Supernatural Horror Classic, The
Devil’s Partner (1961) Newly Restored 4K Special Edition
Includes Newly Restored Bonus
Film, Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961)
On Blu-ray & DVD Jan. 16th
Special Features Includes New Interview With Roger Corman
ROCKPORT, Mass. — January 2024 — For Immediate Release — Vintage film restoration and distribution company Film Masters continues its tribute to the pope of pop cinema, Roger Corman, with the third installment of The Filmgroup series on Blu-ray and DVD, The Devil’s Partner, available Jan. 16.
Corman and his brother, Gene, founded The Filmgroup to distribute their own films. While the company did produce the majority of its films, including the cult classic Creature From the Haunted Sea, it also occasionally acquired projects by other filmmakers, as is the case with The Devil's Partner (1961). From director Charles R. Rondeau, the film is a macabre tale of an elderly man who regains his youth after making a deal with the devil.During the summer and fall of 1961, the two films were often paired as a double feature.
Half Man, Half Beast, He Sold his Soul for Passion — Director/actor Edgar Buchanan (best known as Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction)
appears in this supernatural thriller about an old codger trying to
reclaim his youth, employing black magic to lure a woman away from his
rival. The film also stars Jean Allison,Richard Crane and Ed Nelson.
This well-crafted, independent feature has been hailed for its
atmosphere and as a pioneering film in the devil worshiping subgenre
made popular in the ‘70s.
Made in 1958, The Devil’s Partnerlanguished with no release date until it was picked up and distributed by The Filmgroup, becoming a steady presence on the drive-in circuit, often appearing in tandem with Creature from Haunted Sea, another Corman classic from the golden age of drive-in schlock.
This spoof of spy/gangsters/monster movies stars Anthony Carbone
as a gangster and smuggler who decides to kill members of the ship’s
bungling crew and blame their deaths on a legendary sea creature. What
he doesn’t know is that the creature is actually out there!Also starring Betsy Jones-Moreland and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown) under the pseudonym Edward Wain.
?
The film was conceived when Corman finished shooting The Last Woman on Earth in Puerto Rico and discovered he had enough film left over to make another film. He enlisted long-time associate Charles B. Griffith,
who—legend goes—had six days to write the script. Ever the pragmatist
when it came to budget, Corman recruited locals to appear in this film
as extras.
Special Features:Commentary for The Devil’s Partner is by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan and Matt Weinhold of the Monster Party podcast; theatrical-length commentary for Creature From the Haunted Sea
is by fan favorite Tom Weaver, with contributions from Roger Corman,
Kinta Zertuche and Larry Blamire. Weaver also provides the liner notes
for the film. Ballyhoo Motion Picturescontributes Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story
with Part III of the story, as well as their new interview with Roger
Corman on the formation of The Filmgroup; recut trailers, based on the
original theatrical trailers; original Creature From the Haunted Sea theatrical trailer (from 16mm archival elements scanned in 4k); and a full essay for The Devil’s Partner by author Mark McGee.
Both films are presented with a theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, as well as in a 1.37:1 television format. The televised version of Creature From the Haunted Seaincludes anadditional
15 minutes of footage shot years later to extend the film for a sale to
Allied Artists. Discs are region free and include English SDH.Audio is DTS-HD/Dolby AC3s.
"Young Billy Young" is the kind of film of which it can be said, "They don't make 'em like that anymore". Not because the movie is so exceptional. In fact, it isn't exceptional on any level whatsoever. Rather, it's the sheer ordinariness of the entire production that makes one pine away for an era in which top talent could be attracted to enjoyable, if unremarkable, fare such as this. Such films, especially Westerns, were churned out with workmanlike professionalism to play to undemanding audiences that didn't require mega-budget blockbusters to feel they got their money's worth at the boxoffice. Sadly, such movies have largely gone the way of the dodo bird. In today's film industry, bigger must always be better and mid-range flicks such as are no longer made. However, through streaming services such as ScreenPix, it's possible to still enjoy the simple pleasures that such movies provide. (The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is now out of print.)
The story opens with botched robbery in Mexico committed by Billy Young (Robert Walker) and some cohorts including Jesse (David Carradine). The plan to steal horses from the Mexican military goes awry and Billy is forced to split from his fellow robbers with the army in hot pursuit. Making his way back across the border to New Mexico, he is penniless and desperate. He has a chance encounter with Ben Kane (Robert Mitchum), a tough, sarcastic older man who he encounters again in a nearby town. Here, Billy is being cheated at cards by the local sheriff, who goads him into a gunfight. Billy ends up killing him but stands to be framed for the sheriff's death. He's saved by Ben, who rides along with him to another town where Ben has agreed to take on the job of lawman. Ostensibly he is there to keep order and collect back taxes from deadbeats but in reality, he is on a mission of revenge. Some years before, Ben's son had been gunned down by a criminal named Boone (John Anderson) and Kane has learned that Boone is a presence in the new town and that he is being protected by a local corrupt businessman, John Behan (Jack Kelly). Ben makes his presence known immediately by enforcing the law in a strict manner. He's confronted by Behan, who tries to intimidate him. This results in Behan being slapped around by Kane. Behan also grows to resent the new lawman because he is flirting with his mistress, saloon entertainer Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson). When Behan abuses her as punishment, he gets another beating from Kane. Meanwhile, Billy runs into Jesse and accuses him of having deserted him in Mexico. The two men fight it out and Jesse is later involved with the accidental shooting of the town's beloved doctor while in the employ of Behan. Kane learns that Jesse is Boone's son and holds him in jail as bait for Boone to come out of hiding. The plan works all too well. Boone turns up with a small army and lays siege to the jailhouse where Kane and Billy are holed up.
"Young Billy Young" was compared to a TV show by New York Times critic Howard Thompson on the basis that it contains so many standard elements of westerns from this time period. There is the bad girl with the heart of gold, the evil business tycoon, the brash young gun and his wiser, older mentor, the heroes outnumbered by superior forces and a lovable old coot (played against type by Paul Fix in full Walter Brennan/Gabby Hayes mode.) Yet somehow it all works very well, thanks mostly to Robert Mitchum's stalwart presence. With his trademark ramrod stiff walk and cool persona, Mitchum tosses off bon mots like a frontier version of 007. Even the Times acknowledged that "Mitchum can do laconic wonders with a good wise-crack". He has considerable chemistry with Dickinson, though the action between the sheets is more implied than shown. Robert Walker Jr. acquits himself well in the title role and David Carradine makes an impression even with limited screen time. The film was directed by Burt Kennedy, an old hand at directing fine westerns in reliable, if not remarkable, style and it all culminates in a rip-snorting shoot-out that is genuinely exciting. The fine supporting cast includes Willis Bouchey, Parley Baer and Deanna Martin (Dino's daughter) in her acting debut. One oddball element to the film: Mitchum croons the title song over the opening credits. If this sounds strange, keep in mind that Mitchum improbably once had a hit album of calypso music.
The film is currently streaming on ScreenPix, which is available to Amazon Prime customers for $2.99 a month.
RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES
By Lee Pfeiffer
There has been a very positive response to Cinema Retro's coverage of
"B" WWII movies in some of our back issues. Writer Howard Hughes concentrated on the films produced by Oakmont Productions, the
British-based company that financed and released such modestly-budgeted
gems as Attack on the Iron Coast, The Thousand Plane Raid, Hell Boats,
and Mosquito Squadron. These films had no lofty pretenses of being
potential Oscar winners. Instead, they were made simply to generate a
modest profit. However, they tended to be intelligently scripted and
well-directed and acted, with showcase roles afforded to stars who
didn't usually get top-billing (Lloyd Bridges, Christopher George, David
McCallum). The 1970 film Underground was not an Oakmont production but
is largely indistinguishable from the company's catalog of titles. It
stars Robert Goulet as Dawson, an embittered American agent for military
intelligence who is based in England. Dawson is wracked by guilt
because his mission behind German lines in occupied France ended
disastrously. Both he and his fellow agent (his wife) were captured.
Dawson, under extreme torture, revealed his wife's true identity and she
suffered a horrendous death at the hands of the Gestapo. Dawson managed
to escape and make his way back to England, though how he achieved this
remarkable feat is glossed over in the script. The film opens with
Dawson bluffing his way aboard a plane carrying a fellow agent on a new
mission over occupied France. Dawson, who is determined to atone for his
previous failure by taking on this mission himself, disables the agent
and parachutes in his place to meet his contacts in the French
Resistance. His French underground colleagues find him to be a bitter,
unpleasant man and it isn't long before they realize that he is an
imposter for their real contact. Nevertheless, Dawson persuades them to
let him carry out the important mission which involves kidnapping a high
profile German general who has vital intelligence information and
bringing him back to England. Dawon's team is headed by Boule (Lawrence
Dobkin), a headstrong and valiant man who frequently locks horns with
Dobson over strategy. The team also includes Yvonne (Daniele Gaubert), a
beautiful agent who is Boule's wife. Complications ensue when Dawson
shows his more human side and he and Yvonne secretly become lovers.
Underground is the kind of film that often receives the backhanded
praise of benefiting from "workmanlike" efficiency from its stars and
director Arthur H. Nadel. Yet, like the Oakmont productions, it probably
plays better in today's era of overblown, CGI-stuffed action movies
than it did at the time of its initial release. The film is tightly
scripted and the plan to capture the German general is straight out of a
top-of-the-line Mission: Impossible episode. The movie was shot on
location in Ireland but the countryside passes convincingly for France.
Goulet, grim and determined, makes for an impressive leading man and
there are fine turns by Lawrence Dobkin and Carl Duering, who is
impressive as the German general who adds a clever plot twist to the
story line. Like most of these WWII mini "epics" of the period, the
production team manages to make the film look far more expensive than it
probably was. The action sequences are exciting and well-staged,
particularly a climactic shootout as Dawson awaits the arrival of a
British plane on a makeshift runway as German forces close in on him and
his team.
Underground has been released by MGM as a region-free DVD with a rather bland cover design instead of the terrific original poster artwork. Transfer quality is very good but there are no bonus extras.
If there is such thing as a family-oriented sex farce, the 1969 hit "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell" fits the description. The delightful concoction stars Gina Lollobrigida as Carla Campbell, a vivacious woman of relative wealth who lives in a modest Italian village. She is known for her rather upscale lifestyle that includes a live-in maid, Rosa (Naomi Stevens) and the fact that she can afford to send her 18 year-old daughter to a fancy American university in Switzerland. Life is very pleasing for Carla, who is known for using her money for charitable purposes. She has told everyone that she came by her wealth when her husband, an American officer named Captain Campbell died in action during WWII. She tells a moving tale about how she married him when he took shelter at her house when she was only 16 years old. They fell in love, married and had only a few days together before he was shipped out and killed in battle. During their brief marriage, she became pregnant with their daughter Gia (Janet Margolin), who is now far more American than Italian in her speech and mannerisms. Carla claims that her financial security comes from her late husband's family in America, which has been kind enough to send ample checks every month to provide for her and Gia. Carla also has her own boy toy, hunky Vittorio (Philippe Leroy in a very amusing performance), who oversees her small wine business. As with most Italian lovers depicted in comedies of this period, the two spend a good deal of time verbally sparring with each other but every time one of them threatens to leave, the other uses sex as lure to get her/him back.
A crisis erupts one fine morning when Carla discovers the town is preparing to host a reunion of American airmen who were stationed there during the war. Turns out she has been living a lie. She confides to Rosa and Vittorio that there had never been a "Captain Campbell" who she married. In fact, she created him out of thin air to cover the fact she was pregnant and took the name from a can of Campbell's soup! In reality, three different airmen had been housed with her family during the same week. As one moved out, another moved in...and she had relations with each of them. At the war's end, she was not certain which of them was the real father of her baby so she wrote to each man and told him he was the father. The three men all believed that he was her only lover and dutifully and secretly sent checks to Carla over a period of twenty years, continuing the practice even after they married and had kids of their own. Now the three ex-G.I.'s are coming to town and will expect to slip away from their spouses and see Carla. Making matters worse, Gia has heard about the reunion and has made a surprise return from school in order to meet the men of her father's fighting unit. All the set pieces are now firmly in place for a traditional Italian farce. There is a script flaw in that the film should be taking place some years earlier, as the age of some of the characters doesn't add up. Also, as the movie was released in 1968, why are the Americans visiting Italy to celebrate their 20th anniversary reunion? That would mean they were in the country three years after the war ended.
The three men who think they are Gia's father are a diverse lot. Justin Young (Peter Lawford) is an aristocratic playboy who is accompanied by his long-suffering wife Lauren (Marian Moses), who can barely endure his constant womanizing. She correctly assumes that he intends to hook up with another girl while in Italy for the reunion, though she doesn't know that he believes he will be seeing the mother of his daughter. Walter Braddock (Telly Savalas) also has an abrasive relationship with his wife Fritzie (Lee Grant), who constantly throws painful insults at him because the couple can't have children. (Walter doesn't believe the medical diagnosis because he feels he fathered Gia). Then there's Phil Newman (Phil Silvers) and his loyal wife Shirley (Shelly Winters in full Shelly Winters mode). The couple has their young sons along for the trip and Phil finds that every time he concocts a way to meet up with Carla, family responsibilities intrude. Finally, each man manages to contact her and Carla finds herself in the unenviable position of having them all make secret visits to her villa at the same time. This results in the predictable madcap scene in which she tries to hide them from each other. Director Melvin Frank (who co-wrote the script) demonstrates an ability to make such ancient comedy scenarios work, thanks in no small part to the presence of those great male second bananas, each of whom gets plenty of screen time. (Only Lawford seems miscast. He looks too much like a dapper movie star and no one attempts to explain why an American airman has a British accent.) Carla's complex situation becomes increasingly troublesome as pace becomes frantic, resulting in car chases, lovers quarrels, the unveiling of long-kept secrets and a very moving and sentimental finale.
Lollobrigida gives one of her best performances in this film and was nominated for a Golden Globe. The sheer amount of talent on display makes us point out once again that in days of old, such marvelous actors were taken for granted. Today, there is a dearth of great character actors and the film industry is not better off because of it. The film zips along at a brisk pace, accompanied by Riz Ortalani's inspired score, topped off by the infectious title tune which is crooned by Jimmy Rosell, which was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
The movie is currently available for streaming through Screenpix, which is available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional $2.99 a month).
The good folks at Shout! Factory have a streaming site, Shout!TV and are making it possible for fans to stream beautifully mastered episodes of "The Prisoner", the classic series starring Patrick McGoohan. In fact, every episode is available for streaming. Be seeing you at Shout!TV...Click here to view.
THE
FUGITIVECOMES
TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAYTM AND DIGITAL
THE
1993 ACTION THRILLER FILM STARRING HARRISON FORD AND TOMMY LEE JONES WILL BE
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
Purchase
the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital November 21
Burbank, Calif., October 4, 2023 – As part of the
year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros.
Studio, the acclaimed action thriller film The Fugitive from director
Andrew Davis (A Perfect Murder, Holes) will be available for purchase on 4K
Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time on November 21.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its 1993
release, The Fugitive will be available to purchase on November
21 on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and
available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play,
Vudu and more.
The Fugitive stars Academy Award nominee Harrison
Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble and Tommy Lee Jones as Deputy U.S. Marshall Sam
Gerard, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The
film also stars Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, and Jeroen
Krabbé.
Directed by Davis from a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and
David Twohy from a story by Twohy, the film is based the television series “The
Fugitive” which was created by Roy Huggins and ran from 1963 to 1967. The film
was produced by Arnold Koppelson.
The Fugitive was nominated for 7 Academy Awards
including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, for which Jones won the
award, and Best Original Score.
The Fugitive will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray
Disc for $33.99 ERP and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the
theatrical version of the feature film in 4K with HDR and a Digital download of
the film. Fans can also own The Fugitive in 4K Ultra HD via purchase
from select digital retailers beginning on November 21.
The 4K restoration of The Fugitive was
completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was
sourced from the original camera negative. The restoration was overseen
by director Andrew Davis.
About the Film
The Fugitive Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the
following previously released special features:
Imprint, the Australian video company, has released a boxed set of Blu-rays devoted to Gene Hackman. The set is region-free and limited to 1500 copies.The set includes "I Never Sang for My Father", "Bite the Bullet", "March or Die" and "The Domino Principal".
Click here to order. (Prices are in Australian dollars. Use currency converter to see value in your local currency.)
William Holden, Grace Kelly and Mickey Rooney star in James
A. Michener’s Korean War drama, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” released on Blu-ray by
Kino Lorber. Holden is Lieutenant Harry Brubaker, a lawyer and Naval Reservist
called to active duty during the Korean War. The film opens in November 1952
where we meet Brubaker returning to the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Savo
Island off the coast of Korea. He ends up ditching his plane in the ocean after
running out of fuel and is rescued from the icy waters. Mickey Rooney gives a
memorable performance as Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney, the helicopter pilot who
rescues Brubaker from the ocean. Forney wears an unauthorized addition to his
uniform, a green top hat and matching scarf, when flying. He also likes to
brawl while on shore leave due to girlfriend problems. Earl
Holliman plays Nestor Gamidge, the rescue man who assists in getting the
pilots into the helicopter and brawling with Mike.
Brubaker is a good pilot and WWII veteran who’s resentful
because his civilian life was disrupted by the recall for the Korean War. He
starts to question his abilities as a pilot after ditching his plane and is
nervous about an upcoming bombing mission. Grace Kelly plays his wife, Nancy
Brubaker, who surprises her husband by visiting Japan with their children which
casts additional doubts on Brubaker’s ability to carry out dangerous missions.
Headquartered on the USS Savo Island, the naval task
force commander is Rear Admiral George Tarrant and is played by Fredric March.
Tarrant lost his sons during WWII and is filled with many regrets in life but
tries to change Brubaker’s mind about his career as a naval aviator.Rounding out the cast is Charles McGraw as
Commander Wayne Lee, the fighter wing commander, who leads the climactic
assault on the bridges. Robert Strauss is
Lieutenant “Beer Barrel,” and Willis Bouchey as Captain Evans.There’s also an uncredited bit role by Dennis Weaver as the mission briefing
officer.
The movie is divided into three parts. We meet the
members of the carrier crew in part one. The middle section features shore
leave in Japan where we meet Mrs. Brubaker and the Brubaker’s two young
daughters. There’s also some shore leave drama involving Forney and Nestor
which shows Brubaker’s dedication to these men. The final part of the movie
involves the bombing mission at Toko-Ri which pays off beautifully.
The movie features great use of United States Navy
resources as the bulk of the film takes place on the deck of the carrier USS
Essex with extensive use of the F9F Panther and shots of the carrier task
force. The use of actual United States Navy ships and aircraft rather than
models is an essential part of the authenticity of this movie. Michener himself
spent time on board the USS Essex gathering research for what would become the
short novel, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” which was released in 1953. That
experience by Michener was made into the MGM release, “Men of the Fighting Lady,”
with Michener played by Louis Calhern. That movie was released in May 1954, a
few months prior to the premier of “Toko-Ri.”
Holden gives one of his typical cynical performances
which he was great at doing, especially in such films as “Sunset Blvd,” “Stalag
17” and later in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and “The Horse Soldiers.” He’s
not quite so cynical in this film and gives a great performance as
Brubaker. Grace Kelly isn’t given much to do other than looking beautiful as
the dutiful wife with kids in tow, but she’s important in sealing her husband’s’
doubts. All her scenes were filmed on studio sets in Hollywood with someone
doubling for her in long shots in the location scenes. I think Rooney gives the
standout performance as Mike Forney with the green top hat and scarf. Earl
Holliman is also good as Mike’s best friend and sidekick with Fredric March and
Charles McGraw good as the stoic and capable father figures. I wish Robert
Strauss’ comedic skills were put to greater use in the film, especially
considering he is fondly remembered in “Stalag 17” with Holden. There’s a side
story set up at the start and end of shore leave involving a set of golf clubs carried
by Beer Barrel that’s never explained.
The movie is directed by Mark Robson with a screenplay by
Valentine Davies. While Robson is not a name that rings bells, you certainly
know his movies which include “Peyton Place,” “The Prize,” “Von Ryan’s
Express,” “Valley of the Dolls” and “Earthquake” to name a few of his most well-known
movies. Robson started his career working uncredited as an assistant editor for
Orson Welles and eventually worked his way up to editor and director
culminating in several high-profile big budget movies. He died of a heart
attack in 1978 shortly after the completion of “Avalanche Express” which was
released the following year.
The score by Lyn Murray is serviceable and the on-location
shipboard filming adds great production value to the movie. The model work
depicting the crash landing scenes are very done as well. The film was released theatrically in December
1954 by Paramount. This Kino Lorber release looks and sounds better than ever. The
movie clocks in at 102 minutes and is presented in a widescreen aspect ratio
which resembles VistaVision, even though it isn’t, as the movie went into
production during the transition period when the process was still being perfected.
The Blu-ray release includes an outstanding audio commentary by film historians
Steve Mitchell and Steven J. Rubin as well as trailers for this and other Kino
Lorber releases. The movie is highly recommended for fans of Holden, Kelly,
Rooney and military drama.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
THE BELOVED HOLIDAY FAVORITE COMES
HOME
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON 4K ULTRA
HD
"LOVE
ACTUALLY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION"
YOURS TO OWN NOVEMBER 21, 2023
FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME
ENTERTAINMENT
INCLUDES BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL CODE
SYNOPSIS:Funny, irresistible, and heartwarming, Love Actually is the
ultimate romantic comedy that follows eight couples whose lives intersect
shortly before Christmas. From the makers of Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting
Hill, this beloved film is headlined by an incredible roster of stars
including Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson,
Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and more. Take a breathtaking
tour of love's delightful twists and turns as you fall under the spell of Love
Actually and share the laughs and charm again and again!
BONUS FEATURES:
·Making LOVE ACTUALLY (NEW)
oJoin Writer/Director Richard Curtis along the with cast and crew as they
reflect on the making of the film and its legacy 20 years later.
·Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Richard Curtis
·The Music of LOVE ACTUALLY with Introductions by Richard Curtis
·The Storytellers
oA featurette exploring the film’s main storylines, featuring interviews
with the cast discussing their characters and the major elements within each
on-screen relationship.
·Kelly Clarkson “The Trouble with Love is” Music Video
·Billy Mack “Christmas is All Around” Music Video
·Feature Commentary with Director Richard Curtis and Actors Hugh Grant,
Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangsters
Instagram: @uniallaccess
X: @UniAllAccess
Tiktok: @universalallaccess
LOVE ACTUALLY FILMMAKERS:
Cast: Alan Rickman, Bill
Nighy, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson,
Martine McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson
Casting
By: Mary
Selway CDG
Music
By: Craig
Armstrong
Co-Producers: Debra Hayward, Liza
Chasin
Costume
Designer:
Joanna Johnston
Line
Producers:
Chris Thompson
Production
Designer:
Jim Clay
Director
of Photography:
Michael Coulter BSC
Editor: Nick Moore
Produced
By: Duncan
Kenworthy, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
"Some Kind of a Nut" is yet another obscure movie from the late 1960s (1969, to be precise) that is available through Screenpix, which is an ancillary subscription channel through Amazon Prime. The film is not currently available on home video in the U.S. and I don't know if it ever was. I was aware that the movie didn't make any impact upon its initial release but, given the amount of talent involved in it, I thought it was time to invest 90 minutes of my life to see a collaboration between star Dick Van Dyke and legendary writer/director Garson Kanin. Van Dyke was a hot property at the time, having left his classic TV sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to concentrate on a career in feature films, where he initially found considerable success. Van Dyke was busy with so many projects at the time that "Some Kind of a Nut" had a bizarre shooting schedule to accommodate him. According to the TCM web site, some of the film was shot in May of 1968 with the rest filmed in January 1969. The logistics of arranging this with a full cast and crew must have been challenging but Van Dyke's presence in the film led United Artists to agree to the terms. The company had recently released "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with Van Dyke in the starring role. The studio was also seeking a long-term relationship with Garson Kanin and signed him to a four-picture deal arranged by producer Walter Mirisch, but none of the other projects came to fruition and Kanin retired from making feature films after "Some Kind of a Nut".
Van Dyke is cast as Fred Amidon, a mousey bank teller who works in a busy branch in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. He and the other employees suffer in an Orwellian atmosphere under the thumb of a priggish, humorless boss who demands complete conformity with conservative banking policies. Fred is also carrying the weight of his pending divorce from his wife Rachel (Angie Dickinson) which will be finalized in a few weeks time. His one pleasant diversion is his romantic relationship with fellow bank clerk Pamela Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson) played by Rosemary Forsyth. While enjoying a precious lunch hour together in Central Park, Fred is stung on the chin by a bee. The painful sting proves to be stubborn and won't go away even when the couple leave on a cross-country vacation. Frustrated by the unsightly wound on his chin, Fred decides to grow a beard. (For a bank with prison-like working conditions, the institution must have a very liberal vacation policy, as Fred and Pamela have enough time to drive to San Francisco and back and for Fred's beard to come into full glory.) Upon returning to the bank, his new appearance causes a scandal. His boss insists that he shave it off, as beards are against bank policy. When Fred refuses, he is summarily fired. His stance earns him the respect of his fellow employees and when the media learns of his situation, he becomes a cause celebre. Before long, Fred becomes a reluctant hero to everyday people who are fed up with having to conform to outdated policies in society. He is particularly embraced by the counter-culture movement, making him an unlikely figurehead for local hippies. He has more problems: his soon to be ex-wife Rachel reconnects with him because she is impressed by his new-found courage. This complicates things with Pamela, who detests the beard and the symbolism it represents. She's under the influence of her two meddlesome brothers who seek to compromise Fred's status as a cult figure. Meanwhile, Fred starts to dabble in Eastern mysticism and begins consulting an Asian guru in one of the film's funniest scenes. Beyond this, however, Kanin's script is anything but unpredictable and you can pretty much guess the outcome of the movie long before it arrives.
"Some Kind of a Nut" was filmed under the working title "The One with the Fuzz". It was a dud with critics and audiences, as was often the case when older filmmakers tried to be relevant to the anti-Establishment crowd of the era. (All the hippies are safe, joyous and satisfied carrying protest signs that are about as controversial as "No Trespassing". There isn't a hint of the Vietnam War and civil rights protests that defined the era, let alone any expletives. The film paints a Brady Bunch-like depiction of a time that never was. Nevertheless, the script does have something to say about the price of conformity, expressed in comical fashion through the inimitable talents of Dick Van Dyke, who makes otherwise unfunny scenes amusing. Angie Dickinson has a rather bland role and her screen time is limited, though director Kanin ensures there is a scene set at a swimming pool for no other reason than to present the welcome sight of Dickinson in a bikini.The film also has the virtue of presenting some nostalgic scenes shot on location in Manhattan. For Dick Van Dyke, the movie would be the first of two feature films released in 1969 that were ambitious in content but failures at the boxoffice and with critics, although the second film, Carl Reiner's comedy/drama "The Comic" has earned respect over the years in certain quarters. Van Dyke would only star in one more comedy on the big screen, "Cold Turkey", released in 1971. That film proved to be quite popular. Thereafter, he would not star in a feature film for another eight years, when he appeared in the leading role in Stanley Kramer's admirable but under-appreciated final movie "The Runner Stumbles", in which Van Dyke gave a fine dramatic performance. He returned to the medium where he had originally found success: television and his late career series "Diagnosis: Murder" would prove to be a major hit that ran for many seasons.
("Some Kind of a Nut" is currently streaming on Screenpix, available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional $2.99 a month.)
“The
Hands of Orlac,” a 1960 U.K.-French co-production, was the third movie version
of “Les Mains d’Orlac,” a sensational 1920 novel by French writer Maurice
Renard.Like many of the other horror
pictures released in 1960, it was filmed in black-and-white.The director, Edmond T. Gréville, was a veteran French-born filmmaker who had worked in
both France and England.His previous
picture, “Beat Girl” (1960), had featured Christopher Lee as a strip club
impresario in an exploitative story about beatniks, aspiring rockers, and
strippers.Lee and other British actors
filled most of the major supporting roles in “The Hands of Orlac.”Exterior scenes were filmed on the French
Riviera, interiors at Britain’s Shepperton Studios.An American actor, Mel Ferrer, was cast in
the lead.Ferrer was a reliably familiar
leading man for the all-important U.S. market.His name lent box-office appeal in those days when foreign movies were
suspect in small-town America, as it did for another offbeat horror production
in which he also starred that same year, Roger Vadim’s “Blood and Roses,” a
French and Italian co-production.But
U.S. distributors apparently saw no pressing need to slip Gréville’s film into American theaters, since it didn’t open here
until 1964.By that time, a promotional
still from the movie had appeared in the October 1963 issue of “Famous Monsters
of Filmland” magazine, in a preview of upcoming horror and fantasy releases.
In
the story, a celebrated concert pianist and composer, Stephen Orlac (Ferrer),
flies from London to France to visit his fiancee, Louise (Lucile Saint
Simon).His small plane wrecks in a fog,
and Orlac’s hands are “burnt to the bone” in the crash.After his ambulance passes through a police
checkpoint where a condemned murderer, Vasseur, is being transported to the
guillotine, Louise prevails on a famous surgeon, Dr. Volchett (Donald Wolfit),
to operate in an effort to save her lover’s badly injured hands.Coming out of the anaesthetic, Orlac finds
his hands encased in huge, unsightly plaster casts.Worse, he sees the front page of a newspaper
that juxtaposes a report about Vasseur’s execution with one about his own
injuries.To his groggy eyes, the
stories gradually merge into one under the headline, “Stephen Orlac Receives
the Hands of Vasseur, the Murderer.”Lifting the grotesque casts, Orlac flies into hysterics.This was the publicity still that intrigued
us young readers of “Famous Monsters” in 1963.It was also the centerpiece of the movie’s lobby-poster art.
Did
the newspaper actually display the stories that Orlac read, more or less as he
interpreted them?Was he
hallucinating?Was there even a
newspaper at all?No matter, the
high-strung pianist becomes convinced that the surgeon found his hands
irreparably damaged, amputated them, and replaced them with Vasseur’s,
especially since, as he mourns, “They feel as if they no longer belong to
me!”After the casts come off, he can’t
get his fingers to strike the right notes on the keyboard.
The
obsession grows stronger when Orlac and Louise make love.His fingers unconsciously tighten around her
throat, and she begins to choke.That
incident and others convince the pianist that Vasseur’s hands have a violent
will of their own, and his fiancee’s life is in danger as long as they’re
together.He checks into a sketchy
Marseilles hotel under an assumed name, where he encounters a small-time stage
magician named Nero (Christopher Lee, returning from “Beat Girl” as an even
sleazier character).Nero senses an
opportunity for blackmail; obviously, “Mr. Stephen” is a well-off guy who
wouldn’t be holed up in a dump unless he had something to hide.Nero pimps out his pouty assistant and
mistress, Li-Lang (Dany Carrel), to cozy up to Orlac and get him to talk.
Orlac’s
self-imposed exile doesn’t last long.After Louise tracks him down, he decides to straighten up, return to
England, marry Louise, and resume his career.But he continues to brood over his persuasion that his hands are no
longer his own.Discovering “Mr.
Stephen’s” true identity, Nero and Li-Lang follow.Nero sets about to feed Orlac’s paranoia,
reasoning that the unhinged pianist will kill someone sooner or later, opening
himself to big-time extortion.
To
the extent that film enthusiasts take notice of “The Hands of Orlac” at all,
they mostly judge it seriously inferior to the previous movie versions of
Renard’s novel.Robert Wiene’s “Orlacs
Hände” (1924), also called “The Hands of Orlac” in English-language prints, was
a classic of German silent cinema, with Conrad Veidt as the title character
amid feverish Expressionist sets.Following in 1935 from MGM, Karl Freund’s “Mad Love” with Colin Clive as
Orlac draped the story in sadism and sexual perversion, to the extent Freund
could do so under the vigilant eyes of the Hays Code censors.
Gréville’s remake dialed back on Wiene’s and Freund’s
extravagance, accounting for some of its lacklustre press from critics who like
to see the gothic thriller envelope pushed further than Gréville pushed it, at least in their opinion.It’s very much a product of 1960, emphasising
the psychological aspect of Orlac’s dilemma and stepping into film noir
territory once the intimidating Nero and Li-Lang enter the plot.It even evokes the emerging New Wave of
French cinema with its documentarian exterior shots on the Riviera.Claude Bolling’s musical score includes light
jazz for a scene in which Orlac tools around in a vintage sports car, and
rinky-tink cabaret music for Li-Lang’s sultry song-and-slink routine following
Nero’s magic act, juxtaposed with Beethoven and Liszt in the concert scenes
that open and close the movie.Mel
Ferrer lacks Conrad Veidt’s eye-popping hysteria and Colin Clive’s furrowed
anxiety, his Orlac repurposed for 1960 as a sophisticate in shades, pullover
sweater, and tailored slacks for casual wear, and an expensive suit for
business occasions.If you’re a
retro-fan of JFK-era men’s fashions, you probably won’t mind.You may even prefer Ferrer’s interpretation
over his predecessors’.Like other
British horror films of the time, such as “Jack the Ripper” (1959) and “The Two
Faces of Dr. Jekyll” (1960), “The Hands of Orlac” promises plenty of sex appeal
courtesy of Lucile Saint Simon’s filmy negligees and Dany Carrel’s showgirl
outfits.In truth, this stuff is pretty
tame by 2023 standards, but it was a draw for male filmgoers at a time when
even the centrefolds in “Playboy” were often modestly posed.
For
most of the picture, we don’t know whether Orlac’s obsession has a basis in
reality, since we don’t actually see the operation itself.Were the killer’s hands really grafted onto
his wrists, or is the pianist suffering from a morbid neurosis?An explanation is made toward the end that
for may find satisfying or frustrating, depending on your tastes.It doesn’t help that Orlac is surrounded by
oddball characters who only compound his unease.Nero is the only one who is overtly menacing,
but others are unsettling in their own ways.In his few minutes on screen, Donald Wolfit’s Dr. Volchett is brusque
and possibly alcoholic; his decision to save (or replace) Stephen’s damaged
hands seems more a whim than a humanitarian impulse.His unnamed assistant (Anita Sharp Bolster)
is a starchy spinster who wears rimless glasses with impenetrably thick lenses,
like Albert Dekker’s in 1940’s “Dr. Cyclops.”When Orlac tries to call Dr. Volchett to either confirm or relieve his
suspicions, the assistant tells him the surgeon is on professional travel—to
Moscow!—and unreachable in that era before cellphones and Zoom.She brightens up as she enjoys a chance to
extol her boss, but her comments only deepen Orlac’s fears:“Dr. Volchett is a magician,” she
declares.“Your case was his greatest
triumph.”In a small but bravura
appearance, Donald Pleasence plays Coates, a sculptor who wants to use Orlac’s
hands as the model for those of Lazarus in a biblical tableau of Lazarus raised
from the dead.“All we see of Lazarus is
his hands—your hands, Orlac!”, he exclaims, seizing the pianist’s
wrists.Given Stephen’s state of mind,
the sculptor’s fervor is more invasive than flattering, like the irritating
stranger who latches on to you at a party and won’t let go.As he makes his pitch with growing
enthusiasm, Orlac stares at his hands (poised exactly as he had scrutinized his
grotesque casts earlier in the story), and runs off in panic.
“The
Hands of Orlac” isn’t the best horror thriller of 1960.That would be Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,”
with “Blood and Roses” and Georges Franju’s “Eyes Without a Face” as close
seconds.But it’s better than its
obscurity would imply.In the U.S.,
“Eyes Without a Face” was dumped onto double bills as “The Horror Chamber of
Dr. Faustus” and generally ignored by critics, much as “The Hands of Orlac”
was.Now, it’s widely regarded as a
classic.It’s surprising that Gréville’s
picture hasn’t received similar reappraisal, given the renewed interest in
neglected horror films in the home video era, and the movie’s value as an early
showcase for Christopher Lee and Donald Pleasence.The problem may lie with the fact that an
official DVD or Blu-ray edition for fair evaluation doesn’t exist in the U.S.,
the U.K., or anywhere else as far as I can tell.DVD-R versions are sold on the collector’s
market, with caveats about their visual quality.
We
discovered this presentation of the film on YouTube, apparently sourced from
tape, perhaps one of two competing VHS releases in the 1990s, or a videotape
from a long-ago television broadcast.The image is better than you might expect, if inferior to the hi-def
transfers we’ve come to expect nowadays.It’s also the easiest way to find the movie, at least until we can hope
to see original elements unearthed, if they still exist, and a better print
prepared for Blu-ray or one of the major streaming platforms.
(To watch in full screen format, click on "Watch on YouTube".)
Flicker
Alley’s recent Blu-Ray release of “Laurel & Hardy Year One-The Newly
Restoed 1927 Silents” is the start of a ground-breaking project which is a joy
for all film fan,s especially Laurel & Hardy aficionados. Produced by film
historians and restoration specialists Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange in
conjunction with Lobster Films, Blackhawk Films and The Library of Congress,
this 2-disc set contains the first 15 extant films that feature Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy in the casts. A number of the films can just boast having Laurel
& Hardy in the same film-not yet a team.
Many
of these films are being seen in their most complete versions thus far due to
the collaboration of various film archives and collectors. This is the seminal
period of the teaming of Laurel & Hardy. They are not quite a team in the
earliest films in this collection. This set gives us the opportunity to study
their evolving partnership.
In
typical Flicker Alley fashion the set is chock full of wonderful bonus
materials. Each film has newly recorded audio commentary by Laurel & Hardy
scholar Randy Skretvedt. There are three documentaries: Restoring Laurel
& Hardy, Laurel & Hardy on Location & Hats Off!-a slide show
presentation of the only completely lost Laurel and Hardy film. There are
Multiple Image Galleries, additional music scores for three of the shorts and a
very informative 35-page booklet.
If
you have seen any previous Flicker Alley releases, you know the image quality is
superb. This initial release is an exciting start to a multiple year project.
Year Two (1928) is next. We will have the opportunity to watch the teaming of
one of the greatest comedy teams mature into legends. Very much recommended.
Roger Corman had, over a relatively short period of time,
directed and/or produced more than a
half-dozen pictures since his entry into the movie industry in 1955.His first efforts were modest successes, but
the filmmaker firmly broke into a dependably bankable stride within two years’
time.Though already having helmed two
low budget science-fiction pictures with some success (Day the World Ended (1955) and It
Conquered the World (1956) his reputation in Hollywood - as a budget-minded
money-spinner - was properly recognized following the box office counting of his
1957 chiller combo: Attack of the Crab
Monsters/Not of This Earth.Variety noted the package – each film made
on a “slenderized bankroll of $85, 000,” had brought in an impressive domestic
gross of $800,000.By early November of
’57, that package, distributed through Allied Artists, had earned back the
entirety of its production and marketing costs within twelve weeks of its release.
Through the remainder of the 1950s and well into the early
1960s, Corman continued to grind out a dizzying array of feature films, not all
of the horror and sci-fi variety: there were plenty of exploitative teenage
rock n’ roll pictures and crime dramas offered as well. But from 1960 through
1964, Corman worked primarily – though not exclusively – producing and directing
an impressive slate of upscale horror classics.He had already given fans such soon-to-be low-budget cult favorites as Bucket of Blood (1959) and Little Shop of Horrors (1960).But in 1960 he more famously scored with House of Usher, the first of his iconic and
moody cycle of Poe and H.P. Lovecraft adaptations - many featuring Vincent
Price in roles as both tormentor and tormented.
One of Corman’s most important collaborators in his early
years was screenwriter Charles B. Griffith.Griffith would receive screenwriting credit – or co-credit – on no fewer
than eight of Corman’s earliest films 1956-59.The writer would later recall for Beast
from Haunted Cave he had been commissioned by Corman to essentially rework
the storyline of an earlier film they had crafted together – Naked Paradise (1957) aka Thunder Over Hawaii.Naked
Paradise, of which Griffith was brought on late to the project for a
re-write, was essentially a South Seas crime-drama set in a pineapple
plantation under the umbrella of a glistening sun.
Since that film had done well enough, Corman wanted to revisit
the scenario of Naked Paradise for the
reimagined crime drama titled Beast from
Haunted Cave.There would be a new
twist: the new scenario was to take place in and around a gold mining community
nestled in the dead winter snow of South Dakota’s Black Hills.Oh, and Corman advised Griffith that he also wanted
a genuine cave-dwelling monster thrown in for good measure - that sort of thing
was still selling.That was essentially
all the background material given to Griffith to get started on the project.
Despite its menacing title Beast from Haunted Cave appears more a crime-drama than horror
flick in the course of its 65-minute running time.The story revolves around the criminal doings
of a circle of bandits: chain-smoking mastermind Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff), his
two minions Marty Jones (Richard Sinatra) and Byron Smith (Wally Campo) and
Ward’s oft- inebriated “secretary” Gypsy Boulet (Sheila Carol).The thieves have gathered in the snow-capped
mountain winter of the pioneer town of Deadwood, South Dakota.Their plan is to plant an explosive in an
abandoned cave in the early hours of a quiet Sunday morning.The explosion is set merely as a strategic
ploy to distract authorities for a time, enabling the thieves’ free reign to
steal gold bars from an unattended payroll office of a local gold-mining
company.
Unfortunately, their plans don’t run smoothly.Ward’s dissatisfied and affection-starved
lover-secretary, Gypsy, has a bit of a drinking problem.She complicates matters when she falls hard for
ski instructor and trail guide Gil Jackson (Michael Forest), a swarthy,
dark-haired gentleman of gentle temperament. (As an aside, I occasionally had a
bit of trouble understanding actress Sheila Carol’s dialogue in this film: her
diction seemed a perplexing amalgam of drunken slurred words and a faux
Katherine Hepburn accent).The cold Ward
takes notice of his woman’s wandering eye but is unworried.He has plans to kill Jackson once the skier -
unwittingly - guides this gaggle of crooks on a cross-country trail run to a
remote location.
Ward had plans to rendezvous with a waiting plane to
ferry his gang - and their misbegotten treasure - off to safe sanctuary in
Canada.But this plan too is scuttled by
an unwelcome blizzard passing through the mountains.(As a second aside, Ward’s cross-country ski scheme
is surely the most ineffectual escape route ever mapped by criminals carrying weighted
gold bars in rucksacks.They really would
have done better just hightailing it out of town in their rented car). To complicate matters further – and this is
where the horror finally comes in - their explosive mine charge has awakened
the titular beast, sort of an upright walking, giant spider that collects his victims
by webbing them against cave walls and drinking their blood at his leisure.Let’s just say the moral of the story is a
familiar one: essentially, crime doesn’t pay.
In Corman’s attempt to make their chilly time in the
Black Hills more productive and worthwhile (i.e. profitable), the filming of Beast was to be produced back-to-back on
location in Deadwood with yet another Charles B. Griffith script, Ski Troop Attack.This second film was to be a somewhat more
ambitious project, a snow-bound WWII action-adventure pitting American
ski-troopers against their wintry Nazi counterparts.The Corman team would use the same primary
on-and off screen talents featured in the cast and credits of Beast for Ski Troop Attack.
The scenario of Ski
Troop Attack referentially takes place in the snow-capped mountains of
Germany’s Hürtgen Forest, circa
December 1944.A small American band of
ski-troopers are the only remaining Allied force active in this Nazi-controlled
region, hiding themselves behind enemy lines so they can spy and report on SS
ski-troop movements.The level-head
Lieutenant Factor (Forest), a graduate of the Army’s Officer Candidate School,
wishes to stay clear of engaging in active combat with the enemy.As the only team of Allied forces positioned
inside the Nazi-controlled German-Belgian border, it is Forest’s belief his
outfit should purposely avoid direct contact.He instead wants to concentrate his efforts on secret reconnaissance
missions.By acting as the covert eyes of
the good guys behind enemy lines, his outfit would be able to transmit vital
information on Nazi troop movements back to HQ.
But Factor is at loggerheads
with tough-talking Sergeant Potter (a mustache-less Wolff, again cast in a
“heavy” role).Potter is described by
Factor as an old school “regular army guy,” a man of pure fighting spirit but someone
strategically short-sighted.Potter desperately
wants to engage the Nazi ski-troopers in active combat and is mostly dismissive
of the Factor’s civilian background and wartime decision-making capabilities.Potter does get a number of chances to engage
in hand-to-hand combat.The film actually
offers no shortage of brutal on screen violence with competing ski-troops ambushing
and beating one another with fisticuffs, rifles butts, bayonets, knives and
machine-gun fire.
Ultimately, the American’s
decide to blow up a strategic railroad bridge that Allied air powers are unable
to access and target.But while
attempting to get to the base of the bridge to set off their detonators, they
must first successfully climb an ice-covered vertical cliff side.If this isn’t problematic or dangerous enough,
they must also fend off a team of six pursuing Nazi ski-troopers hot on their
trail.The German skiing contingent,
incidentally, is led by the badly-dubbed Roger Corman himself.The film’s climactic ending is, somewhat surprisingly
for this type of adventure, more bleak than celebratory.
Griffith’s screenplay is
actually far more nuanced than it is given credit for in the film’s original
round of reviews.The sensitively written
dialogue is mature – the scene where soldier Grammelsbacher (Sinatra) sits
around a campfire musing if somewhere out there there’s still “a bullet with my
name on it” – is particularly gripping.The better written dialogue also brings out better acting performances
of all involved – including Shelia Carol who appears midway through the film as
a spiteful German captive of the Americans.
The film does plod a bit.There’s a lot of wartime newsreel footage
interlaced throughout, and no matter how beautiful the mountain settings are
photographed, there’s far too many time-filling shots of ski-troopers silently
trudging cross-country style through the tundra.Having said that that, there’s also some
well-executed ski chase scenes captured on screen, such action-footage surprising
for a film shot on a threadbare budget.The soundtrack of the film is riddled with the sound of machine-gun fire
and a decent score courtesy of composer Fred Katz – though fans of Corman’s
earliest films will surely recognize a good number of Katz’s recycled musical
motifs are in play.
As both projects were to be shot on tight schedules,
Roger’s brother, Gene, stepped in as the de facto producer of Beast.Once a Hollywood agent, Gene Corman was co-founder (with Roger) of their
company Filmgroup, Inc.Gene’s earliest
entries as producer would include a number of exploitative sci-fi efforts such as
Night of the Blood Beast (1958) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959).With Roger set to both produce and direct Ski Troop Attack, the directorial duties of Beast were given to first-timer Monte Hellman - whose only previous
film experience was having worked as an apprentice editor at ABC-TV.
In his entertaining memoir, How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime
(Random House, 1990), Roger Corman recalled the wintertime location shooting in
and around snowbound Deadwood as “unbearable” and “a very tough
challenge.”When shooting was to
commence on the peak of Mount Terry, Corman recorded temperatures of a frigid thirty-eight
degrees below zero.In the recollection
of script supervisor Kinta Zertuche, her primary job was simply “to find ways
to keep the film warm enough so it wouldn’t get brittle and crack.” She was
also deigned to find ways of keeping the production cameras from freezing – not
always successfully.
Production assistant Paul Rapp recalled he had been
tasked to drive the parsimonious Corman – and an automobile-filled cache of
film props - from Los Angeles to Deadwood, so the director “could save on
airfare and have an extra car on location.”When filming one downhill ski sequence, Corman accidentally set off a
small avalanche by shouting “Action!” too loudly through a bullhorn.Rapp recalled while the incident scared him
half-to-death, Corman quickly realized the potential visual impact of what the
camera was capturing.So the team was
commanded to continue to roll film, Corman exhorting via bullhorn that his terrified
skiers try their best to “Stay Ahead of the Avalanche!”
In March of 1959, there was a trade announcement that
“Corman’s distributing outfit, The Filmgroup,” was planning to release Beast from Haunted Cave nationally (paired
with The Wasp Woman) as early as June
1, with Ski Troop Attack (to be paired
with Task Force 38) a little more
than a month later, July 13.But neither
of those prospective release dates would actually roll out as planned, even
though the films themselves were
ready to roll.Beast would come closest to realizing its projected release date,
appearing on some screens in July 1959.
As early as February of 1960, Variety reported that the steamroller that was Filmgroup was
optimistically planning to roll out eight feature films a month between March
and June of 1960.Ski Troop Attack was to see release on the very tail end of that
schedule. The Hollywood Reporter suggested Filmgroup’s plan as more ambitious
than even originally announced: the company was planning on issuing no less
than twenty-four features over a
year’s period, with eleven of those titles already in the can and ready to go.
The company was also interested in testing international
markets. It was reported that the usually closed-to-outsiders Soviet film
market was interested in importing four Corman titles – including Beast and Ski – assuming whether or not Irving Allen, president of Canada’s
Astral Films, could finalize a deal while visiting London.Later in May of 1960, it was reported
Filmgroup had sealed another deal to distribute eight films – again, including Beast and Ski - throughout the Philippine islands.Finally, in August of 1960, Continental
Distributors would obtain rights of Filmgroup product for European markets.
But the U.S. market was of most concern to the filmmakers.On March 16, 1960, there was a very belated press
screening of the Beast and Wasp combo at the Hollywood Theatre. Variety was generally impressed with Hellman’s
Beast, but suggested the film’s scenario
was completely illogical.The critic
also pondered that perhaps interest in horror films was generally on the
wane.He opined, audiences were growing
“inured to monsters and hardly blink when this one guzzles its customary quota
of blood.”The review of Wasp was likewise middling in
praise.The trade noted, while the film
was certainly an “exploitable” passable entertainment, “it’s pretty slow and not
very frightening.”
The “official” premiere of Beast from Haunted Cave was to take place at dual locations in
South Dakota:Rapid City’s State Theatre
and the Hile-Hi Drive-in outside of Deadwood: the latter venue was to enjoy a
four day night run of Beast beginning
August 2, 1959.This was obviously a nod
of acknowledgment to the folks living in the area of the Black Mountain Hills
who hosted and assisted the film’s production.But no matter how well-intentioned the “premiere” honor, Beast from Haunted Cave and The Wasp Woman had already been
projected on screens in the mid and southwestern U.S. as early as July of ’59.
Earlier that spring, director Gene Corman had written
Allan “Birdie” Arnold of Deadwood’s Chamber of Commerce City Council, a champion
of the film shoot. “We saw a rough cut of our picture, it is very good and I’m
sure everyone who helped, especially you, will be proud and pleased,” Gene
wrote, adding, “I plan to make it a full length picture and hope to release it
in the summer.”For their assistance,
both Arnold and Mayor Ed Keene of Lead, South Dakota, were given “Technical
Advisor” credits on Beast.
A film that became a legendary bomb, the 1977 Western The White Buffalo has
been re-evaluated by movie fans in recent years and many consider it to
be an underrated classic. Count me out of this assessment. The film is
certainly unique: an ambitious attempt to blend the Western and horror
film genres, but it falls short on most counts.The United Artists
production stars Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickcok, who- for reasons
never adequately explained- is haunted by terrifying nightmares
involving him in a life-or-death confrontation with a giant white
buffalo. I didn't know that buffalo come in colors, but I'll cede the
point. (Given the dreadful styles of the 1970s, it's surprising the film
wasn't titled The Plaid Buffalo.) Simultaneously, Chief Crazy
Horse (Will Sampson) is having his own white buffalo problems. Seems the
actual rampaging beast wreaked havoc on his village and killed his
child. In order to restore his pride and stature among the tribe, he
must hunt down and slaughter the animal- or be stuck with the monicker
of "The Worm" henceforth. (This must be the Indian equivalent of
"nerd".)
The two men are on obsessive journeys and are destined to meet up -
but both feel they have the singular right to kill the buffalo. Hickcok
meanders through some cow towns under an alias and hooks up with a
mountain man geezer (Jack Warden, channeling the ghost of Gabby Hayes)
who decides to accompany him on his quest. When Hickcok and Crazy Horse
do meet up, they end up saving each other's life in respective ambushes
and declare themselves blood brothers. Despite this, each man is
determined to be the one who slays the white buffalo.
The film is moody and atmospheric and at times is offbeat enough
that, if it weren't for the Colorado scenery, one might suspect this is
an Italian Western. Nevertheless, the screenplay by producer, screenwriter and director Richard Sale (based
on his novel) is erratic and contains many disparate elements that never
blend together in a satisfactory manner. The film is peppered with
welcome appearances by many Western favorites (Stuart Whitman, Slim
Pickens, John Carradine) but their characters are superfluous and smack
of gimmicky cameos. Clint Walker shows up briefly, well-cast and playing
against type as a villain. There is also the rather odd presence of Kim
Novak in a nothing role as a good-hearted hooker who suffers the
humiliation of being rejected by Hickcok even as he shares her bed.
(This must be the first case of erectile dysfunction caused by a white
buffalo.)
The movie was an attempt by producer Dino De Laurentiis to exploit
the dying Western genre by finding a way to incorporate elements of Jaws. De
Laurentiis seemed to have a fixation on giant, mythic animals taking
vengeance on mankind, as he produced "King Kong", "Orca" and "The White
Buffalo" all within a two-year period. Despite
the prestigious cast and the fact that this was a United Artists
production, the budget was clearly skimpy. The film abounds with shoddy
rear screen projection shots and some amateurish sets, particularly in
the mountain sequences set at night. There's plenty of plastic snow and
the sets are somewhat less realistic than a Christmas window display at
Macy's. Then there is the titular character of which much has been
written in movie lore. Apparently devoid of anything other than a $20
bill for special effects work, the white buffalo is generally shot in
extreme closeup in very brief cuts to mask its ludicrous appearance.
Although the buffalo is seemingly immortal and can crash through
mountains of snow and cave walls, it never looks any more menacing than a
slightly perturbed mountain goat. The analogies to Moby Dick also
become a bit too obvious especially when Crazy Horse rides atop the
beast, flaying at it with a knife. (just like Ahab and the whale- get
it?) All of this is set to an atmospheric if somewhat low-key score by
John Barry that fits the proceedings well.
Perhaps the most unintentionally amusing aspect of the movie is the
initial meetings between Hickcok and Crazy Horse. The two men face each
other and gesture with elaborate Indian sign language- despite the fact
they are simultaneously speaking to each other in perfect English! This
is as practical as using signal flags to communicate with a dinner
companion and seems more suited to an episode of Police Squad.
Despite all of these criticisms, there is something admirable about the concept of The White Buffalo in
that the film at least tries to be an original take on an age-old
genre. It also represents one of the last movies in which Charles
Bronson at least tried to stretch his acting muscles. With his saggy
eyes and droopy mustache, he's perfectly cast as Hickcok. The failure of
this film seemed to discourage his professional ambitions. With a
couple of exceptions (Telefon, Death Hunt) Bronson went happily
into B movie hell, churning out low-rent but profitable potboilers aimed
at inner city and drive-in audiences. The shame of it is that he also
encouraged once respected directors like J. Lee Thompson and Michael
Winner to go along with him.
The White Buffalo was one of those major failures that initiated the virtual end of the Western film genre, and it was Heaven's Gate three
years later that nailed the coffin shut. The Bronson film has grown in
stature as a curiosity in the ensuing years and apologists claim that
the chintzy set pieces must have been intended in order to convey the
dream-like quality of the plot. Much the same has been said of
Hitchcock's Marnie, which was also heavily criticized for its
abysmal sets, rear screen production work and use of matte paintings.
However, in both cases the hypothesis seems unlikely. They were simply
troubled productions overseen by directors who seem to have lost
interest in their respective projects. Universal ended up losing money
on the Hitchcock drama while United Artists was forced to pick up the
tab for the buffalo bill, if you'll pardon the pun.
The White Buffalo has recently been re-released by Kino
Lorber
Studio Classics. The transfer is superb, which only makes the white
buffalo look even phonier, but that just adds to the fun. An original
trailer is included and this time around, a commentary track has been
added by Paul Talbot, author of the terrific "Bronson's Loose" books.
Talbot admits he's obsessed by Bronson and his films and provides a
master class on the making of The White Buffalo. His track is
highly informative, if lacking in humor, as he discusses the career
credits of virtually every actor who appears in a speaking role.
Talbot's contribution makes the film worth obtaining, even if you had
the earlier version.
"The Hawaiians" was regarded as a cinematic misfire, was released in England under the title Master of the Islands. The
1970 big budget movie was a critical and commercial failure in its day,
but evaluating it after all these years leads the viewer to accentuate
its many positive elements. The story is actually an official
continuation of James Michener's Hawaii, which was made into a
major film in 1966 that curiously also underwhelmed critics and public.
This sequel doesn't have the epic proportions of its predecessor, but it
does boast some impressively lush production values and a typically
enticing score by Henry Mancini. For this film, Heston reunited with director Tom Gries, with whom he made the vastly under-appreciated 1968 Western "Will Penny"which
Heston regarded as one of his most satisfying artistic accomplishments.
He is cast against type here in a somewhat unsympathetic role during a
period of his career in which he was typically cast as a stalwart heroic
figure. Heston plays Whip Hoxworth, a hard-nosed sea captain who
transports luckless Chinese immigrants to Hawaii where they become
cheated, abused and enter into what amounts to indentured servitude. The
opening sequence finds the Chinese crammed into the sweltering hold of
the ship and falling victim to illness and malnutrition. Hoxworth only
adds to their misery by applying beatings and coldly calculating his
human cargo in terms of acceptable deaths, 'lest his ultimate profits
fall short of expectations. Hoxworth is the black sheep of a wealthy
family. He is cut out of his father's will and has a contentious
relationship with his siblings, who have little use for him. Barred from
further sea duties, he is relegated to a failing plantation which he is
determined to turn into a success, if only to spite his relatives.
Geraldine Chaplin is his half-Hawaiian wife, whom he adores but who, for
reasons never satisfactorily explained in the script, turns frigid
after their son is born.
The film tells a parallel story about
the plight of two immigrants who work on his plantation: Nyuk Tsin (Tina
Chen) and Mun Ki (Mako), two people who, through necessity, live as man
and wife even though Mun Ki tells Nyuk Tsin that the children she has
borne him will not be considered hers. Instead, Chinese tradition
dictates that they will ultimately return to China where his wife will
assume the mantle of mother and Nyuk Tsin will be relegated to the
status of an aunt. The couple's hard work appeals to Hoxworth's
generally dormant sympathies and he allows them to prosper financially,
especially when they successfully grow the first pineapples on Hawaii - a
development that makes Hoxworth rich. However, the film piles crisis
upon crisis on each of the major characters, including political
intrigue, armed revolution and, in particularly affecting sequences,
outbreaks of leprosy and plague. John Phillip Law appears late in the
134-minute film as Heston's grown son, whose humanitarianism brings him
into direct conflict with his father's Machevellian ways.
The Hawiians is big-budget soap
opera at every level, but it's a consistently engrossing one. Heston
excels playing part that takes him into new territory as an actor. The
supporting cast is equally good, with both Mako and Tina Chen giving
outstanding performances. It can't be said that the film is an
unqualified success, but it's never boring and it probably seems more
impressive today than it did at the time of its initial release. It
should be mentioned that the movie has a fine score by Henry Mancini.
There are worse fates than spending a couple of hours with Heston under
any circumstance.
(Now streaming on Screenpix, available to Amazon Prime subscribers for $2.99 a month.)
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
"Fans
can plumb the depths of the horror genre with this collectible box set
featuring five unforgettable movies, all in eye-popping 4K Ultra HD,
along with over four hours of legacy special features and exclusive
collectible items. Housed in deluxe packaging, each of the following
films is presented in a special sleeve with artwork exclusive to the
collection— Rosemary's Baby (1968) · Pet Sematary (1989) · Smile (2022) ·
Crawl (2019) · and a special mystery title making its 4K Ultra HD
debut. The PARAMOUNT SCARES VOL. 1 Limited-Edition 4K Blu-ray Box Set
also boasts collectible items, including an exclusive, full-size
Fangoria magazine produced especially for the release. This special
edition of the celebrated publication—"first in fright" since
1979—features a curated selection of new and classic articles from the
magazine's archives. The set also includes a Paramount Scares enamel
pin, unique stickers, and access to a Digital copy of each film. •
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) • Pet Sematary (1989) • Crawl (2019) • Smile
(2022) • “Mystery” Exclusive 5th Feature."
As
a kid, I watched “Bourbon Street Beat” (1959-60), a Warner Brothers TV series
starring Richard Long and Andrew Duggan as two private detectives in New
Orleans, Rex and Cal.Even in those days
of generally undemanding audiences, most grown-up viewers probably realized
something I didn’t as a nine-year-old.“Bourbon Street Beat” was produced on nickels and dimes like every other
Warner Brothers PI and Western series of the day, and authentic New Orleans
backdrops were limited to a fleeting street shot of the French Quarter, taken
from stock footage.Everything else was
filmed on the Warners backlot in Burbank, including a partial exterior set
representing the Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street where the two private
eyes supposedly held down their office.With a quick switch, the detectives’ window looking out on the Vieux Carre
could be transformed into a window looking out on Waikiki, once this week’s
episode wrapped and filming began tomorrow for “Hawaiian Eye.” The most
authentic element of the show may have been Arlene Howell, a gorgeous model and
former Miss Louisiana who played Rex and Cal’s secretary, Melody Lee.Certainly, she was a better reason to tune in
than the archival footage.
Fast-forward
to 1986 and “The Big Easy,” a crime drama with on-location street scenes and
Crescent City atmosphere in abundance.Budgets and audience expectations had come a long way since “Bourbon
Street Beat.”The movie, directed by Jim
McBride, is available from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on Blu-ray.It opens with Detective-Lieutenant Remy McSwain
(Dennis Quaid) investigating the murder of a hit man that he and his fellow
officers in the New Orleans Police Department quickly attribute to a war
between rival organized crime gangs, one commanded by an aging mafia capo (Marc
Lawrence) and the other by a Black kingpin, Daddy Manton (Solomon Burke).The theory begins to unravel when Assistant
District Attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) looks into the case and calls
McSwain’s conclusion premature.She is
as strait-laced as the half-Irish, half-Cajun McSwain is uninhibited, and offended
by his offhand acceptance of free meals at restaurants and other gratuities as
perks that go with his badge.So
naturally, in the usual Hollywood formula prizing sexual chemistry over logic,
the two quickly get a thing going.But
duty intrudes.Remy is caught in an
Internal Affairs sting operation, and Anne faces him in court as the chief
prosecutor.Meanwhile, additional mob
gunmen are murdered.McSwain examines
new clues with a more critical eye as they begin to pile up, and he comes to
agree with Anne.A gang war isn’t as
air-tight an explanation as he’d first thought.
Well-cast
with Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Charles Ludlam in supporting roles, “The Big
Easy” was a respectable hit, even launching a 1996-97 TV series
executive-produced by Daniel Petrie Jr., who wrote the script for the
movie.Quaid and Barkin, both rising
talents, were a big draw, as were McBride’s plentiful scenes of zydeco parties,
crawfish boils, dinner at Antoine’s, and other exotic rituals in those days
before the Mardi Gras Week marathons on the Travel Channel and the Food
Channel. For fans of detective films who want scripts to cut to the chase,
though, there may be too much of Remy’s toothy flirting with Anne and too much
jambalaya in the first half of the movie, which begins to drag. But the pace
picks up in the second half with clever plot twists and a couple of crisply
directed action scenes, in which Quaid appears to do his less dangerous
physical stunts. Full disclosure, I have three degrees of separation from
Dennis Quaid, through someone who knows members of the Quaid family, but fuller
disclosure, I’ve never met the actor and I’m sure, never will.
The
Kino Lorber release of “The Big Easy” presents a rich image at the 1.85:1
aspect and informative audio commentary from Jim McBride, moderated by filmmaker
Douglas Hosdale. McBride offers interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes,
including an explanation of how the great R&B singer Solomon Burke was cast
as Daddy Manton. Burke is one of two surprise faces in the cast. The other is
former New Orleans district attorney and Kennedy conspiracy theorist Jim
Garrison, who held a Louisiana state appeals court judgeship from 1978 until
his death in 1992. Garrison plays Judge Jim Garrison, who presides over Remy
McSwain’s bribery trial, much as the Beatles, Nicholas Cage, Tommy and Jimmy
Dorsey, Alan Freed, John Malkovich, and others have played “themselves” on the
screen.
The Blu-ray edition
of “The Big Easy” also includes trailers for several other Kino Lorber crime
movies and SDH captions for those of us old enough to remember who Jim Garrison
was.
Film Masters is a new classic film
restoration and distribution company formed by industry veteran and film
historian Phil Hopkins. The company launched on September 26th with an
impressive, region-free Blu-ray release. For decades, dating back to the humble
early beginnings of the home video cassette, these two public domain favourites
seemed to once flood the market. Often struck and scanned from poor quality
16mm prints, the process and distribution hardly helped the reputation of these
two low-budget slices of fifties science fiction. Of course, there’s no getting
away from the fact that The Giant Gila Monster (1959) and The Killer Shrews
(1959) were ever going to be regarded as stunning examples of quality science
fiction, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be considered as
hugely entertaining and enjoyable vehicles.
Both films (directed by Ray Kellogg) were
originally released as a drive-in, double-bill feature in 1959. Bringing both
films together here, each with their own dedicated disc, not only makes perfect
sense, but offers a nice form of symmetry – giving the overall package
additional logic and weight. It’s a decision that also offers a degree of
‘worth’ for fans and collectors. Fans are an appreciative group of people, so
this collective form of package will only help Film Masters in gaining a healthy
reputation and a certain degree of loyalty.
Beginning with what appears to be the leading
feature, The Giant Gila Monster opens with a young couple, Pat (Grady Vaughn)
and Liz (Yolanda Salas), parked in a bleak, rural locale overlooking a ravine.
A giant Gila monster attacks the car, sending it into the ravine and killing
the couple. Later, several friends of the couple assist the local sheriff (Fred
Graham) in his search for the missing teens. Chase Winstead (Don Sullivan), a
young mechanic and hot rod racer, locates the crashed car in the ravine and
finds evidence of the giant lizard. However, it is only when the hungry reptile
attacks a train that the authorities realise they are dealing with a giant
venomous lizard. By this time, emboldened by its attacks and hungry for prey,
the creature attacks the town. It heads for the local dance hall, where the
town's teenagers are gathered for a hop.
Filmed near Dallas, Texas, the film was
budgeted at $175,000 and was produced by Dallas drive-in theatre chain owner
Gordon McLendon who wanted co-features for his main attractions. McLendon shot
the film back-to-back with The Killer Shrews. In exchange for providing the
special effects, Ray Kellogg was allowed to direct the film, while Curtis
allowed his lead Don Sullivan to pick and perform three songs. The reasoning
not only helped in padding out the action but also served in targeting the healthy
teenage market. Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low-budget monster movies,
proves to be confident in both his role and surroundings, while Lisa Simone (a
former French contestant for the 1957 Miss Universe contest) is arguably a
little more wooden and uncomfortable.
For the best part, Ray Kellogg’s special
effects work adequately well. With such a low budget, there was little
consideration for an established name such as Ray Harryhausen and his
stop-motion animation. So instead, a live Mexican beaded lizard was shot against
scaled-down model landscapes and sets. This technique wasn’t anything new, iguanas
and chameleons were also being used the very same year over at 20th
Century Fox for their adaptation of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). The Giant Gila Monster (naturally) was not afforded
the same budget, it was simply a locally made film that was marketed and sold
in a very clever way, making sure it received both nationwide and foreign
distribution. But above all, it remains hugely enjoyable and serves as a
reminder of far less serious times in terms of filmmaking on a shoestring.
As for the video’s quality, this new 4K scan
from original 35mm material, looks incredibly good. Sharpness, contrast and
sound are all highly impressive. Film Masters have provided a new level of
respect for this minor league classic, and the results have really raised its
once questionable profile. There is also an option of watching the film in
either a TV ratio (standard 1.33:1) or a theatrical version (1.85:1). I opted
for the theatrical version for reviewing which works perfectly well.
Film Masters have also provided some very
nice bonus features. Heading these is a full-length
audio commentary by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, and Matt
Weinhold from The Monster Party Podcast. As the name suggests, this is a light-hearted
overview but nevertheless thoroughly enjoyable. The group offer a cheekily
mocking level of critique but never in with a cruel intension. The common
denominator is obviously a shared love for the film. The group manage to unearth
some excellent production detail and history, often quoting from original
source material such as pressbooks and publicity from its time of release.
There is also a restored and remastered
original theatrical trailer and a very enjoyable archival audio interview with
star Don Sullivan (1929- 2018). Asking the questions is author Bryan Senn, who
digs deep in extracting as much detail as possible. Sullivan appears happy to
answer anything he can recall, and the interview is relaxed and unhurried.
Despite the audio quality which occasionally wavers (the source sounds to be
via a telephone) it remains interesting throughout and offers a unique,
first-hand insight.
Next up is The Killer Shrews (1959), again
directed by Ray Kellogg and utilising most of the
same production crew. The story follows a group of researchers who are trapped
in their remote island compound overnight by a hurricane and find themselves
under siege by their abnormally large and venomous mutant test subjects, the
shrews. Captain Thorne Sherman and first mate Rook Griswold deliver supplies by
ship to a research compound on the remote island. The station inhabitants
(scientist Marlowe Craigis, his research assistant Radford Baines, Marlowe's
daughter Ann, her fiancé Jerry Farrel, and a servant Mario) give them a cold
welcome and direct them to unload the ship and leave immediately. Marlowe
explains he has been trying to isolate the genes responsible for growth and
metabolism in order to shrink humans to half their size so as to reduce the
impact of human overpopulation. He uses shrews as test animals due to their
short lifespan, allowing him to track results over multiple generations.
However, Marlowe's experiments have created a batch of mutant wolf-sized shrews
which have escaped. The group barricade themselves inside their compound every
evening before the sun sets due to the creatures' nocturnal feeding habits.
They have not contacted the coast guard so that they can complete their
research, predicting that the shrews will cannibalize each other once they have
consumed all other food on the island.
And so begins this really enjoyable little
romp. Catching up with this film once again reminded me of just how good this
film really is. In fact, I’ll come right out and say it – I still think this is
the superior film when compared to The Giant Gila
Monster. The whole concept of a group of people trapped in a secluded and
isolated locale is one that still proves effective. The film is often compared
to that of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead made some 9 years later in
1968. If you take that concept, replacing the zombies with wild, oversized,
very hungry shrews, then you get the general idea. Yes, one could argue that
(on paper) the whole idea sounds rather ludicrous. But the film has some really
creative and effective moments, especially for 1959. Considering that the ($123,000)
budget for The Killer Shrews was even tighter than that of The Giant Gila
Monster, the results are even more impressive.
Ray Kellogg makes exceptional good use of his
special effects background. OK, so the shrews were in actual fact large coonhound
dogs dressed up with long carpeted hair and Saber fangs. And close-up shots
were nothing more than mere hand puppets! But somehow, the effects still work.
Good use of sound effects also provides an eerie warning of the shrews’ imminent
arrival. Clever quick editing also adds to the film’s overall sense of tension
and drama. In fact, there are also some cleverly constructed jump shock moments
and some particularly gruesome scenes – not to mention a ludicrously ingenious
escape plan! So, The Killer Shrews has a great deal of positives in its favour
and is well worth a re-evaluation – especially in this sparkling new transfer.
As with The Giant Gila Monster, Film Masters have afforded The Killer Shrews with
another equally high-quality transfer. I thought it looked quite faultless
actually, a nice clean, crisp transfer with lovely deep black tones and contrast.
The audio again is also clear and sharp throughout its duration. Again, there
is an option to view in either 1.33:1 or in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
The bonus features are very enjoyable,
consisting of another full-length audio commentary this time provided by author
Jason A. Ney. This commentary offers a more scholarly, academic approach which
is both informative and enjoyable in equal measure. Ray Kellogg – An Unsung Master
is a fascinating Ballyhoo motion pictures documentary exploring the life and
career of the director. And to round off the disc is a large collection of
original radio spots for each movie courtesy of Gary L. Prange. Inside there is
also a full colour, 22-page booklet with essays by Don Stradley and Jason A.
Ney.
Overall, Film Masters have delivered a very
impressive debut package. With the hope of producing similarly styled releases
on a monthly basis, there’s certainly a great deal more to look forward to and
their efforts should be applauded.
(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro.)
Frederick
Knott's suspense play "Wait Until Dark" premiered on Broadway on Feb. 2,
1966. Lee Remick played Susy Hendrix, a
young blind woman who becomes the target of a manipulative scheme orchestrated
by a sinisterly glib psychopath, Harry Roat Jr. from Scarsdale. Robert Duvall, in his Broadway debut, had the
pivotal supporting role of Roat. A movie
version opened on Oct. 26, 1967, starring Audrey Hepburn (in an Oscar-nominated
performance) as Susy and Alan Arkin as
Roat, produced by Mel Ferrer (Hepburn's husband at the time), directed by
Terence Young, and scored by Henry Mancini. A predecessor of today's popular, trickily plotted suspense movies like
"Gone Gir" (2014) and "The Girl on the Train" (2016), the film was a
commercial and critical success, ranking number sixteen in box-office returns
for the year. Movies
adapted from plays often feel stage-bound, but "Wait Until Dark"
avoids those constraints, thanks in no small part to Young's fine
pacing, sharp eye for detail, and sure grasp of character.
Bosley
Crowther's October 27, 1967, film review in the New York Times noted that the
Radio City Music Hall screening of "Wait Until Dark" included a stage show with
a ballet troupe, performing dogs, and the Rockettes. Fifty years later, going out to a movie,
you're lucky to get a good seat and decently lit projection for the price of
admission. Any live entertainment comes
courtesy of the patrons behind you who can't put away their smartphones for two
hours.
Knott's play was confined to one interior set, Susy's cramped Greenwich Village
apartment, which makes it a perennial favorite for little-theater and
high-school drama productions on limited budgets. The movie adds a new opening scene in which
Sus's husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), a freelance photographer, meets an
attractive young woman, Lisa, as they board a flight from Montreal. When they land at JFK, Lisa hands Sam a
child's doll and asks him to hold on to it for her temporarily. She says it's a present for the child of a
friend, she just learned that the friend and the little girl will be meeting
her at the airport, and she doesn't want to spoil the surprise; she'll call and
come by for it later. Unknown to the
obliging Sam, it's a phony story: Lisa is a drug mule, and narcotics are hidden
inside the doll.
Lisa
had planned to double-cross her accomplice Roat and split the money from
the
drug shipment with Mike (Richard Crenna) and Carlino (Jack Weston), her
partners in past criminal schemes. Roat
murders Lisa and enlists Mike and Carlino to help him find the doll in
Susy and
Sam's apartment. He lures Sam away with
a call promising a big photo assignment. In his absence, Mike poses as
an old Army friend of Sam's, and Carlino
impersonates a detective investigating Lisa's murder. In a bad guy/good
guy ploy, the phony Detective Sgt. Carlino insinuates that he suspects
Sam of Lisa's murder. Mike intervenes, offering his support to Susy
to gain her trust. To further disorient
Susy, Roat poses as two men who appear to lend credence to the con.Harry
Roat Sr., an an aggressive old man,
barges into the apartment, noisily claiming to be in search of evidence
that
Lisa, his daughter-in-law, carried on a clandestine affair with Sam.
Later, mild-mannered Harry Roat Jr. knocks
on the door and apologizes for his father's outburst. It's a nice
gimmick for Alan Arkin, who gets
to impersonate three characters with different costumes and
personalities. For audiences who watched the Broadway
production, it might also have provided an effective "Aha" moment when
they
realized that there was only one Roat, not three. But it's no surprise
for the movie audience,
since close-up camera angles make it clear immediately that the other
two are
also Arkin in heavy make-up.
The
new Blu-ray release of "Wait Until Dark" from the Warner Archive Collection
presents the movie in a 1080p print for high-def TV. It's a definite improvement in richness from
previous TV and home-video prints. The
tailor-made audience is likely to be those older viewers who saw the film on
the big screen in 1967, who may wonder if the movie's "gotcha"climax still
holds up. Suffice to say without
spoiling the scene for new viewers by going into details, it does. The film's stage origins are obvious in the dialogue-driven
plot set-up and in the constrained setting of one cramped apartment. The measured exposition may be a hurdle for
younger viewers used to a faster pace and visual shorthand, but the
concentration of character interplay in a closed space isn't necessarily a
problem, even for Millennials who have been conditioned to expect ADHD editing
and splashy FX in movies. It imposes a
sense of claustrophobia that subtly forces the audience to share Susy's
mounting fear of being hemmed in and trapped.
In "Take a Look in the Dark", an eight-minute special feature ported over to the
Blu-ray from a 2003 Warner Home Video DVD release, Alan Arkin notes that the
psychotic Roat, with his granny-frame sunglasses and urban-hipster patter, was
a break from the usual sneering, buttoned-down movie and TV villains of the
time. "By and large, the public had not
been exposed to that kind of person", he recalls. "But they began to have people like that live
next to them, or see them in the newspapers or on TV." Ironically, if Roat was unsettling to 1967
audiences, he and his flick knife may seem insufficiently scary for younger
viewers today, in the endless wake of movies and TV shows about flamboyantly
demented murderers since "The Silence of the Lambs" (1990) -- not to mention
the perpetrators of real-life mass murders that, numbingly, we seem to see
every night on CNN, network, and local news.
In
the special feature, Arkin and Ferrer also express fond appreciation of
Hepburn, who wanted to star in "Wait Until Dark" when she realized
that she was getting too old to continue playing demure ingenues, Ferrer
says. Once Susy starts to figure out the con in the last half-hour of
the movie and, isolated from help, summons the inner resources to fight
back, she begins to resemble today's omnipresent model of screen
feminism, the smart, ass-kicking action hero. Two supporting actresses
are unfamiliar by name and face: Samantha Jones as Lisa and Julie Harrod
as Susy's 14-year-old neighbor Gloria. Jones has a chilling scene in
which Lisa's corpse hangs in a makeshift body bag in Susy's closet, and
Susy, unaware, almost bumps into it. Both actresses are so good that
viewers will wonder why they didn't have more prominent careers. (I
don't know either.) One bit of casting may be distracting to viewers in
2017 in a way that it wasn't to audiences in 1967: as Carlino, the fine
character actor Jack Weston is almost a dead ringer for New Jersey Gov.
and failed 2016 Republican Presidential hopeful Chris Christie. (He's
now running again- Ed.)
Besides "Take a Look in the Dark", the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray includes two trailers also repeated from the 2003 DVD.One,
titled the "warning trailer" ominously cautions that "during the last
eight minutes of this picture, the theater will be darkened to the legal
limit to heighten the terror of the breath-taking climax."As
a gimmick for luring curious masochists into the movie theater, it
doesn't quite rise to the truly inspired heights of William Castle's
"Emergo", "Percepto", or "Punishment Poll", but it's still a charming
bit of vintage Hollywood hucksterism.
Imprint, the Australian video label, is releasing a boxed set dedicated to the film of Marlon Brando. The discs are region-free. The edition is available for pre-order.
One of the greatest actors of all time, Marlon Brando,
brings six powerful performances to this Limited Edition boxset. Sayonara
(1957) The Fugitive Kind (1960) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) The Ugly American (1963)
Bedtime Story (1964) A Countess From Hong Kong (1967) Limited Edition 6-Disc
Hardbox. 1500 copies only. Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer and contributing writers Paul Scrabo and Tony Latino provide commentary tracks for "A Countess from Hong Kong" and "Bedtime Story".
Click here to pre-order. (Prices are in Australian dollars.)
Released
on June 29, 1966, “Nevada Smith” was well-received by audiences who still
flocked to A-list Westerns in those days, earning $14 million in ticket
sales—about $132 million in today’s value.Produced by Joseph E. Levine and directed by Henry Hathaway, it starred
Steve McQueen in the title role, as a young half-Indian man, birth name Max
Sand, who determines to track down the three outlaws who murdered his
parents.The movie was a spinoff from a
previous Levine release, “The Carpetbaggers,” a sensational hit in 1964 based
on a Harold Robbins novel.There, in his
final role, Alan Ladd played the older Nevada Smith, a reformed gunfighter
turned B-movie cowboy actor in the 1930s.Thus the 1966 release was a prequel, as we’d now call it, based on a
lengthy section from Robbins’ novel.The
reviews for the 1966 production were mostly positive, except for two opinions
that observers continue to raise in on-line and print discussions about the
film.At 35, they argue, McQueen was too
old and seasoned to play a kid supposedly in his late teens.And with blond hair and blue eyes, nobody
would mistake him for anyone with Native American genetics.Does either point of view stand up to
examination?We McQueen fans would say,
not really.Movies are all about
illusion anyway, in case anyone forgets all those John Hughes films of the ‘80s
starring actors in their twenties as high school kids.At this late date with McQueen’s iconic
status firmly established, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else playing the
part.(Although someone else tried, not
counting Alan Ladd as the older, more sedate Nevada in “The
Carpetbaggers.”Cliff Potts essayed the
role in a 1975 TV production also titled “Nevada Smith,” designed as a direct
sequel to Hathaway’s picture.Filmed as
a hopeful pilot for a TV series, it’s pretty much forgotten now.Cliff Potts was a good actor, usually cast as
charming but devious characters, but he was no Steve McQueen.)
In
Hathaway’s movie, three drifters, Fitch, Bowdre, and Coe, ride up to young Max
Sand and claim to be friends of his father’s.The actors in the roles were Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, and Martin Landau.Try to find a trio of that caliber in any
2023 release.Helpfully, Max tells the
strangers to find the homestead, immediately getting a bad feeling when they
speed off, yelling and firing their pistols.The three drifters know the elder Sand all right, but they’ve really
come to demand the gold they believe he’s found in a nearby mine.When he says the mine is worthless, and all
it ever yielded was a $38 nugget, the intruders don’t believe him and work
themselves into a rage.Coe draws a
knife, cold-bloodedly cuts Sand’s Kiowa wife, and threatens to skin her alive
if the miner doesn’t tell them where he’s supposedly hidden his riches.By the time Max reaches the cabin, he finds
his parents’ mangled corpses, and the killers are long gone.
Max
sets out to avenge the murders, but inexperienced and naive, he isn’t cut out
for the job—at first.“If you want to
find those men, you’ll have to look in every saloon, hog farm, and whorehouse
you come to,” warns a chance acquaintance, Jonas Cord (Brian Keith), a friendly
traveling gunsmith.“You’ll have to
become what they are, and wallow in the same garbage they do.”Realizing he can’t persuade Max to call it
quits, Jonas teaches him the essential skills he’ll need to survive: draw fast
and shoot straight, learn to play poker, do everything you can not to give
yourself away, and don’t trust anybody, “not even your friends.”Working his way up through Coe and Bowdre,
he finally locates Fitch.Calling
himself “Nevada Smith,” he joins the outlaw’s new gang in a plan to rob a gold
shipment, bringing the story, neatly, full circle.Fitch knows Max Sand is after him, but he
doesn’t remember what Max looks like; regardless, he grows suspicious and
paranoid about Nevada Smith as the day of the robbery approaches.
Filmed
at locations in California and Louisiana (where Max robs a bank to get himself
sentenced to a prison farm, next to Bowdre), “Nevada Smith” impressed audiences
in 1966 with McQueen’s athletic performance againstscenic outdoor backdrops, beautifully
composed by Hathaway and his cinematographer, Lucian Ballard.This may not seem to be a remarkable
achievement until you revisit the old TV Westerns of the ‘60s, which still run
every day on streaming platforms like GritTV and Cinevault Westerns, and
remember their tired stock-in-trade of aging stars, repetitive storylines,
meager action, and generic backlot sets standing in for Dodge City, the
Ponderosa, and the Big Valley.A new
Blu-ray edition of “Nevada Smith” from Kino Lorber, in a 4K scan of the
original camera negative, reproduces the vistas in stunning detail and
richness, a long overdue boost for viewers who may have seen the movie only in
edited, pan-and-scan TV prints.C.
Courtney Joyner, Mark Jordan Legan, and Henry Parke offer a fine ensemble audio
commentary, pointing out—among other elements—the legion of fine character
actors in the supporting cast.Normally,
I pride myself on that sort of Hollywood trivia, but Joyner, Legan, and Parke
put me in my place.They pointed out
some faces I would have missed otherwise.
Don Knotts
came to fame with his trademark comedy style of portraying a meek, excessively
nervous character. He was Woody Allen before Woody Allen was Woody Allen.
Knotts honed his skills on Steve Allen's show in the 1950s, with his "man
on the street" Nervous Nellie routine sending audiences into fits of
laughter. He co-starred with fellow up-and-comer Andy Griffith in the hit
Broadway production of "No Time for Sergeants" and the subsequent
film version. When Griffith landed his own TV series in 1960 in which he played
the sheriff of fictional small town Mayberry, Knotts imposed upon him to write
a small, occasional part he could play as Barney Fife, Griffith's inept but
loyal sheriff. Griffith complied and the role made Knotts an icon of American
comedy, allowing him to win an astonishing five Emmys for playing the same
character. Five years into the series, Knotts was offered a multi-feature deal
by Lew Wasserman, the reigning mogul of Universal Pictures. Knotts took the
bait and enjoyed creative control over the films to a certain degree. He could
pretty much do what he wanted as long has he played the same nervous schlep audiences wanted to
see. The films had to be low-budget, shot quickly and enjoy modest profits from
rural audiences where Knotts' popularity skewed the highest. His first feature
film was The Ghost and Mr.
Chicken, released in 1966 and written by the same writing team from
the "The Andy Griffith Show". (Griffith actually co-wrote the script
but declined taking a writing credit.) The film astonished the industry,
rolling up big grosses in small markets where it proved to have remarkable
staying power. Similarly, his next film, The
Reluctant Astronaut also proved to be a big hit, as was his
1969 western spoof The
Shakiest Gun in the West. Within a few years, however,
changing audience tastes had rendered Knotts' brand of innocent, gentle humor
somewhat moot. By the late 1960s audiences were getting their laughs from the
new film freedoms. It was hard to find the antics of a middle-aged virgin much
fun when you could see Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice cavorting in the same
bed. Still, Knotts soldiered on, providing fare for the drive-in markets that
still wanted his films. In 1969 he made The
Love God?, a very funny and underrated film that tried to be more
contemporary by casting Knotts as an innocent ninny who is manipulated into
fronting what he thinks is a magazine for bird watchers but, in reality, is a
cover for a pornography empire. Knotts' traditional audience balked at the
relatively tame sex jokes and for his final film for Universal, How to Frame a Figg, he
reverted back to his old formula.
Released in
1971, Figg casts
Don Knotts as the titular character, Hollis Figg, a nondescript wimp who toils
as an overlooked accountant in a basement of city hall. The film is set in a
Mayberry-like small town environment but any other similarity ends there. In
Mayberry, only the visiting city slickers were ever corrupt. The citizenry may
have been comprised of goofballs and eccentrics, but they were all scrupulously
honest. In Figg's world, however, the top government officials are all con-men
and crooks. They are ruled by the town's beloved paternal father figure, Old
Charley Spaulding (Parker Fennelly), a decrepit character who hands out pennies
to everyone he encounters, with the heart-warming greeting "A shiny penny
for your future!" In fact, Old Charley has plenty of those pennies
stashed away. He and his hand-picked fellow crooks, including the mayor and
police chief, have been systemically ripping off the state by grossly inflating
the costs of local building projects and secretly pocketing the overages.
Concerned that the accountants might get wind of their activities, they
summarily fire them all except for Figg, who is deemed to be too naive to ever
catch on. They justify the firings by saying it's fiscally prudent and replace
the accountants with a gigantic computer that is supposed to be even more
efficient. Through a quirk of fate, Figg and his equally naive friend, Prentiss
(Frank Welker), the janitor for city hall, discover exactly what is going on.
Figg dutifully reports his findings to the mayor (Edward Andrews), who
convinces him to keep it secret while he launches his own investigation. Old
Charley, the mayor and their cohorts decide to make Figg the fall guy for the
corrupt practices. They give him a big promotion, a new red convertible and
even hire a private secretary for him. She's Glorianna (Yvonne Craig), a leggy
femme fatale who wears mini skirts and oozes sex. When her attempts to seduce
Figg leave him paralyzed with fear because of his allegiance to his new
girlfriend, the equally virginal waitress Ema Letha (Elaine Joyce), Glorianna
gets Figg drunk, takes some embarrassing photos of him and then proceeds to have
him sign a stream of incriminating documents that he has not bothered to read.
Before long, Figg is blamed for all the missing funds and faces a jail
sentence- unless he and the dim-witted Prentiss can figure out how to use the
computer to thwart the real crooks.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Video:
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the heartfelt
drama TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, arriving for the first time on 4K Ultra
HD as part of the Paramount Presents line on November 14, 2023 from Paramount
Home Entertainment.
James L. Brooks produced, wrote the screenplay (based on
the novel by Larry McMurtry), and made his directorial debut with TERMS
OF ENDEARMENT, which ultimately earned 11 Academy Award® nominations and
won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Shirley
MacLaine), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Nicholson), and Best Writing,
Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
Both critically acclaimed and a box-office
blockbuster, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT features a powerhouse cast
including Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and
John Lithgow. Originally released on November 23, 1983, the enduring
classic follows the ups and downs of a mother-daughter relationship with
honesty, heart, and humor.
This Paramount Presents release includes the film in
sparkling 4K Ultra HD, with a transfer from the original camera negative
reviewed and approved by Brooks. The set includes a 4K Ultra HD Disc, a
Blu-ray Disc™, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as a
brand-new Filmmaker Focus with James L. Brooks. In this newly
recorded interview, Brooks reflects on the challenges and excitement that came
with being a first-time director, including getting directing critiques from
Jack Nicholson. He also discusses the casting process and the film’s amazing
performances. The set also includes a legacy commentary with
director James L. Brooks, co-producer Penney Finkelman Cox, and production
designer Polly Platt, as well as the theatrical trailer.
Imprint, the Australian video label, is releasing "The Avengers: The Tara King Collection" as a region-free Blu-ray set on 29 November. Here are the details:
John Steed fights crime and diabolical masterminds in his own inimitable manner with nonchalant efficiency, sophistication, and charm. With the departure of Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg), Steed (Patrick Macnee) has acquired a new assistant, Tara King (Linda Thorson), who relies less on judo and more on feminine guile to dispatch her assailants. Miss King will use a coo or a kiss rather than a karate chop, not to mention an occasional brick-in-the-handbag technique! Emotional, earthy, cunning, Tara is thoroughly emancipated, while remaining essentially feminine. This is her real distinction and it makes her devastating!
In this stunning celebration of the Tara King era, The Avengers probe 33 colourful adventures in stunning high-definition, with a bountiful collection of vintage and new Special Features.
Plus an additional disc brings together early episodes from the first two seasons of the series and audio reconstructions for Series 1 lost episodes.
A second bonus disc features the worldwide Blu-ray debut of Patrick Macnee’s 1970 post-Avengers crime caper Mister Jerico, sporting a brand NEW 2K scan from the original negative.
11 DISC BLU-RAY SET + 120 page collectable booklet in LIMITED EDITION HARDBOX packaging.
THE AVENGERS SERIES 6 – all 33 episodes on 9 discs
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p high-definition presentation from the original 35mm elements
Collectable double-sided Hardbox packaging – 1500 copies only
NEW! 120-page booklet featuring an essay by television writer / historian Andrew Pixley, and Press/Story Information from the original studio files
Original ‘as broadcast’ mono audio track (LPCM) and “The Avengers in Color” opening slate
NEW! Audio Commentary on “The Forget-Me-Knot” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
NEW! Audio Commentary on the Terry Nation scripted episode “Invasion of the Earthmen” by writer/film critic Kim Newman and screenwriter/author Robert Shearman (2023)
Audio Commentary on “Split!” by writer/producer Brian Clemens and director Roy Ward Waker
NEW! Audio Commentary on “LOOK! (stop me if you’ve heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers…” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
NEW! Never-before-released Video Commentary on “All Done With Mirrors” featuring actress Linda Thorson, director Raymond Austin, composer Howard Blake, producer Brian Clemens recorded on-stage at “THE AVENGERS AT 50” event in 2011
Audio Commentary on “All Done With Mirrors” by actress Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady
Audio Commentary on “Game” by director Robert Fuest
Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by actress Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady
2nd Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by stuntwoman Cyd Child
NEW! 3rd Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
Audio Commentary on “Killer” by guest actress Jennifer Croxton
Audio Commentary on “The Morning After” by director John Hough
Audio Commentary on “Love All” by writer Jeremy Burnham and guest actress Veronica Strong
NEW! Audio Commentary on “Fog” by film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2023)
NEW! Audio Commentary on “Thingumajig” by film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2023)
NEW! Audio Commentary on “Bizarre” by television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland (2023)
Video Introductions to “The Interrogators”, “Love All”, “Take Me To Your Leader”, “Pandora”, “Thingumajig” and “Requiem” by Linda Thorson
Video Introduction to “Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?” by director Cyril Frankel
NEW! Audio Recollection on “Get-A-Way!” by guest actor Peter Bowles
“THE AVENGERS AT 50” – Interviews captured at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the series, held at Chichester University (2011)
Helicopter arrival and Audio Commentary by Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady
NEW! Linda Thorson introduces video message from Patrick Macnee
NEW! “The Impact of The Avengers” – panel discussion with Linda Thorson, Paul O’Grady, director Raymond Austin, actor John Carson and author Alwyn Turner
NEW! “The Music of The Avengers” – Themes from the series (and The New Avengers) performed by the Chichester University Orchestra
Interview with Linda Thorson by Paul O’Grady
“The Two Sides of Tara King” – with Linda Thorson and stuntwoman Cyd Child
Interview with director John Hough
Interview with director Robert Fuest
Interview with composer Howard Blake
Interview with director/stunt co-ordinator Raymond Austin (NEW! Complete unreleased version)
“In the Footsteps of Tara King” – interview with Linda Thorson by Oliver Kalkofe (2010)
“Wish You Were Here” – Locations featurette
“Avenging The Avengers” – featurette on the series (1992) plus additional unused interviews
“Thriller: Lady Killer” – complete episode from the ATV series starring Linda Thorson, written by Brian Clemens (in Standard Definition)
“Return of the Saint: The Roman Touch” – complete episode of the ITC action series guest starring Linda Thorson (in Standard Definition)
Archival Vault Material
“Introducing Linda Thorson” – Vintage Promotional Trailer
“Girl About Town” – Vintage Promotional Short Film about Linda Thorson with optional Audio Commentary by Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady
Artists Screen Tests – vault film of various actresses auditioning to be the new “Avengers Girl” (mute with optional Audio Commentary)
“Invasion of the Earthmen” – Alternative U.S. End Credits
Series 6 Textless Closing Credits with theme music
U.S. ABC Network Commercial Break Bumpers
“Mit Schirm, Charme Und Melone” – German Opening Titles / Closing Credits
“Granada Plus Points” for “The Forget-Me-Knot” featuring Patrick Macnee
Extensive Photo Galleries from the studio archives
Bonus Disc 1: The Avengers – The Early Years
“Hot Snow Act 1” – the only surviving material from the very first episode of Series 1, with optional Audio Commentary by producer Leonard White (in Standard Definition)
“Girl on the Trapeze” – the complete 6th episode from Series 1 (in Standard Definition)
“The Frighteners” – the complete 15th episode from Series 1 (in Standard Definition)
“Bullseye” – the complete 8th episode from Series 2, with optional Audio Commentary by actress Honor Blackman and Paul O’Grady
“Warlock” – the complete 16th episode from Series 2, with optional, NEW!previously unreleased Audio Commentary by Honor Blackman and story editor Richard Bates recorded at “THE AVENGERS AT 50” event in 2011
14 Audio Reconstructions for missing Series 1 episodes
“THE AVENGERS AT 50” – Interview with producers Leonard White and Brian Tessler, actresses Honor Blackman and Julie Stevens (2011)
Bonus Disc 2: Mister Jerico (1970)
1970 crime caper produced by ITC as the pilot to a proposed new Patrick Macnee series, but ultimately aired as a one-off television film, and theatrically exhibited in some territories.
NEW! 1080p high-definition presentation of a 2023, 2K scan from the original camera negative by Imprint, with grading by award-winning colourist Jonathan Wood
NEW! Audio Commentary by television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland (2023)
NEW! Restoration Featurette
Original Theatrical Trailer (previously unreleased)
If something seems too good to be true, it's probably going to turn out to be too good to be true. Amazon Prime's streaming service has offered an exceptional library of new, original series and films as well as a treasure trove of retro movies that can be streamed commercial-free. That will come to an end in early 2024 when "ad-free" streaming will now command an additional monthly fee of $2.99 in the USA for customers who currently pay $14.99 a month. International customers will presumably be charged the approximate amount in local currency. There will be no increase in fees if you're willing to see classic movies interrupted by advertisements. If you're reading Cinema Retro, you're probably as snooty as we are about how we watch the movies we love. However, the truth is that the general public is very undemanding when it comes to movie viewing. That's how American cable TV channels can still find people who will sit through a telecast of censored versions of "Apocalypse Now" or "Jaws" along with many other classics with accompanying ads for everything from cars to hemorrhoid medicine. While it isn't our intention to carry water for Amazon, the increased price still seems reasonable for gaining access to so many films including plenty of titles that are not available on home video. For more, click here.
The
problem with McVicar (1980) as a
biopic is that the part of its subject’s life I most wanted to know about is
covered in a brief caption at the very end. A closing intertitle informs us, if
we didn’t already know, that John McVicar (1940-2022), a career criminal handed
consecutive prison sentences totalling 23 years, eventually left behind his
life of crime to gain a first-class honours degree while still behind bars and
become a successful journalist and author. Indeed, he co-wrote the screenplay,
based on his published memoir. But this fascinating turnabout is not part of
the film’s story, which ends in 1970 after he is put back inside following a
prison break and violent bank robbery.
What
we have instead is a conventional tale of porridge and solitary on the inside,
awkward family life on the outside. Although McVicar is competently played by
The Who front man Roger Daltrey (who co-produced the film and also performs
some songs on the soundtrack), there is little here to suggest that beneath the
hard-man surface lay an articulate intelligence with a sharp understanding of
the social causes of criminality. The script prefers to revel in the aggressive
bravado with which he taunts prison officers, instigates riots, tunnels out of
the shower block and risks re-arrest after escape. McVicar’s attempts to bond
with his young son are sentimental rather than sensitive, all the film’s energy
coming from its criminal elements.
Directed
by Tom Clegg, a specialist in TV crime shows who also made Sweeney 2 (1978), it has a surface authenticity slightly belied by
the high-definition transfer on Fabulous Films’ Region B Blu-ray, which makes
the photography look more glossy than it probably did on first release in
cinemas (where it achieved substantial commercial success, placing twelfth
among UK general releases of 1980). In the scenes set in Durham Prison, the
actors playing the screws try slightly too hard with their Geordie accents (all
‘bonnie lads’ and ‘kiddas’) but this makes for an effective clash with the
mainly cockney prisoners. Cheryl Campbell’s role as McVicar’s wife is
predictably thankless but Adam Faith (another pop star turned capable actor),
Billy Murray, Steven Berkoff and Ian Hendry all fulfil their generic
requirements admirably.
(Photo: Fabulous Films)
The
extras, on what has been dubbed ‘Break-out Edition’, are an informative
making-of, with contributions from the genial Daltrey, co-producer Bill
Curbishley and music composer-arranger Jeff Wayne, and a short interview by
actor Keith Allen (who is not in the film) with the real McVicar, recorded late
in his life. He tells a sad and fascinating tale, more interesting than
anything in the main feature.
(Sheldon Hall is the Copy Editor of Cinema Retro magazine.)
Although I have a weak spot for Italian westerns of the 1960s and 1970s, most can be appropriately evaluated by paraphrasing Longfellow: "When they were good, they were very, very good, and when they were bad, they were horrid." "Blindman" is a curiosity from 1971 that I previously panned after viewing an allegedly "remastered" DVD edition that looked barely better than a VHS transfer. The film fits rather comfortably into the latter part of Longfellow's famous nursery rhyme. Although the movie has a devoted fan base, when I first reviewed it I call it "a pretty horrid experience and inexcusably amateurish in execution, given the well-seasoned people involved". The good news is that Abkco Films has released a truly remastered DVD version that considerably improves one's perception of the film. As the title implies, it's about...well, a blind man. He's played by Tony Anthony, who did rather well for himself as a sort of Clint Eastwood Lite character known as The Stranger in a series of Euro Westerns (Any similarity to Eastwood's Man With No Name must have been purely coincidental). Anthony went on to star in any number of lucrative, low-budget action films, the most notable being "Comin' At Ya!, a 3-D flick that has also built a loyal cult following. His co-star in "Blindman" is Ringo Starr. More about him later. The film was based on a Japanese movie titled "Zatoichi" about a blind samurai hero. As with "The Magnificent Seven", which was based on Kurasawa's "Seven Samurai", the story has been transplanted to the American west. When we first see the Blindman (whose name is never mentioned), he rides into a one-horse town and confronts his former partners. Seems they had a lucrative contract to deliver 50 mail order brides to some horny miners. However, a better offer was made from a Mexican bandito named Domingo (Lloyd Battista), who has exported them South 'O the Border to force them into prostitution. Blindman apparently has a sense of honor in terms of fulfilling the original contract. He manages to kill his former partners and sets off to Mexico to rescue the women, presumably so they can sold into another form of prostitution. At first the premise of this film intrigued me. How, after all, can you logically present a story about a blind gunslinger? The answer is you apparently can't. You could get away with it if the film was a satire, but there is surprisingly little overt humor in "Blindman". Yes, in true Eastwood fashion, the hero sometimes makes some snarky quips before, during and after dispatching his adversaries, but for the most part, the film takes itself far too seriously.
How does the Blindman find his way around? Well, he has his own "wonder horse" who seems more like a companion than a beast of burden. The hoofed hero is always at his disposal and seems to be able to do everything but read a map for him. Speaking of maps, Blindman gets to various destinations by running his finger over maps that engraved in leather...sort of a braille system. Given the fact that he has to navigate the state of Texas, then Mexico, one would think he would require maps the size of rolls of kitchen linoleum, but somehow he gets by with navigational tools that fit neatly into his pocket. When Blindman arrives in Mexico, he has numerous confrontations with the brutal Domingo and his army of thugs. He suffers the ritualistic beatings of any hero in the Italian western genre, but always manages to get the better hand by his deadly use of the rifle that he uses as a walking stick. Somehow the Blindman can use instinct and an uncanny hearing ability to gun down his would-be assassins with uncanny precision, though occasionally he does impose on some allies for advice. He also confronts Candy (Ringo Starr), Domingo's equally sadistic brother, who is keeping a captive woman as his mistress. What follows is a seemingly endless series of chases, confrontations and the obligatory imitation Morricone score, all of it under the pedestrian direction of Ferdinando Baldi, who has a revered reputation with some fans of the genre and does manage to set off some impressive explosions. (Amusingly, the concept of showing the "50" mail order brides must have taxed the limited budget so we only get to see them in small clusters.). There are a couple of sequences that stand out in terms of creativity. One involves the surprise slaughter of a barroom filled with Mexican soldiers. The other has a bit of suspense as the Blindman is served a food bowl that he doesn't realize contains a deadly snake. The finale of the film finds Blindman wrestling with Domingo, who has been blinded by a cigar! (Don't ask...) It's supposed to be a tense confrontation, but the sight of the two blind guys rolling around in the dirt looks like an outtake from a Monty Python sketch. The most intriguing aspect of the film is what led Ringo Starr into appearing in it. He had considerable on-screen charisma that he parlayed into a successful acting career. Here, however, his role is colorless and bland. He doesn't even play the main villain, but rather a supporting character who disappears from the story before the movie even reaches the one-hour mark. Starr supposedly was looking to jump-start his film career and worked with Tony Anthony to develop this production. While he acquits himself credibly, he might have at least given his character some memorable lines or characteristics.
The previously reviewed version of the film pointed out that the packaging had indicated the film had a running time of 105 minutes, which matches with the original timing cited on on the IMDB site. However, the screener we reviewed ran only 83 minutes and it looked like it had been edited with a meat cleaver. The ABCKO version is the actual 105 minute cut and the transfer is excellent, a vast improvement over the muddy mess we had previously reviewed. Seeing "Blindman" again under these conditions has allowed me to reevaluate my opinion of the film. While it certainly never rises to the standards of a Sergio Leone production, the movie's quirky premise and the amusing performance by Tony Anthony made the experience far more enjoyable the second time around.
In the wake of their success co-starring in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, Warner
Brothers realized they had captured lightning in a bottle with the
teaming of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. The studio quickly paired
the two character actors again in the Bogart films Casablanca and Passage to Marseilles. In 1944, Warners decided to give Greenstreet and Lorre what amounted to starring roles in the thriller The Mask of Dimitrios, based
on the Eric Ambler novel and set in pre-WWII Europe. (Lorre received
fourth billing in the film behind Greenstreet, Zachary Scott and Faye
Emerson, but in terms of screen time, he is the star of the movie.)
Lorre plays Cornelius Leyden, a mild mannered crime novelist who is
visiting Istanbul, where he becomes intrigued by the murder of a man
named Dimitrios, who was a local legend in terms of his criminal
activities. Dimitrios's body has washed ashore, as shows evidence that
he has been stabbed to death. Sensing a good story in the murder, Leyden
pursues the man's background and finds out he was known throughout
Europe for his audacious crimes. Leyden decides to track down those who
interacted with Dimitrios, including jilted partner and abandoned
girlfriends. All agree that he was a charismatic cad who worked his way
up from petty crimes in Istanbul to being an integral part of Europe's
pre-war espionage activities. Leyden is followed in his footsteps by
Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), an affable man of mystery who is also
obsessed with tracking down Dimitrios's acquaintances and activities
leading up to the man's death. After a rocky introduction at the point
of Peters' gun, the two men forge an alliance and travel through Turkey,
Yuguoslavia and finally Paris in their quest. Along the way, they
determine that Dimitrios is very much alive and well, having used
another man's murder as an opportunity to fake his own death. Peters is
determined to use that information to blackmail Dimitrios and thus
ensure acquiring enough money to afford a comfortable retirement.
Much of the story is told in flashbacks as various individuals relate
their experiences with Dimitrios to Leyden and Peters. As played by
Zachary Scott, Dimitrios lives up to his legend as handsome womanizer
and persuasive businessman, though each of his friends and partners ends
up being abruptly jilted in some manner, as Dimitrios moves on to his
next scam. (Jack Warner had high hopes for Scott becoming the studio's
next great leading man, but his interest in promoting Scott seemed to
wane and the actor never really acquired the stardom that his role in
this film would seem to have assured.) Leyden and Peters also meet
Irana, an entertainer in a squalid Istanbul cafe, who relates how
Dimitrios became her lover and ensured that her fortunes improved.
However, when she loaned him her savings, he abandoned her, never to be
heard from again. Although nursing a broken heart and bearing resentment
for the man on one level, she admits she still carries a torch and his
abandonment of her left her in a depressed state of mind that still
continues. (Apparently, once you've experienced Dimitrios, no other man
comes to close as a lover.) As Leyden and Peters close in on their prey,
the stakes become higher - and they realize their lives are very much
at risk.
The Mask of Dimitrios, ably directed by Jean Negulesco, is a joy to watch. It doesn't have the artistic pretensions of The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, but
it is a thoroughly entertaining movie. Lorre and Greenstreet's "Mutt
and Jeff" act continues to present them as essentially the same
character in film after film, but that doesn't in any way compromise the
delight of watching these two eccentric actors at the peak of their
careers. The supporting performances are also equally delightful and the
film bares all the rich artistic hallmarks of a WB release from the
era.
The Warner Archive has released the film on DVD. The
transfer is excellent. An original trailer is included that features
specially-filmed footage of Greenstreet and Lorre addressing the
audience. The DVD is region free but it's time for a Blu-ray release!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount:
Hailed as “the biggest and best action movie of the year” (Screen Rant), the edge-of-your-seat, non-stop thrill ride MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One
becomes available to buy on Digital for fans to watch at home starting
October 10, 2023. The blockbuster hit will debut on 4K Ultra HD
SteelBook™, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, and DVD on October 31st.
“Tom
Cruise is at the top of his game” in “the best ‘Mission’ ever”
(KTLA-TV) that’s loaded with “next level action and thrills”
(Entertainment Weekly). Certified Fresh with a stellar 96% critic score* on Rotten Tomatoes,® MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One received widespread acclaim and a coveted “A” CinemaScore from fans.
Fans
who purchase the film on Digital can go deeper into the mission with
extensive, action-packed bonus content. Get an inside look at how Tom
Cruise and the filmmaking team pulled off multiple breathtaking stunts,
go behind-the-scenes of the exotic filming locations, delve into
spectacular footage not seen in theatres, learn about the intricacies of
the filmmaking process with director Christopher McQuarrie and editor
Eddie Hamilton, and more! Bonus content is detailed below:
Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton—McQuarrie and Hamilton take viewers through each compelling scene with in-depth commentary.
Abu Dhabi—Explore
the exotic filming locations in the desert and at the international
airport and discover how each thrilling sequence was shot.
Rome—Take
a behind-the-scenes look at the thrilling car chase through Italy's
historic capital, as Tom Cruise's driving skills are pushed to the limit
while handcuffed to Hayley Atwell!
Venice—See
the breathtaking city of Venice as it's never been shown on film.
Plus, witness the cast's dedication and commitment to their training as
they prepare to get "Mission Ready."
Freefall—An
extended behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest stunts in cinema
history. Watch never-before-seen footage of the rigorous training as
Tom launches a motorcycle off a cliff.
Speed Flying—Join
Tom and the crew as they explain the various training techniques
involved in pulling off the dangerous speed flying stunts in the film.
Train—See
how the climactic train sequence was captured on film. From building
an actual train from scratch to crashing it using practical effects, you
don't want to miss this!
Deleted Shots Montage—Director
Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton share some of the
breathtaking, never-before-seen footage that didn't make the final film.
Editorial Featurette: The Sevastopol—Director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton take viewers through the intense opening scene.
(Photo: Paramount)
Synopsis
Ethan
Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous
mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of
humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the
world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a
mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing
can matter more than his mission - not even the lives of those he cares
about most.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material.
PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present
A TOM CRUISE Production TOM CRUISE “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART ONE”
HAYLEY ATWELL VING RHAMES SIMON PEGG REBECCA FERGUSON VANESSA KIRBY
and HENRY CZERNY Casting by MINDY MARIN, CSA
Music by LORNE BALFE Costume Designer JILL TAYLOR Film Editor EDDIE HAMILTON, ACE
Production Designer GARY FREEMAN Director of Photography FRASER TAGGART
Executive Producers DAVID ELLISON DANA GOLDBERG DON GRANGER
TOMMY GORMLEY CHRIS BROCK SUSAN E. NOVICK
Produced by TOM CRUISE CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE
Based on the Television Series Created by BRUCE GELLER
When Lillian Helllman's "Toys in the Attic" debuted on Broadway in 1960, it was not unanimously acclaimed but it did win enough acclaim to secure major Tony nominations and enjoy a healthy run that lasted over one year. The show was an important career boost for up-and-coming Jason Robards, who played the male lead. In 1963, United Artists brought the play to the screen, directed by future Oscar winner George Roy Hill. It was Hill's second major film following "Period of Adjustment" the year before. In the 1950s and early 1960s, studios were enamored of moss-dripping family dramas set in the deep South. That's because this sub-genre often derived from the works of acclaimed authors such as Hellman, Tennessee Williams and William Inge. Some memorable films resulted: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Baby Doll and The Long Hot Summer among them. Although these stories diverge in terms of plot, there is a commonality: they generally deal with an emotionally-wrought woman or women who are devoted to a manipulative and generally charismatic cad."Toys in the Attic" is firmly entrenched in this scenario. Dean Martin plays Julian Berniers, a ne're-do-well hunky young man who returns to his family home in New Orleans with his new bride, Lily (Yvette Mimieaux). The house is occupied by Julian's two spinster sisters, Carrie (Geraldine Page) and Anna (Wendy Hiller), both of whom live in self-imposed isolation, largely removed from the outside world. Julian's reputation as a man with big dreams and small results precedes him. He has lost a valuable factory and is presumed in bankruptcy. However, he appears in a jubilant mood bearing expensive gifts for his bewildered sisters. Carrie is especially overjoyed to see him, having harbored incestuous feelings for Julian for many years. She takes an instant dislike to the affable but naive Lily, largely due to personal jealousy. Julian is loaded with cash after concluding a mysterious $150,000 business deal that he won't reveal the details of. He assures his sisters that their days of financial challenges are over and even books them on a European cruise. However, there are consequential aspects to the secrets that Julian keeps and as they are eventually unwoven, a web of lies, deceit and betrayal are unveiled with devastating consequences for all.
"Toys in the Attic" probably works better as a stage production. Director George Roy Hill, confined by a modest budget, doesn't try to "open up" the tale, as there are very few exterior shots in the film. In some cases, this proves to be a wise choice when transferring a stage production to the screen, as evidenced by "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". However, "Toys in the Attic" simply looks like a cheapo production despite the impressive cast. Dean Martin registers well in the role of Julian, a serial exaggerator and braggart who is finally trying to elevate himself from being known as a loser. Martin had already established himself as a serious actor in the wake of his breakup with Jerry Lewis, giving powerful performances in "The Young Lions" and "Some Came Running". Nevertheless, critics were rather cruel to him in regard to his casting in this film, but no one emerged unscathed except for Wendy Hiller, who is the only cast member whose performance is somewhat understated. Mimieux radiates wide-eyed innocence as Julian's child-like bride, but her whining and dependency grow weary to view. Coming off worst is Geraldine Page, who director Hill encourages to play her character in an over-the-top manner that comes close to Piper Laurie's lunatic mother in "Carrie". Gene Tierney makes a brief appearance as Lily's rich-but-shallow mother who Lily suspects of having paid Julien to marry her. There's also an interracial romance hinted at between Tierney's character and her Black servant, played by Frank Silvera. Apparently, this relationship was watered down from the stage production version. James Poe's screenplay is a muddled affair filled with some many eccentric characters concerned about so many scandals that the story becomes difficult to follow. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote "With an eye for more melodramatics than for contours of character that might make plausible its story of two spinster sisters' odd devotion to their brother, Mr. Hill has allowed this turgid drama and his avid actors to get completely out of hand and run wild in a baffling confusion of theatrical bursts and attitudes." Other critics followed suit and the movie was a financial failure that seemed to diffuse Hollywood's belief that films about Southern scandal-scarred families meant good results at the boxoffice. Fortunately, all involved would move on to more impressive work.
"Toys in the Attic" is available on DVD through MGM.There are no bonus extras. Click here to order DVD from Amazon.
Australian-based video label Imprint is release the complete TV series of "Mission: Impossible" in a Blu-ray boxed set in October. The set is region-free and contains 46 discs. It is now available for pre-order.
(Prices are in Australian dollars. Use a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.)
"BLAST FROM THE PAST: FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES"
By Lee Pfeiffer
"Saturday Night Live" spawned many a memorable comic character, some of whom were exploited in feature films. While "The Coneheads" proved to be popular on the big screen, other TV-to-cinema transfers of iconic "SNL" pop culture figures proved to be duds. Al Franken's memorable incarnation of Stuart Smalley was the subject of "Stuart Saves His Family", a 1995 production directed by Harold Ramis that received some surprisingly favorable reviews but ended up with a North American boxoffice gross of less than $1 million. That ranks as a major success compared to "It's Pat: The Movie", released the prior year and starring Julia Sweeney as the androgynous character that proved to be a popular staple of "SNL" during this period. Pat was a visually unattractive figure with an obnoxious manner of speaking that repulsed his/her coworkers, who were constantly striving to discover whether Pat was a male or female. Inevitably, Pat would provide unintentionally ambiguous answers to leading questions that would only heighten the mystery and thwart those who were seeking to unveil Pat's genetic makeup. As the subject of five-minute comedy sketches the concept worked great and Sweeney's Pat became a popular staple of the show. Then Hollywood came knocking. Fox approached Sweeney to turn the concept into a feature film. Sweeney admitted she couldn't envision how Pat could remain interesting to viewers in any format other than TV skits. After putting some development money into the film, Fox agreed and backed off only to have Disney's Touchstone Pictures ride to the rescue and give the production the green light. The result was a disaster. The film was given some sporadic openings only to be pulled within a week due to complete rejection by audiences. The movie's boxoffice gross in North America stands at $61,000. Although modestly-budgeted, the movie still had cost more than $10 million to make. Time has not been kind to dear Pat, as it boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%. Now those brave souls at Kino Lorber have released a Blu-ray of "Pat: The Movie" and, consequently, it's time to revisit the film.
The plot (such as it is) opens with Pat alienating everyone in his/her orbit with obnoxious behavior. A local store owner gives Pat items for free just to expedite his/her departure. Pat tries various career moves but inevitably loses every job due to ineptness. Just when things seem hopeless, Pat finds love with Chris (Dave Foley in a role originated by Dana Carvey on "SNL"), another androgynous individual. The two set up house together and live as a normal couple, though both seem blissfully unaware that their sexuality is a mystery to those around them. Are they a straight couple? A gay couple? Two men? Two women? A subplot is introduced in which a hunky new neighbor, Kyle (Charles Rocket) and his wife Stacy (Julie Hayden) find their lives disrupted by Kyle's increasing obsession with Pat. He is sexually attracted to him/her, much to the alarm of Stacy, and that attraction turns into a psychological mania that finds Kyle dressing like Pat and even stroking a doll that resembles him/her. Meanwhile, the hapless Pat blunders into some successful career steps by making an appearance with a rock band that leads to him/ her becoming a media sensation. When he/she drops by a radio station to visit a friend, Kathy (Kathy Griffin), who hosts a popular romantic advice show, Pat unintentionally upstages her and gets the hosting gig. Pat's success has alienated Chris, who breaks up the relationship and decides to move abroad. The finale finds Pat coming to grips with his/her faults and making a mad dash to a cruise ship line to prevent Chris from leaving the country.
The animosity extended to "Pat: The Movie", which was directed by
Adam Bernstein, is a bit difficult to understand. It isn't very good, to
be sure, but it's amusing at times and never veers into the overtly
offensive gross-out humor that characterizes many of today's comedies.
One of the main problems with the film is that there are no sympathetic
characters. I don't recall Pat being an overt narcissist on the "SNL"
sketches but here the character is mean-spirited, self-centered and
devoid of any likable behavior. Kyle is even more repulsive and barely
looks up when his wife leaves him. Now this is an absurdist comedy, to
be sure, but the best comedies allow the audience to relate to the
protagonists on some level. Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey played klutzes
but they were klutzes you could cheer for. Not so with Sweeney's Pat.
Additionally, Sweeney's fears that the one-note concept could not be
sustained over the course of a feature film proved correct. Even with
the running time of 77 minutes, the movie plods. Still, there are some
genuine laughs, most of them centered on the traditional gag of those
around Pat becoming increasingly frustrated by their failure to
determine his/her sex. When Pat and Chris are presented with a gift of a
sexy corset, they both smile wryly and say "We'll enjoy this!"
There is also some genuine amusement in Pat's physical appearance, a
kind of grotesque version of Jerry Lewis's Prof. Kelp from "The Nutty
Professor". But the laughs are too few even for the abbreviated running
time. There also some annoyances that are due to simple sloppiness: when
Pat tries to escape a pursuer, she randomly enters a building only to
find the place is a night club hosting a packed, on-going, ear-splitting
rock concert taking place apparently in the middle of the afternoon. Such absurdities leave one to think that the film was slapped together quickly in order to make a fast buck.
Julia Sweeney tragically faced more challenges than the complete
failure of "It's Pat" with critics and the public. Around the time of
the film's release, her brother was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
After caring for him, she was diagnosed with cancer. Sweeney beat the
disease and made lemonade from the lemons life had handed her when she
wrote and starred in her acclaimed one-woman play, "God Said Hah!" which
chronicled her personal trials and tribulations through a comedic lens.
(The play would later be the basis for a documentary.) Her co-star
Charles Rocket fared worse, committing suicide in 2005. However, most of
those associated with the debacle of "It's Pat" found their careers
survived. Director Adam Bernstein went on to a highly successful career
in television. Dave Foley continues to work steadily in TV and films and
Kathy Griffin emerged as a popular standup comedienne and pundit on CNN
until her increasingly foul-mouthed rants backfired, topped by sending
around an image on social media depicting her holding the bloody,
severed head of President Trump. That stunt achieved the distinction of
being denounced by even the president's most ardent critics and Griffin
lost her CNN gig.
"It's Pat" opened and closed before the age of E mail and social
media had taken the world by storm. It's failure today would have been
the stuff of snarky jokes and cynical criticisms of all those involved.
However, because the film wasn't highly anticipated, it's failure
occurred without much notice or damage to anyone's personal reputation.
There's plenty of laughs left in dear Pat but they can mostly be found
in the original "SNL" skits. Ironically, with transgender issues now the topic of current debates, the film might have found a more receptive audience today.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray has an impressive transfer, a teaser trailer
for the film and a gallery of other comedies available through the
company.
Following the enormous success of his variety show, NBC signed Dean Martin to a new series: celebrity roasts. These became "must-see" telecasts for millions of American viewers. The format was clearly based on the famed Friars Club roasts, minus the expletives. The "honoree" is subjected to a barrage of insults from friends and colleagues in front of a live audience. This telecast, provided by Shout! Factory, illustrates the last hurrah of the golden age of comedy with a dais consisting of the likes of Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Ginger Rogers, Foster Brooks, Henry Fonda, Totie Fields, Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller Rowan and Martin, Nipsey Russell, Don Rickles and Lucy's long-time friends and co-stars Gale Gordon and Vivian Vance. After being roasted mercilessly, Lucy exacts her "revenge" on those who took potshots at her. The show harkens back to a time when people were more open to laughing at themselves. Much of the humor would be considered to be politically incorrect today, and younger viewers would undoubtedly be appalled. But those who grew up in a different era may find it very amusing, as race, age, weight, physical appearance and drinking habits are all fair game because everyone knew it was all in fun.- Lee Pfeiffer
"A Twist of Sand" is a 1968 production currently streaming on Amazon Prime. You can be forgiven if you are not familiar with the film, as it was one of many made in this era that was not intended to be a blockbuster or win awards. It was made on a modest budget with the expectation of making a modest profit. The plot is the same time-worn scenario that had been seen in countless films: a group of misfits band together on a dangerous quest for gold. Even by 1968, the concept had enough moss on it to make penicillin but there is a reason the concept has repeatedly been recycled: it works. There is always dramatic tension among the participants and this particular tale is no exception.
The film opens with gunrunner Geoffrey Peace (Richard Johnson) and his partner and first mate David Garland (Roy Dotrice) smuggling a large batch of valuable rifles through the straits of Malta. They are intercepted by a British patrol boat and forced to dump the weapons into the sea to avoid arrest and prosecution. The ploy works but they are now destitute with their boat as their only asset. Along comes Harry Riker (Jeremy Kemp), a German fortune hunter who is accompanied by Johann (Peter Vaughan), a hulking, largely mute henchman. Riker spins a tale about having information that might lead them to a cache of priceless diamonds that is buried in an old shipwreck from hundreds of years ago. The shifting of the sands has now placed the vessel somewhere in the middle of the desert off the Skeleton Coast in South West Africa. Peace has an immediate dislike for the men but is desperate enough to agree to the expedition- and they are accompanied by Julie Chambois (Honor Blackman), whose late husband was a prospector who claimed to have unearthed and hidden the diamonds, revealing to her the exact location on the wreck. Adding to the drama is a sub-plot that reveals in flashback that Peace had been commanding a British submarine off the Skeleton Coast during WWII. A German U-Boat was disabled in a firefight and the crew was slaughtered by an errant member of Peace's submarine command who wielded a machine gun to kill all but one man, Johann, who has sworn to somehow take vengeance on the British sub commander. This rather contrived plot point is intended to add tension to the story but we all know that simply by introducing it, Johann will ultimately discover the truth and square off against Peace.
The disparate group of fortune hunters navigate through the treacherous waters off the Skelton Coast and director Don Chaffey manages to ring some momentary tension out of these scenes. I kept waiting for the cliched scenario that inevitably arises in any of these desert adventure films in which a lone attractive woman causes sexual tension among her male companions. However, screenwriter Marvin H. Albert keeps the characters rather disappointingly chaste. There's more lust to be found in an old Tarzan film than there is here. The movie improves when the motley group lands on the African coast and discovers the wreck of the ancient ship they are looking for now firmly settled into the desert sands. These are the movie's best scenes as the men desperately dig inside the wreck, facing death from being buried by sand or struck by a falling timber. The production design by John Stoller is especially impressive. Naturally, this part of a treasure hunter adventure is always when the double-crosses are introduced and this is no exception.
The script never directly divulges what year the story is taking place in, thus the viewer would be forgiven for thinking it was in contemporary times. I wondered how we were to believe that the characters would not have aged at all over a period of about 25 years. However, late in the film there is a reference to the fact that it is six years after the war, which would place the timetable sometime in the early 1950s. The rights to the novel "A Twist of Sand" by Geoffrey Jenkins had originally been obtained by Nunnally Johnson, who intended to write the script for a production starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr but for some reason the production never materialized. Instead, the film would eventually be made as this "B" movie production. Director Don Chaffey does a decent job, considering the budget constraints and he has a good cast. Richard Johnson plays against type as a grumpy and humorless protagonist. In real life, Johnson was one of the most humorous and charismatic people this writer has ever known. Jeremy Kemp steals his scenes as his scheming partner. Honor Blackman has very little to do and was obviously cast simply to add a bit of sex appeal.
"A Twist of Sand" is the kind of movie from this era that a I have a soft spot for. These films were competently made and entertaining, if rather forgettable. To my knowledge, the film has never been released on video in the USA, so its presence on Amazon Prime is especially appreciated.
The next four Carry On Films come to Blu-ray in one Limited Edition Box, with an exclusive 112 page booklet featuring reproductions of the original pressbooks for the first twelve films.
Includes the worldwide Blu-ray premiere for Carry On Spying!
Carry On Spying (1964)
Worldwide first on Blu-ray! Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes
her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless
agent Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bind, aided and abetted by the comely
Agent Honeybutt and Agent Crump, battle against the evil powers of
international bad guys STENCH and their three cronies.
Carry On Cleo (1964)
Two Brits—inventor Hengist Pod, and Horse, a brave and cunning
fighter—are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome.
One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a
fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Cleopatra.
Carry On Cowboy (1965)
Stodge City is in the grip of the Rumpo Kid and his gang. Mistaken
identity again takes a hand as a ‘sanitary engineer’ named Marshal P.
Knutt is mistaken for a law marshal. Being the conscientious sort,
Marshal tries to help the town get rid of Rumpo, and a showdown is
inevitable. Marshal has two aids—revenge-seeking Annie Oakley and his
sanitary expertise.
Carry On Screaming! (1966)
The sinister Dr Watt has an evil scheme going. He’s kidnapping
beautiful young women and turning them into mannequins to sell to local
stores. Fortunately for Dr Watt, Detective-Sergeant Bung is on the case,
and he doesn’t have a clue! In this send up of the Hammer Horror
movies, there are send-ups of all the horror greats from Frankenstein to
Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde.
Special Features:
Limited Edition 112-page booklet containing reproductions of the original pressbooks of the first 12 films (1000 copies)
Carry on Spying Audio Commentary by Bernard Cribbins and Dilys Laye
Carry on Cleo Audio Commentary by Amanda Barrie and Julie Stevens
Carry on Cowboy Audio Commentary by Angela Douglas
Carry on Screaming Audio Commentary by Angela Douglas and Fenella Fielding
Carry on Spying Textless Titles
Theatrical Trailers
Photo Galleries
Imprint limited editions tend to sell out quickly. Click here to PRE-ORDER. (Prices are in Australian dollars. Use a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.) The Blu-ray set is Region-Free.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Fabulous Films regarding the Region 2 Blu-ray and DVD releases of "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", which are being released on 28 August.
One of Woody Allen’s best-loved films, Hannah and Her Sisters, won
three richly deserved Oscars and is considered a joy from start to
perfectly-judged finish.
The films ensemble
cast includes Max von Sydow, Carrie Fisher, Sir Michael Caine, Diane Wiest, Lloyd
Nolan (who died 4 months before the film's release), Mia Farrow and Daniel
Stern. Caine won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role while Wiest won
Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Allen won Best Screenplay (beating Crocodile
Dundee, My Beautiful Laundrette, Platoon and Salvador). Max von
Sydow and Barbara Hershey received a standing ovation from the crew after they
finished filming their characters' break-up scene.
The film has some
great one-liners, with a philosophical discussion about the nature of good and
evil getting shot down with “How should I know why there were Nazi’s, I don’t
even know how the can opener works”
Synopsis: Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful
actress. She’s also the emotional backbone of the family, and her sisters Lee
(Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) depend on this stability while also
resenting it because they can’t help but compare Hannah’s seemingly perfect
life with theirs. But with her husband Elliott (Michael Caine) becoming
increasingly interested in Lee, it’s clear that Hannah might have problems of
her own.
Cast: Woody Allen, Michael
Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen
O’Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Richard Jenkins, Fred
Melamed, Lewis Black, Joanna Gleason, John Turturro, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and
Dianne Wiest.
“One of (Woody)
Allen’s most enduring accomplishments” - BoxOffice
Nominated for two
Academy-Awards® Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of
modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously
photographed in black and white (Allen’s first film in that format) and
accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score which includes Rhapsody in Blue.
Released in 1979. Manhattan
won Best Film and Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs. Mariel Hemingway aged 16
years old earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards
for her performance. Woody Allen and Marshall Brinkman were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2001, the United States Library
of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Synopsis: Forty-two-year-old
Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old
girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), whom he doesn’t love, and a lesbian
ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who’s writing a tell-all book about their
marriage...and whom he’d like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend’s
sexy intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in
lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginnings
of Isaac’s quest for romance and fulfilment . In a city where sex is as
intimate as a handshake - and the gateway to true love...is a revolving door.
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane
Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne.
If we are to use history as a guide – as we should – Earl
Derr Biggers’ creation of Charlie Chan marked the first occasion of a fictional
Asian detective (Chinese-American to
be precise) to be received warmly by not only a U.S. audience but by filmgoers
worldwide. Biggers had published no
fewer than six Chan mystery novels in the years 1925-1932. The author may have even continued the series
had he not died young, age 48, in the spring of 1933. Though there had been preceding Chan film
adaptations – the first being a 1926 serial - it wasn’t until Swede Warner
Oland’s assumption of the role in 1931 that the character became an iconic
totem of detective cinema.
Though Oland had a clear lock on the public’s perception
of the inscrutable, unflappable Asian detective, the literary Chan was now moribund. Sensing a vacuum, yet another American author, John P. Marquand, would
create the friendly (and obviously pre-war) Japanese spy Mr. Moto. The missions of that character were first
serialized in issues of the Saturday
Evening Post (1935-1938), those stories soon turned into novels by Boston’s
Little Brown & Co. Following Daryl
F. Zanuck’s licensing of character rights for 2oth Century Fox in July of 1936,
the studio issued no fewer than eight Mr. Moto mystery films (featuring Peter
Lorre) in the years 1937-1939.
Whether it was Lorre who chose not to renew his Fox
contract, or whether Fox decided the series had simply played out or whether it
was the actions of an increasingly belligerent and aggressive Japan (who would formally
align with the Axis Powers in September of 1940), Mr. Moto’s final pre-WWII
film adventure, ironically titled Mr.
Moto Takes a Vacation, was released in summer of 1939. Whatever the reason, it was the success of
the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto series that allowed Colliers magazine to coattail introduce Hugh Wiley’s Chinese-American
James Lee Wong series of detective stories in 1934.
In September of 1938 a California newspaper reported that
author Wiley had “just sold four of his detective stories, centering about the
character of James Lee Wong, to Monogram Pictures.” The proposed film series was purportedly to
feature Boris Karloff – just off production of Son of Frankenstein (Universal) – as the film’s title character. Technically, this character licensing report was
old news. In February of 1938, there
were already reports that Monogram’s Scott Dunlap was looking for the right actor
to cast as Mr. Wong. There was one sensible
suggestion that the studio was hoping to find a “Keye Luke” type. Luke was now approachable as Oland’s incarnate
of Charlie Chan had recently come to an abrupt, sad end. When Oland passed in August of 1938, Luke was
passed over for consideration as a successor. The part ignobly went to Sidney Toler, yet another actor of European
ancestry.
Keye Luke was already a familiar figure to cinemagoers –
he popularly played the “Number One Son” to Oland’s Chan in a number of films
in that popular series. Luke chose to
exit the Chan franchise following Oland’s passing: but while now available to
Monogram he was not considered a guaranteed box office draw. The Los Angeles Daily News reported on April 14, 1938 that, following negotiations
on a long-distance phone call, Dunlap had secured the promise of Boris Karloff,
age 50, to star in the proposed series. Shortly following that news, snippy Hollywood
gossiper Louella Parsons sniffed that Karloff was exhibiting more than a bit of
courage should he expect to “muscle in on the territory so triumphantly held by
Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto.”
On April 26, 1938, Variety
reported that the Monogram president had been “conferring” with producer Scott
R. Dunlap, looking to rush into production for the “1938-1939 releasing season”
four new feature films, one of which was Mr.
Wong, Detective. On 10 May Variety reported that Richard Weil, “the
author of the Charlie Chan radio adventures” had been tasked to write the
screenplay for the film. But whether due
to a “conflict of interest” concern or simply a scheduling issue, Weil soon fell
out and scripting duties went to Houston Branch, a Monogram dependable. In any
event, it wasn’t until late August of 1938 that the trades announced that Monogram’s
Mr. Wong film - suggested as the “first of four whodunits” all to star Boris
Karloff - was to go into production in a week’s time. Industry trade Box Office made further note that the four Wong serial mysteries
slated for production were Mr. Wong,
Detective, Mr. Wong at Headquarters,
Mr. Wong in Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wong.
There would be no shortage of Asian detective melodramas
in 1938. Monogram’s Mr. Wong was to
compete directly against 20th Century Fox’s Mr. Moto series and the
Chan films still touring the regional circuit. And all three would feature
non-Asian actors as the title characters. Karloff, of course, was no stranger to accepting East-Asian roles,
having already appeared in such films as The
Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and, more recently, West of Shanghai (1937). On
June 20th, the Los Angeles
Evening Citizen News offered while a complete script had not yet been turned
in, cameras were set to roll on Mr. Wong,
Detective in three weeks’ time. That
deadline was apparently missed, as the first day of shooting on Mr. Wong, Detective would not start
until late August (the 25th according to one contemporary newspaper
accounting, the 24th according to this film’s audio commentary).
We do know that on 3 September 1938, a journalist visited
Monogram’s Mr. Wong set. The writer had
chosen to sit through a portion of Karloff’s grueling three-and-a-half hour
session in the makeup chair of Gordon Bau. Karloff was no stranger to make-up applications, but admitted to the
reporter that such wearying sessions weren’t the favorite part of his day. “It’s lovely to get up and go to the studio
at 6:00 A.M., stretch out in a barber chair and have somebody with hobnailed
boots crawl in and out of your eyes.” Bau defensively parried that such applications were necessary evils,
admitting his work on applying rubber cement near Karloff’s eyes to create
epicurean folds proved the most challenging part of the actor’s physical transformation.
Karloff agreed the eye make-up applications were the most
wearying to endure. “By the time you get
done,” Karloff sighed, “my eyeballs are pressed, my vision is off focus and I
walk around all day in a haze.” Turning
his attention to the visiting journalist, Karloff sniggered, “And when finally
he gets through with me, he’s proud of what he’s done. He thinks it is a work of art.” For the most part, Karloff’s reimaging is
surprisingly subtle: a slick of pressed black hair, a slim moustache and
thickened eyebrows, slight eye folds often disguised behind a set of reading
glasses.
If Bau’s reasonably understated make-up appliance was a
work of art, critics were divided on whether or not Mr. Wong, Detective was. The
story itself concerns a cabal of spies working in interest of an unnamed
foreign power and trying to steal a poison gas formula for nefarious ends. The first of Monogram’s Mr. Wong pictures,
shot in a mere few weeks’ time, was set for October 5, 1938 release – a mere
month following Karloff’s session in Bau’s make-up chair.
Upon the film’s release Variety couldn’t help but comment on the film’s rushed, bargain
basement appearance, citing the production as ranging at best from “standard to
skimpy.” The Variety critic blamed director William Nigh and scripter Houston
Branch for the film’s shortfalls: “First
picture suffers from directorial and writing troubles, plus a combination of
careless acting and haphazard casting,” the reviewer sighed. Despite such criticism, it was noted that
Karloff did the best with the lackluster material given. Fighting “vigorously”
against the odds, the scribe conceded that Karloff had at the very least proven
his utility as an actor: his presence was enough to prove he needn’t have to
affix “grotesque makeup to register.”
Other reviews were kinder. London’s Picturegoer
was less critical of the picture, describing Karloff’s Mr. Wong as “a serious
rival to Charlie Chan.” But exhibitors were
more cautious, split in their opinion of the film’s merit: when one described Mr. Wong Detective, “Worthy of a top
spot on a double,” a second complained, “Where does Monogram get the idea this
is good? Awful – slowest moving thing I
have seen in years.”
Slow or not, by late January of 1939, Monogram was
already into production of the second of the series, The Mystery of Mr. Wong. W.T. Lackey took over producing duties
from Scott Dunlap, and scripter Branch was relieved of scenario duties,
screenwriting credit given to W. Scott Darling. Darling had been the screenwriter of Charlie
Chan at the Opera (1936) which, interestingly, pitted Oland’s detective
against a villainous Boris Karloff.
This second Wong was more of a pedestrian and routine parlor
murder mystery, one concerning the theft of a rare and expensive sapphire. By
March of 1939, The Mystery of Mr. Wong
was already reported as being in the “cutting room.” The film would be released in April of
1939. Though this second entry of the
series fared a wee better than its
predecessor in critical analysis, this sophomore effort too was faulted for its
“lack of action,” the weaving of too many obvious red herrings into the script,
and an appreciable number of wooden performances by the cast.
The lukewarm reviews were of little consequence. That
same April, it was announced that scripter Darling was to return and write the
series’ third entry, Mr. Wong in
Chinatown (aka Mr. Wong’s Chinatown
Squad). At Monogram’s sales convention at Chicago’s Drake Hotel in spring
of 1939, it was evident - despite the lackluster reviews - that studio bosses
were pleased with the box office takes of the first two Wong serials. They promised four more titles were already
in the pipeline: Mr. Wong Vanishes, Mr. Wong in Havana, Mr. Wong’s Chinatown Squad and Mr.
Wong in New York.
By June of 1939 Mr.
Wong in Chinatown was already well in production, screenwriter Darling
reported mid-month to have already begun scripting duties on what would be the
fourth of the series, Mr. Wong at
Headquarters. The scenario for Mr. Wong in Chinatown concerns his
investigation into the murder of a royal princess who had been visiting the
United States on a mission to purchase airplanes for defense of her country
against a hostile nation-state.
When Mr. Wong in
Chinatown was previewed in July of 1939, the reviews remained consistent
with the first two, tagging the film a “slow whodunit.” Though the picture was lacking
in any appreciable action, there was a concession that enough, “color and
mystery [was] attached to the proceedings to attract fair trade” – well, if
exploited properly. One exhibitor agreed,
reporting good box office receipts and anointing Mr. Wong in Chinatown, the “Best of the Wong series” to date.
The blandly titled Mr.
Wong at Headquarters went into production in November of 1939, and was already
in the cutting room by December’s end. By January of 1940 the film’s working title
was officially changed to the more mysterious and exotic The Fatal Hour and scheduled for a January 15, 1940 release. This time Wong is called to investigate the waterfront
murder of a fellow detective, the scenario intertwined with a bit of a
smuggling subplot. New York’s Daily News thought it a not particularly
“absorbing of murder mysteries, although it is filled with enough complications
to make a Philadelphia lawyer’s head spin.”
In late January of 1940, the Los Angeles Times reported, erroneously, that a fifth Mr. Wong
serial - tentatively titled Chamber of
Horrors – was in the works, Dorothy Reid cited as readying a script. Some months later the trades reported, far more
reliably, that William Nigh was, for a fifth time, signed to direct a Mr. Wong
mystery. Though Reid would not be
associated with this final Karloff Mr. Wong effort, there was no reason to
disbelieve the Times initial report: Reid had served as a producer and writer at
Monogram and had previously collaborated with Nigh on such productions as A Bride for Henry (1937) and Rose of the Rio Grande (1938). There was in fact a Monogram horror flick
titled Chamber of Horrors produced in
1940, but this was a Norman Lee film, based on the creaky Edgar Wallace novel of
1926, The Door with Seven Locks. Neither Reid nor Nigh was publically
connected to that film’s production.
When the final Karloff Wong film, Doomed to Die (aka Mystery of
the Wentworth Castle from a script penned by series’ newcomer Ralph G.
Bettinson), played Manhattan’s Rialto Theatre, the Hollywood Reporter caustically reported the picture was, if nothing
else, “aptly named for it died within a few days” of its showcase. The Baltimore
Sun coldly piled on with a bad notice of its own: “The direction, writing
and acting are slipshod beyond the limit of that large tolerance accorded this
extravert type of drama.” Still more
harsh criticism of the picture lie ahead. “Charlie Chan would shake with professional pity,” wrote the New York Herald Tribune, sighing that the
great Karloff “has never had a duller, more unexacting role.”
It was the last of Karloff’s involvement in the Mr. Wong
series. There was really no reason for the
actor to continue on in the role as he certainly did not need the work – nor did
he need the piling on of bad notices that continued to accumulate. In 1940, the year that Doomed to Die was released, Karloff would star in no fewer than
nine additional features for Columbia, Warner Bros., Universal, RKO Radio and
Monogram. He would certainly survive his
departure from the role. But would Mr.
Wong?
That question was answered in June of 1940 when Monogram announced
Keye Luke as Karloff’s successor in the role. It was a sensible progressive move on Monogram’s part, a UPI
correspondent writing a glowing tribute to Keye Luke who would now serve – at
long last – as “cinema’s one and only genuine Oriental detective.” Though Monogram signed the actor to a
four-picture “Mr. Wong” deal, the only entry produced with Luke in the
detective role was Phil Rosen’s Phantom
of Chinatown, released in November of 1940. The change of actor (and director) was mostly seamless and arguably
refreshing: Luke did bring a bit more energy and excitement to the role. (Karloff
was often cited by critics as a miscast who, largely unchallenged, chose to
sleepwalk through the role). Most
reviews of Luke’s Wong were complimentary, echoing those of a Variety critic who thought Phantom of Chinatown “worthy of the
average ‘B’ thriller of this type.”
There was some industry talk in January of 1941 that Paul
Malvern (an associate producer of Doomed
to Die and the producer of Phantom of
Chinatown) was preparing Luke’s return as Mr. Wong for the actor’s second outing,
provisionally titled Million Dollar
Mystery. Had that film been
produced, it would have been the seventh in the Monogram series. But no such film was greenlit (perhaps due to
Malvern’s 1941 defection to Universal) making Phantom of Chinatown the last of Monogram’s Mr. Wong series. Luke would fulfil his four-pic Monogram
contract in a waste of his talent making small appearances in The Gang’s All Here, Bowery Blitzkrieg and Let’s Go Collegiate, all released in
1941.
It’s of some disappointment that Phantom of Chinatown was excluded from this new Kino Lorber Blu-ray
collection. Perhaps Kino is planning a
standalone release of the title sometime in the future… at least I hope so. In the meantime, I suppose sad Completists
will have to hang on to their copies of VCI’s Mr. Wong Detective: The
Complete Collection DVD set for a bit longer. (Luke’s Phantom
of Chinatown can be found on that 2008 set in far better quality than you can
find any of those bargain-priced PD multi-film “mystery collection” type
collections… although the DVD issued by Film Detective in 2015 is also a
worthwhile seek out).
The five films featured on this Kino Lorber Studio
Classic Blu-ray issue of their Boris
Karloff: Mr. Wong Collection are all presented in 1920x1080p, in 1.37:1
aspect and DTS monaural sound. The films
have been sourced from new Hi-Definition masters made from 2K fine grain scans. The films are not visually perfect. There are moments of flickering, and
scratches and print damage, but this is likely the best we’ll ever get of these
dimly-recalled throw-away programmers. I’m certainly not complaining.
Other than the usual removable English subs, the Kino set
includes only a single feature – an audio commentary for Mr. Wong, Detective courtesy of Tom Weaver and Larry Blamire. On first pass, it might seem the inclusion of
only a single commentary on a
five-film set is sparse and ungenerous. But the behind-the-camera artisans of Wong series were a particularly
insular if clever and creative cabal: William Nigh, director of all five
Karloff entries, actor Grant Withers as “Captain Street” in all five as well, William
Lackey, an associate producer of four, and W. Scott Darling the screenwriter of
three. The contributions of these and
others in front of and behind the camera are duly noted on this set’s single
but informative and engaging commentary.
Weaver suggests at the commentaries front end that his
plan is to “keep things fun,” and he most certainly does. Both Weaver and Blamire have done their
homework, digging out practically every morsel of historical information they
could source for these uncelebrated Monogram quickies: this includes their deep
dig into (less reliable) information gleaned from ballyhoo appearing in the
film’s pressbook and other publicity materials, alongside contemporary reviews
from the Hollywood trades and newspapers. Blamire has really gone the extra mile, choosing to preemptively read
twelve of the twenty Hugh Wiley’s Mr. Wong short-stories so he might pick out
the moments and small bits the filmmakers used for the series.
I wasn’t as admiring of the
“actor re-creations” of interview transcripts of Karloff and others scattered
about the commentary. It seems
unnecessary and distracting - a simple “quote/unquote” recitation of such
material is preferable to badly-mimicked vocal imitations. The (thankfully)
occasional insertion of MST3K-style sound effects and dubbed-in jokey one-liners
were also unnecessary IMHO, but I’m admittedly a grouch. If you prefer your Wong with a dash of irreverence
then have at it. Weaver and Blamire also
sidecar their commentary with several detours touching on the Charlie Chan and
Mr. Moto series, all fair game. All in
all, the commentary track serves as an excellent primer for fans wishing to
learn a bit more about Mr. Wong on page and film. To summarize, this excellent package from
Kino Lorber is a “must-have."
Frank
Lovejoy, Richard Carlson and Rusty Tamblyn are United States Marines sent to South
Korea in the early days of the Korean War in the 1952 film “Retreat, Hell!,” available on DVD
and Blu-ray from Olive Films. The movie follows the fictionalized exploits of a
Marine battalion during America’s “forgotten war,” one often overlooked in film
as well as in our collective memories. We follow these Marines from training at
Camp Pendleton, California, to the 1950 landing at Inchon, South Korea, followed
by their battles with North Korean and Chinese soldiers through a bitterly cold
winter. Everything goes as planned until faced with the unexpected overwhelming
response by the enemy.
The
film features a fine performance by Richard Carlson as Captain Paul Hanson.
He’s a married reserve officer and WWII veteran recalled to active service. He balances
family and the needs of the military including military deployments. Carlson’s
Captain Hanson is not happy about being recalled to active duty and moving his
family to California. Soon after arriving, he’s informed he and his men will be
spending all their time in the field training which ratchets up his resentment because
he’s not able to spend any time with his family prior to deploying to Korea.
This creates conflict between Hanson and his commanding officer and mistrust of
his leadership skills. Frank Lovejoy is his commander, Lt. Colonel Steve
Corbett, who places duty above all else.
Captain
Hanson’s wife, Ruth, is played by Anita Louise. Louise is an actress remembered
today for her work in television after she made this film. She isn’t given much
to do here with only a couple of scenes as a supportive wife and mother, but
does the best she can given the limited time to develop her character. Lovejoy is
an actor who dies too young at age 50 in 1962. He’s best remembered for a wide
variety of credits on stage, screen and television often specializing as
military men, cops and detectives. He’s very good here as the Marine commander
holding his men together as they retreat after facing overwhelming Chinese and
North Korean troops.
Carlson
is best remembered today for his work in the sci-fi classics “It Came from
Outer Space,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “The Valley of Gwangi.” He appeared
in another Korean War drama, “Flat Top,” as well as the Bob Hope comedy “The
Ghost Breakers,” the 1950 version of “King Solomon’s Mines,” the Elvis drama “Change
of Habit” and scores of television series and movies. According to IMdb, John
Wayne was scheduled to appear in the movie, but backed out due to other movie
commitments. It certainly would have changed the movie, depending on the role,
if the Duke would have been cast.
Rounding
out the cast is Russ Tamblyn (billed as Rusty Tamblyn) as Private Jimmy
McDermid, fresh from basic training. Tamblyn is undoubtably the best remembered
of the cast today for his role in the David Lynch cult classic “Twin Peaks.” He
also appeared in countless classic movies including “The Haunting,” How the
West Was Won,” “The Long Ships,” “Peyton Place,” “Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers,” “Tom Thumb,” “The War of the Gargantuas” (if you haven’t seen it,
you must!), “West Side Story,” “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” and
countless other movies and television series. Tamblyn remains one of the great
underrated talents in film and television.
The
movie’s title comes from a statement made by Major General O.P. Smith,
commanding general of the First Marine Division at the Battle of Chosin
Reservoir, who was asked if he was ordering his men to retreat. The general
replied, "Retreat, Hell! We're not retreating, we're just advancing in a
different direction." In the movie, the line is spoken by Frank Lovejoy.
The phrase, “Retreat, Hell!,” is common among Marines to this day. “Advancing
in a different direction” is a phrase often repeated by military troops in all
branches.
A
co-production of United States Pictures and Warner Bros., the movie was
released in February 1952 by Warner Bros. The movie could be easily mistaken
for propaganda as it was released during the Korean War and opens with the
Marine Corps song over the titles in a score by William Lava which plays
throughout the movie. Filmed with the approval of the Marine Corps, the drama is
apolitical with a focus on the personal drama of the men caught in
extraordinary circumstances. The movie was directed by Joseph H. Lewis with a
screenplay co-written by Milton Sperling and Ted Sherdeman. All three have a
variety of big and small screen credits from low-budget thrillers to television
into the 1960s.
The
film is lacking by the obvious California locations standing in for Korea which
was commonly used in military dramas and a score which consists mostly of
variations on the Marine Corps song But the movie stands out as a small gem about
the Korean War with fine performances by Carlson, Lovejoy and Tamblyn.
Prior
to the film’s release in San Antonio, Texas, the title was changed to “Retreat,
Heck” in local radio ads because the original title was deemed offensive. Both
the DVD and Blu-ray look terrific in glorious black & white in this disc
released by Olive films. The movie clocks in at 95 minutes in a 1.37:1 aspect
ratio. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray. I recommend
picking up the Blu-ray, but you can’t go wrong with the DVD version if that’s
your format of choice. In both cases, the movie looks and sounds terrific, although there are no bonus features.. “Retreat,
Hell!” is recommended for fans of military movies.
(Note:
It has been announced that Olive Films has unfortunately ceased operations.
However, this video is still available on Amazon.)
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
ENTER THE DRAGON COMES TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAYTM AND DIGITAL.
TO CELEBRATE THE ICONIC FILM’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, ENTER THE DRAGON WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST
TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
Purchase the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on 8/8/23
As part of the year-long
centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros.
Studio, the iconic martial arts film Enter the Dragon will be
available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital this August.
Celebrating
the 50th anniversary of its 1973 release, on
August 8 Enter the Dragon will be available to purchase on Ultra
HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for
purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and
more. Enter the Dragon is considered one of the most
influential action films of
all time and is credited with bringing interest in the Asian martial
arts genre to mainstream Western cinema.
The
Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc includes both the theatrical
version of the film and the Special Edition of the film which features three
additional minutes of footage.
Directed
by Robert Clouse, Enter the Dragon stars Bruce Lee in his final
completed film role. Lee is widely regarded as one of the most influential
martial artists of all time and was a pop culture icon of the 20th
century. In addition to Lee, the film also stars John Saxon, Ahna Capri,
Bob Wall, Shih Kein, and introduces Jim Kelly. It was written by Michael
Allin and produced by Fred Weintraub, Paul Heller, and Raymond Chow with a
score by honorary Academy Award recipient Lalo Schifrin.
In 2004, the United States Library
of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National
Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant". In 1999, Bruce Lee was listed in Time
magazine’s “100 most influential people of the century.”
Enter the Dragonwill be
available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc for $24.99 ERP and includes an Ultra HD
Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version of the feature film in 4K with HDR,
the Special Edition version of the film in 4K with HDR, and a Digital download
of both versions of the film. Fans can also own Enter the Dragonin 4K
Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on
8/8/23.
About
the Film
Bruce Lee explodes onto the screen in the film that rocketed him
to international superstardom, Enter The Dragon. Lee plays a
martial arts expert determined to take down the ruthless gang leader, Han, who
was responsible for the death of his sister. Recruited by an intelligence
agency, he poses a student and attends a tournament at a remote island
fortress. His goal is to gather evidence that will prove Han’s involvement with
drug trafficking and prostitution. With one man focused on crime and the other
bent on revenge, the two engage in the now-classic fight-to-the-death finish.
They both enter a mirrored maze and deadly battle. Only one will exit.
Enter the DragonUltra HD
Blu-ray disc and Digital the following previously released special features:
·Introduction by Linda Lee Cadwell (run time: 2:17 minutes)
·Commentary by Paul Heller and Michael Allin (run time: 110
minutes)
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the BFI concerning their new Region 2 Blu-ray of "Brannigan", which can be pre-ordered for 21 August release.
“The Duke is
in London, and London will never be the same!”
Veteran
Chicago detective Jim Brannigan (John Wayne, The
Searchers) is dispatched to London to bring back notorious gangster
Ben Larkin (John Vernon, Dirty
Harry), and is assured that the whole operation will run smoothly.
However, when things don’t go to plan, Brannigan finds himself in the
crosshairs of Larkin’s thugs. Reluctantly teaming up with by-the-book Commander
Swann of Scotland Yard (Richard Attenborough, The Great Escape), but determined to
recapture Larkin no matter what, Brannigan tears through London, leaving a
trail of destruction in his wake.
Boasting
incredible stunts, powerful punch-ups, dry dialogue and panoramic views of
1970s London shot by cinematographer Gerry Fisher (The Go-Between, Highlander), as well as a
superb supporting cast including Judy Geeson and Mel Ferrer, Brannigan still
stands tall as an explosive, action-packed, highly entertaining and peculiarly
British excursion for the legendary John Wayne.
Extras
Presented in High Definition
Audio commentary by Steve Mitchell and critic
Nathaniel Thompson (2017)
A Duke Out of Water (2023, 37 mins): reminiscences from the people
who made Brannigan
Frank Henson on Brannigan (2021, 4 mins): the veteran stuntman looks back
on doubling the Duke
Take It to the Bridge (1905-1956, 23 mins): historical glimpses of the
Thames, Tower Bridge and other Brannigan locations
A Policeman’s Lot (1896-1973, 35 mins): a copper’s clutch of films
concerning crimefighters and crooks, proceeding from the very earliest
days of cinema towards the Brannigan era
The Guardian Interview: Richard Attenborough (1983, 89 mins, audio only): the award-winning
actor and director, and John Wayne’s Brannigan co-star, reflects
upon his illustrious career
An extensive selection of location photographs,
featuring cast and crew
Original trailer
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with
new essays by Johnny Mains and John Oliver, notes on the special features
and credits
We film collectors are a spoiled lot: and, yes, I include
myself in that assessment.When Australian
video label Imprint first announced their seminal Silver Screams Cinema collection in 2021, I was ecstatic.Though the now defunct U.S. based Olive Films
had already given us Blu-rays of three titles soon-to-be featured on the
Imprint set (Return of the Ape Man
(Monogram, 1944) She Devil (1957) and
The Vampire’s Ghost (Republic, 1945),
it was the Aussie’s inclusion of several long-neglected films from the vault of
Republic Pictures - Valley of the Zombies
(1946), The Phantom Speaks (1945) and
The Lady and the Monster (1944) -
that compelled one to pre-order.
The Imprint set contained almost every title a fan of
Republic’s horror-mystery offerings might desire… with one notable
exception.Where was Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris (1946)? It was the
one Republic horror flick I had been wishing on the longest.Decades ago I gave up hope of ever seeing any
sort of legitimate home video issue. So I sought out the serviceable – if scratchy
and hazy - gray-market bootleg long making the rounds on the collector’s market.So the exclusion of The Catman of Paris from Imprint’s otherwise magnificent Silver Screams set was a bit
frustrating.
So it was with great anticipation when Imprint’s
single-disc Blu-ray of The Catman of
Paris recently arrived.I’m pleased
to report that the release not only looks great but also arrives with a couple
of bonus features.But while this film’s
arrival on Blu-ray brings with it a satisfying sense of closure, I think it’s best
to acknowledge that The Catman of Paris
is by no means a riveting lost classic of horror cinema.Though the film holds a certain charm in my personal
nostalgia bank, The Catman of Paris often
plods along for most of its hour or so running time.But I’m still a fan.
Republic Pictures was, of course - unfairly, in my mind –
deemed a Hollywood “Poverty Row” studio.But the production values of the studio were often of high-caliber
despite meager budgets, the studio producing more than a thousand features and
serials from its inception in 1935.Though associated with Monogram Pictures – a purveyor of a number of
1940s low-rent horror and mystery pictures (which often featured the likes of
genre stars Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill and John Carradine),
Republic was late in getting on the exploitative horror-film train.I suppose it can be argued that they nearly missed
the train entirely.The studio only really
began to test the horror-picture market when public interest in such fare was clearly
on the wane.
But the studio’s first horror pic The Lady and the Monster (1944), featuring Erich von Stroheim as a cold
and humorless mad scientist, did well enough for the studio to greenlight a
double-dose of new horror in 1945:The Vampire’s Ghost and The Phantom Speaks – two films which
we’ll get to in a moment.Generally
speaking, the Republic horrors were of similar construct to Monogram’s.But unlike the Monogram films – which have
been mostly available over the years on home video due to their public domain
status – the Republic horror pics have been, until recently, almost entirely commercially
inaccessible to students of the genre.
It’s possible the Republic horror pics have been glossed
over due to the fact that, unlike the studio’s western film counterparts – which
featured such star-spangled stars as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and John Wayne –
their horror pics offered no similar
marquee attraction.Perhaps if the
Republic horror and mysteries features offered such boogeymen as Lugosi or Boris
Karloff there might have been more of a commercial interest in getting these
out to fans and collectors.But
Paramount Pictures, the company that ultimately absorbed the Republic catalog,
seemed mostly disinterested in making available that studio’s horror film efforts.
To be fair, Republic wasn’t Universal: there actually wasn’t
a great deal of true “horrors” to choose from.In 1999, film historian Tom Weaver examined some of the Republic titles
in his tome Poverty Row Horrors!:
Monogram, PRC, and Republic Horror Films of the Forties (MacFarland).A decade- and -a -half later author Brian McFadden
published his Republic Horrors: The
Serial Studio’s Chillers.Both books
were welcome additions to the film scholar’s personal libraries.But while McFadden’s effort seemed to promise
a deeper-dive into the Republic’s long-neglected horror catalog, it mostly reminded
readers that the studio actually released very few true horror pictures during the Golden Age of the 1940s.Of the ten films chosen for examination by McFadden,
only five could justify being classified as genuine “horrors.”The remaining five titles selected were simply
mysteries with woven eerie elements.
But if Universal’s reign as the preeminent horror-movie
studio was beginning to wind down by the mid-1940s, Republic’s was just
beginning to rev up.In early May of
1945, the Los Angeles Times reported
that executives at Republic Pictures, “encouraged by the current success of The Vampire’s Ghost and The Phantom Speaks,” were already planning
a pair of thrillers of similar design.Under the watchful eye of producer William O’ Sullivan, Republic’s
newest horror pics, titled The Catman of
Paris and The Valley of the Zombies,
was to “be sold to exhibitors as a pair.”
Associate producer Marek M. Libkov told the Hollywood Reporter that their newest, The Catman of Paris, would have a
provisional start date of September 20, 1945 with casting to “start
immediately.”In fact, most of the
principal casting was already in
place by early September, though casting notices for small roles were still being
announced as late as October 5.It was also
later reported that the film’s start date would be pushed to September 22.The film’s presumed co-feature – Phil Ford’s Valley of the Zombies – was already just
shy of two weeks into production with production on The Catman of Paris set to follow immediately on its heels.But even the revised start date of September
22 is in doubt.On September 24, 1945,
the Los Angeles Times noted
production on Lesley Selander’s The
Catman of Paris was, at long last, to start “today at Republic.”
It’s of some interest that the two primary cast members
of The Catman of Paris, Carl Esmond
and Lenore Aubert, were both born in Vienna, Austria.Though neither had ever appeared in a horror
film, both already would share near-miss flirtations with real-life
horrors.Esmond left for the U.S. as
early as 1938 at the behest of MGM’s Louis B. Mayer.The actor had been performing with a touring
company in London when Nazi troops swept into Austria in March of 1938.Esmond reflected to Hollywood scribe Maxine
Garrison that Mayer dangled an MGM contract before him, warning ‘You would be
foolish not to come [to America].Europe
will be lost in war before long.”Esmond
admitted, “I had not thought of it that way, but he was right.”
Aubert too left Vienna, choosing travel to Paris.But with German troops already occupying the
City of Light, the actress also made the decision to immigrate to America.(Ironically, Aubert’s first screen credit was
for a performance as a villainous Nazi spy for Samuel Goldwyn’s They Got Me Covered (1943), an early Bob
Hope and Dorothy Lamour comedy).Though
not a household name to most cinephiles, the darkly beautiful Aubert is likely
best remembered for her performance as the sinister Dr. Mornay in the
time-tested Universal classic Abbott and
Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
The Hollywood trades were reporting a lot of activity on
the Republic Studios lot that first week of October of 1945… but most interest
was fixed on producer-director Frank Borsage’s ambitious and expensive Technicolor
effort Concerto.But a wandering journalist noted that only
“two stages away,” Republic’s dual monochrome horror pics, The Catman of Paris and Valley
of the Zombies, were being shot concurrently for a provisional
double-feature release.“On both sets,
the visitor must have nerves of steel,” it was reported, “to withstand sudden
appearances of perambulating cat people and corpses.”
By Thursday, October 11, 1945, the Hollywood Reporter noted that production on The Catman of Paris had wrapped on the night previous, when
“final exterior scenes were filmed on the studio’s back lot.” The report also indicated
that co-feature Valley of the Zombies
had finished shooting a mere “one day before Republic started rolling Selander’s
picture.”If true, the earlier reportage
of dual-picture sightings of “perambulating cat people and corpses” was little
more than promotional ballyhoo.
So who was this sinister cinematic Catman of Paris? Parisian police detectives are of the belief
that it’s none other than the best-selling, dashingly handsome French novelist
Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond).The
popular-selling author has recently returned to Paris following two years of
international travel – including a possibly fateful visit to the tropics.Not everyone has enjoyed his most recent
book.Regnier’s fiction-novel Fraudulent Justice has come to the
attention – and annoyance – of the French government.It seems Regnier’s narrative appears to have
been based on a true-life crime and trial: the details of which were never brought
to public scrutiny and the judicial outcome now thought a travesty of
justice.So how was it that Regnier
could accurately account so much about a secretive government trial?
Regnier has also returned to Paris to wrestle other demons.The writer suffers headaches which bring
about unexplainable subsequent episodes of amnesia.During such sessions Regnier is visited by
images of violent weather disturbances and of a mysterious black cat.Regnier’s moneyed patron, Henri Borchard
(Douglas Dumbrille), suggests Regnier’s fragile mental state is due to his having
contracted some sort of fever when visiting the tropics.There’s also a measure of astrological hokum
in the scripting mix as well.
Both Bouchard and Regnier’s publisher Paul Audet (Francis
Pierlot) are concerned that following two gruesome murders of which Regnier is
at least tangentially involved, the author’s book sales might plummet and
bankrupt the publishing house.And circumstantial
evidence of Regnier’s involvement in the murders continues to mount.The Catman’s most recent victim - Regnier’s
high-society fiancé Marguerite Duvall (Adele Mara), was recently jilted so the
author might enjoy a new romance with publisher’s daughter Marie (Lenore
Aubert).Having completely fallen for
the dashing author, Marie Audet is completely convinced of Regnier’s innocence…
until she herself is chased through a misty evening garden by a cloak and
top-hatted Catman on the prowl for her blood.
Though the film would eventually pair with Valley of the Zombies, The Catman of Paris was initially paired
on release with John English’s somewhat better-received ice-skating
musical-mystery Murder in the Music Hall.The first wave of reviews of The Catman of Paris were generally fair -
if mostly unfavorable.The Hollywood Reporter ignobly described the
film as an “absurdity,” a career embarrassments to all involved.The lugubrious screenplay of Republic scenarist
Sherman L. Lowe was decried as far too “wordy… every character uttering
editorials instead of dialog.”
There were complaints – also not unfair - that the film
displayed a curious lack of “physical action.”Variety was a bit more forgiving in its assessment,
calling the Valentine’s Day preview of The
Catman of Paris “a cross between a garden-variety whodunit and a
Jekyll-Hyde horror-meller […] that taxes belief to the breaking point.”The Christian
Science Monitor dismissed the film outright as a “routine horror story
based on far-fetched thrills.”
Despite the lukewarm reviews of both Murder in the Music Hall and The
Catman of Paris, the package managed a successful earning of $35,000 in its
first week.Which, at the very least, guaranteed
a second week of booking.Republic, presumptively
optimistic and encouraged by strong initial returns, inked producer Libkov to a
contract of three additional pictures. Though there was the inevitable revenue
fall-off in the second week of release, the trades were reporting box office
tallies in and around Los Angeles remained “good” if not showing signs of
sustained momentum. But by week three,
the box office receipts were down to disappointing four figure earnings.As the Catman
creeped regionally across the U.S. through autumn of 1946, local reviewers and small-town
theater managers found the film a mild mystery offering at best.Subsequently, four-figure weekly returns were
now the norm.
Frank
Sinatra made his directorial debut with the World War II drama “None But the
Brave,” available on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. An American C-47
carrying Marines and a Navy Corpsman, crashes on a Pacific island in the Solomon
Islands chain. The island is occupied by a small force of Japanese soldiers who
have been stranded and forgotten. The C-47 radio is damaged in the crash and
the Americans have a limited supply of food, water and ammunition. The Japanese
control the only source of fresh water on the island, grow food, fish and have
built a boat.
The
Americans have a Navy corpsman and the Japanese have an injured soldier. The
Americans also have a hot-headed Marine Lieutenant itching to kill Japanese.
Fortunately, the senior ranking American is the cool-headed Army Air Corp pilot
of the downed C-47 and he keeps the Lieutenant and his men in check. The
Americans and Japanese form a temporary truce; food and water in exchange for
medical care for their injured soldier.
The
movie is part of a sub-genre of WWII movies about adversaries who become
stranded and must survive within enemy territory until rescued. “No Man is an
Island” (1963) and “Hell in the Pacific” (1968) are examples. While its
doubtful American and Japanese ever created such a truce, the concept does make
for interesting story telling. There have even been sci-fi versions of this
premise such as “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” (1964) and “Enemy Mine” (1985).
William Dafoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” is a clear literary source for this genre.
When
a typhoon hits the island, the Americans and Japanese have to work together to
save the fresh water pond. The Americans repair the radio and rescue is at hand,
bringing everyone to the brutal conclusion. The movie ends with a preachy
epitaph, “Nobody Ever Wins,” which comes out of nowhere and makes no sense.
Sinatra and the writers may have been making an early statement about the
Vietnam War at a time when American audiences were still eager to see WWII
action movies like “The Great Escape,” “The Dirty Dozen” and his own “Von
Ryan’s Express.” “None But the Brave” is a good WWII movie with a great cast,
but I think Sinatra may have picked the wrong war to send an anti-war message. Perhaps disillusioned, he never directed another film.
Sinatra
co-produced the movie and receives star billing in what is essentially a co-starring
role as Maloney, a cynical Navy chief who drinks too much. Clint Walker is at
his best as the Army C-47 pilot, Captain Dennis Bourke, who has a history with
Maloney. His Japanese counterpart is Lieutenant Kuroke played by Tatsuya Mihashi.
Tommy Sands is the hot-headed Marine, 2nd Lieutenant Blair in a performance that
is a bit over-the-top, and Takeshi Kato as his equallyhot headed Japanese
counterpart, Sergeant Tamura. Other familiar faces in the American cast include
Brad Dexter as Sergeant Bleeker and Tony Bill as Keller, the C-47 radio
operator. Hisao Dazai appears as Corporal Fujimoto and may be familiar to fans
of Godzilla movies, as he featured in several Toho monster movies. Laraine
Stephens, one of only two women in the movie, appears uncredited in a flashback
scene as Lorie.
Sinatra
gives his typical easy-going performance as Maloney and his direction is
equally easy-going, making use of the tropical location with Kaua'I, Hawaii,
filling in for the South Pacific island. The Japanese-American co-production
has a screenplay co-written by John Twist and Takeshi Kato and is based on a
story by Kikumaru Okuda. There’s unconvincing model work used in the plane
crash scene at the start of the movie with a model Japanese Zero shooting down
the C-47 and an American fighter. The main sets include the freshwater pond,
the C-47 hulk and the Japanese Army compound. I’m sure the cast and crew
enjoyed their time in Hawaii.
The
movie was released in February 1965 by Warner Bros. and clocks in at 106 minutes.
The Warner Archive region-free Blu-ray looks very good and sounds great, with an
early score by John Williams. The only extra on the disc is the trailer which is
interesting because it shows Sinatra acting as both director and star. The
English subtitle option is welcome, especially during the Japanese scenes. The
movie is not perfect, but it is an enjoyable afternoon movie recommended for Sinatra
fans and WWII military adventure.
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From
the vantage point of 2023, the domestic and professional situations depicted in
Mervyn Le Roy’s “Moment to Moment,” a romantic melodrama released on January
27, 1966, might as well be a portrait of an alien society.Kay Stanton (Jean Seberg) lives in a charming
rented villa in Cannes, France, thanks to her husband Neil’s sabbatical from
his tenured position as an eminent professor of psychology at Columbia
University.If you ask a professor
nowadays if he or she ever expects to receive a year’s paid leave on the French
Riviera complete with housing, the answer is likely to be, “Sure, in your
dreams.”In today’s penny-pinching,
increasingly conservative institutions of higher learning, most professors are
lucky to get tenure.
Kay
has no visible interests or pursuits outside of her role as a housewife, and
even the chores of cooking, cleaning, and supervising the couple’s well-behaved
ten-year-old son are fulfilled by paid help.Today’s overworked, stressed-out soccer moms would pant with envy, but
Kay is lonely.Neil (an archetypal
Arthur Hill role played here by . . . Arthur Hill!) is a loving husband, but he’s
on the road most of the time, happily accepting offers to lecture in London and
Edinburgh.In that pre-IT age, he and
Kay don’t even have the luxury of seeing each other on FaceTime.The best Kay can expect is a hurried call on
her landline as Neil rushes off to an appointment, and the most excitement she
can muster are the afternoon cocktails with her impish, divorced neighbor
Daphne (Honor Blackman).Daphne is as
happily promiscuous as Kay is strait-laced, offering a perpetual open house to
randy gangs of officers on leave from a nearby American Navy base.Despite her good-times facade, we eventually
learn that Daphne’s objective is as middle-class as they come, hoping
eventually to land Mr. Right in the form of a well-to-do, well-connected
commander or admiral.
For
Kay, temptation enters as she encounters Mark Dominic (Sean Garrison), a
handsome Naval ensign with ambitions as an artist.They meet when her son Timmy notices Mark
painting at an easel in town, and from there they drift into a relationship when
she offers to drive him around to scout out potential backdrops at quaint
village plazas and cafes.In the best
Soap Opera tradition of smart people who do stupid things against their better
judgment — not unlike real life, come to think of it — Kay goes to bed with
Mark one night when her son is sleeping over at a friend’s house and the
housekeeper is on vacation.Next
morning, Kay suffers remorse and tells Mark it’s over.Mark reacts angrily, a gun is brandished and
goes off, and he drops to the floor, apparently dead.Kay compounds one stupid act with another
when she convinces Daphne to help her dispose of the body.
At
that point, the movie finds its surest footing as a suspense thriller.Kay calls the police anonymously to tell them
where to find Mark, and soon the shrewd Inspector DeFargo (Grégoire Aslan) is
on the case.He suspects Kay of being
the culprit, and begins to tighten the screws by asking Neil, newly arrived
home not knowing about Kay’s infidelity, to help treat a young man with amnesia.The patient is Mark, alive but suffering a
total loss of memory beginning with the morning he met Kay.In scenes of sadistic comedy that nearly
rival Alfred Hitchcock’s best, DeFargo engineers a series of meetings with
Neil, Kay, and Mark in which various visual and acoustic clues threaten to jog
the young officer’s memory.Kay cringes,
Neil is oblivious, and DeFargo watches like a spider contemplating a fly in its
web.To say the least, it’s unorthodox
police procedure.At least he doesn’t
propose the old Hollywood remedy of smacking Mark on the head again to see if
that does the trick.Maybe he found it
more amusing to torment Kay.
“Moment
to Moment” was the final film of Melvyn Le Roy’s long and versatile career,
except for uncredited assistance on John Wayne’s “The Green Berets,” and it is
largely forgotten today even as new generations of movie buffs rediscover “Little
Caesar,” “Gold Diggers of 1933,” “The Bad Seed,” and “Gypsy.”In part, it was probably a matter of having a
B+ cast instead of an A cast.Jean
Seberg was a well-established actress, but not a proven box-office draw like
Audrey Hepburn or a rising luminary like Faye Dunaway.Sean Garrison co-starred in a short-lived TV
Western, “Dundee and the Culhane,” and then drifted into a busy but low-key
career as a supporting actor.He had the
misfortune of entering the business at the same time as dozens of other young,
good-looking hopefuls, and unlike James Brolin, Chad Everett, Harrison Ford,
Lee Majors, and Robert Redford, he never quite had the charisma or lucky break
needed to surface above the pack.
But
the main jinx for the movie was bad timing.Released the same year that “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Blow-Up”
began to shake Hollywood’s taboos against explicit language and nudity, “Moment
to Moment” struck critics and probably most viewers as glossy, old-fashioned
entertainment not much racier than the TV Soap Operas of the era.Today, that very quality is likely to work in
its favor among viewers who weren’t even born in 1966.Who wouldn’t be curious about a world in
which a thirty-something woman lounges around the house in Yves Saint Laurent
dresses instead of yoga pants and a sweatshirt?The plot about marital infidelity and attempted murder is mirrored now
by true-crime podcasts and “NBC Dateline Two-Hour Events,” although the
culprits there are usually less attractive and a lot less classy than Kay
Stanton, and the cops less idiosyncratic than Inspector DeFargo.
A
new Blu-ray edition of “Moment to Moment” from Kino Lorber Studio Classics
presents the movie in a sharp, 1.85:1 image much richer than the old prints
that used to run on local TV stations in the 1980s, before “Dr. Phil” and “The
View” claimed their time-slot.Special
features include an amusing, informative audio commentary by Howard S. Berger
and Nathaniel Thompson, and a short 1966 featurette, “Moment to Moment with
Henry Mancini.”The featurette, actually
a slightly extended trailer, intercuts shots of the composer conducting his
lush score for the picture with quick scenes illustrating how the music
underlines Le Roy’s moods of romance and suspense.Would that we had more composers now as
talented as Henry Mancini, and more directors with Mervyn Le Roy’s versatility,
sharp sense of composition, and confident pace.
The Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray of the 1961 comedy Bachelor in Paradise which features the considerable star power of Bob Hope and Lana Turner. As with most Hope vehicles, this is a low-key affair that was designed to please his core base of fans. If the film doesn't break any new ground for Hope the actor, it at least provides plenty of yucks from his trademark wisecracks. Hope plays Adam Niles,an international playboy and best-selling author who has gotten rich by writing books about the sex lives of different nationalities and cultures. When devastating tax troubles force him to return to America, he reluctantly accepts an assignment to help offset his staggering debt to the government. Niles' publisher concocts a scheme whereby he will go undercover to research and write about the sex lives of Americans. He ends up moving to a suburban community known as Paradise, where he assumes an alias and goes about assessing the love lives of his neighbors. The presence of a single man among so many married couples causes an instant scandal, especially when Niles begins wooing neighborhood wives to his lectures about how to improve their sex lives. (This being 1961, it is unsurprising that his conclusions all revolve around what women can do to entice their men. No reciprocal protocols are expected). Before long, husbands are marching on Niles' home like the villagers storming Frankenstein's castle. His main ally is Paradise manager Rosemary Howard (Lana Turner) who puts her career on the line to defend Niles' right to live in the neighborhood, even as she rejects his heavy-handed attempts to seduce her.
Bachelor in Paradise, directed by Jack Arnold and boasting a
score by Henry Mancini, is a surprisingly racy premise for a Hope movie.
Released during an era when the terms "suburbs" still conjured up
images of wife-swapping and orgies, the movie looks positively quaint by
today's standards. Women prance around in house dresses as they
endlessly ponder what more than can do to please their hard-working
hubbies. Some of Hope's zingers still connect and his chemistry with
Turner is considerable. The movie also benefits from a terrific cast of
supporting actors including sexy Paula Prentiss, Jim Hutton, Janis Paige
(as the neighborhood nymphomaniac), Don Porter and the always wonderful
John McGiver. The film isn't a comedy classic but provides enough
genuine laughs to merit viewing. An original theatrical trailer is
included.
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There were passing
moments when watching this gorgeously curated Blu-ray of Phil Tucker’s cult 3-D
masterwork Robot Monster (1953) that
I mulled its reputation as cinema’s most fabled wreck was undeserved.Surely, I thought, I’ve cringingly sat
through worse sci-fi films produced before and since.But then some particularly awful line of dialogue
(delivered woodenly, of course), or a bizarre plot turn, or a not-so-special
effect, or an inexplicable episode of dinosaur wrangling would interrupt my
musings, causing a return to sober reality.Phil Tucker’s low-low-low
budget monster-piece is a crazed vision, to be sure.But acknowledging that, Robot Monster is most certainly not
one of the world’s worst films: it’s too entertaining to be dismissed as such.On the same token, it’s undeniably one of the
most desperate and unhinged cinematic artifacts lensed by an indie Hollywood film-outfit
of the ‘50s.
The sullied reputation of Robot Monster is the result, no doubt, due to the merciless
flailing of the production by the smirking Medved brothers - Michael and Harry –
who infamously skewered the film in their pop-culture, eminently readable and
caustic tomes The Fifty Worst Films of
All Time (1978) and The Golden Turkey
Awards (1980).Still the film’s space
helmet and gorilla-suit sporting “Ro-man” (as listed in the film’s end credits)
– has somehow managed to become as
visually iconic a totem of 1950s sci-fi as the gigantic robot Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still (2oth
Century Fox, 1951) or the Metaluna monster in This Island Earth (Universal-International, 1955).
As is so often the case, the backstory to the creation of
Robot Monster is perhaps more
interesting than the artifact produced.The
screenplay was written by Wyott “Barney” Ordung.The Californian was trying desperately to
break into the film business, initially as an acting student working
occasionally in walk-on roles, often uncredited.In a 1983 interview with the late film and
3-D historian Ray Zone, Ordung recalled it was in 1952 when he was approached
by Tucker – who he’d known casually from working on a previous picture – to write
the script for Robot Monster.Ordung recalled he was originally tasked to
play the role of the “Ro-Man” – at least in earliest test footage photography.
Ordung’s script for Robot
Monster would serve as his springboard into the world of professional
filmmaking.Following that film’s
release, the Californian would script the war film Combat Squad (1953) as well as another sci-fi guilty pleasure Target Earth (1954).Still (mercifully) unproduced is the script Ordung
wrote directly following the release of Robot
Monster.That prospective film was,
according to Sun Valley’s Valley Times,
to feature Ordung’s “3-D comedy” scenario based on “Mildred Seamster’s
Hollywood beauty salon.”The plot would
“deal with the varied individuals who patronize a beauty salon and their
interesting escapades.”Oy.
That film would not materialize, but it was of little
matter as Ordung would soon receive his first directing credit when Roger
Corman tapped him to helm Monster from
the Ocean Floor (1954).Though Ordung
had not previously helmed any sort of film production, it was an offer and
partnership of economic necessity.Corman agreed to allow Ordung to direct on the condition he contribute
$2,000 of his Robot Monster earnings
to the new film’s budget and work for “a piece of the picture.”Hey, a break’s a break.
First-time director Phil Tucker too was looking for his first
big break in the film industry and was of the mind that Robot Monster just might be the ticket.But his experience working on Robot Monster was, alas, bittersweet.Less than two months following the release of
that film, Tucker was found in Fairbanks, Alaska – of all places - shooting his
non-union follow-up epic: the seventy-five minute Venusian “science-fiction
thriller” Space Jockey – a film never
released and now thought lost.Tucker grudgingly
told a journalist in Fairbanks that with only Robot Monster to his credit, he had already soured on the politics
of Tinseltown.
“The movie industry is stifled in Hollywood,” he director
complained.“They tell you what to
write, how to produce it, when to direct it, who [to] put in it and when to try
to sell it.It’s a tight little island of rulers and it’s
a hard place in which to breathe free.”Tucker did confess he wasn’t trying to be a true auteur in any sense of the word: “I’m not trying to create
art.I’m trying to make money,” he
offered plainly.
The primary stumbling block to Tucker’s earning any
monies was New York-born Al Zimbalist, the executive producer and guiding hand
of Robot Monster.The movie was the first of the films Zimbalist
would oversee as producer – and occasionally as “writer,” though that was mostly
as concoctor of “original stories” and little more.Throughout the 1950s and a bit beyond,
Zimbalist delivered such bargain-basement fare as Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Miss
Robin Crusoe (1953), King Dinosaur
(1955) and Monster from Green Hell
(1957) to the pleasures of a mostly undiscerning cinema-going audience.It was also Zimbalist who steered Robot Monster to go the then popular 3-D
filming route.It was an unusual decision
for an indie film to be shot on a shoestring budget.
It made some sense.Hollywood’s production of 3-D films was at its zenith in 1953.Box
Office would note in April of 1953 that no fewer than sixty-two films to
offer the 3-D treatment were either completed, in production or in the planning
stages.Practically every major studio
was readying a slate of 3-D cinematic fare: Columbia, Paramount, RKO Radio,
United Artists and Warner Bros. among them.By far, 20th Century Fox was leading the way with a scheduled
twenty-two 3-D films on the drawing
board.There were only a couple of
independents in the mix, having chosen to dip their toe in the 3-D pool.Al Zimbalist and Phil Tucker’s “newly
organized” Third Dimension Pictures was one of them.
The trades reported on March 21, 1953 that Zimbalist was to
employ a unique “Tru-Depth system of 3-D” photography for his in-the-works Robot Monster project. Then, a mere week
following the start of the film’s
production, Box Office noted that Robot Monster had completed shooting… though no release date had yet been set.Zimbalist was so pleased with the results of
the “Tru-Depth” system, that in April of ’53 the Hollywood maverick announced
the formation of his “Tru-Stereo Corporation.”The company would “make available a stereoscopic 3-D system to
independent producers.” “Tru-Stereo” would serve as an affordable,
budget-conscious alternative to the more expensive 3-D systems used by the
Hollywood majors.
In fact, there were no fewer than twenty-two competing 3-D systems being used by filmmakers by late
spring of 1953.(“Tru-Depth” had since been
rechristened as “Tru-Stereo.)”The
Tru-Stereo 3-D was proffered as being similar to the others: it too employed
two cameras to create the three-dimensional effect.But the system also boasted “an authentic
interlocking control which is said to insure against faulty
synchronization.”Robot Monster had also boastingly employed “a newly developed
stereophonic sound system devised by the Master-Tone Sound Corporation.”
The first casting notices for Robot Monster were announced in March of 1953.Handsome leading man George Nader was reportedly
hired to play the role of “Roy” following his appearance in the still
unreleased pic Miss Robin Crusoe.Nader’s performance in that film impressed
Zimbalist who worked on the same as associate producer.Roy’s love interest, Alice (Claudia Barrett)
hadn’t much big-screen experience, but had been steadily working on any number
of early television series.The film’s
egghead professor would be played by the long-working Ukrainian actor John
Mylong, his children, Johnny and Carla, by stage-kids Gregory Moffett and
Pamela Paulson, respectively.
The role of the professor’s wife went to Selena Royle, an
actress with a familiar face due to her long run as a dependable player at MGM.Royle was happy to get the role – any role –
as she had recently been blacklisted in the pages of Red Channels, “the American Legion’s list of 200 motion picture
workers suspected of communist leanings.”Her crime was the organizing and serving of free meals to the
un-and-under employed actors in and around New York City during the throes of
the Depression.Royle vowed to fight the
accusations, telling journalist her post-blacklist acting income had dropped
from six figures to a mere three figures by mid-summer of 1952. Robot
Monster would be one of her two final feature film appearances, Royle and
her husband choosing to immigrate to Mexico in 1957.
Imprint, the Australian-based video label, has announced some more forthcoming releases. All Blu-rays are region-free. Please keep in mind that prices quoted are in Australian dollars. Use a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.
Enjoy the full presentation of the 1967 crime comedy "Eight on the Lam" which teams Bob Hope with Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters and two Bond Girls: Shirley Eaton and Jill St. John. (To watch the film in full screen mode, click on "Watch on YouTube.")
The old adage that good things come in small packages applies to movies, specifically "B" movies. They were once a valued staple of the film business during the eras in which local theaters generally showed double features. "B" movies were sometimes the top-billed feature but more often than not they were produced simply to provide programming for the bottom half of the bill at a low cost. This is not to diminish their worth. Most of these productions were quite entertaining and some have gone on to be regarded as cult classics. "The Gun Runners", a 1958 United Artists film, is not a cult classic but it is a "B" movie and it is quite good, largely because this story about a deep sea fisherman has director Don Siegel's firm hand on the tiller. The screenplay is derived from two Ernest Hemingway sources: a 1934 short story, "One Trip Across" and his classic novel "To Have and Have Not" which was brought to the screenin 1944 by director Howard Hawks and star Humphrey Bogart. Only a few years later, it had been remade as "The Breaking Point" starring John Garfield. For whatever reason, the producers assumed there was still fertile ground to be exploit in Hemingway's tales and this loose adaptation also owes some obvious inspiration to John Huston's 1948 classic "Key Largo". Despite the hodgepodge nature of its source material and a micro budget, "The Gun Runners" is engrossing throughout.
Audie Murphy stars as Sam Martin, a down-on-his-luck deep sea fisherman who operates a charter boat out of Key West. Sam is happily married to Lucy (Patricia Owens), a devoted wife whose passion for her husband results in the film having a somewhat edgy content in terms of sexual innuendo, as the young couple can barely keep their hands off each other. Sam's home life may be blissful but he's in deep debt due to slumping rentals of his boat. On an excursion to Havana during the midst of the revolution (which was in progress when the movie was filmed, though California locations are stand ins for Cuban locales), Sam is approached by a couple of shady revolutionaries who want to employ his boat for illicit purposes. Sam rejects their overture but within seconds, he witnesses an inquisitive police officer brutally murdered by the men. He flees Cuba before anyone can place him as an eyewitness. Back home, his fortunes continue to decline and he fears having his boat foreclosed on. Good fortune seems to smile upon him when a wealthy man named Hanagan (Eddie Albert), accompanied by his beautiful young mistress Eva (Gita Hall), wants to pay to charter Sam's boat for a princely sum- with the caveat that they make an unauthorized nighttime visit to Havana without getting a travel permit. Sam takes an immediate dislike to the perpetually jovial Hannigan and doubts his story that he and Eva simply want to sample the nightlife in Havana. Sam reluctantly agrees out of financial desperation. Once in Cuba, however, Hannigan is actually secretly meeting with revolutionaries, who pay him a large sum of cash in return for promising to deliver a cache of weapons to them on his next visit. Things get hairier from there when Hannigan uses financial blackmail to force Sam into making a return visit to Cuba in order to drop off the weapons. In the "Key Largo"-like finale, he finds himself on board the small vessel with Hannigan and his gang of cutthroats (including sadistic Richard Jaeckel) who have every incentive to kill him once the mission is complete. Of particular interest is the screenplay's attempts to remain politically ambivalent in dealing with the Cuban revolution, though the writers clearly seem to paint the rebels in an unfavorable light. (Only a few months after the film's release, the Batista regime would fall to Castro's forces.)
Director Siegel was known for making his films lean and mean and this is no exception. Working with a threadbare budget, he manages to squeeze considerable suspense out of the scenarios with nary a wasted frame of film or a superfluous line of dialogue. Audie Murphy suffices in the lead role, but the part calls out for someone with a harder edge. The film benefits from a marvelous cast of supporting actors with Everett Sloane especially good as Sam's elderly, wino first mate who he keeps on simply out of sentiment. There are also bit parts by Jack Elam and John Ford regular John Qualen. The two female leads are very good but Gita Hall steals the show in the traditional role of glamorous femme fatale, a young woman who is mortgaging her future for the trappings of luxury by serving as Hannigan's mistress. (If she were in a higher profile film, she may have gone on to stardom.) By far the best performance is given by Eddie Albert, who makes for a larger-than-life, smarmy villain. The diversity of this actor is often overlooked. He could play light comedy (he was great in "Green Acres") with exceptional skill while also delivering dramatic performances that are equally impressive.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features the original trailer with an English track but Italian titles (go figure) and some bonus trailers. I don't want to overstate the merits of "The Gun Runners" but as a "B" movie it exceeds expectations. Recommended.
The 1961 MGM Western A Thunder of Drums has been released by the Warner Archive. The film was regarded as a standard oater in its day but has since built a loyal following who have been eager to have the movie available on the home video market. What sets A Thunder of Drums apart from many of the indistinguishable Westerns of the period is its downbeat storyline and intelligent script, which was clearly geared for adults as opposed to moppets. There's also the impressive cast: Richard Boone, George Hamilton, Charles Bronson, Arthur O'Connell, Richard Chamberlain and Slim Pickens among them.The film opens with a sequence that was very unsettling and shocking for its day: an Indian attack on a tranquil homestead. A little girl is forced to witness the gang rape and murders of her mother and teenage sister. The plot then shifts to the local fort where commandant Boone is overseeing an understaffed cavalry contingent that has to find and defeat the marauding tribe, which has already slaughtered numerous settlers and soldiers. The Indians are window dressing in the story: nameless, faceless adversaries who are not given any particular motivation for their savagery. (These was, remember, far less enlightened times and such conflicts were generally presented without nuance.)
George Hamilton is the by-the-book West Point graduate assigned to the fort as Boone's second-in-command. He gets a frosty reception from minute one. Boone tells him he doesn't meet the requirements of a seasoned officer who can survive in the hostile environment. The two men spend a good deal of their time in a psychological war of wills. Adding to Hamilton's discomfort is the discovery that his former lover, Luana Patten, is not only living at the remote outpost, but is engaged to one of his fellow officers. The two rekindle their own romance and this leads to scandalous and tragic results.
The film is based on a novel by popular Western writer James Warner Bellah and probably represents the career high water mark of director Joseph Newman, who was destined to toil for decades helming B movies. He gets vibrant performances from his cast. The ever-watchable Boone is in his predictably crusty mode, cynically second-guessing his officers and men, tossing out insults and sucking on an omnipresent stogie. Boone was so dominant in every role he played, one wonders why he never reached a higher status as a reliable box-office figure. Hamilton is in his standard pretty boy mode, but holds his own against macho men Boone and Charles Bronson, who is cast against type as a somewhat dim-witted character of low scruples. Singer Duane Eddy, who was a teenage pop star at the time, made his film debut here with a degree of fanfare, but it was obviously last minute stunt casting as Eddy is given virtually nothing to do except strum a few chords on his guitar. The film boasts some magnificent scenery and some rousing action sequences that are more realistic than those found in most Westerns of the time. A Thunder of Drums isn't art or even a great or important Western - but it is fine entertainment and the Warner Archive edition looks terrific. A Blu-ray edition is overdue! The only bonus feature is the original theatrical trailer is included (the one seen above is of inferior quality to the trailer featured on the disc, but it does give a good overview of the film).
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With Russia currently dominating world news in an unfavorable way and authoritarian political figures making headlines even in democracies, it's relevant to look back on the 1983 crime thriller "Gorky Park", which has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The film was based on Martin Cruz Smith's international bestseller and was unique in its day because it centered on subterfuge within the Soviet law enforcement system and was set primarily in Moscow. Director Michael Apted had hoped to be the first major Hollywood studio production to shoot within the Soviet Union but unsurprisingly he was turned down due to the fact that the story dealt with systemic corruption throughout every layer of the government. Apted settled for the next best thing, shooting in Finland and Sweden, both of which make convincing substitutes for the USSR. Transforming the lengthy, complex novel to a screenplay could have been no easy task, even for acclaimed screenwriter Dennis Potter ("Pennies from Heaven"). Although the film has a leisurely running time of 128 minutes, there are still some portions of the story that are not fleshed out enough to be easily understood.
The movie gets off to a gripping start when three young people drift away from the crowd at a winter festival in Moscow's Gorky Park. They are shot dead shortly thereafter, although we don't know why or by who. Police detective Arkady Renko (William Hurt) is first on the scene and he discovers that the snow-covered bodies have been horribly mutilated with their fingers removed and their faces skinned so that their can be no recognition of the victims. This leads to some particularly gory scenes in which a pathologist skillfully manages to recreate their facial features using synthetic skin. In a country and political system in which everyone is justifiably paranoid, Renko begins to suspect that the KGB might have been behind the killings and are looking to set him up as a fall guy. An interesting cast of characters is gradually introduced. Irina Asanova (Joanna Pacula in her screen debut) is a glamorous actress who was a friend of the victims. Renko cannot persuade her that they are dead, as she has been assured that they escaped into exile by Jack Osborne (Lee Marvin). He's a well-connected, rich American businessman who deals in the lucrative trade of sable furs. Renko is immediately suspicious that Osborne, with his bought-and-paid for allies in Soviet law enforcement, is somehow tied to the murders. This results in a few of those scenes moviegoers love in which the hero and villain banter words, using euphemisms to represent their actual thoughts as they engage in a duel of wits. The more dedicated Renko becomes in solving the crime, the more he realizes his is putting his own life in danger. He later gets assistance from an American visitor, William Kirwill (Brian Dennehy), a detective who is in Moscow to try to solve the murder of his brother, who was one of the three victims. Together, he and Renko begin to unravel a tangled web of corruption, deceit, betrayal and more murders.
"Gorky Park" enjoyed good reviews at the time of its release but it was a boxoffice disappointment. Viewing the new Blu-ray, I found it more intriguing and enjoyable than I had previously- even though the plot gets very complicated and so many characters are introduced that by the end of the movie, I can't say for sure why the original three murder victims were killed. The movie was an important early starring role for William Hurt and he's adequate in the role but rather bland at times, although he and Pacula engage in the kind of steamy sex scene that was de rigueur at a time before movies became largely devoid of eroticism. Pacula gives a very fine performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination and Dennehy steals every scene he's in, although the premise of an American detective thinking he will have free reign to operate in one of the most oppressive societies in the world is a bit of a stretch. Ian Bannen is a welcome presence as Renko's superior officer, who may be in the pocket of Osborne. As the American fur trader, Lee Marvin is terrific in a marvelous late-career role. It must be said that the largely British cast of supporting actors retain their natural accents, which proves to be a distraction since they are supposed to be playing Russians. Hurt supposedly complained about this because, for the sake of consistency, it forced him to adapt his own version of a British accent, which seems like a hybrid with American English. It doesn't work at all and it's surprising that a skilled director like Apted didn't simply encourage his cast to adopt Russian accents. The production design is rich and expensive-looking but James Horner's score, which was acclaimed in some quarters, sounds dated and very much from an era in which synthesizers were employed ad nauseum.
For those of who came of age during the Cold War period, the film is a reminder of how every aspect of Soviet life was put under scrutiny, with paranoia instilled in citizens to keep everyone off-balance and reluctant to trust anyone else. Despite the Putin regime's quashing of many societal freedoms, today's Russia still enjoys far more freedoms and prosperity than it did when "Gorky Park" was made. Michael Apted's direction is first-rate. Dennis Potter's screenplay excels at showing what life is like in an authoritarian state, where the trappings of democracy are undermined by the fact that everyone knows that there are people who follow the people who follow them. What I found surprising and refreshing is that Renko, who is aware of and frustrated by the Orwellian aspects of his country, remains a dedicated law enforcement official who proudly serves the Soviet state. "Gorky Park" is not a classic but it is a compelling and offbeat thriller that holds up today.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks very good, indeed. Cinematographer Rolf D. Bode's cinematography really impresses, as he shot the film in a rather washed out, colorless manner to reflect the blandness of the Soviet state. The release is one of the few from KL that doesn't include a commentary track, but there is an excellent 16-minute recent interview with Michael Apted, who says he rarely revisits his own films but did so in this case. He says he was surprised at how well the film has held up but expresses his frustration that, despite good reviews, the movie was not successful at the American boxoffice, though it did well internationally. Apted recalls the challenges of trying to replicate Moscow in Helsinki and speaks well of his cast and crew. He says that Lee Marvin, though appearing healthy on screen, was in intensive care in a hospital just prior to filming, as he suffered from emphysema. He relates that Marvin was especially enthused about the film because it gave him a rare opportunity to play a character who was sophisticated and highly cultured. The Blu-ray also includes the original trailer, a teaser trailer and TV spots for "Gorky Park" and an extensive number of trailers for other action films available from KL.
A personal observation: it should be noted that the interview segment with Michael Apted was produced by Walter Olsen, co-founder with his brother Bill of the Scorpion Releasing video label. Scorpion had partnered with KL in recent years to release many under-radar-films on Blu-ray. Walter passed away in May just months after his brother died. Those of us who value their contributions to the home video industry mourn their passing.