By Ben Williams 

It would be easy to be cynical about yet another entry into one of the many superhero franchises that seem to dominate the landscape of modern cinema these days, but at least with “The Wolverine” there seems have been a conscious effort to mark the film out as more than just another comic book summer blockbuster.

Adapted from the limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, “The Wolverine” sets out to do what all good films should do, and that’s to allow the characters to drive the story forward and thread the narrative with an overarching theme. In short, “The Wolverine” attempts to be more of a structured drama than a comic book adaptation, and in this it mostly it succeeds.

Set sometime after the events of “X Men: The Last Stand”, Hugh Jackman’s Logan has forsaken his identity as The Wolverine and is living rough in a cave in the Yukon mountains. On a depressive, downward cycle, he mourns the death of Jean Gray, (Famke Janssen) whom he visits in the netherworld between life and death. Jean tempts Logan to join her in the afterlife, and yet, as much as he wishes it, his immortality means he must remain tied to this world.

This overarching theme of mortality is hammered home when Logan is brought to Japan by the precognitive mutant Yukio and to the deathbed of her employer, Yashida - a Japanese soldier who Logan saved at the bombing of Nagasaki. In the intervening years, Yashida has gone on to become the head of the powerful Yashida Corp. Like many powerful and ailing men, Yashida yearns for immortality. He offers Logan a chance to pass his immortality on to him, allowing Logan to live - and, crucially, die - as a normal, mortal man.

However, Logan isn’t ready to pass on his “gift”, seeing it more as a curse. He turns Yashida down and resolves to return to his man cave. However, before Logan can get back to his usual hobby of beating up hicks in bars, he encounters Yashida’s beautiful granddaughter, Mariko. Mariko, it seems, is her grandfather’s favourite, which puts her at great risk from her father, Shingen, and Logan’s protective instinct clicks over into hyperdrive.

When Yashida passes away and Logan’s “gift” is forcibly taken from him by the mutant Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), Logan is forced to not only protect Mariko from the Yakuza, but also to come to terms with his own newfound mortality.

This allows for a number of set pieces where the reluctant and vulnerable Logan must unleash his wild side and let the Wolverine’s claws come out. As he protects Maiko, he slowly begins to fall for her. Perhaps now he has something to live for again?

However, it’s not long before the tables are turned and we find ourselves marching squarely into a proper comic book third act territory, full of fights, falls, and explosions. Sadly, although this is where all the stops are let out, this is where the film is let down. Despite all the eye candy on screen, this is also the point where all the characters must find their resolution, which is never easy in an exploding villain’s lair where everyone is fighting each other.

Viper, it is revealed, has an issue with Logan - and men in general - but her character and her motivations are never really explored or developed further than this, and she ends up being the most directly caricatured of these comic book characters.

Yukio and Mariko, who have spent the film as loyal sidekick and damsel in distress respectively, seem suddenly to have little depth as soon as they are not fighting or running away from Yakuza.

Logan - now squarely Wolverine once again - does actually get something of a resolution as he comes to terms with his mortality and finally, rather than running from his nature, embraces it.

“The Wolverine” is, without a doubt, a more character driven comic book film than many we’ve seen in recent times, and it’s theme of mortality is deeper than one than we’d be used to encountering in this kind of film. However, “The Wolverine” is a little too self-aware of its attempted cleverness and often it feels as though it’s too heavy-handed in its approach.

Despite this, “The Wolverine” still manages to be a great deal of fun. Whilst it doesn’t pack the visual punch of “The Avengers” or “Iron Man 3”, it does have more coherence and heart.

Jackman, although stepping into the Wolverine’s boots for the sixth time, still brings the same energy and vigor to the role he did when he first took it on thirteen years ago and any signs of weariness only serve to highlight the character’s mental fatigue. He is clearly very comfortable in this character’s skin (and muscle), which is fortunate, because, if the de rigueur post-credits teaser is anything to go by, we’ll be seeing him in the role again soon. 

(Ben Williams is a London-based contributor to Cinema Retro magazine and MI6 Confidential) 

By Lee Pfeiffer

British war veterans and historians have longed griped that Hollywood films of the post WWII-era often credited Americans for heroics and strategies that should have been attributed to the Brits.  One of the most glaring examples of this revisionist history was the 1963 classic The Great Escape, which shoe-horned Americans into primary roles when, in fact, they were not present during the escape itself. MGM has released the 1969 WWII flick The 1,000 Plane Raid as a burn to order DVD and it fits perfectly into this niche of British-based WWII movies in which Americans get the lion's share of credit. This was largely because it was felt that having an American actor in the lead role would make a film more commercial in U.S. markets. The film was produced by Oakmont Productions, which specialized in making modestly-budgeted WWII films shot in the UK and generally top-lining American leading actors (one exception was Mosquito Squadron, which starred David McCallum.) Christopher George, fresh from starring in the WWII TV series The Rat Patrol, is the star of The 1,000 Plane Raid, which distorts historical fact by giving credit to Americans for launching this first, massive bombing of Germany. In fact, it was a  British operation over Cologne that took place in 1941. George plays Col Greg Brandon, a U.S. Army Air Force officer who is uniformly grim, humorless and hard-driving. He has concocted an audacious plan to deliver a death blow to a major German industrial complex that is considered a crucial target. Brandon suggests launching a thousand bombers from British airbases for a day time raid over the German complex. The top brass accepts his idea but most of the pilots consider the plan to be a suicide mission- and even Brandon concedes that a daylight raid will result in massive casualties. 

Much of the story is devoted to the human element, with Brandon not winning much love from the men in his command due to his relentless methods of training them for the big day. He even alienates the few men who admire him as well as Gaby (Laraine Stephens) , a sexy female British officer  who shares a romantic relationship with him. Brandon also comes into conflict with British liaison officer Taffy Howard (Gary Marshal), a sarcastic, independent officer whose daredevil tactics result in many a downed enemy plane but which also infuriate his superior officers. He and the buttoned-down, by-the-book Brandon lock horns instantly. Brandon also threatens to court martial Lt. Archer (Ben Murphy), a pilot he suspects of cowardice but whom Howard has taken under his wing for private training. The film is quite effective in building tension as the day of the big raid arrives- with even Brandon starting to have doubts about the prospects for success. As with most Oakmont productions, the movie benefits from a fine, intelligent script (this one by Donald S. Sanford) and strong direction by Boris Sagal (the two had previously collaborated on Mosquito Squadron). To get around the budget limitations, the producers utilize extensive real life combat footage with varying degrees of success (some of these scenes are very grainy and blurry). Nevertheless, like any Oakmont film, The 1,000 Plane Raid is first-rate entertainment on a second-rate budget. Christopher George gives a very commanding performance and one realizes that he should have been a much bigger star. To offset George's grim character, the humor in the film is deftly provided by Gary Marshal, who gives a spot-on performance as the quirky British liaison officer. (Look for Gavin MacLeod in a fairly sizable supporting role.)

(Cinema Retro's Howard Hughes is covering the Oakmont WWII movies with in-depth coverage. Issue #26 features Mosquito Squadron.)  

The DVD also contains the original trailer.

Tom Hanks stars in Captain Phillips.

It may be hard believe, with cinemas awash in the latest big, dumb action movie extravaganzas, but reality-based feature films designed to appeal to thinking people are actually making a comeback. The success of recent movies like Lincoln and The King's Speech has convinced studios to at least temporarily recognize that the movie-going audience is comprised of more than pimple-faced kids who are willing to sit through two hours of endless explosions and cheesy special effects. Thus, throughout the course of the year, there will be a number of high profile films based on real life people and dramatic incidents including Captain Phillips, in which Tom Hanks stars as the captain of a vessel who was captured by Somali pirates and who was ultimately rescued by Navy Seals. Click here for more

By Lee Pfeiffer

I love the sheer eclectic quality of the Twilight Time catalog. The company's DVD and Blu-ray releases run include every conceivable film genre and the range of titles runs from undisputed classics to underrated gems to massive misfires that now merit status as "guilty pleasures". Falling firmly into the latter category is Lost Horizon, producer Ross Hunter's notorious 1973 big budget musical remake of Frank Capra's 1937 classic. Both versions adhere to the basic framework of James Hilton's classic source novel but the Hunter version obviously deviates far more in order to accommodate glossy Hollywood elements. (Hilton's obviously did not allude to elaborate song and dance numbers.)  When a film that features so many talented people misfires badly, it's tempting to say, "What were they thinking???" However, in the case of Lost Horizon, special dispensation is merited for the participants because, at the time, it must have looked like an irresistible project. The director was Charles Jarrott, who was then a hot property, coming off the acclaimed films Anne of the Thousand Days and Mary, Queen of Scots. The producer was Ross Hunter, a Hollywood perennial with a sterling reputation for producing audience-pleasing box-office hits, most recently the blockbuster Airport. The score would be composed by the red-hot team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the cast would feature many talented actors then at the height of their careers: Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Michael York, George Kennedy, Sally Kellerman and Olivia Hussey- with acting royalty represented by the likes of John Gielgud and Charles Boyer. The production numbers would be choreographed by the legendary Hermes Pan, the script was penned by Larry Kramer, who recently won acclaim for his adaptation of Women in Love and the cinematographer was Robert Surtees, himself a film industry legend. What could go wrong? Against all odds, the answer would be: "Everything."

The film opens well enough with Finch as Richard Conway, a British diplomat who has tried and failed to broker a peace treaty in an unnamed Asian nation torn by civil war. We first see him trying frantically to coordinate rescue flights for stranded Americans and Europeans as rebels close in on the airport amid rioting crowds clamoring to get on the last planes out. (The scene would be replicated shortly thereafter in real life with the fall of Saigon.) Conway manages to get aboard the final flight, which takes off even as rebels pursue the plane down the runway. On board is an eclectic group consisting of Conway's brother George (Michael York), Sally Hughes (Sally Kellerman), a burned out and depressed war photographer, Sam Cornelius (George Kennedy), a once-promising architect who is now in hiding due to a financial scandal and Harry Lovett (Bobby Van), a small time night club comedian with delusions of grandeur. They find their plane has been hijacked and they are en route to an unknown destination. Ultimately, they crash land on a mountain range in the Himalayas where they are rescued in a peculiarly timely manner by a number of natives led by Chang (John Gielgud), their elderly but capable spiritual leader. The refugees make a difficult journey through a blinding snow storm before walking through a cave and emerging into a sunny, tropical oasis that is called Shangri-La. Chang explains that the community's unique geographical situation- protected by mountains on all sides- allows the weather to never vary. The warm climate allows for a year-long abundance of crops. It doesn't take the refugees long to discover that this is a fairy tale-like paradise, virtually untouched by the outside world. There are luxurious homes and temples and the people never allow personal disputes to escalate to the level of violence. It is explained that the luxuries and materials for the magnificent buildings were all brought in painstakingly by the few porters who are allowed in from the outside world. (There must have been quite an abundance, as Chang's home alone contains more furniture than the average Ikea store.) Before long, the group becomes comfortable in their new-found paradise with most reluctant to even attempt to leave, a feat that Chang says is all but impossible anyway, given the obstacles provided by nature. Richard Conway falls for Catherine (Liv Ullmann), a pretty school teacher, Harry finds value in Shangri- La that allows him to reaffirm his self-worth and even Sally and Sam form an unlikely romantic bond. George Conway, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with Maria (Olivia Hussey), a beautiful young woman who is bored with living in paradise and longs for him to take her to London. Sam begins to woo a reluctant Sally and reawakens her romantic passions. Even Harry finds his confidence improving when he becomes an unlikely mentor to local children. Nevertheless, trouble brews when George pressures Richard to accompany him and Maria on a dangerous trek out of the Himalayas. Chang warns him that she is not who she appears to be: in fact, she is a very old woman and will revert to her actual age if she leaves Shangri-La. Needless, to say, his advice is ignored. 

Perhaps this Lost Horizon could have been salvaged if the music and choreography were up to expectations, but everyone was asleep at the wheel. The Bacharach/David score contains plenty of musical numbers, but the best of them are simply bland and the worst are laughable. Hermes Pan's direction of the dance sequences is also surprisingly inept, especially a ludicrous fertility dance that resembles one of those big luau parties held every other night at Hawaiian hotels for the tourist crowds. (The sequence was understandably cut from the original release but has been restored for the video edition.) In one weird number, Liv Ullmann leads a parade of school kids who saunter about with their arms swinging back and forth as though they were auditioning for a Planet of the Apes sequel. Most of the vocals by the leading actors were dubbed (very well, in fact) and a few of the songs are bland, but pleasing given the context of the scenes they appear in. The main problem is that, for all the money spent on this lavish production, the movie simply has no heart. Unlike the original, the film never engages you on an emotional level. The Finch and York characters emerge as the most believable and their performances are the most impressive. The opening sequence, as the protagonists attempt to make a desperate escape from the besieged  airport, is the best sequence in the film. It's only when they start tossing in those musical numbers that things go downhill fast. We do get to see Sally Kellerman perform her own musical numbers, but one of them-set in a library- is so embarrassingly staged that it makes for unintentional laughter. We also learn that Olivia Hussey is quite the dancer, performing an exotic number quite impressively but it somehow seems to be one of those titillating numbers that preceded a strip show I once saw in a Hong Kong sleaze joint. Most disappointing is what should have been the emotional climax of the film- the death of her character as she ages dramatically in a matter of moments after leaving Shangri La. In the original film, it's a harrowing and riveting sequence that precedes the story's moving last sequence as Richard Conway's colleagues in a London club toast his mysterious fate as we watch him attempt (presumably successfully) to return across the mountains to his lost paradise. In the remake, these scenes fall flat and never engage the viewers as meaningfully as they should. Most of the blame must be placed on the shoulders of director Charles Jarrott, who never seems to capture the human side of the story because he has to deal with the circus-like logistics of the musical aspects of the production. Charles Boyer and John Gielgud acquit themselves well enough, but there is something inherently distasteful about watching yet another major film in which Asian characters are portrayed by Caucasian actors. 

Having said all that, one must compliment Twilight Time on their first-rate presentation of this cinematic oddity. (Some of the features were previously released on Sony's initial restored DVD version of the film) The Blu-ray transfer is beautiful  and does justice to Robert Surtees' impressive cinematography and there are some interesting extras, including an informative (and candid) assessment of the film by Julie Kirgo. There are also audio tracks of Burt Bacharach  (no singer, he) warbling his work-in-process versions of the songs. Without the bloated visuals that accompany them on film, they actually come across a lot better. He would have been better to farm the tracks out to Dionne Warwick and walk away from the film production. (These songs are creatively played against a variety of interesting behind the scenes photos from the production.) There are also are variety of TV spots and a rather well-worn, faded vintage featurette that is interesting in the way that these mini-propaganda films generally prove to be. There is also a theatrical trailer and an alternate version of a love scene between Finch and Ullmann.  

I recently discussed the film with Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne. He recalled being at the premiere and how everyone in the celebrity-packed audience seemed to know they were witnessing a disaster- except the producer, Ross Hunter (whose prestigious film career would come to an end with this film). Osborne said Hunter was strategically located at the back of the theater so he could accept congratulations from the attendees after the premiere. Osborne chuckled at the recollection of witnessing Merle Oberon climbing over seats to exit through a different door rather than have to face Hunter. If you view the film on Blu-ray, you won't have to indulge in such gymnastics. The film remains a major artistic debacle, but it should be seen, if for no other reason than to form your own conclusions. Time has a way of making bad movies sometimes look better. It's possible to appreciate the small pleasures Lost Horizon affords even if this won't ever be re-evaluated as an underrated classic.

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(This is a region free release and will play on any international Blu-ray system.)  

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. 

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By Todd Garbarini

From the first frame of Amir Shervan's 1989 film Samurai Cop, you know that you're in for a treat.  Cheesy 1980s artificial pop music that sounds like it was generated by a Casio keyboard, courtesy of Alen Dermarderossian, with white credits set against a black background (a surefire indicator that you're watching a low-budget film) give way to Okamura (Gerald Okamura) complaining that they are not an established gang, and as such, they should be very cautious to make friends with the Chinese and Japanese gangs. He grunts and groans and makes exclamations that aren't always decipherable.  Former porn star Krista Lane, who is part of the gang, says things like, “Here comes the boss!” or “The boss is coming.”  Robert Z’Dar, best known for the Maniac Cop films, is an imposing figure who does the boss’s dirty work.  Needless to say, they get into a fight with a gang they want to do business with after being rebuffed and several people are killed.  Enter black and white cop team Frank Washington (Mark Frazer) and Joe Marshall (Matt Hanon), the poor man’s answer to Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon (1987).  Washington looks like Michael Winslow from the Police Academy series and Marshall is a samurai expert(?!) who looks like former model Fabio.  They spout some of the most quotable, ludicrously awful dialogue I’ve heard in a long time.  When they go out on assignment in a beaten up Chevrolet Caprice Classic, one of them says, “His boss was killed by the Katana Gang.  There’s the blue van over there.”  The other asks, “So, the van belongs to the Katana Gang?”  He must've been at the head of his graduating class.  They enlist the help of another cop, Peggy (Melissa Moore of 1990’s Sorority House Massacre II), in following the culprits and later on Marshall beds her in one of the genre’s most boring sex scenes. 

The cops have run-ins with the Katana Gang in a laugh-out-loud sequence in a restaurant where they threaten the boss and Marshall swoons over Jennifer, the young attractive owner of the joint. There’s a completely unnecessary scene involving a ridiculously effeminate waiter who looks like he fell out of an early Dario Argento thriller.

The film is a time capsule of music, wardrobe, and hairstyles from nearly a quarter-century ago. There is full frontal female nudity, three attempts at sex scenes, and one of the funniest, phoniest car chases I have ever seen (it makes you pine away for William Friedkin’s touch.) The late Dale Cummings plays their vociferous police captain, constantly yelling at the cops to bring him results. One of the funniest scenes takes place in his office (I won’t spoil it) as he threatens to send Marshall back to where he came from.

The film has absolutely no cinematic style despite the best efforts of cinematographer Peter Palian, who shoots much of the action in masters. There is very little intercutting and therefore no excitement is generated. Unbelievably, all of these drawbacks add considerably to the film's overall charm. I wish that the bulk of movies made today were one-tenth as entertaining Samurai Cop turns out to be.

The film has been transferred from the original 35mm film negative and the image is crystal clear. Some of the color timing appears to be off a little bit, however this is a minor quibble. This is unquestionably the best the film was ever going to look.

The extras that the disc comes with include:

An interview with actor Robert Z’Dar conducted over Skype which runs 25 minutes. The image quality is poor, however Douglas Dunning, the interviewer, and the actor are both understandable. Mr. Z’Dar talks about how he got into the business and came to meet the late director Amir Shervan with whom he made three films (Hollywood Cop (1987) and Killing American Style (1990) in addition to this one). Director Amir Shervan intended Samurai Cop to be a straightforward action film. It took three weeks to shoot on a budget of approximately $800,000.00.

An interview with actor and fight co-ordinator Gerald Okamura that runs 20 minutes. He discusses his time working with David Carradine on Kung-Fu and with John Carpenter on Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Escape From L.A. (1996), in addition to Samurai Cop.

An interview with cinematographer Peter Palian who talks extensively about his career in the business runs 27 minutes.

There are also stills galleries and an amusing fan trailer for the film.

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By Lee Pfeiffer 

Sony has reissued the 1961 Hammer Films title Scream of Fear as a burn-to-order DVD. Although the title would seem to imply this is a typical Hammer horror movie production, it is actually a real world suspense thriller. Susan Strasberg plays Penny Appleby, an attractive young woman from a wealthy European family who has led a life of personal turmoil. Her beloved parents had divorced and her mother later died. She depended heavily on the companionship of her personal assistant, who became her best friend. That young woman died tragically and Penny herself almost drowned in an accident that has left her confined to a wheelchair. Although afforded the best medical care in a private sanitarium, she longs to reunite with her father, who she has not seen in ten years. We first Penny when she arrives at the family mansion on the French Riviera. Her attractive stepmother Jane (Ann Todd) greets her warmly but tells her the surprising and disappointing news that her father has been called away for an indeterminate amount of time due to business reasons.  Penny makes it clear she is heartbroken by the development. Jane treats her stepdaughter with all due courtesy but it is clear there is resentment on Penny's part toward the woman she suspects is hiding a secret about her father. When she expresses skepticism about his whereabouts and well-being, she conveniently receives a phone call supposedly from her father, who gives her reassurance that he is doing fine. The call's purpose backfires, however, as Penny makes it clear to Jane she has strong suspicions that the man on the other end of the line was someone impersonating her father. Things go from bad to worse when Penny encounters a terrifying sight: the body of her dead father sitting in a chair inside a storage cottage. By the time Jane arrives to investigate, the body is inexplicably gone. More eerie occurrences haunt Penny, from mysterious piano playing to a second sighting of her dead father. Jane enlists the help of the family physician,  Dr. Gerrard (Christopher Lee), who assures the young woman that these incidents are just hallucinations brought on by stress. Soon, Penny begins to suspect that Jane and Dr. Gerrard are illicit lovers who are trying to have her declared insane. Her one ally is Robert (Ronald Lewis), the hunky family chauffeur who theorizes that  since Penny is the primary heir to her father's fortune, if she js declared mentally ill, her stepmother will inherit everything. He also posits a more frightening scenario: if Jane and Dr. Gerrard had murdered her father, they might think nothing of murdering her, as well, and staging both deaths to look like accidents. 

Scream of Fear was written and produced by legendary Hammer screenwriter Jimmy Sangster. The B&W production was shot on a low budget (this was Hammer, after all) and is very claustrophobic, with most of the action taking place inside the mansion house where Penny is subjected to an increasing number of frightening scenarios. In the true tradition of screen heroines, however, she dutifully investigates every one of them, wheeling herself into dimly lit rooms to see what has gone "bump" in the night. As with most Hammer movies, however, the film rises above its financial limitations due to the excellence of the cast and performances (Strasberg, who died in 1999 at age 60, should have been a much bigger star). Although Christopher Lee's appearances are limited, he is as effective as ever, and its refreshing to see him in a Hammer film that doesn't exploit him as a monster or mad doctor. Ronald Lewis and Ann Todd provide able support. 

Sangster's script, directed very ably by Seth Holt (who also died young, at age 47 in 1971). The story tends to go a bit over-the-top on occasion and doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. For example, the reoccurring appearances and disappearances of Penny's dead father strain credibility when the explanations are finally offered. Similarly, the fate of Todd's character in the movie's awkward final few seconds seems tacked on and is rather unconvincing. Having said that, however, in the aggregate, Sangster provides so many unexpected plot twists and turns that viewers will almost certainly find it difficult to predict where he is leading them. The film is intelligently written, directed and acted and can be highly recommended as one of the more offbeat and effective Hammer films of the period.  

The DVD is an excellent transfer. There are no bonus extras, however.  

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Warner Home Video:

Burbank, Calif. June 4, 2013 – Marking the 75^th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros. has produced a 3D remastered version of the film which will launch a comprehensive, cross-divisional campaign encompassing theatrical, home entertainment, consumer products and a number of promotional partnerships.

Kicking off the celebration, The Wizard of Oz 3D will be presented in the immersive IMAX^® 3D format and return to the big screen for an exclusive one-week engagement in IMAX^® theatres across North America beginning September 20, 2013.

“We couldn’t be happier to partner with IMAX® as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this iconic film,” said Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. “The Wizard of Oz IMAX^® 3D Experience is an integral part of our studio-wide anniversary initiative and we are excited to give fans the rare opportunity to see this stunning version on the big screen.”

“The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved films of all time and we are thrilled that our longtime partners at Warner Bros. have made IMAX^® a part of this exciting milestone event,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX^® Entertainment. “This film revolutionized the use of color and special effects in cinema, and we’re excited to add another ‘first’ – bringing this timeless classic to moviegoers through the power of The IMAX 3D Experience^® for the very first time.”

The IMAX^® release The Wizard of Oz will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience^® with proprietary IMAX DMR^® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX^®'s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Following the IMAX® theatrical release, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will release a limited and numbered The Wizard of Oz 75^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on October 1, 2013, featuring the 3D version of the film and more.  

“Seventy-five years later, The Wizard of Oz continues its reign as a multi-generational favorite, with nearly 100 percent awareness among adults and more than 80 percent awareness among children,” said Jeff Baker, WBHE Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog. “In this new 3D version, the film is bound to make history all over again—with both past and future fans.”

The Wizard of Oz 75^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will debut as a five-disc set that will include Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet versions of the film; a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; bonus features and premium collectibles ($105.43 SRP). Three more editions will be available separately: a two-disc 3D/Blu-ray ($35.99 SRP), a one-disc Blu-ray ($19.98 SRP) and a two-disc DVD ($16.95 SRP). All four will contain the new documentary and extra content.

SPECIAL FEATURES will include all previously released special features along with:

• ALL-NEW Documentary! The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz—This candid overview of how a troubled production overcame the odds to become an integral part of American culture features contributions from historians John Fricke and Sam Wasson, composers Stephen Schwartz and Marc Shaiman, critics Leonard Maltin and Michael Sragow, Bert Lahr’s son John as well as revealing interview clips with Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Margaret Hamilton and Mervyn LeRoy, among others.

• NEW! Exclusive Collectible Memorabilia —A collectible 75^th Anniversary journal; Sparkle RUBY SLIPPERSâ„¢ Globe; Noble Collection 3-piece enamel pin set, a Map of Oz and a 48-page hardcover book. Collection is limited and numbered.

The 3D conversion was a long and complex project which Warner Bros. initiated with a very high resolution (8k) scanning of the original Technicolor camera negative. The restored 2D image was then transformed by creating a depth-map of each frame to construct 3D imagery and determine distances from the viewer’s vantage point. This was followed by the long process (with the use of a rotoscope) to further refine viewer distances and fully layer shapes and objects.

“People have asked for years about The Wizard of Oz 3D conversion. My answer was always, ‘We’re not doing it until it’s perfect.’ And now it is,” said Ned Price, Warner Technical Operations’ Vice President of Mastering. “As a kid, I was so enthralled by this film. Watching it, you just want to enter the frame, enter the Land of Oz. This new version will allow you to do just that.”

In support of the 75^th anniversary of the film, Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ extensive licensing program of more than 80 top-tier licensees will expand with new partnerships. Leading the way is master toy partner Jazwares, along with Mattel, Rubies, Lionel, Steiff, USAopoly, Thomas Kinkade, and many more that will be taking part in the celebration. Special commemorative anniversary product will be available across a wide array of categories including apparel, jewelry, collectibles, publishing, stationery and paper goods, toys and games, slot machines and personal care.

In addition, the Warner Bros. releases will be massively supported by a far-reaching promotional campaign encompassing numerous participants. National corporate partners include (to date) promotional activities with a Major National Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR), the debut of a giant hot-air balloon and balloonhead characters in the 87^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade^®, as well as joint programs with Amtrak, Gourmet Trading Company, Langers Juice, QVC and Simon Malls®. In collaboration with the Ad Council and the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, new child passenger safety Public Service Announcements (PSAs) featuring iconic elements from The Wizard of Oz film will be distributed and run in donated media nationally.

The Wizard of Oz themed competition will also be featured on an upcoming episode of Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” to be aired later this year. 

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

Director’s Follow-Up to SKYFALL™, the Highest-Grossing Film in the Longest Running Film Franchise, to Arrive in Theaters on October 23, 2015 in the UK and November 6, 2015 in the US

CULVER CITY, Calif., July 11, 2013 – Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, EON Productions; Gary Barber, Chairman & CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Michael Lynton, CEO, Sony Entertainment, Inc, and Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that Daniel Craig will once again return as the legendary British secret agent in the 24th James Bond film and Sam Mendes will also return to direct the screenplay written by John Logan.  The film is set for release in UK theaters on October 23, 2015 and in US theaters on November 6, 2015.

SKYFALLâ„¢, the 23rd James Bond film, took in $1.1 billion worldwide and set a new mark as the highest-grossing film of all time in the UK; it was the best-selling Bond film on DVD/Blu-ray and was the most critically acclaimed film in the history of the longest-running film franchise.

Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "Following the extraordinary success of SKYFALL, we're really excited to be working once again with Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes and John Logan.”

"I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honour all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24. I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time,” said Mendes.

Barber added, “We are thrilled to reunite the extraordinary talents of director Sam Mendes with our star Daniel Craig for the next great Bond adventure.” He added, “As evidenced by the phenomenal success of our last collaboration with EON Productions and Sony, the incredible legacy of this 51-year-old franchise continues to amaze.”

Lynton and Pascal said, “It’s a privilege to work on the Bond films. EON, John Logan and Sam Mendes have come up with an extraordinary follow up to SKYFALL and we, along with our partners at MGM, can’t wait to share this new chapter with audiences all over the world.”

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Sony has released the 1971 counter-culture comedy/drama Drive, He Said as a burn-to-order DVD title. The film is primarily remembered as the directorial debut of Jack Nicholson, who also co-produced and co-authored the screenplay with Jeremy Larner, based upon the latter's prize-winning novel. Watching the movie today (especially for the first time) serves as a reminder that not every movie from this golden period of cinema has aged well, although it was greeted with largely positive critical reviews at the time. The film is best regarded as a product of its time, when- for the first time in history- American young people collectively thumbed their noses at "The Establishment". The story follows Hector (William Tepper), a college basketball star who is idolized as a jock on campus and seen as a potential pro ball player by his hard driving coach (Bruce Dern, refreshingly playing a "normal" character). But, as with virtually all cinematic protagonists in the post-Graduate era, Hector is confused and tormented about his future. He loves playing basketball but is not very enthused about taking the easy road and playing the sport for a living, despite the money and perks this career would afford him. He seems to spend virtually no time in class, but does find a way to carry on a surreptitious affair with Olive (Karen Black), the comely, free-spirited wife of Hector's friend and professor (acclaimed screenwriter Robert Towne, very good in a rare on screen performance.) There is also considerable screen time devoted to the antics of Hector's roommate Gabriel (Michael Margotta), a political radical who is facing the disturbing prospect of being drafted into the army. To counter this possibility, he feigns insanity (a la Corporal Klinger of M*A*S*H), only to go legitimately mad in the process. 

Nicholson proves to be an adept director but he is confounded by Nicholson, the screenwriter. The characters are all somewhat interesting due to their individual eccentricities, but their personalities are never fully developed beyond a superficial level. Thus, the viewer never builds an emotional bond with any of them. The performances are all first-rate with Margotta giving an especially bold performance that requires plenty of full frontal nudity, including a sequence in which the naked Gabriel unleashes a number of dangerous snakes and insects from a college laboratory. (He should have received an Oscar for Most Courageous Ability to Put Sensitive Body Parts at Risk). The fact that the story never gels in any meaningful way leaves only some individually impressive sequences to entice the audience...but they are all roads leading to nowhere, including an abrupt, largely bewildering ending that seems more pretentious than meaningful. It should be noted that cinematographer Bill Butler provides some inventive camera work and David Shire's score is also impressive.  The movie also does evoke (for those of us old enough to remember) what it was like to be young at a time when the world was changing at lightning speed, amid some of the most cataclysmic political events ever seen. Nevertheless, Drive, He Said remains a noble but ultimately failed attempt to capture the era in any meaningful way. The parts are better than the whole. 

The Sony DVD is crisp and clean, though many films of this era have a certain gritty and grimy look to them, this one included. There are no extras included.  

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Fox has released the 1961 B WWII movie Battle at Bloody Beach as as burn-to-order Cinema Archive title. The film stars Audie Murphy, who was trying to expand his horizons beyond the Western movie genre. This was only Murphy's second WWII movie, following his autobiographical 1955 hit To Hell and Back which chronicled how he became the most decorated soldier in American history. The story finds Murphy cast as Craig Benson, an American civilian who volunteers to serve with the U.S. Navy on highly dangerous missions to rescue American refugees stranded on Japanese-occupied islands in the Pacific. Working with local partisans, Benson succeeds in saving any number of U.S citizens who have been hiding in mountainous areas. Although hailed as a hero and placed on Japan's "most-wanted" list, Benson is not motivated by patriotic duty. Rather, he is obsessed with finding his wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels) from whom he was separated when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. Not knowing whether she is alive or dead, Benson tempts fate with his relentless searches on over 34 islands that are under the control of the enemy. On one particular island, he works with his contact, a U.S. serviceman named Marty Sackler (Gary Crosby), who runs a one-man coast-watching operation in addition to helping local resistance forces. The two men rescue some stranded Americans and Benson is overjoyed to find that Ruth is among them. His celebratory mood is short-lived, however, as she explains she has changed dramatically over the two years they have been separated. She has become a gun-toting, high skilled jungle fighter and says she refuses to go back to America with Benson because she is devoted to the cause. Benson suspects another reason for her reluctance to accompany him. He later learns that she has been romantically involved with Julio Fontana (Alejandro Rey), a local guerrilla leader who, unfortunately for Benson, also happens to look like a matinee idol. Sexual tension in bristles in this love triangle, even as the group leads a motley bunch of refugees to a beach to await pickup by a submarine. When the sub is delayed, the group takes refuge in an old beached vessel but are discovered by Japanese forces who launch an attack. The rebels are heavily armed and put up stiff resistance but their cause seems hopeless. 

Despite its hackneyed, exploitation film title, Battle at Bloody Beach is an intelligent and reasonably entertaining film. It was clearly designed for the drive-in market and was shot on a low budget on Santa Catalina Island in California, which makes a surprisingly convincing stand in for the Philippine locations. Murphy is stolid and likable, as is Crosby, who gets a few laughs by his evident enjoyment of his coast watching job since it affords him a menage a trois with two lovely young native girls. Dolores Michaels is gorgeous and quite competent as an actress, so one must assume that her film career ended shortly after this movie by her own choice. This film marked the first starring role for charismatic Alejandro Rey, who would go on to a fairly successful career in TV and films before passing away at age 57 in 1987. Ivan Dixon appears as an American boxer caught up in events who decides to fight with the guerrillas. The movie is competently directed by Herbert Coleman, who is best known for serving as associate producer on several Alfred Hitchcock classics. Producer and screenwriter Richard Maibaum was already an old hand at writing action potboilers but the next year his career would skyrocket when he became a long-standing script writer for the James Bond movies. In summary, Bloody Beach is a entertaining and fairly exciting film that demonstrates that the B movie genre could often produce some unheralded gems. 

The Fox DVD emphasizes the crisp, sharp B&W cinematography but the the movie is inexplicably presented in pan and scan format even though it was shot in Cinemascope. Whoever is making these decisions at Fox must be living in a time warp. Viewers have long ago accepted the letterbox format for widescreen movies, so why tick off retro movie lovers by altering the original format?  

The DVD contains no extras.  

Jim Kelly, the charismatic martial arts star who co-starred with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, has died from cancer at age 67. Kelly had a loyal following of fans that extended to recent years and he was a popular fixture at autograph shows. His other action flicks include Three the Hard Way, Black Belt Jones and Black Samurai, all of which capitalized on the "Blaxploitation" films of the 1970s. For more click here  

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Video:

Paramount Home Media Distribution (PHMD) announced today that four beloved films starring the incomparable Danny Kaye are available on iTunes for the first time ever in celebration of The Danny Kaye Centennial.  Fans can now download the Oscar-nominated biopic The Five Pennies (1959), the musical comedy On the Double (1961), the period comedy The Court Jester (1955) and the hilarious caper Knock on Wood (1954), all quintessential family-friendly films that everyone can enjoy for Father’s Day. This year marks the 60^th anniversary for Kaye as a UNICEF ambassador as well as the 60^th anniversary of both the Knock on Wood and White Christmas releases.

In The Five Pennies Kaye cuts loose with his trademark dramatic and comedic talents in this success-tempered-with-tears biopic of jazz great Red Nichols, which features legendary performances by Louis Armstrong, along with big band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne.  In On the Double Kaye stars as Ernie Williams, a G.I. with weak eyes, a weak stomach and weak nerves but an uncanny resemblance to British Colonel MacKenzie.  Williams is asked to impersonate the Colonel, allowing him to make a secret trip East – but what Williams is not told is that the Colonel has recently been a target of Nazi assassins.  The Court Jester showcases Kaye’s variety of talents as he plays kind-hearted entertainer Hawkins who disguises himself as the legendary king of jesters, Giacomo. Hawkins infiltrates the court of the evil villain Basil Rathbone, but when a sorceress hypnotizes him, royal chaos ensues.  In Knock on Wood Kaye is a ventriloquist who becomes the target of a spy ring when secret plans are hidden in his dummies’ heads.

The Danny Kaye Centennial, which began in late 2012 and continues into early 2014, is a celebration of events and activities honoring a legendary entertainer and trail blazing humanitarian’s amazing contributions to the arts.  The event highlights this uniquely talented man who brought laughter and joy to generations and served as UNICEF’S first Goodwill Ambassador.  Kaye received countless accolades during his lifetime including Oscars®, Emmys®, Golden Globes®, The French Legion of Honor, The Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Beginning in October of 2012 events around the country invited the public to experience the talents that made Danny Kaye one of a kind. These included programs with UNICEF, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the Paley Center for Media, Sirius XM Radio, Museum of the Moving Image and The New York Pops.  The Danny Kaye Centennial will culminate with UNICEF presenting the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award in January 2014. 

By Todd Garbarini

Douglas Dunning the actor, producer, film authority, and Director of Acquisitions at Cinema Epoch, has just acquired the rights to the following titles for future release on DVD:

The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976) with Millie Perkins and directed by Matt Cimber

Butterfly (1982) with Pia Zadora, Stacy Keach and Orson Wells and directed by Matt Cimber

As previously reported, Mr. Dunning is the host of Prodigy Media Network’s “How Do You View”, an Internet radio show produced by Cinema Epoch president Gregory Hatanaka. The show is available for listening daily at 1:00 am, 5:30 am, 11:00 am & 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (4:00 am, 8:30 am, 2:00 pm, and 8:00 pm New York time). Click here to listen to “How Do You View” at the respective times.

Mr. Dunning is keeping busy. He is also currently co-starring in the film Barry Price, which is loosely based upon John Cassavetes’ The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1977). The film is being directed by Chris Boggs and it stars film legend John Wayne’s grandson, Brandon Wayne, in his first starring role. Mr. Dunning is also appearing in Master of the Grind, which is being directed by Jason Rutherford.

After recently being promoted to Head of Production at Cinema Epoch, Mr. Dunning will be producing the following new films, all to be directed by the aforementioned Mr. Hatanaka:

Hunter, a thriller due to begin filming on July 1, 2013

The Alpha Experiment, a sci-fi thriller due to start shooting in August 2013

Darling Nikki, a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland

Stay tuned to Cinema Retro.com for future updates!

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.

A Mercury Theater player turned comic actor, Elliott Reid may be best known as the thorn in Fred MacMurray's side in THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR (1961) and SON OF FLUBBER (1963). Reid starred in director William Cameron Menzies' Cold War sci-fi thriller THE WHIP HAND (1951), GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953), INHERIT THE WIND (1960), THE THRILL OF IT ALL (1963), THE WHEELER DEALERS (1963), MOVE OVER, DARLING (1963), WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED? (1963), BLACKBEARD'S GHOST (1968) and SOME KIND OF A NUT (1969). Reid also made countless TV appearances, notably DESIGN FOR LOVING, a classic 1958 episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS based on a story by Ray Bradbury. Reid last appeared onscreen in a 1992 episode of SEINFELD and in a 1995 episode of MAYBE THIS TIME with Bette White.- Harvey Chartrand 

For more click here

Richard Matheson, whose classic sci-fi stories were adapted into TV episodes and feature films, has died at age 87. Perhaps his best known novel was I Am Legend, an apocalyptic tale about a man battling hoards of vampires intent on killing him. The film was made into feature films on three occasions, as The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price, The Omega Man with Charlton Heston and more recently, I Am Legend with Will Smith. Matheson also wrote dozen teleplays for The Twilight Zone and was working on a remake of his acclaimed 1950s film The Incredible Shrinking Man. For more click here  For Bradley's update click here

By Raymond Benson

We expect nothing less than greatness from that Cadillac of DVD/Blu-Ray labels, The Criterion Collection, and this month’s releases do not disappoint. I’m betting that even hardcore Cinema Retro readers may not have seen these two brilliant classics—one a silent film from 1923, the other a British work of wonder from 1936—both containing jaw-dropping visuals that will amaze even the most cynical of cinema aficionados.

First up—Safety Last!, the film for which actor Harold Lloyd will be most remembered. Lloyd was often called “the third genius” (after Chaplin and Keaton), and his works were not readily available to Baby Boomers because he had refused to sell them to television at the low price he was offered. Lloyd always felt his films were worth more, and rightly so. This was a guy who made many more pictures than either Chaplin or Keaton and transitioned smoothly into the sound era with no hiccups. He had his own on-screen persona, too—that of an everyman (albeit with glasses) with whom audiences could more easily identify than with his contemporaries.

Even if you may not have seen a Harold Lloyd movie, you surely know the iconic still of the actor hanging from the hands of a gigantic clock on the side of a skyscraper. This is, of course, from Safety Last! Lloyd was the purveyor of what was called “thrill comedy,” in which the actor was forced into physically dangerous situations with comic results. It was the same kind of excitement we got from watching circus trapeze artists and the like—we feared for them but also laughed at the routines. Safety Last! is pure brilliance. The story is simple—the everyman from the small town goes to the big city to make his fortune so that his fiancée can eventually join him. In order to get the uber-payoff, Lloyd orchestrates a publicity stunt at the department store where he works as a lowly salesman—to get a friend of his to climb to the top of the building’s exterior. Naturally, the friend is preoccupied by a zealous policeman, so Lloyd has to perform the feat himself. Through a series of extremely clever photographic effects, the filmmakers make audiences believe that Lloyd—who did most of his own stunts—really did climb a skyscraper.

The Criterion edition sports a new, restored 2K transfer that, on blu-ray, presents a picture that appears as if the film was made yesterday. A 1989 score by Carl Davis is synchronized and restored in uncompressed stereo (and there’s an alternate score by Gaylord Taylor from the late 60s). Audio commentary by Leonard Maltin and Lloyd archivist Richard Correll is included. Excellent extras include an introduction by Lloyd’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd; a superb two-hour documentary, Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius; documentary features on the photographic effects and music; and three restored Lloyd shorts from 1919 and 1920. Fantastic stuff.

And for something completely different—H. G. Wells’ Things to Come, an Alexander Korda production, which was the most expensive British film to date in 1936. There wasn’t much science fiction on film in those early days. Aside from Lang’s Metropolis, most sci-fi on celluloid didn’t come about until the 1950s. Things to Come was totally Wells’ baby—he wrote the screenplay (based on his novel), and unofficially served as executive producer and consultant.

The story focuses on an English village, “Everytown,” and follows it from 1936 to 2036, illustrating the various social and technical changes that take place. It’s interesting to note what the filmmakers accurately predicted. For example, Wells foretold the outbreak of world war at Christmas, 1940—he overshot the actual date by only sixteen months. Most of the film centers on the future years in the 1960s and 1970s, when Everytown is ruled by a tyrannical dictator (Ralph Richardson, outrageously chewing the scenery). The star of the picture is Raymond Massey, who plays a sensible pilot in the early years, and then also portrays the original character’s great-grandson in the year 2036. Nigel Hawthorne appears in the later years as an outspoken rebel against the current government—he too, entertainingly overacts with abandon. It’s all good stuff, though.

The real star of Things to Come is the art direction/production design. Credited to Vincent Korda, the work, as noted in the fascinating extra narrated by Christopher Frayling, was actually done by several designers. The film was directed by William Cameron Menzies, who was known mostly as a production designer. The “futuristic” scenes of 2036 are quaintly hilarious with their post-modern, sleek and sterile sets, and costumes that one contemporary reviewer described as “bathing costumes”—but for science fiction enthusiasts, this was a groundbreaking, daring film for its time. It’s a bit on the preachy side—a cautionary tale for those living in 1936—but it’s also an important, courageous piece of art from Korda’s company, London Films.

Extras also include clips of unused special effects by artist Lásló Moholy-Nagy, a visual essay on the musical score, and an audio recording of Wells reading about the “wandering sickness,” a plague-like disease featured in the film.

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The 1998 remake of Hitchcock's Psycho

The Huffington Post has compiled a list of what are arguably the worst (or most unnecessary) movie remakes ever...Click here to see if you agree 

To commemorate Criterion's Blu-ray release of acclaimed director/cinematographer Haskell Wexler's 1969 counter-culture classic Medium Cool, Criterion asked Wexler to provide a list of his ten favorite films of all time.  With the exception of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, all of his choice are in languages other than English. We're still bitterly disappointed that Smokey and the Bandit II didn't make the list. Click here to read

Brompton Cemetary, one of the unique locations for screenings of cult and classic movies.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release: 

London:  Lights, camera, action! A new popup cinema website, designed to provide easy access to the best of London’s popup cinema events, has launched.

The site,  www.WeGotPopup.com, will finally offer a one-stop shop for all London’s Popup cinema needs.  It will list a wide range of London’s freshest film experiences, from a seat on a 1930s riverboat down the Thames bound for an Elizabethan manor house screening, to getting lost in Camden’s Coram Secret Garden on the back of Falkor the Luckdragon.

Producing these unique experiences for film lovers are… the popup film barons Cult Screens, Pop Up Screens, The Nomad and Rooftop Film Club alongside The Lucky Dog Picture House,Matrix Grimsby, The East Dulwich Tavern, Bloomsbury Lanes, Roadside Picnic, Hebden Bridge Arts Festival, and Boughton House whose events will all be listed on the site.

The screenings can be cross-referenced by date, title and most importantly, distance from where you are currently sitting. (prepare to add at least 2 points to your 'cool ranking').

WeGotPopUp.com will be (ahem) “popping up” for a limited four-month window, arriving just in time to provide film fans with all the information and easy access to often elusive events. So log-on, explore, and click your way to a popup packed summer.

The portal was the brainchild of ticketing experts WeGotTickets, who have ticketed weird and wonderful one-off events since 2000, offering tickets for the UK’s original popup supper clubs and cinema.  WeGotTickets has ticketed over a thousand of these – from Films on Fridges, where a white goods wonderland took over a recycling-plant-turned-Olympic-Park, to a popup feast night at a hidden Cornwall beach hut.  Not to mention screenings at abandoned petrol stations, under bridges, at lidos, and of course…on rooftops.

Said Kate Pelen, Design and Communications Manager, The Nomad Cinema "There has been really healthy growth in popup cinema events over the past few years, with audiences increasingly on the look-out for a unique and memorable way to enjoy their favourite film, or discover something totally new in a different environment.

“That's why WeGotPopup is such a great idea, allowing customers to search all the best pop-up providers for their favourite film or venue all in one place. We're sure this new venture will be a great success as the WeGotTickets team are a very determined and hard-working bunch of people with a great attitude and a reputation to match.''

WeGotTickets keep tickets paperless, fees low and completely transparent – regularly working with and donating a percentage of their booking fees back to a variety of charities.

About WeGotTickets

WeGotTickets is the UK’s leading paperless ticketing agency. Launched in 2002, WeGotTickets works with thousands of event organisers placing it in the top five ticket agencies in the UK.

WeGotTickets has made it possible for organisers of events of all shapes and sizes to benefit from advance ticket sales, and now sells close to a million tickets a year; from popup cinema, art events and underground restaurants to traditional live music and comedy shows and festivals.

Since its launch, WeGotTickets has consistently pushed for innovation, transparency and best practice across the ticketing industry, with many of the company’s ideas becoming standard industry practice.

The company’s 10% maximum ticket commission rate has helped to lower fees across the business, whilst its pioneering paperless ticketing system has been a major factor in reducing the live music industry’s carbon footprint.

Over the years WeGotTickets has been proud to work on a number of special campaigns with charities such as Oxfam, Macmillan, ActionAid and Warchild, and regularly donates a percentage of their booking fees back to these groups. In 2009 the company launched a unique feature allowing ticket buyers to quickly and easily make a donation to a featured charity whilst purchasing tickets, which has raised tens of thousands of pounds for those charities.

WeGotTickets is now proud to be a full member of STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) and is fully behind the organisation’s new fraud prevention kite mark.

www.WeGotTickets.com.

Forthcoming screenings include:

DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB – 10^th July (Bussey Building)

Psycho – 14^th July (Queen of Hoxton)

Easy Rider – 22^nd July (Queen of Hoxton)

My Night at Maud’s – 15^th August (East Dulwich Tavern)

By Arlene R. Weiss

British actor, musician, Maxton Gig “Max” Beesley, Jr’s destiny as an actor was firmly set when his mom was inspired by American, Academy Award® winning actor Gig Young, in choosing her son’s middle name. Beesley, born and raised in his beloved Manchester, England, was raised in a family steeped in the arts. His father, Max Beesley, Sr. is a venerable jazz drummer and impressionist, and his mother Chris Marlowe was a jazz singer. His step-brother Jason Milligan is also an actor and Jason’s wife Angela Griffin is an actress.

At first, American audiences may not easily recognize Max Beesley’s name, but in fact, many are far more familiar with his esteemed CV of work, which includes numerous acclaimed acting roles in many stellar films, TV series, and also a supreme music career, than they realize.

Beesley has garnered considerable praise and is most well known here in the States and in the UK for his role as the unflappable Woody on all 3 seasons, (and now filming Season 4) of the British black comedy, thriller TV series, “Mad Dogs” which just premiered its third season June 4, 2013. The series is broadcast Tuesday nights at 9pm on Britain’s SKY TV. U.S. and global audiences can watch Episode 1 and new weekly episodes on SKY TV’s website at http://sky1.sky.com/sky1hd-shows/mad-dogs

Beesley also just co-starred in the nifty and thoroughly riveting indie crime thriller film, “Pawn”, which was co-produced by the film’s star, actor Michael Chiklis. “Pawn” was also helmed by Chiklis’s own film production company, Extravaganza Films, and was released direct to Blu-Ray and DVD on April 23, 2013. The film focuses on a seemingly easy to pull off robbery by some small town hoods, (Beesley’s character Billy, being one of the baddies) at an all night diner. But in actuality the details behind the heist involve a delectable smorgasbord of intelligent, multi-layered, plot complexities and jaw dropping twists. The job goes south quickly, escalating into a tense hostage situation with dirty cops and crooks alike manipulating and double crossing one another and the outcome. The unfolding events are told from various different perspectives by the many characters, who recall different key elements that reveal the many surprising and well thought out plot twists and turns. Think “Roshomon” meets “Swordfish”!

While Beesley is a prominent fixture across the pond in England via his many starring turns on some of British TV’s biggest hit series, here in the States, many people know of him and often first discover Beesley and his many stellar film roles, as well as his sterling TV work and luminous musical talents, from his starring role in the 2001 motion picture “Glitter” opposite Mariah Carey in her film debut.

British actor Beesley authentically and convincingly portrayed street smart New York music producer and club DJ, Julian “Dice” Black, co-starring as Carey’s romantic interest, who discovers and mentors the musical talents of Carey’s character, Billie Frank. While the film was panned by critics and fans alike at the time, Beesley’s gritty and charismatic performance, however, was a stellar knockout and all but saved the film.

Today, “Glitter”, has, and continues to attain, a growing, appreciative audience and in retrospect holds up well as a very entertaining, dark, and realistic take on the downsides of stardom and the music industry.

Beesley first garnered critical acclaim in the lead role on the 1997 BBC British TV mini-series “The History Of Tom Jones: A Foundling”, which was broadcast here in the states as well.

Beesley’s many diverse film roles reflect the multifaceted depth and range of his acting talents. He starred as Wullie Smith in director Mick Davis’s inspiring and charming tale of a Scottish town’s two pub soccer teams who play one another to settle an old grudge in 1999’s “The Match”. He’s worked with such prestigious indie, art house directors as Mike Figgis, portraying Antonio in the offbeat and disturbing 2001 film “Hotel”, and with director Tamar Simon Hoffs, in the 2003 screen adaptation of the award winning stage production “Red Roses and Petrol” which won first prize at the Avignon Film Festival.

For “Red Roses and Petrol”, Max starred opposite Malcolm McDowell to great acclaim as the angry, damaged, rakish Johnny Doyle, attempting to come to terms with his dysfunctional relationship with his family and his deceased father in this poignant and raw character study.

Beesley worked with “Blade” and “The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman’s” cult director Stephen Norrington, starring in the vividly dark, bleak, and shocking gothic thriller, 2001’s “The Last Minute”. Beesley also starred with Selma Blair in the 2001, emotionally charged drama and crime thriller “Kill Me Later” as Charlie Anders. Max transformed into the tattooed baddie Luther, a member of the Hellions biker gang and henchman to the Hellion’s leader Henry James played by “The Fast & The Furious’s” own Matt Schulze in the 2004 action film “Torque”, starring Martin Henderson and Ice Cube, and produced by Neal H. Moritz who has produced all six of “The Fast and the Furious” films and which was also produced by Brad Luff (who also co-produced “Pawn”).

Beesley’s become a lauded mainstay of the British TV airwaves starring on such hit shows as “Bodies” from 2004 to 2006 as Dr. Rob Lake and on the post apocalyptic science fiction series “Survivors” from 2008 to 2010 as the amoral and remorseless Tom Price. U.S. fans will be happy to know that Beesley also crossed the Atlantic pond, here to the States to guest on an episode of “CSI” in 2011. But it was from 2006 to 2009, that Beesley starred in the role that would make him a beloved icon on British television, as the roguish romancer with a checkered past, yet utterly likable rapscallion, hotel general manager, Charlie Edwards in “Hotel Babylon”.

Years before Beesley embarked on an esteemed acting career, he had already made his name as a successful and talented musician. A gifted pianist, percussionist, and solo jazz artist, Max is also a songwriter, producer, arranger, and film composer, (scoring two of the films he’s acted and starred in, 2003’s “The Emperor’s Wife” and 2005’s “Her Name Is Carla”). He’s recorded, written for, produced, arranged, played, and toured with Robbie Williams, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Paul Weller, George Michael, James Brown, The Brand New Heavies, Omar, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jamiroquai, and many more. Max was a member of the jazz band Incognito, as well as releasing several records with his own sparkling acid jazz project, Max Beesley’s High Vibes.

But Beesley’s creative path changed, when he was first bitten, or rather smitten, by the acting bug in 1995 after renting director Martin Scorsese’s 1980 landmark film “Raging Bull”. The young Beesley was blown away by Robert De Niro’s Oscar® winning performance. Max’s immediate dedication and commitment to his craft included his then taking time to study acting in New York, honing his skills, then returning to England where his acting career took off with his casting in 1997 in “The History Of Tom Jones: A Foundling”, and the rest as they say is history.

Just as Max and I were doing this interview, he had been cast in, and is now filming, his first major role on American television, as new recurring character Stephen Huntley in Season 3 of the USA Cable Television Network’s legal drama, “Suits. Beesley’s character will be part of the “British Invasion” of Attorneys involved in last Season 2’s merger of law firm Pearson/Darby. Season 3 of “Suits” premieres July 16, 2013 and airs Tuesday nights on the USA TV Network.

In this interview, Max Beesley discusses how he was cast and prepared for his character in “Pawn”. Max also expounds about his own independent film project currently in development, “Mr. Goodnight”, which he wrote, produced, and will star in, helmed under the auspices of his Los Angeles based, film production company, Patricia Jean Films, Inc. Max also enthusiastically discusses what we can expect in Season 3 of “Mad Dogs”, film composing, and the craft of acting.

By Darren Allison, Soundtrack Editor

Virgin Sacrifice (1959) (MMM-1973) starred David DaLie as Samson, an American hunter on a safari in Guatemala. While tracking game, Samson encounters a strange ceremony in which a young woman named Morena (Angelica Morales) is to be sacrificed at the bidding of her father to appease the gods following a vicious animal attack. Morena is able to escape, and Samson gives chase, hoping to rescue her before the tribesmen can capture her and complete the ritual. Sound like drivel? Well… you’d be right. So let’s waste little time and talk about the finer side of Virgin Sacrifice, the team of Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter. Sawtell and Shefter are no strangers to Monstrous Movie Music soundtracks, with previous releases including Kronos, It! The Terror From Beyond Space and The Last Man on Earth. For collectors of Sawtell and Shefter, this rarely seen exploitation film contains a rather unique and satisfying score from the pair. Diverse and subjective in its approach, the score leads us through the beauty and dangers of its Guatemalan jungle setting. The music is peppered with expressive and melancholy cues. The film’s main title is both tranquil and dramatic, before both male and female chanting is applied, perhaps in order to remind us that this is a jungle movie. Tracks such as Medal of Death make clever use of keyboard tricks (provided by Jack Cookerly’s ‘magic box’ organ) and work to startling effect. Flittering clarinets and brooding flutes maintain that the majority of score is designed to hold us in suspense whilst providing a sense of mystery throughout. However, it is the use of Hammond organ that really provides the pay-off, used sparingly in tracks such as Through the Cave, it makes a wonderfully spooky touch. At 54 minutes, Virgin Sacrifice is a generous score that benefits from some fine orchestration. Collectors of Sawtell in particular, might well be reminded of his music from the Tarzan films he wrote for RKO. Again, an excellent 20 page booklet provides a unique and well researched written history of the production.

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A long-standing award to STARZ Entertainment pertaining to rights to the Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series has been reduced on appeal. The case by STARZ against Lindsay Dunlap, who claimed to have obtained rights to the series from its creator Norman Felton, resulted in STARZ incurring costs for a planned video release of the show. That fell apart when Warner Brothers presented evidence that they owned video rights to the series. STARZ then sued Dunlap for damages and was awarded almost $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A judge has reduced that figure by half, eliminating the punitive damages but letting stand the compensatory damages of $1.5 million and asserting that Dunlap's claim of ownership of the series did not take into consideration Warner Brothers' rights. Warners ultimately released the entire series on DVD, as well as the spinoff The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and eight feature length films derived from the show. For more click here  

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although Britain's legendary Hammer Films is almost exclusively associated with having redefined the horror movie genre, there were other genres explored by the studio ranging from film noir to crime and even Robin Hood sand pirate adventures. One of the more unusual entries is The Camp on Blood Island, a riveting WWII drama released in 1958. The black and white production was shot entirely in the UK, but, as was the norm for a Hammer production, creative locations and production design allow the viewer to believe they are watching events unfold in a Japanese POW camp in Malaya. The plot centers on the long-suffering British prisoners who are at the mercy of a brutal Japanese camp commandant and his equally brutal guards. The POWs learn through surreptitious means that the war has ended with Japan's surrender. Aware that the commandant had threatened to massacre all of the prisoners in the wake of such an occurrence, the senior officer among the prisoners, Col. Lambert (Andre Morell) concocts an audacious scheme to keep the news from the Japanese until he can organize plans for an insurrection and escape. Under the direction of the criminally underrated Val Guest, the film's scant 82 minute running time packs in a good deal of suspense, fine performances and intelligent dialogue. Barbara Shelly is thrown in as window dressing for some sex appeal as a fellow prisoner, but this is basically a male-oriented production that was aimed squarely at male audiences.  The film's treatment of Japanese characters is predictably racist (many are portrayed by British actors including Michael Ripper!) but one must look at the movie in the context of the era, only a little over a decade after the end of WWII. There were millions of people who were still harboring nightmarish memories of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army. In typical Hammer tradition, the movie boasted a marketing campaign that emphasized gore and blood even though the film is relatively restrained in these areas. It's basically an intellectual cat-and-mouse game between prisoners and their captors that leads to quite an exciting and well-staged conclusion. The movie illustrates how Hammer Films could overcome meager production budgets to produce highly watchable, very entertaining movies.

Sony has released The Camp on Blood Island as a burn-to-order DVD. The film transfer is crisp and clean and the sleeve features the original, exploitation-oriented movie poster. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Any retro movie lover would be forgiven for thinking there would be a multitude of pleasures in The Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, a 1976 Western comedy top-lining such considerable talents as Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, Kay Lenz, Elizabeth Ashley, Sylvia Miles and the always watchable Strother Martin. Sadly, the film is a complete misfire with nary a true guffaw to be found throughout. The movie is directed by Don Taylor, who helmed some fairly good films including Escape From the Planet of the Apes, Damien: Omen II and The Final Countdown. However, comedy is not Taylor's strong suit, as evidenced by the over-the-top elements of the movie. The quasi plot finds Marvin as Sam Longwood, an eccentric plainsman who is partnered with Indian Joe Knox (Oliver Reed) and  Billy (Strother Martin) in an attempt to track down their former partner Jack Colby (Robert Culp) who fled with the haul the gold hoarde the four men had discovered years before. Colby has used the stolen loot to establish himself as a respectable politician. Sam, Joe and Billy concoct a scheme whereby they will blackmail Colby into returning their share of the money by kidnapping his wife Nancy Sue (Elizabeth Ashley), a loud-mouthed and obnoxious woman who has had romantic ties to Sam in the past. For reasons far too labored to go into, the trio of men are also accompanied by a seventeen year-old prosititute named Thursday who is seeking to escape the clutches of her former madam (Sylvia Miles).

The film has boundless energy but the non-screenplay leads the characters to dead-ends. Taylor inserts numerous slapstick comedy bits that bring out the worst in Marvin, as he goes into his over-acting mode routinely. Most embarrassing is the bizarre casting of Reed as a Native American. Cursed by having to wear a mop-haired wig and grunting "Me Tarzan, You Jane"-style dialogue, Reed does the most harm to the image of the Indian since the massacre at Wounded Knee. The film lurches from extended fistfights to boring chase sequences, all designed to mask over the fact that the script is a bland, pasted together conconction. There is also a jaunty musical score by John Cameron that is played so incessently, you'll be tempted to keep the remote on "mute" mode. The only people to emerge relatively unscathed are Lenz, Culp and Martin, who provided whatever wit and charm the film boasts. On paper, the project probably looked promising, but in terms of any genuine laughs...well, they went that-a-way.

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By Doug Gerbino

The Warner Archive has released four more pre-code gems as their latest entry in their FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD  series (Volume 7). These films are deliciously delightful to view. When this series was started by M-G-M/UA video in the 1990s, I collected them on laser disc. When they went out-of-print I paid some premium prices to get used copies. I was thrilled when Warner Home Video started releasing them and now that Warner Archive has continued to do so, I’m happy to know that these otherwise neglected films will continue to be available through the burn-to-order market. This being Volume 7, one can see that there is a market for this genre, and I look forward to further entries in this valuable series. The bulk of the films released thus far under the FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD series have been from the WARNER BROS. & FIRST NATIONAL STUDIOS and nobody did pre-code films any better. Cagney, Robinson, Blondell, et. al. sizzled in these gritty, ripped-from-the-headlines films. There are the occasional entries from M-G-M that came close, but pre-code was WARNER BROS./FIRST NATIONAL’S stock in trade. The films in this volume are wonderful examples.

THE HATCHET MAN (1932) Stars Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young in Max Factor Asian makeup. Robinson plays Wong Low Get, a hatchet wielding hit man for a warring San Francisco Tong (clan). When the film opens, I sniffed at the bad makeup job they gave Robinson in typical 30s Hollywood fashion. I felt that the racially stereotyped taping back of the corner of Caucasian eyes must be one of the reasons these films are pre-code. But, Robinson is such a great (and underrated) actor. He brings depth to a role that would have been one-dimensional in any other actor’s hands. And what hands they are! One of my cinema gurus – Tom Dillon, The Sage of 20^th Street – once pointed out to me that Robinson is always using his hands. Not just flailing them, but utilizing these appendages as true masterstrokes of physical emoting. Robinson is always fascinating to watch. His physical movements do not distract – they draw you in. As the hatchet man for his tong crime family, he is sent to execute his oldest and most trusted friend. When he arrives to carry out the hit, his uneasiness with his assignment is made all the more difficult by the fact that his friend understands and forgives him for what he has to do. The intended victimtells him that he is leaving him his money and his young infant daughter to raise and eventually marry. Fast-forward twenty years and this little girl has grown into Loretta Young. As Sun Toya San, Young does not pull off the Asian makeup as well as Robinson. Young is married to Robinson only out of a sense of duty for she loves another, Harry En Hai played by evil Leslie Fenton. When Robinson discovers this, his initial fury turns to resignation and he allows Young to leave with her lover. Later, Robinson finds out that Fenton has sold Young into white slavery and before you know it, he’s back wielding his infamous hatchet. A run-of-the-mill San Francisco Chinatown potboiler is raised a few notches by by Robinson’s moving performance. We can all name the great pictures and roles he has been in (LITTLE CAESAR, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, ALL MY SONS), but it is little throwaways like this that demonstrate what a powerful performer he was. William Wellman directs. (First National & Vitaphone)

SKYSCRAPER SOULS (1932) This is the M-G-M entry in this volume. As I said above, M-G-M’s forays into the pre-code genres were classy in comparison with Warners/First National’s gritty, gutter-based storylines. This was the studio’s pre-code version of their recent all-star film GRAND HOTEL from the same year. Warren William stars as David Dwight, president of the Seacoast Bank, which is the main tenant in this newly opened skyscraper building. William will stop at nothing to eventually gain sole ownership of the building. The actor made for a charming, debonair leading man from the 30s who was known as the poor man’s John Barrymore, complete with pencil-thin moustache. He was adept at playing lovable, charismatic society men as well as ruthless scoundrels. In this film he blends all of these traits and crafts a character you find yourself rooting for, but don’t know why. He is a womanizing robber baron who tramples over anyone who gets in his way. e William could do this and get you to like him because his charm overcomes the natural ruthlessness of the character and almost inspires you to want to emulate him. Tapping into our hidden desire for power was part of the naughty appeal in these Depression era films. This film abounds with swindles, scandals, adultery, murders and suicides. Actress-turned-gossip-columnist Hedda Hopper plays William’s wife who doesn’t really seem to mind that her husband is sleeping with anything that moves, so long as he pays for her high maintenance life style. Maureen O’Sullivan plays the young, naïve secretary who is the latest object of William’s desires, all to the distress of William’s long suffering personal secretary, played by Verree Teasdale. And what good is a film set in a skyscraper without a jumper? Who is it? Get the set to find out. The art deco sets are as much characters in this film as are the actors. You will notice that the film opens with the first of many matte shots of the Dwight building standing out against the New York skyline towering over the neighboring Empire State Building in all its art deco glory. The interiors (by M-G-M art director Cedric Gibbons) look like Radio City on crack! You know…as I think of it…I guess watching Margaret Dumont snorting coke is more shocking then seeing Joan Blondell waking up with Jimmy Cagney…Maybe M-G-M pre-codes are dirtier… Directed by Edgar Selwyn (M-G-M)

EMPLOYEES’ ENTRANCE (1933) This is one of my all-time favorites and I had secured a copy back in the VHS era. Thus, the film’s release on DVD delighted me. I believe it best represents the freedoms of the the pre-code genre. Warren William andLoretta Young are again teamed in the leading roles. William plays Kurt Anderson, the General Manager of Monroe’s Department Store in Manhattan. His motto is: “Smash, or be smashed!” He is basically the same character he played in SKYSCAPER SOULS, but in a cheaper suit, on a lower floor and in a lower-paying job. He’s also even more ruthless. He tells both employees and the store’s pompous board of directors to go to hell whenever his heavy-handed business methods are questioned. In one of the most memorable scenes he summarily fires a thirty-year employee on the spot because the employee questions one of his new innovations. The employee later jumps to his death from a 9^th story window out of shame. When told of the ex-employee’s suicide William answers: “When a man outlives his usefulness he ought to jump out a window!” This kind of writing reminded me of Rod Serling’s PATTERNS from 1955 written for KRAFT TELEVISION THEATER. I am sure Serling must have seen this film and was inspired by it. William is training an employee who he feels has the fire in his belly to make it in this “smash, or be smashed” world. The young protégé is shocked at his view, but William shows him that softness has no place in the cutthroat world of business. This film puts forth complex questions that must be rationalized and manages to do it in a concise 75 minutes without a wasted frame. That is the beauty and wonder of the WARNER/FIRST NATIONAL films. They are tight, taught and intense. Directed by Roy Del Ruth (First National & Vitaphone)

EX-LADY (1933) This film stars a young Bette Davis as a free living fashion illustrator who is “living” with an up-and-coming business executive, Gene Raymond. He wants to marry her, but she feels that marriage is unnecessary and that matrimony kills romance. Eventually she gives in and all her premonitions turn out to be true. Even at this early point in her career, Davis is portraying a character who wants to stand on equal footing with men. In this film she is a successful businesswoman who basically does not need a man in the traditional sense, something that broke with the social mores of the era. This story was a remake of a film from two years prior; ILLICIT that starred Barbara Stanwyck (another pre-code sex symbol). WARNERS/FIRST NATIONAL was not above remaking films within a short period of time. WARNERS filmed THE MALTEST FALCON in 1931 with Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Five years later they remade it as SATAN MET A LADY with Warren William and Bette Davis. Then, five years after that, they filmed the classic version directed by John Huston with Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. In this film, Davis shows the strength of character that would come to be the earmark of her career. The film is filled with great pre-code dialog: (Raymond): "I'm just about fed up with sneaking in...Let’s get married so I'll have the right to be with you." (Davis): "What do you mean 'right'? I don't like the word 'right'." (Raymond): "Let's not quibble about words." (Davis): "No, I'm not quibbling, 'right' means something. No one has any 'rights' about me, except me." As in most of the WARNER/FIRST NATIONAL films, a lot of juicy stuff happens in a taught 67 minutes. Once married, Raymond tires (as Davis predicted) and begins to philander. In order to even the score, Davis starts her own affair with Raymond’s business rival, played by lovable WARNER stock player, Frank McHugh. By the end of the story, Davis and Raymond reconcile…for the moment. Directed by Robert Florey (First National & Vitaphone)

The 4 films are presented on a disc a piece. THE HATCHET MAN, EMPLOYEES’ ENTRANCE & EX-LADY include their original theatrical trailers, which are a lot of fun. It is a study in itself to see how the spicy little numbers were sold to the public. Image quality is quite good – about the same as you would see on TCM. Even without digital re-mastering, these films jump out at you and drag you into an era before purity ran amuck.

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By Adrian Smith  

Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Gems

Edited by Julian Upton

Headpress

ISBN: 9781900486835

440 pages

Every so often a book comes my way that I wish I had written. 'Offbeat' is one such title, the byline of which succinctly describes a large proportion of my film viewing since childhood. The book is a collection of film reviews, with titles ranging from 1954 (the animated adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm) to 1985 (sci-fi dud Lifeforce). With a cover illustration taken from Kenneth Rowles' infamous hitchhiking shocker Take an Easy Ride (1977), the book is clearly aiming for cult credentials, which may explain why the hundreds of forgotten gems before 1954 have been totally ignored. To be fair to the editor, a book which attempted to cover the entirety of Britain's lost and maligned movies would be the length of several encyclopaedias. Indeed, this book does not claim to be definitive. In many ways it perhaps tells us more about the predilections of the various contributors than it does about the decades it covers.

'Offbeat' does raise one fairly depressing point, which is that although there are literally thousands of films at our fingertips these days, there are still titles which are tantalisingly out of reach. Whole swathes of homegrown movies have been shoved to the back of dusty shelves in forgotten archives never to be seen again except in grainy, third generation VHS copies dating from the one terrestrial broadcast thirty years ago. It's a pity that so many of the films in here suffer from a lack of availability, as I guarantee that you will be reading this book in one hand whilst browsing online for DVDs with the other.

Although the book contains dozens of fascinating, occasionally outlandish titles, if you have any experience in the obscurities of British cinema you will still be able to argue about the final selection. Donovan Winter is notable by his absence, and having given the world incestuous lesbian twins in Some Like It Sexy (1969), he surely deserves a nod. There is perhaps the inevitable focus on Hammer, who get several mentions and one begins to wonder whether anyone else was actually making films in the 1960s. There are however plenty of titles in here which even I, a seasoned British cinema fan, was not familiar with. The director whose name seems to arise the most often is Val Guest, one of the unsung heroes of British cinema. Perhaps the time is now right for a full reevaluation of his work. In a career covering sci-fi, horror, social realism and sex comedies, his filmography IS the British film industry from the mid-1950s through to the 1970s in microcosm.

Alongside the reviews are scattered several essays covering various aspects of British cinema, including the swashbuckler, the pop musical, underage sex and the demise of the industry in the 1970s; as scattershot an approach to film history as one could hope for, with the emphasis firmly placed on the psychotronic. Amongst the film titles jostling for attention are classics such as Horrors From the Black Museum (1959), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), The Birthday Party (1968), a rare excursion into British filmmaking from The Exorcist's William Friedkin, and Eskimo Nell (1975), the finest sex comedy this country has ever produced. The BFI's current Flipside range of DVDs and blu rays gets good coverage also, with Herostratus, Privilege (both 1967), Permissive, Bronco Bullfrog, Deep End, (all 1970) and The Black Panther (1977) all coming highly recommended. At least some of the films discussed in 'Offbeat' are not as obscure as they once were.

As with all recent Headpress books the imagery is reproduced in black and white, which is a pity as so many of these films feature wildly colourful, bordering on psychedelic, imagery. The poster art for long-forgotten musical mega-flop Toomorrow (1970) is far more exciting than the film itself! This complaint is quickly forgiven once you discover that 'Offbeat' has a thorough index, something often ignored in similar books. This means you can use this as a great reference book, and each film title includes production details and credits alongside a thorough analysis and review. One may not agree with every opinion shared (Sarah Morgan's dismissal of Hammer's Captain Clegg as "a decent potboiler" is woefully off the mark), but the book does serve its purpose which is to encourage the reader to discover the hidden gems of British cinema. If you can find them that is.

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The Devil Rides Out soundtrack

By Adrian Smith 

There has been a gradual yet inevitable demise of analogue formats over the last decade or so, with wax cylinders, eight track and the chrome cassette tape all now relegated to the scrap heap. Yet vinyl is making a comeback. Despite the supposed superiority of the CD and the mp3, there is nothing as satisfying as sliding your 12” LP out of it's card sleeve, carefully placing it on the turntable, and the slight crackle when the needle first makes contact. And many argue that the sound quality remains superior to digital reproduction, particularly when listening to older recordings that were made using analogue equipment in the first place.

One company to truly embrace the vinyl collector culture is Death Waltz Records, founded by Spencer Hickman of Rough Trade in London. They produce exclusive vinyl reproductions of a massive array of cult film soundtracks and accompany them with sleeve notes, newly commissioned artwork and coloured vinyl, and most come with screen prints and posters too. They have recently put out the bizarre electronic scores of Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, both limited to 300 copies. This release coincides nicely with the recent rerelease of both films on Blu-ray and DVD from Shout Factory.

Halloween III in particular has been much maligned over the years, thanks in no small part to screenwriter Nigel Kneale's much publicised dislike of the film. However you feel about it, the soundtrack is superb. Both of these Halloween releases have splendidly eerie scores which should on no account be listened to in the dark. Both were composed by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth and build on the tones and style that Carpenter developed on the first Halloween movie. Halloween II also delivers a surprise when The Chordettes burst through the synthesised shivers with “Mr Sandman”, an incongruity which fits well with the ending of the movie. Halloween III contains the horrifyingly catchy “Silver Shamrock” jingle, reminding children to make sure they are wearing their new Halloween masks when the 'Horrorthon' starts later that night. Of course, if you have seen the film you will know those are no ordinary Halloween masks, and it is a night that will not end well.

If you are a collector who wants everything in mint condition, the dilemma as to whether you can actually play your vinyl once it arrives is a difficult one. Even if you decide not to play it, each Death Waltz release makes a unique piece of memorabilia.

One recent development at Death Waltz Records will be of particular interest to fans of British horror. They have gone into partnership with Hammer Films and are intending to release several soundtracks on vinyl, some of which have never been released before. Amongst the first will be Twins of Evil (1971) and The Devil Rides Out (1968), Hammer's most successful Dennis Wheatley adaptation. The latter will feature extensive sleeve-notes by James Bernard and all new exclusive artwork. The package will come as a limited edition coloured vinyl with an A2 poster and 12 x 12 lithograph print . It will also contain a download link for an interview with Christopher Lee and two unreleased cues. If you are a vinyl collector, or a fan of Hammer horror, you had better start saving up now!

By Harvey Chartrand

Since the late sixties, William Atherton has starred in motion pictures, on Broadway and television. He first achieved international prominence as the lead in Steven Spielberg’s first feature The Sugarland Express, and followed that with starring roles in John Schlesinger’s classic The Day of the Locust, Robert Wise’s The Hindenburg and Richard Brooks’ Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Atherton is known around the world for his memorable roles as the antagonistic anchorman in the action blockbusters Die Hard and Die Hard 2, as the relentless government bureaucrat in the iconic Ghostbusters and as the conniving professor in the cult classic Real Genius. Among his more than 30 feature films are co-starring roles in John Landis’ Oscar, Bill Duke’s Hoodlum, Richard Pearce’s No Mercy, Alan J. Pakula’s The Pelican Brief, Costa Gavras’ Mad City and Ed Zwick’s The Last Samurai.

On television, Atherton has starred in numerous mini-series including Centennial and Malibu. Some of his many TV films include leading roles in TNT’s production of Joan Didion’s Broken Trust and his portrayal of Darryl F. Zanuck in HBO’s Golden Globe-winner Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Atherton was also a recurring series lead opposite Damian Lewis on NBC-TV’s Life and, as Principal Reynolds, resolved some of the vexing questions in the final season of Lost.

Consistently honored for his work on the stage, Atherton has created roles on and off-Broadway for many of America’s leading playwrights. These include the title role in Joe Papp’s original production of David Rabe’s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, the role of Ronnie in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves and Bing Ringling in Guare's Rich and Famous. Atherton also starred in the Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller’s The American Clock and in the Tony-winning revival of Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. His repertoire of more than 20 well-known productions also includes the acclaimed New York premieres of Franz Kafka’s The Castle and Kressman Taylor’s Address Unknown. For his work on the stage, he has received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Theatre World Award and nominations for an Obie and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award.

Recent feature films include the thriller The Kane Files as well as Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, which premiered in 2012. Atherton appears on an upcoming season of Childrens Hospital this summer.

This interview focuses on Atherton's work since 2005. We began our talk with The Girl Next Door (2007), based on the Jack Ketchum novel of the same name... it follows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt... and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime. Then we discussed Headspace (2005), the story of the mysterious metamorphosis of 25-year-old Alex Borden, a handsome, charming and intelligent young man with the world by the tail. Alex becomes alarmed when his intellect mysteriously begins to grow, and so do the horrors that invade his body, his nightmares and his waking hours.

______________________________________________

You've said Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door is "a film that has legs." Could you elaborate on this?

William Atherton: From what I know, it has legs in that it's still around and people still talk about it. It was a very difficult subject and I thought they did it very well. I bookend it, which is great. As an actor, I don't participate in anything in it like that (of a graphic nature). I don't mean that necessarily in a negative way. My position in it was kind of like the conscience of the film. It gave the film a spiritual edge. I mean, it's recounting a childhood but at the same time, the weight of that childhood is enormous and so bookending it like that, even though the scenes are very short, gave it a lot of substance and it was mine for each moment and meant something important in terms of the whole film.

I thought your role as Adult David was absolutely heartbreaking, as he is a man who has contemplated the loss of his young love for over 50 years. I watched those bookend scenes several times and they are profoundly moving. I especially like the scene where you rescue a homeless man (Mark Margolis).

WA: Well, The Girl Next Door is based on a true story (of monstrous child abuse). It happened in New Jersey in the 1950s. Andrew van den Houten, the producer, got onto it and he was the one who really marshalled it along. I had done Headspace with Andrew.

So van den Houten had you in mind for the role of Adult David after working with you on Headspace. I guess he's a big fan of yours.

WA: Yeah. And then we crafted those scenes together and figured out what to use, what not to use, how much of the voiceover to use, to try and keep it as spare and as evocative as we could to save time.

So essentially that was it. It was a very quick shoot. This friend of mine would tell me that it was very difficult to shoot the kids since they couldn't see certain things because they were under 18. The girl who was being abused (Blythe Auffarth) was 21 by that time. But the younger kids couldn't see what was being done to her. It was a real ballet in terms of how to orchestrate that. I wasn't present at the shooting of the more intense scenes.

I was doing a play... Address Unknown with the English actor Jim Dale, directed by Frank Dunlop from the Young Vic. We were doing that at the Promenade Theatre in New York and Address Unknown was a very big issue in the thirties. It came to be because this woman who was in advertising in San Francisco (Kressman Taylor) had some friends in advertising in Germany and went there in the 1930s and came back to San Francisco. So she wrote this book which is a very small, slight book.

The play is just these letters sent back and forth between these two men, who were partners in an art gallery. The one who stayed in Germany became a real Nazi. He was responsible for the death of the sister of the guy who was in San Francisco, who was Jewish. What Kressman Taylor did was, she made up this story along those lines and she had it in the letters back and forth and you see how the two men change. The theatrical evening was reading these letters essentially and performing them as dialogue. So the revenge that the guy in San Francisco ultimately had was that he started writing letters with stuff like "a Picasso Red 3" in the text. It sounded like a code and the Nazis in Germany arrested the Nazi gallery owner and shot him. (laughs) That's Address Unknown.

What this has to do with the Headspace movie is that I met Andrew van den Houten a couple of months beforehand through a friend of a friend of mine in New York. A very young kid, very talented and he asked me to do this movie when I was doing the play. I shot on my days off for about a month in New York on the dark days in the theatre. That movie did very well for Andrew and it got him started. I'm the doctor who finds the guy who finds the kid (whose intellect begins to grow). Dee Wallace and I have a couple of scenes at the beginning of the film. Andrew marshalled a very good cast. Sean Young, Olivia Hussey and Udo Kier are in it. It's a very interesting movie and it did very well. Andrew was ambitious in terms of the technical thing. He did some nice stuff (with monster makeup and special effects).

In 2010, you appeared in Re-Animator: The Musical at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood. Critics said you and George Wendt knocked it out of the park in your respective roles as Dr. Carl Hill and Dean Halsey.

WA: We did a stage reading for it here in L.A. and we did a couple of nights of it for director Stuart Gordon. And then they did a permanent production of it. I didn't do the permanent production. I just helped them out in the stage reading but it was a lot of fun. There weren't any special effects in the stage reading – just the music and playing the scenes. Kind of like a description of what might happen, but there were no special effects in what I was involved with.

In Bedtime, a star-studded episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, you play a disreputable public official who abuses his position to prey on women who come to him for assistance.

WA: Yeah, and all the women got the Emmys! (laughs)

I thought you walked away with the show, but why is a classy guy like you so damn good at playing these sleazy characters?

WA: The reason is because the characters that I play are far more interestingly written than the nice guys. Nice guys kind of take care of themselves, but there's not much conflict usually, particularly in television. You come and play a character and you can have all kinds of dimension which is very hard to keep up week to week. And so they bring you in for color and the writing was terrific and that's really how that all happens. The writing is often interesting for the villain. You can kind of play around with it. And it makes it fun.

That was a real Seventies reunion episode of Law and Order: SVU. I suppose this was deliberate, right?

WA: Yes, the Seventies! Shit, the Sixties. Some of those gals – Ann-Margret... I mean, wow!

Atherton in Headspace

In Getting Back to Zero, you play a professional gambler who goes by the name of Box Car Joe. Your performance was described by a crew member as "stellar." Can you tell us about your role in this film set in the world of underground casinos?

WA: It was the moving casino thing. This is a picture I did about three years ago; it was about the underground world of gambling and how they move from one place to another and the stakes can get very high and it's entirely unregulated. There's an enormous industry in underground gambling. So that was kind of the scenario of the picture and you have people who are really addicted to gambling who get into that world and become part of the fabric of that world. Box Car Joe is one of those people who is addicted to gambling. He's arrogant, rich. They kind of run on the electricity of the moment in order to keep from essentially collapsing into a black hole. That's why they keep the gambling going, because there really is nothing else. So the gambling becomes a whole force unto itself and brings them along. Getting Back to Zero came onto Netflix about two months ago.

The whole world for indies has changed in the last four or five years. It's become a lot more difficult for different films. Tonight I'm going to a movie I did a year and a half ago called The Citizen which was about one of the guys – it's a fictional picture, but it's about one of the guys who got caught in 9/11. Simply because he was Middle Eastern, he got into trouble in New York. It's with me and Cary Elwes and we went to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in the fall and tonight it's a screening for the Hollywood Film Festival with a Q&A afterwards. It's a lovely picture and it stars Khaled Nabawy, who is the George Clooney of the Middle East. He's enormous over there in the Arab world. The film festival in Abu Dhabi was incredible. We had a great time and the movie was very well received.

Tell me about your role as Winston.

WA: He's a prosecuting attorney trying to deport Ibrahim (Nabawy). It gets pretty intense. I'm in a courtroom and so what I'm trying to convey is that at the time, people were suspicious of people and you couldn't really take anything for granted. Everybody had to toe the line in a way. That's just the way the world changed. It was not necessarily a personal thing against this man so much as it was saying: "This is the scenario now. You have to account for yourself in ways that you wouldn't have had to before, but that is the way of the world now. So it may seem to you to be unfair and perhaps in the long run it is unfair, but that's the reality of the moment and we all have to address it."

So would you say The Citizen is one of your better recent films?

WA: Yeah, I think so. The Citizen won Best Ensemble Acting at the Boston Film Festival. They're in the middle of doing a distribution deal for it now in the U.S. The Citizen is a great picture. It also stars that lovely young actress Agnes Bruckner who is playing Anna Nichole Smith for HBO. The Citizen will go into general release in the summer. I don't always stump for everything that I'm in but I do stump for this one because I think it's a terrific picture.

What are you working on next?

WA: I have an offer for a movie but I'm not sure if the deal is going to work out. I've been involved in that process for two movies in the past two months. On one of them I said, "No, we'll see what happens with the other movie." I also just came back from Palm Springs where I did a big musical benefit for Jewish Family Service of the Desert. I used to do music in New York years ago. So it was a big musical extravaganza for a couple of thousand people and was filled with artists like James Barbour, Michelle Lee, Kate Ballard, and other great people. It was a big musical evening for the Jewish Home Services Charity in Palm Springs, held at The McCallum Theater, a big musical venue out in the desert. It was called Michael Childers Presents One Night Only. I sang Isn't It Romantic?, which was used in The Day of the Locust.

How did you feel about taking on the role of Honoré in Gigi – the recent stage revival at the Reprise Theater in Los Angeles?

WA: I loved it. I had a fabulous time. Millicent Martin and I did the enormously popular song Yes, I Remember It Well. We were a huge success. Gigi sold out. Millicent was great. The whole production was great. It was the most successful show they've had (at the Reprise Theater). That was when I was asked to perform at the first big do in Palm Springs. So Millicent and I also performed Yes, I Remember It Well at the McCallum Theatre's annual charity event. And then they brought me back this year.

So you're edging back into musicals all these years after singing What'll I Do? in The Great Gatsby (1974 version).

WA: I'm still around and I'm still doing it and I can still do it and I've had the most eclectic career I can imagine. You have to go through the easiest door. All of a sudden there was a door that opened to musical comedy. I can do a dance routine but I'm not a "dance dancer" the way Christopher Walken is an acrobatic dancer – even now. I'm a hoofer. I can do a routine, a soft shoe shuffle and stuff like that.

Jinn sounds like a very intriguing picture.

WA: I shot Jinn about two or three years ago and I did some more on it last summer. It's really a film-in-progress. The director of Jinn (Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad) is a very talented guy. It's really a Middle-Eastern Exorcist. A jinn is one of the spectres of Arab folk tales, a ghost essentially and part of Middle Eastern lore and it's a very interesting kind of sci-fi slash horror picture. So we'll see what happens. They're still in the midst of editing Jinn and putting that together so we should see Jinn in a month or two. My role as Father Westhoff is kind of like the Max von Sydow character in The Exorcist.

In Yesterday, an episode of The Unknown series, you again worked with Martha Coolidge, the director of Real Genius, in which you played the douchebag professor Jerry Hathaway...

WA: She also directed Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (a 1999 TV-movie in which Atherton played 20th Century Fox studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck).

I understand Yesterday is a horror story. What can you tell me about it and about your role as Jim Larson?

WA: It's an episode of a series on the Web called The Unknown... a series about a guy who has a website and he collects stories of the Beyond and puts them on his website. So he's uploading the Yesterday episode. I play the priest who has somebody come and confess to him. The person he sees at the end is already dead. And Martha shot it very well. Yesterday is very classy. And it's been quite successful as a webisode on Crackle.com.

Can you give me your honest opinion of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, in which you play a gangster by the name of Earle Swinter?

WA: My honest opinion is that it made money and did well and that's all you'll get out of me. (laughs). I think it made money overseas. It's very hard to say what does make money and what doesn't make money. But it did better than people thought, which is always important. I think Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are very talented and they're going to find their niche.

Did you have a blast working with Robert Loggia?

WA: Oh yeah. I love Bob. He's always terrific. Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie is not for us. It's a kid's picture. It's not the kind of thing we'd be interested in. Their audience is the hip kids on the internet. Their audience is like the one for Childrens Hospital or Workaholics (Atherton recently guest starred in an episode of each series). Those are very hot internet cable comedies. That is their milieu and that's Tim and Eric's audience.

So the new generation knows who you are basically because of your guest appearances in these productions.

WA: Yes, I'm happy to say.

How do you feel about present-day Hollywood? You have an international reputation from Ghostbusters, the first two Die Hard films, and the incomparable excellence of your performances. How do you fit in to this new Hollywood of Marvel Comics summer blockbusters, Internet movies...

WA: Well, I don't know about that. Ghostbusters was one of the first summer blockbusters, where it was really designed for that kind of thing. That's almost 30 years ago now. Pictures I began with like The Sugarland Express and all that – they belong to a different era. But no, I think it's about the same now. Everybody is trying to figure out the best way to do it. Everybody is trying to figure out the best way to get good product out there. It's always been a business and the summer blockbuster thing has been going for a long time. Look at the Die Hards. They were positioned to be summer blockbusters. And that's 20 years ago. And Real Genius the same way. So nothing has changed very much. What's changed is that things come and go more quickly. Perhaps that's how I see it now. The attention span is less now than it used to be, but not because of Hollywood. It's the culture's attention span that's changed.

What can you tell me about your participation in the Sci-Fi Channel Creature Feature Ghouls.

WA: Ghouls was very ambitious for Sci-Fi because they wanted to see how much they could do technically with the CGI stuff for television. It was all shot in Romania, so Erin Gray and I went over there for a month and that was fascinating because you were shooting in Romania which was a hot location for a number of years until it got too expensive. It was very cheap to be in Romania back then. They had finished shooting a big Civil War picture there – Cold Mountain with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law. We were in Romania a couple of years later. There were a lot of pictures being shot in and around Bucharest. We worked in the big studios in Bucharest. A lot of American production companies were buying or leasing space in them. The crews were very good and very cheap. It was just cheaper to bring a lot of people over there from the States to shoot the picture. That changed after SAG's Rule 1 became official. And that is, if you're an American actor and you're in SAG, if you shoot a picture in Romania for international distribution, you have to have a SAG contract. If you go to Romania to shoot something for Romanian television, they don't care. But if you shoot something in Romania for international distribution, it has to be a SAG contract. So SAG's Rule 1 slammed into the Romanians. But the fun part of it was that you could go there and visit beautiful little towns... Sibiu and university towns like Brașov – these little Baroque gems in the middle of the Carpathians and you were shooting in some really lovely places. So that's what we did for a month.

Ghouls is what it is. It was a horror picture for the Sci-Fi Channel. I think they were trying to shoot as many things as they could for all the distribution that they could get. So I was there with Erin Grey (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) and that's really all I can say about it. I was not part of the overall viewing of it or the overall putting it together as much as I was with Andrew's stuff like Headspace and The Girl Next Door.

In 2012, you were called upon to play another bastard in Jersey Shore Shark Attack, a Syfy Channel production.

WA: That was just a hoot. I did that because Paul Sorvino was in it. Paul and I have known each other for many years. It just seemed kind of fun and stupid and I guess it was fun and stupid and so that's why we spent four or five days down in El Segundo and we just had a very good time and it's one of those things you do just for the hell of it, because it's silly and stupid and we had a good time doing it and that was that!

So you didn't feel that you had to bring a different element to your portrayal of another villain – a ruthless developer intent on demolishing a seedy boardwalk frequented by Italian-Americans?

WA: No, you try to reel it up as much as you can because the more you ground it, the funnier it can be. You can't riff on a riff. (laughs) Somebody's got to be the straight man so you try to do it that way and hopefully it'll all work out.

What was it like to be crushed by a ferris wheel?

WA: Again, I watched that from afar. Paul and I just looked up and yelled "Oh my God" and that was that (laughs).

What role do you play in Childrens Hospital, Adult Swim's hit comedy series?

WA: I play an official who is kind of like the Inspector-General. Shooting that episode was a lot of fun. I worked with Henry Winkler. Henry and I have known each other for a thousand years, all the way back to New York and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel in 1971!

© 2013 Harvey Chartrand

Barbara Broccoli

In the history of Eon Productions, there has only been one non-James Bond film: the 1963 Bob Hope comedy Call Me Bwana. Eon's founders, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, did produce independent productions (Broccoli made Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; Saltzman produced the Harry Palmer films and Battle of Britain) but these were not under the Eon banner. Since Broccoli's death, Eon Productions has been in control of his daughter Barbara and his stepson Michael G. Wilson. They have made an occasional foray into non-Bond territory including an acclaimed HBO film about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the successful stage production of Chitty. Now, however, in the wake of the company's greatest success, Skyfall, Eon have announced that they will produce a rare non-007 film, The Silent Storm which will be shot in Scotland this summer. Click here for more details. 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

An Afternoon with Sir Roger Moore An Evening with Sir Roger Moore

Sunday 27 October 2.00pm Wednesday 6 November 7.30pm

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There have been so many false starts in the attempt to bring The Man From U.N.C.L.E to the big screen, we've given up trying to summarize them all. Suffice it to say that fans believe there is a curse on any such attempt. The latest development won't do anything to dispel those beliefs. Tom Cruise, long rumored to be starring in the role of Napoleon Solo originated on the TV series by Robert Vaughn, has formally bowed out. Ironically, he's bypassed the U.N.C.L.E. project in order to do yet another installment of the Mission: Impossible series. So Cruise has dropped one film inspired by a classic 1960s spy franchise in favor of another. Still, Warner Brothers remains keen on making U.N.C.L.E. a new franchise and Guy Ritchie is still attached as director. Arnie Hammer is also still with the film, presumably to play the role of Illya Kuryakin that was originally played by David McCallum. However, at this rate, we can assume the curse will strike again. Maybe the only way U.N.C.L.E. will ever make it to the big screen is in the form of the two part feature films that were derived from the TV show in the 1960s. For more click here 

Actor Steve Forrest has passed away at the age of 87. The brother of famed actor Dana Andrews, Forrest had a successful career in films and television. A WWII veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Forrest was discovered by Gregory Peck and appeared in numerous films including Flaming Star, Spies Like Us, The Longest Day, Heller in Pink Tights, North Dallas Forty and Mommie Dearest. He was also a proficient vocalist and golfer. On TV, Forrest enjoyed his greatest success, starring in the short-lived, but fondly remembered British adventure series The Baron. As the titular character in the 1965 show, Forrest played an American antiques dealer living in London who would secretly undertake dangerous international missions in the service of British Intelligence. Forrest also had the lead role in the 1970s hit TV series S.W.A.T.  For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Ernest Borgnine's final film, The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vincente Fernandez has been released on Blu-ray on the Indican video label. The following is my review of the film's recent theatrical release:

The independent production is a modestly-budgeted family comedy/drama that presents the legendary Oscar-winner with the kind of showcase role that actors in their nineties almost never have. Borgnine makes the most of it, too, giving a terrific and moving performance that earned him the Best Actor award at last year's Newport Film Festival. Written and produced by Elia Petridis, Fernandez centers on Rex Page (Borgnine), a cantankerous old coot given to griping about every aspect of life. He seems oblivious to the fact that he has an adoring wife (June Squibb), a devoted middle-aged daughter (Dale Dickey) and and a worshipful granddaughter (Audrey P. Scott). Rex is frustrated by his failure to fulfill his dream of becoming a big time actor on the silver screen. He once came close to landing the leading role in a spaghetti Western, but lost out to a competing actor. He's spent a lifetime in self-imposed hell, obsessed with watching this B movie and learning every line of dialogue, which he repeats to anyone in his presence. When a health crisis sees the fiercely independent Rex move into a nursing home, a series of incidents motivate him to reevaluate his life. The nursing home is a money mill for corrupt bureaucrats who use the patients as cash cows. It doesn't take Rex long to figure this out and he quickly wears out his welcome by insulting and chastising fellow elderly patients who are part of a click belonging to the corrupt family that owns the facility. He also is abrasive towards the largely Hispanic staff of nurses and orderlies, often referring to them in unflattering racial insults.

The relationship between Rex and his caregivers gradually softens, however, when the young staff members learn that Rex, a former popular DJ, once briefly met and shook the hand of the film's titular character, Vincente Fernandez, a "Mexican Frank Sinatra" who enjoys mythic stature in the Hispanic community. Rex transfixes the staff by telling and retelling his account of this brief meeting in the 1970s. This common bond allows Rex and the staffers to form a mutually respectful relationship that grows stronger by the day. Rex particularly takes a shine to his nurse Solena (stunningly beautiful Carla Ortiz)- and he comes to her defense, saving her from the clutches of would-be molester Dr. Dominguez (Tony Plana), the chief administrator.  In a scenario that is a clearly geriatric version of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Rex inspires his young friends to stand up for their rights and take on the oppressive bureaucrats who exploit them. He must also deal with challenges in his own life when his family feels he's been alienating them in favor of his adopted family at the nursing home. 

The film contains more than its share of sugary scenes and corny cliches. (The villains are so lacking in any redeeming qualities that they practically twirl their mustaches.) Nevertheless, director Petridis offers Borgnine the finest role he's had in more years than I can remember. He dominates every scene and, ironically for his final film, looks like the picture of good health. Petridis, who must clearly be obsessive about spaghetti westerns himself, cleverly manages to intertwine many aspects of Western movie lore into this contemporary story so that even a card game between Borgnine and a nursing home nemesis is drenched in Leone-like imagery and music. This homage extends to the brilliant title credits which are cleverly derived from the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood "Dollars" trilogy. This is a feel good family film that is marred by one easily correctable misjudgment: the insertion of a completely unnecessary expletive said from a mother to her young child. It's wildly out of place in an otherwise uplifting tale for all ages. If director Petridis is wise, he'll exclude this from the video and pay-per-view versions of the film.

I only had the pleasure of meeting Ernest Borgnine once several years ago for an interview for Cinema Retro magazine. He struck me as a warm, honest and kind individual. Thus, perhaps I had a bit more of a personal outlook when viewing Borgnine's final sequence in this film, which Elia Petridis handles brilliantly. It's so touchingly filmed and directed that I was moved to watch this scene several times. Not since John Wayne's final scene in The Shootist has a legendary actor had a more appropriate on-screen send off.

The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez is not high art, nor does it pretend to be. However, it is an enjoyable film that refreshingly extolls family values. The supporting cast members are all very talented and a pleasure to watch, but is  Ernie Borgnine who justifiably dominates the movie and your memories of it.

The Blu-ray release, which boasts an excellent transfer, includes commentary track by director Elias Petridis and producer Darren Brandl, who both enthusiastically share their memories of making the movie. They both acknowledge that the film has been praised for its superb title sequence, but bizarrely don't seem to be aware of the fact that it is a brilliant homage specifically to Sergio Leone's Man With No Name movies. Instead, they simply imply it is based on traditional Westerns. Come on guys, watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly  and you'll see exactly why everyone loves the credits to Vicente Fernandez. Even the film's ad campaign is creatively based on that classic. The Blu-ray also contains the original trailer and other trailers for Indican video releases, most of which are films centered on themes of social significance.  There is also a bonus supplement of raw footage shot by Brandl on his cell phone of the behind the scenes aspects of the production. While the footage doesn't shed much light on how the movie itself, it does illustrate how the production team had to cope with a very limited budget (everyone is crammed into a small work space). There is also a good deal of reverence in seeing young Petridis return from his first meeting with Ernest Borgnine and speaking incredulously about how the legendary actor promised to defer to him as director and call him "sir". It's nice to see how much respect this new generation of filmmakers had for the revered star. 

Click here to order from Amazon

Click here to read Elia Petridis' statement about working with Ernest Borgnine, who passed away before the film was released.  

By Darren Allison, Cinema Retro Soundtrack Editor  

When considering the scores for movie Westerns, film music collectors often refer to classics such as Max Steiner's The Searchers, Dimitri Tiomkin's Rio Bravo or Victor Young's Shane, all of which are, of course, fabulous scores. Monstrous Movie Music have again, (and in keeping with their refreshing style), ventured into new territories with the release of Paul Dunlap’s Western score to Hellgate (1952) (MMM-1972). Rather surprisingly, this CD marks the first full release to feature Dunlap’s film music. The composer was incredibly prolific throughout his career scoring diverse projects which spanned from many of The Three Stooges movies to the cult classic AIP horrors including the Teenage Frankenstein/Werewolf series of films. For a B movie western, there was something a little different about Hellgate – it was really rather good! Hellgate was directed by Charles Marquis Warren, a tough all-rounder who would go on to produce the popular TV series Rawhide. The film boasted a strong, testosterone fuelled cast featuring Sterling Hayden, James Arness and Ward Bond. Hayden plays a veterinarian who is wrongly convicted of guerrilla activities shortly after the Civil War. The prison camp is tough and he has to survive the sadistic commandant (Bond), a cruel guard (Robert Wilke), and deceitful prisoners like Arness. Throw in some Pima Indians (who patrol the canyon walls) in order to catch any escapees for a reward, prisoner punishment that involves being baked in metal coffins or whipped within an inch of their lives and you have a Western story that is well above the expected standard of Poverty Row Lippert Pictures. Dunlap’s music is incredibly dramatic throughout, but it isn’t your regular western score. His main theme begins with heavy brass and drums, but slips into a more solemn, string based theme before it builds gently and provides a sense of hope. It sets the tone perfectly and emphasises the film’s opposing themes of hatred vs. forgiveness. Tracks such as “Kearne Makes Lunge at Nye” illustrate Dunlap’s ability to create genuine excitement by employing his full range of brass and string sections. Quality, for the best part of this score, is highly acceptable. MMM took the decision to release Dunlap’s original recordings in place of re-recording his score, which I believe was the correct option. Whilst there is some minor noise (from the surviving acetates) evident on a handful of tracks, it does not detract or spoil the acoustic soundscape and naturally maintains the composer’s original work. As a bonus, Monstrous movie music has generously included Dunlap’s excellent score for The Lost Continent (1951). A simple enough story, The Lost Continent successfully merged two fantasy elements, combining rocket ships with roaming dinosaurs on a south pacific island. Making good use of an increased budget, Dunlap was able to employ a 47 piece orchestra, and it was warranted – given the enormity of aircraft, rockets, natural disasters and battling monsters that confronted the composer. The result was a highly enjoyable score, and whilst some of the music has been lost in time, the 28mins of music included here make this a CD that is hard to ignore. We can only hope that there is a lot more of Paul Dunlap’s music to come. Included is a great 20 page booklet that covers just about every aspect of the music, composer and the film, all written (in exquisite detail) by David Schecter.

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Click here to read review of Hellgate DVD 

MEL BROOKS: COMEDY AS THE CURRENCY OF FRIENDSHIP

By Eddy Friedfeld

(Photo copyright Steven R. Stack)

Mel Brooks is profiled in a superb American Masters documentary entitled Mel Brooks: Make a Noise, which premieres nationally on PBS stations on May 20^th.  One of 14 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners, he has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer, and shows few signs of slowing down.  With new interviews with Brooks, his friends and colleagues, including Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Joan Rivers, Tracey Ullman, Rob Reiner, and his close friend, with whom he created The 2000 Year Old Man, Carl Reiner. A DVD with bonus material will be available Tuesday, May 21 from Shout Factory.

"When they called me to say I had been chosen as the next 'American Master,' I thought they said I was chosen to be the next Dutch Master. So I figured what the hell, at least I'll get a box of cigars. When I realized my mistake I was both elated and a little disappointed at losing the cigars," Brooks said.

The comprehensive film takes viewers from Brooks’ early years as Melvin Kaminsky in the Catskills (“I became a drummer because I wanted to make a noise,” Brooks said. “I could have been a floutist, but there was not enough noise”), to his work with Sid Caesar (“that SOB held me back because of his Promethean talent”), to finding his own voice. He knew he had something, he didn’t know how to peddle it, ultimately realizing that his “job was to spot the insane and the bizarre in the commonplace.”

The documentary has a unique and a decidedly different feel. “You get a view of the participants being seen on monitors,” said filmmaker Robert Trachtenberg. “I'm a photographer by trade so I usually shoot my documentaries in studios to achieve a consistent look (and be able to get more people interviewed per day). Because Mel is a filmmaker, I thought it was appropriate to show the milieu - the edges of the set, the monitors, etc. I didn't want the interviews to exist in a vacuum, and I flat out refuse to have a vase of flowers or a lamp behind someone's head.”

“Mel was different from anyone else I've worked with because .... he's Mel! It's a pleasure to talk with someone who is so bright and has such command of the language - you don't want it to end. The most fun was being able to throw out questions that he hadn't heard before - or approach topics from an angle that was new to him. As Rob Reiner says, he's at his very best when he's put in a corner. I asked him deep, probing questions for four months, and he got to keep the shirt we bought for him. So I think we both made out pretty well."

In preparation for my conversation with Mr. Brooks earlier this week, I spent two weeks calling close friends with whom I shared an eternal love and reverence for Brooks and his works and sought their input as to what made him better and more enduring than anyone else who does what he does. It was the joyful conversations themselves that provided the obvious conclusion: No one else could have gotten me to make those calls to other busy people who took the time to think and laugh. Each call reflexively elicited dialogue from his films (including my favorite, “What’s a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?”), which over the years has become the shorthand of our affection. Brooks’ comedy is the currency of our friendships.

While it is well-settled that he is a genius at comedy, he is also a genius at collaboration and friendship. Infused in his work is his love for comedy teams and the journey: The Marx Brothers and the Road Pictures with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. At the core of every one of Brooks’ films there is a partnership and a friendship between at least two characters that are on an adventure. It is the well-defined characters that launches and sustains the comedy and makes the stories enduring. “Unconsciously I was a pup in a cardboard box with three other pups, my brothers, and we tumbled about with each other,” Mel Brooks insightfully said, recalling his modest Brooklyn roots. “That’s why my films are almost always two guys on a journey,” he said.

“When you parody something, you move the truth sideways,” Brooks said. However in developing the on-screen friendships, Brooks built foundations of truth and drilled down deep into the relationships.

I invoked Sid Caesar, Brooks’ friend and former boss, who said: “Great comedy is stories with beginnings, middles and ends. And its best version is combining comedy with pathos. In City Lights, Chaplin’s little tramp character falls in love with a blind girl. He takes out his last dime and gives it to the blind girl to buy the violets she is selling. When she goes over to the water fountain to rinse out her cup, Chaplin follows her with love in his eyes. She rinses the cup and then throws the water in his face. There was a hush in the audience because they didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. That to me was a great piece of comedy because Chaplin captured that bittersweet moment, and was truly working both sides of the street.”

While most of the interviews analyzed the comedy penthouses of his skyscraper classics, I challenged him to analyze the foundation of Brooks’ work: The Da Vinci “science of the art,” the sub-textual pathos of his work- comedy as the currency and engine of friendship, defining the essence of the characters that define and drive the comedy, and a comparison of his fictional friendships with his real-life counterparts. Brooks’ understanding and creation of screen friendships mirror his real-life friendships which go back decades.

Early days: Mel and Sid Caesar  (Photo courtesy Mel Brooks/PBS)

Blazing Saddles, Brooks’ 1974 masterpiece is a satire of Western films and a brilliant social commentary on race and government. The two heroes- Black Bart (Cleavon Little), the Sherriff of Rock Ridge and The Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), are overtly friendlier than Newman and Redford’s Butch and Sundance, on which they are based. When it comes to character development, the Brooks films take the attendant characters and make them more passionate, compassionate, and affable. The comedy is buttressed by friendship, heroism, and honor.

The last interchange in the film occurs after Bart has killed Harvey Korman’s villainous Hedley Lamarr:

Kid: “Where are you going?

Bart: “Nowhere special.”

Kid: “Nowhere special… I’ve always wanted to go there.”

As the two ride off into the sunset, and then into a town car, the scene is as poignant and heartfelt as it is anachronistically funny, with the best friends not knowing where they are going next, and not concerned because they are going there together.

The screen friendship mirrors the relationship Brooks has with Carl Reiner, his comedic and creative partner in crime for over 60 years. “When I first joined The Admiral Broadway Review, the predecessor to Your Show of Shows, I was so unsure of myself I was throwing up between parked cars. I came from South Third Street in Williamsburg [Brooklyn]. I thought I was destined to work in the Garment Center and work my way up from shipping clerk, to salesman, to maybe a partner. I thought that any minute I would be fired. Sid fought for me, but [Show of Shows producer] Max Liebman didn’t want me.” According to legend the stern and staid Liebman would throw lit cigars at the young and animated Brooks.

With Carl Reiner, 2001 (Photo courtesy Robert Trachtenberg/PBS)

“Carl came to the show and thought I was really talented- he supported me at every turn. Carl was a little older and had been on Broadway, he starred in Call me Mister. I was leaning on him for the first two years until I felt I could be there and had my own sense of confidence. If I said I was the best, he said “’you are.’” He created the 2000 Year Old Man with his tape recorder having faith that I could become any character he threw out: From a submarine commander to an Israeli psychiatrist or a Cockney English director.”

“The first portion of my life Carl was my rock. Christ said on this rock I will found my church. On this Jew from the Bronx I founded my church.”

In public from across a room he looks at Carl not only affectionately and for artistic fuel, but often protectively, to make sure his friend is okay. To anyone with close friendships of their own, their rare and enviable bond is apparent and palpable. There is purity to it. They are the Butch and Sundance Kid of comedy, both comedic alchemists, creating funny lines, images and situations literally from the air spinning their golden wit and entertaining and energizing everyone around them, endeavoring to make everyone in the room not only entertained by but engaged in the comedy. “We have a talent for that- turning a room into a community and we enjoy doing that,” Brooks said.

“He’s not a kid anymore and I still love him,” Brooks said of the now 91-year old Reiner. Things turned around. 60 years later Carl leans on me. We’re both very lucky we’ve survived the storms of age and loss. It’s the son’s duty to take care of the father. He just called to ask whether I want the marinated lamb chops or the baby lamb chops- I said get the baby lamb chops thick.”

In 1967’s The Producers, Brooks took the name of Gene Wilder’s character Leopold Bloom from James Joyce Ulysses, and undertook the challenge of making the audience root for two characters that are crooks. It is because of the affection and friendship between Bloom and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) that the story works.

“You can’t help yourself, you want them to succeed,” Brooks said. “I try to explain it all in the lovely speech that Bloom makes in the courtroom trying to protect his friend, Max.”

After the jury foreman (Bill Macy) announces that the jury finds the pair “incredibly guilty,” Leo says:

Leo: “Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, Max Bialystock is the most selfish man I ever met in my life.”

Max: “Don’t help me.”

Leo: “Not only is he a liar and a cheat and a scoundrel and a crook who has taken money from little old ladies, he has talked people including me into doing things that they would never have done in a thousand year… this is a wonderful man who made me what I am today. And what about all the women: Max made them feel young, attractive and wanted again.”

“It’s the father taking care of the son,” Brooks said. “And then the young guy is taking care of the old guy. I also had that in The Twelve Chairs. The young streetwise guy is dealing with the “’out of it’” privileged aristocrat, who never had to worry about life until the revolution set him back on his heels.”

1974’s Young Frankenstein, which director Brooks co-wrote with Wilder has Wilder’s Victor Frankenstein nurturing Peter Boyle’s monster. In none of the other 200-plus versions of the genre did the creator ever risk his life to save his creation. Boris Karloff never sang and danced when he portrayed the monster, nor did he sit on his creators lap. “In no other version did anyone say: “This is an angel- this is a good boy,”” Brooks said.

Both The Producers and Young Frankenstein are metaphors for Brook’s friendship with Gene Wilder. In accepting his Oscar for Best Screenplay from Frank Sinatra for The Producers he thanked Wilder three times, with both men fighting back tears. “Gene Wilder came from nowhere, unknown. Just like Carl spotted the talent in me ten years before that, I spotted the talent in him. I knew there was no more talented actor in comedy or drama than Gene Wilder.”

“He was so grateful to me for supporting him emotionally and bringing the best out of him. I have a great wine collection because of him. I was drinking Manischewitz until I met Gene. He really understood wine. Anne [Bancroft] and I went over to his apartment in the [Greenwich] Village one night. A real dump. But he had a rotisserie, a barbequed chicken. I didn’t know how he did it. He served Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a Rhone wine, and I said “What the hell is this liquid?”

So I began buying that wine and then he served Nuits Saint Georges, a burgundy. I had not yet hit gold, a claret or Bordeaux. At the next meal he ordered Lynch Bages, a French Bordeaux, which I began to collect Bordeauxs, including Sassicaia. I now send Gene something I don’t think he can afford and he’s always happy to get it.”

Cinematic legends meet: Mel, Alfred Hitchcock (who he used to call "Al"!) and Anne Bancroft during the production of High Anxiety. (Photo courtesy of Mel Brooks/PBS)

1982’s My Favorite Year was Brooks’ love letter to Sid Caesar and early television, and was based on his own experience as the youngest writer on Your Show of Shows. Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is assigned to chaperone the less than reliable movie-star Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole) who is scheduled to appear on King Kyser’s (Joseph Bologna) Cavalcade of Comedy. The film made me fall in love with Sid as well. I told Brooks that it was 20 years to the week after I saw My Favorite Year that I was writing with Sid. The affection between the two is still strong. “If Sid Caesar was in a coma and you walked into the room, Sid would get up, say “’hello Mel,’” and drop back into the coma,” I said.

Brooks acknowledges the connection he still has with the 90 year old Caesar, whom he visits regularly. “I’m one of the few people who can get his synapses to fire in that special way. And I’m proud that I can do that. Because if there was no Sid Caesar there would be no Mel Brooks.”

I reminded Brooks of an evening at New York’s Pierre Hotel in 2000, where Caesar was honored and Brooks presented him with an award. He moved the capacity crowd of the great ballroom to near tears. “And it’s not the chicken,” the choked up Brooks said at the time, praising his friend. “Life takes you on different paths. I got on the right road when I went with Sid- and it never went wrong.”

He recalled the now fabled “Writers’ Room,” still one of the most romantic metaphors in history for creativity and comedy and arguably the greatest collection of comedic talent ever assembled.

“It was very stressful to be that creative. We had an Olympic level of comedy height and had to get over that crossbar. We knew when we were settling for cheap standup material and when we were exalted in terms of the human condition and being genuinely funny. We always aimed for that. Max Liebman was a master- he put on live Broadway review every week for 39 weeks a year. Sid wanted me- I could come up with bizarre things- all kinds of crazy things that distinguished Sid from other comedians. I came up with material for the German Professor character and foreign movies.”

“There were only a few of us in the beginning. Max supervised the writing with Sid and Carl sitting in. There was Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen and then myself. Tony Webster was brought in. The later incarnation of the Writers’ Room included Doc and Danny Simon, Mike Stewart, Aaron Ruben, Woody Allen, and Larry Gelbart. We’d work separately and all meet and complete each other’s tasks. Unless there was a big movie parody where we all sat in a room together. It is still the only show where the writers became as famous as the stars.”

He recalled meeting another young writer whom he is still close to, Rudy DeLuca, who along with Steve Haberman is part of Brooks’ inner circle. “Rudy is a real pal- he was working on the Carol Burnett show with his partner, Barry Levinson. Rudy has such a funny personality- he was crazy board member in Silent Movie. In High Anxiety, Rudy played the hit man with the aluminum teeth. Who came up with the idea of putting a little Japanese umbrella in his drink when he was stalking me in the bar.”

“Barry also wrote with me on High Anxiety. He would tell me stories about growing up with his friends in Baltimore. I took him to Il Vitelloni, Felini’s first film- which is about a group of friends who grow up together in Italy. I said, this sounds like what you’re talking about. Take your stories put them together and take out the ones that don’t work. He wrote the script to Diner in three weeks.”

I explained to Brooks that two people shaped my creative life and influenced what I wanted to do more than anyone else: Larry Gelbart and Mel Brooks. “Including me, he could have been the best writer in the Writers’ Room,” Brooks said.

I told him that 1974 was my “favorite year,” Gelbart’s MASH was on TV and Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were in the movies. The intellectual driven comedy made the smart kids feel hip and ambitious. “You have to know a little bit about the world and the history. All the references are critical- if you don’t get them you don’t get the essential comedy and what we’re trying to do.”

In 1982- I bought 10 copies of The High Anxiety Soundtrack, the flipside of which included the songs from all of the other prior Brooks’ films, to give as holiday gifts to friends. When I presented it to one of my college friends, he clutched the LP to his chest and ran off eager to play it. Flash forward to 1995, I get a box in the mail- it was The 2000 Year Old Man Boxed Set that had just been released on CD with a note from that friend thanking me for the LP 12 years earlier.

Brooks recalled a similar experience: “I screened High Anxiety for Alfred Hitchcock. He didn’t say a lot, turning to me a few times, when the newspaper ran down the drain, he said “’brilliant,’” which was very nice. He said he had less showering [in Psycho] than I had. At the end he got up and left without saying a word. I was so worried. I thought this is no good. I guess he didn’t like the picture.”

“The next day on my desk in my office at 20^th Century Fox there was a beautiful wooden case of 1961 Château Haut-Brion. Six magnums. Priceless. Unbelievable to this day. There was also a little note: "Dear Mel: I have no anxiety about High Anxiety, it’s a wonderful film. Love Hitch.”

“The only two people who ever said I was a good director were Hitchcock and Billy Wilder. I never heard from anyone else in the business. Until the AFI called me. Last October, the AFI named Brooks the recipient of the 41st American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, which will be presented in June, joining Shirley MacLaine, Tom Hanks, John Ford, James Cagney, Jack Nicholson, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Poitier and both Kirk and Michael Douglas.

“I’ve always been saluted as a comedy force but never as a film director. I always explained the movie clearly so that the story worked. My dream was to get over the Williamsburg Bridge and get to Manhattan ever since I was three years old. Me and my childhood [and lifelong] friend Gene Cogan, formerly Eugene Cohen, would walk over the bridge to Delancey Street and get a knish and a root beer. I knew there was something great over that bridge.

Young Melvin Kaminsky got his knish and root beer. And Mel Brooks crossed the East River Rubicon and journeyed to entertain millions as a masterful storyteller and continues to entertain new generations of grateful fans with big noises that get even bigger laughs.

Cinema Retro Contributor Eddy Friedfeld teaches comedy and film history at NYU and Yale and is the co-author of Caesar’s Hours with Sid Caesar

Can't get enough Mel? Check out Lee Pfeiffer's extensive interview with him in the latest issue (#16) of Cinema Retro.

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By Dollie Banner

When I came of age in the eighties and nineties, cinema art houses were filled with American independent films, most of them gems. It seemed that then movie lovers could see nearly every film released. In the years since the number of independent films have grown exponentially, and I often worry that I’m bypassing, or even worse completely ignorant, of some worthwhile films that get lost in cinematic obscurity.

The Exhibitionists (2012), the second feature from director Michael Melamedoff is such a film, a compelling chamber piece about seven characters revealing their true desires over the course of two nights. At the heart of the film is fragile Regina (Pepper Binkley), who we meet nervously awaiting the arrival of her husband Walter (Richard Short), an agent provocateur filmmaker just returned from a cross-country film shoot. In tow he brings fellow crewmember Gordo (Daniel London), whose dutiful wife Gretchen (Lauren Hodges) has been keeping a tight watch on Regina, and Lynn (Ella Rae Peck) their lovely and vivacious intern who has been earning extra credit with George off the clock. Tensions between the five occupants at Walter and Regina’s apartment are already strained when the arrival of Regina’s brother George (Mike Doyle), on leave from a seminary, and musical diva Blithe Stargazer (Laverne Cox) set a series of betrayals and revelations in motion.

First conceived as a stage play, screenwriter Michael Edison Hayden has adapted his own work into a film that bears a strong resemblance to higher profile plays-turned-films closer (2004) and carnage (2011). All three examine the private truths behind seemingly healthy relationships through expertly written characters. The Exhibtionists never quite reaches the probing dexterity of the other two pieces, but what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for with a titillating and refreshingly ambiguous sexuality. Both Hayden and Melamedoff are aided by a group of skilled and attractive actors. Viewers expect a few thin performances in micro-budgeted films, but this cast is uniformly committed and capable. Particular standouts are Ella Rae Peck of NBC’s deception, whose natural beauty and delivery make an instant impression and Laverne Cox (Netflix’s orange is the new black), a force of indeterminate sex whose palpable magnetism affects everyone else in the film. Their two scenes together sizzle and mark a tipping point in the film.

Shot in just over ten days, Melamedoff deftly places the viewer in the middle of the action often utilizing reverse shots to canvas multiple characters’ perspectives. It’s a shame he didn’t have more funds to work with because although the film has definite style, it also cannot hide it minimal budget. The score by Teddy Blanks, who also created the opening sequence, is unapologetically electronic and retro. It’s a little too similar to music heard in soft core cable offerings, but manages to establish and sustain a sense of unease throughout the film. Perhaps it is the association with the music cues, but The exhibitionists ultimately fails to fully deliver on its title and promise of sexual provocation. I thought I might be watching a modern take on the sexploitation films of the sixties and seventies such as Score (1973) by Radley Metzger, but this film never evolves into erotica. Despite that The Exhibitionists is an intriguing work and engages the viewer from the first shot to the last.

The Exhibitionists was unfortunately relegated to a few festival appearances in lieu of a theatrical run. Now it’s available on VOD and DVD, presented along with a few extras. Best amongst the special features is Michael Melamedoff’s very informative commentary which illustrates how purposefully he went about constructing the film. Also included are some behind the scenes stills, Walter’s edited pitch for Blithe that features some hardcore footage and a festival interview with director Melamedoff and actor Richard Short, all short but nifty. Viewers can also download the score if they want to stage their own party at home. Hopefully with this release The Exhibitionists will finally find the audience it deserves.

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(Click here to visit reviewer Dollie Banner's web site)  

The Trevi Fountain figured famously in Fellini's classic La Dolce Vita with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg.

Rome has been the backdrop to some iconic films over the years, but its real heyday was between the 1950s and 1960s, when classics such as Roman Holiday were shot in and around the city centre. Even today, the locations used are considered to be points of pilgrimage for any self-respecting retro film fan, from the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum, especially as 2013 marks the 60^th anniversary of Roman Holiday hitting our screens.

The easiest way to track down the real life places behind the celluloid is to create your own walking tour, so that you can spend as long as you like at each spot; just use the Rome film map from lowcostholidays.com and dive straight into the sights to plan your own route. Here’s your guide to each of the retro pictures that made the map.

Roman Holiday (1953)

It’s the film that launched Audrey Hepburn; her first leading role, which saw her playing a princess from an unnamed European country who was determined to explore Rome whilst on a royal visit. With Gregory Peck as her guide, she went to the Mouth of Truth, the Spanish Steps and Ponte Sant’Angelo. You can still see the key locations today, but one of the highlights is the Roman Forum, where our main characters meet. There’s no longer a road through the middle of it, but you can still explore the crumbling Arch of Septimus Severus, where Audrey (as Princess Ann) is found asleep.

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

Aside from the continuity gripe of only two – not three – coins being thrown into the fountain from the title, this 50s film is perfect viewing for anyone who wants to see vintage Rome in all its glory, through the eyes of three American ex-pats. Right from the start, with establishing shots of St. Peter’s and the Tivoli Gardens, we’re treated to picture-perfect views. The Colosseum is a stopping point on a whistle-stop tour of one character’s city recommendations, along with a branch of the National Museum.

La Dolce Vita (1960)

The Trevi Fountain’s most memorable cinema appearance was when Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni climbed in together during a night-time stroll. Sadly you can’t recreate the moment these days, as bathing isn’t actually allowed, but you can relive the magic by visiting after dark, to avoid the huge crowds. Further afield, take a trip to the Baths of Caracalla and see where film star Sylvia (played by Ekberg) danced in front of the press and her fiancé.

As well as the locations used as a backdrop to certain scenes, you can also track down one of director Federico Fellini’s biggest local inspirations – Harry’s Bar, on the Via Veneto, which was a hotspot for celebrities back in the 60s. In the film itself, the popular street was entirely recreated in the studio, but today it would be a lot easier to shoot footage here, as the Via Veneto isn’t considered to be part of Rome’s social scene anymore and is relatively quiet.

Aside from those greats, there were hundreds of films made at the nearby Cinecittà Studios, which is on the outskirts of the city and was built by Mussolini. This is the perfect place to continue your cinematic tour, where you can find out how epics such as Ben-Hur and Cleopatra were made on the sprawling set. Head to Cinecittà by using the Metro system and then enjoy a set and on-site museum tour, which will set you back €15.

Pay tribute to Italy’s most cinematic city and discover the locations behind the iconic scenes; you’ll soon see why directors couldn’t keep away from Rome.

By Lee Pfeiffer

It's pretty amazing how many ways studios have devised to market and re-market The Three Stooges. The latest attempt is Sony's made-to-order 3 DVD set titled Rare Treasures from the Columbia Vault. It's a bit misleading in that the bulk of the material pertains to individual short films starring Stooge cast members, but for this reviewer, that's also what makes the set so special. There are eleven hours of material in the set including two feature films and 28 shorts. The features are Rockin' in the Rockies, a 1945 musical comedy that features the Stooges as inept prospectors in the modern west. The film seems to have been made to promote promising musical talent of the day. The story has the boys kidnapping a Broadway talent agent and holding him hostage until he hears their friends perform their revue, which includes numbers by Spade Cooley, the "King of Western Swing". The Stooges comedy bits are strewn too infrequently throughout, so I confess to keeping my finger on the "fast forward" button during some of the dated song sequences. The second feature is Have Rocket Will Travel, a late career feature for the Stooges during their renaissance period with Curly Joe taking over from the original Curly and Shemp. It's a pretty limp affair, but there is a certain charm about the total innocence of the comedy skits. It depicts an era in which three grown men could be depicted snuggling together in one bed without the slightest hint of a sexual connotation. The script finds the Stooges accidentally ending up on a space ship to Venus. Even within the way out realm they often operated in, this premise is over-the-top. Fortunately, the film ends with a more traditional setting with the boys upstaging snooty guests at a black tie dinner party. Keep an eye out for future "Time Tunnel" star Robert Colbert as the romantic lead. 

The set also contains some brilliant Columbia cartoons from the 1930s that feature first rate animation. The cartoons depict famous movie stars of the day including  the Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Kate Hepburn, the Marx Brothers, Charles Laughton, etc. They are truly wonderful pieces of entertainment. Most refreshing is the inclusion of numerous shorts featuring solo gigs by Stooge actors who never quite got the acclaim they deserve. Shemp Howard headlines some of the funnier efforts, but there are also terrific turns by Joe DeRita and Joe Besser. Although Besser was married in real life, he always played overtly fey (dare we say "closeted"?) characters long before Paul Lynde had come along. His starring roles in these shorts finally afforded him the spotlight he deserved. Similarly, the porcine DeRita was a terrific comedic presence who never quite got the acclaim he deserved. Both men were of considerable girth which makes their obsession with performing high risk pratfalls even more impressive. Both Besser and DeRita's films find them in almost identical plot situations.  They are  generally married to conniving women or outright battle axes who henpeck them mercilessly. Kitchens often provide ample opportunity for widespread destruction as the simplest of cooking tasks inevitably meet with disaster. These post-War era shorts also accentuate the military and one of the funniest finds Besser drafted into the Army, where he drives his top sergeant crazy with his goofy behavior. (It's pretty easy to see where the inspiration for the Gomer Pyle character derived from.) It should be noted that these short films feature a stock company of brilliant comedic second bananas who appear numerous times. If the films resemble Three Stooges humor, it's not by coincidence: many were directed by the Stooges' own Jules White. Curiously, a couple of the Joe Besser shorts appear twice in re-titled versions that exclude the original prologues. 

In all, this 3 DVD set is manna from heaven not only for Stooges fans but for anyone who appreciates great comedy of this era.

The set contains the following :

Rockin' In The Rockies (1945) (feature film with Curly)

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Bryan Forbes, who personified the golden age of British cinema in the post-WWII era, has died at age 86. Forbes started out as an actor before morphing into a screenwriter and esteemed director. He teamed with Richard Attenborough to form a film production company. Among their films was The Angry Silence, an acclaimed 1960 movie in which both men starred. It dealt squarely with England's omnipresent tensions between business leaders and union members. Forbes co-wrote the screenplay and produced the movie. His high profile films as director include such British classics as Whistle Down the Wind, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, The Wrong Box, The Whisperers, King Rat, Deadfall, The Slipper and the Rose, The L-Shaped Room, International Velvet as well as the hit 1975 Hollywood horror flick The Stepford Wives. Forbes also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for some of these films as well as the comedy classic The League of Gentlemen and director Attenborough's Chaplin. Forbes had been nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay for The Angry Silence and had won a BAFTA for the same script. He had been nominated for numerous other BAFTA awards and was given a lifetime achievement honor by the organization in 2007. For more click here

By Todd Garbarini

Rarely has distributor exploitation been as blatant as in the case of Simon Wincer’s The Day After Halloween (1980), a ludicrously-named Australian outing originally optioned under the name of Centerfold, then changed to Snapshot after the producers were unable to secure that title, and was eventually released as One More Minute. It appeared on video shelves here in the U.S. on VHS both in 1983 from Catalina Home Video under the title of The Day After Halloween and in 1985 as The Night After Halloween on Magnum Home Entertainment. The film came on the heels of the John Carpenter-scripted Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) which was set against the milieu of the fashion industry. Filmed in 1978 and released in Australia the following year, The Day After Halloween has absolutely nothing to do with John Carpenter’s seminal holiday suspense yarn, and isn’t even a slasher film. It isn’t even a thriller. At best, it can be considered a mystery that concerns a young woman named Angela (Sigrid Thornton) who lives with her wretched, belittling mother and is trying to fend off the unwanted affections of her obsessed and emotionally unstable ex-boyfriend Daryl (Vincent Gil) who drives an ice cream truck (think Phantasm!). She’s late for work which earns her the condemnation of her hairstylist boss but garners the affections of Madeline (Chantal Contouri), a sophisticate who dresses like Joan Collins who encourages Angela to parlay her natural good looks into a modeling career which lands her topless in Cleo, the Australian equivalent of Cosmopolitan Magazine, in an ad for Bermuda Cool cologne. The ad proves lucrative but also draws the unsolicited attention of lots of tongue-wagging men twice her age in an effort to score with her. A photographer sets up a meeting with her and uses an innocent photo session as a ruse to get her drunk and undressed, but she bails, which leads to a frightening confrontation later on.

Given the cookie-cutter nature of films from this era, it isn’t difficult to realize who really idolizes Angela and wants her the most. The Bermuda Cool photographing sequence goes on much longer than it should (remember that long, wordless sequence in Play Misty for Me set to a Roberta Flack song? That was shorter!). Lacking a cinematic style, the film for the most part is shot in masters and throws lots of red herrings at the audience, but it makes for an entertaining film. The acting is impressive for this sort of story. The score is by the late Australian composer Brian May whose music to George Miller’s The Road Warrior (1981) is one of the best action film scores ever. Prior to this, Mr. May scored Patrick (1978) which was produced by Anthony Ginnane who also acts as producer on this film as well (if you have seen the Italian cut of Patrick, Mr. May’s score was replaced by Goblin’s). Director Wincer has gone on to director more notable and successful films: Phar Lap (1983), D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Quigley Down Under (1990), Free Willy (1993), and The Phantom (1996).

The film has been released on Scorpion Releasing’s Katarina's Nightmare Theater line, hosted by Katarina Leigh Waters. Ms. Waters proves to be a charming and knowledgeable emcee and provides an amusing introduction to the film. She points out that this is the first time the film is being presented on home video in its original 2.35:1 anamorphic Panavision aspect ratio. The film is transferred from a theatrical print, but it is free of dirt and scratches. The sound is in mono and is passable.

The DVD contains the entire, uncut version of the film with Snapshot on the title card, however there is an extra that contains a portion of the opening credits with The Day After Halloween as the title (the fuzziness of the image and overall lack of quality appears to be sourced from VHS). There is also an extremely informative running commentary with producer Anthony Ginnane moderated by Ms. Waters. A veteran of over fifty films, Mr. Ginnane is a fountain of knowledge and remembers quite a bit about the making of this film which had a very tight production schedule on the order of three weeks shooting time. The DVD cover replicates the original American one-sheet which is a nicely-designed image but is completely misleading – it is simply the wrong cover for this movie.

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If not for a last minute change, legendary opera star Maria Callas would have been the female lead in The Guns of Navarone.

Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival  (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.

The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.

Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the role model for every diva to come. This was an astonishing publicity coup. Names did not come any bigger. Although few opera stars can act, she was considered more than capable. Smouldering European actresses like Sophia Loren were much in demand in Hollywood at the time and she fitted the bill.’

Born in America in 1923 to Greek parents, she mad her singing debut in 1941 but her early career was tumultuous and it was not until she married wealthy industrialist Giovanni Meneghini that she achieved major success. Even so she battled with employers and was known as much for her tantrums, walkouts and love life as her singing. Her presence was a considerable departure from the best-selling book by Scottish writer Alistair Maclean for in the original there were no female characters.

The news received worldwide coverage – Callas was that big a star. Hollywood was agog. Offers of movie roles had been made to Callas before and she had turned them down. There was a history of opera stars making the jump to Hollywood. Popular 1930s due Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald had both been opera stars. More recently Mario Lanza had been a box office sensation - his film The Great Caruso had ranked third in the US box office charts in 1951 ahead of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place In The Sun. There had also been a trend for operas to be filmed and show in cinemas.

But Callas’s career had been riddled with bust-ups and insiders predicted the relationship with Foreman would not last. Callas abruptly quit the production before shooting began and was replaced by classical actress Irene Papas.

Nor was she the only casualty of the filming. Producer Foreman lost first choice actors  Cary Grant and William Holden, director Alexander Mackendrick (The Ladykillers), scriptwriter Eric Ambler (Mask Of Dimitrios), and a second female star Annette Stroyberg, wife of director Roger Vadim who had turned Brigitte Bardot into a star. British actor David Niven nearly died during filming.  The set, the biggest ever built in Britain, for the titular guns collapsed and had to be rebuilt and the budget soared by 25%. 

Despite these setbacks, the film burned up the box office and was the number one film of the year and nominated for seven Oscars.

Hannan has also published two books on Hitchcock – Darkness Visible:Hitchcock’s Greatest Film and Hitchcock’s Hollywood Hell.

The author will introduce a new restored 4K version of The Guns Of Navarone film on Sunday April 28 preceded by a book signing of his book and its companion The Making Of Lawrence Of Arabia.

The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone by Brian Hannan is published by Baroliant Press, priced £8.99 and is available on Kindle and in bookshops.

(U.S. readers can click here to order the Amazon Kindle edition)  

Contact Brian Hannan by email on bhkhannan@aol.com  or mobile  07946 278403

By Lee Pfeiffer

Scorpion has released a fun horror double-feature DVD consisting of The Hearse (1980) and Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969). 

The Hearse is a comparatively upscale production (anything is upscale compared to the Dracula flick) that top-lines two good actors: Trish Van Devere and Joseph Cotten. Van Devere plays Jane Hardy, a recently divorced thirty-something woman who is suffering from psychological problems relating to the end of her marriage. When her mother dies, she inherits a charming country home that used to belong to her maiden aunt. Jane decides to spend the summer in the house in the hope that a rural lifestyle might ease her personal problems. From minute one, she has second thoughts, however. The townspeople are rude to her and there are rumblings about some nasty legends relating to the house. The lawyer who is overseeing the property (Joseph Cotten) is a nasty, cynical old coot who does everything in his power to dissuade Jane from staying in the home she has inherited. The reasons why become immediately apparent. No sooner has Jane moved in than strange things start occurring. Doors slam on their own, noises emanate from the attic and cellar and she believes she catches glimpses of her aunt watching her. In the glorious tradition of "women in haunted houses" films, Jane doesn't do the sensible thing and move out. Rather, she convinces herself there is a logical explanation. However, the nightmarish scenario moves outside of the house and Jane (who inevitably finds herself driving at night on back country roads) is terrified by a mysterious hearse that tries to run her off the road. She later learns that the secret may relate to her aunt's past. In reading her diaries, Jane is shocked to find that her aunt was once a shy, conservative woman who was planning on marrying a preacher. However, she fell under the spell of a sexually perverted man and ended up becoming practicing the black mass with him. The two devil worshipers were killed in an accident but the hearse carrying their bodies was also destroyed in a bizarre twist of fate and their bodies were never found. Despite the increasing threats on her life, Jane remains determined to stay in the house and seeks solace from a new man in her life, the handsome Tom Sullivan (David Gautreaux), who is so creepy he practically sprouts horns and fangs, but Jane never catches on. The film presents every cliche of the genre including a heroine who uses candles and flashlights to investigate things that go bump in the night. (There may have been a reference to an old Indian burial ground, too, but I could have missed it.) There are some genuinely creepy scenes but long-time editor George Bowers (who made his directorial debut with this film) can't figure out how to milk any suspense from the overall weather-beaten scenario. The film is best in the early scenes when Jane is haunted by relatively mundane occurrences. By the time the movie reaches its climax, Bowers resorts to an "everything but the kitchen sink" formula that throws in exorcisms and car chases. The premise of a demonic automobile should have been sent to the cinematic junk yard after the unintentionally hilarious The Car (1977). The Hearse isn't as bad as all that, thanks to fine performances by Van Devere and Cotten, but it falls short of its overall potential. It makes for passable entertainment, but in the aggregate, it's pretty much stuck in neutral. The DVD contains an introduction by scream queen Katarina Leigh Waters and there is an audio interview with screenwriter Bill Bleich. The original trailer is also included. 

Blood of Dracula's Castle is an infamous gem from director Al Adamson, who was so inept he made Ed Wood look like Sir David Lean. The film was shot in 1966 but not released until 1969. Falling squarely into the "so bad it's good" category, the story centers on Glen and Liz (Gene O'Shane and Barbara Bishop)  a young couple who are engaged to be married. Glen learns he has inherited a castle in the California desert (!) that belonged to an eccentric uncle. Upon arriving at the castle, they are greeted by George (John Carradine), an erudite but eerie long time butler to the residents of the mansion. They turn out to be the Townsends (Alex D'Arcy and Paula Raymond), a bizarre couple who claim they hold royal titles of Count and Countess. They are distressed to learn that Glen and Liz intend to move into the residence, which means they will have to find a new abode. This makes for a major problem because they are vampires and are quite happy with their present situation, which finds them keeping young women chained to the wall in their dungeon and using them as a source of blood supply. (They feel that biting victims in the neck is a rather quaint way of sustaining immortality when one can indulge in refreshing blood cocktails.) The Townsends extend every courtesy to the young couple who intend to evict them and introduce them to their friend Johnny (Robert Dix), who is actually an escaped convict who gets murderous urges whenever there is a full moon. Before long, Glen and Liz are victimized and facing life in the dungeon. Townsend also reveals he is the original Count Dracula, a plot device thrown in merely for marquee value as there is absolutely nothing about him that evokes any of the popular perceptions of the Count. In fact the Townsends are about as threatening as Gomez and Morticia Addams, as they trade witticisms and charm their intended victims with their perpetually jolly outlook on (eternal) life. There is one other resident of the mansion: Mango (Ray Stevens), an Igor-like mute who captures young women for the Townsends and who is periodically rewarded by being allowed to sexually abuse them. The film is a complete disaster on all levels, which makes it fun to watch.  The irresistible presence of John Carradine only adds to the fun. The shoddy sets are somewhat offset by the fact that director/producer Adamson found an actual castle-like mansion that was located in the California desert. The film is padded out with chase scenes that are designed to make the clock run out in order to get to an appropriate running time. Adamson's ineptness is part of the film's charm, as is the presence of members of his own stock company who gamely appeared in his numerous low-budget productions. The DVD features Katrarina Leigh Waters interviewing production manager John "Bud" Cordos, who went on to direct his own films, most notably Kingdom of the Spiders. Cordos is an affable guy who relates marvelous stories about his friendships with Adamson and Robert Dix (son of silent screen legend Richard Dix). He states that Dix never played the Wolfman in the film, which may seem erroneous because there is footage of Dix's character turning into the Wolfman. Research shows that this footage was inserted into the film to spice up TV syndication sales and that the actor in the furry rubber mask was not Robert Dix. Thus, Cordos is correct in his statement. 

The entire DVD double feature package is very well produced by Scorpion founder Walter Olsen, who goes to extraordinary lengths to give first class treatment to second-class films. Half the fun of watching a Scorpion DVD is indulging in the informative extras, as is demonstrated with this package. This double feature DVD evokes memories of the glorious old days of theatrical double features. Highly recommended for pure kitsch value.

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Harrison Ford and Chad Boseman in "42", a surprise boxoffice hit.

Hollywood studios, long criticized for catering almost exclusively to young audiences, is discovering that if they release intelligent fare aimed at older audiences, they will be rewarded with boxoffice gold. In recent years, films that feature the usual  big action sequences, boring special effects and low-brow comedy have been rivaled by some highly praised films aimed squarely at baby boomers and senior citizens. Case in point: last week's strong opening for 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic that top-lines 70 year old Harrison Ford, who now refers to himself as a "character actor". For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

If you think Terrence Mallick makes films infrequently, consider the career of Robin Hardy, who gained acclaim for his direction of the 1973 British horror classic The Wicker Man. In the ensuing decades, Hardy has been associated with precisely three other feature films, all little-seen: as writer of Forbidden Sun (1989), The Wicker Tree (2011, as writer and director) and the 1986 film The Fantasist, which he also wrote and directed. The latter film suffered from a botched release and poor reviews, with the verdict being that Hardy's much-anticipated return to filmmaking was a letdown. Scorpion Releasing has issued The Fantasist on DVD and the movie deserves to be re-evaluated with the passage of time. 

The film is set in Ireland and Hardy makes excellent use of both urban and rural locations. Moira Harris (sometimes billed as Moira Sinise nowadays due to her marriage to actor Gary Sinise), an actress who is American by birth, gives an astonishingly convincing performance as a  Patricia Teeling, young Irish woman who moves from her family's farm to Dublin in order to break the monotony and pursue a career as a teacher. Urban life agrees with her and she takes out a room in a boarding house. However, Dublin is being terrorized by a serial killer who phones young women and chats with them in a seductive, yet sexually explicit way. Some of these women end up being so intrigued by the mystery man that they invite him to their apartments only to be sexually abused and murdered. Patricia is oblivious to the murders. She befriends a charming American, Danny Sullivan (Timothy Bottoms) who is also a boarder in the house. He's quirky but funny and seems harmless enough- until she overhears him making obscene phone calls. The tension rises when a female boarder in the house falls victim to the serial killer. In panic, Patricia's roommate moves out, leaving her alone with the increasingly creepy Danny. She finds an ally in Dublin Detective McMyler (Christopher Cazenove), who becomes especially welcome when Patricia begins receiving the ominous phone calls herself. In one terrifying incident, she finds herself in the house with the unseen murderer but manages to make a daring escape by crawling atop the roof and climbing down to the ground. The police peg Danny as the prime suspect but they can't find anything but circumstantial evidence so he isn't indicted. A fellow teacher, Robert Foxley (John Cavanagh) also emerges as a suspect. He's also eccentric and carries a torch for Patricia. The film comes to a suspense-filled climax with Patricia finding herself captured by the killer. In a cringe-inducing, sexually explicit sequence, she decides to attempt to save herself by using erotic techniques to disarm her would-be murderer. The film is only compromised by an epilogue set on a ferry that reduces this otherwise superior, intelligent thriller to the level of a typical slasher movie with some over-the-top action straining credibility. 

The Fantasist has much to recommend about it. All of the performances are first rate and the identity of the killer will keep viewers guessing right up until he is revealed. Harris is simply superb and the supporting performances are equally first rate. As director and writer, Robin Hardy impresses with this double-duty assignment, eschewing studio shots for making use of actual locations. The film has a cliched scenario but is a far more mature and sophisticated work than most other "women in jeopardy" thrillers. 

Scorpion's DVD edition features a first rate transfer and is presented as part of the label's signature Katrina's Nightmare Theatre which means you get an optional, campy introductory segment hosted by former wrestler (!) and B movie sexpot Katarina Leigh Waters. She not only provides plenty of eye candy but also relates some interesting facts about the making of the movie and its undeserved neglect by audiences and critics. The package also contains the original trailer as well as an ample sampling of trailers for other Scorpion releases. The box art seems to be a new creation and doesn't even mention Harris on the credits, which seems patently unfair. 

I may be one of the few critics who looks favorably on The Fantasist. It's got plenty of flaws, but its Dublin setting and fine performance by Moira Harris earn it a hearty recommendation. 

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Intrada Records  has announced the premiere of Jerry Goldsmith original soundtrack scores for two great Frank Sinatra films: Von Ryan's Express and The Detective. Both scores appear on the same special edition CD.  For details click here to order from Screen Archives. 

Disney isn't wasting any time capitalizing on their costly purchase of the Star Wars franchise. The studio has announced that, beginning in 2015, a new Star Wars film will arrive annually. Some will be new series based on various characters from the franchise. For more click here

From the Reel Images web site:

Here for your online viewing pleasure we have included the following nifty recreations of those great one-reel Super 8 sound horror and sci-fi digests of the past in a special salute to Castle Films and Ken Films! All but "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Return of Frankenstein" were edited by one Henry Senerchia, who may be contacted at creature8859@aol.com to direct your comments. Each film isguaranteed to produce 9 minutes of "warm fuzzies" for any "monster kid" who was lucky enough to grow up in the heyday of those great boxed film digests that winked seductively from spinning racks and shelves in elite camera departments of the finest department stores of the 1960's and 70's!

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Winters in the classic gas station sequence from Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Jonathan Winters died on Thursday at age 87. Although superstardom eluded him, Winters is acknowledged as one of the most innovative comics of his era, having inspired others such as Robin Williams to emulate his talent for improvisation. Winters' off-beat, often crazy antics relied on off-the-cuff remarks rather than rehearsed comedy routines, though he did prove to be a popular television presence and released hit comedy albums. He was too unstructured to capitalize on his successful roles in classic comedy films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! A WWII veteran, Winters found early success with live comedy routines in nightclubs, but the pressure caused him to suffer two nervous breakdowns and he gave up the format in favor of making feature films and TV appearances. For more click here