Twinkle Twinkle

 

 (themoviedatabase)

THE 9^th CONFIGURATION-1980-According to a narrator, after the Vietnam war many soldiers claimed psychosis and authorities thought they were faking so the government set up special facilities to investigate them. This takes place in No. 18, the last of those facilities, where a bunch of nuts (Joe Spinell, Robert Loggia, Alejandro Rey, Moses Gunn) insult each other and Grouper (Neville Brand), the officer in charge. 

An army psychiatrist (Stacy Keach), who imagines the Crucifixion at a moon landing, comes to investigate the inmates including an astronaut (Scott Wilson) who aborted a mission. Later, the shrink makes them dress as Nazis but he's not what he seems. 

Also with Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, George DiCenzo and Tom Atkins. Steve Sandor and Richard Lynch are motorcycle gang members. This very deceptive, psychological thriller was written and directed by William Peter Blatty (author of “The Exorcist”) from his own novel.

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Condors

 (imdb)

 
EASTERN CONDORS-1987-Some Chinese convicts go to Vietnam to destroy a stockpile of munitions left behind by the US. It's part martial arts, part DEERHUNTER, part DIRTY DOZEN with great fights. Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao beat up everyone. It's violent and action packed with Academy Award winning actor Dr. Haing S. Ngor. The villain is played by Wah Yuen who made many movies after (and before) this, He was in the big budgeted SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS in 2021. Director Hung (real name: Kam Bo-Hung) directed the Jackie Chan film DRAGONS FOREVER the same year (he also co-starred). From 1998-2000 he starred in the US TV show “Martial Law”. 

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"Jesus Died So We Could Ride"

 

 (imdb)

THE BIKER BABYLON-1969-"Something primitive and terrifying is happening".

This is a documentary about protests against the Vietnam War in DC featuring a motorcycle gang called "The Aliens", who do a lot of talking about being harassed by "The Man". Dick Gregory appears as himself. Then everyone attends a rock festival but no acts are mentioned or seen. The sarcastic narration sounds like it was written for Jack Webb! Aka IT'S A REVOLUTION MOTHER. 

Director Harry Kerwin (brother of William Kerwin/Thomas Wood from BLOOD FEAST) later made GOD'S BLOODY ACRE (1975) and BARRACUDA (1978). While he made some movies before BIKER like the comedy MY THIRD HUSBAND, GEORGE (1968), I believe some very early credits are actually for another Harry Kerwin.

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War Is Crazy

5 GATES TO HELL-1959-Vietnam (French Indo China) 1950 is the setting for this crazy little war film!

More exploitation than propaganda, it tells the tale of a international medical team that's captured by some Asian rebels who want the doctor (Ken Scott) of the group to "heal" their dying leader. Second in command Chen Pamok (Neville Brand speaking pidgin English but not made up to look Asian!) takes a fancy to nurse Athena (Dolores Michaels) while the rest of the women (including THE FLY's Patricia Owens, Nobu McCarthy, future BEVERLY HILLBILLIES co-star Nancy Kulp and nun Shirley Knight) are abused by the army. The group (there's one other "western" male played by John Morley) stages an uprising where it seems Chen is killed but so are the doctors. The women escape but Chen somehow survives and pursues them. The women eventually have to fight it out in the climax.

Benson Fong hangs around as Chen's leering assistant. Irish McCalla (same year as SHE DEMONS) has a small role as a nun who's crucified (basically shown off screen).

5 was written produced and directed by James Clavell who later became much more famous for his novels like SHOGUN. He had written the screenplay to THE FLY and later directed TO SIR WITH LOVE. Some close-ups seem out of place but where else are you going to see TV's Miss Hathaway wearing an army helmet and fooling around with a grenade?

Thanks once again to my pal Tony for getting this to me and thanks to anyone who reads this!

Nam Fu

ATTACK FORCE 'NAM-Similar to Chuck Norris' POW series, David Carradine is Col. Cooper who leads a group of GIs back to Vietnam to rescue POWs right before the Paris Peace Accord is signed. Mako plays a camp leader who takes Cooper prisoner but then wants a deal where Cooper will take him to Hanoi as his prisoner but he's really after some hidden gold.

It's cheaply made but has lots of action and also features Steve Jones as an army Lieutenant.

The DVD version I saw had a picture of Carradine from the original Kung-Fu series on the front and they back had credits for another movie!

Carradine and Mako were in Kung-Fu reunion TV movie the same year.

ATTACK FORCE played in theaters as BEHIND ENEMY LINES.

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