Charlie Chaplin-Musician

At least as early as A Woman of Paris (1923), Charlie Chaplin was involving himself closely in the musical accompaniment for his films. The coming of talking pictures found Chaplin understandably reluctant to abandon the universally understood medium of pantomime, but:
“One happy thing about sound was that I could control the music, so I composed my own. I tried to compose elegant and romantic music to frame my comedies in contrast to the tramp character, for elegant music gave my comedies an emotional dimension."
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The Nutty Professor Soundtrack

I just found a great page where someone has posted the unreleased soundtrack to this 1963 Jerry Lewis classic.
Click Here To Listen!
Watch Buddy Love-"We've Got a World That Swings" Video

The 10th Victim

This 1965 movie is set in a future where war is extinct; to get rid of aggressive impulses, a game is created, pitting two contestants against each other in a hunt to the death. The two here are American huntress Andress, who brings nine kills and a TV crew, against prey Mastroianni, who has home advantage and designer sunglasses.
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Listen To Theme Song

Johnny Sokko & Giant Robot

Johnny Sokko was a young Japanese kid that gained control of a giant flying robot...called imaginatively, Giant robot. The earth was under attack by The evil emperor Guillotine and his mob of earthling foot soldiers, the Gargoyle Gang.
Johnny Sokko is on a trip, to, well, we don't know. We just know he's on a boat and he meets fellow passenger, Jerry Mano. Jerry is posing as a writer, but he's actually a secret agent for UNICORN, an organization pledged to defend mankind. That sounds more dramatic than what is shown. First off, James Bond Jerry is not. He blows his cover after talking to Johnny, a twelve or so year old kid, in two minutes. But that's not Jerry's biggest problem. Just as he and Johnny are getting to know each other, the sea monster, Dracolon attacks!
Click Here To watch 10 Episodes For Free!

Luis Bunuel-Los Olvidados 1950

Luis Bunuel’s cinematic masterpiece, Los Olvidados is a must see- a truly gripping and realistic film about a group of destitute children and their misfortunes in the slums of Mexico City.
I also recommend the Bunuel biography written by John Baxter. (order from Amazon)
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Beatnik Jazz

Gerry Mulligan as featured in the film version of Jack Kerouac's "The Subterraneans",1960.

Her Master's Voice

Gloria Swanson poses with Victrola (film & date unknown)

Origins of Fellini 8 ½ Music

In Fellini’s film 8 ½, the character La Saraghina (the sardine lady) as portrayed by actress Eddra Gale, danced to a cool quirky mambo song that I have recently discovered to be titled “Fiesta/Bianca”,originally recorded in the 1930s.
Click Here To Listen To "Fiesta" by Oscar Joost.
Click Here For Saraghina Clip from 8 1/2.

Matango:Attack Of the Mushroom People

This 1963 film gained something of a bad film cult reputation after showing up on U.S. late night television in dubbed form during the sixties and seventies. Director Ishiro Honda who was behind many of the classic Japanese monster movies of the time such as Godzilla, Rodan, Baran and others used this genre as a form of sneaky social criticism.
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Soundtrack Review

Celebrity Passings 2008

Over 50 Major Talents Passed On In 2008. Click Here For List.

New Year's Eve 1949

Nina Foch and dress designer Jean Louis sipping champagne at Samuel Spiegel's New Year's Eve party,1949.

New Year's Eve 1957

Capucine fanning herself at a New Years Eve party held at Romanoffs in Beverly Hills, 1957.

Jack Benny For New Year's Eve

The Horn Blows At Midnight is a great screwball comedy directed by Raoul Walsh. A defnite Must if you’re stayin' indoors for New Year’s Eve.

Mamie Van Doren & Conway Twitty

I just found this cool page of the Films Of Conway Twitty. It’s fun & quirky, part of a larger site called The Meeker Museum.

'40s Femme Fatale Star Ann Savage Dies At 87

LOS ANGELES – Anne Savage, who earned a cult following as a femme fatale in such 1940s pulp-fiction movies as "Detour," has died at 87. The actress died in her sleep at a nursing home on Christmas Day from complications following a series of strokes, said her manager, Kent Adamson.Her Hollywood career had largely been over since the mid-1950s, but she had a resurgence over the past year with a starring role in Canadian cult filmmaker Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg." Full Article

Film Noir And The Femme Fatale

Eartha Kitt R.I.P.

"I am learning all the time.
The tombstone will be my diploma."-Eartha Kitt
In an era when manufactured "celebrities" are as common as drab backyard sparrows, Eartha Kitt, who died on Christmas day of colon cancer at age 81, was the kind of strange, wondrous, exotic bird you lay eyes on once and never forget.
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Eartha Kitt Official Site

Brando Vs. Dean

It’s been said that James Dean idolized Marlon Brando to such a degree that Brando became annoyed with him. Dean even took up conga drumming because of Brando’s love for Afro-Cuban percusiion.

Hot Off The Press

The Queer Movie Poster Book by writer and filmmaker Jenni Olson is a colorful and often amusing look back at many of the images that have represented—or misrepresented—queer people over the past century. Olson’s survey is admirably balanced between films about gay men and films about lesbians, even though she points out that films about men have always outnumbered those about women, straight or gay. The book is divided into chapters by decade, with each poster accompanied by a brief paragraph exploring its imagery and significance.
Click Here For Full Review.
Click Here To Order From Amazon.

Tony Notaberardino-The Graduate

This photo was taken my friend Tony Notaberardino, who resides at the legendary Chelsea Hotel, NYC. It’s part of an editorial called The Graduate, influenced by the Mike Nichols film.
Click his link to check out the complete series & more. Great Stuff.

The End Of A Perfect Day

Four years before making the classic film noir Double Indemnity, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck co-starred in Remember The Night (1940)-a sweet and sentimental comedy written by Preston Sturgis. This clip features the vocal talents of Sterling Holloway, who was later the voice of Winnie The Pooh, the cheshire cat (Alice In Wonderland), and Kaa (The Jungle Book). I found this song to be soothing in these chaotic times we are currently living in. Enjoy!