William K. Everson (1929 – 1996) was a film historian, educator and archivist who was one of the guiding lights in preserving films from the silent period through the 1940’s. Born in England, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1950 where he put his experience in film publicity to use for Monogram Pictures, a small, … Continue reading COFFEE TABLE BOOK TALES: Everson’s Trio of Crime Film Classics
Author: Brad
It’s Podcast Time Again!!
Morning, friends! I'm just dropping by briefly to let you know that the latest Spoiler Warning episode of my buddy JJ's podcast, In GAD We Trust, has just dropped. This time around, JJ, Moira (of Clothes in Books fame) and I have a discussion about the Agatha Christie classic, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Be … Continue reading It’s Podcast Time Again!!
REEL PROCEDURALS: From Headquarters (1933)
Without a doubt, the most prestigious film studio during Hollywood’s Golden Age was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Under the auspices of its leader, Louis B. Mayer, MGM adapted classics and concentrated on wholesome family fare and “big pictures.” This was the era when actors were mostly shackled to one studio, and MGM boasted of having “more stars than … Continue reading REEL PROCEDURALS: From Headquarters (1933)
REEL PUZZLES: The Phantom of Crestwood
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the 1960 Doris Day mystery, Midnight Lace. A discussion about the variety of cinematic mysteries ensued, and my friend Scott K. Ratner kindly offered a list of what he considered to be “the classic whodunnit films” (despite its twists, Midnight Lace is not a “whodunnit” as we think of classic … Continue reading REEL PUZZLES: The Phantom of Crestwood
BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
I am a slow reader. I’ll grant you it’s a bit of a liability when you blog about books. I’ve complained about it to my friends, but they aren’t sympathetic. Not the Puzzle Doctor, who posts every day, usually about these big historical mysteries or heavyweight psychological thrillers or dull, er, dense, um . . . John … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
TOO MUCH META IN MY DIET: Lending the Key to the Locked Room
Here we are at the start of 2021, and the Western world is facing an existential crisis of enormous proportions while the Eastern world seems to have things pretty much under control. I’m speaking, of course, of the efforts of thirty or so bloggers to transform public opinion in America and Europe as to the … Continue reading TOO MUCH META IN MY DIET: Lending the Key to the Locked Room
MIDNIGHT LACE or, You Can’t Go Home Again
Growing up, I watched so much television that it’s a wonder I can form words into sentences. Today, with cable and streaming services, we have access to four hundred options at any given minute, and yet all too often I find there’s nothing to watch. In the 1960’s, we had six or seven stations to … Continue reading MIDNIGHT LACE or, You Can’t Go Home Again
A LOOK AT BRIDGERTON: #MeToo with a Dash of Mmm Hmm Hmm
My friends are chattering about Bridgerton, the new Shonda Rhimes-produced series on Netflix. They compare it to Sanditon, the recent series based on an unfinished novel by Jane Austen that recently played on Masterpiece Theatre. There is little, however, of Austen beyond the surface of this new series. Bridgerton is more Agnes Nixon than Jane Austen; it is All My Children wrapped … Continue reading A LOOK AT BRIDGERTON: #MeToo with a Dash of Mmm Hmm Hmm
FAST FORWARDING INTO ‘21
“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) Does anybody want to hear me vent about 2020? Because, you know, I can do it, and I will . . . that is, if anyone wants to listen. To be honest, however, … Continue reading FAST FORWARDING INTO ‘21
THE MAN, THE MOUSTACHES, THE MASTERPIECE: Ending the Year on a High Note
On March 14 of this anno horribilus, I suggested to all of you that whatever comes our way could be mitigated by reading a classic mystery. I suggested this because . . . well, that’s kind of what they were written for! Not that Agatha Christie and Freeman Wills Crofts and Sayers and Berkeley and the … Continue reading THE MAN, THE MOUSTACHES, THE MASTERPIECE: Ending the Year on a High Note
Ah Sweet Mystery! 