CURLY TOP, ARGO, BILLY BUDD

CURLY TOP, ARGO, BILLY BUDD

January 30, 2022 Alan Royle 0

  CURLY TOP (1935)                          This Shirley Temple vehicle was one of the last films made by the Fox studio before it amalgamated with the hitherto rival studio of Twentieth Century Productions to become 20th Century Fox. The amalgamation saw former Fox strongman Winfield Sheehan sent packing with a half million […]

‘THE HIGHWAYMEN’ (2019)

‘THE HIGHWAYMEN’ (2019)

January 21, 2022 Alan Royle 0

  THE HIGHWAYMEN (2019)                     The Highwaymen (2019) is not a great movie but at least it focuses on the pursuers involved in the Bonnie Parker/Clyde Barrow saga of the 1930s and less on the two killers. Some newspapers at the time […]

THE ENDLESS SUMMER (1965) – THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)

THE ENDLESS SUMMER (1965) – THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)

January 6, 2022 Alan Royle 8

  THE ENDLESS SUMMER (1965)              It rarely happens that a documentary actually results in changes in the world, but the Bruce Brown surfing film, The Endless Summer, released in 1965, is one such film. At the time of its release it was estimated there were probably no more than about […]

‘ROXIE HART’ & ‘APPALOOSA’

‘ROXIE HART’ & ‘APPALOOSA’

December 22, 2021 Alan Royle 1

  ROXIE HART (1942)            Ginger Rogers as Roxie In order to placate the Hays Commission code, it was necessary to change the storyline for this picture about two murderesses who were called Roxie Hart and Velma Wall here. The tale had its basis on two real life killers whose murder […]

‘Exodus’ (1960) & ‘Major League’ (1989)

‘Exodus’ (1960) & ‘Major League’ (1989)

December 7, 2021 Alan Royle 2

  EXODUS (1960)                    When, in 1958, American author Leon Uris published Exodus, his fictional novel about the founding of the state of Israel, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would buy the rights and turn it into a movie. Autocratic taskmaster Otto Preminger was chosen to direct […]

‘MACAO’ (1952) & ‘THE LETTER’ (1940).

‘MACAO’ (1952) & ‘THE LETTER’ (1940).

November 22, 2021 Alan Royle 2

  MACAO (1952)                      Macao was supposed to be an ‘edge of your seat’ thriller set in the seedy underworld of the then Portuguese colony of Macao, situated some thirty-five miles out of Hong Kong. It was supposed to be a thriller but it failed to deliver on several levels. First […]

60 MOVIES TO WATCH – PT2

60 MOVIES TO WATCH – PT2

November 13, 2021 Alan Royle 2

  PART TWO OF 60 MOVIES TO WATCH          As I stated in Part One, a lot of my personal favourite movies were eliminated because they were, in my eyes, spoiled by one or two performances or casting decisions. The Carpetbaggers (1964), despite it being mercilessly panned by the critics, is […]

60 MOVIES WORTH WATCHING – PT3.

60 MOVIES WORTH WATCHING – PT3.

November 13, 2021 Alan Royle 9

Here are my Top 20 films, the movies I enjoy watching more than once. I am the first to concede that a great many of my choices are not considered by the critics to be ‘worthy’. I accept that. But I know what I like and I know what I […]

50 MOVIES TO WATCH – PT1

60 MOVIES TO WATCH – PT1

November 10, 2021 Alan Royle 2

60 MOVIES WORTH WATCHING MORE THAN ONCE (PART ONE)      Back in 2005, I wrote my first book – Hollywood Warts ‘n’ All (volume 1). At the end of it I listed my favourite movies, my Top 50 of all time. I was 15 years younger then and the list was […]

‘EASTER PARADE (1948) & ‘LITTLE WOMEN (1949).

‘EASTER PARADE (1948) & ‘LITTLE WOMEN (1949).

November 7, 2021 Alan Royle 2

  EASTER PARADE (1948)               Easter Parade was to be a lavish showcase for a bunch of Irving Berlin tunes and scheduled to be directed by Vincente Minnelli. It would star his wife, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly. Supporting actors would ultimately include Peter Lawford, Ann Miller and Jules Munshin. There […]