The Grouchy Editor

H.O.T.S. is, essentially, Animal House with topless football.  And a shoestring budget.  And Danny Bonaduce after The Partridge Family but before his radio success.  This is how a reviewer at Film Threat describes the 1979 cheesy T&A classic:  “H.O.T.S. takes place in a bizarro world where everybody is stupid and Danny Bonaduce is a rock star. … It may not be anything to be proud of, but it sure is amusing that it exists.  Hurray for movies where you can’t remember a single character’s name 30 seconds after it ends.”  Consider yourself warned.  Watch it for free by clicking here.  

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Rumor has it that Hollywood is about to resume its long love affair with Esther Blodgett.  Clint Eastwood is interested in directing Beyonce in the fourth big-screen version of A Star Is Born, the cautionary tale about show business that in the past attracted movie legends Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, James Mason, and Fredric March.  Check out the 1937 original starring March and Janet Gaynor – in glorious Technicolor (aren’t you excited now?) – free of charge by clicking here.

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I have a soft spot for this comedy, and no, it’s not because Al Franken stars.  I am fond of One More Saturday Night because the story takes place in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in the ‘80s.  I went to college in St. Cloud in the ‘80s.  Beyond that, I remember nothing about this movie, so I will refer you to critical insights submitted by patrons of The Internet Movie Database.  This is what these kids have to say:

“One More Saturday Night is a film that should have got more respect.  It is a very funny movie.”

“I highly recommend One More Saturday Night.”

“This movie has gone virtually unseen and what a crime that is.  The movie is hilarious.”

“It didn’t gain as much cult status as other movies of its time, but it’s a great flick to catch if you can!”

“I saw this movie when I was 12 and I loved it.”

“The bottom line is, as long as you aren’t picky about your movies, this is the movie for you.”

Critic Leonard Maltin hated this movie, but who would you rather trust, Maltin or the kids at IMDB?  Watch it for free by clicking here.

Note:  Apparently this movie is available for free viewing on a “regional” basis.  I guess that means maybe you can watch it, maybe not.  The Internet continues its downward spiral …. 

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There is a disturbing trend developing over at The Internet Movie Database.  More and more, surfers and tightwads like me are presented with a choice:  Watch a classic movie free of charge, or watch the same movie – with enhanced picture quality – for a fee.  This is the result, apparently, of some kind of partnership with Amazon.com.  You can still see Life With Father, the 1947 classic about 19th-century family life in New York City, without reaching for your wallet, but I’m guessing the better version will cost you.  Click here  for both options.

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Directors are forever ripping off Alfred Hitchcock, but no one borrowed style and technique from the “master of suspense” better than Hitchcock himself.  Hitch would like something about one of his early films, and then perfect it in whatever project he was currently involved with.  In 1956, he decided to remake an entire film when he shot Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much.  Some film fans think the original, filmed in 1934, is superior.  Decide for yourself by clicking here.

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Ask people to name a silent comedian, and most of them can probably think of just one:  Charlie Chaplin.  Chaplin was indeed the king of silent comedy, but he had rivals to the throne, and none was more formidable than The Great Stone Face, Buster Keaton.  Keaton’s deadpan demeanor and wildly acrobatic sight gags led many people to prefer his films to Chaplin’s.  Check out what most critics consider Keaton’s masterpiece, 1926’s The General, free of charge by clicking here.

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Critic Leonard Maltin called this 1946 production “one of the greatest films ever made.”  Perhaps.  I’ve read the Dickens novel, and I’d say it’s definitely one of the greatest books I’ve ever read.  Watch this David Lean-directed classic starring John Mills and Valerie Hobson for free by clicking here.

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You know Hollywood has a good idea when it can’t stop plundering itself.  Such is the case with D.O.A., a 1950 thriller that’s been remade at least twice, and heavily influenced other movies like 2006’s Crank.  Edmond O’Brien stars as a frantic fellow racing against the clock to find out who gave him a slow-acting poison – and why.  Watch this gripping film noir for free by clicking here.

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Humphrey Bogart in his prime.  Need I say more?  Click here and watch it for free.

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Like your horror laced with laughs?  Here is the granddaddy of “old dark house” movies, a silent gem from 1927 that inspired pretty much every haunted-house film that followed.  Watch Laura La Plante and Creighton Hale (yeah, I don’t know who they are, either) get scared out of their knickers by clicking here.

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