Remake (again)

 

 (imdb)

VICKI-1953-Against the wishes of his boss (uncredited John Denher), burned out obsessed police Lt. Cornell (Richard Boone) takes on the murder case of famous model Vicki Lin (Jean Peters). Suspects include PR man Steve Christopher (Elliot Reid) who made Vicki famous, colum-nist Larry Evans (Casey Adams, who wrote the theme song), actor Robin Ray (Alex D'Arcy) and switchboard operator Harry (Aaron Spelling). The story is mostly told in flashbacks by the suspects and Vicki's sister Jill (Jeanne Crain) who was suspicious of the whole thing. Though there are a lot of suspects it seems obvious who's the guilty party but there's a twist. 

Cops include Carl Betz, Russ Conway, Paul Gerstle and Parley Baer. Bits by Billy Nelson, Richard Garland and Burt Mustin as a bell boy! (He was still old!). This film noir remake of I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941) was directed by Harry Horner (RED PLANET MARS (1952), BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952)). A few years later, Richard Boone would star in the TV western HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, which John Denher had starred in on radio. It's also been noted that the blacklisted writer Leo Townsend worked on the screenplay with no credit. He later wrote BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1963) and FIREBALL 500 (1965).

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Against A Low Budget Sky

 

 (imdb)

AGAINST A CROOKED SKY-1975-A weird American Indian Temkai (Geoffrey Land from Al Adamson movies) kidnaps a young girl named Charlotte (Jewell Blanch). Her father (Clint Ritchie) goes to rescue her. Meanwhile his not too bright son Sam (Stuart Petersen) goes looking himself and after nearly drowning is rescued by a backwoods grump called Russian (Richard Boone). After a first aborted search, Sam and Russian search for the tribe that Temkai belongs to. Along the way they meet up with the rightful chief (Henry Wilcoxon who also provides narration) who was left to die in the desert years before. They find the strange tribe now run by an angry bald guy. Sam must go through a ritual to save his sister's life. 

This low budget politically incorrect “The Searchers” rip off is only worth seeing for Boone's performance. Director Earl Bellamy was a prolific TV director with few feature movie credits but he made WALKING TALL PART 2 the same year. Land was in JESSI'S GIRLS and BLAZING STEWARDESSES (both directed by Al Adamson) the same year. Co-star Blanch later became a country-western singer and song publisher.

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Van Cleef vs. Palance

GOD'S GUN-1976-Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) and his gang stop over at the town Juno after a bank robbery. One of Clayton's men kills a man and they take off. The sheriff (Richard Boone) wants to let them go but the local priest (Lee Van Cleef) goes after them. He brings the killer back to the jail but the gang breaks him out and shoots up the town and the priest is killed. A young boy named Johnny (Leif Garrett) who helped the priest around the church goes to Mexico to find the priest's brother Lewis (also Van Cleef). It seems the trauma of the killing leaves him mute but he finds Lewis and they go back to Juno. Along the way we get a flashback to the last time the two brothers met. Meanwhile Clayton's men molest the womenfolk until Johnny's saloon owner mother (Sybil Danning) reveals that Sam is her son's father. A flashback shows that as a Union soldier he raped her. Sam's pretty happy about this but before anything can happen Lewis returns in his brother's robes and some of the dumb outlaws think he's come back from the dead. Lewis gets his vengeance in a gun fight and Johnny gets his voice back. 

Great cast, terrible drawn out movie. Boone left before filming was completed so he only shows up sporadically with a dubbed voice that sounds like it's on helium. Palance usually makes anything he's in worth watching and his elation at finding out he has a son is the movie's highlight. 

This Italian-Israeli production (filmed in Israel) was directed by Gianfranco Parolini/Frank Kramer had early made THE RETURN OF SABATA with Van Cleef.

Also known as DIAMANTE LOBO.

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3 Quickies. It's a Busy Weekend!

CINDERELLA-2006-This is not based on the famous fairy tale that features evil step sisters. This is a Korean made sort of horror film about a girl named Hyunsu who’s mother is a plastic surgeon. She does cosmetic surgery on some of her friends who eventually wind up dead. It has some good effects but overall the plot is con,-fusing and the ending is a disappointment.



A DIRTY CARNIVAL-2006-This is an very well made Scorese’ influenced South Korean gangster film. Byung-doo is a low level mobster who seems more like a doormat than a thug but after murdering a lawyer for a his boss he slowly and viciously gains more power and becomes more ruthless. His childhood friend who is now a filmmaker uses Byung’s knowledge to make his own gangster film and this causes problems. There’s several violent fights but it was a little too long for me.



THE TALL T-1957-Randolph Scott is a loner cowboy who runs up against outlaw Richard Boone and his two goons (Skip Homeier & Henry Silva) when hitching a stage coach ride with some newlyweds (Maureen O’Sullivan & John Hubbard). This is the second of seven “adult” westerns Scott made with director Budd Boetticher from 1956-1960. It’s psychological, violent and very cool! Arthur Hunnicutt is a doomed stage driver. Burt Kennedy wrote the script based on a story by Elmore Leonard.

Thanks for reading! Happy 4th of July!

I Bury The Living...How 'Bout You?

I BURY THE LIVING-1958-A department store owner (Richard Boone, the same year he started his hit western HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL on TV) has to take over the operation of a cemetery for one year. The centerpiece of the dingy office is a large map of all the burial plots. Black pins in the map indicate that the plots are “occupied”, while white pins signify the owners are still living. When Boone accidentally puts black pins into the plot of a couple still alive, they die a few hours later. This happens several more times until Boone begins to think he has some kind of power over life and death. It’s a fairly interesting thriller (I’ve heard Stephen King says it’s one of his favorite movies..) but has a pretty improbable resolution..

Theodore Bikel (in terrible old man make-up) plays the soon to be retired caretaker. He was in THE DEFIANT ONES the same year. Also with Peggy Maurer, Robert Osterloh, Herbert Anderson (one year away from playing Mr. Mitchell on the long running DENNIS THE MENACE TV show), Cyril Delevanti and Russ Bender.



Director Albert Band (Father of Charles & Richard) made the seldom seen FACE OF FIRE with Cameron Mitchell the same year.



The once mighty Jack P. Pierce did the make-up for I BURY THE LIVING.



Writer Louis Garfinkle later co-wrote THE DEERHUNTER.


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Max Twice

Sweden's Max Von Sydow is great actor but having him in your movie doesn't mean your movie is going to be great!



THE KREMLIN LETTER-1970-This all-star cold war spy drama directed by John Huston isn’t very good. There’s a lot of talk and it’s overly complicated. Old spies get together for some dirty work. Patrick O’Neal is the ex-navy man recruited to impersonate a Russian male prostitute. He has an affair with Bibi Andersson who’s husband is a sadistic Russian officer (played by her THE SEVENTH SEAL co-star Max Von Sydow) but the underrated Richard Boone steals the show as O’Neal’s “uncle” despite his bad blond dye job.

The always-interesting George Sanders plays a gay agent called Warlock. Nigel Greene is The Whore, Dean Jagger is Highwayman and Michael MacLiammoir is Sweet Alice. Huston tries hard to make this brutal tale work but it really doesn’t. Orson Welles, Barbara Parkins, Raf Vallone and Huston himself round out the cast.





MINORITY REPORT-20th Century-2002-Steven Spielberg blows it again with this sci-fi tale based on a short story by the late Phillip K. Dick.

In a futuristic society authorities use a Pre-Crime Unit to prevent murder. Three “pre-cognitive freaks” help predict when violent crimes will happen. Tom Cruise heads a squad that then must arrest the pre- guilty party before they commit the crime. He takes drugs and watches hologram images of his dead son. Turns out he’s about to become the next pre-killer…. Sounds fascinating, right?

Yeah, right. There’s too much talk, too much over acting, the SFX are pretty bad considering the budget and you’d think SS would have learned from his mistakes after the boring depression of AI but Mr. Hollywood is so hung up on his massive “genius” he could put a bag of shit on film and it would get released.

Fortunately Colin Farrell is on hand to chew the scenery actually making Cruise’s performance a little easier to take than usual. Max Von Sydow plays the Pre Crime director.

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Space and The World

RIDERS TO THE STARS-1954-Scientist Herbert Marshall needs a meteor from outer space. He and a group of scientists set out to find three men to fly rocket ships (with wings) into space a get one. William Lunigan (a busy TV actor at the time) is the scientist most qualified. He’s also Marshall’s son. He falls in love with Martha Hyer while being trained. Richard Carlson (who was in THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON the same year) co-stars and directs as well. I’ve read “film doctor” Herbert Strock directed some scenes un-credited. It’s an early serious science fiction tale (based on a story by Ivan Tors) and it’s in color! Curt Siodmak wrote the screenplay.

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS-1944-Excellent but overlooked fantasy from Warner Brothers.

A group of people is killed during an air raid attack in London. They wind up on a mysterious ship along with a couple (Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker) that committed suicide. The ship’s steward (Edmund Gwenn) eventually informs them they are dead and on their way to meet The Examiner (Henreid’s CASABLANCA co-star Sydney Greenstreet) who will decide if they will go to heaven or hell (but it’s actually the same place). As The Examiner states “You see my son, you make your own heaven and hell for yourselves on Earth, you only bring it with you here”.

John Garfield headlines as a cynical reporter. George Coulouris is an industrialist who realizes too late money can’t buy everything. Faye Emerson is a fame hungry actress. George Tobias, Isobel Elsom, Dennis King and Sara Allgood are the others. The second half when the groups’ lives are “examined” is the best part. It’s based on the play OUTWARD BOUND first produced on Broadway in 1924 and revived in 1932. Director Edward A. Blatt was usually a dialogue director and directed only three films.

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