The Big Parade (1925 silent) Another of King Vidor’s masterpieces, this epic tackles machine guns and gas warfare in the trenches of World War I. John Gilbert stars as the spoiled brat from a rich family who joins up to be with his friends in what they expect will be a great adventure. While stationed … More The Big Parade (1925 silent)
Mysterious Object at Noon (1997–1999) Apichatpong Weerasethakul documents where stories come from. “The Mysterious Object and the Dogfar story had been told and acted by the Siamese Villagers from the north to the south and ended in December 1998.” What results is an innovative deconstruction of narrative itself. Elvis Mitchell wrote, “Mr. Weerasethakul’s film … More Mysterious Object at Noon (1997–1999)
Follow the Fleet (1936) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance in this homage to the U. S. Navy, singing music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable appear in supporting roles, in an Art Deco set designed by Carrol Clark. “Id Rather Lead a Band” showcases Astaire’s theatrical ability to tap off … More Follow the Fleet (1936)
The Harder They Come (1972) Penny Henzell directs Jimmy Cliff in this reggae crime drama, which became a breakthrough sensation in Jamaica for shooting on location using the local Creole dialogue. Roger Ebert wrote, “the movie’s ending is an exercise in plot; its beginning and its music deserve better than that.” The film made a … More The Harder They Come (1972)
The Wasp Woman (1959) Roger Corman directed, and has a brief cameo in this drive-in cult horror film, in which a cosmetics company owner, Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) tries to save her company from sliding sales by hiring a scientist, Dr. Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) who proposes to use enzymes from the royal jelly … More The Wasp Woman (1959)
The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) John Schlesinger adapts this true espionage story, based on the book by Robert Lindsey and screenplay by Stephen Zaillian. Timothy Hutton plays Christopher Boyce, who uncovers CIA projects to destabilize and depose Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of Australia. Using his friend, a drug dealer Daulton Lee, played by … More The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
The Wrong Man (1956) Alfred Hitchcock experiments with documentary realism, adapting The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson. Henry Fonda plays the everyman, accused of multiple armed robberies, and Vera Miles plays his emotionally troubled wife, as the full repercussions of false accusations split their marriage apart. The noir streets of Jackson … More The Wrong Man (1956)
Curse of the Faceless Man (1958) Edward L. Chan directs this drive-in B-Horror version of The Mummy, this time with a reawakened id of a gladiator who perished during the volcanic destruction of Pompeii while trying to save his aristocratic mistress. Now stone-encrusted, this creature seeks out the reincarnation of his lost love in an … More Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) Nunnally Johnson adapted this “fish-out-of-water” tale about a man (William Powell) who catches a mermaid (Ann Blyth) with whom he falls in love. Irving Pichel directs this fable about male mid-life crisis, with Irene Hervey as the jealous wife, Andrea King as a scheming seductress, and Clinton Sundberg … More Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)
Gold (1934) Brigitte Helm speaks! For ten minutes, she vamps in a science fiction film about corporate espionage made during the early Nazi period and directed by Karl Hartl. The ghost of the UFA’s great Metropolis lurks everywhere. John Wills (Michael Bohnen) is the villain, a British billionaire driven by greed to control world … More GOLD (1934)
