By Lee Pfeiffer

Ernest Borgnine's final film, The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vincente Fernandez has been released on Blu-ray on the Indican video label. The following is my review of the film's recent theatrical release:

The independent production is a modestly-budgeted family comedy/drama that presents the legendary Oscar-winner with the kind of showcase role that actors in their nineties almost never have. Borgnine makes the most of it, too, giving a terrific and moving performance that earned him the Best Actor award at last year's Newport Film Festival. Written and produced by Elia Petridis, Fernandez centers on Rex Page (Borgnine), a cantankerous old coot given to griping about every aspect of life. He seems oblivious to the fact that he has an adoring wife (June Squibb), a devoted middle-aged daughter (Dale Dickey) and and a worshipful granddaughter (Audrey P. Scott). Rex is frustrated by his failure to fulfill his dream of becoming a big time actor on the silver screen. He once came close to landing the leading role in a spaghetti Western, but lost out to a competing actor. He's spent a lifetime in self-imposed hell, obsessed with watching this B movie and learning every line of dialogue, which he repeats to anyone in his presence. When a health crisis sees the fiercely independent Rex move into a nursing home, a series of incidents motivate him to reevaluate his life. The nursing home is a money mill for corrupt bureaucrats who use the patients as cash cows. It doesn't take Rex long to figure this out and he quickly wears out his welcome by insulting and chastising fellow elderly patients who are part of a click belonging to the corrupt family that owns the facility. He also is abrasive towards the largely Hispanic staff of nurses and orderlies, often referring to them in unflattering racial insults.

The relationship between Rex and his caregivers gradually softens, however, when the young staff members learn that Rex, a former popular DJ, once briefly met and shook the hand of the film's titular character, Vincente Fernandez, a "Mexican Frank Sinatra" who enjoys mythic stature in the Hispanic community. Rex transfixes the staff by telling and retelling his account of this brief meeting in the 1970s. This common bond allows Rex and the staffers to form a mutually respectful relationship that grows stronger by the day. Rex particularly takes a shine to his nurse Solena (stunningly beautiful Carla Ortiz)- and he comes to her defense, saving her from the clutches of would-be molester Dr. Dominguez (Tony Plana), the chief administrator.  In a scenario that is a clearly geriatric version of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Rex inspires his young friends to stand up for their rights and take on the oppressive bureaucrats who exploit them. He must also deal with challenges in his own life when his family feels he's been alienating them in favor of his adopted family at the nursing home. 

The film contains more than its share of sugary scenes and corny cliches. (The villains are so lacking in any redeeming qualities that they practically twirl their mustaches.) Nevertheless, director Petridis offers Borgnine the finest role he's had in more years than I can remember. He dominates every scene and, ironically for his final film, looks like the picture of good health. Petridis, who must clearly be obsessive about spaghetti westerns himself, cleverly manages to intertwine many aspects of Western movie lore into this contemporary story so that even a card game between Borgnine and a nursing home nemesis is drenched in Leone-like imagery and music. This homage extends to the brilliant title credits which are cleverly derived from the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood "Dollars" trilogy. This is a feel good family film that is marred by one easily correctable misjudgment: the insertion of a completely unnecessary expletive said from a mother to her young child. It's wildly out of place in an otherwise uplifting tale for all ages. If director Petridis is wise, he'll exclude this from the video and pay-per-view versions of the film.

I only had the pleasure of meeting Ernest Borgnine once several years ago for an interview for Cinema Retro magazine. He struck me as a warm, honest and kind individual. Thus, perhaps I had a bit more of a personal outlook when viewing Borgnine's final sequence in this film, which Elia Petridis handles brilliantly. It's so touchingly filmed and directed that I was moved to watch this scene several times. Not since John Wayne's final scene in The Shootist has a legendary actor had a more appropriate on-screen send off.

The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez is not high art, nor does it pretend to be. However, it is an enjoyable film that refreshingly extolls family values. The supporting cast members are all very talented and a pleasure to watch, but is  Ernie Borgnine who justifiably dominates the movie and your memories of it.

The Blu-ray release, which boasts an excellent transfer, includes commentary track by director Elias Petridis and producer Darren Brandl, who both enthusiastically share their memories of making the movie. They both acknowledge that the film has been praised for its superb title sequence, but bizarrely don't seem to be aware of the fact that it is a brilliant homage specifically to Sergio Leone's Man With No Name movies. Instead, they simply imply it is based on traditional Westerns. Come on guys, watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly  and you'll see exactly why everyone loves the credits to Vicente Fernandez. Even the film's ad campaign is creatively based on that classic. The Blu-ray also contains the original trailer and other trailers for Indican video releases, most of which are films centered on themes of social significance.  There is also a bonus supplement of raw footage shot by Brandl on his cell phone of the behind the scenes aspects of the production. While the footage doesn't shed much light on how the movie itself, it does illustrate how the production team had to cope with a very limited budget (everyone is crammed into a small work space). There is also a good deal of reverence in seeing young Petridis return from his first meeting with Ernest Borgnine and speaking incredulously about how the legendary actor promised to defer to him as director and call him "sir". It's nice to see how much respect this new generation of filmmakers had for the revered star. 

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Click here to read Elia Petridis' statement about working with Ernest Borgnine, who passed away before the film was released.  

By Lee Pfeiffer

Sony has released the 1955 crime drama 5 Against the House as a burn-to-order DVD. The little-remembered film is interesting on a number of levels and boasts an impressive, eclectic cast. The low-budget flick depicts four young ex-G.I.s who fought in Korea who return to the States and enroll in college. Al (Guy Madison) is a straight-as-an-arrow type who is engaged to sultry nightclub singer Kay (Kim Novak). Ronnie (Kerwin Matthews) is a brainy upstart with delusions of grandeur and a superiority complex. Roy (Alvy Moore) is an affable joker who is very much a follower, not a leader. Brick (Brian Keith) is the most troubled of the group. He bares psychological problems from his combat experience and has a hair-trigger temper. The guys' only vices are taking an occasional trip to Reno, Nevada and engaging in some minor gambling and womanizing. However, Ronnie concocts an audacious plan to prove he can outwit the authorities and rob a casino. He suggest that the plan be put into operation with the intention of returning the money to the casino after the fact. Ronnie wants to build his ego, not his bank account. Roy and Brick sign on to the plan, but when Al balks, Brick's anger comes through. He threatens his friends with a gun and forces them to pull off the incredible scheme. The film, deftly directed by Phil Karlson, makes effective use of on location shooting in Reno at a place called Harold's Casino. The movie works best as a character study and the performances are all first-rate, with the exception of Madison, who is a bit of a stiff in the lead role. Novak is her usual sexy self and Keith, long-underrated for his dramatic capabilities, gives a powerful performance. The film is one of the earliest to take a sympathetic look at the emotional toll war takes on returning veterans. 5 Against the House is engaging throughout and although it is unremarkable in the long run, it represents the kind of overlooked gems that  the burn-to-order DVD format is rescuing from complete obscurity. 

An original trailer is included.  

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By Lee Pfeiffer

You don't have to be gay to admire John Schlesinger's 1971 film Sunday Bloody Sunday, but it probably helps in terms of appreciating just how ground-breaking the movie was in its day. As a straight guy of high school age when the film was released, I do remember it causing a sensation, although it would literally take me decades before I finally caught up with it. Gay friends always spoke reverently of the movie and expressed how the most refreshing aspect of the story was how "normally" a loving relationship between two adult men was portrayed. In viewing the film as a recent Criterion Blu-ray release, I feel I can finally appreciate that point of view. Gay men have long been portrayed in movies, of course, but for the most part they have been depicted as objects of ridicule or as sexual deviants. There were the odd attempts to present gay characters as sympathetic in films such as The Trials of Oscar Wilde and the brilliant Victim. Yet, even these fine efforts present homosexuality as a burden those "afflicted" must bear. Stanley Donen's 169 film Staircase offered fascinating and bold performances by Rex Harrison and Richard Burton as two aging queens. However, the studio marketing campaign over-emphasized the oddity of two of the film industry's great lady's men playing a gay couple. In fact, the ad campaign showed Burton and "Sexy Rexy" giddily dancing, thus falsely conveying that the film was a comedic romp instead of a poignant and intelligent look at loving homosexual relationship. Schlesinger, one of the first unapologetic directors to come out of the closet (if, indeed, he was ever in one) decided that the most daring aspect of this highly personal film would be in its very ordinariness. The story covers a complicated love triangle between three disparate people. Dr. Daniel Hirsh (Peter Finch) is a middle-aged, Jewish London doctor who is involved romantically with a much younger man, Bob Elkin (Murray Head). Hirsh doesn't flaunt his homosexuality, nor does he attempt to painstakingly deny it. He just lives his life as a respected member of his community, although it is clear his family thinks he's straight. (In one amusing, though uncomfortable sequence, Hirsh attends a Bar Mitzvah and has to endure attempts by nosy female relatives to set him up with his "dream girl"). The relationship between Hirsh and Bob is fairly intense, but is compromised by one uncomfortable fact: Bob is bi-sexual and is carrying on an equally intense love affair with an older woman, Alex Greville (Glenda Jackson). Both Hirsh and Alex know about each other and (barely) tolerate the triangle as the price of having Bob in their lives. For his part, Bob is a rather self-absorbed young man who seems to have genuine affection for both of his lovers, but is also either oblivious or uncaring about how the uncertainties of the relationship are affecting their psychological well-being. 

Sunday Bloody Sunday was released a time when the gay rights movement was moving into high gear in the post-Stonewall period. It illustrates why the 1970s is regarded by many as the most liberating decade in film history, with old line directors like Hawks, Welles and Hitchcock working at the same time young turks like Schlesinger were shaking things up in a way the old masters never had the opportunity to do, thanks to the restrictive motion picture code. Sunday is primarily remembered for an eyebrow-raising scene in which Hirsh and Bob engage in a romantic kiss. There's nothing sensational about the tasteful way in which this rather routine gesture between lovers is presented on screen. In fact, it was the sheer lack of sensationalism that drove home Schlesinger's primary message: that loving gestures between gay men can be every bit as routine as they are between husband and wife. The fact that the kiss was enacted by two straight actors did add considerable gravitas to the moment and must have caused more than one straight viewer to think "Well, if they don't care about enacting such a scene, why should I feel uncomfortable watching it?"  Schlesinger also dared to film tasteful but passionate bedroom scenes between Bob and Hirsh. Nevertheless, nothing much actually  happens in Sunday Bloody Sunday. The story was based in part on real-life experiences and people from Schlesinger's own life. The story merely traces the ups and downs in the love triangle as Bob causes panic in both Hirsh and Alex by announcing he is thinking of moving to America. Hirsh and Alex do have an unexpected face to face meeting during this crisis and their sheer civility and inability to engage in more than light banter only adds to the dramatic tension. 

The primary attribute of the film, aside from Schlesinger's spot-on direction, is the brilliance of the performances. Glenda Jackson was then emerging as a national treasure for the British film industry and the little-known Murray Head acquits himself very well indeed. However, it is Peter Finch's performance that dominates the movie as we watch his character go from loving acceptance of Bob's youthful self-absorbing actions to downright fury as his realization that Bob will never have the same passion for him. It's a superb performance on every level. Some viewers find the film's bizarre final sequence in which Hirsh addresses the viewer directly about his philosophy of life, but I found it to be a distraction and somewhat confusing. Nevertheless, this is a fine film, worthy of the praise it has generated over the years, and one that remains remarkably timely today.

The Criterion Blu-ray is right up to the company's top-notch standards. The transfer is beautiful and there are the usual informative extras including:

• New interviews with Murray Head (who says that, as a young actor, he found his character to be rather despicable), cinematographer Billy Williams (who supervised the Blu-ray transfer), production designer Luciana Arrighi, Schlesinger biographer William J. Mann and the director's long-time partner, photographer Michael Childers who shot many of the great production stills for the film.
• A 1975 audio interview with Schlesinger
• Screenwriter Penelope Gillatt's original introduction to the published screenplay (there is plenty of coverage throughout the Blu-ray concerning the tense working relationship between Gillatt and Schlesinger, who accused the writer of taking the lion's share of credit for a screenplay he had extensively rewritten.)
• The original theatrical trailer
• Extensive liner notes by writer Ian Buruma, Schlesinger's nephew who appeared as an extra in the film.

In all, an outstanding tribute to an outstanding work by one of the era's great filmmakers.  

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By Dollie Banner

When I came of age in the eighties and nineties, cinema art houses were filled with American independent films, most of them gems. It seemed that then movie lovers could see nearly every film released. In the years since the number of independent films have grown exponentially, and I often worry that I’m bypassing, or even worse completely ignorant, of some worthwhile films that get lost in cinematic obscurity.

The Exhibitionists (2012), the second feature from director Michael Melamedoff is such a film, a compelling chamber piece about seven characters revealing their true desires over the course of two nights. At the heart of the film is fragile Regina (Pepper Binkley), who we meet nervously awaiting the arrival of her husband Walter (Richard Short), an agent provocateur filmmaker just returned from a cross-country film shoot. In tow he brings fellow crewmember Gordo (Daniel London), whose dutiful wife Gretchen (Lauren Hodges) has been keeping a tight watch on Regina, and Lynn (Ella Rae Peck) their lovely and vivacious intern who has been earning extra credit with George off the clock. Tensions between the five occupants at Walter and Regina’s apartment are already strained when the arrival of Regina’s brother George (Mike Doyle), on leave from a seminary, and musical diva Blithe Stargazer (Laverne Cox) set a series of betrayals and revelations in motion.

First conceived as a stage play, screenwriter Michael Edison Hayden has adapted his own work into a film that bears a strong resemblance to higher profile plays-turned-films closer (2004) and carnage (2011). All three examine the private truths behind seemingly healthy relationships through expertly written characters. The Exhibtionists never quite reaches the probing dexterity of the other two pieces, but what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for with a titillating and refreshingly ambiguous sexuality. Both Hayden and Melamedoff are aided by a group of skilled and attractive actors. Viewers expect a few thin performances in micro-budgeted films, but this cast is uniformly committed and capable. Particular standouts are Ella Rae Peck of NBC’s deception, whose natural beauty and delivery make an instant impression and Laverne Cox (Netflix’s orange is the new black), a force of indeterminate sex whose palpable magnetism affects everyone else in the film. Their two scenes together sizzle and mark a tipping point in the film.

Shot in just over ten days, Melamedoff deftly places the viewer in the middle of the action often utilizing reverse shots to canvas multiple characters’ perspectives. It’s a shame he didn’t have more funds to work with because although the film has definite style, it also cannot hide it minimal budget. The score by Teddy Blanks, who also created the opening sequence, is unapologetically electronic and retro. It’s a little too similar to music heard in soft core cable offerings, but manages to establish and sustain a sense of unease throughout the film. Perhaps it is the association with the music cues, but The exhibitionists ultimately fails to fully deliver on its title and promise of sexual provocation. I thought I might be watching a modern take on the sexploitation films of the sixties and seventies such as Score (1973) by Radley Metzger, but this film never evolves into erotica. Despite that The Exhibitionists is an intriguing work and engages the viewer from the first shot to the last.

The Exhibitionists was unfortunately relegated to a few festival appearances in lieu of a theatrical run. Now it’s available on VOD and DVD, presented along with a few extras. Best amongst the special features is Michael Melamedoff’s very informative commentary which illustrates how purposefully he went about constructing the film. Also included are some behind the scenes stills, Walter’s edited pitch for Blithe that features some hardcore footage and a festival interview with director Melamedoff and actor Richard Short, all short but nifty. Viewers can also download the score if they want to stage their own party at home. Hopefully with this release The Exhibitionists will finally find the audience it deserves.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

It's pretty amazing how many ways studios have devised to market and re-market The Three Stooges. The latest attempt is Sony's made-to-order 3 DVD set titled Rare Treasures from the Columbia Vault. It's a bit misleading in that the bulk of the material pertains to individual short films starring Stooge cast members, but for this reviewer, that's also what makes the set so special. There are eleven hours of material in the set including two feature films and 28 shorts. The features are Rockin' in the Rockies, a 1945 musical comedy that features the Stooges as inept prospectors in the modern west. The film seems to have been made to promote promising musical talent of the day. The story has the boys kidnapping a Broadway talent agent and holding him hostage until he hears their friends perform their revue, which includes numbers by Spade Cooley, the "King of Western Swing". The Stooges comedy bits are strewn too infrequently throughout, so I confess to keeping my finger on the "fast forward" button during some of the dated song sequences. The second feature is Have Rocket Will Travel, a late career feature for the Stooges during their renaissance period with Curly Joe taking over from the original Curly and Shemp. It's a pretty limp affair, but there is a certain charm about the total innocence of the comedy skits. It depicts an era in which three grown men could be depicted snuggling together in one bed without the slightest hint of a sexual connotation. The script finds the Stooges accidentally ending up on a space ship to Venus. Even within the way out realm they often operated in, this premise is over-the-top. Fortunately, the film ends with a more traditional setting with the boys upstaging snooty guests at a black tie dinner party. Keep an eye out for future Time Tunnel star Robert Colbert as the romantic lead. 

The set also contains some brilliant Columbia cartoons from the 1930s that feature first rate animation. The cartoons depict famous movie stars of the day including  the Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Kate Hepburn, the Marx Brothers, Charles Laughton, etc. They are truly wonderful pieces of entertainment. Most refreshing is the inclusion of numerous shorts featuring solo gigs by Stooge actors who never quite got the acclaim they deserve. Shemp Howard headlines some of the funnier efforts, but there are also terrific turns by Joe DeRita and Joe Besser. Although Besser was married in real life, he always played overtly fey (dare we say "closeted"?) characters long before Paul Lynde had come along. His starring roles in these shorts finally afforded him the spotlight he deserved. Similarly, the porcine DeRita was a terrific comedic presence who never quite got the acclaim he deserved. Both men were of considerable girth which makes their obsession with performing high risk pratfalls even more impressive. Both Besser and DeRita's films find them in almost identical plot situations.  They are  generally married to conniving women or outright battle axes who henpeck them mercilessly. Kitchens often provide ample opportunity for widespread destruction as the simplest of cooking tasks inevitably meet with disaster. These post-War era shorts also accentuate the military and one of the funniest finds Besser drafted into the Army, where he drives his top sergeant crazy with his goofy behavior. (It's pretty easy to see where the inspiration for the Gomer Pyle character derived from.) It should be noted that these short films feature a stock company of brilliant comedic second bananas who appear numerous times. If the films resemble Three Stooges humor, it's not by coincidence: many were directed by the Stooges' own Jules White. Curiously, a couple of the Joe Besser shorts appear twice in re-titled versions that exclude the original prologues. 

In all, this 3 DVD set is manna from heaven not only for Stooges fans but for anyone who appreciates great comedy of this era.

The set contains the following :

Rockin' In The Rockies (1945) (feature film with Curly)

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By Lee Pfeiffer 

A year after their Oscar-winning triumph, The Bridge on the River Kwai, William Holden and writer/producer Carl Foreman teamed again for another drama set in WWII, The Key. The 1958 drama is primarily a love story but there is plenty of action on the high seas, all superbly photographed in B&W by the great Oswald Morris. The offbeat story is set in England in the early days of the war before America entered the conflict. Britain stands alone against the seemingly unstoppable German forces and fights to maintain shipping on the high seas in the face of ever present U-Boat threats. William Holden is Capt. David Ross,  a Canadian serviceman who is reluctantly assigned to skipper a rescue tug boat that is sent to retrieve men from sinking ships that have been torpedoed. There is good reason for his less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of his assignment: the tugs are lightly armed sitting ducks for the U-Boats. The specter of death hangs over every mission. Ross is pleasantly surprised to be reunited with fellow tug captain Chris Ford (Trevor Howard). The two old friends bond again by getting drunk then returning to Chris's apartment. He has a rare commodity. While most servicemen are crammed into barracks-like hotel rooms shared by numerous other men, Chris has been fortunate enough to secure his own apartment. He explains that the place has an eerie tradition. The present occupant is to make an extra key and give it to his best friend, who will inherit it in case he dies. Ross is startled to find that the apartment comes with another fringe benefit that is passed down from doomed owner to doomed owner: Stella (Sophia Loren), a beautiful but somber Swiss refugee who acts as housekeeper and lover for the latest tenant. Still, Ross sees that there is genuine affection between Stella and Chris and the two even announce plans to marry. A premonition convinces Stella that Chris will never return from his next mission: a prophecy that sets in motion an engrossing series of events of which nothing else can be revealed here without providing "spoilers".

It's glorious to see three great stars of the cinema playing off each other. (While Holden and Loren reached superstar status, Howard was always regarded as a character actor- albeit, one of the best in the business.) Under the sensitive direction of Carol Reed, the leisurely-paced story contains elements of the supernatural with the premonitions and apparitions accompanied by Malcolm Arnold's eerie score. The supporting cast is also impressive with the great Bernard Lee in fine form as a naval officer with the unpleasant duty of sending rescue boats on virtual suicide missions. In all, a fine film all around- and one that neatly avoids the cliched final sequence you believe the script is building to.

Sony has released The Key as a burn-to-order DVD. The transfer is excellent, though no extras are included. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer 

The Warner Archive continues to delve into little-remembered crime movies with the release of F.B.I.: Code 98, yet another in the seemingly endless attempts of J. Edgar Hoover to use popular entertainment as a vehicle to promote himself and his bureau as incorruptible pillars of American society. (As usual, Hoover ensures he is personally thanked in the credits, mentioned in the script, depicted in photos on office walls and appears in footage at the end of the movie.) Still, this is a tense little thriller that engages the viewer from minute one with its timely depiction of a task force trying to prevent acts of home-grown American terrorism. The plot centers on a group of business executives who are flying to a government conference. Their company provides crucial materials and engineering for the U.S space program. A nondescript employee of their company concocts a clever scheme whereby he manages to switch out a piece of luggage being loaded onto the executive's corporate jet. Inside is a time bomb. Only a quirk of fate allows it to be discovered and dismantled in time. The F.B.I. is brought in under the direction of field director Robert Cannon (stiff-jawed Jack Kelly). He works with the intended victims to sort out who might have had a grudge against them and this inevitably leads to delving into some sensitive areas of their personal lives- including illicit affairs between married people. The film is tense and engrossing throughout, thanks to expert direction by Leslie Martinson. The capable supporting cast includes Ray Danton (whose baritone voice always seems overly dramatic for any role he played), the always-watchable Andrew Duggan, Philip Carey, William Reynolds, Jack Cassidy (in pure heterosexual mode) and Vaughn Taylor as the mousey, unlikely would-be terrorist. To compensate for the low budget, there are some unintentionally amusing gimmicks to provide some sweep to the locations. An F.B.I. office in Vegas looks directly out onto the casinos on the strip; a Washington D.C. office is in direct line with the Capitol Building; a Florida office has a view of a space launching pad. Still, Martinson's use of real locations throughout most of the film adds to the dramatic intensity. The film takes pains to present every F.B.I. man as scrupulously honest and dedicated. The worst they are guilty of is flirting with secretaries. 

F.B.I.: Code 98 is well worth a look. It's tightly scripted, well-directed and doesn't have a single wasted frame. 

There are no bonus extras on the DVD.  

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Loophole is a 1954 low-budget crime movie that is one of a number of a "B" movie titles now available from the Warner Archive. These minor gems remind us of the glory days of cinema when movies were made expressly to be shown as second features. Loophole, directed by Harold D. Schuster, was originally released theatrically by Allied Artists. The film presents Barry Sullivan as Mike Donovan, a respected bank teller who is living a comfortable middle class existence with his wife Ruthie (Dorothy Malone) in L.A. In the midst of a high profile annual bank audit, a nondescript man named Tate (Don Beddoe) manages to pass himself off as one of the auditors. His sexy girlfriend  Vera (Mary Beth Hughes) poses as a customer to distract Donovan while Tate cleans out his cash drawer without his knowledge. At the end of the day, Donovan is astounded to learn he is $50,000 short. He makes the first of several mistakes by not reporting the loss immediately to his boss. It's Friday afternoon and he wants the weekend to ponder what could have happened to the money. By the time he reports the theft on Monday morning, he's the prime suspect. The insurance company assigns a bulldog of an investigator, Gus Slavin (Charles McGraw), to tail him everywhere. In those days before suspects had Miranda rights, Donovan feels the full fury of being interrogated by police and Slavin without the benefit of a lawyer present. His boss believes he is innocent but he is forced to fire Donovan anyway. Every new job he finds ends abruptly when the Javert-like Slavin inevitably shows up and spreads the word that he is a suspected thief. A chance encounter brings Donovan face to face with Tate and triggers his memory of the phony auditor who had access to the cash. Donovan makes another mistake by taking after the man himself, a tactic that results in Tate being mistaken for his accomplice. The entire affair ends with a tense confrontation between Donovan, Tate and Vera in a Malibu beach house. 

Loophole is consistently engrossing throughout its scant 80 minute running time. Filmed mostly on actual locations, the movie gives retro cinema lovers a great view of L.A. as it appeared in the mid-1950s. The cast is peppered with excellent character actors and the black and white cinematography is crisp and impressive. It's a real treat that such forgotten treasures are now readily available on made-to-order DVD. There are no extras on the DVD. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Impulse Pictures has released Sexcula, a 1974 Canadian hardcore horror spoof, on DVD. The film is more notable for the story behind its production than the finished product, which is generally fairly anemic. It was made in Vancouver with the aid of a loophole in the Canadian government's tax shelter funding even though hardcore porn was illegal in the country until 1978. Consequently, the movie was never shown beyond an alleged initial screening for cast and crew.  Many doubted the very existence of the film, which is presumed to be the first ever Canadian feature length porn flick, since it hasn't been seen at all over the decades. . The bizarre scenario finds a young couple who discover a diary from 1896. In it, an incredible tale is told about a female mad doctor named Fallatingstein (get it?) who used her skills to create an artificial life form: a hunky would-be sex slave named Frank (get it?) The only problem is that while Frank is desirable to the doctor, the "monster" is uninterested in the doctor. In frustration, she reaches out to her relative, Countess Sexcula (Debbie Collins, Canada's answer to Marilyn Chambers). The two women attempt to "raise the dead" in terms of Frank's flaccid sexual state. Although the title hints at overt horror themes and most of the action takes place in a dungeon, Sexcula herself just seems to be an exotic, perpetually horny young woman with no particular ties to the supernatural. (The tag line for the movie promises "She'll suck more than your blood!") The rest of the film consists of humorous vignettes in which the two females try every imaginable scenario to get Frank aroused. Even the inevitable lesbian scene fails to do the trick. The joke is carried on throughout the cheaply made production, which intersperses soft core sex with a few hardcore sequences. The comedy is overt, obviously having been inspired by the goofy appeal Deep Throat held for mass audiences. However, the movie is completely lacking in wit and Ms. Collins' performance makes Marilyn Chambers look like Kate Hepburn. The actresses seem stiff and uncomfortable. There is also footage from what appears to be an unrelated production showing a young couple in a wedding chapel who turn their exchange of vows into an orgy. (Being polite Canadians, they ensure that the preacher joins in as well.) Perhaps the most offbeat sequence features a comely female robot sexually assaulted by a gorilla! The film lurches towards a Blazing Saddles-like conclusion with cast members clearly walking around the sets, indicating the whole production has been a joke. 

Sexcula strives to be a cut above average porn but the talent simply isn't there to carry off the gimmick. Even the hardcore sequences are dimly lit and not very erotic. However, the Impulse release deserves praise because it represents the first public distribution of this film, which was rumored to exist but had been lost in Canadian archives. Liner notes by Dimitrios Otis, who is referred to as a "Porn Archaeologist" (how does one get a degree in that field?) present the interesting tale of how the movie reels were located and salvaged. An original trailer is included as well as a pop art comic synopsis of the movie by Rick Tremble. In all, an impressive package for a relatively unimpressive film. However, there is that terrific poster art concept used on the sleeve. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1972 MGM thriller The Carey Treatment as part of its DVD-on-demand program. James Coburn has one of his best roles as Dr. Peter Carey, a rebellious but esteemed surgeon who moves to Boston to take a prominent position at one of the city's most esteemed hospitals. The charismatic Carey loses no time in gaining friends, alienating top brass and bedding the comely chief dietician (Jennifer O'Neill). However, he soon finds himself embroiled in a politically volatile investigation when a fellow surgeon is arrested for performing an illegal abortion on the 15 year old daughter of the hospital's crusty administrator (Dan O'Herlihy). (The movie was released a year before the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that legalized abortion in America.) Coburn believes his friend's protestations of innocence and decides to launch his own investigation into the matter. The case soon unveils a lot of skeletons that some prominent people would prefer to be kept in their closets and Carey finds himself subjected to blackmail and physically assaulted as he comes closer to discovering the shocking truth behind the young girl's death.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The little-seen 1983 thriller Double Exposure has been released on DVD by Scorpion Releasing as a special edition. The film has an interesting background. It was originally filmed in 1971 under the title of The Photographer by director William Byron Hillman with Michael Callan cast as a photographer of beautiful women who also turns out to be a serial murderer. Hillman and Callan were frustrated that the movie received only a limited release. Twelve years later, they collaborated on a remake of the movie using the title Double Exposure. This time around, Callen served as an uncredited screenwriter on Hillman's new script and he also produced the movie, as well. Major script changes included having the main character, Adrian Wilde (Callan), not certain if he actually is a murderer. He's a generally kind and decent man who eeks out a modest living photographing models. He resides in a mobile home in L.A. which serves as his business office and bachelor pad. He is haunted by recurring nightmares of him committing horrendous murders of some of the women he photographs. When they actually start turning up dead, he is convinced he must be the culprit. He seeks guidance from his shrink (Seymour Cassel) and warns his new girlfriend, sexy Mindy (Joanna Pettet) that he has doubts about his sanity. He also seeks comfort from his brother B.J. (James Stacy) , a rather belligerent, bitter man who nevertheless has not allowed the loss of an arm and a leg prevent him from making a career of stunt driving. He also proves to be quite a lady's man and in one memorable sequence mud wrestles a bikini-clad girl in a bar. As the body count builds, Adrian slides further into madness. 

The film is definitely of "B" movie caliber, but it's generally engrossing and well-made. Callan delivers a very fine performance in the lead role and he is more than matched by Stacy. Pettet does well as the female lead, and exposes a lot of flesh in a fairly graphic bedroom scene. There are other familiar faces who pop in and out of the film including Pamela Hensley as a detective assigned to track down the killer, Cleavon Little (largely wasted) as her perpetually grouchy superior officer and Robert Tessier as a skid row bar manager. Sally Kirkland and future Saturday Night Live star Victoria Jackson also have early career roles. Hillman directs efficiently, though there the ending veers into cliched "woman in jeopardy" territory and the final few frames of the movie, in which the killer is unveiled, boasts some fine acting but disintegrates into a confusing and frustrating scenario in the last few, hectic seconds. Nevertheless, Double Exposure is a good thriller, well-made on a modest budget. 

The DVD has several impressive bonus features including commentary track by Callan, cinematographer Michael Stringer and script supervisor Sally Stringer, an interview with Callen conducted by Katarina Leigh Waters, the original trailer and a selection of bonus trailers from other DVD releases. Recommended. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

I confess to never having heard of this film prior to receiving a review DVD from Warner Archive. In fact, it's fairly obscure even in its native Britain. However, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, released in 1970, is one of the most amusing and perceptive political satires I have ever seen. The dark comedy opens with the titular character (Peter Cook in top, deadpan form) inexplicably arriving at a mismanaged London publicity and advertising agency. With nary an explanation about his identity or background, Rimmer simply makes himself at home, though uninvited. The inept brass assumes some big wig has implanted Rimmer among them to be an efficiency expert so they defer to him on virtually everything. In short order, he turns the failing company into a fabulously successful force in terms of marketing potential political candidates. Finding a way to manipulate the dumbest segment of the Tory voter base,  Rimmer quickly becomes a major force in choosing which candidates are the most charismatic, yet intellectually vacuous. Before long, this man of mystery, who says little but achieves a lot through shrewd schemes, is on the A list of London socialites. He's courted by all and beautiful women are at his disposal. Rimmer chooses a comely lovely (Vanessa Howard) as his bride, but she soon learns even she is a tool for political expediency as Rimmer himself becomes a top candidate for public office. He's a British precursor to Robert Redford's Bill McKay in The Candidate (1972). Both end up being ironic political forces, though Rimmer is a clever manipulator while McKay is an empty shell who rises to the top by serving as the charismatic tool of his puppet masters.

The script was co-written by Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman- heavyweight comedy talents who specialize in theater of the absurd. However, the writers keep their comedic instincts restrained, opting wisely for subtle laughs rather than slapstick. The inspired supporting cast includes such comedy stalwarts as Cleese, Chapman, Arthur Lowe, Denholm Elliott, Norman Rossington, Dennis Price with Ronald Culver and Harold Pinter thrown in for good measure. The cynicism of the piece is that a brainless segment of the public will be satisfied by the superficial aspects of candidates even if they know nothing about those candidate's backgrounds or motives. Rimmer becomes the toast of the town without ever taking a firm position on any issue. He smiles a lot, charms everyone and remains firmly in the middle of the road on any topic. Thus, the story is as timeless today as ever. Witness the parade of ignorant, empty-headed people who have emerged as leading political figures in the last year alone and you'll understand why The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer plays more like a horror film today than the comedy it was originally intended to be. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Scorpion has released a fun horror double-feature DVD consisting of The Hearse (1980) and Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969). 

The Hearse is a comparatively upscale production (anything is upscale compared to the Dracula flick) that top-lines two good actors: Trish Van Devere and Joseph Cotten. Van Devere plays Jane Hardy, a recently divorced thirty-something woman who is suffering from psychological problems relating to the end of her marriage. When her mother dies, she inherits a charming country home that used to belong to her maiden aunt. Jane decides to spend the summer in the house in the hope that a rural lifestyle might ease her personal problems. From minute one, she has second thoughts, however. The townspeople are rude to her and there are rumblings about some nasty legends relating to the house. The lawyer who is overseeing the property (Joseph Cotten) is a nasty, cynical old coot who does everything in his power to dissuade Jane from staying in the home she has inherited. The reasons why become immediately apparent. No sooner has Jane moved in than strange things start occurring. Doors slam on their own, noises emanate from the attic and cellar and she believes she catches glimpses of her aunt watching her. In the glorious tradition of "women in haunted houses" films, Jane doesn't do the sensible thing and move out. Rather, she convinces herself there is a logical explanation. However, the nightmarish scenario moves outside of the house and Jane (who inevitably finds herself driving at night on back country roads) is terrified by a mysterious hearse that tries to run her off the road. She later learns that the secret may relate to her aunt's past. In reading her diaries, Jane is shocked to find that her aunt was once a shy, conservative woman who was planning on marrying a preacher. However, she fell under the spell of a sexually perverted man and ended up becoming practicing the black mass with him. The two devil worshipers were killed in an accident but the hearse carrying their bodies was also destroyed in a bizarre twist of fate and their bodies were never found. Despite the increasing threats on her life, Jane remains determined to stay in the house and seeks solace from a new man in her life, the handsome Tom Sullivan (David Gautreaux), who is so creepy he practically sprouts horns and fangs, but Jane never catches on. The film presents every cliche of the genre including a heroine who uses candles and flashlights to investigate things that go bump in the night. (There may have been a reference to an old Indian burial ground, too, but I could have missed it.) There are some genuinely creepy scenes but long-time editor George Bowers (who made his directorial debut with this film) can't figure out how to milk any suspense from the overall weather-beaten scenario. The film is best in the early scenes when Jane is haunted by relatively mundane occurrences. By the time the movie reaches its climax, Bowers resorts to an "everything but the kitchen sink" formula that throws in exorcisms and car chases. The premise of a demonic automobile should have been sent to the cinematic junk yard after the unintentionally hilarious The Car (1977). The Hearse isn't as bad as all that, thanks to fine performances by Van Devere and Cotten, but it falls short of its overall potential. It makes for passable entertainment, but in the aggregate, it's pretty much stuck in neutral. The DVD contains an introduction by scream queen Katarina Leigh Waters and there is an audio interview with screenwriter Bill Bleich. The original trailer is also included. 

Blood of Dracula's Castle is an infamous gem from director Al Adamson, who was so inept he made Ed Wood look like Sir David Lean. The film was shot in 1966 but not released until 1969. Falling squarely into the "so bad it's good" category, the story centers on Glen and Liz (Gene O'Shane and Barbara Bishop)  a young couple who are engaged to be married. Glen learns he has inherited a castle in the California desert (!) that belonged to an eccentric uncle. Upon arriving at the castle, they are greeted by George (John Carradine), an erudite but eerie long time butler to the residents of the mansion. They turn out to be the Townsends (Alex D'Arcy and Paula Raymond), a bizarre couple who claim they hold royal titles of Count and Countess. They are distressed to learn that Glen and Liz intend to move into the residence, which means they will have to find a new abode. This makes for a major problem because they are vampires and are quite happy with their present situation, which finds them keeping young women chained to the wall in their dungeon and using them as a source of blood supply. (They feel that biting victims in the neck is a rather quaint way of sustaining immortality when one can indulge in refreshing blood cocktails.) The Townsends extend every courtesy to the young couple who intend to evict them and introduce them to their friend Johnny (Robert Dix), who is actually an escaped convict who gets murderous urges whenever there is a full moon. Before long, Glen and Liz are victimized and facing life in the dungeon. Townsend also reveals he is the original Count Dracula, a plot device thrown in merely for marquee value as there is absolutely nothing about him that evokes any of the popular perceptions of the Count. In fact the Townsends are about as threatening as Gomez and Morticia Addams, as they trade witticisms and charm their intended victims with their perpetually jolly outlook on (eternal) life. There is one other resident of the mansion: Mango (Ray Stevens), an Igor-like mute who captures young women for the Townsends and who is periodically rewarded by being allowed to sexually abuse them. The film is a complete disaster on all levels, which makes it fun to watch.  The irresistible presence of John Carradine only adds to the fun. The shoddy sets are somewhat offset by the fact that director/producer Adamson found an actual castle-like mansion that was located in the California desert. The film is padded out with chase scenes that are designed to make the clock run out in order to get to an appropriate running time. Adamson's ineptness is part of the film's charm, as is the presence of members of his own stock company who gamely appeared in his numerous low-budget productions. The DVD features Katrarina Leigh Waters interviewing production manager John "Bud" Cordos, who went on to direct his own films, most notably Kingdom of the Spiders. Cordos is an affable guy who relates marvelous stories about his friendships with Adamson and Robert Dix (son of silent screen legend Richard Dix). He states that Dix never played the Wolfman in the film, which may seem erroneous because there is footage of Dix's character turning into the Wolfman. Research shows that this footage was inserted into the film to spice up TV syndication sales and that the actor in the furry rubber mask was not Robert Dix. Thus, Cordos is correct in his statement. 

The entire DVD double feature package is very well produced by Scorpion founder Walter Olsen, who goes to extraordinary lengths to give first class treatment to second-class films. Half the fun of watching a Scorpion DVD is indulging in the informative extras, as is demonstrated with this package. This double feature DVD evokes memories of the glorious old days of theatrical double features. Highly recommended for pure kitsch value.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

If you think Terrence Mallick makes films infrequently, consider the career of Robin Hardy, who gained acclaim for his direction of the 1973 British horror classic The Wicker Man. In the ensuing decades, Hardy has been associated with precisely three other feature films, all little-seen: as writer of Forbidden Sun (1989), The Wicker Tree (2011, as writer and director) and the 1986 film The Fantasist, which he also wrote and directed. The latter film suffered from a botched release and poor reviews, with the verdict being that Hardy's much-anticipated return to filmmaking was a letdown. Scorpion Releasing has issued The Fantasist on DVD and the movie deserves to be re-evaluated with the passage of time. 

The film is set in Ireland and Hardy makes excellent use of both urban and rural locations. Moira Harris (sometimes billed as Moira Sinise nowadays due to her marriage to actor Gary Sinise), an actress who is American by birth, gives an astonishingly convincing performance as a  Patricia Teeling, young Irish woman who moves from her family's farm to Dublin in order to break the monotony and pursue a career as a teacher. Urban life agrees with her and she takes out a room in a boarding house. However, Dublin is being terrorized by a serial killer who phones young women and chats with them in a seductive, yet sexually explicit way. Some of these women end up being so intrigued by the mystery man that they invite him to their apartments only to be sexually abused and murdered. Patricia is oblivious to the murders. She befriends a charming American, Danny Sullivan (Timothy Bottoms) who is also a boarder in the house. He's quirky but funny and seems harmless enough- until she overhears him making obscene phone calls. The tension rises when a female boarder in the house falls victim to the serial killer. In panic, Patricia's roommate moves out, leaving her alone with the increasingly creepy Danny. She finds an ally in Dublin Detective McMyler (Christopher Cazenove), who becomes especially welcome when Patricia begins receiving the ominous phone calls herself. In one terrifying incident, she finds herself in the house with the unseen murderer but manages to make a daring escape by crawling atop the roof and climbing down to the ground. The police peg Danny as the prime suspect but they can't find anything but circumstantial evidence so he isn't indicted. A fellow teacher, Robert Foxley (John Cavanagh) also emerges as a suspect. He's also eccentric and carries a torch for Patricia. The film comes to a suspense-filled climax with Patricia finding herself captured by the killer. In a cringe-inducing, sexually explicit sequence, she decides to attempt to save herself by using erotic techniques to disarm her would-be murderer. The film is only compromised by an epilogue set on a ferry that reduces this otherwise superior, intelligent thriller to the level of a typical slasher movie with some over-the-top action straining credibility. 

The Fantasist has much to recommend about it. All of the performances are first rate and the identity of the killer will keep viewers guessing right up until he is revealed. Harris is simply superb and the supporting performances are equally first rate. As director and writer, Robin Hardy impresses with this double-duty assignment, eschewing studio shots for making use of actual locations. The film has a cliched scenario but is a far more mature and sophisticated work than most other "women in jeopardy" thrillers. 

Scorpion's DVD edition features a first rate transfer and is presented as part of the label's signature Katrina's Nightmare Theatre which means you get an optional, campy introductory segment hosted by former wrestler (!) and B movie sexpot Katarina Leigh Waters. She not only provides plenty of eye candy but also relates some interesting facts about the making of the movie and its undeserved neglect by audiences and critics. The package also contains the original trailer as well as an ample sampling of trailers for other Scorpion releases. The box art seems to be a new creation and doesn't even mention Harris on the credits, which seems patently unfair. 

I may be one of the few critics who looks favorably on The Fantasist. It's got plenty of flaws, but its Dublin setting and fine performance by Moira Harris earn it a hearty recommendation. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer 

The Warner Archive has released the 1965 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's oft-filmed Ten Little Indians.  It's hard to imagine that the scenario of a disparate group of exotic strangers being summoned to a chateau by a mysterious host once seemed like a fresh concept. Certainly, the concept already had moss on it when this film was made. However, there is something timeless and intriguing about such a story line, primarily because it generally affords a star-studded cast to interact. There are no superstars in this European version of the story, but the movie is packed with wonderful actors. This time around, the individuals are invited to an opulent chalet atop a snow-covered mountain top, accessible only by cable car. (The location is never specified, but the exteriors were filmed in Austria and the interiors were shot in Ireland.) The victims-to-be include square-jawed American hero Hugh O'Brian, sexy Brit Shirley Eaton, fresh from making a sensation in Goldfinger, exotic Israeli actress Daliah Lavi, one-time teen idol Fabian, Swiss actor Mario Adorf, German actress Marianne Hoppe and a wonderful array of great British character actors: Wilfred Hyde-White, Leo Genn, Dennis Price and Stanley Holloway. Each of these people has a secret they are hiding and all are accused of being responsible for the death of an innocent person by their unseen "host" Mr. Owen (the voice of an uncredited Christopher Lee). The crisply-photographed B&W production evolves predictably under the competent, if unexciting direction of George Pollock, who had helmed the hit Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. The film is more serious in tone than those popular mysteries, but there is still a good deal of witty byplay as the diverse people try to find out what secrets their companions are shamefully hiding. The gimmick of murdering them off one by one revolves around the old Ten Little Indians children's rhyme. There are also some decorative figurines of Indian braves that adorn the dining hall and one of them vanishes each time a person is killed. In the time-worn tradition of such thrillers, as the group is reduced in size, they vow to all stay together in the same room. This logical solution to thwarting the murderer among them is dispensed with regularly, as the women saunter off into dark basements and up ominous staircases to investigate strange noises. 

The film is curiously lacking in any genuine suspense, but it's glorious to revel in the sight of some legendary British actors trying to upstage and outwit each other in this deadly cat-and- mouse game. The film is consistently entertaining and the star power is more impressive today than it was back in the day. The climax of the film is surprising, if a bit of a stretch. It's all accompanied by a hip jazz score by Malcolm Lockyer that sometimes seems a too jaunty and upbeat for a tale revolving around serial murders. For sex appeal, O'Brian gets to walk around shirtless while Eaton has two (count 'em, two) opportunities to strip down to her bra and panties, reminding us why her early retirement from the film industry deprived young men of countless unrealized fantasies. 

The Warner Archive burn-to-order DVD is a crisp, clean transfer with only a few minor artifacts evident. There are some nice bonus features including a "Who-dunnit" gimmick that was obviously inserted into some prints of the film before the real murderer is revealed. The angle is worthy of an old William Castle horror flick as bombastic graphics and film clips are used to remind viewers of who was murdered and how they met their demise. The clip challenges them to take this 60 second slot to discuss with other audience members who they feel the culprit is. It's a hokey, but wonderful touch. There are also trailers for this movie and the Miss Marple films, as well. In all, an irresistible treat.  

Click here to view original trailer and to order from the Warner Archive.  

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released That Hagen Girl as a burn-to-order DVD title. The 1947 soap opera stars Shirley Temple as Mary Hagen, a high school girl who is socially ostracized when it is suspected she was born illegitimately. The presumed father is Tom Bates (Ronald Reagan), who twenty years earlier had been romancing the high school prom queen. She suddenly vanished without explanation only to return with her parents and kept in isolation. The rumor mill indicated that she had given birth to a daughter, who was then given to a local childless couple to raise. Tom makes attempts to see his girlfriend but is rebuffed by her strict parents. Eventually Tom moves to another town but returns many years later when he inherits a house in his hometown. Now a successful lawyer, the handsome Tom turns heads even as the rumors resume over his presumed status as  Mary's real father. Tom is unaware of the "scandal" and ironically ends up befriending young Mary and acting as her mentor. He later realizes that his presence in town has reignited the unsavory rumors that have haunted Mary since her birth. Her only real friend is Julia Kane, a young teacher who tries to stop the bullying of Mary by fellow students and school officials, who single her out as too undesirable to play the lead in the school play. Ultimately, Tom takes a bold stand to defend his presumed daughter- and in the process informs her of some very surprising facts about her heritage. 

That Hagen Girl is predictably corny by today's standards, with even the wildest teenagers dressed in suits and ties and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm-style dresses. A product of the era, I suppose. Nevertheless, it's hard not to find much of the goings-on unintentionally funny. Yet, the film does manage to pack a punch in terms of being among the first such movies  to denounce bullying and illustrating its devastating impact on the sense of self-worth of those who are victimized by it. The seemingly bold subject matter of out-of-wedlock birth becomes somewhat watered down in the conclusion, but the movie remains an enjoyable and engrossing experience thanks to the considerable star power of Reagan and Temple, who segued rather nicely from child star to respected adult actress.  Reagan is his usual stalwart self. If there wasn't an Oscar-worthy performance lodged within him, it can be said he was a far better actor than most of his future political opponents would ever concede. Lois Maxwell is particularly impressive and won a Golden Globe as most promising newcomer for her performance. (She would become beloved by movie fans worldwide as James Bond's original Miss Moneypenny.) 

The DVD features a fine transfer and includes an original trailer.  

Click here to order from the Warner Archive and to watch a preview clip 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Some of the most inspired special edition DVD and Blu-ray releases are coming from independent, niche-market labels that afford certain film titles the kind of grandeur that would never be afforded them by major studios. Case in point: Synapse Films, which routinely releases first rate special editions of "B" movies, cult films and obscure foreign imports (often with an erotic edge). The most impressive Synapse release I've seen to date is their Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of the 1971 Hammer horror film Twins of Evil. The movie is rather notorious for representing a kinky penchant for shocking violence and a marketing campaign that implied an on-screen lesbian relationship between Playboy models (and real-life twin sisters) Madelaine and Mary Collinson. (In reality, there are no such scenes in the film.) The story is centered in a rural  European village during the 17th century. The townspeople are in awe of a local nobleman named Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), a handsome but evil young man who uses his absolute power to indulge in a penchant for practicing witchcraft and seducing local girls to visit his castle where he seduces them into a life of sexual deviancy. Karnstein also has a penchant for killing off certain virgins for pleasure and selecting specific women to fall victim to his secret powers as a vampire. Karnstein's crimes results in the formation of The Brotherhood, a local group of puritan vigilantes headed by Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing), a religious zealot who is also a self-appointed witch hunter. The local women have as much to fear from him as they do from Karnstein, as The Brotherhood routinely accuses young girls of being in league with the vampire. This results in them being burned at the stake in order to have their souls redeemed. In short, this ain't a great place to live if you're a single woman. Into this hellish situation come Gustav's nieces, Freida and Maria (Madelaine and Mary Collinson), two recently orphaned teenagers who must now reside with their uncle. Upon being warned about Karnstein's nefarious activities, Maria chooses to be vigilant but the more daring Freida is intrigued by stories of sexual perversion and orgies. She secretly visits Karnstein, who seduces her and turns her into his vampire lover. He convinces her to assume the identity of her sister so that Mary is convicted of murder and is sentenced to be burned at the stake. 

Twins of Evil came at a time when Hammer Films were struggling to maintain the audiences they had built in the previous decade. By 1971, seemingly every studio had made an attempt to emulate Hammer's success. The result was that there was a sea of imitators and the Hammer brand became in danger of imitating the imitators. The studio decided to rely more and more on nudity and overt violence, often at the expense of storylines and character development. Although this film is part of that exploitation campaign, it ranks with the better Hammer efforts of the period thanks to a good script, intelligent direction by John Hough and an impressive performance by Peter Cushing, as one of the least sympathetic heroes he ever portrayed. Damien Thomas was being groomed as the next Christopher Lee, with the intention of being a reliable leading man for Hammer. Although he makes a compelling villain, stardom was not on the horizon for him. The Collinson twins (both dubbed for their roles) provide plenty of eye candy, but the nudity that is overtly exploited in the publicity photos is somewhat fleeting. Twins of Evil is one of the gorier Hammer films, but it also remains one of the most compelling. It ranks alongside the other two great witch hunting-themed films of the era, The Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw. 

Synapse Films has presented Twins of Evil as a truly outstanding Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The extras are to die for, if you'll pardon the pun. These include a superb documentary about the making of the film that is almost feature length. Directed and produced by Daniel Griffith, this is a fairly expensive extravagance for a niche market DVD company. The fascinating documentary is titled The Flesh and the Fury: X-Posing Twins of Evil and features a very informative overview of the Hammer vampire trilogy that derived from the classic 19th century vampire novel Carmilla that introduced lesbianism into the genre. (The first two films were The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire.) The documentary includes interesting insights from a wealth of Hammer and cult movie experts including director Joe Dante, director John Hough, Sir Christopher Frayling, film critic Kim Newman and publisher Tim Lucas. It's even more entertaining if you are not well-versed in Hammer lore. Other extras include a featurette that covers a private collection of Hammer film props, a stills gallery, TV spots and trailers, an isolated music and effects track and a deleted scene that absurdly presents teenage girls singing a 1970's-style love song. 

In all, a great release from Synapse Films, a company that continues to impress us with their zeal for paying tribute to often overlooked and underrated films.   

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By Lee Pfeiffer

One hates to get sociological or philosophical about a lightweight sex farce like How to Save a Marriage (and Ruin Your Life), a 1968 trifle that nonetheless boasts an impressive cast: Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Eli Wallach and real-life wife Anne Jackson, Jack Albertson and Betty Field. However, the premise of the movie is so distinctly distasteful that it is sure to offend any self-respecting modern woman as well as any male who isn't still walking about clad in animal skins and clutching a club. The film, which is now available as part of Sony's burn-to-order DVD line, has a value that is more anthropological than comical. Wallach plays Harry Hunter, a successful New York business executive who is unhappily married to an attractive but shrewish wife (Katharine Bard). He finds solace by keeping a mistress, Muriel Laszlo (Anne Jackson)  in an opulent apartment. His frequent visits there are as much therapeutic as they are sexual, with Muriel happily gearing her entire existence toward pleasing her man. She fawns over him, makes no demands, and pampers him constantly. When Harry brags to his best friend and fellow executive Dave Sloane (Dean Martin) about the joys of having a dedicated mistress, Dave sets out to test his theory about her never straying into the arms of another man. (One of the more cynical aspects of the script is that "kept women" are supposed to be completely loyal to their married sugar daddies). However, Dave mistakes another woman for Harry's mistress: Carol Corman (Stella Stevens), an attractive young sales girl in the corporation. When he observes her social behavior with other men, he assumes he has proof that Harry's "other woman" is cheating on him. To get further evidence, he decides to prove he can seduce her.  Dave romances Carol and ends up renting her a luxury apartment right next door to Harry's real mistress, Muriel. It seems the apartment building is basically a classy bordello that houses numerous girlfriends of married rich men. In the film's most amusing scenario, Dave finds Carol understandably receptive to his sexual advances (after all, he looks a lot like Dean Martin.) Dave, however, can't take his "investigation" to the point of actually bedding the woman he thinks Harry really loves. There are some funny scenes in which Dave has to find a way to explain why he isn't eager to jump into bed with Stevens, who saunters about clad in a low-cut nightgown with a pouty look of sexual frustration on her face. He concocts a scenario whereby he explains that he is a widower whose beloved, late wife made him promise to never make love to another woman. It's a sign of the times that in 1968 you could plausibly present a plot scenario in which Carol still readily agrees to live with Dave, quit her job and devote her entire life to pleasing him. Naturally, complications ensue and she discovers she has been lied to. The script presents "liberated women" as those scorned mistresses who band together in order to force their sugar daddies to give them legally binding pension plans to get them through their later years, when they will have been discarded in favor of younger women. It's enough to give Gloria Steinem heartburn. 

You don't have to be a knee-jerk liberal to wince at the entire tasteless scenario of this film. Not helping matters is director Fielder Cook's insistence that the always-watchable Wallach play his role in an "over-the-top" manner that is only matched by Betty Field's equally hysterical portrayal of an older, scorned mistress looking to wage war on all males. Usually, one doesn't analyze the production design in a romantic urban comedy, but it bears mentioning that, aside from a few second unit shots in New York City, there is absolutely nothing that suggests the look or feel of the city. A sequence showing the exterior of Dave Sloane's private club looks more like London than Gotham and the film has a rather cheesy feel to it, given the abundance of interiors. On the positive side, Martin and Stevens exude some real chemistry and there are a few scattered laughs. However, for the most part, this is a laborious exercise that celebrates an era in which women's fates were tied to dependency on the man in their lives. 

The DVD presents a crisp, clean transfer but there are no extras.  

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By David P. King  

Most Google searches for “Chiller,” the five-installment horror series originally broadcast in the mid-90s on Britain’s ITV will turn up a lot of forums where fans ask: “Does anyone else remember being scared by this show?” 

Like many old horror movies, the fright it inspired after stumbling upon the program probably sticks in the mind more than the episodes themselves. But while “Chiller” may not be the pinnacle of scary story-telling, it often stands the test of time. Part of the reason: Forsaking the trappings of cheap surprises or over-the-top gore of many horror projects on a smaller budget, each episode builds on a single creepy or supernatural premise.

The plots are your standard horror staples: spirits brought back from the underworld, demonic children, haunted houses, etc. Most are summoned through the typical tropes as well. (Pro tip: Reading ancient inscriptions outloud with a group of carousing friends has never led to anything good.) Although there’s not much here that hasn’t been done elsewhere, there’s something comforting about the nostalgia of made-for-TV horror.

The special effects are limited and the sets throughout the British countryside are both quaint and creepy. And the acting carries the sotries. The talent assembled for the episodes includes many prolific British actors. (John McEnery, Nigel Havers, John Simm, Sophie Ward and more all star in episodes.)

One can easily imagine catching one of these programs late at night after everyone else has gone to bed and having more than a few sleepless nights. The Synapse Films DVD print is clean, although somewhat bare-bones: Five episodes on two discs with no special features (to be fair, there was little demand for behind-the-scenes making-of documentaries on a short-run TV show in the 1990s).

Whether you’re looking to see if the program stands up to your memories or looking for a taste of horror that plays more on the mind than the senses, “Chiller” passes the test of a creepy good time.

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By Dave Worrall

SFX guru Dennis Muren says, during one of the interviews in Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan, that today special effects are no longer special. Audiences expect them, and are no longer impressed by them. This wasn't the case back in the 50s and 60s when master animator Ray Harryhausen was breaking new ground and entertaining audiences the world over. That said, Harryhausen's work was right for the time, but would not stand up with audiences not familiar with his work today. They have come to expect the impossible, and that's what CGI almost delivers. However, the difference between Harryhausen's creations and today's computer generated creatures is that the latter were animated objects. They were 'real' and as dimensional as the actors who worked alongside the. Tangible objects that had a life of their own. Today they may seem dated, but they have far more character than a CGI effect, which is no better than watching a computer game.

This brilliant 2-disc documentary covers the remarkable career of the movie industry's most admired and influential special effects auteur. A man who inspired the likes of Spielberg, Dante, Landis Cameron and Jackson, who in their own words admit it was Harryhausen who inspired them to become movie makers. Loaded with clips, trailers, rare test footage, props as they are today, and even home movies from Harryhausen's immense collection, this is a documentary to die for. Miss it at your peril.

(Note: this review is based on the UK Region 2 DVD release. It has not yet been released in the North American market).  

By Lee Pfeiffer

The darkest period of modern French history was the nation's humiliating defeat by Germany in 1940. France boasted of having the greatest army in Europe but was led by inept leaders who mistakenly used tactics of WWI. The French squandered the opportunity to strangle Hitler's rising armies in their cribs, preferring to simply protest the building up of his armed forces in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. France and England declared war on Germany after Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939. However, a period of inaction followed, leading many to call the conflict "The Phony War". Although France had ample time to come up with strategies, its armed forces decided to fight a defensive war on French soil. The plan proved to be woefully inept in the era of the blitzkreig. The fall of France in 1940 led to a period of political discontent that is still being debated today. In the aftermath of the war, General Charles DeGaulle, leader of the free French forces fighting from England, successfully marketed the notion that his nation was filled with patriots who consistently did all they could to resist their German occupiers. In fact, countless French patriots did indeed sacrifice their lives in order to do so - both on the battlefield and through the Resistance. Paris was liberated prior to to arrival of Allied forced by brave men and women who rose up to violently resist the most feared army on earth. Nevertheless, collaboration was the order of the day in occupied France. Hitler installed the WWI hero Marshall Petain as the head of state in Vichy, a region that was supposed to be free of German occupation. However, the world recognized it was a puppet state with Petain acting as a toady for his German masters. Petain and his co-collaborator Pierre Laval, maintained that appeasement of Germany was the only practical way for France to maintain some measure of independence. Indeed, France did avoid many of the atrocities committed in other occupied countries. However, the price of peace was full compliance with the Reich's obsessive oppression against Jews and any other group that was deemed a threat. Consequently, Petain and Laval capitulated by willingly complying with orders that meant certain death for countless French citizens. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

I have always been a great admirer of Paul Henning, the crooner-turned-TV producer/writer of some of the best-loved shows of the 1960s. It was Henning who gave a voice to rural audiences by creating such classic TV series as The Beverly Hillbilllies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. If you revisit any of them today, they remain far superior to most contemporary sitcoms. Henning not only created shows that have timeless appeal, but he also brainstormed the concept of interweaving characters and plot devices between the series- a stroke of genius that brought cross-promotion marketing to new levels. Henning also prided himself on making his country characters eccentric, but never idiotic. They were simple people living simple lives and if they seemed to exist in a time warp, they were all honest, admirable folks. It was always the sophisticated city slickers who would get their comeuppance at the hands of these "bumpkins". Andy Griffith once told me that it irked him when audiences would say that the actors were just "playing themselves". He pointed out that, in most cases, these actors had long, distinguished careers prior to appearing in rural sitcoms. He wanted to stress that these were outstanding talents and should never have been pigeon-holed as actual country hicks. Paul Henning strictly oversaw quality control on his shows and demanded that every episode by family-friendly. Thus, I was in for quite a shock when I sat down to review MPI's screener copy of the 1981 TV movie Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. I don't recall this particular show, but from the get-go the title is deceiving. The only original Hillbillies are Buddy Ebsen's Jed Clampett and Donna Douglas's Elly May. Irene Ryan, who played Granny, had passed away years before. Max Baer Jr., who played Jethro, had the good sense to stay away from the project. Nancy Kulp reprises her role as Jane Hathaway, but her on-screen boss, the inimitable Raymond Bailey had also died and, like Ryan, his presence is sorely missed. (Henning cast actor Ray Young as Jethro, and although he does his best, we are all too aware that he was not part of the original cast.)

Henning's script is too over-the-top even for a Hillbillies plot device. In this case, President Reagan is desperate to solve the energy crisis. He dispatches Jane Hathaway (now a Washington bureaucrat) to track down the secret formula of Granny Clampett's white lightning, which is deemed to be so powerful it might be useful as a source of fuel. Jane arrives on horseback at Jed Clampett's mountain cabin. In the aftermath of Granny's death, Jethro went on to run his own movie studio and Elly May has opened a zoo. Rather than live alone in his Beverly Hills mansion, Jed has returned to his roots, his only concession to wealth being a bigger cabin that he has constructed. The feeble plot follows Jane and Jed's search around the premises for any remaining jugs of Granny's booze that can be brought to Washington to analyze. She is accompanied by C.D. Medford, a humorless member of the President's team who will use any ruthless method to obtain the formula for the white lightning. (One of the lamest aspects of Henning's script is a repetitive gag in which samples of the booze are repeatedly discovered only to be lost accidentally.) The role of Medford is played by the great Werner Klemperer, who is criminally misused here in a role that diminishes his talents and makes him a truly loathsome character. To compensate for Irene Ryan's absence, Henning created the role of Granny's mother! She is played by another TV legend, Imogene Coca but the character has to be one of the most grating and irritating in the history of the medium. She screeches like a banshee, runs about hitting people with a stick and otherwise making herself unwelcome. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the ill-fated venture is Henning's decision to deliberately move away from family fare to smut. That's right, this new, updated version of the series features such wholesome fare as strippers, Asian massage girls, scantily clad teenage "old maids" (young Heather Locklear among them!) and a very embarrassing striptease performed by Klemperer. Why Henning decided he had to degrade his characters in order to appear hip is not known, but he certainly should have known better. There are tasteless jokes about Jed Clampett's sex life (or lack thereof) and one punch line about Auschwitz! I kid you not...I actually had to backtrack to make sure I heard it right. Can you imagine an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where the "funny" payoff line refers to a Nazi death camp? The movie is peppered with some welcome character actors including perpetual grouch Charles Lane, Lloyd "Shad" Heller, Lurene Tuttle and Earl Scruggs, who performs a musical number. Henning runs out the clock in the last fifteen minutes with an absurd, endless car chase featuring King Donovan in an obnoxious performance that makes Imogene Coca's character look like a model of restraint.  The film is also disappointing in that Elly May and Jed only share the screen together in the last few minutes of the movie. The ill-fated venture was directed by Robert M. Leeds, who also should have known better because he worked on the last season of the original series.

Despite the dreadful aspects of the main feature, I am heartily recommending that you buy the DVD itself, if only because of the superb bonus extras. There is a one hour documentary about Paul Henning that features the man himself in vintage interviews, along with new insights from his daughter Linda (an actress who appears in Return of the Beverly Hillbillies), Max  Baer Jr., Charles Lane and some of the producers and writers who worked on the original show. (Strangely, Donna Douglas is not among them.) They offer some wonderful anecdotes about Henning's triumph in creating three hit series in the 60s  only to have CBS head honcho James Aubrey cancel these favorites in favor of appealing to urban audiences (which turned out to  be a major misjudgment). Henning's talents extended to writing the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies, which ingeniously tells the entire premise of the scenario in popular ditty that is still being sung today. Other bonus extras include an introduction by Linda Nelson, a genial lady who clearly adored her father; a wealth of original Kelloggs Corn Flakes ads featuring the cast, original TV promos for the Hillbillies and Green Acres and a promotional short for a never-produced wildlife series featuring Donna Douglas as Elly May.

If you love the show, skip the main event and head straight to those bonus extras....

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Update: Astute reader Scott Shea points out that the people interviewed in the aforementioned documentary blame James Aubrey for canceling CBS' slate of hit rural shows. In fact, Aubrey was the man who championed them and was fired himself from the network in 1965. It was Fred Silverman who actually canceled these series. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Fifteen years after co-producing and directing the British Victorian-era war classic Zulu, Cy Endfield brought an epic prequel to the story to the screen with Zulu Dawn. Unlike the original film, however, this 1979 release suffered from a bungled and scatter shot North American release that ensured that very few Yanks or Canadians ever had the opportunity to see the film in theaters. Botched release notwithstanding, the movie is in many ways as good as its predecessor, even if the screenplay falls short on presenting the main characters in a fully developed way. The story pertains to the greatest British military defeat of its era as the Victorian penchant for colonialism extended into South Africa. Initially the indigenous Zulu tribes had a cordial relationship with the British, but a foolish change in political strategy saw increasing incursions onto Zulu territory. The Zulu king went to great lengths to avoid confrontation until it became obvious that the local British officials were intent on taking their land by military force. The British expeditionary force led by Lord Chelmsford (Peter O'Toole) is well-armed with the latest weaponry and feels completely confident about a quick victory over the tribesmen, who are largely relegated to using primitive weapons. Like his American contemporary, General Custer, Chelmsford is an egotist with an overblown sense of self-confidence. He makes Custer's mistake of dividing his army into smaller units, spaced far apart. When the Zulu warriors mount a massive, surprise attack in what became known as the Battle of Isandlwana, the British are quickly overwhelmed. Like the original film, Zulu Dawn treats the native tribesmen with full respect and the script is clearly sympathetic to their cause. The British soldiers are depicted as courageous and gallant, but their superiors are generally seen as pompous snobs. A notable exception is the true life character of Col. Dumford (Burt Lancaster), a maverick Irishman who leads a contingent of African troops fighting with the British. Dumford tries to convince Chelmsford that his military strategies are flawed but his pleas fall on deaf ears. By the time Chelmsford and his reinforcements arrive at the battlefield, they find a seemingly endless plain of thousands of dead bodies, as only a handful of British troops managed to escape.

Zulu Dawn is a genuine epic with first rate production values with a sterling cast that includes such prominent actors as Simon Ward, Anna Calder-Marshall, John Mills, Denholm Elliott, Nigel Davenport and Bob Hoskins. The latter half of the film is devoted entirely to the battle sequences and they are stunningly staged and photographed, with Elmer Bernstein providing the stirring score. The movie is very well directed by Douglas Hickox, who is primarily remembered for Theatre of Blood and John Wayne's Brannigan. However, one must acknowledge that on a film of this scale, much of the credit must go to the second unit team as well.

Original British quad poster

Severin Films, which recently released a terrific special edition of another great '70s British war flick The Wild Geese (click here for review), has presented Zulu Dawn as a special edition Blu-ray/DVD dual package. The quality is outstanding on the Blu-ray but I'm always even more impressed by Severin's bonus extras. In this case, they include a fascinating history of the Zulu conflicts with scholar and author Ian Knight, who talks seemingly endlessly about every facet of the battle. The word "endlessly" here is meant as a compliment. Although I consider myself a military history buff, Knight's segment is like attending a master class and I realized how little I actually knew of the events depicted in the film. Knight explains that, although the Zulus won the battle, they suffered tremendous losses in the process and their victory was short-lived, as Lord Chelmsford ultimately sent their king into exile. The Severin crew also flew Knight to the actual battle locations in South Africa and it's truly amazing to see how untouched they remain to this day. (Crudely constructed above--ground grave sites for the soldiers still dot the battlefield.) There are also raw footage outtakes and some deleted scenes including several variations of Bob Hoskin's character's death. Another interesting segment features an extensive interview with historical and military consultant to the film, Midge Carter. Carter was an unemployed Brit with an in-depth knowledge of the film who just phoned the production company and ended up getting hired to ensure accuracy. Carter makes for an engaging interview, telling interesting tales about how he prevented historical inaccuracies from being included in the film. He also trashes director Hickox as a snobby elitist with a less-than-impressive work ethic. He also shares his scrapbook of on-set photos which had been autographed by every member of the cast.  Severin interviews are always excellent to watch, thanks to producer David Gregory and Carl Daft's determination to let them go on as long as necessary and not worry about the length of the pieces. I only wish this was the case with some of the documentaries I produced for major studios, where there was always a bizarre determination to trim everything to the bone. Severin also doesn't indulge in gimmicky special effects or camera work. They simply turn on the camera and let the subject talk. Not fancy in terms of technique, but a wonderful throwback to how interviews used to be presented. Finally, there is an original theatrical trailer included in the set.

Chances are you haven't seen Zulu Dawn. You're in for a real treat with this superb presentation of an excellent film.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Apprehensive Films have released another DVD comprised of vintage public service shorts, this time compiled as a triple feature relating to the "horrors" of marijuana smoking. Titled 420 Triple Feature: Contact High, the shorts are uniformly amusing, as most vintage PSA-related films of the era now prove to be. The Terrible Truth is a color 1951 production in which a seemingly ancient judge (all adults in these films tend to look like Ma or Pa Kettle) seeks out a teenager who is representative of someone whose life was dramatically harmed by smoking weed. He is invited to the house of a prissy, goody two-shoes teenage girl who is in the process of recovering from a horrendous experience. Seems she was lured into getting involved with an older man, who seduced her through providing her with her first joint. A common theme throughout these films is that marijuana is instantly addictive and leads to a heroin-like dependency that drives users to sell their bodies and souls in order to get a "fix". Here, our unfortunate teen ends up married to the pot "pusher". When he is busted by police, she turns pusher herself in order to feed her habit. She survives a near-death experience in jail and now is determined to get her life back on track. The Devil's Harvest (1942) is the most unintentionally hilarious of the three features. It follows the tried and true formula of an innocent high school girl who is corrupted by a pot pusher. In this case, organized crime is involved and gangsters force the elderly owner of a hot dog stand to use it as a front to sell marijuana to high school kids. At a raucous teen party, that looks like it takes place in a leftover set from an Our Gang comedy, drug-crazed kids get into a brawl that results in someone's death. (The fight scenes in this film are especially funny since the punches don't come remotely close to connecting with the intended targets.) A teenage girl agrees to work undercover as a nightclub dancer (!) to help police crack the drug ring. It's amusing to see how, even in these public service films, producers try to sandwich in some entertainment value, thus we are treated to a completely superfluous dance number prior to the police crack down. The acting has to be seen to be disbelieved. Suffice it to say, you are guaranteed to witness the worst performances in screen history; no small feat. In the third and last film, The Devil's Weed (1949),(not be confused with the aforementioned Devil's Harvest), a virginal twenty-something young woman slaves away as a show girl in order to pay for her brother's college tuition. She soon gets lured to a pot party run by a local pusher and woman abuser. As with the previous films, the movie implies that pot is a highly addictive substance. Within seconds of taking her first puff, our heroine (pardon the pun) is climbing in the sac with the pusher. (The films all have a salient angle to them, implying that there is a direct correlation between smoking pot and losing your virginity. There is also an occasional political component with one of the shorts blatantly stating that marijuana is a tool of "the Reds" to gain world domination!). This film is longer...almost a full hour and boasts much better production values as well as "name" actors (Lyle Talbot as a police inspector and young Jack Elam as a gangland punk). The acting may still be laughable, but compared to the other two movies in this collection, the performances might seem as impressive as those in The Lion in Winter. There's plenty of sexually-oriented banter and plenty of retro glamor shots of the showgirls in their dressing rooms. This production is far more competently directed and Lila Leeds as the scandalized young woman tries hard and gives a passably competent performance.

The shorts would make the perfect compliment to a film festival topped off by Reefer Madness. The only problem is that, if you aren't currently smoking pot, these anti-drug short films might well encourage you to pick up the habit. 

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By David P. King

What would happen if Travis Bickle’s cringe-inducing date from “Taxi Driver” was stretched out over an entire weekend in the North of Italy? Thanks to “The Visitor” (“La Visita”, 1963), we have our answer.

Pina (Sandra Milo) is an independent businesswoman living in rural Italy. But she’s unwed and approaching 40-years-old, and longing for a change in her life. She places a personal ad in the newspaper (readers under 40: think Match.com, but with ink, paper and more desperation) stating her desire to find a man and marry. Of the potential suitors who reply, Adolfo di Palma (François Périer), an older bookseller in Rome, seems the most promising. The story begins as he arrives in northern Italy to meet Pina in person.

Many have witnessed those godawful first dates in which every subtle hint goes unread and signs are horribly misinterpreted. Adolfo, it is safe to say, is the undisputed champion of these first-date nightmares. After the train he arrives on pulls safely out of the station, the real train wreck unfolds slowly. Adolfo drinks too much grappa, allows his eyes to wander to a 16-year-old neighbor, loudly proclaims how much he detests Pina’s surroundings and is a cheap date in every sense of the word.

As Pina grasps at straws to salvage the budding relationship, Adolfo clumsily grasps at just about everything else. Credit director Antonio Petrangeli with turning what could be nothing short of a cringefest into a compelling film that is at once funny and pathetic, mysterious and revealing. The possible couple are not stock characters who are aging and lonely, searching for love against all odds. We see their regrets and secrets in flashbacks and a surprise confrontation toward the end. And it’s in the final act that the film hits its stride, as Adolfo and Pina finally say what they’ve been politely skirting around throughout the visit.

The film has been released on DVD from the Raro Video label and is presented as a special edition with a wealth of extras including an interview with director Ettore Scola, who discusses Pietrangeli's work; an interview with Piertrangeli's son Paolo (who is a director, too) and an interview with the film's composer  Armando Trovajoli. There is also a 16 page illustrated booklet that provides analysis of the film as well as vintage interview comments from the director. In all, an impressive package for a worthy film.

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RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

By Lee Pfeiffer

Paramount has released two major John Wayne titles as DVD special editions. The releases were tied in with the studio's Centennial line of classics. In fact, El Dorado probably doesn't qualify as a classic, as it represents Howard Hawks' virtual remake of his 1959 film Rio Bravo (which is a genuine classic.) Regarded as a good, run-of-the-mill Western when released in 1967, the film has grown in stature as film scholars grapple with the notion that there simply aren't artists around today as interesting as Wayne, Hawks and Robert Mitchum, the other lead. The film showcases a fine supporting cast including James Caan in one of his first major roles, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey, Ed Asner and old reliable character actors Paul Fix and Arthur Hunnicutt playing a role that seems tailor-made for Walter Brennan. The plot is virtually identical to that of the previous film: a disparate group of heroes finds themselves holding an important prisoner and fending off a virtual army of gunslingers intent on freeing him. If Hawks was unapologetic about shamelessly plagiarizing another film, at least he was stealing from himself. (He would do yet another loose remake of the same story with Rio Lobo in 1970). Still, warmed-over Hawks is better than almost anything being made today, and El Dorado is a joy to watch. The banter between Wayne and Mitchum is terrific, the script has some genuinely funny moments and the action sequences are excellently staged.

Paramount's 2 DVD edition contains a wealth of great extras including:

• audio commentary tracks by Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Schickel, Ed Asner and Todd McCarthy
• seven short featurettes each pertaining to a different aspect of the film's production
• an interview with Paramount head honcho A.C. Lyles, who ran the studio when the movie was made
• a vintage production short that showcases Western art sculptor Olaf Wieghorst, who plays a small, amusing role in the film
• the original trailer and lobby card and production stills gallery

(Read an exclusive interview with James Caan about the making of the film in Cinema Retro issue #14)

RAY HARRYHAUSEN:

SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN

Written and directed by Gilles Penso

Produced by Alexandre Poncet, Co-produced by Tony Dalton

Featuring Ray Harryhausen, James Cameron, Terry Gilliam, John Landis, Nick Park, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, Joe Dante, Guillermo Del Toro

Release date: On DVD and Blu-ray from 11^th March 2013

Running time: 97 mins (film), Cert: tbc

“I think all of us who are practitioners in the arts of science fiction and fantasy movies now, all feel that we’re standing on the shoulders of a giant. If not for Ray’s contribution to the collective dreamscape we wouldn’t be who we are.” James Cameron

The remarkable career of the movie industry’s most admired and influential special-effects auteur, the legendary Ray Harryhausen, is the subject of Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Described as “A continual delight” (The Observer), “the stop-motion maestro gets the respect he deserves” (Daily Express) in this definitive and critically acclaimed documentary coming to DVD and Blu-ray on 4^th March 2013, featuring an extensive range of special features.

Leaving no doubt as to Harryhausen’s seminal influence on modern-day special effects, the documentary features enlightening and entertaining interviews with the man himself, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many more. These filmmakers pay tribute to the father of Stop Motion animation and films such as ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms’, ‘It Came From Beneath The Sea’, ‘The 7^th Voyage Of Sinbad’, ‘Mysterious Island’, ‘Jason And The Argonauts’ and ‘The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad’ – the films that enthralled them as children and inspired them to become filmmakers in their own right.

The interviews are combined with archival footage and contemporary clips plus the added delight of behind-the-scenes footage, stills and original drawings with recently discovered unseen takes of tests and experiments. The filmmakers were granted unprecedented access to film all aspects of The Ray Harryhausen Collection including models, artwork and miniatures as well as Ray's private study, where he designed most of his creations, and his workshop where he built them.

This story of how a hobby became a profession, from Ray’s first childhood experiments with dinosaurs, to the ground-breaking techniques he developed to intricately interweave Stop Motion animation with live action and the birth of Dynamation is essential viewing for any fan of science-fiction, fantasy and adventure filmmaking.

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (Arrow Films) is available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray from 4^th March 2013.

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE: Audio Commentary with Gilles Penso, Alexandre Poncet, Tony Dalton and Tim Nicholson; Featurette "A Treasure Trove"; Q&A at the Cinémathèque française; ‘A Chat With...Edgar Wright, Peter Lord, Rick Baker, Simon Pegg; Interview Outtakes from Colin Arthur, Dennis Muren, Greg Broadmore, Joe Dante, John Lasseter, Ken Ralston, Martine Beswick & Caroline Munro, Nick Park, Phil Tippett, Randy Cook, Steve Johnson, Vanessa Harryhausen; 8 Deleted Scenes; Special Effects Titan Trailer; On the Set of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad; A Message to Ray; Trailer collection : Mighty Joe Young, The Beast From 20 000 Fathoms, It Came from beneath the sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, Mysterious Island & Jason and the Argonauts.

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation - http://www.rayharryhausen.com/

For press information please contact Lisa Richards – lisa@lisarichardspr.net Tel: 07798 876 352

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actors and directors have a long tradition of trying to pass off exotic vacations as legitimate film making. Sometimes the cynical gambit pays unexpected dividends such as the Rat Pack's decision to shoot Oceans Eleven in between their nightly gigs on stage in the Sands hotel and casino in Las Vegas. They somehow turned out a good movie in between all the drinking, screwing and gambling. John Ford rounded up his stock company and headed to Hawaii for Donovan's Reef, but even with John Wayne on board, Paramount balked at the reed-thin script and old Pappy ended up having to front some of the production costs himself. In 1990, director Michael Winner teamed two of the wittiest and most likable stars- Michael Caine and Roger Moore- for what would appear to be a "no lose" proposition: casting them in an espionage comedy. Winner was well past his sell date as a director by then and ended up reinventing himself as a grouchy political pundit and much-feared restaurant critic. Still, how could he lose by teaming Harry Palmer and James Bond? It's a rhetorical question because the resulting film, Bullseye, was considered almost unreleasable. It's one of the least-seen movies of Caine and Moore's careers and with good reason. The ridiculous plot finds the two charismatic actors cast as two low-grade London con men who become embroiled in a plot to impersonate two renegade nuclear scientists who plan to sell top secrets to dangerous foreign powers. The silliest aspect of the film is that the scientists just happen to be physically identical to the con men. Moore and Caine are subjected to a series of increasingly weird scenarios that see them running about like the Keystone Cops as any shred of sensibility in the script is tossed out the window. They are joined by B movie mainstay of the era Sally Kirkland and Moore's daughter Deborah (billed here as "Deborah Barrymore") but not even the resurrection of Marilyn Monroe's sex appeal could salvage this cinematic train wreck. Winner seems to be directing as an afterthought as he indulges in some gorgeous locations in Scotland where the on-screen antics become so confusing that you literally have no idea whether you are observing the con men or the scientists. Winner films the final scene in an exotic island location which is quite obviously an indication of his ability to actually fly everyone there simply to shoot a few seconds of inconsequential footage. Winner wrote the non-screenplay with another otherwise talented person, the great lyricist and songwriter Leslie Bricusse. The only consolation they must have had is that they had a hell of a time on location and no one saw the movie anyway.

MGM  has released Bullseye as a burn-to-order title but only Moore and Caine purists will want to add it to their collections as it fails so miserably that it doesn't even attain "guilty pleasure" status. Winner should have been drawn and quartered for squandering this one time on-screen teaming of two great stars. Moore once told me he and Caine laughingly refer to Bullseye as "Our Ishtar." Well, let's not go that far...at least Bullseye didn't cost a fortune, though with Winner's taste for on-set catering of exotic food and drink, maybe the financial losses did exceed that legendary debacle.

By Lee Pfeiffer

British/Irish  explorer Ernest  Shackleton had been frustrated by the fact that his great endeavors to make history always were upstaged by his contemporaries. Shackleton was respected for his dignity and courage but it seemed as though his dream of accomplishing one towering, historic achievement in the field of exploration would elude him. In 1914, with the great years of exploration rapidly coming to an end in a world whose boundaries were becoming more finite by the day, Shackleton set out for his last, ambitious grasp of for the gold ring with an expedition that would attempt to be the first to cross the continent of Antarctica by sea. Shackleton had amassed a first-rate crew of seasoned men who were up for the challenge of making such an arduous and long journey. He promised only low wages, immense pain and ceaseless work- with the only reward being possible glory if the mission succeeded. Shackleton's sturdy wooden vessel was appropriately named the Endurance, though the significance of that name would not be known until later. Just one day short of making his desired landfall, the ship became hopelessly mired in ice. Shackleton, who was known for his ability to command and for putting the welfare of his men before the mission, announced the ship would be stuck until the spring thaw, which was months away. The ship had ample supply of food and clothing, but inevitably the encroaching ice ultimately destroyed the vessel by crushing and sinking it. Shackleton and his men secured most of the necessary provisions, but had to make a camp on the ice. In fact, they were not even on solid land. They were castaways on a humongous island made of ice and snow that was drifting slowly but surely away from the mainland. After months of enduring this harsh life, Shackleton ordered the men to take lifeboats on an arduous journey to actual land-the remote Elephant Island. They ended up on one of the most remote places on the planet, battered night and day by ceaseless, freezing winds. Finally, Shackleton and a handful of men made the daring choice to take a lifeboat to the nearest place where they knew there would be help- South Georgia, which required a grueling, seemingly impossible crossing across a savage sea. To get there, Shackleton and his men had to endure endless rain and ice storms. There was never a moment when they were not completely saturated and in danger of dying from frostbite. Incredibly, Shackleton and his men completed the 800 mile journey only to discover they were on the opposite end of the island, as far from the encampment of potential rescuers as one could get. Nevertheless, Shackleton and a few men set out across snow covered mountain ranges that were deemed so impassable that no man had ever attempted to cross them before. To the amazement of everyone, Shackleton and his men made it- but he immediately had to plan how to rescue the men he had left behind. For months, inclement weather resulted in the rescue attempts being thwarted until finally, four months after he left for help, Shackleton and a rescue ship finally saved the long-suffering crew. Not one man had died. Shackleton did not achieve his initial goal, but his seamanship ranked with that of Captain Bligh, who similarly made a seemingly impossible journey in a rowboat under harsh conditions following the mutiny aboard the Bounty. Shackleton returned home to find England a much different place and his achievement somewhat under-valued due to the public's preoccupation with Britain's entry into the first World War.

Sony has released the remarkable documentary The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, based Caroline Alexander's acclaimed book that explored the expedition in fascinating detail.  The film features excellent narration by Liam Neeson. This is a big budget production produced and directed by George Butler, who takes his crew to the exact locations Shackleton visited. He finds them as harsh and unwelcoming as his predecessor. In fact, in the course of the documentary (which features remarkable cinematography), Butler realizes that even with the benefit of modern technology, they can't replicate certain feats that the crew of the Endurance did. What makes the documentary even more compelling is that it features extensive film footage of most of the trials and tribulations endured by the Endurance crew. Despite their dilemma, they had the presence of mind to use the relatively new format of movie making to take incredible footage of life on the ice, including the ultimate destruction of the Endurance. Additionally, the crew also took many  photos that they somehow managed to develop under brutal conditions. These photographic elements, combined with the vintage and new footage, make for one of the most compelling documentaries you will ever see.

Curiously, although this is a special edition burn-to-order DVD, Sony's packaging makes no mention of the wealth of bonus extras including a commentary track by George Butler, who speaks in such a low-comforting voice, you might drift off and have to play the track again. Nevertheless, it's very informative and enlightening. There are also extras that show the sons, daughters and other descendents of the crew members who discuss the legacy of the Endurance heroes at length. They also attend a 1999 museum exhibition of artifacts from the ordeal that opened in New York City.

In all, this is a superb cinematic experience.

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Cinema Retro welcomes its latest contributor, David P. King, who will be reviewing avant garde DVDS. 

By David P. King

When American audiences first saw “Plot of Fear” (“E Tanta Paura”), they were likely surprised and a bit confused: surprised because the film is a suspenseful thriller of a higher quality than may be expected, and confused because the film was first released in English under the title “Bloody Peanuts” and contains a decent amount of blood, but a conspicuous absence of peanuts.

Italian Director Paolo Cavara’s 1976 thriller unfolds with a mystery killer targeting guests of a wild party where a prostitute had accidentally died years earlier.

Through a series of clues and cinematic flashbacks, Inspector Lomenzo (Michele Placido) begins to unravel who the killer is and why the targets have been chosen.

Along the way, he falls for the stunning model Jeanne (Corinne Clery), one of the guests of the fateful party.

Cinephiles will revel in seeing a pair of American character actors, Tom Skerritt and Eli Wallach in supporting roles.

Cavara spawned an entire genre of documentaries that titillated and shocked viewers with tales of exotic subcultures more than they informed with his 1962 film “A Dog’s World” (“Mondo Cane”). These “mondo” documentaries were often staged, exaggerated and fictional.

Cavara’s mondo influences can certainly be seen here: The inspector and his girlfriend talk openly of swinging, lesbian models make out during a photo shoot and guests of a secret society of animal lovers watch a surreal pornographic short cartoon (by Italian erotic cartoonist Gibba) with their pet chimp during a weekend orgy.

But at its heart, “Plot of Fear” is a thriller complete with more twists and surprises than pure shock value. Its cinematography is skilled, and it looks more like a major motion picture release than low-budget sleaze.

The remastered print for the Raro Video DVD is flawless. Bonus features include insightful commentary by Cavara’s son and interviews with the screenwriter Enrico Oldoini and Placido on the film’s lasting legacy.

While the ultimate reveal may be less than satisfactory and the film is prone to the quirks of the time period (women’s tops come off frequently with little in the way of exposition or reason), “Plot of Fear” manages to toe the line between shock, shlock and suspense masterfully, and is a pleasant addition to any collection of Italian films.

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By Harvey Chartrand

MR. LUCKY: THE COMPLETE SERIES is now available for the first time ever as a 4-DVD box set from Timeless Media Group… all 34 episodes, with a running time of about 840 minutes. MR. LUCKY– created by writer/director Blake Edwards (PETER GUNN) – ran for only one season (from 1959 to 1960), even though it was a hit with viewers.

This adventure/crime drama is a sort of PETER GUNN Lite, featuring a lush, organ-powered theme song by Henry Mancini (a bonus CD of MR. LUCKY’s soundtrack is included in the set), an assortment of shady characters aboard a floating casino, and competent acting by series regulars John Vivyan (as suave professional gambler Mr. Lucky), Ross Martin (as his sidekick and business partner Andamo), Pippa Scott (as Mr. Lucky’s girlfriend Maggie Shank-Rutherford) and Tom Brown (as Lieutenant Rovacs, Mr. Lucky’s cop buddy).

Edwards directed and co-wrote the first episode of MR. LUCKY, and the credits of the first 18 episodes include “Entire production supervised by Blake Edwards.” Jack Arnold (director of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE) produced the show and directed 15 episodes. The end credits include “Series based on an original story: Bundles for Freedom by Milton Holmes,” which was published in Cosmopolitan in June 1942. This story was also the basis of the 1943 motion picture MR. LUCKY, starring Cary Grant as a gambling-ship owner out to fleece a beautiful society woman (Laraine Day), but who falls in love with her instead. The film and television series have little in common, except for the title and the suave nature of the leading man.

According to a March 1942 news item in The Hollywood Reporter, RKO bought Holmes’ story at the request of Cary Grant, who wanted to star in it. In a 1969 Hollywood Reporter news item, Holmes claimed that his story was inspired by Edward G. Nealis, the owner of the Clover Club on the Sunset Strip, a venue for drinking and illegal gambling in the early 1930s. In 1936, Nealis rigged a one-night gambling benefit at the Beverly Hills Hotel to raise $40,000 for a church.

In the series opener, Mr. Lucky and Andamo are managing a successful casino in Andamo’s island homeland of Chobolbo. After a brush with the country’s corrupt El Presidente (Nehemiah Persoff), they lose everything when Andamo is discovered running guns to the rebels in Mr. Lucky’s yacht Fortuna and they must escape the island in a small boat with only the shirts on their backs. The adventurers’ fortunes take a turn for the better when Mr. Lucky (who is gifted with extraordinary luck) wins enough money gambling to buy another yacht, which he christens Fortuna II and turns into a high-class gambling casino, anchored in international waters off the California coast, where U.S anti-gambling laws don’t apply. The casino attracts a colorful parade of characters, including very seductive women, criminals on the run, desperate characters hiding from criminals or the law, kidnappers, hijackers, smugglers, jewel thieves, money-launderers, and victims of blackmail who turn to Mr. Lucky for help. Mr. Lucky and Andamo are often caught in dangerous situations, betting on whether or not they’ll survive. (Oddly enough, Mr. Lucky has no first name and Andamo has no last name.)

Sounds like fun, except the plots are shopworn and the scripts not terribly well written. Cary Grant clone Vivyan is dashing but lacks charm. Eventually, Andamo’s quips, witticisms and bon mots (delivered in a thick Spanish accent) become more annoying than amusing. As for MR. LUCKY’S unlucky fate, the show’s sponsors (Lever Brothers and Life Cigarettes) didn’t want their brands associated with gambling, and insisted that the Fortuna II become a tony private club, which killed whatever “edge” the show might have had. Even so, the sponsors bailed and no new sponsors would bankroll Season Two, so (incredibly) this hit series was cancelled. Such a scenario is unimaginable today. Martin and Scott went on to flourishing careers, but handsome John Vivyan found little work after his “big break.” One of Vivyan’s last jobs before his death in 1983 was a walk-on in an episode of WKRP IN CINCINNATI.

The other directors on the show are Boris Sagal, Lamont Johnson, Jerry Hopper and Alan Crosland Jr. Among the many guest stars are Stanley Adams, Norman Alden, R.G. Armstrong, Barbara Bain, Billy Barty, Henry Beckman, Mari Blanchard, Walter Burke, Richard Chamberlain, Jackie Coogan, Yvonne Craig, Ted de Corsia, Cyril Delevanti, Brad Dexter, Jack Elam, Don Gordon, Frank Gorshin, Robert H. Harris, Alan Hewitt, Ted Knight, Berry Kroeger, Joi Lansing, Len Lesser (Uncle Leo on Seinfeld), John Marley, Gavin MacLeod, Yvette Mimieux, Jack Nicholson (!), Edward C. Platt, Herbert Rudley, Doris Singleton, Jeremy Slate, William Smith, Warren Stevens, Barbara Stuart, Nita Talbot, Lee Van Cleef, Virginia Vincent, David White, Peter Whitney, Grant Williams and Will Wright.

Image quality on the 4-pack DVD varies from fair to very good. Audio quality is excellent throughout.

Click here to order MR. LUCKY: THE COMPLETE SERIES.

http://www.timelessvideo.com/dvds/mrlucky.html

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Blu-ray release by Twilight Time (limited edition of 3,000) of the 1962 thriller Experiment in Terror serves as a reminder that, with the success of the Pink Panther franchise, director Blake Edwards left behind some solid credentials outside of the comedy genre. After the Pink Panther films took the world by storm, Edwards stuck with lightweight, amusing subject matters, but in doing so, often grabbed at low-hanging fruit. (Most of the Panther films have not aged nearly as well as we might think they have.) Edwards was a rising young director in '62, coming off the success of Breakfast at Tiffanys. The release of Days of Wine and Roses that year proved Edwards could direct drama as well as comedy, but with the success of the Panthers, Edwards only rarely dabbled in non-comedic genres. Curiously, in the early 1970s he did three dramas back-to-back: Wild Rovers, The Carey Treatment and The Tamarind Seed, then inexplicably never ventured outside of comedy again. Experiment in Terror is one of Edwards' least-heralded but most interesting non-comedies. The story finds Lee Remick as Kelly Sherwood, a beautiful young woman who leads a middle-class life, working as a teller in a San Francisco bank. She serves as guardian for her 16 year-old sister Toby (Stefanie Powers), who shares a house with her in the suburbs. Kelly's ordinary lifestyle comes to a shattering halt one evening when an unseen man grabs her from behind as she enters her garage. In a hushed but terrifying voice, he informs her that he is orchestrating a plan whereby she will steal $100,00 from her bank - or he will murder her. Although she is warned not to contact the police, she does precisely that- but her assailant seems to know her every move and physically terrorizes her. He also warns her that any other disregard for his instructions will result in her sister's death as well. Nevertheless, Kelly makes contact with San Francisco detective John Ripley (Glenn Ford), who advises her that she will be under constant surveillance and that she should pretend to comply with her assailant's instructions. All the while, the police search frantically for clues to the man's identity. As the story progresses, police efforts go awry, leaving Kelly and Toby at the mercy of the psychopath, who they learn is named 'Red' Lynch (Ross Martin)- a man who has killed previously. Lynch manages to outmaneuver police and kidnap Toby, thus forcing Kelly to go along with the plot to steal the money. The big payoff sequence comes when she is to deliver it to Candlestick Park baseball stadium where Lynch intends to get the stolen funds from her amidst the crowds attending the game.

What is refreshing about Experiment in Terror is the screenplay by "The Gordons" (Mildred and Gordon), the bizarrely credited team who had written the best-selling novel upon which the film is based. There are no super hero types in the story- just everyday people who find themselves thrust into a terrifying scenario. The police are dedicated, but make mistakes. Kelly and her sister try to be brave but are clearly scared out of their minds, as any normal person would be. Remick and Powers give very fine performances, as does Ford, whose low-key style has been disparaged in some quarters. However, his refusal to steal scenes makes his character even more convincing. Ford's talent was in underplaying his roles and this is the perfect example. The legitimate scene-stealer is Ross Martin as Lynch, a performance so powerful that it was actually utilized as a marketing gimmick. His name never doesn't appear in the opening credits or on the poster. However, director Edwards does reward him with the sole on screen credit in the final frames of the film. Martin's Lynch is a fascinating villain. He's clearly an ingenious criminal, staying one step ahead of police at every turn. Although he resorts to physical violence, he is pragmatic, promising Kelly a share of the loot if she cooperates in his scheme. Lynch is also a sexual predator and a man who thinks nothing of killing anyone who poses a threat to him. In the film's eeriest sequence, he stalks a female artist in her studio, which is strewn from floor to ceiling with mannequins, making for a particularly chilling atmosphere. Refreshingly, the screenplay doesn't make Lynch a one-dimensional character. When Ripley tracks down a woman who has been dating him, he finds she has an entirely different view of the man, as he has been inexplicably providing financial support for her hospitalized son.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray accentuates the gorgeous B&W cinematography by Philip Lathrop that grabs you from the opening sequence in which Kelly drives across the Bay Bridge. There is also a fine score by Edwards' frequent collaborator Henry Mancini that is presented on an isolated track. The extras include a selection of trailers and TV spots and an excellent booklet with notes by Julie Kirgo, who makes perceptive comparisons between this film and Cape Fear, which was released the same year. (Both movies center on how a stalker can destroy the lives of the innocent people he targets.) Experiment in Terror is highly recommended.

Click here to order from Screen Archives

By Lee Pfeiffer

Impulse Films has released two vintage erotic titles, Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale and Same Time Every Year. The most surprising element of both titles is that they are hard-core porn, but they are being accorded mainstream status through an aggressive promotional campaign by the DVD label, which is a division of Synapse Films. What is enjoyable about the Synapse catalog is the sheer diversity of their releases, ranging from classic and cult horror films to the notorious Nikkatsu Japanese soft-core titles (which are accorded Citizen Kane-like treatment, complete with extensive liner notes and poster reproductions.). These new titles don't get the same tender, loving care, but they are accorded "respectable" status nonetheless.

Serena: An Adult Fairy Tale- is a 1980 spin on the Cinderella legend, albeit of a kind that would have dear old Walt Disney spinning in his grave. Serena (played by an actress known as Serena), is a teenage sexpot who is sold into modern slavery by an evil stepfather. In her new "home", she is abused both sexually and psychologically. In between doing back-breaking housework, Serena is routinely called upon to satisfy her new mistress and her other female household guests. She's also used for sexual pleasure by a string of male visitors to the house. There isn't a social message being made here about the horrors of modern sex slavery, as Serena seems even more perturbed when she is left out of the action. The razor-thin "plot" finds the females of the house preparing for a big party for some hunky males (in this case, "grand ball" takes on an entirely different meaning.) Serena has been banished to her room as the other girls enjoy the orgy. She is visited by an equally sexy female supernatural presence who grants her wish to be able to attend the festivities. Presto! Serena suddenly appears at the party and predictably steals all the attention away from the egotistical women who have long mistreated her. Familiar faces from the era appear in the movie, including China Leigh and Jamie Gillis. Perhaps not coincidentally, the running time of the film is 69 minutes.

Same Time Every Year- was shot in 1981 and centers on an amusing scenario in which a group of male friends pretend each year that they must leave town for a business convention, leaving their wives back home. In fact, they are meeting their mistresses for wild sexual encounters. Meanwhile, the not-so-desperate housewives are all too happy to go along with the scenario, as it gives them an opportunity to get it on with a string of male and female lovers of their own. That's pretty much it. As with Serena, the movie was remastered from original 35mm film elements. (The opening and end titles show a lot of wear, but we have to remember these were not preserved in the Library of Congress) and, for the most part, quality is very good. The cast in this one includes the omnipresent China Leigh, Loni Sanders, Herschel Savage, Holly McCall and an impossibly svelte Ron Jeremy, before he indulged in the Marlon Brando dietary plan. There is also a credit for Boo, The Wonder Horse, but don't panic- the action never gets that kinky.

Both films are "directed" (so to speak) by one Fred J. Lincoln, whose apparent "legit" claim to fame is having appeared in Wes Craven's original Last House on the Left.  A look at his IMDB credits shows Mr. Lincoln must be the hardest working man in the porn industry, having cranked out many dozens of titles right up through today, including some with some name recognition such as Dallas Does Debbie the infamous 1970s flick The Defiance of Good that preceded the Traci Lords scandal when it was revealed that the movie's female lead, Jean Jennings, was under age.

I suppose that one's ability to wax nostalgic about porn movies very much depends upon your receptiveness to the genre itself, as well as the era in which you grew up.  Back in the pre-home video day, it was considered an upscale experience when a porn film was shot in 35mm. These "expensive" productions drew large audiences and sometimes played for years in the same theater. The quality still exceeds today's boring adult fare in the sense that, at least some degree of film making skill was required behind the camera. There are also some hints of production values, with occasional glimpses of opulent homes and settings. Probably the biggest difference between then and now is that the actors actually resembled real people in those days. There's an abundance of hair and sweat, but the cast members actually look real people, as opposed to the Botox and silicone-injected, indistinguishable robots who populate today's boring erotic videos.

There are no extras on the DVDs, which is too bad because it would be interesting to hear Fred J. Lincoln's insights on how the porn business has changed over the decades. Nevertheless, if you're not offended by these types of things, the Impulse releases will bring back some good (and naughty) memories.

Click here to order Serena from Amazon

Click here to order Same Time Every Year from Amazon

By Harvey F. Chartrand

Despite its exploitive title, EDDIE: THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL (2012) is an old-school horror/comedy, a 21^st century variation on Roger Corman’s A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959), with its odd mix of ghoulish fun and satiric jabs at the artistic community and the creative process.

Lars, a famous artist from Denmark (Thure Lindhardt) suffers from “painter’s block” and signs on as a teacher at a small art school in the backwoods of Canada. Lars meets Eddie (Dylan Scott Smith), a traumatized mute – a simpleton, really – who is allowed to attend classes and finger-paint because his aunt is a wealthy patron of the school. When the aunt dies, Lars is coaxed into sharing quarters with the silent, hulking but seemingly harmless Eddie, keeping an eye on him for the good of the school, which will continue to receive financial support from the aunt’s estate. This display of altruism is also Lars’ way of impressing a pretty colleague, sculpture teacher Lesley (Georgina Reilly).

But Eddie is still troubled, and at night, in a somnambulistic state, ventures out into the snow and ice clad only in his underwear and (seemingly impervious to hypothermia) lurches about like a zombie, ripping apart and devouring small animals. Lars witnesses the aftermath of this carnage and is inspired by the blood and guts to paint his first masterpiece in a decade. To the strains of David Burns’ symphonic score, Lars is transported into a hallucinogenic world where the addictive rush of painting is all that matters.

While Lars develops a genuine bond of friendship with Eddie, he begins to encourage the mute’s nighttime forays when the painter’s block returns, justifying his Caligari-like control of Eddie’s nocturnal activities because the gore stimulates his creative juices. Lars is no longer tormented by the blank canvas as a result of Eddie’s strange sleepwalking behavior. Eddie has, in a sense, become Lars’ muse.

The tension escalates when Lars has words with an obnoxious neighbor (Peter Michael Dillon) whose barking dog keeps him awake at night, and sends Eddie on a mission to eat the dachshund. But Eddie takes his habit to a new level, chowing down on the dog and its master. Oblivious to the bloodbath, Lars immediately takes paint brush to easel and produces another masterpiece. Soon, his dealer (Stephen McHattie) shows up, sensing that Lars is entering a productive new phase of unstifled creativity – and reassuring the artist that he does not judge whatever means justify this end, pointing out that Lars’ last period of prolonged productivity was sparked by a terrible car accident.

Overriding his genuine fondness for the childlike Eddie, Lars continues to send him out at night, literally guiding the brawny sleepwalking mute to fresh prey, justifying his actions because the victims are evil people (racists, drunk drivers and the like). Lars – seemingly unaware that he is sinking into a level of barbarism equally as profound as Eddie’s – attracts the suspicions of the town cop (amusingly portrayed by the dour Paul Braunstein).

Eventually, Lars becomes as addicted to the rush of painting as Eddie is to the taste of human flesh, and the blood flows ever more freely until the film’s genuinely moving denouement, in which an injured Lars paints his final masterpiece, helped by star-crossed lover Lesley.

A clever touch is that the audience never sees the works of art that justify the horrific murders and dismemberments of man and beast.

Director Boris Rodriguez – whose work I am completely unfamiliar with – balances the humor and the horror perfectly, never allowing his characters to mug for the camera. The humor is very understated, in contrast to the viciousness of Eddie’s superhuman atrocities while sleepwalking. Rodriguez also shoots his scenes in an elegant style, reminding one of the balanced compositions of Stanley Kubrick. Hand-held camerawork is kept to a minimum, restricted to Lars’ frenzied scenes of splattering paint onto the canvas. And even these scenes have a certain elegance. At last, a contemporary horror film with no “found footage” or reality television tropes!

Key to the success of this picture is the brilliant acting of lead players Lindhardt (Into the Wild) and Smith (Immortals, 300) and the welcome presence of renowned character actor McHattie (Watchmen) in a small but vital role.

EDDIE: THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL is a Canada-Denmark coproduction from Mongrel Media, and easily the best film (horror or otherwise) ever made in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. EDDIE does not strike one false note. I strongly recommend you check it out.

The DVD is available in Canada only. Click here to buy from Amazon Canada.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, which present contemporary and classic films at their unique restaurant/theaters, have delved into the DVD business- and retro movie lovers can thank their lucky stars. One of the most prominent of the Drafthouse releases is Wake in Fright, a 1971 Australian film classic by Ted Kotcheff, a Canadian born director who had never previously set foot Down Under prior to making this movie. Based on the novel by Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright is unknown to many film scholars who pride themselves on being acquainted with worthwhile, little-seen films. (I must shamefully admit that I fall into this category myself, having never even heard of the film prior to reviewing the Blu-ray release). Based on the title, I assumed this was a suspense thriller or a horror film. It is neither. In fact, it is virtually impossible to pigeon-hole this movie into a specific genre. Suffice it to say that is one of the most visually arresting and mesmerizing movies of the 1970s- one that will haunt you long after viewing it.

The film opens with a panoramic shot of a tiny one room schoolhouse set against the expanse of the Outback desert. We are introduced to John Grant (Gary Bond), a handsome young teacher who seems curiously out of place in this environment in his jacket and tie. Grant is trying to maintain the universal standards of school teachers but we soon see that he is frustrated at having been powerless in choosing his designated school district. Thus, he has been assigned to one of the most remote places imaginable, teaching a class that is so small that teenagers are compelled to share the room with first graders. As the story begins, Grant is bidding his students farewell as he eagerly anticipates a six-week school holiday. He longs to return to Sydney and the loving embrace of his attractive girlfriend, whose well-worn bathing suit photo adorns his wallet. En route home, however, Grant's train makes a fateful stop in a small city of Bundanyabba (known to the fiercely territorial  locals as "The 'yabba"). Grant is initially bored at being stranded for 24 hours in this unattractive mining town where the residents are either openly hostile to strangers or overbearingly friendly. He becomes acquainted with the local constable, Jock Crawford (the wonderful Aussie character actor Chips Rafferty, in final, and perhaps, best performance.) Crawford is an eccentric but he takes Grant under his wing and escorts him to a cavernous bar where hoards of local men are carousing and drinking alcohol with almost superhuman abilities. Grant is at first repulsed, but he finds himself accepted by the locals since he is vouched for  by Jock. Soon, he's pretty inebriated himself and he becomes fascinated with a game of chance that dozens of men are participating in. The simple premise involves a toss of a coin and you win or lose based on whether you bet heads or tails. The sheer emotion of the participants intoxicates Grant and he tries his hand. He soon wins a small fortune. Tempted by the fact that winning even more money will allow himself to be freed from his undesirable teaching position, he makes the fatal mistake of returning to the game and gambling one more round. Within seconds, the drunken Grant loses every penny he has. By the next morning, he can't afford a train ticket to continue to Sydney and has to rely on the kindness of strangers (in the words of Tennessee Williams) to find housing and food.

This is where the film becomes completely compelling, as Grant rapidly meets a succession of overbearing- and potentially dangerous new "friends". They include Tim Hynes (Al Thomas), a friendly but consistently drunken elderly man who introduces Grant to his mates: two obnoxious and crude musclemen, Joe (Peter Whittle) and Dick (Jack Thompson in his screen debut). He also discovers Tim's attractive daughter Janette (Sylvia Kay), who can hardly stand the deplorable life she leads in having to serve her sexist father and his misogynistic friends. She is drawn to Grant's sensitivity but his attempts to satisfy her repressed sexual desires go awry. He is next introduced to Tydon (Donald Pleasence in brilliant form), a one-time doctor who has lost his license because of alcoholism. He lives a threadbare existence, trading medical advice to townspeople in return for a spartan diet and all the booze he can handle. Before long, Grant is coerced into joining Tyson, Joe and Dick on a brutal hunt for kangaroos. The drunken Grant becomes as savage as his out of control companions and he reaches bottom when he willingly kills and tortures these lovable, harmless creatures for mere amusement. As the story progresses, Grant devolves even further and goes off an alcohol-fueled abyss that culminates in a most unexpected homosexual encounter.

Wake in Fright startled audiences in Australia when it was first shown, leading to some audience members screaming at the screens "That's not us!" in objection to the way the Outback dwellers were portrayed. In reality, there are no overt villains shown on screen. These are just hard-bitten people who live in an inhospitable part of the land where you have to be tough in order to survive. The film was an entry at Canne but had a limited release before fading into obscurity. It was virtually impossible to market. The Alamo Drafthouse Blu-ray does justice to the film's astonishing cinematography by Brian West, as well as the unique and atmospheric score by John Scott. Kotcheff's direction is letter-perfect right up through the final frame. Kotcheff is interviewed on the Blu-ray and he expresses gratitude for the team of film historians who searched the world in order to find the elements that have made the restoration of the movie possible. He also recalls how, when the film when was shown at Cannes, one young man sitting behind him kept gushing about his enthusiasm for the film. When Kotcheff asked who the young man was, the dismissive answer was that he was an unheard of new director named Martin Scorsese!  The Blu-ray includes vintage interviews with Kotcheff at Cannes in 1971, audio commentary with Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley, an extensive interview with Kotcheff at a 2009 Canadian film event, a vintage TV obituary for Chips Rafferty, a documentary about the restoration of the movie, theatrical trailers and an absorbing 28 page collector's booklet.

Wake in Fright is now justly regarded as the first "adult" Australian movie. It instilled pride and confidence in a generation of Aussie filmmakers and its legacy lives on through their works. Kudos to Alamo Drafthouse for presenting this moody and haunting cinematic experience through this first-rate Blu-ray release.

Click here to order from Amazon

By Lee Pfeiffer

Unless you've been living on another planet yourself, you're probably familiar with the premise of Mystery Science Theater, the legendary TV series that involves a stranded astronaut and two robot friends who are subjected to watching an endless array of bad movies. Each 90 minute episode involves showing a B movie as the trio toss out hilarious wise cracks at the expense of all involved in the making of these cinematic embarrassments. The latest boxed set release from Shout! Factory features three (relatively) upper crust duds and one of the more traditional entries, a low-budget sci-fi flick. Here is a break down of the 4-DVD set:

OPERATION KID BROTHER- Ironically, whoever holds the rights to this 1967 Italian spy movie could make a fortune by simply releasing it "as is" on DVD. However, the only pseudo-release comes through the Mystery Science Theater set. As with all the titles, the film is edited down dramatically to fit a 90 minute slot that also includes another mainstay of the show: comedy vignettes featuring the bizarre characters who are regulars on the series. Still, half a water-down Kid Brother is better than none at all and if you haven't seen this infamous travesty, you're in for a treat. The film was cobbled together during the height of the spy movie rage to cash in on the popularity of the James Bond films. Nothing unique about that. Seemingly every actor in the world sent word to their agents that they wanted to play a spy. The novelty behind this film is that the producers cast Neil Connery, brother of you-know-who, as a Scottish plastic surgeon with the power to hypnotize at will (don't ask!). Connery had no acting experience prior to finding himself in this rather lavish production that boasted exotic locations and an inspired supporting cast that included Bond regulars Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee as well as other high profile alumni from the series including Daniela Bianchi, Anthony Dawson and Adolfo Celi. The blatant attempt to exploit the Connery name is apparent by the fact that the catchy, guilty-pleasure title theme song is called O.K. Connery (it was composed by Ennio Morricone!). Additionally, Neil Connery plays a character creatively named Dr. Neil Connery. There are all sorts of cryptic references to the notion that he is the brother of 007, which of course doesn't stand up to scrutiny because 007's name is James Bond, not Sean Connery. Nevertheless, the funniest aspect of the movie is the most unintentional: the dubbing. It appears everyone but Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee are dubbed, including (inexplicably) Neil Connery himself. He's supposed to be Scotsman and is even seen wearing a kilt in one sequence, but is dubbed with a baritone American accent!  The film is goofy fun throughout. I recently met Neil Connery in Scotland and he maintains a good sense of humor about the production, saying it was a pleasant experience even though he was appalled to find his voice had been dubbed. It's fine to have Kid Brother released as an MST 3000 edition, but  let's hope there's a legit release in the works of the entire movie.  The kitsch value alone would ensure brisk sales.

Kitten With a Whip- The inclusion of this mainstream entry as an MST 3000 edition is outside of the genres the series generally worked with, as related by series star and creator Mike Nelson, who explains the show generally concentrated on B horror and sci-fi flicks . However, the movie is so over-the-top bad that it merited inclusion in the show's Hall of Shame. Ann-Margret, then an up-and-coming star, had already had major success with State Fair, Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas. Good thing, too, because it's doubtful we would have heard much more from her had this guilty pleasure been the vehicle for her screen debut. The 1964 B&W film stars John Forsythe as David Stratton, a straight-laced, pillar of the community family man living in San Diego. He's being groomed by local politicians as a likely candidate for office and is expected to vie for the nomination in a forthcoming state senate race. With his wife and kids away on a vacation, Stratton becomes embroiled in a bizarre situation when he finds a scantily-clad, rain-soaked young woman named Jody literally sleeping in his bed, having broken into his house. Jody explains she was being abused in a home for teenaged girls and had to flee for her life. Stratton makes the mistake of trying to assist her, but soon realizes she is actually wanted for burning the home down and attempting to kill a matron there. He finds himself being set up in a blackmail scheme that would destroy his family life and political ambitions, with matters complicated by the fact that Jody will accuse him of rape, which is even more damaging because she is under-age. Defenseless, Stratton has no choice but to allow Jody and a trio of bizarre and potentially violent delinquents take over his house, wreaking physical and emotional damage. The whole enterprise goes hilariously off-the-charts when the gang ends up driving to Tijuana where Stratton coincidentally runs into virtually every possible person who he does not want to encounter, with the possible exception of The Three Stooges. In more skilled hands, the basic premise could have been an effective one, but director Douglas Hayes (who was a well-regarded screenwriter) encourages Ann-Margret and her young co-stars to go over-the-top at every possible opportunity. The string of coincidences, bad judgment calls and overall ineptness on the part of Stratton only emphasizes how incredibly frightening he would be in political office. Only Forsythe emerges relatively unscathed and the ironic end does pack a bit of a dramatic wallop but the film can generally be regarded as an embarrassment for all concerned and well worth the MST 3000 "tribute".

Revenge of the Creature- This 1955 monster flick is acknowledged as another off-beat entry for inclusion in the show, as it was produced by Universal and boasts relatively upscale production values. The sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon finds the titular monster captured and put on display in a Florida aquarium where he is gawked at by scientists and public alike. The fish-faced fiend ultimately breaks free and terrorizes the locals, including the prerequisite teens on Lover's Lane. The film is noted primarily for providing young Clint Eastwood in a bit role, but as these streamlined versions of the films are edited severely to make room for comedy sketches, I don't believe the Eastwood footage made it into this version, or I blinked and missed it. The film is goofy fun but nowhere near as enjoyable as those truly bad B movies turned out by other studios. John Agar is the hunky leading man and Lori Nelson is the sexy girl who the monster inevitably ends up carrying into the drink. 

Robot Holocaust- This 1986 title is far more the norm for the MST 3000 crowd. A micro-budgeted howler about a post-apocalyptic world in which humans serve as slave laborers for the Dark One's power station. I'm not sure what the Dark One is, exactly, but he's apparently non-human and he's a humorless dude who arranges for gladiator-like fights to the death among the slaves. Into this mix comes a rebel from the outside world who attempts to stir up a revolution. There are the usual Star Wars-inspired robot clones, all of which look like someone you might see at a Halloween party. New York locations include Central Park, probably because it's a place where people who look like aliens from another world wouldn't draw much attention from passers-by. The film's 79-minute running time feels like that of Doctor Zhivago after you get past the first half-hour's worth of unintentional giggles but the performance of the "actress" who plays the villainess helps the climax attain a certain greatness in the annals of bad movies in that it is perhaps the worst performance ever committed to celluloid. For that reason alone, the entire set is worth adding to your library.

This release is packed with extras including interviews with the show's Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson and cast members Bill Corbett and J. Elvis Weinstein. An unexpected gem is the documentary Jack Arnold at Universal, a serious tribute to the director who brought to life some of the studio's most enduring monster movie classics. It's unusual to see such respect paid to a filmmaker in an MST 3000 release, but it's certainly warranted.There are also the usual cool mini-posters created by artist Steve Vance.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Remember that scene in Mel Brooks' The Producers when the first performance of Springtime for Hitler has just been performed for an opening night crowd on Broadway? The camera pans around the silent audience to show people sitting slack-jawed, mouths agape at the travesty they have just witnessed. I had a similar experience watching Sextette for the first time. Mind you, as a long time retro movie analyst, I was well-aware of the film's reputation as a notorious misfire. However, no criticism can quite prepare anyone for the experience of actually watching this bizarre spectacle unfold before your eyes. Scorpion Video has made that possible with a special edition DVD release of the 1978 musical comedy that was to be Mae West's second attempt to make a big screen comeback. (The first, the notorious 1970 bomb Myra Breckenridge, outraged her when she saw the final cut.) Sextette went into production in 1976, produced by "Briggs and Sullivan", a headed-for-oblivion duo whose pretentious billing perhaps unwittingly brings to mind circus masters Barnum and Bailey. The producers had acquired the rights to West's play Sextet, which apparently resulted in legal and censorship problems for the great screen diva way back when it was first presented. By the time it was dusted off for audiences in the 1970s, we were already living in an era in which Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice could comfortably slip between the sheets together, thus rendering the sexual humor in West's farce seem about as daring as a Disney production.

The film, directed by the generally admirable Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), presents West as Marlo Manners, a legendary diva of the cinema who still causes hearts to flutter whenever she makes a public appearance. When we first see her (a full 8 minutes into the movie), she is checking into a London hotel to enjoy her honeymoon with her latest (and sixth husband), handsome young Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton). It isn't long before Barrington realizes that Marlo has a fanatical fan base and a seemingly endless string of former and would-be lovers clamoring for her attention. Among them, some ex-husbands including a crazy movie director (Ringo Starr) and a gangster who was presumed dead (George Hamilton). Then there is a Soviet diplomat (Tony Curtis)  who is the central figure in a world peace conference that coincidentally happens to be taking place in the same hotel. Add to the zany mix her hyper-active business manager (Dom DeLuise), a singing waiter (Alice Cooper!) and a fey dress designer (The Who's Keith Moon) and you probably have to admire whoever managed to get this eclectic group of talented people together, even if they all should have known better. West's old pal George Raft even shows up and rides an elevator with her.  The razor-thin plots involves Marlo trying to consummate her marriage to Barrington, who is a naive virgin who inadvertently implies to Hollywood gossip guru Rona Barrett that he is gay. In fact, just about the only audience that might derive any visual pleasure from the film are gay males, due to the abundance of scantily-clad muscle men who flex their abs every time Marlo walks by. To make matters even more bizarre, the cast occasionally breaks out into songs as though this was some old Busby Berkeley musical. The nadir of this is when an understandably embarrassed Dalton is forced to sing the Captain and Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together to his on-screen bride. (Presumably, Dalton left this achievement off his resume or he probably wouldn't have ended up playing James Bond.) In the midst of this madness, Marlo also barges in on the peace conference and convinces all the diplomats (including Walter Pidgeon!) to engage in some kumbaya moments of diplomacy.

West was certainly a screen legend in her time and one of the most liberated women in show business. You have to admire her for promoting women's lib and sexual freedom in an era in which most people were tone deaf to such sentiments. However, knowing when to quit was obviously not one of her attributes. As Marlo brings twenty-something men to states of sexual frenzy in Sextette, you keep waiting for at least one joke regarding the fact that the woman was in her 80s when the film was made. Unfortunately, throughout the entire movie, no such realization is apparent. Men salivate over her, as West creaks stiffly from frame to frame looking like the Marie Antoinette figure from Madame Tussaud's wax museum. West had parlayed her limited schtick of tossing off sexually suggestive one-liners into a full time screen career, not so much acting as merely quipping. It may have worked great in her prime opposite Cary Grant and W.C. Fields, but it's a sad spectacle to see Ringo Starr try to control his urges in her presence. The only cast member to emerge unscathed is DeLuise, who gives an energetic and amusing performance that even sees him jumping atop a piano and engaging in an impressive tap dance.

The Scorpion DVD transfer is excellent and includes an extensive and spellbinding interview with Ian Whitcomb, who served as a music consultant on the film. A good friend of Mae West's, he relates affectionate tales of their relationship and provides some uncomfortable details about the filming. (West would periodically seem to lose her powers of concentration and often had to have her lines read to her through an ear piece.) He also reads entries from his diary that were written during production.  There is also a very informative on-screen essay by film critic Dennis Dermody that explores the film's disastrous reception by critics and the public. An original TV spot is also included.

Sextette easily manages to gain that rare status of being so bad, it's good. You must add this DVD to your collection.

(Look for an article about the making of the film in Cinema Retro #26)

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By Lee Pfeiffer

In the wake of unexpected critical acclaim for director Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night in 1964, studios scrambled to emulate the success of that first feature film starring The Beatles. Over a period of a few years, many bands found themselves top-lining major feature films. Most were mindless exploitation films, a few others more ambitious in their goals. Fitting snugly into the latter category was Having a Wild Weekend (released in the UK under the title Catch Us If You Can.)  The film represents the only movie starring the Dave Clark Five, one of the more popular bands to emerge during that marvelous era in the 1960s when Great Britain shed its post WWII doldrums and came to dominate international pop culture. The band was one of many who rode the coattails of The Beatles to the top of the charts, but they had their own unique style of songs and music that resulted in some memorable hit songs that still hold up well today. At one point, the DC5 was so popular that they appeared on The Ed Sulllivan Show more than any other British band. Their feature film debut is impressive only in the sense that it afforded a young documentary maker named John Boorman the opportunity to make his feature film directorial debut. There is scant evidence that Boorman possessed the kind of unique vision that would result in Point Blank only two years later and Deliverance five years after that, but Weekend is different from most teen idol movies of the era both in terms of its visual content as well as its message. The script is also unique in that the DC5 don't appear as themselves, thus its the only film of its kind that doesn't showcase the band members playing music on screen. In fact, they don't even play musicians, but rather, stuntmen who are employed to appear in an expensive nationwide British ad campaign designed to encourage meat eating. This rather uncommercial message is prettied up by having the campaign center on a perky, sexy young blonde named Dinah (Barbara Ferris), who is an omnipresent force in London, appearing on billboards and TV ads to promote the meat industry in a fun way. The DC5 appear with her as window dressing, always in the background of the ads. During the shooting of a particularly frustrating TV commercial taping, Dinah and her boyfriend Steve (Dave Clark) engage in an abrupt act of rebellion by stealing a sports car they drive in the ad and absconding to an island that Dinah hopes to retire to. This sets in motion a massive search by the advertising agency executives that becomes a nationwide obsession. Rumors circulate that Steve has kidnapped Dinah, something that turns out to be an unexpected boon for the ad agency since it results in a great deal of free publicity for "The Meat Girl". Steve and Dinah's directionless meanderings around the island prove to be less joyful than expected. They encounter a colony of hippies but find they are as shallow as the Establishment types they are rebelling against. They also blunder into the middle of military war games in the film's zaniest and least credible sequence. Ultimately the other members of the DC5 join them but even they are being pursued by agents for the advertising agency as well as local police. Steve brings them to a farm run by a boyhood idol who he used to visit as a child only to find he has "sold out" too and is looking to use Dinah as a tourist attraction. Disillusioned, Steve and Dinah ultimately come face to face with their employers and Steve gets a downbeat life lesson on how shallow even Dinah's principals can be.

Having a Wild Weekend is a strangely humorless film with the DC5 songs rather awkwardly interwoven. Even a sequence (filmed in Bath) that depicts a massive, wild costume party doesn't deliver the amusement you might expect. However, it does offer the unique opportunity to see people dressed as Stan Laurel, the Marx Brothers and Frankenstein cavorting in the ancient Roman baths.  Dave Clark has movie star looks and admirable screen presence. He should have pursued a career as an actor. However, the other band members have scant opportunity to present themselves as individuals. This includes lead singer Mike Smith, who sang most of the group's hit songs even though Clark would lip synch to them in live appearances to appear as though he sang them on the recordings. Plot angles appear promisingly but get dropped abruptly including a potentially promising sequence in which Steve and Dinah are invited home by a middle aged couple (excellently played by Robin Bailey and Yootha Joyce) who turn out to be setting them up for some sexual swinging. Director Boorman eschews studio sets for actual locations and this gives the movie a sense of vibrancy it might otherwise have lacked. Manny Wynn's black and white cinematography does justice to the British countryside and he presents the action through some interesting camera angles.

The downbeat storyline won praise from critics at the time because it so deftly avoids emulating the ridiculously cheery productions that were generally aimed at teens. It holds up well as a curiosity and affords some nostalgic insights into a time when the counterculture movement was on the verge of exploding. The DVD presentation by the Warner Archive presents a crisp, clean transfer sans any extras. One hopes that someday, Dave Clark might be asked to participate in a special edition of the movie.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

The Cohen Media Group is a relatively new company that, over the last four years, has produced and distributed primarily highly acclaimed international art house films. The company's latest release on DVD and Blu-ray is Farewell, My Queen, director Benoit Jacquot's  French-language 2012 period costume drama that centers on the outbreak of the French Revolution, as experienced by Sidonie (Lea Seydoux), a young woman who has the seemingly enviable position of being "The Queen's Reader". Her primary responsibility is to literally read books to Marie Antoinette (that's right, the nobility didn't even have to strain their eyes). Sidonie, a twenty-something country girl, is in awe of the Queen and is slavishly devoted to her needs. As played by Diane Kruger, Marie Antoinette is presented as the undeniably spoiled wife of Louis XVI, but the portrayal humanizes her. Marie Antoinette, like so many famous (or infamous) historical figures, has often been reduced to a caricature on the silver screen. In Jacquot's film, however, she is allowed to show an intelligent and softer side, as evidenced through the respect she shows Sidonie. The film, based on Chantal Thomas' 2003 novel, constrains the action to four pivotal days in French history. When we are first introduced to Sidnonie and her Queen, the palace staff is living comfortably in the lavish palace of Versailles. The story makes it quite clear that Sidonie's interest and devotion to the Queen extends beyond her duties as a household servant- she is clearly sexually attracted to her. The screenplay capitalizes on long-standing rumors that Marie Antoinette was a not-so-closeted lesbian. (Pamphlets were distributed in Paris during the day satirizing Marie's alleged participation in lesbian orgies.) Historically, this was never proven, but the rumors seem to have been inspired by her marriage to a disinterested monarch who slept in a separate bedroom and all but ignored her. Marie also undoubtedly had very close relationships with other women that helped keep the rumor-mill going. In Farwell, My Queen, Marie Antoinette comes out of the closet to Sidonie, but the girl's romantic fantasies are crushed when it is revealed that the Queen's true love is Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen), a married duchess with an independent streak who has engaged in a lesbian relationship with Marie. The lives of the aristocracy and those who serve them are abruptly sent into turmoil when news arrives from Paris that the peasants have stormed the Bastille. Panic sweeps through the palace, and chaos reigns as the King's guards desert, leaving the pampered royals to fend for themselves for the first time in their lives. In the midst of the madness, King Louis (a peripheral figure in the story, but well-played by Xavier Beauvois), opts not to flee along with his "loyal" staff and agrees to go to Paris to meet the dissidents in hopes of retaining the throne. Left to her own devices, Marie Antoinette believes she is doomed and enlists Sidonie in a high-risk plan to secure the safety of Gabrielle, whose excesses have made her particularly reviled by the populace.

This is a lavish, big-budget production that brings to mind the visual splendor of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. Romain Winding's cinematography is an inspiration, turning the opulent backdrops into cinematic "paintings". Director  Jacquot defies the odds by successfully telling a female-driven story from a female point-of-view. The character of Sidonie is our protagonist, but she remains an enigma and we never do understand how a peasant girl became employed by the royal court. Her sexual obsession with the Queen is also complicated by the fact that she is clearly bi-sexual, as evidenced by an aborted sex act with a hunky palace servant. It's as though these ambiguities are intentional, designed to lead the audience to ponder what other mysteries lie behind the lead characters. Where the film excels is in the scenes that show just how abrupt life and politics changed with the storming of the Bastille. In days when communications were not instantaneous, the rumors prevailed and one can sympathize with the characters who hang on for any sliver of information that might indicate if they will share the same fate as the warden of Bastille, who was decapitated with a pen knife. The movie is about unrequited love in several relationships. The marriage between Louis XVI and Marie is one of convenience, a complete sham designed to produce heirs to the throne. The love affair between Marie and Gabrielle is distinctly tilted in the latter's favor, as evidenced by Gabrielle's immediate acceptance of Marie's offer to allow her to flee France with her husband, thus leaving the Queen to face her fate alone. The romantic desire by Sidonie to be Marie's lover is not fulfilled, as the Queen sees her only as a useful tool to help protect the woman she really loves. If there is a drawback to the movie, it's in the fact that  that the ending, which finds Sidonie gamely being used as bait to smuggle Gabrielle and her husband to Switzerland, comes a bit abruptly and doesn't follow through on the fate of our heroine. Similarly, some viewers might be frustrated by the fact that the fates of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI are never explored after Sidonie leaves the palace. This is understandable, not only because the film is about a young woman, not the monarchy, and also due to the fact that, as a French production, it is assumed its intended audiences knows full well about the unspeakable fate that befell the royals. Still, it shouldn't have to be said that viewers would benefit from having at least a modicum of knowledge about the historical references made in the film, as this is clearly not a production designed to appeal to the Transformers crowd.

The Blu-ray release is gorgeous on every level. Extras include a post-premiere interview with Benoit Jacquot, conducted by Kent Jones of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and on-set interviews with the director and cast members. There is also a theatrical trailer that slightly exaggerates the lesbian angle, which seems to be used to market everything other than potato chips in recent years.  In all, however, it's an outstanding presentation of a very worthy film that many would not otherwise have been exposed to.

Much has been stated about the glory days of European film-making having been relegated to the post-WWII period through the 1970s. However, intelligent movies such as Farewell, My Queen, which boasts excellent performances by all as well as impressive direction, prove that there are substantial talents working in the European cinema. Perhaps these films don't benefit from the kind of sensational, world-wide publicity that was accorded to the works of Fellini and Bunuel, but there is a vast array of productions that are well-worth viewing, as evidenced by this release.

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Click here to view trailer at the Cohen Media web site.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive continues its string of burn-to-order releases of "Poverty Row"  B movies that were originally produced by other studios. The latest release, I Escaped From the Gestapo, is a real hoot that was originally produced by Monogram Pictures, which afforded budgets to directors and producers that were only slightly more extravagant than those spent on home movies. The film is primarily remembered as a would-be vehicle for actress Frances Farmer, who was not able to continue filming due to her legendary mental breakdown that resulted in her being institutionalized. Beyond that tragic association, however, the movie is a relentlessly upbeat, over-the-top propaganda film that afforded a rare leading role to Dean Jagger. The opening plot device is actually rather clever. It finds Jagger as Torgen Lane, a master forger and counterfeiter who is doing time in a federal prison. He finds himself the center of an audacious and dangerous plot to break him out of "stir" (to use the jargon of the era.) The plan succeeds and Lane is brought to meet his mysterious benefactors. It turns out they are a ring of counterfeiters themselves and they make their headquarters in an administrative office of a bustling amusement arcade. The head of the ring is Martin (John Carradine), a seemingly friendly but business-like man who explains to Lane that he's now working for them. Lane suspects he has just been sprung from prison in order to become a prisoner of sorts once again. Martin tells him that the ring needs his talents to spread counterfeit money and that he'll be handsomely rewarded, but it means being confined for much of the day in a small room and under constant supervision. Lane soon discovers that the ring has a more nefarious purpose: it's actually a front for Gestapo agents who are using the phony money to flood the national economies of the Allied nations in the hopes of wrecking their economies. They also use the novelty booth in which servicemen can record greetings to their families and sweethearts in order to gain information about troop and ship movements that they use to devastating effect. Upon hearing this, Lane does what all truly stupid movie heroes do: instead of playing it cool, he let's them know he is on to them. Not surprisingly, the Nazis are unswayed by his threats and immediately promise to kill his elderly mother if he doesn't continue to cooperate. It will spoil nothing to tell readers that, in the end, Lane emerges triumphant. He may be a no good, counterfeiting scoundrel but dammit, he's a patriotic American no good, counterfeiting scoundrel who isn't about to let these goose-stepping goons lay a finger on Uncle Sam.

The film, directed by one Harold Young, moves at a brisk clip through its abbreviated 76 minute running time. The wise-cracking Jagger makes for an amusing leading man and Mary Brian is thrown in as attractive window dressing, playing a girl who works in the arcade who establishes a flirty relationship with Lane. In the film's most unintentionally funny sequence, Lane uses psychological tactics to persuade a young German agent that Brian represents everything that is pure in America, from its women to its music. He even plays records of classical German symphonies that were banned under Hitler. After a few short hours of this persuasion, the young Nazi is practically vying to be the next John Wayne. Half the fun is watching the inimitable John Carradine in full stock company villain mode. There were few actors who could do so much with such lame material and dialogue, but he's a delight to watch. It's also a good deal of fun to relish the scant production values. Most of the "action" is confined to two rooms and the amusement arcade doesn't seem to extend beyond 25 square feet.

The film was re-issued under the title of No Escape, and notes on the DVD sleeve explain that it why this print bares that title. We have no idea why the title was changed except, possibly, because it was somewhat misleading. Gestapo agents were generally seen as menaces within Germany and occupied territories, not as foreign spies. The title clearly implies a thriller set within the German sphere of influence and this is reinforced by a misleading poster that shows a character clad in a Gestapo uniform that never appears on screen.

The fact that such B movies are now being made available in pristine DVD editions is something to celebrate. Although these modest productions afforded modest pleasures, they represent a bygone era of film-making that is, fortunately, now being preserved for posterity.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1961 low-budget Allied Artists production of Operation Eichmann on burn-to-order DVD. The film was clearly rushed into production in order to capitalize on the recent capture of the infamous Nazi war criminal who enthusiastically took up the assignment of how to orchestra the logistics of carrying out the Holocaust as part of Hitler's evil scheme to rid occupied Europe of Jews and others deemed undesirable by the Third Reich. The film opens with a chilling (but fictitious) statement by Eichmann, who threatens to oversee a revival of world Naziism. The movie's cheap production design undermines the emotional impact of the story. (The scenes in Auschwitz are no more expansive than those seen in contemporary TV dramas at the time.) The B&W cinematography, however, is suitably stark and provides an appropriate downbeat atmosphere. The film strays so far from the facts regarding Eichmann's life on the run that you wonder how producers felt it could be sold to contemporary audiences who were mesmerized by Eichmann's capture by the Israeli Mossad in Argentina. The movie skips over such controversies as Eichmann having been placed in custody of American forces in the aftermath of the war, only to be released due to a blunder about his identity. There is no mention of the cover-ups American intelligence engaged in so that Eichmann would never be found or arrested. (The fear was that Eichmann's arrest might reveal the fact that the American government had willingly hired prominent Nazis for intelligence purposes during the Cold War era.) Nor is there a nod to the fact that Eicmann successfully lived undisturbed in Argentina thanks to an assist from a Catholic bishop who sympathized with the plight of Nazis on the run. Although Eichmann lived in Argentina with his wife and children, the movie presents him as a bachelor who is accompanied by a ditzy and greedy girlfriend, a fictional character named Anna (Ruta Lee). The cinematic Eichmann has a tempestuous relationship with his paramour, but can't seem to leave her. He routinely offers her bribes to stay with him during his life on the run. Finally, the film embellishes Eichmann's daring capture on an Argentinian street by adding a sub-plot about other ex-Nazis who are planning to kill him for making his plans to revive the Third Reich too blatant.

Where the film, directed by R. G. Springsteen, deserves some admiration is in its determination not to sugar coat the atrocities that Eichmann and his cohorts engaged in. Nazis were not the wild-eyed monsters often depicted in propaganda films. Rather, most were distinguished by their sheer banality. Eichmann considered himself simply a bureaucrat who cited the usual defense that he was "just following orders." Likely, he believed that to be the case. Countless bankers, lawyers and accountants eagerly put their talents to use for Hitler with nary a distinction about the larger consequences of their actions. It was Eichmann, however, who rose to the challenge of orchestrating the logistics of transporting millions of poor souls to their deaths. He had not a shred of compassion and treated human beings as he might cattle. The film features Werner Klemperer in a rare starring role as the titular fiend. He delivers an outstanding performance that never sinks into parody or over-acting. Curiously, one of his co-stars is John Banner, who would play Sgt. Schultz opposite Klemperer's Emmy-winning portrayal of Col. Klink on Hogan's Heroes several years later. It is morbidly fascinating to see these two future icons of TV comedy on screen in such a somber tale. Banner plays the commandant of Auschwitz and wines and dines Eichmann at his family dinners even as the ovens are being constructed and the gas chambers are running at full capacity. It serves as a reminder that both Klemperer and Banner were well-regarded as dramatic actors prior to their comedic achievements on television.

Operation Eichmann is a flawed, but compelling look at a Nazi technocrat who personally caused the demise of millions of innocent people. The film could have been so much more impressive, had the story not been relegated to a factually-flawed script and a routine director. Nevertheless, the fascinating performance by Werner Klemperer is reason enough to recommend this release.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Twilight Time has released the 1959 Fox film adaptation of William Faulkner's classic novel The Sound and the Fury as a limited edition (3,000 unit) Blu-ray release. The film was a follow-up venture between producer Jerry Wald and director Martin Ritt to their screen version of Faulkner's The Hamlet, which was released the previous year under the title of The Long, Hot Summer. That movie was a boxoffice smash that helped elevate Paul Newman's status as one of the industry's most promising leading men. Good fortune did not smile on The Sound and the Fury, however. Ritt's screen version made dramatic changes to the acclaimed source novel, eliminating much of the plot and eschewing much of the drama that extended over a period of many years into a segment centering on a few days. Ritt and the screenwriters also chose to tell the story through the eyes of a teenage girl who is only a secondary character in the novel. The result was scathing reviews from disappointing critics, though the film has been more favorably re-evaluated in recent years.

Faulkner, like his contemporary Tennessee Williams, excelled at dramatizing the plight of dysfunctional people in the modern South. The story focuses on the Compson family, a once prominent staple of a backwater Mississippi town. They've fallen on hard times. The deceased father ran up debts prior to drinking himself to death and left it to his son Jason (Yul Brynner, sporting a full pate of hair) to salvage the family mansion. He's done so by selling the family store to someone else and he has to suffer the daily indignity of working for the new owner. On the surface, he's a hard-nosed, humorless man whose only vice seems to be chain smoking cigars and cigarettes. In truth, he has little to be joyful about. The mansion is in decay and he is stuck caring for an alcoholic brother (John Beal) who doesn't work at all, as well an aging, constantly griping mother (Francoise Rosay) and a younger brother, Ben (Jack Warden) who suffers from a mental disability and cannot speak. His biggest challenge is raising his step-niece Quentin (Joanne Woodward), a wayward teen grappling with issues of self-esteem and raging hormones. She's heading to the wrong side of the tracks and is in a constant state of rebellion. She hates Jason because of his disciplinary measures and takes up with a no-good but hunky carnival worker (Stuart Whitman) who is gearing up to relieve her of her virginity and any family savings she can pilfer so they can run away together. Tensions rise even further when Quentin's mother Caddy (Margaret Leighton) returns home, ostensibly to finally get to know the daughter she abandoned at birth. She gets a cold reception from Jason, who reminds her that while she was sleeping her way through the state, he was raising her illegitimate daughter and trying to overcome the social stigma so Quentin will have some self-esteem. Nevertheless, seeing she is desperate and homeless, he invites her back home. Quentin initially welcomes her estranged mom but quickly sees her as the selfish and vain woman she really is. Tensions in the household are brought to the boiling point and are sometimes only diffused by the family's long-time cook, Dilsey (the great Ethel Waters in her final screen role.)

The episodic screenplay meanders quite a bit, never reaching any kind of dramatic conclusion other than Quentin's ultimate acceptance that Jason has been acting in her best interests. This gradual realization leads to a couple of rather daring sequences in which it is made clear there is a sexual attraction between them. (The script emphasizes they are not technically related by blood, but there is an uncomfortable feeling to these scenes that reminds one of the similar relationship between Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn in John Huston's The Unforgiven. The studio shamelessly capitalized on the incest angle, creating a misleading poster of Brynner standing above Woodward, who is laying prone on her bed. The tag line even proudly proclaimed that the story broke "the unwritten commandment!") The movie is more satisfying in parts than as a whole, but is consistently engrossing thanks to the uniformly fine performances. Brynner is especially good, playing against type as an everyday man trying to cope with leading a middle class existence. Woodward is excellent in terms of performance but she is ultimately miscast for one reason: she was 29 years old at the time and simply isn't entirely convincing as a teenage girl for obvious reasons. Margaret Leighton is in full Blanche Dubois mode as the faded and sullied Southern belle and Whitman provides fine support as the transient heel with seduction on his mind.

Ritt, like Faulkner, also always excelled at making films about deeply troubled people having to interact with each other and The Sound and the Fury is no exception. Aside from his fine direction, the movie boasts a terrific jazz score by Alex North that alternately evokes romance and suspense. The fine Blu-ray presentation doesn't have any extras but there is that mainstay of Twilight Time releases: the collector's booklet with excellent liner notes by Julie Kirgo. (Read it after you view the film, as it unavoidably contains spoilers.)

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Sony has released the 1969 film adaptation of John Le Carre's 1965 Cold War novel The Looking Glass War as a burn-to-order DVD. The movie has been largely forgotten and relatively unseen since its release, which is odd given the consistent interest in all things Le Carre. Christopher Jones plays Leiser, a twenty-something Polish illegal immigrant in London who has the goal of being able to live there with his pregnant girlfriend, Susan (Susan George.) Although prone to bad habits and unpredictable behavior, Leiser is intent on taking his future role as a father seriously. He is arrested for immigration violations, however, and an MI6 boss LeClerc (Ralph Richardson) concocts an audacious plan to manipulate Leiser into spying for the West. Using a legal immigration status as a carrot, LeClerc gets Leiser to reluctantly agree to the scheme. The young man is given a crash course in spying by another MI6 agent, Avery (Anthony Hopkins). He proves an adept enough student when it comes to handling the physical requirements of the job. (The film's best sequence finds the two men engaged in a knock-down, extended brawl when a training exercise gets out of hand their personal animosities take over.) However, Leiser sneaks away for a brief romantic interlude with Susan but he is emotionally distraught when she tells him she has aborted their baby. Although having lost the main goal of his life- fatherhood- Leiser agrees to go on a secret mission into East Germany to search for evidence of deadly missiles that MI6 feels could tilt the Cold War in the direction of the Soviets.

Director/screenwriter Frank Pierson took considerable liberties with the source novel, but it still retains LeCarre's trademarks: a highly complex plot peppered with all sorts of extraneous characters who epitomize the author's cynical view that, when it came to espionage, there was little moral difference between East and West. Still, the film is far less confusing than the over-rated 2011 big screen version of LeCarre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which won international acclaim although seemingly no one I have discussed the film with can begin to explain what it's all about. One of the main problems is that Leiser is an unsympathetic protagonist. As played by Jones, fully in his James Dean/Marlon Brando mumbling mode, he is a fairly unlikable character, routinely lying, breaking his word and abusing those around him, including Susan, who he physically assaults. It's pretty hard to consider him one of the good guys. Nevertheless, Jones, who was always underrated as a screen presence, uses his good looks and charisma to full advantage so you can't help but hope he survives his seemingly suicidal mission. The film does pick  up steam once Leiser makes it under a barbed wire fence and is forced to reluctantly kill an East German border guard. The scene is quite suspenseful, as is another fine sequence in which the desperate and wounded Leiser accepts a ride from a predatory farmer who unexpectedly tries to goad him into performing a homosexual sex act- with tragic results. Leiser also picks up a hitchhiker himself, but- this being a 1960s spy movie- she's a drop-dead gorgeous blonde (played by flash-in-the-pan starlet Pia Degermark), who later reemerges in the story in a not-too-convincing plot twist.

The DVD quality is top notch and the film boasts a hip jazz score by Wally Stott, that nevertheless seems out of place in this dark espionage tale. The performances among the supporting actors are all first rate, with Hopkins particularly impressive in an early screen role. The Looking Glass War is by no means the best of the LeCarre film adaptations (nothing has really equaled The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. ) However, it is an intelligent thriller with exotic locations and an impressive cast. Retro spy movie lovers will certainly enjoy it.

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Click here for Cinebeats' extended look at the film.
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By Harvey F. Chartrand

PETER GUNN: THE COMPLETE SERIES is now available for the first time ever as a 12-DVD box set from Timeless Media Group… all 114 episodes, with a running time of over 58 hours.

PETER GUNN – created and produced by Blake Edwards – ran for three seasons – from 1958 to 1961. This classic detective show was a delightful blend of film noir and fifties cool, featuring a modern jazz score by Henry Mancini (a bonus CD of the soundtrack is included in the set), outbreaks of the old ultra-violence, a gallery of eccentric and sleazy characters (usually informants, gangsters and Beat Generation bohemians), and great acting by series leads Craig Stevens (as Gunn), Lola Albright (as his squeeze, sultry nightclub singer Edie Hart) and Herschel Bernardi (as Gunn’s friend and competitor Lieutenant Jacoby, who seems to work all by himself 24 hours a day in the 13^th Precinct headquarters).

Gunn can morph from suave private eye to tough guy handy with his fists in a nanosecond, but it’s refreshing to see how often he is taken by surprise or beaten up and knocked unconscious. Gunn operates out of a nightclub, Mother’s, where Edie Hart is the featured singer. No lonely neon-lit office in the Bradbury Building for him. (And he doesn’t pay Mother, the big tough old broad who runs the joint, any commission for helping him find clients!)

Gunn is that rarity… a wealthy shamus, and his services don’t come cheap, unless he’s in a charitable mood. His standard fee is $1,000, and his sterling reputation precedes him, keeping the clients streaming in through Mother’s door. Gunn is a hepcat with expensive tastes. He wears $200 Brooks Brothers suits and resembles an American Cary Grant (which is the pivotal reason why Edwards cast Stevens in the role). Gunn drives around in a cool two-tone Plymouth Fury convertible, equipped with a mobile phone! (This is 55 years ago, folks!) He seems to know just about every high-society type and low-life specimen in town. Stunningly attractive women find Gunn irresistible, but his heart belongs to Edie and he never succumbs to temptation.

PETER GUNN is set in a waterfront city on the Universal and MGM back lots – a city where it is almost always night. Interior scenes are lit in such a way that one can sense the darkness outside. For sheer smoky noir cinematography, this series can’t be beat.

Episodes were directed by Edwards, Robert Altman and Jack (The Incredible Shrinking Man) Arnold, as well as top TV directors of the era. Guest stars include such familiar faces as Stanley Adams, Joe Besser , Whit Bissell, Walter Burke, Jean Carson, James Coburn, Russ Conway, Jackie Coogan, Elisha Cook, Henry Corden, Norma Crane, Patricia Donahue, Norman Fell, Myron Healey, Alan Hewitt (who bears an uncanny resemblance to James Gregory), Sterling Holloway, John Hoyt, Roy Jenson, George Kennedy, Ted Knight, Anna Lee, Ken Lynch, Theodore Marcuse, Ross Martin, Murray Matheson, Frank Maxwell, Gavin MacLeod, John McIntire, Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show), Jeanette Nolan, J. Pat O’Malley, Edward C. Platt, William Schallert, Vito Scotti, Harold J. Stone, Nita Talbot, Joan Taylor, Lawrence Tierney, Mel Welles and Jack Weston.

Notable musical guests include trumpet virtuoso Pete Candoli, drummer Shelly Manne and singer Diahann Carroll (in her first major role). Jazz pianist Bill Chadney is also a series semi-regular, ideally cast as Emmett, Mother’s resident piano stylist. (Chadney and Lola Albright were married in 1961.)

Shelley Berman should receive a special retroactive Emmy Award for his towering dramatic performance in THE COMIC (1959), maybe the best – and certainly the most chilling – PETER GUNN episode, with the series regulars playing secondary roles to Berman, who is absolutely incredible as paranoid nightclub comic Danny Holland.

Image quality on the 12-pack DVD set is for the most part excellent, although several episodes from Season Two are substandard (with harsh, grainy black-and-white tones), but still acceptable. Audio quality is good to very good.

To order PETER GUNN: THE COMPLETE SERIES, CLICK HERE TO ORDER

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1962 feature film Hitler as a burn-to-order DVD. The film was perhaps the first cinematic attempt to present Adolf Hitler's story in a dramatic biographical format. However, the project was sabotaged by the fact that it was produced by Allied Artists, then a "B" movie factory. The resulting budget appears to be somewhat less than that afforded by home movies of the day. The B&W film also suffers from a ridiculously curtailed screenplay that attempts to do justice to all aspects of one of the most dramatic lives in history. The production's running time of 107 minutes undermines any serious attempt to do justice to Hitler's remarkable, history-changing life. The film does boast a reasonably effective performance by Richard Basehart in the titular role- no small achievement, as most cinematic impersonations of Der Fuhrer tend to inspire giggles. (It is not without irony that Hitler's trademark mustache was shared by the most iconic comedic figure of his era, Charles Chaplin.) The story opens with Hitler dictating Mein Kampf from his jail cell in 1923, having failed to seize power in Germany via a violent coup. In a blink of an eye, we see him perched to take power as Chancellor when the aging Von  Hinderburg dies. The screenplay dispenses with the historical context of all this in order to concentrate on the real reason for the movie's existence, which is Hollywood's long-time fascination with mingling sex and Naziism. Thus, a good deal of the movie is spent watching Adolf fawn over his niece Geli (Cordula Trantow). If you believe the story, their relationship remained chaste, which indeed it may have. Historians have long pondered over Hitler's sex life, or lack thereof, without finding any evidence that he did not die a virgin. He loved the company of attractive women and did indeed have a rather scandalous relationship with Geli, even sharing an apartment with her during his early rise to power. The film introduces the first of some outlandish historical "facts" when Geli is murdered in a staged suicide, under orders from Hitler. In fact, there has never been any concrete evidence that Hitler was responsible for her death. 

The next fraulein in the Fuhrer's sphere of influence is Eva Braun (Maria Emo), a young girl with a bombshell body who willingly devotes her life to being Hitler's arm candy. Here again, the script deviates from what we know about Braun, presenting her as a strong-willed woman of impressive intelligence. In fact, Braun was an apolitical airhead, as evidenced by Hitler's real life musing that men of great power should only be involved with stupid women so their careers are not interfered with. The movie blazes through historical events with blinding speed (documentary footage is unconvincingly interwoven in an attempt to give the claustrophobic production some scope.) The movie accurately presents Hitler's deadly betrayal of his old friend,  SA chief Ernst Rohm and even overtly acknowledges the fact that Rohm and his men were engaging in widespread homosexual activity during a weekend retreat, something that repelled Hitler,who ordered mass executions. The film is obsessed with the sexual aspects of Hitler's life but, as stated previously, this area remains a mystery to historians and biographers. Even after Hitler and Eva Braun were living under the same roof at the Fuhrer's Bavarian retreat, they kept separate bedrooms. The house staff was so titillated by the prospect of investigating Hitler's love life that they routinely inspected the bedding for evidence of any sexual interaction. None was ever found. Nevertheless, the screenplay takes bold liberties in presenting speculation as fact. It assumes Hitler was impotent and that this was attributed to latent homosexuality. This is another myth that historians have dismissed.  Hitler once shared an apartment, and possibly the same bed, with another impoverished young man in his early days, but this was probably due to economic necessity and was not at all unusual at the time. Indeed, Hitler's disdain for homosexuals put them on his hate list along with Jews and political dissidents. In Nazi Germany, being gay meant the concentration camp. Whether the screen writer actually believed this theory is not known but there is certainly the possibility that this plot point was included simply to be provocative. Another historical incident is depicted, albeit inaccurately, with the July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler by his generals. The ring leader of the plot, Col. von Stauffenberg is shown being hanged along with his confederates. In reality, he was shot by a firing squad.

One has to have some admiration for Richard Basehart, whose performance rises above the mediocrities that surround him. He makes for a mesmerizing Hitler and never overplays the more hysterical aspects of the Fuhrer's personality that so often inspire actors to go "over the top." The pedestrian direction by Stuart Heisler doesn't provide much inspiration for him. Nevertheless, Hitler is a odd little film that bares viewing if only for the wrong reasons.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

If you haven't picked up Warner Home Video's release of Clint Eastwood's 1992 Oscar-winner Unforgiven on Blu-ray, don't delay another day. The film made its debut in Blu-ray earlier this year to commemorate the movie's 20th anniversary. For those of us who were long-time champions of Eastwood's abilities as an actor and director, the accolades the movie received made us seem a bit self-satisfied. In the early 1980s I co-authored a book about Eastwood's films and was told by my editor that while his movies were enjoyable, I was guilty of mistaking him for a world-class talent. No one was saying such things after Unforgiven, a classic Western that ranks among the best of the genre. Originally shot under the title The William Munny Killings, the film is a dramatic look at both the best and worst elements of human nature. (The film's final title did seem rather uninspired at the time, given the fact that John Huston had made a high profile  western titled The Unforgiven in 1960) No one is completely good or bad in this film, including the Sheriff Little Bill (an Oscar winning performance by Gene Hackman), who runs his small town with an iron fist. He considers himself to be a good man and he certainly is courageous and incorruptible. However, when he doles out mild punishment for a man who used a knife to commit an atrocity on a local prostitute, her fellow hookers pool their hard-earned savings and offer a bounty to the man or men who kill or bring to justice the culprit and his companions. Answering the call is William Munny, an aging widower with two small children who is desperate to renounce his past as a hard-bitten saddle bum with a penchant for spilling blood. The bounty money will afford him the chance to start a new life. He is aided by his old friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) and a green horn who goes by the name of the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett, who should have gone on to stardom). The Kid claims to be a hardened killer but his older mentors realize immediately he is all bluster. This disparate trio begins to track down the man who abused the prostitute and end up on a hellish journey that has unforeseen, tragic consequences.

Eastwood, who kept the screenplay by David Webb Peoples on a shelf until the time was right to dust it off, provides assured, top-notch direction as well as giving one of the best performances of his career. (He also wrote the film's haunting theme song for good measure). The supporting performances are all outstanding with Richard Harris making an odd, but unforgettable mid-film appearance as an egotistical British gunslinger who gets his just desserts at the hands of Little Bill. Every nuance of the movie rings true right down to the final gun battle in saloon that is brilliantly directed by Eastwood.

The deluxe version of the Blu-ray release comes in the format of a small, hardback photo book with an introduction by Eastwood. The photo content is worth the price of the set alone, with script pages, rare pre-production ads and behind the scenes photos displayed. Best of all is the bonus content which has been available on the previous DVD release:

• Commentary track by Eastwood and biographer Richard Schickel
• All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger, which features recent interviews with cast and crew about the making of the film
• Eastwood... A Star, a retrospective look at the screen legend's career
• Eastwood and Company: Making 'Unforgiven': Schickel's outstanding one hour documentary that originally aired on broadcast TV
• Eastwood on Eastwood, in which the actor/director reflects on his long career
• A vintage episode of Maverick in which Eastwood plays a hardcase cowboy who goes up against star James Garner
• Original trailer

In summary, it would be unforgivable not to add this deluxe Blu-ray of Unforgiven to your library. (The film is available as a bare-bones Blu-ray, but spring for the deluxe edition.)

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Despite a title that implies an epic mini-series, World War III (originally broadcast in 1982) is far less grand than other major network specials of the day. This was the golden age of TV mini-series, when seemingly every week produced a classic such as Rich Man, Poor Man, Roots, Shogun and The Thorn Birds.  All of those projects had opulent budgets as well as big name casts. World War III does boast three big names of the day, Rock Hudson, Brian Keith and David Soul but the similarities stop there. It seems all of the money went into these actor's salaries, leaving the rest of the production to cope with a budget that seems to be akin to that of a high school play. The show was aired during tense times of the Cold War period and the paranoia about Soviet expansionism helped ensure Ronald Reagan's triumphant rise to the Presidency. The problems begin with the screenplay, the premise of which is fairly absurd. Seems U.S. President McKenna (Hudson) is heating up the Cold War by imposing a grain embargo on the Soviets that threatens the very fabric of their society. McKenna's aim is the reign in their military adventures but the Soviets respond by sending a commando team into a remote part of Alaska with the intention of overtaking a small military outpost that defends a pivotal oil pipeline. The Reds plan to threaten this crucial source of oil if McKenna doesn't back down on the grain embargo. The Soviet patrol is discovered by the small contingent of Americans guarding the facility and a fierce firefight erupts. The stakes quickly rise to nuclear threat levels and a summit meeting is quickly convened between McKenna and Soviet Secretary General Gorny (Brian Keith). Both men want peace, but Gorny's attempts to defuse the situation are sabotaged by Kremlin war mongers. The film intercuts the political intrigue with the ordeal of both Russian and American fighting men facing death in a snowy wasteland.The notion that America could be brought to its knees but a few soldiers capturing an oil facility may seem crazy but at the time you couldn't go broke trying to scare people into thinking the United States could actually be invaded by a conventional army. (Think Red Dawn, the other kooky invasion thriller of the era that only the paranoid could love.)

The American leading role is played by (then) red-hot David Soul as a colonel who finds himself commanding an outgunned and out-manned group of soldiers who fight valiantly against seemingly insurmountable odds to stave off Soviet occupation of the oil pipeline. This being TV in the early 1980s, there is some sexual byplay squeezed in between Soul and Cathy Lee Crosby, who plays a sexy intelligence officer equally at home in a snowsuit or evening gown. Naturally, she ends up toting a gun and helping Soul repel the Soviet onslaught. The notion of generals seeing more action in the bedroom than in the battlefield might have seemed like a stretch at the time, but in the age of General Petraeus, the screenwriter now seems like an oracle. The acting is all perfectly fine, with Hudson giving a commanding performance as a dovish president forced to be a hawk. Watching him square off with the great Brian Keith is one of the show's few true pleasures, along with an opening sequence that is well acted and directed and features a startling act of treason. However, World War III plays like a bargain basement version of Fail Safe, right down to the film's final sequence which is literally stolen verbatim from that classic movie.  Most of the film is shot in claustrophobic interiors that never convince you that the action is taking place anywhere but on a studio sound stage. The worst aspects of the program, however, are the scenes set in the Alaskan frontier. There seems to have been no more than twenty square feet of studio space allocated to these sequences and to get around it, the actors are often filmed in close-up. The production design is also rather laughable with plastic and foam snowbanks that you would expect to see decorating your local ice cream parlor. If you think the arctic scenes in Ice Station Zebra looked bad, wait until you see these amateurish creations.

In fairness, comments readers on IMDB indicate people have very fond memories of this production, which was directed by  the usually competent David Greene after the original director, Boris Sagal, died during production in an accident involving a helicopter. I hate to be a wet blanket about nuclear war, folks, but World War III is a pretentious, cheapo production that uses a few big names to justify its existence. The diplomatic sequences are corny and predictable and feature the kind of preachy, Kumbaya moments that would send the likes of Rush Limbaugh into a frenzy. Skip this one, unless you have three hours of your life you don't value, and stick to an intentionally funny Cold War film, Dr. Strangelove.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

Sony has released the 1963 remake of the 1932 James Whale horror film The Old Dark House as a burn-to-order DVD. The difference between the versions is supposedly night and day (I haven't seen the original). The remake is a broad, comedic take on the horror genre that keeps only the basic premise of the story, which was based on a novel by J.B. Priestly. Tom Poston, in a rare leading role, plays Tom Pendrel, an American living in London where he works as a car dealer. His flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) is a strange man who he hardly ever sees. Nevertheless, Caspar induces Tom to deliver his new car to the family's estate in the British countryside. When Tom arrives, he finds Caspar dead, supposedly from an accidental fall. He's already laid out in his coffin in a parlor. Tom then finds himself among a strange group of other Femms, all of whom reside in the crumbling, once grand mansion. Roderick (Robert Morley), the elder statesman of the family, is a pompous eccentric who explains that the family members must reside in the mansion and be indoors by midnight every night if they want to continue living from the family patriarch's estate. The other strange characters introduced to Tom are Caspar's cousin Cecily (Janette Scott), a sexy relatively "normal" family member whose flirtations with Tom induce him to stay overnight; Potiphar (Mervyn Johns), a silly and perpetually amused man; Agatha Femm (Joyce Grenfell), the matriarch of the family who knits endlessly even though she doesn't have a clue as to what she is creating; Morgana (Fenella Fielding), a sex-starved vamp; her seemingly mute, violent father Morgan (Danny Green) and Caspar's identical twin brother Jasper (also played by Peter Bull). It doesn't take Tom long to realize he's made a mistake by spending the night with this group of eccentrics, but in true horror film fashion, he finds himself unable to leave due to mechanical problems with his car and a raging rainstorm. Before long, there are attempts on his life and other members of the household turn up dead under bizarre circumstances.

I was prepared to dismiss this film as a hokey kid's movie, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Poston plays it relatively low-key as the "normal" person among a group of weirdos. The supporting cast is wonderful, one and all, with the imitable Morley and Peter Bull delivering truly amusing performances and Fenella Fielding is particularly alluring as an outwardly attractive young woman who (almost) manages to cover up some very unsettling eccentricities of her own. The film has a curious history. It was produced and director by legendary shlockmeister William Castle in collaboration with Hammer Films. It was shot in color but released in the United States in black-and-white, which is inexplicable given the fact it is a rich-looking movie with excellent production design by John Draper.  Adding to its bizarre fate, the movie did not premiere in the UK until 1966. The movie clearly inspired the classic Addams Family TV series, as evidenced by the fact that the main titles were designed and drawn by Charles Addams himself. There's also an appropriately entertaining musical score by Benjamin Frankel. The Old Dark House is consistently amusing throughout and a bit daring for its day in terms of sexual suggestiveness. It remains an oddity in the Hammer canon, which did not often emphasize overt comedy in the studio's films. Give this one a try: if you like retro horror (even played for laughs), you'll find it to be a rewarding experience.

The DVD features a gorgeous transfer and includes the original trailer.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Years before Michael Cimino released his Socialist-themed Western Heaven's Gate, director Stanely Kramer took a less heavy-handed approach with his 1973 film Oklahoma Crude. Unlike Cimino's dark and message-laden epic, however, Kramer made the political aspects of his film secondary to the lighthearted tone of the story. Faye Dunaway, seen here in the least glamorous role of her career, plays Lena Doyle, a bitter, man-hating independent woman who is determined to make a success of her wildcat oil drilling venture on the plains of Oklahoma during the early 1900s. Beset by the frustration of consistently having her rig dig up dirt instead of oil, she also has to contend with a bigger threat: a major oil company is determined to seize her land by hook or by crook. When she turns down the offer of a buyout from their cut throat representative (Jack Palance), the oil company moves a virtual army on to Lena's land with the intention of taking her rig by force. Although a crack shot, Lena concedes she can use help and reluctantly hires a down-and-out drifter, 'Mase' Mason (George C. Scott) to help her keep her the assailants at bay. The two have an abrasive relationship, with Lena never smiling or showing an interest in anything other than drawing oil from her rig. They are also assisted by Lena's father Cleon Doyle (John Mills), a charismatic Englishman who is trying to win Lena's love and respect after having deserted her many years ago. Lena can barely stand the sight of him, but faced with the thugs are her doorstep, she has to accept his help.The story mostly takes place on the hillside where Lena's cabin is situated. 'Mase' proves to be a courageous and innovative ally, acquiring U.S. Army hand grenades and using them with devastating effect against the heavily armed gangs from the oil company who try repeatedly to take Lena's hilltop rig and cabin by force.

Oklahoma Crude was a late career project for Kramer (he would only make two more films). Dismissed at the time as a routine Western comedy, the film comes across as a sheer delight when viewing it today. The thin storyline isn't the main attraction. Rather, it's the combined talents of four Oscar winners- Scott, Dunaway, Mills and Palance- that add so much zest to what could have otherwise have been a routine experience. They are all delightful to watch, with Scott at his best and Mills in a scene-stealing, wonderful performance as a flawed but charming tenderfoot who summons incredible courage when it is needed most. Kramer hired the best of the best for his crew including cinematographer Robert Surtees, who makes every other frame look like an Andrew Wyeth painting. There is also a fine musical score by Henry Mancini which perfectly fits the "never a dull moment" mood of the movie. 

Sony has released the film as a burn-to-order DVD. Transfer quality is excellent. The film is a sheer delight from beginning to its finale, which features a refreshing plot twist.

By Lee Pfeiffer

On the heels of his outstanding success with the 1953 3-D horror film House of Wax, Vincent Price would be heretofore known primarily as a giant of this film genre. That may have been unfair to Price, who was an outstanding actor able to play diverse roles in diverse films, but it did cement his stature as a Hollywood legend. The studios immediately wanted to capitalize on this new horror star and Columbia quickly signed Price to star in The Mad Magician, which was also presented in the short-lived 3-D process. The film has none of the production values of House of Wax: it was shot in B&W and, aside from an establishing opening scene, every sequence in the movie was (very obviously) shot in a studio. The plot finds Price in what would become a familiar scenario for his characters: a likable, honorable man driven to madness and murder by the unscrupulous people in his life who have betrayed him. The story is set in the early 1900's (people have telephones, but still travel via horse and buggy). Price is Don Gallico, as aspiring magician who is frustrated by the fact that he creates all of the amazing tricks and hardware that other magicians then utilize to gain fame and fortune. He decides to perform on stage with his own inventions under the name of Gallico the Great (okay, so he doesn't get an "A" for creativity when it comes to marketing). As he about to utilize his most ambitious achievement- the"beheading"  of his  lovely assistant Karen (Mary Murphy) via a buzz saw device, the show is abruptly closed down. Gallico's employer has received an injunction based on an obscure point in a contract that states that any and all inventions belong to the company, not Gallico. The situation deteriorates further when Gallico learns that his great achievement is to be given to a rival magician (John Emery), who he despises. Gallico ends up murdering his employer and enacting an outlandish scheme in which he adopts his identity, using skillful makeup. (In actuality, the film's makeup team's achievements are indeed impressive.) Soon, things begin to go wrong even as Gallico, now free to perform on stage, is finding enthusiasm for his shows. Matters become even more complicated when his floozy, ex-wife (Eva Gabor), who had married his employer, reappears on the scene and threatens to reveal his scheme.

The Mad Magician is a modest but fun film that would resonate even greater today if Columbia had afforded the production something other than threadbare production values. The performances are all enjoyable (including young Patrick O'Neal as the romantic lead) and the sheer predictability of the events that unfold add to its many pleasures. Primarily, of course, there is Price, who would continue to dominate the screen in every role, making so many minor films such as this highly entertaining experiences.

Sony has released The Mad Magician as  burn-to-order DVD title. Quality is excellent. There are no extras.