Don Haskins

Denver & The Rio Grande [VHS]
$9.95
Pop your popcorn and settle in for a 1950's-style Matinee Western that from an acting point of view is just barely a B-movie, but railroad enthusiasts will watch this VHS over and over again.

The true stars of this flick are the old Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge from Durango to Silverton, and the Colorado scenery. Rio Grande enthusiasts will also be totally intrigued by the rare opening footage of Rio Grande ALCO PA's in silver paint for CZ duty, and many FT and F3 covered wagons still in black paint fresh from the EMD factory erecting floors. There is even a short cab ride through Glenwood Canyon, and an interesting long shot at Dotsero.

Engines 268 and 315 are in bumble bee makeup, and while the story line is both campy and corny, the many action shots of these fine machines are truly outstanding. There are also great shots around the yards in both Durango and Silverton, as well at Hermosa bridge.

If you love the Rio Grande, and the Colorado mountains it ran through, you will love this movie! I would give it 5 thumbs up, if I had that many.

CHT in Virginia

5 Film Noir Killer Classics (D.O.A./Detour/The Stranger/Scarlet Street/Killer Bait)
$29.99
This is mainly a contents listing of 5 box sets of film-noir collections. Quality is excellent for the Warner box--the films are not public domain and were remastered. The four other collections are of public-domain films, some of which were fixed up somewhat. Film quality is variable (dropouts, scratches, cropped images, fuzziness, low contrast). Most films are quite watchable, and there are some very good versions, especially if low price is considered (e.g., Hitch-hiker--only on CLA9). However, there are some marginal issues (e.g., Red house--only on FN10) and some extremely bad issues (e.g., Man who cheated himself--only on CLA9).

Ratings based on video-audio quality and emphasizing value for money: 5* = CLA1; 4* = CLA9, KIL5, MY10; 3* = FN10

COLLECTIONS--SUMMARY:
*** CLA1 = Film noir classic collection (Warner, 2004) [5 movies, 1944-50] $49.95 list. Extras: 5 film commentaries; 1 introduction; 2 trailers. Note: Volume 2 with 5 more noir films will appear in 7/05.
*** CLA9 = Classic film noir (St. Clair, 2005) [9 movies, 1946-53] $9.95 list. Extras: poster gallery (in color); featurette (About film noir, TT5:00); 7 trailers (TT16:00)
*** FN10 = Film noir: 10 movies (Brentwood, 2004) [10 movies, 1934!, 1945-52] $19.95 list. Extras: 40 trailers (4/disk)
*** KIL5 = 5 film noir killer classics (Questar, 2004) [5 movies, 1945-49] $29.95 list. Extras: The posters of film noir (in color, TT3:50); 2 featurettes (What is film noir?, TT13:00; Femme fatale, TT7:53); 38 Film noir trailers (TT1.58:07)
*** MY10 = Mystery classics: 50 movie pack (Treeline, 2004) [10 film noir movies, 1945-54, 40 other movies, 1931-52] $34.95 list. Extras: none

COLLECTIONS--CONTENTS:
Asphalt jungle, The (1950) = CLA1
Borderline (1950) = FN10 Note: at best marginally film noir!
Call it murder (aka Midnight) (1934) = FN10 Note: a 1934 film, not film noir!
Detour (1945) = CLA9 FN10 KIL5 MY10 Note: right-hand-drive vehicles in first scene a goof of film, not a reissue mistake!
D.O.A. (1950) = CLA9 FN10 KIL5
Gun crazy (aka Deadly is the female) (1949) = CLA1
He walked by night (1948) = FN10 MY10
Hitch-hiker, The (1953) = CLA9
Hollow triumph (aka The scar--UK) (1948) = CLA9
Impact (1949) = MY10
Kansas City confidential (1952) = FN10 MY10
Man who cheated himself, The (1950) = CLA9
Murder, my sweet (aka Farewell my lovely) (1944) = CLA1
Out of the past (1947) = CLA1
Quicksand (1950) = CLA9 MY10
Red house, The (1947) = FN10 Note: rural film noir!
Scarlet Street (1945) = FN10 KIL5 MY10
Second woman, The (1951) = FN10 MY10
Set-up, The (1949) = CLA1
Strange love of Martha Ivers, The (1946) = CLA9
Stranger, The (1946) = CLA9 FN10 KIL5 MY10? Note: The separate Roan Group issue (with Cause for alarm, 1951) is superior.
Suddenly (1954) = MY10
Too late for tears (aka Killer bait) (1949) = CLA9 KIL5 MY10

Saved By the Bell - The New Class Season 2
$19.99
First of all, I'm an adult and don't really watch shows like this anymore but I did watch this show growing up and am reviewing it from the perspective of someone who can view this series with the nostalgia factor working for it. If you didn't grow up watching this show (and I admit, there can't be many people interested in this product who didn't), stop reading now and DON'T buy this set.

Saved By the Bell was a cheesy teen show with mediocre to bad acting, lazy (sometimes preachy) writing, and storylines that were seldom believable. That being said, as a kid, there was something about the original Saved By the Bell that hooked you in. There was just something about it that made even the preachy stories entertaining and as a kid you never noticed that the acting was subpar.

But all good things (and in this case, mediocre things) must come to an end and when the original series ended, the producers looked for a way to milk the Saved By the Bell franchise for all it was worth. Enter The New Class.

The concept was relatively simple. Mr. Belding remains at Bayside High and a brand new group of students emerges to seek adventure and fun. The first season began with a group of new kids....but somehow these kids didn't seem so new. Basically, all of the characters from season one of The New Class (sans Vicki, who doesn't seem too similar to any of the original characers) were clones of characters from the original. Scott was the new Zach. Tommy D was the new (dumber) Slater, etc. Right from the start, it was clear to all concerned that something wasn't working. No one wanted to see recycled storylines with clones in place of the originals. And I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Tommy D and Lindsay were terrible actors, even by teen show standards.

So, when season 2 rolled around, the powers that were decided to fix things up. Though in doing this, some of their "improvements" were certainly questionable. Scott, Weasel, and Vicki were all let go, never to be mentioned again. Strange choices, considering Weasel was probably the most tolerable of the clones, and Vicki was the only character who seemed original. Even Scott, while no Zack Morris, was at least adequate. Of the cast members who remained, only Megan Jones was halfway decent.

But some of the people brought in to improve season 2 actually proved to be quite good. Brian seems to be the closest thing to a central "Zack-like" character, but was less of a schemer. Bobby was the comic-relief of the new group, but wasn't a complete nerd like Screech. And Rachel was Brian's love-interest, sort of like the Zack and Kelly of season 2. And, to fans of the original series, the biggest pleasure was seeing Dustin Diamond returning to again play Samuel "Screech" Powers, who returned to Bayside High to work as Mr. Belding's assistant.

While still not as good as the original (which, of course, was also just a teen show and therefore far from perfect), season 2 did prove to be an improvement over the first year of The New Class and probably stands as the best season this series put out. In later seasons, Screech would get weirder and zanier until finally even people who loved him on the original series would have to be annoyed by him. But here we still have the somewhat human Screech we remember from the College Years.

By season 3, the cast would change again (and incredibly, the producers still chose to keep the terrible Tommy D and Lindsay over the semi-decent characters of Brian, Bobby, and Megan...all I can figure is that other kids responded much differently to these characters than I did), and it was clear that the producers had not learned their lesson from season one. They created a new Zach-clone in Ryan, and season 3 saw them again directing ripping off the original series. Screech also began to get more obnoxious at that point.

It was also around this point that it became obvious that the producers were never going to be happy with the cast. They seemed content to fire half the cast each season and just hope somehow lightning would strike twice and they'd find a new group with the appeal of Zack, Slater, Screech, Kelly, Jessie, and Lisa. Strangely enough though, they might have succeeded if they had just left well-enough alone after season 2. Sure, the somewhat different characters of season 2 might not have been an immediate success, but people might have grown to like them had the audience been given time to accept them. Instead, on The New Class, characters were gone as quickly as they came so each season has a different feeling.

And for that reason, I think this season wins the gold. The characters weren't the direct knock-offs we saw in season one, nor was Screech as obnoxious as he would become in season three and onward. This was as close to a winning-formula as The New Class would ever come, so if you are going to shell out money for a set, this is the one to get. But don't buy this if you are just looking for a 90's series about growing up. It boggles my mind that all seven seasons of The New Class have been given a DVD but yet The Wonder Years (a series that was actually GOOD) hasn't seen the light of day. Oh well, I guess we can't win 'em all!

A BEVY OF PRIMA DONNAs each one in a favorite role, surrounds Laszlo Halasz, impressario of the New York City Center Opera. Pictured are Ann Ayers as Violetta in Verdi's 'La Traviata, Dorothy MacNeil as the leggy Musetta in Puccini's 'La Boheime', Frances Bible as the boy Cherubino in Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro', Virginia Haskins as Zerlina in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni', Wilma Spence as Tosca leaping to her death in Puccini's 'La Tosca', Marguerite Piazza as the corseted Amelia of Gian-Carlo Menotti's 'Amelia Goes to the Ball', and Brenda Lewis holding the head of John the Baptist in Richard Strauss's 'Salome'. ..... 1949 LIFE Magazine Picture, A3617A.
$12.99
This Item is an original Magazine ad, taken from a vintage magazine of the year indicated. The ad is suitable for framing and displaying in your home or office. The scan of this item was taken through plastic film, however it is an accurate representation of the item. The nominal size is 10.5 inches by 14 inches.