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1940s

Childhood’s Bittersweet Wonderment: The Spirit of the Beehive

By Brian Greene

October 5, 2015

Some of the most lasting works of art are those than can be appreciated on a variety of levels. Such is the case with Victor Erice’s 1973 film The Spirit of the Beehive. A masterpiece of Spanish cinema, the movie is set in 1940, a year after the Spanish Civil War ended with the authoritarian,…

The ZINNG: Women Crime Writers, Poisoned Poe, and a Killer Whale

By Crime HQ

September 3, 2015

Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s is a box set of work by Dorothy B. Hughes, Vera Caspary, Patricia Highsmith, Margaret Millar, Charlotte Armstrong, Dolores Hitchens, Helen Eustis, and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. The website for the collection is worth exploring, with galleries, also essays from Sarah Weinman, the editor, and…

Orson Welles at 100: Citizen Kane (1941)

By Jake Hinkson

April 26, 2015

One approaches Citizen Kane slowly because of the enormous reputation that surrounds it like the vast fields, cages, and lagoons that lead up to Xanadu. Almost no one sees it for the first time without being over-prepared for it. All the plaudits, all the scholarly works, all the pop culture references—they sprawl about the film…

Noir’s Goon Squad: Jeff Donnell (This Goon’s a Gal)

By Jake Hinkson

December 24, 2014

Jeff Donnell just seemed nice. Maybe that’s why she was the resident Nice Girl of film noir. She was always cast as the chipper best friend, or the perky wife, or the goofy roommate. No matter the role, she was almost always called upon to project a certain affability and intrinsic kindness. Maybe it came…

The Film Noir of Robert Wise

By Jake Hinkson

December 22, 2014

By most measurements, Robert Wise didn’t just succeed as a director—Robert Wise crushed it. He made West Side Story, which, if you adjust for inflation, made about half a billion dollars at the American box office. Then he made The Sound of Music. 2015 will mark the 50 year anniversary of that movie and many…

Alexis Smith: A Dynamite Girl’s Film Noir

By David Cranmer

December 16, 2014

Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a versatile, Canadian-born actress who was equally at home playing in Hollywood Westerns, comedies, and noirs or just about any genre Tinseltown tossed her way. She played opposite many of the biggest Silver Screen draws including Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Errol Flynn, and Cary Grant.…

Now Win This!: What is War Good For Sweepstakes

By Crime HQ

December 2, 2014

They say all is fair in love and war, but these six books might change your mind about that. Register to enter for a chance to win. Click here to enter for a chance to win! This is NOT a Comments Sweepstakes. You must click the link above to enter. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE DOES…

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