Based on Emile Zola’s 1980 novel La Bête Humaine, Fritz Lang’s Human Desire is an entirely different beast than Jean Renoir’s 1938 adaptation. The Renoir film’s pointed humanism and everybody-has-their-reasons ethos is swapped out here for a considerably steelier point of view. Indeed, the film is less interested in its characters’ interiority than it is in viewing their lives through a fatalistic lens.
What’s most compelling about Lang’s film is how elegantly it toys with noir tropes and subverts our expectations, particularly with regard to Vicki (Gloria Grahame), who’s initially presented as your prototypical femme fatale. Vicki is trying to convince her new lover, Jeff (Glenn Ford), to murder her slovenly, abusive husband, Carl (Broderick Crawford). It’s a setup familiar from countless noirs, most notably Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Tay Garnett’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, so the audience is already...
What’s most compelling about Lang’s film is how elegantly it toys with noir tropes and subverts our expectations, particularly with regard to Vicki (Gloria Grahame), who’s initially presented as your prototypical femme fatale. Vicki is trying to convince her new lover, Jeff (Glenn Ford), to murder her slovenly, abusive husband, Carl (Broderick Crawford). It’s a setup familiar from countless noirs, most notably Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Tay Garnett’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, so the audience is already...
- 7/19/2023
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
The Western is back, again. After it died. Prior to which it came back again.
As film historian and co-host of the How the West was Cast podcast, Andrew Patrick Nelson argues, journalists and historians love to write about the Western being dead just as much as they enjoy writing about its resurgence. However, this ebb and flow is part of a predictable life cycle that has kept the genre alive for over a century.
The origins of the frontier narrative on our public consciousness dates to 1845, when John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “manifest destiny” in an essay about America’s perceived right to expansion. As the Wild West came to an end and the frontier became settled, Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his “frontier thesis” in 1893. Turner hit on the binary conflicts that make the Western as a mythological place so engaging. The frontier, as he defined it,...
As film historian and co-host of the How the West was Cast podcast, Andrew Patrick Nelson argues, journalists and historians love to write about the Western being dead just as much as they enjoy writing about its resurgence. However, this ebb and flow is part of a predictable life cycle that has kept the genre alive for over a century.
The origins of the frontier narrative on our public consciousness dates to 1845, when John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “manifest destiny” in an essay about America’s perceived right to expansion. As the Wild West came to an end and the frontier became settled, Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his “frontier thesis” in 1893. Turner hit on the binary conflicts that make the Western as a mythological place so engaging. The frontier, as he defined it,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The first movie to directly confront McCarthyism! Or so said the editorials touting this ‘Long-Awaited Screen Event’ in which ‘Bette Davis Hits the Screen in a Cyclone of Dramatic Fury!’ The storm of the title was based on a real activist in Oklahoma who lost her job for promoting equal rights. Bette’s polite librarian is victimized by small-minded civic types; a subplot depicts the traumatic reaction of one of her patrons, a child expected to despise her as a traitor to the country. Daniel Taradash’s movie is an excellent starting point to discuss the thorny dramatic subgenre of liberal social issue movies.
Storm Center
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 155
1956 / B&w / 1:78 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date September 30, 2022 / Available from / au 39.95
Starring:
Bette Davis, Brian Keith, Kim Hunter, Paul Kelly, Joe Mantell, Kevin Coughlin, Sallie Brophie, Howard Wierum, Curtis Cooksey, Michael Raffetto, Joseph Kearns, Edward Platt, Kathryn Grant, Howard Wendell, Malcolm Atterbury,...
Storm Center
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 155
1956 / B&w / 1:78 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date September 30, 2022 / Available from / au 39.95
Starring:
Bette Davis, Brian Keith, Kim Hunter, Paul Kelly, Joe Mantell, Kevin Coughlin, Sallie Brophie, Howard Wierum, Curtis Cooksey, Michael Raffetto, Joseph Kearns, Edward Platt, Kathryn Grant, Howard Wendell, Malcolm Atterbury,...
- 11/12/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The triple-threat talent Gordon Parks gets carte blanche to film his own autobiographical novel back in his old home town — and the result is one of the better depictions of growing up black in the Midwest. Parks’ memories don’t wield a fiery political agenda, nor does he say that ‘there were good people on both sides.’ It was what it was and it wasn’t always pretty. As young Newt, Kyle Johnson ‘does the right thing’ and his experience helps explain the pervading lack of faith in justice, to put it mildly. Parks’ beautiful film remains positive, reflecting his warm memories, and his direction gives us a full ensemble of black talent at work: this is said to be the first Hollywood film produced and directed by a black man.
The Learning Tree
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1107
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Kyle Johnson,...
The Learning Tree
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1107
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Kyle Johnson,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
As the psychotic delivery man whose hatred is reserved for women, Arthur Franz found the perfect vehicle for his flinty personality in this 1952 policier from director Edward Dmytryk. Produced by Stanley Kramer, the film is notable for cinematographer Burnett Guffey’s neo-realist take on the Bay Area locale. Franz must have been disappointed that this didn’t make him a star, but the loyal Dmytryk managed to find roles for him in many of his big budget assignments over the years.
The post The Sniper appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post The Sniper appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 7/19/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Witness six noir heroes, doing what noir heroes do: one crooked gambler, one psycho, another psycho with access to a gun, a dope railroaded into a prison sentence, and an even bigger dope who doesn’t realize he’s poisoning himself. That’s only five, but the sixth is a cop, and not a particularly compromised one, the way we like ’em in noir. This third Columbia Noir Collection can boast big stars and some name directors, beautiful HD transfers and some fascinating short subjects as extras.
Columbia Noir #3
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1947-57 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / Street Date May 17, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Dick Powell, Lee J Cobb, Nina Foch, William Holden, Edmond O’Brien, Dorothy Malone, Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Marie Windsor, and Vince Edwards.
Directed by Robert Rossen, Rudolph Maté, Henry Levin, Gordon Douglas, Edward Dmytryk, Irving Lerner
Powerhouse Indicator’s...
Columbia Noir #3
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1947-57 / B&w / 1:37 Academy, 1:85 widescreen / Street Date May 17, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Dick Powell, Lee J Cobb, Nina Foch, William Holden, Edmond O’Brien, Dorothy Malone, Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Marie Windsor, and Vince Edwards.
Directed by Robert Rossen, Rudolph Maté, Henry Levin, Gordon Douglas, Edward Dmytryk, Irving Lerner
Powerhouse Indicator’s...
- 5/4/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The UK disc purveyors Powerhouse Indicator are back with a second installment of Region B Film Noir goodies from the darker end of the Columbia Torch Lady’s film vault. This time around we have a couple of Femme Fatale thrillers (does she or doesn’t she?), a trio of organized crime mellers, and a hit man saga so minimalist, it’s almost avant-garde. The icing on the noir cake is the curated selection of extras, plus the absurd counter-programming of Three Stooges short subjects. Why did nobody think to cast Moe, Larry and Shemp as cold-blooded Noir hit men?
Columbia Noir #2
Region B Blu-ray
Framed, 711 Ocean Drive, The Mob, Affair in Trinidad, Tight Spot, Murder by Contract
Powerhouse Indicator
1947-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen & 1:37 Academy / Street Date February 15, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Edmond O’Brien, Joanne Dru, Broderick Crawford, Richard Kiley, Rita Hayworth,...
Columbia Noir #2
Region B Blu-ray
Framed, 711 Ocean Drive, The Mob, Affair in Trinidad, Tight Spot, Murder by Contract
Powerhouse Indicator
1947-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen & 1:37 Academy / Street Date February 15, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £49.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Edmond O’Brien, Joanne Dru, Broderick Crawford, Richard Kiley, Rita Hayworth,...
- 2/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Viavision’s first deluxe Film Noir boxed set gives us four titles that emphasize star power — Glenn Ford, Ray Milland, Kirk Douglas and Lee J. Cobb. The Australian release includes three Columbia titles and the home video premiere of a rare Paramount picture. Which ones are core Noir and which are merely ‘noir adjacent?’ The special extras invest in a quartet of audio commentaries from the top experts and Film Noir Foundation creators Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode. There’s nothing that pair doesn’t know about these pictures.
Essential Film Noir Collection 1
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 18, 19, 20, 21
1947-1957 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 366 min. / Street Date October 28, 2020 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / 149.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan; Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell; Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, Joseph Wiseman, Lee Grant; Lee J. Cobb, Richard Boone, Kerwin Mathews.
Directed by Richard Wallace, John Farrow, William Wyler, Vincent Sherman
The Australian disc boutique...
Essential Film Noir Collection 1
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 18, 19, 20, 21
1947-1957 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 366 min. / Street Date October 28, 2020 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / 149.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan; Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell; Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, Joseph Wiseman, Lee Grant; Lee J. Cobb, Richard Boone, Kerwin Mathews.
Directed by Richard Wallace, John Farrow, William Wyler, Vincent Sherman
The Australian disc boutique...
- 1/16/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Region B Blu-ray-capable noir fans have a formidable six-pack of noir crime pictures on tap: a WW2 espionage thriller, two caper pix and the show that launched the notion of a hit man who’s both charismatic and psychopathic. The list of leading actors is stellar as well: Glenn Ford, Kim Novak, Eli Wallach, Brian Keith, James Whitmore and Nina Foch. Do you like extras? Like to read about the movies you see? No video extra has been left behind, and Pi’s big yellow box contains a 120-page book. Plus — several newly remastered Three Stooges shorts. Don’t forget, Noir and Stooges go together like sanity and American politics!
Columbia Noir #1
Region B Blu-ray
Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man, Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle, The Lineup
Powerhouse Indicator
1945-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / 8 hours, 11 min. / Street Date November 30, 2020 / available...
Columbia Noir #1
Region B Blu-ray
Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man, Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle, The Lineup
Powerhouse Indicator
1945-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / 8 hours, 11 min. / Street Date November 30, 2020 / available...
- 11/7/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of the seemingly surefire locks on Oscar night is in Best Cinematography. Roger Deakins is the runaway favorite to take home the statuette for “1917,” per our odds, and after waiting 23 years for his first Oscar, he could now join the two-time winners club in the second fastest timespan.
Deakins finally won a long-awaited Oscar two years ago for “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) on his 14th nomination — his first having been for 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption.” He had no projects in 2018, making this his first bid since his win, so perhaps this could be the beginning of a win streak.
The legendary cinematographer would be the 15h person with two victories — fitting since this is his 15th nomination — a list that includes John Toll, Janusz Kaminski, Haskell Wexler, James Wong Howe and Burnett Guffey. Eight people have won three, including Conrad Hall, Robert Richardson (one of Deakins’ rivals this year...
Deakins finally won a long-awaited Oscar two years ago for “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) on his 14th nomination — his first having been for 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption.” He had no projects in 2018, making this his first bid since his win, so perhaps this could be the beginning of a win streak.
The legendary cinematographer would be the 15h person with two victories — fitting since this is his 15th nomination — a list that includes John Toll, Janusz Kaminski, Haskell Wexler, James Wong Howe and Burnett Guffey. Eight people have won three, including Conrad Hall, Robert Richardson (one of Deakins’ rivals this year...
- 1/28/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
One of Max Ophüls’ best American movies is this razor-sharp ‘domestic film noir’ with excellent acting and a premise that was probably too sordid-real for 1949: cheap crooks blackmail an ordinary housewife trying to protect her family. Joan Bennett confronts the crisis head-on, facing down James Mason’s unusually sympathetic ‘collector.’
The Reckless Moment
Region free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1949 / B&W / 1:37 full frame Academy / 82 min. / / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £17.00
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O’Neill, Shepperd Strudwick, David Bair, Roy Roberts, William Schallert.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Gene Havlick
Original Music: Hans Salter
Written by Henry Garson, Robert Soderberg; Mel Dinelli, Robert E. Kent, from a story by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Max Ophüls
Nobody forgets Joan Bennett’s film noir appearances — she has a dark, moody quality that even Dario Argento appreciated. In The Woman in the Window...
The Reckless Moment
Region free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1949 / B&W / 1:37 full frame Academy / 82 min. / / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £17.00
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O’Neill, Shepperd Strudwick, David Bair, Roy Roberts, William Schallert.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Gene Havlick
Original Music: Hans Salter
Written by Henry Garson, Robert Soderberg; Mel Dinelli, Robert E. Kent, from a story by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Max Ophüls
Nobody forgets Joan Bennett’s film noir appearances — she has a dark, moody quality that even Dario Argento appreciated. In The Woman in the Window...
- 4/13/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mill Creek and Kit Parker package nine mid-range Columbia features from the 1940s and 1950s, not all of them strictly noir but all with dark themes — crime, creepy politics, etc. None have been on Blu-ray, and all but one are in fine condition.
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection
Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95
Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.
Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection
Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95
Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.
Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...
- 4/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Is this any way to treat a lady? Lovely Nina Foch just wanted a job, but she instead becomes the fall-gal in a psychologically perverse plan to deny her very identity. Cult director Joseph H. Lewis makes deft use of cinematic suspense techniques to compel our involvement in a bizarre conspiracy: not just convincing a woman that she’s insane, but that she’s literally not herself.
My Name is Julia Ross
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 65 min. / Street Date February 19, 2019 / Available from Arrow Films (UK) / 39.95
Starring: Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready, Roland Varno, Leonard Mudie, Anita Bolster, Doris Lloyd, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Henry Batista
Visual Effects: Lawrence Butler, Donald Glouner
Musical director: Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Written by Muriel Roy Bolton, from the novel by Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Malleson)
Produced by Wallace MacDonald
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
2019 is shaping up just fine for Blu-ray releases of small-scale,...
My Name is Julia Ross
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 65 min. / Street Date February 19, 2019 / Available from Arrow Films (UK) / 39.95
Starring: Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready, Roland Varno, Leonard Mudie, Anita Bolster, Doris Lloyd, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Henry Batista
Visual Effects: Lawrence Butler, Donald Glouner
Musical director: Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Written by Muriel Roy Bolton, from the novel by Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Malleson)
Produced by Wallace MacDonald
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
2019 is shaping up just fine for Blu-ray releases of small-scale,...
- 2/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Director Joseph H. Lewis’ So Dark The Night (1946) will be available on Blu-ray From Arrow Academy February 19th
Like his contemporaries Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy) dabbled in many genres, but excelled in the film noir tradition. A Hitchcockian tale of mystery and intrigue, So Dark the Night was one of his finest pictures.
Inspector Cassin, a renowned Paris detective, departs to the country for a much-needed break. There he falls in love with the innkeeper s daughter, Nanette, who is already betrothed to a local farmer. On the evening of their engagement party, Nanette and the farmer both disappear. Cassin takes up the case immediately to discover what happened to them and who is responsible.
As with his celebrated noir masterpieces My Name Is Julia Ross and The Big Combo, Lewis elevates the twisty, pulpy material with some of the finest noir touches the genre has to offer,...
Like his contemporaries Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy) dabbled in many genres, but excelled in the film noir tradition. A Hitchcockian tale of mystery and intrigue, So Dark the Night was one of his finest pictures.
Inspector Cassin, a renowned Paris detective, departs to the country for a much-needed break. There he falls in love with the innkeeper s daughter, Nanette, who is already betrothed to a local farmer. On the evening of their engagement party, Nanette and the farmer both disappear. Cassin takes up the case immediately to discover what happened to them and who is responsible.
As with his celebrated noir masterpieces My Name Is Julia Ross and The Big Combo, Lewis elevates the twisty, pulpy material with some of the finest noir touches the genre has to offer,...
- 1/29/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Following in the footsteps of trailblazing publicity hound Carl Denham, William Castle learned that if you can’t bring your audience to the sideshow, bring the sideshow to them – the 3D craze of the 50’s allowed him to do just that.
After toying with the format in 1953’s Fort Ti and 1954’s Jesse James vs. the Daltons, the adventurous director upped the ante with even more extravagant promotional stunts for his late 50’s thrillers Macabre and House on Haunted Hill. Even the vinegary gossip columnist Louella Parsons had kind words for Haunted Hill and with its success Castle suddenly found himself spending more time on gimmicks than coherent story lines.
The first four films from that cockeyed era are collected in William Castle at Columbia – Volume One – a Blu ray set from the UK’s ever-reliable Indicator featuring some of the most memorably peculiar entertainments to ever confound and delight the neighborhood bijou.
After toying with the format in 1953’s Fort Ti and 1954’s Jesse James vs. the Daltons, the adventurous director upped the ante with even more extravagant promotional stunts for his late 50’s thrillers Macabre and House on Haunted Hill. Even the vinegary gossip columnist Louella Parsons had kind words for Haunted Hill and with its success Castle suddenly found himself spending more time on gimmicks than coherent story lines.
The first four films from that cockeyed era are collected in William Castle at Columbia – Volume One – a Blu ray set from the UK’s ever-reliable Indicator featuring some of the most memorably peculiar entertainments to ever confound and delight the neighborhood bijou.
- 10/27/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
This article marks Part 1 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories beginning with the eight that were shut out of these top races.
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
- 10/4/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Bid welcome to five westerns guaranteed to make one fall in love with the genre all over again. Each stars the ultra-virtuous man of the West Randolph Scott, pitted against some of the most colorful antagonists on the range: Richard Boone, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins. Indicator’s extras constitute the best collection of research materials ever assembled on the underrated director Budd Boetticher.
Five Tall Tales: Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott At Columbia, 1957-1960
The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
Color / 1:85 and 2:35 widescreen / 380 min. / / Street Date May 28, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £42.99
Starring: Randolph Scott.
Leading Ladies: Maureen O’Sullivan, Karen Steele (2), Valerie French, Nancy Gates.
Noble Villains: Richard Boone, John Carroll, Craig Stevens, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins.
Hopeful Sidekicks: James Best, James Coburn, Skip Homeier (2), Henry Silva, Noah Beery Jr., L.Q. Jones, Richard Rust.
Five Tall Tales: Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott At Columbia, 1957-1960
The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
Color / 1:85 and 2:35 widescreen / 380 min. / / Street Date May 28, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £42.99
Starring: Randolph Scott.
Leading Ladies: Maureen O’Sullivan, Karen Steele (2), Valerie French, Nancy Gates.
Noble Villains: Richard Boone, John Carroll, Craig Stevens, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins.
Hopeful Sidekicks: James Best, James Coburn, Skip Homeier (2), Henry Silva, Noah Beery Jr., L.Q. Jones, Richard Rust.
- 5/22/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
He sings, he fixes cars, and he takes punches better than De Niro’s Raging Bull. Elvis Presley excels in one of his few ’60s pictures that shows an interest in being a ‘real movie,’ a remake of a boxing saga with entertaining characters and fine direction from noir specialist Phil Karlson. Plus Charles Bronson, Lola Albright and Joan Blackman in standout roles.
Kid Galahad
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date August 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Robert Emhardt, Liam Redmond, Judson Pratt, Ned Glass, George Mitchell, Roy Roberts, Michael Dante, Richard Devon, Jeff Morris, Edward Asner, Frank Gerstle, Seamon Glass, Bert Remsen.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
Written by William Fay, Francis Wallace
Produced by David Weisbart
Directed by Phil Karlson
What, a good Elvis Presley picture?...
Kid Galahad
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date August 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Robert Emhardt, Liam Redmond, Judson Pratt, Ned Glass, George Mitchell, Roy Roberts, Michael Dante, Richard Devon, Jeff Morris, Edward Asner, Frank Gerstle, Seamon Glass, Bert Remsen.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
Written by William Fay, Francis Wallace
Produced by David Weisbart
Directed by Phil Karlson
What, a good Elvis Presley picture?...
- 8/29/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The future of the streaming giant might not be streaming.
When streaming companies like Netlfix and Amazon got into the business of making original feature films, the industry was poised for a major change. Because these weren’t B-movies the companies were making, they weren’t the kind of low-brow fodder that gets released directly for home viewing every week, they were full-on, talent-backed, major motion pictures. Netflix had an amazing critical run (and some would say an Oscar snub or two) with Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, and Amazon last year produced a slew of significant films from significant directors, including Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq, Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, and most notably, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea, which did manage to snag a handful of Oscar noms and even walked away with a pair of wins, one for Lonergan for Best Original Screenplay, and...
When streaming companies like Netlfix and Amazon got into the business of making original feature films, the industry was poised for a major change. Because these weren’t B-movies the companies were making, they weren’t the kind of low-brow fodder that gets released directly for home viewing every week, they were full-on, talent-backed, major motion pictures. Netflix had an amazing critical run (and some would say an Oscar snub or two) with Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, and Amazon last year produced a slew of significant films from significant directors, including Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq, Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, and most notably, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea, which did manage to snag a handful of Oscar noms and even walked away with a pair of wins, one for Lonergan for Best Original Screenplay, and...
- 4/25/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Broadway’s delightful — but wickedly accurate — satire of big business was brought to movie screens almost intact, with the story, the stars, the styles and dances kept as they were in the long-running show that won a Pulitzer Prize. This is the place to see Robert Morse and Michele Lee at their best — it’s one of the best, and least appreciated movie musicals of the 1960s.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee, Anthony Teague, Maureen Arthur, Sammy Smith, Robert Q. Lewis, Carol Worthington, Kathryn Reynolds, Ruth Kobart, George Fennemann, Tucker Smith, David Swift.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Allan Jacobs, Ralph E. Winters
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Art Direction: Robert Boyle
Visual Gags: Virgil Partch
From the play written by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows,...
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee, Anthony Teague, Maureen Arthur, Sammy Smith, Robert Q. Lewis, Carol Worthington, Kathryn Reynolds, Ruth Kobart, George Fennemann, Tucker Smith, David Swift.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Allan Jacobs, Ralph E. Winters
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Art Direction: Robert Boyle
Visual Gags: Virgil Partch
From the play written by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows,...
- 3/25/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In the 1970s crime films morphed into sadistic vigilante fantasies about tough-guy heroes avenging terrible crimes against their families. Veteran noir director Phil Karlson directed the bruiser’s bruiser Joe Don Baker in a standard tale of violent vengeance, with the violence factor given an extra bloody boost.
Framed
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1975 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 28, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joe Don Baker, Conny Van Dyke, John Marley, Gabriel Dell,, Brock Peters, John Larch, Warren J. Kemmerling, Walter Brooke, Paul Mantee, H.B. Haggerty, Roy Jenson.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Harry W. Gerstad
Stunts: Carey Loftin, Gil Perkins, Buddy Joe Hooker
Original Music: Pat Williams
Written by Mort Briskin from a book by Art Powers & Mike Misenheimer
Produced by Joel Briskin, Mort Briskin
Directed by Phil Karlson
Time for another curiosity review, of a grindhouse gut-basher from the 1970s — a subgenre I avoided when new.
Framed
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1975 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 28, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Joe Don Baker, Conny Van Dyke, John Marley, Gabriel Dell,, Brock Peters, John Larch, Warren J. Kemmerling, Walter Brooke, Paul Mantee, H.B. Haggerty, Roy Jenson.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Harry W. Gerstad
Stunts: Carey Loftin, Gil Perkins, Buddy Joe Hooker
Original Music: Pat Williams
Written by Mort Briskin from a book by Art Powers & Mike Misenheimer
Produced by Joel Briskin, Mort Briskin
Directed by Phil Karlson
Time for another curiosity review, of a grindhouse gut-basher from the 1970s — a subgenre I avoided when new.
- 2/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ace director Donald Siegel uses superior direction to transform a so-so who-dunnit into a thrilling big screen spectacle, using the Grand Canyon as a backdrop for A multiple murder set in an Arizona mining town in decline. The cameraman focusing on the scenery and the hair-raising stuntwork — everything we see is real — is the great Burnett Guffey.
Edge of Eternity
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1959 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date February 15, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Rian Garrick, Jack Elam, Dabbs Greer.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Original Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof
Written by Knut Swenson, Richard Collins
Produced by Kendrick Sweet
Directed by Donald Siegel
A look at Donald Siegel’s filmography shows that between his standout ‘fifties titles — Riot in Cell Block 11, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Crime in the Streets, The Lineup, he suffered through his share of unrewarding cheapies,...
Edge of Eternity
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1959 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date February 15, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Rian Garrick, Jack Elam, Dabbs Greer.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Original Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof
Written by Knut Swenson, Richard Collins
Produced by Kendrick Sweet
Directed by Donald Siegel
A look at Donald Siegel’s filmography shows that between his standout ‘fifties titles — Riot in Cell Block 11, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Crime in the Streets, The Lineup, he suffered through his share of unrewarding cheapies,...
- 2/25/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Ok, so Screaming Mimi, based on eccentric cult crime/sci-fi scribe Fredric Brown's novel, is at best a hot mess of a film, more often only a lukewarm one. But you somehow can't tear your eyes away from it: it's a slow-motion car wreck with musical numbers.Anita Ekberg, just ahead of her elevation to iconic status by Federico Fellini, is cantilevered into the role of Virginia, traumatized by a knife-wielding psycho while taking a shower (yes, the scene anticipates Psycho, and yes, it shows that the same elements can be used in a lame, ineffective way). The staff of the asylum from which the maniac escaped then feel it only their duty to take Anita into their care, where she meets the controlling, Svengali-like Dr. Greenwood, who becomes her lover and business manager when she returns to her life as an exotic dancer in the big city.Most...
- 11/3/2016
- MUBI
It's a different Bogart -- a character performance in a Nicholas Ray noir about distrust anxiety in romance. Gloria Grahame is the independent woman who must withhold her commitment... until a murder can be sorted out. Which will crack first, the murder case or the relationship? In A Lonely Place Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 810 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 93 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 10, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Carl Benton Reid, Art Smith, Jeff Donnell, Martha Stewart, Robert Warwick, Morris Ankrum, William Ching, Steven Geray, Hadda Brooks. Cinematography Burnett Guffey Film Editor Viola Lawrence Original Music George Antheil Written by Andrew Solt, Edmund H. North from a story by Dorothy B. Hughes Produced by Robert Lord Directed by Nicholas Ray
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Which Humphrey Bogart do you like best? By 1950 he had his own production company, Santana, with a contract for release through Columbia pictures.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Which Humphrey Bogart do you like best? By 1950 he had his own production company, Santana, with a contract for release through Columbia pictures.
- 4/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By winning the Best Cinematography Oscar for a second year in a row, "Birdman" director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki has joined a truly elite club whose ranks haven't been breached in nearly two decades. Only four other cinematographers have won the prize in two consecutive years. The last time it happened was in 1994 and 1995, when John Toll won for Edward Zwick's "Legends of the Fall" and Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" respectively. Before that you have to go all the way back to the late '40s, when Winton Hoch won in 1948 (Victor Fleming's "Joan of Arc" with Ingrid Bergman) and 1949 (John Ford's western "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"). Both victories came in the color category, as the Academy awarded prizes separately for black-and-white and color photography from 1939 to 1956. Leon Shamroy also won back-to-back color cinematography Oscars, for Henry King's 1944 Woodrow Wilson biopic "Wilson" and John M. Stahl...
- 2/23/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Blu-ray Release Date: Nov. 11, 2014
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
Burt Lancaster is the Birdman of Alcatraz.
The 1962 prison drama Birdman of Alcatraz stars Burt Lancaster (Twilight’s Last Gleaming) and was directed by John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Train).
The classic film is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a surly federal prison inmate convicted of murder who is held in permanent isolation. Stroud adopts an orphaned baby sparrow as a pet…and then another…and then many, many others. He ultimately redeems himself by becoming a renowned bird expert who others refer to as the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”
Interestingly, despite the film’s title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth where Stroud was jailed with his birds.
Adapted by Guy Trosper from the 1955 book by Thomas Gaddis, the film also stars Telly Savalas (The Slender Thread) and Thelma Ritter (Boeing Boeing). Both were nominated...
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
Burt Lancaster is the Birdman of Alcatraz.
The 1962 prison drama Birdman of Alcatraz stars Burt Lancaster (Twilight’s Last Gleaming) and was directed by John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Train).
The classic film is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a surly federal prison inmate convicted of murder who is held in permanent isolation. Stroud adopts an orphaned baby sparrow as a pet…and then another…and then many, many others. He ultimately redeems himself by becoming a renowned bird expert who others refer to as the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”
Interestingly, despite the film’s title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth where Stroud was jailed with his birds.
Adapted by Guy Trosper from the 1955 book by Thomas Gaddis, the film also stars Telly Savalas (The Slender Thread) and Thelma Ritter (Boeing Boeing). Both were nominated...
- 10/6/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
In celebration of the Blu-ray release of Due Date this week, Owf was challenged to come up with our top ten best road movies of all time!
The road movie has been a staple within many film genres and has generally become synonymous with freedom, providing an avenue for violent, comical, romantic or dramatic release. Characters both discover and lose themselves on their celluloid trips. Friends and partners are gained and lost. Ultimately though, the road is an avenue for discovery. Many exceptional road movies have found their way on to the screen and into the forefront of audiences’ consciences. This list could easily be twice as long, but read on to discover what I consider the ten funniest, scariest, strangest, romantic and most touching road films out there…and then go buy Due Date!
10. Love On The Run (1936)
When American heiress Sally Parker (Joan Crawford) flees her planned wedding to a Prince,...
The road movie has been a staple within many film genres and has generally become synonymous with freedom, providing an avenue for violent, comical, romantic or dramatic release. Characters both discover and lose themselves on their celluloid trips. Friends and partners are gained and lost. Ultimately though, the road is an avenue for discovery. Many exceptional road movies have found their way on to the screen and into the forefront of audiences’ consciences. This list could easily be twice as long, but read on to discover what I consider the ten funniest, scariest, strangest, romantic and most touching road films out there…and then go buy Due Date!
10. Love On The Run (1936)
When American heiress Sally Parker (Joan Crawford) flees her planned wedding to a Prince,...
- 3/1/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
"Bonnie and Clyde" director Arthur Penn has died, just one day after celebrating his 88th birthday. The filmmaker, a veteran of World War II, passed away at his home in New York on Tuesday, September 28 after suffering congestive heart failure, according to his daughter Molly.
Penn began his Hollywood career in the 1950s with small jobs in TV before making his feature film debut with "The Left Handed Gun", starring a young Paul Newman. He quickly established himself as a top director following the success of the Oscar-nominated "The Miracle Worker" in 1962, a film adaptation of the play he had previously staged on Broadway.
However, he will perhaps be best remembered for classic 1967 gangster film "Bonnie and Clyde", starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, which won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey). The movie later went down in history when it was...
Penn began his Hollywood career in the 1950s with small jobs in TV before making his feature film debut with "The Left Handed Gun", starring a young Paul Newman. He quickly established himself as a top director following the success of the Oscar-nominated "The Miracle Worker" in 1962, a film adaptation of the play he had previously staged on Broadway.
However, he will perhaps be best remembered for classic 1967 gangster film "Bonnie and Clyde", starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, which won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey). The movie later went down in history when it was...
- 9/30/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Gene Hackman, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde Arthur Penn, who died of congestive heart failure at his New York City home on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at age 88, is best known for the 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde, whose explicit violence was supposed to reflect the then-raging Vietnam War (or so those involved in the film claim). Now, despite its undeniable qualities — Dede Allen's editing, Burnett Guffey's Oscar-winning cinematography, Michael J. Pollard and a few of his fellow actors — Bonnie and Clyde isn't one of my favorite gangster/crime movies. I much prefer, for instance, Raoul Walsh's White Heat (1949), in which James Cagney plays a psychopathic criminal with a mommy fixation. Next to the mommy in that film, Margaret Wycherly, Bonnie and Clyde's Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway come across as spoiled brats with toy guns. Yet, Bonnie and Clyde — not White Heat — has become a [...]...
- 9/30/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bonnie And Clyde director Arthur Penn has died, just one day after celebrating his 88th birthday.
The filmmaker, a veteran of World War II, passed away at his home in New York on Tuesday after suffering congestive heart failure, according to his daughter Molly.
Penn began his Hollywood career in the 1950s with small jobs in TV before making his feature film debut with The Left Handed Gun, starring a young Paul Newman.
He quickly established himself as a top director following the success of the Oscar-nominated The Miracle Worker in 1962, a film adaptation of the play he had previously staged on Broadway.
However, he will perhaps be best remembered for classic 1967 gangster film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, which won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey).
The movie later went down in history when it was selected as one of the first 100 releases to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry.
He returned to the TV industry in the 1990s and served as an executive producer on hit crime series Law & Order.
Penn retired in 2001 and his final years were marred by illness, including a battle with pneumonia last summer.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Peggy Maurer, and their two children, Molly and Matthew.
The director's death comes almost one year after the loss of his older brother, celebrated photographer Irving Penn, who passed last October at the age of 92.
The filmmaker, a veteran of World War II, passed away at his home in New York on Tuesday after suffering congestive heart failure, according to his daughter Molly.
Penn began his Hollywood career in the 1950s with small jobs in TV before making his feature film debut with The Left Handed Gun, starring a young Paul Newman.
He quickly established himself as a top director following the success of the Oscar-nominated The Miracle Worker in 1962, a film adaptation of the play he had previously staged on Broadway.
However, he will perhaps be best remembered for classic 1967 gangster film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, which won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey).
The movie later went down in history when it was selected as one of the first 100 releases to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry.
He returned to the TV industry in the 1990s and served as an executive producer on hit crime series Law & Order.
Penn retired in 2001 and his final years were marred by illness, including a battle with pneumonia last summer.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Peggy Maurer, and their two children, Molly and Matthew.
The director's death comes almost one year after the loss of his older brother, celebrated photographer Irving Penn, who passed last October at the age of 92.
- 9/29/2010
- WENN
Arthur Penn, the director of the polarizing "Bonnie and Clyde" whose films often flew in the face of American mythology, died Tuesday, one day after his 88th birthday.
Daughter Molly Penn said her father died of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home. Longtime friend and business manager Evan Bell said Wednesday that Penn had been ill for about a year.
A product of the golden era of live television and an accomplished theater director, Penn's work on "The Miracle Worker" earned him an Emmy nomination in 1957, a Tony in 1959 and an Oscar nom in 1962. At one time, Penn had five hits running simultaneously on Broadway.
Penn was one of a group of directors -- including John Frankenheimer, Sidney Lumet and Norman Jewison -- whose films were intelligent glimpses into politics, morals and social institutions. Often, they were met with controversy.
His movies debunked the allure of the gunman, the...
Daughter Molly Penn said her father died of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home. Longtime friend and business manager Evan Bell said Wednesday that Penn had been ill for about a year.
A product of the golden era of live television and an accomplished theater director, Penn's work on "The Miracle Worker" earned him an Emmy nomination in 1957, a Tony in 1959 and an Oscar nom in 1962. At one time, Penn had five hits running simultaneously on Broadway.
Penn was one of a group of directors -- including John Frankenheimer, Sidney Lumet and Norman Jewison -- whose films were intelligent glimpses into politics, morals and social institutions. Often, they were met with controversy.
His movies debunked the allure of the gunman, the...
- 9/29/2010
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Optimum, £15.99
Excellent screen version (directed by David Swift) of the Broadway musical, a satire on the world of big business, by the Guys and Dolls team of Abe Burrows (book) and Frank Loesser (music and lyrics). The original stage version won the 1962 Pulitzer prize for drama. Robert Morse recreates his stage role as the nebbish who uses the eponymous "How to" book to promote himself from window-cleaner to the president of a Manhattan corporation. The interwar crooner Rudy Vallee repeats his Broadway part as the eccentric boss.
Essentially it's a lite version of Billy Wilder's The Apartment. Superbly photographed by veteran Burnett Guffey (Oscar winner for From Here to Eternity and Bonnie and Clyde), it's furnished wall to wall with witty, melodic songs by Loesser, master of the monosyllabic lyric (eg, the song "A Secretary Is not a Toy" features the couplet: "Her pad is to write in/ Not...
Excellent screen version (directed by David Swift) of the Broadway musical, a satire on the world of big business, by the Guys and Dolls team of Abe Burrows (book) and Frank Loesser (music and lyrics). The original stage version won the 1962 Pulitzer prize for drama. Robert Morse recreates his stage role as the nebbish who uses the eponymous "How to" book to promote himself from window-cleaner to the president of a Manhattan corporation. The interwar crooner Rudy Vallee repeats his Broadway part as the eccentric boss.
Essentially it's a lite version of Billy Wilder's The Apartment. Superbly photographed by veteran Burnett Guffey (Oscar winner for From Here to Eternity and Bonnie and Clyde), it's furnished wall to wall with witty, melodic songs by Loesser, master of the monosyllabic lyric (eg, the song "A Secretary Is not a Toy" features the couplet: "Her pad is to write in/ Not...
- 1/3/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
"How do you spell 'decapitated'?"
America's golden age of radio drama fed into the cinema like an intravenous drip: Citizen Kane is its most precious legacy, with innovative use of sound and music honed in The Mercury Theater of the Air. But the B-movies leached blood from the airwaves too, by direct adaptation. We can forget those creaky Inner Sanctum films: the only thing of interest in them is the fact that they're introduced by a floating head in a fish tank (although admittedly, that is pretty interesting). Far more enjoyable, and quirky in their straddling of the aural and visual media, are the three movies directed by Henry Levin from the popular show I Love a Mystery.
The movies, entitled I Love a Mystery (1945), The Devil's Mask, and The Unknown (both 1946), sprang from the fertile, perhaps even over-manured, mind of Carlton E. Morse, although three or four additional writers...
America's golden age of radio drama fed into the cinema like an intravenous drip: Citizen Kane is its most precious legacy, with innovative use of sound and music honed in The Mercury Theater of the Air. But the B-movies leached blood from the airwaves too, by direct adaptation. We can forget those creaky Inner Sanctum films: the only thing of interest in them is the fact that they're introduced by a floating head in a fish tank (although admittedly, that is pretty interesting). Far more enjoyable, and quirky in their straddling of the aural and visual media, are the three movies directed by Henry Levin from the popular show I Love a Mystery.
The movies, entitled I Love a Mystery (1945), The Devil's Mask, and The Unknown (both 1946), sprang from the fertile, perhaps even over-manured, mind of Carlton E. Morse, although three or four additional writers...
- 12/10/2009
- MUBI
You don’t necessarily think of Manny Farber as your Baedeker to the shadings and luridities of mainstay American movie acting, as a dab hand of the concise plot summary that uncoils into deft film critique, or associate him with audience recommendations and words like “marvelous,” “sensitive,” “poignant,” and “sparkling.” You particularly don’t think of Farber this way if your experience of his writing is confined to Negative Space. Yet consider three short illustrative moments from his many, sometimes-weekly film columns of the 1940s and '50s.
This is Farber on Frank Sinatra & Co. in From Here to Eternity for The Nation, August 29, 1953:
The laurel wreaths should be handed out to an actor who isn’t even in the picture, Marlon Brando, and to an unknown person who first decided to use Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed in the unsweetened roles of Maggio, a tough little Italian American soldier,...
This is Farber on Frank Sinatra & Co. in From Here to Eternity for The Nation, August 29, 1953:
The laurel wreaths should be handed out to an actor who isn’t even in the picture, Marlon Brando, and to an unknown person who first decided to use Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed in the unsweetened roles of Maggio, a tough little Italian American soldier,...
- 11/18/2009
- MUBI
Tonya S. Holly wrote and will direct The Story of Bonnie and Clyde for Cypress Moon Studios with Hilary Duff and Kevin Zegers set to star as the title characters. The film is being described as an indie feature and is said to be a new adaptation of the Bonnie and Clyde story and not a remake of the 1967 classic film that starred Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty and was nominated for 10 Oscars and ended up winning two for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey). Holly began working on the project after reading old newspaper articles about the gangster pair in an abandoned house on her family's property. The picture is set to film in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Natalie Canerday and Rance Howard will also star. I am not an unabashed lover of Bonnie and Clyde, but I like it and don't really know what to make of this.
- 1/27/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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