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Sammy Davis Jr. in A Man Called Adam on DVD
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British Noir Double Feature (DVD) - Available 2/23

British Noir Double Feature (DVD) - Available 2/23
This pair of dark mysteries from England includes Twilight Women (1952) starring Laurence Harvey & Lois Maxwell, and The Slasher (1953) featuring Joan Collins in an early role.
Was: $14.99
Now: $13.49

The Music Man (Blu-Ray) - Available 2/2

The Music Man (Blu-Ray) - Available 2/2
Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, a sly con-man who brings him scam to River City, Iowa but finds love instead in the 1962 film version of Meredith Willson's musical, co-starring Shirley Jones.
Was: $28.99
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Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of The Night of the Hunter

"This is the story of the making of The Night of the Hunter, which in my opinion is the greatest picture ever made, as told by all the people involved in making it. A must-read for all film makers and students of the cinema."
- Christopher Lee, actor, (Horror of Dracula, The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

"A splendid, completely absorbing oral history...This is a celebratory book. (It) is an important book, as well. (It) transcends The Night of the Hunter and becomes a fascinating exploration of the private sources of art, and the evolution of artists."
- Filmfax, July/September 2005

"...offers the kind of back story actually worth one's undivided attention."
- Film Comment, March 2003

It was Mother Goose with goose bumps. It scared the living Levis off a young kid in Maine named Stephen King, and it has had the same impact on many another child and grown-up. It drew inspiration from D.W. Griffith and the German expressionists, but there has never been another movie, before or since, like The Night of the Hunter.

Although The Night of the Hunter wasn't a hit when it was released in 1955, today it boasts the honor of inclusion in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress as well as a ranking among the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Thrillers." In Heaven & Hell to Play With: The Filming of The Night of the Hunter (Limelight Editions), published by Limelight Editions, author Preston Neal Jones reveals the fascinating inside story of the film's making - from its beginnings in the pages of Davis Grubb's novel to the acquisition of film rights by producer Paul Gregory, to the hiring of the late actor Charles Laughton to direct and James Agee to write the script, to every aspect of the film's development and production - casting, design, shooting, scoring, and editing - to the profound disappoint upon its release.

Heaven & Hell to Play With is the result of over a decade of archival research and interviews with a dozen key people associated with the film. Like the artistic collaboration inherent to the power of the film, Jones's narrative flows through the dramatic montage of memories offered by the interviewees: author Grubb; author's brother Louis Grubb; producer Gregory; actor Robert Mitchum; actress Lillian Gish; actor Don Beddoe; art director Hilyard Brown; cinematographer Stanley Cortez; editor Robert Golden; widow of composer Walter Schumann, Mrs. Sonya Goodman; second unit director Terry Sanders; actor/friend William Phipps. "Laughton, himself, of course, was a remarkable person, and the memories and insights of his associates--often at wide variance with each other--combine to evoke a portrait of the artist and the man." It was Laughton who strove beyond jolts and shudders to bring The Night of the Hunter a tenderness and compassion almost unheard-of in the suspense stories of the time. Surprisingly, it was the only film he ever directed. "As Gregory remembers, 'I think Charlie could see himself in the rendition of it. Yes, he could put you through miseries, but there was much that was saintly in Charles Laughton, too. And with the young children aspect of it, and the devil in Preacher Powell and all that, you see, that gave Laughton both heaven and hell to play with, and he was the master of both of those at that time.'"

The journey of Heaven & Hell to Play With takes place in four parts--Pre-production, Production, Post-production, The Morning After--and includes numerous artifacts from the film's making--photos, sketches, character portraits, telegrams, posters, press kit materials, sheet music--along with dozens of film stills.

With Heaven & Hell to Play With, Jones has not only produced the definitive source on the creation of The Night of the Hunter, but composed a symphony of voices, ideas, and action as compelling as the film it celebrates.

To order Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of The Night of the Hunter, use this link to Barnes and Noble.

New Books
Akira Kurosawa: Master of Cinema - Coming in March

Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood

Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box

Hardboiled Hollywood: The True Crime Stories Behind the Classic Noir Films

History by Hollywood - A New Edition of Robert Toplin's Book

All My Shows Are Great!: The Life of Lew Grade

DVD Reviews
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather - 1982 Yakuza Epic on DVD

Che on DVD from The Criterion Collection

The Brigitte Bardot Classic Collection on DVD

The Vanished Empire - Acclaimed 2008 Russian Film on DVD

Peter Firth in Born of Fire - 1983 Cult Fantasy Thriller

How To Be A Man - Classic Educational Shorts from Kino
TCM Book Corner

For a chance to try and win a free copy of 80 YEARS OF THE OSCAR: The Official History of the Academy Awards by Robert Osborne, click here.

80 Years of the Oscar® - February 2010 Book Corner Selection
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