Famous Monsters of Filmland 40th Anniversary Filmbook Remembered

Happy Halloween!

So much I could say, but time is short.

Classic horror movies receive a lot of airtime on cable in October, which is a good thing. Several rare classics do not always get the same appreciation of more well-known features. Some movies may only end up airing during Halloween. Setting October aside to appreciate those classic creepy films is definitely a worthwhile endeavor.

Yesterday, I was in the bookstore and came across the new issue of the third version of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Fittingly, it was a tribute to the late, great Forrest J. Ackermann.

In the late 1990s, the second version of the magazine -- published by Ray Ferry -- was released. A 40th-anniversary film book was published. Here are my thoughts on it - in video form.

AND PLEASE CHECK OUT MY KINDLE BOOK ON THE UNIVERSAL CLASSICS:

Beyond Good and Evil and Greed in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

What more could be written about the themes of greed-induced self-destruction in the John Huston/Humphrey Bogart classic The Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Perhaps it would be best to look at a few lines of dialogue from the film and ponder on the words.

"Do you believe the old man who was doing all the talking....said the other night about gold changing a man's soul so he ain't the same kind of a guy he was before finding it?"

"I guess that all depends on the man."

"That's exactly what I say. Gold don't carry any curse with it. It all depends on whether or not the guy who finds it is the right guy. The way I see it, gold can be as much of a blessing as a curse"

Greed is often viewed as an abstract, a "Deadly Sin" that controls those whom the feelings of avarice envelope. Greed is not an abstract concept. Nor is it something that takes hold and controls anyone. Greed is a description of the attitudes and actions of human beings. Greed comes in many levels of severity and can reach a point where the "sin" becomes a massive personality disorder.

Greed could be an asset "depending on the man." A greedy person who saves and works and works to have security in life cannot be faulty. Such a person has a strong work ethic and fear for personal security - traits that were likely developed over time based on life experiences.

The character of Dobbs appears like a man who descends into greed-induced, self-destructive paranoia after finding gold and being overly consumed with greed. Is this so?

"Gold don't carry any curse with it. It all depends on whether or not the guy who finds it is the right guy."

Dobbs likely embodied always embodied the terrible traits that consumed him throughout the film. He possessed those traits inwardly and, when he discovered the gold, his avarice, selfishness, and paranoia began to express themselves outwardly.

This is why the other characters do not get ruined by the gold. The reflected the "right person[s]" who could be entrusted with the great responsibility of discovering the untold riches of lost and hidden gold.

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY COLLECTION OF ESSAYS ON AMAZON KINDLE:

Edward G. Robinson: The Small Man Playing It Big In Key Largo

"This rain should cool things off, but it don't."

So says Edward G. Robinson in Key Largo.

Things don't cool off in Key Largo. They heat up.

The war hero returns from the battle only to discover a new fight at home. This plot convention has been used in a number of exploitation action movies, although it was arguably done best in the 1948 Humphrey Bogart/Edward G. Robinson classic.

A lot more is going on in the film that simply setting up a fight between Bogart's Frank McCloud, a war veteran, and Robinson's Johnny Rocco, a vicious gangster. Trapped in the microcosm of a hotel during a hurricane, the war hero, the innocent family, and the gangster crew, the motivations behind Rocco's evil are slowly revealed.

As the drama plays out in the hotel, we learn Rocco is a man who is driven by his own twisted ambitions and greed. The greed is not rooted in procuring huge amounts of material things, but to quell a harsh personality disorder and an inferiority complex. Bogart's character is able to battle the villain by slowly getting under his skin.

"He knows what he wants....He wants more...don't you Rocco?"

When asked if he will ever have enough, Rocco responds:

"Well, I never have....."

Bogart's McCloud reveals what he wants more than anything. "A world in which there is no place for Johnny Rocco." Ironically, when first given the chance to kill Rocco, McCloud throws a gun away not wanting to lower himself to the level of the gangster.

McCloud later makes the revelation that fighting Rocco is not his battle. He has no desire to put his life on the line to stop the gangster or get in the thug's way. McCloud has nothing but searing contempt for the gangster, but he isn't going to risk  - and likely lose - his life trying to stop Rocco.

Or will he? Perhaps McCloud simply does not want to give Rocco the satisfaction of seeing him as a "big deal". Rocco is a driven man, but he is driven by a desire for status. Criminal endeavors allow this sense of status, undeserved as it may be.

A world without people like Johnny Rocco would not be like anything found in the history of human civilization. There are always going to be petty people whose insecurities form the basis of their antisocial behavior. And Rocco's antisocial tendencies are all on display in the dramatics playing out in the hotel.

Within the microcosm of what takes place in a Key Largo, a small man like Johnny Rocco gives great insight into sociological (and sociopathic) problems in the world outside the hotel's doors.

Arkansas Is A New Home to Theatrical Releases Of Classic Films

The good people in Arkansas don't know how lucky they are. Movie theaters across the state are being treated to a host of classic films on the big screen. Not too long ago, only New York and California were home to consistent classic movie revivals. Today, more and more states across the U.S.A. are running classic films on the silver screen. Better still, the films are being run on a regular basis and not just in conjunction with a holiday or film festival.

Jaws (1975), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Spartacus (1960) are getting the theatrical release treatment in Arkansas this month. Check out the full story at ArkansasOnline.com.

Any and all classic films are awesome to view on the big screen, but Spartacus is the one I would wish to see the most. The Stanley Kubrick classic is a wonder of art direction and cinematography Widescreen Blu-ray does not do it justice.