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 My last blog post was on a Blu-ray of Antonio Margheriti's CASTLE OF BLOOD, so I might as well follow that up with a look at a special edition release of the remake of that film: WEB OF THE SPIDER. This 1971 feature was also helmed by Margheriti, and it is included on a two-disc Blu-ray set fr read more

Fred Astaire as a ChowderSociety member.When I watch a film adaptation, I try to evaluate it on its own merits--as opposed to comparing the movie to its literary source. I am struggling with that, though, as I write this review of Ghost Story (1981), a simplified version of Peter Straub's engro read more

Halloween is fast approaching and what better time of the year to listen to ghost stories then the autumn season, when the leaves begin to change color and there is a cold nip in the air. There are plenty of ghost stories from radio programs of the olden days, but if you want a taste of something di read more

We are continuing our coverage of Children's Film Foundation (CFF) films with Paganini Strikes Again, a rare mystery/adventure from 1977. The "Paganini" in the title refers to Mike (Andrew Bowen) and his friend Bill (Philip Bliss) who are both violin students. On their way to music class, they get s read more

Book Review – MOGULS: The Lives and Times of Hollywood Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck Title: MOGULS: The Lives and Times of Hollywood FilmPioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck By: Michael Benson and Craig Singer Publisher: Citadel Press ISBN 978-0-8065-4308-6 (hardcover) ISB read more

This month's film album is actually a compact disc album and it's an oldie and a goodie: The Avengers by the London Studio Orchestra. The cover states in big letters that it also includes themes from Dr. Strangelove, First Men in the Moon, etc... but Laurie Johnson's name is in small print at the bo read more

My pal Kristina, over at the Speakeasy blog, has introduced a new feature where she offers a prompt and invites bloggers to answer the question on their blogs. She recently posted her second prompt, and it’s another good one! Film Friday #2 celebrates Back to School Time and Kristina invit read more

Well, now that it’s been close to five months since I had the pleasure of attending my 10th in-person Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, I think this would be a great time to share my experience. After all, better late than really late, amirite? In my previous post about this year’s trip to Los read more

Bette Davis learns All About Eve in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s classic film  All About Eve (1950) is an American drama written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, and Celeste Holm. Other cast members include Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlo read more

Every once in a while you come across a gem of an album that you never even knew existed. This one caught my attention because Annette Funicello was on the cover but then I saw the subtitle "and other Walt Disney serials" and my heart skipped a beat. This album is actually just an updated release of read more

My pal Kristina, over at the Speakeasy blog, has introduced a new feature where she offers a prompt and invites bloggers to answer the question on their blogs. I’m a week behind, but there’s no time like the present to catch up. Here’s her first prompt: I really wish _______ had done read more

Supportive Fellas of Film Noir: Part II More than a year ago, I started a series, “Supportive Fellas of Film Noir,” which focused on  . . . well . . . the supporting male characters in film noir features. It’s been a while since I promised to shine the spotlight on these gents, so I figured read more

This month's British Pathé newsreel features color footage from the 1962 Royal Film Performance which had Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Lord Snowdon in attendance....not to mention 16 big-name stars who were presented to the queen prior to the showing. These included Yul Brynner, Cliff Ric read more

There was a plethora of great piano music albums released in the 1960s. Most of them were from the "big names" like Ferrante and Teicher, Horst Jankowski, Liberace or Frankie Carle... but a name that deserves to rank among those famous ivory-ticklers is Lee Evans. Evans name may not be familiar read more

TCM Classic Film Festival 15 Over the years the TCM Classic Film Festival has typically included a couple of Westerns on the schedule, such as Winchester ’73 (1950), which I wrote about here back in 2019, or last year’s opening night premiere of the restored Rio Br read more

It started, appropriately, with Monster from the Ocean Floor in 1954. That was Roger Corman’s first film and everything about it, including that fun title, was a taste of what he would give us during his 60-plus years of filmmaking. When Corman died May 9 at the age of 98, he left behin read more

Joan Crawford in Film Noir: The Actress as Auteur Probably the least explored aspect of Joan Crawford, the actress, has been her body of work viewed through the lens of her expertise as an auteur of her own abilities. Since her notorious personal life, revealed in her daughter Christina Crawford’s read more

One of the most beloved of Hollywood’s Golden Age stars, Ingrid Bergman lit up screens large and small in an acting career that spanned 50 years, included 54 onscreen performances and brought three Oscars and two Emmys among her many awards and accolades. On the American Film Institute’s read more

Of all the film debuts I can think of, there are none more impressive, for my money, than Kirk Douglas’s in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. In this 1946 noir, he’s no bit player or minor character – he plays a pivotal part in the film’s shadowy proceedings. And he does it like a veteran. Barbara read more

Nelson Riddle's name seems to be synonymous with Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, but this talented arranger/composer cut a pile of albums bearing his own name. "Route 66 Theme and Other Great TV Themes" and "More Hit TV Themes" are two albums that feature Riddle's sizzling arrangements for televisi read more