This weekend will see the wide theatrical release of Saturday Night, Jason Reitman’s comic chronicle about what happened at NBC’s New York studios commencing 10 PM EST on October 11, 1975—an hour and a half before America was first introduced…
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Lasers, Lizard Men, and Loups-Garous: Jonny Quest Turns 60!
In 1964, when I was in First Grade, I had a very simple Friday (later Thursday) night routine. Just before 7:30, after finishing any homework and my dinner, I’d walk from our rowhouse to our next-door neighbors, the Mutschlers, and…
Read more →What’s Your Favorite Val Lewton Horror Film?
Halloween season invariably means treats for collectors of horror on hard media, and this year’s proving no different as The Criterion Collection has readied an expectedly extras-laden double feature from the storied 1940s RKO shock output of producer Val Lewton,…
Read more →Edward Everett Horton: Timid, Timorous, and Talented
He portrayed befuddled butlers, henpecked husbands, addled aristocrats, and more in a stage, screen and TV career that spanned more than seven decades, and he was one of Classic Hollywood’s busiest supporting players. Chances are, however, that if you’re familiar…
Read more →Who’s Your Favorite Actor to Have Played the Joker?
With Joker: Folie à Deux opening in theaters, Joaquin Phoenix returns to the role that won him the Oscar as party clown turned vigilante Arthur Fleck, now institutionalized as he awaits trial for his crimes—and finding a soul mate in…
Read more →The First Black President of the U.S.? James Earl Jones as “The Man”
According to several very authentic-looking news sites, this is a presidential election year in America. And as often happens at this time, movie buffs are trotting out their quadrennial lists of favorite cinematic chief executives. From the real-life (Daniel Day-Lewis…
Read more →Remembering Maggie Smith…And How She Helped Me Win $250,000
The death last week of Dame Maggie Smith at the age of 89 triggered a rush of online pieces saluting the two-time Academy Award winner and her memorable roles on stage, screen, and television. When I learned of her passing,…
Read more →What’s Your Favorite Maggie Smith Performance?
On September 27th, Dame Maggie Smith passed away at age 89, leaving behind a long and enduring legacy of performances in movies and television, and on the London and New York stages, in a career spanning seven decades. Having obtained…
Read more →“Hello, Doll!”: Remembering The Andy Griffith Show’s “Fun Girls”
It’s a funny thing when a new character is introduced into an established TV sitcom. Some become so popular that they get their own series (Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney on Happy Days); others stay on as regular co-stars (Steve…
Read more →To Bardot on Her 90th
Few cinema sex goddesses can lay claim to the kind of transcendent global impact made by pert Parisienne Brigitte Bardot, whose unique brand of spontaneous sensuality made her one of film’s foremost fantasy objects from the late ’50s on. Born…
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