James Garner takes a spin as the world-weary detective Philip Marlowe — “unassailably virtuous, invariably broke.” An updating of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister takes Marlowe to 1969 Hollywood, but the story remains the same: blackmail, gangsters and ice pick murders. Gayle Hunnicutt and Sharon Farrell are the Quest sisters, Bruce Lee a kung-fu hoodlum…

Douglas Fairbanks’ miracle film of the silent era is back in a new restoration from Photoplay Productions, with a bounty of extras; we can marvel that this 102 year-old masterpiece is in such good condition. The physical production was mounted on a massive scale, right in the middle of Hollywood: enormous sets, fantastic designs and…

Brian DePalma’s wild skit + provocation comedy cemented his status as a capable, meaningful filmmaker just before he turned to a commercial career dedicated to the screen effects of Alfred Hitchcock. This new release brings this early Robert De Niro tale, which now resembles an alternate-universe prequel to Taxi Driver, to disc in a new…

VCI showcases a pair of independently produced films noir, one a decent programmer and the other one of the best of its kind. Borderline puts Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor in the middle of drug smugglers led by (who else?) crooked Raymond Burr; D.O.A. drops Edmond O’Brien into a nightmare, when he finds he’s been…

The depressed streets of postwar Tokyo are the hunting ground for detective Toshiro Mifune, who lost his service automatic on a streetcar and is desperate to retrieve it. Soulful old cop Takashi Shimura gives him guidance and encouragement; an unhappy showgirl knows how to find the gun, but won’t talk. Akira Kurosawa’s prime goal is…

Spectacular!  Colorful!  Action-packed!  A big production, big stars, but where’s the movie?  James Goldstone’s pirate picture has energetic action and little else; we salute Robert Shaw and Genevieve Bujold, who generate the star personality needed to keep it on its feet. A bounty of screen talent is marooned in unflattering roles: James Earl Jones, Peter…

Paramount’s catch-all comedy makes zero sense but has a great attitude. It showcases a number of eager funnymen from vaudeville and silent comedies: W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Ben Turpin, Hugh Herbert, Billy Gilbert. Top-billed Jack Oakie is in love with Klopstokian lass Angela; all of her fellow citizens are super-athletes, so he brings a bunch…

This noir tries something different: an art expert must play detective to find out why everybody thinks he’s gone insane. Who knew that the most dangerous noir creeps are to be found skulking around a museum gallery? Ex- Warner contractee Pat O’Brien tries out RKO for size, with a screenplay that goes in for arty…

A shining 4K encoding underscores the heat in Lawrence Kasdan’s ode to cold-blooded murder, committed in the name of sex and greed … and just maybe, love. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner became overnight stars in some of the hottest scenes ever to hit mainstream theaters; Richard Kline’s steamy images and John Barry’s seductive music…

It’s a new branded line for Kino Lorber — English thrillers from the 1940s and ’50s, remastered and looking good. Jean Simmons is tormented by a greedy lover & husband in ‘Cage of Gold,’ and a fanciful Edgar Wallace mystery sees Scotland Yard trying to prevent a murder by a diabolical criminal called ‘The Ringer.’…

Cornel Wilde’s first film for his own production company is a stone classic and a genuine cult item, an organized crime tale that blends sex and sadism as did few films of its day. Richard Conte’s perverse seduction of Jean Wallace is hot stuff, and the creative direction of Joseph H. Lewis and extreme lighting…

Rescued from post-Code censorship, Sinclair Lewis’s critique of medical ethics makes an interesting subject for director John Ford. Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes star; Myrna Loy had a major role until the censors obliterated most of it. But now she’s back: taken from Ronald Colman’s personal print, this 2024 restoration recovers (finally) the original theatrical…

Criterion takes on the anti-nuke horror film that hits closest to home. Lynne Littman’s harrowing film stays small-scale and Big Emotion, charting the slow extermination of an innocent family. A little California town loses contact with the rest of the world, and hope fades as the awful reality sinks in. Jane Alexander, Lukas Haas and William…

Former blacklistees Walter Bernstein and Martin Ritt turned their career experiences into a powerful picture; the bankability of star Woody Allen is surely what got it produced. Allen plays not his usual New York schlemiel but a clueless everyman who ‘fronts’ for a writer friend denied work by the blacklist. He ends up fronting for…

We finally caught up with this superb French crime thriller about a gang of cultured crooks that trip up on their own sense of sophistication. Kingpin Charles Vanel collects a fortune from four partners to initiate a drug deal; but one of the group is cheating with his ante and another intends to steal the…

Some movies appear to approach perfection. Ernst Lubitsch ditched operettas for saucy pre-Code romance with this winning, hilarious look at high class thievery and honest lust. Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins are larcenous high-society outlaws, preying on continental swells that can afford to be bilked for millions. Kay Francis is the wealthy widow who teaches…

The FUN never stops in this pre-Code Paramount variety show, with a rudimentary plot, bizarre performers and plenty of risqué humor. It’s the 1933 equivalent of Wild and Crazy — with a sensational cast, some of whom need explaining: W.C. Fields, Rudy Vallee, Stuart Erwin, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Cab Calloway, Bela Lugosi, Baby…

Sebastián Silva’s domestic drama is Upstairs-Downstairs for the 21st century, a story that involves class difference and social isolation, yet doesn’t push the usual buttons of comedy or tragedy. When the exhausted maid of an upscale Chilean family begins behaving strangely, we fear that this beautifully-acted film may be turning into a horror picture. We…

We once again have sprung for a pricey Mario Bava import — this time to finally be able to hear this Italian show with its original Italian-language audio. That’s basically what’s covered in this abbreviated review of an all-time CineSavant favorite. Can you hear Alessandro Alessandroni’s sitar yet? “Adesso è il momento giusto — Di…

There’s nothing like discovering a ‘new’ movie by a favorite star. Cary Grant took time out from playing cinematic arm candy for Mae West to try his luck starring as a reluctant mobster. The gangland context is a turf war between illegal gambling ships. Benita Hume is Cary’s love interest, with Jack La Rue as…

Our interest in this noir must-see has never faded. Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford remain one of the hottest screen couples of the 1940s in this surprisingly adult, surprisingly sophisticated love/hate tale in a casino in Buenos Aires. Their romance is one for the books, with perverse angles that must have sailed over the heads…

A popular DVD combo is back for more, this time remastered in Blu-ray quality. Diss these no-account drive-in cheapies if you must, but they made their producer a lot of money, being produced for peanuts and playing theatrically and on TV for almost two decades. Rod Lauren is a mixed up teen possessed by part…

We remember plenty of movies that got chalked up as failures, yet now seem more interesting than most new Oscar nominees. Mike Nichols’ ambitious anti-war epic, from Joseph Heller’s satrical novel, impresses greatly in multiple ways, with a dream cast in quirky, imaginative roles. Alan Arkin’s Yossarian is an airman, a sad sack everyman. He…

Some movies just knock us for a loop. This first official starring vehicle for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is delightful entertainment, the kind of psychological medicine that makes the world seem right again. The cast is so good, the guy playing the waiter deserves star billing. All that and a giant musical number —…

We’re certainly happy to revisit this favorite in 4K … Joe Dante’s Sci-fi comedy taps several genres and styles for laughs, and comes up a winner in every regard. Astronaut Dennis Quaid is the pilot for a ‘Fantastic Voyage’- like journey into micro-minidom, but his micro-sub ends up in the bloodstream of Martin Short, a…

We can’t say we were even aware of this one. Universal’s between-the-wars pacifist melodrama edges a bit into horror territory, with an insane Claude Rains walking through Paris with his baby under one arm and a satchel in the other … that might contain the body part mentioned in the title. Rains, Lionel Atwill and…