I love movies, all kinds of them. Whether it is science fiction or an epic drama I probably have watched it. The other day a friend asked me to list out my ten favorite movies for a project that she was working on. I said, “Sure, how hard could that be.” Well, as it turns out it is actually a difficult thing to do. I started going through, in my mind, all of the movies that float my boat. A flood of films came to me, but thinking a movie is good is a lot different than loving it. It became clear that I would have to come up with some sort of criteria to weed the list down. In the end the deciding factor would be: How many times have I watched the film and would that continue into the future? So, after sitting down and working through my list I was able to pare down it to ten films.

So, why am I am I telling you this? Well, I am guessing that you figured out I am going to share my list with all of you. I will list the first five in this blog and next time finish it up.  Do you agree with my top ten? What ten films are your favorites?

Here are mine and why:

#10 Armageddon – There are films that come out that just make all the right moves. This is just one of those: Powerful music, super sound, outstanding special effects and good chemistry between the actors all make this a great movie. The plot is a simple one. When mans survival is at stake heroes step up and deal with it. An asteroid the size of Texas is headed for Earth and the world’s best deep core drilling team is sent to nuke the rock from the inside. I know that Armageddon will never be a classic, but for me it is one that I watch at least once a year.

#9 Ben Hur – When it comes to the classics or epic movies of the 60’s and 70’s there are a lot of great ones to chose from. You can go with The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Ten Commandments or even the true epic The Bible. However, for me the best of the best of those is Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston. I would watch it again and again just for the famous chariot scene alone. Unlike the other films of that genre Ben Hur is a fictional tale that tells the story of a Jewish prince that is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend. In the end he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge, but the journey we take with Judah Ben Hur is nothing short of spectacular. It was actually released in 1959 and it garnished an amazing eleven Oscars. About the only downside to the film is that it takes over 3 hours to watch it. I have to say that they just don’t make movies like this anymore.

#8 Silverado – Westerns is one of my favorite categories. After all who does not love a good old cowboy tale. When I started to break down which western was going to make the top ten I ended up looking at the elements of a great old west tale. Silverado not only meets the requirements, but should actually be the mold. You have the town in peril, a group of super cowboys thrown together to come to it’s aide. Throw in some well done gunfights, amazing scenery and a twist and turn or two and what you have is a true classic. The tag-line for the film was, “Four strangers became friends. Four friends became heroes. On the road to… Silverado.” That alone makes me want to watch the film right now. The movie was released in 1984 and sports one of the best casts of the era: Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner and the great Danny Glover. It was nominated for two Oscars and has been recognized for it’s musical score by Bruce Broughton.

#7 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial – In the family films category I had two finalists for my favorites. The first was the original Disney production Swiss Family Robinson. But, when it came right down to it E.T. got the nod. I guess it was because here we have a feel good story about an alien. In most cases we are told to fear the coming invasion of the horrible beasts that have come to destroy us and take our planet. All E.T. wanted was to “Phone Home”. I can’t say how many times I have watched this one and if I figured it out it would probably be considered borderline obsession. E.T. was released in 1982 and forever changed the face of the movie industry. It took 4 Oscars and is already a true classic.

#6 Forbidden Planet – I was not alive in the 50’s, but I have a true respect for science fiction movies of the era. That is why two films of this genre has made my top ten. Forbidden Planet is the first we will talk about. America was just coming around to the whole concept of flying through space and warming up to the fact that someday we will be out there. This movie’s tag-line was: “It’s Out of this World” and it was far ahead of its time. Even the music was all done with what we call today synthesizers. I have spent an amazing amount of time analyzing the plot, characters and hidden meanings buried deep in movie’s production. I even wrote a 10 page report in high school for an English class. Forbidden Planet was released in 1956 and has been nominate for a number of awards, but has never won any. For me this movie represents more than just a great science fiction story, it gives us pause to think about our own future. If you have never seen this one, shame on you!

#5 The Great Escape – This was a difficult choice for me. There have been so many great war epics. You have to consider such movies as The Longest Day, The Bridge on the River Kawi and even new movies like The Windtalkers. In the end I chose to go with The Great Escape. The cast alone is worth watching this classic. Actors like: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough and James Coburn take the story to a whole new level. It is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II. The film is based on the book of the same name by Paul Brickhill, a non-fiction account of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Żagań, Poland). I love the character interactions and the great dialogue through out the film. It translates well over the decades and is worth grabbing some popcorn and give it a view.

#4 Young Frankenstein – Ah yes, the comedy. Who does not like to laugh once in a while. For me, I not a big fan of comedic movies, but I do make exceptions. Just about anything done by Mel Brooks is okay in my book. He had a great sense of timing and silliness that just makes fun times at the ole theater. My very favorite of his films is Young Frankenstein starring Gene Wilder. This movie puts a whole new twist on the classic monster movie and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The basic plot is: Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad’s castle and history repeats itself. Well, kind-da-sorta. An interesting fact about the film is that most of the lab equipment used as props was created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 film, Frankenstein.

#3 When Worlds Collide – This is our second SciFi film from the 50’s. To call this one out of date is a bit of an understatement, but I still love it. The science is all wrong, the special effects is “very” 50’s and storyline is impossible. However, I love it just the same. The acting is wonderful and don’t get me started on the characters. The matte paintings used are beautiful and I have been on the lookout for years to get a couple of them. The story can be described as the a disaster film. A group of scientist discover that a planet is going to collide with the earth. They decide to build a rocket to fly to this new world and escape the destruction. Do they make it? Well I highly recommend this film and then you can find the answer for yourself.

#2 Raiders of the Lost Ark – Some films stir memories and this one brings back quite a few. I remember the very first time I saw Raiders and the excitement I felt. I can also remember every person that I went to film with that night and the bound we shared. To a person we were sure that he had just seen the greatest action film ever made. Raider’s of the Lost Ark was released June 12, 1981 and was the creation of Steven Spielberg. I have very little doubt that anyone reading this has not seen or heard of this one. But just in case, you owe it to yourself to grab a copy and watch it. Raider’s garnished 4 Oscars and was nominated for 3 others. So, with credentials like that it is easy to see why it is a must see.

#1 Star Wars – In truth Star Wars and Raider’s are 1 and 1a because they both inspire the same type of response from me. Total and utter awe. Star Wars takes the lead simply because this film changed the film industry forever. It was first released May 25, 1977 and took the world by storm. I was in high school at the time and during its initial run I saw it a total of 33 times. No I am not ashamed to admit that. What can I say about this one that has not already been said a thousand times. It is a classic and I guess that will have to do. At the Oscars in 1978 it won a staggering 7 academy awards and was nominated for 4 more. This movie single handed revived the science fiction genre and made George Lucas a very rich man.

There you have my list of the top ten movies that make me say, “WoooHooo”.  What are your top ten films?  I am sure your list will be very different from mine.  Also, I think you will find that when you sit down to figure yours out, it is going to be a lot harder than you thought.  Thank you for reading!

-Ron

I decided to do some research on a fictional character to be a companion to Ron’s Amazing Stories Episode #44. I think I have made it no secret that I love detective dramas. I am especially happy with a “Who Dunn-it” type format. One of the best of these is Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe. Marlowe first appeared in The Big Sleep published in 1939.

Chandler started out with his detectives in short stories. You would find these published in pulp magazines like Black Mask and Dime Detective. Some of those short stories were later combined and expanded into novels featuring Marlowe, a process Chandler called “cannibalizing”. Philip Marlowe’s character is foremost a wisecracking, hard drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly contemplative and philosophical and enjoys chess and poetry. While he is not afraid to risk physical harm, he does not dish out violence merely to settle scores. Morally upright, he is not fooled by the genre’s usual femmes’ fatale, such as Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep.

Explaining the origin of Marlowe’s character, Chandler commented that “Marlowe just grew out of the pulps. He was no one person.” When creating the character, Chandler had originally intended to call him Mallory; his stories for the Black Mask magazine featured characters that are considered precursors to Marlowe. The emergence of Marlowe coincided with Chandler’s transition from writing short stories to novels. Chandler was said to have taken the name Marlowe from Marlowe House, to which he belonged during his time at Dulwich College. Marlowe House was named for Christopher Marlowe, a hard-drinking Elizabethan writer who graduated in philosophy and worked secretly for the government.

There were a total of 7 Novels that featured Chandler’s creation Philip Marlowe. These were all written between 1939 and 1958. The titles include: The Big Sleep (1939), Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The High Window (1942), The Lady in the Lake (1943), The Little Sister (1949), The Long Goodbye (1953) and Playback (1958). There was an eighth novel published after Chandler’s death called Poodle Springs. It was left unfinished after Chandler’s death in 1959, but was completed by Robert B. Parker in 1989.

I can recommend any of these books to anyone that likes a good detective story. While they were written in the 30-50s and may seemed dated, they are still are best representation of the hardboiled detective available. Raymond Chandler made the genre what is, was and probably will be. I for one appreciate his efforts.

You know, I love to read and today it is made so much easier with devices like the Kindle and Nook. You have access to more books, you pay less for them and you don’t need bookshelves to store your collection. The best thing is that most of the classics that you always wanted to read are available for free! Websites like Project Guttenberg for example offers over 36,000 ebooks for download at no charge. There has never been a time in history where so much is available to us. There was an era in our country’s history, when buying a book was a real treat. The very classics you can now get for free were like diamonds and we cherished our diamonds. Even in the 70’s when I was growing up I can remember being given a copy of Isaac Asimov’s book, I Robot and thinking, “Wow! How cool is this?” I must have read that collection of short stories 15-20 times in the years that followed learning something new each time.

So why am I talking about this? The simple answer is that I got to thinking about some of my favorite classics and was wondering about how many of them are available for free. Here is a partial list of books I found:

Note: Click the title to be taken directly to the download page for that book.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain – If you have never read this book you should make the time. It is a true classic about life along the Mississippi river in the mid 1800s.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – Most of us have probably seen the Disney version of this story or perhaps a public broadcasting drama. However, the book is fantastic and should be on everyone’s must read list. The novel opens in a seaside village in south-west England in the mid-18th century and from there follows the travels of Jim Hawkins on the high seas.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs – This story has been visited so many times in the movies. Also, it can be found the comics and the serials of the 20’s and 30’s. The tale of Tarzan is still is being told by Dark Horse Comics today. The original story written by Burroughs is so much more rich and inviting than anything in the films or sketched that you owe it to yourself to read this one.

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells – Yes you can think Tom Cruise if you want to and accept that as H.G. Wells vision of the story. The truth is that the book is VERY different from any of the movies and well worth a read.

I know that this is a very short list and there is much more waiting for you out there. The price is right on these classics and I hope this inspires you to go out and take a look.

-Ron

There are thousands of TV channels available and even more websites on the internet for video content, why would anyone listen to old time radio? Well, the answer is simple. Old time radio(OTR) is just better. You can’t match the story lines and amazing voice acting you find in those great old programs. Shows, such as the Suspense, Ellery Queen, The Whistler and Lux Radio Theater remind us just what they did to bring you in and make you part of the story.

I started following old time radio when I was about 18 years old. I listened to a program called CBS Radio Mystery Theater with E.G. Marshal. After only one episode, I was hooked. It may seem odd to some, but you can enjoy a story that is made up of only audio. Once the show begins and the announcer tells you about the program you realize that something special is going to happen. Your imagination kicks in a fills in all the missing pieces. I like to quote the tag for Sirius XM’s book channel, “Book Radio, where the books come to life and the pictures are in your head”.

OTR provides some of the best stories and greatest adventures known. Think about this, the biggest problem that TV and movies face is that they have to make you believe what you are seeing. Special effects and incredible CGI are required for this. On the other hand OTR only has to tell you and it is up to you and your imagination to make it happen. All of this has to be sold by radio actor and script writer. Make no mistake they were artists at telling you what you see. They knew how to give a great entertainment experience to their audience.

What sets OTR apart from other forms of entertainment is that the amount of material available. Do you like a great comedy? Then try Father Knows Best. Maybe you like a good western? Then listen to Gunsmoke or The Six Shooter. If you like a good mystery story, there are many shows to choose from. Some of my favorites are Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Box 13 and Nick Carter, Master Detective. There are so many old time radio programs in so many genres that you will never run out of great stuff to listen to. Before television, radio was the way to be entertained. Whole families would sit around the radio, just like we do with TV today.

So why am I telling you this? I guess I just wanted to say something about the benefits to old time radio. You can take it with you anywhere and it makes you use your brain. What more can you ask from an entertainment source.

-Ron

Old-Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of programming in the United States starting in the 1920s and lasted until television replaced it in the late 1950s.  During this period, when radio was dominant the airwaves were filled with a variety of radio formats and genres. In fact, according to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey, 82 out of 100 Americans were radio listeners.

The Golden Age of Radio had its origins with the Théâtrophone or “Theater Phone”. Broadcasting began at the 1881 World’s Fair with audio recordings of musical acts and other vaudeville. These were sent to people by means of the telephone. Visual elements, such as effects and sight gags, were adapted to have sound equivalents. In addition, objects and scenery were converted to have audio descriptions.

On Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden is said to have broadcast the first radio program, consisting of some violin playing and passages from the Bible. While Fessenden’s role as an inventor and early radio experimenter is not in dispute, several contemporary radio researchers have questioned whether the Christmas Eve broadcast took place.  Fessenden’s wife Helen recounts the broadcast in her book Fessenden: Builder of Tomorrows published in 1940, eight years after Fessenden’s death.

It was not until after the Titanic catastrophe in 1912 that radio for mass communication came into its own.  Investors inspired by the work of amateur (or “ham”) radio operators began to use the medium to promote news events. Radio was especially important during World War I as it was vital for air and naval operations. War brought about major developments in the radio, superseding the Morse code of the wireless telegraph with the vocal communication of the early two-way devices.

After the war, numerous radio stations were born in the United States and set the standard for later radio programs. The first radio news program was broadcast on August 31, 1920 on the station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan.  That night the station covered local election results. This was followed up later that year with the first commercial radio station in the United States (KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Regular entertainment programs began being broadcast in 1922.  The highlight of this time came on January 1, 1923. The Rose Bowl was broadcast on the Los Angeles station KHJ.  Radio went on from there and began to increase in quality and popularity.

During the Golden Age of Radio, it featured just about every genre that was popular in other forms of American entertainment.  These venues include Broadway, traveling road shows and of course Vaudeville.  Some of the genres covered were: Adventure, comedy, drama, horror, mystery, musical variety, romance, thriller, classical music concerts, big band remotes, farm reports, news, panel discussions, quiz shows (beginning with Professor Quiz), sidewalk interviews, talent shows and the all-important weather forecast.  As you can see just about everything that we watch today on our current television.  It all found its start in Old Time Radio.