Surprise Noirvember ep! It's Tierney Time once again as we discuss John M. Stahl's Technicolor noir masterpiece Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Topics include monkeys and coconuts, Vincent Price club bangers, boat massacres of all kinds, and more B

21. The Mummy (1932): He's Got On a Caftan and He's Very Dry

Oct 27th, 2021 1h 38m

With just enough time for one more spooooky Halloween episode, we're busting open Imhotep's tomb to cover The Mummy (1932). Join us as we discuss the film's roots in the Egyptomania craze of 19th and early-20th centuries, its place as a lesser

20. Cat People (1942): Baby Porky's Big Fat Move

Oct 6th, 2021 1h 21m

In this, the spookiest of seasons, we emerge from the shadows to discuss the RKO horror classic Cat People (1942). Topics include Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur locking eyes across a crowded room, the mysterious world of Serbian stews, and a l

19. King Kong (1933): If Only He Had an Ass to Match

Jun 30th, 2021 1h 55m

We're back, and we watched King Kong (1933)! The gang returns to discuss practical effects, gorilla butts, Merian C. Cooper's exhausting life choices, Fay Wray's status as the original scream queen, and why we think it's important to engage cri

Bonus 21. The Uncanny (1977) and Uninvited (1987): Tongues Go Missing All the Time

Feb 17th, 2021 1h 16m

It's time for Evil Cats Week as Amelia and Tiff cover two feline-centric horror movies, Denis Héroux's anthology film The Uncanny (1977) and Greydon Clark's exploitation schlockfest Uninvited (1987). We discuss Ray Milland's big round head, Pet

Bonus 20. Love on the Run (1936) and Three Loves Has Nancy (1938): A Chaotic Evil Lew Ayres

Jan 20th, 2021 1h 20m

It's time to kick off 2021 with our first-ever listener-requested episode! This week we take a look at two MGM romantic comedies co-starring Franchot Tone: Love on the Run (1936) and Three Loves Has Nancy (1938). Subjects include dead people cl

Bonus 19. The Swarm (1978): Merry Christmas, It's Bees

Dec 23rd, 2020 1h 26m

This week the Gruesome Twosome returns to tackle Irwin Allen's star-studded disaster epic The Swarm (1978), which has nothing to do with the holiday season but does feature the gift of bees, bees, millions of bees! We discuss Michael Caine's ma

Bonus 18. Whirlpool (1950): Gallbladder Widower

Nov 18th, 2020 1h

It's a Noirvember bonus this week as we discuss Otto Preminger's hypnosis thriller Whirlpool (1950), starring Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose Ferrer, and Charles Bickford. Subjects include kleptomania, Hulkamania (not that kind), gallbladder

18. The Omen (1976): Baby-on-Baby Crime

Nov 4th, 2020 1h 45m

It's another shot of Gregory Peck this week as we wrap up our Halloween cursed film series with Richard Donner's demon-child classic The Omen (1976). We explore what the movie has to say about motherhood and post-Watergate political anxiety, pa

Bonus 17. Cape Fear (1962) and Cape Fear (1991): Twice the Cape, Twice the Fear

Oct 28th, 2020 1h 33m

This week we're taking a quick detour from our cursed film series to tackle a different kind of horror movie: J. Lee Thompsons's neo-noir thriller Cape Fear (1962), and Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of the same name. We discuss the stark differ

17. Poltergeist (1982): You Obviously Don't Know How Much a Skeleton Costs

Oct 14th, 2020 1h 54m

Our Halloween theme continues this week with another notoriously "cursed" horror movie: Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg's haunted house classic Poltergeist (1982). We tackle the question of just who actually directed the film, explore its icon

16. The Exorcist (1973): Sometimes the Vibes Is Right

Sep 30th, 2020 1h 57m

We're back! After losing an episode to our very own MP3-devouring curse, we emerge from the shadows to kick off the Halloween season with a look at William Friedkin's similarly cursed horror classic The Exorcist (1973). We trace writer William

Bonus 16. Basket Case 2 (1990): First Anniversary Episode Brought to You By Jolt Cola

Sep 2nd, 2020 1h 8m

This week all the crickets in the state of California join us to celebrate the show's one-year anniversary with a look at Basket Case 2 (1990), belated and beloved sequel to the first movie we ever covered. Topics include the Belial Babies, our

Bonus 15. Romance on the High Seas (1948): Jack Carson Has Risen From the Grave

Aug 5th, 2020 1h 24m

On this week's bonus episode we tackle the postwar Warner Brothers musical Romance on the High Seas (1948), starring Doris Day, Janis Paige, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall, and absolutely no one else. Warning: The following podcast contains material

Bonus 14. Rollercoaster (1977): He's Got Timmy Bottoms Eyes

Jul 22nd, 2020 1h 14m

Amusement parks may be off limits this summer, but at least we've got the disaster flick Rollercoaster (1977) to hold us over. Join us for this week's bonus episode as we discuss George Segal's tiny hat, Timothy Bottoms' stinky bomber jacket, R

15. Holiday (1938): Not Caring is Cool

Jul 1st, 2020 1h 33m

Today we're taking a look at Holiday (1938), arguably the most understated of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn's four films together. We discuss the early years and muses of playwright Philip Barry, Holiday's role in launching Hepburn's career,

Bonus 13. Berlin Correspondent (1942): That's Not His Natural Chomp

Jun 3rd, 2020 59m 22s

This week the Gruesome Twosome heads back to the ol' Dana Andrews well for a research-free look at the World War II thriller Berlin Correspondent (1942). We discuss the film's extremely poor attempts at emulating Foreign Correspondent (1940), t

14. Safety Last! (1923): Back Then They Didn't Have Uber Eats

May 13th, 2020 1h 26m

The time has finally come—we're covering a silent film! This week we take a look at the early life and career of Harold Lloyd, culminating in the production of his first masterpiece Safety Last! (1923). Topics include child scammers, prop bombs

13. The Boys in the Band (1970): Are You Going to the Birthday Party?

Apr 29th, 2020 2h 14m

After three seemingly endless months, we're finally back with a fully-researched episode—and it's our longest yet, so heat up some lasagna and settle in as we tackle William Friedkin's adaptation of Mart Crowley's play The Boys in the Band (197

Bonus 12. Panic in the Streets (1950): I Want a GameCube in My Iron Lung

Apr 8th, 2020 55m 55s

It's Topical Tuesday on the pod this week as we discuss Elia Kazan's pandemic-themed film noir Panic in the Streets (1950). Subjects include pneumonic plague, lax '50s parenting, the questionable legality of Jack Palance's acting methods, and a

Bonus 11. Service de Luxe (1938): I Burned Her

Mar 18th, 2020 50m 38s

It's another Candice-and-Amelia Special this week as the Gruesome Twosome take on Service de Luxe (1938), the Constance Bennett romantic comedy that served as Vincent Price's film debut. Recorded way back on March 7th, we discuss toilet paper s

Bonus 10. Thirteen Women (1932) and When's Your Birthday? (1937): A Racist Final Destination

Mar 4th, 2020 50m 51s

We're looking to the stars this week for a research-free discussion of two very different cinematic approaches to astrology: Thirteen Women (1932), a proto-slasher starring Myrna Loy, and the Joe E. Brown comedy When's Your Birthday? (1937). We

Bonus 09. My Favorite Wife (1940) and Move Over, Darling (1963): Who Would You Commit a Bigamy With?

Feb 19th, 2020 50m 58s

This week we're taking a research-free look at two romantic comedies that combine nineteenth-century tragic poetry with Hollywood's love of bigamy: My Favorite Wife (1940) and its remake, Move Over, Darling (1963). We discuss our love of Doris

12. Oscars Moments of Yore: A Twentieth-Century Academy Awards Odyssey

Feb 5th, 2020 1h 36m

We're doing something a little different this week as we explore sixty years of the Oscars, from the anti-union origins of the Academy in the late 1920s to the career-ending broadcast of 1989. Join us for tales of gatecrashers, axes, protesters

Bonus 08. The Prowler (1951): Sorry for Everything

Jan 22nd, 2020 39m 35s

On this week's bonus episode of What's in the Basket, we're peeping in on the Van Heflin-Evelyn Keyes film noir The Prowler (1951). We discuss big ol' foreheads, Dalton Trumbo's handling of female characters, ghost towns, sarsaparilla, and He