“Give us a kiss…”

With it being Labor Day weekend and all, I’ve been shuttling back and forth between my and sister Kat’s digs for various food-type invites. Last night, Mom and Dad had me over for cheeseburgers, and then tomorrow, we’ll hold our traditional Labor Day cookout…where we’ll shake things up by having hot dogs. (I hear some…

Daniel was a witness

Dennis Cozzalio at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule is currently offering up another round of cinematic posers in his ongoing series of “Movie Quizzes,” and while I always tell myself that should take a crack at one (actually, I think I may have on one occasion) I usually opt out when I see a question like this:…

You can be sure if it’s Westinghouse

This item over at TVShowsOnDVD.com about the upcoming release of 6-DVD box set of Studio One kinescopes almost slipped past me…but since it didn’t, I thought I’d pass it on to some of the more “highbrow” visitors to Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. (I am, of course, referring to the gentleman and gentlewoman eating the sandwiches over the sink.) Koch…

Abbott and Costello Meet the Weasels at MCA-Universal

I guess they’ve finally worked out the legal complexities regarding It Ain’t Hay (1943), a Bud Abbott/Lou Costello romp based on Damon Runyon’s Princess O’Hara, because DVD Times announces that it will be available on Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection come this October 28th. For those of you thinking: “Gosh all fishhooks—this will be a simply grand opportunity to complete my…

That darn cat

Multi-millionaire Thaddeus J. (“TJ”) Banner is enjoying watching the antics of a mangy alley cat who delights in swiping golf balls off a country club golf course, and instructs his press agent Eric Yeager (Ray Milland) to capture the feline because he thinks the animal is full of spirit and spunk—unlike the broken-down ball team…

“Hollywood’s often tried to mix/Show business with politics…”

Once again, Bill Crider leads the way in pointing me toward a recent blurb at the San Francisco Chronicle online that chooses the Top 10 political campaign films…and does so without the spurious help of Diebold, I might add. You should go read it for a more in-depth view, but for those of you who don’t have the time…

The Rolls Royce of Country Music

So I’m skimming CharredHer’s homepage last night and I come across this little blurb about country rocker Marty Stuart, who’s announcing his plans to headline a country music TV show Sunday nights on cable’s RFD-TV. Stuart, who once played alongside both Johnny Cash and Lester Flatt, is known for hits like Tempted and Little Things, and says that the show…

The plot against Harry

If announcer/second banana Harry Von Zell is to be immortalized for anything during his lengthy career in radio, movies and TV, it will probably be for his long-running role as sidekick/whipping boy to George Burns and Gracie Allen in their successful television sitcom that ran on CBS-TV from 1950 to 1958. (Von Zell also appeared…

Region 2 Cinema: The Fugitive (1947)

(Warning: There’s a spoiler in this first paragraph.) An unidentified priest/revolutionary (Henry Fonda) finds himself on the run in a nameless Latin American country where members of the clergy are hunted down and summarily executed. His encounters with various societal outcasts—an unwed mother (Dolores Del Rio), a slimy police informer (J. Carrol Naish, channeling his inner…

What becomes a Legend most?

Mark Evanier recently posted to his newsfromme blog a review of With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), a comedy romp starring Doris Day and Brian Keith and directed by the late, great Howard Morris. Evanier observes: “Howie did some wonderful things as a director—if you ever get the chance to see Who’s Minding the Mint?, don’t miss it…” Now, I may be…