 During last summer vacation, when I was back in the States, I indulged in my usual pasttime of going hog wild, buying more than my fair share of DVDs and Blu-Rays, including numerous TV-on-DVD releases. One of the most pleasant, "blind buy" discoveries from this trip was the late 50s TV western series Yancy Derringer, starring Jock Mahoney. The show's a real hoot, full of swift, violent action, brisk, skillful storytelling and lots of great guest stars. And Mahoney is terrific in the title role, a charming Southern gentleman with a derringer up one ruffled sleeve and another under his stylishly-worn hat.
It's the first update in a long while on my TV page, and I'd appreciate it mightily if you moseyed on over there to check it out (or you can get there by clicking on the "TV Reviews" image on the sidebar to the right. Thanks, and see you at the gambling tables, pardner.  I say, old chaps! Pip pip, tally-ho and all that, wot? That's right, it's time to announce the British Empire Blogathon, hosted by the mad genius who dreamed up the idea in the first place, Clayton at Phantom Empires, and yours truly. We thought it was high time we sally forth into the world of blogathons with one of our own, and we'd like to invite like-minded fellow bloggers to join in the fun. We love these movies, from beloved classics like Gunga Din, Zulu, The Charge of the Light Brigade and Kim, to less well-known titles like North West Frontier, Bhowani Junction, and King of the Khyber Rifles. We know we're not alone in our regard for these stories of high adventure and stiff-upper-lip heroism. There are only a few ground rules we ask contributors to follow:
The event is scheduled for November 14 - 17. If you would like to submit an entry (or more! Don't be shy), please let us know by leaving a comment on this post below, or the similar announcement here at Phantom Empires. You can also feel free to use our contact forms here (for Clayton) or here (for me). Please include the title and link to your blog, contact information and of course the title of the film(s) you'd like to cover. We also ask that you include a link to this post and Clayton's in your review, and to use one of the event banners included in this post on your website to help promote the blogathon. We think this event will prove a jolly good time. Thank you and we look forward to your posts! Contributors: Speakeasy - The Man Who Would Be King (1975) Movies Silently - The Four Feathers (the 1929 and 1939 versions) Thrilling Days of Yesteryear - Carry On...Up the Khyber (1968) Silver Screenings - The Life and Death of Col. Blimp (1943) Tipping My Fedora - The Letter (1940) Mike's Take on the Movies - Royal Flash (1975) Tales of the Easily Distracted - Gunga Din (1939) Girls Do Film - The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) A Person in the Dark - The Letter (1929) Once Upon a Screen - The Little Princess (1917) Critica Retro - The Rains Came (1939) Silver Scenes - Kim (1950) and Flame Over India (1959) Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier - Black Narcissus (1947) Caftan Woman - The Last of the Mohicans (1936) Mildred's Fatburgers - Zulu (1964) Kevin's Movie Corner - The Sun Never Sets (1939) Sometimes they go to Eleven - The Chess Players (1977) and Breaker Morant (1980) Moon in Gemini - Young Winston (1972) Laura's Miscellaneous Musings - King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) Classic Movie Hub - Lawrence of Arabia (1962) History on Film - The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) Shameless Pile of Stuff - Khartoum (1966) Random Pictures - The Heart of the Matter (1953) Phantom Empires - Three Sergeants of Bengal (1964) The Stalking Moon (guest post by Jerry Entract) - The Drum (1938) The Stalking Moon - The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
(click photos to enlarge)
 Fans of all sorts have a love / hate affair with lists. Film buffs are no different. Some find them limiting or a waste of time; others find them diverting fun, a way to relate to the movies they love. I fall into the latter camp, and enjoy making various lists from time to time. Which brings me to the present post. Regular readers of this blog have likely gleaned an idea of my general taste in movies over the past two years plus that I've been publishing content here...but I thought it was about time to make some sort of claim on those titles that have fought their way into my personal Top Twenty-Five list. Some of these I've covered here already in greater depth, some not. But these 25 films have proven time and again to be the ones I go back to rewatch and enjoy more than any others. The list could easily extend to another twenty (or forty, or fifty...you get the idea), I'm already stretching the concept far enough as it is. Desert Island Discs is a long running (since 1942) BBC Four radio program, in which the host interviews a famous or distinguished guest and asks them to choose 8 songs or pieces of music, one book (they are automatically given the complete works of Shakespeare, as well as the Bible or other similar religious or philosophical work) and one luxury item they would take with them if they were a castaway on the proverbial desert island. The guests then discuss their life, career and reasons for each of their choices. So, with a slight tweaking of the original program's rules (25 instead of 8 titles), here is my own personal Desert Island Discs style list (the discs here being, of course, DVDs or Blu-Rays). I'll still keep the "one book" and "luxury item" rules. In this case, the one book would likely be The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein, though if I could cheat the list a bit to include a book series, I'd probably swap the Rings out for the complete 21-novel Aubrey-Maturin naval saga by Patrick O'Brien (I'd certainly find more useful "island survival" info in the O'Brien books.) And the luxury item? Harder to decide. Probably a toss-up between a fat stash of Hershey's chocolate bars, or a comfy chair in which to lounge whilst watching these wonderful movies. Please note, I make no claim for this list as "Best or Greatest movies of all time," like the infamous Sight and Sound Magazine poll that comes out periodically. These are strictly movies I adore, that feed and nurture my soul, and that would provide strength, joy and succor during my lonely exile on this imaginary island. Understandably, there are dozens of titles that sorely grieve me to leave off this list, and that, on a given day, might conceivably trade places with one of the movies below. But, by and large, these are the cream of the crop as far as I'm concerned. Titles are listed in no particular ranking order - though if anyone asks, I usually answer Casablanca as my favorite film. I mean, really - does it get any better than that? Please feel free to play along if so inclined, and include your own list in the comments below. It's a Wonderful Life Raiders of the Lost Ark Rear Window The Quiet Man Casablanca To Have and Have Not On Her Majesty's Secret Service The Big Country The Magnificent Seven The Great Escape The Best Year's of Our Lives Rio Bravo Jaws The Three Musketeers (1973 version) The Professionals The Thin Man Aliens Rocky Hatari! The Yakuza Only Angels Have Wings The Adventures of Robin Hood For a Few Dollars More Planet of the Apes Shane
Just a few of my all-time favorite movies.
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Videophilia!
Opinionated ramblings about new and old movies (mostly old, as that's the way I like 'em!) 
Blogs of Note
Stuart Galbraith IV's World Cinema Paradise
Movie Morlocks (TCM's Classic Movie Blog) 50 Westerns from the 50s Riding the High Country Sweet Freedom Tipping My Fedora Thrilling Days of Yesteryear Silver Screenings Laura's Miscellaneous Musings Classic TV and Film Cafe Just a Cineast She Blogged By Night Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog Pretty Sinister Books They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To In So Many Words... Greenbriar Picture Shows Flix Chatter My Love of Old Hollywood Tales of the Easily Distracted Another Old Movie Blog Lasso the Movies Kevin's Movie Corner Films From Beyond the Time Barrier Carole & Co. Rupert Pupkin Speaks Caftan Woman Vienna's Classic Hollywood The Lady Eve's Reel Life ClassicBecky's Brain Food 
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