One of America’s favorite holiday movies plays strangely today, and despite being one of the most popular pictures of its year, really should have disturbed people when it was new as well. Director Leo McCarey and his glowing stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman do remarkable work, and the show has its heart in the right place… but the values built into the story are painfully wrong-headed. We don’t expect ’40s films to adhere to today’s so-called enlightened PC values, but some of the attitudes in this one make us want to throw things at the screen. Taken from a beautifully remastered new restoration, Olive’s Signature Edition is flawless.
The Bells of St. Mary’s
Blu-ray
Olive Signature
1945 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 126 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / available through the Olive Signature website / 39.95
Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper,...
The Bells of St. Mary’s
Blu-ray
Olive Signature
1945 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 126 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / available through the Olive Signature website / 39.95
Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper,...
- 11/26/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hollywood takes a hard look at the mundane horrors of mental asylums, and Olivia de Havilland scores another career high with her portrayal of a housewife experiencing a nervous breakdown. Some people found the show scary and a few felt it was tasteless, but Ms. de Havilland’s performance is riveting, 71 years later. Anatole Litvak’s intense direction makes good use of expressionistic visual devices, without veering into dippy Salvador Dalí psycho-surrealism.
The Snake Pit
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson, Beulah Bondi, Lee Patrick, Natalie Schafer, Ruth Donnelly, Katherine Locke, Minna Gombell, Ann Doran, Jacqueline deWit, Betsy Blair, Queenie Smith, Virginia Brissac, Marie Blake, Isabel Jewell, Celia Lovsky, Mae Marsh, Doro Merande, Mary Newton, Inez Palange, Mary Treen, Minerva Urecal.
Cinematography:...
The Snake Pit
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson, Beulah Bondi, Lee Patrick, Natalie Schafer, Ruth Donnelly, Katherine Locke, Minna Gombell, Ann Doran, Jacqueline deWit, Betsy Blair, Queenie Smith, Virginia Brissac, Marie Blake, Isabel Jewell, Celia Lovsky, Mae Marsh, Doro Merande, Mary Newton, Inez Palange, Mary Treen, Minerva Urecal.
Cinematography:...
- 6/1/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ray Milland directs a fine western drama, strong on character and tension; it garnered enough praise to set him on a second, minor career behind the camera. Milland also stars as a gunman in the wrong place at the wrong time — framed for a mass murder in an unforgiving frontier town. Who ya gonna blame? That nasty sidewinder villain Raymond Burr, of course.
A Man Alone
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 6, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Ray Milland, Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Arthur Space, Lee Van Cleef, Alan Hale Jr., Douglas Spencer, Thomas Browne Henry, Grandon Rhodes, Martin Garralaga, Kim Spalding, Minerva Urecal.
Cinematography: Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Richard L. Van Enger
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by John Tucker Battle, from a story by Mort Briskin
Directed by R. Milland
A Man Alone is yet another exceptional western from Republic Pictures.
A Man Alone
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 6, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Ray Milland, Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Arthur Space, Lee Van Cleef, Alan Hale Jr., Douglas Spencer, Thomas Browne Henry, Grandon Rhodes, Martin Garralaga, Kim Spalding, Minerva Urecal.
Cinematography: Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Richard L. Van Enger
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by John Tucker Battle, from a story by Mort Briskin
Directed by R. Milland
A Man Alone is yet another exceptional western from Republic Pictures.
- 11/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Even lesser Abbott & Costello movies are still comedy gravy to the avid fans of the fast-talking duo. Their first film deal away from Universal yields a so-so production graced with a string of their patented old-time comedy routines. And the transfer beats anything we’ve yet seen.
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
- 8/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
'7 Faces of Dr. Lao' with Tony Randall. '7 Faces of Dr. Lao' movie: 'Things are not as they seem' Director George Pal's 7 Faces of Dr. Lao surprises on multiple levels: its witty screenplay by Twilight Zone writer Charles Beaumont, an odd assortment of well-defined characters, a bravura performance by Tony Randall, and some of the best special effects of that time. In the film, a strange traveling magician drifts into a small western American town, announcing that he is bringing with him a “Magic Circus.” Calling himself Dr. Lao, the eccentric Chinese character places an ad in the local newspaper and makes friends with the editor. But things are not as they seem. When the Magic Circus magically appears, Dr. Lao changes appearances and personalities, interfering in the lives of everyone in the community. Love with the properly repressed widow John Ericson plays the handsome newspaperman who rebels...
- 12/15/2015
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
“By the light of the silvery moon, I want to spoon! / To my honey, I’ll croon love’s tune / Honey moon, keep a shining in June! / Your silvery beams will bring love’s dreams / We’ll be cuddling soon, by the silvery moon”
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon Screens Saturday November 8th at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo) at 10:30am.
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon is a sequel to On Moonlight Bay and features Doris Day and Gordon MacRae returning as sweethearts in the early 1900s who get to croon some pretty wonderful songs of that period. It’s strictly family stuff, nostalgic and as prettily pictured as a postcard of an Americana that never really existed except in Hollywood’s imagination and Norman Rockwell paintings.
The story takes place just after the end of the first World War...
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon Screens Saturday November 8th at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo) at 10:30am.
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon is a sequel to On Moonlight Bay and features Doris Day and Gordon MacRae returning as sweethearts in the early 1900s who get to croon some pretty wonderful songs of that period. It’s strictly family stuff, nostalgic and as prettily pictured as a postcard of an Americana that never really existed except in Hollywood’s imagination and Norman Rockwell paintings.
The story takes place just after the end of the first World War...
- 11/3/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ann Blyth movies: TCM schedule on August 16, 2013 (photo: ‘Our Very Own’ stars Ann Blyth and Farley Granger) See previous post: "Ann Blyth Today: Light Singing and Heavy Drama on TCM." 3:00 Am One Minute To Zero (1952). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, William Talman. Bw-106 mins. 5:00 Am All The Brothers Were Valiant (1953). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth. C-95 mins. 6:45 Am The King’S Thief (1955). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven. C-79 mins. Letterbox Format. 8:15 Am Rose Marie (1954). Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas. C-104 mins. Letterbox Format. 10:00 Am The Great Caruso (1951). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, Jarmila Novotna, Richard Hageman, Carl Benton Reid, Eduard Franz, Ludwig Donath, Alan Napier, Pál Jávor, Carl Milletaire, Shepard Menken, Vincent Renno, Nestor Paiva, Peter Price, Mario Siletti, Angela Clarke,...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Mickey Rooney movie schedule (Pt): TCM on August 13 See previous post: “Mickey Rooney Movies: Music and Murder.” Photo: Mickey Rooney ca. 1940. 3:00 Am Death On The Diamond (1934). Director: Edward Sedgwick. Cast: Robert Young, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Mickey Rooney. Bw-71 mins. 4:15 Am A Midsummer Night’S Dream (1935). Director: Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. Cast: James Cagney, Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Ross Alexander, Anita Louise, Mickey Rooney, Joe E. Brown, Victor Jory, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Grant Mitchell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dewey Robinson, Hugh Herbert, Arthur Treacher, Otis Harlan, Helen Westcott, Fred Sale, Billy Barty, Rags Ragland. Bw-143 mins. 6:45 Am A Family Affair (1936). Director: George B. Seitz. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore, Cecilia Parker, Eric Linden. Bw-69 mins. 8:00 Am Boys Town (1938). Director: Norman Taurog. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds, Edward Norris, Addison Richards, Minor Watson, Jonathan Hale,...
- 8/13/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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