July 3, 1905: The long tradition of cinematic canine heroes begins in England with the debut of the seven-minute melodrama Rescued by Rover. June 30, 1929: Alfred Hitchcock‘s Blackmail, which nearly saw completion as a silent film, was re-shot with…
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Jaws: On A 35-Year Obsession
“There is a creature alive today that has survived millions of years of evolution. Without change, without passion, and without logic. It lives to kill. A mindless eating machine, it will attack and devour anything. It is as if God……
Read more →The Wolfman (2010): A Movie Review
The Wolfman: A Movie Review After the death of his brother, Shakespearean actor Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) returns to the family stately home in Blackmoor. His father John (Anthony Hopkins) and brother’s fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt) wait for him…
Read more →Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work & Other Comedy Films
Comedy is not pretty. If you don’t believe the saying popularized by Steve Martin during his standup years, then take a gander at movies Hollywood has given us about comedians. In most cases, they are lonely, neurotic, insecure, sad people. …
Read more →First Time Watch: The Night Of The Hunter
People often say, “Beware of false prophets.” It’s an important life lesson, and Charles Laughton’s The Night Of The Hunter (his only credited directorial effort) perfectly exemplifies this warning. Another invaluable rule for folks to heed is, “Beware of false…
Read more →What’s In The Basket This Time?
In the early days of this blog, I featured the trailer for Basket Case–perhaps the most underrated horror filck of the 1980s. Even though Duane and his mutated, basket-dwelling psycho brother Belial seemingly perished at the end of their first…
Read more →Champion (1949): A Classic Movie Review
Director: Mark Robson. (Significant films as director: The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Trial, The Harder They Fall, Peyton Place, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Von Ryan’s Express) Cinematographer: Franz Planer (Golden Globe winner for this film, Academy Award nominee.)…
Read more →Movie Poll: What Saturday Night Live Cast Member Has Made the Biggest Splash on the Big Screen
A Bijou Flashback: The Three Faces of Cowboy Star Tom Keene
Under the old studio system movie moguls groomed promising new stars by first creating for them a new name. Today we look at the curious screen career of a B-movie star who acted under three different names, but is remembered…
Read more →This Week In Film History, 06.20.10
June 24, 1916: Mary Pickford signs Hollywood’s first “million-dollar contract,” guaranteeing her at least $10,000 a week over its two-year term. June 25, 1951: After 27 years at the helm of MGM, Louis B. Mayer resigns following a heated feud…
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