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Actor John Wayne starred in over 165 movies over the course of his successful career. He starred in several legendary Western films, including Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but there was one that he turned down. As a result, he lost the “top Western star of the year” award, which sent him into a frustrated spiral.

John Wayne had personal drama with Columbia studio head John Wayne | Archive Photos/Getty Images

Filmmaker Raoul Walsh gave Wayne his first opportunity to star in a leading role in 1930’s The Big Trail, which ultimately bombed at the box office. The actor moved to low-budget Western flicks, which offered him consistent work, but they didn’t give him the chance to grow in the way he wanted.

Wayne almost lost it all when he had a contract with Columbia studio head Harry Cohn. The actor acted politely toward a female actor on the studio lot,...

When Hollywood from time to time reinvented the western the results were sometimes sensationally good, as attested to by this superior neglected classic. We’d call it the first psychological western if the term weren’t so limiting. Gregory Peck once again proves how good he can be when well cast and he’s surrounded by fine characterizations, not typical oater walk-ons. The screenplay and direction are so pleasing that the downbeat finale isn’t a drawback — it doesn’t strain to enforce an irony, or to sell a deep-dish ‘author’s message.’ This one’s just a winner in all categories.

The Gunfighter

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1053

1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Anthony Ross, Verna Felton, Ellen Corby, Richard Jaeckel, Alan Hale Jr., Mae Marsh, James Millican, Kim Spalding.

In the last decade of his career, John Ford produced and directed this ode to crony politics, with Spencer Tracy as an old-fashioned mayor who uses underhanded ploys to do right by his constituents. Tracy is backed by a veritable army of supporting actors, neatly orchestrated in Frank Nugent’s screenplay. We’re talking scores of John Ford stock company players; it’s like old home week, with Ford in firm control.

The Last Hurrah

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date September 18, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Basil Rathbone, Pat O’Brien, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Edward Brophy, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Basil Ruysdael, Ricardo Cortez, Wallace Ford, Frank McHugh, Carleton Young, Frank Albertson, Anna Lee, Ken Curtis, Jane Darwell, O.Z. Whitehead, Charles B. Fitzsimons, Arthur Walsh, Bob Sweeney, William Leslie, Danny Borzage, Richard Deacon, James Flavin,...

Jeanne Crain: Lighthearted movies vs. real life tragedies (photo: Madeleine Carroll and Jeanne Crain in ‘The Fan’) (See also: "Jeanne Crain: From ‘Pinky’ Inanity to ‘Margie’ Magic.") Unlike her characters in Margie, Home in Indiana, State Fair, Centennial Summer, The Fan, and Cheaper by the Dozen (and its sequel, Belles on Their Toes), or even in the more complex A Letter to Three Wives and People Will Talk, Jeanne Crain didn’t find a romantic Happy Ending in real life. In the mid-’50s, Crain accused her husband, former minor actor Paul Brooks aka Paul Brinkman, of infidelity, of living off her earnings, and of brutally beating her. The couple reportedly were never divorced because of their Catholic faith. (And at least in the ’60s, unlike the humanistic, progressive-thinking Margie, Crain was a “conservative” Republican who supported Richard Nixon.) In the early ’90s, she lost two of her...

Mickey Rooney movie schedule (Pt): TCM on August 13 See previous post: “Mickey Rooney Movies: Music and Murder.” Photo: Mickey Rooney ca. 1940. 3:00 Am Death On The Diamond (1934). Director: Edward Sedgwick. Cast: Robert Young, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Mickey Rooney. Bw-71 mins. 4:15 Am A Midsummer Night’S Dream (1935). Director: Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. Cast: James Cagney, Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Ross Alexander, Anita Louise, Mickey Rooney, Joe E. Brown, Victor Jory, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Grant Mitchell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dewey Robinson, Hugh Herbert, Arthur Treacher, Otis Harlan, Helen Westcott, Fred Sale, Billy Barty, Rags Ragland. Bw-143 mins. 6:45 Am A Family Affair (1936). Director: George B. Seitz. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore, Cecilia Parker, Eric Linden. Bw-69 mins. 8:00 Am Boys Town (1938). Director: Norman Taurog. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds, Edward Norris, Addison Richards, Minor Watson, Jonathan Hale,...

Not to be confused with the Ryan Gosling movie directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, this episode may actually be the grandfather of Christine and all other sentient car movies. The Twilight Zone, Episode #134: "You Drive" (original air date Jan. 3, 1964) The Plot: Driving home from work one day, distracted businessman Oliver Pope (Edward Andrews) accidentally hits a bicycle-riding boy. Panicked, he flees the scene. At home, he pretends that everything is Ok, though his wife Lillian (Helen Westcott) can see that he is upset. Then they hear their car, parked in the attached garage, sounding its horn, as though it had something to say ... The Goods: What a way to welcome a new year! The first Tz episode of 1964 gets things...

More Netflix Instant Drive-In reviews.

Screamtime; 1983, 89 min.; available on Netflix until 5/1/2013

As a boy, I watched shows like The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, and Tales from the Darkside with my brother and dad. And so a love of anthology horror (and sci-fi) was born. Movies like Creepshow are crucial cannon classics, and I've found a new addition for the anthologies in Screamtime. Each of the three stories is British, bookended by a group of Americans watching the movies (after having stolen them from a VHS store in Manhattan).

In general, when I'm out for British-made B-flicks, I go to the 50s and 60s for their sci-fi atrocities. However, Screamtime, while it was made by limeys, holds all the sensibilities of American B-grade fare of the 80s. The first story involves an aging Punch and Judy puppeteer whose family loathes his puppetry, and decide to move to Canada for career opportunities.

Are you bored of the same old TV shows? Tired of the mainstream? Then check out this round-up of alternative movies and series showing on UK television tonight…

8.00pm The Dead Zone (Zone Horror)

Johnny Smith had the perfect life, until he went into a coma for six years. When he awoke, he found his fiance married to another man and his son not knowing who he is. Even Johnny’s changed, one touch and he can see things.

9.00pm Death Race (Sky Movies Action & Thriller)

In the near future, professional racer Jensen Ames is set up for a crime he didn’t commit and forced to take part in a deadly demolition derby to win his freedom. Stars Jason Statham.

10.00pm Archer (Fiver)

Adult animation set in the world of international espionage. Casualties in the field mean that Isis is forced to hire a new agent. However, Archer and...

In this incarnation of our Videolog column (which began in 1982 with VHS and Betamax and later laserdisc), Starlog posts information weekly regarding selected genre titles being released (or re-released) now on DVD and Blu-ray. Prices listed are Msrp, though any clickable links lead to Amazon where the savings can be significant.

DVD Releases for October 27, 2009

Adult Swim In A Box (Turner, $69.98): This set includes six full seasons of Adult Swim’s most popular series: Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume Two, Space Ghost: Season Three, Moral Oral: Season One, Robot Chicken: Season Two, Metalocalypse: Season One and Sealab 2021: Season Two. Five never-before-released pilots are also included.

The Asphyx (Hen’s Tooth, $19.95): The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes’ Robert Stephens stars as Sir Hugo Cunningham, a 19th-Century amateur scientist and dabbler in psychic phenomena. His experiments in the new art of photography lead him...

New York -- Spock and Captain Kirk will jockey for position with Transformers, Harry Potter and Wolverine. SpongeBob is looking to outcharm Dora the Explorer and the Simpsons.

In short, the annual Toy Fair that kicks off in New York this weekend is expected to place bigger bets on the latest dolls and playthings based on movies and TV shows.

"Every studio is very involved this year," says Reyne Rice, trends specialist for the Toy Industry Assn. "It's definitely going to be a big year for entertainment licenses."

Rice says that 25%-35% of all toy dollars are typically spent on products tied to a licensed or entertainment property, but this year, it may be more. She counts more than 25 movies that lend themselves to toy treatment; in most years, it's closer to 10-15.

That's good news for Hollywood studios.

Licensors of entertainment properties...

In light of the DVD rant about pushed back Canadian release dates I went on a couple of weeks ago I should probably say that, this week, I've been made to eat my words. See, like many of you 70s apocalyptic scifi buffs out there, I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Z.P.G (or Zero Population Growth). Except after doing some research on the title, I realized that it was actually released in Canada back in June! So there you go, we Canucks might not be as hard done by as I originally thought. Another scifi flick out this week is Stephen Chow's charming CJ7 which I haven't actually seen yet. On the horror front we've got Dimension Extreme's retitled The Killing Gene (originally known was Waz). Trailers, synopsis, and links after the break!

Z.P.G

Purchase Zpg from Amazon

Centeries into the future, the world...