Category: History

TOO MANY BULLETS: A Nathan Heller Case by Max Allan Collins is Coming!

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It’s no secret. I’m a huge fan of Max Allan Collins’ Nathan Heller series.  In it, detective Nathan Heller gets involved with famous cases throughout history.  Max Collins does an exhaustive amount of research for each book and provides a solution to each case, that is sometimes at odds with history.  As the series progresses, Heller ages in real time.

Hard Case Crime has announced that a new Heller book will be out in the Fall of 2023.  Titled Too Many Bullets, it will have Heller investigating Robert Kennedy’s assassination.  That’s the cover above, and it’s a beauty painted by Paul Mann.

If you’re a fan of alternative history or detective stories, heck, if you’re a fan of well written books, then you owe it to yourself to check out the Nathan Heller tales by Max Allan Collins.

RIP: Robert Clary

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Robert Clary, the actor best known as Corporal LeBeau on the popular television series, Hogan’s Heroes, has died.  Mr. Clary was 96.

Born in Paris, France, Robert Clary began singing professionally at the age of twelve!  When the Nazis invaded France, Robert Clary along with twelve other family members were sent to a concentration camp.  Mr. Clary was the only one to survive.

After the war, Robert Clary continued his singing career.  Some of his recordings were popular both in France and the U.S.  In 1949, Mr. Clary came to the United States.  He started getting roles on television and Broadway.

In 1965, Robert Clary began appearing on Hogan’s Heroes in the role that made him famous.  The series ran from 1965 – 1971.  In 1972, Mr. Clary was cast in a role on Days of Our Lives that lasted until 1987.  In 1990, he joined The Bold and the Beautiful in a part that lasted 43 episodes.

Other notable Robert  Clary appearances were in the feature film, The Hindenburg, as well as television guest spots on The High Chaparral, Love American Style. Fantasy Island and The Munsters Today,

Robert Clary always seemed to have a joy about him that made you smile.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert Clary’s family, friends and fans.

“The Man in the Barn” (1937) Directed by Jacques Tourneur / Z-View

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The Man in the Barn (1937)

Director:  Jacques Tourneur

Screenplay:  Morgan Cox

Stars:  Carey Wilson, Virginia Brissac. 

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In 1903, David E. George on his deathbed claimed to be John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.

Although accepted history has it that Booth was killed in a barn twelve days after his murder of President Lincoln, this short explores the possibility that David George was in fact John Wilkes Booth!

I wanted to see this short for two reasons:

  1. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur, the director of The Cat People, Out of the Past, Curse of the Demon and so many other films.
  2. It involved the conspiracy theory that John Wilkes Booth survived until 1903.  I’m a sucker for a good conspiracy theory.

Tourneur’s talent is wasted & so was my time.

The Man in the Barn earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I’m diggin’ that poster and the trailer has me looking forward to checking out Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues.

You’ve heard his influential music, now hear his incredible story. Get to know Louis Armstrong through never-before-heard home recordings, archival footage, and personal conversations when Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues premieres October 28 on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/_BlackAndBlues_

This definitive documentary, directed by Sacha Jenkins, honors Armstrong’s legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States. The film shows how Armstrong’s own life spans the shift from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, and how he became a lightning rod figure in that turbulent era. With the full support of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, the filmmakers have access to a treasure trove of rare archival materials, including hundreds of hours of audio recordings, film footage, photographs, personal diaries, and a life’s worth of ephemera for exclusive use in the first significant documentary dedicated entirely to his life.

Song: “Black and Blue” by The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong All Stars, Nicholas Payton, Common https://apple.co/_BlackandBlue

Song: “(What Did I Do To Be So) Black & Blue” by Louis Armstrong https://apple.co/WhatDidIDo_Armstrong

“Is That Black Enough for You?” – The Poster and Trailer Are Here! 

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Is That Black Enough for You? – The poster and trailer are here.  Netflix continues to kill it with documentaries.  I’m looking forward to this one.

How did one decade change American cinema – and culture – forever? Elvis Mitchell explores the history of Black representation and the cultural impact of witnessing unapologetic Blackness. #IsThatBlackEnoughForYou

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The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (2022) / Z-View

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The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (2022)

Director:  Emma Cooper

Appearances: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmy Hoffa, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Peter Lawford

Tagline: The brighter the star, the darker the truth.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Anthony Summers, who wrote the Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, shares snippets of some of the 650 interviews he did while researching the book. The documentary uses actors/actresses to lip sync to the recordings.  I found this distracting. It gave the movie a tabloid feel.  I was hoping for some new information, but if you know Marilyn’s story as well as the most popular theories of her death, there’s nothing new here.

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes earns 2 of 5 stars.

THE BIG BUNDLE: A Nathan Heller Case by Max Allan Collins is Coming!

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Any time that Max Allan Collins has a new book coming out it is time to celebrate.  If the new novel is a Nathan Heller tale, then plan an even bigger party.  Collins takes true life cases, does intensive research and then writes a fictional account with Nathan Heller in the middle of things.  Max Allan Collins’ new Nathan Heller novel is titled The Big Bundle.

True Crime detective Nathan Heller returns in a brand new case that connects a millionaire’s kidnapped child to Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign to bring down union boss Jimmy Hoffa.

Nathan Heller, star of MWA Grandmaster Max Allan Collins’ most acclaimed series of novels (more than 1 million copies sold to date!), comes to Hard Case Crime for the first time in an all-new thriller drawn from the pages of history. A millionaire’s son is kidnapped and private eye Heller is called in to help. But when half of the record $600,000 ransom goes missing, Heller must wade through a morass of deception and depravity to blow the lid off a notorious crime whose consequences reach into the corridors of power in Washington D.C., where Bobby Kennedy works tirelessly to take down crooked union boss Jimmy Hoffa…

Deal me in.  Pre-orders are available now!

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022) / Z-View

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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022)

Director: Mark Moormann

Starring: Don McLean, Peter Gallagher, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr. aka The Big Bopper, Garth Brooks, Brian Wilson  and Tyson Fury

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In December 1971, Don McLean’s American Pie single was released.  It went to #1 and held that position for four weeks.  At the time it was the longest song (8 minutes and 42 seconds) to enter the Billboard charts.  At the time a single of that length was unheard of.  American Pie was a worldwide hit topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  Fifty years later and people of all ages know the words to the song, but speculation runs rampant about their meaning.

Don McLean wrote the song as a musical poem open to interpretation.  While McLean admitted that “the day the music died” referred to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, speculation was that the song also referenced the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, political protests and more.  McLean would never confirm or deny the meaning of his lyrics.  He was quoted as saying, “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me … Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on.”

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie looks at the genesis of the song, it’s impact on the world and Don McLean shares the meaning of the lyrics.  I was in 7th grade when American Pie was released.  Everyone, including adults, were talking about the song and it’s meaning.

I enjoyed this documentary.  It was cool to see the struggle McLean had in getting the lyrics just right.  Then to learn (and see) that the producer and musicians knew that they had something special, but the recording session wasn’t working until.. (I won’t give it away),  While I’m glad that Don McLean has confirmed the things that inspired his lyrics, I’m taking the perspective that like all poetry, once it’s released, it is up to each individual to determine what the poem means to him/her.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie earns 4 of 5 stars.

“JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass” (2021) / Z-View

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JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021)

Director:  Ibrahim Hamdan, Oliver Stone

Starring: John F. Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Oliver Stone, Whoopi Goldberg (narration) and Donald Sutherland (narration)

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Ibrahim Hamdan and Oliver Stone look at documents and findings declassified by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 that bring into question the finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  If you’re at all interested in the conspiracy theories behind the assassination of President Kennedy, then JFK Revisited is worth a watch!

JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass earns 4 of 5 stars.

“D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?” (2022) / Z-View

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D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? (2022)

Director:   Marina Zenovich

Screenplay by:  None

Starring:  Tom Colbert

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

On November 24, 1971, a man the press mistakenly labeled D.B. Cooper (he actually bought the ticket using the name Dan Cooper) hijacked a plane.  He claimed to have a bomb, demanded $200,000.00 and four parachutes.  The plane landed.  The cash and parachutes were brought on board.  Everyone except the pilot and a few other crew members were allowed to leave.  The plane was refueled and took off.  Somewhere in flight, during a rainstorm at night, the hijacker (with the cash) parachuted from the plane.  He was never caught.

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? is more about Tom Colbert (and folks like him) who are obsessed with finding D.B. Cooper than the actual case.  There have been thousands of leads called in to the F.B.I. and despite the resources available to them no one was ever arrested.  What’s interesting is the number of amateur sleuths who believe that they know who D.B. Cooper was/is.  There are enough of these folks that there is an annual D.B. Cooper convention where “fans” show up to hear the latest theories, buy the newest books, t-shirts and more.

If you’re looking to a definite answer as to who D.B. Cooper is/was, this is not the documentary for you.  It’s amazing how many viable suspects were interviewed and thought to potentially be D.B., yet no one was ever charged.  I also enjoyed the look at the folks who have made the D.B. Cooper case a big part of their lives.  D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Last Movie Stars” – Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward Documentary – The Poster & Trailer are Here!

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The Last Movie Stars looks interesting.  HBOMax makes it an easy choice.  Deal me in.

The Last Movie Stars is an epic 6-part documentary from CNN Films and HBO Max that chronicles Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s iconic careers and decades-long partnership. Director Ethan Hawke brings life and color to this definitive history of their dedication to their art, philanthropy and each other. Through long lost transcriptions of interviews with Paul, Joanne and those close to them, brought to life by the voices of contemporary actors, we’re given an intimate front row seat to the lives and careers of the couple that would go on to forge an unmatched cultural legacy. Academy Award-winning director, writer and producer Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer. #TheLastMovieStars

RIP: Sonny Barger

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Sonny Barger, one of the founding members of the Hell’s Angels, died yesterday from cancer.  Sonny Barger’s notoriety as a Hell’s Angels leader (including being part of the Rolling Stones security at the Altamont concert where Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was knocked unconscious and audience member Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death) brought him into the public eye.  Mr. Barger appeared several documentaries about the Hell’s Angels and other motorcycle clubs, three feature films, but is probably known for his reoccurring role on Sons of Anarchy where he played Lenny ‘The Pimp’ Janowitz.  Sonny Barger also wrote or co-wrote six books.

I first became aware of Sonny Barger through his leadership of the Hell’s Angels and the wild stories and documentaries about him/them.  His addition to the cast of Sons of Anarchy added a level of authenticity to the show.  I’ve read a couple of his books.  He lived his life as he wanted.  His final message posted on his Facebook page was:

If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing. I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. Although I’ve had a public persona for decades, i’ve mostly enjoyed special time with my club brothers, my family, and close friends.

Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. But also know that in the end, I was surrounded by what really matters: My wife, Zorana, as well as my loved ones. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor. – Sonny

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sonny Barger’s family, friends and fans.

“The Untouchables” (1987) Starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery & Robert De Niro / Z-View

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The Untouchables (1987)

Director: Brian De Palma

Screenplay by:  David Mamet based on The Untouchables by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley

Starring:  Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Billy Drago and Patricia Clarkson

Tagline:  What are you prepared to do?

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers

Elliott Ness (Costner) is a Federal Treasury agent sent to Chicago to take down Al Capone (De Niro) and his criminal enterprises.  Due to widespread corruption in the Chicago Police Department, Ness creates a team of “Untouchables” consisting of a Jim Malone (Connery) a street cop; George Stone (Garcia) a young police cadet and Oscar Wallace (Smith) a Treasury bookkeeper.  With their lives and families in danger, Ness and his Untouchables find themselves in Capone’s crosshairs as they move forward with their mission.

The Untouchables is arguably director Brian DePalma’s finest film.  It is the movie that made Kevin Costner and Andy Garcia stars.  Sean Connery won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jim Malone.  The film was also nominated for 3 additional Oscars: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.

I absolutely love The Untouchables.  Everything comes together beautifully – the screenplay, the director, the cast and the music mesh to create a magical movie experience.  David Mamet wrote the screenplay based on the book by (the real Elliott Ness) and Oscar Fraley.  While the film is a fictionalized account, it’s not a documentary, so let’s not pick that nit.  The film’s direction features DePalma at his peak.  There are so many memorable scenes – Ness and Malone meeting for the first time, Malone’s way of getting a Capone bookkeeper to talk, Ness’ confrontation with Capone on the staircase, Nitti and another thug at Malone’s apartment, Ness and the baby carriage, Stone saving the day and Ness and Nitti on the rooftop – to name several.

Connery is at his best and deserving of his Oscar.  Kevin Costner is perfect as the straight arrow cop who tests his limits when he discovers what he is willing to do to bring down Capone.  Andy Garcia is spot on as the cocky because he’s that good cop.  Charles Martin Smith plays what looks like a stereotypical bookkeeper until the action starts.  Billy Drago has a smaller but vitally important role as Frank Nitti, Capone’s number one hitman.

If you’ve never seen The Untouchables, you should rectify that as soon as possible.  If you have seen it, then you know I’m not exaggerating when I say The Untouchables is worthy of a 5 of 5 star rating.

“We Own This City” (2022) / Z-View

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We Own This City (2022)

Developed by:  George Pelecanos, David Simon

Teleplays by:  George Pelecanos (Parts 1 & 5), David Simon (Parts 1 & 6), Ed Burns (Parts 2 & 4), William F. Zorzi (Parts 2 & 4),  D. Watkins (Part 3),

Directed by:  Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring:  Jon Bernthal, Wunmi Mosaku, Jamie Hector, Josh Charles, McKinley Belcher III, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Rob Brown, Don Harvey and Seth Hurwitz.

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers.

We Own This City is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Justin Fenton, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.  We Own This City follows a task force created to deal with rising crime.  Baltimore PD’s shining star, Sgt. Wayne Jenkins builds a team to take guns and drugs off the streets. Although successful, under Jenkins’ watch, the strike force steals drugs and money from their busts.  They also plant evidence and lie under oath.  Numerous complaints leads to an investigation which shows widespread corruption throughout the force and gives lengthy jail sentences to those sworn to protect and serve.

We Own This City features excellent writing, direction and an amazing cast lead by Jon Bernthal (who should receive an Emmy nomination).  Josh Charles is great as the unlikable Daniel Hersl.  McKinley Belcher III from Ozark and The Passage, is always good. Seth Hurwitz is perfect as the slimy bail bondsman who helps Wayne Jenkins move stolen drugs.   Kudos also to Kris Bowers for his music.   We Own This City easily earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Birth of the Living Dead” aka “Year of the Living Dead” (2013) / Z-View

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Birth of the Living Dead aka Year of the Living Dead (2013)

Director:  Rob Kuhns

Written by: Rob Kuhns

Starring:  George A. Romero, Elvis Mitchell, Mark Harris, Gale Anne Hurd and Bill Hinzman.

Tagline:  1968. Peace. Love. And the undead.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Rob Kuhns goes behind the scenes on the making of Night of the Living Dead.  George Romero is interviewed and some of his earlier commercials are shared.  Elvis Mitchell, Mark Harris, Gale Anne Hurd, Bill Hinzman and others share the impact Night of the Living Dead made on them.  If you’re a George Romero or Night of the Living Dead fan, then this is for you.  I give it 4 of 5 stars.