Cat-Women

 

 (imdb)

CAT-WOMEN ON THE MOON-1953-5 astronauts journey into space. The crew is headed by hardnosed Laird Grainger (Sonny Tufts). His co-pilot is the more laid-back Kip Reissner (Victor Jory). Helen Salinger (Marie Windsor) is the navigator. Doug Smith (William Phipps) is the radar guy and Walt Walters (Douglas Fowley) is the engineer. They land on the moon and Helen seems to know more than she should. After being attacked by giant spiders, they find a cave with oxygen and then find some kind of temple. Helen separates from the men and meets Alpha (Carol Brewster), leader of the female survivors of a genocide ("We have no use for men"). They turn Helen against her male companions and plan to "bring our culture" to Earth and put Earth women under their power. 

This notorious very low budget campy sci-fi space adventure uses props and sets from several other pictures. Director Arthur Hilton had better success as a film editor. Producer/co-writer Al Zimbalist was the executive producer on ROBOT MONSTER the same year! Composer Elmer Bernstein, who would win an Academy Award in 1967, did the soundtrack but his name is misspelled in the credits! (He also did the music for ROBOT MONSTER...).

It was remade in 1958 as MISSILE TO THE MOON.

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Corman's Swamp

 

SWAMP DIAMONDS-1956-In New Orleans during Mardi Gras, a female police Lt. Lee Hampton (Carole Mathews) poses as a hardened criminal to infiltrate The Nardo gang or at least the women serving life sentences for a jewelry robbery their men were executed for. Their leader is Josie Nardo (Marie Windsor) plus the flirty Billie (Jill Jarym) and the trigger happy high strung Vera (Beverly Garland). Hampton plans their escape and they head for a Bayou swamp to get their stash. When their boat springs a leak they confiscate a boat carrying oil speculator Bob (Mike Connors) and his dumb girlfriend Marie (Susan Cummings). Their guide is killed and the gang for some reason take the pair hostage. The women argue, fight, lust after Bob and verbally abuse Marie who tries to sell out Bob and winds up alligator bait when she tries to escape. They find the diamonds and get happy but Vera steals the diamonds (and Bob). When the remaining members go after her she tries to ambush them but is killed. Hampton over powers the remaining two and rescues Bob (who has no idea she's undercover) just as the police arrive. Ed Nelson (as a police officer) and Jonathan Haze (as a pickpocket) have small roles at the beginning of the film. 

Also known as SWAMP WOMEN, this kind of crazy in color women out of prison movie was made by Roger Corman a year after his first science fiction film (and third movie) THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (also with Connors). The same year he also made IT CONQUERED THE WORLD and two westerns GUNSLINGER (also with Garland) and OKLAHOMA WOMAN. Parts of it are fairly improbable but it's still fun with Beverly Garland giving a good performance as the ruthless Vera.

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The Sniper

THE SNIPER-Columbia Pictures-1952- Arthur Franz stars as a woman hating, child abused psycho sniper preying on “dames” who reject him. Adolphe Menjou and Gerald Mohr are the police. Richard Kiley is a police psychiatrist who explains a lot! Marie Windsor is his first victim, shot in a Chinese restaurant.

Franz ‘s portrayal is very sympathetic and the ending is very untypical for the fifties. Frank Faylen is the police chief and a gaggle of familiar character actors make unbilled appearances: Charles Lane, Bryon Foulger, Victor Sen Young, Jean Willes, Paul Dubov and John Eldredge.

SNIPER is surprisingly straightforward and well directed by Hollywood veteran Edward Dymtryk (who directed Karloff in THE DEVIL COMMANDS in 1941). Unfortunately, Dymtryk’s later career was over- shadowed by his naming of names to the HUAC committee after spending several months in jail.

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Westward Ho!

THE PARSON AND THE OUTLAW-1957-I don’t know how I do it but even when I’m on vacation I happen to run across some low budget movie not worth watching! The story is based on the legend that Billy The Kid was not killed by Pat Garrett but instead only “pretended” to die and started a new life.

Emotionless Anthony Dexter is Billy who now goes by the name of Bill and carries no guns. He is befriended by gunslinger Jack Slade (Sonny Tufts from CATWOMEN ON THE MOON) who works for The Colonel (‘40’s Batman Robert Lowery) who runs the town where Bill settles. B-movie actress icon Marie Windsor (also in CATWOMAN and Kubrick’s THE KILLING) is outrageous as a Mexican “floozy” who can’t made up her mind on who’s side she’s on. Former silent screen star Buddy Rogers (also the executive producer, in his last role) is The Parson who tries to clean up the town and fails miserably. When he’s killed and falls against a railing his shadow resembles Christ on the cross! In such an inept movie an image like that was quite a surprise!

Bob Steele (Duffy on TV’s F-TROOP), Jean Parker (from Laurel & Hardy’s FLYING DEUCES and Edgar Ulmer’s BLUEBEARD) and Richard Reeves (in a an un-billed role as Garrett) are also featured. The director of this stilted mess, Oliver Drake worked mainly in westerns but later made the more screwed up THE MUMMY AND THE CURSE OF THE JACKAL (what a title!). His last movie was something called ANGELICA: AMERICAN VIXEN in 1970. He died in 1991.

LAW AND ORDER-Universal-1932-This is it! The great Edward L. Chan’s first film as director! And John Huston wrote it! His father Walter stars as Frame “Saint” Johnson, “the killing-est peace officer that ever lived” who cleaned up Kansas and now just wants to settle down in Tombstone. He’s reluctantly recruited to become the new Marshall and take on the town’s corrupt sheriff and it’s resident horse rustlers/bullies/killers The Northrup Brothers. He gets help from his three buddies. Russell Hopton (who would commit suicide in 1945) plays his younger brother. Harry Carey Sr. is his itchy trigger fingered friend Ed who dresses like an undertaker. Veteran character actor Raymond Hatton is Deadwood. The group tries everything to rid the town of crime including banning the use of firearms. Johnson does convince a criminal (Andy Devine) he should be proud to be Tombstone’s first legal hanging! Look for Walter Brennan in bit role during the hanging scene! It all ends with a shootout where nearly everyone is killed and Johnson leaves disillusioned and bitter!

The Northrup Bros. are portrayed by Harry Woods (a veteran western villain who was in The Marx Bros. comedy MONKEY BUSINESS the year before), Ralph Ince (the actor/director, who’s brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances in 1924) and Richard Alexander (Prince Barin in the first two FLASH GORDON serials).

LAW AND ORDER is an old fashioned, dusty, uncompromising western with no women characters to speak of. There were several subsequent films called LAW AND ORDER but this one’s the first!

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