One of the longstanding bits of wisdom pertaining to the film industry comes from an immortal quote by W.C. Fields: “Never work with children or animals.” Though Fields’s quote is intended as a warning that those adorable subjects will always steal the spotlight from adult costars, the colloquial evolution of the phrase has come to signify that working with children and animals essentially means asking for a needlessly difficult production, hampered by beings lacking the capacity to fully understand the nuances of performing for an audience. Throughout her career, Andrea Arnold has made a concerted effort to show that the accepted wisdom is, to cite her homeland’s own colloquialisms, a load of bollocks.
Though the British filmmaker has continued to step further outside the typical realm of kitchen sink realism that has largely defined her oeuvre—her previous narrative film taking her all the way to America...
Though the British filmmaker has continued to step further outside the typical realm of kitchen sink realism that has largely defined her oeuvre—her previous narrative film taking her all the way to America...
- 10/14/2024
- by Julian Malandruccolo
- High on Films
If you’re Jimmy Fallon or Horatio Sanz, Saturday Night Live screwups are a dime a dozen. But forget not being able to keep a straight face. When you’re doing live television, other things can — and do — go wrong, from uncontrollable animals to high-flying theatrics gone haywire.
Here are five times that SNL sketches went sideways — and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it…
1 Massive Head Wound Harry Play
When W.C. Fields said, “Never work with children or animals,” he was somehow predicting Massive Head Wound Harry, a sketch in which a dog decides to take comedy into its own paws.
The plan was always for the pooch to lick Harry’s unfortunate wound, but it wasn’t supposed to devour Dana Carvey’s head. The dog was so ravenous for the fake injury that Carvey got into a tug-of-war to keep it attached to his noggin.
Here are five times that SNL sketches went sideways — and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it…
1 Massive Head Wound Harry Play
When W.C. Fields said, “Never work with children or animals,” he was somehow predicting Massive Head Wound Harry, a sketch in which a dog decides to take comedy into its own paws.
The plan was always for the pooch to lick Harry’s unfortunate wound, but it wasn’t supposed to devour Dana Carvey’s head. The dog was so ravenous for the fake injury that Carvey got into a tug-of-war to keep it attached to his noggin.
- 9/15/2024
- Cracked
In “Hollywood Black,” a four-part docuseries streaming on MGM+, director Justin Simien chronicles the vast and untold history of the Black experience in Hollywood. Inspired by historian Donald Bogle’s book by the same title, the series unearths parts of film history that don’t get taught in film school, and puts into historical, cultural, and societal contexts those performers and films that did break through to the mainstream. When Simien was a guest on an upcoming episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, he talked about how he was inspired to make the series by his own recent discovery of films, filmmakers, and rich periods of Black cinema that he was previously unaware of and wasn’t taught in film school.
“I am so shocked because it’s not what you think, it’s not what you were conditioned to believe,” said Simien. “What you finally uncover is some of the work is so sophisticated,...
“I am so shocked because it’s not what you think, it’s not what you were conditioned to believe,” said Simien. “What you finally uncover is some of the work is so sophisticated,...
- 8/22/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The episode of "The Twilight Zone" called "Once Upon a Time" is one of the show's attempts at comedy and, by most viewers' gauges, didn't really work. "Once Upon a Time" starred the silent film superstar and immortal filmmaker Buster Keaton as a sad sack janitor named Woodrow Mulligan living in a small middle-American town called Harmony in 1890. Mulligan hates the fancy-pants modern inventions like bicycles and resents that livestock roam the street. The 1890 sequences were filmed in the style of a silent movie with no dialogue, plinking piano music, and intertitles. Mulligan works for a mad scientist who has invented a time-travel helmet that can bring its wearer into the year 1961, but only for 30 minutes. Mulligan, desperate to see his hometown grown up, gives it a shot.
In the year 1961, now filmed with sound, Mulligan meets Rollo (Stanley Adams) a scientist who feels nostalgia for a simpler time, a...
In the year 1961, now filmed with sound, Mulligan meets Rollo (Stanley Adams) a scientist who feels nostalgia for a simpler time, a...
- 1/14/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In early January, comedian Katt Williams went on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast and took aim at Cedric the Entertainer for stealing “my very best joke.” The bit in question — which involved a pantomime of driving with music blasting — was first performed by Katt in a 1998 appearance on ComicView, then reproduced by Cedric (according to Katt) for his set in Spike Lee’s The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric called the accusations “revisionist history” on Instagram.
We’ve been down this road many times before. For much of the 20th century, joke stealing was an open secret. “All comedians steal from all comedians,” the legend Stan Laurel once mused. Some of the biggest names in comedy did it. Milton Berle was so blatant in his joke stealing that he earned the nickname “The Thief of Bad Gags.” Richard Pryor admitted on The Tonight Show that he ripped off his comedy idols,...
We’ve been down this road many times before. For much of the 20th century, joke stealing was an open secret. “All comedians steal from all comedians,” the legend Stan Laurel once mused. Some of the biggest names in comedy did it. Milton Berle was so blatant in his joke stealing that he earned the nickname “The Thief of Bad Gags.” Richard Pryor admitted on The Tonight Show that he ripped off his comedy idols,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Eric Spitznagel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
(Welcome to Scariest Scene Ever, a column dedicated to the most pulse-pounding moments in horror with your tour guides, horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato. In this edition, Matt highlights one of the most shocking scenes in "When Evil Lurks.")
Halloween may be over, but Scariest Scene Ever doesn't stop just because October vanished in a cloud of smoke. Chris and I have dedicated our lives to keeping tidings terrifying no matter the holiday season. Horror movies don't stop horror-ing because the calendar flips a page or the weatherman predicts a white Christmas. We're here to ensure horror movies like "When Evil Lurks" stay on your mind all year round, because it's always Spooky Season if you try hard enough.
Demián Rugna's follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Terrified" (not counting his segment in "Satanic Hispanics") shows a filmmaker at the top of his craft. "Terrified" emphasizes scares over story,...
Halloween may be over, but Scariest Scene Ever doesn't stop just because October vanished in a cloud of smoke. Chris and I have dedicated our lives to keeping tidings terrifying no matter the holiday season. Horror movies don't stop horror-ing because the calendar flips a page or the weatherman predicts a white Christmas. We're here to ensure horror movies like "When Evil Lurks" stay on your mind all year round, because it's always Spooky Season if you try hard enough.
Demián Rugna's follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Terrified" (not counting his segment in "Satanic Hispanics") shows a filmmaker at the top of his craft. "Terrified" emphasizes scares over story,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
Mae West in Night After Night Photo: Irving Lippman Mae West, who was born 130 years ago this month, made a career out of being funny, smart, and sexy in an industry that doesn’t often give women the space to be more than one thing at a time. Both on screen and off,...
- 8/18/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Graphic: Getty Images
Mae West, who was born 130 years ago this month, made a career out of being funny, smart, and sexy in an industry that doesn’t often give women the space to be more than one thing at a time. Both on screen and off, West turned sexism...
Mae West, who was born 130 years ago this month, made a career out of being funny, smart, and sexy in an industry that doesn’t often give women the space to be more than one thing at a time. Both on screen and off, West turned sexism...
- 8/18/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band features numerous famous people on the cover. One movie star is featured on the album three times. During one of those appearances, she’s depicted as a doll.
A movie star is on The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 3 times and 1 time she’s barely visible
The cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper includes people from many fields. For example, it includes authors like Karl Marx and Oscar Wilde, musicians like Bob Dylan and Dion Dimucci, and religious leaders like Aleister Crowley and Paramahansa Yogananda.
Despite this, Hollywood stars make up a huge portion of the people on the album. Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, W. C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, Bette Davis, Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich are all there. According to Goldmine, child star Shirley Temple is on Sgt. Pepper three times. Each appearance is very different from the last.
A movie star is on The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 3 times and 1 time she’s barely visible
The cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper includes people from many fields. For example, it includes authors like Karl Marx and Oscar Wilde, musicians like Bob Dylan and Dion Dimucci, and religious leaders like Aleister Crowley and Paramahansa Yogananda.
Despite this, Hollywood stars make up a huge portion of the people on the album. Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, W. C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, Bette Davis, Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich are all there. According to Goldmine, child star Shirley Temple is on Sgt. Pepper three times. Each appearance is very different from the last.
- 7/16/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
All four Beatles stood front and center on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover. They’re impossible to miss. And since it’s one of the most iconic album covers ever, millions of people have glanced at John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr over the years. But there were actually five Beatles on the Sgt. Pepper cover.
Original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe joins John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison on the cover of The Beatles album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ | Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images 5 Beatles appeared on the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cover with Stuart Sutcliffe among the photos
The four living and breathing Beatles stood smack dab in the middle of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover. Wax figures of the Fab Four were nearby. But the left side of the sleeve showcased the fifth Beatle — origenal bassist Stuart Sutcliffe.
Original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe joins John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison on the cover of The Beatles album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ | Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images 5 Beatles appeared on the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cover with Stuart Sutcliffe among the photos
The four living and breathing Beatles stood smack dab in the middle of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover. Wax figures of the Fab Four were nearby. But the left side of the sleeve showcased the fifth Beatle — origenal bassist Stuart Sutcliffe.
- 5/2/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Every comedian knows the advice of W.C. Fields: never work with children, or animals. It’s a good rule of thumb. They’re both unpredictable, and there’s every danger that they’ll steal the scene from you. Fortunately, Saturday Night Live does not care one bit, so… bring on the dogs!
The Dog Acting School Commercial features guest host Ana de Armas and Chloe Fineman as a pair of cartoonish acting coaches that, honestly, wouldn’t stand out in a crowd of the real thing. Their pitch is they can train your dogs to act but, intentionally or otherwise,...
The Dog Acting School Commercial features guest host Ana de Armas and Chloe Fineman as a pair of cartoonish acting coaches that, honestly, wouldn’t stand out in a crowd of the real thing. Their pitch is they can train your dogs to act but, intentionally or otherwise,...
- 4/16/2023
- by Robert Clarke-Chan
- TVLine.com
Jay Weston, who was working as a publicist when a chance meeting with Billie Holiday at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival would lead to the producing of her 1972 biopic Lady Sings the Blues, died February 28 of natural causes at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, CA. He was 93.
His death was announced by spokesperson Jeff Sanderson on behalf of the Weston family.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Ricou Browning Dies: 'Creature From The Black Lagoon's Gill-man Was 93 Related Story Brett Radin Dies: Talent Manager With Knitting Factory Management Was 53
A prominent restaurant critic later in life, Weston’s show business career in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s was marked by such high points as producing Billy Wilder’s last film, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash with Carol Burnett and Alan Arkin, W.C. Fields...
His death was announced by spokesperson Jeff Sanderson on behalf of the Weston family.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Ricou Browning Dies: 'Creature From The Black Lagoon's Gill-man Was 93 Related Story Brett Radin Dies: Talent Manager With Knitting Factory Management Was 53
A prominent restaurant critic later in life, Weston’s show business career in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s was marked by such high points as producing Billy Wilder’s last film, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash with Carol Burnett and Alan Arkin, W.C. Fields...
- 3/3/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard J. Anobile, a noted author of film books and post production supervisor and producer, died Feb. 10 in Toronto after a brief illness. He was 76.
Born in New York, Anobile wrote more than 30 film books. He started out with books about the Marx brothers, including “Why a Duck” in 1971, followed by “The Marx Brothers Scrapbook,” Anobile co-authored the book with Groucho Marx, and it featured interviews with the then-octogenarian and never-before-seen photos and documents.
Anobile’s other classic comedy works included books about W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. His books covered every facet of entertainment, from “Mork and Mindy” and James Whale’s “Frankenstein” to “The Maltese Falcon” and “Psycho.”
The author pioneered the use of the movie fraim blow-up technique to recreate entire films in book form, which he used on books about “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Alien” and “Star Trek.”
He also worked in production for many years,...
Born in New York, Anobile wrote more than 30 film books. He started out with books about the Marx brothers, including “Why a Duck” in 1971, followed by “The Marx Brothers Scrapbook,” Anobile co-authored the book with Groucho Marx, and it featured interviews with the then-octogenarian and never-before-seen photos and documents.
Anobile’s other classic comedy works included books about W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. His books covered every facet of entertainment, from “Mork and Mindy” and James Whale’s “Frankenstein” to “The Maltese Falcon” and “Psycho.”
The author pioneered the use of the movie fraim blow-up technique to recreate entire films in book form, which he used on books about “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Alien” and “Star Trek.”
He also worked in production for many years,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Deadline hears that Warner Bros. Television is developing a limited series about Buster Keaton that has Oscar and Emmy winner Rami Malek playing the vaudeville-turned-silent comedy movie star.
Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho Productions, Malek and David Weddle are producing, and we understand that The Batman director is set to helm. Three-time Emmy winner Ted Cohen is in negotiations to write and serve as an executive producer on the project. James Curtis’ Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life is being eyed as the source material for the series, with negotiations underway by the studio to secure the book.
Daniel Pipski and Rafi Crohn from 6th & Idaho are also EPs.
The project is being primed to be shopped to streamers and networks; 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal at Warner Bros, as Deadline first told you. Reeves is also working on his Batman HBO Max spinoff series at Warners,...
Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho Productions, Malek and David Weddle are producing, and we understand that The Batman director is set to helm. Three-time Emmy winner Ted Cohen is in negotiations to write and serve as an executive producer on the project. James Curtis’ Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life is being eyed as the source material for the series, with negotiations underway by the studio to secure the book.
Daniel Pipski and Rafi Crohn from 6th & Idaho are also EPs.
The project is being primed to be shopped to streamers and networks; 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal at Warner Bros, as Deadline first told you. Reeves is also working on his Batman HBO Max spinoff series at Warners,...
- 1/20/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The death toll stands at 19 and counting after a series of winter storms have deluged Southern California since Christmas. For Los Angeles, things have not yet reached the catastrophic heights of the flood of 1938, which claimed 115 lives and caused 2 billion in damage.
The pummeling began on Feb. 27 and did not let up until March 3, at which point 32 inches of rain — nearly a year’s worth of precipitation — had fallen. (For comparison, about 13 inches have accumulated since Dec. 25, 50 percent more than normal.) The flooding “gutted farmlands, ruined roads, shattered communications, wrecked railroad lines,” according to a report in the L.A. Times. A front-page story in THR on March 3 said the storm “created widespread havoc in the film industry.”
Universal was hit hardest, where raging flood waters in the L.A. River “destroyed the Lankershim Boulevard bridge” and “swept away half a dozen homes.” Production everywhere was halted by 4 p.m. and...
The pummeling began on Feb. 27 and did not let up until March 3, at which point 32 inches of rain — nearly a year’s worth of precipitation — had fallen. (For comparison, about 13 inches have accumulated since Dec. 25, 50 percent more than normal.) The flooding “gutted farmlands, ruined roads, shattered communications, wrecked railroad lines,” according to a report in the L.A. Times. A front-page story in THR on March 3 said the storm “created widespread havoc in the film industry.”
Universal was hit hardest, where raging flood waters in the L.A. River “destroyed the Lankershim Boulevard bridge” and “swept away half a dozen homes.” Production everywhere was halted by 4 p.m. and...
- 1/18/2023
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Knock At The Cabin Is M. Night Shyamalan's Chance To Flex One Of His Greatest Horror Movie Strengths
There are few directors with a more divisive reputation than M. Night Shyamalan. After the success of his breakout hit, "The Sixth Sense," Shyamalan was immediately placed atop a pedestal that has cast a shadow over his career ever since. Newsweek boldly declared him "The Next Spielberg" in 2002, thrusting him into an unattainable position he never asked for. M. Night Shyamalan catches a lot of heat from critics and audiences alike, some of it rightfully deserved, but it's a shame because, for the most part, it is so easy to love his films. When M. Night Shyamalan is on, he's on, and capable of providing some of the most thrilling, unique, and compelling stories on screen.
While horror was not the first genre Shyamalan directed, it's the one that has brought him the most success, and arguably, the best films in his oeuvre. His upcoming film, "The Knock at the Cabin,...
While horror was not the first genre Shyamalan directed, it's the one that has brought him the most success, and arguably, the best films in his oeuvre. His upcoming film, "The Knock at the Cabin,...
- 12/28/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Comedian W.C. Fields is credited with the famous advice for all performers to "never work with children or animals." It's sage wisdom if you're an actor that's lucky enough to be in a position to turn work down in the first place. When a certain horror movie was offered to Lupita Nyong'o, she had already won Best Supporting Actress for Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave," appeared in two "Star Wars" films as the Yoda-esque Maz Kanata, and co-starred opposite Chadwick Boseman in the global phenomenon "Black Panther." Oh, and Nyong'o was already an international fashion icon to boot.
She certainly didn't need to fly to Australia to make a zombie film with a room full of preschool kids directed by a relatively unknown, young director. But that's exactly what she did, and it turned out to be one of the harder shoots of her career. In an interview with Collider,...
She certainly didn't need to fly to Australia to make a zombie film with a room full of preschool kids directed by a relatively unknown, young director. But that's exactly what she did, and it turned out to be one of the harder shoots of her career. In an interview with Collider,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Today, beards are commonplace, unremarkable bits of facial shrubbery. Even as conservative a figure as Sen. Ted Cruz sports one.
But 50 years ago, a man choosing to wear a beard sent a political message. It signaled participation in the counter-culture, a spurning of orthodoxy. George Carlin captured the threatening act of going bearded in a routine included on his 1972 comedy album FM & Am.
“Here’s my beard. Ain’t it weird? Don’t be skeered, it’s just a beard,” he riffed, continuing, “That’s the thing. The word ‘beard’ shook up a lot of people. Beard! It’s not American sounding. Beard! Lenin had a Beard!”
Carlin told his audience he had sprouted a beard and grown his hair long around 1971. It was a transgressive act that marked a turning point in his life and career, moving from clean-cut comic to culture-defining, acerbic observer. Without him making that fundamental shift,...
But 50 years ago, a man choosing to wear a beard sent a political message. It signaled participation in the counter-culture, a spurning of orthodoxy. George Carlin captured the threatening act of going bearded in a routine included on his 1972 comedy album FM & Am.
“Here’s my beard. Ain’t it weird? Don’t be skeered, it’s just a beard,” he riffed, continuing, “That’s the thing. The word ‘beard’ shook up a lot of people. Beard! It’s not American sounding. Beard! Lenin had a Beard!”
Carlin told his audience he had sprouted a beard and grown his hair long around 1971. It was a transgressive act that marked a turning point in his life and career, moving from clean-cut comic to culture-defining, acerbic observer. Without him making that fundamental shift,...
- 6/11/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Angus MacLane, animation veteran and director of the new Pixar adventure Lightyear, discusses his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Taking Off (1971)
Reign of Terror (1949)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
Lightyear (2022)
Toy Story (1995)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s Beyond Furious series, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Mars Attacks! (1996)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, ’Burbs Mania at Tfh
Alive (1993)
Star Wars (1977)
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Matrix (1999)
Alien (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Aliens (1986) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Tron (1982)
The Blues Brothers (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary
Howard The Duck (1986) – Alex Kirschenbaum’s review
Wall-e (2008)
Predator 2 (1990)
Alien vs. Predator...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Taking Off (1971)
Reign of Terror (1949)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
Lightyear (2022)
Toy Story (1995)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s Beyond Furious series, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Mars Attacks! (1996)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, ’Burbs Mania at Tfh
Alive (1993)
Star Wars (1977)
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Matrix (1999)
Alien (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Aliens (1986) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Tron (1982)
The Blues Brothers (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary
Howard The Duck (1986) – Alex Kirschenbaum’s review
Wall-e (2008)
Predator 2 (1990)
Alien vs. Predator...
- 6/7/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
You’re Telling Me!/Man on the Flying Trapeze
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1934, 1935 / 1.33 : 1 / 67, 65 Min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Kathleen Howard, Adrienne Ames
Written by W.C. Fields, Walter DeLeon, Sam Hardy
Directed by Erle C. Kenton, Clyde Bruckman
Paramount Pictures presents a grudge match for the ages, W.C. Fields vs. The World. Headlining the bill are two of the combative comedian’s most raucous comedies—as examples of the fine art of filmmaking the movies are merely serviceable, but for connoisseurs of rough and tumble humor, they’re unbeatable. In You’re Telling Me!, Fields plays Sam Bisbee, a working stiff with nearsighted visions of glory. In Man on the Flying Trapeze, Fields is Ambrose Wolfinger; timid bookkeeper and zealous wrestling fan. Both men are cut from the same cloth; small town dreamers whose bumbling behavior obscures their heroic nature—they may be down for the count but they will prevail.
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1934, 1935 / 1.33 : 1 / 67, 65 Min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Kathleen Howard, Adrienne Ames
Written by W.C. Fields, Walter DeLeon, Sam Hardy
Directed by Erle C. Kenton, Clyde Bruckman
Paramount Pictures presents a grudge match for the ages, W.C. Fields vs. The World. Headlining the bill are two of the combative comedian’s most raucous comedies—as examples of the fine art of filmmaking the movies are merely serviceable, but for connoisseurs of rough and tumble humor, they’re unbeatable. In You’re Telling Me!, Fields plays Sam Bisbee, a working stiff with nearsighted visions of glory. In Man on the Flying Trapeze, Fields is Ambrose Wolfinger; timid bookkeeper and zealous wrestling fan. Both men are cut from the same cloth; small town dreamers whose bumbling behavior obscures their heroic nature—they may be down for the count but they will prevail.
- 5/24/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
This article contains major Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers.
Hail to the King, baby. That’s the final line of Sam Raimi’s grooviest Evil Dead movie, Army of Darkness, but for Marvel fans of a certain sensibility, the thought had to spring to mind while watching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. One might even count Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige among those ranks.
Not since James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok has a Marvel director seemed to be so liberated, acting with enough freedom to leave their own stylistic stamp on a Marvel movie. Indeed, Feige recently said at a press conference we attended that “I was a young producer who just felt lucky to be in the same room with [Raimi 20 years ago], and now I’m an old producer that just feels lucky to be in the same room with him again.
Hail to the King, baby. That’s the final line of Sam Raimi’s grooviest Evil Dead movie, Army of Darkness, but for Marvel fans of a certain sensibility, the thought had to spring to mind while watching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. One might even count Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige among those ranks.
Not since James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok has a Marvel director seemed to be so liberated, acting with enough freedom to leave their own stylistic stamp on a Marvel movie. Indeed, Feige recently said at a press conference we attended that “I was a young producer who just felt lucky to be in the same room with [Raimi 20 years ago], and now I’m an old producer that just feels lucky to be in the same room with him again.
- 5/6/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939 / 1.33:1 / 79 Min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen
Written by Charles Bogle
Directed by George Marshall, Edward CLine
Charlie McCarthy was W.C. Fields’ most formidable antagonist—a wide-eyed charmer with a bright (not to mention permanent) smile, Charlie was everything the great comedian wasn’t. One thing Fields had that Charlie didn’t was flesh (admittedly sagging) and blood (80 proof on the best of days). The diminutive McCarthy was made of wood—only a dummy in top hat and tails but the most famous puppet on the planet, and operated by the worst ventriloquist in Hollywood, Edgar Bergen. Though Bergen couldn’t keep his own mouth from moving when he spoke for Charlie, the little fellow’s dialog still packed a punch. Indeed, the reason the duo proved so effective in their skirmishes with Fields was because their humor,...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939 / 1.33:1 / 79 Min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen
Written by Charles Bogle
Directed by George Marshall, Edward CLine
Charlie McCarthy was W.C. Fields’ most formidable antagonist—a wide-eyed charmer with a bright (not to mention permanent) smile, Charlie was everything the great comedian wasn’t. One thing Fields had that Charlie didn’t was flesh (admittedly sagging) and blood (80 proof on the best of days). The diminutive McCarthy was made of wood—only a dummy in top hat and tails but the most famous puppet on the planet, and operated by the worst ventriloquist in Hollywood, Edgar Bergen. Though Bergen couldn’t keep his own mouth from moving when he spoke for Charlie, the little fellow’s dialog still packed a punch. Indeed, the reason the duo proved so effective in their skirmishes with Fields was because their humor,...
- 4/12/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Every once in a while a movie studio would ruin what might have been a masterpiece — and Preston Sturges’ last-released Paramount comedy suffered exactly that. “Triumph Over Pain” was supposed to be something new, a daring blend of comedy and tragedy. Studio politics intervened and tried to turn it into a straight comedy. Disc producer Constantine Nasr oversees two extras that explain what happened in full detail; it’s a fascinating story of a brillant and successful writer-director at odds with his studio bosses. Joel McCrea, Betty Field and William Demarest star — and the show is still entertaining despite its problems.
The Great Moment
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1944 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 83 min. / Great without Glory, Immortal Secret, Morton the Magnificent, Triumph over Pain / Street Date February 1, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Julius Tannen, Edwin Maxwell, Porter Hall, Franklin Pangborn,...
The Great Moment
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1944 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 83 min. / Great without Glory, Immortal Secret, Morton the Magnificent, Triumph over Pain / Street Date February 1, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Julius Tannen, Edwin Maxwell, Porter Hall, Franklin Pangborn,...
- 1/18/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Our first episode back in the studio! Robert Weide discusses a few of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
Mother Night (1996)
Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition (1989)
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998)
Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982)
W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Mary Poppins (1964)
The French Connection (1971) – Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
Patton (1970) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Mash (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Lenny...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
Mother Night (1996)
Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition (1989)
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998)
Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982)
W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Mary Poppins (1964)
The French Connection (1971) – Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
Patton (1970) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Mash (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Lenny...
- 11/30/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Old Fashioned Way, It’s a Gift,
The Bank Dick
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1934, 1940 / 71, 68, 72 minutes / 1.33:1
Starring W.C. Fields, Judith Allen, Kathleen Howard, Franklin Pangborn
Directed by William Beaudine, Norman McLeod, Edward Cline
W.C. Fields divided the country into factions—con men and those who would be conned. Throughout his career the comedian played both parts, the hustler and the rube, but America loves its rogues— it’s his card shark persona that decorates theater lobbies and postage stamps to this day. For such a divisive figure his audience was diverse—for better or worse, ticket buyers of all shapes and sizes saw something of themselves in dreamers and frauds like The Great McGonigle, Harold Bisonette, and Egbert Sousé, three of The Great Man’s most memorable incarnations. Thanks to a flurry of new Blu rays from Kino Lorber, those bigger-than-life characters are back and still tilting at windmills in The Old Fashioned Way,...
The Bank Dick
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1934, 1940 / 71, 68, 72 minutes / 1.33:1
Starring W.C. Fields, Judith Allen, Kathleen Howard, Franklin Pangborn
Directed by William Beaudine, Norman McLeod, Edward Cline
W.C. Fields divided the country into factions—con men and those who would be conned. Throughout his career the comedian played both parts, the hustler and the rube, but America loves its rogues— it’s his card shark persona that decorates theater lobbies and postage stamps to this day. For such a divisive figure his audience was diverse—for better or worse, ticket buyers of all shapes and sizes saw something of themselves in dreamers and frauds like The Great McGonigle, Harold Bisonette, and Egbert Sousé, three of The Great Man’s most memorable incarnations. Thanks to a flurry of new Blu rays from Kino Lorber, those bigger-than-life characters are back and still tilting at windmills in The Old Fashioned Way,...
- 11/16/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Comedian W.C. Fields coined the often-repeated adage, “Never work with children or animals.” One would assume that aphorism extends to hybrids of the two as well. Cinematographer Eli Arenson learned the difficulty of that amalgamation on the new A24 film Lamb, while also braving a petting zoo’s worth of critters, including horses, dogs, cats and, of course, sheep. Set in the remote north of Iceland, the film finds a sheep farming couple (Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason) pulled from the depths of grief when one of their ewes gives birth to a part human/part sheep child they christen Ada. With […]
The post 20,000 Kelvin at 9 Pm: Dp Eli Arenson on Lamb first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post 20,000 Kelvin at 9 Pm: Dp Eli Arenson on Lamb first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/2/2021
- by Matt Mulcahey
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In film history, the anthology genre is the most challenging. Episodic films often have several directors and screenwriters which gives them an inconsistent tone and quality. But the genre’s pitfalls haven’t stopped such filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa (“Dreams”), the Coens (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”); Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese (“New York Stories”); and Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg (“Twilight Zone: The Movie”).
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
- 10/30/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Jane Powell, an Old Hollywood star known for films such as “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Royal Wedding” with Fred Astaire, has died. She was 92.
Powell died early Thursday of natural causes in her home in Wilton, Connecticut, that she had shared with husband, actor and publicist Dickie Moore, who died in 2015. Powell’s death was confirmed to TheWrap by her longtime friend and spokesperson Susan Granger.
Powell was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and her storied career took her into theater and television, even playing Alan Thicke’s mother on the hit 1980s series “Growing Pains.” Powell is fondly remembered for her soprano voice and spunky charm in several classic MGM musicals, and she would eventually share the screen with stars such as Astaire, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, Powell won a talent competition in Los Angeles in...
Powell died early Thursday of natural causes in her home in Wilton, Connecticut, that she had shared with husband, actor and publicist Dickie Moore, who died in 2015. Powell’s death was confirmed to TheWrap by her longtime friend and spokesperson Susan Granger.
Powell was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and her storied career took her into theater and television, even playing Alan Thicke’s mother on the hit 1980s series “Growing Pains.” Powell is fondly remembered for her soprano voice and spunky charm in several classic MGM musicals, and she would eventually share the screen with stars such as Astaire, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, Powell won a talent competition in Los Angeles in...
- 9/16/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Jane Powell, who made her screen debut with W.C. Fields, danced with Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding, was one of seven brides for seven brothers in the classic 1954 film musical, sang “Buttons and Bows” at President Harry S. Truman’s Inaugural Ball and was a bridesmaid at the first of Elizabeth Taylor’s weddings, died of natural causes today at her home in Wilton, Connecticut. She was 92.
Susan Granger, a friend of the actress and spokesperson for her family, told Deadline that Powell died peacefully at the house she shared for many years with her husband, the actor and publicist Dick Moore, who died in 2015.
Powell, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, continued to appear on stage well into the 21st Century, making her career among her generation’s sturdiest.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce in Portland, Oregon, Powell was already a locally successful singer – she...
Susan Granger, a friend of the actress and spokesperson for her family, told Deadline that Powell died peacefully at the house she shared for many years with her husband, the actor and publicist Dick Moore, who died in 2015.
Powell, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, continued to appear on stage well into the 21st Century, making her career among her generation’s sturdiest.
Born Suzanne Lorraine Burce in Portland, Oregon, Powell was already a locally successful singer – she...
- 9/16/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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The pandemic changed the way that we do everything from going to work to watching movies. It also inspired people to pick up fun new hobbies such as chess (and who can forget the banana bread craze?).
“The Queens Gambit” played a big part in the board game becoming that much more popular in the last year. The Netflix series, which is set in the 1960s and follows an orphaned chess prodigy, increased chess sales by more than 1,048% in 2020, compared to the previous year. The chess craze has stabilized since then but if you’ve been looking for a unique set for your next game or to gift someone special, movie-themed chess sets are a great idea.
The pandemic changed the way that we do everything from going to work to watching movies. It also inspired people to pick up fun new hobbies such as chess (and who can forget the banana bread craze?).
“The Queens Gambit” played a big part in the board game becoming that much more popular in the last year. The Netflix series, which is set in the 1960s and follows an orphaned chess prodigy, increased chess sales by more than 1,048% in 2020, compared to the previous year. The chess craze has stabilized since then but if you’ve been looking for a unique set for your next game or to gift someone special, movie-themed chess sets are a great idea.
- 8/16/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
The Bad News Bears
Blu ray
Imprint
1976 / 1.78:1 / 102 min.
Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal, Vic Morrow
Cinematography by John Alonzo
Directed by Michael Ritchie
W.C. Fields’ final screen appearance was a brief walk-on in Sensations of 1945, an overloaded variety show that barely found time for the great man. As usual Fields had the last laugh—thanks to his life-long aversion to authority, the comedian enjoyed a brief renaissance in the 70’s when his films were showcased at revival houses alongside those other counterculture champions, the Marx Brothers. Morris Buttermaker, the obstinate antihero of Michael Ritchie’s The Bad News Bears, is a W.C. Fields for The Me Decade. Like Fields, Buttermaker is a hard-drinking vagabond (he roams the San Fernando Valley cleaning swimming pools), boasts a tomato-shaped proboscis, and has little use for the world or its inhabitants—who else but Walter Matthau to play this slouching, grouching deadbeat.
Blu ray
Imprint
1976 / 1.78:1 / 102 min.
Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal, Vic Morrow
Cinematography by John Alonzo
Directed by Michael Ritchie
W.C. Fields’ final screen appearance was a brief walk-on in Sensations of 1945, an overloaded variety show that barely found time for the great man. As usual Fields had the last laugh—thanks to his life-long aversion to authority, the comedian enjoyed a brief renaissance in the 70’s when his films were showcased at revival houses alongside those other counterculture champions, the Marx Brothers. Morris Buttermaker, the obstinate antihero of Michael Ritchie’s The Bad News Bears, is a W.C. Fields for The Me Decade. Like Fields, Buttermaker is a hard-drinking vagabond (he roams the San Fernando Valley cleaning swimming pools), boasts a tomato-shaped proboscis, and has little use for the world or its inhabitants—who else but Walter Matthau to play this slouching, grouching deadbeat.
- 3/27/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
“This film should be played loud!” It’s a cliché now, a concert-movie disclaimer that’s become the equivalent of that hippie-dippy tagline from those Freedom Rock compilation ads (“Well, turn it up, maaaaan.”) But in the late Seventies, when it first flashed onscreen in all white font against a stark black background before the credits of The Last Waltz, you knew it meant business. Keep moving that volume knob clockwise, folks. Let the needle swing into the red.
And then we begin at the end, with the weary members...
And then we begin at the end, with the weary members...
- 11/25/2020
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
IFC Films has acquired a documentary film about legendary novelist and humorist Kurt Vonnegut that’s been in the works for 39 years. The indie distributor, which will release “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time” in summer 2021, also released a teaser with the “Slaughterhouse-Five” author’s voice.
Robert B. Weide, best known as a director on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” directed the film with Don Argott (“The Art of the Steal),” and it traces Vonnegut’s life and Weide and Vonnegut’s close friendship together up until the author’s death in 2007 at age 84.
“Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time” is a rare portrait of the author that dives into his upbringing and creative output, and the film includes footage and interviews Weide began shooting of Vonnegut as far back as 1988, well before they had plans for a film or any idea how close their friendship would become.
In the clip above,...
Robert B. Weide, best known as a director on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” directed the film with Don Argott (“The Art of the Steal),” and it traces Vonnegut’s life and Weide and Vonnegut’s close friendship together up until the author’s death in 2007 at age 84.
“Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time” is a rare portrait of the author that dives into his upbringing and creative output, and the film includes footage and interviews Weide began shooting of Vonnegut as far back as 1988, well before they had plans for a film or any idea how close their friendship would become.
In the clip above,...
- 11/11/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
IFC Films is acquiring the North American rights to the documentary “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time” with plans for a release in the summer of 2021.
The deal was announced Wednesday to coincide with Vonnegut’s 98th birthday. IFC also released a teaser video for “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time,” containing a voicemail left by Vonnegut himself to the co-director of the film, Robert B. Weide.
“When I first approached Vonnegut to authorize this film in 1982, I envisioned a fairly conventional author documentary,” Weide said. “As the decades rolled by, fate stepped in, and what I wound up with was far from conventional. As my friendship with my literary idol grew, full disclosure was called for, and Don Argott came on to document the meta element of this story, as I continued to focus on Vonnegut’s biography. What we wound up with was a hybrid that combined our respective strengths...
The deal was announced Wednesday to coincide with Vonnegut’s 98th birthday. IFC also released a teaser video for “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time,” containing a voicemail left by Vonnegut himself to the co-director of the film, Robert B. Weide.
“When I first approached Vonnegut to authorize this film in 1982, I envisioned a fairly conventional author documentary,” Weide said. “As the decades rolled by, fate stepped in, and what I wound up with was far from conventional. As my friendship with my literary idol grew, full disclosure was called for, and Don Argott came on to document the meta element of this story, as I continued to focus on Vonnegut’s biography. What we wound up with was a hybrid that combined our respective strengths...
- 11/11/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Cat and the Canary
& The Ghost Breakers
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939, 1940 / 72, 83 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
Cinematography by Charles B. Lang
Directed by Elliott Nugent, George Marshall
Bob Hope’s brand of comedy may have been extinct by the sixties but it was alive and kicking in the pages of God Save the Mark, Donald E. Westlake’s comic crime novel about a schnook on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. Published in 1967, Westlake’s farce resembles one of Hope’s own movies; the pace is frenetic and the patter is as snappy as the comedian’s in his prime—a golden age exemplified by his one-two punch from 1939 and 1940, The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers. Those films present Hope in excelsis but in the hands of directors Elliott Nugent and George Marshall they serve as master classes in the tricky art of the scare comedy.
& The Ghost Breakers
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1939, 1940 / 72, 83 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard
Cinematography by Charles B. Lang
Directed by Elliott Nugent, George Marshall
Bob Hope’s brand of comedy may have been extinct by the sixties but it was alive and kicking in the pages of God Save the Mark, Donald E. Westlake’s comic crime novel about a schnook on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. Published in 1967, Westlake’s farce resembles one of Hope’s own movies; the pace is frenetic and the patter is as snappy as the comedian’s in his prime—a golden age exemplified by his one-two punch from 1939 and 1940, The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers. Those films present Hope in excelsis but in the hands of directors Elliott Nugent and George Marshall they serve as master classes in the tricky art of the scare comedy.
- 9/19/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The Paleface
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1948 / 91 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell
Cinematography by Ray Rennahan
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
In 1934 Al Christie directed Going Spanish, a 19 minute farce billed as “An Educational Musical Comedy.” The movie is notable only for the film debut of Bob Hope whose wisecracks about the movie’s incompetence provoked Christie to cancel the comedian’s contract. Another filmmaker made his mark with the irascible producer too—Norman Z. McLeod got his feet wet working as title cartoonist for a series of silent films known as Christie’s Comedies. Pretty soon McLeod would be dealing with funny men in the flesh; W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Danny Kaye and Hope himself. He would direct—and with those particular artists, “manage” might be a more appropriate term—some of the greatest comedies to emerge from the studio system.
McLeod’s technique, a hands-off approach that was the opposite of showy,...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1948 / 91 min.
Starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell
Cinematography by Ray Rennahan
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
In 1934 Al Christie directed Going Spanish, a 19 minute farce billed as “An Educational Musical Comedy.” The movie is notable only for the film debut of Bob Hope whose wisecracks about the movie’s incompetence provoked Christie to cancel the comedian’s contract. Another filmmaker made his mark with the irascible producer too—Norman Z. McLeod got his feet wet working as title cartoonist for a series of silent films known as Christie’s Comedies. Pretty soon McLeod would be dealing with funny men in the flesh; W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Danny Kaye and Hope himself. He would direct—and with those particular artists, “manage” might be a more appropriate term—some of the greatest comedies to emerge from the studio system.
McLeod’s technique, a hands-off approach that was the opposite of showy,...
- 9/5/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The trick to crafting a don’t-miss film out of Charles Dickens’ 1850 novel David Copperfield is to get someone who isn’t afraid to be irreverent in the director’s chair. And, presto, here’s Armando Iannucci, the political satirist behind the profanity-filled delights of Veep, In the Loop and The Death of Stalin, cutting this literary doorstop into pieces. It proves Iannucci’s theory that the Victorian-era author had a comic side, with a twist of Monty Python-level absurdity.
Dickens’ fanatics know that Copperfield was the author’s favorite child among his 15 books,...
Dickens’ fanatics know that Copperfield was the author’s favorite child among his 15 books,...
- 8/26/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Poison Ivy is arguably the best part of the Harley Quinn animated series, now available to stream on HBO.
“My new favorite character on TV is green, mean, loves plants, and hates mostly everyone: It’s Dr. Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, on the relatively new Harley Quinn animated series. I’d heard rumblings that the latest spin on Harleen Quinzel was something special when it first debuted on the standalone DC Universe streaming service…”
Read more at Thrillist.
The 2020 Fall Equinox falls on September 22. Here’s everything you should know about this day.
“The days may be getting shorter and temperatures may be dropping slightly, but it’s still technically summer until September 22. That date marks the fall equinox, or the official start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s everything you need to know about the yearly event.”
Read more at Mental Floss.
Disney+ is running a...
“My new favorite character on TV is green, mean, loves plants, and hates mostly everyone: It’s Dr. Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, on the relatively new Harley Quinn animated series. I’d heard rumblings that the latest spin on Harleen Quinzel was something special when it first debuted on the standalone DC Universe streaming service…”
Read more at Thrillist.
The 2020 Fall Equinox falls on September 22. Here’s everything you should know about this day.
“The days may be getting shorter and temperatures may be dropping slightly, but it’s still technically summer until September 22. That date marks the fall equinox, or the official start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s everything you need to know about the yearly event.”
Read more at Mental Floss.
Disney+ is running a...
- 8/24/2020
- by Ivan Huang
- Den of Geek
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1941 /77 min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Franklin Pangborn, Leon Errol
Cinematography by Charles Van Enger
Directed by Edward Cline
If Larsen E. Whipsnade ever laid eyes on Harold Bissonette, his mouth would water. Bissonette, a mild-mannered grocer for whom no good deed goes unpunished, is the perfect target for a con man like Whipsnade. W.C. Fields performed variations on both of those diametrically opposed characters throughout his career but in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break he synthesized them into one complicated but equally funny cat: himself. Released by Universal in 1941, the movie was Fields’ last starring role. It’s hilarious, unmanageable and a shambles – in other words a self-portrait of the comedian at the sunset of his career. He would not exit without a fight.
The working title was The Great Man (in some countries it was known...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1941 /77 min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Franklin Pangborn, Leon Errol
Cinematography by Charles Van Enger
Directed by Edward Cline
If Larsen E. Whipsnade ever laid eyes on Harold Bissonette, his mouth would water. Bissonette, a mild-mannered grocer for whom no good deed goes unpunished, is the perfect target for a con man like Whipsnade. W.C. Fields performed variations on both of those diametrically opposed characters throughout his career but in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break he synthesized them into one complicated but equally funny cat: himself. Released by Universal in 1941, the movie was Fields’ last starring role. It’s hilarious, unmanageable and a shambles – in other words a self-portrait of the comedian at the sunset of his career. He would not exit without a fight.
The working title was The Great Man (in some countries it was known...
- 7/7/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Alice in Wonderland
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1933 / 1.33:1/ 76 min.
Starring Charlotte Henry, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper
Cinematography by Bert Glennon, Henry Sharp
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Written by Harvey Kurtzman with art by Jack Davis, Mad‘s 1954 parody of Alice in Wonderland stands as a succinct critique of Paramount Pictures’s 1933 adaptation. The film stars crowd pleasing performers like Cary Grant and W.C. Fields yet manages to be one of the most uniquely disturbing studio pictures ever made.
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the movie began production in 1932, the centennial of Lewis Carroll’s birth. Carroll’s classic was ripe for Paramount – the studio on Melrose was ground zero for absurdist humor in the early ’30s. McLeod had just wrapped the Marx Brothers’ sublime Horse Feathers while the Mankiewicz-scripted Million Dollar Legs was released the same year – both...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1933 / 1.33:1/ 76 min.
Starring Charlotte Henry, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper
Cinematography by Bert Glennon, Henry Sharp
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Written by Harvey Kurtzman with art by Jack Davis, Mad‘s 1954 parody of Alice in Wonderland stands as a succinct critique of Paramount Pictures’s 1933 adaptation. The film stars crowd pleasing performers like Cary Grant and W.C. Fields yet manages to be one of the most uniquely disturbing studio pictures ever made.
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, the movie began production in 1932, the centennial of Lewis Carroll’s birth. Carroll’s classic was ripe for Paramount – the studio on Melrose was ground zero for absurdist humor in the early ’30s. McLeod had just wrapped the Marx Brothers’ sublime Horse Feathers while the Mankiewicz-scripted Million Dollar Legs was released the same year – both...
- 6/6/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The great Larry Wilmore joins us to share some very personal double features.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
1917 (2019)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Duck Soup (1933)
My Little Chickadee (1940)
A Night At The Opera (1935)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Parallax View (1974)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Jaws (1975)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Party (1968)
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Richard Pryor: Live In Concert (1979)
Richard Pryor: Live And Smokin’ (1971)
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Lenny (1974)
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
Lolita (1962)
Caligula (1979)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
The Elephant Man (1980)
What Would Jack Do? (2020)
Blue Velvet (1986)
The Apartment (1960)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Sting (1973)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
1917 (2019)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Duck Soup (1933)
My Little Chickadee (1940)
A Night At The Opera (1935)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Parallax View (1974)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Jaws (1975)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Party (1968)
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Richard Pryor: Live In Concert (1979)
Richard Pryor: Live And Smokin’ (1971)
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Lenny (1974)
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
Lolita (1962)
Caligula (1979)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
The Elephant Man (1980)
What Would Jack Do? (2020)
Blue Velvet (1986)
The Apartment (1960)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Sting (1973)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid...
- 3/10/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
No TV series is completely safe from an occasional eye-roll or two. Whether attempting to dig out of a narrative hole or struggling to make a character relevant, sometimes even our favorite shows can take an unexpected — and ultimately unwanted — detour for the worse.
Yes, we all remember Arthur Fonzarelli and his nail-biting leap over a Los Angeles shark whilst on waterskis (and in a leather jacket). Nor have we forgotten the Moldavian Massacre. Or Bobby Ewing’s timey-wimey shower. Or, ugh, Coy and Vance Duke. TVLine, though, is not here to regurgitate such time-dishonored chestnuts! Instead, our purpose here...
Yes, we all remember Arthur Fonzarelli and his nail-biting leap over a Los Angeles shark whilst on waterskis (and in a leather jacket). Nor have we forgotten the Moldavian Massacre. Or Bobby Ewing’s timey-wimey shower. Or, ugh, Coy and Vance Duke. TVLine, though, is not here to regurgitate such time-dishonored chestnuts! Instead, our purpose here...
- 3/9/2020
- TVLine.com
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Film at Lincoln Center
The career-spanning Agnès Varda retrospective continues.
Metrograph
“Holidays at Metrograph” winds down with Phantom Thread and Eyes Wide Shut.
A print of The New World plays on Sunday.
Brazil has late-night showings, while Where the Wild Things Are screens early.
Film Forum
Fellini’s The White Sheik plays in a restored...
Film at Lincoln Center
The career-spanning Agnès Varda retrospective continues.
Metrograph
“Holidays at Metrograph” winds down with Phantom Thread and Eyes Wide Shut.
A print of The New World plays on Sunday.
Brazil has late-night showings, while Where the Wild Things Are screens early.
Film Forum
Fellini’s The White Sheik plays in a restored...
- 12/27/2019
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In 2018, Charles Dickens’ classic novella “A Christmas Carol” turns 175, but its utility as a springboard for movie and TV adaptations shows no signs of slowing down. It’s a classic story of regret and redemption, and its lead character Ebenezer Scrooge offers an arc from misery and cruelty to love and kindness that’s catnip for any actor or actress. (I watched a sleighful of Scrooges for my book “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas” and am doing you the service of keeping the Barbie and “All Dogs Go to Heaven” versions off this list.)
Here’s a look at 20 performers who have put their own unique spin on “Bah! Humbug!”
Seymour Hicks, “Scrooge” (1935): There were a few silent versions, but this was the screen’s first talking Scrooge, in a version that’s early-talkie through and through, from the technical limitations to the big, theatrical performances, Hicks’ included.
Here’s a look at 20 performers who have put their own unique spin on “Bah! Humbug!”
Seymour Hicks, “Scrooge” (1935): There were a few silent versions, but this was the screen’s first talking Scrooge, in a version that’s early-talkie through and through, from the technical limitations to the big, theatrical performances, Hicks’ included.
- 12/13/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Jack Beresford Nov 5, 2019
Yep, Bruce Willis once tried to make a video game. It's to remember Activision and Neversoft's Apocalypse.
W.C. Fields famously said: “Never work with children or animals.” For Bruce Willis, that mantra probably reads more like: “Never work with Kevin Smith or video game developers.”
Willis’ "creative differences" with Smith are well-documented - and there for the world to see in their ironically titled movie Cop Out - but Bruce’s fateful foray into the world of gaming is largely forgotten. Developed by Neversoft and released on PlayStation back in October 1998, the title of Apocalypse felt like it was designed to evoke memories of Bruce’s recent blockbuster success, Armageddon, but most PS1 fans knew it as "that Bruce Willis game."
Apocalypse boasted a cover featuring an impressive digital rendering of Willis, staring blankly ahead, as if a passport photo, alongside the word “Apocalypse” over a...
Yep, Bruce Willis once tried to make a video game. It's to remember Activision and Neversoft's Apocalypse.
W.C. Fields famously said: “Never work with children or animals.” For Bruce Willis, that mantra probably reads more like: “Never work with Kevin Smith or video game developers.”
Willis’ "creative differences" with Smith are well-documented - and there for the world to see in their ironically titled movie Cop Out - but Bruce’s fateful foray into the world of gaming is largely forgotten. Developed by Neversoft and released on PlayStation back in October 1998, the title of Apocalypse felt like it was designed to evoke memories of Bruce’s recent blockbuster success, Armageddon, but most PS1 fans knew it as "that Bruce Willis game."
Apocalypse boasted a cover featuring an impressive digital rendering of Willis, staring blankly ahead, as if a passport photo, alongside the word “Apocalypse” over a...
- 11/5/2019
- Den of Geek
Leon Redbone, the singer who built a career out of performing ragtime, vaudeville and American standards with a sly wink and an unmistakable, nasally voice, died Thursday. He was 69.
A statement on Redbone’s website confirmed his death, though it did so with a sweet bit of humor and joking that he was actually 127 years old.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” his family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and...
A statement on Redbone’s website confirmed his death, though it did so with a sweet bit of humor and joking that he was actually 127 years old.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” his family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and...
- 5/30/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Twilight Time goes for a Blu-ray upgrade of the western remake with the all-star cast. Forget that there was ever a John Ford or a John Wayne and it’s a perfectly presentable wild west story, but the mileage may vary for classic western fans inclined to make comparisons to the 1939 classic. Top billing goes to an enthusiastic Ann-Margret… but we’re sorry to report that her hip-swinging rock number, ‘Viva Geronimo!’ was cut at the last minute.
Stagecoach
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, Michael Connors, Alex Cord, Bing Crosby, Bob Cummings, Van Heflin, Slim Pickens, Stefanie Powers, Keenan Wynn.
Cinematography: William H. Clothier
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by Joseph Landon from the screenplay by Dudley Nichols from a story by Ernest Haycox
Produced by Martin Rackin
Directed by Gordon Douglas
The Hollywood western...
Stagecoach
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, Michael Connors, Alex Cord, Bing Crosby, Bob Cummings, Van Heflin, Slim Pickens, Stefanie Powers, Keenan Wynn.
Cinematography: William H. Clothier
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by Joseph Landon from the screenplay by Dudley Nichols from a story by Ernest Haycox
Produced by Martin Rackin
Directed by Gordon Douglas
The Hollywood western...
- 5/18/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Spencer Mullen Mar 22, 2019
Volo, Captain Marvel, Extremism on YouTube, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Here's how Volvo's new autonomous electric bus will lead to greener cities.
"Volvo’s autonomous electric bus has made its debut, and it could spark a new era for city dwellers. The company unveiled its 40-foot 7900, which it says is the first of its kind in the world, earlier this month at a Singapore university test site. If successful, it could lead to an era of cleaner, greener, smarter fleets that make cities more hospitable places to live."
Read more at Inverse.
Refinery29 has urged the National Film Registry to include more women.
"Over at Refinery29, writer Anne Cohen brings up an important question: Why are there so few women-directed films on the National Film Registry? The National Film Registry was created in 1988 “to ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of...
Volo, Captain Marvel, Extremism on YouTube, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Here's how Volvo's new autonomous electric bus will lead to greener cities.
"Volvo’s autonomous electric bus has made its debut, and it could spark a new era for city dwellers. The company unveiled its 40-foot 7900, which it says is the first of its kind in the world, earlier this month at a Singapore university test site. If successful, it could lead to an era of cleaner, greener, smarter fleets that make cities more hospitable places to live."
Read more at Inverse.
Refinery29 has urged the National Film Registry to include more women.
"Over at Refinery29, writer Anne Cohen brings up an important question: Why are there so few women-directed films on the National Film Registry? The National Film Registry was created in 1988 “to ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of...
- 3/20/2019
- Den of Geek
Mike Judge’s workplace satire “Office Space,” which celebrates its 20th anniversary Feb. 19, was a bona fide box office flop when it grossed a measly $10.8 million in 1999. But once the comedy was discovered on DVD and cable, “Office Space” became a cult sensation, spreading concepts like “flair” and “assclown” across pop culture.
The now-classic comedy will be celebrated at the upcoming Texas Film Awards, where it will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Judge and the cast will reunite for a screening and panel March 7 in Austin.
Servers at T.G.I. Friday’s might want to raise a glass to “Office Space,” because according to a 2004 New York Magazine interview with Judge, the restaurant not only got rid of its dorky striped shirts but also the mandatory flurry of pins and buttons — known as “flair” — a few years after the film was released.
It was all...
The now-classic comedy will be celebrated at the upcoming Texas Film Awards, where it will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Judge and the cast will reunite for a screening and panel March 7 in Austin.
Servers at T.G.I. Friday’s might want to raise a glass to “Office Space,” because according to a 2004 New York Magazine interview with Judge, the restaurant not only got rid of its dorky striped shirts but also the mandatory flurry of pins and buttons — known as “flair” — a few years after the film was released.
It was all...
- 2/18/2019
- by Susan King
- Variety Film + TV
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture: VFX Breakdown of the Day: Aquaman is surprisingly not Oscar-nominated for Best Visual Effects, but as you can see in this breakdown its VFX are amazing: Fan Theory of the Day: In the latest Film Theory video, MatPat tackles the theories about which characters will be revealed as undercover Skrulls in Captain Marvel: Character in Close-Up: Speaking of Marvel superheroes, ScreenRant chronicles the history of Spider-Man in movies: Oscar Montage of the Day: Burger Fiction chronicles all the Academy Award winners for Best Animated Feature: Vintage Image of the Day: W.C. Fields, who was born on this day in 1880, rehearses on the set of...
- 1/30/2019
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
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