Related: the first of what should be many Flickr sets: The Unknown. *** There are, apparently, multiple prints of the Lon Chaney classic The Unknown (1927), though sorting the whole situation out is difficult to the point of impossible. In June and December of 1997, TCM showed an amber tinted print of The Unknown (1927)…
All posts in 2011
The Faculty (1998)
The Faculty is a star-studded horror comedy featuring Piper Laurie, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, Bebe Neuwirth, Usher Raymond, Elijah Wood Jr., Clea DuVall… …and Josh Hartnett’s ridiculous hair. This is a fun film, so much better than I expected after the critical evisceration it endured on release in 1998. There is a lot…
The Lady in White (1988)
Be ye warned: There be spoilers. I don’t reveal the murderer, but I reveal a lot of important plot points. The Lady in White (1988) was mentioned in a double feature post last year on the now-defunct The Dark Sublime, and was accompanied by screencaps of delicious fall scenery — I knew I had…
The Dick Van Dyke Show Blogathon: The Masterpiece & The Man From My Uncle
This is my entry for Ivan’s Dick Van Dyke Show Blogathon, celebrating the revolutionary sitcom that first aired 50 years ago today! “The Masterpiece” Season 3, Episode 2 Rob sidesteps the ottoman! He then spazzes out and almost falls on Laura. “The Masterpiece” was the second episode of season 3, nestled between the classics…
Slither (2006)
Slither (2006) is a witty horror homage, borrowing elements from various zombie movies as well as Squirm, The Brood, Night of the Creeps, The Blob, and a dozen others. It’s filled with little in-jokes, such as Rob Zombie as the voice of Dr. Karl, Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman in a tiny cameo, and I…
Count Dracula (1977)
At 56 years of age when this 1977 BBC adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel was filmed, the desire to pun that Louis Jourdan is “long in the tooth” is too great to deny. Yet his older-than-usual Count has a weighty, experienced presence that is an absolute delight to watch. He is everything a…
Exciting Hats
Today has been rough. Really rough. Like, my brain has turned into tasty, tasty tapioca and I can no longer pronounce polysyllabic words kind of rough. That’s why I thought this was the perfect time to unleash one of the most pointless posts that has been sitting in my Drafts folder: A post about hats.…
Blogiversary IV: The Voyage Home
Four years ago today I started this crazy mixed-up blog, and not a day goes by when I don’t wonder what the hell I have gotten myself into. As has become tradition, I present a lovely selection of my favorite photos to celebrate SBBN’s fourth blogiversary: Ann Sheridan, 1934 Constance Bennett Edward Woods Edwina Booth,…
An Infinite Patience for Stupidity: Big Trouble (1986)
There’s a palpable loathing for the 1986 film Big Trouble, mainly because it was John Cassavetes’ last and worst film, a bad combination for a man revered as a god by the stringent hipster crowd that film criticism seems to court with saddening regularity. How Cassavetes even became involved in Big Trouble is a…
Annette Kellerman
Above: A page of diving positions depicting swimmer and silent film star Annette Kellerman from Bernarr Macfadden’s 1928 book The Encyclopedia of Physical Culture. Interestingly, I stumbled across a slideshow of photos by Frederick W. Glasier. As you can see, he apparently took the photos for Macfadden’s book: And just to add to the Kellerfun,…