When screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides was asked about the complex layers of meaning running through his adaptation of Mickey Spillane‘s classic crime novel “Kiss Me Deadly,” he denied having any conscious intention of exploring the post-wwii anxieties that gave the film its jittery core. “People ask me about the hidden meanings in the script,” he told an interviewer. “About the A-bomb, about McCarthyism, what does the poetry mean, and so on. And I can only say that I didn’t think about it when I wrote it . . . I was having fun.” Bezzerides may have been just “having fun,” but in the process, he and director Robert Aldrich crafted one of the greatest noirs of all time, an apocalyptic detective story that looks into the heart of 1950s America and sees annihilation.
It’s one of several stone-cold masterpieces written by the novelist-turned-screenwriter, whose work is being properly acknowledged by the...
It’s one of several stone-cold masterpieces written by the novelist-turned-screenwriter, whose work is being properly acknowledged by the...
- 4/16/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The Chevrolet Corvette, which turns 70 this week, was unveiled on Jan. 17, 1953, at the General Motors Motorama, held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The sleek two-seater, named after a small warship, was a concept car, but interest was so high that it went into production later that year, with 300 hand-built models in Polo White. The Corvette would star in CBS’ Route 66 from 1960 to 1964, turning it into an emblem of American freedom. But its first major screen appearance was in 1955’s Kiss Me Deadly, a subversive film noir from director Robert Aldrich, who went on to direct What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Dirty Dozen (1967).
Based on the 1952 Mickey Spillane novel Kiss Me, Deadly, the film, adapted by screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides, veered wildly from the book, putting Spillane’s P.I. Mike Hammer at the center of a web of intrigue involving a dead woman (Cloris Leachman, then 29, in...
Based on the 1952 Mickey Spillane novel Kiss Me, Deadly, the film, adapted by screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides, veered wildly from the book, putting Spillane’s P.I. Mike Hammer at the center of a web of intrigue involving a dead woman (Cloris Leachman, then 29, in...
- 1/12/2023
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every once in a while a movie makes me think, ‘this one’s too good to review, just tell them to see it and they’ll understand.’ John Cusack is a penny-ante small stakes cheat, his girlfriend Annette Bening hooks on the side while seeking a partner for ‘long cons,’ and his mother is an operative for the Mob, placing large bets at the race track to manipulate the odds on select horses. Each worships the ‘left-handed form of human endeavor’ and depends on it to the degree that human trust just can’t be maintained. Paramount’s plain wrap re-issue touts the film’s four Oscar nominations; the Stephen Frears film is the best adaptation yet of a Jim Thompson crime novel.
The Grifters
Blu-ray + Digital
Paramount
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2021 / 13.99
Starring: John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, Pat Hingle, J.T. Walsh, Noelle Harling, Charles Napier,...
The Grifters
Blu-ray + Digital
Paramount
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2021 / 13.99
Starring: John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, Pat Hingle, J.T. Walsh, Noelle Harling, Charles Napier,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Acclaimed stuntman and action director extraordinaire Jesse V. Johnson joins us to discuss the U.S. based action films and filmmakers that have influenced him the most.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
On The Waterfront (1954)
Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1922)
Undisputed (2002)
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)
Boyka: Undisputed (2016)
The Killer Elite (1975)
Convoy (1978)
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Birdcage (1996)
Cross of Iron (1977)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Easy Rider (1969)
Fail Safe (1964)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Ride The High Country (1962)
Major Dundee (1965)
Jinxed! (1982)
Beowulf (2007)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
The Girl Hunters (1963)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
Point Blank (1967)
Falling Down (1993)
M (1951)
M (1931)
The Black Vampire (1953)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scum (1979)
Elephant (1989)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), possibly Joe’s favorite John Ford...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
On The Waterfront (1954)
Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1922)
Undisputed (2002)
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)
Boyka: Undisputed (2016)
The Killer Elite (1975)
Convoy (1978)
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Birdcage (1996)
Cross of Iron (1977)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Easy Rider (1969)
Fail Safe (1964)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Ride The High Country (1962)
Major Dundee (1965)
Jinxed! (1982)
Beowulf (2007)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
The Girl Hunters (1963)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
Point Blank (1967)
Falling Down (1993)
M (1951)
M (1931)
The Black Vampire (1953)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scum (1979)
Elephant (1989)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), possibly Joe’s favorite John Ford...
- 3/24/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Mike Hammer is in action again! Well, not exactly. Producer Victor Saville’s third go-round with Mickey Spillane’s famed character doesn’t do the franchise justice. Hammer-philes will be astounded by this thriller’s decidedly un-thrilling thrills: there’s little to connect the inexpressive nice guy Robert Bray with the super-popular, super-violent avenger of the books. Spillane’s original is abandoned in favor of a tame ‘who’s got the diamonds?’ storyline, with some compensation in a string of exciting ‘Hammer dames.’ I checked twice — Mike doesn’t shoot Any of them in the stomach.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
- 3/3/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Ralph Meeker, Nick Dennis, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers | Written by A.I. Bezzerides | Directed by Robert Aldritch
Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) is driving down the freeway, minding his own business, when he almost hits a woman. Mike is a private investigator, and he knows trouble when he sees it, but he can’t just leave her in the road. His decision to stop and help triggers a confrontation with a group of thugs. When he comes around, the lady is dead – and Mike wants to know what the hell just happened.
With the help of his assistant and lover, Velda (Maxine Cooper), Mike takes a deep dive into the L.A. underworld. Scouring the backstreets, bars and boxing clubs, he uncovers a web of intrigue and violence, involving all the usual men of power, i.e. gangsters and cops. Countless bodies are left in the wake of his...
Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) is driving down the freeway, minding his own business, when he almost hits a woman. Mike is a private investigator, and he knows trouble when he sees it, but he can’t just leave her in the road. His decision to stop and help triggers a confrontation with a group of thugs. When he comes around, the lady is dead – and Mike wants to know what the hell just happened.
With the help of his assistant and lover, Velda (Maxine Cooper), Mike takes a deep dive into the L.A. underworld. Scouring the backstreets, bars and boxing clubs, he uncovers a web of intrigue and violence, involving all the usual men of power, i.e. gangsters and cops. Countless bodies are left in the wake of his...
- 8/15/2019
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
The murky crimes of sordid characters come to the fore in the wide-open Nevada spaces… producer Hal Wallis’ Technicolor noir concentrates on the possessive and perverse competition for Lizabeth Scott’s luscious blonde — the mother that wants to corral her, the gangster who thinks she’s an escape and the local hunk who wears a badge. Robert Rossen’s edgy screenplay depicts its violent action on a psychological level.
Desert Fury
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1947 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 96 min. / Street Date Feb 26, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Wendell Corey, Mary Astor, Kristine Miller, William Harrigan, James Flavin, Anna Camargo, Ray Teal.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager, Charles Lang
Film Editor: Warren Low
Original Music: Miklos Rosza
Written by Robert Rossen from the novel by Ramona Stewart
Produced by Hal B. Wallis
Directed by Lewis Allen
As he was under contract to Hal Wallis, Burt Lancaster...
Desert Fury
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1947 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 96 min. / Street Date Feb 26, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Wendell Corey, Mary Astor, Kristine Miller, William Harrigan, James Flavin, Anna Camargo, Ray Teal.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager, Charles Lang
Film Editor: Warren Low
Original Music: Miklos Rosza
Written by Robert Rossen from the novel by Ramona Stewart
Produced by Hal B. Wallis
Directed by Lewis Allen
As he was under contract to Hal Wallis, Burt Lancaster...
- 1/22/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Pity the poor exhibitors in 1953 that splurged on 3-D equipment, only to see the payroll soar and the profits fall. Nope, Anamorphic Widescreen was the innovation that swept the world. It proved perfect for stories with scenic grandeur, such as Fox’s very early mini-epic shot on Florida locations. Thanks to Bernard Herrmann’s impressive music score, this one’s not going away.
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1953 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Boone, Peter Graves, Jay Novello, Angela Clarke, Jacques Aubuchon, Harry Carey Jr., Gloria Gordon.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager
Film Editor: William Reynolds
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by A.I. Bezzerides
Produced by Robert Bassler
Directed by Robert Webb
Four years have passed since the now dormant 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives DVD-r label stealth-released a surprise...
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1953 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Boone, Peter Graves, Jay Novello, Angela Clarke, Jacques Aubuchon, Harry Carey Jr., Gloria Gordon.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager
Film Editor: William Reynolds
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by A.I. Bezzerides
Produced by Robert Bassler
Directed by Robert Webb
Four years have passed since the now dormant 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives DVD-r label stealth-released a surprise...
- 10/3/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
How did Kiss Me Deadly come to be restored? The real question should be, how did filmdom lose track of its original ending in the first place? Savant uncovers evidence that may explain when, and why, United Artists mutilated the finish of Robert Aldrich’s apocalyptic film noir.
(Note: The images below with text can be enlarged for reading, just click on them.)
Before home video the final home for Hollywood films was Television. Robert Aldrich’s 1955 Kiss Me Deadly never saw a theatrical reissue, and it dropped out of major TV visibility in 1962. I saw the documentation in United Artists’ legal folder on the film. To secure capital to launch more movies, Robert Aldrich sold all of his ‘Associates and Aldrich’ pictures back to UA after their original releases were concluded. More papers showed Kiss Me Deadly being included in at least two TV syndication packages, and then each time pointedly removed.
(Note: The images below with text can be enlarged for reading, just click on them.)
Before home video the final home for Hollywood films was Television. Robert Aldrich’s 1955 Kiss Me Deadly never saw a theatrical reissue, and it dropped out of major TV visibility in 1962. I saw the documentation in United Artists’ legal folder on the film. To secure capital to launch more movies, Robert Aldrich sold all of his ‘Associates and Aldrich’ pictures back to UA after their original releases were concluded. More papers showed Kiss Me Deadly being included in at least two TV syndication packages, and then each time pointedly removed.
- 5/13/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Bernie Saves The Day”
By Raymond Benson
Film noir was still a valid Hollywood commodity in 1951, and director Nicholas Ray was one the style’s star practitioners. He had begun his career with the classic They Live by Night, and just the previous year he had brought us In a Lonely Place (see Cinema Retro’s review here). On Dangerous Ground, which stars Ida Lupino (who reportedly directed some scenes when Ray was ill) and Robert Ryan, is a fair representation of the movement—it’s not bad, but it’s not particularly great, either.
Oddly, it comes across as two different movies. The first forty minutes or so are deep in film noir territory—it has an urban setting, a cynical and violent protagonist (Ryan, as a police detective in the city), night scenes, hard-boiled dialogue, harshly contrasting black and white photography (by George E. Diskant), and sultry dames.
By Raymond Benson
Film noir was still a valid Hollywood commodity in 1951, and director Nicholas Ray was one the style’s star practitioners. He had begun his career with the classic They Live by Night, and just the previous year he had brought us In a Lonely Place (see Cinema Retro’s review here). On Dangerous Ground, which stars Ida Lupino (who reportedly directed some scenes when Ray was ill) and Robert Ryan, is a fair representation of the movement—it’s not bad, but it’s not particularly great, either.
Oddly, it comes across as two different movies. The first forty minutes or so are deep in film noir territory—it has an urban setting, a cynical and violent protagonist (Ryan, as a police detective in the city), night scenes, hard-boiled dialogue, harshly contrasting black and white photography (by George E. Diskant), and sultry dames.
- 10/21/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Warners knocks us out with a beautifully remastered Rko noir. Nicholas Ray's crime tale is like no other, a meditation on human need and loneliness. It's a noir with a cautiously positive, hopeful twist. On Dangerous Ground Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 82 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Anthony Ross, Ed Begley, Ian Wolfe, Sumner Williams. Cinematography George E. Diskant Art Direction Ralph Berger, Albert S. D'Agostino Film Editor Roland Gross Original Music Bernard Herrmann Written by A.I. Bezzerides, Nicholas Ray from the novel Mad with Much Heart by Gerald Butler Produced by John Houseman, Sid Rogell Directed by Nicholas Ray
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Warner Archive is known for pleasant surprises, but this one is a real thrill -- one of the very best Rko films noir, reissued in a much-needed beautiful restoration.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Warner Archive is known for pleasant surprises, but this one is a real thrill -- one of the very best Rko films noir, reissued in a much-needed beautiful restoration.
- 10/8/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert Mitchum all but snoozes through this promising war-espionage thriller that pits lazy Gestapo agents against clueless partisans in occupied Greece. It's got great locations and a good cast, but director Robert Aldrich seems off his feed -- there's not a lot of excitement to be had. The Angry Hills DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1959 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Mueller, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel, Sebastian Cabot, Donald Wolfit, Marius Goring, Jocelyn Lane, Kieron Moore, George Pastell, Marita Constantinou, Alec Mango. Cinematography Stephen Dade Film Editor Peter Tanner Production Design Ken Adam Original Music Richard Rodney Bennett Written by A.I. Bezzerides from the novel by Leon Uris Produced by Raymond Stross Directed by Robert Aldrich
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
- 5/31/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Jim Knipfel May 17, 2019
Kiss Me Deadly remains the greatest hardboiled apocalyptic sci-fi noir ever.
Former comic book writer Mickey Spillane published his first Mike Hammer mystery, I, The Jury, in 1947. In a way, it wasn’t that far removed from the superhero stories he’d been writing, even if it was a bit earthier without all the funny costumes. Spillane’s own alter-ego, the burly, hard-drinking, tough-talking Hammer was harder-boiled than that mealy-mouthed wimp, Sam Spade. And unlike that other wet blanket named Philip Marlowe, Hammer had few if any qualms about taking sleazy divorce cases or pulling his gun.
Over the next three decades, the Brooklyn-born Spillane pumped out a dozen more Hammer mysteries, including My Gun is Quick, Vengeance is Mine, and The Girl Hunters. Along with Spillane’s no-nonsense writing style and stories packed with extreme (for the 1950s) sex and violence, the lurid and suggestive cover...
Kiss Me Deadly remains the greatest hardboiled apocalyptic sci-fi noir ever.
Former comic book writer Mickey Spillane published his first Mike Hammer mystery, I, The Jury, in 1947. In a way, it wasn’t that far removed from the superhero stories he’d been writing, even if it was a bit earthier without all the funny costumes. Spillane’s own alter-ego, the burly, hard-drinking, tough-talking Hammer was harder-boiled than that mealy-mouthed wimp, Sam Spade. And unlike that other wet blanket named Philip Marlowe, Hammer had few if any qualms about taking sleazy divorce cases or pulling his gun.
Over the next three decades, the Brooklyn-born Spillane pumped out a dozen more Hammer mysteries, including My Gun is Quick, Vengeance is Mine, and The Girl Hunters. Along with Spillane’s no-nonsense writing style and stories packed with extreme (for the 1950s) sex and violence, the lurid and suggestive cover...
- 5/17/2016
- Den of Geek
From a pop culture perspective, private detectives stand for all that’s memorable about film noir. The indifference, the wittiness, and the moral ambiguity that define each urban knight has since become the stuff of parodied legend. We’re talking about the mediators between the crooks and the cops, the embodiment of back alley grayness that’s so tough to pin down. P.I.’s could cooperate with the law if needed, but they could just as soon do business with the bad guys for the right price. To a certain extent, that is – shamus work has always attracted the ignored and the ethical. The Wild West has mythical men with no name, The Asphalt Jungle has names with investigating licenses attached to them. Instead of a poncho and a ten gallon hat, they’re provided a fedora and trench coat.
The archetype has undergone many faces throughout Hollywood’s history,...
The archetype has undergone many faces throughout Hollywood’s history,...
- 2/16/2016
- by Danilo Castro
- CinemaNerdz
Jules Dassin didn’t do much in the way of subversion. At least not cinematically. He didn’t have many overarching themes to his work, he didn’t twist his genre films into something they weren’t. What he did was utilize every one of the handful of tools he was given, and pushed his films to their absolute breaking point. His subversion was a sort of perversion, an excess of imagination and a willingness to show the world as he saw it. If that meant creating a filmography that looked suspicious to the House Committee of Un-American Activities, well, that was just the natural result of having an eye and an ear for how the common man lived.
It can’t have helped that his last film before the blacklist order came down was Thieves’ Highway, an all-out indictment of capitalism cloaked in the noir-drenched mode of a typical Fox gritty,...
It can’t have helped that his last film before the blacklist order came down was Thieves’ Highway, an all-out indictment of capitalism cloaked in the noir-drenched mode of a typical Fox gritty,...
- 12/1/2015
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
(Region B) It's just like the film industry, I tell ya! Director Jules Dassin teams with writer A.I. Bezzerides for one of filmdom's strongest slams at the free market system. Trucker Richard Conte fights back when cheated and robbed by Lee J. Cobb's racketeering produce czar. Thieves' Highway Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / Available at Amazon UK / £14.99 Starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Chester Gore, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Alfred Newman Written by A.I. Bezzerides from his novel Thieves' Market Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Jules Dassin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky, Tamara Shayne | Written by A.I. Bezzerides | Directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
Jules Dassin’s Thieves’ Highway was released at a time when Noir was going strong, and fits the mould of what is expected of the genre. In truth though, it is something much different and much more human, providing the audience with an insight into the dirty tricks of market life controlled by mobsters.
In this Arrow Academy release we are introduced to A.I. Bezzerides world of crooks and fall guys where the nice guy is normally the fall guy. In this case Richard Conte plays Nick Garcos a soldier returning from the war to find his father crippled by mobster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) in a deal gone wrong. Looking for revenge Garcos sources some apples, taking them to the...
- 10/26/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Desert Fury
Written by A.I. Bezzerides and Robert Rossen
Directed by Lewis Allen
USA, 1947
Perception plays a spectacularly large role in how people behave and process information. Everything one does or chooses to do is at least partly a function of one’s perceived reality. Sometimes, one believes to be doing the right thing whereas they are doing the wrong thing and vice versa. It is but one of the many aspects to human cognition that makes life that much more complicated. It stands to reason that perception can influence how one watches a movie and accepts its terms. These nebulous ideas greatly influence many aspects of the 1947 romance thriller Desert Fury, from what the characters believe to be doing to how the viewer ultimately accepts or rejects the film as a whole.
Chuckawalla, Nevada is home to many people from different walks of life. There is the Haller family,...
Written by A.I. Bezzerides and Robert Rossen
Directed by Lewis Allen
USA, 1947
Perception plays a spectacularly large role in how people behave and process information. Everything one does or chooses to do is at least partly a function of one’s perceived reality. Sometimes, one believes to be doing the right thing whereas they are doing the wrong thing and vice versa. It is but one of the many aspects to human cognition that makes life that much more complicated. It stands to reason that perception can influence how one watches a movie and accepts its terms. These nebulous ideas greatly influence many aspects of the 1947 romance thriller Desert Fury, from what the characters believe to be doing to how the viewer ultimately accepts or rejects the film as a whole.
Chuckawalla, Nevada is home to many people from different walks of life. There is the Haller family,...
- 11/22/2013
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Kiss Me Deadly
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Written by A.I. Bezzerides
U.S.A., 1955
Fear and danger frequently go hand in hand all to easily, be it in the world of the movies or in real life, the latter which serves a superb inspiration on the former as many already know. One person can be fearful of what danger lurks about. Fear can cause them to behave dangerously. Their dangerous behaviour can cause fear in others. Both the fear and the danger can be the offspring of yet another factor that commonly complicates matters: the unknown. Man’s fear might emerge from a physical thing he fails to comprehend, or it can also explode out of a situation which is beyond his simply control, for which he has no answer, to ripost. Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955, arrived on the silver screen just as the Cold War was, figuratively speaking, heating up,...
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Written by A.I. Bezzerides
U.S.A., 1955
Fear and danger frequently go hand in hand all to easily, be it in the world of the movies or in real life, the latter which serves a superb inspiration on the former as many already know. One person can be fearful of what danger lurks about. Fear can cause them to behave dangerously. Their dangerous behaviour can cause fear in others. Both the fear and the danger can be the offspring of yet another factor that commonly complicates matters: the unknown. Man’s fear might emerge from a physical thing he fails to comprehend, or it can also explode out of a situation which is beyond his simply control, for which he has no answer, to ripost. Kiss Me Deadly, from 1955, arrived on the silver screen just as the Cold War was, figuratively speaking, heating up,...
- 8/31/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
On Dangerous Ground
Directed by Nicholas Ray
Screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides
1952, USA
If one lives a difficult, unforgiving life, how can that same person change their outlook? What they know is mostly harshness and a constant struggle. The job of police detective is on that comes to mind which could fit this mould, not to mention the terrible reputation they tend to earn, whether for right or wrong. Death, rape, theft, blackmail, what these men and women deal with is human behaviour at the lowest level of decency, and this is a daily reality, morning, noon and night. In a terrible twist, they exist to serve and protect the innocent, and yet the loathing expressed emanates from those who break the law as well as from those who are protected.
On Dangerous Ground, from revered director Nicholas Ray, concentrates its story on one such detective, veteran Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan...
Directed by Nicholas Ray
Screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides
1952, USA
If one lives a difficult, unforgiving life, how can that same person change their outlook? What they know is mostly harshness and a constant struggle. The job of police detective is on that comes to mind which could fit this mould, not to mention the terrible reputation they tend to earn, whether for right or wrong. Death, rape, theft, blackmail, what these men and women deal with is human behaviour at the lowest level of decency, and this is a daily reality, morning, noon and night. In a terrible twist, they exist to serve and protect the innocent, and yet the loathing expressed emanates from those who break the law as well as from those who are protected.
On Dangerous Ground, from revered director Nicholas Ray, concentrates its story on one such detective, veteran Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan...
- 12/24/2011
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Chicago – Very few movies are as wonderfully weird as “Kiss Me Deadly,” a film that clearly influenced decades of work that would follow from “Blue Velvet” to “The Adjustment Bureau.” Recently released in a beautiful Criterion edition, “Kiss Me Deadly” is a film that history almost forgot but that found its way to the right people who recognized this unique gem as something worth cherishing. It’s a perfect choice for the most important collection of films released on Blu-ray and DVD as it’s a classic less-heralded than some that will now be brought to a wider, adoring audience.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Based on the book by Mickey Spillane, “Kiss Me Deadly” probably seemed like just another noir when it was released but history has re-appraised the film as a fascinating funhouse mirror of the Cold War fears so prevalent at the time of its release in 1955. Directed by Robert Aldrich...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Based on the book by Mickey Spillane, “Kiss Me Deadly” probably seemed like just another noir when it was released but history has re-appraised the film as a fascinating funhouse mirror of the Cold War fears so prevalent at the time of its release in 1955. Directed by Robert Aldrich...
- 7/5/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Kiss Me Deadly Directed by: Robert Aldrich Written by: A.I. Bezzerides Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman It doesn't take a film noir connoisseur -- of which I am not -- to realize that Kiss Me Deadly is one of the strangest, darkest, and most influential entries in the popular pulp sub-genre. Robert Aldrich's bleak tale of intrigue and cold war paranoia slowly burns in stark black and white, eventually exploding on screen in an unforgettable finale that left everybody asking 'what's in the box?' long before Brad Pitt or Quentin Tarantino. The film opens with a young Cloris Leachman (in her feature film debut), running through the streets wearing nothing but a trench coat. In a fit of desperation, she stands in the middle of the road in an attempt to flag down an oncoming car, sending it swerving into the dirt. The passenger...
- 6/30/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
"Kiss Me Deadly," out today in a new Blu-ray and DVD edition from The Criterion Collection, is the ultimate film noir, an example of the form at its bleakest and blackest. Everything about it is extreme, from the amorality of its greedy, violent hero to the sexuality of its femme fatales, whose distinctly carnal heavy breathing provides the soundtrack to the opening credits.
Those credits made our list of the greatest opening titles in history. They begin with Mickey Spillaine's famous private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) as he nearly runs over Cloris Leachman's Christina Bailey, naked except for a man's trenchcoat, on a deserted stretch of road outside Los Angeles. He gives her a lift and as she catches her breath (or has an orgasm; from the sound alone, it's tough to say) the credits scroll on screen from top to bottom with the words arranged from bottom to top.
Those credits made our list of the greatest opening titles in history. They begin with Mickey Spillaine's famous private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) as he nearly runs over Cloris Leachman's Christina Bailey, naked except for a man's trenchcoat, on a deserted stretch of road outside Los Angeles. He gives her a lift and as she catches her breath (or has an orgasm; from the sound alone, it's tough to say) the credits scroll on screen from top to bottom with the words arranged from bottom to top.
- 6/21/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Stephen Moyer will co-star in the feature version of the 1960s ABC series "The Big Valley." The Western television series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, revolved around the Barkley ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley.Jessica Lange has been cast as Victoria Barkley, the matriarch of the Barkley family. Barbara Stanwyck originated the role on the TV show. Moyer will play the role of the eldest son Jarrod Barkley. Richard Long played the part on the TV show.According to Variety, production starts July 26 in Baton Rouge, La.Daniel Adams is writing and directing the film.Straw Weisman and Steven Brandman are producing. Kate Edelman Johnson, whose late father Louis F. Edelman created the series along with A.I. Bezzerides, is...
- 6/8/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Jessica Lange will star in the feature version of the 1960s ABC Western series "The Big Valley." Lange will play Victoria Barkley, the matriarch of the wealthy Barkley family, originally played by Barbara Stanwyck.Susan Sarandon had been previously attached to the role.The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, revolved around the Barkley ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley.According to Variety, the film will be directed by Daniel Adams from his own screenplay.Straw Weisman and Steven Brandman are producing. Kate Edelman Johnson, whose late father Louis F. Edelman created the series along with writer A.I. Bezzerides, will executive produce. The film will start shooting on July 19 in Baton Rouge, La.Lange recently won an Emmy Award for...
- 5/19/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Susan Sarandon is in negotiations to join the film version of "The Big Valley."Kate Edelman Johnson is producing the film, based on the TV show created by her late father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, revolved around the Barkley ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Sarandon would play Victoria Barkley, the matriarch of the Barkley family, originally played by Barbara Stanwyck.Edelman Johnson's producing partner, Daniel Adams wrote the screenplay and will direct.According to The Hollywood Reporter, a May start date has been planned in Michigan and New Mexico.
- 2/13/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Susan Sarandon as Victoria Barkley. Sarandon won’t make me forget Barbara Stanwyck, but that would be a great casting coup. I’m talking about a big-screen remake of the 1960s Western series Big Valley, in which Stanwyck played the widow matriarch of the Barkley Ranch in California’s San Joaquin Valley of the 1870s. Her grown children were Richard Long, Peter Breck, and a pre-Dynasty Linda Evans, and there was also a pre-Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors as Big Mama Barkley’s stepson. According to The Hollywood Reporter / Reuters (via Cinematical), Sarandon is "in talks" to play the tough widow who feared nothing. Kate Edelman Johnson, daughter of one of the show’s creator, producer Louis F. Edelman (writer A.I. Bezzerides was [...]...
- 2/12/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Susan Sarandon is in talks to star in a feature adaptation of ABC's '60s TV series "The Big Valley." Sarandon would play the role of Victoria Barkley, the character played by Barbara Stanwyck in the original. Kate Edelman Johnson is producing the film, based on the show created by her late father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. In the Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, Stanwyck played the matriarch of a ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Edelman Johnson's producing partner, Daniel Adams, has written the feature screenplay and will direct. Filming will start in May on location in Michigan and New Mexico.
- 2/11/2010
- Comingsoon.net
With CBS Films working on a feature film version of Gunsmoke, it seems Hollywood has classic '60s TV Westerns squarely in its crosshairs.
The latest Western that's headed for the big screen is The Big Valley, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the 1965-69 series that starred Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Long, Peter Breck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans.
According to the trade, Susan Sarandon is in talks to play the role of Victoria Barkley, the character originated by Stanwyck in the ABC television series.
Stanwyck's Victoria Barkley was the matriarch of a ranching family in California's San Joaquin Valley during the 1870s. Together with her three sons — one of whom was illegitimate — and her daughter, Victoria Barkley ran the ranch, assisted those in need, and often found herself embroiled in controversy of one kind or another.
Guest stars on the series included Charles Bronson, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Dennis Hopper,...
The latest Western that's headed for the big screen is The Big Valley, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the 1965-69 series that starred Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Long, Peter Breck, Lee Majors and Linda Evans.
According to the trade, Susan Sarandon is in talks to play the role of Victoria Barkley, the character originated by Stanwyck in the ABC television series.
Stanwyck's Victoria Barkley was the matriarch of a ranching family in California's San Joaquin Valley during the 1870s. Together with her three sons — one of whom was illegitimate — and her daughter, Victoria Barkley ran the ranch, assisted those in need, and often found herself embroiled in controversy of one kind or another.
Guest stars on the series included Charles Bronson, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Dennis Hopper,...
- 2/11/2010
- CinemaSpy
Susan Sarandon is in talks to become the matriarch of the Barkley clan.
Kate Edelman Johnson is producing a feature film version of "The Big Valley," based on the TV show created by her late father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley.
Sarandon would take on the part of Victoria Barkley, originated by Stanwyck.
Edelman Johnson's producing partner, Daniel Adams ("The Lightkeepers"), has written the feature screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with a May start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
"I am so thrilled to be filming this project, not only to honor my father and Miss Stanwyck but to bring a great woman's part to the screen as head of this historical family saga,...
Kate Edelman Johnson is producing a feature film version of "The Big Valley," based on the TV show created by her late father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley.
Sarandon would take on the part of Victoria Barkley, originated by Stanwyck.
Edelman Johnson's producing partner, Daniel Adams ("The Lightkeepers"), has written the feature screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with a May start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
"I am so thrilled to be filming this project, not only to honor my father and Miss Stanwyck but to bring a great woman's part to the screen as head of this historical family saga,...
- 2/10/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
.The Big Valley. is headed to a much bigger screen.According to Variety, the 1960s television Western that starred Barbara Stanwyck is being adapted into an independent feature by Kate Edelman Johnson and Daniel Adams through their Panther Entertainment banner.Adams will direct the film from his own script, whose storyline was developed with series creators Louis F. Edelman and A.I. Bezzerides. Plot borrows elements from the show.s pilot and several episodes.Roles have not yet been cast.In the show, Stanwyck played the widowed matriarch of the wealthy Barkley family living in 19th-century Stockton, Calif.The series, which ran from 1964-69 on ABC, also starred Richard Long, Peter Breck and Charles Briles, and launched the careers of Linda Evans and Lee Majors.Pre-production on .The...
- 7/14/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Kate Edelman Johnson is planning a return to "The Big Valley."
The producer is spinning a feature film out of the 1960s TV show co-created by her father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching clan in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Lee Majors, Richard Long and Linda Evans were among the regulars.
Daniel Adams ("The Golden Boys") has written the screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with an April start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
Brian and Ethan Gilmore of Capitoline Global Finance, Anthony Gudas of Tax Credit Finance and Scot Butcher are financing.
Edelman produced such films as "White Heat" (1949) and "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942) as well as such TV series as "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and "The Danny Thomas Show.
The producer is spinning a feature film out of the 1960s TV show co-created by her father, producer Louis F. Edelman, and writer A.I. Bezzerides. The Western series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, starred Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of a ranching clan in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Lee Majors, Richard Long and Linda Evans were among the regulars.
Daniel Adams ("The Golden Boys") has written the screenplay and will direct. Johnson and Adams' Panther Entertainment will produce, with an April start date planned for principal photography in Michigan and New Mexico.
Brian and Ethan Gilmore of Capitoline Global Finance, Anthony Gudas of Tax Credit Finance and Scot Butcher are financing.
Edelman produced such films as "White Heat" (1949) and "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942) as well as such TV series as "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and "The Danny Thomas Show.
- 7/13/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Outsider Pictures, a new independent film distributor, has arrived on the scene and announced a seven-picture theatrical slate. The company launches in August with Spiro Taraviras' documentary Buzz, which profiles film noir screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides. Other releases set for this year will include Robert Connolly's drama of an impoverished family man, Three Dollars; Randall Rubin and Jon Schroder's teen romance Jimmy and Judy starring Edward Furlong. Barbara Willis Sweete's docu on the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Five Days in September: the Rebirth of an Orchestra.
- 6/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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