Demon Mountain

THE CURSE OF DEMON MOUNTAIN-1977-Trader to his country and slave loving turncoat Confederate captain Wishbone Cutter (Joe Don Baker) returns from the war his people started to find his wife and house lost to the Yankee bastards. Sore loser!

 He and his "half breed" partner Half Moon (Joy Houck Jr.) team up with a geologist Amos (Ted Neeley) to find some "stones" buried in a cursed mountain in Arkansas by a dying rebel (Slim Pickens). After coming upon the remains of an Indian massacre they pick up Drusilla (Sondra Locke), a rape victim left for dead. On their way, they seem to be followed. Half Moon thinks it's evil spirits. They have an encounter with three bushwhackers Posey (Dennis Fimple), Rafe (John Chandler) & Dancer (Grady Wyatt)) who they bury in a landslide. When they get to the mountain Half Moon says it's cursed by an eagle killed by an Indian chief. They lose all their horses and Half Moon is killed. After Drusiella is rescued from falling off a mountain, the trio find the diamonds. Amos is killed by an arrow through his neck. 

This is the only directorial effort by Earl E. Smith who wrote THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK and THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. 

CURSE OF DEMON MOUNTAIN is also known as THE SHADOW OF CHIKARA and was distributed by Howco Int., the company founded by Joy Houck Sr.

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Italian Space Opera

STAR PILOT-1966-On the isle of Sardinia, Paolo (Mario Novelli), Louisa (Leontine Snell) and Professor Solmi (Roland Lesaffre) investigate a mysterious giant hole that has formed. After an earthquake opens up a tunnel they follow it. There they discover an underground spaceship. When their car and the phone won't work, the small group (they were joined by two guys who were at the site already) is stranded. Then 3 "Oriental" agents from an unnamed Asian country (but not Red China) show up thinking the spaceship is some new invention of the professor's. The trio make the group go back to the cave and the kill an alien robot. A badly staged fight ensues. 

Meanwhile a red haired alien lady sends two henchmen, Belsy (Kirk Morris) and Artie (Alfio Caltabiano) to capture everyone which they do but one Asian is burnt to a crispy skeleton. The aliens were investigating Earth's "nuclear experiments" when they had to make an emergency landing. Now they want the professor to repair their ship while Louisa is held hostage. Later after repairs are made they all take off in the spaceship, the aliens reneging on their promise to free the earthlings. They run into problems with the ship. The captain puts on a black haired wig and this dog turns into a romance novel. As she and Paolo kiss the group is attacked by some gorilla like beings (who kill the Asians). 

Later they find a derelict Russian spaceship with two cosmonaut skeletons. From the ship's log they learn the Earth has been devastated by nuclear war so the captain takes them back to Hydra who's inhabitants fearing nuclear fallout have left their home planet. 

This Italian production has a cheesy story, acting and sfx all rolled into one big fat space opera by director Pietro Francisci (HERCULES and HERCULES UNCHAINED).

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Perry Rhodan

MISSION STARDUST-1967-Major Perry Rhodan (Lang Jeffries) and his crew are all part of the super secret Stardust Project which is headed to the moon to mine a new type of precious metal. Along with him are Capt. Bull (Luis Davila), Capt. Flipper (Daniel Martin) and Dr. Monoli (Joachim Hansen). A guy named Arkin (Pinkus Braun) wants the metal too. When they land a strange interference knocks out communication with Earth. Then their land Rover is destroyed. A weird robot with teeth and eyes takes them to meet Crest (John Karlsen), an old guy with a lisp and Thora (Essy Persson), the arrogant commander from the planet Arkon. 

While Perry tries to melt the ice princess, Manoli discovers that Crest has leukemia and wants to take him to an Earth doctor for treatment. They travel secretly to Mombasa but run into trouble with the army. The silly aliens think Mercury is a precious metal while diamonds are used like nails. After the army fails to capture the ship, Rhodan and Faber go looking for Dr. Haggard (Stefano Sibaldi) who they find after beating up some thugs. They take Hagar and his two assistants to help Crest. Meanwhile Arkin's gang infiltrates an army sector and captures Rhodan. It turns out Flipper is actually working for Arkin and Hagar and his nurses are imposers. The robots vaporize most of the bad guys except Arkin who sneaks on to the alien ship and is later set adrift in space. 

This Italian-West German co-production by director Primo Zeglio is more like espionage than space opera but also influenced by TV's Star Trek although the Perry Rhodan series of books (around 126 at this writing) started in 1961 . Terrible sfx. Star Jeffries was born in Canada and in the early '60's was married to Rhoda Fleming. Essy Persson had been in the sexploitation blockbuster I, A WOMAN in 1965 and was later in CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970) with Vincent Price.

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The Boring Red Planet

MISSION MARS-1968-Astronauts Mike (Darren McGavin), Nick (Nick Adams) and Duncan (George De Vries) take a rocket ship to the Red Planet where some cosmonauts disappeared. Two of them leave behind anxious wives. They have a pretty ordinary flight (if flying to Mars is ordinary…) until they hit a meteor shower and see 2 dead cosmonauts floating in space. Once they land they find the third Russian frozen to death. They are attacked by some weird creatures and then ordered by their commanders to leave. But a giant orb seems to be holding them there. Later while examining the orb Duncan is killed. Back on Earth the wives worry but don't seem very proud of their heroic husbands. The dead cosmonaut comes back to life (he was in a coma) and Nick destroys the orb but at the cost of his own life. Mike returns home. 

This outer space adventure isn't very good but what can your expect from director Nicholas Webster, the guy who made SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS?

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Robot War! What Is It Good For?

WAR OF THE ROBOTS-1978-Robots with Dutch boy haircuts kidnap a scientist and his assistant. Captain Boyd (Antonio Sabato) leads a rescue team. Roger (Giacomo Rossi Stuart), Julie (Yanti Somer), Paul (Venantino Venantini) and Sonia (Ines Pelligrini) accompany him to the home planet and encounter weird pale aliens lead by a Kuba (Aldo Caldi), a bald guy. They are actually the inhabitants of the planet subjugated by the Dutch boy robots. 

This Italian Sci-Fi space story is boring and badly made by director Alfonso Brescia (screenwriter of WAR OF THE PLANETS (also with Yanti Somer) and sometimes credited as Al Bradley).

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2012/10/out-of-order-review.html

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ek00mVLcfE

Never Got To Be Unsold

DEPUTY SERAPH-1959-This little tragedy was supposed to reunite The 3 Marx Brothers for a TV pilot but it was never finished as Chico became ill. It does consist of a few scenes but is mostly raw footage of reaction shots, close ups and flubs. Clapboards and the director are also present. The premise seems to be that two angels (Chico & Harpo) are sent to Earth to help people. Groucho is their motorcycle riding boss. Harpo and Chico play their well known instruments but that's about it. Neither Harpo or Groucho mention it in their autobiographies. I first learned of it from an article in FILMFAX.

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The Marx Brothers On TV

GE ELECTRIC THEATER "THE INCREDIBLE JEWEL ROBBERY"-1959-Hosted by future ex-president Ronald Reagan, the story is told with no dialogue and is about two guys (Harpo & Chico Marx) planning to rob a jewelry store. They "visit" various places at night to get their equipment which includes a policeman's uniform. They paint their car to look like a police patrol car. Later Harpo holds up the jewelry store owner (Benny Rubin) while wearing "Groucho" eyebrows and mustache! Chico arrives dressed as a cop and arrests him. They get away but are sidelined by a woman having a baby. It ends in a police lineup where the real Groucho makes an appearance uttering the show's only line. 

Chico seems very old but Harpo still makes his usual faces which are a highlight. Director Mitchell Leisen directed episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and THRILLER soon after this.

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Unsold TV Pilot

DESTINATION SPACE-1959-In the future a space station nicknamed "Benedict's Billions" is ready to launch a manned rocket ship when it's hit by a meteor. No one is killed but this gives a headline seeking senator (Robert Cornthwaite) another reason to criticize it. Jim Benedict (Harry Townes) head of the project comes under a lot of personal criticism especially from Kim (Gail Kobe), the wife of the station's captain (Charles Aidman). John Agar is his associate Col. Matthews. Cecil Kellaway is the outspoken Dr. Andrews. Dr. Logan (John Lormer) is also aboard. After Jim gives a nice speech that kind of wins everyone over, a scientist Dr. Easton (Edward Platt) is sent along as an independent observer. Jim's girlfriend June (Whitney Blake) fits into a love triangle Jim gets caught in while trying to clean the ice build up preventing the launch. 

There's not a lot of info available on DESTINATION SPACE but now it's pretty much agreed this was actually an unsold pilot before it was released as a feature film. It certainly has that feel to it although former actor Joseph Pevney had directed many feature films (like THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES in 1957) by the time this was made he had already take “the leap” into TV (where he worked on many TV shows for many years to come). 

Producer/writer Rip Van Ronkel had written the screenplay for the excellent DESTINATION MOON in 1950. Much stock footage from 1955's CONQUEST OF SPACE was used too.

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Derek-The Kid From Outer Space

TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE-1959-After two weird astronomers discuss an object in space one of them saw, a dog howls and a flying saucer lands on Earth. After the credits aliens in pajamas like jumpsuits emerge. Their first order of business is to use a ray gun to reduce the dog to a skeleton. The group of young humanoid space beings is led by an arrogant authoritative captain (King Moody). His two standout crew members are the ruthless and pompous Thor (Bryan Grant) and the sensitive caring Derek (David Love). This group has come from their home planet to use Earth as a breeding ground for some monsters called "gargons", a source of food for their race. Derek protests when he reads the dead dog's id tag, deducing that the intelligent inhabitants of Earth don't deserve the fate his unnamed race has in store. He also gets on his soap box saying that their race wasn't always "mechanized slaves". Once there was families and love until "the annihilators" burned everything. The captain overpowers Derek and says he could be tortured and killed when they get home. Just when it looks like they've found grazing land for their gargons it's determined Earth's atmosphere is no good. They'll need a new planet. This makes Derek quite happy and he escapes. Thor could have shot him but the captain stops him because Derek is the son of their leader! It also turns out the atmosphere is ok for gargon raising. It was just an initial shock that hit the monster. Though tiny it will grow to gigantic size in time. 

Meanwhile, Derek wanders into town and winds up at the home of Betty Morgan (Dawn Bender) and her Grandpa (Harvey B. Dunn from Ed Wood movies), the owners of the dead dog. They assume he's come to rent the extra room they have and that his spacesuit apparel is some kind of private school uniform! The scowling asshole Thor is dispatched to find Derek. Thus begins the exciting story of an alien invasion! Jolly old Gramps and naive but infatuated Betty practically adopt Derek who says just enough not to let them know he's from out of this world, giving him clothes left behind by brother Bud (who got married and moved away) and letting him stay in their extra room for free until he finds a job! We are also introduced to Betty's boyfriend Joe Rogers (Tom Lockyear aka do it all director Tom Graeff), a newspaper reporter who has to cancel his pool party date with Bets because he has to interview some locals who saw UFOs! Meantime the asshole Thor leaves some skeleton victims around town while looking for Derek. Betty invites him to her friend Alice's pool party but when they get there he tells Betty about her doggie's demise. She insists on seeing where it happened so she and Derek bid Alice adieu. Then Gramps meets Thor and gives away just about everything that's going on. 

Back at the death site Derek explains to Betty what a focusing disintegrator ray does. They decide to visit Prof. Simpson so Derek can explain his predicament. After Thor vaporizes Alice he again visits Gramps  who spills the beans a second time. Thor kills the Professor. Betty and Derek go to City Hall where agents with guns are waiting. Derek gets a hold of Gramps again and forces him to drive to the hall. A furious shootout ensues and Gramps has trouble crossing the street. Thor kills two of the agents but is wounded. While Gramps gives Joe (who discovered Alice's skeleton in her pool) the lowdown Thor forces Derek and Betty to drive him to a doctor (Frederic Welsh). Then he forces the doctor to operate on him without anesthesia. Before he passes out Thor tells Derek about the gargons and him being the leader's dad. Derek, Betty and the doc escape but unfortunately the doc's nurse arrives and patches Thor up just before the doc calls to warn her. Thor forces the nurse to drive him to the desert landing area right about the same time Joe and his friend Mac go for a look. Mac goes into the cave where the gorgan is chillin' and becomes dinner. After Thor cracks up the car and is arrested Derek and Betty go looking for Thor's lost ray gun. The two share a kiss then find the ray gun just as a ginormous gargon appears. With the power of the electric company Derek kills the gargon.

Later after a lot of convoluted talk Derek tricks his dad, Thor and Mr. Torture and makes all the invading spaceships crash. 

This is one nutty movie the brainchild of writer/director/co-star Tom Graeff. The plot and dialogue are ridiculous but it does hold a certain sense of charm. The giant gargon effect though is one of the worst ever. A lobster superimposed onto the film. For years it was miss reported that star David Love and director Tom Graeff were the same person but this was an error.To read more about Mr. Graeff check out these sites:

http://gf-productions.com/tomgraeff/

https://www.tomgraeff.org/

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Space Fungus

MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE-1965-Major Towers (William Leslie) and Captain Webber (Carl Crow) are two yobs returning to a space station after collecting samples on an asteroid. Head of the station is Cromwell (Richard Garland). The first 30 minutes is all talk then Webber dies after being infected by an unknown fungus. Towers wants to warn everyone but Cromwell wants it kept secret. Even after the fungus takes over the lab of Towers' girlfriend Faith (Dolores Faith) a botanist. It seems Cromwell is suffering from "space rapture" and won't see the truth. When Towers rebels Cromwell has him locked up as well as Faith and other crew members Dr. Hoffman (James Dobson) and Lt. Engstrom (Patricia Curran) but the crew turn the tables and sedate Cromwell. The deadly fungi eventually shows up everywhere, including outside the ship but on Earth Gen. Knowland (Glenn Langan, THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN) has a giant CO2 cloud created which destroys the stuff (like in The Blob). 

Francine York (CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE) appears in a few scenes as Knowland's aide de camp. I suppose an argument could be made that this talky cheap sci-fi space drama influenced 2001 and Star trek (and THE GREEN SLIME!) but I have my doubts ...Director Hugo Grimaldi made this cheap science fiction melodrama the same year as the much more entertaining THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS (also with Dolores Faith)

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4609335177952045780/6758274239790318029

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Outer Space TV

COSMIC PRINCESS-1982-Two episodes of the syndicated science fiction series SPACE:1999 edited in one full length movie. The series followed the inhabitants of an Earth space station on the moon and the adventures they have after the planet breaks away from its orbit hurling it into space. At the time it premiered on US TV it was a big deal but the sfx were terrible and it could be very boring. Martin Landau started as Commander John Koenig and his the real life wife Barbara Bain was the chief doctor, Helena Russell. Both had come to fame on the TV spy series MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. Barry Morse (from THE FUGITIVE TV show) was in the first season but seemed to mysteriously disappear by the show's final episodes. They brought in a new character who's introduced here. It was the last project Gary and Sylvia Anderson, creators of UFO and all the super marination stuff.

While searching for titanium the crew comes in contact with a nut named Mentor (Brian Blessed) who makes mindless slaves out of various aliens to fuel a machine that will restore his planet. His daughter Maya (Catherine Schell) can change into any animal. She first appears as a lion and thinks daddy is swell because she doesn't know about his evil scheme to enslave the crew. When she finds out she frees Koenig and his group and they destroy his plans and him. Maya is taken back to the ship to become a regular. In the second half Koenig and another guy are separate from the base when it goes through a space warp. Maya goes crazy and turns into a weird alien and menaces the base. Despite being the most expensive series produced by The Andersons this show is very bad on all counts. Charles Critchton and Peter Medak are the credited directors.

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Naschy Returns!

VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES-1973-A grave robbing married couple are killed when the corpse they planned to loot comes to life. After this an unseen figure performs a ritual. In London a Indian mystic/guru/cult leader Krishna (Paul Naschy) puts himself in a trace and is stab by an assistant but feels no pain. Elvira (Rommy) is one his followers and his friend author Dr. Radcliffe (Vic Winner) is doing research. Radcliffe warns Elvira not too go too far with Krishna's stuff. Later she's terrorized by a pale faced zombie woman and an ugly guy in a top hat who puts an ax in a caretaker's head and hangs her father. After the funeral Elvira goes to visit Krishna. While waiting in the train station, the stationmaster tells her the village is evil and that house Krishna rented is called "The Devil's House" because years before a family called The Whatleys performed blood sacrifices there until the townspeople killed them all. She's finally met by scarred driver Ti Zachery (Pierre Bisari) who takes her to Krishna who seems to be under the weather. Kala (Mirta Miller) is his second in command. When Elvira goes to bed she has a dream Ti and the stationmaster kidnap her and take her to a chamber where some pale faced women stand around and satyr like horned demon (who resembles Krishna) slashes her throat and drinks her blood. After she and Krishna have a chat the next day the scene changes to a meat packing company where the accountant is having an affair with his boss's wife Olivia (Aurora de Alba; FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR). Someone in a top hat, cape and clown mask kills them and drains the blood out of the guy. Then two pale faced women kill a morgue attendant and a figure in a top hat and ghoul mask sets fire to a small figure. Scotland Yard calls in Radcliffe for advice and he tells them that someone is creating zombies using voodoo. Then Krishna buys a knife and walks through a graveyard while some jazzy music plays. After that, the stationmaster is forced to cut his own throat. Gala says Elvira has to leave but Krishna says he needs her help. A maid warns Elvira not to fall in love with Krishna. The maid wants to show something to Elvira in the basement but all she finds is the maid with her head chopped off. Ti appears with a bloody scythe but Krishna shows up and overpowers him. "This is a nightmare! Inexplicable and frightening!". When Elvira wants to call the police Krishna is against it and they have sex instead. Meantime the masked guy makes the zombie women rise and they kill two cops (one is impaled with a cross). After a lot of talk it seems Krishna is the unwilling slave of his occult loving revenge seeking disfigured brother Tantaka and his female zombies. 

This isn't nearly as entertaining as some other screenwriter Paul Naschy/ director Leon Klimlovsky combos (like THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN) but it has some fire, nudity and death by soda can with Naschy suitably demented as the crazed Tantaka!

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Franco!

SUCCUBUS-1968-A demon or Satan(?) sends Lorna (Janine Reynaud), a stripper who does a staged S&M snuff film nightclub act, to kill. She meets an older guy (Howard Vernon) and stabs him in the eye. At a party people take drugs, dance and hallucinate. One guy who doesn't take drugs reads from a book. Lorna does a dance on the floor and the dwarf butler makes weird noises. Just when it looks like an orgy will break out her boyfriend/club mgr. Bill (Jack Taylor) breaks it up. After they have sex, he recites a story about a Queen with amnesia. There's a lot of walking around and talking until Lorna and another woman go her place to fool around. Some mannequins seem to come to life and Lorna stabs the woman to death. She then kisses one of the bald dummies. 

This thing moves at a snail's pace and may have been hot stuff in the late '60's but now it's boring out of date Euro-trash. To make sure you know Jesus Franco (in his first film outing outside his native Spain) directed this, there's a sex scene shot through a fish bowl. 

Filmed in West Germany, the German backers dropped out and Adrian Hoven (who later produced and starred in the infamous MARK OF THE DEVIL) stepped in to bring in new backers, take a role and have a real life affair with lead actress Reynaud (who was in Franco's KISS ME MONSTER in '69).

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The Original

THE EVIL DEAD-1981-Ash (Bruce Campbell) and 4 jerky friends (1 guy, 3 girls) go to a secluded cabin. There's a lot of strange noises and there seems to be something in the woods. In the basement (where there's a THE HILLS HAVE EYES poster) they find some ancient books, artifacts and a tape recorder. The tape has a doctor talking about Sumeria, The Book of The Dead and resurrecting the deceased. The taped chanting of the doctor seems to bring up some force and a tree crashes through a window. At night one of the women Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) is attacked by tree branches then chased through the forest by an unseen force. On the tape the doctor says his wife is possessed. Cheryl becomes a ghoul and threatens the rest, stabbing Ash's girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) with a pencil. They lock her in the basement. The third girl Shelly (Sarah York) becomes possessed and attacks Scott (Richard Manincor), the other guy. Shelly gets partially burned, has her hand cut off, then dies after being dismembered in a very gory scene. Then Linda becomes a giggling demon. Ash yells: “You bastards! Why are you torturing me like this?!”. When Scotty dies, Ash is left alone to fight the demons. 

There's a lot of bloody effects, decapitation, demon attacks and of course poor Ash is beaten, stabbed and generally terrorized but manages to destroy the demon and survive....or does he? 

This was director Sam Raimi's first feature film (he'd only made short films before this) and seems to be influenced the low budget horror film EQUINOX (1970). It still packs a wallop today. Followed by two sequels and a cable TV show many years later.

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International

I BASTARDI-(THE BASTARD)-1968-In New Mexico, Jason (Giuliano Gemma) and Adam (Klaus Kinski) are jewel thieves brothers. When the milk drinking Jason won't give up the jewels he stole Adam has him beaten up and tricks him into revealing where the stash is. It also turns out Jason's girlfriend Karen (Margret Lee) is Adam's lover. Adam has Jason's shooting hand maimed and leaves him to wander in the desert where he's taken in by ranch owner Barbara (Claudine Auger) who teaches him to write with his other hand. They become lovers but all the while Jason is plotting his revenge. After they rob an armored car Jason visits his weird alcoholic mother (Rita Hayworth). He goes for revenge but there's an earthquake. While Karen is killed, Adam survives, rescued by his baby brother who then shoots Adam to death. Jason is in turn shot (soundlessly) by his mother. 

This Italian German France co-production directed by Duccio Tessari isn't very good but any movie with Klaus Kinski playing the son of Rita Hayworth is all right with me. Joan Crawford was originally suppose to play the Hayworth role but dropped out over complaints about the script.

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He Should Have Stayed Where He Was

FRECKLES COMES HOME-1942-A guy nicknamed Freckles (Johnny Downs) goes to his sleepy old hometown of Fairfield, Indiana to help out his buddy Danny (Marvin Stephens) who's in a jam, partially thanks to hotel Porter Jeff (Mantan Moreland) who bought a machine that was supposed to find gold. Freckles romances Jane Potter (Gale Storm), the banker's daughter. At a barn dance they do a duet. Freckles and Dan want to put a highway through town but their plan falls through. A bank robber Muggsy Malone (Walter Sande), hiding out in town thinks he can help them. He brings in a dapper gentleman named Quigley (Bradley Page) who Jane promptly falls for. Of course Quigley wants to fleece the town. Meanwhile Jeff and Quigley’s chauffeur (Lawrence Criner) look for gold and play Craps. Then Muggsey winds up dead and the stupid constable (Irving Bacon) investigates. Two of Malone’s friends arrive pretending to be detectives. 

This is a boring little comedy from Monogram has Mantan Moreland wasted in demeaning stereotypical role. Director Jean Yarbrough at least keeps the running time down to just a little over an hour.

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More Buchanan

IN THE YEAR 2889-1967-Instead of music during the opening credits we get several mushroom cloud explosions and a voice reading Scriptures. After we find out this made for TV remake of Roger Corman’s DAY THE WORLD ENDED was directed by Larry Buchanan everything falls into place.  

Capt.John Ramsey (Neil Fletcher; also in CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION) and his daughter Joanna (Chara Doherty) await the arrival of Larry, her fiance after the bombs have dropped. Dad says she should give up hope but she refuses and when there's a knock at the front door she's elated to think Larry did make it. Despite dad’s warning she opens the door. Surprise! It’s not Larry but scarred victim of radiation poisoning. And according to Pop’s Geiger counter he should be dead! A minute later a guy named Steve (Paul Petersen; in better days the teen star of TV's THE DONNA REED SHOW) shows up and says the radioactive guy is his brother Granger (Max W. Anderson).  Then thug Mickey (Hugh Feagin) and his girl friend Jada (Quinn O'Hara) show up. Steve catches drunk rancher Henderson (Billy Thurman) peeping on Jada. John lays down the law and Jo thinks she hears someone calling her. Granger needs fresh meat and goes out at night hunting game. John says he’s a mutant and should be destroyed.

 A few weeks later (?), Steven and Joanna are falling in love and Granger is setting traps to catch wild game. However he’s scared off by an even uglier mutant who eats the rabbit Granger had planned for his din-din. Pop says as long as it doesn't rain for a while they should be ok. The girls go for a swim In what dad calls a “spring fed pool”. It looks like a regular cement pool and has a diving board! The ugly mutant prowls around. 

This nearly scene for scene (with most of the original dialogue) remake gets boring really fast and the makeup is horrible. Thurman’s original role (played by Raymond Hatton) was a prospector with a pet donkey. Here he’s an alcoholic bootlegger. I guess this version couldn't afford a real donkey. 

Despite some cast listings Jules Verne is not in this movie. The title was appropriated from a Verne short story that AIP had the rights to but never made and had the title under copyright. This is one of four AIP movies remade for the company that were released directly to TV. Buchanan directed them all plus the “originals” MARS NEEDS WOMEN, CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE and IT'S ALIVE!

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The original: https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-is-very-long.html

Zager & Evans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic

AIP Remake

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CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION-1967-In another made for TV disaster, an over long silent, music only pre-credits kind of chase takes place with a very phony rubbery creature (the same one in Buchanan’s IT’S ALIVE) follows an old guy (Neil Fletcher; the father in IN THE YEAR 2889) to his boat and kills him. 

Dr. John Basso (Les Tremayne) does a hypnotism/prediction act with the help of Doreena (Pat Delaney) who he regresses into the funny “prehistoric” monster shown earlier. A dumb pompous army psychologist Lt. Blake (Roger Ready) doesn't like it. 

Of course this is a remake of THE SHE CREATURE (1956) which featured a very memorable and well known monster. I was never a big fan of the origina (directed by the great Edward L. Cahn) but this bore-fest with bad sound makes the original seem like BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!  

Pat Delaney and Les Tremayne give ok performances but everyone else is pretty bad. Lead actor Aron  Kincad was forced into the role due to an out of court settlement with AIP and was on the picture for two weeks before leaving. 

Filmed in Texas. Buchanan also made IN THE YEAR 2889 around the same time.

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Some Buchanan remakes you might have missed:

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2019/09/buchanan.html

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2011/06/before-larry-cohens-killer-babies.html

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4609335177952045780/7914412282512488747

Serious Buchanan

HIGH YELLOW-1965-17 year old Cindy (Cynthia Hull) is the new maid for Hollywood producer Harry Langley (Bob Brown), his freaky wife (Anne MacAdams aka Annabelle Weenick), his hip flirty daughter Judy (Kay Taylor) and son George (Warren Hammack), thrown out of college for being a “queer boy”. No sooner does she get there when gardener Major Bates (Bill Thurman) kills a rabbit in front of her. Then Harry and George have a confrontation over George’s “queer-ness” and Harry's war record. The butler/chauffeur Joseph (Bill McGhee) lectures Cindy about her light skin (High Yellow is a Southern term for a light skinned black person; now considered a racial slur) because she believes she could pass for white and then he shows her how to set a table. The family seems more like some decadent out of touch Southern white trash than one living in the heart of Tinseltown. 

Judy takes Cindy to the Disc A Go-Go where everyone frugs violently. She successfully passes for white but again Joseph lectures her. Later George relates in heart wrenching detail to Cindy his run in with a transvestite that labeled a “queer boy”. They have sex. The next morning Judy is found dead. The investigating detective suspects the major and uses Cindy to help catch him. She's nearly killed though. Cindy and George declare their love but Cindy knows they can never be together. She leaves now content with herself. 

This interesting thought provoking low budget black and white drama from writer/director Larry Buchanan is well done and kind of ahead of it's time though it suffers from some preachy dialogue. It's too bad he's mostly remembered for his cheap incompetent direct to TV remakes for AIP.

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Oswald

THE TRIAL OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD-1964-In this black & white "what if" production Lee Harvey Oswald is put on trial for the killing of President Kennedy. The defense wants to prove Oswald is insane. The audience is the jury. It's on par with writer/director Larry Buchanan's other serious work HIGH YELLOW. There's a few factual errors. This should be a boring piece of shit but it's actually kind of fascinating. Conspiracy enthusiast Buchanan flubs on some of the facts but it's pretty straight forward. 

Buchanan regulars Annabelle Weenick, Bill McGhee and Bill Thurman all play witnesses. Filmed in Dallas and released less than 5 months after the real assassination. Of course about 17 years later there was a similar TV movie made with an all star cast with Annabelle Weenick (aka Ann McAdams) as Oswald's mom!

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Texas Witch

NAKED WITCH-1961-This movie is just under an hour yet the introduction (some sources credit Gary Owens as narrator) on witches is nearly 9 minutes. And then we get the credits! A graduate student (Robert Short) doing his thesis on superstition and witchcraft stops in a very German town called Luckenbach in Texas. He learns of the Luckenbach witch but people are afraid to talk about it. He meets Kriska (Jo Maryman), the innkeeper’s daughter. She gives him a book where he reads (flashback) about the witch widow who was burned at the stake after being accused of witchcraft by her lover, a married idiot with a sick wife. 

Somehow “The Student” (he doesn't have a name) finds the witch's grave and pulls a stake out of her “petrified” body. She transforms into the woman of the title (Libby Hall) who literally steals Kriska’s nightgown off her. Back for revenge she kills with the stake. The student doesn't bother telling anyone it's his fault the witch came back (one of her victims is Kriska’s father) but at night he goes hunting and finds her bathing topless. She casts a spell on him and they have a goofy swim together. Later she does a useless dance and makes him fall asleep. She goes out to kill Kriska. Fortunately he wakes up in time to stab the witch and bury her now decomposed body. Kriska is now free to live the rest of her life with the man responsible for her father's death. 

The music sounds like some radio soap opera. Larry Buchanan shares directing credit with the producer of the film Texas theater owner Claude Alexander. Buchanan made FREE, WHITE AND 21 next.

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Read about the real Luckenbach Texas here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luckenbach,_Texas

Back in Larryland...

COMMON LAW WIFE-1963-Old rich guy Shugfoot Rainey (George Edgley) is tired of his mistress of 5 years Linda (Annie McAdams aka Annabelle Weenick) and throws her over for his young niece Jonelle aka Baby Doll (Lacey Kelly). However because of the state’s common law marriage Linda and dirty old man Rainey are actually husband and wife. Meanwhile Jonelle rekindles an affair she had with her brother in law Sheriff Jody and they plot to get rid of Linda but at a bar where patrons are “nerd twisting” they have a fight and Jonelle takes to the dance floor (she's a dancer anyway). While she’s doing her thing a dullard moonshiner Bull shows up and whups Jody in a fight. Slutty Jonelle takes off with him. They go to his secluded still in the swamps but she denies his advances and flees into the dark. Somehow she winds up in bed at Jody’s place. Her sister Brenda (Libby Booth), Jody's wife convinces her to give up on Jody and she agrees, once again hooking up with Bull, going back to the still and plotting murder. 

After Jonelle and Bull have a fling Jody goes to the still but they run away. Somehow Jonelle winds up at Jody's house with with him and they insult each other. Then Brenda discovers them kissing fully clothed on their bed. She takes hubby's gun and forces Jonelle to leave. She gets arsenic laced moonshine from Bull and gives it to Linda who gives it to Rainey. Before he drinks it Linda becomes very emotional spilling her guts out to Rainey. It almost seems he might take her back but he drinks the poisoned hooch and dies. Linda finds Jonelle at a bar and says Rainey wants to see her. Linda shoots Jonelle to death (and a bloody mess) then drinks the poisoned booze and dies. 

Sleazy, funny redneck nonsense, this movie was started by Larry Buchanan (his first) and later had scenes added by a guy named Eric Sayers.

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Bela, Basil and Broderick

THE BLACK CAT-1941-Rich cat loving Mrs. Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) seems on the verge of death but still lives. Her relatives wait around. She has a spooky caretaker Eduardo (Bela Lugosi) and a spooky housekeeper Abigail (Gale Sondergaard). Mrs. Winslow is so nuts about cats she has her own feline crematorium. Relatives include niece Myrna (Gladys Cooper), her hard up for cash husband Monty (Basil Rathbone), her uncaring step-grandson Richard (Alan Ladd), granddaughter Margaret (Claire Dodd), grandson Stanley (John Eldredge) and granddaughter Elaine (Anne Gwynne). After Henrietta tells them what she's leaving them in her will, real estate agent Gil Smith (Broderick Crawford) stops by with antique dealer Mr. Penny (Hugh Herbert) to buy the house. He's allergic to cats. When Henrietta is stabbed to death everyone is a suspect. Even though Henrietta told everyone what they were getting Abigail and the cats get everything until her death.. Gil says to Rathbone's character "He thinks he's Sherlock Holmes". Later Abigail is killed and Eduardo becomes the chief suspect. But Elaine figures out who the real killer is. Gil arrives in time to save Elaine from being cremated. 

Director Albert S. Rogell had been making movies since the silent days and made a version of LIL ABNER around this time. Of course Lugosi and Karloff had starred in a movie of the same name back in 1934. Bela is good in his role but still kind of a wasted red herring. 

Basically this BLACK CAT is enjoyable but typical Universal “old dark house” murder mystery played mostly as a comedy. Some sources say Marlene Dietrich is standing in for Claire Dodd in one scene shot from the back with no dialogue.

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Humphrey Bogart Blood Sucker

THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X-1939-Walter Garrett (Wayne Morris), a dumb reporter breaks the news of the death of an actress Angela Merrova (Lya Lys) but her body disappears and when she winds up alive, Garrett's fired. He goes to his friend Dr. Rhodes (Dennis Morgan) for advice. Rhodes does an operation with the brilliant Dr. Flegg (John Litel). When a body is found drained of blood the police think Rhodes is the murderer. Strange bloodstains are found on the scene. Rhodes visits Flegg and meets his weird assistant Quesne (Humphrey Bogart), a soft spoken pale guy with a white streak in his hair. When Merrova suddenly dies (for real), Garrett and Rhodes investigate along with the doc's nurse/girlfriend Joan (Rosemary Lane) in tow. Later Garrett discovers that Quesne is actually Dr. Xavier, a whacko who let a baby die as an experiment and was executed years before. They dig up his coffin and it's empty. Flegg admits that after bringing a rabbit back to life he did the same for X/Quesne and knows Quesne is a murderer and he is to blame. X/Q kills Flegg and kidnaps Joan for her blood (he has a book with the names of all blood donors who have his type). Before he can kill her he's shot and killed in NJ. 

Olin Howland plays an undertaker. Two interns are played by William Hopper and Glen Langan. Huntz Hall is Pinky and Ian Wolfe is a caretaker. 

This is a typical Warner Bros type “stand alone” horror/murder mystery with an untypical horror lead. The casting of Bogart is the only reason it's probably remembered today! It was directed by former actor Vincent Sherman who later worked with Bogart on ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT.

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Pre-Frank Karloff

THE CRIMINAL CODE-1930-A guy named Robert Graham (Philips Holmes) accidentally kills a drunk who got fresh with his date Gertrude (Mary Doran). He's sentenced to 10 years in prison. 6 years later, his cellmates are the aging Jim (Otto Hoffman) and the vengeful Galloway (Boris Karloff) who plans on killing "a squealer". The prison gets a new warden Mike Brady (Walter Huston), the DA who sent Graham (and many of the other prisoners) to jail. When the prison doctor tells the warden Graham needs a change of environment, Brady makes him chauffeur for his daughter Mary (Constance Cummings) (and Galloway becomes their butler) which seems to rehabilitate him. Meanwhile Jim plans prison break and is killed. The prisoners plan a diversion so Galloway can kill Runch (Clark Marshall), the inmate who squealed. Graham was an eyewitness but refuses to talk and is put in solitary. Then Mary admits she in love with Graham. In the end Galloway exonerates Graham and gets his revenge on prison guard Gleason (Dewitt Jennings). 

Howard Hawks directed this gritty violent crime drama that was based on a successful play. It also features an early standout role by pre-Frankenstein monster Boris Karloff (he was also in the West Coast stage version) but despite good reviews fame eluded him...until the next year....

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Yeah..He Knows..When He Shows...

THE MISSING LADY-1946-Mystery and murder surround "the jade lady" (a statue). Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) is framed for murder and only The Shadow can clear him. The police chief (James Flavin) wants to run him in but Cranston's uncle the police commissioner (Pierre Watkin) saves and defends him. Margo Lane (Barbara Read), chauffeur Shrevvie (George Chandler) and Serrvy's girlfriend (Claire Carleton) provide the annoying comedy. 

There's not much of The Shadow himself in this cheap disappointing feature from Monogram. For some reason the character of Margo is presented in these three movies as a real airhead in direct contrast to her radio persona. Phil Karlson directed again.

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He Still Knows....

BEHIND THE MASK-1946-A conniving newspaper columnist Jeff Mann (James Cardwell) is killed by The Shadow in his office on the eve of the wedding of Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) and Margo Lane (Barbara Read). Of course someone is actually pretending to be the crime fighter. Mann was blackmailing a mobster (Robert Shayne) and a female bookie May Bishop (Marjorie Hoshelle). There's way too much comedy in this with Shevvie, the chauffeur now played by familiar character actor George Chandler. 

Director Phil Karlson made the Charlie Chan mystery DARK ALIBI the same year.

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He Knows....

THE SHADOW RETURNS-1946-This begins with a body being exhumed from its grave. Then Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) and Margo Lane (Barbara Read/Reed) argue about getting married. Of course Cranston is the crime fighting Shadow who dons a mask and appears as a shadow on the wall. 

The kind of boring story revolves around some jewels and the suspects who suddenly commit suicide (Frank Reichert and Cyril Devanti play two of them). Cranston is wise ass PI who the chief of police (Joseph Crehan) doesn't like (with good reason). But the commissioner (Pierre Watkin) is Cranston's uncle. Margo is somewhat of a ditz and they have a chauffeur named Shevvie (Tom Dugan, who seems to be channeling Shemp Howard!). 

The Shadow doesn't appear much in this first of 3 movies produced by Monogram featuring the mysterious crime fighter and the first to star Richmond (THE SPY SMASHER). Grand National had made 2 features (with Rod La Rocque in the lead) and a 12 part serial (with Victor Jory) in the late '30's. Old hand Phil Rosen handled the direction (some sources cite William Beaudine with an uncredited assist). He directed many of the Charlie Chan/Sidney Toler mysteries.

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Atwill In Wax

MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM-1933-Eccentric and brilliant Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) owns a wax museum. His greedy partner burns the place down (with Igor in it) to collect the insurance money. A year later Igor is hiding out, a cripple. A disfigured guy in a long coat and top hat steals a dead female body from the morgue. Florence (Glenda Farrell) a wise talking reporter is practically fired from her job by her boss (Frank McHugh) unless she gets a story. 

Meanwhile Ralph (Allen Vincent), a sculptor who works for Igor introduces his girlfriend Charlotte (Fay Wray; the same year as KING KONG) to his boss. Igor believes she will be a perfect model for his Marie Antoinette figure. When she goes to visit Ralph at the museum at night Igor puts the moves on his “Marie”. She discovers his secrets. He can walk and has a wax mask covering his deformed face. Oh yeah, he's also mad (well, I wouldn't be happy about it myself). Fortunately, the police break in, Igor falls into a vat of wax and Charlotte is saved. Florence gets a great story and marries her boss. 

This classic horror tale from Warner Bros. was filmed in an early type of two tone Technicolor by director Michael Curtiz. Though the process was unpopular and costly it gives the film an eerie quality. Curtiz's other horror film from the year previous DOCTOR X was also filmed in the two tone process (with Atwill and Wray). MYSTERY was the last to use it.

Of course this was remade as HOUSE OF WAX IN 1953 with Vincent Price!

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-price-is-right.html

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Good Night!

NIGHT WORLD-1932-The wild world of NYC in the prohibition era. Bright lights, speakeasies, mob rub outs and lots of frolicking in Happy's night club.There's lots going on. 

Owner Happy (Boris Karloff)) is a charming gangster whose wife (Dorothy Revier) is having an affair with Krause (Russel Hopton). John Rand (Lew Ayres) is a drunkard because his mother (Hedda Hopper) killed his father. He's befriended by Ruth (Karloff's FRANKENSTEIN co-star Mae Clarke), a dancer at the club. Ed Powell (George Raft) is a sleazy suspicious character who tries to date Ruth. I really didn't get the story line of the philosophical doorman (Clarence Muse) with a sick wife and what happens to him. One gay character calls a drunk Frankenstein! (That movie was made the year before) The entire movie takes place in the club. Hobart Henley directed this entertaining but ignored little gangster film from Universal.

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Vampire?

THE VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES-1946-Dopey Dr. Evans (Robert Livingston) romances nurse Susan Drake (Adrian Booth aka Lorna Gray) . Their boss Dr. Maynard (Charles Trowbridge) tells them blood is missing from their supply. Later that night Maynard is visited by an ex-patient Oraman Merks (Ian Keith) who says he takes some kind of voodoo drug that brought him back from the dead and now he needs blood to survive. He kills the doctor. Then we learn that Maynard's chemist (Earle Hodges) is Merks' brother who'd been stealing the blood. Merks kills him too and embalms both bodies. Detective Blair is sure Evans and Susan are the killers. The pair go to the old Merks home and discover Merks' coffin empty. Eventually Merks kidnaps Sarah making her his hypnotized slave. Just when it looks like Sarah will kill Evans, Blair shoots Merks and he falls to his death. 

This crazy little Republic studios short film (57 minutes) directed by Phillip Ford doesn't make much sense. Ian Keith was one of the handful of actors considered for the title role in the original DRACULA before Lugosi.

Oh yeah...and no zombies!

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Burtgordonus Rex

KING DINOSAUR-1955-The Earth sends a manned rocket to the newly discovered planet Nova. Narrator Marvin Miller explains the tests, plans and preparation that goes into sending a human into space. The crew includes anthropologist Richard Gordon (Douglas Henderson)), geologist Nora Pierce (Patti Gallagher), Dr. Ralph Martin (Bill Bryant) and Prof. Patricia Bennett (Wanda Curtis). They discover Nova has the same atmosphere as earth and is home to a lot of stock footage Earth animals. Nora is intrigued by a smoky volcano and the island it's on. No one else shares her enthusiasm. At night Ralph and Pat leave their camp to be alone as they are apparently more than science colleagues. Ralph is mauled by a crocodile. Then he and his honey encounter a giant insect. Later while Ralph recovers Richard and Nora (and their pet lemur Joe) investigate the island. Richard is slashed by a giant iguana saving Joe. Then the giant reptile fights a giant alligator. 

Of course since Mr. BIG Burt I. Gordon directed this they are just small animals blown up by the magic of film. The group sets off an A bomb to destroy the nasty monsters who never did anything to them and return home. 

This was Burt Gordon's directing debut and started him on a career of fondly remembered, enjoyable horror/science fiction junk (THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN and it's sequel, THE SPIDER, ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE). Executive producer Al Zimbalist produced ROBOT MONSTER (1953).

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Clyde Comeback

PERILS OF THE JUNGLE-1953-Clyde Beatty (playing himself) and his friend Grant (Stanley Farrar) go to the Belgian Congo to find wild animals and stumble across a kind of menagerie run by Jo (Phyllis Coates), which she inherited from her father. No sooner are the guys welcomed when there's a fire (started by a foolish native would found a lighter). Clyde handles the 2 escaped lions and saves a worker but the fire wipes out Jo’s business. Enter Gorman (John Doucette), her father's nasty ex-partner who wants to buy her land. She refuses. Clyde decides to help Jo capture a gorilla. They go into the jungle with Gorman in hot pursuit. They do manage to capture a gorilla but a second one manhandles Gorman who's saved when Clyde shoots the hairy attacker. The duo leaves Jo and almost immediately head to Southern Rhodesia where the commissioner (Tudor Owen) grants them permits to hunt black maned lions (they got a tip from Gorman). With their guide Ken (Joe Fluellen) leading the safari they go into the jungle and Clyde kills a lion. Later Grant contracts “sleeping sickness” and they take a chance going through hostile restless natives country.

They meet an old white guy named Grubbs (Leonard Mudie) who says the tribe is holding him against his will but Clyde has his suspicions and he’s right! Grubbs is a thief who’s been stealing the tribe's treasure and he sends the natives after them. When they're captured Beaty gets a knife and holds the king (he’s just a boy) hostage and the group makes its get away, taking Grubbs with them. The scary witch doctor sends out the tribe. Grubbs is speared in the back and the boy-king is set free. It ends with Beaty and Grant going off to hunt black panthers for his circus. 

This slow moving cheapie is put together like two episodes from a TV show and the director George Blair was doing a lot of TV at the time (He'd start directing episodes of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN the next year).

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“Killing is all they know. All they live for”.

JACARE’-1942-This documentary concerns animal handler Jim Dannalson, a protege’ of Frank “Bring 'em Back Alive” Buck. Director Charles E. Ford shot three weeks worth of footage along the Amazon while Dannalson collected and wrestled several animals including an anaconda. He admitted the caiman and jaguar he wrestled had their jaws wired shut. All the footage at least was shot for JACARE' and not stock from something else. Frank Buck narrates and audiences at the time probably thought it pretty shocking. 

This is Donnalson's only outing as an actor but he later provided animals, reptiles and insects for movies, including the snakes in THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1972). 

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What Is The Law?

LAW OF THE JUNGLE-1942-Nona Brooks (Arline Judge), an American singer is stranded in African and sings at a sleazy cafe for creepy owner Simmons (Arthur O'Connell). 

She meets American paleontologist Larry Mason (John “Dusty” King) who she hopes will help her but Simmons convinces Mason she's a con artist. When a guy is killed in the cafe, she wanders into the jungle to get away! To appease his native safari Mason agrees to re-bury some bones he dug up but the job falls to his assistant Jeff (Mantan Moreland) who hears Nona but thinks she’s a ghost. Mason takes her in but insists she return to the town. Meanwhile 2 German spies want some secret papers accidentally given to Nona. They kill Simmons and hunt for Nona in the jungle. They get another tribe (with rifles) to go after Mason's group. Mason, Nona & Jeff wind up hiding in a dark cave. After an encounter with a gorilla they are captured but things take a comic turn when a native female takes a liking to Jeff and the tribal chief (Lawrence Criner) is Oxford educated and speaks English. 

Criner was also in THE GANG'S ALL HERE and FRECKLES COMES HOME both made by LAW OF THE JUNGLE'S director Jean Yarbrough for Monogram Pictures.

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