Category Archives: women

Bats: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2022 Edition, Vol. 9

Bats: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2022 Edition, Vol. 9      Surrounded by an unceasing parade of bloodsuckers in human form (y’know, politicians. media -ahem- journalists, phony social activists and lawyers… a veritable Hellzapoppin’ of deceit, deception and … Continue reading

Posted in animation, books, Boston, crime, Drive-In Movies, horror, Movies, Mystery, photography, silent movies, vampires, women, writing | 2 Comments

Barred: Classic Film Photo Quiz, June 2022 Edition, Vol. 25 – Life

Barred: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2022 Edition, Vol. 25 – Life Let us commemorate that happy time of the year when the children of this nation (a.k.a. deadbeats) are about to be released from their grueling three weeks of … Continue reading

Posted in Mai Zetterling., Movies, silent movies, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Eye of the Needle: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, April 2022 Edition, Vol. 60

Eye of the Needle: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, April 2022 Edition, Vol. 60 You are invited to a very special edition (not really) of this belated edition of the Classic Film Images Photo Quiz in which we celebrate a very … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, Elvis Presley, Movies, Musicals, Romance, theater, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Repeating Trifle: “Comanche Territory” (1950)

“Comanche Territory” (1950)      This fictionalized story (even more than is usual for the historical fantasists of Hollywood) of a pre-Alamo frontier adventure featuring legendary Texan Jim Bowie (Macdonald Carey) concerns a territorial dispute by ruthless speculators simmering over silver … Continue reading

Posted in Macdonald Carey, Maureen O'Hara, Movies, westerns, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

When Your Fingers Did the Walking: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2022 Edition, Vol. 411

When Your Fingers Did the Walking: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, March 2022 Edition, Vol. 411      In a world in desperate need of all of the humor one can muster, it never fails to entertain to seek out a … Continue reading

Posted in Cold War, comedy, crime, Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, photography, Romance, women, writing | 3 Comments

Slippery Slopes: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2022 Edition, Vol. -10

Slippery Slopes: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2022 Edition, Vol. -10     As the world blithely careens down the precipice of vaudevillian burlesque, led by that old tried and true tacky combination of a cranky baggy pants straight … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, crime, Drive-In Movies, Movies, Musicals, photography, Romance, war movies, women, writing | 2 Comments

Have I Got A Girl For You: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm

Have I  Got A Girl For You: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm    ‘Tis the season for gift giving and avaricious wishful thinking and while the members of the militant pseudo-feminist movement (“Declare your independence, then … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, black cinema, books, History, horror, Movies, Mystery, Romance, women | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: Classic Film Image Photo Quiz, Nov. 2021 Edition, Vol. 3000

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Nov. 2021 Edition, Vol. 3000 At a time when it seems that every authoritarian agency, whether governmental or private (with the line between the two often obscure or nonexistent), of … Continue reading

Posted in animation, art house cinema, biography, books, Boston, crime, Drive-In Movies, Movies, Mystery, women, writing | 4 Comments

Pedalers: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Oct. 2021 Edition, Vol. 400.6

PEDALERS:  CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, OCT. 2021 EDITION, VOL. 400.6     In deference to the assertions of those who derive from great glee from splashing rain puddles onto the sidewalk strolling CSR editorial staff as they zoom by in … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, Italian cinema, Movies, photography, Romance, war movies, women, writing | 2 Comments

They Had Lenses Then: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm

They Had Lenses Then: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2021 Edition, Vol. 35mm Eschewing the usual mockery of political and social buffoons in the course of shamelessly circuitous introduction, current events demand that a passing dismissal of the criminally … Continue reading

Posted in Audie Murphy, biography, books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, History, Mimsy Farmer, Musicals, politics, Romance, women, writing | 2 Comments

Swamp Thang: “‘Gator Bait” (1974)

          “‘Gator Bait”  (1974)     “‘Gator Bait” is a simplistic tale of revenge that is simply told, entirely lacking in any trace of nuance or pretensions toward Art and it’s all the better for it. … Continue reading

Posted in crime, Drive-In Movies, grindhouse, movie sequels, Movies, women, writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Horse Sense: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2021 Edition, Vol. 6 Hands

HORSE SENSE: CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, MAY 2021 EDITION, VOL. 6 HANDS      If the current pandemic teaches us anything (a supposition which for reasons only a scientific investigation the size of the Manhattan Project might begin to unravel … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, art house cinema, biography, books, Drive-In Movies, Movies, photography, Romance, westerns, women, writing | 3 Comments

Strange Bedfellows: “Public Affairs” (1983)

       “Public Affairs”  (1983)      Henri Pachard’s “Public Affairs” (which he also co-scripted) would have you believe that politics is no deeper than a lowbrow humor which seems suspiciously lifted using the frivolous filter of vague remembrance … Continue reading

Posted in Annette Haven, comedy, erotica, grindhouse, Movies, politics, sex, Sex in Cinema, women, writing | 1 Comment

Isn’t Running a Sign You’re Up to No-Good?: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Apr. 2021 Edition, Vol. 26.2

Isn’t Running a Sign You’re Up to No-Good?: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Apr. 2021 Edition, Vol. 26.2      With this year’s upcoming cancelled running of the Boston Marathon, there is little reason for the annual Patriot’s Day holiday … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, biography, books, Boston, British films, crime, Drive-In Movies, grindhouse, Movies, Mystery, politics, women, writing | 5 Comments

Noir!: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2021 Edition, Vol. .38

Noir!: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2021 Edition, Vol. .38      Being that February is Black History Month and the crew at CSR are noted for their sensitivity to the burning issues of the day, it was decided … Continue reading

Posted in blogs, books, crime, Drive-In Movies, film noir, Movies, Mystery, women, writing | Tagged | 2 Comments

‘Tis the Season of Excess: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2020 Edition, Vol. 3,000,000,000

‘Tis the Season of Excess: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Dec. 2020 Edition, Vol. 3,000,000,000 If anything might be guaranteed to emanate on a continuous basis from the deeply humanist and selfless communal mindset that is at the core of … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, biography, books, History, Italian cinema, Movies, photography, Romance, Santa Claus, silent movies, westerns, women, writing | 3 Comments

Five Characters in Search of a Crime Scene: “Madonna of the Desert” (1948)

         “Madonna of the Desert”  (1948)      The slightness of “Madonna of the Desert” might not be evident to those who have never seen a motion picture of any kind. However, those with even minimal exposure … Continue reading

Posted in crime, film noir, Movies, Reviews, women, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Family Ties: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Nov. 2020 Edition, Vol. 2.4

Family Ties: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Nov. 2020 Edition, Vol. 2.4     Recently it was reported that America’s most prominent Chicken Little,  Dr, Anthony Fauci was informed by his family that due to the conditions of the pandemic, they … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, children, comedy, Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, Musicals, women | 4 Comments

#MeBoo: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Oct. 2020 Edition, Vol. 35-24-36-43

#MeBoo:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Oct. 2020 Edition, Vol. 36-24-36-43     Amid all of the fuss of the current extended job interview between two fellows who, in the real world, would be underqualified to handle the complexities of being … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, Drive-In Movies, horror, horror films, Movies, photography, vampires, women, writing | 13 Comments

Chandler’s Trailers: “Humanoids From the Deep” (1980)

  “Humanoids From the Deep” (1980)  If one were uncertain as to the gravity of the situation in the small fishing hamlet of Noyo, California one would need no further measurement than the overbearingly ominous music of James Horner which … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, horror, movie reviews, Movies, music, Roger Corman, science fiction, women, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

If You Have the Time to Read This, You’re Not Earning Your Pay: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2020 Special Labor Day Edition, Vol. 40/5

If You Have Time to Read This, You’re Not Earning Your Pay: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 202 Special Labor Day Edition, Vol. 40/5     In celebration of the American holiday acknowledging the working class, all of the effort … Continue reading

Posted in biography, black cinema, books, Boston, comedy, crime, Documentaries, History, Movies, women, writing | Leave a comment

It Came From the File Cabinet: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Late Aug./Early Sept. 2020 Edition, Vol. 47

It Came From the File Cabinet: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Late Aug./Early Sept. 2020 Edition, Vol. 47      It is with great sorrow that we at Chandler Swain Reviews regret to inform you that our traditional method of … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, biography, Blaxploitation, books, British films, comedy, Drive-In Movies, History, horror, Movies, women, writing | 3 Comments

This is No Way to Share Popcorn

Posted in blogs, Boston, British films, cinema, Culture, Film, History, movie reviews, Movies, Romance, women, writing | 1 Comment

Mirror, Mirror: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2020 Edition, Vol. XI-IX

Mirror, Mirror:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2020 Edition, Vol. XI-IX     History seems fated to repeat itself. The Age of the Selfie is the direct antecedent of the Golden Age of Mirror Gazing and both depend on … Continue reading

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, art house cinema, books, Boston, comedy, crime, horror, Movies, women, writing | 3 Comments

In Black and White: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2020 Edition, Vol. -30-

In Black and White: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2020 Edition, Vol. -30-    What’s black and white and red all over? Pravda naturally. However, when it comes to Hollywood, the answer would more likely be Panda Tartare (being … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, espionage, Movies, Mystery, photography, women, writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy MOTHER Day, CSR-Style

      A Holiday Missive to “MOTHER”     Given that the average male Yale graduate’s (we’ve talked to ’em… they’re a sad bunch)  day is given over to dealing with feelings of guilt and inadequacy so deeply ingrained … Continue reading

Posted in Boston, children, Culture, holidays, humor, Movies, parenting, psychiatry, women, zombies | Tagged | 2 Comments

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2020 Edition, Vol. .400

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, May 2020 Edition, Vol. .400    During what will undoubtedly be referred to by some historians as The Great Purell Hunt of 2020 (while others will more sensibly remember … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Boston, comedy, Movies, sports, theater, women, writing | Tagged | 2 Comments

All Banged Up and No Place to Go: “Number One” (1969)

        “Number One”  (1969)     Considering the amount of complex psychology involved in both the achieving and the rudimentary maintenance of high level performance in sports, it is surprising how little of this is reflected in … Continue reading

Posted in Charlton Heston, football, Romance, sports, women, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

What the Peeper Saw: “What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?” (1970)

          “What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?”  (1970)           Alan Funt’s “What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?” begins with the noted television Peeping Tom/provocateur fiddling with his surveillance equipment … Continue reading

Posted in movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, sex, Television, women | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Alone Again, Unnaturally: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Apr. 2020 Edition, Vol. 4077

Alone Again, Unnaturally:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Apr. 2020 Edition, Vol. 4077 Emerging from a self-imposed exile just in time to notice that the rest of the world seems to have cribbed our idea for a temporary avoidance of … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, British films, China, Cold War, crime, Drive-In Movies, horror, Movies, Mystery, war movies, women, writing | 6 Comments

Battle Fatigue: “Le prigioniere dell’isola del diavolo” (1962)

       “Le prigioniere dell’isola del diavolo” (1962)         The mere mention of a film inclusive of the women in the spurious genre of prison films usually conjures salacious images of graciously exploitative shower scenes, jailhouse togs … Continue reading

Posted in Italian cinema, Movies, Romance, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Diplomatic Affairs: “Die lady” (1964)

“Die lady”  (1964) Starring Ingrid Thulin, Paul Hubschmid, Nikos Kourkoulos, Claudine Auger, Bernard Verley. Written by Peter Berneis. Directed by Han Albin & Peter Berneis. (aka “Games of Desire”) Ingrid Thulin stars as Nadine, the trophy wife to Elliot, a secretly … Continue reading

Posted in Ingrid Thulin, movie reviews, Movies, psychiatry, Romance, sex, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Fear is the Key: “Machine Gun Kelly” (1958)

    “Machine Gun Kelly” (1958)    Roger Corman directs this oddly unaffecting gangster film which while predictably short on accurate historic detail, curiously substitutes enough unconvincing. psychodrama to sabotage a dozen B-pictures.      In chronicling the exaggerated myths … Continue reading

Posted in biography, Charles Bronson, crime, History, Movies, Roger Corman, women, writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Still Lives: “Kärlekens Krigare” (2009)

     “Kärlekens Krigare”  (2009)     Simon Staho’s “Kärlekens Krigare” ( “Warriors of Love”) is an interesting  use of the limited regressive tools of filmmaking resulting by ignoring just over a century’s worth of accumulated advances in style and … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, movie reviews, Movies, photography, Reviews, Romance, Swedish cinema, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bump in the Night: “Dracula Sucks” (1978)

           “Dracula Sucks”  (1978)     If a similar exercise in post-“Blazing Saddles” era genre deconstruction by way of by way of a borscht belt savaging of genre tropes were to be inferred by as suggestively … Continue reading

Posted in Annette Haven, books, erotica, horror, Movies, Porno Chic, Romance, vampires, women, writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Howl: “La lupa mannara” (1976)

      “La lupa mannara”  (1976)      Lycanthropy becomes the subject of pathology rather than mythology in Rino Di Silvestro’s “La lupa mannara” (“Werewolf Woman”), a film that features an unsettling performance by Annik Borel as Daniela Neseri, … Continue reading

Posted in crime, erotica, giallo, horror, Italian cinema, Movies, psychiatry, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Curiouser and Curiouser: “The Curious Female” (1970)

         “The Curious Female”    (1970)     One might be sympathetic to the exploitation filmmaker who deems that gratuitous sex and nudity alone is insufficient to realize any but the most base of creative intentions and … Continue reading

Posted in erotica, Film Reviews, grindhouse, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, science fiction, sex, Sex in Cinema, women | Tagged | 2 Comments

Cold as Ice: “The Frozen Dead” (1966)

                 “The Frozen Dead”  (1966)      If one were take Hollywood’s version of history at face value, Germany’s defeat in World War II had little to do with the strangulation of resources … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, horror, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, science fiction, women, World War II, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Paying for Time: “Agony of Love” (1966)

          “Agony of Love”  (1966)   Think “Klute” without the nonsense murder plot or “Belle de jour” without the surrealist subtext and both made without a hint of artistry and you will probably see much that … Continue reading

Posted in erotica, grindhouse, Movies, psychiatry, sex, Sex in Cinema, women | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

What’s Love Got to Do With It?: “El gran amor del conde Drácula” (1973)

          “El gran amor del conde Drácula” (1973)     Popularly recognized by Euro Horror enthusiasts for his continuing role as lycanthrope Wademar Daninsky, Paul Naschy portrays an unexpectedly sentimental variation of cinema’s favorite vampire in “El … Continue reading

Posted in books, grindhouse, horror, Movies, Romance, Spanish films, vampires, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

25 Pictures in Search of a Theme: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2019 Edition, Vol. 133524.48

25 Pictures in Search of a  Theme: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Sept. 2019 Edition, Vol. 133524.48s     Since the inception of Chandler Swain Reviews, we have engaged in the constant struggle between the search for Art and depth … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Boston, Cecil B. DeMille, comedy, History, horror, Movies, Mystery, photography, Romance, women, writing | 1 Comment

Love in a Fog: “The Divorce of Lady X” (1938)

     “The Divorce of Lady X”  (1938)     After a brief immersion in the London fog, the pastel carnival of colors assaulting the viewer’s eyes at the start of Ted Whelan’s “The Divorce of Lady X” is not unlike … Continue reading

Posted in comedy, Laurence Olivier, London, movie remakes, Movies, music, Romance, theater, women, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Firearms For Fun and Profit: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Aug. 2019 Edition, Vol. .38 Caliber

Firearms for Fun and Profit:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Aug. 2019 Edition, Vol. .38 Caliber     Let us consider, for a moment,  the strained logic inherent in the Constitutional inalienable right to be contrary, hypocritical and downright stupid … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, Drive-In Movies, film noir, grindhouse, History, Movies, Musicals, Mystery, photography, westerns, women | 1 Comment

No Smoking in Bed: “Fuego” (1969)

      “Fuego”  (1969)        One may accuse the cinematic works of Argentine actor-director Armando Bo of many things, but subtlety is not probable to be high on the list of likely suspects. In the initial clumsily executed … Continue reading

Posted in erotica, grindhouse, Movies, music, Reviews, Romance, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Good Clean Fun: “Girls, Girls, Girls!” (1961)

       “Girls, Girls, Girls!”  (1961)     “Girls, Girls, Girls!” (not to be confused with the next year’s Elvis Presley feature with the same title) announces itself with a sexy and stylish Pop Art title sequence suggestive of … Continue reading

Posted in British films, Documentaries, Helen Mirren, London, photography, short films, women | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reserved Seating: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2019 Edition, Vol. A7

Reserved Seating:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, July 2019 Edition, Vol. A7     Movies are a funny business (Unless the studios are attempting a comedy, in which case Hollywood can be the most depressing place on Earth.) and the … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boston, comedy, Drive-In Movies, History, Movies, Mystery, photography, politics, silent movies, Television, theater, women, writing | 3 Comments

Touch and Go: “He & She” (1970)

       “He & She”  (1970)      Matt Cimber’s “He & She” is one of those cannily marketed pseudo-explicit features which skated by the diligently suspicious antennae of community standards by masquerading its exploitative intentions as an educationally … Continue reading

Posted in erotica, grindhouse, movie reviews, Movies, Romance, sex, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bad Habits: “Change of Habit” (1969)

      “CHANGE OF HABIT”     (1969)      One of the disillusioning truths of the American film industry is its cavalier willingness to disregard genuine and unique talent in favor of convenient formulaic utilitarianism; a primary example being … Continue reading

Posted in Elvis Presley, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, religion, Reviews, women, writing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Variety is the Spice of Life: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2019 Edition, Vol. 57

Variety is the Spice of Life: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, June 2019 Edition, Vol. 57     In keeping with the CSR tradition of taking an entire month to upgrade, update and perform a much needed Spring Cleaning on the … Continue reading

Posted in biography, books, comedy, History, horror, movie reviews, Movies, photography, Romance, sex, theater, women, writing | 8 Comments

Chandler’s Trailers: “Keeping Up With the Joneses” (2016)

  “Keeping Up With the Joneses” (2016) A comedy which intermingles the movie-fed image of spies (i.e., those who carry on covert operations which seem to bring the greatest attention to themselves) with a Hollywood humorist’s vision of suburban America, “Keeping … Continue reading

Posted in comedy, espionage, Movies, Reviews, Romance, women, writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments