4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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 wishes a happy birthday to director Ryan Coogler! With just a handful of films, Ryan Coogler has made a star out of Michael B. Jordan, redeemed the acting career of Sylvester Stallone, introduced the rest of the world to Wakanda, twice made Oscar history, and changed the way that film viewers talk about race in cinema. With all that in mind, it’s time for….
4 Shots from 4 Ryan Coogler Films
Fruitvale Station (2013, dir by Ryan Coogler, DP: Rachel Morrison)
Creed (2015, dir by Ryan Coogler, DP: Maryse Alberti)
Black Panther (2018, dir by Ryan Coogler, DP: Rachel Morrison)
Sinners (2025, dir by Ryan Coogler, DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw)
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!
This week, Mary Crosby returns. And hey — is that Wings Hauser!?
Episode 2.14 “Easy Come, Easy Go”
(Dir by William Malone, originally aired on January 14th, 1990)
In this sequel to Lucky Stiff, Greta (Mary Crosby) is still living in her mansion with her new husband, Eugene (Tracey Walter). She’s married to Eugene so that Eugene won’t turn her in for having killed her previous husband. Eugene says that he’ll leave the mansion as soon as they consummate the marriage. Greta, however, has standards. As a result, Eugene lives in the basement.
When her former brother-in-law, Wes Roscoe (Richard Eden), shows up, it doesn’t take long for a lingerie-clad Greta to seduce him. It soon becomes apparent that Wes wants her money and vengeance for the death of his brother. She makes plans to poison him but, when Wes attacks her, her life is saved by Eugene. Greta realizes that she loves Eugene. She sleeps with him. Immediately afterwards, Eugene accidentally drinks the poison and dies. Sorry, Eugene!
Shortly afterwards, Greta’s sister, Peggy (Jill Jacobson), shows up with her husband, eyepatch-wearing Sonny (Wings Hauser). Sonny is Greta’s ex. In fact, he blames her for the loss of his eye. (They got into an argument in a car and a slap from Greta sent Sonny plunging eye-first into the gear shift.) Greta seduces and then kills Sonny, just as she’s done with every man who has tried to take her money. But then Peggy turns out to be a sociopath herself (“I killed mom and dad.”) and proceeds to shoot Greta.
“Easy come, easy go,” Greta gasps.
This episode was so over-the-top and cheerfully sordid that it was impossible not to enjoy it. Mary Crosby threw herself into the femme fatale role. Wings Hauser, as always, was amusingly disturbed as the bad guy. Both stories were wonderfully sordid. Even without any supernatural elements, this was a truly fun episode.
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988. The show can be found on Daily Motion.
This week, we’ve got a great episode of St. Elsewhere.
Episode 3.21 “Murder, She Rote”
(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on February 27th, 1985)
This week, Mrs. Hufnagle dies!
After spending the entire season getting on the nerves of the doctors and the nurses, Mrs. Hufnagle died in this episode. She is found dead and apparently crushed in her bed. (Hufnagle could never figure out how to properly lower and raise the front and back of it. In this episode, it appears that she raised both at the same time.) “Hufnagle in a half-shell,” Ehrlich says. Meanwhile, the perpetually angry Nurse Lucy (Jennifer Savidge) blames herself for not responding when Hufnagle was desperately pushing her help button. Gee, Lucy, you think? Isn’t it your job to respond?
Now, I should note that this episode features both Westphall and Craig calling out the doctor for the treatment that Hufnagle received. Both let it be known that doctors can’t just take care of the likable patients. Everyone who enters the hospital deserves quality care.
What did Hufnagle die of? That’s what Craig is determined to find out. His first instinct is to blame Ehrlich. Then he tried to blame Kochar (former serious regular Kavi Raz, making a guest appearance). He tries to blame the nurses. But, in the end, Craig examines his notes from Hufnagle’s heart surgery and he discovers that he’s the one who made a mistake.
In a wonderfully acted moment, Craig tells the residents that the mistake was his. William Daniels does an excellent job of showing that Craig, for all of his arrogance, is not one to shirk responsibility. When he explains how he made the mistake that led to Hufnagle’s death, it’s a brave moment for both the character and the actor.
That said, Craig is lucky Hufnagle didn’t have a family or he would definitely be getting sued.
While Hufnagle died, Shirley Daniels returned to the ER:
Given that Shirley has confessed to killing Peter White (even though she hasn’t gone to trial yet), clearing her to work at a hospital seems …. odd. That said, a psychiatrist says that Shirley is not a threat to others and Auschlander seems to be oddly eager for her to get to work.
It doesn’t take long before Shirley pulls a gun on a patient. She also points the gun at Fiscus and then Morrison. She pulls the trigger and a little flag pops out that says, “Bang!”
It was a joke! Oh, Shirely!
Shirley laughs and then leaves the hospital.
Elliot has a date:
Dr. Axelrod goes out on a date with Nurse Rosenthal’s odd daughter, Marcy (Jeannie Elias).
Marcy is impressed with Elliot’s goofy sense of humor.
A sudden fire breaks out. Elliot heroically saves the life of the restaurant’s owner.
Marcy explains that she liked Elliot because he seemed goofy and harmless. Now that he’s a hero, she respects him too much to sleep with him.
This was a great episode! William Daniels gave his best performance in the role of Dr. Craig so far. Ellen Bry, in the role of Shirley Daniels, got one of the all-time great exits. And the underused Stephen Furst got a storyline where he did something more than just get insulted. I do feel sad for Mrs. Hufnagle, though. She wasn’t that bad.
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? 1993’s The Sandlot!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find The Sandlot on Prime, 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.
Since today is Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday, it seems appropriate that our song of the day should come from Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack for the 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes.
119 years ago today, Laurence Olivier was born in Surrey. The son of a clergyman, Olivier would go on to become one of the greatest stage actors of the 20th Century. He would also have a distinguished film career, one that led to him frequently being described as being the world’s greatest living actor.
He is perhaps best-known for his Shakespearean performances. He won multiple Oscars for directing and starring in 1948’s Hamlet. Before his turn in Hamlet, he was similarly nominated for his film version of Henry V. That said, for me, his best cinematic Shakespearean performance was as Richard III in the 1953 film of the same title.
Though acclaimed, Richard III was not quite the Oscar favorite that Olivier’s previous two adaptations of Shakespeare had been. Henry V was released at a time when its portrayal of a determined British ruler could be viewed as a metaphor for the UK’s role in the second world war. Hamlet was released at a time when the world was still rebuilding and trying to adjust to the new atomic age and its dark, noirish style captured those anxieties. Richard III was released in the 50s, at a time when Americans perhaps weren’t as receptive to films that suggested that leaders should not be trusted. As a result, Richard III received only one nomination, for Olivier’s performance in the title role.
Today, in honor of his birthday, here is a scene that I love from 1953’s Richard III:
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 is Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday. Today, we pay tribute to Doyle’s most popular and influential creation. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Sherlock Holmes Films
Sherlock Holmes (1922, dir by Albert Parker, DP: J. Roy Hunt)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939, dir by Sindey Lanfield, DP: Peverell Marley)
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970, dir by Billy Wilder, DP: Christopher Challis)
Sherlock Holmes (2009, dir by Guy Ritchie, DP: Philippe Rousselot)
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, Hunter searches for a pigeon.
Episode 1.6 “Flight of the Dead Pigeon”
(Dir by Michael Preece, originally aired on November 9th, 1984)
When a little girl (Marissa Mendenhall) shows up at the police station and asks for Hunter’s help in finding her stolen carrier pigeons, Hunter’s like, “Buzz off, kid!” However, when it turns out that the girl’s uncle was a degenerate gambler and that he was thrown off the roof of a building by the mob, Hunter and McCall get involved. It turns out that the Mexican cartels want to use the pigeons to carry drugs into America. Because the little girl is the only one who knows how to train the pigeons, they want to kidnap her as well….
Yeah, this was a pretty dumb episode. I don’t doubt that pigeons could be used to smuggle drugs but I do doubt that any successful criminal organization would go through all the trouble that they go to in this episode. There are far simpler ways to smuggle drugs. I’m also sure they could have found someone to train the pigeons without abducting a child. Hunter and McCall are able to rescue the girl and the episode ends with her smiling cheerfully as she’s sent into foster care.
“Hunter,” McCall asks, “have you ever wanted kids?”
“Nope,” Hunter replies.
“Me neither,” McCall says, not sounding particularly convincing.
What a sad ending! Seriously, if Hunter and McCall aren’t married by the end of this series, I will throw a fit. They’re totally meant for each other. Even in a kind of dumb episode like this one, their chemistry saves the day.
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958. The show can be viewed on Tubi!
This week, Casey is an accused man’s only advocate.
Episode 1.32 “Fiesta At Midnight”
(Dir by Michael Gordon, originally aired on May 19th, 1958)
Juan Ortega (Tomas Milian) comes to New York City from Puerto Rico and finds himself in jail, accused of robbery and assault. Ortega, who is still learning English, says that he was at a community dance when the crime happened and that there are two women who can provide him with an alibi. Unfortunately, one of them (Gloria Marlowe) is married and refuses to testify that she had been talking to another man. The other, a mysterious woman named Maria, cannot be found. Casey tries to help.
This was an okay episode. The episode calls out the NYPD for being too quick to assume that Ortega is guilty just because he speaks Spanish and he’s a newcomer to the neighborhood. That said, it bothered me that a translator was never provided for Ortega. Ortega was clearly not comfortable speaking English but he had to do so when talking to Casey because Casey didn’t know much Spanish. I get that this was probably all done to avoid having to ask the viewers to read subtitles but, in-universe, it felt strange. It was hard not to notice that, even in a precinct located in Spanish Harlem, there weren’t any Spanish cops.
This was an early role for Tomas Milian, who would go on to star in countless Spaghetti Westerns and who also played the corrupt general in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic. Though there’s little of the cunning or wit that distinguished Milian’s later performances, he still makes Juan Ortega into a sympathetic figure.
As for the episode’s ending, Maria (Miriam Colon) is revealed to be a nun and she testifies that Juan was with her when the crime occurred. Casey tells us that Juan got his miracle.
Yesterday, it was announced that George Eastman had passed away at the age of 83.
George Eastman was born Luigi Montefiori in Genoa, Italy. Montefiori began his career by appearing in Spaghetti westerns. The tall and often bearded Montefiori had the dangerous look that made him a natural for outlaw and henchmen roles. Like many Italian actors, he took an “Americanized” alias for his acting roles. He appeared in his share of American and British films (he appeared opposite Charlton Heston in Call of the Wild and played Goliath in King David) but his fans will always remember him best for the work that he did in his native Italy. Occasionally, he played a hero. He gave a particularly strong performance in — don’t laugh — Erotic Nights of the Living Dead. That said, Eastman will always be best remembered for his villians.
Klaus Wortmann is the one who will always give me nightmares. Eastman played Wortmann in Joe D’Amato’s infamous 1980 film, Antropophagus. Klaus Wortmann was a wealthy man who lived on a Greek island with his wife, daughter, and his sister. Unfortunately, when he and his family were shipwrecked, Klaus resorted to cannibalism to survive. As the movie begins, Klaus is back at his mansion and being sheltered by sister. He’s also become an obsessive cannibal. He’s surrendered his humanity. He can no longer speak and instead just growls. He attacks everyone that he sees and he does things to his victims that led to this film being banned in several countries. Also known as The Grim Reaper, Antropophagus is film that delights in showing people being ripped to pieces and George Eastman is right in the middle of it all.
And he’s absolutely terrifying.
In real life, George Eastman was a handsome man. That’s one of the things that made him such a fascinating villain in countless western and crime films. He was usually playing a total psycho but there was still something about him that made you want to get to know more about him. Klaus Wortmann, on the other hand, is a terrifying monster. Unwashed, bearded, hideously scarred, continually bathed in sweat, growling and howling as he chases his victims, Klaus is a nightmare come to life. Eastman throws himself into capturing every grimy detail of Wortmann’s twisted existence and he comes across as a creature who seems to have literally jumped out of the shadows of our greatest fears.
In many ways, Antropophagus is not a particularly good film. Not even the notoriously shameless Joe D’Amato appeared to think much of it. The story drags because there aren’t enough victims and therefore there’s a lot of travelogue padding, especially early on in the film. Along with Eastman, there are some recognizable people in the cast — Tisa Farrow, Zora Kerova, Serena Grandi (who would later co-star with Eastman in Delirium) — both most of them come across like they’d rather be anywhere but there. But when George Eastman is on-screen, the film become horrifying. No one — not the pregnant woman and her husband, not the innocent blind girl, not even the flakey card reader — is safe. By the end of the movie, Klaus is literally eating pieces of himself. It takes a talented actor to pull that off.
Through the Shattered Lens 