They're Wild!

 

THE WILD REBELS-1967-Rod Tillman (Steve Alaimo) gives up his race car career and meets up with idiotic neo-Nazi motorcycle gang, Satan's Angels lead by Jetter (John Vella). They want him to drive the getaway car when they rob a bank. He rejects their offer but later a police detective (Walter R. Philbin) convinces Rod to go undercover and join the gang. He agrees but has trouble with Banjo (Willie Pastrano) over the affections of their female member Linda (Bobbie Byers). The fourth member, Fats (Jeff Gillen), doesn't talk. 

Loony low rent biker nonsense with shoot outs, car chases and bad acting from director William Grefe' (DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (1966).

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God Save Us From Go Pro

 

 (imdb)

HARDCORE HENRY-2015-This dizzy violent sci-fi chase film is like a role playing video game. The whole story is the POV of some hybrid android thing called Henry trying to rescue his wife from an over-acting psycho in Moscow. 

It was shot with a Go-Pro using anything goes computer effects. Tim Roth plays Henry's father. The director, Ilya Naishuller threatens a sequel.

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Can't Keep A Good Vampire Down

 

 (imdb)

DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE-1968-In this sequel to DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS (set a year later), a monsignor, Ernst Mueller (Rupert Davies) comes to a small town where Dracula had been sent to a watery grave, to find everyone still afraid especially since a villager was found hanging from a church bell. The monsignor and the local priest (Ewan Hooper) hike to Dracula's castle. Unfortunately, the priest is kind of a coward and while running away, falls and cuts his head. His blood trickles into the Count's mouth and resurrects him. The priest then becomes the count's slave and helps him to secure a coffin. Meanwhile, Mueller hosts a party for his niece Maria (Virginia Carlson) and her boyfriend Paul (Barry Andrews). The monsignor gets upset when Paul tells him he's an atheist. Paul leaves and gets drunk. Drac's first victim is barmaid Zena (Barbara Ewing). Drac has his digs under the pub where Paul works (for Michael Ripper) and sets his teeth on Maria. 

In this rather bloody (and sexual) sequel, a prayer must be read to kill a vampire once the stake has been driven. Nice use of color filters by director Freddie Francis. 

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Sudden

 

 (imdb)

SUDDEN FEAR-1952-Playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) doesn't think the lead actor in her new play, Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) is right for the role and has him fired. Later, they meet on a train. After dinner, dancing and smoking cigarettes they have a fling. He almost leaves her but she changes his mind and they get married. They seem happy until Irene (Gloria Grahame), a woman from Lester's past shows up. It soon becomes clear Lester wants more than love from Myra. Soon she finds evidence that Lester with the help of floozy Irene want to do away with her. When the evidence is accidentally destroyed, Myra comes up with an intricate plan to thwart the macabre duo. 

Suspense filled film noir directed by David Miller (LOVE HAPPY (1949)) with great performances all around. Crawford (also one of the exec-utive producers) was nominated for a best actress Academy Award (her last) and Palance got a best supporting nomination. Also with Bruce Bennett, Mike “Touch” Con-nors and in smaller roles Arthur Space, Bess Flowers and Selmer Jackson. It's based on a novel by Edna Sherry.

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Dr. Seuss

 

 (imdb)

THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T.-1953-Little Bart (Tommy Rettig) doesn't like this piano teacher, the dictatorial Dr. Terwilliker (the often under-appreciated Hans Conried). His mother (Mary Healy) lectures him about his lesson. Only their plumber, Mr. Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes) seems to understand Bart’s plight. When Bart falls asleep, he dreams he's in Terwilliker's “institute” where the doc plans on having 250 students play on a huge sprawling piano. And after the recital, Dr. T is going to marry his secretary, Bart's mom! Fortunately, Mr. Zabladowski is there too. Although the plumber and Dr. T seem to become friends, the doctor wants to disintegrate him. Bart finds a dungeon where T plans to put all instruments except the piano. 

This is a pretty unique musical fantasy that's probably not for everyone. Renowned kids author Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Seuss wrote the story, screenplay and song lyrics. It is the only live action movie he ever wrote and wasn't pleased with the finished product. When it bombed at a preview several musical numbers were cut (the footage is lost but the songs are available on CD). Still, it didn't do well but has since become a cult film. 

The production was also marred by infighting between producer Stanley Kramer and Columbia studio head Sam Cohn. Stars Hayes and Healy were married in real life. The next year Rettig would star on the TV show “Lassie” for four years. Conried starred in Arch Obler's bizarre satire THE TWONKY the same year. Journeyman director Roy Rowland later worked on the “Wyatt Earp” TV series and made THE GIRL HUNTERS (1963) (where author Mickey Spillane played his own creation Mike Hammer).

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Hercules The First

 

 (themoviedatabase)

HERCULES-1958-The legendary hero of Greek myth (Steve Reeves) saves Princess Iole (Sylva Koscina). Her father, the king of Iolcus (Ivo Garrani) wants Herc to train his “his weak and impulsive” son, Iphitus (Mimmo Palmara) to "fortify” Iolcus so he can step down and give his son the throne. He helps a young Ulysses (Gabriele Antonio) improve his bow skills. After Herc shows up Iphitus in training, the heir to the throne is killed by a lion. The king and Iole blame Hercules (even though Iphitus set the whole thing up). Herc tells Sybil (Lidia Alfonsi), the oracle, he doesn't want to be a god anymore. Later, Jason (Fabrizio Mioni) appears and he and Herc gather up the Argonauts and go looking for the golden fleece in their ship, The Argo. Their first encounter is with The Amazons led by Queen Antea (Gianna Maria Canale). Later Jason slays a dragon and gets the fleece. 

This blockbuster movie directed by Pietro Francisci (who also made the sequel the next year) started the whole “sand and sandal” genre with countless imitations to follow.

According to some sources, the roar of the dragon that guards the fleece is actually Godzilla's roar from the original movie. Since Joseph Levine distributed both movies, it's probably right. Mario Bava was the cinema-tographer. Lead actress Koscina went on to make many more movie appearances in-cluding JUDEX (1963), Fellini's JULIET OF THE SPIRITS (1965), LISA AND THE DEVIL (1973) and many others. Of course, strongman Reeves starred in the sequel, HERCULES UNCHAINED in 1959. 

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He's Mysterious Alright

 

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG-1934-The sinister Mr. Wong (Bela Lugosi in Asian makeup and Hungarian accent) is searching for the 12 coins of Confucius. Everyone suspects a Tong war but annoying, wise-cracking reporter Jason Barton (Wallace Ford; FREAKS (1932)) thinks otherwise. When one his henchmen fails, Wong has him thrown in a basement with rats (not shown). 

By day, Wong poses as Li See, a herbalist. He treats his niece Moonflower (Lotus Long) and her attendant pretty badly and she says he's mad. Jason & and girlfriend Peg (Arline Judge) team up to figure out the mystery when Jason gets a hold of the coin. 

Corny cliché talk and sometimes racist dialogue. Also with Richard Loo. Directed in fast fashion by William Nigh who ironically later did the Boris Karloff series of Mr. Wong detective films. It's based on the short story “The Strange Adventure of the 12 Coins of Confucius” (1927) by once popular mystery writer Harry Stephen Keeler. This was Lugosi's first film for the “poverty row” studio Monogram.

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