Bava In Space

 

 (imdb)

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES-1965-A group of astronauts land on a mysterious planet looking for a missing spaceship. At first they act strangely. They find the spaceship they were looking for but the crew is dead. The captain, Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) deduces some kind of force is trying to control them. They find giant dinosaur like skeletons, the remains of a dead civilization. But the inhabitants are still around possessing dead bodies and killing who's ever still alive. 

There's a twist ending in this well directed but slow-paced horror sci-fi from Mario Bava which was co-produced by AIP. Star Sullivan promoted this film on an episode of “Celebrity Password”. Susan Hart (AIP co-owner James Nicholson's wife) was originally supposed to play the female lead. Director Bava's future director son, Lamberto was the assistant director.

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Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

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Early '50's

CAUSE FOR ALARM!-1951-A woman (Loretta Young) is taking care of her bed ridden husband (Barry Sullivan) who seems to be suffering from a heart ailment. However although she seems to be a dedicated and loving wife hubby believes she and his doctor (Bruce Cowling) are plotting to kill him. He writes a letter to the district attorney incriminating the pair, saying they are poisoning him but in fact he is poisoning himself!  He plans to frame the two of them by over dosing on his heart medicine but for some reason (he's not sane I guess) he decides to shoot his wife. Fortunately for her he dies before he can accomplish this. Unfortunately with the incriminating letter on it's way to the DA and hubby dead circumstantial evidence points at Loretta. What follows is a wild and occasionally annoying "Faulty Towers" like escapade (though serious) with Loretta trying to retrieve the letter and prevent anyone  from finding dearly departed hubby. Familiar character Irving Bacon is the neighborhood mailman and there are bits by Richard Anderson, Kathleen Freeman, Art Baker and Robert Easton. Look quick for Alfalfa himself Carl Switzer!

Director Tay Garnett had started as a gag writer in silent films and made his first movie in 1928. He later directed THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. Soon after ALARM he went into TV.

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Intimacy

INTIMACY-1966-In this unusual drama, businessman Walter Nicholson (Barry Sullivan) is desperate to get a government contract. He secretly films Washington contractor Jim Hawley (Jack Ging) in a hotel room so he can get something on Hawley to use as blackmail. He sends a prostitute (singer Jackie DeShannon) to woo him but that fails. Later Hawley's alcoholic wife (Nancy Malone; a TV actress who later became a TV director)) shows up but he gets rid of her because he's expecting another woman he's having an affair with. Much of it is Nicholson watching the film in his office and he gets a big surprise when the woman Hawley's having an affair with is his own wife (Joan Blackman who had co-starred with Elvis in BLUE HAWAII)! This is an unusual rarely recognized unique little feature that holds your interest for a while but goes on a little too long. It would have been a great 1 hour TV episode..

Sullivan had been in Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES the year before. This is probably the only starring role for TV character Jack Ging (and one of his few feature films). Director Victor Stoloff also made a TV movie THE 300 YEAR WEEKEND (1971) which was told in real time. Co-writer Harvey Flaxman later wrote and produced GRIZZLEY.

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