A Hammer horror comedy directed by William Castle.  Just from that description, you know 1963’s The Old Dark House is going to be a strange animal. Really, there had always been a knowing wink in even the director’s straight-up horror films.  But many elements of this production are very much like a sitcom, and that […]

New York’s fashion district seems to me to be an unlikely subject for a noir, but I learned from the supplemental materials accompanying 1957’s The Garment Jungle just how dangerous an industry that was.  Maybe it still is.  At the time, it was apparently mobbed up.  Something I found ironic is the gangsters are not […]

The opening credits of movies such as 1948’s Man-Eater of Kumaon tend to fascinate me.  Consider how Wendell Corey is billed as “The Hunter”, despite his character being named Dr. John Collins.  A statement regarding this character blanked out all other thought: “The character of ‘The Hunter’ is a fictional one.”  It is interesting somebody […]

Back before the emergence of independent cinema in the late 60’s, smaller productions stood out from their peers because of their more limited means.  These movies would often be in stark contrast to the major studio fare, and some of them would use that to their advantage.  One solid example of this is 1958’s Murder […]

I have long wanted to be cremated once my number is up.  My morbid sense of humor has me wishing I could mandate my remains be mixed into fruit punch to be served to oblivious attendees of my funeral.  Figured there would be something in the service about there will always be a little bit […]

Gambling seems to be ubiquitous nowadays, and I wonder if I am the only person alarmed by that.  If the road to Hell may be paved with good intentions, then I’m pretty sure the road to financial ruin is somehow paved with unlimited online sports betting.  You have people losing their homes from betting on […]

I’m sure Germany had to have made some comedies, but I have never seen one.  From the German cinema I have seen, I can’t imagine what one would be like.  I have seen some Fassbinder and Herzog, both of whom have names that sound like heavy German beers.  Hell, I’ve even watched all 16 hours […]

Richard E. Grant’s With Nails is the fascinating film diaries of the British niche actor.  Two films covered in that book are satirical looks at Los Angeles of the early 90’s, one being The Player and the other being 1991’s L.A. Story. The latter film stars, and was scripted by, Steve Martin.  In this book, […]

One of the most interesting aspects of Atlantic City was a scene set in a parking garage in which large platform moved around as if this was some sort of automobile vending machine.  That picture was from 1980, so I was very surprised to see a similar garage in 1955’s Five Against the House.  In […]

William Castle sure loved a gimmick.  His best movies were often accompanied by ones like the buzzers under seats for select screenings of The Tingler.  For 1963’s 13 Frightened Girls, attendees were given a card to lick which revealed the phrase “Don’t get caught in the candy web”.  Yeah, that’s what I want to do […]

Columbia Pictures was the most minor of the major studios, but it might have been the best one for noirs, if only because it churned out so many of them.  While it rarely knocked any out of the park, their batting average for the genre was better than the larger studios. Consider 1955’s The Crooked […]

I am happy not being an alpha male, the kind of person who says things like the view never changing unless you’re the lead dog.  Then there’s the thing about staying on the porch if one cannot keep up with the big dogs.  You know there’s something wrong with a way of living if so […]

Glenn Ford is in a pickle, driving down a steep, winding mountain road and in a truck without functioning brakes.  The emergency brake is out as well, and this is definitely an emergency.  By the time he gets to the town at the base of the mountain, he’s going full bore.  It is astonishing he […]

In movie circles, there is ongoing debate as to whether 1929’s The Taming of the Shrew ever contained in its credits this curious attribution: “by William Shakespeare with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor”.  1976’s The Food of the Gods says it is the work of H.G. Wells, but writer and director Bert I. Gordon is […]

The alure of true crime eludes me.  At the present time, it thrives in podcasts about serial killings solved and unsolved.  In the first noir age, you had magazines like Detective and movies such as 1955’s Cell 2455, Death Row. The picture is based on the memoir of Caryl Chessman, who was waiting on California’s […]