Veronica Lake captivated audiences in the 1940s with her peek-a-boo hairstyle, but she was much more than a decorative presence. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film historian Geno Cuddy returns to discuss Lake’s place in cinema history.
The Bootleg Files: Der Januskopf
BOOTLEG FILES 794: “Der Januskopf” (1920 unauthorized version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” directed by F.W. Murnau).
LAST SEEN: When it was theatrically released.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Murnau did not clear the rights to the Robert Louis Stevenson source material.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Excellent, provided that someone finds a print of the film.
In the early 1920s, the great German director F.W. Murnau made back-to-back horror films based on popular books from his era: “Der Januskopf,” based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Nosferatu,” based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” There was just one problem: Murnau never bothered to secure the rights to these books and tried to get circumvent copyright laws by making slight adjustments to their respective stories and changing the names of the characters.
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Last Looks (2022)
A cop who moved to woods to live a minimalist life after his career went South is called back to his previous life to investigate a star’s wife’s murder. The actor is the prime suspects, but it may not be so simple.
Ghosts of the Ozarks (2022)
Following the Civil War, a young doctor is asked to join in uncle in a utopic village in the Arkansas. Once there, he slowly discovers that many secrets are protected by the locals and that crossing them is quite dangerous.
Last Survivors (2022)
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Ken Maynard Rides Again
On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” we jump in the saddle and ride out into the B-Western horizon to celebrate the life of cowboy star Ken Maynard. Film historian Geno Cuddy is the guest on this episode.
Honeycomb (2021) [Slamdance 2022]
It’s always thrilling when you can see the beginning of what you hope will be a long, seasoned career of filmmaking. Avalon Fast is a filmmaker that has immense promise, and it’s fascinating that she delivers a movie that’s so jarring and unnerving, and absolutely original. Director Fast has a great habit for making the audience uncomfortable, opening the film on a weird portrait of a woman in a honeycomb, and then contrasting it with the image of innocence with one of her characters lying along a serene field. From there, it only escalates.