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My Break-up With Manhattan

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Nov 13, 2014

For most of my adult life, I've listed Manhattan as possibly my favorite Woody Allen film. It made that much of an impression when I saw it in 1980. Hence, I was enthused about a recent opportunity to view it again. But now having seen it after 34 years, I am stunned that I ever thought so highly of read more

The Movie-TV Connection Quiz (November 2014 Edition)

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Nov 10, 2014

What's the connection between Alan Ladd and David Carradine? Greetings, film and TV trivia gurus! In this game, you will once again be given be a pair of films, TV series, performers, or any combination thereof. Your task is to find the common connection between the pair. It could be anything read more

Alias Smith and Jones: A Look at the Show's Origin and Untimely Fate

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Nov 6, 2014

Alias Smith and Jones stars Pete Duel and Roger Davis. Tragedy and irony surround the evolution, success, and cancellation of Alias Smith and Jones, the breezy Western-comedy that ran on ABC from 1971 to 1973. Producer Roy Huggins initially came up with the idea for a TV series loosely inspired by read more

Seven Things to Know About Ross Martin

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Nov 3, 2014

Martin and Robert Conrad. 1. Ross Martin is best remembered, of course, for playing Secret Service agent Artemus Gordon in the Western TV series The Wild Wild West (1965-69). During the show's fourth season, he broke his leg on the set while filming the episode "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary. read more

Night of the Demon: If Hitchcock Had Made a Horror Movie...

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 31, 2014

Although made in the late 1950s, Night of the Demon (US: Curse of the Demon) owes its inspiration to producer Val Lew-ton's 1940s “B” horror films. Constrained by a low budget, Lewton knew he couldn’t afford to show a scary monster, so he made psychological thrillers like The Leopa read more

Bob Hope Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 30, 2014

Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. One of Bob Hope's best films, The Ghost Breakers is a first-rate haunted house comedy that benefits from a funny script and a strong cast. Made in 1941, it reteams Hope and Paulette Goddard from the similar The Cat and the Canary (1939). Both movies features spoo read more

The Leopard Man features "one of the greatest horror sequences ever filmed"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 29, 2014

The accolade in the title of this review comes from director William Friedkin, who knows a little about creating horror (The Exorcist) and suspense (the chase scene in The French Connection). Of course, I didn't need Mr. Friedkin to tell me what I already knew. I saw The Leopard Man as a kid and tha read more

Get Ready for Halloween with "House of Dark Shadows"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 28, 2014

Barnabas Collins (with Carolyn Collins in background). The intended audience for House of Dark Shadows was undoubtedly fans of the popular 1966-71 ABC gothic daytime drama. If you watched the TV series dutifully (like me), you will enjoy this faithful big screen adaptation. For other view read more

You Can't Keep a Good Mummy Down

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 27, 2014

As monsters go, I've never been a big Mummy fan. After all, the Mummy basically follows orders, kills people, and walks...very...slowly. For some reason, people tend to fall down a lot when he's stalking them. Otherwise, I'm not sure the Mummy would be very effective at accomplishing his deadly task read more

Bela Lugosi Meets the East Side Kids in "Spooks Run Wild"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 26, 2014

As a youngster, I loved the juvenile antics of the Bowery Boys and must have seen all their movies on a local TV station. Even the silliest films reflected an appreciation for classic vaudeville comedy with a duo comprised of a wisecracking straight man and a not-so-bright funny guy. I don't think L read more

The Town of Midwich Becomes the Village of the Damned

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 25, 2014

There’s nothing to distinguish Midwich from any other rural English village—except that one day, every living inhabitant passes out for four hours. A man slumps over the steering wheel of a tractor as its runs in circles. An unconscious telephone operator doesn’t hear the constant read more

Help Celebrate the First National Classic Movie Day on May 16, 2015!

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 22, 2014

Did you know that there is no nationwide day dedicated to celebrating classic movies? My goal is to change that in 2015 by introducing the first National Classic Movie Day on May 16th. I recently realized that classic movies have been totally ignored when it comes to large-scale, single day tribute read more

The Movie Connection Game (Halloween 2014 Edition)

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 20, 2014

How are I Walked With a Zombie and Jane Eyre connected? In this edition of the connection game, you will once again be given a pair or trio of films or performers. Your task is to find the common connection. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the same movie, two movies that share a c read more

Why the 1950s Is Classic Cinema's Most Important Decade

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 16, 2014

What is classic cinema's most important decade? I suppose the answer depends on one's criteria. I'd argue that I could make a strong case for almost any decade prior to 1980. However, my personal pick is the most transitional period in movie history. I'm not talking the transition from silent films read more

An Interview with Dark Shadows' Kathryn Leigh Scott--Actress, Author, and Publisher

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 13, 2014

Best known for her roles on the classic TV series Dark Shadows, Kathryn Leigh Scott continues to find success in both the entertainment and publishing industries. She has remained in demand as an actress since she made her television debut as Maggie Evans in Dark Shadows in 1966. Over the next five read more

Piper Laurie Elevates "Smoke Signal"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 10, 2014

By her own admission, Piper Laurie didn't get a lot of good roles as a contract player at Universal in the 1950s. However, one of the exceptions was the blandly-titled Smoke Signal, an above-average Western that avoids the genre's most common cliches. The action gets off to a quick start when a sma read more

The Five Best Hayley Mills Performances

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 9, 2014

1. Pollyanna. The penultimate Hayley Mills film features her as a young orphaned girl—an optimist if there ever was one—coming to live with her wealthy, spinster aunt circa 1913. Pollyanna pretty much shakes up the whole town, bringing lonely people together and reminding everyone that t read more

Cult Movie Theatre: The Atomic City

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 6, 2014

Having recently enjoyed Gene Barry portraying a meticulous murderer, I decided to check out other films made by the star of Bat Masterson and Burke's Law. That's how I stumbled upon his film debut, The Atomic City, a taut 1952 suspense film that earned an Oscar nomination for Best Story an read more

See What Bogart Sees in "Dark Passage"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Oct 2, 2014

Bogart--after we finally see his face. As regular Cafe readers know, I'm a big fan of writer-director Delmer Daves. My definition of "filmmaker" is one who both writes and directs a film. Frankly, it always irks me when a director--who shoots another person's script--uses the credit "A John Smith F read more

Discovering the Ava Gardner Museum: An Interview with Its Executive Director Deanna Brandenberger

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 29, 2014

The Ava Gardner Museum opened its doors at its permanent location officially in October 2000 in downtown Smithfield, North Carolina--which is eight miles west of Ava's birthplace. However, the idea for it was conceived much earlier by Thomas M. Banks, who met Ava when he was 12 and she was 18 in Atl read more
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