I'm pleased to share that I have an article appearing in the latest issue of The Dark Pages! My 2019 review of the Flicker Alley Blu-ray release of TRAPPED (1949) has been adapted for the March/April 2024 edition which is Volume 20, No. 2. Other articles in this print issue include Andy Wolverton writing on NIGHT EDITOR (1946) and Kristina Dijan on a pair of Robert Douglas crime films, HOMICIDE (1949) and THIS SIDE OF THE LAW (1950). The Dark Pages may be subscribed to here. Back issues are also available, including issues I've written for in the past; descriptions of those issues are linke ..read more

One of the movies I most enjoyed at the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival was the pre-Code COCKTAIL HOUR (1933). The movie was introduced by the late Cari Beauchamp, so it seemed fitting that I watched it again this weekend on the day her memorial service took place. At the 2022 screening Cari interviewed Suzanne Lloyd about her grandfather Harold's friendship with the movie's star, Bebe Daniels. A fond memory. At the time of that screening I expressed the hope that COCKTAIL HOUR would come out on DVD or Blu-ray, so what a delightful surprise to learn that the movie has just had a Blu-ray relea ..read more

Three years ago this summer I began watching Mae West films for the first time, and -- frankly somewhat to my surprise -- I discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed them. As I described at the time, West had been something of a punchline to jokes when I was growing up, and I hadn't been interested in digging deeper. I'm certainly glad I changed my mind, as I found West "a completely unique film persona in both looks and personality...[she] absolutely owns the screen." West's films proved to be a wonderful discovery for me. I've now seen all but the last couple of West's films of the '30s and '40 ..read more

I've seen Warner Baxter in a number of films over the years, but I can't claim to have known much about him That's changed thanks to the excellent recently published book, THE ACCIDENTAL STAR - THE LIFE AND FILMS OF WARNER BAXTER. It was written by Dan Van Neste and published by Bear Manor Media. This is an impressively detailed 491-page book. The first half is a biography which runs 243 pages; the second half of the book contains details on all Baxter's films, including cast credits, review excerpts, and miscellany regarding the productions. The filmography also includes information on wh ..read more

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet... ...Russ Tamblyn's new memoir, DANCING ON THE EDGE: A LIFE OF LIVING, LOVING, AND TUMBLING THROUGH HOLLYWOOD, has just been published by Blackstone Publishing. ...Leonard Maltin has a short but welcome column focused on rare cartoons now available on Blu-ray. ...Thanks to Chris Yogerst for sharing the interesting title GANGSTERS VS. NAZIS: HOW JEWISH MOBSTERS BATTLED NAZIS IN WARTIME AMERICA by Michael Benson. It came out in hardcover in 2022 and is due out in paperback this summer. ...The latest book by TV and film musi ..read more

I love to read, particularly about movies, so one of the great pleasures of classic film blogging is reviewing books. Sometimes between my day job -- which often requires reading hundreds of pages a day -- and my other writing commitments I'm a little slow getting book reviews up. Such was the case with THE VOICE OF VILLAINY: THE BETTY LOU GERSON STORY, which came out last year, but it was no less enjoyed! THE VOICE OF VILLAINY was written by and self-published by Lona Bailey. Bailey's other books include biographies of actresses Virginia Gregg (for Bear Manor Media) and, more recently, Su ..read more

I've now wrapped up viewing Season 2 of COLUMBO via Kino Lorber's Blu-ray collection, with a trio of 1973 episodes. Two of them were big winners, while the other was a rare dud. "A Stitch in Crime" was one of the best episodes to date. It was well plotted, with an interesting premise, a good cast, and some nice humor. A very sleepy Columbo is called to a hospital crime scene: A nurse (Anne Francis) has been murdered in the parking lot. As Columbo yawns, cracks open a hard-boiled egg, and begs for coffee, his mind is already hard at work analyzing the scene. The viewer knows that the culp ..read more

Over the last few years I've been gradually working my way through the filmography of actor-director Clint Eastwood. It's a rich list, and I was inspired to check off another title, THE GAUNTLET (1977), thanks to a brand-new book by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s and The Hannibal 8, ANOTHER RUN THROUGH THE GAUNTLET. More on the book below. THE GAUNTLET came out in December of 1977, which for me will always be the year of STAR WARS (1977) and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977). I remember the distinctive posters for THE GAUNTLET, but with its R rating it wasn't something I would have see ..read more

LET'S DANCE (1950), the only Fred Astaire musical I'd never seen, was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. I'm happy to say I found the movie quite engaging and far better than its general reputation over the years would attest. Add in a beautiful Blu-ray print from a 2019 HD Paramount Pictures master and this disc is a winner. Don (Astaire) and Kitty (Betty Hutton) have a USO act entertaining the troops during World War II. Don wants to marry Kitty and even announces it at the end of a performance, unaware that Kitty has actually just married a pilot. Flash forward several years ..read more

The Warner Bros. drama THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940), directed by Raoul Walsh, has just been released on Blu-ray in the Warner Archive Collection. I was surprised to realize I hadn't seen the movie since way back in 2007. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it via this pristine Blu-ray print. This is quite an entertaining 95 minutes. It reminds me somewhat of HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT (1937) insofar as it's several movies in one: Action drama, romance, murder and courtroom melodrama. Yet despite its shifts in tone, it all works. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart plays brothers Joe and Paul Fabrini, wh ..read more