The Bad Seed

If you’ve never seen The Bad Seed you’re in for a treat. Little Rhoda is an evil little girl who appears perfect on the outside, but she’s willing to murder her classmate for a penmanship medal. Over the years this film has gained a cult following, all for the right reasons-it’s creepy, kitschy, and highly entertaining, great acting and direction. I’m surprised this play hasn’t been remade with an all drag cast-it’s begging for it.
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Sci-Fi En Espagnol # 1

Konga-Poor Man’s King Kong

Starring Michael Gough as a delusional English scientist who turns an innocent chimpanzee into a poor man’s King Kong, unleashing him on his innocent victims.
This 1961 film was frequently on television when I was a kid, sometimes five straight nights in a row, and I would watch it as often as possible. Its definitely high kitsch –so bad it’s good.
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Miles Davis-Elevator To The Gallows

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is a 1958 French film directed by Louis Malle. It was released as Elevator to the Gallows in the USA and as Lift to the Scaffold in the UK. It stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as criminal lovers whose perfect crime begins to unravel when Ronet is trapped in an elevator. The film is often associated by critics with the film noir style.
The score by Miles Davis has been described by jazz critic Phil Johnson as "the loneliest trumpet sound you will ever hear, and the model for sad-core music ever since. Hear it and weep."
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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

Out With The Stars

Ava Gardner and Mickey Rooney at Los Angeles Ambassador's Coconut Grove on 7 June 1942.

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

Poolsharks & Hustlers

Rudolf Wanderone Jr. aka Minnesota Fats the professional pool player entertainer was and still is one of the most recognized people not only in the billiards industry but in the world. Fred Walther one of Minnesota Fat's closest friend being privileged to hear all the fascinating stories told by his friend wrote the book, Minnesota Fats - Never Behind the Eight Ball. This book provides an insightful look into the life of one the greatest pool players that every lived. A truly entertaining book for any billiard enthusiast. Order From Amazon.


Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (view trailer),1961.

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.

Hollywood Roots

Accounts of the name, Hollywood, coming from imported English Holly then growing in the area are incorrect. The name in fact was coined by Daeida Wilcox. On a train trip to the east, Wilcox met a woman who spoke of her country home in Ohio named after a settlement of Dutch immigrants from Zwolle called "Hollywood". Daeida liked the sound of it and upon returning to Southern California, bestowed the name to the family ranch.
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'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