This site is the place where I jot down my reviews on and thoughts about the movies which I view. I have always loved the movies for as long as I can remember and I like the idea of having a place where I can ramble on about them.
I guess the bulk of what I write will relate to pre-1980 movies since that’s the period of film-making for which I have the greatest affection. While I watch and enjoy films from every conceivable genre, I suppose most of my posts will focus on westerns and film noirs as, again, these are my personal favorites.
I have categorized my entries according to both genre and decade, or simply by decade where a film doesn’t seem to fit conveniently into a genre (I’ve also recently added director and/or actor tags for most titles). Titles can also be browsed by clicking on the alphabetical index.
EDIT: 12/26/11 – I had originally left in the links to comments made on the old site as I didn’t want them to seem ignored in the shift to my new home. However, I’ve had to go back and strip them all out as I became aware that they were not only directing traffic to the old site but resulting in people leaving comments there where they were in danger of being missed. To those who have left comments on the old FilmJournal site and can’t now see them, you have my apologies. Unless or until I can figure out a way to transfer them over they will have to remain where they originally appeared.
Thanks Paul, glad you like the look.
I had transferred some content – maybe the first 80 or so posts – via an export file a few years back as an experiment before wordpress changed to the point it was no longer possible. As such the final shift wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been – still something of a Herculean task!
I pretty much have control over layout, although it’s limited somewhat by the choice of theme obviously. I haven’t had the chance to check out how it appears in search engines yet, but I’ve already earned two “likes” and one follower! I’ll get back to you when I explore a bit more.
Thank you Dafydd. I’m very happy with the response so far, and I think the time was right for a change.
With Xmas almost upon us, I figure it will be the New year before I actually manage to post something new. Seems more appropriate that way.
Having just recently discovered your blog (love the name of it, by the way). I am glad this is just a change in location, not a retirement.
Don’t worry, I’m not planning on closing down operations any time soon.
Really great stuff here, by that I mean the film noir page, but I can see this is a rich site. When you were writing about The Bribe, you mention a version you obtained from a source called Absolute, sounded like it was subtitled in Spanish. I’ve done some googling, but can’t seem to find it. Care to share a link?
Keep up the good work!!! Will return to indulge in more Noir-ness.
Thanks Harvey, glad you enjoyed it.
The copy of The Bribe that I have is an official Spanish release, which has the English soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles – they can be switched on or off via the setup menu on the disc. Here’s a link to the Amazon Spain listing for the title.
Hope that helps, and stop by anytime.
Thanks, the link took me right to it.. I don’t know if I can purchase using my amazon usa account. I tried it w/amazon uk and it didn’t work. My copy of The Bribe is pretty good, it is the R1 version. What a great movie!! I think you are right, it is almost a noir, but not quite. It uses a lot of noir style, though. I loved the movie. I saw another on your site, Singapore, that I have never seen or heard of, so I will start looking for that one. I agree, Criss Cross is a perfectly realized noir in every respect, really one of the core films in the canon, imo. BTW, on amazon us i got a copy of Desert Fury that was R0, I think it was from Brazil or Argentina. The color was quite good, and the subtitles were removeable. They are having a noir fest here in Los Angeles at present. I wanted to go see Phantom Lady tonight, but I mixed up the time and missed it!!! They also had Black Angel and The Window, but I was paying to see Phantom Lady on the big screen, so without that, I just went home. I’ve been into film noir since about 1982 when I took a college class devoted to it, one of the first I am pretty sure. It was taught by a fellow named John Schultheiss, who later did some scholarly work on Abraham Polonsky (Force of Evil). Great class, and I guess this is the 30th anniversary of taking it!! He made us write something on Cornell Woolrich, and trust me, almost nothing of his was in print back in 1982. Now, of course, you can get his stuff anywhere, but I had to run down an old used copy in a dusty shop. It was great fun, long before one could have something sent via internet in a few days. Well, keep up the good work and I will check in from time to time. Wonderful site you have been building. I think I got to it from the billboard at Danger & Despair Knitting Circle. There was a comment about the piece on Criss Cross and a link. Lucky find, I must say!
Very kind of you Harvey. The noir fest sounds great; it’s always a pleasure to see these old movies on the big screen.
BTW, if you have an Amazon US account, then you should be able to order from any of their worldwide sites – your data is saved centrally, so once you log in you just go through the same steps to order as you would on the US site.
Thanks, Colin, I’ll give it a try and see if it works. I better check the Euro conversion rate first!
I wrote this for my good buddy Peter who is buying some books from Scott Nollen, (Three Bad Men). He wanted to get my opinion of them as Scott just sounds a bit too good to be true. But, so far, everything I have checked out is hunky dory. He is checking out some of what is written below, and I am checking out the rest. Does Colin do the old Horror stuff? Oh, Scott’s next book….one of them is about Glenda Farrell, his favorite female star. The other is about a guy who sings like Neil Diamond……even Neil is amazed at the likeness…….AND the guy is black….named the Black Diamond, (real name is Theron, LOL). He has a FB page and answers right away.
Thought you might want to do a short interview of him……..shoot, you could use a lot of this stuff, copy and paste and just change a few things, LOL! Sometimes I think LAZY!
I wrote what I thought about Scott’s books on JWMB, (I got The Cinema of Sinatra and Jilly, Sinatra’s Right Hand man), and this is what he wrote back…..bet it just galled Ethan, LOL. Don’t know WHY that moderator is so jealous of me, but he most definitely is!
The “burnin’ daylight” is right out of THE COWBOYS!
Wow, THAT blew me away! Jilly only finished 5th or 6th grade!………..But he LOVED excellent piano players. If you don’t get one ofhe last few of these, I will have to copy you on what Frankie says about taking Jilly to see a Philarmonic Concert, oh, I could go on and on. It is incredible. But, I believe every word of it. because I knew Jilly in person, both as my neighbor, and as Frankie’s companion. As brilliant as he was is so many money making ways, he got words mixed up, and when he did, when you FINALLY figured out what he meant, it would take everything you could do to keep from busting out laughing.
Going to try to read some more, but I did some outside PHYSICAL work and am quite bushed………….may fall asleep, LOL.
Did you decide on any. Here is something Scott sent me for the website and the Winterset folks.
I can send you a DVD of a panel I moderated at a major film convention in Washington, DC, in 1999. It was called “Heirs of Horror Royalty,” and I hosted the program with the children of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price; the grandson of Lon Chaney Jr. (great-grandson of Lon Chaney, Sr.); and the niece of Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal. It is a great program, because I know very well all of these people! I will try to make it this week (soon) and send it off to you!
The materials I have that belonged to WARD BOND are: 1) a binder filled with original handwritten letters from Ward to his family, 1929-1933, some mentioning Ford and Wayne, and one that includes drops of his SWEAT all over the pages; 2) an original still from SALUTE (1929); and 3) a pair of jeans that he wore in one of his 1930s films.
I also have a large collection of items that belonged to SINATRA and JILLY!
There really isn’t much correspondence with Brian: He joined my page and then suggested the info that I sent to you. He did NOT ask for free books–I was referring to that subject in general–I have given away too many books over the years, and I only have ONE copy of some of my books, which is why I can’t give anything away.
My track record speaks for itself. I have given dozens of lectures at the National Archives, and spoken at various Sherlock Holmes societies, at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in St. Helena, California, and at the “Gillette to Brett” International Sherlock Holmes Conference in Indianapolis in 2007. The McFarland website and Amazon provide a lot of information. You may use the biography of me that is on imdb.com–it is pretty up to date.
My book on Paul Robeson has been called a “masterpiece” by a political activist in London, etc., etc.
The president of my publishing company said that my work is unique, and that I have “carved my own niche.” That’s why they have published so much of my work.
Yes, that is Ward’s first wife.
Some pics will follow soon!
Peter is DYING to see that Heirs of Horror Royalty, LOL! He is one of those spooky fans.
Just wanted to say thanks for the link on your blogroll, I sure do appreciate it. And also for the kind words about my site (Keith forwarded them on to me). I already had a link to you great site on my links page, but I have also added a nice banner link to your site as well.
I’m fortunate to have a group of friends that regularly get together to watch westerns. As a bonus, one guy is much younger than us (in his early 30s) and is really interested in,as he puts it, “all the great movies he missed”, so it’s always interesting to get his feedback.
Next week, we’ll be watching “McCabe and Mrs. Miller”. This is my personal “most watched” movie – both when it was first released in the theaters, and then when it came out on DVD. Remember when you were younger and had the time to sit through 2 screenings of a movie? This was the first movie I did that with, I just wanted to soak it up as best I could. So I went back later in the week and then the next week as well – and then it was gone.
Seems to be a movie that would be perfect for a review by you.
Tony, I’ve seen McCabe and Mrs Miller a number of times and have thought about writing it up at some point. I think the reason I’ve put it off is that I can never seem to make my mind up on Altman. I’d say I will get round to the movie though – just can’t say when.
Re; your “I can never seem to make my mind up on Altman” comment. He made two of the best movies ever in “McCabe” and “The Long Goodbye”. Most of his other movies after those (with a couple exceptions) had me scratching my head at the time of their original release, and I’ve no interest in revisiting most of them. I find myself thinking that what was “arty” in college, is now pretentious dreck (“3 Women”?). Even the ones that I remember liking at the time of release like “California Split”, “Nashville”, and “M*A*SH” fail to impress when re-watched.
A side note on “McCabe” and “The Long Goodbye” – my spouse in not a “movie person”. The running joke in our house is that for years when I’d ask her about going to a particular movie, her first question was “How long is it?” (Admitedly this may have stemmed from two of our first college dates being “Seven Samurai” and “Lawrence of Arabia”.) “McCabe” and “TLG” are the only two movies that she is willing and eager to rewatch over and over again. Not sure what that says about these movies, but I’ve always found it interesting that they connect that strongly with a person who really has no interest in the movies.
1)Have you been able to ID the best available DVD version of “Ulzanas Raid”? I’ve got the UK version and would like to upgrade to one without the horsefall edits. What a great, great western.
2) “The Wonderful Country” – I’ve the DVD that was released last year. Your thoughts – Maybe a future review? The big takeaway for me was that this was a great example of Robert Mitchum’s star power/magnetism. An interesting western, in which Mitchum commands the screen even when he’s sitting down with a broken leg for much of the movie.
Tony, it’s interesting you should mention The Long Goodbye. That’s an Altman movie I have to say I struggle with. I’ve discussed this with other people before, and I have a problem with Gould in the role of Marlowe and all that that casting decision means for the tone of the picture. Having said that, it’s not a film I’ve given up on.
1. Someone posted on my old site that the French DVD of Ulzana’s Raid was uncut, but I haven’t had the chance to see that edition. I strongly suspect all the continental European editions will be uncut – those cuts on the UK disc are required by the BBFC in accordance with UK law.
2. I don’t have the US release of The Wonderful Country, but I do have the non-anamorphic Spanish release and a more recent Italian edition that is enhanced for widescreen viewing. It’s a terrific film, and I have done a piece on it here.
Thanks for the link. I did a Robert Mitchum search and the only thing that turned up was your Top 10 Noir List.
Ah, some glitch with the search. Click the names in the category sidebar and you’ll bring up all the posts featuring any star or director. Or browse the title index.
Pleased to meet you, Colin. My friend Keith referred me to your site and I just spent a fascinating hour revisiting my own youth, much of which was spent in a dark theater. It’s comforting to know that I’m not alone (or crazy) in my affection for most of these titles.
You’re marked as a favorite and I’ll be spending much more time here.
Welcome aboard Bill. You’re certainly not alone and I hope you’ll become a regular visitor around these parts.
Very kind Sergio, and very gratefully accepted here.
The very least I could do chum.
Well, shame on me for not having found this site before. Reading through some of the essays to get acquainted it is nice to find one who loves westerns and is far more eloquent at writing about them then I could ever be. There are so many films out there that it is hard to catch them all but it is a treat to learn about them and talk about them. This looks like a place I could be quite happy. I’m off to read more. Thanks.
That’s very kind of you Chris and I’m even more pleased to hear you enjoyed your visit. I hope you’ll be around again and feel free to comment on anything you wish.
Tough break there, buddy. I’ve added the new site to the blogroll though.
Just got a mountain of Spaghetti Canadian Mountie movies, so I’m on a binge!
By the way, do you really live in Athens? If so, have you seen the Turkish-style Greek band TAKIM? I play a number of drums from the region, as well as the Oud and Klarnet, and I had a chance to play with those guys at a party. incredible musicianship;they play in Athens during the season (often they tour Epirus and other regions). Great band, great guys.
I certainly do, and have done for many years now. I’m afraid I’m not aware of the band – at least I don’t think so – I’ll do a bit of research and see if they ring any bells, and will keep my eyes peeled too.
Thanks. Westerns and film noir does it for me! I assume blog title comes from the great movie with great line about being justified in the house of my lord (they don’t make them like that anymore!). Regards from Thom at the immortal jukebox (give it a spin!).
Thanks for stopping by, Thom.
Yes, the title is indeed adapted from Peckinpah’s movie, a great favorite of mine.
I’ve added your site to the blogroll and will be exploring further – looks good.
Thanks, that’s most kind of you.
I’ve mentioned quite a lot of the films you mention on my site, but sites with as quality writing as yours has, remind me how much more great films I need to see.
I’ll be exploring your site a bit more in future.
Pleased to meet you too, Emma. Nice to have you on board.
Hey Colin! My site has a different URL now, after an irritating duel with some guy in India (who somehow managed to co-opt my old one…?
Phantom Empires is now at http://www.claytonsahib@weebly.com.
Yes, I noticed the new address as I was browsing around your place – I’ve updated the link in my blogroll to reflect the new location.
Oh, thank you. 🙂 I saw that someone in Greece had looked at my page. How’s it going there? I see lots about the Golden Dawn and refugees, but not much about Greece in general.
Things are much as usual – not much of Golden Dawn on view, happily. Lots and lots of refugees around though.
By the way, I see from your Twitter that You’re Irish! Never saw the last name; all the Colins I know are English…sorry about that! If it makes it any better, I used to go by my middle name, Kelly, and when I played Irish music (Irish tenor banjo), people assumed that I was Irish…”my last name in’t Kelly, ya eejits!” My people are Scottish on my dad’s side, and Frenchies on my mom’s…Duncan & Taton. Like the neww site look, btw…it’s nice to tweek things to taste.
— I’m pretty sure I saw it in the 50s on TV. It was in black and white, though maybe our tv was only that. So I imagine it was made in the 40s. I don’t have the impression that it starred any big names.
— The story somewhat parallels that of Juan Cortina, a Mexican in Texas, in the 1860s or so.
— In a southwest setting, a Mexican is in an American/Anglo town and gets abused by townspeople.
— He later gathers others around him and begins to raid, taking vengeance.
— The townspeople form posses to bring the bandits to justice.
— At one point a couple of townspeople are questioning a woman at her home. Upon leaving, they shove her off her porch.
— The townspeople locate the hideout of the raiders.
— There is an attack; the head bandit flees on horseback.
One of the things that intrigues me about this (if my memory is correct) is that there was no key role for a typical American hero. It must have been a bold move to make a film where the usual good guy just doesn’t have a place on the screen.
I just came across your site; it looks great. Thanks for your efforts in putting it together over so many years.
Hi, Jim. I don’t think I can assist you on this right now but I’d like to know what that movie is myself. It sounds like the plot (or part of the plot) of a few movies, which isn’t that unusual I guess as plot devices do tend to get recycled here and there. Perhaps, it will ring a bell with someone else reading this. Of course, if I stumble on the title in the meantime, I’ll be sure to let you know.