Mr Big Is Back!

  (photo: IMDB) 

TORMENTED-1960-On a coastal island in an abandoned lighthouse, Jazz pianist Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) let's his former lover Vi (Juli Reding) fall to her death when she threatens to blackmail him with some incriminating love letters which would spoil his upcoming marriage to rich girlfriend Meg Hubbard (Lugene Sanders). 

Almost immediately he starts to feel guilty. He sees VI's corpse floating in the ocean but when he swims out to retrieve it, he finds it's just a pile of seaweed. Then he sees strange footprints in the sand. Meanwhile Meg's very young sister Sandy (Susan Gordon, the director's daughter) performs a magic trick. He has a weird dream where he's menaced by Vi's ghost. Then he sees a disembodied hand wearing Meg's wedding ring. Then Meg's wedding dress is wrapped in seaweed. His blind housekeeper Mrs. Ellis (Lillian Adams) suspects a ghost. A boat operator (Joe Turkel) who brought Vi to the island tries to blackmail Tom. 

Later he has a conversation with VI's disembodied head. At Vi's urging Tom kills the blackmailer. Unfortunately Sandy witnesses the whole thing! The wedding doesn't turn out as they planned either. All the flowers die. Later when Tom goes to the lighthouse and tells Vi she's won but Sandy follows him and tells him she knows he's a killer. Tom plans on pushing Sandy off the lighthouse but Vi's ghost causes him to fall off and die. Tom and Vi are united in un-dead matrimony. Gene Roth and Merrit Stone have small roles. 

Not a bad little low budget ghost story from Mr. BIG himself Bert I. Gordon (Still alive at the time of this writing!).

Thanks for reading!

Mr. BIG Again!

PICTURE MOMMY DEAD-1966-Edward Shelly (Don Ameche) brings his new wife/ex-nanny Francine (Martha Hyer) and his daughter Susan (Susan Gordon) to the house where a few years before Susan witnessed the death of her mother (Zsa Zsa Gabor) (she doesn't really remember it though). Looks like things aren't going to go so well as they first meet a scarred cousin named Tony (Maxwell Reed), then a wise ass hick executor (Wendell Corey). Susan has inherited a lot of money but can't collect until she's 25 and if she dies or is declared incompetent then the parents get the money. Almost immediately she hears voices, sees blood dripping from a portrait of mom and then actual appearances of mom going up in flames. Later Francine tries to enlist Tony's help in getting Susan's inheritance but he rejects her and she kills him with a climbing hook. She tries to blame the death on Susan but flashbacks reveal what really happened and how history goes on to repeat itself. The ending is kind of stupid. (Dad's the loony)

Bert I Gordon strikes again with this insipid little murder mystery which isn't very original.

Mr. BIG's Pirates

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THE BOY AND THE PIRATES-1960-Jimmy (Charles Herbert), a little kid who likes pirates finds a bottle with a mini-genie (Joe Turkel) in it. Because of a wish he makes Jimmy winds up on “The Queen's Revenge”, a pirate ship ruled by the infamous Blackbeard (Murvyn Vye)) who makes Jimmy his cabin boy. He has to swab the deck, clean fish and get rum for the captain. After the pirates loot and kill on a Dutch ship Jimmy (who Blackbeard calls a “miserable cabin rat”) rescues Katrina (Susan Gordon), a girl about his age. Blackbeard wants to throw her overboard but Jimmy stands up for her. When the crew learn their captain is after some gold, Morgan (Timothy Carey) tries to burn out Jimmy's tongue. When a British ship attacks The Queens Revenge, Jimmy and Katrina escape to an island but Blackbeard follows them. Jimmy throws the genie bottle at the pirate and he winds up back home. 

Despite being aimed at kids there's long stretches of talk and blood and violence. 

This bizarre kiddie swashbuckling fantasy was the first color film for “Mr. BIG” himself Bert I. Gordon (still alive at the time of this writing). There are no giant monsters but it's definitely a low budget production with some mediocre SFX. This was the second of four appearances for Susan Gordon in her dad's movies. Star Charles Herbert was also a popular child star at the time having been in THE FLY and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK and many TV shows. He was in William Castle's 13 GHOSTS the same year.

Thanks for reading, matey!