Well, I recounted getting my two (Pfizer) vaccine shots last February. I'd mentioned that the 2nd shot left me feeling pretty achy the next day, with a throbbing headache and a ringing in my ears. But it was gone by the following day.
... except for the ringing in my ears. Especially my...
As I'm sure I probably mentioned upthread, I always loved the opening/closing credits to MLM. The imagery and the music. It just elicited an immediate sense of coziness, the very first time I saw it. I've seen the Republic film "The French Key" (1946), that initially (apparently) utilized...
Muller's argument within the context of the issue is not something I have any big qualms with. But for me, it's the bigger picture of something that has been going on well before this 'Reframed' series. And I'm hardly sitting here with gritted teeth and waving clenched fists or anything over...
'Biffle and Shooster' were favorites of my grandparents. They saw them perform at the Orpheum, and said they went over even bigger than 'Shaw and Lee.' Earl Burtnett and his Orchestra were also on the ticket there, according to the program herald that my grandmother kept. Probably still have...
The last time I saw Noel Neill at a show (she was a prolific convention guest), she was selling a little book written by Pam Munter on Monogram's "Teen-Agers" film series (1946-48), in which Neill was a regular fixture. It's entitled "When Teens Were Keen," and it's a nice little book...
Nice news about "The Crystal Ball" and "The Duke of West Point." I hope the latter portends some renewed delving into the Edward Small library. Would love to see "South of Pago Pago" (1940) and "Abroad With Two Yanks" (1944), for example, albeit preferably on blu.
Can't help but echo my...
Early this month, I got an appointment for my 86-year-old father to get his vaccination shot at the local Health Department. I took him there, and he casually asked the nurse if I could get one as well. She was fine with the idea, especially since my father and I live in the same house, which...
Don't leave out one of her earliest films, "Persons in Hiding" (1939). It's a real crackerjack of a b-film, and Morison really delivers the goods as a Bonnie Parker style criminal on the run.
Made sure to tune in to "Native Son" (1951), as I'd never seen it before. It was an odd curio, interesting but awfully clunky at times. The low-budget trappings didn't bother me at all, B-movie buff that I am, but the unevenness did. The first 1/3 of the film seemed to have a rather...
Hadn't seen "The Killer That Stalked New York" (1950) in about 30 years, so I tuned in. But I had the same reaction I did when I first saw it, finding it not terribly engaging. I really don't fault the semi-documentary aspect with Reed Hadley narration and such. I've always rather liked that...
I have an issue of DC's "Jimmy Wakely" run, and it's a really nice item. Those 52-pagers from that era are just downright spiffy little cultural artifacts. I also have single examples of the "Dale Evans" (DC version) and "Alan Ladd" titles, the latter pictured above (issue no. 4). DC also had...
I vaguely seem to recall there were several little things in the 'pilot' that didn't quite migrate to the series proper. I'd like to think there was a 'lost' episode in-between the two, in which a traveling frontier doctor named Rudy Wells (played by Martin Brooks) provided our hero with an...
Overall, I tended to enjoy "Johnny Staccato," but I recall that episode "Solomon" singularly trying my patience. Usually I just try to discount such episodes as necessary 'budget' episodes, done on the quick and cheap, with limited sets and emphasis on characterizations and close-ups. But...
Sure am glad Paramount is giving such attention to its Republic library holdings. I suspect the later, post-war A-films will get most of the attention, which is understandable, and I do have a lot of favorites in that category. But I'm also particularly keen on them to hopefully restore those...
Good grief, even Pat Brady had a coloring book? That, I did not know. Certainly don't recall ever running across a copy of it at the many memorabilia shows I've been to.
Addressing Rogers' leading lady upthread, Ruth Terry, I did recently view her first Republic B-musical-comedy, "Sing...
Even though "Man of the West" (1958) is a vibrant, bristling affair (memorable stuff like Royal Dano's demise, and the fight with Jack Lord akin to skinning an animal), and I was duly impressed upon first viewing many eons ago, I felt it hasn't really held up over the long haul for me. I think...
I used to run into old postcards of Marie Doro when I went to collectors' postcard shows. Never thought I'd ever get to see any of her films, just like some of those other early Paramount gals like Louise Huff or Constance Binney, whose films were mostly lost and otherwise impossible to see...
Nice photo of Allene Ray. Although she's recognized somewhat for her silent serial-queen status, I don't think she gets much acknowledgment for something else... she was actually leading-lady in the very first all-talking B-western, "Overland Bound" (1929). It was a little indie, and...
"Suspense" (1946) certainly always had a number of flaws from its overlength to a certain heavy-handedness that hangs over everything. But I still always liked it far better than Monogram's Sullivan-Belita follow-up, "The Gangster" (1947), which I considered annoyingly artsy and pretentious...
Ah, yes. Harry Woods. I think I really have to crown him my favorite b-western villain, although I still sometimes vacillate between him and Roy Barcroft and Fred Kohler. They were certainly the "big three," with each dominating their own little eras as top baddie. Kohler could be...
For a 1945-46 vintage Monogram, "Fear" was rather nicely produced. Better photographed than most of its studio's concurrent output, and a little more attention to set decoration than usual. Even a few larger sets, filled with more extras. And a cast including some reliable pros. Yet I still...
As my tastes/worldview have remained almost maniacally consistent through the years, I don't really have too many instances of 'flipping' my opinion on a movie. But one stark example is perhaps "Lost Horizon" (1937). As I always loved tales of explorers and 'lost civilizations,' I did rather...
Okay, I have a question for our Mr. KL-Insider guy: When it comes to 'vintage' (pre-1960s) fare, we've often heard you talk about titles and material not being picked up because they'd likely be poor sellers. We've also heard from you about releases in this vein that have been disappointments...
Pretty amazing how nice the print looks. I was noticing during the train-station sequence, you can make out the titles of the pulp magazines on the newsstand racks. All real titles and issues of the day, including "Doc Savage," "Pete Rice Western," "Top-Notch," "Thrilling Love Stories,"...
Re-reading my above discussion, I see that I left out mention of MGM's "Broadway Melody" series as a factor, which is something I'd intended to add. I thought the "Big Broadcast" sequels were the first, but checking just now on imdb, it appears that both "Broadway Melody of 1936" (1935-MGM) and...
Good excuse for me to give my Roan dvd of "In Old Cheyenne" (1941) a new spin. It's indeed hard to tell where the cuts are in this one. Luckily, these earlier Rogers films had those shorter running-times, so the edits aren't quite as brutal as in the mid-1940s entries. Missing songs are...
Might have been nifty if Kino could have included the 1930 talkie remake as an extra, as it was also directed by Browning. Could make for an interesting comparison, although maybe not, as I recall the talkie being a bit of a drag. Edward G. Robinson didn't exactly cover himself in glory with...
Didn't recall Linda Hayes made three films with Rogers. Remembered only one, offhand. I don't know much about Hayes, other than she seemed to cap a long list of 1930s RKO starlets, like Margaret Callahan, Louise Latimer, and Whitney Bourne, who all came around for a short time, and whose...