In 1980, the Clash released a song called “Ivan Meets G.I. Joe” on their stunning Sandinista album. At the time, U.S. – Soviet relations were at a low point. The Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan and the U.S. was sending arms to Afghan fighters, particularly Stinger surface to air missiles that fell many Soviet helicopters … More Ivan Meets G.I. Joe
I am a fan of film credits/opening sequences. In film history, they served to give the audience information and set the story, often in a very creative way. Three of my favorite opening sequence designers are Saul Bass (Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger), Maurice Binder (James Bond) and Pablo Ferro (Stanley Kubrick, Steve McQueen). Film title … More Film Titles: Classics
A sizable number of Americans want to fire up the wayback machine and go back to the 1950s. Not just visit, but take up residence there. This is more than nostalgia, that warm and technicolor memory when you think of a family holiday or think about your favorite TV show or birthday dinner. This is … More Turn Back the Clock
I just finished a three-session film class on Alfred Hitchcock. Over six hours, we tried to digest his remarkable career. Of course, it helps to have seen most of his films and much of his television anthology series. Hitchcock is a lot of things, personality, auteur, mystery and macabre storyteller, and great observer of life. … More Hitchcock by the Decade
Many people remember the film as the one where Marilyn Monroe‘s dress is blown up to reveal her legs and undergarments. That was a big deal in the Eisenhower 50s. Well, the effect had hundreds of spectators gawking and husband Joe DiMaggio fuming to the point Monroe ended the marriage. And they weren’t even married … More The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Name a musician or band in the 20th Century, and Tom Dowd likely worked with them. From jazz to blues to R&B to rock to pop, he covered all the bases. Dowd was a member of a very select crowd of engineers/producers who piloted the greatest recorded music. There is a terrific documentary about him, … More Tom Dowd: Engineer/Producer
This was a “B” Western film from the 1950s, similar to tons that were produced on the movie studio assembly line. Why take the time to review it and hopefully have others read it? This was better than the average “B” film and one of the better stories about the stranger with a background who … More Tension at Table Rock (1956)
He is best remembered as Felix Unger on television, a co-star in Doris Day-Rock Hudson films, and a raconteur on late night talk shows like David Letterman. Tony Randall was much more than that. Even into his 80s, he was fit, energetic, sharp and fathered two children with his young wife. Randall was a revered … More Tony Randall Remembered
Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Blake Edwards in a comedy about a pink submarine. It’s silly, with a hint of sex, and darn enjoyable. In the 1950s, it was challenging to mix adult fare with family entertainment and make it work. Operation Petticoat accomplishes it. Today, it seems rather tame, but at the time, mixing … More Operation Petticoat (1959)
I’m a sucker for submarine films, particularly World War II films. It’s not the war so much as the thriller aspect, the cat-and-mouse pursuit, and the challenges of men living underwater in a long tube. Some of my favorite submarine films are: Operation Pacific, Destination Tokyo, Submarine Command, The Enemy Below, Run Silent, Run Deep, … More Submarine Films
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