CineSavant Column
Hello!
The dependable, indestructible Gary Teetzel forwards an article he stumbled over in Daily Variety from not long after Forbidden Planet was released. It’s an unofficial Variety 1956 Monster Rally Role Call of Sci-fi and horror pix, which the writer notes are on an upswing.
We forget sometimes that many genre shows that mean a lot to us now were once regarded by theater owners as ‘grist for the mill,’ useful to fill theaters for Saturday matinees — but only if available at bargain rental rates. Variety lets know how ‘the trade’ regarded movies with sensational titles like The Mole People. The author notes that King Kong is so popular that it’s being given another release even after being shown on TV. Godzilla is a notable player on the box office radar as well.
Gary comes through a second time with a great new board game with universal appeal. Yes, how about a swell family activity about voyeurism, the violation of privacy and possible wife murder? Funko presents Rear Window, The Home Game, by Prospero Hall.
The life-like illustrations show that Funko was able to license the likenesses of James Stewart and Grace Kelly, but substituted faces for Wendell Corey and Thelma Ritter. Who knew that that pair had such tough estate agents? And the cover art, suggests Gary, appears to depict Jimmy Stewart spying on moving day at David O. Selznick’s place.
Kino Lorber’s disc announcements for August just arrived, with some highly desirable titles in tow. Among some Chuck Norris movies, we’re on the lookout for Frank Borzage’s elusive pre-Code Little Man, What Now with Margaret Sullavan, The Trials of Oscar Wilde with Peter Finch and James Mason, and Gordon Scott & Yoko Tani in Riccardo Freda’s Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (Maciste all corte del Gran Khan).
The interesting releases continue with a 4K release of Stanley Kubrick and Kirk Douglas’s Paths of Glory, the two volumes of The Outer Limits TV show (a reissue?), Curtis Harrington’s Mata Hari with Sylvia Kristel, and the under-seen dramaThe Tenth Man with Anthony Hopkins, Kristin Scott Thomas and Derek Jacobi.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson