Classic and James Bond films unite
Ah Charlie’s Angels. The epitome of what was termed “jiggle TV” in the late 70s and early 80s. I think you can understand why it was given that rather dubious term if you think hard enough. But in my opinion, and for many women who watched the film at the time of its airing, it… Continue reading Black Panther: Timothy Dalton in Charlie’s Angels
Okay so Florence Nightingale is probably the most famous nurse to ever live, with good reason, as she pretty much revolutionised the field by introducing sanitation measures (seriously, wash your hands) in hospitals, and establishing the first secular nursing school in the world. A famous lithograph of Nightingale from a painting by Henrietta Rae. So,… Continue reading The Man Who Loved the Lady with the Lamp: Timothy Dalton in “Florence Nightingale” (1985)
The Boys Next Door follows in the footsteps of Rebel Without A Cause in its exploration of a disillusioned youth that are raging against the system, but it cranks the violence and cynicism up to a level that endeavours to show the crumbling facade of the American Dream. It has fallen into relative obscurity since… Continue reading Disillusioned Youth: “The Boys Next Door” (1985)
The Dr Kildare movies only came on my radar fairly recently, as I was more familiar with the Richard Chamberlain series than with the nine films that starred Lew Ayres as the titular Dr Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as his cynical, but secretly caring, mentor, Dr Gillespie. Dr Kildare is a young doctor who wants… Continue reading A Grump With A Heart of Gold: Lionel Barrymore as Dr Gillespie
The year that Mannequin had its nationwide release, Joan Crawford was featured on the list of actresses termed as "Box Office Poison". It was a list that featured Katherine Hepburn, Kay Francis, Norma Shearer and John Barrymore, to name but a few. It was a list that is now largely seen as being inaccurate, or… Continue reading The Working Man: Spencer Tracy in “Mannequin” (1937)
The Sound of Music is one of the most successful and famous films of all time. It's unlikely that you do not know the film, unless perhaps, unlike me, you did not watch it on video until the title song became a bit wonky from overuse. Whenever one thinks of the film, Julie Andrews and… Continue reading A Beautiful Baroness: Eleanor Parker in “The Sound of Music”
The story of Anastasia, the supposed last living member of the Russian royal family, is famous the world over. The hope that one last symbol of pre-Communist Russia exists/existed, is one that has lived on in the collective imagination for a long time. Twentieth Century Fox made the film twice, once in 1956 and again… Continue reading The Last Romanov: Anastasia (1956)
This review contains major plot point spoilers. Don’t read any further if you haven’t seen the film. Frenzy is, in my humble opinion, Hitchcock’s most intense and disturbing film. Because it was made long after the production code had folded, it has all the graphic imagery that the 1970s, with its lack of overarching censorship,… Continue reading The intensity of “Frenzy” (1972)
So many of you who know me, also know that I am a HUGE Maxwell Caulfield fan. It's so bad that when I make a decision, I often think: What would Michael Carrington do? Yes. It's indeed... that... bad... Maxwell Caulfield is best known now for portraying British geek heartthrob, Michael Carrington, in the cult… Continue reading Announcing the Cool Rider: Maxwell Caulfield Blogathon
Jeopardy (1953) is the kind of film that exists on a star's filmography and gets overshadowed by bigger, better known fare. When you think about Barbara Stanwyck's career, you immediately think of Double Indemnity, The Lady Eve or Baby Face. You don't think about, because you probably don't know about, a modestly budgeted film noir,… Continue reading A Matter of Time: Barbara Stanwyck in “Jeopardy” (1953)
Pale Writer 