MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 29, 2012

The Saint in New York (1938) By 1938, the Saint had been alive in the novels of Leslie Charteris for 10 years, and although Simon Templar’s adventures largely take place overseas, Hollywood clearly could not resist the opportunity to make the first film adaptation set in its own country. The   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 28, 2012

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) The sleuthing team of Nick and Nora Charles were bound to find themselves in the midst of a gambling racket at some point in their on-screen careers. As movie history teaches us, gambling and bookies only lead to murder and further crimes, and in...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 27, 2012

I discovered this brilliant video on the ModCloth blog. It was apparently created by students at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover and is wildly entertaining and insightful, for those who are well versed in the ways of Alfred Hitchcock. Seeing as my blog is named after a techn   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 26, 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird (1963) I had the privilege of viewing To Kill a Mockingbird in the theater recently as part of TCM and Fanthom’s collaboration that puts classics on big screens around the country for one-day events. The theater I visited was stuffed with viewers, which is great to see...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 20, 2012

At the Circus (1939) With most Marx Bros. movies, the story happening for all the surrounding characters is pretty bland and is easily overshadowed by the somewhat unrelated activities of the boys. In At the Circus, however, there is a pretty decent base plot. Chico and Harpo are appropriately cast   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 15, 2012

Assignment–Paris (1952) If we are to believe old movies, the occupation of a reporter was essentially synonymous with that of a detective. It’s the whole investigative journalist angle that often landed newspapermen in a heap of trouble trying to snare a story a.k.a. find the culprit. I   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on November 5, 2012

In running through TCM’s lineup for this weekend, I came across far too many good flicks to list in my regular viewing recommendations in the left column. Not only are there a number of gems showing this weekend, but I have already written about a few them. So click on...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 31, 2012

This slideshow requires JavaScript. Psycho is one of those movies that is known worldwide and still revered as a great piece of horror history. In no way is that more evident than by the sheer extent of foreign movie posters for the flick. Hitchcock was the “master of suspense” but...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 30, 2012

The Devil Bat (1940) I have never found bats in themselves to be scary creatures. Their association with vampires drives a certain degree of fright, but you don’t often see movies about the rodent-sized flying creatures attacking people. The solution to the only moderate fear factor associate   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 29, 2012

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) The Abominable Dr. Phibes can only receive this mediocre rating if you conclude that you are meant to be laughing at certain points. Like Phantom of the Paradise, it blurs the line between horror and comedy. Although it is about grotesque murders, it also is full of   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 28, 2012

The Devils (1971) When the Hollywood decency code lifted and opened way for the rating system we have today, the 70s became flooded with naked flesh. During that time, nudity used in an unsexy or unartful way often was the reason a movie was considered a horror film. The Devils...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 27, 2012

White Zombie (1932) Zombies certainly are all the rage these days. Made a weekly activity by “The Walking Dead” and further celebrated through marathon/obstacle course events involving zombie attackers, even I sometimes think ahead to the zombie apocalypse. But before zombies were flesh   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 26, 2012

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) There is often a fine line between comedy and horror in the movie business. The genres seem like they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but there’s nothing like a bad horror movie to make you laugh. With Phantom of the Paradise I have a...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 25, 2012

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) I made my first forray into the films of Abbott and Costello earlier this week and had the great fortune of doing so in the theater. I would not say I have avoided the comic team’s movies so much as I just have not...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 24, 2012

With All Hallows Eve a week away, MacGuffin Movies will feature seven days of horror posts to countdown to the haunting holiday. Most will be movie reviews, with some obscure treats in the mix, but the week will culminate with a poster feature Oct. 31 for one of the most...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 22, 2012

Walk Softly, Stranger (1950) Despite the variety of films Joseph Cotton made, his persona such as that in Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons are the ones that stick with me. It is for that reason that I always find myself surprised to see him playing a bad guy; although it...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on October 19, 2012

When trying to work my way through the lists of movies in which my favorite stars appear, I find myself unendingly frustrated by the often extensive number of pictures made before 1929, ie. the silent era. Silent films, although regularly featured on TCM, nevertheless are low on the priority list...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on September 14, 2012

Touch of Evil (1958) It had been probably seven years since I had seen Touch of Evil, so when the opportunity presented itself to see it on the big screen, I said, sure, why not? I probably should have been shouting from the rafters because in the interim I had...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on September 13, 2012

Welcome to the next installment of Name that Movie Poster. Can you guess what movie the poster advertised despite my having concealed its title and key players’ names? If you cannot guess off the bat, tell me the quiz is too hard and I’ll give you a hint. To see if...   read more

MacGuffin Movies Posted by RBuccicone on September 12, 2012

Throne of Blood (1957) I’m generally not a fan of Asian filmmaking. Outside of the occasional bad horror movie or bad other-genre movie getting ripped by Mystery Science Theater 3000, the only quality Japanese films I have seen have been by Director Akria Kurosawa. In truth, I did not care...   read more