Writing in The Hollywood Reporter, Richard Newby pays appropriate tribute to Werner Herzog's 1979 remake of Murnau's 1922 silent horror film classic "Nosferatu". Murnau's adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" featured a terrifying performance by mysterious actor Max Schreck, while Herzog's film employed equally eccentric actor Klaus Kinski, who also gave a superb performance. Click here to read.

(Click here to read review of Shout! Factory Blu-ray special edition)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The 1960s spawned a number of thrillers that were blatantly intended to emulate the style and content of Alfred Hitchcock's films. The best of the lot was Stanley Donen's "Charade" (1963) which can be described as the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn't direct. There were others of varying degrees of quality, all of which boasted one-word titles in the manner of many Hitchcock classics. Among them: "Arabaesque", "Masquerade" and "Mirage". Most, but not all, were breezy, lighthearted adventures that pitted a glamorous couple against exotic bad guys in equally exotic locations. Fitting snugly into this sub-genre was "Blindfold", a 1966 romp that paired Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale. The movie begins in Manhattan and focuses on Hudson as Dr. Bartholomew Snow, a revered psychiatrist to the rich who is also one of the city's most eligible bachelors, probably because he looks a lot like Rock Hudson. Snow has a comfortable life running a successful practice. His sole employee is his devoted secretary Smitty (an amusing Anne Seymour), an older woman who speaks to him more like a son than an employer. Smitty keeps a file on Snow's failed romantic relationships and constantly needles him about being a serial proposer. However, he always gets cold feet before he walks down the aisle and early in the film, we see him call off yet another engagement with a frustrated (but unseen) lover. One afternoon while enjoying a horseback ride in Central Park, Snow is approached by one General Prat (Jack Warden), who is affiliated with a top secret U.S. intelligence agency. He explains to Snow that one of his former patients, an esteemed government scientist named Arthur Vincenti (Alejandro Rey) has become the target of a crime syndicate that is looking to kidnap him and deliver him to a foreign power (presumably the Soviets) so that he can be forced to divulge important information. Pratt explains that Vincenti is under guard at a secret location that can't be divulged. He also tells Snow that Vincenti is in an emotionally fragile state and is babbling incoherently. He hopes that by seeing Snow once again, he will allow the doctor to treat him. Snow reluctantly agrees to help only to find that he can't be told where Vicenti is being held. To get there, he is taken on a plane to a remote area, then blindfolded and driven to the hideaway. Snow makes the trip on numerous occasions but finds that Vincenti is not responsive to his treatments.

Back in Manhattan, Snow is accosted by a beautiful, irate young woman, Vicky (Cardinale), who is Vicenti's sister. She believes that her brother has been kidnapped and that Snow is partly to blame. You can pretty much take it from there, as these types of films go. The two squabble and yell at each other and then become romantically involved. Before long, they learn that both Arthur and the General have been kidnapped. In order to save them, Snow must use his memory and sense perception to try to recreate the journey to the lost hideaway he had visited many times. This is only one of the more far-fetched elements of the script and it isn't very convincingly brought off. However, "Blindfold" is a lot of fun thanks to the charisma of Hudson and Cardinale, who have real chemistry together. Director Philip Dunne keeps the pace brisk but goes off course with a fight set inside a Central Park boat house that is played with enough slapstick to mirror an episode of "Batman". Still, the film gets better as it proceeds and the finale, which finds Hudson and Cardinale trying to penetrate a dangerous swamp to thwart the villains, is very well done. Dunne, who co-wrote the screenplay with W.H. Menger based on Lucille Fletcher's novel, blends action and comedy rather successfully and the film is aided by a fine turn by Guy Stockwell as a villain with a stutter. There are also funny supporting turns by Brad Dexter and Vito Scotti. Jack Warden, as usual, is in top form as the cigar-chomping general.

"Blindfold" doesn't approach "Charade" in terms of style or wit but it's never dull and one can do worse than to spend 102 minutes in the company of Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale.  The film has been released by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray. The transfer looks terrific but the only extras are the original trailer and trailers for other thrillers available from the company.

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BY MARK MAWSTON

Sunday, 29 September saw the BFI in London celebrating "Bond Day", the annual worldwide homage to agent 007.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as well as the 40th anniversary of "Moonraker" and the 20th for "The World is Not Enough". I'd been with Cinema Retro's cover guy for our latest issue, actor John Richardson, and we’d been looking at shots from when he’d auditioned for the role of Bond in "OHMSS" back in 1969. As John himself said “I wasn’t right for the role. I wasn’t the right build and the guy who did do it was far more suited to the role than me”. That “other fella” that John was referring to was George Lazenby who attended a post-screening Q&A of "OHMSS" with David Walliams. This event was worth the ticket price alone as it resulted in what the BFI called “The bluest interview” on its stage ever. The reason it was unforgettable were the stories that George shared from the filming of his first and only appearance as 007 (bar "Return of The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and a couple of ads and guest spots in which he played a thinly-veiled 007-like character). Probably the most memorable was when George told of his first day on set when the crew had taped a German Sausage to his inside leg under his kilt in order to get a reaction from the girl who put her hand there up there in the film to write her room number on his inner thigh. George and the crew were expecting screams of fright but actress Angela Scoular was merely nonplussed and just asked “Aren’t you wearing underwear”? I think this says more for her long-time boyfriend Lesley Phillips than anything else!

George also discussed his time with Bruce Lee, as it was George who Bruce was dining with on the night he died. In a scene very similar to the one in Quentin Tarantino’s recent "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood", George regaled us with stories of his time with Bruce. He said the reason they became friends is that Bruce, just like in the Tarantino film, was always surrounded by groups of people and was discussing how long it would take to dispatch those standing around him at the time. He went round each person, from actors to stunt men to bodyguards with answers like “10 seconds, 30 seconds, one minute” until he got to George. He looked at Lazenby and said “I’m not sure how long it would take me to get you down, George. How long do you think”? George said he just looked at Bruce and said “As long as it takes you to catch me”. From that moment he and Bruce were friends. This memorable screening was followed by "Moonraker", which was just as well-received. The Q&A after this screening (which was a rare big screen showcase for Derek Meddings amazing special effects) included Martine Beswick, Carole Ashby, composer David Arnold, David Walliams and director John Glen. Again, some of the stories were quite ear-opening yet just as informative (and as blue!) as George’s had been. Humor has always been an important component of Bond, and I’m hoping there will be some of it on display in  Daniel Craig’s last outing "No Time to Die" which wrapped that day too, making September 29th, 2019 a Bond-tastic one for all fans of Agent 007.

(Photos copyright Mark Mawston. All rights reserved.) 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

In the 1970s and 1980s  director  Brian De Palma had some high profile hits with Hitchcockian thrillers such as "Sisters", "Obsession", "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and "Body Double". De Palma's defenders extolled the virtues of these films as clever homages to Hitchcock while detractors accused De Palma of using The Master's formulas to make a fast buck. In 1982 director Robert Benton jumped on the same bandwagon with his own Hitchcockian  project, "Still of the Night", which was shot under the title "Stab" before the marketing campaign had been re-evaluated. A few years earlier Benton had triumphed at the Oscars with "Kramer vs. Kramer", taking home the Best Director Oscar. That film also provided an important career boost for Meryl Streep, who also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The two were reunited for this project which stands out on both of their credentials as an odd choice. Chances are that when you think of Streep's exalted status in the film community today, the thriller genre is unlikely to come to mind. (Though she did also appear in "The River Wild" and the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate".) Benton, who had directed relatively few films to date, was more accustomed to the genre and perhaps his involvement with this flawed production can be explained by the fact that the basis for the story (which he collaborated on with David Newman) was a real life experience that found him obsessed with a woman who simultaneously excited and frightened him. Certainly it's a sold premise for a thriller and through much of the movie Benton provides a compelling scenario complimented by two excellent actors: Streep and Roy Scheider. The film falls apart in the final act when it begins to resemble less of a homage to Hitchcock than an homage to De Palma's homages to Hitchcock- with a dose of "Play Misty for Me" thrown in (i.e knife wielding killer attacks protagonist on a balcony that overlooks the churning sea.) It's not that "Still of the Night" is bad (though Streep has gone on record as saying it is), it's simply that it hardly seems like it would ever have been compelling enough to attract two recent Oscar winners. 

The film opens in the office of New York City psychiatrist Sam Rice (Scheider). Like most cinematic headshrinkers, he appears to need psychiatric care more than his patients do. He's going through the miseries of a divorce and seems bored and depressed. The only significant female relationship he has is with his mother (Jessica Tandy, who perhaps not coincidentally starred in Hitchcock's "The Birds".) Sam's mundane daily routine takes a dramatic turn when he discovers that a long-time patient, businessman George Bynum (Josef Sommer) has been found stabbed to death in his car on a Manhattan street. From this point some key elements of the story are told in flashback sequences.  Sam remembers Bynum as a sexual predator who had been having an affair with one of his staff workers. Then he meets Brooke Reynolds (Streep), a gorgeous thirty-something blonde who seems both alluring and vulnerable. Bynum confesses that he is obsessed with her and cut off his previous affair in order to engage in one with Brooke. Shortly after Bynum's death, Sam is shocked when Brooke appears at his office, nervous, unsettled and chain-smoking. (Yes, you could smoke in an office in those days.) In the awkward conversation that follows she says the purpose of her visit is to return a wristwatch that Bynum had accidentally left at her apartment. She doesn't want to return it herself for fear of alerting Bynum's widow about the affair he was having with her. From minute one Sam is smitten and intrigued by this quirky, jittery- and stunningly beautiful- young woman. He also realizes that her cover story about the watch is thin. She actually wanted to meet him. Shortly thereafter Sam is visited by Detective Joe Vitucci (Joe Grifasi, channeling every personality cliche you can think of when it comes to a New York  City cop). He asks Sam if he can shed any light on who might be Bynum's killer. Sam informs him that anything he had discussed with Bynum would be protected under doctor/client privilege...but he also finds himself unable to inform Vitucci about Bynum's affair with Brooke. He realizes he is now obsessed with her, just as Bynum was. He strongly suspects that Brooke is Bynum's murderer but can't get her out of his mind. Like Bynum, he's simultaneously sexually stimulated and terrified of her. Nevertheless, he begins finding excuses to see her and his presence seems to have a calming effect on Brooke. The friendship goes to another stage when she responds to his kiss but Sam is too lacking in self-confidence to actually seduce her. Meanwhile he begins to experience some eerie occurrences. He believes someone is stalking him in the basement of his apartment building. As he follows the mysterious Brooke on a nighttime walk through Central Park (a chilling scenario for anyone in those days), he finds himself alone and so unnerved that when a man jumps out of the shadows to mug him, he is actually relieved to have another human being on the scene. Director Benton knows that a sure-fire way to ratchet up suspense is to put the protagonist in a creepy dark house or in an equally unnerving location. However he goes to the well with this plot device a little too often. For a man who lives in the heart of Manhattan, Sam seems to wind up repeatedly in eerie, isolated places. However, some of the sequences are genuinely suspenseful as in the scene in which Sam is in the laundry room of his apartment building, deep in the bowels of the basement. No one is around. There is total isolation when suddenly the lights in an adjoining room inexplicably go out. You can share his sense of increasing panic as he knows  someone is stalking him...but who and why? Refrehingly, Scheider portrays Sam as an everyday guy, not a tough-as-nails hero. He's vulnerable both physically and emotionally throughout.

The film's primary asset is its two stars, both of whom give intense and very convincing performances. There are also the usual plot twists and red herrings one would expect to find in a movie of this genre and Benton for the most part manages to wring some genuine suspense out of it even when he resorts to old gimmicks that include a dream sequence in which Bynum is menaced by an eerie little girl (are there any other kinds of little girls in dream sequences?) It's straight out of "The Shining"  but then again just about everything in "Still of the Night" seems recycled, even though it manages to be engrossing right up until the climax when Benton the screenwriter resorts to every time-worn cliche imaginable: an old dark house, a sacrificial lamb character, a vulnerable hero, a knife-wielding maniac...you get the picture. About all that is missing is John Carradine as a mad scientist. The weak ending feels like it was tossed together at the last minute and doesn't retain the suspense or logic that Benton has managed to build heretofore. Nonetheless, "Still of the Night" is still worth a look if only for the performances and those few genuinely spooky sequences.

The Blu-ray edition from Kino Lorber includes the original trailer and trailers for two other Roy Scheider films, "Last Embrace" and "52 Pick-Up."

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(Above: Lynley in the 1972 hit "The Poseidon Adventure")

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Actress Carol Lynley has died from a heart attack at age 77. She began her career as a child model before gravitating to the movie industry. With her stunning looks, Lynley showed great potential in an era in which studios groomed starlets to become full-blown stars. Lynley gained fine notices for her starring role in the 1959 drama "Blue Denim" in which she and Brandon DeWilde played middle-class teenagers dealing with the secret of her unintended pregnancy in an era in which such scenarios were met with repression instead of compassion. Prominent roles followed including "Hound Dog Man", "Return to Peyton Place" and "The Last Sunset" in which she co-starred with Hollywood icons Rock Hudson and Kirk Douglas. Other major films of the 1960s include "The Stripper", "Under the Yum Yum Tree", "Shock Treatment", "The Pleasure Seekers", "The Maltese Bippy", "Danger Route" and as a memorable villainess in "Once You Kiss a Stranger..." She worked twice with mercurial director Otto Preminger during the decade, first in "The Cardinal" and next in one of her most prominent roles in "Bunny Lake is Missing". By the end of the decade, however, it was clear that her star power had diminished. Lynley came back into prominence with a major role in Irwin Allen's 1972 disaster movie blockbuster "The Poseidon Adventure" but the film didn't jump-start her career.

(Above: Lynley with Robert Vaughn in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

Lynley had always worked simultaneously in television and appeared in many hit shows including "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "Run for Your Life", "The Virginian", "The Invaders","The Virginian", "The F.B.I.", "Hawaii Five-0", "Kojak", "Quincy, M.E.", "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island",  "Charlie's Angels" and the classic TV movie "The Night Stalker". She also appeared in a two-part episode of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." that was also released as the feature film "The Helicopter Spies". Lynley recently collaborated with Cinema Retro columnist Tom Lisanti on a forthcoming book about her life and career. For more click here.

BY HANK REINEKE

It was never his intention to be remembered as the Alfred Hitchcock of the Chester-Delaware Counties of Eastern Pennsylvania. Director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. was a devout Christian whose real passion was turning out religious-themed short films that would bring the Gospel to the masses. But such proselytizing was cost prohibitive. So, at the suggestion of - and in partnership with - Philadelphia-based distributor/producer Jack H. Harris, Yeaworth signed on to direct a handful of low-budget teenage dramas and science-fiction films. Harris had convinced Yeaworth that there was a cash-grab market for such indie films, and these productions would bring in enough revenue to fund projects with loftier aspirations.

Yeaworth’s first feature film (as co-producer), The Flaming Teenage (1956), was not really his at all. It was instead a cobble of pre-existing footage from a drug-abuse morality fable now disguised and sold to distributors as an exploitation film. Things would evolve in the summer of 1957 when, working in tandem with the movie business-savvy Harris, Yeaworth’s Valley Forge Productions cameras cranked out the soon-to-be-cult-classic science-fiction film The Blob (1958) featuring twenty-seven year old Steve McQueen.

The partnership of Harris and Yeaworth proved to be a brief but modestly lucrative teaming of two disparate souls on separate life missions. Two additional sci-fi films, with Yeaworth directing and Harris co-producing, would follow in The Blob’s successful box-office wake: The 4D Man (1959) and Dinosauraus! (1960). Though neither of these subsequent films would inculcate their way into the American pop-culture psyche as had The Blob, The 4D Man, the first of the two, is an intelligent, under-praised minor contribution to the 1950’s sci-fi canon.

One of the bonus features included on this new Blu-ray release of The 4D Man from Kino Lorber is “Reflection from the Fourth Dimension,” a featurette ported over from the German SubKultur 2011 DVD issue of the film. These dimensional reflections come courtesy of Jack H. Harris (1918-2017) who muses unapologetically on a career of bringing exploitation films to the big screen. Aside from his participation in The Blob, Harris might be best remembered as the man who helped bring such post-college student cult films as Schlock! (1973) and Dark Star (1974) to movie houses. His penny-pinching patronage of young talent undoubtedly helped launch the careers of directors John Landis and John Carpenter, respectively.

Harris brags in the featurette that he never had to license any literary works to bring a story to the screen. There were, he muses, plenty of ideas already out there, so why pay to license any literary material? Having said that, the wily producer would admit the idea for The 4D Man was not entirely self-generated. It came to him courtesy of an illustration on the cover of Weird Tales magazine, where a man was pictured walking through a wall, his body mass co-mingling seamlessly with the atoms of the brick.

Harris was a film economist of the Roger Corman School, and Yeaworth was a dependable enough filmmaker to stay on budget. Shot entirely in Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, fans of The Blob will recognize many of the same faces from that film in small supporting roles here: actors from Yeaworth’s personal troupe (George Karas, John Benson, Elbert Smith et. al.). And, in much the same manner that The Blob had helped introduce Steve McQueen to movie audiences, The 4D Man would mark the feature film debut of actress Lee Meriwether.

Crowned as Miss America in 1955 during the pageant’s very first televised edition, Meriwether would tour as a spokesman for the organization during most of the following year. She then began to pick-up small roles in early, live television productions, before being offered the substantial role of Linda Davis in The 4D Man. Looking back on her experience, Meriwether fretted that she was perhaps still “too green” as an actress for the assignment and unsatisfied with her performance. She thought the film’s screenplay (co-written by Theodore Simonson and Cy Chermak) was, in her own words, “very involved.”

She had a point. Trying to explain away the complex concepts of a scientist moving in and out of the fourth dimension was a tough task, though it must be said that the movie’s special effects are relatively impressive for a regional film shot on a modest budget. Meriwether’s character works at the Fairview Research Center, where some sort of secret federal government experimentations are underway. It’s no secret that she has to contend with her fair share of sexual harassment in the workplace. She’s engaged to Dr. Scott Nelson (Robert Lansing), in love with the doctor’s brother, Tony Nelson (James Congdon) and is routinely and unwelcomingly being hit up for dates by the shifty Roy Parker (Robert Strauss).

Tony Nelson is, to put it politely, a disruptor. Obsessed with his experimentations with the fourth dimension, he accidentally burned down the workplace of his previous employer. Understandably dismissed from his position following that inferno, he resurfaces at Fairview where his older brother Scott serves. The two appear to have a frosty relationship. Their grudging interactions become understandable when we learn that Tony has a history of running off with Scott’s paramours. Unfortunately for Scott, his inability to hold on to women will soon be the least of his troubles.

Not only are his inventions being co-opted by both a shifty coworker and an unscrupulous boss, he’s also beginning to suffer symptoms of muscular stiffness. The laboratory’s medical officer suggests his ever-worsening condition may be the result of exposure to excessive amounts of radiation. It’s also determined that he is sending out strong “electro-magnetic impulses” and other tests reveal his brainwaves are registering “different than most people.” Perhaps even enough to drive him mad.

These conditions ultimately result in his being able to pass through glass, metal, drywall, brick, and steel. The only way he can renew his personal energy and appearance is to literally suck the life out of his flesh-and-blood victims through a kiss or simply a mere touch. Having an intimate knowledge of the science brother Tony rues, “A man in the fourth dimension is indestructible.” Perhaps.

If The 4D Man was ambitious in its cerebral storyline, the final project pairing Harris and Yeaworth was ambitious in its scope… CinemaScope. Harris was able to sell an idea for a combination prehistoric monster/children’s film Dinosauraus! to Universal-International… where the film would play in some markets as the under-bill to the more adult-orientated Brides of Dracula. It’s the mostly visually impressive of Yeaworth’s films. Gone from the screen are the low-budget locations shoots mounted in and around the sleepy hamlets of the director’s hometown. They’ve now been replaced by the exotic beaches and townships of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, and the film comes replete with colorful underwater sequences, boasts its very own team of special effect experts and features a great Ronald Stein score.

“HITCHCOCK’S EARLY SOUND GEMS”

By Raymond Benson

Alfred Hitchcock’s early British period of work (1927-1939) has been in the public domain and/or out of copyright and available in poor quality renditions online and cheap home video bargain collections for many years. Most of these are unwatchable, not due to the films themselves, but because of the wretched condition of the images. Granted, not everything the Master of Suspense did during these years is up to par with his later Hollywood output that most of us know. Nevertheless, of the 25+ films Hitch made then (nine of them silent), there are indeed some select winners (The Lodger, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, Sabotage, and The Lady Vanishes all come to mind).

There are also a handful of other admirable and worthwhile gems from the British period, and Kino Lorber has recently issued new high definition restorations of two that have been crying out for facelifts for some time.

Blackmail (1929) is touted as Britain’s first talkie, although it really isn’t. Nevertheless, as audio commentator Tim Lucas says, we’re not going to argue with that notion. Blackmail was such a step forward in technical innovation with its inventive use of sound that the picture deserves to be recognized as, at least, the first British talkie that did sound well. Interestingly, the film exists as a silent film, too. As in the USA, many cinemas across Britain were not yet wired for sound, so Hitchcock made two versions—a silent and a talkie. Originally, the silent picture was longer than the sound version, but some of that material is lost. A recent restoration brings the silent entry in at around 75 minutes, whereas the talkie is roughly 85.

It’s a rather sordid story (then again, it’s Hitchcock!). Alice (gorgeous Anny Ondra) is angry at her police detective boyfriend, Frank (John Longden), so she goes out with an artist, Mr. Crewe (Cyril Ritchard). Crewe attempts to rape her, so Alice murders him with a knife. Unfortunately, shifty street bum Tracy (Donald Calthrop) figures out she’s the one who did it, and he attempts to blackmail both Alice and Frank. Without giving too much away, let’s just say the picture ends with a moral ambiguity.

For an early sound motion picture, Blackmail is surprisingly engaging and suspenseful. Hitchcock’s playful use of the technology (such as in the now-famous scene in which Alice hears the word “knife” repeated and loses her cool over it) is apparent throughout. The picture is also notable for the director’s first big climactic sequence at a famous landmark (in this case, the British Museum).

That said, film buffs may very well find that the silent version of Blackmail to be superior. There is an economy to the purely visual storytelling that the sound entry subtly lacks. They’re both terrific, though.

Note: Although the packaging does not adequately make it clear, Blackmail comes with two Blu-ray disks. The first contains the silent version and the sound edition in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. On the other disk is the sound version in 1.20:1 aspect ratio, which is apparently closer to what the movie was when first released. There is some speculation online regarding the accuracy of these two aspect ratios (see the discussion at https://www.hometheaterforum.com/a-few-words-about-blackmail-in-blu-ray/), but these eyes can find no egregious fault with either presentation. Compared to what we’ve had before with Blackmail, the Kino Lorber release is a godsend. Ironically, the silent version looks the most pristine. Supplements include the previously mentioned audio commentary by Lucas (always listenable), an intro to the film by Noël Simsolo, an audio portion of the conversation between Hitchcock and François Truffaut conducted for the Hitchcock/Truffaut book, Anny Ondra’s celebrated brief screen test, and trailers for this and other Kino Lorber titles.

BY FRED BLOSSER

The fashions, set designs, and social conventions of “Midnight Lace” were finely tuned to the expectations of audiences who trooped to their local theaters to see the film on its release in 1960, making it the year’s eleventh highest-grossing production. Nearly sixty years later, those same glossy Hollywood trappings have an almost campy quaintness. How often do you see anyone wear a pillbox hat anymore, outside of a drag parade? Regardless, the film’s basic plot would still fit nicely into any of today’s TV soap operas. The principal characters would be a little younger, they’d sleep together in the same bed instead of by themselves in separate twin beds, and the male lead would take off his shirt at least once an episode to display his ripped physique -- that’s all.

Kit Preston (Doris Day), an American heiress newly married to British financier Anthony Preston (Rex Harrison) and relocated from the U.S. to London, begins receiving obscene, threatening phone calls from an anonymous stalker. Her husband and her friends are sympathetic at first, but gradually they begin to express skepticism because Kit is the only one who hears the calls. Inspector Byrnes of Scotland Yard (John Williams) is even more cynical: “We waste half our time looking for crank phone callers who don’t even exist, except in the minds of unhappy women. You’d be surprised how far a wife would go to make a neglectful husband toe the mark.” Today a comment like that would get a senior police officer censured for insensitivity if not kicked off the force, but in the mindset of 1960, his opinion seems to be supported by the circumstances. The charming but work-obsessed Anthony spends more time in the boardroom than at home, and as a newcomer to the U.K. the lonely Kit feels isolated. Even her visiting Aunt Bea (Myrna Loy, sharp as a tack and looking terrific at fifty-five) begins to wonder.

From the outset, though, the viewer knows that Kit is telling the truth, and the mystery for us becomes not whether she’s delusional, but who’s behind the threats? The script serves up a rich array of suspects. Is she being menaced by her housekeeper’s smarmy nephew (Roddy McDowell)? By her husband’s financially troubled associate (Herbert Marshall)? By Anthony’s assistant Daniel (Richard Ney), who seems to be nursing other ambitions under his obsequious facade? “So many red herrings!” as critic and writer Kat Ellinger observes in her fine audio commentary on a new Kino-Lorber Blu-ray release of the movie. A handsome construction manager overseeing a renovation next door seems to be a good guy (John Gavin), but he’s troubled by lingering wartime PTSD, and he’s been using the phone in the back room of the local pub to make calls of an undisclosed nature. When a stranger intrudes into Kit’s apartment, inconveniently disappearing when she summons help, he’s likely to become the viewer’s prime suspect, and not only because of his black overcoat and sinister cast of features. He’s played by Anthony Dawson, well-remembered (like John Williams as the police inspector) from “Dial M for Murder.” In the Hitchcock thriller, Dawson was the guy who attempted to strangle Grace Kelly. By and large, the script plays fair in planting its clues and casting our suspicions first on one character and then another, although the resolution may not surprise hardcore movie-mystery fans. The phrase “Midnight Lace” is uttered once in the film as the style of a black negligee that Kit promises to wear if Anthony takes her on their deferred honeymoon to Venice, but it doesn’t have any real bearing on the character’s plight. Still, it’s a classy and evocative title that was repurposed for an inferior, unrelated made-for-TV movie in 1981.

(Above: "Summer Interlude" (1951)

Writing in the New York Times, J. Hoberman revisits the summer-themed films of the legendary director Ingmar Bergman: "Summer Interlude", "Summer with Monika" and "Smiles of a Summer Night". Click here to read.

BY MARK CERULLI

Forty eight years ago, United Artists continued their series of highly profitable Bond double features by releasing arguably the biggest 00 double bill of them all – Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Both films had coined money on their initial releases, with Thunderball being the highest-grossing 007 film of that era – in fact, of many eras, right up until Skyfall in 2012. Thunderball earned a stunning $141 Million worldwide (over one billion dollars in today’s money), a number that must have had UA’s finance department humming the Bond theme at 727 Seventh Avenue. You Only Live Twice pulled in over $111 Million worldwide, its profits squeezed perhaps by a competing Bond film, the over-the-top comedy, Casino Royale with Peter Sellers, David Niven, Terence Cooper and Woody Allen as various Bonds or an Italian spy knockoff starring Sean Connery’s younger brother, Neil. (More on that later.)

Throughout the 60s, 70s and into the early 80s, United Artists cannily fed the demand for Bond with double features that also served to ignite audience interest between new films. The double-bills were pure cash cows for the studio – the movies had already been produced and paid for, so all UA had to do was book the theaters, buy TV, radio and print advertising, then, as Bond producer Cubby Broccoli was fond of saying, “Open the cinema doors and get out of the way.”

As a (very) young Bond fan in New York City, the exciting double feature TV spots for “The Two Biggest Bonds of All” got my attention and I desperately wanted to go. My father, an advertising and music executive, thought noon on a Saturday was the perfect time – instead we were greeted with a line around the block and a sold out show. Apparently that satisfied my dad’s interest in the movies because we never went back. Almost five decades later, I still regretted missing those two fantastic films on the big screen…

Enter Quentin Tarantino. Throughout July, his New Beverly Theater in LA ran most of the classic Bonds in vintage 35MM IB Technicolor prints, reportedly from his own collection. (The IB refers to “imbibition”, Technicolor’s patented die-transfer process resulting in a richer, more stable color palette.) So while there was no 4-hour, action-packed double feature for me, I finally got to see both films in 1960s 35MM, only a week apart. Even fifty years later, they didn’t disappoint: Thunderball remains a bonafide masterpiece. Fortunately Quentin owns a very good print, so the colors were still lush and it was fairly scratch-free. The main titles set to Tom Jones’ timeless song still popped in an explosion of colors and sound effects. The scenes of Domino and Bond meeting on a coral reef were hauntingly beautiful. The frantic Junkanoo chase fairly jumped off the screen and Thunderball’s iconic underwater battle is still a showstopper. (The filmmakers cleverly refrained from wall-to-wall music so the sequence incorporated underwater breathing and other natural sounds. Kudos again to 00 audio genius, Norman Wanstall.)

You Only Live Twice is a true epic and only the master showmen, Monsieurs Broccoli and Harry Saltzman could have pulled it off. They reached into the highest levels of the Japanese government to secure a lengthy shoot in what was then a very exotic location in a much bigger world. Japan was almost a character itself in their sprawling space age tale that occasionally bordered on sci-fi. Much has been written about Ken Adam’s volcano crater, but seeing it on a big screen really brings out his mind-blowing vision, especially during the climactic battle where the “ninjas” rappel down from the roof as controlled explosions rock the set. One can only imagine how that went over with 1967 audiences who had never seen anything like it. Putting it in context, Tarantino had selected various spy-themed trailers to run before the film – including The Wrecking Crew, The Venetian Affair and The Liquidator. Although they were all successful and well made, their sets and action sequences looked positively cheap in comparison to a Bond film.

Both features starred a young, vibrant Connery whose acting chops were on full display. Connery played Bond for real. He made you believe… once you bought into him as 007, then his strapping on a jetpack to fly over a French chateau, or a SPECTRE construction crew hollowing out a volcano - in secret - to create a rocket base seemed totally plausible. Sure Connery had put on a few pounds between Thunderball and Twice, but he was still fit and looked fantastic in his custom-made suits. And his fight with Samoan wrestler Peter Maivia (grandfather to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) in Osato’s office is still one for the ages.

(Above: Mie Hama joins in celebrating Connery's birthday on the set.)

As most Bond students know, Twice was a grueling shoot for the mercurial star. He was subjected to intense press and fan interest in a country that had gone wild for 007. Connery needed security to accompany him from location trailer to set. Going out for a quiet dinner was out of the question – even visiting the loo was off limits after an overzealous photographer poked his lens into Connery’s toilet stall! But if he was feeling angry or bitter about his situation, he was too much of a pro to let it show in his performance. In spite of the pressures, there were some good times on the Twice shoot during the furnace hot Asian summer of 1966 – now-famous photos show Connery-san laughing with lovely Mie Hama at his 36^th birthday party on location, or back at Pinewood, smiling at Donald Pleasence during a light moment in the control room that even had Blofeld’s hulking bodyguard (actor Ronald Rich) laughing in the background.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has showcased another "B" movie and rescued it from relative obscurity with the release of "Lady Scarface". The 1941 movie is an RKO "Poverty Row" production with a low budget (i.e. there are almost no exterior shots) and abbreviated running time of only 66 minutes. The titular character is never referred to as such in the film. She's simply called Slade and she's a mysterious Chicago gangster who the police have been searching for under the assumption their prey is a man. Slade does bear a scar on her cheek but it would appear this was added simply to enable the producers to capitalize on the "Scarface" moniker in order to tie the film in with Paul Muni's classic gangster flick. Slade appears in the opening scene in which she and her gang rob a businessman and loot his safe. She ends up shooting him in cold blood. As played by Judith Anderson, Slade has the potential to be a fascinating character-- a female mob boss in the early 1940s. At one point she dresses in a foreboding black hat that makes her resemble Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West. However, the screenplay only uses her to bookend the film's opening and climax and she rarely appears on screen in the interim. It's a pity because Judith Anderson's ruthless interpretation of the role is quite interesting and in this viewer's mind seemed to foreshadow Lotte Lenya's Rosa Klebb in "From Russia with Love" in that she's as brutal as any of her male counterparts, humorless and devoid of humanity on any level. Most of the story is devoted to a perky couple who are tracking down Slade, still under the impression they are searching for a man. Lt. Bill Mason (O'Keefe) is a Chicago detective who is sent to a New York hotel where they set a trap for Slade to appear. Accompanying him is Ann Rogers (Frances Neal), an intrepid reporter in the Lois Lane mode. They banter and bicker but we all know they will fall in love by the end of the film. When they get to New York the plan goes awry when an innocent honeymooning couple (Mildred Boles, Eric Blore)  inadvertently gets caught up in the plot and are mistaken for Slade's accomplices.

"Lady Scarface" was probably produced to be the lower half of a double bill. However, it isn't without its merits. Director Frank Woodruff keeps the pace brisk and the story, although occasionally confusing, holds the viewer's interest. O'Keefe and Neal make a good team in the "Thin Man" mode but it's Anderson who steals her scenes despite her abbreviated appearances in the film. She was already an acclaimed star on Broadway and recently gave a brilliant and acclaimed performance in Hitchcock's "Rebecca". One can only ponder why she was attracted to this low rent production that is distinguished primarily by the fact that women are given the most interesting roles. Slade keeps her male gang members in line through sheer acts of terror and Ann Rogers is ahead of the police in cracking the case. In all, a competently made and fun crime thriller.  The Warner Archive print looks perfectly satisfactory. There are no extras but the disc is region-free.

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BY HANK REINEKE

Basil Dearden’s intriguing The Man Who Haunted Himself is a feature-length remake of a thirty-minute televised episode of Alfred Hitchcock’s Presents. That episode - from the 1955 program’s first season - had the distinction of having been directed by the maestro of suspense himself. It was one of only a handful of dramas in the series that Hitchcock chose to helm. The episode was based on Anthony Armstrong’s short story (later novelized) “The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham” (Methuen & Co. Ltd., UK, 1957). The book was later published that very same year in the U.S. as part of Doubleday & Co.’s fabled “Crime Club” series.

Armstrong’s psychological thriller had been originally published in the November 1940 issue of Esquire magazine. The short story was later re-sold and re-published in June 1955 as part of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine… which is likely where Hitchcock became acquainted with it. (If interested, the entire first season of the Hitchcock program, including “The Case of Mr. Pelham,” can be found on one of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents sets issued by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 2006. That is, of course, assuming you can get the discs to play; there were all sorts of unwelcome pressing issues associated with that DVD set).

Kino Lorber’s Special Edition Blu-ray of The Man Who Haunted Himself is a co-venture with Britain’s StudioCanal label. It’s the second digital copy to make it onto my groaning shelves. StudioCanal issued the film in 2013 as a Region 2 DVD and this UK edition was generous in their bonus supplements. The StudioCanal set included a standalone thirty-four minute “music suite” of composer Michael J. Lewis’s memorable score, a 2005 recorded commentary featuring Roger Moore and Bryan Forbes, the original theatrical trailer, image galleries and even a PDF of promotional materials used to market the film in 1970.

This new release on Blu by Kino here in the U.S. welcomingly ports over the Moore/Forbes commentary (moderated by Jonathon Sothcott, author of The Cult Films of Christopher Lee. The Sothcott tome might be of some additional interest as it carries a preface by none other than “Sir Roger Moore (O.B.E.).” This Kino release also includes the film’s original trailer (as well as trailers of three additional Moore films, Gold, Street People, and The Naked Face.) We’re also treated to an informative bonus supplement that features director Joe Dante and Hitchcock historian Stuart Gordon musing on the film’s back stories and production history.

Though The Man Who Haunted Himself is mostly regarded as a thriller in the Hitchcock tradition, Dante suggests it serves as a genuine horror film as well: there are moments in the film, he contends, that can still send a “chill up the backs” of movie-going audiences. Dante and Gordon both reference the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode of 1955 as the film’s immediate forebear, but Gordon suggests that Armstrong’s short story goes back even further in conception. He proposes the story is essentially a reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen fable “The Shadow,” first published in 1847.

Roger Moore had offered on numerous occasions that his turn as Harold Pelham was a personally rewarding one. For a graduate of the London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Moore would often commiserate he was rarely given the opportunity to be “dramatically stretched” in his chosen profession. Certainly his popular TV roles as cosmopolitan playboy-adventurers Simon Templar and Brett Sinclair – not to mention his casting as the longest-serving James Bond – hadn’t allowed Moore to demonstrate his mettle as a “serious” actor.

The Man Who Haunted Himself certainly is more representative of his abilities, with Moore estimating Basil Dearden and Michael Relph’s screenplay as “one of the best scripts I’d ever read.” There’s even a tease of what was soon to come buried within the dialogue. Discussing the possibility of internal leaks of confidential and sensitive information, Moore confidently cautions his worried colleagues that acts of industrial “espionage isn’t all James Bond and Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” For Moore, it soon would be.

Moore’s performance is undisputedly wonderful in this, though in my estimation the film – while never uninteresting - remains an intriguing curiosity with an unsatisfying and confusing finale. Others have found the film to be an under-appreciated off-the-radar masterpiece. Moore gets to play two characters in this, the colorless Harold Pelham as well as his own calculating doppelganger. Basil Dearden’s direction is top-notch (and dizzyingly unorthodox in a scene where Moore and eccentric psychiatrist (Freddie Jones) discuss the state of his declining mental health). The Man Who Haunted Himself would, tragically, be Dearden’s last feature film effort. The helmsman of such films as Woman of Straw and Khartoum, Dearden would die from injuries sustained following an automobile crash on the M4 in 1971. Ironically, this is very same stretch of highway that Moore’s Pelham fails to circumnavigate near the film’s beginning. He loses control of his Rover while driving recklessly at 110 kilometers per hour. The calamitous car crash results in Pelham suffering a near-death experience which, essentially, ignites the tale that will unwind.

BY HANK REINEKE

When the revered folksinger and author Woody Guthrie passed away on October 3, 1967 – following a long, tragic battle with Huntington’s disease – his friends and colleagues were moved to celebrate his life and legacy with a tribute concert. The manager of Guthrie’s business affairs, Harold Leventhal, commissioned the blacklisted novelist and screenwriter Millard Lampell to re-work an old script he had earlier fashioned from Guthrie’s bountiful catalog of songs and prose. Lampell was well suited to the task, not merely an outsider looking in. In 1941 Lampell would co-found the Almanac Singers, the agit-prop folk music ensemble that featured Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and several others.

That original program, Woody Guthrie’s California to the New York Island, first broadcast on CBS-TV’s Camera 2 program in December 1965, would serve as the template for the proposed memorial Tribute to Woody Guthrie. The tribute concert would be staged twice with afternoon and evening’s performances at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on January 20, 1968. The Carnegie tributes would have likely sold out quickly without any impetus beyond the simple desire of celebrating Guthrie’s life and work. But when Leventhal announced that that the reclusive Bob Dylan – not seen on a concert stage since May 1966 – would be included on the tribute bill, both shows would sell out within hours of the ticket on-sale. Even without Dylan’s participation, the bill at Carnegie was formidable and featured the finest folksingers from the New York City scene: Seeger, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Odetta, Richie Havens and Tom Paxton. The evening program at Carnegie Hall was recorded from the venue’s house system and shelved away for the possibility of a future LP release. Sadly, neither of these Carnegie Hall shows was professionally filmed.

While this tribute was originally conceived as a standalone memorial program, Guthrie’s colleagues and admirers on the west coast were feeling, not without justification, slighted. Guthrie’s earliest successes were, after all, on radio station KFVD out of Los Angeles. And Woody, a radical balladeer and refugee from Oklahoma’s dust bowl, was quickly embraced by those in L.A.’s progressive political circle. So much so that Guthrie was offered a gig as an occasional columnist for the mostly doctrinaire west coast Communist Party newspaper People’s World.

Guthrie’s Manhattan-based heirs were sympathetic to their west coast brethren’s disappointment. So it was a relief when it was announced that on September 12, 1970, there would be a Pacific coast Tribute to Woody Guthrie concert staged at the Hollywood Bowl. Dylan, to the disappointment of many, would not perform at this second concert. But several of Carnegie’s musical guests would return: Seeger, Havens, Odetta, Arlo Guthrie, and Jack Elliott. At the Hollywood Bowl, folk-diva Joan Baez would replace Judy Collins. Also joining the cast for the first time were Country Joe McDonald and an old colleague of Woody’s from the days of People’s Songs, Earl Robinson.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The daffy 1969 British spy comedy "Otley" features Tom Courtenay in an amusing performance as a young slacker in mod London who gets caught up in a Kafkaesque espionage adventure. He's a homeless drifter and grifter who makes the rounds looking for a place to spend the night after the landlady evicts him for not paying the rent. (But she does so only after they have a night in bed.) Otley attends a party where he meets Imogen (Romy Schneider), a beautiful but mysterious young woman. He also runs into an old friend, Lambert (Edward Hardwicke), who owes Otley a favor. He reluctantly allows him to spend the night on his couch. However, while Otley is blissfully sleeping, Lambert is assassinated in his kitchen. Otley then inexplicably wakes up in a field adjacent to Gatwick Airport, his mind numb and devoid of any idea about what happened or how he got there. This is the beginning of his bizarre odyssey that sees him kidnapped by various spies on both sides but he's never sure who is really working for who. All of them are convinced that he is a spy himself and that he has information about the murder of Lambert. The witty screenplay by director Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, based on a novel by Martin Waddell, takes the old Hitchcock concept of presenting a protagonist who is an everyday man swept up in deadly events that he can't convince anyone that he knows nothing about. You can also add a healthy dose of Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner" in that he is never sure which side is holding him captive at any given time and he is constantly being pressed to provide information. The character of Imogene keeps appearing and disappearing with no indication as to whether she is friend or foe.

The film becomes so mind-boggling and confusing that at a certain point it's best to just go with the joke and sit back and enjoy this madcap romp, deftly enacted by Courtenay as a bewildered man who simply wants someone to explain who is who and what is going on. Ultimately, he ends up getting drafted into an MI5 mission- but are his bosses really with MI5? There are some wonderful location shots of London and its surroundings including a rather eerie scene in Notthing Hill Gate tube station that is inexplicably vacant and adorned with posters of movies from the era ("Romeo and Juliet", "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "The Charge of the Light Brigade"). The cast is peppered with marvelous character actors including Leonard Rossiter as a benign and comforting cold-blooded killer, Alan Badel, James Villiers, Fiona Lewis, Freddie Jones, Ronald Lacey and Geoffrey Blaydon. There's also a wacky score by Stanley Myers and impressive cinematography by Austin Dempster. In all, "Otley" is one of the better spy spoofs of the 1960s.

Mill Creek Entertainment has included "Otley" with five other Cold War films in a collection that features "Man on a String", "The Deadly Affair", "Hammerhead", "The Executioner" and "A Dandy in Aspic". The DVD transfer is excellent but unfortunately there are no bonus features.

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Here is the original U.S. radio spot promoting Alfred Hitchcock's 50th motion picture, the Cold War spy thriller "Torn Curtain" (1966) starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Stanley Donen, the legendary director of musicals and romantic comedies, has died at age 94. He started as a choreographer and dance director before being elevated to director status at MGM, where he brought to the screen some of cinema's greatest musicals. Among his achievements: "On the Town", "Royal Wedding", "Singin' in the Rain", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Kismet", "Funny Face" and "Damn Yankees". As the traditional musical genre started to decline, Donen concentrated on comedies such as "Once More with Feeling", "The Grass is Greener", "Two for the Road" and "Bedazzled". One of his biggest hits was the 1963 comedy thriller "Charade" starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, which can be described as the best Hitchcock movie not directed by Hitchcock. A similarly-themed spy thriller, "Arabesque" starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, was not as well received. Donen had other artistic misfires in the course of his career including the big budget 1975 comedy "Lucky Lady" and he also directed, produced and wrote the 1969 poignant comedy "Staircase" starring Richard Burton and Rex Harrison as an aging gay couple. The film was ahead of its time in its sympathetic portrayal of a homosexual relationship. Surprisingly, Donen was never nominated for a directing Oscar but the Academy awarded him a lifetime achievement honor in 1998. For more click here. 

Last September, Time Life released the ultimate Robin Williams video set. Here is the official press release:

"You know that cartoon, that Tasmanian devil that comes out and just spins --

he was that, but eloquent and hilarious."

-- Billy Crystal

"He was like something waiting to happen...a very powerful anomaly."

-- Steve Martin

"Everybody else prepared, Robin was just a natural...

and he worked on every level." 

-- Jay Leno

LEGENDARY COMEDIAN.

OSCAR®-WINNING ACTOR.

THIS SEPTEMBER, JOIN TIME LIFE FOR THE

DEFINITIVE DVD COLLECTION CELEBRATING

THE COMEDY CAREER OF A BELOVED ICON

ROBIN WILLIAMS: COMIC GENIUS

Across 22 DVDs and 50+ Hours, the Electrifying Comic Lights Up the Room in This Ultimate, One-of-a-Kind Compendium Spanning 40 Years on TV, Including All Five HBO Stand-Up Specials Together for the Very First Time, Never-Before-Released Performances and Backstage Footage, Talk Show and Late Night Appearances, Rare Archival Clips, Brand New Interviews Featuring Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Jay Leno, Martin Short, Pam Dawber, Lewis Black, and Zak Williams, a Collectible Memory Book Featuring Archival Photos, Robin's Tour Notes, and More!

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT ROBINWILLIAMS.COM

FAIRFAX, VA (September 25, 2018) - Robin Williams was a generational talent, graced with comedic brilliance, rapid-fire improvisation, and a deep well of warmth and compassion that translated to every role he inhabited. From his breakout role in ABC's Mork & Mindy to his Academy Award®-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, the iconic actor displayed an inimitable artistry that made him beloved by millions. This September, join Time Life, in conjunction with the Trustees of the Robin Williams Trust, in celebrating the incomparable career of the singularly innovative actor with ROBIN WILLIAMS: COMIC GENIUS. 

Available exclusively at RobinWilliams.com beginning September 25th, this definitive collection of Williams' comedy highlights arrives as interest in his life and career increases in the wake of HBO's critically acclaimed documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind from Emmy® Award-winning director Marina Zenovich and Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney, and Dave Itzkoff's biography Robin, a New York Times best-seller. Celebrating the actor's memorable 40-year career, from his uproarious turn as loveable alien Mork and his legendary HBO stand-up specials to his numerous appearances on late night, this handsome, 22-disc collection, housed in deluxe packaging includes: 

All five HBO stand-up specials together for the very first time, including Off the Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1983), An Evening at the MET (1986), Live on Broadway (2002) and Weapons of Self Destruction (2009)

Never-before-released concert specials, including Robin's full MGM Grand Garden stand-up from 2007 and the Montreal stop on his last tour, a conversation on stage between Williams and comedian David Steinberg

Memorable talk show and late night TV appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Graham Norton Show, Saturday Night Live and more

Rare, never-before-seen clips including early stand-up, raw footage from HBO's promo shoots, a hilarious toast to Richard Pryor by Robin as Mrs. Doubtfire, and more

Brand new interviews with close friends and family including Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Jay Leno, Eric Idle, David Steinberg, Lewis Black and Zak Williams

11 hilarious episodes of Mork & Mindy, including the two-part pilot!

James Lipton's Emmy® Award-nominated 90-minute interview with Robin on Inside the Actors Studio, plus deleted scenes

A comprehensive collection of Robin's USO shows around the world

Original and newly created bonus features including behind-the-scenes footage, local highlights from tour stops, promos and more. Featurettes include: The Early Years, San Francisco: Where It All Started, Comic Genius, and TV's Best Guest

Critically acclaimed 2018 HBO documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind from Emmy® Award-winning director Marina Zenovich and Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney.

"Robin Williams: Uncensored", a collectible 24-page, full-color memory book featuring rare, archival photos from award-winning photographer Arthur Grace, reminiscences from friends and colleagues, Robin's personal tour notes and more. 

Uncensored, electric, intense and unfailingly hilarious, Williams made it his life's work to make people laugh--whether he was holding forth on culture, politics, the human body or drugs--with razor-sharp wit and insight. As his long-time friend Billy Crystal said, "In the 40 odd years he was in front of us, especially on television, he never let you down. He was always funny, he always did something new." And, in unforgettable ways, ROBIN WILLIAMS: COMIC GENIUS reveals and celebrates the wide range of his incredible talents like never before.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Samuel Fuller's 1959 crime thriller "The Crimson Kimono" has been released as a Twilight Time limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The film finds Fuller in full "triple threat" mode as director, producer and screenwriter. It's also fits comfortably into Fuller's oeuvre in that it's an off-beat story with quirky, well-defined characters and relationships. Set in Los Angeles, the movie opens with the shocking cold-blooded murder of a popular stripper by an unseen assassin. As with the works of Hitchcock, Fuller dismisses the notion that there is safety in numbers, as the victim is killed while fleeing her pursuer through crowded streets. The killer gets away and the story introduces us to the detectives assigned to the case. They are Det. Sgt. Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and his partner Det. Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta), two Korean War veterans who served together in combat and who are now chummy enough to share a fashionable bachelor pad. They discover that a local artist, Chris Downs (Victoria Shaw), had some interaction with the stripper and is aware of a suspicious man she associated with. When Chris's sketch of the suspect ends up on the front pages, she finds herself the target of a failed assassination attempt. Charlie and Joe suggest that she can be safely hidden away in their apartment. Naturally, sparks begin to fly considering the three principal characters are extremely attractive. Charlie finds himself falling hard for Chris, but she is unaware of his feelings. Meanwhile, she expresses her desires for Joe, who clearly wants to reciprocate but is hesitant to humiliate the love-struck Charlie. If all this sounds like a high school romance it must be said that under Fuller' assured direction, it is anything but. The scene in which Chris and Joe slowly and almost reluctantly admit to their mutual attraction is superbly written and enacted by Shaw and Shigeta and brims with sexual tension.

The murder mystery is clearly the MacGuffin here. It's mostly a catalyst to bring this love triangle to life. Fuller places most of the action in L.A.'s Little Tokyo community and the film concentrates on the character's interactions with the Japanese-American population. The most interesting character is Joe, who is Japanese-American. When we first see him he is confident, witty and charismatic, all traits that are shared by Charlie. The Butch and Sundance-like relationship goes into a nosedive after Joe confesses his love for Chris. Although clearly heartbroken, Charlie keeps his reaction restrained, only to have the guilt-ridden Joe accuse him of latent racism. He's wrong but can't be convinced otherwise. A lifetime of battling to be socially accepted in a predominantly white society has brought out his own paranoia and reverse racism. It all leads to a tension-packed conclusion that mingles the strained relationship between the three characters and a chase for the killer through an exotic parade celebrating Japanese culture that plays out in similar style to the Junkanoo sequence in "Thunderball".

There is much to commend about this film, which- like most Fuller productions- was shot on a modest budget in B&W with actual locations favored over studio sets. Perhaps Fuller didn't have the funds to rely heavily on sets and thus filmed on location. In any event, this tactic adds immeasurable grit and realism to his movies. Glenn Corbett is likable and fine in an understated performance, Victoria Shaw is excellent as the woman who innocently becomes the instrument that divides two good friends and James Shigeta, who along with Corbett made his screen debut with this film, shows the skills that would quickly elevate him to international stardom. Anna Lee is outstanding as "Mac", an aging artist with a gruff personality who swizzles hard liquor and smokes stogies while churning out comments like "A man is just a man, but a good cigar is a smoke!"

Kudos to everyone at Kino Lorber for bringing about this vitally important set. Here is the official press release:

New York, NY -- November 13, 2018 -- Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, a monumental 6-disc collection, curated by Shelley Stamp (author of Lois Weber in Early Hollywood) and executive produced by Illeana Douglas, celebrating the ground-breaking early female directors of American cinema who helped shape the language of film.

Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers will become available on Blu-ray and DVD November 20, 2018, with a SRP of $99.95 for the Blu-ray and $79.95 for the DVD. The films in this collection are accompanied by music scores composed by Renee C. Baker, The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, Makia Matsumura, Maud Nelissen, Dana Reason, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and others. Special Features include an 80-page booklet with essays and photos, eight short documentaries featuring Interviews with historians and archivists, and audio commentaries for select films.

Funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers continues the legacy begun by Pioneers of African-American Cinema, equally ambitious in scale, and every bit as historically significant. Presented in association with the Library of Congress (and drawing from the collections of other world-renowned film archives), Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers is the largest commercially-released video collection of films by women directors, focusing on American films made between 1911 and 1929 -- a crucial chapter of our cultural history.

Featuring 2K and 4K restorations of more than 50 films, including features, shorts and fragments, this collection includes more than 25 hours of material, not only showcasing the work of these under-appreciated filmmakers, but also illuminating the gradual changes in how women directors were perceived (and treated) by the Hollywood establishment. Included are films by such pioneering filmmakers as Ruth Ann Baldwin ('49-'17), Grace Cunard (The Purple Mask), Dorothy Davenport (Linda, The Red Kimona), Alice Guy-Blaché (Algie the Miner, The Little Rangers, Matrimony's Speed Limit, The Ocean Waif), Zora Neale Hurston (ethnographic films), Cleo Madison (Eleanor's Catch), Frances Marion (The Song of Love), Alla Nazimova (Salome), Mabel Normand (Caught in a Cabaret, Mabel's Blunder), Ida May Park (Bread), Nell Shipman (Back to God's Country), Lois Weber (Hypocrites, Suspense, Scandal, Where Are My Children?), Elsie Jane Wilson (The Dream Lady), Marion E. Wong (The Curse of Quon Gwon), and many more.

By showcasing the ambitious, inventive films from the golden age of women directors, we can get a sense of what was lost by the marginalization of women to "support roles" within the film industry.

"The names Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber, Dorothy Davenport Reid, and other significant female directors deserve to have their names celebrated next to DeMille's, and Griffith's as the early pioneers of Hollywood," said Illeana Douglas. "Just as these woman told powerful stories to raise awareness and educate, we must do the same! I am honored to be a part of Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, so that these films, and filmmakers, can be put in the pantheon of cinema where they belong."

"Women played an extraordinary role in early filmmaking, but this history has been largely forgotten," said Shelley Stamp, author of Lois Weber in Early Hollywood. "I'm so thrilled that these films have been restored and re-scored so that contemporary audiences will have a chance to see what female filmmakers were up to 100 years ago."

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development: slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Universal City, California, November 1, 2018 – Five of some of the most timeless holiday films come together on Blu-ray™ and DVD in The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition available now from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Featuring all-new bonus features and unforgettable characters, experience these five classic holiday specials with your whole family.

‘Tis the season to enjoy the timeless holiday classics in The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition featuring 5 unforgettable stories.  Produced by the legendary Rankin/Bass, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and The Little Drummer Boy feature iconic Animagicâ„¢ stop-motion animation and Frosty the Snowman and Cricket on the Hearth are beautifully illustrated. Starring the voice talents of Fred Astaire, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Danny Thomas, Burl Ives and many more, these favorites also feature some of the most beloved songs of the season and are sure to entertain audiences of all ages for generations to come!

The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition includes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970), The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Cricket on the Hearth (1967). Along with The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town are also available in individual new Deluxe Editions on Blu-RayTM and DVD.

BONUS FEATURES:

·        The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass: An all-new documentary celebrating the legacy of the holiday specials created by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass including interviews with filmmakers and historians.

·        Restoring the Puppets of Rudolph: Discover how the puppets from the beloved special were restored.

·        Reimagining Rudolph in 4D: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer attraction film.

·        Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Attraction Film: A short stop-motion film originally created for a Rudolph 4D experience.

·        T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games: A video storybook including the untold story of the Reindeer Games

·        Frosty the Snowman Original Pencil Test

·        Commentaries on Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town

·        And much more!

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BY MARK CERULLI

Customers at London’s Bond in Motion exhibit could be forgiven for wondering about the steady stream of distinguished-looking people heading through the vehicle displays towards a private area – but they were witnessing a bit of James Bond history in the making. On on Thursday, October 11^th, the Ian Fleming Foundation, EON Productions, IFF founder Doug Redenius and this writer  hosted a remarkable book signing for Charles “Jerry” Juroe, the executive who ran publicity on 14 Bond movies, from Dr. No right up to the dawn of the Pierce Brosnan era. His memoir, Bond, The Beatles and My Year with Marilyn is just out from McFarland Press. (Shameless Plug: Doug and I “line produced” it and the book is a fascinating read, not just for Bond fans but for anyone interested in movie history.) For 50 years, Jerry knew, worked with or encountered “Anyone who was anyone”. From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, Mary Pickford to John Wayne, William Holden, Alfred Hitchcock and, yes, the Fab Four. Jerry even crossed paths with the legendary Howard Hughes. Bond was only part of Juroe’s remarkable career – he served as Marilyn Monroe’s publicist (not an easy gig!) when she was making The Prince And the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier in England. Jerry was an executive at United Artists, Paramount and other major studios. Movies aside, Jerry is also a World War II veteran who took part in one of the most significant military actions in modern history – the D Day Invasion.

 Credit: Danny Gibbons.

The event’s guest list included many prominent alumni from the Bond series – director John Glen, line producer Anthony Waye, Oscar-winning production designer Peter Lamont, talent such as Carole Ashby, Valerie Leon, Jenny Hanley, Margaret Nolan, Caron Gardner, Sylvana Henriques and Terry Mountain, Roger Moore’s daughter Deborah, Harry Saltzman’s son Steven, former EON marketing executives Anne Bennett and John Parkinson, along with a number of staff members from EON, who graciously provided all manner of support for the event. (The signing was preceded by a private lunch for Jerry arranged and attended by Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson) American actor Billy Zane was on hand – meeting up with Peter Lamont who created the stunning sets for the “little” film they made together in 1997, Titanic. The Bond community was well represented with Cinema Retro’s Dave Worrall, From Sweden with Love’s Anders Frejdh, Some Kind of Hero authors Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field, Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan author Mark O’Connell and French Bond Club co-founder and Bond historian, Laurent Perriot in the crowd. Designer Mark Witherspoon was a photographer.

Above: Actor Billy Zane and director John Glen.Credit: Mark Cerulli.

Doug and I each made a brief address – reading well wishes from the likes of Pierce Brosnan and top Hollywood publicist Dick Guttman (a protégé of Jerry’s) then turned the floor over to the Man himself. Jerry, long famous in the industry for his tough exterior, was visibly moved. He thanked everyone for coming and simply wished them “My longevity” (he’s 95) which got a big round of applause. Many hadn’t seen Jerry – or each other – in decades so as the old saying goes, “There was a lot of love in the room”. One thinks that actors and filmmakers hang out with each other constantly, but in reality they do a film then it’s on to the next project and they may never work with the same people again. Since working on a Bond film is arguably a highlight of any career, these few hours in each other’s company were priceless- an All Time High, for real. It was a privilege to be there.

(Photos copyright Mark Cerulli. All rights reserved.)

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber continues its welcome habit of unearthing cinematic rarities and making them available to retro movie lovers. Case in point: "Tiger by the Tail", a long-forgotten crime thriller filmed in 1968 as an independent production but not released until 1970. The film is the epitome of a good "B" movie from the era: lean, fast-moving and efficiently made with an impressive cast. The movie is typical of low-brow fare from the 1960s. It's primary purpose was to shot quickly and turn a modest profit. Many of these films, which often played as the second feature on double bills, had the asset of affording leading roles to actors and actresses who rarely had the opportunity to get top billing. Such is the case with this film which features Christopher George in the leading role. He plays Steve Michaelis, a recently discharged U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran who is returning home to New Mexico. However, he makes a nearly fatal pit stop in Mexico and the opening scene is a bit of a shocker.  He's a about to bed a local beauty when two thugs enter the room and a brutal fight ensues that he barely escapes. This seems like an irrelevant scene, given all that follows, but we find out later its pertinent to his fate. Steve arrives in New Mexico where he reunites with his older brother Frank (Dennis Patrick), who raised him after their parents died. While Steve is down-and-out and broke, Frank has prospered as the majority share holder in the local horse racing track which fuels the local economy. The two men have a frosty reunion that is strained even further when Steve discovers that his former girlfriend Rita (Tippi Hedren) is now romantically involved with Frank. Nevertheless, the two men reconcile and things appear to be heading in the right direction. However, fate takes a tragic turn when the racetrack is robbed and Frank is murdered in cold blood. This sets in motion a complicated series of events. Steve learns he will inherit his brother's share of the racetrack stock, something that doesn't sit well with Frank's partners who inform Steve they intend to use a legal loophole to pay him off at a bargain basement price and assume total control of the operation. Steve soon discovers that he may not even get that money, as it becomes apparent someone has ordered him to be killed. Worse, he is being framed for the murder of his brother. The film follows the formula of old film noir crime thrillers and that isn't a bad thing. We see him use his wits and considerable fighting ability to thwart attempts on his life as he tries to find out who is out to get him. The logical suspects are the racetrack shareholders, a group of greedy elitists who don't want to be in business with him. Red herrings abound and Steve learns he can't trust anyone including Rita who informs him she wants them to resume their relationship now that Frank is in his grave.

"Tiger by the Tail" feels and looks like a TV movie of the era and that isn't a coincidence. Director R.G. Springsteen was best known for his work in television where he excelled in directing episodes of classic western  series, and his colleague on those shows, writer Charles A. Wallace wrote the screenplay for the film. (This would prove to be Springsteen's final work in the film industry before his death in 1989.) Springsteen's direction is workmanlike in some areas but more inspired in others. He milks a good deal of suspense from the plot and keeps the action moving at a brisk pace across the movie's 99 minute running time. Springsteen, perhaps because of budget limitations, shoots virtually every scene in a real location which adds authenticity to the production. The film boasts a good cast of supporting actors, all in top form: Lloyd Bochner and Alan Hale as the greedy stockholders, Dean Jagger as a Scrooge-like banker and most intriguing, John Dehner as the local sheriff (in an excellent performance) with a penchant for using twenty dollars words in his vocabulary and who, along with his hot-headed deputy (Skip Homeier) may be complicit in working with the bad guys. Steve's only friends are Sarah Harvey (Glenda Farrell), the perky owner of a gun and souvenir shop who performs ballistics tests in the shop and New Mexico State Trooper Ben Holmes (R.G. Armstrong) who offers Steve whatever limited advice and support he can. The singer Charo (yes, that Charo) is cast in a superfluous role to provide a couple of songs in a local bar and to add a bit of additional sex appeal when we aren't gawking at Tippi Hedren sunning herself poolside in a bikini. As a leading man, Christopher George is top-notch. He's handsome, rugged and capable with fists and a gun as he takes on seemingly insurmountable odds. George should have been a success on the big screen. He was coming off a run in the hit TV series "The Rat Patrol" but never quite got his opportunity to shine on the big screen. "Tiger by the Tale" represents one of his few leading roles in a feature film, though he impressed as villains in the John Wayne westerns "El Dorado" (1967) and "Chisum" (1970). He died in 1983 at only 51 years of age from heart complications.

The Kino Lorber transfer is impressive, as usual, though there are some occasional speckles and artifacts. However, it's doubtful that there are many pristine prints of the film floating around, given its lowly stature. The Blu-ray features a very good commentary track by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson, both of whom show a good deal of respect for the movie and all involved in its production. They are especially kind to Tippi Hedren, pointing out that she was long underrated as an actress. (She unfairly took most of the blame for the failure of Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie" in which she starred.) The release also includes a gallery of other action films and mysteries available from KL, though no trailer is included for "Tiger by the Tail". I don't want to overstate the movie's merits. It certainly isn't a lost classic but I suspect you'll find it far more impressive than you might have suspected. Recommended.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Samuel Fuller is today regarded as a revered name among directors. Unlike his peers- John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Howard Hawks, to name but a few- Fuller didn't get much respect when he needed it, at least from critics and studio heads who regarded his talents as workmanlike. Consequently, this talented director, screenwriter and occasional novelist and actor, toiled under meager budgets and scant support from studio executives. Fuller was typical of directors of his generation who had come of age during the Great Depression and World War II. He had a tough guy persona and had learned to survive on the mean streets of Manhattan where he worked as a crime reporter in the 1930s. Fuller could have landed a cushy job in the military during the war but eschewed the opportunity in favor of volunteering for combat duty in the European campaign. His scripts were tightly-written, no-nonsense affairs and his direction was direct and to-the-point. Fuller cut a larger-than-life figure with an out-sized personality and his penchant for indulging in cigars that were so large they looked as though they were inspired by cartoons. Despite the budgetary limitations on his films and the fact that he never enjoyed a career-defining breakaway hit, Fuller's movies have stood the test of time and before he died in 1997, he had witnessed his work being favorably reassessed by a new generation of directors and critics.

"Underworld U.S.A." is one of Fuller's true gems. A 1961 film noir crime story, the movie gave an early career boost to Cliff Robertson but its significance goes much deeper. Although viewed as a typical low budget crime thriller back in the day, the movie is a a true classic of the genre. The film opens with 14 year-old Tolly Davlin (David Kent), a street-wise product of a crime-infested unnamed big city, witnessing the beating death of the father he idolized by a pack of enforcers from a mob syndicate that he had crossed. Tolly's dad, himself a low-life who was teaching his son how to survive in the urban jungle by being more cunning and ruthless than the competition. Tolly, now orphaned, finds the only friend he has is Sandy (Beatrice Kay), a tough-as-nails saloon owner who takes a maternal interest in Tolly, though he rarely heeds her advice. Tolly is consumed with avenging his father's death. He arranges intentionally builds up a criminal record leading to him being incarcerated in a juvenile detention center- but all the while he is painstakingly following leads about who his father's murderers were and who employed them. The story jumps ahead and we find Tolly now a young man in his late twenties (played by Robertson) having been incarcerated in a prison that houses one of the killers, a man who is literally on his death bed in the hospital ward. That doesn't stop Tolly from smothering him with a pillow and making it look like natural causes. When Tolly is released from jail, he reunites with Sandy and has a chance encounter with  a sexy gun moll who is nicknamed Cuddles (Dolores Dorn) who has been marked for death for having failed to carry out a mission for the mob. Tolly saves her life and secretes her in Sandy's apartment while he begins his pursuit of two other men who killed his father that fateful night. Having succeeded in getting his street justice, he goes for bigger game: the syndicate bosses.

Fuller's film is somewhat unique in that he avoids the cliche of showing the mob echelon as seedy, Al Capone types. Instead, they are elite, sophisticated and corrupt businessmen and elected officials who run a major complex called The National Projects which ostensibly benefits the poor because periodically the Olympic-sized swimming pool welcomes neighborhood children. In reality, the top bosses live in splendor in penthouse apartments there and ruthlessly oversee their crime organization. In a clever plot device, Tolly works with the local crime-busting city official (Larry Gates) and volunteers to go undercover and work with the mob in order to bring them to justice. He then tells the mob he's a double agent, so to speak, and really working for them. Ultimately, he devises an inspired scheme by which he places circumstantial evidence to convince the crime lords that their partners are out to betray and kill them, thereby leading them to "off" each other and ensuring that Tolly's hands are clean. It's a plot device that was used in "The Godfather Part II" when the mob boss Frankie Pantangeli becomes mistakenly convinced that Michael Corleone tried to have him assassinated and tries to do the same to him. Similarly, in the 1989 James Bond film "Licence to Kill", 007 infiltrates a major drug gang and convinces the big boss that his key people are betraying him, thus leading to their murders.

BY PETER BENASSI

It was the enormously ambitious and costly film project they said would spectacularly flop; the 1937 feature length cartoon feature that even his own family tried to talk him out of making; the realised dream of an all cartoon motion picture, three years in the making, which broke new ground and cemented his place in film history. It could have failed and it was a gargantuan gamble, but it paid off handsomely and Walt Disney never looked back after the supremely seminal Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a global sensation and set him on his way to certain success with a succession of captivating cartoon classics. Then came the parks, the publications, the inevitable merchandise and the rest, as they say, is history. So much for this being “Disney’s Folly” which Snow White was unfortunately nicknamed - even during its production! Indubitably, the film serves as a life lesson in believing in yourself and following your dream. The visionary that was Walt Disney surely deserved every cent of success for the wealth of wonder and excitement for which he was responsible.

Picking up a copy of “Disneyland” comic from a selection of periodicals in the doctor’s surgery when I was a very young boy was enough to captivate me and ordain me as a Disney devotee. It became a weekly reading staple of mine from that point on, taking in “Mickey Mouse” comics along the way. I never missed “Disney Time” on the Beeb and the first big Disney movie for me at the cinema was Lady and the Tramp. It completely blew me away and even at that tender age, I knew that there was something extra special about this particular animation; everything about it was so wonderfully lifelike (I then had no knowledge of such animation processes and techniques such as rotoscoping). I eventually knew all the Disney characters by heart and longed to see the other films on the big screen. One by one, during school holidays and Easter weekends, I would get the invaluable opportunity to thrill to these masterpieces: Pinocchio (1940), The Jungle Book (1967), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Rescuers (1977). However, the one Disney production which never played at any of our local cinemas was the one film I wanted to see most of all. And that was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, having adored the classic Grimms fairy tale as a nipper and from which the film was adapted. Finally that day came when I was in my early teenage years and I actually visited the cinema to see it after all that time. I would have much preferred to have seen it as a child, but it still cast its magic spell over me and delivered the goods I had longed to see.

I think what appealed to me most about the Disney films, especially Snow White, were the genuinely frightening moments in his films that featured the villains of the piece. That stirred something deep inside me and was instrumental in making me a horror film aficionado as I grew older.

So, back to Snow White. Disney did something quite remarkable with the oft-told and much loved Grimms Brothers favourite Everyone knows the story of how a young princess, forced to flee for her life when her insanely jealous mother Queen demands she be killed because she is more beautiful, encounters a cottage full of dwarfs, becomes a mother to them and then is brought back from death by love’s first kiss, delivered by a handsome prince for whom she always had the hots. After which, it goes without saying, they all live happily ever after.

However, making a short and sweet little story into a full length animated and consistently entertaining film is no mean feat, but Disney knew exactly what he was doing and his invention and attention to detail here is extraordinarily admirable. There are no longeurs whatsoever and the film is carefully and cleverly paced and crafted to ensure that there is no extraneous material inserted to pad out the picture which has an the 83 minutes running time. For a start, the dwarfs are imbued with their own personalities and named accordingly; then there is that unmistakable anthropomorphic charm with the woodland creatures who befriend the gentle and sweet-tempered Snow White, help her with household chores but most importantly play a pivotal part in the exciting climax; beautifully written songs are introduced into the story along the way and could easily stand alone as classics in their own right. All of this works wonderfully well and never looks out of place or appears poorly judged.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Despite having been a major star for decades and having a lead a life of controversy and personal obstacles and challenges, it seems surprising that there has never been a book about the films of Anthony Perkins that examined his work in detail. That dilemma has finally been resolved with the release of "More Than a Psycho: The Complete Films of Anthony Perkins" by husband-and-wife writing team of Dawn and Jonathon Dabell. The authors refreshingly concentrate on examining each of the actor's individual feature films and TV productions in detail, offering fascinating background information and astute evaluations of each title from classics such as "Friendly Persuasion" and "Murder on the Orient Express" to television fare such as "How Awful About Alan" There is a biographical section, to be sure, that provides meaningful details on Perkins' life and career but the primary emphasis is on the quality of his individual films. In this regard the book resembles those marvelous old Citadel Press "Films of..." titles that still adorn the bookshelves and libraries of movie lovers worldwide. The book is also profusely illustrated.

The Dabells succeed in their quest to prove that Perkins should be judged by other achievements that just his signature role as Norman Bates in "Psycho" but it's not without irony that the role that stereotyped him to a degree was one he would return to many years later to exploit in sequels based on Hitchcock's original premise. The book makes it clear that, for the most part, Perkins' considerable talents were generally under-utilized by the film industry. He would occasionally land a supporting role in an "A" list feature film but more of than not he top-lined a good deal of mediocre fare. Nevertheless, he always gave it his best effort and this very worthy book pays homage to his impressive achievements.

Here is an official announcement about the release of the book:

Anthony Perkins is best known for playing Norman Bates in Psycho. Its notoriety and success ensured he remained one of filmdom’s most recognisable faces for the rest of his life… and beyond. Yet there were those (Perkins included) who felt he never truly shook the screen persona of the knife-wielding, mother-obsessed, cross-dressing psychopath, and he was often labelled on the strength of his most notorious role – thus giving a distorted view of a career which spanned four decades and almost sixty movies.

In More Than a Psycho: The Complete Films Of Anthony Perkins, Dawn and Jonathon Dabell take a closer look at the actor’s entire body of work. Their book provides cast and crew details, an extensive image gallery, background information and considered critical analysis for every title. Perkins was, they argue, more than just a prominent screen villain – his talent and versatility went much further, his wider oeuvre encompassing everything from romance to comedy, from war to westerns, from musicals to sci-fi.

With a foreword by highly regarded film and pop culture historian Paul Talbot, this is the essential guide to the career of Anthony Perkins.

300+ images.

Specially commissioned cover by artist Paul Watts.

Proofed and edited by Darrell Buxton.

Cast and crew information on every film, including films where Perkins was screen-writer or director only.

Capsule biography.

Television work.

Theatre work.

Theatrical and TV-movies.

In-depth, balanced critical analysis of every film.

Foreword by Paul Talbot, author of Bronson’s Loose, Bronson’s Loose Again! And Mondo Mandingo.

Extensive bibliography.

Rarely written-about titles explored in never-before-seen detail.

The first -and currently only - book devoted specifically to an examination of Anthony Perkins’ filmography.

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ALTERNATIVELY, SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM THE AUTHORS (REQUEST A SHIPPING QUOTE FOR YOUR PART OF THE WORLD BY SENDING ENQUIRIES TO morethanapsycho@hotmail.com).

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Actress Margot Kidder has passed away at age 69. Kidder shot to stardom for her acclaimed performance as Lois Lane in "Superman", the 1978 blockbuster starring Christopher Reeve. She went on to reprise the role opposite Reeves in sequels. Kidder first gained notice in Brian DePalma's quirky Hitchcock-like 1972 thriller "Sisters" and appeared in supporting roles in films such as "Gaily, Gaily", "The Great Waldo Pepper" and "Black Christmas" before landing the role of Lois Lane. In the Superman film, Kidder brought a modern interpretation to the role that had last been played by Noel Neill in the legendary 1950s TV series starring George Reeves. Kidder's vision of Lane was as a sassy, independent and fast-witted single big city career girl who was as courageous and competent as any of her male colleagues. Critics lavished praise on the exciting young talent but her newfound success was short-lived. Aside from the three sequels to "Superman" she appeared in, the only other major boxoffice success she would have was the 1979 film "The Amityville Horror", which was derided as schlock but which proved to be popular with audiences.

Kidder gained a reputation of being unreliable and difficult to work with and the only roles afforded her were in less-than-stellar films. The nadir came in the mid-1990s when her personal behavior devolved to such a point that she was literally found living as a homeless person. Rumors swirled that she was suffering from drug addiction but it was revealed that she had been clinically diagnosed as bipolar. Kidder earned praise for speaking openly about her affliction and she would spend the rest of her life coping with her personal demons, while simultaneously lobbying to help people suffering from mental disorders. She successfully resumed her career, earning respect for her ability to cope with her psychological issues while striving to so many others. Although she never had another major feature film success, she won an Emmy in 2015. She is remembered as tough, honest and gutsy: all qualities that could be said of Lois Lane herself. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Sony has reissued its 2002 special edition of producer William Castle's horror exploitation film Homicidal a burn-to-order DVD, although there is no mention of the extra bonus feature on the packaging or publicity for the film. (Sony seems determined not to capitalize on special features that are especially marketable to collectors.) Castle, of course, was the proud master of exploitation films and relished his reputation as the King of Schlock. He excelled in making low-budget, "quickie" films that often capitalized on major hit movies of the day. Castle seemed to fancy himself as a low-rent version of Alfred Hitchcock, who was also not shy about promoting his own image in connection with marketing his films and TV series. Castle's films were not meant to be taken seriously by critics but he did have high standards for the genre in which he worked and it's rare to find any of his movies that don't at least merit classification as guilty pleasures. Others, such as Homicidal, actually turned out to be effective chillers in their own right. The movie was Castle's answer to the phenomenal success of Hitchcock's 1960 classic Psycho. Indeed, there are camera angles, musical cues and plot scenarios that practically border on plagiarism of the original film. The story opens on a fascinating note as we watch a statuesque young blonde (Jean Arless) check into a hotel in Ventura, California. She's a strange one from frame one- barely engaging in conversation with anyone else. She suddenly makes the hunky bellboy a bizarre proposition: she will pay him $2,000 cash if he agrees to marry her and then almost immediately have the union annulled. She does not give a reason for this weird offer, but in an age where a hotel room rented for $5 a night, the $2,000 offer is more than he can refuse. En route to the justice of the peace, the young woman, whose name is Emily, says little and doesn't even engage in niceties. She seems intent on having a specific justice of the peace (crotchety old James Westerfield in a marvelous role) perform the ceremony. As with all Castle productions, to describe much more would spoil some key scenes. Suffice it to say that the short-lived marriage results in murder that is so shocking and gory that it is amazing it was not watered down by skittish studio executives. 

What can be said is that Emily is a Swedish immigrant who was brought to America by an equally strange young man named Warren, who resides in an opulent home. Helga's main duty is to care for an elderly woman named Helga (Eugenie Leontovich), another Swede who had been Warren's nursemaid as a child. Helga has suffered a stroke and is confined to a wheelchair, unable to talk or communicate in any meaningful way. Around Warren, Emily plays the doting caregiver, but privately, she delights in tormenting the long-suffering woman, even to the point of making death threats. One of the few outsiders to be allowed into this environment is Miriam Webster (Patricia Breslin), Warren's half-sister. The two have a very close relationship but things are fairly frosty between Miriam and Emily, who seems jealous of the close bond between brother and sister. Emily is also jealous of Miriam's relationship with a local pharmacist, Karl Anderson (Glenn Corbett) and begins to find ways to thwart their social outings. After a time, Miriam and Karl begin to suspect that Emily might well be a notorious murderer the police are searching for. This sets in motion many of the standard actions screen heroines must always engage in. These include not staying in a safe environment and being lured to precisely the location where she knows she will be placed in life-threatening danger. When Emily is about to enter the house of horrors, Castle employs one of his trademark gimmicks by freezing the action and putting a clock on screen that gives squeamish audience members 45 seconds to flee to the lobby where they can redeem a coupon to get their money back. To prevent having to actually provide many refunds, Castle has a caveat to the agreement: all such patrons must stand in full view in a "Coward's Corner" he had provided for theater lobbies!  Once Miriam does enter the house, the film is genuinely creepy and leads to an ending so shocking I never saw it coming and I doubt most viewers will, either. 

You approach Homicidal with the justifiable expectation that it will be filled with laughs, a la Castle's great camp success House on Haunted Hill. However, it proves to be a highly effective thriller with an a rather astonishing performance by Jean Arless as the insane Emily. One minute she's all charm, the next she's running around bug-eyed trying to murder people with knives and poison. There are times she brings to mind Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford, but in the aggregate it's a mesmerizing screen debut. Bizarrely, "Jean Arless" was a fake name used by actress Joan Marshall because she feared being typecast in horror films. Sadly, she never went far in her career under either name and died relatively young in 1992 at 61 years of age. She gets solid support from Glenn Corbett (who also died young in 1993 at age 59) and Patricia Breslin, who manages to avoid making the requisite role of damsel in distress unintentionally funny. 

The Sony DVD has a top quality transfer and the bonus items are quite interesting. There is a short featurette that presents various horror film authorities extolling the virtues of Castle's work. There is also some wonderfully campy newsreel footage of the world premiere in Youngstown, Ohio that features the omnipresent Castle badgering patrons to tell everyone how great the film is. (One woman says with a straight face that it's better than Psycho.) The cigar-chomping Castle, who comes across as a delightful man, also features in the introductory segment to Homicidal, in an obvious attempt to emulate Hitchcock's penchant for self-promotion.  The special edition also features a short TV spot in which the narrator clearly imitates the voice of old Hitch. 

Homicidal is a highly entertaining film that demonstrates you don't need big stars or a big budget to make an effective thriller. Highly recommended. 

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BY DARREN ALLISON

Composer Bernard Herrmann was often described as being ‘temperamental’ and ‘explosive’ by nature. However, very few could ever criticize his approach and dedication in regards to his work. His collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock are today reflected upon as legendary; a clash of personalities which proved that both fire and gasoline didn’t necessarily have to end in utter devastation.

To tie in with Record Store Day UK 2018, Silva Screen Records have released a strictly limited edition 7” EP showcasing the very best of this turbulent and tremendous partnership. The Double A Side single (SIL71566) features two tracks from Vertigo (Prelude / The Nightmare) with the flipside featuring Overture / Main title from North by Northwest. The music is perfectly executed by the highly respected City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Paul Bateman.

Vertigo crackles with tension as James Stewart’s character Scottie goes through an emotional wringer. Herrmann blew away the lush melodies that dominated music in films of previous decades and delivered harsh, stinging, repetitive themes overlaid on a deceptive symphonic score. The sound is as experimental as the film, which 60 years from release remains one of the milestones of cinematic history. One year on in North by Northwest, Cary Grant is the man in peril. This time it’s not mentally but physically as he is pursued by a spy network and the police. Herrmann ratchets up the tension with an orchestral tour-de-force which highlighted the thrill of the chase. Herrmann described it as, “a kaleidoscopic orchestral fandango designed to kick-off the exciting rout which follows."

Silva Screen has produced just 1200 individually numbered copies of this attractively designed 7” single. Pressed in a transparent Amber coloured vinyl and given the continuously swelling number of Herrmann devotees, I very much doubt that this will remain around for too long. So check in with your local participating Record Store Day UK outlet to avoid any possible disappointment. You’ll find it to be well worth it.

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By Hank Reineke

The first thing you note when reading the sleeve notes for 100 Years of Horror (Mill Creek Entertainment) is the three-disc set’s staggering running time: ten hours and fifty-five minutes. It’s a somewhat daunting task to review such a monumentally staged effort as this, one at least partially conceived as a labor-of-love. The series makes a noble effort to trace the history and the development of the horror film from the silent era through the slasher films of the 1980s and a bit beyond, not always neatly or logically compartmentalizing sub-genres as “Dinosaurs,” “Aliens” “Gore,” “Mutants,” Scream Queens” etc. along the way. It’s a bit difficult to precisely date when host and horror film icon Christopher Lee’s commentaries and introductory segments were filmed. The set itself carries a 1996 copyright, but Lee makes an off-hand mention of the “new” Dracula film starring Gary Oldman… which would date the saturnine actor’s participation to 1992 or thereabouts. Later in the set, Lee references Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, which then confusingly forward dates the documentary to 1994.

It’s also unclear where this series was originally destined. With its twenty-five minute running time per episode, it would appear as if this twenty-six part series was produced with the intent of television distribution in mind. 100 Years of Horror is one of the earliest efforts of executive producer Dante J. Pugliese who would carve out a career producing a number of these minimal investment “clip show” style documentaries. This series first appeared as a 5 volume VHS set via Passport International in the latter days of 1995, and has since enjoyed several DVD releases; there were both cut-down versions and a highly-sought-after-by-collectors box set issued in 2006. This new issue by Mill Creek not only brings the set back into print with new packaging, but does so at a very reasonable price point: MSRP: $14.98, and even cheaper from the usual assortment of on-line merchants.

Perhaps acknowledging Christopher Lee’s contribution to the legacy, the series first episode is fittingly dedicated to Dracula and his Disciples. Lee was, inarguably, one of the two most iconic figures to essay the role of Count Dracula. Though Bela Lugosi’s halting speaking manner, grey pallor and widow-peaked hairline remains the more iconic visual portraiture, Lugosi actually only portrayed Count Dracula in a feature-length film twice: in the 1931 original and, for the final time, in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Lee, on the other hand, shot no less than seven Dracula films for Hammer Studios and one for Jess Franco. Though he would log considerably more cinematic hours on screen as the Prince of Darkness, the gentlemanly Lee generously allows here that even some forty years following the actor’s death in 1956, Bela Lugosi was still “inexorably linked” to the public’s persona of Dracula.

Though he would never work with the actor – as he would on two occasions with Lugosi’s occasional foil Boris Karloff - Lee recalled his first attendance at a horror film in a cinema was Lugosi’s Dark Eyes of London (1939). Lugosi would, in some manner of speaking, unwittingly pave the way for Lee’s future assumption in other similarly cloaked roles. As had his predecessor, Lee would portray several other vampire characters on film that were Count Dracula in all but name. Just as Lugosi would exploit his image as Transylvania’s most famous resident in such films as Return of the Vampire and Mark of the Vampire, so would a fanged Christopher Lee with such impersonations as Dracula and Son and Uncle Was a Vampire.

The documentary makes clear that, no matter how celebrated either man’s portrayal was, neither actor held dominion on the character. The film points out that several other actors - Francis Lederer and Lon Chaney Jr. among them – have tackled the role to reasonable degrees of satisfaction. It was also pleasing to see a brief interview segment with one of my favorite Dracula’s, the wizened John Carradine, captured in his eighties here. Carradine triumphantly recounts not only did he appear as Dracula in “three” films for Universal (well, three, if you choose to count his appearance on a 1977 episode of NBC-TV’s McCloud (“McCloud Meets Dracula”). Carradine was also mysteriously prideful of his appearing as a Count Dracula-style character in several obscure films shot in Mexico (Las Vampiras) and the Philippines (the outrageous and exploitative Vampire Hookers). What the Mexican and Filipino efforts might lack in comprehensibility and budget, they’re nonetheless not-to-be-missed totems of low-brow Midnight Movie Madness. For whatever reason, Carradine made no mention of his top-hatted participation the wild and wooly William (“One Shot”) Beaudine western Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966), a long-time “guilty pleasure” of mine.

(Author Gabriel Hershman has written "Black Sheep: the Authorized Biography of Nicol Williamson" (The History Press). Williamson, who passed away in 2011 at age 75, was an enormous talent. John Osborne called him "The greatest actor since Brando". However, he had many personal demons that sidetracked what should have been a far more successful career. Hershman explores the peaks and valleys of this temperamental man's dramatic life and career and in this article reminds us of why his talents and work should be rediscovered.)

BY GABRIEL HERSHMAN

Peter O’Toole, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed, Alan Bates, Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and … Nicol Williamson. Just a few of the most influential actors of their generation.

Were you surprised when I mentioned Nicol’s name? He was, at the time of his death, the least well known of that generation of actors. And yet, in my opinion, Nicol should have topped that list. Anybody who saw Nicol in Osborne’s Inadmissible Evidence, sweating, combustible, driven by almost orgasmic self-loathing – ‘the greatest performance in a modern play’ in Michael Coveney’s words – knew they were watching an extraordinary actor.

If only we could re-visit Waiting for Godot, Diary of a Madman, The Ginger Man and, of course, Hamlet – a performance that led Nicol to the White House to give a one-man show in front of Richard Nixon – then it would be clear: Nicol was the foremost actor of his generation.

But … Nicol’s stage triumphs made his screen career seem desperately unsatisfactory by comparison. Yes, Nicol wanted to be a film star. An early meltdown at Dundee Rep came when Lindsay Anderson chose not to cast him as Frank Machin in This Sporting Life (1963). If he’d got that role – and there’s no reason to assume Nicol would have made a lesser impact than Richard Harris – then Nicol’s film career could have been different. Sadly, it was several years before audiences would see him in a major role, to glimpse that blowtorch talent on celluloid.

Nicol shone in The Bofors Gun (1968), playing a deranged, alcoholic squaddie who kills himself and, in so doing, scuppers the career prospects of a mild-mannered bombardier who’s desperate for promotion. It was a barnstorming portrayal. Pauline Kael later criticised this and other performances of Nicol’s as ‘too strong’ – but she was wrong. Take Laughter in the Dark (1969). He was vulnerable and oddly affecting as the businessman blinded by infatuation (and a car crash) in Tony Richardson’s otherwise ineffective re-working of Nabokov’s classic.

Nicol was on top form again with one of his serial collaborators, Jack Gold, in The Reckoning (1970), a powerful story of class and revenge. It should have been up there with Get Carter but it was overlooked. The film of Hamlet – although too dark and claustrophobic – at least captured Nicol’s nasal, deliberately unsexy prince for posterity.

By 1970, despite not having a movie hit, Nicol was a genuine superstar. He wed gorgeous actress Jill Townsend who would enjoy small-screen success with Poldark. Yet an essay by Kenneth Tynan, written at the time of Nicol’s White House triumph, hinted at the demons that eventually destroyed him. In particular, it seems to me, that Nicol’s altercations– unlike those of Harris and Reed – were often with influential people. ‘Victims’ included Broadway producer David Merrick, whom Nicol punched when the legendary showman demanded cuts to Inadmissible Evidence, Dick Cavett, whose chat show he once unceremoniously exited, and, later, Evan Handler, who got a beating during the infamous Broadway performance of I Hate Hamlet.

Perhaps – for all their hellraising and vitriolic behavior – guys like Reed and Harris knew who to be nice to. Perhaps they were simply more endearing drunks? Either way, by the early Seventies, Nicol was losing ground. He stumbled again on film. Who remembers his Red Bull performance in The Jerusalem File? Or The Monk? (Don’t worry, even diehard fans of Seventies movies don’t know them!!) They have disappeared.

Nicol offered a brilliant interpretation of Arturo Ui – the Hitler-like gangster in a TV version of Brecht’s classic drama. But it was soon forgotten. Nicol made a memorable villain (his son, Luke, thought it was his greatest screen performance) in The Wilby Conspiracy. But it didn’t do much for his screen career. Playing Sherlock Holmes in The Seven Per Cent Solution looked like a breakthrough. Yet some enthusiasts had trouble accepting Nicol as a drug-addled Holmes.

Williamson starred as Sherlock Holmes opposite Robert Duvall as Watson in the 1976 film "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution".

By then Nicol’s life was increasingly troubled. He stormed out of Enemy of the People and The Ninth Configuration, both times before a scene was shot. He eventually took the lead in The Human Factor, Otto Preminger’s cash-strapped tale of political double dealing. Yet again it was a troubled project. Preminger seemed to be in the early stage of Alzheimer’s. It needed Hitchcock to bring it to life. Yet in Nicol’s self-effacing, benevolent lead – a political agnostic caught between despicable ideologies – there was so much nuance and subtlety.

Stage success continued to come Nicol’s way, in Coriolanus and Twelfth Night, in a Royal Court revival of Inadmissible Evidence, and, especially, in a Broadway production of Uncle Vanya. George C. Scott, his notoriously fiery co-star, was driven to apoplexy when Nicol won better notices. Yet genuine film stardom was elusive. Sadly for Nicol, who hated TV, it’s likely that an episode of Columbo was his best remembered screen performances of the decade. (Rosebud?!) See, I told you!!

The Eighties finally gave Nicol a palpable hit – as Merlin in Excalibur. Such was Nicol’s perceived unreliability, and lack of box office clout, that John Boorman had to fight to win approval to cast him. Nicol enjoyed the role but, strangely, it did little for his film career. Instead he played third fiddle to Oliver Reed and Klaus Kinski (whom he cheerfully described as ‘a cunt’) in the enjoyably hammy Venom. To be fair, if anyone caused trouble on that film, it was not Nicol.

After that? Who remembers I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can? Or his portrayal of Mountbatten in the TV series The Last Viceroy? A late supporting role (well, he was only 50 but approaching the end of his film career) in Black Widow gave a hint of what could have been. He played, with endearing tenderness, a successful but lonely museum director. If you re-visit the film, watch Nicol’s performance carefully, the way he fiddles with his watch when he meets Theresa Russell, his little jig when he shows her his Seattle dream house. Ah, what a talent Hollywood missed out on in the Eighties!

Nicol continued to shine on stage. But great theatrical performances exist only in memory. Trevor Nunn, a particularly insightful contributor to my biography, remarked that ‘the achievements of those who work in the theatre are no more than writing on the sand. There may well be a vivid and important message for all to see, for a while, but by and by the tide comes in, and when it next goes out, that writing has disappeared’.

All too true, sadly. Nicol continued to appear on stage, memorably in his one-man show Jack: A Night on the Town with John Barrymore. A contributor to my book, Saskia Wickham, told me she thought Nicol was “mesmerising and just sublime … a genius”. This, in the end, is where the appeal of Nicol and – my biography – resides. Nicol was perhaps a great screen actor lost. But I suspect that history will regard him as probably the greatest stage actor of his generation nevertheless.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Tickets are now on sale for the first in a series of events celebrating the talented specialists behind the James Bond films. Lyricist Don Black and composer David Arnold will be in conversation with broadcaster and writer Edith Bowman on Tuesday 20 March 2018 at the London Film Museum, home to the Bond in Motion exhibition.

Bowman will be talking to Black and Arnold about the songwriting process and the inspiration for their songs.

Award-winning lyricist, Black has written over a hundred songs for motion pictures including a quintet of James Bond theme songs - Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man With The Golden Gun, ‘Surrender’ from Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is Not Enough.

A fan of the James Bond film series and its music from an early age, Arnold is best known for scoring Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

A huge movie fan and respected film presenter, broadcaster Edith Bowman has hosted TV and radio shows across all the major networks. She has her own successful podcast, Soundtracking, which explores the relationship between film and music.

The evening will commence at 6:30 pm with a Champagne Bollinger reception during which guests may enjoy the Bond in Motion exhibition which features over 100 original items from the long-running film franchise including cars, boats, motorbikes, concept drawings, storyboards, costumes, and model miniatures. The event will finish at 8 pm.

London Film Museum is located at 45 Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7BN.

Tickets will be dispatched up until 4:00pm Friday 16th March. Following this time, please select the "Click & Collect" option at checkout to pick up your tickets directly from London Film Museum.

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Michael Coate of the Digital Bits website has once again assembled film historians, including Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer, to weigh in on a classic movie: in this case, the original "Planet of the Apes", which marks the 50th anniversary of its initial release. Click here to read their observations about the film and its legacy. 

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

By Raymond Benson

"Pray for Rosemary's Baby..."

That tag line for Roman Polanski’s 1968 horror classic is an example of brilliant marketing. Until it was created, Paramount’s head of the studio, Robert Evans, admits not knowing how to sell the picture. Yes, it’s a horror film, but not like anything we’ve seen. Yes, it’s produced by William Castle, the schlock-meister who was famous for B-movie scare flicks utilizing gimmicks such as the selling of insurance policies in the theater lobby for patrons who feared they’d be scared to death. But the film is also an ingenious thriller outside of the horror genre; a crime story, in many ways, about a cult that drugs and rapes a woman for fiendish purposes. The subject is taken seriously, despite an undercurrent of dark humor. It was also very adult and frank for its time, and it had the potential to offend some audiences. Indeed, how does one sell that in the late sixties? The tag line intrigued enough people that it worked, for Rosemary’s Baby was a hit and the picture still resonates today.

It was Polanski’s first American film, and it remains an essential entry in his oeuvre. His early trademark style was doing a Hitchcock but taking it a few steps farther into more bizarre, creepy-crawly, and supernatural territory. That’s on full display in Rosemary’s Baby. We’d had devil movies before, but nothing as realistically-portrayed as this one. It certainly held the reign of Satan movies until The Exorcist came along five years later. In my book, it’s the better of the two. AFI is well justified in naming Rosemary’s Baby in their “Top Thrills” top ten list.

While brilliantly directed and written, a good deal of credit for the success of the film goes to the excellent cast. Mia Farrow has never been better as Rosemary. John Cassavetes is dead-on as the frustrated actor/husband who literally makes a deal with the devil. Ruth Gordon, the multiple award winner for the picture, is a revelation. She brings much of the necessary comic relief to the proceedings, for the film is an exemplary model of tension-building to a near-unbearable level.

As usual, the Criterion Collection does a magnificent job. Polanski approved the new, restored digital transfer, and it looks marvelous. Extras include a new documentary featuring interviews with Polanski, Farrow, and Robert Evans. Original novel author Ira Levin is showcased in a 1997 radio interview and original drawings and other prose in the enclosed booklet. Also of interest is a feature-length documentary about the film’s talented jazz composer, Krzysztof Komeda.

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Gavin in Alfred Hitchcocks 1960 classic "Psycho".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

John Gavin, a long-time Hollywood star who gravitated into a career in politics, has died at age 86 following some bouts with ill health. Gavin, a former U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, entered the acting profession in the mid-1950s, an era in which Hollywood studios were looking for beefcake type leading men. Gavin fit the bill with his handsome looks and impressive physique. It wasn't long before he was scoring prominent roles in major films such as "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" and "Imitation of Life". Alfred Hitchcock cast him as the heroic leading man in his 1960 "Psycho" and he was seen on screen the same year playing Julius Caesar in "Spartacus". Despite his good looks and competent acting skills, however, the major roles began to dry up. Gavin would still score some prominent parts in major productions like "Thoroughly Modern Millie" but most of his leading roles were increasingly found in "B" movies and low-budget European films. Gavin seemed to land a major break when producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman signed him to play James Bond following George Lazenby's departure from the series after only one film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969. The plan was for Gavin to star in the next two 007 films, "Diamonds are Forever" and "Live and Let Die". However, United Artists head of production David Picker had second thoughts about the deal and against all odds convinced Sean Connery to return to the role for "Diamonds are Forever". When Connery made it clear he had no interest in continuing in the role beyond the one film, the producers bypassed Gavin again and offered Roger Moore the role of Bond in "Live and Let Die".

Despite his near-miss with the Bond franchise, Gavin had a fascinating second career in the offing. He was partially of Mexican heritage and had followed U.S-Mexican political and trade relations closely. When Ronald Reagan took the office as President in 1981, he was impressed by Gavin's background and the fact that he had served for two years as president of the Screen Actors Guild, a union that Reagan once served as president of. He appointed Gavin as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The move was met with derision in Mexico and America, with concerns being cited that Gavin's background as an actor meant he would simply be attractive window dressing instead of a legitimate diplomat. It mirrored concerns Reagan had to endure from critics who felt his career in Hollywood would make him a lightweight President. In his role as ambassador, Gavin was criticized by the Mexican government for his frequent absences from the country.  He also caused stirs by calling on the government to crack down on the drug trade, corruption and the flow of illegal immigrants to the U.S. He was championed in conservative circles in America for doing so. He received high marks for some of his economic policies with Mexico even though he was still often a lightning rod for controversy. Gavin left politics in 1986 to enter private business, where he enjoyed considerable success. He is survived by his wife, actress Constance Towers, and children, stepchildren and grandchildren. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Cary Grant was one of the few actors to defy the effects of aging. The older he got, the more popular his films became. By the late 1950s Grant had become uncomfortable making movies because he realized audiences only wanted to see him as a romantic lead and he felt self-conscious about studio insistence that he be seen on screen romancing female leads who were often decades younger than him. Nonetheless, Grant kept forestalling his frequent vows to retire from acting. He had taken much more control over his career by forming his own production company and the result were some of the biggest hits of his career ("Operation Petticoat", "That Touch of Mink", "Charade"). Grant's primary motivation for not retiring was his desire- or rather, obsession- with winning an Oscar. Alfred Hitchcock had advised him that the best way to do so was to get away from playing the typical Cary Grant type on film and choose a role that was opposite from his usual image. Grant thought this was an inspired idea and agreed to star in a promising vehicle titled "Father Goose", which was written by Peter Stone, the screenwriter of Grant's megahit "Charade". The WWII era comedy would allow Grant to give a tour-de-force performance as Walter Eckland, an amiable, scrubby beach bum who intends to sit out the war in the South Pacific by lazing about getting drunk all day. His tropical paradise is threatened when he is dragooned into service as a coast watcher by his old crony Commander Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard) of the Australian Navy, who informs Walter that he is cutting off his supply of booze unless he makes frequent reports on Japanese ship movements. Each time he does so, Frank will reveal where another bottle of liquor has been hidden. Walter reluctantly concedes, not out of patriotism, but out of personal inability to last long without a drink. (The banter over the radio between Grant and Howard is priceless). Things get complicated, however, when Walter ends up having to rescue a group of young schoolgirls and their teacher, Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) after they have been shipwrecked on a nearby island. Most of the predictable fun comes from watching Grant's W.C. Fields-like persona having to cope with his young charges as well as their strict teacher, who forbids him from engaging in his generally deviant behavior. Grumpy and unshaven, Grant appears as he never had on film before and he gives one of the best performances of his career. He supposedly felt awkward in the inevitable love scenes with Caron, who was young enough to be his daughter, but the chemistry works on film. Grant's Walter is also a reluctant hero in the mode of Humphrey Bogart's Rick from "Casablanca". He's late to the challenge of doing his bit for the war effort, but he naturally comes through in the end.  The film runs almost two hours but it's kept at a breezy pace by the talents of director Ralph Nelson and the jaunty score by Cy Coleman (including the memorable song "Pass Me By") adds immeasurably to the fun. 

The Olive Films Blu-ray special edition has some impressive bonus extras. They include an audio commentary by ubiquitous film historian David DelValle. As someone who has recorded numerous audio commentaries, I always find they play out better when I invite other film scholars to join me. Oft times, a single commentator can delve into dull, professorial discussions. However, DelValle defies the odds and his solo track is thoroughly engaging and informative. DelValle did his homework and got access to Cary Grant's personal script from "Father Goose", which adds some insights into his mindset during filming. Additionally, he quotes liberally from Leslie Caron's memoirs about the making of the film, providing candid observations about Grant's unpredictable on-set mood swings. There is also an on-camera interview with Grant biographer Marc Elliott that is very interesting, though Elliott gets his facts wrong when he attributes Grant's late career traveling one-man stage shows as an inspiration for the Academy finally granting him an honorary Oscar. In fact, Grant's Oscar was presented to him in 1970, more than a decade before he initiated his stage appearances. Nevertheless, he provides some fascinating insights into Grant's personal life. There is also a filmed interview with Ted Nelson, son of director Ralph Nelson, who correctly points out how talented his father was- and indeed, how underrated Nelson's contributions to TV and movies of the era were. There is also a 1964 newsreel that includes the funeral of President Herbert Hoover followed by Leslie Caron receiving the "Star of the Year" award from American theater owners. Rounding out the package is a fine essay about "Father Goose" Village Voice writer Bilge Ebiri. 

Cary Grant never got a competitive Oscar and indeed was never even nominated for "Father Goose", though Peter Stone won for his screenplay. Yet, he had the satisfaction of seeing the movie become a major hit. He would make only one more film- "Walk, Don't Run"- before going into retirement, leaving a legacy few other actors have equaled.  

Olive Films used to take a lot of heat from retro movie lovers for putting out classic movies in bare-bones video editions. Looks like they got the memo because their recent releases feature highly impressive bonus features, as evidenced by this first rate edition of "Father Goose".  

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber continues to produce special edition Blu-rays of obscure titles that are under most movie fans' radar screens. Case in point: "Nightkill", a little-remembered thriller made in 1980 for theatrical release but which  ultimately "premiered" on television, much to the consternation of all involved. Ironically, the movie has the look and feel of a TV production with the notable difference of some disturbing images that were probably edited down for broadcast standards. Thus, the Kino Lorber edition is probably the first opportunity to see the original cut of the film, as it apparently was not released to theaters. The plot is "Diabolique" by way of Alfred Hitchcock. Jaclyn Smith, then riding high from her long-running role as one of Charlie's Angels, is cast as Katherine Atwell, a socialite living in Phoenix and living what appears to be a charmed life. She resides in a hilltop mansion and is the toast of the town because of a charitable foundation she has founded. There is one major caveat: her husband Wendell (Mike Connors) is a boorish rich snob with a violent temper who enjoys demeaning everyone in his circle of influence. He is particularly tough on his long-suffering corporate major domo Steve Fulton (James Franciscus), who must endure Wendell's cynical comments and outbursts. Katherine has come to hate her husband. Their marriage is a loveless one based on mutual convenience: he gets a trophy wife he can parade around as arm candy and she gets a lavish lifestyle and funding for her charity. However, she is frustrated by her loveless, sexless marriage and has taken up a secret torrid affair with Steve Fulton. One sunny afternoon, Katherine, Steve and Wendell are gathered in the Atwell's living room. Steve makes a drink for his boss, who promptly keels over and dies a painful death. Without having given Katherine any advance warning, Steve had poisoned Wendell. He tells the understandably panicky Katherine of his game plan: they will secrete Wendell's body in a large freezer inside the house, then collect a briefcase containing a million dollars that is being stored at an airport locker and fly off to another country so they can live the high life together. Katherine is tempted to alert the authorities, but ultimately decides to go along with Steve's plan. She soon regrets it. When Steve doesn't show up for their planned getaway, Katherine begins to worry. She goes through the arduous task of disposing of her husband's body in an abandoned mine shaft but later believes she sees him alive in various places. In the film's only absurd scene, a car that appears to be driven by her dead husband pursues her in a dangerous chase that she narrowly escapes from. It gets worse. When she opens the freezer that once held her husband's body, she gets another shocking surprise that I won't reveal here. Adding to the pressure is a bothersome detective (Robert Mitchum) who shows up at awkward times and asks increasingly awkward questions about her husband's whereabouts. 

"Nightkill" was directed by Ted Post, a seasoned pro when it came to helming undistinguished-but-entertaining fare both on television and in feature films. (His best theatrical films were "Hang 'Em High", "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" and "Magnum Force".) Post was primarily at home in the television medium and perhaps that's why the movie has the look and feel of a TV production. Post didn't believe in artsy camera shots or other gimmicks. He shot in a basic style that didn't allow for distractions from the action on screen. He milks some suspense out of a sometimes cliched script that borrows too much from other sources. "Nightkill" may be middling in some aspects but it does take some unexpected turns concerning the motivations of the main characters. Jaclyn Smith gives an outstanding performance as the harried and distressed protagonist. The film is sprinkled with other interesting actors and performances. Mike Connors excels at playing against his good guy image as a rotten lout, Fritz Weaver has an unusually flamboyant character to play as a snobby lawyer who has the hots for Katherine, even though he is married to her best friend (Sybil Danning in a role that refreshingly doesn't require her to doff her clothes). Mitchum is his usual cool-as-a-cucumber self as the detective who may or may not be who he claims to be. The Arizona locations are a refreshing change of pace and the film keeps a zesty pace under Post's direction, right up until the rather surprising ending which some viewers may find unsatisfying. The most memorable scene involves yet another "woman in the shower in jeopardy" scene but with a disturbing twist that doesn't involve anyone attacking her. 

Universal has released a highly impressive Blu-ray set, "The Alfred Hitchcock Collection", on Blu-ray. The set contains fifteen special editions of the Master's top films as well as ten original episodes of "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series. The set is packed with 15 hours of bonus extras and includes an illustrated, 58-page collector's booklet with extremely rare international poster art and film stills. Films included in the set are:

• Psycho
• The Birds
• Vertigo
• Rear Window
• North by Northwest
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version)
• Marnie
• Saboteur
• Shadow of a Doubt
• Rope
• The Trouble with Harry
• Topaz
• Frenzy 
• Torn Curtain
• Family Plot. 

Holiday gifts like this don't get any more impressive (or sinister) for the movie lover in your life.

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BY HANK REINEKE

I have a confession to make. In the unlikely event I’m put in a time machine, sent back to the late spring/early summer of 1969 and given a free pass to only one of two films presently showing at the local twinplex – the choices being Stanley Kubricks’s 2001: a Space Odyssey or Kinji Fukasaku’s The Green Slime… Well, I admit with some degree of shame and embarrassment that I would choose The Green Slime. I do not doubt for a moment the superiority, intellectualism or visual majesty of the former over the latter. But I was eight and a half years old in the summer of 1969 when my parents took me to 2001: A Space Odyssey and I confess I was pretty much bored to tears. Arthur Clarke’s scenario was too obtuse for my grade-school comprehension; the pacing of the film was funeral, the opening bit with the apes and the obelisk bewildering. The outer space stuff, I admit, was pretty cool.

In any case, it was The Green Slime and not 2001 that was the talk of the school back in 1969. It must be said that MGM marketed the film pretty aggressively. The campaign book for The Green Slime suggested theater-owners invest in the ballyhoo package they had masterfully assembled, an over-the-top promotional “Go-Get ‘em Fright Kit.” These kits included “1000 Galling Green Bumper Stickers, 2 Eye Catching, Teeth-Gnashing Stencils, 2000 Greasy, Goggling, High-Camp Pop-Art Buttons in Basic Gripping Green, and 250 Ghastly, Ghoulish, Gelatinous Green Slimes in Guaranteed to Nauseate the Nefarious.” MGM also issued a 45rpm record of the gnarly rock and roll song celebrating The Green Slime, causing all - of a certain age, at least - to twist the volume knob to high on our AM radios.

If that wasn’t enough to piqué interest (and it was), the film campaign also featured one of the greatest one-sheet movie posters I had ever seen – perhaps, still one of the greatest. The closest I got to own a copy was when I skipped down to the local tobacco and stationary store and picked up the September 1969 issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. There in the racks was that month’s cover girl in all of her 1960’s pop-art movie poster glory: a frightened Luciana Paluzzi in a clear fishbowl space helmet struggling against the tentacle of a giant, feral one-eyed space monster. True, the poster would bear no relation to anything that actually would happen in the film, but that’s beside the point. The fact is if you were a dedicated, erudite reader of Film Comment or American Cinematographer then 2001: A Space Odyssey was indisputably the science-fiction film of the year. If you were between the ages of 8-21 and a faithful reader of comic books and monster magazines, The Green Slime was the bomb… a “bomb” in the good way, of course.

In June of 1969, every American kid was already talking about outer space. Though shot in 1968 at Toei Studios, Tokyo, Japan, The Green Slime opened mid-week near my home just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, on May 21, 1969. In less than two month’s time, two of the three astronauts on NASA’s Apollo 11 mission would walk on the surface of the moon for the first time in recorded history. The promotional department at MGM took every advantage of public interest in the space-craze. Weeks following the film’s initial release - and a mere month prior to the much anticipated NASA moon walk - the black and white newspaper slicks for The Green Slime would feature a new banner draped across the top of the ad copy: “Lunar Contamination Worries Washington: Will future moon landings expose our astronauts to strange germs that could grow… AND GROW… into THE GREEN SLIME?”

In The Green Slime actor Robert Horton plays Commander Jack Rankin, a neither particularly warm nor likable character, but a guy with a reputation for getting things done. He’s brought out of retirement by an officer at the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) who pleads for his cooperation in a time-sensitive demolition job. It seems as though there’s a six million ton asteroid, nickname Flora, hurtling directly in a trajectory toward planet Earth. At its present rate of speed, the asteroid will collide with the planet in approximately ten hours time, so it’s pretty imperative that Commander Rankin get to work immediately.

The crusty astronaut is rocketed to the circular and tubular Gamma 3 space station where he and a small team will board yet another spacecraft and shuttle over to the surface of the asteroid. They intend blow the asteroid from its current trajectory through the use of a few relatively small explosives. This mission is accomplished, pretty handily I might add, but the real trouble starts to brew when a small specimen of the asteroid’s green slime attaches itself to the pants leg of one astronaut and is inadvertently transported back to C Block of Gamma 3. The green slime soon begins to reproduce and morph from the primordial ooze of its original state to a shuffling, green fire-hydrant shaped creature with deep-recessed red eyes. Their long and groping tentacles electrocute any hapless victim who happens to stumble across their whereabouts.

There are also some inter-personal fireworks aboard Gamma 3 when we learn that Rankin and the ship’s Commander Vince Elliott (Richard Jaeckel) don’t particularly care for one another. For starters, Elliott is poised to marry the voluptuous Dr. Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi), a beauty who walks about the starship in a stylish silver lamè  suit and was, apparently, a jilted paramour of Commander Rankin. It’s difficult to determine why Paluzzi would have – now or at any other time - any romantic interest in Rankin. While husband-to-be Vince Elliott might have his own testosterone-fueled problems to work through, he comes off as someone you might enjoy having a beer with. Conversely, and despite his sun-tanned skin, chiseled profile, and sculptured brush of spray matted hair, Horton’s Rankin is positively humorless and uncharismatic. He appears in the personage of a terminally dour game show host.

Paramount Home Media is making retro movie lovers an offer they can't refuse: a special, limited edition deluxe Blu-ray set of the three "Godfather" films complete with some creative extras. "The Godfather Trilogy: Omerta Edition" is limited to only 45,000 sets so make sure you order yours now- or be prepared to sleep with the fishes. 

Here is the official description from Paramount:

Celebrating its 45th anniversary, director Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER is widely considered one of the most influential films in cinematic history.  Now the entire epic trilogy will be available on Blu-rayâ„¢ in a spectacular 4-disc Omertà Edition, which includes the Coppola Restoration of THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER, PART II, as well as the remastered version of THE GODFATHER, PART III.

A stunning gift for any fan, only 45,000 of these limited edition, numbered sets will be made available beginning November 7, 2017.   THE GODFATHER TRILOGY: OMERTÀ EDITION includes commentary by Coppola on all three films, a full disc of previously released in-depth special features, as well as exclusive new collectible Trivia Cards, Magnetic Poetry, an Anatomy of a Scene fold out and Quote Cards.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

After Sean Connery left the role of James Bond in 1967 after "You Only Live Twice", producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman hired an unknown- George Lazenby- to take over the part of 007. Lazenby starred in the 1969 film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and although he acquitted himself well, he shocked the industry by quitting the series after this one film. With the future of the franchise in jeopardy, the producers considered every viable leading man to star in the next Bond film, "Diamonds are Forever". Ultimately, they decided on American actor John Gavin, best known for his role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Although Gavin agreed to take the part, United Artists head of production, David V. Picker was squeamish about the prospects of an American 007. Overtures had been made to Sean Connery to reprise the role but they all failed, largely because of Connery's well-documented and long-standing disputes with the producers. Picker took a gamble and flew to visit Connery near his home in Spain. The two men discussed the Bond franchise over a game of golf. Picker managed to get Connery to concede to return for "Diamonds are Forever" on the proviso that the one-picture deal would net him the highest salary ever paid to an actor: $1.25 million, which Connery wanted to use to finance the establishment of a charity in Scotland. The deal also called for U.A. to finance two future non-Bond films, but only one- "The Offence"- was actually made. Picker's strategy worked, as Connery's return to the role ensured that "Diamonds are Forever" was a major hit when it opened in 1971. Connery rejected the predictable entreaties to get him to return for "Live and Let Die" and the role went to Roger Moore, who starred in seven highly successful Bond movies. 

Fans have often pondered how John Gavin would have fared in the role of 007. An enterprising person has posted this imaginary scenario using clips from a "B" 1968 French spy movie in which Gavin starred, "O.S.S 117: Double Agent", which conveniently also starred future Bond baddie Curt Jurgens. With some clever dubbing of dialogue, this amusing clip compilation is the closest we'll ever to see to an ad campaign that boasted "John Gavin IS James Bond!"  

By Hank Reineke

Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007), the playwright, television mogul, and novelist, reportedly sold well over 300 million books in his lifetime. This is a pretty impressive number for a man who only turned to churning out books in his early fifties. If I hedged on the word “writing” when describing the mogul’s working methods, I’m not being coy and disrespectful. Perhaps taking a page from fellow television writer-creator-workaholic Rod Serling’s own playbook, Sheldon would dictate his stories into a tape recorder and later have secretaries type out his ramblings. With words committed to paper, Sheldon would then skillfully revise and edit and buffer the manuscript until satisfied he had a full-fledged novel on hand. Though a number of literary critics - and resentful thriller-writing contemporaries - would excoriate the creator/writer of The Patty Duke Show and I Dream of Jeannie for his work method and hackneyed storylines, readers worldwide made Sheldon one of the most successful popular-market paperback novelists of all time.

One fan of Sheldon’s books was Roger Moore, also in the midst of enjoying a great run of wealth and fame as James Bond. The actor would recall in his memoir My Word is My Bond, “Since first reading Sidney Sheldon’s book The Naked Face I had felt it would lend itself to a very good film.” Moore was interested in exploring new projects; he was certain his sixth and most recent outing as Bond, Octopussy (1983), was likely his last. He was, after all, now fifty-seven years old. He could be forgiven for believing his successful turn as British secret agent 007 had come to its natural end.

Several years prior to the cinema version of “The Naked Face,” Moore was cast in “Sunday Lovers” (1980), a dismal romantic-comedy of four vignettes tethered together as a feature-length film. The Franco-Italian production would be released in the U.S. in the early winter of 1981. Though the film performed poorly at the box-office on both sides of the Atlantic, critics agreed the movie’s first tale, a distinctly British farce titled “An Englishman’s Home,” was clearly the best of an otherwise bad bunch. The screenplay for this segment had been written by the British playwright and lyricist Leslie Bricusse, and featured a talented ensemble: Moore, Denholm Elliot, Lynn Redgrave, and Priscilla Barnes. The vignette was helmed with modest flourish by Bryan Forbes, a formidable figure in the British film industry who had only recently stepped down as managing director of EMI films. Moore enjoyed working with the director on “Sunday Lovers” as Forbes, a true Renaissance man, had been an old colleague. The two had been friends since their earliest training together at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Around this same time a pair of Israeli nationals, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, became primary shareholders of Cannon Films, a floundering company teetering on bankruptcy and desperate for well-heeled investors. The savvy cousins would quickly reinvigorate the company’s fortunes in the 1980s with a profitable string of teen-horrors and testosterone-fueled low-budget action B-films starring Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris. In the interim of such box-office successes as “Death Wish II” and the first of the “Missing in Action” films, the producers actively courted Moore for a possible collaboration. The interests of both parties converged when a window of opportunity opened following the actor’s wrap of Octopussy. Moore’s suggestion of Sidney Sheldon’s 1970 best-selling novel “The Naked Face” as a possible project for Cannon was met with enthusiasm. The deal was sealed when the filmmakers agreed to green-light Moore’s friend Bryan Forbes as director for the project. Golan and Globus announced production of “The Naked Face” with customary Cannon ballyhoo at the Cannes International Film Festival.

The premise of both the novel and film was classic Hitchcock. A contemplative Chicago psychiatrist, Dr. Judd Stevens (Roger Moore), becomes entangled as primary suspect for a series of murders of which he is innocent and seems to have no connection. As “The Naked Face” was clearly targeted as entertainment for a sophisticated adult demographic, the producers cast an impressive roster of middle-to-late-age talent. These were faces familiar to seasoned moviegoers: Rod Steiger, Anne Archer, Elliott Gould, and Art Carney among them. The casting, sadly, was not terribly profound. The producers would cast veteran actor Rod Steiger as Moore’s foil, the frothing-at-the-mouth, bulldog detective Lt. McGreavy. Steiger’s performance was certainly memorable. Unfortunately, it is memorable for all of the wrong reasons. The most obvious problem with the actor’s performance was, as Moore would later lament, Steiger did little to mitigate his well-deserved reputation amongst his peers as a “scene chewer.” There’s plenty of that charge in evidence here. The actor’s one-note portrayal is, in turn, amusing and wearying. McGreavy comes off as a highly-caffeinated Sgt. Joe Friday, ready to assign even the sketchiest shred of circumstantial evidence as proof of Moore’s culpability in the murders. The detective’s dogged single-mindedness to implicate the doctor is explained away as a result of the psychiatrist’s testimony on behalf of a mentally unstable man who murdered his former police-partner some years earlier. Elliott Gould is cast as Angeli, McGreavy’s calmer and more reasonable contemporary partner. He is, seemingly, the better angel of this traditional “good cop/bad cop” pairing. But Gould is surprisingly unremarkable here, turning in a curiously flat and remote performance. Art Carney plays Morgens, an elderly, eccentric private investigator and collector of vintage clocks, who briefly allies with Moore. Incredibly, we’re expected to believe that the contemplative Dr. Stevens would engage this low-rent private investigator through a listing in the Chicago Yellow Pages.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

German actress Karin Dor has died at age 79. She had been in a nursing home since suffering the severe aftereffects of a fall last year. Dor was a popular presence in European cinema. She began acting in the 1950s and became a well-known star in the 1960s. She frequently collaborated with her husband, Austrian director Harald Reinl. She appeared in several of the popular German "Winnetou"  westerns and well as German crime programs on television. In 1967 she achieved a new level of fame when she was cast as Helga Brandt, the sultry SPECTRE agent who seduces Sean Connery's James Bond before attempting to kill him in the 1967 blockbuster "You Only Live Twice". Dor's character suffered a memorable fate when her employer, SPECTRE chieftain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) ensures she drops into his piranha-filled moat. She later had a leading role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 spy thriller "Topaz". Dor continued to act until recently, with her last screen credit in 2015. She was also a frequent presence on European television programs. 

In what may have been her last interview, Dor discussed the making of "You Only Live Twice"  in-depth with Cinema Retro contributing writers Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury. The interview appears in the latest issue, #39.  

For more click here.  

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents this rare 1960 eleven minute industry promotional short that was sent to theater managers to explain the innovative ways they could promote Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Hitchcock personally oversaw the construction of the unique campaign that intentionally made seeing the film a status symbol. No one was admitted after the movie had started and large lines of ticket holders waited patiently for the next screening. Theater fronts and lobbies were decorated with extravagant advertising materials and Hitchcock himself provided recorded announcements to keep the crowds entertained. When no studio agreed to give "Psycho" the green light, Hitchcock financed the movie himself on a shoestring budget using many of the people who were working with him on his weekly T.V. series. The film became one of the top-grossers of all time and netted Hitchcock a fortune.

Legendary Production Designer Ken Adam at work on "Thunderball". Copyright Notice © 1965 Danjaq, LLC & United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

RELEASE YOUR INNER ARTIST WITH THE BIG DRAW AT BOND IN MOTION

· Participate in three James Bond themed art activities throughout October at the London Film Museum as part of Living Lines: An Animated Big Draw Festival

· Founded in 2000, The Big Draw is an arts education charity that promotes visual literacy and the universal language of drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention

· Celebrate the work of visionary James Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam at the Bond in Motion exhibition, Covent Garden

28 September 2017, London. The Big Draw Festival is the world's biggest celebration of drawing, organised by The Big Draw charity (formerly the Campaign for Drawing), and this year Bond in Motion at the London Film Museum is offering visitors the chance to release their inner artist with a variety of activities celebrating the Living Lines theme.

Living Lines: An Animated Big Draw Festival is open to a wide range of interpretations from animated, theatrical, illusionary, technical or just plain messy. Visitors to Bond in Motion will find the inspiration to spark creativity from the original items on display from the 007 film series including concept drawings, storyboards, scripts, model miniatures and full-size cars, boats, and motorbikes.

Visitors can take part in three complimentary art activities in October; design a 007 disguise, create a fantasy James Bond storyboard, and contribute to a collage wall by drawing a scene from their favourite 007 adventure.

Concept art for "You Only Live Twice" by Ken Adam. Copyright Notice © 1967 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved

A selection of the finished designs will be posted on the London Film Museum social media pages with Bond in Motion prizes awarded for the best creations.

Many James Bond vehicles, costumes and unforgettable movie scenes started life as a storyboard or concept drawing. From Dr. No in 1962 through to Spectre in 2015, the James Bond films have featured the work of incredibly talented designers and artists who have imagined, drawn, painted and created some of the most fantastic and futuristic ideas ever to feature on the big screen.

Throughout the exhibition, guests can admire and take inspiration from the work of visionary James Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam, one of the most significant production designers of the twentieth century.

“We are delighted to support The Big Draw initiative,” said London Film Museum Founder and CEO, Jonathan Sands. “In October, we are offering visitors to our permanent Bond in Motion exhibition in Covent Garden the opportunity to take part in three James Bond themed art activities which we hope guests of all ages will enjoy.”

The London Film Museum is located at 45 Wellington Street, Covent Garden and is open seven days a week. Tickets are available from www.londonfilmmuseum.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Cinema Retro issue #39 has now shipped worldwide. For subscribers, this is the final issue of Season 13. Please renew for Season 14 (see below) and keep supporting the world's most unique movie magazine. 

Issue #39 devotes a full 32 pages to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice", which starred Sean Connery as 007 and introduced Donald Pleasence as the immortal villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Why did we dedicate half of the pages in this issue to the film? Largely because of the outpouring of contributions from talented writers from around the world, not to mention esteemed names like composer David Arnold, actress Karin Dor, who played the villainous femme fatale Helga Brandt, Tsai Chin who played Bond's bedmate in the pre-credits scene, legendary lyricist Leslie Bricusse, assistant director William Cartlidge, future Oscar-winning production designer Peter Lamont and Nancy Sinatra, who recalls the nerve-wracking experience of singing the title song. Plus in-depth looks at composer John Barry, the cars of "You Only Live Twice", the inside story behind the Little Nellie autogyro, "now and then" photos of key locations and a Bondwagon full of rare photos and promotional art, some of which are published here for the first time- plus a look at  all the accompanying international 007 collectibles.

Issue #39 also concludes our celebration of the life and career of actress Susan George and examines the kinky little-seen crime thriller "Night Hair Child" (aka "What the Peeper Saw") plus the obscure-but-worthy cult flick "Deadly Strangers" starring Hayley Mills- plus tributes to the late, great Sir Roger Moore. 

In reality, you only live once- so don't miss this limited edition issue. 

You can still subscribe to Season 13 and get all three issues shipped to you at once, including issue #37 and #38, which honor "Rocky" and "The Dirty Dozen" respectively.

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Issue #40, to be shipped in January, 2018.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RENEW FOR SEASON 14, SEE BELOW. YOU WILL GET ISSUES #40, 41 & 42 IN JANUARY, APRIL AND SEPTEMBER OF 2018. 

USA/CANADA: SUBSCRIBE TO SEASON 14 (ISSUES 40, 41 & 42)

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EUROPEAN RESIDENTS: SUBSCRIBE TO SEASON 14 (ISSUES 40, 41 & 42)

EUROPEAN RESIDENTS:SUBSCRIBE TO SEASON 14 (ISSUES 40, 41 & 42) £28.95 GBP

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BY TIM GREAVES

Psycho is considered by many to be Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievement. Although I'd suggest there are several other titles that could justifiably vie for that accolade, there's no disputing that it ranks as a premium couple of hours of suspenseful drama that still packs a punch 57 years on from its release. I can only begin to imagine the impact the burgeoning ill-ease and kinky twist reveal had on unsuspecting audiences back in 1960.

Nowadays it's practically a given that a box office hit will result in a hastily mounted sequel, but back then it was almost unheard of, besides which Psycho delivered a self-contained story with a satisfying conclusion, so there really wasn't any need for augmentation. (To be fair though, one could say that about fistfuls of superfluous sequels today.) In any event, as follow-ups go 1983's Psycho II rubs shoulders with the best of them; yes, it's superfluous, but director Richard Franklin's film wipes out any suspicions of a cash-raking exercise by delivering a beautifully tailored narrative that dovetails impeccably with its ancestor. In fact it’s such a well-considered continuation that one could almost believe it had been planned right from the start. It isn't just good, it's really good.

Opening with a slightly pared down replay of that shower murder from Hitchcock's film, as the camera pans to the window and comes to rest on the edifice that is the Bates house, the image subtly transitions from the black & white of the original to colour. And so begins a tale bristling with devilish twists, one that's almost as thrilling as the first and that unexpectedly weighs in with a hefty emotional payload.

22 years ago Fairvale motelier Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) was arrested following several brutal knife murders – including that of larcenous Marion Crane – and the discovery that as a child he'd poisoned his overbearing Mother. Due to his state of mind he was declared not guilty of murder and incarcerated in an institution for the criminally insane. Now, much to the ire of Marion's sister, Lila (Vera Miles), Norman has been pronounced fit for release. He arrives back at the family owned motel to find that an oily state-appointed manager, Toomey (Dennis Franz), has allowed it to devolve into a dive patronised by unsavoury clientele. Norman sacks Toomey and sets about doing the place up, intending to relaunch it as a respectable establishment. To make ends meet in the interim he gets a part-time job at a nearby diner where he meets and takes a shine to down-on-her-luck waitress Mary (Meg Tilly) and he subsequently offers her lodgings. Although she's aware of Norman's past – there's not a soul in Fairvale who isn't – she's desperate and so, with some trepidation, accepts. As Norman's affection for Mary warms, so the first of a series of notes from his dead Mother appears. Next come the phone calls. And then people around Norman begin to die, each falling victim to a shadowy, knife-wielding figure. Has the rehabilitation process not been the success it first appeared? Are the messages from Mother all in Norman's head? Or is someone messing with him, trying to retrigger his insanity? Whatever the case, Norman quickly begins to unravel...

Having previously directed a couple of efficient chillers in his native Australia – 1978's Patrick and 1981's Roadgames – Richard Franklin's decision to take on a sequel to one of cinema history's most venerated films for his American debut was a bold and ambitious one. Fortunately, Psycho II proved a decent critical and box office success. It boasts a sharp, intelligent script by Tom Holland, who would go on to helm some fine chillers of his own (among them Fright Night and Child's Play), and who appears fleetingly here as a police deputy.

Anthony Perkins – slipping back into Norman Bates' loafers with such ease that it's almost as if he never vacated them – gets the cream of the dialogue, including some splashes of black humour, for example when Norman, former knife murderer, nervously falters in his enunciation of the word “cutlery”. The script also rather daringly turns Norman into a figure of sympathy as he tries to fit back into civilised society, struggling valiantly to quell the re-emergence of his former homicidal impulses whilst external forces seem to conspire against him. There's a wonderful scene which finds Mary comforting Norman and he tells her that she smells like toasted cheese sandwiches, kindling one of the few happy memories of his mostly bereft childhood; if it sounds a bit corny on paper, it's actually remarkably poignant.