More Spencer Williams

 

GO DOWN, DEATH!-1944-In this long forgotten “race” film, Big Jim Bottom (Spencer Williams who also directed) runs a gambling joint. He decides to frame the new reverend Jasper Jones (Samuel H. James) because he has too much influence on the town. His goons take an incriminating photo of Jones and a woman hired by Big Jim. Jim's adopted mother Caroline (Myra D. Hemmings) pleads with her son to end his bad ways but he refuses. She prays for guidance to a picture of her dead husband. His ghost/spirit comes back to help by taking the incriminating photos out of Jim's safe and giving them to Caroline. Jim tries to take them away from her. He pushes her to the floor and she hits her head. He pretends to not know anything when niece Betty Jean (Eddye Houston) comes into the room. Caroline lies in bed dying and a choir sings. Betty and Rev. Jones discuss the circumstances while Jim paces and drinks. When Caroline dies, the reverend gives a long sermon while images of heaven are shown. Jim's conscious gets the better of him and he drinks even more. He tries to run away but he can't escape the sinister accusing voice which shows him a vision of hell (from a foreign movie) where he'll “be with his own kind”. Later they find Jim dead in a canyon. 

Much like THE BLOOD OF JESUS it uses crude sfx, characters superimposed on other scenes and gospel singing. Sometimes there's dialogue but the actors' mouths don't move. The sermon the reverend gives is the poem “Go Down Death” by James W. Johnson. Although the acting and editing isn't very good it's nice to see this film rescued from obscurity. This is one of 14 movies actor Spencer Willimas directed between 1928 and 1949. Some were religious morality tales like this. Others were cool musicals. Williams later played Andy on the (now) controversial TV sit-com “The Amos 'n Andy Show”.

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Ozu Double Feature (sort of...)

 

 (youtube)

A STRAIGHTFORWARD BOY-1929-Once a 38-minute silent short, all that remains of this adaptation of an O. Henry story by Yasujiro Ozu is about 14 minutes. You get the gist of the comic tale, two kidnappers grab a little boy but he proves too much for them. It has a funny final scene.

 (imdb)

I GRADUATED, BUT…-1929-Unfortunately, this feature silent film by Ozu is very incomplete. Only around 10 minutes survives! A recent college graduate turns down a receptionist job thinking it's beneath him. He has no other offers and has to keep his secret from his wife and mother.

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McHale's Shop of Mystical Wonders

 

 (imdb)

MERLIN'S SHOP OF MYSTICAL WONDERS-1996-A grandpa (Ernest Borgnine) tells his grandson a story about the title place. While two women talk about not getting pregnant, one woman's son wanders into the shop and meets Mr. & Mrs. Merlin. Then jackass columnist Jonathan and his wife visit while some trolls watch them. Merlin gives him an ancient book of spells and tells him not to use it. Of course he does. Merlin also gives Jonathan's wife (who wants a baby) a wishing stone. For some reason, Jonathan turns his cat into a demon cat and it almost kills him. He also ages dramatically. When he makes a potion (using his wife's blood) and drinks it, he turns into a baby and the wife gets her wish. Next, a burglar steals a toy monkey from the shop. A woman gives it as a birthday present to a young boy. Plants die and then a goldfish. Later a fire breaks out and kills a doorman. A psychic tells the boy's father he has to perform an exorcism on the monkey. He throws it away. When it almost kills his son, he buries it. When grandma visits, she brings the monkey as a gift. It seems like it might kill them but Merlin saves the day. The second story which in some ways resembles a Stephen King short story written years before, is actually a re-edited short with a new ending, Writer/director Kenneth J. Berton never made another movie.

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English Wolf

 

 (imdb)

NIGHT WOLF-2010-Bloody awful English horror film with a family being terrorized in their house by a bloodthirsty creature. Simon MacCorkindale (in his last movie role) is their doomed father. After this director Jonathan Glendening followed with STRIPPERS VS. WEREWOLVES (2012). Also known as 13 HOURS. 

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More Spaghetti

 

 (imdb)

THE GREAT SILENCE-1968-Somewhere in the old west (Italy), bounty hunters like Loco (Klaus Kinski; in I BASTARDI the same year)) are out of control and the governor wants to put a stop to it. Roaming the countryside is Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant from A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966)), a gunfighter who's hired by families to kill bounty hunters to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. A widow (Vonetta McGee; later in BLACULA (1972)) hires Silence to kill Loco who murdered her husband. Meanwhile, a store owner hires Loco to kill Silence. In recent years critics go on and on about this western allegory that tries way too much to be like Leone (Ennio Morricone scored it) and director Sergio Corbucci (also one of the screenwriters) needs a history lesson. 

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The Lash of LaRue

 (imdb)

GHOST TOWN RENEGADES-1947-The Cheyenne Kid aka Marshall Davis (Lash LaRue) and Fuzzy Jones (Al St. John) are dispatched by the chief Marshall (Henry Hall) to investigate the disappearance of 2 surveyors. They come up against evil lawyer Vance Sharp (Jack Ingram) who wants the land owned by Diane Trent (Jennifer Holt; sister of Tim). He has two henchmen (Terry Frost and Lane Bradford). Although Fuzzy is pretty tough and good in a fight, he still supplies the comic relief when they spend the night in a ghost town. Also with William Fawcett. 

Pretty decent low budget western (only 59 minutes) from PRC. One of several Cheyenne Kid features LaRue (who uses his trademark bullwhip several times) made between 1945 & 1948. Prolific director Ray Taylor made several serials and many more westerns (some with LaRue). Screenwriter Patricia Harper wrote screenplays for many movies in the 1940's after a brief turn as an actress.

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Boggy

 

 (imdb)

BOGGY CREEK ll: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES-1983-Anthropologist Dr. Brian Lockhart (writer/director Charles B. Pierce) takes 3 students, Tim (Chuck Pierce), Tanya (Serene Hedin), Leslie (Cindy Butler) on a trek to find “The Boggy Creek Creature” in Arkansas. They wander around and Lockhart tells some Bigfoot stories (shown in flashbacks). At night, while camping they have a creature encounter. Lockhart shoots it with a tranquilizer dart but nothing happens. The “dumb” girls go joy riding and get stuck in the mud. They kind of encounter the creature and run away. Later, they meet Old Man Crenshaw (Jimmy Dlem), a fat, shirtless hillbilly in overalls who's holding a wounded baby creature. During a storm, the creature attacks but Lockhart gives it the baby and it leaves. 

Stupid, low budget, badly acted sequel although it is actually the third movie in the “Boggy Creek series”! Chuck Pierce had previously starred in his dad's WINDS OF AUTUMN (1976).

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Time Travelling On A Budget

 

 (themoviedb.org)

TIME CHASERS-1994-Nick (Matthew Bruch) invents a plane that can travel through time. Unfortunately, he signs a contract with a huge corporation GenCore who only want to exploit it for evil. A female reporter Lisa (Bonnie Pritchard) warns him but to no avail. They become lovers and have dinner in a diner in the 1950's. Later they discover a post apocalyptic future that was created when he told corporate head J.K. Robertson (George Woodward) about the plane. Nick and Lisa go back in time to try and change things. Everyone winds up during the Revolutionary War (obviously a battle reenactment). 

Low budget time travel film written and directed in Vermont by David Giancola, who later made ICEBREAKER (2000) with Bruce Campbell as a bald villain. The movie lost money but when “Mystery Science Theater 3000” picked it up, the licensing fees brought profits into the black.

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It's Mutiny!

 

 (imdb)

SPACE MUTINY-1988-On a spaceship going somewhere, the evil, insane Commander Calgon (John Phillip Law) plans to take over. He's assisted by the sadistic McPearson (James Ryan; KILL AND KILL AGAIN (1981)). Some alien women called Bellerians who speak telepathically are also aboard. Commander Jansen (Cameron Mitchell, with Santa beard) is in charge and his daughter, Lea (Cissy Cameron) blames pilot Dave Ryder (Reb Brown; HOWLING 2 (1985)) for the death of a professor. Of course, they fall in love. 

This very cheap looking filmed in a warehouse space opera was started by director David Winters who left for personal reasons. It taken over by Neal Sundstrum with scenes of the Bellerians added by David A. Prior after filming was finished. None of them were happy with the final product. Filmed in South Africa. Brown and Cameron are married in real life.

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Go Back To Sleep!

 

 (imdb)

PATRICK:EVIL AWAKENS-2013-Nurse Cathy (Sharni Vinson) goes to work for Dr. Roget (Charles Dance) and his uptight daughter Cassidy (Rachel Griffiths) in a ward for comatose patients. She meets Patrick (Jackson Gallager), a young man who's in a coma and Roget's “special case”. There's one patient who is awaken though, Mr. Frazier (Chris Fortuna), a victim of an electrical fire who operates a lighthouse. Cathy becomes friends with Paula the other nurse there. She comes to believe that Patrick is aware of things around him. She has weird dreams. But Patrick is controlling things, even using a computer and makimg her boyfriend burn both of his hands. 

Drawn out junk from Australia directed by Mark Hartley. It's based on the 1978 Richard Franklin film PATRICK.

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Jethro Makes Bad

 

 (imdb)

MACON COUNTY LINE-1974-Two ignorant redneck brothers Wayne (Jesse Vint) & Chris (Jesse's real life brother Alan) drive around causing trouble before they are scheduled to join the army. They pick up hitchhiker, Jenny (Cheryl Waters). While waiting for a mechanic (Geoffrey Lewis) to fix their water pump, they run into deputy sheriff Reed Morgan (Max Baer; Jethro Bodine from TV's “The Beverly Hillbillies”). He questions them and picks up his son (Lief Garrett) at military school. Two perverted criminals kill Baer's wife. After killing a cop, they are arrested. Baer believes the brothers are responsible and with his 10-year-old son in tow, goes after them. 

Terrible, violent low budget drive-in fodder. Also with Doodles Weaver, Jay Adler, Sam Gilman, Emile Meyer and Joan Blackman. Jed's nephew was a co-writer (with director Richard Compton) and co-producer on this obviously trying to throw off his dumb hayseed image.

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