What’s knittin’, Kitten? There is no better way to celebrate Neil Diamond’s 71st birthday than to tease him about the questionable things he did when he was young. Everyone, go thank Capricornonevintage on Flickr for making your day just a little bit brighter. Then send your happy birthday wishes to Neil on Twitter, because…
The Laughing Devil in His Sneer: Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show
Dick Clark was especially cranky that August afternoon in 1966. For a decade he had been asking harmless questions of both guests and giggly teens on “American Bandstand,” but today’s silly subject irritated him, made him self conscious. A professional study had recently claimed most men within a few years would be wearing long hair.…
Exciting Hats of 1927!
Leonard Maltin posted a few of his vintage New Year publicity stills today, including this terrific 1927 promotional featuring Patsy Ruth Miller and one of my best pretend boyfriends, Monte Blue.
The Precarious Attainment of Relevance
It may be the end of 2011, but I have no year-end lists or resolutions or anything of substance to say, really. Just a few goals for SBBN, a slight modification to my previously-announced plans, and a bit of randomness. One of the best and first film bloggers I have encountered in our vast blogoverse…
Book Review: The Hammer Vault
On Tuesday, Marcus Hearn’s new Hammer compilation The Hammer Vault will be released in the U.S. I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this extensive book before the official drop date, and I’m glad I did. It’s a hefty thing, nearly 13 inches by 10 inches in size with 175 thick pages. The…
TCM Remembers 2011
The TCM Remembers memorial video for 2011. Another difficult year, but to be honest, we feel this way every year. The song is “Before You Go” by OK Sweetheart.
Harry Morgan: 1915-2011
Character great Harry Morgan passed away today at his home. He was 96. Courtesy Bright Lights Films. It’s no exaggeration to say that I grew up with Harry Morgan. His character of Colonel Potter on “M*A*S*H” was important to me during my childhood where (for good or ill) television parental analogs were as comforting to…
The Marie Prevost Project: Nana (1926)
For anyone interested in using these posts for research, please read the notes at the bottom of this post. Thank you. *** Don’t watch Jean Renoir’s Nana (1926) if you’re looking to see Marie Prevost, ’cause she ain’t in it. Marie is supposed to have played Gaga, a character who, in Emile Zola’s novel, is…
Matter of fact, it’s all dark.
“One of these days I’m going to write a song that makes someone want to cry.” — Neil Diamond, Teen Screen Magazine, March 1967 When The Neil Diamond Collection arrived in the mail last month, I had forgotten I ever ordered it. For most of my 39-ish years, Neil Diamond was simply never on…
The Italian Horror Blogathon: Dario Argento’s Jenifer and Pelts
Italian director Dario Argento is known for his giallo films featuring excessive style, bloodshed and sex. His surrealist and controversial horror thrillers of the 1970s are often cited as some of the most influential films by modern horror filmmakers. In the mid-2000s, Argento directed two episodes of the Showtime “Masters of Horror” series. While not…