Faversham! Bicycle! False teeth! No, it’s not a strange word game, but some of the searches I randomly carried out at a major arts-meets-tech launch in Cardiff this week (March 31, 2015). The Illustration Archive is the world’s largest searchable archive of book illustrations, making more than a million old images from books freely available … Continue reading
The Monster carries his victim into a spooky cave, and a fake bat on a string flaps in front of him, just as real bats flit more convincingly in front the screen. Special effects? Nature can provide something much more special, when films are shown in unusual locations. In this case, it was the 1935 … Continue reading
It doesn’t have much of a plot, its songs were mostly recycled from earlier productions, and the star was suffering a fever when he had to film the title song-and-dance routine, getting soaked to the skin in a shrinking wool suit. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? But this was Singin’ in the … Continue reading
Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre deserves a vote of fangs for a tricksy Halloween treat this week – a screening of Hammer’s classic Dracula in a real castle. Tuesday night’s (29th October) sell-out show in the spooky undercroft of Cardiff Castle gave us a rare chance to see this revered 1958 production as it was intended … Continue reading
Sherlock Holmes has been brought into the 21st century by numerous TV productions – the excellent Sherlock, Elementary, the less-obvious House, and countless detectives clearly inspired by the Conan Doyle creation. So it’s a rare pleasure to see a new Holmes production, set in the 1890s – Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret. Continue reading
I’ve been asked to publish the information below about the forthcoming premiere of We Are Cardiff – a documentary from the people behind the We Are Cardiff web project. I’m happy to do so, and have already booked my ticket. Hope to see you there. Continue reading
My adopted home town of Cardiff, Wales has produced plenty of famous names in sport (I know – I contributed to a book about it) and the arts, but I doubt any could be considered greater than Ivor Novello. Continue reading
You’d never guess from the accents, but Universal’s 1940s werewolf classics are (at least partly) set in Wales. Is it ridiculously geeky to try to figure out where in Wales? I thought so. Continue reading
PieceOf Pink Pie