NIGHTWALKER wrote: "It truly almost seems as if the creators of these films can't quite conceive that such a thing as a happy marriage can exist, at least for long, because it would involve imperfect, possibly even tainted, people." A well-made point, although it would somehow seem implaus...

Favorite Film Mother: Margaret Wycherly, James Cagney's fixated mom in WHITE HEAT.

Favorite TV Mother: Donna Reed in the DONNA REED SHOW, cuz she was so much like my own mom!

He was eerily memorable as the suspicious gas station attendant in Don Siegel's original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS--the one who puts the seed pods in the trunk of Kevin McCarthy's car as he and Dana Wynter try to make their way out of town.

July's TCM schedule has some incredibly rare and wonderful nuggets for the fanatic film noir connoisseur: the 1937 French masterpiece LE QUAI DE BRUMES (Sun July 1) is a smoky blueprint of what American noir would soon become; 711 OCEAN DRIVE (Fri July 6) with punchy Edmond O'Brien and that great cl...

My all-time favorite 1970s Private Eye show was HARRY O starring David Janssen, an actor who doesn't receive nearly enough praise. Airing for only a couple of seasons ('74-'76), it was a highly evocative show with echoes of Raymond Chandler (Harry's voice-overs were a big part of what made the show ...

Veteran character actor DABBS GREER has died (May 1). He was in countless television episodes and feature films.

Hi Chris - The "tumbleweeds" episode ("Cry of Silence") is definitely one of the stranger ones. What (nearly) saves it is Eddie Albert's serious-as-a-heart attack performance; he seems distressingly real amidst what can best be described as a thoroughly unbelievable set of circum...

The two best recent films for me have been:
CASINO ROYALE (my new favorite James Bond film of all time)
and CHILDREN OF MEN - absorbing and brilliantly visual the way films should (at least try to) be.

Hi Chris - Thanks for the very cool review of the Outer Limits episode! Glad you were inspired to check them out (it was your thread, after all!) In any case, I look forward to reading your reviews of the other episodes from that set. As memory serves, there are some provocative ones from the second...

Hi Kyle -
Yes it is the Eugene O'Neil play of the same name. I've never read or seen the play, but the film has a lot of merit. Somewhere there must be a good print...
-Dewey

Just discovered a fantastic young British r&b singer named Amy Winehouse. She has a new CD out called "Back to Black" and it's the best new r&b recording I've heard in several years. Each track has something great and powerful going for it; much of it is reminiscent of mid-60s Moto...

Both films are essentially mood pieces with the accent on escalating terror. So then it becomes a question of black & white versus color. In that kind of contest the winner will invariably be black & white. As entertainment, I feel that both are fundamentally dull, although Mitchum's perform...

Hi Hollis--good to see you as well. Re: Wm Bendix; yes he's superb in those two films. In fact I can't think of a single performace (save THE BABE RUTH STORY) where he was anything less than terrific. I especially like him as Alan Ladd's shell-shocked pal in the great Raymond Chandler-penned noir, T...

Hi MissG -- I'm so glad you feel that way about JOHNNY O'CLOCK!! It's a real favorite of mine as well. A far more rewarding film than MURDER MY SWEET (although you'll be hardpressed to find many who will agree!) I've seen it a number of times and my enjoyment of it increases with each viewing. Anoth...

Hello Mr. Ark - Re: THE HAIRY APE I tuned in for a few moments just to see if they were airing that ratty Public Domain print and, yes, they were. And that's a shame. While not necessarily a great movie, it certainly deserves a better presentation. Bendix is incredible in this film, one of the rare ...