Crime Drama

 

 (imdb)

CRIME WAVE-1953-Parolee Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson) and his wife Ellen (Phyllis Kirk) become entangled in the escape plan of his escaped con pals Doc Petty (Ted DeCorsia) and Ben Hastings (Charles Buchinsky Bronson's first film credit). Since Lacey is a pilot they want him to fly them to Mexico. Ridiculously surly cop Lt. Syms (Sterling Hayden) is on their trail unmercifully hounding Lacey . Un-billed Timothy Carey shows up midway holding Kirk hostage while the others hold up a bank. 

Gritty little film noir also has Dub Taylor, Jay Novello, Fritz Feld and Iris Adrian. Director Alex DeToth later used Kirk and Buchinsky in HOUSE OF WAX. Hayden, DeCorsia and Carey were all in Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING in 1956.

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Head

HEAD-1968-Deranged out-dated psychedelic non-movie from the once popular TV pop band. Written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo and Bob Rafelson, who also directed, the whole thing is designed to make fun of their "pre-packaged" image. It's chaotic and off the wall (loyal fans of the show, if there were any left, might have been disappointed) but it does feature faded Hollywood star Victor Mature as the villain and appearances by Frank Zappa (pulling a donkey), Sonny Liston, Timothy Carey & Tiger Joe Marsh (not Tor Johnson). 

Nicholson and Rafelson's next project together would be FIVE EASY PIECES in 1970. 

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Mr. BIG's Pirates

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THE BOY AND THE PIRATES-1960-Jimmy (Charles Herbert), a little kid who likes pirates finds a bottle with a mini-genie (Joe Turkel) in it. Because of a wish he makes Jimmy winds up on “The Queen's Revenge”, a pirate ship ruled by the infamous Blackbeard (Murvyn Vye)) who makes Jimmy his cabin boy. He has to swab the deck, clean fish and get rum for the captain. After the pirates loot and kill on a Dutch ship Jimmy (who Blackbeard calls a “miserable cabin rat”) rescues Katrina (Susan Gordon), a girl about his age. Blackbeard wants to throw her overboard but Jimmy stands up for her. When the crew learn their captain is after some gold, Morgan (Timothy Carey) tries to burn out Jimmy's tongue. When a British ship attacks The Queens Revenge, Jimmy and Katrina escape to an island but Blackbeard follows them. Jimmy throws the genie bottle at the pirate and he winds up back home. 

Despite being aimed at kids there's long stretches of talk and blood and violence. 

This bizarre kiddie swashbuckling fantasy was the first color film for “Mr. BIG” himself Bert I. Gordon (still alive at the time of this writing). There are no giant monsters but it's definitely a low budget production with some mediocre SFX. This was the second of four appearances for Susan Gordon in her dad's movies. Star Charles Herbert was also a popular child star at the time having been in THE FLY and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK and many TV shows. He was in William Castle's 13 GHOSTS the same year.

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Filmed On The Bayou

BAYOU-1957- Hi-jinx in the Cajun swamps as crab fisherperson Maria (Lita Milan) is ogled by pervert store owner Ulysses (Timothy Carey; bizarre as usual) while NY architect Martin Davis (Peter Graves; also in Bert I. Gordon's THE BEGINING OF THE END the same year) tries to win a contract to build a “civic auditorium”. His contractor friend (Douglas Fowley) gets him an interview with the city commissioner but Murphy (who calls Cajuns “animals”), his rival for the job embarrass him. Maria's father Emil (also played by Fowley though he doesn't get credit for the dual roles) has no more credit at Ulysses' store but U urges dad to put the hard sell on his daughter and make Maria attend a dance with him. After Davis almost runs Maria down in his speed boat, Ulysses does his greasy best to put the moves on her but when she resists he tries to rape her. Fortunately her father comes home and U scrams. Maria and Davis hook up at a bar and she shows him around the carnival. Ulysses beats Davis in a “pirogue race” and gives Davis a hard time. When Davis backs down from fighting everyone thinks he has no guts. Maria though is stuck on him and Ulysses starts trouble when they go for a boat ride. 

At a wedding “shivaree” Ulysses does a wild dance where he looks like he's being tortured. Again he challenges Davis to a fight but again the future MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE star backs down. When a storm hits, the two lovers decide to elope but dad is killed. After his funeral Davis and Ulysses have their fight and Davis whips his ass. Everyone (even his abused little pal Bos, played by Jonathan Haze) deserts Ulysses. Ed Nelson is also in the cast. 

Director Harold Daniels was later one of the credited directors of HOUSE OF BLACK DEATH. This nonsense, full of bad Cajun accents, played for years on the drive-in circuit under the title POOR WHITE TRASH.

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Rock and Religion

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER-1962-Rock god or sinner? 

Bored insurance salesman Clarence Hilliard (Timothy Carey) quits his job to write a book. That doesn’t work out so after seeing a rock band perform (the musician looks like he’s 12 years old) he decides to start his own group and throw some bible thumping in besides. He stands on street corners with his faithful friend Alonzo (Gil Barreto) and gets some followers (one of them is Titus Moede, later in some Ray Dennis Steckler movies).

He forms a kind of cabal with a bunch of nitwits to devise a plan (“Let’s be different. Let’s not hate anybody”). He seduces an old lady for money then dons a phony goatee and plays some numbers with his band (it’s very noisy) and shakes and yells like he’s having a fit. He preaches a loony kind of Nietzsche like philosophy that man is the only god and his followers run riot in the town. After his followers start calling him “God” the devil (who also narrates) visits him and convinces him to enter politics (“Just get rid of your guitar, Clarence”). He starts “The Eternal Man’s Party” and a montage of scenes depict how he’s corrupted by sex and power while campaigning as “God” Hilliard. After he loses the election it all goes down the drain and he cracks up, loses his family and blasphemes God. In the finale the devil as a snake is super-imposed around his body and the screen turns red negative!

For years I read all sorts of stuff about this movie. Michael Wheldon of “Psychotronic Video” fame gushed over it many times. It is entertaining. If more people get to see it (TCM showed one night at 2 AM) it could become the "PLAN 9" of the21^st Century!

Star Carey (a familiar and weird character actor who had scenes in the bigger budgeted films HOUSE OF NUMBERS and CONVICTS 4 the same year) wrote, produced and directed. It’s badly edited and some of the acting is quite funny. In his scenes before he becomes “God” Carey seems like he’s drunk. Paul Frees is the voice of Satan.

Frank Zappa wrote and performed the theme song and some incidental music is also obviously his (some of it sounds like his “Holiday In Berlin”, a theme he used many times over).

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