Articles by Charlie Largent

Angels with Dirty Faces

Angels With Dirty Faces Blu ray Warner Archive 1938/ B&W / 1.33:1 / 97 Minutes Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, The Dead End Kids Directed by Michael Curtiz Released on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1938, Angels With Dirty Faces was a holiday treat with an unexpected punch; it could have been just another…

The Spider Woman Strikes Back

The Spider Woman Strikes Back Blu ray Kino Lorber 1946/ B&W / 1.33:1 / 59 Minutes Starring Gale Sondergaard, Brenda Joyce, Kirby Grant Directed by Arthur Lubin People are measured by the company they keep—in a superhero’s case, that company is usually the supervillain. Villains, besides giving the hero a reason to exist in the…

Night Gallery (Season 1)

Night Gallery (Season 1) Blu ray Kino Lorber 1969/ Color / 1.33:1 / 408 Minutes Starring Joan Crawford, Richard Kiley, William Windom Directed by Steven Spielberg, Boris Sagal, Jeannot Szwarc A modern-day mythologist with a populist bent, Rod Serling fused the cautionary tales of fantasists like Ray Bradbury to the righteous anger of muckrakers like…

The Brass Bottle

The Brass Bottle Blu ray Kino Lorber 1964/ Color / 1.85:1 / 89 Minutes Starring Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden Directed by Harry Keller Possessed of a commanding baritone and an even more elegant delivery, Tony Randall was a natural for radio, cutting his teeth as program announcer for WTAG in Worcester before landing…

The Mystery of Picasso

The Mystery of Picasso Blu ray Milestone/Kino Lorber 1956/ B&W, Color / 1.33:1, 2.35:1/ 78 Minutes Starring Pablo Picasso Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot Attending a performance in the artist’s studio is one thing—to be there at the precise moment that inspiration strikes is quite another. Peter Jackson gives us the next best thing in Get…

The Little Rascals Volume 3

The Little Rascals Volume 3 Blu ray – The ClassicFlix Restorations ClassicFlix 1932, ’33 / 1.37:1 / 210 Min. Starring George McFarland, Dorothy DeBorba, Dickie Moore Written by H.W. Walker Directed by Robert F. McGowan The third volume in ClassicFlix’s Little Rascals series introduces the show’s most celebrated performer, George McFarland, otherwise known as Spanky….

W.C. x Three

The Old Fashioned Way, It’s a Gift, The Bank Dick Blu ray Kino Lorber 1934, 1940 / 71, 68, 72 minutes / 1.33:1 Starring W.C. Fields, Judith Allen, Kathleen Howard, Franklin Pangborn Directed by William Beaudine, Norman McLeod, Edward Cline W.C. Fields divided the country into factions—con men and those who would be conned. Throughout…

Fritz the Cat – The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat

Fritz the Cat – The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Blu ray Kino Lorber 1972, 74/ 1.85:1/ 80, 76 Minutes Starring Skip Hinnant Directed by Ralph Bakshi, Robert Taylor The typical toddler tends to relate more to the cuddly animals in a Disney cartoon than their own flesh and blood playmates. Robert Crumb and…

Children of the Damned

Children of the Damned Blu ray Warner Archive 1964/ 1.85:1/ 89 Minutes Starring Ian Hendry, Alan Badel Directed by Anton Leader Wolf Rilla’s Village of the Damned was an alien invasion thriller that was genuinely invasive—all around the world women of child-bearing age are suddenly and mysteriously pregnant. No matter the circumstances, whether a virgin…