Too Tufts To Die

 

 (imdb)

SERPENT ISLAND-1954-A rummy sailor Pete Mason (Sonny Tufts) agrees to help Miss Ricky Andre (Mary Munday) find the family treasure using the infamous Andre Letter which she carries. They charter a boat for Haiti from Capt. Ellis (Tom Monroe) who doesn't like Mason and vice-versa and eventually they have a fight. Pete and Ricky go off to an island as he doesn't believe the gold is in Haiti. On the island Pete puts his moves on Ricky. At first, she resists but then accepts it and judging by the scenes of crashing waves they have a great time! Pete and Ricky are captured by the island natives. There are actually only two. The rest is stock footage. Pete even knows the head priestess (Rosalind Hayes). Her servant Jacques (Don Blackman) has a couple of fights with Pete. The gold they are looking for is an idol worshiped by the locals. A giant snake almost kills Ricky but Pete saves her. Ellis however has other plans but he's bitten by a snake. Pete & Ricky escape, gold-less but in love. 

This romantic adventure story is very cheap with a minimal cast. This was writer/director Tom Gries debut but he went on to TV in the '50's and '60's and much later made some bigger budgeted movies like WILL PENNY (1967), the TV mini-series HELTER SKELTER (1976), THE GREATEST (his last in 1977) and others. Mr BIG himself Bert I. Gordon was the producer and cinematographer, a year before he directed his first film, KING DINOSAUR! Star Sonny Tufts had been in CAT-WOMAN OF THE MOON the year before.

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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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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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