Friday, October 30, 2015
Filed under: Halloween, Horror (Mostly Gothic), PLUGS Tagged: Halloween, Haunted Hall, Manhattan Youth
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:02AM[SHARE]Tonight on TCM, several horror films from the hand of RKO screenwriter/producer Val Lewton. 8:00pm (EST): Cat People (1942) "People"? It's just one woman and she may or not be a cat person. …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:57AM[SHARE]Thursday, October 29, 2015
Today marks the anniversary of the release date of the Charlie Chaplin/ Keystone comedy Gentlemen of Nerve. This is one of what I call the ad hoc/ improv type silent comedies, shot at an …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:10PM[SHARE]Tomorrow on TCM: several horror films by England’s Hammer Studios. I find that as a general rule, though these movies have their moments, one must have more patience than I possess to …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:02AM[SHARE]Today is birthday of Anna Case (1888-1984). New Jersey born Case was said to have been the first person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera who hadn’t been trained in Europe. She debuted…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:02AM[SHARE]Wednesday, October 28, 2015
My terrifyingly talented friends at Inappropriate Films shot this amazing and highly original horror film over the summer, with yours truly in a key role. Want proof?: There’s a real s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:51PM[SHARE]Tomorrow on TCM: a grab bag of horror and suspense by mavens Tod Browning, William Castle, Alfred Hitchcock and Roger Corman: 7:45 am (EST): Freaks (1932) The ultimate Tod Browning fi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:44PM[SHARE]Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, Halloween, Horror (Mostly Gothic), PLUGS Tagged: Call Me on the Ouija Board, Producers Club
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:44PM[SHARE]Tonight, in celebration of the Halloween season, TCM will show several Disney classics, most of which (kind of) have a spooky angle. Disney never allows itself to get TOO dark, but there are…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:44PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the great Elsa Lanchester (1902-1986). Lanchester was still a going concern in my youth (Murder by Death, Willard and all those Disney movies) hence it took…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:38AM[SHARE]Tuesday, October 27, 2015
And now, the latest in our month long series about classic horror which we launched here. John Carradine was identified with several genres, not just horror, but westerns and historical cost…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:13PM[SHARE]I had the good fortune to spend a couple of hours as a guest on Jim Melloan’s Radio Free Brooklyn talk show The Truth and Freedom Show last week. I don’t know how we managed to f…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:13PM[SHARE]Tomorrow on TCM (for some reason): several movies linked thematically only by their shared quality of EXCESS: All-Star casts, and epic running times: 9:45am (EST): Grand Hotel (1932) I think…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:43PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Jack Carson (1910-1963). (Not to be confused with Jack Carter!) I was already predisposed to post about Carson on account of his appearing in so many classic show…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:14PM[SHARE]Â As we promised here, we bought the new Sarah Vowell book the first day it became available; we finished reading it over the weekend. Lafayette in the Somewhat United States is a worthy e…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:09PM[SHARE]Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, Vaudeville etc. Tagged: Antique Phonograph, Michael Cumella, WFMU
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:08AM[SHARE]Monday, October 26, 2015
Today is the birthday of Jackie Coogan ( see my full biographical blogpost here). As they often do, TCM is celebrating his birthday today by showing some of his earlier triumphs such as T…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:22PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of film director Mark Sandrich (Mark Rex Goldstein, 1900-1945). Sandrich studied engineering at Columbia University before breaking into films as a prop master. He bega…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:20PM[SHARE]We can’t help noticing that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. If you’re the type who prefers to get away than to be in the thick of things (e.g. Manhattan’s annual H…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:15PM[SHARE]Sunday, October 25, 2015
And now, the latest in our month long series about classic horror which we launched here, Today I thought we’d focus on someone who wasn’t primarily associated with the horror ge…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:36PM[SHARE]Tomorrow is the birthday of Baby Peggy (Diana Serra Cary, 1918-present) . Turner Classic Movies is celebrating with a program of Baby Peggy related films. At midnight (EST), it’s the 2…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:51AM[SHARE]Saturday, October 24, 2015
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Coney Island, Indie Theatre, PLUGS Tagged: Coney Island USA, Dick Zigun, Funhouse Philosophers, Ride Inspector's Nightmare
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:43AM[SHARE]Friday, October 23, 2015
As we speak, Hurricane Patricia is bearing down on Mexico. It also happens to be the birthday of character actor Frank Sutton (1923-1974). Are you thinking what I’m thinking? What? You…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:36PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Irish character actress Una O’Connor (Agnes Terese McGlade, 1880-1959). O’Connor got her start at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and spent many years on the…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:18PM[SHARE]Tonight as part of their Friday night horror series for the Halloween season, Turner Classic Movies will show several classic horror films inspired by books: 8:00am (EST): Dr. Jekyll …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:25PM[SHARE]There’s something so inherently fascinating and magnetic the first time I heard the name The Last Great Circus Flyer. It’s one of the seven documentaries playing at TCFF I look f…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:25PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Jimmy Aubrey (1887–1983). The son of an American-born gymnast, Aubrey was born and raised in Lancashire, England. He got his start in music hall with KarnoR…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:07PM[SHARE]Today is the anniversary of the release date of the 1926 silent comedy The Better ‘ole, starring Syd Chaplin, and directed by Chuck Reisner.  This World War One comedy has a …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:14PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Armand Kaliz (Armand Kalisz, 1887-1941). Kaliz was born in Paris; of Polish Jewish parentage. By 1907 Kaliz was in New York appearing in both vaudeville and the Broa…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:14PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Sally O’Neil (Virginia Louise Noonan, 1908-1968). Â Bayonne-born O’Neil started her performing career as “Chotsie Noonan” in vaudeville. He…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Lilyan Tashman (1896-1934). The daughter of Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York she began as a model in high school and broke into vaudeville during her teenage …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
