Triple Play!

 

 (themoviedb.org)

MARTIN MULL: TALENT TAKES A HOLIDAY-1994-This disaster of an HBO special can't even be saved by Penn & Teller appearing near the end. Apparently, Martin Mull thought of himself as a big enough comedy personality that he could carry any nonsense used on this parody of the now defunct genre called the TV variety show. There's not much info available on this debacle and in fact it doesn't even show up on either of Mull's IMDB film or TV show listings!

 (themoviedb.org)

COPPER BILL-2020-This confused muddled movie about 2 losers looking for some hidden money builds up to a stupid ending that makes no sense. If you're a pro wrestling fan you might want to check it out because Dustin Rhodes is one of the stars. But I wouldn't recommend it. Director Brett Bentman directed a lot of Sci-Fi and westerns I never heard of.

 (imdb)

THE GENE AUTRY SHOW-1950-1955-This show starred the singing cowboy who crooned at least one tune in nearly every show. The series format (especially in the first season) changed from show to show. Sometimes, Autry was a ranch foreman, ranch owner, a sheriff, or a US Marshall. For nearly the whole run, Pat Buttram was his sidekick (except for a short time when Buttram was ill). Keeping with the un-continuity of the show, there are at least 2 episodes where Autry and Buttram meet for the first time! But really, it would have been better for everyone if they hadn't met at all! 

By the middle of the second season, Buttram's character had become a real buffoon, dabbling in barbering or astrology. His favorite was to open a door while Autry had on a gun on the bad guys and knock the gun out of Autry's hand. And lots of the same actors played different characters on different episodes. It was almost like a stock company. Alan Hale, Denver Pyle, Gail Davis, Keene Duncan, Myron Healy, Harry Lauter, Sheila Ryan to name a few. Although it ran 5 seasons, only 91 episodes were produced. The last season was in color.

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The Howling Man

 

 (imdb)

TWILIGHT ZONE-1960-”The Howling Man”-David Ellington (HM Wynant) relates the story of how he got lost in a storm and sought refuge at a hermitage “Brothers of Truth”, run by Brother Jerome (John Carradine in white beard). While pleading his case for shelter he hears a strange howling but another brother (Friedrich Ledebur; MOBY DICK (1956)) says it's just the wind. Jerome refuses to shelter him but Ellington collapses. Later while wandering around the place, he meets a man (Robin Hughes from THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE (1958)) being held prisoner who claims he is being held there because Jerome was jealous of his girlfriend. When Ellington confronts Jerome about this the brother reveals that the prisoner is not a man but the devil himself!  Although Jerome relates a convincing story, Ellington still frees the man who it turns out really is the devil. Now in the present time Ellington (the worst for wear and sounding a little insane) has imprisoned Satan in a hotel room and has been relating his story to a maid. He leaves to contact Jerome and the maid begins to open the door...

Memorable episode with good performances and nice SFX. It was written by Charles Beaumont (from his short story) who penned 21 other episodes and directed by Douglas Heyes. Of course, the host was Rod Serling.

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I Hope This One Is OK!

 

 (letterboxd.com)

MARKHEIM-1974-Short film produced by Scottish TV and based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. A down on his luck man (Derek Jacobi) visits an antique dealer (Paul Curran), who he eventually kills and wants to rob but things don't go according to his plan when he meets a mysterious character (Julian Glover). Interesting adaptation directed by Tina Wakerell.

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Emanuelle and Cannibals

 

 (themoviedatabase.org)

EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS-1977-At a mental institution, a patient bites a nurse. Emanuelle (Laura Gemser), doing some investigative reporting, visits the now straitjacketed woman. She discovers the mad woman has a tattoo from a tribe in the Amazon jungle. Her editor wants her to go there and get the story on the last cannibal tribe. She contacts anthropologist Mark Lester (Gemser's real life husband at the time Gabriele Tinti). After they have sex, he agrees to lead an expedition. 

After arriving, they meet Isabelle (Monica Zanchi), a reporter. She joins them along with a nun. When Emanuelle is attacked by a snake, hunter Donald McKenzie (Donald O'Brien; DOCTOR BUTCHER MD) shows up and shoots it. Then he, his wife (Susan Scott) and their guide join up. They wander around being unknowingly watched by the locals. After the nun is cannibalized, McKenzie and his wife go off to get diamonds from a helicopter crash (their real reason for being there). The natives attack, wound McKenzie and kidnap his wife. 

Later they get Isabelle. Emanuelle and Lester watch from afar as the wife is cannibalized and McKenzie is squeezed in half. 

To save Isabelle, Emanuelle poses as a goddess.

This starts out as a typical soft-core porn, that turns into a pretty disgusting display of the Italian cannibal genre at its worst. This was the fourth “Black Emanuelle” movie director Joe D'Amato (born Aristide Massaccesi) made, followed by several more in the series. He later made ANTROPOPHAGUS (1980) and its sequel ABSURD (1981) and many others.

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Jayne Loves Hercules

 

 (imdb)

THE LOVES OF HERCULES-1960-When Hercules (Mickey Hargitay) finds out his wife has been killed, he crashes the castle of Queen Deianira (Jayne Mansfield), the daughter of the king who ordered Mrs. Hercules's murder. After a bizarre ritual where Herc has to throw axes at the bound queen, they become friends. Later, Herc is accused of a killing and has to fight the three headed dragon, Hydra (bad effect). He's rescued by some Amazons whose queen turns men into trees. 

This movie, obviously inspired by HERCULES (1958), is the worst with the leads pretty pathetic and Mansfield in two roles, bad dubbing and terrible sfx. Filmed in Italy, (where it was a big hit) by director Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia who died in 1998 at the age of 103. It's said Mansfield would only accept the role if her bodybuilder husband Hargitay was cast as Hercules.

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Skulls R Us

 

 (imdb)

THE SCREAMING SKULL-1958-Eric Whitlock (John Hudson) takes his new wife Jenni (Peggy Webber; in SPACE CHILDREN the same year) to the house that was designed by his first wife Marion, now dead. Rev. Snow (familiar TV actor Russ Conway) and his wife (Tony Johnson) are there to welcome them. So is Mickey (director Alex Nichol), the weird gardener who doesn't believe Marion is dead (she's buried on the estate). When she's alone, Jenni (who's rich and once spend some time in a mental hospital) gets spooked by noises and some skulls that show up. Eric blames Mickey but Jenni thinks she's cracking up. Eric seems devoted, maybe too much so. But when a skull shows up after they burn a portrait of Marion, John’s real intentions are revealed. 

Very low budget ghost story. The best part is the finale where Marion turns the tables on John. A short disclaimer at the beginning says that the producers will pay the funeral expenses for anyone who dies of fright during the viewing. 

This was actor Alex Nichol's first film as a director. His later work was mostly for TV except for his last, 1971's POINT OF TERROR. Male lead John Hudson did a lot of TV work and was the twin brother of William Hudson (Harry in ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN). Lead actress Peggy Webber, still alive at the time of this writing, had earlier played Lady MacDuff in Orson Welles' MACBETH. The soundtrack was composed by future Oscar winner Ernest Gold.

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Lamb

 

 (imdb)

LAMB-2021-Somewhere in Iceland, a childless, married couple Ingvar & Maria raise sheep. One day an unusual hybrid lamb is born and they decide to raise it as their own. They name it Ada after their dead daughter. Soon the baby is walking on 2 legs, wearing a sweater and eating at the table. Everything seems to be OK but the ewe who birthed Ada hangs around bleating. Maria eventually kills mama and buries her body. Unbeknownst to her Ingvar's brother saw the whole thing before crashing in their barn. The brother Petur shows himself the next day. Needless to say, Petur is weirded out by the situation, especially when he sees Maria taking a bath with “their baby” but Ingvar says not to interfere. Petur wants to kill Ada but later comes to like her. 

After the three have a drunken party, Ingvar kind of passes out and Petur makes sexual advances toward Maria. She refuses but when he tries to blackmail her by saying he will tell Ada that Maria killed her mom, she locks him in a storage room and next day drives him to a bus. While Ingvar is out fixing the tractor with Ada he's shot and killed in a surprise ending. Maria finds her dying husband and falls into despair. 

This is a very strange and interesting movie from director/co-writer Vladimar Johannsson. The ending was unexpected. It was a huge hit it's in native Iceland.

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