Nazis in America

 

 (imdb)

NO ESCAPE-1943-Nazis in America break a forger Torgut Lane (Dean Jagger) out of jail. A guy named Gerard (Ian Keith) makes a deal with him and has his death faked. He's taken to a secret hideout inside a carnival run by Martin (John Carradine; in REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES the same year) and Bergen (Sidney Blackmer). When he finds out they are Nazis he doesn't want to do their dirty work. He tries to escape but is whipped and his mother's life is threatened. He tries to convince his young “watchdog” Gordon (Bill Henry) to help him. He uses a woman named Helen (Mary Brian) to soften Gordon up. 

Small Monogram production with good cast directed by Harold Young (THE FROZEN GHOST, THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE (both 1945)). Spanky McFarland has a small role. Carradine also played a mean Nazi in HITLER'S MADMEN the same year. Aka I ESCAPED THE GESTAPO.

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Alligator

 

 (wikipedia)

ALLIGATOR-1980-12 years after a stupid father flushes a baby alligator down the toilet, body parts and dead dogs are found by police in the sewer system. Detective Madison (Robert Forster) and his jerky new partner Kelly (Perry Lang) investigate. When Kelly is killed, everyone including his chief (Michael Gazzo) thinks Madison is nuts and incompetent because his partner before Kelly was also killed. Snake expert Dr. Kendall (Robin Riker) isn't much help. 

The first victim is a pet shop owner (Sydney Lassick) who's illegally supplying dogs for experiments. After a sanctimonious reporter (Bart Baverman) is killed and some of his photos show an alligator, an all-out manhunt is launched. The giant lizard bites off the leg of a policeman. The mayor (Jack Carter) calls in Col. Brock (Henry Silva), a pompous big game hunter. Madison ties the mutant to Slade Industrial, run by old fart Mr. Slade (Dean Jagger) who had ties with the corrupt mayor. 

The best part is when the alligator crashes Slade's daughter's wedding. Sue Lyon (in her last movie) has a small role as a reporter as does Mike Mazurki. John Sayles wrote the clever script and Lewis Teague directed before he made bigger budgeted films like CUJO (1983), CAT'S EYE (1985) and THE JEWEL OF THE NILE (1985).

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Lee's Game

GAME OF DEATH-1978-Every martial arts movie fans' favorite paste up job. The legendary Bruce Lee began this film as producer/writer/director in 1973.

While filming Lee got an offer from Warner Bros. to star in the most expensive budgeted martial arts at the time (ENTER THE DRAGON). He planned to resume shooting on GAME but died of a cerebral edema (some might disagreed with the cause of death) before DRAGON's release leaving behind about 100 minutes of footage. In 1978 DRAGON's director Robert Clouse was hired to make a movie out of the remaining footage.

The story concerns a martial arts film star Billy Lo (either Kim Tai-jung aka Tony Lung, or Yuen Biao doubling for Lee who appears briefly in close-ups and in scenes from WAY OF THE DRAGON (used as the film he's working on; Chuck Norris also appears). He's under pressure from a syndicate boss Dr. Land (Dean Jagger) and his smart ass henchman Steiner (Hugh O'Brian; still alive at the time of this writing). Billy refuses to buckle under the syndicate's grip so Land sends an assassin (Mel Novak) to kill the star. Billy is shot but not killed but with the help of his reporter/friend (Gig Young in his last role) fakes his death and has plastic surgery so he can get revenge on the gang. He wears various disguises (so he doesn't look like the real Lee) and beats up a corrupt American martial artist (real pro Karate fighter Robert Hall). Later, after his girlfriend (Coleen Camp) has been kidnapped,  in the film's most famous scenes, Billy (the real Lee) has to fight three guardians played by Don Insanto (his real life student), Korean Hapkido master Ji Han-jae and former pro basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Writer/director Robert Clouse does a good job of editing together scenes of the real and fake Lees but even still the movie doesn't ring true and the re-editing and Lee doubles ultimately do in the production.

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'70's Cult Film

VANISHING POINT-1971-Former demolition driver (and cop) Kowalski (Barry Newman) has to deliver a 1970 Dodge Challenger he picked up in Colorado to San Francisco. He makes a bet with blind underground DJ Supersoul (Cleavon Little) that he can make it in 15 hours. Kowalski has several car chases with the local police and becomes a real wanted man while Supersoul guides him on the radio. Kowalski has flashbacks, beats up two gay would be robbers, meets a naked woman on a motorcycle (Gilda Texter) and an old snake hunter (Dean Jagger). Thrown in is a desert revival run by Severn Darden whose singers are played by Delaney and Bonnie (with Rita Coolidge, David Gates and Ted Neeley). Paul Koslo and Robert Donner are cops. Val Avery appears uncredited in a flashback and John Amos (also uncredited) gets beat up by some white guys.

This anti-establishment cult film is a little dated and not for everyone but I enjoyed. It was directed by Richard C. Sarafian who also  made MAN IN THE WILDERNESS the same year. Screenwriter Guillermo Cabrera Infante wrote WONDERWALL previously.

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Early Hammer

X-THE UNKNOWN-1956-This early Hammer production is a sequel to the previous year's THE QUARTERMASS XPERIMENT (known as ENEMY FROM SPACE in the US). Like it's predecessor it also stars an American actor in the lead role. While doing radiation exploration in Scotland, the British army discovers a "bottomless hole" from which an unseen entity has emerged. Later on, the being which survives on energy roams various locales burning victims with radiation. Dean Jagger is Dr. Royston, a brilliant scientist trying to figure out what the X is. Leo McKern is an energy inspector who helps Royston out. Edward Chapman is Royston's pompous director. Anthony Newley and future MONTY PYTHON director Ian MacNaughton are army guard victims. The monster is a big (animated) blob. The climax involves the detonation of a cobalt bomb. Also with Michael Ripper, Williams Lucas and Frazier Hines.

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