Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...will not appear this weekend while I'm attending the annual Lone Pine Film Festival.

The column will also not appear on October 19th due to a family wedding.

Around the Blogosphere This Week will return on Saturday, October 26th.

For recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my October 5th column.

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Off to Lone Pine!

We're headed to the annual Lone Pine Film Festival today!

We're taking an extra day this year to head as far north as Bishop on Highway 395 and enjoy some of the fall colors before turning around and heading back south for Bishop Wednesday afternoon.

Last month I shared details on the festival's films and guests. Please click here to check out the info.

After I return from the festival posting may continue to be light here until the week of the 21st, due to a family wedding and relatives visiting from out of town. I'll be back as usual with lots of reviews and much more later this month!

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Quick Preview of TCM in November

It's time for a quick peek ahead at what's in store on Turner Classic Movies this November!

I'm quite excited about the November Star of the Month, Ruth Roman.

Roughly 20 of Roman's films will be shown on Tuesday evenings, including the TCM premiere of BELLE STARR'S DAUGHTER (1948).

Some of the great Roman films on hand next month will include THE WINDOW (1948), STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951), and TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY (1951).

The TCM Spotlight on Wednesdays will feature suspense films, and a Special Theme on the first three Thursday evenings of the month will be the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

The Powell-Pressburger series will include the TCM premiere of the new documentary MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024).

Noir Alley films this November will be NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946), LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE (1966), TRAPPED (1949), and NAKED ALIBI (1954).

Veterans Day will be marked with a series of military-themed films on November 11th. Thanksgiving Day will be spent with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers during the daytime hours, followed by several family films in prime time. The family film lineup includes the always-welcome 20th Century-Fox film CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (1950).

Additional programming themes include films based on W. Somerset Maugham and Damon Runyon stories, along with winter, tropical locations, romances, Soviet Communists, San Francisco, and scientists/inventors. There will also be a day of nine MAISIE films starring Ann Sothern.

TCM will feature a memorial tribute to Gena Rowlands on November 4th. Additional filmmakers honored with multifilm tributes will include Gig Young, Esther Williams, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, Fred M. Wilcox, Dick Powell, and the team of Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo.

There are still a number of blank spots on the schedule, so stay tuned for much more on the complete November schedule here at the end of this month.

In the meantime, Bela Lugosi continues as the October Star of the Month.

Related post: Book Review: Ruth Roman: A Career Portrait.

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Tonight's Movie: Conflict (1945) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Humphrey Bogart plays a wife murderer in the highly enjoyable CONFLICT (1945), just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

CONFLICT was scripted by Arthur T. Norman and Dwight Taylor from a story by Alfred Neumann and Robert Siodmak. Siodmak, of course, is greatly revered as a director of film noir but he did not direct CONFLICT; that job fell to Curtis Bernhardt.

It's interesting to me that a star as big as Bogart was cast in this type of role, not all that long after CASABLANCA (1942) and other heroic roles. And as a matter of fact, Bogart would again play a wife killer two years later in THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947), and in both films he kills for the love of Alexis Smith.

There's also a bit of irony in that Bogart famously wed Lauren Bacall the very same year CONFLICT was released.

In CONFLICT Smith plays Bogart's young sister-in-law, Evelyn, who's clueless to the fact that Richard (Bogart) is in love with her. She begins to realize it after her sister, Richard's shrewish wife Kathryn (Rose Hobart), disappears. In the wake of Kathryn's absence, Richard is unhappy when Evelyn is courted by a handsome young professor (Charles Drake) and things get awkward very quickly.

Richard and Kathryn's friend Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet), a psychologist, becomes suspicious about Kathryn's disappearance...and meanwhile some of Kathryn's possessions begin turning up in unexpected places.

I last saw this 86-minute film way back in 2011 and was delighted to revisit it via this beautiful Blu-ray.

Everything about this film is a pleasure, from the star power of Bogart and Greenstreet to the loveliness of young Smith to the well-constructed story. This is a polished film made by pros in front of and behind the camera at Warner Bros.

As I wrote in 2011, the film is also an interesting example of the mid-'40s fascination with psychology, which was often worked into crime films.

More than that I won't say, so as not to spoil the plot. As it happens I had forgotten how it ended myself so revisiting the movie was extra-enjoyable.

CONFLICT was filmed in black and white by Merritt Gerstad. The score was composed by Frederick Hollander, orchestrated by Jerome Moross (THE BIG COUNTRY). Gown were created by Orry-Kelly.

Supporting roles are played by Grant Mitchell, Patrick O'Moore, Ed Stanley, Ann Shoemaker, and James Flavin.

I was interested to learn that Marjorie Hoshell, who plays a telephone operator in an extended sequence with Bogart, married Jeff Chandler the year after this movie. They were married for nearly eight years.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray print of CONFLICT is from a 1080p HD master from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative. It looks absolutely terrific and also has excellent sound.

Disc extras consist of the trailer; the cartoons LIFE WITH FEATHERS (Sylvester & Tweety Bird, 1945) and TRAP HAPPY PORKY (Porky Pig, 1945); the shorts PEEKS AT HOLLYWOOD (1946) and ARE ANIMALS ACTORS? (1945); and a short 25-minute Theater of Romance radio production from September 1945.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Coming to Blu-ray from the Warner Archive in November: HUMORESQUE (1946), starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield.

...Also out from the Warner Archive Collection in November: Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Vol. 4, MUST LOVE DOGS (2005) with Diane Lane, and a complete THIN MAN Blu-ray set.

...Fall cookbook time: WHEN SOUTHERN WOMEN COOK is coming from America's Test Kitchen in November.

...Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced a November 19th release date for the Western THE LONELY MAN (1957) starring Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins. The Blu-ray will include a commentary track by Toby Roan.

...Recent movie reviews: CineSavant Glenn Erickson reviews the MGM musical WORDS AND MUSIC (1948), on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, at Trailers From Hell...Colin reviews Gary Cooper in MAN OF THE WEST (1958) at Riding the High Country...Toby Roan recently reviewed the new Blu-ray of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951) at his blog The Hannibal 8...Stephen reviews Jeanne Crain as MARGIE (1946) at Classic Movie Man...and Tim Salmons reviews Kino Lorber's Columbo: The Return (1989-2003) for The Digital Bits.

...Notable Passings: The appealing baseball player turned actor Drake Hogestyn, who starred on DAYS OF OUR LIVES for nearly 40 years, has sadly died of cancer at 70. I also remember him from the one-season series SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1982-83) which also starred Richard Dean Anderson, Peter Horton, and River Phoenix...GENERAL HOSPITAL star Ron Hale, who played Mike Corbin, has died at 78. Hale also starred on RYAN'S HOPE for 14 years...Barbara Leigh-Hunt, who starred in Hitchcock's FRENZY (1972), has died at 88. She played Lady Catherine in the 1995 BBC production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with Colin Firth...Singer-songwriter-actor Kris Kristofferson has passed away at 88.

...Please note that Around the Blogosphere This Week will not appear for the next two weekends, when I'll be at the Lone Pine Film Festival and then attending a family wedding. The column will return on Saturday, October 26th.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my September 28th column.

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TCM in October: Highlights

Happy October!

It's hard to believe the spooky season has rolled around once more, but here we are! And it's time for a look at the October schedule on Turner Classic Movies.

Bela Lugosi is the October Star of the Month. Over two dozen of his films will be featured on Wednesday evenings.

The TCM Spotlight will focus on period costume dramas, with a whopping 53 films being shown on Tuesday evenings.

Thursdays will feature Creepy Cinema, guest hosted by Mario Cantone, and on Fridays the two-month series "Making Change: The Most Important Political Films of All Time," which began in September, will continue for a second month. More details on the "Making Change" series were covered in an article at The Hollywood Reporter.

The October Noir Alley films are DETOUR (1945) on October 5th and 6th, THE CROOKED WAY (1949) on October 12th and 13th, TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949) on October 19th-20th, and I WALK ALONE (1947) the weekend of October 26th and 27th.

I've enjoyed the last three films on the Noir Alley list and especially love TOO LATE FOR TEARS, which I've seen multiple times and find great fun. Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea star, ably supported by Don DeFore and Kristine Miller.

TCM premieres in October will include DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS (1945) with Jane Powell on October 14th; the sci-fi classic INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) on the 3rd; THE FAN (1981) with James Garner and Lauren Bacall on the 17th; and MYSTIC PIZZA (1988) with Julia Roberts on October 19th.

Below are a few more highlights from TCM's October schedule. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read a full-length review.

...The daytime theme on Wednesday, October 2nd, is twins. Titles include TWICE BLESSED (1945), a forerunner of THE PARENT TRAP (1961) starring twins Lyn and Lee Wilde, with Preston Foster and Gail Patrick as their estranged parents.

...A day of '50s sci-fi and horror films on October 3rd includes a big favorite of mine, THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953). Lee Van Cleef as an army sharpshooter trying to take down the fearsome beast at an amusement park is unforgettable.

...October 4th features lesser-known '50s MGM musicals, including TEN THOUSAND BEDROOMS (1956) and RICH, YOUNG AND PRETTY (1951). My favorite of the day is LOVELY TO LOOK AT (1952), which among other things has a couple of amazing dances by Marge and Gower Champion.

...October is a great month for Jane Powell fans. In addition to DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS and RICH, YOUNG AND PRETTY, NANCY GOES TO RIO (1950) will be shown on October 6th.

...There's more from MGM on October 7th, when TCM celebrates the birthday of studio director Robert Z. Leonard. The titles that day include a couple Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy films, MAYTIME (1937) and THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST (1938).

...There's a fantastic day of period films on October 8th; along with older films the schedule includes one of my favorite films of more recent decades, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992). One of these days I need to give it a full-length review here! Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe star.

...Agnes Moorehead is celebrated on the 10th with a very interesting lineup which includes a lesser-known favorite, SCANDAL AT SCOURIE (1953). Moorehead plays a small but key role alongside Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Donna Corcoran. I especially recommend this film to anyone who's fond of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

...I really enjoyed Barry Sullivan in NO QUESTIONS ASKED (1951), opposite Arlene Dahl and Jean Hagen. It's showing on October 11th.

...The Musical Matinee on October 12th is TOO MANY GIRLS (1940), which features a great cast: Richard Carlson, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Desi Arnaz, Harry James, and Frances Langford, to name a few. Van Johnson can even be spotted in the chorus!

...TCM celebrates Ricardo Montalban in prime time on October 14th with a lineup including favorites such as BATTLEGROUND (1949), MYSTERY STREET (1950), and NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949). And don't miss his hot dance with Cyd Charisse in ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU (1948)! They were an underrated dance team at MGM in the '40s.

...October 15th will feature William Wyler's WUTHERING HEIGHTS, starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, as part of the day of period films. That evening will include the premiere of a brand-new documentary on Merchant Ivory films.

...The spooky movies on October 20th include the ghostly comedy BLITHE SPIRIT (1945), starring Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings.

...October 21st features a day of romances including SYLVIA AND THE PHANTOM (1946), also known as SYLVIE ET LE FANTOME, which I've been wanting to see. I've heard good things. Then, that evening, Bill Murray cohosts!

...There's even more Jane Powell on October 23rd with a screening of LUXURY LINER (1948), costarring George Brent. (Interesting trivia: A couple years later Brent is said to have named his daughter Suzanne after Powell; Suzanne was Powell's birth name.)

...There's an entire day of Dennis Morgan films on October 24th. The schedule includes two of my favorite discoveries, THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU (1944) and THE DESERT SONG (1944). Highly recommended!

...The entertaining airline disaster film THE CROWDED SKY (1960) is part of a day of disaster films on October 25th. Dana Andrews stars.

...A pair of seasonally appropriate Val Lewton classics will be shown on October 27th, CAT PEOPLE (1952) and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943).

...Choreographer Jack Cole is honored on October 28th with several films including KISMET (1955), starring Howard Keel and Ann Blyth.

...On October 29th the lineup of period films includes a rare TCM showing of the 20th Century-Fox costumer FOREVER AMBER (1947) starring Linda Darnell (seen here).

...The month closes with a "Halloween Terror-Thon" on October 30th and 31st. Details are here.

For more on TCM in October 2024, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in October along with TCM's online schedule.

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Tonight's Movie: Shack Out on 101 (1955) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

The Dark Side of Cinema sets are coming out at a great clip from Kino Lorber!

I have films from multiple Dark Side of Cinema sets in line to review. First up is SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955) from the Kino Lorber Dark Side of Cinema XXI collection.

I first saw SHACK OUT ON 101 in 2013 when it was released on DVD by the late, lamented Olive Films.

I absolutely adored this crazy movie when I first saw it and felt the same way over a decade later. An IMDb review has it right, saying it "feels like it was shot on break from a really fun beach party."

SHACK OUT ON 101 was directed by Edward Dein, from a story and script he cowrote with his wife Mildred Dein.

For the most part it's a one-set wonder which takes place in the title "shack," a little diner on the Pacific Coast. A handful of beach exteriors were shot at Malibu.

The diner's denizens include genial owner George (Keenan Wynn); comely waitress "Kotty" (Terry Moore), who's studying for the civil service exam; the aptly named cook "Slob" (Lee Marvin), who hates pretty much everyone; and George's war buddy Eddie (Whit Bissell), a traveling salesman who's a frequent customer.

Also on hand is the mild-mannered Sam Bastion (Frank Lovejoy), a university professor who's Kotty's boyfriend -- their scenes generate some real heat -- but we soon realize he's much more than he initially seems to be. So, for that matter, are a pair of mysterious poultry truck drivers (Jess Barker and Donald Murphy).

There's no end to the strange goings-on at the diner, which also involve Commies, microfilm, seashells, and a harpoon, but it's best to leave it to viewers to discover this joyously weird 80-minute bundle of fun for the first time.

For anyone wanting to dig deeper, my 2013 review goes into additional detail.

The other films in the Dark Side XXI collection are CLOAK AND DAGGER (1946) with Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer and SHORT CUT TO HELL (1957), directed by James Cagney.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print for SHACK OUT ON 101 is from an HD master from a 4K scan. There's nothing particularly distinctive about Floyd Crosby's black and white cinematography, but it's a fine-looking disc with excellent sound.

Disc extras consist of a commentary track by Jason A. Ney plus three trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

SHACK OUT ON 101 is highly recommended. It may not be great "art" but it is great, great fun.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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New Western RoundUp Column at Classic Movie Hub

My latest Western RoundUp column has just been published at Classic Movie Hub.

My annual "B" Western Sampler covers four films from Lippert Pictures: DEPUTY MARSHAL (1949), COLORADO RANGER (1950), THREE DESPERATE MEN (1951), and OUTLAW WOMEN (1952).

Marie Windsor is seen here in OUTLAW WOMEN.

Please click over to Classic Movie Hub to read it, and thanks, as always, for your support of my Western RoundUp column!

Previous Classic Movie Hub Western RoundUp Column Links: June 2018; July 2018; August 2018; September 2018; October 2018; November 2018; December 2018; January 2019; February 2019; April 5, 2019; April 30, 2019; May 2019; June 2019; July 2019; August 2019; September 2019; October 2019; November 2019; December 2019; January 2020; February 2020; March 2020; April 2020; May 2020; June 2020; July 2020; August 2020; September 2020; October 2020; November 2020; December 2020; January 2021; February 2021; March 2021; May 2021; June 2021; June 2021 (No. 2); July 2021; August 2021; September 2021; November 2021; December 2021; December 2021 (No. 2); January 2022; February 2022; March 2022; April 2022; May 2022; June 2022; July 2022; August 2022; September 2022; November 2022; November 2022 (No. 2); January 2023 (No. 1); January 2023 (No. 2); March 2023; April 2023; May 2023 (No. 1); May 2023 (No. 2); June 2023; July 2023; September 2023; September 2023 (No. 2); October 2023; November 2023; December 2023; January 2024; February 2024; March 2024; April 2024; May 2024; June 2024; July 2024; August 2024.

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Tonight's Movie: Bwana Devil (1952) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

The first feature-length 3D film, BWANA DEVIL (1952), was released on Blu-ray this summer by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

This impressive Blu-ray set includes three different versions of the film, including the 3D Film Archive's restoration of the 3D print from 4K scans of the original 35mm Ansco Color negatives.

The set features one 3D version for 3D Blu-ray players; another 3D print which can be viewed with anaglyphic red and blue glasses included in the set, as seen in the photograph below; and a "flat" 2D print.

This 79-minute film about man-eating lions in Kenya, written and directed by Arch Oboler, has many similarities to MAN-EATER OF KUMAON (1948), another Kino Lorber release I reviewed earlier this year.

Robert Stack, a champion skeet shooter offscreen, seems apt casting as lion hunter Bob Hayward. Hayward is supervising the building of a railroad in Africa, but the construction is disrupted by workers being killed by fearsome lions.

Bob and his friend Dr. McLean (Nigel Bruce) try to come up with ways to find and kill the lions, but things keep going from bad to worse, with an increasingly high body count.

Bob's bride Alice (Barbara Britton) shows up in Africa unexpectedly just as things are coming to a climax. After a terrible attack on the railroad camp, it's Bob and Alice against the lions, and only one side will survive.

The movie itself is frankly not particularly good. The story takes a while to get rolling, and Stack's Bob is initially presented as an irresponsible drunk, making it hard to warm up to his character.

Rob also bullies his workers. I'm accepting of the fact that movies from earlier eras won't always mesh with modern sensitivities, but the treatment of the frightened Africans and Indians in this film, other than an orphaned little boy, struck me as pretty egregious.

The movie picks up interest when lovely Barbara Britton arrives just about half an hour before the ending, but it's too little too late. Stack grows more likeable once she arrives, but there's little time to spend on their relationship, as bodies keep stacking up until the film finally reaches its ending.

Like MAN-EATER OF KUMAON, the film is quite depressing due to almost the entire running time being focused on killings. Fortunately the film is not graphic, only showing the leads' reactions to finding the bodies, but that's quite enough, especially when it comes to one particular corpse discovered near movie's end. It's to the actors' credit that their faces alone are able to convey what they're seeing.

From an historic perspective, of course, the interest level is quite different. Joseph F. Biroc and the uncredited William D. Snyder shot the film with all sorts of interesting 3D moments, starting with the opening credits (which I'd add are nicely scored by Gordon Jenkins). Even a love scene is played toward the 3D camera!

The movie was shot in Southern California but also effectively incorporates safari footage shot in Africa.

The movie's technical achievements and importance as the film which started the brief 3D craze in the early '50s make this a valuable watch despite story deficiencies. Kino Lorber has done something special here in making this set of "film history in a box" available to home viewers, and they're to be applauded.

The movie is presented as it was theatrically, preceded by an original 1952 explanatory prologue hosted by Lloyd Nolan, along with puppets Cecil and Beany, and midway through the film the original 1952 intermission "snipe" appears. Both the introduction and the intermission snipe are in black and white.

BWANA DEVIL is presented by Kino Lorber as a Special Edition in a cardboard slipcase, which is seen in the photo near the top of this review. Extras consist of the featurette THE STORY OF BWANA DEVIL with 3D historian Mike Ballew, which can be viewed in either 3D or flat versions, and two different trailers.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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