The Silver Screen Oasis

The St. Elsewhere finale was a disaster, in my opinion. Apparently the entire show had been in the imagination of an autistic boy. No, I didn't make that up. Considering how raunchy the show sometimes was, that was completely unbelievable. I didn't like the finale of White Collar , though it wasn't ...

Bronxie, you should look for my post about ICE FOLLIES OF 1939. You NEED to see this film. Lew Ayres has a crush on Stewart. Joan and Jimmy are not exactly the romantic couple of your dreams. The big Skateapalooza finale is something else, too.

The festival concluded with the 1949 Jules Dassin film THIEVES’ HIGHWAY , introduced by Alan K. Rode. This is a personal favorite of both Rode and Eddie Muller. It is adapted from the novel THIEVES’ MARKET by A.I. (“Buzz”) Bezzerides (1908-2007), which has now been reprinted with an introduction by ...

HANGOVER SQUARE (1945) made a big impact on the big screen. Before the show started, a man nearby was talking excitedly about Linda Darnell’s “gams,” which are indeed on display in her music hall number and look spectacular—but then, all of Linda Darnell looks pretty spectacular. This “bad girl” ro...

Sunday, May 17, 2015 Three more movies to go! First up is an almost unknown film, ABANDONED (1949), shown in the archival print made by Universal’s Asset Management Vice-President, Bob O’Neill, now retired. Without people like this, many of these films would be lost to us. ABANDONED is not on DVD an...

Eddie Muller introduced BORN TO KILL , praising it as one of the most depraved and perverse of noirs. He said that the source novel, James Gunn’s DEADLIER THAN THE MALE , is even more so, and he has no idea why RKO bought it and then hired the genteel Robert Wise to direct. The resulting film, he sa...

Saturday, May 16, 2015 Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir, introduced the morning film, TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY. He hadn’t seen it when he wrote his book on noir, but wishes now he could include it, for it is one of his favorites. He thinks that Ruth Roman and Steve Cochran were never better, and that t...

I missed THE BIG CLOCK , the late afternoon Friday show, but came back for the evening show, CHICAGO CALLING (1951). This rarity, like THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME , was restored by the UCLA Film & TV Department. It is now available on DVD. CHICAGO CALLING has nothing to do with film noir except: 1) it...

I forgot to add this fun fact to the discussion of MILLER’S CROSSING : the maid in the scene where Byrne goes into the women’s restroom is . . . Albert Finney in drag. ON DANGEROUS GROUND is a favorite of many people here, and it was a great pleasure to see it on the big screen. I still find it unba...

Friday, May 15, 2015 A follow-up to the Jon Polito interview: after the show, JP had dinner at the theater and stayed until nearly midnight talking with fans. Foster Hirsch introduced the morning movie, THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME . The last TCM showing of this film led to some lively discussion here at S...

Film Noir – Palm Springs 2015 I was fortunate enough to attend the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, organized by Alan K. Rode and held at the Camelot Theater in Palm Springs. None of the twelve showings were sellouts, but all were well attended. The audience was enthusiastic, and bot...

Film Noir – Palm Springs 2015 I was fortunate enough to attend the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, organized by Alan K. Rode and held at the Camelot Theater in Palm Springs. None of the twelve showings were sellouts, but all were well attended. The audience was enthusiastic, and bot...

Thanks so much for your great responses. I'm really enjoying your visit.

Welcome to SSO! I look forward to reading your book. 1. If I remember correctly from his autobiography, Elia Kazan was not the biggest fan of Stella Adler, which may have been more the natural conflict of strong personalities rather than a reflection on her work. What did you find out about the rela...

Ah, Moira. Such great stuff available today. Susan Slade defines the Bad Movies You Love genre. I've never seen A Distant Trumpet, which is Raoul Walsh's last film. Perhaps directing Troy Donahue was such an honor that he decided nothing could top that?