Aug 22nd 
Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel*
(US 2011)

Documentary covering mostly Roger Corman's heavy output of cheap exploitation films, with brief recourse to his more distinguished films such as the Poe cycle. The makers play it in the spirit of a Corman cheapie themselves, but the range of famous names interviewed is impressive - which is not surprising given the number of star careers Corman helped to develop.

w, p, d: Alex Stapleton
featuring Roger Corman, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Joe Dante, Alan Arkush, Peter Fonda, Peter Bogdanovich, Gene Corman, Julie Corman, Robert De Niro, many others
ph: Patrick Simpson
m: Air
ed: Victor Livingston, Philip Owens

Aug 20th 
The Great Race*  
(US 1965)                                                
Warner Bros/Patricia/Jalem/Reynard. 163m. Super Panavision

Rival daredevils compete in a transcontinental car race from New York to Paris.
Mainly overplayed comedy epic (based around the 1908 New York-Paris car race), with much largesse thrown into the enterprise, an intriguing Prisoner of Zenda-style interlude, and a custard pie fight intended as a tribute to Laurel and Hardy (from The Battle of the Century). The makers could learn a thing or two from the Boys about comedy timing.

Written by: Arthur Ross, Blake Edwards.
Producer: Martin Jurow.
Director: Blake Edwards.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Arthur O'Connell, Vivian Vance, Dorothy Provine, George Macready, Ross Martin.
Photography: Russell Harlan.
Music: Henry Mancini.
Production Design: Fernando Carrere.

 Aug 16th
Stranger from Venus*  
(GB 1954)
Princess/Rich and Rich. 75m. bw

A woman crashes her car near a Venusian spacecraft, whose pilot falls in love with her before trying to warn the world about atomic research.
Mini-budget British imitation of The Day the Earth Stood Still (complete with its female star), confined to largely stilted conversational scenes, but working within its means for all that.

w: Hans Jacoby, Desmond Leslie
p: Burt Balaban, Gene Martel, Roy Rich
d: Burt Balaban
s: Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond, Cyril Luckham, Willoughby Gray, Marigold Russell
ph: Kenneth Talbot
m: Eric Spear

STRANGER FROM VENUS. The Day the Earth's Stood Still Patricia Neal had an unspoken bond with mysterious alien Michael Rennie. In this British rehash, Helmut Dantine goes one step further.

Aug 11th  
The Sentinel      
(US 1976)                           
Universal. 92m.

A model suffering from nightmarish hallucinations moves into a Brooklyn Heights apartment which houses the gateway to Hell.
Diabolical (in the wrong sense) supernatural horror variation on Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, with mostly pointless star cameos and much indulgence of gore and sadomasochism drowning out characterisation.

Written by: Michael Winner, Jeffrey Konvitz, from his novel.
Producer: Jeffrey Konvitz.
Director: Michael Winner.
Starring: Cristina Raines, Chris Sarandon, Burgess Meredith, Ava Gardner, Arthur Kennedy, John Carradine, Sylvia Miles, Beverley D'Angelo, Eli Wallach, Martin Balsam, Jose Ferrer, Deborah Raffin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken.
Photography: Dick Kratinn.
Music: Gil Melle.

 Aug 6th     
New Orleans**
(US 1947)                             
United Artists/Majestic. 90m. bw

A classically trained singer is lured by the emerging jazz scene in unfashionable New Orleans.
Enjoyable musical history with plenty of guest musicians, obstructed the rest of the time by sub-plots.

Written by: Elliot Paul, Dick Irving Hyland, Herbert Biberman.
Producers: Jules Levey, Herbert Biberman.
Director: Arthur Lubin.
Starring: Louis Armstrong (and band), Billie Holiday, Arturo de Cordova, Dorothy Patrick, Richard Hageman, Irene Rich, Woody Herman, Shelley Winters.
Photography: Lucien Andriot.
Music: Nat W. Finston, Woody Herman, and others.

NEW ORLEANS. A one and only acting role on film for Billie Holiday, with Dorothy Patrick.