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Phil Karlson’s 99 River Street is, along with Kansas City Confidential, an exemplar of the director’s brutal, cynical, economical approach to noir. We first meet boxer Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) in the middle of a heavyweight title fight, in which his potential victory is hijacked by a knockdown that leaves him bleeding from a huge cut above his eye. Only then is it slyly revealed that the fight is a replay on TV, which Driscoll has been poring over, as if trying to grasp the opportunity that escaped him four years earlier, while his bitter, disapproving wife, Pauline (Peggy Castle), snaps at him to finish his dinner.

It’s clear that Ernie hasn’t recovered from that career-ending knockout, but he still figures on getting himself a gas station one day, or maybe he’ll knock Pauline up, using a box of chocolates as bait—advice from his former...

Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98.

Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.

The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).

He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.

Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.

This Mickey Spillane noir tale has its good points: star Anthony Quinn gives a solid ‘tough guy’ performance, sizing up a quartet of thrill-crazy Spillane dames that promise no end of trouble. The surprisingly clever script dares to exploit the gimmicks of both amnesia and plastic surgery — without insulting our intelligence. Peggie Castle is our new favorite in the glamour sweepstakes, and Gene Evans, Charles Coburn, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Barry Kelley, Jay Adler and Bruno VeSota co-star. And remember: ‘Evil to Him who Evil Thinks.’

The Long Wait 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1954 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date March 21, 2023 / Available from ClassicFlix / 39.99

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans, Peggie Castle, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Dolores Donlon, Barry Kelley, James Millican, Bruno VeSota, Jay Adler, John Damler, Frank Marlowe, Paul Dubov.

Cinematography: Franz Planer

Art Director: Boris Leven

Film Editor: Ronald Sinclair

Editorial Supervisor Otto Ludwig...

Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer hit the big screen early in the 3-D craze, in a much tamed-down adaptation. The camera legend John Alton handled the lighting and likely called the shots on the camera setups as well. As a detective noir it’s definitely flat-footed, with a bum script, weak direction and a miscast Biff Elliot as the vengeful tough-guy hero. But compensating are the seductive Dran Hamilton, Margaret Sheridan and especially Peggie Castle — the key ‘dame’ in the pulp fiction finale. The United Artists release has been mostly Mia for decades,and this release presents it three ways: flat in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, plus a beautiful restored 3-D Blu-ray encoding.

I, the Jury

4K Ultra HD + 3-D Blu-ray + Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Special Limited Edition / Street Date November 8, 2022 / Available from ClassicFlix / 34.99

Starring: Biff Elliot, Preston Foster, Peggie Castle, Margaret Sheridan, Alan Reed,...

Josh Olson and Joe Dante answer fan questions and comments.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy (1955) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

Monster A-Go-Go (1965)

Infested (2002)

Straw Dogs (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Joe Dante’s review

Straw Dogs (2011)

Mississippi Burning (1988)

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947) – Axelle Carolyn’s trailer commentary

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Bad Boy Bubby (1993) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Mummy (1932) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Mummy (1999)

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Slappy And The Stinkers (1998)

Casper (1995)

Invisible Man (2020)

The Invisible Man (1933) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

Robot Monster (1953) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

The Stewardesses (1969)

The Hole (2012) – Joe Dante’s US, Italian, British trailer commentaries, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Love (2015)

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

McCabe And Mrs.

Hey, Ib Melchoir’s Opus Mars-us is back, in a not-bad new scan and color-grading job. If the nostalgia bug has bitten you deep enough to appreciate a fairly maladroit but frequently arresting space exploration melodrama, this may be the disc for you. Let’s be honest: Nobody can resist the allure of the fabulous Bat-Rat-Spider-Crab, and in glorious Cinemagic, no less.

The Angry Red Planet

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1960 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / 17.28

Starring: Gerald Mohr, Nora Hayden, Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen.

Cinematography: Stanley Cortez

Film Editor: Ivan J. Hoffman

Original Music: Paul Dunlap

Written by Ib Melchior from a story by Sid Pink

Produced by Norman Maurer & Sid Pink

Directed by Ib Melchior

Unjust though it may be, not all Savant reviews make the national news feed, but my old 2001 coverage of the pretty miserable MGM DVD of The Angry Red Planet got quoted all over the place,...

Do you like your noir heroes bitter and bruised, and your noir dames daring and resourceful? Phil Karlson's gem of a thriller pits two-fisted John Payne against murderous hood Brad Dexter, with Peggie Castle the unfaithful, unlucky wife who decides to run off with the wrong guy. And star Evelyn Keys is a pulp noir adventuress to admire, with a roving eye of her own. 99 River Street Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date June 21, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Peggie Castle, Jay Adler, Jack Lambert, Glenn Langan. Cinematography Franz Planer Film Editor Buddy Small Original Music Arthur Lange, Emil Newman Written by Robert Smith, George Zuckerman Produced by Edward Small Directed by Phil Karlson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

99 River Street is a top noir title in all respects -- a great cast, a literally hard-hitting...

Wow. "Nashville" wasn't lying when it teased that someone would die in Wednesday (Dec. 11) night's episode, "Tomorrow Never Comes."

Spoilers below.

Did you guess they would kill both Crazy Peggy and Will? We were only prepared for one death, but now two lives hang in the balance. And while Crazy Peggy getting shot was super soap opera-y, Will's apparent suicide is like a punch to the gut. Here was a bright, young, talented man with his entire future as a country superstar ahead of him, and he walked in front of a train because he was in so much pain from being closeted. He couldn't deal with being gay in the country music business, even after he finally gave in to his feelings and slept with Brent. He should have been happy at connecting with the guy he'd been longing for, but instead he took his own life.

Did Will actually go through with it?...

Randolph Scott Westerns, comedies, war dramas: TCM schedule on August 19, 2013 See previous post: “Cary Grant and Randolph Scott Marriages — And ‘Expect the Biographical Worst.’” 3:00 Am Badman’S Territory (1946). Director: Tim Whelan. Cast: Randolph Scott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Ann Richards. Bw-98 mins. 4:45 Am Trail Street (1947). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Bw-84 mins. 6:15 Am Return Of The Badmen (1948). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene aka Richard Powers, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey, Gary Gray, Walter Baldwin, Minna Gombell, Warren Jackson, Robert Clarke, Jason Robards Sr., Ernie Adams, Lane Chandler, Dan Foster, John Hamilton, Kenneth MacDonald, Donald Kerr, Ida Moore, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Harry Shannon, Charles Stevens. Bw-90 mins. 8:00 Am Riding Shotgun (1954). Director: André De Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris,...

Randolph Scott movies: From Westerns to Cary Grant / Irene Dunne comedy Handsome, granite-faced Randolph Scott is Turner Classic Movies’ next great choice in its "Summer Under the Stars" film series. Monday, August 19, 2013, is Randolph Scott Day, which begins and ends with Westerns. That shouldn’t be surprising, for although Scott was initially cast in a variety of roles and movie genres (including Westerns), he became exclusively a Western star in the late ’40s, sticking to that genre until his retirement in 1962 following the release of Sam Peckinpah’s elegiac Ride the High Country, which TCM will be showing on Monday evening. Joel McCrea at his very best and Mariette Hartley co-star. (See “On TCM: Randolph Scott Westerns.”) (Photo: Randolph Scott ca. 1945.) Many of Scott’s Westerns were routine fare, including Badman’s Territory (1946), which kicks off Randolph Scott Day. Some, however, have become classics of the genre, especially his late...

Bette Davis movies: TCM schedule on August 14 (photo: Bette Davis in ‘Dangerous,’ with Franchot Tone) See previous post: “Bette Davis Eyes: They’re Watching You Tonight.” 3:00 Am Parachute Jumper (1933). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Harold Huber, Leo Carrillo, Thomas E. Jackson, Lyle Talbot, Leon Ames, Stanley Blystone, Reginald Barlow, George Chandler, Walter Brennan, Pat O’Malley, Paul Panzer, Nat Pendleton, Dewey Robinson, Tom Wilson, Sheila Terry. Bw-72 mins. 4:30 Am The Girl From 10th Avenue (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Phillip Reed, Katharine Alexander, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bill Elliott, Edward McWade, André Cheron, Wedgwood Nowell, John Quillan, Mary Treen. Bw-69 mins. 6:00 Am Dangerous (1935). Director: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran, Walter Walker, Richard Carle, George Irving, Pierre Watkin, Douglas Wood,...

Destroy the Brain is proud to have Max Allan Collins write up a guest post to explain the character of Mike Hammer and the screen adaptations of this character. We want to thank Tom Green from Titan Books for giving us this great opportunity.

The publication of Lady, Go Die! has elicited Hollywood inquiries as to the possibility of a new Mike Hammer movie. Accompanying this interest comes the usual question, “Who do you think should play Mike Hammer?” Since Mickey Spillane always said that Mike Hammer is a state of mind, my suggestions range from Josh Brolin to Denzel Washington, from Ben Affleck to Jason Statham. I am always open to imaginative casting. Tom Hanks made a great Michael Sullivan in Road to Perdition, after all.

Mickey always complained about the Hollywood movies from his Hammer novels, although he had complimentary things to say about the two TV Hammers,...