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Let me confess I am a huge fan of Abba. Not that the sweet Swedish have anything directly to do with James Griffith’s euphonious The Ballad Of Wallis Island. But there is a wonderful sequence where the once-famous folk singer is introduced to the local grocer as a leading folksinger. The lady smiles back and says, “I only listen to Abba.”

The Ballad Of Wallis Island, so aptly titled, is about two singers who once dated and validated a band named McGwyer Mortimer. Now, they have gone their separate ways.

Only to be re-employed by a goodhearted islander to perform privately for him.

This pretty fragile but compelling film’s mainstay, the backbone so to speak, is the isolated scenic Welsh island where the washed-out folk singer Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) arrives. Herb is immediately inveigled by the overpowering attention of his host Charles (Tim Key) who is a...

THR reports that Carey Mulligan is in talks to join Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia, based on the beloved fantasy novels by C.S. Lewis.

The Netflix movie will be an adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew. Although it was the sixth book published in the seven-novel series, the story takes place 1000 years before the events of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Lewis later expressed his preference that readers should begin with The Magician’s Nephew when they read the series. The prequel deals with the creation of Narnia and the first humans to travel to the world.

The story concerns two children, Digory and Polly, who are transported to different worlds by magic rings created by Digory’s uncle. There, they accidentally awaken the evil White Witch. Casting is underway, with Daniel Craig reportedly playing the uncle, Emma Mackey the White Witch, and Meryl Streep voicing Aslan.

The Ballad of Wallis Island is exactly what I needed. Featuring wonderful performances from Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden, and Tim Key, the film is beautifully directed by James Griffiths. In it, Key plays Charles, a wealthy lottery winner who dreams of his favourite musical band McGwyer Mortimer (Basden and Mulligan), reuniting. And he has a crazy plan to help make it happen. Wallis Island is a love letter to the power of music. It is delightfully funny at times, heartbreaking at others, and the music is terrific. It’s a feature (reminiscent of John Carney’s work) that is most worthy of discovery.

After being utterly charmed by this Ballad, I had a wonderful time speaking to the cast and the film’s director. I’ve always appreciated the talents of Ms. Mulligan. And I especially enjoy when she takes on musical projects like Inside Llewyn Davis. Tom Basden and...

88 feature films screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival this past January. It’s a good sign if you’re film is still remembered two months later without any title prompting. That’s been our anecdotal experience with James Griffith’s “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” which followed up its Park City world premiere by generating even more word of mouth at SXSW just a few weeks ago. Today, Focus Features has provided The Playlist with an exclusive first look at stars Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden singing the delightful original song, “Our Love,” which you can find embedded in this post.

Continue reading ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ Exclusive: Carey Mulligan & Tom Basden Sing “Our Love” at The Playlist.

Disney+ has canceled the John Stamos-led original series “Big Shot” and sequel series “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” after two seasons at the streamer.

From co-creator David E. Kelley, the dramedy “Big Shot” starred Stamos as men’s basketball coach Marvyn Korn, who found himself ousted from the NCAA and picking up a new job coaching a girls team at a private high school. The cast also featured Jessalyn Gilsig, Yvette Nicole Brown, Richard Robichaux, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Nell Verlaque, Tiana Le, Monique Green, Tisha Custodio and Cricket Wampler.

Kelley served as executive producer alongside co-creators Dean Lorey and Brad Garrett, along with Bill D’Elia. The show premiered in April 2021 and returned for a second season in October 2022.

Also Read:

Every Renewed and Canceled TV Show in 2023

“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,” starring Lauren Graham, followed up the action of Steve Brill’s 1992 hockey classic in the present day,...

Disney+ has canceled two series: “Big Shot” and “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.”

From David E. Kelley, comedy-drama series “Big Shot” starred John Stamos as Marvyn Korn, a men’s basketball coach whose temperamental nature has him ousted from the NCAA and ends up coaching girls at an elite private high school. The cast also included Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessalyn Gilsig, Richard Robichaux, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Nell Verlaque, Tiana Le, Monique Green, Tisha Custodio and Cricket Wampler.

Kelley co-created “Big Shot” with Dean Lorey and Brad Garrett, and all three served as executive producers along with Bill D’Elia. The series premiered in April 2021, followed by the debut of Season 2 in October of 2022.

“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” served as a follow-up to Steve Brill’s 1992 film “The Mighty Ducks.” The series was set in present day Minnesota, where the Mighty Ducks had evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive youth hockey team.

BBC Studios Moves Showcase From Liverpool To London

BBC Studios is moving its annual showcase from Liverpool to London. Following almost a decade in the Merseyside city, the BBC’s commercial arm said it will bring a “fresh focus on upstream creative projects from across its range of production houses, labels and partners.” The move will position the Showcase directly agaainst the London Screenings, a similar set of events run by BBC Studios’ major distribution rivals such as All3Media International, Fremantle, eOne and Banijay Rights. BBC Studios CEO Global Distribution Rebecca Glashow said: “As the market, and our own business changes, so does Showcase. Expect to see our offer to customers evolve from a content juggernaut to a series of highly curated match-making opportunities that brings our most valued partners, producers and programmes together so the richest conversations can take place.” The Showcase started in Brighton in 1976 and brings together...

Rko polished Robert Mitchum’s post- pot bust image with this swell-guy romantic Christmas tale, placing him opposite the drop-dead desirable Janet Leigh. All the penniless Mitchum must do is win over Leigh’s son, get around her fiance Wendell Corey, and then make her forget her dead soldier husband. Plus keep up the Christmas spirit. Director Don Hartman pulls off a minor yuletide miracle with the most down-to-earth, pragmatic Christmas romance on record. Co-starring the 1949 line of super Lionel streamline electric trains!

Holiday Affair

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date December 15, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, Gordon Gebert, Griff Barnett, Esther Dale, Henry O’Neill, Harry Morgan, James Griffith, Jimmy Hunt, Jack Kelly, Paula Raymond, .

Cinematography: Milton Krasner

Film Editor: Harry Marker

Original Music: Roy Webb

Written by Isobel Lennart from a story by John D. Weaver

Produced and Directed by Don Hartman

“Baby,...

Join Joe Friday and Frank Smith as they make a case against the rotten gangland crooks that moiderized Dub Taylor with a shotgun, point blank! See detectives loiter about while smart remarks and Big music stings provide the excitement! The big-screen version of the hit TV show has a surfeit of guest crooks, unhappy women, and a script that wants to grant cops the right to harass and wiretap whoever they wish without restraint. Jack Webb’s ‘interesting’ ideas of script, performance and direction are really… interesting. The Joe Friday-fest comes with an informative commentary by Toby Roan, laying down plenty of Dragnet and Jack Webb history I didn’t know, not ‘just the facts.’

Dragnet

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1954 / Color / 1:75 widescreen + 1:37 unmatted / 88 min. / Street Date November 17, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Richard Boone, Ann Robinson, Stacy Harris, Virginia Gregg, Victor Perrin, Dub Taylor,...

Jake Johnson has been cast in the upcoming ABC drama series based on the graphic novel series “Stumptown,” taking over the role played in the pilot by Mark Webber.

Johnson will star opposite series lead Cobie Smulders. It follows Dex Parios (Smulders), described as a strong, assertive, and sharp-witted army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt, and a brother to take care of in Portland, Oregon. Her military intelligence skills make her a great P.I., but her unapologetic style puts her in the firing line of hardcore criminals and not quite in alliance with the police.

Johnson will play Grey McConnell, Dex’s best friend. The series also stars Tantoo Cardinal as Sue Lynn Blackbird, Cole Sibus as Ansel Parios, Adrian Martinez as Tookie, Camryn Manheim as Lieutenant Cosgrove, and Michael Ealy as Det. Miles Hoffman.

Johnson is best known for his starring role on the Fox sitcom “New Girl,...

ABC has ordered the drama based on the graphic novel series “Stumptown” to series, marking the network’s first series pick up for the 2019-2020 season.

The now untitled project, formerly known as “Stumptown,” follows Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders), described as a strong, assertive, and sharp-witted army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt, and a brother to take care of in Portland, Oregon. Her military intelligence skills make her a great P.I., but her unapologetic style puts her in the firing line of hardcore criminals and not quite in alliance with the police.

The series also stars Tantoo Cardinal as Sue Lynn Blackbird, Cole Sibus as Ansel Parios, Adrian Martinez as Tookie, Camryn Manheim as Lieutenant Cosgrove, and Michael Ealy as Det. Miles Hoffman.

Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, and Justin Greenwood, respectively the author and illustrators of the graphic novel series, will executive produce with Jason Richman...

CineSavant reaches back one year to pick up a notable low-key horror from the team of Levy-Gardner-Laven and good old United Artists. They have a respected actor, a workable concept and a horror screenplay from an unusual source for the 1950s . . . a (gasp) woman. More civilized monster movies just aren’t out there, although this one could have used a more creative title.

The Vampire

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date April 11, 2017 / 27.99

Starring: John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey, Lydia Reed, Dabbs Greer, Herb Vigran, Paul Brinegar, Ann Staunton, James Griffith.

Cinematography: Jack MacKenzie

Film Editor: John Faure

Original Music: Gerald Fried

Written and story by Pat Fielder

Produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, Jules V. Levy

Directed by Paul Landres

I long ago gave up keeping track of all the aberrant vampire movies that were produced after horror became a direct-to-video staple and finally a streaming staple.

It’s 007 in the saddle! Sean Connery didn’t become a career cowboy but his one stint as a Louis L’Amour hero is a diverting change of pace. And we couldn’t resist the pairing of two of moviedom’s most attractive actors — Connery and Brigitte Bardot.

Shalako

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 113 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Peter van Eyck, Honor Blackman, Woody Strode, Eric Sykes, Alexander Knox, Valerie French, Julián Mateos, Don ‘Red’ Barry.

Cinematography: Ted Moore

Film Editor: Bill Blunden

Original Music: Robert Farnon

Written by J.J. Griffith, Hal Hopper, Scot Finch, Clarke Reynolds from the novel by Louis L’Amour

Produced by Euan Lloyd

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

It’s true, after five consecutive James Bond movies, we weren’t exactly ready to see Sean Connery as an American cowboy hero.

Edgar G. Ulmer movies on TCM: 'The Black Cat' & 'Detour' Turner Classic Movies' June 2017 Star of the Month is Audrey Hepburn, but Edgar G. Ulmer is its film personality of the evening on June 6. TCM will be presenting seven Ulmer movies from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, including his two best-known efforts: The Black Cat (1934) and Detour (1945). The Black Cat was released shortly before the officialization of the Christian-inspired Production Code, which would castrate American filmmaking – with a few clever exceptions – for the next quarter of a century. Hence, audiences in spring 1934 were able to witness satanism in action, in addition to other bizarre happenings in an art deco mansion located in an isolated area of Hungary. Sporting a David Bowie hairdo, Boris Karloff is at his sinister best in The Black Cat (“Do you hear that, Vitus? The phone is dead. Even the phone is dead”), ailurophobic (a.

By John M. Whalen

“Death Valley Days” was a half-hour western anthology series that ran for 20 years on radio starting in 1930, continued on TV for 18 seasons (1952-1970), and is still being shown on cable TV today. The series, noted for its authentic detail and historical accuracy, was created by British writer Ruth Woodman at the request of Pacific Coast Borax, the company that made 20 Mule Team Borax. The company wanted a series that tied in with their detergent product, and since Borax is principally mined in Death Valley, Woodman suggested the series be focused on stories based on the history and geography of that area. She made frequent trips to the borax mines and the surrounding vicinity digging up historical tidbits that could be used as the basis for stories. She eventually became one of the foremost experts on that period and place in history.

For the first 11 years of its run,...

Horror in the ‘50s tended to lean towards the sci-fi end of the spectrum. And why wouldn’t it? This was the atomic age, and hiding under your school desk during a bomb drill (the safest place to be!) was scarier than any monster Hollywood could muster. So as a form of social moralizing (or an excuse to display giant, mutated lizards on screen), filmmakers merged the fear of nuclear annihilation with the need for entertainment. Most filmmakers, that is. Paul Landres’ The Vampire (1957) is a deliberate ride through the (mostly) human condition, small in scope but surprisingly big on emotion. Just don’t expect any vampires, radioactive, sparkly, or otherwise.

What you do get is a story much closer to Stevenson than Stoker, a simple riff on Jekyll and Hyde shot through a cautionary tale about America’s then growing concern with pill poppin’. The Vampire is more concerned...

Patricia Neal ca. 1950. Patricia Neal movies: 'The Day the Earth Stood Still,' 'A Face in the Crowd' Back in 1949, few would have predicted that Gary Cooper's leading lady in King Vidor's The Fountainhead would go on to win a Best Actress Academy Award 15 years later. Patricia Neal was one of those performers – e.g., Jean Arthur, Anne Bancroft – whose film career didn't start out all that well, but who, by way of Broadway, managed to both revive and magnify their Hollywood stardom. As part of its “Summer Under the Stars” series, Turner Classic Movies is dedicating Sunday, Aug. 16, '15, to Patricia Neal. This evening, TCM is showing three of her best-known films, in addition to one TCM premiere and an unusual latter-day entry. 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' Robert Wise was hardly a genre director. A former editor (Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons...

Of the trio who gave us Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End, only Nick Frost has really had a hard time creating a name for himself on his own. Simon Pegg has appeared in the Star Trek and Mission Impossible series, while Edgar Wright has given us Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and was attached to Marvel’s Ant Man until he wasn't. By contrast, Nick Frost hasn’t had much opportunity to create a name for himself stateside, though he’s had a fair bit of success as the lead in the rather funny Sky TV series Mr. Sloane. For Frost, Cuban Fury was supposed to be his chance to prove his leading man chops. He succeeds, but unfortunately it’s in a rather predictable dance comedy that’s oddly light on both dance and comedy. Nick Frost could easily become a big name for comedy lovers in America,...

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,...

Former HBO Films president Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment today announced that they are turning the Flying Tigers into a ten-hour TV miniseries. The Flying Tigers were ace American volunteer pilots who served under General Claire Chennault fighting the Japanese over the skies of China during the Second World War. Playground has partnered with the Chennault family on the project. “We are in discussions with numerous broadcasters in the Us and in China on the project,” Jim Griffith, one of the executive producers of The Flying Tigers, told Deadline. Callender, Griffith and Ron Shelton will executive produce the miniseries. Bill Macdonald, the co-creator and writer of HBO’s Rome will produce and write The Flying Tigers. Filming will begin in China and Louisiana in late 2013. As part of the Chinese Air Force, the three squadrons of the Flying Tigers flew their first mission just 12 days after the attack on Pearl...

When news of Nick Frost's salsa epic Cuban Fury started to filter through, and when Chris O'Dowd was lured onto the dancefloor to play the film's hissable villain Drew, there was great rejoicing in these parts. After all, who isn't ready to watch a dancefloor dust-off between this pair of comedy titans. It starts shooting in seven weeks with newcomer James Griffith behind the camera and Fresh Meat's Jon Brown providing the script. So what to do but pick up the phone to Frost for the low-down on the film? "It’s a romantic-comedy but with fantastic, real dancing," he explains. "We’re going to go down the Strictly Ballroom route. The dancing will be fiery and passionate and beautiful to watch, with me and Chris O’Dowd pratting about when we’re not dancing."Hard as it's going to be to hiss the ever-loveable O'Dowd, Frost warns that it may prove necessary.

A while back I submitted an article that listed ten great full-length films to check out on YouTube and was pleased to find that some of you Owf readers were really happy to find such an article on your favourite movie blog! So today’s Top 10 is a follow up to that piece, a sequel if you like, and below you can find ten more fantastic films that you can legally watch for free online. As we’re all undoubtedly skint in this longest, most depressing of months, hopefully one of the below can brighten your day!

10. The Woman In Green (1945)

Legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are called in by Scotland Yard to investigate a series of bizarre murders, where the only connection is that each victim has had a finger severed off. Believing the culprit to be a maniac, Scotland Yard...

This is why I’m not a betting man. Speculation in the aftermath of Canuck creature feature Jack Brooks Monster Slayer was that the creative forces behind that film would return quickly to the same well to create a sequel, speculation reinforced by Brooks’ sequel friendly ending and by comments made by the stars and director when the film was on the fest circuit. Well, all that speculation was wrong. The core creative team behind Jack Brooks starts production on their next feature next week and Jack Brooks 2 it aint, instead what we’re getting is what appears to be a far more serious horror picture titled The Shrine.

After a young American backpacker goes missing in Europe, three journalists link his disappearance to a remote Polish village called Alvaina. Upon further investigation, the journalists discover that Alvaina has a history of bizarre cult activity revolving around human sacrifice. Hell bent on discovering the truth,...

The infection spread globally...

It was quickly known that Valve and Fangoria were looking for a few good Zombies. Reports poured in at an alarming rate, and today we present the photographic evidence... The rules were simple. Fangoria and Valve launched a contest to celebrate the release of the awesome new survival horror co-op video game set in the long awaited zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead. All you had to do was submit your best zombie picture to us. It could be you in a costume, a picture you drew, 3D image, Photoshop, or anything else you can imagine so long as you’re the one who made it. Fangoria decided who (or what) we think is the best undead as our top 20 zombies - each receiving a Fangoria Prize Pack. The top 4 zombies will win 4 copies of the PC version of Left 4 Dead for themselves and their friends on release day,...