Hailey, Matt and I visit about “Rebel Without a Cause” from 1955. The film was James Dean’s second major role. Director Nicholas Ray frames a drama of high school students dealing with overwhelming emotions, out of control situations, a lack of love and confusion about their lives, family and place in the world. Joining Mr. Dean’s Jim Stark is Natalie Wood as Judy and Sal Mineo as John “Plato” Crawford. Jim Backus and Ann Doran are Jim’s parents Frank and Carol Stark. Edward Platt turns in a sol...
Nov 28, 2019•49 min•Ep. 132
Bob and Nancy sit down to talk about "Miracle on 34th Street" and Nancy poses the question of whether or not all the fancy dress was just for the movie and Bob wonders if everyone dressed that way when going out shopping! Check us out on Patreon at www.patreon.com/classicmoviereviews for even more content and bonus shows.
Nov 22, 2019•13 min•Ep. 131
With “Miracle on 34th Street” released in 1947 we join Santa and the holiday festivities beginning with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and concluding on Christmas Eve. The talented Edmund Gwenn is Kris Kringle. Doris Walker played by Maureen O’Hara convinces Mr. Kringle to be Santa in the parade. As Santa he is a huge success and has a positive influence on just about everyone. He then is hired to be Santa Clause at Macy’s flagship store. The story captures the warm and heartfelt behavior of Mr....
Nov 21, 2019•51 min•Ep. 131
James Dean’s first major film was “East of Eden” from 1955. It is the starting point for our coverage of his three big film roles in a career that ended with his death at age 24. John Steinbeck’s novel is the basis for the film. In 1962 Mr. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception”. Director Elia Kazan won Academy Awards for directing “Gentleman’s Agreement” 1948 our Episode...
Nov 14, 2019•48 min•Ep. 130
“Alien” is a landmark film. It marks a turning point in horror cinema, blending ultra realistic science fiction with mind bending body and creature horror. In many ways, you can delineate horror cinema before “Alien” and after “Alien”. Masterfully directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigorney Weaver in her break out role, the film spawned a media franchise/empire that is still going strong today. There have been 3 direct sequels, two spin offs, and two prequels with a third prequel in pre-produ...
Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 129
We wrap up our salute to the music of Bernard Herrmann with “Journey to the Center of the Earth” from 1959. Under Henry Levin’s direction the Jules Verne classic is brought to life in a fun and engaging adventure. The cast led by James Mason and Arlene Dahl is delightful to watch as we join them on this trip into an unknown world. Mr. Mason as Sir Oliver Lindenbrook is quite taken by his own renown and thoroughly enjoys everyone’s adulation. He meets his match in Ms. Dahl’s Carla Goteborg a stro...
Oct 24, 2019•31 min•Ep. 128
Welcome to our first Patreon podcast post! “The Ghost Breakers” takes us on a horror-comedy ride from New York City to an ocean liner on to Cuba then to a seemingly deserted island mansion. Bob Hope as crime reporter Larry Lawrence leads the way through a collection of sometimes dangerous and sometimes funny situations. At his side is the trusty partner/valet Alex portrayed by William Best. As the film unfolds Larry and Alex encounter underworld thugs, beautiful Mary Carter played by Paulette Go...
Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 127
“The Wrong Man” is a true story of Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero and his family and the fallout of his being wrongly accused of several armed robberies. The film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Henry Fonda and Vira Miles. The music is by Bernard Hermann. This is the third film in our Bernard Hermann film festival. The music is more restrained than the other films we’ve reviewed. It fits the story and mood of the film perfectly. Bernard Hermann even makes an appearance as the ...
Oct 17, 2019•39 min•Ep. 126
We’re excited to announce we are launching on Patreon on October 24th! All the details in the show notes!
Oct 14, 2019•4 min
The “Garden Of Evil” presents a fairly straight-forward and borderline run-of-the-mill story, set to an outstanding soundtrack and spectacular visuals. Gary Cooper puts in his usual excellent portrayal of a western gun man, Hugh Marlow gives a convincing performance as a desperate prospector, Richard Widmark plays the cranky suspicious card shark, Cameron Mitchell portrays a man with a sorted past and a soul that needs redeeming, Victor Mendoza plays a solid Mexican local trying to get the most ...
Oct 06, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 125
“The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and stars Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison in the lead roles with Edna Best, George Sanders, Vanessa Brown and Natalie Wood providing excellent supporting characters. Charles Lang, the cinematographer deserves a special mention as well. And of course the moving music by Bernard Hermann. This is a wonderful movie about loss and love, life and death, hopes and dreams, and ultimately about the strength to carry on when life is throwing one ...
Sep 15, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 124
Described as a “psychic thriller” on some of the movie posters, “Don’t Look Now” is certainly weird, and whether or not you think there’s anything “psychic” going on, well, that’s part of the fun and mystery of watching the movie. Bob and I really enjoyed this one. And since the ending is so integral to the overall impact of the movie, we hold off on giving away any specifics about the final scenes. Many consider this to be Director Nicolas Roeg’s masterpiece. It stars Donald Sutherland and Juli...
Aug 14, 2019•40 min•Ep. 123
We’re back revisiting feudal Japan, on the road with Zatoichi, the blind swordsman/masseur/gambler/savior of the downtrodden. This time we find Zatoichi saving the life of a young artist, while protecting his son, and in the end going up against a samurai of equal prowess to his own. It’s full of adventure, beautiful scenery, excellent set design, and even a musical number. And do we think the ending sword fight is one of the best in samurai films? We dive deeper in the origins of the character ...
Aug 02, 2019•51 min•Ep. 122
“Rififi” loosely defined as “a rumble among men” or “trouble/violent conflict/show of force” is a 1955 French movie directed by Jules Dassin after he was black listed in Hollywood. The film is based on a portion of a novel by Auguste Le Brenton. Starring Jean Servais as the lead character “Tony” and the other members of the heist crew, Carl Möhner as “Jo”, Robert Manuel as “Mario” and the director himself in the role of “Cesar”, who apparently was paid the equivalent of $8,000 for the roles of D...
Jul 22, 2019•52 min•Ep. 121
“Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare” was released in 1968 as the first of a trilogy of films starring famous Japanese Yokai. Yokai are supernatural beings from Japanese folklore. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia page on Yokai. There are literally thousands of different Yokai. This film features many of the most popular ones. In addition, the film is extremely well shot and includes many music themes that add to the drama and action of the film. The tokusatsu special effects are very well done and shown...
Jul 09, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 120
COMMENTARY NOTE: This is the "B" version of the podcast. If you want to listen to our commentary while watching the film yourself, be sure to listen to this episode. The main pocast post is for the "A" version which contains the film audio in the background. Enjoy! This is a special episode as it’s our first movie commentary and Hailey joins the podcast to talk about it with Matt. It’s a father and daughter special episode! Bob is doing well and was unable to make the recording due to a busy tra...
Jul 09, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 120
It’s a double sci-fi feature! “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” wraps up our series of films directed by Robert Wise. A movie that was mired in delays and controversy from the very beginning, we feel that Robert Wise’s signature touches are missing from the film and we both want to get our hands on the Director’s Cut to see what this film may have been intended to be in the director’s original vision. “Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan” on the other hand, wow! This is an explosive, action packed and...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 119
“West Side Story” tells the tale of two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets on the west side of New York City during early 1960’s, or perhaps late 1950s. This is a film that on the surface appears to be a musical based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. And then you watch it, and it unfolds in such a way, that by the end you’re left feeling like you’ve been hit in the gut and you’re reeling with trying to wrap your mind around what you just witnessed.
May 20, 2019•54 min•Ep. 118
The IMDB summaries for some movies are funny. Here’s a one liner for “Run Silent Run Deep”: A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew. Yeah, that about sums it up, except that there are about three more layers of drama going on. There’s the Moby Dick aspect of Commander “Rich” Richardson’s obsession with the Japanese commander that sunk his sub. There’s the angle of the younger commander being usurped by the older returning c...
Apr 22, 2019•56 min
One of our favorite movies, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” tells a cautionary tale in a time of the Cold War and rapidly advancing technology. Expertly directed by Robert Wise and starring the perfectly cast Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlow, Sam Jaffe and Billy Gray, this is a film with multiple layers of meaning and nuance. It’s a straight-forward sci-fi tale with a flying saucer, a superior alien race, and an invulnerable all powerful robot. It’s also a tale of the possibility of hu...
Apr 07, 2019•55 min•Ep. 116
Billed as a sequel to the widely popular “Cat People” movie, it’s more of a spiritual successor to that film. In many ways a masterpiece in its own right, “The Curse Of The Cat People” beautifully tells the tale of life from being a young person, dealing with all the loneliness and uncertainty of that age to middle age, struggling with making the right decisions for you and your family, to old age and the frailty of life and it’s ultimate end.
Mar 26, 2019•44 min•Ep. 115
Holy smokes, our review really is longer than the film. There’s not much else to say that we didn’t say in the podcast. Be sure to stay tuned until the very end for the story of the 16 suits. Enjoy!
Mar 17, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 114
We’re finally reviewing North By Northwest, one of the greatest films ever made and many say Hitchcock’s greatest film. There’s so much to say and so much has already been said about this movie. Maybe we’re not breaking any new territory here with this review but we sure have fun talking about it. There’s the action, the drama, the subtle and not so subtle comedy, the romance, the suspense, not to mention the incredible direction, script, acting, set design, cinematography and score. We decided ...
Mar 09, 2019•56 min•Ep. 113
Two federal agents, one from Mexico and one from the United States team up to break up an illegal human trafficking operation along the US/Mexico border. Released in 1949 and directed by Anthony Mann and starring the incomparable Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy, this taught crime drama is sometimes mistakenly categorized as noir, though it lacks the essential noir elements, such as a femme fatale. It is a top-notch crime drama though and the cinematography, directing, acting and subject matt...
Feb 02, 2019•52 min•Ep. 112
Directed by Andrew Stone and starring an array of top talent including, Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Callaway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, The Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown, Dooley Wilson, and so many more, it’s an incredible film from a music and dance perspective and a troubling film from the perspective of accurate portrayals of the characters in the film, not to mention almost zero character development. There’s a lot to cover in this film and we do our best.
Jan 21, 2019•33 min•Ep. 111
Happy Holidays from Holiday Inn! We’re open 15 days a year for all the major holidays. Come on up to Connecticut for a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city. At least that’s what Bing Crosby’s character Jim Hardy hopes you’ll do in this enjoyable, if flawed film, also starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Able and Louise Beavers and directed by Mark Sandwich, the film is full of memorable dance and song numbers and one song and dance we’d just as...
Dec 24, 2018•36 min•Ep. 110
Highly rated and much beloved, “Bringing Up Baby” stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and is directed by one of our favorites, Howard Hawks. The movie requires a certain approach or mindset to really enjoy the zany antics. Prepare yourself for a movie full of overlapping dialog, bizarre situations, unrealistic setups and truly memorable characters. And if you’ve never seen it and like me thought the movie was about being a parent(!), you’re in for some surprises!
Nov 30, 2018•48 min•Ep. 109
The IMDB summary for this movie reads "A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way he is nearly burnt at the stake by Indians and almost killed by outlaws." Oh IMDB, you miss all the nuances in the movie. Directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford, this is a movie that hits all the best notes. It has everything from zany comedy to high drama. Including a buddy movie angle and a love story (sort of). Bob and I ...
Oct 23, 2018•53 min•Ep. 108
"The Sugarland Express" is Steven Spielberg’s feature film debut, starring Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Richard Atherton and Michael Sacks. It is based on a true story, though the details and some of the major events have been changed. In some ways we wish they’d been changed even more than they were in the film. It’s an incredibly strong debut film and it’s also uneven in places. Bob and I talk through what we liked and didn’t like about the movie and wonder if our views are influenced by Mr. Spie...
Sep 29, 2018•36 min•Ep. 107
Ralph Nelson directed and also played a supporting role in this adaptation of "Lillies of the Field" a novel by William E. Barrett. The movie stars the incomparable Sydney Poitier who won the Academy Award for his role in the movie. Lilia Skala, Stanley Adams and a ensemble of excellent actors round out the cast. A simple story belies a complex character study. There are many wonderful small moments in the film. The dialog is sharp and witty when needed and at times profound in unexpected ways.
Aug 17, 2018•53 min•Ep. 106
