Author Archives: chipkaufmann

Although I have been a fan of British cinema for over 50 years, it was primarily of the horror films made by Hammer and others from the 1950’s through the mid 1970’s. Only in the last 10 years have I begun exploring earlier British movies from the 1930’s and 40’s and this includes those byContinue reading “GAINSBOUROUGH TRIPLE FEATURE: British Melodramas From WW II”

1958 was a busy year for Boris Karloff. Thanks to the sale of his old Universal horror movies to TV as part of the 1957 SHOCK package, he was in demand once again as a horror actor. He signed a two picture deal with producer Richard Gordon’s Amalgamated Productions which meant travelling to England toContinue reading “CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1958): One Of Boris Karloff’s Best 1950s Efforts”

Having just re-watched and enjoyed Richard Greene’s ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD series, my wife and I decided to check out some of the other 1950s British historical adventure series. As my father’s family had immigrated from Switzerland around the turn of the 20th century and established themselves in America, the logical choice was WILLIAM TELL.Continue reading “WILLIAM TELL – The 1958 TV Series: Not As Good As It Should Have Been”

Is Love stronger than Death? DESTINY provides a unique answer that has haunted moviegoers for over 80 years. Fritz Lang, one of the world’s great directors, launched his career with this 1921 German silent epic known in Germany as DER MUDE TOD (Weary Death). It’s one of the most important silent films influencing future moviesContinue reading “DESTINY (1921): A Hauntingly Beautiful Silent Movie (2005)”

There is a growing and welcome trend among recent DVD releases of well known classic movies. If the film is a remake of a silent movie (and many are), the DVD package now includes the original silent version in the set. I was initially opposed to the idea when it first began happening last year.Continue reading “BEN-HUR & Other Classic Silent Movies on DVD (2006)”

2005 marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of American filmmaker Tod Browning although he would never have thought of himself as such. He was just a movie director plain and simple but a director of great originality, a master of the macabre, an Alfred Hitchcock before Hitchcock. Today he would be compared to suchContinue reading “TOD BROWNING: America’s First Master Of The Macabre (2006)”

Val Lewton (1904-1951) was one of the most influential film producers during the Golden Age of Hollywood who rescued RKO Radio Pictures after the Orson Welles / CITIZEN KANE debacle which nearly bankrupt the studio. His series of nine films for RKO, made between 1942 and 1946, pioneered an all new approach to the horrorContinue reading “SOUNDS & SHADOWS: The Film Legacy Of Val Lewton Now on DVD (2006)”

Imagine that Stephen Spielberg’s carerr as a director is over and way in the past. Then suppose that the one film chosen to represent him is THE COLOR PURPLE. Forgotten are JAWS, E.T., SCHINDLER’S LIST, and the recent MUNICH not to mention the rest of his output. Would that be a fair assessment of Spielberg’sContinue reading “INTOLERANCE & D.W. Griffith In The 21st Century (2006)”

Lillian Gish (1893-1993), who died just short of her 100th birthday, had the longest career of any major star in movie history. She made her first screen appearance at the age of 19 in D. W. Griffith’s one reeler AN UNSEEN ENEMY in 1912 and made her last in 1987 in THE WHALES OF AUGUSTContinue reading “LILLIAN GISH: Film Pioneer & Film Preservationist (2007)”

“Have gun will travel reads the card of a man. A night without armor in a savage land”. Anyone who grew up in the 1950s would instantly recognize that as the theme song of the classic TV Western HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL that aired from 1957-1963. Its star, Richard Boone (1917-1981), was much more thanContinue reading “RICHARD BOONE: A One-Of-A-Kind Character Actor (2007)”