Hey, Boris!

 

 (imdb)

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF-1949-A lawyer named Strickland is murdered. The chief suspect is bellhop Freddy (Lou) who's helped out by hotel detective Casey (Bud) after he's fired by his manager Melton (Alan Mowbray). Inspector Wellman (James Flavin) has plenty of other suspects: suspected husband poisoner Angela (Lenore Aubert), Swami Talpur (Boris Karloff) and Hanley Brooks (Roland Winters). The funniest part is Talpur trying to hypnotize Freddy into committing suicide and when Freddy dresses as a maid (he and Casey have to hide some dead bodies) and he is chatted up by the night watchman (Percy Helton). Also with Mikel Conrad and a bit by Bobby Barber. 

Director Charles Barton made 9 movies with Abbott & Costello including perhaps their best one A & C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (also featuring Lenore Aubert) in 1948. Ironically, he would also direct the team's final film together DANCE WITH ME, HENRY in 1956, usually considered one of their worst. In the '30's he was assistant director of The Marx Brothers movies MONKEY BUSINESS and HORSE FEATHERS.

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A Big Beast

 

 (imdb)

THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN-1956-If you are looking for a good giant monster flick, you might be disappointed. Nearly half of this movie is a love triangle between Mexico based American rancher Jim (Guy Madison), local jealous trouble making rancher Enrique (Eduardo Noriega) and his fiancée Sarita (Patricia Medina) under the shadow of the haunted Hollow Mountain. Town big shot Don Pedro (Julio Villarreal) tries to smooth things over but is no help. 

After comical drunk Pancho (Garcia Pena) disappears into the mountain, a giant (badly animated) dinosaur shows up to munch cattle and start a stampede just as Sarita goes looking for Pancho's son, Panchito (Mario Navarro; also a pest in THE BLACK SCORPION the next year). Jim and his partner Felipe (Carlos Rivas; later in THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN (1968)) try to stop the stampede from heading to town where a huge wedding festival is taking place. They are unsuccessful but Enrique's treachery is revealed. Sarita and Panchito encounter the monster while looking for dad. It's Jim vs. Dyno in the finale with Jim only using a pistol and knife to stave off the prehistoric attack when he and Enrique are trapped in a cave. After Enrique becomes dyno meat, Jim lures the dino into quicksand to save the day. The rear projection effects are terrible. 

Two directors are credited, American Edward Nassour and Mexican Ismael Rodriguez. It was the first full length giant dinosaur movie filmed in color (Toho's RODAN would be second). The legendary Willis O'Brien is credited as one of the writers but the sfx are by someone else. O'Brien worked on a similar story for several years after until his death. It was eventually filmed as THE VALLEY OF THE GWANGI.

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RIP Herschell Gordon Lewis

 

 (imdb)

THE UH-OH SHOW-2009-Herschell Gordon Lewis (who appears telling gory stories to some kids) kind of updated his original “gore” movies (like THE WIZARD OF GORE) with his black comedy that's not very good. 

A late-night cable station called “The Uh-Oh Show” offers huge prizes to contestants who can answer questions correctly. However, if they answer incorrectly, a wheel is spun and a part of their body is hacked off. It features loud obnoxious characters, not so great acting and of course disgusting but not very convincing sfx. 

It's supposed to be a comedy I guess but the laughs are few and far between. This was writer/director Lewis' last feature film (he passed away in 2016 at age 90). Troma's Lloyd Kaufman has a small role as a pimp.

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Gargoyle Good Time

 

 (imdb)

GARGOYLES-1972-Anthropologist Mercer Bolley (Cornell Wilde) and his daughter Diana (Jennifer Salt) run afoul of an ancient race of gargoyles. An old geezer (Woody Chamblis) tells them a story and shows them a weird skeleton just before his shack is set ablaze and he burns to death. Bolley rescues a skull and he and Diana hightail it to a sleazy hotel run by Mrs. Parks (Grayson Hall). Later 2 gargoyles break in and steal the skull. While fleeing, one is killed. Still the sheriff (Warren Stevens) blames everything on a motorcycle gang and it's leader (Scott Glenn). The gargoyle leader (Bernie Casey with the dubbed voice of Vic Perrin) kidnaps Diana. The bikers team up with local authorities to hunt the monsters who want to wipe out mankind and take over. They have a cave full of eggs and the leader takes a shine to Diana. Though mankind is eventually saved, the leader gets away. 

Stan Winston did some work on the gargoyles in this underrated horror tale that seems to have gained a cult following in recent years. It's certainly one of the best TV horror movies ever! Director Bill Norton (sometimes known as BWL Norton) made it between CISCO PIKE and MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI. His next film was 1985's BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND. He then worked mostly in television.

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 (public domain pictures)

   

Boy, Oh, Boy

 

 (themoviedatabase)

THE BOY-2016-Greta (Lauren Cohan), an American nanny is hired by an elderly couple to take care of their son in a remote English manor. To her shock and surprise, their son, Brahms is a doll! After a while the “parents” go on vacation leaving Greta alone with the spooky kid doll. During a thunderstorm, she has a bad dream and hears noises and Brahm's cries (it's really a drip in the ceiling). From Malcolm (Rupert Evans), the guy who delivers the groceries, she learns that the real Brahms was killed in a fire. Before going on a date with Malcolm, Greta gets locked in the attic, then thinks she sees someone and faints (it's just a jacket on a hanger). 

Though it seems like Brahms may be alive, Greta gets some weird phone calls which make it seem as though it's a plot to make her lose her mind. Later after the old couple commit suicide, Greta begins to treat Brahms like a real kid. Somehow, her psychotic boyfriend Cole (Ben Robson) finds her and destroys the doll. Then a life size Brahms (James Russell) shows up. Apparently, he's been living there and spying on her. After Cole is killed and she thinks Malcolm is dead, she tries to be nice and stabs Brahms. She and Malcolm escape and someone is shown putting the doll back together. 

Director William Brent Bell (THE DEVIL INSIDE (2012) followed this with a sequel BRAHMS: THE BOY II in 2020.

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PS-Once again I prove how topsy-turvey this blog is as I reviewed the sequel first a few years ago! 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4609335177952045780/5403532682911172637

Mercy!

 (imdb)

ALMOST MERCY-2015-This may be a “black comedy” but it's really just a sick excuse for some jerk (probably with a mother fixation) to make a crap horror movie. It's about a teenager named Emily (Danielle Guldin) who becomes a sociopath killer. The acting and direction both suck. Kane Hodder is a gym teacher, Bill Moseley is a pastor and pro wrestler Tommy Dreamer is in it too. 

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Five?

 

 (imdb)

FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS-1979-A dude in black beats up the teacher and students of a martial arts school. He says their Kung-Fu is “lousy”. 3 students vow revenge on the guy but split up almost immediately having a quarrel over who should head north. Meanwhile, a young widow beats up the idiotic Mr. Ma and his two thugs when they harass her. “Hey, that woman's Kung-Fu is pretty good”. Ting Tien, the student who goes north meets and gets beaten up by her, then helps her grind bean curd. Chi, the second student gets in trouble for peeing on a scarecrow (a gambler was hiding in it). He starts gambling but when the gambler's wife breaks up the game, he has to fight everyone. He then gets beat up by a drunk guy who walks funny but becomes his student. The third dummy meets a fisherman, gets beat up then becomes his assistant. While all this is going on, their downtrodden master who thinks the trio has abandoned him, meets Mr. Fu. Tien is a real jerk. Even the widow's blind father gets the best of him. When the trio finally meet again they give the guy in black a good fight but their master's drunken sword technique saves the day.

 Only in a Run Run Shaw production could 4 guys beat up one guy and the fight still be fair. Not sure why the title mentions 5. Director Mar Lo provides good fights and action in this underrated feature.

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