The horror films of the 1950s are often relegated to two categories: space invaders and giant bugs. There is some truth in that generalization, but the reality is far more subtle with deep ties to the past along with the political climate of the decade itself. Both these categories can trace their lineage, at least in American film, back to two quintessential classics of the genre—Dracula and Frankenstein, but removed from spooky castles and unspecified European locales and placed squarely in the suburbs and cities of Cold War era America. Like Dracula, the alien invasion film examines the fear of “the other.” The so-called giant bug movies are really “science gone awry” movies and Frankenstein has been the template and ultimate expression of that idea since its publication in 1818. By the 1950s, the great scientific fear was nuclear power, specifically in the form of the atomic bomb and the...
- 8/29/2024
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Righteous propaganda fuels the patriotic fire: Lewis Milestone and Robert Rossen’s blood-soaked ode to Norwegian resistance goes way over the top. These Norsemen and Norsewomen take up arms to fight their Nazi occupiers tooth and nail. Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan star; some of Hollywood’s best partake of the rah-rah celebration of suicidal vengeance: Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, John Beal, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Dingle, Roman Bohnen, Richard Fraser, Art Smith, and a very young Virginia Christine. We’re all anti-Fascist freedom fighters on this bus!
Edge of Darkness
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 119 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date January 18, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, John Beal, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Dingle, Roman Bohnen, Richard Fraser, Art Smith, Monte Blue, Henry Brandon, Virginia Christine, Tom Fadden, Kurt Katch, Kurt Kreuger,...
Edge of Darkness
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 119 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date January 18, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, John Beal, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Dingle, Roman Bohnen, Richard Fraser, Art Smith, Monte Blue, Henry Brandon, Virginia Christine, Tom Fadden, Kurt Katch, Kurt Kreuger,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Film Noir Foundation has helped revive yet another difficult-to-see noir gem — the murder cover-up tale begins with a shooting in a mansion and races across San Francisco to a finale given classic lines by director Felix Feist. And the casting: Saggy Lee J. Cobb as a romantic leading man? Sunny Jane Wyatt as a duplicitous killer? Bring it on!
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Blu-ray + DVD
Flicker Alley
1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 81 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Lisa Howard, Harlan Warde, Tito Vuolo, Charles Arnt, Marjorie Bennett.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Production Design: Van Nest Polglase
Original Music: Louis Forbes
Written by Philip MacDonald, Seton I. Miller from his story.
Produced by Jack M. Warner
Directed by Felix E. Feist
In the late ’40s film noir was the default vehicle for ambitious filmmaking — after producing two early Anthony Mann noirs,...
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Blu-ray + DVD
Flicker Alley
1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 81 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Lisa Howard, Harlan Warde, Tito Vuolo, Charles Arnt, Marjorie Bennett.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Production Design: Van Nest Polglase
Original Music: Louis Forbes
Written by Philip MacDonald, Seton I. Miller from his story.
Produced by Jack M. Warner
Directed by Felix E. Feist
In the late ’40s film noir was the default vehicle for ambitious filmmaking — after producing two early Anthony Mann noirs,...
- 9/15/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
He sings, he fixes cars, and he takes punches better than De Niro’s Raging Bull. Elvis Presley excels in one of his few ’60s pictures that shows an interest in being a ‘real movie,’ a remake of a boxing saga with entertaining characters and fine direction from noir specialist Phil Karlson. Plus Charles Bronson, Lola Albright and Joan Blackman in standout roles.
Kid Galahad
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date August 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Robert Emhardt, Liam Redmond, Judson Pratt, Ned Glass, George Mitchell, Roy Roberts, Michael Dante, Richard Devon, Jeff Morris, Edward Asner, Frank Gerstle, Seamon Glass, Bert Remsen.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
Written by William Fay, Francis Wallace
Produced by David Weisbart
Directed by Phil Karlson
What, a good Elvis Presley picture?...
Kid Galahad
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date August 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Robert Emhardt, Liam Redmond, Judson Pratt, Ned Glass, George Mitchell, Roy Roberts, Michael Dante, Richard Devon, Jeff Morris, Edward Asner, Frank Gerstle, Seamon Glass, Bert Remsen.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
Written by William Fay, Francis Wallace
Produced by David Weisbart
Directed by Phil Karlson
What, a good Elvis Presley picture?...
- 8/29/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mildred Pierce
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 860
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 111 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2017 /
Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe, Butterfly McQueen.
Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by: Ranald MacDougall from the novel by James M. Cain
Produced by: Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner
Directed by Michael Curtiz
James M. Cain’s 1941 novel Mildred Pierce offers a venal and self-destructive view of America not with a story of respectable bourgeois society, not the criminal underworld. A de-classed, suburb-dwelling nobody fights her way onto the social register by using men and by hard work… and then watches as her obsessive goals blow up in her face In Cain’s worldview it’s every woman for herself. He drags in an odd personal theme,...
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 860
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 111 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2017 /
Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe, Butterfly McQueen.
Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by: Ranald MacDougall from the novel by James M. Cain
Produced by: Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner
Directed by Michael Curtiz
James M. Cain’s 1941 novel Mildred Pierce offers a venal and self-destructive view of America not with a story of respectable bourgeois society, not the criminal underworld. A de-classed, suburb-dwelling nobody fights her way onto the social register by using men and by hard work… and then watches as her obsessive goals blow up in her face In Cain’s worldview it’s every woman for herself. He drags in an odd personal theme,...
- 1/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
High camp or just plain trash? A cultural-cinematic swamp in perfectly rotten taste, this adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's supermarket 'dirty book' seeks out tawdry sleaze like no American movie had before. Junk beyond belief, and great entertainment if you're in a sick frame of mind. Valley of the Dolls Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 835 1967 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 123 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 27, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Paul Burke, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayward, Tony Scotti, Martin Milner, Charles Drake, Alexander Davion, Lee Grant, Naomi Stevens, Robert H. Harris, Jacqueline Susann, Robert Viharo, Joey Bishop, George Jessel, Dionne Warwick, Sherry Alberoni, Margaret Whiting, Richard Angarola, Richard Dreyfuss, Marvin Hamlisch, Judith Lowry. Cinematography William H. Daniels Film Editor Dorothy Spencer Conductor / Music Adaptor John Williams Written by Helen Deutsch, Dorothy Kingsley Jacqueline Susann Produced by Mark Robson, David Weisbart Directed by Mark Robson
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I...
- 9/27/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bogie's back and Bacall's got him! Or, at least she's got his voice, and a bundle of bandages. A David Goodis hardboiled crime tale becomes an absurd pile of coincidences and accidental relationships, all wrapped up (literally) in a giant plastic-surgery gimmick. Bogart and his new bride Bacall are charming, but there's a show -stealer at large: the great Agnes Moorehead plays the most entertainingly horrible harpy in film history. Dark Passage Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 106 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 16.59 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Clifton Young, Douglas Kennedy, Rory Mallinson, Houseley Stevenson Cinematography Sid Hickox Art Direction Charles H. Clarke Film Editor David Weisbart Original Music Franz Waxman Written by Delmer Daves from a novel by David Goodis Produced by Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner Directed by Delmer Daves
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Dark Passage...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Dark Passage...
- 5/28/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce.' 'Mildred Pierce' review: Very entertaining soap opera Time has a way of making some films seem grander than they really are. A good example is Mildred Pierce, the 1945 black-and-white melodrama directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz, and that won star Joan Crawford a Best Actress Oscar. Mildred Pierce is in no way, shape, or form great art, even though it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, as a soap opera it's quite entertaining – no, make that very entertaining; and entertainment is a quality that can stand on its own. (The problem in recent decades is that cinema has become nothing but entertainment.) In the case of Mildred Pierce, the entertainment is formulaic and rather predictable – but in an enjoyable, campy sort of way. Unbridled Hollywood melodrama Now, what makes Mildred Pierce a melodrama is something known as the Dumbest Possible Action – Dpa for short.
- 12/12/2015
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Joan Crawford in Michael Curtiz's Mildred Pierce Mildred Pierce Review Part I Mildred Pierce was adapted from a novel of the same name by James M. Cain, who wrote Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The adaptation was credited to Ranald MacDougall, though Catherine Turney (Of Human Bondage, A Stolen Life) and novelist William Faulkner were two among several uncredited writers who contributed to the project. Given what I’ve read of Faulkner’s melodramas, it’s no surprise this was right up his alley. Mildred Pierce also has a fine soap-operatic score by Max Steiner, with just enough gravy in the right places to make the silliness entertain. The cinematography by Ernest Haller (who won an Oscar for Gone with the Wind), and the editing by David Weisbart are solid if prosaic. The lack of a real "vision" in classic Hollywood films...
- 2/17/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
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