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| Is Dorothy MacKaill happy he's dead, or just smiling for the camera? |
Click below to watch "Curtain at Eight" in its entirety, or click here to read my review first.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Classic Cinema: Curtain at Eight
Get the weekend stared right by watching a classic murder mystery where everyone's a suspect, including the chimp.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Black Cat Error Bonus!
I posted a post to the wrong blog, so to overwrite it, here are a couple more Black Cat illos do change it.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Picture Perfect Wednesday:
The Return of the Black Cat!
The Return of the Black Cat!
This Friday, NUELOW Games is releasing "Film Fun Comics Vol. 2: The Black Cat vs. HIM". To celebrate (and to offer a preview), here are some classic Black Cat drawings from Lee Elias.
There are also Black Cat stories by Elias in "Film Fun Comics Vol. 1: Stuntman by Simon & Kirby" and in "His Honor and.... The Demon"! Click on the links to see previews or get your own copies of these very cool classic comics!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Classic Cinema: Impact
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Time for another one of my favorite old time movies. "Impact" is a "film'noir" crime drama with a basic set-up (an unfaithful wife and her lover plan to kill her rich husband, but things go wrong) that's followed by all manner of twists and turns. It's lots of fun to watch, and it sports a great cast of actors. Click here to read my review, or go straight to the movie.
Have a happy Friday!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
It's 'Film Fun Comics' from NUELOW Games!
My latest compilation project for NUELOW Games--"Film Fun Comics Vol. 1: Stuntman" -- is now on sale. It features four Golden Age comic book stories by the great team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, in glorious black and white. Here's a splash page from one of the stories (click on the image to enlarge):
In addition to more than 50 pages of Simon & Kirby greatness, this pdf-format e-book contains a "Stuntman" scenario and characters for "ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters" and a special preview of what you can expect to see in "Film Fun Comics, Vol. 2: The Black Cat at War."
A question that may cross the minds of fellow fans of Golden Age comics might be why did we choose to present the Simon & Kirby art as grayscale instead of in its original four-color format? We certainly had that option, given that we were working with scans of printed comic books.
There are several reasons for that. The main reason is that the "Film Fun Comics" features Golden Age comics that use Hollywood's Golden Age as a springboard for action and adventure, so I decided to give the comics a look that matches the black-and-white movies the characters were making. Another important reason is that comic book conventions have changed since the 1940s when these stories were originally published; they really read much better to the modern eye if the color is stripped away.
I hope you'll give the book a shot. Click here to read a preview, or to get your own copy. And please let me know what you think of it--your comments may have an impact on future volumes of "Film Fun Comics" and other comic book projects that NUELOW Games has in the works.
In addition to more than 50 pages of Simon & Kirby greatness, this pdf-format e-book contains a "Stuntman" scenario and characters for "ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters" and a special preview of what you can expect to see in "Film Fun Comics, Vol. 2: The Black Cat at War."
A question that may cross the minds of fellow fans of Golden Age comics might be why did we choose to present the Simon & Kirby art as grayscale instead of in its original four-color format? We certainly had that option, given that we were working with scans of printed comic books.
There are several reasons for that. The main reason is that the "Film Fun Comics" features Golden Age comics that use Hollywood's Golden Age as a springboard for action and adventure, so I decided to give the comics a look that matches the black-and-white movies the characters were making. Another important reason is that comic book conventions have changed since the 1940s when these stories were originally published; they really read much better to the modern eye if the color is stripped away.
I hope you'll give the book a shot. Click here to read a preview, or to get your own copy. And please let me know what you think of it--your comments may have an impact on future volumes of "Film Fun Comics" and other comic book projects that NUELOW Games has in the works.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
A Picture Perfect Wednesday
with Elizabeth Montgomery
with Elizabeth Montgomery
My thanks to Elizabeth Momtgomery (and friend) for ably demonstrating the blog's unifying theme,
Friday, May 31, 2013
Classic Cinema: The Death Kiss
"The Death Kiss" is one of my all-time favorite old movies. It's a fast-paced mystery with some clever twists and turns, well-written dialogue delivered by a top-notch cast, and a comic relief character that's actually more funny than annoying; if you're a lover of old B-movies, you know how rare that is.
For film buffs, "The Death Kiss" provides not only an hour's worth of quality entertainment, but a look into the working life on a studio lot, as the characters are mostly actors, technicians, or studio executives in the process of making a movie that ahares its title with this one. Additionally, it features a re-teaming of the stars of Universal's "Dracula"--David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Bela Lugosi. They are playing very different characters here than in their previous collaboration. Further, Manners and Van Sloan both give far better performances here than they did in "Dracula.
I hope you have the time to check out "The Death Kiss".. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Click here to read my review of it, or go straight to the film below.
For film buffs, "The Death Kiss" provides not only an hour's worth of quality entertainment, but a look into the working life on a studio lot, as the characters are mostly actors, technicians, or studio executives in the process of making a movie that ahares its title with this one. Additionally, it features a re-teaming of the stars of Universal's "Dracula"--David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Bela Lugosi. They are playing very different characters here than in their previous collaboration. Further, Manners and Van Sloan both give far better performances here than they did in "Dracula.
I hope you have the time to check out "The Death Kiss".. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Click here to read my review of it, or go straight to the film below.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
A fun horror comedy undeserving of the scorn heaped upon it
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, and Eddie Parker
Director: Charles Lamont
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Abbott and Costello (Abbott and Costello) are a pair of down-on-their luck adventurer who try to get a job escorting an an archeological shipment as their ticket back to the US from Cairo. However, before they secure the job, the archeologist is murdered, the most important part of his find goes missing--the mummy Klaris--and Costello ends up with an ancient medallion that is the key to unlocking a lost treasure. Soon, the hapless pair are the the targets of every shady character in Cairo, including rabid cultists sworn to protect the treasure, a dangerous femme fatale (Windsor) who will do anything to possess it, and even the risen mummy himself (Parker).
I don't think "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" deserves quite the level of scorn that most reviewers seem to heap on it. While Abbott and Costello certainly aren't at their best in it, it is a very amusing spoof of the string of mummy movies from Universal--and those films that would follow when the British studio Hammer returned to that same oasis a few years later--and it's got plenty of hilarious moments. (The "pick-pocket routine" where Costello visits the villainess in her den, the chase scene in the secret hideout of the mummy cultists, and the various bits with the multiple mummies at the movies climax are all comedic highpoints that should evoke chuckles from even the most jaded viewers.)
The film is far from perfect, however. I already mentioned that Abbott and Costello aren't exactly at their best in this film--which was, in fact, one of the last times they worked together--and an attempt to reinvent the classic "who's on first" routine with some digging impliments is about as uninspired as I think the pair's work ever got. Finally, the mummy costume in the film is about the worst that I've ever seen--and not at all worthy of even the cheapest film from Universal Pictures.
I recommend "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" to lovers of the classic monster movies who have a sense of humor about them, as well as fans of classic comedy. There are better examples of this type of film out there, but this one still has enough good bits to make it worth seeing.
--
An interesting quirk about this movie is that while Abbott and Costello are listed in the credits as playing characters named Pete and Freddie, they refer to each other by their real names throughout the piece.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, and Eddie Parker
Director: Charles Lamont
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Abbott and Costello (Abbott and Costello) are a pair of down-on-their luck adventurer who try to get a job escorting an an archeological shipment as their ticket back to the US from Cairo. However, before they secure the job, the archeologist is murdered, the most important part of his find goes missing--the mummy Klaris--and Costello ends up with an ancient medallion that is the key to unlocking a lost treasure. Soon, the hapless pair are the the targets of every shady character in Cairo, including rabid cultists sworn to protect the treasure, a dangerous femme fatale (Windsor) who will do anything to possess it, and even the risen mummy himself (Parker).
I don't think "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" deserves quite the level of scorn that most reviewers seem to heap on it. While Abbott and Costello certainly aren't at their best in it, it is a very amusing spoof of the string of mummy movies from Universal--and those films that would follow when the British studio Hammer returned to that same oasis a few years later--and it's got plenty of hilarious moments. (The "pick-pocket routine" where Costello visits the villainess in her den, the chase scene in the secret hideout of the mummy cultists, and the various bits with the multiple mummies at the movies climax are all comedic highpoints that should evoke chuckles from even the most jaded viewers.)
The film is far from perfect, however. I already mentioned that Abbott and Costello aren't exactly at their best in this film--which was, in fact, one of the last times they worked together--and an attempt to reinvent the classic "who's on first" routine with some digging impliments is about as uninspired as I think the pair's work ever got. Finally, the mummy costume in the film is about the worst that I've ever seen--and not at all worthy of even the cheapest film from Universal Pictures.
I recommend "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" to lovers of the classic monster movies who have a sense of humor about them, as well as fans of classic comedy. There are better examples of this type of film out there, but this one still has enough good bits to make it worth seeing.
--
An interesting quirk about this movie is that while Abbott and Costello are listed in the credits as playing characters named Pete and Freddie, they refer to each other by their real names throughout the piece.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Your guess is as good as mine...
... but maybe someone called Alice White an airhead one too many times?
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