Cinema Retro has received the following press release from PBS:

Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple
Based on the works of Agatha Christie
On MASTERPIECE Mystery!
Sundays June 19 - July 10, 2011 at 9pm on PBS

David Suchet returns as the stylish and quirky Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, the iconic character made famous by Agatha Christie. In three brand new mysteries, Poirot finds himself investigating crimes, murders, and international cover-ups with the help of the police and some old friends.

Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 9pm ET — "Three Act Tragedy"
Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 9pm ET — "The Clocks"
Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 9pm ET — "Hallowe'en Party"

A new episode of the beloved "Agatha Christie's Miss Marple" series airs on Sunday, July 10, with Julia McKenzie (Cranford) in the role of the spinster sleuth. In "The Pale Horse," Miss Marple investigates the murder of a friend and stumbles upon some spooky findings.

 

Great news for action movie fans: Dark of the Sun (aka The Mercenaries) has been released by Warner Archive as part of their burn-to-order DVD collection. The film, made in 1968, was directed by Jack Cardiff and is a superb, tough-as-nails adventure about mercenaries in the Congo. The movie stars Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieaux, Jim Brown and Kenneth More. It's as good as action movies get and has been one of the titles that Cinema Retro readers have desired most. The only downside: Warner Archives ships only to customers in the USA.

To order click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

I'm always amazed at the transition between the New York City of many years ago and the Gotham of today. Few major urban areas have seen such a successful renaissance of safety and civility. In the 1960s-early 1990s, the city was plagued by crime waves, largely fueled by the increasing activity in drugs. Today, Gotham still hasn't reached the point of being an urban Shangri-la, but crime statistics have dropped to their lowest point since the early 1960s. Thus, it's interesting to revisit films made during those bad old days that depict New York as a wasteland of crime, corruption and murder. Things were never that bad, of course, but these films did tap into a popular discontent with the way crime was escalating and how helpless the average man and woman felt in terms of doing anything about it. It was not surprising that films reflected the fantasy of one man standing up to the cretins of the streets and bringing about law and order through vigilantiism. Ironically, the great improvement in Gotham life came about through stricter penalties for criminals and a major resassessment of policing strategies, not uprisings of everyday citizens (Bernard Goetz, the "Subway Vigilante" aside). However, these methods would be rather unexciting to protray on screen. Thus, the enduring popularity of the vigilante films.

The first and most influential of these movies depicting a righteous avenger was Michael Winner's original 1974 film Death Wish. The movie ultimately spawned so many cartoon-like sequels that it's easy to forget the impact the original had on audiences. Director William Friedkin once told me the audience reaction he witnessed was the most visceral he had ever experienced. Soon, every studio in the world was jumping on the vigilante bandwagon. Among the films churned out of the mill was Defiance, a 1980 production directed by John Flynn (who helmed the far superior thriller The Outfit). Jan Michael Vincent stars as a laid off merchant marine who has to spend several months in a Bronx tenement while awaiting his next job. He soon realizes that the entire neighorhood is terrorized by a brutal street gang whose leader Angel (Rudy Ramos) excercises dictator-like power. Store merchants are menaced, church functions are robbed and women are brutalized. The police seem to be able to do nothing but fill out reports (the impotence of law enforcement is a common and necessary ingredient to this genre.)

For three decades Wally Boag and Betty Taylor played sweethearts in the Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland. Tragically, both performers died within days of each other. Click here for more

 

Forget about the fact that more people probably attended your last birthday party than paid to see the Catwoman feature film. Still, there's no denying that Halle Berry certainly looked great in that eye-popping costume. She's one of a number of actresses featured in the Huffington Post's slide show tribute to the sexiest big screen female super heroes. Click here to view

 

Cinema Retro reader Peter Vollebregt sent us this photo he took last year of Robert Vaughn filming an episode of Hustle on the Thames in London. He's superimposed Vaughn in the same spot way back in 1972 when he shot his TV series The Protectors on location in the UK. (Photo copyright Peter Vollebregt).

The late, legendary film composer Maurice Jarre's soundtrack recordings for the Westerns Villa Rides! and El Condor have been released on a single CD. Here is background from the Screen Archives web site:

"A few months after my Oscar for Doctor Zhivago, Columbia contacted me to do The Professionals, and I literally fell off my chair. I thought I was too French to get involved in such a typically American genre as the western. To me, succeeding with this score amounted to getting a Hollywood certificate, proof that I belonged; it was a test, like a ragging in college..." Maurice Jarre was talking about his relationship to westerns, a genre which symbolizes American films, and the composer went on to work on eight full-length features. Among them were two pictures with very rare scores: Villa Rides! (never reissued on CD before now) and El Condor (which has never been available on any record). These are sister-scores, and the composer's taste for South-American rhythms bursts through them: lavish orchestrations and a whole range of wild percussion display the full range of Jarre's considerable imagination on his journey through the folk-music of Mexico and The Andes. Following the release of the boxed-set Le Cinéma de Maurice Jarre, this album contains the complete versions of two original soundtracks which, taken together, provide an accurate reflection of the singular rapport tying the composer of Lawrence of Arabia to the western, a genre where he was one of the great innovators. Maurice Jarre aficionados will love this CD, and so will anyone with nostalgic memories of Lee Van Cleef, Charles Bronson or Robert Mitchum on horseback.

Click here to order from Screen Archives

 

 

Director Tim Burton's long-awaited big screen adapation of the 1960s TV soap opera Dark Shadows has begun filming at Pinewood Studios, England. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Green star. For more click here

 

Joe Dante's Trailers From Hell site presents the original theatrical trailer for the 1967 classic The Dirty Dozen with commentary by writer/producer Ed Neumeier. Click here to view

 

Writer Nicholas Sheffo of the terrific web site Fulvue Drive-In, reviews an intriguing book, Mego 8" Superheroes about a line of toys that are highly desired by collectors. The book by Benjamin Holcomb is profusely illustrated and covers the D.C. Comics heroes, who were immortalized over the decades by Mego Toys.  Sheffo reports that certain figures now sell for up to $10,000 each!

Click here for review

Click here to order from Amazon

The new book Furious Love, which chronicles the tempestuous love affairs and marriages between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, has been optioned for a possible screen project for Martin Scorsese. Burton's estate is cooperating with the producers and it's hoped that Taylor's heirs will, too. The couple caused a worldwide scandal with their "in your face" affair on the set of Cleopatra (both were married to other people at the time) and their subsequent two marriages. Although they would frequently rant against each other in public, the couple never fell out of love. For more click here

Actor James Arness, who starred as Matt Dillon in the legendary CBS TV show Gunsmoke, has died of natural causes at age 88. Arness was a WWII veteran who was wounded in action. After the war he tried several diverse careers before drifting into acting. He made numerous feature films and played the titular role in Howard Hawks' classic 1950 sci-fi film The Thing. He befriended John Wayne and co-starred with him in several feature films before starring in Gunsmoke beginning in 1955. With his muscular physique and tall frame, Arness became an immediate heartthrob. The show was an instant hit and ran for twenty years. When CBS threatened to cancel it, a grass roots protest campaign on behalf of fans succeeded in convincing the network to renew the show. Arness returned to TV in the 1970s in How the West Was Won and in the 1980s cop show McLain's Law. Arness survived his brother, actor Peter Graves, who also soared to fame on a CBS series, the long-running Misson:Impossible. For more click here

The latest issue of Cinema Retro (#20) is now shipping to subscribers all around the world. As we publish in the UK, those subscribers always get their copies first. However, the latest issue just arrived from the other side of the pond and has now been shipped out to all other regions. Readers will have it in their hot little hands very soon.

• Cover story on Candy starring Ewa Aulin as the sexy teen nymph in an all-star fiasco that involved Marlon Brando, Ringo Starr, James Coburn and Walter Matthau. Dean Brierly examines how such a sure-fire project turned into one of the worst movies ever made.
• This issue's Film in Focus is Earthquake, the 1974 blockbuster starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and many other familiar faces in one of the most successful films of the genre. Ross Warner reminds why the film remains a guilty pleasure and Thomas Hauerslav of the web site In70mm.com presents a fascinating look at the history of Sensurround, the Oscar-winning sound system that had more than its share of mishaps. 
• Nick Anez provides analysis of two Fox Westerns from the 1960s: The Comancheros starring John Wayne and Stuart Whitman and Rio Conchos starring Whitman and Richard Boone. Anez examines the startling similarities between the two films and debates if Conchos can truly be regarded as a remake of The Comancheros.
• Lee Pfeiffer has a sit-down interview with jazz great Kyle Eastwood and discusses his scoring of films with his father, Clint Eastwood. Kyle also recalls starring with his dad in Honkytonk Man and making a cameo in The Outlaw Josey Wales. 
• Gary McMahon looks at memorable films that have coped with the restrictions of shooting key sequences in confined places, from the legendary fight aboard the Orient Express in the James Bond classic From Russia With Love to Hitchcock's Lifeboat and Huston's Key Largo. 
• Cinema Retro music critic Darren Allison provides an in-depth tribute to the recently departed legendary composer John Barry.
• Matthew Field concludes his three-part interview with director Lewis Gilbert with discussions of Friends and Educating Rita.
• Herbie J. Pilato examines the good, the bad and the ugly among major films based on legendary TV series.
• Raymond Benson looks back on his top films of 1979 including Alien and Apocalypse Now.
• Cinema Retro honors famed film critic and documentary maker Richard Schickel at a special event held at the Players club in New York City.
  
• Gareth Owen pays tribute to Michael Powell's long-neglected classic Peeping Tom. 
• Coverage and photos from the new book MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot
• plus the usual extensive coverage of the latest movie books, DVDs and soundtracks

Don't delay- if you're not already a subscriber, click here for information about joining the ranks of our supporters from around the globe.  Click here to subscribe directly through our Ebay affiliate.

 

 

Stephen Bowie, who runs the excellent retro web site The Classic TV History Blog, has a fascinating interview with character actor Harry Landers, who worked with Hitchcock and DeMille, as well as featured in countless memorable TV series. Click here to read

Cinema Retro has just received the following press release from Sony Pictures and MGM:

LONDON, June 2, 2011 – MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment are delighted to announce the UK release date for the eagerly anticipated 23rd James Bond adventure will be Friday, 26TH OCTOBER, 2012 opening at the Odeon Leicester Square and in cinemas across the UK and Ireland.  

The film will open in the United States on November 9, 2012.  

BOND 23 will see Daniel Craig continue his role as James Bond in the iconic movie franchise, with British director Sam Mendes at the helm of the as-yet untitled 23rd James Bond adventure.  The film will be produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. 

The last two films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, had record-high grosses for the Bond franchise, with Casino Royale taking in $599 million in worldwide ticket sales and Quantum of Solace generating $577 million.

Director Michael Mann is pursuing his long-time goal of bringing a big budget story about the Le Mans racing circuit to the screen. He has optioned author A.J. Baime's book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and their Battle For Speed and Glory at Le Mans, a  historical account of the 1966 races that pitted Henry Ford II against Enzo Ferrari in a battle between auto titans to have their respective brand emerge as the favored vehicle from the race. Racing car epics have had a decidedly mixed reception with audiences over the years. John Frankenheimer's 1966 MGM film Grand Prix was deemed a major hit, but Steve McQueen's Le Mans, made a few years later, was one of the biggest bombs of the actor's career. Tom Cruise's 1990 pic Days of Thunder was also considered an under-performer. Perhaps the historical backdrop of this real-life story will give Mann's flick an edge. For more click here

By Adrian Smith

On the 28th May 2011 Vanessa Redgrave CBE and Franco Nero were both awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Brunel University in recognition of their outstanding services to the arts. The event was held at the Italian Cultural Institute in London and was attended by friends, family, fans and colleagues, including the controversial Italian director Ruggero Deodato, with whom Nero has worked several times.

 

Redgrave was once called "the greatest actress of our time" by Tennessee Williams, and has been nominated and won many awards for both her film and theatre work since she began her career in the 1950s, where she co-starred with her father Sir Michael Redgrave in the play A Touch of the Sun.

 

The Italian Franco Nero is probably best known for one of his first films, the vastly entertaining and influential Spaghetti Western Django in 1966. He has appeared in over 150 films and is also involved in numerous charitable and humanitarian projects. Quentin Tarantino cites Nero as a big influence, and has recently announced that his next film will be a western, titled Django Unchained. Nero was unable to confirm or deny rumours that he has been cast in this film.

 

Redgrave and Nero were married in 2006, despite first meeting on the set of Camelot in 1967. They were together for a short while then, and have one son Carlo, but it took almost forty years for them to finally get back together. This story was played out recently in the film Letters to Juliet, in which they played a couple reunited after many years. They were both clearly touched to be awarded in this way by the university and gave moving words of thanks. The ceremony was followed by an onstage interview, in which they discussed the beginnings of their relationship whilst making Camelot in London. According to Nero Vanessa Redgrave asked him to give a friend a lift to the airport. Whilst they were there, she then suggested they jump on the next plane anywhere. Several hours later they found themselves driving a hired car around the streets of San Francisco! The evening was rounded off with a packed rare screening of the Italian film A Quiet Place in the Country from 1969, in which they both starred.

 

Franco Nero was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award from Cine Excess, the International cult film conference which was being held by Brunel University during that weekend. He also attended the launch of a new book published by FAB Press, Any Gun Can Play: The Essential Guide to Euro Westerns, for which he has written the foreword. The book is available now, and Cinema Retro will review this shortly, but on first appearances this looks like an essential purchase.

 

 

 

Click here to order from Amazon

Click here to order from Amazon UK

 

Elia Kazan's 1960 film Wild River starring Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick  is the subject of a new documentary titled Mud On the Stars, the title of one of two books that the screenplay was based on. The documentary looks at how the filming affected the lives of people in rural Tennessee and includes personal reminiscences of individuals who were involved in the production or witnessed it being shot. A screening of the documentary takes place on June 2 in Cleveland, TN. Click here for info