More Bigfoot!

 

 (imdb)

THE LEGEND OF BIGFOOT-1975-Tracker Ivan Marx, "the last of a dying breed", goes to Alaska to prove Kodiak bears are not killing cattle. He scoffs when a farmer tells him it's Bigfoot. Then his brother in law shows him 700 yr old cave drawings of "stick man" who the local Indians say kidnapped children. Then he finds giant footsteps in the snow. Later on he films the hairy monster! If you're a fan of nature you might enjoy the nature scenes that contain no Bigfoot footage. Marx was the cinematographer as well as one of the executive producers.

 It's all bs and Marx's bombastic narration doesn't help. Some say he was the first person to find Bigfoot prints. They've also said it's his wife dressed as Bigfoot. He starred in IN THE SHADOW OF BIGFOOT in 1977, another pseudo-documentary. Director Harry Winer did mostly TV after this but in 1986 directed SPACE CAMP. Music by Don Peake, one of the guitarists for the Wrecking Crew.

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Where No Blog Has Gone Before...Not!

 

 (amazon.com)

WILLIAM SHATNER'S MYSTERIES OF THE GODS-1977-Bill (with a lot of hair) starts to narrate after a model of the Enterprise is shown. He starts in prehistoric times speculating that giants may have shared the Earth with dinosaurs then examining cave drawings made by various ancient peoples across the globe. He asks "who were the ancient astronauts?" Then proceeds to talk about the gods and legends of different tribes across the Earth. His interview with a NASA scientist goes on too long. Dr. Dennis Hauck who's interviewed later wrote an unauthorized bio of Bill titled "Captain Quirk". A woman who owns a crystal skull tells a story about a woman who laughed at the skull and died soon after. Jean Dixon is also interviewed. Erich Von Daniken makes a brief appearance as this was actually a German production based on one of his books. 

This might have been trying to cash in on the fact that Shatner's buddy Leonard Nimoy began hosting the long running TV show “In Search Of” the same year. The ex-TJ Hooker is now the host and executive producer of History Channel's “The UnXplained”.

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Dubious Documentary

 

 (imdb)

A RACE OF GIANTS-2015-This wildly speculative documentary is about the discovery of giant skeleton bones across the Americas. It sites many examples (some proven hoaxes) and says The Smithsonian Institute was created specifically to gather and destroy giant skeletal bones to create a cover-up that would undermine Charles Darwin's theories. It speculates there once was a war between Native Americans and a race of man eating giants. It also mentions that St. Christopher was a giant who encountered dog headed man eating giants. 

It also discusses mound builders, gigantism, the Nephilim,Stonehenge and ancient Indian legends. Director J. Michael Long has done a lot of videos on UFOs, aliens, etc.

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Who Are The Overlords of the UFOs?

 

 (youtube)

OVERLORDS OF THE U.F.O.-1976-Ultra cheap pseudo-documentary investigation trying to answer the question: Who are the overlords of the UFOs? 

Writer/Producer/on screen narrator W. Gordon Allen talks about outer space UFOs, inter-dimensional UFOs, NASA's reluctance to admit the UFO existence, astronauts seeing UFOs and how the Morman faith may have been created by an alien encounter. There are a few short interviews with investigators (like Stanton Friedman) and abductees but mostly it's a lot of stock footage, photos and drawings depicting what's being said. The budget was obviously too minuscule to afford recreations. Allen says "It's obvious humans are helpless", but as long as there's an off button we don't have to be. Then suddenly in the middle of this boring narrative there's a mini feature thrown out called "Space Voyage from Ummo", some phony nonsense about aliens who use telepathy and dimensional travel to scout the solar system. Even charlatan psychic Uri Geller is thrown in at the end.

 In 1950's, presenter Allen owned several radio stations in Oregon before he threw his hat into the political ring running for state senator in 1958 before dropping out. Getting into Ufology soon after this, he claimed the moon was occupied by intelligent life. He was accused of bankruptcy fraud in 1972 but seems to have recovered enough to produce this epic a few years later. He died in 1988. 

(My info came from:  https://hatch.kookscience.com/wiki/Main_Page  

Presenter Mr. Allen 

I couldn't find any info on director G. Brook Stanford. 

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Bigfoot!

BIGFOOT (MAN OR BEAST)-1972-J. English Smith is your host and narrator. There's lots of interviews with yokels who encounter the creature. They are pretty amusing. Some scientists talk pros and cons. Famous ape impersonator stuntman Jonas Proska chimes in. Once again the Patterson film is examined. Bob Morgan, a little bald guy in a loud shirt puts together an expedition to hunt Bigfoot. It's obvious he and his companions are acting. It's all talk talk talk with footprint examinations and wildlife footage. You know they never find anything because if they had this movie wouldn't be languishing away on You Tube. Just when Morgan thinks he's gonna make his big score a forest fire conveniently breaks out ruining his plans. Teary eyed he leaves vowing to return next year... 

and the year after that...

and the year after that … 

Director Lawrence Crowley also made MYSTERIES FROM BEYOND THE TRIANGLE. I don't think Bob Morgan ever caught Bigfoot but in 1976 he wrote, directed and starred in the horror movie BLOOD STALKERS...

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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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More Found Footage

GRAVE ENCOUNTERS-2011-This Canadian production is influenced heavily by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT but I was actually surprised by a couple of scenes. It's told through the video cameras of a film crew doing a segment of a reality TV show called "Grave Encounters" who go to an abandon mental hospital to film an episode. The host of the show Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson) only interested in a TV contract is accompanied by several camera people and a phony psychic. After they interview some locals the group has themselves locked up in the asylum over night. At first they only hear noises but a few things happen that they don't notice. Later they become trapped in the place and one by one everyone starts to disappear. They actually do meet up with some real ghouls and eventually it turns out a mad doctor who was killed years before is still doing lobotomies (and maybe devil worshiping) in the basement. It's well done (with some gory SFX) but the ending goes on too long.

It was written, produced and directed by two guys who go by the name of "The Vicious Brothers". They wrote and produced a sequel in 2012.

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In The Shadows

SHADOW PEOPLE-2011-This supernatural thriller is presented as a partial pseudo-documentary using fake interviews, You Tube posts and excerpts from a real documentary called YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE.

A loser late night radio DJ Charlie Crowe (Dallas Roberts) investigates reports of people dying in their sleep. A CDC scientist (Alison Eastwood) says they are related to the real life "Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome" that affected Hmong refugees in the US in the 1980's. But Crowe comes to believe that "shadow people", mysterious dark figures who kill victims in their sleep, are responsible. This is mostly talking and quick editing using "found footage" and really nothing happens. Director Matthew Arnold later created a TV series called SIBERIA.

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Jackie Chan

THE INVINCIBLE FIGHTER:THE JACKIE CHAN STORY-1996?-A narrator tells us about Jacky (Jackie) Chan (born Chan Yuen Long) becoming the new Bruce Lee, a Kung-Fu international star. The movie highlights 10 movies featuring Chan. The narrator also explains about the 18 fighting styles and weapons used. Then scenes from "CUB TIGER FROM KWANTUNG, SPIRITUAL KUNG-FU, THE FEARLESS HYENA and others (mostly directed by Wei Lo) are shown with the narrator explaining some of the action. The sub-titles have lots of mistakes and are sometimes out of sync with the action. Also a scene that's suppose to depict Chan's training is actually a scene from a movie!

Despite all that it's worth seeing for the stunts and styles especially if you're a Jackie Chan fan. I'm not sure of the year it was made or who directed. It recently came out on DVD.

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Happy New Year!

AREA 407-Another BLAIR WITCH PROJECT inspired movie has the story of some plane crash survivors told through the POV camera of one of the young passengers. The bloodied and battered survivors are menaced by some kind of dinosaur. After a small group find a cabin to hide in, a car pulls up and asks some questions but then drives away. After much terror and an adventure in a car only two sisters remain but they are killed by a driver who picks them up. It's never explained but it's obvious it's some kind of experimental base created by our "evil" government. There's also a government warning leader at the start.

Great finale scene!

I liked this better than CLOVERFIELD! It had two directors.  A Part 2 was recently made...

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It's A Crazy World!

MONDO BALORDO-1964-(A FOOL'S WORLD)-I really don't care for these MONDO movies but Boris Karloff's serious yet friendly narration really make this whole “real life” movie bearable. 

It begins with Franz Draco, a 27 inch Elvis type impersonator who does back flips, splits and drops his pants while singing. Karloff makes mention (he says Japan where Franz was born is “the land of miniatures”) that the public is more interested in Draco's “dimensions than by his imitations” (while he performs “I Ain't Got Nobody”). Next some scenes from several Italian “strong man” movies are shown which leads to workers who must carry away the debris from these stunts. (of course the “debris” probably weigh nothing). Next up is Paddy Whose, some English guy who has women crowing like birds to stay young while he munches crackers. Then comes a very short scene concerning some Bedouins who sell their women as “call girl Bedouins” to tourists. Then suddenly the action shifts to Las Vegas where at a convention women are judged by their breast sizes. Karloff's monologue at this point doesn't make sense. 

Anyway, we switch to Hong Kong (“with all the temptations of the Orient”) where, we are told a “mixed race” dancer entices an all male audience. Then (we are still in Hong Kong) we see some bondage photos being made. Then some bound women wrestle while smiling businessmen watch and approve. After this zebras fight each other (in Africa) for dominance, a lion feeds on the loser. A white hunter kills an elephant and his “Negro bearers” will eat like kings. The hunter gets the tusks. Another weird segue involves an “arranged” marriage between an 81 year old man and his 24 year old prostitute bride. Then in Barcelona we visit a transvestite party. Later in Munich at a beer hall party, Germans in Lone Ranger masks have sword fights hoping to scar their opponents. Then a visit to a German transvestite nightclub (there are German subtitles when a song is sung). Now we go to a Lesbian club in Hamburg. 

After this at a carnival in “Northern Europe” women wrestle with balloons attached to their bodies. They must pop the balloons to win. Then some real “mondo” moments take place. First, fishermen in Ceylon quickly slaughter turtles (“mild and innocent, symbol of slowness”). Back in Africa soldiers (dispatched by England) hunt natives who are not allowed to hunt animals (although the white hunter is). While on the coast of India we get to witness an exorcism. A witch doctor eats a live chicken (Funny..I thought they didn't eat meat in India...??). Then women and children in Ecuador are shown munching cocoa leaves (“even children learn to use the leaves before they can walk”). Back to Hong Kong we meet prostitutes addicted to cocaine and morphine. Unfortunately for them their pusher is late. Fortunately for the viewer they get to see a scene of said addicts going through an “erotic” withdrawal. Added to this are scenes of opium addicts smoking their pipe. After this a Maharajah in India makes it rain. Back in America Jehovah's Witness's baptize folks into their faith but they also baptize followers in Germany. (Karloff's narration here is a put down) He also talks about the “Archipelago of desolation", The Berlin Wall, smuggling, lottery tickets and a guy who thinks he's the reincarnation of Rudolph Valentino.

 MB is mostly staged and very mundane. Perhaps it would have been a little shocking when first released but by today's standards it's just slightly bizarre. There is found footage of actual events but most of it is taken out of context or just plainly fabricated. The thing that holds it all together and makes it watchable is the presence of King Karloff who's narration is earnest yet has occasional tinges of irony and skepticism.

“It's really a crazy world. Sincerely Boris Karloff”.

The original director of this Italian production was Roberto Bianchi Montero. The American version (presented by AIP) was directed by Albert T. Viola.

Thanks for reading! Sincerely, CavedogRob

  

Real or Not Real?

THE MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS-1976-Pseudo-documentary from Sunn Classics. Hands on narrator Peter Graves is your host for this examination of the Bigfoot phenomenon. He visits sites where the creatures have been sighted, interviews eye witnesses and skeptics. Many locals testify to their experiences and other stories and photos are used but (except for the controversial Roger Patterson film) all the Bigfoot action is reenacted. (a note at the end of the credits says: Portions of this film taken from “Land of The Yeti”....) 

There's a rather lengthy segment on The Loch Ness Monster and psychic celebrity Peter Hurkos convinces Graves that Bigfoot is real. Hypno-tism and lie detector tests are also used to confirm the legend's ex-istence. It's outdated, far fetched and not as entertaining as other ones of it's genre (or pseudo-genre?).

Although writer/director Robert Guenette (who died in 2008) also made MONSTERS! MYSTERIES OR MYTHS?  and THE WORLD OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENON he also tackled more serious projects like segments of TV's HEROES OF THE GAME, cable's CRAZY ABOUT THE MOVIES and the excellent documentary ORSON WELLES :WHAT WENT WRONG?  

Not very important note: Though always referred to as The Mysterious Monsters, the film is actually titled BIGFOOT:THE MYSTERIOUS MONSTER. At least the version I saw was (it was taken from a 16 mm print). 

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Boggy Creek

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK-1972-This pseudo-documentary (very popular in the '70's) is about a legendary Bigfoot like monster prowling around the swamps in Arkansas. It's mostly staged scenes but the dialogue and narration are funny. 

The narrator (an adult who encountered the monster as a little boy) sets up the other “encounters” by giving background on the characters and their situations before they are terrorized. The songs “The Legend of Boggy Creek” and “Nobody Sees The Sun But Me” are occasionally heard. The narrator says things like “The creeks. He always follows the creeks” and partially blames the creature's attacks on “lonely frustration”.The barely seen hairy beast only attacks one person and mostly kills chickens, dogs and cats plus frightening humans. Since some actors (like Smokey Crabtree and his son Travis) are playing themselves so I guess there is a sort of real story to the whole thing. But it's all reenactments including the footage of the “the legend”.

TLOBC was shot and directed by Charles B. Pierce in his film debut. He went on to make other regional films including THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, THE NORSEMEN and the semi-sequel BOGGY CREEK ll: THE LEGEND CONTINUES in 1984 which despite the title is actually the second sequel. The first sequel RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK is really a children's movie. Pierce was also a set designer for bigger budgeted films and wrote the story for the Dirty Harry installment SUDDEN DEATH in which the catch phrase “Make my day” was first used. 

Music was composed by Bolivian born Jaime Mendoza-Nava, who wrote tons of low budget soundtracks.

Excellent shot of the Bigfoot from THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK:

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