There cannot be a discussion about silent films, without mentioning Lon Chaney. He was able to do things that were incredible. He could contort his body into unnatural positions. He sketched his characters and applied his own makeup. He endured physical pain for some roles, like Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of NotreDame. […]
There were countless military movies made during World War II. Many Hollywood stars entered the military. Errol Flynn wasn’t able to join the armed services. He had a number of physical ailments that prevented this. He did the next best thing. He starred in a few war films. One of those movies was Objective Burma.
Betty Davis at the time of this movie, was an a two time academy award winning actress. She could have rested on her laurels and continued to due dramatic roles. She would still have been considered a fine actress. Davis was not content with her status, and decided to branch out. This led to a
The Naked and the Dead is a film about leadership in war. It asks the question, should leaders do anything for victory, or consider their men? The movie is based on the Norman Mailer novel, and adapted to the screen by the brothers Denis and Terry Sanders. Mailer, didn’t like the movie version of his
The war film wasn’t a staple of Hollywood until the Second World War. Its beginnings are rooted in The Big Parade. This movie takes place in World War One. The Great War wasn’t far from memory at the time of its release. It shows the excitement of soldiers to be going to war, and the
There are some movies that should not be remade. King Kong falls into this category. The original is a combination of horror and a tragic love story. It is well made, with extraordinary special effects for its time. This one features two future academy award winners in Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. They would have
You can expect many things from Lon Chaney. The one thing is a masterful performance. His characters almost always have pathos. This is a characteristic, attributed to Charlie Chaplin. Lon Chaney was a master of it. He also knew how to use makeup. He did his own for his characters. It was before makeup was
Teen comedies are to the eighties, what screwball comedies were to the thirties. There was an abundance of them. They created overnight stars with Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy. Pretty in Pink is one those films. It stars Ringwald and McCarthy. They play Andie and Blane. They are the center of a modern Cinderella story.
Film noir has many things that define it. Shady characters, anti-heroes, and femme fatales. There aren’t any real good guys, but certainly a fair amount of bad guys. There is one character, who isn’t good, but is sympathetic. That is Doc Erwin Reidenschneider. He is played very well by Sam Jaffe. He is the only
Sequels often don’t live up to the original. Dracula: Prince of Darkness does to a point. It manages to have beautiful women in distress, Barbara Shelley, (Helen) and Suzan Farmer, (Diana). It even has an overused but effective element. That is people warned not to go somewhere, but ignore the warning. They were warned by