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Actor Tom Mix made his feature film debut, as far as film scholars have been able to determine, in the 1909 Western "The Cowboy Millionaire" (directed by Francis Boggs and Otis Turner). The name of Mix's character is not known. "The Cowboy Millionaire" is a rarity in Mix's filmography in that it survives to this day. Most of Mix's films, sadly, are lost media; no prints survive. He was one of the most prolific American actors of his generation, appearing in multiple one-reel Westerns every year from 1909 to 1929. In 1916 alone, he appeared in 37 movies, which is three films per month and one extra besides. 1914 was also a banner year for Mix, as he appeared in a mere 15 movies yet directed 14 of them. Overall, Mix appeared in about 150 films in his career, usually playing the same type of paternal, friendly, heroic cowboy character in each one. Of those films, however, only about 35 survive.

Actor and director Stanley Tucci is to voice a BBC Radio 4 series on some of the highest-profile Californians over the past century.

In The Californian Century, the Hunger Games and Fortitude star will play a cynical screenwriter, narrating the stories of 10 people who have helped shape the U.S. state.

Those featured in the 10-part series will include Hattie McDaniel, the first black actor to win an Oscar, rapper Ice-t and Francis Boggs, the first person to direct a full movie in California.

Tucci said: “Having spent a lot of time working in California, I was very interested in narrating this series about the people who made the biggest impact on the state during its most fruitful century.”

The Californian Century was created, written and produced by BBC journalist Laurence Grissell.

Actor and filmmaker Stanley Tucci will front series “The Californian Century,” set to air on BBC Radio 4.

Tucci will play a cynical screenwriter who narrates the stories of ten people who helped build California over the last 100 years. They include Francis Boggs, the first person to direct a full movie in California; Hattie McDaniel, the first black actor to win an Oscar for her role in “Gone With The Wind”; rapper Ice-t; and Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor of the state.

The 10-part series is created, written and produced by BBC journalist Laurence Grissell.

Tucci said: “Having spent a lot of time working in California, I was very interested in narrating this series about the people who made the biggest impact on the state during its most fruitful century.”

Richard Knight, BBC Radio 4’s factual commissioning editor, added: “California’s political, social and cultural significance is huge – touching...

Review by Sam Moffitt

The private investigator has been with us for years, decades really. When I was younger I read as many private eye mysteries as I did science fiction and horror novels and short stories. I read as much of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane as I could find. I also read a lot of the two MacDonald’s, Ross MacDonald’s novels about Lew Archer (one of which made a great movie with Paul Newman as Harper) and John D. MacDonald’s novels about Travis McGee. Although McGee was not strictly speaking a Pi he still functioned as one in MacDonald’s color coded novels like Darker Than Amber (which made a great movie with Rod Taylor).

I used to stay up late to watch classic private eye movies like The Maltese Falcon, Kiss Me Deadly (the best Mike Hammer movie ever, seriously!) Murder My Sweet,...

The Flick:

Hickey & Boggs was released the year I was born, so until the DVD hit my mailbox I had never heard of it. What a shame, because it would have made it into my watch often pile.

The flick follows Al Hickey (Bill Cosby) and Frank Boggs (Robert Culp), a couple of private detectives that aren’t exactly happy with their lot in life. Hickey is having marital problems, and Boggs drinks a lot and has unresolved issues with his ex-wife, who is now a stripper. These two morose dicks get hired to find a missing girl that isn’t exactly what she seems to be, and inadvertently land themselves in a seriously nasty pile of crime shit.

Hickey & Boggs didn’t do well at the box office when it was released, and I can understand why. These guys are not happy, and the flick is pretty violent. Did...