Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about feature films.
At nearly 70 years of age, Stanislaus Zbyszko made his film debut in Night and the City (1950). Billed as Gregorious, a retired wrestler and the father of London’s wrestling promoter, Zbyszko displayed his wrestling skills, even at his advanced age, in the film’s signature scene. The movie begins with a man chasing Harry Fabian, a London hustler always looking
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) in November 1941. One of the later Thin Man films (affiliate link), the film contains interesting vignettes for wrestling fans. Nick Charles, played by William Powell, is pulled into a state investigation of a local gambling ring. Two local wrestling promoters run the gambling ring, which is art imitating life if
On May 11, 1931, Fritz Lang’s classic film M (affiliate link) was released in Berlin, Germany. Besides being on most lists for the top 100 films of all time, Fritz Lang believed his finest film was M (1931). The film is the story of a series of child murders that are occurring in Berlin. The police are determined to catch the killer
On November 13, 1930, Roland V. West released The Bat Whispers (1930), the talkie version of his silent classic, The Bat (1926). The film follows faithfully the script of the original. However, West is able to experiment with film techniques like tracking shots, still a novelty in early sound cinema. Editing still dominated as the continuity and story moving technique.
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) is one of the five Sherlock Holmes films starring Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes. Director Leslie S. Hiscott adapted the Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear but added to the story to give Professor Moriarty and Col. Sebastian Moran roles in the story. A significant portion of the movie is the retelling of
Fritz Lang made one of his early crime films in 1922. He directed Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922), which ran approximately four hours and thirty minutes. It tells the story of Dr. Mabuse, a professor of psychoanalysis. He is also the leader of a criminal ring in the mold of Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes series. In his multiple
I’m continuing with watching some old Alan Ladd movies that I first saw thirty years ago on American Movie Classics (AMC), when they showed classic movies. I recently watched Appointment with Danger (1950), which was as entertaining as I remembered it. Paramount Pictures released Appointment with Danger (affiliate link) in London in 1950 but didn’t release it in the United
Roland V. West bought the rights and directed The Bat (1926), one of the first “old dark house” mysteries for United Artist in 1926. Arthur Edeson was the cinematographer for both this film and The Old Dark House (1932), which share similar Expressionist elements. Both films are set in large mansions, which have seen better days. The key to the
I’ve been on an Alan Ladd kick lately. When I was still in college, I watched a number of Alan Ladd films one summer. I’ve been watching them over again the last few weeks on Amazon Prime. I’ll share some of these films over the next few months. The first film I watched was Thunder in the East (1951) starring
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