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(Robert Conrad (R) with Ross Martin in "The Wild, Wild West".

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor Robert Conrad has died at age 84. Conrad's got his first big break with a key role in the 1950s hit TV series "Hawaiian Eye". But it was in the 1960s that he soared to fame in "The Wild, Wild West", one of the more enduring TV series inspired by the James Bond phenomenon. Set in the late 1800s, Conrad and co-star Ross Martin played government agents James West and Artemus Gordon, who employed Victorian-age super gadgets to thwart nefarious megalomaniacs. The show's tongue-in-cheek approach to plots relied heavily on the comedic byplay between Conrad and Martin. The series lasted four seasons and the actors returned in TV movies based on the show many years later. In 1999, the series inspired the poorly-received big screen adaptation starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Conrad excelled at stunt work...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

More Movies You Never Heard Of! week begins at Trailers from Hell with director and Tfh creator Joe Dante introducing Richard Brooks' political satire "Wrong Is Right," starring Sean Connery.  Movies set in the near future are sometimes rendered moot by subsequent events, but Richard Brooks' bizarrely prescient political satire makes more sense in a post 9/11 world than it did in 1982. Only nominally based on Charles McCarry's espionage novel "The Better Angels", this adaptation takes a comparatively minor character, newshound Patrick Hale, and inflates him to media hero status worthy of star Sean Connery, heading a large cast of familiar faces.

Directed by: Quentin Dupieux

Written by: Quentin Dupieux

Featuring: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, William Fichtner

Two years ago, when working as a translator for the communication department of the Fantasia International Film Festival, I received the synopsis for a film titled Rubber, which was having its North American premiere during the fest. Upon reading it, I immediately called my colleague and the following conversation ensued:

Me: I'm translating the Rubber synopsis and I have a few questions for you.

Programmer: Yes?

Me: Ok, it says "serial killing tire." I'm not sure I get it; is the killer compared to a "tire"?

Programmer: No, it's a tire that kills.

Me: A car tire? Someone is using a car tire to kill people?

Programmer: No. The tire kills on its own.

Me: It's a live-action movie?

Programmer: Yes.

Me: Does the tire speak? Is it a sort of "tire monster"?

Programmer: No,...

Character actor who portrayed smarmy politicians, sadistic generals and unspeakable authoritarian figures

There is a scene in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II (1974) that crystallises the entire film career of the character actor Gd Spradlin, who has died aged 90. As the corrupt senator Pat Geary, Spradlin asks the mafia boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) for a bribe, so that he can grant gaming licences to the "family" for several casinos in Nevada. During the meeting, Geary launches into an attack on the Corleones, a name he pronounces with derision. "I intend to squeeze you. I don't like your kind of people. I don't like to see you come out to this clean country with oily hair and trussed up in those silk suits trying to pass yourselves off as decent Americans. I'll do business with you, but the fact is I despise you masquerading in the dishonest way you pose yourself.