As far as 1940s Hollywood was concerned, Cornwall was a death trap. Stray across its borders and you risked being menaced by ghosts (The Uninvited), terrorised by homicidal housekeepers (Rebecca) or trapped in a funhouse version of reality, doubting your own sanity (My Name is Julia Ross). In the opening minutes of The Sign of […]
My Favourite Discoveries of 2023
Happy New Year! As we settle into 2024, here are my favourite film discoveries of the previous year. Sneakers (1992) Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) is a criminal for hire with a twist: law-abiding companies hire him to expose the chinks in their armour. When he and his crew grow suspicious about their latest assignment, they […]
Monster from the Id: Cody Jarrett in ‘White Heat’ (1949)
This post is a (very late) entry in the Great Villain Blogathon, hosted by Shadows and Satin, Speakeasy and Silver Screenings. See the other posts here. I’ve decided to try something a little different for this post: not a review but a look at a single performance. (Spoilers ahead.) Some villains have chainsaws, others vats […]
From Page to Screen: Seven Films Set in Bookshops
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! Every last Saturday in April, since 2015, bookworms across the country have celebrated indie bookshops: marvellous, idiosyncratic creatures that these days feel like an endangered species. It’s a great excuse to buy books. Not that I’ve ever needed one. Glancing at my shelves, I’ve sometimes wondered if I’m in danger of […]
Light and Shadow: Ray Milland
When I was eight or nine, I wandered into the living room and found my mother watching a film I didn’t recognize. Grace Kelly was pleading with a man not to reveal their affair to her once distant, now much-reformed husband. Then, ‘Mr. Kelly’ arrived. He was charming, witty, impeccably dressed and secretly plotting to […]
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: Femme Fatales
“She was bad. She was dangerous. I wouldn’t trust her any further than I could throw her. But, she was my kind of woman.” -Rod Riley (Fred Astaire) in the ‘Girl Hunt’ ballet, The Band Wagon Happy Valentine’s Day! And what better day to celebrate femme fatales, those sinuous, cold-hearted, duplicitous sirens who lead hardboiled […]