Category Archives: racism

Vacancy: “Hotel” (1967)

       “HOTEL”    (1967)     While reading Arthur Hailey’s novel “Hotel” (a beach book version of “Grand Hotel”), one gets a similar sensation to that of working on a disappointing jigsaw puzzle: at certain moments in working … Continue reading

Posted in books, Karl Malden, movie reviews, Movies, racism, Rod Taylor, Romance, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Black and White in Color: “In the Heat of the Night” (1967)

     “In the Heat of the Night”  (1967)     With “In the Heat of the Night” director Norman Jewison breaches the unconscionable commercial wall of denial concerning racial injustice by way of silence (born entirely of an industry … Continue reading

Posted in black cinema, book reviews, books, movie reviews, Movies, Mystery, racism, Reviews, Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

“Across 110th Street” (1972)

               “Across 110 Street”  (1972)     Barry Shear’s “Across 110th Street” walks the precarious line between the gritty urban cop thriller for which the standard was set by the previous year’s “The French Connection” … Continue reading

Posted in black cinema, Blaxploitation, books, crime, Movies, racism, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ballot Stuffing: “Linda Lovelace for President” (1975)

           “Linda Lovelace for President”  (1975)     Chances are that if a movie announces upfront that it intends to offend every member of the audience, the results will be fairly pedestrian, as a truly provocative … Continue reading

Posted in comedy, grindhouse, Linda Lovelace, movie reviews, Movies, politics, racism, Reviews, sex, women, writing | 4 Comments

Whose West Is It Anyway?: “Tomahawk” (1951)

          “Tomahawk”  (1951)     George Sherman’s “Tomahawk” is one of those colorful  1950’s western films of surprising quantity that are (in theory) sympathetic to the American Indian (in this case the Sioux) as victims of duplicitous … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, racism, Romance, westerns, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

State of the Art: Isn’t Brie Just Another Name For Cheese?

       At a recent celebration of the annual Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards (which once again demonstrated that [1] all of the good names for award presentations have already been taken, and [2] if there were … Continue reading

Posted in books, Culture, Film Criticism, movie reviews, Movies, racism, women, writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Idiot’s Delight: “Putney Swope” (1969)

             “Putney Swope”  (1969)     In “Putney Swope”, a Madison Avenue advertising agency is subject to an unexpected power shift when a new Chairman of the Board is hastily chosen, after his predecessor collapses … Continue reading

Posted in black cinema, Boston, comedy, movie reviews, Movies, racism, Reviews, writing | Tagged | 4 Comments

Blue Lives Matter: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, November 2015 Edition, Vol 10-4

BLUE LIVES MATTER:  CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, NOV. 2015 EDITION, VOL. 10-4      Consider for a moment the sad state of societal disorder in which divisive intolerance has become a favored substitution for erudite enlightenment and a ludicrous … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, books, crime, Culture, Film, Movies, photography, politics, racism, Reviews, Steve McQueen, vermont, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New 2014 Fall Film Course Offerings

The Film School at Smarterin University has just announced five new course offerings for the upcoming 2014 Fall Semester: PERSPECTIVES OF ADVANCED AESTHETIC INTERPRETATION: THE MOVEMENT TOWARD  IN PROGRESSIVE STYLISTIC BACK PEDDLING The course will follow the movement of avant-garde … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, Culture, education, Film, History, humor, Movies, racism, writing | Leave a comment

Wood Floats: “Jail Bait” (1954)

    “Jail Bait” is the most accomplished film from the fertile mind of Edward D. Wood, Jr., which is like saying the maiden voyage of Titanic is the most famous of sea disasters: it may technically be true, but it’s … Continue reading

Posted in 1950's cinema, 1950's movies, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, grindhouse, movie reviews, Movies, racism, Reviews | Tagged | 1 Comment