Well, this year there was slim pickings far as Super Bowl ads go, with the exception of some of the new film trailers (can’t wait for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR ). The one ad that did stand out for me had a decidedly New England flavor, featuring Steven Tyler of Boston’s own Aerosmith travelling back in time in – no, not a Delorean, but a Kia!:
Dream On indeed, Steven!
Well, I sure didn’t think I’d be writing this post a few short hours ago. My home team New England Patriots put up a valiant effort, but as they say, you can’t win ’em all. I’m sure Brady and the bunch will be back next year for another quest at Ring #6, but for now it’s congrats, Philly. What more can I say, except… how many more days til spring training? LET’S GO RED SOX!!
Tonight’s the night, when football fans will be glued to their sets watching The New England Patriots against The Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII while chowing down on tons of party food! In honor of America’s Biggest Game, I present to you a glutinous gallery of football-themed movie posters and lobby cards for your perusal (all films are pre-1980, classic movie lovers!):
You know what’s coming next… LET’S GO PATRIOTS!
Tomorrow’s the big night, as my New England Patriots go up against the tough defense of the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Tom Brady and company will be going for Ring #6, and everyone here in Southern New England is super excited, looking forward to another victory celebration! I’ll be attending a huge party with plenty of food, big screen TV’s, raffles, squares, and like-minded fans, but before the festivities begin, let’s take a look at TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY, a football-themed film starring none other than Big John Wayne !
St. Anthony’s College is a struggling Catholic university run by sweet old Father Burke, who’s getting to be as decrepit as the school itself. The powers-that-be want to close his beloved St. Anthony’s, seeing how the school’s $170,000 in debt, but old Father Burke comes up with an idea. Citing Deuteronomy 32:15 (“The beloved grew fat and kicked”)…
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I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a whole hell of a lot about Japanese manga. But I do know a little something about movies, and 1973’s LADY SNOWBLOOD was a revelation for me, a game changer that has me yearning for more! As I sat watching, enthralled by the imagery, I couldn’t help but feel I’d seen LADY SNOWBLOOD before, and I had: Quentin Tarantino “borrowed” (some would say stole!) much of the plotline for his KILL BILL films, with some scenes practically lifted verbatim!
Much as I loved KILL BILL VOLS. 1 and 2, I found LADY SNOWBLOOD to be even more entertaining. It’s non-linear plot is structured into chapters (sound familiar, Tarantino buffs?), and the dazzling camerawork and bold, vivid color schemes kept me glued to the screen. A prisoner named Sayo gives birth to a child on a cold winter’s night. The child, Yuki…
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Columbia Pictures cranked out 52 films in the year 1945, mostly ‘B’ movies with titles like LET’S GO STEADY, I LOVE A MYSTERY, EVE KNEW HER APPLES, ROCKIN’ IN THE ROCKIES, TEN CENTS A DANCE, and THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, along with their continuing series featuring Blondie, Boston Blackie, The Crime Doctor, The Durango Kid, and The Whistler. They were programmers, budget jobs, designed to fill a double bill and a theater’s seats, bread-and-butter movies with no pretenses to reach any artistic heights.
MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS was one of those programmers, a quickie cashing in on the success of the previous year’s hit GASLIGHT. Whereas MGM’S psychological thriller boasted stars Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer directed by George Cukor, Columbia headlined their contract players Nina Foch and George Macready , good, competent actors but hardly box office draws. And in place of Cukor, Joseph H. Lewis sat in…
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American-International Pictures takes the “Beach Party ” concept to the slopes in 1965’s SKI PARTY, an endearingly goofy ball of fluff headlining Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley , and a pre-‘Batgirl’ Yvonne Craig . It sells itself with a sly wink to the audience that says, “We know the whole thing’s absurd, and we don’t care”! Besides the off-the-wall comedy, the film features above average musical interludes by guests Lesley Gore and the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown.
Frankie and Dwayne play a pair of slightly overage college students (Avalon was 25, Hickman 31!) trying to woo Deborah and Yvonne. The two knuckleheads can’t figure out why they can’t get to first base, while college Romeo Aron Kincaid scores with every babe on campus. When the whole gang (including Beach movie regulars Luree Holmes, Michael Nader, Salli Sachsee , and surfing champ Mickey Dora) go on a…
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For fifteen years, whenever Hollywood producers needed a drunk, they called Jack Norton. The perpetually inebriated man with the funny moustache made a career out of playing drunken barflies, mostly in uncredited bit parts. Everyone knew they were in for a good laugh when Jack, the ultimate Familiar Face, staggered onscreen. In real life, Jack Norton was a teatottler who never touched the stuff, and learned to “play drunk” by following tipsy people around and copying their mannerisms. Now that’s dedication to your craft!
Jack in 1934’s “A Duke for a Day”
Jack Norton was born in Brooklyn in 1882, and began his show biz career in vaudeville. He soon moved to Broadway, starring in Earl Carroll’s Vanities. Coming to Hollywood in 1934, Jack played his first lush in FINISHING SCHOOL, an early effort for Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers. After that, his specialty would be in constant demand, though…
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Bing Crosby and Bob Hope travel the ROAD TO MOROCCO, the third in the “Road” series and by far the funniest. The plot involves two shipwrecked Americans who wind up in an absurd Arabian Nights style adventure complete with beautiful princess Dorothy Lamour and murderous desert sheik Anthony Quinn , but you can throw all that out the window as Bing and Bob trade quips, sing, and break down the Fourth Wall to let the audience know it’s all in good fun, so sit back and enjoy the zany ride.
Bob and Bing were already established superstars when Paramount teamed them for ROAD TO SINGAPORE (1940), which was a huge box office hit and followed quickly by ROAD TO ZANZIBAR (1941). By the time they made MOROCCO, the pair had their act down pat, with Der Bingle the smooth-talking crooner who always gets the girl, and Ol’ Ski-Nose the cowardly…
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Hail, hail Klopstokia! MILLION DOLLAR LEGS is total movie anarchy, a throwback to the halcyon days of Mack Sennett. It’s a comedy cornucopia filled with sight gags and verbal nonsense, led by legendary W.C. Fields as president of the mythical country of Klopstokia, about to default on its loans until itinerant brush salesman Jack Oakie comes up with a plan to enter the hale and hearty Klopstokians in the 1932 Olympics and win the huge cash prize being put up by his employer!
Klopstokia is noted for “Goats & Nuts”, their chief exports, imports, and inhabitants! All political disputes are settled by arm wrestling, and President Fields is the strongest of all, though he’s constantly being challenged by his Secretary of the Treasury Hugh Herbert. Presidential daughter Angela (Susan Fleming, future wife of Harpo Marx) and brush salesman Migg Tweeny (Oakie) “meet cute” and immediately fall in love. When asking…
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Through the Shattered Lens 