The Retro Blog

A lot of people like Bette Davis, but I am in the special Bette Davis fan sub group consisting of people who like old, sagging Bette Davis. There are more of us than you’d think.

Bette was always quite clever. When her career first began Universal Pictures attempted to change her name to “Bettina Dawes.” Bette [...]

I’ve already expressed my strong admiration for Wall E, but it seems that a large number of conservative parents aren’t to pleased with the cute little ‘bot. Seems they don’t want their kids to get any crazy ideas in their heads that maybe producing copious amounts of waste and consuming with no thoughts toward the [...]

If you go to film school you will sit through Triumph of the Will at least once. You will have a lengthy debate over whether or not it’s ok to appreciate the film despite the fact that it’s blatant Nazi propaganda. The token class feminist will bemoan the fact that this is the only film [...]

If you’re like me you love old industrial films. The actors are goofy and overreact to every little situation in a generally hilarious way. I can see how it might get a little old making these things. Apparently to entertain themselves the filmmakers occasionally had a little fun with the whole idea of industrial films. [...]

Happy 4th of July. Today marks the 61st anniversary of the Hollister riot. The Hollister riot wasn’t really a riot at all. Basically a bunch of bikers showed up for a rally in Hollister, California. A few of them got drunk and started driving recklessly. With gang names like “The Boozefighters” and “The Pissed-Off Bastards” [...]

Last night I saw Wall-E, the latest Pixar film, and I highly recommend it to just about everyone. Pixar has a long tradition of retro influence in their films. Wall-E is a rare exception, but they made up for it with these exquisite posters by artist Eric Tan. Modeled after the old Disney ride [...]

Barbie’s done just about everything a girl can do. She’s been an astronaut, driven a camper, and worked at McDonalds. One thing Mattel has forgotten to do has been to make Barbie get attacked by birds. Oh wait, now she’s getting attacked by birds. This stylishly retro dressed Tippy Hedron Barbie comes complete with a [...]

Look out everybody! There is some wild teenage dancing in this clip! Actually, this clip from the 1957 Chinese film Man Bon U Lang (aka Mambo Girl) features some cha cha cha–ing with the least amount of hip movement that could be allowed while still calling it a dance. In fact, the scene consists mostly [...]

I hate driving, but I love drive-in theaters. You can bring a three course dinner, sit in your pajamas, put your feet up, and heckle the film to your heart’s content. If the movie is bad, (and hopefully it is (trashy movies are the most fun)), you can flip through the audio of other [...]

“Steampunk” is a phrase the internet rapidly embraced and then turned on. It refers to a retro-future aesthetic in which Victorian looking things perform very futuristic tasks. A lot of people like the look of these objects, but now everybody’s getting pretty sick of all the people slapping some brass plates on an iPod and [...]

A lot of people seem to think of Jayne Mansfield as the poor man’s Marilyn Monroe. Her roles were a little more on the cheesy and spicy side than Miss Monroe, and she might have followed Monroe in to the beds of various Kennedy’s, but I think that’s not to say that Marilyn was better. [...]

In keeping with the build up to mother’s day, I bring you the oh so classy trailer for Teenage Mother, a 1967 grindhouse exploitation flick that looks like Juno redone by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. It’s directed by Jerry Gross, the man who brought us such memorable films as “I Drink Your Blood and [...]

This clip features some of the most awesome retro songs of 1960’s Indian film. This is when Bollywood got obsessed with American culture. Think of them as Frankie and Annette movies in Hindi. All the fun with the added bonus of incomprehensibility. Also, Indian actors in blackface for some reason. This is merely the first [...]

Ladies and Gentlemen: I bring you “Italian Spiderman,” allegedly a recently rediscovered film from 1968. This Spiderman seems a million times more entertaining than the Tobey McGuire incarnation. It seems a lot bloodier, too. And with a lot more zooms. One of the first things they teach you in film school is that zooms are [...]

Looking to score your next 50’s B horror inspired movie? Better get yourself a Theremin for the soundtrack. Invented by a Russian in the 20’s, the Theremin became the go to instrument for creating creepy alien sounds in the 50’s. Made famous by such films as The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Thing, [...]

When you think space age, Mexico City probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind, but Mexico City produced Juan Garcia Esquivel, inventor of quintessential bachelor pad music. Have a listen and hear what I mean.
It’s best to listen to Esquivel in stereo while sipping a cocktail, snapping your fingers, and impressing a lady-friend. [...]

You probably suspected that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had crude senses of humor and filthy mouths. Now here’s your proof. In this video, Martin and Lewis are recording voice over for the trailer for the film The Caddy. Needless to say, it quickly descends into shouting and dick jokes. 

I didn’t make it home in time to catch the Oscars this year, but here’s a nice little look back at the posters for the best picture winners of the past. The mid century ones are quite stylish, my favorites being Lost Weekend, All About Eve, An American in Paris, and Marty. [via neatorama]