Mystery, Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD: A Guide to the Best in Cinema Thrills (Paperback)

~ John Howard Reid (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Over 1,200 DVDs in the mystery, suspense and film noir categories were examined and rated for this illustrated guide. The book is divided into two main sections. In the first, 218 movies are given the glamour treatment with comprehensive details of players and crews, plus background information and reviews. In the second section, essential details on over 500 films are briefly described. Bonus articles includes a survey of "The Thin Man" series, "Sherlock Holmes", "Humphrey Bogart versus Alan Ladd", "Raymond Chandler on the Big Screen" and "The Big Clock". This book will not only prove most useful for all movie fans, but will enthrall and entertain for years to come.

Product Details

• Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: lulu.com (September 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0557122236
• ISBN-13: 978-0557122233
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #475,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Movie Book on a Fascinating Subject!, October 21, 2009

By	John Howard Reid (Wyong, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

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I suppose the best way to provide even an inadequate indication of this book's fascinating contents is to let potential readers see at a glance just one of my well over 700 reviews. Of course they are not all as long or as detailed as this one (which also has two photos attached):

The WOMAN ACCUSED

Nancy Carroll [pictured right] (Glenda O'Brien), Cary Grant [left] (Jeff Baxter), John Halliday (Bessemer), Louis Calhern (Leo), Jack LaRue (Maxie), Norma Mitchell (Martha), Irving Pichel (D.A.), Harry Holman (judge), Frank Sheridan (inspector), Lona Andre [center] (Cora), John Lodge (Dr Simpson), Gertrude Messinger (Evelyn), Rupert Hughes, Vicki Baum, Vina Delmar, Irvin S. Cobb, J.P. McEvoy, Ursula Parrott, Polan Banks, Sophie Kerr (themselves), Jay Belasco (Tony Graham).

Director: PAUL SLOANE. Screenplay: Bayard Veiller. Based on a ten-part serial by Rupert Hughes, Vicki Baum, Vina Delmar, Irvin S. Cobb, J.P. McEvoy, Ursula Parrott, Polan Banks, Sophie Kerr, Zane Grey and Gertrude Atherton, published in Liberty Magazine. Photography: Karl Struss. Music: Oscar Levant, Rudolph G. Kopp, Edward Heyman. Costumes designed by Edith Head. [VintageFilmBuff DVD rates 10 out of ten].

Copyright 16 February 1933 by Paramount Pictures. New York opening at the Paramount: 12 March 1933. U.S. release: 17 February 1933. 73 minutes.

COMMENT: A scrappy she-didn't-mean-to-do-it in which the principals are forced to do their best to act out a somewhat foregone drama -- admittedly with a few clever twists here and there. By and large, Carroll, Grant and Halliday manage rather well, and it's certainly not their fault that they tend to out-stay their welcome, allowing the histrionic thunder to be stolen by the support team headed by Jack LaRue (a small part, but you'll never forget him in this one), Louis Calhern (a really nasty piece of work), Norma Mitchell (a stage actress who made only three films, of which this is the first), the effervescent Lona André ("round and round") and Irving Pichel, the smooth-talking D.A. who knows which side of a legal argument will win him the most votes. Production credits are great, with a special nod for Sloane's silky direction and Struss' marvelously fluid, super-attractive camerawork.