Sean Connery and Charles Bronson, despite being much different actors, shared the Golden Globe Henrietta Award for “World Film Favorite – Male” back in 1972. As the ultimate Bronson fan, I’ve always appreciated this special connection between the icons.
Happy Birthday in cinema heaven, Sean! We miss you!
Elvis Presley passed away 48 years ago on August 16th, 1977, at just 42 years of age. I’ve always been so happy that Elvis worked with my movie hero Charles Bronson on the 1962 film KID GALAHAD. In this little musical number, Elvis drives and sings while Bronson looks on with a sweet smile on his face. I love it. #RIPKing
Happy 86th birthday to George Hamilton, also known as Zorro the gay blade in some circles!
One of the great things about movies is the way they ask us to suspend our disbelief in service of the story they are presenting. Most of the time we’ll go right along with the filmmakers, but sometimes they do go a little too far. For example, did y’all know there is a movie where George Hamilton beats up Charles Bronson?!! I’m not kidding! It’s true! The movie is called A THUNDER OF DRUMS (1961), and I’m including video evidence!! Enjoy my friends!
In honor of the 111th birthday in cinema heaven of director J. Lee Thompson, I’ve chosen to share a scene from one of his last few movies, the action packed sequel, DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN (1987). Actors Charles Bronson and Danny Trejo crossed paths a couple of times in the late 80’s when Bronson was near the end of his legendary career and Trejo was at the very beginning of his. This scene is interesting as it presents Bronson using a wine bottle as a weapon instead of an huge gun! Enjoy my friends!
Well everyone has to start somewhere! Today I celebrate Alex Winter’s 60th birthday by watching a scene from DEATH WISH 3, the insane Charles Bronson vigilante classic, where Alex earned his first big screen credit as gang member Hermosa! What an honor it must have been for Alex to get smashed in the head with a tire tool by the legend in his signature series of revenge. If you haven’t seen DEATH WISH 3 before, you may never see “Bill” in quite the same light again!
(Note – the scene below features taunts and threats of an extreme sexual nature. Do NOT hit play if that offends you!)
Even though he was born in Italy on July 14th, 1919, Lino Ventura would become one of France’s most beloved character actors from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. In 1972, Ventura played Don Vito Genevese in THE VALACHI PAPERS, starring Charles Bronson. This film was released on the heels of the runaway success of THE GODFATHER (1972), and it would go on to make quite a bit of money itself. DEATH WISH (1974) is the only Bronson film that made more money at the U.S. box office in the 1970’s. I’ve always enjoyed that these two legendary actors were able to work with each other at least one time in their careers!
Happy 106th Birthday in cinematic heaven to the great Lino Ventura! Enjoy this fun scene from THE VALACHI PAPERS that begins with a cute domestic situation before ending with a vicious “hit.”
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.
I noticed that today, July 11th, 2025, is actor Thomas Mitchell’s 133rd birthday in cinema heaven! I can guarantee that I, along with most of you, watch him every year around Christmas time. I also found out today that he worked with my movie hero Charles Bronson on THE O. HENRY PLAYHOUSE TV series back in 1957. That combination of appearances makes Mitchell about as close to a cinematic immortal as a person can get!
Enjoy 4 shots from 4 films, with Thomas Mitchell!
A couple of years ago, I decided I would rank my favorite Charles Bronson films. The rules were fairly simple… 1) only starring roles, so movies like THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and THE GREAT ESCAPE were excluded, 2) no TV movies were included, and 3) my rankings were based on how much I like watching the movies, and not on some BS critical consensus. It was an interesting undertaking, and while I’ve played around with the rankings a little bit, for the most part I’ve kept them the same from that initial ranking. Because I’m obsessed with Charles Bronson, it’s fun for me to write about him and share things about his movies. As such, about once a week or so, I’ll probably share a movie from my list, give my ranking, and talk a little bit about the films. These will not necessarily be reviews, but mostly just some basic thoughts on the films.
My first Bronson movie of the week is MESSENGER OF DEATH (1988), which I rank as 33rd out of 41 Bronson starring roles. What’s interesting is that even though that’s a pretty low ranking, I still enjoy the film for trying to do something different with Bronson at that point in his career in the late ’80s, mainly by casting him as a reporter and not as a cop. He destroys the opposition with superior investigative reporting skills, without having to resort to oversized handguns. Now that his filmography is complete, and has been for over 25 years, I’ve grown to appreciate the times Bronson tried something a little different (with the exception of LOLA). MESSENGER OF DEATH also benefits from a solid cast of veteran actors and actresses, including Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Daniel Benzali, Charles Dierkop, Jeff Corey, John Ireland, and Gene Davis. It’s fun watching these seasoned performers, many of whom have worked with Bronson in the past, do their thing. And last, but not least, with filming locations at the Colorado National Monument and the mountain town of Glenwood Springs, CO, it’s definitely a beautiful film to look at! The older I get the more I appreciate movies that get out of the cities and show us beautiful sights around the country and world. Jeff shared some of his own thoughts on MESSENGER OF DEATH back in 2017!
As of the date of this post, MESSENGER OF DEATH is streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi if you want to watch it yourself. It’s a film that I’ve enjoyed more with repeat viewings. I’ve also included the trailer below for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on MESSENGER OF DEATH, starring the legendary Charles Bronson!
Actress Kathleen Wilhoite is 61 years old today. Wilhoite is a talented actress and singer who has over 40 years worth of film and TV credits, including movies like ROAD HOUSE (1989), with Patrick Swayze, and BAD INFLUENCE (1991), with Rob Lowe and James Spader. The movie I’ll always appreciate her the most for is the fun Charles Bronson badass cop movie, MURPHY’S LAW, that was made for the infamous Cannon Studios back in 1986. Handcuffed to Bronson for portions of the film, Wilhoite’s character Arabella McGee has an extremely interesting vocabulary, which mostly consists of cheesy, crude and vulgar insults for almost every person she comes into contact with. I saw this movie when I was 13 years old, and I copied way too many of her zingers for my own personal use over the next few years. Heck, 38 years later, I’m still not above calling the people I love “snot licking, donkey farts!”
Happy Birthday, Kathleen! Enjoy the video below that shares all of those insults from the movie!
My wife Sierra and I have had a lot of stress in our life lately, so I decided to take her on a little getaway this weekend to Branson, MO. This afternoon we’ve got tickets to the Sight and Sound production of “David,” and tonight we’re going to cruise Table Rock Lake on The Branson Belle.
As good as all of this sounds, my dream town would be the place imagined by THE SIMPSONS called Bronson, MO! That has to be the safest town in the world!!
Through the Shattered Lens 