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Sixteen-year-old straight A-student Francie (Sandra Dee) is coaxed into a beach excursion by her gal pals for some “man hunting.” A group of surfing guys pays little attention to the girls, which is blamed on the tomboyish Francie, who freely admits to disliking “smooching” a read more

Frankie surfing...in front of a rear screen. With one notable exception, 1963's Beach Party--the first entry in American-International's seven-film series--provided the blueprint for a new genre: the teen sand 'n' surf musical. It wasn't the first teen movie with surfing (see Gidget) and certainly read more

Why hasn't Don Siegel received his due recognition as an important American filmmaker? He certainly directed his share of influential films (e.g., Dirty Harry) and socially significant ones (e.g., Invasion of the Body Snatchers). And yet, although acclaimed in Europe, he lacks the auteur status read more

David Hedison (photo courtesy of Diane Kachmar). Although best known as Captain Lee Crane on the classic TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, actor David Hedison has enjoyed a long, successful career in stage, film, and television. Now 85 (but not looking it!), he remains active making person read more

In the picturesque Irish village of Rathcullen, old codger Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe) spends more time in the pub talking about leprechauns than tending to the estate of Lord Fitzpatrick. So, it's no surprise when the landowner decides it's time to replace Darby with the younger Michael read more

While recently reading a new biography of Lee Marvin, I was reminded of his many memorable performances. That led to this latest installment in our "Five Best" series: 1. Point Blank.  As the vengeance-driven Walker, Lee Marvin could have opted to play the protagonist as a robotic read more

Astro Boy originated in a 1952 manga. A - Astro Boy. This Japanese 1960s import about a boy robot was a favorite of mine as a youth. I thought it was cool how his feet turned into jets when he flew! A new version of the series appeared in 2003 and a theatrical film in 2009. B - Bla read more

Errol Flynn as William Tell. In his 1959 autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Errol Flynn wrote: I went into an independent production to make William Tell. I wrote the outline of the script myself; I had a scenario drawn, and I went into business with a group of Italians--fifty-fifty. We bu read more

The Cormoran. Heard the one about the 1962 fantasy adventure that was re-edited into a musical in 1976? If so, then you're familiar with the plight of Jack the Giant Killer, an entertaining--albeit modest--variation on the Sinbad films made by Ray Harryhausen and Charles Schneer. Indeed, its simila read more

Last December, we posted our first quiz of this type (only it was longer). It turned out to be fun and generated a lot of positive feedback. We like reinforcement at the Cafe! We hope this edition turns out to be equally entertaining. The rules are easy: Name each film below based on our (rather) va read more

Robert Donat as Sir Robert Morton. When 12-year-old Ronnie Winslow is expelled from the Royal Naval Academy, his father has but one question: Did Ronnie steal the five-shilling postal order? When his son replies that he did not, Arthur Winslow, a retired upper middle-class bank accountant, sets out read more

In Lee Marvin: Point Blank, author Dwayne Epstein puts together a convincing portrait of the enigmatic actor that New York Times film critic Vincent Canby once called "The Master of Menace." Epstein augments Marvin's insightful letters and colorful quotes with anecdotes from family, friends, an read more

With A Good Day to Die Hard opening in theaters this week, the Cafe takes the opportunity to review what has become one of the most enduring American film series. Frankly, it's hard to believe that the original Die Hard will celebrate its 25th anniversary this July. Here's our ta read more

I love a good courtroom drama. There’s so much natural tension in a trial…they just seem tailor-made for the cinema. The list below focuses on the best classic films with courtroom centerpieces, so My Cousin Vinny and A Few Good Men (which would probably have made the honorable ment read more

With Darkness Visible: Hitchcock's Greatest Film, author Brian Hannan attempts the daunting task of selecting and justifying Alfred Hitchcock's greatest motion picture.The inherent challenges in this endeavor are obvious: Hitchcock made more than 50 films over six decades, to include many read more

Groovy letters and an exclamation point! While many American prime time variety shows occasionally catered to youths, Shindig! was perhaps the first one to focus solely on that audience. ABC introduced the series in September 1964 at the height of the British Invasion. Shindig! laste read more

James Stewart. The Rare Breed With the exception of The Flight of the Phoenix, James Stewart didn't get a lot of worthy roles in the 1960s. He was in his mid-fifties when the decade began, so instead of his typical romantic leads and loner heroes, he played a lot of patriarchs in lukewarm far read more

Following a recent less-than-flattering review of Magnificent Obsession (1954), someone on Twitter asked why I didn't like Rock Hudson. Nothing could be further from the truth! Over the last decade, I have become a Rock Hudson fan, which prompted the following list of what I consider his five best p read more

It was inevitable that Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea would become my favorite TV series in 1964. It had two big things going for it: a futuristic submarine and a never-ending variety of monsters. I knew this was a fact because I'd seen the 1961 theatrical film Voyage to the Bottom o read more

I'm afraid I can't agree with the trailer. Let me begin by stating that I hold big screen soaps in great affection (I'm always game to revisit A Summer Place). And while I favor director Delmer Daves over Douglas Sirk in this genre, I admire Sirk's classy Imitation of Life  (1959) an read more