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There are gearheads and there are propellerheads. Director Ken Annakin is the latter. He even parlayed that obsession into an epic feature-film comedy – 1965’s Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines , a farcical celebration of early 20th century aviation in which an international cast of pilots compete for the grand prize in a London to Paris air race. Each of the planes is as unique as the competitors themselves, which makes for a whimsically entertaining spoof both in the air…and on the ground. Determined to fly, but forbidden by her high-society father who’s sponsoring the event, Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles) winds up in a love triangle between two experienced airmen: her stuffy fiancé (James Fox) and a rule-breaking cowboy from Arizona (Stuart Whitman). As both men vie for her affections, the other contestants search for ways to get a leg up on the competition…up to and including sabotage. As amusing as the film’s comedic set-ups may be, Those Magnificent Men only...

Although it’s pointless to reminisce about Hollywood’s good ‘ ol days (agents, remakes and $100 million dollar budgets aren’t going away anytime soon), there’s something refreshing about watching Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly sing and dance their way through 1944’s Cover Girl . In a world where Rock of Ages is the best imitation of a classic Hollywood musical you can get, even a lesser-known film without a single recognizable song wipes the floor with it. The rising star of a New York nightclub, Rusty (Hayworth) auditions for a cover model contest on a lark. But when she attracts the attention of the magazine’s editor (who just so happens to have had a thing for Rusty’s grandmother ), she’s catapulted into a world of bright lights, Broadway and worldwide attention. That doesn’t sit so well with her boyfriend , Danny (Kelly), who thinks they’ve got a good thing going right there in Brooklyn. Directed by Charles Vidor (who would reteam with Hayworth for Gilda ) and choreographed b...

While classic horror fans are still waiting for Hammer titles like Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein to make their Blu-ray debuts, one of the studio’s later productions has sneaked its way onto the hi-def format courtesy of niche label Synapse Films. From 1971, Twins of Evil is the third chapter in a pseudo-trilogy based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampiric story of Carmilla , which predated Bram Stoker’s Dracula by some 25 years. Literary pedigree aside, at this point in the studio’s history, Hammer was only interested in one thing: putting butts in seats. The traditional gothic horror film was an endangered species. Scrambling to up the ante of gore and nudity for a rapidly changing audience and more lenient film censorship, Hammer was quick to embrace the “lesbian vampire” film: The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, Countess Dracula …reworkings of the classic gothic ingredients with an erotic edge. Yet Twins of Evil , despite starring a pair of identical ...