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Western movies have long been built on repeated tropes that define the genre. As the exciting stories of how cowboys, bandits, and outlaws make their way through a lawless life across the Wild West frontier, many tropes and cliches have reappeared time and time again to the point that they become readily associated with the genre itself. These tropes helped create a cinematic language for Western movies and helped them stand apart from other types of genre films.

Many of the best Western movies ever made were packed with tropes and cliches of the genre. The acclaimed collaborations of icons like John Wayne and John Ford would not have been possible without the foundations of the Western genre and the tropes and clichs that it embodied. From over-the-top brawls in dusty saloons to lone gunmen facing off against ruthless crooks in a lawless town, these tropes helped define Westerns.

A...

A Universal Monsters project is coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Universal has scheduled an April 19, 2024 theatrical release date for the film, which was once going by the title Dracula’s Daughter and now going by the less informative title of Abigail. With the release date just a couple weeks away, the film has gotten a new trailer, which you can check out in the embed above, as well as a Dolby Cinema poster, which can be seen at the bottom of this article.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, is a producer. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment are also producing the monster movie alongside their Ready or Not producer Tripp Vinson.

A Universal Monsters project is coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Universal has scheduled an April 19, 2024 theatrical release date for the film, which was once going by the title Dracula’s Daughter and now going by the less informative title of Abigail. With the release date swiftly approaching, a promo video in which cast member Kathryn Newton (Freaky) gives a tour of the set has arrived online, while co-star Dan Stevens – who can be seen in this weekend’s release Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – has given an interview where he described Abigail as extreme and hilarious. The set tour promo video can be seen in the embed above.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Steven said, “Those Radio Silence boys are so much fun. I’m slowly ticking off all of the guys from the V/H/S anthology.

A Universal Monsters project is coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Universal has scheduled an April 19, 2024 theatrical release date for the film, which was once going by the title Dracula’s Daughter. Now it’s going by the less informative title of Abigail, and Universal has unveiled both a trailer and a poster for the film! You can watch the trailer in the embed above and take a look at the poster at the bottom of this article.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, is a producer. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment are also producing the monster movie alongside their Ready or Not producer Tripp Vinson. Ron Lynch and Macdara Kelleher serve as executive producers.

A Universal Monsters project is coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Universal has scheduled an April 19, 2024 theatrical release date for the film, which was once going by the title Dracula’s Daughter. We’ve previously heard that Dan Stevens (The Guest), Kathryn Newton (Freaky), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), William Catlett (A Thousand and One), Kevin Durand (The Strain), Alisha Weir (Matilda: The Musical), and Melissa Barrera, who worked with Radio Silence on both of their Scream movies, had been cast in the film. Now Deadline reports that Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) has also joined the cast.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are going to be directing the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, will be producing. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment...

Universal Pictures has set a April 19, 2024 theatrical release date for the Universal Monsters project that’s coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Along with the release date announcement comes confirmation that the cast of the film includes Kathryn Newton (Freaky), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), William Catlett (A Thousand and One), and Kevin Durand (The Strain).

They join previously announced cast members Dan Stevens (The Guest), Alisha Weir, star of Matilda: The Musical, and Melissa Barrera, who worked with Radio Silence on both of their Scream movies.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are going to be directing the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, will be producing. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment will also be producing the monster movie...

Watching the 2014 film The Guest was enough to convince me that Dan Stevens is one of the coolest actors around these days, so I consider it very good news that he has signed on to take a role in the Universal Monsters project that’s coming our way from Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that previously brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen. Deadline reported the news of Stevens’ casting, but didn’t have any information on the character he’ll be playing.

Stevens joins previously announced cast members Alisha Weir, star of Matilda: The Musical, and Melissa Barrera, who worked with Radio Silence on both of their Scream movies.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are going to be directing the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, will be producing. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and...

Last month, it was announced that Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen, had come on board a Universal Monsters project that was previously going by the title Dracula’s Daughter. Now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Alisha Weir, star of Matilda: The Musical, has signed on to play the formerly titular character.

Weir joins previously announced cast member Melissa Barrera, who worked with Radio Silence on both of their Scream movies.

Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are going to be directing the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, will be producing. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment will also be producing the monster movie alongside their Ready or Not producer Tripp Vinson. Jay Polidoro, Holly Goline, Kelly Cannon, and Jacqueline Garell...

Radio Silence, the filmmaking team that brought Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and Scream VI to the screen, has come on board a Universal Monsters project that was previously going by the title Dracula’s Daughter. Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will be directing the film, while the third member of the trio, Chad Villella, will be producing. Their Scream movie collaborators William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment will also be producing the monster movie alongside their Ready or Not producer Tripp Vinson. Jay Polidoro, Holly Goline, Kelly Cannon, and Jacqueline Garell are overseeing the project for Universal.

Stephen Shields wrote the initial screenplay for this take on Dracula’s Daughter, and Guy Busick (who co-wrote the two recent Scream movies with Vanderbilt) has since done some revisions. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project was said to center on a group of kidnappers who...

Fans of Eugène Lourié—the man behind The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms—got a surprise when they settled in for his new film about a giant cyborg—along with the expected sci-fi thrills they found the melancholy tale of a dying man reincarnated as a giant robot, a space-age Frankenstein monster draped in Dracula’s cloak. Ross Martin plays the guinea pig doomed to live a bionic life and Otto Kruger is the scientist who built him. Van Cleave’s piano-only score reinforces the grim atmosphere.

The post The Colossus of New York appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

The big-scale Cinerama fantasy once thought unrecoverable is back — a terrific restoration brings us George Pal’s ode to fairy tales, filmed on Bavarian locations with an international cast. Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm are the brothers that compiled the famed tales of princesses, witches, magic spells and fiery dragons. Their idealized biography is interspersed with three full fairy tale stories, about a magic cloak of invisibility, a cobbler’s helpful elves, and a pair of fearless dragon slayers. The show has dancing, beautiful locations, a sequence with Puppetoons and a terrific animated dragon. Featured stars are Claire Bloom, Walter Slezak, Barbara Eden, Oscar Homolka, Martita Hunt, Yvette Mimieux, Russ Tamblyn, Jim Backus, Terry-Thomas and Buddy Hackett; a long-form docu goes into fascinating detail explaining how Dave Strohmaier and Tom March accomplished the mind-boggling restoration.

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1962 / Color / 2:89 widescreen [Smilebox] widescreen / 140 135 min.

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What makes film noir so fascinating? There are a lot of components that come into play with noir films, but cynicism, suspenseful music, a mysterious plot, figures lurking in the shadows, femme fatales, and fedora-wearing detectives are some of the staples of the classics.

Film noir, or “dark cinema,” was first coined by a French film critic in 1946 to describe the downtrodden themes in American movies. Although the term wasn’t widely adopted by American directors until years later, the ’40s and ’50s are regarded as a classic era that produced pioneering noirs such as “The Maltese Falcon” and “Double Indemnity.”

With that in mind, we have curated a list of films that...

Region B Blu-ray-capable noir fans have a formidable six-pack of noir crime pictures on tap: a WW2 espionage thriller, two caper pix and the show that launched the notion of a hit man who’s both charismatic and psychopathic. The list of leading actors is stellar as well: Glenn Ford, Kim Novak, Eli Wallach, Brian Keith, James Whitmore and Nina Foch. Do you like extras? Like to read about the movies you see? No video extra has been left behind, and Pi’s big yellow box contains a 120-page book. Plus — several newly remastered Three Stooges shorts. Don’t forget, Noir and Stooges go together like sanity and American politics!

Columbia Noir #1

Region B Blu-ray

Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man, Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle, The Lineup

Powerhouse Indicator

1945-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / 8 hours, 11 min. / Street Date November 30, 2020 / available...

Universal Horror Collection Volume 5

Blu ray

1943, 1944, 1945, 1941 / 61, 61, 63, 64 min.

Starring Ellen Drew, John Carradine, Acquanetta

Cinematography by George Robinson, Jack MacKenzie, Maury Gertsman, Victor Milner

Directed by Edward Dmytryk, Reginald Le Borg, Harold Young, Stuart Heisler

The Universal Horror Collection Volume 5 should appeal to ape suit fans everywhere—and spoiler alert—one of the films in the set is genuinely good, a lyrical genre-buster that is as inventive as it is poignant.

That movie, The Monster and the Girl, shares space with a trio of bottom-rung potboilers concerning the misadventures of Paula Dupree, a beautiful circus performer with the bad habit of changing into a monster—though she’s not “changing” so much as reverting to her true nature; Paula is a deracinated gorilla given human form by a not-so-mad doctor The statuesque Aquanetta plays Paula and, except for some grunts and growls in her ape state, her’s is a completely mute performance.

As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.And now they've quietly disappeared William Fox's name from the company: guilty by association with Rupert Murdoch, even though he never associated with him.***Twentieth Century Fox is now to be called Twentieth Century, the name of a company that ceased to be back in 1935 when it swallowed the beleaguered Fox Picture Company. Zanuck's pre-merger studio is actually rather well-represented on home video, considering it existed for less than four years: Zanuck's story instinct, which had served him so well at Warners/First National, may not have fired so consistently, but it gave us punchy entertainments like The Bowery, Blood Money, and The Call of the Wild.The studio's tastes were more eclectic than Warners,...

One of the strangest ‘uplifting moral tales’ of the 1950s was a huge hit, and launched Rock Hudson as a major star. Criterion’s deluxe presentation puts it on a par with world cinema, mawkish Kitsch-o-Rama and all. Comes with a restored copy of the slightly less head-spinning 1935 version, too. Co-stars Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, and Otto Kruger, whose moral guidance has something to do with ‘contacting one’s power source.’ Oh, it’s about recharging my iPhone!

Magnificent Obsession

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 457

1954 / Color / 2.00:1 anamorphic widescreen / 108 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 20, 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Kruger.

Cinematography: Russell Metty

Film Editor: Milton Carruth

Original Music: Frank Skinner

Written by Robert Blees from an original screenplay by Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, George O’Neil from the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas

Produced by Ross Hunter

Directed...

By Todd Garbarini

According to actor and film historian Douglas Dunning, his friend, legendary actress Barbara Rush, will be appearing in-person for a Q & A following a 60th anniversary screening of Vincent Sherman’s The Young Philadelphians. The 1959 film, which stars Paul Newman, Alexis Smith, Brian Keith, and Robert Vaughn among many others, will be screened at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019 at 7:00 pm. The film runs 136 minutes.

From the press release:

The Young Philadelphians

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

60th Anniversary Screening

Q & A with Actress Barbara Rush

Wednesday, August 7, at 7 Pm at the Royal Theatre

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a rediscovery of a juicy melodrama from 1959: The Young Philadelphians, which boasted a vibrant cast headed by Paul Newman and our special guest, Barbara Rush. As Leonard Maltin wrote in his review,...

Mill Creek and Kit Parker package nine mid-range Columbia features from the 1940s and 1950s, not all of them strictly noir but all with dark themes — crime, creepy politics, etc. None have been on Blu-ray, and all but one are in fine condition.

Noir Archive 9-Film Collection

Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story

Blu-ray

Mill Creek / Kit Parker

1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95

Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.

Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.

Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...

The ‘other’ Hollywood studio version of the Alamo story is quite good, with strong production values, exciting stunt battle action and something Republic Pictures didn’t manage very often, a solid screenplay. Sterling Hayden is Jim Bowie, this version’s central hero, with great backup from Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, and Ben Cooper. But best of all is that old hay-shaker Arthur Hunnicutt, as the movies’ best and most natural Davy Crockett.

The Last Command

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date December 11, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, Argentina Brunetti, Robert Burton.

Cinematography: Jack A. Marta

Film Editor: Tony Martinelli

Original Music: Max Steiner

Special Effects: Howard...

Fox touted Black Widow as the first murder mystery in CinemaScope. Ace writer / tyro director Nunnally Johnson tries an ‘All About Eve’ dissection of Broadway swells but in a mystery context, with beaucoup flashbacks. The result is something akin to Rope, with scenes all taking place in apartments with views of Central Park. Nobody complained about the big marquee names Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney and George Raft, but I re-watch to marvel over the dreamy, interesting Virginia Leith. Raymond Durgnat encouraged us to indulge our screen fantasies!

Black Widow

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier

Cinematography Charles G. Clarke

Art Direction Maurice Ransford, Lyle R. Wheeler

Film Editor Dorothy Spencer

Original Music Leigh Harline

Written...

The 2016 blu ray release of the Frankenstein and Wolf Man Legacy Collections was a moment of celebration for movie and monster lovers everywhere, bringing together all the golden age appearances of Frankenstein’s misbegotten creation and Larry Talbot’s hairy alter-ego. Universal Studios treated those dusty creature features to luminous restorations; from Bride of Frankenstein to She Wolf of London, these essential artifacts never looked less than impeccable and, at times, even ravishing. Colin Clive’s frenzied declaration, “It’s Alive!”, never felt more appropriate.

Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.

Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection

Blu-ray

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017

Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello

Cinematography: Karl Freund,...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo screens at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater this weekend as part of their Classic Film Series. It’s Saturday, March 11th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. The film will be introduced by Harry Hamm, movie reviewer for Kmox. Admission is only $5

This gives us a perfect excuse to re-run this top ten list so here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are Alfred Hitchcock’s ten best films:

Frenzy

Frenzy, Hitchcock’s next to last feature film from 1972, represented a homecoming of sorts since it was the first film completely shot in his native England since his silents and early ” talkies ” in the 1930’s. By dipping into the then somewhat new territory of serial killers, he took full advantage of the new cinema freedoms and truly earned his ‘ R ‘ MPAA rating.

Another release of the Kramer-Foreman-Zinnemann classic gives Savant another chance to make his argument that this supposedly 'liberal' movie is too confused to be anything but political quicksand -- if anything, its statement is bitterly hawkish. High Noon Blu-ray Olive Signature 1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 39.95 Starring Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Grace Kelly, Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges, Lon Chaney Jr, Harry Morgan, Otto Kruger, Lee Van Cleef. Cinematography Floyd Crosby Production Designer Rudolph Sternad Film Editor Elmo Williams Original Music Dimitri Tiomkin Written by Carl Foreman Produced by Stanley Kramer Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This is my fourth time out with a review of High Noon, starting fourteen years ago with a pretty miserable Artisan DVD, then a Lionsgate 'ultimate edition,' followed by Olive Film's first, quite good Blu-ray. Olive now revisits the 1952 classic as...

Woo hoo! The pre-Code marvels return for one last go-round -- tales of sin and moral turpitude but also serious pictures about social issues that the Production Code effectively swept from Hollywood screens -- financial crimes and ethnic bigotry. Forbidden Hollywood Volume 10 Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1932-1934 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 63, 62, 78, 85, 70 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 40.99 Starring Lionel Barrymore, Kay Francis, Madge Evans; Warren William, Sidney Fox, Aline McMahon; Frank Morgan, Gwili Andre, Gregory Ratoff Rochelle Hudson; Warren William, Lili Damita, Glenda Farrell, Claire Dodd; Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, Ralph Bellamy, Ruth Donnelly. Cinematography Merritt B. Gerstad, Barney McGill; Alfred Gilks; Robert Kurrie; Written by Bayard Veiller; Joseph Jackson, Earl Baldwin, Frank J. Collins; Samuel Ornitz, Robert Tasker; Houston Branch, Sidney Sutherland, Einar Thorvaldson; Bertram Millhauser, Beulah Marie Dix.

'Broadcast News' with Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter: Glib TV news watch. '31 Days of Oscar': 'Broadcast News' slick but superficial critics pleaser (See previous post: “Phony 'A Beautiful Mind,' Unfairly Neglected 'Swing Shift': '31 Days of Oscar'.”) Heralded for its wit and incisiveness, James L. Brooks' multiple Oscar-nominated Broadcast News is everything the largely forgotten Swing Shift isn't: belabored, artificial, superficial. That's very disappointing considering Brooks' highly addictive Mary Tyler Moore television series (and its enjoyable spin-offs, Phyllis and Rhoda), but totally expected considering that three of screenwriter-director Brooks' five other feature films were Terms of Endearment, As Good as It Gets, and Spanglish. (I've yet to check out I'll Do Anything and the box office cataclysm How Do You Know starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson.) Having said that, Albert Brooks (no relation to James L.; or to Mel Brooks...

Rko's morale-building wartime thriller adds an element of sexual perversion to its story of Nazi crimes against children, thus creating one of the studio's all-time biggest hits. Bonita Granville is the victim Tim Holt her Nazi-youth heartthrob, and Otto Kruger provides the perverted sneers. Hitler's Children DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1943 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 82 min. / Street Date December 1, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Tim Holt, Bonita Granville, Kent Smith, Otto Kruger, H.B. Warner, Lloyd Corrigan, Erford Gage, Hans Conried, Gavin Muir, Nancy Gates, Egon Brecher, Peter van Eyck, Edward Van Sloan. Cinematography Russell Metty Film Editor Joseph Noriega Original Music Roy Webb Written by Emmet Lavery from the book Education for Death by Gregor Ziemer Produced by Edward A. Golden Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Perhaps the most popular anti-Nazi info-propaganda thriller of the war, Hitler's Children is a very well made shocker that...

Before he would be forever marked by the Hollywood Blacklist, Edward Dmytryk churned out a succession of B movies in the late 1930s and early 1940s, averaging a handful of projects a year (he had six films in 1941 alone). Right before his first major breakthrough with 1944’s film noir classic Murder, My Sweet, he’d churn out a quintet of wide-ranging projects the year prior. In between a monster movie for Universal (Captive Wild Woman starring Acquanetta), Dmytryk completed four war related items, including Tender Comrade with Ginger Rogers dealing with a new living situation while Robert Ryan serves overseas, the noir-ish The Falcon Strikes Back which concerns a phony war bond operation, and then an exploration of the rise of militarism in Japan as experienced by a returning veteran with Behind the Rising Sun. But none of these hold a candle to another title he unleashed that year, the sensational Hitler’s Children,...

Constance Cummings in 'Night After Night.' Constance Cummings: Working with Frank Capra and Mae West (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Actress Went from Harold Lloyd to Eugene O'Neill.”) Back at Columbia, Harry Cohn didn't do a very good job at making Constance Cummings feel important. By the end of 1932, Columbia and its sweet ingenue found themselves in court, fighting bitterly over stipulations in her contract. According to the actress and lawyer's daughter, Columbia had failed to notify her that they were picking up her option. Therefore, she was a free agent, able to offer her services wherever she pleased. Harry Cohn felt otherwise, claiming that his contract player had waived such a notice. The battle would spill over into 1933. On the positive side, in addition to Movie Crazy 1932 provided Cummings with three other notable Hollywood movies: Washington Merry-Go-Round, American Madness, and Night After Night. 'Washington Merry-Go-Round...

As far as Hollywood was concerned, hardboiled pulp author Raymond Chandler was big news in 1944 and 1945, working with Billy Wilder on the Production Code breakthrough hit Double Indemnity, and getting two of his popular Philip Marlowe books transposed to the screen -- and not completely shorn of their racy content. Savant Blu-ray Review The Warner Archive Collection Warner Archive Collection 1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date September 15, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99  Starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger, Mike Mazurki. Cinematography Harry J. Wild Art Direction Carroll Clark, Albert S. D'Agostino Film Editor Joseph Noriega Original Music Roy Webb Written by John Paxton from Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler Produced by Sid Rogell, Adrian Scott Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Many films noirs seem to come from the same stylistic universe, in terms of themes and visuals. But a few of the...

'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl': Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' review: Mostly an enjoyable romp (Oscar Movie Series) Pirate movies were a Hollywood staple for about three decades, from the mid-'20s (The Sea Hawk, The Black Pirate) to the mid-to-late '50s (Moonfleet, The Buccaneer), when the genre, by then mostly relegated to B films, began to die down. Sporadic resurrections in the '80s and '90s turned out to be critical and commercial bombs (Pirates, Cutthroat Island), something that didn't bode well for the Walt Disney Company's $140 million-budgeted film "adaptation" of one of their theme-park rides. But Neptune's mood has apparently improved with the arrival of the new century. He smiled – grinned would be a more appropriate word – on the Gore Verbinski-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

The Birds screens at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) Thursday, April 2nd at 7pm. It is a benefit for Helping Kids Together (more details about this event can be found Here)

This gives us a perfect excuse to re-run this top ten list from March of 2012. Alfred Hitchcock directed 54 feature films between 1925 and 1976, and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best:

Frenzy

Frenzy, Hitchcock’s next to last feature film from 1972, represented a homecoming of sorts since it was the first film completely shot in his native England since his silents and early ” talkies ” in the 1930’s. By dipping into the then somewhat new territory of serial killers, he took full advantage of the new cinema freedoms and truly earned his ‘ R ‘ MPAA rating. Perhaps ole’ ” Hitch ” wanted to give those young up-and-coming...

James Garner movies on TCM: ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Victor Victoria’ among highlights (photo: James Garner ca. 1960) James Garner, whose film and television career spanned more than five decades, died of "natural causes" at age 86 on July 19, 2014, in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. On Monday, July 28, Turner Classic Movies will present an all-day marathon of James Garner movies (see below) as a tribute to the Oscar-nominated star of Murphy’s Romance and Emmy-winning star of the television series The Rockford Files. Among the highlights in TCM’s James Garner film lineup is John Frankenheimer’s Monaco-set Grand Prix (1966), an all-star, race-car drama featuring Garner as a Formula One driver who has an affair with the wife (Jessica Walter) of his former teammate (Brian Bedford). Among the other Grand Prix drivers facing their own personal issues are Yves Montand and Antonio Sabato, while Akira Kurosawa’s (male) muse Toshiro Mifune plays a...

I have a curious habit, maybe you have it too, if you are a real movie geek, film fan, cinema addict, what have you.

A certain number of movies that I have seen and loved with all my heart were losers at the box office or were mercilessly slammed by critics, usually both. This doesn’t happen all the time, mind you. I know a bad movie when I see one. But several times I have seen a movie on opening day and loved it so much I was sure it would be a big hit and be loved by critics and film goers, nope, not all the time.

Here then is my own personal and highly eccentric top ten list, with some honorable mentions, of movies that lost out, yet I love them still, many of them desperately, hysterically, madly do I love these films, well anyway… let me tell you about it.

When Universal’s Dracula was released in 1931 vampires were a relatively underexplored creature of genre films. Sure you had Nosferatu, which was released a full nine years before, but Dracula was the first film to feature a blood sucking fiend that made a killing at the box office. Universal was quick to capitalize on the surprise success of Dracula and several sequels (some in name only) were made. There was Son of Dracula (‘Alucard’ is all I need to say about that one), Dracula’s Daughter, House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein (which featured all the Universal monsters) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. While most of those films are disposable fodder, Dracula’s Daughter stands out from the pack as not only being entertaining, but also being the one sequel that had as much influence as its predecessor.

Released in 1936 and written by Garrett Ford and directed by Lambert Hillyer,...

Wallace Beery from Pancho Villa to Long John Silver: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 17, 2013 (photo: Fay Wray, Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa in ‘Viva Villa!’) See previous post: “Wallace Beery: Best Actor Oscar Winner — and Runner-Up.” 3:00 Am The Last Of The Mohicans (1920). Director: Maurice Tourneur. Cast: Barbara Bedford, Albert Roscoe, Wallace Beery, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward, James Gordon, George Hackathorne, Nelson McDowell, Harry Lorraine, Theodore Lorch, Jack McDonald, Sydney Deane, Boris Karloff. Bw-76 mins. 4:30 Am The Big House (1930). Director: George W. Hill. Cast: Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Leila Hyams, George F. Marion, J.C. Nugent, DeWitt Jennings, Matthew Betz, Claire McDowell, Robert Emmett O’Connor, Tom Wilson, Eddie Foyer, Roscoe Ates, Fletcher Norton, Noah Beery Jr, Chris-Pin Martin, Eddie Lambert, Harry Wilson. Bw-87 mins. 6:00 Am Bad Man Of Brimstone (1937). Director: J. Walter Ruben. Cast: Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce, Dennis O’Keefe. Bw-89 mins.

Bette Davis movies: TCM schedule on August 14 (photo: Bette Davis in ‘Dangerous,’ with Franchot Tone) See previous post: “Bette Davis Eyes: They’re Watching You Tonight.” 3:00 Am Parachute Jumper (1933). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Harold Huber, Leo Carrillo, Thomas E. Jackson, Lyle Talbot, Leon Ames, Stanley Blystone, Reginald Barlow, George Chandler, Walter Brennan, Pat O’Malley, Paul Panzer, Nat Pendleton, Dewey Robinson, Tom Wilson, Sheila Terry. Bw-72 mins. 4:30 Am The Girl From 10th Avenue (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Phillip Reed, Katharine Alexander, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bill Elliott, Edward McWade, André Cheron, Wedgwood Nowell, John Quillan, Mary Treen. Bw-69 mins. 6:00 Am Dangerous (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran, Walter Walker, Richard Carle, George Irving, Pierre Watkin, Douglas Wood,...

Douglas Sirk movies: ‘Imitation of Life,’ ‘Written on the Wind’ (photo: Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, Karin Dicker in ‘Imitation of Life’) Douglas Sirk is Turner Classic Movies’ Director of the Evening. The German-born (April 26, 1897, in Hamburg) filmmaker has developed a cult following in recent decades after his "women’s pictures" were reappraised by some critics as works of profound social criticism filled with auteuristic touches. Why it would take years (or decades) for people to realize the obvious is a little mind-boggling, until you remember that movies about women and their issues have been, for the most part, relegated to the sidelines. A stupid prejudice that continues to this very day. My statement, by the way, has nothing to do with yikesy political correctness; if you don’t believe me, just check out the Best Picture Academy Award winners or Palme d’Or winners or Golden Lion winners or Golden...

Cover Girl

Directed by Charles Vidor

Written by Virginia Van Upp

Starring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, and Lee Bowman

USA, 107 min.

At the beginning of Charles Vidor’s Cover Girl, Vanity Magazine holds a contest to find an unknown, fresh-faced model to place on the cover. Wanting to jump start her career, nightclub dancer, Rusty Parker (Rita Hayworth) attends a casting call. Vanity editor John Coudair (Otto Kruger) eventually makes Rusty his next model, when he discovers that her grandmother (who bears an extraordinary resemblance to Rusty) is the singer he used to love. Rusty’s career seems set. The only problem is Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly), Rusty’s boss and boyfriend, who worries that famous Rusty will leave him for someone better.

Cover Girl is a mid-level musical with some memorable song and dance numbers (“Put Me To The Test” and “Cover Girl”). More interesting than the film’s...

Eleanor Parker 2013 movie series continues today (photo: Eleanor Parker in Detective Story) Palm Springs resident Eleanor Parker is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June 2013. Thus, eight more Eleanor Parker movies will be shown this evening on TCM. Parker turns 91 on Wednesday, June 26. (See also: “Eleanor Parker Today.”) Eleanor Parker received her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination for William Wyler’s crime drama Detective Story (1951). The movie itself feels dated, partly because of several melodramatic plot developments, and partly because of Kirk Douglas’ excessive theatricality as the detective whose story is told. Parker, however, is excellent as Douglas’ wife, though her role is subordinate to his. Just about as good is Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Lee Grant, whose career would be derailed by the anti-Red hysteria of the ’50s. Grant would make her comeback in the ’70s, eventually winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her...

Saboteur

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd

Hitchcock at war began in earnest with this 1942 thriller, a film rushed like many into production by the proudly patriotic studios, horrified at the sneak attack of Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Saboteur was released a remarkably swift five months later – that’s the efficiency of the studio, assembly line system for you. Hitchcock had already devoted energies to the overseas propaganda effort with his 1940 film Foreign Correspondent, detailing American journalist Joel McCrea’s traversing of a quivering Europe on the cusp of conflict, uncovering a conspiracy of fifth columnists in Britain whose operations plunge the world into global conflict, it was one part Hitchcock learning the ropes of the Studio System with their vastly superior resources, technicians and urge to innovate – see this remarkable shot from the movie for example – as well as his desire to contribute to...

Blu-ray Release Date: June 19, 2012

Price: Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Olive Films

Tall, dark, handsome...and mechanical!: It's The Colossus of New York.

The Colossus of New York, the 1958 sci-fi thriller classic, takes its place in the pantheon of such great killer robot movies as The Terminator, RoboCop and Demon Seed.Â

Written by Thelma Schnee (TV’s Science Fiction Theatre) from Willis Goldbeck’s story, the intriguing film turns on the accidental death of a brilliant scientist (Ross Martin), a tragedy that prompts his lunatic father (Otto Kruger) and brother (John Baragrey) to transplant the dead man’s brain onto the body of a giant robot. The operation is successful, but the Colossus Robot mourns for his wife and child and doesn’t want to be the guinea pig in his father’s psychotic project and starts displaying homicidal behaviors.

Olive issued the movie on DVD in May, 2011.

There are no...

It’s always a good time to read about director Alfred Hitchcock and expect a lot of attention on the Master of Suspense in the upcoming months as there are two films currently in production about him. Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho (expect a title change on that one) based in the book by Steve Rebello, is in pre-production with Sacha Gervasi (Anvil! The Story Of Anvil) directing and an outstanding cast attached. Anthony Hopkins has signed on to play Hitch, Scarlett Johansson is cast as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel will be playing Vera Miles, British actor James D’Arcy is Tony Perkins, and Helen Mirren will play Alma Reville (Mrs Hitchcock). The other Hitchcock film in the works is The Girl produced by The BBC that will premiere later this year on HBO. The Girl focuses on the love/hate relationship between Hitchcock (played by Toby Jones...

While working on another post earlier today, I learned that a certain high-profile filmmaker was born and died on the same day (obviously many years apart). For whatever reason, this piqued my interest enough to go on a little scavenger hunt to try to find out how many other notable people from the world of film could say the same (that is, of course, if they weren’t already dead). I came up with the following list…

actress Edna May Oliver (November 9, 1883-November 9,1942) actor Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885-September 6, 1974) actress Nan Grey (July 25, 1918-July 25, 1993) director Yazujiro Ozu (December 12, 1903-December 12-1963), actress Ingrid Bergman (August 29, 1915-August 29, 1982)

They are in good company. Others who beat 1:365 odds (0.274%) include…

biblical figure Moses (1391 B.C.-1271 B.C.) explorer Juan Ponce de Leon (1474-1521) painter Raphael (April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520) playwright William Shakespeare (April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616) feminist Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921-February 4, 2006) gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly (July 18, 1895-July...

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat is a monthly newspaper run by Steve DeBellis, a well know St. Louis historian, and it’s the largest one-man newspaper in the world. The concept of The Globe is that there is an old historic headline, then all the articles in that issue are written as though it’s the year that the headline is from. It’s an unusual concept but the paper is now in its 25th successful year! Steve and I collaborated recently on an all-Vincent Price issue of The Globe and he has asked me to write a regular monthly movie-related column. Since there is no on-line version of The Globe, I will be posting all of my articles here at We Are Movie Geeks. This month’s St. Louis Globe-Democrat is written as if it’s 1946.

Motion picture audiences may be curious who this odd-looking new horror star by...

The Colossus of New York, the 1958 sci-fi thriller classic that can rightfully takes its place in the pantheon of such great killer robot movies as The Terminator, RoboCop and Demon Seed, finally comes to DVD on Aug. 16 courtesy of Olive Films. It’ll carry a list price of $24.95.

Tall, dark, handsome...and mechanical!: The Colossus of New York finally comes to DVD.

Written by Thelma Schnee from Willis Goldbeck’s story, the intriguing film turns on the accidental death of a brilliant scientist (Ross Martin), a tragedy that prompts his lunatic father (Otto Kruger) and brother (John Baragrey) to transplant the dead man’s brain onto the body of a giant robot. The operation is successful, but the Colossus Robot mourns for his wife and child and doesn’t want to be the guinea pig in his father’s psychotic project and starts displaying homicidal behaviors.

Incidentally, the movie’s director,...

"Dracula's Daughter" is the 1936 Universal vampire sequel to Bela Lugosi's classic 1931 feature "Dracula".

Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, "Daughter" stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill and Edward Van Sloan.

Based on author Bram Stoker's story "Dracula's Guest", the film begins where "Dracula" ends, with the 'Count' destroyed by 'Professor Von Helsing' (Van Sloan).

Von Helsing is immediately arrested by the police and escorted to Scotland Yard, where he confesses to destroying Count Dracula, but because the vampire had already been dead for over 500 years, it could not be considered murder.

Van Helsing enlists the aid of psychiatrist 'Dr. Jeffrey Garth' (Otto Kruger), once one of his star students, while Dracula's daughter, 'Countess Marya Zaleska' (Gloria Holden), with the aid of her manservant,' Sandor' (Irving Pichel), steals Dracula’s body from Scotland Yard and ritualistically burns the fiend's body, hoping to break...

The B Noir festival is a hit! It's always a delight to hear about retrospective programming doing well. There are still people out there interested in and trying out old movies in theaters. Or maybe the San Francisco noir crowd is just that strong. I'd written about "I Wake Up Dreaming" a couple of weeks back (read it here); I have since went and saw some of the movies they're playing.

If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't spared the time, there's good news. The festival was supposed to end this Thursday, but I have just been informed that since it is selling out so well, they've decided to add another week of showings!

The list of extra screenings is at the bottom, but before that, I want to recommend trying to get to this Friday's showing of The Devil Thumbs a Ride, which I managed to catch on the fest's opening night.

Holger Haase Oct 12, 2019

From the mesmerizing Countess Maja to the captivating Carmilla Karnstein, lesbian vampires embody immortal sin.

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

Vampire lesbians, is there any creature more seductive, hypnotic or seductively sinful? Jesus Christ himself had to come back in the 2001 film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter to protect Canadian lesbians from the most provocative of predators.

Saphic sanguinarians started staking their claim in Joseph Sheridan le Fanu's novella Carmilla (1872). From Gloria Holden’s magnetic eyes in Dracula's Daughter (1936) through Ingrid Pitt’s sultry invitation in The Vampire Lovers (1970) to the revivalist Lesbian Vampire Killers, the irresistible sirens have held an almost fetishistic fascination over moviegoers.

Charles Busch lightly spoofed them in the downtown stage play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Jesús Franco exploited them in the 1971 West German-Spanish horror film Vampyros Lesbos, starring Soledad Miranda as the Countess Nadine Carody.

Here are ten reasons why...

A basic western formula has been combined with good characterization in “High Noon,” making it more of a western drama than the usual outdoor action feature. With the name of Gary Cooper to help it along, and on the basis of the adult-appealing dramatic content, the business outlook is favorable.

The Stanley Kramer production does an excellent job of presenting a picture of a small western town and its people as they wait for a gun duel between the marshal and revenge-seeking killer, an event scheduled for high noon. The mood of the citizens, of Gary Cooper the marshal, and his bride (Grace Kelly), a Quaker who is against all violence, is aptly captured by Fred Zinnemann’s direction and the graphic lensing of Floyd Crosby, which perfectly pictures the heat and dust of the sun-baked locale.

Zinnemann carefully and deliberately makes the most of the mood cast by the threat of impending violence.