Films That Matter
By the Skin of Your Teeth
Originally meant to be a satire... though of a film very few have ever seen nowadays, the Norman Z. McLeod western comedy The Paleface (1948), written by Frank Tashlin about 1929's Virginian, infuriated the man in how it was directed (as a more generic spoof of the western)... but funnily enough, despite the screenwriter’s opinion, until Blazing Saddles (1974) came out, it was the highest grossing western parody of all-time and spawned a sequel in Son of Paleface (1952), while it was also remade as the Don Knotts vehicle The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968). After government agents tasked with tracking down an illegal gun smuggling ring turn up dead, the infamous Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) is secretly broken out of jail by Gov. Johnson (Charles Trowbridge) with the hope that she will take a pardon for going undercover to get to the bottom of this rebel-rousing (similar to rabble-rousing) gang in the frontier land.
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Star Pick with Guy Boucher
Mission StatementThe MissionOctober 10, 2017It was an absolute pleasure sitting down with Guy Boucher just prior to the beginning of the 2017-2018 National Hockey League season. At a charitable event for The Children’s Treatment Centre, he was one of the roasters of Ottawa Senators’ assistant coach Marc Crawford, in what can only be termed a hilarious evening. With an impressive start to his coaching career, Boucher began in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, capping it off by winning the Paul Dumont Trophy in 2009 – awarded to the personality of the year, while with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The success brought with it a head coaching job with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, where he took home the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award (coach of the year) in 2010.
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Star Pick with Tia Carrere
No Replicant RequiredBlade RunnerOctober 3, 2017The last few years have been a dream for fans of films and television series of the 1980s and 90s, as it seems like more and more are getting sequels (often after many long years), usually with at least a portion of the original cast (and often the director back in either the same role or that of producer) returning to play a part left behind long ago. Think, in no particular order, Dumb and Dumber, Full House, Mad Max, Rocky (Creed), Star Wars, Wet Hot American Summer (actually early 2000s), Jurassic Park, and, as of this Friday, add Blade Runner to the list. Returning to the silver screen thirty-five years after the original, Ridley Scott this time puts his executive producer cap on, with Denis Villeneuve taking over directorial efforts, while Harrison Ford delves into the Rick Deckard character once again. . . though, you’ll have to wait to hear more on that. As a lead-in to the long awaited sequel, the original 1982 picture is the focus today.
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Star Pick with Michael Dante
Gone with the Winds of ChangeGone with the WindSeptember 28, 2017It was lovely sitting down with veteran actor Michael Dante at Trekonderoga this past August. In the business for more than sixty years, it was not his original path in life. A top baseball player, he was signed by the Boston Braves out of high school. As fate would have it, he travelled a less expected path, finding his way, through interesting circumstances, into his first feature film, Robert Wise’s Somebody Up There Likes Me, in 1956 (with legendary names like Newman, Duvall and McQueen). Leading to an impressive career, Dante has graced the silver screen in such films as Westbound, Seven Thieves (Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins, Eli Wallach), Kid Galahad (Elvis), The Naked Kiss (with famed director Samuel Fuller), Apache Rifles, Willard, as well as playing the title character in Winterhawk. . . this is just a small sampling of his work.
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The Sound of Silence. . . Almost
LonesomeSeptember 22, 2017A striking picture from a unique moment in Hollywood history, Pál Fejös’ 1928 romantic drama Lonesome found itself one of the first transitional films between the silent and sound/talkie era. Originally developed as a Universal silent feature by the Hungarian filmmaker (Fejös, a Renaissance man, was also a doctor, World War 1 medic, anthropologist and explorer), in post-production it was decided that three dialogue scenes would be added – to appease audiences who desired the new effect following The Jazz Singer craze. A short transitional period of about two years followed, as filmmakers and studios began to adapt to the changing world of sound, adding touches of dialogue into their silent pictures.
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An Ace Venture
Ace Ventura: Pet DetectiveSeptember 12, 2017One of those films that was not treated overly well by critics but is beloved by fans the world over, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, shot lead Jim Carrey, then known to people mostly for being on In Living Color, into another stratosphere. The year 1994 was a good one for the comic and actor, as this film was followed soon after by The Mask and Dumb & Dumber, further adding to his meteoric rise. The next three years would further cement him as a true comic talent, as roles in Batman Forever, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Cable Guy and Liar Liar continuously hit viewers’ funny bones. Though, it was the character of Ace Ventura, which was co-written by Carrey, along with Jack Bernstein and Tom Shadyac (who also directed, and would work again with the actor in Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty), that first demonstrated his skills at physical comedy, mimicry, comedic timing and coining memorable catch phrases to be enjoyed by silver screen audiences.
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Thieves in the Night
Seven ThievesSeptember 1, 2017Arriving at theatres a few months before the iconic 1960 Lewis Milestone film Ocean’s Eleven, Henry Hathaway’s Seven Thieves is its lesser known forerunner, yet despite being in its long casting shadow, it is a whole lot of fun. Set in Monte Carlo, disgraced professor and scientist Theo Wilkins (Edward G. Robinson) is the mastermind of a daring plot to rob a posh, extravagant casino in the picturesque Principality of Monaco. Uniting a talented group of shady individuals, the aging ringleader has called on longtime American acquaintance Paul Mason (Rod Steiger), a smart man who has worked with Wilkins before, hoping that he will be his right-hand man as well as the iron fist that will keep everyone in line.
