Classic motion pictures and Lifestyle with a dip into the underside, the seedy and off beat through the eyes of Canadian Writer TERRY SHERWOOD.
The name Brigitte Bardot conjurors up contrasting images of blonde hair for some and animal activism for others. Bardot was ahead of her time in the sixties: a time filled with blondes, including Marilyn Munroe. Unlike Munroe, Bardot was not at the mercy of a system that did not know what to do with her.... Continue Reading →
The eternal California sun high in the sky. The beaches, the surf. All offering variations of the lifestyle made famous in the Sixties. The climate of Hollywood has not changed much from when film was younger. The idealism of the dream may have changed for some, but the allure remains strong. Actors, technicians and writers... Continue Reading →
These days do seem like a war, or the closest we may ever get to a similar condition. One gives up things, can’t do things we normally do as we all know. To some, it seems futile or they don’t understand why we need to do certain things for the greater good. I am... Continue Reading →
Lists like this - no matter the subject - always seem to leave something out. How do you pick the “best” of someone who has a body of work like Peter Cushing and be fair to him? Viewing the works from North America, I was only accessing versions of films whose titles may be different;... Continue Reading →
Vampires, werewolves, mummies that come back to life after three thousand years, can such thing be?’ That was the opening phrase that Boris Karloff spoke to you as you played AN EVENING WITH BORIS KARLOFF and FRIENDS LP record. English born William Henry Pratt made a startlingly long and varied career of playing men of... Continue Reading →
Not everyone that works in film can be a star or be a top creative person. Many toil in the shadows as actors, technicians, directors and writers. Take George Zucco. Zucco was a working actor, often playing the heavy or the elegant villain. He was in many films that inevitably varied in quality. You may... Continue Reading →
The heist film is a subgenre with classics back to Hollywood’s beginnings. One of the masters of chronicling gangsters and assorted low life is French film maker Jean Pierre Melville. His last and fitting ending is the masterpiece of style and cool called UN FLIC (1972), or DIRTY MONEY. UN FLIC stars the superb Alain... Continue Reading →
One of the fascinating aspects of film is that it is essentially an international language. Genres occur in many countries just in different forms, usually stylistic approaches. Actors are used, although you do get some cross pollination, and, of course, story. Film Noir is easily transferable as it is common to have cities both... Continue Reading →
Auto racing is a particularly special subject for a film. The speed, the danger, the flashy cars and people make for a larger than life story. Technically, race day (and night depending if you are doing a 24 hour event) offers the opportunity for interesting camera work. All these come together in WINNING (1969), plus... Continue Reading →
Being gay in Hollywood was not a thing. It was reduced to a smile or a look the other way. What makes the 2017 documentary SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2017) extraordinary is its scope and genuine sadness. Director Matt Tynaur weaves a story of Scotty Bowers by following his life today as... Continue Reading →
