Frank's Movie Log

#197 Fright Night (1985)

★★★★★ Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse
July 7 via AFI Silver

Sexually frustrated Charlie can't get to second base with Amy, his girlfriend of almost a year, while his vampire neighbor Jerry is a veritable stud, able to command the sexual attention of any women (including Amy, and even Charlie's mom) with little more than a look. There's also a homosexual subtext hinted at with Jerry's male roommate, and again with Jerry's seduction of Charlie's teen friend Ed, played by Stephen Geoffreys, with Jerry almost cooing that he, “knows what it's like being different”. And is it too much of a stretch to consider the effete Peter Vincent's lack of faith as a metaphor for facing his own buried homosexuality? Perhaps. But filmmakers have long used the horror genre to explore issues of sexual identity, and just as Dracula mined Victorian sexual repression, Fright Night plumbs 1980's teenage sexual angst, though in a far more subtle manner manner than many of its contemporaries, most of which consisted of little more than, as McDowall says “Demented madmen running around in ski-masks hacking up young virgins.”
#196 The Thin Man (1934)

★★★★½ William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan
July 6 via Landmark E Street Cinema

Eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant is preparing to go into seclusion to work on a new project when he's interrupted by a visit from his daughter Dorothy (O'Sullivan) who announces her engagement. Wyna…
#195 The Blob (1988)

★★☆☆☆ Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch
July 2 via The Black Cat

Rebel loner Kevin Dillon subs for clean-cut Steve McQueen and the army isn't quite the white knight it was in the 1958 original, but this remake hits all the same plot points as a group of teenager…
#194 The Thing (1982)

★★★★☆ Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter
July 2 via The Black Cat

At a remote Antarctic research station, a group of scientists and their helicopter pilot (Russell) discover they've been infiltrated by a parasitic alien organism that assimilates other life forms …
#193 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

★★☆☆☆ Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Patricia Arquette
June 30 via Encore HD

Arquette plays Kristen, a teenager tormented by nightmares of a badly burned man with razors for fingers. When she wakes from one of her dreams to find her wrists slashed, her parents–believing it…
#192 Prometheus (2012/I)

★★★★☆ Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
June 21 via AMC Tysons Corner 16

In the late 21st century, archeologist Rapace discovers a series of identical star charts amongst the ruins of several disparate ancient civilizations. Viewing this as an invitation from humanity's…
#191 City of the Living Dead (1980)

★★★½☆ Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo De Mejo
June 14 via Blu-ray

In a desolate church cemetery, Father Thomas hangs himself from an old oak tree. Medium Mary Woodhouse (MacColl) sees the act during a seance, convulses violently and drops dead from shock. Nosing …
#190 Soldier in the Rain (1963)

★★★☆☆ Jackie Gleason, Steve McQueen, Tuesday Weld
June 14 via TCM HD

Set on an army base during peacetime, the film follows Sergeant Eustis Clay (McQueen) and his idol, Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter (Gleason). Clay cooks up a series of dim-witted get-rich-quick …
#189 Men Are Such Fools (1938)

★☆☆☆☆ Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart
June 14 via TCM HD

Lane plays a Linda, an ambitious secretary out to climb the corporate ladder. Just as her career takes off, she marries Jimmy, an ex-footballer from Princeton played by Morris, who demands she leav…
#188 Black Legion (1937)

★★½☆☆ Humphrey Bogart, Dick Foran, Erin O'Brien-Moore
June 14 via TCM HD

Bogart plays Frank Taylor, a senior machinist and family man in line for a rich promotion to foreman. When he's passed over in favor of a younger coworker named Dombrowski, Frank falls in with the …
#187 Thief (1981)

★★★½☆ James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson
June 13 via Netflix Streaming

Caan plays Frank, a Chicago-based professional safe cracker looking to retire and start a family with his new girlfriend, played by Weld. Needing one last big score to secure his financial future, …
#186 The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)

★★½☆☆ Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Eddie Albert
June 13 via TCM HD

Bogart plays a once-big circus promoter reduced to playing small rural towns. He thinks he's caught a break when he discovers a naive store clerk with a knack for lion taming played by Albert. Boga…
#185 Ganja & Hess (1973)

★★★☆☆ Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, Bill Gunn
June 12 via TCM HD

Archeologist Jones develops an addiction to blood after his disturbed assistant Gunn stabs him with an ancient, germ infested dagger. Told in an episodic format, Gunn's film is alternatively frustr…
#184 Under Capricorn (1949)

★★☆☆☆ Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding
June 12 via TCM HD

In 1831 Austrialia, ex-convict turned wealthy and powerful business man Sam Flusky, played by Cotten, befriends fresh-off-the-boat and looking to make his fortune Charles Adare, played by Wilding. …
#183 Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

★★★½☆ Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor
June 12 via TCM HD

Recently institutionalized Lampert moves out to an old country house with her husband Heyman and their mutual friend O'Connor where she encounters unfriendly locals who may or may not be vampires a…

Frank's Movie Log

#197 Fright Night (1985)

#196 The Thin Man (1934)

#195 The Blob (1988)

#194 The Thing (1982)

#193 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

#192 Prometheus (2012/I)

#191 City of the Living Dead (1980)

#190 Soldier in the Rain (1963)

#189 Men Are Such Fools (1938)

#188 Black Legion (1937)

#187 Thief (1981)

#186 The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)

#185 Ganja & Hess (1973)

#184 Under Capricorn (1949)

#183 Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)