Val Lewton blogathon coming your way October 31, 2012!

Val Lewton

Horror Film Master
Horrors! Get ready for the Val Lewton blogathon! Kristina of the Speakeasy blog and Stephen aka Classic Movie Man will be cohosting this event.

Lewton, the subject of a documentary produced by none other than Academy Award winning director, Martin Scorsese (Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows, 2007) was a horror film genius. He didn’t invent the horror film, but elevated it to a new level by commissioning literate scripts, (often written anonymously by himself), carefully casting his main characters, and incorporating film noir techniques. Not a household name, Lewton produced the horror classics Cat People (1942) and I Walked With a Zombie (1943). Often imitated, Lewton influenced legendary directors Scorsese, William Friedkin, and George Romero, to name a few.

The Rules of the Blogathon
Pick a Val Lewton movie or theme that you’d like to explore. Possibly you want to discuss a certain performance, or how Lewton’s films influenced the genre. Then blog your heart out! Since there can be many takes on the same film, duplicate posts will be allowed, but feel free to ask what’s been taken (so far Bedlam, Isle of the Dead, I Walked With a Zombie and The Ghost Ship are definites). In the body of your blog post, please mention the blogathon with links, or just cut and paste this handy bit here:

This post is part of the Val Lewton blogathon hosted by Stephen aka Classic Movie Man &  Kristina of the Speakeasy blog  – more here as we both set up landing pages

E-mail Stephen at   sreggie@sbcglobal.net   or   Kristina at   mail.speakeasy@yahoo.com  to let us know which movie you want to do. When corresponding, please include “blogathon” in the subject line of your e-mail. Along with your link, please include your Twitter handle, if you have one. It will help us promote you, your blog, and the blogathon.

Jane Randolph takes a swim in Cat People.

Ready, Set, Boo!
When your post is complete, send the link by end of day October 26, 2012 (Central Time, US). Links to posts will go live on October 31, 2012. Your submissions will be posted to both Classic Movie Man and Kristina’s Speakeasy blogs. The combined posts will include the titles of your blog posts with their respective links to your blog.

Any questions, please contact Stephen or Kristina.

The Blogathon is closed, but please click here to read Val Lewton post from other bloggers.

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Val’s credits:

COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY

DIRECTOR (feature film)

Feel free to post this image, courtesy of
Paula Guthat, to your blog.

1. A Tale of Two Cities (1935) as Revolutionary War seq arr by.
WRITER (feature film)
2. The Body Snatcher (1945) as Written for Screen by.
PRODUCER (feature film)
3. Apache Drums (1951) as Producer.
4. Please Believe Me (1950) as Producer.
5. My Own True Love (1949) as Producer.
6. Bedlam (1946) as Producer.
7. Isle of the Dead (1945) as Producer.
8. The Body Snatcher (1945) as Producer.
9. The Curse of the Cat People (1944) as Producer.
10. Youth Runs Wild (1944) as Producer.
11. Mademoiselle Fifi (1944) as Producer.
12. I Walked with a Zombie (1943) as Producer.
13. The Ghost Ship (1943) as Producer.
14. The Seventh Victim (1943) as Producer.
15. The Leopard Man (1943) as Producer.
16. Cat People (1942) as Producer.
EDITING (feature film)
17. A Star Is Born (1937) as Ed asst to David O. Selznick.

The lineup so far (as of October 1, 2012)

Classic Movie Man (this blog) - I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE @sreggie on twitter

Speakeasy - THE GHOST SHIP @HQofK

Jen Garlen - BEDLAM @garlengirl

Once Upon a Screen - CAT PEOPLE @citizenscreen

Can’t Stop the Movies – BEDLAM @mr_sheldrake

Thrilling days of Yesteryear - THE SEVENTH VICTIM @igsjr

CP’s Classical Gas - ISLE OF THE DEAD

Furious Cinema - ISLE OF THE DEAD @furiouscinema

Laura’s Misc Musings - THE LEOPARD MAN @laurasmiscmovie

Craig of Viking Samurai - The BODY SNATCHER @craigr3521

The Last Drive-in (Monster Girl) – CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE & ISLE OF THE DEAD @thelastdrivein

Lasso the Movies - CAT PEOPLE @lassothemovies

Caftan Woman – THE SEVENTH VICTIM @caftanwoman

Cinematically Insane – ??? @willmckinley

Old Movies Nostalgia - VAL LEWTON BIO @moviesnostalgia

The Stop Button - MADEMOISELLE FIFI @thestopbutton

She Blogged by Night - THE BODY SNATCHER

My Love of Old Hollywood - A STAR IS BORN

Journeys in Classic Film – ???

A Shroud of Thoughts - ???

@NitrateDiva - Lewton’s use of Point of View & Voice-Over

50′s Westerns - APACHE DRUMS

Kellee Pratt - Lewton’s Influence on the Horror genre @irishjayhawk66

Classic Becky’s Brain food – I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE

Ivan of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear created this cool flyer

to promote blogathon.

-Remember, more than one take on a movie is fine, especially if you find a unique angle, so long as there aren’t tons of posts on one movie.

-Someone could do Val’s bio, or the making of a movie or one special performance.

-Do not think you have to be a horror fan to participate? APACHE DRUMS is a technicolor western. Robert Walker was in PLEASE BELIEVE ME as one of the guys romancing heiress Deborah Kerr & Walker was also in the romance MY OWN TRUE LOVE, if you want to write about something different.

A fan’s review of “The Birds” on the big screen

This poster is hanging in my office.

I’m old enough to remember when The Birds was first released in theatres, but as far as my mother was concerned, I was too young to see it. When I was a kid, our family went to the movies almost every week. This was back in the day when the production code was still in effect and movies weren’t rated. The Birds just wasn’t typical family fare in 1963.

As I got older and interested in movies, I saw The Birds on TV, in the days when movies were regularly shown on the major networks. Like many, I found it fascinating and marveled at the—for the time—amazing special effects. When Turner Classic Movies announced that it would be shown on the big screen for one night only, in celebration of Universal Studios’ 100th anniversary, I jumped at the chance to see it.

I was not disappointed. The new digital version looked brand new. The sound, which was such an important part of the film, was amazingly crisp and clear. One of Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest commercial successes, The Birds is far from the Master’s best. But as pure popcorn eating entertainment, it is enormously suspenseful and fun. The audience at the screening seemed to enjoy the movie. Many, I suspect, based on their ages, were first-time viewers.

This matte shot of Bodega Bay in flames is still amazing to me.

Like most Hitchcock film’s, it holds up well. I thought the special effects would look cheap and hokey by today’s CGI standards, but to my surprise they looked pretty good. The matte photography showing Bodega Bay in flames from a bird’s eye view is still impressive. Another thing that makes The Birds seem fresh is the polish Hitchcock and costume designer, Edith Head brought to the film. The cast is dressed classically. The green suit that Tipi Hedren wears—not to mention that mink coat—through most of the film has a contemporary and timeless look. The same goes for Rod Taylor’s suits and the casual clothes he wears on the family farm.

Hedren and Taylor looked spooked, but boy do
they know how to dress!

Some viewers find Hendren’s performance lacking, but I’m amazed at how effective she is as Melanie Daniels, the film’s heroine. She possesses all the Hitchcock attributes. She’s blond and beautiful, but she also holds her own opposite seasoned pros Taylor, Jessica Tandy, and Suzanne Pleshette. Considering she had no prior acting experience, I have to hand it to her because a big part of the film’s success rested on her shoulders.


When the movie was first released, the ending was jarring and left viewers with questions. The same was true with this special screening. You could hear some folks mumbling “that’s it?” as the film faded to black. But that’s Hitchcock. He always leaves you wanting more.

7 x 7 – My Favorite Posts

Paula’s Cinema Club tagged me with a 7 x 7 Link award. I have a hard time getting myself organized for these posts, but I was able to find some time to get this done. Similar to the Liebster Award, it’s aim is to help folks “get to know” your blog.

The 7 x 7 Award highlights a blogger’s favorite pieces of work and is passed on to others so that they too can do the same as a way to promote posts and/or blogs.

Unlike the Liebster, the questions do not vary, but like the Liebster, some are more difficult than others. So here we go.

1.Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.
I was a painfully shy kid. I avoided having contact or conversations at all costs. I would go so far as to walk a block out of my way so I wouldn’t have to say hello or speak to someone. That’s obviously changed. Now it’s hard to shut me up!

2. Link to one of the posts that I think best fits the following categories:
a. Most beautiful piece: Beautiful is a lofty word for a blog post, but one of my best posts was for the Ida Lupino blogathon, “Ida Lupino: A Lasting Legacy in Hollywood.” A big fan of Lupino’s, it gave me a reason to write the post. I was very happy with the results and the response from readers.

b. Most helpful piece: I think my most helpful piece is from a series of post I started called “Classic Films in Context.” I examine a classic film in the context of when it was released, how it was received, and what makes it significant today. The first film I featured was the 1931 version of Cimarron starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne. Dunne was nominated for Best Actress (first of a total of five nominations) and it’s the film that made her a superstar. Within a year, she totally eclipsed the top-billed Dix, going on to successes in musicals, dramas, and comedies.

c. Most popular piece: By far, my most popular piece is “Becoming Grace Kelly,” a post I wrote in April 2010. It’s had over 6,300 reads, which is mind-boggling to me. The irony is I’m not the biggest Kelly fan—although I am one—in the world. I just thought a lot of people would be interested in a post on the movie star who became a princess, but I never imagined it would be this successful. I timed it to release with the exhibit of her clothes and accessories at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London that year. Almost every month, it’s in the top-five of my most read posts.

d. Most controversial piece: I don’t think I have many controversial posts, but my post on The Hunger Games for the Future Classic Movies blogathon got some interesting conversations going when it was picked up by Movie Fanfare, the blog hosted by Movies Unlimited. Folks were talking big theological issues, which was an area I never touched on, nor did I really consider when writing the post.

e. Surprisingly successful piece: Besides the Kelly post already mentioned, my post on the science fiction classic This Island Earth is another one that ends up in the top-five posts for the week, every once in a while since first posted June 2011.

f. Most underrated piece: “The Truth About “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” a screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery hasn’t gotten a lot of love, so to speak. I’m a big fan of Lombard and this comedy, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, of all people. It can stand next to the screwball comedies directed by Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges, and Gregory LaCava any day, in my opinion.

g. Most pride-worthy piece: “Val Lewton: The genius nobody knows” is a post I’m very proud of. Lewton is someone who deserves more recognition. His movies influenced just about every filmmaker working today, including Martin Scorsese who produced a documentary on Lewton several years ago. Honorable mention: “Mitchell Leisen: The Best Director Nobody Knows.” This was my first post to be picked up by Movie Fanfare.

3. Pass this award on to seven other blogs/bloggers:


Another Old Movie Blog
They Don’t Make ’Em Like They Used To
Speakeasy
Once Upon a Screen
The Shades of Black and White
What Happened to Hollywood
Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings

More blogs/bloggers worthy of the award:

Bobby Rivers TV
Carl Rollyson

bettiwettiwoo 

Cinema_Fanatic
Immortal Ephemera

If you’ve already gotten a 7 x 7, please feel free to pass it along to the deserving blogger of your choice.