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

During World War Two: It’s An Expat Thing

Hollywood was rife with actors, directors, writers, and others who had fled Europe when Hitler came to power and who still had relatives living under Hitler's thumb. Those who stayed behind, especially if they were Jewish, were subjected to the same treatment as anyone else, often dying by execution, in prison or in death camps … Continue reading During World War Two: It’s An Expat Thing

Verne’s Extraordinary Voyage

Back with another page-turner... What Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is to crime fiction and forensics, Jules Verne is to sci-fi, and next to Around the World In Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is probably his most well-known work. First published in France in 1870, then translated into English in 1873, it's filmmaker bait because a … Continue reading Verne’s Extraordinary Voyage

Vive La France

Welcome back, Mr. Rains... While France was occupied during the Second World War, its soldiers, sailors, and airmen managed to deal heavy blows to the Axis with assists from the English and Americans. Like many other aspects of the war this effort was fodder for Hollywood's movie factory, and in 1944 our guest of honor … Continue reading Vive La France

The Man We Knew When

I don't know what it is with some directors that they like to remake their own films. Cecil B. DeMille remade The Ten Commandments, for instance. Granted, one version was silent and one had sound, but they were still basically the same film. And of course, there's George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but they're more … Continue reading The Man We Knew When