OUT OF THE CLOSET: TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL (2015)

On September 19 TCM is airing a Tab Hunter double feature. More info about programming can be found at the end of my post. Everyone loves a Hollywood tragedy. The violent murders of Sharon Tate and Sal Mineo generate more press and web articles than the body of work they left behind while the estates …

REMEMBERING BRUCE LEE ON HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY

“Here we are . . . still talking about him. And for good reason. He tried to live what he believed. When you see him on screen you’re not just seeing a performance, you’re seeing the real human being.” – Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter. Tomorrow, November 27, marks what would have been Bruce Lee’s …

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED… “MURDER!”

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED (1969) is often cited as one of Spain’s most important and influential horror films but its audience is typically restricted to genre fanatics. The highly sexualized content and graphic murders depicted in this gothic thriller limit its appeal. But the commercial success of THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED during the late 1960s …

Celebrate LGBT+ Pride Month with Cinema

This an update to my original LGBT+ Pride Month post first published in 2015 that you can find here. As a film journalist, I have often tried to focus my attention on underappreciated films, unsung actors and lesser-known directors. Unsurprisingly, this has led me to write about a number of LGBT+ films and television programs …

STRANGER THAN FICTION: THE BARON OF ARIZONA (1949)

“In the movie business, a good ending must sometimes hold sway over the truth.” – Samuel Fuller, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking Before Samuel Fuller wrote and directed his own films he was a gutsy go-getting newspaperman. Fuller first worked at the New York Journal as a copyboy and eventually graduated to the …

VINCENT PRICE & GENE TIERNEY: A DOOMED ROMANCE

This post was part of my month-long celebration of Vincent Price–TCM’s October Star of the Month in 2013. Throughout the course of Vincent Price’s long career, he worked with some of my favorite actresses such as Barbara Steele, Diana Rigg, Jennifer Jones and Linda Hayden. But if I had to single out Price’s most important …

ROGER CORMAN & VINCENT PRICE: THE GROOVY GRUESOME TWOSOME

This post was part of my month-long celebration of Vincent Price–TCM’s October Star of the Month in 2013. Vincent Price will be headlining TCM’s terrific Halloween line-up tonight, which kicks off at 5PM PST/8PM EST with THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961) followed by THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963), THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964), THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971), TWICE TOLD TALES(1963), THE TOMB …

VINCENT PRICE’S SMALL SCREEN SUCCESSES

This post was part of my month-long celebration of Vincent Price–TCM’s October Star of the Month in 2013. Last week I wrote about Vincent Price’s early stage career and this week I’d like to focus some of his notable television appearances. As regular readers know, every month I try to spotlight a particular telefilm that …

IN THE KITCHEN WITH VINCENT PRICE

  This post was part of my month-long celebration of Vincent Price–TCM’s October Star of the Month in 2013. Since moving to the Napa Valley–one of America’s premiere ‘foodie’ capitols–three years ago I’ve been trying to teach myself how to cook. Decades of city apartment living had turned me into a takeout junkie and I …

SPY GAMES: Frank Tashlin & Doris Day Go Undercover

In the late 1960s Doris Day starred in two spy spoofs directed by Frank Tashlin; THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT(1967) and CAPRICE (1968). At the time Day was 43-years-old and one of Hollywood’s biggest stars but her career was in sharp decline. Critics seemed to relish taking potshots at the movies she appeared in while launching full-blown attacks on …

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DORIS!

She can sing, she can dance, she can act and she can make us laugh. She’s been directed by many recognizable talents including Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen, Delbert Mann, Norman Jewison, George Seaton, and Frank Tashlin. And some of her most notable costars include famous names Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, James …

BARBIE GOES HOLLYWOOD

I have a confession to make. I like dolls. A lot. I’ve been a casual collector for many years and I’ve also written about dolls for a few publications. I usually keep my fascination with classic films and dolls separate but it’s not easy trying to compartmentalize your interests. The film fans I’ve met often …

Knock Down the House (2019)

Knock Down the House is a sobering and uplifting account of four formidable grassroots female candidates (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paula Jean Swearengin, Amy Vilela and Cori Bush) running for office against Democratic incumbents during the 2018 primary. This intimate documentary illuminates the obstacles these working-class women faced on the campaign trail while trying to navigate a political …

ANIMAL PASSIONS: CAT PEOPLE (1942)

But black sin hath betrayed to endless night My worlds both parts, and both parts must die. - John Donne, Holy Sonnet V (as quoted in Cat People) This year marks the 75th anniversary of Cat People (1942). It is hailed as one of the most influential horror movies made during the 1940s and thanks to its vaunted reputation among film …

TELEFILM TIME MACHINE: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1972)

Eleanor Parker in 1972 The holidays can be a very difficult time for some. I know from firsthand experience that when you don’t have any family to rely on or any kind of financial security to speak of Christmas can feel like a national nightmare inhabited by drunken revelers, crazed shoppers, and merciless merchants. This …