1939 is often called Hollywood’s Greatest Year, and it is indisputable that a huge number of America’s greatest classics were produced in that single year. A usually ignored element of that greatness is that 1939 was also the year that Hollywood resumed production on horror films after a two-year pause. In late 1936 two major factors led to the practical death of the genre: the Laemmle family, of whom Carl Laemmle’s, Jr. was horror’s greatest advocate, lost control of Universal and the British Board of Censors began enforcing the “H” certificate, which for all practical purposes banned horror for its target audience in Britain. The loss of this lucrative market combined with dropping box-office receipts and mounting pressure from American religious groups, Hollywood saw no reason to continue producing horror. The phrase “horror is dead” has often been thrown around over the decades but in 1937 and 38, it was actually true.
- 4/17/2024
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
At the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, native Pennsylvanian Janet Gaynor made history as the first American-born performer to win an Oscar by taking the Best Actress prize for her body of work in “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.” Over the subsequent 95 years, 215 more thespians originating from the United States won the academy’s favor, meaning the country has now produced 68.1% of all individual acting Oscar recipients. Considering the last decade alone, the rate of such winners is even higher, at 70.3%.
At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).
Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...
At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).
Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...
- 3/18/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Throughout the 96-year history of the Academy Awards, the amount of acting lineups consisting only of first-time nominees has reached 37, or about 10% of the overall total. While that number may not seem high in a general sense, these cases actually outnumber those exclusively involving veteran contenders by a ratio of three to one. However, although this list expanded as recently as 2023, rookie-only acting lineups are gradually becoming less common than veteran-only ones, the amount of which has nearly doubled within the last dozen years.
Whereas 75% of veteran-only acting quintets have involved lead performers rather than supporting ones, almost the exact opposite is true of lineups full of newcomers. For instance, only one existing case of the former kind concerns supporting actresses, whereas the same category has produced 15 rookie-only rosters. The last such group consisted of 2000 winner Angelina Jolie and nominees Toni Collette (“The Sixth Sense”), Catherine Keener (“Being John Malkovich...
Whereas 75% of veteran-only acting quintets have involved lead performers rather than supporting ones, almost the exact opposite is true of lineups full of newcomers. For instance, only one existing case of the former kind concerns supporting actresses, whereas the same category has produced 15 rookie-only rosters. The last such group consisted of 2000 winner Angelina Jolie and nominees Toni Collette (“The Sixth Sense”), Catherine Keener (“Being John Malkovich...
- 2/7/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Salt Of The EarthPhoto: Public Domain
Salt Of The Earth is a movie that sees around corners. Partly—but only partly— because of the current Hollywood writers’ strike, it also speaks loudly to our time. A strike movie about labor unrest in a mining town, Salt Of The Earth was...
Salt Of The Earth is a movie that sees around corners. Partly—but only partly— because of the current Hollywood writers’ strike, it also speaks loudly to our time. A strike movie about labor unrest in a mining town, Salt Of The Earth was...
- 5/23/2023
- by Ray Greene
- avclub.com
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster director Thomas Hamilton on his upcoming series Horror Icons on interviewing Roger Corman: “He not only worked with Vincent Price, he worked with Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Lon Chaney.” Photo: Thomas Hamilton
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Conrad Veidt, Maria Ouspenskaya, George Zukor, Paul Wegener, Emil Jannings, Brigitte Helm, Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden, Claude Rains, Fay Wray, Duane Jones, Max Schreck, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Lon Chaney Sr., Lon Chaney Jr, Fw Murnau’s Faust and Nosferatu, Arthur Lubin’s Phantom of the Opera, Rowland V. Lee’s Son of Frankenstein, George Waggner’s The Wolf Man, James Whale’s The Invisible Man, Lambert Hillyer’s Dracula’s Daughter, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen’s The Golem, Hanns Heinz Ewers and Stellan Rye’s The Student Of Prague, and George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead...
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Conrad Veidt, Maria Ouspenskaya, George Zukor, Paul Wegener, Emil Jannings, Brigitte Helm, Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden, Claude Rains, Fay Wray, Duane Jones, Max Schreck, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Lon Chaney Sr., Lon Chaney Jr, Fw Murnau’s Faust and Nosferatu, Arthur Lubin’s Phantom of the Opera, Rowland V. Lee’s Son of Frankenstein, George Waggner’s The Wolf Man, James Whale’s The Invisible Man, Lambert Hillyer’s Dracula’s Daughter, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen’s The Golem, Hanns Heinz Ewers and Stellan Rye’s The Student Of Prague, and George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead...
- 4/1/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Film noir represents the illusive charm of black and white cinema and of its stars that graced the silver screen in its glory years in the 40s and 50s.
Film Noir meaning “black film” in french coined by the critic Nino Frank in 1946, defined an era of stylish visually moody black-and-white crime mysteries. The plot of the film could be told in one dramatic photo promoting the central figure either portraying the private investigator, grifter and the elusive femme fatale. The images are always bold and the use of lighting and shadows created a noir universe that invites you into an erotic and scandalous world of deceit and conspiracy.
Robert Coburn, Ernest Bachrach, and A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s portraits captured the A-list superstars Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart to the character actors of the period Gale Sondergaard, Delores del Rio and George Raft who...
Film Noir meaning “black film” in french coined by the critic Nino Frank in 1946, defined an era of stylish visually moody black-and-white crime mysteries. The plot of the film could be told in one dramatic photo promoting the central figure either portraying the private investigator, grifter and the elusive femme fatale. The images are always bold and the use of lighting and shadows created a noir universe that invites you into an erotic and scandalous world of deceit and conspiracy.
Robert Coburn, Ernest Bachrach, and A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s portraits captured the A-list superstars Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart to the character actors of the period Gale Sondergaard, Delores del Rio and George Raft who...
- 11/23/2022
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist party?
In October 1947, 10 Hollywood screenwriters, directors and producers refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (Huac), at the highly publicized, three-ring circus hearings in Washington, D.C. They wouldn’t acknowledge if they were Communists, nor would they name names of people whom they knew or thought were Commies citing their first amendment rights.
The group, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, were voted in contempt of Congress in November and sentenced to prison for six months to a year. They were blacklisted by the Hollywood studios. Some wrote under pseudonyms or used fronts (check out the 1976 film “The Front”) while others never worked again in Hollywood even after the blacklist ended in 1960.
On the 75th anniversary of those infamous Huac hearings, let’s take a look back at the Hollywood Ten and what...
In October 1947, 10 Hollywood screenwriters, directors and producers refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (Huac), at the highly publicized, three-ring circus hearings in Washington, D.C. They wouldn’t acknowledge if they were Communists, nor would they name names of people whom they knew or thought were Commies citing their first amendment rights.
The group, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, were voted in contempt of Congress in November and sentenced to prison for six months to a year. They were blacklisted by the Hollywood studios. Some wrote under pseudonyms or used fronts (check out the 1976 film “The Front”) while others never worked again in Hollywood even after the blacklist ended in 1960.
On the 75th anniversary of those infamous Huac hearings, let’s take a look back at the Hollywood Ten and what...
- 10/26/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Kino reaches into the Universal Vault for vintage Paramount and Universal thrillers. This ‘noir’ collection surprises us — it contains one terrific example of the style, newly-hatched and looking very different for its year. The other two titles are in B&w (check), and revolve around murders (check). But if there were a TV quiz show called ‘Noir or Not Noir’ they’d shape up as third-tier also-rans. The talent on view is impressive, especially the leading ladies: Claire Trevor, Louise Platt, Merle Oberon, Ella Raines, and Gale Sondergaard. Kino appoints the film with good commentators: Jason A. Ney, Anthony Slide, Kelly Robinson.
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema VIII
Street of Chance, Enter Arsene Lupin, Temptation
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1942-1946 / 1:37 Academy / 266 minutes / Street Date July 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor; Charles Korvin, Ella Raines; Merle Oberon, George Brent.
Directed by Jack Hively, Ford Beebe,...
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema VIII
Street of Chance, Enter Arsene Lupin, Temptation
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1942-1946 / 1:37 Academy / 266 minutes / Street Date July 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 49.95
Starring: Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor; Charles Korvin, Ella Raines; Merle Oberon, George Brent.
Directed by Jack Hively, Ford Beebe,...
- 7/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Francis the Talking Mule – 7 Film Collection
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1950 – 1957 / 1.33:1, 2:1, 1.85:1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Chill Wills, Piper Laurie, Julie Adams
Written by David Stern, Oscar Brodney
Directed by Arthur Lubin, Charles Lamont
Born in 1909, David “Tom” Stern III was a journalist who lived a long and prosperous life—his father was media magnate J. David Stern, publisher of the now-defunct Philadelphia Record, the New York Post, and New Jersey’s Courier-Post. The younger Stern emulated his father’s success in the newspaper business; by 1949, Stern III was able to purchase the New Orleans Item-Tribune for 2,000,000. The rest of his fortune arrived in 1946 with Francis, The Talking Mule, Stern’s tall tale about a loquacious donkey. The scope of the book’s success was almost as unreal as the mule itself. In 1999, on Stern’s 90th birthday, a friend dedicated this verse;
Here’s a toast to Tom Stern
A man of great class.
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1950 – 1957 / 1.33:1, 2:1, 1.85:1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Chill Wills, Piper Laurie, Julie Adams
Written by David Stern, Oscar Brodney
Directed by Arthur Lubin, Charles Lamont
Born in 1909, David “Tom” Stern III was a journalist who lived a long and prosperous life—his father was media magnate J. David Stern, publisher of the now-defunct Philadelphia Record, the New York Post, and New Jersey’s Courier-Post. The younger Stern emulated his father’s success in the newspaper business; by 1949, Stern III was able to purchase the New Orleans Item-Tribune for 2,000,000. The rest of his fortune arrived in 1946 with Francis, The Talking Mule, Stern’s tall tale about a loquacious donkey. The scope of the book’s success was almost as unreal as the mule itself. In 1999, on Stern’s 90th birthday, a friend dedicated this verse;
Here’s a toast to Tom Stern
A man of great class.
- 5/14/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The Spider Woman Strikes Back
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1946/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 59 Minutes
Starring Gale Sondergaard, Brenda Joyce, Kirby Grant
Directed by Arthur Lubin
People are measured by the company they keep—in a superhero’s case, that company is usually the supervillain. Villains, besides giving the hero a reason to exist in the first place, can liven up the joint; a dam burst here, a toppled bridge there, chaos and special effects ensue, and the popcorn munchers are happy. Sherlock Holmes was one of the few heroes who was fun all by himself (due respect to Dr. Watson)—the detective’s obsessive-compulsive brilliance, his monkish lifestyle, and his fondness for beekeeping and cocaine were just some of his more endearing quirks.
The filmed versions of Conan Doyle’s most famous character—not a superhero but seemingly immortal—were not so concerned with Holmes’s idiosyncrasies. This was especially true...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1946/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 59 Minutes
Starring Gale Sondergaard, Brenda Joyce, Kirby Grant
Directed by Arthur Lubin
People are measured by the company they keep—in a superhero’s case, that company is usually the supervillain. Villains, besides giving the hero a reason to exist in the first place, can liven up the joint; a dam burst here, a toppled bridge there, chaos and special effects ensue, and the popcorn munchers are happy. Sherlock Holmes was one of the few heroes who was fun all by himself (due respect to Dr. Watson)—the detective’s obsessive-compulsive brilliance, his monkish lifestyle, and his fondness for beekeeping and cocaine were just some of his more endearing quirks.
The filmed versions of Conan Doyle’s most famous character—not a superhero but seemingly immortal—were not so concerned with Holmes’s idiosyncrasies. This was especially true...
- 1/29/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
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By Hank Reineke
When Kino Lorber announced in April 2021 that a Blu-ray of Universal’s The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946) was scheduled for issue in autumn I was, to put it mildly, over-joyed. It’s not that The Spider Woman Strikes Back is a great film – it most certainly is not – but it’s long been a missing entry on home video, a film of great interest to collectors of Golden Age horror. The studio has chosen, time and again, to re-master and re-offer the classic and iconic “Universal Monsters” in nearly every conceivable home video format and creative packaging. Too often these releases would be at the expense of the studios less famous genre titles as the still unissued Ghost Catchers (1944), and The Cat Creeps (1946).
In the course of this disc’s ten-minute featurette, Mistress of Menace and Murder: The Making of The Spider Woman Strikes Back,...
By Hank Reineke
When Kino Lorber announced in April 2021 that a Blu-ray of Universal’s The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946) was scheduled for issue in autumn I was, to put it mildly, over-joyed. It’s not that The Spider Woman Strikes Back is a great film – it most certainly is not – but it’s long been a missing entry on home video, a film of great interest to collectors of Golden Age horror. The studio has chosen, time and again, to re-master and re-offer the classic and iconic “Universal Monsters” in nearly every conceivable home video format and creative packaging. Too often these releases would be at the expense of the studios less famous genre titles as the still unissued Ghost Catchers (1944), and The Cat Creeps (1946).
In the course of this disc’s ten-minute featurette, Mistress of Menace and Murder: The Making of The Spider Woman Strikes Back,...
- 12/6/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Hello, dear readers! November is officially upon us, as well as a new week of Blu-ray and DVD releases, which means it’s time to make some room for more horror and sci-fi to fill your home entertainment shelves. One of this writer’s favorite indie genre movies of the year, Come True, is getting released to both Blu and DVD this week courtesy of Scream Factory, and Kino Lorber is showing some love to a pair of classic thrillers as well: The Spider Woman Strikes Back and The Mad Doctor. Other releases for November 2nd include The Banishing, Pig featuring Nicolas Cage, and The Spore.
The Banishing
From acclaimed genre director Chris Smith (Creep) comes the true story of the most haunted house in England. A young reverend, his wife and daughter move into a manor with a horrifying secret. When a vengeful spirit haunts the little girl and...
The Banishing
From acclaimed genre director Chris Smith (Creep) comes the true story of the most haunted house in England. A young reverend, his wife and daughter move into a manor with a horrifying secret. When a vengeful spirit haunts the little girl and...
- 11/1/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode goes back to the 19th Academy Awards honoring 1946. It isn't a particularly beloved Oscar vintage though the Best Picture winner, The Best Years of Our Lives, is sublime. Apart from the winner and the Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life, the Academy all but ignored the most enduring pictures of that post-war year. But we're here to discuss Best Supporting Actress and these five women were having a moment...
The Nominees For the 1946 Oscars the Academy invited back two previous winners (Gale Sondergaard & Ethel Barrymore), tossed a bouquet in the form of 'career' nomination to a legend (Lillian Gish), honored a character actress for stretching (Flora Robson) without realizing how poorly that kind of stretch would age, and invited a new starlet (Anne Baxter) into the club.
The Nominees For the 1946 Oscars the Academy invited back two previous winners (Gale Sondergaard & Ethel Barrymore), tossed a bouquet in the form of 'career' nomination to a legend (Lillian Gish), honored a character actress for stretching (Flora Robson) without realizing how poorly that kind of stretch would age, and invited a new starlet (Anne Baxter) into the club.
- 6/26/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“I’Ve Given Up Kissing Strange Women”
By Raymond Benson
Bob Hope had a stellar career that stretched from the late 1930s through the 1960s, with subsequent star power appearances in his senior years on television in variety and awards shows. His efforts to entertain troops overseas for decades are highly commendable. What many punters today don’t realize, unless one is a Hope aficionado, is that his early solo comedies (or the duos with Bing Crosby) are absolute comic gems. Woody Allen has gone on the record to say that he based much of his early 1970s screen persona on Bob Hope, and one can easily see that nebbish, albeit here decidedly non-Jewish, “character” in My Favorite Blonde.
The story of this 1942 outing is credited to longtime Hope collaborators Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (the screenplay is by Don Hartman and Frank Butler...
“I’Ve Given Up Kissing Strange Women”
By Raymond Benson
Bob Hope had a stellar career that stretched from the late 1930s through the 1960s, with subsequent star power appearances in his senior years on television in variety and awards shows. His efforts to entertain troops overseas for decades are highly commendable. What many punters today don’t realize, unless one is a Hope aficionado, is that his early solo comedies (or the duos with Bing Crosby) are absolute comic gems. Woody Allen has gone on the record to say that he based much of his early 1970s screen persona on Bob Hope, and one can easily see that nebbish, albeit here decidedly non-Jewish, “character” in My Favorite Blonde.
The story of this 1942 outing is credited to longtime Hope collaborators Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (the screenplay is by Don Hartman and Frank Butler...
- 2/11/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Inner Sanctum Mysteries—Franchise Collection
Blu ray
Mill Creek Entertainment
1943, 1944, 1945 / 63, 64, 61, 62, 66 Min. / 1.33:1
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carroll Naish, Evelyn Ankers
Cinematography by Virgil Miller, Paul Ivano, Maury Gertsman
Directed by Reginald LeBorg, Harold Young, John Hoffman, Wallace Fox
For the first eight years of his career, Lon Chaney Jr. was just a face in the crowd—that all changed with 1939’s Of Mice and Men. The role of Lennie Small, a man-child who didn’t know his own strength, elevated the 33 year old actor to stardom but also typecast him as the perennial victim of circumstances—a B movie Hamlet. Offscreen, Chaney behaved more like Falstaff—his favorite pastimes were drinking, brawling, and more drinking. If Hollywood began to view him as a loose cannon, the actor sealed his own fate when he signed on as Larry Talbot, a discontented aristocrat who was more at home baying at the moon.
Blu ray
Mill Creek Entertainment
1943, 1944, 1945 / 63, 64, 61, 62, 66 Min. / 1.33:1
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carroll Naish, Evelyn Ankers
Cinematography by Virgil Miller, Paul Ivano, Maury Gertsman
Directed by Reginald LeBorg, Harold Young, John Hoffman, Wallace Fox
For the first eight years of his career, Lon Chaney Jr. was just a face in the crowd—that all changed with 1939’s Of Mice and Men. The role of Lennie Small, a man-child who didn’t know his own strength, elevated the 33 year old actor to stardom but also typecast him as the perennial victim of circumstances—a B movie Hamlet. Offscreen, Chaney behaved more like Falstaff—his favorite pastimes were drinking, brawling, and more drinking. If Hollywood began to view him as a loose cannon, the actor sealed his own fate when he signed on as Larry Talbot, a discontented aristocrat who was more at home baying at the moon.
- 1/2/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
With a screen time total of 18 minutes and 36 seconds, Laura Dern’s 2020 Best Supporting Actress-winning performance in “Marriage Story” was noted for its brevity. However, it ranks as the 24th shortest to ever win in the Oscar category, proving the academy’s particular and everlasting fondness for smaller supporting female roles. Here is a look at the 10 winners with the least amount of screen time. (And here’s the equivalent list for Best Supporting Actor.)
10. Jo Van Fleet (“East of Eden”)
15 minutes, 4 seconds (12.82% of the film)
After a decade of stage acting, Tony winner Jo Van Fleet earned an Oscar for her film debut as child abandoner and brothel operator Kate Ames. Many of the votes she received were likely in honor of her body of work in 1955, since she also had roles in two other Oscar-nominated films that year (“I’ll Cry Tomorrow” and “The Rose Tattoo”). Her few scenes in “East of Eden,...
10. Jo Van Fleet (“East of Eden”)
15 minutes, 4 seconds (12.82% of the film)
After a decade of stage acting, Tony winner Jo Van Fleet earned an Oscar for her film debut as child abandoner and brothel operator Kate Ames. Many of the votes she received were likely in honor of her body of work in 1955, since she also had roles in two other Oscar-nominated films that year (“I’ll Cry Tomorrow” and “The Rose Tattoo”). Her few scenes in “East of Eden,...
- 12/22/2020
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
The Cat and the Canary
& The Ghost Breakers
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939, 1940 / 72, 83 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
Cinematography by Charles B. Lang
Directed by Elliott Nugent, George Marshall
Bob Hope’s brand of comedy may have been extinct by the sixties but it was alive and kicking in the pages of God Save the Mark, Donald E. Westlake’s comic crime novel about a schnook on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. Published in 1967, Westlake’s farce resembles one of Hope’s own movies; the pace is frenetic and the patter is as snappy as the comedian’s in his prime—a golden age exemplified by his one-two punch from 1939 and 1940, The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers. Those films present Hope in excelsis but in the hands of directors Elliott Nugent and George Marshall they serve as master classes in the tricky art of the scare comedy.
& The Ghost Breakers
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939, 1940 / 72, 83 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
Cinematography by Charles B. Lang
Directed by Elliott Nugent, George Marshall
Bob Hope’s brand of comedy may have been extinct by the sixties but it was alive and kicking in the pages of God Save the Mark, Donald E. Westlake’s comic crime novel about a schnook on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. Published in 1967, Westlake’s farce resembles one of Hope’s own movies; the pace is frenetic and the patter is as snappy as the comedian’s in his prime—a golden age exemplified by his one-two punch from 1939 and 1940, The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers. Those films present Hope in excelsis but in the hands of directors Elliott Nugent and George Marshall they serve as master classes in the tricky art of the scare comedy.
- 9/19/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
We have one last batch of Blu-ray and DVD releases coming our way before we say goodbye (and good riddance) to the month of March. Scream Factory is keeping busy this Tuesday with their Blu-rays for both Bones and Munster, Go Home! (two titles this writer cannot wait to revisit in HD), and Vinegar Syndrome is showing some love to both Hollywood Horror House and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies this week as well.
Arrow Video has put together a 3-Disc Special Edition Collector’s Set of the Ringu films that fans will definitely want to pick up, and season two of The Purge television series heads home to DVD, too. Other releases for March 31st include Eat Brains Love, Evil River, and Terror in Woods Creek.
Bones (2001)
The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones is respected and loved as the neighborhood protector. When he is betrayed and brutally murdered by a corrupt cop,...
Arrow Video has put together a 3-Disc Special Edition Collector’s Set of the Ringu films that fans will definitely want to pick up, and season two of The Purge television series heads home to DVD, too. Other releases for March 31st include Eat Brains Love, Evil River, and Terror in Woods Creek.
Bones (2001)
The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones is respected and loved as the neighborhood protector. When he is betrayed and brutally murdered by a corrupt cop,...
- 3/31/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
It’s the formidable Bette Davis once again, in yet another superior William Wyler picture. The Somerset Maugham play is a classy vehicle for a star performance — the nagging legal ‘difficulty’ of plantation wife Leslie Crosbie is intertwined with colonial politics but remains entirely personal. Leslie isn’t exactly a poster girl for the feminist movement. Is she the victim of social pressures or just a petty, selfish monster? Screenwriter Howard Koch had to invent a twisted new ‘yellow peril’ finish to appease the Production Code … you know, the Code that some people say made Hollywood movies better.
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
The Letter
Blu-ray
The Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard.
Cinematography: Tony Gaudio
Art Direction: Carl Jules Weyl
Film Editor: George Amy, Warren Low
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Howard...
- 10/5/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything.
1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.
1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married.
1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything,...
1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.
1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married.
1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Unknown
- We Love Soaps
1970: A World Apart and The Best of Everything premiered on ABC.
Another World spinoff Somerset premiered on NBC.
Dark Shadows' Maggie found a mysterious note."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1970: Daytime soap opera A World Apart premiered on ABC. The show was created by Katherine L. Phillips, Irna Phillips' daughter, and combined Irna's own life story with examples of the generation gap. Susan Sarandon and Matthew Cowles were siblings Patrice and Chris Kahlman, adopted children of soap opera writer Better Kahlman (played by...
Another World spinoff Somerset premiered on NBC.
Dark Shadows' Maggie found a mysterious note."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1970: Daytime soap opera A World Apart premiered on ABC. The show was created by Katherine L. Phillips, Irna Phillips' daughter, and combined Irna's own life story with examples of the generation gap. Susan Sarandon and Matthew Cowles were siblings Patrice and Chris Kahlman, adopted children of soap opera writer Better Kahlman (played by...
- 4/1/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Hollywood classics don’t have to be stuffy — this 1940 swashbuckling adventure has style, great action, laughs and one of the most attractive screen couples of their day, Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell. And that’s not mentioning a superb fencing match, a great, quaint Spanish dance, and a smart cast directed by Rouben Mamoulian at his best. This German import is fully compatible with U.S. players.
The Mark of Zorro
Im Zeichen des Zorro
All-Region Blu-ray Special Edition
Explosive Media GmbH
1940 / B&W/colorized / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Im Zeichen des Zorro / Street Date September 27, 2018 / Available through Amazon.de / Eur 15,99
Starring: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard,
Eugene Pallette, J. Edward Bromberg, Montagu Love, Janet Beecher, George Regas, Chris-Pin Martin.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Film Editor: Robert Bischoff
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by John Taintor Foote, Garrett Fort
Produced by Raymond Griffith, Darryl F. Zanuck
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
“I am off to California,...
The Mark of Zorro
Im Zeichen des Zorro
All-Region Blu-ray Special Edition
Explosive Media GmbH
1940 / B&W/colorized / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Im Zeichen des Zorro / Street Date September 27, 2018 / Available through Amazon.de / Eur 15,99
Starring: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard,
Eugene Pallette, J. Edward Bromberg, Montagu Love, Janet Beecher, George Regas, Chris-Pin Martin.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Film Editor: Robert Bischoff
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by John Taintor Foote, Garrett Fort
Produced by Raymond Griffith, Darryl F. Zanuck
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
“I am off to California,...
- 3/2/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Regina King just won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as a mother determined to help her pregnant daughter clear her boyfriend’s name in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” It was an especially sweet victory, considering the Golden Globe and Critics Choice winner overcame snubs at SAG and BAFTA on her way to the podium. She became the 83rd person in history to clinch that prize, beating out Amy Adams (“Vice”), Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), Emma Stone (“The Favourite”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”). Tour our photo gallery above of every Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress, from the most recent winner to the very first one.
SEE2019 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 91st Academy Awards
The supporting categories were added in 1936 at the ninth Academy Awards, with Gale Sondergaard (“Anthony Adverse”) claiming the first victory in Best Supporting Actress. Initially,...
SEE2019 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 91st Academy Awards
The supporting categories were added in 1936 at the ninth Academy Awards, with Gale Sondergaard (“Anthony Adverse”) claiming the first victory in Best Supporting Actress. Initially,...
- 2/25/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything.
1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor
party. 1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married.
1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything, a short-lived ABC daytime soap opera that had only...
1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor
party. 1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married.
1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.
1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything, a short-lived ABC daytime soap opera that had only...
- 9/25/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1970: A World Apart and The Best of Everything premiered on ABC.
Another World spinoff Somerset premiered on NBC.
Dark Shadows' Maggie found a mysterious note."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1970: Daytime soap opera A World Apart premiered on ABC. The show was created by Katherine L. Phillips, Irna Phillips' daughter, and combined Irna's own life story with examples of the generation gap. Susan Sarandon...
Another World spinoff Somerset premiered on NBC.
Dark Shadows' Maggie found a mysterious note."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1970: Daytime soap opera A World Apart premiered on ABC. The show was created by Katherine L. Phillips, Irna Phillips' daughter, and combined Irna's own life story with examples of the generation gap. Susan Sarandon...
- 4/12/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
- 2/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
The second of Bette Davis’ three collaborations with William Wyler (the first was 1938’s Jezebel boasting a brilliant Davis performance), this 1940 melodrama features a somewhat convoluted plot mixing betrayal and revenge while playing out in an overheated Malaysian setting. The theatrical hijinks are grimly effective and Davis and Wyler are near their peak, not to mention the underrated Gale Sondergaard, whose forbidding beauty is used to good effect as a vengeful widow.
- 4/3/2017
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Did you ever see an actor/actress in a famous role and then hear later that they were not the first, or even the second choice to play the iconic part? Many of the legendary movie characters began as a vehicle for a different star than the one who we know-and-love in the part. Here are a few of the greatest examples of famous "Almosts'.
Christopher Walken As Han Solo: George Lucas had a very hard time finding his Han Solo in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). This character was the last of the lead figures to be cast. Lucas’ leading contender at one point was none other than Christopher Walken. Just think about the possibilities in that performance! However, a chance meeting with Harrison Ford (Who was working as a carpenter at the time) inspired Lucas to cast Ford in the part instead, which launched him into super stardom in the 80s.
Christopher Walken As Han Solo: George Lucas had a very hard time finding his Han Solo in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). This character was the last of the lead figures to be cast. Lucas’ leading contender at one point was none other than Christopher Walken. Just think about the possibilities in that performance! However, a chance meeting with Harrison Ford (Who was working as a carpenter at the time) inspired Lucas to cast Ford in the part instead, which launched him into super stardom in the 80s.
- 4/30/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
It’s time to talk about remakes again. In this installment of our series, we’re going to be looking at a revamped version of one of the most legendary fictional heroes ever. This week, Cinelinx looks at The Mask of Zorro (1998).
The Zorro character was introduced in the 1919 serialized story, “The Curse of Capistrano”, written by Johnston McCulley, and was published in All-Stories Weekly, the same magazine that first published Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” and “John Carter: Warlord of Mars”. Zorro was partly the inspiration for Batman. (Parenthetically, in DC comics, Bruce Wayne and his parents were coming out of a theater after seeing a film version of Zorro when his parents were killed.)
The story has been adapted several times. The first time was a silent film version in 1920, starring the cinema’s first-ever action star Douglas Fairbanks as the title character. However, we...
The Zorro character was introduced in the 1919 serialized story, “The Curse of Capistrano”, written by Johnston McCulley, and was published in All-Stories Weekly, the same magazine that first published Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” and “John Carter: Warlord of Mars”. Zorro was partly the inspiration for Batman. (Parenthetically, in DC comics, Bruce Wayne and his parents were coming out of a theater after seeing a film version of Zorro when his parents were killed.)
The story has been adapted several times. The first time was a silent film version in 1920, starring the cinema’s first-ever action star Douglas Fairbanks as the title character. However, we...
- 4/4/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
Vivien Leigh ca. late 1940s. Vivien Leigh movies: now controversial 'Gone with the Wind,' little-seen '21 Days Together' on TCM Vivien Leigh is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 18, '15, as TCM's “Summer Under the Stars” series continues. Mostly a stage actress, Leigh was seen in only 19 films – in about 15 of which as a leading lady or star – in a movie career spanning three decades. Good for the relatively few who saw her on stage; bad for all those who have access to only a few performances of one of the most remarkable acting talents of the 20th century. This evening, TCM is showing three Vivien Leigh movies: Gone with the Wind (1939), 21 Days Together (1940), and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Leigh won Best Actress Academy Awards for the first and the third title. The little-remembered film in-between is a TCM premiere. 'Gone with the Wind' Seemingly all...
- 8/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Olivia de Havilland picture U.S. labor history-making 'Gone with the Wind' star and two-time Best Actress winner Olivia de Havilland turns 99 (This Olivia de Havilland article is currently being revised and expanded.) Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland, the only surviving major Gone with the Wind cast member and oldest surviving Oscar winner, is turning 99 years old today, July 1.[1] Also known for her widely publicized feud with sister Joan Fontaine and for her eight movies with Errol Flynn, de Havilland should be remembered as well for having made Hollywood labor history. This particular history has nothing to do with de Havilland's films, her two Oscars, Gone with the Wind, Joan Fontaine, or Errol Flynn. Instead, history was made as a result of a legal fight: after winning a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in the mid-'40s, Olivia de Havilland put an end to treacherous...
- 7/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'The Fixer' movie with Alan Bates, Dirk Bogarde and Ian Holm (background) 'The Fixer' movie review: 1968 anti-Semitism drama wrecked by cast, direction, and writing In 1969, director John Frankenheimer declared that he felt "better about The Fixer than anything I've ever done in my life." Considering Frankenheimer's previous output – Seven Days in May, the much admired The Manchurian Candidate – it is hard to believe that the director was being anything but a good P.R. man for his latest release. Adapted from Bernard Malamud's National Book Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (itself based on the real story of Jewish brick-factory worker Menahem Mendel Beilis), The Fixer is an overlong, overblown, and overwrought contrivance that, albeit well meaning, carelessly misuses most of the talent involved while sadistically abusing the patience – and at times the intelligence – of its viewers. John Frankenheimer overindulges in 1960s kitsch John Frankenheimer...
- 5/13/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'The Devil Strikes at Night,' with Mario Adorf as World War II era serial killer Bruno Lüdke 'The Devil Strikes at Night' movie review: Serial killing vs. mass murder in unsubtle but intriguing World War II political drama After more than a decade in Hollywood, German director Robert Siodmak (Academy Award nominated for the 1946 film noir The Killers) resumed his European career in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he directed The Devil Strikes at Night / Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam, an intriguing, well-crafted crime drama about the pursuit of a serial killer – and its political consequences – during the last months of the mass-murderous Nazi regime. Inspired by real events, The Devil Strikes at Night begins as war-scarred Hamburg is deeply shaken by the horrific murder of a waitress. Through the Homicide Bureau, inspector Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) begins an investigation that leads him to a mentally disabled laborer,...
- 5/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'The Letter' 1940, with Bette Davis 'The Letter' 1940 movie: Bette Davis superb in masterful studio era production Directed by William Wyler and adapted by Howard Koch from W. Somerset Maugham's 1927 play, The Letter is one of the very best films made during the Golden Age of the Hollywood studios. Wyler's unsparing, tough-as-nails handling of the potentially melodramatic proceedings; Bette Davis' complex portrayal of a passionate woman who also happens to be a self-absorbed, calculating murderess; and Tony Gaudio's atmospheric black-and-white cinematography are only a few of the flawless elements found in this classic tale of deceit. 'The Letter': 'U' for 'Unfaithful' The Letter begins in the dark of night, as a series of gunshots are heard in a Malayan rubber plantation. Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) walks out the door of her house firing shots at (barely seen on camera) local playboy Jeff Hammond, who falls dead on the ground.
- 5/8/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Honorary Award: Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth among dozens of women bypassed by the Academy (photo: Honorary Award non-winner Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Blvd.') (See previous post: "Honorary Oscars: Doris Day, Danielle Darrieux Snubbed.") Part three of this four-part article about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Award bypassing women basically consists of a long, long — and for the most part quite prestigious — list of deceased women who, some way or other, left their mark on the film world. Some of the names found below are still well known; others were huge in their day, but are now all but forgotten. Yet, just because most people (and the media) suffer from long-term — and even medium-term — memory loss, that doesn't mean these women were any less deserving of an Honorary Oscar. So, among the distinguished female film professionals in Hollywood and elsewhere who have passed away without...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Review by Sam Moffitt
I never was a fan of Shirley Temple, far from it. I do recall seeing most of her movies years ago. Back in the Sixties Channel 11, in St. Louis, used to have a Shirley Temple Theater on weekend afternoons. My sister Judy, for some reason, had to watch those Shirley Temple films. So I can recall seeing Bright Eyes, the Little Colonel, Heidi, Little Miss Marker and what have you.
To say I was not impressed would be a major understatement. Even as a young kid I realized there was a strict formula to Shirley’s movies, namely her sunny disposition and optimistic outlook would win over cranky old adults and straighten out bratty little kids, who were usually the villains, in her films, and that was about all.
I do recognize and respect Shirley Temple’s place in film history. She was the biggest star...
I never was a fan of Shirley Temple, far from it. I do recall seeing most of her movies years ago. Back in the Sixties Channel 11, in St. Louis, used to have a Shirley Temple Theater on weekend afternoons. My sister Judy, for some reason, had to watch those Shirley Temple films. So I can recall seeing Bright Eyes, the Little Colonel, Heidi, Little Miss Marker and what have you.
To say I was not impressed would be a major understatement. Even as a young kid I realized there was a strict formula to Shirley’s movies, namely her sunny disposition and optimistic outlook would win over cranky old adults and straighten out bratty little kids, who were usually the villains, in her films, and that was about all.
I do recognize and respect Shirley Temple’s place in film history. She was the biggest star...
- 2/24/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Both Lupita Nyongo ("12 Years a Slave") and Barkhad Abdi ("Captain Phillips") have earned Oscar nominations for their feature film debuts, making this the first time in 17 years that two actors have done so. The last time was Edward Norton ("Primal Fear") and Emily Watson ("Breaking the Waves") in 1996; if their careers are any indication, Nyongo and Abdi have a lot to look forward to regardless of the Oscar results. Since winning at Critics' Choice and the SAG Awards, Nyongo has dramatically widened her lead in the Best Supporting Actress race over Golden Globe champ Jennifer Lawrence ("American Hustle"). Indeed, Supporting Actress has crowned more debuts that any other category; Nyongo would be the ninth, following: Gale Sondergaard ("Anthony Adverse," 1936) Katina Paxinou ("For Whom the Bell Tolls," 1943) Mercedes McCambridge ("All the King's Men," 1949) ...
- 1/24/2014
- Gold Derby
‘The Cat and the Canary’ 1939: Paulette Goddard / Bob Hope haunted house comedy among Halloween 2013 movies at Packard Theater There’s much to recommend among the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus and State Theater screenings in Culpeper, Virginia, in October 2013, including the until recently super-rare Bob Hope / Paulette Goddard haunted house comedy The Cat and the Canary (1939). And that’s one more reason to hope that the Republican Party’s foaming-at-the-mouth extremists (and their voters and supporters), ever bent on destroying the economic and sociopolitical fabric of the United States (and of the rest of the world), will not succeed in shutting down the federal government and thus potentially wreak havoc throughout the U.S. and beyond. (Photo: Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in The Cat and the Canary.) Screening on Thursday, October 31, at the Packard Theater, Elliott Nugent’s The Cat and the Canary is a remake of Paul Leni...
- 9/29/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bette Davis movies: TCM schedule on August 14 (photo: Bette Davis in ‘Dangerous,’ with Franchot Tone) See previous post: “Bette Davis Eyes: They’re Watching You Tonight.” 3:00 Am Parachute Jumper (1933). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Harold Huber, Leo Carrillo, Thomas E. Jackson, Lyle Talbot, Leon Ames, Stanley Blystone, Reginald Barlow, George Chandler, Walter Brennan, Pat O’Malley, Paul Panzer, Nat Pendleton, Dewey Robinson, Tom Wilson, Sheila Terry. Bw-72 mins. 4:30 Am The Girl From 10th Avenue (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Phillip Reed, Katharine Alexander, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bill Elliott, Edward McWade, André Cheron, Wedgwood Nowell, John Quillan, Mary Treen. Bw-69 mins. 6:00 Am Dangerous (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran, Walter Walker, Richard Carle, George Irving, Pierre Watkin, Douglas Wood,...
- 8/15/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Deanna Durbin in the 1940s: From wholesome musicals to film noir sex worker (photo: Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin cast against type in the un-Christmas-y Christmas Holiday) [See previous post: "Deanna Durbin Without Joe Pasternak: Adrift at Universal."] The Deanna Durbin vs. Universal dispute was settled in early 1942, when the actress was supposedly granted director and story approval. But things didn’t go all that smoothly from then on. There would be no loan-outs to the more opulent MGM, and Durbin would later complain that Universal refused to abide by her requests. Also, for the first time since her career skyrocketed in 1936, Durbin was absent from the screen for a whole year. The key reason there were no 1942 Deanna Durbin movies was the troubled production of her next star vehicle, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, in which Durbin tries to smuggle Chinese orphans into the U.S., and which underwent not only various title changes, but also various directors and various script...
- 5/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I'm calling it right now: The "75 Best Supporting Actresses" YouTube video, where a whippersnapper named Matt imitates all 75 winners of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a few minutes, is and will be the best video of 2012 (excepting those wonderful Verbal Vogueing and Weeklings clips, of course). It's a hilarious exhibition of talent, creativity and raw gay nerve. And it validates everyone's obsession with award shows too. Now every Best Supporting Actress from Hattie McDaniel to Jennifer Connelly is immortalized in one flavorful, quirky mix. It's not just entertaining; it's important. Let's bow down.
I caught up with the creator himself, an enigmatic YouTube star who goes by the Twitter handle @Diariesofdoom and prefers to go by just his first name, to talk about his marvelous video. We also spoke about the best Oscar moments, the worst Oscar winners, and the awardees who helped spread his gem on YouTube.
I caught up with the creator himself, an enigmatic YouTube star who goes by the Twitter handle @Diariesofdoom and prefers to go by just his first name, to talk about his marvelous video. We also spoke about the best Oscar moments, the worst Oscar winners, and the awardees who helped spread his gem on YouTube.
- 4/16/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
I've waited a few days to collect my thoughts and weigh in on the most important YouTube video since Corgis Enjoy A Treadmill, so here goes: A fast-yapping vlogger who goes by the name The Doomsday Diaries (and the Twitter handle @Diariesofdoom) zeroed in on The Academy Awards' Best Supporting Actress category -- the greatest Oscar category, by the way -- and toasted it by reenacting scenes/moments from all 75 winning performances since 1936.
Let me be clear: This is a staggering feat. This guy has democratized everyone from Eva Marie Saint and Lila Kedrova to Gale Sondergaard and Helen Hayes in the clippiest, hippest way possible. It's explosive. It's gigantic. It's a pink diamond. And so much of it is amazingly good. It's like a version of "The Snatch Game"from RuPaul's Drag Race, except with dignified actresses up for satire and not, say, Snooki.
I thought we'd have a little debate.
Let me be clear: This is a staggering feat. This guy has democratized everyone from Eva Marie Saint and Lila Kedrova to Gale Sondergaard and Helen Hayes in the clippiest, hippest way possible. It's explosive. It's gigantic. It's a pink diamond. And so much of it is amazingly good. It's like a version of "The Snatch Game"from RuPaul's Drag Race, except with dignified actresses up for satire and not, say, Snooki.
I thought we'd have a little debate.
- 4/11/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
This guy deserves his own Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (or some sort of equivalent thereof) after putting on a show like this.
Watch as one man time-warps through Oscar history as he channels all 75 winners of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, from Gale Sondergaard in "Anthony Adverse" (1936) through Octavia Spencer in "The Help" (2011), in just under five minutes.
His (extremely) multi-faceted performance ranges from spot-on imitations (Claire Trevor in "Key Largo") to over-the-top parodies (Ruth Gordon in "Rosemary's Baby") to a mixture of both (Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"). And, like the Oscars themselves, there are a few that are in (rather hilarious) poor taste (especially his Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker").
We're also rather fond of his take on Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential," just because … well, he's right.
Enjoy this one-of-a-kind Oscar summary below, and thanks to Movieline for the find.
Watch as one man time-warps through Oscar history as he channels all 75 winners of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, from Gale Sondergaard in "Anthony Adverse" (1936) through Octavia Spencer in "The Help" (2011), in just under five minutes.
His (extremely) multi-faceted performance ranges from spot-on imitations (Claire Trevor in "Key Largo") to over-the-top parodies (Ruth Gordon in "Rosemary's Baby") to a mixture of both (Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"). And, like the Oscars themselves, there are a few that are in (rather hilarious) poor taste (especially his Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker").
We're also rather fond of his take on Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential," just because … well, he's right.
Enjoy this one-of-a-kind Oscar summary below, and thanks to Movieline for the find.
- 4/7/2012
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
Oscar season may be a fading memory at this point, but that doesn't stop us from loving this clip!
A video showing YouTube user The Doomsday Diaries paying tribute all of the Academy's 75 Best Supporting Actress winners in the span of five minutes has gone viral in the gay blogosphere.
"Some of you may know that Best Supporting Actress is my favorite category," he quips. "If I could, I would make love to every single one of those women!"
And all of them are there -- from Gale Sondergaard, who won in 1936 for "Anthony Adverse," right up through Melissa Leo, who nabbed the award in 2011 for "The Fighter" (the clip was made before Octavia Spencer won this year for her turn in "The Help"). The segments which pay tribute to the musical winners (including Rita Moreno in "West Side Story" and Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago") are by far the most humorous,...
A video showing YouTube user The Doomsday Diaries paying tribute all of the Academy's 75 Best Supporting Actress winners in the span of five minutes has gone viral in the gay blogosphere.
"Some of you may know that Best Supporting Actress is my favorite category," he quips. "If I could, I would make love to every single one of those women!"
And all of them are there -- from Gale Sondergaard, who won in 1936 for "Anthony Adverse," right up through Melissa Leo, who nabbed the award in 2011 for "The Fighter" (the clip was made before Octavia Spencer won this year for her turn in "The Help"). The segments which pay tribute to the musical winners (including Rita Moreno in "West Side Story" and Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago") are by far the most humorous,...
- 4/6/2012
- by Curtis M. Wong
- Huffington Post
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat is a monthly newspaper run by Steve DeBellis, a well know St. Louis historian, and it’s the largest one-man newspaper in the world. The concept of The Globe is that there is an old historic headline, then all the articles in that issue are written as though it’s the year that the headline is from. It’s an unusual concept but the paper is now in its 25th successful year! Steve and I collaborated recently on an all-Vincent Price issue of The Globe and he has asked me to write a regular monthly movie-related column. Since there is no on-line version of The Globe, I will be posting all of my articles here at We Are Movie Geeks. This month’s St. Louis Globe-Democrat is written as if it’s 1946.
Motion picture audiences may be curious who this odd-looking new horror star by...
Motion picture audiences may be curious who this odd-looking new horror star by...
- 6/15/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
- 4/11/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Today for the International Women's History Centennial, a few "firsts" in movies. Add some in the comments if you want! I was 2/3rds done with this when I spotted Cinematical's "women in cinematic history but I wanted to make this a little more "first"y and loopier and obviously a bit more awardsy in nature since we play it like that.
A Mary Pickford biography | Florence Lawrence "The Biograph Girl"
Silents
First movie star: That's "The Biograph Girl" Florence Lawrence Or...
First "Oprah" i.e. first woman in entertainment to basic control the universe: Mary Pickford was, like Florence Lawrence, famous by sight before actor names went in credits. Pickford was also known as "America's Sweetheart" a title that the media has virtually never tired of passing on down to newish popular actresses ever since. Mary was one of the founders of AMPAS and a studio founder too. She also commanded astronomical wealth.
A Mary Pickford biography | Florence Lawrence "The Biograph Girl"
Silents
First movie star: That's "The Biograph Girl" Florence Lawrence Or...
First "Oprah" i.e. first woman in entertainment to basic control the universe: Mary Pickford was, like Florence Lawrence, famous by sight before actor names went in credits. Pickford was also known as "America's Sweetheart" a title that the media has virtually never tired of passing on down to newish popular actresses ever since. Mary was one of the founders of AMPAS and a studio founder too. She also commanded astronomical wealth.
- 3/9/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Paul Muni, Luise Rainer in Sidney Franklin's The Good Earth Luise Rainer Reminisces: The Oscars, Greta Garbo, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway – Part I Why did she leave Hollywood in 1938, after only nine films? (Actually, eight at MGM from 1935-1938; she then quit Hollywood, but returned for one, Hostages, at Paramount in 1943.) Luise Rainer explains: "I felt the work in films that I was supposed to do wasn't worth it. I felt I didn't become an actress to make second-class nonsense." Among the "second-class nonsense" were, apparently, The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937), once again opposite William Powell; Big City (1937), opposite Spencer Tracy; and the — in my view, really good — Dramatic School (1938), featuring the likes of Paulette Goddard, Lana Turner, Genevieve Tobin, and fellow Oscar winner Gale Sondergaard. "Because I got the Oscars," Rainer adds, "they felt 'Rainer can do anything!' So, they threw films at me that [...]...
- 2/25/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
There are a significant number of pundits who are betting that Hailee Steinfeld, the 14-year-old star of “True Grit,” will win the best supporting actress Oscar over Melissa Leo, the veteran thespian who won top honors this year from the Bfca, HFPA, and SAG for her performance in “The Fighter.” As great as Steinfeld is in her film — and she is great — the following stat may make them reconsider their pick…
Over the 73 years prior to this year in which the Academy Awards featured a best supporting actress category, only eight women who were nominated in it for their big screen debut — as is Steinfeld — wound up taking home the Oscar. That’s less than 11% of them. They were…
Gale Sondergaard for “Anthony Adverse” (1936) Katina Paxinou for “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1943) Mercedes McCambridge for “All the King’s Men” (1949) Eva Marie Saint for “On the Waterfront” (1954) Jo Van Fleet...
Over the 73 years prior to this year in which the Academy Awards featured a best supporting actress category, only eight women who were nominated in it for their big screen debut — as is Steinfeld — wound up taking home the Oscar. That’s less than 11% of them. They were…
Gale Sondergaard for “Anthony Adverse” (1936) Katina Paxinou for “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1943) Mercedes McCambridge for “All the King’s Men” (1949) Eva Marie Saint for “On the Waterfront” (1954) Jo Van Fleet...
- 2/21/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
The Letter (1940) Direction: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Gale Sondergaard, Frieda Inescort, Sen Yung Screenplay: Howard Koch; from W. Somerset Maugham's 1927 play, itself based on a Maugham story found in the 1924 collection The Casuarina Tree Oscar Movies Highly Recommended Bette Davis, The Letter Directed by William Wyler and adapted by Howard Koch from W. Somerset Maugham's 1927 play, The Letter is one of the very best films made during the Golden Age of the Hollywood studios. Wyler's unsparing, tough-as-nails handling of the potentially melodramatic proceedings; Bette Davis' complex portrayal of a passionate woman who also happens to be a calculating murderess; and Tony Gaudio's atmospheric black-and-white cinematography are only a few of the flawless elements found in this classic tale of deceit. The Letter begins in the dark of night, as a series of gunshots are heard in a Malayan rubber plantation. Leslie...
- 2/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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