The Rat Pack are in full swing in this 1964 musical comedy. Starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr, the movie takes as its inspiration the Robin Hood legend, transposed to 1920s Chicago. Sinatra and pals play gangsters with the names of Robby, Little John and Will. Bing Crosby also pops up as…
Dr Who And The Daleks / Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD
For any British kid growing up in the 70s, Dr Who was a TV touchstone. I first came across the Jon Pertwee iteration of the Doctor, then Tom Baker’s flamboyant, scarf-wearing version. Some of the episodes I remember as being relatively scary for young kids, not least those featuring the Doctor’s most famous adversaries –…
Rio Bravo
Howard Hawks’ 1959 Western Rio Bravo was made as a riposte to the (allegedly) left-leaning High Noon. John Wayne stars as the decidedly un-conflicted, courageous sheriff, and Dean Martin hardly stretches his acting abilities to play the town drunk who helps him heroically defend the town from a gang of ranchers. Hawks liked the story…
The Phantom Of The Opera
The 1943 version of The Phantom Of The Opera is perhaps a bit unfairly overlooked. Its one of the original run of Universal Studios classic horrors, but there’s no Karloff or Lugosi this time around. The Phantom is played by Claude Rains, who is third billed behind crooner Nelson Eddy. His disfiguration is just a…
All About My Mother
I’m not a huge follower or fan of Spanish director Pedro Almadovar. The only one of his movies I remember definitely seeing is his very strange thriller The Skin I Live In (heavily inspired by Eyes Without A Face). I don’t think I’ve ever seen 1999 comedy-drama All About My Mother. It deals with some…
Aces High
British war film Aces High, from 1976, is an airborne version of 1920s play Journey’s End. The story once again centres on a week in the lives and (mostly) deaths of a First World War battalion, with the action moved from the trenches to the skies. The cast is a veritable who’s who of…
VIdeodrome
Videodrome is one of my favourite David Cronenberg movies. This cult classic continues the ‘body horror’ themes from his earlier works (Shivers, Rabid), with a bigger budget and better actors. James Woods gives a high octane performance in the lead, and there is a memorable supporting turn from Blondie’s Debbie Harry too. There’s also a…
Violent Playground
I’ve never seen 1958 British crime drama Violent Playground. (Ok, frankly I’d never heard of it either before finding this poster…) However, that didn’t stop me buying this Spanish one-sheet on a whim. Its a great image, I think, and the film also boasts a fantastic cast: Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and, in an early…
The Masque Of The Red Death
The Masque Of The Red Death is arguably the best of the Edgar Allen Poe adaptations that Roger Corman made with Vincent Price in the 60s. The film is the last but one of 8 Poe adaptations Corman directed. It was made in the UK, and was stylishly shot in color by cinematographer (and later…
Pink Floyd The Wall
“All in all you’re just another brick in the wall…” If you grew up in the 80s The Wall was inescapable. First there was the 1979 double album and hit single, mostly conceptualised by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, then a tour featuring animatronics designed by artist Gerald Scarfe, who also produced the album artwork. The…