Retro movie historian Mike Malloy presents some vintage interviews in which Henry Silva and Fred Willilamson share their memories of working with Lee Van Cleef.

In this classic clip from the 1967 WWII film "The Dirty Dozen", the late, great Jim Brown shows he could command the big screen with the same assurance that he commanded the football field with as a legendary athlete.

By Lee Pfeiffer

"I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" might leaving contemporary viewers asking "Who is Alice B. Toklas?" The answer: she was a companion of writer Gertrude Stein. Toklas was a fellow writer who became idolized by pop culture addicts for daring to have written a cookbook that included a recipe for pot brownies. The 1968 big screen farce was anything but fun to make. Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker were to have made their directorial debuts with this film. However, once Peter Sellers was signed to star, the mercurial and unpredictable actor had them bounced from the directors chair(s), though their screenplay was retained. Shortly after production began, Sellers brought Mazursky back on board to offer advice about salvaging a production that Sellers was growing increasingly leery about. The truce was short-lived because Mazursky criticized the way Sellers played a love scene with Leigh Taylor-Young, who made her big screen debut in the film. Mazursky was fired again as the film hobbled through production under the direction of Hy Averback. Sellers was apparently also feuding with his wife, Britt Ekland, who was simultaneously filming "The Night They Raided Minsky's" against Sellers' wishes. 

The story presents Sellers as Harold Fine, an L.A. lawyer and self-described "square". He is courting his law firm's secretary, Joyce (Joyce Van Patten), an amiable bubble-head who constantly pressures Harold into proposing to her. He finally relents and a wedding date is set, much to the delight of Harold's parents (amusingly played by Jo Van Fleet and Salem Ludwig). In the meantime, Harold finds himself unexpectedly immersed in the local hippie culture when his car is damaged and he finds the only accessible vehicle is a flower-powered decorated loaner he gets from the repair shop. At the same time, his hippie brother Herbie (David Arkin) introduces him to the gorgeous Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young), a free-spirited young woman who indulges in drugs and free love. Harold finds himself smitten by her and when she leaves him some pot-laced brownies, it results in the film's funniest scene in which Harold ends up serving them to his parents and Joyce, resulting in the kind of over-reaction one might attribute to a tab of LSD. Nevertheless, it is quite an amusing segment. Ultimately, Harold leaves Joyce at the synagogue seconds before taking the vow of marriage. He dashes home and vows to start a new life with Nancy. Before long, he is sporting long hair, mod eyeglasses and is living in his car. It seems perfect until the screenplay predictably delves into one of those scenarios in which the motto is "Be careful what you wish for- you just may get it!".

Sellers is the glue that holds the fragile premise together, even if his American accent slips every now and then. Taylor-Young makes for a lovely leading lady and Joyce Van Patten is stuck in the role of constantly jilted lover who craves Harold no matter how many times he humiliates her. Unfortunately, the premise wears thin pretty quickly and the movie is never as funny as it should be or you expect it to be. In fact, it bears a certain resemblance to Blake Edwards' "The Party", which was released the same year. Both films were based on an initially funny scenario that ultimately ran out of steam as the movie wore on. At the time, Roger Ebert reviewed the film favorably but pointed out that it was another example of a Hollywood studio punting when it came to presenting the hippie culture and depicting the rebellious young people as sanitized caricatures. Perhaps the biggest laugh to be had was by Paul Mazursky, who would direct the smash hit "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" the following year, thus establishing himself as a major name in the film industry.

The region-free Warner Archive boasts a fine transfer. The only bonus feature is the trailer.

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Here is a wonderful documentary about Roger Moore with comments from his friends and colleagues including Gregory Peck, Maud Adams, Michael Caine, Lewis Gilbert, Tony Curtis and others. The film covers Sir Roger's career as well as his extensive work on behalf of UNICEF. 

In this rare promotional interview posted by the Harry Palmer Movie Site, Oscar Homolka discusses his role as Colonel Stok in the 1967 film "Billion Dollar Brain", starring Michael Caine in the third and last of the Palmer feature films made for theatrical release. Homolka had appeared as the same character in the previous film, "Funeral in Berlin".

This episode of the marvelous web series "Behind the Stunts" looks at producer Euan Lloyd's classic 1978 British adventure film "The Wild Geese" starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and Stewart Granger, who was lured out of retirement for the movie. The film is one of the best macho flicks of its era and boasts incredible stunts, which are recounted here by some of the people who performed them.

Here's a blast from the past:  In August, 1966, Boxoffice magazine reported on the opening of a new, state-of-the-art 900+ seat movie theater: the Winchester in Lubbock, Texas. The description reads:

"It was constructed at a cost of about $250,000...Exterior finish of the the theatre is of face brick, Egyptian stucco and glass. From the 400-vehicle paved parking area, lighted and supervised, at the front of the Winchester, patrons enter the theatre under the canopy protection of a drive-through portico. (There is) an elaborate box office, with inside and outside service windows for convenience and a refreshment center highlights the foyer. Year around air-conditioning comfort-controls the entire structure. The projection room, with an all-transistor Century sound system, is equipped for all processes, including Cinerama. Projectors are Century with Strong Futura lamps...The 1,820- square-foot screen measures 28 x 65 feet. There is no stage. Invitational previews of the theatre and showings of the premiere attraction, "Doctor Zhivago", were held on August 16 and 17 and formal opening for the general public-a sellout- was held on August 18. A full house of dignitaries and opinion-makers, industry representatives, and Lubbock press, radio and television people were guests for the Tuesday affair."  

By Lee Pfeiffer

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of The Internecine Project, a 1974 London-based thriller directed by Ken Hughes and starring James Coburn in a bravura performance as a charismatic villain. Coburn plays an internationally respected economics expert who finds himself being tapped to be an adviser to the President of the United States. However, he must first ensure that his sordid sideline of running a small London crime ring is swept under the rug. To do so, he devises a complex scheme to convince each member of his team to murder another. The film, written by Barry Levinson and Jonathan Lynn, bristles with tension and leads to a wonderful and satisfying conclusion. Aside from Coburn's outstanding performance, you can relish yeoman work from Lee Grant, Kennan Wynn, Harry Andrews and Ian Hendry- all set to Roy Budd's atmospheric score.

The Blu-ray is a welcome upgrade from the previous Scorpion DVD edition. It ports over the interview with Jonathan Lynn, who would go on to be best known for writing famous British comedy TV series. On most special editions produced by major studios, the interviews are chopped into brief soundbites. Refreshingly, this one allows Lynn to talk for almost 30 minutes- and he goes beyond discussing The Internecine Project to detailing working on Clue, which he wrote and directed. Unfortunately, this edition does not include the interview with Coburn's daughter that was featured on the DVD release. The Blu-ray does contain the original trailer along with trailers of other crime thrillers available from KL. Highly recommended. 

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Here's one of many memorable scenes in director Robert Rossen's 1961 classic "The Hustler" with Paul Newman as "Fast Eddie" and Jackie Gleason (a real life billiards pro) as Minnesota Fats. The film is a downbeat look at a gritty world most people never see and the sub-culture of those who inhabit it. The performances are brilliant, including those by Piper Laurie and George C. Scott. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

In this interview, Steven Spielberg recalls meeting John Ford when he was a young, aspiring filmmaker and the advice Ford gave him that resonated throughout his career. He also extols Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" for being the classic that it is, even if it was underappreciated back in the day. The fact that the film was shot mostly in a studio led some viewers to express disappointment that it lacked Ford's signature grandeur and magnificent vistas. But the story still resonates today, making poignant observations about courage, cruelty, love and cowardice society, as well as the value of a free press. Indeed, the lessons of "Liberty Valance" are as timely today as they ever were.

In this fascinating short, songwriter Carol Connors recalls the strange way that "Gonna Fly Now" became the signature song for the "Rocky" film series. 

Here's some interesting insight into the filming of a scene from The Beatles' 1965 movie "Help!" in which they appeared with legendary British comedic actor Frankie Howerd. Actress Wendy Richard, who was also in the scene, explains how the experience went from being a joy to heartbreaking.

Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell" site presents the U.S. trailer for the 1967 007 film "You Only Live Twice" with insightful and amusing commentary by writer/comedian Dana Gould, who admits that while he doesn't believe this is the best Bond movie, it is his personal favorite.

Edited by Stephen Jones

Illustrated by Randy Broecker

Published by Drugstore Indian Press (imprint of PS Publishing)

May 2023

512 pages

Paperback

ISBN: 9781786368997

RRP: £15.99

Review by Adrian Smith

If, like me, you love old movies, the chances are high that a love for the thrilling pulp magazines of the 1950s can’t be far behind. Robert Silverberg, now an award-winning science fiction author, was one of the most prolific writers (allegedly averaging around 1 million words a year) for dozens of magazines throughout that decade including Super-Science Fiction, Monster Parade, Fantastic and Monsters and Things, amongst many more. Capable of seemingly churning out stories in any genre he turned his hand to (including pornography when required), these short tales were designed to be read once and then forgotten once the next issue came along. Of course, what was once disposable is now highly sought-after and original copies of many of these short-lived magazines are out of reach to us mere mortals. Thankfully the almost equally prolific writer and editor Stephen Jones has compiled a representative sample of Silverberg’s horror and sci-fi stories published between 1957 and 1959 for this excellent new collection published by Drugstore Indian Press, accompanied by suitably retro illustrations from American artist Randy Broeker.

Most of the stories are just a few pages long, so no time is wasted before the thrills and chills set in. From premature burials, mad doctors, demons, werewolves, vampires and ghouls to aliens, global conspiracies, sinister cults and outer space adventures, the stories pack a pulp punch and are all very enjoyable, especially the ones with twist endings that would not be out of place in an episode of The Twilight Zone. With titles including ‘Secrets of the Torture Cult,’ ‘Beasts of Nightmare Horror’ and ‘Vampires from Outer Space’ (a precursor to Colin Wilson’s The Space Vampires perhaps?), Silverberg's imagination was extraordinary, producing a continual stream of stories, often published under pseudonyms so that it didn’t look like he’d written the entire magazine. In his introduction to this collection (he’s still with us, at the ripe old age of 89!), he discusses his early career and his need to keep the [were]wolf from the door by writing anything he could get paid for, and it was clearly good preparation for the highly-respected novels which would earn him fame later on.

Given the sheer number of short stories Silverberg produced, one can only hope that another collection from Drugstore Indian Press is on its way. These are really fun, pulpy stories that remind us of all of another era; when guys called Skip drove hot rods, when Big Jack hosted late-night talk shows about the occult on stations like WYXD, and when teenage librarians like Marty could accidentally raise the old gods using a stolen copy of the Necronomicon. Robert Silverberg’s Monsters and Things belongs on the shelf of any discerning 1950s nostalgia junkie.

Robert Silverberg’s Monsters and Things can be ordered from Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monster-Things-Paperback-Robert-Sliverberg/dp/1786368994

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The conventional wisdom is that physical media (DVDs, Blu-rays) is in a death spiral in the age of streaming. In article for the BBC's web site, writer Claire Thorp makes the case for treasuring physical media. Let's face it: streaming is great, but as the article points out, your "ownership" of your favorite videos is tentative, subject to them vanishing without warning due to licensing expiration situations and other factors. Additionally, streaming can't provide those great bonus extras collectors treasure. The article advises that the only way to permanently possess these treasured films is to own them outright. Click here to read.

By Tony Lee Moral

Alfred Hitchcock has been a huge influence on my life, ever since I saw my first Hitchcock film, I Confess, at the age of 10 years old. I was immediately struck by the moral ambiguity of the film and the conflicted viewpoint of the central character, a priest, played by Montgomery Clift. Although I wasn’t aware of camera angles, film theory and mise-en-scene at the time, I could sense a gripping plot, characterisations and camera movement.

Since then, I’ve written four books on Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense. Two books are on the making of specific films, The Birds and Marnie, which were made in the early 1960s and have a close production history because they had shared screenwriters and production crew; and a more general book called Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Masterclass, which is about all of his films, for aspiring screenwriters and film makers. My latest book Alfred Hitchcock Storyboards, is as the name suggests, a celebration of Hitchcock’s visual art and storyboarding in collaboration with key production illustrators, storyboard artists and set designers.

When  I was writing my first Hitchcock book, “Hitchcock and the making of Marnie”, 25 years ago now, I was excited to see the extensive storyboards for the racetrack and hunt sequence at Margaret Herrick Library, part of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. I was immediately impressed about the level of detail. I was lucky enough to interview the production designer Robert Boyle and storyboard artist Harold Michelson who had a wealth of knowledge and memories about working on The Birds and Marnie and I knew that was just the start. Because this is my fourth book on Hitchcock, the Estate gave me permission to reproduce them which is very exciting to share with readers today.

As Hitchcock directed 52 films in his career, I couldn’t include every film or storyboard, so I decided to focus on a selection of films which are representative of Hitchcock’s 60 year career. So I chose The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie and Torn Curtain. These films span Hitchcock’s early British period to one of his last films he made at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Teaming up with Titan Books who specialise in art and film books, I’m pleased to say that the coffee-table book includes never-before-published images, especially from The 39 Steps, Marnie and Torn Curtain. I was also able to feature some of the art directors, production designers and illustrators who worked on these films, including the more celebrated ones like Salvador Dali who Hitchcock hired for designing the Spellbound dream sequence.

(Photo: Tony Lee Moral)

Through storyboarding each scene, Hitchcock, likened the beats in a film to the notes on a sheet of music being conducted by an orchestra. Hitchcock was a very technical director and was keen to manipulate the audience’s emotions, the highs and lows, and storyboards were central to his practice. Think about the shower scene in Psycho, the crop duster attack in North by Northwest and the crows gathering silently on the jungle gym in The Birds, they are all examples of carefully orchestrated storyboards.

Studying the storyboards definitely opened my eyes to films which I hadn’t focused on before such as Shadow of a Doubt and Spellbound, and what was apparent was the level of detail from both Hitchcock’s early films and his move to Hollywood. In Shadow of a Doubt, storyboarding and set design are very important to show a typical American family and the chaos that erupts when a sinister force, in this case Uncle Charlie, comes to visit. Spellbound is another film where the dream sequence was storyboarded and Hitchcock was very interested in dream theory and analysis. There’s also a great behind the scenes story I discovered about some lost and found Salvador Dali art for Spellbound. But you’ll have to read the book for that story.

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They couldn't sing or dance- which is why it was so amusing to see Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas engage in both activities on the 1958 Oscars broadcast!

UPDATE: WE ANNOUNCED THAT ISSUE #56 HAS SOLD OUT BUT WE FOUND A SMALL NUMBER OF REMAINING COPIES IN OUR UK OFFICE. 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:  

Legendary director Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) directs the iconic John Wayne as an ageing gunfighter dying of cancer in his final screen appearance, a superb adaptation of Glendon Swarthout's classic western novel, The Shootist.

John Bernard Books is the stuff of legend, a renowned 'shootist' whose reputation looms large. But it's 1901, and like the old west, John is dying and a reputation like his draws trouble like an outhouse draws flies. As word spreads that the famous gunfighter is on his last legs, the vultures begin to gather; old enemies, the marshal, newspaper men, an undertaker, all eager to see him dead. Other men might die quietly in bed or take their own lives, but J. B. Books will choose his executioner and face down death with a pistol in each hand.

With an outstanding cast that features not only Wayne, but James Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Scatman Crothers and John Carradine, The Shootist is an elegiac ode to a monumental screen presence and to the Western genre itself.

· New 2K remaster by Arrow Films from the original 35mm camera negative

· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

· Original lossless mono audio

· Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

· Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Howard S. Berger

· The Last Day, a new visual essay by film critic David Cairns

· A Man-Making Moment, a new interview with Western author C. Courtney Joyner

· Laments of the West, a new appreciation of Elmer Bernstein’s score by film historian and composer Neil Brand

· Contemplating John Wayne: The Death of a Cowboy, a new visual essay by filmmaker and critic Scout Tafoya

· The Shootist: The Legend Lives On, archival featurette

· Theatrical trailer

· Image gallery

· Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Juan Esteban Rodríguez

· Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Juan Esteban Rodríguez

· Six postcard-sized lobby card reproductions

· Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by film critic Philip Kemp

This Blu-ray will be released on March 12. Click here to order from Amazon.

By Adrian Smith

One of the UK’s most beloved film franchises has been somewhat neglected of late. Despite decades of television reruns, since the DVD boxset release over a decade ago there has been no sign of any sort of upgrade of the ‘Carry On ‘films, which, if there were any justice, would have been raised to Criterion levels by now. Remarkably this is still the case in the UK, so thankfully Australian company Via Vision Entertainment have taken a firm grip of the baton and begun releasing the ‘Carry On’ films in series order, four at a time. The first eight films in the series were mostly shot in black and white and based around everyday life, such as military service, the healthcare system, schools, the police, cruise holidays, and the beginnings of second-wave feminism (Carry On Cabby (1963), if you’re wondering). But then Peter Rogers, the producer and brains behind the series, had the fabulous idea to begin making period dramas and spoofs of current hits. Carry On Jack (1964), about pirates, was the first of these, and with that move, in my opinion, the ‘Carry On’ films really hit their creative and comedic peak.

This means that ‘Carry On... Collection 3’ contains arguably the four best films in the entire franchise (although I know some fans would beg to differ): Carry On Spying (1964), Carry On Cleo (1964), Carry On Cowboy (1965) and Carry On Screaming (1966).

Carry On Spying (1964), the last one shot in black-and-white and the first to directly spoof genre conventions, has perhaps been forgotten in favour of the more smutty ‘Carry On’ films that followed later. Starring regulars Bernard Cribbins, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, and introducing newcomer Barbara Windsor as Daphne Honeybutt, a name even Ian Fleming would have been proud of. Far from being the giggling saucepot she would later be known for, Windsor’s character here is brave, intelligent and forthright, more than once saving the mission and her hopeless compatriots. Hot on the heels of From Russia with Love (1963), the film is a hilarious and almost spot-on spoof of the budding James Bond franchise (Cubby Broccoli objected to one character being called Agent 009½ so they were reluctantly renamed 000), coming before the flood of Eurospy films that would take all sorts of liberties with Bond a couple of years later. Shot at Pinewood Studios, already the home of Bond, it is unsurprising that the sets here are very close to Ken Adam’s designs, especially the secret underground headquarters of STENCH, led by the evil Doctor Crow, and were probably built and lit by many of the same technicians. The cast, with Kenneth Wiliams taking a rare lead role, are a joy. Williams, who would often be cast as pompous, arrogant authority types in later films, plays here his idiotic character made famous in Hancock’s Half Hour, complete with his catchphrase “Stop messing about!” The comedy is hilarious, and as a Bond spoof it works very well as a standalone film for those who may be unfamiliar with the charms of the ‘Carry On’ franchise. Naturally, given that it is now sixty years old, some of the humour is a little painful, reflecting some of the post-colonial attitudes of the time. But the odds are that if you are Cinema Retro regular, you can probably handle it.

Carry On Cleo is probably the franchise’s most lavish and high budget production, thanks to the genius decision of Peter Rogers to move in on the abandoned Cleopatra sets left behind at Pinewood when the disastrous Elizabeth Taylor production was shipped off to Cinecittà in Rome to start again. With full access to sets, props and costumes, Carry On Cleo looks a million dollars, and is also a million times more entertaining than Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra. The cast are fabulous, with Kenneth Williams in full arrogant mode as Caesar, Sid James as the lecherous Mark Anthony, Jim Dale as an escaped English slave, but most importantly with Amanda Barrie, who had an important role in Carry On Cabby, as the beautiful and mesmerising Cleopatra. Whether in costumes originally created for Liz Taylor, or bathing naked in ass's milk, she's simply stunning. It has always been my favourite ‘Carry On’ film, packed with sight gags, brilliant nods to the original film (20^th Century Fox were particularly furious at the original Carry On Cleo poster design which mercilessly spoofed theirs) and wonderful sets and matte paintings. This was the heyday of Pinewood Studios, and the skill and expertise on show here sets it apart from the later, cheaper ‘Carry On ‘films shot mainly in muddy fields.

Carry On Cowboy arrived just as the Spaghetti Westerns were getting started in Italy but owes more to the prevalence of American western films and TV shows (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc.), and is another clear spoof in the Carry On Spying mode. Genre conventions are milked for all their comic potential, and the cast are uniformly excellent, from Jim Dale’s accidental sheriff, Sid James as the villainous Rumpo Kid, Charles Hawtrey as the whisky-addled Big Chief Heap, Joan Sims as a prostitute with a heart of gold, Kenneth Williams as a cowardly mayor and, in a reference to actual history, Angela Douglas as the first-rate shot Annie Oakley. This is great fun, and not far removed from what Mel Brooks would do less than ten years later, but without the fourth wall breaking.

The last film in the set is possibly the most well known outside of the UK – Carry On Screaming. This time they had Hammer Films firmly in their sights, with references to Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, spooky mansions and the sexiest of sexy vamps, all mixed together with plenty of gags and a plot which borrows heavily from House of Wax (1953), meaning Vincent Price gets a bit of a nod as well. In the lead role as Police Sargeant Bung is Harry H. Corbett, making his only ‘Carry On’ appearance, but he was an extremely popular comedy actor in the UK at the time thanks to his starring role in the sitcom Steptoe and Son. Kenneth Williams plays the undead Dr Watt (his name allowing for some “Who’s on first?”-type comedy confusion), alongside Jim Dale, Angela Douglas, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey and the stunning Fenella Fielding, who vamps for all she’s worth in a red dress so tight fitting that she was unable to sit down between takes.

Across the films are appearances from other ‘Carry On’ favourites including Bernard Bresslaw, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and a pre-Doctor Who Jon Pertwee, who in the early 1960s was probably best known for doing funny voices on radio comedy shows like The Navy Lark.

It’s wonderful to see these films restored and available in HD at last. They look fantastic and remind us of what great craftsmanship there was in British cinema in the 1960s, even at the cheaper end of the production scale. This boxset also comes with a lovely booklet which reproduces in full colour the original pressbooks for the first twelve ‘Carry On’ films. They’re fascinating to look at, although you might need a magnifying glass if you want to read some of them! Bonus features-wise, the sets are a bit light, simply including original trailers for each film and the commentary tracks which were recorded for the original DVD releases more than a decade ago. Whilst it’s great to have these, and they are very entertaining (Fenella Fielding has the kind of voice you could listen to all day), it would be great to see some of the archival documentaries and interviews that have been shown on TV over the years included too, or even commission the official ‘Carry On’ historian Robert Ross, whose new co-authored book Carry On Girls is also excellent, to produce some new documentary material.

However, we physical media collectors are spoiled these days and often expect too much! For the price, this boxset delivers what we really want, which is excellent restorations of much-loved British comedy gems. These really are the best of the series, and if you don’t agree, in the immortal words of Sid James: “Knickers!”

You can order ‘Carry On Collection 3’ direct from Via Vision here:

https://viavision.com.au/shop/carry-on-film-collection-3-limited-edition-blu-ray-booklet/

“WILFRID THE FOX”

By Raymond Benson

Director Billy Wilder was on an incredible streak during the decade of the 1950s. Some of his most notable works were made between 1950-1959, and his 1957 courtroom drama, Witness for the Prosecution, is one of the high points.

Based on the 1953 stage play by Agatha Christie (which, in turn, was based on one of her short stories), Wilder’s film version actually improves a bit on the already engaging theatrical work. (By the way, the stage play is currently enjoying a long and successful run in London at County Hall’s old courthouse and actual courtroom, and this reviewer can attest that it is a magnificent production, definitely worth seeing in those authentic environs.)

Tyrone Power received top billing as Leonard Vole, the accused (Power, an American, plays the role as one as well). The fabulous Marlene Dietrich is Christine, the “witness for the prosecution.” But make no mistake—this movie belongs to Charles Laughton, who received third billing. Laughton plays barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts, who is the senior counsel for Vole. As his private nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester) declares during the trial when Wilfrid makes a slam-dunk move, “Wilfrid the Fox! That’s what they call him, and that’s what he is!”

The nurse character is something that screenwriters Wilder and Harry Kurnitz (adapted for the screen by Larry Marcus) added to the story, as well as turning Sir Wilfrid’s character to be more of a protagonist. Seeing that Laughton and Lanchester were married in real life, their chemistry and constant bantering together is priceless, providing the film with comedic elements that the play never had.

Vole is accused of murdering a wealthy widow that he befriended. She had become besotted with him and made him a beneficiary of her will. Vole is married to German immigrant Christine, who at first provides an alibi for Vole. Sir Wilfrid, despite recovering from a heart attack and is not in the best shape for a highly publicized trial, takes the case of defending Vole. It’s a shock to Wilfrid when the prosecution calls Christine to testify against her husband—because she is actually married to someone else back in East Germany, dodging the law that a wife can’t testify against a spouse. To reveal any more of the twists and turns—and especially the surprise ending—would spoil the fun. (In fact, a voiceover announces at the end of the movie that the “management of this theater” suggests that the secret of the ending not be revealed to friends!)

All three of the leads are particularly outstanding, and they are strongly supported by not only Lanchester, but also John Williams, Henry Daniell, Torin Thatcher, Una O’Connor, and Ian Wolfe. Wilder’s direction is a lesson in pacing, the rise and fall of tempo and suspense, and his guidance of the actors. Dietrich, in fact, would not agree to do the picture unless Wilder was hired as director.

The film was popular in 1957. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Laughton), Best Supporting Actress (Lanchester), Best Editing, and Best Sound. Curiously, the screenplay wasn’t nominated. Lanchester did receive the Golden Globe award for her stellar performance.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has issued a Special Edition Blu-ray that replaces their earlier 2014 release. The contents are exactly the same except an audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride (author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge) has been added. Previous supplements included are a short piece of Wilder discussing the film with director Volker Schlöndorff, and the theatrical trailer. The restoration itself looks marvelous in glorious black and white.

Witness for the Prosecution is a must-have for fans of Billy Wilder, Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Agatha Christie, and courtroom thrillers. Great fun all around.

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Mel Brooks has been awarded an honorary Oscar, but you'd never know it if you watch this year's Academy Awards unless they make a brief mention of it. Gone are the days where viewers were treated to such wonderful moments, as the Academy long ago decided that honoring film industry legends was a superfluous part of the TV broadcast. Better to make more time for the awful "spontaneous" banter between presenters and lame comedy routines. At least the Academy made the presentation available on its web site, so here it is. (Lee Pfeiffer) 

By Todd Garbarini

Woody Allen’s Chekhovian-titled Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) is reportedly only twenty percent of what he actually wrote for the film on his Olympia SM-3 typewriter, which he has owned for decades and written all of his films on. Given how extraordinary this outing is, one can only wonder what the remaining projected film would have looked like. Conceived of as his answer to Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982) which ran three hours theatrically and nearly five-and-a-half hours on Swedish television as a mini-series, Hannah is considered by many to be Mr. Allen’s finest hour, although I am in the minority as I view Another Woman (1988) as his best film, with Hannah coming in at a very close second.

Hannah is a sumptuous film, the first Woody Allen outing to be photographed by the late great cinematographer Carlo Di Palma who would go on to work on eleven more films with Mr. Allen. He captures the visual splendor of New York and all its beauty and ugliness over a two-year period between Thanksgiving holidays. It is also a family affair. Hannah is a housewife/actress and is played wonderfully by Mia Farrow. Her parents are her real-life mother, Maureen O’Sullivan, and actor Lloyd Nolan, who used to be actors as well. Hannah is married to businessman Elliot (Michael Caine) and they have a good number of children who are all played by Ms. Farrow’s and Mr. Allen’s real-life adopted offspring. Hannah’s sisters consist of the emotionally adrift Lee (Barbara Hershey), who is in a relationship of sorts with the hermetic painter Frederick (Max von Sydow) and the actress-wanna-be Holly (Dianne Weist) who always appears to be on the verge of a breakdown between bouts of ingesting nicotine and alcohol following auditions. As with previous Allen outings, especially his 1979 film Manhattan, Hannah revolves around myriad romantic entanglements, but it is not all fun and games. Elliot is intensely attracted to Lee who is a lost soul and is pulled to him thanks to Frederick’s older age and insouciance. Holly and her actress friend April (Carrie Fisher), with whom she runs a catering company to make ends meet, battle it out for the affections of David (Sam Waterston), an erudite architect who uses opera and fine wine as his tools of choice to woo them both.

As if this were not enough, Mickey (Woody Allen) is a television producer/hypochondriac and is Hannah’s ex. He has a near-death experience when he becomes convinced that he has a brain tumor and ponders the meaning of life, questioning his parents and his co-worker played by Julie Kavner while also looking to religion for answers, but stopping short after speaking with a Hare Krishna, confirming the absurdity of shaving his head, wearing long robes, and dancing around at airports. Though most of the action is that of a serious theme (Crimes and Misdemeanors would take this to even further horrific heights in 1989), the film also balances it with outright hilarity. The ending is perhaps one of the most hopeful and positive in all the Woody Allen filmography.

Hannah boasts two celebrated cinematic moments. The first occurs in a restaurant among the sisters as Lee tries desperately to hide her affair from Hannah who simultaneously attempts to talk Holly off the ledge when she announces her decision to take off a year to try and find herself. The camera circles the triumvirate in a 360-degree maneuver that illustrates Lee’s increasing discomfort with the situation at hand as the tension mounts.

The second comes near the film’s end when Mickey notices Holly perusing titles in Tower Records and engages in a humorous and heartfelt exchange with her. The scene is done in one take and is a highlight.

Among Woody Allen fans the question has usually been which do they prefer: Annie Hall (1977) or Manhattan (1979). They can add Hannah to the mix. This was Ms. Farrow’s fifth outing with Mr. Allen and she does a wonderful balancing act of being the confused wife of an adulterer and the sister of a neurotic.

After being lensed in the fall of 1984, Hannah opened nationwide on Friday, February 7, 1986 to near universal acclaim, leaving Mr. Allen wondering how had he failed, the idea being that if you make something that just about everyone loves, you must be making something that fails to be interesting or challenging!

Hannah won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for Woody Allen, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine (who will never live down his unavailability to accept the Oscar in person as he was away filming Jaws IV), and Best Supporting Actress for Dianne Weist. It is one of his best-scored films, boasting a soundtrack of both upbeat and melancholic tunes.

The film is available in a Region B Blu-ray from Fabulous Films, the fine company that released Manhattan. The source material is terrific and the film’s warmth shines through.

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By Raymond Benson

(A previous 50^th Anniversary edition of this film was released in 2018 by Kino Lorber and was reviewed on Cinema Retro in 2020. The film has been re-issued on Blu-ray as a “Special Edition” in 2024. Much of the following review is repeated, but updated, from the earlier piece.)

The late director Norman Jewison, who passed away on January 20, 2024, was on a roll in the late 1960s. After a handful of well-received small romantic comedies, he directed The Cincinnati Kid (1965) featuring Steve McQueen as a Depression-era poker player, followed by the Oscar Best Picture-nominated The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966), and then the brilliant In the Heat of the Night (1967), which did win the Best Picture Oscar and landed Jewison a Director nomination.

His next project became a heist picture/romance, the story of which was pitched to him by Alan R. Trustman, a lawyer with no screenwriting experience. Jewison was intrigued, so, according to the excellent interview with the director that appears as a supplement on Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of The Thomas Crown Affair, he gave Trustman a crash course in how to write a movie script. When it was completed, Jewison got the film green-lit.

When Jewison’s agent—who also represented Steve McQueen—read the screenplay, he suggested McQueen for the part. Even though the actor and director had gotten along on Cincinnati Kid, Jewison admits that he didn’t think McQueen was right for the role because the actor never wore suits. McQueen then met with the director—wearing a suit—and convinced him that he could be Thomas Crown.

The Thomas Crown Affair is a stylish, twisty-turny, clever piece of 1968 pizazz. It emphasizes the ultra-cool cosmopolitan and fancy lifestyle of the rich during the Mad Men era when it was actually happening. The flashy camerawork and then-innovative split-screen/multi-screen display of simultaneous action scenes was snappy and unique. The brilliant main title designer, the late Pablo Ferro, is credited for much of this work, and it is this visual technique that gives the movie its pulse.

Crown is a former banker in Boston, a happily wealthy playboy-sportsman who decides to pull off a complicated bank heist simply because he can. He puts together a team of individuals (including getaway driver Jack Weston) who don’t know each other or him, and the gang meets only at the time of the robbery inside the bank. Crown himself isn’t there. The heist is successful, and the mastermind gets away with $2.6 million. Detective Malone (Paul Burke) is determined to catch whoever was responsible, but the crime was too well thought out. No evidence or clues were left behind. An insurance investigator, Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway, in her first role post-Bonnie and Clyde), is brought in and she immediately takes control of the operation, much to Malone’s chagrin. It doesn’t take long for Crown to come under Vicki’s suspicions—so she sets out to entrap him by, well, having an affair with him.

That’s the plot in a nutshell. While much of it is seemingly improbable, the story is told with conviction and such technical prowess that it’s hard not to go along for the ride. Jewison’s handling of the heist itself and the romantic sequences between the dual eye candy, McQueen and Dunaway, is masterful. Both actors are fine in their roles; McQueen especially continues to exude the 60s cool that was his trademark.

Kino Lorber’s brand new 4K restoration looks quite good, and it comes with two audio commentaries—one by Jewison himself, and the other by film historians Lem Dobbs and the late Nick Redman. Supplements include the previously mentioned interview with an aging Jewison, who was still sharp and talkative, an interview with title designer and split-screen maestro Ferro, and a vintage on-the-set featurette from 1967 with the cast and crew. The original theatrical trailer, along with other Kino Lorber releases, complete the disk.

The Thomas Crown Affair was remade by John McTiernan in 1999 with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Was it better than the original? Maybe yes, maybe no. Only you can decide; but consider this—the 1968 version has Steve McQueen, a young Faye Dunaway, a variety of really hot and nifty sports cars, and an Oscar-winning title song, “The Windmills of Your Mind” (remember that?)! Recommended.

By Todd Garbarini

I have never understood religious cults, and I still don’t. How someone can permit themselves to be brainwashed into following a self-appointed “religious leader” and hang on their every word represents, to me, a soul searching for acceptance or love that they believe has been denied them. My initiation into the existence of cults was in the December 4, 1978 issues of both Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine. Their reports about the Jonestown murders in Guyana, which completely shocked my sensibilities with images of dead adults and children lying face down in filth, were the stuff of nightmares. This horrific event has spawned books, documentaries, and jokes about “drinking the Kool Aid” when referencing one’s blind commitment to a ridiculous situation. An article two months later in my local newspaper about “witches,” pagan practices, bowls of blood and animal ribcages in the woods less than ten miles from where I lived did little to assuage my fears about them. David Koresh, the leader of the religious sect referred to as the Branch Davidians, led his followers into the Mount Carmel Center, a compound in Waco, Texas, which culminated in a standoff with law enforcement in April 1993 with most of them dying in a storm of bullets and fire. NXIVM, the organization founded by Keith Raniere five years later masquerading as a self-help and personal development program group, came under fire for being a cult following reports of sex trafficking of branded women.

Hollywood is no stranger to films about such subjects. Most of them are cut from the cloth of genre and horror films. Split Image (1982) is a bit of a different take on this terrifying subject as seen through the eyes of suburbanites and therefore is far more relatable. Directed by Ted Kotcheff between April and June in 1981 just before he unleashed John Rambo on the world with his phenomenal First Blood, also released in 1982. Split Image was originally reported on under the title of Captured when it was featured in the wonderful but short-lived bi-monthly movie magazine published in 1982 called “Coming Attractions.” I saw the film on CED Videodisc nearly 40 years ago and was amazed at how little I recalled of it.

Danny Stetson (Michael O’Keefe of Lewis John Carlino’s 1978 film The Great Santini) is a parallel bars athlete eyeing college. He lives with his parents Kevin and Diane (Brian Dennehy and Elisabeth Ashley) and younger brother Sean (Ronnie Scribner of Tobe Hooper’s 1979 TV-Movie Salem’s Lot) in a sprawling house like the killer’s in Dario Argento’s Tenebrae (1982), complete with large see-through windows and a built-in pool. By chance he meets a beautiful young woman named Rebecca (Karen Allen of Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981) who engages in small talk about big subjects. Accompanying her to a weekend outing, he is introduced to scores of people at a retreat called Homeland who welcome him with open arms – literally – and who all chant and engage in reciting positive affirmations while discussing Jungian archetypes such as the duality of man. The happy and joyous atmosphere completely rubs him the wrong way when he meets the group’s leader, Neil Kirklander (played wonderfully by Peter Fonda), but he stays and sleeps on the premises and one night makes a break for freedom. Bill Conti’s score here is recognizable as the precursor to his wonderful score to Robert Mandell’s thriller F/X (1986). Confronted by Kirklander, he eventually falls under his spell and informs his mother that he will not be coming home. He undergoes a ritual whereby he renounces his identity as Danny and is reborn as “Joshua,” prompting a visit from his parents that results in a near donnybrook precipitated by his temperamental father.

Split Image, which opened in New York on Friday, November 5, 1982, does a decent job of exploring the practice of capturing and “deprogramming” an individual who has fallen under the spell of a cult and this is done by Charles Pratt (played by the incomparable James Woods) who, somehow, makes his living “deprogramming” people. After kidnapping “Joshua” with his parents’ permission, he forces him to undergo “treatment” to bring “Danny” back to life. Many of these scenes look as though they came out of a horror film, and it makes one wonder how much of this was imagined by the writers and how much is based on factual circumstances such as this. The film looks at the ethics of “interventions” and how it can alter a person’s free will and their ability to make their own choices. Like Irwin Winkler’s At First Sight (1992), it waivers between being compelling and occasionally feels a little “TV Movie of the Week”-ish by today’s standards.

The film is now available from Kino Lorber on standard Blu-ray. Some of the shots within the house appear to be a little darker than they should be, but it is probably just how the film was shot. Mr. Kotcheff does an expert job of framing the film for 2.35:1 anamorphic photography, which is a huge step up from the pan-and-scan transfer of the early 1980’s.

This is a sparse disc in the way of extras, however the major one is the feature length audio commentary by film historian and filmmaker Daniel Kremer who mentions his own movie, Raise Your Kids on Seltzer (2015), which is about retired “deprogrammers”. When I was in middle school, Ralph L. Thomas’s 1981 film Ticket to Heaven appeared in my Weekly Reader issue and I had a much different idea of what that film was about. It turns out that deprogramming is the theme, and Mr. Kremer also mentions Blinded by the Light, which was released in 1980, and starred both Kristy and Jimmy McNichol, directed by cinematographer John A. Alonzo. This is a very entertaining and informative commentary which also touches on Mr. Kotcheff’s other films and placing him into the auteur category.

The Blu-ray also comes with the following trailers: Split Image, Gorky Park, 52 Pick-Up, The Bedroom Window, The Wanderers, and The Hard Way. 

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Please note that issue #55 of Cinema Retro has sold out. Therefore, we can no longer accept subscriptions for Season 19, as we cannot provide all three issues. Any pending orders for Season 19 will receive issues #'s 56 and 57 and a pro-rata refund for issue #55. 

“A MATTER OF MISCOMMUNICATION”

By Raymond Benson

(A previous edition of this Blu-ray title from Kino Lorber was reviewed at Cinema Retro in 2020. This review covers a new edition released in 2024, repeating much of the previous writeup but with new material.)

The late Carl Reiner received top billing in this magnificent comedy that was released in the middle of the 1960s, when relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were tentative at best. Détente was at play, but there wasn’t much trust between the two countries. Two years after Kubrick’s Cold War black comedy, Dr. Strangelove, Norman Jewison tried his hand at a picture with a similar theme, only it was one that was much lighter in tone.

Reiner shares the movie with another acting master who recently left us. Alan Arkin made his feature film debut with his portrayal of a Russian submarine political officer. He and Reiner are joined by a marvelous supporting cast of character actors who all have comedic turns. Penned by Oscar-nominated William Rose (who had written or co-written The Ladykillers and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and would win the Oscar the following year for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner), The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming focuses on the conflict between a group of misplaced Soviet submariners and the panicky townsfolk of a New England island off the coast of Massachusetts after the summer tourists have left. What it’s really about, though, is communication, or rather, the lack of it, and how a series of incidents that are lost in translation might lead to misunderstandings. Director Jewison delivers that message to the audience wrapped neatly in a barrel of laughs.

Reiner is Walt Whittaker, a playwright who has spent the summer on the island with his wife (Eva Marie Saint) and two children, and the family is ready to depart. His rented house on the coast happens to be near where the Russians’ submarine accidentally runs aground. The captain (Theodore Bikel) sends Lt. Rozanov (Arkin), officer Alexei Kolchin (John Phillip Law), and seven other men to go find a boat, commandeer it, and bring it back so they can tow the sub away from the island. Things begin promisingly, and then all hell breaks loose as one mishap after another foils the Russians’ scheme. Police Chief Mattocks (Brian Keith), his deputy Norman Jonas (Jonathan Winters), and, ultimately, war veteran and head of the citizens militia, Hawkins (Paul Ford), receive conflicting reports of the “invasion” and set about investigating it in their own misguided ways (although Mattocks is indeed the sensible one). Throw in a sudden romantic attraction between Alexei and the Whittaker’s babysitter, Alison (Andrea Dromm), the antics of phone operator Alice (the splendid Tessie O’Shea), and Luther, a drunk “Paul Revere” who spends the entire film trying to catch his horse (Ben Blue), and you’ve got a recipe for a comedy classic. The climax, however, is surprisingly suspenseful when the Russians and Americans finally reach a standoff at the harbor—until an unrelated crisis occurs that shakes everyone out of the mob mentality.

The straight man role was something Carl Reiner could do well; he always brought a heightened intensity to his parts that was simultaneously boisterous and believable, and yet amusing, too. Arkin, whose dialogue is 85% authentic Russian throughout the picture, immediately proved to the world what an amazing actor he is (he received an Oscar nomination for his performance and won a Golden Globe). Winters and Ford both provide much of the insane humor. O’Shea is hilarious, especially in the scene in which she and Reiner are gagged and tied together and attempt to escape. Law, a newcomer at the time, is a striking and likeable presence, and he masters the Russian language and the accented English with aplomb.

It’s all great stuff, punctuated by Johnny Mandel’s score of American patriotic music mixed with Russian folk songs. Along with Arkin’s nomination, The Russians are Coming… was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (Rose), and Best Editing (Hal Ashby was co-editor).

Kino Lorber’s high definition restoration looks good enough, despite some washing out of color in some places, as well as blemishes and artifacts that can be seen in many of the images. This new 2024 edition has added an audio commentary by film historians Michael Schlesinger and Mark Evanier, who complement the onscreen action with informed background. The earlier supplements of an informative and entertaining “making of” featurette with an interview with Jewison and the theatrical trailer remain on the disk.

In short, The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming is grand fun, and it’s a fitting showcase for the late, great Carl Reiner and Alan Arkin.

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This remarkable collection has been personally curated by Amplifyd founder and CEO Daniel Willis, who is also an expert in the area of James Bond collectibles. Steve Oxenrider's 007 collection is noted among Bond fans as arguably being the most impressive to be found anywhere.   

Click here to visit auction site. 

“HE USED TO BE A BIG SHOT”

By Raymond Benson

One of the more popular and enduring genres to come out of Hollywood in the late silent era and the first fifteen years of talkies was the gangster picture. They sprung into the public consciousness as a result of Prohibition (late 1919 to 1933), which is when real life gangsters were making a splash in America. Early Pre-Code gangster movies were shockingly violent and gritty—titles like Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932). After the Production Code kicked in during the summer of 1934, the genre was still popular and being churned out (especially by Warner Brothers) but they had been toned down somewhat with more “likable” gangsters.

James Cagney became a star as a result of playing a gangster in The Public Enemy, and a pretty mean one at that. Coming from vaudeville, though, he had other talents. His real heart was in singing and dancing (he won his only acting Oscar for doing just that in Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942). In the late thirties, he continued to make gangster films but he made a big deal out of resisting them. When The Roaring Twenties was made in 1939, Cagney proclaimed that this was his swan song playing such a character. At least it was for ten years, when he made his one and only gangster comeback in White Heat (1949).

Panama Smith (Gladys George) says in The Roaring Twenties, “He used to be a big shot.” There is no “used to” with James Cagney. He was always a big shot in Hollywood and on the silver screen, a larger than life actor who commanded whatever picture he was in. He had charisma in spades, the kind of energy that could ignite a movie projector’s lighting rods, a voice that would forever be fodder for impressionists, and a superior talent that many actors today could only dream about.

It's no surprise that The Roaring Twenties totally belongs to James Cagney, even when someone like Humphrey Bogart is co-starring. (At the time Bogart had yet to star in his own feature film; throughout the thirties he did a lot of playing second banana.) In fact, The Roaring Twenties was the third and last picture that Cagney and Bogart made together (the other two being Angels with Dirty Faces and The Oklahoma Kid, 1938 and 1939, respectively).

The movie came from a short story, “The World Moves On,” by Mark Hellinger, a well-known journalist of the time. An info-scroll at the beginning of the movie tells us that Hellinger based the story on “real people” that he knew, implying that The Roaring Twenties is a true story, or at least inspired by one. The story was turned into a screenplay by Jerry Wald, Richard Macauley, and Robert Rossen. Anatole Litvak was initially hired to direct the movie, but it was ultimately helmed by Raoul Walsh, who had already made some gangster pictures and would do more in the future.

Eddie Bartlett (Cagney), George Hally (Bogart), and Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn) meet in a foxhole during World War I and become friends. Upon returning home to New York City, times are tough for GIs. Eddie and Lloyd start a taxi company and George goes into crime. Eddie reaches out to the young woman who had written to him during the war, Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane), but discovers she’s a bit too young for him. A couple of years later, though, she’s the right age. By then, Prohibition has kicked in. Eddie and his good friend Danny (Frank McHugh) get into the bootlegging business with Panama Smith at a speakeasy. Eddie wants to marry Jean, but Jean actually has eyes for Lloyd, so there’s a little triangle thing going on to which Eddie is blind. Eddie eventually partners up with George, and throughout the “roaring twenties” they make names for themselves as powerful racketeers. But then things go south, as they always do in gangster pictures.

The Roaring Twenties was one of the more popular movies of 1939. It was a big hit, and in fact it out grossed The Wizard of Oz at the box office. This is not a surprise, for The Roaring Twenties is an excellent piece of Hollywood entertainment. It’s slick, it’s well acted and well directed, and its “epic” in structure, covering a period of fifteen years, is compelling. It’s also a bit of a musical, too, with Priscilla Lane adeptly performing a few 1920s-era numbers at the speakeasy. Today the movie is considered one the best of the 1930s gangster titles, and for good reason—and that reason is James Cagney. Why the film was not nominated for a single Academy Award is a mystery.

The Criterion Collection’s new 4K digital restoration with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack is presented in a twofer package that contains a 4K UHD disk of the film in Dolby Vision HDR, and a Blu-ray disk with the film and special features. An audio commentary, ported over from the old Warner Home Video disk, is by film historian Lincoln Hurst. English subtitles are available for the hearing impaired. The restoration is truly magnificent, a beauty to behold. The images, shot by DP Ernest Haller, are so pristine and clean that the movie might have been shot yesterday.

Disappointingly, the special features are minimal. There is a new interview with critic Gary Giddins that is interesting enough, and a short vintage 1973 interview with director Walsh, the theatrical trailer, and that’s it. It’s a shame, really, that the original Warner DVD’s supplements of the “Warner Night at the Movies” features—shorts and a cartoon—and hosted by Leonard Maltin, are not included here. An essay by film critic Mark Asch adorns the booklet.

So, get on your Fedora and pin-striped suit, or your flapper outfit, and take a trip back to The Roaring Twenties. Highly recommended for fans of James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, gangster pictures, and classic Hollywood studio movies.

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Here's a fine documentary examining the life and career of Robert Mitchum from The Hollywood Collection.

"For nearly a century, Hollywood has captivated and influenced generation after generation of moviegoers. Its magic has left an indelible imprint on every culture with a movie projector. Originally broadcast on PBS, HBO/Cinemax, TNT, A&E, Lifetime, and Bravo, this is one of the most comprehensive collections of biographies and cinema retrospectives ever compiled, a spectacular treasury of 32 revealing biographies of Hollywood’s most beloved stars. These biographies, some narrated by the stars themselves, include interviews with friends, family members and colleagues, as well as clips from their most memorable films, and in some cases, rare home movies. “Over 350 actors, writers, directors, producers, make-up people, publicists, agents, and family members all gave of themselves to help make these shows possible. This was the way it was in Hollywood in its classic era and these were the stars that captured us.” – Gene Feldman, producer/director of The Hollywood Collection."

(To watch in full screen mode, click on "Watch on YouTube".)

Here are some uncredited home movies from the set of director Martin Ritt's "The Molly Maguires", filmed in eastern Pennsylvania in 1969. Whoever shot the silent footage did a good job of capturing some interesting visuals from behind the scenes, including candid shots of stars Sean Connery, Richard Harris and Samantha Eggar.

An eclectic selection of films playing in New York City during a particularly eclectic era of filmmaking. 

Watch the 1989 documentary "Steve McQueen: Man on the Edge", narrated by James Coburn.

We revisit the climactic bobsled sequence from the 1969 James Bond classic "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with George Lazenby's 007 squaring off against Telly Savalas as Blofeld.  

Female directors in the film industry are still very much a minority. However, in decades past, the situation was even more frustrating when studios imposed an unofficial "glass cieling" that precluded most women from advancing their careers unless it was in front of the cameras. There were some brave exceptions, however. One of those women to break barriers was actress Ida Lupino, who not only had a successful career as a leading lady but who also helped pioneer public acceptance of female directors. In this 2021 clip from Turner Classic Movies, she is paid tribute to by another acclaimed actress/director, Oscar winner Lee Grant.

Here is critic Janet Maslin's upbeat review for Sean Connery's 1983 return as James Bond in "Never Say Never Again".

Enjoy this presentation by Warner Home Video of the 1978 promotional TV special "The Making of 'Superman:The Movie'".

Here's the original trailer for "The Devil's Brigade", a production inspired by actual WWII events. Released in 1968, many people felt it was rushed into production to capitalize on the similarly-themed blockbuster "The Dirty Dozen", which was released the year before. In fact, producer David L. Wolper had the movie on his planning board for many years. The film has a sensational cast, fine direction by Andrew V. McLaglen and a stirring score by Alex North. 

Arrow Films has released director Peter Yates' 1971 WWII adventure "Murphy's War" starring Peter O'Toole as a Blu-ray special edition, loaded with impressive extras. Click here for more info and to order from Amazon.

By Todd Garbarini

After the dramatic, Ingmar Bergman-esque directorial turn he took with Interiors (1978) which came unexpectedly on the heels of his masterfully hilarious Oscar-winning film Annie Hall (1977), Woody Allen turned back to contemporary New York for a daring film that was shot in black-and-white and scored with the music of George Gershwin. Proclaimed as the only truly great American film of the 1970s by film critic Andrew Sarris, Manhattan is a joy to behold from start to finish and is quite simply one of the most romantic-looking films of all-time (though its subject matter in the era of the MeToo movement will indubitably raise more than a few eyebrows with the allegations of sexual molestation launched against Mr. Allen). Gordon Willis’s beautiful photography married with the sumptuous Gershwin music makes me wish that filmmakers would make black-and-white films today. There are some who do, admittedly, but they appear to only do it within avant-garde and independent circles.

Manhattan, released on Wednesday, April 25, 1979, stars Mr. Allen as Isaac Davis, a television writer who is unfulfilled with his life as a comedy writer. His second ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) has left him for another woman and is writing a book about their marriage. Isaac is 42 and is dating Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) who is 25 years younger than he is and is still in high school. He feels very guilty about this, but genuinely cares for her (this plot point was reportedly inspired by Mr. Allen’s affair with actress Stacy Nelkin on the set of Annie Hall which was shooting in 1976, though her part was eventually cut from that film). His friend Yale (Michael Murphy) is writing a book about Eugene O’Neill and is married to Emily (Anne Byrne) but has started an affair with high-strung and neurotic Mary Wilkie (Diane Keaton) whom Isaac initially cannot tolerate but increasingly grows fond of. Throughout the film we are confronted by these characters who cannot seem to put their finger on what they want and stick with it. They are not inherently bad people. They just keep making questionable decisions. By the end of the film, the only person who seems to have their head on straight is Tracy and the film ends, like Mr. Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), on a very positive and upbeat note.

The real star of the film is Manhattan itself, with its pulsating and bustling people and automobiles. Rarely has the city looked so luminous and beautiful onscreen (if ever). Gordon Willis, the revered cinematographer of The Godfather films and a good number of Mr. Allen’s early works, captures Gotham in all its beauty even during an era when the city was beset by social decay. For the first time in his career, Mr. Allen forgoes the relative constraints of the 1.85:1 flat ratio to the far more accommodating 2.35:1 anamorphic Panavision vista and the results makes one ache for further use of this format.

Manhattan was penned by Mr. Allen and Marshall Brickman, who also co-wrote Annie Hall. The dialogue in Mr. Allen’s films has always been a strong point, but here it really shines. His use of long, uninterrupted takes that first surfaced in Annie Hall shine here Rarely have onscreen walks and chats been so fascinating.

Manhattan was also one of the first movies to appear on home video in the widescreen format, which retained much (but not all) of the film’s original image. I have owned Manhattan on letterboxed VHS, letterboxed laserdisc with a gatefold, letterboxed DVD, and I must say that this Region B anamorphically-enhanced Blu-ray courtesy of Fabulous Films is beautiful.

It would be wonderful if Mr. Allen would be open to providing commentary tracks on his older films, specifically this one which, unbelievably, he reportedly was so displeased with that he imposed on United Artists to shelve it and offered to do another movie for free.

Thankfully, they did not take him up on it.

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Here's the original 9-minute promotional featurette for the 1979 sci-fi flick "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"!

By Fred Blosser

“Tales of Adventure Collection 2,” a special edition, Blu-ray box set from Australia’s Imprint Films, gathers five movies from the 1940s and ‘50s with “wild and dangerous” jungle settings. To the best of my memory, I don’t recall seeing any of them among the scores of jungle pictures I enjoyed as a kid in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, either on the big screen or on local TV morning movie matinees. Of the five diverse selections in the Imprint box set, three are Republic Pictures productions, the fourth is a Paramount release, and the fifth bears the Columbia Pictures logo. All five feature superior transfers (the three Republic entries are transfers from 4K scans of the original negatives) and captions for the deaf and hard of hearing, and four of them come with excellent audio commentaries. Younger viewers be aware, the films tend to reflect attitudes about race and conservation that were commonplace seventy years ago, but frowned upon today; you won’t see anything remotely like Black Panther’s democratic technocracy of Wakanda here.

The older two Republic releases, both in black-and-white and paired here on one disc, underscore the studio’s reputation as a purveyor of lowbrow entertainment with stingy production values. “Angel on the Amazon” (1948) begins with Christine Ridgeway (Vera Hruba Ralston) trekking through the Amazon jungle with safari hat and rifle, stalking panthers. It promises (or threatens, if you’re a conservationist) to become a film about big-game hunting, where wild animals exist to be turned into trophy heads. But then Christine’s station wagon breaks down, and she radios for help. Pilot Jim Warburton (George Brent) flies in with the needed carburetor part, just in time for the party to escape from “headhunters.” This may be the only jungle movie in history where rescue depends on a delivery from Auto Zone. Jim is enchanted by Christine, but she has something to hide and refuses to warm up to his advances. Later, meeting Jim again in Rio de Janeiro, she becomes frightened when an elderly, apparently harmless man watches her from a distance. As film historian Philippa Berry notes on the informative audio commentary for the Blu-ray, the answer to the mystery revolves around the then-popular theme of physical effects from psychological trauma, here given a mystical and somewhat absurd twist. The studio-bound sets and back projection that waft the characters from the Amazon to Rio and then to Pasadena, California, are charmingly phoney. George Brent and two other fading co-stars from the 1930s, the aristocratic Brian Aherne and Constance Bennett, stoutly maintain straight faces in the backlot rain forest.

“Daughter of the Jungle” (1949) is even more formulaic, as a young blonde woman raised in the jungle comes to the aid of pilot Paul Cooper (James Cardwell), a policeman, and two gangsters in the lawman’s custody when their plane crashes somewhere in Africa. Called Ticoora by the local tribe, she is actually Irene Walker, who was stranded with her millionaire father in their own plane crash twelve years before. As film historian Gary Gerani notes in his audio commentary track, Ticoora is one of a long line of virginal jungle sirens in movies that range from the ridiculously sublime, like 1959’s “Green Mansions,” to the sublimely ridiculous, like 1983’s “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.” She can summon elephants with a Tarzan-like yodel that recalls Carol Burnett’s parodies on her old TV show. As Ticoora leads the party to safety, the oily head gangster, Kraik, schemes a way to claim her inheritance, which awaits in New York. Some viewers will see Kraik, played by the great Sheldon Leonard with a constant volley of “dese, dose, and dem” insults, as the only reason to stay with the movie’s plod through lions, gorillas, crocodiles, and indigenous Africans played by white actors in greasepaint. Others (I plead guilty) tend to view unassuming, ramshackle pictures like this one more leniently, providing we can accept if not endorse their racial attitudes as a product of their times. Consistent with Republic’s nickel-and-diming on its B-feature releases, especially those made in the late ‘40s, the more spectacular long shots of Ticoora swinging from vines in her above-the-knee jungle skirt were recycled from one of the studio’s earlier releases. In those scenes, it’s actually Francis Gifford’s stunt doubles in the same outfit from the 1941 serial “Jungle Girl,” not Lois Hall who plays Ticoora in the new footage. Gary Gerani’s audio commentary provides lots of information about the cast, including the two obscure leads, Lois Hall and James Cardwell. Gerani points out that the Blu-ray print, from the original negative, presents the movie’s full 80-minute version for the first time ever. The 69-minute theatrical release in 1949 omitted some B-roll filler and some scenes where Paul woos Irene. More action, less kissy, was crucial for encouraging positive playground word-of-mouth from sixth graders in the audience—the pint-sized forerunners of today’s Tik-Tok influencers.

The third movie retrieved from Republic’s vaults, “Fair Wind to Java” (1953), was one of the studio’s intermittent efforts to offer more expensive productions in living Trucolor, with a rousing Victor Young musical score, to compete with major postwar costume epics from the MGM and Paramount powerhouses. Ironically, Paramount now owns the rights to Republic’s home video library. In 1883 Indonesia, New England sea captain Boll (Fred MacMurray) picks up the trail of lost diamonds also sought by a pirate chief, Pulo Besar (Robert Douglas). Obstacles include the pirates, some scurvy knaves in Boll’s own crew, Dutch colonial authorities, and the fact that the only person who can direct Boll to the treasure is dancing girl Kim Kim (Vera Hruba Ralston), who has only an imperfect memory of the route from her childhood. Substitute Indiana Jones for Captain Boll, and you’d hardly notice the switch. It turns out that the gems are hidden in a temple on Fire Island—unfortunately for the captain, not the friendly enclave of Fire Island, N.Y., but the volcanic peak of Krakatoa. Will Krakatoa blow up just as the rival treasure hunters make landfall there? Are you kidding? The script doesn’t disappoint, and neither do the FX by Republic’s in-house technical team, Howard and Theodore Lydecker. A former ice skating star who escaped Czechoslovakia ahead of the Nazis, Ralston was the wife of Republic studio head Herbert J. Yates and widely derided as a beneficiary of nepotism who couldn’t act her way out of an audition. She was still a punch line for comics in the 1960s, long after most people had forgotten the point of the joke. In reality, both here and in “Angel on the Amazon,” she is an appealing performer, no more deserving of ridicule than other actresses of her time with careers mainly in escapist pictures. The sultry but vulnerable Kim Kim was the kind of role that Hedy Lamarr might have played under other circumstances. Ralston’s performance is at least as engaging, and she looks mighty nice in brunette makeup and sarong.

If you first met Fred MacMurray as the star of “My Three Sons,” as I did as a kid, it may take some adjustment to see him in action-hero mode. It’’s no big deal when Dwayne Johnson or Jason Statham slings a bandolier over his shoulder or has his shirt torn off in a brawl with a pugnacious sailor . . . but Fred MacMurray? When Boll ponders whether or not to trust his shifty first mate Flint (John Russell), it’s a little like MacMurray’s suburban dad asking Uncle Charlie if he should trust Robbie and Chip with the family car. John Wayne was originally envisioned for the role, following his starring credit in a similar Republic production, “Wake of the Red Witch,” but MacMurray wasn’t completely out of his element, having played lawmen and gunslingers in several Westerns before his sitcom days. Frankly, it’s fun to see the normally buttoned-down actor shooting it out with the pirates and racing a tsunami. Imprint includes another excellent commentary, this one by historian Samm Deighan. As she notes, colourfully mounted and briskly scripted movies like this were designed to attract the whole family in those days before Hollywood marketing fractured along lines of audience gender, age, and race. As she observes, Junior might not recognise the sado-sexual elements of the scene where Pulo Besar’s burly torturer (played by Buddy Baer!) strips Kim Kim and plies his whip across her bare back. All in a day’s work in the dungeon. But dad likely would have sat up and paid close attention.

Only a year later (1954), Paramount’s “Elephant Walk” furthered Hollywood’s trend of filming exteriors for its more prestigious movies in actual overseas locations rather than relying on studio mockups, as “Fair Wind to Java” did. Ruth Wiley (Elizabeth Taylor at her most luminous) travels to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with her new husband John (Peter Finch), the charming and prosperous owner of a tea plantation. Initially, Ruth is enraptured by the lush countryside and John’s bungalow, Elephant Walk, actually a mansion almost as large as Grand Central Station and a lot more lavish. But trouble portends as Ruth realizes that the memory of John’s imperious father Tom, reverently called “the Governor” by John and the other British residents, still pervades and controls the household. The elderly head steward, Appuhamy (Abraham Sofaer), is quietly hostile when Ruth questions the need to continue running the house exactly as it was run in the Governor’s day. In trying to communicate with the other indigenous servants and workers, she runs into the barriers of language and culture. The estate itself, complete with Old Tom’s mausoleum in the backyard, is built across an ancestral path the native elephants still try to use as a short cut to their watering holes. Hence its name. Wiley keeps the peripatetic pachyderms out with a wall. His plantation manager (Dana Andrews) is more sympathetic to Ruth, and the two fall in love as the increasingly surly John lapses back into old habits of drinking all night with rowdy fellow expatriates who camp out in the sprawling mansion. Andrews’ character is named “Dick Carver,” the kind of name you’re not likely to see on credits anymore outside Pornhub. I wonder if some moviegoers in 1954 found it funny too?

If the combination of shaky marriage, illicit affair, and luxurious colonial life on a jungle plantation sounds familiar, you may be thinking of “Out of Africa” (1985) or the less romanticised “White Mischief” (1987), the latest examples of this particular jungle sub-genre of domestic drama in the tropics. As Gary Gerani points out in his audio commentary, enthusiasts of melodrama will also cry “Rebecca!” in the subplot about the shadow that “the Governor’s” pernicious, posthumous influence casts over the married couple. The movie’s lush Technicolor palate, William Dieterle’s sleek direction, the special FX of an elephant stampede, Edith Head’s ensembles for Liz, and Franz Waxman’s symphonic score have an old-fashioned Hollywood polish, shown to good effect on the Blu-ray. But as Gerani notes, the script by John Lee Mahin, based on a 1948 novel, offers an implicit political commentary too. As viewers of “The Crown” know, British rule was already crumbling in the Third World in the early 1950s and would soon fall, just like Wylie’s wall faces a renewed assault by drought-stricken elephants in the final half hour of the movie. Thanks to the capable cast, glossy production values, and a script that takes interesting, unexpected turns, I liked “Elephant Walk” more than I thought I would.

Terence Young’s “Safari” (1956) from Columbia Pictures begins with a jaunty title song to a percussive beat that wouldn’t be out of place in “The Lion King”—“We’re on safari, beat that drum, / We’re on safari to kingdom come”—leading you to think that the picture will be a romp like “Call Me Bwana” (1963), “Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion” (1965), or the last gasp of jungle comedies so far, “George of the Jungle” (1997). But the story takes a grim turn almost immediately. An American guide and hunter in Kenya, Ken Duffield (Victor Mature), is called back from a safari to find his 10-year-old son murdered and his home burned by Mau Mau terrorists. He determines to find and kill the murderer, Jeroge (Earl Cameron), a formerly trusted servant who, unknown to Duffield, had “taken the Mau Mau oath.” The British authorities revoke Duffield’s license to keep him from interfering with their attempts to apprehend Jeroge and the other culprits, but then they hand it back under pressure from Sir Vincent Brampton (Roland Culver), who comes to Africa to kill a notorious lion called “Hatari.” “You know what ‘Hatari’ means, don’t you?” Duffield asks. “It means danger”—the very tagline used for Howard Hawks’ movie of the same name a few years later. Coincidence? Brampton is a wealthy, borderline sociopathic bully who makes life miserable for his finance Linda (Janet Leigh) and assistant Brian (John Justin), and Duffield doesn’t much care for him either. But the millionaire insists on hiring Duffield as the best in the business, and the hunter uses the safari as a pretext for pursuing Jeroge into the bush. The script juxtaposes Duffield’s chase after Jeroge with Brampton’s determination to bag Hatari, but the millionaire is such an unpleasant character (well played by Culver) that most of us will hope the lion wins.

This was one of the last “big bwana” movies where no one thinks twice about killing wild animals for sport, and viewers sensitive about the subject may not share Sir Vincent’s enthusiasm for Ken Duffield’s talents, or the production’s matter-of-fact scenes of animals collapsing from gunshots. The political material about the Mau Maus is a little dicey too; the Mau Mau insurrection of 1952-60 was more complicated than the script suggests. Poster art for the movie, reproduced on the Blu-ray sleeve, depicts a fearsomely painted African. Actually, it isn’t a Mau Mau but a friendly Massai tribesman; Linda makes the same mistake in the movie before learning that the Massai have agreed to help Duffield track Jeroge. Squirm-worthy dialogue occurs as well, when Duffield and Brampton alike refer to the hunter’s African bearers and camp personnel as “boys.” But Terence Young’s brisk, muscular direction on outdoor locations in Kenya is exemplary, and the CinemaScope vistas of Kenya in Technicolor are sumptuous. This was one of Young’s four projects behind the camera for Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli’s Warwick Films, preceding Broccoli’s later partnership with Harry Saltzman when the producers engaged Young to direct the inaugural James Bond entries. For 007 fans, it may be heresy to suggest that his work on “Safari” equals that on his best Bond picture, “From Russia With Love,” but so be it. The Imprint Blu-ray doesn’t contain an audio commentary or other special features, but the hi-def transfer at the 2.55:1 widescreen aspect ratio is perfect.

“Tales of Adventure Collection 2” contains the four region-free Blu-ray Discs in a sturdy hardbox, illustrated with a collage from the poster art for the five movies in the set. Limited to a special edition of 1,500 copies, it can be ordered HERE. (Note: prices are in Australian dollars. Use currency converter for non-Australian orders.)

By Lee Pfeiffer

 "Number One" (released in certain countries under the title "Pro") is an off-beat vehicle for Charlon Heston, who was then at his peak of popularity. The fact that the movie under-performed at  the box-office and failed to score with critics didn't diminish Heston's status as a leading man. He would go on to star in such hits as "The Omega Man", "Skyjacked", "Soylent Green" "Earthquake", "Midway"and "Airport '75"- with cameos in the popular "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers". The poor response to "Number One" doesn't diminish its many merits - and the fact that Heston was willing to play against type in a largely unsympathetic role. For the film, he reunited with director Tom Gries, with whom he made the acclaimed 1968 Western "Will Penny".  Curiously, both movies center on the same theme: a macho man who can't come to grips with the fact that he is aging and, therefore, his chosen way of life is threatened. In "Will Penny", Heston played the title character: a middle-aged cowboy who feels the inevitable aches and pains of trying to maintain a career that is clearly suited for younger men. Similarly, in "Number One" he plays "Cat" Catlan, a star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints football team. Catlan has seen plenty of fame and glory as the team's Golden Boy and the idol of the crowds. But now he is 40 years old and, although still in Herculean physical condition compared to most men his age, he's fallen victim to the constant brutalities he suffers on the field.

The film opens on a particularly disastrous game in which Catlan makes some serious misjudgments about plays and bungles some key passes. The result is an embarrassing loss for the team. The Saints' gruff coach Southerd (John Randolph) isn't ready to give up on Catlin but seemingly every other team member is. Catlan is subjected to some cruel jokes and he has to contend with the fact that a much younger player (Richard Elkins) is breathing down his neck, hoping to replace him as quarterback. Things aren't much better at home for Catlan. His long-suffering wife Julie (Jessica Walter) patiently endures his mysterious absences, unpredictable mood swings and volatile temper. She is a very successful fashion designer but Catlan is "old school" when it comes to the role of wives. He wants Julie to stay home and cater to his needs. In the midst of one of their frequent fights, he even stoops so low as to cruelly tease her about her inability to conceive a baby. Still, she sticks with him even when he confesses to having an affair with an attractive, self-made woman, Ann (Diana Muldaur). Faced with the fact that his career is winding down, Catlan reluctantly explores his options for his post-NFL life. They aren't very enticing. His best friend Richie (Bruce Dern), is an obnoxious former Saints player who brags about having gotten out of the game at age 34. He now runs a very successful car leasing business and lives a playboy lifestyle. He wants Catlan to work for him, a prospect that doesn't sit well with the aging quarterback. He also gets an offer from a computer company to work for them but the idea of dealing of being surrounded by machines in the confines of an office is repugnant to him. Ultimately, Catlan is inspired by his wife to go out on a high note. During one of their rare moments of domestic detente, she convinces him that he still has some good games in his future if he can shake off the funk and get his confidence back. The film's climactic game is the very definition of mixed emotions. Catlan performs well and has his mojo back but the movie's ambiguous final shot is anything but uplifting.

Tom Gries was a good director for Heston. He somehow managed to tamp down Heston's larger-than-life personality and afford him the opportunity to play everyday men. In "Number One", Heston is subject to the sorts of problems that plague most middle-aged men. He's nervous about his future. He often takes his frustrations out on the people closest to him. He tries to reassert his youth by exerting his sexual prowess through having an affair. Throughout it all, Heston admirably does not try to make Catlan into a hero. There is a level of sympathy accorded to him because of the emotional and physical stress he is under but his sheer disregard for others makes him more a villain than a hero. (He even refuses to give fans his autograph). Even worse is his sheer selfishness in how he deals with his wife's needs. He feels threatened by the success she is enjoying in her own career and therefore diminishes her achievements. Heston gives one of his finest performances, ironically, in what was one of his least-seen films.He gets able support from the woefully-underrated Jessica Walter, whose performance a couple of years later in "Play Misty For Me" should have assured her of major stardom (and an Oscar nomination). Director Gries also utilizes the talents of real-life football players, some of whom exhibit impressive acting skills. Diana Muldaur also excels as the siren who lures Catlan into her bed. There is an air of authenticity to the film, primarily because Gries shot much of it in front of packed stadiums. (Cinematographer Michael Hugo's work is especially impressive). Gries also captures the feel of New Orleans back in the day, capitalizing on the local scenery, jazz clubs and even getting the great Al Hirt to perform a number and do a bit of acting. About the only dated aspects of the film concern the off-the-field activities of the NFL players. Catlan complains that they are paid like peasants, which was probably true in 1969, but is a rather laughable notion today. Also, the NFL team is required to wear jackets and ties when traveling to or leaving the stadium, another rule that would be virtually unenforceable by contemporary standards. 

"Number One" never found its audience in 1969 but hopefully retro movie lovers appreciate its merits. Th film did have at least one critic who appreciated the movie and Heston's performance. Writing in the New York Times, critic Howard Thompson wrote: "Charlton Heston, minus a beard, a loincloth, a toga or the Red Sea, tackles a starkly unadorned role in one of the most interesting and admirable performances of his career. If Heston could have been better, we don't know how." Our sentiments exactly. 

The film is currently streaming on Screenpix with an add on subscription for Roku and Amazon Prime subscribers.

By Todd Garbarini

Would you go see a horror film billed as “Makes Night of the Living Dead Look Like a Kids’ (sic) Pajama Party! Scream so they can find you!!!” Somebody did. Released in New York City on Wednesday, March 7,1973 as the second feature on a double bill with Mario Bava’s R-rated 1971 film Twitch of the Death Nerve (the U.S. title of A Bay of Blood), Amando de Ossorio’s The Blind Dead actually was given a theatrical release in a watered down, PG-rated version minus blood, gore and nudity. It is also a tighter cut of the original (known as Tombs of the Blind Dead) as it also dispenses with some prolonged meandering that gets old real fast. Does the truncated Stateside version triumph over the longer original Spanish cut of the film? That depends on the viewer. As a purist who prefers a director’s original vision, I applaud the efforts of the uncut version.

Lensed in 1971 in Spain and Portugal at some truly creeping locales, Tombs of the Blind Dead, clearly influenced by George A. Romero’s aforementioned highly successful Night of the Living Dead (1968), is one of the better Spanish horror films to come out of the 1970s, so much so that it spawned no less than three follow-ups all written and directed by the original’s writer/director: Return of the Blind Dead (1973), The Ghost Galleon (1974), and Night of the Seagulls (1975). The madness begins when Virginia White (María Elena Arpón) encounters her old college lover Betty Turner (Lone Fleming) at a public pool. Their congenial attitude quickly becomes strained when Virginia’s friend Roger Whelan (César Burner) shows up and immediately takes a more-than-platonic liking to Virginia, inviting her on a train ride that he is taking with Betty. Female resentment ensues and Virginia takes it upon herself to jump off the train midway, baggage in hand, and goes off into the ruins of a town named Berzano that the train deliberately bypasses due to an unsavory past. Making creepy and effective use of the Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa, Madrid, Spain, the director follows Virginia through the decrepit structures and, unbelievably, camps out solo overnight! Her presence awakens the buried corpses of the Knights Templar from their crypts who attack and kill her, her body found by the train conductor the next morning when on the return trip. Betty and Roger look for Virginia in Berzano, and out of nowhere, two police detectives emerge to question them about their relationship to Virginia. It’s a peculiar entrance into the scene, as though they were standing “stage left” and issued in front of the camera by the offscreen director. Betty and Roger make their way to the requisite know-it-all, The One who comes in at the eleventh hour to explain the goings-on to them, in this case Professor Candal (José Thelman), who explains to them (and the audience) who manipulates them into finding his son, and the this leads to a showdown with the Knights and sets up the film for a continuation.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Oscar-nominated director Norman Jewison has passed away at age 97. Born in Canada, he served in the Canadian navy in WWII. He made his mark in Hollywood in the mid-1960s. His first directorial effort, the romantic comedy "40 Pounds of Trouble" starring Tony Curtis was a hit. This led to him directing Doris Day and James Garner in "The Thrill of It All", one of the most popular movies of 1963. More hit comedies followed including "Send Me No Flowers" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson and the all-star production of "The Art of Love". Jewison got his first opportunity to direct a drama when the mercurially-tempered Sam Peckinpah was fired from "The Cincinnati Kid" starring Steve McQueen in 1965. Jewison stepped in to replace him, earning critical praise. A string of very popular and diverse films followed including the classic Cold War comedy "The Russians are Coming. The Russians are Coming", the racially-tinged crime drama "In the Heat of the Night" which won the Best Picture Oscar and the classic crime caper "The Thomas Crown Affair". Jewison was hoping to cast Sean Connery in the lead role but was persuaded by Steve McQueen to give him the part because McQueen very much wanted to prove he could play a sophisticated rogue. The film was a major hit and spawned a popular 1999 remake starring Pierce Brosnan.

Jewison's diversity as a filmmaker was illustrated by his direction of the high profile 1971 musical "Fiddler on the Roof", based on the Broadway stage production. Jewison was amused when, upon being hired, he confessed to the United Artists brass that he not Jewish, despite his surname. The irony of him directing the ultimate Jewish musical was not lost on the executives who were Jewish. They believed Jewison could be entrusted with the film and it proved to be a major hit in an era in which many other big-budget musicals had flopped. Jewison was nominated for the Best Director Oscar and would be nominated again for the 1987 smash hit comedy "Moonstruck" starring Cher, who did win an Oscar for the film. Not all of Jewison's films were successful critically and at the boxoffice. Among those that didn't meet expectations were "F.I.S.T." and the screen adaptation of "Jesus Christ, Superstar". His futuristic thriller "Rollerball" under-performed in 1975 but has developed a loyal following in the ensuing years. The political satire "And Justice for All" was well-received as was the film adaptation of the play "A Soldier's Story" but most of his other films were not especially successful critically or commercially, although his 1999 production of "The Hurricane" saw Denzel Washington nab a Best Actor nomination in the true life story of former boxer "Hurricane" Carter, who waged a long campaign to prove that he was unjustly jailed for murder. Jewison's film was a lightning rod for controversy. Carter's supporters welcomed the sympathetic portrayal of him as a victim of a racist justice system. Others accused Jewison of being naive and ignoring considerable evidence that Carter was guilty. Either way, Jewison proved he could still stir things up on the big screen. His last big screen feature film was the little-seen "The Statement" starring Michael Caine.

Norman Jewison was a consummate professional who was respected by his peers and appreciated by movie fans worldwide. He was an early contributor to Cinema Retro and we join film lovers around the globe in mourning his passing. For more, click here.

The first issue of Cinema Retro Season 20, #58, has now shipped to subscribers worldwide. If you haven't received the issue yet, you should be getting it soon. Thanks to everyone who subscribed or renewed. If you haven't done so, what are you waiting for?

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Acclaimed films from Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Christian Petzold, Lina Wertmuller, Ken Loach, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jafar Panahi, Taika Waititi, Oscar Micheaux, Susan Sontag, Jean-Luc Godard, Bruno Dumont, Jia Zhangke,  Bernardo Bertolucci, Fritz Lang and more arrive on streaming, some for the first time. 

Kino Lorber’s recent acclaimed films Chile ‘76, Close to Vermeer, and new 4K restorations of The Conformist and Millennium Mambo arrive on streaming for the first time.

Kino Lorber, a leading name in independent film distribution for over 45 years, has launched KINO FILM COLLECTION, a new streaming service available in the U.S. on the Amazon Service via Prime Video Channels for $5.99 per month. The Collection will feature new Kino releases fresh from theaters, along with hundreds of films from its expansive library of more than 4,000 titles, many now streaming for the first time.

Films available at launch include award-winning theatrical releases and critically acclaimed hits and classics from around the globe including new 4K restorations of THE CONFORMIST (Bernardo Bertolucci) and key works by notable directors such as DOGTOOTH (Yorgos Lanthimos), TAXI (Jafar Panahi), POISON (Todd Haynes), GANJA & HESS (Bill Gunn), THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA (Tran Anh Hung), A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (Ana Lily Amirpour), COMPUTER CHESS (Andrew Bujalski), PORTRAIT OF JASON (Shirley Clarke), and A TOUCH OF SIN (Jia Zhangke). Joining them are entries from the long-revered Kino canon such as METROPOLIS (Fritz Lang), NOSFERATU (F.W. Murnau), THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (Robert Wiene), BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (Sergei Eisenstein), BIRTHRIGHT (Oscar Micheaux) and THE SACRIFICE (Andrei Tarkovsky), all presented in the best versions available anywhere. Rounding out the collection are popular and acclaimed documentaries like BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY (Alexandra Dean), Academy Award®-nominated FIRE AT SEA (Gianfranco Rosi), GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI (Sophie Fiennes), and BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK (Richard Press).

The Kino Film Collection will be updated monthly with regular streaming premieres of acclaimed films directly from theaters including CHILE ‘76 (Manuela Martelli), FRAMING AGNES (Chase Joynt), BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER (Nina Menkes), THE SUPER 8 YEARS (Annie Ernaux, David Ernaux-Briot), COSTA BRAVA, LEBANON (Mounia Akl) and THE WORST ONES (Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret), alongside curated treasures from the Kino library and cult film selections from the Kino vault to satisfy genre fans.

December streaming premieres will include a new 4K restoration of MILLENNIUM MAMBO (Hou Hsiao-Hsien), SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME (Chloe Zhao), CLOSE TO VERMEER (Suzanne Raes), FINAL CUT (Michel Hazanavicius), BACURAU (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles), TOKYO POP (Fran Rubel Kuzui), TWO SMALL BODIES (Beth B), and more. 

Richard Lorber, President and CEO of Kino Lorber, said "I'm excited about Kino Film Collection as a destination for our newest films fresh from festivals and theaters, as well as newly launched restorations of classics and curated selections from our vast library, many streaming for the first time. Over the last 45 years, we've introduced electrifying new films from directors at the vanguard around the world to American audiences, and built a library and brand synonymous with cinematic innovation, distinguished curation, and enduring quality. The Kino Film Collection will be the place to go to find the classics of tomorrow and the best of cinema past."

Lisa Schwartz, Chief Revenue Officer for Kino Lorber, who will oversee the service, said, “The creation of Kino Film Collection is the latest example of our continued commitment to independent film and to ensuring our incredible collection remains available for audiences nationwide. Many streaming services are currently undergoing a shift in their content focus and consequently many titles are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Therefore, we felt it was a business imperative to create a dedicated home where our films would be consistently available to film lovers.  This curated collection allows us to highlight our successful new theatrical releases as well as repertory films and beautifully restored library classics.”

Visit KINOFILMCOLLECTION.COM to sign up for a 7-Day Free Trial.