Frances Dee was born in Los Angeles in 1909, and died in Connecticut in 2004 – reversing the movie star’s usual trajectory. She was married to Joel McCrea. Her first film was released in 1929, her last in 2006. I treasure her primarily for three performances: 1) As the spoiled but likeable rich girl in ... read more »

Orpheus Descending - Kim Hunter (left) in The Seventh Victim    Hunter’s screen sister, Bettie Page-coiffed Jean Brooks (center), intimidated by Greenwich Village Satanists.   Bright Lights After Dark tips its hat to the Val Lewton Blogathon hosted here, and encourages its readers to check out the documentary, Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows, screening ... read more »

The ‘30s M (Lang) Two Seconds (LeRoy) Scarface (Hawks) Fury (Lang) You Only Live Once (Lang) Sabotage (Hitchcock) The ‘40s Stranger on the Third Floor (Ingster) The Seventh Victim (Lewton/Robson) Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock) Laura (Preminger) Phantom Lady (Siodmak) Fallen Angel (Preminger) The Woman in the Window (Lang) The Killers (Siodmak) Scarlet Street (Lang) ... read more »

I saw William Friedkin’s Cruising for the first time in 25 years when it played on IFC recently. Having listened to Friedkin’s DVD audio commentary on Val Lewton’s The Leopard Man, I couldn’t help but notice all the borrowings from Lewton in Cruising (The Exorcist is not the only Friedkin film to be Lewton-influenced), particularly ... read more »