Not Really A Vampire

 

 (imdb)

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE-1958-Transylvania 1874-Some yokels put a stake in a corpse. While burying the body a gravedigger is murdered. Then a limping guy with a deformed face gets a doctor to do a heart transplant on a dead man. When the doctor wants more money and threatens blackmail he's killed. Cut to Dr. Jean Pierre (Vincent Ball) convicted of malpractice and murder and sentenced to life in prison. He's sent to a hell hole led by the mysterious Callistratus. His cell mate Kurt (William Devlin) befriends him and tells him there's no escape. While they are working Pierre says a fallen man is too sick to work but when the boss passes by he gets up and starts working again. Later he meets Callistatus (Donald Wolfit), the dead man at the beginning. He puts Pierre to work in his lab, doing research on blood. The deformed killer is Callistatus' henchman Karl (Victor Maddern). It turns out the mad doctor had Pierre railroaded into his prison with help from a corrupt official. When Pierre's and Karl's escape plan fails, Callistatrus says Pierre was killed much to the sadness of Pierre's fiance Madeline (Barbara Shelly) who later goes undercover and poses as a housekeeper. They eventually find out Callistatrus's secret: he's a mad scientist trying to find a cure for a blood disease he acquired when he got a new heart! Karl turns on his master because he's sweet on Madeline and despite being shot several times helps bring down his nutty boss. 

The producers of this overlooked little horror film really give it a Hammer vibe, even hiring Jimmy Sangster to write the screenplay (he'd also write the screenplays for HORROR OF DRACULA and REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN the same year). Henry Cass was the director.

 (imdb)

Thanks for reading!

 

Tne Big House

 

(IMDB)

BIG HOUSE USA-1955-Jerry Barker (Ralph Meeker) botches the kidnapping of the son of a rich guy (Willis Bouchey) when the kid is killed escaping. Ranger Chief Erickson (Roy Roberts) and FBI agent Madden (Reed Hadley) arrest him but can only find him guilty of extortion. The warden (un-billed Stafford Repp) puts him in "the lion's den", a cell with 4 notorious criminals: Machine Gun Mason (William Talman), Benny Kelly (Charles Bronson), Alamo Smith (Lon Chaney) and Rollo LaMar (Broderick Crawford). Notoriously nicknamed "the Iceman" Barker becomes the most hated prisoner there. However his four cell mates are planning a prison break and LaMar wants Barker to go with them so he can get the un-recovered ransom money. They succeed in escaping but LaMar is too tough for his own good. 

This gritty little prison drama was the second feature directed by Howard Koch. He went on to direct stuff like UNTAMED YOUTH, BOP GIRL GOES CALYPSO and THE GIRL IN BLACK STOCKINGS (all in 1957). He also produced many low to medium budget films including horror films like THE BLACK SLEEP, VOODOO ISLAND, FRANKENSTEIN 1970 and THE PHARAOH'S CURSE. In the 1970's he produced several episodes of “The Annual Academy Awards TV Show”.

Thanks for reading!

Pre-Frank Karloff

THE CRIMINAL CODE-1930-A guy named Robert Graham (Philips Holmes) accidentally kills a drunk who got fresh with his date Gertrude (Mary Doran). He's sentenced to 10 years in prison. 6 years later, his cellmates are the aging Jim (Otto Hoffman) and the vengeful Galloway (Boris Karloff) who plans on killing "a squealer". The prison gets a new warden Mike Brady (Walter Huston), the DA who sent Graham (and many of the other prisoners) to jail. When the prison doctor tells the warden Graham needs a change of environment, Brady makes him chauffeur for his daughter Mary (Constance Cummings) (and Galloway becomes their butler) which seems to rehabilitate him. Meanwhile Jim plans prison break and is killed. The prisoners plan a diversion so Galloway can kill Runch (Clark Marshall), the inmate who squealed. Graham was an eyewitness but refuses to talk and is put in solitary. Then Mary admits she in love with Graham. In the end Galloway exonerates Graham and gets his revenge on prison guard Gleason (Dewitt Jennings). 

Howard Hawks directed this gritty violent crime drama that was based on a successful play. It also features an early standout role by pre-Frankenstein monster Boris Karloff (he was also in the West Coast stage version) but despite good reviews fame eluded him...until the next year....

Thanks for reading!

There's A Riot Going On

RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11-1956-In this Allied Artist documentary style prison uprising film, prisoners Dunn (Neville Brand) and Crazy Mike (Leo Gordon) lead a prison revolt for better conditions. A former colonel (Robert Osterloh) helps them with their list of grievances while the warden (Emile Meyer) lock horns with a callous senator (Frank Faylen). When Dunn is injured the sadistic Mike takes over and the cons begin fighting among themselves. Eventually Dunn wins his case with the approval of the governor (Thomas B Henry) but it's overturned and Dunn faces 30 more years in stir. “Still there are small steps forward” says the narrator. 

Alvy Moore, Whit Bissell, Paul Frees, Dabbs Greer and William Phipps are some of the other prisoners. 

 Screenwriter Richard Collins also wrote THE CULT OF THE COBRA and was blacklisted for a while. Later he worked mostly in TV. Director Don Siegel made this 2 years before his classic THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

Thanks for reading!

Devil's Island

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND-1973-Le Bras (Jim Brown; also in SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF the same year), a convict is saved from the guillotine and given a life sentence on Devil's Island instead where guards make bets on fights between prisoners. It's run by a one armed commandant (Paul Richards) and 2 sadistic guards. Another convict Davert (Christopher George) is the leader of a communist faction who Le Bras feels saved his life. Le Bras devises an escape plan with 2 other cons JoJo (Rchard Ely) and Dazzas (James Luisi) and Davert is kind of forced to go with them. On their tiny raft they are driven back to the island by sharks and flee into the jungle where they are taken in by a group of lepers. Later they are captured by local natives and Le Bras is chosen to be the new husband for the wife of a man he killed. Once again they escape by raft and somehow make it back to civilization. Dazzas is arrested for stealing but Le Bras and Davert use fireworks to make their escape.

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND is one of the last movies directed by the legendary William Whitney who's career began in the late 1930's. He did many low budget serials and westerns plus movies featuring Zorro, The Lone Ranger and Dick Tracy. Although he entered TV in the 50's he still occasionally made a feature film (like MASTER OF THE WORLD with Vincent Price in 1961). Here he does the best with what he has on the film's obviously low budget and fast paced schedule. The story by Richard L. Adams (who'd also pen THE SLAMS starring Brown the same year) is sadistic and far fetched but the two leads manage to keep it going.

Thanks for reading!

Prison Escape

RIOT-1968-Three convicts (Jim Brown, Gene Hackman and Mike Kellin) take over the isolation unit of a (real) Arizona prison after their failed attempt at a breakout and pretend they are leading protests over the conditions and treatment of their fellow prisoners. Brown as Cully Briston is the only level headed one and he roughs up some cons who want to kill some hostages. He also has a dream that he lives in a mansion surrounded by beautiful women. Red Fraker (Hackman) is the brains behind the plan who knows of a secret tunnel which could be the key to their freedom. Later Cully gets most of the inmates drunk on homemade hooch. An American Indian named Surefoot (Ben Carruthers) causes trouble that leads to several deaths in this violent but fairly realistic prison drama. Big Jim is the only one to actually escape and according to the movie is “still at large”. Gerald S. O'Loughlin plays a mean prison guard who's beaten to death. 

Director Buzz Kulik used a real prison and inmates for this action filled but hardly remembered little flick made several years before Hackman became a star with THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and Brown struck blaxpolitation gold with SLAUGHTER and it's sequel. Director Kulik worked primarily in TV (since the early '50's; he directed at least 9 TWILIGHT ZONE episodes) but around this time made several features. He later made many well known TV movies (BRIAN'S SONG, BAD RONALD, FROM HERE TO ENTERNITY mini-series). 

RIOT is based a novel by Frank Elli and screenwriter James Poe also penned THE SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY the same year. At the time he was married to Barbara Steele.

That was too long! Thanks for reading!

The Slams

THE SLAMS-1973-"Why'd ya do Curtis? Ya know you can't mess with the man".  Jim Brown is Curtis Hook who's thrown in jail after a botched robbery. The mob has put a contract out on him because he took drugs and money from them in the robbery. "This shit is crazy" Hook declares after being attacked. 


Ted Cassidy (TV's lovable Lurch on THE ADDAMS FAMILY) is Glover, a sadistic inmate who pours molten metal on a squealer. Frank DeKova (TV's lovable Wild Eagle in F-TROOP) is Capiello, a very mean imprisoned gangster who wants Hook to work for him. Since Hook is sitting on a lot of stolen money everyone is on his case including a corrupt captain (Roland Bob Harris). Added to this he's in between a racial prison war. His girlfriend Iris (Judy Pace) tries to help Hook through Mr. Barney (Paul Harris), a pimp surrounded by several topless women who says what Hook really needs is a "good white Jewish lawyer"! It gets more far fetched as it progresses ending with Hook's big escape and he and Iris living happily ever after on their tainted money. 


This forgotten blaxplotation pic was made the same year as Brown's better known SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF. Also with Quinn Redecker (also in SPIDER BABY) as the warden, Dick Miller in a small humorous role as a cab driver, Jan Merlin and John Lupton in one scene. 


Director Jonathan Kaplan made other features like TRUCK TURNER, OVER THE EDGE and HEART LIKE A WHEEL before going into TV (ER, LAW & ORDER). Gene Corman produced this MGM release.


Thanks for reading!   




  

Triple Trouble

TRIPLE TROUBLE-1950-For some reason "the boys" are walking around one night in Halloween masks even though it's not October. They witness a warehouse robbery but because of their masks they are all arrested! Their lawyer-friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell) gets them out in bail but when Whitey (Billy Bennedict) picks up some mysterious messages on his short wave radio emanating from the state prison Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) deliberately plead guilty so they can be sent to prison and investigate! 

Once there they are mistaken for real criminals and get involved in an outside robbery and a jail break with Sach acting goofier as it goes along. The other boys (David Gorcey and Buddy Gorman) help out as does Little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) who is always entertaining. Also with Joe Turkel, Paul Dubov, Tom Kennedy and Lyle Tabott in a small un-billed role. 

Once again Jean Yarbrough directed and Charles Marion wrote the screenplay. 

Thanks for reading!   

Men In Prison

PENITENTIARY-1979-A hitchhiker named Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy) gets into a fight with two bikers over a prostitute . One of the bikers is killed and Gordone is sent to prison. There he falls in with a lot of violent (but in some respects cartoonish) black inmates. He has a weird fight with his super scary cell mate (Badja Djola) and later on gets involved in some prison boxing tournament run by a white lieutenant (Chuck Mitchell; later in PORKY'S) where the winners in each weight class get a night with a woman. He's trained by an old inmate "Seldom Seen" Jackson (Floyd "Wildcat" Chatman) who says "I'm a man. I ain't no hippy dippy fool". A transvestite comedian Wilbur "Hi-Fi" White plays Sweet Pea.

It's badly photographed, edited and acted but it is a violent, enjoyable ROCKY inspired "blaxploitation" movie. Director/producer/writer Jamaa Fanaka (nee Walter Gordon) made this 3 years after his last movie EMMA MAE and would make 2 sequels both starring the more than one emotion challenged Kennedy who retired in the late '80's to become a minister.

Special note: Two days after writing this review I read director Jamaa Fanaka (nee Walter Gordan) died on April 1 2012!

Thanks for reading!