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 (imdb)

CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD-1977-In Hawaii, agent Johnny Paul (Roy Thinnes) (his code name is Diamond Head) is assigned to find out why criminal Sean Donovan (Ian McShane) is on the island. He gets help from entertainer Zulu (Zulu; TV's "Hawaii 50") and club owner Tso Tsing (France Nuyen). A German hit man Graeber (Eric Braeden) and a Japanese assassin Sakai (Michael Frank Liu) are also there. Apparently, Donovan is also a master of disguise. He impersonates an Army Colonel and learns that a research facility has created a powerful something. With Kent Smith and Ward Costello (TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000). 

Not much TV movie, director Jeannot Szwarc made this failed TV pilot while doing a lot of TV shows (Baretta, The Rockwood Files). He later made the feature films JAWS 2 (1978) and SOMEWHERE IN TIME (1980).

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Hitman

 

MURDER BY CONTRACT-1958-Claude (Vince Edwards) becomes a hit man for Mr. Moon (Michael Granger) who works for the mysterious Mr. Brink. In LA he's met by high strung Marc (Phillip Pine) and laid back George (Herschel Bernardi). Claude is kind of a nut who berates a waiter and seems more interested in sightseeing than the hit. He gets upset though when he finds out his latest job Billie Williams is a woman. After a failed attempt to electrocute her and more planning he's successful but a drunken call girl (Kathie Browne) informs him that he didn't kill Billie but instead a police woman. 

The climax is a little far fetched but it's an ok low budget film noir. Director Irving Lerner later worked with Edwards on his hit TV show “Ben Casey”.

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Crime

THE LINEUP-1958-Strange little crime drama about 2 psychotic hitmen Dancer (Eli Wallach) and Julian (Robert Keith) trying to retrieve a cache of heroin from some innocent tourist with the help of their alcoholic driver (Richard Jaeckel). Meanwhile two cops (Warner Anderson and Emile Meyer) track him down. This film noir-ish crime film directed by Don Siegel and written by Stirling Stilliphant was actually based on a TV (and radio) series that ran from 1954 til 1960 and also features future Mr. Dysdale (on TV's THE BEVERLY HILLBILLES) Raymond Bailey and familiar character actor Vaughan Taylor as “The Man”. 

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Enter Fassbinder

LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH-1969-Rainer Werner Fassbinder's first film is a talky slow moving drama about hitman Bruno (future director Ulli Lommel) and friendship with Franz (writer/ director Fassbinder) who refused to join "the syndicate" and his hooker girlfriend (Hanna Schygulla, who went on to make many more films for Fassbinder). If you like grainy amateurish black and white films that look like they were filmed on the weekend when the actors weren't at their regular jobs then you might like this.

Cold

COLDBLOODED-1995-A weird emotionless bookie named Cosmo (Jason Priestly) is, for some reason, promoted to hit-man by his new Mafioso boss (Robert Loggia). He becomes the protege' of the present hit-man named Steve (Peter Riegert) and proves to be better than his teacher. He kills various people (including one of the film's producers Michael J. Fox in a cameo) and falls in love with his yoga teacher (Kimberly Williams). Eventually he wants out of "the company" but doesn't find it that easy to do.

This is a strange black comedy that has some funny moments especially from Riegert who's great but Priestly to me seems to channeling Johnny Depp in his performance and the conclusion isn't very good. Director Wallace Wolodarsky wrote MONSTERS VS. ALIENS.

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Fighting Trouble

FIGHTING TROUBLE-1956-The Bowery Boys redux! 

Now billed as "Huntz Hall and The Bowery Boys" second billed Stanley Clements joins the cast (replacing Leo Gorcey) as Stanislaus "Duke" Covelske. They (along with David (Gorcey) Conlon as Chuck and un-billed Danny Welton as Danny) live in a boarding house run by Miss Kelly (Queenie Smith) who keeps referring to Sach as a genius (which tells you her state of mind). 


To (what else?) raise money Sach and Duke try to get an incriminating picture of a gangster (Thomas B. Henry) for a newspaper publisher. Naturally Sach winds up impersonating a hit man but screws everything up! Adele Jurgens (in at least her third BB appearance) is Henry's moll. Also with Tim Ryan, Laurie Mitchell and Paul Brinegar. 


Ellwood Ullman once again was the screenwriter. Director George Blair began his film career in 1944 but by the mid-fifties was working more on TV (he directed many first season episodes of SUPERMAN). He later made THE HYPNOTIC EYE. The jazzy score is by Buddy Bregman.


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Later,,,,

IN BRUGES-2008-This Tarantino inspired junk is about 2 hit men (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who hide out in Bruges, Belgium waiting for instructions from their boss (Ralph Fiennes). What good can be said of a movie where Farrell (one of the most overrated actors in history) kills a priest and child, beats up a woman and is also the romantic lead in this stupid violent comedy-drama? Not much. It was the first full length film by stage director/playwright Martin McDonagh. Let's hope he sticks to what he knows best. 

Carpentry perhaps?

Thanks to my pal Tony for lending me this.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have A Blast.....

BLAST OF SILENCE-1961-Hit man Baby Boy Frankie Bono (writer/director Allen Baron who resembles Robert DeNiro) comes to NYC on Christmas Eve to shadow a potential hit job in this low budget film noir that for years was undeservedly over looked.

A narrator (un-billed Lionel Stander) provides cynical narration. Checking out a future hit (a minor gangster) provides great shots of New York in the early ’60’s (especially of Harlem in front of The Apollo Theater and Rockefeller Center). He buys a gun from Big Ralphie (Larry Tucker), a whispering fat guy with an apartment full of caged rats. After a Christmas walk, he meets Petey “from the orphanage”. He introduces Frankie to his sister Lori (Molly McCarthy) and he goes to their Christmas party where dances and rolls a peanut with his nose! He has a Christmas Day dinner date with Lori but kind of blows when he puts the moves on her too strongly. Meanwhile, he keeps following his prey learning his moves and routines. He then takes time to go to The Village Gate where a conga player singer named Dean Sheldon does two great songs! When Big Ralphie tries to blackmail Frankie they have a terrific, violent fight amid the escaped rats. Frankie decides he doesn’t want the hit. He’d rather make time with Lori but it turns out she has a steady boyfriend. He goes off and makes the hit but winds up shot to death on Long Island (because the mob doesn’t trust him anymore).

I really like BLAST OF SILENCE. It's gritty low budget photography really sets the mood. I read about it many years ago but never saw hide nor hair of it until it was “re-discovered” a while back. Star/director/writer Baron helmed one other feature TERROR IN THE CITY in 1964 then went into TV. The sometimes over the top narration was written by future Academy Award winner Waldo Salt. Producer/cinematographer/editor Merrill S. Brody shot CUBAN REBEL GIRLS in ‘59.

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Ghost Dog

GHOST DOG : THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI-1999-This very unusual drama stars Forrest Whitaker as a philosophical hit man involved with the disappearance of a mob bosses’ daughter. He uses pigeons to communicate with his “retainer” (John Tormey) and his only friends are a French ice cream vendor ( who doesn’t understand English ) and a little girl he discusses books with. He likes to steal cars too.

Henry Silva is the unsmiling mob boss who likes to watch cartoons (Felix The Cat is one of them). Cliff Gorman is his rap music loving second in command who has a memorable death. All the gangsters seem mean and ugly but are really old, comical, kind of inept and at the end of the line. Much like Ghost Dog himself. A landlord keeps hassling Gorman’s character for rent money!

Whitaker’s character (minus the samurai references) reminded me a little of his character in DIARY OF A HITMAN! Like much of writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s work it’s very un-commercial and quite hypnotic but the ending is a downer and as Ghost Dog says “The end is important in all things”.........

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