Culture News Blog

Q: I enjoy your finding old or partially remembered movies. Here's my challenge for you: A few years back, I saw a made-for-TV movie where a disgruntled single man was attacked repeatedly in his apartment by hundreds of tiny toy soldiers. The hourlong movie had no dialogue! It was fantastic and I would love a copy of it.

A: You saw "Battleground," with William Hurt as a hit man besieged after he killed a toy manufacturer. It was especially praised for telling its story without dialogue. It aired as part of the "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" anthology based on Stephen King stories; the complete series is on DVD.

Q: When I was around 5 years old back in 1951 or thereabouts, I watched a serialized TV show starring Gene Autry involving robots and a secret cave. The show went on for weeks and captivated my imagination, but I have never seen nor heard from it since. Do you have any information?

A: Western star Autry appeared in a 1935 serial called "The Phantom Empire," which got him tangled up with "the scientific city of Murania," a technologically advanced, underground civilization. It was one of Autry's earliest screen appearances. (A trailer on YouTube refers to him as "radio's singing cowboy star.") And yes, there were robots. There is also a DVD of it, although I'm not sure what the technical quality is. The YouTube trailer looks pretty good.

Q: Please advise the name of the TV show that was on a few years ago about an old-time radio station. It had excellent production values and was a very good period piece. I think it lasted for a season or two. I want to say the name of the show was "I Remember Radio" but am not sure. Is this show on DVD?

A: You are most likely thinking of "Remember WENN," a comedy about a Pittsburgh radio station in the 1930s and '40s. It originally aired on AMC from 1996 to 1998 and was the brainchild of writer Rupert Holmes. Unfortunately, it is not available in an authorized DVD, even though fans keep calling for one.

By the way, one good site about the show is http://www.rememberwenn.org.

Q: My family comes from the Ozarks of Missouri. Years ago there was a movie made about fox hunting called "The Voice of Bugle Ann." As I understand it, my grandfather owned all the dogs with the exception of Bugle Ann. I would like a copy in any form.

A: I could not find a clearly authorized copy of the 1936 movie, which starred Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan. I did see copies for sale at http://www.robertsvideos.com and http://www.bestvideo.com, but I cannot vouch for the source or quality.

Do you have a question or comment about movies, TV and other popular culture? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark the note for Mailbag and do not phone in questions.

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