Veteran actor Christopher Plummer had only just completed scenes with Heath Ledger in London on a new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Pamassus, when the ill-fated young actor returned to New York while the production company made arrangements to resume shooting in Vancouver. It was during this mini hiatus that Ledger died. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly's Steve Daly, Plummer reflects on working with the acclaimed 28-year old actor. He says it was well known on location that Ledger had been having problems sleeping, but it did not deter his energy on the set. Plummer says the film, which centers with a man's regrets about having made a deal with the devil, is now in limbo because so many scenes have still to be completed. For director Terry Gilliam, Ledger's tragic death endangers yet another high profile film from the quirky director. His Don Quixote film of years ago had been cancelled after filming began and a previous highly acclaimed film Brazil had been severely cut by its distributor. To read Christopher Plummer's comments click here

The cast of Bonanza shows you the exciting features of the '65 Chevy lineup!

Here's a link to a really cool, obscure promotional video for the "forthcoming" line of 1965 Chevy cars. It features Bonanza stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon and Dan Blocker, Bewitch's Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead and Robert Vaughn star of the "new" show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. all demonstrating the exciting features on the Chevy lineup. To view click here

Writer Ken Levine has written a tribute to Suzanne Pleshette that accurately sums her appeal. Unlike most sitcom wives, Pleshette's performance on The Bob Newhart Show embodied the qualities of the 1970s liberated woman: she was witty, independent and had a not so latent smoldering sexuality. Pleshette died recently at age 70. To read the column click here

A key filming location from the classic Michael Caine crime thriller Get Carter is set to be demolished. The Gateshead car park will be torn down to make room for a supermarket and cinema. It's part of an overall plan to demolish the Trinity Square complex that was built in the 1960s. For the BBC story click here

(Thanks to reader James for forwarding this story)

Cinema Retro issue #11 will feature major coverage of Get Carter.

If you're among the guys who got socks and underwear from Christmas, here's something to add to your misery. Cinema Retro UK correspondent Adrian Smith was lucky enough to get the new Hammer horror DVD game tossed in among the coal in his stocking.

Now is probably a good time to reflect on Christmas. Almost every year I hold out great hopes of getting old film-related presents, with a particular leaning towards relatively obscure horror. I imagine some of you will no doubt have felt my pain when you unwrap a promising-looking present to discover something starring Ben Stiller.

However, last year I did strike it lucky when I received the intricately structured Hammer horror-themed board game Forbidden Terrortory. Since Hammer recently came under new ownership all sorts of innovative methods have been employed to plunder the back catalogue. The film rights are spread out between many different companies due to complicated distribution deals struck at the time, so the marketing has focused instead on the Hammer brand itself. We have had jewellery, fancy-dress costumes, poker chips and poster reproductions, and now games. If any of you have managed to play Forbidden Terrortory, which involves a group of intrepid Hammer heroes including Van Helsing and Captain Kronos, hunting down Dracula and taking on other classic Hammer monsters including the mummy and Oliver Reed’s werewolf, please let me know. I’ve had it for a year now and still not figured out the rules.

Anyway, back to this year. I actually struck it lucky and got some pretty cool stuff, including the rather promising-sounding King Kong vs. Godzilla on DVD. Continuing the Hammer theme I received the new, thankfully simple interactive DVD game Vampire Terrortory. The DVD box says the game features “the voice of Countess Dracula star Ingrid Pitt”. This is somewhat ironic given that Ingrid was dubbed in Countess Dracula by another actress! Her Polish accent is suitably thick and gives the game that mittel-Europe feel that the Hammer Gothics always had. The game has Van Helsing place you on a quest to rescue the mayor’s daughter from, yes you’ve guessed it, Count Dracula. Each round consists of viewing a clip from a Hammer movie and answering questions. I was actually quite surprised at how difficult some of the questions are. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable when it comes to Hammer, and quickly realised that if I didn’t know the answers, the family members I was playing it with, who can not really be described as Hammer fans in the slightest, would have no chance.

So all in all, it was a good Christmas for me, present-wise. I also got some new socks. Vampire Terrortory is a fun game, but I would recommend that you find other Hammer-minded friends to play it with. Fortunately the game designers had the foresight to include a single-player option, so those lonely old horror fans like me can play it alone. I’ll probably play it after a viewing of King Kong vs. Godzilla, which I’m also fairly sure I’ll be viewing unaccompanied…

So from this isolated Cinema Retro correspondent, Happy New Year, and thank goodness that we have the Internet to bring us together!

Movie lovers have seen him countless times, even if they didn't know his name. Johnny Grant was known as "The Honorary Mayor of Hollywood" and was a ubiquitous presence in Tinseltown as he hosted over 500 ceremonies in which actors and actresses received their stars on the Walk of Fame. Grant, who parlayed bit acting roles into being the ultimate Hollywood insider, died Wednesday at age 84 of natural causes at his apartment in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In a town filled with backstabbing and scandal, Grant was beloved by all for his ceaseless attempts to retain the kind of grandeur the film industry was once known for. He interviewed thousands of celebrities, traveled into war zones with Bob Hope's USO tours and ultimately had his own star on the Walk of Fame. For more on his fascinating life and career click here

Delugg was one of countless composers to jump on the spy craze bandwagon with his cover version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. theme.

If you never heard of Milton Delugg, don't feel bad. While movie lovers extoll the virtues of Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, John Barry, Lalo Schifrin and many other composers, ol' Milt remains the Rodney Dangerfield of 1960s pop music - he don't get no respect. However, Delugg was an eclectic and very talented man who not only composed music for hit game shows like Beat the Clock and The Newlywed Game, but also served as band leader for the 1966 season of The Tonight Show in between the Skitch Henderson and Doc Severinsen eras. In the 1960s he recorded numerous pop culture albums ranging from hot-selling cover versions of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to tunes inspired by the Boris Karloff tribute The Monster Mash. Perhaps most notably, he composed the theme songs from several abysmal children's matinee films for producer K. Gordon Murray. If Delugg never accomplished anything else, his immortal song Hooray for Santa Claus from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians would immortalize him in The Kitsch Hall of Fame. The web site for radio station WFMU provides a fascinating and in-depth look at Delugg's career complete with downloadable links to his greatest hits. To read click here

Delugg's theme for the bad movie classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians remains popular with a new generation.

"Hey there, Darthy boy!" : Star Wars meets The Honeymooners as Art Carney makes a guest appearance on the TV special.

While most people find the holidays a time of intoxicating joy, others are thrust into the bowels of deep depression. One major cause may be memories of The Star Wars Holiday Special , an unintentionally hilarious, misguided 1978 TV show that probably explains why George Lucas has insisted upon having dictatorial control over the franchise in the ensuing years. I don't know about you, but when I think of Star Wars, three names pop into my mind: Art Carney, Jefferson Starship and Bea Arthur. All appear on the special, along with embarrassed cast members from the film. It's the My Mother the Car of TV specials, and Lucas has tried to bury it deeper than Jimmy Hoffa's remains. Nevertheless, bootleg prints have been making the rounds for decades and the good folks at the cool web site Detour have put together a five minute condensation of the show. We even get to meet Chewbacca's wife and kids and there is a touching scene between Han Solo and his furry friend that comes mighty close to a Brokeback Mountain moment. Seeing is believing so click here to enjoy.- Lee Pfeiffer

Cinema Retro's Bill Duelly recently visited the sites of legendary British movie studios. His report is a sobering reminder of how unchecked development is endangering cultural heritage.

Suburban sprawl: rising real estate prices; loss of historic sites. It’s not just a phenomenon in the United States. It is the world over. One place where this is taking a toll on our cinematic history is n the town of Elstree and Borehamwood, England. And it’s happening to the places the Cinema Retro fans hold dear as some of their favorite films have come out of this small, friendly and very talented area: 2001; The Dirty Dozen; The Shining; The Star Wars Trilogy (the real one); Indiana Jones Trilogy, etc.

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of a tour of the area by Bob Redman and Ben Simon of Elstree Screen Heritage, a group made up of volunteers committed to their unique local film and television heritage. With them, I saw first hand how the landscape of an area rich in England’s film history is rapidly changing (to clarify from the start, Elstree Screen Heritage is concerned with aspects of ALL the studios that have called this area their home, not just Elstree Film Studios).

We didn’t need to go any farther than when we stepped off the train, to see that the site across from the station was under construction for new apartments. This was the original site of Gate Studios, opened in 1928 for production of silent films. Being so close to the trains, sound became a problem shortly thereafter. Their solution? To put someone on the roof and signal when a train was coming so the noise wouldn’t ruin a take. Now, no trace of the studio remains.

Gate Studios

French poster for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The film was a critical and box-office flop in 1962, but is now regarded as John Ford's final masterpiece.

Director Peter Yates'classic 1968 thriller Bullitt starring Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn and John Ford's dark, revisionist 1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are among the 25 films chosen by the Library of Congress for 2007's list of movies entered into the National Film Registry. Inclusion on the list insures these films will be preserved for generations to come. It also precludes TV stations that air them from editing the films. Some of the films included are rather obscure silent titles while others are more offbeat such as The House I Live In , a 1945 short film starring Frank Sinatra in a plea for racial tolerance. Among the more puzzling entries is Back to the Future - certainly an entertaining film, but hardly in the league of many of the others chosen. For the full list click here