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The path to Rick and Morty started with Crusader Rabbit and ran through Winky Dink.

14 ‘The Woody Woodpecker Show’ (1957)

Besides the classic animated shorts, they also filled time with live-action footage of Disney animators in their glorified sweatshops, and a voice actor riffing over newsreel footage, in character as Woody Woodpecker.

13 ‘The Ruff and Reddy Show’ (1957)

Named after 19th century Whig Party star Zachary Taylor, aka “Old Rough and Ready,” this show was about a smart cat and a dumb dog who never met a woman because the studio would only pay for two voice actors. It was the first-ever Hanna-Barbera series.

12 ‘Tom Terrific’ (1957)

Tom Terrific was a child superhero who could turn into any animal or vehicle he wanted. He lived alone in a treehouse (with his sentient but stupid dog), and didn’t fight crime, per se, but rather raged against the adults in his life. Sounds pretty bleak!

Though the title of the awards has changed over the decades, the two guest star in a drama series Emmys are among the most competitive handed out during the Creative Arts ceremony. Cicely Tyson earned the most nomination in this category with nine. Michael J. Fox received seven nominations earning the award in 2009 for FX’s “Rescue Me.” And who have won the most in the past five decades? Patricia Clarkson, Charles S. Dutton, Cherry Jones, Ron Cephas Jones, John Lithgow, Shirley Knight, Margo Martindale, Patrick McGoohan, Amanda Plummer and Alfre Woodward have each won twice.

This year five drama nominees appeared in FX’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith“- Michaela Cole, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Parker Posey and John Turturro. Rounding out the nominees for Best Drama Guest Actress are Claire Foy for “The Crown,” Marcia Gay Harden for “The Morning Show” while Nestor Carbonell for “Shogun,” Tracy Letts...

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram & Samyuktha Menon’s Devil: The British Secret Agent Is Ready To Release On Ott (Picture Credit: IMDb)

The festival of Makar Sankranti is here, and we have the perfect film for you to watch on the holiday. Nandamuri Kalyan Ram and Samyuktha Menon’s action drama Devil: The British Secret Agent is ready to release on Ott soon. The film, which is helmed by Abhishek Nama, was released in December 2022 and collected around 17 crore at the box office.

Originally in Telugu, it also stars Malvika Nair, Elnaaz Norouzi, Satya, and Srikanth Iyengar. The film received a lukewarm response at the box office despite getting good reviews from the audience. The mystery kept the audiences on their toes while the actors were praised for their brilliant performances. Now, the film is all set to drop on Ott.

Where & When To Watch Devil: The British Secret Agent

The film...

Disney+ is closing the book on Willow.

Deadline reported Wednesday that the streaming service has canceled the live-action sequel series based on the 1988 movie.

The cancellation comes two months after the eight-episode Willow Season 1 wrapped up.

Disney+ rarely releases viewership statistics for any of its shows; when it does, the details are vague.

It turns out, streaming services like to keep the numbers under lock and key.

Willow featured a diverse international cast, with Jonathan Kasdan, Ron Howard, Wendy Mericle, Kathleen Kennedy, and Michelle Rejwan serving as executive producers.

The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and an infant girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness.

"Now, in a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous...

Burbank, CA – Warner Bros. Discovery has meticulously remastered Max Fleischer’s treasured set of 17 animated Superman shorts from the original 35mm source elements. Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 will be available to purchase Digitally on HD and on Blu-ray May 16, 2023.

Superman made his comic book debut in 1938, appearing in Action Comics #1, and the Man of Steel’s popularity grew with his subsequent radio program. Max Fleischer gave the world’s first Super Hero his initial animated spotlight, producing 17 theatrical animated shorts from September 1941 to July 1943 that further elevated the character’s profile, and added many significant aspects to his canon – including coining many of Superman’s patented catchphrases and attributes.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s advanced remastering process began with a 4K, 16-bit scan of Fleischer’s original 35mm successive exposure negative. Staying true to the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37-to-1, the highest quality raw image was then scanned and...

Look, up in the sky! It's not a bird or a plane, but it's definitely one heck of a treat for fans of the big blue boy scout superhero. Superman may have experienced a bit of a rocky road in recent DC history on the big screen, despite an actor as capable and charismatic as Henry Cavill leading the action and even with James Gunn's promise that the immensely popular hero will be a "huge priority" moving forward. But even the biggest DC fans would have to admit that there's a certain ineffable charm to the original movies that first made audiences believe that a man could truly fly.

Christopher Reeve starred in four separate "Superman" movies, in addition to the special Richard Donner director's cut released for "Superman II," and now all 5 titles will be made available just in time for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros., the...

Cinema Retro has received the following announcement:

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Of all the countless action adventure TV shows that filled our screens in the 1960s, perhaps none of them have fascinated audiences quite as much as The Prisoner. In 1967, Patrick McGoohan stepped away from the colossal Itc hit show Secret Agent (or Danger Man in the UK) and used his commercial clout to create a series that has thrilled and baffled in equal measure for over fifty years.

He played a nameless secret agent who is kidnapped during the titles sequence of the first episode, and wakes up in a bizarre, pastel-hued location where everyone is known only by their number, and where escape is made impossible by a malevolent bouncing ball.

In ‘The Village’, the authorities are determined to discover why this new arrival resigned. However, No. 6 as he is now known, is equally determined...

ITV Studios America, New Republic Pictures and Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films have teamed up to adapt The Champions, the 1960s British TV series from Dennis Spooner.

2x Oscar winner Blanchett will star alongside Primetime Emmy winner Ben Stiller, who is set to direct and produce the adaptation through his Red Hour Productions. The adaptation of The Champions is being set as a feature.

In The Champions, a plane carrying three Un agents crashes in the Himalayas. The agents aboard are rescued by an advanced civilization secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced intellectual and physical abilities. When the agents return to the outside world, they use their new superhuman powers to become Champions of Law, Order, and Justice.

The Champions was produced by Lew Grade’s Itc Entertainment and aired 30 episodes in the UK on ITV from 1968-69. NBC aired the series in the summer of 1968. Episodes were...

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Amberley Books

Rrp £15.99

Isbn: 9781398101319

96 pages

140 colour images

15 Aug 2021

Review By Adrian Smith

Collector and historian John Buss is back again with another fascinating glimpse into the world of 1960s adventure television series collectibles. Having already brought us books on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers and New Avengers, this time we get to see items that fans of Danger Man (known in the U.S. as Secret Agent) and The Prisoner (both starring Patrick McGoohan) could beg their parents for every Christmas.

Given Danger Man’s more grounded, often serious nature, there were not all that many toys or games, but there were still many different items available, thanks to the show being a major hit ultimately running to over eighty episodes since it began in 1960. There were several novels released based on the show, which were translated...

By Lee Pfeiffer

British actress Barbara Shelley has passed away from Covid-19 related ailments. She was 88 years-old. Shelley became popular with horror movie fans in the 1960s when she became one of the resident leading ladies at the legendary Hammer Films where she made several movies with another studio legend, Christopher Lee. Among Shelley's Hammer films were "The Camp on Blood Island" (a rare non-horror entry), "The Gorgon", "Dracula: Prince of Darkness", "Rasputin: The Mad Monk" and "Quatermass and the Pit". Shelley played the lead female role in the 1960 MGM cult classic "Village of the Damned" opposite George Sanders. She also played a recurring character in the 1984 "Doctor Who" television series. She appeared in other iconic British television shows including "Blake's 7", "The Avengers", "EastEnders", "Danger Man", "The Saint" "Man in a Suitcase" and "The Two Ronnies" as well as international favorites including "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Route 66". For more,...

We told you. Remember the rules. You didn’t listen. Now we’re Back with an all new batch of guest recommendations featuring Blake Masters, Julien Nitzberg, Floyd Norman, Tuppence Middleton and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wild Angels (1966)

Spirits of the Dead (1966)

The Trip (1967)

Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)

Stalker (1979)

The Candidate (1972)

The Parallax View (1974)

Network (1976)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Margin Call (2011)

Death Wish (1974)

Death Wish (2018)

Seconds (1966)

Soylent Green (1973)

Rage (1972)

Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Repo Man (1984)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The Train (1965)

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Strange Brew (1983)

To Have And Have Not (1944)

Singin’ In The Rain (1952)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Band Wagon (1953)

Guys And Dolls (1955)

On The Town (1949)

Casablanca (1942)

The Dirt Gang (1972)

Back To The Future (1985)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)

My Man Godfrey...

Indicator delivers another in their long line of fan-friendly box sets with Hammer Volume Five – Death and Deceit (a subhead that could be applied to the majority of the studio’s output). This latest release would be for Hammer completists only were it not for the extras that shine a bright light on a few overlooked artists and their work.

Hammer Volume Five – Death and Deceit

Blu ray – Region B Only

Powerhouse Films/Indicator

1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 / 1.85:1, 2.35:1 / 75, 87, 83 and 81 min.

Starring Richard Basehart, Christopher Lee, Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed

Cinematography by Arthur Grant, Jack Asher, Reg Wyer

Directed by Michael Carreras, John Gilling

Michael Carreras’s Visa to Canton was a Cold War thriller photographed in Technicolor but released to U.S. theaters in black and white. To add insult to injury it was given a new and even more prosaic title: Passport to China – a fate this unassuming little Cold War thriller didn’t deserve.

“Hitchcock And Humor: Modes Of Comedy In Twelve Defining Films” by Wes D. Gehring

(McFarland; Isbn 978-1-4766-7356-1 print; 978-1-4766-3621-4 e-book; $39.95 retail)

“The Master Of Dark Comedy”

By Raymond Benson

Just about anything with film historian and media writer Wes D. Gehring’s name on it will be of quality. A professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana and author of the regular column “The Reel World” in USA Today magazine, Gehring has distinguished himself as an expert on comedy—especially as it has been utilized in the cinema.

Among Gehring’s several books that explore humor in film are tomes on Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Leo McCarey, Laurel and Hardy, Carole Lombard, W. C. Fields, and Frank Capra, as well as topical studies on dark comedy and screwball comedy.

Now comes Hitchcock and Humor, which evaluates the notion that the filmmaker who...

Mark Harrison Aug 21, 2019

Bond 25 finally has a title with No Time to Die. We explore whether a 007 movie by any other name would smell as sweet.

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

This feature contains spoilers for Spectre and various other James Bond films, along with some speculation about the plot of the next instalment.

Daniel Craig is Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in… No Time to Die. After months upon months of speculation, the 25th Bond movie from Eon Productions has its title. While some sections of fandom have greeted the news with a resounding “meh” this fairly basic version of a Fleming-flavored title lands squarely within the series’ unique naming conventions.

The literary tradition of James Bond is rooted in pulpy paperback adventures aimed at men, and the film series’ use of those recognizable titles over its first 20 years or so have carried the dramatic style...

To celebrate the first UK broadcast of celebrated cult favourite The Prisoner, Titan Comics – licensed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment – are pleased to announce an all-new comic books based on the original TV show written by Peter Milligan (The Mummy, Dan Dare, Hellblazer) with art by Colin Lorimer (The X-Files, Hellraiser, Harvest) coming in 2018!

The Prisoner first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 29 September 1967 – and in 1968 in the Us – and was an immediate smash hit with global audiences due to its surreal mix of spy fiction with sci-fi, allegory and psychological drama elements. The worldwide smash hit series starred Patrick MacGoohan (Danger Man, Escape from Alcatraz) as Number 6 – the fiery British former secret agent who is abducted and held prisoner in a shadowy coastal village, where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job.

Says Peter Milligan writer of the new re-imagined comic...

Jamie Andrew Sep 29, 2017

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner was imaginative, unfathomable, and years ahead of its time...

It’s fifty years this month since The Prisoner premiered on British screens, bringing with it blazers, badges and mind-bending bad guys. The show ran for a mere two years, two truncated seasons and seventeen episodes, but its surreal imagery, iconic catchphrases, cerebral plots and absolutely bonkers ending have earned it a perennial place in our cultural consciousness.

See related Star Trek: Discovery episode 2 review - Battle At The Binary Star Star Trek: Discovery episode 1 review - The Vulcan Hello Star Trek Discovery: take our special quiz here!

It's truly an odd-beast, quintessentially sixties in some respects, timeless in others. It's hard to describe or define it as any one thing: it's a spy show that isn't a spy show; it's an action show with bigger...

Burt Kwouk, the actor who played martial arts expert Cato in the original Peter Sellers "Pink Panther" films, has died at the age of 85. He "passed peacefully" according to his agent Jean Diamond, with no specific cause of death mentioned.

Born in northwest England in 1930 and raised in Shanghai, Kwouk had his first major role in 1958's "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness". He also appeared in two James Bond classics - "Goldfinger" and "You Only Live Twice" - along with the original "Rollerball" and Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun". He also had guest spots on popular 1960s shows like "The Avengers," "Secret Agent" and "The Saint" and a regular role on 1980s British sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine'.

But it's his work in a half dozen "Pink Panther" films as Cato Fong that he'll always be remembered for. The character, a manservant to Sellers' bumbling Inspector Clouseau,...

According to reports, director Ridley Scott ("Alien", "Blade Runner", "Gladiator", "The Martian") is negotiating to direct a big screen reboot of the classic Brit TV series "The Prisoner", to be produced by Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark of Bluegrass Films. Plus take a look @ classic trailers of the greatest films of Ridley Scott:

The original 17-episode series first broadcast in the UK from 1967 to 1968, starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan ("Secret Agent man"), combining 'spy fiction' with surreal elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.

"The Prisoner" follows a British former secret agent, looking to 'get out' of the racket, who is subsequently abducted by his handlers and held prisoner in a mysterious coastal village resort...

... where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job...

Scott is currently prepping his "Alien" prequel "Covenant".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the films of Ridley Scott.

Recently revived on TV with Alexander Armstrong, Kevin Eldon and Stephen Fry among the voice cast, Danger Mouse is also set to storm the big screen. Sony Pictures Animation and StudioCanal have hatched a plan for a movie, with producers Neal Moritz and Toby Ascher overseeing the diminutive super-spy shenanigans.Starting life as an animated series from Cosgrove Hall in the early '80s, Danger Mouse was a secret agent, channelling James Bond and Danger Man, and getting involved in a lot of very silly nonsense on a weekly basis.He lived underneath a pillar box on Baker Street and drove a flying car; his sidekick was the blundering hamster Penfold; his "M" was Colonel K. (a chinchilla); and his arch enemy was the wheezy toad Baron Greenback, who had a crow henchman called Stiletto and was always up to dastardly schemes like trying to melt the North Pole. Occasional secondary villains included Count Duckula,...

Judy Carne, best known to fans as the Sock It to Me girl on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” has died at the age of 76, according to multiple media reports. Carne was born in Northampton, England. Her first role onscreen came in 1961 when she guest starred on an episode of the British spy series “Danger Man” opposite Patrick McGoohan, according to her official IMDb page. She became endeared to American audiences, however, when she was a regular performer on the first two seasons of the NBC sketch series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” She would often use the phrase “Sock it...

Mel Gibson, whom I interviewed for Venice Magazine in late 2000, was my first real childhood hero I sat down with. If you were a Gen-x male, Mel Gibson was the closest thing we had to Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Sean Connery: a guy's guy whom guys wanted to emulate and women wanted to copulate. If you were a guy who liked girls, the math in the previous equation was pretty simple: be like Mel. Sadly, Gibson's life has taken a very public turn for the worse in the last decade, since his personal legal and troubles stemming from a 2006 DUI arrest in Malibu were made public, one from which his image has yet to fully recover. It was an unfortunate fall from grace for a guy who literally had Hollywood, and the world, in the palm of his hand after sweeping the 1995 Oscars with his box office smash "Braveheart.

Sure, there have been countless articles detailing the debonair men that portrayed the world’s most famous superspy in Ian Fleming’s creation of Agent 007 (a.k.a James Bond). And of course there have been many debates arguing who is considered the best Bond of them all (yes…I concur with the majority of the Sean Connery census that he is the ideal licensed to kill Lothario of them all). Plus, the listing of who’s the better Bond from top to bottom is always a lively discussion among Agent 007 aficionados.

Well, here is one more list to join the fray in terms of examining the actors that carried the action-packed load in bringing Fleming’s dashing Danger Man into the forefront of adventure, mystery, travel and romance. In Of Human “Bond”-age: Top Ten Actors That Had Played James Bond we will take a look at the actors...

Complete list of winners and nominees of the 2014 Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center on Sunday February 8. Winners will be updated as they're announced during the telecast and pre-telecast. Record Of The Year “Fancy,” Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli Xcx “Chandelier,” Sia **Winner** “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version),” Sam Smith “Shake It Off,” Taylor Swift “All About That Bass,” Meghan Trainor Album Of The Year **Winner** “Morning Phase,” Beck “Beyoncé,” Beyoncé “X,” Ed Sheeran “In The Lonely Hour,” Sam Smith “Girl,” Pharrell Williams Song Of The Year “All About That Bass,” Kevin Kadish & Meghan Trainor, songwriters (Meghan Trainor) “Chandelier,” Sia Furler & Jesse Shatkin, songwriters (Sia) “Shake It Off,” Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift) **Winner** “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version),” James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith, songwriters (Sam Smith) “Take Me To Church,” Andrew Hozier-Byrne, songwriter (Hozier) Best New Artist Iggy Azalea Bastille Brandy Clark...

The Leftovers

Want answers to the central mystery of the 'Sudden Departure' in HBO's "The Leftovers"? You probably aren't going to get them - or at least not in the way you may want. Vulture just ran a lengthy interview with author Tom Perrotta in which the following quote was dropped:

"To hear [Producer Damon] Lindelof tell it, a big reveal seems unlikely. 'If that's why you're watching the show, don't watch the show.'" In fact there was "defining creative tension" between himself and Lindelof as the question of whether supernatural events can happen on the show.

The Knick

Steven Soderbergh says he had such fun doing his upcoming medical drama "The Knick," which premieres in early August, that he's keen on getting going on a second season and is just waiting for the official go ahead from Cinemax:

"We'll find out within the next couple of weeks. I know they're happy.

In the cinematic arms race between Marvel and DC, 23 films are scheduled to be released over the next three years. Is this ambitious plan from the two companies a good strategy or are they creating a self-defeating situation where the public will say “enough already!”

Most of us love superhero adaptations—at least, some of them. But as much as we enjoy it, is there a danger of an overdose of comic book films? Will it become like eating too much chocolate and getting a belly ache?

Look at this list…

Marvel has…Guardians of the Galaxy; The Avengers: Age of Ultron; Ant-Man; Captain America 3; Dr. Strange; Thor 3; The Avengers 3; The Fantastic Four; X-Men: Apocalypse; The Wolverine sequel; The Fantastic Four 2; Spider-Man 3 and 4, Sinister 6, Venon and an untitled project which could be the Sub Mariner.

And DC has…Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice; Shazam; Sandman; Justice League; Wonder...

In the cinematic arms race between Marvel and DC, 23 films are scheduled to be released over the next three years. Is this ambitious plan from the two companies a good strategy or are they creating a self-defeating situation where the public will say “enough already!”

Most of us love superhero adaptations—at least, some of them. But as much as we enjoy it, is there a danger of an overdose of comic book films? Will it become like eating too much chocolate and getting a belly ache?

Look at this list…

Marvel has…Guardians of the Galaxy; The Avengers: Age of Ultron; Ant-Man; Captain America 3; Dr. Strange; Thor 3; The Avengers 3; The Fantastic Four; X-Men: Apocalypse; The Wolverine sequel; The Fantastic Four 2; And an untitled project which could be the Sub Mariner.

And DC has…Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice; Shazam; Sandman; Justice League; Wonder Woman; Flash and Green Lantern team-up; Man of Steel 2.

Over two decades since it wrapped, much loved 1980s British cartoon series "Danger Mouse" is coming out of retirement with FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment teaming with the BBC to produce a 52-episode new series to air on Cbbc next year in the UK.

A parody of the Bond films and TV's "Danger Man", the Cosgrove Hall Films production followed an eye-patched white mouse who is also the world's greatest secret agent. He and his bespectacled and reluctant hamster assistant Penfold work out of their base within a red postbox.

Together they battled the evil machinations of the wheezy voiced toad Baron Silas Greenback and his crow assistant Stiletto Mafiosa. On occasion the vampire Count Duckula was the antagonist, and he went on to score his own spin-off series.

161 episodes were produced over a decade and the show proved to be an international hit, even in the United States market where...

First it was Bananaman that was being unpeeled for a new generation. Now, from a post box somewhere on Baker Street, cartoon superspy Danger Mouse is about to get the same treatment. Current rights-holders Fremantle have decided to bring him out of his 23-year retirement, thanks to some strong ratings during a Citv retro weekend, albeit on the small screen rather than the large.An animated series from Cosgrove Hall in the early '80s, Danger Mouse was a secret agent, channelling James Bond and Danger Man, and getting involved in a lot of very silly nonsense on a weekly basis. He drove a flying car; his sidekick was the blundering hamster Penfold; his "M" was Colonel K. (a chinchilla); and his arch enemy was the wheezy toad Baron Greenback, who had a crow henchman called Stiletto, and was always up to dastardly schemes like trying to melt the North Pole.

It has been dismissed over the years as cheesy, cheap and laughable but, as has been the case on many occasions, Hammer Films have had the last laugh. They boast a back-catalogue that is to horror movies what The Rolling Stones’ discography is to rock music. Fifty-nine years after the release of their first horror movie proper (The Quatermass Xperiment), Hammer’s films have survived scrutiny and re-evaluation and have now attained National Treasure status. Moreover, in terms of sheer importance, the Hammer films were some of the most influential of the past half-century. The ripple-effect of their imitators cashing in on their success would beget the careers of some of the biggest names in Hollywood today.

And yet since 1984 Hammer has been a dormant entity, existing only in the memory: a pile of ashes, a cape and a signet ring waiting to be reanimated by the crimson, jugular discharge of some poor,...

To TV viewers of a certain age, Kate O’Mara was that rare blend of sex appeal, scares and sassiness. So it is with another “S” word, sadness, that we report she has died at the age of 74.Born in 1939, the daughter of an Raf flying instructor and an actress, O’Mara initially considered art following her boarding school education but quickly became a full-time actress. She made her stage debut in 1963 in a production of The Merchant Of Venice, but truly established herself on television.During the 1960s and 70s, she appeared in a slew of guest starring slots on shows such as Danger Man, The Saint, Z-Cars, The Champions, The Avengers, Department S and Jason King. She became known for her sultry performances and her ability to blend beauty with danger. Her most notable roles came with soaps or sci-fi, including ferry drama Triangle, boating soap Howard’s...

Born in Leicester on August 10, 1939, Frances M Carroll would go on to become a screen idol under her chosen stage name of Kate O'Mara.

The daughter of actress Hazel Bainbridge and Raf flying instructor John F Carroll, O'Mara followed a stint at boarding school with enrolment at art school, before achieving her goal of becoming a full-time actress.

Making her stage debut in a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in 1963, O'Mara soon moved into the popular world of television. Throughout the '60s, she appeared in such iconic series as Danger Man, The Champions, The Saint, The Avengers and Z-Cars.

Moving into the 1970s, O'Mara also found success on the big screen – starring in two Hammer Horror outings, The Vampire Lovers and The Horror of Frankenstein – but it was a return to television for BBC drama The Brothers that made her a household name.

Playing the leading role of tough businesswoman Jane Maxwell,...

Feature Alex Westthorp 28 Mar 2014 - 07:00

In a new series, Alex talks us through the film roles of the actors who've played the Doctor. First up, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee...

We know them best as the twelve very different incarnations of the Doctor. But all the actors who've been the star of Doctor Who, being such good all-rounders in the first place, have also had film careers. Admittedly, some CVs are more impressive than others, but this retrospective attempts to pick out some of the many worthwhile films which have starred, featured or seen a fleeting cameo by the actors who would become (or had been) the Doctor.

William Hartnell was, above all else, a film star. He is by far the most prolific film actor of the main twelve to play the Time Lord. With over 70 films to his name, summarising Hartnell's film career is difficult at best.

Feature Michael Reed 21 Feb 2014 - 05:56

We take a look at some potential turning points that could have altered the Bond legacy significantly...

007 lists resurrection amongst his hobbies, but speculation is our game today. Your own ideal fantasy James Bond film probably depends on what sort of Bond you're into. If you like serious Bond, you probably consider it a crying shame that Timothy Dalton didn't get to make at least one more film. A fair proportion of the fandom consider Never Say Never Again to be one of the worst of the series, so for them, rolling the dice on a 1976 production with a different actor and a more exciting script would have been worth it.

Furthermore, a Sony Pictures produced rival film with, say, Liam Neeson in the late 1990s could have been fascinating. How about Connery returning to the role in his 60s? All of these possibilities...

The sad passing of actress Alexandra Bastedo earlier this month saw many recalling and celebrating her work on '60s spy-fi series The Champions - just one entry in the canon of cult programme makers Itc Entertainment.

Though it also branched out into film production - with the likes of 1976's The Eagle Has Landed and 1982's The Dark Crystal - Itc was best known throughout the 1960s and '70s for its raft of cult TV programming, with shows like The Champions making an indelible screen icon of Bastedo and others like her.

These shows are now world-renowned - The Saint, The Prisoner, Thunderbirds - but the team behind them still go sadly unsung.

This week, the Week in Geek is looking to redress the balance with a fond tribute to Itc Entertainment - one of the UK's very best, most influential production teams.

Sherlock: The Problem of the Vanishing Detective

Doctor Who,...

Hammer and Horror Film Day!

Saturday November the 9th ( 10am – 5pm )

Central Hall Westminster.

Storey’s Gate, Westminster, London SW1H 9Nh

UK’s longest running film fair and convention.

Now in it’s 40th year!

The Convention presents dealers from all over the UK, Europe, Us ,

Canada and South America.

Specialising in rare original film memorabilia and collectables.

Taking place six times a year these are truly unique events for anyone with an interest in films!

With actors and director’s signings, illustrated talks, retrospectives and film screenings taking place through out the day.

Items covering the history of cinema can be found. From the silents to the present.

From rare items of the 1920’s to new releases and the latest heart throb.

Among the many different field of cinema covered at the show is – Classic Hollywood, horror films, sci-fi, the best of British and European cinema as we as cult tv!

Jim Steranko, one of the creators of the Nick Fury character, will be recapping Agents of Shield for THR's Heat Vision every week. Read more about the Marvel Comics artist in a Q&A here.  When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created S.H.I.E.L.D. in the pages of 1965's Strange Tales, about the last thing on their minds was a 2013 TV series. Their goal was to initiate a comic book version of 007, in the manly tradition of Our Man Flint, Danger Man and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The concept was to

read more...

BBC America’s Danger Man: Escape artist and stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin stars in the series Dangerman: The Incredible Mr. Goodwin Mondays. Jonathan Goodwin is an escape artist and professional thrill-seeker taking his unique brand of entertainment onto the streets of Britain and the U.S. in the new BBC America series Dangerman: The Incredible Mr. Goodwin (Mondays, 10pm Et/Pt). Goodwin scales buildings, gets buried alive, catches flying arrows and more dangerous stunts in this five-part series. Viewers will also get behind-the-scenes access to how Goodwin prepares and trains for his performances. Episode Guide from BBC America: Episode 1 (July 8, 10pm [...]

The post BBC America’s Danger Man: Behind the wild stunts of Jonathan Goodwin appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

On a number of past occasions, I’ve written, in various contexts, about what I consider to be that most elusive of on-screen elements: a sense of place. “Sense of place” is the difference between a location serving as mere background, and being a character in its own right. It’s about getting the viewer’s head there, getting us to feel like we know what it’s like to walk that ground, smell those smells, feel the chill or suffocating heat in the air. When I talk “sense of place,” I think of the autumnal Boston of Peter Yates’ The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), the bracing, exhilirating chill of the Rockies in Sydney Pollock’s Jeremiah Johnson (1972), the urban grit I feel on the back of my neck watching John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy (1969), the musty, dusty stale-beer-and-cigarette-smoke feel of Robert Rossen’s The Hustler (1961). It’s a special...

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared we would become a captive audience. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure.

Everyman: The Story Of Patrick McGoohan – The Prisoner

The Lantern Theatre, Blundell St., Liverpool

8.30pm Sat 14th April 2012

www.thelanterntheatre.co.uk

‘Everyman: The Story Of Patrick McGoohan – The Prisoner’ written by Brian Gorman, details the life of the theatre, television, and film star (who sadly died in 2009).

The play begins a mini tour of the UK, beginning with a special preview at The Lantern Theatre in Liverpool at 8.30pm on Saturday 14th April. The play will be seen later in the year, across the UK, as part of a double bill with ‘A Passion For Evil’ by writer/actor John Burns (detailing the life of the infamous Aleister Crowley).

Chester-based writer Brian Gorman, has played McGoohan and his character 'Number Six' on stage in Manchester, Chester, and twice in Portmeirion (as a guest of Six Of One, The Prisoner appreciation society). A reading of the play by Gorman garnered...

This is a must have for any James Bond movie fan! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing an epic box set called Bond 50 in celebration of 50 years of James freakin' Bond! The Bond 50 box set includes all 22 James Bond films... in Blu-ray! As of right now I don't own any James Bond films. Why? Because I've been waiting for this!

Here's the full press release along with a trailer advertising the box set:

James Bond Celebrates Fifty Incredible Years

With Golden Anniversary Blu-ray Collection

Bond 50

The World’S Most Successful Secret Agent

Meets The World’S Best Home Entertainment Experience

Available For Worldwide Pre-order Starting Today

In celebration of James Bond’s monumental golden anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today unveiled Bond 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering. The...

James Bond Celebrates Fifty Incredible Years

With Golden Anniversary Blu-ray Collection

Bond 50

The World.S Most Successful Secret Agent

Meets The World.S Best Home Entertainment Experience

Available For Worldwide Pre-order Starting Today

In celebration of James Bond.s monumental golden anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today unveiled Bond 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering. The longest running film franchise of all time, the Bond 50 collection marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. Fans around the world can pre-order now with participating online retailers.

Acclaimed Bond directors John Glen (five Bond films including For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough) with special guests Olga Kurylenko...

Retro-action! Volumes 1-3

It's a common occurrence: you buy a box set of a show you fondly yet vaguely remember, then, after you've got the buzz of seeing the title sequence again and reacquainted yourself with the characters, you find that maybe the whole series wasn't as good as your rose-tinted vision had you believe.

That's why these compilation discs are such a great move. All the shows here (one episode of each) are from Itc, a UK production company run by the legendary showbiz impresario Lord Lew Grade and responsible for much of our world-class TV output during the 1960s and 1970s. Itc shot everything on film rather than video (so everything here looks stunning) and made full use of all the writers, directors, actors, craftsmen and technicians the British film industry had to offer. Over three separately available discs you get the pick of such classics as The...

Briefly mentioned by Deadline — and confirmed by InContention — is the slightly disappointing news that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy will be pushed back three weeks from its original release date of November 18th to December 9th. This is apparently being done to increase its Oscar chances, since December is right in the middle of the race.

All three trailers for this movie thus far has been rather phenomenal, and we’re greatly anticipating what director Tomas Alfredson has done with John le Carré‘s novel; an early reaction by the author himself calls it “a triumph.” With a cast that includes Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, John Hurt, David Dencik, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, and Ciarán Hinds, can you blame us for having high expectations?

This new date means that it’ll be going up against The Sitter and New Year’s Eve in a wide release.

Distinctive, durable British character actor on stage and screen

Terence Longdon, who has died of cancer aged 88, was a character actor whose parted hair and thick-set face – though not his name – were familiar for several decades. Only once did he step into the spotlight at the top of the bill, when he starred as the title character in the television series Garry Halliday (1959-62). The almost-forgotten BBC children's adventure programme, based on books by Justin Blake, perfectly fitted Longdon's educated, smooth, well-mannered persona – and a man who had flown with the Fleet Air Arm during the second world war. The actor played a Biggles-like commercial airline pilot, with Terence Alexander as his co-pilot, Bill Dodds. Posing a constant threat to the Halliday Charter Company was "The Voice", an arch-villain who sat behind a two-way mirror and shone a light into the faces of his gang members, keeping his own in darkness.

After his electrifying performance as Blacula (1972), the great William Marshall was briefly considered a worthy successor to Christopher Lee's vampire king. A respected Shakespearean actor with an impressive theatre background, he was set to become a major horror star of the seventies, but like his fellow stage actor Robert Quarry, who achieved the same status as Count Yorga, his film career faded rapidly after the genre went through a radical re-think following the commercial success of The Exorcist (1973).

Marshall remained in New York to train in as an actor and director in Grand Opera and Shakespeare, although he had to support himself in a variety of jobs before making his professional stage debut. At 6ft 5inches, he was an impressively built, handsome, strong-featured actor with a booming bass baritone voice to match his towering presence. Not surprisingly, he quickly built up a formidable reputation as America's finest Shakespearean actor,...

Versatile British film director known for Bullitt, The Deep and Breaking Away

The director Peter Yates, who has died aged 81, helped Steve McQueen achieve iconic status with the cop movie Bullitt (1968), enjoyed a massive box-office success with The Deep (1977) and made one of the most beguiling of all youth movies in Breaking Away (1979). He maintained a steady career throughout five decades, initially in the theatre and then in mainstream cinema, but he suffered the critical neglect so often accorded those who tackle a variety of subjects and genres and become known, somewhat disparagingly, as journeyman directors.

Pauline Kael described him as a competent director "with a good serviceable technique for integrating staged movie action into documentary city locations". David Thomson suggested that, in America, Yates had "done nothing more profound than send hubcaps careering around corners". Bullitt's famous San Francisco car chase (later revived by Ford as part of...

Peter Yates, one of cinema’s most versatile directors. has died in London at age 81. Upon graduation from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Yates worked his way up from dubbing assistant to assistant director in the classic films A Taste Of Honey and The Guns Of Navarone. He gained experience as a director on the British produced TV shows The Saint ( starring Roger Moore ) and Danger Man ( re-titled Secret Agent for America and starring Patrick McGoohan. Yates began his feature film directing career with 1963′s Summer Holiday. After two more features Yates traveled to the U.S. where he helmed the action film classic Bullitt starring Steve McQueen. The film is still highly regarded for it’s groundbreaking car chase sequence through the winding streets of San Francisco. For the next few years Yates worked mostly in the states on dramas like John And Mary and The Friends Of Eddie Coyle...

Peter Yates, the man who brought us Bullitt, Breaking Away, The Dresser and the mighty Krull, has died at the age of 82.

Some really sad news here to start the week. Peter Yates, the director of Bullitt, Summer Holiday, Breaking Away and The Dresser, has died at the age of 82.

Nominated for four Oscars across his extensive career, Yates started off working with Cliff Richard before taking on a diverse collection of movies across his 40 years of directing movies and TV.

He also helmed a real Den Of Geek favourite, Krull (a film that this writer enjoyed more than once at the cinema), as well as episodes of the TV shows The Saint and Danger Man.

Plus, spare a moment for the likes of Robbery, The Hot Rock, The Deep and Suspect. Few directors can jump genres convincingly, yet over the course of his career, that's just what Yates managed.

The versatile British director Peter Yates has died in London, at the age of 81. He began his career as a dubbing assistant, after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, working his way up to assistant director on films such as Tony Richardson's A Taste of Honey and J Lee Thompson's Guns of Navarone. The early 60s saw him gravitate to television, directing some episodes of The Saint and Danger Man, but his feature directorial debut was Summer Holiday, the colourfully jolly pop musical that packed Cliff Richard off to the seaside on a red London bus. The Eric Sykes vehicle One Way Pendulum, and Robbery (about the Great Train Robbery of 1963) followed, before Hollywood, Steve McQueen and Bullitt secured his place in cinema history.That iconic car chase on the streets of San Francisco came out of Yates' early experiences driving racing cars and managing Sterling Moss. The...