It’s not every day that a filmmaker will rise up during an interview and recite Old Testament tales and sing out their favorite hymn. Well, hallelujah, brother Jeymes Samuel for spreading the gospel’s good news.
The director’s spectacular Jesus in the hood movie, The Book of Clarence, starring a mighty fine Lakeith Stanfield playing a charlatan wannabe Messiah, shakes up the toga and peepy toe genre.
Samuel’s movie has its world premiere Wednesday at the BFI London Film Festival. The Legendary Pictures production is released through Tristar with congregations taking their pews from January 12, 2024.
The movie’s thrilling prologue kicks off with a rip-roaring, wheel-screeching chariot race with Mary Magdalene thrashing the lads.
The moment was of course inspired by the iconic chariot scene between Charlton Heston’s Judah Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd’s Messala in William Wyler...
The director’s spectacular Jesus in the hood movie, The Book of Clarence, starring a mighty fine Lakeith Stanfield playing a charlatan wannabe Messiah, shakes up the toga and peepy toe genre.
Samuel’s movie has its world premiere Wednesday at the BFI London Film Festival. The Legendary Pictures production is released through Tristar with congregations taking their pews from January 12, 2024.
The movie’s thrilling prologue kicks off with a rip-roaring, wheel-screeching chariot race with Mary Magdalene thrashing the lads.
The moment was of course inspired by the iconic chariot scene between Charlton Heston’s Judah Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd’s Messala in William Wyler...
- 10/11/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Marlon Brando's performance as Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" is one of the best remembered in film history. The part won Brando his second Academy Award for Best Actor (an honor he declined). The film's opening, where Don allows the people of the neighborhood to ask him for favors on the day of his daughter's wedding, is one of those scenes that everybody knows. Even if you've never seen "The Godfather" itself, you've probably seen a homage or parody of that moment.
However, the road to Brando getting the part wasn't an easy one. While he had the support of director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter/novel author Mario Puzo, the producers were dead set against casting him. It took a lot of pushback from Coppola, and a screen test from Brando, for the bigwigs of Paramount Pictures to relent.
Why Paramount Wanted Anybody But Brando
According to...
However, the road to Brando getting the part wasn't an easy one. While he had the support of director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter/novel author Mario Puzo, the producers were dead set against casting him. It took a lot of pushback from Coppola, and a screen test from Brando, for the bigwigs of Paramount Pictures to relent.
Why Paramount Wanted Anybody But Brando
According to...
- 9/12/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Faye Marlowe, a 1940s starlet best known for her turn opposite the doomed Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell and George Sanders in the film noir classic Hangover Square, has died. She was 95.
Marlowe died May 5 in Cary, North Carolina, her daughter Karen Joseph told The Hollywood Reporter.
In her brief Hollywood career, the dark-haired Marlowe also starred alongside Richard Conte in The Spider (1945), another excellent film noir; with Richard Crane in Johnny Comes Flying Home (1946); and, as the title character, with Eddie Albert in Rendezvous With Annie (1946).
After she appeared on the stage for John Brahm, the German director gave her a key role in her first movie, Fox’s Hangover Square (1945). She played the pianist girlfriend of a mild-mannered composer (Cregar) who suffers from blackouts and becomes a serial killer in the turn-of-the century, London-set thriller scored by Bernard Herrmann.
(Cregar, who was...
Faye Marlowe, a 1940s starlet best known for her turn opposite the doomed Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell and George Sanders in the film noir classic Hangover Square, has died. She was 95.
Marlowe died May 5 in Cary, North Carolina, her daughter Karen Joseph told The Hollywood Reporter.
In her brief Hollywood career, the dark-haired Marlowe also starred alongside Richard Conte in The Spider (1945), another excellent film noir; with Richard Crane in Johnny Comes Flying Home (1946); and, as the title character, with Eddie Albert in Rendezvous With Annie (1946).
After she appeared on the stage for John Brahm, the German director gave her a key role in her first movie, Fox’s Hangover Square (1945). She played the pianist girlfriend of a mild-mannered composer (Cregar) who suffers from blackouts and becomes a serial killer in the turn-of-the century, London-set thriller scored by Bernard Herrmann.
(Cregar, who was...
- 7/28/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Godfather, which just turned 50 last week, took out all the competition. Budgeted at $6 million, it earned $287 million in theaters. Its worldwide box office was 38.4 times its production costs. It was the first film in history to take in a million bucks a day. Completed ahead of schedule, director Francis Ford Coppola’s family film reflected his Sicilian roots and those of Mario Puzo, the author of the novel. But it wasn’t personal for them, just business.
Prior to 1972, the gangster movie genre traditionally presented a disillusioned underclass in morality plays which sent the same message: “Crime doesn’t pay.” The Godfather says it does. The Corleone Family at the center of the film and novel turn a profit. Puzo’s book charts the rise and fall of the “Mafia,” a word never spoken in the movie, from the vantage point of the most upwardly mobile of New York’s Five Families.
Prior to 1972, the gangster movie genre traditionally presented a disillusioned underclass in morality plays which sent the same message: “Crime doesn’t pay.” The Godfather says it does. The Corleone Family at the center of the film and novel turn a profit. Puzo’s book charts the rise and fall of the “Mafia,” a word never spoken in the movie, from the vantage point of the most upwardly mobile of New York’s Five Families.
- 3/29/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
This week at the Paramount Theater in Hollywood, California titans of the film industry gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Godfather. Franics Ford Coppola’s mob epic has, as it put it to our interviewer DaniElle DeLaite, had ‘the best review of all – that it has stood the test of time.’
We spoke to Coppola, Jon Voight and American Zoetrope Film Archivist James Mockoski and Paramount SVP of Archives Andrea Kalas about the filming of the movie, and asked why they think the film continues to endure and inspire new generations of filmmakers and audiences.
The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is one of the cornerstones of modern cinema, and should be enjoyed on as big a screen as possible. DaniElle DeLaite and Bobby Jones were our team on the red carpet,...
We spoke to Coppola, Jon Voight and American Zoetrope Film Archivist James Mockoski and Paramount SVP of Archives Andrea Kalas about the filming of the movie, and asked why they think the film continues to endure and inspire new generations of filmmakers and audiences.
The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is one of the cornerstones of modern cinema, and should be enjoyed on as big a screen as possible. DaniElle DeLaite and Bobby Jones were our team on the red carpet,...
- 2/23/2022
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Paramount Pictures announced that Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” will be returning to theaters for its 50th anniversary at the Dolby Cinema and AMC theaters on Feb. 24, with 4K Ultra HD and digital on March 22.
Paramount has released a new trailer for the restored version. The restoration included 1,000 hours of color correction and restoration of the original mono tracks, in addition to 4,000 hours of repairing stains and tears.
All three films in the trilogy have been restored under the direction of Coppola.
Originally released in 1972, the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel is a trilogy that chronicles the rise and fall of the Corleone family under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and the transformation of his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte and Diane Keaton also star.
Paramount has released a new trailer for the restored version. The restoration included 1,000 hours of color correction and restoration of the original mono tracks, in addition to 4,000 hours of repairing stains and tears.
All three films in the trilogy have been restored under the direction of Coppola.
Originally released in 1972, the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel is a trilogy that chronicles the rise and fall of the Corleone family under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and the transformation of his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte and Diane Keaton also star.
- 1/13/2022
- by Jennifer Yuma
- Variety Film + TV
Lewis Milestone directed this poetic, optimistic ode to the American infantryman, a ‘lone patrol’ saga that emphasizes its soldiers’ hopes and fears. The lineup of fresh, eager acting talent is remarkable: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie. Voiceovers and ‘ballads’ give a six-mile beachhead incursion the tone of a spiritual rumination. A beautiful full film restoration brings the image back to prime quality. The controversial filmmakers and the unusual production circumstances are covered in Alan K. Rode’s commentary.
A Walk in the Sun
Blu-ray + DVD
Kit Parker Films / Mvd Visual
1945 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 117 min. / Street Date January 18, 2022 / The Definitive Restoration / Available from Amazon / 29.95
Starring: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie, Matt Willis,...
A Walk in the Sun
Blu-ray + DVD
Kit Parker Films / Mvd Visual
1945 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 117 min. / Street Date January 18, 2022 / The Definitive Restoration / Available from Amazon / 29.95
Starring: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie, Matt Willis,...
- 1/4/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives
Review – Naked City: The Complete Series
Rlj Entertainment / 6,063 minutes
By Harvey F. Chartrand
Naked City was like no other TV series before or since – Michel Moriarty, star of Law and Order, once told this reviewer.
Inspired by Jules Dassin's 1948 film of the same name, Naked City centers on the detectives of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct, but the criminals and New York City itself often played as prominent a role in the dramas as the series regulars. Like the film it was based on, Naked City (1958- 1963) was shot almost entirely on location. The first season ran as a half-hour show under the title The Naked City, starring James Franciscus and John McIntire playing, respectively, Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon—the same roles essayed by Don Taylor and Barry Fitzgerald in the film.
The Naked City also starred Harry Bellaver as Det.
Review – Naked City: The Complete Series
Rlj Entertainment / 6,063 minutes
By Harvey F. Chartrand
Naked City was like no other TV series before or since – Michel Moriarty, star of Law and Order, once told this reviewer.
Inspired by Jules Dassin's 1948 film of the same name, Naked City centers on the detectives of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct, but the criminals and New York City itself often played as prominent a role in the dramas as the series regulars. Like the film it was based on, Naked City (1958- 1963) was shot almost entirely on location. The first season ran as a half-hour show under the title The Naked City, starring James Franciscus and John McIntire playing, respectively, Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon—the same roles essayed by Don Taylor and Barry Fitzgerald in the film.
The Naked City also starred Harry Bellaver as Det.
- 11/28/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Powerhouse Indicator moves forward to their fourth fancy box of noirs from the studio of Harry Cohn, six pictures stretching from the postwar boom to the end of the original classic noir era. This time around we have some notable directors, and a nice selection of stars — Dennis O’Keefe, George Murphy, Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun and Richard Conte. Kim Novak makes her starring debut as a femme fatale; noir icon Richard Conte shines in a movie that marks a turn into a new kind of existential, paranoid thriller. And speaking of paranoid, we again get to lighten up with another selection of theme-appropriate Three Stooges shorts.
Columbia Noir #4
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1957 / B&w + Color / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / Street Date September 27, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / 49.99
Starring: Louis Hayward, Dennis O’Keefe; George Murphy; Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak; Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun; Dennis O’Keefe,...
Columbia Noir #4
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1957 / B&w + Color / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / Street Date September 27, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / 49.99
Starring: Louis Hayward, Dennis O’Keefe; George Murphy; Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak; Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun; Dennis O’Keefe,...
- 9/14/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Despite being an amalgamation of virtually every elevated science-fiction movie of the past four decades—Strange Days, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Minority Report, Until the End of the World, both Blade Runners—the new film Reminiscence feels relatively lacking in self-importance. While prestige television (the film is directed by Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy) and A24 movies have seemingly accommodated us to seeing all genre now as capital-a allegory––the kind of work to inspire “it’s about” tweets or Letterboxd reviews––Reminiscence sticks to its narrow aims, never overwhelmed by a need to pander too hard to the New Yorker’s TV-recap culture. If certainly heavy-handed in its political allusions, one still gets the feeling its creatives ultimately just wanted to do their little ’90s throwback hard-boiled sci-fi noir. This is perhaps why it’s been dumped in late August and feels a bit like a disposable piece...
- 8/20/2021
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
Viavision’s second deluxe Film Noir boxed finds real variety in the film style, with entries that range from low-budget efforts to a picture filmed on location in Mexico. Richard Conte solves a notorious movie studio murder in Hollywood Story, Gig Young is a cop who considers going crooked in City that Never Sleeps, Glenn Ford dodges murderous treasure hunters in Plunder of the Sun and Steve Cochran’s cop really does go rogue in Private Hell 36.
Essential Film Noir Collection 1
Blu-ray (Region-Free)
Viavision [Imprint] 18, 19, 20, 21
1947-1957 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 327 min. / Street Date October 28, 2020 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / 149.99
Starring: Richard Conte, Julia Adams; Gig Young, Mala Powers, Marie Windsor; Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina; Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff.
Directed by William Castle, John H. Auer, John Farrow, Don Siegel
Viavision’s noir series throws a wide net, with two debuts on Blu-ray and one full debut on home video.
Essential Film Noir Collection 1
Blu-ray (Region-Free)
Viavision [Imprint] 18, 19, 20, 21
1947-1957 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 327 min. / Street Date October 28, 2020 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / 149.99
Starring: Richard Conte, Julia Adams; Gig Young, Mala Powers, Marie Windsor; Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina; Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff.
Directed by William Castle, John H. Auer, John Farrow, Don Siegel
Viavision’s noir series throws a wide net, with two debuts on Blu-ray and one full debut on home video.
- 6/29/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Film producer Gene Corman, who frequently collaborated with his older brother Roger Corman, died at his home on Sept. 28. He was 93.
Roger Corman confirmed Gene Corman’s passing and said, “My brother was a great man, both as a producer and as a family man.”
Gene Corman was born in Detroit in 1927, 17 months after his brother. In 1940, the family moved from Detroit to Beverly Hills and both attended Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University.
Gene Corman broke into the entertainment business as an agent at McA, where his clients included Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Richard Conte and Nicholas Ray. He also arranged the distribution deal for Roger Corman’s first film, “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” in 1954.
The brothers first collaborated on the 1958 film “Hot Car Girl,” followed by “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Beast From Haunted Cave,” “Premature Burial,” and “Tower of London.” The...
Roger Corman confirmed Gene Corman’s passing and said, “My brother was a great man, both as a producer and as a family man.”
Gene Corman was born in Detroit in 1927, 17 months after his brother. In 1940, the family moved from Detroit to Beverly Hills and both attended Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University.
Gene Corman broke into the entertainment business as an agent at McA, where his clients included Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Richard Conte and Nicholas Ray. He also arranged the distribution deal for Roger Corman’s first film, “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” in 1954.
The brothers first collaborated on the 1958 film “Hot Car Girl,” followed by “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Beast From Haunted Cave,” “Premature Burial,” and “Tower of London.” The...
- 10/9/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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.***Joseph L. Mankiewicz, former producer at MGM, where Louis B. Mayer called him Joe Monkeybitch, became a top director at Fox, and his films there are spectacularly well-represented on streaming services today, along with Ford and Preminger, but one exception seems to be House of Strangers, his 1949 noir saga starring Richard Conte, Susan Hayward, and Edward G. Robinson.It's an unusual genre to find the urbane Mankiewicz dirtying his hands with. Robinson's presence is a throwback to the pre-Code gangland epics of Warner Bros., while the...
- 7/8/2020
- MUBI
The William Castle Classic Crime Double Feature Hollywood Story and New Orleans Uncensored is available on Blu-ray From Mill Creek. Ordering info can be found Here
While legendary Hollywood filmmaker, William Castle, is commonly referred to as The King of Gimmicks, his legacy extended into other film genres, including two crime dramas from the Film Noir era, Hollywood Story and New Orleans Uncensored. This thrilling double feature denotes the high-definition debut of both landmark films filled with danger, death and intrigue.
Hollywood Story (1951) stars Richard Conte as a stage producer with dreams of being in the movie business who decides to shoot a documentary about the mysterious death of a silent film director only to find himself in danger of suffering a similar fate. The film is loosely based on the real-life murder of film director William Desmond Taylor in 1922.
Stars Richard Conte, Julia Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull, and...
While legendary Hollywood filmmaker, William Castle, is commonly referred to as The King of Gimmicks, his legacy extended into other film genres, including two crime dramas from the Film Noir era, Hollywood Story and New Orleans Uncensored. This thrilling double feature denotes the high-definition debut of both landmark films filled with danger, death and intrigue.
Hollywood Story (1951) stars Richard Conte as a stage producer with dreams of being in the movie business who decides to shoot a documentary about the mysterious death of a silent film director only to find himself in danger of suffering a similar fate. The film is loosely based on the real-life murder of film director William Desmond Taylor in 1922.
Stars Richard Conte, Julia Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull, and...
- 6/21/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
” I have just received a dispatch that Santa Anna has captured San Antonio. Colonel Travis, with less than 200 men, has withdrawn across the river to the Alamo to prepare for its defense. At the moment, that is the only military force between the Mexican army and the Sabine River… and those men need help!”
Two lavishly produced Mexican war epics, The Man From The Alamo and They Came To Cordura make their high-definition debut in this star-studded double feature spotlighting the talents of Glenn Ford, Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Julia Adams and many more!
The Man From The Alamo (1953) stars Glenn Ford as John Stroud, a heroic survivor of the brutal battle at The Alamo who is branded a coward for fleeing to warn the local townsfolk of the approaching Mexican armies. He sets out to clear his name and avenge those who killed his wife and child.
Directed by...
Two lavishly produced Mexican war epics, The Man From The Alamo and They Came To Cordura make their high-definition debut in this star-studded double feature spotlighting the talents of Glenn Ford, Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Julia Adams and many more!
The Man From The Alamo (1953) stars Glenn Ford as John Stroud, a heroic survivor of the brutal battle at The Alamo who is branded a coward for fleeing to warn the local townsfolk of the approaching Mexican armies. He sets out to clear his name and avenge those who killed his wife and child.
Directed by...
- 6/17/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Today’s noir forecast is vice, kidnapping, murder, suicide, narcotics and a sleazy stolen baby racket! Kino’s third volume of Universal-International pix contains two seldom-screened quality urban noirs. Expect genuine dark themes in these sizable-budget location noirs filmed before Universal pulled most production back onto its one-size-fits-all backlot sets. Barbara Stanwyck dominates one show, while noir stalwarts Richard Conte and Dennis O’Keefe anchor the other two dramas, with dynamic showings by Coleen Gray, Edith Barrett, Peggy Dow, Jeanette Nolan, Meg Randall and especially Gale Storm.
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema III
Abandoned, The Lady Gambles, The Sleeping City
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1949-50 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79,99,86 min. / Street Date June 9, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.99
Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall, Raymond Burr, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeanette Nolan, Mike Mazurki, Will Kuluva, David Clarke; Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally, Edith Barrett, John Hoyt,...
Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema III
Abandoned, The Lady Gambles, The Sleeping City
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1949-50 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79,99,86 min. / Street Date June 9, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.99
Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall, Raymond Burr, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeanette Nolan, Mike Mazurki, Will Kuluva, David Clarke; Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally, Edith Barrett, John Hoyt,...
- 6/13/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Otto Preminger and Gene Tierney’s return to the noir fold plays better now than it once did — the performances are impressive and the villain’s diabolical murder scheme is as good as anything that Fantomas or Moriarty ever came up with. Tierney’s pampered wife is the perfect patsy for a con-man with hypnosis skills — a fraud who decides to cover up an earlier crime by mesmerizing a new victim to frame herself for murder. The focus is on third-billed José Ferrer… who puts an oily menace into his character that few actors could provide.
Whirlpool
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1949 / B&w / 1:37 academy / 97 min. / Street Date September 17, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer, Charles Bickford, Barbara O’Neil, Eduard Franz, Constance Collier, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Original Music: David Raksin
Written by Ben Hecht, Andrew Solt from the novel Methinks The Lady...
Whirlpool
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1949 / B&w / 1:37 academy / 97 min. / Street Date September 17, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer, Charles Bickford, Barbara O’Neil, Eduard Franz, Constance Collier, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Original Music: David Raksin
Written by Ben Hecht, Andrew Solt from the novel Methinks The Lady...
- 10/1/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Italian actress Valentina Cortese, Oscar-nominated for her performance in François Truffaut’s 1973 drama Day For Night, has died aged 96, according to Italian news service Ansa.
The prolific actress, whose career spanned more than 50 years, started out in Italian films of the early 1940s, leading to internationally acclaimed roles in Riccardo Freda’s 1948 Italian movie Les Misérables and the 1949 British film The Glass Mountain (1949), which led to a number of roles in American features.
Cortese starred in movies including second world war thriller Malaya with Spencer Tracy and James Stewart, Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway with Richard Conte, and Joseph L Makiewicz’s The Barefoot Contessa with Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner.
In Europe she later starred in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Le Amiche, Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen and Franco Zeffirelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
In 1975, Cortese received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role...
The prolific actress, whose career spanned more than 50 years, started out in Italian films of the early 1940s, leading to internationally acclaimed roles in Riccardo Freda’s 1948 Italian movie Les Misérables and the 1949 British film The Glass Mountain (1949), which led to a number of roles in American features.
Cortese starred in movies including second world war thriller Malaya with Spencer Tracy and James Stewart, Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway with Richard Conte, and Joseph L Makiewicz’s The Barefoot Contessa with Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner.
In Europe she later starred in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Le Amiche, Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen and Franco Zeffirelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
In 1975, Cortese received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role...
- 7/10/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Valentina Cortese, an Italian actress who held the extremely rare distinction of having been nominated for best supporting actress for her work in a foreign film, Francois Truffaut’s 1973 classic “Day for Night,” has died, according to Italian news agency Ansa. She was 96.
In Truffaut’s “Day for Night,” considered by many to be the best movie about making movies ever made, Cortese played, in the words of Roger Ebert, “the alcoholic diva past her prime.” The New York Times said: “The performances are superb. Miss Cortese and Miss Bisset are not only both hugely funny but also hugely affecting, in moments that creep up on you without warning.”
For a two-part, Carlo Ponti-produced 1948 film adaptation of “Les Miserables,” Cortese caused a sensation by playing both female leads, Fantine and Cosette. (The film was otherwise an adequate treatment of the Victor Hugo novel.)
“With Valentina Cortese’s passing, the...
In Truffaut’s “Day for Night,” considered by many to be the best movie about making movies ever made, Cortese played, in the words of Roger Ebert, “the alcoholic diva past her prime.” The New York Times said: “The performances are superb. Miss Cortese and Miss Bisset are not only both hugely funny but also hugely affecting, in moments that creep up on you without warning.”
For a two-part, Carlo Ponti-produced 1948 film adaptation of “Les Miserables,” Cortese caused a sensation by playing both female leads, Fantine and Cosette. (The film was otherwise an adequate treatment of the Victor Hugo novel.)
“With Valentina Cortese’s passing, the...
- 7/10/2019
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
The title sounds like a typically nihilistic Italian spaghetti western but it’s really a typically nihilistic Italian crime thriller. Directed by Fernando Di Leo, the action revolves around a cop who is happy dabbling in bribery until the bodies begin to pile up. A box office hit in its homeland, the movie benefits from some frenetic car chases and the presence of the formidable Richard Conte.
The post Shoot First, Die Later appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Shoot First, Die Later appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 6/10/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Review by Roger Carpenter
Jim Henry (Richard Conte) is a decorated soldier who has just returned from the Korean War. Making his way across the country to California, he’s stopped over in Vegas to visit an Army friend. While killing time until his dinner date he cozies up to a pretty blonde in a bar before the two argue very publicly. The next day finds Jim hitchhiking out of Vegas when he is arrested by the police—for the murder of the girl he fought with the night before. Jim claims he can prove his innocence but his Army pal, on a classified mission, has disappeared, along with Jim’s alibi. Feeling railroaded, Jim manages to escape the clutches of Detective White Eagle (Reed Hadley) to go on the run.
While on the road he meets two ladies, a high-class photographer, Mrs. Cummings (Joan Bennett), and her assistant, the...
Jim Henry (Richard Conte) is a decorated soldier who has just returned from the Korean War. Making his way across the country to California, he’s stopped over in Vegas to visit an Army friend. While killing time until his dinner date he cozies up to a pretty blonde in a bar before the two argue very publicly. The next day finds Jim hitchhiking out of Vegas when he is arrested by the police—for the murder of the girl he fought with the night before. Jim claims he can prove his innocence but his Army pal, on a classified mission, has disappeared, along with Jim’s alibi. Feeling railroaded, Jim manages to escape the clutches of Detective White Eagle (Reed Hadley) to go on the run.
While on the road he meets two ladies, a high-class photographer, Mrs. Cummings (Joan Bennett), and her assistant, the...
- 4/30/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Here’s something odd: the formative feature in Roger Corman’s proto- career. Roger gets credits for Story and Associate Producer, and learned what he needed to learn to produce two movies of his own in the same year. The modest crime thriller sees Richard Conte involved with three women during a chase on dusty desert roads: noir star Joan Bennett and young Wanda Hendrix are a suspicious pair, but special guest Hot Number Mary Beth Hughes all but steals the show.
Highway Dragnet
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 70 min. / Street Date March 20, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Richard Conte, Joan Bennett, Wanda Hendrix, Mary Beth Hughes, Reed Hadley, Iris Adrian.
Cinematography: John Martin
Film Editor: Ace Herman
Written by Herb Meadow, Jerome Oldlum from a story by U.S. Andersen, Roger Corman
Produced by Jack Jungmeyer, William F. Broidy (executive), A. Robert Nunes & Roger Corman (associates)
Directed by...
Highway Dragnet
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 70 min. / Street Date March 20, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Richard Conte, Joan Bennett, Wanda Hendrix, Mary Beth Hughes, Reed Hadley, Iris Adrian.
Cinematography: John Martin
Film Editor: Ace Herman
Written by Herb Meadow, Jerome Oldlum from a story by U.S. Andersen, Roger Corman
Produced by Jack Jungmeyer, William F. Broidy (executive), A. Robert Nunes & Roger Corman (associates)
Directed by...
- 3/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ricardo Cortez in 'Ten Cents a Dance,' with Barbara Stanwyck. No matter how unthankful the role, whether hero or heel – or, not infrequently, a combination of both – Cortez left his bedroom-eyed, mellifluous-voiced imprint in his pre-Production Code talkies. Besides Barbara Stanwyck, during the 1920s and 1930s Cortez made love to and/or life difficult for, a whole array of leading ladies of that era, including Bebe Daniels, Gloria Swanson, Betty Compson, Betty Bronson, Greta Garbo, Florence Vidor, Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor, Kay Francis, Joan Crawford, Irene Dunne, Joan Blondell, and Loretta Young*. (See previous post: “Ricardo Cortez Q&A: From Latin Lover to Multiethnic Heel.”) Not long after the coming of sound, Ricardo Cortez was mostly relegated to playing subordinate roles to his leading ladies – e.g., Kay Francis, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert – or leads in “bottom half of the double bill” programmers at Warner Bros. or on loan to other studios. Would...
- 7/7/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(See previous post: “Gay Pride Movie Series Comes to a Close: From Heterosexual Angst to Indonesian Coup.”) Ken Russell's Valentino (1977) is notable for starring ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev as silent era icon Rudolph Valentino, whose sexual orientation, despite countless gay rumors, seems to have been, according to the available evidence, heterosexual. (Valentino's supposed affair with fellow “Latin Lover” Ramon Novarro has no basis in reality.) The female cast is also impressive: Veteran Leslie Caron (Lili, Gigi) as stage and screen star Alla Nazimova, ex-The Mamas & the Papas singer Michelle Phillips as Valentino wife and Nazimova protégée Natacha Rambova, Felicity Kendal as screenwriter/producer June Mathis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), and Carol Kane – lately of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame. Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972) is notable as one of the greatest musicals ever made. As a 1930s Cabaret presenter – and the Spirit of Germany – Joel Grey was the year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner. Liza Minnelli...
- 6/30/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A military coup in the U.S.? General Burt Lancaster’s scheme would be flawless if not for true blue Marine Kirk Douglas, who snitches to the White House. Now Burt’s whole expensive clandestine army might go to waste – Sad! John Frankenheimer and Rod Serling are behind this nifty paranoid conspiracy thriller.
Seven Days in May
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1964 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date May 8, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Martin Balsam, Andrew Duggan, John Houseman, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, George Macready, Richard Anderson, Malcolm Atterbury, William Challee, Colette Jackson, John Larkin, Kent McCord, Tyler McVey, Jack Mullaney, Fredd Wayne, Ferris Webster.
Cinematography: Ellsworth Fredericks
Film Editor: Ferris Webster
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by Rod Serling from the book by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II
Produced by Edward Lewis
Directed by John Frankenheimer...
Seven Days in May
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1964 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date May 8, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Martin Balsam, Andrew Duggan, John Houseman, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, George Macready, Richard Anderson, Malcolm Atterbury, William Challee, Colette Jackson, John Larkin, Kent McCord, Tyler McVey, Jack Mullaney, Fredd Wayne, Ferris Webster.
Cinematography: Ellsworth Fredericks
Film Editor: Ferris Webster
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by Rod Serling from the book by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II
Produced by Edward Lewis
Directed by John Frankenheimer...
- 5/5/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Lewis Milestone’s poetic character study of an infantry landing in Italy gives us a full dozen non-cliché portraits of men in war, featuring a dramatic dream team of interesting character actors. Dana Andrews was the only big star in the cast, joined by hopefuls Richard Conte, Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland; the standout crew includes Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd, Steve Brodie and Huntz Hall.
A Walk in the Sun
DVD
The Sprocket Vault / Kit Parker Films
1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 117 min. / Restored Collector’s Edition / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99
Starring: Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd Dana Andrews, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie, Matt Willis, Chris Drake, John Kellogg, Robert Horton, Burgess Meredith.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Duncan Mansfield
Original Music: Fredric Efrem Rich; ‘The Ballads’ sung by : Kenneth Spencer
Written by: Robert...
A Walk in the Sun
DVD
The Sprocket Vault / Kit Parker Films
1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 117 min. / Restored Collector’s Edition / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99
Starring: Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd Dana Andrews, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie, Matt Willis, Chris Drake, John Kellogg, Robert Horton, Burgess Meredith.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: Duncan Mansfield
Original Music: Fredric Efrem Rich; ‘The Ballads’ sung by : Kenneth Spencer
Written by: Robert...
- 2/15/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert Siodmak’s superb noir classic pits two graduates of Little Italy against one other: a crook who can deceive relatives and seduce strangers into helping him, and the cop who wants to put him out of business. Starring the great Richard Conte, with Victor Mature in what might be his best role.
Cry of the City
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Berry Kroeger, Tommy Cook, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson, Roland Winters, Walter Baldwin, Mimi Aguglia, Kathleen Howard, Konstantin Shayne, Tito Vuolo.
Cinematography Lloyd Ahern
Original Music Alfred Newman
Written by Richard Murphy from the novel The Chair for Martin Rome by Henry Edward Helseth
Produced by Sol C. Siegel
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Perhaps because of a legal or rights issue, Robert Siodmak...
Cry of the City
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Berry Kroeger, Tommy Cook, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson, Roland Winters, Walter Baldwin, Mimi Aguglia, Kathleen Howard, Konstantin Shayne, Tito Vuolo.
Cinematography Lloyd Ahern
Original Music Alfred Newman
Written by Richard Murphy from the novel The Chair for Martin Rome by Henry Edward Helseth
Produced by Sol C. Siegel
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Perhaps because of a legal or rights issue, Robert Siodmak...
- 12/3/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It's ring-a-ding time, with producer-star Frank Sinatra and his cooperative director Gordon Douglas doing a variation on the hipster detective saga. The two Tony Rome pictures are lively and fun and chock-ful of borderline offensive content, like smash-zooms into women's rear ends. Tony Rome & Lady in Cement Blu-ray Twilight Time 1967, 1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 110 and 93 min. / Street Date September 8, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 Starring Frank Sinatra, Richard Conte; Tony Rome: Jill St. John, Sue Lyon, Gena Rowlands, Simon Oakland, Lloyd Bochner, Robert J. Wilke, Virginia Vincent, Joan Shawlee, Lloyd Gough, Rocky Graziano, Elisabeth Fraser, Shecky Greene, Jeanne Cooper, Joe E. Ross, Tiffany Bolling, Deanna Lund. Lady in Cement: Raquel Welch, Dan Blocker, Martin Gabel, Lainie Kazan, Paul Mungar, Richard Deacon, Joe E. Lewis, Bunny Yeager. Cinematography Joseph Biroc Original Music Billy May, Hugo Montenegro; song by Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra Written by Richard L. Breen...
- 8/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...
- 3/26/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
From a pop culture perspective, private detectives stand for all that’s memorable about film noir. The indifference, the wittiness, and the moral ambiguity that define each urban knight has since become the stuff of parodied legend. We’re talking about the mediators between the crooks and the cops, the embodiment of back alley grayness that’s so tough to pin down. P.I.’s could cooperate with the law if needed, but they could just as soon do business with the bad guys for the right price. To a certain extent, that is – shamus work has always attracted the ignored and the ethical. The Wild West has mythical men with no name, The Asphalt Jungle has names with investigating licenses attached to them. Instead of a poncho and a ten gallon hat, they’re provided a fedora and trench coat.
The archetype has undergone many faces throughout Hollywood’s history,...
The archetype has undergone many faces throughout Hollywood’s history,...
- 2/16/2016
- by Danilo Castro
- CinemaNerdz
Jules Dassin didn’t do much in the way of subversion. At least not cinematically. He didn’t have many overarching themes to his work, he didn’t twist his genre films into something they weren’t. What he did was utilize every one of the handful of tools he was given, and pushed his films to their absolute breaking point. His subversion was a sort of perversion, an excess of imagination and a willingness to show the world as he saw it. If that meant creating a filmography that looked suspicious to the House Committee of Un-American Activities, well, that was just the natural result of having an eye and an ear for how the common man lived.
It can’t have helped that his last film before the blacklist order came down was Thieves’ Highway, an all-out indictment of capitalism cloaked in the noir-drenched mode of a typical Fox gritty,...
It can’t have helped that his last film before the blacklist order came down was Thieves’ Highway, an all-out indictment of capitalism cloaked in the noir-drenched mode of a typical Fox gritty,...
- 12/1/2015
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
(Region B) It's just like the film industry, I tell ya! Director Jules Dassin teams with writer A.I. Bezzerides for one of filmdom's strongest slams at the free market system. Trucker Richard Conte fights back when cheated and robbed by Lee J. Cobb's racketeering produce czar. Thieves' Highway Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / Available at Amazon UK / £14.99 Starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Chester Gore, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Alfred Newman Written by A.I. Bezzerides from his novel Thieves' Market Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Jules Dassin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky, Tamara Shayne | Written by A.I. Bezzerides | Directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
- 10/26/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Coleen Gray in 'The Sleeping City' with Richard Conte. Coleen Gray after Fox: B Westerns and films noirs (See previous post: “Coleen Gray Actress: From Red River to Film Noir 'Good Girls'.”) Regarding the demise of her Fox career (the year after her divorce from Rod Amateau), Coleen Gray would recall for Confessions of a Scream Queen author Matt Beckoff: I thought that was the end of the world and that I was a total failure. I was a mass of insecurity and depended on agents. … Whether it was an 'A' picture or a 'B' picture didn't bother me. It could be a Western movie, a sci-fi film. A job was a job. You did the best with the script that you had. Fox had dropped Gray at a time of dramatic upheavals in the American film industry: fast-dwindling box office receipts as a result of competition from television,...
- 10/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'The Devil Strikes at Night,' with Mario Adorf as World War II era serial killer Bruno Lüdke 'The Devil Strikes at Night' movie review: Serial killing vs. mass murder in unsubtle but intriguing World War II political drama After more than a decade in Hollywood, German director Robert Siodmak (Academy Award nominated for the 1946 film noir The Killers) resumed his European career in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he directed The Devil Strikes at Night / Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam, an intriguing, well-crafted crime drama about the pursuit of a serial killer – and its political consequences – during the last months of the mass-murderous Nazi regime. Inspired by real events, The Devil Strikes at Night begins as war-scarred Hamburg is deeply shaken by the horrific murder of a waitress. Through the Homicide Bureau, inspector Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) begins an investigation that leads him to a mentally disabled laborer,...
- 5/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cry of the City is Robert Siodmak's film noir about a wounded criminal (Richard Conte) being chased across New York by a hardened cop (Victor Mature). Siodmak, who brings a dark energy to the streets of NYC, is one of the forgotten greats, says Peter Bradshaw. Cry of the City is on release in the UK now Continue reading...
- 4/21/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
We all from time to time enjoy a comfortable stay when vacationing anywhere in the world. So why should movie characters not appreciate a great place to stay as well? Interestingly, big screen hotels and motels almost play an important part as an extra movie character in addition to serving as a backdrop to the proceedings.
In Enjoy Your Stay: The Top 10 Movies About Hotels/Motels let’s look at some special selections where hotels and motels in film are featured and play a primary role in plot and theme. Cinematic room service has never been so accommodating.
The Enjoy Your Stay: The Top 10 Movies About Hotels/Motels selections are (in alphabetical order):
1.) The Best Exotic Manigold Hotel (2011)
Director John Madden’s The Best Exotic Manigold Hotel juggles various topical matters at hand: the aging process, deception in advertising, exotic travel and cultural clashing. Madden assembles a notable cast...
In Enjoy Your Stay: The Top 10 Movies About Hotels/Motels let’s look at some special selections where hotels and motels in film are featured and play a primary role in plot and theme. Cinematic room service has never been so accommodating.
The Enjoy Your Stay: The Top 10 Movies About Hotels/Motels selections are (in alphabetical order):
1.) The Best Exotic Manigold Hotel (2011)
Director John Madden’s The Best Exotic Manigold Hotel juggles various topical matters at hand: the aging process, deception in advertising, exotic travel and cultural clashing. Madden assembles a notable cast...
- 7/2/2014
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
Somewhere in the Night
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Directed by Howard Dimsdale and Joseph L. Mankiewizc
USA, 1946
A man (John Hodiak) wakes up in a military hospital, cognizant of the fact that he has been in battle for the United States but entirely oblivious of who he is or where he lives. Only a few cryptic pieces of paper in his pocket inform him of his name George Taylor; that a woman now hates him; and that a good pal of his, Larry Cravat, wants to meet him in Los Angeles transfer a significant amount of saved up funds through a bank account. Thus begins George’s vertiginous journey into the City of Angels, where the clues as to his true identity sometimes add up whilst other times stir further confusion. By all accounts, there are some people who view the name Larry Cravat as either a threat, as in the case of Lt.
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Directed by Howard Dimsdale and Joseph L. Mankiewizc
USA, 1946
A man (John Hodiak) wakes up in a military hospital, cognizant of the fact that he has been in battle for the United States but entirely oblivious of who he is or where he lives. Only a few cryptic pieces of paper in his pocket inform him of his name George Taylor; that a woman now hates him; and that a good pal of his, Larry Cravat, wants to meet him in Los Angeles transfer a significant amount of saved up funds through a bank account. Thus begins George’s vertiginous journey into the City of Angels, where the clues as to his true identity sometimes add up whilst other times stir further confusion. By all accounts, there are some people who view the name Larry Cravat as either a threat, as in the case of Lt.
- 4/18/2014
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 24, 2013
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
The final shot in 1955's The Big Combo.
Considered to be one of the great film noir crime dramas, 1955’s The Big Combo was directed by Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy).
The movie zeroes in on the battle between good and honest cop Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde), sadistic crime boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), and Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace), a cool and beautiful blonde who gets caught in the middle. With the help of the gangster’s ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangster and his henchmen are ruthless and they pull some pretty nasty maneuvers on Diamond.
Written by Philip Yordan (Panic in the Streets) and shot by the great noir cinematographer John Alton (He Walked by Night), The Big Combo features some of the most striking black-and-white cinematography ever seen in a nor film,...
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
The final shot in 1955's The Big Combo.
Considered to be one of the great film noir crime dramas, 1955’s The Big Combo was directed by Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy).
The movie zeroes in on the battle between good and honest cop Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde), sadistic crime boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), and Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace), a cool and beautiful blonde who gets caught in the middle. With the help of the gangster’s ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangster and his henchmen are ruthless and they pull some pretty nasty maneuvers on Diamond.
Written by Philip Yordan (Panic in the Streets) and shot by the great noir cinematographer John Alton (He Walked by Night), The Big Combo features some of the most striking black-and-white cinematography ever seen in a nor film,...
- 10/2/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Shirley Jones Movies: Innocent virgins and sex workers galore (photo: Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster in ‘Elmer Gantry’) (See previous post: “Shirley Jones: From Book to Movies.”) I haven’t watched The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), a comedy Western directed by Gene Kelly, and starring 62-year-old James Stewart as a cowpoke who inherits an establishment that turns out to be a popular house of prostitution. Henry Fonda plays Stewart’s partner. And I’m sure Shirley Jones, as one of the sex workers, looks lovely in the film. Hopefully, director Kelly gave this likable, talented actress the chance to do more than just stand around looking pretty. But then again … For all purposes, The Cheyenne Social Club ended Shirley Jones’ film stardom; that same year she turned to TV and The Partridge Family. Jones would return to films only nine years later, as one of several stars (among them Michael Caine,...
- 8/28/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Star of British film thrillers who specialised in the role of the classy girlfriend
In the 1950s, while watching a second feature before the "big picture" at their local cinema, regular British filmgoers would often have seen Rona Anderson, who has died aged 86. Anderson starred in 20 movies between 1950 and 1958, mostly well-crafted, low-budget thrillers. Opposite such luminaries as Robert Beatty, Jimmy Hanley, John Bentley, Paul Carpenter and Lee Patterson, Anderson was the classy girlfriend who helps the hero solve a murder, usually via a visit to the criminal underground, all within the hour allotted to the film.
According to the Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter, Anderson "had this incredible, porcelain-like face, too beautiful for film … The camera likes angularity, to see the edges, and I think Rona's face was just too perfect." Whatever the reason, Anderson made few major movies, though she appeared in many popular television series, such as The Human Jungle...
In the 1950s, while watching a second feature before the "big picture" at their local cinema, regular British filmgoers would often have seen Rona Anderson, who has died aged 86. Anderson starred in 20 movies between 1950 and 1958, mostly well-crafted, low-budget thrillers. Opposite such luminaries as Robert Beatty, Jimmy Hanley, John Bentley, Paul Carpenter and Lee Patterson, Anderson was the classy girlfriend who helps the hero solve a murder, usually via a visit to the criminal underground, all within the hour allotted to the film.
According to the Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter, Anderson "had this incredible, porcelain-like face, too beautiful for film … The camera likes angularity, to see the edges, and I think Rona's face was just too perfect." Whatever the reason, Anderson made few major movies, though she appeared in many popular television series, such as The Human Jungle...
- 8/9/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Charlton Heston movies: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ remake, ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (photo: Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur) (See previous post: “Charlton Heston: Moses Minus Staff Plus Chariot Equals Ben-Hur.”) I’ve yet to watch Irving Rapper’s melo Bad for Each Other (1954), co-starring the sultry Lizabeth Scott — always a good enough reason to check out any movie, regardless of plot or leading man. A major curiosity is the 1988 made-for-tv version of A Man for All Seasons, with Charlton Heston in the Oscar-winning Paul Scofield role (Sir Thomas More) and on Fred Zinnemann’s director’s chair. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Thomas More’s wife in the TV movie (Wendy Hiller in the original) had a cameo as Anne Boleyn in the 1966 film. According to the IMDb, Robert Bolt, who wrote the Oscar-winning 1966 movie (and the original play), is credited for the 1988 version’s screenplay as well. Also of note,...
- 8/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Big Combo
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Written by Philip Yordon
U.S.A., 1955
A detective is obsessed with a case, tracking down either a killer or a thief which has eluded him for long enough for frustration to sink in. An antagonist who always has the perfect alibi to reinforce whatever fabricated story he might have to deflect suspicions. A beautiful dame, prized trophy of the criminal, becomes the apple of the detective’s eye, for good or ill. If these plot elements read as familiar, it is because they should. They have been utilized a countless number of times throughout cinematic history, especially in Hollywood. There is something about the combination of those three storylines that attracts viewers. Perhaps it is that each allows viewers to leave vicariously in some way or another depending on the individual. Such familiarity can either be the downfall of a picture...
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Written by Philip Yordon
U.S.A., 1955
A detective is obsessed with a case, tracking down either a killer or a thief which has eluded him for long enough for frustration to sink in. An antagonist who always has the perfect alibi to reinforce whatever fabricated story he might have to deflect suspicions. A beautiful dame, prized trophy of the criminal, becomes the apple of the detective’s eye, for good or ill. If these plot elements read as familiar, it is because they should. They have been utilized a countless number of times throughout cinematic history, especially in Hollywood. There is something about the combination of those three storylines that attracts viewers. Perhaps it is that each allows viewers to leave vicariously in some way or another depending on the individual. Such familiarity can either be the downfall of a picture...
- 11/2/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
DVD Playhouse – May 2012
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
- 5/7/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
She.ll always be best known as Kay Lawrence, the beauty that the Gillman falls in love with the moment he spies her swimming above him in Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954). Mimicking her movements in the water, the Creature performs a lustful underwater mating dance . he.s directly beneath her but she’s unaware of his amorous overtures in the murky depths of the river. It.s a desire most men (and monster kids) could relate to and Julie Adams is the actress who will always be fondly remembered as the .girl in the white one-piece..
Born Betty May Adams and raised near Little Rock Arkansas, Julie was bit by the acting bug early and moved to California to become an actress. She worked as a secretary to support herself and spent her free time taking speech lessons and making the rounds at the various movie studio casting departments.
Born Betty May Adams and raised near Little Rock Arkansas, Julie was bit by the acting bug early and moved to California to become an actress. She worked as a secretary to support herself and spent her free time taking speech lessons and making the rounds at the various movie studio casting departments.
- 3/20/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Joseph H. Lewis' The Big Combo (1955) and André De Toth's Pitfall (1948, right, with Dick Powell) will be screened as a film noir double bill at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at downtown Los Angeles' historic Million Dollar Theater. I haven't watched either movie, but the Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan's warns: The Big Combo's "big, dark shadows … will eat you alive." Sounds like a must-see. Cornel Wilde stars as a cop in pursuit of crime boss Richard Conte; all the while, both cop and criminal vie for the attention of curvaceous blonde Jean Wallace, Wilde's then real-life wife. (The couple were married 1951-1981.) Also in the Big Combo cast: Robert Middleton, Brian Donlevy, Lee Van Cleef, Helen Walker, and Earl Holliman. Screenplay by Philip Yordan (House of Strangers, Detective Story, Johnny Guitar). In Pitfall, former Warner Bros. crooner Dick Powell plays an insurance salesman who falls for sultry Lizabeth Scott,...
- 2/5/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Claudette Colbert, Alla Nazimova, Marion Davies, Charles Boyer: Cinecon 2011 Thursday September 1 (photo: Alla Nazimova) 7:00 Hollywood Rhythm (1934) 7:10 Welcoming Remarks 7:15 Hollywood Story (1951) 77 min. Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan. Dir: William Castle. 8:35 Q & A with Julie Adams 9:10 Blazing Days (1927) 60 min. Fred Humes. Dir: William Wyler. 10:20 In The Sweet Pie And Pie (1941) 18 min 10:40 She Had To Eat (1937) 75 min. Jack Haley, Rochelle Hudson, Eugene Pallette. Friday September 2 9:00 Signing Off (1936) 9:20 Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) 68 min. Dan Dailey, Lynn Bari, John Sutton, Alan Mowbray. 10:40 The Active Life Of Dolly Of The Dailies (1914) 15 min. Mary Fuller. 10:55 Stronger Than Death (1920) 80 min. Alla Nazimova, Charles Bryant. Dir: Herbert Blaché, Charles Bryant, Robert Z. Leonard. 12:15 Lunch Break 1:45 Open Track (1916) 2:00 On The Night Stage (1915) 60 min. William S. Hart, Rhea Mitchell. Dir: Reginald Barker. 3:15 50 Miles From Broadway (1929) 23 min 3:45 Cinerama Adventure (2002). Dir: David Strohmaier. 5:18 Discussion...
- 9/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – Diabolical twins, obsessed journalists and jail-breaking thugs are heading their way to the Music Box Theatre. The Film Noir Foundation’s third installment of “Noir City: Chicago” features no less than sixteen restored 35mm prints of must-see cinematic rarities. Ten of these noir classics have yet to land a DVD release, thus making this festival all the more essential for local cinephiles.
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
- 8/11/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Along with sixteen restored 35mm prints of overlooked cinematic gems, the Music Box Theatre’s third installment of “Noir City: Chicago” brings two renowned film historians to the Windy City: Alan K. Rode and Foster Hirsch. Both men serve on the board of directors of the Film Noir Foundation, a non-profit corporation aiming to restore rare noir classics for future generations.
In addition to serving as the co-programmer and co-host of the annual Noir City Hollywood film festival, Rode is also the charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation as well as the producer, programmer and host of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California. He garnered acclaim for his book, “Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy,” which followed the titular prolific actor through the rise and fall of the studio system. His latest book, “Michael Curtiz: A Man for All Movies,...
In addition to serving as the co-programmer and co-host of the annual Noir City Hollywood film festival, Rode is also the charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation as well as the producer, programmer and host of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California. He garnered acclaim for his book, “Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy,” which followed the titular prolific actor through the rise and fall of the studio system. His latest book, “Michael Curtiz: A Man for All Movies,...
- 8/9/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
B-movie actor who could lay claim to having been the first Bond girl
The phrase "famous for being famous" could have been invented for Linda Christian, who has died aged 87. Her celebrity came from her marriages to the handsome film stars Tyrone Power and Edmund Purdom, and her liaisons with various wealthy playboys and bullfighters, rather than her somewhat limited acting ability.
Christian's extravagant, cosmopolitan lifestyle derived from her stunning beauty – she was dubbed "The Anatomic Bomb" by Life magazine – and her ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and English. She was born Blanca Rosa Welter in Tampico, Mexico, the daughter of a Dutch executive at Shell, and his Mexican-born wife of Spanish, German and French descent. As the family moved around a great deal, living in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, she gained a taste for globetrotting.
Christian's early ambition was to become a doctor,...
The phrase "famous for being famous" could have been invented for Linda Christian, who has died aged 87. Her celebrity came from her marriages to the handsome film stars Tyrone Power and Edmund Purdom, and her liaisons with various wealthy playboys and bullfighters, rather than her somewhat limited acting ability.
Christian's extravagant, cosmopolitan lifestyle derived from her stunning beauty – she was dubbed "The Anatomic Bomb" by Life magazine – and her ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and English. She was born Blanca Rosa Welter in Tampico, Mexico, the daughter of a Dutch executive at Shell, and his Mexican-born wife of Spanish, German and French descent. As the family moved around a great deal, living in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, she gained a taste for globetrotting.
Christian's early ambition was to become a doctor,...
- 7/26/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
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