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

09/27/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – A truly unsung hero of the first six James Bond movies was editor Peter Hunt, who won his directing spurs on the marvelous “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969). In writing my first Bond history book, Hunt was a valuable interview whose contribution to the style of the series is really off the charts. This week, we hear that affable voice again describing the production of his masterwork. We learn about the issues with snow, the casting, the discovery of the Piz Gloria mountaintop restaurant and the daily challenges Hunt faced in putting together arguably the best of Ian Fleming’s 007 novels.
You can watch that interview right now (audio only) on our You Tube channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/sD-f9o_OWGE
Or you can catch it on your favorite podcast platform starting tomorrow. 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

09/26/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Lucille Ball, William Bendix: two comedy icons from the 1950s. But Lucy and William could also play dramatic roles, and those abilities are on excellent display in the cool film noir entry from 1946 – “The Dark Corner.” I’ve been catching up on my noir lately by tuning in LA’s Movies channel (KCOP), which I believe is syndicated nationwide, and “The Dark Corner” was a delightful recent discovery.
Virtually unknown today, former Warner Bros. contract player Mark Stevens takes a rare lead as New York City private detective Bradford Galt, whose witty and loyal secretary, Kathleen Stewart, is played by Ms. Ball. Galt is a traumatized man who fled the West Coast when he was convicted of manslaughter and received a prison sentence for killing someone in a drunk-driving incident. That incident involved his former partner, Anthony Jardine (Kurt Krueger, who played the captured N**i pilot in “Sahara”), who now lives in the Big Apple and works with art gallery owner and dealer Hardy Cathcart (Clifton Webb, in fine form as a stuffy art snob).
Bendix is beefy tough guy Stauffer (aka Fred Foss) who is stalking Galt, although we’re not sure who he’s working for. Is it Jardine, trying to keep his former partner quiet about his chicanery in San Francisco? Is it Cathcart who sees Galt as a potential dupe in a murder plot? This sounds complicated, but in Jay Dratler and Bernard C. Schoenfeld’s compelling script (based on a story by Leo Rosen), aided immeasurably by director Henry Hathaway, the movie works beautifully.
This was hardly Lucy’s dramatic debut – she’d been making movies in Hollywood since 1933, and many were dramas. Here she also looks terrific and, excuse me, s*xy. Bendix, meanwhile, is a menacing force, miles away from his comic personas in the TV series “Life of Riley” or his goofy knight in “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” And kudos to Stevens who projects a cool vulnerability as a credible leading man.

09/19/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Another confession. I barely know the filmography of Maggie Smith. Yes, I saw her all those years as the exceedingly sympathetic Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies, and I loved her as Rod Taylor’s resourceful assistant in “The V.I.P.’s,” but everything else is a blank slate.
So, to correct that deficiency, I sat down and watched her Oscar-winning 1969 performance in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” What a revelation that was! Set in 1930’s Edinburgh, Scotland, written beautifully by Jay Presson Allen, based on his play, and adapted by Muriel Spark, the story introduces us to veteran girl’s school teacher Jean Brodie who has a special relationship with her students.
Jean doesn’t teach by the book, she teaches by her own instincts, and most of her young students adore her – whether it’s early s*x education, politics or simply understanding the beauty of art, music, and poetry. But her style puts her into constant conflict with administrators – and her undoing is her complete devotion to fascist dictators Mussolini and Franco.
This is a tour-de-force performance, and Ms. Smith pours herself into the role. Teaching is truly her life, and she brings such passion to her lectures – whether in the classroom or local field trips.
Smith is ably supported by her castmates, including a terrific Pamela Franklin, who plays her student, Sandy, a wise young woman who begins to see through Jean’s agenda. I’ve always enjoyed former child actor Franklin’s work – from early Disney to Richard Matheson’s “The Legend of Hell House” and she’s a terrific counterpoint to Smith in this film. Also lending terrific support is actor Robert Stephens who plays art teacher Teddy Lloyd who lusts after Jean (the following year, he would take on the role of Sherlock Holmes in Billy Wilder’s marvelous “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”) – and Gordon Jackson (a veteran of “The Great Escape”) as teacher Gordon Lowther, another of Jean’s suitors.
But this movie is all Maggie – and she well-deserved her Best Actress prize. A fun, fascinating film from director Ronald Neame (“The Poseidon Adventure”).
Of course, the film is probably best known for “Jean,” its Oscar-nominated song from Rod McKuen.

09/06/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – “They just don’t make movies like this anymore.” How many times have we said that recently? Certainly, when it comes to epic all-star comedies, it’s so true. And there was never a more epic, all-star comedy than Stanley Kramer’s 1963 icon “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” which was written cleverly by William and Tania Rose.
This week on Saturday Night at the Movies, our guest is prolific show business author Jim Curtis whose latest book is the wonderful behind-the-scenes tome “Comedy is a Grim Business: The Making of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” This is the first simulcast with my other podcast, Tales from Hollywoodland, which I host with fellow producers Julian Schlossberg and Arthur E. Friedman, who will be joining me on this interview.
You can watch this episode right now on our You Tube Channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/0oSOWvJgkME
Or, starting tomorrow, you can get 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 watch it on our fast channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Onward and upward.

09/05/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES - I thought I knew Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner’s filmography, but last week I found a film totally unfamiliar to me – 1965’s “Morituri.” Being an author of a book on war films, I was surprised to discover this unusual World War II drama, written by Daniel Taradash (“From Here to Eternity”), adapted from the novel by Werner Jorg Luddecke, and directed by veteran Bernhard Wicki (“The Longest Day”).
Brando portrays Robert Crain, an anti-N**i German citizen who is recruited by a British intelligence master (stalwart Trevor Howard) to pose as a N**i SS officer, board a German freighter, captained by Brynner’s Captain Mueller, and divert its critical cargo of rubber to the Allies. It’s a very active role for Brando, utilizing that effective German accent he perfected seven years earlier in “The Young Lions.” His first assignment is to neutralize the explosives that will destroy the ship if the Allies capture her.
The ship is filled with interesting characters, including political prisoners, American POWs, a German Jewish girl (Janet Margolin), and a fanatical N**i officer (a very effective Martin Benrath). Leading the political prisoners is the wonderful German character actor Hans Christian Blech (so effective as a bunker commander on Omaha Beach in “The Longest Day”).
I caught this tense drama on local KCOP’s Movies Channel, and found it riveting, thanks to that marvelous cast, Jerry Goldsmith’s score and Conrad Hall’s terrific photography.
Brynner is believable as a loyal German sea captain with a critical mission. Brando, in a more straightforward performance, is fun to watch – a long, long way from his mumbling Colonel Kurtz in “Apocalypse Now.”
Definitely one of the more unusual WW2 stories, but an effective one, with some interesting twists and turns.
And please check out my podcast this week, Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies, as we interview author Jim Curtis all about his fabulous book on the making of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

08/23/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – Today, we are used to very physical actors who come from bodybuilding, martial arts, sports and other pursuits, where they developed their movement skills to the nth degree. Back in the day, yes, actors were asked to ride horses, fence and box, but their physicality wasn’t necessarily their strongest suit. And then along came Kirk Douglas who went from a minor supporting performer to a superstar who brought every fiber of his body into play in such classic action pictures as “Spartacus,” “The Vikings,” “Gunfight at the OK Corral,” “Champion,” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and his personal favorite “Lonely are the Brave.”
This week on Saturday Night at the Movies, I’m joined by fellow film historian Avie Hern as we pick our favorite Kirk Douglas movies, examining a key link from the latter stages of the Golden Age of Hollywood, into the 1980s.
You can watch our spirited discussion right now on You Tube, using this link: https://youtu.be/nY4QHtofixA
Or, starting tomorrow, you can catch the audio on your favorite podcast platform. Here is a link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oG8rdYWHp5bEO3pJiVRe7
Or, also starting tomorrow, you can pick up the video on our fast channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday%20Night

08/22/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – When you mention actor Van Johnson, you’re inclined to think of musical, comedy, or romantic films. Back in the 1940s, he was a blonde George Clooney-like leading man. My favorite Van Johnson moment of that ilk is his spirted tap dancing with Gene Kelly for the “Go Home with Bonnie Jean” number in “Brigadoon.”
But Van could also do drama. He’s particularly terrific as B-25 pilot Ted Lawson in “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” (1944), and as Pvt. Holley in director William Wellman’s iconic Battle of the Bulge film, “Battleground.” That same year -1949 - MGM signed him onto his only film noir appearance – as troubled police detective Mike Conovan in “Scene of the Crime.” Directed by Roy Rowland (“The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.”) from a script by Charles Schnee and a story by John Bartlow Martin entitled “Smashing the Bookie Gang Marauders”), the story focuses on detective Mike’s efforts to solve the murder of his partner, while also dealing with his lovely wife Gloria (a luminous Arlene Dahl) and her intense desire that he leave the force.
Like all good noir films, the supporting cast is terrific. They include another actor working against type – stunning blonde Gloria DeHaven, usually playing a girl next door type, but here she’s a st****er associating with criminal types. Also joining the cast is MGM stalwart John McIntire as police Detective Piper (one year later, he was the police chief in “The Asphalt Jungle”), Norman Lloyd as Sleeper the snitch, stealing every scene is in, Leon Ames, sans mustache, as the police captain, and Tom Drake (“Meet Me in St. Louis”) as another detective, nicknamed CC. Incidentally, and maybe I’m crazy, but it sounds like Tom was entirely revoiced by Arthur Kennedy. Curious what you think.
But it’s Johnson’s movie, and he’s solid – believably romantic one moment with Gloria, angry as he’s dealing with the city’s bottom feeders.
Definitely worth checking out. And please check out my podcast this week – Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies” - as we remember our favorite Kirk Douglas movies.

08/16/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – Remember the muscular indie studio Carolco? Back in the 80s and 90s, producers Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar started cranking out big, crowd pleasing, action films like “First Blood,” “Rambo 2,” “Total Recall” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” later expanding into prestige, director-driven movies like “The Doors,” “Basic Instinct,” “Chaplin” and “A River Runs Through It.” This week on Saturday Night at the Movies,” my guest is former Carolco president Peter Hoffman, who has written “Karmic Winds,” an intimate look at those turbulent Carolco years – the ups and the downs that led to the company’s bankruptcy. Hoffman goes deep behind the scenes as we learn how these epic pictures were put together, and how the whole enterprise began to fall apart.
You can watch this fascinating interview right now on our Your Tube channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/4oKtV7QmAU8
Or, starting 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 watch in on our fast channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=Saturday

08/15/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Was there ever a more energetic and purely likable actress than Debbie Reynolds? From the first moment Gene Kelly sees her chorus dancing in “Singin’ in the Rain” to their marvelous dancing in the “Good Morning” number, Debbie just leaps off the screen. Leaping may be the operative word here, because she started out in high school as a gymnast.
Although she was all over the gossip columns in the early 1960s as her marriage to crooner Eddie Fisher imploded when he left her to dally with Elizabeth Taylor, she also made some fun movies – one of which I sampled for the first time this week – “The Second Time Around.”
The title sounds like a contemporary romantic comedy, but this story takes place in 1911. Debby is Lucretia “Lu” Rogers, a widow with two children, living precariously in New York City. Based on a job tip, she leaves her kids with her grandmother and train travels out to pre-statehood Arizona, only to discover that the guy who offered her the job has been murdered. Broke and desperate, she offers her services as a novice ranch hand for Aggie Gates (the marvelous Thelma Ritter). Aggie is doubtful, especially when she watches Lu attempt to load a heavy sack of grain into a wagon, but she eventually offers her a one month trial.
Meanwhile, Lu has attracted the attention of two local men – roguish gambling house owner Dan Jones (a terrific Steve Forrest), and mama’s boy rancher Pat Collins (Andy Griffith in full hick mode). Not to suffer fools gladly, Lu also nails corrupt Sheriff Burns (Ken Scott, perfectly villainous) as a bully and racist – and as you’ll see when you sample this perfectly entertaining vehicle, she becomes the town sheriff.
Kudos to writers Richard Emery Roberts, Oscar Saul and Clair Huffaker for a really fun narrative, and veteran director Vincent Sherman for keeping this comedy feast moving. We see various sides of Debbie, and they are all winning ones as she becomes an empowered woman in a male-dominant Wild West. Incidentally, Debbie and Thelma would reteam the following year for the terrific “How the West Was Won.”

08/09/2026

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – I had so much fun doing a solo last week on my favorite
Robert Mitchum movies, I’ve decided to do another solo on a favorite actor – Richard Widmark. Looking back at his filmography of the 1950s and 1960s, there are so many terrific titles that have been in heavy rotation for me. In fact, the first interview I ever did for my “Combat Films” book was with screenwriter Michael Blankfort, who wrote Widmark’s “Halls of Montezuma,” a World War II title from 1951 in which Widmark plays a drug addicted Marine officer plagued by terrible headaches.
Like Mitchum, Widmark looked good in uniform, as he demonstrated two years later in another Fox title, “Destination Gobi,” directed by Robert Wise. His Chief Bosun’s Mate Sam McHale is a Navy veteran assigned to nurse maid a group of weathermen sending reports from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. It’s a terrific adventure film and Widmark is totally convincing as an officer yearning to get back to the sea. Perhaps his most memorable military film was 1965’s Cold War saga “The Bedford Incident,” which plays like a modern “Moby Dick,” with Widmark as Ahab and a Russian submarine as the white whale. Riveting!
Although I love his military films, Widmark was quite versatile, playing a terrific villain in “Kiss of Death,” his film debut; Jim Bowie the knife fighter in John Wayne’s “The Alamo;” a Viking in “The Long Ships;” a dedicated cop in “Madigan” (later spawning a TV series, in which he reprised the role” and a sinister surgeon in “Coma.” And so many more roles.
You can watch this episode of Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies right now on our You Tube channel, using this link: https://youtu.be/YeAYg1HOfGc
Or, starting 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 catch the video on our fast channel outlet, True TV Plus, using this link: https://play.truetvplus.com/search?query=saturday

Steven Jay Rubin's Saturday Night at the Movies

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