Classic and James Bond films unite
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)
As human beings, we often fail to think about, or realise, how important the big picture is. We talk about "seeing" the big picture or how we need to look at the "big picture", but we very rarely do. A lot of the time, we make decisions, often crucial, life changing ones, based on assumption,… Continue reading Anatomy of Murder: Blood Simple (1984)
Although this film is over forty years old, some may still be concerned about spoilers in the walls, so please remove the plaster at your own risk. Giallo is a genre of film that has come to fascinate me fairly recently. I was largely unaware of it until I watched Twitch of the Death Nerve [insert alternate… Continue reading Tell Tale Voice: “Your Vice Is A Locked Room and Only I Have The Key” (1972)
Licence To Kill (1989) has suffered from a bad reputation for years. Many have wrongly asserted that it bombed at the box office and that the film was critically panned. While the film did not perform as strongly in the US as past entries, the film still earned $156 million dollars at the box office,… Continue reading The Art of Vengeance: A Love Letter to “Licence To Kill” (1989)
O.S.S is a war film of a different sort, as it tells the story of both civilians and those on the front lines, but not through the story of uniformed soldiers or by focusing on families back home. It explores the agency that was the predecessor to the know famous (and sometimes infamous) CIA. The Office… Continue reading Don’t Come Back: O.S.S. (1946)
When I first watched Dead Reckoning (1947), I hadn't the faintest idea what it was about or who was in it. When I saw Bogie's name appear on the screen I thought "Well now we're in for a treat". I had no idea who Lizabeth Scott was either. I'm glad that I know now. As… Continue reading Either it’s real or it isn’t: Dead Reckoning (1947)
The Reckless Moment (1949) is a Christmas film as Batman Returns or Die Hard is. It takes place during the holidays, but this happy time is marred by strife and tragedy. A coal in one's stocking for sure. For Lucia Harper (played by Joan Bennett) the coal comes in the form of borderline child sexual… Continue reading Unlikely kindred spirits: Joan Bennett in “The Reckless Moment” (1949)
This post contains graphic, mature content. Please read with caution. Vampire Circus is not your standard Hammer Horror Film. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are nowhere to be seen. The heroes of the film know little about their enemy, but this is not shown in a campy way. There is real danger here, real death,… Continue reading Beware… the circus has come to town
Pale Writer 