If you’ve ever dreamed of zipping around Rome on a Vespa (hello, Emily In Paris), you are probably consciously following in the tracks of Audrey Heburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. That’s probably the most famous scene in this classic 1953 love story, as a spoiled princess escapes to explore the city incognito with…
Get Carter
Get Carter is one of the most iconic of all British crime movies, and one of Michael Caine’s most famous roles. Its unremittingly gritty, as London gangster Carter travels North to right various wrongs and encounters a range of shady characters from his past, few of whom end up alive at the end of the…
The Manchurian Candidate
The 1962 original version of The Manchurian Candidate is one of my all-time favourite movies. (The less said about the 2004 remake the better). Star Frank Sinatra has never been better and Laurence Harvey is incredible as his poor doomed military colleague, brainwashed to be a political assassin. The movie has many great scenes, none…
New York New York
I was hugely disappointed when I finally saw Martin Scorcese’s New York New York on DVD last year. Scorcese’ reputation proceeds him, and a combination of Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli, plus the show-stopping title track had to be a winner, right? Turns out its all a hot mess, with many lengthy (and seemingly…
Dr Terror’s House Of Horrors
Dr Terror was the first of Amicus’ studios portmanteau horror movies. These were based on the format of Ealing Studios’ classic Dead Of Night. They all began with a tenuous linking device to bring together a disparate group of people, which would then lead into individual short stories told by or about each person, and…
The Natural
For some reason, I have amassed more promotional material for The Natural than any other movie. At last count, I have a UK quad, a French grande, a press book and a variety of stills – all of which are for sale here. It’s not that I have a particular affection for the movie. Its…
Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain was the third and final movie in the Harry Palmer spy series, starring Michael Caine. What started out in The Ipcress File as a grittier, more realistic take on international espionage than the James Bond series had by the time of this third instalment morphed into something approaching Bond-level of supervillain craziness….
Karate Motos
Sometimes the most obscure films make for the most fun posters. Let’s face it, I’m never going to watch ‘Karate Motos’, but this cool, kitsch poster is simply bonkers! This 1973 Hong Kong martial arts action thriller also goes by the title The Deadly Chase. I’ve no idea what its about, but the only synopsis…
Destroy All Monsters
I know I’ve seen a bunch of the original run of Toho Godzilla movies on afternoon TV many, many years ago, but they all rather blur into one. So I’m not sure if I’ve seen 1968 monster mash-up Destroy All Monsters or not. The plot, such as it is, involves Godzilla and ‘friends’ living in…
The Dam Busters
The 1955 Dam Busters is one of the most famous of all classic British World War II movies. It tells the true story of how Barnes Wallis developed the famous ‘bouncing bomb’, and the pilots who (spoiler alert!) successfully flew at very low altitudes over water to use it to destroy a strategically vital German…