Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Post about classic films and films related to combat sports and history.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent films. Hitchcock filmed an adaptation of the Marie Belloc Lowndes story and play based on the Jack the Ripper murders. Hitchcock directed the film in 1926. It was released in February 1927 in London. It did not make it to the United States until
Sherlock Holmes in The Pearl of Death (1944) is the ninth of fourteen movies in the series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. In this film, Holmes is battling archcriminal Giles Conover, played by Miles Mander. Conover is attempting to steal a valuable pearl from the British Museum. He is aided in his crimes by accomplices Naomi Drake and The
I first heard about Chang Apana in a featurette on one of the Charlie Chan DVD sets. I knew a real life detective inspired Earl Derr Biggers to create Charlie Chan. I did not know who the man was. Chang Apana was that man. Chang Apana (born Ah Ping Chang) on December 26, 1871 on the island of Oahu was
The series of the Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland were probably the strongest films in the Charlie Chan series. Sidney Toler made several good films also but eventually the series would become low-budget “B” films produced by Monogram Pictures. Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) was one of the earlier Twentieth-Century Fox films about Charlie Chan. The production values are better
A number of the old Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes movies have recently become available on DVDs and streaming. The Universal series, is well done for a “B” film series. This film would have warmed the audience up for the main feature like Double Indemnity (1944). In the The Scarlet Claw (1944), Sherlock Holmes, played by Rathbone, is in Quebec,
What happens is the first commercially successful art film. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) was released in January 1920 becoming a German and international sensation. It marked the beginning of the German film revival during the 1920s The German Expressionist Movement in German art strongly influenced this film. Expressionist painters drew buildings sloped at odd angles, oddly shaped furniture,
“B” films resulted from Hollywood distribution companies implementing a double bill or two movies screening strategy at theaters they owned. When the Great Depression led movie goers to start forgoing films between 1930 and 1932, Hollywood studios, which still controlled production and distribution, came up with the idea of showing two films back-to-back to give customers more bang for their
Being both a fan and film historian, I was aware of Sunset Blvd.‘s reputation in film circles. Billy Wilder’s 1950 film tells the sad story of a forgotten silent film star Norma Desmond. William Holden is a screen writer, who stumbles upon her crumbling mansion and agrees to help fix her screenplay. Norma believes the screenplay will lead to a
Juve vs. Fantomas (1913) is Louis Feuillade’s second film adaptation of the popular crime series by Marcell Allain and Pierre Souvestre. Rene Navarre plays the role of Fantomas and his many aliases. Edmund Breon portrays Inspector Juve. George Melchior plays the role of Jerome Fandor, a young journalist, who assists Juve in his investigations of Fantomas. Juve and Fandor are
Max Linder (1883-1925) built the Pathe’ Film Studio in the early 1900s. Linder’s comedy influenced Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. Linder is largely unknown today because his biggest film successes were in the 1910s. Most of his films are considered lost. Film fans today have the benefit of resources like the Internet Archive, which has a number of