Wild

 

THE WILD RIDE-1960-Wise ass speedster Johnny Varron (Jack Nicholson; the same year as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) runs a cop off the road. He and his "gang" like to play chicken. He's upset when his pal Dave (Robert Bean) goes "shallow" while “playing” and blames Dave's girlfriend Nancy (Georgiana Carter). Dave dumps her because Johnny says so but Dave has second thoughts and decides to step out on the gang. Johnny kind of kidnaps Nancy and tries to molest her but Dave catches them, freaks out and crashes his car and dies. Johnny takes the blame and surrenders to the police. His gang abandons him. "The stud's gone bad. Let's split". 

Roger Corman was the executive producer. The director Harvey Berman was a UCLA drama teacher. Much of the cast were amateurs. As for the dialogue, as Johnny's older lover says "Speak so I can understand you". There's also a re-cut version that makes the main story a flashback.

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Low Budget Minimalist Western

 

THE SHOOTING-1966-A bounty hunter (Warren Oates) and his dumb friend (Will Hutchins) meet a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins; earlier the title role in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK) who wants them to accompany her on a journey. The two try to figure out her motive and later meet up with her friend Billy, a gunfighter (Jack Nicholson). There's a lot of talk in this moody Western by director Monte Hellman. The ending may seem contrived but pay attention to the minimalist dialogue. Nicholson & Perkins were in RIDE THE WHIRLWIND for Hellman the same year. 

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Bikers

THE REBEL ROUSERS-1970-Strange biker film with Bruce Dern as JJ Weston, the philosophical leader of a weird motorcycle gang which includes Bunny (Jack Nicholson decked out in wool hat and striped pants), the seemingly out of place Halverson (Harry Dean Stanton) and (phony) Mexican Miguel (Robert Dix). Weston meets his old high school buddy Paul Collier (Cameron Mitchell) now an architect who's having problems with his pregnant girlfriend Karen (Diane Ladd who was married to Dern at the time). They smoke pot and talk about abortion and marriage. Eventually she's kidnapped by the gang. Paul is beaten up and escapes but no one in town will help him except some Mexican migrant workers. Weston and Bunny wind up having a knife fight. 

Many people who worked with Al Adamson contributed to this Paragon Entertainment Pictures production. It's also the only movie directed by Martin B. Cohen who years later provided the story for and produced HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP. He was the executive producer of Adamson's BLOOD FROM DRACULA'S CASTLE the year before.

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Bad Sheriff

THE BROKEN LAND-1962-In the late 1870's Will Brocious (Jack Nicholson) is being held in jail because his father was an outlaw. Sheriff Cogan (Kent Taylor) is a hard nose operator (he's kind of like a character from a Jim Thompson novel) who's own deputy (Jody McCrea) questions his methods. A dumb guy named Billy (Gary Sneed) is thrown in with Will after being caught stealing a necklace he wanted to give to a local waitress Mavera (Diana Darrin). Dunson (Robert Sampson) is a grouchy guy who gets into a fight with Cogan (an obvious double). Mavera helps the trio escape before she leaves town (Cogan ran her out). Later the guys “rescue” her from a stagecoach and high tail it across the desert with the sheriff in hot pursuit. When his deputy rebels Cogan shoots him and goes after the quartet. He brings them back, killing Billy in the process. Later they expose the sheriff for the no good Union scumbag he is. 

Director John Bushelman was mainly an editor (such as CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON and several Burt Gordon movies ). 

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The Terror....The Terror....

THE TERROR-1963-Andre Duvalle (Jack Nicholson),a French soldier lost on a beach meets the wistful Helene (Sandra Knight) who gives him water then runs with him along the shore. She walks into the ocean and Andre nearly drowns trying to rescue her (he's also attacked by a black bird). An old woman named Katrina (Dorothy Neuman) takes him in after he's saved her mute servant Gustav (Jonathan Haze). She also has a black bird name Helene. Later Andre follows the bird into the forest and finds the human Helene. They kiss and she power walks away. He follows her and is met by Gustav, who apparently can talk because he tells Andre that Helene is possessed and the only way the soldier can help her is by visiting the castle of Baron Von Leppe. Despite the old woman's warnings he sets out to find the castle and is almost killed by a rock slide. Upon first seeing the castle, she spies Helene at a window. Entering he meets the Baron (Boris Karloff; round of applause) who despite being most hospitable denies that Helene is there. The Baron shows Andre a picture of the Baroness (a dead ringer for Helene) and says she has been dead for 20 years. Andre is invited to stay the night and while in his bed he hears strange noises and a drawing he had made is ripped to shreds. The next day while visiting the Baroness' tomb he is confronted by Stephan (Dick Miller), the Baron's servant. When next they meet The Baron, under a threat from Andre, he relates the story how years before he met and married a village girl who became the Baroness and how he killed her and her lover, Eric. He believes that the girl is the ghost of the Baroness (actually named Ilsa). “Perhaps we are both mad?”.

Stephen discovers the old woman's secret: she summoned Helene/Ilsa from the sea. There's some talk about the mysterious lover, Eric and Stephan wants to kill Andre but the Baron won't allow it. Andre decides to leave but Gustav signals him to stay and has his eyes torn out by the black bird. He falls to his death but manages to speak his last words to Andre: “Go back...”. Back at the castle he meets Helene and they kiss again. At night, Andre follows the Baron into the family crypt. It seems Ilsa wants Van Leppe to flood the castle so they can be together. When Andre meets Katrina in the cemetery she reveals that she is using Helene to drive Van Leppe to suicide because the Baron killed her son, Eric, Llsa's lover. But it turns out Stephen actually killed the Baron and Eric took Van Leppe's place in mind and body! After Katrina is burned up by lightening, Andre and Stephen try to stop Baron Eric from flooding the castle. They tussle in the flood waters. Stephen tries to save the phony Baron but they both drown. Andre saves Helene and takes her away from the castle (“You're free now”). They kiss and she rots away.

For this AIP quickie Roger Corman shot all the principal scenes featuring Karloff in four days then turned it over to second unit directors consisting of Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill and Nicholson. The sets were re-used from Corman's previous Poe film THE RAVEN (with Karloff & Nicholson). The story (scripted by Jack Hill and actor Leo Gordon) is confusing at times and there are several lapses in logic and continuity but at least from a personal standpoint it's an enjoyable little mess. It's funny the way the plot changes several times but Karloff and Nicholson keep it afloat. No pun intended as there is a flood scene.

  THE TERROR fell into the public domain years ago and used to be on TV constantly. It's had three dozen video releases. I've read that years later Corman filmed a new intro with Dick Miller to make the movie seem like a flashback and thus own a copyright version! Not sure if this is true though.

Nicholson and co-star Sandra Knight (still alive at the time of this writing) were married at the time. She appeared earlier in FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.

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Quoth The Raven....

THE RAVEN-1963-This comedy-horror film begins with Vincent Price reciting part of Edgar Allen Poe's “The Raven”. Then we are introduced to Dr. Craven (Price) a sorcerer who longs for his dead love Lenore. After his daughter Estelle (Olive Strugess) brings him some hot milk he is visited by a real life raven who demands some wine. Later using ingredients from his father's lab Craven turns the wise cracking raven into his true form, that of fellow sorcerer Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre) who was turned into a bird by the evil Dr. Scarabus, another sorcerer who dethroned Craven's father's position as grand master of the brotherhood of magicians years before. Bedlo wants revenge on Scarabus and wants Craven to help but Craven wants no part of it until Bedlo informs him that his lost love is with Scarabus. 

After fending off an attack by Craven's bewitched servant, Craven, Bedlo, Estelle and Bedlo's son Rexford (Jack Nicholson) go to confront Scarabus (Boris Karloff) who welcomes them with open arms. While dining Bedlo once again challenges Scarabus to a duel and seems to die. They are urged to stay the night and Craven sees Lenore (Hazel Court) at his bedroom window. Of course, it turns out Lenore is not dead but living with Scarabus who's wealth and power made her leave Craven. While Rexford is snooping around the castle, he discovers his father is not dead (it was a trick by Bedlo to deceive Scarabus). Eventually they are all held prisoner by the doctor, however in the finale Craven and Scarabus have an inventive magical duel where Craven defeats Scarabus and rejects Lenore who in turn has rejected Scarabus. 

Shot in 15 days by Roger Corman, it's been said that the inspiration for this feature was the Richard Matheson penned “The Black Cat” segment from the earlier TALES OF TERROR. Corman and Matheson liked doing the comedy scenes and thought a full-length film movie was in order. Although stories abound about behind the scenes gripes and complaints (Karloff upset at Lorre's ad-libs, animosity between Lorre and Nicolson) everyone seems to be having a fine time and really throwing themselves into their roles. Samuel Z. Arkoff and James Nicolson were the executive producers on this AIP production along with many long time Corman collaborators: Les Baxter (music), Floyd Crosby (cinematographer) and Daniel Haller (production design).

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