John Hazelton has been selling movie posters since the days of “old-school” printed catalogs. Now he’s online and you never know what he’s going to dig up next, from any vintage, any country. Best of all he’s a bona fide film buff who knows whereof he speaks.
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My old friend Jerry Beck and his partner-in-crime Amid Amidi maintain a lively site that’s a must for any animation fan or aficionado. Updated constantly, it’s a cornucopia of information, opinion, film clips, trivia, and just plain fun about the world of animation—past and present. |
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Mark Evanier is a longtime writer/producer of television comedies, comic books, animated TV shows, a pop culture gadfly, and an all-around good guy. His website is a lot of fun to read, or just browse.
www.POVonline.com |
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I am happy to be appearing regularly on DirecTV, introducing new movies on their Pay Per View service. You can see my capsule reviews on this site whether or not you are a DirecTV customer.
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 If you still haven’t seen my weekly show Secret’s Out on ReelzChannel here are some samples, provided by Borders.com. This also links you to the ReelzChannel site, where you can keep up with current movie news and see what else the channel is up to on a daily basis.
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Film noir enthusiast and scholar Alan K. Rode (author of Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy) writes passionate and informative essays about noir-related events and people on this blog. It's well worth checking out on a regular basis.
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 If you love old-time radio you ought to know about this marvelous troupe headed by veteran actress, producer and director Peggy Webber, who keeps that great tradition alive in Los Angeles. Her repertory company includes people who actually worked in radio's heyday (like Peggy herself, who appeared on thousands of shows--and famously played Jack Webb's aged mother on Dragnet) and younger performers who've developed the rarefied skill of acting with just their voice. Watching CART productions in person is a great treat, but you can also hear their past work on CDs available at this site. |
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Film preservationist extraordinaire Robert Gitt of the UCLA Film and Television Archive hosts a fascinating lecture on the history of sound in motion pictures. After offering this presentation for years at archival and museum gatherings Bob was persuaded to transform it into a DVD so a wider audience could enjoy it. No one knows more about this subject, and Bob has gathered an impressive array of illustrations and film excerpts. Thanks to the Rick Chace Foundation, it is available for educational purposes for a nominal $10 handling fee at this website. |
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Here is the official Gene Autry website, packed with details about Gene’s life and career and frequently updated to let you know about Autry-related events and honors. There are even film, television and audio clips. |
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Patrick Picking is generous enough to host a web page for The Vitaphone Project, that intrepid group of collectors and buffs who dedicate themselves to the earliest talking films. The Project has performed amazing work in marrying long-lost Vitaphone discs to existing negatives, to bring early musical movies back to life. Read more about it here--and please help support their efforts.
www.vitaphoneproject.com |
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AMERICAN VAUDEVILLE MUSEUM
I’ve only recently discovered the existence of the American Vaudeville Museum in Boston, and its founder/curator, Frank Cullen. He writes, “As you know, many silent film comedians and talkie song-and-dance stars (as well as comedian and straight actors) got their start in vaudeville. This site has been posting info and rare photos since 1998, the same year it began publishing Vaudeville Times. The magazine is issued quarterly and the website is updated about four times a year.” Nuff said. |
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LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY
Not many sites of any kind can claim to be celebrating a tenth anniversary online, but that’s true of the Louise Brooks Society, devoted to the life and times of the magnetic silent-film star and latter-day memoirist. Thomas Gladysz has assembled a formidable amount of material on the actress and her era; there’s not only a lot to read and enjoy, but there’s a gift shop and even a “Radio Lulu” function that allows you to listen to music of the 1920s. Wow! |
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MOVIE POSTERS ONLINE
Bruce Hershenson is one of the most hard-working and entrepreneurial movie-poster dealers in the world. While he masterminds four ‘mini/major’ annual auctions of high-end memorabilia, he also conducts weekly auctions on his website. One-sheets, lobby cards, and such (from the silent era to the present day) start out at 99 cents and have no reserve bids nor buyer’s premiums. Best of all, Bruce is a square-shooter with a staff that’s amazingly efficient. |
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GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE
Did you ever think you’d see Charlie Chaplin in color? Like many libraries and archives, the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York is displaying many of its historic photographs online, including a few shots of Charlie as The Little Tramp taken in a primitive color technique. Once there, you’ll find it easy to spend a lot of time surveying the many other magnificent photos from the extensive Eastman archives. |
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THE JIMMY STEWART MUSEUM
James Stewart has always been the pride and joy of his hometown, Indiana, Pennsylvania , where his father displayed the actor’s Academy Award in his hardware store for many years. Before his death, Stewart enjoyed a special homecoming planned in part by the founders of the Jimmy Stewart Museum. If you’re a Stewart fan, it’s worth a visit to this site; you’ll even find some unusual merchandise including my favorite, a Christmas card set featuring the marquee of the Indiana theater showing It’s a Wonderful Life. |
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BASIL RATHBONE: MASTER OF STAGE AND SCREEN
A friend recently led me to this fan site, specifically because of its eye-popping array of behind-the-scenes photos from many of Basil Rathbone’s films. If you love this kind of movie still (as I do), you’ll have a great time browsing an extensive collection. Then you may want to spend more time learning more about the actor’s life and career.
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 STEVEN HILL’S MOVIE TITLE SCREENS PAGE
How would someone be able to confirm that baseball legend Lou Gehrig actually got second billing to singer Smith Ballew in the 1938 B Western Rawhide? By going to this extraordinary site run by Steven Hill, where you can look at title frames from more than three thousand films from the silent era to the present day. As a researcher I find this invaluable, even though I don’t always find the titles I need... but as a film buff I dare not go to the site too often, or I’ll be lost for twenty minutes at a time, browsing among the title frames. |
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THE LANDMARK LOEW’S JERSEY THEATRE
My hat’s off to the hard-working people who have labored for years to bring this Jersey City movie palace back to life—and, even better, make it a permanent home for classic films. You can learn more about the history of the theater and the ongoing efforts to revitalize it at this colorful site. It also serves as a calendar of coming events, of particular interest to anyone living in (or visiting) the New York metropolitan area.
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How can you not love a site that automatically plays “The William Tell Overture” as part of the opening of the long-running Lone Ranger radio series? Joe Southern, editor and publisher of The Silver Bullet newsletter, has taken the leap from the printed page to the Internet with this new but fairly extensive web site about the beloved masked rider and his faithful Indian companion.
www.lonerangerfanclub.com |
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As one of the first people to research the career of Charley Chase, I’m delighted to see a growing number of people becoming converts to this unsung hero of comedy. Yair Solan has developed an impressive website devoted to Charley’s career with up-to-date information about availability of his films on DVD and other useful material, as well as a wealth of photos. |
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 This site by and for Disney enthusiasts has the most exhaustive coverage I’ve seen of the studio’s DVD releases, as well as an opportunity for you to weigh in with your own opinions.
www.ultimatedisney.com |
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The always enjoyable Buster Keaton website is now more elaborate than ever, with synopses on all of the great man's movies, and much, much more.
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The Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto is a mecca for movie-lovers, not only because of the lovingly restored auditorium, but because of its programming. David Packard, whose unprecedented support for film preservation is well-known, also believes in showing great movies to the public, and this theater is his main outlet. (Later this year, the elaborate, renovated 1927 Fox California Theater in San Jose will reopen under his auspices, as well.) One click will take you to the current Stanford schedule, but bear in mind that every presentation is special there, with a live organ concert to start the evening, and nothing but the finest 35mm prints. The best news of all is that the Stanford has a large and loyal following.
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 FORT LEE FILM COMMISSION
When I was growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, there was little recognition of the tremendous role nearby Fort Lee, N.J. played in film history. I’m happy to learn that this has changed since then, and an active Film Commission has been established to educate and publicize an appreciation of this valuable heritage. Such film scholars as Richard Koszarski and David Shepard (who produced the excellent DVD Before Hollywood There Was Fort Lee, available on the Commission website) have contributed their time and knowledge. This site is brimming with history as well as calendar notes of programs and activities for anyone who lives in the New York metropolitan area.
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I've seen fan sites of all stripes, but this one won me over immediately: it's an exhaustive tribute to the charming young actress who's best remembered for her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937)—and for her distinctive name. If you ever wanted to know more about Nova Pilbeam, or even if you didn't, you'll enjoy checking out Marc D. Johnson's site the Super Nova homepage. |
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 John Kisch has created a formidable archive of posters and memorabilia relating to black cinema, expanding his work as a dealer to become the curator of major museum-quality displays. His updated website is well worth a look, with eight separate exhibits to browse.
www.separatecinema.com
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My old friend Gary Meyer, who cofounded the Landmark Theaters chain many years ago, is now running an old-fashioned neighborhood theater in San Francisco, and is having a great time doing it right... putting an old-fashioned personal touch into what has become an impersonal business. I’d like to think he can set an example for others to follow. Take a peek at his website and see how creative a theater-owner can be.
www.BalboaMovies.com |
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 Frank Thompson is one of the smartest guys I know on the subject of film history, and he's launched a handsome and informative site, with special sections on his pet topics, the Alamo and the French Foreign Legion. Check it out!
www.frankthompson.tv |
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Shazam! Here is a wonderful site for anyone who loves vintage radio and movie serials, as I do... it's chockfull of information, graphics, useful links, and opportunities to purchase rare audio and video copies. It also serves as a clearing-house of opinions and information on this nostalgic genre.
www.serialsquadron.com |
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Film buff supreme Bruce Crawford has been staging wonderful film events in Omaha for quite some time, and this site chronicles some of the enchanted evenings he's put together-most recently a tribute to West Side Story with a number of its participants as special guests.
www.omahafilmevent.com |
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Ava Gardner has many fans, but none as fervent as the ones from her home turf in North Carolina. This site offers wonderful photos, background information about the actress, and news of the efforts to keep her name and spirit alive.
www.avagardner.net |
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Shemp Howard has always been the also-ran in Stooge appreciation, but now there are two separate sites that celebrate "the other Stooge," who happened to be the real-life brother of Moe and Curly. Shempcompany.com is operated by his granddaughters, while the wallofshemp.com is run by fans; both will give you lots to browse through, and a cavalcade of very funny sound files.
http://www.wallofshemp.com/
http://shempcompany.com |
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What a Character!
www.what-a-character.com
Here's an impressive collection of "the names you don't remember, the faces you can't forget." OK, there are some leading men and women sprinkled in among the card-carrying character actors, and the headshot of George Macready looks suspiciously like his confirmation photo, but this site offers trivia, TV credits, filmographies, and fun facts about everyone from Sara Allgood to Anthony Zerbe. |
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 Steven Lewis' Bing Crosby Internet Museum
If you're a Bing Crosby fan, there's an almost inexhaustible amount of information to be found at this site, developed by Steven Lewis, including Malcolm McFarlane's detailed diary of Bing's life and career, a show-by-show rundown of Crosby radio programs (including five minutes of downloadable excerpts), a filmography, a discography, and a listing of Crosby CDs. Incidentally, I was led to this wonderful site by Twin Cities Crosbyphile Arne Fogel, who's a pretty fair crooner himself; you can check out his site at www.arnefogel.com. |
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 Film Score Monthly
If you love movie soundtrack music, you can't afford NOT to subscribe to Film Score Monthly; it’s now available online only through their lively website, where you'll find additional reviews, previews, interviews, and information about the world of film music. FSM is not for sissies: argumentative opinions are commonplace here, on the part of contributors and readers alike, but that's one of the things I enjoy most about the publication, which started as a fanzine some years ago by Lukas Kendall. What's more, FSM now produces its own limited-edition CDs of previously-unreleased movie scores, many of which have already been featured on our Picks page. |
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