Cult Film Freak

Presented by James M. Tate / 6/21/2017 / No comments / comedy , fifties , james cagney , mob , musical , shirley jones

CAGNEY WINDS DOWN WITH NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-67u0cpIWY/WEj2LEvx-DI/AAAAAAAAvb4/0wqMTmJHMlAG6iCWK-lCnlCH61j7ihYywCLcB/s1600/15284144_237247110037806_7619244260823720972_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-67u0cpIWY/WEj2LEvx-DI/AAAAAAAAvb4/0wqMTmJHMlAG6iCWK-lCnlCH61j7ihYywCLcB/s400/15284144_237247110037806_7619244260823720972_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Cagney behind blinds in a semi Musical from 1959</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During his last decade of acting before what was really his retirement from show business (despite popping his head out twenty years later), James Cagney never did have that necessary pinnacle or comeback like, say, a fledgling Marlon Brando when director Francis Ford Coppola insisted that he try out for... you know...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this case, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick's favorite actor's filmography during the Fifties is eclectic and, for the most part, at times, pretty mediocre... That's compared to the likes of PUBLIC ENEMY, THE ROARING TWENTIES or WHITE HEAT: And here's one of several breezy breaks for the man who once reigned with vengeance: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL is a semi-musical about Union corruption, and if that sounds strange, only the little man could pull it off with an edgy vibe, somewhat: Like in one of his other (and far superior) 1950's vehicles, LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, he's in love with a young blonde girl who loves someone else </span>—<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> all while trying to steal an election...</span><br>

comedy, fifties, james cagney, mob, musical, shirley jones

CAGNEY WINDS DOWN WITH NEVER STEAL ANYTHING SMALL

James Cagney behind blinds in a semi Musical from 1959 During his last decade of acting before what was really his retirement from show ...

JOHN HURT & RICHARD BURTON IN GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asTOXqw80xg/WUdjL2ikJaI/AAAAAAAAyCE/i3XS-DgLP3cRXfNGpytHaayVUOZrpGeJwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-18%2Bat%2B10.36.50%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="590" height="292" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asTOXqw80xg/WUdjL2ikJaI/AAAAAAAAyCE/i3XS-DgLP3cRXfNGpytHaayVUOZrpGeJwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-18%2Bat%2B10.36.50%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Hurt very belated Memorial from 1984 YEAR: 1984</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Having grown up part of the original STAR WARS generation, it's impossible to <i>not</i> connect that story with even the most popular of classic futuristic novels that, in this case, proceeded the science-fiction phenom by decades. The question is: Would The Dark Side consider themselves The Dark Side? In their minds, they're right, not wrong... Right? Pure Light, not the absence of light...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the 1984 version of the George Orwell adaptation of 1984, despite being purposefully overboard to capture the essence of symbolism, it's difficult to find anything lucrative about this particular totalitarian government in which most of the people are forcefully, methodically content: The dilapidated streets resemble bombarded post-War Germany, and on giant movie screens is the image of a man that looks like Adolf Hitler, somewhat, and there's no turning off the repetitious propaganda ranging from battle front updates to how much chocolate will cost "next week." Meanwhile, the people confess their "sins" to the leader and to "Big Brother," especially those who have read a book by a man named Goldstein (no, he doesn't play basketball at Carver High): his philosophy attempts to delete this horrendous future with no value whatsoever. Hell, there's not even a cool red lightsaber.</span><br>

adaptation, eighties, john hurt, richard burton, science-fiction

JOHN HURT & RICHARD BURTON IN GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984

John Hurt very belated Memorial from 1984 YEAR: 1984 Having grown up part of the original STAR WARS generation, it's impossible to n...

UNWRAPPING THE TOM CRUISE MUMMY REBOOT REMAKE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-K2wV3g3yk/WUHDBpJzi9I/AAAAAAAAyA0/Yz9z8I1tLjMtKVBcVjrVHrsSc4z51AFzgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5345-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="899" height="242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-K2wV3g3yk/WUHDBpJzi9I/AAAAAAAAyA0/Yz9z8I1tLjMtKVBcVjrVHrsSc4z51AFzgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_5345-1.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Tom Cruise Mummy has hardly a bandage at all YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Failing to point out similarities that new movies share with old ones is like ignoring a familiar face who says hello... After bumping right into you...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So it's important to mention that <i>The Tom Cruise MUMMY</i> is, in its core, almost exactly like AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, arguably the greatest werewolf picture ever and, directed by John Landis, centers on two doomed vacationing hikers: one gets killed by an initial attack, the other injured: The latter has ominous, foreboding dreams while his not-very-pleasant-looking dead friend appears randomly, offering </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">spooky yet cordial reminders that he, the living, must <i>also</i> die to lift The Curse... </span><br>

2017, action, fantasy, reboot, science-fiction, tom cruise

UNWRAPPING THE TOM CRUISE MUMMY REBOOT REMAKE

The Tom Cruise Mummy has hardly a bandage at all YEAR: 2017 Failing to point out similarities that new movies share with old ones is lik...

MARVEL GROUNDS THE TRULY BIZARRE OF DOCTOR STRANGE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQkHzKQ0ia4/WT7gB_NITBI/AAAAAAAAyAM/bWBaI3fUkVAqtYROZquIsqOJyILA_znzgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B11.35.26%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="461" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQkHzKQ0ia4/WT7gB_NITBI/AAAAAAAAyAM/bWBaI3fUkVAqtYROZquIsqOJyILA_znzgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-12%2Bat%2B11.35.26%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dragon image in one of many Strange posters YEAR: 2016</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How a comic book adaption like this could be so... well... <i>strange</i> and still make enough sense... at least while you're watching.... is nothing short of miraculous. Or maybe we want it to be clear enough to remain on track this multi-level, cerebral rollercoaster...</span><br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuther Filler Pic</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title character with a dash of Robert Downey Jr. style sarcasm. Perhaps any superhero, before taking on a Marvel lead, crams for the <i>Tony Stark 101</i> test since wry, glib humor helps ground a bizarre, otherworldly situation...</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before Downey, Bill Murray did it in GHOSTBUSTERS. Jeff Goldblum in JURASSIC PARK. And many films beforehand allowing the audience to not only laugh during intense moments, but to take random breaks from the pandemonium (basically, the main star becomes his own sidekick). </span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And in the case of DOCTOR STRANGE, Cumberbatch <i>does</i> have a style all his own. An intellectual countenance makes for a realistically brilliant surgeon who thinks too highly of himself </span>—<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> with a reason, sort of. The only doctor who can pull off nearly inconceivable  operations, his life is as perfect as his sleek, expensive car. That's until listening Pink Floyd's INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE (early Syd Barrett era instrumental) and crashing down a mountainside, which is too quick and seems forced to get our man to the point where the origin story needs boundless desperation to ignite...</span></span><br>

2016, action, benedict cumberbatch, comic book, fantasy, marvel, science-fiction

MARVEL GROUNDS THE TRULY BIZARRE OF DOCTOR STRANGE

Dragon image in one of many Strange posters YEAR: 2016 How a comic book adaption like this could be so... well... strange and still mak...

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

2017, action, comic, franchise, hugh jackman, marvel, patrick stewart, road movie

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN <i>LOGAN</i>

FINAL HUGH JACKMAN WOLVERINE GOES BY JUST PLAIN LOGAN

Neat Walking Dead Style LOGAN poster YEAR: 2017 Somewhere online, the third and final WOLVERINE is said to have been influenced by films...

END OF THE WEEKEND REVIEW OF WONDER WOMAN

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXUOIlXx9s/WTS8VRL_x9I/AAAAAAAAx6s/A41sbWmt6oMPLKDFzl6cEUj0RLMnuN6nwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-04%2Bat%2B7.03.07%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="744" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6aXUOIlXx9s/WTS8VRL_x9I/AAAAAAAAx6s/A41sbWmt6oMPLKDFzl6cEUj0RLMnuN6nwCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-06-04%2Bat%2B7.03.07%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Wonder Woman Gal Gadot posing in front of a Weezer logo YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">First things first, and not to be shallow... although both male and female will readily admit that Gal Gadot is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women ever filmed... </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Which makes perfect sense in the WONDER WOMAN origin story because — she's no ordinary dame. Even living on an island with a race of Amazon beauties, who spend their long days practice-fighting in a slow-motion MATRIX style fashion, she stands out <i>and</i> alone — the only vixen with powers far beyond her kind. <i>Superpowers</i>, indeed...</span><br>

2017, chris pine, comic book, gal gadot

END OF THE WEEKEND REVIEW OF WONDER WOMAN

Wonder Woman Gal Gadot posing in front of a Weezer logo YEAR: 2017 First things first, and not to be shallow... although both male and f...

RIDLEY SCOTT SUSTAINS PROMETHEUS WITH ALIEN: COVENANT

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I6cw6xH_a-k/WTIlMG9G1dI/AAAAAAAAx58/agovpYEH_AQnMxara2_qtu93nIoRDm89ACLcB/s1600/alien--covenant-japanese-poster-432576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="488" height="343" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I6cw6xH_a-k/WTIlMG9G1dI/AAAAAAAAx58/agovpYEH_AQnMxara2_qtu93nIoRDm89ACLcB/s400/alien--covenant-japanese-poster-432576.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>More Spoilers Than Usual Since it's Been Out A While YEAR: 2017</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While Ash, the humanoid robot from the original ALIEN, was so obsessed with the "perfect" species, i.e. The Alien, he let it inside the ship, director Ridley Scott has the same adoration for Michael Fassbender, as the new Synthetic, that it's a wonder anyone else is even around...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We <i>do</i> learn in COVENANT that Fassbender's David had spent a decade on the planet he and the last sole surviving heroine blasted off to at the end of PROMETHEUS... And what began in 1979 as a body-count horror flick in outer space ("Where no one can hear you scream") has basically turned into a science-fiction version of Frankenstein — and boy, does he have a Monster: But first it takes a spaceship with a crew stupid enough to land there. Enter the new cast of human targets in this rushed sequel of an initially surreptitious prequel that makes the flawed PROMETHEUS seem like the original ALIEN (or James Cameron's action-packed sequel, ALIENS) by comparison.</span><br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU2S4LD_-1M/WTIlfiUbitI/AAAAAAAAx6A/H7P9I0851ZYozwcFtoYjEUr2OEmlX5LggCLcB/s1600/51S20FeAcML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="389" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU2S4LD_-1M/WTIlfiUbitI/AAAAAAAAx6A/H7P9I0851ZYozwcFtoYjEUr2OEmlX5LggCLcB/s400/51S20FeAcML.jpg" width="343"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>CovenantScore: *1/2</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Taking over the Sigourney Weaver "Ripley" mantle is a whiny, weepy Katherine Waterston as Daniels, who's more like Veronica Cartwright's frantic Lambert: the uptight lady who never stopped screeching... And how director Ridley Scott managed to make the otherwise beautiful Waterston look plain and homely is one of many problems here... </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Other than a cocky cowboy played by Danny McBride (the new Yaphet Kotto blue collar type), the entire crew is downright forgettable and, during sporadic, violent action scenes, aren't worthy enough to care about. While the original ALIEN chief in Tom Skerritt's Dallas provided the PSCYHO Janet Leigh role — seeming like the main character before his surprisingly quick death leaves the crew in an unplanned disarray — Billy Crudup's second-man turned captain, replacing an unlucky guy we never meet but through an archived video, is so inept, pathetic and cowardly he should have a lion suit on. Although, for the record, his banality <i>is </i>needed to explain why they'd wind up on that uncertain, unfamiliar planet in the first place.</span><br>

action, danny mcbride, horror, katherine waterston, michael fassbender, ridley scott, science-fiction, suspense

RIDLEY SCOTT SUSTAINS PROMETHEUS WITH ALIEN: COVENANT

More Spoilers Than Usual Since it's Been Out A While YEAR: 2017 While Ash, the humanoid robot from the original ALIEN, was so obsess...

MEMORIAL DAY REVIEW OF BREAKTHROUGH W/ JOHN AGAR

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Warner Archives front and back of DVD Year: 1950</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An unplanned writeup for Memorial Day since, as a collector of the Warner Archive DVDs, it's refreshing to find an old B&W World War II flick that's more an intriguing, suspenseful journey than cliché melodrama... </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Despite the fact the nicest guy on board shows-off a picture of his wife and kids, and winds up predictably dead: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There's also the token jester i.e. comic relief; a kindhearted simpleton; a muscle-bound dolt; a nervous, really young small town kid; a wise, head-strong Sergeant; an educated Lieutenant who lacks actual fighting experience; and his jaded, too-experienced Captain, trying to get him ready to, in this particular story, lead men onto the beaches of Normandy...</span><br>

action, dick wesson, fifties, frank lovejoy, john agar, war, warner archives

MEMORIAL DAY REVIEW OF BREAKTHROUGH W/ JOHN AGAR

Warner Archives front and back of DVD Year: 1950 An unplanned writeup for Memorial Day since, as a collector of the Warner Archive DVDs,...

COCHRAN HOLDS THE MAYO (AGAIN) IN SHE'S BACK ON BROADWAY

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XxNnkbrJ620/WSlOkXaM2EI/AAAAAAAAx4c/wd6AzeDn3f4nlW3kufWVGFqXGiF7e0kJACLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-27%2Bat%2B2.55.25%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="1547" height="285" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XxNnkbrJ620/WSlOkXaM2EI/AAAAAAAAx4c/wd6AzeDn3f4nlW3kufWVGFqXGiF7e0kJACLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-27%2Bat%2B2.55.25%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lobby Card Image with Virginia Mayo and legs YEAR: 1953</u></td></tr>
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This is more than a review of the 1952 feel-good comedy loaded with as many hardships and frowns as smiles, taking place mostly indoors without much sunshine: Except for the opening scene as a poolside Virginia Mayo, playing a has-been actress, is taking business with her faithful but weary producer friend, trying to find her a leading role and suggesting she go back on... Refer to the title...<br>
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In the first two of three films, Virginia Mayo was snatched from Cult Film Freak's two all-time favorite actors by tall, dark and viciously handsome b-actor Steve Cochran: First in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, finishing Dana Andrews (not so happy) marriage so the perky dame can enjoy the nightlife, and her most famous turn as a reluctant gun-moll for ultra-violent James Cagney: he can only trust his tough old mom since his wife is, once again, cheating with Cochran — now it's <i>his</i> turn to sweat and stress over the pretty gal as bitter stage director Rick Sommers. While looking more like a famous director's chain-smoking, cool and smooth bodyguard, it's the heated chemistry... or perhaps, in this case, anti-chemistry... between Cochran and Mayo that makes SHE'S BACK ON BROADWAY a better picture than an idyllic and breezy title begging for second placement on a marquee...
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fifties, steve cochran, virginia mayo

COCHRAN HOLDS THE MAYO (AGAIN) IN SHE'S BACK ON BROADWAY

Lobby Card Image with Virginia Mayo and legs YEAR: 1953 This is more than a review of the 1952 feel-good comedy loaded with as many hard...

ORIGINAL CORMAN CULT CLASSIC OF DANTE'S PIRANHA

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHL9d_vOMgo/WR6zyIiUcQI/AAAAAAAAx3Q/vfVMA6pLRMg7WEdZYfL7qox1Cm1OvfLjwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-19%2Bat%2B1.45.27%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHL9d_vOMgo/WR6zyIiUcQI/AAAAAAAAx3Q/vfVMA6pLRMg7WEdZYfL7qox1Cm1OvfLjwCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-19%2Bat%2B1.45.27%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Great Foreign Poster with the P of Piranha with Razor teeth YEAR: 1978</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Joe Dante trusted me enough to listen and allow the freedom to write scenes in every show I ever did with him...</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2I0rOPA6tQ/WR5jCfZvtZI/AAAAAAAAx1w/s2vaXudHkn884FID9Z-4p_A1tNKJyHRhwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B8.12.39%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2I0rOPA6tQ/WR5jCfZvtZI/AAAAAAAAx1w/s2vaXudHkn884FID9Z-4p_A1tNKJyHRhwCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B8.12.39%2BPM.jpg" width="120"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>JAWS-like image</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That from the director's regular troupe member, Belinda Balaski, who we'll continue with later as now, from the origin is, at that time, a future arthouse/indie director, John Sayles, starting out a scriptwriter with terrific pulpy creature-features. Two for Joe Dante: PIRANHA, which you're reading about now, and years later THE HOWLING, very loosely based on a sparse, uncomplicated novel, and the screenplay's far more creative and edgy. And for director Lewis Teague, Sayles wrote ALLIGATOR, one of those "title says it all" flicks but with some depth and, best yet, an actor like Robert Forster who can legitimize anything...
</span><br>
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<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/-IDFguKVu3B8/WR4kYJDB_mI/AAAAAAAAxz0/IHVyGlu8hwk2XSQ3Q9ajg29-A34QhvBtgCLcB/s1600/18519827_316957655400084_7360665445922273565_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDFguKVu3B8/WR4kYJDB_mI/AAAAAAAAxz0/IHVyGlu8hwk2XSQ3Q9ajg29-A34QhvBtgCLcB/s400/18519827_316957655400084_7360665445922273565_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And anyone familiar with COMPULSION knows that Bradford Dillman, who had won the Cannes Festival Best Actor award back in 1959, was no slouch either... </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As a bearded alcoholic divorced-dad living in a rural cabin, he makes an otherwise limited character interesting and humorous. Which, of course, has a lot to do with the script... </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But Dillman's chemistry with 70's scream queen Heather Menzies, who shrieked brilliantly at the end of SSSSSSS a few years earlier, makes a really good movie great: And there's no mystery as to homage since </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Joe Dante says, right up front on the DVD commentary, that PIRANHA is an intentional JAWS clone. But it's no carbon copy of the Steven Spielberg shark classic, taking place on a rural river instead of the ocean... the latter where the deadly Gov't-Created-for-Vietnam fanged-fish are ultimately headed. Plus there's a car chase/race against time: popular back then. But it's no shock that in PIRANHA, the real action takes place in the water...</span><br>

belinda balaski, bradford dillman, creature, heather menzies, horror, interview, joe dante, roger corman, seventies, suspense

ORIGINAL CORMAN CULT CLASSIC OF DANTE'S PIRANHA

Great Foreign Poster with the P of Piranha with Razor teeth YEAR: 1978 Joe Dante trusted me enough to listen and allow the freedom to w...

AN INTREPID JOHN MILIUS DUTIFULLY DIRECTS RED DAWN

c. thomas howell, charlie sheen, eighties, jennifer grey, john milius, kevin reynolds, lea thompson, patrick swayze, powers boothe, war, william smith

AN INTREPID JOHN MILIUS DUTIFULLY DIRECTS RED DAWN

On an Optimistic Note, He was Failing History YEAR: 1984 Two toughest kids on the block... I guess, sooner or later, they're gonna ...

YEAWORTH & HARRIS: THE BLOB WITH 4D MAN & DINOSAURUS

<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/-kgvEnVvb3e4/WRPGXTLm1EI/AAAAAAAAxt8/f__rBUYjS_0dMULmp2jxN9OObj19HzuVACLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-10%2Bat%2B6.40.33%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgvEnVvb3e4/WRPGXTLm1EI/AAAAAAAAxt8/f__rBUYjS_0dMULmp2jxN9OObj19HzuVACLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-10%2Bat%2B6.40.33%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Busy Years Making The Blob: 1958 4 DMan: 1959 Dinosaurus:: 1960</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Make them listen to me. There <i>is</i> a monster! We saw it again at dad's store, and it's bigger now!</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u>THE BLOB</u>: During the prelude of his career, Steve McQueen, billed as Steven McQueen as a dude named Steve, has never played a character so untrusted or unappreciated: He knows what everyone, including his best girl, has strong doubts about (for a little while). And we're not only supposed to believe that McQueen, already looking rugged and world-weary, is a teenager but that he'd actually get bullied around the small town, which is as far-fetched as, twenty-years later, a shirtless surfer type (Kim Milford) being picked on by, of all people, the most famous geek in motion picture history, Eddie Deezen...</span><br>

action, cult, dinosaur, fifties, horror, sixties, suspense, thriller

YEAWORTH & HARRIS: THE BLOB WITH 4D MAN & DINOSAURUS

Busy Years Making The Blob: 1958 4 DMan: 1959 Dinosaurus:: 1960 Make them listen to me. There is a monster! We saw it again at dad'...

DENNIS CHRISTOPHER'S TOUR DE FORCE IN FADE TO BLACK

<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/-cH97zg-QiGg/WR6I38CGpkI/AAAAAAAAx2g/p51LkJiBS3s5kkjE8Mq7hkRS1Q3YufYxQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B10.52.13%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cH97zg-QiGg/WR6I38CGpkI/AAAAAAAAx2g/p51LkJiBS3s5kkjE8Mq7hkRS1Q3YufYxQCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B10.52.13%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for FADE TO BLACK starring Dennis Christopher YEAR: 1980</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That was a lot of fun and I got burnt by squibs, they’re called: The things that go off to make it look like I’ve been shot.</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That's <i>not</i> a quote from Dennis Christopher, who does the shooting, but character-actor Morgan Paull in our interview six months before an untimely death... Centering on his own particular curtain call in a movie that lives up to its name: If PSYCHO Norman Bates was heavily into cinema, you'd have FADE TO BLACK; but not really since it took until the 1980's (and/or late 70's) where the immense wave of pop culture began to recede, and film buffs and even intellectuals were human movie quiz books, and Dennis Christopher's Eric Binford epitomizes what's called a Cinefile to the point that he makes sure he lives on 99 RIVER STREET...</span><br>

body count, dark comedy, dennis christopher, horror, mickey rourke, morgan paull, tim thomerson

DENNIS CHRISTOPHER'S TOUR DE FORCE IN FADE TO BLACK

Poster for FADE TO BLACK starring Dennis Christopher YEAR: 1980 That was a lot of fun and I got burnt by squibs, they’re called: The th...

PAUL SCHRADER DIRECTS WILLEM DAFOE IN LIGHT SLEEPER

<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/-SPGfyHAw9tY/WRD02jwxo4I/AAAAAAAAxqQ/EvQq5DsXD1UnxeTisuAbzEAjU6AAT-qIgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-08%2Bat%2B3.39.13%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPGfyHAw9tY/WRD02jwxo4I/AAAAAAAAxqQ/EvQq5DsXD1UnxeTisuAbzEAjU6AAT-qIgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-08%2Bat%2B3.39.13%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Susan Sarrandon and William Defore YEAR: 1992</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I feel my life turning... All it needed was a direction</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Well Paul Schrader gave Willem Dafoe plenty of direction, having worked with him a handful of times, and he preferred the otherwise intense actor, who other directors would use as an angry, vicious or intense type of fella, to be desperate, laidback, vulnerable and sympathetic: In AUTO FOCUS, the true crime story of HOGAN'S HERO actor Bob Crane's sexual journey into out-of-control oblivion with the help of his go-to guy, was played by Dafoe, who might as well have been a controlled, even-keeled drug dealer like he is, literally, in LIGHT SLEEPER, since Crane, played by Greg Kinnear, got high on videotaping his sexcapades using, at that time, high-end recording equipment, thus depending on real life best friend and future number one murder suspect John Carpenter (not the HALLOWEEN director): both films couldn't be more different, sharing only Schrader and Defoe in common: two kings of edgy cinema made for each other...</span><br>

biopic, greg kinnear, nineties, paul schrader, willem defoe, zeroes

PAUL SCHRADER DIRECTS WILLEM DAFOE IN <b>LIGHT SLEEPER</b>

PAUL SCHRADER DIRECTS WILLEM DAFOE IN LIGHT SLEEPER

Susan Sarrandon and William Defore YEAR: 1992 I feel my life turning... All it needed was a direction Well Paul Schrader gave Willem D...

RUMMAGING THROUGH THE LOST CULT HORROR FLICK PIN

<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/-NIJUtEOpaTo/WQ89pvczpEI/AAAAAAAAxps/kfSQmbrEVmMV6Yv8Z4Bn2QPC3i_atGbqACLcB/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIJUtEOpaTo/WQ89pvczpEI/AAAAAAAAxps/kfSQmbrEVmMV6Yv8Z4Bn2QPC3i_atGbqACLcB/s400/11.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hereby one of our favorite horror starlets Cynthia Preston YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Adding a layer to the otherwise cliché twisted persona so he's not just another young tortured soul...</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Canadian horror flick PIN came out a year after THE STEPFATHER; that movie starring and this one featuring Terry O'Quinn — here he's a strict father who, a doctor by trade, uses a medical dummy... wherein all veins and innards are visible... to speak to his children. Although very different, and only having Canada in common, both THE STEPFATHER and PIN share the same visual aesthetic and budget, but PIN is more of a PSYCHO clone, albeit a unique and extremely original one, borrowing from the iconic Hitchcock thriller right down to the image of a static and spooky human figure/silhouette staring out the upstairs window (or a SENTINEL, perhaps). There's one scary house in every neighborhood and this is it... Peaking the curiosity of the same neighborhood kids that double as hardcore bullies at school, targeting the doc's passive son, Leon, played by David Hewlett once he's of age, in high school, after what seems like a backstory but is really Act One of the standard Three...</span><br>
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<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/-wTphgpRUanQ/WQ7cLlg9O2I/AAAAAAAAxoc/7mQFCNvAwts2hT5NpWZy10vnH3ooJgKFgCEw/s1600/18268529_311989192563597_6477607676544455706_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wTphgpRUanQ/WQ7cLlg9O2I/AAAAAAAAxoc/7mQFCNvAwts2hT5NpWZy10vnH3ooJgKFgCEw/s320/18268529_311989192563597_6477607676544455706_n.jpg" width="160"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>PINScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
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As for the plot, PIN is the only solace in the poor kid's life, and the title, on the poster, DVD, VHS and even the opening credit itself ends with a three-period ellipsis as the rest of the word is covered up — that being the medical dummy's full name, based on the legendary children's story puppet who turns into a jackass when he parties and can't tell a lie without it showing. So Pin's first master, controlled by father doing his best Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy imitation, throws his voice while teaching both shy son and curious, confident daughter about everything ranging from the the birds and the bees to your basic household chores...<br>
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<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/-3PNPJNiwRO8/WQ88RkbH0bI/AAAAAAAAxpg/T-w7ZM5NDSczocYjEuXHSyGyjI6FdxpeACLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-07%2Bat%2B8.23.00%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3PNPJNiwRO8/WQ88RkbH0bI/AAAAAAAAxpg/T-w7ZM5NDSczocYjEuXHSyGyjI6FdxpeACLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-07%2Bat%2B8.23.00%2BAM.png" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>PIN the dummy before & after: Going from Peter Weller-esque to Preppy</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What seems like a short story in itself when as the kids are young has a beginning, middle and.. Skip to high school, and Leon needs the doll to continue his education — terrified and annoyed by the opposite sex, he begs that PIN be allowed to be moved from dad's office to their home. The most important death of this body count horror allows for Leon to be free. So PIN, his sister, and for a little while, a bickering aunt live at the house...<br>

cynthia preston, david hewlett, eighties, horror, jonathan banks, suspense, terry o'quinn

RUMMAGING THROUGH THE LOST CULT HORROR FLICK <b>PIN</b>

RUMMAGING THROUGH THE LOST CULT HORROR FLICK PIN

Hereby one of our favorite horror starlets Cynthia Preston YEAR: 1988 Adding a layer to the otherwise cliché twisted persona so he'...

BRONSON & DUVALL STAR TOGETHER YET APART IN BREAKOUT

<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/-ihJ_rpqI37w/WQ8KcZ5e6-I/AAAAAAAAxo4/5oTiJu3qv8YCeHTSTZcmcpMy9AE3NH2JgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-07%2Bat%2B4.50.11%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ihJ_rpqI37w/WQ8KcZ5e6-I/AAAAAAAAxo4/5oTiJu3qv8YCeHTSTZcmcpMy9AE3NH2JgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-07%2Bat%2B4.50.11%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson as Nick Colton in Breakout YEAR: 1975</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The quick, violent, to-the-point prologue to the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is extremely Sam Peckinpah... You could even call the intro: BRING ME THE HEAD OF ROBERT DUVALL...<br>
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<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/-3iq7S6lnN9o/WHlx6cCULJI/AAAAAAAAvsU/C_9JYFUDN0coz2gOYdZ0Aj0s-fVM1KJOwCLcB/s1600/BOUT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3iq7S6lnN9o/WHlx6cCULJI/AAAAAAAAvsU/C_9JYFUDN0coz2gOYdZ0Aj0s-fVM1KJOwCLcB/s200/BOUT.jpg" width="170"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Grainy Retro DVD Cover</u></td></tr>
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Bloody Sam similarities include: Echoed gunshots under the hot Mexico sun; a white shirt soaked with gory, bright red blood; a body falling to the ground in <i>slow motion</i> as the opening credits appear across paused images; and Jerry Goldsmith's score beginning soft and subtle with skeletal vibes leading into a Spanish groove. Yet beyond the Sam homage, it's a Spaghetti Western style <i>modern</i> action drama wherein action hero Charles Bronson, after decades of co-starring roles and the year after finding himself a bonafide movie star following the ultra-violent and wonderfully exploitive blockbuster, DEATH WISH (the last of the Michael Winner trilogy including THE MECHANIC and THE STONE KILLER). His personality is somewhat similar to his colorful MR. MAJESTYK character but even more playfully cocky and wisecracking: a small-plane pilot who doesn't just narrow his eyes to get what he's after — more of a human being than a big screen teflon demigod, giving this otherwise sparse and gritty crime melodrama more than a dash of genuine personality throughout.<br>

charles bronson, prison, robert duvall, seventies

BRONSON & DUVALL STAR TOGETHER YET APART IN <b>BREAKOUT</b><br/>

BRONSON & DUVALL STAR TOGETHER YET APART IN BREAKOUT

Charles Bronson as Nick Colton in Breakout YEAR: 1975 The quick, violent, to-the-point prologue to the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is...

GLENN FORD IN THE FOUR HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE

<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/-M-7gvaHacfk/WQtoTWGDBGI/AAAAAAAAxkY/ZVEbb6G7JnIeKm7HM7Hnrg5a8ITjzufLQCLcB/s1600/four33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M-7gvaHacfk/WQtoTWGDBGI/AAAAAAAAxkY/ZVEbb6G7JnIeKm7HM7Hnrg5a8ITjzufLQCLcB/s400/four33.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Art Showing the title mares predicted in Revelations YEAR: 1962</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This isn't a war picture but more of a thematic tale of how peace can't last forever...</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In GET SHORTY, John Travolta's movie fanatic gangster brags about going to see "Charlton Heston playing a Mexican" on the big screen, a pop culture punchline for the classic border killing Film Noir TOUCH OF EVIL, which has been considered the last Noir ever made, probably since there wasn't anywhere to go from that point... I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">n actuality, Heston, known for chewing up intentionally overboard roles (many based on Biblical stories) is at his most subtle and genuine, turning in a surprisingly realistic and earthy performance while the likes of, "You damn dirty gringo!" is nowhere to be heard... </span><br>
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<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/-D-3vLRnbEb0/WQtrpK-rVWI/AAAAAAAAxkk/Roe5TU7y5S4EPU7qjZuxN7eL_Hpa9igRgCLcB/s1600/%2524%2528KGrHqV%252C%2521nsFJv%2529qWSH4BSeCeuekbg--60_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D-3vLRnbEb0/WQtrpK-rVWI/AAAAAAAAxkk/Roe5TU7y5S4EPU7qjZuxN7eL_Hpa9igRgCLcB/s400/%2524%2528KGrHqV%252C%2521nsFJv%2529qWSH4BSeCeuekbg--60_1.jpg" width="277"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Warner Archive Original Blue Cover</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The same goes for Glenn Ford, a much more subtle and overall dependable actor to begin with, as the rich grandson of a boisterous old-timer; both from Argentina. Ford's more all-American looking than Charlton Heston, and with a slightly darkened face he's somewhat out of his element i.e. completely miscast. Although for an actor with his talent it's no surprise he takes the role of a womanizing twenty-something (despite being much older) with finesse; a would-be painter hanging around Paris during the late 1930's without a care in the world — other than seducing a classy married French society dame played to perfection by Ingrid Thulin, whose husband is sent overseas to fight the Nazis: Those infamous devils being all too human here, including Ford's own cousin who was a med student in Germany before joining the Third Reich. This soft-spoken yet proud and intense young man is also the grandson of the family patriarch, Lee J. Cobb, who stretches a small amount of time onscreen to the hilt, and beyond...<br>
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Leading to the most intense, memorable and important scene, and (arguably) the campiest. Cobb, who, along with grandson Ford, both bear the name of Julio (while looking entirely Caucasian), loses his mind after finding out, at a dinner party reunion, that one-third of his clan serve proudly under Adolf Hitler, making Cobb's Julio Sr. suffer a panic attack followed by a heart attack. Before which, he hallucinates the four title horsemen from the Bible's book of Revelations: a creepy and sinister vision riding the darkened clouds. This catapults a two-hour-plus soap operatic melodrama separating those against the Nazi takeover of France, like Julio's sister, a young idealistic college beauty, Yvette Mimieux, who tries to get her brother to stop having so much fun and to join the cause.<br>

epic, glenn ford, lee j. cobb, nazi, sixties, war, yvette mimieux

GLENN FORD IN THE FOUR HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Poster Art Showing the title mares predicted in Revelations YEAR: 1962 This isn't a war picture but more of a thematic tale of how ...

WEEKEND REVIEW OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

2017, chris pratt, franchise, marvel, michael rooker, sequel

WEEKEND REVIEW OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

Return of The Guardians of the Galaxy Year: 2017 Playing out like an intricate, talky episode of the original Star Trek Having earned ...

RITA HAYWORTH AS MISS SADIE THOMPSON WITH ALDO RAY

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson looks over Rita Hayworth YEAR: 1954</u></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
While almost too old for this kind of sexually-driven role, she's actually the perfect age given the world-weary experience </blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Whether he hypnotizes Gene Tierney right up front or rapes Peter O'Toole off-screen, from WHIRLPOOL to LAWRENCE ARABIA to playing the scholarly buzzkill in Woody Allen's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY while frowning-around in pretty much everything in-between, Jose Ferrer is known for his creepy characters driven by lust, greed, and in this case, what Hollywood considers worse than both, hypocritical Christians...</span><br>

aldo ray, charles bronson, fifties, jose ferrer, musical, rita hayworth, romance

RITA HAYWORTH AS MISS SADIE THOMPSON WITH ALDO RAY

Charles Bronson looks over Rita Hayworth YEAR: 1954 While almost too old for this kind of sexually-driven role, she's actually the ...

HENRY WINKLER & MICHAEL KEATON IN NIGHT SHIFT

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Night Shift YEAR RELEASED: 1982</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As a director, Ron Howard got his groove before realizing he really had it. Then he became more confident behind the lens for big budget catchall mainstream flicks like BACKDRAFT, and therein the Emperor was naked to the bone...</span><br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Henry Winkler's Anti Fonz</u></td></tr>
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Wedged between Howard's Roger Corman car crash production, GRAND THEFT AUTO, and his ultra entertaining hit phenom SPLASH upon becoming a legit filmmaker, NIGHT SHIFT is one of the most original and unique buddy comedies of all time starring Henry Winkler under his former HAPPY DAYS co-star's easygoing yet equally edgy direction, the popular icon revealing a side much different than Fonzie and more like himself (or who he appears to be in interviews, etc): A whining beta male b-side to Woody Allen rather than television's leather clad James Dean. Thus the character-driven plot centers on Winkler as a morgue attendant, formerly a Wall Street whiz, contentedly working by himself on the NIGHT SHIFT until getting stuck with a crazy idea man in Michael Keaton. If viewed after knowing Keaton from the likes of BEETLEJUICE or THE DREAM TEAM, it may seem like just another hyperactive man-child performance — but this was his first real role, and still remains one of his funniest: he's a bonafide comic relief in a comedy film...<br>

eighties, henry winkler, michael keaton, ron howard, shelley long

HENRY WINKLER & MICHAEL KEATON IN NIGHT SHIFT

Night Shift YEAR RELEASED: 1982 As a director, Ron Howard got his groove before realizing he really had it. Then he became more confiden...

STEVE COCHRAN & LEO GORDON IN QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve Cochran tries <i>not </i>romancing the vulnerable damsel YEAR: 1958</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cult Film Freak's two favorite actors are, in order, Dana Andrews and James Cagney. So their antithesis: tall, dark and deadly Steve Cochran, is important enough to be mentioned even before this review of one of his few starring vehicles...</span><br>
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In THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES he moonlighted with Dana's frustrated, nightlife-addicted spouse, and in WHITE HEAT strategically hooked up with Cagney's cranky gun moll: In each case it was Virginia Mayo, and Cochran appeared in several other Mayo vehicles including SHE'S BACK ON BROADWAY but went on his own as well: For QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS is neither a gangster flick or musical. Although, like BEST YEARS, it <i>does</i> center on harsh human rivalry but during, not after, the Civil War. His character is initially hard to discern, relate with or root for. A swarthy gent that also goes by another name to trick a small town of Northerners, unaware they're soon to be attacked by the titular gang of redneck roughnecks. Historic both in text book legend and cinematic adaptations, and centering on a bloodthirsty band mentioned in a handful of movies including Quentin Tarantino's latest, HATEFUL 8, these Raiders were a group of mercenary thugs that were useful cutthroats for the Rebels against the Yankees: Picture if John Dillinger reigned in the 1940's and was sent to Germany to stickup enemy headquarters, or simply refer back to THE DIRTY DOZEN and you'll get the idea... <br>

civil war, fifties, leo gordon, steve cochran, warner archives, western

STEVE COCHRAN & LEO GORDON IN QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS

Steve Cochran tries not romancing the vulnerable damsel YEAR: 1958 Cult Film Freak's two favorite actors are, in order, Dana Andrews...

GLENN FORD TAKES THE NEO-NOIR ROUTE IN THE MONEY TRAP

crime, elke sommer, glenn ford, neo noir, ricardo montalban, rita hayworth, sixties, warner archives

GLENN FORD TAKES THE NEO-NOIR ROUTE IN THE MONEY TRAP

Elke Sommer and Glenn Ford make an unlikely pair YEAR: 1965 Seven years after what HARDCORE director Paul Schrader called the last Film ...

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Presented by James M. Tate / 6/21/2017 / No comments / comedy , fifties , james cagney , mob , musical , shirley jones

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Presented by James M. Tate / 5/29/2017 / No comments / action , dick wesson , fifties , frank lovejoy , john agar , war , warner archives

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/27/2017 / No comments / fifties , steve cochran , virginia mayo

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/19/2017 / No comments / belinda balaski , bradford dillman , creature , heather menzies , horror , interview , joe dante , roger corman , seventies , suspense

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/17/2017 / No comments / c. thomas howell , charlie sheen , eighties , jennifer grey , john milius , kevin reynolds , lea thompson , patrick swayze , powers boothe , war , william smith

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/12/2017 / No comments / action , cult , dinosaur , fifties , horror , sixties , suspense , thriller

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Presented by James M. Tate / 5/05/2017 / No comments / epic , glenn ford , lee j. cobb , nazi , sixties , war , yvette mimieux

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/04/2017 / No comments / aldo ray , charles bronson , fifties , jose ferrer , musical , rita hayworth , romance

Presented by James M. Tate / 5/02/2017 / No comments / eighties , henry winkler , michael keaton , ron howard , shelley long

Presented by James M. Tate / 4/30/2017 / No comments / crime , elke sommer , glenn ford , neo noir , ricardo montalban , rita hayworth , sixties , warner archives

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