The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) – Blu-Ray Review

Cecil D.DeMille knew how to make an epic, and both versions of his Ten Commandments prove that point, but I was always more intrigued by what I had heard about his circus picture, The Greatest Show On Earth, mainly because it was the film that really ignited Steven Spielberg’s love of moviemaking. I had never…

Mission: Impossible (1966) – Old Man Out: Part 2, and Odds On Evil

Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to rejoin the IMF team from last week as they continue with their assignment with Old Man Out: Part 2. Written by Ellis Marcus, the series’ first two-parter came to its conclusion on 15 October, 1966. Rollin (Martin Landau) is advised by Dan (Steven Hill) to…

Octopussy (1983) – John Glen

Roger Moore’s sixth outing as James Bond, 007, licence to kill, in Octopussy is this week’s Bond film. 55 at the time of filming, producers decided to stick with Moore when they learned of a rival production company luring Sean Connery back to the secret agent life with the remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never…

At the Circus (1939) – Edward Buzzell

The comedic section of the chapter on Monstrous Apes in the fantastic DK Canada book, Monsters in the Movies, brings me a Marx Brothers classic which I had never seen, and consequently as delighted to settle in for. Groucho, Harpo, and Chico lend their hysterical aid to the owner of a circus, Jeff Wilson (Kenny…

Keep ‘Em Flying (1941) – Arthur Lubin and Ralph Ceder

The next title in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies features that great comedic duo, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They make an appearance in the chapter on Monstrous Apes, as Abbott encounters a gorilla (a man in a suit) partway through this rather patriotic picture. The pair serve as ground crew to Jinx Roberts…

Captive Wild Woman (1943) – Edward Dmytryk

John Carradine as a detached, and insane scientist, who somehow still gets work, an animal trainer who wants a shot at the big top, and a gorilla suit that becomes a beautiful women with strange powers over the animals of the circus. It’s all here in the next big title in DK Canada’s Monsters in…

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…

Dumbo (2019) – Tim Burton

I’m not sure how I feel yet about Disney’s apparent need to revisit their classic animated films and turn them into live-action films with computer-generated animation. Are they worried that the relevance of their classic films has reached an end and want to revitalize what they see as diminishing returns on them? I’m not sure….

Vampire Circus (1972) – Robert Young

Vampire Circus, a Hammer Film (read as blood, fangs and nudity) is the next title from Monsters in the Movies by director John Landis. The book is available from DK Canada, and has been extremely entertaining. I really liked this one, it’s not lengthy, it falls short of an hour and a half, but I…