TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

Here at Multicom, we are saddened by the news of Joe Don Baker's passing on May 7th, 2025 . Baker was an important figure in American film and a familiar face in many beloved titles in our collection. His family announced last week that he passed away at the age of 89. Joe Don Baker made a mark on Hollywood with his unmistakable Texan presence and his commanding presence. Whether playing lawmen, outlaws, or something in between, he brought an intensity to his roles that audiences never forgot...including making memorable appearances in multiple James Bond films. He rose to fame in the early 1970s with back-to-back hit performances: first, in Junior Bonner (1972) , directed by Sam Peckinpah, where he starred as the ambitious younger brother of Steve McQueen’s aging rodeo rider. Then, in Don Siegel’s Charley Varrick (1973), he turned heads as Molly, a mob enforcer who chillingly stalks Walter Matthau’s character.  But Baker’s lead role in Walking Tall (1973) catapulted him to th...

It’s back to school time ! Even if your high school days are far behind you, and whether you look back at your time in high school with fondness or dread, high school is an inevitable experience that most adolescents face worldwide. The American high school experience has been dramatized and portrayed in films and TV shows since the 1960s. This week’s blog will dive into the “Teen Drama” genre in honor of the confusing, often dramatic, and sometimes joyful period of our lives.  A teen drama is a type of drama series that centers on teenage and young adult characters. The TV show Never Too Young , aired in 1965, is often regarded as the first teen drama explicitly aimed at a teenage audience. Set in Malibu, the series depicted the lives of affluent high school students and their parents, featuring Tony Dow and Tommy Rettig in leading roles. Although, the genre gained significant popularity in the early 1990s, particularly with the success of the Fox series Beverly Hills, 90210 ....

Our team has put together the "Dreamboat Stars of Summer" starring: Don Johnson, Mel Gibson, Bruce Greenwood, and Mark Harmon available for free on TheArchive.com . Here’s the skinny on each summer title: First up is Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys starring Bruce Greenwood as Dennis Wilson.  This is a definitive tale of the legendary band told from the brotherly relationship of the late Dennis Wilson and his genius but troubled brother, Brian, almost 25 years before Love & Mercy. It features an incredible Beach Boys soundtrack. Long Hot Summer is based on a series of stories by William Faulkner and stars Don Johnson (in the Paul Newman role) and Cybill Shepherd. Two years before his breakout role in Mad Ma x, Mel Gibson stars alongside Phil Avalon in surfer flick  Summer City , his very first film.  Four years before the the series of nearly the same title starring Will Smith, and a year before they starred in the cult hit "Summer School," Mark Harm...