Pre-Code Films from Directors Beaudine and Vidor Give Creepy Thrills
Restored pre-code films William Beaudine’s ‘The Crime of the Century’ and Charles Vidor’s ‘Double Door’ thrill with their frightening fearlessness.
film restoration
Color Lines: 1930 Colonial Film ‘Mamba’ in Early Technicolor
Albert S. Rogell’s 1930 Technicolor film Mamba offers a colonial critique that’s sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit, and sometimes contradictory.
Criminal Subterfuge and Dark Desires in Chabrol’s Minimalist Murder-Mysteries
While murder and crime certainly run deep in Claude Chabrol’s world of subterfuge, the dark desires of human nature that provoke them run immeasurably deeper.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022: Dangers! Thrills! Desires! – and Sweet Enchantment
Silent films have a way of burrowing their stories into your mind and taking root. With this preview of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022, let us plant a few seeds.
Neorealism Meets Fairy Tale in Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Miracle in Milan’
If the escapism in Vittorio De Sica’s Miracle in Milan seems simple-minded, even simpler is the cure to society’s ills.
Robert Siodmak’s Auf Wiedersehen to Hollywood
Robert Siodmak’s reverse immigration film, Deported, and drama about capital and labor, The Whistle at Eaton Falls, were the last he’d make for Hollywood.
Anatomy of the Wounded: Márta Mészáros’ ‘Adoption’
Márta Mészáros’ film Adoption is empathetic and beady-eyed about the negotiations and indignities of those caught up in social prejudices, especially women.
Tied and Noosed ‘Dancing Pirate’ Waltzes into Technicolor
Restored 1936 Technicolor film Dancing Pirate crosses the early talkies’ vogue for absurd musicals with its other vogue for Hollywood Mexicana.
Before and After Hitler: Two Films by German Director Robert Siodmak
German director Robert Siodmak‘s 1930 comedy Farewell is a far cry from 1957’s Nazi-influenced crime thriller, The Devil Strikes at Night.
Restored Silent Film ‘The Street of Forgotten Men’ Debuts Louise Brooks
Silent film star Louise Brooks’ first role was that of a “moll”, an uncredited bit part in the evocatively titled The Street of Forgotten Men.
Not So Elementary: ‘The Sherlock Holmes Vault Collection’ Offers Rare Deductions
We thoroughly inspect the four 1930s features and bonuses in The Film Detective’s The Sherlock Holmes Vault Collection.
Does a Fantasy or a Western a Film Noir Make?
Alfred Werker’s fantasy-dabbling Repeat Performance and John Sturges not-your-typical western The Capture may – or may not – be actual film noir.