The Girl In Black Stockings (1957)
While the advertising campaign was clearly built around the one and only Mamie Van Doren’s sex appeal, this low budget […]
July 2020 in Review
Movies, Movies, Movies and ….. “Let’s play ball.” Yes there’s finally a sport attempting to make a go of it […]
Harakiri (1962)
Up to this point in time I’d only seen one of director Masaki Kobayashi’s films. One that comes with my […]
Appreciating the Randolph Scott / Budd Boetticher Westerns
Like a fine wine, Randolph Scott westerns, particularly those directed by Budd Boetticher have only gotten better as the years […]
Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020)
And so I believe ends the final connection that we classic film buffs have to the era of the 1930’s […]
John Saxon (1935-2020)
Just got the news while watching a Boetticher/Scott western. John Saxon is gone. Another actor I’ve been following since childhood […]
Recommendations For TCM’s Summer Under the Stars …. August 2020 …. Part 1
Each year the month of August brings the TCM Summer Under the Stars spotlight where 24 continuous hours are devoted […]
Cannon For Cordoba (1970)
For this Mirisch Company Production, George Peppard and his trusty cigar, take center stage in what amounts to a western […]
Venom (1982)
This Piers Haggard thriller represents a shoot I’d loved to have witnessed as a fly on the wall. Better still, […]
Death Wish II (1982)
Joining the world of sequels, Charles Bronson, returns to his most famous role of the 1970’s, a time when he […]
Marked Woman (1937)
Bette Davis takes center stage as a “Hostess” caught up in mob doings while Humphrey Bogart finds himself shedding his […]
Barbarosa (1982)
From director Fred Schepisi, comes this engaging western co-produced by the two lead actors, Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. Not […]
Lon Chaney Jr. In the Movies : From A to Z
Looking back, Lon Chaney Jr, is one of those actors I discovered more through books than I did actual movies […]
Bird of Paradise (1932)
On a tropical island paradise, Joel McCrea, is to meet one of the screen’s greatest beauties, Dolores Del Rio, in […]
June 2020 In Review
While I can’t speak for the rest of you who drop in on occasion, my movie viewing dropped back to […]
Diagnosis : Murder (1974)
This nifty British flick serves as a reminder that Christopher Lee did not star entirely in horror films during the […]
Gallery ›
Recommendations For TCM’s Summer Under the Stars …. August 2020 …. Part 1
Each year the month of August brings the TCM Summer Under the Stars spotlight where 24 continuous hours are devoted […]
Directed by Mario Bava : The Film Posters
Italian born director Mario Bava represents one of those film makers that it took years to finally see the majority […]
Curling Up With a Good Movie
Book! I meant book! As is my custom when out scouring the shops and antique malls for movie memorabilia I […]
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 […]
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 ›
John Saxon (1935-2020)
Just got the news while watching a Boetticher/Scott western. John Saxon is gone. Another actor I’ve been following since childhood […]
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 […]
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 […]
From A to Z ›
Richard Widmark In The Movies : From A to Z
From the moment he stepped on to movie screens in 1947, Richard Widmark, was branded a villain thanks to his […]
John Carradine In the Movies : From A to Z
Selecting John Carradine for this month’s A to Z feature should pose plenty of problems narrowing each letter of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 ›
Firefox (1982)
We’re back. Yes the Four Horseman of the Video Store Apocalypse, better known to our followers as the Video Store […]
… 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 […]
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 ›
June 2020 In Review
While I can’t speak for the rest of you who drop in on occasion, my movie viewing dropped back to […]
May 2020 In Review
With the amount of down time I’ve had at the office during this era of a world pandemic my movie […]
April 2020 In Review
The lock down continues and I hope and pray each and every one of my guests who drop by Mike’s […]
March 2020 In Review
Needless to say my world like yours has had some major changes these past few weeks. Thankfully my family and […]
Posts I Like
John Saxon (1935-2020)
Just got the news while watching a Boetticher/Scott western. John Saxon is gone. Another actor I’ve been following since childhood […]
Scorpio (1973)
Following The Mechanic in 1972, a film that pitted an aging hitman playing a game of cat and mouse with […]
Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959)
There are plenty of guns and gangsters in this Edward L. Cahn directed “B” and as for girls …. well […]
Highway 301
If Steve Cochran learned anything playing opposite James Cagney’s Cody Jarrett in the 1949 gangster classic, White Heat, it’s how […]
Richard Widmark In The Movies : From A to Z
From the moment he stepped on to movie screens in 1947, Richard Widmark, was branded a villain thanks to his […]
Appreciating the Randolph Scott / Budd Boetticher Westerns
Like a fine wine, Randolph Scott westerns, particularly those directed by Budd Boetticher have only gotten better as the years […]
The Passage (1979)
Just prior to becoming a house director for Cannon Films, J. Lee Thompson, reunited with his Guns of Navarone leading […]
Pier 5, Havana (1959)
Lesser known “B” titles need love to so when I see the names Cameron Mitchell and Allison Hayes starring in […]
Bird of Paradise (1932)
On a tropical island paradise, Joel McCrea, is to meet one of the screen’s greatest beauties, Dolores Del Rio, in […]