Shirley MacLaine Gives Michael Caine a Lesson in Comedy Thriller ‘Gambit’
Themes of masquerades and flim-flam in the comedy thriller Gambit see Shirley MacLaine’s Nichole Chang giving Michael Caine’s Sir Harry Dean a much-needed lesson.
Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett works in a public library. For more than 20 years, he wrote a monthly video column in the San Antonio Express News stressing classic and foreign films. His national publications include Video Watchdog, Nostalgia Digest and Retro Cinema. He's also written scripts that still await their destiny.
Film-Noir ‘Peking Express’ Is Hollywood’s First Encounter with Red China
The 1951 film-noir Peking Express (not to be confused with Shanghai Express) should be seen as Hollywood’s first attempt to deal with Communist China in the context of the Red Scare.
The 10 Best Classic Films on Blu-ray and DVD in 2022
From gentle satire to something like an anarchist paint bomb tossed into an uptight dinner party, we feature the 10 Best Classic Films on Blu-ray and DVD in 2022 – and we toss in a few more, just for kicks.
She Acts Like a Man and Men Act Like Monsters in 1950s Noir ‘The Unguarded Moment’
Film noir from the 1950s The Unguarded Moment gives off cozy WASP-American TV vibes for its increasingly sinister and sick Technicolor world.
Two Important, Stylish, French New Wave Films from Jacques Doniol-Valcroze
Jacques Doniol-Valcroze’s New Wave film A Game for Six Lovers is drenched in High Culture, while La Dénonciation is high Sixties style and gripping all the way.
In ‘Next Time We Love’ Absence Makes the Marriage Grow Stronger
Margaret Sullavan’s character in Next Time We Love is canonized for pursuing a successful career separately from her husband, wherever the heck he is.
Argentine Noir ‘El Vampiro Negro’ Will Have You Swooning
Argentine noir El Vampiro Negro is a visual mastery of Expressionist nightmare with a bravura style that makes film buffs of the high studio era swoon.
Real-Life 1950s Gang Busting Inspired Film Noir ‘The Turning Point’
Remastered and on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is William Dieterle’s The Turning Point, a noir film at the intersection of several crossroads in America’s early ’50s.
‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ Drags America’s History From the Dark Dank Basement
Frank Capra’s America is always on the edge of madness and nightmare. The deeper you dig into his Arsenic and Old Lace, the darker and queasier it becomes.
Royalty and the Help Do Switcheroos in Pre-Code Comedy ‘By Candlelight’
James Whale’s pre-code comedy/romance, ‘By Candelight’ is a perfect example of Depression-era escapism into Art Deco consumer porn.
What Was Paramount Smoking When It Released ‘Murder at the Vanities’?
There are wild numbers in the raunchy pre-code 1934 musical Murder at the Vanities but “Sweet Marijuana” really stirred up the uptights. Paramount shrugged.
Sweet Land of Libertines: Silent Film ‘Casanova’ Turns Sex into Politics
The world of the silent film ‘Casanova’ is where every wife is glad to cheat on her bullying husband or flee from her possessive lover because authority is always repressive.
