Taras Bulba (1962)
This Harold Hecht production with J. Lee Thompson directing comes across as if it had been intended to be the […]
Movie Poster Adventures with Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy. The hero of WW2 will always be for me a hero of Sunday afternoon matinees of the western […]
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
If you like westerns and John Wayne, then for my money it’s nearly impossible not to love this movie. As […]
Fedora (1978)
Is it just me or is this like a lost, not quite classic Billy Wilder flick that reunites him with […]
Strange Bargain (1949)
Noir in a Leave it to Beaver setting is how this RKO release comes across with Jeffrey Lynn getting in […]
More of Those On Screen Movie Dads
Let’s kick off this year’s look at movie Dad’s with three versions of The Champ. 1931 saw Wallace Beery and […]
The Reluctant Heroes (1971)
If I didn’t know any better I’d swear this made for TV affair by way of Aaron Spelling was made […]
Biggles (1986)
At long last I’ve caught up with the final film of Peter Cushing. While he doesn’t go out on a […]
Night of the Iguana (1964)
I probably knew more about what went on behind the scenes of this John Huston production then anything that actually happened […]
The Great Bank Robbery (1969)
Flawed and uneven this western spoof may be and it’s surely attempting to cash in on the popularity of Support […]
Helen of Troy (1956)
Arguably the biggest release on the Warner Brothers schedule for the calendar year and in Warner Color no less, Helen […]
The Gauntlet (1977)
“A nothing witness for a nothing trial.” If only things were that simple for Clint Eastwood in this non Dirty […]
The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962)
It’s only been about thirty years since I’ve seen this effective creeper when it played City TV out of Toronto […]
Price and Poe : The Poster Gallery
For the regular readers here at Mike’s Take, you know I love the works of my “friend” Vincent Price. Not […]
May 2017 In Review
Rounding up the month allows me to sneak a few mini reviews and thoughts on some more recent titles and to […]
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 […]
Gallery ›
More of Those On Screen Movie Dads
Let’s kick off this year’s look at movie Dad’s with three versions of The Champ. 1931 saw Wallace Beery and […]
Price and Poe : The Poster Gallery
For the regular readers here at Mike’s Take, you know I love the works of my “friend” Vincent Price. Not […]
Mom On the Movie Poster and More
For Mother’s Day it’s time to highlight the one who for most all of us is our first love. Is […]
Stanley Cup Playoffs : My Starting Line Up
Like any born and bred Canadian boy, it’s all hockey in my house when the puck drops in the quest […]
Book Takes ›
Clown Prince of Hollywood … By Bob Thomas
The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner Having recently enjoyed Stanley Tucci’s wonderful S.O.B. styled turn as Jack […]
Dietrich & Riefenstahl
Hollywood, Berlin, and a Century In Two Lives By Karin Wieland Having read previous books on Marlene Dietrich, I came […]
Lionel Atwill : The Exquisite Villain
by Neil Pettigrew Is Lionel Atwill one of the great “horror” stars of the first and second wave of the […]
Andy & Don
The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show ……… by Daniel de Vise I guess I should […]
Mad Movie Challenge ›
Purple Noon (1960)
The Mad Movie Challenge Strikes Again……… It’s that time when Kristina of the Speakeasy site tosses some titles my way in […]
Experiment Perilous (1944)
The Mad Movie Challenge Strikes Again. Kristina over at Speakeasy has placed this Jacques Tourneur film on top of my […]
The Mad Movie Challenge … Hobson’s Choice (1953)
As the month comes to a close it’s time for the Mad Movie Challenge when Kristina from Speakeasy assigns me […]
The Mad Movie Challenge …. Eyes Without a Face (1960)
On a yearly basis, October brings eerie films and the challenge presented to me this month is a fine addition […]
Blogathon ›
Al Lettieri versus The Icons Part 1
Is Al Lettieri a household name? Admittedly no. However if you know your gritty seventies gangland films then you’ll know […]
Spotlighting Franchot Tone on The Small Screen
When the site Finding Franchot decided to spotlight the actor with a blogathon, I thought I’d take the opportunity to […]
He Ran All The Way (1951)
When I attended the 2016 TCM Festival in Hollywood, this final film in the career of John Garfield was playing […]
Across This Land With Stompin’ Tom Connors (1973)
For the annual blogathon celebrating my homeland of Canada kindly put forth by Speakeasy’s Kristina and Ruth over at Silver […]
DVD/Blu Take ›
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)
No matter how many films I’ve seen as the years go by, I still on occasion will discover a new […]
Killer Fish (1978)
The long shadow of Jaws was a major influence on the exploitation market in the immediate years that followed the […]
Chato’s Land (1972)
“Back off Lawman.” This after a racially charged slur and threat from a frontier town sheriff towards the “half-breed” Chato […]
The Black Sleep (1956)
I would think that if this mad doctor tale had been filmed in the heart of the horror run of […]
Featured Actor ›
Al Lettieri versus The Icons Part 2
The two films I saw more frequently than any other growing up featuring Al Lettieri pitted him against two of […]
Al Lettieri versus The Icons Part 1
Is Al Lettieri a household name? Admittedly no. However if you know your gritty seventies gangland films then you’ll know […]
Spotlighting Franchot Tone on The Small Screen
When the site Finding Franchot decided to spotlight the actor with a blogathon, I thought I’d take the opportunity to […]
Rutger Hauer Heroics
From the Golden Age of the VHS Rental It seemed as if discovering Rutger Hauer flicks was a right of passage […]
Articles ›
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 […]
An Evil to Behold : Sherry Peatty in The Killing (1956)
This article was kindly published by the Dark Pages last May and it was my attempt at presenting a take […]
Charles McGraw : Tough Guy With the Gravel Voice
This article on the career of Charles McGraw appeared in The Dark Pages special edition dedicated to the classic 1946 […]
Live Take ›
The Charles Bronson Starter Kit and Then Some
Chatting up a list of Bronson titles worth checking into using posters as props from my personal collection.
Film Books We Rely On Vol. 3 or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Crime Movies
After a couple months of intense negotiations over finding the right director to film the third installment of videos dedicated […]
Film Books We Rely On Volume 2
Once again I am joined by Kristina from Speakeasy to share more of our favorite books devoted to the study […]
Film Books We Rely On
Making her debut on camera for a live take, I am joined by Kristina Dijan who operates the wonderful and […]
Monthly Reviews ›
April 2017 In Review
When the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin here in Canada and you’ve grown up playing the game, it’s sure hard to […]
March 2017 In Review
I don’t doubt that the highlight of the month turned out once again to be the Mad Movie Challenge from […]
February 2017 in Review
Westerns, John Wick, fun retro VHS horror movies and Canada’s own Stompin’ Tom Connors filled my viewing time this month […]
January 2017 in Review
To start the year off on January 1st I decided to check in and see how Harry Potter looks while […]
Daily Take ›
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
If you like westerns and John Wayne, then for my money it’s nearly impossible not to love this movie. As […]
Fedora (1978)
Is it just me or is this like a lost, not quite classic Billy Wilder flick that reunites him with […]
Strange Bargain (1949)
Noir in a Leave it to Beaver setting is how this RKO release comes across with Jeffrey Lynn getting in […]
The Reluctant Heroes (1971)
If I didn’t know any better I’d swear this made for TV affair by way of Aaron Spelling was made […]
July 1st on TCM
Previous Take
Top Posts & Pages
Posts I Like
Al Lettieri versus The Icons Part 2
The two films I saw more frequently than any other growing up featuring Al Lettieri pitted him against two of […]
Roger Moore : The Non-Bond Poster Gallery
Originally posted on Mike's Take On the Movies .......... Rediscovering Cinema's Past:
Sure it’s easy to argue that Moore essentially played James Bond in practically everything before and after he received…
Looking For Positives In a Quartet of Duds
Generally I hate getting overly critical of films for a number of reasons. One of which is we only see […]
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
If you like westerns and John Wayne, then for my money it’s nearly impossible not to love this movie. As […]
Al Lettieri versus The Icons Part 1
Is Al Lettieri a household name? Admittedly no. However if you know your gritty seventies gangland films then you’ll know […]
The Long Shadow of JAWS in Movie Posters
When Steven Spielberg unleashed the terror of Peter Benchley’s novel upon innocent movie goers in the summer of 1975, it […]
Spotlighting Franchot Tone on The Small Screen
When the site Finding Franchot decided to spotlight the actor with a blogathon, I thought I’d take the opportunity to […]
March 2017 In Review
I don’t doubt that the highlight of the month turned out once again to be the Mad Movie Challenge from […]
Hard Times (1975) on blu ray from Eureka!
“He sure was something.” Is Hard Times the best feature film of the 1970’s to have starred Charles Bronson? I […]