Didn’t happen! But it is the end of the year, so Happy New Year everybody! This was a strong year for films and television. I’ll be posting my picks for 2012 in a day or so. In the meantime, to help ring out the old year (and ring in the new), here’s a clip of Bill Haley & His Comets performing “Rock Around the Clock” on American Bandstand. I remember how much this song rocked my world when I first heard it under the opening credits of Blackboard Jungle in 1955. This was the first feature film to use rock music, and to use it this loud and in your face at the start of a movie about juvenile delinquency really freaked out a lot of people, but not us kids. This felt like a real seismic shift, and it turned out to be just that.

Let’s let Bette Davis take us out (from Cabin in the Cotton – 1932).

No, wait, let’s finish with the great Buster Keaton and the climax from Seven Chances (1925) where he’s chased by rocks and boulders and aspiring brides. It’s such a joy watching Buster run.

See you all at the movies in 2013. – Ted Hicks