Thrill of a Romance (1945)
During the glory years of MGM they boasted more stars then there are in the heavens and numbered Van Johnson […]
John Huston In The Movies : From A to Z
Directors like John Huston come into one’s universe by extension. By that I mean when you get hooked on the […]
March 2020 In Review
Needless to say my world like yours has had some major changes these past few weeks. Thankfully my family and […]
Port Afrique (1956)
With what I assume to be some second unit work in Morocco and plenty of stage work at Shepperton Studios […]
In Society (1944)
“Call a Plumber!” And with that one phone call the boys, Bud and Lou, spring into action in this offering […]
The Man With Nine Lives (1940)
Following his rise to fame as The Frankenstein Monster and other notable villains at Universal, Boris Karloff, signed on to […]
Breakheart Pass (1975)
I would suggest that from 1974 to 1977, Charles Bronson, was at the height of his powers on movie screens. […]
Detective Belli (1969) aka Ring of Death
What’s not to like when Franco Nero takes on a Dana Andrews styled role in this Noir mystery that sees […]
New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
Now that 1954’s On the Waterfront blew the doors off of organized crime running the docks of New Jersey, that […]
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980)
“Mine is the face that spoils a sunny day.” By way of Cannon Films comes this distortion of the Robert […]
Top O’ The Morning (1949)
There’s something magical beyond leprechauns and a pot of gold when it comes to Bing Crosby sharing the screen with […]
Now Playing August 9th, 1974
All aboard the time machine to 1974! Find a seat please! Strap on that seat belt and remember when we […]
The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
Here’s a popcorn adventure for the Sunday matinee crowd that starred Richard Greene and drew me in for two simple […]
The Graveyard (1974)
aka …. Persecution … aka The Terror of Sheba Let me start off by stating in no uncertain terms that […]
Lloyd Bridges Goes Noir in Triplicate
Well before Lloyd Bridges became known as the star of television’s Sea Hunt or someone picking a real bad day […]
The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
With Andrew V. McLaglen in the director’s chair of this male dominated WW2 action adventure we should expect it to […]
Gallery ›
Remembering Yul Brynner via the Movie Poster
For years I have officially gone on the record stating that if the legendary Johnny Cash is universally known as […]
Visiting the Kirk Hammett Collection At The Royal Ontario Museum
I’ve been long overdue to finally travel about seventy minutes up the road from where I live to downtown Toronto […]
Casting Suggestions For The Apparent Remake of The Dirty Dozen
Every so often news of a remake splashes the headlines of some Hollywood trade paper and most recently Variety had […]
Boxing Movies for Boxing Day
Keeping up with my annual theme of Boxing Day Brawlers and Bruisers (which can be revisited here) it’s time to […]
Blogathon ›
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Following the revival of Universal Studios’ Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and the Wolfman, Hammer Studios, turned to Gaston Leroux’s Phantom […]
Counterpoint (1968)
Far from the blood and guts battles we are accustomed to seeing in big screen depictions built around WW2 with […]
Farewell Friend (1968)
aka … Adieu l’ami On the subject of movies if you ask me to name something or more specifically someone […]
Edmond O’Brien Does It All … Directing and Terrorizing in Shield For Murder (1954)
Some villains chew the scenery, quite often stealing a film from the top billed actor. Then there are other heavies […]
Brando's Pick of the Month ›
Day of the Animals (1977)
Brando’s Halloween Pick … aka …. Something Is Out There … aka … Future Animals A fine choice from my […]
Kangaroo (1952)
Brando’s Pick of the Month Carrying on with the theme of movies starring or featuring animals in the title leads […]
Francis The Talking Mule (1949)
Brando’s Pick of the Month This Universal International production from house director Arthur Lubin launched the unlikely comedy of duo […]
Devil Dogs of the Air (1935)
Brando’s Pick of the Month Cheating just a bit this month as we look to this James Cagney-Pat O’Brien standard […]
Featured Actor ›
Kirk Douglas 1916-2020 : He Cast a Giant Shadow
More often than not when pressed by friends and associates who know I’m a student of movie history I name […]
Sharing the Screen With Kirk Douglas
Count the candles. 103. Yes Kirk Douglas is 103 years young today. Each year since starting up Mike’s Take On […]
Catching Up On Pacino
I do have to admit that while growing up and discovering both movies and the actors that populate them I […]
(Paul Henreid + Patricia Medina) X 2 = Popcorn Adventures
From Columbia Pictures by way of frugal producer Sam Katzman, who fans of Monogram cheapies with Bela and the Bowery […]
From A to Z ›
Elizabeth Taylor In the Movies : From A to Z
From a child star to a Hollywood legend, Elizabeth Taylor, stepped out from the screen to become a personality known […]
Paul Newman In the Movies : From A to Z
I’ve settled on Paul Newman as the first actor to be featured in my new A to Z series and […]
Dracula In The Movies : From A to Z
Looking to share some simple trivia on the Count and the many movies he’s appeared in I wanted to have […]
Slumming With .... ›
Slumming With Teen Sex Comedies of the 1980’s in Triplicate
OK gentlemen. Raise your hands if you’re old enough to recall the days when you’d hit the video stores looking […]
Slumming With George Zucco …. Can Be So Much Fun!
On any given day during the 1940’s if you walked about the movie sets in Hollywood you might see George […]
Slumming With Samantha Eggar … A Triple Feature
The more I looked for someone to feature in my third go around of ‘Slumming With”, it became painfully obvious […]
Slumming With Cameron Mitchell …. A Triple Feature
Picking up where I left off poking a bit of fun while Slumming With David Carradine, I selected Mr. Cameron Mitchell […]
Video Store Action Heroes ›
… All The Marbles (1981)
For this edition of the Video Store Action Heroes that sees yours truly costarring right alongside The Cinema Monolith, The […]
Hangar 18 (1980)
We’re Back! The Video Store Action Heroes have once again turned the clock back to simpler times when we’d all […]
The Evil That Men Do (1984)
Was there any doubt that for this edition of the Video Store Action Heroes where I got to choose the […]
Uncommon Valor (1983)
Well before Chuck Norris’ Braddock and Sly Stallone’s Rambo decided to go back to Vietnam and rescue the men left […]
Articles ›
The Breaking Point (1950)
Here’s an article I was fortunate enough to have published in the 2016 year end edition of the Noir Magazine, […]
The Badlanders (1958)
This article on The Badlanders was published in The Dark Pages celebration on the film The Asphalt Jungle. Read on […]
Lizabeth Scott Stands Up To Robert Ryan and Robert Mitchum in The Racket (1951)
Previously this piece was kindly published by Karen of Shadows and Satin in her Noir newsletter The Dark Pages. Lizabeth […]
Anthony Caruso : More Than The Henchman
This article on Mr. Caruso was kindly featured in the September 2014 issue of The Dark Pages put forth by […]
Now Playing ›
Now Playing December 14th, 1980.
Combing through a new to me road side antique shop netted me a couple of DVD’s for the movie room […]
Now Playing December 28th, 1968 At a Theater Near You
Thankfully Malcolm McDowell has given his consent to allow me to borrow his personal time machine that he used to […]
Now Playing Friday August 9th, 1974
Yes it’s off to London, Ontario, Canada and to the summer of 1974 for a flashback to some classic films […]
Now Playing August 17th, 1977
Under the circumstances of Burt Reynold’s passing, the time seems appropriate for joining me in a look back to the […]
Book Takes ›
A Reading Break with Olivia, The Immortal Count and Lou’s on First
I often lament that I can’t read fast enough despite enjoying a good book be it non-fiction or a good […]
Recalling “The 50 Worst Films of all Time”
By Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss. Somewhere in the piles or boxes of books around here I have a dog […]
Dan Duryea : Heel With a Heart
By Mike Peros Dan Duryea is one those actors who is unforgettably identifiable. I can still recall the first time […]
Niv , The Authorized Biography of David Niven
By Graham Lord (published in 2003) Like any self respecting, self appointed film buff I knew the basic facts of […]
Monthly Reviews ›
February 2020 In Review
A whole extra day on the books for this February thanks to leap year but that didn’t seem to give […]
January 2020 In Review
And so it begins, this years march to accomplishing a few things here in the movie room at Mike’s Take. […]
Looking Back at the Highlights of 2019 and Ahead to 2020
If only I could secure a flux capacitor for my Prius I’d travel back in time and relive some great […]
November 2019 In Review
Honestly, I can’t recall the last time I went to a movie theater three times in the same month. Gotta […]
Posts I Like
Death Wish (1974)
For his fourth film under the direction of Michael Winner, Charles Bronson, scored his most famous role, one that would […]
Brannigan (1975)
“The Duke’s in London. God save the Queen!” This was the second of two mid 70’s flicks that put John […]
John Huston In The Movies : From A to Z
Directors like John Huston come into one’s universe by extension. By that I mean when you get hooked on the […]
Breakheart Pass (1975)
I would suggest that from 1974 to 1977, Charles Bronson, was at the height of his powers on movie screens. […]
Elizabeth Taylor In the Movies : From A to Z
From a child star to a Hollywood legend, Elizabeth Taylor, stepped out from the screen to become a personality known […]
O.S.S. (1946)
Sandwiched in between costarring with Veronica Lake in The Blue Dahlia and Gail Russell in Calcutta, Paramount favorite, Alan Ladd, […]
Paul Newman In the Movies : From A to Z
I’ve settled on Paul Newman as the first actor to be featured in my new A to Z series and […]
Beware My Lovely Ida When Robert is On Dangerous Ground
Thanks to the fine folks at The Dark Pages, a newsletter that specializes in the world of Noir, my piece […]
New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
Now that 1954’s On the Waterfront blew the doors off of organized crime running the docks of New Jersey, that […]