Courtesy of Studiocanal
by James Cameron-wilson
Hard to believe today, but Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1949 drama was a flop. A glum, perhaps cynical, claustrophobic piece of film noir shot in black-and-white, The Small Back Room was released just four years after the end of the Second World War – and it was not what postwar audiences wanted to see. Indeed, it is hardly one of the most celebrated titles in the Powell/Pressburger catalogue and I, for one, had never seen it before. Even so, having just watched this consummately photographed and magically restored work, I would say without hesitation it is one of my very favourite Powell and Pressburger films.
With the psychological complexity of a good play and replete with telling touches, it blends both the disciplines of Hollywood film noir with the Expressionism of the Weimar cinema of Germany, but with its own ineffable, stiff upper lip Englishness.
by James Cameron-wilson
Hard to believe today, but Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1949 drama was a flop. A glum, perhaps cynical, claustrophobic piece of film noir shot in black-and-white, The Small Back Room was released just four years after the end of the Second World War – and it was not what postwar audiences wanted to see. Indeed, it is hardly one of the most celebrated titles in the Powell/Pressburger catalogue and I, for one, had never seen it before. Even so, having just watched this consummately photographed and magically restored work, I would say without hesitation it is one of my very favourite Powell and Pressburger films.
With the psychological complexity of a good play and replete with telling touches, it blends both the disciplines of Hollywood film noir with the Expressionism of the Weimar cinema of Germany, but with its own ineffable, stiff upper lip Englishness.
- 6/3/2024
- by James Cameron-Wilson
- Film Review Daily
John Lennon met Paul McCartney and George Harrison when they were teenagers, and they performed together in The Beatles all through their 20s. When Lennon left The Beatles, he said he did it because he wanted to be able to grow up. He didn’t think it was possible to do this while in the band.
John Lennon said he felt he couldn’t mature in The Beatles
In 1969, Lennon told his bandmates that he no longer wanted to be in The Beatles. His life had been intertwined with his bandmates’ for so long and he was ready for a break.
“We’re all individuals. And in The Beatles we grew out of it,” Lennon said in The Beatles Anthology. “The bag was too small. I can’t impose far-out films or far-out music on George and Paul if they don’t want to do it. Vice versa, Paul can...
John Lennon said he felt he couldn’t mature in The Beatles
In 1969, Lennon told his bandmates that he no longer wanted to be in The Beatles. His life had been intertwined with his bandmates’ for so long and he was ready for a break.
“We’re all individuals. And in The Beatles we grew out of it,” Lennon said in The Beatles Anthology. “The bag was too small. I can’t impose far-out films or far-out music on George and Paul if they don’t want to do it. Vice versa, Paul can...
- 2/28/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
This month, Goredrome Pictures have announced the release of The Wind, the 1986 American slasher film directed by Nico Mastorakis (Island of Death), the extreme film Trypophobic Possession about trypophobia and Visions of Filth, the sixth film of the Abomination Collection series.
All of them are already available for pre-order on Goredrome Pictures and TetroVideo official websites together with the new edition with 2 discs of the 1987 Italian cult film Cross of the Seven Jewels (aka La croce dalle sette pietre) by Eddy Endolf.
The Wind (aka The Edge of Terror)
The Wind (aka The Edge of Terror) is a film with a number of genre influences and is co-written, produced and directed by Nico Mastorakis. It stars Meg Foster, Wings Hauser, Robert Morley and David McCallum and the story follows Sian Anderson, a famous mystery author who is under attack by an assailant during a windy night in Monemvasia in Greece.
All of them are already available for pre-order on Goredrome Pictures and TetroVideo official websites together with the new edition with 2 discs of the 1987 Italian cult film Cross of the Seven Jewels (aka La croce dalle sette pietre) by Eddy Endolf.
The Wind (aka The Edge of Terror)
The Wind (aka The Edge of Terror) is a film with a number of genre influences and is co-written, produced and directed by Nico Mastorakis. It stars Meg Foster, Wings Hauser, Robert Morley and David McCallum and the story follows Sian Anderson, a famous mystery author who is under attack by an assailant during a windy night in Monemvasia in Greece.
- 2/21/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Marie Antoinette’s reign at PBS begins on March 19. The public broadcaster’s new series about the infamous French queen stars Emilia Schüle as the young Austrian archduchess who is married off to Louis, the dauphin of France (Louis Cunningham). It’s just the latest on-screen depiction of the legendary royal. Here are five movies about Marie Antoinette to watch before you binge the new show.
Kirsten Dunst starred in Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’
At 15 she became a bride. At 19 she became a queen. By 20 she was a legend.
Sofia Coppola's punk-rock period drama "Marie Antoinette" was released 15 years ago today on October 20, 2006. pic.twitter.com/EkeLeSQ8N1
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) October 20, 2021
Kirsten Dunst played a young Marie Antoinette in Sofia Coppola’s lavish, occasionally anachronistic 2006 period drama Maria Antoinette. It covers some of the same territory as the new PBS series, including the young queen’s awkward early years at Versailles.
Kirsten Dunst starred in Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’
At 15 she became a bride. At 19 she became a queen. By 20 she was a legend.
Sofia Coppola's punk-rock period drama "Marie Antoinette" was released 15 years ago today on October 20, 2006. pic.twitter.com/EkeLeSQ8N1
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) October 20, 2021
Kirsten Dunst played a young Marie Antoinette in Sofia Coppola’s lavish, occasionally anachronistic 2006 period drama Maria Antoinette. It covers some of the same territory as the new PBS series, including the young queen’s awkward early years at Versailles.
- 3/19/2023
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
(See previous post: “Gay Pride Movie Series Comes to a Close: From Heterosexual Angst to Indonesian Coup.”) Ken Russell's Valentino (1977) is notable for starring ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev as silent era icon Rudolph Valentino, whose sexual orientation, despite countless gay rumors, seems to have been, according to the available evidence, heterosexual. (Valentino's supposed affair with fellow “Latin Lover” Ramon Novarro has no basis in reality.) The female cast is also impressive: Veteran Leslie Caron (Lili, Gigi) as stage and screen star Alla Nazimova, ex-The Mamas & the Papas singer Michelle Phillips as Valentino wife and Nazimova protégée Natacha Rambova, Felicity Kendal as screenwriter/producer June Mathis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), and Carol Kane – lately of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame. Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972) is notable as one of the greatest musicals ever made. As a 1930s Cabaret presenter – and the Spirit of Germany – Joel Grey was the year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner. Liza Minnelli...
- 6/30/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Turner Classic Movies' 2017 Gay Pride film series comes to a close this evening and tomorrow morning, Thursday–Friday, June 29–30, with the presentation of seven movies, hosted by TV interviewer Dave Karger and author William J. Mann, whose books include Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines and Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969. Among tonight's movies' Lgbt connections: Edward Albee, Tony Richardson, Evelyn Waugh, Tab Hunter, John Gielgud, Roddy McDowall, Linda Hunt, Harvey Fierstein, Rudolf Nureyev, Christopher Isherwood, Joel Grey, and Tommy Kirk. Update: Coincidentally, TCM's final 2017 Gay Pride celebration turned out to be held the evening before a couple of international events – and one non-event – demonstrated that despite noticeable progress in the last three decades, gay rights, even in the so-called “West,” still have a long way to go. In Texas, the state's – all-Republican – Supreme Court decided that married gays should be treated as separate and unequal. In...
- 6/30/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
It sounds like a winner — Albert Finney and Martin Sheen team up for a daring subterranean bank robbery in the heart of London. The locations, the sets and the production are all first class. So what happened? Susannah York and Jonathan Pryce are in on the heist as well.
Loophole (1981)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date January 3, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Tony Doyle, Christopher Guard, Gwyneth Powell.
Cinematography Michael Reed
Film Editor Ralph Sheldon
Original Music Lalo Schifrin
Written by Jonathan Hales from a novel by Robert Pollock
Produced by Julian Holloway, David Korda
Directed by John Quested
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The great movie titled Loophole is still the underdog film noir from 1954, with Barry Sullivan as a bank clerk being dogged by an insurance investigator. The 1981 Loophole, an English movie,...
Loophole (1981)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date January 3, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Tony Doyle, Christopher Guard, Gwyneth Powell.
Cinematography Michael Reed
Film Editor Ralph Sheldon
Original Music Lalo Schifrin
Written by Jonathan Hales from a novel by Robert Pollock
Produced by Julian Holloway, David Korda
Directed by John Quested
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The great movie titled Loophole is still the underdog film noir from 1954, with Barry Sullivan as a bank clerk being dogged by an insurance investigator. The 1981 Loophole, an English movie,...
- 12/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This forgotten Alistair MacLean action thriller packs a rare starring role for the young Anthony Hopkins -- he's really good as secret agent Philip Calvert, battling gold thieves in the Scottish Isles. He's got a James Bond attitude in a more down-to-Earth adventure. When Eight Bells Toll Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date March 8, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Anthony Hopkins, Robert Morley, Nathalie Delon, Jack Hawkins, Corin Redgrave, Ferdy Mayne, Wendy Allnutt, Maurice Roëves, Derek Bond, Leon Collins, Peter Arne, Oliver MacGreevy, Tom Chatto, Del Henney. Cinematography Arthur Ibbetson Film Editor John Shirley Original Music Angela Morley Written by Alistair MacLean from his novel Produced by Elliott Kastner Directed by Etienne Périer
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Producer Elliott Kastner stretched Alistair MacLean's brand of military action adventure to James Bond extremes in the expensive, very popular Where Eagles Dare of 1968. Several MacLean adaptations got underway,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Producer Elliott Kastner stretched Alistair MacLean's brand of military action adventure to James Bond extremes in the expensive, very popular Where Eagles Dare of 1968. Several MacLean adaptations got underway,...
- 3/8/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
'Ben-Hur' 1959 with Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston: TCM's '31 Days of Oscar.' '31 Days of Oscar': 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Ben-Hur' are in, Paramount stars are out Today, Feb. 1, '16, Turner Classic Movies is kicking off the 21st edition of its “31 Days of Oscar.” While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is being vociferously reviled for its “lack of diversity” – more on that appallingly myopic, self-serving, and double-standard-embracing furore in an upcoming post – TCM is celebrating nearly nine decades of the Academy Awards. That's the good news. The disappointing news is that if you're expecting to find rare Paramount, Universal, or Fox/20th Century Fox entries in the mix, you're out of luck. So, missing from the TCM schedule are, among others: Best Actress nominees Ruth Chatterton in Sarah and Son, Nancy Carroll in The Devil's Holiday, Claudette Colbert in Private Worlds. Unofficial Best Actor...
- 2/2/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
William Cameron Menzies. William Cameron Menzies movies on TCM: Murderous Joan Fontaine, deadly Nazi Communists Best known as an art director/production designer, William Cameron Menzies was a jack-of-all-trades. It seems like the only things Menzies didn't do was act and tap dance in front of the camera. He designed and/or wrote, directed, produced, etc., dozens of films – titles ranged from The Thief of Bagdad to Invaders from Mars – from the late 1910s all the way to the mid-1950s. Among Menzies' most notable efforts as an art director/production designer are: Ernst Lubitsch's first Hollywood movie, the Mary Pickford star vehicle Rosita (1923). Herbert Brenon's British-set father-son drama Sorrell and Son (1927). David O. Selznick's mammoth production of Gone with the Wind, which earned Menzies an Honorary Oscar. The Sam Wood movies Our Town (1940), Kings Row (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). H.C. Potter's Mr. Lucky...
- 1/28/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
“You begin to resent an actor if you always have to give him bad notices.” Upon his death in 1993, Vincent Price left an unfillable chasm in the horror community. He was our King Ghoul, the Gentleman of Terror who never missed a lipsmack or an arched eyebrow. His leering, singsong tones were music to horror lovers’ ears, every syllable a delicious symphony of delight. To the fans, that is – Price, while alive, was dismissed by the press as a preening ham not to be taken seriously. How fitting then, that he should find his greatest role as a vengeful actor lashing out at his critics in the most macabre of ways? Theatre of Blood (1973) reflected on Price’s place in the pantheon, and showed the naysayers once and for all his innate gifts.
Released by United Artists in April, Theatre of Blood, or Theater of Blood (to paraphrase a Joe Walsh album title,...
Released by United Artists in April, Theatre of Blood, or Theater of Blood (to paraphrase a Joe Walsh album title,...
- 12/26/2015
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Norma Shearer films Note: This article is being revised and expanded. Please check back later. Turner Classic Movies' Norma Shearer month comes to a close this evening, Nov. 24, '15, with the presentation of the last six films of Shearer's two-decade-plus career. Two of these are remarkably good; one is schizophrenic, a confused mix of high comedy and low drama; while the other three aren't the greatest. Yet all six are worth a look even if only because of Norma Shearer herself – though, really, they all have more to offer than just their top star. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the no-expense-spared Marie Antoinette (1938) – $2.9 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that time – stars the Canadian-born Queen of MGM as the Austrian-born Queen of France. This was Shearer's first film in two years (following Romeo and Juliet) and her first release following husband Irving G.
- 11/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Norma Shearer films Note: This article is being revised and expanded. Please check back later. Turner Classic Movies' Norma Shearer month comes to a close this evening, Nov. 24, '15, with the presentation of the last six films of Shearer's two-decade-plus career. Two of these are remarkably good; one is schizophrenic, a confused mix of high comedy and low drama; while the other three aren't the greatest. Yet all six are worth a look even if only because of Norma Shearer herself – though, really, they all have more to offer than just their top star. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the no-expense-spared Marie Antoinette (1938) – $2.9 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that time – stars the Canadian-born Queen of MGM as the Austrian-born Queen of France. This was Shearer's first film in two years (following Romeo and Juliet) and her first release following husband Irving G.
- 11/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'Saint Joan': Constance Cummings as the George Bernard Shaw heroine. Constance Cummings on stage: From sex-change farce and Emma Bovary to Juliet and 'Saint Joan' (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Frank Capra, Mae West and Columbia Lawsuit.”) In the mid-1930s, Constance Cummings landed the title roles in two of husband Benn W. Levy's stage adaptations: Levy and Hubert Griffith's Young Madame Conti (1936), starring Cummings as a demimondaine who falls in love with a villainous character. She ends up killing him – or does she? Adapted from Bruno Frank's German-language original, Young Madame Conti was presented on both sides of the Atlantic; on Broadway, it had a brief run in spring 1937 at the Music Box Theatre. Based on the Gustave Flaubert novel, the Theatre Guild-produced Madame Bovary (1937) was staged in late fall at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre. Referring to the London production of Young Madame Conti, The...
- 11/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Born in St. Louis on May 27, 1911, iconic actor Vincent Price retained a special fondness for his place of origin, and that love was reciprocated with Vincentennial, a celebration of his 100th birthday in his hometown back in May of 2011 (for summary of all the Vincentennial activities go Here). One of the guests of honor at Vincentennial was Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price. Because of their close relationship and her access to his unpublished memoirs and letters, Victoria Price was able to provide a remarkably vivid account of her father’s public and private life in her essential book, Vincent Price, a Daughter’s Biography, originally published in 1999. .In 2011, her biography of her father was out of print. but now it’s been re-issued and Victoria will be in St. Louis this weekend (October 9th – 10th) for three special events. In addition to the biography, she will also be signing...
- 10/6/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“Do you still say my Shylock was inadequate?”
Theatre Of Blood starring St. Louis native Vincent Price will be screened Saturday October 10th, as part of Movies for Foodies, a regular film series put on by the chefs at Tenacious Eats. The event will take place at St. Louis Banquet Center located at 5700 Leona. In attendance will be special guest Victoria Price, author of Vincent Price, a Daughter’s Biography.
Tenacious Eats presents five courses and five cocktails themed to the Vincent Price masterpiece Theatre Of Blood with special guest of honor Victoria Price! Recipes will be featured from Victoria’s parents’ best-selling cookbook “A Treasury of Great Recipes” which is being re-issued for its 50th Anniversary. Cookbooks will be available for purchase that evening. This event will take place at St. Louis Banquet Center located at 5700 Leona. Get ready for a creepy good time! Live music and cash bar begin at 6:30pm.
Theatre Of Blood starring St. Louis native Vincent Price will be screened Saturday October 10th, as part of Movies for Foodies, a regular film series put on by the chefs at Tenacious Eats. The event will take place at St. Louis Banquet Center located at 5700 Leona. In attendance will be special guest Victoria Price, author of Vincent Price, a Daughter’s Biography.
Tenacious Eats presents five courses and five cocktails themed to the Vincent Price masterpiece Theatre Of Blood with special guest of honor Victoria Price! Recipes will be featured from Victoria’s parents’ best-selling cookbook “A Treasury of Great Recipes” which is being re-issued for its 50th Anniversary. Cookbooks will be available for purchase that evening. This event will take place at St. Louis Banquet Center located at 5700 Leona. Get ready for a creepy good time! Live music and cash bar begin at 6:30pm.
- 9/10/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hammer horror fans are in for a treat, as respective collections of five William Castle films and five Hammer horror movies are coming out on Blu-ray in August, and The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant has been set to come out on Blu-ray.
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
- 7/31/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
'Henry V' Movie Actress Renée Asherson dead at 99: Laurence Olivier leading lady in acclaimed 1944 film (image: Renée Asherson and Laurence Olivier in 'Henry V') Renée Asherson, a British stage actress featured in London productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Three Sisters, but best known internationally as Laurence Olivier's leading lady in the 1944 film version of Henry V, died on October 30, 2014. Asherson was 99 years old. The exact cause of death hasn't been specified. She was born Dorothy Renée Ascherson (she would drop the "c" some time after becoming an actress) on May 19, 1915, in Kensington, London, to Jewish parents: businessman Charles Ascherson and his second wife, Dorothy Wiseman -- both of whom narrowly escaped spending their honeymoon aboard the Titanic. (Ascherson cancelled the voyage after suffering an attack of appendicitis.) According to Michael Coveney's The Guardian obit for the actress, Renée Asherson was "scantly...
- 11/5/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We’ll be celebrating the 5th year anniversary of Super-8 Movie Madness at The Way Out Club in St. Louis on Tuesday October 7th with an encore performance of our most popular show. It’s Super-8 Vincent Price Movie Madness in 3D, the show that we took on the road to promote Vincentennial back in 2011. We’ll be honoring the hometown horror hero by showing condensed (average length: 15 minutes) versions of several of Price’s greatest films on Super-8 sound film projected on a big screen. They are: Master Of The World, War-gods Of The Deep, Pit And The Pendulum, The Raven, Witchfinder General, Tim Burton’s Vincent, Two Vincent Price Trailer Reels, Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein and The Mad Magician in 3D (We’ll have plenty of 3D Glasses for everyone)
The non-Price movies we’re showing October 7th are The Three Stooges in Pardon My Backfire...
The non-Price movies we’re showing October 7th are The Three Stooges in Pardon My Backfire...
- 10/1/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's a new monthly horror column, where Nick looks at the latest DVD and Blu-ray releases. This time? Theatre Of Blood, Sparks and more...
Feature
Welcome to Den Of Geek’s newest regular feature. Leaving a monthly stain on the glowing veneer of the site’s hallowed digital halls, this blog’s humble goal is to explore cinema’s shady alleyways in search of the obscure, weird and not-so-wonderful, bad taste, or just plain bad. All clear? Then, let’s get wading.
Everyone knows that critics are a wretched, bitter cross-section of human sewage, right? In case you’d forgotten, the first few films we encounter provide evidence of these dregs of society finally getting their just desserts.
Vincent Price might be the perfect critic-slayer. Surely there can be no finer way to go than accompanied by a Shakespearian quote in the high-camp dulcet tones of a horror legend. Theatre Of Blood,...
Feature
Welcome to Den Of Geek’s newest regular feature. Leaving a monthly stain on the glowing veneer of the site’s hallowed digital halls, this blog’s humble goal is to explore cinema’s shady alleyways in search of the obscure, weird and not-so-wonderful, bad taste, or just plain bad. All clear? Then, let’s get wading.
Everyone knows that critics are a wretched, bitter cross-section of human sewage, right? In case you’d forgotten, the first few films we encounter provide evidence of these dregs of society finally getting their just desserts.
Vincent Price might be the perfect critic-slayer. Surely there can be no finer way to go than accompanied by a Shakespearian quote in the high-camp dulcet tones of a horror legend. Theatre Of Blood,...
- 5/7/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
As the undisputed king of American gothic, Vincent Price holds a unique position regarding his association with British horror. From the mid sixties, nearly all his films were made in the UK, and while not as distinguished as The House of Usher (1960), Tales of Terror (1962) and The Raven (1963), they are not without interest. As an actor perfectly suited to English gothic, Price’s output includes two career-defining performances. In a nutshell, he had the best of both worlds.
Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The British phase of his career began with a bang. After directing all of Price’s Poe chillers for American International Pictures, Roger Corman wanted to give the formula a fresh approach by making his next film in England. Aip’s Samuel Z Arkoff and James H Nicholson had already produced several European films, so the next step was to establish a London base with Louis M Heyward in charge.
Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The British phase of his career began with a bang. After directing all of Price’s Poe chillers for American International Pictures, Roger Corman wanted to give the formula a fresh approach by making his next film in England. Aip’s Samuel Z Arkoff and James H Nicholson had already produced several European films, so the next step was to establish a London base with Louis M Heyward in charge.
- 4/11/2014
- Shadowlocked
Maximilian Schell dead at 83: Best Actor Oscar winner for ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ (photo: Maximilian Schell ca. 1960) Actor and filmmaker Maximilian Schell, best known for his Oscar-winning performance as the defense attorney in Stanley Kramer’s 1961 political drama Judgment at Nuremberg died at a hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 1, 2014. According to his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, Schell died overnight following a "sudden and serious illness." Maximilian Schell was 83. Born on December 8, 1930, in Vienna, Maximilian Schell was the younger brother of future actor Carl Schell and Maria Schell, who would become an international film star in the 1950s (The Last Bridge, Gervaise, The Hanging Tree). Immy Schell, who would be featured in several television and film productions from the mid-’50s to the early ’90s, was born in 1935. Following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, Schell’s parents, Swiss playwright Hermann Ferdinand Schell and Austrian stage actress Margarete Schell Noé,...
- 2/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Feature Aliya Whiteley 26 Sep 2013 - 07:13
An acting great British of the post-war era, Trevor Howard's the subject of a new movie box set. Aliya looks at its five classic films...
It's difficult to describe Trevor Howard. I could start by saying he was a great leading man of British post-war cinema, but that leaves out his supporting turns in films like The Third Man, and his character performances, such as Captain Bligh in Mutiny On The Bounty (1962), or Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (1980). He could be called an upper-class gentleman, but in Sons And Lovers (1960) he played a Nottinghamshire miner perfectly.
I could talk about how he wasn't traditionally handsome, but the look in his eyes when he falls passionately for Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) contains a male beauty that continues to define cinematic love today. Or maybe I could mention how perfectly he inhabited the role of...
An acting great British of the post-war era, Trevor Howard's the subject of a new movie box set. Aliya looks at its five classic films...
It's difficult to describe Trevor Howard. I could start by saying he was a great leading man of British post-war cinema, but that leaves out his supporting turns in films like The Third Man, and his character performances, such as Captain Bligh in Mutiny On The Bounty (1962), or Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (1980). He could be called an upper-class gentleman, but in Sons And Lovers (1960) he played a Nottinghamshire miner perfectly.
I could talk about how he wasn't traditionally handsome, but the look in his eyes when he falls passionately for Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) contains a male beauty that continues to define cinematic love today. Or maybe I could mention how perfectly he inhabited the role of...
- 9/25/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Mediumrare Entertainment continue their trend of releasing some of the weirdest cult films and TV shows with four films that are making their UK DVD debuts – and two are also getting the Blu-ray treatment too! Check out all the details below. I know I’ll be snapping these up, will you?
Operation Condor: Armour Of God II (1991)
Global adventurer Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan) comes to Europe in search of the ‘Armour of God’, a magical relic from the Crusades. He hopes he can use it to bargain for the freedom of his girlfriend from a deadly cult. With his trusty companion (Andy Tam) by his side, his quest takes him from one perilous adventure to another. Directed by Jackie Chain himself, who performed all his own stunts, it was regarded as one of the most expensive films at the time. The third instalment of the Armour of God adventures,...
Operation Condor: Armour Of God II (1991)
Global adventurer Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan) comes to Europe in search of the ‘Armour of God’, a magical relic from the Crusades. He hopes he can use it to bargain for the freedom of his girlfriend from a deadly cult. With his trusty companion (Andy Tam) by his side, his quest takes him from one perilous adventure to another. Directed by Jackie Chain himself, who performed all his own stunts, it was regarded as one of the most expensive films at the time. The third instalment of the Armour of God adventures,...
- 9/9/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Alec Guinness: Before Obi-Wan Kenobi, there were the eight D’Ascoyne family members (photo: Alec Guiness, Dennis Price in ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’) (See previous post: “Alec Guinness Movies: Pre-Star Wars Career.”) TCM won’t be showing The Bridge on the River Kwai on Alec Guinness day, though obviously not because the cable network programmers believe that one four-hour David Lean epic per day should be enough. After all, prior to Lawrence of Arabia TCM will be presenting the three-and-a-half-hour-long Doctor Zhivago (1965), a great-looking but never-ending romantic drama in which Guinness — quite poorly — plays a Kgb official. He’s slightly less miscast as a mere Englishman — one much too young for the then 32-year-old actor — in Lean’s Great Expectations (1946), a movie that fully belongs to boy-loving (in a chaste, fatherly manner) fugitive Finlay Currie. And finally, make sure to watch Robert Hamer’s dark comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets...
- 8/3/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Humphrey Bogart movies: ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ ‘High Sierra’ (Image: Most famous Humphrey Bogart quote: ‘The stuff that dreams are made of’ from ‘The Maltese Falcon’) (See previous post: “Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall Movies.”) Besides 1948, 1941 was another great year for Humphrey Bogart — one also featuring a movie with the word “Sierra” in the title. Indeed, that was when Bogart became a major star thanks to Raoul Walsh’s High Sierra and John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon. In the former, Bogart plays an ex-con who falls in love with top-billed Ida Lupino — though both are outacted by ingénue-with-a-heart-of-tin Joan Leslie. In the latter, Bogart plays Dashiel Hammett’s private detective Sam Spade, trying to discover the fate of the titular object; along the way, he is outacted by just about every other cast member, from Mary Astor’s is-she-for-real dame-in-distress to Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominee Sydney Greenstreet. John Huston...
- 8/1/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall: From ‘To Have and Have Not’ to ‘Key Largo’ Humphrey Bogart (born on Christmas Day 1899, in New York City) is Turner Classic Movies’ first “Summer Under the Stars” star on Thursday, August 1, 2013. TCM will be showing several Bogart movies not made at Warner Bros., e.g., 20th Century Fox’s The Left Hand of God and Columbia’s In a Lonely Place, but nothing that the cable network hasn’t presented before. In other words, don’t expect anything along the lines of the 1934 crime drama Midnight or the 1931 Western A Holy Terror (assuming these two movies still exist). Now, the good news: No Casablanca — which was shown on Tuesday, as part of TCM’s Paul Henreid movie series. (See “Humphrey Bogart Movies — TCM schedule.) (Photo: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not.) Of TCM’s Humphrey Bogart movies I’ve seen,...
- 8/1/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival continues to expand, with newly added appearances by legendary stars at screenings of some of their most memorable films, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan, Barrie Chase, Polly Bergen,Coleen Gray, Theodore Bikel and Norman Lloyd, as well as producer Stanley Rubin, Clara Bow biographer David Stenn, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film collections manager Katie Trainor and director Nicholas Ray’s widow, Susan Ray. In addition, TCM’s Essentials Jr. host and Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader will present screenings of Shane (1953) and The Ladykillers(1955).
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
- 3/13/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Sony has released the 1963 remake of the 1932 James Whale horror film The Old Dark House as a burn-to-order DVD. The difference between the versions is supposedly night and day (I haven't seen the original). The remake is a broad, comedic take on the horror genre that keeps only the basic premise of the story, which was based on a novel by J.B. Priestly. Tom Poston, in a rare leading role, plays Tom Pendrel, an American living in London where he works as a car dealer. His flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) is a strange man who he hardly ever sees. Nevertheless, Caspar induces Tom to deliver his new car to the family's estate in the British countryside. When Tom arrives, he finds Caspar dead, supposedly from an accidental fall. He's already laid out in his coffin in a parlor. Tom then finds himself among a strange group of other Femms,...
Sony has released the 1963 remake of the 1932 James Whale horror film The Old Dark House as a burn-to-order DVD. The difference between the versions is supposedly night and day (I haven't seen the original). The remake is a broad, comedic take on the horror genre that keeps only the basic premise of the story, which was based on a novel by J.B. Priestly. Tom Poston, in a rare leading role, plays Tom Pendrel, an American living in London where he works as a car dealer. His flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) is a strange man who he hardly ever sees. Nevertheless, Caspar induces Tom to deliver his new car to the family's estate in the British countryside. When Tom arrives, he finds Caspar dead, supposedly from an accidental fall. He's already laid out in his coffin in a parlor. Tom then finds himself among a strange group of other Femms,...
- 12/19/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Cliff Richard and the Shadows were Pathé's perfect poster boys for pop when it decided to boost its coverage in the early 60s
In the early 60s, Pathé ramped up its pop coverage. Once the Age of the Teenager had been established, youth became worthy of coverage and even traditional news sources followed suit. As we've seen, Pathé had some youth culture reportage during the second half of the 50s but from 1961 on, the trickle turned to a flood. And who better to represent this shift than the biggest homegrown star of the period?
Cliff Richard and the Shadows ruled British pop from spring 1959 to spring 1963. During that period they had, separately and together, 27 top 10 singles – including 12 No 1s. There were also two massively successful films, The Young Ones and Summer Holiday, with their associated soundtracks: in both cases the lead-off singles and the albums went to No 1.
Broadcast in...
In the early 60s, Pathé ramped up its pop coverage. Once the Age of the Teenager had been established, youth became worthy of coverage and even traditional news sources followed suit. As we've seen, Pathé had some youth culture reportage during the second half of the 50s but from 1961 on, the trickle turned to a flood. And who better to represent this shift than the biggest homegrown star of the period?
Cliff Richard and the Shadows ruled British pop from spring 1959 to spring 1963. During that period they had, separately and together, 27 top 10 singles – including 12 No 1s. There were also two massively successful films, The Young Ones and Summer Holiday, with their associated soundtracks: in both cases the lead-off singles and the albums went to No 1.
Broadcast in...
- 8/23/2012
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
(Carol Reed, 1951, Studio Canal, PG)
Carol Reed was acclaimed as an important new talent when Graham Greene, as film critic of the Spectator, reviewed his second film as a director, Midshipman Easy, in 1935. After the second world war they found fame, collaborating on The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. Reed thought they might scale new heights with a film of Joseph Conrad's 1896 novel An Outcast of the Islands. But Greene, in thrall since childhood to Conrad, had been trying to escape the Polish writer's influence and rejected Reed's invitation. A pity, because it might have been a revealing masterpiece.
Instead, it's an ambitious, deeply flawed picture, filmed on unromantically observed south- east Asian locations with a powerful performance by Trevor Howard as the self-destructive Willems and Ralph Richardson (a key exponent of Greene) providing a highly stylised portrait of the godlike Captain Lingard. A crucial film in an important,...
Carol Reed was acclaimed as an important new talent when Graham Greene, as film critic of the Spectator, reviewed his second film as a director, Midshipman Easy, in 1935. After the second world war they found fame, collaborating on The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. Reed thought they might scale new heights with a film of Joseph Conrad's 1896 novel An Outcast of the Islands. But Greene, in thrall since childhood to Conrad, had been trying to escape the Polish writer's influence and rejected Reed's invitation. A pity, because it might have been a revealing masterpiece.
Instead, it's an ambitious, deeply flawed picture, filmed on unromantically observed south- east Asian locations with a powerful performance by Trevor Howard as the self-destructive Willems and Ralph Richardson (a key exponent of Greene) providing a highly stylised portrait of the godlike Captain Lingard. A crucial film in an important,...
- 5/19/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Rko’s biggest budget film to date remains one of the finest literary adaptations ever, and is arguably Charles Laughton’s greatest screen role. His protege Maureen O’Hara never looked more stunning as the gypsy girl. Among the actors considered for Quasimodo were Orson Welles, Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, Robert Morley and Lon Chaney Jr., whose father made an indelible impression in the earlier silent version. Cedric Hardwicke is creepy in the villain role intended for Basil Rathbone, and Edmond O’Brien is almost unrecognizably young and svelte in his first movie. This was the only picture shown at the first Cannes Film Festival, which was canceled when Hitler invaded Poland.
- 4/23/2012
- by Marty Melville
- Trailers from Hell
To mark the release of Go to Blazes on DVD this Monday, 6th February, Studio Canal have given us three copies of the class movie to give away. The movie was originally released in 1962, is directed by Michael Truman and stars Maggie Smith, Dave King, Robert Morley and Daniel Massey.
For anyone who loves British comedy, Go To Blazes features an all-star cast that includes Robert Morley (The African Queen, Topkapi), Daniel Massey (In Which We Serve, The Entertainer), Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Rebel) and Coral Browne (Auntie Mame, Theatre of Blood). Go To Blazes also features classic British character actors Norman Rossington (The Wrong Box, The Charge of the Light Brigade), Finlay Currie (Around The World in Eighty Days, Ben Hur) and Miles Malleson (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Man In The White Suit). And last but not least, Go To Blazes stars Dame Maggie Smith...
For anyone who loves British comedy, Go To Blazes features an all-star cast that includes Robert Morley (The African Queen, Topkapi), Daniel Massey (In Which We Serve, The Entertainer), Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Rebel) and Coral Browne (Auntie Mame, Theatre of Blood). Go To Blazes also features classic British character actors Norman Rossington (The Wrong Box, The Charge of the Light Brigade), Finlay Currie (Around The World in Eighty Days, Ben Hur) and Miles Malleson (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Man In The White Suit). And last but not least, Go To Blazes stars Dame Maggie Smith...
- 2/3/2012
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Go To Blazes
Stars: Dave King, Robert Morley, Daniel Massey, Maggie Smith | Written by Patrick Campbell, Vivienne Knight | Directed by Michael Truman
First released in 1962, Go to Blazes is a frothy British comedy in the classic mould. The film follows the escapades of a trio of hapless criminals. After their getaway from a jewellery shop robbery is foiled by a traffic jam caused by a fire engine, the gang decide to procure a fire engine of their own as the perfect getaway vehicle. With zany results!
For some reason it feels more difficult to criticise old movies than it does modern ones. I think there’s an innate instinct to revere that which has gone before, at least in terms of cinema. Of course, the language and culture of cinema today is vastly different from the early sixties, which makes it tricky, for me at least, to offer a fair critique.
Stars: Dave King, Robert Morley, Daniel Massey, Maggie Smith | Written by Patrick Campbell, Vivienne Knight | Directed by Michael Truman
First released in 1962, Go to Blazes is a frothy British comedy in the classic mould. The film follows the escapades of a trio of hapless criminals. After their getaway from a jewellery shop robbery is foiled by a traffic jam caused by a fire engine, the gang decide to procure a fire engine of their own as the perfect getaway vehicle. With zany results!
For some reason it feels more difficult to criticise old movies than it does modern ones. I think there’s an innate instinct to revere that which has gone before, at least in terms of cinema. Of course, the language and culture of cinema today is vastly different from the early sixties, which makes it tricky, for me at least, to offer a fair critique.
- 1/29/2012
- by Jack Kirby
- Nerdly
Classic British comedy Go To Blazes is out on DVD on January 30th from Studio Canal. Featuring an all-star cast: Maggie Smith, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Dave King, Derek Nimmo, Thora Hird and Will Hay, the DVD release marks the film’s 50th Anniversary, and for this occasion, it will also be screened at the British Film Institute in the London Comedy Film Festival on January 29th.
Studio Canal have given us three DVDs of Go To Blazes to giveaway to you, our readers. All you have to do to win one is answer this simple question:
Go To Blazes stars Thora Hird, but in what classic British BBC televison series did she appear? Was it:
a) Songs of Praise
b) Points of View
c) Last of the Summer WIne
Email your answer and address to competition@blogomatic3000.com with Blazes in the subject line. An email entry counts as One entry into the competition.
Studio Canal have given us three DVDs of Go To Blazes to giveaway to you, our readers. All you have to do to win one is answer this simple question:
Go To Blazes stars Thora Hird, but in what classic British BBC televison series did she appear? Was it:
a) Songs of Praise
b) Points of View
c) Last of the Summer WIne
Email your answer and address to competition@blogomatic3000.com with Blazes in the subject line. An email entry counts as One entry into the competition.
- 1/23/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Receiving its first ever DVD release this week, classic comedy Go To Blazes is unfortunately not as wonderful as many other British farces. So before you rush to the shops – or indeed the cinema, where the film is also being re-released in a limited capacity – check out our review first!
Bernard, Harry and Alfie are three charming but foolhardy crooks that smash and grab tactics rarely come off. On their way for another stint behind bars they see the traffic part for an on call fire engine and hatch a new plan. Upon their release they set out to acquire a fire engine to use as the perfect getaway vehicle on a jewellery robbery. But when they are mistaken for real firemen their plan slowly begins to unravel. When Harry gets scared by the appearance of the police, he accidentally runs into a dress salons changing room.
Receiving its first ever DVD release this week, classic comedy Go To Blazes is unfortunately not as wonderful as many other British farces. So before you rush to the shops – or indeed the cinema, where the film is also being re-released in a limited capacity – check out our review first!
Bernard, Harry and Alfie are three charming but foolhardy crooks that smash and grab tactics rarely come off. On their way for another stint behind bars they see the traffic part for an on call fire engine and hatch a new plan. Upon their release they set out to acquire a fire engine to use as the perfect getaway vehicle on a jewellery robbery. But when they are mistaken for real firemen their plan slowly begins to unravel. When Harry gets scared by the appearance of the police, he accidentally runs into a dress salons changing room.
- 1/4/2012
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
Versatile actor and writer often called upon to play toffs and bumbling clerics
The actor Jonathan Cecil, who has died of pneumonia aged 72 after suffering from emphysema, spent much of his career playing upper-class characters. That is hardly surprising since his father was Lord David Cecil, Goldsmiths' professor of English literature at Oxford University, and Jonathan's grandfather was the 4th Marquess of Salisbury. Although often typecast as a comic blueblood, there was infinitely more to Jonathan than that. He excelled in Chekhov and Shakespeare, and four times played Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, always investing the character with a silvery pathos. In 1998 he had an outstanding season at Shakespeare's Globe, where he appeared in As You Like It and Thomas Middleton's A Mad World, My Masters, in which he played Sir Bounteous Progress – "gazing benignly", as John Gross wrote, "on almost everything, even his own undoing".
I...
The actor Jonathan Cecil, who has died of pneumonia aged 72 after suffering from emphysema, spent much of his career playing upper-class characters. That is hardly surprising since his father was Lord David Cecil, Goldsmiths' professor of English literature at Oxford University, and Jonathan's grandfather was the 4th Marquess of Salisbury. Although often typecast as a comic blueblood, there was infinitely more to Jonathan than that. He excelled in Chekhov and Shakespeare, and four times played Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, always investing the character with a silvery pathos. In 1998 he had an outstanding season at Shakespeare's Globe, where he appeared in As You Like It and Thomas Middleton's A Mad World, My Masters, in which he played Sir Bounteous Progress – "gazing benignly", as John Gross wrote, "on almost everything, even his own undoing".
I...
- 9/25/2011
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
From Turkish versions of Tarzan and Dracula to wintry weepies, via (whisper it) Midnight Express, Fiachra Gibbons picks out the best films shot in Istanbul
• As featured in our Istanbul city guide
From Russia with Love, Terence Young, 1963
"They dance for him, they yearn for him, they die for him …" From Russia with Love is not only arguably the best of the Bond films, it set the template for all that followed, right down to the corny one-liners. This is Tatiana, the Russian double-agent love interest succumbing to Sean Connery's charms: "The mechanism is… Oh James… Will you make love to me all the time in England?" "Day and night, darling… Go on about the mechanism…" The film was shot when the city's population was less than two million (it has mushroomed to more than 13 million today), and it's a magic carpet ride back to a time when Istanbul teemed with hamals,...
• As featured in our Istanbul city guide
From Russia with Love, Terence Young, 1963
"They dance for him, they yearn for him, they die for him …" From Russia with Love is not only arguably the best of the Bond films, it set the template for all that followed, right down to the corny one-liners. This is Tatiana, the Russian double-agent love interest succumbing to Sean Connery's charms: "The mechanism is… Oh James… Will you make love to me all the time in England?" "Day and night, darling… Go on about the mechanism…" The film was shot when the city's population was less than two million (it has mushroomed to more than 13 million today), and it's a magic carpet ride back to a time when Istanbul teemed with hamals,...
- 9/14/2011
- by Fiachra Gibbons
- The Guardian - Film News
Humphrey Bogart, the most revered Old Hollywood tough guy, is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Day this Wednesday as TCM continues its "Summer Under the Stars" film series.[Humphrey Bogart Movie Schedule.] My favorite tough guy — by far — is Edward G. Robinson. The star of Little Caesar, The Sea Wolf, House of Strangers, Key Largo, etc. is followed by James Cagney — when in psycho mode — and a whole bunch of tough dames, among them Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Greer, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino. Bogart isn't on my list. In the aforementioned Key Largo, for instance, he is all but eviscerated by Robinson's charisma. TCM is currently showing John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941), officially Hollywood's first film noir and one of the most widely admired classics of the studio era. Needless to say, I'm at odds with the general consensus. I much prefer Roy Del Ruth's less atmospheric but more entertaining 1931 version...
- 8/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
Agent 8 3/4 (1964)
Directed by: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Sylva Koscina, Robert Morley
Synopsis: Unemployed Czech-speaking writer Nicholas Whistler thinks he’s got a job visiting Prague for a bit of industrial espionage. In fact he is now in the employ of British Intelligence. His pretty chauffeuse on arrival behind the Iron Curtain, Comrade Simonova, is herself a Czech agent. Just as well she’s immediately attracted to 007′s unwitting replacement. [highdefdigest.com]
Special Features: Unknown.
Armed And Dangerous (1986)
Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Starring: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Meg Ryan, Robert Loggia
Synopsis: Dooley, a cop wrongly sacked for corruption, teams up with a useless defense lawyer in their new careers… as security guards. When the two are made fall guys for a robbery at a location they are guarding, the pair begin to investigate corruption within the company and their union.
Agent 8 3/4 (1964)
Directed by: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Sylva Koscina, Robert Morley
Synopsis: Unemployed Czech-speaking writer Nicholas Whistler thinks he’s got a job visiting Prague for a bit of industrial espionage. In fact he is now in the employ of British Intelligence. His pretty chauffeuse on arrival behind the Iron Curtain, Comrade Simonova, is herself a Czech agent. Just as well she’s immediately attracted to 007′s unwitting replacement. [highdefdigest.com]
Special Features: Unknown.
Armed And Dangerous (1986)
Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Starring: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Meg Ryan, Robert Loggia
Synopsis: Dooley, a cop wrongly sacked for corruption, teams up with a useless defense lawyer in their new careers… as security guards. When the two are made fall guys for a robbery at a location they are guarding, the pair begin to investigate corruption within the company and their union.
- 8/15/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine in Billy Wilder's The Apartment Shirley MacLaine on TCM: Ocean's Eleven, The Yellow Rolls Royce Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Two Loves (1961) A conservative teacher struggles with her values while teaching natives in New Zealand. Dir: Charles Walters. Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey, Jack Hawkins. C-97 mins, Letterbox Format. 8:00 Am The Sheepman (1958) A tough sheep farmer battles the local cattle baron for land and a beautiful woman. Dir: George Marshall. Cast: Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Nielsen. C-86 mins, Letterbox Format. 9:45 Am Two For The Seesaw (1962) A conservative attorney considering a divorce gets involved with an emotionally fragile dancer in New York. Dir: Robert Wise. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Edmon Ryan. Bw-119 mins, Letterbox Format. 12:00 Pm The Children's Hour (1961) A malicious student tries to destroy the teachers at a girls' school. Dir: William Wyler. Cast: Audrey Hepburn,...
- 8/11/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Andreas here. Today marks the centenary of horror icon Vincent Price, whose prolific seven-decade career also included forays into comedy, film noir, and historical drama. Price holds a special place in many a film fan's heart, whether for his spine-chilling voice— put to excellent legendary use by Quincy Jones for Michael Jackson's Thriller— or the aristocratic aura he brought to countless cheap William Castle and Roger Corman horror movies. Price could even elevate a project as inherently undignified as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine with his camp greatness.
He could capably play science-minded everymen, as he did in The Tingler and The Last Man on Earth (taking on the mantle later carried by Will Smith in I Am Legend), but the really fun Price parts are his hammy madmen. He sought gruesome vengeance in the 3-D House of Wax, twice in the '70s as the scarred Dr. Phibes,...
He could capably play science-minded everymen, as he did in The Tingler and The Last Man on Earth (taking on the mantle later carried by Will Smith in I Am Legend), but the really fun Price parts are his hammy madmen. He sought gruesome vengeance in the 3-D House of Wax, twice in the '70s as the scarred Dr. Phibes,...
- 5/28/2011
- by Andreas
- FilmExperience
Theatre Of Blood will play at the Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival in a 35mm print at 2:30pm on Saturday, May 21st at the Hi-Pointe Theatre. Ticket information can be found Here
In the early 1907′s Vincent Price’s career was at a high point. The Doctor Phibes films were unexpected hits. How would he capitalize on these? In 1973 he took on a role in a film with a similar plot structure. In fact, many fright film fans consider Theatre Of Blood an unofficial finale in a Phibes trilogy. Produced by United Artists rather then American International Blood differed from the Phibes film in that it was set in modern times and boasted one of the most prestigious casts that Price ever worked with. Price portrays Edward Lionheart , a stage actor thought to be dead , who returns to murder the critics that denied him a thespian award. Many of...
In the early 1907′s Vincent Price’s career was at a high point. The Doctor Phibes films were unexpected hits. How would he capitalize on these? In 1973 he took on a role in a film with a similar plot structure. In fact, many fright film fans consider Theatre Of Blood an unofficial finale in a Phibes trilogy. Produced by United Artists rather then American International Blood differed from the Phibes film in that it was set in modern times and boasted one of the most prestigious casts that Price ever worked with. Price portrays Edward Lionheart , a stage actor thought to be dead , who returns to murder the critics that denied him a thespian award. Many of...
- 5/21/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If I can sit through the Saw movies or The Human Centipede without my pulse missing a beat, it just means the tipping points have shifted
Back in 1976, when Taxi Driver first opened, I trotted off to see it with no idea what I was in for. Imagine that. I'd never heard of Martin Scorsese or Robert de Niro, and I hadn't read the reviews. It was my date's choice of movie; I was more of a Night of the Living Dead kind of girl. So I sat in the front row of the Leicester Square theatre, feeling slightly underwhelmed by the absence of zombies, until near the end. And then, suddenly, everything turned yellow, Bernard Herrmann's music was drilling into my skull, blood was dripping off De Niro's finger and I had to lean forward to stop myself fainting.
Incredibly, my date didn't notice anything amiss and I...
Back in 1976, when Taxi Driver first opened, I trotted off to see it with no idea what I was in for. Imagine that. I'd never heard of Martin Scorsese or Robert de Niro, and I hadn't read the reviews. It was my date's choice of movie; I was more of a Night of the Living Dead kind of girl. So I sat in the front row of the Leicester Square theatre, feeling slightly underwhelmed by the absence of zombies, until near the end. And then, suddenly, everything turned yellow, Bernard Herrmann's music was drilling into my skull, blood was dripping off De Niro's finger and I had to lean forward to stop myself fainting.
Incredibly, my date didn't notice anything amiss and I...
- 5/12/2011
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman
Born in St. Louis on May 27, 1911, iconic actor Vincent Price retained a special fondness for his place of origin, and that love is now reciprocated with Vincentennial, a celebration of his 100th birthday in his hometown. Price was not only a notable St. Louisan but one of the 20th century.s most remarkable men. To do full justice to the range of his accomplishments, Vincentennial features not only a 10-day film festival but also a pair of exhibits, a stage production, two publications, and illuminating discussions by Price experts and film historians. We decided to do a special edition of Top Ten Tuesday here at We Are Movie Geeks in honor of the many great films that Vincent Price starred in, and after we had assembled the list we realized that all ten of these films will be showing at the...
Born in St. Louis on May 27, 1911, iconic actor Vincent Price retained a special fondness for his place of origin, and that love is now reciprocated with Vincentennial, a celebration of his 100th birthday in his hometown. Price was not only a notable St. Louisan but one of the 20th century.s most remarkable men. To do full justice to the range of his accomplishments, Vincentennial features not only a 10-day film festival but also a pair of exhibits, a stage production, two publications, and illuminating discussions by Price experts and film historians. We decided to do a special edition of Top Ten Tuesday here at We Are Movie Geeks in honor of the many great films that Vincent Price starred in, and after we had assembled the list we realized that all ten of these films will be showing at the...
- 5/10/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Let’s go back to when Britain had its own cinema and see who some of our homegrown stars were then. If we dissolve back to 1960, we find a plethora of movie stars - enough to guarantee full houses in all the West End, and regional theatres, in the country. Here are just some of them: Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, John Mills, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Virginia McKenna, Denholm Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Diana Dors, Terry Thomas, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, Joan Greenwood, Hermione Baddeley, Moira Lister, Oliver Reed, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Robert Shaw, Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Laurence Harvey, Paul Scofield, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, Leslie-Anne Down, George Formby, Peter Ustinov, Peter Finch, Harry Andrews, Maxine Audley, Nigel Stock, Eric Porter, Noel Coward, Dinsdale Landen, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Wymark, Shirley-Anne Field, and Moira Redmond…...
- 12/23/2010
- by Jonathan Gems
- Pure Movies
The innovative iPhone peripheral Square, designed to bring credit card accepting skills to the the masses, is the subject of an IP battle centered around the initial invention of the idea.
Square was dreamed up by artist-inventor Jim McKelvey when, frustrated he couldn't sell one of his creations because he had no credit card processing facility, he realized a smartphone could be used to his benefit--and that of millions of small-scale vendors. So he created a device to convert magnetic strip info from a card into data that a specific iPhone app could understand--turning his concept into a realizable product that had the benefit of being very cheap to produce. McKelvey brought in Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey as a partner, and money-man, and the rest is history.
Or perhaps not. At about the same time as involving Dorsey, McKelvey asked his friend Robert Morley to build a working prototype, presumably...
Square was dreamed up by artist-inventor Jim McKelvey when, frustrated he couldn't sell one of his creations because he had no credit card processing facility, he realized a smartphone could be used to his benefit--and that of millions of small-scale vendors. So he created a device to convert magnetic strip info from a card into data that a specific iPhone app could understand--turning his concept into a realizable product that had the benefit of being very cheap to produce. McKelvey brought in Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey as a partner, and money-man, and the rest is history.
Or perhaps not. At about the same time as involving Dorsey, McKelvey asked his friend Robert Morley to build a working prototype, presumably...
- 12/3/2010
- by Kit Eaton
- Fast Company
As people ask me about this Sunday’s Cinema Club presentation at the Ritz, I’m finding myself a little stumped and at a loss for words. What the hell is Beat The Devil? Is it a parody? A farce? A spoof? I don’t know, or particularly care. Mainly, I like the out-of-control feel that the film gives me. Beat The Devil is like a train that jumps the tracks and, against all odds, keeps chugging along until it reaches a far more interesting destination than any dumb old train station.
The plot, such as it is, is wandering and desultory. An English couple with pretensions toward nobility find themselves stranded in a Neapolitan village while their ship is being repaired. The wife (Jennifer Jones) becomes fascinated with a quartet of suspicious characters led by Robert Morley and including Peter Lorre (as the German accented Chilean resident O’Hara...
The plot, such as it is, is wandering and desultory. An English couple with pretensions toward nobility find themselves stranded in a Neapolitan village while their ship is being repaired. The wife (Jennifer Jones) becomes fascinated with a quartet of suspicious characters led by Robert Morley and including Peter Lorre (as the German accented Chilean resident O’Hara...
- 11/16/2010
- by Lars Nilsen
- OriginalAlamo.com
Death by catflap and other heinous ways to go … here are your suggestions for the genre's most creative demise
@alexito Bill Pullman being buried alive in a coffin full of blood in The Serpent and the Rainbow. With a tarantula on his face. It's the little details that count.
@Sokket The bed eating a victim in the original Nightmare on Elm Street
@mcragg Scream. Death by catflap.
@theythinkitsallover Meaning of Life – exploding fat man.
@gembird My favourite is the one in The Happening where a man starts his lawnmower and then lies down in front of it so it chews him up.
@Sipech I think drowning in sand in The Omen. It made me aware of a phobia I never realised I had. Surely, the worst possible way to die.
@ATG66 I'll never forget the scene in Dr Phibes Rises Again where the man is trapped by a huge scorpion...
@alexito Bill Pullman being buried alive in a coffin full of blood in The Serpent and the Rainbow. With a tarantula on his face. It's the little details that count.
@Sokket The bed eating a victim in the original Nightmare on Elm Street
@mcragg Scream. Death by catflap.
@theythinkitsallover Meaning of Life – exploding fat man.
@gembird My favourite is the one in The Happening where a man starts his lawnmower and then lies down in front of it so it chews him up.
@Sipech I think drowning in sand in The Omen. It made me aware of a phobia I never realised I had. Surely, the worst possible way to die.
@ATG66 I'll never forget the scene in Dr Phibes Rises Again where the man is trapped by a huge scorpion...
- 10/22/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw is tonight’s star on Turner Classic Movies. Major Barbara (1941), directed by Gabriel Pascal, and starring Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller, is on right now. I’ve watched it a couple of times, but I haven’t been able to really get into it. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed both Robert Morley and Marie Lohr in supporting roles. Also of note, Deborah Kerr has what amounts to a bit part. The highly theatrical Caesar And Cleopatra (1945) offers two solid performances — Claude Rains as Caesar; Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra (right) — while Pygmalion (1938), co-directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, is considered the best film adaptation of a Shaw play. Wendy Hiller, for her [...]...
- 4/16/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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