Hi Lee,
You've probably already heard about this, but it might be a nice
news item for the website:...
The TCM (Turner Classic Movies) cable channel will be offering Hammer
Horror classics in October. One of the best movie channels anywhere is
showing a series of Hammer films every Friday night during the Halloween
month starting October 1st with the Draculas - HORROR OF DRACULA (1958),
BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960), DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966) and DRACULA
HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968). October 8th brings on THE PLAGUE OF THE
ZOMBIES (1966), THE DEVIL'S
BRIDE (1968). THE REPTILE (1966) and THE GORGON (1964). October 15th ties things up in Mummy
wrappings with the entire Hammer
Mummy series - THE MUMMY (1959), THE CURSE OF THE MOMMY'S TOMB (1964),
THE MUMMY'S SHROUD (1967) and BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1971) which
includes Cinema Retro's recent cover girl, Valerie Leon. October 22nd brings in Hammer Sci-Fi
with X - THE UNKNOWN (1956), FIVE
MILLION YEARS TO EARTH (1968), THESE ARE THE DAMNED (1963) and a non
Sci-Fi choice, THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY (1960). Finally, October 29th features the
Frankensteins - THE CURSE OF
FRANKENSTEIN (1957), THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958), FRANKENSTEIN
CREATED WOMAN (1967) and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969). Each Friday evening session hosted by TCM's
Robert Osborne begins at
7:00pm(CST) with no commercial
interruptions. Considering TCM's track
record, all of the film prints will likely be in top notch shape and all
will be presented in their original aspect ratios where possible. What's
surprising about this news is how rarely (probably not at all) any of
these films are shown together in groups because the rights rest with
different U.S. studios, but TCM has made the hurdle. These should be fun
to see together. Hope this is good news for all 50's,
60's and even 70's Retro fans!
Bill Shaffer
Topeka, Kansas
Retro Responds: Thanks for the head's up, Bill...we heard this was coming and were planning to promote the event on our site. Seems our readers really appreciate being alerted to great retro movie showings like these. - Lee Pfeiffer
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