You remember your favorite retro films and, of course, the great classics? I do too. That is why I decided to write contemporary reviews of some our favorite retro, cult, and classic films. All of the films listed were made before 1988.
Bob Clark directs and produces the 1979 mystery film ‘Murder By Decree‘ a Sherlock Holmes adaption surrounding Jack the Ripper, the infamous and still unknown serial killer who haunted the Whitechapel district of Victorian London. Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) is approached by a group of concerned citizens about the Jack the Ripper murders that are…
‘Murder in Coweta County‘ is a television film that aired on CBS in 1983. It is directed by Gary Nelson and based on a book of the same name by writer Margaret Anne Barnes. John Wallace (Andy Griffith) is a wealthy Georgia landowner who controls Meriwether County with an iron fist, running moonshine in what…
Orson Welles directed, narrates, and stars in ‘F For Fake,’ a 1973 film he co-wrote with his partner Oja Kodar through his production company Janus Films. It is sometimes described as a documentary, sometimes a docudrama, and often as a film essay, but one thing is for sure, it is one of Welles’ most contemplative…
‘Judgement in Berlin‘ is the final film directed by Leo Penn. It was released in 1988 and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was written by Leo Penn and producer Joshua Sinclair, based on a book of the same by Herbert J. Stern. Federal judge Herbert J Stern (Martin Sheen) is called to West Berlin…
‘Stepfather II,’ also known as ‘Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy,’ is a psychological horror film directed by Jeff Burr. It was released in 1989 and was plagued by studio interference. After the incidents of the first film, Jerry Blake (Terry O’Quinn) is institutionalized, but murders his psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Danvers (Henry Brown) and takes…
Directed by Joseph Ruben and based on a screenplay by Donald E. Westlake, ‘The Stepfather’ is a psychological horror that came out in 1987. It had several writers including Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield, and David Loughery (whose reworking of the script went uncredited.) Henry Morrison (Terry O’Quinn) casually shaves and showers while walking around…
Released by Amicus Productions, “Asylum” also known as “House of Crazies,” is a horror anthology film directed by Roy Ward Baker and released in 1972. It was produced by Milton Subotsky and written by Robert Bloch, a popular horror writer at the time. Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives as an asylum for the “incurably insane.”…
Adapted from the Jules Verne novel of the same name, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a 1954 film from Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Earl Felton. Walt Disney himself served as an uncredited producer of the feature. Professor Pierre M. Aronnax (Paul Lukas) and his assistant,…
The Stranger is a 1946 thriller directed by Orson Welles, who also produced it and released it through RKO Pictures. Despite its popularity, it has entered the public domain after its surviving producers failed to renew it in 1973. Taking place in the 1940s, the United Nations War Crimes Commission sends an agent named Mr.…
Jim Henson co-directed this film with Frank Oz, The Dark Crystal, made in 1982. It is a fantasy film that brought a world to life that catches the eye, puts you on the edge of your seat, and inspires your imagination. Prior to the events of the film, a powerful crystal on the planet Thra…
Today, the hit musical Singin’ In The Rain has been chosen to continue music week. It is a 1952 film directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly (who also starred and choreographed the movie). It features an ensemble cast for its time including Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno as well as King Donovan in a…
1944’s Laura is a brilliant example of film noir to come from the era of predominantly black and white cinema. It was produced and directed by Otto Preminger. Its principal cast includes Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson and a few others. It takes the classic “whodunit” genre of murder mystery films and…
In 1953, Shane changed Western films forever. It is based on a novel by Jack Schaefer. I have not read it the book, so it will not factor into this classic film review. The Western is directed by George Stevens and stars Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin,Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook,…
The Wind and The Lion was released to theaters in 1975. It was written by and directed by the master director John Milius, director of Red Dawn (the inspiration for the 2012 film). It has an ensemble cast that acts in stellar fashion. It fictionalizes a real kidnapping that happened in 1904. Milius made several changes…
A classic film that premiered on the small screen via television instead of the silver screen, The Shadows Riders is a Western that is unforgettable. It is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and stars Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Dominique Dunne, Katharine Ross, Ben Johnson, Jeff Osterhage, Marshall Teague, Jane Greer, and many character actors. Mac and Dal…
Directed by William Phelps, North Shore not only explores surfing, but also what culture is like in Hawaii. It is a beautiful story that stars Nia Peeples, Matt Adler, John Philbin, Gerry Lopez, Gregory Harrison and a few real life surfers like Shaun Tomson, Laird Hamilton, Derek Ho, and a few others. Rick Kane is an eighteen year…
Sunset Boulevard was the last collaboration between director Billy Wilder and Co-Producer Charles Brackett. It is a film noir film starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich Von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough Jack Webb, with cameos from some of Hollywood’s finest playing themselves: director Cecil B. DeMille, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, and silent…
The Alamo is one of the few films that John Wayne directed, produced, and starred in. It is presented as a war epic, and though it takes several liberties with the historical events, it is one of his masterpieces. His co-stars include: Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O’Brien, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Ruben…
This 1965 Western film, The Sons of Katie Elder, brings together some great actors: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Dennis Hopper, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman, James Gregory, Paul Fix, Jeremy Slate, George Kennedy, and it is all brought together by director Henry Hathaway. Four brothers John, Tom, Bud, and Matt reunite in Clearwater,…
I rarely watch foreign films, but I had to check this one out when I saw it at a Goodwill. Originally released at two films in 1942 (Noi Vivi and Addio Kira), director Goffredo Alessandrini brought to life Ayn Rand’s epic, yet tragic novel We The Living. Made in Fascist Italy, the filmmakers never sought Rand’s approval for…
Audrey Hepburn is one classy lady. Even in The Unforgiven, directed by John Huston and starring Burt Lancaster, Aldie Murphy, John Saxon, Charles Bickford, Ben Maddow, James Hill, and a few others in very minor roles. The Zachary family lives on the Texas frontier. Their patriarch, Will, has been killed in a Kiowa (a nearby…
Starring Australian comedian Paul Hogan (who also came up with the story) and directed by Peter Faiman, this comedy film Crocodile Dundee was extremely popular for good reason. It shows a clash of cultures in a hilarious tongue and cheek way. Sue Carlton, a reporter for her father’s newspaper Newsday, heads to the Australian outback.…
Legendary film director George Sherman ended his career in 1971 with this John Wayne Western action film Big Jake. It is also one of eight films that Wayne and Sherman collaborated on. Everyone seems to think that John McCandles is dead. He abandoned his family ten years ago, thus he is estranged from his wife…
Written by John McGreevey and directed by William Hale, ‘Murder In Texas‘ is based on the memoir Prescription: Murder written by Ann Kurth, who tells the story of her affair with a Houston surgeon and the accusations that he murdered his first wife Texas socialite Joan Robinson Hill. Plastic surgeon Dr. John Hill (Sam Elliott)…
Veteran director René Clair brings us Agatha Christie’s popular murder mystery And Then There Were None (also the film’s US title). Like Christie’s imagination, the film gives us a clear glimpse into the mind if a killer who is after revenge. General Sir John Mandrake (C. Aubrey Smith), Emily Brent (Judith Anderson), Dr. Edward G. Armstrong (Walter Huston), Prince…
