My mom has really fond memories of watching Darren McGavin as Kolchak, “The Night Stalker.” So when I told her Kino was releasing the two television movies starring McGavin’s character … Continue Reading The Night Strangler (1973)
Fun fact: The Spiral Staircase was actually the first movie I ever watched on TCM. I can remember being sick, eating a grilled cheese and some soup, and being captivated … Continue Reading The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Originally published December 4th, 2011 We move on to another diverse Christmas film, one that has a more tenuous connection to Christmas than even Rent could boast, but nonetheless takes … Continue Reading 25 Days of Christmas: The Thin Man (1934)
Originally published December 15th, 2015 Maybe it’s the forced togetherness and spirit of brotherhood that makes the holidays so perfect for the noir genre. Whether it’s the glittery Hollywood pulp … Continue Reading Lady on a Train (1945)
“Last night I dream of Manderlay again…” The first words spoken in Alfred Hitchcock’s American debut conjure up a dreamworld that could only exist in the imagination, and yet it’s … Continue Reading Rebecca (1940)
Director John Brahms was best known for his sumptuously decorated murder mysteries, 1944’s The Lodger and 1945’s Hangover Square. Before he was getting A-list talent to go alongside his beautifully … Continue Reading The Undying Monster (1942)
In 1859 author Wilkie Collins published The Woman in White, considered the first mystery novel with an actual detective-esque structure. Imitated in numerous films since, from serious drama to animated … Continue Reading The Woman in White (1948)
By 1946 actor Humphrey Bogart fit into the role of detective Philip Marlowe so perfectly it might as well have been his favorite pair of shoes. Though this was Bogie’s … Continue Reading The Big Sleep (1946)
Last year I reviewed the Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) starring James Stewart and Doris Day. I wasn’t in love with it, but Day was … Continue Reading The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
If you’ve looked at my previous coverage on Alfred Hitchcock then you’re aware of the glaring omissions in his filmography for me. Well, cross one of the biggies off the … Continue Reading North by Northwest (1959)
The Phantom of Crestwood is the equivalent of watching a radio serial play out on-screen. Maybe that’s because it was! As the film’s introduction states, the series was broadcast via … Continue Reading The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)
“Murder starts in the heart, and its first weapon is a vicious tongue.” You can’t sum up the macabre lunacy of Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte any better. A film more well-known for what … Continue Reading Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Twilight Time could never have predicted the recent passing of Omar Sharif, star of their latest Blu-ray release, The Night of the Generals. Directed by Anatole Litvak, this WWII murder … Continue Reading The Night of the Generals (1967)
One of author Dashiell Hammett’s finest works, The Maltese Falcon has received the adaptation treatment three separate time, most famously in 1941 with Humphrey Bogart. But before John Huston directed … Continue Reading Satan Met a Lady (1936)
What can be written about The Shining at this point? It’s a masterpiece directed by the legendary Stanley Kubrick that tells a horror story both in the mind and outside … Continue Reading The Shining (1980)
This weekend looks at two takes on the post-matrimonial comedy. Based on the novel and play by Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman’s Honeymoon, Haunted Honeymoon suffered before a single cell of … Continue Reading Haunted Honeymoon (1940)
