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Minor But Memorable There are characters in film noir that are bigger than life, that are in nearly every scene and who tower over the movie itself like the eponymous inferno. And then there are those that you hardly see at all – characters so minor that they often don’t even warrant a last read more

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) On my most recent visit to London, I went to see a stage production of Agatha Christie’s 1953 play, Witness for the Prosecution, and of course I had to rewatch the 1957 film adaptation again as soon as I got home so that I could see how they compared to one anot read more

Her lips are as red as a rose, her skin as white as snow and though we can’t see her hair, the dark wimple wrapped around her head and throat is as black as ebony. In the 90 years since she was introduced in Walt Disney’s 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she has remained read more

Classic Movie Travels: Frank Morgan Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann was born on June 1, 1890, in New York, New York, to Josephine Wright and George Diogracia Wuppermann. His father was born in Venezuela and of Spanish and German descent, while his mother was born in the United States a read more

More Western Filmmakers Final Resting Places This month it’s time for another of my periodic tributes to Western filmmakers as we visit their final resting places throughout the Los Angeles area. During my visits to these sites over the years I’ve spent time reflecting on the enjoy read more

A Closer Look At: True Heart Susie (1919) True Heart Susie and her beloved pet cow Some of the best films of the silent era weren’t necessarily grand epics, experimental dramas, or high-budget adventures. Some were simple, quiet stories, focusing on just a few carefully-sketched characters. read more

75th Anniversary Noir – 2025 Edition If it’s February at the Noir Nook, it’s time to take a look at the 75th anniversary release of some of my favorite noirs. And 1950 served up a veritable smorgasbord of first-rate shadowy features! I always single out four films each year on which to shine read more

The Major and the Minor (1942) I’m not sure you could make a picture like The Major and the Minor (1942) today, and given the Lolita undertones of the story that might be a good thing, although writer and director Billy Wilder couldn’t have predicted the arrival of Nabokov’s controversial novel read more

Classic Movie Travels: Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda was born on June 17, 1895, in Lafayette, Indiana. She was the daughter of Joseph Fazenda and Nelda Schilling Fazenda. Louise was born in the ground floor northwest room of her maternal grandparents’ house on North Salisbury read more

Monsters, by their very name, are supposed to be monstrous. Perhaps hideous like The Hideous Sun Demon, or beastly like Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.  Just throw an exclamation point on the title like Them! or Tarantula! so we know something terrible is coming. Just give us a monster – it’s why read more

The Lonely Man (1957) It’s been a few months since my last full-length film Western review, so in this month’s column I’m reviewing The Lonely Man (1957), which was just released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics. I had no previous familiarity with The Lonely read more

Silent Superstars: The Classy Bebe Daniels Often overshadowed by the major names like Clara Bow or Louise Brooks, Bebe Daniels is mainly familiar to fans of old Hollywood. But back in the 1920s she was one of the era’s brightest stars, and she and husband Ben Lyon were one of Movieland’s read more

Classic Movie Travels: Clarine Seymour Clarine Seymour Clarine Seymour was born on December 9, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, New York. She was born to Albert and Florence Seymour, a wealthy Methodist couple. Her father ran a ribbon manufacturing business until 1916, when an illness forced him t read more

Quoteable Noir: Part 2 Back in 2019, I kicked off the new year with some of my favorite quotes from some of my favorite noirs. So much has changed in our world since then – but one thing that’s remained the same is the awesome lines that can be found in the films of classic noir. Because one read more

A werewolf walks into a bar and …. No, that’s not a joke. It’s the opening scene of a 1956 low-budget film with the straightforward and generic title of The Werewolf. And if you’ve seen other werewolf films, you’ll guess right away that the disheveled and anxious man who stumbles into read more

Silver Screen Standards: On Dangerous Ground (1951) Deep frost permeates Nicholas Ray’s 1951 noir classic, On Dangerous Ground, freezing both the soul of its protagonist and the stark winter landscape that dominates the second half of the film. Both constitute the “dangerous ground” of the read more

1950 Westerns In this month’s column, as we turn the corner into the new year, I want to particularly focus on several Westerns celebrating their 75th anniversaries in 2025. 1950 was a key year in the Western genre. Important new directors emerged on the scene, and their films demonstrat read more

The Top 10 (Possible) Hit Films of 1924 As 2024 is drawing to a close, I’m reminded that a number of iconic silent films are now 100 years old: Sherlock Jr, The Thief of Bagdad, Greed. These kinds of milestones always spark my curiosity: were these films as popular back then as they are today? read more

In Appreciation for Frank Chambers I’ve been a fan of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) for as long as I can remember – it was one of the first noirs I ever saw as a child. (I recall that I didn’t initially understand what the title meant – and how thrilled I was when I finally figured read more

In Piranha, thousands of tiny fish – already known for their carnivorous appetites – go bonkers for human flesh after being genetically modified by the government. Among the film’s stars are Barbara Steele, Kevin McCarthy, Bradford Dillman and Dick Miller. Matinee has a William Castle-type read more