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The opening credits of The L-Shaped Room (1962), in which our main character tours the seedier side of London in search of an affordable flat, visually places the film comfortably within the "Kitchen Sink" category: a creative movement that shifted the spotlight to working-class protagonists struggling against social forces beyond their control. From domestic drama to controversial political issues to the mundane workings of every day life, the glamorized escapism of Hollywood was eschewed in favor of the harsh realities of British life. But director Bryan Forbes, despite ticking all the necessary boxes, manages to keep a toe in more traditional waters. While the film certainly has its share of "angry young men," there's an underlying message of acceptance and forgiveness that softens the blow. Pregnant and alone, Jane Fosset (Leslie Caron) rents a room in the only boarding house she can afford, populated by an odd - but not entirely off-putting - cast of ch...

At first glance Forever Amber (1947) could easily be mistaken for yet another sprawling piece of escapist filmmaking tied to a scandalous best-selling novel full of racy material that slipped past the production code under the guise of a seventeenth-century royal romance. Point in fact, that's exactly what Otto Preminger's film is; but the director makes so little attempt to camouflage the seedier elements of the plot that Forever Amber winds up feeling a bit more modern for its honest portrayal of a scheming social climber who sleeps her way to a title...but still loses the man she loves. Orphaned at birth and raised among a quiet farming community, Amber St. Clair (Linda Darnell) jumps at the chance to escape her fate as a housewife by tagging along with an idealistic soldier, Bruce Carlton (Cornel Wilde), who hopes to secure his own future with a commission from the newly crowned King Charles II (George Sanders). Despite being in love with her own ambitions, Amber fal...

The work of Paddy Chayefsky speaks for itself...yet somehow manages to give you plenty to talk about. And while Marty and Network figure most prominently in his Hollywood oeuvre, almost all of his work is designed to push your buttons. With 1971's The Hospital , a razor-sharp condemnation of institutionalized medicine, the writer jumps frenetically between scathing satire and middle-age emotional angst, challenging the audience to keep up with his unpredictable shifts in tone and disarmingly insightful dialogue. The Hospital 's rule-breaking Rube Goldberg script structure earned itself an Oscar and still feels as if it's pulling off something cinematically illegal...or at the very least entertainingly subversive. Dr. Herbert Bock (George C. Scott) is Chief of Medicine at one of the top hospitals in Manhattan, a facility that's bitten off more than it can chew, with patients herded like cattle through the administrative process while the board of directors plot ...

American International Pictures tackling an adaption of Wuthering Heights is about as likely as McDonalds adding filet mignon to the dollar menu. And yet in 1970, horror-exploitation specialists James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff put their names behind a no-bullshit adaptation of Emily Bronte's Gothic Romance classic starring relative unknowns Anna Calder-Marshall and Timothy Dalton as tortured lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. And while it's given a contemporary look by former Avengers director Robert Fuest, there's very little shock tactics on display here. This is a straight-faced, serious attempt at respectability by the same company who produced movies like Bloody Mama and Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs . Who'd have guessed? Actually, the success of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet two years earlier was probably the inspiration behind AIP's short-lived come-to-Jesus moment. But the film stands up quite well no matter what the financial ...

An Italian omnibus film produced by Dino De Laurentiis as a showcase for his wife - and former Miss Rome - Silvana Mangano, The Witches (1967), despite its supernatural title, follows the same dramatic formula as better-known '60s anthologies: pairing several exportable directors (De Sica, Visconti, etc) with a variety of short subjects. The scattershot approach is intentional, spreading audience interest between the tragic, comedic, romantic and just plain cinematic. Only in this case, Mangano serves as an anchor for each story, playing a different role in the five separate short films. Things begin with Luchino Visconti's "The Witch Burned Alive," a slow-to-develop critique of celebrity status and the personal sacrifices necessary to succeed in the film and fashion industry. Gloria (Mangano) attempts to escape her fame at a party hosted at a mountaintop cabin. But even amongst friends she's faced with petty jealousy, vicious comments, and sexual advance...

It was a testament to Tracey Wolfson's unflappable nature that she didn't blink an eye at the 4-foot tall rainbow-scaled alien on her doorstep. Of course, partial credit should go to the splash or two of Vodka she added to her V8 juice a moment earlier, but it was still a remarkably subdued reaction, certainly one of the calmest Jorsynx Yyl had ever seen. He made a quick mental note on his bio-recorder and launched into his standard spiel. "Groha-hi simxi egahh?" Tracey winced at the strange high-pitched noises emerging from the fish man's mouth and gill slits. Jorsynx realized his error immediately and, embarrassed at the interplanetary faux paus, activated his translator. "Mrs. Wolfson? I'm with GERI...the Gaia Experimental Research Institute. Could I have a few minutes of your time?" Tracey's eyes flicked left and right, checking for any potential eyewitnesses to her diminutive visitor then waived him inside. Jorsynx made a...