Hour Lover (1968)
The Omega Man (1971)
Soylent Green (1973)
Knives Out (2019)
The Hunt (2020)
Banana Split (2020)
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Monkey Business (1931)
Horse Feathers (1932)
Duck Soup (1933)
A Night At The Opera (1935)
The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)
Susan Slade (1961)
My Blood Runs Cold...
- 3/27/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Two on a Guillotine
Blu ray
Warner Archives
1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.
Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones
Cinematography by Sam Leavitt
Directed by William Conrad
Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.
Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...
Blu ray
Warner Archives
1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.
Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones
Cinematography by Sam Leavitt
Directed by William Conrad
Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.
Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...
- 2/8/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Fred Silverman, the legendary television producer and executive behind such groundbreaking shows as All in the Family, Soap and Hill Street Blues, and the only executive to creatively run CBS, ABC and NBC, died Thursday at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was 82.
Silverman’s knack for identifying hit shows in the making and programming them into memorable primetime nights led Time magazine to crown him “The Man with the Golden Gut” in 1977.
“There are a lot of things that I can point to that I think are proud achievements,” Silverman said in a 2001 interview with the TV Academy Foundation. “Most importantly, I had the opportunity to kind of stretch the medium a little bit, to do some things that had never been done before.”
Watch a clip from his sit-down with Dan Pasternak for the foundation’s “The Interviews” series below.
Born on September 13, 1937, in New York City, Silverman...
Silverman’s knack for identifying hit shows in the making and programming them into memorable primetime nights led Time magazine to crown him “The Man with the Golden Gut” in 1977.
“There are a lot of things that I can point to that I think are proud achievements,” Silverman said in a 2001 interview with the TV Academy Foundation. “Most importantly, I had the opportunity to kind of stretch the medium a little bit, to do some things that had never been done before.”
Watch a clip from his sit-down with Dan Pasternak for the foundation’s “The Interviews” series below.
Born on September 13, 1937, in New York City, Silverman...
- 1/30/2020
- by Erik Pedersen and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
” You know that room on the third floor that’s always locked? Well it was open. There’s a box in there that has a woman’s body in it with no head! “
Connie Stevens in Two On A Guillotine is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Order info can be found Here
This Warner Archive cult-favorite from William Conrad has never looked cooler thanks to this Blu-ray upgrade in 1080p HD. Twenty years ago, a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head… and their baby daughter Cassie without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side, Cassie braves terrors that could be the work of evil spirits – or...
Connie Stevens in Two On A Guillotine is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Order info can be found Here
This Warner Archive cult-favorite from William Conrad has never looked cooler thanks to this Blu-ray upgrade in 1080p HD. Twenty years ago, a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head… and their baby daughter Cassie without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side, Cassie braves terrors that could be the work of evil spirits – or...
- 1/27/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
1953’s House of Wax with Vincent Price cast a long shadow fairly early in the horror world; creepy Grand Guignol (in 3D no less) with a strong thread of vengeance gave us further goodies such as Tourist Trap (1979) and a recently reappraised remake in 2005. It’s not surprising then that TV would take a crack at molding its own vicious visage; what they came up with is a pilot film that executives deemed too shocking for the small screen – Chamber of Horrors (1966), a decidedly ghoulish take on necrophilia and murder mixed with breezy banter and chopped up body parts. I think the brass may have been right to send this one to the big screen.
Before you get too excited, we’re not talking Blood Feast here; it’s incredibly tame by today’s standards. No, it’s the subject matter itself which would send mom and dad into epileptic fits,...
Before you get too excited, we’re not talking Blood Feast here; it’s incredibly tame by today’s standards. No, it’s the subject matter itself which would send mom and dad into epileptic fits,...
- 11/3/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Updated with additional quote: Rowland Perkins, considered the elder gentleman of the original founders of Creative Artists Agency, has died. He was 84. Perkins was actually the first president of the talent agency when it began back in 1975 in the old Hong Kong bank building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. He was made president when the founders put all their names in a hat and his was pulled out.
Perkins was a known agent in town when the agency began, and also had the only client making money at the time — William Conrad.
The hierarchy eventually changed at CAA, but Perkins remained ever loyal to the talent agency and stayed until 1993, when he moved into an advisory capacity. But for about two decades, he was a packaging agent for the television division where he handled some major clients including Aaron Spelling Productions and TV/Broadway producer George Schaefer. He worked alongside TV powerhouses Bill Haber,...
Perkins was a known agent in town when the agency began, and also had the only client making money at the time — William Conrad.
The hierarchy eventually changed at CAA, but Perkins remained ever loyal to the talent agency and stayed until 1993, when he moved into an advisory capacity. But for about two decades, he was a packaging agent for the television division where he handled some major clients including Aaron Spelling Productions and TV/Broadway producer George Schaefer. He worked alongside TV powerhouses Bill Haber,...
- 8/9/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
1960's horror is a genre chocked full of heavy hitters: Psycho, Night of the Living Dead and Rosemary's Baby to name a few. So it's no surprise that the less famous films, and those with lower ratings, might get dismissed as having little to offer. In defense of William Conrad's 1965 horror Two on a Guillotine, a great cast, great location and masterful suspense add up to show that there's a lot to like about this film.
The film's plot is centred around eccentric magician Duke Duquesne's funeral, which brings his estranged daughter Cassie back to Los Angeles. She soon learns that her late father's will states that in order for her to inherit his estate, she must stay in his creepy sprawling mansion for seven nights in a row. A curious journalist Val Henders...
The film's plot is centred around eccentric magician Duke Duquesne's funeral, which brings his estranged daughter Cassie back to Los Angeles. She soon learns that her late father's will states that in order for her to inherit his estate, she must stay in his creepy sprawling mansion for seven nights in a row. A curious journalist Val Henders...
- 8/9/2018
- QuietEarth.us
Westerns are all about values: good and bad, law and lawlessness, etc. Joel McCrea and Frances Dee’s ‘bad man’ saga isn’t faith based, exactly, but it’s great for humanitarian values, the simple notion that the good in people should be encouraged. And one important detail may make it unique. Hint: John Milius might be strongly prejudiced against this picture.
Four Faces West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, William Conrad.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Edward Mann
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by C. Graham Baker, Teddi Sherman, William & Milarde Brent from the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Produced by Vernon E. Clark, Harry Sherman
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Faith-based westerns exist, but much more numerous are lightly inspirational sagebrush pictures that deal...
Four Faces West
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, William Conrad.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Edward Mann
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by C. Graham Baker, Teddi Sherman, William & Milarde Brent from the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Produced by Vernon E. Clark, Harry Sherman
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Faith-based westerns exist, but much more numerous are lightly inspirational sagebrush pictures that deal...
- 12/12/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
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In 1932’s Chandu The Magician, Edmund Lowe plays the titular wizard. What famous boogie man plays his adversary?
Bela Lugosi Boris Karloff Peter Lorre Correct
Lugosi is a lot of fun but the real star of this movie is director William Cameron Menzies whose distinctive visual style graces every scene.
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1953’s Houdini...
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A quick look at the slinky sleight-of-hand involved in making movies about magic.
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In 1932’s Chandu The Magician, Edmund Lowe plays the titular wizard. What famous boogie man plays his adversary?
Bela Lugosi Boris Karloff Peter Lorre Correct
Lugosi is a lot of fun but the real star of this movie is director William Cameron Menzies whose distinctive visual style graces every scene.
Incorrect
Question 2 of 10 2. Question
1953’s Houdini...
- 1/23/2017
- by TFH
- Trailers from Hell
Join us for some old-school 16mm Movie Madness! – It’s our monthly 16Mm Double Feature Night at The Way Out Club (2525 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis)! Join Tom Stockman and Roger from “Roger’s Reels’ for complete films projected on 16mm film. The show is Tuesday January 3rd and starts at 8pm. Admission is Free though we will be setting out a jar to take donations for the National Children’s Cancer Society.
First up Is Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
Faye Dunaway is Bonnie Parker and Warren Beatty is Clyde Barrow in Arthur Penn’s violent, sexually charged and deeply influential crime drama, a nostalgic look back at notorious outlaws filmed with the passion and zeal of filmmakers who were beginning to explore the boundaries of their craft. With a legendary screenplay by writers Robert Benton and David Newman, Bonnie and Clyde features supporting performances by an exemplary cast that includes Gene Wilder,...
First up Is Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
Faye Dunaway is Bonnie Parker and Warren Beatty is Clyde Barrow in Arthur Penn’s violent, sexually charged and deeply influential crime drama, a nostalgic look back at notorious outlaws filmed with the passion and zeal of filmmakers who were beginning to explore the boundaries of their craft. With a legendary screenplay by writers Robert Benton and David Newman, Bonnie and Clyde features supporting performances by an exemplary cast that includes Gene Wilder,...
- 1/2/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Doug Oswald
Released as a burn-to-order DVD from the Universal Vault Series, some may be quick to add that they should have kept “The Conqueror” in the vault. The movie is notorious for being one of the worst movies in Hollywood history. Much has been written about how terrible this movie is so I’m going to avoid jumping on that bandwagon. After all, calling this movie bad is like calling out water for being wet.
The movie is also a part of a conspiracy theory of sorts because many of the cast and crew died from cancer and some have connected those cancer deaths to the location filming in St. George Utah which was the stand-in for the Gobi Desert. St. George is downwind from where the above ground nuclear testing occurred in Nevada. Indeed, many involved with this movie did succumb to cancer including lifetime smoker John Wayne...
Released as a burn-to-order DVD from the Universal Vault Series, some may be quick to add that they should have kept “The Conqueror” in the vault. The movie is notorious for being one of the worst movies in Hollywood history. Much has been written about how terrible this movie is so I’m going to avoid jumping on that bandwagon. After all, calling this movie bad is like calling out water for being wet.
The movie is also a part of a conspiracy theory of sorts because many of the cast and crew died from cancer and some have connected those cancer deaths to the location filming in St. George Utah which was the stand-in for the Gobi Desert. St. George is downwind from where the above ground nuclear testing occurred in Nevada. Indeed, many involved with this movie did succumb to cancer including lifetime smoker John Wayne...
- 10/15/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers, is calling it a career this weekend after 67 years in the booth. If you will indulge me, I’d like to tell you about one of my favorite moments from Scully behind the microphone, and about one night at Dodger Stadium that will make me miss him even more.
But first, a little background. I was never a big baseball guy growing up, even though I played a couple of seasons on a local Little League team. (Our squad was called the Firemen.) During those days, when I wasn’t playing the game, either in Little League or somewhere on my grandma’s farm with my cousins, the presence of a baseball broadcast usually meant that something I’d rather have been watching on TV was unavailable to see because someone else wanted to watch the damn game. (I tried to sit down,...
But first, a little background. I was never a big baseball guy growing up, even though I played a couple of seasons on a local Little League team. (Our squad was called the Firemen.) During those days, when I wasn’t playing the game, either in Little League or somewhere on my grandma’s farm with my cousins, the presence of a baseball broadcast usually meant that something I’d rather have been watching on TV was unavailable to see because someone else wanted to watch the damn game. (I tried to sit down,...
- 10/1/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Criterion's special edition of Stanley Kubrick's doomsday comedy is more powerful than ever in a 4K remaster; and it even comes with a top-secret mission profile package and a partial-contents survival kit. A Kubrick fan can have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 821 1964 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 95 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 28, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones, Tracy Reed Cinematography Gilbert Taylor Production Designer Ken Adam Art Direction Peter Murton Film Editor Anthony Harvey Original Music Laurie Johnson Written by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George from his book Red Alert Produced by Stanley Kubrick, Leon Minoff Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When I heard that Criterion was putting out a Blu-ray of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb I thought that there already was a disc out there from The Collection. Nope, Sony released a Blu-ray in 2009, and back around 2000, a DVD. I was thinking of a deluxe laserdisc from Criterion sometime in the early 1990s. I remember being impressed by its extras, which included documentary materials about the Bomb in the Cold War years. Potential new fans of Kubrick's wickedly funny movie are being born every year, which leaves those of us for whom Strangelove was an important part of growing up having to remind ourselves just how good it still is. I remember recording the soundtrack off TV in high school and memorizing all of the dialogue; this has to be the most quotable movie of its decade. I also can remember my father's reaction when we watched it together on network TV, ABC, I think. An Air Force lifer who wouldn't discuss politics (or much of anything), the Old Sarge had little use for 'defeatist' movies like On the Beach. But he thought the premise of Seven Days in May wasn't really farfetched, having worked with Hap Arnold and Curtis LeMay. He shook his head after seeing Dr. Strangelove but I could tell that he found it very funny. It's too bad the two of us couldn't have gotten our senses of humor more in sync -- as soon as I wore my hair long, I think he stopped trusting me. I believe that Dr. Strangelove is one of few movies that 'made a difference' in that it redirected American public opinion about a major life issue. From that point forward only the ignorant and Shoot First fanatics talked about nuclear war as win-able, at least not until the neo-con Millennium. 1963 audiences had little use for suspect 'pacifist' movies that ended in masochistic doom, like On the Beach. The nuclear crisis was such a hot topic that that the low-key English science fiction film The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a surprise hit. Strangelove is more realistic than the straight atom nightmare movies. We're told that when Ronald Reagan was briefed at the start of his first term in office, he asked where the White House elevator to the War Room was. He figured it was there because he saw it in the movie. The decision to opt for broad comedy was Kubrick's inspired stroke. Dr. Strangelove may be the first hit film that was a bona-fide black comedy; I don't recall anybody even using the expression before it came out. It's not a crazy comedy where anything funny is okay. The backbone of the story remains 100% serious, while the jokes relentlessly demolish the death-cult logic of our Nuclear Deterrent. Kubrick and Terry Southern populate Peter George's credible cold-sweat crisis with insane caricatures given ridiculous names. The scary part is that, no matter how stupid they behave, none are really that exaggerated. Peter Sellers serves triple duty in a trio of characterizations, effectively outdoing previous champion film chameleon Alec Guinness. George C. Scott steals the show as an infantile Air Force General who acts like a Looney Tunes cartoon character. And the rest of the inspired cast nails their highly original quasi-comic characters. Every joke is a gallows joke; we're never allowed to forget that we all have an atomic noose around our necks. I almost envy the dead viewers still unfamiliar with Dr. Strangelove, as seeing it for the first time was a mind-opening experience. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), the commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, orders a flight of B-52s to attack Russia. He then seals off Burpelson to prevent a recall of the planes. Exchange officer Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) tries to talk him into divulging the recall code. Holding court in the War Room, President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) is horrified to discover that such a Snafu is even possible. He orders General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) to take Burpelson Air Base by force and recall the planes, and gets on the hotline with the Soviet Premier. Up in the lead B-52, Major 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens) receives Ripper's orders, coded 'Wing Attack Plan R.' He urges his crew to avoid Russian defenses and reach their primary target, while Turgidson tries to talk Muffley into launching an all-out attack. Advising in the War Room is ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove, a grinning theoretician already fantasizing about the sexual recreation for the ruling elite in the VIP bomb shelters, where America's chosen high officials will be living for the next 93 years. Dr. Strangelove divides its time between three main locations, each with its own deadly serious function and each overlaid with a different comedic tone. In his locked executive office in the Alaskan Air Force Base, the sexually obsessed American General Ripper faces off with a veddy proper English officer in a farcical one-act. Beady-eyed and intense in his anti-Communist convictions, Sterling Hayden contrasts beautifully with Seller's genial Group Captain, who can't fathom the depth of his commanding officer's madness. The action in the B-52 is a throwback to those gung-ho WW2 action films in which a racially and ethnically diverse attack team uses brains and guts to barrel through their suicide mission. Even though their pilot is a cowboy clown (Slim Pickens doing his only characterization, Slim Pickens) they're an admirable bunch, seemingly the only humans capable of doing anything without red tape or Coca-Cola machines getting in their way. The horror is that our heroes' mission is totally against every moral precept ever imagined. The docu feeling in the B-52 is further amplified by the gritty newsreel-like footage of the taking of Burpelson Afb, with American troops fighting American troops. In 1964 these were traumatic, subversive scenes. U.S. troops on film are supposed to fight for freedom and righteousness, not kill each other. Kubrick has the audacity to place in the middle of it all a big sign that reads, 'Peace is our Profession.' The grainy authenticity of these scenes would come back to haunt us when similar footage started being seen nightly on television, fresh from Vietnam. The center of activities is the War Room, a Camelot-like round table of Death located in the basement of the White House. The rational President Merkin Muffley trips over an ideological roadblock in the form of Buck Turgidson, a gum-chewing military nutcase itching to go to war and overjoyed that Jack Ripper has 'exceeded his authority.' The President is hardly in charge of foreign policy, and none of fifty advisors come to his aid with any original thinking. An amateur among experts, Muffley must be shepherded through protocol by an assistant. Here's where Southern and Kubrick make their biggest points, basically asserting that a showdown with the Russkies is inevitable because the American stance is a military one -- Sac just wants the peacenik in the Oval Office to get out of their way. The comedy is all over the place, and it's a miracle that it works. The stand-up humor on the hot line to Moscow is very much like a Bob Newhart routine. At Burpelson, it's the Goon Show all over again. Sellers' Mandrake cannot sway General Ripper, and the moronic Major Bat Guano (Keenan Wynn) suspects the Raf officer of being a 'deviated prevert.' Up in the bomber, Mad Magazine craziness is grafted onto combat realism. Previous looks at the Air Force's flying deterrent were enlistment booster films like Strategic Air Command. Kubrick drove his English craftsmen to fake the entire bomber interior right down to the switches and gauges. The aerial combat is more realistic than that in escapist films, even with inadequate models used for exteriors of the jet bomber in flight. Dr. Strangelove maintains a nervous tension between absurd comedy and morbid unease. Kubrick's main career themes -- sexual madness, treacherous technology and the folly of human planning -- come into strong relief. We're motivated to root for the fliers that are going to destroy the world. Then we fret over the President's pitiful lack of control. Dour, glowering Russian Ambassador De Sadesky (Peter Bull) informs the War Room about his country's solution to the costly Arms Race, the dreaded Doomsday Machine. Security advisor Dr. Strangelove enters the film in the last act to serve as sort of an angel of Death. Based loosely on Rand-corporation experts that calculated eventualities in nuclear war scenarios, Sellers' vision of Strangelove is a throwback to German Expressionism. A Mabuse in a wheelchair, he's black-gloved like the brilliant but mad Rotwang of Metropolis. Strangelove enters like the specter of Death itself; his grin looks like a skull. Contemplating 'megadeaths' gives him sexual pleasure. The detonation of the first bomb seems to liberate Strangelove, and he finds he can walk again. The character is straight from the Siegfried Kracauer playbook. The evil of nuclear war has restored the representative of apocalyptic Nazi vengeance to full power. Twenty years after his death, we all get to join Hitler in his suicide bunker. First-time viewers are usually floored by the audacious Dr. Strangelove. Only the truly uninformed will not recognize baritone James Earl Jones as one of Major Kong's flight crew. Those going back for a repeated peek will derive added enjoyment from Kubrick's deft juggling of his several visual styles and his avoidance of anything that might deflate tension: we hear about the recall code being issued but are spared any view of the responsible military personnel that must have sent it. Some of the best fun is finding details in designer Ken Adam's impressive War Room, such as the pies already laid out in preparation for the aborted pie-fight finale. Even better is watching the War room extras as they strain to maintain straight faces no matter how funny Sellers and Scott get; that contrast is what makes the comedy so brilliant. Watch Peter Bull carefully. In one extended take he starts to smile at Sellers, more than once. He catches himself and then is clearly on the verge of cracking up, forcing Kubrick to cut away. The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is the expected sterling transfer of this Kubrick classic, a 4K digital transfer. I put it up against Sony's old Blu-ray and the difference is not so great as to recommend that a trade-up is necessary. However, it looks extremely good. The Kubrick faithful out there will be thinking, 'I must not allow a disc shelf gap.' The HD picture makes quite a bit of difference in understanding Kubrick's photographic strategy. Not only do the hand-held Burpelson combat sequences approximate the look of documentary footage, a more contrasty and grainy film stock has been used. Switching "film looks" later became a fad for directors looking to be viewed as artists. The idea perhaps reached its zenith in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Back in 1964 the effect of imitating a news film look was quite stunning -- audiences reacted to the combat scenes as if they were real. I'm glad that we're finally beyond the frustrating early DVD years, when someone (at Warner Home Video?) claimed that Stanley Kubrick insisted that his films be shown at the old 1:33 aspect ratio for TV and disc. Even if they wangled a note from Kubrick to that effect, I still believe that the aspect ratio games were played because Kubrick was too busy to oversee new masters of his films, and Whv wanted to market them in a hurry at a minimum of cost. That's all old news now, but there was also the interesting aspect ratio question concerning Strangelove. At least one disc iteration -- Criterion's laserdisc, I'm fairly sure -- was released in a completely un-original dual-ratio scan. Kubrick apparently said that he preferred to see the War Room scenes at a full-frame 1:37, and so this one transfer of the film popped back and forth between ratios. I've never heard of anything like this before or after. Criterion's British 1:66 framing for this disc is correct, even though the film was probably screened at 1:85 for many of its American play dates. Criterion's new extras begin with interview featurettes with well-chosen spokespeople, like scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill. Kubrick archivist Richard Daniels' piece is quite good, as is an examination of the film's visuals by two of the original camera crew. The son of author Peter George gives an excellent account of his father's life and the adaptation of his novel Red Alert. George reportedly liked the notion of turning his story into a black comedy, especially when his original narrative was changed very little. The stroke of genius was deciding that the entire subject could best be approached as a sick joke. Other extras are repeated from Sony's DVD disc of 2004. A making-of docu interviews several surviving technicians and actors, and a primer on the Cold War atom standoff goes deep into detail. The featurettes have input from Robert McNamara, Spike Lee and Bob Woodward. Critics Roger Ebert and Alexander Walker are also represented. Docu pieces on Peter Sellers and Kubrick appear to suffer from legal restraints disallowing the use of clips from non-Columbia sources. The Peter Sellers show features several choice film clips from the 'fifties, including Sellers' almost perfect take on a William Conrad-like hired killer. We're shown some stills from the legendary The Goon Show, which is not mentioned by name. A Stanley Kubrick career piece that uses UA, MGM and Universal trailers covers a lot of territory a bit too quickly. It does have some nice interview input from Kubrick's partner James B. Harris. Harris has since given terrific interviews on Criterion discs for Kubrick's The Killing and Paths of Glory. Criterion's Curtis Tsui produced those discs as well as this one. An entertaining extra is a pair of vintage 'split screen' fake interviews with Sellers and Scott intended for publicity use. Each actor projects his chosen PR image. They're charming, especially when Sellers takes us on a lightning tour of regional English accents. I wonder if those distinctions have faded, 52 years later? As a pleasant surprise, Curtis Tsui has overseen the creation of a collectable, highly amusing substitute for a standard disc insert booklet. Inside an authentic-looking 'Wing Attack Plan R' envelope, David Bromwich's insert essay is printed in the form of classified orders on two sheets of loose-leaf paper. Terry Southern's hilariously profane 1994 essay on the movie comes in the form of a Playboy parody, illustrated with photos of Tracy Reed as 'Miss Foreign Affairs.' Finally, the disc credits and details are printed in a genuine miniature Russian Phrase Book and Holy Bible, a little bigger than one-inch square. It indeed offers some phrases that I'll have to try on my multi-lingual daughter, like "Where is the toilet?" But the cover Lies, as there's no Bible in there that I could find. Also, no nine packs of chewing gum and no issue of prophylactics. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Dr. Strangelove Blu-ray rates: Movie: Excellent Video: Excellent Sound: Excellent uncompressed monaural + alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-hd Master Audio Supplements: (from Criterion stats): New interviews with Stanley Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill; archivist Richard Daniels; cinematographer and camera innovator Joe Dunton; camera operator Kelvin Pike; and David George, son of Peter George, on whose novel Red Alert the film is based. Excerpts from a 1966 audio interview with Kubrick, conducted by physicist and author Jeremy Bernstein; Four short documentaries about the making of the film, the sociopolitical climate of the period, the work of actor Peter Sellers, and the artistry of Kubrick. Promotional interviews from 1963 with Sellers and actor George C. Scott; excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC's Today show; Trailers; insert essay by scholar David Bromwich and a 1994 article by screenwriter Terry Southern on the making of the film. Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 7, 2016 (5136love)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When I heard that Criterion was putting out a Blu-ray of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb I thought that there already was a disc out there from The Collection. Nope, Sony released a Blu-ray in 2009, and back around 2000, a DVD. I was thinking of a deluxe laserdisc from Criterion sometime in the early 1990s. I remember being impressed by its extras, which included documentary materials about the Bomb in the Cold War years. Potential new fans of Kubrick's wickedly funny movie are being born every year, which leaves those of us for whom Strangelove was an important part of growing up having to remind ourselves just how good it still is. I remember recording the soundtrack off TV in high school and memorizing all of the dialogue; this has to be the most quotable movie of its decade. I also can remember my father's reaction when we watched it together on network TV, ABC, I think. An Air Force lifer who wouldn't discuss politics (or much of anything), the Old Sarge had little use for 'defeatist' movies like On the Beach. But he thought the premise of Seven Days in May wasn't really farfetched, having worked with Hap Arnold and Curtis LeMay. He shook his head after seeing Dr. Strangelove but I could tell that he found it very funny. It's too bad the two of us couldn't have gotten our senses of humor more in sync -- as soon as I wore my hair long, I think he stopped trusting me. I believe that Dr. Strangelove is one of few movies that 'made a difference' in that it redirected American public opinion about a major life issue. From that point forward only the ignorant and Shoot First fanatics talked about nuclear war as win-able, at least not until the neo-con Millennium. 1963 audiences had little use for suspect 'pacifist' movies that ended in masochistic doom, like On the Beach. The nuclear crisis was such a hot topic that that the low-key English science fiction film The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a surprise hit. Strangelove is more realistic than the straight atom nightmare movies. We're told that when Ronald Reagan was briefed at the start of his first term in office, he asked where the White House elevator to the War Room was. He figured it was there because he saw it in the movie. The decision to opt for broad comedy was Kubrick's inspired stroke. Dr. Strangelove may be the first hit film that was a bona-fide black comedy; I don't recall anybody even using the expression before it came out. It's not a crazy comedy where anything funny is okay. The backbone of the story remains 100% serious, while the jokes relentlessly demolish the death-cult logic of our Nuclear Deterrent. Kubrick and Terry Southern populate Peter George's credible cold-sweat crisis with insane caricatures given ridiculous names. The scary part is that, no matter how stupid they behave, none are really that exaggerated. Peter Sellers serves triple duty in a trio of characterizations, effectively outdoing previous champion film chameleon Alec Guinness. George C. Scott steals the show as an infantile Air Force General who acts like a Looney Tunes cartoon character. And the rest of the inspired cast nails their highly original quasi-comic characters. Every joke is a gallows joke; we're never allowed to forget that we all have an atomic noose around our necks. I almost envy the dead viewers still unfamiliar with Dr. Strangelove, as seeing it for the first time was a mind-opening experience. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), the commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, orders a flight of B-52s to attack Russia. He then seals off Burpelson to prevent a recall of the planes. Exchange officer Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) tries to talk him into divulging the recall code. Holding court in the War Room, President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) is horrified to discover that such a Snafu is even possible. He orders General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) to take Burpelson Air Base by force and recall the planes, and gets on the hotline with the Soviet Premier. Up in the lead B-52, Major 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens) receives Ripper's orders, coded 'Wing Attack Plan R.' He urges his crew to avoid Russian defenses and reach their primary target, while Turgidson tries to talk Muffley into launching an all-out attack. Advising in the War Room is ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove, a grinning theoretician already fantasizing about the sexual recreation for the ruling elite in the VIP bomb shelters, where America's chosen high officials will be living for the next 93 years. Dr. Strangelove divides its time between three main locations, each with its own deadly serious function and each overlaid with a different comedic tone. In his locked executive office in the Alaskan Air Force Base, the sexually obsessed American General Ripper faces off with a veddy proper English officer in a farcical one-act. Beady-eyed and intense in his anti-Communist convictions, Sterling Hayden contrasts beautifully with Seller's genial Group Captain, who can't fathom the depth of his commanding officer's madness. The action in the B-52 is a throwback to those gung-ho WW2 action films in which a racially and ethnically diverse attack team uses brains and guts to barrel through their suicide mission. Even though their pilot is a cowboy clown (Slim Pickens doing his only characterization, Slim Pickens) they're an admirable bunch, seemingly the only humans capable of doing anything without red tape or Coca-Cola machines getting in their way. The horror is that our heroes' mission is totally against every moral precept ever imagined. The docu feeling in the B-52 is further amplified by the gritty newsreel-like footage of the taking of Burpelson Afb, with American troops fighting American troops. In 1964 these were traumatic, subversive scenes. U.S. troops on film are supposed to fight for freedom and righteousness, not kill each other. Kubrick has the audacity to place in the middle of it all a big sign that reads, 'Peace is our Profession.' The grainy authenticity of these scenes would come back to haunt us when similar footage started being seen nightly on television, fresh from Vietnam. The center of activities is the War Room, a Camelot-like round table of Death located in the basement of the White House. The rational President Merkin Muffley trips over an ideological roadblock in the form of Buck Turgidson, a gum-chewing military nutcase itching to go to war and overjoyed that Jack Ripper has 'exceeded his authority.' The President is hardly in charge of foreign policy, and none of fifty advisors come to his aid with any original thinking. An amateur among experts, Muffley must be shepherded through protocol by an assistant. Here's where Southern and Kubrick make their biggest points, basically asserting that a showdown with the Russkies is inevitable because the American stance is a military one -- Sac just wants the peacenik in the Oval Office to get out of their way. The comedy is all over the place, and it's a miracle that it works. The stand-up humor on the hot line to Moscow is very much like a Bob Newhart routine. At Burpelson, it's the Goon Show all over again. Sellers' Mandrake cannot sway General Ripper, and the moronic Major Bat Guano (Keenan Wynn) suspects the Raf officer of being a 'deviated prevert.' Up in the bomber, Mad Magazine craziness is grafted onto combat realism. Previous looks at the Air Force's flying deterrent were enlistment booster films like Strategic Air Command. Kubrick drove his English craftsmen to fake the entire bomber interior right down to the switches and gauges. The aerial combat is more realistic than that in escapist films, even with inadequate models used for exteriors of the jet bomber in flight. Dr. Strangelove maintains a nervous tension between absurd comedy and morbid unease. Kubrick's main career themes -- sexual madness, treacherous technology and the folly of human planning -- come into strong relief. We're motivated to root for the fliers that are going to destroy the world. Then we fret over the President's pitiful lack of control. Dour, glowering Russian Ambassador De Sadesky (Peter Bull) informs the War Room about his country's solution to the costly Arms Race, the dreaded Doomsday Machine. Security advisor Dr. Strangelove enters the film in the last act to serve as sort of an angel of Death. Based loosely on Rand-corporation experts that calculated eventualities in nuclear war scenarios, Sellers' vision of Strangelove is a throwback to German Expressionism. A Mabuse in a wheelchair, he's black-gloved like the brilliant but mad Rotwang of Metropolis. Strangelove enters like the specter of Death itself; his grin looks like a skull. Contemplating 'megadeaths' gives him sexual pleasure. The detonation of the first bomb seems to liberate Strangelove, and he finds he can walk again. The character is straight from the Siegfried Kracauer playbook. The evil of nuclear war has restored the representative of apocalyptic Nazi vengeance to full power. Twenty years after his death, we all get to join Hitler in his suicide bunker. First-time viewers are usually floored by the audacious Dr. Strangelove. Only the truly uninformed will not recognize baritone James Earl Jones as one of Major Kong's flight crew. Those going back for a repeated peek will derive added enjoyment from Kubrick's deft juggling of his several visual styles and his avoidance of anything that might deflate tension: we hear about the recall code being issued but are spared any view of the responsible military personnel that must have sent it. Some of the best fun is finding details in designer Ken Adam's impressive War Room, such as the pies already laid out in preparation for the aborted pie-fight finale. Even better is watching the War room extras as they strain to maintain straight faces no matter how funny Sellers and Scott get; that contrast is what makes the comedy so brilliant. Watch Peter Bull carefully. In one extended take he starts to smile at Sellers, more than once. He catches himself and then is clearly on the verge of cracking up, forcing Kubrick to cut away. The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is the expected sterling transfer of this Kubrick classic, a 4K digital transfer. I put it up against Sony's old Blu-ray and the difference is not so great as to recommend that a trade-up is necessary. However, it looks extremely good. The Kubrick faithful out there will be thinking, 'I must not allow a disc shelf gap.' The HD picture makes quite a bit of difference in understanding Kubrick's photographic strategy. Not only do the hand-held Burpelson combat sequences approximate the look of documentary footage, a more contrasty and grainy film stock has been used. Switching "film looks" later became a fad for directors looking to be viewed as artists. The idea perhaps reached its zenith in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Back in 1964 the effect of imitating a news film look was quite stunning -- audiences reacted to the combat scenes as if they were real. I'm glad that we're finally beyond the frustrating early DVD years, when someone (at Warner Home Video?) claimed that Stanley Kubrick insisted that his films be shown at the old 1:33 aspect ratio for TV and disc. Even if they wangled a note from Kubrick to that effect, I still believe that the aspect ratio games were played because Kubrick was too busy to oversee new masters of his films, and Whv wanted to market them in a hurry at a minimum of cost. That's all old news now, but there was also the interesting aspect ratio question concerning Strangelove. At least one disc iteration -- Criterion's laserdisc, I'm fairly sure -- was released in a completely un-original dual-ratio scan. Kubrick apparently said that he preferred to see the War Room scenes at a full-frame 1:37, and so this one transfer of the film popped back and forth between ratios. I've never heard of anything like this before or after. Criterion's British 1:66 framing for this disc is correct, even though the film was probably screened at 1:85 for many of its American play dates. Criterion's new extras begin with interview featurettes with well-chosen spokespeople, like scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill. Kubrick archivist Richard Daniels' piece is quite good, as is an examination of the film's visuals by two of the original camera crew. The son of author Peter George gives an excellent account of his father's life and the adaptation of his novel Red Alert. George reportedly liked the notion of turning his story into a black comedy, especially when his original narrative was changed very little. The stroke of genius was deciding that the entire subject could best be approached as a sick joke. Other extras are repeated from Sony's DVD disc of 2004. A making-of docu interviews several surviving technicians and actors, and a primer on the Cold War atom standoff goes deep into detail. The featurettes have input from Robert McNamara, Spike Lee and Bob Woodward. Critics Roger Ebert and Alexander Walker are also represented. Docu pieces on Peter Sellers and Kubrick appear to suffer from legal restraints disallowing the use of clips from non-Columbia sources. The Peter Sellers show features several choice film clips from the 'fifties, including Sellers' almost perfect take on a William Conrad-like hired killer. We're shown some stills from the legendary The Goon Show, which is not mentioned by name. A Stanley Kubrick career piece that uses UA, MGM and Universal trailers covers a lot of territory a bit too quickly. It does have some nice interview input from Kubrick's partner James B. Harris. Harris has since given terrific interviews on Criterion discs for Kubrick's The Killing and Paths of Glory. Criterion's Curtis Tsui produced those discs as well as this one. An entertaining extra is a pair of vintage 'split screen' fake interviews with Sellers and Scott intended for publicity use. Each actor projects his chosen PR image. They're charming, especially when Sellers takes us on a lightning tour of regional English accents. I wonder if those distinctions have faded, 52 years later? As a pleasant surprise, Curtis Tsui has overseen the creation of a collectable, highly amusing substitute for a standard disc insert booklet. Inside an authentic-looking 'Wing Attack Plan R' envelope, David Bromwich's insert essay is printed in the form of classified orders on two sheets of loose-leaf paper. Terry Southern's hilariously profane 1994 essay on the movie comes in the form of a Playboy parody, illustrated with photos of Tracy Reed as 'Miss Foreign Affairs.' Finally, the disc credits and details are printed in a genuine miniature Russian Phrase Book and Holy Bible, a little bigger than one-inch square. It indeed offers some phrases that I'll have to try on my multi-lingual daughter, like "Where is the toilet?" But the cover Lies, as there's no Bible in there that I could find. Also, no nine packs of chewing gum and no issue of prophylactics. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Dr. Strangelove Blu-ray rates: Movie: Excellent Video: Excellent Sound: Excellent uncompressed monaural + alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-hd Master Audio Supplements: (from Criterion stats): New interviews with Stanley Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill; archivist Richard Daniels; cinematographer and camera innovator Joe Dunton; camera operator Kelvin Pike; and David George, son of Peter George, on whose novel Red Alert the film is based. Excerpts from a 1966 audio interview with Kubrick, conducted by physicist and author Jeremy Bernstein; Four short documentaries about the making of the film, the sociopolitical climate of the period, the work of actor Peter Sellers, and the artistry of Kubrick. Promotional interviews from 1963 with Sellers and actor George C. Scott; excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC's Today show; Trailers; insert essay by scholar David Bromwich and a 1994 article by screenwriter Terry Southern on the making of the film. Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 7, 2016 (5136love)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
- 6/11/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Criterion digitally restores this earlier release, a combination offering of Robert Siodmak’s 1946 film noir masterpiece The Killers paired with Don Siegel’s retro 1964 remake. Famed adaptations of Ernest Hemingway’s short story, both filmmakers take liberties with the original material to create aggressively different products. Siodmak’s version is not only the German ex-pat’s enduring masterpiece, it’s a definite cornerstone of classic American film noir. Though Siegel’s 60s rehash is considered tacky pastiche of the era, it’s brutal, hard boiled B-grade pulp, notable for its own significant instances.
Siodmak’s version arrived during a golden era of noir, premiering a year after WWII officially ended, with cinematic masculine representation on the eve of an overhaul as method acting would soon reign supreme. Hemingway’s spare story gets a face life from Anthony Veiller (The Stranger; Night of the Iguana), using the murder as a jumping...
Siodmak’s version arrived during a golden era of noir, premiering a year after WWII officially ended, with cinematic masculine representation on the eve of an overhaul as method acting would soon reign supreme. Hemingway’s spare story gets a face life from Anthony Veiller (The Stranger; Night of the Iguana), using the murder as a jumping...
- 7/14/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Editor's Note: RogerEbert.com is proud to reprint Roger Ebert's 1978 entry from the Encyclopedia Britannica publication "The Great Ideas Today," part of "The Great Books of the Western World." Reprinted with permission from The Great Ideas Today ©1978 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
It's a measure of how completely the Internet has transformed communication that I need to explain, for the benefit of some younger readers, what encyclopedias were: bound editions summing up all available knowledge, delivered to one's home in handsome bound editions. The "Great Books" series zeroed in on books about history, poetry, natural science, math and other fields of study; the "Great Ideas" series was meant to tie all the ideas together, and that was the mission given to Roger when he undertook this piece about film.
Given the venue he was writing for, it's probably wisest to look at Roger's long, wide-ranging piece as a snapshot of the...
It's a measure of how completely the Internet has transformed communication that I need to explain, for the benefit of some younger readers, what encyclopedias were: bound editions summing up all available knowledge, delivered to one's home in handsome bound editions. The "Great Books" series zeroed in on books about history, poetry, natural science, math and other fields of study; the "Great Ideas" series was meant to tie all the ideas together, and that was the mission given to Roger when he undertook this piece about film.
Given the venue he was writing for, it's probably wisest to look at Roger's long, wide-ranging piece as a snapshot of the...
- 2/12/2015
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
And so another holiday tradition comes to a close. Thirteen years ago (naw, can’t be!), Peter Jackson delivered the first of a Christmas-time trilogy with the inaugural entry of the Jrr Tolkien trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. Two years later he closed it out with The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, and after reaping a bounty of gold a few months later at Oscar time, he bid adieu to Middle Earth. But after a couple of features, the siren call of the wizards and elves drew him back for, not a sequel, but a prequel. The film rights to this earlier Tolkien work was finally untangled from a legal web , one tougher than those weaved by fearsome giant spiders. After the intended director moved on, Jackson was back on board, creating three new films from the singular novel. 2012 saw...
- 12/17/2014
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Scariest movies ever made: The top 100 horror films according to the Chicago Film Critics (photo: Janet Leigh, John Gavin and Vera Miles in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho') I tend to ignore lists featuring the Top 100 Movies (or Top 10 Movies or Top 20 Movies, etc.), no matter the category or criteria, because these lists are almost invariably compiled by people who know little about films beyond mainstream Hollywood stuff released in the last decade or two. But the Chicago Film Critics Association's list of the 100 Scariest Movies Ever Made, which came out in October 2006, does include several oldies — e.g., James Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein — in addition to, gasp, a handful of non-American horror films such as Dario Argento's Suspiria, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, and F.W. Murnau's brilliant Dracula rip-off Nosferatu. (Check out the full list of the Chicago Film Critics' top 100 horror movies of all time.
- 10/31/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Andrew time travels 35 years back to revisit the theatrical release of the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century film...
Once synonymous with science fiction, the phrase ‘That Buck Rogers Stuff’ once called to mind everything the average person thought about Science Fiction - ray guns, rocket ships and robots. Certainly in the 1928, when the then-christened Anthony Rogers made his debut, he was something pretty unique in Sci-Fi - the space adventurer as swash-buckler. Given the nickname ‘Buck’ by John F. Dille, the novel, Armageddon, was adapted into the comic strips in 1929 and then in 1932, Buck Rogers became the first major Science Fiction radio drama. 1939 saw Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe take on the role for a 12-part serial. All of this is to say that Buck Rogers was around for quite a while before many people of my generation discovered him.
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century arrived on UK shores via the medium of cinema.
Once synonymous with science fiction, the phrase ‘That Buck Rogers Stuff’ once called to mind everything the average person thought about Science Fiction - ray guns, rocket ships and robots. Certainly in the 1928, when the then-christened Anthony Rogers made his debut, he was something pretty unique in Sci-Fi - the space adventurer as swash-buckler. Given the nickname ‘Buck’ by John F. Dille, the novel, Armageddon, was adapted into the comic strips in 1929 and then in 1932, Buck Rogers became the first major Science Fiction radio drama. 1939 saw Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe take on the role for a 12-part serial. All of this is to say that Buck Rogers was around for quite a while before many people of my generation discovered him.
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century arrived on UK shores via the medium of cinema.
- 10/19/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Cry Danger
Written by William Bowers
Directed by Robert Parish
USA, 1951
The road that ultimately leads creative people in the filmmaking business to the highly coveted director’s chair is rarely the same from one candidate to the next. Some are fortunate enough to direct a feature from the get-go. The number of directorial debuts from stunningly young men and women premiering at festivals is a testament to that journey. Others take the long road, filling in a great many roles on movie sets, learning the ropes of many trades before they finally helm a project. Robert Parish’s journey began at age 11, when he appeared in the 1927 short Olympic Games. After years of acting and editing, his directorial debut finally came in 1951 with the mobster film Cry Danger.
Unexpectedly released from prison after 5 years courtesy of an alibi from someone he has never met, infamous hoodlum Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell...
Written by William Bowers
Directed by Robert Parish
USA, 1951
The road that ultimately leads creative people in the filmmaking business to the highly coveted director’s chair is rarely the same from one candidate to the next. Some are fortunate enough to direct a feature from the get-go. The number of directorial debuts from stunningly young men and women premiering at festivals is a testament to that journey. Others take the long road, filling in a great many roles on movie sets, learning the ropes of many trades before they finally helm a project. Robert Parish’s journey began at age 11, when he appeared in the 1927 short Olympic Games. After years of acting and editing, his directorial debut finally came in 1951 with the mobster film Cry Danger.
Unexpectedly released from prison after 5 years courtesy of an alibi from someone he has never met, infamous hoodlum Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell...
- 8/23/2013
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Dick Powell in on the hunt for revenge and cash in Cry Danger.
Dick Powell (Murder, My Sweet) and Rhonda Fleming (Out of the Past) star in the 1951 film noir crime drama Cry Danger, which makes its DVD and Blu-ray debut with this Olive Films release.
Powell is Rocky, an innocent man just released from prison who’s on the hunt for both the $100,000 bankroll he allegedly stole and the people who framed him. Then there’s Delong (Richard Erdman, The Men), a disabled Marine veteran who produced the evidence that led to Rocky’s release and who now wants part of the stash in exchange for his help. But Rocky has a different plan,…
Directed by Robert Parrish (The Purple Plain) and featuring the glorious black-and-white cinematographer of Joseph F. Biroc (It’s a Wonderful Life), the film...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Dick Powell in on the hunt for revenge and cash in Cry Danger.
Dick Powell (Murder, My Sweet) and Rhonda Fleming (Out of the Past) star in the 1951 film noir crime drama Cry Danger, which makes its DVD and Blu-ray debut with this Olive Films release.
Powell is Rocky, an innocent man just released from prison who’s on the hunt for both the $100,000 bankroll he allegedly stole and the people who framed him. Then there’s Delong (Richard Erdman, The Men), a disabled Marine veteran who produced the evidence that led to Rocky’s release and who now wants part of the stash in exchange for his help. But Rocky has a different plan,…
Directed by Robert Parrish (The Purple Plain) and featuring the glorious black-and-white cinematographer of Joseph F. Biroc (It’s a Wonderful Life), the film...
- 8/16/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
By Lee Pfeiffer
By 1954, Charlton Heston had already been a popular young leading man for a few years, but Paramount still felt that Eleanor Parker had more boxoffice clout (!), thus she received top billing in the adventure tale "The Naked Jungle", available now from the Warner Archive on DVD. Nevertheless, the movie is fondly remembered by Heston fans as a pivotal entry in his career simply because it is so offbeat. A plot description might lead one to believe it is a science fiction or horror story: a South American plantation is menaced by Marabunta, an unstoppable army of billions of ants that devour any living thing in their path. However, the story is based on scientific fact, as these occurrences do take place in deep jungle, though fortunately, the real life ants are not known to eat people or animals- a fact that is predictably dispensed with by the screenwriters.
By 1954, Charlton Heston had already been a popular young leading man for a few years, but Paramount still felt that Eleanor Parker had more boxoffice clout (!), thus she received top billing in the adventure tale "The Naked Jungle", available now from the Warner Archive on DVD. Nevertheless, the movie is fondly remembered by Heston fans as a pivotal entry in his career simply because it is so offbeat. A plot description might lead one to believe it is a science fiction or horror story: a South American plantation is menaced by Marabunta, an unstoppable army of billions of ants that devour any living thing in their path. However, the story is based on scientific fact, as these occurrences do take place in deep jungle, though fortunately, the real life ants are not known to eat people or animals- a fact that is predictably dispensed with by the screenwriters.
- 7/9/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
In the Beginning Was the Word — Radio:
“I like doing radio because it’s so intimate. The moment people hear your voice, you’re inside their heads, not only that, you’re in there laying eggs”.
Doug Coupland
We can watch TV — or movies, YouTube videos, play videogames, exchange video phone calls — from anywhere and everywhere: on line at McD’s, from our seat on our commuter bus or train (usually annoying the hell out of the napping business professional next to us), even from a toilet stall (crass, I grant, but I’ve seen — , well, ahem, I mean, I’ve heard it done). It’s nearly impossible for a generation growing up immersed, submerged, and buried in portable visual media to imagine the magnetic hold radio had on its audiences back in its early days. Think about it, all you smartphone and ipad users, wi-fiers and Hopper subscribers: there...
“I like doing radio because it’s so intimate. The moment people hear your voice, you’re inside their heads, not only that, you’re in there laying eggs”.
Doug Coupland
We can watch TV — or movies, YouTube videos, play videogames, exchange video phone calls — from anywhere and everywhere: on line at McD’s, from our seat on our commuter bus or train (usually annoying the hell out of the napping business professional next to us), even from a toilet stall (crass, I grant, but I’ve seen — , well, ahem, I mean, I’ve heard it done). It’s nearly impossible for a generation growing up immersed, submerged, and buried in portable visual media to imagine the magnetic hold radio had on its audiences back in its early days. Think about it, all you smartphone and ipad users, wi-fiers and Hopper subscribers: there...
- 7/6/2013
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Director Robert Altman.
Robert Altman: Eclectic Maverick
By
Alex Simon
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the April 1999 issue of Venice Magazine.
It's the Fall of 1977 and I'm a bored and rebellious ten year old in search of a new movie to occupy my underworked and creativity-starved brain, feeling far too mature for previous favorites Wily Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Return of the Pink Panther (1975), and wanting something more up-to-date and edgy than Chaplin's City Lights (1931). I needed a movie to call my favorite that would be symbolic of my own new-found manhood (and something that would really piss off my parents and teachers). Mom and Dad were going out for the evening, leaving me with whatever unfortunate baby-sitter happened to need the $10 badly enough to play mother hen to an obnoxiously precocious only child like myself. I scanned the TV Guide for what...
Robert Altman: Eclectic Maverick
By
Alex Simon
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the April 1999 issue of Venice Magazine.
It's the Fall of 1977 and I'm a bored and rebellious ten year old in search of a new movie to occupy my underworked and creativity-starved brain, feeling far too mature for previous favorites Wily Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Return of the Pink Panther (1975), and wanting something more up-to-date and edgy than Chaplin's City Lights (1931). I needed a movie to call my favorite that would be symbolic of my own new-found manhood (and something that would really piss off my parents and teachers). Mom and Dad were going out for the evening, leaving me with whatever unfortunate baby-sitter happened to need the $10 badly enough to play mother hen to an obnoxiously precocious only child like myself. I scanned the TV Guide for what...
- 2/15/2013
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Los Angeles — Deborah Raffin, an actress who ran a successful audiobook company with the help of her celebrity friends, has died. She was 59.
Raffin died Wednesday of leukemia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, her brother, William, told the Los Angeles Times ( ). She was diagnosed with the blood cancer about a year ago. http://lat.ms/R0q9NM
Raffin, the daughter of 20th Century Fox contract player Trudy Marshall, had roles in movies such as "Forty Carats" and "Once Is Not Enough." She also starred in television miniseries, most notably playing actress Brooke Hayward in "Haywire" and a businesswoman in "Noble House," based on the James Clavell saga set in Hong Kong.
She and her then-husband, music producer Michael Viner, launched Dove Books-on-Tape in the mid-1980s, which blossomed into a multimillion-dollar business. The company's first best-seller was Stephen Hawking's opus on the cosmos entitled "A Brief History of Time.
Raffin died Wednesday of leukemia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, her brother, William, told the Los Angeles Times ( ). She was diagnosed with the blood cancer about a year ago. http://lat.ms/R0q9NM
Raffin, the daughter of 20th Century Fox contract player Trudy Marshall, had roles in movies such as "Forty Carats" and "Once Is Not Enough." She also starred in television miniseries, most notably playing actress Brooke Hayward in "Haywire" and a businesswoman in "Noble House," based on the James Clavell saga set in Hong Kong.
She and her then-husband, music producer Michael Viner, launched Dove Books-on-Tape in the mid-1980s, which blossomed into a multimillion-dollar business. The company's first best-seller was Stephen Hawking's opus on the cosmos entitled "A Brief History of Time.
- 11/23/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Sony Pictures Animation is currently developing a big screen adaptation of the failed 1980's TV series Manimal. Not sure why they have decided to move forward with a silly project like this based on such a terrible series, but it will be a live-action CGI hybrid film. They might as well pump this money into a awesome original film idea, it's not like Manimal has a built in market.
The 1983 NBC series was created by Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I., Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica) and Donald R. Boyle and the story followed Dr. Jonathan Chase (William Conrad), a man with the ability to transform himself into any animal in the world, using his powers to fight for justice. He turned into a black panther in every episode. Larson will serve as an executive producer on the project.
For those of you not familiar with the series here's a couple of...
The 1983 NBC series was created by Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I., Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica) and Donald R. Boyle and the story followed Dr. Jonathan Chase (William Conrad), a man with the ability to transform himself into any animal in the world, using his powers to fight for justice. He turned into a black panther in every episode. Larson will serve as an executive producer on the project.
For those of you not familiar with the series here's a couple of...
- 9/17/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Dial 1119
Directed by Gerald Mayer
Written by Hugh King and Don McGuire
U.S.A., 1950
If there is one thing about older films which can cause a surprise among modern audiences, it is the acting style of the period. A frequent complaint coming from those whose exposure to movies of the 30s, 40s and 60s is limited is that the variety of the acting is vastly different from what is typically experienced today. Back then, being a bit more on the theatrical, or melodramatic side, was a good thing, whereas in the early 21st century, subtlety is what people admire most. Imagine what a melodramatic performance serving a mentally challenged character would be like, a thought which could very well turn people away from watching Marshall Thomspon in Dial 1119, but those people will have missed perfectly calculated, chilling role.
Director Gerald Mayer, nephew of the legendary producer Louis B.
Directed by Gerald Mayer
Written by Hugh King and Don McGuire
U.S.A., 1950
If there is one thing about older films which can cause a surprise among modern audiences, it is the acting style of the period. A frequent complaint coming from those whose exposure to movies of the 30s, 40s and 60s is limited is that the variety of the acting is vastly different from what is typically experienced today. Back then, being a bit more on the theatrical, or melodramatic side, was a good thing, whereas in the early 21st century, subtlety is what people admire most. Imagine what a melodramatic performance serving a mentally challenged character would be like, a thought which could very well turn people away from watching Marshall Thomspon in Dial 1119, but those people will have missed perfectly calculated, chilling role.
Director Gerald Mayer, nephew of the legendary producer Louis B.
- 3/24/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Tension
Directed by John Berry
Screenplay by Allen Rivkin
U.S.A., 1949
Who is the infamous femme fatale? From what dark depths of humanity was she born and will men ever be able to truly resist her seductive moves? Such queries can spark endless discussions, among them the quality of the actresses who have portrayed them throughout the decades, especially in the early days of the noir genre. What appears to be all showmanship and flash hides the real talents of the actresses interpreting the roles. Not everyone can pull off the task with flying colours. Some actresses simply have the ‘fatale bug.’ Jane Greer was one of the most popular of her contemporaries, her role in Out of the Past being the most celebrated. Another talented, seductive thespian of the time that should not be overlooked is Audrey Totter, who made quite a career for herself with a great many roles in noir films.
Directed by John Berry
Screenplay by Allen Rivkin
U.S.A., 1949
Who is the infamous femme fatale? From what dark depths of humanity was she born and will men ever be able to truly resist her seductive moves? Such queries can spark endless discussions, among them the quality of the actresses who have portrayed them throughout the decades, especially in the early days of the noir genre. What appears to be all showmanship and flash hides the real talents of the actresses interpreting the roles. Not everyone can pull off the task with flying colours. Some actresses simply have the ‘fatale bug.’ Jane Greer was one of the most popular of her contemporaries, her role in Out of the Past being the most celebrated. Another talented, seductive thespian of the time that should not be overlooked is Audrey Totter, who made quite a career for herself with a great many roles in noir films.
- 2/10/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
By Lee Pfeiffer
Although often erroneously attributed to legendary producer William Castle, the 1965 chiller Two on a Guillotine certainly has all the hallmarks of one of his productions: a modestly-budgeted scarefest backed by an intense, sensational marketing campaign. In fact, the film was, perhaps improbably, produced and directed by William Conrad- that's right, the same character actor who originated the role of Matt Dillon on the Gunsmoke radio program and who would enjoy leading man status in the 1970s as the star of the popular Cannon detective series on TV. The off-beat story begins in the 1940s and finds Cesar Romero as 'Duke' Duquesne, the world's greatest magician and illusionist. Everyone is enamored of him except his wife Melinda (Connie Stevens), who is tired of being a beautiful prop in his act. On the eve of presenting his most ambitious stunt, which involves faking Melinda's beheading on a guillotine,...
Although often erroneously attributed to legendary producer William Castle, the 1965 chiller Two on a Guillotine certainly has all the hallmarks of one of his productions: a modestly-budgeted scarefest backed by an intense, sensational marketing campaign. In fact, the film was, perhaps improbably, produced and directed by William Conrad- that's right, the same character actor who originated the role of Matt Dillon on the Gunsmoke radio program and who would enjoy leading man status in the 1970s as the star of the popular Cannon detective series on TV. The off-beat story begins in the 1940s and finds Cesar Romero as 'Duke' Duquesne, the world's greatest magician and illusionist. Everyone is enamored of him except his wife Melinda (Connie Stevens), who is tired of being a beautiful prop in his act. On the eve of presenting his most ambitious stunt, which involves faking Melinda's beheading on a guillotine,...
- 1/30/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Good Wife
Created by Michelle King and Robert King
imdb, CBS, Sundays at 9Pm
3.01 A New Day
Directed by Brooke Kennedy
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Meredith Averill
3.03 Get A Room
Directed by David Platt
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Julia Wolfe
3.04 Feeding the Rat
Directed by Fred Toye
Written by Keith Eisner
3.05 Marthas and Catilins
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written by Ted Humphrey
3.06 Affairs of State
Directed by Dean Parisot
Written by Corinne Brinkerhoff
*****
When CBS originally announced The Good Wife it seemed like a terrible idea. Make a TV series about the wife of a fallen politician? The one forced by circumstances and her own ambition to stand by his side and publicly forgive him? Even when doing so means doubling your public humiliation?
Three years in, The Good Wife is by...
Created by Michelle King and Robert King
imdb, CBS, Sundays at 9Pm
3.01 A New Day
Directed by Brooke Kennedy
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Meredith Averill
3.03 Get A Room
Directed by David Platt
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Julia Wolfe
3.04 Feeding the Rat
Directed by Fred Toye
Written by Keith Eisner
3.05 Marthas and Catilins
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written by Ted Humphrey
3.06 Affairs of State
Directed by Dean Parisot
Written by Corinne Brinkerhoff
*****
When CBS originally announced The Good Wife it seemed like a terrible idea. Make a TV series about the wife of a fallen politician? The one forced by circumstances and her own ambition to stand by his side and publicly forgive him? Even when doing so means doubling your public humiliation?
Three years in, The Good Wife is by...
- 11/4/2011
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
The Good Wife
Created by Michelle King and Robert King
imdb, CBS, Sundays at 9Pm
3.01 A New Day
Directed by Brooke Kennedy
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Meredith Averill
3.03 Get A Room
Directed by David Platt
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Julia Wolfe
3.04 Feeding the Rat
Directed by Fred Toye
Written by Keith Eisner
3.05 Marthas and Catilins
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written by Ted Humphrey
3.06 Affairs of State
Directed by Dean Parisot
Written by Corinne Brinkerhoff
*****
When CBS originally announced The Good Wife it seemed like a terrible idea. Make a TV series about the wife of a fallen politician? The one forced by circumstances and her own ambition to stand by his side and publicly forgive him? Even when doing so means doubling your public humiliation?
Three years in, The Good Wife is by...
Created by Michelle King and Robert King
imdb, CBS, Sundays at 9Pm
3.01 A New Day
Directed by Brooke Kennedy
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Meredith Averill
3.03 Get A Room
Directed by David Platt
Written by Michelle King and Robert King, based on a story by Julia Wolfe
3.04 Feeding the Rat
Directed by Fred Toye
Written by Keith Eisner
3.05 Marthas and Catilins
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written by Ted Humphrey
3.06 Affairs of State
Directed by Dean Parisot
Written by Corinne Brinkerhoff
*****
When CBS originally announced The Good Wife it seemed like a terrible idea. Make a TV series about the wife of a fallen politician? The one forced by circumstances and her own ambition to stand by his side and publicly forgive him? Even when doing so means doubling your public humiliation?
Three years in, The Good Wife is by...
- 11/2/2011
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
As part of its "Summer Under the Stars" film series, Turner Classic Movies is showing 12 Anne Francis movies today, including three TCM premieres. Those are actor-director William Conrad's Brainstorm (1965), veteran Raoul Walsh's A Lion Is in the Streets (1953), and actor-director Richard Benedict's Impasse (1969). [Anne Francis Movie Schedule.] Brainstorm is about a scientist intent on killing the husband of the woman he loves. The B thriller stars performers who had seen better big-screen days in the '40s and/or '50s: Jeffrey Hunter, Dana Andrews, Viveca Lindfors, and Francis. At the time, however, Francis was doing well for herself on television in the series Honey West, in which she played a sexy gumshoe whose partner was an ocelot. Based on a novel by Adria Locke Langley, A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) is a political drama that got made probably thanks to Robert Rossen's 1949 Oscar winner All the King's Men.
- 8/29/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Anne Francis on TCM: Forbidden Planet, Brainstorm, A Lion Is In The Streets Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Summer Holiday (1948) Musical remake of Ah, Wilderness!, about a small-town boy's struggles with growing up. Dir: Rouben Mamoulian. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Gloria DeHaven, Walter Huston, Frank Morgan, Jackie Jenkins, Marilyn Maxwell, Agnes Moorehead. C-93 mins. 7:45 Am So Young So Bad (1950) A crusading psychiatrist tries to help troubled reform school girls. Dir: Bernard Vorhaus. Cast: Paul Henreid, Catherine McLeod, Cecil Clovelly, Anne Jackson, Rita Moreno. Bw-91 mins. 9:30 Am Battle Cry (1955) A group of Marines eagerly await deployment during World War II. Dir: Raoul Walsh. Cast: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Dorothy Malone, Nancy Olson, Tab Hunter, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, William Campbell. C-148 mins, Letterbox Format. 12:00 Pm Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) A one-armed veteran uncovers small-town secrets when he tries to visit an Asian-American war hero's family.
- 8/29/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Many people remember the portly actor William Conrad for playing the role of detective Cannon in the popular 1970s CBS TV series. However, his long career extended back to playing Marshall Matt Dillon on the radio version of Gunsmoke. There is another often neglected side to his career: his long association with horror films. TCM's Movie Morlock web site examines these films. Click here to read...
- 6/16/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
He was Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years, but he had some delightful film credits, too!
The saddest part about attending to the Church of Classic Cinema is that a lot of the clergy keep dying. And so it goes that James Arness has died at the age of 88.
Mr. Arness, a 6-foot-7 giant whose stoic personality was remarkably like his character’s, was ideal for the part. He had been reared in a family of Norwegian descent in Minnesota and became an outdoorsman who loved fishing and hunting. He came home from World War II a wounded, decorated and aimless veteran. He worked menial jobs, tried radio and was collecting veterans’ benefits when he drifted to Hollywood.
He developed slowly, appearing in 30 movies before his mentor, John Wayne, rejected the Dillon role and recommended him instead. “Gunsmoke,” which began in 1952 as a radio show with William Conrad, landed on...
The saddest part about attending to the Church of Classic Cinema is that a lot of the clergy keep dying. And so it goes that James Arness has died at the age of 88.
Mr. Arness, a 6-foot-7 giant whose stoic personality was remarkably like his character’s, was ideal for the part. He had been reared in a family of Norwegian descent in Minnesota and became an outdoorsman who loved fishing and hunting. He came home from World War II a wounded, decorated and aimless veteran. He worked menial jobs, tried radio and was collecting veterans’ benefits when he drifted to Hollywood.
He developed slowly, appearing in 30 movies before his mentor, John Wayne, rejected the Dillon role and recommended him instead. “Gunsmoke,” which began in 1952 as a radio show with William Conrad, landed on...
- 6/4/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
Rochester, NY - Ever wonder why schools today stink compared to decades ago? Every think tank moron has their dubious reasonings that appeases their corporate masters. But the truth is extraordinarily simple: Schools dumped their education films.
Do you remember those days when the gym teacher had to pad out health class by wheeling in the 16mm projector from the Av department? They’d thread up classic tales about your body, narcotics, driving safety and manners. Things which kids nowadays can’t seem to handle.
When the Vcr arrived in schools, the 16mm projector was quickly dumped as teaching tool.
Where did these classic films go? Many arrived at the city dump. However a few lucky tens of thousands found themselves on the racks of the Av Geeks Archive. This repository of cinematic education is overseen by Skip Elsheimer. He started collecting the films after I moved out of the infamous PineHaus.
Do you remember those days when the gym teacher had to pad out health class by wheeling in the 16mm projector from the Av department? They’d thread up classic tales about your body, narcotics, driving safety and manners. Things which kids nowadays can’t seem to handle.
When the Vcr arrived in schools, the 16mm projector was quickly dumped as teaching tool.
Where did these classic films go? Many arrived at the city dump. However a few lucky tens of thousands found themselves on the racks of the Av Geeks Archive. This repository of cinematic education is overseen by Skip Elsheimer. He started collecting the films after I moved out of the infamous PineHaus.
- 3/7/2011
- by UncaScroogeMcD
The past several years have seen a resurgence in interest in the Film Noir genre, not just in recreations via a host of films, but in the classics that started it all. That interest has spawned a series of releases on DVD, and The Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5 is filled with treats.
You might expect that we would be reaching by the time we got to the fifth installment, a set with eight films, but in some sense the opposite may be true here.
While not the biggest names in the genre, the set gives us some true favorites, as well as some great actors.
Cornered (1945):
From England to continental Europe to Buenos Aires, ex-rcaf pilot Dick Powell stalks the Nazi collaborator who murdered his bride. But one fact constantly surfaces during his quest: no one can describe the mysterious man. Joining Powell in the film shadows are...
You might expect that we would be reaching by the time we got to the fifth installment, a set with eight films, but in some sense the opposite may be true here.
While not the biggest names in the genre, the set gives us some true favorites, as well as some great actors.
Cornered (1945):
From England to continental Europe to Buenos Aires, ex-rcaf pilot Dick Powell stalks the Nazi collaborator who murdered his bride. But one fact constantly surfaces during his quest: no one can describe the mysterious man. Joining Powell in the film shadows are...
- 7/28/2010
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
1965's Two on a Guillotine was finally released on DVD for the first time this week by Warner Brothers, and to celebrate the momentous occasion, they've provided a clip and still for us to share with our readers.
Cult favorite suspense/horror film Two on a Guillotine was directed by William Conrad and stars Connie Stevens as the daughter of a demented magician played by the iconic Cesar Romero. It has been remastered for this release and is available exclusively via WarnerArchive.com.
Synopsis:
Twenty years ago a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head ... and their baby daughter, Cassie, without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side,...
Cult favorite suspense/horror film Two on a Guillotine was directed by William Conrad and stars Connie Stevens as the daughter of a demented magician played by the iconic Cesar Romero. It has been remastered for this release and is available exclusively via WarnerArchive.com.
Synopsis:
Twenty years ago a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head ... and their baby daughter, Cassie, without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side,...
- 6/23/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Before he became famous as the "Fatman" in TV's "Jake and the Fatman", William Conrad was a fairly prolific director, and one of his best films (to this woman anyway) was 1965's Two on a Guillotine, which is bowing on DVD for the first time on June 22nd.
Cult favorite suspense/horror film Two on a Guillotine stars Connie Stevens as the daughter of a demented magician played by the iconic Cesar Romero. It has been remastered for this release and is available exclusively via WarnerArchive.com.
Synopsis:
Twenty years ago a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head ... and their baby daughter, Cassie, without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side,...
Cult favorite suspense/horror film Two on a Guillotine stars Connie Stevens as the daughter of a demented magician played by the iconic Cesar Romero. It has been remastered for this release and is available exclusively via WarnerArchive.com.
Synopsis:
Twenty years ago a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head ... and their baby daughter, Cassie, without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side,...
- 6/15/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
In 1973, the producers of the William Conrad detective series Cannon spun off a new show about a new character: Barnaby Jones, a milk-swilling retired private eye who returns to the business after his son is murdered. Barnaby Jones is very much in line with the other Quinn Martin productions of the era: a typical episode is broken into five clearly labeled acts, and paced sluggishly, with lots of establishing shots of cars pulling into driveways. And like the contemporary detective shows McMillan & Wife and Ironside, Barnaby Jones features an aging star settling into a late-in-life role as a TV ...
- 3/31/2010
- avclub.com
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