Steven Jay Rubin's Saturday Night at the Movies, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

05/24/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – As we honor America’s military this Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to share an interview I did back in 1974 for my first book, “Combat Films: American Realism 1945-1970.” The subject is screenwriter/producer and author Sy Bartlett, who with fellow author/screenwriter Beirne Lay, Jr., wrote the novel and its film adaptation - !2 O’Clock High.” For a movie about the challenges of commanding a bomber squadron in the early days of the war in Europe, Bartlett was ideal. Although, like many Hollywood professionals, he was recruited to make documentary films for the military, Bartlett wanted to be closer to combat. Through Lay, who was already in the Army Air Corps, he became a key aid to General Carl Spaatz, and worked closely with , squadron commander General Frank Armstrong, who became the inspiration for “12 O’clock High’s” General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck in the 1949 film). After the war ended, Bartlett would transfer to the Pacific Theater, working as an intelligence officer with a B-29 unit flying out of Guam.
In our interview, Bartlett talks about how a script issue shelved “12 O’clock High” for months, and some of his other military films including “13 Rue Madeleine,” “Pork Chop Hill” and “In Enemy Country.”
You can listen to this interview right now on our You Tube Channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/3wNbzWyJ_5M
Or, starting tomorrow, you can pick it up on your favorite podcast platform. Here’s a link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oG8rdYWHp5bEO3pJiVRe7
Or, also starting tomorrow, you can find it on our Fast Channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday
God bless our veterans!

05/23/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – There are very few seals of approval when it comes to film. One of the exceptions is Robert Wise, one of my favorite directors.
The same year he directed his classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), he helmed the true film noir, “House on Telegraph Hill.” I caught it recently on KCOP’s Movies channel, and it’s a compelling noir piece. Italian actress Valentina Cortesa portrays concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska, who steals the identity of her deceased friend, who happens to be an heiress in San Francisco, with a son she sent to America as an infant.
In San Francisco, she’s greeted by Alan Spender, who is acting as her son, Christopher’s guardian and the caretaker of the house. Spender is played by likable American actor Richard Basehart, who is playing a bit of a mystery man here. Spender and Victoria quickly marry and life looks idyllic – but their world begins to unravel, especially when Victoria clashes with Chris’s caretaker/nanny, Margaret (a very good Fay Baker), who is jealous of her new status as the matron of the house.
If this plot sounds familiar, it reminds one of “Rebecca,” Hitchcock’s suspense masterpiece. Under Wise, however, the film works on its own, with tons of atmosphere as Victoria begins to see her world crumble. Basehart and Cortesa met on this film, soon married, and the actor left Hollywood for ten years, moving to Italy. Returning to the states after his divorce, he would later have his most high-profile success, playing Admiral Harriman Nelson in ABC’s “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” series.
The House on Telegraph Hill was filmed at a famous San Francisco restaurant called Julius Castle, which closed after 86 years in 2008.
I enjoyed this film very much, further burnishing Wise’s reputation as a skilled pro across all genres.

05/16/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – I must confess that I know very little about the Armenian genocide in which the Turkish government orchestrated the systematic murder of 1.5 million people during World War I. However, while doing my daily channel surf, I happened upon a 2016 film, “The Promise," which became a truly edutainment experience for me. What attracted me to this title was the cast – Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon. I’d never heard of this movie, and I am a big fan of Bale and Isaac. The director was Terry George (“Hotel Rwanda”) who co-wrote the script with Robin Swicord (“Memoirs of a Geisha”). What a find!
Unfortunately, Turkey continues to deny that the genocide ever took place, and apparently the government put into place a massive social media campaign to discredit the film – hence it’s poor performance at the international box office. That is so sad, because this is an excellent historical film, powered by terrific performances against a huge canvas.
Set in the early days of World War I (in which Turkey is allied to Germany), and based on actual events, the story focuses on Mikael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac), an Armenian medical student whose tuition is paid by the dowry he accepts from reluctantly marrying Marta (Shohreh Aghdashloo). An honorable man, Mikael journeys to Constantinople to study, but promises Marta he will be back.
In Constantinople (which would become Istanbul in 1930), Mikael meets American journalist Chris Myers (Christian Bale) and his beautiful girlfriend, Ana (Charlotte Le Bon). Myers is working for the Associated Press in the U.S. and is reporting about the systematic campaign against the Armenians – reporting that becomes increasingly dangerous. Against the historical background – filmed with careful precision by George, with a terrific assist from cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe – a love triangle develops – perhaps less effective than the events that are spiraling around Mikael. Chris and Ana. But the performances remain strong.
However, when the filmmakers focus on the frightening situation facing the Armenian community, the movie is very effective, opening us up to a page in history that has been suppressed for decades. In many ways, “The Promise” is the Armenian “Schindler’s List.”

05/10/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – While researching my 1981 book “The James Bond Films: A Behind the Scenes History,” I spent a wonderful summer of 1977 in England, and one of my favorite interview experiences was journeying out to the countryside to interview iconic storyteller Roald Dahl. Best known for his children’s books “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Dahl was also recruited to write the fifth James Bond adventure, “You Only Live Twice.”
What’s fun about this interview is not only hearing Dahl recount his early screenwriting experiences and how he came to the attention of the Bond producers, but he’s joined on a number of occasions by his actress wife, Patricia Neal (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”) who was a delight to meet.
You can listen to this interview right now on our You Tube channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/FZ36vkFC2sQ
Or, starting tomorrow, you can listen on your favorite podcast platform. Here’s a link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oG8rdYWHp5bEO3pJiVRe7
Or, also starting tomorrow, you can listen on our Fast Channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Satu

05/09/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times – I’m done with post-apocalyptic end-of-the-world, totalitarian dramas. That said, I was channel surfing last week and came across last September’s Lionsgate release “The Long Walk.” Once I turned it on, I couldn’t turn it off.
Based on a Stephen King novella (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman), adapted by JT Mollner, and directed by “The Hunger Games”’ Francis Lawrence, the story, not unlike “The Hunger Games” revolves around a competition, where to win a huge financial prize at a time when poverty in America is rife, fifty young men are challenged to continue walking along a road at a little over 3 miles per hour, until they can’t walk anymore. Oh, and if you can’t walk anymore, they kill you.
You would think watching young men walk along a road would be repetitious and dull, but, thanks to some great performances from key cast, and Lawrence’ inspired direction, the tension and drama never flags.
The cast of unknown actors is anchored by Cooper Hoffman, who plays Raymond Garraty (aka #47), a young man whose father was executed by the military for his left-leaning politics. We meet him as his emotion-wracked mother (Judy Greer) is sending him to off to possible oblivion. The walk itself is supervised by a gravel-voiced military figure known only as The Major (Mark Hamill, in rare villain form), who prods the participants with exhortations to keep walking towards that pot of gold, and warnings that death is ever-present if they stop. Also lending great character dimension to the story is David Jonsson, as Peter McVries (aka #23) who becomes close with Garrity as they stumble along, and Tut Nyuot as Arthur Baker (aka #6), another compatriot.
I’m not going to soft-coat the violence, it’s ever-present, and like “The Hunger Games,” the chances for survival are slim. But I found the film well worth watching.

05/02/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Sixty-four years ago, my dad took me to the Carthay Circle Movie Palace in Los Angeles to see the first run release of 20th Century Fox’s “The Longest Day.” At that time, as an enthusiastic ten-year-old, I was fascinated with everything World War II – comic books (Our Army at War, GI Combat, Our Fighting Forces), movies, television shows (Combat! Would debut that fall), books (the Landmark series for young readers).
“The Longest Day” was a huge event film that year. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck had assembled a massive production that would dramatize the real events depicted in military historian Cornelius Ryan’s bestselling book, which I had read. Incredibly, Zanuck assembled 42 international stars for the key roles on both sides. John Wayne as an 82nd Airborne Division paratroop commander, Richard Burton as a British fighter pilot, Robert Mitchum as 29th Infantry Division assistant division commander Norman Cota, West
Side Story’s Richard Beymer as a skittish paratrooper, Richard Todd as the commander of British glider forces attacking the Pegasus Bridgehead, and it goes on and on.
Everything was live action – no digital or AI effects. Just a few old school matte paintings. When two lone German Messerschmitt fighters strafe the British beaches, there seemed to be thousands of real soldiers on the sand; when French commandos attack the beach city of Ouistreham, hundreds of soldiers are fighting house to house. On the blood bath that became Omaha Beach, wave after wave of American infantry are trying to make it to the bluffs. I was stunned by the imagery.
And, in fascinating detail, the action covered both sides of the battlefield. With a solid group of German actors, we see the N**i reaction to the invasion – their frustration of having to wait until Hi**er woke up to unleash the reserve panzers; dealing with Allied tricks like the Rupert decoy soldiers sent in by parachute, and the you-are-there feeling as the beach gunners awaited the landing craft.
What an entertaining history lesson this was, and an unforgettable film experience.

04/18/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Everyone has their comfort movies – the ones that relax us during times of stress, taking us to different worlds and reminding us of why we love the movies. Westerns do that for me, and one of my favorites is 1954’s “River of No Return,” bringing together two emerging superstars – hunky Robert Mitchum and iconic Marilyn Monroe.
This being a 20th Century Fox film, you would think studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck would have assigned this film to action directors Henry Hathaway, Henry King, or Raoul Walsh. However, Zanuck gave the film to Otto Preminger to fulfill a contract obligation. It was an odd match, but I believe Preminger nailed it, never straying from his two leads. Working from a solid script by Frank Fenton (“His Kind of Woman”) based on a story by Louis Lantz, Preminger found gorgeous locations in the Canadian Rockies, matching the scenery provided by his two leads.
Mitchum plays ex-convict/turned farmer Matt Calder who arrives in a sleazy California gold camp to find his son, Mark (a terrific Tommy Rettig), who has been befriended by saloon singer, Kay (Monroe, singing in her own voice). Kay has hooked up with gambler Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun) who is headed to Council City to register a gold mine he “won” in a card game. Unable to buy a horse, Harry and Kay take a raft down a treacherous river, stopping at Calder’s farm, where Harry tries to convince Matt to lend him a horse and a rifle. When the latter refuses, Harry knocks him out with a gun butt and steals his horse and rifle. Kay stays behind to take care of the wobbly Matt and Mark, just as the Indians begin an attack. What to do? Matt, Mark and Kay get on the raft.
Preminger is ably supported here by composer Cyril J. Mockridge whose output ranges from action beats to a pleasing romantic theme as Matt and Kay begin to enjoy each other’s company. Apparently neither Preminger or Monroe enjoyed this movie making experience, but the film was a hit for Fox, and the actors bring their A game to the mix. Monroe’s Kay is a total charmer here, and her interaction with both Mitchum and Rettig is fun. A western for people who don’t necessarily like westerns. But still a favorite of mine.
Those of you who enjoy my Saturday reviews, please check out my podcasts Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies, and Tales from Hollywoodland. The former is also a You Tube Channel. Cheers!

04/13/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – He’s played horrifying monsters, duplicitous space villains and wizards, even a gay motorcycle gang leader. But back in 1974, Christopher Lee, a distant step cousin of Ian Fleming, played the suave title character, Scaramanga, in “The Man with the Golden Gun.”
Tapping into my 007 audio archives, I present this week my 1977 interview with Mr. Lee, in which we learn about his relationship to Mr. Fleming, his journey to become a Bond super villain, his experience working in Thailand and Hong Kong on the film, and some of his interesting thoughts about the Bond series, and his place in it. It’s a fun talk, and the audio – considering it was recorded on a small cassette player, is pretty darn good.
You can listen right now on You Tube, using this link: https://youtu.be/nqJQzA4XcSA
Or starting tomorrow night, you can pick it up on your favorite podcast platform. Here’s a link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oG8rdYWHp5bEO3pJiVRe7
Or you can listen on our FAST channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday

04/11/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Hollywood observers are always touting the hottest performers, the most handsome, the most gorgeous, the most bankable, but one thing they often forget are the character actors that make up the key fabric of the movies. The other day I caught “The Model and the Marriage Broker” (1951) for the first time and discovered a Thelma Ritter movie where she’s the lead.
If the name Thelma Ritter doesn’t ring a bell, it’s time to wake up. A native-New Yorker born on Valentine’s Day in 1902, Thelma Ritter was nominated for no less than six Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Like many of the top character actors of all time, she brought huge value to every screen appearance she made.
I first caught her as the frustrated Macy’s shopper who gets into an argument with Kris Kringle (the marvelous Edmund Gwenn) in 1947’s “Miracle on 34th St.” She can’t believe that Kris is sending her to another store to find a toy for her kid. It turns out that this was Thelma’s screen debut.
One of my favorite roles of hers is Stella the sassy physical therapist opposite Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” (1954). She steals every scene she’s in, thanks to some marvelous dialogue courtesy of screenwriter John Michael Hayes. In “The Model and the Marriage Broker,” she’s wonderful as Mae Swasey, the embattled marriage broker trying to put her New York clients together to various effect.
I also remember her vividly as Edward G. Robinson’s devoted wife and Frank Sinatra’s annoyed sister-in-law in Frank Capra’s underrated “A Hole in the Head” (1959). Three years later, she was part of a wagon train crossing the Great Plains, searching for a husband in the Wild West, with Debby Reynolds at her side in “How the West Was Won” (1962).
For the record, her Supporting Actress Oscar nominations came for “All About Eve” (1950), “The Mating Season” (1951), “With a Song in my Heart” (1952), “Pickup on South Street” (1953), “Pillow Talk” (1959), and “Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962).
Thelma Ritter was a truly wonderful presence on the silver screen, proving that you don’t have to be gorgeous to have an impact – a big impact.

04/05/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – A couple weeks ago, I posted a Saturday review of some cool Ricardo Montalban noir films – 1949’s “Border Incident” and 1950’s “Mystery Street”, which I had caught on the Movies channel. Curious about where these films sit in the panoply of Noir, I decided to contact the dean of Film Noir, Eddie Muller of TCM, who returns to my show this week.
Through Eddie’s vast knowledge of Noir and its players, we learn more about directors Anthony Mann and John Sturges, both of whom were working at MGM at the time; we also delve into Montalban’s career, much of which was a revelation for me. After all, I knew him primarily from his supporting role in “Battleground” and his seminal appearance as Khan in “Star Trek.” He’s really good in these crime dramas.
It’s always fun to hear Eddie talk about the backgrounds of many of the Noir ladies, and you should definitely check out the latest edition of his book, “Dark City Dames.” And if you’re in LA this week, he’s hosting his 27th Noir Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.
You can watch our interview right now on our You Tube channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/dmRtd7BVCKM
Or tomorrow, you can catch the audio on your favorite podcast platform. Here’s a link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oG8rdYWHp5bEO3pJiVRe7
Or, also starting tomorrow, you can find our video on True TV Plus, our FAST Channel outlet, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday

04/04/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – As gritty 1960s-era New York City cop dramas go, “Madigan” (1968) rates very high. This is director Don Siegel (“Dirty Harry”) at the top of his game, working from an excellent script by Howard Rodman and Abraham Polonsky who adapted Richard Dougherty’s novel “The Commissioner.”
Richard Widmark and Harry Guardino play Detectives Dan Madigan and Rocco Bonaro – two experienced cops who start their day checking up on suspicious criminal Barney Benesch (a truly scary Steve Ihnat). Now Dan and Rocco are not above stretching the law, so they break down Barney’s apartment door and catch him in bed with a comely coed. That same naked woman distracts the detectives to the point where Barney pulls a gun and forces Dan and Rocco to surrender their weapons as he makes his escape.
Thus, “Madigan” is all about tracking down Benesch, who turns out to be a murder suspect. But there’s a lot more going on in this film besides tracking down Barney Benesch. Henry Fonda is Police Commissioner Anthony X. Russell, in the midst of an affair with lovely socialite Tricia Bentley (gorgeous Susan Clark) while discovering that his closest friend, Chief Inspector Charles Kane (James Whitmore, solid as always) may have broken the law.
Meanwhile, Dan’s restless wife Julia (a luminous Inger Stevens) wants more social time with her husband and doesn’t like sharing him with the NYPD. Siegel populates the investigation with a colorful group of suspects, snitches and fellow cops, including Midget Castiglione (a charismatic Michael Dunn – the nefarious Dr. Loveless in “The Wild Wild West”); Castiglione’s friend and caretaker Hughie (a stringy-haired Don Stroud), Dan’s former girlfriend Jonesy (sexy Sheree North), Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch (grim-faced Bert Freed) and Dr. Taylor (Raymond St. Jacques) whose son has been caught up in a crime.
But the movie never strays far from Dan and Rocco’s search for Benesch, and that resolution is terrifically dramatic. An additional nod to Don Costa’s dynamic score, very 60s and pretty cool.

Steven Jay Rubin's Saturday Night at the Movies

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