Horror Movie ‘The Beast Within’ Channels Mississippi Murder
The specters of Mississippi murder, uncontrollable teens and much, much more American-generated anxiety haunt the freak-out horror movie The Beast Within.
film history
B-Movie ‘Invasion of the Bee Girls’ Pollinates a Sexual Epidemic
Amid the spectre of a sexually transmitted epidemic, b-movie Invasion of the Bee Girls gives viewers an intoxicating buzz.
International Film Buffs Should Pounce on MoMA’s To Save and Project Festival
From silent classics to Thai melodrama, home movies to Brazilian sambas, MoMA’s To Save and Project festival is catnip for international film buffs.
Nazis and Racial and Sexual Subtexts in ‘Revenge of the Zombies’
Revenge of the Zombies stands at the axis of Nazis, race relations and feminism in a mishmash of wartime themes under an immigrant director.
When Sessue Hayakawa Took Hollywood by Smoldering Storm
Sessue Hayakawa was the first Asian male star in Hollywood, became a “foreign” silent film sex symbol, and ran his own company while the “natives” remained uptight.
Masculine Movie Icon Alan Ladd As the Wounded Outlaw Hero
Red Mountain and Botany Bay showcase masculine movie icon Alan Ladd in his glory, playing wounded heroes on the wrong side of the law.
Johnny Cash in Psycho-Heist Thriller ‘Door-to-Door Maniac’
What a difference a script makes. Johnny Cash and Cay Forrester goose up the histrionics of Door-to-Door Maniac.
Murder and Apocalypse in Pop Art 1960s Mash-up ‘Fata Morgana’
The Barcelona School made avant-garde films nobody could understand, such as the pop art 1960s mash-up, Fata Morgana. But it sure looks good.
Arch Oboler’s ‘Bwana Devil’ Mauls the First 3D Movie Audience
Arch Oboler’s Bwana Devil kicked off the 1950s 3D movies craze with a man-eating lion story, and 70s years later it’s trying to get its claws into audiences.
Silent Film Restorations ‘The Craving’ and ‘Annie Laurie’ Radiate the Medium
Francis Ford was an important silent film actor and director, and not just for being John Ford’s brother. Star Lillian Gish had the clout to get what she wanted.
‘Six in Paris’ Cuts the City into New Wave Slices of Sex and Death
Filming with a handheld 16mm color camera, six filmmakers offer a cohesive snapshot of 1966 Paris and their obsessions with sex and death.
Retro Monsters and Sexual Politics Dominate These Three Sci-Fi Movies
Sci-fi movies Unknown Terror, The Colossus of New York and Destination Inner Space inject monsters into personal melodrama for masculine redemption.