Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Drinkable • eatable • readable • film • music • television

Video
Written by Christopher in Television

Pan Am Promo trailer

A few weeks ago we took the skies with news about a new ABC series centered around the iconic airline Pan American World Airways during the 1960s. Recently a promo was released, giving us a taste of what we’ll see this fall. At a first glance it looks a bit like Mad Men in the air. It is a treat seeing historic locations such as...

The Sound of Raunchy and Erotic Italian Film Scores

Ever wonder what an Italian film score sounds like? Yeah? Well how about Italian scores from erotic films? Even if you haven’t seen an Italian “erotica”, these scores are great for every lounge music lover (pun intended). “Beat At Cinecitta” is a music score compilation from, you guessed it, raunchy Italian films from the 60’s and 70’s. Italian composers such as Piero Piccioni and Riz...

Saul Bass – Title Designer
Written by Katharine Miller in Film

Saul Bass – Title Designer

When the opening credits for an Alfred Hitchcock film start rolling, it’s impossible to not be instantly captivated. The simple concept, bold graphics, and dynamic animations are all evidence of Saul Bass’s genius at work. Saul Bass began his career by designing print ads for movies. His first collaboration with director Otto Preminger was the film poster for Carmen Jones. From there, it seemed a...

Pan Am Flies Again
Written by Christopher in Television

Pan Am Flies Again

Here are some news that will surely bring a smile to any fan of aviation and travelling in style. The iconic airline Pan American is going to take to the skies again soon in the upcoming ABC tv-series “Pan Am“. A pilot (no pun intended) has been ordered and the plot is said to center around the lives of the pilots and stewardesses of the...

Monte – King of Atom Age Monster Decals
Written by Baron von Swankenstein in Readable

Monte – King of Atom Age Monster Decals

In America, the 1950s and 60s spawned The Monster Kids. These were kids, mostly pre-adolescent boys, who assembled Aurora model kits of Frankenstein or Dracula after school; read Tales From The Crypt comics with a flashlight under the covers at bed time; and sneaked downstairs on Saturdays to watch the late-night horror movie show on TV with spooky hosts like Zacherle, Chilly Billy, or Ghoulardi....

Airport – A Star Studded 1970s Melodrama

The first of its kind, Airport set the standard for the disaster films of the 1970s. Films such as The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and my favorite – Rollercoaster (1977) collected A-list, B-list, and C-list movie stars and put them into some pretty crummy situations. But their pain is our pleasure; the films grossed a ton of money – Airport made over...

The Wonderful Future That Never Was
Written by Baron von Swankenstein in Readable

The Wonderful Future That Never Was

“Here at home we’ll play in the city. Powered by the sun. Perfect weather for a streamlined world. There’ll be Spandex jackets – one for everyone.” – Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y.” Americans of the 1950s and early ’60s had a love affair with technology that, some would say, continues to this day. Nineteen fifty seven saw global scientific cooperation with the beginning of the I.G.Y., the...

Get all the goods straight to your inbox