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The days are getting longer everywhere, except Palm Springs, where darkness is on the ascent each May. That’s when the city plays host to the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary May 9-12 with a program of a dozen classic films from the 1940s and ’50s. Great directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Rossen, Andre de Toth and Anthony Mann and stars like Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield, Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan will have desert dwellers and visitors alike eager to blot out the sun for four days, culminating in the festival’s customary Mother’s Day crime spree.

As always, the festival is curated and hosted by a face familiar to any serious modern-day noir aficionado, Alan K. Rode, one of the principals of the Film Noir Foundation and a co-host of the Noir City festival every April in Hollywood. Rode’s Noir City cohort,...

It’s been five years since idiosyncratic filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos had his big Oscars breakthrough with “The Favourite,” which earned 10 nominations, and pulled off an upset in a Best Actress with Olivia Colman prevailing over Glenn Close. Success hasn’t tempered his adventurous spirit, though, as evidenced by his follow-up, “Poor Things,” which premiered to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival on September 1. “Poor Things” could well reap double digit Oscar bids too (more on that below).

SEEExperts slugfest: Our updated 2024 Oscar predictions as festivals kick off

“Poor Things” tells the story of a young woman (Emma Stone) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist (Willem Dafoe) who is then pursued by a millionaire (Mark Ruffalo). As of this writing it has a MetaCritic score of 94 based on 17 reviews — all classified as positive, with seven of those rating the film a perfect 100. The film also rates 100% fresh on...

The bread and butter of film festivals is the unveiling of new movies. And in the case of the major festivals taking place in the late summer and early fall — Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York — the selections offer a preview of potential Oscar nominees and winners. Remember the eight-minute standing ovation Brendan Fraser received last year at Venice for “The Whale”? It kicked off his comeback and journey to a best Oscar win this year.

And with the 50th annual Telluride Film Festival kicking off August 31 at in the picturesque Colorado mountain burg, let’s take the cinematic time machine back 1993 when the fest was a mere 20 years old. John Boorman of “Deliverance” and “Hope and Glory” fame was the guest director of the festival. Jennifer Jason Leigh, then just 31 and whose latest film was Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” was honored with a tribute as was socialist British director Ken Loach,...

MGM head Dore Schary essentially co-opted one of Anthony Mann’s Eagle-Lion projects, hiring Mann, writer John Higgins and the great cinematographer John Alton away from the low budget factory and giving them more money to work‚ with. As‚ in their earlier T-Men, government agents infiltrate a crime ring, this time‚ one exploiting migrant farm workers. Surprisingly violent for Metro, this is one of the greatest looking ‚ black-and-white movies.

The post Border Incident appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Pairing‌ ‌wine‌ ‌with‌ ‌movies!‌ ‌See‌ ‌the‌ ‌trailers‌ ‌and‌ ‌hear‌ ‌the‌ ‌fascinating‌ ‌commentary‌ ‌for‌ ‌these‌ ‌movies‌ ‌and‌ ‌many‌ ‌more‌ ‌at‌ ‌Trailers‌ ‌From‌ ‌Hell.‌ This week, we examine some films which border on the border.

The stars are here in The Border – Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine, Warren Oates – in a noirish 1982 film about the southern US border. You know, the one that’s leaking like a sieve? Lie. The one that needs a big, beautiful wall? Big lie. The one that’s actually a river for about 2,000 miles? Truth.

Nicholson is an Ins agent, one of the guys who patrols the border to keep us safe from those tired, poor, wretched huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Keitel, well, he and Oates are the dark side. You probably saw that one coming.

The soundtrack is really worth a listen, with a score by Ry Cooder and other borderesque tunes...

Yet another 3-D Blu-ray treat — the 3-D Film Archive restores a rare English production, an international crime tale in 3-D. Dennis O’Keefe’s T-Man helps Scotland Yard track down a gang of smugglers that kidnaps and murders to force an Atom scientist to perfect his manufacturing formula for synthetic diamonds. You know, just like the silicon chip business. The widescreen 3-D is excellent, especially in two action set pieces. Margaret Sheridan co-stars. It’s almost a premiere, as the movie was never publicly exhibited in 3-D. Kino also provides an anaglyphic encoding with a pair of red-cyan glasses as an alternate 3-D option. Plus good extras about the 3-D process.

The Diamond Wizard 3-D

3-D Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1954 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date November 15, 2022 / Available at Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend, Alan Wheatley, Francis De Wolff, Eric Berry, Gudrun Ure, Paul Hardtmuth,...

Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer hit the big screen early in the 3-D craze, in a much tamed-down adaptation. The camera legend John Alton handled the lighting and likely called the shots on the camera setups as well. As a detective noir it’s definitely flat-footed, with a bum script, weak direction and a miscast Biff Elliot as the vengeful tough-guy hero. But compensating are the seductive Dran Hamilton, Margaret Sheridan and especially Peggie Castle — the key ‘dame’ in the pulp fiction finale. The United Artists release has been mostly Mia for decades,and this release presents it three ways: flat in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, plus a beautiful restored 3-D Blu-ray encoding.

I, the Jury

4K Ultra HD + 3-D Blu-ray + Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Special Limited Edition / Street Date November 8, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 34.99

Starring: Biff Elliot, Preston Foster, Peggie Castle, Margaret Sheridan, Alan Reed,...

Dore Schary’s post-MGM personal production is a class act in every respect — Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy are well cast in a story of intimate emotional cruelty. It’s from a play derived from Nathanael West’s soul-crushing novella, and despite the talent involved, it can’t shake the feeling of an overheated TV drama. The acting and characterizations are riveting. Young Dolores Hart is a beacon of light amid the gloom and misery, and in her first movie, Maureen Stapleton’s’ fireball of anxiety and malice all but steals the show. The fine cinematography is again by the great John Alton.

Lonelyhearts

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin, Onslow Stevens, Frank Maxwell, Frank Overton, John Gallaudet, Don Washbrook, Johnny Washbrook,...

Antonio Campos, creator of the new HBO Max miniseries The Staircase, walks hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante through his favorite films noir.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Afterschool (2008)

The Devil All The Time (2020)

Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera (1996)

Raw Deal (1948) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

T-Men (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

House of Bamboo (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Pickup On South Street (1953) – Sam Hamm’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Naked Kiss (1964)

Reign of Terror (1949)

Detour (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Scarlet Street (1945)

The House on 92nd Street (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Barry Lyndon (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Killing (1956) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary

Kiss of Death (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Kiss of Death...

Hello, dear readers! To paraphrase a popular movie, “We’re in the Endgame now,” as Halloween is now merely only a few days away. If you’re looking for some last-minute viewing ideas to get you to the spooky season finish line, we definitely have a great array of choices heading home on Tuesday. The biggest recommendation that I can personally make in regard to perfect Halloween movie experiences is the Wnuf Halloween Special, which is getting a killer Blu-ray release tomorrow. Arrow Films is giving Dario Argento’s Deep Red a 4K upgrade this week, too, and Severin Films is showing love to both An Angel for Satan and Beyond Darkness.

Other releases for October 26th include Don’t Breathe 2, The Amazing Mr. X, Boardinghouse, Eye of the Devil, Skull: The Mask, Frankenstein’s Daughter, and Underworld: Limited Edition 5-Movie Collection.

The Amazing Mr. X: Special Edition

An atmospheric masterpiece,...

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It would be very difficult to love movies without appreciating great cinematography. Few things are more thrilling than watching a breathtaking shot on the big screen. Great directors of photography can use images to elicit emotions that the written word could never reach. But how much do you actually know about the craft? “The cinematography was incredible” has to be one of the most common phrases to overhear as you exit a movie theater, but oftentimes the discussion ends there. We might know what an incredible shot looks like, but an understanding of the artistry that goes into it often evades us. Cinematography is an extremely complex subject, but fortunately there are many...

Happy Halloween, readers! Our favorite holiday is finally upon us, and while I know most of us are planning spending our day (and night) enjoying tons of movies, I’ve put together this collection of recently released horror short films that are perfect to enjoy today when you’re looking for some micro-doses of thrills and chills.

We hope you enjoy these five fright-filled shorts!

Dear Guest (Directed by Megan Freels Johnston)

Starring: Ashley Bell and Noureen DeWulf

Synopsis: A couple checks into a vacation rental only to find that the anonymous host likes to play games on its guests.

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Face Mask (Directed by Dan Allen and Adam Huber)

Starring: Bill Parmentier and Zachary Allen Farmer

Synopsis: Don’t forget to wear your mask in public.

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A Doll Distorted (Directed by Niall Shukla)

Starring: Nicci Brighten and Cory Stuckey

Synopsis: Jane suffers from haphephobia (the pathological fear of...

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“Docu-noir At Its Finest”

By Raymond Benson

A sub-genre of film noir is that of the so-called “docu-noir,” a crime drama usually based on a true story and told as a Dragnet-style procedural. Most likely there is an omniscient voiceover narrator, a focus on the lawmen who are investigating the case, and all the other stylistic and thematic elements associated with film noir in general: starkly contrasting black and white photography, urban locations, shadows, gritty realism, angst and cynicism, and sometimes brutal violence.

Eagle-Lion Films was a British/American production company that existed for only a few years in the late 40s, disbanding in the early 50s. There was some talent involved, and they produced a variety of genres and pictures of varying quality (Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes was a rare Best Picture nominee). Many of the studio’s pictures...

A bigger and brighter film debut couldn’t be imagined … Doris Day became America’s sweetheart in Michael Curtiz’s peppy production, graced with a witty script and several catchy, radio-ready song hits. And the color is better than new in this impressive Blu-ray remastering job — Woody Bredell’s Technicolor hues are literally eye-popping. It’s great fun seeing Ms. Day invent her natural, fresh-faced screen persona right before our eyes.

Romance on the High Seas

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 99 min. / It’s Magic / Street Date June 16, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Doris Day, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn, Sir Lancelot, Barbara Bates, George N. Neise, Maila Nurmi, Grady Sutton.

Cinematography: Elwood Bredell

Film Editor: Rudi Fehr

Art Direction: Anton Grot

Special Effects: Robert Burks, Wilfrid M. Cline, David Curtiz

Original Music: Ray Heindorf, Oscar Levant

Written by Julius J. Epstein,...

Mike Hammer is in action again! Well, not exactly. Producer Victor Saville’s third go-round with Mickey Spillane’s famed character doesn’t do the franchise justice. Hammer-philes will be astounded by this thriller’s decidedly un-thrilling thrills: there’s little to connect the inexpressive nice guy Robert Bray with the super-popular, super-violent avenger of the books. Spillane’s original is abandoned in favor of a tame ‘who’s got the diamonds?’ storyline, with some compensation in a string of exciting ‘Hammer dames.’ I checked twice — Mike doesn’t shoot Any of them in the stomach.

My Gun Is Quick

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95

Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.

Mill Creek and Kit Parker package nine mid-range Columbia features from the 1940s and 1950s, not all of them strictly noir but all with dark themes — crime, creepy politics, etc. None have been on Blu-ray, and all but one are in fine condition.

Noir Archive 9-Film Collection

Address Unknown, Escape in the Fog, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Black Book, Johnny Allegro, 711 Ocean Drive, The Killer That Stalked New York, Assignment: Paris, The Miami Story

Blu-ray

Mill Creek / Kit Parker

1944 -1954 / B&W / 8 x 1:37 Academy; 1 x 1:85 widescreen / 734 min. / Street Date April 23, 2019 / 49.95

Starring: Paul Lukas, Nina Foch, Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, George Raft, Edmond O’Brien, Evelyn Keyes, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan.

Cinematography: Rudolph Maté, George Meehan, Joseph Walker, John Alton, Joseph Biroc, Franz Planer, Joseph Biroc, Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich.

Written by Herbert Dalmas, Aubrey Wisberg, Louella MacFarlane, Philip Yordan, Karen DeWolf, Richard English, Harry Essex, William Bowers,...

Okay, it's not earth-shaking, but So Young, So Bad (1950) kept me watching, sometimes goggling. It's the penultimate film of quota quickie master Bernard "Mad" Vorhaus, who made cheap and often very skilled work in the U.K., moved to the U.S. and made The Amazing Mr. X, a really stylish and entertaining thriller shot by the great John Alton, then made this, and got blacklisted the following year. He had already left the U.S., having seen the way the wind was blowing, but aside from shooting second unit on William Wyler's Roman Holiday, Vorhaus made only one more movie, an Italian flick called Finishing School which seems to be impossible to get at present. He went into house renovation back in the U.K. and did alright at it, I believe.So, one doesn't necessarily expect earth-shaking from a B-movie talent like Vorhaus, but he was capable of splendid work,...

MGM wasn’t the most current studio in 1957, as can be seen by this throwback to another era, a semi-screwball romantic comedy with big stars and directed in high style by Vincente Minnelli. Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall party like it’s 1939, and with the musical-comedy help of the irrepressible Dolores Gray, almost pull it off.

Designing Woman

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 117 min. / Street Date June 19, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene, Tom Helmore, Mickey Shaughnessy, Jesse White, Chuck Connors, Alvy Moore.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Art Direction: E. Preston Ames, William A. Horning

Original Music: André Previn

Written by George Wells

Produced by Dore Schary, George Wells

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

1957 was definitely the end of an era at MGM. With next to nobody on the payroll, it could no longer claim to possess All the Stars in Heaven.

For Immediate Release: The short film titled, Michael Myers versus Jason Voorhees made it’s much anticipated debut on the Youtube channel, CallMeJeff86 on January 15th, 2018. Michael Myers versus Jason Voorhees stars Jeff Payne as Michael Myers, Dustin Miller as Jason Voorhees, and John Alton as the Vengeful Father. Written and directed by Mason C. …

The post World Premiere: Michael Meyers vs Jason Voorhees (Fan Film) first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2018 - Official Horror News Site...

Style can be the star in Classic Noir, making a less prestigious film more entertaining than one with bigger names. Dennis O’Keefe, Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt spin an excellent crime-love-murder triangle, for a road picture that’s one of the best Noirs not made by a big studio. Director Anthony Mann and cinematographer John Alton dial up the intensity for an experience as rich as the best pulp crime fiction.

Raw Deal

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 79 min. / Special Edition / Street Date January 16, 2018 / 39.99

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, John Ireland, Raymond Burr, Curt Conway, Chili Williams, Regis Toomey, Whit Bissell, Cliff Clark, Greg Barton, Tom Fadden, Ilka Grüning, Ray Teal.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Alfred DeGaetano

Original Music: Paul Sawtell

Written by Leopold Atlas, John C. Higgens, from a story by Arnold B. Armstrong & Audrey Ashley

Produced by Edward Small

Directed by Anthony Mann...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the Classicflix.com:

For one night only, fans of classic film noir will be able to watch a free streaming World Premiere of the recently restored thriller T-Men (1947) on Friday, November 24, hosted by ClassicFlix. Anthony Mann's breakout film will be part of the home video label’s “Black and White Friday,” which will be streaming the film in high definition on their YouTube channel from 5:00 Pm to 7:00 Pm Pt*.

The ground-breaking film recently made its Blu-ray™ debut after undergoing major restoration. The T-Men Special Edition Blu-ray is loaded with bonus features and a 24-page booklet. During the screening ClassicFlix will be hosting a giveaway of T-Men Special Edition via their Twitter page, in addition to a special low-price offering for fans who wish to buy the Blu-ray. Instructions on how to participate in the giveaway will be posted...

Do you think older crime thrillers weren’t violent enough? This shocker from 1948 shook up America with its true story of a vicious killer who has a murderous solution to every problem, and uses special talents to evade police detection. Richard Basehart made his acting breakthrough as Roy Martin, a barely disguised version of the real life ‘Machine Gun Walker.

He Walked by Night

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1948 / B&W /1:37 flat full frame / 79 min. / Street Date November 7, 2017 / 39.99

Starring: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Whit Bissell, James Cardwell, Jack Webb, Dorothy Adams, Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, Reed Hadley (narrator), Thomas Browne Henry, Tommy Kelly, John McGuire, Kenneth Tobey.

Cinematography: John Alton

Art Direction: Edward Ilou

Film Editor: Alfred De Gaetano

Original Music: Leonid Raab

Written by John C. Higgins and Crane Wilbur

Produced by Bryan Foy, Robert T. Kane

Directed by Alfred L. Werker

Talk about a movie with a dynamite...

Mubi is showing Anthony Mann's T-Men (1947) from October 25 - November 24 and Raw Deal (1948) from October 26 - November 25, 2017 in the United States as part of the double feature Anthony Mann Noirs.T-MenIt’s all about how it’s done. That’s a central belief in cinephilia, which, when it comes to genre, is anti-exclusionist. It’s virtually anathema to dismiss any specific genre, and for many good reasons beside the primacy of the director. Rarely do you even read cinephile critics state preferences; I’m all for minimizing them in practice, perhaps for the sake of adventure above all. But I cannot tell a lie: the crime film is by far my favorite type of mainstream movie. It exists in the inviting ground between fantasy and reality; westerns are historical and abstract, sci-fi movies are conjectural, musicals are frankly fantastical, horror films are blatantly outlandish, but in every city in the world,...

The 26th entry in an on-going series of audiovisual essays by Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin. Mubi is showing Anthony Mann's Raw Deal (1948) October 26 - November 25, 2017 in the United States as part of the double feature Anthony Mann Noirs.Few film critics intend the same thing when they invoke abstraction in cinema. For some, the reference is to the purity of abstract painting, and its extension into experimental cinema; for others, it points to those moments in otherwise narrative films (such as Michelangelo Antonioni’s) when plot and characters momentarily fall away, and textures or settings surge into the foreground. For some, abstract cinema is Stan Brakhage; for others, it’s particularly kooky action movies where nothing makes much logical sense and so “pure film” takes over. Watching the remarkable series of works forged by the collaboration of director Anthony Mann and cinematographer John Alton—including T-Men (1947), Raw Deal...

Found: a must-see Film noir in all its brutal glory, restored to a level of quality not seen in years. Anthony Mann and John Alton made their reputations with ninety minutes of chiaroscuro heaven — it’s one of the best-looking noirs ever. With extras produced by Alan K. Rode.

T-Men

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / Special Edition / 92 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / 39.99

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, Charles McGraw, Jane Randolph, Art Smith, Herbert Heyes, Jack Overman, John Wengraf, June Lockhart, Keefe Brasselle, James Seay, Tito Vuolo, John Newland, Reed Hadley.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Fred Allen

Original Music: Paul Sawtell

Written by John C. Higgins, story Virginia Kellogg

Produced by Aubrey Schenck, Edward Small

Directed by Anthony Mann

Wow — I’ve seen T-Men many times, but never like this. It’s always listed as a significant success, a trend-starter, a career-launcher, but only...

Cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp, who won an Oscar for his work on The Towering Inferno, died May 31, the American Society of Cinematographers confirmed. He was 94. Koenekamp began his decades-long career in cinematography in the camera department at Rko Studios. He spent 19 years working on camera crews with noted cinematographers, including Joseph Ruttenberg, John Alton, Robert Surtees, and Frank Phillips. In 1963, Koenekamp worked as a camera operator on the…...

Cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp, who won an Oscar for his work on The Towering Inferno, died May 31, the American Society of Cinematographers confirmed. He was 94. Koenekamp began his decades-long career in cinematography in the camera department at Rko Studios. He spent 19 years working on camera crews with noted cinematographers, including Joseph Ruttenberg, John Alton, Robert Surtees, and Frank Phillips. In 1963, Koenekamp worked as a camera operator on the…...

Director Steve Sekely’s hardboiled film noir leans heavily on the talents of star-producer Paul Henreid and camera ace John Alton — the three of them whip up the best gimmick-driven noir thriller of the late ‘forties. Strained coincidences and unlikely events mean nothing when this much talent is concentrated in one movie. It’s also a terrific show for star Joan Bennett, who expresses all the disappointment, despair and angst of a noir femme who knows she’s in for more misery.

The Scar (Hollow Triumph)

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett, Eduard Franz, Leslie Brooks, John Qualen, Mabel Paige, Herbert Rudley, George Chandler, Robert Bice, Henry Brandon, Franklyn Farnum, Thomas Browne Henry, Norma Varden, Jack Webb.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Fred Allen

Original Music: Sol Kaplan

Written by Daniel Fuchs from a...

This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards

Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...

This is one of Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor's best, written and directed by the classy MGM team of director Vincente Minnelli and writers Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett. It inspired a decade's worth of TV family sitcoms and set the benchmark for weddings for generations. Great fun and solid sentiment without mugging or exaggeration. Father of the Bride Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 93 min. / Street Date May 10, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Bennett, Don Taylor, Billie Burke, Moroni Olsen, Melville Cooper, Leo G. Carroll, Rusty Tamblyn, Tom Irish, Frank Cady, Carleton Carpenter. Cinematography John Alton Film Editor Ferris Webster Original Music Adolph Deutsch Written by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett from the novel by Edward Streeter Produced by Pandro S. Berman Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

There's almost no point in reviewing Father of the Bride, as one doesn't need insights,...

Ready for more Anthony Mann? This light comedy thriller / borderline noir leans on amnesia for a plot hook and to motivate an all-night prowl on the streets of Los Angeles the Rko back lot. Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford star, but the real thrill is in the secondary female leads -- Jean Brooks from the Val Lewton movies and dreamy Jane Greer in her billed feature debut. Two O'Clock Courage DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 66 min. / Street Date June 16, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.49 Starring Tom Conway, Ann Rutherford, Jean Brooks, Bettejane Greer, Richard Lane, Lester Matthews, Roland Drew, Emory Parnell. Cinematography Jack Mackenzie Original Music Roy Webb Written by Robert E. Kent, Gordon Kahn from a story by Gelett Burgess Produced by Ben Stoloff Directed by Anthony Mann  

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This disc will get immediate attention from fans of director Anthony Mann. Another...

"The music seemed extraordinarily fresh and genuine still. It might grow old-fashioned, he told himself, but never old, surely, while there was any youth left in men. It was an expression of youth–that, and no more; with sweetness and foolishness, the lingering accent, the heavy stresses–the delicacy, too–belonging to that time."—"The Professor's House," Willa CatherHis last words, in a hospital four months later, are said to have been 'Mind your own business!' addressed to an enquirer after the state of his bowels. Friends got to the studio just before the wreckers' ball. Pictures, a profusion, piles of them, littered the floor: of 'a world that will never be seen except in pictures'"—"The Pound Era," Hugh Kenner***Heart Of FIREOften when I go to a movie, usually one made before 1960, I think about the opening scene of The Red Shoes, of Marius Goring and his...

He Walked by Night

Written by John C. Higgins and Crane Wilbur

Directed by Alfred L. Werker and Anthony Mann

U.S.A., 1948

The very long and arduous investigation tasked of Los Angeles police captain Breen (Roy Roberts) and Sergeant Merty Brennan (Scott Brady) begins on a quiet night, on a quiet street when aspiring criminal guru Roy Martin (Richard Basehart) is accosted by a patrolling officer after the latter sees him trying to break into an electronics shop. Roy is prepared for the confrontation, surprising the unfortunate law enforcement representative with his pistol, killing the man in the process. With one of their own gunned down mercilessly, Captain Breen and Sgt. Brennan tackle one of the most difficult cases of their careers, a story inspired by the newspaper headlines of the time when in 1945 and 1946 a former police officer and army veteran Erwin Walker took the city by storm...

Available for the first time on Blu-ray or DVD and remastered in high definition is forgotten film noir Witness to Murder, a 1954 Barbara Stanwyck potboiler also starring George Sanders and Gary Merrill. As written by Chester Erskine (The Egg and I, 1947), the film feels like plenty of other narratives, though its frustrating contrivance of hysteria as dramatic tension places it squarely within a particular male dominated paradigm. In particular, the film feels eerily reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which actually opened a month after this Roy Rowland directed venture, doomed to be overshadowed and quickly forgotten. But, magnificently photographed by John Alton, it’s a shadowy and angular motion picture, enjoyable for its considerable melodrama as a portrait of misinformed and misogynistic gender politics.

Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) witnesses a young woman being murdered in the apartment complex adjacent to her own. She calls the police to report what she sees.

From The Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1948. Article text Excerpt:

Chaplain Pens Movie

Ministers Accept Roles In ‘Underground’ Film

By Hedda Hopper

Hollywood – Twelve ministers will play themselves in Eagle-Lion’s “Twelve Against the Underworld,” which is based on a story by Dr. Norman Nygaard, a World War I veteran and civilian chaplain in the last war. When he returned to his home in Steubenville, O., in 1945, Nygaard found it overridden with the underworld, so he and 11 other ministers organized to rid the town of gangsters and grafting politicians. Aubrey Schenck will produce and Director Anthony Mann and Cameraman John Alton, who worked together on “T-Man” will be reteamed. The picture will be made entirely on location. It might set an example for other towns throughout America.

Underground Film Journal notes: The film critic Manny Farber is typically credited with inventing the term “underground film” in 1957 for an article in the...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 24, 2013

Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Olive Films

The final shot in 1955's The Big Combo.

Considered to be one of the great film noir crime dramas, 1955’s The Big Combo was directed by Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy).

The movie zeroes in on the battle between good and honest cop Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde), sadistic crime boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), and Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace), a cool and beautiful blonde who gets caught in the middle. With the help of the gangster’s ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangster and his henchmen are ruthless and they pull some pretty nasty maneuvers on Diamond.

Written by Philip Yordan (Panic in the Streets) and shot by the great noir cinematographer John Alton (He Walked by Night), The Big Combo features some of the most striking black-and-white cinematography ever seen in a nor film,...

Above: Calendar Girl (1947) / Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) / Frontier Marshal (1939)

Last October, my co-editor David Phelps and I released our first self-published e-book out into the world. It was entitled William A. Wellman: A Dossier, and after the somewhat life-changing experience we had discovering Wellman's films during his Film Forum retrospective, we were happy to have discovered a format that would allow us to curate, create, and share an anthology of criticism centered on Wellman's work.

After the release, David and I found ourselves contemplating what to do next, and our thoughts soon brought us back to a night when we screened Allan Dwan's Cattle Queen of Montana (1954), a Western unlike any Western we had seen. A movie that on paper is a simple genre exercise about a vengeful woman trying to regain her land and cattle but in practice is about how different people and events fill...

A periodic round up of interesting and notable books about film, including biographies, histories, critical assessments, and more.

I have to confess from the off that, apart from Daniel Day-Lewis’ typically spellbinding performance (if that’s even the right word for what he does) and the meticulous detail and cinematography that made the film a joy to look at, Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln left me rather cold; perhaps if I had read Lincoln: A Cinematic and Historical Companion (Disney Editions, distributed in the UK by Turnaround www.turnarounduk.com) beforehand, my viewing experience would have been richer and more rewarding.

The book opens with earnest forewards by Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy, and is thereafter divided into two sections, each in two parts. Part One, ‘Players on the Stage of History’, features full page colour photos of the film’s main players in the style of 19th century portraiture, which...

The Big Combo

Directed by Joseph H. Lewis

Written by Philip Yordon

U.S.A., 1955

A detective is obsessed with a case, tracking down either a killer or a thief which has eluded him for long enough for frustration to sink in. An antagonist who always has the perfect alibi to reinforce whatever fabricated story he might have to deflect suspicions. A beautiful dame, prized trophy of the criminal, becomes the apple of the detective’s eye, for good or ill. If these plot elements read as familiar, it is because they should. They have been utilized a countless number of times throughout cinematic history, especially in Hollywood. There is something about the combination of those three storylines that attracts viewers. Perhaps it is that each allows viewers to leave vicariously in some way or another depending on the individual. Such familiarity can either be the downfall of a picture...

Border Incident

Directed by Anthony Mann

Written by John C. Higgins

U.S.A., 1949

The Mexico-United States border has long been the subject of controversy when discussing the arrival of those described as ‘illegal aliens,’ desperate individuals from Mexico who traverse the border without proper permission in the hopes of finding some work and money to send back to their families, while others hold to grander notions of completely starting anew. Whatever their reasons, those who venture illegally into the United States put themselves at risk, not merely of the border patrol forces, but also of the employers who willfully take advantage of their fragile state. In Border Incident, workers who slaved away in the agriculture fields in Imperial Valley are slaughtered as they traverse shadowy, rocky valleys at night on their journeys back to Mexico. In a joint effort to cease the abuse and to put the ‘law’ back...

Destroy the Brain is proud to have Max Allan Collins write up a guest post to explain the character of Mike Hammer and the screen adaptations of this character. We want to thank Tom Green from Titan Books for giving us this great opportunity.

The publication of Lady, Go Die! has elicited Hollywood inquiries as to the possibility of a new Mike Hammer movie. Accompanying this interest comes the usual question, “Who do you think should play Mike Hammer?” Since Mickey Spillane always said that Mike Hammer is a state of mind, my suggestions range from Josh Brolin to Denzel Washington, from Ben Affleck to Jason Statham. I am always open to imaginative casting. Tom Hanks made a great Michael Sullivan in Road to Perdition, after all.

Mickey always complained about the Hollywood movies from his Hammer novels, although he had complimentary things to say about the two TV Hammers,...

Passes Now on Sale Now for Four-Day Festival,

Coming to Hollywood April 12-15, 2012

Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Debbie Reynolds and “Baby Peggy” Diana Serra Cary, along with film noir leading ladies Peggy Cummins, Rhonda Fleming and Marsha Hunt are the latest stars scheduled to appear at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival.

Also announced today, the festival will feature the North American premiere of a new 75th anniversary restoration of Jean Renoir’s powerful Pow drama Grand Illusion (1937), widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. And the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra will provide a live musical accompaniment for a screening of the silent Douglas Fairbanks fantasy-adventure The Thief of Bagdad (1924).

Minnelli and Grey are slated to join TCM’s own Robert Osborne to kick off the four-day, star-studded event with a gala opening-night world premiere screening of the 40th anniversary restoration Cabaret (1971), the film for which the...

Los Angeles Film Critics' Macho Career Achievement Award Choices. [Photo: Rouben Mamoulian.] 1976: Allan Dwan 1977: King Vidor 1978: Orson Welles 1979: John Huston 1980: Robert Mitchum 1981: Barbara Stanwyck 1982: Robert Preston 1983: Myrna Loy 1984: Rouben Mamoulian 1985: Akira Kurosawa 1986: John Cassavetes 1987: Joel McCrea and Samuel Fuller 1988: Don Siegel 1989: Stanley Donen 1990: Chuck Jones and Blake Edwards 1991: Elmer Bernstein and Vincent Price 1992: Budd Boetticher 1993: John Alton 1994: Billy Wilder 1995: André De Toth 1996: Roger Corman 1997: Joseph H. Lewis 1998: Abraham Polonsky and Julius J. Epstein 1999: Dede Allen 2000: Conrad L. Hall 2001: Ennio Morricone 2002: Arthur Penn 2003: Robert Altman 2004: Jerry Lewis 2005: Richard Widmark 2006: Robert Mulligan 2007: Sidney Lumet 2008: John Calley 2009: Jean-Paul Belmondo 2010: Paul Mazursky 2011: Doris Day...

This year's Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Lafca) Career Achievement Award recipient Doris Day is only the fourth woman to be so honored, following Barbara Stanwyck (1981), Myrna Loy (right, 1983), and Dede Allen (1999). [Los Angeles Film Critics Career Achievement Award Winners.] The selection of Doris Day for the 2011 Career Achievement Award is unusual for a couple of reasons. First of all, Day is a woman. Whether in Los Angeles or elsewhere, whether we're talking about film critics' groups, film academies, or film festivals, men are the ones who almost invariably have their contributions to motion pictures recognized. The issue here is not political correctness on my part; anyone who has read my posts on this website knows I despise and fear political correctness the way I despise and fear any sort of illness that corrodes the mind. It's just that I'm not going to argue with the facts. As for the other reason that makes Day's selection unusual, a...

Minnelli's 1951 classic is being rereleased in a new print and given an extended run at the BFI Southbank (or the National Film Theatre as I persist in calling it) in a two-part season of MGM musicals. Warner Brothers and Rko made the best musicals of the 1930s, before Arthur Freed's unit at MGM took the lead in the 1940s, principally with movies by Minnelli, Stanley Donen and Charles Walters. This isn't my favourite MGM musical or my favourite Kelly picture (Singin' in the Rain heads both those categories), nor is it my favourite Minnelli film (a tie between Meet Me in St Louis, The Band Wagon and The Bad and the Beautiful). There's something distasteful about the ogling of the gamine Caron by much older men, not just here but later in Lili and Gigi, and I recall Shirley Temple's story of Arthur Freed exposing himself to her...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM), in partnership with The Film Foundation, will present “Scorsese Screens” with Academy Award ®-winning filmmaker and champion of film preservation Martin Scorsese, who will write an exclusive monthly column for tcm.com and TCM’s Now Playing viewing guide. Scorsese, who recently took home an Emmy* for directing the pilot for HBO’s acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire, will provide insight on the various films and programs on the TCM schedule. Scorsese’s debut piece on October programming is currently available on tcm.com.

“Martin Scorsese is a master filmmaker with an immense passion for movies, an encyclopedic knowledge of film history and a ceaseless dedication to preserving the world’s cinematic heritage,” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of brand and digital activation/general manager of festivals for TCM, TBS and TNT. “We are proud of our partnership with The Film Foundation in bringing Scorsese’s...

Many genres that Hollywood used to rely on for lots of hits have long since fallen by the wayside. Zoe finds out what happened to them…

Hollywood, the world's entertainment factory, has, for the past one hundred years, been producing films that have been enjoyed by audiences around the world. And in that time, a lot has changed, society, technology, fashions, tastes, and lifestyles, all of which Hollywood has continued to accommodate.

It's come a long way from its humble beginnings in the days of melodramatic, black and white, silent films with somewhat crude production methods. Hollywood has evolved into something more sophisticated and streamlined. But with so much change in such a fast paced industry, have some genres fallen behind? Or is it the case that these too have simply evolved into something more sophisticated and subtle?

Musical

The musical is arguably the most uplifting and escapist genre to...

Above: Publicity still from John Parker's Dementia (1955).

Rep houses in San Francisco, like those in most American cities, are struggling to stay open. But for something like thirty nights a year, the clouds lift and big crowds materialize for films of the past: call it the noir exception. To be sure, one needn’t actually attend the Film Noir Foundation’s annual Noir City festival at the Castro or Elliot Lavine’s grittier programs at the Roxie to know that the generic fantasy of film noir (style, sex and violence washed together) still holds powerful allure. You could hardly miss the bus stop advert for Rockstar Games’ latest blockbuster, L.A. Noire, outside the Roxie during Lavine’s latest marathon, “I Wake Up Dreaming: The Legendary and the Lost”. For those of us still invested in the non-interactive cinema experience, however, the popularity of these series is a remarkable if curious thing.

MGM head Dore Schary essentially co-opted one of Anthony Mann's Eagle-Lion projects, hiring Mann, writer John Higgins and the great cinematographer John Alton away from the low budget factory and giving them more money to work  with. As in their earlier T-Men, government agents infiltrate a crime ring, this time one exploiting migrant farm workers. Surprisingly violent for Metro, this is one of the greatest looking  black-and-white movies.

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson

Rating (out of 5): ****

This has been quite a summer for film noir on DVD. In addition to the Columbia Noir set that just arrived, now Warner Home Video releases a new eight-film box set, featuring at least three long-awaited and essential classics. First up is Anthony Mann's Desperate (1947), which is the first of three "B" noirs Mann released over the course of one year. It was followed by Railroaded! and then his groundbreaking T-Men, upon which he collaborated with the great cinematographer John Alton and reached new heights in the use of darkness and shadow. While Desperate isn't quite at the same level, it does have Mann's sense of coiled violence, just waiting to unload.