Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx (1999) – Max McCoy

1934. The final Indiana Jones adventure set before the first trio of films is on the book shelf this week. It is also the shortest adventure in the series, not even breaking 200 pages, and the macguffin this time around is one created by the author, the Omega Book, though bases on things hinted at…

Miami Vice (1985) – Prodigal Son

The season two opener was a feature length entry for the hit series. Directed by Paul Micheal Glaser (Strasky), it was written by Daniel Pyne, the second season got underway on 27 September, 1985. Vice detectives Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Micheal Thomas) head north to Tubbs’ old stomping grounds in New…

The Vault of Horror (1973) – Roy Ward Baker

Taking its cue from the EC and Horror comics of the 1950s, The Vault of Horror is an anthology film and is the next stop in John Landis’ Monsters in the Movies book, available now from DK Canada. While I’m still in the Vampire section of the book, this film only features one vampire tale,…

The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) – L. Frank Baum

It’s been over a year since I travelled to the land of Oz. So I decided to buckle up for a quick jaunt back to that fairyland that shaped the lives of so many children at the beginning of the 20th century. Baum guides us back to his world as we go on another quest…

Quantum Leap (1990) – The Great Spontini and Rebel Without a Clue

After the heavier subject matter last week, The Great Spontini is a bit lighter fare (partially, though it does deal with a heartbreaking reality for families, divorce and custody battles) for Sam (Scott Bakula). Written by Cristy Dawson and Beverly Bridges, this episode first aired on 16 November, 1990. Sam finds himself as a magician, Harry Spontini,…

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) – Nathan Juran

  Another action flick from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film for the Fairbanks’ classic Thief of Bagdad! This time we join Captain Sinbad (Kerwin Matthews) on a great adventure, featuring some fantastic stop-motion effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. Despite the fact that the film is set in Bagdad, everyone is shockingly white, but…