Cracked Rear Viewer’s 3rd Anniversary!

Cracked Rear Viewer burst forth upon the blogging world on June 26, 2015. It doesn’t seem like three years have come and gone, and I’ve been grateful and humbled by the response, as this little blog dedicated to classic films and retro pop culture has grown by the proverbial leaps and bounds to 1,891 followers and counting via WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and emails subscribers!

More Stats

Many bloggers don’t like to admit it, but as for me, I’m an unabashed stat geek. I put a lot of time and efforts into my posts – between watching a film, doing research, looking for pictures, and first, second, and sometimes even third drafts – it can take up to eight hours to create one post! Not all at once, but you get my drift. So I like to see the fruits of my labor, and watching stats are a vital part of that. This is my 782nd post, with over half a million words written. Holy Thesaursus, Batman! There have been 84,645 views by 54,392 visitors, with the U.S.A the largest contingent, followed by the U.K., Germany, Canada, France, Australia, Brazil, India, Spain, and Italy. All told, Cracked Rear Viewer averages 77 views a day, which may not sound like a lot, but isn’t too shabby for someone who didn’t know the first thing about blogging three years ago.

THE TOP TEN

And now, here’s something that really piques my interest – Cracked Rear Viewer’s All-Time Top Ten Posts. It’s an eclectic mix, to be sure, reflecting the diversity of both the blog’s content and it’s viewership:

1. Top Ten Reasons CASABLANCA is The Greatest Movie Ever Made!  (first published 8/28/18): My all-time favorite movie is Cracked Rear Viewer’s all-time champ! Though I’ve done several other pieces on the film (seeing it on the big screen , a new book review ), this one remains the most popular.
2. . Victim of Love: Clint Eastwood in THE BEGUILED  (4/12/16): I’ve done more than my share of posts on Cool Clint, like his trilogy with Sergio Leone , but thanks to the Sofia Coppola remake, THE BEGUILED has outperformed them all.
3. Why I Think ERASERHEAD Sucks!   (11/10/15): I don’t pan many films, preferring to watch things I enjoy, but I’ve never been able to get into this David Lynch-directed mess. It’s just not for me.
4. I Wish I Were A Fish: Don Knotts in THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET  (2/4/16): I didn’t think my love for Don Knotts comedies would do well, but this post just gains in popularity with each passing year. Go figure!
5. (tie) Ride Away: John Wayne in John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS  (9/9/17) and Have a Bucket of Fun!: THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE  (8/9/15): Talk about diversity, you can’t have two films as different as these, both in a tie for 5th place all time. Call it The Duke meets AIRPLANE!

6 From the VHS Vault 2: THE VIOLENT YEARS  (4/22/17): Teenage girl gangs and a script by Ed Wood – how can you beat that combo?

7 A Star is Born in Monument Valley: John Wayne in John Ford’s STAGECOACH  (1/23/16): Duke and Ford again, the only star and director to repeat in the Top Ten. Simply one of the greatest Westerns ever made.

8 Cleaning Out the DVR Pt. 4: B-Movie Roundup! (11/8/15): One of my many  ongoing series posts (That’s Blaxploitation!, Rockin’ in the Film World , Creature Double Feature , Pre-Code Confidential ), this entry has capsule reviews of five B-films: KING OF THE UNDERWORLD, GO WEST YOUNG LADY, BAYOU, TWELVE HOURS TO KILL, and WANDA.

9 The Horror Stars of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (4/1/18): After watching the annual Easter broadcast of this Cecil B. DeMille epic, I dashed off this pictorial post highlighting the horror movie stars featured in the film. Much to my surprise and delight, it became the most popular post of 2018 so far!

10 Flesh & Blood: Marilyn Chambers in RABID (4/15/17): Take director David Cronenberg, add porn icon Marilyn Chambers, sprinkle liberally with plenty of gore, and you’ve got a movie people obviously still love. Another pleasant surprise!

WHAT’S NEXT?

What does the future hold for Cracked Rear Viewer? Quite frankly, I don’t know for sure. There may be some changes coming, it all depends on what happens in my personal life. I know for now the blog will continue to bring you “Fresh Takes on Retro Pop Culture” in some form or another, but what form that will take is uncertain. As always, I’d like to thank Lisa and the crew at Through the Shattered Lens  for allowing me to repost my musings, and especially to thank all you Dear Readers for your continued support. Here’s to you, and to another year of Cracked Rear Viewing!: