Harryhausen

 

 

 (alamy.com)

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS-1963-Jason (Todd Armstrong) and his men set out on the Argo and have many wild adventures in this super great adaptation from mythology. They encounter a giant animated statue, harpies, a talking masthead, Triton and the sorceress Medea (Nancy Kovack) while in search of the golden fleece. After being betrayed by Acastus (Gary Raymond), Medea helps them. Jason kills the multi-headed Hydra and secures the fleece. In the best part skeleton warriors created from the Hydra's teeth battle the group. All the time, Zeus (Niall MacGinnis) & Hera (Honor Blackman) watch from Olympus. Argonauts include Nigel Greene as Hercules, Lawrence Naismith and uncredited John Crawford. Patrick Troughton is the blind prophet, Phineus. 

English director Don Chaffrey had worked a lot in TV but later made ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966) and CREATURES THAT TIME FORGOT (1971). He later worked in American TV and stuff like PETE'S DRAGON (1977) and C.H.O.M.P.S.(1979). His direction here is good but the main attraction is the fantastic stop animation creatures created by the legendary Ray Harryhausen (also a co-producer). Bernard Herrmann did the soundtrack. It was a critical success but a box office disappointment.

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The Stooges and West Out West

THE OUTLAWS IS COMING!-1965-The Three Stooges reek havoc in the old west!

Adam West (just before the BATMAN TV show) plays a crusading Boston magazine editor who goes to Wyoming to stop the slaughter of the buffalo. Of course he takes his three assistants (Moe, Larry & Curly Joe) along with him. There they run into town boss Rance Roden (Don Lamond) and gunslinger Trigger Mortis (Mort Mills) who are deliberating killing the buffalo to start a war with the Indians. Nancy Kovack is Annie Oakley.

It’s kind of dumb but the Stooges manage a few good laughs. There’s no eye poking but a lot of slapstick and even some pie throwing. Stooge second (or fourth?) banana Emil Sitka plays 3 roles. Henry Gibson plays a hip talking Indian and 1960’s children’s TV host “Officer” Joe Bolton has a small role.

Not counting KOOK’S TOUR (an aborted project that was later re-edited) this was the last of the “new” Stooges feature films (which began in 1959 with HAVE ROCKET-WILL TRAVEL). It was directed by Moe’s son-in-law Norman Maurer (who also directed them in AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE two years before). Maurer (along with comic book artist Joe Kubert) created the first 3-D comic book as well as well as the “CineMagic” film process (with producer Sidney Pink). He managed the Stooges from 1957 until Larry Fine’s stroke in the early ‘70’s. He later created the cartoon series THE THREE ROBOTIC STOOGES and worked on other Hanna-Barbera projects. He died in 1986.

It was a comic book too!



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