Category Archives: Uncategorized

I first encountered GHOST STORY on VHS in the late 1980s where it had been retitled in America as MADHOUSE MANSION to avoid confusion with the better known 1981 Fred Astaire GHOST STORY. Although the print wasn’t great, I was immediately attracted to the story of three 1920s British school chums who get together forContinue reading “GHOST STORY (1974) Is Exactly What It Says It Is”

It would appear that the 2000 Image DVD and the Amazon streams of these two titles are currently not available which is unfortunate as both movies have more to offer than simply Louise Brooks and Clara Bow. Both films are middle-of-the-road Paramount releases from the mid-1920s and are great examples of the type of everydayContinue reading “Inspired Double Feature Has More To Offer Than Louise Brooks & Clara Bow”

When I pre-ordered this Blu-Ray back in September 2021, I was looking forward to it as THE SHEIK is a landmark silent movie and Rudolph Valentino’s signature role. I have had a copy of THE SHEIK since 1988 when Paramount first issued it on VHS. 35 years later that version remains the best one asContinue reading “PARAMOUNT PRESENTS: THE SHEIK – 100th Anniversary Edition”

Bette Davis is on record as saying that this is one movie that she really hated making. In fact she had to be financially coerced into doing it which is probably why she disliked it so much. That combined with the many 1941 MALTESE FALCON lovers who don’t have a sense of humor are theContinue reading “SATAN MET A LADY (1936): Not As Bad As Its Reputation Provided You Have A Sense Of Humor”

If ever there was a cinematic labor of love, then George Hoellering’s 1951 adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s verse drama MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL is it. Shot in black and white on a limited budget and using mostly amateur performers, MURDER is nonetheless a very powerful film. That power comes from the simple settings, the strikingContinue reading “T. S. Eliot’s MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL (1952): Beautifully Done But Of Limited Appeal”

This love letter to several major classical music artists of the mid 20th century came from Edgar G. Ulmer, a director who specialized in working on low budget movies. He was known in Hollywood as “the King of PRC”. Producers Releasing Corporation was a Poverty Row studio that was considered Tinsel Town’s bottom rung. MostContinue reading “CARNEGIE HALL (1947): The Experience Of A Lifetime For Classical Music Lovers”

Some three decades later (I’ll split the difference as BSD dates from 1992 while MSF is 1994), both of these Francis Ford Coppola produced movies (he also directed BSD) and make for an interesting double feature that really should be viewed back-to-back. Both were successful at the box office (DRACULA more so than FRANKENSTEIN) andContinue reading “BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA / MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN: 30 Years Later”

Kino Lorber continues their ongoing series devoted to marginalized early filmmakers with CINEMA’S FIRST NASTY WOMEN. Earlier titles in this series were PIONEERS: AFRICAN AMERICAN CINEMA (2016) and PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS (2018). The title for this December 2022 release is a direct reference to Donald Trump’s calling Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” during theContinue reading “CINEMA’S FIRST NASTY WOMEN (2022): Early 20th Century Silent Films As Seen From A 21st Century Perspective”

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Michael Winner’s Cold War spy thriller SCORPIO and it’s just as engaging now as it was when it was first released back in 1973. Director Winner (1935-2013) earned more than his share of critical brickbats during his career thanks primarily to having directed the controversial DEATH WISH (and 2Continue reading “SCORPIO (1973) Is Still Engaging After 50 Years”

As a long time lover of silent movies, especially those made before the advent of the Hollywood Studio System in 1924, I found this book absolutely indispensible. Vitagraph (the name means “living pictures”) was founded by two British born Americans, J. Stuart Blackton & Albert Smith, in 1897 and lasted until 1925 when they soldContinue reading “VITAGRAPH: The Greatest Movie Studio You Never Heard Of”