Want to know the best Fay Wray movies? How about the worst Fay Wray movies? Curious about Fay Wray box office grosses or which Fay Wray movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Fay Wray movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Fay Wray (1907-2004) was a Canadian-born American actress best remembered for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong (1933). Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early “scream queens”. Her IMDb page shows 123 acting credits from 1923 to 1980. This page will rank Fay Wray movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. To do well in our overall rankings a movie has to do well at the box office, get good reviews by critics, be liked by audiences, and get some award recognition.
Fay Wray Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
| 1933 | King Kong (1933) |  |
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| 1957 | Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) |  |
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| 1933 | The Bowery (1933) | |
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| 1934 | Viva Villa! (1934) AA Best Picture Nom |
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| 1931 | Dirigible (1931) | |
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| 1934 | The Richest Girl in The World (1934) | |
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| 1931 | The Unholy Garden (1931) | |
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| 1955 | The Cobweb (1955) | |
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| 1930 | Paramount on Parade (1930) | |
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| 1955 | Hell On Frisco Bay (1955) |  |
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| 1930 | The Border Legion (1930) | |
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| 1929 | The Four Feathers (1929) | |
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| 1934 | The Affairs of Cellini (1934) | |
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| 1956 | Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956) | |
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| 1932 | The Most Dangerous Game (1932) | |
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| 1931 | The Lawyer's Secret (1931) | |
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| 1931 | The Finger Points (1931) | |
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| 1933 | Mystery of the Wax Musuem (1933) | |
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| 1941 | Adam Had Four Sons (1941) | |
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| 1934 | Madame Spy (1934) | |
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| 1932 | Doctor X (1932) | |
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| 1928 | Street of Sin (1928) | |
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| 1955 | Queen Bee (1955) | |
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| 1928 | The Legion of the Condemned (1928) | |
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| 1933 | One Sunday Afternoon (1933) | |
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| 1928 | The Wedding March (1928) |  |
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| 1953 | Small Town Girl (1953) | |
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| 1953 | Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) | |
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| 1929 | Thunderbolt (1929) | |
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| 1930 | The Texan (1930) | |
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| 1936 | They Met in a Taxi (1936) | |
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| 1938 | The Jury's Secret (1938) | |
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| 1935 | The Clairvoyant (1935) | |
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| 1937 | It Happened in Hollywood (1937) | |
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| 1957 | Summer Love (1957) | |
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| 1930 | The Sea God (1930) | |
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| 1956 | Crime of Passion (1956) | |
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| 1942 | Not a Ladies' Man (1942) |  |
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| 1931 | The Conquering Horde (1931) | |
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| 1929 | Pointed Heels (1929) | |
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| 1931 | Not Exactly Gentlemen (1931) | |
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| 1934 | Woman in the Dark (1934) |  |
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| 1936 | The Roaming Lady (1936) | |
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| 1936 | When Knights Were Bold (1936) |  |
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| 1935 | Alias Bulldog Drummond (1935) | |
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| 1933 | Ann Carver's Profession (1933) | |
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| 1933 | The Vampire Bat (1933) | |
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| 1958 | Dragstrip Riot (1958) | |
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| 1941 | Melody For Three (1941) | |
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| 1938 | Smashing The Spy Ring (1938) | |
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| 1928 | The First Kiss (1928) | |
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| 1940 | Wildcat Bus (1940) |  |
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| 1930 | Captain Thunder (1930) | |
Fay Wray Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies any way you want.
- Sort Fay Wray movies by her co-stars
- Sort Fay Wray movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Fay Wray movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Fay Wray movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Fay Wray movie received.
- Sort Fay Wray movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | King Kong (1933) | Bruce Cabot | 9.10 | 428.5 | 666.60 | 1 | 89 | 00 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 3 | Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) | Debbie Reynolds & Walter Brennan |
8.60 | 165.0 | 165.00 | 23 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 4 | The Bowery (1933) | Wallace Beery & Directed by Raoul Walsh |
4.30 | 200.1 | 267.90 | 8 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 93.0 | |
| 2 | Viva Villa! (1934) AA Best Picture Nom |
Wallace Beery | 2.70 | 126.0 | 251.10 | 28 | 65 | 04 / 01 | 89.8 | |
| 6 | Dirigible (1931) | Jack Holt | 2.90 | 148.1 | 148.10 | 27 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 87.7 | |
| 5 | The Richest Girl in The World (1934) | Miriam Hopkins & Joel McCrea |
3.10 | 146.6 | 146.60 | 16 | 62 | 01 / 00 | 87.6 | |
| 7 | The Unholy Garden (1931) | Ronald Colman | 2.50 | 128.3 | 128.30 | 35 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 84.1 | |
| 8 | The Cobweb (1955) | Richard Widmark & Lauren Bacall |
4.30 | 88.8 | 124.00 | 80 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 83.3 | |
| 9 | Paramount on Parade (1930) | Gary Cooper | 2.20 | 120.5 | 120.50 | 50 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 80.3 | |
| 12 | Hell On Frisco Bay (1955) | Alan Ladd & Edward G. Robinson |
4.50 | 94.2 | 167.10 | 76 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 78.8 | |
| 10 | The Border Legion (1930) | Jack Holt | 1.10 | 61.0 | 61.00 | 108 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 78.5 | |
| 11 | The Four Feathers (1929) | William Powell | 2.40 | 73.0 | 73.00 | 50 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 15 | The Affairs of Cellini (1934) | Fredric March | 2.50 | 114.9 | 114.90 | 35 | 51 | 04 / 00 | 78.0 | |
| 14 | Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956) | Sal Mineo & John Saxon |
4.10 | 80.1 | 80.10 | 76 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 77.7 | |
| 13 | The Most Dangerous Game (1932) | Joel McCrea | 0.80 | 36.8 | 62.00 | 143 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 76.9 | |
| 16 | The Lawyer's Secret (1931) | Jean Arthur | 1.60 | 81.1 | 81.10 | 77 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 19 | The Finger Points (1931) | Clark Gable | 1.60 | 79.9 | 95.80 | 81 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 75.1 | |
| 17 | Mystery of the Wax Musuem (1933) | Directed by Michael Curtiz | 1.00 | 47.1 | 151.70 | 103 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 74.7 | |
| 21 | Adam Had Four Sons (1941) | Ingrid Bergman & Susan Hayward |
2.20 | 85.4 | 85.40 | 108 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 74.4 | |
| 18 | Madame Spy (1934) | Edward Arnold | 1.20 | 56.4 | 56.40 | 97 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 74.2 | |
| 20 | Doctor X (1932) | Directed by Michael Curtiz | 1.20 | 56.7 | 83.20 | 104 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 73.8 | |
| 22 | Street of Sin (1928) | Emil Jannings | 1.60 | 52.3 | 52.30 | 59 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 72.3 | |
| 23 | Queen Bee (1955) | Joan Crawford | 2.80 | 57.7 | 57.70 | 115 | 64 | 02 / 00 | 72.1 | |
| 25 | The Legion of the Condemned (1928) | Gary Cooper | 2.40 | 76.5 | 76.50 | 39 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 71.5 | |
| 24 | One Sunday Afternoon (1933) | Gary Cooper | 1.20 | 55.6 | 55.60 | 78 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 71.2 | |
| 25 | The Wedding March (1928) | Erich von Stroheim | 0.80 | 25.9 | 25.90 | 92 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 67.0 | |
| 27 | Small Town Girl (1953) | Jane Powell & Farley Granger |
4.10 | 74.3 | 115.80 | 87 | 55 | 01 / 00 | 66.5 | |
| 30 | Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) | Cornel Wilde & Anne Bancroft |
3.60 | 65.3 | 65.30 | 106 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 64.9 | |
| 29 | Thunderbolt (1929) | Directed by Josef Von Sternberg | 1.30 | 39.5 | 39.50 | 100 | 65 | 01 / 00 | 64.5 | |
| 28 | The Texan (1930) | Gary Cooper | 0.60 | 32.3 | 32.30 | 156 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 64.4 | |
| 31 | They Met in a Taxi (1936) | Chester Morris | 1.00 | 43.4 | 43.40 | 145 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 63.9 | |
| 33 | The Jury's Secret (1938) | Kent Taylor | 1.20 | 48.1 | 48.10 | 157 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 63.1 | |
| 32 | The Clairvoyant (1935) | Claude Rains | 0.90 | 40.2 | 40.20 | 148 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 63.0 | |
| 34 | It Happened in Hollywood (1937) | Richard Dix | 1.10 | 47.3 | 47.30 | 159 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 61.1 | |
| 35 | Summer Love (1957) | John Saxon | 2.20 | 42.1 | 42.10 | 109 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 60.1 | |
| 37 | The Sea God (1930) | Richard Arlen | 0.60 | 31.3 | 31.30 | 158 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 53.0 | |
| 36 | Crime of Passion (1956) | Barbara Stanwyck & Sterling Hayden |
1.40 | 28.0 | 28.00 | 158 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 53.0 | |
| 38 | Not a Ladies' Man (1942) | Paul Kelly | 0.70 | 27.1 | 27.10 | 194 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 49.5 | |
| 39 | The Conquering Horde (1931) | Richard Arlen | 0.60 | 29.9 | 29.90 | 183 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 49.3 | |
| 41 | Pointed Heels (1929) | William Powell | 0.60 | 17.4 | 17.40 | 143 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 46.0 | |
| 40 | Not Exactly Gentlemen (1931) | Victor McLaglen | 0.10 | 7.2 | 7.20 | 208 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 45.8 | |
| 43 | Woman in the Dark (1934) | Melvyn Douglas | 0.60 | 28.5 | 28.50 | 166 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 30.6 | |
| 45 | The Roaming Lady (1936) | Ralph Bellamy | 0.80 | 33.3 | 33.30 | 168 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 30.5 | |
| 42 | When Knights Were Bold (1936) | Jack Buchanan | 0.20 | 7.3 | 7.30 | 212 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 29.4 | |
| 43 | Alias Bulldog Drummond (1935) | Ralph Richardson | 0.10 | 4.9 | 4.90 | 212 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 29.2 | |
| 46 | Ann Carver's Profession (1933) | Gene Raymond | 0.30 | 15.7 | 15.70 | 176 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 28.0 | |
| 48 | The Vampire Bat (1933) | Melvyn Douglas | 0.60 | 26.1 | 26.10 | 163 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 27.8 | |
| 48 | Dragstrip Riot (1958) | Gary Clarke | 0.60 | 10.3 | 10.30 | 162 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 27.6 | |
| 48 | Melody For Three (1941) | Jean Hersholt | 0.60 | 21.9 | 21.90 | 210 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 27.0 | |
| 50 | Smashing The Spy Ring (1938) | Ralph Bellamy | 0.50 | 20.2 | 20.20 | 191 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 22.9 | |
| 51 | The First Kiss (1928) | Gary Cooper | 0.70 | 22.8 | 22.80 | 96 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 21.9 | |
| 51 | Wildcat Bus (1940) | Charles Lang | 0.50 | 18.2 | 18.20 | 209 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 16.0 | |
| 52 | Captain Thunder (1930) | Victor Varconi | 0.50 | 27.7 | 31.50 | 163 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 13.3 |
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Fay Wray is the # 84 most connectible actor of the 1930’s.
Who can forget Fay’s TV series Pride of the Family from the 1953 to 1954 season which aired 27 episodes. Natalie Wood played Fay’s daughter.
Fay Wray has never been on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. These are the people on the 2020 she has appeared with (yes there are a few).
53 JOHN SAXON Rock, Pretty Baby (1956)
53 JOHN SAXON Summer Love (1958)
137 LAUREN BACALL The Cobweb (1955)
154 MARC LAWRENCE Murder in Greenwich Village (1937)
243 LESLIE NIELSEN Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
325 ANNE BANCROFT Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953)
406 LIONEL STANDER They Met in a Taxi (1936)
462 STUART WHITMAN Crime of Passion (1957)
501 RALPH BELLAMY Below the Sea (1933)
501 RALPH BELLAMY ROAMING LADY (1936)
501 RALPH BELLAMY SMASHING THE SPY RING (1938)
501 RALPH BELLAMY Woman in the Dark (1934)
502 RICHARD WIDMARK The Cobweb (1955)
510 JOHN IRELAND Queen Bee (1955)
569 TERRY-THOMAS When Knights Were Bold (1936)
629 ROYAL DANO Crime of Passion (1957)
752 SUSAN STRASBERG The Cobweb (1955)
756 DEBBIE REYNOLDS Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
759 CHARLES BOYER The Cobweb (1955)
768 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)
805 KEYE LUKE Wildcat Bus (1940)
813 ROD TAYLOR Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)
915 STERLING HAYDEN Crime of Passion (1957)
Only John Saxon is still alive.
Fay appeared with 21 Oscar winners.
ANNE BANCROFT Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953)
CLARK GABLE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
CLARK GABLE The Finger Points (1931)
EMIL JANNINGS STREET OF SIN (1928)
FREDRIC MARCH Paramount on Parade (1930)
FREDRIC MARCH The Affairs of Cellini (1934)
GARY COOPER Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
GARY COOPER One Sunday Afternoon (1933)
GARY COOPER Paramount on Parade (1930)
GARY COOPER The Legion of the Condemned (1928)
GARY COOPER The Texan (1930)
GLORIA GRAHAME The Cobweb (1955)
INGRID BERGMAN Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
JANE DARWELL Once to Every Woman (1934)
JANE DARWELL One Sunday Afternoon (1933)
JANE DARWELL THE JURY’S SECRET (1938)
JANET GAYNOR Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
JOAN CRAWFORD Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
JOAN CRAWFORD Queen Bee (1955)
JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT VIVA VILLA! (1934)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
MARY PICKFORD Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
MELVYN DOUGLAS The Vampire Bat (1933)
MELVYN DOUGLAS Woman in the Dark (1934)
PAUL LUKAS Behind the Make-Up (1930)
RONALD COLMAN The Unholy Garden (1931)
SPENCER TRACY Shanghai Madness (1933)
SUSAN HAYWARD Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
WALLACE BEERY The Bowery (1933)
WALLACE BEERY Viva Villa! (1934)
WALTER BRENNAN Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
WARNER BAXTER Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
Only Anne Bancroft is on the top 1000.
Hey Dan
1. As always….thanks for putting this information together.
2. I had never heard of the show, Pride of the Family…..but that is some good trivia about Natalie Wood playing her daughter.
3. Not surprised at all that she is not the Oracle list….but I bet she would have been in 1940.
4. Ralph Bellamy gets the honors as her most frequent Oracle co-star…..small list compared to some of the epic ones you normally provide.
5. 21 Oscar winning co-stars is pretty good…especially since a good part of her career was before the Oscars even existed.
Good stuff….thanks again.
As it is perhaps when YOU approach your 80th birthday a black and white movie made in just the 3rd full year of talkies when filmmaking was in its infancy [and which one usually has to watch via a TV screen or laptop/tablet] will be too dated for the complete comfort of your eyes even with wearing glasses.
Conversely a lushly-coloured modern flick with great special effects and other up-to-date filming techniques which you have the opportunity to initially watch on the big screens will always appear ‘modern’ to you. The few coloured 1930s movie such as Flynn’s Robin Hood that I have seen give my eyes no trouble at all.
The good news is though that whilst at my stage of life certain presentational aspects of some internet sites and other visual sources of information can test the eyes Steve’s videos and the pages of your site never give my eyesight any trouble whatsoever such is their clarity; and frankly your 50 Stars book with its clear type and intelligent layout and format is a splendidly easy-reference source for any film buff – IN MY PERCEPTION!! Please continue to keep safe.
TECHNICAL FOOTNOTE: I am currently working my way through 271 episode reruns of Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason series made in the late 1950s and early 1960s -ie decades after the 1933 Kong- and all but one of those episodes is in black and white so that the scenes shot at night are hard on my eyes with some of the action indistinguishable.
However one episode -no 21 out of 30 in the 9th and final season – was shot in colour [perhaps as an experiment in the hope of squeezing a 10th instalment of the series-you know:like The thawing of frozen Blood: Rambo 97 Part 5] and the difference is remarkable: a piece of film made over half a century ago looked very “modern-day”; and of course as for Mason himself even Canucks look more splendid in colour!
Hey Bob…There are some horrible copies of King Kong out there……but there are some that have been re-mastered and now look awesome….I am betting Steve has a copy like that. Thanks for the nice words about our book. Speaking of books….beggining the process to get Book 2 written and published. Good additional trivia on Perry Mason. Good stuff.