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The Bentonville Film Foundation celebrated the conclusion of their 10th anniversary year on Sunday with the announcement of their narrative, documentary, short film and episodic winners.

The annual fest amplifies female, non-binary, Lgbtqia+, Bipoc and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment. This year’s event ran from June 10 to 16 in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Suze from Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark won the festival’s best narrative feature award. In their statement, the jury — which included Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter — noted that the film “captivated us with its tender, funny and charming portrayal of a modern-day odd couple. We were blown away by Michaela Watkins and Charlie Gillespie, who turn in wonderfully heartfelt and delightful performances. This is a film that showcases the power of compassion and the beauty of unlikely friendships.”

In the same category, Tokyo Cowboy received an honorable mention and Boca Chica took home a special jury recognition.

The Bentonville Film Foundation, in collaboration with founding partner Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola, have announced the winners of their narrative, documentary, short film and episodic categories from this year’s competition program.

The festival, which ran from June 10-16 in Bentonville, Ark., aims to amplify female, non-binary, Lgbtqia+, Bipoc and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment.

“Suze” from Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark won the award for best narrative feature, and “Daughters,” directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, took home the prize for best documentary feature.

Additionally, The See It, Be It Award, was presented to Phoebe-Rae Taylor, star of “Out of My Mind.” This award, which has been presented every year since the beginning of the festival, is given to someone who has opened doors for people like them through their work and influenced the entertainment industry and pop culture through the creation of content that empowers stories that are otherwise underrepresented.

The Bentonville Film Festival, this year celebrating its tenth anniversary, has announced its award winners to close out its latest edition. In collaboration with its founding partner, Walmart, and presenting sponsor, Coca-Cola, the fest’s winners include films and episodic offerings in narrative, documentary, short film, and episodic categories. The annual festival is a globally recognized platform amplifying female, non-binary, Lgbtqia+, Bipoc, and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment.

The festival’s top two awards went to Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark’s “Suze” (Best Narrative Feature) and Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s “Daughters” (Best Documentary Award), with the festival’s See It, Be It Award going to Phoebe-Rae Taylor, the star of festival opener “Out of My Mind.” This award, which has been presented every year since the beginning of the festival is, per the festival, “given to someone who has opened doors for people like them through...

Charlie Cox has been cast alongside Zooey Deschanel in the rom-com 'Merv'.The 41-year-old actor has signed up to star in the film that is being directed by Jessica Swale for Amazon MGM Studios.The picture centres on an estranged couple who find out that the dog they share is depressed following their break-up and decide to have an awkward reconciliation when they take their pooch on a sunny holiday to Florida to lift his spirits.Other stars to have boarded the cast include Chris Redd, Patricia Heaton, David Hunt, Ellyn Jameson, Wynn Everett, Jasmine Matthews and Joey Slotnick.Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark have penned the screenplay with Matt Beer and Roma Downey producing the film.Charlie is known for portraying Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the TV series 'Daredevil' and other projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and explained that he feels a "responsibility" to set...

Zooey Deschanel has been cast in the rom-com 'Merv'.The 44-year-old star has signed up to feature in the film that is being directed by Jessica Swale for Amazon MGM Studios.The film centres on an estranged couple who find out that the dog they share is depressed following their break-up and decide to have an awkward reconciliation when they take their pooch on a sunny holiday to Florida to lift his spirits.Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark have penned the screenplay with Matt Beer and Roma Downey producing the picture.Zooey starred in the TV sitcom 'New Girl' as Jess Day between 2011 and 2018 but said last year that it was "too soon" for a reunion episode – even though she would love to spend more time with co-stars including Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield.She told Us Weekly magazine: "No, it's too soon. We need a little more time in between.

Exclusive: Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star in Merv, a romantic comedy that Jessica Swale will direct for Amazon MGM Studios.

Written by Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark, the film (Merv is a working title) watches as an estranged couple learns that the dog they share is suffering from depression following their break-up, awkwardly reconciling over the holidays when they take their dog on a sunny vacation to Florida to lift his spirits.

Producers of the pic are Matt Baer and Roma Downey.

Best known for starring in films like (500) Days of Summer, Yes Man, Almost Famous, and the holiday classic Elf, as well as Fox’s hit sitcom New Girl, Deschanel has most recently been seen starring opposite Casey Affleck in Roadside’s Emerson brothers drama Dreamin’ Wild from Love & Mercy helmer Bill Pohlad, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Other recent projects for the Emmy...

Exclusive: Two-time Canadian Olympic medallist Elvis Stojko is to guest star in CBC’s comedy One More Time.

We’ve got a first look at the popular figure skater, who will appear in the seventh episode of the Counterfeit Pictures series. The ep, titled ‘Lazer Blade,’ will air on Tuesday February 20 and also on streamer CBC Gem.

Stojko will play himself opposite star D.J. Demers (The Tonight Show) in the workplace comedy, in which hard-of-hearing second-hand sporting goods store manager Demers leads a team of ‘enthusiastic’ employees.

The figure skater won back-to-back Olympic silver medals at Lillehammer in 1994 and Nagano 1998 along with three world titles and seven national titles. He was inducted to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2011.

“Elvis Stojko is a Canadian icon and a huge part of my childhood — which is crazy because he doesn’t even...

Exclusive: A feature film about the escapades of little-known Canadian spy Winthrop Bell is in development.

Toronto-based Wildling Pictures has optioned ‘Cracking the Nazi Code’, a historical spy story from author and philosophy professor Jason Bell, and has attached Adam Yorke to develop it for the big screen.

Screenwriter Yorke is best known for Canadian thriller See For Me, which he co-wrote and co-produced. The film premiered at Tribeca in 2021 and was a major seller for Elle Driver. It was released in the U.S. by IFC Midnight, as we first revealed in August 2021.

‘Cracking the Nazi Code’ tells the story of Bell, a spy whose work is only just being recognized, almost six decades after his death. Known as the MI6 secret agent A12, he was among the first to understand the threat posed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

The book begins in...

Production is underway in Toronto on comedy series “One More Time,” from stand-up comedian D.J. Demers and showrunner Jessie Gabe (“Workin’ Moms”), and a cast has been revealed.

The 13 x 30′ series is a workplace comedy about D.J. (Demers), the hard-of-hearing manager of a second-hand sporting goods store, and the team of “enthusiastic” employees he leads. D.J.’s optimistic, community-oriented outlook on life is challenged at every turn, as he and his team struggle to keep the small independent shop alive.

Joining Demers in the cast are actor and comedian Geri Hall (“Astrid and Lilly Save the World”), Daniel Beirne (“Fargo”), Elise Bauman (“Workin’ Moms”), emerging actor Seran Sathiyaseelan and Dayton Sinkia (“Letterkenny”).

The cast also includes Nadine Bhabha (“Letterkenny”), Chris Robinson (“The Amazing Gayl Pile”), Maddy Foley (“The Boys”) and Marito Lopez (“Gary and His Demons”).

Demers’ one-hour specials include “[Indistinct Chatter]” “Interpreted” and “Born In ‘86” and he has appeared...

Douglas Booth, Alison Pill and Iris Apatow have joined an adaptation of the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe classic “The Sorrows of Young Werther.”

The film, simply titled “Young Werther,” is produced by Toronto-based film and TV outfit Wildling Pictures, which describes the project as a modern retelling of the book.

Booth (“That Dirty Black Bag”) and Pill (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) will take lead roles, with Apatow (“The Bubble”) also set to star along Patrick J. Adams (“Suits”). Production will begin this month in Toronto.

Drawing from Goethe’s passionate personal accounts, which were first published in letter form in 1774, “Young Werther” is the story of a charmingly irresponsible and enthusiastic young man named Werther (Booth) who finds himself at the mercy of Charlotte (Pill), whose allure and commitment to her impressive fiancé Albert turns Werther’s life upside down.

The project marks the feature directorial debut for José...

Ian Hunter has recruited a who’s who of influential rockers to back him on his upcoming album, Defiance Part 1. The featured artists include the late Jeff Beck, Ringo Starr, the late Taylor Hawkins, and members of Metallica, Guns n’ Roses, Zz Top, Wilco, Stone Temple Pilots, and Aerosmith, among many others.

“Bed of Roses,” the first single from the album — which is due April 21 — features Starr and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. A fantasy about seeing the greatest concert Hunter’s ever witnessed, the track features a...

Exclusive: levelFILM and Wildling Pictures today announced that Suze, the latest comedy from Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark, has begun principal photography in Hamilton, Ontario.

The film follows the emotional rollercoaster of single mother Suze after her only daughter leaves for university on the other side of the country. Suddenly feeling without purpose, Suze quickly finds herself taking care of her daughter’s heartbroken ex-boyfriend who she can’t stand.

The film stars Michaela Watkins, who also serves as an executive producer on the film and Charlie Gillespie (The Rest of Us) who plays the titular character’s daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

“This is a movie about rediscovery, loneliness, codependency, self-worth, and transitions,” said writer-directors Stewart and Clark.

levelFILM’s Dave Hudakoc and John Bain added: “Linsey and Dane have imbued this charming odd couple with authenticity and vulnerability. Michaela and Charlie are the perfect people to breathe life into these complicated characters.

Veteran actor and frequent scene stealer Bruce Davison joins Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite films.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Extra School (2017)

Gone With The Wind (1939)

Willard (1971) – Joe Dante’s review, Lee Broughton’s Blu-ray review

Fortune And Men’s Eyes (1971)

Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Longtime Companion (1989)

Last Summer (1969) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Short Eyes (1977)

The Manor (2021)

Ulzana’s Raid (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and All-Region Blu-ray review

King Solomon’s Mines (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

Them! (1954) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

Tarantula (1955) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Spartacus (1960) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Ben-Hur (1959) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,...

Robert Aldrich promised no-holds barred rough-tough dramas, and his first two Associates & Aldrich productions certainly hit hard. This play adaptation shows its director’s strength (no-flinching full shock impact) and weakness (theatrical overplaying) in full measure, but the unrestrained performances of Jack Palance and Eddie Albert are unforgettable. The main event can’t have pleased the Pentagon: shooting one’s own officer in combat. Plus, Lee Marvin and Richard Jaeckel get in early innings for their future work in Aldrichs’s The Dirty Dozen.

Attack

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1956 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date December 1, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Jon Shepodd, Peter van Eyck, Jimmy Goodwin, Steven Geray, Strother Martin.

Cinematography: Joseph Biroc

Film Editor: Michael Luciano

Original Music: Frank Devol

Written by James Poe from the play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks...

Never heard of Wake Island? Its fall terrified Americans at Christmas of 1941. The war’s just begun, we’re definitely not winning, and the assignment was to make a movie about a tragic defeat that might be the first of many tragic defeats for the U.S.A.. Paramount’s careful morale-builder doesn’t exaggerate or sentimentalize the brutal fall of a tiny atoll in the Pacific, and stands as an example of filmmaking reaching for hope in the face of disaster.

Wake Island

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1942 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 88 min. / Street Date August 18, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey, William Bendix, Albert Dekker, Walter Abel, Mikhail Rasumny, Rod Cameron, Bill Goodwin, Damian O’Flynn, Frank Albertson, Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Britton, Hillary Brooke, Dane Clark, Frank Faylen, Mary Field, Alan Hale Jr., Richard Loo, James Millican, Jack Mulhall, Keith Richards, Phillip Terry, Mary Thomas,...

Teacher story “Ms. Bixby’s Last Day” is in development as a feature film with Gunpowder & Sky and Walden Media.

Gunpowder & Sky announced Thursday that it has acquired the rights to the novel “Ms. Bixby’s Last Day,” written by John David Anderson. The adapted script has been penned by the writing team of Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark.

“I don’t have a sentimental bone in my body, yet we all remember teachers — who have had an impact on us. Ms. Bixby is an homage to those teachers who make our family, school and life feel okay,” said Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky. “Walden Media has a long tradition of producing great adaptations of children’s books such as ‘Wonder’ and ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,’ so we knew they were the perfect partner for this story.”

The story centers on a trio of students...

Gunpowder & Sky has acquired the rights to John David Anderson’s popular children’s novel Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. The studio will partner with Walden Media to adapt the book into the feature film with Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark writing the screenplay.

The story follows the heartwarming story of the last day of the titular Ms. Bixby, a one-of-a-kind teacher who makes students feel like school is somehow worthwhile. When she unexpectedly announces that she won’t be able to finish the school year due to illness, her students Topher, Brand, and Steve come up with a risky plan—more of a quest, really—to give Ms. Bixby a day she deserves.

“I don’t have a sentimental bone in my body, yet we all remember teachers – who have had an impact on us,” said Van Toffler, CEO, Gunpowder & Sky.

With a special focus on emerging Canadian Cinema NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (Nfmla) is presenting three programs of Canadian short films, co-hosted by the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles and Telefilm Canada.

The festival program is sponsored by Seneca College Toronto, City National Bank and Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles. Community Collaborators include the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), Ubcp / Actra and more.

The evening will be introduced by Canadian-born producer Erika Olde, whose work includes Home Again (starring Reese Witherspoon), November Criminals (starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Catherine Keener) , The Female Brain (directed by and starring Whitney Cummings) , and Woman Walks Ahead (starring Jessica Chastain and Sam Rockwell).

The films represent a mix of drama, comedy, thriller, horror, new media and documentary, and include alumni from Tiff 2017, award winners from top-tier festivals, and first time filmmakers alike.

The first program of the evening presents a mix of existentialism and comedy,...

Guilt, gloom, weird nightmares of death and persecution — and romance? The wondrous Gail Russell brings a spark of life into Frank Borzage’s weird expressionist masterpiece produced at the seldom-artistic Republic Studio. The bitter, despairing Dane Clark has just committed what a jury will likely call first degree murder, but the night can offer atonement and forgiveness, if he’ll just listen to Russell’s good advice.

Moonrise

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 921

1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 90 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 8, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Dane Clark, Gail Russell, Ethel Barrymore, Allyn Joslyn, Rex Ingram, Henry Morgan, Lloyd Bridges, Selena Royle.

Cinematography: John L. Russell

Film Editor: Harry Keller

Original Music: William Lava

From the book by Theodore Strauss

Written and Produced by Charles Haas

Directed by Frank Borzage

Frank Borzage’s 1948 Moonrise is a critic’s delight, especially among aficionados that like to point out the artistic margins of traditional Hollywood filmmaking.

Submarine movie evening: Underwater war waged in TCM's Memorial Day films In the U.S., Turner Classic Movies has gone all red, white, and blue this 2017 Memorial Day weekend, presenting a few dozen Hollywood movies set during some of the numerous wars in which the U.S. has been involved around the globe during the last century or so. On Memorial Day proper, TCM is offering a submarine movie evening. More on that further below. But first it's good to remember that although war has, to put it mildly, serious consequences for all involved, it can be particularly brutal on civilians – whether male or female; young or old; saintly or devilish; no matter the nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other label used in order to, figuratively or literally, split apart human beings. Just this past Sunday, the Pentagon chief announced that civilian deaths should be anticipated as “a...

'The Merry Widow' with Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald and Minna Gombell under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch. Ernst Lubitsch movies: 'The Merry Widow,' 'Ninotchka' (See previous post: “Ernst Lubitsch Best Films: Passé Subtle 'Touch' in Age of Sledgehammer Filmmaking.”) Initially a project for Ramon Novarro – who for quite some time aspired to become an opera singer and who had a pleasant singing voice – The Merry Widow ultimately starred Maurice Chevalier, the hammiest film performer this side of Bob Hope, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler – the list goes on and on. Generally speaking, “hammy” isn't my idea of effective film acting. For that reason, I usually find Chevalier a major handicap to his movies, especially during the early talkie era; he upsets their dramatic (or comedic) balance much like Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's The Departed or Jerry Lewis in anything (excepting Scorsese's The King of Comedy...

Michael Curtiz's wartime tale of Devil's Island convict Humphrey Bogart fighting to get back and defend France has a still-controversial scene of violence. The convoluted storyline nests enough flashbacks-within-flashbacks to confuse any viewer, and packs the screen with every actor on the Warner lot who can handle a foreign accent. With Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, and Michèle Morgan. Passage to Marseille Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 109 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Michèle Morgan, Philip Dorn, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Helmut Dantine, John Loder, Victor Francen, Vladimir Sokoloff, Eduardo Ciannelli. Cinematography James Wong Howe Art Direction Carl Julius Weyl Film Editor Owen Marks Original Music Max Steiner Written by Casey Robinson, Jock Moffitt from a novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall Produced by Jack L. Warner Directed by Michael Curtiz...

Raymond Massey ca. 1940. Raymond Massey movies: From Lincoln to Boris Karloff Though hardly remembered today, the Toronto-born Raymond Massey was a top supporting player – and sometime lead – in both British and American movies from the early '30s all the way to the early '60s. During that period, Massey was featured in nearly 50 films. Turner Classic Movies generally selects the same old MGM / Rko / Warner Bros. stars for its annual “Summer Under the Stars” series. For that reason, it's great to see someone like Raymond Massey – who was with Warners in the '40s – be the focus of a whole day: Sat., Aug. 8, '15. (See TCM's Raymond Massey movie schedule further below.) Admittedly, despite his prestige – his stage credits included the title role in the short-lived 1931 Broadway production of Hamlet – the quality of Massey's performances varied wildly. Sometimes he could be quite effective; most of the time, however, he was an unabashed scenery chewer,...

Cary Grant films on TCM: Gender-bending 'I Was a Male War Bride' (photo: Cary Grant not gay at all in 'I Was a Male War Bride') More Cary Grant films will be shown tonight, as Turner Classic Movies continues with its Star of the Month presentations. On TCM right now is the World War II action-drama Destination Tokyo (1943), in which Grant finds himself aboard a U.S. submarine, alongside John Garfield, Dane Clark, Robert Hutton, and Tom Tully, among others. The directorial debut of screenwriter Delmer Daves (The Petrified Forest, Love Affair) -- who, in the following decade, would direct a series of classy Westerns, e.g., 3:10 to Yuma, The Hanging Tree -- Destination Tokyo is pure flag-waving propaganda, plodding its way through the dangerous waters of Hollywood war-movie stereotypes and speechifying banalities. The film's key point of interest, in fact, is Grant himself -- not because he's any good,...

Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.

‘Whiplash’: Sundance Film Festival Awards’ rare double winner (photo: Miles Teller in ‘Whiplash’) Directed by Damien Chazelle — and acquired for domestic distribution by Sony Pictures Classics — Whiplash won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. The story of a young, ambitious 19-year-old drummer (played by 26-year-old Miles Teller) under the tutelage of a ruthless teacher (J.K. Simmons), Whiplash also features Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Chris Mulkey, and Damon Gupton. Whiplash‘s double Sundance Film Festival win is quite rare. Previous such instances in Sundance’s three-decade history include Tony Bui’s Three Seasons in 1999, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s Quinceañera in 2006, Lee Daniels’ Precious in 2009, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station last year. Of these, Precious is — somewhat surprisingly — the only Sundance double winner to have succeeded both at the domestic box office and during awards season,...

Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...

Eleanor Parker Now on TCM Palms Springs area resident Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 next June 26, is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June. One of the best actresses of Hollywood’s studio era, Parker isn’t nearly as well-remembered today as she should be despite three Best Actress Academy Award nominations (Caged, 1950; Detective Story, 1951; Interrupted Melody, 1955), a number of box-office and/or critical hits, and a key role in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time (The Sound of Music). Hopefully, the 34 Eleanor Parker movies TCM will be showing each Monday this month — beginning tonight — will help to introduce the actress to a broader 21st-century audience. Eleanor Parker movies "When I am spotted somewhere it means that my characterizations haven’t covered up Eleanor Parker the person. I prefer it the other way around," Parker once said. In fact, the title of Doug McClelland’s 1989 Eleanor Parker bio,...

Backfire

Directed by Vincent Sherman

Written by Larry Marcus, Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff

U.S.A., 1950

Reviewing movies with the benefit of hindsight offers ample opportunity to discover, analyze and extrapolate the several issues of the day their stories were concerned with. It puts such films into historical context, awarding them a sense of worth perhaps movie goers at the time overlooked. Film Noir is frequently cited as being specific in relating to the American post-Second World War experience, a time during which the innocence of a large and powerful country was shaken, the disillusionment created by mankind’s unhinged ferocious nature exposed during combat having deeply affected returning veterans. People fell on hard times, forced to strive to earn a living all the while reckoning with the truth of human nature. Backfire, from director Vincent Sherman, exposes the down and dirty side of people’s desperation through the...

(back row) Carol Cleveland, Caroline Munro, (front) Martine Beswick, Madeline Smith, Caron Gardner, Vera Day, Renee Glynn.

Leicester, 13th - 14th July 2012

By Adrian Smith

An impressive array of stars and an eclectic lineup of Hammer films at the Phoenix Square cinema in Leicester marked the launch of a brand new innovative collaboration between Hammer and the De Montfort University. Their Cinema and Television History (Cath) Research Centre have become custodians of the Hammer script archive, meaning they will curate and catalogue the collection and make them available for research purposes. They have also received a collection of Jimmy Sangster items donated by his widow Mary Peach, including written materials and photographs covering not only his time with Hammer but as a successful independent writer and director.

In order to celebrate this new relationship the university hosted a two day Hammer festival attended by fans and academics keen to explore...

Joan Rivers had a Whitney Houston joke loaded in the comedy cannon for her E! series "Fashion Police," but she told Andy Cohen they did pull it on "Watch What Happens: Live" (Weeknights, 11 p.m. Est on Bravo).

"Once somebody's dead [we pull it]," she said, "That's why I won't do a Betty White joke, because I'm so scared." So maybe the hint is to find out who Rivers isn't making jokes about to get an idea of who she thinks may pass away soon.

Kate Moss is apparently healthy enough that Joan Rivers had no problem sharing an embarrassing story about her. Or maybe it wouldn't be embarrassing for Ms. Moss. "I was in a restaurant with two gay friends," Rivers said. "Allegedly she, as a friendly gesture, grabbed my friend's penis and just held onto it."

Later, when playing Cohen's "Plead the Fifth" question game, Rivers was asked which comedian has never made her laugh.

Joan Rivers had a Whitney Houston joke loaded in the comedy cannon for her E! series "Fashion Police," but she told Andy Cohen they did pull it on "Watch What Happens: Live" (Weeknights, 11 p.m. Est on Bravo).

"Once somebody's dead [we pull it]," she said, "That's why I won't do a Betty White joke, because I'm so scared." So maybe the hint is to find out who Rivers isn't making jokes about to get an idea of who she thinks may pass away soon.

Kate Moss is apparently healthy enough that Joan Rivers had no problem sharing an embarrassing story about her. Or maybe it wouldn't be embarrassing for Ms. Moss. "I was in a restaurant with two gay friends," Rivers said. "Allegedly she, as a friendly gesture, grabbed my friend's penis and just held onto it."

Later, when playing Cohen's "Plead the Fifth" question game, Rivers was asked which comedian has never made her laugh.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #57): “The Prime Mover” (airdate 3/24/61) The Plot: A gambling addict finds out his best friend his telekinetic powers, which, as it turns out, could be incredibly useful while gambling. The Goods: Somehow, the abomination that was yesterday’s entry (Static) was also written by the same writer as today’s playful episode. Charles Beaumont churns out a winner here that’s smart even while it’s plot stays obvious. Ace Larsen (Dane Clark) is kind of a jerk. He runs a diner, but he’s so obsessed with gambling that he can hardly keep his quarters out of the one-armed bandit he keeps near the door. When he’s not losing spare change, he...

Ben Johnson on TCM: War Drums, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am 3 Godfathers (1948) Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization. Dir: John Ford. Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr. C-106 mins. 8:00 Am Fort Defiance (1951) A Civil War veteran returns to his hometown to avenge his brother's death. Dir: John Rawlins. Cast: Dane Clark, Ben Johnson, Peter Graves. C-82 mins. 9:30 Am Wild Stallion (1952) A horse hunter pursues a white colt that ran off when his parents were killed. Dir: Lewis D. Collins. Cast: Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Martha Hyer. C-70 mins. 11:00 Am War Drums (1957) A white trader and an Apache chief fall for the same woman. Dir: Reginald LeBorg. Cast: Lex Barker, Joan Taylor, Ben Johnson. C-75 mins. 12:30 Pm Cheyenne Autumn (1964) A reluctant calvary Captain must...

John Garfield on TCM: Humoresque, Four Daughters, We Were Strangers Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Four Daughters (1938) A small-town family's peaceful life is shattered when one daughter falls for a rebellious musician. Dir: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Priscilla Lane, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, John Garfield. Bw-90 mins. 7:45 Am Blackwell's Island (1939) A reporter gets himself sent to prison to expose a mobster. Dir: William McGann. Cast: John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell. Bw-71 mins. 9:00 Am They Made Me A Criminal (1939) A young boxer flees to farming country when he thinks he's killed an opponent in the ring. Dir: Busby Berkeley. Cast: John Garfield, Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson. Bw-92 mins. 10:45 Am Dangerously They Live (1942) A doctor tries to rescue a young innocent from Nazi agents. Dir: Robert Florey. Cast: John Garfield, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey. Bw-77 mins. 12:15 Pm Pride Of The Marines (1945) A blinded...

Given the success of Warner’s Archive program, we’re thrilled to see other studios scouring their vaults for content aimed at the discerning cinephile. Here’s a release showcasing the latest coming from MGM via Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Los Angeles (April 14, 2011) – Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing even more classics to DVD in April through its unique “manufacturing on demand” (“Mod”). The newest group of films will be part of the MGM Limited Edition Collection and available through online retailers. The vast catalog ranges from 1980’s Defiance to 1965’s four-time Academy Award® nominated A Thousand Clowns.

Enjoy your favorite movies from across the decades including:

1950′s

● Davey Crockett, Scout (1950): A U.S. military scout is assigned to stop Indian attacks on a defenseless group of wagon trains making their way West. Stars George Montgomery, Ellen Drew, Noah Beery Jr. Directed by Lew Landers.

● Cloudburst...

Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 5, has dusted off eight films of the celebrated genre and adapted them to DVD format. Collections like these, which bring older films to newer light, are godsends regardless (to a degree) of which films are selected, because as timeless as some of these stories and performances might be, the barrier of being stuck in an old format can bury them forever. And these stories deserve to be told. If you watch a few well made noir thrillers you will no doubt see the seeds that were planted in the heads of crime-thriller filmmakers the likes of Martin Scorsese or Michael Mann. Though there are better films in the noir genre that this collection could have culminated, there are also a lot worse. Any fan of noir films or old mysteries and thrillers will be pleased at what this box set has to offer.

Desperate (1947)

Directed...

Clifton Collins Jr. is currently waiting for the release of his movie "The Perfect Game" on April 16. In an exclusive interview with AceShowbiz, he has discussed his role as baseball coach in the sport drama, his possibility of returning to an untitled Star Trek sequel as well as his current project, TV series "Southland". Additionally, he also shared his future goal to direct film features.

Asb: "The Perfect Game" is based on an inspirational true story. Did you feel any burden playing in this kind of film?

Clifton: Yes, whenever I have a true to life character to portray, I generally do as much research as possible on him or her (you'd be surprised at what can be done with make up !) ;) Also, in this case I'd call it more of an honor than a burden, I hope Ceasar [his character] is happy with what I did!

Asb: In the movie, your...

American actor and star of television's Mission: Impossible who made fun of his image in Airplane!

Despite his long career as a serious actor in dozens of films and television shows, Peter Graves, who has died aged 83, might be most remembered for a role that lampooned his square-jawed, stolid screen persona. As the captain of a plane heading for disaster in the spoof movie Airplane! (1980), Graves got laughs by playing it as straight as his other roles. (Although his roles in a number of trashy, low-budget science fiction movies in the 1950s had produced unintentional laughs.)

Audiences around the world were also familiar with Graves as the tall, gruff, deep-voiced, silver-haired Jim Phelps, head of the Imf (Impossible Missions Force), an elite American espionage group, in the TV series Mission: Impossible (1967-73). He won a Golden Globe in the role in 1971.

The show famously opened with the words: "Your mission,...