Author Archives: chipkaufmann

No other series from the Golden Age of TV had the impact on me that THRILLER did. This was in the early 1960s when your viewing choices were extremely limited. Fortunately the NBC affiliate was very close by so that we could get a clear sharp signal with our rabbit ear antennas (remember those?). IContinue reading “THRILLER: THE COMPLETE SERIES Is A Dream Come True BUT With Reservations”

I had forgotten all about this series until the set was released and then flashes of it came back. Melvyn Douglas as a grandfather on a dark mission, Rip Torn & Geraldine Page as a spooky Southern couple living in a decaying mansion, Patricia Neal as a guest who has lost her husband while stayingContinue reading “GHOST STORY: The TV Series – When Storytelling Mattered”

first saw HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR back in 2010 on the old A&E DVDs with the green covers. At that time I wrote in my first review that I was disappointed in the series as a whole. There were a number of reasons for this. The biggest one was that I was really looking forwardContinue reading “HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR: What A Difference A Decade Makes”

Everything about SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT is remarkable. From the making of the movie to its unlikely odyssey through the grindhouse circuit and final rediscovery and restoration to what the filmmakers intended. It all began in 1967 with the completion of a personal project for director J. L. (Joseph) Anderson. Anderson, an instructor of filmContinue reading “SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT: Remarkable Restoration Of A Remarkable Film”

I have had a number of copies of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME over the years but this is by far and away the best that I have ever seen and easily the best that I have ever heard. This clearly demonstrates how much Max Steiner’s score contributes to the film just as it would forContinue reading “THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) / GOW THE HEADHUNTER”

Flicker Alley’s latest offering is called IN THE SHADOW OF HOLLYWOOD: HIGHLIGHTS FROM POVERTY ROW. Of the four movies in the set, I was familiar with only one, 1935’s THE CRIME OF DR CRESPI, which I purchased back in the early 1990s in a terrible public domain VHS copy. The other three are MIDNIGHT (CALLContinue reading “IN THE SHADOW OF HOLLYWOOD: HIGHLIGHTS FROM POVERTY ROW”

PERILS OF THE NEW LAND is a remarkable double feature from the early days of cinema that represents America’s two oldest surviving movie companies, Paramount and Universal (both founded 1912). The Universal offering, TRAFFIC IN SOULS was once available on VHS. The version here is essentially the same just buffed up a little for itsContinue reading “PERILS OF THE NEW LAND Is Another Winner From Flicker Alley”

I have been reading books on silent movies since 1967 and collecting them on home VHS/DVD/Blu-ray since 1990 and during that time I have never come across the name of director Irvin Willat or if I have then I certainly don’t recall it. This is even more surprising as one of the many bonus supplementsContinue reading “BEHIND THE DOOR (1919): Outrageous WWI Melodrama Is Given A 5 Star Treatment”

Once again Flicker Alley has done silent film fans a huge favor by compiling and releasing this DVD of two John Gilbert movies from different stages of his career. BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT dates from 1926 and reunites Gilbert with his THE BIG PARADE director, King Vidor. It’s a typical MGM picture of the day withContinue reading “BARDELEYS / COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: Exciting John Gilbert Double Feature A Must See”

…and I mean that in a double sense. First there is the scenario which is a traditional love triangle. Two young girls meet in a “divorce colony” in Paris and become childhood friends. It’s a place run by nuns where children of well-to-do divorced parents are left so that the parents can get on withContinue reading “CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927): Better Than It Has Any Right To Be…”