Hot Date

Filmmaker Frank Agrama, mostly known today as the producer of family friendly fare like the Robotech TV and video game series and a Heidi miniseries, got his start with more adult material like the 1981 horror film Dawn of the Mummy.  Taking over direction from fired original director, Armand Weston, Agrama shot the grisly feature in his home country of Egypt with mostly American actors and an Italian crew. Dan and Vicky discuss the mummy/zombie hybrid thriller along with lots of recently seen like Marvel properties Moon Knight and Morbius, Ti West's X, 1983 lost Canadian thriller Siege, Netflix's Murderville and Disney's Better Nate than Ever.   Check out Hot Date 148, follow us on social media and leave us some feedback.  hotdatepod.com 

1956's Picnic, adapted from the Pulitzer and Tony award winning stage play by William Inge, gave director Joshua Logan the chance to realize the grand picnic of the title on actual locations in Kansas.  But the filming was not without it's headaches.  With two insecure lead actors, tornadoes that threatened to shut production down, and thousands of extras to corrall, Picnic could have been mess.  But it went on to be a box office success and win two Academy Awards.  Dan and Vicky discuss the classic drama along with some recently seen selections including Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022, The Batman, 1960's Flesh and the Fiends, Hulu horror Fresh, Ti West's X, and Dexter: The New Blood. Take a listen and leave us some feedback or a star rating.  hotdatepod.com

With the powerhouse producing team of Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron behind it, 2004's Ecuadorean drama Cronicas had an easy time being chosen as that country's submission for the Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.  It didn't get that honor but still had the star power to guide it to international acclaim.  John Leguizamo, performing fully in Spanish for the first time in his career, leads a stellar cast that includes Leonor Watling, Damian Alcazar, Jose Maria Yazpik and Alfred Molina. Dan and Vicky visit this indie gem as well as catching us up with some recently seen including the Affleck/Damon epic The Last Duel, 2022 horror film The Cursed, Spielberg comedy romp 1941, 1959's The Young Philadelpians, Bo Burnham Inside and 2019 Dutch road rage thriller Tailgate. Check out our new podcast artwork (!), leave us feedback on the episode on your favorite podcatcher, and visit our website at hotdatpod.com.

1965's Who Killed Teddy Bear mixes spasmodic dance sequences, lewd phone calls, predatory lesbians, incest, and Sal Mineo in short shorts to create one of the strangest films to come out of the swingin' sixties.  It's directed by Joseph Cates and stars Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray, and Elaine Stritch. Dan and Vicky discuss this odd film along with lots of recently seen like 2022's Death on the Nile, Marry Me, 1983's The Keep, Spielberg's Bridge of Spies from 2015 and the Showtime doc We Need to Talk About Cosby. Check out Hot Date 145: Who Killed Teddy Bear and leave us a star rating, review or feedback.  hotdatepod.com 

The unique 1946 film noir So Dark The Night gave actor Steven Geray his first and only chance to play the lead in a film.  Up until then, and for years after, he was a reliable and memorable supporting player in films like Spellbound, Gilda and All About Eve.  Geray had fled his homeland of Hungary after his pointed impersonations of Hitler and Mussolini on the European theatre circuit drew the threatening attention of the Italian and German governments! Your hosts Dan and Vicky discuss the Jospeh H. Lewis directed psychological drama along with some recently seen.  They break down the latest Scream film as well as 2021's Werewolves Within, 1977's Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Visconti's Death in Venice, Omen ripoff Holocaust 2000 and recent stand up from Aziz Ansari. Take a listen to Hot Date 144, leave us some feedback, drop us a star rating and visit our website for more:  hotdatepod.com 

In the early 70's Hammer Studios, Britain's premier production house for horror and fantasy films, was at a crossroads.  The Hammer name connoted class, style and a certain elegance but the new wave of horror was grittier and more explicit.  Playing against The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hammer films could almost appear quaint.  So Hammer pivoted and started making films like 1972's Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde in response.  Still using trained British talent and adapting classic texts, this new period for Hammer saw a push towards more nudity (mostly female) and more visceral violence. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde was advertised as giving viewers "the sexual transformation of a man into a woman...before your very eyes!"  A bold claim - not entirely true - but part of Hammer's attempt to draw in more exploitation hungry crowds. Dan and Vicky discuss the film - their first stab at a Hammer film - along with lots of recently seen including 355, The Red Shoes, Jakob's Wife, Rock and Roll High School, The

1991's The Commitments was a departure for filmmaker Alan Parker.  Traditionally an explorer of the darker reaches of human interaction (Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning), the film was instead a serio-comic look at the making of a band in working class Dublin.  Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle, Parker and his casting team scoured Ireland for actors who could convince as musicians or musicians who could carry the dramatic demands of the script.  He came up with a motley crew of actual singers (Maria Doyle, Glen Hansard) and exciting novices (Andrew Strong, Angeline Ball). Dan, Vicky and special guest/Commitments mega fan/Hot Date listener Theresa Sullivan discuss the crowd pleaser along with a bunch of recently seen.  Hear what your hosts thought of Spiderman: No Way Home, Don't Look Up, 2021's Nightmare Alley, horror films Censor and Boys From County Hell, the new King's Man film, Spielberg's War Horse, and Denzel Washington/Frances McDormand starrer Macbeth.  Hot Date 142: The Commitments with special guest

For our final Hot Date of 2021, we chose Putney Swope, written and directed by Robert Downey Sr.  As an indictment of corporate greed, the advertising business and race, the film was Downey's reaction to working for years in a production company whose main client was a powerful ad agency.  There were no takers for the movie from the major studios so Downey turned to independent producer and distributor Don Rugoff, who placed the film in his art houses across the country and turned it into a major underground hit.   Dan and Vicky discuss the film, along with lots of recently seen including Sex and the City follow up And Just Like That, NBC's Annie Live, Disney's Encanto, House of Gucci, Being the Ricardos, 1992's Glengarry Glen Ross, 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Spielberg's West Side Story, and a bunch of Hammer horror.  Ring in the New Year with Hot Date 141: Putney Swope and leave us some feedback or a star rating.  hotdatepod.com 

We're back again with another of our famous Top Ten List episodes.  This time we're looking at our favorite movie villains.  Those despicable, pathetic, misguided, attractive movie characters - some based on real people - we love to hate from films spanning the last century.   Dan and Vicky also check in on some recently seen like The Eternals, Nobody, The Deep House, Antlers, tick...tick...Boom, and Red Notice. Have a listen and come up with your own list of movie villains.  Send them to us on our social media pages and check out our website hotdatepod.com.    

A negative pickup for Universal Pictures to cash in on the 3D trend partially initiated by the company's own Jaws 3, low budget sci fi epic Metalstorm failed to spark at the box office.  Of the many quirky elements of the film, it's bombastic orchestral score sticks out as belonging to a different movie.  Composed by Band's brother Richard, the music gives the film a gravitas that the chintzy special effects, languid pace and bad acting don't.  The film stars soap star Jeffrey Byron, Australian Mike Preston, the late Kelly Preston, genre fave Tim Thomerson and Night Court's Richard Moll.  Dan and Vicky give their thoughts on Metalstorm as well as recently seen items including Halloween Kills, The French Dispatch, Spielberg's The Sugarland Express, black Western The Harder They Fall and 1980 slasher Prom Night. For tickets to Dan's show A Sherlock Carol visit:  asherlockcarol.com Don't forget to leave us feedback on our social media pages and visit our website at hotdatepod.com.

1948's Brighton Rock, based on the novel by Graham Greene, was a controversial hit in England where critics felt it reached new levels of depravity and on screen violence.  It also met the ire of novelist Greene himself, who was denied the opportunity to adapt his own book - that task fell to playwright Terrence Rattigan - and given zero influence in casting decisions.  Greene was vocal about his dislike of Richard Attenborough in the lead role of Pinkie Brown and Hermione Baddeley as crusader Ida Arnold.  After seeing the completed film, however, he relented and agreed both actors were well cast. Dan and Vicky take a look at this classic, much heralded British crime noir along with recently seen films and tv shows including Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Green Knight, No Time to Die, and Hulu comedy series Pen15. Leave us feedback on our socials and visit our website at hotdatepod.com. 

A star studded cast highlights the crime drama Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, director Gary Fleder and screenwriter Scott Rosenberg's entry in the 1990's spate of talky neo noir thrillers.  This is has Andy Garcia, Treat Williams, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, Christopher Lloyd, Bill Nunn, William Forsythe, Josh Charles, Jack Warden, Steve Buscemi, and Gabrielle Anwar. Dan and Vicky discuss the film and it's unfair reputation as a Pulp Fiction clone.  They also talk the Tony Awards, Dan's new play A Sherlock Carol (https://asherlockcarol.com/), and lots of recently seen including Everybody's Talking About Jamie, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, A Classic Horror Story, The Chair, and Y The Last Man. Check out Hot Date 137, leave us some feedback and stop by https://www.hotdatepod.com/!

1958's Blood of the Vampire had all the earmarks of a Hammer film without actually being one.  Hammer regular Jimmy Sangster was brought in to write the script.  The film very much echoed the style and flair of a Hammer film.  And Hammer actress Barbara Shelley (Dracula, Prince of Darkness, Rasputin, Quatermass and the Pit) plays the female lead.  It didn't fool British movie goers however where the film was less successful but found a healthy audience in the US where it ran for years on double bills with other B movies. Dan and Vicky sink their teeth into Blood of the Vampire as well as a ton of recently seen including Candyman 2021, Malignant, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, 1939's Goodbye Mr. Chips, 1971's Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Hulu's Only Murders in the Building.  Check out Hot Date 136 and leave us some feedback.   Visit our website at hotdatepod.com.

Dan and Vicky chose the random Hot Date of August 21, 1965 and decided on the film Darling starring Julie Christie, in her Oscar winning lead performance, and Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey as the two men vying for her attention.  Directed by John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy, Sunday, Bloody Sunday), it's a first time watch for our hosts. Along with the main feature, Dan and Vicky talk about some recently seen including The Night House, Don't Breathe 2, 1990's Wild at Heart, Free Guy, Protege, and 1986's Spanish horror film Anguish.   Check out our website for all your Hot Date needs:  hotdatepod.com

A passion project for star Christopher Reeve, 1987's Street Smart became instead the auspicious introduction of film audiences to Morgan Freeman and Kathy Baker.  Freeman, mostly known for his four years on PBS's Electric Company and a successful theater career, stepped into the spotlight and received an Oscar nomination for his work as vicious pimp Fast Black.  Baker, also a renowned theater actress, gained notice in the film The Right Stuff before breaking out as Street Smart's sympathetic hooker Punchy. Dan and Vicky take a look at the New York set drama, along with lots of recently seen like the Red Riding: Year of Our Lord film series, doc Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Pink Flamingos, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, The Boy Behind the Door, Vivo and The Vigil.  Check out Hot Date 134: Street Smart and leave us some feedback.  Our website:  hotdatepod.com  

Two years after having the biggest blockbuster to date with Jaws and three years after the successful disaster pick Earthquake, Universal Studios pulled out all the stops with Rollercoaster, hoping to duplicate the earlier films' box office.  They doubled down on Sensurround, the innovative sound system  that immersed audiences in every creak, rumble and woosh of the titular ride and hired 70's everyman George Segal as the lead.  The movie, however, did not connect with audiences, and was easily trounced at cinemas by George Lucas's first Star Wars film (or his fourth, depending on who you ask). Dan and Vicky return to their favorite film era, the 70's, for a dose of disaster and disco.  They also catch us up on some recently seen including the Fear Street films on Netflix, the 1981 neo noir classic Body Heat, Gunpowder Milkshake, Zola, the new GI Joe universe film Snake Eyes, and some fun animal attack schlock.   Listen to Hot Date 133 and leave us some feedback.  Visit our website at hotdatepod.com.  

Director Josef von Sternberg was lured back to Eastern Europe from Hollywood in 1930 by producer Erich Pommer to direct a film about mad Russian monk and con man Rasputin.  Sternberg set his sights instead on an adaptation of the novel Professor Unrath by Heinrich Mann.  He cast Oscar winner Emil Jannings in the title role and discovered his leading lady, Marlene Dietrich, singing in a local Berlin club, was instantly taken by her and offered her the role.   Dan and Vicky discuss this classic of early German sound cinema along with alot of recently seen film and TV including Mare of Easttown, Spectrum's The Bite, Werewolves Within, Marvel's Black Widow, Wrong Turn 2020, and Iran's A Separation.   In a special segment, our hosts also wax nostalgic about the cinemas they frequented as young movie fans. Check out Hot Date 132 and leave us some feedback.  Visit our website at hotdatepod.com  

Producer Samuel Goldwyn wanted to populate his film of Elmer Rice's play Street Scene with a mix of actors from the hit Broadway production and Hollywood.  To play the lead Rose, Goldwyn had Nancy Carroll in mind.  Signed to Paramount, the studio's managing director Bud Schulberg, would not give Carroll up for the film, instead suggesting Sylvia Sidney for the part.  Sidney, also Schulberg's mistress, nonetheless turned out to be inspired casting for the role and anchors the ensemble with her mix of innocence and grit. Along with this 1931 gem, Dan and Vicky delve into some recently seen, including In The Heights, Unhinged, Summer of Soul, Army of the Dead, In Fabric and Memories of Murder. Check out Hot Date 131 and visit our website at hotdatepod.com!

Murder, kidnapping, revenge, sex and love gone wrong.  All the subjects, and more, of some of the greatest films based on true crime events.  And all getting a Spotlight, wink, on Hot Date's latest Top Ten episode.  We cover some of our favorite films based on and inspired by true events.  You'll hear about some classic titles but also ones that you may be new to you.  So check the alarm system, get your mace, and hide the jewels cuz these films will steal more than your heart.  Along with their Top Ten and alternate lists, Dan and Vicky discuss some recently seen including A Quiet Place, Part II, 2001's Fat Girl, Disney's Cruella, and 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives. Episode 130: It's A Crime!  Enjoy and leave us some feedback.  Visit our website at hotdatepod.com 

Oscar winning actress Regina King directs One Night in Miami, a fictionalized account of the meeting in 1964, post the Clay/Liston fight, between Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcolm X.  It is adapted by Kemp Power from his own play of the same name.  Kemp made history himself as the first African-American to co-write and direct a Disney animated feature with 2018's Soul.  Dan and Vicky cover their first film released during the pandemic with One Night in Miami.  They also discuss some recently seen including 1959's Anatomy of a Murder, Polanski's 1966 thriller Cul-de-Sac, Inherit the Wind, 1937's Pepe le Moko, the 1981 slasher Madhouse, and Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women. Check out Hot Date 129 and leave us some feedback.  Visit our website for all things Hot Date at hotdatepod.com. And see Dan in his reading with Barrington Stage, Get Your Pink Hands Off Me Sucka and Give Me Back, from June 4th-6th.  Tickets here: https://secure.barringtonstageco.org/givemeback/1536