Showing posts with label luchador. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luchador. Show all posts

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Luchadum

 

 (themoviedb.org)

OPERATION LUCHADOR-2021-Dumb fake documentary comedy about fictional Mexican wrestler The Golden Angel (Carlos Valderrama) who is recruited by J. Edgar Hoover to be a spy for the Allies during WW2. The pro Nazi director, Alain Vezina, seems obsessed with the swastika, views Hitler as a genius and makes light of their experiments with comic bits like canine pilots. The Angel fights the Yeti, a Nazi agent. Idiotic. Hitler is even thanked at the end...

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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Late Santo

 

 (imdb)

THE FIST OF DEATH-1982-During a very long pagan ritual, a woman (Grace Renat) dressed in black transforms into a monster, a tiger and a snake. Her sister (the same actress), clad in white banishes her for blasphemy and using "the star of great power" for evil. An "oracle" sends El Santo (himself) and his whiny assistant Cliff (Cesar Suarez) to help the good sister who is also trying to protect "The Jungle Girl" who was raised by wolves. She also plans to marry a Chinese prince (Steve Cheng). Both sisters are fairly bursting out of their furry bikinis and the bad one does an erotic dance several times. Santo fights a furry man beast and a tiger. 

The fights and pacing are terrible. The ending sets up a sequel (FURY OF THE KARATE EXPERTS) which was made back-to-back with this film. Both were filmed in Florida by director Alfredo B. Crevenna. 

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Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Santo Saves!

 

 (wikipedia)

SANTO VS. THE HEADHUNTERS-1969-After our hero Santo of the Silver Mask (himself) beats up four guys, he discovers one of them has an ancient knife. Meanwhile, an explorer Don Alonso Grijalva (director/co-writer Rene Cardona) tells his guests about The Jivaro Indians and their propensity for collecting human heads. He even shows them a shrunken one. His daughter Mariana (Nadia Milton) is also present. Meanwhile one the guys Santo beat up is part of the headhunter cult and he tells the leader of his troubles. With the help of a Jivaro spy aka Don Alonso's butler, they kidnap Mariana and plan to make her a sacrifice. Santo leads an expedition to save her. And besides encountering hostile locals, Santo has to fight a crocodile and a leopard. Later the luchador extraordinaire fights the biggest warrior to save Mariana's life.

Another crazy south of the border production. Director/actor Cardona also made SANTO IN THE TREASURE OF DRACULA and the comedy SANTO VS CAPULINA as well as NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES.

Thanks for reading!


Friday, November 25, 2022

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 is 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!

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Wrestling Horror From Mexico

 




(IMDB)


SANTO AND THE BLUE DEMON VS. DRACULA AND THE WOLFMAN-1973-This Mexican luchador movie opens with El Santo (as himself) wrestling Angel Blanco in a seemingly empty arena with canned crowd reaction. After his match El Santo meets his girlfriend Lina (Nubia Marti) and they visit her uncle Dr. Christobal (Jorge Mondragon) and his widowed daughter Laura (Maria Eugenia San Martin) and granddaughter Rosita (Lissy Fields). The doc tells Santo that 400 years before his ancestor killed Dracula and the wolfman with a magic dagger which the doc still has in his possession. Now he's gotten a letter threatening terrible revenge on him and his family. The sainted one says he will help. Later, after the doc gives the dagger to Rosita he's kidnapped by the hunchback Eric (Wally Barron) and taken to the tomb where he hangs the doc over Dracula's remains and cuts his throat. 


The blood drips down and revives the count. Rufus the wolfman (Augustin Martinez Solares) is also revived (for some reason he's wearing a yellow silk shirt). Drac (Aldo Monti) plans to create an army of vampires and werewolves and suddenly in the next scene the cave is full of would be victims. Laura reports her dad missing to the police who seem reluctant to help so Santo enlists the aid of fellow luchador Blue Demon (first seen fighting "Renato El Hippie" in the noisy empty arena). After the wolfman in human form makes friends with Laura, Drac pays a visit to her house. When everyone is playing cards the creepy count sets his fangs on little Rosita but is forced away by the presence of the ancient dagger. Laura somehow quickly falls for the clean shaven wolf but Blue Demon has his suspicions and follows him after he leaves. 


BD spies on him and Eric talking but they spot his reflection in a mirror and lay a trap. In a warehouse the wrestlers are jumped but beat up their attackers. Lina who hid in the trunk of Santo's car calls the cops. Later Rufus tells the guys they can find Christobal someplace. Santo investigates and encounters pale zombie Christobal who tries to strangle him. Eric knocks Santo out and plans on stabbing him but Blue Demon scares him away. After Drac goes to the house to put the bite on Lina a short bald vampire bites the maid. Drac lures Lina out and BD follows her. The maid lures out Rosita. BD is captured and chained up. Santo grabs the sacred dagger and goes looking for his friends. Lina is taken to a room by two red cloaked vampire women. Drac almost bites her but Eric interrupts them. Santo breaks in but is gassed by Eric who finds the dagger and instead of killing Santo goes to Lina to ask her if she knows how to use the dagger to make Drac and wolf turn over their treasure (?). Lina can barely reply “no”when the dagger spins and stabs Eric to death. Lina finds Santo and revives him. Meanwhile Rosita meets her living dead Grandpa and now vampire Laura leads her to a cave.


Then a werewolf is forced to walk a plank over a spiky pit. He doesn't make it. Then Demon is forced to walk the plank with hands tied. Santo shows up and the duo fight the wolf gang. Then Rufus confronts BD and turns hairy. Santo saves Rosita and she and Lina get away. Santo knocks both villains into the pit and they're impaled. 


This crazy and never dull wrestling horror story from Mexico was produced and written by Abel Salazar and directed by Miguel M. Delgado.


Thanks for reading!



Saturday, August 7, 2021

Santostein

 

 (IMDB)

SANTO VS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER-1971-The infamous doctor's daughter Freda (Gina Romand) needs Santo's blood to stay young and alive. Meanwhile she's trying to turn a man into a gorilla and building her own monster named Ursus (pro wrestler Gerardo Zepeda). She has her henchmen kidnap Norma (Anel), Santo's excitable girlfriend. Santo and Norma's sister Elsa (Sonia Fuentes) go to the rescue. They get in and out of trouble fighting Freda's inept henchmen, her beast man and the familiar looking monster with the stitches round his head. 


At one point Freda hypnotizes Norma to cut Santo's eyes out! Just when the girls seem safe they are recaptured. A showdown has the poor monster killing his creator and blowing up the whole place after getting acid thrown in his face....


Santo fights the Japanese middleweight champion in the finale and wins the title! Director Miguel Delgado made SANTO AND THE BLUE DEMON MEET DRACULA AND THE WOLFMAN the next year.


 (Wikiand)



Thanks for reading!





Santo Against Mars

 

(IMDB)

SANTO VS. THE MARTIAN INVASION-1966-Martians hi-jack TV broadcasts in Mexico and their leader Argos (Wolf Ruvinskis) issues a warning that if Earth doesn't stop making nuclear power and can't live peacefully with one another they will be destroyed! Everyone thinks it's a joke. The Martians are dressed funny with big helmets on their heads. At a large outdoor sports arena where our hero El Santo (himself) is teaching some boys wrestling moves the aliens land a spaceship. A hench-Martian kills a bunch of spectators (including children) and he has a fight with Santo until he disappears and returns to the ship. Argos goes on TV again to announce that the reason they chose Mexico to land is that country doesn't have nuclear weapons. Yet Mexico has to suffer pointless deaths because they are already in compliance with the aliens demands? These Martians are loonies! 


Argos shows up at a professor's lab where Santo happens to be. Argos fails to convince them that his goals have merit. He and Santo have a brief fight but Argos weakens and disappears. He drops a pill he tried to shallow and later the Prof. discovers it allows the invaders to breath our air. The Martians kidnap some scientists but also random people (including kids). Some Mars maidens mesmerize some men and make two luchadors attack Santo. 


Mostly it's the Martians abducting people and the saint of lucha libre having various fights. A little too long for me. Wolf Ruvinskis came from Latvia to be a pro wrestling in Mexico and stayed on after his career ended. He created a wrestling super guy of his own, Neutron who appeared in a series of films. Veteran director Alfredo B. Crevana later made more El Santo adventures and other S.F. and horror films.


 (IMDB)

Muchos Gracias for reading!




Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Go Ape On Mexico!


NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES-1969-A woman named Lucy (Laura Lazareno) is a red masked pro wrestler. During a match she throws her opponent out of the ring and an ambulance has to be called. Meanwhile a doctor and his assistant go to a zoo and drug and capture a gorilla. The injured wrestler needs an operation and a specialist Dr. Krallman (Jose' Elias Moreno) is called in. The same guy who drugged the gorilla. He has a bed ridden son Julio (Augstin M. Solares) and his assistant Goyo (Carlos Lopez Moctezuma) calls him “master”so you know he's up to no good. When Krallman is told his son’s days are numbered he decides to transplant the gorilla’s heart into Julio’s body and then give him the gorilla's blood. It’s a bloody operation. 

Lucy’s policeman/boyfriend Martinez (Armando Silvestre) and his force search for the missing gorilla. After Martinez has to stand Lucy up to meet with his boss, Julio turns into an ape man, escapes and kills a woman. He's recapture and the doc decides that maybe a gorilla's heart wasn't such a good idea (gee..ya think?). It's better if they get a new living human heart and put it in Julio. The reluctant donor is the comatose wrestler Lucy fought! While the duo goes to get their “donor”, Julio the ape man escapes again. He tears out a guy’s throat while his girlfriend runs away conveniently tearing the top of her dress off. He rapes the woman (not shown), stabs a good Samaritan and plucks a passerby’s eye out! Then he’s recaptured. The doc who besides being nuts is also head of the hospital reprimands his staff for losing their patient and the toady doctors all agree to a cover-up. Meanwhile through fingerprints, Martinez proposes that the killer isn't a gorilla but some kind of man beast hybrid (good guess!). His boss thinks he has been watching too many “movies of horror”. Later Julio changes back into man but while the doc is out he becomes the man beast again and kills Goyo. Doc confronts his son but trips and hits his head. 

Julio goes prowling and kills a policeman (he scalps him) and then chases Lucy into a park. Martinez goes after them but so does the doc. Julio and Martinez fight and Julio turns into his old self. They are both taken to a hospital where Julio once again transforms and kills a doctor and a nurse. He then grabs a sick little girl and heads for the roof. Martinez and dad follow and the doc convinces sonny to give up the child. He/it is then fatally shot by the cops below. Dad loses his mind. 

Mindlessly bloody sleaze with real gory footage of open heart surgery. Mad scientist portrayer Jose' Elias Moreno had the lead as jolly old St. Nick in the Mexican made SANTA CLAUS in 1959!, which was directed by BLOODY APES director Rene Cordona who had a prolific career as a director and actor in Mexico (and a son who became a director).




Monday, April 13, 2020

Mexican Wrestling Mummies


THE MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO-1972-After a too long travelogue intro, Panguino, a little person guide shows a group a bunch of mummies. One called Satan is dressed like a Mexican luchador. Panguino tells the story of how the original El Santo beat Satan in a wrestling match and the heel swore vengeance. After the group leaves Panguino thinks he sees Satan's hand move and he faints. He then has a dream the mummies are attacking him. After the caretaker wakes him up, he tells his friends Lina and Alicia about the incident. They don't believe him so the trio go back to the tomb and convince the caretaker to let them in. When they get to the mummy display they find Satan missing! They hightail it to a wrestling arena where famous luchadors Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras are wrestling. Fortunately Lina is Mil's girlfriend and they all discuss what happened. Mil and Panguino go to investigate and Blue Demon is knocked out by Satan who remembers his fight with Santo (Satan isn't a mummy apparently and wears a red mask). Satan kills a night watchman (the director) and an old man. Two lovebirds witness the last event but the police don't believe them. After Satan kills Panguino, Lina and Alicia, along with Demon's adopted son Julito stay at Mil's house. Blue Demon is once again knocked out by Satan who steals BD's wrestling gear and gives it to his mummy pal who kills two people with the real wrestler getting the blame. Two mummies break into Mil's house and kill Alicia and kidnap Lina.

While Mil and Demon are out looking for mummies, Julito is kidnapped (he was hiding in the trunk of their car). El Santo and his manager happen to stop in Guanajuato and are attacked by mummies. They fend them off but the mummies terrorize and kill the town's populace. Santo tries to fight the mummy horde single handedly but has little success so he and his manager drive away! He meets up with Mil and Demon and they take on the mummies not too successfully until Mil gets some flame guns from Santo's car and kills them.

There's lots of plot holes and long stretches of talk. This color triple hero adventure (which most fans think is the best) could have been better.

Thanks for reading!
THE M
THE

El Santo Save Us!



EL SANTO VS. EL ESTRANGLADOR (THE STRANGLER)-1965-The famous luchador El Santo (himself) is called in when a scarred strangler kills show girls at a club. Sub-plots include a young singing couple investigating the murders, a show girl who wants her lover to kill a rival and Santo adopting a son. After the iconic Mexican grappler foils one of the strangler's crimes, he sends a hit man to do in the wrestler but that fails. Later the show girl's lover wrestles Santo but he's accidentally shot and killed by the strangler (he was trying to kill Santo). Eventually it's revealed the strangler is masquerading as a woman. He's shot by the police while trying to escape. 

Beware! There are a lot of musical numbers and our hero only shows up 20 minutes into the film! Thank you director Rene' Cardona!

Muchos gracias for reading!