Detour

 

 

DETOUR-1945-This is a classic film noir with NYC club pianist Al (Tom Neal) working in a seedy joint with his singer fiancé Sue (Claudia Drake). She decides to head for Hollywood, leaving Al high and dry. He misses her and decides to hitchhike to LA. In Arizona, a bookie, Haskell (Edmund MacDonald), picks him up. When Haskell accidentally dies, Al panics. He sort of assumes the dead man's identity, taking his car, clothes, money and ID. In California, he gives a ride to Vera (Ann Savage), a woman who had ridden earlier with Haskell and realizes Al's secret. She blackmails him into doing what she wants. “Just as rotten in the morning as she'd been the night before”. Crazy Vera comes up with the idea to use Al in an inheritance scheme with Haskell's estate. Things go from bad to worse when Al accidentally strangles Vera. Though not the first, this film probably set a kind of standard as far as film noir goes.

Director Edgar G. Ulmer (THE BLACK CAT (1934)) could really show how a classic movie could be made on a low budget (Hey, this was produced by PRC after all) and in little than a month! He made the eerie BLUEBEARD the year before. According to Ann Savage's autobiography, though she and Ton Neal had made 3 movies together previously, they didn't get along on DETOUR and never spoke except for their scenes together. Screenwriter Martin Goldsmith also wrote NARROW MARGIN (1953) and SHAKEDOWN (1950). 

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Another World

 

 (imdb)

STRANDED IN SPACE-1973-3 astronauts encounter some trouble flying back to Earth. Neil Stryker (Glen Corbett) winds up in a hospital where his doctor Revere (Tim O'Connor) acts strange and evasive. He feels like a prisoner. Unbeknownst to him, he's being monitored. After he escapes, it seems he's on another planet with 2 moons. Government agent Benedict (Cameron Mitchell) and his assistant Henry (Steven Franken) are after him. The planet is Terra ruled by The Perfect Order. A kindly book seller (George Coulouris) asks a doctor Bettina Cook (Sharon Acker) to check him out. Of course, she winds up helping him evade capture. She takes him to see Prof. MacAuley (Lew Ayres) who explains that Terra is a sister planet of Earth. Later, Mac and Neil devise a plan to get him on a spaceship so he can go back to Earth. To say it doesn't work out is an understatement. 

This made for TV movie directed by Lee H. Katzin is a slow moving alternate Earth sci-fi drama. It was originally called THE STRANGER but when Film Ventures bought it, they retitled it and showed scenes from a different movie during the opening credits (they did this with other films they bought). By the way it ends, this TV movie was obviously a pilot for a proposed series (or at least a sequel). Also with Dean Jagger as Benedict's boss, Virginia Gregg, H.M. Wynant, Arch Whiting and William Bryant. Director Lee H. Katzin worked mostly in TV but occasionally stepped out into feature films like WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? (1969), THE PHYNX (1970) and LE MANS (1971). 

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ET Hang Up!

 

 (entertainment weekly)

POD PEOPLE aka EXTRA TERRESTRIAL VISITORS-1983-Three egg poachers are looking for eggs. One of them finds some big eggs after what seems like a meteor crash. There's also a smarty pants little kid Tommy (Oscar Martin)) and a pompous singer (Ian Serra) who's taking his friends on vacation to a forest campout. They all encounter a strange rubbery alien that looks like Zippy the pinhead with an elephant trunk. It hatched from an egg Tommy found. Timmy names it Trumpy and they become friends. It makes things spin and walks on the ceiling. 

This E.T. rip-off started out as a story about an evil alien but some genius decided to change that when Spielberg's movie became a hit. Director Juan Piquer Simon had made the gory PIECES (which Ian Serra was in) the year before and was unhappy with the results of this movie. He's not the only one. 

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Inner Sanctum #3

 

DEAD MAN'S EYES-1944-Third in the Universal Pictures “Inner Sanctum” series, all of them starring Lon Chaney Jr. Up and coming artist Dave Stuart (Chaney) is accidentally blinded when he uses acetic acid on his eyes instead of boric. His fiancée Heather (Jean Parker) and her wealthy father (Edward Fielding) blame Dave's model Tanya (Acquanetta). Dave breaks off his engagement to Heather and says he loves Tanya but he's just pretending 'cos he doesn't want to burden Heather. His best friend Alan (Paul Kelly) tries to help (he's in Iove with Tanya). “Dad” Hayden says that after he dies, his eyes will go to Dave. Somebody kills Dad and Dave is found with blood on his hands. He arrested for murder. Since Dad's dead and it was stated Dave would get his eyes, the family doctor (Jonathan Hale) performs an operation (after getting the eyes back after Tanya steals them). 

Meanwhile Nick Phillips (George Meeker) tries to woo Heather away from Dave (she believes Dave killed her father). Captain Drury (Thomas Gomez) investigates. Later Tanya figures out who the real murderer is but she's killed. Dave and Drury eventually capture the real murderer. 

It's another uneven murder mystery directed by Reginald Le Borg who made another entry into the series, WEIRD WOMAN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST both also starring Chaney the same year.

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Inner Sanctum #2

 

 (imdb)

WEIRD WOMAN-1944-Dr. Norman Reed (Lon Chaney), a skeptic of the supernatural, brings his new wife Paula (Anne Gwynne) home from her South Seas native island. His former fling, Ilona (Chaney's THE WOLFMAN co-star Evelyn Ankers) is jealous and starts trouble. One night Reed follows Paula and discovers she's still doing her pagan rituals. She says she's doing it to protect Reed from his enemies. He doesn't believe it and burns all her equipment. No sooner does this happen when Prof. Sawtelle (Ralph Morgan) kills himself. His shrewish wife Evelyn (Elizabeth Russell) blames Reed. 

When he rejects the come-ons of his young secretary Margaret (Lois Collier), her suitor, David (Phil Brown) tries to punch Reed. Then Paula hears a death chant. Then Reed suspects he's losing his mind (a typical topic in the Inner Sanctum series). David tries to shoot Reed but someone else gets shot instead. Everyone teams up to trick Ilona into confessing. It works too well. She winds up dead! 

Second in the series of 6 “Inner Sanctum” features. It was directed by Reginald Le Borg and based the story “Conjure Wife” by Fritz Lieber, Jr.

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More Shorties

 

 (imdb)

TRIAL BY TRIGGER-1944-Warner Brothers short about crooked lumber barons but basically, it's a love triangle between lumberjack Bill Cardigan (a very young Robert Shayne), sleazy lumber baron Dan Fallon (Warner Anderson) and saloon owner Lee (Cheryl Walker). There's fights, a big train wreck and some daring dos by Bill. Also with Monte Blue, Harry Cording, Ralph Dunn and the voice of Art Baker. Directed by William McGann (SHH! THE OCTOPOUS (1937).

 (imdb)

DARK SHADOWS-1944-This is part of MGM's “Crime Does Not Pay” short subject series. The case history of a killer is examined. The first victim is a doctor. The police are baffled by the murder. Lt. Pat McKay (Morris Ankrum) brings in Dr. Colner (Henry O'Neill), a police psychiatrist. They suspect one of the doctor's dead patients. Unfortunately, the killer's next victim is the dead doc's nurse. Colner assembles 6 of the murdered MD's patients who fit the killer's profile (they include Arthur Space, Paul Guilloye and Dorothy Adams). They believe the killer hated his/her mother. When Colner gets a confession, the killer says “I'm a murderer!” and jumps out a window. Also with Paul Langton. Although only 21 minutes long, two directors are credited.

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 (imdb)

NARCOTICS: PIT OF DESPAIR-(1967)-A cobra is shown and the narrator sounds like Vic Perrin from The Outer Limits. The focus is then on a high school athlete failing in English and Math. He thinks “bennies” will help him do it all but then Pusher Pete (with an Amish beard) invites him to a swinging party. He turns Pete down but then gets bored (his parents are away so he has “no guidance"). At the party he swings and drinks. When his senses are “dulled”, floozy Helen takes him to the garage to smoke pot. Later he flunks at school. When smoking pot with Pete, he watches a pathetic guy shoot up. He shoots up anyway and becomes a heroin addict. While going cold turkey, some addicts tie him to a bed and Pete shoots him up. When Helen blabs, he's arrested and put in a government hospital. He's cleaned up but in the end he goes looking for Pete...Directed by Mel Marshall. 

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Short Break

 

 

 (imdb)

ART TROUBLE-1939-Two rich brothers (one is James Stewart in his film debut) don't want to go to art school in Paris. To fool their parents, they hire two mugs (Harry Gribbon & Shemp Howard) to take their place. It's full of slapstick and one liners and Shemp does a funny violent dance with a woman. Also with Marjorie Main and Mary Wicks. 

Directed by Ralph Staub who made several other shorts with the Gribbon/Howard team. Co-star Gribbon had worked in vaudeville, on Broadway and for Mack Sennett and in his day was very well known.

 (imdb)

CHARACTER STUDIES-1927-In this silent short subject, actor/director Carter DeHaven “impersonates” well known Hollywood stars. The gimmick here is that he doesn't really impersonate them, they play themselves: Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Fatty Arbuckle, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks and Jackie Coogan all appear (uncredited) as themselves. It has a new piano score by Phillip Carli. Carter DeHaven later Chaplin's assistant director on MODERN TIMES (1936) and acted in THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940). 

 (themoviedb.org)

TRADER HOUND-1931-Crazy short film where all the main characters are played by dogs! This is part of a series of 9 “Dogville” shorts released by MGM from 1929-1931. They were directed jointly by Zion Meyers (who wrote many 3 Stooges shorts) and Jules White (who directed many 3 Stooges shorts). There's a fight involving a phony gorilla and some racist humor. The series was banned in England due to animal cruelty. 

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