With colour and CinemaScope, the 1955 version of Ruth McKenney’s tales retains most of the same characters from the original film, with some unique modifications. Gone is the setting of WWII and the need to economize, as are opening scenes in which sisters Ruth (Betty Garrett) and Eileen (Janet Leigh) make it clear…
In 1949, Rita Hayworth retired from Hollywood to marry Prince Aly Khan, but when the marriage began to fracture (due in part to Khan’s affairs with other women), Hayworth began to return to acting, and the pair formally divorced in 1953. Columbia’s goal was to bring back the Love Goddess in a series of vehicles tailored to her known, branded screen persona…
From film noir to westerns and increasingly bloated period epics, Anthony Mann was a director with a flair for atmosphere, characters in states of deep conflict, and capturing stunning vistas, especially in wide film formats like CinemaScope.
Mann made several films with James Stewart, who used his free agent status to pick and choose…
When pianist Eddy Duchin died from leukemia at the terribly young age of 41, he’d built up a striking career as a bandleader and performer, playing soft-styled orchestral jazz versions of contemporary songs and classical pieces for nightclubs, ballrooms, and live radio shows…
Based on the novel Comanche Captives by Will Cook, Rode is a mish-mash of ideas and tones that make for a strange movie which starts off like a buddy film – First Lt. Gary (Richard Widmark) forcibly escorts old buddy / small town Marshal McCabe (James Stewart) away from a cozy job…
Now Where Were We? Right. Let’s go back to LAST NIGHT (1998)
Don McKellar’s LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause in activities at KQEK.com
Gothic Steele: An Angel for Satan (1966)
Review of AN ANGEL FOR SATAN / UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1966), Barbara Steele’s last Italian Gothic, on Blu-ray from Severin Films
Spanish Giallo I: When a Cannibal is not a Cannibal, but When a Scream is Indeed a Scream
Severin Films showcases the work of Eloy de la Iglesia via two fine Spanish gialli entries: NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973) + CANNIBAL MAN (1972)
ArtScopeTO 10: Interview with Abstract Painter Donna Wise
For my occasional podcast series ArtScope TO, Abstract Painter Donna Wise discusses her unique techniques, and working during the 2020-2021 pandemic.
Podcast: Jason Pichonsky on Restoring Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + PHOBIA (1980)
Alongside a podcast with CanCon film historian Jason Pichonsky are revised reviews of Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + John Huston’s PHOBIA (1980), both from KINO Lorber / Unobstructed View.
Podcast: ANNE WITH AN E composers Amin Bhatia & Ari Posner
Podcast interview with ANNE WITH AN E’s composing team Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner.
Assorted characters collide and interact in the lead-up to Earth’s demise at precisely midnight.
BR: Angel for Satan, An / Un angelo per Satana (1966)
Had Barbara Steele remained in Europe – especially Italy – during the early 1970s, she may well have appeared in giallo thrillers…
BR: Cannibal Man / La semana del asesino / Apartment on the 13th Floor, The (1972)
Cannibal Man has a palpable crime-drama feel – the events unfold after daily title cards – and one can sense Hitchcockian sensibilities…
BR: No One Heard the Scream / Nadie oyó gritar (1973)
After the grisly thriller Cannibal Man (1972), Spanish auteur Eloy de la Iglesia opted for a far less graphic thriller which is part giallo…
DVD: Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films, The (2014)
Produced and released around the same time as Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), the approach by director Hilla Medalia is a more authorized chronicle…
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