Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE STORY OF MANKIND falls squarely in the middle as a movie that is as bad as it is good and vice versa. But have no doubts, it is one of the best bad films that you will ever see. Producer Irwin Allen whose disaster movies (TOWERING INFERNO) and sci-fi TV series (VOYAGE TO THEContinue reading “THE STORY OF MANKIND Must Be Seen To Be Believed”

Having recently revisited this title as part of the available films of Maurice Tourneur on commercial DVD (the others are ALIAS JIMMY VALENTINE, THE BLUE BIRD, A GIRL’S FOLLY, LORNA DOONE, VICTORY, and THE WISHING RING), I am again reminded of what a remarkable director he was and what a remarkable achievement this film is.Continue reading “THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1920) Is A Remarkable Achievement.”

If you mention the name Tourneur (tour-NURR) to most film aficianados they will say Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977) the director of the film noir classic OUT OF THE PAST and several Val Lewton horror films such as CAT PEOPLE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. But before Jacques there was his father Maurice Tourneur (1873-1961) whoContinue reading “THE BLUE BIRD (1918): The First Version And Still The Best”

1919 was a pivotal year for Lon Chaney. His appearance in THE MIRACLE MAN (now lost) was the turning point in his career. It was also the year that he made the two films showcased on this release from Flicker Alley (originally released by Image Entertainment). These movies feature two of the silent era’s greatestContinue reading “THE WICKED DARLING / VICTORY: Lon Chaney’s Earliest Surviving Double Feature”

My introduction to silent films occured at a most unlikely place, a pizza parlor in Greenville SC. This was back in the early 1960’s when silent films were first being rediscovered. More often than not they were used to get laughs like on a TV show popular at the time called FRACTURED FLICKERS or atContinue reading “BEFORE HOLLYWOOD: A Fascinating Look At East Coast Filmmaking”

This film which was originally called 13 (it’s still listed as that in the end title credits). I’m sure the title was changed to make it sound more horrific. I assume it refers to a pagan amulet used in the film although no one ever calls it that. While watching this film I was struckContinue reading “EYE OF THE DEVIL: A Pre-WICKER MAN Thriller”

There have been 6 major film adaptations featuring Raymond Chandler’s “poor but honest” LA private detective Philip Marlowe. It starts in 1945 with Dick Powell in MURDER, MY SWEET (changed from FAREWELL MY LOVELY) which is closely followed by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s THE BIG SLEEP (shot in 1944 but released in 1946). FlashContinue reading “MARLOWE (1968): The Best Of The Modern Philip Marlowes”

It has been half a century since I first saw this movie. Watching it again for the first time in all those years made me realize what an impact it had on me way back when. Certain scenes just jumped right out at me as if I were still a child while I can nowContinue reading “MACABRE (1958): William Castle’s First Gimmick Horror Movie”

Now that Hollywood has finally gotten around to acknowledging the fact that women filmmakers are just as capable as men and are giving them the opportunities to direct that have long been denied them, more attention is being paid to Lois Weber. Weber was a true pioneer whose success as a filmmaker between 1915 andContinue reading “A CHAPTER IN HER LIFE / THE SENSATION SEEKERS: 2 Lois Weber Movies Made After She Lost Her Independence”

Having just seen and reviewed the new Blu-Ray for OUTSIDE THE LAW, I then turned my attention to Kino’s other Priscilla Dean Blu-Ray release DRIFTING/THE WHITE TIGER (both 1923) especially as I had never seen either one of them before. That leaves only THE WICKED DARLING (1919) as the last surviving Priscilla Dean/Tod Browning collaborationContinue reading “PRISCILLA DEAN: 3 Movies – One Good, One OK, One Missing”