Click here to access a very clever spoof utilizing the character of Lando Carlissian (Billy Dee Williams) in a Blaxploitation version of Star Wars!

I wanted to bring to your attention -- and recommend to your readers -- a book that I've "loved" as a film buff ever since I bought my first copy back in 1970.  It's The New York Times' "GUIDE TO MOVIES ON TV," edited by Howard Thompson.  It's an eleven by eight and a half inch soft-bound  book with 223 pages of some 2000 capsule reviews taken from the pages of the Times.  Though not in the same league as the Leonard Maltin books or even other well-known film guides, this book was unique in that it included a black and white still from each film next to the review.  The Times only published this guide once (in 1970), which is a shame, but used copies can still be found at Amazon and other internet sources.  The films covered date from the late 1930's to the end of 1968.

I've scanned the cover and some sample reviews.  The book is often fascinating in that many movies considered a classics now were not that highly regarded back then.  A good example is the review of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."- Rory Monteith

Retro Responds: All movie geeks must think alike. I agree this was one of my most beloved books about film criticism and a dog-eared  edition of the book adorns my bookshelf. You're right- many films considered classics today were scorned by the Times when they were originally released. I would advise any retro movie lover to hunt this book down and add it to their research library. - Lee Pfeiffer

 

A recent poll finds that "Make my day", the line uttered by Clint Eastwood in the 1983 Dirty Harry movie Sudden Impact, ranks as the favorite movie saying of all time. Coming in at #2 is Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous "I'll be back" from The Terminator. For more click here

The folks at Bizarre Records have compiled a selection of retro record album covers that are so unintentionally hilarious that we suspect they seemed weird even when they were initially released. Click here for the slide show.

 

Jackson Gillis' name may not be familiar to retro TV fans but his work certainly is. He wrote memorable scripts for classic series such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Columbo, I Spy and many others. Gillis has died at the age of 93. Click here for biography

 

The Aero Theatre in Hollywood will present the Roger Moore James Bond films Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun on September 2. On September 8, George Lazenby will be attend a screening of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Click here for details

By Lee Pfeiffer

There was a time when Blockbuster seemed to be King of the World in terms of dominating the home video rental market. The company became a dominant force back in the 1980s after mom and pop businesses developed and refined the concept of renting videos to consumers. (Remember when you had to pay an annual fee to the local video store in order to rent your favorite movies?) Blockbuster waited in the wings for small businessmen to iron out the kinks in the business, then swooped into neighborhoods and shut out the little guys. For years, consumers decided to "Make it a Blockbuster night", as the company's effective ad campaign promoted. However, in recent years, consumer habits have changed. It's often almost as cheap to buy a DVD as to rent it. Movie fanatics have libraries that are bursting through their walls and many can't even get to watching the ones they already own, let alone renting other movies. Most tragically for Blockbuster, the soaring popularity of downloading films has made it difficult for the company to maintain their "brick-and-mortar" neighborhood stores. Add to this toxic soup, the worst recession in memory - a time when additional funds are scraped together to pay for rent, mortgages and health care, not to rent the latest Adam Sandler comedy.  Consequently, the company, which closed over 300 stores in America last year, plans to close an additional 500+ this year. They are not alone. Click here to read how the sinking economy is impacting other major chains

 

Retro is all the rage- as evidenced by director Bryan Singer revealing that X Men: First Class will be set during the John F. Kennedy administration and is inspired by the 60s James Bond films in terms of the sets and look of the movie. Click here for more

Turner Classic Movies will sponsor a 75th anniversary musical tribute to 20th Century Fox at the Hollywood Bowl on September 5. David Newman will conduct the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in celebrating the great film scores of the studio along with clips from the respective films. Robert Osborne hosts. Click here for ticket info

 

The 1965 cult action film Crack in the World has been released on DVD. Here is the synopsis:

Dr. Steven Sorenson (Dana Andrews) and his wife and fellow scientist Dr. Maggie Sorenson (Janette Scott) plan to utilize the geothermal energy of the Earth's interior by detonating a powerful thermonuclear device deep within the Earth’s core. Despite warnings by Maggie’s ex-flame and fellow scientist Dr. Ted Rampian (Kieron Moore), Dr. Sorenson proceeds with the experiment after he secretly learns that he is terminally ill. This experiment causes a crack within the earth's crust and threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.

Click here to read Cinema Retro columnist Steve Saragossi's tribute to the film.

Click here to order

 

Tim Burton has hired his Ed Wood screenwriters to develop a script based on the drawings of cartoonist Charles Addams. The feature will be stop-motion and will be more reverent to Addam's original concept of America's most beloved family of weirdos. Click here for more

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST ARTICLES FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES

It's no secret that American actors have been making TV commercials for the Japanese market for decades. In years past, there was little chance these would be seen in English-speaking countries where it would have been considered tacky for stars of great magnitude to appear as pitchmen for various products. However, the age of the Internet has opened up a King Tut's tomb of buried video treasures including a real gem featuring Charles Bronson in a bizarre TV spot that looks like it was funded by the old gay erotic magazine Blueboy. That's right - the most macho of leading men appeared in an ad that looks like an outtake from William Friedkin's Cruising.

Cinema Retro's Dean Brierly plays Jimmy Olsen to investigate this rarity: but first check out the video by clicking here

 

 

 

The year 1970 was a hot one for Charles Bronson. After grinding away for decades as Hollywood’s toughest character actor, he was on the cusp of international superstardom thanks to a breakout performance in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West and several gritty Eurocrime films. 1970 was also the year that a Japanese corporation sought a Hollywood star to headline an ad campaign for its new line of “Mandom” men’s-care products. Whether through fate, serendipity or cocaine-fueled inspiration, Mandom and Bronson were brought together in a brilliant conflation of the actor’s self-aware hyper-masculinity and over-the-top Japanese film aesthetics. The result was the most mind-blowing television commercial to ever scorch the airwaves.

The spot begins with a close-up of a pianist feeling his way through a bluesy, cocktail lounge number oozing with after-hours ambience. The camera slowly pulls back to reveal a nattily attired Bronson sitting alone in a swank nightclub elegantly defined by heavy curtains, soft lighting and tables discreetly spaced for romantic tête-à-tête. Bronson isn’t seated at one of the tables, however, but at the piano, where he directs a disturbingly intimate smile at the piano player as his gravelly voiceover intones: “All the world loves a lover. All the world loves…Mandom!” The homoerotic emanations are already starting to thrum.

There’s a quick dissolve as Bronson strolls out of the club, where he’s greeted by bit-part actor Percy Helton playing Sam the doorman. (Helton was the obsequious pipsqueak in countless films, most famously Kiss Me Deadly, in which Ralph Meeker slams Helton’s hand in a drawer until he screams like a little girl.) Helton is at his slobbery, sycophantic best as he escorts the icon to his car, whereupon Bronson claps the little guy on the back in a gesture of masculine bonhomie and wishes him good night. “Thank you, Mr. Bronson,” Helton fawningly responds, his tongue practically up Bronson’s arse. “Goodnight, Mr. Bronson. Sleep tight!” Helton then cackles insanely as Chuck zooms off into the night to the swelling strains of a Love Boat-style chorus. Buñuel couldn’t have staged this scene any better.

Another dissolve shows Bronson dramatically entering his penthouse and immediately begin undoing his tie as a Jack Jones-type croons the Mandom theme song. After selecting his favorite pipe from his pipe rack, Bronson strips off his shirt and with a quick pirouette flings it into the air as if he’s auditioning for a road show of The Sound of Music. His pecs proudly displayed, Bronson struts over to his Mandom shrine, grabs a phallic-shaped can of aftershave and spins the top off to the sound of spaghetti western-style gunshots. If the ad had ended at this point, it would still be the defining moment of Bronson’s career. But there’s more. Oh, so much more.

As Bronson starts slathering on the Mandom like he’s taking a shower in it, there are several quick cutaways to shots of his inner cowboy—tricked out in fancy fringed buckskin—fanning the hammer of a Colt pistol in a flurry of manly action poses. As if that weren’t enough surrealism for thunderstruck television viewers, an off-screen stallion starts whinnying like he’s about to mount a filly. (Or maybe that’s just the sound Bronson makes during the physical act of love.) Having fully marinated himself in Mandom, Bronson leans back in his leather easy chair, pornstache impeccably groomed, and narcissistically caresses his face as he pours every ounce of his artistry into the ad’s tag line: “Ummm. Mandom!”

Even repeated viewings of this two-minute slice of television nirvana can’t diffuse the Mandom magic, something that can’t be said about all of Bronson’s subsequent cinematic endeavors. It’s sheer class on every level: from the A-game performances of Bronson and Helton to the overwhelming homoeroticism to the impeccable evocation of a superficial, sybaritic lifestyle. It’s impossible to single out a defining money shot, as every frame dazzles with a brilliance that Orson Welles could only dream of. Perhaps the best part is the ending, with Bronson sitting alone in his tastefully decorated apartment and nary a female in sight. The narrative implications are left intriguingly open-ended, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s saving his money shot for Sam and the piano player.

 

Movie fans love lists, but this one is truly unique: water issues expert Peter H. Gleick has compiled a list of major films that have water as a central theme. He's also asking readers to help contribute to any titles he may have missed. Click here to read

With most movie theaters catering to blockbuster releases, it's often hard for more discriminating audiences to find- or even learn about- smaller, less-heralded films. The New York Times reports that the Independent Film Channel is leading the charge in promoting high profile "premieres" of many great movies that you might otherwise be unaware of. Click here for details

Lucky metro movie lovers who live near N. Vandergrift, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) will be getting virtually no sleep on the evenings of September 10-11. The Riverside Drive-In will be hosting a Monster-Rama film festival with 35mm showings of films rarely seen on the big screen, including several Hammer horror classic. Check out this line-up:

September 10:

The Comedy of Terrors

The Oblong Box

The Witchmaker

The Incredible Melting Man

September 11:

Frankenstein Created Woman

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell

The Blood on Satan's Claw

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

You also have the option to camp out overnight at the drive-in (if you dare!) There will also be an abundance of vintage trailers, cartoons and shorts shown each night. For info click here

 

The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents five films in one day directed by the late John Hughes, who seems to have become the John Ford of the Gen Xers. We'd go, but we're still recuperating from the five Planet of the Apes films-in-one-day festival we experienced in 1974. Click here for ticket info

Daniel Craig, filming a new movie in New Mexico, tells the Los Angeles Times that he's ready, willing and able to play James Bond for a third time, but the financial uncertainty involving cash-strapped MGM has left him a spy who is back out in the cold. "You probably know more than I do," Craig said. "It is what it is. Unless MGM can sort themselves out, we can't make a movie. It's hard to talk about things that aren't happening. There will be more to say when things are happening. I'm really keen to get going, it's as simple as that. And I'm hoping that, in a while, we will." For more click here

Cinema Retro has received the following event schedule from A.M.P.A.S.

Lost and Found: “Upstream”

Wednesday, September 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

The U.S. “re-premiere” of the long-lost 1927 John Ford silent film that was recently discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive and preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

3D Rarities: From 1900 and Beyond

Tuesday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

A show highlighting archival rediscoveries of early 3D filmmaking, including rare works by the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, the Disney Studios and others, presented by internationally recognized film historian Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films, Paris.

1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Oscar Noir Encore: “The Maltese Falcon”

Monday, September 13, 7 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

An encore screening of the first film in the Academy’s popular series of 1940s noir classics nominated for Academy Awards in the writing categories. Cartoons and shorts at 7 p.m.; feature presentation at 7:30 p.m.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

2010-2011 Contemporary Documentaries Series

Wednesdays, September 22 – November 17, 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

A showcase of feature-length and short documentaries from 2009, including Oscar winner “The Cove” as well as “Valentino The Last Emperor,” “Garbage Dreams,” “Capitalism: A Love Story” and many others.

1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

A Centennial Salute to Alex North with a screening of “The Misfits”

Friday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

A screening of “The Misfits” caps off a celebration of the memorable music of 15-time Oscar nominee Alex North (1910-1991), who composed the scores for such films as “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Spartacus” and “Cleopatra.”
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

An Evening with Blake Edwards  

Thursday, September 30, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

An onstage conversation with the director of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “The Pink Panther,” “The Great Race,” “10” and “Victor/Victoria,” followed by a screening of Edwards’s 1981 Hollywood satire “S.O.B.” 

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Exhibitions:

Up From the Vault: 85 Years of Treasures from the Warner Bros. Photo Lab

September 16 – December 12 in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery

A free exhibition of photography from the Warner Bros. Photo Lab featuring more than 150 images of iconic stars from the last nine decades, including glamour portraits, ad art, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes shots and scene stills.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays. Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies

September 16 – December 12 in the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery

The world premiere of a free exhibition delving into the central themes and motifs of nine-time Oscar nominee Ingmar Bergman’s body of work, organized in cooperation with the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.  Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Thomas Hauerslev, one of Denmark's most notable film historians and preservationists, was instrumental in honoring the 125th anniversary of the birth of Karen Blixen, the cauthor of the novel Out of Africa, which was based on her own experiences. The book was turned into an Oscar-winning Sydney Pollack film. Over 350 people attended a rare 70mm showing of the movie on the lawn of the Blixen estate. Concidentally, the event also marked the 25th anniversary of the film. For full coverage visit Thomas' excellent web site In70mm.com

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since the release of Clint Eastwood's nostalgic comedy Bronco Billy. The film was very underrated in its day and did disappointing business at the box-office. However, a new generation of critics look far more favorably on the movie. Click here to read memories of local residents about the time Eastwood came to Idaho to make the movie

Netflix, the American movie rental giant that has millions of monthly subscribers, has closed a deal that will allow it to make streaming videos of recent films from MGM, Lionsgate and Paramount available to customers. Although traditional DVD mail order rentals remain the basis of the company's business, Netflix sees rapid growth in streaming video- which also reduces their mailing costs. Click here for details

Michael Douglas' reprise of his Oscar-winning role in Wall Street may end up costing him a bundle. His ex-wife Diandra is suing her former spouse, saying she is entitled to compensation for the sequel directed by Oliver Stone. Her basis is a divorce agreement that says she can earn money from films Douglas did during the period in which they were married. Although their marriage ended in 2000, Diandra claims that the character of Gordon Gekko was originated in a film Douglas starred in while they were still wed, hence - the logic goes- she is entitled to share in his salary from the new movie. Douglas' lawyer says it's time for Diandra to leave his client alone and get on with her life. Neither Michael or Diandra Douglas appeared in court, opting to let their mouthpieces battle it out. For more click here

It's been 40 years since Paramount's screen adaptation of Erich Segal's besteller  Love Story opened to smash business. Many critics called the slight story of a doomed love affair between two Harvard students sappy and out of touch with the cutting edge films being made at the time. The public didn't seem to listen. Not only did Love Story become one of the studio's top-grossing films of all time but it also scored seven major Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. That was then, this is now. In recent years, a new Harvard tradition has taken place: screening the film to derisive comments from the student body. New York Times writer Thomas Vinciguerra explores this phenomenon, which is fun for some and distasteful to others - and he gets some comments from the movie's star Ali MacGraw. At the risk of getting kicked out of Sam Peckinpah Fan Society, I can say I've always liked the movie and still do- even though it makes Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory look edgy in comparison.   Click here to read

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

A Thief Catcher (Keystone, 1914), featuring a previously unknown performance by silent comedy star Charlie Chaplin, will have its west coast re-premiere during the 46th annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood California over Labor Day Weekend, September 2-6, 2010

Chaplin is officially credited with appearing in thirty-five films during his year at Keystone in 1914, but he claimed in various interviews that he had also played bit roles as a cop and a barber while at the studio--but he did not name the films, and although there has been some speculation about the possibility of additional Chaplin-Keystone appearances, none has turned up until now. Film collector Paul Gierucki found a 16mm film print in a trunk at a Taylor, Michigan, antique store last year. "I could tell it was a Keystone comedy, so I haggled and got it for $100," says Gierucki, but he didn't get around to looking at the print for several months. When he did put it on a projector this past March, he was astonished when Chaplin appeared as a cop about six minutes into the film for an extended two-minute cameo. "My heart stopped," Gierucki recalls. "I recognized him immediately."

Starring Keystone's famed comic villains Ford Sterling and Mack Swain, with support from Edgar Kennedy, A Thief Catcher was in production between January 5-26, 1914, soon after Chaplin arrived at the Keystone studio, and it represents the second or third screen role for the soon-to-be world famous comedy star.

A Thief Catcher is one of nearly forty rare and unusual films to be screened during the five-day Cinecon film festival, and will be shown on Saturday afternoon during a themed film preservation segment of the program. Other titles scheduled include Harold Lloyd's campus comedy The Freshman (1925); The King of Burlesque (1936) starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter; The Sea Wolf (1930) the last film of screen star Milton Sills before his untimely death at age 48; Tennessee's Pardner (1916) with "eternal flapper" Fannie Ward; and Cadet Girl (1941) a pre WW II romp starring tragic pinup girl Carole Landis.

In addition to the film screenings, Cinecon offers a movie memorabilia and collectibles show during the festival at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood.

Oscar-nominated actor Don Murray will receive the Cinecon Career Achievement Award at a celebrity-studded banquet on Sunday evening, September 5th. Murray is well-known to moviegoers for his leading roles in such big screen classics as Bus Stop, Advise and Consent, Baby The Rain Must Fall, Shake Hands With the Devil, From Hell to Texas, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Peggy Sue Got Married; and has also won fans with numerous TV characterizations in series like Knott's Landing, The Outcasts and How The West Was Won, as well as numerous made-for-TV features. He has also worked behind the scenes as a screenwriter, producer (The Hoodlum Priest) and director (The Cross and the Switchblade).

Michele Lee, star of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Comic, and numerous other movies, TV programs and Broadway shows will present Don Murray's Career Achievement Award. Michele played Murray's husband through the first seasons of the long-running CBS series Knots Landing.

Previous Cinecon Career Achievement Award honorees include Celeste Holm, Luise Rainer, Roger Corman, Jackie Cooper, Rose Marie, Mickey Rooney, Diane Baker, Rhonda Fleming, Ray Harryhausen and Jane Russell. Through its 45 year history other Cinecon honorees include such Hollywood legends as Colleen Moore, Myrna Loy, Hal Roach, Burgess Meredith, Alice Faye, Jean Simmons, Fayard Nicholas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Eleanor Powell, Ruby Keeler and directors Robert Wise, Delbert Mann, and Vincent Sherman and Budd Boetticher.

For more details and registration information visit the Cinecon Classic Film Festival web site at http://www.cinecon.org

Sad to report that Ahna Capri was killed in a car accident over the weekend in LA. She began as a child actress in the 50s and morphed into a sexy 60s starlet who resembled a cross between Sandra Dee and Joey Heatherton. Using the name Anna Capri, she appeared in such films as Kisses for My President and The Girls on the Beach (co-star Gail Gerber remembers Anna as "such a lovely girl. I remember when first meeting her I couldn't believe how beautiful she was.") She popped up all over TV in such series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, The Invaders, Run for Your Life, and It Takes a Thief. In the 70s, a la Mariana Hill, she changed her name also to Ahna Capri (she remarked, "Too many people pronounce 'Anna' with a flat 'a' and it comes out as ugly 'Aaana.'") and began to show the world she had more talent than previously being given credit especially in the underrated Payday (1972) opposite Rip Torn as one bastard of a country-western singer. She reached cult status with her appearance in Enter the Dragon (1973) with Bruce Lee and as The Specialist (1975) a sexy assassin for hire. Ahna Capri retired from acting in 1979.- -Tom Lisanti/www.sixtiescinema.com

Harlow, one of two major feature films about the legendary screen sex symbol made during the same year, will make its DVD debut on September 28 from Olive Films. This version stars Carroll Baker while the other film (amazingly carrying the same title!) starred Carol Lynley. Here is the official synopsis:

Hollywood in 1928 is a land of milk and honey, magic and fantasy. Jean Harlow’s spectacularly controversial and tragic career begins with bit parts in movies while she’s living with her mother and opportunistic stepfather. When Hollywood agent, Arthur Landau (Golden Globe Nominee, Red Buttons), spots her on a film set, he gets her a series of comedy roles and soon realizes he has a gold mine in Miss Harlow (Carroll Baker). She becomes an overnight sensation and critics hail her as the next great sex symbol. This film documents the rise and fall of a true Hollywood Legend. Directed by Gordon Douglas (Tony Rome), Screenplay by John Michael Hayes (Peyton Place, The Carpetbaggers) and Costumes by legendary designer Edith Head.

Click here to order from Amazon 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although Robert Duvall had been playing supporting roles in major films since To Kill a Mockingbird, it was his Oscar-nominated turn as Tom Hagen in The Godfather that elevated him to leading man status. Before long, Duvall was being courted for numerous other gritty crime thrillers. One of the best is one of the least-heralded, The Outfit, a 1974 production from MGM. Written and directed by John Flynn, the film is expertly-made and enacted on all levels. Duvall plays a small-time crook doing time for a bank robbery. As soon as he is released from jail, he finds he's been marked for death by mob boss Robert Ryan (excellent, as always, in what turned out to be his final screen appearance). Apparently, Duvall had been unaware that the bank he held up was secretly owned by Ryan, who has already killed his brother for acting as an accomplish during the heist. Duvall becomes obsessed with avenging his brother's death and getting to Ryan before the mob can exercise its contract. He enlists the help of sultry girlfriend Karen Black and fellow petty crook Joe Don Baker. Before long, they are barely escaping death as they raid various mob locations to bleed Ryan financially. The climax finds Duvall and Baker trying to infiltrate Ryan's seemingly impregnable compound to deliver the coup de grace. 

Sly Stallone's The Expendables managed to cling to the #1 spot at the weekend box-office, with a combined gross to date of $65 million in North America. The Julia Roberts film Eat Pray Love also held well. While neither film is shaping up as a blockbuster, they do indicate both stars still have an audience if they appear in the right type of movie. Not faring as well is the new Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy The Switch, which came in a dismal #8 with $8 million. For more click here

Despite contemplating pulling the plug on the project, Universal is pushing ahead to begin shooting a $200 million big screen adventure film based on the classic Hasbro board game Battleship. However, since the script calls for an alien invasion of earth- a concept never reflected in versions of the game- one wonders why they even bothered to get the rights to the original Hasbro concept. Universal is starved for hits and is rolling the dice on this. The budget will go primarily on special effects as the film will have low-wattage stars and director. The studio is hoping it has the next Jaws, but industry insiders are wary because Universal is the same studio that thought Waterworld would be a sure-fire hit. If this doesn't work, we understand Universal will try to lure Matt Damon into starring in a $500 million big screen version of Pick Up Stix.  Click here for more

 

For many years the UK Film Council has provided incentives for major film productions to shoot in the United Kingdom. However, in the wake of severe budget cuts, Prime Minister David Cameron's administration has proposed doing away with the Council. This has outraged many notable actors and filmmakers who say that the costs of administering the Council are dwarfed by the money major movies bring into the UK. Among the critics: Clint Eastwood, who has personally written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to bitterly oppose the decision. Click here for more

Looks like Cinema Retro isn't the only magazine who appreciates the fact that the cool 1972 Raquel Welch Western Hannie Caulder has finally received a DVD release in North America. Click here for Entertainment Weekly reviewer Chris Nashawaty's take on the film. Click here to order from Amazon.

In the last week Bill Cosby has been busy with an unusual project- proving he is alive. Internet pranksters have passed around the rumor that the iconic comedian was no longer of this world. At first Cos took it all in stride, but he's now using every media outlet possible to prove that rumors of his demise are premature. Of course in an age in which the general public seems to believe every crazy conspiracy theory, the odds are against Cosby convincing most people he isn't really dead.  Click here for more

 

Paul Reubens, better known as Pee Wee Herman, tells Playboy that he has proof that he was innocent of charges that he was masturbating in an adult movie house - an act that led to his arrest in 1991. The incident sidelined his career and made him the butt of endless jokes for late night comics. However, Reubens says, "Had we gone to trial, we had ready an expert from the Masters and Johnson Institute who was going to testify that in 30 years of research on masturbation the institute had never found one person who masturbated with his or her nondominant hand. I'm right-handed, and the police report said I was jerking off with my left hand. That would have been the end of the case right there, proof it couldn't have been me." The mind reels at what the courtroom coverage would have been like... We're more intrigued by the fact that someone can get paid for 30 years to immerse themselves in masturbation. Man, did we pick the wrong career! For more click here

 

CHIPS, the once-popular crime show about the California Interstate Highway Patrol, may be the latest vintage TV series to get new life. Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that aggressive plans are underway to revive the series, which ran between 1977-1983. This would be yet another sign of the creative drought in Hollywood, as studios look to their vaults to dust off older concepts. Hawaii 5-0 is being revived later this year. For more click here

Disney is re-issuing their classic Oscar-nominated film Beauty and the Beast in 3-D to cash in on the latest technology craze. One critic who thinks it's a mistake is James Sims, who outlines why this strategy is an insult to the last great era of original Disney animation. Click here to read

This won't mean much to international readers but please bear with us. With former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in the news again, having gotten a mistrial on 23 of the 24 federal indictments against him yesterday, it's time we pointed out a significant fact that we ran some time ago. Blago, as he is known to one and all, is quite possibly the most embarrassing and goofy American politician of our time (and that's saying something!). He fails to realize that his trademark tidal wave-style haircut has made him a national laughing stock. However, we did notice the similarity to the "do" worn by actor William Devane. The only difference is that Devane won't have to worry about how to maintain the style inside a federal prison, as Blago was still convicted on one count. 

 

James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Rob Wade have been hired to write a new international conspiracy thriller set in the Middle East. Purvis and Wade's recent Bond script is stuck in limbo as the franchise copes with MGM's financial woes that have delayed production of the next 007 film. For more click here

 

With the long-running At The Movies review show coming to an end, IFC has complied ten of the most memorable reviews given by Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper. Curiously, one of the most amusing concerns a long-forgotten Burt Reynolds turkey called Cap and a Half. Click here to view

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST ARTICLES FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES 

Bradford Dillman: A Compulsively Watchable Actor

By Herb Shadrak

In a career that has spanned 43 years, Bradford Dillman accumulated more than 500 film and TV credits. The slim, handsome and patrician Dillman may have been the busiest actor in Hollywood during the late sixties and early seventies, working non-stop for years. In 1971 alone, Dillman starred in seven full-length feature films. And this protean output doesn’t include guest appearances on six TV shows that same year.

Yale-educated Dillman first drew good notices in the early 1950s on the Broadway stage and in live TV shows, such as Climax and Kraft Television Theatre. After making theatrical history playing Edmund Tyrone in the first-ever production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night in 1956, Dillman landed the role of blueblood psychopath Artie Straus in the crime-and-punishment thriller Compulsion (1959), for which he won a three-way Best Actor Prize at Cannes (sharing the award with co-stars Dean Stockwell and Orson Welles).

On the And You Call Yourself a Scientist! Web site, Dillman’s Artie Straus is described as “all brag and bravado, contemptuous of everything but himself, with his bridge-and-country-club parents, and his vaguely unwholesome relationship with his mother.”

In the early years of his career, Dillman starred in several major motion pictures, picking and choosing his roles carefully. He was featured in Jean Negulesco’s romance A Certain Smile (1958) with Rossano Brazzi and Joan Fontaine; Philip Dunne’s World War II drama In Love and War (1958) with Robert Wagner and Dana Wynter; and Tony Richardson’s Sanctuary (1961) with Lee Remick and Yves Montand, a rancid slice of Southern Gothic based on the novel by William Faulkner.

Yet in the early sixties, Dillman started taking any part that came along to support his growing family. From 1962 on, he guest starred in dozens of TV series -- among them Espionage, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Twelve O’Clock High, Shane, Felony Squad, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco, Bronk, How the West Was Won and Fantasy Island.

In 1975, Dillman won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Special for his performance as Matt Clifton in Last Bride of Salem (1974), an excellent tale of modern witchcraft. The 90-minute Gothic horror movie aired on ABC Afternoon Playbreak and was so well received that it was rebroadcast during primetime.

Over the years, Dillman appeared in scores of made-for-TV movies and theatrical releases, such as Walter Grauman’s drama A Rage to Live (1965) with the late Suzanne Pleshette; John Guillermin’s war story The Bridge at Remagen (1969) with George Segal; Hy Averback’s satire Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970) starring Tony Curtis; and Jud Taylor’s horror-thriller Revenge (1971), with Shelley Winters. Dillman also played a psychiatrist who goes ape for Natalie Trundy in Don Taylor’s Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and a scientist battling firestarting cockroaches in Jeannot Szwarc’s Bug (1975) — the final film produced by legendary horror schlockmeister William Castle.

Dillman is now 78. After retiring from acting in 1995, he took up a second career as a writer. He is excellent at his new avocation, requiring no ghostwriters to tweak his prose. Dillman’s autobiography Are You Anybody? is a series of amusing anecdotes about his Hollywood years. He has also written a harrowing adventure tale entitled That Air Forever Dark, set in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. “It’s a terrifying account of the Jet Age meeting the Stone Age – Deliverance in a jungle setting,” the actor-turned-author says.

Dillman’s latest book, published in 2005 by Fithian Press, is a comedy of errors entitled Kissing Kate. “The novel is about an amateur production of Kiss Me Kate,” Dillman relates. “An out-of-work professional actor is hired to play the male lead opposite a wealthy community icon. Ultimately, of course, they end up in bed together, where a ‘catastrophe’ occurs and all hell breaks loose. I assure you that Kissing Kate is not in the least bit autobiographical!”

Fifty-two years after appearing on stage in O’Neill’s landmark theatrical event, Dillman is now a playwright as well. His Seeds in the Wind made its debut in May 2007 at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California. The play is set in 1939 in Santa Cruz, California, during a weekend celebrating the 40th birthday of a society hostess' daughter. The interaction of the houseguests is both humorous and dramatic, and all manner of unexpected events occur, Dillman assures us.

The veteran performer spoke to Cinema Retro from his home in Santa Barbara, California.

Cinema Retro: You achieved international prominence in Richard Fleischer’s Compulsion, in which you were unforgettable as the frightening and magnetic Artie Straus, a wealthy law-school student on trial for murder in this taut retelling of the infamous Leopold-Loeb case of the 1920s. You had been playing romantic leads up until then, so this leap into villainy was quite a daring career move on your part.

Bradford Dillman: I had a commitment to Twentieth Century Fox to do two pictures a year and, as fate would have it, the timing of the filming of Compulsion coincided. Nothing to do with the moguls’ belief that I had talent. It was just dumb luck, pure and simple.

 

 

CR: Following Compulsion, you were often cast in villainous roles. In 1964, you co-starred with B-movie cult figure John Ashley (The Mad Doctor of Blood Island) in an episode of Dr. Kildare with the intriguing title Night of the Beast. What was that one about?

BD: I was the beast. I was such a bad guy I had my thugs hold Kildare down while I raped his girlfriend in front of his very eyes. When we came to the comeuppance scene, I learned that Richard Chamberlain had obviously never been in a fistfight in his life. The stunt men couldn't teach him how to throw a punch; I couldn't teach him. So we had a gentle comeuppance. He's a nice, sensitive man who has since come out of the closet.

 

 

CR: In 1967, you were the guest villain on The Prince of Darkness Affair, a two-part episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E, later repackaged as a theatrical release – The Helicopter Spies (1968). You were great fun as Luther Sebastian, the Third Way cult leader who steals a rocket. Did you have any scenes with lovely Lola Albright?

BD: The Helicopter Spies has disappeared in the vortex of remaining brain cells. I don’t remember if I exchanged words with Lola Albright.

To Our Fellow Readers,

As a writer at CinemaRetro.com, I want to thank you all for your support and kind comments regarding our work.  It is very gratifying to know that the movies that we writers love are equally admired by others out there! 

As most of us have been movie fans for virtually our entire lives, there are inevitably titles that we want to see again, but were too young to take notice of the title.  There is one film that I am looking for, and have been looking for since the late 1970s, and I am asking for your help.  All I have is a description of the film, and if anyone out there is able to identify it or point me in the right direction, I will personally thank you on this website.  Here is my description:

In the late 1970s, I saw a film in my elementary school that I have not forgotten. I want to say that this film is European(?) and was made in either the 1960 or 1970’s, but I am not sure.  In the film, a young boy gets a white teddy bear for Christmas and is disappointed because He wanted a brown teddy bear instead.  He takes the bear with him on a train ride and tells the bear that he wants the brown one instead.  He gets to the North Pole and asks Santa for the other bear, but when Santa gives it to him, he is told that he has to hand over the white teddy bear.  He can only have one.  I don't recall if he goes home with the original bear, or does the exchange.  This film is not animated, it is live-action. 

If you have any information about this film, please email me at horrorexpress1968 at yahoo.com (please replace the "at" with the actual "@" sign).  Please put "Santa 16mm Children's Film" in the subject line.  Thank you in advance!

-Todd Garbarini

By Lee Pfeiffer

The doctor is in....Blu-ray, that is. Warner Home Video has released David Lean's 1965 blockbuster as a deluxe Blu-ray edition and it's probably a cliche to say it, but the film has not looked this good except on the big screen. Zhivago is as much a film about cinematography and production design as it is a human story of entangled romantic relationships set against the chaos of the Russian Revolution. Additionally, Maurice Jarre's classic score should have earned him co-star billing. As such, the Blu-ray format does justice to Freddie Young's magnificent camerawork and John Box's lavish sets. The film was never regarded as highly by critics as it was beloved by the public. Coming off Lean's triumphs with The Bridge On the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, most reviewers gave the movie respectable, if unenthusiastic notices. Certainly the pace is slow, even by 1965 standards, and the plot meanders to the degree that some of the characters and their relationships become confusing. The performance of Omar Sharif as the titular character has been deemed as bland (a criticism Sharif himself agrees with), but the flaw lies less in the actor than in the fact that Zhivago is a largely boring character who merely serves as a witness to the incredible events unfolding before him. The Boris Pasternak source novel caused a sensation when it was banned in the Soviet Union, which naturally ensured it's best-seller status across the rest of the world. Lean's screen adaptation certainly keeps in those aspects critical of the Communist dogma, but accentuates the love story at its center. The movie proved to be critic-proof, as audiences lined up around the globe to make this one of MGM's biggest moneymakers ever.

Here's a real gem: a 9 minute vintage featurette about the making of the epic 1969 musical Paint Your Wagon starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg. The film was one of the most unfairly maligned movies of the era, primarily because it lost a fortune and marked the end of director Joshua Logan's distinguished career. However, like the similarly-scorned Cleopatra, it remains wonderful entertainment. This featurette is narrated by the stars, Logan and composer Alan J. Lerner. Click here to view

By Lee Pfeiffer

Distinguished British actress Emma Thompson is drafting a screenplay for a remake of the classic musical My Fair Lady, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1964. It's controversial enough to be remaking a film that many consider near-perfect, but Thompson has ruffled feathers by assaulting the legend of Audrey Hepburn, saying her performance as Eliza Doolittle was over-praised and that the beloved Hepburn couldn't act. She attributes the film's success to others, saying: "It was (costumer) Cecil Beaton's designs and (Hepburn's co-star) Rex Harrison that gave it its extraordinary quality. I don't do Audrey Hepburn. I think that she's a guy thing ... It's high time that the extraordinary role of Eliza was reinterpreted, because it's a very fantastic part for a woman."  In fact, Hepburn's voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon for the song sequences- a trait that was common in those days but which did muddy the effectiveness of a an actor's performance, especially in a musical. Still, the general consensus is that Hepburn's work in the non-singing sequences was marvelous. Thompson says she's bringing a feminist viewpoint to the remake. Although she is to be commended for her honesty,  she's setting herself up for a major fall by comparing her reworking of a classic as a distinct improvement. Click here for more

 

Oscar winner Michael Douglas has confirmed he has been diagnosed with cancer. The 65 year-old son of screen legend Kirk Douglas has a tumor in his throat and will undergo chemotherapy treatments. He predicts he will make a full recovery. For more click here

 

Not long ago, Sylvester Stallone was relegated to the hell of "direct-to-video" feature films. However, his well received return to the Rocky and Rambo franchises yielded decent, if unspectacular box-office. The question has been whether Sly had any other arrows in his quiver other than his most reliable characters. The release of his star-packed adventure film The Expendables seems to prove that he has. The film opened #1 at the weekend box-office with $36 million. Those are not blow-away numbers by industry standards, but given the fact that August represents the dog days of summer movie releases, it is enough to demonstrate Stallone has got some of his mojo back. Also performing well: Julia Roberts' chick flick Eat Pray Love, which follows her disappointing run at the boxoffice. Click here for more

By Lee Pfeiffer

Shock-O-Rama Cinema is yet another independent DVD label trying valiantly to give exposure to B movies that might otherwise have been forgotten. In a move that will certainly please every misogynist male out there in Retroland, the company has released a Women in Prison triple feature containing 2 DVDs with the following exploitation titles from the 1970s: Escape From Hell, The Hot Box and Women in Cell Block 7. One of the tag lines from the DVD box states "Drug smuggling, car chases, cat fights and shower scenes!" Talk about truth in advertising...It doesn't take long for these oppressed females to find consolation from each other in seemingly omnipresent shower stalls. The films are Italian-made low-budget affairs that basically follow the same premise: various women are imprisoned in the kind of hell holes that make Papillon's cell look like the Ritz. They are exploited and sexually abused by guards and the prison hierarchy and also have to contend with butch lesbians who rule the cell blocks. Naturally, as in all "WIP"-themed films, the good ladies persevere and never let their personal appearance suffer too greatly, even when being threatened by snakes and mad killers. It should be noted that while the Shock-O-Rama release is fun to indulge in, the master prints used for the films leave a lot to be desired. The company has included some bonus trailers of other exploitation films, and some can be viewed by clicking here.

Click here to order from Amazon

By Lee Pfeiffer

John Ford's 1939 classic Stagecoach finally gets the inimitable deluxe release from Criterion. The film's merits should be obvious to viewers of any generation, as it remains a wonderfully entertaining adventure. However, what has probably been diminished to many movie fans over the decades is the impact Stagecoach had on the Western movie genre. With this film, Ford had elevated the Western from the realm of B matinee productions by providing a highly intelligent, superbly written scenario designed to appeal to adults rather than the traditional core audience for Westerns, which was primarily children. In reality, there had been several attempts to elevate the Western to a higher plain prior to Stagecoach - primarily Raoul Walsh's 1930 epic The Big Trail. However, that film required theaters in invest in expensive widescreen projection equipment - something they were loathe to do during the Depression. Thus, the movie lost a fortune and relegated its star, John Wayne, back to B movie hell. Ford rescued Wayne by bucking studio executives who wanted a more prestigious star for Stagecoach. The rest, as they say, is history.

By Todd Garbarini

Rush is a band that has been playing live since 1968 and recording and touring since 1974. They rank just behind The Beatles and the Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio album sales. They have toured the globe many times over in support of their 19 studio albums and have played to millions of people for 36 years. Despite all of this, little is known about this Canadian rock group outside of the circles of their most ardent fans. Rush is comprised of three fairly private individuals who don’t think of themselves as interesting enough to warrant media scrutiny. Fortunately, there are those who disagree. Among them are filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, both Rush fans who met with the Holy Rock Triumvirate in August 2007 during a stop in Dallas, TX while on tour in support of their “Snakes and Arrows” album. During the visit, they convinced Rush that they should be the subject of their next documentary film. Having previously made several films about the world of heavy metal music – Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey (2005), Global Metal (2008), and Iron Maiden: Flight 666 (2009) – the filmmakers wanted to tell the story behind this incredible rock band, and how they have managed to not only last but flourish in an industry that can easily cripple and destroy other bands.

Lead singer and bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart are center stage in Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, which premiered on April 24, 2010 as part of the ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, and is now available on a double-disc DVD and single-disc Blu-Ray. Running nearly two hours in length, the audience is taken on an awe-inspiring, entertaining and informative journey documenting the history and philosophy of Rush. There are many musicians of various backgrounds who lend their thoughts on what Rush means to them, among them Gene Simmons of Kiss (Rush used to open for them in the 1970’s), Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Jack Black of Tenacious D, Billy Corrigan of Smashing Pumpkins, and Sebastian Bach, to name a few.

 

The web site Bachelor's Degree Blog has a good article detailing their choices for 15 of the best "Coming-of-Age" movies. In addition to insightful analysis, they provide clips from the films to bolster their arguments. Click here to read