Classic Movie Reviews

The “Garden Of Evil” presents a fairly straight-forward and borderline run-of-the-mill story, set to an outstanding soundtrack and spectacular visuals. Gary Cooper puts in his usual excellent portrayal of a western gun man, Hugh Marlow gives a convincing performance as a desperate prospector, Richard Widmark plays the cranky suspicious card shark, Cameron Mitchell portrays a man with a sorted past...

“The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and stars Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison in the lead roles with Edna Best, George Sanders, Vanessa Brown and Natalie Wood providing excellent supporting characters. Charles Lang, the cinematographer deserves a special mention as well. And of course the moving music by Bernard Hermann. This is a wonderful movie about loss and love, life a...

Described as a “psychic thriller” on some of the movie posters, “Don’t Look Now” is certainly weird, and whether or not you think there’s anything “psychic” going on, well, that’s part of the fun and mystery of watching the movie. Bob and I really enjoyed this one. And since the ending is so integral to the overall impact of the movie, we hold off on giving away any specifics about the final scene...

We’re back revisiting feudal Japan, on the road with Zatoichi, the blind swordsman/masseur/gambler/savior of the downtrodden. This time we find Zatoichi saving the life of a young artist, while protecting his son, and in the end going up against a samurai of equal prowess to his own. It’s full of adventure, beautiful scenery, excellent set design, and even a musical number. And do we think the end...

“Rififi” loosely defined as  “a rumble among men” or “trouble/violent conflict/show of force” is a 1955 French movie directed by Jules Dassin after he was black listed in Hollywood. The film is based on a portion of a novel by Auguste Le Brenton. Starring Jean Servais as the lead character “Tony” and the other members of the heist crew, Carl Möhner as “Jo”, Robert Manuel as “Mario” and the directo...

“Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare” was released in 1968 as the first of a trilogy of films starring famous Japanese Yokai. Yokai are supernatural beings from Japanese folklore. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia page on Yokai. There are literally thousands of different Yokai. This film features many of the most popular ones. In addition, the film is extremely well shot and includes many music themes that...

COMMENTARY NOTE: This is the "B" version of the podcast. If you want to listen to our commentary while watching the film yourself, be sure to listen to this episode. The main pocast post is for the "A" version which contains the film audio in the background. Enjoy! This is a special episode as it’s our first movie commentary and Hailey joins the podcast to talk about it with Matt. It’s a father an...

It’s a double sci-fi feature! “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” wraps up our series of films directed by Robert Wise. A movie that was mired in delays and controversy from the very beginning, we feel that Robert Wise’s signature touches are missing from the film and we both want to get our hands on the Director’s Cut to see what this film may have been intended to be in the director’s original visio...

“West Side Story” tells the tale of two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets on the west side of New York City during early 1960’s, or perhaps late 1950s. This is a film that on the surface appears to be a musical based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. And then you watch it, and it unfolds in such a way, that by the end you’re left feeling like you’ve been hit in the gut and you’re reeling with t...

The IMDB summaries for some movies are funny. Here’s a one liner for “Run Silent Run Deep”: A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew. Yeah, that about sums it up, except that there are about three more layers of drama going on. There’s the Moby Dick aspect of Commander “Rich” Richardson’s obsession with the Japanese commander...

One of our favorite movies, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” tells a cautionary tale in a time of the Cold War and rapidly advancing technology.  Expertly directed by Robert Wise and starring the perfectly cast Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlow, Sam Jaffe and Billy Gray, this is a film with multiple layers of meaning and nuance. It’s a straight-forward sci-fi tale with a flying saucer, a s...

Billed as a sequel to the widely popular “Cat People” movie, it’s more of a spiritual successor to that film. In many ways a masterpiece in its own right, “The Curse Of The Cat People” beautifully tells the tale of life from being a young person, dealing with all the loneliness and uncertainty of that age to middle age, struggling with making the right decisions for you and your family, to old age...

Holy smokes, our review really is longer than the film. There’s not much else to say that we didn’t say in the podcast. Be sure to stay tuned until the very end for the story of the 16 suits. Enjoy!

We’re finally reviewing North By Northwest, one of the greatest films ever made and many say Hitchcock’s greatest film. There’s so much to say and so much has already been said about this movie. Maybe we’re not breaking any new territory here with this review but we sure have fun talking about it. There’s the action, the drama, the subtle and not so subtle comedy, the romance, the suspense, not to...

Two federal agents, one from Mexico and one from the United States team up to break up an illegal human trafficking operation along the US/Mexico border. Released in 1949 and directed by Anthony Mann and starring the incomparable Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy, this taught crime drama is sometimes mistakenly categorized as noir, though it lacks the essential noir elements, such as a femme fat...

Directed by Andrew Stone and starring an array of top talent including, Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Callaway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, The Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown, Dooley Wilson, and so many more, it’s an incredible film from a music and dance perspective and a troubling film from the perspective of accurate portrayals of the characters in the film, not to mention almost zero charact...

Happy Holidays from Holiday Inn! We’re open 15 days a year for all the major holidays. Come on up to Connecticut for a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city. At least that’s what Bing Crosby’s character Jim Hardy hopes you’ll do in this enjoyable, if flawed film, also starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Able and Louise Beavers and directed by Mar...

Highly rated and much beloved, “Bringing Up Baby” stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and is directed by one of our favorites, Howard Hawks. The movie requires a certain approach or mindset to really enjoy the zany antics. Prepare yourself for a movie full of overlapping dialog, bizarre situations, unrealistic setups and truly memorable characters. And if you’ve never seen it and like me though...

The IMDB summary for this movie reads "A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way he is nearly burnt at the stake by Indians and almost killed by outlaws." Oh IMDB, you miss all the nuances in the movie. Directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford, this is a movie that hits all the best notes. It has everything...

"The Sugarland Express" is Steven Spielberg’s feature film debut, starring Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Richard Atherton and Michael Sacks. It is based on a true story, though the details and some of the major events have been changed. In some ways we wish they’d been changed even more than they were in the film. It’s an incredibly strong debut film and it’s also uneven in places. Bob and I talk thro...

Ralph Nelson directed and also played a supporting role in this adaptation of "Lillies of the Field" a novel by William E. Barrett. The movie stars the incomparable Sydney Poitier who won the Academy Award for his role in the movie. Lilia Skala, Stanley Adams and a ensemble of excellent actors round out the cast. A simple story belies a complex character study. There are many wonderful small momen...

Written by John Huston and Richard Brooks and directed by John Huston and filmed almost entirely on the backlot of Warner Bros. studios, Key Largo is a intricate character study of people under pressure. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor and many more excellent actors. We should also count the storm as a character. It plays a big role in se...

It's a sci-fi double feature, just like watching movies at the drive-in as a kid. Or at least when Bob and I were kids. I don't even know if there are any drive-in theaters anymore. This is a special episode, not just because of the double feature, we also have a special guest! Hailey returns and all three of us are in the same room at the same time recording our thoughts on these two amazing film...

Essentially a buddy movie, maybe one of the first of this genre, three fellow soldiers and best friends played by Cary Grant, Victor McLagen and Douglas Fairbanks have a series of adventures in northern India (aka Lone Pine, California). There’s a darker undertone to the film that rears itself in a few scenes covering the occupation of India by the British. Filmed on location with a huge crew of o...

We talk about Lone Pine, California and Bob's week long trip to visit the area in March 2018.