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The Strange Case of Joe Patroni: Part Two

The Strange Case of Joe Patroni: Part Two

When we last left off, Joe Patroni was on the tarmac at Salt Lake City International Airport with his ‘wife’ and ‘son’, who have just survived the emergency landing of Columbia Airlines Flight 409. And as already stated in my previous post, we are left with many unanswered questions about Joe Patroni’s seemingly sketchy past, the least of which being why Gloria Swanson was on Flight 409 in the first place. Gloria Swanson notwithstanding, there are no easy answers, at…

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Gun Crazy: “Thrill Crazy… Kill Crazy… ‘Deadly is the Female.’”

Gun Crazy: “Thrill Crazy… Kill Crazy… ‘Deadly is the Female.’”

Released: January 1950 Dir.: Joseph H. Lewis Cast: Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry Kroeger, Anabel Shaw, Harry Lewis, Nedrick Young, Russ Tamblyn. Right from childhood Bart Tare (John Dall) was crazy about guns. So much so he tried to break into a hardware store to steal a revolver. His attempt failed and earned him 5 years up the river to reform school. Bart learned his lessons the hard way, at the ripe old age of 7 he shot a baby…

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Buck Privates: ‘You’ll Be Caught in a Draft…of Laughter!’

Buck Privates: ‘You’ll Be Caught in a Draft…of Laughter!’

Released: January 1941 Dir.: Arthur Lubin Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, Jane Frazee, Nat Pendleton, The Andrews Sisters. Imagine a world where you and a pal could hangout on a street corner selling neckties for 10 cents apiece. Be chased by a cop, for illegally selling said neckties, hide from him by ducking into a movie theater and then accidentally enlisting in the army. Imagine a world where while waiting to be shipped off to boot…

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Star Trek Generations: The Re-appraisal.

Star Trek Generations: The Re-appraisal.

Released: 1994 Dir.: David Carson **Spoiler Alert** Bloggers Log. Stardate: 2. A few nights ago, I watched Star Trek: Generations, the film that bridges the ages between Star Trek the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve watched the film, and the fifth time that I’ve seen it, and to my surprise, the most enjoyable viewing. Bringing about thoughts of re-appraisal. Over the years Star Trek: Generations has been viewed…

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The Strange Case of Joe Patroni: Part One

The Strange Case of Joe Patroni: Part One

When Arthur Hailey’s novel Airport was published in 1968, the literary world was introduced to TWA maintenance chief Joe Patroni, a no-nonsense, cigar chomping trouble-shooter operating out of Chicago’s fictional Lincoln International Airport. In the novel, Patroni races the clock to remove an Aero-Mexico Boeing 707, that is mired in snow and mud, blocking a crucial runway, before another crippled 707 can make an emergency landing on the same runway. Set during a massive snowstorm, Airport unfolds over an 8-hour…

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All Through the Night: ‘This is Broadway, Not Berlin!’

All Through the Night: ‘This is Broadway, Not Berlin!’

Released: 1942 Dir.: Vincent Sherman How can you not like a movie that pits Humphrey Bogart against Conrad Veidt? Better still, gangsters versus Nazis! All Through the Night has this, and more. Add William Demarest, Frank McHugh, Judith Anderson, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, and the always awesome Peter Lorre, and you have a great night’s entertainment. Gloves Donahue (Humphrey Bogart) is a popular Broadway sporting figure and man about town, in other words a gambler. And when Gloves’ friend, and…

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The Three Stooges: Three Sappy People.

The Three Stooges: Three Sappy People.

Released: 1939 Dir.: Jules White The Christmas of 1987 was a special Christmas for me. For it was the year I gave my dad the ultimate Christmas gift. The gift of the The Three Stooges, on VHS. This release featured three of the Stooges short comedies, Playing the Ponies, An Ache in Every Stake, and Three Sappy People. All of them are gems, with the Stooges in their prime. Every Christmas dinner was at my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Ted’s…

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Tomorrow Never Dies: How I Spent International James Bond Day.

Tomorrow Never Dies: How I Spent International James Bond Day.

Released: 1997 Dir.: Roger Spottiswoode This past October 5th was International James Bond Day, marking the 61st anniversary of the first 007 movie to be released in theaters. While many fans may have marked the occasion by watching Dr. No, I decided to choose a Bond film at random. Using high tech methods that would make Q proud, I wrote all the 007 titles on small bits of paper and carefully placed them in a mixing bowl. Stirring vigorously, placing…

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Dishonored: ‘I Am Not Afraid of Death Either’.

Dishonored: ‘I Am Not Afraid of Death Either’.

Released: 1931 Dir.: Josef von Sternberg Vienna. On a rainy night in 1915, a prostitute committed suicide and her body is being removed from her apartment. With neighbors looking on, Marie Kolerer (Marlene Dietrich), a fellow lady of the evening, replies to a snarky remark about her facing the same fate. Marie replies, ‘No I am not. I am not afraid of life. Although I am not afraid of death, either.’ Marie’s remark is overheard by the Chief of the…

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Juke Girl: ‘Sure She’s Easy to Meet… but Try and Forget Her!’

Juke Girl: ‘Sure She’s Easy to Meet… but Try and Forget Her!’

Released: 1942 Dir.: Curtis Bernhardt I have a weakness for classic Warner Brothers films. There is nothing overly extraordinary about Juke Girl, it was just another picture on the production rooster, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good film for your viewing pleasure. For an average run of the mill film, you still get caught up in its story, with a climax that can make your blood boil if you allow it to. By 1942, it’s the kind of…

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