Movies Books

As an avid movie fan, and having grown up in the 1950's, I was fortunate to have seen films made in the original 3 strip Technicolor process; truly the "Golden Age" of lavish Technicolor produtions. This book is a tremendous guide to the developing process of adding color to motion and sound in the movies; any film fan will enjoy this book greatly.

Awesome Book about the lesbian painter Gluck (Hannah Gluckstein), with in depth information on her relationships with women and her desire to live her life "as a man".

I think this book was really neat because it combines realitives and monsters (realitives are monsters). The book wasn't very scary but it had a cliff hanger ending, which I thought was cool. This book was a little strange when it said that one of the uncles got struck by lightning 12 times. One scary part is when Gus-Gus gets bigger and bigger.

Many of these detectives, like Nick Charles (the mis-named "Thin Man"), Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes, are still super-popular today, thanks to constant airing of their films on television and the availability of DVDs. I've covered these pictures in detail in my book, but I've also drawn attention to a number of neglected masterpieces that will delight every fan of the genre. "The Midnight Man", starring and co-directed by Burt Lancaster, rates as one of my all-time favorites. An independent production, released by Universal in 1974, the movie received only limited bookings in the USA and no general release in England at all. This is often a a good indication of merit. If the distributor feels that a movie has no popular appeal, that movie could well be aimed at the connoisseur. And such is indeed the case with "The Midnight Man". Another Universal release I warmly recommend is "Afraid To Talk", made 42 years earlier. A hard-hitting drama of political and judicial corruption, this film did receive a wide release at the time, as it was based on a highly successful Broadway play; but it has now been completely forgotten despite its powerful script, top cast and production values and an array of behind-the-camera personnel that still command a considerable cult following. Those are just two of the many unfamiliar films I detail in my book, alongside all the well-known entries such as "The Thin Man", "The Maltese Falcon", "Murder, My Sweet", "Notorious", "Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw", "The Mystery of the Wax Museum", "The Kennel Murder Case", "The Enforcer", "The Dark Corner", "The Falcon in Hollywood", "Charlie Chan at the Opera", "Arrest Bulldog Drummond" and "The Saint in London".

I saw this on tv when it first came out and I had to own it. I love this movie. It is just so fantastic!! Halle B. is beautiful without makeup and proved she could really act!!! must see for all!!!

Halliwell's Companion makes all other film encyclopedias look superficial in comparison. It is essential for all film buffs who like to cross-reference info. The only minor quibble I have is that, as the BBC's film expert for decades, Halliwell naturally places a lot of emphasis on the British film industry -- at times to the point of making it seem as if it were as significant as Hollywood's contribution

An easy to follow book to many filming locations around lone pine ca. Their were nearly 300 films shot in this area in about 80 years.

Hollywood doesn't make them any more (not deliberately anyway) but for the classic film fan, the "B" movie provides a fascinating subject. So what exactly is a "B" movie, and how does it differ from an "A"? Many people today would reply, "A matter of budget!" And that is certainly true to a certain extent. Moviegoers of the time, however, were not nearly as aware of budgets as we are now. For the average moviegoer of previous decades, a "B" movie was simply any movie at all that a theater advertised in small letters as a "plus" or as "a special added attraction" to the main feature. Generally, the special added attraction played before Interval, so that patrons would not feel cheated or too unhappy if they arrived late and missed the first ten or twenty minutes. Therefore, in the minds of many (though by no means most) moviegoers, the "B" was a movie of no special merit or entertainment value. To a cinema manager, however, a "B" was any film at all with a running time of less than 70 (or 75) minutes. This short running time meant that the movie could not stand alone, even as a main attraction, because such was the competition between two or three or four cinemas in every neighborhood that yesteryear's patrons demanded the whole show run not less than 150 minutes in Nob Hill areas or 180 minutes in less affluent areas. The distributor (or "film exchange"), however, applied yet another definition. To the exchange, a "B" meant any feature with an entertainment quotient so low it had to be sold to exhibitors at the lowest flat rate possible. This book extensively covers all three of these categories. Of course, patrons did have their favorites. Mysteries were overwhelmingly popular, especially series movies like Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Edgar Wallace and Torchy Blane. Westerns and slapstick comedies were also strongly favored in blue-collar neighborhoods, as were the series pictures of Blondie and Maisie. All these and more are detailed in the book. Of course, it sometimes turned out that patrons regarded the "B" feature as more entertaining than the extensively touted "A" attraction, particularly if it was actually an "A" in disguise (a film the exchange had decided to offload at bargain basement rentals). "You're in the Navy Now" (Gary Cooper), "Zaza" (Claudette Colbert), "Zero Hour!" (Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden), "The Young Stranger" (James MacArthur, Kim Hunter), "Without Honor" (Laraine Day), "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" (Abbott and Costello), "Whistling in Brooklyn" (Red Skelton), "What Next, Corporal Hargrove?" (Robert Walker), "Western Union" (Randolph Scott), "Tropic Zone" (Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming), "Trooper Hook" (Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck), "That Certain Woman" (Bette Davis, Henry Fonda), and "Texas Carnival" (Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Ann Miller), were just some of many films offloaded by distributors, as detailed in the book. In many cases, the bargain price reflected neither the movie's extensive budget nor its entertainment value. With both "Scaramouche" (Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer) and "The Doughgirls" (Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman) for instance, it was the title itself that held no appeal to patrons or exhibitors; "Way Out West" (Laurel and Hardy) was disadvantaged by its short running time; "White Tie and Tails" (one of the best "B" movies ever made) by the studio's decision to cast perennial heavy Dan Duryea as the hero. "Romance in Manhattan", a Ginger Rogers vehicle, was also saddled with an unpopular lead (Francis Lederer); a movie titled "Abilene Town" appealed to Texans but was a dead loss in Vermont; and those little gems, "Death on the Diamond" (Robert Young), "Kind Lady" (Ethel Barrymore), and "Kid Glove Killer" (Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt) were simply undone by the mere fact that they were products of MGM's "B" unit.

This book, HOLLYWOOD and THE CULTURE ELITE explores a most intriguing portion of the role of movies/ Hollywood during the early to mid 20th century. It is a factual, clearly written easy read for those of us intersted in the topic,but not necessarily a student of film history.
Peter Decherney, the author, deftly explains the impact,both positive and negative, that well-known institutions have on one another, and makes us understand that no one person nor industry nor group can thrive, let alone exist, without the others.
The reader will learn many levels of information ranging from facts to amusing anecdotes to fascinating character portraits.
This book is well worth every minute you spend reading it!

I must confess I'm fascinated by lists. Especially movie lists. So I couldn't resist a book that promised me an essential 1,001 movies to see before I die. What a disappointment! Classic movies received rather short shrift in that book, so I created my own list of the top 400 must-see classic films. And here it is! Some of the selected films receive extended treatment in my book, but I also draw attention to a number of fine pictures that, while they could not be considered the top of the best (or anywhere near the top), are nonetheless so vastly entertaining they will delight every classic movie fan. And there are also a couple of also-rans that seemingly had all the makings for success--great cast, gifted writers, capable directors, lavish budgets--but failed.