My life at the movies.
Directed by Jules Dassin. Starring Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Philip Dorn, and Reginald Owen.
Joan Crawford plays a French heiress hiding a downed American pilot played by John Wayne from the Nazis in occupied Paris. Continue reading...
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, and Frank Morgan.
William Powell stars as famed impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. The film traces his career from sideshow barker to Broadway mogul, at one point having four hits at once, only to die broke after losing everything in the crash of ‘29. Continue reading...
Directed by John Liu and Kurtis Spieler. Starring Don Wilson, Michael Berryman, Linnea Quigley, and Leon Isaac Kennedy.
Kurtis Spieler, an employee at cult distribution company Vinegar Syndrome, discovered reels of footage in their vaults for an abandoned film. Shot in 1984 by star John Liu, it lacked audio or a shooting script. Undaunted, Spieler reconstructed the footage, commissioned a soundtrack, and enlisted an array of exploitation stars to dub the audio. Continue reading...
Directed by Ti West. Starring Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, and Kid Cudi.
In 1979, a group of amateur filmmakers travels to a remote Texas farm to film an adult movie, unaware of the horrors that await. Spoilers follow. Continue reading...
Directed by Don Hartman. Starring Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, and Gordon Gebert.
Robert Mitchum plays a veteran working as a temporary salesman during the Christmas season in the toy department of a bustling New York City department store. Janet Leigh pushes her way through the crowd to purchase an expensive—around a thousand dollars in today’s money—train set. When she returns the next day for a refund, Mitchum pegs her for a comparison shopper. But upon learning she’s a war widow supporting an elementary-school aged son, instead of reporting her, he invites her to lunch. Continue reading...
Directed by John Cromwell. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, and Charles Cane.
Humphrey Bogart plays Rip Murdoch, a paratrooper investigating his buddy’s disappearance following their return to the states. The trail leads to a shady club owner named Martinelli, and a dangerous blonde played by Lizabeth Scott. Continue reading...
Directed by Raoul Walsh. Starring Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis, and Arthur Kennedy.
Humphrey Bogart plays Roy Earle, a career thief sprung from prison by an aging gangster for a jewel robbery at a resort hotel in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The job goes south and Earle ends up on the run with a jaded dance hall girl, played by Ida Lupino. Spoilers follow. Continue reading...
Directed by Billy Wilder. Starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, and Judi West.
Jack Lemmon plays a TV cameraman knocked unconscious while filming a Cleveland Browns game. He’s unhurt, but his shyster brother-in-law, played by Walter Matthau, sues everyone involved. Continue reading...
Directed by Lewis Seiler. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Irene Manning, Richard Travis, and Susan Peters.
Humphrey Bogart plays a hood fresh off his third prison stint. He signs on for a hold-up job masterminded by a lawyer named Fleming. Fleming’s wife, played by Irene Manning, has a history with Bogart. The night of the job, she shows up at his place, confesses her love, and holds him at gunpoint to prevent him from joining the robbery. Continue reading...
Directed by Kevin Greutert. Starring Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Mark Rolston, and Betsy Russell.
Jigsaw? Still dead. But top-billed Tobin Bell still accrues significant screen time via flashbacks, while in present-day, his posthumous games unfold, much to the dismay of an insurance company executive. Minor spoilers ahead. Continue reading...
