Westward Ho

 

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RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE-1966-In Texas, a bartender (William Bryant) tells a census taker (James MacArthur) the tale of buffalo hunter Jonas Trapp (Chuck Connors) who returns after 11 years hunting in Kansas. Unfortunately, he's mistaken for a cattle rustler by rancher Brooks Durham (Michael Rennie) and his two nutty henchmen, Johnsy (Bill Bixby) and Elwood (Claude Akins). They beat him up, brand him and steal his $17,000. While unconscious he dreams about meeting his future wife Jessie (Kathryn Hays) and arguing with his adopted father (Gary Merrill). 

He's rescued by Hanley (Paul Fix). He finds Jessie but she doesn't recognize him and she rejects him, saying Jonas is dead. She's ready to marry Durham. He gets help from a local Mexican (Jamie Farr) to get revenge on Johnsy who's planning to run away with an unhappy wife (Gloria Grahame). After killing Johnsy with a branding iron, he visits his father. Then Frank Gorshin as a ranch hand Tod Wisdom has a standout scene explaining how Johnsy died. Jessie isn't happy with Jonas being around and blames him for the death of her aunt (Ruth Warwick). Then he beats up Buddy Baer! Joan Blondellbernard is Mrs. Lavender, a madame. 

The meandering story line is made up of weird cameos, some related to Connors TV shows. Fix was a regular on “The Rifleman”. Bryant was Gen. Grant on episodes of “Branded” on which Rennie and Akins (who also was in at least one episode of “The Rifleman”) both appeared. Also with Harry Harvey. It's narrated by Arthur O'Connell. Director Bernard McEveety later made THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN (1971) and a few other movies but worked mostly in TV. 

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Crabbe Brand

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GUN BROTHERS-1956-A just discharged Calvary Sgt. Pat Santee (Buster Crabbe) meets singer Rose Fargo (Ann Robinson from WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)) on a stagecoach to Laramie. Pat is going to meet his cattle rancher brother Jubal (Neville Brand), who also turns out is the leader of a band of robbers who hold up the stage. In town, Pat has a big problem with Blackjack Silk (James Seay), a gambler who likes Rose. He starts trouble and the sheriff arrests Pat who escapes but is wounded in the process. An Indian woman (Lita Milan) and Rose bring him to Jubal, whose flunky Shawnee Joe (Michael Ansara) agrees to remove the bullet but it's Rose who actually saves him. The Indian woman betrays the gang to the sheriff as long as Pat isn't arrested. Pat and Rose watch from afar as the posse wipes out the gang, but Jubal escapes and confronts the Indian woman and kills her. He meets up with Joe (who also survived) who convinces Jubal that Pat was responsible for the double cross. 

Meanwhile, Pat and Rose get married in Jackson Hole (Slim Pickens is there) and they do well in the fur trading business. Jubal and Joe go for revenge but Pat convinces his brother he's wrong (using Cain & Abel scriptures). Joe doesn't like it and gets some hired guns. Pat and Jubal make a stand and get the bad guys but Jubal is killed. Also with Ray Bancroft, Walter Sande, William Fawcett, Lane Bradford and Harry Lauter. 

This is an ok standard western directed by Sidney Salkow (TWICE TOLD TALES (1963)) who later was the US director on LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964).

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Twinkle Twinkle

 

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THE 9^th CONFIGURATION-1980-According to a narrator, after the Vietnam war many soldiers claimed psychosis and authorities thought they were faking so the government set up special facilities to investigate them. This takes place in No. 18, the last of those facilities, where a bunch of nuts (Joe Spinell, Robert Loggia, Alejandro Rey, Moses Gunn) insult each other and Grouper (Neville Brand), the officer in charge. 

An army psychiatrist (Stacy Keach), who imagines the Crucifixion at a moon landing, comes to investigate the inmates including an astronaut (Scott Wilson) who aborted a mission. Later, the shrink makes them dress as Nazis but he's not what he seems. 

Also with Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, George DiCenzo and Tom Atkins. Steve Sandor and Richard Lynch are motorcycle gang members. This very deceptive, psychological thriller was written and directed by William Peter Blatty (author of “The Exorcist”) from his own novel.

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Goodbye to Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy

 

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UTOPIA-(aka ATOLL K)-1951-In London, Laurel & Hardy (themselves) inherit a rundown yacht to take them to an island they also inherited. A “stateless man” Antoine (Max Elloy) goes along as their cook. There's also a stowaway named Giovanni (Adriano Rimoldi). They encounter a storm and are stranded on an atoll. Then a narrator explains how the 4 survive. 

In Tahiti, Cherie LaMour (Suzy Delair), a singer, planned to marry a Lieutenant but their engagement is broken. To get away, LaMour goes to the atoll too. After the men all try to impress her, her boyfriend shows up to survey the land. Uranium is found on the tiny island, so in order to keep the island for themselves they dub the atoll “Crusoeland” and make a constitution with Hardy as the president. When the rest of the world finds out about Crusoeland, which has no laws, no taxes and no jails, among other things, folks flock to the island. 

This political satire fails badly but the worst part is Stan Laurel who looks terrible having many health complications. Oliver Hardy also fell ill. The movie was a sordid production with language barriers and a shooting schedule of 12 weeks that ballooned to one year! There were at least 4 writers who worked on the script (including Stan Laurel who contributed gags). Communication was so bad between the team (who's last feature film had been in 1945) and director Leo Joanon that it's been said blacklisted American director John Berry was brought in to help. At least 8 versions exist and somewhere down the road the copyright on this version lapsed making it the most easily accessible of Laurel & Hardy's movies!

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Jack In The Attic

 

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MAN IN THE ATTIC-1953-The mysterious Mr. Slate (Jack Palance) rents a room from Mr. & Mrs. Harley during the Jack the Ripper murders. Slate fits the description, stays out late and talks strangely. His landlady Helen (Frances Bavier; the future Aunt Bee on TV's “The Andy Griffith Show”) suspects him immediately but husband William (Rhys Williams) thinks everyone is just in a panic. Slate takes a liking to Helen's niece Lily Bonner (Constance Smith), a singer who's “the toast of England”. Inspector Warwick (Byron Palmer) looks for fingerprints. Slate, a kind of a confused mamma's boy, almost does in Lily but relents. He escapes in a horse drawn coach with Warwick in pursuit. Although Slate seems to drown, they don't recover his body. 

This fictional account of the Ripper murders is of course based on fact and also on the two film versions of THE LODGER that came before it. One, a 1927 version directed by Alfred Hitchcock and a 1944 version starring Laird Creger and George Sanders. This low-budget production is really held together by Palance's performance. 

Argentina born director Hugo Fregonese does a good job of keeping the mood but sometimes the plot focuses more on Lily than it does on Slate. Star Palance was in SHANE the same year but lead actress Constance Smith's career never took off. Her time as an actress was marred by bouts of drugs and alcohol, a stabbing, jail time and several attempted suicides. She died in 2003.

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The Bat

 

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THE BAT-1959-Mystery writer Cornelia von Gorder (Anges Moorehead) stays in a house called “The Oaks” where evasive murderer “The Bat” committed homicide several months before. Cornelia's maid Lizzy (Lenita Lane) talks about vampire bats. Meanwhile, a bank VP, uncovers a million-dollar bank theft. The prime suspect seems to be Victor Bailey (Mike Steele), an innocent clerk. Then in the Northwest, bank president John Fleming (Harvey Stephens) and his doctor, Malcohm Welles (Vincent Price) are on vacation. John reveals that he took the million and now wants the doc to help him fake his own death. When a forest fire breaks out, the doc shoots and kills John. 

Back at The Oaks, Lizzy talks about The Bat ripping out women's throats and sees a clawed hand at the door. It's apparent a sinister figure is prowling around so the two women barricade themselves in a bedroom and call the police. The figure gets in but is scared away by the cops. Later local police Lt. Anderson (Gavin Gordon) spies Welles experimenting with bats. Cornelia deduces that the embezzled money is hidden somewhere in the house and tries to figure out where. John's nephew Mark (John Bryant) gets involved trying to find the floor plans. A secretary named Judy (former female “Our Gang” member Darla Hood) turns up with testimony that could clear Victor. When it seems like Mark is the culprit, he's found dead in a secret room. The weird lieutenant tries to pin the murder on Warner, the butler (John Sutton), then Judy is killed. The Bat and Welles fight in his lab and the doctor is killed. In the secret room (where Cornelia nearly suffocates) they find a safe. Warner saves the day and the Bat's identity is revealed (it's easy to figure out; there's hardly anyone left). 

This was the third remake of the story which is based on a 1920 stage play based on a 1908 book. Director/co-writer Crane Wilbur (screenwriter of HOUSE OF WAX (1953)) doesn't do much to update the plot so it's rather dated but still entertaining in its way.

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Cowboy Blood Sucker

 

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CURSE OF THE UNDEAD-1959-In this unusual horror-western, a disease seems to only strike young woman. Buffer (Bruce Gordon), a mean rancher, wants the ranch owned by Dr. Carter (John Hoyt). Buffer is actually kind of a coward and backs off when the sheriff (Edward Binns) tells him to. Meanwhile, a mysterious cowboy dressed in back hangs around. When the doc is killed, his son Tim (Jimmy Murphy) vows revenge. After the funeral, the mysterious cowboy opens up Carter's coffin and gets in it! After Buffer kills Tim, his sister Dolores (Kathleen Crowley) advertises for a gun for hire. Of course, the mysterious cowboy, who's named Drake Robey (Michael Pate), takes the job much to the chagrin of local preacher Dan (Eric Fleming). That night Robey reveals his true self to Dolores. He's a vampire and puts the bite on her. Buffer wants protection from Robey although Dan says it's all Buffer's fault. Dan convinces Dolores to get rid of Robey and they declare their love for each other but Robey comes back and mesmerizes Dolores who fixes him up near the cemetery. “The Dead don't bother me. It's the livin' who give me trouble”, he says. 

The whole vampire thing is revealed in a flashback where a family named Robles was cursed when one brother killed another. (why he became a vampire isn't explained) He declares his love for Dolores but she's clearly under his thrall. When the sheriff advises Dolores to get rid of Robey, he kills the sheriff. Robey and Dan have a confrontation and argue good vs. evil. Robey almost kills Dan but is interrupted. Later Robey puts some more biting on Dolores. Robey winds up killing Buffer than going after Dan who uses bullets with crosses on them to kill Robey who withers away. 

This unusual vampire western was produced by Universal Pictures Music supervisor Joseph Gershenson (MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS (1958), THE LEECH WOMAN (1960)) and directed and co-written by Edward Dein (SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955); the aforementioned THE LEECH WOMAN). They pretty much succeed at making a different kind of vampire and supply a few eerie scenes.

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