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The mention of Back to the Future and "80's Horror" in the same thread title seems somewhat incongruous. While Future was an 80's film, it doesn't feel connected in any way to the topic of horror films. The 80's definitely ushered in the largest outburst of screen horror in movie history. The popularity of the genre went through the roof for some reason - particularly in terms of "franchise horror" which hadn't been nearly as active after the Universal franchises of the early-mid 40's. And this phenomenon continued right through the 90's and continues to this day. One could almost say that since about 1978 (when Halloween first hit the screen, followed soon after by Friday the 13th - these were the fuses that led to the veritable explosion of the genre), we've been living in the age of cinematic horror.

I saw The Rainmaker on Katharine Hepburn day. The film demonstrates the difference between writing for the stage and writing for films (both play and screenplay by N. Richard Nash) and demonstrates with frightening clarity the difference between directing for the stage and directing for the movies, as the play's Broadway director, Joseph Anthony, got the opportunity to direct his first film. Everyone in the cast is capable. Unfortunately, Joseph Anthony can't do much except stage the play. Trim the dialogue for the screen? Use camera position or camera movement to emphasize or give a different spin or a different subtext to lines? Not much of that happening. Most of the film's budget must have gone to Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, because everything else looks like El Cheapo Backlot. What has always made audiences respond to the play is the theme of accepting reality vs. dreaming of something better, as con man rainmaker Burt Lancaster (with too little screentime) tries to make Katharine Hepburn believe that she is pretty and can find a man, or, failing that, Wendell Corey. To believe in herself she must not allow her father (Cameron Prud'homme) and brother (Lloyd Bridges) to relegate her to spinsterhood; keeping her as chief cook and bottlewasher is, of course, useful for them. To a lesser extent, her younger brother (Earl Holliman) must make the same kind of rebellion. One of the film's strengths is that Prud'homme and Bridges are sympathetic actors who do not play their characters as out-and-out villains. In the 1950s Katharine Hepburn gives two great performances as spinsters, in The African Queen and Summertime. John Huston and David Lean know how to help Hepburn edit her work, and know how to put all the elements of the film together. Hepburn does have some good moments in The Rainmaker, but also some not so good. For instance, the scene after she shuts Lancaster out of her room is like something out of a silent movie. Interesting enough to see once, but not a film I particularly want to see again.

Safety Last (1923) Saboteur (1942) Les Diaboliques (1955) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) North by Northwest (1959) The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Bullitt (1968) The French Connection (1971) Runaway Train (1985) Speed (1994)

CHARADE Also with Audrey, WAIT UNTIL DARK

Strangeers on a Train Misery The Wages of Fear

King Kong (1933) The Third Man (1949) Strangers on a Train (1951) Carrie (1976)

Two of my favourite films, having seen both of them for the first time on TV when I was a kid. I watched both of them again earlier this year. Robin Hood has the bigger reputation but The Mark of Zorro is a splendid film of its kind, with an often witty screenplay, great black and white photography, a rousing musical score by Alfred Newman and, of course, that cast, all perfect in their roles. The fast paced choreography of the fencing match between Power and Rathbone remains, along with the duels in Robin Hood and Scaramouche (1952), one of the three greatest that the movies have given us, in my opinion. The only real flaw of Zorro is that the duel does not come at the end of the film. There is 15 minutes to go after it with all that business with the peons rising up against the soldiers and that mass fight with swords and clubs between them seeming quite anti-climactic. They should have had the uprising take place but then have Power and Rathbone encounter one another either during it or after it for their classic fencing encounter. So, Basil, any comment on the fact that you always lost your screen duels to actors you could out fence in real life?

Apropos of tonight's airing of the latter. I've often considered, along with a lot of others, Robin Hood to be the best adventure movie ever. But catching Zorro tonight made me think that it is distinct competition for the title. Now I don't count that Robin was made in Technicolor (to my mind the best ever shot) and Zorro is b/w. When you consider it, both movies have a lot in common. There's a brash, insouciant hero, an oppressed populace, daring escapades, a reluctant maiden wooed and won, a religious figure/ally, stolen state monies destined to aid the oppressed. Oh yes, there's also Basil Rathbone as The Villain. Maybe he makes these movies great.

Very suggestive lyrics if you think about it, lol. Lydia, The Tattooed Lady Michael Feinstein Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the tattooed lady She has eyes that folks adore so And a torso even more so Lydia, oh! Lydia, that "Encyclopedia" Oh! Lydia, the Queen of tattoo On her back is the Battle of Waterloo Beside it the Wreck of the Hesperus too And proudly above the waves The Red, White and Blue You can learn a lot from Lydia She can give you a view of the world In tattoo if you step up and tell her where For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree Or Washington crossing the Delaware Oh! Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the tattooed lady When her muscles start relaxin' Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson Lydia, oh! Lydia, that "Encyclopedia" Oh! Lydia, the champ of them all For two bits she will do a Mazurka in Jazz With a view of Niag'ra that no artist has And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz You can learn a lot from Lydia. La la la La la la La la la La la la Come along and see Buff'lo Bill with his lasso Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon And Godiva, but with her pajamas on La la la La la la La la la La la la Here is Grover Whalen unveilin' the Trylon Over on the west coast we have Treasure Islan' Here's Nijinsky a doin' the Rhumba Here's her Social Security numba La la la La la la La la la La la la Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the champ of them all She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat And now the old boy's in command of the fleet You can learn a lot from Lydia

High Sierra 1941 White Heat 1949 High Noon 1952 Rear Window 1954 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989

All of this has prompted me to revisit my KLS books, kept in my reference library. Some may appreciate this story: KLS meets Joan Bennett for the first time at a read through. KLS has a breakfast danish. Joan sees the danish and remarks "the figure one has when one is 21 is the figure one keeps for the rest of her life." Danish drops into trash can.

Warners was always the Hollywood studio, certainly during the '30s, most concerned with social inequities, going back to Public Enemy and I Am A Fugitive. Captain Blood, aside from the adventurous aspect of its story line, is also about injustice and oppression. Robin Hood, Technicolor fantasy escapism that it may have been, was also continuing that studio tradition. "it's injustice I hate, not the Normans."

I was watching The Mark of Zorro last night and thought the same thing -- the movie would have maintained more excitement if the duel was closer to the actual ending. The uprising is just one big crowd scene to me. The Adventures of Robin Hood also seems to have a much tighter script and more and better character actors. Claude Raines is deliciously feline and effete as Prince John, whereas Edward Bromberg is just a buffoon. The Mark of Zorro is definitely sexier and more adult in some respects, all that playing around with definitions of masculinity, which are quite fun and well-played by Power and Rathbone (who presents as the typical alpha male). I think TARH takes the social justice aspect of the outlaw story more seriously, all those explicit scenes of peasants being abused and Robin's courting of Marian by showing her the oppression of the people.

Wanda Jackson, an often-overlooked rockabilly pioneer and early rock artist is still living. She moved into country in the 60s when rock shifted away from its early roots.

This made me laugh out loud. I can just hear it. KLS: We worked with many child actors, though none of them were ever treated like children. After we watched one little girl work her way flawlessly through a scene Grayson whispered to me "Forty...if she's a day."

I adore Josette's Music Box but I also get a kick out of the rock and rollin' tunes down at the Blue Whale. I recall Carolyn shaking her booty to it with the guys down at the bar to her (then) boyfriend Joe's dismay. She could really shake her booty, I have to say.

sorry if i go on one my tangents here... but seeing and hearing all these recollections about watching DARK SHADOWS in the 60's and 70's- and reading anecdotes like I did this morning about how all the kids would get off at whatever bus stop was closest to whoever's house had a TV they could watch- it makes me very sad for something that we've really lost since 2000 and that is the notion of collective entertainment- or water-cooler viewing, or back when we were all watching THE SAME STUFF- we've lost that, we've gone from three networks to 25,000 options hurled at you: endless scrolls of titles , old stuff, new stuff, 24 new shows on 24 new networks..... I know there are nights where i spend more time trying to find something to watch than i do watching something. we've lost that, and we've lost the collective bonding that occurred over TELEVISION during its golden era, from the 50's into the early 70s- back when opetions were limited, but the POWER of the PLATFORM was so much greater.

And the majority of them were early on, during the first half of his career. I think we can say he's semi-retired now. RULES DON'T APPLY was a misfire. Unlike Harrison Ford who keeps going on and going, Beatty's best years are behind him.

MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934)

Jerry Lacy was a good actor. He had a lot of long speeches on that show.

Who's Minding the Mint? (1967) great cast, fast paced and genuinely funny!

I Loved Ace in the Hole and most of Billy Wilder's films. Best: Sunset Blvd. nuff said Worst: Love in the Afternoon I can't express how much I disliked this film, but I'll try. First of all, Gary Cooper was totally miscast as a playboy who could attract a female young enough to be his granddaughter, but I guess Cary Grant had the good sense to turn down the role. Cooper was very attractive when younger but frankly he didn't age well. This can be overcome with a certain amount of charm, humor, etc. but I found the written character so incredibly dull that I couldn't imagine these two as a couple at all. Huge misfire. And just in case the audience missed the Grand Canyon of age gaps, they put Audrey's hair in pigtails. Ugh

It’s ok, GRAYSON came by a minute later and fished it out. (It was a prune danish, she needed it.)

Dos Monjes/Two Monks (1934) Mexico/Dir: Juan Bustillo Oro - After a violent altercation in a monastery, the two monks involved each explain their motivations, vis flashback. With Victor Urruchua, Carlos Villatoro, and Magda Heller. I see this film listed as "horror" but I wouldn't agree with that categorization. It's a psychological drama that explores madness and guilt. It also uses a Rashomon-style story technique, with conflicting memories that complicate the tale, although the "truth" seems to be settled by the end. The film has a lot of silent movie touches, like German Expressionist production designs and camera set-ups, and the performances have an exaggerated, pantomime quality. This was recently restored as part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project. (6/10)

Robin didn't wish to expose these poor everyday citizens to Guy and the Sherriff and his men since they could later round them up and torture\kill them. I.e. these folks were not part of Robin's group of fighting men.

@37kitties @MovieCollectorOH @Bethluvsfilms Oh, I agree - it’s 100% incongruous! The tone of Stargirl Season 1 is purposely reminiscent of Back to the Future and other quirky, family-friendly adventure films of the era: ET, Goonies, etc (but Back to the Future was the main influence). I fell in love with its nostalgic vibe, retro look, the touching story-behind-the-story, and the intentional nods to the movies that helped inspire it. I was so excited for Season 2, I wrote this glowing intro to / review of Season 1 (which still applies, as the first season largely stands on its own) hours before the new season premiered - only to tune in and realize…It’s strangely darker now. 😳 In listening to a behind-the-scenes podcast, I learned that, while Season 1 was a tribute to those fun adventure films, Season 2 will be the same to ‘80s horror movies (although It was mentioned specifically, and that’s technically from 1990). I actually love the rather creative idea of each season having a different genre-specific theme. However, the shift in tone is so apparent that I felt the need to add a little postscript to my original post saying so. (But I am sticking with the show - because the storytelling is excellent, regardless of the theme.) And it dawned on me: these “incongruous” vibes could potentially appeal to two very different audiences. (I guess the common appeal might be “if you like ‘80s movies in general…”) I thought my title might spark the interest of people who prefer either category (and those who like both - which I imagine is quite a niche group). I’m glad it got some attention - although I never considered it would imply I was under the mistaken impression that Back to the Future qualifies as a horror film. 🙈 (I thought the “and/or” would make the distinction clear…Apparently not.) I hoped it would inspire link clicks instead. 😉 As I said, if you don’t believe my statement, then check out the post to learn more. (I considered just copying it directly into the thread, but it’s rather in-depth. It grew to have a life of its own. ☺️) @37kitties I do appreciate the context / deeper look into ‘80s horror you provided. Horror in general is not my style at all (and as such, I know very little about it…except that it does not include Back to the Future 😉). Now, I better understand why it’s something Stargirl’s creators want to pay homage to. It sounds like it was a big decade for the genre. 😃

My first guess would be that Warren resented Shirley for being prettier than he is. But that's just me being "catty". Sepiatone

And then some 30 years later, and perhaps a little less animated but still a very memorable performance of this little ditty by Groucho, you have...

THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955)

The Great Gatsby (1949) The little remembered second screen adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age novel, with Alan Ladd cast in the role of the mysterious nouveau riche stranger who moves into a huge estate across a lake from the home of a woman he still loves from years before, even though she is now married. Fitzgerald fans will probably not be happy with this Paramount production, if only because the ambiguity of Gatsby's background is taken away with an image just minutes into the film of Ladd as a gun firing bootlegger. Those are the only action moments, brief as they are, in the film, a sop to Ladd fans who liked to see their hero as a man of action. A poster for the film, shown below, featuring Ladd in a trench coat, is also completely inappropriate for the image of the refined Gatsby living in high society. Having said that, Ladd is quite good in the title role. The actor always had an air of mysteriousness, of course (never more brilliantly utilized than when he would later play Shane) but he also brings subtle shadings to his characterization here, including a sense of vulnerability, at times, which are quite affecting. Macdonald Carey works well as Nick, Gatsby's neighbour commentator on much of Gatsby's activities in the film. A young Shelley Winters, Howard Da Silva and Barry Sullivan are also featured in key roles. Ruth Hussey brings a light hearted charm to, unfortunately, an ill defined character with limited screen time. The sinker for me, though, in the casting department was Betty Field as Daisy Buchanan, the girl Gatsby still dreams about and loves and for whom he is willing to make sacrifices. Now Daisy as a character, of course, turns out to be unworthy of Gatsby's devotion, but, as played by Field in a rather charmless manner, I had to wonder exactly what was the fascination that Gatsby found in her. Even the film's photography of Field seems unflattering much of the time. I've seen this actress, respected for her stage work, do good work on screen (Of Mice and Men and Kings Row come to mind, in particular) but this film is definitely not one of her shining moments. Still, the film has handsome production values (even if they pale beside those of the Robert Redford version of 1974) to make it worth a view. I'm not certain that Ladd fans (those few still around, that is) will be comfortable with his casting here, though. Hearing Ladd repeatingly calling people "Old Sport" does sound a little odd and unnatural, despite the actor's game performance. Unlike Redford, though, Ladd is convincing as someone who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. The Great Gatsby is one of a number of Ladd films recently released on DVD in fine looking prints by Via Vision Entertainment, an Australian company. 2.5 out of 4

Yes, if anything BACK TO THE FUTURE felt more sci-fi than horror, though the entire franchise was more comedic than anything else, as it was intended to be. Horror did seem to take a nosedive during the 40's (probably no surprise since we went to war after Pearl Harbor and we saw the true horrors of real life with the killings of so many soldiers and the slaughter of the Jews and other minorities of the Holocaust) with very few exceptions to the rule (THE BODY SNATCHER and CAT PEOPLE were great IMO). I actually think the horror genre started its comeback during the 70's, you had THE EXORCIST, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE OMEN, CARRIE, JAWS, ALIEN coming out and scaring the living daylights out of people.

Yes I’ve seen clips of those and they were extremely effective. It looks like they went all the way to Newport, Rhode Island to film at the house they used for Collinwood. I wish they had kept up with using occasional exteriors, but I guess those budget and logistical and actor constraints were just a headache.

Occasionally he would break that 5 actor an episode rule, but yes, only 4 or 5 actors were usually the norm in a lot of the episodes. They used to have some great outdoor shots in the pre-Barnabas episodes, but once Barnabas arrived on the scene they were no more.

I hate to call member's posts of impressions "reviews", but I will say it's terrific to see posts like King Rat's.... Posts that are constructed of complete sentences & clear intent. Posts that are easy to read and actually describe what the viewer liked/disliked about the movie and WHY. Lately, there have been fewer full impression reviews and more fragmented, random words posted that simply read as nonsense.

Abby Dalton was so hot with her hair pulled back in a ponytail in the corman viking flick. she woulda made a good 50 foot woman too. "thank you, nipkowdisc, you little dickens."

Vera's a hod die from way back. she was drop dead gorgeous in her day.

I'm excited about seeing Nightmare Alley tonight. It's been soooo long that I don't remember much except Tyrone Power as some kind of sideshow charlatan. Sounds right up my noir alley.

The Great Lie

And long time SNL cast member Kate McKinnon quite often plays men in that program's skits. In fact, she might be the present predominant purveyor of it. (...hey, say THAT three times fast...I dare ya)

For Kirk Douglas' worst film, I would nominate this strange production from 1973:

Sweet Smell of Success (1958)

Well, maybe not as a full-time job, but Tracey Ullman, Lily Tomlin, and Anna Deavere Smith are all known for convincingly impersonating male characters (in Smith's case real-life characters) in their stage and television work. Possibly the most famous film example is Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously. Also, throughout history there have been numerous women who posed as men in order to fight in battle (at least before they were officially allowed in the military, that is).

Out of the Past 1947

Have you ever noticed how rare it was to have characters sit around a dining or breakfast table and eat like normal people? I think very, very early on there was some breakfast table coffee chit-chat like on a traditional soap. Was there even a real dining room in Collinwood; I can't remember.

As one of her best, I would add:

Is she acrobatic as Starman in fighting villains?

Seriously, BETH'S HAIR was some POWER HAIR. I have looked for images to do it justice, but can find none. It was a BRIGHT BLONDE, DELICIOUS PLATE OF PASTRIES SURROUNDED BY CURLS AND RINGLETS AND FRAMED IN BRAIDS OF GOLD. That was some ELABORATE HAIR. edit: found this one image

Some good news while waiting for the conclusion of Summer Under the Stars - The remaining Noir Alley schedule for 2021 has been posted: https://noiralley.tcm.com/schedule More good news - there are no Noir Alley repeats scheduled through the end of the year. Here is the list of films (Saturday evening dates shown): 09-04 Cloudburst (1951) robert preston 09-11 Drive a Crooked Road (1954) mickey rooney 09-18 Human Desire (1954) glenn ford, gloria grahame 09-25 Hell Bound (1957) (tcm premiere) john russell 10-02 The Glass Wall (1953) vittorio gassman, gloria grahame 10-09 Brighton Rock (1948) richard attenborough 10-16 The Dark Past (1948) william holden, nina foch 10-23 La bestia debe morir (1952) 'The Beast Must Die' (tcm premiere) 10-30 Strange Fascination (1952) (tcm premiere) cleo moore, hugo haas 11-06 Five Steps to Danger (1956) ruth roman, sterling hayden 11-13 The Lineup (1958) eli wallach 11-20 Johnny O'Clock (1947) dick powell 11-27 Tight Spot (1955) ginger rogers, brian keith 12-04 The Unsuspected (1947) claude rains, audrey totter 12-11 Cruel Gun Story (1964) (japanese) 12-18 Blast of Silence (1961) allen baron

Just watched HOUSE OF HORRORS '46 on Svengoolie and was struck by how much Virginia Gray reminded me of Drew Barrymore. They both have prominent chins, large arching eyebrows & bow mouths with tiny teeth. Prefer Drew's strong Barrymore nose to Virginia's dainty one.