Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Compressed Hare (1961)

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Phil Hall

Compressed Hare (1961)
Directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble
Story by Dave Detiege
Animation by Bob Bransford, Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Tom Ray, Harry Love
Music by Milt Franklyn

“Compressed Hare” is one of the stronger Bugs Bunny cartoons to emerge in the early 1960s, with inventive gags and stylish animation that harkened back to the series’ halcyon days in the late 1940s and early 1950s. There is even a sampling of Raymond Scott’s instrumental “Powerhouse” that had been missing from the cartoon soundtracks for too many years.
Continue reading →

Hello, Dolly! (2009)

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Phil Hall

You never know what you can discover just by leisurely scrolling through YouTube. Why, just the other day I discovered something completely under that proverbial radar: a 2009 video record of the Moscow Operetta Theatre’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” And if you thought the Barbra Streisand film took too many liberties with the Broadway show, wait until you see this Russian reimagining of the musical comedy classic!
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: London After Midnight

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 934: “London After Midnight” (2025 AI-fueled reconstruction of the lost 1927 film).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It rips off a 2002 copyright-protected reconstruction of lost the film.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Definitely not.

Among the vast and woeful realm of lost films, the 1927 Lon Chaney-starring vampiric mystery feature “London After Midnight” is among the most sought-after titles. Back in 2000, I interviewed Jon Mirsalis, a Chaney historian and film preservationist, for an article on Film Threat – this was when Film Threat was still readable, of course – and I asked him about this Tod Browning-directed film, which was considered lost after the last known surviving print was destroyed in a 1967 vault fire at the MGM studios. In that interview, Mirsalis openly questioned whether “London After Midnight” was the lost classic that too many people imagined it had to be.
Continue reading →

Vote for Cinema Crazed in the 2025 Rondo Awards

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Phil Hall

The 2025 edition of the Rondo Awards is upon us, and movie lovers are being invited to vote for their favorites. After being passed over from the Best Website category for too long, Cinema Crazed is a nominee for the award.

The Rondo Awards winners are determined by popular vote. This is how you can help: To vote, send an email to Taraco@aol.com and write: “Category 19: Best Website – Cinema Crazed.”

Also, we would love to see Cinema Crazed’s founder, the late Felix Vasquez Jr., inducted into the Rondo Awards’ Monster Kid Hall of Fame. To achieve that goal, use your email to Taraco@aol.com and write: “Category 30: Monster Kid Hall of Fame – Felix Vasquez Jr., founder and publisher of Cinema Crazed.”

The deadline for voting is May 1.

If you enjoy reading Cinema Crazed, please take a minute and vote for us! Thank you!!!

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Phil Hall

The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
Directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Ken Harris, Tom Ray, Richard Thompson, Bob Bransford, David R. Green
Music by Milt Franklyn

Bugs Bunny burrows underground on a trip to Palm Springs, with Daffy Duck following him. Somehow, they wind up in the Himalayas. Daffy is exasperated by Bugs’ poor sense of direction and decides to burrow his way home, but winds up encountering the Abominable Snowman. This oversized creature is strong but cheerfully dimwitted, and he is too eager to have a pet rabbit that he wants to name George.
Continue reading →

Cool Cat (1967)

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Phil Hall

Notable for introducing the first new characters in the brief (1967-69) era of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts cartoons, “Cool Cat” debuted the eponymous feline and his predator, the bumbling Briton Col. Rimfire, in a variation of the Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd hunting romps. The only difference here is that Cool Cat is blissfully unaware that Col. Rimfire is pursuing him. Even more peculiar, the feline star mistakes the colonel’s vehicle – a metallic pink elephant on wheels – for being a real pachyderm and he has a running one-way conversation with the machine.
Continue reading →

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Lighter Than Hare (1960)

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Phil Hall

Lighter Than Hare (1960)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Friz Freleng
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Davis, Virgil Ross
Music by Milt Franklyn

From a human resources perspective, one must admire Yosemite Sam’s occupational versatility. Originally conceived as a desperado, he later worked as a pirate ship captain, a prison guard, a Hessian mercenary, a sheik, a medieval knight, and in “Lighter Than Hare” he is an extraterrestrial invader. Nice work if you can get it, eh?
Continue reading →