Category: History

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (2022) / Z-View

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (2022)

Director:  Emma Cooper

Appearances: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmy Hoffa, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Peter Lawford

Tagline: The brighter the star, the darker the truth.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Anthony Summers, who wrote the Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, shares snippets of some of the 650 interviews he did while researching the book. The documentary uses actors/actresses to lip sync to the recordings.  I found this distracting. It gave the movie a tabloid feel.  I was hoping for some new information, but if you know Marilyn’s story as well as the most popular theories of her death, there’s nothing new here.

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes earns 2 of 5 stars.

THE BIG BUNDLE: A Nathan Heller Case by Max Allan Collins is Coming!

Any time that Max Allan Collins has a new book coming out it is time to celebrate.  If the new novel is a Nathan Heller tale, then plan an even bigger party.  Collins takes true life cases, does intensive research and then writes a fictional account with Nathan Heller in the middle of things.  Max Allan Collins’ new Nathan Heller novel is titled The Big Bundle.

True Crime detective Nathan Heller returns in a brand new case that connects a millionaire’s kidnapped child to Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign to bring down union boss Jimmy Hoffa.

Nathan Heller, star of MWA Grandmaster Max Allan Collins’ most acclaimed series of novels (more than 1 million copies sold to date!), comes to Hard Case Crime for the first time in an all-new thriller drawn from the pages of history. A millionaire’s son is kidnapped and private eye Heller is called in to help. But when half of the record $600,000 ransom goes missing, Heller must wade through a morass of deception and depravity to blow the lid off a notorious crime whose consequences reach into the corridors of power in Washington D.C., where Bobby Kennedy works tirelessly to take down crooked union boss Jimmy Hoffa…

Deal me in.  Pre-orders are available now!

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022) / Z-View

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022)

Director: Mark Moormann

Starring: Don McLean, Peter Gallagher, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr. aka The Big Bopper, Garth Brooks, Brian Wilson  and Tyson Fury

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In December 1971, Don McLean’s American Pie single was released.  It went to #1 and held that position for four weeks.  At the time it was the longest song (8 minutes and 42 seconds) to enter the Billboard charts.  At the time a single of that length was unheard of.  American Pie was a worldwide hit topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  Fifty years later and people of all ages know the words to the song, but speculation runs rampant about their meaning.

Don McLean wrote the song as a musical poem open to interpretation.  While McLean admitted that “the day the music died” referred to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, speculation was that the song also referenced the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, political protests and more.  McLean would never confirm or deny the meaning of his lyrics.  He was quoted as saying, “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me … Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on.”

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie looks at the genesis of the song, it’s impact on the world and Don McLean shares the meaning of the lyrics.  I was in 7th grade when American Pie was released.  Everyone, including adults, were talking about the song and it’s meaning.

I enjoyed this documentary.  It was cool to see the struggle McLean had in getting the lyrics just right.  Then to learn (and see) that the producer and musicians knew that they had something special, but the recording session wasn’t working until.. (I won’t give it away),  While I’m glad that Don McLean has confirmed the things that inspired his lyrics, I’m taking the perspective that like all poetry, once it’s released, it is up to each individual to determine what the poem means to him/her.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie earns 4 of 5 stars.

“JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass” (2021) / Z-View

JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021)

Director:  Ibrahim Hamdan, Oliver Stone

Starring: John F. Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Oliver Stone, Whoopi Goldberg (narration) and Donald Sutherland (narration)

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Ibrahim Hamdan and Oliver Stone look at documents and findings declassified by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 that bring into question the finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  If you’re at all interested in the conspiracy theories behind the assassination of President Kennedy, then JFK Revisited is worth a watch!

JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass earns 4 of 5 stars.

“D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?” (2022) / Z-View

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? (2022)

Director:   Marina Zenovich

Screenplay by:  None

Starring:  Tom Colbert

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

On November 24, 1971, a man the press mistakenly labeled D.B. Cooper (he actually bought the ticket using the name Dan Cooper) hijacked a plane.  He claimed to have a bomb, demanded $200,000.00 and four parachutes.  The plane landed.  The cash and parachutes were brought on board.  Everyone except the pilot and a few other crew members were allowed to leave.  The plane was refueled and took off.  Somewhere in flight, during a rainstorm at night, the hijacker (with the cash) parachuted from the plane.  He was never caught.

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? is more about Tom Colbert (and folks like him) who are obsessed with finding D.B. Cooper than the actual case.  There have been thousands of leads called in to the F.B.I. and despite the resources available to them no one was ever arrested.  What’s interesting is the number of amateur sleuths who believe that they know who D.B. Cooper was/is.  There are enough of these folks that there is an annual D.B. Cooper convention where “fans” show up to hear the latest theories, buy the newest books, t-shirts and more.

If you’re looking to a definite answer as to who D.B. Cooper is/was, this is not the documentary for you.  It’s amazing how many viable suspects were interviewed and thought to potentially be D.B., yet no one was ever charged.  I also enjoyed the look at the folks who have made the D.B. Cooper case a big part of their lives.  D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Last Movie Stars” – Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward Documentary – The Poster & Trailer are Here!

The Last Movie Stars looks interesting.  HBOMax makes it an easy choice.  Deal me in.

The Last Movie Stars is an epic 6-part documentary from CNN Films and HBO Max that chronicles Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s iconic careers and decades-long partnership. Director Ethan Hawke brings life and color to this definitive history of their dedication to their art, philanthropy and each other. Through long lost transcriptions of interviews with Paul, Joanne and those close to them, brought to life by the voices of contemporary actors, we’re given an intimate front row seat to the lives and careers of the couple that would go on to forge an unmatched cultural legacy. Academy Award-winning director, writer and producer Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer. #TheLastMovieStars

RIP: Sonny Barger

Sonny Barger, one of the founding members of the Hell’s Angels, died yesterday from cancer.  Sonny Barger’s notoriety as a Hell’s Angels leader (including being part of the Rolling Stones security at the Altamont concert where Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was knocked unconscious and audience member Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death) brought him into the public eye.  Mr. Barger appeared several documentaries about the Hell’s Angels and other motorcycle clubs, three feature films, but is probably known for his reoccurring role on Sons of Anarchy where he played Lenny ‘The Pimp’ Janowitz.  Sonny Barger also wrote or co-wrote six books.

I first became aware of Sonny Barger through his leadership of the Hell’s Angels and the wild stories and documentaries about him/them.  His addition to the cast of Sons of Anarchy added a level of authenticity to the show.  I’ve read a couple of his books.  He lived his life as he wanted.  His final message posted on his Facebook page was:

If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing. I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. Although I’ve had a public persona for decades, i’ve mostly enjoyed special time with my club brothers, my family, and close friends.

Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. But also know that in the end, I was surrounded by what really matters: My wife, Zorana, as well as my loved ones. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor. – Sonny

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sonny Barger’s family, friends and fans.

“The Untouchables” (1987) Starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery & Robert De Niro / Z-View

The Untouchables (1987)

Director: Brian De Palma

Screenplay by:  David Mamet based on The Untouchables by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley

Starring:  Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Billy Drago and Patricia Clarkson

Tagline:  What are you prepared to do?

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers

Elliott Ness (Costner) is a Federal Treasury agent sent to Chicago to take down Al Capone (De Niro) and his criminal enterprises.  Due to widespread corruption in the Chicago Police Department, Ness creates a team of “Untouchables” consisting of a Jim Malone (Connery) a street cop; George Stone (Garcia) a young police cadet and Oscar Wallace (Smith) a Treasury bookkeeper.  With their lives and families in danger, Ness and his Untouchables find themselves in Capone’s crosshairs as they move forward with their mission.

The Untouchables is arguably director Brian DePalma’s finest film.  It is the movie that made Kevin Costner and Andy Garcia stars.  Sean Connery won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jim Malone.  The film was also nominated for 3 additional Oscars: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.

I absolutely love The Untouchables.  Everything comes together beautifully – the screenplay, the director, the cast and the music mesh to create a magical movie experience.  David Mamet wrote the screenplay based on the book by (the real Elliott Ness) and Oscar Fraley.  While the film is a fictionalized account, it’s not a documentary, so let’s not pick that nit.  The film’s direction features DePalma at his peak.  There are so many memorable scenes – Ness and Malone meeting for the first time, Malone’s way of getting a Capone bookkeeper to talk, Ness’ confrontation with Capone on the staircase, Nitti and another thug at Malone’s apartment, Ness and the baby carriage, Stone saving the day and Ness and Nitti on the rooftop – to name several.

Connery is at his best and deserving of his Oscar.  Kevin Costner is perfect as the straight arrow cop who tests his limits when he discovers what he is willing to do to bring down Capone.  Andy Garcia is spot on as the cocky because he’s that good cop.  Charles Martin Smith plays what looks like a stereotypical bookkeeper until the action starts.  Billy Drago has a smaller but vitally important role as Frank Nitti, Capone’s number one hitman.

If you’ve never seen The Untouchables, you should rectify that as soon as possible.  If you have seen it, then you know I’m not exaggerating when I say The Untouchables is worthy of a 5 of 5 star rating.

“We Own This City” (2022) / Z-View

We Own This City (2022)

Developed by:  George Pelecanos, David Simon

Teleplays by:  George Pelecanos (Parts 1 & 5), David Simon (Parts 1 & 6), Ed Burns (Parts 2 & 4), William F. Zorzi (Parts 2 & 4),  D. Watkins (Part 3),

Directed by:  Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring:  Jon Bernthal, Wunmi Mosaku, Jamie Hector, Josh Charles, McKinley Belcher III, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Rob Brown, Don Harvey and Seth Hurwitz.

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers.

We Own This City is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Justin Fenton, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.  We Own This City follows a task force created to deal with rising crime.  Baltimore PD’s shining star, Sgt. Wayne Jenkins builds a team to take guns and drugs off the streets. Although successful, under Jenkins’ watch, the strike force steals drugs and money from their busts.  They also plant evidence and lie under oath.  Numerous complaints leads to an investigation which shows widespread corruption throughout the force and gives lengthy jail sentences to those sworn to protect and serve.

We Own This City features excellent writing, direction and an amazing cast lead by Jon Bernthal (who should receive an Emmy nomination).  Josh Charles is great as the unlikable Daniel Hersl.  McKinley Belcher III from Ozark and The Passage, is always good. Seth Hurwitz is perfect as the slimy bail bondsman who helps Wayne Jenkins move stolen drugs.   Kudos also to Kris Bowers for his music.   We Own This City easily earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Birth of the Living Dead” aka “Year of the Living Dead” (2013) / Z-View

Birth of the Living Dead aka Year of the Living Dead (2013)

Director:  Rob Kuhns

Written by: Rob Kuhns

Starring:  George A. Romero, Elvis Mitchell, Mark Harris, Gale Anne Hurd and Bill Hinzman.

Tagline:  1968. Peace. Love. And the undead.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Rob Kuhns goes behind the scenes on the making of Night of the Living Dead.  George Romero is interviewed and some of his earlier commercials are shared.  Elvis Mitchell, Mark Harris, Gale Anne Hurd, Bill Hinzman and others share the impact Night of the Living Dead made on them.  If you’re a George Romero or Night of the Living Dead fan, then this is for you.  I give it 4 of 5 stars.

“D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?” – The Documentary Trailer is Here!

I had just turned 13 when D.B. Cooper disappeared with $200,000 in cash.  He jumped out of a jet at night – something even trained parachutists wouldn’t have tried.  A portion of the money was found, but D.B. Cooper never was.

Deal me in!

In 1971, a skyjacker parachutes off a plane with a bag of stolen cash — and gets away with it. Decades later, his identity remains a compelling mystery.

“The Wind and the Lion” (1975) / Z-View

The Wind and the Lion (1975)

Director:  John Milius

Screenplay:   John Milius

Starring:  Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis and Steve Kanaly.

Tagline: Between the wind and the lion is the woman. For her, half the world may go to war.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers

The year is 1904.  In Morroco, Germany, France and Britain are trying to gain influence with the Sultan Abdelaziz.  Mulai Ahmed el Raisuli (Connery) wants his country free of the influence of other countries and the corrupt Sultan.  In an effort to create an international incident and inspire an uprising against the Sultan, Raisuli kidnaps a visiting American citizen, Eden Pedecaris (Bergin) and her two young children.

Theodore Roosevelt (Keith) is running for re-election and plans to use the rescue of Eden and her children to help his campaign.  Despite the fears that sending in the marines will cause, Roosevelt does just that.  Eden and her children lives hang in the balance as German soldiers, US marines, Moroccans and Raisuli’s followers prepare for war.

John Milius has created a rousing story based on true incidents but fictionalized for the screen.  Sean Connery is charismatic as Raisuli,  Candice Bergin plays a smart woman and she’s never looked prettier.  Brian Keith was born to play Teddy Roosevelt.  If there are any nits to pick with The Wind and the Lion they take a back seat to Milius’ power as a director and storyteller.  The Wind and the Lion rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Mind Over Murder” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

Here we have the poster and trailer for Mind Over Murder.  I don’t know this case, but plan to tune in.

From acclaimed filmmaker Nanfu Wang, the HBO Original six-part documentary series #MindOverMurder chronicles the bizarre and psychologically complex story of six individuals who were convicted for the 1985 murder of a beloved 68- year-old grandmother, Helen Wilson, in Beatrice, Nebraska. Despite five of the individuals originally confessing to the crime, the “Beatrice Six” as they became known, were exonerated by DNA evidence in 2009, a turn of events that divided the rural town and incensed the family of Helen Wilson. As the filmmakers track the case from the murder, through investigation, trial, exoneration and two civil suits, shifting perspectives cloud the truth; a stranger-than-fiction tale emerges that raises salient questions about the reliability of confessions and memory in criminal cases.

Time! Fascinating Facts That You May Not Know!

Kerry Wolfe at Mental Floss posted an interesting article titled 28 Fascinating Facts About Time.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites…

We can thank the railroad industry for standardizing our time zones.  Until the 19th century, towns and villages synchronized their clocks to the local solar noon. This created thousands of local times that all varied and made scheduling transportation a major headache. Train schedules in different cities had to list dozens of arrival and departure times for each train to account for all the mini time zones. On November 18, 1883, railroad companies in the United States and Canada began using a system very similar to the standardized time zones we still use today. In the UK, the railroad companies began using a standard London-based time in 1840. (I didn’t know this.  It’s crazy that it was the railroad industry that brought standard times zones about! – Craig)

Though a lot of people believe daylight saving time was adopted to keep farmers happy, that’s a myth.  The first person to seriously advocate for daylight saving time was an entomologist who wanted more sunlit hours to look for insects after work in the summer. He proposed his idea to a scientific society in New Zealand in 1895. (Wow!  I had always been taught daylight saving time was brought about to give farmer’s more daylight!  Another myth busted. – Craig)

Even with the advent of standardized time, people still struggled to keep their clocks in sync.  One London family used this to their advantage, and made a living by selling people the time. An astronomer named John Belville would set his pocket watch to the time at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He would then travel around the city and visit his network of subscribers, who paid to set their own clocks by Belville’s pocket watch. After Belville died in 1856, his wife, and then later their daughter Ruth, carried on the tradition. Ruth continued to sell the time until World War II. By then she was in her eighties, and a couple of factors led to her timely retirement: Improved technology had made her role less important, and the war was making treks around London too dangerous.  (Hats off to John Belville for figuring out how to use his pocket watch to provide for his family.  Crazy that his wife was still able to do this as late as the start of World War II — that’s less than 100 years ago.  If there is money to be made, someone will figure out a way. – Craig)

Rarely Told Behind-the-Scenes Facts of the Assassination of President Kennedy!

If you have any interest at all in the Assassination of President Kennedy, you will want to check out Ten Tales from Dallas’s Parkland Hospital, Where JFK Died by Christopher Dale at Listverse. 

Normally I would pick out my three favorite items from the list.  I won’t this time because each fact/tale of the ten is rare and interesting.  Without giving too much away, Dale’s behind-the-scenes of the Kennedy Assassination tells…

  • Why Jackie Kennedy wouldn’t immediately let the Secret Service take President Kennedy into the emergency room.
  • Why doctors performed procedures that they knew were useless and what Jackie had for them.
  • What a doctor said and immediately regretted.
  • How one of the procedures the doctors performed destroyed potential evidence.
  • Prank calls received at the hospital once it was announced that President Kennedy had died.
  • Why the Last Rites were performed even though the President had died, and how the Priest disobeyed warnings from the Secret Service
  • Why Vice President Johnson delayed an official announcement that President Kennedy had died.
  • Why local authorities struggled with Secret Service agents in an effort to take control of President Kennedy’s body.
  • What happened when President Kennedy’s suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was taken to the same hospital as President Kennedy after being shot.
  • The contents of the self-serving memo released by Parkland Hospital Administrator Charles Jack “CJ” Price less than a week after the murder of President Kennedy.

Hats of to Christopher Dale!