Happy Fourth of July!

We got flag-waving pin-ups of a slightly different sort for this year's Independence Day celebration!

  
 

Musical Monday with Albie Day

 
Albie Day is a singer, songwriter, and marathon runner who has posted a host of great cover tunes (and some originals) to his YouTube channel. Here's a hilarious sample of his work -- a cover of Reel Big Fish's "Everyone's an Asshole". Like all good cover tunes, Day has made the song his own, turning it from ska to folk rock.

 
This is the first of five great cover tunes that we'll be bringing out on Musical Mondays throughout July.

Even innocent lies can have dire consequences...

White Lies Noir (2017)
Starring: Ross Marquand and Alana O’Brien

Director: Jared Lapidus

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A dame (O'Brien) walks into the office of a private eye (Marquand) and a string of lies eventually leads to the truth...

 "White Lies Noir" is one of those short film you need to come to completely unawares for it to have its greatest impact. Anything I can say about it--beyond the teaser summary above, and the fact that I loved almost everything about this film--will spoil the experience of watching it.

The filmmakers did a much better job of capturing the feel of a genuine film noir picture than many out there and the pace at which the film unfolds is almost perfect. I even loved the blooper reel at the end, with actress Alana O'Brien staying in character even as the scene went completely sideways.

If you like film noirs and enjoy the occasional film that doesn't end up where you thought it was going to, you'll get a kick out of "White Lies Noir". Check it out by clicking below.

A Gallery of Love... Bessie Love!

In celebration of the first film showing at our Screening Room--"Rubber Tires", starring Bessie Love and Harrison Ford--we bring you pictures of Bessie Love looking lovely!

It's June...

... for a few more days, and we're closing out the month with a film that features June Palmer and will make it clear why she was so beloved by the readers of men's magazines. (This is the first film of the 'nudie cutie' soft-core porn short-film genre to be featured here at Shades of Gray. I don't know if that marks a is a high point or a low point in the blog's history.)

Nightmare at Elm Manor (aka "Flesh and Fantasy" and "Nude in Dracula's Castle") (1961)

Starring: June Palmer and Stuart Samuels

Director: George Harrison Marks

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young woman (Palmer) is terrorized by a strange man (Samuels) while spending the night at an isolated house.

 "Nightmare at Elm Manor" is a brief, silent horror film that was the screen debut of nude model June Palmer. In it, all of her assets are on prominent display. Her beautiful face and statuesque figure, along with her perfect breasts, make it obvious why she was so beloved by the editors and readers of men's magazines during the late 1950s and early 1960s. She also seems to have decent acting abilities--or at least a talent for showing the sort of fear that is required for distressed damsels in gothic chillers and Old Dark House-type films. 

Based on what I am seeing here, I think it's a shame that she never broke into the mainstream, except for a few bit parts. Aside from a pretty face and a gorgeous body, June Palmer had something a little something extra--that something that causes her to light up the screen, even when fully dressed. If not for that extra bit of charisma on the part of Palmer, the lackluster nature of the villain stalking her would have annoyed me to the point where I might have marked a Star or two off the rating I ultimately settled on. Palmer (and, yes, her boobs) carry this film, almost entirely by themselves.

Palmer's screen presence is probably also why my imagination immediately began filling in holes in what passes for the film's storyline and/or explaining stupid actions on the part of her character. Why she was walking to the manor at the beginning of the film, why she is sitting around naked and putting on make-up before going to bed, why she goes looking for a drink of water in the middle of the night... all these things, I have thought up explanations for. I even have an idea for what the true nature of the creepy butler/vampire is. And I don't even feel like I should knock the film for the blanks and incongruities, because it entertained me in other ways. Or maybe I was just mesmerized by Palmer's big, beautiful breasts.

But maybe you can tell me if it was the nudity or something else about the film that sparked my imagination. If you're in the mood for an Old Dark House-style quickie, and not offended by lots of nudity, check out "Nightmare at Elm Manor" by clicking below. This is very much a "not safe for work" film, so don't make a mistake and open it there! Also, you will have to open the film on YouTube (as well as be logged into an account there, because it's for mature audiences only.

(But, hey, since you're going to be on YouTube anyway, that's a perfect time to check out my channel. If you like what you see, please subscribe and perhaps even come back every now and then. Sometimes, we watch cartoons or short films during live streams that ultimately end up being reviewed here!)

Is it time to stop?

We've been tracking the dancers in the wild for a year now. Is this where we stop the monthly posts? Will the dancers be left alone until next International Dance Day?

Time will tell. Meanwhile, you can help us choose... will the last Wednesday each month continue as Dancer Day or not? What do YOU want?

Artful magic... or is it magical art?

The Drawing Lesson (aka "The Living Statue") (1903)
Starring: Jehanne d'Alcy and Georges Méliès

Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A sorcerer (Melies) causes chaos during a life-drawing class.

"The Drawing Lesson" is a fun visual romp from Georges Melies, a stage magician turned filmmaker who pioneered a whole host of special effects and film editing mainstays. We are treated to a mixture of two of the most common elements in his film--sorcery and/or stage magic performed via the wonders of in-camera editing and doube-exposure, and a setting that feels like a fairy tale come to life.

If this is the first Georges Melies film you have seen, it's an excellent introduction to his work. Take a couple minutes to check it out. If you like quirky, comedic short films, I am certain you will enjoy it.

It's a Mohammed Monday

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

 

It's a sketchy Sunday...

 ... so here's something from Milton Knight's sketchbook!

Saturday Sagacity

 Today, we share widsom from the original AI -- the legendary InspiroBot!