Hitchcock pairs with writer Frederick Knott to bring his stage play, Dial M for Murder to the big screen in this captivating and thrilling adaptation. The film features a top-tier cast, the luminous Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings and John Williams. Everyone has secrets in this engaging film. Kelly is Margot Wendice, a wealthy…
Tag: murder
Get Smart (1966) – The Decoy, Hoo Done It, and Rub-A-Dub-Dub… Three Spies in a Tub
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) is The Decoy in this episode, written by Sydney Zelinka and Ronald Axe. It first aired on 29 October, 1966. While Agent X carries the plans to a distant meeting, Agent 86 is to pose as the decoy and draw the attention of KAOS. The Chief (Edward Platt) plants information to…
Smallville (2002) – Crush, and Obscura
Adam Brody guest stars as Justin in Crush, the nineteenth episode of the first season. First airing on 7 May, 2002, it was written by Philip Levens and showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Justin has been recovering in a Metropolis hospital after a hit and run. He’s returning to Smallville, following his release (and…
Magpie Murders (2016) – Anthony Horowitz
I’ve always enjoyed Anthony Horowitz’s writing. I dug his young spy novels, the Alex Rider series, and his foray into James Bond territory. But he is not a writer to be confined by genre, and when I came across Magpie Murders in one of the little libraries in a neighbor’s yard, I had to at…
The Trees (2021) – Percival Everett
With two books, Percival Everett has become one of my favorite authors. I loved his take on Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in James. And when I read the blurb on The Trees I knew I had to take a look. I didn’t know that I would be blown away by it. Everett…
Get Smart (1966) – The Amazing Harry Hoo, Hubert’s Unfinished Symphony, and Ship of Spies: Part 1
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) teams up with Hawaiian detective Harry Hoo (Joey Forman) to track down his old enemy, The Claw (Leonard Strong) in The Amazing Harry Hoo. Written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, this episode was first broadcast on 12 March, 1966. The episode is a little problematic in that you have a…
Dressed to Kill (1946) – Roy William Neill
This is it, the final Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson adventure to feature Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in the iconic roles. While it is another original story, it does lift elements from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories A Scandal in Bohemia, and The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. The mystery centers around a trio…
Terror by Night (1946) – Roy William Neill
Terror by Night is the penultimate adventure of Basil Rathbone’s and Nigel Bruce’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. It lifts elements from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Empty House, The Disappearance of Lady Carfax, and The Sign of Four, but is predominantly an original story….
White Lightning (1973) – Joseph Sargent
Burt Reynolds stars as Gator McClusky, who feels like he may be a more rough and tumble relative of the Bandit. And speaking of Smokey & the Bandit, Hal Needham, who went on to direct that classic film, served as the second unit director on this film. Gator is in prison, and he’s a model…
Get Smart (1965) – Aboard the Orient Express, Weekend Vampire, and Survival of the Fattest
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) are Aboard the Orient Express. It seems a number of CONTROL couriers have been murdered on the iconic train trip and it is up to this pair of agents to find out what is going on. Written by Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret, this episode…
The Mind Reels 