Articles by Charlie Largent

The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent

The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent A Missing on Blu Review 1958 – 66 Min. Starring Abby Dalton, June Kenney, Susan Cabot, Richard Devon Cinematography by Monroe P. Askins Written by Lawrence L. Goldman Directed by Roger Corman An epic adventure seen through the wrong end of a telescope, Roger Corman’s bargain-basement monster fest…

Murder by Decree – 4K

Murder by Decree 1979 – 124 Min. Kino Lorber – 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray 1:66 Widescreen Starring Christopher Plummer, James Mason, Genevieve Bujold  Written by John Hopkins Directed by Bob Clark There’s a reason Buckingham palace was built like a fortress: to keep the lower classes out and the family secrets in. Murder by…

Two-Way Stretch

Two-Way Stretch 1960 – 87 Min. Kino Lorber – Blu ray 1:66 Widescreen Starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries  Written by John Warren Directed by Robert Day “Dodger” Lane, “Jelly” Knight and “Lennie the Dip” have been living large in Huntleigh Prison for several years; their Runyonesque nicknames all but guarantee they’re an amiable…

Remembering Gene Hackman

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, we honor another great who has gone to the great hereafter. We have wine pairings, too, of course. Gene Hackman passed away at the age of 95, leaving a lot of…

Don’t Torture a Duckling — 4K

No, it’s not about the secret life of Scrooge McDuck — reviewer Charlie Largent takes the measure of Lucio Fulci’s delirious giallo about horrible crimes and the ugly human responses they bring about — undue suspicion, false accusations, hysteria, more violence. Some pretty twisted people are involved, played by a Class-A cast: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara…

Blood and Lace

Blood and Lace 1971 – 86 Min. Starring Gloria Grahame, Melody Patterson, Vic Tayback Written by Gil Lasky Directed by Phil Gordon As discriminating in their appetites as an expert wine-taster, grindhouse audiences were a special breed of movie-goer: true connoisseurs of crap. Whether lounging in notorious Times Square fleapits like the Liberty or Cine…

Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles

Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles 1966-67 – 395 Min. Starring Dick Beals, Paul Frees, Don Messick Written by Michael Maltese, Eddie Brandt Directed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera A pretty cool cash-in combining  the 60s monster-craze and Beatlemania, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles shouldn’t work but it does; powered by Hanna-Barbera’s well-oiled assembly line of…

The Undead

The Undead A CineSavant Revival House Review 1957 – 75 Min. Starring Pamela Duncan, Val Dufour Cinematography by William A. Sickner Written by Charles B. Griffith Directed by Roger Corman Roger Corman began directing movies in 1955 and almost immediately his ambitions were at war with his budgets—films with apocalyptic titles like The Day the…

Hatari!

Hatari! Kino Lorber 4K UHD Blu-ray  1962 – 157 Min. Starring John Wayne, Red Buttons, Elsa Martinelli Cinematography by Russell Harlan Directed by Howard Hawks Watching the animals of Hatari! in full flight is a politically incorrect thrill—though they’re running for their lives they have a majesty in motion that make the rampaging dinos of…