Real Hippies...??

 

(imdb)

CHANGING-1971-Unusual cinema-verite' about a hippie like couple and the struggle to preserve their marriage, raise their children and help another couple. When they get together with some friends they all smoke pot. It's rather pointless and too long (although only 28 minutes). If it's all on the level, it could be the first reality series. I'd like to know what happened to the family though. 

Part of a series called “The Social Seminar” produced UCLA for The National Institute of Mental Health. The producer Gary Schlosser also produced another short film COWBOY (1966) which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Thanks for reading!

Andre

 

 (imdb)

SAMUEL BECKETT:WAITING FOR ANDRE-2017-This short film is about the real life friendship between playwright Samuel Beckett (David Threlfal) and the young French teenager who would later become pro wrestler Andre The Giant (Liam MacDonald). It's mostly an embellishment of a popular local story that grew over the years. It's true the playwright and the future wrestler did live in the same French village and Beckett did drive Andre to school occasionally but he drove most of kids one time or another (the school didn't have a school bus) and he never developed the personal friendship with Andre that's depicted here. It was part of an English TV series called “Urban Myths” directed by Ben Palmer and written by Neil Forsyth.

Thanks for reading!

Passing Parade

 

 (flickchart)

JOHN NESBITT'S PASSING PARADE-1944-"Return From Nowhere". In this story, traumatized seaman Alan Blank (Don DeFore) loses a sum of money he hoped to buy a farm with. He cracks up and is put in a hospital. His friend Jack (Donald Curtis) relates the story to a doctor (Morris Ankrum). Using fried eggs and bacon, a jazz record and a kind of dream therapy,  the doc figures out what's ailing Alan and helps cure him. At the beginning and end Peter Cushing is shown in a scene from another movie!

 “The Passing Parade” was a popular radio show written and narrated by John Nesbitt (the grandson of Edwin Booth). Beginning in 1938 MGM produced a series with Nesbitt as writer/narrator. 46 shorts were produced, the last in 1949.

Thanks for reading!

Buy Bonds!

 

 (imdb)

THE ALL STAR BOND RALLY-1945-20th Century Fox produced this patriotic US bond raising short (18 mins) hosted by Bob Hope. It features performances by Betty Grable, Fibber McGee and Molly, Harry James and Frank Sinatra, Harpo Marx and Bing Crosby. There's also cameos by Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, Linda Darnell,.June Haver and pre-Amazing Colossal Man Glen Langan. It was one of only 3 movies directed by Michael Audley who later served as dialogue coach on many other movies.

Thanks for reading!

Buster!

 

 (imdb)

THE GREAT BUSTER: A CELEBRATION-2018- Well done documentary about the lengendary Buster Keaton, produced, directed & narrated by Peter Bogdanovich. The first half which discusses Keaton's life is good but has actually been done to death in other docs recently. It's nice to hear from people that knew him like Dick Van Dyke and James Karen but do we really need the opinions of Quentin Tarantino and some guy from JACKASS? The second half where his films are analyzed is great despite Bogdanovich's rather monotone voice.

Thanks for reading!

Two Out of the Way At Once

 

 (imdb)

REMNANTS-2013-Nothing new here. A couple (writer/director Brian Coppola & co-writer Stephanie Gershowitz) with a dog and a video camera believe their house is haunted. The next hour is them talking and walking around in the dark. The doggie was cute though......

FRANKENSTEIN-2011-Mary Shelly, James Whale and Boris Karloff must be spinning in their graves. This is a trashy modern low budget version of the horror classic with lots of characters yelling "No!" at the top of their lungs. Bad acting, direction, tons of talk. Really terrible. I hope director Jordan Salkil never heard of the novel “Dracula”....

Thanks for reading!

Exterminate...

 

EXTERMINATORS FROM THE YEAR 3000-1983-In this Road Warrior rip off, after the ozone layer is destroyed, post apocalyptic survivors search for water while a bald headed nut called Crazy Bull (Fred Harris) and his assistant Shadow (Beryl Cunningham) lead a gang of outlaws also searching for H20. A young bionic boy Tommy (Luca Venantini) looking for his dad attaches himself to Mad Max wannabe Alien (Robert Jannuchi).They meet ex-astronaut Papillon (Luciano Pigozzi) who fixes Tommy's arm. Later they are joined by Alien's ex-girlfriend Trash (Alicia Moro) in a hunt for water. 

Badly made in Italy nonsense directed by Giuliano Camimino (THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS).

Thanks for watching!

"One Of You Has Got To Die"

 

 (wikipedia)

FOUR BOYS AND A GUN-1957-4 "boys" rob the box office of a boxing arena. In the melee a cop (un-billed Joseph Campanella) is shot and killed. 

They are all arrested and flashbacks reveal what led up to their predicament. Asshole Eddie (Tarry Greene) is dumped by his girlfriend who likes her boss better. Ollie (Frank Sutton) who's having an affair with Eddie's sister gets in trouble with the boss he runs numbers for. Stanley (William Hinnant) is a nice wimp from a decent family but is corrupted by Eddie and Ollie. Amateur boxer Johnny (James Franciscus) has a pregnant wife but is told by his manager (J. Pat O'Reilly) that he doesn't have what it takes to be a pro. They throw a party to raise the money but a gangster spoils it. The abrupt ending seems to say they will all go to electric chair. 

Director William Berke was working mostly in TV at the time but in the '30's and '40's directed tons of low budget films (Jungle Jim, Dick Tracy, westerns). Screenwriters Phillip Yordan (Bogart's last film THE HARDER THEY FALL) and Leo Townsend (who later wrote several AIP “Beach” movies) adapted the story from a novel by Willard Wiener.

Thanks for reading!

From Nasa

 

( Amazon)

WHO'S OUT THERE?-1975-This is a NASA produced short (29 mins), hosted by Orson Welles who talks about his “War Of The Worlds” radio show, quotes HG Welles and says we act better out in space than we ever did on Earth. Film of a group of scientists (including Nobel prize winner George Wake and pothead Carl Sagan) discussing alien life is also shown. Gary Graver was one of the cinematographers. 

Takes for reading!

Satan's Zombies

 (deviant art)

 DOCTOR SATAN-1966-A mad doctor/occultist Arozamena (Jaoquin Cordero) has some resurrected dead men do his bidding. At a cemetery he makes a deal with a winged devil. Meanwhile an Interpol agent Mateos (Jose Galvez) and his female assistant investigate a case of counterfeit money that has been spreading over town. Unbeknownst to them the crazy Arozamena is using that phony money to create an army of zombies to rule the world!! Or something like that.....

Half of this film is a crime drama and the other is an atmospheric supernatural horror story. Both halves were directed by Miguel Morayta (INVASION OF THE VAMPIRES).

Thanks for reading!

Mantan Leads The Troops

 

DRUMS IN THE DESERT-Monogram-1940-Lt. Paul Dumont (Ralph Byrd; already doing the Dick Tracy series) meets Mme. LaRoche (Lorna Gray) on a ship headed for Algiers. They seem to fall in love but when they dock she disappears. He has to train the Senegalese army troop to be paratroopers whose Sgt. Williams is played by Mantan Moreland! 

Unfortunately for Paul, LaRoche is engaged to his best friend (George Lynn). A local named Abdullah (George Castello) gets very upset when his wimpy brother is executed for murder. 

There isn't much to this Monogram production except Moreland's role which has some serious overtones and the fact his troops are very eager to become paratroopers and not some racist stereotypical cowards. It was co-written and directed by the underrated George Waggner, a year or so before making THE WOLFMAN and MAN MADE MONSTER.

Thanks for reading!

Tabloid

 

TABLOID!-1985-During an aerobics class (very popular in the '80's) 2 aliens kidnap the instructor. At a sleazy tabloid newspaper run by a crabby old bitch, a new writer works hard creating new stories for the paper. 

In the first story, 3 rednecks try to take revenge on a hick who sold them some bad weed. The hick, his pregnant wife and her mother kill all three rednecks and at the end the wife gives birth to a baby with a beard. This one seemed very influenced by John Waters. In the second three recently dead people come back to life and have a BBQ while having a kind of philosophical discussion about life and death. This whole story is filmed too darkly. The third involves a guy who can predict tornadoes with help from his daughter, a vacuum and a small town TV station. Parts are funny but this one goes on too long. There were three directors, one for low budget loony segment.

Thanks for reading!

They're Not That Wild

WILD ONES ON WHEELS-1962-Duke Walker (Sidney Mason) is let out of prison after serving his time for a bank robbery where the money was never recovered. Criminal gangster King Tut (Edmund Tontini) and his gang, Pompey (Mike Cannon), Jick (Jonathan Karle) and Preacher Man (Ray Dennis Steckler) want the money so they stake out the diner where his girlfriend Hazel (Francine York) works. Eventually they trap Duke and Hazel when they go on a camping trip and meet up with Bill (Robert Blair), Hazel's lover while Duke was away. They beat Duke up but he refuses to tell. After Pompey and Jick have a "chicken run" and Jick is killed, Duke is stabbed to death. The rest of the story is the gang, convinced Hazel knows where the money is, trying to make her lead them to it with Bill trying to protect her. They eventually find the money but have a falling out and Bill turns out to actually be an insurance investigator working with the police! 

Director Rudolph Cusumano made his only other movie, SECRET FILE : HOLLYWOOD the same year. Ray Dennis Steckler directed and acted in WILD GUITAR, also in 1962.

Thanks for reading!

Ko & Ho

 

 imdb)

THE UNTOUCHABLE GLORY-1988-Another Asian paste up job, this time from Phillip Ko. Once again some kind of Philippines made action drama has new inserted scenes with Pierre Kirby as a ninja Chuck Norris /Rambo machine who's supposed to be part of an elite force called "The Untouchables". Weird General Karpov (Patrick Frzebar; also in THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT) wants them destroyed. As usual the story (co-written by Geoffrey Ho) is made incomprehensible but there are some funny incompetent fight scenes in the added footage.

Thanks for reading!

Don't Do The Time

 

DRACULA IN A WOMEN'S PRISON-2016-Dumb amateurish horror movie with an American women (Victoria Da Mare) going to a fictional third world country to retrieve the remains of her sister who mysteriously died in prison. It turns out the warden is really Count Dracula (Robert Rhine, trying to pass Zandor Varkoff as filmdom's worst Count Dracula) who's using the place for his personal blood bank. It features low grade computer generated sfx and bad acting. It's a sequel to Werewolf In a Women's Prison from 2006. Frankenstein In a Women's Prison is the sequel. All three were directed by Jeff Leroy.

Thanks for reading!

Excelsior!

 

 (wikipedia)

STAN LEE'S MUTANTS,MONSTERS AND MARVELS-2002-Filmmaker Kevin Smith sits down with Marvel Comics publisher/editor/creator-writer Stan Lee who talks about Spider-Man, the creation of the Marvel universe, working with artists like Kirby & Ditko, his life, marriage, superhero movies, etc. Nice interview but Smith is a little annoying with his grunts of yeah and right. Director Scott Zakarin also made THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN.

Thanks for reading!

There's A Riot Going On!

 

 (wikipedia)

RIOT IN JUVENILE PRISON-1959-After juvenile delinquent Eddie Bassett (Scott Marlowe) leads an unsuccessful breakout from a juvenile prison where two boys are killed, the governor orders Dr. Furman (Jerome Thor) to use drastic experiments to help straighten out the youths despite the protests of the fascist warden Col. Walton (John Hoyt). His first order of business is to make the place co-ed and brings in a busload of juvvie females. They are overseen by Bess (Ann Doran) & Grace (Marcia Henderson). Almost immediately two women Babe (Dorothy Provine) and Kitty (Virginia Aldridge) have a cat fight over Eddie. Another J.D. Killion (Dick Tyler) starts trouble when he attacks Kitty. The governor dismisses Furman and the warden gets control. After Eddie is beaten up by a sadistic guard (Richard Reeves) he leads a riot. 

RIOT is a typical kind of “teens behind bars” '50's drama that was petering out by 1959. It was directed by the great Edward L. Cahn who made INVISIBLE INVADERS and THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE the same year. Screenwriter Orville Hampton also penned JONATHAN DRAKE and THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE in '59.

Thanks for reading!

"A Cat in a Strange Attic"

 

 (imdb)

I PASSED FOR WHITE-1960-Bernice Lee (Sonya Wilde) is light skinned African American who's frustrated and depressed over always being mistaken for white. She thinks it would be better if she just pretended to be white but her grandmother is against it. Nonetheless after being turned down for a job because she wrote "negro" on her application she decides to go to California and start a new life...as Leila Brownell, a white woman. She gets a better job and sends money home to her family. She doesn't include romance but that just happens when she falls in love with Rick Leyton (James Franciscus), an upper crust well to do white man. Of course she doesn't tell him about her "background" and their relationship is built on her lie after lie as she tries to stop from revealing her secret. Only her white girlfriend Sally (Pat Michon) knows the truth. It seems ok until hubby sees her talking to her black musician friend. Hubby punches the guy out as he's aghast. Later she becomes pregnant and worries what their child will look like. When she miscarries and asks if the baby was black, hubby thinks she was fooling around. Now suspected of being a floozie she leaves him and returns to her family without him never finding out her secret. 

This misguided low budget drama was the last picture made by director Fred Wilcox who's previous film (in 1956) had been FORBIDDEN PLANET.

Thanks for reading!

Grizzly 2 Electric Bugaloo

 

 (wikipedia)

GRIZZLY 2: REVENGE-2020-In Yellowstone park, a giant killer grizzly bear is on the rampage after it's cubs are killed. Samantha Owens (Deborah Raffin) is in charge of bear management and wants Nick (Steve Inwood), a park ranger, to capture the bear alive. Bouchard (John Rhys-Davies), a French Canadian mountain man sets traps. Meanwhile Eileene Draygon (Louise Fletcher) throws a rock concert with acts that look like they are auditioning for Gary Numan. 

Despite getting top billing, Charlie Sheen, Laura Dern and George Clooney are only in one scene. Deborah Foreman, Ian McNiece, Timothy Spall and Jack Starrett are also in it. 

This production which features a silly bear puppet, began filming in Hungry in 1983 (Sheen, Dern & Clooney were relatively unknown then which explains their small roles) when the producer quit the production because of lack of funds. Somehow the co-producer Suzanne Nagy found a backer and principle photography was completed. However the entire film languished incomplete while Nagy and her crew worked on it (a working print was posted to Facebook and remained there for years). Finally, in the beginning of January 2020, the film was completed and released. I don't think it was worth the wait....

Thanks for reading!

Meow

 

 (imdb)

THE CREEPER-1948-A doctor's daughter sleepwalks with her dad's gun. At a medical facility, Dr. Jim Bordon (Onslow Stevens) argues with Dr. Cavigny (Ralph Morgan) about his experiments with cats. Nurse Gwen Runstrom (June Vincent) reports that their special serum has been destroyed. The other nurse Dora (Janis Wilson), Cavigny's gun toting sleepwalker daughter, seems more than a little bothered having had a fever when they were in the West Indies. Bordon has some experimental cats sent to him. Meanwhile Dr. Van (Eduardo Ciannelli) listens secretly to the whole debate. Van works with Dr. John Reade (John Baragrey) across the hall researching allergies. It seems Reade and Gwen are engaged. Dora freaks out when she meets Reed's cat named "Creeper" (is that a cat name?). 

Later Dora relates to Reade how she caught a fever and later had an episode at a Chinese restaurant.(run by Phillip Ahn). She has several dreams she's being menaced by a giant cat paw. When her dad is murdered she's arrested. She's let go for lack of evidence but the cat handler Andre (David Hoffman) is killed by what appears to be a man size cat but only a shadow is seen. A police inspector (Richard Lane) snoops around. 

There's not much except a few more murders and a kind of dumb ending. Director Jean Yarbrough doesn't have much to work with here but keeps this low budget 20^th Century Fox release quick and short.

Dread Having To Watch This

 

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN-2014-Stupid sort of sequel to Charles B. Pierce's 1976 quasi-documentary. A killer terrorizes Texarkana in the same place the original murders were. Some yokels think the original killer is back. A girl who survived the initial attack and Lone Wolf Morales (Anthony Anderson), an arrogant Texas ranger lead the official investigation. Gary Cole plays a police officer killed while getting a blowjob. The original director's son Charles Pierce Jr. is portrayed as a real weirdo. The killer starts killing everyone including the girl's grandmother (Veronica Cartwright). 

This is just another sick excuse to show excess killing. It's the last movie for both Ed Lauter & Edward Herman. Director Alfonzo Gomez-Rejon directed episodes of the TV show “Glee” before this.

Thanks for reading!

Fingers

 

 (imdb)

GREEN FINGERS-2000-This short horror tale begins with Mrs. Bowen (Ingrid Pitt; THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, COUNTESS DRACULA) killing a cat. She buries it and it seems to come back to life. It scares her and she cuts off her finger."I can grow anything with my green fingers" she says. She's put to bed by her gardener friend (Robin Parkinson) and a nurse (Janina Faye; HORROR OF DRACULA) but at night she buries the finger. Next day she's surprised to see a hand growing. At night her new grown self rises from it's grave and kills her with an axe. The next day she kills her nurse. The End. 

Filmed in England by Pat Cotgrove who also did the adaptation from a short story by RC Cook. (It was also done as an episode of TV's “Night Gallery” in 1972).

Thanks for reading!

Battle of the Century...Would you Believe the Week?

 

 (videospace)

ZOMBIE VS NINJA-1989-Korean kung fu movie turned into a comedy by Charles Lee aka Godfrey Ho. Part of the original story has to do with a bad guy named Titus who runs a village where a young man works with a stupid undertaker. Ho regular Pierre Kirby (in his second to last role) shows up occasionally as a brightly clad ninja in added footage.

Thanks for reading!

Robo-Ho

 

 (imdb)

 

ROBO VAMPIRE-1988-This crazy paste up job of a movie seems to concern a gang's search for a cache of drugs plus hopping vampires controlled by a monk. A group of mercenaries goes into the jungle to rescue a kidnapped narcotics agent. 

Meanwhile a "Robo-Cop" type fighter (Harry Miles) roams around killing bad guys. The whole thing is a confused mess with Robo-Clone battling a monstrous hopping vampire in the too long finale. 

This Hong Kong production was of course directed and written by “the king of chaotic movies” Godfrey Ho. Some sources say it also uses footage from another movie (not an uncommon move by Ho).

Thanks for reading!

Paste Up Ultraman

 

SPACE WARRIORS 2000-1985-A father returns from a trip and gives his son an Ultraman toy. Then an old toy maker and his wife argue over her having sold the Ultraman toy. It turns out "the toy" is actually the real Ultraman and the boy is recruited to help fight evil. Many Ultramen appear in this movie mess basically because all the scenes of U fighting monsters are taken from three previously made movies: "Ultraman Story", "Hanuman vs. 7 Ultramen" (which was a co-production between Japan & Thailand) and "Ultraman Zoffy" which was made in Thailand without approval. When Japan found out, they sued to stop it's release. 

This was put together by Thai honcho Stephen Minasia and American Dick Randall for US TV where it played a few times then disappeared. The inane stock music, silly dubbed voices (the monsters even talk) and stupid jokes are flatter than piss on a plate. Your best bet is to turn off the sound and add your own soundtrack.

Thanks for reading!

Laserblast

 

 (wkipedia)

LASERBLAST-1978-Two lizard like (Dave Allen animated) aliens chase a green faced guy in the California desert. He has some kind of ray gun device on his arm that they want. After the credits, Billy (Kim Milford) is harassed by some hick pot smoking cops. Then he tries to visit his girlfriend Kathy (Cheryl Smith) but has an argument with her senile shell shocked grandpa The Colonel (Keenan Wynn). Worse of all, he's insulted by Eddie Deezen! Riding in the desert he finds the ray gun the aliens were after. A guy named Craig (Gianni Rossi) snoops around. A doctor (Roddy McDowall) examines Billy and is later killed. The lizard aliens get reprimanded by their boss. There's a dumb sheriff (Ron Masak) too. Billy turns into a green faced maniac and destroys a plane, a car, a hippie and some buildings. Before he can really do any destruction the aliens kill him and take the weapon leaving Kathy to mourn his passing. 

This low budget Charles Band Sci-Fi romp was directed by Michael Rae who did various work on other movies and may have directed one other movie (2005's ALIENS GONE WILD). 

LASERBLAST has become somewhat of a cult film, known for one scene where Billy blasts a STAR WARS billboard. Star Kim Milford was “Rocky” in the original stage production of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. He made other stage and film appearances but tragically died at age 37 after heart surgery in 1988. Lead actress Cheryl Smith, who died in 2007 at the age of 47 also appear in Cheech & Chong's UP IN SMOKE the same year.

Thanks for reading!

Nocturna

 

NOCTURNA: GRANDDAUGHTER OF DRACULA-1979-Count Dracula (John Carradine), now for some reason very old with fang dentures runs " Hotel Transylvania" to pay his taxes. He says things like "If I'm dead why do I have to wee wee". The desk clerk Theodore (Brother Theodore) is a werewolf who has the hots for the count's granddaughter Nocturna (Nai Bonet) who gives her father a cup of blood and dances with Jimmy (Antony Hamilton), a guy from a rock band who dances like a chicken having a spasm (and has a weird accent). After they have sex, Nocturna takes a nude bubble bath and thinks "I am a vampire. I have no reflection" while Theodore peeps. Later she tells her granddad she's fallen in love with Jimmy and is leaving for New York with him. She's invited (by Yvonne DeCarlo) to a meeting of the BSA (Blood Drinkers of America) moderated by a guy with a Boris Karloff type voice. They discuss the fate of the urban vampire. A pimp looking drug dealer RH Factor (Sy Richardson) offers blood that can be snorted like coke. "I'd rather suck than sort!". When a cop discovers the meeting, they all turn into bats and fly away. There's a long, time wasting disco dance scene and Nocturna and Jimmy smoke a joint. She tells him who she really is and turns into a bat. He thinks it's an hallucination because he's high. The count and Theodore go after her. 

This disco horror film is a terrible vanity production by star Bonet who was executive producer and provided the story. Her acting and the inane dialogue are the low points. Theodore is funny though in his over the top performance ("death to the happy"). 

Director Harry Hurwitz (using the name Harry Tampa) had made the adults only FAIRY TALES (with Bonet & Richardson) the year before. His first film had been THE PROJECTIONIST (with Chuck McCann) in 1970. Years later he made SAFARI 3000 with Christopher Lee and David Carradine). Former Hollywood scarlet (and TV's Lily Munster) DeCarlo was also in GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED and THE SILENT SCREAM the same year.

Thanks for reading!

Part 2

 

 (imdb)

SHAOLIN VS. EVIL DEAD-2: ULTIMATE POWER-2007-Not nearly as entertaining as part one, as there is a long back story for the first hour (including a short animated story) which is rather disorienting since part one ended so abruptly. It tells the origins of how White (Gordon Liu) and Hak become brothers. Hak has a poison in his body that makes him bad. Their dad (Siu-Ming Lao) also has poison in his body and before he dies he hands everything over to White (he feels Hak is too mean). Great long fight finale, swordplay and a legion of hopping vampires. Director Douglas Kung also ends this one rather abruptly. 

Thanks for reading!

Hopping

 

 (imdb)

SHAOLIN VS EVIL DEAD-2004-Pak aka Brother White (Gordon Liu), a priest and his two apprentices, Yat (Jacy Woo) and a young kid fight zombies while taking some hopping dead men to their rest. The trio also encounter the priest's brother Hak aka Brother Black (Siu-Wong Fan) who's more violent than the priest. Things slow down a little when Yat tries to romance Hak's female apprentice Moon (Shannon Yoh). Later Hak creates a small army of possessed little kids who battle a bunch of Shaolin monk kids. After that a demon that was inside Pak's kid apprentice comes to life (he gets out when the kid takes a shit). He's a child they name Little Egg and keeps calling the kid "mamma". 

This crazy entertaining kung-fu zombie fantasy ends very abruptly but there was a sequel. Director Douglas Kung (UNDISCOVERED TOMB) was also a stunt choreographer and made a sequel SHAOLIN VS. EVIL DEAD: ULTIMATE POWER.

Thanks for reading!

Made For TV Beast

 

 (imdb)

THE BEAST FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME-1965-A rude, grouchy egotistical archaeologist Prof. Morey and his long suffering assistant Randall discover a 60 thousand year old being, a kind of caveman, buried in the Earth. Morey wants to keep the discovery secret from the University that sponsored the dig and exhibit the find himself for money. He comes up with an elaborate plan to trick the university head and blackmails his assistant to help but a local hick, Henderson horns in. The next day they discover Henderson impaled with a shovel and Randall in shock ranting that they have to rebury their find. The caveman is taken away and just like that Randall is convicted of Henderson's murder. Later the caveman rises again and kills Morey and a night watchman. Dr. Paul and student Charlie search for the creature which is skinny semi-hairy with a deformed face. When somehow Charlie's girlfriend gets involved poor Charlie is impaled by a dinosaur bone. 

This low budget local production was made in Witchita, Kansas by TV station KARD and shown around Halloween in 1965. It was rebroadcast once in 1981. A couple of actors were kids' TV hosts. The acting is terrible but I was surprised at the bloody corpses and severed arm. The director Tom Leahy was a TV horror host known as “The Host”.

Thanks for reading!

Donovan

 

 (youtube)

THERE IS AN OCEAN-1970-This is a short film documentary about singer Donovan as he rehearses in Greece with his "Open Road" band (John Carr & Mike Thompson) preparing for a world tour. They visit several islands including Crete and give some impromptu concerts. They live on Donovan's yacht. At one point they perform "Riki Tiki Tivi" from their only album together but the rest of the songs hadn't yet been on any albums. Only released in 2005. Director Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon was known for a short film he made in 1966 called SYD BARRET'S FIRST TRIP.

Thanks for reading!

Biker Werewolves

 

WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS-1971-Biker gang scum (including “Eve of Descruction” singer Barry McGuire and “Father Knows Best” co-star Billy Gray) run afoul of a group of Satanists led by One (Severn Darden). After the gang is drugged the Satanists perform an elaborate ritual where a woman dances with a snake and a cat is sacrificed. The bikers break up the ritual and drive away. When they are frolicking in the woods that night a werewolf shows up and kills two of them. One of the gang is really a werewolf. The scenes are too dark, there's too much talk, the ending is stupid and there aren't any werewolves on wheels! 

Director Michael Levelesque started out doing production design for Roger Corman and made only one more feature length film SWEET SUGAR the next year. He was also was an art director on many TV shows and several Russ Meyer films. He died in 2010.

Thanks for reading!

Russians in Space

 

 (imdb)

BATTLE BEYOND THE SUN-1959-A narrator tells us about the US's big plans for colonizing the moon and beyond. Toy models are shown. In the year 1997, after the "great atomic war", the Earth is divided into "The North Hemis" and "The South Hemis". In the South Dr. Gordon and his wife Ruth head a project called "Red Planet". It's mission is to land a spaceship on Mars. According to rumors, the North is also working on such a trip. After the Mars team lands on a space station where the rocket ship will be launched, they get a distress call from a Northern Hemis ship asking if they can land and make repairs. Permission is granted. At dinner the south announces their intentions of going to Mars. This upsets the North pilots as this was their mission too. Against orders the North decide to go to Mars first. Taking off they injure one of the cosmonauts, I mean a South astronauts. Later the arrogant, self assured and reckless US astronauts, I mean the North astronauts have their rocket ship destroyed by the sun. The south doesn't quite make it to Mars and they are attacked by monsters. Despite the failure the four man crew return safely as heroes. 

This movie was actually a USSR produced film entitled NEBO ZOVYOT and has two directors. The US version had a third. Roger Corman bought the film and had Francis Ford Coppola (and Jack Hill) re-edit and dub it into English removing all the Anti-American propaganda and the two competing countries into “hemis”. Coppola also added the scenes with the space monsters.

Thanks for reading!

Gorgo

 

 (wikipedia)

GORGO-1961-Two guys Ryan (Bill Travers; later in BORN FREE) & Slade (William Sylvester; later in DEVIL DOLL) heading a cargo ship discover a prehistoric lizard monster off the Irish coast. They bring it back to London where promoter Dorkin (Martin Benson) exhibits him/it. Some scientists determine that Gorgo is not full grown and a parent could be on the prowl. Sure enough Mama comes looking for her baby, destroying most of London in the process (including Big Ben). 

There's basically no women in this movie! 

Director Eugene Lourie was no stranger to giant monster having directed both THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and THE GIANT BEHEMOTH. Interesting UK production with an unusual ending.

Night of the Living Head

 

 (imdb)

LA CABEZA VIVIENTE-1963-In the year 1525 in Mexico, Aztecs worship the head of a great warrior. Acatl. They hide the head in a secret tomb along with a priest Xihu (Guillero Cramer) and a princess Xochiquati (Ana Luisa Peluffo) (who they seem to blame for Acatl's demise) to watch over it. In 1963 Prof. Muller (German Robles) discovers the head and opens a stone coffin to find the well preserved body of the priest. When Muller removes a mask from the head it opens its eyes. (No one in his party sees it) They take the head and the mummy like priest back to their lab. Muller's daughter Marta (also Peluffo) is there and she discovers one of the archaeologists dead with his heart cut out. Police inspector Toledo (Producer Abel Salazar) investigates. It seems the head can control the dead priest and has him/it kill the defilers of his tomb.

 Considering there's a reanimated severed head and a fairly scary warrior mummy this isn't that good with a climax that goes on way too long. Director Chano Urueta made his first movie in 1928! After this he made several “Blue Demon” wrestling movies.

Thanks for reading!

Hey Moe!

 

 (imdb)

BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND-1960-During WW2, Moe (Richard Devon) and Ken (Ron Gans) are the only survivors of the army's assault on Blood Island. Ken is badly wounded and moans a lot. They try and survive while avoiding the Japanese camp nearby. They gradually grow on each others nerves. Basically this is a 2 person drama which is a little talky for me but succeeds despite it's low budget constraints. 

Executive producer Roger Corman appears as a soldier at the end. It's based on story by Phillip Roth called “Expect The Vandals”. Director Paul Rapp made only one of other movie HIGH SCHOOL BIG SHOT in 1959. Star Richard Devon, a Corman veteran was a busy TV actor at the time. Co-Star Ron Gans became a voice actor.

Thanks for reading!

Lucha Libre vs. Monsters

 

 (imdb)

SANTO & BLUE DEMON VS. THE MONSTERS-1970-After Santo (playing himself) watches a women's wrestling match, he watches his friend Blue Demon in tag team action. Later it's announced that a famous scientist Dr. Bruno Haulder (Carlos Ancira) who once brought a dead person back to life with a brain transplant has died. His brother refuses to answer questions about his experiments when his daughter Gloria (Hedy Blue) asks. Gloria also happens to be Santo's main squeeze. The dead doctor's body is taken from his tomb by some green faced ghouls. While driving in his snazzy sports car Blue Demon (also playing himself) sees the ghouls taking the corpse to a castle. He investigates and finds a hunchback dwarf  Waldo (Santanon) reviving the dead doctor. BD is captured and duplicated. An evil Blue Demon attacks Santo & Gloria with the green faced gang. Gloria is kidnapped and Santo tossed down a mountain side. He survives and rescues Gloria but it's apparent Doc Haulder is alive and up to no good. With Bad Demon and Waldo's help Haulder resurrects an army of classic monsters. A vampire with big ears, a wolfman with huge fangs, the Frankenstein monster, a skinny mummy and a cartoon Cyclops. They are all kind of wimpy and Santo, Gloria and her father hold off their attack when the gang invade their house. After that fails, the vampire puts on a mask and challenges Santo to a wrestling match which he accepts. When that doesn't work out either the fake Blue Demon and the monsters storm the ring! Later the vampire makes some female vampires attack Santo, who beats up the monsters and escapes. Since they only come out at night he advises Gloria and her dad to sleep in the daytime and go to crowded places at night. At a restaurant the monsters finally overpower Santo and capture Gloria & dad. Frankenstein drives the getaway car! Santo tracks them down, frees the real Blue Demon and they destroy the lab while Haulder and Waldo cower. After freeing Gloria and dad, they put stakes in the vampires. What happened to the evil doc and Waldo isn't explained. 

Director Gilberto Martinez Solares much earlier had directed scenes with Lon Chaney in FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF. Little person Santanon was later in 2 of Boris Karloff's Mexican horror films ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE and FEAR CHAMBER.

Thanks for reading!

The One and Only

 

 (imdb)

THE GOLDEN BAT (Ogon batto)-1966-Akira (Wataru Yamagawa), a young guy who likes astronomy tells some scientists in an observatory that the planet Icarus is going to collide with the Earth. They don't believe him. He's contacted by a secret organization hidden in "the Japan Alps", who monitor abnormalities on Earth, to help destroy Icarus before it strikes Earth. Unbeknownst to them is that Nazo (Koji Sekiyama), an evil alien who sort of resembles a muppet rabbit has send Icarus at the Earth. Meanwhile a “super destruction beam cannon” is developed by Dr. Yamatone (Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba) and Prof. Pearl (Andrew Hughes; also in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS). When one of the organization's ships mysteriously disappears the group all put on shiny suits (including Pearl's young granddaughter) and board super car #2 to investigate an uncharted island which turns out to be a submerged portion of Atlantis. . 

When they are attacked by Nazo's alien henchmen the group hides in a cave where they discover a sarcophagus of "The Golden Bat". When they pour water on his stomach he comes to life and proclaims himself "the protector of justice". He vanquishes the attacking aliens and helps the group escape. When Nazo finds out about the super destruction beam cannon he sends disfigured Keloid (Yoichi Numata), female Piranha (Keiko Kuni) and wolf like Jackal (Keiichi Kitagawa) to destroy it. They invade the organization headquarters and The Golden Bat, who has a skull face, a cape and a baton and laughs just as maniacally as bad guy Nazo, shows up to help but Prof. Pearl is kidnapped and the cannon stolen. Piranha takes over the body of Noami, one of the crew. Later Keloid is transformed into Pearl. GB invades the base and takes back the beam just in time to destroy Icarus before it hits. 

The Ogon Batto character was created in 1931 and is now generally considered the first comic book superhero. He kind of reminded me of Dr. Phibes! Although an Anime series was produced in 1967, this is the only feature film made featuring the character. Director Hajime Sato later made GOKE, BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL.

Thanks for reading!

Merry?

 

TREEVENGE-2008-Anti-Christmas short disguised as a horror comedy tries to show that Christmas is only a holiday for white redneck assholes and dysfunctional families. It's told from the viewpoint of the trees who even have their own language shown in sub-titles. The story turns into a gore film when the trees revolt and kill the townspeople (including a baby). 

The director Jason Eisener, needs mental help but will probably be making more juvenile gore nonsense on a larger scale soon. Lucio Fulci did it better....

Thanks for reading!

Thankful I'm Still Here!

 

 (wikipedia)

HELL SQUAD-1958-Very low budget WW2 drama about a squad of soldiers in Tunisia (actually filmed in California) who encounter death, minefields and German soldiers in disguise. It was the debut for writer/producer/director Bert Topper. Wally Campos who was in Monte Hellman's THE BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE the next year is the star.

Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!

Sign The Book

 

 (imdb)

THE UNDEAD-1957-After a sinister intro by The Devil (Richard Devon), a weird guy named Quintas Ratcliff (Val Dufour) returns from Tibet to confront his former teacher with his regression experiments. Quintas regresses hooker Diana (Pamela Duncan) to a past life in some medieval time when persecution of witches was trending. She finds herself a condemned witch named Elaine, locked in a dungeon awaiting execution. She escapes but is accidentally locked in a coffin (with a corpse played by Paul Blaisdell) by feeble gravedigger Smolen (Mel Welles). Meanwhile Pendragon (Richard Garland) searches for proof of Elaine's innocence. A woman named Livia (Allison Hayes) pretends to care but is really a witch with imp companion (Bobby Barty) who's after Pendragon's heart. 

(Metaphorically speaking…).

 After Smolen frees Elaine from the coffin she meets Maud (Dorothy Neumann), a kind of witch who hides Elaine and tells Pendragon. Maud then challenges Livia. Bruno VeSota plays a pub owner who's decapitated. When Quintas realizes he's changed the past he goes back to try and fix things up. Livia convinces Pendragon the only way to help Elaine is to make a pact with the devil but Qunitas now a knight who somehow the devil knows dissuades Pendragon from signing. But if Elaine doesn't die by dawn all her future lives will cease to be. Will she submit to the executioner's axe? And what of Quintas? Will he make it back to the present? Dick Miller appears in one scene as a leper. 

This is a great low budget AIP production directed of course by Roger Corman with a lot of flair and imagination. There's some nice SFX and spooky settings. Screenwriters Charles Griffin and Mark Hanna also collaborated on Corman's best sci-fi/horror film NOT OF THIS EARTH the same year. Corman also made ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS in '57, written by Griffin and and starring Garland and Duncan.

Thanks for reading!

Brains!

 

 (The Criterion Collection)

FIEND WITHOUT A FACE-1958-Strange murders occur on and around a US Air Force Base in Canada. Victims have their brains and spinal cords "sucked out". Locals think the cause is the base's radar experiments with atomic energy. Major Cummings (Marshall Thompson) must find the real reason which leads to Prof. Walgate (Kynaston Reeves) and his strange mind experiments. Cummings shows interest in Walgate's assistant Barbara (Kim Parker) but she blames him for everything. In a flashback the professor explains how he created an invisible "thing", a mental vampire. When the power plant is accidentally turned up the creatures become visible brains with long spinal cords. This has an excellent climax and good SFX (some of them rather gruesome for the time). 

Director Arthur Crabtree later made HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM. Screenwriter Herbert J. Leder later made THE FROZEN DEAD. According to star Thompson, he finished directing the film when Crabtree left the production before it was finished. It's based on the short story “The Thought Monster” by Amelia Reynolds Long.

Thanks for reading!

Werewolf vs. Frankenstein

 

 (imdb)

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER-1958-On the movie set of "Werewolf Meets Frankenstein", make-up man Pete Dumond (Robert H. Harris) is regarded as a legend. He's made up Larry the werewolf (Gary Clarke) and Tony the monster (Gary Conway) for director Martin Brace (Thomas B Henry). However the "new regime" doesn't like monsters and they fire Pete and his assistant Rivero (Paul Brinegar). To get revenge Pete uses a special compound in his make-up to make the actors do his bidding. The monster actors kill the two executives. Pete himself even puts on some scary make-up to kill a nosy studio guard. John Ashley (as himself) shows up to croon a number. Robert Shayne has one scene as Larry's angry agent. Police Captain Hancock (Morris Ankrum) investigates. Malcolm Atterbury is a security guard. After the picture is finished and Pete is ready to leave, he invites the boys to his house to meet "his children", props and masks he made for his movies (including real AIP monsters from IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN and THE SHE CREATURE). Pete really loses it at the end. It seems he wants the actual heads of the young actors! A fire starts and destroys his collection ("I must save my children") The finale is in color. 

Herman Cohen (he also wrote the screenplay and has a cameo as a projectionist) produced this through AIP with Samuel Arkoff and Jack Nicholsen as the executive producers. The same year director Herbert L. Strock worked on “The Veil” series starring Boris Karloff.

Thanks for reading!

Tobor Pilot

 

 (wikipedia)

TOBOR AND THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE-1957- Professor Adams (Arthur Space), Steve (Bruce Cowling) and Talbot (Allen Reynolds) search for clues of a missing submarine. Also present are Adams' young nephew Tommy (Tommy Terrell) and the robot Tobor who Tommy can control by ESP. The adults send Tobor on a mission to the sub after they locate it. Unfortunately Tommy gets locked in the rocket they're using to send Tobor there. After some control trouble Tobor finds a bomb and throws it overboard. Later the sub is picked up by a pirate named Morgan (Gavin Gordon) and his war criminal scientist buddy Ohm (Franz Roehn). Tobor dispatches the whole crew and saves the day. 

Kind of juvenile little science fiction TV pilot for "Here Comes Tobor", a failed spin-off of the 1956 movie. It seems like it could have influenced future anime series. Director Duke Goldstone had once been an associate of George Pal, working on the "Puppetoons" series and DESTINATION MOON.

They should have made a horror movie where the robot meets Dracula. They could have called it "Tobor vs. Alucard.

Thanks for reading. 

Quadead

 

TALES FROM THE QUADEAD ZONE-1987-An African American woman (Shirley Jones from the same director's BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL) reads stories from the title book to her dead invisible ghost (?) son. In the first tale, “Food For ?”, a white hillbilly family has only enough food for four people and there are 8 of them. It's an "every man for himself" dive for food. Eventually a guy in overalls kills 3 of them. Later there's not enough food for 5 of them. 

In the second, “The Brothers”, 2 guys steal a corpse from funeral home for the dead guy's brother. He planned on killing his now dead bro because he stole the guy's wife and she killed herself after bro spend all their inheritance. He rants "What a terrible childhood I had". Since he couldn't enact the murder he dresses bro up in a clown costume and laughs a lot. Dead bro's spirit (?) enters the clowny body and kills living bro with a pitchfork. Just when mom is going to read another story dad Daryl comes by and beats her with the book. They have a kind of violent fight until she stabs him (this scene goes on for a while). 

TALES of course was the brainchild of producer/director/writer Chester N. Turner, once more working his camcorder magic, in this follow up to his previous insanity, the aforementioned BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL. 

TALES FROM THE QUADEAD ZONE IS cheap and shoddy beyond belief but it's so crazy, it really has to be seen to be believed. For years it was believed do it all Turner was killed in a car accident but that was untrue. He is among the living and has threatened to make sequels to both his movies. This has not happened at the time of this writing as far as I know.

Thanks for reading!

Short Shadow

 

 (the movie database)

SHADOW HOUSE-1973-Marie (Joanna Phillips) and Lou (John Fiedler) return to a decrepit mansion where they once killed Lou's uncle (John Carradine). They are looking for his hidden money but wind up victims of "Madame Guillotine". This moody atmospheric short (less than 12 minutes) was written and designed by comic book artist Jim Steranko. 

Director Ken Dixon later made THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE and SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY.

Thanks for reading!

Sucker

 

BLOODSUCKERS-(INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED)-1971-Tony Seymour (Alex Davion) hears stories about some odd behavior of his friend Richard Fountain (Patrick Mower) in Greece. He visits Richard's fiance Penelope (Madeline Hinde) and her bug up his ass father (Peter Cushing). Tony goes to Greece to investigate accompanied by Richard's friend Bob (Johnny Sekka). Through foreign secretary Derek (Patrick Macnee), Tony finds out Richard is living the life of a jet setter and has a girlfriend Chriseis (Imogen Hassell). People dance on a beach, smoke dope and have sex. An over long psychedelic orgy ends with a woman being stabbed to death. Later Bob gets beat up by some thugs sent by an old woman (who believed Richard killed her daughter) to kill Penelope. It seems murders occurred in other places Richard was visiting. Tony and Bob, along with Derek go to an abandoned fort and rescue Richard but he's in a trance put on by his girlfriend who turns out to be some blood drinking vampire. After Derek falls to his death, Chriseis is also killed running away from Bob. He and Tony take Richard back to England and consult Dr. Holstrom (Edward Woodward). At a big college banquet Richard gives a speech denouncing everyone (especially his future father in law) and thanks the gods. Later he kills Penelope and drinks her blood. He and Bob have a roof top chase until Richard throws himself off the roof and is impaled. This says that vampirism is a product of sexual dysfunction (as “Doctors Wear Scarlet” by Simon Raven, the book it's based on did) but at the end Bob uses some stakes just in case.

 BLOODSUCKERS was directed by Robert Hartford-Davies who had already made the sleazy CORRUPTION with Peter Cushing. He later came to the US and made two “blaxploitation” movies THE TAKE and BLACK GUNN. At one point during filming they ran out of money and the production was closed down. When additional financing was found new scenes with new actors were added. Director Hartford-Davies later “disowned” the final result.

Thanks for reading!