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Noel Coward’s CAVALCADE was a huge success in its day and is now a time capsule of British attitudes after the First World War and the Roaring 20s that followed. It can easily be seen as the precursor of several period BBC dramas which came much later including the iconic UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS and now DOWNTONContinue reading “CAVALCADE (1933): A Precursor To UPSTAIRS / DOWNSTAIRS & DOWNTON ABBEY”

Having marveled at the new Blu-Ray release of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933), I decided to watch its immediate predecessor DOCTOR X (1932) which I have as part of the 2006 HOLLYWOOD’S LEGEND OF HORROR DVD set. This film also used the same two color Technicolor process and even featured the same performers, LionelContinue reading “DOCTOR X: Makes A Perfect Double Bill With MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM”

The history of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is a fascinating one. A huge success on its initial release in 1933, the film was forgotten after the Production Code came in a year later. Warner Brothers had little interest in horror films and never bothered to re-issue it. By 1953 when they remade it asContinue reading “MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM: The Original Classic In Properly Restored Early Technicolor”

BIRD OF PARADISE is one of those films that remained unseen for years thanks to its pre-code nudity and the fact that a lame 1951 remake made sure that it sat on the shelf. A few years ago VCI Home Entertainment in conjunction with the Roan Group issued a restored version on VHS. This isContinue reading “BIRD OF PARADISE (1932): Exotic and Erotic”

Mention the name Republic Pictures to any movie buff and Westerns immediately come to mind. Gene Autrey, Roy Rogers, and even John Wayne had some of their earliest roles there. After WW II they sprang for bigger budgets and non-Westerns like THE QUIET MAN (w/John Wayne) and even Orson Welles’ 1948 version of MACBETH. TheyContinue reading “THE UNEARTHLY (1957): A Pleasant Low Budget Surprise From Republic Pictures”

Republic Pictures was at the top of the heap down on Poverty Row. They were the “A” studio of “B” pictures who specialized in Westerns (John Wayne & Gene Autry got their start there) and Serials (THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, THE LONE RANGER). The company was founded in 1935 and produced and released filmsContinue reading “THE RED PONY: Finally A Gorgeous Print Of This 1949 Classic”

Frank Borzage was classic Hollywood’s most romantic filmmaker. Between 1927 and 1929 he made several highly successful movies with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. The best known of these was 7TH HEAVEN. The central theme of these films were poor couples redeemed by the power of love. However by the mid-1930s his redemptive romanticism wasContinue reading “MOONRISE (1948): Frank Borzage’s Answer To Film Noir”

That’s quite a combination but thanks to director Fritz Lang, it works. HOUSE BY THE RIVER was unseen for many years for 2 reasons 1) Republic Pictures studio head Herbert J. Yates refused to sell the Republic film library to TV in the 1950s believing that TV was a fad that wouldn’t last (wrong!!) andContinue reading “HOUSE BY THE RIVER: A Victorian, Southern, Gothic Melodrama”

There are currently (as of 6/11/21) over 350 reviews for THE MONOLITH MONSTERS. The majority of them are positive, as mine will be. It is one of those rare 1950s sci-fi offerings that is intelligent without being too serious and enjoyable without being campy. It boasts a unique premise in that the title “monsters” (whoContinue reading “MONOLITH MONSTERS Is Rock Solid All The Way”

Of the numerous black & white 1950s & 60s horror/sci-fi films that I watched as a kid back in the 1950s & 60s, there were three that stood out in their ability to give me nightmares. One was Hammer’s X THE UNKNOWN. the second was Gramercy’s THE VAMPIRE and the third was this one. IContinue reading “THE BLACK SCORPION Still Delivers A Shiver Down The Spine”