4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Henry Hathaway Edition


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!

Today, the Shattered Lens celebrates director Henry Hathaway, born 128 years ago today!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Henry Hathaway Films

Kiss of Death (1947, dir by Henry Hathaway, DP: Norbert Brodine)

Call Northside 777 (1948, dir by Henry Hathaway, DP: Joseph MacDonald)

Niagara (1953, dir by Henry Hathaway, DP: Joseph MacDonald)

True Grit (1969, dir by Henry Hathaway, DP: Lucien Ballard)

 

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Death Wish 3!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  The movie?  1985′ Death Wish 3!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find Death Wish 3 on Prime or Tubi, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

Happy Friday the 13th From The Shattered Lens


 

Happy Friday the 13th!

Today is the second Friday the 13th of 2026!  (We’ve got another one coming up in November.)  Some people consider Friday the 13th to be unlucky but those people have obviously never been the only “good girl” at a weekend party up at Camp Crystal Lake.  Ask any of them and they can tell you just how lucky Friday the 13th can be.

To our readers who are currently struggling today, we make the following suggestion: Sit back and enjoy the antics of those fun-loving kids up at Camp Crystal Lake.  It’s a lot safer to watch them than to be them!

In fact, in case you need help picking which movie to watch, I have reviewed every single Friday the 13th! here on the Shattered Lens!  I personally recommend that you watch parts 1, 2, and 4 but it’s totally up to you!  Here’s some links to my reviews:

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th Part 2

Friday the 13th Part 3

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives

Friday the 13th Part VII: A New Blood

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday

Jason X

Freddy vs Jason

Friday the 13th: The Pointless Remake

And then be sure to check out: 12 Thing You May Not Have Known About Friday the 13th and my review of Camp Crystal Lake Memories!

The world will still be here when you get back, I promise.  Tonight, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix and I’ll be showing a classic Charles Bronson film to everyone who survives the day.  The details will be posted soon.  (In about 15 minutes, in fact….)

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

Music Video of the Day: Possum Kingdom by The Toadies (1994, dir by Thomas Mignone)


Originally, I thought this song was about possums.  Possums are wonderful creatures by the way, even if they do kind of smell bad.  They don’t get rabies, they eat tics and roaches, and they’re basically very shy and timid.  And they’re severely myopic!

Unfortunately, this song is not about Possums.  Instead, the song was named after Possum Kingdom Lake, which is a real lake down here in Texas.

For a while, I thought it was about a vampire.  Then I had my best friend Evelyn listen to it and she thought it was about a serial killer.  We were both wrong.  According to the lead singer of the Toadies, the song was actually about a ghost who was inviting someone to join him in the netherworld.

This video was shot in Dallas.  Woo hoo!  Overall, it’s a good song, though the “so help me, Jesus” stuff feels a bit forced.  And it’s a good video, full of atmosphere and menace.  It’s a perfect video for the second Friday the 13th of 2026!

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Fargo, North Dakota by Carter Burwell


Since tomorrow is William H. Macy’s birthday, it only makes sense that today’s song of the day should come from a film that is not only one of Macy’s best but which also features one of the best score ever recorded.  From Carter Burwell, here is Fargo, North Dakota.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1972 Edition


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!

H ere are a few the classic films that we released in 1972.

4 Shots From 4 1972 Films

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972, dir by J. Lee Thompson, DP: Bruce Surtees)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972, dir by Ronald Neame, DP: Harold E. Stine)

The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

Don’t Torture A Duckling (1972, dir by Lucio Fulci, DP: Sergio D’Offizi)

Scenes That I Love: The End of White Heat


Since today is Raoul Walsh’s birthday, it only makes sense that our scene that I love should come from one of Walsh’s best films.

In 1948’s White Heat, James Cagney plays Cody Jarrett, a gangster who loves his mother and goes out like a raging inferno.  Here, for those who don’t mind a spoiler or two, is the end of Raoul Walsh’s White Heat.

 

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Raoul Walsh Edition


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!

129 years ago today, film director Raoul Walsh was born in New York City.  He started out as an actor and a second unit director, learning how to make films under the tutelage of D.W. Griffith.  He made his directorial debut in 1915 with Regeneration, which is considered to be the first gangster film.  Refusing to sidelined after losing an eye in an auto accident, Walsh continued to direct and his career stretched from the silent era all the way to the mid-60s.  Walsh directed westerns, war films, and gangster films.  He was a master of tough but sometimes quirky action films.  Martin Scorsese continues to cite Walsh as being an influence on his own work.

Today. we pay tribute to Raoul Walsh with….

4 Shots From 4 Raoul Walsh Films

The Roaring Twenties (1939, dir by Raoul Walsh, DP: Ernest Haller)

They Drive By Night (1940, dir by Raoul Walsh, DP: Arthur Edeson)

Gentleman Jim (1942, dir by Raoul Walsh, DP: Sidney Hickox)

White Heat (1949, dir by Raoul Walsh, DP: Sidney Hickox)