Bill Karn’s Door-to-Door Maniac was originally released as Five Minutes to Live in 1961, then re-released under the new title in 1966 by American International Pictures with some added salacious content and an altered ending. Either way, what you get is a low-budget heist film that boasts a cast packed with seasoned character actors, some outlandish plot elements, and an absolutely feral performance from country music star Johnny Cash as career criminal Johnny Cabot. The zesty melodramatic script was written by actress Cay Forrester, who plays beleaguered housewife Nancy Wilson.
In true noir fashion, Door-to-Door Maniac is related in flashback. Seated in a darkened room surrounded by shadowy figures, Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback) describes how his novel idea for a bank robbery went awry. Fred’s plan involves Johnny holding Nancy hostage in her own home, forcing her husband, Ken (Donald Woods), a bank VP, to oversee Fred’s substantial cash withdrawal from the bank vault.
In true noir fashion, Door-to-Door Maniac is related in flashback. Seated in a darkened room surrounded by shadowy figures, Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback) describes how his novel idea for a bank robbery went awry. Fred’s plan involves Johnny holding Nancy hostage in her own home, forcing her husband, Ken (Donald Woods), a bank VP, to oversee Fred’s substantial cash withdrawal from the bank vault.
- 8/28/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Door-to-Door Maniac and the ultra-rare bonus film Right Hand of the Devil, are a ‘60s double dose of neo-noir cult classics, available 27th August 2024 in a special, two-disc collector’s edition on Blu-ray and DVD from Film Masters.
Door-to-Door Maniac (1966): 75 minutes
Originally released in 1961 as Five Minutes to Live, this low-budget crime drama was re-released in 1966 as Door-to-Door Maniac. Fred narrates the film in flashback, detailing a suburban bank robbery that goes awry. As part of a simple plan, he hires a hard-up, psychotic hood, Johnny Cabot, to take the wife of the bank’s vice president hostage in her own home. What follows is a robbery gone awry in every way! You won’t want to miss this gem whose original poster proclaimed, A woman’s price drops fast as the time limit ticks away!
Noted for a great performance by Cash in his first film role—the...
Door-to-Door Maniac (1966): 75 minutes
Originally released in 1961 as Five Minutes to Live, this low-budget crime drama was re-released in 1966 as Door-to-Door Maniac. Fred narrates the film in flashback, detailing a suburban bank robbery that goes awry. As part of a simple plan, he hires a hard-up, psychotic hood, Johnny Cabot, to take the wife of the bank’s vice president hostage in her own home. What follows is a robbery gone awry in every way! You won’t want to miss this gem whose original poster proclaimed, A woman’s price drops fast as the time limit ticks away!
Noted for a great performance by Cash in his first film role—the...
- 6/24/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
This first Hollywood studio feature with a black female director is a compelling account of a South African who turns against the ruling caste
In the late 80s, there were a number of films about apartheid South Africa that somehow made the black experience dramatically subordinate to white liberal activism. Chris Menges’s A World Apart from 1988 had Barbara Hershey as the white campaigner based on anti-apartheid activist Ruth First; the year before that, Richard Attenborough’s excruciatingly well-intentioned Cry Freedom was supposedly about the friendship between white journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) and Steve Biko (Denzel Washington), but contrived to put Woods at the centre of the action, all but forgetting about Biko. Euzhan Palcy’s A Dry White Season from 1989, now released on Blu-ray, looks on the face of it to be the same sort of thing. And yet this movie is much tougher and shrewder on what...
In the late 80s, there were a number of films about apartheid South Africa that somehow made the black experience dramatically subordinate to white liberal activism. Chris Menges’s A World Apart from 1988 had Barbara Hershey as the white campaigner based on anti-apartheid activist Ruth First; the year before that, Richard Attenborough’s excruciatingly well-intentioned Cry Freedom was supposedly about the friendship between white journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) and Steve Biko (Denzel Washington), but contrived to put Woods at the centre of the action, all but forgetting about Biko. Euzhan Palcy’s A Dry White Season from 1989, now released on Blu-ray, looks on the face of it to be the same sort of thing. And yet this movie is much tougher and shrewder on what...
- 6/19/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
William Hopper, the actor who played the stalwart private detective Paul Drake on the hit 1957 legal drama "Perry Mason," was a notoriously prolific smoker, often seen with a cigarette hanging from his lips on camera. In 1970, Hopper suffered a stroke and succumbed to smoking-related health issues a month later. He was 55 years old.
As Paul Drake, Hopper was a cynic, a more grizzled presence built to balance Perry Mason's serious intellect. He was the Dr. McCoy to Perry Mason's Spock. For those unfamiliar with the series, "Perry Mason" was about a Los Angeles defense lawyer, played brilliantly by Raymond Burr, who was always careful to investigate the clients he was hired to defend. Typically, innocent people came to Mason, and he was always curious about the details of their case. Mason would always face off against the L.A. District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman), who never won a case against him.
As Paul Drake, Hopper was a cynic, a more grizzled presence built to balance Perry Mason's serious intellect. He was the Dr. McCoy to Perry Mason's Spock. For those unfamiliar with the series, "Perry Mason" was about a Los Angeles defense lawyer, played brilliantly by Raymond Burr, who was always careful to investigate the clients he was hired to defend. Typically, innocent people came to Mason, and he was always curious about the details of their case. Mason would always face off against the L.A. District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman), who never won a case against him.
- 4/13/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
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In 1996, “The Wonderful World of Disney” premiered the made-for-tv movie “Ruby Bridges,” a true-life story about the 6-year-old girl who helped desegregate a Louisiana elementary school in 1960. Critics lauded the film for its exploration of racism, and it went on to become a prominent part of school curriculums on American segregation.
Now the film has come under attack, with a Florida school considering a ban after a parent complained. The backlash against “Ruby Bridges” doesn’t surprise its creators, who exclusively spoke to TheWrap about the difficult process of getting the movie made in the first place and their thoughts on the attempt to suppress it today. Their story highlights how much is at stake as politicians seek to reshape the teaching of history, and how authors and filmmakers are getting caught in the middle.
In 1996, “The Wonderful World of Disney” premiered the made-for-tv movie “Ruby Bridges,” a true-life story about the 6-year-old girl who helped desegregate a Louisiana elementary school in 1960. Critics lauded the film for its exploration of racism, and it went on to become a prominent part of school curriculums on American segregation.
Now the film has come under attack, with a Florida school considering a ban after a parent complained. The backlash against “Ruby Bridges” doesn’t surprise its creators, who exclusively spoke to TheWrap about the difficult process of getting the movie made in the first place and their thoughts on the attempt to suppress it today. Their story highlights how much is at stake as politicians seek to reshape the teaching of history, and how authors and filmmakers are getting caught in the middle.
- 4/3/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Erle Stanley Gardner’s brilliant and savvy criminal defense attorney Perry Mason has been on the case since 1933’s “The Case of the Velvet Claws.” The attorney describes himself in that first novel as a “lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work…I’m a specialist on getting people out of trouble.”
Inspired by the famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers who only lost three of his 77 murder trials, Mason was featured in 82 novels and four short stories, six Warner Bros. murder mystery movies, a long-running radio series, the beloved 1957-66 CBS series starring Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale as his true-blue assistant Della Street, movies and a 1973-74 series with Monte Markham. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans” ) plays the latest incarnation in HBO’s stylish “Perry Mason” series, currently in its second season.
Set during the Great Depression, the HBO drama has a real “Chinatown” feel,...
Inspired by the famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers who only lost three of his 77 murder trials, Mason was featured in 82 novels and four short stories, six Warner Bros. murder mystery movies, a long-running radio series, the beloved 1957-66 CBS series starring Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale as his true-blue assistant Della Street, movies and a 1973-74 series with Monte Markham. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans” ) plays the latest incarnation in HBO’s stylish “Perry Mason” series, currently in its second season.
Set during the Great Depression, the HBO drama has a real “Chinatown” feel,...
- 3/20/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
(Welcome to Best Actor Ever, an ongoing series where we explore the careers and performances of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen.)
If the young Denzel Washington had his way, the now 68-year-old Mount Vernon native would have a bust in Canton's Pro Football Hall of Fame. The man who would be Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, and Alonzo Harris initially had his sights trained on the gridiron before he enrolled at Fordham University in 1977, where he was a skilled enough athlete to play under Coach P.J. Carlesimo for the school's junior varsity team. "He would run us all day, and make us work," Washington told the New York Times in 1998. "But you know what? We were always prepared for the fourth quarter, and we hardly ever lost. Some of the things I learned from him, I still apply myself."
Washington knew by this point that a pro sports...
If the young Denzel Washington had his way, the now 68-year-old Mount Vernon native would have a bust in Canton's Pro Football Hall of Fame. The man who would be Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, and Alonzo Harris initially had his sights trained on the gridiron before he enrolled at Fordham University in 1977, where he was a skilled enough athlete to play under Coach P.J. Carlesimo for the school's junior varsity team. "He would run us all day, and make us work," Washington told the New York Times in 1998. "But you know what? We were always prepared for the fourth quarter, and we hardly ever lost. Some of the things I learned from him, I still apply myself."
Washington knew by this point that a pro sports...
- 1/27/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
In this article, we will be ranking Denzel Washington’s movies in order from best to worst, taking into account factors such as box office success, critical acclaim, and personal preference.
Whether you’re a die-hard Denzel fan or simply looking for a new movie to watch, this list of Denzel Washington movies in order has something for everyone. So, let’s take a look at Denzel Washington’s filmography and see how his movies stack up against one another.
30 Denzel Washington Movies in Order
Denzel Washington is a renowned actor with a career spanning over four decades. His filmography includes a wide range of roles in both dramatic and action-packed movies. Washington has numerous accolades to his name, including two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Here is a highlight of 30 of Denzel Washington’s movies in order,...
Whether you’re a die-hard Denzel fan or simply looking for a new movie to watch, this list of Denzel Washington movies in order has something for everyone. So, let’s take a look at Denzel Washington’s filmography and see how his movies stack up against one another.
30 Denzel Washington Movies in Order
Denzel Washington is a renowned actor with a career spanning over four decades. His filmography includes a wide range of roles in both dramatic and action-packed movies. Washington has numerous accolades to his name, including two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Here is a highlight of 30 of Denzel Washington’s movies in order,...
- 12/30/2022
- by Dee Gambit
- buddytv.com
Denzel Washington has a reputation as one of the best American actors of all time, and it's easy to understand why. First, there's the nine Oscar nominations for acting including two wins, but even if he hadn't been lauded so, his career speaks for itself. It began in earnest in the mid-1980s, when he started to make the transition from television drama "St. Elsewhere" to movies. Theater has also always been a presence for Washington, a Tony Award winner, especially the work of August Wilson.
Washington has certain directors who he has collaborated with many times, most famously Spike Lee. There's also Tony Scott, Antoine Fuqua, Edward Zwick, Jonathan Demme, and Carl Franklin. Since 2000, he has mainly made thrillers and played heroic characters, but ironically he won the Best Actor Oscar for one of his rare villainous roles. Washington always brings a magnetic charisma to whatever part he is playing,...
Washington has certain directors who he has collaborated with many times, most famously Spike Lee. There's also Tony Scott, Antoine Fuqua, Edward Zwick, Jonathan Demme, and Carl Franklin. Since 2000, he has mainly made thrillers and played heroic characters, but ironically he won the Best Actor Oscar for one of his rare villainous roles. Washington always brings a magnetic charisma to whatever part he is playing,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Fiona Underhill
- Slash Film
By the time she was 21, actress Lupe Velez had worked with nearly all the top directors of the silent era, including D.W. Griffith (“Lady of the Pavements”), Lon Chaney (“Where East Is East”), and Cecil B. DeMille (“The Squaw Man”). Her first big break came from the King of Hollywood himself, Douglas Fairbanks, in 1927’s “The Gaucho.” She was star of an eight-film series at Rko Studios.
And yet, for most, the image they have of the classic screen star is a fake one, one not at all in line with her prodigious talents and incredible filmography.
In 1965, when “Hollywood Babylon” was published, author Kenneth Anger claimed that his tell-all would unpack the sleazy and sordid lives of numerous stars of the silent and early sound film era, with many of his tawdry tales involving sex, drugs, and death. In several instances, Anger included photos of dead celebrities, like infamous...
And yet, for most, the image they have of the classic screen star is a fake one, one not at all in line with her prodigious talents and incredible filmography.
In 1965, when “Hollywood Babylon” was published, author Kenneth Anger claimed that his tell-all would unpack the sleazy and sordid lives of numerous stars of the silent and early sound film era, with many of his tawdry tales involving sex, drugs, and death. In several instances, Anger included photos of dead celebrities, like infamous...
- 7/18/2022
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Denzel Washington’s storied career has led to a number of impressive feats at the Academy Awards. With his ninth acting nomination this year for Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Washington is the most nominated Black actor in the history of the awards. He is also one of only 37 performers to win two acting Oscars, with his victories for “Glory” (1989) and “Training Day” (2001). Voters have had a number of chances to award Washington a third win, though, a feat only six actors have accomplished. He currently ranks fourth in our current combined odds to take home that historic third win this year for “Macbeth,” and if he does not win, he will have lost seven acting races. Which of those performances should have netted the actor a third trophy? Below, read about all of Denzel Washington’s Oscar losses and then take our poll.
Washington earned his first...
Washington earned his first...
- 3/21/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
To mark the release of Couples Retreat, Constant Gardener, Buddy Holly Story on 22nd February and Cry Freedom on 15th March, we’ve been given a DVD bundle to give away.
Couples Retreat
After being enticed on a cheap luxury holiday to a tropical island paradise, four couples suddenly find themselves thrust into intensive couples therapy as part of the package! The couples all embark on some serious soul searching that they are really not prepared for. They endure the resort owner Marcel’s odd counselling methods, including swimming with sharks and intimate yoga sessions with an over amorous instructor. Soon they are making a hilarious last ditch attempt to save their marriages on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime!
Constant Gardener
A diplomat on the hunt for his wife’s murderer uncovers a trail of corruption involving a multinational pharmaceutical company’s unethical drug trials upon African people.
Couples Retreat
After being enticed on a cheap luxury holiday to a tropical island paradise, four couples suddenly find themselves thrust into intensive couples therapy as part of the package! The couples all embark on some serious soul searching that they are really not prepared for. They endure the resort owner Marcel’s odd counselling methods, including swimming with sharks and intimate yoga sessions with an over amorous instructor. Soon they are making a hilarious last ditch attempt to save their marriages on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime!
Constant Gardener
A diplomat on the hunt for his wife’s murderer uncovers a trail of corruption involving a multinational pharmaceutical company’s unethical drug trials upon African people.
- 2/19/2021
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Few ’30s classics have held up as well as this MGM blockbuster, a costume thriller that in spirit is quite faithful to the great Charles Dickens novel. Heroes don’t come more sophisticated or noble than Ronald Colman’s Sydney Carton, nor as vile as Basil Rathbone’s Marquis St. Evrémonde. David O. Selznick’s impeccable production hits all the right notes and even downplays the ‘save the royals’ sentiments. This is the one where the Bastille gets stormed and a chortling hag cheers every drop of a guillotine blade. The show even has a connection to producer Val Lewton. Just remember that activities like capitol-storming and public executions need to stay back in the 18th century where they belong.
A Tale of Two Cities
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date February 9, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Donald Woods,...
A Tale of Two Cities
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date February 9, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Donald Woods,...
- 2/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
From the moment she took the stand in what was one of the first highly publicized trials in American history, Lizzie Borden has been an object of fascination. Now, her former home — where her father, Andrew, and step-mother, Abby, were murdered in 1892 — is up for sale, along with Maplecroft, the house she and her sister Emma purchased following her trial. An entrepreneur named Donald Woods currently owns both buildings, and according to Suzanne St. John, the real estate agent for both properties, he’s selling them because he’s getting ready to retire.
- 1/25/2021
- by Elizabeth Yuko
- Rollingstone.com
1996: Nathan Hastings died on The Young and the Restless.
1996: Frankie Frame was murdered on Another World.
1996: Gh's Jason and Robin arrived in Montauk on Stone's birthday.
2013: The series finale of One Life to Live aired online."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1929: NBC Blue network broadcast Amos 'n' Andy, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, for the first time. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 (starting at local Wmaq) until 1943, then as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 to 1955.
1953: On Search for Tomorrow, Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) told Nathan Walsh...
1996: Frankie Frame was murdered on Another World.
1996: Gh's Jason and Robin arrived in Montauk on Stone's birthday.
2013: The series finale of One Life to Live aired online."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1929: NBC Blue network broadcast Amos 'n' Andy, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, for the first time. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 (starting at local Wmaq) until 1943, then as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 to 1955.
1953: On Search for Tomorrow, Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) told Nathan Walsh...
- 8/26/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Following in the footsteps of trailblazing publicity hound Carl Denham, William Castle learned that if you can’t bring your audience to the sideshow, bring the sideshow to them – the 3D craze of the 50’s allowed him to do just that.
After toying with the format in 1953’s Fort Ti and 1954’s Jesse James vs. the Daltons, the adventurous director upped the ante with even more extravagant promotional stunts for his late 50’s thrillers Macabre and House on Haunted Hill. Even the vinegary gossip columnist Louella Parsons had kind words for Haunted Hill and with its success Castle suddenly found himself spending more time on gimmicks than coherent story lines.
The first four films from that cockeyed era are collected in William Castle at Columbia – Volume One – a Blu ray set from the UK’s ever-reliable Indicator featuring some of the most memorably peculiar entertainments to ever confound and delight the neighborhood bijou.
After toying with the format in 1953’s Fort Ti and 1954’s Jesse James vs. the Daltons, the adventurous director upped the ante with even more extravagant promotional stunts for his late 50’s thrillers Macabre and House on Haunted Hill. Even the vinegary gossip columnist Louella Parsons had kind words for Haunted Hill and with its success Castle suddenly found himself spending more time on gimmicks than coherent story lines.
The first four films from that cockeyed era are collected in William Castle at Columbia – Volume One – a Blu ray set from the UK’s ever-reliable Indicator featuring some of the most memorably peculiar entertainments to ever confound and delight the neighborhood bijou.
- 10/27/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
1996: Nathan Hastings died on The Young and the Restless.
1996: Frankie Frame was murdered on Another World.
1996: Gh's Jason and Robin arrived in Montauk on Stone's birthday.
2013: The series finale of One Life to Live aired online."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1929: NBC Blue network broadcast Amos 'n' Andy, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, for the first time. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 (starting at local Wmaq) until 1943, then as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 to 1955.
1953: On Search for Tomorrow, Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) told Nathan Walsh...
1996: Frankie Frame was murdered on Another World.
1996: Gh's Jason and Robin arrived in Montauk on Stone's birthday.
2013: The series finale of One Life to Live aired online."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1929: NBC Blue network broadcast Amos 'n' Andy, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, for the first time. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 (starting at local Wmaq) until 1943, then as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 to 1955.
1953: On Search for Tomorrow, Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) told Nathan Walsh...
- 8/20/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
By Hank Reineke
As one might expect from any 1960’s James Bond pastiche, an assortment of cool spy gadgetry is on display in Franklin Adreon’s Dimension 5 (1966): microchips secreted in the rear compartment of a Bulova wristwatch, a poison dart firing pen, an exploding briefcase, and a cool bullet-firing point-and-shoot 35mm camera. If that’s not enough – and with possible exception of the invisible car from Die Another Day (2002) - Dimension 5 offers us one of the more ridiculous and dubious items found in any secret agent arsenal… a “time-convertor” belt.
We’re first introduced to this device during the film’s mildly exciting pre-credits sequence. In the first few minutes we’re treated to what one expects from a nifty ‘60s spy thriller: a bit of a car chase, a surprising punch-to-the mouth of a double-crossing Asian villainess and a swooping helicopter rescue. What we do not...
As one might expect from any 1960’s James Bond pastiche, an assortment of cool spy gadgetry is on display in Franklin Adreon’s Dimension 5 (1966): microchips secreted in the rear compartment of a Bulova wristwatch, a poison dart firing pen, an exploding briefcase, and a cool bullet-firing point-and-shoot 35mm camera. If that’s not enough – and with possible exception of the invisible car from Die Another Day (2002) - Dimension 5 offers us one of the more ridiculous and dubious items found in any secret agent arsenal… a “time-convertor” belt.
We’re first introduced to this device during the film’s mildly exciting pre-credits sequence. In the first few minutes we’re treated to what one expects from a nifty ‘60s spy thriller: a bit of a car chase, a surprising punch-to-the mouth of a double-crossing Asian villainess and a swooping helicopter rescue. What we do not...
- 12/8/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Ronald Colman: Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month in two major 1930s classics Updated: Turner Classic Movies' July 2017 Star of the Month is Ronald Colman, one of the finest performers of the studio era. On Thursday night, TCM presented five Colman star vehicles that should be popping up again in the not-too-distant future: A Tale of Two Cities, The Prisoner of Zenda, Kismet, Lucky Partners, and My Life with Caroline. The first two movies are among not only Colman's best, but also among Hollywood's best during its so-called Golden Age. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, Jack Conway's Academy Award-nominated A Tale of Two Cities (1936) is a rare Hollywood production indeed: it manages to effectively condense its sprawling source, it boasts first-rate production values, and it features a phenomenal central performance. Ah, it also shows its star without his trademark mustache – about as famous at the time as Clark Gable's. Perhaps...
- 7/21/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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
Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.
- 6/9/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
William Castle’s 13 Ghosts (1960), 13 Frightened Girls, Homicidal, and Mr. Sardonicus are coming to Blu-ray in two double features from Mill Creek Entertainment! Both double bills will be released on July 5th.
From Mill Creek Entertainment: “13 Ghosts (1960) – B&W – 85 minutes – Not Rated
Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp. Donald Woods, Margaret Hamilton
When an eccentric uncle wills a huge, ramshackle house to his impoverished family, they get the shock of a lifetime. Their new residence comes complete with a spooky housekeeper, plus a fortune in buried treasure and 12 horrifying ghosts.”
13 Frightened Girls (1963) – Color – 88 minutes – Not Rated
Murray Hamilton, Joyce Taylor, Hugh Marlowe, Khigh Dhiegh, Charlie Briggs, Norma Varden
The girls of a Swiss boarding school have one thing in common — they are all daughters of diplomats. One in particular finds out that she has a knack for espionage, and uncovers the murder of a Russian diplomat. Now she...
From Mill Creek Entertainment: “13 Ghosts (1960) – B&W – 85 minutes – Not Rated
Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp. Donald Woods, Margaret Hamilton
When an eccentric uncle wills a huge, ramshackle house to his impoverished family, they get the shock of a lifetime. Their new residence comes complete with a spooky housekeeper, plus a fortune in buried treasure and 12 horrifying ghosts.”
13 Frightened Girls (1963) – Color – 88 minutes – Not Rated
Murray Hamilton, Joyce Taylor, Hugh Marlowe, Khigh Dhiegh, Charlie Briggs, Norma Varden
The girls of a Swiss boarding school have one thing in common — they are all daughters of diplomats. One in particular finds out that she has a knack for espionage, and uncovers the murder of a Russian diplomat. Now she...
- 4/13/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
It's sweet, all right, not to mention sentimental and corny -- As Adeline Schmidt, Irene Dunne leaves her father's beer garden to sing in New York, where she falls prey to a predatory playboy. Set in nostalgic 1898, this Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical features several unfamiliar but marvelous songs. Dunne shows the film world the voice that brought her fame on Broadway -- "Why Was I Born?", "Lonely Feet" -- supported by Donald Woods, Louis Calhern and Dorothy Dare. Warners' new restoration makes this a must see for Irene Dunne fans. Sweet Adeline DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1934 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 87 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.95 Starring Irene Dunne, Donald Woods, Louis Calhern, Hugh Herbert, Ned Sparks, Wini Shaw, Joseph Cawthorn, Dorothy Dare, Noah Beery, William V. Mong. Cinematography Sol Polito Film Editor Ralph Dawson Art Director Robert Haas Ensembles Director Bobby Connolly...
- 12/30/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Constance Cummings: Actress in minor Hollywood movies became major London stage star. Constance Cummings: Actress went from Harold Lloyd and Frank Capra to Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill Actress Constance Cummings, whose career spanned more than six decades on stage, in films, and on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., died ten years ago on Nov. 23. Unlike other Broadway imports such as Ann Harding, Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, the pretty, elegant Cummings – who could have been turned into a less edgy Constance Bennett had she landed at Rko or Paramount instead of Columbia – never became a Hollywood star. In fact, her most acclaimed work, whether in films or – more frequently – on stage, was almost invariably found in British productions. That's most likely why the name Constance Cummings – despite the DVD availability of several of her best-received performances – is all but forgotten.
- 11/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hammer horror fans are in for a treat, as respective collections of five William Castle films and five Hammer horror movies are coming out on Blu-ray in August, and The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant has been set to come out on Blu-ray.
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
- 7/31/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Olivia de Havilland picture U.S. labor history-making 'Gone with the Wind' star and two-time Best Actress winner Olivia de Havilland turns 99 (This Olivia de Havilland article is currently being revised and expanded.) Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland, the only surviving major Gone with the Wind cast member and oldest surviving Oscar winner, is turning 99 years old today, July 1.[1] Also known for her widely publicized feud with sister Joan Fontaine and for her eight movies with Errol Flynn, de Havilland should be remembered as well for having made Hollywood labor history. This particular history has nothing to do with de Havilland's films, her two Oscars, Gone with the Wind, Joan Fontaine, or Errol Flynn. Instead, history was made as a result of a legal fight: after winning a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in the mid-'40s, Olivia de Havilland put an end to treacherous...
- 7/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...
- 7/24/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eleanor Parker Now on TCM Palms Springs area resident Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 next June 26, is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June. One of the best actresses of Hollywood’s studio era, Parker isn’t nearly as well-remembered today as she should be despite three Best Actress Academy Award nominations (Caged, 1950; Detective Story, 1951; Interrupted Melody, 1955), a number of box-office and/or critical hits, and a key role in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time (The Sound of Music). Hopefully, the 34 Eleanor Parker movies TCM will be showing each Monday this month — beginning tonight — will help to introduce the actress to a broader 21st-century audience. Eleanor Parker movies "When I am spotted somewhere it means that my characterizations haven’t covered up Eleanor Parker the person. I prefer it the other way around," Parker once said. In fact, the title of Doug McClelland’s 1989 Eleanor Parker bio,...
- 6/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In the late 1960s and early 70s, few actors stood as tall in their heroic roles as Ron Ely.
From television’s Tarzan to the big screen’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, Ely’s 6-foot-4-inch muscular frame made the scenery cower when he stepped before a camera.
The 74-year-old actor stands just as tall today, commanding audiences with his tales of those golden days of pulp fiction on film. Warner Archive Collection has brought Ely’s best-loved roles back into the
spotlight, making the classic titles available on DVD and through its new live-streaming service, Warner Archive Instant.
Premiering on NBC in 1966, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ immortal creation, Tarzan, took to the nation’s TV screens for the first time. Still in the capable hands of producer Sy Weintraub, the TV Tarzan (the
aforementioned Mr. Ely) continued the more recent (and more authentic) interpretation of Lord Greystoke as a sophisticated,...
From television’s Tarzan to the big screen’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, Ely’s 6-foot-4-inch muscular frame made the scenery cower when he stepped before a camera.
The 74-year-old actor stands just as tall today, commanding audiences with his tales of those golden days of pulp fiction on film. Warner Archive Collection has brought Ely’s best-loved roles back into the
spotlight, making the classic titles available on DVD and through its new live-streaming service, Warner Archive Instant.
Premiering on NBC in 1966, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ immortal creation, Tarzan, took to the nation’s TV screens for the first time. Still in the capable hands of producer Sy Weintraub, the TV Tarzan (the
aforementioned Mr. Ely) continued the more recent (and more authentic) interpretation of Lord Greystoke as a sophisticated,...
- 4/27/2013
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes star to complete turnaround in fortunes by signing up to third movie series, reports say
He's already flying through the skies on a regular basis as Iron Man, and is due to appear in a second Sherlock Holmes film for director Guy Ritchie next year. But Robert Downey Jr reportedly wants a third high-profile Hollywood franchise and is eyeing a starring turn as the detective Perry Mason in the first big-screen outing for the unflappable Los Angeles defence lawyer since 1937.
Variety reports that Downey Jr and his wife, producer Susan Downey, are putting the project together at their production company, Team Downey, as a potential starring vehicle for the actor. The film looks likely to be a period piece set in 1930s La, a fertile era and location for Hollywood over the years. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote more than 80 novels featuring Mason between 1933 and his...
He's already flying through the skies on a regular basis as Iron Man, and is due to appear in a second Sherlock Holmes film for director Guy Ritchie next year. But Robert Downey Jr reportedly wants a third high-profile Hollywood franchise and is eyeing a starring turn as the detective Perry Mason in the first big-screen outing for the unflappable Los Angeles defence lawyer since 1937.
Variety reports that Downey Jr and his wife, producer Susan Downey, are putting the project together at their production company, Team Downey, as a potential starring vehicle for the actor. The film looks likely to be a period piece set in 1930s La, a fertile era and location for Hollywood over the years. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote more than 80 novels featuring Mason between 1933 and his...
- 10/6/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
A Tale Of Two Cities (1935) Direction: Jack Conway Cast: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, Donald Woods, Lucille La Verne, Henry B. Walthall, H. B. Warner, Walter Catlett, Fritz Leiber, Isabel Jewell, Tully Marshall, Mitchell Lewis, Robert Warwick Screenplay: W. P. Lipscomb and S. N. Behrman; from Charles Dickens' novel Oscar Movies Highly Recommended Jack Conway's A Tale of Two Cities Although not as widely known as other Old Hollywood spectacles, David O. Selznick's film production of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, set during the time of the French Revolution, is far, far better than most of the other period dramas made during the studio era. Starring former silent-screen heartthrob Ronald Colman; featuring respected supporting players such as Edna May Oliver, H. B. Warner, and Basil Rathbone; directed by MGM's reliable and unfairly forgotten Jack Conway, by...
- 3/26/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Attenborough's drama gives us a saintly martyr in place of a vibrant hero. And then pronounces his name wrong
Director: Richard Attenborough
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: C
Along with Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko was one of the most important anti-apartheid leaders in mid-20th century South Africa.
Politics
Liberal newspaper editor Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) has convinced himself that Steve Biko (Denzel Washington) is an anti-white racist. Biko has been "banned" by the regime – meaning that he cannot associate with more than one person outside his immediate family at any one time, nor travel outside a specific area. Woods goes to meet him. In the film, Woods politely objects to Biko's message, and Biko responds with a gentle sermon on the plight of black South Africans. It's considerably toned down from the authentic version recounted in Woods's memoir, in which Woods lost his temper, shouting: "I...
Director: Richard Attenborough
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: C
Along with Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko was one of the most important anti-apartheid leaders in mid-20th century South Africa.
Politics
Liberal newspaper editor Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) has convinced himself that Steve Biko (Denzel Washington) is an anti-white racist. Biko has been "banned" by the regime – meaning that he cannot associate with more than one person outside his immediate family at any one time, nor travel outside a specific area. Woods goes to meet him. In the film, Woods politely objects to Biko's message, and Biko responds with a gentle sermon on the plight of black South Africans. It's considerably toned down from the authentic version recounted in Woods's memoir, in which Woods lost his temper, shouting: "I...
- 6/10/2010
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
The William Castle Film Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $80.95) assembles the master showman’s eight Columbia Pictures features in one set. Three (Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls, The Old Dark House) are new to DVD. Only two are in color (Girls, House), but black and white works far better here to evoke film fear anyhow. Castle produced and directed them all (though he shares a producing credit with Hammer Films’ Anthony Hinds on the House remake). Three were scripted by Robb White (who also wrote Castle’s earlier gimmicky genre hits MacAbre and House On Haunted Hill) while Ray Russell and Robert Dillon racked up two scripts each and Starlog contributor Robert Bloch penned one.
The films (fantasies, thrillers, comedies) are grouped sort of by theme, two per disc. So, 13 Frightened Girls (a.k.a. The Candy Web) is teamed with 13 Ghosts for the triskaidekaphobia entry. Homicidal and Strait-jacket represent the murder,...
The films (fantasies, thrillers, comedies) are grouped sort of by theme, two per disc. So, 13 Frightened Girls (a.k.a. The Candy Web) is teamed with 13 Ghosts for the triskaidekaphobia entry. Homicidal and Strait-jacket represent the murder,...
- 10/20/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell)
- Starlog
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