No one is immune to low-budget turkeys, of course, not even in the distinguished United Kingdom, and one of the most lackluster examples of the 1960s, or of sci-fi in general, is 1969's The Body Stealers. Not The Body Snatchers but The Body Stealers. It's an important distinction, and unfortunately that's where the distinctiveness ends because the movie … Continue reading When Sci-Fi Goes “Splat”
Duck and Cover
Timing is a funny, funny thing. 1962's Panic In Year Zero came out right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cold War was in full swing, obviously, although the average person was no longer scrambling to build a home fallout shelter. Still, the threat of nuclear war was definitely there, and naturally American International Pictures saw the … Continue reading Duck and Cover
Bob and Lucy, Together Again
Here we go... Bob Hope and Lucille Ball seem like a dream pairing, right? They really are. These two made four movies together, and the third was 1960's The Facts of Life, a cautionary tale about messing with the status quo. The film opens at the airport in Monterey, where Kitty Weaver (Lucille Ball) is waiting for … Continue reading Bob and Lucy, Together Again
When Tropes Feel New-ish
Here we go... We all know tropes can be really tiresome and that every genre has them. There are times, however, when tropes don't feel like tropes, even in B-movies, and 1963's The Haunted Palace is one of those times. Directed by Roger Corman, it's at once a typical American International Pictures low-budget horror movie and … Continue reading When Tropes Feel New-ish
Eddie Poe Goes To Camp
Spooky, scary skeletons, and shivers down your spine... When we think of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, we all think of the forlorn, unnamed narrator trying to shoo away that pesky bird as it perches itself on the pallid bust of Pallas, always and only uttering that single word, "Nevermore." Thoughts of lost Lenore are shelved for … Continue reading Eddie Poe Goes To Camp
A Most Unusual Midwife
Miss Agnes is back... Some movies don't deserve to be forgotten, and 1962's Jessica is one of those. While it's not a great film, it's a charmer and well-worth a watch. While our guest of honor has a pretty memorable, albeit minimal part, in it as an Italian grandmother, this is definitely Jessica's movie. The film opens … Continue reading A Most Unusual Midwife
Carl’s Favorite Movie
When I started on Twitter, ahem...X, back in 2011, one of the first friends I made was a guy named Carl. He was older, a grandpa, a Christian, lived in Virginia, and seemed very down-to-earth. Somehow or other, we got to talking about movies, and Carl told me his favorite movie was 1963's Spencer's Mountain. Like, … Continue reading Carl’s Favorite Movie
Country Crooners Among the Cobwebs
We've kind of had a dearth of horror movies this year, haven't we? Well, at least here on the blog, but Substack has a few, including a review of the new Five Nights At Freddy's movie, although that's not much of a horror movie. Other than that, things have been really skimpy in that regard. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Country Crooners Among the Cobwebs
The Worst Oz Movie Ever Made (So Far)
It's pretty hard to touch the peerless 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz, but that hasn't stopped folks from trying. Well, kind of, anyway. The 1939 film is firmly off-limits, of course, and Warner Bros. is always the first to say so, plus Disney owned the film rights to the other thirteen original Oz books starting in 1955, … Continue reading The Worst Oz Movie Ever Made (So Far)
Revisiting the Campiest Western Ever
Saddle up, y'all... Westerns were very much a part of my growing-up years. Westerns and war pictures. I blame my dad and the advent of the VCR. After a while, I started tuning out when Dad would play a western because they all seemed alike, but when I saw 1969's Support Your Local Sheriff, it was … Continue reading Revisiting the Campiest Western Ever
Page To Screen: Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Few movie openings are as iconic as Breakfast At Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly gets out of a cab in the early morning on Fifth Street in Manhattan dressed to the nines, walks up to a Tiffany's display window, then pulls a cup of coffee and a croissant out of a paper bag. After staring dreamily … Continue reading Page To Screen: Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Walk This Way
TIme travel's been done, of course. It's been done to death, Heck, the poor and proverbial dead horse hasn't taken the beating time travel has in terms of how often it's been done in films. The 1964 American International Pictures movie, The Time Travelers did it. Or, more precisely, walked through it. Again and again and … Continue reading Walk This Way
Stage To Screen: Flower Drum Song
When I took a Broadway performance class at Sierra College we were required to audition for the spring musical, which was to be A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum. I had no interest in being in the show whatsoever but I wanted my grade so I signed up. Anyone who has ever … Continue reading Stage To Screen: Flower Drum Song
The Right To Escape
Here we go... 1963's The Great Escape is quite the iconic film, parodied and tributed so many times in so many ways (remember this one?). Steve McQueen dominates the proceedings, ably supported by fellow icons Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough, along with the wonderful David McCallum, best known today as Duckie. Our … Continue reading The Right To Escape
Five Reasons To See “A Hard Day’s Night”
Britannia rules the waves (again)... We all know 1964 was a huge year for the Beatles. Their careers and collective fate suddenly shot to the top. They made two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. They toured America for the first time. John wrote and published In His Own Write, which he also promoted on … Continue reading Five Reasons To See “A Hard Day’s Night”
Stage To Screen: The Music Man
Few Broadway shows can touch The Music Man. It's probably in the top ten of the most well-known musical comedies, or just musicals in general. It's rousing, it's funny, it's winkingly naughty, it has a lot of cool plays on words, it feels like yesteryear. Most of all, who hasn't wanted to go marching out of the … Continue reading Stage To Screen: The Music Man
The Yanks Are Coming, The Yanks Are Coming
Are American tourists really as pesky as they're made out to be? I've only been to Canada, so I can't really comment based on firsthand experience, but obviously the stereotype exists. I do however, have a couple of decades of experiences with tourists in general, and while most people are cool, I have encountered a … Continue reading The Yanks Are Coming, The Yanks Are Coming
Taking Up Room 