By Lee Pfeiffer 

The Price of Fear by Joel Eisner (Black Bed Sheet/Diverse Media, $20), 244 pages, illustrated (B&W), softcover, ISBN # 0988659026

There have been many fine books written about the legendary Vincent Price but author Eisner brings a new twist in his tribute to the iconic actor. Eisner had actually started to collaborate with Price on a new biography and in-depth look at his films. Price’s death in 1993 derailed the project but now Eisner has culled highlights from the interviews he conducted with Price to explore how he felt about his own movies. The book is less a biography than an examination of individual movies, which is a good thing, as the basics of Price’s personal life have been covered countless times before. It’s interesting to read how he felt about some of his best loved films, as well as those he freely admits fell far short of artistic expectations. Price was truly a man for all seasons: a fine actor, raconteur, lover of fine art and master chef. There was so much more to his talents than simply being a horror movie icon, and Eisner does a fine job in illustrating this. Speaking of illustrating, however, the publisher owes the author something far better than the poor photographic reproductions in this otherwise fine volume. An upgrade in production values is merited for a book with so many attributes. The book contains a heartfelt introduction by another legend, Peter Cushing, written when Price was still alive. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON 

A new book titled Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations contains amazing candid interviews with the legendary sex siren, who passed away in 1990. The book is based on interviews with Peter Evans, a friend and confidant Gardner trusted during the last years of her life while living in London. In an excerpt from the book, Gardner doesn't hold back when it comes to her ill-fated marriage to Mickey Rooney, then the top boxoffice attraction in the world. It was Rooney who plucked Gardner from a secretarial position on the studio lot, wooed her, married her and made it possible for her to become a star. Their marriage was a tempestuous one, with Rooney's penchant for skirt-chasing finally causing them to divorce. But Gardner still allowed him back because the sex was so good. In an era that preceded women's liberation, Gardner never gave a damn what anyone thought of her insatiable sexual appetites, which made it even more impressive that that the puritan attitudes of the time didn't derail her career. Click here to read extended excerpt.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK FROM AMAZON

Author and regular ‘Cinema Retro’ contributor Howard Hughes has just published a new book via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing venture. ‘Mario Bava: Destination Terror’ looks at the filmmaking career of the Italian director dubbed ‘The Father of Italian Horror’. Some of the great director’s finest films – ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘The Mask of Satan’/‘Black Sunday’, ‘Lisa and the Devil’ and ‘Baron Blood’ – have recently been given the special edition Blu-ray treatment by Arrow Films, and all his other films are currently available on DVD. ‘Mario Bava: Destination Terror’ is the first in a new series of e-books from Howard which focusses on cult film directors and genres.

The book can be downloaded from most Amazon stores, including Amazon US and Amazon UK, and can be read on any Kindle-enabled device.

Here’s the blurb:

ReKindle your Love of Great Cinema…Mario Bava: Destination Terror

Mario Bava is one of the great Italian directors and the father of Italian horror. His beautifully-photographed, artfully-crafted films are the worthy legacy of this talented director, whose work is seen at its very best in this digital age on DVD and Blu-ray, as a triumph of visual design. 'Destination Terror' tells his story.

The son of a special effects pioneer, Mario Bava began his film career as a cinematographer, before moving into directing, almost by chance. Those who worked with him maintained that he regarded himself as first and foremost a cinematographer and only secondly as a director. His horror films include the groundbreaking 'The Mask of Satan' (also known as 'Black Sunday'), the three-part demonthology 'Black Sabbath', the murderous 'Blood and Black Lace' and the archetypal bodycount thriller 'A Bay of Blood' (or 'Twitch of the Death Nerve'). He also made 'Kill, Baby...Kill!', 'The Whip and the Body', 'Baron Blood ' and 'Lisa and the Devil', which ensure him a place in the pantheon of great horror film directors. But Bava worked successfully in a variety of genres, making the comic book crime caper 'Danger: Diabolik', the fantastical sword-and-sandal epic 'Hercules in the Centre of the Earth' (also called 'Hercules in the Haunted World'), Viking adventures like 'Erik the Conqueror', the sci-fi horror 'Planet of the Vampires' and sex comedies, creature features, slapstick farces and spaghetti westerns. All these films and more are featured in this entertaining guide to the King of Italian Gothic Horror. Also discussed is Bava’s output as a cinematographer and special effects artist, his uncompleted projects and made-for-TV films, and his work’s availability on DVD and videotape, including the many different versions of his films.

With Leslie Charteris' once popular books showcasing The Saint now back in print, writer Allan Massie of The Telegraph examines why the stories still entertain today. With all due respect to Roger Moore's visual representation of the hero in the 1960s, Massie argues that the character rightly belongs in his original time period, the 1920s. He also examines how Simon Templar differs from that other iconic British hero (coincidentally also portrayed by Moore), James Bond 007. Click here to read 

Ray Harryhausen - Master of the Majicks

Volume 1: Beginnings and Endings

by Mike Hankin

Foreword by Tom Hanks

Preface by Sir Christopher Frayling

www.archive-editions.com

Finally Completed and off to the Printer!

Vol. 1 is planned to ship in early Summer, 2013.

Written and produced over the past 10 years with Ray Harryhausen's cooperation and support, the complete 3-volume definitive 295,000-word career/biography features interviews with Ray and his colleagues and is profusely illustrated with several hundred rare photographs, artwork, and illustrations (many of which have never been previously published).

We published Volume 2 ("The American Films") first, then Volume 3 ("The British Films"), and are now wrapping up the set with Volume 1 (“Beginnings and Endings”).

Chapters in Volume 1 extensively cover:

Ray's Early 16mm Experiments, The Influence of Willis O'Brien and King Kong, George Pal's Puppetoons®, Ray's Film Work During World War II, The Fairy Tale Short Subjects, Ray's Retirement Years (including tributes, awards, convention appearances, colorizing his films, unfinished projects, the King Kong 50th Anniversary celebration at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1983, Ray's cameo appearances in other films, Ray's Lifetime Achievement Oscar® from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Ray's "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and much more).

As a special adjunct to the Willis O'Brien chapter, we're including the complete first draft of the King Kong screenplay by British mystery writer Edgar Wallace.

A special supplement that we're calling "How To Make a Monster" will take you step-by-step through the process of constructing a stop motion model using photos from numerous stop motion films (Caveman, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Willis O'Brien films, and more) — from blueprint to armature to clay sculpture to plaster mold to final foam rubber animation model. (Now you'll know the answer when someone asks, "How did they DO that...?")

Contributors to Volume 1 include Famous Monsters editor Forrest J Ackerman, Darlyne (Mrs. Willis) O'Brien, Lost World star Bessie Love, King Kong producer Merian C. Cooper and star Fay Wray, screenwriters Beverley Cross and Kenneth Kolb, animator and visual effects artists Jim Danforth and Randall William Cook, director John Landis, producer Arnold Kunert, and many others, some of whom have since passed away.

Stills and other visual material come from numerous private collections, including considerable material that has never been seen in print before (including Ray Harryhausen's own books).

PLUS—

• “Ray Harryhausen's Los Angeles” – A multi-page map of key locations connected to Ray and his films in the 1940s and 50s;

• Advertising art and posters from different countries;

• Reviews and story synopses;

• Filmographies of key cast and crew.

• 370 pages, 125,000 word text (chapters, appendices, and more);

• Over 1,500 images —photos, artwork, posters, technical diagrams and

other illustrations— in Spectacular Color, Nostalgic Sepia-Tone, and Glorious Black-and-White.

• Hardcover: dark brown imitation leather with title stamped in gold foil;

• Full color dust jacket;

• Heavy 70 pound semi-gloss paper stock;

• Overall dimensions 9" x 11-1/2";

• Weight: 5 pounds.

Majicks Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are long sold out and now command prices ranging from $350 to $500 to over $700 per copy on eBay and Amazon. So don't delay— sales have been brisk and our limited edition print run of Vol. 1 (the final volume in the set) is on its way to selling out soon.

From his Preface to Volume 3 —

"There is no way to overstate the importance of these books. [This book] is simply the most perfect book about Harryhausen ever made. This is the book that you dreamt of having as a child and makes you want to go out and re-watch every single one of the chronicled. It makes you fall in love with cinema all over again."

— Guillermo del Toro, Director of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth

From his combination review of Volumes 2 and 3 of Majicks:

“…Hankin’s in-progress overview of Harryhausen’s career is unlikely to be surpassed; other books may offer different pictures, different vantages and depths of specific information, but the totality of Harryhausen’s achievement is best represented here.”

— Tim Lucas, Video Watchdog #166

To order go to  www.archive-editions.com

Here are two forthcoming books by author Brian Hannan that are sure to interest Cinema Retro readers:

By Lee Pfeiffer

BearManor Media is a niche market publishing company that backs unusual subject matters, largely related to the celebration of cult movies. The company has just released a reprint of writer John Burke's novelization of the 1965 horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. The movie was produced by Amicus Films, which sought (with success) to emerge as a rival to Hammer Films. Amicus head honchos Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky even "stole" Hammer's two signature stars on occasion: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, both of whom starred in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and provided an impressive supporting cast that included Donald Sutherland, Roy Castle, Neil McCallum, Michael Gough, Bernard Lee and Jeremy Kemp. The less-than-subtle title doesn't do justice to an entertaining and film about a group of strangers who encounter an ominous and mysterious man (Cushing) on a long rail journey. In the course of their travels, the man terrifies his travel companions by predicting a very morbid future for each of them. The idea of an anthology built around a horror movie presence was not new at the time, having been successfully employed twenty years earlier with the British film Dead of Night. However, Amicus successfully dusted off the premise and the response to this film was so positive that the studio would utilize the same format time and again with films like Tales From the Crypt and The House That Dripped Blood.

BearManor's reprint of the tie-in paperback novelization features a stunning poster reproduction on the cover as well as B&W film stills peppered throughout. The novel was originally only available in England through Pan Books, so this marks the book's first appearance in the American market. As the movie is not officially available on DVD in the States, this book will whet the appetites of those might be inspired to order the British Region 2 edition.  Writer and film historian Richard A. Ekstedt provides an informative and entertaining foreword that gives a history of the film and novelization (although he curiously spells the title Doctor Terror's House of Horrors throughout his article instead of the movie's actual title, which is spelled Dr. Terror's House of  Horrors.) The book is part of "Philip J. Riley's Nightmare Series". Despite its modest production values, this volume is most welcome for all of us who have fond memories of seeing the movie many years ago. Now if an American release DVD will only follow....

Click here to order from Amazon

The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America and Me by Tom Santopietro

(In this exclusive article for Cinema Retro, author Tom Santopietro takes an introspective look at his motivations for writing his acclaimed book, The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America and Me and provides an extended excerpt from the book). 

Arthur Laurents, the author of Gypsy, West Side Story, The Way We Were, Rope, and The Turning Point, once stated that whatever book you think you’re sitting down to write, it will inevitably turn out quite differently. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what happened to me in writing my recent book The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America, and Me. I thought I was sitting down to examine the film trilogy I, along with millions of others around the world, love and obsess over. Write about the films I did, but I also unexpectedly ended up delving into the history of Italian immigration to the United States, learning about those, like my grandparents, who left the horrendous living conditions in southern Italy and journeyed to the United States for a new start in life. More to the point, and most surprising of all, I also ended up writing about my own life, growing up half-Italian in an overwhelmingly WASPy world of private schools and country clubs. In the process I ended up confronting the irony at the heart of my obsession with The Godfather: It took The Godfather, or more specifically, The Godfather Part II, epic sagas concerning gangsters with whom I thought I had nothing in common, to make me fully connect with a sense of being Italian, fostering a pride in my heritage that had never previously existed in my genetically half-Italian, but culturally three-quarters anglo upbringing.

Time Magazine dubbed The Godfather “The Italian-American Gone With the Wind”, but for me it was more a case of the personal rather than the epic. One look at the very young Don Corleone sailing past the Statue of Liberty in Part II, staring in awe at the new world which awaited him, and I was overcome with a personalized emotion I had never before experienced in a movie theater. There on the screen, in the person of young Vito, was my grandfather, Orazio Santopietro, thirteen years old, twenty lira in his pocket, arriving in America for the very first time. The power of the image of this solitary boy made me realize for the first time in my comfortable, cocooned, upper-middle-class life just what had transpired in my grandfather’s lap to L’America. Thanks to Coppola and co-screenwriter Mario Puzo, I finally got it. Well, it would take decades and the loss of both of my parents before I fully understood, but that one image of young Vito and the Statue of Liberty first opened the door to a sense of “Italian-ness” that had heretofore utterly escaped me.

When The Godfather Effect was published early in 2012, I was actually unprepared for the very personal letters and e-mails that I received from readers. My previous three books dealt with the careers of music and acting legends Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, and Frank Sinatra, and I had always enjoyed hearing from fans of the stars. But—those responses had never been so personal, so nakedly emotional, as the letters I received regarding The Godfather Effect. People all over the globe love the Corleones- for all sorts of complicated reasons- and my view of the immigrant experience through the lens of The Godfather seemed to remind readers of their own families and immigrant ancestors. Italian, Irish, eastern European, Hispanic- we all have ancestors whose journeys made our own twenty-first century lives possible. By the time I received my fifth letter which began “I’m not Italian but your story made me think about my grandparents and their own journey to the United States”, I realized that the Corleones don’t just register as Italian-American: they are American. The sort of personal response engendered by the book has little to do with my writing, but everything to do with the intense reaction that the Corleones evoke in movie audiences of all ages and ethnicities. Thanks to the work of extraordinary artists like Coppola, Brando and Pacino, The Godfather, like all great pop culture, provides us glimpses of our own journeys and very American lives.

So- with that as background I here offer an excerpt from the beginning of The Godfather Effect- part film history, part immigrant journey, and a salute to two of the best films ever made. Not just the best gangster movies, but the best movies. Ever.

(Continue reading for excerpt from the book) 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Author Brian Albright brings a new angle to the well-worn path of movie books dedicated to horror films. In Regional Horror Films 1958-1990, Albright devotes an entire volume to low-budget horror (and sci-fi) movies made by independent producers and directors generally on shoestring budgets. The first section of the book contains interviews with such cult figures as Ed Adlum, Donald Barton, J.R. Bookwalter, Martin Folse, Milton Moses Ginsberg, William Grefe, Lewis Jackson, Russ Marker, Robert W. Morgan, Tom Rahner, Albert J. Salzer, Larry Stouffer and Robert Burrill. The filmmakers tell revealing and often amusing tales of how they used mind over money to create movies that, in some cases, became surprise cult hits, bringing in considerable profits. Titles covered include  Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, The Evil Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead and more obscure films that many readers will not have heard of. The book's second half is a very entertaining and useful breakdown by state of the horror films shot in every region during this time period. (I never dreamed so many were filmed in my native New Jersey!) Each film is accorded a synopsis and some interesting trivia facts. There is also an extensive bibliography, index and web site referral page in addition to ample photos from many of the movies.

As with all McFarland Publishing ventures, this one is pricey ($45 for a softcover edition), but that's because the print runs are small and the books are designed to appeal to niche audiences. Author Albright has done his homework- and it shows. This book should be considered to be indispensable reading for anyone with a love of low-budget horror flicks. 

To order go to www.mcfarlandpub.com  or call their order line at 800-253-2187

The new book Elizabeth Taylor: A Shining Legacy on Film pays tribute to the screen legend through publication of some rare photos highlighting her in key roles and behind the scenes on film sets. Click here to view slideshow.

Click here to order book discounted from Amazon

By Lee Pfeiffer

In 1979, comic book writer and artist Walt Simonson teamed with fellow comic writer, editor and artist Archie Goodwin to create Alien: The Illustrated Story, a graphic novel tied into the release of Ridley Scott's new science fiction film. Graphic novel icon Frank Miller has said of this release, "Alien: The Illustrated Story might just be the only successful movie adaptation ever done in comics. It's a amazing graphic novel." Indeed, the artwork and adherence to the film remain impressive, even today. The original graphic novel has been out of print for decades despite the fact that the original Alien film has gained iconic status among sci-fi fans. Now Titan Books has reissued the graphic novel with significant enhancements: every page has been digitally remastered from original art that has been preserved in Walt Simonson's studio.  The new release comes in 8x11 softcover format and glossy paper stock that does full justice to the outstanding artwork.

By 1979, the graphic novel was already pushing boundaries in ways that conventional comic books could not. For one, they were not bound by the constraints of the quaint comics code, a self-imposed censorship board that was put in place to stave off do-gooders who almost shut down the entire comic book industry in the 1950s. The artwork was also ground-breaking, adding considerably to the suspense of following the storyline. The novel does an admirable job of compacting all of the key story elements without resorting to the kinds of "artistic license" that often compromise many other comic adaptations of films. In all, it's a great concept to bring back classic comics such as this in restored editions, much the same way that great movies are routinely made available to new generations. Don't miss adding this one to your collection. 

Click here to order from Amazon.  

(Published by Titan Books $24.95/£19.99) 208 pages, Illustrated (B&W) ISBN 9781781161937

By Kevin Wilkinson 

Movie stills have been a rather neglected area of the film industry so it is pleasing to see Titan publish this book of the golden days of Hollywood photography. It is not just a book full of gorgeous photos, as the text contains fascinating information detailing the history of movie publicity stills from the silent days through the heyday of the studio and star system to the mid Sixties when colour photography would come to the fore.

The book is lavishly illustrated with portraits, production stills, behind the scenes and candid photos. The often unheralded Hollywood photographers often worked under contract to a specific studio. Their duties included capturing portraits and scene stills, behind the scenes production shots showing the director and crew at work and costume and movie set photos for reference. They would also be assigned to take candid photos at the studio, premieres, parties and the star’s homes to capitalize on the actors’ growing popularity. These often included some obviously staged photographs designed to portray the actor or actress as a dedicated family person. (The book includes a wonderful photo of Errol Flynn in costume with his wife on the set of The Adventures of Robin Hood.) Examples are shown of stills that were adapted for movie posters and how some directors would take an intensely personal interest in the photos used for marketing campaigns. (A still of John Gavin and Vera Miles from Psycho looking at at a rocking chair was carefully arranged by Hitchcock so as not to give the game away.)

Movie buffs and photographers alike will enjoy this book immensely. Highly recommended.

Here is the official description:

Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe... It is through the eye of the stills camera that we experience and recall some of the cinema's most memorable events and faces. Still images are so powerful that they can easily pass for actual scenes for the movies they represent - rather than separately posed, lighted and photographed shots that may not even find their way into the finished film.  

This book is the most detailed and perceptive survey ever devoted to this neglected aspect of film-making. It traces the origin of stills photography during the silent era and the early development of the star system, through to the rise of the giant studios in the 1930s and their eventual decline. Finler focuses on the photographers, on the stars they photographed, and on many key films and film-makers.

Hollywood Movie Stills is illustrated with hundreds of rare and unusual stills from the author's own collection, including not only portraits and scene stills but production shots, behind-the-scenes photos, poster art, calendar art, photo collages and trick shots. There are also photos showing the stars' private lives and special events in Hollywood. This lavishly presented new edition of Finler's classic work includes many new stills and much new insight and information into this fascinating aspect of the great film studios in their heyday.

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 Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises,” the much-anticipated final chapter in writer-director Christopher Nolan’s Batman film trilogy has been adapted into an official tie-in novel written by award-winning author Greg Cox and published by Titan Books, under a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Novelist Greg Cox is no stranger to Batman or the DC Comics universe, having written the official novelizations for such major comic book storylines as Infinite Crisis (2006), 52 (2007), Countdown (2009), and Final Crisis (2010). He has produced numerous bestselling adaptations and original novels based on Star Trek, Underworld, Warehouse 13, and other popular properties. His original novel Terminator Salvation: Cold War won the 2010 Scribe Award for tie-in fiction, and CSI: Headhunter took the award in 2009.

“Batman is one of the most iconic characters of popular culture,” Titan Publisher Nick Landau said. “We’re tremendously excited to work with Warner Bros. on the novelization of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ especially since it is the culmination of everything Christopher Nolan has done with his amazing trilogy. This is a part of motion picture history.”

The publishing of Titan Books’ The Dark Knight Rises on Tuesday, July 24, was timed to coincide with the Warner Bros. Pictures release of “The Dark Knight Rises,” which opened in theatres on Friday, July 20, 2012.

About “The Dark Knight Rises”

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar^® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar^® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

Returning to the main cast, Oscar^® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar^® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

About Titan Publishing Group

Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981, comprising three divisions: Titan Books, Titan Magazines/Comics and Titan Merchandise. Titan Books' rapidly growing fiction list encompasses original fiction and reissues, primarily in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk and crime. Titan Books also has an extensive line of media and pop culture-related non-fiction, graphic novels, art and music books. The company is based at offices in London, but operates worldwide, with sales and distribution in the US & Canada being handled by Random House.

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.  In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

FXRH was the magazine published between 1971 and 1974 and devoted entirely to the film legacy of special effects genius Ray Harryhausen. Now Archive Editions is publishing all of these rare issues, along with new supplementary materials, in the form of a limited edition book. Click here for details and to pre-order.  

Update! Very few copies left..Book almost sold out before it is printed. 

By Harvey Chartrand

Frank Langella played an aging writer in Starting Out in the Evening (2007). Who would have figured this for typecasting?

In his superb memoir, Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them (HarperCollins), Langella reveals that he is an incomparable memoirist and storyteller, recalling his encounters with scores of luminaries from the world of entertainment in a career spanning half a century. All of these luminaries are deceased and the cast of characters is listed “by order of disappearance”. Just as well, as many of the revelations are quite shocking.

Langella must be the most sociable and congenial actor on the planet, as the busyness of his social and professional lives and the breadth and depth of his friendships, romantic liaisons and acquaintances are very impressive indeed. He met Marilyn Monroe in 1953. She stepped out of a limousine and said “hi” to the adolescent from Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1962, Langella, struggling for a toehold on Broadway, carried a dead drunk Montgomery Clift to his nearby townhouse several times. “He never spoke a word to me. Never even knew my name,” Langella recalls.

He knew Anthony Perkins in the late fifties when the future Norman Bates was the king of Broadway, and decades later met him in the parking lot of a grocery store in L.A., shortly before his death.

“I turned and saw what looked to me like a ghostly apparition, a paper-thin, wide-eyed, sallow-faced, walking cadaver. (…) He did not speak. (…) It was a terrifying sight. Clearly dying and clearly desperate, he seemed disoriented and lost. Only his familiar crooked grin gave me the sense he knew who he was. (…) Staring through my rearview mirror at him wandering around in the grass and weeds, I remembered when the world was his oyster and it seemed nothing could stand in his way; a book with such a beautiful cover on whose pages were most likely written crippling and indelible words of shame and guilt.”

Several of Langella’s memoirs deal with the ravages of time on the careers of actors and actresses who had been to the top of their profession and smelled its rarefied air. In 1976, Langella co-starred with Cameron Mitchell “in a ghastly television series entitled Swiss Family Robinson.” By then, the once handsome Mitchell was “fifty-eight, a fat, jowly mess, covering his sad decline with an over-the-top wisecracking demeanor; its most heartbreaking manifestation its constancy.” The wardrobe lady finds an old Napoleonic-era jacket with Mitchell’s name on it, probably the one he wore in Desirée, a 1954 film he did with Marlon Brando. Mitchell does “a little yo ho yo ho strut” in the jacket that is now two sizes too small for him, “like a vaudeville clown getting ready to throw a pie.” Pathetic.

Langella is unusually frank about his relationships with Rita Hayworth (20 years his senior, her memory failing) and an aging Elizabeth Taylor, whom he gently spurns, knowing that he could not be part of “her indiscriminate search for the one thing she could not and would never have: Enough!”

Langella has serious regrets about lost opportunities: blowing a possible relationship with Dinah Shore; treating an older Deborah Kerr callously as they co-starred in Edward Albee’s play Seascape on Broadway in 1974… and then trying to meet with her 30 years later to apologize; turning down a role in John Frankenheimer’s The Horsemen in order to star in Mel Brooks’ flop The Twelve Chairs, which led to an angry rebuke by Frankenheimer, who never asked for Langella again.

Langella befriended Alan Bates during the Broadway run of Ivan Turgenev’s play Fortune’s Fool and they remained very close friends until Bates’ death in 2003. Langella also expresses admiration for Tony Curtis: “(…) apart from the absurdity of his desperate attempts to look cool, hip and young, I found him always to be charming, instantly connected, and very funny. He was, as well, ruthlessly honest when he didn’t like someone or something. A no-shit guy who had taken a lot of abuse, often challengingly bringing it upon himself.”

As for Paul Newman, who tried to befriend Langella, the memoirist writes: “He was a great audience, a true lover of acting and actors, and wanted, I believe, to be thought of as a great actor. He wasn’t. But he gave everything he had to every role. As his movie star days faded and turned mostly to stage and television projects, his limitations became more apparent. As indeed, they were in life. After dirty-sexy jokes, shop talk, cars, or politics were exhausted, Paul was a pretty dull companion. Never rude or unkind, just dull.” However, Langella ends his chapter on Newman with a description of his final heartbreaking encounter with the actor famed for his baby-blues when he is stricken with cancer.” As I read this passage, I was so moved that tears welled in my eyes.

Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them is so damned interesting and well written that it should be savoured, but that is almost impossible. I dashed through the book in one sitting and will read it again just to study Langella’s literary artistry. My only quibble is that Langella doesn’t mention Kate Nelligan, his ravishing leading lady in John Badham’s 1979 Dracula.

Other stars and entertainers profiled by Langella include Billie Burke, Noel Coward, Lee Strasberg (whom Langella treated with contempt), Celia Johnson, Dolores del Rio, James Mason, Richard Burton (a thundering bore), Yul Brynner, Elsa Lanchester, Laurence Olivier, Bette Davis, Rex Harrison (a dreadful man), Coral Browne, Colleen Dewhurst, Gilbert Roland, Jessica Tandy, Raúl Juliá, Ida Lupino, Jo Van Fleet (who ended her days as a bag lady), Robert Mitchum, Roddy McDowall, Oliver Reed, George C. Scott (terminally sad), Loretta Young, Roger Vadim, John Gielgud, Anthony Quinn, Hume Cronyn, Elia Kazan (“talent such as his doesn’t give you rights” to become “a serial fucker of women’s bodies and men’s minds”) , Arthur Miller, Anne Bancroft (terminally miserable despite all her gifts), Maureen Stapleton, Yvonne De Carlo, Charlton Heston, Richardo Montalban, Jill Clayburgh and Susannah York.

To browse through Dropped Names, click here

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For decades, Kirk Douglas has been boasting that he was the man primarily responsible for breaking the Hollywood blacklist against suspected communists by hiring screenwriter Dalton Trumbo for his 1960 production of Spartacus. While no one denies that Douglas was bold in support of the blacklisted writer and gave him his first screen credit in years, a darker side of this era is emerging thanks to Douglas' new book about the of the movie. Trumbo's family and the film's producer Edward Lewis accuse Douglas of greatly exaggerating his role in breaking the blacklist. They have been arguing for decades that, while Douglas deserved credit for putting Trumbo's name back on screen credits, he had to be shamed into doing so. They also say that Douglas was so nervous about this act of defiance against the established studios that he refused to give Trumbo screen credit for work he did on their follow-up production, Town Without Pity. Trumbo's heirs also say Douglas' production company exploited blacklisted writers by hiring the desperate men at a fraction of their usual salaries. Click here for more

By Dave Worrall

For the past 35 years Paul Welsh MBE, film historian and Chairman of 'Elstree Screen Heritage', has written about the local film and TV studios in a weekly newspaper column

for the Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Paul, who recently wrote about the MGM Borehamwood Studios in our Where Eagles Dare special tribute edition, has now written “Elstree Confidential” a unique book bringing readers highlights of 50 years of Paul’s memories of the studios, lavishly illustrated by private photos and correspondence never before published. For anyone remotely interested in the history of film, this is a must-have, as Paul's research, and indeed his history with these world re-known studios, is unsurpassed. MGM's famous quote used to be "We have more stars than there are in heaven." Well, judging by the snapshots in this book, Paul met them all too! I felt as though I was there with the author while going through these pages. Many of the photos are to die for - especially those depicting sets on the old back lots, etc. An excellent and personal account of an era long lost, and which should (could?) have been preserved.

Published by Elstree & Borehamwood Museum, this hardbound book costs only £15.95 (plus £4.15 postage and packing in the UK) Your copy will be posted to you on the same day you place your order! To order a copy simply go on-line to the web site at www.elstreescreenheritage.org

By Lee Pfeiffer

I almost hate it when Dick Klemensen publishes a new issue of his long-running Hammer Films tribute magazine Little Shoppe of Horrors. It takes a lot of my time just to work on my own magazine, Cinema Retro, and the distractions that Little Shoppe inevitably offers makes me put off reading the latest issue until that rare day when I have a few free hours. LSOH has been running for many years and publisher Klemensen never seems to run out of material, even though every article is dedicated to the Hammer phenomenon. Not surprisingly, this issue makes the most of the legendary film studio's resurgence with the brilliant new version of The Woman in Black. The magazine dedicates about half of its entire page count to the making of the movie, and affords exclusive behind the scenes access with most of the major cast and crew including Daniel Radcliffe. But there is so much more, including a vintage interview with the now deceased British character actor Nigel Stock and a fascinating, seemingly quixotic search for a mythical missing Japanese version of Horror of Dracula (with a terrific and unexpected payoff). Klemensen, like Cinema Retro, benefits from the talents of a loyal and highly talented group of international writers and columnists and every article proves to be a page-turner. Toss into the mix some wonderful original artwork, countless rare photos and some very moving personal tributes to Hammer screenwriter and director Jimmy Sangster, and you have another top-of-the-line issue. 

Click here to order from official web site

Happier times for O"Neal: with long time love Farrah Fawcett.

Ryan O'Neal has a new book about his experiences during his lover Farrah Fawcett's final days. After spending decades trying to patch up contentious relationships with his three children, he sent them advance copies of the manuscript so they did not get blindsided by the stories he related. One son has not read it (he's in rehab) and the response from the other two offspring, including Tatum O'Neal, was decidedly unenthusiastic. O'Neal, who is battling stage 4 prostate cancer, says he is doing all he can to repair the long history of family feuds but is concerned he may have been too candid in the book regarding personal matters. For more click here 

No matter what age you are, if you grew up in America in the last 71 years, Archie Comics have been a part of your life to one degree or another. The bloom may be off the rose in terms of the overall popularity of the perpetually-young, freckled face red head, but there are signs his mojo is coming back. The introduction of a gay character into Archie's circle of friends has seen sales soaring, as has a fantasy storyline that explores what his life would have been like had he married Betty and Veronica (separately, of course.). Nevertheless, the behind the scenes story of Archie Comics is the antithesis of the family-friendly plots in the comic books. The heirs of the founders are battling for control of the company- and the situation is so ugly that the New York Times is giving it major coverage. Click here to read. (Thanks to reader Nick Sheffo for the heads up).  

Author and Cinema Retro contributing writer Howard Hughes has a new book: When Eagles Dared, a major history of 150 WWII film classics and the historic events that inspired them. Here is an excerpt from the press release:

"When Eagles Dared" tells the stories of the historical events of World War II and the films that have depicted these events on cinema screens, presenting a guide to history through cinema that compares the cinematic myth with the historical reality. Illustrated with rare posters and stills, it gives us a unique view of this war through the lenses of over 50 diverse films that have shaped our perceptions of the conflict, including "Downfall," "Patton," "Tora! Tora! Tora!, ""Anzio," "The Thin Red Line," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Stalingrad," "Battle of the Bulge," "Cross of Iron, " and "A Bridge Too Far." The book portrays the men and women who participated in World War II, from the evacuation of the Allied forces from France ("Dunkirk") through to the battle for Berlin and beyond. Each chapter discusses historical events as they unfold and illustrates how these episodes subsequently have been portrayed onscreen by filmmakers. Events discussed include the war in the skies ("Battle of Britain" and "The Dambusters"), the sea ("Sink the Bismarck!), " and the North African desert ("The Battle of El Alamein" and "Tobruk"). There are "special mission" movies, including "Where Eagles Dare" and "Inglourious Basterds, " classic tales of ingenuity ("The Great Escape"), and human endurance ("The Bridge on the River Kwai").

Click here to order from Amazon USA (available in April)

Paramount has sued the estate of the late novelist Mario Puzo, claiming copyright infringement for an unauthorized sequel to Puzo's legendary bestseller The Godfather. Paramount did work with the Puzo estate to release an official sequel in novel format, The Godfather Returns in 2004. However, they said a later sequel, The Godfather's Revenge and a future book titled The Family Corleone, are unauthorized. According to Paramount, Puzo, who died in 1999, sold the rights to all future film and literary stories based on The Godfather to Paramount as part of a 1969 deal that encompassed bringing the original book to the screen. The landmark 1972 film version starring Marlon Brando once held the spot as the highest-grossing film of all-time. Paramount says that the only rights Puzo maintained pertained to reprinting his original novel. For more click here

MacInnes' best-selling Cold War adventure The Venetian Affair was brought to the screen in 1967 starring Robert Vaughn and Elke Sommer.

Scottish novelist Helen MacInnes was known as the Queen of the Cold War thrillers. Prior to her death in 1985, MacInnes had built a loyal international following. However, in recent years, her work has faded into relative obscurity. Now Titan Books has secured the rights to MacInnes' work and will be reissuing these novels. Some of her books had been made into major films such as The Venetian Affair and The Salzburg Connection. Click here for more

Good news for fans of the literary Matt Helm: author Donald Hamilton's long out-of-print novels will be reprinted by Titan Books. The novels bear virtually no resemblance to the fun but campy Dean Martin films made in the 1960s, as Hamilton wrote straight forward, hard-hitting stories. For more click here 

For Matthew Bradley's analysis of the literary and cinematic  Matt Helm click here 

Looks like those folks at The Guardian in London have good taste when it comes to appreciating sexy film posters. The newspaper's web site has a photo tour of classic movie posters from Cinema Sex Sirens, the new book by Cinema Retro publishers Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer. Click here to view To order the book, click on banner at top of page.

By Dave Worrall

It was raining outside and I was wrapped up in my warm office listening to the 2-CD soundtrack to The Great Escape and enjoying designing the Hatari! feature for next May's magazine. I was feeling good. All was going well... and then there was a knock at the door. Damn! It turned out to be the postman, and he delivered a package that was to throw out the rest of my carefully planned day. For inside the package was Marcus Hearn's new book from Titan, 'The Hammer Vault' - a deluxe large format hardback book packed with sensational, never-before-seen material from the archives of Britain's most famous film studio. Marcus, who has written for Cinema Retro on several occasions, has already authored three books about Hammer: 'The Hammer Story' (with Alan Barnes), the brilliant 'Hammer Glamour' and the to-die-for 'The Art of Hammer', but for me, this is the best of the lot. Following the studio's history from the early 30s to present day, Marcus has unearthed rare stills, publicity material, documents and letters - some from the personal scrapbooks of the late Michael Carreras and Peter Cushing. There are even photos of props, Tom Chantrell poster artwork, and projects never made. This is a must-have book, especially in time for Christmas. I've only spent about thirty minutes looking through it so far, but it threw out my whole work schedule for the day. Damn you, Marcus!

(The book will be available for shipping in December)

Click here to order from Amazon USA

If you think of Bruce Lee as simply an icon of the 'chop-socky' kung fu genre, think again. The legendary action star was actually an articulate poetry who wrote original work and translated the poems of others. Lee's poetry and other spiritual aspects of his life were the subject of the 2001 book Bruce Lee: Artist of Life written by his widow Linda and co-author John Little. For more click here 

To order  Bruce Lee: Artist of Life from Amazon click here

Cinema Sex Sirens by Cinema Retro publishers Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer is now shipping in the UK and Europe. The limited editions signed by the authors are almost sold out in our UK office. If you pre-ordered the book, it's on it's way to you. As of right now, there are only 13 copies of the signed edition, available exclusively from Cinema Retro, left for sale in the UK.

Because the book's publication was delayed by a few weeks, we are now expecting pre-orders for the American market and the rest of the world to be shipped in November. Note: The regular American publication date for the book is March 2012- so by ordering the limited edition, you will receive the book months in advance of the general public! There are very few limited editions signed by the authors available from our American office also, so order today! Click on the banner at the top of this page for ordering details or click here. 

Here is the official press release from Omnibus Press:

CINEMA SEX SIRENS

With an introduction by Sir Roger Moore

By Dave Worrall & Lee Pfeiffer

Published by Omnibus Press

November 2011

Hardback

‘I have appeared alongside many of the ladies featured in this book. My only grumble is that they are all far prettier than me.’ Sir Roger Moore

Cinema Sex Sirens is an exuberant celebration of the female stars of the Sixties and Seventies. It was the last great era of the cinematic sex siren – a time when massive cultural changes produced an unprecedented relaxation of censorship and yet old-fashioned Hollywood glamour still held sway.

The Sixties and Seventies was an era when actresses unashamedly embraced the tag ‘Sex Goddess’ or ‘Sex Siren’ and willing exploited their beauty and bodily charms to further their careers. This highly desirable coffee table book focuses on the key actresses of the period, ranging from cinematic legends to cult actresses.

The authors, Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer, present a luminous collection of idealised women whilst at the same time offering a fascinating insight into the movies’ depiction of female sexuality. From international icons like Brigitte Bardot, Helen Mirren, Sophia Loren, Natalie Wood, Ann-Margret, Raquel Welch and Jane Fonda to less celebrated sirens of British and European cinema, such as Susan George, Ingrid Pitt, Sylva Koscina and Britt Ekland, Cinema Sex Sirens offers an unparalleled collection of stunning glamour photos and a fascinating snapshot of sexuality in the Sixties and Seventies.

The Cinema Sex Sirens era marked a new spirit of frankness in society and the movie industry lost no time in following suit, shaking off over 25 years of strict censorship and enforced self-regulation. And the women who defined this new era of eroticism became world-famous, defined a generation’s view of sexuality and still continue to fascinate today.

Each chapter focuses on one actress. featuring rare full colour photos, a biography and commentary, supplemented by some superb international movie poster artwork and magazine covers.

Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer are the founders and publishers of the long-running Cinema Retro magazine (www.cinemaretro.com), which proudly covers movies of the Sixties and Seventies. They have co-authored The Essential James Bond, the best-selling 007 film book with sales in excess of 250,000 copies.

Dave Worrall also established the highly successful company Solo Publishing in 1987, which has produced high profile magazines and books pertaining to the James Bond phenomenon.

Lee Pfeiffer has authored books covering the careers of Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford. He has also taught classes about cinema at New York University, written and produced DVD documentaries and runs film location trips through his company T.W.I.N.E. Tours.

The late Pauline Kael is arguaby the most famous film critic of all time. In an age where film critics mattered, she got the most ink even among such prominent reviewers as Richard Schickel, Bosley Crowther and Rex Reed. Today film criticism is of the masses and by the masses with countless bloggers weighing in on their thoughts about movies and moviemaking. However in the pre-web age, certain critics had extraordinary impact on the fate of movies. They could help sink big budget productions and make small art house films hits. Kael was known for being abrasive and unapologetic. She gushed over the works of some filmmakers while others could never win a kind word from her. Such is her influence that she is the subject of two new books. New York Times film critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis debate her legacy. Click here to read

By Lee Pfeiffer

For those of us who have written numerous books, it goes without saying that the people closest to us have probably never read our work. Wives, husbands, kids, colleagues and close friends always are supportive and wish you well with your latest endeavor. They tolerate the mood swings, long hours meeting seemingly impossible deadlines and empty promises not to start another book project for a long, long time. However, their support doesn't mean that they have any interest in the subject matter. There's nothing offensive about it - you can't expect your teenaged daughter to cuddle up at night with a book about the films of John Wayne. For family members, the fact that mom or dad is an author is perhaps a bit more offbeat than most parent's careers but it becomes just as mundane over time. This is equally true when writers get together with other writers. Someone always has a book in the works but discussion of the latest project rarely goes beyond a few seconds during social gatherings. These trends extend even to those closest to famous writers such as the late Joseph Heller, whose great novel Catch-22 is now being celebrated on the 50th anniversary of its publication. In a remarkable column, Heller's daughter Erica, now in her 60s, confesses she has never read any of her father's books- but is about to break the trend by finally reading Catch-22 - though she does so was reluctance. Click here for more

The name of Hammer has long been associated with the horror film genre. However, the legendary British company also made some of the best fantasy and science fiction films in the UK. From the terrors of The Quatermass Xperiment to the prehistoric menace of One Million Years BC, Hammer produced well-made productions with style and creativity equally as good as their gothic horrors. Directors such as Val Guest, Don Chaffey and Joseph Losey turned out spectacular fantasies for Hammer, many of which are now considered cult classics.

Writer Bruce G Hallenbeck explores the history of the studio's many ventures into science-fantasy, setting them in the context of the genre as a whole and provides the reader with a wealth of fascinating detail, as well as dozens of rare photos from private collections.

With a foreword by actress Martine Beswick, HAMMER FANTASY & SCI-Fi is a 268 page book illustrated with more than 200 photos, including 8 pages in colour, and can be highly recommended for all lovers of this film genre, whether a Hammer fan or not.- Dave Worrall

Available now from: www.hemlockbooks.co.uk

They may be in different political parties but former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has a lot in common with former President Bill Clinton in that their sex scandals didn't seem to tarnish their personal popularity. Arnold is taking the bull by the horns and delving directly into the more controversial aspects of his life and career by penning a memoir titled "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story" (we admit we do like the title). The book will be published in October 2012 and is sure to be an instant international best seller if only because of prurient interest in reading his spin on the scandals he's had to contend with. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

1950s Radio in Color: The Lost Photographs of Deejay Tommy Edwards(Kent State University Press)  is an extraordinary book on several levels. First there is the physical look of the book: it's an over-sized coffee table hardback that does full justice to the photos so beautifully reproduced therein. This brings us to the second point: the book is a priceless historical record of incredible candid photos taken by a man named Tommy Edwards. Who was he? Largely unknown today, Edwards was one of the top early deejays in the Cleveland Ohio market, where he helped make station WERE-AM a major force in popularizing the new music format known as rock 'n roll. Edwards had the foresight to photograph virtually every up-and-coming music star he was introduced to - and there were few who escaped his sphere of influence. Fate was unkind to Edwards and, due to a variety of reasons including personal problems, he faded from the influential position he held and ultimately ran a popular used record shop until his death in 1981. His photographs were presumed lost until this book's author Chris Kennedy uncovered the treasure trove and made them the basis for this book. 

The number of iconic figures Edwards photographed in candid situations is remarkable. There's young Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, Paul Anka, The Everly Brothers, Sam Cooke, Frankie Avalon, Johnny Cash, The Big Bopper, Johnny Horton and many others. He also photographed young actors who had cut records such as Michael Landon and Tina Louise as well as iconic Hollywood stars who were promoting new films (Clark Gable, Rock Hudson, Doris Day, a bored Henry Fonda going through the motions of an interview). There are many "flash in the pan" musical acts and solo crooners who were destined for oblivion and these are among the most fascinating entries in the book.  Kennedy, a true literary detective, even located elusive newsletter Tommy Edwards had sent out to rock and roll fans- and he reproduces them in this book. 

The photos are elegantly presented in chronological order ending with a haunting photo of Edwards himself in his beloved record store.

Chris Kennedy has done yeoman work- and any fan of retro music and cinema owes him a great debt for salvaging the remarkable photographs of a very remarkable man.

Click here to order discounted from Amazon

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Kiss Kiss Kill Kill

The Graphic Art and Forgotten Spy Films of Cold War Europe

The Exhibition Catalogue

To coincide with the Kiss Kiss Kill Kill touring exhibition, The KKKK Archive is proud to announce the publication of a full colour catalogue to celebrate this exciting touring show.

KKKK will appeal to everyone who loves “Eurospy” and the spy film genre. The curator of the KKKK Archive, Richard Rhys Davies, has spent many years creating one of the finest collections of spy film posters in the world. The catalogue presents a selection of posters from all over Europe as well as fascinating artwork for many forgotten Soviet bloc films.

The book is a large format A4 all colour art book on 100g paper stock featuring over 100 stunning newly restored posters. All artwork from the KKKK exhibition is featured as well as an introductory essay by the curator Richard Rhys Davies. The catalogue is divided into the following chapters:

· The Iron Curtain is Drawn

· Espion Noir: French spy cinema before James Bond

· Fritz Lang : inventor of the spy film

· Eurospy: The European Co-Production

· Fumetti Nero Italiano

· Out of the Rubble: West German Escapist Cinema

· Paella Spy: The Spanish Connection

· Spaghetti Spy: The Italian Factory 1964 -1967

· The Spy in the Cold: British Spy Films

· Czechoslovakia Before and After ’68

· Eastern Bloc Poster Design: The Polish and Czech Schools

· Eastern Bloc Spy Films: Quotas

· Eastern Bloc Spy Films: Romania

· Eastern Bloc Spy Films: Russia

You can buy here directly from kisskisskillkillarchive.com website using Paypal.

Price is £24.99 (€29.99 / $39.99) with free postage.

Alternatively there are credit card facilities available at pinkcatshop.com

It is also available on amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, amazon.fr and amazon.de

See the whole archive on line and for further details of touring venues for the exhibition visit kisskisskillkillarchive.com

Touring exhibition organised by the University of Hertfordshire Galleries and The Kiss Kiss Kill Kill Archive in association with Goethe Institut, London, EUNIC and St. Albans Museums.

With a new high profile big screen version of The Great Gatsby scheduled for production, F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel is back in the news. Seems those intent on dumbing-down young readers can't resist "improving" literary masterpieces by altering them in key ways. Film critic Roger Ebert puts a new stream-lined version of Gatsby in his sites as he takes on those intent on changing novels that have been a mainstay of American culture. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

BearManor Media specializes in niche-themed books relating to TV and film. One of their latest releases is as niche as you can get: an entire volume dedicated to Henry Fonda's little-remembered  TV series The Deputy which ran between 1959-1961. Author Glenn A. Mosley has done yeoman work in researching the series, which was one of a seemingly endless parade of Western-themed TV shows that flooded the tube in the 50s and 60s. Mosley's book- rather cumbersomely titled Henry Fonda and the Deputy- The Film and Stage Star and His TV Western -  also has a foreword by Fonda's co-star Read Morgan and a prologue by Christian Nyby II, the son of one of the show's late directors who recalls being on the set. He also gets insights from Norman Lear, who co-created the series. For Mosley, this project was clearly a labor of love and he provides a full episode guide with air dates and cast and credits. Additionally, there is an extensive bibliography and a list of web sites relevant to the show as well as many rare photos. I confess to never having seen The Deputy but it's made clear from this book that the show was one of the most intelligent Western series of the period. Fonda took a lot of flack at the time on two fronts. First, industry big shots warned him that  appearing on TV would diminish his stature as a major film star. Second, Fonda limited his involvement in the show to mostly introductions and brief guest-starring appearances which didn't sit well with fans or critics who felt the Fonda name was being used strictly as a cheap marketing tool. The intriguing tales about the show in this book inspire me to put it on my "must view" list.

Click here to order the book from Amazon

Click here to order the DVD set from Amazon containing all 76 episodes

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

Click here for review

Click here to order from Amazon

A screenplay written by Mario Puzo, but never produced as a film, will be adapted into a new Godfather novel, this one a prequel that gives more insight into the rise of young Vito Corleone as a New York crime kingpin. Author Edward Falco will adapt the screenplay into book form. Publication date is June 2012. For more click here

Author and Cinema Retro contributor Howard Hughes has a new book on the market and it should be of special interest to anyone who loves retro Italian cinema. Here are the details: 

CINEMA ITALIANO: THE COMPLETE GUIDE FROM CLASSICS TO CULT

Cary Grant's daughter Jennifer Grant has written a new book about life with her legendary father. The 45 year old part time actress is the product of Grant's marriage to actress Dyan Cannon, which ended in divorce. Unlike many books written by bitter children of Hollywood legends, Jennifer Grant's celebrates her relationship with her father, who she adored. She recalls that Grant retired from acting primarily to be there for her. She remembers the difficulties they had trying to obtain any privacy at all. The solution: Cary brought her to remote dude ranches where the "wow" factor of his stardom was kept low-key. For more click here

Click here to order the book Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant discounted from Amazon

Cinema Retro contributor and best-selling author Robert Sellers has another major book about to be released that will be of interest to all retro movie fans- right down to the groovy Flint-inspired cover. Here is the official press release for the book, which will be out in May (UK) and June (USA):

By Lee Pfeiffer

I've become quite an admirer of writer Nicholas Anez, who focuses on the kind of off-beat films and subject matters that have great appeal to any retro movie lover. His latest book for Midnight Marquee Press is Artistic Triumphs...Box-Office Bombs. It provides in-depth analysis of the stories behind a glorious hodgepodge of films that either gained widespread acclaim and acceptance long after their initial failure at the box-office or have yet to be fully appreciated by the public on any meaningful level. The films covered are Pitfall, In a Lonely Place, Try and Get Me! (aka The Sound of Fury), The Egyptian, The Last Hunt, The Singer Not the Song, The Last Sunset, the original version of Cape Fear (hard to believe that a film this good bombed), First Men in the Moon, The Chase and The Quiller Memorandum. Anez provides plenty of interesting anecdotes about the making of each movie as well as assesses why it did not find popular acceptance at the time of its initial release. There are a wealth of photos including some interesting foreign release posters and lobby cards. This is the kind of book that inspires you to rent or purchase some retro gems that may have escaped your attention.  Click here to order

By Lee Pfeiffer

Part of Charles Bronson's success was his reluctance to go public with his private life. It seems hard to believe in the era of Charlie Sheen that there once was an era in which celebrities valued their privacy and dignity. Bronson overcame a predestined fate to follow his family members in working in the mines of Pennsylvania. Through quiet, but hard-nosed determination, he gained a foothold in Hollywood and became a reliable supporting actor before his unlikely emergence as one of the world's most bankable leading men. Even at the height of his fame and popularity, Bronson's fans knew little about his personal life beyond the prerequisite studio-issued biographies. He rarely attended Hollywood functions, almost never promoted his films and only fleetingly gave interviews. I once asked Michael Winner, the director with whom he had some great successes, if he could say he really knew Bronson and the answer was a resounding "No."

There were reasons for Bronson's reluctance to open up his personal life and some of them revolved around his messy marital problems and affairs. These are painfully recounted in Charlie and Me, a memoir by his first wife Harriett. In the early years of their courtship, she found Bronson to be attentive and thoughtful, even if he harbored a lifelong insecurity about the women in his life that made him obsessively jealous. Harriett Bronson's book is a true page-turner, as it gives a different perspective from what little has been relayed to date about his personality. Harriett Bronson's story is the same as so many Hollywood wives: they stuck with their husband during the lean years and when success finally came, they were unceremoniously dumped for another woman. In this case, the other woman was British actress Jill Ireland, who was married to Bronson's best friend, David McCallum. The two men bonded in Germany on the set of The Great Escape, and these stories provide the basis for some of the book's most intriguing elements. Although Bronson claimed he considered McCallum as "a god" for being so kind to him, he didn't hesitate to initiate an affair with Ireland. While Harriett stewed about the constant delays on the film caused by Steve McQueen's perfectionism, Bronson relished the extra time "on location" with Jill. Though Bronson denied there was anything beyond friendship, Harriett used the services of a private detective to unveil the truth.

Fleming's only children's novel was transformed into the iconic 1968 movie musical.

The estate of the late Ian Fleming has authorized a series of sequels to his famous children's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which has become regarded as a children's classic over the decades. Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce has been commissioned to write the new books, which will all have a present day setting. Click here for more

By Lee Pfeiffer

Published by McFarland, $45) 315 pages, Illustrated (B&W),  ISBN 978-0-7864-4216-4 Also available as an E book.

Cinema Retro contributor Bradley (who, along with Gil Colon, conducted the William Peter Blatty interview in issue #19), spent over ten years compiling this in-depth look at the screen work of the master writer. Matheson cooperated fully and provides the foreword. Although other books have been written about this master of sci-fi and horror, this is by far the most comprehensive look at his work. Bradley provides the background stories on the making of The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, Trilogy of Terror, Duel and the other memorable films derived from Matheson’s creative mind. The book also covers Matheson’s work in TV from an episode of ‘The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.’ to his classic entries in ‘The Twilight Zone’.  There’s also coverage of the misfires, as well, which often prove to be even more interesting to read about. The book boasts an extensive index and bibliography.  If you admire Matheson’s work, this book can be considered as essential.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON 

Landis, photographed in London, by Cinema Retro's Mark Mawston.

Director John Landis knows a thing or two about horror movies and now the director of An American Werewolf in London and Burke and Hare has announced he's authoring a book about the genre for DK Publishing. The volume, titled Monsters in the Movies, will be largely photo-driven with stills from his favorite horror flicks, but there will also be accompanying essays and comments from notable people associated with the genre. For more click here

The estate of writer J.R.R. Tolkien has sent a cease-and-desist order to a Texas novelist who has written a fictional book about the the legendary author. The estate claims it controls the rights to market his name in commercial ventures. The author is suing the estate, claiming they have no such right, as long as he doesn't utilize any of the characters that Tolkien created. He cites the Fair Use premise under American copyright law as a legal precedent to defend his case. For more click here

Borders, the evergreen chain of high end book stores, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The move was anticipated after years of drastically declining sales. The company will still continue to operate but will close about 30% of its 508 superstores in the United States. "Brick and mortar" traditional book stores are having a hard time competing from web sites like Amazon, which often sell items at razor-thin margins because they have much lower overheads. Borders remains a popular spot with book and video lovers, as the chain provides an upscale atmosphere complete with cafes. The chain also offers a wide range of books,magazines, DVDs and CDs that are hard to find in smaller venues. For more click here

By Spencer Lloyd Peet

After the publication of his first book Timeline of the Planet of the Apes, author Rich Handley triumphantly follows up on its success with From Aldo To Zira:  Lexicon of the Planet of the Apes – a 400-page encyclopaedia listing every character, creature, device, location, weapon and much, much more from the Apes universe which consist of the initial five films, the Tim Burton remake, the Live-Action and animation series, a variety of comic books,  and a whole host of other adaptations and spin-offs.  With a staggering 3,200 entries, no stone or scroll is left unturned.  Even diehard fans will be amazed by some of them; Baboonjas, the psychic ninja cult from Ape City (a 4-issue comic miniseries published by Malibu Comics in 1990), and Deadeye, a rare scared-face, cigar-chomping gorilla bounty hunter resin “garage kit” are two examples.

Fortunately, Handley has managed to reference Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, the first of a soon-to-be-released series of Apes novels from BLAM! Ventures, which he edited for author Andrew E.C. Gaska.  What’s more Lexicon, published by Hasslein Books, contains names and designations from rejected scripts and storylines such as those written by Twilight Zone creator and co-author of the original Planet of the Apes screenplay, Rod Serling, and comic book writer Ty Templeton.  Each entry includes a description, an abbreviation, a symbol and suffix which can be easily identified by using a chart situated at the beginning of the book.  All the categories have been compiled and indexed alphabetically at the back of the book for easy use.

This comprehensive reference guide is illustrated throughout with black and white photographs and stunning full-page chapter illustrations drawn by gifted artist, Patricio Carbaja (check out the excellent cover showing Dr. Zauis); credit to Paul Giachetti too for the outstanding overall design and layout.  It also has a foreword by film and television historian John Kenneth Muir, the award-winning author of more than twenty books.

With the Apes prequel, Caesar: Rise of the Apes due to hit cinema screens in November this year, the timing of the publication of Lexicon is very apt, although, for obvious reasons, no entries from the film are included.  Looks like nothing can keep those “damned dirty apes” down.

Burnt out from the extensive work he did compiling Timeline of the Planet of the Apes, Handley has dusted off the ash to produce an equally essential piece of Apes literature.  It sure is a mighty piece of work that every Ape fan should have, and makes an excellent companion to the aforementioned book.  If the only character name you know from the Apes mythos is Galen, then you too need this book.  Handley’s extensive research and tenacious work has paid off big time and makes for compulsive reading.  But be warned: once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down!

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British publisher Tomahawk Press has released abiography of screen legend Boris Karloff by Stephen Jacobs that has been endorsed by the Karloff estate. Here is the press release:

This is the new authorised and definitive biography. Boris Karloff - a name synonymous with horror. Drawing on detailed research, previously unpublished letters, and interviews with those who knew him this new biography dispels the often repeated myths associated with the star - many perpetuated by Karloff himself - and reveals a wealth of new information about the private and professional life of Boris Karloff. Although forever associated with his breakthrough role of 'the Monster' in Frankenstein (1931) Boris Karloff had a career that spanned almost 50 years and over 150 movies - from the era of the silent picture through to the days of the 'Swinging Sixties'. His roles in "Bride of Frankenstein", "The Mummy", "The Black Cat", and many others - most now considered classics of the genre - ensured his reputation as 'The King of Horror'. Born William Henry Pratt in Camberwell, South London in 1887 Karloff defied family expectations and rejected a life in Government service. Instead he emigrated to Canada were he finally found work as a professional actor. After years touring Western Canada and the United States he arrived in Hollywood and tried his hand at movie acting. But success did not come overnight and the actor worked in pictures for over a decade before being asked to test for the role of the Monster. As public tastes changed Karloff was willing to adapt to the times and embraced work on the theatre, radio and television. His experience of the movie studios treatment of his colleagues led Karloff to advocate actors' rights and he became instrumental in the creation of the Screen Actors Guild. Few actors ever achieved the iconic status Karloff has been awarded. This is the only book that tells the whole story!

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