Christmas is just around the corner (he said two days before Thanksgiving!), and that means movie studios are about to inundate the theatres with their “prestige” films, hoping these will receive consideration for the big awards (the Golden Globes, the Oscars, and the Independent Spirit). Every year, this period where good movies are released shrinks … Continue reading GENRE TRANSCENDANT: A Quartet of Great Films
Films
THE EVIDENCE OF THE TATTERED PAPERBACK: Fifty Years of MotOE and Me
Two hundred posts are something to celebrate. It’s time to talk about the book that changed my life. The fact that Agatha Christie is my favorite author has as much to do with her place in my own history as her position as one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. She did not … Continue reading THE EVIDENCE OF THE TATTERED PAPERBACK: Fifty Years of MotOE and Me
YOUR FAVORITE WHODUNIT FILM: A Teacher’s Plea for Assistance!
People of the blogosphere, I need your help. For the latter third of each fall semester, I discuss film genres with my “Cinema and Society” class. Their final project is to create a 5 – 10 minute film in which they choose a fairy tale and give it the genre treatment. Some great examples from … Continue reading YOUR FAVORITE WHODUNIT FILM: A Teacher’s Plea for Assistance!
BRANAGH TO THE RESCUE: “Not Your Granny’s Christie”
This classic mystery fan is always grateful when the modern press pays attention to anything related to the Golden Age, so it was with great delight that I received my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, only to find the cast of the upcoming remake of Murder on the Orient Express splashed across the cover. Kenneth … Continue reading BRANAGH TO THE RESCUE: “Not Your Granny’s Christie”
A IS FOR ALFRED
All through April, the Tuesday Night Bloggers are on an “Anything Goes” kick: the subject can be anything beginning with the letter “A.” So far this month, I’ve focused on Agatha – Christie, that is – so I thought that, for my final TNG post of the month, I would switch it up to another … Continue reading A IS FOR ALFRED
ACRIMONY! Agatha and Adaptations
This April theme to which All the Tuesday Night Bloggers Aspire is An Admirable Act. I Attribute it to the Allure of Alliteration. Anyway, As Bev’s Adorable Artwork Alludes, in April, Anything Goes . . . just as long as it begins with the letter A. You can imagine, knowing me as you do, my … Continue reading ACRIMONY! Agatha and Adaptations
THE LOVE DETECTIVES: Hammett’s The Thin Man
REPORTER: Say, is he working on a case? NORA: Why, yes – REPORTER: What case is it? NORA: A case of Scotch. Go in and help him. I rarely venture into hard-boiled territory, but I have always had a deep fondness for Dashiell Hammett. I bought myself a copy of his Five Collected Novels years … Continue reading THE LOVE DETECTIVES: Hammett’s The Thin Man
CALLING DR. DEATH: The Wonderful World of The Inner Sanctum
“This is the Inner Sanctum - a strange, fantastic world controlled by a mass of living, pulsating flesh – the mind. It destroys, distorts, creates monsters . . . commits murder. Yes, even you, without knowing, can commit murder!” Every month over at Past Offenses, Rich Westwood picks a different year to celebrate for the … Continue reading CALLING DR. DEATH: The Wonderful World of The Inner Sanctum
IT’S ALL RELATIVE: Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt
Over at Past Offenses this month, Rich Westwood is hosting a celebration of the best mysteries of 1943. Anybody who wants to can select a book or film from that year and put something together. I’m grateful to Rich for providing a forum for folks to share their views and opinions, and I’m especially glad … Continue reading IT’S ALL RELATIVE: Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt
THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
When Rich at Past Offenses chooses a particularly challenging year for his monthly “Crimes of the Century” invitational – where bloggers from all over send in posts of great mysteries of the time – I am grateful that he includes films as well as books. This is particularly true when we’re dealing with the late … Continue reading THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
Ah Sweet Mystery! 