RE: the spiritual umbilicord betwixt OUT OF THE PAST and THE PARALLAX VIEW; I'm glad I'm not the only one that's happened to. Each time I see the scene in one or the other, I immediately think of the other. I love both of those movies; PARALLAX VIEW is a modern mind-bender!!

pktrekgirl: WITNESS TO MURDER: Almost forgot that one; Sanders is truly sardonic in it. He does such a thorough job of terrorizing Barbara Stanwyck, very disturbing! TCM runs it from time to time. Beautifully shot by the legendary John Alton, one of film noir's premiere cinematographers. Thanks for ...

Sanders is a major icon! Have you seen him (with Hedy Lamarr!!) in Edgar G. Ulmer's oddly erotic melodrama THE STRANGE WOMAN? It airs on TCM on Tuesday, May 1.

Hey Mr. Ark - I think I have inexplicably mistaken THE BIG SHOT with SAN QUENTIN. That's the Bogart movie I've always thought was subpar. Strangely enough, I've never seen THE BIG SHOT, so thanks for the accidental nudge. I wonder why it's so seldom shown, it sounds great.

I've never noticed Chandler in that! Another excuse to cop a viewing of JOHNNY O'CLOCK. Nice combo platter with Rossen's other gambling motif'd classic THE HUSTLER coming on right before it. A great night to stay home! (With a Russ Meyer nite cap!)

Honorable mention should go to ELLIOTT GOULD in THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), my favorite Robert Altman movie. Altman's film more or less does to Raymond Chandler what Robert ALDRICH's KISS ME DEADLY (55) did to Mickey Spillane: it re-invented the conceit to suit its own purposes. Leigh Brackett (who tea...

Hey Jondaris - Thanks for rekindling my lust for Anne Francis! This weekend I revisited BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK and BRAINSTORM (not the '82 Natalie Wood film, this is an obscure 1965 WB b&w widescreen thriller co-starring Jeffrey Hunter and Dana Andrews and directed by WILLIAM CONDRAD!!) It's my f...

Hi Ken - Even tho TWILIGHT ZONE gets the nod, I still feel I should extol some of the virtues of OUTER LIMITS which, for me, comes very close in a sanctioned showdown of this sort. And given your own personal tastes with respect to oddball sci-fi and film noir I think you would like this show quite ...

Despite my genuine affection for THE OUTER LIMITS, I would have to go with THE TWILIGHT ZONE for sheer overall enjoyment. Far too many excellent episodes to even begin naming (that could be a seperate thread in itself) and so many great writers contributing. Ironically, I always felt that the episod...

Oddly enough, I've never seen RACKETBUSTERS. At least not that I can recall.

Hi Chris - Got the boxset for my Bday this year!! My favorite is WEIRD WOMAN, based on the excellent Fritz Leiber novel "Conjure Wife." These little "B" pictures hold up very well. My brother and I used to watch them when they came on Shock Theater on TV. Loved 'em then, love 'em...

1. Humphrey BOGART. Cosistently displayed an enormous emotional range in his performances (no easy trick for a Capricorn). Never afraid to be the heel when not the hero. (Personal Faves:THE BIG SLEEP, MALTESE FALCON, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, HIGH SIERRA, THE BLACK LEGION, IN A LONELY PLACE) 2. Robert ...

Julie: If you're a die-hard Dick Powell fan (especially of his post-crooner tough guy roles) then you are most likely going to love JOHNNY O'CLOCK. Cut somewhat in the MURDER MY SWEET mold, it's a much more complex character and he really nails it. Four Stars on the Dewey-Meter. And Mr. Ark - I just...

Hi Chris - I saw THE INVISIBLE MAN in a revival theater in San Francisco a few years ago (a great print, too) and the packed house emitted its share of audible gasps! One can only imagine what the reaction must have been like back in 1933 when the film first appeared! Rains really turned in a specta...

Pretty tame. Barely interesting, even as a curio.