The passings parade

This week’s edition of the “roll call of the deceased” is a little shorter than it has been in recent weeks—which, when you stop and think about it, is an encouraging sign in that while we’ve established that Death rarely takes a holiday s/he might be lingering a bit during those three-martini lunches.  The celebrity…

The Loving Lucy Blogathon: “Two people who live together…and like it!”

This essay is Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s contribution to the Loving Lucy Blogathon, which is being hosted today by True Classics: The ABCs of Classic Film in honor of the centennial birthday celebration of Lucille Ball.  TDOY has an additional post up at Edward Copeland's Tangents, toasting our favorite “crazy redhead.”  (Portions of this piece were recycled from a November 2003 post at TDOY’s former Salon…

Guest Review Double Feature: The Dirty Dozen (1967)/The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985)

By Philip Schweier  The Dirty Dozen (1967) is a manly type of film, chockfull of military bravado and guns and explosions and all the things that make action movies worthwhile. But as a war film, it is, as one commenter on the DVD explained, of the latter breed of WW II films. That is to say, that movies…

“I love Lucy and she loves me…”

This Saturday marks the centennial birthday of television legend Lucille Ball, and the various events that are being planned to commemorate Lucy’s 100th natal anniversary are spectacular ones indeed.  I got a press release via e-mail last night from Hillary Schrupf at SiriusXM that I thought was worth passing on to those TDOY followers mad about “that crazy redhead”: …

Guest Review: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

By Philip Schweier  I’ll admit to the fact that in my younger days I was what they call a “trekkie.” I read all the books and watched the TV show over and over. So I was thrilled at the age of 14 when the cast of the television show reunited for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Recently, with a…

The Ida Lupino Blogathon: Ida’s in the Zone

This essay is Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s contribution to The Ida Lupino Blogathon currently underway at (where else?) The Ida Lupino Blog from August 1-2.  I will warn you right off the bat that I’m going to telegraph the endings of the two episodes discussed here…so if by some off chance you’ve not watched either of these two half-hours rush to…

Guest Review: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

By Philip Schweier  Once again, co-stars and director are reunited in Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), as Otto Preminger directs his leading actors from Laura (1944), Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in a script from newsie turned playwright turned screen scribe Ben Hecht.  Dana plays Det. Mark Dixon, a tough cop who has no compulsion against beating the occasional suspect in an…