Randolph Scott Rides Alone
Classic Film and TV Café
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1d ago
Randolph Scott as Buchanan. The Ranown Cycle consists of six Westerns made between 1956 and 1960 that starred Randolph Scott and were directed by Budd Boetticher and written by Burt Kennedy. These films don't comprise a formal series as Randolph Scott plays a different character in each one. However, they are thematically similar with each protagonist being a loner with a high moral code who isn't afraid to use his gun. The pictures were shot on a 10-day schedule and typically ran a brisk 70-80 minutes. Some of them were produced by Ranown, a company owned by Randolph Scott and Harry ..read more
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Revisiting The Red Shoes
Classic Film and TV Café
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2w ago
Moira Shearer as Vicky Page. Black Narcissus is my favorite Michael Powell-Emeric Pressberger film--and I also think it's their masterpiece. But most critics and fans confer that "masterpiece" title on the duo's The Red Shoes (1948). I watched it many years ago, but, honestly, it didn't leave a significant impression. However, after recently viewing Made in England, an excellent documentary about Powell and Pressberger--and listening to Martin Scorsese gush about The Red Shoes' influence--I decided to give it another try. For those who have not seen it, the plot ..read more
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Corbucci's The Great Silence
Classic Film and TV Café
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1M ago
Jean-Louis Trintignant as Silence. The most acclaimed Spaghetti Western filmmaker not named Sergio Leone.  That's an apt description for Sergio Corbucci, a prolific Italian director and screenwriter whose career spanned four decades. Although he directed comedies, horror films, and sand-and-scandal epics, Corbucci is best known for his Spaghetti Westerns, especially Django (1966). Inspired by his friend Leone, Corbucci crafted a violent, allegorical Western that generated dozens of imitations and grew in critical stature over the years. Still, many critics now consider it Co ..read more
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The Eiger Sanction
Classic Film and TV Café
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1M ago
The Eiger Sanction (1975). This action thriller, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, follows a former assassin who is coerced into one last mission. There is some talk about recovering a germ warfare formula, but the mission is really about revenge. Two bad agents kill one of ours, so a shadowy U.S. agency wants them sanctioned--which is apparently code for eliminated. Eastwood's ex-killer now teaches art at a college (!) and wants nothing to do with this tit-for-tat until he's told the identity of the deceased agent. Jack Cassidy as a villain. Based on a novel by Rodney Wi ..read more
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That's Dancing in Kiss Me Kate!
Classic Film and TV Café
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2M ago
Kiss Me Kate (1953) boasts a Cole Porter score full of familiar tunes and was made by MGM during the era when the studio was known for its lavish musicals. And yet, it was considered a box office failure when first released and remains largely forgotten today. That's a shame because it features some truly spectacular musical numbers featuring the dancing of Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van, Bob Fosse, and Carol Haney. Some of those names may be unfamiliar if you're not a aficionado of great dancers. But their jaw-dropping talents make Kiss Me Kate worth your time despite a creaky, overly ..read more
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The Conversation and Repeat Performance
Classic Film and TV Café
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2M ago
Gene Hackman. The Conversation (1974). Francis Ford Coppola directed this overlong, but engrossing look into the life of an intensely private surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) whose recording of a seemingly innocent conversation has tragic results. Hackman’s character strives to distance himself from his subjects (“I don’t care what they’re talking about.—all I want is a nice fat recording.”). But his latest assignment conjures up painful memories of a previous job where one of his recordings led to murder. Hackman perfectly captures the loneliness and paranoia of a man who ..read more
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Jeff Chandler Plays a Make-Believe Parent in The Toy Tiger
Classic Film and TV Café
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2M ago
Jeff Chandler as Rick. Had a bad day at work? Relatives causing undue stress? If so, then perhaps you need to sit down and watch a mindless 1950s comedy. You know the kind. It's entertaining enough while you're watching it, but it won't linger in your brain. It's like cotton candy--light and tasty, but not filling and quickly forgotten. If that's what you're looking for, then The Toy Tiger (1956)--a remake of the earlier Mad About Music--is the movie for you. Laraine Day plays Gwen Harkinson, a widowed advertising executive who has shuffled her son off to a private boarding scho ..read more
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All That Heavens Allows and Come September
Classic Film and TV Café
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2M ago
Rock and Jane in front of the picture window. All That Heaven Allows (1955). My second favorite Douglas Sirk film (after Imitation of Life with Lana Turner) stars Jane Wyman as Cary Scott, a wealthy widow in a New England town who falls in love with Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), a younger man who works as a gardener. Their romance faces the disapproval of Cary’s snobbish children and her country club friends, who think Ron is beneath her. Cary must choose between following her heart or conforming to society’s expectations. All That Heaven Allows is not a nuanced film. Indeed, mos ..read more
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We Name the TV Characters...You Name the Series!
Classic Film and TV Café
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3M ago
We thought we'd try out a new game this month! For each numbered item below, we have listed three characters from the same TV series. Your task is to name the TV series! Most of these are easy; we tried not to go for obscure characters (at least for this edition). Note that we may have listed a character's first name or last name. As always, please answer no more than three questions per day so more people can play and have fun. Try not to research your answers as it'd be pretty easy to google the names and get a show's title.  1. Troy, Hitchcock, Tully. 2. Sam, Howard, Emmett. 3. Sam, H ..read more
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Roadgames: A Little Bit of Rear Window, a Dash of Duel
Classic Film and TV Café
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4M ago
Quid (Stacy Keach) with his harmonica. Directed by Hitchcock admirer Richard Franklin, Roadgames (1981) follows truck driver Patrick Quid (Stacy Keach) as he traverses the desolate highways of rural Australia after witnessing what may have been the aftermath of a murder. You see, there's a serial killer on the loose and Quid suspects it's the mysterious man driving a green van. Released when slasher films like Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980) were in vogue, Roadgames is an oddity. It sounds like a slasher film, but--as its PG rating suggests--it's more of a t ..read more
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