With its theatrical release a few months after the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, “Yankee Doodle Dandy” from 1942 is a tribute to the musical career of George M. Cohan.  This is a well-crafted and patriotic film.  Michael Curtiz had a career as Director of over 150 films in Europe and then the U.S.  He left no stone unturned when it came to putting this movie together.

From 1959 “Odds Against Tomorrow” is a taut and foreboding film about a bank robbery, racial hatred and human weakness that many people think is also an allegory for the cold war tension at that time between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.  Director Robert Wise selected early spring of March 1959 and creative cinematography using black and white film to successfully capture a cold, bleak feel of impending doom.  This is film noir at a high level.

In the Heat of the Night” from 1967 takes us to the small town of Sparta, Mississippi and the suspicion, tension and conflict surrounding the murder of Phillip Colbert a wealthy business owner who is building a manufacturing facility in the community.

This podcast we take time to discuss some of the many comments we have received from listeners.

This podcast takes us to “Christmas in Connecticut” from 1945. Merry Christmas!

“Giant” from 1956 is the sprawling, multiple decades story of the Benedict family, Jeff Rink, strong women, oil, cattle, conflict in race relations, power, political influence and the gulf between wealth and poverty.

The ground-breaking "The Twilight Zone" television series turns 60 this year and to celebrate Fathom Events brought six episodes to the big screen.

Hailey, Matt and I visit about “Rebel Without a Cause” from 1955. The film was James Dean’s second major role.

James Dean’s first major film was “East of Eden” from 1955. It is the starting point for our coverage of his three big film roles in a career that ended with his death at age 24.

We wrap up our salute to the music of Bernard Herrmann with “Journey to the Center of the Earth” from 1959. As always, Bernard Herrmann’s musical score is excellent.  The music perfectly frames the scale of this adventure.  Mr. Herrmann is quoted as saying “I feel that music on the screen can seek out and intensify the inner thoughts of the characters”.  His music certainly does that in the films we have reviewed. Join us in this “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.      

“The Wrong Man” is a true story of Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero and his family and the fallout of his being wrongly accused of several armed robberies. This is a powerful and moving film exploring the impact of a miscarriage of justice both to “Manny” and to his family, his wife in particular. It’s a chilling account of the deterioration of her mental state to the point where she needs to be admitted to an outpatient facility where she stays for 2 years, eventually recovering from the ordeal. Needless to say, Bob and I loved the film and we hope you enjoy this episode of the show.

We’re excited to announce we are launching on Patreon on October 24th! All the details in the show notes!

The “Garden Of Evil” presents a fairly straight-forward and borderline run-of-the-mill story, set to an outstanding soundtrack and spectacular visuals. The music by Bernard Hermann, the on location scenery and Susan Hayward’s performance are clearly the stars of the show.