Kolchak Returns

 

 (imdb)

THE NIGHT STRANGLER-1973-Once again the brash eclectic reporter Karl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) takes tape recorder in hand to investigate the murder of a belly dancer, this time in Seattle, Washington. He meets his former boss Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) in bar and is hired on but is first read the riot act by the publisher Crossbinder (John Carradine). Police Capt. Shubert (Scott Brady) and coroner Webb (Ivor Francis) hold a press conference after a second killing. Another coroner tells Kolchak there was rotted flesh on the victims' necks. Some blood is also missing. They seem to have been killed by a dead man. When Kolchak learns about the abandoned underground city of Seattle, he goes to Titus Berry (Wally Cox), in charge of the city's archives. It seems the same type of murders have happened every 21 years since 1889. 

He befriends another belly dancer (Jo Ann Pflug) and they take a tour of the underground city. But they take a detour and meet a derelict (Al Lewis). He also consults Prof. Crabwell (Margaret Hamilton), an anthropologist who clues him in on a secret "elixir of life" to stay young. After another dancer (Nina Wayne) is strangled, Kolchak tries to convince Shubert what's happening but the captain puts a few holes in Kolchak's theory. Later when a 6th woman is murdered (there was always 6 victims), Kolchak identifies the killer as a 144-year-old Civil War doctor (Richard Anderson). Kolchak destroys the decrepit doctor but loses his job, so does Vincenzo. This ends on a lighter note than its predecessor. 

Producer Dan Curtis also was the director of this great follow up, written once again by Richard Matheson. The short-lived TV series “Kolchak:The Night Stalker” ran in 1974. Curtis produced and directed another “Kolchak” like TV film the same year for another network called THE NORLISS TAPES.

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Wild Weird West

FIVE BLOODY GRAVES-1970-I can't believe this is the first Al Adamson movie I'm reviewing here! He was a staple of late night NYC TV viewing in the '70's and '80's. His stuff usually featured aging actors, long fight or chase scenes with no dialogue and bad SFX. Here's his only western! 

I love the cartoon credits too!

Death (Gene Raymond; once a popular star in the 1940's) narrates this low budget weird western tale. Cowboy Ben Thompson (Adamson regular Robert Dix who also wrote the screenplay) is hunting renegade Apache Setago (Adamson regular and future director John “Bud” Cardos) for killing his wife on their wedding day. He starts off by helping save Setago's half brother Joe Lightfoot (also Cardos). Then he saves a former girlfriend Nora Miller (Adamson regular Vicki Volante) but gets into trouble with her jealous husband Dave (Adamson regular Kent Osbourne). 

After Ben leaves Setago's minions kill the couple and burn their house down. Then Death introduces us to Clay Bates (Jim Davis) and his partner Horace (Ray Young) who sell rifles to the Indians. Ben meets up again with Lightfoot now wounded in an attack. Clay and Horace find Lightfoot's “squaw” (Maria Polo) staked to the ground by Setago and Clay rapes and kills her. The Indians then attack a stagecoach. Somehow the passengers manage to hold off the first onslaught. Scott Brady is crabby Jim Wade who's always barking orders at his wife. Paula Raymond (BEAST FROM 50,000 FATHOMS) is aging show girl Kansas Kelly and John Carradine is great as Boone Hawkins, a voyeur preacher. Tara Ashton (later Mrs. Dix) is Althea, another show girl who provides some new love interest for Ben who shows up (with Lightfoot) to help the group survive. 

They meet up with Clay and Horace along the way. After some in fighting Lighfoot gets his revenge on Clay but he is killed by Setago. Then the Indians attack and most of the remaining cast is killed off leading to a final knife fight between Ben and Setago. Death says: “One will come to me. The other will ride on seeking me. Because in violence between men and nations there can be only one victor and that is death”.

I read comments about FBG saying it's the worst western ever made. Well, of course it's not great but it's entertaining. The “oldsters” cast (typical of an Adamson movie) is great but the film is really enhanced by locations (it was shot in a Utah National Park) and the cinematography by future Academy Award winner William (now Vilmos) Zsigmond. Al himself plays an Indian who fights Ben near the beginning of the film and his own father Victor Adamson has a small role. The elder Adamson once made his own low budget westerns in the '30's under the name of Denver Dixon! Besides playing two roles John Cardos was associate producer, production manager, stunt coordinator and assistant director!  

As with most of Adamson's product it was distributed by Independent International, a company founded by former Famous Monsters of Filmland writer Sam Sherman. On the DVD from Retro Shock A Rama there's a commentary track by Sherman and star Robert Dix. (both still alive at the time of this review)

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Note: I just realized I reviewed another Adamson movie:

http://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2010/12/talking-chimp.html

 

Wicked Stuff?

WICKED WICKED-1973-This typical slasher/stalker film was shot in "duo-vision" a split screen process showing two different scenes at one time.

Randolph Roberts (later Chuck Cunningham, Richie's older brother in TV's HAPPY DAYS) plays Jason, a handyman/custodian/electronics expert who also kills women (while wearing a scary mask) who come to stay at the hotel where he works. The split screens not only shows the goings on in the hotel but also provide flashbacks while certain characters talk about their lives.

Tiffany Bolling is a singer (and does the horrible theme song) who performs at the hotel and Jason 's next target. David Bailey (later a regular on the soap opera ANOTHER WORLD) is the house detective (and Bolling's character's ex-spouse) trying to figure it out and Scott Brady (who had a role in THE NIGHT STRANGLER the same year) is a no nonsense detective he butts heads with. Roger Bowen (Col. Blake in the movie version of MASH) is the pompous hotel manager. Madeleine Sherwood and Arthur O'Connell are also in it. Edd Brynes (formerly TV's Kookie on 77 SUNSET STRIP) is a red herring waiter who uses the phrase "honest bread" a few times. Meanwhile an old woman plays the organ as background music.

It's a little better than the usual serial killer stuff clogging up '70's cinema, uses some ironic comic touches and puts the split screen to good use. This was the last feature film directed by Richard L. Bare (who also wrote the screenplay), better known for his TV work on such comedies as GREEN ACRES. Lyrics to the insipid songs are by Irwin Levine who co-wrote "This Diamond Ring". Charles Pierce was the set decorator. Actor Bailey later died in an accidental drowning.

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Low, Very Low

DESTINATION: INNER SPACE-United Pictures- 1966-Navy commander Scott Brady investigates the source of some mysterious radar blips in an undersea lab head up by scientist Gary Merrill. Brady tries to make time with oceanographer Sherri North and contend with a cowardly diver (future voice over actor Mike Road). Others on board include: John Howard (who was a regular on MY 3 SONS at the time), Wende Wagner (ROSEMARY’S BABY) and Biff Elliot (who was in NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS and TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE the same year! ). It turns out the blip is really an invading spaceship and when a metal canister is brought aboard it unleashes a giant scaly man fish (with a red tail fin and claws) bent on destroying humankind!

The whole feel of this movie is like a long episode of TV’s VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (where Merrill once subbed for Richard Basehart...) with toy models, an outrageous but cheap monster and claustrophobic sets yet despite this (and Merrill’s zombie like performance) the underwater scenes are quite well done. James Hong has a few scenes as a broken English-speaking cook and ‘40’s serial regular Ray Bancroft plays a boat skipper.

Director Francis Lyon and writer Arthur C. Pierce had both been around and would collaborate again in 1968 for THE DESTRUCTORS (which featured Howard). Lyon, a former film editor, made CASTLE OF EVIL with Brady the same year. Music by Paul Dunlop.

SPACE PROBE TAURUS-A.I.P.-1964-Better known as SPACE MONSTER this weird, boring space drama has the scientists of Spaceship Hope 1 investigating a UFO and encountering a strange alien who communicates (?) by sticking out it’s tongue!

Francine York (CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE) plays the lady scientist who’s looked down on by the commander (James Brown). AIP vet Russ Bender is also one of the astro-eggheads. They kill the alien and blow up it’s ship. That’s progress for ya! After much talk, the crew lands on a planet and is menaced by giant crabs. A “ crab-man “ with fangs (who also looks like something out of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA!) kills one of them. The “ giant crabs “ are actually little ones attacking a toy ship. I’ve been told this “ could have influenced “ STAR TREK (2 years later) and 2001 ( 4 years later ) but it looks more influenced by Bert I. Gordon!!

Writer-director Leonard Katzman overcame toy models and produced such hit TV shows as THE WILD WILD WEST, HAWAII 5-0 and DALLAS!

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