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This weekend sees the wider release of a film that would probably be referred to as “Oscar bait” since it stars two actresses who have that “golden guy” and it’s directed by a beloved and celebrated filmmaker. With the latter, this shares a similar distinction with another lauded “end of the year” work, Emilia Perez. No, this isn’t a musical. The common thread is that Perez was made by a French director who is telling a story in the Spanish language, while this new release has a Spanish helmer working completely in English for the very first time after nearly half of a century in cinema. And though it’s set in today’s modern world it harkens back to the movies of Hollywood’s Golden Age”. It becomes clear to cinephiles the moment they enter (if it’s ajar…a big plot point) The Room Next Door.

From the very early days of cinema, the love triangle has been a staple of romantic comedies and heartbreaking dramas alike. In its classic form, there’s either two guys and two girls both interested in the same girl or guy, who finds themself torn between the two possibilities. Fizzy screwball comedies usually ended with the love triangle resolving in favor of the lead; see, for example, how Katharine Hepburn’s free-spirited heroine in 1938 comedy “Holiday” steals Cary Grant from under the nose of her own sister (Doris Nolan). In dramas, the ending tends to be a tad more bittersweet, leading to iconically devastating moments like Humphrey Bogart saying goodbye to Ingrid Bergman before she hops on a plane to escape to safety with her husband Victor (Paul Henreid) during the climax of “Casablanca.”

However a love triangle ends, its clear why the formula is such a repeating trope in...

“It Happened One Night,” which premiered at Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 22, 1934, helped usher in the screwball romantic comedy, changed the careers of stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, director Frank Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin and transformed the Poverty Row Columbia Pictures into a major player. And let’s not forget, “It Happened One Night” also made Oscar history winning five major Oscars: picture, director, adapted screenplay and both actor and actress. It would be 41 years before “One Flew of the Cuckoo’s Nest” would accomplish the same feat at the Academy Awards.

Based on the short story “Night Bus,” the smart, endearing road movie focuses on spoiled rotten Ellie Andrews (Colbert) who has gone against her wealthy father’s (Walter Connelly) wishes by marrying the gold-digging King Westley (Jameson Thomas). Before their wedding night, her father whisked her away to his yacht in Florida. She manages to...

This expensive production was dismissed as a flop, and literary critics scorned it for diluting the famed novel by Theodore Dreiser. But it plays well now: William Wyler gives star Laurence Olivier what may be his best film acting role ever. Jennifer Jones’ title part suffers from script changes that censor and sentimentalize Dreiser’s intentions, but the film remains a shattering tragedy. Eddie Albert co-stars in one of his first dramatic roles; this encoding includes a scene dropped from the original release.

Carrie (1952)

Region Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] #200

1952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 121, 118 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / Aud 34.95

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Basil Ruysdael, Ray Teal, Barry Kelley, William Reynolds, Mary Murphy, Charles Halton, William Baldwin, Dorothy Adams, Jacqueline de Witt, Don Beddoe, Royal Dano, Margaret Field.

Cinematography: Victor Milner

Art Directors: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson

Costume Design: Edith Head

Film Editor: Robert Swink...

It may feel like throuples are a distinctly modern romantic arrangement – but this couldn’t be further from the case.

In fact, consensual non-monogamy, such as a ménage à trois, goes back centuries. It can even be found in the bible.

Recently, David Haye has been the subject of speculation surrounding his private life, with fans claiming that the ex-boxer is in a three-way relationship with model Sian Osborne and The Saturdays singer Una Healy.

On Valentine’s Day, Haye appeared to confirm the rumours, with Healy also sharing a coy message on Instagram alluding to the relationship.

When it comes to depictions of polyamorous relationships in film and TV, good examples have traditionally been few and far between.

But that’s not to say there haven’t been any – from pre-code classics to modern indie dramas, there are plenty of films and TV series which place the spotlight on...

Still by far the best adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story, Paramount’s glossy pre-Code is also one of the most prestigious horror shows on record. Fredric March won an acting Oscar and it’s one of Miriam Hopkins’ best performances. The film is sexually daring and technically astute — with the help of cameraman Karl Struss director Rouben Mamoulian makes use of every cinematic trick he can conjure. The horrible Mr. Hyde is conceived as a near-simian primitive man, equating unrestrained lust and desire as something ‘society’ must repress. The disc packaging says it’s two minutes longer than the 2004 Warner DVD . . . but it’s not.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1931 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date October 25, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes, Edgar Norton, Tempe Pigott, Douglas Walton.

Cinematography: Karl Struss...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Jamie Lee Curtis Shirt from Poltergeists and Paramours

Poltergeists and Paramours pays tribute to Jamie Lee Curtis’ horror legacy with “The Nights She Survived” design by Neil Fraser featuring her characters from Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train, and Halloween 2018.

It’s available on T-shirts in black (27), black tie-dye (27), and Halloween tie-dye. They’ll ship in 2-4 weeks. In honor of Curtis, 25 of the proceeds will be donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. An additional 25 will be split between The Trevor Project and National Center for Transgender Equality.

Archie Comics-Inspired Horror Art from Gallery 1988

Following the success of his solo show last year, Matt Talbot created more Archie Comics-inspired horror artwork from his...

Hello, everyone! August 23rd is a quiet day for horror and sci-fi home media releases, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s offerings aren’t pretty darn great all the same. Scream Factory has put together a killer Collector’s Edition 4K release for Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and Kino Lorber has put together reissues of their Blu-ray box sets for seasons one and two of The Outer Limits, which genre fans will definitely want to pick up.

Cheers!

Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition

A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...

In just her fourth American movie the Swedish import Ingrid Bergman proves herself the most sensual creature in Hollywood, running away with Spencer Tracy and Victor Fleming’s remake of Mamoulian’s pre-Code classic. The morals are cleaned up and the sex angle tamed down (except for Fröken Bergman) and the acting is less stylized — overall it’s a fine show. Ingrid learned quickly how things were done at MGM — she swiped the film’s plum role from Lana Turner.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1941 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date May 17, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane, Sara Allgood.

Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg

Art Director: Cedric Gibbons

Film Editor: Harold F. Kress

Original Music: Franz Waxman

Written by John Lee Mahin from a novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

Produced and Directed...

Horror icon Barbara Crampton discusses a few of her favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Re-Animator (1985)

Body Double (1984)

Jakob’s Wife (2021)

The Court Jester (1955) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)

The Three Musketeers (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Matrix (1999)

Bound (1996)

Eyes Without A Face (1962) – Sam Hamm’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Halloween (1978) Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing, Alex Kirschenbaum’s film power rankings, Alex Kirschenbaum’s timeline power rankings

All About Eve (1950)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Alien (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Relic (2020)

Anything For Jackson (2020)

The Haunting (1963) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Strait-Jacket (1964) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary,...

The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Speaking after her tragic death at the age of 33, President Franklin D. Roosevelt testified to the legacy of Carole Lombard. “She is and always will be a star,” he stated in 1942, “one that we shall never forget, nor cease to be grateful to.” Although the president’s words were at least in part influenced by Lombard’s recent patriotic zeal (she died in a plane crash after traveling to sell war bonds), his comments resonated throughout the country, especially Hollywood, where the actress’s impact had been progressively pronounced for years. Her films were like a breath of fresh air to Depression-era audiences, adding silver screen levity to individuals seeking a brief reprieve from day-to-day hardship. By contrast, Lombard’s cinematic sphere was often one of glamour, romance, and, above all,...

8 random things that happened on this day, December 29th, in showbiz history

1933 Ernst Lubitsch's pre-Code threesome romantic comedy Design for Living starring Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, and Gary Cooper opens for the last weekend of the year as does the musical romantic comedy Flying Down to Rio starring Dolores del Rio. The latter film is best remembered for being the first onscreen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in (gasp) supporting roles. 

1939 'Hollywood's Greatest Year' concludes with opening weekend for the Jimmy Stewart/Marlene Dietrich western Destry Rides Again, the classic period romantic drama The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2 Oscar nominations), and the musical Swanee River (1 Oscar nomination)...

When a neighbour offered up DVDs of a trio of classic films, our writer discovered that amid the laughter they forced him to think about sexual, social and political attitudes

Read all the What I’m really watching choicesThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolation

How to fill the evenings in these desolate times? A colleague told me she will be delving into her BFI playlist of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog. I hope to emulate her ambition, but I was even more thrilled when a kindly cineaste neighbour turned up at my door with DVDs of a trio of Hollywood comedies: Design for Living (1933) directed by Ernst Lubitsch and two Preston Sturges classics, The Lady Eve (1941) and Hail the Conquering Hero (1944).

For a few happy hours, I was able to suspend the feelings of dread and boredom we are all currently experiencing. Watching them on successive evenings, I was struck by several things.

We have one last batch of Blu-ray and DVD releases coming our way before we say goodbye (and good riddance) to the month of March. Scream Factory is keeping busy this Tuesday with their Blu-rays for both Bones and Munster, Go Home! (two titles this writer cannot wait to revisit in HD), and Vinegar Syndrome is showing some love to both Hollywood Horror House and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies this week as well.

Arrow Video has put together a 3-Disc Special Edition Collector’s Set of the Ringu films that fans will definitely want to pick up, and season two of The Purge television series heads home to DVD, too. Other releases for March 31st include Eat Brains Love, Evil River, and Terror in Woods Creek.

Bones (2001)

The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones is respected and loved as the neighborhood protector. When he is betrayed and brutally murdered by a corrupt cop,...

The Criterion Collection has recently released The Story of Temple Drake, a film that was essentially lost to quite a few of us. It was adapted from the notorious William Faulkner novel "Sanctuary," and directed by Stephen Roberts (who made nearly 100 shorts in the '20s and '30s before getting into features.  The Story of Temple Drake features Miriam Hopkins in the titular role as a socialite and judge's daughter who likes playing the field. Of course, this leads to her downfall. It's not long after Temple turns down a marriage proposal from a good dude that leads to ruin. She gets in a car with a foppish, drunk lad and off they go to get into an accident. After they come to, they're hearded to a...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The most notorious pre-Code shocker comes to Criterion — and proves to be a superior drama with an entirely mature, sound outlook on the political issues around women’s sexuality and personal freedom. Taken from a raw novel by William Faulkner, this tale of rape and terror stars Miriam Hopkins in one of the bravest, best performances of its era. Truth-telling like this always comes at a price — Temple Drake was a prime target for the oppressive Production Code, with the result that Hopkins’ achievement was banned and unseen for over thirty-five years.

The Story of Temple Drake

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1006

1933 / B&w / 1:33 Academy / 71 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 3, 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Miriam Hopkins, William Gargan, Jack La Rue, Florence Eldridge, Guy Standing, Irving Pichel, Jobyna Howland, William Collier Jr., Elizabeth Patterson, James Eagles, Harlan Knight, Jim Mason, Louise Beavers, Grady Sutton, Kent Taylor, John Carradine.

Cinematography:...

I owe much of my love of horror to 1931’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Before I was old enough to have access to many of the movies I would one day love, I was going to the public library and checking out books about classic monster movies. The Crestwood House series were staples and in constant rotation, but the one I would read and re-read more than any other was called Movie Monsters by Thomas G. Ayelsworth. This was where I first fell in love with Lugosi's Dracula and Karloff's monster, where I learned the difference between the Lon Chaney Wolf Man and Henry Hull in Werewolf of London. In many cases, it would be years before I would ever see these movies, but I had the titles and stars of all of them memorized by the time I was eight years old. It is this book, more than anything else,...

Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins | Written by Ruth Goetz, Augustus Goetz | Directed by William Wyler

Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted their own stage play (itself based on a 19thcentury Henry James novel) for this 1949 melodrama. Directed by William Wyler, just before his mega-budget 1950s period, it’s a small-scale play with big ideas. Like many films of the period, the setting is the high society of New York, except this time the period is the mid-19th century.

Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland) is an enigma. She carries herself with a boyish energy and disarming shyness, more interested in her embroidery than socialising. Socialising in this context means trying to bag a husband, of course. Catherine’s reclusiveness is more of an unwillingness to “present” herself in the cattle market of the upper social echelons. Then she meets the lithe, charming and persuasive Morris Townsend...

William Wyler and a trio of fantastic actors make indelible movie history from a grim story by Henry James. How much of love is bald opportunism? How many successes married their way into money? And what’s a lovesick woman to do when a beau may not be true? This may be the key Wyler picture, with the strongest ‘staircase’ scene of them all.

The Heiress

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 974

1949 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 116 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins, Vanessa Brown.

Cinematography: Leo Tover

Film Editor: William Hornbeck

Original Music: Aaron Copland

Written by Ruth and Agustus Goetz from their play, from the book by Henry James

Produced and Directed by William Wyler

One of Hollywood’s finest directors, William Wyler turned out a high percentage of bona fide classics, distinguished adaptations of books and plays.

Some show had to be the first — back in 1935, this was the first movie to be produced entirely in full 3 strip Technicolor. Just like any revolutionary filmic development, it came from outside the studio system, which says something about how Hollywood works — studios will spend millions of dollars to take advantage of a striking innovation, but let somebody else do the painful R&D. Pioneer Pictures’ project began filming started with one director but then restarted with Rouben Mamoulian, who a little earlier had already shown the town a thing or two about the possibilities of sound. A stage play of the classic novel becomes almost a pageant of color, led by the reliable Miriam Hopkins. Is the movie any good? That’s debatable. But it needs to be seen, to fully appreciate the movie miracle created by chemists, not artists.

Becky Sharp

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1935 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 84 min.

The month of March is closing out with a busy week of home entertainment releases, with two of the highlights this week being Scream Factory's stunning Steelbook editions for Assault on Precinct 13 and Prince of Darkness. Scream Factory is also keeping busy with their Collector’s Edition release of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and their Blu-ray release of IFC Midnight's I Remember You.

David Cronenberg’s Scanners is also making its way into the Criterion Collection this week, and The City of the Dead is the recipient of another limited edition release as well. Other notable titles coming home on March 27th include The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special, The Outer Limits Season 1, Hell’s Kitty, Star Time, The Executioners, Mercy Christmas, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Assault on Precinct 13 Limited Edition Steelbook (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Isolated inside a soon-to-be-closed L.A. police station,...

Wow — somebody took their sweet time about it, but we finally have a quality Blu-ray set of an entire generation’s favorite Sci-fi / monster TV show, an attraction that lit up our humdrum lives with anticipation in the Fall of ’63. Respected stars and good writers contributed to a weird-oh winner that can boast at least fifteen classic hours of Sci-fi delight, in velvety black and white. With informative new audio commentaries.

The Outer Limits Season One

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1963-64 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 1632 min. (32 episodes) / Street Date March 27, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 99.95

Created and produced by Leslie Stevens & Joseph Stefano

Talk about a release that should need no introduction: when MGM Home Video released its first DVD sets of Outer Limits sixteen years ago, we saw the pale transfers and the feeble encoding (eight hours per disc!) and immediately wished for a reissue. Syndicated TV broadcasts looked better.

A big welcome to UK disc purveyors Indicator, or Powerhouse, or how does Powerhouse Indicator sound? Savant’s first review from the new label is a favorite from the Columbia library. The extras are the lure: they company has snagged long-form, in-depth interviews with James Fox and director Arthur Penn. Everybody’s written about The Chase but here Penn tells his side of the story.

The Chase (1966)

Blu-ray + DVD

Powerhouse: Indicator

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date September 25, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK / £14.99

Starring: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall,

Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford,

Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat

Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle

Production Designer: Richard Day

Art Direction: Robert Luthardt

Film Editor: Gene Milford

Original Music: John Barry

Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote

Produced by Sam Spiegel

Directed by Arthur Penn

Yes,...

Edgar G. Ulmer movies on TCM: 'The Black Cat' & 'Detour' Turner Classic Movies' June 2017 Star of the Month is Audrey Hepburn, but Edgar G. Ulmer is its film personality of the evening on June 6. TCM will be presenting seven Ulmer movies from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, including his two best-known efforts: The Black Cat (1934) and Detour (1945). The Black Cat was released shortly before the officialization of the Christian-inspired Production Code, which would castrate American filmmaking – with a few clever exceptions – for the next quarter of a century. Hence, audiences in spring 1934 were able to witness satanism in action, in addition to other bizarre happenings in an art deco mansion located in an isolated area of Hungary. Sporting a David Bowie hairdo, Boris Karloff is at his sinister best in The Black Cat (“Do you hear that, Vitus? The phone is dead. Even the phone is dead”), ailurophobic (a.

Frances Dee movies: From 'An American Tragedy' to 'Four Faces West' Frances Dee began her film career at the dawn of the sound era, going from extra to leading lady within a matter of months. Her rapid ascencion came about thanks to Maurice Chevalier, who got her as his romantic interested in Ludwig Berger's 1930 romantic comedy Playboy of Paris. Despite her dark(-haired) good looks and pleasant personality, Dee's Hollywood career never quite progressed to major – or even moderate – stardom. But she was to remain a busy leading lady for about 15 years. Tonight, Turner Classic Movies is showing seven Frances Dee films, ranging from heavy dramas to Westerns. Unfortunately missing is one of Dee's most curious efforts, the raunchy pre-Coder Blood Money, which possibly features her most unusual – and most effective – performance. Having said that, William A. Wellman's Love Is a Racket is a worthwhile subsitute, though the...

Comedy actress Alice Howell on the cover of film historian Anthony Slide's latest book: Pioneering funky-haired performer 'could have been Chaplin' – or at the very least another Louise Fazenda. Rediscovering comedy actress Alice Howell: Female performer in movie field dominated by men Early comedy actress Alice Howell is an obscure entity even for silent film aficionados. With luck, only a handful of them will be able to name one of her more than 100 movies, mostly shorts – among them Sin on the Sabbath, A Busted Honeymoon, How Stars Are Made – released between 1914 and 1920. Yet Alice Howell holds (what should be) an important – or at the very least an interesting – place in film history. After all, she was one of the American cinema's relatively few pioneering “funny actresses,” along with the likes of the better-known Flora Finch, Louise Fazenda, and, a top star in her day, Mabel Normand.[1] Also of note,...

Horton Foote, Lillian Hellman and Arthur Penn's All-Star vision of an Ugly America found few friends in 1965; now its overstated scenes of social injustice and violence are daily events. Marlon Brando leads a terrific cast -- Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall! -- to endure the worst Saturday ever to hit one cursed Texas township. The Chase (1966) Blu-ray Twilight Time 1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 Starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat Cinematography Joseph Lashelle Production Designer Richard Day Art Direction Robert Luthardt Film Editor Gene Milford Original Music John Barry Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote Produced by Sam Spiegel Directed by Arthur Penn

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...

Radical changes were required to adapt Lillian Hellman's Broadway play for post-Code Hollywood, to eradicate a theme that in 1934 was entirely taboo. But were audiences really unaware of the subject matter switch? William Wyler excels with this bowdlerized, yet curiously near-perfect, story about the power of scandal. These Three DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1936 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 93 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Catharine Doucet, Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Marcia Mae Jones , Carmencita Johnson, Mary Ann Durkin, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Brennan. Cinematography Gregg Toland Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Alfred Newman Written by Lillian Hellman Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by William Wyler

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

William Wyler directed half a decade's worth of silent westerns before his big break came. From that point on he made high profile dramas, almost all of which are excellent movies.

We're counting down to Olivia de Havilland's historic 100th birthday (July 1st!). Team Experience will be looking at highlights and curiosities from her career. Here's Tim...

Olivia de Havilland is more than a living link to the Golden Age of Hollywood, more than a gorgeous movie star, more than a two-time Oscar winner. She's one of the most significant figures in the history of the American film industry: the woman who broke the back of the studio contract system when she successfully sued Warner Bros. for career independence in 1943. As Hollywood's first independent movie star since the silent era, de Havilland was suddenly in a position to make all of her own creative decisions, leading to a string of challenging dramatic roles that didn't simply trade on her good looks and holy innocent persona.

Both of de Havilland's Oscar wins came about thanks to this period of chasing her own projects,...

Hello, readers! Welcome back for the next installment of our monthly feature here at Daily Dead, “Deadly Dialogue: A Conversation on Cinema”, in which we catch up with notable folks from the horror and sci-fi genres—both in front of and behind the camera—to discuss the films that inspired them to become the artists they are today.

Ever since she first endeared herself to genre fans everywhere with her wondrous performance in Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, Barbara Crampton has been one of the most revered and respected Scream Queens of all-time, due to her gracious nature, her immeasurable talents, and the energy she brings to each and every one of her projects.

At the press day for Road Games, the thriller recently released by IFC Midnight, Crampton discussed some of the actors that influenced her decision to follow a creative path professionally, and she also shared a lovely story about cinematic icon Danny Kaye.

Merle Oberon movies: Mysterious star of British and American cinema. Merle Oberon on TCM: Donning men's clothes in 'A Song to Remember,' fighting hiccups in 'That Uncertain Feeling' Merle Oberon is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month of March 2016. The good news: the exquisite (and mysterious) Oberon, whose ancestry has been a matter of conjecture for decades, makes any movie worth a look. The bad news: TCM isn't offering any Oberon premieres despite the fact that a number of the actress' films – e.g., Temptation, Night in Paradise, Pardon My French, Interval – can be tough to find. This evening, March 18, TCM will be showing six Merle Oberon movies released during the first half of the 1940s. Never a top box office draw in the United States, Oberon was an important international star all the same, having worked with many of the top actors and filmmakers of the studio era.

Join us for some old-school 16mm Movie Madness! – It’s our second monthly 16Mm Double Feature Night at The Way Out Club (2525 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis) ! Join We Are Movie Geeks‘ Tom Stockman and Roger from “Roger’s Reels’ for a double feature of two complete films projected on 16mm film. The show is Tuesday March 1st and starts at 8pm. Admission is Free though we will be setting out a jar to take donations for the National Children’s Cancer Society.

First up is the 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

“I have no soul. I’m beyond the pale. I’m one of the living dead!”

Fredric March was superb and thoroughly deserved his Best Actor Oscar for the 1932 telling of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by far the most exciting and cinematic version of the famous story. Miriam Hopkins gives an excellent portrayal of Ivy Pearson,...

'The Merry Widow' with Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald and Minna Gombell under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch. Ernst Lubitsch movies: 'The Merry Widow,' 'Ninotchka' (See previous post: “Ernst Lubitsch Best Films: Passé Subtle 'Touch' in Age of Sledgehammer Filmmaking.”) Initially a project for Ramon Novarro – who for quite some time aspired to become an opera singer and who had a pleasant singing voice – The Merry Widow ultimately starred Maurice Chevalier, the hammiest film performer this side of Bob Hope, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler – the list goes on and on. Generally speaking, “hammy” isn't my idea of effective film acting. For that reason, I usually find Chevalier a major handicap to his movies, especially during the early talkie era; he upsets their dramatic (or comedic) balance much like Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's The Departed or Jerry Lewis in anything (excepting Scorsese's The King of Comedy...

Crime, lust and vigilante lynchings in the wide-open city on the bay, back in the gold rush days. Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson and Joel McCrea form a spirited triangle as a sharp roulette dealer strings one man along and can't prevent another from throwing away a fortune. Sam Goldwyn's impressive production shows Howard Hawks developing strong characters, in a somewhat old-fashioned story. Barbary Coast DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1935 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 90 min. / Street Date June, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel Mccrea, Walter Brennan, Frank Craven, Brian Donlevy, Clyde Cook, Harry Carey, Matt McHugh, Donald Meek. Cinematography Ray June Original Music Alfred Newman Written by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur Produced by Sam Goldwyn Directed by Howard Hawks

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

A Sam Goldywyn film through and through, Howard Hawks' Barbary Coast could almost be a template for a standard 'golden age' Hollywood movie.

Best Song Oscar 2016 contender 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. 74 entries in contention for 2016 Best Song Academy Award 'Tis the season for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce the semi-finalists – in some instances, the semi-semi-finalists – for the Academy Awards. Today, the Academy released the list of songs eligible for the 2016 Best Song – or rather, Best Original Song – Oscar. There are 74 contenders, with titles ranging from “Happy” and “I'll See You in My Dreams” to “Hypnosis” and “Bhoomiyilenghanumundo.” Curiously, apart from the inevitable animated and/or kiddie flicks (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, Anomalisa, Pan, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Home, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water, etc.) most of this year's contenders are songs from smaller movies and Bollywood/South Asian releases. Exceptions include Sam Taylor-Johnson's Fifty Shades of Grey, Ryan Coogler's Creed, Kenneth Branagh's...

'Saint Joan': Constance Cummings as the George Bernard Shaw heroine. Constance Cummings on stage: From sex-change farce and Emma Bovary to Juliet and 'Saint Joan' (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Frank Capra, Mae West and Columbia Lawsuit.”) In the mid-1930s, Constance Cummings landed the title roles in two of husband Benn W. Levy's stage adaptations: Levy and Hubert Griffith's Young Madame Conti (1936), starring Cummings as a demimondaine who falls in love with a villainous character. She ends up killing him – or does she? Adapted from Bruno Frank's German-language original, Young Madame Conti was presented on both sides of the Atlantic; on Broadway, it had a brief run in spring 1937 at the Music Box Theatre. Based on the Gustave Flaubert novel, the Theatre Guild-produced Madame Bovary (1937) was staged in late fall at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre. Referring to the London production of Young Madame Conti, The...

Constance Cummings in 'Night After Night.' Constance Cummings: Working with Frank Capra and Mae West (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Actress Went from Harold Lloyd to Eugene O'Neill.”) Back at Columbia, Harry Cohn didn't do a very good job at making Constance Cummings feel important. By the end of 1932, Columbia and its sweet ingenue found themselves in court, fighting bitterly over stipulations in her contract. According to the actress and lawyer's daughter, Columbia had failed to notify her that they were picking up her option. Therefore, she was a free agent, able to offer her services wherever she pleased. Harry Cohn felt otherwise, claiming that his contract player had waived such a notice. The battle would spill over into 1933. On the positive side, in addition to Movie Crazy 1932 provided Cummings with three other notable Hollywood movies: Washington Merry-Go-Round, American Madness, and Night After Night. 'Washington Merry-Go-Round...

Constance Cummings: Actress in minor Hollywood movies became major London stage star. Constance Cummings: Actress went from Harold Lloyd and Frank Capra to Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill Actress Constance Cummings, whose career spanned more than six decades on stage, in films, and on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., died ten years ago on Nov. 23. Unlike other Broadway imports such as Ann Harding, Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, the pretty, elegant Cummings – who could have been turned into a less edgy Constance Bennett had she landed at Rko or Paramount instead of Columbia – never became a Hollywood star. In fact, her most acclaimed work, whether in films or – more frequently – on stage, was almost invariably found in British productions. That's most likely why the name Constance Cummings – despite the DVD availability of several of her best-received performances – is all but forgotten.

Top Ten Scream Queens: Barbara Steele, who both emitted screams and made others do same, is in a category of her own. Top Ten Scream Queens Halloween is over until next year, but the equally bewitching Day of the Dead is just around the corner. So, dead or alive, here's my revised and expanded list of cinema's Top Ten Scream Queens. This highly personal compilation is based on how memorable – as opposed to how loud or how frequent – were the screams. That's the key reason you won't find listed below actresses featured in gory slasher films. After all, the screams – and just about everything else in such movies – are as meaningless as their plots. You also won't find any screaming guys (i.e., Scream Kings) on the list below even though I've got absolutely nothing against guys who scream in horror, whether in movies or in life. There are...

Charles Brackett ca. 1945: Hollywood diarist and Billy Wilder's co-screenwriter (1936–1949) and producer (1945–1949). Q&A with 'Charles Brackett Diaries' editor Anthony Slide: Billy Wilder's screenwriter-producer partner in his own words Six-time Academy Award winner Billy Wilder is a film legend. He is renowned for classics such as The Major and the Minor, Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment. The fact that Wilder was not the sole creator of these movies is all but irrelevant to graduates from the Auteur School of Film History. Wilder directed, co-wrote, and at times produced his films. That should suffice. For auteurists, perhaps. But not for those interested in the whole story. That's one key reason why the Charles Brackett diaries are such a great read. Through Brackett's vantage point, they offer a welcome – and unique – glimpse into the collaborative efforts that resulted in...

Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...

Gary Cooper movies on TCM: Cooper at his best and at his weakest Gary Cooper is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 30, '15. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any Cooper movie premiere – despite the fact that most of his Paramount movies of the '20s and '30s remain unavailable. This evening's features are Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Sergeant York (1941), and Love in the Afternoon (1957). Mr. Deeds Goes to Town solidified Gary Cooper's stardom and helped to make Jean Arthur Columbia's top female star. The film is a tad overlong and, like every Frank Capra movie, it's also highly sentimental. What saves it from the Hell of Good Intentions is the acting of the two leads – Cooper and Arthur are both excellent – and of several supporting players. Directed by Howard Hawks, the jingoistic, pro-war Sergeant York was a huge box office hit, eventually earning Academy Award nominations in several categories,...

Vivien Leigh ca. late 1940s. Vivien Leigh movies: now controversial 'Gone with the Wind,' little-seen '21 Days Together' on TCM Vivien Leigh is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 18, '15, as TCM's “Summer Under the Stars” series continues. Mostly a stage actress, Leigh was seen in only 19 films – in about 15 of which as a leading lady or star – in a movie career spanning three decades. Good for the relatively few who saw her on stage; bad for all those who have access to only a few performances of one of the most remarkable acting talents of the 20th century. This evening, TCM is showing three Vivien Leigh movies: Gone with the Wind (1939), 21 Days Together (1940), and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Leigh won Best Actress Academy Awards for the first and the third title. The little-remembered film in-between is a TCM premiere. 'Gone with the Wind' Seemingly all...

In 1935 director Howard Hawks had a reputation for directing fast action films that were shot like screwball comedies. Before the Hays code, he directed Paul Muni as an Al Capone persona for the “most violent picture” of the time, Scarface (1932). Films about violent sports and vehicles and the men in control of them also got the Hawks treatment with The Dawn Patrol (1930), The Crowd Roars (1932), and The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933). The tagline for that last one’s poster reads: “Girls! There’S A New Passion In Your Life!” Hawks’ strengths lie in that spectacle of unfettered action for the boys, star power for the girls. His marketing image had stepped out of genre pictures before with more straightforward dramas Tiger Shark (1932)and Today We Live (1933). In Twentieth Century (1934), Hawks even ventured into full screwball territory (I’d wager that the Code taking away his violent sensibilities may have something to do with this,...

Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...

Oscar 2015 winners (photo: Chris Pratt during Oscar 2015 rehearsals) The complete list of Oscar 2015 winners and nominees can be found below. See also: Oscar 2015 presenters and performers. Now, a little Oscar 2015 trivia. If you know a bit about the history of the Academy Awards, you'll have noticed several little curiosities about this year's nominations. For instance, there are quite a few first-time nominees in the acting and directing categories. In fact, nine of the nominated actors and three of the nominated directors are Oscar newcomers. Here's the list in the acting categories: Eddie Redmayne. Michael Keaton. Steve Carell. Benedict Cumberbatch. Felicity Jones. Rosamund Pike. J.K. Simmons. Emma Stone. Patricia Arquette. The three directors are: Morten Tyldum. Richard Linklater. Wes Anderson. Oscar 2015 comebacks Oscar 2015 also marks the Academy Awards' "comeback" of several performers and directors last nominated years ago. Marion Cotillard and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress Oscars for, respectively, Olivier Dahan...

Luis Buñuel movies on TCM tonight (photo: Catherine Deneuve in 'Belle de Jour') The city of Paris and iconoclastic writer-director Luis Buñuel are Turner Classic Movies' themes today and later this evening. TCM's focus on Luis Buñuel is particularly welcome, as he remains one of the most daring and most challenging filmmakers since the invention of film. Luis Buñuel is so remarkable, in fact, that you won't find any Hollywood hipster paying homage to him in his/her movies. Nor will you hear his name mentioned at the Academy Awards – no matter the Academy in question. And rest assured that most film critics working today have never even heard of him, let alone seen any of his movies. So, nowadays Luis Buñuel is un-hip, un-cool, and unfashionable. He's also unquestionably brilliant. These days everyone is worried about freedom of expression. The clash of civilizations. The West vs. The Other.

Seventy-five years after the premiere of "Gone With the Wind" (on December 15, 1939), it seems that nothing -- not the passage of time, not the movie's controversial racial politics, not the film's daunting length, and not even the release of certain James Cameron global blockbusters -- can diminish the romantic Civil War drama's stature as the most popular movie of all time.

The film is certainly a formidable artistic achievement, a cornerstone of movie history, and a highlight of a year so full of landmark films that 1939 has often been called the greatest year in the history of Hollywood filmmaking. Each viewing of the four-hour epic seems to reveal new details. Still, even longtime "Gwtw" fans may not know the behind-the-scenes story of the film, one as lengthy and tumultuous as the on-screen romance between Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Producer David O. Selznick spent fortunes, hired...

Hedy Lamarr: 'Invention' and inventor on Turner Classic Movies (photo: Hedy Lamarr publicity shot ca. early '40s) Two Hedy Lamarr movies released during her heyday in the early '40s — Victor Fleming's Tortilla Flat (1942), co-starring Spencer Tracy and John Garfield, and King Vidor's H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), co-starring Robert Young and Ruth Hussey — will be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Pt, respectively. Best known as a glamorous Hollywood star (Ziegfeld Girl, White Cargo, Samson and Delilah), the Viennese-born Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), who would have turned 100 on November 9, was also an inventor: she co-developed and patented with composer George Antheil the concept of frequency hopping, currently known as spread-spectrum communications (or "spread-spectrum broadcasting"), which ultimately led to the evolution of wireless technology. (More on the George Antheil and Hedy Lamarr invention further below.) Somewhat ironically,...

Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...