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The wildest part about "Seinfeld" is that it probably shouldn't have aired in the first place. The sitcom, which would run for nine seasons and conclude with a finale watched by nearly 80 million people, started off with a pilot episode that was near-entirely panned by test audiences. The network sent the first episode (originally named "The Seinfeld Chronicles") to 400 test viewers, and TV Guide would later report the feedback they received. 

The complaints included comments like "No segment of the audience was eager to watch the show again," "None of the [supporting characters] were particularly liked, and viewers felt that Jerry needed a better backup ensemble," and "Viewers were unclear whether Jerry worked as a comedian or if his routines took place outside of the show as commentaries. The movement back and fourth was also considered abrupt and somewhat disorienting, particularly to older viewers."

Several NBC pilots received weak responses, but the...

In January 2021, Fox News quietly fired politics editor Chris Stirewalt. He was part of the team making the decision two months earlier to call Arizona for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Media titan Rupert Murdoch was irate at the judgment. So, too, were many of the network’s viewers, who fled to Newsmax and One America News after Donald Trump denounced Fox News as disloyal. Around that time, ratings plummeted.

“I hate our Decision Desk people!” wrote Murdoch on Nov. 7, when his network projected Biden to win.

To win back viewers, Fox News started to circulate reports that the election was rigged. Ratings soon stabilized.

That decision to parrot Trump’s election conspiracy may have looked different if a certain segment of Murdoch’s children, who’ve expressed apprehension over the network drifting even further to the right, were calling the shots. And they may soon get that chance if they prevail over their father,...

It's hard to believe it's been 70 years since Fred Zinneman's "From Here to Eternity" came out. Not that we were all there of course, but time has been really kind to the all-star, Best Picture-winning drama. Unlike many of the rah-rah war films emerging from America during and post-World War II, "From Here to Eternity" argues not that war is hell — since most of the movie takes place during peace time — but that men, even in the army, are subconsciously determined to make life hell whether there's a war on or not.

Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, and Frank Sinatra star as soldiers stationed in Hawaii immediately prior to World War II, whose stubborn pride and barely contained insecurities lead directly to many avoidable tragedies. Clift plays Private Prewitt, a formerly promising boxer who refuses to box again after accidentally blinding a fellow soldier, and endures criminal abuse just because...

Academy voters love history and biopics and serious subjects. This goes without saying. But they also, especially in recent years, embrace originality (see “Parasite” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once”). Hence this summer, on back-to-back weekends, the members lined up around the block at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills to see Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” at the weekly Academy screening, which is rarely full. Both houses were packed and enthusiastic, reflecting the culture at large’s excited return to moviegoing to catch both films. So far “Barbie” (Metascore: 80) has grossed $829 million worldwide (with $1 billion in sight), while “Oppenheimer” (Metascore: 88) currently tallies $440 million for a less overtly accessible film.

Thus while “Oppenheimer” looks and feels like an Oscar contender — and it is — the more commercial and femme-targeted “Barbie” should not be counted out, even if it made more money at the box office. Both...

William Holden may have won his only Academy Award for Billy Wilder’s “Stalag 17,” but he wasn’t the first choice to play Sefton, the cynical sergeant who is a one-man black market at a German Pow camp. Originally, Charlton Heston was going to headline the film. Heston was red-hot at the time coming off his flashy starring role in Cecil B. DeMille’s Oscar winning 1952 circus epic “The Great Show on Earth.” But as Wilder and co-writer Edwin Blum were working on the script for the film, which premiered on July 1, 1953 in New York and two weeks later in Los Angeles, the character became darker and more disparaging; They realized Heston wasn’t right for the part

The AFI catalog noted that supposedly Wilder went to Kirk Douglas who had starred in Wilder’s 1951 “Ace in the Hole,” a masterpiece that flopped badly when released. After he turned...

The most glamorous movie about the Korean War experience lauds the bravery of Navy aviators while spelling out the downside of fighting an unpopular war. William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March and Mickey Rooney turn in sharp performances, and Charles McGraw gets his best character part as a no-nonsense flight commander. Paramount’s special effects department outdid themselves on this one — the illusions are beautifully matched to the live-action filmmaking. Heaven help the good civilian soldier that finds himself asking how he ended up getting shot at in a ditch in some far-off foreign country.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 30

1954 / Color / Open Matte flat 1:37 (should be 1:85 widescreen) / 102 min. / Street Date February 24, 2021 / Available from Viavision / 34.95

Starring: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, Robert Strauss, Charles McGraw, Keiko Awaji, Earl Holliman, Richard Shannon, Willis Bouchey, Teru Shimada, Dennis Weaver, Corey Allen, Gene Reynolds, Roger Pace.

Cinematography: Loyal Griggs...

When the supporting acting Oscar categories were introduced in 1937, two films (“Dodsworth” and “Romeo and Juliet”) each received one lead and one supporting nomination. A third, “My Man Godfrey,” immediately made Oscar history by scoring a nomination in each of the four categories. In all three cases, the supporting nominees had less screen time than the corresponding leads, as was and continues to be expected.

The opposite did not occur until 1950, when John Ireland was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for a longer performance in “All the King’s Men” than the one given by his co-star, Best Actor-winner Broderick Crawford. Since then, 10 more supporting male nominees have boasted higher screen time totals than their lead-nominated co-stars. Here is a look at each instance, in order from lowest screen time difference to highest.

1997: William H. Macy (“Fargo”) – 27 minutes, 7 seconds

0 minutes, 38 seconds over Frances McDormand

“Fargo” begins as a story about...

The creation of the supporting Oscar categories in 1937 clarified the intention that the lead acting categories are meant to honor true star turns. While most Best Actor wins have aligned with that idea, there have been more than a few whose placement has been called into question due to low screen time. Here is a look at the 10 shortest winners in the category:

10. Gary Cooper (“High Noon”)

40 minutes, 57 seconds (48.35% of the film)

Five-time Best Actor Oscar nominee Cooper earned his second win in 1953 for playing morally conflicted Marshal Will Kane in “High Noon.” By appearing in less than half of the 85-minute film, Cooper made history by holding two screen time records at once. At the time, his one-hour, 30-minute, 55-second performance in 1941’s “Sergeant York” was the longest to have won in the Best Actor category. His second win broke a 21-year record for shortest, which was previously held...

Robert Aldrich promised no-holds barred rough-tough dramas, and his first two Associates & Aldrich productions certainly hit hard. This play adaptation shows its director’s strength (no-flinching full shock impact) and weakness (theatrical overplaying) in full measure, but the unrestrained performances of Jack Palance and Eddie Albert are unforgettable. The main event can’t have pleased the Pentagon: shooting one’s own officer in combat. Plus, Lee Marvin and Richard Jaeckel get in early innings for their future work in Aldrichs’s The Dirty Dozen.

Attack

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1956 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date December 1, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Jon Shepodd, Peter van Eyck, Jimmy Goodwin, Steven Geray, Strother Martin.

Cinematography: Joseph Biroc

Film Editor: Michael Luciano

Original Music: Frank Devol

Written by James Poe from the play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks...

Today’s noir forecast is vice, kidnapping, murder, suicide, narcotics and a sleazy stolen baby racket! Kino’s third volume of Universal-International pix contains two seldom-screened quality urban noirs. Expect genuine dark themes in these sizable-budget location noirs filmed before Universal pulled most production back onto its one-size-fits-all backlot sets. Barbara Stanwyck dominates one show, while noir stalwarts Richard Conte and Dennis O’Keefe anchor the other two dramas, with dynamic showings by Coleen Gray, Edith Barrett, Peggy Dow, Jeanette Nolan, Meg Randall and especially Gale Storm.

Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema III

Abandoned, The Lady Gambles, The Sleeping City

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1949-50 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79,99,86 min. / Street Date June 9, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.99

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall, Raymond Burr, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeanette Nolan, Mike Mazurki, Will Kuluva, David Clarke; Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally, Edith Barrett, John Hoyt,...

By Hank Reineke

It was never his intention to be remembered as the Alfred Hitchcock of the Chester-Delaware Counties of Eastern Pennsylvania. Director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. was a devout Christian whose real passion was turning out religious-themed short films that would bring the Gospel to the masses. But such proselytizing was cost prohibitive. So, at the suggestion of - and in partnership with - Philadelphia-based distributor/producer Jack H. Harris, Yeaworth signed on to direct a handful of low-budget teenage dramas and science-fiction films. Harris had convinced Yeaworth that there was a cash-grab market for such indie films, and these productions would bring in enough revenue to fund projects with loftier aspirations.

Yeaworth’s first feature film (as co-producer), The Flaming Teenage (1956), was not really his at all. It was instead a cobble of pre-existing footage from a drug-abuse morality fable now disguised and sold to distributors as an exploitation film.

For this week’s home media releases, we have killer superheroes, prehistoric creatures, Frankenstein by way of Hammer, Anjelica Huston as a witch, the final farewell to Rick Grimes, and more on tap. Kino Lorber is keeping busy this Tuesday with several new Blu-rays, including 4D Man, Dinosaurs! and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, and Scream Factory is releasing the recent indie horror flick I Trapped the Devil and more Hammer genre goodness with Horror of Frankenstein as well. Another film I’m very excited to see hitting Blu is The Witches from the Warner Archive Collection, and William Friedkin’s Cruising is getting the special edition treatment from Arrow Video.

If you missed it in theaters, Brightburn will arrive on various formats this week, and for those of you who want to enjoy Rick Grimes’ final moments from this past season of The Walking Dead, you’ll get your...

An old monster formula props up this fantastic film, but at its heart is a brilliant central idea that excites the imagination. Jack H. Harris’s sophomore picture after The Blob is on the awkward side, but the good stuff is much better than we expect it to be. Ambitious performances by Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether and James Congdon come through with something unique, with graces we just don’t find in independent Sci-Fi from the late 1950s. And the new Blu-ray rejuvenates the film’s special effects — all it took was a good 4K restoration.

4D Man

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date August 20, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon, Robert Strauss, Edgar Stehli, Patty Duke, Guy Raymond, Chic James, Elbert Smith, Jasper Deeter.

Cinematography: Theodore J. Pahle

Film Editor: William B. Murphy

Original Music: Ralph Carmichael

Written by Theodore Simonson,...

Kevin Durant is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season with a ruptured Achilles ... but one wrestling star says he can help Kd get back to the court in Half The Time!! Nxt superstar Riddick Moss -- who also ruptured his Achilles last year and returned in "record" time -- says he can have Durant back on the court in 5 months. And, how can he prove it??  'Cause he did it himself!! "This talk about...

3-D in CinemaScope? That seems like a strange combination, but this obscure treasure hunt adventure with Joanne Dru and Mark Stevens is indeed billed as being filmed in the ‘Miracle of Stereo-Vision,’ five years after the demise of Hollywood’s first fling with ‘depthies.’ Kino and the 3-D Film Archives extras include two vintage 3-D shorts, one of them never screened in 3-D.

September Storm

3-D Blu-ray

Kino Classics

1960 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date March 28, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.95

Starring: Joanne Dru, Mark Stevens, Robert Strauss Asher Dann, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Véra Valmont..

Cinematography: Lamar Boren, Jorge Stahl Jr.

Film Editor: Alberto Valenzuela

Art Direction: Boris Leven

Underwater director: Paul Stader

Original Music: Edward L. Alperson Jr., Raoul Kraushaar

Written by W.R. Burnett from a story by Steve Fisher

Produced by Edward L. Alperson

Directed by Byron Haskin

The 3-D Film Archive has been an amazing resource for the fascinating depth format,...

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Now this is what you call a bargain: three terrific WWII flicks for only $10 on Amazon, courtesy of Shout! Factory's Timeless Media label, which continues to distribute first rate editions of films that were often considered to be second-rate at the time of their initial release. This "War Film Triple Feature" package includes three gems that were not particularly notable at the time of their release. Two have grown in stature, while the third has benefited only from Cinema Retro writer Howard Hughes' enthusiastic coverage in issue #25. The films included in the set are:

"Attack" (1955)- During the period of WWII, both the Allied and Axis film industries concentrated on feature films that were pure propaganda designed to motivate their fighting men and the public at large. By the early-to-mid-1950s, however,  more introspective viewpoints emerged among Hollywood directors and writers. With the conflict now over,...

Billy Wilder movies, Johnny Carson interviews tonight on TCM Billy Wilder is Turner Classic Movies’ Director of the Evening tonight, July 8, 2013. But before Wilder Evening begins, TCM will be presenting a series of brief interviews from The Tonight Show, back in the old Johnny Carson days — or rather, nights. The Carson interviewees this evening are Doris Day, Charlton Heston, Tony Curtis, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin. (See also: Doris Day today.) (Photo: Billy Wilder.) As for Billy Wilder, TCM will be showing the following: Some Like It Hot (1959), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Spirit of St. Louis (1958), and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Of course, all of those have been shown before and are widely available. Some Like It Hot vs. The Major and the Minor: Subversive and subversiver Some Like It Hot is perhaps Billy Wilder’s best-known film. This broad comedy featuring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis...

Eleanor Parker 2013 movie series continues today (photo: Eleanor Parker in Detective Story) Palm Springs resident Eleanor Parker is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June 2013. Thus, eight more Eleanor Parker movies will be shown this evening on TCM. Parker turns 91 on Wednesday, June 26. (See also: “Eleanor Parker Today.”) Eleanor Parker received her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination for William Wyler’s crime drama Detective Story (1951). The movie itself feels dated, partly because of several melodramatic plot developments, and partly because of Kirk Douglas’ excessive theatricality as the detective whose story is told. Parker, however, is excellent as Douglas’ wife, though her role is subordinate to his. Just about as good is Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Lee Grant, whose career would be derailed by the anti-Red hysteria of the ’50s. Grant would make her comeback in the ’70s, eventually winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her...

Actress Eugenia Paul was featured in a handful of films and television productions in the 1950s. She co-starred with scream queen Allison Hayes in the 1957 voodoo horror film The Disembodied as native girl Mara.

She was born Eugenia Popoff in Dearborn, Michigan in 1935. She trained as a dancer before settling in Hollywood in the early 1950s. Paul appeared in small roles in a handful of films in the 1950s, including Lost in Alaska (1952) with Abbott and Costello, The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954), The Ten Commandments (1956), and Gunfighters of Abilene (1960). Paul was better known for her work in television, starring as Senorita Elena Torres opposite Guy Williams in early episodes of Disney’s Zorro in 1957. Her other television credits include episodes of Sky King, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Lone Ranger, and The Thin Man. She retired from the screen in the late 1950s after her marriage to Robert Strauss, the heir...

Eugenia Paul, a dancer turned actress who appeared on "Zorro" and many other TV shows of the 1950s, died May 24 at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. She was 75.

Paul also appeared in such TV westerns as "The Adventures of Jim Bowie," "The Lone Ranger" and "Death Valley Days" and had small roles in such films as "The Ten Commandments" (1956), "The Disembodied" (1957) and "Gunfighters of Abilene" (1960), her last credited appearance.

A native of Dearborn, Mich., Paul moved to Los Angeles at age 16 while on tour with the predecessor of the American Ballet Theatre. She was discovered by Warner Bros. and signed as a dancer. Later, Paul signed with Fox.

At a party at the Hollywood Bowl in the mid-'50s, Paul met Robert Strauss, heir to the Pep Boys auto stores chain. She married him, moved to Florida and became an active philanthropist and ardent supporter of the arts and animal welfare.

Every Sunday, Film School Rejects presents a movie that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents: Stalag 17 (1953) Stalag 17 begins with an escape from the tightly controlled Luftwaffe prison camp during the last year of WWII. As the two men snake their way through a tunnel, it's a little too easy for the Germans to find them and fill them full of bullets. The meaning is clear. There's a rat amongst our heroes. The members of Barracks 17 live out a day-to-day life in the Nazi prisoner camp while attempting to discover an informant in their midst and plan for their next escape attempt. There's Price (Peter Graves), the dashing security officer; Sefton (William Holden), the standoffish asshole who openly barters with the enemy for goods; Shapiro (Harvey Lembeck) and Animal (Robert Strauss), the comedic pair that plot entrance to the women's camp and...

It’s Veteran’s Day today - the day we remember and honor soldiers and sailors that serve and have served in the military in defense of the United States of America and other countries.

I thought it would be appropriate to put together a list of classic war movies to commemorate the holiday…

This is by no means a complete list, just some of my favorites and those that came to mind - feel free to add your favorites and nudge my memory over any obvious ones I may have forgotten in the comments below.

Casablanca (1942) - Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman, a classic if there ever was one: Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications - and woe unto anyone who thinks of doing a remake of this film!

Flying Tigers (1942) - John Wayne...