[November 15, 2026] I had the pleasure recently of speaking with Matías Bombal on the Father Drucker radio show (WWDB 860 AM). Matías (a film historian, former movie-palace manager, and showman) comments on new films with the perspective of someone steeped in the golden era, often noting how older plot devices reappear in modern movies.
I find him fascinating. His vault is extensive, entertaining, and very useful. I only asked him if he had reviewed King Kong (1933), which he had not. Perhaps someday.
Matías Bombal’s Hollywood Vault is the online archive of past shows, reviews, interviews, and historical material from the long-running program Matías Bombal’s Hollywood, hosted on his website at mabhollywood.com/vault.html.
The distinctive style features Bombal in a vintage radio-studio set (acoustic tiles, working RCA ribbon microphones), photographed in black-and-white with high-fidelity mono sound. Color film clips appear in their proper theatrical aspect ratio and stereo (when applicable) so they stand out. Graphics and titles evoke golden-age short subjects and newsreels.
The theme music is “Bombalino,” a 1984 composition written for him by Charles William Midgley and performed on the San Francisco Fox Theatre’s Möller organ.
The Vault organizes archival material into sections:
• Past Shows (A–Z): An alphabetical list of video and radio reviews of contemporary films (examples include American Sniper, Gravity, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Dunkirk, and many others from the mid-2010s onward). Users can Ctrl+F to search for specific titles.
• Interviews: Includes pieces with Rod Steiger, Victor Wong, a 1992 Siskel & Ebert interview, and others.
• MAB Archives: Historical clips from Bombal’s earlier career—KSCH-TV 58 movie-host segments from the early 1990s, Crest Theatre openings and promotions in Sacramento, Paramount Theatre and Fox Theatre material, Gone with the Wind anniversary events, and related theater history.
• MAB Novelties: Special items such as unrestored trailers, seasonal greetings, and similar extras.
Born June 3, 1967, in Santiago, Chile, Bombal grew up in a family connected to the arts (his father was a comparative literature professor and later piano tuner; the novelist María Luisa Bombal was a relative, and Pablo Neruda was a family friend). The family moved to California in 1968.
You just gotta love this guy.
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Please read my books:
It’s been a year or so since I last came upon Gen. Satterfield’s blog of leadership — I was out with a serious injury in the brain, but I’m slowly getting back. Thanks all for your tolerance. Here I am, as I will continue to try to get on board once again and contribute something of value. Like Nick below, I also went into the “vault” of Matías Bombal. I liked what he has done here, that he has built up over the years. Well done, sir!!!! I’ll do my best to continue but no promises. I also want to congratulate Gen. Satterfield for his latest book “Growing Up Free” and I plan to get my own copy.
Welcome back, The Observer, we’re all happy you’ve returned. Some of us have tragedies in our lives, and it is clear that you are doing your darndest to overcome. That is what Gen. Satterfield tells us in his “rules”. Good stuff here. Glad to have you back on board.
Sir, I checked out Matías Bombal‘a vault and I agree it is useful. Most of those I saw, were very very brief and with little depth, but still entertaining.