By Lee Pfeiffer

I'll admit to not being very conversant regarding the films of George Romero, aside from Night of the Living Dead. With the remake of his 1973 thriller The Crazies now in theaters, I thought it would be worthwhile checking out Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of the original film. Despite the title, which insinuates this is some kind of campy monster movie, I was quite surprised the film is a highly effective suspense movie played straight-faced and without over-the-top characters or situations. The storyline finds that a top secret government experiment in biological warfare has gone astray, leaving residents of a small Pennsylvania town infected. Suddenly, many locals begin to display signs of madness that eventually culminates in their acting as raving, murderous lunatics. As the townspeople scramble to prevent themselves from being infected, they must also deal with the horrendous problem of fending off attacks from friends and loved ones who are now hunting them down to kill them. This frightening scenario clearly inspired the slicker and more polished British film 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later, but Romero's production is also highly effective in delivering the chills.

Pete Emslie, one of our favorite cartoonists, commemorates the legendary David Niven and perfectly captures the actor's mystique. The acting great would have been 100 years old in 2010. For more of Pete's remarkable work, visit his blog by clicking here

The ill-fated 1977 Western The White Buffalo is now available on DVD. The movie starred Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok and was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The movie only saw limited release at the time and was derided for its shoddy special effects. The script presents a Western version of Moby Dick or Jaws with Hickok obsessed with hunting down a giant, legendary white bison. Over the decades, however, the movie has built a strong cult following. The cast includes such impressive actors as Will Sampson, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, Clint Walker, Jack Warden and Kim Novak. The DVD is available on Amazon's burn-to-order program. Click here to view trailer and to order. 

Here's a rare one: James Coburn touting the sale of Christmas Seals from 1968. The hirsute he-man makes a convincing case: he sounds as though he's gonna personally come to your house and whup some butt if you don't donate! Click here to view

E1 Entertainment has released The Abbott and Costello Show: The Complete Series, remastered in a 9 DVD boxed set. The set boasts three hours of bonus materials. To order from Amazon click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

It was January 1972 when my friend Alan and braved bitterly cold winds to stand on a seemingly endless line at Radio City Music Hall for what felt like an eternity. What would cause two 15 year-old kids to suffer this test of endurance? A chance to see our idol, John Wayne in the flesh. The Duke was making a rare New York personal appearance on stage with director Mark Rydell to promote the opening of The Cowboys. They were to introduce kids who had won a national contest to attend the screening and have lunch with The Duke. The Big Apple was not Wayne Country. While Duke's films cleaned up at box-offices around America, this bastion of east coast liberalism was generally immune from his appeal. Thus, the opportunity to see Wayne in person was too good for local fans to resist. From the looks of the crowd, every Wayne fan in the region must have shown up. When we finally made our way into the cavernous theater, the Duke strode on-stage, dressed nattily in a blue blazer and tie. I remember being amused when he put on eyeglasses to read some introductions. It seemed to be an unintentional replication of the scene from Big Jake where his character did the same thing, much to the amazement of his character's ex-wife, who is a bit shocked to see the imposing man had human frailties.I recall Wayne introducing the young kids who had been fortunate enough to win the contest. Then the film unspooled and I remember thinking this was one of Wayne's finest achievements (an opinion I still hold).

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

A welcome addition to the library of any fan of spy movies or 1960s TV is I Spy: A History and Episode Guide to the Groundbreaking Television Series by Marc Cushman and Linda J. LaRosa (McFarland, $40). This is a meticulously researched and very entertaining look at the groundbreaking show that aired on NBC between 1965 and 1969. The show provided the first serious dramatic role for an African American actor and helped vault Bill Cosby (previously known primarily as a stand-up comic) into fame and fortune as a leading man. The chemistry he shared with co-star Robert Culp was instrumental in the show's success. The series presented Culp as Kelly Robinson, a world-famous tennis pro and Bill Cosby as Alexander Scott, his trainer. In reality, the tennis schtick was merely a cover for their real day jobs as intelligence agencies for the U.S. government.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Fans of mercenary-themed action films like The Wild Geese, Dark of the Sun and The Dogs of War will be happy to know that the 1969 action adventure The Last Grenade has been released by Scorpion on DVD. Best of all, like most titles from this company, it is a Region 0 DVD, meaning it can be played on any system in the world. The film stars Stanley Baker as a tough-as-nails mercenary leader who we first see with a large contingent of his men as they await rescue in Africa after successfully completing a mission. When the rescue helicopter arrives, however, the men are largely mowed down by Baker's partner, played by Alex Cord. The double-cross is the centerpiece of the story, as Baker and his small band of surviving men plot to have their revenge. The opportunity comes when they are summoned by a British General (Richard Attenborough) to Hong Kong. Here, they are informed that Cord has allied himself with Communist terrorists who are trying to undermine British control of the territory. Because they hide on bases in mainland China, the British government can't officially pursue them, thus it's a job for mercenaries.

One of our favorite thrillers of the 1970s is John Schlesinger's film adaptation of William Goldman's best-seller Marathon Man. What a cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, Marthe Keller and William Devane. Olivier's torture of Hoffman set back the profession of dentistry for years. Isn't it time for Paramount to release a special edition DVD of this great film?  Click here to view the original trailer.

In years gone by, theaters would often exhibit actual 8x10 stills and 11x14 lobby cards to promote their current attractions. When the theaters went to mostly multi-plex formats in the 1980s and showed numerous films in the same facility, the art of movie marketing took a hit in terms of creativity. Now, you just get the theater poster and some over-sized standees in the lobby. During the glory days of theater marketing, collectors would often complain that not only were the scenes that were chosen to be in the publicity stills often the most boring or unrepresentative shots imaginable, but they would often contain sequences that never even appeared in the final cut. Thus, out of literally thousands of images to choose from, some bozo in marketing would manage to choose one that didn't even appear onscreen. This aggravation has provided grist for the Cinema Retro Library of Completely Useless Information as illustrated by this scene from Woody Allen's Oscar-winning 1977 film Annie Hall (which was shot under the title Anhedonia- meaning an inability to feel pleasure.) In one scene, Allen's character Alvy Singer bemoans his fading love affair with Annie Hall and seeks romantic advice from strangers on the street. In the scene illustrated, Allen approaches an imposing looking bald gentleman - but whatever dialogue occurred is lost to the ages as the scene was snipped from the final cut. We don't know the actor's name but we'll just say the photo satiates our long-standing fantasy about Woody Allen co-starring with Tor Johnson of Plan 9 From Outer Space fame!- Lee Pfeiffer

The Huffington Post provides us with a slideshow tribute to some lovely ladies who have done justice to skin-tight catsuits. (In the interest of fair play, they also include Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno!) Click here to view

CNN has a unique screen clip montage of the greatest movies ever made about inspirational teachers (No, National Lampoon's Animal House isn't included, even though it arguably inspired more students!) Click here to view

Leonardo DiCaprio will star as private eye/treasure hunter Travis McGee in Oliver Stone's film version of The Deep Blue Goodbye. The film will be based on one of John D. MacDonald's series of McGee paperback thrillers that were all the rage in the 1960s. Rod Taylor played McGee in the 1970 film Darker Than Amber. For more click here

Don't count Robert Redford among the directors and actors who are enthralled by the plethora of extras on DVD releases. The Oscar winner says that knowing too much about the making of a film robs the audience of the magic of the movies. He tells USA Today, "Films were meant to be a kind of magic that transports you somewhere else because you can imagine on your own and not have everything spelled out about this trick and this explosion. I would be just fine with none of that." Redford is happy about Blu-ray technology and is pleased that the release of The Natural will allow viewers to experience the film through state-of-the-art technology - it's just those extras that fail to win him over.

Click here to read more

As writer John Latchem reports, the recent death of actor Robert Culp has spurred DVD companies to commemorate his legacy. Image Entertainment issued a press release touting the fact that Culp's iconic 1960s series I Spy is presently available on DVD. Now Mill Creek will re-release the 1970s series The Greatest American Hero in which Culp co-starred with William Katt. For more click here

In a candid interview, Pierce Brosnan says that he realized he could no longer play James Bond once the Jason Bourne films starring Matt Damon became huge successes. At that point, he knew that the 007 would have to turn to a younger man in order to keep competitive. Brosnan says he and Quentin Tarantino had previously discussed plans to film a gritty version of Casino Royale, but neither man was associated with the blockbuster 2006 screen version that introduced Daniel Craig to the Bond role. For more click here

James Cameron will produce a 3-D remake of the classic 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage with Paul Greengrass the favorite to direct. The film concerns a race against time by a team of scientists who are miniaturized and transported into the body of a dying man to prevent his death, as he possesses top secret information. Stephen Boyd and Raquel Welch starred in the original. No casting has been announced for the remake. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

The trailer for the forthcoming all-star action flick The Expendables has been released and it looks pretty good. I was never much of a fan of the "blue collar super heroes" who permeated 1980s cinema, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. The mercenary movie stars Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke - and they even dusted off Dolph Lundgren and Eric Roberts. The film also has cameos from Bruce Willis and The Governator himself, returning to the screen for the first time since serving in political office. We're not expecting The Professionals, but what emerges looks like fun. Click here to view the trailer.

We know that Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure story The Three Musketeers is dusted off every couple of decades and made into a movie. However, the three French swordsmen are particularly hot right now with two major 3-D productions in the works. One bit of good news: they probably won't hire Charlie Sheen, who starred in the bizarre 1990s version.  Click here for details.

One of the few people around today who had a close relationship with James Bond author Ian Fleming is Peter Janson-Smith, who was not only Fleming's literary agent but personal friend as well. Click here to read Bond author Raymond Benson's interview with Janson-Smith.

Film Score Monthly has released a 2 CD special edition soundtrack of the MGM Cinerama classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm with music by Leigh Harline. As a bonus, the set includes the first ever release of Harline's music from the early Steve McQueen comedy The Honeymoon Machine. Click here to order

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Sony:

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS

11 CLASSIC TITLES STARRING

MEXICAN COMEDY LEGEND CANTINFLAS

 The Collection Includes Seven Films Making Their DVD Debuts:

A Volar Joven ~ El Circo ~ El Gendarme Desconocido ~ El Mago

El Senor Fotografo ~ Los Tres Mosqueteros ~ Si Yo Fuera Diputado

Plus Four of Cantinflas’ Biggest Hits:

El Bolero de Raquel ~ El Analfabeto ~ El Padrecito ~ Su Excelencia 

Each Slapstick Classic will be Available Separately on DVD May 11

Writer Patricia Zohn takes a fascinating look at Otto Preminger's little-discussed, but interesting film Bonjour Tristesse, based on a best-seller by 18 year old author Francoise Sagan, who reflected on personal aspects of her life with this tale of a teenage girl (Jean Seberg) forced to compete with many women for the attention of her charismatic father (David Niven). Click here to read

BAD GIRLS OF FILM NOIR

VOLUME 1 & VOLUME 2 

Volume 1 Includes: The Killer That Stalked New York,

Two of a Kind, Bad for Each Other, and The Glass Wall

with Special Introduction by Terry Moore 

Volume 2 Includes: Night Editor, One Girl’s Confession,

Women’s Prison, and Over-Exposed  

Eight Classic Film Noirs Available for the First Time on DVD

Eon Productions have issued a brief statement indicating that production development on the next James Bond film has been indefinitely suspended due to the uncertain fate of MGM studios, which will distribute the film. The cash-strapped studio has yet to find a buyer. Many fans believed there would not be a new Bond film until 2012, which would commemorate the 50th anniversary of the movie series. Whether even that prospective date becomes a reality depends upon whether MGM can find a financial savior. Daniel Craig is expected to once again play 007 in the next film. For more click here

Kimberly Lindbergs gives a valuable and insightful analysis into the 1970s Western Hannie Caulder in which Raquel Welch plays a woman who becomes a gunslinger in order to track down the men who raped her and killed her husband. The great supporting cast includes Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam, Strother Martin and Christopher Lee. Click here to read on TCM's Movie Morlock's web site. The film is available on DVD in the UK, but not North America. Click here to order from Amazon UK

In an amusing column, writer Daniel Askt makes a plausible case for the how Jack Benny's habits as a penny-pincher can be adapted to help everyone rally to solve the international recession. Click here to read

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

We're always amazed at the number of major films that are announced with fanfare only to fall into development hell and never go into production. Here's one we've never heard before from an industry trade magazine in November, 1964. It concerns James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman:

"Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli will produce The Pass Beyond Kashmir for Columbia release, Columbia first vice-president M.J. Frankovich announced here at the weekend."

What makes the story rather surprising is not only the fact that the film never went into production but that it was slated to be a Columbia production. Cubby Broccoli had enjoyed a good relationship with the studio in the 1950 when he partnered with Irving Allen to form Warwick Films which produced a number of boxoffice hits. However, by the early 1960s he and Saltzman had formed Eon Productions and was exclusively associated with United Artists henceforth. UA had financed and distributed the James Bond blockbusters and both Broccoli and Saltzman held UA boss Arthur Krim in high regard for having taken a chance on the franchise (Columbia repeatedly passed on Eon's overtures to back the series- much to the studio's regret.)

Broccoli and Saltzman originally intended to make other films outside of the Bond franchise, both independently and as a team. However, as the 007 films grew in size and budget it became difficult to mount any non-Bond related film. In 1963, the pair did manage to bring the Bob Hope comedy Call Me Bwana to the screen. In 1968, Broccoli produced the Ian Fleming story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a major musical on his own. Similarly, Saltzman produced three Harry Palmer films starring Michael Caine and the 1969 WWII epic Battle of Britain sans Broccoli. The Broccoli/Saltzman partnership ended after the release of the ninth Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun in 1974. Although Saltzman dabbled in producing in the ensuing years, he never was associated with another hit film. Broccoli continued to run the Bond franchise on his own and reinvigorated the series after the lukewarm reception accorded Golden Gun. The two men had never been close on a personal basis and often had well-publicized differences in their creative and business philosophies. However, they did see each other over the years on rare occasions. Saltzman accepted Cubby's invitation to attend the London premiere of For Your Eyes Only in 1981 and Cubby and his wife Dana did visit Saltzman in his later years when he was in declining health.

UPDATE: Our eagle-eyed contributor Hank Reinke informs us that The Pass Beyond Kashmir was based on a 1960 spy novel by Berkley Mather, who contributed to the screenplay of Dr. No. The plot centered on a private detective based in Bombay who begins embroiled in a dangerous assignment that entails traveling through India and Pakistan.

MSNBC contributor Tom Scalfani poses the question of whether The Beatles split up prematurely 40 years ago this month. Most fans would argue "yes", but there were plenty of extenuating circumstances including in-fighting and the feeling among the lads from Liverpool that that were creatively drained, at least in terms of collaborative projects. Click here to read

Cinematical columnist Jeffrey M. Anderson pays tribute to the 1945 "B" movie Detour, which was made for $30,000 and went on to be one of the most acclaimed low budget films ever made. Click here to find out why

In an interesting article in the Huffington Post, writer Aladdin Elaasar discusses Will Smith forthcoming action film The Last Pharoah in the context of how the tale of an ancient rule fits in with the dilemma of Egypt's current political problems. Elassar also covers the legacy of other films relating to ancient Egypt.  Click here to read

One of our favorite comedies is Woody Allen's 1984 charmer Broadway Danny Rose in which the Woodman plays the most inept talent agent in New York City. Clients include balloon folding acts and a penguin who ice skates while dressed as a rabbai. He finally lands a major talent: a big, dopey Italian lounge singer named Lou Canova who can belt out shlocky crowd-pleasers like Agita. Lou was played by an unknown real life lounge singer named Nick Apollo Forte who was terrific in the role - though rumor had it he was only playing himself and had not even been familiar with Woody Allen prior to filming. The film made him a pop culture figure for a while, as Woody Allen fans would repeatedly sing Agita - a catchy embarrassment that only Forte could do justice to. However, Broadway Danny Rose would be Forte's one and only film. Whatever happened to him? Well, he's still singing in lounges and even played the Sands in Atantic City. In keeping with any client of the hapless Danny Rose, Forte also moonlights on the side, serving as captain of a deep sea fishing vessel he owns! We're not making this up, folks.

The cheerful Forte's varied activities can be found at his official web site by clicking here. It's enough to tempt us to go fishing - almost, but not quite.

(Thanks to "Corn" Brinkman for the tip on this article.)

Not even Charles Addams could have dreamed up the kind of blood-curdling reviews the Broadway musical version of The Addams Family. Click here to read New York Times critic Ben Brantley's take on the production which he calls "genuinely ghastly".

Since the late 1970s, there have been plans to revive The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as a big screen feature. The closest those plans got to fruition was a reunion movie made for CBS TV in 1983 that starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Now, progress is being made once again with an acclaimed screenwriter formally attached to the project. Click here to read

This rare photo depicts the 1966 premiere of the Dean Martin Matt Helm film The Silencers at the new Fox Plaza Theater in New Dorp Center, Staten Island, New York. The $500,000 theater was touted as being state-of--the-art. It represented the first new theater built in Staten Island since 1936.

Sir Michael Caine is not generally known for wading into political waters, but he caused a stir when he recently made an appearance with David Cameron, the conservative leader who is trying to unseat Gordon Brown as prime minister in the May elections. Caine was lending his support to a Tory program designed to prevent youths from drifting into juvenile delinquency. Caine made the most of the event, even making a quip based on his classic crime caper The Italian Job. For more click here

The Hollywood Reporter has an excellent article on the enduring legacy of martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Click here to read

Laurie Broder of the web site About.com interviews Cinema Retro contributor Tom Santpietro about his acclaimed book Considering Doris Day. Click here to read

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

‘Sutherland’s performance is the most astonishing piece of screen acting since Brando’s Last Tango In Paris’ Time Out

Mr. Bongo Films is delighted to announce the release of Italian cinematic maestro Federico Fellini’s Casanova starring screen stalwart Donald Sutherland as the legendary lothario. Based on the memories of Casanova, Fellini offers his version using rare visual daring and imagination.

Casanova is one of Fellini’s most spectacular productions and comes to DVD on 17 May 2010 courtesy of Mr Bongo Films.

Click here to watch a recent British Film Institute interview with director John Landis, the man behind National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London.

In one of the longest periods of gestation between an original film and its sequel in recent years, Rowan Atkinson will reprise his role as Johnny English, the bumbling anti-James Bond. The original film, released in 2001, bombed in the States but was a major hit in the international market. For more click here

The incident may not rival the hard feelings between France and America when DeGaulle was president of the republic, but Woody Allen has set off a tempest with his announcement that he has decided not employ Carla Bruni, France's glamorous first lady, in his next film. Allen is shooting a movie about French life and had virtually promised Bruni previously that she would be in the film. He has now decided to go with Oscar winner Marion Cottillard instead. Allen diplomatically said that he was concerned that Bruni's duties as first lady might interfere with filming, but insiders speculate that her reliance on Botox has detracted from her natural beauty. For more click here

The next time you wonder why Nicholas Cage keeps making lousy movies, consider the fact that the one-time acclaimed actor simply has to rake in big bucks just to maintain anything like a movie star lifestyle. In the last year, his financial woes have brought him to the brink of ruin and have resulted in highly publicized and embarrassing news stories. Cage is suing his former business manager, claiming he kept him in the dark about the state of his finances. However, one wonders just how naive Cage could have been: in the last week he lost two homes and properties in California that had a combined amount of almost $26 million in debt. The homes were auctioned off but there were no takers so the bank now has possession of these assets. For more click here

Director Joe Dante's great Trailers from Hell web site presents the original trailer from The Love God? , the hilarious 1969 film starring Don Knotts as the nerdy publisher of a bird watcher's magazine who finds himself inadvertently heading a porno empire. Although the film was up to Knotts' usual level, his core audience thought it was too risque and the movie failed at the boxoffice. Click here to view the trailer

Issue #7 of the dynamic British James Bond magazine MI6 Declassified is now available by mail order. This issue commemorates the history and legacy of the 1969 classic On Her Majesty's Secret Service and features many rare photos. For details click here

Basehart in Fellini's masterpiece La Strada. (Photo: Cinema Retro archives)

Cinema Retro columnist Herbert Shadrak recently spoke to Stephanie Kellerman, a friend of the Basehart family and webmaster of The Talented Richard Basehart shrine at www.richardbasehart.com

Cinema Retro: Was Richard Basehart an actor’s actor? Was his enormous talent only truly appreciated by other actors? 

Stephanie Kellerman: Several actors commented that he was an actor's actor because they did appreciate his talent, but you would find an argument from his fans saying that his talent was only appreciated by other actors. As for me... I appreciated other actors because I liked the characters they played, but I really didn't have an interest in the actors themselves. With Richard, I watched him because I was interested in him and how he seemed to make each role his own. To me, when others acted, they seemed to play the same character in all their movies, different variations of themselves. They just had different names. Richard was one of the few actors who could make the roles he played so believable and the different characters came to life with their own personalities.

CR: Why was this great actor so unappreciated during his lifetime – and perhaps even now, 25 years after his death?

SK: I think that happened because of two reasons. One, he moved to Italy for a decade and was out of the public's eye in the USA. And two, he accepted the role of Admiral Nelson in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, with which he will be forever identified.  If he had stayed in the U.S., I believe he would have become a greater star here. He is considered a much greater star in Europe. Also, I have received several comments over the years from people who emailed me at my Richard Basehart tribute site that they had no idea he had such range as an actor because they only knew him as Admiral Nelson, and were astonished when they went back and watched some of his old movies, which by now most everyone has forgotten about.

Incidentally, we wouldn't have had Richard as Admiral Nelson if he hadn't needed money to pay off Valentina Cortese after their divorce. She agreed to one last payoff and Voyage was his chance to get out of making any more payments to her. That means if he didn't have that expense, he wouldn't have taken the role and the roles he would have taken otherwise would probably more closely reflect what he had done in the past.

Variety reviews the new Broadway musical production of The Addams Family and, despite a great performance by Nathan Lane as Gomez, finds the entire affair weak and uninspired. Click here for review