On this day in movie history - Loan Shark (1952)

Loan Shark

directed by Seymour Friedman,

written by Eugene Ling and Martin Rackin,

based on a story by Martin Rackin,

was released in the United States on May 23, 1952.

Music by Heinz Roemheld.

Cast:

George Raft, Dorothy Hart, Paul Stewart, John Hoyt, Helen Westcott, Henry Slate, Russell Johnson, Margia Dean, Benny Baker, Lawrence Dobkin, Robert Bice, Ralph Brooks, Claire Carleton, Virginia Carroll, Russell Custer, Jack Daley, Mike Donovan, George Eldredge, Ross Elliott, Rudy Germane, Dick Gordon, Jack Gordon, Herschel Graham, Joe Hinds, Robert Karnes, Robert Lawson, Charles Meredith, Spring Mitchell, Hans Moebus, William H. O'Brien, Frank O'Connor, William 'Bill' Phillips, William Phipps, Mike Ragan, Keith Richards, John Roy, Brick Sullivan, William Tannen, Harlan Warde, Robert B. Williams, Barbara Wooddell.

Born on this day – Scatman Crothers:

Actor

Musician

May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986

Credits:

Albums:

Rock 'N Roll With "Scat Man" (1956); 4 A.M. (1960); Comedy Sweepstakes (1961); Big Ben Sings (1973).

Movies and television:

ABC Nutrition Spots (1974); ABC Weekend Specials (1979); Ad Lib (1981); Adam-12 (1972); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958); Alias Jesse James (1959); Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1966); Alvarez Kelly (1966); American Playhouse (1982); American Playhouse (1982); An Evening at the Improv (1981); Andy Williams Presents (1974); Arena (1980); Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1979); Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1979); Barefoot in the Park (1970); Benson (1982); Between Heaven and Hell (1956); Beulah (1952); Bewitched (1971); Big Town (1953); Biography (1996–2003); Black Belt Jones (1974); Black Cop (2017); Bloody Mama (1970); Bonanza (1961); Bourbon Street Beat (1959); Break the Bank (1977); Bronco Billy (1980); C B Bears (1977); Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (1977–1980); Casablanca (1983); Celebrity Bowling (1976); Celebrity Sweepstakes (1976); Chandler (1971); Charlie's Angels (1978); Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy (1976); Chico and the Man (1974–1978); Cineficción Radio (2019); Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2012); City at Night (1949); Climax! (1955); Coonskin / aka Street Fight (1974); Deadly Eyes (1982); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Angie Dickinson (1977); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Ted Knight (1977); Detroit 9000 (1973); Dinah! (1975–1977); Disney Sing-Along Songs: Circle of Life (1994); Disney Sing-Along Songs: The Bare Necessities (1987); Dragnet 1967 (1967); East of Sumatra (1953); Ebony/Jet Showcase (1983); Fallout (2024); Fantasy Film Festival (1980); Filmworker (2017); Flying High (1978); Friday Foster (1975); FRO Thizzle Reviews (2023); Good Morning America (1980); Grandpa, Will You Run with Me? (1983); Griff (1973); Harlem Globe Trotters (1970–1971); Hello, Dolly! (1969); Heyyy, It's the King! (1977); Hill Street Blues (1984); Hong Kong Phooey (1974); Hook, Line and Sinker (1969); Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019); Hotel (1983); Imagine That (1983); Ironside (1973); It Takes Two (1982); Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (1975); Johnny Dark (1954); Johnny Midnight (1960); Jokebook (1982); Joys! (1976); Kids Are People, Too (1981); King Cole Trio & Benny Carter Orchestra (1950); Kojak (1973); Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974); KTLA at 40: A Celebration of Los Angeles Television (1987); Lady in a Cage (1964); Lady Sings the Blues (1972); Laverne & Shirley (1980); Linda Lovelace for President (1975); Love, American Style / Love and the Perfect Wedding / Love and the Dummies (1969–1972); Lux Video Theatre (1953); Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Circus (1970); Madame's Place (1982); Magnum, P.I. (1981); Man on the Outside (1974); Mannix (1974); Matt Houston (1985); Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil (1959–1962); McMillan & Wife (1974); Mean Dog Blues (1978); Meet Me at the Fair (1953); Meet Me at the Fair (1953); Missing Children: A Mother's Story (1982); Morningstar/Eveningstar (1986); NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney (1978); NBC Special Treat (1980); Nichols (1972); No Small Parts (2014); One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); One of the Boys (1982); Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980); Paw Paws (1985–1986); Petrocelli (1976); Porgy and Bess (1959); Pryor's Place (1984); Renée (2011); Resident Alien (2024); Revenge of the Gray Gang (1981); Rock Odyssey (1987); Room 237 (2012); Roots (1977); Salute! (1983); Sammy and Company (1975); Sanford and Son (1975); Sanford and Son (1975); Scavenger Hunt (1979); Scavenger Hunt (1979); Schlitz Playhouse (1958); Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1981); Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games (2012); Scooby's Laff-A Lympics (1977); Sha Na Na (1980); Silver Streak (1976); Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973); Starsky and Hutch (1977); Stay Hungry (1976); Surprising Suzie (1953); Surprising Suzie (1953); Tarzan and the Trappers (1960); Taxi (1978); The 1980 Sci-Fi Awards (1980); The 2nd Annual Black Achievement Awards (1979); The 3rd Annual People's Choice Awards (1977); The 5th Annual Black Achievement Awards (1984); The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1957); The Aristocats (1970); The Cheap Detective (1978); The Colgate Comedy Hour (1952–1954); The David Steinberg Show (1976); The Family Jewels (1965); The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964–1965); The Fortune (1975); The Gift of Love (1958); The Good Life (1971); The Governor & J.J. (1970); The Great White Hope (1970); The Harlem Globetrotters Meet Snow White (1980); The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981); The Incredible Hulk (1979); The Jim Nabors Show (1978); The John Davidson Show (1982); The Journey of Natty Gann (1985); The Kill Room (2023); The King of Marvin Gardens (1972); The Lloyd Thaxton Show (1966); The Lorax (1972); The Love Boat (1978–1984); The Magical World of Disney (1971); The Mike Douglas Show (1975–1976); The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song (1992); The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–1973); The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (1984); The New Temperatures Rising Show (1973); The Odd Couple (1974); The Paper Chase (1985); The Patsy (1964); The Return of Gilbert & Sullivan (1952); The Rich Little Show (1976); The Shining (1980); The Shootist (1976); The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961); The Skatebirds (1977–1978); The Spade Cooley Show (1957); The Sty of the Blind Pig (1974); The Super Globetrotters (1979); The Teller and the Tale (1985); The Third Annual Black Achievement Awards (1980); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1975–1982); The Transformers (1984–1986); The Transformers: The Movie (1986); The Very Very Best of the 70s (2020); The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters (1986); This Is Your Life (1984); Three on a Couch (1966); Toma (1974); Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime (1987); Trollkins (1981); Truck Turner (1974); Twilight Zone: The Movie / Kick the Can (1983); Two of a Kind (1983); Vega$ (1978–1979); View from the Overlook: Crafting 'the Shining' (2007); Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009); Walking My Baby Back Home (1953); We Got It Made (1984); Win, Place or Steal (1974); Yes Sir, Mr. Bones (1951); Zapped! (1982).

#TheShining

Born on this day – Laura Devon:

 

Actress

Singer

May 23, 1931 – July 19, 2007

Credits:

A Covenant with Death (1967); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1964); Chamber of Horrors (1966); Coronet Blue (1967); Dr. Kildare (1965); Goodbye Charlie (1964); Gunn (1967); I Spy (1965); Insight (1960); Mr. Sycamore (1975); Rawhide (1964); Red Line 7000 (1965); Route 66 (1962–1963); Stoney Burke (1963); T.H.E. Cat (1966); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963); The Big Valley (1966); The Fugitive (1966); The Gallant Men (1963); The Invaders (1967); The Lieutenant (1963); The New Breed (1962); The Richard Boone Show (1963–1964); The Rogues (1965); The Twilight Zone (1963); Wide Country (1962).

Born on this day – James Blish:

 

Writer

May 23, 1921 – July 30, 1975

Credits:

Written work:

6 Great Short Novels of Science Fiction (1954); A Case of Conscience (1958); A Dusk of Idols, and Other Stories (1996); A Life for the Stars (1962); A Torrent of Faces (1967); A Work of Art and Other Stories (1993); And All the Stars a Stage (1971); Antigrav (1975); Anywhen (1970); Backdrop of Stars (1968); Best Science Fiction Stories Of James Blish (1965); Beyond Tomorrow (1976); Black Easter (1968); Born of the Sun: Adventures in Our Solar System (2020); Bug-Eyed Monsters (1974); Death's Angel (1981); Devil World (1979); Doctor Mirabilis (1964); Earthman, Come Home (1956); Flights of Eagles (2009); Galactic Cluster (1959); Get Out of My Sky (1980); Get Out Of My Sky and There Shall be No Darkness (1980); Giants in the Earth (1968); Human Machines: An Anthology of Stories about Cyborgs (1975); In This World, or Another (2003); Jack of Eagles (1952); Midsummer Century (1972); Mission to the Heart Stars (1965); More Issues At Hand (1970); Mudd's Angels (1978); Novelets of Science Fiction (1963); One-Shot (1955); Perry's Planet (1980); Planet of Judgment (1977); Science Against Man (1970); Science Fiction Gems, Volume Two (2011); So Close to Home (1961); Spock Must Die! (1970); Spock, Messiah! (1976); Star Trek 1 (1967); Star Trek 10 (1974); Star Trek 11 (1975); Star Trek 12 (1977); Star Trek 12 (1977); Star Trek 2 (1968); Star Trek 3 (1969); Star Trek 4 (1971); Star Trek 5 (1972); Star Trek 6 (1972); Star Trek 7 (1972); Star Trek 8 (1972); Star Trek 9 (1973); Star Trek: The New Voyages (1976); Star Trek: The New Voyages 2 (1977); Supermen (2002); Ten Tomorrows (1973); The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (1980); The Best of James Blish (1979); The Day After Judgment (1971); The duplicated man (1959); The Fate of the Phoenix (1979); The Frozen Year / Fallen Star (1957); The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Volume IV (2018); The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Volume VI (2016); The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Volume X (2018); The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Volume X (2018); The Issue at Hand (1964); The Late Great Future (1976); The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF (2009); The Night Shapes (1962); The Price of the Phoenix (1977); The Quincunx of Time (1973); The Seedling Stars (1956); The Star Dwellers (1961); The Starless World (1978); The Tale That Wags the God (1987); The Testament of Andros (1965); The Thing in the Attic (1954); The Triumph of Time / A Clash of Cymbals (1958); The Vanished Jet (1968); The Warriors of Day (1953); They Shall Have Stars / Year 2018! (1956); Titan's Daughter (1961); Trek to Madworld (1979); Vor (1958); Vulcan! (1978); Welcome to Mars (1967); With All of Love (1995); Works of Art (1993); World Without End (1979); Worlds to Come: New Science Fiction Adventures (1967).

Movie and television:

The Beast Must Die (1974); The Secret Files of Captain Video (1953); Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949–1955).

Alice Hoffman, on books:

 

Books may well be the only true magic.
- Alice Hoffman.

The Shining (1980) vs. The Innkeepers (2011) - Sometimes, less is … less!

Review by Jack Kost

My use of the Oscar Wilde quote will become apparent.

It was recently suggested to me that the 2011 movie The Innkeepers is better than Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining,

released in the United States on May 23, 1980.

Like Jack Nicholson, in The Shining, my reaction to that suggestion is ...

(keep watching - it's animated!)

I have a great idea!

Take Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 movie adaptation of Stephen King’s novel: The Shining …

... shorten it by about an hour … give it a feeble script … characters we know little about and couldn’t care less for … make it devoid of atmosphere, tension and suspense … throw in a bunch of superfluous other characters who pad it out, but add little or nothing to the proceedings … have it plod along painfully slowly – leading to nothing of any real consequence … and you have … The Innkeepers!

With stories of this genre, the environment is the compelling element: a haunted house, hotel, or cabin in the woods, a ship adrift at sea – or out in the vastness of space … the setting gives the story its eerie build up.

I credit The Innkeepers’ attention to that detail with its long corridors and winding staircase, but it’s the only real credit I can give it.

I have a problem with stories that just seem way too familiar, and watching The Innkeepers left me with the feeling that it was simply another pointless rehash of The Shining.

I’ve read other reviews, and I know The Innkeepers has its fans.

I’m not one of them.

When does the line between homage fade to insipid imitation?

Instead of simply retreading old ground, why not show some originality?

Put more effort into writing a fuller story; develop the characters by giving them a history – giving us a reason to care about them.

As to the question of The Innkeepers being, putting it mildly, at least similar to The Shining …

What else am I supposed to think when the high-angle exterior shot of The Yankee Pedlar Inn, from The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of the Overlook Hotel, in The Shining:

Claire (Sara Paxton), resting on a bed watching TV, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of the scene with Halloran (Scatman Crothers), in The Shining:

Claire, falling asleep while working, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in The Shining:

Low angle corridor shots, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of those, in The Shining:

The cavernous dining/ballroom, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of that, in The Shining:

The lounge area, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of that, in The Shining:

The bathtub suicide, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of that, in The Shining:

The malevolent force making itself apparent, in The Innkeepers …

… reminds me of those great scenes, in The Shining:

I didn’t see anything new or interesting with The Innkeepers; it left me feeling that I’d seen it all done way better in The Shining.

Oscar Wilde wrote:

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

As imitation often seems to be the order of the day, and if I could have had final say over The Innkeepers, prior to its release, I would have happily imitated Jack Nicholson in The Shining:

I would have swept the whole pile off of the table ...

... then I would have taken an ax to it!