Happy 49th Birthday Suzie Kennedy

by John Charet

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine đź™‚ I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards my subject or any of her films in this post. This blog entry is strictly for dyed-in-the-wool Marilyn Monroe fans like myself or fans in general. Any negative comments will be deleted. So once again, please be kind đź™‚

I would like to wish Marilyn Monroe impersonator Suzie Kennedy a very happy 48th birthday. As many of my dear readers are aware, I am a huge fan of Classical Hollywood era icon Marilyn Monroe (read here and here). In fact, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ranks as my 8th favorite American/English-Language film of all time (read here and here). Well, this blog entry is dedicated to who I consider to be one of the greatest Marilyn Monroe impersonators of all time. Her name is Suzie Kennedy. She may be more familiar to UK audiences then American ones because the English entertainer lives in the former, though she reportedly holds both British and American citizenship (read here). As a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, Kennedy captures her mannerisms to a t and also understands that the icon was more than just a sex symbol. For her and dyed-in-the-wool fans like myself, Monroe was also smart and compassionate. Not unlike other Marilyn Monroe impersonators, Kennedy is immensely talented. She also played her in a play about Marilyn’s life entitled Making Marilyn, which premiered on the stage last year in the UK (read here).

Here are a few video links that I want to share with you on Suzie Kennedy below

Click here to watch a youtube video link of a video entitled Finding Faith in Recovery: Suzie Kennedy interview

Click here to watch a youtube video link to an interview with her on the 3 Speech Podcast

Click here to watch a youtube video link to her talking about the Hollywood Recovery Center

Click here to watch a youtube video link of a 2010 Sky One brief interview

Click here to watch a youtube video link to a 2016 Legacy Exhibition

Click here to watch a youtube video link to an interview she did just recently (a month ago)

Click here to watch a youtube video link to her flawless rendition of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Click here to watch a youtube video link to another flawless rendition of the same number

Click here to watch every video on her youtube channel whenever you all get the time

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions below for my dear readers

What were your favorite article links in this blog entry?

What are your favorite video links in this blog entry? Which ones did you find the most fascinating?

I Have Just Been Published Online

by John Charet

My 2024 10-Part Essay on Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo was published today on Freeline Productions LLC 🙂 I would love to thank both Michael W. Freeman (who runs the site) and my dear readers for having so much faith in me 🙂 Click the link below 🙂

Movie Talk: Vertigo, a 10 Part Personal Essay 

Also, follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) and BlueSky.

John Charet’s Favorite Budd Boetticher Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

  1. Ride Lonesome (1959)
  2. A Time for Dying (1969)
  3. The Tall T (1957)
  4. Seven Men from Now (1956)
  5. Comanche Station (1960)
  6. Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)
  7. Arruza (1968/1971/1972)
    (Documentary)
  8. The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)
  9. The Killer Is Loose (1956)
  10. Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)
  11. Decision at Sundown (1957)
  12. Westbound (1959)
  13. The Rifleman – Season 3 (1961)
    Episode: Stopover
    (Television)
  14. Maverick – Season 1 (1957)
    Episode: War of the Silver Kings
    Episode: Point Blank
    Episode: According to Hoyle
    (Television)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All of My Dear Readers

by John Charet

I am back for good this time dear readers and I would love to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2026 🙂 I just got my new laptop up and running last week and now is the first time I have been free to use it (been busy lately) 🙂 This year, I want to commemorate the season with Ella Fitzgerald’s 1967 cover of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 🙂 Merry Christmas and Happy 2026 to all of my dear readers 🙂

An Interesting BFI Talk with Alex Cox

by John Charet

Before I do an annual Noirvember post this month (it is November), I want to write a post dedicated to Steve, a regular visitor to this site (click here to view his Youtube channel). He has been a regular visitor to my site since 2020 and it has been a long time since I wrote a blog entry dedicated to him and myself considering that I have been watching various Moviedrome videos on Youtube since 2010 🙂 UK viewers mostly remember that each film would be introduced by British cult director Alex Cox (Repo Man and Sid and Nancy among others) 🙂 Anyway, this hour-long BFI video took place in five months ago in June and it is very insightful talk that I would like to share with all of you dear readers below 🙂

Click here to watch the video

John Charet’s Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All Time (2025 Edition)

by John Charet

-Introduction-

Last year around this time of year, I posted a blog entry regarding my Top 10 and 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time (read here and here). As for Halloween 2025, I have posted that big treat again, which comes in the form of my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. I have some new entries this time around 🙂 Now all of the films listed are not my only favorite horror films (I have an unlimited number), but this is a perfect start. I have decided to start with number 100 and work my way down to 01.

-The Opening Celebration-

First off, below are a few delightful links to check out 

Click here to watch the complete 1983 music video of late iconic singer Michael Jackson’s (a.k.a. The King of Pop) song Thriller

Click here to listen to a shortened version of the song

Have any of you dear readers out there heard of The Merkins? Check out their youtube channel here. They do horror parodies of songs and one of their running acts is The Slashstreet Boys (a spoof of The Backstreet Boys)  The band consists of Leatherface, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruegger and Ghostface Below are three of my personal favorite parodies of theirs 

Click here to view their spoof of I Want It That Way entitled I’ll Kill You That Way

Click here to view their spoof of Larger than Life entitled Die By My Knife

Click here to view their spoof of Rock Your Body Right entitled Slashing Bodies

-A Few Words Before Reading-

Please be kind to the film at number 07 on this list because that one means a lot to me. Any comment expressing negativity towards number 07 will be deleted. So once again, please be polite đź™‚

Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-John Charet’t Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#100-01)

100.) The Spiral Staircase (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak)
99.) Blood and Black Lace (1964) (Dir: Mario Bava)
98.) Repulsion (1965) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
97.) The Exorcist (1973) (Dir: William Friedkin)
96.) The Changeling (1980) (Dir: Peter Medak)
95.) Jacob’s Ladder (1990) (Dir: Adrien Lyne)
94.) The Orphanage (2007) (Dir: J.A. Bayona)
93.) Halloween II (2009) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
92.) Under the Shadow (2016) (Dir: Babak Anvari)
91.) The Lighthouse (2019) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
90.) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
89.) The Body Snatcher (1945) (Dir: Robert Wise)
88.) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
87.) Kwaidan (1964)(Dir: Masaki Kobayashi)
86.) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
85.) Possession (1981) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)
84.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) (Dir: John McNaughton)
83.) Dead Alive (1992) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
82.) The Descent (2005) (Dir: Neil Marshall)
81.) The Lords of Salem (2012) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
80.) Island of Lost Souls (1932) (Dir: Erle C. Kenton)
79.) Bluebeard (1944) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
78.) Horror of Dracula (1958) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
77.) Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Dir: George A. Romero)
76.) Kuroneko (1968) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
75.) God Told Me To (1976) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
74.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
73.) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
72.) Shaun of the Dead (2004) (Dir: Edgar Wright)
71.) Annihilation (2018) (Dir: Alex Garland)
70.) Nope (2022) (Dir: Jordan Peele)
69.) The Leopard Man (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
68.) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
67.) Onibaba (1964) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
66.) Halloween (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
65.) Inferno (1980) (Dir: Dario Argento)
64.) Evil Dead II (1987) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
63.) Cemetery Man (1994) (Dir: Michele Soavi)
62.) Let the Right One In (2008) (Dir: Tomas Alfredson)
61.) Twixt (2011) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
60.) Sinners (2025) (Dir: Ryan Coogler)
59.) Haxan (1922) (Dir: Benjamin Christensen)
58.) The Old Dark House (1932) (Dir: James Whale)
57.) Cat People (1942) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
56.) Psycho (1960) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
55.) Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Dir: George A. Romero)
54.) The Fly (1986) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
53.) Cronos (1992) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
52.) Martyrs (2008) (Dir: Pascal Laughier)
51.) The Babadook (2014) (Dir: Jennifer Kent)
50.) Pearl (2022) (Dir: Ti West)
49.) The Phantom Carriage (1921) (Dir: Victor Sjostrom)
48.) I Walked with a Zombie (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
47.) The Birds (1963) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
46.) Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) (Dir: Mario Bava)
45.) Suspiria (1977) (Dir: Dario Argento)
44.) Dead Ringers (1988) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
43.) Cure (1997) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
42.) Rec (2007) (Dir: Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza)
41.) Under the Skin (2013) (Dir: Jonathan Glazer)
40.) Nosferatu (2024) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
39.) The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) (Dir: Jean Epstein)
38.) Freaks (1932) (Dir: Tod Browning)
37.) Dead of Night (1945) (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer)
(Anthology Film)
36.) Night of the Demon (1957) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
35.) The Innocents (1961) (Dir: Jack Clayton)
34.) The Tenant (1976) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
33.) Ringu (1998) (Dir: Hideo Nakata)
32.) Inside (2007) (Dir: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo)
31.) The Haunting of Hill House (2018) (Dir: Mike Flanagan)
(Miniseries)
(Streaming)
30.) The Shrouds (2024) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
29.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (Dir: Robert Wiene)
28.) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Dir: James Whale)
27.) The Uninvited (1944) (Dir: Lewis Allen)
26.) The Haunting (1963) (Dir: Robert Wise)
25.) Eraserhead (1977) (Dir: David Lynch)
24.) The Thing (1982) (Dir: John Carpenter)
23.) Audition (1999) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
22.) Pulse (2001) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
21.) Mother! (2017) (Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
20.) Angst (1983) (Dir: Gerald Kargl)
19.) Un Chien Andalou (1929) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
(Short Cinema)
18.) The Black Cat (1934) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
17.) Isle of the Dead (1945) (Dir: Mark Robson)
16.) Peeping Tom (1960) (Dir: Michael Powell)
15.) Carrie (1976) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
14.) Videodrome (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
13.) The Kingdom Trilogy (1994/1997/2022) (Dir: Lars Von Trier) 
(Danish Television)
12.) The Host (2006) (Dir: Bong Joon Ho)
11.) Climax (2018) (Dir: Gaspar Noe)
10.) Vampyr (1932) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
09.) The Shining (1980) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
08.) Nosferatu (1922) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) (Dir: David Lynch)
06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
05.) Midsommar (2019) (Dir: Ari Aster)
04.) The Seventh Victim (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
03.) Diabolique (1955) (Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960) (Dir: Georges Franju)
01.) Don’t Look Now (1973) (Dir: Nicolas Roeg)

Honorable Mentions: Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), The Wicker Man (1973) and The Entity (1982)

Click here to see my exact same ranking on Letterboxd

P.S. I just added two links from this year’s blog entry regarding my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time â€“ a Kim Newman commentary link on number 3 and a documentary link on number 4. Click here 

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed reading my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time list and last, but not least 🙂

Have a Happy Halloween
. .
U

John Charet’s Official Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

by John Charet

Before I go further, I want to say that I am sadly still without a laptop. Either way, I plan on doing a blog entry for Steve (a regular visitor to this site) in November.

With the exception of the note below, this blog entry was originally published on here last year on October 24, 2024.

Note: This Friday, which is October 31st (Halloween), I will be posting a blog entry regarding my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All Time, so this is not the only Halloween post I will be doing this year 

This blog entry is dedicated to what I consider to be an official version of my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. Aside from some different choices (see numbers 4,5 and 6) this year, every film on here from last years remains intact. I know I have said it before, but it bears repeating – all lists (including my own) are subjective. Nevertheless, please be kind to number 7 on this list because that one means a lot to me, so once again please be polite  Also, any comment expressing negativity at number 7 will be deleted. Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#10-01)

10.) Vampyr (1932)
Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Country: Germany/France
Color: Black and White
Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s only horror film was dismissed by critics as one of his lesser works during it’s initial theatrical release in 1932. Fast-forwarding ninety-two years later in 2024, many critics now consider Vampyr to be (in the words of former Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman) Dreyer’s most radical film. Given everything that came before and after it in Dreyer’s oeuvre, Hoberman’s view can not be stated any better. Intentionally emphasizing atmosphere and imagery over plot, when it comes to horror films produced after the advent of sound, Vampyr stands out as quite possibly the only one to truly resemble that of a nightmare.

Since I could not find a youtube video link to an official theatrical trailer, click here to view a 90th anniversary trailer

Click here to view a youtube video link of British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to watch the film on youtube

09.) The Shining (1980)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United States/United Kingdom
Color: Color
Author Stephen King may have been greatly disappointed over director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his 1977 bestselling novel, but this has not prevented The Shining from eventually becoming (and deservedly so) a quintessential example of cinematic horror. Along with other Kubrick films, The Shining has only improved with time. Not unlike Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr, The Shining remains the only horror film within Kubrick’s oeuvre. Similar to the former, The Shining resembles the work of an idiosyncratic filmmaker. Here, we get now iconic scares ranging from the elevator of blood sequence to images of hacked up twins to the image of it’s lead actor Jack Nicholson exclaiming (through ad-libbing) Here’s Johnny!. As in all (or most) of Kubrick’s films since 1957’s Paths of Glory, The Shining has been open to all sorts of interpretations and neither one would be wrong.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

08.) Nosferatu (1922)
Dir: F.W. Murnau
Country: Germany
Color: Black and White
German director F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized silent adaptation of author Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula also happens to be my personal favorite version of the source material. Whereas other versions romanticized the aforementioned title character, Nosferatu depicts the vampire (named Count Orlok in this film) as a truly hideous monster in every single way imaginable. All of his mannerisms are expressed perfectly by it’s lead actor Max Schreck. As a masterpiece of both German Expressionism and cinematic horror, Nosferatu is driven less by scares and more by it’s eerie atmosphere.

Since I can’t find an official theatrical trailer for it, click here to view this youtube video link of it’s 100 Anniversary trailer

Click here to watch the film on youtube

07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Dir: David Lynch
Country: United States/France
Color: Color
Critically savaged upon it’s initial theatrical release back in 1992, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me has since been reassessed as not only a misunderstood masterpiece, but also as one of director David Lynch’s major masterworks. As for myself, I will go one step further by citing Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as the number one greatest American horror film of the 1990’s. A prequel to both the original series (1990-91) and 2017’s The Return, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me centers on the sad last days of Laura Palmer – acted with gusto by the immensely beautiful and talented Sheryl Lee. Aided by composer Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting music score, the result is every bit as surreal and nightmarish as it is ultimately tragic. British film critic/novelist Kim Newman once stated that the film’s many moments of horror demonstrate just how tidy, conventional and domesticated the generic horror movie of the 1980’s and 1990’s has become. I could not have stated it any better.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Click here to watch author Scott Ryan’s introduction to the film at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre from last year

Click here, here, here, here and here to watch a Q&A with actress Sheryl Lee and actor Dana Ashbrook from a 2021 showing of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Country: Spain/Mexico
Color: Color
Along with the equally inventive Under the Shadow, The Devil’s Backbone is an inspired combination of the supernatural and the allegorical. When it comes to 21st century cinematic horror, both films serve as personal favorites of mine. As one may have deduced from this list, The Devil’s Backbone ranks very high for me. Set during the final year of the Spanish Civil War, The Devil’s Backbone is on the one hand, a subtly tragic ghost story and on the other, a quietly frightening antifascist historical drama. Now I love every single film of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the highly personal The Devil’s Backbone (my second favorite of his after Pan’s Labyrinth) is arguably the most insightful out of all the truly great horror films produced since the dawn of 2000.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to read Kermode’s Criterion essay for it

05.) Midsommar (2019)
Dir: Ari Aster
Country: United States/Sweden
Color: Color
Whereas Ari Aster’s directorial debut Hereditary resembled the work of a master filmmaker, it was his follow-up film Midsommar that officially cemented him as such. As a horror film, Midsommar’s masterstroke lies not so much in it’s atmosphere as in how it uses it. Like The Wicker Man before it, Midsommar’s unique emphasis on daylight is what makes the film all the more disturbing. In fact, everything about Midsommar still sends shivers down my spine. As it did during it’s initial theatrical release five years ago in 2019, Midsommar still hits close to home (metaphorically and otherwise) in more ways than one.

Click here to view the film’s original teaser trailer

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

04.) The Seventh Victim (1943)
Dir: Mark Robson
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Out of the nine unique official (or unofficial) horror films produced by Val Lewton at RKO Pictures during the 1940’s, director Mark Robson’s The Seventh Victim stands out as my personal favorite of the group. Every single trademark that shapes a Lewton production reaches it’s peak here. While The Seventh Victim is similarly downbeat as Lewton’s other horror films, neither of them ended on such an explicitly bleak note as this one does. The film’s black-and-white color palette coincides perfectly not only with it’s urban setting, but also in it’s thematic elements relating to depression and satanism among other things. Mature subject matter like homoeroticism is even touched upon here in an intelligent and sensitive manner. In addition, The Seventh Victim features a quietly chilling shower sequence that predates Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho by seventeen years.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley intro to the film from 2020

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley outro to the film from that same episode

Click here to view a Vimeo link to the 2007 documentary entitled Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

03.) Diabolique (1955)
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Country: France
Color: Black and White
Though Alfred Hitchcock is often credited for redefining cinematic horror with Psycho in 1960, with all due respect to the Master of Suspense, the aforementioned genre was actually redefined five years earlier in 1955 by French director Henri-Georges Clouzot with Diabolique. Coincidentally, not too long after the publication of Diabolique’s 1952 source material She Who Was No More, which was written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, Hitchcock set out to option the rights to it. He changed course upon learning that Clouzot had obtained them serveral hours earlier, which enabled him to adapt it as Diabolique. As the film’s plot unfolds, Clouzot wastes no time in elevating the tension to completely unbearable heights and effortlessly keeps it going throughout. Culminating in one of the scariest twist endings ever conceived, Diabolique is a horror thriller that will ultimately make one’s heart stop.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to the film 

Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the film, I strongly advise you not to click on the link below
Click here to view British film critic/novelist Kim Newman’s analysis of Diabolique

02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Dir: Georges Franju
Country: France/Italy
Color: Black and White
If French poet Jean Cocteau had directed a 1930’s Universal horror film, the result would have undoubtedly been Eyes Without a Face. While it may not possess the delightfully eccentric humor that shaped The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein among others, Eyes Without a Face does offer something every bit as inspired. Disturbing and poetic in equal measure, Eyes Without a Face is as much a horror film as it is a fairy tale. Dismissed by critics as one of his lesser films during it’s initial theatrical release in 1960, Eyes Without a Face has since been reassessed (and deservedly so) as not only French director Georges Franju’s most famous and influential film, but also his greatest one.

Click here to view what may or may not be the film’s French trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to view Kermode’s Kermode Uncut commentary on it

Click here to view Mark Kermode’s Cult Film Corner commentary on it

01.) Don’t Look Now (1973)
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Country: United Kingdom/Italy
Color: Color
Now often hailed as one of the most influential horror films ever made, Don’t Look Now also happens to be my number one favorite horror film of all-time. Reportedly cited by it’s British director Nicolas Roeg as his exercise in film grammar, Don’t Look Now also stands out as quite possibly the most beautiful marriage between form and content. Accompanied by composer Pino Donaggio’s emotionally powerful music score, Roeg’s trademark unconventional editing style and it’s fittingly bleak, yet strangely lovely atmosphere, Don’t Look Now explores a tragedy’s impact on a married couple through the power of visual storytelling. Along with an explicit controversial sex scene between it’s two lead actors (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland), Don’t Look Now is noted for featuring (like Diabolique before it) the scariest ending ever conceived in the history of cinematic horror.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view the film’s 2019 4K Restoration trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s 2008 Culture Show interview with director Nicolas Roeg

Click here to view Kermode’s review of the 2019 4K Restoration of the film

Click here to view Irish documentarian Mark Cousins 2001 Scene By Scene interview with actor Donald Sutherland on the film

Click here to view Mark Cousins Moviedrome intro to the film

Click here to view Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier commentary on the film

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below

What are your top 10 favorite horror films of all-time?

What video links in my blog entry interested you the most?

Longer Hiatus

by John Charet

Unfortunately, I will be on a longer hiatus because I need a new laptop. The one I am using right now I have owned since 2017. In other words, I am using an outdated one that is on it’s last leg. So sorry to let you dear readers down. Hopefully, I can buy a new one soon, but in case you do not hear from me, it is because I need to get a new MacBook 🙂

Happy 99th Birthday Marilyn Monroe

by John Charet

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine 🙂 I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards my subject of this post. This blog entry is strictly for dyed-in-the-wool Marilyn Monroe fans like myself or fans in general. So once again, please be kind 🙂

This Happy Birthday blog entry is dedicated to Classical Hollywood era icon Marilyn Monroe, who would have been 99 years-old today on June 1. In other words, I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Marilyn Monroe. Considering that her tragic life has been dwelled upon endlessly, misunderstood by men and women alike (well-intentioned or otherwise), not to mention exploited, I am dedicating this entry solely to Marilyn Monroe’s achievements onscreen. For myself, Marilyn Monroe is truly the embodiment of a goddess. In other words, Monroe is an iconic sex symbol, who succeeds brilliantly at both comedy and drama. When it came to the former, Marilyn Monroe took the stereotypical dumb blonde (a term I hate) persona of her characters and deconstructed it. For example, click here to see what I mean. To put it in other words, it is us viewers, who come off as the bumbling idiots for thinking that she was one 🙂 I could link to many others, but for me, no other comedy of Monroe’s demonstrates her deconstruction of the aforementioned trope given to her more perfectly than in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As for the latter, Monroe displayed her dramatic chops masterfully in quite a few films. Once again, I could ramble on and on, but If I had to single out my number one favorite in terms of drama, it would be her performance as Cherie in Bus Stop. Check out Monroe’s bus conversation scene by clicking here and her rendition of That Old Black Magic by clicking here. Speaking of which, my number one favorite Monroe rendition also happens to be her most iconic – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. The number features Monroe wearing a shocking pink dress (designed by William Travilla) singing about her love of diamonds surrounded by adoring men dressed in suits and bow ties (and much more). Click here to watch the link – the number begins at the 0:50 mark. Cover versions post-1953 range from Lena Horne to Megan Thee Stallion (read here). In addition, entertainers ranging from singer Madonna to actress Margot Robbie (read here) have not only paid homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes aforementioned musical number, but also wore pink dresses similar to the one Monroe was dressed in while performing it.

Before I share with you dear readers all of my favorite Marilyn Monroe films, I would like to show you all some links below.

Here is a link to an appreciation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by one of my many favorite female writers, which in this case is the Chicago-based film aficionado Caroline Siede

Here is a youtube video link to another iconic number from the film entitled Two Little Girls from Little Rock

My UK readers may have seen the above musical number parodied by British comediennes Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders on the long running sketch comedy series French and Saunders â€“ click here

Here is a youtube video link to legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve and her late older sister Francoise Dorleac performing the song Chanson d’un jour d’ete (Summer Day Song) in Jacques Demy’s 1967 musical masterpiece The Young Girls of Rochefort. In the film, the two actresses play twins. The musical number and the dresses worn by the two leading ladies are subtly similar (If not completely) to how Two Little Girls from Little Rock was performed. Click here to view the dubbed in English version.

Here is a youtube video link to musician Madonna’s 1985 Material Girl music video, which references the Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend musical number

Here is a youtube video link to musician Kylie Minogue’s homage to the Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend musical number from the 1999 Grand Opening of Fox Studios in Australia

Here is a youtube video link to actress Nicole Kidman’s version of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend in the 2001 musical romance Moulin Rouge

The 2010’s American television series Glee also paid homage to Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (and briefly Material Girl) in an episode. Click here to watch

American comedienne Rachel Bloom loosely parodied the visual style of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (only replace anything colored red and pink with blue) in an episode of the satirical 2010’s CW television program Crazy Ex-Girlfriend â€“ click here and here to see it

Here is a youtube video link to American broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow’s 1955 Person to Person interview with Marilyn Monroe

Here is a youtube video link to American television personality Dave Garroway’s 1955 audio interview with Marilyn Monroe

Here is a youtube video link to a brief 1960 audio interview with Marilyn Monroe. I do not know who is conducting it though

Also, for more Marilyn Monroe fandom, click on these two youtube channel links here and here. The first channel is titled Marilyn Monroe Video Archives and the second is called The Marilyn Monroe Channel

One more thing, I do not know If any of my readers subscribe to the Criterion Channel streaming service, but If any of you do, last year in June of 2023, the streaming service featured most of Marilyn Monroe’s films – click here to view the trailer

Click here to view a youtube video link of actor Ryan Gosling singing the Oscar nominated song from 2023’s Barbie entitled I’m Just Ken from the Academy Awards back in March of 2024. The style of the performance is sort of similar to Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Click here to view a blog entry I did back in January of 2025 on one of the most popular Marilyn Monroe impersonators Suzie Kennedy 🙂

Oh and one more thing. I will not tolerate any criticism of number 9 below. Any negative comments will be deleted. So once again, please be kind 🙂 Now without further ado, below is a list of my favorite Marilyn Monroe films 🙂 All of them I gave * * * * (out of * * * *) stars to 🙂

  1. Ladies of the Chorus (1948) (Dir: Phil Karlson) There is no original theatrical trailer to the film, but one could watch the film on youtube
  2. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) (Dir: John Huston) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  3. All About Eve (1950) (Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  4. Clash by Night (1952) (Dir: Fritz Lang) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  5. Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) (Dir: Roy Ward Baker) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  6. Monkey Business (1952) (Dir: Howard Hawks) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  7. O. Henry’s Full House (1952) (Dir: Harry Koster)
    (Segment: The Cop and the Anthem) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  8. Niagara (1953) (Dir: Henry Hathaway) Click here to view a colorized version of the film’s original theatrical trailer
  9. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) (Dir: Howard Hawks) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  10. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) (Dir: Jean Negulesco) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  11. River of No Return (1954) (Dir: Otto Preminger) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  12. There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) (Dir: Walter Lang) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  13. The Seven Year Itch (1955) (Dir: Billy Wilder) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  14. Bus Stop (1956) (Dir: Joshua Logan) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  15. The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) (Dir: Laurence Olivier) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  16. Some Like It Hot (1959) (Dir: Billy Wilder) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  17. Let’s Make Love (1960) (Dir: George Cukor) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  18. The Misfits (1961) (Dir: John Huston) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Let me conclude this blog entry with three questions below for all of my dear readers

What were your favorite article links in this blog entry?

What are your favorite video links in this blog entry? Which ones did you all find the most fascinating?

Besides Some Like It Hot, what are your other favorite Marilyn Monroe films?