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Pretty in Pink (1986) Molly Ringwald. Jon Cryer Harry Dean Stanton Annie Potts James Spader. Andrew McCarthy Director-Howard Deutch

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. […]

Pretty in Pink (1986) Molly Ringwald. Jon Cryer Harry Dean Stanton Annie Potts James Spader. Andrew McCarthy Director-Howard Deutch Read More »

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Sterling Hayden Sam Jaffe Louis Calhern Jean Hagen James Whitmore John McIntire Barry Kelly Anthony Caruso. Marilyn Monroe Dorothy Tree. Director-John Huston

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

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Sterling Hayden Sam Jaffe Louis Calhern Jean Hagen James Whitmore John McIntire Barry Kelly Anthony Caruso. Marilyn Monroe Dorothy Tree. Director-John Huston Read More »

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Christopher Lee Barbara Shelley Andrew Keir Francis Matthews Susan Farmer Charles Tingwell Philip Latham. Director-Terence Fisher

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

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Christopher Lee Barbara Shelley Andrew Keir Francis Matthews Susan Farmer Charles Tingwell Philip Latham. Director-Terence Fisher Read More »

The Black Cat (1934) Boris Karloff Bela Lugosi David Manners Director-Edgar G. Ulmer

The Black Cat is the first teaming of Karloff and Lugosi. It was the first of their ten movies together. They were at the time of this movie, big stars for the studio. Lugosi plays Dr. Vitus Werdegast. He is a man with an obsession. He desires nothing more than vengeance against Hjalmar Poelzig, (Karloff).

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Twentieth Century (1934) John Barrymore Carole Lombard Director-Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks is known for his male themed movies. Not everyone knows about how he transformed women into formidable actresses. This was the case with Carol Lombard. She was working with Hawks, and acting alongside John Barrymore. Lombard was struggling with a scene, frustrating both Hawks and Barrymore. The instruction from the director, was to

Twentieth Century (1934) John Barrymore Carole Lombard Director-Howard Hawks Read More »

The Vikings (1958) Kirk Douglas Tony Curtis Janet Leigh Ernest Borgnine Frank Thring Director-Richard Fleischer

Kirk Douglas doesn’t act in The Vikings. He entertains. It the type of entertainment that would have been common when Shakespeare wrote his plays. The audience isn’t focused on the main story. It’s weak. Douglas and his antics in the film, as Einar, are somewhat amusing.He performs a stunt jumping off the oars of the

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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Judy Garland Mary Astor Margaret O’Brien Marjorie Main Lucille Bremer Harry Davenport Leon Ames Tom Drake Director-Vincente Minnelli

A film that has a Christmas song, gives it guaranteed viewers. Some of these movies are good, some aren’t. Meet Me in St. Louis gave us one of the best songs for the holiday ever written or performed in a movie. That song was Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It has been performed many

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Judy Garland Mary Astor Margaret O’Brien Marjorie Main Lucille Bremer Harry Davenport Leon Ames Tom Drake Director-Vincente Minnelli Read More »

The March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Virginia Karns Charlotte Henry Felix Knight Henry Brandon

This movie imagines Mother Goose characters as having normal lives. They all live in a place of relative peace and harmony, called Toyland. Among the characters living here are Ollie Dee, (Oliver Hardy) and Stannie Dum, (Stan Laurel). This comedy team was at the height of their popularity, when they made this film. It isn’t

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Footsteps in the Dark (1941) Errol Flynn Brenda Marshall Ralph Bellamy Alan Hale Lee Patrick Allen Jenkins Lucille Watkins William Frawley Director-Lloyd Bacon

Errol Flynn is recognized as the king of the swashbuckling film. He earned his salary playing Robin Hood, Captain Blood and others. He was an actor, and like most of them, wanted challenging roles. He lobbied the studio, for something different, and was rewarded with his role as Francis Warren. He shows his acting talent

Footsteps in the Dark (1941) Errol Flynn Brenda Marshall Ralph Bellamy Alan Hale Lee Patrick Allen Jenkins Lucille Watkins William Frawley Director-Lloyd Bacon Read More »

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