cult film freak

Written by James M. Tate / 8/14/2018 / No comments / anne baxter , dana andrews , forties , jean renoir , john carradine , walter brennan , walter huston , ward bond

DANA ANDREWS IN THE JEAN RENOIR RURAL 'SWAMP WATER'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Opening Credit Sequence with Terrific Swamp Water font</u></td></tr>
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Despite critic Leonard Maltin's opinion that Walter Brennan was outrageously 
miscast in Jean Renoir's SWAMP WATER, set in the mysterious Georgian 
Okefenokee with more of a rural John Ford style than Renoir's own 
"foreign film" masterpiece, GRAND ILLUSION, Brennan's actually, surprsingly quite 
effective as an escaped convict with a "Wrong Man" backstory; a bizarre 
mental ability to survive otherwise deadly Cottonmouth bites... <br />
<br />
And last 
but not least, a love for Dana Andrews's hunting dog that chased a doe from the canoe to the land, past a spooky skull on a post in the river, a warning to never go 
beyond that dangerous, even legendary, restricted area. So on his next trip, this time alone, just for the pooch, fitfully named Trouble – the best
 hunting dog around –  Dana's Ben Ragan goes that extra dangerous mile to 
retrieve him...<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Release Year: 1941</u></td></tr>
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This
 ghostly, suspenseful, contained yet sporadically adventurous programmer
 is only hindered by a few side-characters (including the otherwise 
capable Ward Bond) who seem more befitting a dusty saloon town then 
backwater nowhere, and, surprisingly enough, Western-genre staple 
Brennan – seeming as agile and dangerous as his threats spoken in that 
signature drawl – isn't a culprit of the Cowboy cliche...<br />
<br />
Dana
 Andrews, early in his career before the star-making turn in LAURA, is 
natural and effective – how surprising such a "Hollywood Handsome" 
leading man with a "city" voice could realistically portray someone so 
rural, who's never been outside the murky swamp-surrounded village – 
smaller than even one horse.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dana Andrews in Swamp Water</td></tr>
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Despite third-billing to the 
already-established Brennan and his stubborn father played by Walter 
Huston, Andrews is the buried lead throughout, and what he holds back 
from the gossiping village overrides the pretty local girl he plans to 
marry, or the fact he desperately yearns to move out of his daddy's tiny
 shack: That being, the secret of Brennan's Tom Keefer, a 
fugitive accused of murder, rumored to be long gone yet actually lurking
 very nearby: a living/breathing wraith beyond the spiked skull, always 
keeping a tight eye on gator hunters, including the men who sentenced 
him to hang – mostly, though, he's tortured about the daughter he left 
behind.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swamp Score: ****</td></tr>
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Fresh from his scene-stealing, sympathetic turn in 
THE GRAPES OF WRATH, John Carradine plays the most ambiguous and bizarre
 character, a skinny pole with a strapped-on guitar and a lusty penchant
 for Huston's young wife and, most importantly, he keeps a secret that 
Andrews has to figure out. The only slight-miscast is
 Anne Baxter's half-crazy "wild girl," Keefer's daughter, looking like a
 starlet in a cave-girl costume – of course she's attracted to our 
leading man, and vice versa (Linda Darnell, Dana's future FALLEN ANGEL 
and ZERO HOUR co-starlet, almost landed the role: which might've worked 
better given her tempestuous, savage beauty)...<br />
<br />
But 
Renoir doesn't veer down that many predictable avenues, at least not for
 very long. For his core fans, this isn't a genuine art film while a 
conventional audience may yearn for more action – but with just enough 
brawn and brains to go around, this dusty little gem shines for a 
steady, even-keeled 90-minutes. The director, recently exiled from 
German-occupied France, made his very own American popcorn flick with an
 underlying pulse and atmosphere of something more important.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana Andrews Swamp Water Dana Andrews</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana Andrews goes out of his way to find Trouble in SWAMP WATER</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>DANA ANDREWS IN SWAMP WATER REVIEWED BY JAMES M. TATE AT CULT FILM FREAK</u></td></tr>
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anne baxter, dana andrews, forties, jean renoir, john carradine, walter brennan, walter huston, ward bond

DANA ANDREWS IN THE JEAN RENOIR RURAL 'SWAMP WATER'

Opening Credit Sequence with Terrific Swamp Water font Despite critic Leonard Maltin's opinion that Walter Brennan was outrageously ...

CORMAN DIRECTS BRONSON IN 'MACHINE GUN KELLY'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Rampage: 1958 Bullet Holes: ***</u></td></tr>
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There's a fine line between atmospheric and 
claustrophobic as Roger Corman directs Charles Bronson as
the title character, MACHINE GUN KELLY. He goes from one Noir-Lit room to the next: arguing with moll Susan Cabot about robbing banks while angering his former gang, who
 eventually want to kill him for being so unpredictable: Kelly's either really tough or breaking down like a child. Not the narrowed, tough guy you'd get from Bronson fifteen years later....<br>
<br>
The one bank robbery and 
getaway is filmed well enough, but the best scenes take place at a gas station 
where the owner, one of Kelly's inside men, owns a caged mountain lion 
that represents the fierceness building within our anti-hero — a 
<i>character </i>as unsympathetic as they come, and perhaps too unlikable for the film's own good. In an ironic turn, his humanity 
heightens after kidnapping a rich man's daughter, and that's when Susan Cabot 
who emerges with sharper teeth. Not much for action fans, but the dialogue
 is neat and pulpy and the acting exceeds most Corman-directed outings. With the usual stagnant camera, he'd soon be a much better producer mentoring much better directors. That was his style, niche. <br>

charles bronson, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gangster, roger corman, susan cabot

CORMAN DIRECTS BRONSON IN 'MACHINE GUN KELLY'

Year of Rampage: 1958 Bullet Holes: *** There's a fine line between atmospheric and claustrophobic as Roger Corman directs Charles ...

MAURY DEXTER YOUTH AT THE BEACH TRIPLE FEATURE

beach, bobby vinton, booth coleman, cindy malone, jazz score, maury dexter, patricia morrow, russ bender, sherry jackson, sixties, sport

MAURY DEXTER YOUTH AT THE BEACH TRIPLE FEATURE

Bobby Vinton teaches Patricia Morrow and friends to surf YEAR: 1964 SURF PARTY : Bobby Vinton plays a nice guy who runs a surf shop, and...

VIRGINIA MAYO IN SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Virginia Mayo with Patrice Wymore YEAR: 1952</u></td></tr>
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"I don't know what there is about the pelts of 
dead little animals that makes them so attractive to women when one 
little mouse scares 'em silly," says Ronald Reagan to Virginia Mayo in SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE. "A confusing sex, yours," he slurs, just slightly, and grins. "But a delightful 
confusion."<br>
<br>
<span class="caption">And there's nothing like seeing the future President of the United States playing a friendly yet uptight college professor given a cold remedy with a fair amount of codeine that he didn't "Say No" to. But no man refuses Mayo, one of the prettiest actresses ever filmed. Having catapulted as James Cagney's sexy yet put-upon, cheating wife in WHITE HEAT, she headlined a string of musicals during the 1950's, and this is one of the most memorable... </span><br>

college, comedy, fifties, gene nelson, musical, patrice wymore, ronald reagan, virginia mayo

VIRGINIA MAYO IN SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE

Virginia Mayo with Patrice Wymore YEAR: 1952 "I don't know what there is about the pelts of dead little animals that makes the...

SECOND RAOUL WALSH 'HIGH SIERRA' IN 'COLORADO TERRITORY'

forties, ian wolfe, joel mccrea, raoul walsh, remake, virginia mayo, warner archives, western

SECOND RAOUL WALSH 'HIGH SIERRA' IN 'COLORADO TERRITORY'

Virginia Mayo as Colorado in Colorado Territory circa 1949 HIGH SIERRA is not only a great movie, afterward making second-billed Humphre...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY CINEMA SUSTAINS W/ BADMAN'S TERRITORY

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lawrence Tierney gets scant screen-time, but looks cool YEAR: 1946</u></td></tr>
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George "Gabby" Hayes is a Cinematic National Treasure; it's too bad his obnoxious, notice-me, gummy-mouthed role wasn't buried in an otherwise half-decent if strangely paced, offbeat Western misleadingly titled BADMAN'S TERRITORY, after a strip of land/purgatory between Indian land and where no white man law and order exist... <br>
<br>
Thus Randolph Scott and tacked-on younger brother fit like loose, leafy gloves, and it takes a while to figure out why these seemingly stalwart heroes are hanging out with The James and Dalton Gangs, which adds to the overall uneven cadence that only sporadically attempts the kind of swift action the Western genre relies on. Leaving one desperate hope in our man Lawrence Tierney who plays, of all people, Jesse James himself; ironic since he'd become famous as another folk-hero outlaw in DILLINGER three years earlier (his moll Anne Jeffreys appears in the BADMAN'S sequel)... <br>

ann richards, forties, gabby hayes, lawrence tierney, randolph scott, steve brodie, warner archives, western

LAWRENCE TIERNEY CINEMA SUSTAINS W/ BADMAN'S TERRITORY

Lawrence Tierney gets scant screen-time, but looks cool YEAR: 1946 George "Gabby" Hayes is a Cinematic National Treasure; it&#...

SEAN S. CUNNINGHAM PRESENTS 'HOUSE' STARRING WILLIAM KATT

alan autry, comedy, eighties, george wendt, horror, kay lenz, mary stavin, richard moll, sean s. cunningham, steve miner, suspense, vietnam, william katt

SEAN S. CUNNINGHAM PRESENTS 'HOUSE' STARRING WILLIAM KATT

Foreign Poster art from the Arrow Blu Ray MOVIE YEAR: 1985 One of those comedy/horror flicks that, in 1985, wasn't so "one of t...

NEW WORLD PICTURES 'AVALANCHE' WITH ROCK HUDSON

corey allen, disaster, mia farrow, robert forster, rock hudson, roger corman, seventies, suspense

NEW WORLD PICTURES 'AVALANCHE' WITH ROCK HUDSON

Year of Release: 1978 Yes it's a JAWS clone even though AVALANCHE is a disaster movie with the disastrous situation named after exac...

JOHN BELUSHI & DAN AYKROYD SADLY SIGN OFF WITH 'NEIGHBORS'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-FBFtcFxao/W1Jhyw2pnvI/AAAAAAAA3to/W0G7ImK0oBk5WG27InZ0ZsEEMv0nXTeawCLcBGAs/s1600/Picture%252B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="640" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-FBFtcFxao/W1Jhyw2pnvI/AAAAAAAA3to/W0G7ImK0oBk5WG27InZ0ZsEEMv0nXTeawCLcBGAs/s400/Picture%252B1.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Belushi's Earl Keese and his daughter's cool poster YEAR: 1981</u></td></tr>
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John Belushi's last film is unique, to say the very least. And the least, plot-wise, is what NEIGHBORS is all about: Against type, he plays an uptight suburban husband with a bland wife in a big bland house at the end of a rural col de sac... also bland...<br>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LCKxziEBY_o/W1N7je25eiI/AAAAAAAA3u0/xOelP5VcuMYjmj-BuXzB1IHqwaQt5eKXwCLcBGAs/s1600/220px-Neighbors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LCKxziEBY_o/W1N7je25eiI/AAAAAAAA3u0/xOelP5VcuMYjmj-BuXzB1IHqwaQt5eKXwCLcBGAs/s200/220px-Neighbors.jpg" width="135"></a></div>
Until wacky Dan Aykroyd and Cathy Moriarty move in next door: making his existence, through the course of one night, a tedious, unbearable yet somehow strangely addicting experience... An everything-goes-wrong kinda thing — only there's too much bizarre intrusion to make the ordinary domestic setting seem real in the first place. And under the otherwise capable direction of John G. Avildsen (who made edgy, smaller films like JOE and SAVE THE TIGER before his Oscar winning ROCKY), composer Tom Scott's horrendous, cartoon-like score adds insult to injury: traipsing along with the antics... while sometimes even spoiling them... so there are very few surprises; which includes variations of particular theme songs, like for instance, THE TWILIGHT ZONE (both are weird, get it?). And yet, despite the many flaws, it's still very intoxicating, somehow. But while considered a disaster on the Belushi/Aykroyd curve, NEIGHBORS actually does more damage to the excellent page-turning novel by Thomas Berger. Then again, it's a really tough book to adapt. <br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd finish their third/last film, and including SNL, fourth overall collaboration NEIGHBORScore: ***</u></td></tr>
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cathy moriarty, dan aykroyd, dark comedy, eighties, john belushi, john g. avildsen

JOHN BELUSHI & DAN AYKROYD SADLY SIGN OFF WITH 'NEIGHBORS'

John Belushi's Earl Keese and his daughter's cool poster YEAR: 1981 John Belushi's last film is unique, to say the very leas...

CHEVY CHASE STARS IN WHILE SUFFERING 'MODERN PROBLEMS'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1980 cast: Chevy Chase, Patty D'Arbinville, Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter, Mary Kay Place  Directed by Ken Shapiro </u></td></tr>
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During the Reagan era Air Traffic Control Strike (never mentioned, only parodied), Chevy Chase plays just that... Although he's working, not striking, while having serious troubles and/or... problems. First off, his convertible's been keyed. But that's nothing compared to the nuclear waste spilled from a truck, allowing him to move things at will derived from the frustration of his girlfriend leaving: Herein orchestrated physical gags are balanced along with Chase's usual deadpan humor, only more-so than usual: the poor guy's downright depressed...<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TAyOyx5ElUY/W1K9PQMYJcI/AAAAAAAA3uA/QtXjcX7FcZgEvRhWbZa-E8FXnam4YZw9QCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-20%2Bat%2B9.51.55%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="345" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TAyOyx5ElUY/W1K9PQMYJcI/AAAAAAAA3uA/QtXjcX7FcZgEvRhWbZa-E8FXnam4YZw9QCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-20%2Bat%2B9.51.55%2BPM.jpg" width="179"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So his signature glib, subtle, conceited sarcasm is nowhere in sight. Which wouldn't fit here anyway, and why MODERN PROBLEMS (which would morph to teenagers in ZAPPED! the following year) isn't a quotable classic like CADDYSHACK or FLETCH... In fact it's pretty much forgotten...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ap5Dy0IJhn0/W1Kj_yJLnXI/AAAAAAAA3t0/S_VjBj-KrD4RJTtkokOhguGMxuzDI_yzACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-20%2Bat%2B12.52.49%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ap5Dy0IJhn0/W1Kj_yJLnXI/AAAAAAAA3t0/S_VjBj-KrD4RJTtkokOhguGMxuzDI_yzACLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-20%2Bat%2B12.52.49%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"The Man in Me"... Perhaps his dream sequence inspired The Big Lebowski</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yet it's more about story than laughs: And before he gets those table-turning powers (while making goofy facial expressions straight from an SNL Weekend Update skit, only here to move the plot): Chevy's character is a victim of circumstance connected to everyone including his crippled friend, ex-wife, ex-girlfriend (dating a guy who makes Liberace seem like John Wayne... and feeling <i>jealous</i> about it?), a famous, despicable self-help author (Dabney Coleman as his usual jerk-guy) and a voodoo-spouting maid.... <br>
<br>
Then when his revenge emerges with irresponsible glee, it's old school zany and entertaining enough. But the third act, taking place at his buddy's summer beach house, along with invited guests, Chevy's spells go overboard: leaving the characters, and audience, to <i>deal with</i> those quirky once-sporadic <i>gifts</i> instead of enjoying them. Although what PROBLEMS is mostly remembered for... a snorting of something more powerful than cocaine, and maybe a nod to the still-living, hard-partying John Belushi or perhaps just a way of saying farewell to the 1970's... Leaving one with nothing left to say but... "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LIKE IT!" <br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>

brian doyle murray, chevy chase, comedy, dabney coleman, eighties, patti d'arbanville

CHEVY CHASE STARS IN WHILE SUFFERING 'MODERN PROBLEMS'

year: 1980 cast: Chevy Chase, Patty D'Arbinville, Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter, Mary Kay Place Directed by Ken Shapiro During the Re...

BELATED POST-WEEKEND REVIEW OF 'ANT-MAN AND THE WASP'

2018, marvel, michael douglas, michael peña, michelle pfeiffer, new, paul rudd

BELATED POST-WEEKEND REVIEW OF 'ANT-MAN AND THE WASP'

Year of Release: 2018 ANT-MAN should have his name changed to Size-Shifter. That's what he does, and what everyone around him does. ...

DIVING INTO DISNEY'S KURT RUSSELL DEXTER REILLY TRILOGY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pXopmOlyRyk/W0YNnWTIC4I/AAAAAAAA3iA/GtSOTsdzbRUs34sZS-tFS5yGHxO089bsQCLcBGAs/s1600/41038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="725" height="287" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pXopmOlyRyk/W0YNnWTIC4I/AAAAAAAA3iA/GtSOTsdzbRUs34sZS-tFS5yGHxO089bsQCLcBGAs/s400/41038.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dexter Riley Cinema Years in Action are 1968 to 1975</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES, the
 first of three Disney "Dexter Riley" films starring Kurt Russell as the leader of a group of eavesdropping science-students at a financially-strapped University, is fun but a tad too plot-heavy and flower-power dated: Dexter gets 
electrocuted by a computer (giant machines at that time) and his brain becomes one, allowing him to 
pass tests with ease and excel at anything having to do with facts or 
memorization...<br>
<br>
There's a cookie-cutter blond kid named Peter, supposedly the more well-balanced and popular, or something, and yet Russell, despite a somewhat forced geeky persona, looks and even acts much cooler. In later 
Dexter films, poor Pete's completely replaced by the much better sidekick in Michael McGreevy as Schuyler, who<i> is</i> in this movie but hasn't become Archie's full-on Jughead
quite yet. There's too much emphasis on otherwise entertaining adult actors Caesar Romero, William Schallert 
and Joe Flynn and not enough of the kids: which is odd during the late 1960's student-driven era, but it's as if Disney wouldn't completely let-go of the old safe middle-aged paunch. Surprisingly, COMPUTER isn't an underdog-revenge team effort like it should be, so the premise gets pretty tired quick... but later improves...<br>
<div>
<div>
<br></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aBebmxY_XjI/Wz6fVzvtt2I/AAAAAAAA3bA/jb8Qhlw6DBQR9PwLCxNup-MfNLHYOdrqgCLcBGAs/s1600/tumblr_ma6zlyiemA1qkcj94o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="485" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aBebmxY_XjI/Wz6fVzvtt2I/AAAAAAAA3bA/jb8Qhlw6DBQR9PwLCxNup-MfNLHYOdrqgCLcBGAs/s400/tumblr_ma6zlyiemA1qkcj94o1_500.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Kurt Russell Now You See Him Lobby Card</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If COMPUTER were a "Dexter Riley" TV-series pilot based on his science class University cohorts, the followup, NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T would be the best episode overall; 
the worst being its follow-up and third/last venture, THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, which, like COMPUTER but even more-so, overplays the grownup input that takes too long for the titular payoff to unveil through barbell lifting gags, etc... <br>
<br>
Again, the handsome Kurt Russell looks more like a popular jock than a science nerd, although you forget he's anyone 
else but the energetic young man who starred in many live-action Disney movies of the sixties and seventies before becoming John Carpenter's 
own personal Clint Eastwood. In NOW YOU SEE HIM it's mostly about Dexter, his smart/pretty ingenue Joyce Menges, and goofball buddy Michael McGreevy returning more prominently as Schuyler: a unique, oddball, human cartoon that was born for Disney cinema: They create a spray for a science contest that turns things invisible (and to free the school from 
debt once again)... <br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PUozuBu7QG0/Wz6g3hQyd6I/AAAAAAAA3bc/JdHrqoui9Z4jgWKjv0DZXJ0wZzqLzBw7gCLcBGAs/s1600/affiche4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="355" height="236" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PUozuBu7QG0/Wz6g3hQyd6I/AAAAAAAA3bc/JdHrqoui9Z4jgWKjv0DZXJ0wZzqLzBw7gCLcBGAs/s320/affiche4.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Computer: **1/2 Now You See: ***1/2 Strongest: **</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
The kids follow their clumsy dean Joe Flynn to the golf course: he's a complete hacker trying to impress a
 millionaire golf-nut who runs the contest. Dexter, sprayed invisible, helps Flynn with his game, which is the funnest part... after which that string of purposely-frustrating 
"Disney-letdowns" occur: the things that once worked now fail because of
 a villain's (or nature's) tampering.<br>
<br>
The spray is stolen by Caesar Romero, a crime 
boss with plans to turn the campus into his own Las Vegas. He and muggy cohort
 Richard Bakalan... always the square-jawed Disney thug but most recognizable as the dead-eye cop who shoots Faye 
Dunaway in CHINATOWN... become invisible bank robbers. The last act involves a chase between 
the students, cops, and the bad guys in their invisible car. Here things peter-out creatively for mainstream mindless action, and yet it's still pretty fun and entertaining. So if you wanna <i>meet </i>Dexter watch THE COMPUTER WEARS TENNIS SHOES, but to <i>really know him</i> SEE this second film, first, and skip the third altogether. </div>

caesar romero, college, comedy, disney, joe flynn, kurt russell, michael mcgreevy, science-fiction, seventies, sixties

DIVING INTO DISNEY'S KURT RUSSELL DEXTER REILLY TRILOGY

Dexter Riley Cinema Years in Action are 1968 to 1975 THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES, the first of three Disney "Dexter Riley"...

AMAZON PRESENTS HUGH GRANT IN 'A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_IedDA90yA/W0RImD9zfhI/AAAAAAAA3hM/nU-mdvUGX80cuPP1kmt39LrzXyIUaR0NgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-09%2Bat%2B10.40.55%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1442" height="331" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X_IedDA90yA/W0RImD9zfhI/AAAAAAAA3hM/nU-mdvUGX80cuPP1kmt39LrzXyIUaR0NgCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-09%2Bat%2B10.40.55%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Old Stuffy Music Covers A Risque Modern Romance 2018 Score: ***</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Has a nice binging style for half of the three-episode series, after which it becomes much too obvious what the agenda is i.e. whose side the creators are on, with full steam. The supposed hired killers are keystone cops, shown so vapid and clumsy it's impossible to believe they'd ever be considered for the assignment had it been... assigned in the first place. Hugh Grant seems to be doing an imitation of Jeremy Thorpe or the template of Jeremy Thorpe being a hypocritical English Liberal Party member who is gay while trying to have his former gay lover killed...<br>
<br>
If Grant played the role more naturally or likeable, or realistic, it might seem like he was taking the wrong side in the matter, which would be contrary to the ultimate conclusion that, once you see the old, contented, real life, openly-gay "victim" Norman Scott smiling into the same camera that'd shot the recreated quirky-drama, it's obvious that A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL was, all along, one man's story and his story alone. The problem is: The best moments, during the show's addictive, rudimentary stages, had the old and young, powerful and powerless Jeremy and Norman each shown as flaky, flawed, desperate individuals and, for that, both were initially and equally intriguing. Meanwhile, the scene-stealing middle-ground is in Thorpe's shifty yet still ambiguous defense lawyer: In him, both the good and bad elements of human nature blend and flow like the entire series should/could have.<br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yhka-6wmZZs/W0WpE7bWyjI/AAAAAAAA3hs/3BR_wlziVPIKpAXiT5Nnns7mJ2KI-_oLACLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yhka-6wmZZs/W0WpE7bWyjI/AAAAAAAA3hs/3BR_wlziVPIKpAXiT5Nnns7mJ2KI-_oLACLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hugh Grant pours on the scheming fiend in his Very English Scandal series</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWzxIAAcdNg/W0WpE710r5I/AAAAAAAA3ho/gjwhMej1lWwM4CC6RJznqVaPkW5vaPJpQCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWzxIAAcdNg/W0WpE710r5I/AAAAAAAA3ho/gjwhMej1lWwM4CC6RJznqVaPkW5vaPJpQCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Adrian Scarborough steals the show as George Carman QC</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vRf9qgM8sI/W0WpE5KRSWI/AAAAAAAA3hk/moC6JbP251w_Hsn3rVm2DgUcgC2EjrN6gCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vRf9qgM8sI/W0WpE5KRSWI/AAAAAAAA3hk/moC6JbP251w_Hsn3rVm2DgUcgC2EjrN6gCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Our greatest underrated villain list headlines Paul Freeman from Raiders of the Lost Ark as Sir Joseph Cantley</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKG66931czc/W0RMXEIDRWI/AAAAAAAA3hY/Yeg9JbtdiRAztojhKifBD5hryHXGlAO6ACLcBGAs/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKG66931czc/W0RMXEIDRWI/AAAAAAAA3hY/Yeg9JbtdiRAztojhKifBD5hryHXGlAO6ACLcBGAs/s1600/33.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ben Whitshaw, as the pretty boy version of the beak-nosed real life Scott, suffers through bouts of meantime</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>

2018, ben whitshaw, biopic, cable, hugh grant

AMAZON PRESENTS HUGH GRANT IN 'A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL'

Old Stuffy Music Covers A Risque Modern Romance 2018 Score: *** Has a nice binging style for half of the three-episode series, after whi...

JOHN CANDY W/ KERRI GREEN & TRACY AUSTIN IN 'SUMMER RENTAL'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmVFQVAVYI0/WzuJNIJZ9oI/AAAAAAAA3Zg/WabmiYJ375UGjbWeiv1wMvhDO1V1hbaAgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B7.15.19%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1600" height="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmVFQVAVYI0/WzuJNIJZ9oI/AAAAAAAA3Zg/WabmiYJ375UGjbWeiv1wMvhDO1V1hbaAgCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B7.15.19%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Kerri Green in a 1985 movie with a 1981 poster behind her </u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic
 controller on a two week Florida vacation and, starting with 
accidentally settling into the wrong house, things go wrong in the usual
 domino-falling fashion: Meanwhile, cute daughter and wife, Kerri Green and
 Tracy Austin, are great to gander, and son Matthew Lawrence isn't 
annoying like movie kids can be... <br>
<br>
SUMMER RENTAL is 
broken into two halves: the first, dealing with the clan's unlucky 
misadventures, including their rental house used as a way-station for 
tourists and various oddballs; the second involving Candy, after breaking his leg, learning how 
to sail by modern pirate Rip Torn, thus preparing for a big boat race 
against local bully Richard Crenna, playing bad to the hilt in this underdog family film that's not always hilarious, but 
there's plenty to smile at. Especially the first half before that inevitable destination is neared. Upon re-watching, you may find yourself hoping our tubby hero remains uninjured, so to wreak havoc the old fashioned way: by accident. <br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Szy4jiSS80k/WzuMo0lZDlI/AAAAAAAA3aA/i05JOuikI6gLwVnrQo633fUKmMJ5p8TbwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B7.42.54%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Szy4jiSS80k/WzuMo0lZDlI/AAAAAAAA3aA/i05JOuikI6gLwVnrQo633fUKmMJ5p8TbwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B7.42.54%2BAM.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Karen Austin with Kerri Green and an outside Top Secret movie poster and on the inside...</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>

carl reiner, comedy, eighties, john candy, kerri green, rip torn, tracy austin

JOHN CANDY W/ KERRI GREEN & TRACY AUSTIN IN 'SUMMER RENTAL'

Kerri Green in a 1985 movie with a 1981 poster behind her John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controll...

DISNEY TRIPLE FEATURES 'NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN' WITH 'HOT LEAD & COLD FEET' AND 'THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nB_jtGCy7M/WzrjxloDyvI/AAAAAAAA3Y4/N7dyd6fHFfA51PohwAMbhjTRHP5nvV7QwCLcBGAs/s1600/adffce70-fcf7-0132-f422-0e18518aac2f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="703" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nB_jtGCy7M/WzrjxloDyvI/AAAAAAAA3Y4/N7dyd6fHFfA51PohwAMbhjTRHP5nvV7QwCLcBGAs/s400/adffce70-fcf7-0132-f422-0e18518aac2f.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1976 Rating: **</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN</u>: Disney flick with Don Knotts whose usual, more natural Tim Conway sidekick is replaced by Darren McGavin as one of two 
dimwitted brother-in-law safecrackers tangled with 
two prep-school kids...<br>
<br>
The girl being Kim Richards (your author's first crush, as made public on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, episode <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3448200/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast">The Curse of Carlton</a> taking place at an autograph show) who, along with familiar child actor face Brad Savage, ditch their stuffy 
grandfather David Niven at the airport, and the kids learn their 
thief-pals owe money to a crime boss (Vic Tayback) and to help they
 come up with a plan to fake a kidnapping. The ransom by wealthy gramps 
will bring in the money needed. Niven keeps avoiding the payments, 
knowing it's all a practical joke. And other than some car chases and 
Don Knotts chasing a pet skunk, that's about the gist of it. It all 
seems like a bunch of actors stuck in a constrained story. McGavin is 
miscast as Knott's straight man and Knotts isn't very funny as the 
doofus. There are better Disney flicks. Take CANDLESHOE, also starring 
David Niven (with Jodie Foster as the kid) and involving wily kids who, unlike this, have a decent, 
more interesting premise to follow.<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bl7ooN4tlrs/WzrefMPBRFI/AAAAAAAA3Yg/5EDvZtrhyN07aFl_R8P2SrTkvEfb1FFBgCLcBGAs/s1600/51N7PTW482L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="349" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bl7ooN4tlrs/WzrefMPBRFI/AAAAAAAA3Yg/5EDvZtrhyN07aFl_R8P2SrTkvEfb1FFBgCLcBGAs/s320/51N7PTW482L.jpg" width="223"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1978 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>HOT LEAD & COLD FEET</u>: Having
 watched this movie as a kid the only scenes remembered were of Don Knotts involved in unsuccessful take-ten-paces-and-draw 
showdowns. But the main storyline is about two brothers... played by the same actor, Jim Dale, a Disney regular and now very obscure... one a mean gunslinger the other a
 preachy do-gooder taking part in a race involving mini stream-engine 
trains, canoes down rapids and mountain-climbing, all in order to inherit a 
load of money from their crazy white-bearded father (also played by 
Dale... the white Eddie Murphy of his time)...<br>
<br>
The good brother wants the money for... good reasons (building a 
church with tough and pretty school teacher Karen Valentine and two 
savvy orphans) and the bad brother wants the money for — you get the 
idea. The town bullies and the crooked banker, along with Disney 1970's go-to Darren McGavin, are 
rooting for the villain because they have something to gain, sabotaging the good brother in a tortoise-vs-hare fashion throughout this semi-funny Disney film with enough happening to keep you interested, 
although the build-up, introducing the siblings in contrasting lives 
before they meet, fares better than the wacky race: which not only gets
 tiresome but neglects the other characters. And those Don Knotts scenes
 happen only sporadically; he's sort of a cameo-with-hiccups.<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CufdX2S4FWI/SuX5ZmLxfTI/AAAAAAAAAkI/gdHQ8zV11Rc/s1600-h/barefoot+executive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396993946615381298" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CufdX2S4FWI/SuX5ZmLxfTI/AAAAAAAAAkI/gdHQ8zV11Rc/s200/barefoot+executive.jpg" style="float: right; height: 150px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1971 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE</u>: Disney's child-teen regular's regular Kurt
 Russell plays a climber. A dreamer. A junior college student working as a 
gopher at a television studio, and he wants to be a programmer but has no idea 
what shows are good... And most important — his girlfriend adopts a chimp who also sits and watches 
TV, with a twist...<br>
<br>
The chimp sits mesmerized when he likes a show, and goes bonkers 
when he doesn't. It turns out, the chimp has a pulse on what shows work 
and what shows don't as later indicated by the ratings. And if the 
same monkey were watching this film it'd commit suicide, and yet, somehow, it's not that entirely god-awful, with some entertaining chase scenes. But overall this standard 
by-the-numbers live-action Disney film that never really evolves just isn't worth the climb. 
<br>

caper, comedy, darren mcgavin, david niven, disney, don knotts, jack elam, jim dale, kim richards, kurt russell, vic tayback, western

DISNEY TRIPLE FEATURES 'NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN' WITH 'HOT LEAD & COLD FEET' AND 'THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE'

Year: 1976 Rating: ** NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN : Disney flick with Don Knotts whose usual, more natural Tim Conway sidekick is replaced by ...

DISNEY DUO 'UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL' & 'SNOWBALL EXPRESS'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MewFYnfznmc/WzogMvi-_pI/AAAAAAAA3YA/z1UU6ZjB9iMw0eMwZP_LnqRUOph3ehINwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-02%2Bat%2B5.21.55%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1303" height="267" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MewFYnfznmc/WzogMvi-_pI/AAAAAAAA3YA/z1UU6ZjB9iMw0eMwZP_LnqRUOph3ehINwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-02%2Bat%2B5.21.55%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>presents Dennis Dugan never quite taking off as Disney's Flying Oddball</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Skinny, rather sickly-looking actor (and future Adam Sandler director/collaborator) Dennis Dugan is a cross between Don Knotts and
 Dean Jones in Disney's fantasy comedy THE INDEMNIFIED FLYING ODDBALL, playing duo roles: a scientist and a robot-astronaut clone 
of himself.<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtzl456V_WI/WzoR8XtG12I/AAAAAAAA3Ww/xmGAmHnXd8w7i8l3HdQjfFaYHe3_v68GACLcBGAs/s1600/arthur%252B11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtzl456V_WI/WzoR8XtG12I/AAAAAAAA3Ww/xmGAmHnXd8w7i8l3HdQjfFaYHe3_v68GACLcBGAs/s320/arthur%252B11.jpg" width="196"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1979 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Both go up in a rocket (the scientist by accident) and land 
in King Arthur's court where our wimpy hero battles strong and formidable Sir Mordred (Jim 
Dale, a Disney staple) and woos a beautiful farm girl while teaching 
King Arthur and Merlin about the history of America...<br>
<br>
What begins as a 
semi-intriguing sci-fi inspired comedy gets weighed down by the setting of the 
book, Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", wherein
 the adaptation value of a modern man in Arthurian England being 
mistaken for a wizard, the best aspect of the novel, is all but lost 
within silly swordplay and meandering, unfunny hijinks. Overall this is a
 Disney dud, but there's enough silly camp... even at that time, perhaps intentional... to make for an entertaining ride, or better put, semi-enjoyable crash landing.<br>
<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mhsiHJt2Ucs/WzoWzUDzqPI/AAAAAAAA3Xg/zV1R_GtQ6B4LZqL5-0Vgg8Q2C-bJyZsEgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-02%2Bat%2B5.09.00%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="321" height="159" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mhsiHJt2Ucs/WzoWzUDzqPI/AAAAAAAA3Xg/zV1R_GtQ6B4LZqL5-0Vgg8Q2C-bJyZsEgCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-02%2Bat%2B5.09.00%2BAM.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1973 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div>
<u>SNOWBALL EXPRESS</u>: Dull,
 uninspired Disney flick about a New York office worker (Dean Jones 
doing his usual Jimmy Stewart impersonation) who inherits a hotel in 
snowy Colorado that he and his family turn from a big shabby shack into a
 plush ski resort and wackiness ensues, but it's all very lame and 
tiresome...<br>
<br>
The thing that makes seventies live-action 
Disney films like GUS and CANDLESHOE good are the "pockets" within the 
overall Disney "coat"... within these pockets are little adventures that
 makes you forget (or care) about an overall plot. But this coat is 
tired and worn with pockets full of slush. </div>

adaptation, adventure, comedy, dennis dugan, disney, jim dale, mark twain, science-fiction

DISNEY DUO 'UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL' & 'SNOWBALL EXPRESS'

presents Dennis Dugan never quite taking off as Disney's Flying Oddball Skinny, rather sickly-looking actor (and future Adam Sandler...

ELLIOTT GOULD & BILL COSBY IN DISNEY'S THE DEVIL & MAX DEVLIN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xlYvk8HRYRQ/WzmwdHp9-kI/AAAAAAAA3Uw/Zez3HOOQK0Iwla2yFjAujgEauNcP2TEQACLcBGAs/s1600/36420555_507149603047554_5657530994752749568_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="877" height="247" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xlYvk8HRYRQ/WzmwdHp9-kI/AAAAAAAA3Uw/Zez3HOOQK0Iwla2yFjAujgEauNcP2TEQACLcBGAs/s400/36420555_507149603047554_5657530994752749568_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Elliott Gould's Devlin falls into a Black Hole looking Hell YEAR: 1981</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jimmy Sangster was one of Hammer Films top creative forces, having written screenplay adaptations for their best two Universal Monster into England costume horror reboots, mostly starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing...<br>
<br>
Those being THE HORROR OF DRACULA and CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN along with a myriad of others including THE BRIDES OF DRACULA, SCREAM OF FEAR, TERROR OF THE TONGS, PARANOIAC and THE MUMMY, and he didn't think THE DEVIL AND MAX DEVLIN, with an original title of THE FAIRYTALE MAN meant for Vincent Prince in Bill Cosby's Satan role, was meant to be a Disney flick, at least while on paper. But it turned into a surprisingly entertaining fantasy-comedy that isn't very funny for funny's sake — but with a handing-off of enough eclectic characters, it's an interesting and entertaining time-filler.<br>

bill cosby, disney, eighties, elliott gould, lillian müller

ELLIOTT GOULD & BILL COSBY IN DISNEY'S THE DEVIL & MAX DEVLIN

Elliott Gould's Devlin falls into a Black Hole looking Hell YEAR: 1981 Jimmy Sangster was one of Hammer Films top creative forces, h...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IS DISNEY'S WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yDUAZz0SYnc/WzdUjlQGTyI/AAAAAAAA3Rk/7fjnSwr0Xy8se95-1UeuPXzv4nkuveoLwCLcBGAs/s1600/36378300_506175936478254_7523711069596942336_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="955" height="323" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yDUAZz0SYnc/WzdUjlQGTyI/AAAAAAAA3Rk/7fjnSwr0Xy8se95-1UeuPXzv4nkuveoLwCLcBGAs/s400/36378300_506175936478254_7523711069596942336_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Original Lobby Card Autographed by Jan-Michael Vincent YEAR: 1973</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
John Amos and Tim Conway, the most strangely-cast comedic duo in 
history, are coaches at a loser junior college full of extremely inept 
athletes. They take a trip to Africa (where Amos's grandparents came 
from) and find the greatest athlete in the world... and wouldn't ya know, he's white!<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xefyiQ9fKiQ/WzdVc1je2GI/AAAAAAAA3Rs/fgEnrE65s1cLAUUy8uedA_GkzsBoT05ywCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-06-30%2Bat%2B1.51.57%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="252" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xefyiQ9fKiQ/WzdVc1je2GI/AAAAAAAA3Rs/fgEnrE65s1cLAUUy8uedA_GkzsBoT05ywCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-06-30%2Bat%2B1.51.57%2BAM.jpg" width="106"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
A 
young, ripped Jan-Michael Vincent 
plays Nanu, a Tarzan clone who Amos and Conway trick into returning to 
the States to gain them a reputation as 
awesome coaches.  The best scenes in this adventurous, parody-pulpy first act occurs as Vincent 
shows his home-turf skills, from triumphantly racing Cheetahs upon gloriously horrible perspective effects to the usual tree-swinging frolic... <br>
<div>
<br>
There's
 really no strong villain like most Disney films, just a selfish 
businessmen (with his snotty son) and an antagonistic witch doctor (Roscoe Lee Browne), introduced in the Africa 
sequence, who causes Vincent's Nanu, while he, via montage, exceeds at every sport on all the college's teams until (like in every 
Disney flick about special powers) losing his abilities for a while, which, dragging about seven-minutes too long, grinds on 
the nerves as wrongly first-billed Tim Conway has only one solo scene, being
 voodoo-shrunk to the size of an insect and has to escape from a martini glass: But mostly this ATHLETE centers on Amos, Vincent, a wide-eyed, somewhat plain-Jane ingenue, and a lovable tiger 
in this just-above-average Disney outing.  </div>

action, adventure, college, comedy, disney, jan-michael vincent, john amos, seventies, sport, tim conway

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IS DISNEY'S WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE

Original Lobby Card Autographed by Jan-Michael Vincent YEAR: 1973 John Amos and Tim Conway, the most strangely-cast comedic duo in hist...

SEQUEL TO 'JURASSIC WORLD' ALSO KNOWN AS 'FALLEN KINGDOM'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v6VAHu_DXS4/WzSsQ7VduvI/AAAAAAAA3Pg/wyedJxW9yZAyBU8CIWyp3DeTcMPT6bK5wCLcBGAs/s1600/06-jurassic-world.w710.h473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="710" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v6VAHu_DXS4/WzSsQ7VduvI/AAAAAAAA3Pg/wyedJxW9yZAyBU8CIWyp3DeTcMPT6bK5wCLcBGAs/s400/06-jurassic-world.w710.h473.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>YEAR OF RELEASE: 2018</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fact that the dinosaurs are the most beloved aspect of the JURASSIC PARK series (or anything combining humans with dinos dating back to the 1950's) has become inner-contagious: Now the main characters not only adore the man-eating-monsters and/or leaf-eating giants that could crush cities given half a chance, but they want to actually save them from a second extinction...<br>
<br>
That's after four movies where they've done nothing but wreak havoc on a myriad of civilians, and now, suddenly, they're like the kangaroo rat, or whatever endangered species conservationists find more important than humans by outlawing the burning of underbrush to keep the full-blown forest fires less drastic (ask any fireman, they'll tell ya)...<br>

action, adventure, bryce dallas howard, chris pratt, dinosaur, jeff goldblum, new, science-fiction, sequel, ted levine

SEQUEL TO 'JURASSIC WORLD' ALSO KNOWN AS 'FALLEN KINGDOM'

YEAR OF RELEASE: 2018 The fact that the dinosaurs are the most beloved aspect of the JURASSIC PARK series (or anything combining humans ...

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS 'THE LEOPARD MAN' FOR VAL LEWTON

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KdmhBOnASKs/WzOLvUMefSI/AAAAAAAA3O0/1tkpDc0OfJs7Taf-icwULhDSa_gneEyrgCLcBGAs/s1600/the_leopard_man__49669.1407171500.500.750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="474" height="303" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KdmhBOnASKs/WzOLvUMefSI/AAAAAAAA3O0/1tkpDc0OfJs7Taf-icwULhDSa_gneEyrgCLcBGAs/s400/the_leopard_man__49669.1407171500.500.750.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>YEAR OF RELEASE: 1943 Rating: ****</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
An alternative title for THE LEOPARD MAN produced by b-movie guru Val
 Lewton and directed by his stock suspense master (and our personal favorite director) Jacques Tourneur could
 be called DOORS THAT DON'T OPEN ON TIME, but that would be a spoiler in 
itself within this turnaround of their most well-known
collaboration and ultimately superior CAT PEOPLE, only this underrated gem purrs a bit smoother, is less character-driven and is a tad spookier, more ominous, and far more often...<br>
<br>
The first two victims 
of a black leopard who'd escaped because of a practical joke on a samba dancer (who uses castanets in a spine-chilling, echoing manner), working
 in a low-rent nightclub, are not just unlucky, but, in random circumstances, one locked outside, the other inside, they each die because of some lazy dolt who either takes their time or refuses <i>opening up</i>, no matter how much the shadowed soon-to-be-victims scream. This is far more Body Count Horror than Fantasy Noir yet there's a combination of 
each: the dark-lit, shadowy, investigative element combined with a  Gothic and lurking,
creature-feature template that's deeper than the norm, based on superstitious 
and forbidding black magic and taking itself extremely serious in the 
process: without, that is, being melodramatic or pretentious.<br>

british film noir/melodrama, dennis o'keefe, forties, horror, jacques tourneur, thriller, val lewton

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS 'THE LEOPARD MAN' FOR VAL LEWTON

YEAR OF RELEASE: 1943 Rating: **** An alternative title for THE LEOPARD MAN produced by b-movie guru Val Lewton and directed by his sto...

JEFF BRIDGES 'KING KONG: THE LEGEND REBORN' JESSICA LANGE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IF-PkoKxFo/WzDayaHjyvI/AAAAAAAA3M8/EtCPXQ9w4j8aPMrbW93o-74W04nW2Fl-QCLcBGAs/s1600/0%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1570" height="243" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IF-PkoKxFo/WzDayaHjyvI/AAAAAAAA3M8/EtCPXQ9w4j8aPMrbW93o-74W04nW2Fl-QCLcBGAs/s400/0%2B2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jessica Lange takes a shower with her new big beau YEAR: 1976</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first half is fantastic: a creative set-up with the 
famous story altered where oil speculator Charles Grodin seeks
 the fog-surrounded island as a possible origin for that gushy stuff 
that keeps planes flying and cars running...<br>
<br>
Jeff Bridges, as a "hippie" stowaway who bribes his way aboard the 
ship/freighter, knows the island has a big secret, and yet even he's not sure 
exactly what... Had another actor been cast in this preachy 
photographer role, liking and even thinking he understands simians over humans (especially the 11th hour American Military in Copters that he voraciously cheers upon their destruction), would be annoying and/or pretentious, even cliché: Given his film credits before and after, it's no surprise that Bridges can be just cool enough to add a
 tinge of pulpy action hero to the hairy modern do-gooder...<br>

action, adventure, charles grodin, creature, disaster, ed lauter, jeff bridges, jessica lange, john guillermin, julius harris, king kong, monster, remake, rené auberjonois

JEFF BRIDGES 'KING KONG: THE LEGEND REBORN' JESSICA LANGE

Jessica Lange takes a shower with her new big beau YEAR: 1976 The first half is fantastic: a creative set-up with the famous story alte...

ALAN DEAN FOSTER ON STAR WARS & SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn5z3tmv6F4/Wy1GlECI9CI/AAAAAAAA3Fk/PORogaJyOycEjvYjoqF_5CKBmEbEa2kVwCLcBGAs/s1600/steelkitten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="566" height="256" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn5z3tmv6F4/Wy1GlECI9CI/AAAAAAAA3Fk/PORogaJyOycEjvYjoqF_5CKBmEbEa2kVwCLcBGAs/s400/steelkitten.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Graphic Novel adaptation pic for our Alan Dean Foster Star Wars Interview</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>How did George Lucas come to you about ghostwriting the novelization for STAR WARS?</u> 
<br>
<div class="copy">
<br></div>
<div class="copy">
Negotiations
 ensued, with my participation for two books being agreed upon. One of 
the conditions was that George's name be on the cover and that, if 
asked, I deny having done the book. I had no problem with this... it's 
George's story, and business is business. But it was difficult having to
 occasionally lie to friends. I don't think any of them hold it against 
me.<b> </b></div>
<div class="copy">
<br></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xe4Vvhd0quI/Wy1CArAmzyI/AAAAAAAA3FE/1bmKcaF7iY89r8C5D9ecXU8rmnUsxvOzgCEwYBhgL/s1600/3607e784f18554fd49104e4fecd4132f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="461" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xe4Vvhd0quI/Wy1CArAmzyI/AAAAAAAA3FE/1bmKcaF7iY89r8C5D9ecXU8rmnUsxvOzgCEwYBhgL/s400/3607e784f18554fd49104e4fecd4132f.jpg" width="235"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Original Cover</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="copy">
<u>You were the first to write an “Expanded 
Universe” novel from “The Adventures of Luke Skywalker”, something that 
is quite common today… The book was SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE… How 
did this come about?</u></div>
<div class="copy">
<b></b><br>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQSkPjQkVnk/Wy1IAL_uyeI/AAAAAAAA3F0/iGxPuioK1sYFdPWywAk-I5yuAUBhWDFWQCLcBGAs/s1600/star-wars-1977-paperback-UK-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQSkPjQkVnk/Wy1IAL_uyeI/AAAAAAAA3F0/iGxPuioK1sYFdPWywAk-I5yuAUBhWDFWQCLcBGAs/s320/star-wars-1977-paperback-UK-1.jpg" width="188"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>More Well-Known Cover</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As
 I said, the contract was for me to do two books: the novelization of 
the film and an original sequel. With the caveat that I could not use 
the character of Han Solo (because, as I recall, Harrison Ford had not 
yet come to terms to do any sequels), I was given a completely free rein
 to write whatever I wished... except that George asked if I could write
 the story so that it could possibly be filmed on a low budget.  </div>
<div class="copy">
<br></div>
<div class="copy">
He
 was always thinking ahead, and in this regard he felt that if the first
 film was only a modest success, he would still be able to do a sequel 
with existing props and such. That's why the film takes place on a 
fog-shrouded planet, underground, etc....eliminates the need for 
expensive backdrops (no cgi then, remember). When SW was the 
overwhelming hit that it was, he was free to pursue any visions he 
desired.<b> </b><u>Was a Chewbacca cameo ever discussed for SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE?</u><b> </b>No Chewie without Han. No Abbott without Costello.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a3omAT-DyBM/Wy1NSlglkfI/AAAAAAAA3GU/btUNl1Klm4wmY_ODJ6rjvlBzjxOgsB4-QCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-06-22%2Bat%2B12.22.36%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="591" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a3omAT-DyBM/Wy1NSlglkfI/AAAAAAAA3GU/btUNl1Klm4wmY_ODJ6rjvlBzjxOgsB4-QCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-06-22%2Bat%2B12.22.36%2BPM.jpg" width="237"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Novelization Score: ****</u></td></tr>
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<u>CULT FILM FREAK ARCHIVED REVIEW</u>: Alan Dean Foster is the first author to provide an "expanded universe" 
novel based on George Lucas's characters. In fact, he also ghostwrote 
the STAR WARS tie-in (which is fantastic) and did this story as a 
possible sequel if STAR WARS was only a moderate success. The plot 
centers on Luke and Leia and the droids but without Han Solo (as 
Harrison Ford hadn't signed up for a sequel at that time, pre-Star Wars)
 crashed on a murky muddy swampy planet, much like Dagobah in the latter
 EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, wherein they must find a jewel which provides an 
abundance of the Force.<br>
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With just-enough battles and a nice climax 
with Darth Vadar fighting not only Luke, but Leia, within a temple mileau liken more to Lucas's future Indiana Jones world than Star Wars...<br>
<br>
And remember, this was before we 
learned Luke and Leia were brother/sister and their flirtation could be 
seen as not following the Star Wars canon; then again, they flirted in 
Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back as well and, overall there are some corny moments,
 like Leia being described as a "steel kitten", and some annoying 
characters, particularly Hallah, a female version of Obi Wan, who keeps 
referring to Luke as "Luke Boy" (grunt!): But all in all it's a nice 
adventure written by a really cool sci-fi author who really knows his 
stuff even when created by somebody else. The opening chapter is tops as
 it takes many pages for Luke's X-Wing to crash-land.  
<br>

book review, interview, seventies, star wars

ALAN DEAN FOSTER ON STAR WARS & SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE

Graphic Novel adaptation pic for our Alan Dean Foster Star Wars Interview How did George Lucas come to you about ghostwriting the noveli...

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