Short Them

THEM-2006-Excellent suspenseful French production. A man and woman in a country home are terrorized by unknown intruders. It’s very tense and better than anything produced in the US in the 10 years. The filmmakers seem to say it was based on a true story but I don’t know for sure. See it anyway! 

The two directors (David Moreau and Xaiver Palud) later made the US version of THE EYE.

Sorry this review was so short but the year is winding down and so am I!

Happy New Year once again and thanks for reading!

Nudie Cuties

NUDE ON THE MOON-1961-Infamous nudie exploitation film from Doris Wishman, perhaps the only female nudie director in film history.

Two stupid scientists (one young, one older) fly to the moon and encounter a race of women who wander around topless. The pair take photos and make notes while the girls show off their “moon boobs”. Their leader talks by telepathy and the young egghead falls for her. A song “I’m Mooning Over You” plays every time they meet. It’s sung by Tony Sandler who later was half of the popular ‘60’s sing duo Sandler & Young.

This color production is well photographed and the post-synch dialogue (a standard in Wishman films) is done better than usual. It was filmed in Miami.

Thanks for reading!

Praise The Lord!

SWEET JESUS, PREACHERMAN-1973-Roger E. Mosley (who was in THE MACK the same year) stars as a hit man who pretends to be a Baptist preacher in Watts to fix up the criminal activities of a mobster (William Smith, who was in INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS the same year). Michael Pataki is a racist senator trying to get the black vote. His assistant is played by Marla Gibbs (soon to be the smart talking maid on TV’s THE JEFFERSONS). The dialogue and some of the acting is laughable at times but there’s some action to keep the story interesting.

Director Henning Schellerup was also a cinematographer on many films and made some pseudo-docu-dramas (like IN SEARCH OF HISTORIC JESUS) for Sunn Classics. Smith and Pataki were in GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE the next year.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

Strummer!

LET’S ROCK AGAIN!-2004-This is a great documentary/tribute to punk-rock legend Joe Strummer and his group The Mescalaros as they tour America and Japan. There’s a lot of music footage and Strummer is interviewed throughout and is both serious and funny. It’s hard to believe the singer/guitar player from THE CLASH had to do his own promoting for a few gigs but he seems to take it all in stride as a part of the changing times.

Director Dick Rude wrote the Alex Cox film STRAIGHT TO HELL which Strummer had a role in. Joe (who was born in Turkey) passed away in 2002.

I'm glad I got to see them live! Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

Early AIP

THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES-1955-A weird (man in a suit) sea monster with fins, fangs and big eyes terrorizes some a coastal fishing village. Dr. Stevens (Kent Taylor) investigates when one of the victims has radiation burns. He meets Prof. King (Michael Whalen, later in MISSILE TO THE MOON) who's conducting secretive experiments. Stevens becomes sweet on King's daughter (Cathy Downs) and worries about her safety after a meeting with the monster who is guarding a strange shaft of light.
Meanwhile the Prof.'s secretary (Vivi Janiss) blames King for the death of her son. Phil Pine plays the Prof.'s assistant who's actually working for a spy ring and tries to kill Stevens with a spear gun. This a good low budget horror time waster.

PHANTOM was released by American Releasing Corporation just before they changed their name to American International Pictures. Screenwriter Lou Rusoff wrote many great "B" movies in the '50's including THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED which played on a double bill with PHANTOM.

Director Dan Milner was mostly a film editor but also made FROM HELL IT CAME (with his brother Jack who was PHANTOM's producer) two years later. Music is by the great Roland Stein.

Thanks for reading!

Swinging Around London With Pete and Sam

SALT AND PEPPER-1968-Swinging London nightclub owners Charles Salt (Sammy Davis Jr.) and Christopher Pepper (Peter Lawford) become involved in espionage when 2 British secret agents are killed in their club. Sammy does a very '60's psychedelic number called "I Like The Way You Dance" with Go Go dancers while playing a guitar. Michael Bates is the stupid Inspector Crabbe who believes the team is to blame. The duo (who seem to be smoking in every scene) say lots of hip humorous lines (with some racial humor and jokes concerning the words "fag" and "boy") and get shot at while driving around in Salt's weird car that has some Aston Martin like gadgets. They go to a barber shop and somehow wind up on nuclear submarine and discover a plot to overthrow the English government.

Also with Iilona Rodgers, Graham Stark, Calvin Lockhart and Jeremy Lloyd. This seems to be influenced by the Matt Helm series, I SPY (which Salt makes a reference to), THE MAN FROM UNCLE and even GET SMART. Director Richard Donner went on to bigger things but around this time he was making "Danger Island" segments for THE BANANA SPLITS TV show.

It's a strange mixture of comedy, action, violence and drama written by Michael Pertwee, brother of Dr. Who's Jon Pertwee. Lawford had a role in Otto Preminger's bomb SKIDOO the same year. Both he and Davis were executive producers. It ends with the words: It's Over. But they actually made a sequel in 1970 called ONE MORE TIME (directed by Jerry Lewis!).

Thanks for reading!

Hail Atlantis

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT-1961-While out plying their trade a Greek fisherman Demetrius (Anthony Hall aka Sal Ponti)) and his father rescue Antilla (Joyce Meadows) a bitchy princess ( "Don't touch me. You smell of fish").

Eventually she convinces the superstitious and easily deceived young man to take her back to her home beyond "the pillars of Hercules" which of course turns out to be the legendary Atlantis before it became lost. Somehow they fall in love. After they are picked up by an Atlantean submarine Demetrius is made a slave. Edgar Stehli is Antilla's weak kneed father/king and Ed Platt is the high priest who knows that doomsday is near. Though technically and scientifically advanced (they have a death ray and make human slaves into animal people sort of like in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS) it's an evil and despotic empire. Demetrious battles a giant in the ridiculous ordeal of fire and water to win his freedom and is visited by a blue skinned Neptune in a dream sequence. The scheming Zaran (John Dall) plots with Sonoy the astrologer (Frank DeKova with eye patch and earring) to attack the rest of the world. Demetrious leads a slave uprising just as Atlantis is destroyed but he and his love get away. Berry Kroeger is a scientist ("Why do they always take my best specimens away?" ) and Gene Roth has an un-billed role (and if you had to wear the embarrassing head gear he wears you'd want to be un-billed too!).

William Smith, Jay Novello and Nestor Paiva are also in it with Paul Frees narrating. This George Pal directed fantasy is very entertaining and imaginative but not nearly on the budget of his previous effort THE TIME MACHINE. Some action scenes were lifted from Pal produced THE NAKED JUNGLE and QUO VADIS. It's based on an English play.

Thanks to my pal Tony for getting me this and thanks for reading!

Black & White Hammer

THESE ARE THE DAMNED-1963-American vacationing in London Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey, a little too old for his role) is beat up by a gang of Teddy Boys. Although they all dress in leather jackets their leader King (Oliver Reed) wears a suit jacket. Somehow Simon winds up falling in love with King's sister Joan (Shirley Anne Field). While hiding from King on an island they come upon a group of children who are being used in a government experiment involving radioactivity.

This black and white thriller directed by ex-patriot American Joseph Losey (he'd gone to England after being blacklisted in the '50's) takes a little time to get started but is very effective and has an eerie climax. Also with Viveca Lindflors, Alexander Knox and James Villiers.

The above poster makes it seem like a horror film when it's actually a science fiction drama with some social commentary, This was a Hammer-Seven Arts co-production and the executive producer was Michael Carreras.

Thanks for reading!

What's That Crawling Across Your Mind?

THE GREEN SLIME-1968-A giant asteroid is on a collusion course with Earth. Members of a crew aboard space station Gamma are sent to investigate. Robert Horton is Jack Rankin the kind of egotistical, hard edged commander who is sent to the satellite to over see things. Richard Jaeckel is Vince Elliot the commander in charge of Gamma who also happens to been a rival of Rankin's. Elliot's fiancée(Luciana Paluzzi ) was also once sweet on Rankin. It seems Vince once made a mistake that cost some crewmen their lives, blah, blah.. The asteroid is destroyed but not before a living green fungus is brought aboard ship.

Although this was made at Toei Studios in Japan and has a Japanese director none of the cast members are Asian (it was a co-production with MGM) but seeing some of the cheesy sets and effects makes you think Star-Man or Rhodan might pop up! The tentacle monsters the slime grows into looks like Syd & Marty Kroft rejects! It's hilarious!

And it doesn't help that the male crew wear toy motorcycle helmets. It's funny to see Horton being a hard ass while wearing one. A briefly seen nurse is played by Linda Miller (Jackie Gleason's daughter). Co-screenwriter Bill Finger was a comic book writer who helped Bob Kane develop the original Batman character. Director Kinji Fukasaku was a busy film maker right up until his death in 2007. His other films include the whacky MESSAGE FROM SPACE, GRAVEYARD OF HONOR and BATTLE ROYALE 1 and 2. It seems the one thing everyone really remembers about this movie is the awesome theme song!

Thanks for reading!

RIP Irene Kaelin

"It will reach out with it's magnetic arms...."

THE MAGNETIC MONSTER-1953-A strange magnetic force grips LA. Two scientists (Richard Carlson and King Donovan) investigate and find that a dying scientist (Leonard Mudie) was experimenting with a new kind of element ("serranium"). Somehow the element can draw energy from the air and turn it into matter. It starts to grow and could send the Earth off it's rotation! The duo go to Canada to use their cyclotron but run into some opposition. Fans of bug eyed '50's drive in monster flicks might be disappointed as no creature is seen.

Some of the SFX are taken from a 1930's German film called GOLD. Produced by Ivan Tors and directed by Curt Siodmak (creator of THE WOLFMAN) and the two collaborated on the screenplay. Herbert Strock was the editor (and may have directed some scenes). Jean Byron is Carson's wife. Byron Foulger, Michael Fox, John Zaremba, Frank Gerstle, Billy "Whitey" Bennedict, Kathleen Freeman and Strother Martin all have roles. Carlson later was in THE MAZE, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Donovan was in THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS the same year.

Thanks for reading!