MMA Fighter Turned Actor

 

 (imdb)

ANTIDOTE-2018-In Mexico, two treasure hunters (former MMA fighter Randy Couture and bodyguard/stuntman Chuck Zito) search for "the white witch". Meanwhile, an American nurse works in a clinic where children are dying of a strange malady. 

Low budget stuff by a guy (Ken Barbet) who wants to be Quentin Tarantino.

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Whiskey

 

 (imdb)

WHISKEY MOUNTAIN-1977-Motorcycle racer Bill (Christopher George) and his wife Jamie (Linda Borgeson) go looking for grandpa's Civil War treasure on the title mountain. They bring along Dan (Preston Pierce) and Diana (Roberta Collins). Not much happens but they are obviously being watched. After they lose one of their motorcycles, they meet a weird cackling hermit (who stole Diana's underwear) and have dinner with him (Robert Leslie). After about 50 minutes of nothing, the quartet stumble into some pot growing Hillbillies (led by John David Chandler as Rudy). They're a bunch of perverted redneck assholes who tie up the men and abuse the women. With the help of the hermit, the men escape. They get no help in town but get some guns and go back to rescue the girls. Dan is killed and Bill kills all the redneck scum but…

William Kerwin and Pat Patterson are also in it. Director/co-writer William Grefe (DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (1966), STANLEY (1972)) made this in Florida. Theme song by The Charlie Daniels Band.

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Santo Strikes Again!

 

 (rottentomatoes.com)

SANTO AND THE REVENGE OF LA LLORONA-1974-The silver masked one hunts for the treasure of Llorna, the legendary weeping woman. It's a big job so he enlists the aid of (real life) boxer Jose Napoles. They and a weird professor go to her grave to find a medallion while the professor's daughters secretly follow them. Also following them are a criminal gang. Santo finds the medallion but in the process awakes the petrified body of La Llorna. 

Director Rene Cordona Sr. appears as a gangster. This average Santo movie was directed by Miguel Delgado, one of four he made starring our silver masked hero.

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 (imdb)

Different Aztec Mummy

 

 (imdb)

SANTO IN THE VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY-1971-Once again pro-wrestler/crime fighter El Santo (playing himself) helps a scientist find a hidden treasure, this one belonging to an Aztec prince. After they desecrate his tomb his scary faced mummified body comes back to life. His fight with Santo in the climax is pretty long. The secret of the mummy (who uses a bow and arrow to kill most of his victims) is revealed in a disappointing ending. Santo's real life son El Hijo del Santo plays a young boy befriended by our hero. Director Rene Cordona and screenwriter Alfredo Salazar made this one.

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Santo Returns

 

 (imdb)

SANTO AND DRACULA'S TREASURE-1968-Pro wrestler El Santo of the silver mask has invented some kind of time machine but scientists he invites to look at it just laugh at him. His kind of girlfriend Luisa (Noelia Noel) volunteers to try the machine and winds up in the 18th century a victim of vampirism. Her father Dr. Sepulveda (Carlos Agosti) sends for his old friend Dr. Van Roth (Fernando Mendoza). Their neighbor the greasy suave Count Alucard is actually...guess who? Count Dracula (Aldo Monti), who heads "the legion of the living dead" made up of fanged sexy priestesses. During their "initiation" he bites them (several are topless and they all eventually strip) and then stamps them with the imprint of a bat. Santo, his nerdy assistant Perico (Alberto Rojas) and Dr. Sepulveda watch the events unfold via a TV set! 

Drac turns Luisa into a vampire and reveals his vast treasure to her. Just before she's to be killed Santo brings her back. In the modern day, the trio search for the count's ring and medallion which are the keys to translating the treasure map. A man in a black hood and his gang are after the treasure too. Santo winds up in the ring wrestling a henchman ( El Lobo Negro) for possession of both items. Santo wins of course but the hooded one brings Drac back to life and he goes looking for his possessions. 

This Mexican production was directed by Rene' Cardona. It's alright but there could have been a little more atmosphere. The direction is rather routine.

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Wrestling Women Return (and The Mummy!)

 (rottentomatoes.com)

 WRESTLING WOMEN VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY-1964-An evil Asian (phony) Prince Fujiyata (Ramon Bugarini) and his "sisters" seek "the codex of the Aztecs" and kidnap, torture and kill several scientists trying to get it. Only Prof. Tracy remains. He has a plan to divide his half of the codex (the prince has the rest) among his friends detective Armando (Armando Silvestre) and his dopey comical assistant Tommy (Chucho Salinas) and two female wrestlers Loretta aka Gloria Venus (Lorena Valasquez from DOCTOR OF DOOM) and Lucy aka Golden Rubi (US born Elizabeth Campbell) but Tracy acts very mysteriously. Fujiyata's henchman Mao abducts Charlotte, the daughter of a dead scientist and hypnotizes her to be his spy. Fujiyata sends his sisters (two real life wrestlers) to battle the girls for possession of each other's half. The girls win and Tracy (and a flashback) discovers where the treasure may be. They take a necklace. Unfortunately the Aztec Mummy is guarding the tomb. The group escapes but the mummy (who can change into a bat) follows them. He kills all the bad guys and tries to make Charlotte his bride. 

More crazy wrestling horror from Mexico directed by the super prolific Rene Cordona (SANTA CLAUS).

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Song of Kong

  (TCM.com)

SON OF KONG-1933-In the aftermath of King Kong's rampage, Carl Denham (Rboert Armstrong) is hiding out in a boarding house trying to avoid process servers. After he meets up again with Capt. Engelhorn (Frank Reicher), they leave NYC and wind up in the Dutch Indies. There they see a show of performing monkeys run by a young woman Hila (Helen Mack) and her father. At night the old man is drinking with a former ship captain Hellstrom (John Marston). The two have a fight and the old man is killed and their place burns down. 

Hellstrom it turns out sold the original map of Skull Island to Denham. He tells the two about another map that leads to a treasure on the island. They set sail and unknown to them Hilda has stowed aboard. Later due to Hellstrom's meddling the crew mutinies. Denham, Engelhorn, Hida and Charlie the cook (Victor Wong) are cast adrift. Hellstrom is thrown over too. They make it to the island but the chief of the natives (returning Noble Johnson) forces them to flee. On another part of the island they find a white haired mini-Kong who's much cuter, friendlier and more helpful than dad. Baby Kong (as he's referred to) fights a dinosaur and a giant bear. The group find a treasure but an earthquake strikes. Hellstrom is eaten by a sea serpent. The island sinks. Poor Kong Jr. drowns saving Denham's life. A ship picks up the survivors and they split the treasure Denham managed to save. 

Released just 9 months after KING KONG this sequel was produced by Ernest Schoedsack (who also directed) and Merian C. Cooper who presented the original. It features more amazing stop motion effects by Willis O'Brien and Harry Redmond Jr (both not credited). The story is more lighthearted than KK but the ending in some ways is much sadder.

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Something's Fishy

 

ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN-1979-Survivors of a shipwrecked prison ship including a Lt./doctor Ross (Claudio Cassinelli; in MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD the same year) and some prisoners have their lifeboat attacked by a sea monster. The survivors of that attack wind up on an island where they find a voodoo altar and one of them declares the island is inhabited by zombies. When a snake threatens them it's shot by a mysterious woman on horseback. She warns them to leave as the owner of the island, Edmund Rackham doesn't want visitors. The group also seems to be followed by a strange frog-like creature. They meet the smug, pompous Rackham (Richard Johnson; in ZOMBIE the same year)  who offers them shelter. Rackham and his wife Amanda (Barbara Bach; THE SPY WHO LOVED ME) obviously have some marital problems. He invites Ross to dinner and while they discuss various things an old man spies on them. Later Rackham watches his smirking head servant Shakira (Beryl Cunningham) perform a voodoo ceremony and then sees her bonding with the frog monster. After one of the cons is killed attacking a woman Ross has his own encounter with Froggy but is saved when Amanda orders it to stop. Ross discovers that a famous biologist Prof. Marvin (Joseph Cotton; in GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED the same year) is in the house too and very sick. He's also Amanda's father. Rackham seems desperate to have Ross keep him alive. Finally Rackham reveals some secrets to Ross. Under the island is the last remnants of Atlantis now occupied by the fish men. There's a huge treasure there but it's too deep. Rackham needs the fish men's help to get it. Prof. Marvin invented a potion that allows him to communicate with the creatures. Amanda can too. But Marvin is actually a mad scientist drummed out of the medical profession for his experiments on humans. Turns out the amphibian inhabitants are actually humans mutated by him. 

This movie isn't great with too many long stretches of nothing happening and some very dark scenes. A lot does happen in the last half hour though as a volcano erupts, Ross almost drowns but is saved by the dying Shakira who Rackham shot when she attempted to kill his wife, Ross and Rackham have two fights, the last resulting in Rackham's bloody death at the claws of the fish men who save Amanda from drowning. She and Ross survive.

Sergio Martino directed this Italian production that played in US theaters under the titles SOMETHING IN THE DARK and SCREAMERS. Both feature a new gory opening sequence featuring Cameron Mitchell & Mel Ferrer. 

The same year he made FISHMEN Martino also made THE GREAT ALLIGATOR which featured Bach, Cassinelli and Johnson. In 1995 he made a sequel for Italian TV "The Queen of the Fishmen". 

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"I've made a lot of junk". ..Joseph Cotten

Chan Returns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 DEAD MEN TELL-1941-Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates the mysterious goings-on on the ship planning a treasure hunt after the old woman heading it is scared to death by the “Ghost of Black Hook”. Everyone acts suspiciously. Even the Asian cook! George Reeves portrays an escape con and early victim. Future “Science Fiction Theater” host Truman Bradley is the captain with a talking parrot. Other suspects include a female psychiatrist (Lenita Lane) and her patient (Milton Parsons). Victor Sen Young is Jimmy, number 2 son, who helps a little but mostly gets in the way (and almost gets killed several times). “Trouble like first love, teach many lessons”.

 

This was the ninth of 22 appearances put in by the non-Asian Toler as the famed Chinese detective when the series was still at 20^th Century-Fox. Director Harry Lachman (THE LOVES OF EDGAR ALLEN POE) worked on many other Chan entries before retiring in 1943.

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More Kung-Fu Fighting

BLOOD TREASURY FIGHT-1979-This is an all star Hong Kong Kung-Fu outing about a mission undertaken by a disparate group including a death row inmate (David Chiang; LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES), a law officer, a female fighter (Chen Bi Feng) and others. The main villain (Wai Man Chan) wants a treasure map tattooed on Chiang's leg. Of course a lot of other characters and obstacles are introduced along the way leading up to the enviable but pretty amazing finale showdown: a very long fight and tragic (and ironic) ending in a collapsing mill. The same year director Hsueh Li Pao made THE EIGHT ESCORTS with most of the same actors.

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