The Incredible Two-Headed Podcast

Episode 44. ”Horror Noir” with Jacob Davison

We're back to finally wrap up Summer in the Shadows, and also ease into the October season. Joining us is returning guest Jacob Davison from the Eye on Horror podcast, here to discuss a pair of films that throw horror into the mix with film noir.

Up first, Jacob's choice, is Angel Heart, from director Alan Parker. We follow that up with my choice, Clive Barker's third (and so far final) film as director; Lord of Illusions.

Episode 43. ”Japanese Noir” with J. Carlos Menjivar

It's the penultimate episode of our Summer in the Shadows series, and J. Carlos Menjivar is here to help us bring this baby home.

Together we discuss a couple of noir-infused films from Japan. First up is Akira Kurosawa's near-masterpiece Stray Dog, a very street-level view of post-war Japan. After that is Seijun Suzuki's gonzo crime flick Branded to Kill. Both great films, and I had a great time talking about them with Carlos.

You can, of course, find Carlos and his opinions about movies on the wonderful Dial F For Film Podcast, available from the very same service you found this podcast!

Episode 42. ”Only Martins in the Podcast” with Rik Tod Johnson

Old pal Rik Tod Johnson is back with us again as we near the conclusion to Summer in the Shadows.

He joins me for a discussion that is laser focused and tangent free. It's all noir all the time. Well, aside from the fact that our second film, Pennies From Heaven, isn't really a noir at all. But other than that we're on point. Well, aside from the long stretch where we discuss the films of Kevin Smith. Other than that, totally focused.

Oh what am I talking about. It's a rambling, random, tangent-filled 2 hours, as usual when Rik drops by. Come listen to us discuss the noir homage/spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and the depression era musical drama Pennies From Heaven.

Episode 41. "Pandemics" with Marianne L'Abbate

Marianne L'Abbate from Make Mine Film Noir becomes perhaps the quickest return guest we've ever had to discuss a pair of pandemic-focused noirs from 1950. First up, Panic in the Streets from Elia Kazan, starring Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Zero Mostel, and Jack Palance. After that, The Killer That Stalked New York, starring Evelyn Keyes, William Bishop, and Charles Korvin.

It's a couple hours of lighthearted escape from the drudgery of our daily lives as we discuss a couple movies about deadly contagions!

 

Find Marianne and her writings at MakeMineFilmNoir.blogspot.com and you can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram @TwoHeadedPod

Episode 40. "The Great Summer Crossover" with J. Carlos Menjivar

We're back in the shadows this week, for a special crossover event with J. Carlos Menjivar of Dial F For Film. Over on Dial F, Carlos it's been the Summer of Kubrick, which this week dovetails nicely with Summer In The Shadows as we discuss Kubrick's early, little-seen noir, Killer's Kiss.

To round out the episode we also discuss Orson Welles' troubled, frequently brilliant noir film The Lady From Shanghai.

Check out Dial F For Film wherever you get your podcasts. And follow the show online @DialFPodcast on twitter and instagram!

Episode 39. "Make Mine Film Noir" with Marianne L'Abbate

The heat continues, and so we rush back to the protective shadows to keep cool and discuss film noir. Today we've got a pair of films chosen by Marianne L'Abbate, from the terrific Make Mine Film Noir blog.

First up is The Dark Corner (1946) starring Lucille Ball, Mark Stevens, William Bendix, and Clifton Webb. We follow that with a discussion of Too Late For Tears (1949) starring Lizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, and Don Defore.

Marianne really knows her stuff and it was fun to have her on to discuss these two films, and as you can hear, it's almost a requirement that she'll be back to discuss noir in the future. Make sure you check out her website Make Mine Film Noir by following the link.

Episode 38. "Miscellanea" with Rik Tod Johnson

It's a bit of an odd episode this week, as Rik Tod Johnson of the Cinema 4 Cel Bloc returns for an episode that is nothing but tangents and random musings!

There was a bit of a scheduling snafu this last few weeks, and rather than go another week with no episode, Rik and I got together for 90 minutes of mostly aimless discussion about movies, books, comics, Disneyland, the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix, and what type of alarm we use to wake up in the morning.

I just hit record and am no presenting to you that entire discussion, sans edits. Warts and all, no editing out awkward silences, all of those 'uhm's, or any of the times I get tripped up on words and reset the entire sentence. 

Is it of any use to anyone? I guess we'll find out! Back next week with more of our regularly scheduled Summer in the Shadows series.

Episode 37. "Nicholas Ray" with J. Carlos Menjivar

Summer is in full swing, temperatures are steadily rising. It's not quite the burning hellscape that it will become in August, but we can see it on the horizon. Jump back into the shade of Film Noir and keep cool with us as our #SummerInTheShadows continues.

Back this week is J. Carlos Menjivar, host of the Dial F for Film podcast, and he's brought with him a pair of melodramatic noirs from the great Nicholas Ray.

First up: They Live By Night, a very early entry into the 'lovers on the run' subgenre. Following that, On Dangerous Ground, which matches Robert Ryan's thuggish big city cop with Ida Lupino's gentle smalltown blind woman. Both are great, and we have a great time discussing them.

After listening to this one, be sure to check out the Dial F. For Film podcast, every episode is a winner.

Episode 36."Guns, Guns, Guns" with Rik Tod Johnson

Summer is here, the world is on fire, and to help you all stay cool we're sticking to the shadows this year. It's Summer in the Shadows here at the pod, as we begin our long series on film noir. Joining us today for the first entry is our old pal Rik Tod Johnson.

We're talking guns today, with discussions on the Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake hitman flick This Gun For Hire from 1952, followed by the highly suggestive Gun Crazy from 1950.

Episode 35b. "Odds and Ends" with Rik Tod Johnson and Dolores Quintana

It's takin' care of business time here at the Incredible Two-Headed Podcast, and this week we've got a short filler episode to explain what's going on with the podcast these days. We've got big plans for the summer and we're previewing them here in a brief chat with our old pal Rik Tod Johnson.

After that, I threw in a little bonus deleted scene from last week's episode with Dolores Quintana. Our discussion about the self-censorship of streaming platforms led to a pretty interesting tangent about William Friedkin, The Exorcist, and the hypocritical morality of CBS procedurals. It was great stuff, but the episode was already going long and I figured we should just get to the movie discussion a bit quicker. So here it is now for your enjoyment!

We'll be back next week with a regular episode, the beginning of our Summer of Darkness series.