Saturday, May 25, 2024

'The Lady and the Monster' has both good and bad

The Lady and the Monster (1944)
Starring: Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim, and Helen Vinson
Director: George Sherman
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A millionaire's mind is preserved after death through weird science... and he soon begins to telepathically force his will upon others in revenge and to carry on with his evil ways. 

Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim, and Vera Ralston in 'The Lady and the Monster' (1944)

"The Lady and the Monster" is a great-looking film, with stylish sets and beautiful cinematography that takes full advantage of the black-and-white format. The excellent cast--headed by Erich von Stroheim, Vera Ralston, and Richard Arlen--give decent performances despite the fact that they are delivering some truly awful dialogue at times. The film is further undermined slightly by something of a tone-shift at the halfway point, but all in all, the good outweighs the bad here and it's a film that's worth your time. 

And speaking of your time, we are happy to make it easy for you to watch "The Lady and the Monster" by embedding it in this very post, via The Screening Room on YouTube.


(If elements of the story and some of the characters seem familiar, it's possible you'll either read the novel upon which it was based, or seen one of the other two films based upon the same source--"Donovan's Brain" by Curt Siodmak. This was the first screen adaptation, however.)



Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Monday, May 20, 2024

Musical Monday with Childish Gambino & Young Nudy

Little Foot Big Foot (2024)
Starring: Donald Glover, Robert Bynes, Monyett Crump, Oscar Jordan, and Quinta Brunson
Director: Hiro Murai
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

In a roadhouse during the early 1930s, Johnny & the Pipe Dancers find themselves performing for a rougher-than-usual crowd.

 


"Little Foot Big Foot" is a catchier and more energetically upbeat than-I-expected tune that offers as many musical twists and turns as the video that supports it. And what a remarkable video it is--it's the sort of mini-movie that we were treated to during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Check it out by clicking below:

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

We're Celebrating Mermay!

In honor or Mermay, here are a few drawings of mermaids (with a couple mermen mixed in)!

Mermaids by John R. Neill
Mermaid by Cheri Herouard
Mermaid by Dorothy Lathrop
Mermaid by Istvan Drahos
Merfolk by Arthur Rackham
Mermaids by Harry Clarke

 
 If you like the art you see here, and you want more of it that you can even use in your own projects, you should check out In Deep with Mermaids, part of the NUELOW Games Stock Art Collection. It contains artwork by all the artists featured in this post.
 
 

Nylon Stockings on a Picture Perfect Wednesday!

There seems to be a day in honor/observation of everything you can think of. We've discovered that May 15th is National Nylon Stockings Day... so here are some pictures of ladies and their nylons. (And not much else in some cases.)

Keri Russell in nylons
Angie Dickinson publicity photo
Emily Ratajkowski

 
 
 

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Sunday, May 5, 2024

A Page Serenade on Cinco de Mayo!

 Anita Page is celebrating Cinco de Mayo by singing to the Moon Girls and Elmo Aardvark! (This is happens quite often when she's been chugging Coronas.)

Anita Page playing the guitar under a full moon


Saturday, May 4, 2024

Thursday, May 2, 2024

Welcome to May!

The weather's getting better, so maybe it's time to follow in the footsteps of our forebearers... and head out into the forest with crates of booze and have "picnics" with our sweeties!

May by Arpad Schmidhammer

This illustration was originally an ad for Kupferberg Gold champagne that appeared in the German A&E magazine Jugend. It's another example of how they don't make 'em like they used to anymore!


Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Welcome to Mermay!

Mermaid by Milo Manara

The idea of Mermay--a month-long celebration of the beautiful creatures of the sea--was originated by animator and illustrator Tom Bancroft. His hope was that it would inspire artists to practice their craft and share their creations with the world. 

Here at Shades of Gray, we may not be artists, but we love sharing the work of others for you to enjoy. Every Wednesday in May, you'll find three or more mer-portraits in this space. 

Meremaid by F. Hass





















Mere-couple by Robert Baramov

If you want images that are okay to use in whatever mermaid project you can think of, NUELOW Games has something that might interest you.


Also, if you feel like drawing some mermaids (or mermen for that matter), here are some tips on how to it from Mr. Meremay himself.

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