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WolfmanOz at the Movies #55
Golden Boy Born William Franklin Beedle Jr. on April 17th, 1918, William Holden became one of the most popular movie stars of the 1950s and is probably my favourite actor from that era. After graduating from high school he became involved in local radio plays and by the late 30s was appearing in a number…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #54
A real tough guy Born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr. on February 19th, 1924, Lee Marvin, known for his premature white hair and bass voice, grew from playing hard-boiled vicious tough guy characters into one of the leading movie stars of the 1960s, and one of my favourites from this era. His childhood was tough. His…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #53
Man is the warmest place to hide 1982 was a seminal year for science fiction movies, of which there were three outstanding films of the genre released, all of which were quite different in style and audience engagement. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was on its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all-time; Blade Runner…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #52
Ealing comedies As promised last week, this weeks post will be taking a look at the comedies from Ealing Studios – thanks to Pogria for the suggestion. Ealing Studios is a London based film and television production company and is actually the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world of which…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #51
Is cinema dying ? As I write this last post for the year, a feeling of melancholy and sadness is with me as I write about what I believe is that movies and the thrill of going to the cinema and luxuriating in the magic of the big screen appears to be dying. There was…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #50
Laurel & Hardy Well for my last post before Xmas, and to bring a smile to Cats faces, I can think of no better topic than to discuss the most beloved comedy duo in cinema history in Laurel & Hardy. Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) started their career as a duo in the silent…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #49
B movies In old Hollywood, B grade movies identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicised bottom half of a double feature. However, this practice largely ceased by the end of the 1950s with the studios changing their departments into TV production divisions. B movies often represented a particular genre e.g. westerns while low-budget science-fiction and horror…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #48
Yipee-ki-yay, motherfucker Was the catchphrase used by New York police detective John McClane in the action thriller Die Hard. Since it’s release back in 1988, Die Hard has stood the test of time to be considered one of the best action thrillers ever made. And because of its’ Christmas setting it has become a favourite…
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WolfmanOz at the Movies #46
Biopics . . . have been a staple of cinema for ever and a day in dramatising the life of a historically-based or non-fictional person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and they differ from docudrama films and historical drama films in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a single person’s…