July 2015 Highlights at the New Beverly Cinema

With Quentin Tarantino re-opening the New Beverly Cinema as a celluloid-only picture house, we are taking a closer look at some of the great movies he is programming each month. NOTE: We are not affiliated with the New Beverly Cinema.

2014 HIGHLIGHTS: OCTOBER – NOVEMBER – DECEMBER

2015 HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARY – FEBRUARY – MARCH – APRIL – MAY – JUNE

JULY

Once Upon A Time in the West (1969, Dir: Sergio Leone)
An epic tale of power and revenge set during the railroad and frontier expansion of the Old West. It’s a truly captivating and groundbreaking work of stylized “Cinema Cinema” starring Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale and Jason Robards.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970, Dir: Billy Wilder)
A look at the rarely seen side of the British master detective that revolves around two separate subplots. Considered by some to be one of the greatest films ever made about ol Sherlock Holmes. Starring Robert Stephens, Geneviève Page, Colin Blakely and Christopher Lee.

Shanghai Joe (1973, Dir: Mario Caiano)
Shanghai Joe (Chen Lee) is a Chinese immigrant who is searching to create a new life in America. He arrives in Texas, where he is not exactly welcomed with open arms, but finds employment as a cowboy, and soon finds it is not cattle the ranch inhabitants are moving, but Mexican slaves. (SWDB)

The Animals (1970, Dir: Ron Joy)
If you love the excellent rape-revenge movie Hannie Caulder (1970) you’ll also enjoy this Western about a woman (Michele Carey) that decides to track down the three men that raped her. She is accompanied by an Apache chief (Henry Silva) that helps her recuperate and find the criminals that attacked her.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955, Dir: Robert Aldrich)
An explosive pulp film noir masterpiece starring Ralph Meeker as hardboiled private eye Mike Hammer who gets caught in a deadly underworld search for a mysterious box referred to as the “Great Whatsit”.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, Dir: Frank Capra)
A black comedy classic starring Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster who upon a visit to his family home, discovers his kind old Aunts (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) are murdering people. Brewster also must contend with his two deranged brothers, Teddy, who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt (“CHAAARGE!”) and Jonathan (Raymond Massey) a disfigured killer on the run from the police that is accompanied by his alky plastic surgeon (Peter Lorre). This movie is one wacky experience.

They All Laughed (1981, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich)
An often overlooked romantic comedy gem about a trio of private eyes (Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Blaine Novak) that are investigating two women who are thought to be cheating on their partners. The film was inspired by classic Hollywood movies where the filmmakers would hide personal stories/ideas within a certain genre yarn. Co-starring Audrey Hepburn, Dorothy Stratten, Colleen Camp.

The Devil’s 8 (1969, Dir: Burt Topper)
It’s not quite The Dirty Dozen, but it’s definitely inspired by that movie. This time, instead of World War II criminal soldiers on a mission, we’ve got a gang of US convicts that are hired as specialists to take down an evil Southern moonshining ring. The screenplay was co-written by a young John Milius and was his first feature credit while working at AIP after leaving USC.

Johnny Firecloud (1975, Dir: William Allen Castleman)
Upon returning to his hometown after serving in the Vietnam war, Native American vet Johnny Firecloud (Victor Mohica) finds another personal war raging when he is harassed by the local police and redneck bullies. An Indiansploitation revenge actioner every B-movie fan should see.

Paths of Glory (1957, Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
Based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb, this brilliant work of cinema set during World War I stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, a respected commander in the French Resistance who has a personal wear with the arrogant, sadistic General Mireau (Adolph Menjou) after he orders Dax’s men to take on a suicidal mission which they refuse to complete. Mireau wants to court martial the 100 men, and Dax, a criminal defense lawyer before the war, decides to fight for them. A brilliantly crafted work of anti-war cinema from Kubrick that is harrowing, darkly funny and examines the hypocrisy and wrecklessness of those in power. Co-starring Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, George Macready, Timothy Carey.

The Birds (1963, Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
A suspenseful masterpiece of the Eco-terror genre starring Tippi Hedren as a woman who gets trapped in a California coastal town during a frenzied attack of murderous winged creatures. Co-starring Rod Taylor, Susanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy.

JAWS (1975, Dir: Steven Spielberg)
The blockbuster hit that made millions of people afraid of going into the water. All that aside, this is also one of the greatest works of cinematic storytelling ever. Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfus, Robert Shaw, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary.

Deadlier Than The Male (1967, Dir: Ralph Thomas)
One of the many 60s crime-spy genre films that were inspired by the popularity of James Bond. The film stars Richard Johnson as Bulldog Drummond (another pulp hero) who is assigned to track down a pair of deadly assassins (Elke Sommer and Sylvia Koschina) that kill for thrills and money.

Some Girls Do (1969, Dir: Ralph Thomas)
In this exciting sequel to Deadlier Than the Male, Bulldog Drummond (Richard Johnson) returns for a new adventure as he investigates the mysterious deaths of several executives that are connected to the creation of a supersonic airplane. Co-starring Daliah Lavi, Beba Loncar, James Villiers, Vanessa Howard.

Zombie (1979, Dir: Lucio Fulci)
The movie that was initially produced to capitalize on George A Romero’s popular Dawn of the Dead (1978) but which actually surpassed it in terms of style, gore and shocks. Il Maestro Fulci at his very best! Starring Tisa Farrow, Richard Johnson, Ian McCulloch, Al Cliver.

Beyond The Door (1974, Dir: Ovidio G. Assonitis)
Following the success of William Friedkin’s demonic possession hit The Exorcist (1973) several ripoffs were made. This is one of the best of those. It was actually sued for copyright infringement by Warner Brothers due to similar ideas used, but the suit failed. Starring Juliet Mills as a pregnant mom that finds she is possessed with a demonic child. Co-starring Richard Johnson, Gabriele Lavia, David Colin Jr, Barbara Fiorini.

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967, Dir: Roger Corman)
Jason Robards gives an over the top and enjoyable lead performance as “Scarface” Al Capone in this intense and highly entertaining docu-drama crime thriller about the war between the Prohibition era gangsters in Chicago. Co-starring George Segal, Bruce Dern, Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, Dick Miller.

The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966, Dir: Sergio Leone)
Three wily and dangerous outlaws (Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef) search for a cache of buried gold during The Civil War. A grand, operatic masterpiece of moviemaking by one of the geniuses of the artform.