After some delay, Warner Archives has released a 2-disc set of all six of the Perry Mason films from 1934 through 1937. To commemorate the release, I thought I’d bring over one of my old posts from the SBBN archives, a quickie summary of all six Mason films from 2009. This was written back before…
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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…
Crazy Love (2007) and Mr. Death (1999)
There are spoilers. I am only going to tell you once. One of my favorite things is to catch a documentary on the spur of the moment, a documentary where I know nothing about the subjects. So it was on an early October evening when I was home, sulking around with a nasty sinus infection,…
Wigging Out: Shampoo (1975)
Take a good look at this poster. Nice poster, innit? Evocative, stylish, everyone looks lovely. There is just one problem: The hairstyles in the poster for Shampoo (1975) do not match what the actors sport in the film, not on any level. The only way I can cope with the earth-shattering failure of the hairstyles…
Code of Silence (1985)
So, get this: Chuck Norris can act. Last May, I entered the epic Chuck Norris Ate My Blog Contest, hosted by Matt-suzaka of Chuck Norris Ate My Baby fame. As I mentioned at the time, my first choice for entry in the contest was Code of Silence, but those plans were waylaid when my husband…
Wonderful World of Tupperware (1959) & Who’s Minding the Mint? (1967)
“The Wonderful World of Tupperware” is a 1959 short, apparently created as a corporate film for use at Tupperware’s local sales rallies. You can see some snippets of the other Tupperware films here at the PBS “American Experience” website. “Wonderful World of Tupperware” is roughly 30 minutes in length and airs regularly on TCM, coming…
Daisy Kenyon (1947)
Joan Crawford is Daisy Kenyon, a magazine illustrator in love with two men and immersed in all the drama that entails. For years I didn’t care for Otto Preminger. Perhaps it was first impressions, a knee-jerk reaction to the automatic praise he receives, or a tangible dislike of his reportedly odious personality. I don’t know…
Artists and Models (1937)
Posted on Author staciaPosted in fabulously appointed art deco apartments, recently watched, review17 Replies
Artists and Models (1937) is the full 1930s Hollywood entertainment spectacle, complete with music, dancing, celebrity cameos, comedy, romance, and hot chicks in skimpy clothes. Because of all those things and the stars — Jack Benny, Ida Lupino, and Gail Patrick — I was sure I’d love it. I didn’t. I didn’t hate it, but…
Recently Watched: Hildegarde Withers
All three of the Edna Mae Oliver “Hildegarde Withers” murder mystery vehicles were recently show on TCM in a little mini marathon. First up was The Penguin Pool Murder: Anyhow, the Hildegarde Withers series. This series consists of six films that ran from 1932 to 1937, with only the first three starring Edna Mae Oliver,…
Supplemental Shatner #1: The Devil’s Rain (1975)
“Bloggers think I’m cool,” he said. “I wish I knew what it was about me that was cool so I can repeat it.” William Shatner, “The Many Iterations of William Shatner” – Ever since the Shatnerthon, I have been watching films that some of you fine Shatnerthonians wrote about. Of the films I’ve seen since…