Shoot It

 

SHOOT IT BLACK, SHOOT IT BLUE-1974-A corrupt cop (Michael Moriarty) shoots an unarmed purse snatcher. A student Lamont (Eric Laneuville) doing a film on insects films it. The victim’s wife decides to sue and hires lawyer (Paul Sorvino). The cop searches the city for Lamont but the victim's brother has his own plan. Art Ellison, who played the minister in CARNIVAL OF SOULS is a bartender. Dated, misguided talky trash from director Dennis McGuire (his only directorial effort).

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Another Cheapo Western

 

 (themoviedb.org)

WACO-1966-In Emporium, Wyoming, Sheriff Kelly (Richard Arlen) tries to keep law and order but is shot in the back. Councilman Gates (John Agar) wants the mayor (Robert Lowery) to hire convicted killer Waco (Howard Keel) to clean up the town which is controlled by Joe Gore (John Smith) and his partner in crime Rile (DeForrest Kelly). Waco's old flame, Jill (Jane Russell) is now married to preacher Sam Stone (Wendell Corey). 

Waco helps the mayor's daughter (Tracey Olsen) and roughs up some rowdy ranchers. He helps reform the drunken deputy (Gene Evans) but later, Waco decides to take over the town. He sends for his friend gunfighter Ross (Brian Donlevy). However, when Ross backs out, the whole town decides to defend their territory. 

Ben Cooper is a would-be deputy. Terry Moore works in the bar. Also with Fuzzy Knight. Director RG Springsteen who made many westerns in the  30's and 40's was already working in TV by the time of this low budget production. Singer Howard Keel had starred in THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS in 1963.

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Takeshi

 

 (imdb)

VIOLENT COP-1989-Azuma (Beat Takeshi; MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE) is the title character, a hot-headed cop with a mean violent streak who is always in trouble with his superiors. While battling drug dealers, he uses all the wrong methods to arrest criminals: violence, planting evidence, intimidation. He also has trouble with his drug addicted sister. 

This was former comedian Takeshi's directorial debut and it's not for everyone. His methodical direction suddenly explodes with brutality. He went on to improve his technique as director and editor with his next two films.

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Foghorn

 

 (imdb)

THE ROCKET MAN-1954-Timmy (George “Foghorn” Winslow), an imaginative little orphan is given a special space gun by a weird looking alien. When he shoots it, it makes moving things stop. It also makes people tell the truth. He's taken in by Amelia Brown (Spring Byington), the local judge and her daughter June (Anne Francis two years before FORBIDDEN PLANET). Amelia wants to put the local corrupt politico Big Bill Watkins (Emory Parnell) in jail. Mayor Ed Johnson (Charles Colburn) is sweet on Amelia but he's in Big Bill's pocket. Enter Tom Baxter (John Agar; in Hugo Haas' BAIT the same year), a parolee sent by a warden to get reformed under the Judge's wing. A couple Bob (future “Bowery Boy” Stanley Clements) and Ludine (Beverly Garland) come to get married, and it turns out Bob is the parolee not Tom. In fact, Tom is actually a lawyer hired by Watkins to close the orphanage. Timmy uses the gun to save the orphanage and help June and Tom fall in love. 

This is a whimsical little love story comedy with a great cast but a so-so script dripping with sentimentality. It was co-written by future comedian Lenny Bruce. 

Director Oscar Rudolph worked mainly in TV but he also made the features TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK (1961) and DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (1962). He was the father of future director Alan Rudolph. Child actor George Winslow was also known for his earlier in the musical comedy GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) (also with Charles Coburn) and made his last movie in 1958.

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Boris On Devli's Island

 

 

 (imdb)

DEVIL'S ISLAND-1939-Dr. Charles Gaudet (Boris Karloff) is charged with treason after giving aid to a convicted traitor Le Brun who was shot escaping. The court judges (including Frank Reicher & Leonard Mudie) sentenced him to 10 years in the infamous penal colony. He's given hard labor by the pompous ignorant warden Col. Lucien (James Stephenson) who brands him a troublemaker. When one convict (John Harmon) with tuberculosis asks for the night off, the island doctor tells him he's just lazy despite pleas from Gaudet to put him in the hospital. Later after his appeal is turned down, Lucien needs Gaudet to operate on his young daughter. Madame Lucien (Netta Harrigan) is very grateful but Lucien couldn't care less. He has Gaudet's mates killed and puts the doc in "The pit". A black prisoner (Earl Smith) and Mme Lucien plot to help Gaudet escape. He and 5 other prisoners do escape but before almost dying at sea they are picked up by another prison ship (John Hamilton is the captain) going to Devil's Island. Through some stolen papers, Gaudet learns Lucien is corrupt. Lucien plans to have Gaudet guillotined at dawn. Fortunately, Mme. L gets word to the governor and Gaudet is saved and pardoned. 

Good little Warner Brothers drama with nice production values directed by William Clemens who oddly enough was also directing the “Nancy Drew” series of films at the same time for the studio. Some familiar character actors appear including George Lloyd, Henry Cording and Pedro de Cordoba.

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The Big Thug

 

 (imdb)

AL CAPONE-1959-Al Capone (Rod Steiger) rises from small time bodyguard thug to the most powerful man in the crime ridden town of Chicago. He eliminates an older boss (Joe DeSantis) to help his friend Johnny (Nehemiah Persoff) become the new boss but he has trouble with fellow thug Bugs Moran (Murvyn Vye). He marries the widow (Fay Spain) of a man he killed. He's helped by a corrupt news reporter (Martin Balsam) and hounded by the only seemingly honest cop (James Gregory, who also narrates) in the city. Steiger, who occasionally talks while eating an apple, is OK in the role eventually killing anyone who stands in his way, being convicted of tax evasion and getting beaten up in jail. Sandy Kenyon and Raymond Bailey also have roles. 

Director Richard Wilson went on to make THREE IN AN ATTIC and SKULLDUGGERY but for many years was Orson Welles' chief assistant, working on many of his film projects including IT'S ALL TRUE.

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Jingo!

 

 imdb)

BLACK OAK CONSPIRACY-1977-Tedious hillbilly nonsense inspired by TV's The Dukes of Hazzard with a arrogant trouble making Hollywood stuntman Jingo Johnson (co-scripter Jesse Vint) going back to his hometown to visit his mom in a nursing home and uncovering a land grab conspiracy by weaselly land developer Harrison Hancock (Robert F. Lyons),who's also sleeping with Jingo's ex- girlfriend Lucy (Karen Carlson), and his not so nice father (Douglas Fowley) who he's not sleeping with. Sheriff Otis (Albert Salmi) is in cahoots with them. Lucy's father (Seymour Cassell) helps Jingo out. In the end the sheriff goes crazy and tries to blame some killings on Jingo but in a weird finale in a rock quarry Jingo triumphs and wins back his ex. 

With a quick exploding head, nudity and Phil Every doing the theme song. Filmed in Oklahoma by former actor Bob Kelljan who earlier had made the two Count Yorga movies and SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM.

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Ulmer in The West

 

THE NAKED DAWN-1955-A violent, philosophical Mexican bandit Santiago (Arthur Kennedy) corrupts Miguel (Eugene Iglesias), a simple farmer and his unhappy wife (Betta St. John; years later in HORROR HOTEL). This is not your typical south of the border western but it might make you think. A technicolor oddity pretty much overlooked and directed by the great Edgar Ulmer. Kennedy was nominated for an Academy Award the same year for his supporting role in Mark Robson's TRIAL. (He won a Golden Globe). 

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Truckers

WHITE LINE FEVER-1975-Carrol Jo Hummer (Jan Michael Vincent  who died in February 2019) comes back from the army and gets married to his sweetheart Jerri (Kay Lenz). He buys his own rig and becomes a trucker. That's when the trouble starts! He finds his dead father's old friend Duane (Slim Pickens) is corrupt and has a bunch of thugs (including Martin Kove) working for him. The real villains are three rich guys Buck (LQ Jones), Cutler (Don Porter) and their lawyer (RG Armstrong). Carroll tries to organize a union, gets blacklisted, beat up and almost tried for murder but Jerri's tear jerking testimony gets him off. Buck tries to kill him with a forklift. After Cutler seems to make a deal with the truckers, Hummer's house is burned down and Jerri who was pregnant loses her baby and becomes comatose. Dick Miller (who died in January 2019)  has a small role as Birdie Corman. This depressing little tale was directed by Jonathan Kaplan three years before the similarly plotted big budget FIST starring Sylvester Stallone. Kaplan later directed THE ACCUSED (1988) and recently was the executive producer of a documentary about Dick Miller (THAT DICK MILLER GUY).

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John Ashley

HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR-1960-At a high school for over aged teenagers tough guy Matt Stevens (John Ashley) and teen thug buddies rule with fists and intimidation. He even rigs the school election so he becomes class president and his little boy toy Cricket (Steve Stevens) becomes treasurer. The principal is a real dullard who has no idea what's going on. Matt is actually a spoiled rich kid whose parents aren't around. Despite being a big bully he’s unhappy and after ripping off some student dance money he goes home and cries. Trouble starts when Matt plans to set up Cricket with a girl named Wanda (Judy Nugent). He dispatches his girlfriend Lita (Darla Massey) to set this up but Wanda wants no part of it. Lita doesn't tell Matt and pretends the whole date is ready but Wanda only has eyes for Bob (Gary Vinson). At a place called The Wagon, Matt confronts Bob who punches Matt after he slaps Wanda (who called Matt a “pampered pretty boy”). Then Bob’s friend Kelly (Lowell Brown) wins Matt’s gold coin in a drag race. Later Matt forces Kelly off the road and he’s killed in a crash (Matt takes his coin back). Everything seems ok until two of his henchmen are almost caught stealing from the school. And when Matt kidnaps and tries to molest Wanda, Cricket in a jealous rage admits to everyone that Matt was responsible for Kelly's death. Matt’s birthday party is ruined when everyone turns against him and Bob roughs him up. He’s left alone in the dirt a whimpering jerk. 

HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR really pushes the envelope on adults playing teens and it's obvious this kind of teen drama was on the way out by 1960 to be replaced with “beach” movies. Ashley would co-star in a few (and suffer a starring role in Larry Buchanan's ATTACK OF THE EYE CREATURES) before acting in and producing horror movies in The Philippines. Writer/director O'Dale Ireland also made a movie called DATE BAIT (with Gary Clarke) the same year. Other than that his claim to fame is having edited Al Adamson's PSYCHO A GO GO!

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Overage Teenagers

UNTAMED YOUTH-1957-Two hitch-hiking sisters Jane (Mamie Van Doren) and Penny (Lori Nelson; THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED) are arrested for skinny dipping by a local sheriff (Robert Foulk). A corrupted judge (Lurene Tuttle; MA BARKER'S KILLER BROOD) sends them to an "agricultural" work farm to pick cotton. It's just a front to provide cheap labor for the mean owner Mr. Tropp (TV actor John Russell). Almost immediately upon arriving Penny breaks into song when in her under-wear! Then Jane gets into a cat fight with the owner's former mistress (Jeanne Carmen; THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS). The judge's son Bob (Don Burnett) goes to work there and early rock and roll legend Eddie Cochran leads the male prisoners and sings "Cotton Picker". There's a wild dance number where Jane sings and the old cook calls their dancing "African antics"!  

Tropp gives Penny an "audition" at his house but when he puts the moves on her Bob helps her escape. He sics his dogs on her but once again Bob saves her. When Bob complains to his mom about a female prisoner dying and the conditions at the farm, mom reveals her secret: she and Tropp are secretly married. "Man oh man, this is wild ain't it?". To complecate things Bob and Penny fall in love. In the end Penny gets to do a Calypso number on TV!

Rock and Roll, illegal immigration, corruption and teenage (?) rebellion are combined in this far fetched but entertaining musical drama or drama with music maybe??

Director Howard W. Koch had already made BOP GIRL GOES CALYPSO the same year as UNTAMED YOUTH, and would also directed Van Doren again in THE GIRL IN BLACK STOCKINGS. The next year he'd directed Karloff in FRANKENSTEIN 1970.

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All For A Dollar!

INCIDENT ON A DARK STREET-1973-Here's a DVD I got at a Dollar Tree Store in NJ for, what else but a dollar! 

It's a typical routine story (maybe a pilot) about lawyers battling organized crime and corruption. The best part about it is the cast. Once popular TV actor (and star of Robert Wise's THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN) James (don't call me Jimmy) Olsen is Joe Dubbs, the hard ass district attorney. David Canary is his assistant. Robert Pine is the newest member of the staff. They investigate mobster Dominic Leopold (Gilbert Roland) who has some dirty dealings with a greedy contractor Deaver Wallace (William Shatner). Rotund Richard Castellano (THE GODFATHER) is a mob connected government witness who the mean producers make run around and climb a fence. There's another story involving a dying woman and her husband who's being prosecuted for selling drugs. It's boring and ends rather abruptly without the main story coming to a conclusion. 

Others in the cast include David Doyle, Murray Hamilton, John Kerr, Gordon Pinsett (he was in BLACULA the year before) and Marlene Clark (some year as GANJA AND HESS) as Dubbs' secretary. Don “Red” Barry and Eddie Quillan also have small roles. Shatner was in two more memorable TV movies the same year as this: GO ASK ALICE and THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET. 

Director Buzz Kulik began his career in TV in the very early '50's staying there almost his entire life doing TV series and movies (his most famous was BRIAN'S SONG) and only occasionally directing a big screen film (VILLA RIDES AGAIN, SHAMUS and Steve McQueens's last film THE HUNTER).

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