Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: March Roundup

This month I was especially impressed by the quality of the interviews in my favorite episodes. These are all lively, though-provoking conversations. As always, please share in the comments if you know of a podcast I should be listening to, even your own! Episode titles link to the show:

The Film Programme

John Boorman

March 5, 2020

In her conversation with director John Boorman, Antonia Quirke asks all the right questions. She gets the legendary filmmaker to open up beautifully about his craft, from the reasons he prefers working with digital over film, to how his partnership with Lee Marvin unfolded during the filming of Point Blank (1967).

The Film Scene

Anna Biller

February 13, 2020

The Love Witch (2016) director Anna Biller has a wide-ranging conversation with host Illeana Douglas about her own work and classic films. I was especially interested in Biller’s comments about the death of melodrama and a sincerity of tone in films and why those things are important to cinema.

Cinema Junkie

Giallo: Killing it With Style…Again

January 9, 2020

I enjoyed the thorough exploration of the Italian Giallo genre in this episode. It’s a perfect introduction to the genre for beginners, but as a longtime fan of these films, I also found it an entertaining look at the history, tropes and flicks of this unique style of horror.

The Treatment

Sam Wasson/The Big Goodbye

February 21, 2020

Sam Wasson is one of the best film writers working today. His books Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman and a massive Fosse biography are addictive and impossible to put down. It turns out he’s quite a character too. He’s entertaining, insightful, and knowledgeable in this interview with host Elvis Mitchell, where they discuss his new book (to be reviewed here soon) The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood.

On Blu-ray: Natalie Wood in Penelope (1966)

I fell in love with Penelope (1966) when this candy-colored crime caper streamed on the dearly departed FilmStruck service. It’s got a stunning cast, led by the bright-eyed Natalie Wood and features a sprightly early soundtrack by John Williams, adorably credited as “Johnny Williams.” I was thrilled when the film finally made its Blu-ray debut from Warner Archive.

Wood stars as the titular anti-heroine, a former beatnik who is struggling to get the attention of her work-obsessed banker husband James (Ian Bannen). In an act of rebellion, Penelope robs her husband’s bank on its opening day. Police Lieutenant Bixbee (Peter Falk) immediately suspects this friendly society wife of the crime, but he is so charmed by her that he doesn’t want to make the arrest. Penelope’s therapist Dr. Mannix (a delightfully bonkers Dick Shawn) is likewise charmed by his unpredictable patient, though she has driven him to constantly slurping milk for his ulcers.

Though it’s all played for laughs, there’s a deep well of perversion and dysfunction at the core of Penelope which keeps its cheerfulness from becoming too shallow. Wood plays a woman with an impeccable veneer who nevertheless always seems to be screaming for help. It’s a situation similar to that of the actress who played her, though it doesn’t seem she recognized any parallels with her character.

Wood was coming out of a deep depression when she made Penelope and the production was a happy experience for her. Unfortunately her joy didn’t reach audiences at the time,who didn’t show up at the box office. The film gets criticized for being overly cute and silly, but it has a lot to offer, from that catchy Williams soundtrack and gorgeous Edith Head costumes, to its bizarre, but brilliant cast. Just having the highly excitable Shawn and the smoothly laid back Falk in the same film makes for quite a ride. Lila Kedrova and Lou Jacobi put out a goofy Boris and Natasha vibe as a pair of cartoonishly evil con artists and Jonathan Winters is a Me Too nightmare in a silent cameo as a lecherous professor.

I was especially taken with the pairing of Falk’s police lieutenant and Bill Gunn as his sergeant and right-hand man. The multi-talented Gunn, who earned fame as a playwright and is perhaps most remembered as the director of Ganja & Hess (1973), is so appealing in his small role that I thought it a shame he wasn’t given more to do. Falk was already trying on the wise, but cool stylings that he would bring to his most famous role as the television detective Colombo. The pair has such a fascinating chemistry here that I couldn’t help wishing he and Gunn could have made a series of films or a television show together.

While Bannen never seems entirely plausible as a man Penelope would adore, Wood has excellent chemistry with her other male co-stars. She has her best comic scenes with the neurotic Shawn, playing off his anxiety with an amusingly mannered nonchalance. There’s a more easygoing vibe to her moments with Falk; he’s having the time of his life watching her get away with everything and she’s happy to be a cheerful companion.

This is a delightfully entertaining film and deserving of more attention.

Special features on the disc include a short featurette about Edith Head’s designs for the film and a theatrical trailer.


Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.

Book Review--Citizen Canine: Dogs in the Movies

Citizen Canine: Dogs in the Movies
Wendy Mitchell
Laurence King Publishing, 2020

Is there any other animal more beloved in the movies than dogs? For a while horses were in the running, but when you examine the past century of film, it is clearly canines who have dominated. In the lightly amusing Citizen Canine: Dogs in the Movies, Wendy Mitchell writes about the performances of sixty cinematic pooches in their signature roles.

Mitchell covers a satisfying array of films, from the silent era to the current day. Each entry has a photo, a brief blurb about the dog’s performance in the movie and its history as a movie actor, and a couple of bits of trivia.

The entries don’t run deep, there’s only so much you can write about a performing dog, but it was interesting to learn about the many ways different directors approached working with these animals. Some of them wanted elaborate tricks, while others simply wanted a dog doing its thing.

Mitchell’s film selection also covers a wide range of moods. We tend to think of dogs being in either sweet, sentimental movies or horror, but in film they have been in as many different scenarios as their human counterparts. There’s a lot of variety between Benji and Cujo.

I was amused to read about the different ways the dogs approached filming, with some of them seemingly eager to work and many especially adept at performing. Trainers have used creative methods to get the animals to do what was needed for the camera, the most amusing being a pair of glasses lined with meat and the trainer who had to shut himself in a coffin so that a dog would follow it in a funeral procession as if in mourning for his owner.

For classic film fans the usual suspects are present, including Asta, Lassie, Petey, and Toto. Dogs from older movies take up about a third of the book, so there’s a satisfying representation, even though most of the entries are for modern films. It’s a fun book; not appropriate for young children because of some the films it covers, but essentially light in tone.


Many thanks to Laurence King Publishng for providing a copy of the book for review.

On Blu-ray: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, and Gilbert Roland in Underwater! (1954)

When a film title ends in an exclamation point as Underwater! (1954) does, it communicates the expectation of spectacle over substance. This is the best way to approach this Howard Hughes production with marketing featuring Jane Russell in a revealing bikini she never wears onscreen. The newly-remastered film looks great on a new Blu-ray from Warner Archive and it offered some unexpected pleasures that added to its appeal.

Jane Russell and Richard Egan star as Theresa and Johnny Gay, a happily married couple who go out to sea with Egan’s partner Dominic Quesada (Gilbert Roland) in search of treasure on sunken vessels. Russell is so hot for hubby that she refuses to let him leave her on shore, but their numbers are evened out by the sharp-witted heiress Gloria (Lori Nelson) who owns the boat they use for their journey.

Johnny and Dominic quickly find what they are looking for, but a ship full of pirates scraping by as fishermen gets wise to their discovery and the men want in on the booty. The tension that follows between these two groups is broken up by extended underwater search scenes, a trip to the beach, a sprightly nightclub outing, and Theresa’s pleas for Johnny to come to bed already.

The pace isn’t always as brisk as a good adventure flick should be. This is partly due to those underwater scenes, which can only be so engaging when you can’t see the expressions on the actor’s faces. When those faces can be appreciated, the action picks up. It also helps that Underwater! is a beautifully photographed film, which can be enjoyed to its full effect on the Warner Blu-ray.

According to actress Lori Nelson, she was originally planned to star, but Russell got the role when she needed to complete a contract requirement. It is a shame, because Nelson shows some spark, but is essentially underused here. Russell also has better chemistry with Roland, who remained handsome and seductive late in his career.

Having gone into Underwater! with little previous knowledge of the film, I was delighted to see the mambo musician Perez Prado and his ensemble prominently featured in a nightclub scene. It was a treat to see this marvelous artist perform in an extended sequence which offered ample time for renditions of Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White and Rhythm Sticks. The tune for the former was also used effectively in the film’s soundtrack.

Underwater! isn’t a classic in dire need of revival, but it’s a gorgeous production and the appeal of its stars and soundtrack makes watching it an enjoyable experience.

A trailer for the film is included as a special feature on the disc.

Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.

Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: February Round-up

I enjoyed a great variety of podcast episodes new and old this month. If you know of a great podcast for classic film fans, even your own show, please share in the comments. Here are my favorites for February. Titles link to the episode:

Mobituaries with Mo Rocca
Anna May Wong: Death of a Trailblazer
February 7, 2020

I love the structure of Mo Rocca’s show which looks back on the lives of the dearly departed. In this episode he weaves his own telling of Anna May Wong’s life with a variety of insights from special guests like comedian Margaret Cho. It’s a fascinating mixture of biography and analysis. I’ve read two excellent biographies of Wong and still learned several new things about her here.

The Complete: Elaine May
A New Leaf
October 14, 2018

The Complete is a podcast dedicated to exploring the full filmography of a single director each season, one film each episode. Hosts Matt and Travis are now deep into the filmography of Krzysztof Kieślowski, but I had to start with their second season, which explores the career of Elaine May. I like their first episode of the season, because they offer a solid biography of May and explore the challenges she experienced as a female filmmaker while also drawing parallels to the challenges women still face in the industry today. Their discussion about A New Leaf (1971) is a lot of fun as well, because they clearly adore her directing debut.

Nightmare on Film Street
Dead in the Water: Psycho vs. Les Diaboliques
January 15, 2020

I enjoyed this thoughtful conversation about Psycho (1960) and Les Diaboliques (1955) because while I’ve seen both films several times, the hosts bring up a lot of points I hadn’t considered. They’ve both got a great eye for detail.

Shout! Takes
Mel Brooks Remembers Brooksfilms
May 18, 2018

A while back I did a deep dive into the archives of the now dormant official Shout! Factory podcast. There are a lot of great interviews to be found here, a June 8, 2018 chat with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter is a particular favorite of mine, but the episode that has stuck with me the most is this discussion with Mel Brooks. Brooks is so beloved as a comedy filmmaker that it is often forgotten how much he elevated film art with his Brooksfilms production company, which is most famous for producing The Elephant Man (1980). It was fascinating to learn more about his history with the company and get a feeling for his deep love of cinema.

On Blu-ray: Connie Stevens and Dean Jones in Two on a Guillotine (1965)

I didn’t get what I expected when I watched the new Warner Archive Blu-ray of Two on a Guillotine. With the cover gruesomely displaying a disembodied head and a drop of blood dripping of the title, I anticipated a Grand Guignol-style chiller. It turns out this wasn’t to be, but I enjoyed the lighter, more William Castle-style film that it actually is.

Connie Stevens stars as Cassie Duquesne the daughter of a famous magician (played with gusto by Cesar Romero), who gave her up when she was barely out of babyhood because of his grief over the disappearance of his wife (also played by Stevens in flashbacks), who was a part of his magic act. Raised by an aunt, Cassie hasn’t heard from her father for years when she receives notice of his funeral. When she shows up at the services, those who knew her parents are stunned to see she is a dead ringer for her mother.

Cassie’s father has left a bizarre will. His house has been willed to her, but in order to get it she must stay there for seven nights. Apparently Papa has a plan to come back to her from the dead. When reporter Val Henderson (Dean Jones) hears about this unusual arrangement, he smells a great story and begins to cozy up to Cassie. Of course his ambition falters when he begins to fall in love with the charming heiress.

While there are fun chills and twisted situations to be found in Two on a Guillotine, for the most part it focuses on Cassie and Val’s relationship. There’s even an extended sequence where the pair frolic in an amusement park (director William Conrad makes a cameo appearance next to a funhouse mirror). They’re an engaging pair and much of the appeal of the movie is due to their chemistry.

The baby-voiced Stevens hasn’t won much respect for her acting chops over the years, but here she demonstrates considerable skill and reserve. While there are ample opportunities for her to become the hysterical damsel in distress, she shows great restraint in scenes of suspense and is genuine and charming in her lighter scenes with Jones. Jones is equally appealing, showing range outside of his more famous Disney live-action roles.

After tackling several television episodes, director William Conrad (most famous as a television actor in later years and as a perfect criminal heavy in films noir of earlier decades) made this film as part of a deal to produce and direct moderate budget thrillers for Warner Bros. Here the cost-cutting involved using the already existing mansion set for My Fair Lady (1964) as the haunting Duquesne abode. Conrad would helm the also entertaining My Blood Runs Cold and the underrated Brainstorm the same year.

Ultimately, Two on a Guillotine is one of those movies where you’ll have a good time if you don’t ask too many questions. Trying to envision the logistics it would require to pull off the situation it proposes is baffling. It’s even a bit disturbing that an adorable white magician’s rabbit has the run of a mansion and no one ever thinks to feed it or look where they are walking. However, if you let yourself fall in love with the leads and trust the plot to unroll its own reality, it’s a lot of fun.


Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.

Streaming Diary: Classics to Stream for Free on Tubi

I am a huge fan of the free streaming service Tubi, because it’s allowed me to catch up on so many great cult and horror titles. I’ve noticed lately though that the service also has a fair number of good classic films available as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

Merrily We Live (1938) In a plot a bit like My Man Godfrey (1936) (which is also available on Tubi), a society matron (Billie Burke) hires a man (Brian Aherne) who she believes to be a tramp to work as a butler and he falls for the woman’s charming daughter (Constance Bennett). While it isn’t exactly a lost classic, mostly because Aherne doesn’t quite have the sparkle to be a truly successful screwball performer, this is  nevertheless a light-hearted, clever bit of chaos with an excellent cast.

Topper Returns (1941) As much as I adore Cary Grant and Constance Bennett as the glamorous, ghostly Kirbys in Topper (1937), I’ve always found the sequel more entertaining. This has a lot to do with Joan Blondell, who stars in one of her most amusing post-production code roles.

Fanny (1961) Leslie Caron plays a young woman in a seaside French village who is impregnated by her sailor boyfriend (Horst Buchholz) before he goes out to sea for a long voyage. Maurice Chevalier is the lonely local merchant who offers a platonic marriage so that he may fulfill his dreams of parenthood. The sweetness and empathy of the characters make this an unusually charming film.

The Red House (1947) Though Edward G. Robinson and Judith Anderson are effective as a brother and sister hiding a tragic family secret, I tend to forget about them, because twenty-something Rory Calhoun and Julie London are so sizzling as a pair of teenage lovers on the edges of the action. Overall this is has long been an underrated noir and it's great that it's finally, deservedly, getting more attention.

The 10th Victim (1965) In this eye-poppingly mod Italian production, Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress are participants in a government-sponsored game in which the players alternate being killer and victim. This deadly serious concept is played for laughs in a candy-coated future full of shallow minds where comic books are considered as lofty as classic novels. Sometimes the parody hits a bit too close to home.