HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Angie Dickinson is 87, Ian Ogilvy is 75, Angela Pleasence is 77, Rula Lenska is 71, Candice Michelle is 40, Marilyn McCoo is 75, and Patrice Rushen is 64.

RAILROADED 1947 (FATW)

Another excellent film noir from Anthony Mann.

John Ireland stars a Duke Martin, a killer who botches a planned robbery and a policeman is killed. The police arrest a young man named Steve Ryan (Ed Kelly) whose laundry van was used in the hold up.

Ryan tells the police he had nothing to do with the crime, but Martin has seen to it that he is framed. Detective Mickey Ferguson (Hugh Beaumont) is at first convinced that Steve is the killer, but after talking to his sister Rosie (Sheila Ryan) he begins to think differently.

Martin's girlfriend, Clara (Jane Randolph) goes into hiding, but slowly begins to crack under the pressure.

Director Anthony Mann was an expert at handling this kind of film and you can see all of his touches. There are plenty of shady characters and dark streets and a few red herrings as well.

Ireland turns in a top performance as the cruel and cold blooded killer who will stop at nothing to conceal his crime. Hugh beaumont is perfect as the hard as nails detective who softens a bit after he meets Rosie.

Slowly all of the clues start to come together and Ireland's character of Mickey soon finds himself boxed into a corner from which he cannot escape.

If you're a film noir fan, this is a highly recommended movie that will hold your attention. The rest of the cast includes Charles D. Brown, Roy Gordon and Keefe Brasselle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jerry Lee Lewis is 83.

RIP MARTY BALIN 1942-2018

The co-founder of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship has died.

Marty Balin was a staple of music from the 60's thru the 80's and lead singers don't get much better.

He sang lead of some of my all time favorite Jefferson Starship songs including "With Your Love", "Miracles" and "Count On Me".

He continued as a solo artist into the 1980's with a self titled LP which contained the huge hit "Hearts" and one of my favorite tunes of the 80's entitled "Atlanta Lady".

Balin was a huge influence on me in my love of music and he will be missed by many, many fans. He was 76.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Brigitte Bardot is 84, and John Sayles is 68.

SLIGHTLY SCARLET 1956 (VCI)

A rare color film noir that should be more widely known than it is.

John Payne stars as Ben Grace, a big time wheeler and dealer who works for a top crime boss named Solly Casper (Ted de Corsia). He plays both ends up the middle and this leads to trouble.

Up and coming politician Frank Jansen (Kent Taylor) is going to be elected Mayor and Casper wants to stop it as it will mean his crime organization is finished. Grace manages to get Jansen to put a detective friend of his in a top spot, but detective Dave Dietz (Frank Gerstal) isn't dishonest and this also causes problems.

Grace also gets romantically involved with Jansen's gorgeous secretary, June Lyons (Rhonda Fleming). He does this because he knows she loves Jansen and he hopes to get some dirt on him to topple him. Adding to the trouble is June's equally beautiful sister Dorothy (Arlene Dahl) who has just been released from prison for theft.

Things really smoulder for a while as Grace makes moves and finally seduces June away from Frank, but also has to contend with Dorothy who has some twisted ideas of her own on how to seduce a man.

In 1956 you really couldn't talk about things too frankly on screen, but Dahl's character of Dorothy makes it very clear she likes men who slap her around and abuse her. She sizzles every time she is in a scene as does Rhonda Fleming.

Both women are to die for and it all works very, very well in this James M. Cain based screenplay. The color photography takes nothing away from the dark and brooding atmosphere of this somewhat obscure film noir gem.

The rest of the cast for this stellar film includes Ellen Corby, Lance Fuller, Buddy Baer, Roy Gordon and Myron Healey. A recommended gem for noir fans, or for fans of delectable women like Dahl and Fleming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Linda Hamilton is 62, Olivia Newton John is 70, Lysette Anthony is 55, Christina Milian is 37, Martine Beswick is 77, and Victoria Vetri is 74.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Heather Locklear is 57, Louisa Moritz is 72, and John Ericson is 92.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jessica Lucas is 33, Kevin Sorbo is 60, Stephanie McMahon is 42, Bert I. Gordon is 96, and April Hunter is 45.

RIP LAURIE MITCHELL 1928-2018

The Queen Of Outer Space has passed away.

Mitchell's career started in 1954 and lasted almost 20 years. She appeared in many, many TV shows including "Man Behind The Badge","Adventures Of Superman", "Hawaiian Eye" and "Bonanza".

The beautiful actress also made a lot of movies including several of my favorites like "Missile To The Moon", "Gunfight At Comanche Creek" and "Attack Of The Puppet People". However her most famous role was that of Queen Yilana in the wonderful 1958 sci-fi film "Queen Of Outer Space".

She retired from acting in 1971 and only recently has she been "re-discovered " by her fans and had done numerous interviews and appearances at some conventions. Laurie was a very appealing woman and had a lot of fun during her career.

She recently had her 90th birthday in Las Vegas. She passed away Sept. 22, 2018. RIP Queen, you had a great run.

I WAKE UP SCREAMING 1941 (FOX)

A great little film noir from 20th Century Fox.

Victor Mature stars as Frankie Christopher, a promoter who meets a beautiful young waitress in a restaurant and promises to make her into a huge star.

Her name is Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis), and yes, Frankie does keep his promise until she is murdered and he is the key suspect. He works to prove himself innocent and enlists the aid of Vicky's sister, Jill (Betty Grable) with whom he falls for and she for him.

One thorn in Frankie's side is detective Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), a borderline homicidal man who wants to slowly destroy Frankie for unknown reasons. Jill suspects Cornell of the murder and is terrified of him, and he uses this to his advantage.

After many twists and turns the true murderer is brought out into the light and even that has an additional twist. This is a great film noir as I stated above. The performances are all top notch, and watching Cregar in the role of a demented detective is a joy.

I have seen Grable in a lot of films, mostly her musicals during WW2, but this is totally different and she does a very god job. Seeing her and Carole Landis in this film as sisters makes it even better because I always considered both of them to be very beautiful women.

Mature does his usual good job of portraying the innocent man wrongly accused of a crime. Director Bruce Humberstone makes good use of light and shadow to bring this film noir alive. It had been many years since I last saw this film and the entertainment value hasn't diminished at all. I remember getting this on VHS in the tape trading days back in the 80's from a friend of mine named Jim Aschbacher, and the first time I ever saw it I was impressed.

Highly Recommended film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Maren Jensen is 62, Paul Petersen is 73, and Tom Lester is 80.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Catherine Oxenberg is 57, Debby Boone is 62, Asa Maynor is 82 and Alan Rogowski is 76.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Rebecca Balding is 63, Yvonne Wilder is 81, and Teresa Gimpera is 82.

PARTY GIRL 1958 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

A film noir in color.

Robert Taylor is Thomas Farrell a top Chicago lawyer who works for the top mobster named Rico Angelo. Farrell is always getting Rico's men out of murder raps simply by outwitting the juries.

He is also a very bitter and lonely man who wants more out of life than the human sewage he deals with. Along comes beautiful dancer Vicki Gaye played by gorgeous Cyd Charisse and Farrell finds a reason to live again.

Vicki finally gets Farrell to have his crippled hip fixed and get out of the mob life forever. This doesn't sit well with Rico and he blackmails Thomas into staying on.

Things get out of hand as the killings increase in Chicago due to tension between the crime families and the attempts of the Government to get indictments against the mobsters. Rico and Farrell finally meets in a spectacular showdown involving bullets and acid.

Lee J. Cobb plays Rico Angelo in a way that always makes me think of Al Capone and that's fine with me. The rest of the cast also includes John Ireland, Kent Smith, Myrna Hansen and David Opatoshu. Recommended.

This review is verbatim of the review I did of this film in 2016 from a TCM viewing. The only thing I can add to this is that the DVD is a beautiful widescreen print, and a MUST for film noir fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sophia Loren is 84, Brinke Stevens is 64 and Joanna Cameron is 67.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

David McCallum is 85, Randolph Mantooth is 75, Victoria Silvstedt is 44, Monica Swinn is 70, and Bobbie Bresee is 71.

RIP PASQUALE BUBA 1946-2018

The editor of many George Romero films has passed away.

Buba edited many Romero films including "Day Of The Dead", "Knightriders", "Monkey Shines" and the segment from "Creepshow" entitled "The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill".

Buba also acted in some films as well including Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Martin".

He passed away on Sept. 12th, 2018 at the age of 72.

ROADBLOCK 1951 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Excellent film noir from RKO.

Charles McGraw stars as Joe Peters, an honest insurance investigator who does his job well and is always on top of things. One day after a case is solved he is heading back to Los Angeles when he meets a woman named Diane (Joan Dixon).

He falls for her in a bad way, but she just tells him he doesn't have money enough for a woman like her. Joe is a little put off by that, but he still has the hots for her and continues to pursue her.

After he sees her with a top gangster named Kendall Webb (Lowell Gilmore), Peters decides to go to Webb with a plan to steal millions in a daring postal train heist. He wants 1/3 of the take so he can have enough money to make Diane happy.

However, Diane has had a change of heart since she knows Joe loves her for who she is and not anything else. They eventually get married, but Joe is in too deep with Webb on the heist and has to go thru with it. The robbery goes off as planned, but Joe and his partner Harry Miller (Louis Jean Heydt) are assigned to the case.

Things fall apart quickly and before you know it Joe is a wanted man for murder. The film's climax takes place in the Los Angeles river, which many viewers will recognize from the film made by Warner Brothers 3 years later called "Them". It's one of the first times this little thing called a river was shown to movie audiences.

The ending is typical of film noir...everyone who was associated with the robbery or with Joe has their lives altered or destroyed, especially Diane. McGraw plays his character perfectly, as he always does in every movie I have ever seen him in.

If you're a noir fan and haven't seen this yet, you should. RECOMMENDED!!