cult film freak: robert preston

Written by James M. Tate / 6/25/2026 / No comments / film noir or melodrama , forties , harry shannon , laird cregar , marc lawrence , pamela blake , robert preston , veronica lake

ALAN LADD, VERONICA LAKE & LAIRD CREGAR 'THIS GUN FOR HIRE'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kyy0jHVzTtRKPd3pGNWyadyz5rOxSFOOCIvi41wTZOAW7EXjCk8nRN3D_uWkr0ZLrJo4NCzxoCwF_q6hjW1wOxe3pzqft1fsU0DUxIddig4XjCQZ_B44qGJInV7GtTAEOtUOTkKd1eiSH3Li-wrrisuf3PhJxqsQUNsJokMq3kMSIMpnQ_4L4fPTw1Ml/s1532/Screen%20Shot%202026-07-03%20at%2012.40.27%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kyy0jHVzTtRKPd3pGNWyadyz5rOxSFOOCIvi41wTZOAW7EXjCk8nRN3D_uWkr0ZLrJo4NCzxoCwF_q6hjW1wOxe3pzqft1fsU0DUxIddig4XjCQZ_B44qGJInV7GtTAEOtUOTkKd1eiSH3Li-wrrisuf3PhJxqsQUNsJokMq3kMSIMpnQ_4L4fPTw1Ml/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-07-03%20at%2012.40.27%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1942 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Then-newcomer Alan Ladd's first and best collaboration with equally diminutive and great-looking Veronica Lake, in THIS GUN'S FOR HIRE he hardly speaks a word... the characterization of paid hit-man Philip Raven's etched upon a narrowed, coolly serious expression while he murders crooked targets while protecting a crippled girl and a kitten...<br><br>That alone providing what's a proto-noir ambiguous-criminal template for a bad guy's who's really not that bad... especially compared to genuine antagonist Laird Cregar's scene-stealing overweight middleman Willard Gates, an American traitor assisted by more creatively hands-on-ruthless Marc Lawrence...</p><p><span></span></p>

film noir or melodrama, forties, harry shannon, laird cregar, marc lawrence, pamela blake, robert preston, veronica lake

ALAN LADD, VERONICA LAKE & LAIRD CREGAR 'THIS GUN FOR HIRE'

Year: 1942 Rating: **** Then-newcomer Alan Ladd's first and best collaboration with equally diminutive and great-looking Veronica Lake, ...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/16/2024 / No comments / action , catherine mary stewart , cult , dan o'herlihy , fantasy , lance guest , nick castle , robert preston , rural , science-fiction , war

LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGiYCQfl5g-_AoEQ_Z_SksNItElfanALiYJFj9O5YhVF7E3JA7rBvmQcxSh92MZwVp9MfZYIWwBTXv0tsM3D8e_HNV7IdMtEtgZImvxqjhc1lxu7woT1-haf46Ib32yMbQDs05NuqTR_WW051Jog9TNlzL-RAmgRVjGxILZ7Ugbq0jikyhyphenhyphenTAelZCSXCx/s929/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-04%20at%208.10.47%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="929" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGiYCQfl5g-_AoEQ_Z_SksNItElfanALiYJFj9O5YhVF7E3JA7rBvmQcxSh92MZwVp9MfZYIWwBTXv0tsM3D8e_HNV7IdMtEtgZImvxqjhc1lxu7woT1-haf46Ib32yMbQDs05NuqTR_WW051Jog9TNlzL-RAmgRVjGxILZ7Ugbq0jikyhyphenhyphenTAelZCSXCx/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-04%20at%208.10.47%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking they're taking part in just another paid gig that turns out to be incredibly real and dangerous... in a way began with Nick Castle's THE LAST STARFIGHTER where Lance Guest plays the oldest son of a trailer park landlady... in the kind of lonely Middle American town that Steven Spielberg practically created for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (and a bit like the "there's something better somewhere else" planet of Tattooine in STAR WARS)...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Castle includes other Speilbergian touches, like a highway speed-limit-sign rattling from the power of a spaceship.... here belonging to scene-stealer Robert Preston, who, with his signature speaking voice that practically sings every line, is beyond perfect as the pre BACK TO THE FUTURE DeLoreon-driving alien-in-human-form recruiter for an actual "star war" that Guest's Alex Rogen is hired to fight in...</p><span></span>

action, catherine mary stewart, cult, dan o'herlihy, fantasy, lance guest, nick castle, robert preston, rural, science-fiction, war

LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking ...

Written by James M. Tate / 6/01/2016 / No comments / adaptation , beau bridges , gothic , horror , james mason , religion , robert preston , seventies , suspense , thriller

CHARACTER-DRIVEN TRINITY OF THE 1972 THRILLER 'CHILD'S PLAY'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpygxuFXFZOQmVsS0SIA2v3Wci9xCDIUYtoM63X9bNwB_zVJZHKp1jHdlMEHsj_WVJ0E-mfd86hDVgB8D4jsVJrr3kJq3xrWne5KdkClPXlhc-ZYAliJ8YODhSVQgzW1x__uK8ntUThe3H/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="757" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpygxuFXFZOQmVsS0SIA2v3Wci9xCDIUYtoM63X9bNwB_zVJZHKp1jHdlMEHsj_WVJ0E-mfd86hDVgB8D4jsVJrr3kJq3xrWne5KdkClPXlhc-ZYAliJ8YODhSVQgzW1x__uK8ntUThe3H/s400/1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Beau Bridges faces the boys of Child's Play YEAR: 1972</u></td></tr>
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In CHILD'S PLAY, from way back in 1972 and not involving a red-haired serial killer doll named Chucky, the development of the characters drives the suspense, and for today's standards, this could seem like a slow-moving, over-brooding, thrilless arthouse thriller, or a stage play adapted to the big screen. But what's really intriguing are the similarities with THE EXORCIST, which was being filmed when this hit theaters, but the book had been on the stands for several years...<br />
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So for anyone who hasn't seen or doesn't want to see William Friedkin's brilliant and timeless GODFATHER of horror flicks, that opened the door for a number of slowburn Catholic-centered horror-thrillers, there are three particular characters: an old priest, a younger priest, and a possessed young girl. Replace the girl with an entire Catholic School of mostly bullying boys who, as we witness their odd behavior, are in some sort of... spell, or something... adding Mystery to the myriad of genres...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aGXXZmFRzz7Xz_zlK4IuJGQQQC5Ns6bUeirhyphenhyphenIBxPj2QnF_01rpq8DaDEPELLjUnx6keAW_9dfKPa8IZVbYahdQ6a-uAxwRzyp3IG4Y_zEKxje4Th8PD6gVFS1GDa1TbasV_KXujgZ4Q/s1600/58373150_689264531502726_7606556118243868672_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="242" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aGXXZmFRzz7Xz_zlK4IuJGQQQC5Ns6bUeirhyphenhyphenIBxPj2QnF_01rpq8DaDEPELLjUnx6keAW_9dfKPa8IZVbYahdQ6a-uAxwRzyp3IG4Y_zEKxje4Th8PD6gVFS1GDa1TbasV_KXujgZ4Q/s400/58373150_689264531502726_7606556118243868672_n.jpeg" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Child's Play Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
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We learn of everything through token white rabbit Beau Bridges, a former student who had returned as a teacher and greatly admired Robert Preston's vivacious, progressive English teaching priest, Joseph Dobbs, while immensely fearing a bitter old coot – Jerome Malley played by James Mason – who seems to be our primary antagonist, but as "the case" unfolds he could very well be a temperamental red herring...<br />
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Leading to the best scenes involving conversations between Beau's pivotal and, for the most part, eventually ambiguous Paul Reis with the polar opposite instructors while the kids are but a sporadic break that really need no escaping from...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamRlrO4PIlZn2Z2rWw2c6FZwe31Vnfj75ZpkmH6m9cOBFrALDMXHkxriM0P991OPIQ6vhRqEzPaxjMVqAVjUgq0NtyfT8p7peFUQy7vlgBK5x_jdD4Bh-4qYJGFnwaRL8hb_og1q8SCo/s1600/13315623_10209762738287604_8314142365979052978_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamRlrO4PIlZn2Z2rWw2c6FZwe31Vnfj75ZpkmH6m9cOBFrALDMXHkxriM0P991OPIQ6vhRqEzPaxjMVqAVjUgq0NtyfT8p7peFUQy7vlgBK5x_jdD4Bh-4qYJGFnwaRL8hb_og1q8SCo/s400/13315623_10209762738287604_8314142365979052978_n.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Child's Play DVD Artwork</u></td></tr>
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For CHILD'S PLAY is more of a "Courtroom Drama" without a court and gavel. Bridges proceeds over the "testimonies" of both men although one is sold as being far more likable from the onset; yet this opinion remains more decided by the students than we, the hyper-alert audience, anticipating a twist to occur, especially with a character (Preston) so flawless. Meanwhile, we're (through Bridges) the Jury being swayed, maneuvered from one side to the other: Preston is charming and understandable on a universal level as Mason has a tortuous life that can be pitied, even beyond the death of his mother. And the characters develop from there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>If you can't beat it, show it just to kill it</u></td></tr>
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Director Sidney Lumet channels his signature New York gritty realism into the Gothic school where statues and cold walls keep that heated far-off reality as distant from the lens as it is the students, inhibiting a power, or perhaps merely channeling a hypnotic strength that needs no real explanations like, say, a ROSEMARY'S BABY. Leading to a conclusion with so much buildup it begs for palpable closure. And yet, CHILD'S PLAY clings to words beyond action and an enigmatic dark aura over nail-biting suspense. In some strange way, there doesn't need to be any end at all. You can hear these two men speaking for days.<br />
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Sure there could have been scarier moments here and there, or even a dugout of fellow priest/teachers introduced to individually buy the farm when they wander off alone through the spooky campus. (Alright, that's very 1980's, but there are pockets of downtime when a few deaths would have livened the picture.) Hell, even THE EXORCIST had palpable "gotcha!" moments: cinematic caffeine never hurts. But CHILD'S PLAY centers more on the dark hypnosis than what derives from it. Adding to one of several films using THREE main male leads to override a more conventional formula, intriguing enough to keep the viewer tuned in even after the purpose becomes all too clear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgaI60pfWZwQ_aFVzYwqOSryk-b3ar2WhteZmIC2-EShA1TqMHXsZd6B3qC4vW6evJ1TtTCAIFSVhjHRnzusSYAOABrkPExJw8mDXm4bYNWheDfFA1bxgdM9pZ7rxy6nyrWeNXJ8uPd7F/s1600/58380939_689252578170588_4107557604924850176_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgaI60pfWZwQ_aFVzYwqOSryk-b3ar2WhteZmIC2-EShA1TqMHXsZd6B3qC4vW6evJ1TtTCAIFSVhjHRnzusSYAOABrkPExJw8mDXm4bYNWheDfFA1bxgdM9pZ7rxy6nyrWeNXJ8uPd7F/s1600/58380939_689252578170588_4107557604924850176_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Beau Bridges and James Mason in CHILD'S PLAY Year: 1972</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7dnPsm2FLdb_d3htRBJtCpsSTQTfYxA0tOZwSksVoqpOfE8Oq2i5ZZjrg9h8d3hZl_6efq4Zh5CgwR3NMFuQphFhvtZFFmxkf3OSFUjEPicPnJLJkfNBIL1WGAzpU1REqHAXdd7DVV9M/s1600/58373150_689264531502726_7606556118243868672_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7dnPsm2FLdb_d3htRBJtCpsSTQTfYxA0tOZwSksVoqpOfE8Oq2i5ZZjrg9h8d3hZl_6efq4Zh5CgwR3NMFuQphFhvtZFFmxkf3OSFUjEPicPnJLJkfNBIL1WGAzpU1REqHAXdd7DVV9M/s1600/58373150_689264531502726_7606556118243868672_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Beau Bridges, James Mason and Robert Preston in Child's Play</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Beau Bridges and Robert Preston in Child's Play </u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlf_kOhcENwPXMI9vLSI-qS8JGKnuFTXSfZ_O55GvAxY3-D8RgwZ59Ikl4zzZh64xwCHPXsmapKGojk3oUptJVf5gCZ-X1lloGXVTOw4zTb9bVhk5ZYGMUhfZP_UJlcwwCfnmun2VTCNt/s1600/57541755_689269471502232_6271058251123523584_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="846" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlf_kOhcENwPXMI9vLSI-qS8JGKnuFTXSfZ_O55GvAxY3-D8RgwZ59Ikl4zzZh64xwCHPXsmapKGojk3oUptJVf5gCZ-X1lloGXVTOw4zTb9bVhk5ZYGMUhfZP_UJlcwwCfnmun2VTCNt/s1600/57541755_689269471502232_6271058251123523584_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The boys of the music man as Robert Preston faces Beau Bridges in Child's Play</u></td></tr>
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adaptation, beau bridges, gothic, horror, james mason, religion, robert preston, seventies, suspense, thriller

CHARACTER-DRIVEN TRINITY OF THE 1972 THRILLER 'CHILD'S PLAY'

Beau Bridges faces the boys of Child's Play YEAR: 1972 In CHILD'S PLAY, from way back in 1972 and not involving a red-haired ser...

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