"Poker Face" Evokes Vintage TV Mysteries

Natasha Lyonne in Poker Face

If you're a fan of vintage TV mystery series, then writer-director Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and actress Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) have a real treat in store for you. Poker Face, a new show airing on Peacock beginning January 26, evokes the self-contained format of classic series such as Columbo. Both Johnson and Lyonne are fans of that much-beloved 1970s show, and the two collaborated on this new series that is a valentine to the era of weekly television series with self-contained episodes.

Poker Face features Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a casino worker with a peculiar talent: she can tell when someone is lying. Charlie is sort of a human lie detector. While this may seem like a gift to some, it's caused Charlie some trouble in her past, as well as in her present. The series follows Charlie (who's on the run) as she travels from place to place, works a series of odd jobs, interacting with some offbeat characters, and ends up getting involved with mystery and murder along the way.

The show is structured in similar fashion to Columbo, in that we see the murder committed in the first act of the episode, and then Charlie enters the scene, and helps solve the crime, often befriending some of the people she meets. There are some clever stylistic touches, including a very 1970s inspired color palette and look to the show, right down to the title font. In addition to Lyonne, who's effervescent as Charlie, there's an all-star roster of guest stars throughout the series, including Adrian Brody, Cherry Jones, Nick Nolte, Ron Perlman, Ellen Barkin and Luis Guzman.

Poker Face is an enjoyable, retro-styled combination of Columbo, The Fugitive, Ellery Queen and Murder, She Wrote. As of this writing, I've seen the first four shows, and I think the best thus far is the fourth, "Rest In Metal," featuring Chloe Sevigny as the lead singer of a once popular punk band whose last shot at the big time comes at a murderous price. In addition to Sevigny's excellent performance, there are some clever faux punk-metal tunes featured in the episode. If you enjoy classic TV mystery shows, you'll have a great time watching this clever, entertaining series. Check out the trailer for Poker Face, now streaming on Peacock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x2NzusLAqk.

Retro 1970s Movie: Farewell, My Lovely

Robert Mitchum in Farewell, My Lovely

Several actors have portrayed author Raymond Chandler's iconic private detective Philip Marlowe throughout the years, including Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell, James Garner, Elliot Gould and James Caan. Only one actor has portrayed Marlowe more than once on film thus far: Robert Mitchum. When he first played Marlowe, Mitchum had recently appeared in a pair of well-made, noir-tinged crime dramas, the character driven The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) and the action-oriented The Yakuza (1974). Mitchum's next project would be an adaptation of Chandler's second Marlowe novel, Farewell, My Lovely (1975) which had been adapted twice before for the big screen. The story was first reworked as an entry in RKO's "Falcon" series, The Falcon Takes Over (1942), and two years later, a more faithful version of the novel, Murder, My Sweet (1944), was released by the same studio.

Farewell, My Lovely is set in 1941 Los Angeles, where a just released ex-con named Moose Malloy (played by Jack O'Halloran, who later appeared as one of the trio of Kryptonian super-villains in the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films) hires Marlowe to find his girlfriend Velma. Malloy lost touch with Velma while he was in prison for seven years after pulling a bank job, and wants to reunite with her. The search for Velma takes Philip Marlowe on a tour of both the high and low end worlds of LA, and his journey leads him through a labyrinthine plot (typical of Raymond Chandler's work) where there's a trail of dead bodies, a host of dark secrets, and no easy answers to the mystery. After all, this is a dark tale, and a movie that's based on one of the best known literary thrillers of the golden age of noir.

1970s cinema is filled with a lineup of excellent neo-noir tales, including Chinatown, Night Moves, and Charley Varrick, among many others. Farewell, My Lovely is actually more of a throwback to the older style noirs of the 1940s, with its moody cinematography by John A. Alonzo, and the lush score by David Shire. The direction by Dick Richards is solid, and David Zelag Goodman's screenplay pulls some key lines directly from Chandler's novel. There's a top notch cast, led by Mitchum's fine work as Marlowe, and featuring a host of familiar faces, including Charlotte Rampling, Anthony Zerbe, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles and Harry Dean Stanton. Sylvester Stallone and Joe Spinell, soon to appear together in Rocky, have small roles in the film. 

While many reviewers at the time of the movie's release remarked that Mitchum was too old to play of Marlowe, he projects just the right mix of low key charm and world weariness that's perfect for the role. He's got good chemistry with the cast, including Rampling's sultry Helen Grayle, Ireland's no-nonsense cop Lt. Nulty, and he even gets to sing a bit with Miles' careworn ex-chanteuse Jesse Florian. Farewell, My Lovely is worth seeing if you're a Mitchum fan, or a noir devotee. Mitchum reprised the role of Marlowe three years later in an inferior sequel, an adaptation of Chandler's The Big Sleep, which inexplicably moved the Marlowe character to the present day, and featured another all-star cast, including Joan Collins, Oliver Reed, Candy Clark and Sarah Miles. Here's the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NgK_-g5b3c.

This Wedding "Invitation" Leads To Terror

In director Jessica M. Thompson's horror thriller, The Invitation, New York based freelance artist Evelyn "Evie" Jackson learns about some distant relatives from England after taking a DNA test. Evie is curious about these new relatives, as she has no living family. Before you know it, Evelyn is whisked off to London, after being invited to a wedding by a cousin she never knew she had. Evelyn is in store for a few more surprises once she learns the real reason she's been asked to attend this event. Despite being intrigued by her cousin Oliver, and carrying on a flirtation with Walter, the owner of New Carfax Abbey, the house where the wedding is taking place, Evie begins to witness disquieting behavior around the manor, and experiences some disturbing events.

Evie apparently isn't up on her classic horror literature because (spoiler alert) New Carfax Abbey, and Whitby, the town where it's located, are featured in a famous novel by Bram Stoker about a certain blood-drinking Count. There are all kinds of clues afoot that things are not what they seem, and a lot of talk about blood, eternal life, and multiple brides. It soon becomes apparent that Walter is none other than Dracula, and he wants Evie to be the third in his trio of vampire brides, which will solidify his power and long life. Turns out Evie is a member of several families who have provided women to Dracula throughout the decades, in exchange for protection and wealth. But Evie isn't going willingly to the altar with Dracula, or is she?

The Invitation is smoothly directed by Thompson, and there's some atmospheric cinematography courtesy of Autumn Eakin. The script by Blair Butler provides a neat twist or two on the story of Dracula, featuring some characters from the original novel in variations on their original roles, as well as some commentary on modern gender, race and relationship issues. There are some good performances, with Nathalie Emmanuel of Game of Thrones doing a nice job as Evie, and Thomas Doherty providing a smooth, slithering take on Dracula. Sean Pertwee (Alfred on the TV series Gotham) is Mr. Field, who runs the manor, and is clearly inspired by Renfield from the novel.

The film is entertaining and well-produced, but the jump scares are predictable, and there aren't any real surprises once the Dracula reveal occurs. The movie is enjoyable enough, but it doesn't quite go all the way into a classic Hammer films vibe, nor does it push the envelope in new directions. There are some more interesting recent variations on the tale of Dracula, including the 2018 BBC production with Claes Bang, and the Showtime series Penny Dreadful. Still, The Invitation is certainly better than most of the run of the mill horror fare that you can find in theaters and on demand these days, and fans of the macabre may want to give it a look. Here's the spoiler-ish trailer: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=the+invitation+triler.

Retro TV: Serling's Carol For Another Christmas

Rod Serling, the creator of The Twilight Zone, crafted a memorable holiday tale for that much revered show, as well as another for his later anthology series, Night Gallery. For The Twilight Zone, Serling wrote "The Night of the Meek," which starred Art Carney as a down on his luck department store Santa who gets a chance at redemption. On Night Gallery, Serling combined Christmas and Hanukkah in a thoughtful episode entitled "The Messiah on Mott Street," featuring Tony Roberts, Edward G. Robinson and Yaphet Kotto in a moving tale set in a low rent New York neighborhood, where a dying man (beautifully played by Robinson) has an encounter with an angelic figure (Kotto) who might be an angel, or a harbinger of death. Both episodes are essential viewing for Serling fans.

Serling scripted yet another Yuletide tale, Carol For Another Christmas, an updated version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which aired on ABC as a holiday movie special in 1964. The film stars Peter Sellers, Ben Gazzara, Eva Marie Saint and Sterling Hayden, who plays Daniel Grudge, a powerful industrialist and weapons manufacturer who lost his son, Marley, in World War II. Grudge's nephew, Fred, visits and encourages him to use his wealth and power to effect positive change in the world, and to help the US engage in cultural exchanges with other countries. 

Peter Sellers in Carol For Another Christmas

Grudge feels the US should remain isolated, not get involved with other parts of the world, and also that we should build up our nuclear armaments in order to protect ourselves. Like Scrooge in the Dickens original, Grudge is taken on a mystical journey by three ghostly visitors on Christmas Eve, who show him what the past, present and future of our conflict-driven world has been, is currently, and could be like in the future, if the world continues on its current destructive and warlike path.


Sellers appears in the "Ghost of Christmas Future" segment, as the demagogue-like leader of a post-nuclear war society, who encourages violent conflict and an "us vs. them" philosophy. Also appearing in the film are Robert Shaw, Percy Rodriguez, Pat Hingle, James Shigeta, Steve Lawrence and Britt Ekland, who was married to Sellers at the time. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a score by Henry Mancini, the film received mixed reviews upon its original release, with some critics find it overly preachy and too didactic, while others praised the performances of the cast, including Sellers, Hingle and Lawrence.

Carol for Another Christmas was the first in a series of  TV specials initiated by the United Nations. The goal of the series was to educate viewers about the UN's work, in order to gain support for their missions around the world. Only four of the six proposed specials were produced. Carol for Another Christmas aired only once in 1964, and was not shown again until Turner Classic Movies rebroadcast it in 2012. It's since aired annually on TCM in December, though it has never been released on home video. While the film is a bit over the top in delivering its message, it's an interesting entry in Serling's oeuvre. Its offbeat twist on the Dickens original and somewhat downbeat themes set it apart from his more hopeful tales, and the all-star cast and solid direction by Mankiewicz make it worth seeking out.





Retro TV Christmas: A Bionic "Carol"

"A Bionic Christmas Carol"

Back in the 1970s, many TV series would showcase a special holiday themed episode during the Christmas season. The Six Million Dollar Man followed the tradition with "A Bionic Christmas Carol," which originally aired on December 12, 1976, during the show's penultimate season. If you're looking for an old school Yuletide tale filled with familiar TV faces, look no further, than "A Bionic Christmas Carol." The episode, written by Wilton Schiller, is, of course, the bionic adventure series version of A Christmas Carol, the classic story by Charles Dickens. Years before Lee Majors had a cameo in Scrooged, his Steve Austin character plays Santa to a Scrooge-like figure portrayed by Ray Walston, of Damn Yankees and My Favorite Martian fame.

Walston plays Horton Budge, the owner of a company providing parts to the government for a Mars mission vehicle. When Steve Austin, the bionic man, is sent to investigate a series of accidents at the contractor, he becomes involved with the family of Bob Crandall, Budge's nephew, who's being badly mistreated by his uncle for a past misdeed. The miserly owner is also forcing the company's staff to work through the holiday, and to cut corners on the government project, resulting in faulty equipment. It's up to Steve Austin to help Crandall's family, teach Budge the error of his ways (with a little inspiration from Charles Dickens) and make sure the company fulfills its contract properly, delivering equipment that's up to spec.

"A Bionic Christmas Carol," is a fun, if unspectacular, entry in the series. It's pretty typical of holiday themed TV from the 1970s. What makes it truly enjoyable for fans of classic television is the number of familiar faces appearing in the episode. In addition to series regulars Lee Majors as Steve Austin and Richard Anderson as his OSI boss Oscar Goldman, the cast includes the aforementioned Ray Walston, as well as Dick Sargent (Bewitched), Quinn Cummings (Family), Adam Rich (Eight Is Enough), Antoinette Bower (a frequent TV guest star who was featured in shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible) and even a cameo by Ann Dusenberry, who appeared in series like McCloud, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.

"A Bionic Christmas Carol," directed by Gerald Mayer, is a light, entertaining episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. There are no spies, aliens, or robots on hand in this fourth season entry, but it does allow you to see Steve Austin play Santa opposite Mr. Hand from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, so how bad can it be? And watch for the scene in the toy store, where you can actually see the Steve Austin action figures on the shelves! The episode is available on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the series. You might want to make this a holiday viewing double feature with "Judgement In Heaven" a 1965 holiday themed episode of Majors' previous TV series, the western The Big Valley.

Nimoy's Directing Debut: "Death on a Barge"

Leonard Nimoy is well-known for portraying Mr. Spock in both the original Star Trek TV series as well as reprising the role in a number of Trek films, and on the spinoff Star Trek: The Next Generation. Nimoy was also a successful director, having helmed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, as well as the hit comedy Three Men and a Baby. Nimoy actually began his career behind the camera way back in 1973, on an episode of Night Gallery. "Death on a Barge," a third season episode of the classic Rod Serling hosted anthology series, is an offbeat vampire tale featuring Lesley Ann Warren, who like Nimoy, had appeared on the Mission: Impossible TV series. "Death on a Barge," is based on a story by Everill Worrell, and was adapted for Night Gallery by Halsted Welles.

Nimoy had appeared in "She'll Be Company For You," an earlier third season episode of the series, and had talked with Night Gallery producer Jack Laird about directing for the show. Laird had already engaged other actors, including Jeff Corey, to direct for the series, and agreed to let Nimoy try his hand at helming an episode. "Death on a Barge" concerns a young man named Ron, who meets a mysterious woman named Hyacinth, who is confined to a barge that's anchored on a wharf. Ron is beguiled by the beautiful Hyacinth, who only appears during the evening hours. She explains to him that she can never leave the barge, and alludes to the fact that they can never really be together. Ron becomes obsessed with Hyacinth, and is determined to discover her secret, which he eventually learns, with tragic results.  

Lou Antonio, Brooke Bundy & Robert Pratt

"Death on a Barge" is an eerie, atmospheric tale, well directed by Nimoy. Lesley Ann Warren (then billing herself as Lesley Warren) is excellent as the alluring, sensual Hyacinth. She effectively conveys the loneliness and longing of the character. Robert Pratt does a decent job as Ron, and the supporting cast includes familiar faces Lou Antonio (who also went on to a career as a director) as Ron's brother, and Brooke Bundy as his girlfriend Phyllis, who Ron pushes to the background when he becomes smitten with Hyacinth. Nimoy does a fine job working with the actors, which was a hallmark of his later work as a director. Lesley Ann Warren noted in an interview featured on the commentary for the Night Gallery third season Blu-ray set that Nimoy was wonderful to work with, and that he spent time talking with the actors about their process, and their approach to the characters,

The look of "Death on a Barge" is slightly hurt by the fact that the crew, because of budgetary restrictions, had to shoot some sequences "day for night," a common practice in television production during this period. Despite this drawback, Nimoy and cinematographer Gerald Perry Finnerman (a veteran of Star Trek) manage to to imbue the episode with a haunting and romantic visual feel. It's a shame that the episode has a shorter running time (Night Gallery was been cut from an hour to a half hour in length for its third season) which doesn't allow the story room to breathe and develop a bit more. "Death on a Barge" is still an effective, mesmerizing tale of love, obsession and death. It's one of the better episodes of Night Gallery's final season, and excellent debut behind the camera by the multi-talented Leonard Nimoy. The episode is available as part of the Night Gallery Season 3 Blu-ray set, which was recently released by Kino Lorber Home Video.

Exploring the "The Sound of 007"

One of the most distinctive aspects of the James Bond films, aside from the spectacular stunts, exotic locales, beautiful women and of course, the different actors portraying Bond, is the music. The title songs and musical scores for the 007 series are often as memorable as the films themselves. Artists like Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney & Wings, Chris Cornell and Adele have all contributed title songs to the series, and composers like John Barry, Marvin Hamlisch and David Arnold have composed scores to the movies. A new documentary, The Sound of 007, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, explores the history of 007 music through a series of new and archival interviews with Barry, Hamlisch, current Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and artists like Billie Eilish, Tina Turner and Jack White.

The film is a comprehensive look at the history of music in the Bond franchise throughout its 60 year history, beginning with Dr. No (1962), the first entry in the series, right up until the most recent film, No Time To Die (2021). Along the way, there are insightful interviews and comments about the creation of the music for the films, including the now iconic 007 Theme. There are also some cool behind the scenes stories about the creation of the title songs in the Bond saga, including Goldfinger, Thunderball and Diamonds are Forever. Since the film was produced around the time of No Time To Die's release, there's a significant amount of behind the scenes coverage for the recording of the title tune for that film, and its score by Hans Zimmer, as well as a look at the songs for the rest of Daniel Craig's tenure as Bond. 

The James Bond franchise has been around for six decades now, and interesting to see how the films (and their music), have adapted to the changes in musical styles throughout the years. The Sound of 007 also includes some fantastic performance clips of artists like Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong and Paul McCartney performing their classic Bond theme songs. There are some title songs that are given surprisingly brief coverage, like Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only," but with 60 years of Bond music to explore, it's understandable that some songs might get a bit less focus. The documentary does not cover the "unofficial" Bond films, the 1967 spoof Casino Royale, or Sean Connery's return to the role in 1983's Never Say Never Again, neither of which was released by Eon Productions, the producers of the official Bond series.

The Sound of 007 is a fascinating and insightful look behind the scenes of one of the most enduring series in cinema history. What you will discover while watching this engrossing documentary is just how integral the music is to the character of James Bond, and how it absolutely helps to define his onscreen persona. And you'll hear some great stories about some of the most enduring and memorable film music of the last six decades. The film, directed by Mat Whitecross, is a must see for 007 fans. There's a companion program, also streaming on Amazon Prime, The Sound of 007: Live From The Royal Albert Hall, featuring artists like Shirley Bassey and Paloma Faith performing some of the theme songs from the films in the series. The Sound of 007 is now available for viewing on Amazon Prime. Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcs5icPCTnI.