K-19 feels like an underrated Kathryn Bigelow film. She once again dives into the pressures of the armed services and war and she has a fantastic cast including Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, and Peter Sarsgaard. Set at the height of the Cold War in 1961, when Mutually Assured Destruction seemed to be moments away from…
Tag: 1961
The Guns of Navarone (1961) – J. Lee Thompson
I’m going to go on the record here before I write this one up. This is the first time I have watched The Guns of Navarone. I watched the semi-sequel, Force 10 From Navarone because it was Harrison Ford, sure, but never saw the original. I buckled up and settled in for an incredibly tense,…
Quantum Leap: The Wall (1994) – Ashley McConnell
Ashley McConnell turns in another Quantum Leap novel, and except for a quick moment when we are given another limbo moment for Sam between leaps it is a really powerful tale about domestic abuse, alcoholism and breaking the cycle. Sam leaps into Missy, a six-year-old girl (something that couldn’t have been pulled off believably in…
Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) – Mario Bava
Reg Park stars as Hercules in the next film about the Devil’s Work in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Arriving home after his previous adventure, he learns that his beloved princess, Deianira (Lenora Ruffo) is in a supenatural coma, and that he, and his friends Theseus (George Ardisson) and Telemachus (Franco Giacobini) must venture…
Thunderball (1961) – Ian Fleming
The ninth book, and eighth full novel,in Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 series is up this week. And this one is a bit of a special case. It was originally concocted as a screenplay, and early editions gave sole credit to Fleming, whereas future editions, much like the film(s) that would later be developed from…
Gorgo (1961) – Eugene Lourie
What would happen if England got in on the Godzilla craze? Well, I found out as I explored DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book and came across Gorgo as I continue to explore the chapters on dragons and dinosaurs. When a group of sailors capture a strange beast off the coast of Ireland and…
Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory (1961) – Paolo Heusch
It’s time for another hairy werewolf movie as I continue to delve into DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book. This time around, the entry, Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory, is a bit of a letdown, considering it’s rife with exploitation potential. An Italian film that was dubbed for its North American release the story…
Goliath and the Vampires (1961) – Sergio Corbucci & Giacomo Gentilomo
Monsters in the Movies, by director John Landis and available from DK Canada, keeps the vampire films coming as I continue to stake my way through the chapter on the undead. That brings me to this odd and dubbed entry from Italy that adds (?) to the sword and sorcery genre with some strange trappings…
Jerry Lewis: 10 Films Collection
No matter one’s opinion of Jerry Lewis, you can’t deny he had an effect on slapstick, and comedy during the 50s and 60s. Paramount Pictures now releases a ten movie collection spanning that era that showcases Lewis’ talent both in front of and behind the camera in a set that shares some of his classic…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) – Blake Edwards
Based on the novel by Truman Capote, and featuring music by Henry Mancini, this romantic classic stars Audrey Hepburn, and George Peppard. It is also the next stop on the Romantic and Melodrama chapter of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film. The film, as solid as it is, features Mickey Rooney’s racist and…
The Mind Reels 