Category Archives: Uncategorized

The MR WONG series was not the first time that Boris Karloff had played an Asian character but it was the last. In 1932 he was the evil Fu Manchu for MGM and just before the WONG movies, he was a Chinese warlord in WEST OF SHANGHAI (1937) for Warner Brothers. He played detective JamesContinue reading “THE MR WONG COLLECTION (1938-1940): B Movie Mysteries With Boris Karloff”

I In the late 1960s after a long and productive career, Boris Karloff who was then in his late 70s and in poor health was asked if he planned to retire. His reply was “He who rests…rots! Not me. I plan to die in harness.” And that’s just what he did…almost. He died at 81 justContinue reading “THE BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION (1968): His Last Cinematic Efforts & Definitely His Least”

BARON BLOOD was the only Mario Bava film that I saw in a movie theater during its initial run. That was in 1972. All of his other movies were either seen at a drive-in or on TV. It marked Bava’s return to his Italian Gothic roots which had begun with BLACK SUNDAY back in 1960Continue reading “BARON BLOOD (1972): Mario Bava Pays Tribute To Himself And To The 1953 HOUSE OF WAX”

Director Tod Browning has been well represented on DVD and Blu-Ray over the years. However that is mostly because of his star performers rather than for his name as a director. In addition to the ubiquitous DRACULA with Bela Lugosi, there are many collaborations with Lon Chaney. There are also his late Teens and earlyContinue reading “Tod Browning Triple Feature: FREAKS (1932) Gets The Criterion Treatment”

The AIP version of Mario Bava’s 1963 THREE FACES OF FEAR, renamed BLACK SABBATH, has recently been issued by KL Studio Classics This release features a high quality transfer but is not fully restored. No matter, it’s still nice to have Boris Karloff speaking in his own voice. The earlier Image and/or Anchor Bay editionsContinue reading “BLACK SABBATH (1963): KL’s Updated Release of the AIP Version”

I approached this second Douglas Fairbanks double feature Blu-Ray from the Cohen Media Group with some trepidation. Earlier this year (2023) they released a Blu-Ray of DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS IN ROBIN HOOD and THE BLACK PIRATE which, while definitely worth having, came up short when compared to Cohen’s previous efforts (those shortcomings are detailed in myContinue reading “Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature 2: This Time Cohen Media Group Does It Right”

THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD of 1926 joins the ever growing list of once lost Fox silent films (we’re talking pre-20th Century Fox) that have not only recently been found, but have been restored so that they can be enjoyed once more. Most people are unaware of the fact that virtually all of Fox’s silent film outputContinue reading “THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1926): A Much Needed Restoration Of A Forgotten Fox Film”

Back in 1988, Paramount released a handful of their classic silent film titles on VHS. Of the 8 titles made available, only one, Erich von Stroheim’s THE WEDDING MARCH, has yet to make it to DVD or Blu-Ray. In that 1988 set was the W.C. Fields comedy RUNNING WILD from 1927. Fields made 8 silent filmsContinue reading “IT’S THE OLD ARMY GAME (1926): Silent W.C. Fields Comedy With Louise Brooks”

Although I have been a silent film enthusiast for over 60 years and a silent film historian for over 30, I am consistently surprised at how many silent movies I am not familiar with. I am also pleasantly surprised at how many of those titles are now being rediscovered and restored. Such is the caseContinue reading “THE SPANISH DANCER (1923): Pola Negri Shines In This Lavish Historical Spectacle”

My wife and I just finished re-watching THE BUCCANEERS and we enjoyed it even more than the first time. We’re big fans of the 1950s British historical action-adventure shows and have seen almost all of those that are currently available. We concur that THE BUCCANEERS is the best of the lot, even better than RichardContinue reading “THE BUCCANEERS (1956): A Great Family Show And The Start Of Robert Shaw’s Career”