Twisted Lead Singer

DEE SNIDER’S STRANGELAND-1998-Ok, I know Rob Zombie has made a few movies and will probably make a few more but this is really not a good excuse to let the former lead singer of Twisted Sister write and star in a horror movie of his own.

Dee Snider plays “Captain Howdy” a chat serial killer who lures unsuspecting victims to his house and then tortures and murders them while spouting philosophical nonsense. A cop (Kevin Gage) whose daughter is abducted twice captures Howdy but he escapes any real punishment by pleading insanity and is “rehabilitated”. Some vigilantes (led by Robert Englund) hang him but instead of dying he reverts to his old self and seeks revenge.

Hopefully this will be Snider’s last foray into celluloid (unless he does a video commemorating Twisted Sister’s 50th anniversary…)

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Jungle Jim Jumps In

JUNGLE JIM-Columbia-1948-After winning 5 Olympic gold medals as a swimmer Johnny Weissmuller played Tarzan in movies from 1932-1948.

Later in '48 he began the Jungle Jim series. It would mark his only other film appearances (not counting a cameo in 1976's WON TON TON: THE DOG THAT SAVED HOLLYWOOD). This one is the first and I'd say the best but basicly all Jungle Jim adventures were the same: Mystery surrounds some ancient tribe or temple. A woman photographer or reporter comes to investigate. Jim leads an expedition and saves the party two or three times. He also usually manages to expose a party member with an ulterior motive.

This one is also noteworthy as it features future TV "Superman" George Reeves as the party member with the ulterior motive. It also stars Virgina Grey as the female investigator. Grey had a pretty prolific and diverse acting career. She was in THE BIG STORE with The Marx Bros., HOUSE OF HORRORS with Rondo Hatton, MEXICAN HAYRIDE with Abbott and Costello, UNKNOWN ISLAND and TARGET EARTH among others! Later on in the series Jim had a chimp companion named Tama or Kama or something like that. Here however he has a smart but mischievous crow who is only a little less annoying...

Oh yeah, and I don't know where this African jungle is that Jim prowls around in but all the natives are white or Asian!

But then JJ was produced by Sam Katzman who was responsible for hundreds of Columbia cheapies, some good...some not so good...

Director William Berke made lots of B-movies including the first DICK TRACY feature. His last was THE LOST MISSILE in 1958.

For the last 3 movies the Jungle Jim persona was dropped and Weissmuller played himself! There was also a short lived TV series in 1955 but this may have only been a pilot.

Grant Withers starred in a 1936 serial also entitled Jungle Jim but I'm not sure if it was actually the same character.

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Late Night Quickies

DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL-2008-This is an American made ALIEN inspired horror animation that tries very hard to be like a Japanese anime. It kind of succeeds but it’s not for everyone. I think it’s based on a video game.

A space ship from Earth picks up a supposedly religious relic but it unleashes ALIEN/THE THING like creatures that drink blood and kills. Bruce Boxleitner, Kelly Hu and Keith Szarabajka provide the lead voices. Director Chuck Patton had previously done work on GI JOE, DINOSAUCERS and SPAWN.

SHUTTER-2008- A newlywed couple (Joshua Jackson from TV’s FRINGE and TRANSFORMER's Rachael Taylor) arrive in Japan where the husband works as a photographer. While enjoying a short honeymoon they seem to run down a (RING look) girl while driving. No victim is found but later on mysterious images begin to appear in all the husband’s photographic work. While highly derivative in spots (part of the story is reminiscent of the ‘80’s film GHOST STORY) director Masayuki Ochiai makes some good spooky scenes and a great final scene!

LET’S ROCK-1958-“To rock or not to rock”. In his only real movie appearance singer Julius LaRosa plays Tommy Adane, singer of ballads who’s finding it hard to have a hit because Rock and Roll is more popular and he refuses to have anything to do with it. Danny and The Juniors (who do “At The Hop”), Roy Hamilton, The Royal Teens, Paul Anka and Della Reese all perform. Even future TV game show host Wink Martindale does the rocking “All Love Broke Loose”. Conrad Janis is Adane’s manager who wants him to record a rock tune.

I’M CYBORG BUT THAT’S OK-2006-In this Korea lensed comedy-drama a young woman (Su-jeong Lim) thinks she’s a cyborg, When she almost kills herself at work she’s put in a mental hospital with other eccentric crazy people. Eventually a male patient (Rain) tries to help her eat. This was too long and weird for me to enjoy (and has an all too typical confused ending) but it probably has the makings of a cult film courtesy of director Chan wook-Park (OLD BOY).

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Forbidden Warrior

FORBIDDEN WARRIOR-2004-This fantasy action drama (inspired by THE PRINCESS BRIDE and a few others) involves a couple who are going to have a child that according to prophesy will be able to read a secret book that holds the key to the universe. Well, something like that. An evil warlord has the mother killed but the baby is born anyway and taken to live with a blind wise man (WISH MASTER’s Andrew Divoff). Two brothers (one evil, one passive) set out to find “the chosen one”. The script is terrible and the actors say a lot of stupid things but there are some good fights.

Marie Matiko plays the grown up baby. The weirdest part for me was that it was the last role for actor Kay E. Kuter (who plays the Lord of The Rings inspired character Yawn) who had once had a reoccurring role (Newt Kiley) on the ’60’s TV sit-com GREEN ACRES! Also with Sung Kang, Tony Amendola and James Hong. The director Jimmy Nickerson was mostly a stunt coordinator and actor.

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He's Not Vincent Price..but Who Is?

I AM LEGEND-2007-Will Smith returns in this new adaptation of Richard Matheson’s story that was filmed twice before. After a “cure for cancer” vaccine goes wrong the world’s inhabitants are turned into weird bald-headed monsters that like to kill. They are very fast and have mutant attack dogs too! Smith is Robert Neville, a government scientist and last man alive (well at least in NYC where it’s suppose to take place) . When not roaming around the decaying city, talking to his dog and some mannikins and avoiding the fast moving mutants he’s working on a cure. Flashbacks tell his story.

Brazilian actress Alice Braga shows up near the end and her son watches SHREK. It’s well done but once again as with modern “zombie” type films the creatures move so fast no one could possibly outrun them.
The director Francis Lawrence made CONSTANTINE with Keanu Reeves and rock videos. Emma Thompson has a pre-credit cameo as a doctor interviewed on TV.

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On The Road

I just read that a guy named Martin Nallan died on Jan. 14th at the age of 78. He was Key Grip on the classic film THE HUSTLER. He was also the Key Grip on a classic film of another kind, SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS! RIP...





THE ROAD TO RUIN-1934-Innocent Ann Dixon (Helen Foster) is introduced to the wild world of smoking, drinking, staying out late, strip poker and sex in this mortality tale co-directed by Mrs. Wallace Reid.

Ann winds up “getting in trouble” with a married older guy after having sex with her boyfriend Tommy. The older guy takes her for an abortion and she dies.

This is a remake of a 1928 silent film that also starred Foster. Mrs. Wallace Reid was actress Dorothy Davenport, the widow of silent film star Reid who died of morphine addiction in 1923. After his death she co-produced HUMAN WRECKAGE about the dangers of drug addiction. She later directed several other exploitive films like THE RED KIMONO, LINDA and THIS WOMAN CONDEMNED.

It’s pretty racy for the time although the characters never mention the words pregnancy and abortion!

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Silent From Sweden

THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE-1921-This haunting silent film from Sweden involves a legend that if the last person to die at the end of the year is a great sinner he will have to drive the title vehicle and pick up the souls of the dead.

An alcoholic named David (the director Victor Sjostrum) becomes the driver and later his “sinful” life is examined. The direction, photography and acting make this one of the best silent movies ever made and I’m sure influenced Ingamar Bergman and other Euro-directors.

Director Sjostrum was a highly respected director in his homeland and came to Hollywood (using the name Seastrom) soon after he made TPC, directing around 10 movies including THE SCARLET LETTER and THE WIND (both starring Lillian Gish) and Lon Chaney in HE WHO GETS SLAPPED. He returned to Sweden in the early 30’s to act and stage and in film and gave his last performance in 1959 as the aging doctor looking back on his life in Bergman’s WILD STRAWBERRIES. He died in 1960.

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Darkness

DARKNESS-2002-Interesting little horror film that never got the big screen attention it probably deserved (especially considering the state of horror films these days).

An American family moves to a house in Spajn that turns out to be haunted. The mother (Lena Olin) and the daughter (Anna Paquin) fight a lot. The father (Iain Glen) has a psychotic episodes and the young son (Stephan Enquist) draws weird pictures. It turns out the house was built by some devil worshippers decades before in a failed attempt to end the world with the murders of 7 children. Yep, you guessed! They’re going for round 2! Giancarlo Gianni is their grandfather.

This not a typical gory horror film and uses suspense and good acting to carry it. Not for everyone I guess. Director Jaume Balaguero made another horror film I'd like to see called {REC].

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Resurrection

RESURRECTION-1999-This SEVEN inspired serial killer movie is about a maniac who’s collecting the body parts of his victim’s to recreate the body of Christ. Christopher Lambert stars as John Prudhomme a faith challenged Cajun cop (probably to explain the actor’s accent) in Chicago (which is obviously Toronto) hunting the killer. Leland Orser is his partner. Robert Joy (CITY OF THE DEAD) is a CIA agent who helps out. Director David Cronenberg (the same year he made eXistenZ) shows up for a couple of scenes.

Much of the movie seems to be a soapbox for Lambert’s emoting and goes out of it’s way to be extremely gory (the cops are always 5 minutes late). The worse part is it’s way too long! The director Russell Mulcahy directed RAZORBACK, THE SHADOW and HIGHLANDER 2:THE QUICKENING (also with Lambert) then went into rock videos, TV episodes and some TV movies before making this. He later made RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION and THE SCORPION KING 2.
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They're Not That Young

THE YOUNG RACERS-1963-This serious racing drama is really unlike any other film director Roger Corman has made.

William Campbell stars as Joe Machin, an arrogant womanizing race car driver. He steals the fiancée’ of a writer and former driver named Stephen (Mark Damon, who for some reason had his dialogue re-dubbed by Bill Shatner). To get revenge Stephen decides to write a tell all book about Machin exposing him as a dumb asshole. Much soul searching and character studies ensue. Luana Anders is Stephen’s new love interest and W. Wright Campbell (who also scripted) is Machin's brother. Patrick Magee shows up midway as a critic who stirs things up. Un-credited assistant Francis Ford Copolla made DEMENTIA 13 at the same time which also featured Damon, Anders and Magee.

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Z Marks The Spot

ZAAT-(1975)-In Jacksonville, Florida a weird scientist plans to take over the world. We hear his thoughts about "his fish friends" while different species are shown. The dialogue is great! "Fish, mighty hunter of the deep. I love you". He calls a shark his friend and says "Soon I'll swim with you". After this intro we see the scientist on shore (his voice doesn't match his wimpy stature). Since he said he admired the shark it only seems natural his experiment for world domination must involve him turning into a shark-man right?

Wrong! He instead he uses his special formula called "Zaat" to transform himself into a walking catfish man! It's a big green emotionaless monster (with a fur collar) that kind of looks like something from the TV show "Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea"!

Once transformed he decides to take a break from conquering humans to killing a few. Namely some former colleagues who called him insane. Everytime he kills footage of sea life is intercut.

Meanwhile an African American scientist (Gerald Cruse) and a redneck sheriff (Paul Galloway) investigate the walking catfish pheomena that is plaguing the local hicks. After killing the men who wronged him Zaat goes looking for a mate. His first experiment goes wrong and his victim dies. Husband and wife government agents are called in to figure out who's doing the killing. They set up several traps and talk a lot. The sherriff can't believe a monster is responsible and somehow conveniently forgets to mention that a local doctor name Leopold was once doing secret experiments trying to cross humans with fish!

He manages to remember ("I never thought about it..till a second ago") just in time for the climax where Zaat decides the female agent should become his Mrs. The three male leads all die. Zaat is morally wounded (apparently) and goes to the sea to die. The female agent follows him into the water (I guess the last experiment worked!). The End.



I first saw ZAAT in a theater on 42nd Street in Manhattan in the early '80's under the title THE BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z. People were shouting and laughing the whole time so I shouldn't have been surprised when the next time it resurfaced was in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 but I was!

I was even more surprised when TCM showed it one night around 3 AM!

ZAAT isn't that bad as bad movies go. The monster is kind of funny, there are some lapses in editing and in one or two scenes it looks like the monster is waiting for his cue (the actor Wade Popwell probably couldn't hear very well with that monster suit on) but the acting is ok and there's some gore. The highlight is the monster's movements (going up stairs, freaking out in a pharmacy, operating a board with flashing lights) and his hysterical revenge and fish loving tinged dialogue!

According to IMDB only one actor in ZAAT ever appeared in another movie. This seemed to apply to most of the crew also except for Director of Photograpy Jack McGowan who had shot CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THING, DEATH DREAM and DERANGED.

Triple threat director/screenwriter/producer Don Barton was content to rest on his laurels after this and never made another movie. Too bad!

There's actually a website about it!: http://www.zaatmovie.com/

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Price In South Africa

THE JACKALS-(South Africa)-(1967)-This is a weird seldom seen spagetti western influenced drama that takes place in The Transvaal.

Some outlaws rob a bank then almost die of thirst in the desert ( while arguing constantly). The leader is a cardboard no nonsense type (Robert Gunner). They take refuge in a ghost town where they meet an old prospector (Vincent Price ) and his weird looking granddaughter (Diana Everson) who's tougher than any of the outlaws. Everyone sleeps out in the open even though (stock footage) wild animals are everywhere. The thieves have a falling out and the cardboard guy teams up with grandpa and gandaughter to beat his ex-partners and turn over a new leaf. He even returns the money he stole from the bank! Price is a hoot in the lead, mugging and laughing like a maniac and is really the only reason to catch this.
T
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The Double Life of Gene Barry

NAKED ALIBI-Universal Int.-(1954)-Gene Barry (a year after WAR OF THE WORLDS) is a psycho cop killer leading a double life. In California he's a baker. In Mexico he's a gangster. Sterling Hayden plays the disbarred cop out to nail him. Gloria Grahame (still riding the high time of her Oscar win 2 years before) is Barry's moll south of the border who gets to sing a song.


Director Jerry Hopper (who later became busy in TV) gives this improbable tale a stylish film noir feel. Also featuring little Billy Chapin (who was in TOBOR THE GREAT the same year) and future TV "Rifleman" star Chuck Connors. Hayden starred in JOHNNY GUITAR and SUDDENLY (with Frank Sinatra) the same year. Despite her Academy Award Grahame would fall on hard times and end her career in horror junk like BLOOD AND LACE and THE NESTING.

NAKED ALIBI is no classic but enjoyable anyway!

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He Shouldn't Have Been Born In The First Place...

ROMEO MUST DIE-Warner Bros.-2000-This Jet Li vehicle (his first starring role in a US release) isn’t very good. There’s a lot of talk and the story line isn’t very original. And what is it with Hollywood and gangsters? I guess they’re called “crime lords” today. I mean guys who deal drugs and murder people aren’t very virtuous yet at least one “gang” is always better than the other.



Hell, thugs are thugs and whether they are White, Chinese, Afro-American or whatever they are still criminals, scum if you will and yet there’s always one “good” gang with an “honorable” leader. Hey this was ok in the 1930’s when Bogart or Cagney or Eddie G. was at the helm but times change! THERE IS NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES!



(Rant over...sorry)


So anyway, as a former cop named Han Sing, Li escapes from a Chinese prison after learning of his brother’s death. He comes to America and finds his dad (who he helped escape from China) is a powerful crime lord. Through a mix-up he becomes involved with Trish (rapper Aaliyah in her acting debut) the daughter of another mobster (Delroy Lindo from Spike Lee movies). He’s the kind of “good gangster” who loves his kids and wants to make a clean break after his business with Han’s dad (Henry O, who had a small role in SHANGHAI NOON with Jackie Chan the same year) and a wimpy white guy is finished.

The martial arts fight scenes seem more like a Li audition for MATRIX 2 (at the time it was rumored Keanu Reeves didn’t want to do the sequel and that Li might replace him). The director, Polish born Andrzei Bartkowiak was the cinematographer on LETHAL WEAPON 4 (where Li made his American debut). Also with Isaiah Washington (TRUE CRIME), Russell Wong, DMX and Matthew Harrison (pretty funny as a trash talking, muscle bound bodyguard). The annoying hip-hop soundtrack doesn’t help either. Aaliyah was killed in a 2001 plane crash after completing her only other film QUEEN OF THE DAMNED.


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Atom Brains

CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN-Columbia-1955- I’m really a fan of the ‘50’s low budget filmmaker Edward L. Cahn. He made lots of fun classic stuff in the decade of McCarthyism, drive-ins, TV dinners, the first wave of Rock & Roll and racial unrest. He started as an editor at Universal and became head of the department in 1926.

Five years later he directed his first movie, LAW AND ORDER, a western starring Walter Huston. He kept making movies like THE GAS HOUSE KIDS IN HOLLYWOOD (1947) and I CHEATED THE LAW (1949).

He showed a little of “things to come” in 1950 when he directed EXPERIMENT ALCATRAZ featuring soon to be Inspector Henderson Robert Shayne as a hardened criminal who uses a rehabilitation experiment on “The Rock” as an excuse to kill a rival.

Then in 1955 Cahn unleashed this little opus concerning an exiled gangster’s revenge on the people who crossed him. Simple, right?

Wrong! This gangster (Michael Granger) uses reanimated dead men to do his dirty work! They have pasty white faces and stitches (ala Frankenstein) around their foreheads where the gangster’s German scientist/creator/war criminal/pal (Gregory Gaye/Gay) has planted the title device. All the gangster has to do is talk into a microphone. Through a special TV screen he can see everything his undead henchmen are doing. He can project his voice through them too. And he and the scientist do everything. They even perform the operations that turn the corpses into zombies!


Richard Denning stars as Dr. Chet Walker, a police-scientist who figures out the plot (I guess he read the script) and notices that the dead guys leave radiation trances whenever they strike. This leads to an all out confrontation between the undead gang and a small group of soldiers and policemen. Close-ups in these scenes look as if they could have influenced George Romero on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD! Actually many of these scenes are used earlier in the film to depict the first all out creature attack! Flash forwards?! Shades of Al Adamson!

In the end, Denning’s police-man/ friend (S. John Launer, now a “creature”) kills the gangster and allows our hero to destroy the atomic machine which in turn causes the creatures to drop like flies (there’s only about eight of them anyway). All’s well that end’s well as a newspaper headline exclaims: “ Creatures With The Atom Brains Destroyed”.

The titanic story and screenplay are provided by the legendary Curt Siodmak who is best known, I guess for having written “ Donovan’s Brain”. He also worked on many of the classic Universal horror movies of the ‘40’s after leaving the Germany film industry in the early ‘30’s. He scripted Karloff’s “comeback” film, THE CLIMAX.

The executive producer was none other than the infamous Sam Katzman whose credits are too numerous to name here! For some reason, “Churn ‘Em Out” Sam is uncredited. Maybe he was too busy and forgot. He produced 10 other features in 1955.

Another note is that cinematographer Fred Jackson shot the amazing EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS the next year (which Katzman produced). Mischa Bakaleinikoff did music for tons of low budget movies. This score for CWTAB isn’t very memorable. In fact, I don’t remember much music at all except during the eerie opening credits when a resurrected victim comes closer and closer to the screen. The poster (available from The Nostalgia Factory) says “Based On Scientific Facts” And in actuality some of the dialogue (especially between Walker and an egghead scientist) is based on scientific fact and theory. So in an exploitation kind of way this tag line is true!

Interestingly enough, the actress who plays Denning’s screen wife, Angela Stevens was in several low budget features but had un-credited roles in two major movies: FROM HERE TO ENTERNITY (1953) and THE WILD ONE (1954). Little Jill Bennett who plays The Walkers’ young daughter Penny wound up in FULL IMPACT (1997), a direct to video action drama starring Gary Daniels. Rounding out the cast is Tristram Coffin, a familiar character actor in tons of films and movies (he’s in “The Duke Of Gluton” episode of The Abbott & Costello Show) as a DA and one of the first victims.

Which brings us to the star of our show Richard Denning, best known to TV audiences in the re-occurring role as the governor on HAWAII 5-0. He started out in the early thirties and eventually played in some classic low budget films like TARGET EARTH and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (both 1954). He was later in Corman’s DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1956) and THE BLACK SCORPION (1957), which featured some wild Willis O’Brien stop motion animation. The same year as CWTAB Cahn also helmed BETRAYED WOMEN, a girls behind bars flick.

CREATURE is a fast, enjoyable little romp which while quite serious in tone never becomes too serious to be un-entertaining. And hey, Eddie C. wouldn’t rest on his laurels with this neglected opus. Hell, he still had THE SHE CREATURE, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU, IT! THE TERROR FROM OUTER SPACE, INVISIBLE INVADERS and THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE yet to come! Plus a batch of JD and crime dramas (two with Mamie Van Doren)! This guy Cahn rules!

Side note: Punk rocker Roky Erickson did a song based on this movie. Here's a link to a You Tube tribute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVcK2BRvCgU

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A Review at Lightspeed

I'm posting this one very quickly and mostly from memory. May contain errors....



STAN LEE'S LIGHTSPEED-2006-Made for Sci-Fi Channel rip-off of "The Flash" with a little "Ultra-Man" thrown in. Lee was one of the executive producers.


After being caught in an explosion a special agent (Jason Connery) gains the power to run at...well...lightspeed! He's also part of a special forces group called "The Ghost Hunters", led by Lee Majors but no one but his girlfriend (Nicole Eggert) knows his secret. Their foe is a hissing reptillian half human (Daniel Goddard from THE BEASTMASTER TV show)) who's experiments with snakes and skin grafts went awry. The climax goes on forever in this quickly made cheapie.

Camera operator and cinematographer turned director Don E. FauntLeroy later made ADACONDA 3 and 4.

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War! What Is It Good For?

SUICIDE BATTALION-AIP-1958 -B-movie genius Edward L. Cahn stikes again with this strange comedy drama set in the Pacific during WW2.

Hardnose Mike Conners leads the title squad which includes John Ashley and Russ Bender. Much of the film concerns the exploits of the troop while partying at a local watering hole (including Ashley courting a native girl). War is fun!!

Stock footage (of both US and Japanese armies, some of it quite graphic) abounds. When the mission finally gets underway the squad has a woman reporter (Jewell Lain) with them too! A lot of the usual soul searching ensues before they must destroy a captured base and retrieve some secret files. Connors (who starred in his first TV show TIGHTROPE the next year) even has time to fight a rival Lieutenant (Bing “Father Of Kurt” Russell) for the reporter’s affections. It’s fairly violent for the time and of course nearly everyone (except the leads) dies.

A narrator tells of a “cunning and savage enemy” and “the power crazed Japanese”, so obviously by ’58, the wounds of WW 2 still hadn’t closed.

SB was written by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (see CAT GIRL entry) and produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. Music by Ronald Stein. Also starring Scott Peters, Walter Maslow, John McNamara and Sammee Tong.
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The Sniper

THE SNIPER-Columbia Pictures-1952- Arthur Franz stars as a woman hating, child abused psycho sniper preying on “dames” who reject him. Adolphe Menjou and Gerald Mohr are the police. Richard Kiley is a police psychiatrist who explains a lot! Marie Windsor is his first victim, shot in a Chinese restaurant.

Franz ‘s portrayal is very sympathetic and the ending is very untypical for the fifties. Frank Faylen is the police chief and a gaggle of familiar character actors make unbilled appearances: Charles Lane, Bryon Foulger, Victor Sen Young, Jean Willes, Paul Dubov and John Eldredge.

SNIPER is surprisingly straightforward and well directed by Hollywood veteran Edward Dymtryk (who directed Karloff in THE DEVIL COMMANDS in 1941). Unfortunately, Dymtryk’s later career was over- shadowed by his naming of names to the HUAC committee after spending several months in jail.

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Man From Laredo

GUNMEN FROM LAREDO-Columbia-1959-Techni-Color cheapy western about an innocent cowboy (Robert Knapp who had been in MESA OF LOST WOMEN) framed for murder by some corrupt brothers who also kill his wife (THE VIOLENT YEARS’ Jean Moorehead!). He goes to prison but escapes to seek revenge. He gets help from a Mexican woman (Jana Davi) who’d been kidnapped by an Indian (X-Brands). Corman vet Paul Birch is the U.S. Marshall who wants to see justice done.

Producer/Director Wallace MacDonald was a former silent actor who produced a lot of films (including two Karloff “hang” movies) but he only directed three films and MAN FROM LAREDO was the only one with sound! Star Knapp did a lot of TV later on.

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Early Wilder

Mr. Fowley

YANKEE FAKIR-1947- Long before he became the notorious “auteur” of KILLERS FROM SPACE and other dreck director W. Lee Wilder made this funny western for Republic Pictures about two traveling salesmen (Douglas Fowley and Ransom Sherman). It was his second film.

When a border patrol sheriff is murdered, the duo are suspected and thrown in jail. They manage to get out and investigate. They concoct a scheme to catch the real killer involving an old prospector (Chem Bevins) posing as a millionaire and offering $50,000 to the person who can expose the worse character in town.

Joan Woodbury (the mini-bride of Henry VIII in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) is the victim’s daughter who runs the local boarding house.

Frank Reicher is a bank manager. Marc Lawrence (who was in Cecil B. DeMille’s UNCONQUERED with Gary Cooper & Boris Karloff the same year) runs the local saloon and reports to a mysterious, unseen boss. Also with little Tommy Bernard.

Fowley was the father of “Nutrocker” composer Kim Fowley! He was in SCARED TO DEATH (with Lugosi) the same year and had roles in many later movies like MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949), CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON (1953) & THE NAKED JUNGLE (1954) and TV too. He produced and directed the voodoo tinged MACUMBA LOVE in 1960.

Reicher of course was the ship captain in KING KONG (and SONG OF KING) and had directed many silent movies. His last role was in SUPERMAN VS. THE MOLE MEN (1951). He died in 1965.

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First of 2010

THE MURDER MAN-1935-Interesting murder mystery with Spencer Tracy (he did DANTE'S INFERNO the same year) as an alcoholic reporter who's court testimony convicts a con-man and sentences him to the death penalty. The great Lionel Atwill plays the chief of police. Virginia Bruce (who was later in PARDON MY SARONG with Abbott & Costello and Atwill) is the female lead and James Stewart makes his screen debut as a reporter named Shorty.




THE ALPHABET MURDERS-1966-Weird black and white comedic adaptation of Agatha Christie's mystery novel features Tony Randall as Belgium detective Hercule Pirot. Robert Morley is an inept English secret service man. Anita Ekberg (five years after LA DOCE VITA) is the mystery woman with the initials A B C. I guess it was done to compete with THE PINK PANTHER series (SHOT IN THE DARK was made the year before). Others in the cast include Guy Rolfe, Maurice Denham, Julian Glover and Patrick Newell (4 years before his role as "Mother" on TV's THE AVENGERS). During the opening credits Pirot talks to the audience.

Director Frank Tashlin had previously directed Randall in WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER?

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