Not That Grand

 

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THE GRAND INQUSITOR-2008-A young woman named Lulu (Leah Dashe) with a Louise Brooks hairstyle visits Helen Reedy (Marsha Hunt), an old widow who Lulu believes was married to the Zodiac Killer. The 90 year old Hunt (who died in 2022 at age 104) gives a strong performance but the story itself kind of sucks. 

Written and directed by Eddie Muller, the host of TCM's Noir Alley. Hunt, a busy actress in the '30's and '40's, saw her career came to halt in the early '50's when she was blacklisted.

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Hey Yul!

 

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THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR-1975-In a post-apocalyptic future 2012!, where a plague has wiped out most of the world, a kind of commune in the ruins of NYC tries to keep humankind alive. Their leader is The Baron (Max Von Sydow). A former scientist Cal (Richard Kelton) has developed plague resisted seeds to grow veggies. After some bums are killed for stealing pigeons, The Baron enlists Carson (Yul Brynner), a bald, knife toting fighter to lead a group of survivors (including his pregnant daughter Melinda (Joanna Miles)) to an island off North Carolina to start life anew. The Baron's chief rival/enemy is Carrot (William Smith), the red-haired leader of another commune. When a guy is accused of stealing a tomato, he's thrown to “the street people”. After Cal is killed, Carson tries to save Melinda by escaping through subway tunnels. She has her baby in a subway car and Carson and Carrot have their showdown where Carson, who fights with a bola, has to cut off his own hand to save his life and kill Carrot. Stephen McHattie has a small role. 

This ok science fiction/post-apocalyptic movie was written and directed by Robert Clouse (ENTER THE DRAGON (1973)) who originally wanted Gordon Liu for the lead character but was overruled by the studio. It would have been a much better choice!

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Or Less

 

 (imdb)

MORE-1969-Stefan (Klaus Grunberg), a German recently graduated from college, hitchhikes to France. There he meets American expatriate, Estelle (Mimsy Farmer). After hanging out talking, smoking pot and having sex, she heads for Ibiza. Stefan follows her. There he meets the mysterious Dr. Wolf (Heinz Engelman), a former Nazi who may or may not be involved with Estelle. She and Stefan run away together (after she steals heroin from Wolf) and they become addicts. Then they use LSD. Eventually, she goes back to Wolf and Stefan dies. 

A big ado about nothing from debuting director Barbet Schroeder (who later came to America and made BARFLY (1987), REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (1990) and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992)). MORE features a soundtrack by Pink Floyd who also provided another score for Schroeder's THE VALLEY (OBSCURED BY CLOUDS) a few years later.

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We Wanna Riot

 

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RIOT ON THE SUNSET STRIP-1967-Hippies on the Sunset Strip want to do their own thing and cops try to keep order. Police captain Lorimer (Aldo Ray) and sergeant (Jim Lefebvre) treat the "longhairs" fair while his own daughter Andy (Mimsy Farmer) gets in trouble on the Strip to escape her alcoholic mom. At a "freak out", Andy's drink is spiked with LSD and she does a provocative dance. After Lorimer finds Andy naked and abused, she rejects him. Visiting her at the hospital, Lorimer loses it and beats up the scummy punks who raped his daughter but their reunion doesn't go well. After some hippie peaceful protests, they reunite. The hippies abandon the Strip and Andy asks, "Where will they go now?". Dad replies "I only wish I knew.".

This is kind of based on the real-life incident of the closing of the club “Pandora's Box” (The Mothers of Invention mention the place in the song “Plastic People” and The Monkees song "Daily Nightly" is about the same subject). 

Tim Rooney is a hippie and John Hart is a cop. With music by The Chocolate Wristwatch, The Standells (with Larry Tamblyn & Dick Dodd) and The Enemys (who earlier were on an episode of TV's “The Beverly Hillbillies”). This was directed by Arthur Dreifuss the same year as THE LOVE-INS. Sam Katzman was producer on both. Orville Hampton (THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959) wrote the screenplay.

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Groovy Times

 

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THE LOVE-INS-1967-When 2 university students, Larry (James MacArthur) and Patricia (Susan Oliver), are expelled because they published an “underground” newspaper, “The Tomorrow Times”, Prof. Barnett (Richard Todd) resigns in protest. All the students congratulate him and he goes on The Joe Pyne Show to explain his reasons. Later he visits Haight-Ashbury and a hippie “love-in”. He gets an apartment there and lectures the hippies about not conforming. His motto: “Be More, Sense More, Love More”. Then a motorcycle gang starts a riot. He also says LSD “widens your scope and makes you love more'. At a psychedelic party, Patricia freaks out on acid and images she's Alice in Wonderland, dances wildly and strips. Larry voices his doubts about the professor's theories on drugs and becomes disenchanted with Barnett's “teachings”. The professor kind of becomes a “messiah” figure. Another student Elliot (Mark Goddard) helps promote him. 

Meanwhile, Larry publishes articles about Barnett's phoniness. Then some football players beat up the hippies and trash their stores and hangouts. Later Barnett really becomes infatuated with himself and gets a shock when he finds out Patricia is carrying his baby. He decides she needs an abortion to save his image. She finally sees through him for the phony he is. While he gives a speech at a packed stadium, Patricia falls down the stairs and loses her baby. Enraged, Larry shoots and kills Barnett but fears he has created a martyr. Gary Busey has an uncredited role as a hippie and The Chocolate Wristband, The U.F.O.'s and The New Age are heard. 

This psychedelic acid trip of a movie time capsule was directed and co-written by Arthur Dreifuss (he made MYSTERY IN SWING in 1940) who directed the equally out of date RIOT ON THE SUNSET STRIP the same year. Though now just a relic of the '60's THE LOVE-INS is still kind of fun. To top it all off Sam Katzman was the producer!

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Ringo In The West

 

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BLINDMAN-1971-Italian spaghetti western production backed by Abkco with Tony Anthony as the title character wandering Mexico searching for the man who stole a group of mail order brides he was supposed to deliver to the army. The character seems to be based Zatochi. And Ringo Starr is a Mexican bandito who stabs a priest. “Well, sweet mama, I guess the sun don't shine on the same dog's ass all the time”. 

One of the film's producers, Allen Klein (president of Apple Records) appears briefly as does the Beatles' former road manager Mal Evans. Sir Ringo recorded a theme song but it wasn't used and it later appeared on a B-side. The American born Tony Anthony was no stranger to Italian lensed westerns and later produced and starred in the 3-D comedy COMIN' AT YA! (1981) and the Raiders of the Lost Ark influenced TREASURE OF THE 4 CROWNS (1983)). Both were directed by BLINDMAN's  director Ferdinando Baldi. 

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Loony Jack

 

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THE DESPERADOS-1969-Loony Confederate renegade Parson Josiah Galt (Jack Palance) rampages through the Civil War torn United States looting, killing and burning. His three sons David (Vince Edwards), Jacob (George Maharis) and Adam (Christian Roberts) accompany him. David, the only one with a conscience rebels and is found guilty of treason by their kangaroo court. He is sentenced to death but escapes. He returns to his wife Laura (Sylvia Sims) and their kid. The war ends but Galt's rampage continues and he and his gang wind up trying to rob a bank in the town that David has settled in. 

The Marshall (Neville Brand) and the townspeople defend pretty well and even capture the two bad brothers but the gang bust him out and kill the sheriff. After the townspeople almost lynch David, he goes back to his father's gang and pretends he wants to rejoin but he ends up killing brother Adam. Then Galt kills Laura and kidnaps the son. David fights brother Jacob on the top of a burning, runaway train Galt planned on robbing. Jacob is killed but Dad gets away. He gets drunk and his prostitute girlfriend (Kate O'Mara) helps the boy escape. They all head for the hills where they boy nearly falls to his death but he's saved. Both David and Galt fall to their deaths, however. 

Palance is very evil and out of control in this bizarre western filmed in Spain by Henry Levin (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1959)). He and Palance had much earlier made the western THE LONELY MAN (1957).

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