Everyone Breaks The Law

 

 (imdb)

THE STEEL TRAP-1952-Jim Osborne (Joseph Cotton), a bank VP plans to steal a million dollars from his firm and high tail it to Brazil with his wife, Laurie (Teresa Wright) and their young daughter. They have a million com-plications on their way but somehow they get to Brazil. When Laurie finds out his real plan she leaves him. Later, despite all his efforts, he decides to return the money. Also with Walter Sande, Jonathan Hale and William Hudson. 

Nice little border line film noir thriller, written and directed by Andrew Stone who had previously made STORMY WEATHER IN 1943 and went on to make THE LAST VOYAGE (1960) and RING OF FIRE (1961). 

Stars Cotten and Brewer had appeared together in Hitchcock's A SHADOW OF A DOUBT in 1943.

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Bond Take-Off

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE-1966-Mike Connors is Kelly, an international James Bond like CIA agent in this tongue in cheek spy drama with comedy overtones, a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Dino De Laurentiis.. 

Kelly is in Brazil tailing a rich industrialist named Ardonian (Raf Vallone) and his connection with some missing women. Ardonian is in league with Red China in a plot to sterilize the US but in actuality he wants to sterilize the whole world except for himself! The missing women are kept in suspended animation until he needs them. Dorothy Provine (THE 30 FOOT BRIDE OF CANDY ROCK) is Susan Fleming, Ardonian's bimbo girlfriend who wears some really weird outfits and has a Rolls Royce with Aston Martin like features. Terry Thomas is her chauffeur who beats up 5 guys. Later, after it's revealed she is with British Intelligence, she and Kelly team up. They wind up in an underground lab where Provine ends up on a rocket. There's some dumb humor (including a slip on a banana peel) but the real highlight of this movie is Ardonian's massive desk and multi-screen TV monitoring system in a couple of scenes. There's great shots of Rio though. 

Beverly Adams (HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI, TORTURE GARDEN) is one of the victims. Connors would star in the long running TV series MANNIX the next year. Co-director Henry Levin made a similar secret agent satire the same year, MURDERER'S ROW with Dean Martin as Matt Helm (which according to Mike Connors he almost played). 

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Mixed Up...

MIXED BLOOD-1984-This movie is a hoot! It's about Brazilian street gangs fighting over the drug trade on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Most of the gang members are underage kids. If it sounds similar to the Brazilian drama PIXOTE (made in 1981) the female lead in that film Marilia Pera plays Rita La Punta, the leader of one of the gangs ("They cannot go to jail. Too young").

The story involves violence,drugs,prostitution,shootouts, racism and police corruption. All the characters talk in exaggerated accents and the dialogue is very dramatic and over the top. With lines like "I'm the one who tells you how to piss". Cheesy salsa music plays in the background.

It was filmed on location in Alphabet City by Paul Morrissey (ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA). There are some good scenes but most of the shootouts are inept and there are some awkward reaction shots.

Some reviews cite the realism of the whole thing but to me it seems to take place on another planet! Also with Geraldine Smith who had been in BAD and FLESH  by Morrissey, Linda Kerridge (SURF ll) and John Leguizamo in his film debut.

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Wong!

PLASTIC CITY-2008-I'd watch anything with Anthony Wong in it but this Brazil/Hong Kong/Japan co-production was a disappointment.

Yuda (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) is a  Chinese mobster working as a smuggler in Sao Paulo. His adopted son Kirin (Jo Odagiri), who he found in the jungle runs their street operation. After years of building up their bloody empire Yuda grows weary of it when it starts to crumble. Nelson Yu Lik Wai 's direction is excellent but the story is confused and not that interesting. The best scene is a CGI laden dreamlike street fight.

Wong was in THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR the same year.

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