Happy Valentine's Day 2026

Valentine's Day is a day for sweethearts. Don't feel bad if you don't have one. Perhaps you can choose a sweetheart from one of these ladies here. Here is this year's Valentine's Day pinups.

First up is Rita Hayworth, who has a heart-shaped box for her Valentine!

Debbie Reynolds has turned herself into a Valentine.

Elizabeth Montgomery makes for a witchy Valentine.

Deborah Harry of Blondie fame, apparently with a gift from an admirer. 

The lovely Deanna Durbin is ready for Valentine's Day.

And last, but not least, who could be a better Valentine than Ann Miller?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sugar Hill (1974)

The cycle of Blaxploitation movies that unfolded from the early to mid-Seventies produced films in several different genres. There were Blaxploitation crime dramas (Super Fly), gangster movies (Black Caesar), action movies (Cleopatra Jones), and even Westerns (The Legend of N***** Charley), As might be expected there were even Blaxploitation horror movies, the most famous of which may be Blacula (1972). Among the Blaxploitation horror movies was Sugar Hill (1974), which blended Blaxploitation tropes with the Hollywood voodoo zombie movie.

The "Sugar Hill" of the title does not refer to Sugar Hill in Harlem or even Sugar Hill in Detroit, but instead to Diana "Sugar" Hill (Marki Bey), a fashion photographer whose fiance Langston (Larry D. Johnson) owns the night club Club Haiti. Unfortunately, for Lagston, local mobster Morgan (Robert Quarry) wants Club Haiti. When Langston refuses to sell, Morgan's thugs beat Lagston to death in the club's parking lot. Sugar wants justice for her dead fiance and seeks out Vodou priestess Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully). Sugar then carries out her revenge against Morgan and his henchmen with the aid of the aid of Baron Samedi, the Lwa of the dead, and an army of zombies.

Paul Maslansky, who directed Sugar Hill (1974), had worked a producer on such films as Castle of the Living Dead (1964) and The She Beast (1966). With the success of Blacula (1972) and its sequel, Scream Blacula Scream (1973), it was quite natural for American International Pictures to want to produce more Blaxploitation horror movies. Samuel Z. Arkoff of American International Pictures then asked Paul Maslansky to "...make a black exploitation picture...a black, funny horror picture" and gave  $125,000 to do so. As to its subject matter, Sugar Hill (1974) traces its roots back to the classic horror movies White Zombie (1932) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943). While nothing supernatural appears in the film, vodou had recently been part of the plotThe  the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (1973). 

The title role of Sugar Hill was played by little known actress Marki Bey. At the time, she had only appeared in a few movies, such as  The Landlord (1970) and The Roommates (1973). According to the film's publicity materials, she researched her part with various vodou groups in the Los Angeles area. Morgan, the villain in the film, was played by Robert Quarry, best known for playing the lead role in Count Yorga Vampire (1970). Sugar Hill (1974) would be the last film Robert Quarry would make under his contract with AIP. 

The all important role of Baron Samedi was played by Don Petro Colley. At the time, he may have been best known for guest appearances on TV Westerns and the role of Gideon on Daniel Boone. Prior to Sugar Hill (1974), he had already appeared in the Blaxploitation movies  The Legend of N***** Charley (1972) and Black Caesar (1973). Like Marki Bey, Don Pedro Colley researched his role, studying the vodou practices from Haiti. 

Sugar Hill (1974) featured yet other cast members of note. Mama Maitresse was played by Zara Cully, now best known as Mother Jefferson on The Jeffersons. Morgan's henchman Fabulous was played by Charlie Robinson (then billed as Charles P. Robinson), who would go onto play Mac on Night Court.Blues legend Big Walter Price appeared in the small role of Preacher in the movie. 

As mentioned earlier, the roots of Sugar Hill (1974) go back to the classics White Zombie (1932) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943). This is even true of the look of the zombies in the film. These are not the ghouls of Night of the Living Dead (1968), with deteriorating bodies that move slowly. Instead, these are proper zombies with pale skin and bulging eyes, often covered in cobwebs. It has been claimed that the zombie's eyes were created by cutting ping-pong balls in half and painting them silver. According to a September 1973 article in the Houston Post, the cobwebs covering the zombie's bodies using rubber cement, which was blown over the actors using fans.  Hank Edds was responsible for the make-up on Sugar Hill (1974). He also worked on Chinatown, which was released in the same year.

Although Sugar Hill (1974) was set in the fictional "Calaiah Parish" in Louisiana, it was shot in the Houston area. Shooting began on September 10, 1973, and was scheduled to last three weeks. Local people in Houston were recruited for both the cast and the crew. Houston locations were also used extensively, including Lulu's Bar, which was located near downtown Houston, and the Heights branch of the Houston Public Library, which doubled as the "Voodoo Institute." Support for the production was provided by the Texas Film Commission.

Like many Blaxploitation movies of the era, Sugar Hill (1974) featured a theme song, in its case "Supernatural Voodoo Woman" by The Originals. The Originals were a Motown group that had the 1969 hit "Baby I'm for Real (which went to no. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart) and "The Bells" (no. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 4 on the R&B chart). "Supernatural Voodoo Woman" did not chart, although it is one of the most listenable songs to emerge from a Blaxploitation movie. 

Sugar Hill (1974) was released on February 6, 1974. It did very poorly at the box office, making only $30,500. With a budget of $350,000, this means that it took an enormous loss. Sugar Hill (1974) would be cut from its original 91 minutes to 83 minutes for television and re-titled The Zombies of Sugar Hill for television. 

As might be expected, the portrayal of vodou in Sugar Hill (1974) is both inaccurate and sensationalized. It includes the usual tropes and even stereotypes of the genre: "voodoo dolls," a reanimated chicken's foot, a "voodoo queen" in the form of Mama Maitresse, and so on. While vodou is a syncretic religion blending Catholicism and African religions, the movie portrays it as little more than magic and a tool for revenge.

One thing that sets Sugar Hill (1974) from other Blaxploitation movies of the era is that, despite being a horror movie, it is not nearly as violent. There is no real blood and no real gore beyond several severed heads. There are also no nudity and no sexual situations. This sets it apart from many Blaxploitation movies at the time.

While its treatment of vodou leaves a bit to be desired and the film is dated, Sugar Hill (1974) does have much to recommend it. Marki Bey gives a sincere performance as the title character and proves she is much more than a pretty face. Don Pedro Colley gives a wonderfully over-the-top performance as Baron Samedi. The zombies are suitably creepy and a good break from the George Romero inspired ghouls many insist on calling "zombies." At its core Sugar Hill (1974) is a movie that is not afraid to have some fun and an enjoyable revenge horror film. 

The Late Great Bud Cort

Bud Cort, best known for playing Harold Parker Chasen in the cult classic Harold and Maude (1971), died yesterday, February 11, 2026, at the age of 77. The cause was complications from pneumonia following a long illness.

Bud Cort was born Walter Edward "Bud" Cox on March 29, 1948, in  New Rochelle, New York. He studied acting under famed actor William Hickey. He attended Iona Preparatory School and, after graduating there, he took acting classes at he New York University Tisch School of the Art for a time. He also studied acting under Stella Adler. To avoid being confused with actor Wally Cox, he created his stage name by combining his nickname "Bud" with his mother's maiden name "Court," later changing the spelling of "Court" after the Cort Theatre in New York City.

Bud Cort made his television debut in an uncredited role on the daytime soap opera The Doctors in 1968. In the late Sixties, he guest starred on episodes of Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, Room 222, and The Governor & J.J. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in Up the Down Staircase (1967) and then appeared in an uncredited role in Sweet Charity (1969). He was discovered in a revue by director Robert Altman, who cast him as Private Boone in MASH (1970). He also played the title role in Robert Altman's movie Brewster McCloud (1970). He also appeared in the movies The Strawberry Statement (1970), Gas-s-s-s (1970), and The Travelling Executioner (1970). 

Bud Cort began the Seventies with what might be his best known movie, Harold and Maude (1971), for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. He appeared in the movies Roma drogata: la polizia non può intervenire (1975), Why Shoot the Teacher (1977), Son of Hitler (1979), and Die Laughing (1980). He appeared on television in the TV movies Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976), Brave New World (1980). 

In the Eighties, Mr. Cort guest-starred on the shows Insight, Faerie Tale Theatre, Tales from the Darkside, Tales of the Unexpected,The Hitchhiker, Sledge Hammer!, The Twilight Zone, and Midnight Caller. He appeared in the movies She Dances Alone (1981), Hysterical (1982), Love Letters (1983), Maria's Lovers (1984), The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984), Invaders from Mars (1986), Telephone (1986), Love at Stake (1987), Out of the Dark (1988), The Chocolate War (1988), and Brain Dead (1990). He was the voice of the computer Edgar in Electric Dreams (1984).

In the Nineties, Bud Cort apepared in the movies Going Under (1991), Ted & Venus (1991), Girl in the Cadillac (1995), Heat (1995), Theodore Rex (1995), (1998), Seet Jane (1998),  I Woked Up Early the Day He Died (1998), Dogma (1999), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), (2000), The Million Dollar Hotel (2000), Coyote Ugly (2000), and Pollocak (2000). On teelvision he was a guest voice on Batman: The Animated Series, Tom & Jerry Kids Show, The Mask, The Sylvester & Tweeties Mysteries, and Superman: The Animated Series. He guest starred on the shows Dream On, Bob, Jack's Place, Scren Two, and Gun.

In the Naughts, Bud Cort guest starred on the shows Arrested Development, Ugly Betty, and Criminal Mnids. He was a guest voice on Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited. He appeared in the movies Made (2001), (2003), The Big Empty (2003), The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou   (2004), and The Number 23 (2007). In the Teenes, he was the vocie of the King in the animated movie Le petit prince (2015). He guest starred on the show Eagleheart. 

In my humble opinion, Bud Cort was one of the great character actors of the late 20th Century. Chances are good that he will always be best remembered as Harold Chasen in Harold and Maude, the young man obsessed with death., who develops a friendship with 79 year old Maude Chardin (Ruth Gordon). Hr will also be remembered for another collaboration with Robert Altman, Brewster McCloud. Like Harold, Brewster was an eccentric, although in his case he was building his own wings and lived in a fallout shelter. 

Although he may be best known for these two roles, Bud Cort played other great roles throughout his career. In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, he played mild-mannered bond company employee. He was the voice of Edgar, the lovestruck computer, in Electric Dreams. In the TV adaptation of Brave New World, he played psychologist Bernard Marx. On television he was also the voice of Toyman on various animated shows based on DC Comics. Bud Cort was a great talent who could bring characters to life, no matter how off-the-wall they were, and make them believable. 

A Picorial Tribute to Leslie Nielsen on His 100th Birthday

It was 100 years ago on this date that Leslie Neilsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. His career spanned 60 years and he appeared in both films and on television. What is more, there was a good deal of variety in Leslie Nielsen's performances. He appeared in dramatic roles in such classic movies as Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972), but may be best known for his comedic work on the TV show Police Squad! and such movies as Airplane! (1980) and the "Naked Gun" movies (spun-off from Police Squad!). In tribute to Mr. Nielsen on the occasion of his centenary, there are some images from his career. 

Years before his movie career began, Leslie Nielsen made his television debut in 1950 on an episode of Actors Studio. He made several guest appearances on television in the early to mid-Fifties on such shows as Stage 13, The Magnavox Theatre, Lights Out, and You Are There. Here he is the Suspense episode "The Brush Off" from 1950.

Here is Leslie Nielsen as Commander John J. Adams from Forbidden Planet (1956). It was only his second film as an actor and his first starring role.

Although he continued to appear on television, by the late Fifties, Leslie Nielsen was a bona fide movie star. Here he is with Debbie Reynolds in a promotional photo for Tammy and the Bachelor (1957).

Leslie Nielsen made several guest appearances on television in the Sixties. He guest starred on The Virginian five times alone, playing a different character each time. Here is H.M.Wynant with Leslie Nielsen from the episode "The Fortress." 

A promotional photo of Leslie Nielsen as Major Fred Gifford in The Reluctant Astronaut (1967). He played opposite lead actor Don Knotts and was one of his earliest comedic roles. 

Bracken's World was a drama series that centred on Century Studios, headed by John Bracken. In the first season, John Bracken was unseen, although Warren Stevens provided his voice. For the second season, Leslie Nielsen joined the cast to play John Bracken. The show was cancelled in its second season at 15 episodes.

 

Leslie Nielsen continued to guest star on such television shows as Ironside and M*A*S*H and in such movies as The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Day of the Animals (1977). He had a bit of a recurring role on the TV show Kung Fu, appearing in four episodes as the villainous Vincent Corbino. 
 

In 1980, Leslie Nielsen appeared in the movie Airplane! as Dr. Rumack. The movie would totally turn Mr. Nielsen's career alone. Previously known for dramatic roles, he would become best known for his comedy roles. 

David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, who gave the world Ariplane!, created the TV show Police Squad!, on which Leslie Nielsen played Lt. Frank Drebin. The show would only last six episodes, but proved to be a cult series. It ultimately inspired the "Naked Gun" movies, of which the first was The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! in 1988. In the end, Leslie Nielsen would make several more parodies, including Repossessed (1990) and Spy Hard (1996).

The Wicked Witch on Sesame Street

Oscar the Grouch and Margaret Hamilton

It was fifty years ago today, on February 10, 1976, that Margaret Hamilton guest starred in character as the Wicked Witch of the West form The Wizard of Oz on episode 847 of Sesame Street. The episode caused such an uproar among parents of young children that it was removed form rebroadcast and not seen again for decades. For that reason, episode 847 remains one of the most famous episodes of Sesame Street.

Episode 847 begins with David (Northern Calloway) catching a broom that falls out of the sky as he is walking out of Hooper's Store. The owner of the broom, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton in full regalia, right down to the green make-up), soon shows up and want her broom back. The Wicked Witch then makes repeated attempts to get her broom back, creating all sorts of problems on Sesame Street.

Episode 847 was written by Joseph A. Bailey, Judy Freudberg, and Emily Kingsley, all staff writers on Sesame Street. According to a February 8, 1976 article in the Chronicle-Telegraph, the episode was meant to teach children how to deal with fear, as well as "...the value of planning, by creating and implementing methods..." of retrieving the Witch's broom. 

At the time, Margaret Hamilton still had a very active career, appearing in movies such as Angel in My Pocket (1969) and Brewster McCloud (1970) and on TV shows such as Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and The Partridge Family. She also appeared in Maxwell House commercials at the time, which led to a bit of an in-joke in her appearance on Sesame Street. David offers the Witch coffee and she turns it down, saying, "I cant' stand the stuff." When episode 847 aired, Margaret Hamilton had recently appeared on another children's show as the Witch. She appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1975 as both herself and the Witch. In the episode she explained how children should not be scared of an imaginary character. She would return to Mister Rogers Neighborhood later in February 1976 and in October 1976 appeared as the Witch on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. In one of these appearances did she wear the classic green makeup, which is the one thing that sets Sesame Street episode 847 apart from her other appearances as the Witch in the mid-Seventies. 

Despite the fact that The Wizard of Oz (1939) was a yearly event on broadcast television and the fact that Margaret Hamilton had appeared elsewhere as the Wicked Witch (although without the green makeup), Sesame Street episode 847 resulted in a large amount of negative mail from angry parents who claimed that their children were so frightened by the episode that they now refused to watch the show. The Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), the company that produced Sesame Street, conducted test screenings of Episode 847 in March 1976 to determine if it was truly frightening to young children. It was noted that children were more attentive while the Wicked Witch of the West was on screen, the Children's Television Workshop were unable to determine if they were actually scared of her. It was then decided to pull the episode out of rotation. 

Sesame Street episode 847 would remain unseen for literally decades. In 2019 portions of the episode were shown at the event Sesame Street Lost and Found at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York. The episode has also been archived with the Library of Congress and is available for viewing there. It was in 2022 that a Muppet archivist leaked the complete episode to Reddit and later YouTube. Copies of the complete episode can currently be seen on YouTube, Reddit, and the Internet Archive.

Beauty, Brains..., and a Badge: Get Christie Love!

Teresa Graves as Christie Love

Get Christie Love! only ran for one season, from September 11, 1974, to April 4, 1975, but it is remembered to this day. Much of this is because Get Christie Love! was a pioneering television show. Starring Teresa Graves as the police detective of the title,  Teresa Graves was only the third Black woman to play the lead in a non-stereotypical role on an American television show, after Diahann Carroll on Julia and Esther Rolle on Good Times, and the first Black woman to play the lead in a drama series. Get Christie Love! was also as close to the Blaxpolitation genre as television would get. 

Get Christie Love! starred Teresa Graves as Los Angeles police detective Christie Love. Christie specialized in undercover work, was skilled in karate, and even had a catchphrase, "You're under arrest, Sugar!" Her original boss on the show was Lieutenant Matt Reardon, played by Charles Cioffi. 

The origins of Get Christie Love! go back to a TV movie of the same name that aired on January 22, 1974. The TV movie was in turn based on the novel The Ledger by Dorothy Uhnak. Dorothy Uhnak had served on the New York City Transit Police for 14 years before becoming a writer. She wrote the non-fiction book Policewoman (1964), based on her law enforcement career, before writing her first novel, The Bait (1968). The Bait centered on a female NYPD police detective named Christie Opara and was later made into a 1973 TV movie of the same name starring Donna Mills as LAPD police detective Tracy Fleming. Her second novel, The Ledger, was published in 1970. 

Just as the 1973 TV movie The Bait diverged from the novel upon which it was based, so too did the TV movie Get Christie Love! diverge from the novel The Ledger. Namely, white NYPD police detective Christie Opara became Black LAPD police detective Christie Love. There can be no doubt that this was due to the popularity of such Blaxploitation movies of the time as Coffy (1973) starring Pam Grier and Cleopatra Jones (1973) starring Tamara Dobson. The TV movie Get Christie Love! resembled those movies insofar as it had a self-confident, hip Black female lead, although it lacked the violence, nudity, and sex of the Blaxploitation movies. It also had more of a sense of humour. 

The TV movie Get Christie Love! would receive good enough ratings that it lead to the weekly series, although there would be changes from the telefilm to the show. In fact, except for Teresa Graves, the cast of the TV show was almost entirely different from the movie. Christie's boss in the TV movie was Captain Casey Reardon, played by Harry Guardino, while her original boss on the TV show was Lieutenant Matt Reardon, played by Charles Cioffi. Only one other actor from the TV movie would return for the show, although he would play a completely different character. In the TV movie, Andy Romano played Sergeant Seymour Greenberg. On the TV show, he played Lieutenant Joe Caruso.

The TV movie Get Christie Love! was written by George Kirgo, whose credits at the time ranged from two episodes of My Mother the Car to Cannon. Credit for the TV show went to both George Kirgo and Peter Nelson. Peter Nelson had been a producer on the aforementioned TV movie The Bait and the TV movie Get Christie Love!. He later wrote several TV movies, including Two Kinds of Love in 1983 and Jonathan: The Boy No One Wanted in 1992. Get Christie Love! had an actual female, Black NTPD detective as its technical advisor in the form of Olga Ford. Olga Ford had joined the New York City Police Department in 1958. 

Get Christie Love! debuted on ABC on September 11, 1974. The show received mixed to negative reviews, although critics did praise Teresa Graves for her performance. The show also did not perform particularly well in the ratings, scheduled on Wednesday night at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central against Petrocelli on NBC. While Get Christie Love! did not perform well in the overall Nielsen ratings, according to a survey conducted by A.C. Nielsen in October and November 1974, it was the fourth most popular show among non-whites, after Good Times, Sanford and Son, and That's My Mama.

Production on Get Christie Love! would be complicated to a degree by Teresa Graves's religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Two days a week, shooting on the show had to promptly end at 5;00 PM so Miss Graves could attend Jehovah's Witness meetings. She also had an agreement with producers that Christie Love would never kill anyone, would never tell a direct lie, and there would never be any profanity in the scripts. Curiously, while Teresa Graves dictated that Christie Love would not lie, she still did undercover work.

There would be one major change made to Get Christie Love! during its run. After twelve episodes, Get Christie Love! went from December 11, 1974, to January 8, 1975. When it returned, Charles Cioffi as Lieutenant Reardon had been replaced by Jack Kelly as Captain Arthur Ryan. Regardless, overall ratings for Get Christie Love! did not improve, the show was ultimately cancelled after twenty-two episodes.

Having run one season, the TV series Get Christie Love! would not be released on home media, although the TV movie was released on VHS in 1991 and on DVD in 2001. Get Christie Love! aired on TV Land in 1997 and  on Centric in 2014. Similarly, while the TV movie is available on Tubi and other streaming services, the TV series does not appear to be.

There was a reboot produced by Courtney Kemp, who produced the series Power, and actor Vin Diesel in 2017. Titled Get Christie Love (no exclamation point), the pilot changed Christie Love from a police detective to a CIA agent (played by Kylie Bunbury). ABC did not pick it up as a series.

While Get Christie Love! did not get the best reviews upon its debut in 1974, the show remains well-remembered. And regardless of whether or not it was a good show, Get Christie Love! was a pioneering show. Before Get Christie Love!, there had only been a few American action shows with females leads, including Decoy starring Beverly Garland, Honey West starring Ann Francis, and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., starring Stefanie Powers. And it was only the third American TV show to star a Black Woman in a non-stereotypical role and the first in a drama. Get Christie Love! may not have gotten Blaxploitation right, but it left a lasting impact. 

Happy 95th Birthday to Mamie Van Doren!

It is a sad fact that many of the classic blonde bombshells of the 1950s died young. Marilyn Monroe died at age 36. Jayne Mansfield was 34 when she was killed in an automobile accident. Joi Lansing was only 43 when she died from breast cancer. We are then very lucky that we have the great Mamie Van Doren with us. Indeed, she turned 95 today,. In tribute to Miss Van Doren, then, here are some of my favourite photos of her.

A promotional photo for Untamed Youth (1957) with Lori Nelson (who's on the left).

A photo of Mamie Van Doren from 1955. She's called the Girl Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll for a reason!

Another classic publicity photo of Mamie Van Doren, this one for The Second Greatest Sex (1955).

A publicity photo of Mamie Van Doren from approximately the mid-Fifties.

 A promotional photo for Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)

A picture of Mamie Van Doren with a lamb. 

A promotional photo for High School Confidential (1958)

A promotional photo for Teacher's Pet (1958). Yes, Mamie got to wear costumes designed by Edith Head!