Frankie by Scotty Young
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“Laura” (1944) directed by Otto Preminger, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb & Vincent Price / Z-View
Laura (1944)
Director: Otto Preminger
Screenplay: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt, Ring Lardner Jr. (uncredited) based on LAURA by Vera Caspary
Stars: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson and Dorothy Adams.
Tagline: No picture was ever so irresistible as Laura. No picture was ever so breath-taking!
The Plot…
Laura Hunt (Tierney), an attractive successful young woman, was brutally murdered at the entrance to her apartment. The shotgun blast to the face destroyed her beauty as it took her life. Detective Mark McPherson (Andrews) is put in charge of the investigation.
Detective McPherson interviews Laura’s closest friends…
- Waldo Lydecker (Webb) is a famous newspaper columnist and radio personality. Waldo gave Laura her start, by endorsing an ad she created and introducing her to movers and shakers. Waldo is much older than Laura but has great affection for her. Waldo doesn’t care for Laura’s latest boyfriend who is a scam artist.
- Shelby Carpenter (Price) is Laura’s boyfriend. She was considering marriage to Shelby despite his past.
- Ann Treadwell (Anderson) is a rich society dame. Ann has repeatedly given Shelby money and is in love with him.
- Bessie (Adams) is Laura’s housekeeper. She is totally devoted to Laura.
As McPherson learns more about Laura, her beauty and exceptional personality, he becomes infatuated with her.
Then something totally unexpected happens.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Laura was nominated for five Academy Awards and won one…
- 1945 Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Clifton Webb
- 1945 Nominee for Best Director: Otto Preminger
- 1945 Nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt
- 1945 Nominee for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White: Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller, Thomas Little
- 1945 Winner Best Cinematography, Black-and-White: Joseph LaShelle
Vincent Price considered Laura the best film he was ever in.
Clifton Webb had a career in silent films. He then became a theater actor and hadn’t appeared on screen in 15 years. Otto Preminger wanted him for the role of Waldo. Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck was against the casting because Webb was a homosexual. Preminger persisted. Zanuck said to give Webb a screen test. Webb said, “If Zanuck wants to see me act, he can come to the theater.” Preminger filmed Webb in a stage performance. When Zanuck saw this “screen test” he was upset with how Preminger got the footage, but agreed to the casting.
Otto Preminger put together Laura as a project for him to produce and direct. However when Darryl Zanuck returned from the service to head the studio, he nixed this. Zanuck had problems with Preminger in the past. Zanuck said Preminger could serve as a producer, but not director of the film. Rouben Mamoulian was given the job. Nobody liked the dailes Mamoulian shot. Zanuck replaced Mamoulian with Preminger.
Laura provided inspiration for Burt Reynold’s Sharky’s Machine.
Laura (1944) rates 4 of 5 stars.
“Nosferatu” – Check Out This Creepy Poster!
I love the creepiness of this Nosferatu poster!
Werewolf Head by Bernie Wrightson!
Werewolf headshot by Bernie Wrightson. Now THAT is a werewolf!
“Jungle Gents” (1954) starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys with Woody Stode & Clint Walker! / Z-View
Jungle Gents (1954)
Director: Edward Bernds
Screenplay: Edward Bernds, Elwood Ullman
Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Laurette Luez, Harry Cording, David Gorcey, Benny Bartlett, Murray Alper, Pat Flaherty, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, Emory Parnell, Emil Sitka, Woody Strode and Clint Walker.
Tagline: You’ll Go WILD with LAFFS!
The Plot…
Sach’s new medicine gives him the power to smell diamonds. Slip (L. Gorcey), Satch (Hall), Louie (B. Gorcey), and others are headed to the jungles of Africa to find a diamond mine. Little do the boys know that a group of crooks are following. Soon the guys are fighting the gangsters and natives.
Where is Anatta (Luez), the Jungle Girl when you need her?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Clint “Cheyenne” Walker makes his film debut.
Woody Stode appears uncredited as a native.
Jungle Gents (1954) rates 3 of 5 stars.
THE ACTOR by Donald Westlake
THE ACTOR by Donald Westlake sounds like a winner…
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
Donald E. Westlake’s lost masterpiece MEMORY, adapted for the screen as THE ACTOR.
“An unsparing look at a man adrift, it’s a fitting final dispatch from a master.” — Time
“Terse and bleak and low-key emotional… indelible.” — Entertainment Weekly
THE CRIME WAS OVER IN A MINUTE –
THE CONSQUENCES LASTED A LIFETIMEHospitalized after a liaison with another man’s wife ends in violence, Paul Cole has just one goal: to rebuild his shattered life. But with his memory damaged, the police hounding him, and no way even to get home, Paul’s facing steep odds – and a bleak fate if he fails…
This final, never-before-published novel by three-time Edgar Award winner Donald E. Westlake is a noir masterpiece, a dark and painful portrait of a man’s struggle against merciless forces that threaten to strip him of his very identity.
THE ACTOR drops on January 14, 2025. Preorders are available now.
“The Big Combo” (1955) starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman / Z-View
The Big Combo (1955)
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Screenplay: Philip Yordan
Stars: Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker, Jay Adler, John Hoyt, Ted de Corsia, Helene Stanton, Roy Gordon, James McCallion and Whit Bissell.
Tagline: The Most Startling Story The Screen Has Ever Dared Reveal!
The Plot…
Detective Lt. Leonard Diamond (Wilde) has made it his personal mission to bring down a crime boss known as Mr. Brown (Conte). Brown has his fingers in organized crime across the city. Brown is feared because of his sadistic tendencies and willingness to destroy anyone who crosses him. Brown is supported by Fante (Van Cleef) and Mingo (Holliman) thugs whose loyalty to is unquestioned.
Detective Diamond is infatuated with Mr. Brown’s girl, Susan (Wallace). Susan wants out of the relationship, but Mr. Brown would see her dead rather than lose her. Detective Diamond believes the key to taking down Mr. Brown is a mystery woman named Alicia.
Detective Diamond is getting close to the truth. Now he is in the crosshairs of Mr. Brown, Fante and Mingo.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Jack Palance was set to play Mr. Brown, but reportedly became upset when they producers refused to hire his wife. He left shortly before filming was to start, but recommended Richard Conte to replace him. (Interestingly enough Jean Wallace was Cornell Wilde’s wife at the time.)
The Big Combo pushed the boundaries of what was allowed in movies at the time. Detective Diamond has a casual sexual relationship with a stripper. Mr. Brown isn’t married to Susan, but they’re also in a sexual relationship. Thugs Fante and Mingo are clearly lovers. The torture scene is much more brutal than usually seen in movies of this era.
The Big Combo (1955) rates 4 of 5 stars.
“The Agency” starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith & Richard Gere – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Deal me in!
The Agency: Covert CIA agent Martian is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind unexpectedly reappears, their romance reignites, pitting his career, his real identity and his mission against his heart while hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith and Richard Gere.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” starring Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr. – The New Trailer is Here!
Deal me in!
Gerard Butler (Plane, Has Fallen series) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves.
In DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA, Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.
Lionsgate presents, in association with eOne and TT Entertainment, a TT Entertainment production. An eOne Features production. A G-Base and Diamond Film Productions production.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera – in theaters January 10! Starring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr
Superman by Mike Wieringo!
There is always a joy in art by Mike Wieringo. That is one of the things that made him a perfect artist for Superman.
“Second Wind” (1966) original title: Le deuxième souffle, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Christine Fabréga and Michel Constantin / Z-View
Second Wind (1966) original title: Le deuxième souffle
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Screenplay: Jean-Pierre Melville, José Giovanni based on the novel Le deuxième souffle by José Giovanni
Stars: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Christine Fabréga and Michel Constantin.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Gustave “Gu” Minda has escaped prison and is on the lam. He needs money to get out of the country before Police Commissaire Blot’s team find him.
Gu is offered a spot on a dangerous rip-off. Two armed motorcycle cops will escort an armored truck (with two more armed guards) and over a ton of platinum. The score will not only get Gu enough cash to slip out of the country, but set him up for life.
Of course the best laid plans…
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The more I think about this film, the more I like it.
One of my favorite characters in this movie is Alban (Michel Constantin), Gu’s sister’s bodyguard.
Second Wind (1966) rates 4 of 5 stars.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” – The Poster is Here!
I enjoyed Den of Thieves and am looking forward to Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.
The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming!
The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming! It will drop on March 4, 2025. Preorders are available now. Here is the lowdown…
Wherever men live, be they nomads or city dwellers, there they must have law and a man to enforce it.
Meet Detective John Law of Crossroads City. Strong, decent, hardworking and hard-nosed. He’s a man who believes in the law and order. He’s the last of a dying breed.
In 1948, Will Eisner produced the first issue of “John Law Detective”, which he intended to add to a line of self-published comics. However, after Eisner’s “Baseball Comics”, “Kewpies”, and “Pirate Comics” failed to find an audience, John Law never made it to the newsstand and was quietly dropped, with much of the original artwork reworked in 1950 for his most famous creation, The Spirit.
Featuring original stories by Will Eisner, Gary Chaloner’s award-winning reboot from 2004, including a previously unpublished John Law Story, and a foreword by long-time Eisner publisher Denis Kitchen, this is a must-have for not just Eisner fans but comic collectors of all ages.
Wolverine & Hellboy by Jeff Wamester!
This one came out of the Zablo vault. It’s by Jeff Wamester. I discovered Wamester through his website. He was posting cool art like this Wolverine/Hellboy above.
I was lucky to meet and get a sketch from Jeff Wamester at a convention. He rocked Sly Stallone from Nighthawks.
Jeff Wamester went on to become Director at WB animation with experience as a storyboard artist, character designer and comic book illustrator.
