Powerhouse Indicator’s first foray into the Universal library yields six noir thrillers, all crime-related and all different: the list introduces us to scheming businessmen, venal confidence crooks, black-market racketeers, a femme fatale, a gangster deportee and baby stealers. The B&w features are enriched with some of the best actors of the postwar years, and the titles themselves are a litany of vice and sin: The Web, Larceny, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Abandoned, Deported and Naked Alibi.
Universal Noir #1
Region B Blu-ray
The Web, Larceny, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Abandoned, Deported, Naked Alibi
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1954 / B&w / Street Date November 14, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Ella Raines, Edmond O’Brien, Vincent Price, William Bendix; John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelly Winters, Dorothy Hart; Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton; Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Raymond Burr; Marta Toren, Jeff Chandler, Marina Berti, Richard Rober; Sterling Hayden,...
Universal Noir #1
Region B Blu-ray
The Web, Larceny, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Abandoned, Deported, Naked Alibi
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1954 / B&w / Street Date November 14, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Ella Raines, Edmond O’Brien, Vincent Price, William Bendix; John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelly Winters, Dorothy Hart; Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton; Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Raymond Burr; Marta Toren, Jeff Chandler, Marina Berti, Richard Rober; Sterling Hayden,...
- 11/5/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Bob The Barber”
By Raymond Benson
One of actor/comedian Bob Hope’s most cherished films is Monsieur Beaucaire, a 1946 remake of a Rudolph Valentino silent picture from 1924, both of which are based on a 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington. Hope’s version, directed by George Marshall, is certainly a loose adaptation because it turned what was a historical romantic drama into a flat-out comedy.
Woody Allen has been known to cite early Bob Hope movies as an inspiration for his onscreen persona in the director’s early “zany” comedies like Bananas and Sleeper. When one views something like Monsieur Beaucaire or My Favorite Blonde (1942), the comparison is strikingly apt. Hope creates a persona of nervous mannerisms, lack of self confidence masked by bravado, clumsy but endearing interaction with the opposite sex, and witty one-liners. Beaucaire exhibits Hope in fine form, producing a good...
“Bob The Barber”
By Raymond Benson
One of actor/comedian Bob Hope’s most cherished films is Monsieur Beaucaire, a 1946 remake of a Rudolph Valentino silent picture from 1924, both of which are based on a 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington. Hope’s version, directed by George Marshall, is certainly a loose adaptation because it turned what was a historical romantic drama into a flat-out comedy.
Woody Allen has been known to cite early Bob Hope movies as an inspiration for his onscreen persona in the director’s early “zany” comedies like Bananas and Sleeper. When one views something like Monsieur Beaucaire or My Favorite Blonde (1942), the comparison is strikingly apt. Hope creates a persona of nervous mannerisms, lack of self confidence masked by bravado, clumsy but endearing interaction with the opposite sex, and witty one-liners. Beaucaire exhibits Hope in fine form, producing a good...
- 1/15/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“To Grift Or Not To Grift”
By Raymond Benson
This film noir pot boiler, released in 1948 and directed by George Sherman, borders the fine line between being truly awful and stunningly good. Luckily for us, it’s the latter. Larceny surprised this reviewer with its tale—albeit a melodramatic one—of a quartet of con men who make their livings by grifting wealthy people out of investments, phony real estate scams, or whatever. Kind of like what’s happening today with e-mail phishing and robocalls, right?
The picture stars John Payne as Rick Maxon, one of the con men who might be having second thoughts about the company he keeps and the people who become his victims—especially if they’re beautiful women who easily fall for his charm and good looks. Payne was a handsome and low-key actor who worked constantly from the late 1930s through the 1950s, and...
By Raymond Benson
This film noir pot boiler, released in 1948 and directed by George Sherman, borders the fine line between being truly awful and stunningly good. Luckily for us, it’s the latter. Larceny surprised this reviewer with its tale—albeit a melodramatic one—of a quartet of con men who make their livings by grifting wealthy people out of investments, phony real estate scams, or whatever. Kind of like what’s happening today with e-mail phishing and robocalls, right?
The picture stars John Payne as Rick Maxon, one of the con men who might be having second thoughts about the company he keeps and the people who become his victims—especially if they’re beautiful women who easily fall for his charm and good looks. Payne was a handsome and low-key actor who worked constantly from the late 1930s through the 1950s, and...
- 7/13/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It happens every time: we want to cruelly betray somebody, but Love keeps getting in the way. When evil Dan Duryea sics con-man louse John Payne on the saintly war widow Joan Caulfield, three other women come tagging along as well, ’cause Payne is just too attractive. The swindle in George Sherman’s unsure noir gets uglier and then loses its way in the third act, with clunker dialogue and a climax that dissolves when it should resolve. Look out for super femme input from Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart and Patricia Alphin. It’s an early featured role for Winters, and she doesn’t hold back.
Larceny
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart, Richard Rober, Dan O’Herlihy, Nicholas Joy, Percy Helton, Walter Greaza, Patricia Alphin, Gene Evans.
Cinematography:...
Larceny
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart, Richard Rober, Dan O’Herlihy, Nicholas Joy, Percy Helton, Walter Greaza, Patricia Alphin, Gene Evans.
Cinematography:...
- 6/15/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Arte Johnson, who won an Emmy for his memorable work on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and worked in TV and film for nearly half a century, died early Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, his family said announced. He was 90 and had battled bladder and prostate cancer for the past three years.
Johnson earned three consecutive Emmy noms for Laugh-In from 1969-71, winning the first year. He was part of the politically tinged NBC sketch series’ main cast from its launch in January 1968 until 1971, playing myriad characters in the show that launched the careers of such stars as Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and many others.
Among his most popular characters was Wolfgang, a cigarette-smoking German soldier who believed that World War II was still ongoing, as he scouted the show while hidden behind bushes. He would then invariably comment on the preceding sketch...
Johnson earned three consecutive Emmy noms for Laugh-In from 1969-71, winning the first year. He was part of the politically tinged NBC sketch series’ main cast from its launch in January 1968 until 1971, playing myriad characters in the show that launched the careers of such stars as Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and many others.
Among his most popular characters was Wolfgang, a cigarette-smoking German soldier who believed that World War II was still ongoing, as he scouted the show while hidden behind bushes. He would then invariably comment on the preceding sketch...
- 7/3/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
'San Andreas' movie with Dwayne Johnson. 'San Andreas' movie box office: $100 million domestic milestone today As the old saying (sort of) goes: If you build it, they will come. Warner Bros. built a gigantic video game, called it San Andreas, and They have come to check out Dwayne Johnson perform miraculous deeds not seen since ... George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, released two weeks earlier. Embraced by moviegoers, hungry for quality, original storylines and well-delineated characters – and with the assistance of 3D surcharges – the San Andreas movie debuted with $54.58 million from 3,777 theaters on its first weekend out (May 29-31) in North America. Down a perfectly acceptable 52 percent on its second weekend (June 5-7), the special effects-laden actioner collected an extra $25.83 million, trailing only the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Statham comedy Spy, (with $29.08 million) as found at Box Office Mojo.* And that's how this original movie – it's not officially a remake,...
- 6/9/2015
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Audrey Long, actress in B film noirs and Westerns, and widow of author Leslie Charteris, dead at 92 (photo: Audrey Long publicity shot ca. late '40s) Actress Audrey Long, a leading lady in mostly B crime dramas and Westerns of the '40s and early '50s, and the widow of The Saint creator Leslie Charteris, died "after a long illness" on September 19, 2014, in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. Long was 92. Her death was first reported by Ian Dickerson on the website LeslieCharteris.com. Born on April 14 (some sources claim April 12), 1922, in Orlando, Florida, Audrey Long was the daughter of an English-born Episcopal minister, who later became a U.S. Navy Chaplain. Her early years were spent moving about North America, in addition to some time in Honolulu. According to Dickerson's Audrey Long tribute on the Leslie Charteris site, following acting lessons with coach Dorothea Johnson, whose pupils had also included...
- 9/24/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Top box office movies of 2013: If you make original, quality films… (photo: Sandra Bullock has two movies among the top 15 box office hits of 2013; Bullock is seen here in ‘The Heat,’ with Melissa McCarthy) (See previous post: “2013 Box Office Record? History is Remade If a Few ‘Minor Details’ Ignored.”) As further evidence that moviegoers want original, quality entertainment, below you’ll find a list of the top 15 movies at the domestic box office in 2013 — nine of which are sequels or reboots (ten if you include Oz the Great and Powerful), and more than half of which are 3D releases. Disney and Warner Bros. were the two top studios in 2013. Disney has five movies among the top 15; Warners has three. With the exception of the sleeper blockbuster Gravity, which, however dumbed down, targeted a more mature audience, every single one of the titles below were aimed either at teenagers/very,...
- 12/31/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Rains of Ranchipur is yet another major film I probably would not have sampled had it not been released by Twilight Time. This Blu-ray edition is limited to 3,000 units. The film is primarily a soap opera based on the book The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield. The story had been brought to the screen previously in 1939 under the book's title and starring Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power. It features a glamorous cast of acting heavyweights who compensate for some of the weaker elements of the production. Turner, still gorgeous as ever, is Lady Edwina Esketh, a rich American socialite who married her cuckolded British husband Albert (Michael Rennie) simply to get the title she always craved. Theirs is a sexless union based on their mutual selfishness. Although Albert is genuinely in love with Edwina, he admits that her personal fortune was a prime motivation for marrying her.
The Rains of Ranchipur is yet another major film I probably would not have sampled had it not been released by Twilight Time. This Blu-ray edition is limited to 3,000 units. The film is primarily a soap opera based on the book The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield. The story had been brought to the screen previously in 1939 under the book's title and starring Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power. It features a glamorous cast of acting heavyweights who compensate for some of the weaker elements of the production. Turner, still gorgeous as ever, is Lady Edwina Esketh, a rich American socialite who married her cuckolded British husband Albert (Michael Rennie) simply to get the title she always craved. Theirs is a sexless union based on their mutual selfishness. Although Albert is genuinely in love with Edwina, he admits that her personal fortune was a prime motivation for marrying her.
- 11/25/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
American TV and film actor whose repertoire ran from Shakespeare to Star Trek
It may well be that the American actor William Windom, who has died aged 88 of congestive heart failure, appeared as a guest star in more TV series than anyone else in the history of the medium. While quantity is not necessarily an adjunct of quality, Windom made it so.
The character actor's career on television spanned seven decades, from his debut as a fiery Tybalt in a Philco Television Playhouse production of Romeo and Juliet (1949) to an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages (2004) in which he recreated the role of the unbalanced Commodore Matt Decker. Decker was first seen in one of the series's best chapters, The Doomsday Machine (1967), and it was enough to sanctify Windom in the eyes of Trekkies. The role had been written for Robert Ryan, but Windom's powerful portrayal made any possible comparisons redundant.
It may well be that the American actor William Windom, who has died aged 88 of congestive heart failure, appeared as a guest star in more TV series than anyone else in the history of the medium. While quantity is not necessarily an adjunct of quality, Windom made it so.
The character actor's career on television spanned seven decades, from his debut as a fiery Tybalt in a Philco Television Playhouse production of Romeo and Juliet (1949) to an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages (2004) in which he recreated the role of the unbalanced Commodore Matt Decker. Decker was first seen in one of the series's best chapters, The Doomsday Machine (1967), and it was enough to sanctify Windom in the eyes of Trekkies. The role had been written for Robert Ryan, but Windom's powerful portrayal made any possible comparisons redundant.
- 8/23/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – Diabolical twins, obsessed journalists and jail-breaking thugs are heading their way to the Music Box Theatre. The Film Noir Foundation’s third installment of “Noir City: Chicago” features no less than sixteen restored 35mm prints of must-see cinematic rarities. Ten of these noir classics have yet to land a DVD release, thus making this festival all the more essential for local cinephiles.
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
- 8/11/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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