gosh717

I watched The Fugitive faithfully when I was in high school (early-mid-1960s), then forgot about it until 2015 when I was browsing around in a Goodwill store. In a bin of videotapes there were a dozen boxes of Fugitive cassettes, each with 2 episodes, including the first of the series and the last. They were for sale at $1 each and I bought all 12, and binge-watched them for several weeks. All of them were a shining example of the quality and care that went into the series. The storylines and the writing were honed to perfection. It was like reading a great novel a chapter at a time, and wanting it to never end. The production values were outstanding. And reading the list of actors in the guest roles is just amazing--more than a hundred big names of not only TV fame but also movies. I guess just about everybody in Hollywood wanted to be on that show. I watching them again this week in 2025 as I edge toward my 75th birthday in July. There is nothing stale or passe about The Fugitive here in 2025. It still shines brightly as one of the top accomplishments ever in television lore.

Back around 2007 I used to tape movies off of Turner Classic, setting the recorder before heading off to my overnight job at a Vermont hospital. Blood Freak was sandwiched between some golden-age classics on the tape. I finally got around to watching it for the first time nearly 18 years later. I stared in shock and awe as this extremely low-budget film unfolded and ended up laughing my ass off. It was like "Reefer Madness", only 40 years later.

The ridiculous plot made my jaw drop in disbelief, but in a nevertheless entertaining way that held me captive. The acting was pretty atrocious and definitely unprofessional, but I was hooked; I couldn't look away. Hot babes in hot pants. Multiple scenes of incessantly gobbling turkeys, lots of weed-smoking, a proselytizing on-screen narrator, and extensive moments of what must be one of the most screaming-filled movies ever. And then there was the star who eventually grew a turkey head, and devoured a couple of friends. It was like an opium-eater's dream. As movies go, it was a cheap attempt at horror--bottom of the barrel.

Yet I laughed and laughed all the way through it, which means it wasn't a total loss of time. If there is a prize for truly terrible film-making, this would be a winner. Amazed that this would be a TCM offering. Maybe Robert Osborne was stoned when he chose this one.

To my mind, Pride and Prejudice was Jane Austen's most engaging novel. And to take it a step further, this 1940 production is perfection. There are so many literary dilettantes commenting here, taking off points because it isn't a total echo of the novel, the costuming doesn't gibe with the era it's set in, and that later films of P & P are far superior. Perhaps they do include more of the novel, but the bottom line is that this first version works so well because of the far superior players--both stars and character roles--that the modern-day actors can't hold a candle to. Every single one of them puts their line readings, their facial expressions, and even their physical movements on glorious display. There's nothing wooden in their performances, and you are swept up from the very first moments of the movie. None of the omissions from novel to script matter; This is high-quality entertainment to love and enjoy no matter how many times you watch it.

This is golden age cinema at its best. And these are actors whose talent still shines brightly 81 years on, long after they've passed away. They are unforgettable and so is this movie. We will never see their like again...not even close.