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DVD Spotlight: David Janssen as "Harry O"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 17, 2012

One of the most distinctive private eyes of the 1970s has finally made his DVD debut with Warner Archive's release of season 1 of Harry O. The series, which originally aired on ABC in 1974-76, starred David Janssen as Harry Orwell, a medically-retired police detective who moonlights as a private inv read more

Henry Fonda Uses the Phone, John Huston Gets Confused, and Shelley Winters Sports a Giant Sombrero

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 13, 2012

Henry Fonda calling his agent after appearing in Tentacles. Kirk Douglas did it. Ditto for Walter Pidgeon. Even John Wayne and Ray Milland got into the act. Yes, we're talking about fighting giant octopuses and squids. So, there's nothing unusual about Henry Fonda, Shelley Winters, and John Huston read more

Ray Milland vs. an Army of Frogs

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 10, 2012

Frogs. They can be irritating if you're trying to fall asleep on a summer night with the windows open. They can be yucky, too, if you have an aversion to wet, slippery creatures. But scary? I'd be hard-pressed to anoint them with that adjective. So, it's surprising when American read more

The Five Best James Garner Performances

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 5, 2012

Yes, I know, the "Five Best" lists were supposed to end in August, but that was before I saw a James Garner movie last weekend. Surprisingly, I wasn't always a James Garner fan. It took me awhile to appreciate his unique blend of easygoing charm, toughness, comic timing, and--when required--subtlety read more

Between Two Worlds and Outward Bound: One's a Classic, One's Not

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Sep 2, 2012

The following review contains plot spoilers. John Garfield learns his destiny. Long ago, when I could still be surprised by a classic film, I discovered Between Two Worlds on a local TV station. It quickly entranced me with its tale of a mysterious ocean liner drifting through m read more

The John Wayne Movie That Katharine Ross Called "the Biggest Piece of Crap I've Ever Done"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 29, 2012

Here are some interesting tidbits about Katharine Ross's title quote. She made it during the production of Hellfighters (1968), which is not the kind of publicity favored by movie studios. She had only made a handful of films at that time, though one of them was The Graduate (1967)--s read more

The Five Coolest Cars on Classic TV

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 26, 2012

Classic television and memorable cars have a long history together. Who can forget My Mother the Car, in which Jerry Van Dyke's mom was reincarnated as--yes--a car (a 1928 Porter voiced by Ann Sothern)? Police cars earned title credits in Car 54, Where Are You? and Adam-12. Even cartoons got in read more

Damon and Pythias: How Far will a Friend Go?

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 22, 2012

When it was first released, Damon and Pythias (1962) was no doubt lost among the dozens of Italian sword-and-sandal films produced in the 1960s. Except for its setting--Greece and Sicily in 400 B.C.--it has little in common with those pictures. There are no muscular heroes, no mythical cre read more

DVD Spotlight: Garrow's Law

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 18, 2012

Andrew Buchan as William Garrow. Are you a fan of British courtroom shows like Rumpole of the Bailey? How about historical dramas along the lines of Poldark? If you answered yes to both questions, then you may want to check out Garrow's Law, a 2009-12 BBC series that smartly combines both read more

The Five Best Hitchcock Cameo Appearances

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 15, 2012

Hitchcock has appeared briefly in each of his films since 1926's The Lodger, in which his appearance was simply to "fill the screen." Often, he can be glimpsed as a passer-by, usually showing up near the beginning of a film (so viewers don't get distracted looking for him). It was tough to single ju read more

The Five Best Movie Gimmicks

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 12, 2012

The "Golden Era of Movie Gimmicks" was in the late 1950s and 1960s when producer William Castle came up with some very innovative ways to lure audiences to his low-budget thrillers and horror films. Although Castle remains the undisputed King of Gimmicks, there were memorable ones before and after h read more

The Five Best "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Episodes

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 8, 2012

In terms of longevity, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was the most successful American television anthology series. It ran from 1955 to 1962 in a half-hour format and then from 1962 to 1965 as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The list below includes only the 268 half-hour episodes. Barbara Bel Geddes l read more

The Five Best "Outer Limits" Episodes

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 5, 2012

Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano (who wrote the screenplay for Psycho) were the creative talents behind the best sci fi anthology of the 1960s (maybe of all time). The concept was that each show would stay within the confines of the science fiction genre and feature a “bear”— read more

The Five Best "Twilight Zone" Episodes

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Aug 1, 2012

Trying to sift through all 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone and pick just the five best episodes is rather daunting. Plus, it opens one up to mass criticism because TZ fans are passionate about their favorite episodes. But this is the start of our annual "Five Best" month at the read more

Stage Fright: Hitchcock, Lovely Ducks, and a Controversial Flashback

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 29, 2012

Spoiler Alert:  The following review reveals the film's ending. As the film that preceded Hitchcock's "comeback" classic Strangers on a Train, Stage Fright (1950) is typically glossed over in the famed director's filmography. While it's true that it doesn't rank with his masterpieces (e.g., Ve read more

Michele Monro Talks with the Cafe about "The Singer's Singer: The Life and Music of Matt Monro" (Part 2)

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 25, 2012

Freddie Garrity, Matt Monro, and Dusty Springfield. This is the second part of our interview with Michele Monro, daughter of British singer Matt Monro. Michele sat down recently to chat with the Cafe about her new biography of her father, who recorded classic hits likes "My Kind of Girl" and sang o read more

Michele Monro Talks with the Cafe about "The Singer's Singer: The Life and Music of Matt Monro"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 23, 2012

Michele Monro, daughter of British singer Matt Monro, sat down recently to chat with the Cafe about her new biography of her father. Famous for 1960s hit records such as "Portrait of My Love" and "My Kind of Girl," Matt Monro was also widely known for singing on the soundtracks to films like Born Fr read more

Classic Cult Movies A to Z

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 19, 2012

What's a cult movie? Let's skip the formal definitions and focus on five common attributes: (1) a cult film wasn't a a success--with audiences or critics--when first released; (2) it has since acquired a fan base that champions it; (3) it features an offbeat plot, theme, or visual style; (4) it feat read more

The Three Lives of Thomasina

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 16, 2012

"I made them what are today--though I had to be murdered first." Thomasina--complete with bib. This opening line to The Three Lives of Thomasina is spoken by the title character, an orange tabby cat who begins her life with the MacDhui family in Scotland circa 1912. Thomasina belo read more

Sark and Rick Discuss Brian De Palma's "Body Double"

Classic Film & TV Cafe Posted by Rick29 on Jul 13, 2012

This post is being republished as part of ClassicBecky's and Dorian's The Best Hitchcock Movies (That Hitchcock Never Made) blogathon. Click here to read other entries in the blogathon. This discussion of Body Double (1984) between film fans from different generations assumes that you’ve seen read more
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