Movies Books

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.

The definition of a "B" movie varies widely. Producers generally regard not only any film made on a limited budget as a "B", but also all productions emanating from the studio's "B" unit, despite their actual cost or the presence of major stars.

To a distributor, however, a "B" picture is any reel on his shelves that cannot (for one reason or another) be sold as a main attraction. A title change often offers a clue to this kind of distributor desperation. Thus "Young Man with a Horn" was marketed as a "B" in England and Australia under the title, "Young Man of Music".

In many cases, of course, the distributor, although equally desperate, was stuck with the original title. Take "The Phantom of Paris". There's a salable title in any territory. The problem in this case was an unsalable star: John Gilbert.

The case of "Guest Wife" is different again. Here we have two reasonably popular stars, Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche, a little past their prime but still reasonably marketable, but stuck in an independent movie. Generally speaking, ticket-buyers tended to be wary of movies that were not produced by the Hollywood majors.

What about "From Headquarters"? A Warner Brothers picture with a major star in George Brent, yet it was sold as a "B". Why? The problem here was the running time: Only 63 minutes.

As for "The Florentine Dagger" with its extensive cast list and impressive production values (and a running time of 70 minutes), it was marketed as a support feature simply because it was actually produced by the Warners' "B" unit.

"Fast and Furious" was the third of MGM's "Joel and Garda Sloane" series in which the studio tried to ape the success of "The Thin Man". Despite its extensive "A" cast and enormous entertainment appeal, it was sold as a "B" because the studio had second thoughts on the desirability of trying to displace "The Thin Man".

"Dead Reckoning" with Humphrey Bogart was sold as a "B" in many territories because the studio felt the movie fell below the standard Bogie's fans had come to expect.

On the other hand, "Trader Horn" was regarded by the studio as a write-off "B" picture until its producers convinced Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executive, Irving Thalberg, that it could be salvaged. The picture went on to reap a bonanza at the box-office and was even nominated for Best Film!

Such are the stories of just a few of the 100 movies examined in detail in this fascinating, 162-page, large-format book.

The commonly held opinion about American movies in the years 1946-50 is that they reflect a culture that was having a crisis of masculinity, a perception of widespread corruption in society and a prevailing sense of gloom, pesimism and cynicism.

In this book Chopra-Gant presents a revisionist view of the films of this period. He argues that the wrong films were studied to generate this view. Instead he researched the most popular films (in terms of revenue generated) of 1946 and in these films the tone is quite different. Many of these films instead show the triumph of American beliefs - democracy, classlessness and individualism.

One point he discusses is the fall off in revenue spent on movies after 1947. He does not supply a reson for this, but I suspect that it had nothing to do with the movies, instead it had to do with the start of the baby boom. Younger people, and dating people tend to go to the movies a lot more than married people who now have an infant at home.

I really thought this book was very interesting. I have always loved old films, and it is interesting to read how the government was involved in shaping the publics view of WWII... a very interesting read if you love old films.

". . . dependent on the art it was criticizing."

These are the most enjoyable pieces of film criticism I've read in a long time. Champlin reviews the best films released between the end of the Production Code era (which also saw the death of the Hollywood Blacklist) and the beginning of the blockbuster/comic-book film era.

Champlin's emphasis is on the "revolutionary" films - - movies that talked back to society in the language real people used about the subjects they were actually obsessed with. What Champlin says about Shampoo applies to most of the movies in the book: "It is . . . a chilling, hard, unsentimental . . . piece of social reporting which will be worth studying a century from now to know what a part of our times was like."

Champlin's short essays (serious but readable criticism, not thumbs up/thumbs down reviews), published as he wrote them at the time, are remarkable for how he saw what was important about these movies before the conventional wisdom about their quality took hold.

The book is one of the few about movies where, just glancing at the contents page, I realized I'd seen almost all the films when they were originally released.

Another neat thing I found (and shared) was the soft spot Champlin had for movies like Earthquake and The Towering Inferno, the last gasp (or explosion) of the old-fashioned special effects/big cast soap opera movie. Independence Day was just around the corner.

What Champlin writes about "Young Steven Spielberg," was observant at the the time (and as far as I'm concerned still true): Spielberg "shows as he has before an uncommon flair for handling big action" but "Intimacy is not yet his strength."

In his review of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Champlin outlines the differences between Anthony Burgess's novel and the movie (which over time really infuriated Burgess) better than anything else I've read about how the book became a film. Kubrick's films were often darker than the books they were based on. Even in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick's human characters are more dark than the hopeful scientists in most of Arthur C. Clarke's fiction - - but Clarke has never seemed to mind.

Read Hollywood's Revolutionary Decade. Especially if you saw these movies when they came out. For one thing, it will show how certain writers and directors, like Robert Towne and Hal Ashby, made so many great movies in such a short time.

Thinking about these movies again, in light of films that have followed, is both satisfying and disturbing.

I am proud to review Daniel Cohen's 'Horror In the Movies'.
This unique book, found in the children's section at libraries all around the world, portrays the horror genre in films with a different darkness. Some of the movies featured in this exciting book are
The Excorcist, The Omen, and Carrie. It also contains some classics like The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari, and several other silent films.

Daniel Cohen has a way of detailing the fine art of horror in the movies with his upfront approach to writing. You won't see any pictures of corny monsters like in other books. This head on approach to confronting the horror in film, which everyone has enjoyed at one time, opens a new door to the reality of how horror classics like Rosemary's Baby and Dawn of the Dead have spawned other cult classics dealing with the paranormal world of ghosts, demons, and witchcraft.

I highly recommend Horror in the Movies to anyone with an interest in the Macob!

Mario DeMarco presents "HORSE BITS FROM THE B-WESTERN MOVIES & TELEVISON" (Paperback) (1980) --- It has been quoted often that man's best and loyal friend was the dog --- Now a horse, on the other hand, have also been man's partner for thousands of years --- horses have been in existence for about 1.5 million years, at which time this animal, when created, was only eleven inches in height and was known then as the Dayne Horse --- The first record in history of horses used for domestic use was 2,500 years before Christ, in which the horse was being used for chariot races, warfare and farming by the ancient egyptians

Where would a cowboy be without his horse --- He would be on foot, of course and wouldn't be much use in a land which depends on him and his horse, working together as partners in order to exist --- Believe that the very first western star to actually give billing to his horse on the screen was William S. Hart --- Bill rode a beautiful pinto named "Fritz" --- the horse was somewhat smaller as compared to the animals later ridden by Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Ken Maynard.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: (Title and Page Numbers)
1. BITS, BITS AND BITS - 1
2. HORSE BITS FROM THE 'B' WESTERN MOVIES AND TELEVISION - 6
3. CHAMPION'S SIX-GUN BIT - 31
4. MORE BITS AND BITS - 32
5. TWO OF THE GREATEST WESTERN FILM STUNTMEN - 53
6. JACK HOXIE GETS HIS MAN AND IS ORSE - 63
7. THE 'DUKE' AND HIS HORSES - 71
8. THE MAN WHO TAUGHT MOVIE HORSE HOW TO ACT - 72
9. TRAINING BLACK JACK (ALLAN ROCKY LANE) - 74
10. PIN-UP SECTION OF FAMOUS STARS AND ORSES - 78
11. COWBOY STARS AND THEIR MOVIE HORSES - 103

Special footnote, Most of the film work for the early westerns in the 1900s were shot in New York, New Jersey and Chicago --- The movie companies had settled in California, where the sun shone 350 days of the year and was ideal for westerns --- Since these films were the top money makers, the need for actual cowboys were overwhelming --- So, cowboys from the ranges began heading for a small piece of real estate named Hollywood.

Check out a new book from Empire Publishing - "GENE AUTRY WESTERNS" (Hardcover) - by author Boyd Magers, like no other book on Gene Autry --- all of Gene's Mascot, Republic and Columbia westerns included, as well as his half-hour TV Episodes --- each segment contains the release date on each film -- major production credits -- complete cast (including character played) -- all songs included, songwriter and who performed them in the film -- running time of each film ... dates of the filming -- bios on the cast and major players (Smiley, Pat Buttram, Cass County Boys, Herbert J. Yates, directors, leading ladies, songwriters and various heavies, etc.) -- locations that were used -- budgets and negative cost -- stunt people involved -- analysis and synopsis on each film -- notes and comments (including film and cast background info, salaries paid, working titles, etc) -- comments from Gene and many other cast members on each film -- theater exhibitors comments at the time of the films release -- this tribute was written from the heart and it shows.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of Early B-Westerns and Serials, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- Mario DeMarco has captured the past in the retelling of our favorite western steeds and their riders, please stand up and take a bow --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Pages: 104 ~ Mario DeMarco Unknown Binding ~ (1980)