George Waggner's 1941 horror film "The Wolf Man" introduced audiences to, essentially, the "second officer" of the Universal Monsters canon. Everyone knows that Dracula is the captain of the monster ship, and that Frankenstein is his first officer (a position he often shares with the Bride). The Wolf Man is always third in command, perhaps serving as a security officer or an enforcer. Mummies, gillmen, invisible men, Dr. Hydes, and other ancillary ghouls serve lower down in the crew.
Watching the original "Wolf Man" film, however, reveals a dark and sad tale about Larry Talbot who is attacked by a wolf on a misty night in Wales, afflicting him with the curse of the werewolf. Throughout the year, Larry will transform into an animalistic wolf/human creature and stalk and kill random victims. The tale is terrifying and tragic and inspired many pop culture tales to follow -- as well as many nightmares.
Watching the original "Wolf Man" film, however, reveals a dark and sad tale about Larry Talbot who is attacked by a wolf on a misty night in Wales, afflicting him with the curse of the werewolf. Throughout the year, Larry will transform into an animalistic wolf/human creature and stalk and kill random victims. The tale is terrifying and tragic and inspired many pop culture tales to follow -- as well as many nightmares.
- 4/16/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When the moon is high and the shadows stretch long, there’s nothing quite like a monster mash to get the blood curdling in the best possible way. Yep, we’re talking about those rare cinematic feasts where Dracula toasts with Frankenstein, and the Wolfman crashes the party, only to find out the Mummy’s been hogging the dip. Welcome to the ultimate guide to horror’s most iconic gatherings – a list that promises more monster movies than a Halloween bash at Castle Dracula.
Before we unleash the monsters, a quick plug! Dive deeper into classic and modern monster lore with our “Graveyard Smash” limited podcast series on Patreon. Our latest haunt? Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Don’t miss it! Support us and get exclusive access at Nightmare on Film Street on Patreon.
20Th Century Studios 10. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
Directed by Rudy De Luca, this offbeat comedy takes a jab...
Before we unleash the monsters, a quick plug! Dive deeper into classic and modern monster lore with our “Graveyard Smash” limited podcast series on Patreon. Our latest haunt? Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Don’t miss it! Support us and get exclusive access at Nightmare on Film Street on Patreon.
20Th Century Studios 10. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
Directed by Rudy De Luca, this offbeat comedy takes a jab...
- 2/27/2024
- by Kimberley Elizabeth
There are a lot of "Frankenstein" movies. There's even one in theaters right now: "Lisa Frankenstein," a fun 80s-set horror-comedy-romance brew (read /Film's review here).
One could even say the story of "Frankenstein" birthed the horror genre as we know it today, both in literature (thanks to Mary Shelley's "Modern Prometheus") and in film. James Whale's 1931 "Frankenstein," arriving on the heels of "Dracula," cemented the age of Universal Horror and proved that monsters could be crowd-pleasers.
Countless sequels and remakes later, everyone knows the basics of the story. Dr. Frankenstein (first name usually Victor) sets out to create life in a reanimated corpse. The result is a Creature, unpleasant to the eye, and soon Frankenstein experiences the wrath of his Monster. Was Frankenstein's Monster born destructive or made that way by his creator rejecting him? Interpretations differ, but the message endures: don't play God (or become a parent...
One could even say the story of "Frankenstein" birthed the horror genre as we know it today, both in literature (thanks to Mary Shelley's "Modern Prometheus") and in film. James Whale's 1931 "Frankenstein," arriving on the heels of "Dracula," cemented the age of Universal Horror and proved that monsters could be crowd-pleasers.
Countless sequels and remakes later, everyone knows the basics of the story. Dr. Frankenstein (first name usually Victor) sets out to create life in a reanimated corpse. The result is a Creature, unpleasant to the eye, and soon Frankenstein experiences the wrath of his Monster. Was Frankenstein's Monster born destructive or made that way by his creator rejecting him? Interpretations differ, but the message endures: don't play God (or become a parent...
- 2/18/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Between Slotherhouse arriving on Hulu, buddy comedy Shaky Shivers arriving on Screambox, and the theatrical release of Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, this week belongs to the horror comedy. Horror comedies also happen to make for perfect Halloween viewing, as they frequently offer tricks and treats in the form of laughs and scares. Naturally, this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to horror comedies, emphasizing lesser-seen titles.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein – Prime Video
This is the first of many movies in which the comedic pair encounter Universal Monsters, and it’s a delightful mashup all ages can enjoy. Here, Lon Chaney Jr.’s Larry Talbot tries to warn Chick (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) that Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) has arrived in their town with nefarious plans to...
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein – Prime Video
This is the first of many movies in which the comedic pair encounter Universal Monsters, and it’s a delightful mashup all ages can enjoy. Here, Lon Chaney Jr.’s Larry Talbot tries to warn Chick (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) that Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) has arrived in their town with nefarious plans to...
- 10/16/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
How do you like to celebrate the arrival of October and true autumn? Perhaps you have a favorite sweater you like to pull out of the drawer; or maybe you’re a fiend for consuming pumpkin-spiced… everything! For ourselves, it’s always been about putting on that first horror movie (or three). While the whole year is a fine time to watch scary movies, there’s something especially crisp about a favorite chiller to match the cool evenings outside.
Spooky season has to start somewhere, and for us it might as well be with a film that either makes us shriek or smile. So if you’re looking for suggestions on how to best ease yourself into the reason for the season, these are the movies that we think make Halloween a wickedly fine time.
It’s not Halloween until I watch… The Shining (1980)
There aren’t many of the...
Spooky season has to start somewhere, and for us it might as well be with a film that either makes us shriek or smile. So if you’re looking for suggestions on how to best ease yourself into the reason for the season, these are the movies that we think make Halloween a wickedly fine time.
It’s not Halloween until I watch… The Shining (1980)
There aren’t many of the...
- 10/5/2023
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
Actor David Cross is an easily recognizable face on comedy television, having starred in several popular sitcoms throughout his career. Cross isn’t just a comedy actor but a stand-up comedian. His work off-screen is as reputable as his credits on the small and big screens. The multi-talented actor and comedian is also a published author and producer. Coupled with several comedy albums he has released, Cross draws inspiration from several comedic influences. From Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Lenny Bruce, Lou Costello, and Bill Hicks to Steven Wright, Cross is known for his preference for sketch comedy, political satire, and black...
- 8/20/2023
- by Onyinye Izundu
- TVovermind.com
Some things never go out of style, and Dracula is one of them. Bram Stoker’s novel helped to fully define the vampire in the cultural consciousness. Almost 130 years since its publication, it remains hugely popular, with the new horror comedy Renfield giving the one and only Nicolas Cage a chance to don the cape.
The vampiric character is the most adapted in film and television history aside from Sherlock Holmes, so we have a full century of bloodsucking variety to revel in. There are the classics, of course, from Bela Lugosi to Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola’s famous interpretation. But then there are the adaptations that make us wonder what the director was going through when they made it. You can do basically anything with vampires and it’ll make sense, but these Dracula revamps seriously test that.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Imagine if every Marvel...
The vampiric character is the most adapted in film and television history aside from Sherlock Holmes, so we have a full century of bloodsucking variety to revel in. There are the classics, of course, from Bela Lugosi to Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola’s famous interpretation. But then there are the adaptations that make us wonder what the director was going through when they made it. You can do basically anything with vampires and it’ll make sense, but these Dracula revamps seriously test that.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Imagine if every Marvel...
- 4/16/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Mill Creek’s latest disc collection gathers three Columbia Sci-fi faves and throws in a Blu-ray debut for a fourth. It’s a good selection: two giant Ray Harryhausen monsters, one marginal bad-taste Sam Katzman zombie epic, and a quirky Lou Costello comedy with Dorothy Provine doing a wholesome take on Allison Hayes’ biggest role. Do these encodings measure up to fancier editions? We give them a spin.
Sci-Fi from the Vault: 4 Films
Blu-ray
Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Mill Creek Entertainment
1955-1959 / B&w / 303 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 29.99
Starring: Richard Denning; Kenneth Tobey & Faith Domergue; William Hopper & Joan Taylor; Lou Costello & Dorothy Provine.
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Sidney Miller
Disc collectors are now tempted weekly by plenty of interesting disc releases...
Sci-Fi from the Vault: 4 Films
Blu-ray
Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Mill Creek Entertainment
1955-1959 / B&w / 303 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 29.99
Starring: Richard Denning; Kenneth Tobey & Faith Domergue; William Hopper & Joan Taylor; Lou Costello & Dorothy Provine.
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Sidney Miller
Disc collectors are now tempted weekly by plenty of interesting disc releases...
- 2/25/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Who doesn't love a good crossover? Besides the fact that they settle nerds' constant debates of "who would win in a fight between ___ and ___?," there's something so exciting about seeing the main characters of two or more different franchises coming together for the first time ever. Another reason why crossovers have so much appeal with audiences is that there are often legal reasons why characters from one series can't mingle with those of another, making the times when they do meet on the big (or small) screen all the more special.
Crossovers got a massive boost in popularity due to the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, crossovers haven't only been relegated to the superhero realm; for decades, there have been numerous other examples of fictional worlds colliding across numerous genres. In fact, well before Nick Fury appeared at the end of "Iron Man" to tell Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative,...
Crossovers got a massive boost in popularity due to the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, crossovers haven't only been relegated to the superhero realm; for decades, there have been numerous other examples of fictional worlds colliding across numerous genres. In fact, well before Nick Fury appeared at the end of "Iron Man" to tell Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Joe Garza
- Slash Film
Some of the best movies to watch during the Halloween season are the classic Universal Monsters movies. Those awesome black and white movies that were built around characters like Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Mummy, the Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, among others. So now that Halloween weekend is upon us, we here at Arrow in the Head have put together a list: Universal Monsters Franchises Ranked! Below you’ll find our rankings of the classic franchises, from least to favorite. Check it out, and let us know how you would rank these franchises by leaving a comment!
Honorable Mention: Abbott And Costello
The comedy duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello certainly weren’t Universal monsters (or any other kind of monsters), but they earn an honorable mention on this list because they played an important role in the Universal Monsters saga. After making several...
Honorable Mention: Abbott And Costello
The comedy duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello certainly weren’t Universal monsters (or any other kind of monsters), but they earn an honorable mention on this list because they played an important role in the Universal Monsters saga. After making several...
- 10/29/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
“Beware the moon, lads,” two young Americans are told by a cranky pub regular in An American Werewolf in London (1981). Alas, the summer break tourists with sheep shit in their backpacks did not stick to the roads and instead crossed the moors beneath a full moon. After all, that guy sounded crazy. But by the movie’s end, who’s howling now?
Horror movies make lycanthropes out to be lunatics, but only during certain moments of the lunar cycle. Why does the wolfman have to wait for a full moon to change though? There are werewolves reading this who are hungry now. Even A-list actors like Jack Nicholson, Michael J. Fox, Benicio del Toro, James Spader, and Taylor Lautner have to make monthly reservations to dine on the innocent in their hairiest roles.
It seems unlikely that the full moon catalyst started with Lon Chaney Jr.’s Larry Talbot in...
Horror movies make lycanthropes out to be lunatics, but only during certain moments of the lunar cycle. Why does the wolfman have to wait for a full moon to change though? There are werewolves reading this who are hungry now. Even A-list actors like Jack Nicholson, Michael J. Fox, Benicio del Toro, James Spader, and Taylor Lautner have to make monthly reservations to dine on the innocent in their hairiest roles.
It seems unlikely that the full moon catalyst started with Lon Chaney Jr.’s Larry Talbot in...
- 10/26/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Short of outright sobs, there are just two sounds you’ll hear coming from movie theaters: laughter and screams. When filmmakers can successfully elicit both — running horror-loving audiences through emotional minefields that chase each adrenaline spike with just enough comedic relief to set them up for another shock — their films take on an almost electric quality. Just thinking of the stunning yet silly reveals in genre staples like “Shaun of the Dead” or “The Cabin in the Woods” can zap a smile on your face, and leave you itching to rewatch other memorable scenes and scares from your favorite funny yet spooky movies.
There’s considerable debate about which title merits being called the first horror comedy. Numerous shorts, including the 1920 silent film “Haunted Spooks,” might qualify. But by the time Bud Abbott and Lou Costello joined the Universal Monster Movies in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” the horror comedy...
There’s considerable debate about which title merits being called the first horror comedy. Numerous shorts, including the 1920 silent film “Haunted Spooks,” might qualify. But by the time Bud Abbott and Lou Costello joined the Universal Monster Movies in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” the horror comedy...
- 10/21/2022
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Ron Masak, the familiar character actor who as Cabot Cove Sheriff Mort Metzger was the beneficiary of Jessica Fletcher’s crime-solving prowess on the last eight seasons of Murder, She Wrote, has died. He was 86.
Masak died Thursday of natural causes at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, his granddaughter Kaylie Defilippis told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Chicago native appeared six times on Police Story, five times on Bewitched and four times on Webster and also showed up on everything from The Flying Nun, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside and The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Magnum, P.I., The Rockford FIles, Columbo, Falcon Crest and Cold Case during his six-decade career.
In February 1960, the everyman actor portrayed a harmonica-playing soldier on “The Purple Testament,” the 19th episode of The Twilight Zone, and had a turn as a nutty Dracula-like count on...
Ron Masak, the familiar character actor who as Cabot Cove Sheriff Mort Metzger was the beneficiary of Jessica Fletcher’s crime-solving prowess on the last eight seasons of Murder, She Wrote, has died. He was 86.
Masak died Thursday of natural causes at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, his granddaughter Kaylie Defilippis told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Chicago native appeared six times on Police Story, five times on Bewitched and four times on Webster and also showed up on everything from The Flying Nun, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside and The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Magnum, P.I., The Rockford FIles, Columbo, Falcon Crest and Cold Case during his six-decade career.
In February 1960, the everyman actor portrayed a harmonica-playing soldier on “The Purple Testament,” the 19th episode of The Twilight Zone, and had a turn as a nutty Dracula-like count on...
- 10/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In the glory days of Universal Pictures, the studio had two big things going for it at the box office: the Universal Monsters, and a comedy duo known as Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello met on the burlesque circuit — the story goes that one day, Costello's regular comedy partner got sick, allowing Abbott to step in and begin a long, prosperous partnership. Abbott, tall and thin, was the straight man; a surly, frowning bully who frequently had it up to here with his sidekick. Costello, short and stout, was the fool; the childlike clown who was prone to falling down and acting like a buffoon, all to Abbott's annoyance. The act worked like gangbusters, with the duo moving on to radio before landing a movie contract in 1940. By 1942, they were considered to be the top box office stars in the country.
As for the Universal Monsters, they...
As for the Universal Monsters, they...
- 10/11/2022
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
The world isn’t fair. That’s the message of Shane Black’s happily unkempt The Nice Guys, both onscreen and off. In a better timeline, we’d be on our third or fourth go-round with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as undeservedly smug private eyes. Alas, despite some of us seeing The Nice Guys for the comedic masterpiece that it was in 2016—back when we noted that it’s “so confident it borders on arrogance”—few others did, and the movie crashed and burned at the box office.
So return visits to the Nice Guys Detective Agency will never be in the cards. Nonetheless, Black’s sardonic buddy movie has still found its audience over the last six years, becoming something of a cult classic and recently even earning the lofty accolade of cracking Netflix’s “Top 10” algorithm. Better late than never, eh?
It’s easy to imagine Gosling...
So return visits to the Nice Guys Detective Agency will never be in the cards. Nonetheless, Black’s sardonic buddy movie has still found its audience over the last six years, becoming something of a cult classic and recently even earning the lofty accolade of cracking Netflix’s “Top 10” algorithm. Better late than never, eh?
It’s easy to imagine Gosling...
- 8/17/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
It’s a case of cold-blooded, premeditated nostalgia: Abbott & Costello’s fantasy musical is innocent comedy rooted in early ’50s kiddie entertainment — a vein perfectly suited to the duo’s talents. Lou Costello makes a fine underdog fantasy hero, too. The feature restoration is quite an achievement for the 3-D Archive, as cine-archeology was required to understand the arcane color process ‘SuperCineColor.’ But the show’s slapstick action, clever songs and dippy dancing are finally back and looking great. The labor of love extends to the extras: excised scenes, background material, some words from the only surviving actor, a learned piece on the color process and a surprise guest appearance by the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 78 min. / 70th Anniversary Limited Edition / Street Date July 26, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 49.95
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Buddy Baer, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown, David Stollery,...
Jack and the Beanstalk
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 78 min. / 70th Anniversary Limited Edition / Street Date July 26, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 49.95
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Buddy Baer, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown, David Stollery,...
- 7/23/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
ClassicFlix comes forward with an entire 26 original episodes of the comic duo’s 1952 TV show, all fully remastered by the 3-D Archive people. That’s 13 + hours of Abbott and Costello comedy, looking better than new — even the original opening logos have been restored. The repeating leads are fully attuned to A&c’s style of comedy — Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Gordon Jones, etc.. The full set comes with numerous audio commentaries and featurettes.
The Abbott and Costello Show Season 1
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952-1953 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 676 min. / Street Date December 14, 2021 / Available from ClassicFLix / 49.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Gordon Jones, Joe Besser, Joe Kirk, Bobby Barber, Joan Shawlee, Veda Ann Borg, Elvia Allman, Virginia Christine, Bingo the Chimp; Iris Adrian, Glenn Strange.
Cinematography: George Robinson
Art Director: Mac Capps
Film Editor: Gene Fowler Jr., Fred R. Feitshans Jr.
Original Music: Raoul Kraushaar
Written by Sid Fields,...
The Abbott and Costello Show Season 1
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952-1953 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 676 min. / Street Date December 14, 2021 / Available from ClassicFLix / 49.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Gordon Jones, Joe Besser, Joe Kirk, Bobby Barber, Joan Shawlee, Veda Ann Borg, Elvia Allman, Virginia Christine, Bingo the Chimp; Iris Adrian, Glenn Strange.
Cinematography: George Robinson
Art Director: Mac Capps
Film Editor: Gene Fowler Jr., Fred R. Feitshans Jr.
Original Music: Raoul Kraushaar
Written by Sid Fields,...
- 12/18/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Let’s just put this out there so there’s hopefully as little argument as possible, if an actor was ever up for the role of Lou Costello for a biopic, they not only need to be white, but they also need to be male, since race and gender-swapping a comedic legend such as Costello would be a serious insult to the man’s memory. There’s nothing racist about it, but if people are truly all about preserving the memory of various legends that helped to create such great moments as ‘Who’s on First?’, then they need to stick to the original format
Five Actors Who Should Play Lou Costello in a Biopic...
Five Actors Who Should Play Lou Costello in a Biopic...
- 7/10/2021
- by Tom
- TVovermind.com
Preserved by the 'United States Library of Congress' as "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant", director Charles T. Barton's classic horror comedy feature "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), with a haunting score by Frank Skinner, stars the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello:
"...freight handlers 'Wilbur Grey' and 'Chick Young' have their lives turned upside down...
"...when the supposed remains of the 'Frankenstein' monster and 'Dracula' arrive from Europe to be used in 'McDougal's House of Horrors'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"...freight handlers 'Wilbur Grey' and 'Chick Young' have their lives turned upside down...
"...when the supposed remains of the 'Frankenstein' monster and 'Dracula' arrive from Europe to be used in 'McDougal's House of Horrors'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 6/8/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
This article contains spoilers for Evil season 1.
Kristen Bouchard, played by Katja Herbers, was as surprised by the Evil season 1 finale as any viewer. Something drew the normally cynical psychiatric trial expert to test her fate. The moment before she sees the acrid burn of sin on her flesh, she is relieved. Everything is normal for too short a moment. Evil season 2 will open on another side of a rabbit hole. The supernatural suspense drama already cast an all-seeing eye into demonic connections in international conspiracy. Their new unsolved mystery is an inner crime. A lone act. Did Kristen kill Orson LeRoux (Darren Pettie)? All the clues are there. Some may have been repressed, like a tell-tale blood stain no one wants to see, but malicious intent tends to rise to the surface. What could have possessed Kristen to do such a thing? Perhaps only the show’s resident therapist,...
Kristen Bouchard, played by Katja Herbers, was as surprised by the Evil season 1 finale as any viewer. Something drew the normally cynical psychiatric trial expert to test her fate. The moment before she sees the acrid burn of sin on her flesh, she is relieved. Everything is normal for too short a moment. Evil season 2 will open on another side of a rabbit hole. The supernatural suspense drama already cast an all-seeing eye into demonic connections in international conspiracy. Their new unsolved mystery is an inner crime. A lone act. Did Kristen kill Orson LeRoux (Darren Pettie)? All the clues are there. Some may have been repressed, like a tell-tale blood stain no one wants to see, but malicious intent tends to rise to the surface. What could have possessed Kristen to do such a thing? Perhaps only the show’s resident therapist,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Preserved by the 'United States Library of Congress' as "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant", this Halloween take a look at the classic horror comedy feature "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), directed by Charles Barton, with a haunting score by Frank Skinner, starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello:
"...freight handlers 'Wilbur Grey' and 'Chick Young' have their lives turned upside down...
"...when the supposed remains of the 'Frankenstein' monster and 'Dracula' arrive from Europe to be used in 'McDougal's House of Horrors'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"...freight handlers 'Wilbur Grey' and 'Chick Young' have their lives turned upside down...
"...when the supposed remains of the 'Frankenstein' monster and 'Dracula' arrive from Europe to be used in 'McDougal's House of Horrors'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 10/31/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
There’s a telling moment in “Belushi,” R.J. Cutler’s meticulous and touching life-and-death-of-a-comedy-legend documentary, in which John Belushi, a rising star at Second City in Chicago, gets asked during a radio interview what he thinks of Lou Costello — who was, in the interviewer’s eyes, another genially wacked, roly-poly comedian. Belushi, clearly annoyed, says: Nope, don’t like him. Belushi then goes on to say that he’s not a comedian beholden to the past; he’s out to create something new. That sounds like something a lot of comedians might say, but in Belushi’s case it really was true. Even a live-wire original like Robin Williams saw Jonathan Winters as a god, and Belushi did have influences (including Winters and Bob Newhart). But — his what-the-hell magnetism, and his compulsion to push everything he touched to extremes.
It may sound like an evasion tactic when a documentary keeps...
It may sound like an evasion tactic when a documentary keeps...
- 10/27/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“A Gorgeous Nice Mess”
By Raymond Benson and Doug Gerbino
Nobody wants the legacy of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy to disappear. Young people may have heard of the comic duo, but few have seen them these days. This is understandably disturbing to cinephiles or those of us of an older generation who have admired since childhood the genius on display when the pair performed in front of the camera. While Rhi Entertainment issued a fabulous DVD set in 2011 (10 disks in the U.S.) that contained most of Laurel and Hardy’s output for Hal Roach after sound kicked in, a new Blu-ray treasure chest has just been released by MVDvisual that contains stunning restorations in high definition of a respectable number of titles.
Laurel and Hardy—The Definitive Restorations could be a holy grail for members of Sons of the Desert, the...
“A Gorgeous Nice Mess”
By Raymond Benson and Doug Gerbino
Nobody wants the legacy of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy to disappear. Young people may have heard of the comic duo, but few have seen them these days. This is understandably disturbing to cinephiles or those of us of an older generation who have admired since childhood the genius on display when the pair performed in front of the camera. While Rhi Entertainment issued a fabulous DVD set in 2011 (10 disks in the U.S.) that contained most of Laurel and Hardy’s output for Hal Roach after sound kicked in, a new Blu-ray treasure chest has just been released by MVDvisual that contains stunning restorations in high definition of a respectable number of titles.
Laurel and Hardy—The Definitive Restorations could be a holy grail for members of Sons of the Desert, the...
- 7/10/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Abbott & Costello perform at full strength in this very good, very silly jungle safari comedy. It’s definitely for kids and nostalgic fans — with equal parts slapstick, cornball repetitive vaudeville gags, and Lou Costello’s weirdly endearing infantile schtick. An impressively beautiful restoration has pulled it back from the pit of Public Domain ugliness. Plus ClassicFlix & the 3-D Archive appoint this 2-D movie with a tall stack of creative, relevant extras.
Africa Screams
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79 min. / Special Limited Edition / Street Date June 30, 2020 /
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Hillary Brooke, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, Burt Wenland, Charles Gemora, Arthur Hecht, Bill Walker, Martin Wilkins.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Frank Gross
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by Earl Baldwin
Produced by Edward Nassour
Directed by Charles Barton
I can’t say that I was one of the zillion...
Africa Screams
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79 min. / Special Limited Edition / Street Date June 30, 2020 /
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Hillary Brooke, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, Burt Wenland, Charles Gemora, Arthur Hecht, Bill Walker, Martin Wilkins.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Frank Gross
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by Earl Baldwin
Produced by Edward Nassour
Directed by Charles Barton
I can’t say that I was one of the zillion...
- 7/4/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This Penny Dreadful review contains no spoilers.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels takes place half a century after the original series. Penny Dreadful was set in London during the age of gothic romance, the late 1800s. Capes were the height of fashion. The new series takes place in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Los Angeles in 1938. Zoot suits are the swingingest threads. The original featured an immortal art lover, Frankenstein’s creature and a werewolf. Now we have city planners, plainclothes detectives and smiling fascists. Penny Dreadful was steeped in a theosophical mysticism. Penny Dreadful: City of Angels prays to Santa Muerte, but is preyed upon by her sister.
Natalie Dormer, who lost her head as Anne Boleyn on the Showtime series The Tudors and married up, and down, on HBO’s Game of Thrones, plays Magda, the series’ everywoman. As the supernatural shape-shifting agent of chaos, she not only can be any character,...
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels takes place half a century after the original series. Penny Dreadful was set in London during the age of gothic romance, the late 1800s. Capes were the height of fashion. The new series takes place in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Los Angeles in 1938. Zoot suits are the swingingest threads. The original featured an immortal art lover, Frankenstein’s creature and a werewolf. Now we have city planners, plainclothes detectives and smiling fascists. Penny Dreadful was steeped in a theosophical mysticism. Penny Dreadful: City of Angels prays to Santa Muerte, but is preyed upon by her sister.
Natalie Dormer, who lost her head as Anne Boleyn on the Showtime series The Tudors and married up, and down, on HBO’s Game of Thrones, plays Magda, the series’ everywoman. As the supernatural shape-shifting agent of chaos, she not only can be any character,...
- 4/19/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Rosie Knight Feb 6, 2020
Harley Quinn and the gang deliver a romp through the seedy underbelly of the Dceu in Birds of Prey!
This article contains nothing but Birds of Prey spoilers. We have a spoiler-free review right here.
Birds of Prey is the latest entry in Warner Bros.' sprawling Dceu shared universe of superhero movies. It's not just any superhero movie though. Birds of Prey offers up a female-led, female directed R-rated action romp through the grimy streets of North Gotham. Like any good comic book movie, the Cathy Yan helmed flick includes a whole bunch of impressive Easter eggs from deep cut DC Comics references to ridiculous Batman '66 nods all the way through some awesome homages to Harley's origin.
As always we're trying to catch all of the Easter eggs and secrets that Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn has to offer...
Harley Quinn and the gang deliver a romp through the seedy underbelly of the Dceu in Birds of Prey!
This article contains nothing but Birds of Prey spoilers. We have a spoiler-free review right here.
Birds of Prey is the latest entry in Warner Bros.' sprawling Dceu shared universe of superhero movies. It's not just any superhero movie though. Birds of Prey offers up a female-led, female directed R-rated action romp through the grimy streets of North Gotham. Like any good comic book movie, the Cathy Yan helmed flick includes a whole bunch of impressive Easter eggs from deep cut DC Comics references to ridiculous Batman '66 nods all the way through some awesome homages to Harley's origin.
As always we're trying to catch all of the Easter eggs and secrets that Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn has to offer...
- 2/7/2020
- Den of Geek
The honored dead are neither gone nor forgotten on Avenue 5 episode 2 "And Then He's Gonna Shoot Off…"
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This Avenue 5 review contains spoilers.
Avenue 5 Episode 2
"Fly safe. Fly true," the mantra on the bridge of the Avenue 5 space ship, is a lie, forgery and irony wrapped in command indecision. The flight is hazardous and everything everyone thinks they know about what's going on is based on rubber stamped memos no one bothered to send transcribed from minutes no one was taking. Avenue 5, episode 2, "And Then He's Gonna Shoot Off…," begins with Captain Ryan Clark, played by Hugh Laurie, attempting to give the bad news about recent changes in travel plans. It doesn't go well. It barely goes at all because the most entitled of the guests aboard the space tourism vessel loses it at hello. "Don't insult us," Karen Kelly (Rebecca Front), resident rabble...
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This Avenue 5 review contains spoilers.
Avenue 5 Episode 2
"Fly safe. Fly true," the mantra on the bridge of the Avenue 5 space ship, is a lie, forgery and irony wrapped in command indecision. The flight is hazardous and everything everyone thinks they know about what's going on is based on rubber stamped memos no one bothered to send transcribed from minutes no one was taking. Avenue 5, episode 2, "And Then He's Gonna Shoot Off…," begins with Captain Ryan Clark, played by Hugh Laurie, attempting to give the bad news about recent changes in travel plans. It doesn't go well. It barely goes at all because the most entitled of the guests aboard the space tourism vessel loses it at hello. "Don't insult us," Karen Kelly (Rebecca Front), resident rabble...
- 1/21/2020
- Den of Geek
Los Angeles, CA – This holiday season, every Universal Pictures film from the most popular comedy duo of all time comes home when Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection hits Blu-ray™ for the first time from Shout! Factory.
The Complete Universal Pictures Collection comes loaded with bonus features, including 10 new audio commLentaries, a collectible book, and a bonus disc with more than eight hours of content. Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Abbott and Costello’s first film One Night in the Tropics, the massive 15-disc set is the ultimate tribute to two of the funniest and most enduring comedians in contemporary history.
Get ready to laugh out loud as this collection comes packed with all 28 of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s iconic films from the height of their popularity at Universal Pictures, spanning 1940-1965. Featuring their most popular movies such as Buck Privates, Who Done It? and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,...
The Complete Universal Pictures Collection comes loaded with bonus features, including 10 new audio commLentaries, a collectible book, and a bonus disc with more than eight hours of content. Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Abbott and Costello’s first film One Night in the Tropics, the massive 15-disc set is the ultimate tribute to two of the funniest and most enduring comedians in contemporary history.
Get ready to laugh out loud as this collection comes packed with all 28 of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s iconic films from the height of their popularity at Universal Pictures, spanning 1940-1965. Featuring their most popular movies such as Buck Privates, Who Done It? and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,...
- 12/8/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Abbott & Costello – The Complete
Universal Pictures Collection
Blu ray
Shout! Factory
1940-1955/1:33-1:85
Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff
Directed by Arthur Lubin, Erle C. Kenton, Charles Barton
Two footloose Jersey boys with no particular place to go, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello finally found themselves – literally and figuratively – on the burlesque stage. Their act, equal parts smart talk and ancient slapstick, was honed alongside curvy chorus girls and tassel-twirlers but it took a lady of a decidedly different stature to make them superstars. On March 24, 1938, Kate Smith, “The First Lady of Radio”, invited them to perform “Who’s On First”, a routine delivered with such hairpin curve precision it left listeners breathless. That appearance fast-tracked the duo to their own radio series and a contract with Universal Pictures.
They made their big screen debut in 1940’s One Night in the Tropics, a low budget...
Universal Pictures Collection
Blu ray
Shout! Factory
1940-1955/1:33-1:85
Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff
Directed by Arthur Lubin, Erle C. Kenton, Charles Barton
Two footloose Jersey boys with no particular place to go, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello finally found themselves – literally and figuratively – on the burlesque stage. Their act, equal parts smart talk and ancient slapstick, was honed alongside curvy chorus girls and tassel-twirlers but it took a lady of a decidedly different stature to make them superstars. On March 24, 1938, Kate Smith, “The First Lady of Radio”, invited them to perform “Who’s On First”, a routine delivered with such hairpin curve precision it left listeners breathless. That appearance fast-tracked the duo to their own radio series and a contract with Universal Pictures.
They made their big screen debut in 1940’s One Night in the Tropics, a low budget...
- 12/7/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Universal continues to reboot its catalogue of 'famous monsters of filmland', with a new take on author H.G. Wells "The Invisible Man", targeting a March 13, 2020 release, to be written/directed by Leigh Whannell ("Upgrade") for producer Jason Blum, "..."rooted in horror, with no restrictions on budget, tone, or rating...":
Published in 1897, "The Invisible Man" of the title is 'Griffin', a scientist devoted to research into optics "...to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible..."
He successfully carries out the procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it...
...as his brain becomes fried by the drastic changes in his system.
Previous feature adaptations of Wells' public domain novel include "The Invisible Man" (1933) starring Claude Rains, "The Invisible Man Returns" (1940) starring Vincent Price...
...and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951) starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
Published in 1897, "The Invisible Man" of the title is 'Griffin', a scientist devoted to research into optics "...to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible..."
He successfully carries out the procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it...
...as his brain becomes fried by the drastic changes in his system.
Previous feature adaptations of Wells' public domain novel include "The Invisible Man" (1933) starring Claude Rains, "The Invisible Man Returns" (1940) starring Vincent Price...
...and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951) starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
- 6/23/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Universal continues to reboot its catalogue of 'famous monsters of filmland', with a new take on author H.G. Wells "The Invisible Man", to be directed by Leigh Whannell ("Upgrade") for producer Jason Blum, "..."rooted in horror, with no restrictions on budget, tone, or rating...":
Published in 1897, "The Invisible Man" of the title is 'Griffin', a scientist devoted to research into optics, inventing a way "...to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible..."
He successfully carries out the procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it...
...as his brain becomes fried by the drastic changes in his system.
Previous feature adaptations of Wells' public domain novel include "The Invisible Man" (1933) starring Claude Rains, "The Invisible Man Returns" (1940) starring Vincent Price...
...and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951) starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
Published in 1897, "The Invisible Man" of the title is 'Griffin', a scientist devoted to research into optics, inventing a way "...to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible..."
He successfully carries out the procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it...
...as his brain becomes fried by the drastic changes in his system.
Previous feature adaptations of Wells' public domain novel include "The Invisible Man" (1933) starring Claude Rains, "The Invisible Man Returns" (1940) starring Vincent Price...
...and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951) starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
- 2/1/2019
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Back in the days, really not very long ago, when self-effacing gags about failed diets were one of the few topics of discussion deemed acceptable for women in comedy, the punchline Renee Taylor uses after telling about the time when she ate nothing but meatballs every day because it was the diet that helped Lou Costello shed twenty pounds before filming 'Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy,' would have been regarded as gold.
- 8/8/2018
- by Michael Dale
- BroadwayWorld.com
By Todd Garbarini
Alfred Sole is a production designer who has carved out a nice career for himself in Hollywood, most notably on the television shows Veronica Mars (2004-7), Castle (2009-16), and the reboot of MacGyver (2017-18). Long before he chose that line of work however, he dabbled in the world of film directing. His first film, the 1972 hardcore sex “comedy” Deep Sleep, must be seen to be believed because despite a few flourishes of cinematic style and several humorous sequences involving dialogue, it’s just a hardcore sex romp featuring folks no one in their right mind would want to see naked let alone copulating. There is absolutely nothing in this film to suggest that he would next direct one of the greatest and most thematically disturbing thrillers of our time, 1976’s Communion, not to be confused with the Christopher Walken/alien-probe-up-the-old-dirt-road 1989 outing based on Whitley Strieber’s 1987 “non-fiction” book of the same name.
Alfred Sole is a production designer who has carved out a nice career for himself in Hollywood, most notably on the television shows Veronica Mars (2004-7), Castle (2009-16), and the reboot of MacGyver (2017-18). Long before he chose that line of work however, he dabbled in the world of film directing. His first film, the 1972 hardcore sex “comedy” Deep Sleep, must be seen to be believed because despite a few flourishes of cinematic style and several humorous sequences involving dialogue, it’s just a hardcore sex romp featuring folks no one in their right mind would want to see naked let alone copulating. There is absolutely nothing in this film to suggest that he would next direct one of the greatest and most thematically disturbing thrillers of our time, 1976’s Communion, not to be confused with the Christopher Walken/alien-probe-up-the-old-dirt-road 1989 outing based on Whitley Strieber’s 1987 “non-fiction” book of the same name.
- 7/18/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Even lesser Abbott & Costello movies are still comedy gravy to the avid fans of the fast-talking duo. Their first film deal away from Universal yields a so-so production graced with a string of their patented old-time comedy routines. And the transfer beats anything we’ve yet seen.
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
- 8/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The 2016 blu ray release of the Frankenstein and Wolf Man Legacy Collections was a moment of celebration for movie and monster lovers everywhere, bringing together all the golden age appearances of Frankenstein’s misbegotten creation and Larry Talbot’s hairy alter-ego. Universal Studios treated those dusty creature features to luminous restorations; from Bride of Frankenstein to She Wolf of London, these essential artifacts never looked less than impeccable and, at times, even ravishing. Colin Clive’s frenzied declaration, “It’s Alive!”, never felt more appropriate.
Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.
Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017
Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Cinematography: Karl Freund,...
Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.
Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017
Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Cinematography: Karl Freund,...
- 5/29/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
After being sworn in, Neil Gorsuch is now the ninth justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, but at an upcoming conference to decide which cases should be heard, a question will undoubtedly be raised: "Who's on first?"
That's because the heirs of William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello this week petitioned the high court to review a case concerning their world-famous comedy routine. Those heirs sued the producers of the Broadway play Hand to God in June 2015, claiming copyright infringement, and what looked to be a case about fair use took a surprising turn in October 2016...
That's because the heirs of William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello this week petitioned the high court to review a case concerning their world-famous comedy routine. Those heirs sued the producers of the Broadway play Hand to God in June 2015, claiming copyright infringement, and what looked to be a case about fair use took a surprising turn in October 2016...
- 4/20/2017
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s usually reserved for summer, but for the next few weeks it’s “prequel” time at the multiplex. Of course summer has the “tent poles” and the “franchise” flicks, but two special cases are making a most momentous exception. In about six weeks (December 16 to be exact), film fans will all be abuzz, waiting to journey to that “galaxy far, far away” with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an action fantasy set just before the events of 1977’s much beloved Episode Four. In the meantime, we’re getting a trip back to another movie fantasy world, that of Harry Potter. Actually it’s a history of that setting where “muggles” (human beings) and magical beings mix. This new film peaks behind the pages of one of the textbooks that Harry and his class mates studied at Hogwarts School. Its title? This beloved tome is Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
- 11/18/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The corporate synergy—er, inspiration—at Universal Pictures has resulted in a shared monster universe akin to the Marvel Cinematic one that’s been going gangbusters for years. It’s a great model to follow, even if we wonder whether there’s really enough room in the shadows for Frankenstein, his monster, Dracula, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man. When Universal previously attempted crossovers, it was always with silver-screen sleuths William “Bud” Abbott and Lou Costello, who regularly confronted monsters in between vaudeville acts.
You might even say that 2004’s Van Helsing, which placed Hugh Jackman in Dracula’s sights, was a continuation of this humans-versus-monsters dynamic that Abbott and Costello engendered, which is why Van Helsing has been dubbed part of the new shared universe. That’s according to CinemaBlend’s interview with Eric Heisserer, who’s apparently writing a new Van Helsing movie. Heisserer, who also penned ...
You might even say that 2004’s Van Helsing, which placed Hugh Jackman in Dracula’s sights, was a continuation of this humans-versus-monsters dynamic that Abbott and Costello engendered, which is why Van Helsing has been dubbed part of the new shared universe. That’s according to CinemaBlend’s interview with Eric Heisserer, who’s apparently writing a new Van Helsing movie. Heisserer, who also penned ...
- 10/25/2016
- by Danette Chavez
- avclub.com
On Tuesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a copyright lawsuit brought by the heirs of William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello against producers of the Tony Award-nominated play Hand to God. However, the appeals court didn't accept dismissal for the same reason the lawsuit was initially thrown out. And in coming to its decision, the 2nd Circuit raises the possibility that the world- famous comedy routine "Who's on First?" is no longer under copyright. The lawsuit came in June 2015 while Hand to God, about a demonic hand puppet belonging to an introverted student in a religious small town,
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- 10/11/2016
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here
Here’s a comprehensive look at the life and career of King Baggot
Article by Tom Stockman
They gathered to see the stars at St. Louis Union Station on Saturday March 25th 1910. President Taft had made a stop near the Twentieth Street entrance ten days earlier, but the crowd this day was much larger. Thousands, mostly excited women wearing ankle-length dresses and waving felt pennants lined up hoping for a glimpse, or perhaps...
Here’s a comprehensive look at the life and career of King Baggot
Article by Tom Stockman
They gathered to see the stars at St. Louis Union Station on Saturday March 25th 1910. President Taft had made a stop near the Twentieth Street entrance ten days earlier, but the crowd this day was much larger. Thousands, mostly excited women wearing ankle-length dresses and waving felt pennants lined up hoping for a glimpse, or perhaps...
- 9/28/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Comedy is very subjective but a great comedy will stand the test of time and continue to make generation after generation laugh. Some people like their humor dry, while some like it shocking and offensive. Whatever your taste, good humor will always be out there. Here are 20 great comedies that will no doubt continue to be appreciated in the future.
20. Fargo: The Cohen Brothers funniest black comedy may not be for everyone's taste, because it is quite violent. However, underneath all that is a droll observation on the human condition, highlighted by a winning performance from Frances McDormand as a very likeable and very pregnant police chief. Her character police chief Marge Gunderson is kind, clever and compassionate. She’s a much more admirable role model than all the recent ‘badass female’ clichés we’ve been inundated with lately. Another standout here is William H. Macy as a two-bit schemer who's plan utterly backfires.
20. Fargo: The Cohen Brothers funniest black comedy may not be for everyone's taste, because it is quite violent. However, underneath all that is a droll observation on the human condition, highlighted by a winning performance from Frances McDormand as a very likeable and very pregnant police chief. Her character police chief Marge Gunderson is kind, clever and compassionate. She’s a much more admirable role model than all the recent ‘badass female’ clichés we’ve been inundated with lately. Another standout here is William H. Macy as a two-bit schemer who's plan utterly backfires.
- 9/24/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here
Here’s a look at the final phase of King Baggot’s career.
King Baggot, the first ‘King of the Movies’ died July 11th, 1948 penniless and mostly forgotten at age 68. A St. Louis native, Baggot was at one time Hollywood’s most popular star, known is his heyday as “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “More Famous Than the Man in the Moon”. Yet even in his hometown, Baggot had faded into obscurity.
Here’s a look at the final phase of King Baggot’s career.
King Baggot, the first ‘King of the Movies’ died July 11th, 1948 penniless and mostly forgotten at age 68. A St. Louis native, Baggot was at one time Hollywood’s most popular star, known is his heyday as “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “More Famous Than the Man in the Moon”. Yet even in his hometown, Baggot had faded into obscurity.
- 9/20/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It’s hard to believe another Flashback Weekend is almost upon us, but in just a few days, Chicago’s longest-running horror convention will descend upon the Crowne Plaza O’Hare (5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, Il), where thousands of fans will gather to celebrate everything they love about the genre. Flashback Weekend kicks off on Friday, August 5th and runs through Sunday, August 7th, complete with a star-studded line-up, nightly screenings, Q&A panels, costume contests, and much more.
This writer is pleased to be returning to Flashback Weekend for my sixth year as co-host. Two personal highlights for me at this year’s convention have to be the Scream Reunion Screening and Q&A on Saturday evening, featuring Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, and Matthew Lillard, as well as seeing Don Coscarelli returning to Flashback, this time with Phantasm: Remastered in tow.
Other featured guests at the 2016 Flashback Weekend Horror Convention include Malcolm McDowell,...
This writer is pleased to be returning to Flashback Weekend for my sixth year as co-host. Two personal highlights for me at this year’s convention have to be the Scream Reunion Screening and Q&A on Saturday evening, featuring Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, and Matthew Lillard, as well as seeing Don Coscarelli returning to Flashback, this time with Phantasm: Remastered in tow.
Other featured guests at the 2016 Flashback Weekend Horror Convention include Malcolm McDowell,...
- 8/1/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Los Angeles is maybe known world-wide as an entertainment mecca, ground zero for all things that glitter, but it’s also the locale for thrillers and the “hard-boiled” mystery. Everybody from Bogie to Bob Mitchum threw on a trench coat, adjusted their fedoras, and strolled down those dark streets and alleys, looking for danger (and dangerous dames). This week’s new flick somewhat echoes those noir “programmers”. Being a big Summer release, we’ve got two “gumshoes” dodging bullets. And it’s not post WWII California, but rather post Vietnam War “la la land” circa 1977 (near Christmas-time). Now, with two bickering private eyes, you might consider this a variation of the standard “cop buddy” actioner. That’s appropriate since this movie is directed by the screenwriter who set the template for police team-up flicks back in 1987 with Lethal Weapon, Shane Black. It turns out that this movie’s heroes are...
- 5/20/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Shockingly, this is not a Christmas movie. In every other way, though, it is a Shane Black movie, and that is reason enough to rejoice. I am more than willing to cop to the fact that part of what I like about Shane Black is that he evidently loves the exact same things I love, and for the exact same reasons. When someone’s making art that hews so closely to my ideal aesthetic, I start half-in-the-bag for the thing. I’ve written often about my love of La detective stories, especially when set in different eras of the city’s development. Walter Mosley, Raymond Chandler, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Towne, James Ellroy, Michael Connelly… lots of guys have mined this territory to terrific effect, and I have no doubt I’ll take my own shot at it someday. What Black does here is very different than what Paul Thomas Anderson did in Inherent Vice,...
- 5/19/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
While Hollywood’s summer kicks off this Friday with a certain superhero showdown, the first studio feature we’re genuinely excited for this season will arrive in two weeks. Shane Black‘s The Nice Guy marks his return to the world of crime comedy, his last foray coming over a decade ago with the excellent Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, the 1970s-set tale follows tough guy Jackson Healy and private detective Holland March, who are working on a missing-person case.
Ahead of its release on May 20th, and even before its Cannes premiere on May 15th, Warner Bros. held the first screening last night at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Complete with a post-screening Q&A featuring Gosling, Crowe, Black, and producer Joel Silver, we now have the first reactions. These are overwhelmingly positive, so it looks like Black has once again hit it out of the park.
Ahead of its release on May 20th, and even before its Cannes premiere on May 15th, Warner Bros. held the first screening last night at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Complete with a post-screening Q&A featuring Gosling, Crowe, Black, and producer Joel Silver, we now have the first reactions. These are overwhelmingly positive, so it looks like Black has once again hit it out of the park.
- 5/5/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Who are the funniest, wackiest, cleverest, wittiest comic actors in the history of film and television? Take a look at our list and see who we came up with.
The top 25 laugh-getters…
#25…George Carlin: Probably the best stand-up comedian of all-time. He brilliantly satirized American culture, mixing his liberal social commentary with an often unapologetically coarse and dirty style of language. His penchant for obscenities was most evident in his trademark routine “Seven words you can never say on television”. No one was better at mocking the excesses of American culture than Carlin.
#24…Robin Williams: He had a manic energy and great improvisational skills. His hyper, free-form style inspired many comedians to follow, such as Jim Carrey. He shot to fame in the TV series Mork & Mindy, before breaking away to very successful movie career, appearing in films like Good Morning Vietnam, The World According to Garp, Mrs. Doubtfire and Popeye.
The top 25 laugh-getters…
#25…George Carlin: Probably the best stand-up comedian of all-time. He brilliantly satirized American culture, mixing his liberal social commentary with an often unapologetically coarse and dirty style of language. His penchant for obscenities was most evident in his trademark routine “Seven words you can never say on television”. No one was better at mocking the excesses of American culture than Carlin.
#24…Robin Williams: He had a manic energy and great improvisational skills. His hyper, free-form style inspired many comedians to follow, such as Jim Carrey. He shot to fame in the TV series Mork & Mindy, before breaking away to very successful movie career, appearing in films like Good Morning Vietnam, The World According to Garp, Mrs. Doubtfire and Popeye.
- 4/17/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
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Need a good laugh, but only got an hour and a half? Might we recommend this little lot...
I’m of the firm belief that films work most effectively when their runtime is 90 minutes or less. It forces an economy of story and dialogue which propels the film into its best self. No bloated middle, extended ending, or wasted stories here. This goes double for comedies. They should never outstay their welcome. But they seem to be getting longer, as we recently pointed out here.
So to refresh your movie comedy palette, here are 25 films that are 90 minutes or under. I’ve tried to avoid the more obvious ones, and shine a light on those comedies which might have gone a bit unappreciated over the years, but are well worth a hour and a half of your time. This lean runtime isn’t a guarantee of greatness of course,...
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Need a good laugh, but only got an hour and a half? Might we recommend this little lot...
I’m of the firm belief that films work most effectively when their runtime is 90 minutes or less. It forces an economy of story and dialogue which propels the film into its best self. No bloated middle, extended ending, or wasted stories here. This goes double for comedies. They should never outstay their welcome. But they seem to be getting longer, as we recently pointed out here.
So to refresh your movie comedy palette, here are 25 films that are 90 minutes or under. I’ve tried to avoid the more obvious ones, and shine a light on those comedies which might have gone a bit unappreciated over the years, but are well worth a hour and a half of your time. This lean runtime isn’t a guarantee of greatness of course,...
- 3/2/2016
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Tony Sokol Joseph Baxter Nov 21, 2018
Stan & Ollie will tell the story of how great comedians don’t need an audience when they have each other.
Stan & Ollie will tell the story of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, showcasing the friendship that held together the entertainment industry’s first truly great comedy duo. It will brandish the promising comedic duo of Steve Coogan (The Trip) as Laurel and John C. Reilly (Kong: Skull Island) as Hardy.
The film was directed by Jon S. Baird, who adapted Irvine Welsh novel Filth, starring James McAvoy, in 2013. The screenplay was written by Jeff Pope, who wrote the 2013 fact-based film, Philomena, in which Coogan co-starred with Dame Judi Dench.
Stan & Ollie Trailer
A new U.S. version of the Stan & Ollie trailer has arrived, showing a little more of this promising biopic. Just as with the previous trailer, we see John C. Reilly and Steve...
Stan & Ollie will tell the story of how great comedians don’t need an audience when they have each other.
Stan & Ollie will tell the story of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, showcasing the friendship that held together the entertainment industry’s first truly great comedy duo. It will brandish the promising comedic duo of Steve Coogan (The Trip) as Laurel and John C. Reilly (Kong: Skull Island) as Hardy.
The film was directed by Jon S. Baird, who adapted Irvine Welsh novel Filth, starring James McAvoy, in 2013. The screenplay was written by Jeff Pope, who wrote the 2013 fact-based film, Philomena, in which Coogan co-starred with Dame Judi Dench.
Stan & Ollie Trailer
A new U.S. version of the Stan & Ollie trailer has arrived, showing a little more of this promising biopic. Just as with the previous trailer, we see John C. Reilly and Steve...
- 1/18/2016
- Den of Geek
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman
No other actor in the long history of horror has been so closely identified with the genre as Boris Karloff, yet he was as famous for his gentle heart and kindness as he was for his screen persona. William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell, London, England. He studied at London University in anticipation of a diplomatic career; however, he moved to Canada in 1909 and joined a theater company where he was bit by the acting bug. It was there that he adopted the stage name of “Boris Karloff.” He toured back and forth across the USA for over ten years in a variety of low-budget Theater shows and eventually ended up in Hollywood. Needing cash to support himself, Karloff landed roles in silent films making his on-screen debut in Chapter 2 of the 1919 serial The Masked Rider. His big...
No other actor in the long history of horror has been so closely identified with the genre as Boris Karloff, yet he was as famous for his gentle heart and kindness as he was for his screen persona. William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell, London, England. He studied at London University in anticipation of a diplomatic career; however, he moved to Canada in 1909 and joined a theater company where he was bit by the acting bug. It was there that he adopted the stage name of “Boris Karloff.” He toured back and forth across the USA for over ten years in a variety of low-budget Theater shows and eventually ended up in Hollywood. Needing cash to support himself, Karloff landed roles in silent films making his on-screen debut in Chapter 2 of the 1919 serial The Masked Rider. His big...
- 11/23/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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