Except in melodramas, women were rarely top billed in features in 1950. Alexis Smith is the lead of that year’s Undercover Girl, as the title character. That this is a female-led noir is a reason to seek this out, but there is more of interest here than that. When we first meet Smith, at the […]
Author: placelogohere
Movie: Angel Face (1952)
It is often hard to decide whether a film is noir or not. In many regards, the 1952 feature Angel Face has the trappings of that genre. On the other hand, it is very heavy on the melodrama. That doesn’t automatically disqualify a film from being noir but, in my mind, it makes it more […]
Movie: David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)
Despite being a fan of most of the David Lynch’s films, I have always found him a tad suspect. As time goes on, I increasingly find something off-putting about him. This, despite his aw-shucks demeanor and Jimmy Stewart voice. Or, it may be because of it. I felt the same after watching the 2016 documentary […]
Movie: Lady Frankenstein (1971)
Rasalba Neri plays the title character in 1971’s Lady Frankenstein, a role that is mad scientist-y enough for a man but made for a woman. She is obviously solidly of Italian descent, but is inexplicably the daughter of that deeply American staple of cinema Joseph Cotten. He will be out of this picture before too […]
Movie: Flight to Mars (1951)
The mock-religion The Church of the SubGenius employs as its primary symbol a clip art image of the stereotypical ideal of the 1950’s American male, complete with pipe clenched between teeth. I kept thinking of this image every time the eerily similar Arthur Franz appears on screen during 1951’s Flight to Mars. He is like […]
Movie: Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
I grew up with video games, though with the first wave of arcade games and home consoles. I still feel some nostalgia for those. My current outlet for that is my collection of arcade game flyers, and I have never met anybody else who collects those. This lead-in is my way of saying I am […]
Movie: Man-Made Monster (1941)
Those who have seen enough of Universal’s horror and sci-fi b-movie fare will know roughly what to expect before watching 1941s Man-Made Monster. What is interesting is how well the movie hits the expected beats, and then does a number of things which were unexpected. Lon Chaney, Jr., stars as the sole survivor of a […]
Movie: Death on the Nile (2022)
It was startling when Kenneth Branagh helmed Thor, a Marvel film, in 2011. I don’t necessarily dislike the actor/director, but I have always found him to be smug and pretentious. His association with Shakespeare doesn’t help dissuade that opinion. And yet it now seems he always wanted to do “big” productions, as evidenced by his […]
Movie: Scream of the Demon Lover (1970)
This 1970 movie has an identity crisis. The case said it was titled Scream of the Demon Lover. The title card for the movie said it is The Killers of the Castle of Blood, which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Among other titles it has gone by are Castle with the Gates of Fire […]
Movie: Cellar Dweller (1987)
Given the choice, I think I would often choose to see a movie that does something different and doesn’t quite succeed instead of watching one that does nothing I haven’t seen before while doing it extremely well. That’s how I would summarize my feelings so far about Arrow Video’s blu-ray set Enter the Video Store: […]
Movie: The Seventh Grave (1965)
I had a weird moment of confusion while watching the beginning of 1965’s The Seventh Grave, as a found myself thinking about the 1990’s puzzle-mystery CD-rom game The Seventh Guest. Typical of such games of the era, which was one of those things set in a creepy mansion on a dark and stormy night. These […]
Mix: State of the band union
For whatever reason, I am fascinated by songs about the experience of being a recording artist, especially those addressing frustrations toward the industry. When they are autobiographical, I consider these “state of the band union” songs, the public airing of an artist’s grievances. I’m surprised there aren’t more such songs, as that would seem to […]
Movie: Outside the Wall (1950)
I don’t know much about Richard Basehart except for a recurring gag on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 where Gypsy, one of the bots, is obsessed with him. Not sure why she’s obsessed with this actor, only that I was reminded of this while watching him in 1950’s Outside the Wall. Basehart is a man who […]
Movie: Claydream (2021)
I love all forms of animation, especially the various forms of stop-motion. So I am familiar with the work of Will Vinton and his trademark Claymation process. I hold him in high regard for the quality of his work, even if there is consistently something I find a bit off-putting about it. Something I can’t […]
Movie: The Monster of the Opera (1964)
I love gothic films, which I find odd, as it one of the most restrictive genres. I mean, what is gothic exactly? You must have at least a sprawling old building of some sort, whether it is the baron’s castle or a school for girls which is lorded over of a prim schoolmistress. The 1964 […]