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Warning: This article discusses topics of racism, violence, and death.

The 1960s is a great era for murder mystery movies. The decade is remembered for several classic movies everyone must watch in their lifetime, and while the earliest murder mystery films are typically from the ‘40s and ‘50s, the subgenre truly blooms in the ‘60s. Plenty of classic 1960s movies were ahead of their time, and to this day, audiences are still enthralled by these old titles.

No murder mystery is the same. Although audiences nowadays are treated to the complex narratives of movies like Knives Out, for example, these ‘60s titles prove that an old-fashioned murder investigation is a timeless concept. From secret villainous protagonists to strained and exhausted detectives, murder mystery movies from the ‘60s are like no other, and they play a significant part in how the titles we see today are formed.

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte...

The Waltons was a beloved '70s drama series with a long-lasting impact on pop culture. The cast includes both actors who are still active in the industry and those who have since passed. Richard Thomas and Michael Learned continue to act, while others like Ralph Waite have sadly passed away.

The Waltons was a long-running drama series from the '70s with an ensemble that is obviously now much older in the 21st century, but which includes many actors who are still alive and active in the industry - and a few who have, sadly, passed. The 1970s were filled with some influential and some forgettable series, and The Waltons has become an iconic part of pop culture. The story of the rural Virginian family during the Great Depression and WWII era is a charming and warm tale, even if it's been slightly lost to time.

The Waltons lasted...

Tom Bower, the busy character actor who portrayed Dr. Curtis Willard on The Waltons and the janitor, Marvin, who helps John McClane foil the terrorists at the airport in Die Hard 2, has died. He was 86.

Bower died last week of an unknown cause at his home in Los Angeles, his brother, Robert Bower, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Bower worked on John Cassavetes’ directorial debut, Shadows (1957), and played one of the translators that make a mess of things in the acclaimed Western The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982), starring Edward James Olmos.

He portrayed the father of the 37th U.S. president in Oliver Stone’s Nixon (1995), starring Anthony Hopkins, and the father of Nicolas Cage’s Terence McDonagh in Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009).

And, he appeared for director Scott Cooper in Crazy Heart (2009) — as the agent of Jeff Bridges’ Bad Blake — and Out of the Furnace...

More than a decade after winning a guest acting Emmy for her work as quirky lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni on CBS’s “The Good Wife,” Carrie Preston is now seeking lead category recognition for reprising the character on the same network’s “Elsbeth.” If she is included the upcoming Best Drama Actress lineup, she will make Emmys history as the first performer ever nominated as a lead for a winning dramatic guest role.

Preston was awarded the 2013 Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy for her seventh of 14 “Good Wife” appearances, which were spread over six seasons. After landing a second bid for that series in 2016, she showed up in five episodes of the Paramount+ spinoff “The Good Fight,” with her last appearance occurring one month before the series finale in November 2022. “Elsbeth” premiered this February and has already been renewed for a second season.

At this point, only three performers (all women...

"Good night, John-Boy. Good night, Elizabeth. And good night, daddy. Good night, son. And good night, mama. Good night, Mary Ellen. Good night, Jim Bob." Even if you've never watched a single moment of the classic TV show "The Waltons," the impact the series has had on television continues on even to this day. With the series' roots stemming back all the way to one of the most hated episodes of "The Twilight Zone" in history, references to "The Waltons" have extended all the way to films like 2016's "The Nice Guys," where Matt Bomber's villainous Dr. Malek is given the code name "John Boy" as he shares a similar facial birthmark to John-Boy actor Richard Thomas.

Created by Earl Hamner Jr., "The Waltons" centered on the titular family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II, based on Hamner Jr.'s book "Spencer's Mountain." With a...

Mary Beth McDonough charmed TV audiences as Erin Walton on CBS’s hit series The Waltons. She played the character on all nine seasons of the family-friendly drama, as well as in several made-for-tv movies. But there may have been an element of chance in her getting cast in the role of a lifetime.

‘The Waltons’ cast member reminded the show’s creator of his sister [L-r] Mary Beth McDonough (as Erin Walton) and Will Geer (as Zeb Walton) in ‘The Waltons’ | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Earlier in 2023, McDonough appeared on The Ross Owen Show (via YouTube) to chat about her time on The Waltons and how she landed her part on the show.

“I had an agent who never sent me out on any auditions until The Homecoming,” she recalled, speaking of the 1971 TV movie that led to the series. “And the only reason is the hair.”

“They were looking for red-headed kids,...

Months after his life was suddenly cut short, Emmy winner Leslie Jordan has a chance to receive more TV academy love for his final small screen performance as Phil on Fox’s “Call Me Kat.” If he does land in this year’s Best Comedy Supporting Actor lineup, he will join a group of 12 other comedy or drama series regulars who posthumously achieved Emmy recognition. If he scores his second victory, he will make history as the first deceased male actor to win an Emmy for a continuing program.

“Call Me Kat” was the first and only multi-season series on which Jordan played a regular role. In his last few episodes, his character, who worked as the head baker at a Kentucky cat cafe, finally found true love with drag performer Jalen, aka Queen Dicktoria (John Griffin). Following his final appearance, Phil was given a happy ending that involved him...

Ruth Langmore might not know sh*t about f*ck, but her portrayer, Julia Garner, definitely knows a thing or two about winning awards. The 29-year-old performer nabbed three Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmys for her performance on “Ozark,” tying Ellen Corby as the second most-rewarded actor in the category, and just pocketed her career-first Golden Globe Award for the Netflix series last month. Now, she can replicate that success at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she is nominated for Best TV Drama Actress for the third time in a row and looking to score her inaugural victory.

This is the sixth nomination for “Ozark” and seventh overall for the actor at the guild. Like the previous two times she was cited individually for the crime series — for its second and third seasons in 2019 and 2021, respectively — her solo recognition this year, for its fourth and final installment, comes with...

The Best Supporting Actor Oscar category is seeing double yet again. Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan received nominations as expected for their turns in Martin McDonagh‘s “The Banshees of Inisherin” on Tuesday, marking the fourth consecutive year a film has received double bids in the category.

“Banshees” is the 22nd film to achieve this, but most remarkably, five of them have occurred in the last six years after a 26-year dry spell. “Bugsy” (1991) produced noms for Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley, but the category went without co-star nominees until McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) yielded bids for Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson. After none the following year, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci garnered comeback noms for “The Irishman” (2019). Two years ago, Oscar voters shocked us all by nominating Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield — you know, they who played the title characters in that two-hander “Judas and the Black Messiah” — in supporting.

Ruth Langmore tragically bites the dust in “Ozark’s” fourth and final season, but the woman who plays her, Julia Garner, is still going strong at the Emmys. The actor doubled her nominations tally this July, racking up two bids, including one for “Ozark” for Best Drama Supporting Actress. This is the third time in a row she is shortlisted for the Netflix series, for which she parlayed both of her previous two citations into victories (2019-2020). Should she now continue her winning streak, she will not only score an unprecedented hat trick but also enter record territory in her category.

First off, she would be the first performer under the current popular vote system — which has been in place since 2016 — to win more than two Emmys for one show. What’s more, a third victory would tie her with Ellen Corby — who triumphed thrice for “The Waltons” in 1973, 1975 and...

Just four years after making her small screen acting debut on FX’s “The Americans,” Julia Garner landed her first regular role on a continuing series as Ruth Langmore on “Ozark.” Her Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmy wins for the Netflix show in 2019 and 2020 made her the category’s seventh and youngest back-to-back champ. Her six predecessors, all of whom were at least 16 years her senior, were Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”), Nancy Marchand (“Lou Grant”), Bonnie Bartlett (“St. Elsewhere”), Allison Janney (“The West Wing”), Blythe Danner (“Huff”), and Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”).

Garner’s first victory at age 25 also made her the fourth youngest person to ever triumph in her category. At the time, she also ranked as its ninth-youngest nominee, and has since been bumped to 10th place. Included among the nine younger actresses on the list are two of her 2019 competitors as well as three child stars.

The...

Just four years after making her small screen acting debut on FX’s “The Americans,” Julia Garner landed her first regular role on a continuing series as Ruth Langmore on “Ozark.” Her Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmy wins for the Netflix show in 2019 and 2020 made her the category’s seventh and youngest back-to-back champ. Her six predecessors, all of whom were at least 16 years her senior, were Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”), Nancy Marchand (“Lou Grant”), Bonnie Bartlett (“St. Elsewhere”), Allison Janney (“The West Wing”), Blythe Danner (“Huff”), and Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”).

Garner’s first victory at age 25 also made her the fourth youngest person to ever triumph in her category. At the time, she also ranked as its ninth-youngest nominee, and has since been bumped to 10th place. Included among the nine younger actresses on the list are two of her 2019 competitors as well as three child stars.

The...

This year Showtime amassed a total of 17 Primetime Emmy nominations, the biggest chunk of which are for the new drama series “Yellowjackets.” The show could potentially score wins in six categories, including Best Drama Series and Best Drama Actress. That lead performing prize would go to Melanie Lynskey, who has now finally been recognized by the TV academy after two steady decades of small-screen work.

Seetv directors roundtable panel: ‘Dopesick,’ ‘Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ ‘Yellowjackets’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Lynskey stars on “Yellowjackets” as Shauna, one of several middle-aged women who, as teenagers, were forced to live in the Canadian wilderness for more than a year after surviving a plane crash. Her submitted episode, “Doomcoming,” involves the modern-day Shauna learning that the person who has been blackmailing her and her friends is not her paramour (who she killed out of misplaced suspicion) but rather her husband. Once the...

If Julia Garner (“Ozark”) ends up winning a third Emmy this year in the Best Drama Supporting Actress category after her victories in 2019 and ’20, she would be tied with Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”), who won thrice in 1973, ’75 and ’76. Together, Garner and Corby would then share the second place position in the category, behind only Nancy Marchand (“Lou Grant”), who claimed a leading four trophies in 1978, ’80, ’81 and ’82.

Currently there are eight women who have two wins apiece in this Emmy race: Kristy McNichol (“Family”), Bonnie Bartlett (“St. Elsewhere”), Allison Janney (“The West Wing”), Tyne Daly (“Christy” and “Judging Amy”), Blythe Danner (“Huff”), Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”), Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”) and Garner. A couple of notes here: Janney later won two more trophies for “The West Wing” as a lead actress, and Smith claimed a prior statuette for “Downton Abbey” when it was classified as a limited series.

See‘Ozark’ Emmys...

After stealing Season 3 of “Ozark” as Ben Davis, Wendy’s (Laura Linney) bipolar brother, Tom Pelphrey was poised to nab his maiden Primetime Emmy nomination in 2020 — or so we thought. Even as the Netflix show racked up its most citations ever for a single season with 18, Pelphrey was omitted from the TV academy’s Best Drama Supporting Actor lineup. But thanks to his surprising guest appearance in the show’s fourth and final installment, he is now back in Emmy contention for the gritty crime drama and ready to avenge his egregious snub.

The actor turns up in the farewell season’s 10th episode, “You’re the Boss,” which was directed by Emmy contender Melissa Hickey and opens with a flashback to the night Ben was executed. It picks up right where we last saw him in Season 3’s “Fire Pink” and depicts the moments leading up to his death,...

Having bagged back-to-back Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmys for her turn as firecracker Ruth Langmore on “Ozark” in 2019 and 2020, Julia Garner is currently tied with seven other performers as the third most-nominated actors in the category. Should she now nab a third statuette for the Netflix drama’s fourth and final season, she would enter Emmy record territory by tying Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”) at three wins — though Nancy Marchand (“Lou Grant”) would remain the category’s all-time leader at four wins.

Here are the seven people with whom Garner is presently tied as the category’s third most-decorated actors at two wins:

1. Bonnie Bartlett: “St. Elsewhere” (1986-87)

2. Tyne Daly: “Christy” (1996) and “Judging Amy” (2003)

3. Blythe Danner: “Huff” (2005-06)

4. Anna Gunn: “Breaking Bad” (2013-14)

5. Allison Janney: “The West Wing” (2000-01)

6. Kristy McNichol: “Family”

7. Maggie Smith: “Downton Abbey”

SEEJulia Garner reigns as queen of Netflix...

It’s the Gold Standard of Christmas movies and likely the oldest feature still broadcast on network TV during the holidays: Frank Capra’s sentimental favorite is his most human movie, the kind of show that convinced people that raising a family is a great idea. Although we’re now a full three generations removed from the world events that surround the story of George Bailey, his problems haven’t dated. Paramount’s anniversary disc gives us a new encoding from a 4K scan, a repressing of the older colorized version, a good making-of piece by Craig Barron and Ben Burtt, a reel of home movies from the film’s wrap picnic in the summer of ’46. . . and a set of ‘Bailey Family Recipe Cards.’

It’s a Wonderful Life 75th Anniversary

Blu-ray

Paramount

1946 / B&w + Colorized / 1:37 Academy / 130 min. / Street Date November 16, 2021 / Available from /

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore,...

There seems to be a yearning for nostalgia in entertainment these days, given that our daily headlines are rarely upbeat and heartwarming, what with the country’s deeply ingrained political divisions as well as the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. That might be why TV execs have been capitalizing on their audience’s hunger for comfort viewing with revivals of hits from past, ranging from “Sex and the City” and “Dexter” to “The Wonder Years” and “Gossip Girl.”

However, this holiday season will get a one-night only treat when the CW presents a new version of an early ‘70s classic, “The Waltons’ Homecoming.” The two-hour film that airs on November 28 at 8 p.m. features actor Richard Thomas, who played John-Boy in the original CBS TV series that premiered in 1972 for nine seasons and launched six more reunion movies for NBC. Thomas will take over the narrating duties that were...

In 1965, Don Knotts made history as the first actor to step away from an Emmy-winning sitcom role while the show was still running. After playing Barney Fife on the first five seasons of “The Andy Griffith Show” and collecting three supporting trophies, he moved on to a film career by signing a contract with Universal Studios. As the show continued for three more years, Knotts returned for five special appearances and ended up earning two additional Emmys. He was the first person to be nominated as a regular supporting player and guest star for the same role on the same series. In the 55 years since, he has been followed by two dozen others, including five more double winners.

Cloris Leachman emulated Knotts in 1975 when her fourth bid and second win for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” came for what was deemed a single performance rather than a supporting one. She...

Vintage high-end Film Noir from the classic year 1947! Low Mileage too — this long cut hasn’t been seen since the early laserdisc days. I didn’t know it needed restoring until George Feltenstein talked about it a couple of years ago. It’s a domestic noir crossed with Double Indemnity with a little An American Tragedy thrown in for good measure. Normally squeaky-clean Robert Young throws his hat into the ring with the lowest of noir hero-villains: in this one he double-crosses three terrific noir leading ladies. We can now spell ‘Unspeakable Cad’ with the initial Ry. The most amazing thing about The Warner Film Archive’s new disc is that it restores a full fifteen minutes — Eddie Muller screened They Won’t on his Noir City show not long ago, with no mention that it was the short, edited version.

They Won’t Believe Me

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 95 min.

When Hollywood from time to time reinvented the western the results were sometimes sensationally good, as attested to by this superior neglected classic. We’d call it the first psychological western if the term weren’t so limiting. Gregory Peck once again proves how good he can be when well cast and he’s surrounded by fine characterizations, not typical oater walk-ons. The screenplay and direction are so pleasing that the downbeat finale isn’t a drawback — it doesn’t strain to enforce an irony, or to sell a deep-dish ‘author’s message.’ This one’s just a winner in all categories.

The Gunfighter

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1053

1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Anthony Ross, Verna Felton, Ellen Corby, Richard Jaeckel, Alan Hale Jr., Mae Marsh, James Millican, Kim Spalding.

Lucy forgot her glasses, CBS was the king of the networks with 55 major nominations and three film legends found love among Emmy voters. The 27th Emmy Awards was held on May 19, 1975, and was the first of four ceremonies in its 72-year history without a host; however, the evening was not without laughs. Let’s flashback to the Emmys 45 years ago.

Leave it to the first Queen of Television Comedy to provide some entertainment for the host-less evening. Lucille Ball was given the honor of announcing the winner for Best Comedy Series, but the 63-year-old forgot her eyeglasses. After fumbling with the envelopes, she despaired that she was “really in trouble.” But an old friend and fellow comedy legend came to her aid — Milton Berle jumped onstage and offered an empty wine glass to look through. Did our favorite redhead forget her glasses, or did this comic duo plan the laughs?...

For her portrayal of Ruth Langmore on Netflix’s “Ozark,” Julia Garner won her first Emmy last year, in Best Drama Supporting Actress. With “Ozark’s” third season having dropped on March 27, she is now in the hunt for the statuette once again and would be just the seventh back-to-back winner in this category and the first since 2014.

The six thespians who achieved this feat before her are Ellen Corby for “The Waltons” (1975-76), Nancy Marchand for “Lou Grant” (1980-82), Bonnie Bartlett for “St. Elsewhere” (1986-87), Allison Janney for “The West Wing” (2000-01), Blythe Danner for “Huff” (2005-06) and Anna Gunn for “Breaking Bad” (2013-14). Garner would be the first to net back-to-back statuettes in this category under the new voting system, established in 2015 — but can she pull it off?

Repeat winners have been far more common on the comedy side, with this past decade seeing only two instances in...

James Stewart’s final western of the 1950s is a high-gloss family show with more than its share of spirited desperados and adventuresome women. But it’s really the split-up project that ended the productive Stewart-Anthony Mann filmmaking combo. The ‘folksy’ touches could only have come from Stewart himself, who hopefully didn’t show up to parties with his accordion in tow. Opposite Stewart as a ‘good bad guy’ is Audie Murphy, who rises to the standard set by his high-class co-star. If old-time railroads have appeal, this is the show for you: an un-billed co-star is the spectacular Denver and Rio Grande.

Night Passage

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date March 10, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Olive Carey, Ellen Corby,...

It was a good morning for “The Morning Show” on Monday as both Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon received Golden Globe nominations for their performances in the Apple TV+ drama. As the co-leads of the series, they were both nominated in Best Drama Actress, becoming the first duo this decade to take up two slots in one year in this category. The last co-stars to do so were Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco for “The Sopranos,” who were nominated together three years in a row from 1999-2001. “The Morning Show” becomes the ninth series in history to accomplish this at the Golden Globes. The question now becomes whether Aniston and Witherspoon will cancel each other out, leading to one of their competitors winning.

See 2020 Golden Globes nominations: Full list

Before “The Sopranos” ladies dominated at the turn of the 21st century, seven series earned double noms in Best Drama Actress...

Even though Ziva's gone, she's still haunting the team.

Fortunately, that didn't stop Gibbs and company from finding the murderer of an ex-Marine on NCIS Season 17 Episode 3.

In the continuing effort to find a legitimate role for Jack on the squad, she ended up informally interviewing everyone about how they felt about Ziva's visit, under orders from Vance.

Following their stoic boss's lead, McGee, Bishop, and Torres didn't offer up much about their feelings. They don't need no stinkin' feelings.

Instead, logically, they were more concerned about how their teammates were handling Ziva's resurrection and drama from NCIS Season 17 Episode 1 and NCIS Season 17 Episode 2.

It was amusing how each saw the others suffering from fallout.

McGee correctly pointed out that Ziva was an NCIS rock star and Bishop had the misfortune of having to work in Ziva's shadow.

Related: NCIS Season 17 Episode 2 Review: Into The Light

Bishop thought Torres was...

It’s only happened 14 times that fictional TV husbands and wives have won Emmy Awards in the same year. Tour our photo gallery above to see who they were over the past 70 years. Our research is for drama and comedy series only (not TV movies or limited series).

And there are four possibilities that could join them at the 2019 ceremony: Jason Bateman and Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”), Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”), and Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

Here is a full list of the 14 couples who have achieved this before:

2014

Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”)

2011

Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”)

2003

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”)

2001

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”)

1993

Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”)

1991

Timothy Busfield and Patricia Wettig (“thirtysomething”)

1986

Williams Daniels and...

It’s only happened 14 times that fictional TV husbands and wives have won Emmy Awards in the same year. Tour our photo gallery above to see who they were over the past 70 years. Our research is for drama and comedy series only (not TV movies or limited series).

And there are four possibilities that could join them at the 2019 ceremony: Jason Bateman and Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”), Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”), and Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

Here is a full list of the 14 couples who have achieved this before:

2014

Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”)

2011

Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”)

2003

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”)

2001

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”)

1993

Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”)

1991

Timothy Busfield and Patricia Wettig (“thirtysomething”)

1986

Williams Daniels and...

It’s wacky, daffy and incredibly square, yet Frank Tashlin’s late career Doris Day romp has a certain gotta-watch interest factor: the male cast of clowns performs the sexist comedy well, and Ms. Day’s fantastic screen personality brightens everything. Space-age executive lothario Rod Taylor hires Doris just for romantic purposes, while Arthur Godfrey, John McGiver, Dom DeLuise, Edward Andrews, Paul Lynde and Dick Martin execute dated slapstick amid ‘futuristic’ gadgets from the days of Buck Rogers.

The Glass Bottom Boat

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date March 26, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey, John McGiver, Dom DeLuise,

Ellen Corby, Edward Andrews, Eric Fleming, Paul Lynde, Dick Martin.

Cinematography: Leon Shamroy

Film Editor: John McSweeney

Original Music: Frank DeVol

Written by Everett Freeman

Produced by Everett Freeman and Martin Melcher

Directed by Frank Tashlin

The great director Frank Tashlin is...

There’s a storm outside, the cook has drunk herself to sleep, the other servants are gone, the old lady is an invalid — and the helpless mute maid is trapped indoors with a murderous maniac. No, it’s not a Reality Show about the White House, but Robert Siodmak’s superior ‘old house whodunnit’ that is equal parts Americana, film noir and proto- slasher horror.

The Spiral Staircase

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date October 2, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell, Ellen Corby, Erville Anderson, Myrna Dell.

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca

Film Editor: Harry Gerstad, Harry Marker

Original Music: Roy Webb

Written by Mel Dinelli from a book by Ethel Lina White

Produced by Dore Schary

Directed by Robert Siodmak

The handsomely produced The Spiral Staircase...

Ann Dowd finally received the recognition she long deserved last year when she won the Emmy for Best Drama Supporting Actress for her memorable performance as Aunt Lydia on Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” For her second consecutive Emmy nomination she went with the Season 2 opener “June.”

The series picked up where it left off with the handmaids rounded up and forced to endure a fake hanging. Aunt Lydia then makes her grand appearance — if you’re a villain this is how you make an entrance! As she’s punishing the handmaids by making them hold rocks in the rain she learns that Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is pregnant. She demands the ladies join her in chanting, “Praise Be!­­”

SEEHow to watch Drama Supporting Actress Emmy episodes for Alexis Bledel, Millie Bobby Brown, Ann Dowd, Lena Headey, Vanessa Kirby, Thandie Newton, Yvonne Strahovski

After quickly ushering Offred inside to change,...

Last year, Ann Dowd’s Emmy win for “The Handmaid’s Tale’s” first season was one of the biggest surprises of the evening as Thandie Newton (“Westworld”) seemed to be the frontrunner to win. Dowd was able to overcome vote splitting with her co-star Samira Wiley, but it remains unclear whether she will be able to overcome two of her co-stars this year. This time around, she is up against Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”), Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”), Vanessa Kirby (“The Crown”), Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Newton.

If Dowd prevails, she’ll be the seventh in Best Drama Supporting Actress to win back-to-back Emmys, joining Ellen Corby, Nancy Marchand, Bonnie Bartlett, Allison Janney, Blythe Danner and Anna Gunn.

SEE2018 Emmy nominations complete list: All the nominees for the 70th Emmy Awards

Looking back at last year’s race,...

It’s the great Anthony Mann-James Stewart western that Mann didn’t direct: Stewart goes it alone, over-filling a good western idea with ‘cute’ scenes and conservative messages Mann had no use for. But it’s an exciting picture, and one of co-star Audie Murphy’s best — and it’s the first feature in the splendid oversized format known as Technirama.

Night Passage

Blu-ray

Explosive Media (De)

1957 / color / 2:35 widescreen / 90 min. / available at Amazon.de / Die Uhr ist abgelaufen /Street Date August 10, 2017 / Eur 17,99

Starring: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Olive Carey, Ellen Corby, Chuck Roberson.

Cinematography: William Daniels

Film Editor: Sherman Todd

Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin

Written by Borden Chase

Produced by Aaron Rosenberg

Directed by James Neilson

Universal-International didn’t spare the production values for their big-screen western Night Passage.

Even lesser Abbott & Costello movies are still comedy gravy to the avid fans of the fast-talking duo. Their first film deal away from Universal yields a so-so production graced with a string of their patented old-time comedy routines. And the transfer beats anything we’ve yet seen.

The Noose Hangs High

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.

Cinematography: Charles Van Enger

Film Editor: Harry Reynolds

Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch

Original Music: Walter Schumann

Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins

Produced and Directed by Charles Barton

A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...

(See previous post: Fourth of July Movies: Escapism During a Weird Year.) On the evening of the Fourth of July, besides fireworks, fire hazards, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, if you're watching TCM in the U.S. and Canada, there's the following: Peter H. Hunt's 1776 (1972), a largely forgotten film musical based on the Broadway hit with music by Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, who was recently on TCM talking about 1776 and a couple of other movies (A Thousand Clowns, Dodsworth), has one of the key roles as John Adams. Howard Da Silva, blacklisted for over a decade after being named a communist during the House Un-American Committee hearings of the early 1950s (Robert Taylor was one who mentioned him in his testimony), plays Benjamin Franklin. Ken Howard is Thomas Jefferson, a role he would reprise in John Huston's 1976 short Independence. (In the short, Pat Hingle was cast as John Adams; Eli Wallach was Benjamin Franklin.) Warner...

Last Year’s Winner: Dame Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”

Still Eligible: No.

Hot Streak: After nabbing one nomination in 2013 (Emilia Clarke) and 2014 (Lena Headey), “Game of Thrones” expanded in subsequent years to two nominations in 2015 and three in 2016 (when Maisie Williams snagged her first nod).

Fun Fact: Only two actresses have won this category more than twice: Ellen Corby for “The Waltons” (three times) and Nancy Marchand for “Lou Grant” (four times).

With “Game of Thrones” out of contention and the great Dame Maggie Smith’s “Downton Abbey” over, only two of last year’s nominees are eligible again in 2017: Maura Tierney in “The Affair” and Constance Zimmer in “UnREAL.” Both are coming off their first Emmy nominations, but both of their TV shows lost a bit of buzz in their follow-up seasons. Neither are guarantees (though certainly deserving).

So, who’s going to fill all these slots? There’s no shortage of options.

Remember Charlie Chaplin's 'The Killer with a Heart?' You too will be frustrated by this well-produced story of a slum kid who commits an unpardonable crime... except that a do-gooder priest wants to pardon him. Dana Andrews and Farley Granger star but the good work is in the smaller roles of this urban tragedy. Edge of Doom DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 18.59 Starring Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Paul Stewart, Mala Powers, Adele Jergens, Harold Vermilyea, John Ridgely, Douglas Fowley, Mabel Paige, Howland Chamberlain, Houseley Stevenson Sr., Jean Inness, Ellen Corby, Ray Teal. Cinematography Harry Stradling Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Philip Yordan Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by Mark Robson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

What's the most hopeless, depressing, feel-bad film noir on the charts? How about Detour,...

All hail Frank Tashlin! America's subversive secret weapon of the 1950s made incredible adult live-action cartoon movies that satirized all the sex and vulgarity denied by the mainstream. In Technicolor! Political incorrectness meets lollypop-sweet sentimentality in a farce that transcends good taste. Susan Slept Here Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1954 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date April 19, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis, Alvy Moore, Glenda Farrell, Horace McMahon, Herb Vigran, Les Tremayne, Mara Lane, Maidie Norman, Rita Johnson, Ellen Corby, Red Skelton. Cinematography Nicholas Musuraca Film Editor Harry Marker Original Music Leigh Harline Choreographer Robert Sidney Written by Alex Gottlieb from a play by Gottlieb and Steve Fisher Produced by Harriet Parsons Directed by Frank Tashlin

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Director Frank Tashlin has finally found an appreciative audience with adventurous film fans, but the charms of his glorious style of filmmaking are unknown to...

[caption id="attachment_46200" align="aligncenter" width="590"] via AllAboutTheWaltons.com. From Left: Cliff (Jason), Nancy (Elizabeth), Audrey (Erin) James (Jim Bob), Doris "Mother" Hamner (Olivia), Earl Hamner Jr. (John-Boy), Marian (Mary Ellen), Paul (Ben). Missing: Bill./caption]

Goodnight, John-Boy. Earl Hamner Jr. creator of The Waltons TV series and real-life counterpart to the John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas) character has died at the age of 92. Premiering September 14, 1972, the series ran nine seasons before being cancelled by CBS. The TV series finale episode, "The Revel" aired June 1, 1991. It was followed up by several Waltons TV movies.

The Waltons was based on the Hamners' life in Schuyler, Virginia, and the main characters were inspired by the creator's family members. The cast of The Waltons includes: Thomas, Ralph Waite, Michael Learned, Ellen Corby, Will Geer, Judy Norton, Jon Walmsley, Mary Beth McDonough, Eric Scott, David W. Harper, Kami Cotler, Joe...

Lock your doors! Hulking menace Victor Buono gets the full-on psycho treatment, based (very) roughly on early reports of The Boston Strangler. The 'baby doll' killer also prefigures the fiendish Richard Speck. Burt Topper's film is routine but ex- Baby Jane star Victor Buono's performance is decidedly not. The Strangler DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1964 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 89 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Victor Buono, Diane Sayer, Davey Davison, Jeanne Bates, Ellen Corby, Mimi Dillard, Selette Cole, David McLean, Baynes Barron, Michael Ryan, Russ Bender, Wally Campo, Byron Morrow, John Yates, James Sikking, Robert Cranford. Cinematography Jacques R. Marquette Film Editor Robert S. Eisen Original Music Martin Skiles Written by Bill S. Ballinger Produced by Samuel Bischoff, David Diamond Directed by Burt Topper

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The old-time independent producer Edward Small gravitated to United Artists in the 1950s, while his counterpart...

Susan Hayward. Susan Hayward movies: TCM Star of the Month Fiery redhead Susan Hayward it Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month in Sept. 2015. The five-time Best Actress Oscar nominee – like Ida Lupino, a would-be Bette Davis that only sporadically landed roles to match the verve of her thespian prowess – was initially a minor Warner Bros. contract player who went on to become a Paramount second lead in the early '40s, a Universal leading lady in the late '40s, and a 20th Century Fox star in the early '50s. TCM will be presenting only three Susan Hayward premieres, all from her Fox era. Unfortunately, her Paramount and Universal work – e.g., Among the Living, Sis Hopkins, And Now Tomorrow, The Saxon Charm – which remains mostly unavailable (in quality prints), will remain unavailable this month. Highlights of the evening include: Adam Had Four Sons (1941), a sentimental but surprisingly...

We're just 9 days away from the launch of another Smackdown Summer. Rather than announce piecemeal, we'll give you all five lineups in case you'd like more time to catch up with these films (some of them stone cold classics) over the hot months. Remember to cast your own ballots during each month for the reader-polling (your 1979 votes are due by June 4th). Your votes count toward the final Smackdown win so more of you should join in. 

These Oscar years were chosen after comment reading, dvd searching, handwringing, and desire-to-watch moods.  I wish we had time to squeeze in a dozen Smackdowns each summer! As it is there will be Two Smackdowns in June, a gift to you since this first episode was delayed.

Sunday June 7th

The Best Supporting Actresses of 1979

Meryl Streep won her first of three Oscars while taking her co-star Jane Alexander along for the Oscar ride in Kramer vs. Kramer.

Sabrina

Written by Billy Wilder, Samuel A. Taylor, and Ernest Lehman

Directed by Billy Wilder

USA, 1954

The past few weeks have been good for Humphrey Bogart on Blu-ray. The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and The African Queen were recently rereleased and assembled for the Best of Bogart Collection, and now, Sabrina, one of the legendary star’s final films, has received its first American appearance on the format. Perhaps more importantly, if total number of titles available on Blu-ray is the basis for judgment, Sabrina also marks one of disappointingly few Billy Wilder titles available in the remastered form. That the film also stars the radiant Audrey Hepburn and the remarkably versatile William Holden confirms that the release is worth commending.

From about 1944, with Double Indemnity, to Irma la Douce in 1963, Wilder had an astonishing run in Hollywood, and Sabrina came roughly in the middle of that period.

Ralph Waite, who played John Walton Sr. on The Waltons for nine seasons, died Thursday at age 85. While he’s best known for his Emmy-nominated role as the patriarch on the long-running 1970s CBS drama, Waite has had recent recurring roles on NCIS, Bones, and Days of Our Lives.

EW spoke with Waite last year for our annual Reunions Issue, bringing the Walton family back together more than three decades after their show went off the air. “What has moved me the most is the mail I’m still getting,” Waite told EW at the time. “They tell me that I was their surrogate father,...

‘Shane’: Alan Ladd stars in classic Western to be screened at the Academy The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a 60th anniversary screening of George Stevens’ classic Western Shane, starring Alan Ladd as a lone and mysterious gunslinger, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, October 7, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Besides Ladd, Shane, a 1953 Paramount release, also stars Jean Arthur in her last movie role, in addition to Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, and Jack Palance. (Photo: Alan Ladd in Shane.) "A gun is a tool, Marian, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything," Alan Ladd’s Shane tells Jean Arthur’s homesteader wife and mother. "A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that." That may sound like your usual National Rifle Association bullshit, but in the...

Doris Day movies: TCM’s ‘Summer Under the Stars 2013′ lineup continues (photo: Doris Day in ‘Calamity Jane’ publicity shot) Doris Day, who turned 89 last April 3, is Turner Classic Movies’ 2013 “Summer Under the Stars” star on Friday, August 2. (Doris Day, by the way, still looks great. Check out "Doris Day Today.") Doris Day movies, of course, are frequently shown on TCM. Why? Well, TCM is owned by the megaconglomerate Time Warner, which also happens to own (among myriad other things) the Warner Bros. film library, which includes not only the Doris Day movies made at Warners from 1948 to 1955, but also Day’s MGM films as well (and the overwhelming majority of MGM releases up to 1986). My point: Don’t expect any Doris Day movie rarity on Friday — in fact, I don’t think such a thing exists. Doris Day is ‘Calamity Jane’ If you haven’t watched David Butler’s musical...

Eleanor Parker today: Beautiful as ever in Scaramouche, Interrupted Melody Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 in ten days (June 26, 2013), can be seen at her most radiantly beautiful in several films Turner Classic Movies is showing this evening and tomorrow morning as part of their Star of the Month Eleanor Parker "tribute." Among them are the classic Scaramouche, the politically delicate Above and Beyond, and the biopic Interrupted Melody, which earned Parker her third and final Best Actress Academy Award nomination. (Photo: publicity shot of Eleanor Parker in Scaramouche.) The best of the lot is probably George Sidney’s balletic Scaramouche (1952), in which Eleanor Parker plays one of Stewart Granger’s love interests — the other one is Janet Leigh. A loose remake of Rex Ingram’s 1923 blockbuster, the George Sidney version features plenty of humor, romance, and adventure; vibrant colors (cinematography by Charles Rosher); an elaborately staged climactic swordfight; and tough dudes...

"Show you my what?"

Happy 37th Birthday to Wilson Cruz! Below you can see an interesting clip of Wilson from two years ago, as he participates in the roundtable discussion "The Glass Closet." He talks about the decision to come out publicly, and how it's affected his career and life.

The Daily Beast has a look at the top 10 worldwide box-office champs of 2010. It's pitiful how few I've seen. How many have you watched? Did Usher rip off Homer Simpson? It certainly sounds like it. But I curse the person who made this, because it forced me to listen to the truly terrible, terrible, terrible song "Omg." If the autotune wasn't bad enough, a professional musician actually came up with these lyrics: "Honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow. Honey got some boobies like wow, wow, wow." Speaking of musicians (but who don't require autotune), below you can see...

For nine seasons on CBS, The Waltons was a part of a weekly tradition for television viewers. It was a staple of Thursday nights for so long that many were a little lost when it finally went off the air in 1981.

Based on Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr. and a 1963 Henry Fonda movie of the same name, The Waltons revolves around a large family living in rural Virginia. The family, living on Walton's Mountain, is played by Ralph Waite, Michael Learned, Will Geer, Ellen Corby, Richard Thomas, Jon Walmsley, Mary Beth McDonough, Eric Scott, Judy Norton-Taylor, David W. Harper, and Kami Cotler.

The mountain setting is also home to several other townspeople played by Mary Jackson, Helen Kleeb, Joe Conley, Ronnie Claire Edwards, Lynn Hamilton, and Robert Donner.

As the series wore on, the family grew through weddings and births. There were also a few notable cast changes. Thomas...