Category Archives: Uncategorized

It has been 80 years since The Lone Ranger made his debut on radio. 55 years since Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels last rode off into the sunset, and 32 years since an ill-fated attempt to the resurrect the character, The Legend of the Lone Ranger disappeared right after hitting the local multiplex. Now Disney has releasedContinue reading “THE LONE RANGER: From Radio To Johnny Depp (2013)”

Two years ago in a previous edition of Reel Takes, I wrote an article on England’s legendary Hammer Films to celebrate the company’s rebirth and the upcoming release of The Woman In Black with Daniel Radcliffe. That film opened in February 2012 to mostly positive reviews and went on to gross over $100 million makingContinue reading “HAMMER FILMS REVISITED: 3 Lost 1970s Movies (2013)”

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the debut of a movie icon but, if it weren’t for the intervention of another film comedy pioneer, his first appearance might have been his last. On February 2, 1914 Charlie Chaplin appeared in a Keystone comedy called Making A Living. He hadn’t discovered the Tramp character yet and heContinue reading “MABEL NORMAND: The Film Comedy Pioneer Is Finally Getting Her Due (2014)”

The next time you watch a TV show on the Fox Network, cheer or hiss a talking head on Fox News, see a movie produced by Twentieth Century Fox (or any studio for that matter), or visit the Fox Theater in Atlanta, then spare a thought for the forgotten man who made it all possible,Continue reading “WILLIAM FOX: Hollywood’s Forgotten Mogul (2014)”

Who would have thought that a radioactive, fire breathing dragon, intended to be a metaphor for the fire bombing of Tokyo during World War II would have turned into a cultural icon known and loved (yes, loved!) the world over. Certainly not the Japanese but that’s exactly what happened. Who also would have guessed thatContinue reading “60 YEARS OF GODZILLA: From Metaphor to Icon (2014)”

When I refer to Terence Fisher as “the poor man’s Hitchcock”, I do not mean it in a disparaging way. I mean it as a compliment, for while Fisher made his movies pretty much the way Hitchcock did, he never had the kind of budgets that Hitch had in America. Terence Fisher made all butContinue reading “TERENCE FISHER: The Poor Man’s Hitchcock (2014)”

If you’re a regular reader of RAPID RIVER MAGAZINE’S movie section, then you know that when I write an article, it’s usually a profile of some movie person or to provide a historical overview on something film related. This time around, it;s a little something different. I still plan to talk about a topic that’sContinue reading “HELPING MOVIES FIND THEIR AUDIENCE (2014)”

May 6, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of filmmaker and larger-than-life personality Orson Welles. While there have been and will continue to be a number of tributes throughout the year, including a recent retrospective at NYC’s Film Forum, it is interesting to note what has happened to Welles’ reputation as filmmaker andContinue reading “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES? (2015)”

I first encountered Christopher Lee in 1962 when I was 10 years old. I didn’t know who he was, having not yet seen any of the classic Hammer horror pictures. I had gone to see Boris Karloff in a movie called Corridors of Blood which was set in 19th century England. Karloff’s NBC mystery/horror series Thriller was in fullContinue reading “MY DEBT TO SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE (2015)”

Mention the name Mary Pickford to anyone and if they have heard of her at all, the image of “the girl with the golden curls” is what immediately comes to mind. There are countless variations on this image much like Charlie Chaplin’s tramp character. Chaplin is everywhere but Pickford is forgotten which is unfortunate becauseContinue reading “MARY PICKFORD: America’s Sweetheart And So Much More (2015)”