REEL RETRO CINEMA | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Mar05

Alex Toth, Jack Lemmon and 1965’s HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Mar 5, 2023

Alex Toth, Jack Lemmon and 1965’s HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE

REEL RETRO CINEMA: New looks at old flicks — and their comics connections… By ROB KELLY The provocatively titled How to Murder Your Wife stars the legendary Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, writer/artist of Bash Brannigan, a successful daily comic strip. How successful? Besides paying for his lavishly furnished, three-story apartment building in the middle of Manhattan, Stanley has the time and resources to stage dramatic scenarios featuring scantily clad dames and gun-toting bad guys all around the city, which are then photographed by his butler (yes, you read that right—the cartoonist has a butler) so Stanley can use them as reference for his strip. In addition to all that, Stanley is a member of an exclusive men’s club, where various captains of industry sit around, drink, play pool and commiserate with one another how much women can ruin your life, if you let them. Stanley is a confirmed bachelor—that is, until the guys throw one of their own a bachelor party, and Stanley gets so drunk, he wakes up the next morning with a ring on his finger and a naked woman in his bed. The woman in question (the beautiful Virna Lisi) was hired to jump out of a cake at the party, and that’s pretty much all Stanley can remember. It doesn’t help that the newly christened Mrs. Ford only speaks Italian, so Stanley has to go through his lawyer’s wife (Claire Trevor) to find out whom he just married. His lawyer (Eddie Mayehoff) is no help, saying Stanley won’t be granted a divorce without some legal justification. Despite his new wife being a fun, affectionate, supportive person (in addition to being a marvelous cook), Stanley has never been unhappier. His butler (Terry-Thomas) refuses to work for a married couple, and quits. Stanley begins to feel so constrained that he changes Bash Brannigan from an adventure strip to a domestic comedy called The Brannigans. But, much to Stanley’s dismay, that makes it even more popular, since now women read the strip, too. Taking his frustrations out in panel form, he has Bash Branningan plot to murder his wife so he can back to his secret agent ways. His wife sees this (and Stanley’s attempts to play act the murder, using a mannequin and some equipment at the construction site next door) and leaves for Italy without...

Feb19

WES CRAVEN’s SWAMP THING: A Flawed Gem That Still Entertains

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Feb 19, 2023

WES CRAVEN’s SWAMP THING: A Flawed Gem That Still Entertains

REEL RETRO CINEMA: New looks at old flicks — and their comics connections… — UPDATED 2/19/23: The original Swamp Thing movie was released 41 years ago today! Dig this slightly rejiggered piece by Rob Kelly from 2017! — Dan — By ROB KELLY In the early 1980s, sandwiched between blockbuster Superman movies, another stalwart of the DC Comics universe lumbered its way to the silver screen… namely, Swamp Thing, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson’s brilliant creation that headlined his own comic in the early 1970s. Producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan (who would also help shepherd Batman to the screen seven years later) hired director Wes Craven, who was then at a career low-point, to helm the film. After horrifying/thrilling/offending (take your pick) audiences with his previous movies The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, Craven needed a job, so he took on a PG-rated “monster movie” that was aimed primarily at kids. And while Swamp Thing is a flawed film, I believe there is much about it to recommend, and a lot of that is thanks to Craven. Swamp Thing’s plot is fairly similar to the character’s comic book, er, roots. Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) is working on a super-secret scientific experiment that would create a plant/animal hybrid that could survive in extremely adverse environments. Working alongside him is his sister, Linda, and as the film opens they are visited by newly assigned government agent Alice Cable (the great Adrienne Barbeau). Cable takes a shine to Holland, but before anything can develop, Holland’s top-secret lab is attacked by some armed goons, hired by mad scientist Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan). The lab is blown up, killing both of the Hollands… well, almost. Cable manages to escape and is chased through the swamp by Arcane’s men. Alice befriends a young kid named Jude (Reggie Batts), who runs a nearby service station. There she makes a phone call to her superiors, but the line is tapped by Arcane who intercepts the call. Arcane’s men close in on Alice, leading them to killing Jude and then trying to do the same to Alice. Suddenly Swamp Thing (now played by stuntman Dick Durock) roars out of the water, rescuing Alice and using his restorative powers on Jude. Alice figures out this creature is, somehow, the reanimated...

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