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Rewatching a movie you haven’t seen in five, ten, twenty or more years gives you a unique opportunity to learn a lot about yourself. What’s most interesting is the fact that (usually) the films haven’t changed, but you���󲹱���.

For most of these movies, at least five years separates me from the previous (often the first) viewing. There’s something in all of them that I appreciated more this time around.

Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde��(1971) Roy Ward Baker

One of the more interesting takes on the Jekyll and Hyde subgenre of horror. Having Jekyll transform into a woman creates all sorts of possibilities and most of them are handled well. The casting of Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick is spot-on. A Hammer film you should seek out.

Alligator��(1980) Lewis Teague

The first time I saw this I was a senior in high school and found the film largely forgettable, other than seeing Jack Carter get chomped up. The premise (which I will not reveal here) is ridiculous, yet unique, possibly even brilliant. Nobody really does anything about the alligator killings until the monster literally starts eating the rich. But then it’s too late, right? John Sayles co-wrote the script. You should check this out. Seriously.

Things Change��(1988) David Mamet

Is David Mamet’s Things Change��the ultimate con game? .

Border Incident��(1949) Anthony Mann

Everyone in this film is terrific, and for those people who think all Ricardo Montalbán ever did was Fantasy Island�����Ի� Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, you should see this film. I hadn’t rewatched this one since 2018 when .

Death on the Nile��(1978) John Guillermin

Evil Under the Sun��(1982) Guy Hamilton

Peter Ustinov made several appearances as Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot, but the two I enjoy the most are Death on the Nile�����Ի� Evil Under the Sun. Death��is flashier with a more impressive cast (Bette David, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Angela Lansbury, Jane Birkin�� I could go on) and some lavish production values, especially before we get on the steamer. Evil��contains some gorgeous scenery, but is a bit more scaled-down, still with a good cast with Maggie Smith and Jane Birkin returning as different characters this time. Evil��also tends to be forgotten more than Death, but they’re both pure fun and great entertainment.

Force of Evil��(1948) Abraham Polonsky

Road House��(1948) Jean Negulesco

I made ��(under 3 minutes) with thoughts on these two rewatches and a first-time watch, Ruthless (1948).

Act of Violence��(1948) Fred Zinnemann

Here’s a film noir that doesn’t back down a centimeter, especially in its ending. An angry WWII veteran (Robert Ryan) tracks down a man he served with during the war (Van Heflin). I hadn’t seen this one in at least a dozen years, and it was like being hit by a brick. If you’re a fan of film noir and haven’t seen this one, do so right now.

Ikiru��(1952) Akira Kurosawa

What a great film. One of Kurosawa’s best, another film I hadn’t seen in a long time, probably 20 years, but its impact was even greater this time. We discussed this at a recent Great Movies program.

Green for Danger��(1946) Sidney Gilliat

I decided to revisit this British WWII “hospital noir�� film after reading the source novel of the same name by Christianna Brand. The novel is terrific, but I believe the movie is even better.

So let me know what you revisited this year, maybe a film that didn’t quite do it for you back in the day, but knocked you out the second (or more) time around. Maybe a film disappointed you upon a rewatch? Let me know.

It’s always the big question, isn’t it? Watch another movie or read a book about movies? Here are the 12 books on cinema I enjoyed most this year, presented in the order I read them rather than in chronological order. I hope you’ll find something interesting to explore here:

��(2022) Quentin Tarantino

I had no idea how much fun this book was going to be, but I now have a whole new appreciation for Tarantino. (I like some��of his movies, but am indifferent to others.) If you ever had any doubts, rest assured that Tarantino knows his stuff. The book is part biography, part criticism, and entirely a love letter to cinema, which comes across on every page. I hope we'll get another volume like this in the future. In the meantime, there's tons of movies mentioned here to discover and rediscover.

��(2022) Jeanine Basinger, Sam Wasson

This is a tremendous set of AFI interviews with directors, producers, stars, cinematographers, composers, you name it. It's a wealth of information from the people who were involved in American cinema from the very beginning until now. Know that these are interviews, and people don't always tell the complete truth when interviewed, but whether they are or aren't being honest with us, the material is fascinating.

The book moves mostly in chronological order, but even if you know a fair amount of movie history, we don't know when these people are speaking. That makes an enormous difference when you're trying to evaluate the information presented. Time does a lot to memories, and events that recently happened are usually fresh on our minds, but I have no idea when��Frank Capra, Edith Head, Alan Dean, Katharine Hepburn, Billy Wilder, Lillian Gish, William Wyler, King Vidor, Elia Kazan, Fritz Lang, or any of the other contributors were being interviewed. (Some of these people lived a long time.) Adding the year the person was interviewed wouldn't have taken up that much space, and it would've done the reader a great service. All you needed to do was write "Elia Kazan (1957):" for example.

All the film scholars (and even inquisitive non-film scholars) I know are up in arms over the book's lack of an index. Yes, I know this was probably an expensive book to produce and it's a long work, yet Harper should be ashamed for compiling a fantastic volume that fails to include two essential elements: dates and an index. You have done your readers a frustrating disservice. NOTE: The paperback edition was published just a few weeks ago. I haven't seen it, so I don't know if the new edition includes an index. If it does, I'll buy it.

��(2022) Paul Newman

It seems several readers are upset over what this book isn't (a traditional autobiography) rather than celebrating what it is: a hugely personal reflection by Paul Newman with comments from his family and the people he worked with. It's a tremendous and often raw look at the man most of us never knew.

This brings up an important point: We know the characters��Newman played, thinking that we know the man himself, but we probably don't. This aspect of celebrity should be talked about more, and was one of Newman's greatest frustrations.

According to the book’s title, Newman considered himself an ordinary man, which seems unthinkable to those who know anything about his careers in movies, racing, and charity. This is just one of the reasons this is an extraordinary read.

��(2004) John DiLeo

Full review

��(2014) Dennis Broe

Full review

��(2012/2016) Nathalie Léger, translated by Nathalie Léger and Cécile Menon

Full review

��(2022) Jennifer Churchill

Full review

��(2023) Chris Yogerst

Full review

��(2017) Glenn Frankel

I really enjoyed reading this book while I was researching High Noon��(1952) for our Great Movies virtual discussion in December, 2023. Frankel does terrific research and produces a compelling read. (I have previously enjoyed Frankel’s The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend��[2013] and look forward to reading another of his works, Shooting Midnight Cowboy����2021��.)

Much of this story belongs to the 1950s HUAC hearings and screenwriter Carl Foreman’s trials (figurative and literal) in writing the screenplay. I’ll let you discover the details in the book, but I guarantee you’ll never look at the film in quite the same way.

��(2023) Matt Singer

It’s hard to believe that Gene Siskel died over 20 years ago in 1999 and Ebert in 2013. An entire generation of movie lovers never experienced watching Siskel and Ebert during their days of reviewing (and frequently arguing over) the movies as those films were appearing in theaters. Singer’s book is a wonderful look at the often contentious relationship between the two critics, but it’s an even better book on how unforgettable relationships can emerge from the unlikeliest of places.

��(2012) William Friedkin

We lost William Friedkin in August, and although he will be remembered primarily for The French Connection��(1971) and The Exorcist��(1973), he also directed Sorcerer, a masterpiece that few people saw in 1977 since it opened opposite Star Wars. Friedkin’s memoir lacks pretension, BS, or anything you’d read in a typical Hollywood memoir. While I’m not quite finished with this one yet, I’m finding it, like the man, fascinating.

��(2023) Foster Hirsch

Okay, I’m cheating here. I have this book from the library, and there’s no way I’m going to finish its nearly 700 pages before I have to return it, but I hope to receive it as a Christmas present. (Family, are your paying attention?) A few years ago I spoke with Foster Hirsch at Noir City DC, where he frequently attends and presents films. Having greatly enjoyed his book , I asked him what he was working on. He shook his head and looked down. He said, (and I paraphrase), “It’s a long, long book. It’s going to be awhile. I hope I can keep up the pace and finish it.�� He did, and this is the book.

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My friend Raquel Stecher does such a fantastic job announcing and reviewing new books on movies and holds a Classic Movie Reading challenge each summer. (Many of my books from this post are entries from the Classic Movie Reading event.) I encourage you to check out her website ��as well as .

So please let me know what books on movies you enjoyed most in 2023. Thanks for reading.

Image: Adrian Vamanu

Continuing my Best Reading Discoveries of 2023 with nonfiction. In upcoming posts I’ll feature books on film, theology, and maybe more. As with , the following books are presented in order of publication.

(1997) Nancy Goldstone, Lawrence Goldstone

If you love books, I ��Dz�’t have to sell you on Used and Rare. A fun read for anyone interested in book buying and/or collecting. If you haven’t it, you’re welcome in advance. (And there’s also a sequel.)

��(2002) Susan Rabiner, Alfred Fortunato

Many thanks to my friend Alison M. for recommending this book, which has already proved extremely valuable. If you’re considering writing a nonfiction book, you must read Thinking Like Your Editor. The section on writing a book proposal by itself is worth the price of the book.

A College Unique and Universal��(2006) Eva Brann

If you’re a lover of books and ��Dz�’t know about ��in Annapolis, Maryland and Santa Fe, New Mexico, you should investigate that right now. (If I had it all over to do again, I would do everything I could to go to school at St. John's.) Or read this short book, a long essay which was first published in 2006, then given an apparently small print run. Eva Brann, a legendary tutor at St. John’s for decades, has written extensively, but this is probably the best place to start with her work. The book is difficult to track down at a reasonable price, but you can read it in its entirely . Highly recommended.

��(2011) Greg McKeown

I originally read this nine years ago, which seems more like 20 or 30 years ago. Rereading it, I wish I had implemented more of what picked up the first time, but being in a different season of life, the book connected with me more during this read. Essentialism��is a book I now plan to read at least once a year.

(2015) Suzanne Marrs, Tom Nolan, editors

I never knew this existed, and I still can’t get over it. Southern writer Eudora Welty and detective novelist Ross Macdonald (real name Kenneth Millar) carried on correspondence between Mississippi and California with real letters for many years. This book is bursting with life, love, sadness, and celebration.

��(2021) Ananyo Bhattacharya

My knowledge of science and mathematics is average at best, but I always enjoy well-written biographies of anyone who has achieved something incredible, even if the person who achieved them seems to be superhuman. Yet it's rare to find such a book showcasing someone who was clearly brilliant in his chosen field written by an author who can make the science/math understandable for the layman. This book was enjoyable and enlightening.

��(2022) Vaclav Smil

Disclaimer: If you aren’t a fan of statistics, stay far away from this book. But even if you loathe statistics, you should at least give this book a try. If nothing else, Smil is a realist, easily able to poke holes in your ideas that we should immediately restructure how we think about energy, power, food production, and more.

��(2022) James K. A. Smith

I’ll have more to say about this book in my Discoveries in Theology post coming soon. In the meantime, let me say that I’ll read anything by James K. A. Smith. Even if you’re not a Christian, this book will give you plenty to think about.

��(2022) Beverly Gage

G-Man��won the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for several reasons. It’s meticulously researched, well-written, and paced in such a way that you tend to forget it’s over 800 pages long.

��(2023) Howard Fishman

If you listen to the audiobook version, you’ll hear sections of several Connie Converse songs. If you read the book, I encourage you to find some of these songs online and listen to them. Once is not enough. The first time through, especially if you’re familiar of the folk music scene in mid-century New York, you might think, “This is really nice.�� The second time through, you’ll no doubt respond, “This is musically different from most of the other folk music I’ve heard.�� The third time, focusing on the lyrics, you’ll realize you’ve stumbled upon something no one else was doing at the time. And this is just the beginning. A fascinating book.

��(2023) Adam Frank

You might think from the title that this is going to be either a spoof, a farce, or a read so inane it’s not worth your time, but it’s none of those things. While the author (a physicist and an astronomer) doesn’t take himself seriously, he does take his subject seriously, taking a scientific but fun look at the possibility of life on other planets including a serious (and sometimes not-so-serious) look at UFOs.

Honorable Mentions:

��(2021) W. Ralph Eubanks

This is a wonderful journey through the culture of Mississippi and its literary legacy through poetry and prose, yet it also includes some tremendous photography. Anyone interested in literature - especially of the South - should seek this book out.

��(2021) Ben Street

One of the (many) projects I have reserved for my retirement is a study of art. Although my background is in music, much of what I discovered in this book translates to the art world, but not in a one-to-one correspondence. I see this book as an appetizer to a larger banquet of art.

��(2021) Paul Simon, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, narrators

Miracle and Wonder��is a book that can only be experienced as an audiobook, but you should definitely check it out. I wrote more about the book in a blog post called ��?��

��(2022) W. Scott Poole

Although technically not a film book, Dark Carnivals frequently points to movies to make its case for how realistic horror has influenced not only the movies we watch and the books we read, but also the American psyche. I’m eager to read this one again soon.

��(2023) Timothy Egan

I know you’ve heard “History that reads like a thriller�� so many times you’re sick of it, but A Fever in the Heartland��is just that. This book accounted for one of the liveliest discussions ever at the Guys Book Club earlier this year.

And now, please share the nonfiction books you enjoyed this year:

Image: Literary Hub

These are my favorite fiction reads I discovered in 2023 ordered by original publication date. I hope you’ll find something to enjoy here, and please share your favorite fiction reads. (I’ll cover other book categories later.)

Death Comes for the Archbishop��(1927) Willa Cather

I had read Cather’s My Ántonia��many years ago, but since Death Comes for the Archbishop��began appearing practically everywhere I looked, I felt I could no longer ignore it. Rich in its Southwestern landscape, this mythic journey of a priest serving in the New Mexico territory in 1851 is fascinating in its theology and its humanity. Truly A a beautiful book on many levels, I look forward to revisiting this one in the coming years.

Flags in the Dust��(1929) William Faulkner

Faulkner’s third novel Sartoris��(his first Yoknapatawpha County novel) was published in 1929, yet heavily edited, which Faulkner always regretted. He never lived to see the 1973 publication of the novel as he intended, renamed Flags in the Dust. Contrary to what you may think about Faulkner, Flags in the Dust��is both approachable and overwritten, that latter quality often regarded by some critics as a strength, others as a weakness. Yet there’s something extremely compelling about being present at the creation of the larger Yoknapatawpha epic. I anticipate rereading the next novel in the cycle, The Sound and the Fury.

The Long Ships��(1954) Frans G. Bengtsson, translated by Michael Meyer

If you like Viking stories, you must read this. If you ��Dz�’t��like Viking stories, this book will change your mind. From the moment the story’s hero, Red Orm, is snatched by Vikings from his home in Denmark, I was hooked. Adventure, battles, love, death, it’s all here, and it’s epic.

Housekeeping��(1980) Marilynne Robinson

As much as I like the 1987 Bill Forsyth film based on this book, Robinson's novel explores the richness of the characters in ways that the movie simply can't (although the film is quite good in its own way). The first 30 or so pages seem to move at a glacial pace, but the events relayed there are crucial to the understanding of the story and its characters. I'll be eager to explore this novel again in two or three years. As much as I admire Robinson's Gilead, I enjoyed Housekeeping��much more.

The Remains of the Day��(1989) Kazuo Ishiguro

The best novel I read this year.

Caleb’s Crossing��(2011) Geraldine Brooks

Thanks to my friend Terry N. for recommending this wonderful book and introducing me to Brooks. I rarely read historical novels, but this one pulled me in. More Brooks in 2024.

North & Central��(2017) Bob Hartley

I read several good crime novels this year, but Bob Hartley’s story of a Chicago bartender who decides to pursue a life of crime is tremendous and should be better known.

When We Cease to Understand the World��(2019) Benjamín Labatut, translated�� by Adrian Nathan West

A stunning book (yet one I do not recommend reading shortly after surgery). Gaining knowledge does not necessarily lead to gaining wisdom and discernment, and often those who have experienced mathematic and scientific breakthroughs are at the mercy of those who can reap the benefits of those breakthroughs, turning them into catalysts of horror on a global scale. When We Cease to Understand the World��is a more fitting title that the literal translation of the German title, A Terrible Green��in that there are larger concepts than the mathematic/scientific discoveries themselves. There's a price to be paid, sometimes on a grand scale, and the weight of that price can be as damaging (in a different way) as the consequences of how those discoveries are used. I was absolutely floored by this book. (The book apparently contains elements of both fiction and nonfiction. I am labeling it as fiction.)

Demon Copperhead��(2022) Barbara Kingsolver

When librarians have only got one sentence in their readers�� advisory arsenal, it’s so easy to simply refer to this novel as David Copperfield��in Appalachia, and while that’s a good hook, Kingsolver’s novel is so much more. It’s approachable, hilarious, sad, and a commentary on not just one part of the country, but ultimately all of it.

The Strange��(2023) Nathan Ballingrud

I ��Dz�’t read much science fiction these days, but man, I loved The Strange, a beautiful and brutal combination of Charles Portis’s True Grit�����Ի� Ray Bradbury.

I also enjoyed:

Green for Danger��(1944) Christianna Brand

The Drowning Pool��(1950) Ross Macdonald

The Burglar��(1953) David Goodis

The True Deceiver��(1982) Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal

Lee��(2013) Andrew Nette, Cameron Ashley, David Honeybone, eds.

Big Dark Hole and Other Stories��(2021) Jeffrey Ford

Photo: Literary Hub

Unless you’re like my mom, who always had her Christmas shopping finished by mid-October, you’re probably in the middle of your holiday gift buying right now. If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re probably a reader and wish that some of the people in your life would become readers, or would at least read something in 2024.

But what book do you give to a person who doesn’t like reading?

First, what do they like? Cars? Travel? Money? Collecting ceramic kangaroos? There’s probably a book out there for every subject. (Okay, maybe not one on ceramic kangaroos, but is at least in the ballpark.) You know the people in your life and what they love. If you ��Dz�’t know what book to choose and need help, walk into your public library and ask a librarian. (We love this kind of thing.)

I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve encountered during my 15 years at the library who’ve all said the same thing: “I can’t get my husband/wife/son/daughter/niece/nephew/grandchildren interested in reading.�� We hear it often and we do our best to help them. And the next time we see them we ask, “How did they like the book?��

I’ve seen reading transform lives. I want to see it transform more lives. In my book I wrote about the joys (and comedic moments) of running a book club for guys at the , but I also talk about the importance of reading and why each year boys lag farther and farther behind girls in reading. (This is not necessarily a push for you to buy my book, but I won’t argue if you want to pick up a copy!)

I challenge you this holiday season to give at least one person a book, a person whom you normally wouldn’t even think about gifting a book. Put some thought into it, but ��Dz�’t overthink it. Have fun with it. It can be a goofy book of humor. It can be a graphic novel. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare or Dickens (but it could be either).

Again, have fun with it. Let me know how it turns out.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

2023 saw quite a few film noir and neo-noir titles released on physical media. Maybe you missed a few? Now's a perfect time to take a look at what came out this year. Here's my month-by-month video rundown. Enjoy!

I’m always looking for a film noir I haven’t seen, good or bad, big-budget or low-budget, in English or another language. Yesterday I stumbled across Gambling House (1950) directed by Ted Tetzlaff for RKO. You can find it on YouTube and on a Spanish DVD collection called (At least they put noir in quotes, letting buyers know this might not be a collection of totally legit noir.)

Let me tell you right off the bat: Gambling House contains very little gambling in the way we might normally imagine games of chance and other gambling activities, but it does contain Victor Mature, William Bendix, and Terry Moore, all of whom I enjoy watching.

A gangster named Farrow (Bendix) offers gambler Marc Fury (Mature) $50,000 to take the fall for a murder Farrow committed. We sense from Fury’s demeanor that he’s been down this road before. Of course Farrow thinks that once Fury is in the slammer, he can take back his $50K. Not so fast�� In textbook gambling style, Fury takes a chance, pleads self-defense and walks away scot-free. Of course Farrow’s not too happy about this and gets even unhappier when Fury nabs Farrow’s incriminating numbers book, holding it for insurance. Pursued by Farrow’s boys, Fury slips the numbers book into the pocket of a woman named Lynn Warren (Moore), an immigration social worker. This relationship leads Fury to surprisingly discover that he’s not an American citizen and could soon be deported.

If you feel I’ve given away too much of the plot, most of this happens in the film’s early going. Of course we know that a relationship is going to develop between Fury and Lynn, and�� it’s a bit of a stretch. Gambling House isn’t exactly a smooth transition from film noir into melodrama, but it’s not a jackhammer ride either. The picture may not be all that believable, but Mature is quite good in the role, which makes up for Bendix’s limited screen time. And while Moore doesn’t have that much to do in the film, she plays an unbelievable role quite believably. (There’s “more Moore�� in the film as well: Cleo Moore, no relation to Terry, in a small role.)

Yet the melodrama works for me, at least much of it does. (I also enjoyed a scene late in the film as Fury walks by a movie theater featuring a poster of The Window, a 1949 film noir also directed by Ted Tetzlaff.) I guess it finally worked for Mature as well, but not from the outset. Originally titled Mr. Whiskas, the picture was scheduled for a 1948 release, but was delayed so that Mature could make Easy Living (1949). Mature was under contract with Twentieth-Century Fox but was on loan-out to RKO for one picture a year. Later in 1949, Mr. Whiskas was (thankfully) renamed Alias Mike Fury, but Mature refused the scenario or the script (or both) and was suspended by Fox. The script was rewritten, and Mature agreed to the part. It appears to have been the right move, since Mature is well-suited to the role and does some good work here.

Terry Moore with Richard Jaeckel in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

Terry Moore (still with us at the age of 94) walked on the dark side of the street a few times, appearing in Gaslight (uncredited, 1944), Two of a Kind (1951), Shack Out on 101 (1955), and Portrait of Alison (1956), yet she’s most famous for her Oscar-nominated role of Marie in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952).

Gambling House isn’t filled with roulette wheels, dice, cards, or slot machines, but the title does take on a significant meaning. While it’s not a great noir, the film is enjoyable and entertaining, a little something different for your Noirvember viewing.

Noirvember is finally here, and although we don't have that many new releases this month, there are some interesting (and perhaps questionable?) offerings for your consideration. Everyone have a great Noirvember, put on your fedoras and watch out for those femmes fatale.

Not one, not two, but THREE films, all film noir, all released in 1948, all playing at Noir City DC, and all in under 3 minutes!