Showing posts with label betsy jones-moreland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label betsy jones-moreland. Show all posts

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Another Quickie By Corman



THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH-1960-In Puerto Rico Harold Gern (Anthony Carbone) hides out with his unhappy wife Evelyn (Betsy Jones-Moreland) because he’s been indicated. At a cock fight they are joined by his lawyer Martin Joyce (Edward Wain better known as Robert Towne who also wrote the screenplay). After they go scuba diving they find it hard to breathe. Then they discover their boat driver dead. 

They head back to town and see lots of dead bodies. It becomes apparent that the trio has survived the apocalypse. They hightail it to a secluded villa near a beach and tensions rise due to the two men one woman situation. There's a lot of talk in this 3 day wonder producer/ director Roger Corman made quickly after wrapping CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (also with Cardone) and THE BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND. Strange tragic yet hopeful ending. 

Music by Ronald Stein. It was released on a double bill with THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Most copies are in black and white but a faded color version exists at The Internet Archive.

Thanks for reading!



Saturday, October 27, 2018

Corman Quickie





THE CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA-1961-A crooked captain Renzo Capetto (Anthony Carbone trying to imitate Bogart) and his motley crew including his girlfriend Mary-Belle (Betsy Jones-Moreland), her dumb brother Happy Jack (Robert Bean) and Pete (Beach Dickerson), guy who makes animal noises (dubbed in) help two Cuban generals illegally transport a chest of money out of the country. A bunch of locals are also aboard though one of them is actually a government agent X-15 (Edward Wain aka future writer director Robert Towne). Capetto decides to do away with The Cubans and blame it on a monster he creates. Unfortunately for everyone a real monster shows up. 

There's lots of dumb comic dialogue (by Charles Griffith), slapstick and non-action in this hastily directed effort by Roger Corman (who has a cameo) and shot in Puerto Rico back to back with THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH and BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND in around 5 days! One of my least favorites. It was planned to be a straight horror movie but changed by Corman at the last minute.



Thanks for reading!