Summer Sneaks Redux

In his story about “The Patriot,” writer Gregg Kilday plays fast and loose with historic accuracy, apparently just so he can appear to be clever (“They Did Their Homework,” May 7). Calendar doesn’t seem to know, or care, either.

Revolutionary War fighters were not called “Johnny Reb” as Kilday would have us believe (in his fifth paragraph). They were patriots. Kilday would have us believe the Civil War nickname for Confederates was used 85 years earlier.

WARREN CEREGHINO

Pacific Palisades

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In regards to Amy Heckerling’s choice of the 10 best teen movies (“Talkin’ About Their Generation,” May 7), how could she overlook “Quadrophenia” with a then-unknown actor named Sting; Lindsay Anderson’s “angry young man” film “if. . . .” starring a young Malcolm McDowell; Richard Lester’s “A Hard Day’s Night”; the bittersweet “Red Sky at Morning” with heartfelt performances by Richard Thomas, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Catherine Burns; “Breaking Away”; “Summer of ‘42”; “The Last Picture Show”; and two seldom-seen classics, “Seventeen” starring a baby-faced Jackie Cooper and William Wellman’s “Wild Boys of the Road”?

But, let’s not forget any of the “Andy Hardy,” “Henry Aldrich” and those lovable juvenile delinquents “The Bowery Boys” and their films, either.

WHITNEY SCOTT BAIN

Santa Monica

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A fine compendium of dino films, but how about:

“The Son of Kong” (1933)--the sequel starring Robert Armstrong. Willis O’Brien and Marcel Delgado’s work includes a fine sea monster near the end that gobbles up the villain, just before Kong Island sinks.

“The Lost Continent” (1951)--starring Cesar Romero. Stop-motion dinos.

“The Beast of Hollow Mountain” (1956)--starring Guy Madison (then TV’s Wild Bill Hickock). Stop-motion allosaurus versus cowboys in Mexico (or is it supposed to be Old California?)--a precursor to “Valley of Gwangi.”

I was very pleased to see that you included “Arctic Giant,” from the Fleischer brothers’ Superman series.

GARY DUNN

Los Angeles