I sure hope some of you are watching along with me as I take a crash course in 1955 film noir in preparation for the second annual Noirvember Draft I’ll be having with my buddies Sergio and Nick. So far, the views have ranged from terrific to terrible, which is exactly how the genre is supposed to … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 3
Films
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 2
I’m back with my thoughts on three more films from the big 1955 film noir list that Sergio Angelini, Nick Cardillo and I are watching in order to create our Top 13 Best Film Noirs of 1955. (Remember: I’m watching these films in alphabetical order. You can join me or simply sample the films that sound good … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 2
THE “GREATEST MYSTERY FILMS OF ALL TIME” DRAFT!!!
On Sunday, I met with my buddies Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo for our latest game of list-drafting. After tackling Christie, Hitchcock, Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan, we decided to broaden our focus on a more general look at the mystery genre in film. Each of us did our research and came together armed with … Continue reading THE “GREATEST MYSTERY FILMS OF ALL TIME” DRAFT!!!
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART I
The concept of “Noirvember” was created fifteen years ago by Marya E. Gates, a film critic, as a jazzy way to celebrate the beloved genre of film noir. Last year, the word was co-opted by Ah Sweet Mystery when Sergio, Nick and I drafted The Best Noirs of 1944. And now, another Noirvember draft is brewing: this year, we examine … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART I
MYSTERY MOVIE TALK: Three Announcements!
I got into this blogging game for the conversations. Ironic, since the vast majority of readers tend to shy away from the comments section. So we scribes do what we can to get the conversation going. Over the past couple of years, my two buddies, Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo, and I have set aside … Continue reading MYSTERY MOVIE TALK: Three Announcements!
CRIME WATCH: New Mysteries on TV
A new trailer has dropped for the upcoming third Knives Out movie, Wake Up, Dead Man. The lovely thing about it is that it is heavy on imagery and light on spoilers, and it trumpets to the skies that it concerns what detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) calls “for a man of reason the Holy Grail” – an … Continue reading CRIME WATCH: New Mysteries on TV
CHRISTIE, AVEC SUBTITLES: More Movie Adaptations
To all you true Christie fans, have I got an adaptation for you! As I’ve said repeatedly, I have come around to a much more open-minded attitude when it comes to adapting Christie, which is why I enjoyed the BBC’s recent Towards Zero more than most of my fellow Christie fanatics did. It was far from perfect … Continue reading CHRISTIE, AVEC SUBTITLES: More Movie Adaptations
A PERRY MASON MENAGERIE: Cinematic Addendum
One of the perks of being a fan of Erle Stanley Gardner’s defense attorney-hero Perry Mason is that nearly all of the books have been adapted for television. Among the 271 episodes of Perry Mason that aired between 1957 and 1966, one can find the titles of most of the eighty-two novels and four novellas that featured the world’s … Continue reading A PERRY MASON MENAGERIE: Cinematic Addendum
CHARLIE CHAN AT FOX: The Complete Rankings
While the Fox Charlie Chan films are fresh in everyone’s minds – okay, maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part! – I thought I would take one step beyond the Top Thirteen list that Sergio, Nick, and I drafted over the weekend and share with you my complete ranking of all twenty-three of the Fox … Continue reading CHARLIE CHAN AT FOX: The Complete Rankings
THE FOX CHARLIE CHAN DRAFT
You can’t help but wonder if Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, created in 1925 by popular author Earl Derr Biggers, would have left as lasting and, well, complicated an impression on our culture had he never made it to film. After all, there were only six novels published in a space of seven years. They were … Continue reading THE FOX CHARLIE CHAN DRAFT
Ah Sweet Mystery! 