ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON IN 'THE MIRROR CRACK'D'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE90_RmM97TL6PXg0Gfl2IwoGp5BwLBgeqoWlxbUh8biH4tU_CLoIvEs4yGl-th2PnFGiwv2g1f8LIGVTOQE0gVHv-8jANJoSGscnmzTyxm7hi4-pIVVmmIhDH-NxsnLBJ0HvQliW0daj1SsctRRlycRn2zGb4YmiAoJ3SIZ9UouB6AlLAHoIjnx_Z6JxG/s1415/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE90_RmM97TL6PXg0Gfl2IwoGp5BwLBgeqoWlxbUh8biH4tU_CLoIvEs4yGl-th2PnFGiwv2g1f8LIGVTOQE0gVHv-8jANJoSGscnmzTyxm7hi4-pIVVmmIhDH-NxsnLBJ0HvQliW0daj1SsctRRlycRn2zGb4YmiAoJ3SIZ9UouB6AlLAHoIjnx_Z6JxG/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE MIRROR CRACK'D Year: 1980 Director: Guy Hamilton Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The most breezily enjoyable of the John Brabourne/Richard Goodwin adaptations of Agatha Christie whodunits, THE MIRROR CRACK'D resembles an upper scale TV-movie more than a lower budgeted big screener, so it looks terrific but without having to prove too much... </p><p></p><p></p><p>And, filmed in England, it's the most British of all the British productions including MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and DEATH ON THE NILE before and EVIL UNDER THE SUN after, cases solved by Hercules Poirot while this belongs to Christie's other famous snoop, Miss Marple, here played by Angela Lansbury...</p><p><span></span></p>

agatha christie, british, eighties, elizabeth taylor, ensemble, geraldine chaplin, guy hamilton, hollywood satire, kim novak, maureen bennett, mystery, rock hudson, tony curtis, wendy morgan

ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON IN 'THE MIRROR CRACK'D'

Title: THE MIRROR CRACK'D Year: 1980 Director: Guy Hamilton Rating: ***1/2 The most breezily enjoyable of the John Brabourne/Richard Goo...

CHARLES BRONSON 'SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR' ANTHONY PERKINS

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cRxE7q2oUln9mvMhXDSoyP_PE6p3xW18tCCVWzEiRfTcbG7RPeEm3MQyrCoX171nMV25jeu0Kj8VODwkenaXKzFHIeQNIl9aEwFy5xd26BGF6rn8v3crX_1dodvTskxB3EX3GyzUdPJxV_tzZ0Ljf9-YIEUBHOlp8Tq8Wd6Q40FVfFfqzpdpao9MZVc_/s1560/11.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="1560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cRxE7q2oUln9mvMhXDSoyP_PE6p3xW18tCCVWzEiRfTcbG7RPeEm3MQyrCoX171nMV25jeu0Kj8VODwkenaXKzFHIeQNIl9aEwFy5xd26BGF6rn8v3crX_1dodvTskxB3EX3GyzUdPJxV_tzZ0Ljf9-YIEUBHOlp8Tq8Wd6Q40FVfFfqzpdpao9MZVc_/s16000/11.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1971 Title: SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>French shot/English speaking psychological thriller mirroring François Truffaut mirroring Alfred Hitchcock has a perfectly cast Anthony Perkins as a neurosurgeon taking an amnesiac patient to his plush home in order to (supposedly) help the nameless stranger, played by an only slightly miscast Charles Bronson, pacing taut and timid like a caged beast during his pre-fame <i>European Phase</i>... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But this is really Perkins' ride... more logical than <i>psycho</i> in a psychological thriller... providing another hiding-a-dark-secret creepy guy role... And from the mellow cadence, what could have been cat-and-mouse is more like mouse-and-mouse, or mouse and toothless cat, even during Bronson's sporadic tantrums in a noirish plot involving Jill Ireland as the doc's cheating wife (employing a cute Agathe Natanson as their maid, who'd have fit the ingenue role better)... </p><span></span>

agathe natanson, anthony perkins, charles bronson, french, jill ireland, mystery, nicolas gessner, seventies, thriller

CHARLES BRONSON 'SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR' ANTHONY PERKINS

Year: 1971 Title: SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR Rating: ***1/2 French shot/English speaking psychological thriller mirroring François Truffaut mir...

ORSON WELLES PUTS ANTHONY PERKINS THROUGH 'THE TRIAL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinodC0LaLgSivYr0Y9ca32QzFuHb5eOpaMabEZUIYk_mPya_MjYKRhuS1VUjX5kjsUBWxMDsCzICiq90llv7zCN-4csoQ5uzpMdgeLKUVZDcgRWh8OhuZUtLVi7sfPDJV_QeUUL-zf2OaUgZEfZdeIq06_qsoaLyB9Zdc4idiqtHWaEurbXqfjLAl-QNZG/s1134/380840362_1806949616400873_9172979606554586118_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinodC0LaLgSivYr0Y9ca32QzFuHb5eOpaMabEZUIYk_mPya_MjYKRhuS1VUjX5kjsUBWxMDsCzICiq90llv7zCN-4csoQ5uzpMdgeLKUVZDcgRWh8OhuZUtLVi7sfPDJV_QeUUL-zf2OaUgZEfZdeIq06_qsoaLyB9Zdc4idiqtHWaEurbXqfjLAl-QNZG/s16000/380840362_1806949616400873_9172979606554586118_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Anthony Perkins in Orson Welles's THE TRIAL Year: 1962 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before his final William Shakespeare adaptation CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT aka FALSTAFF, the legendary actor/director <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/orson%20welles">Orson Welles</a> said that, if he had to chose <i>only one</i> movie to offer for entrance into Heaven, it would be THE TRIAL — ironic since it's basically a journey into Hell...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, Anthony Perkins as Joseph K (for author Kafka) wakes up there already, stuck within a frustrating perdition, in his very own apartment that, next door to local floozy Jeanne Moreau, makes him a suspect by plainclothes-detectives, who begin a somewhat subtle interrogation that progresses throughout, involving several other authority figure types...</p><p><span></span></p>

adaptation, akim tamiroff, anthony perkins, franz kafka, import, jeanne moreau, jess hahn, mystery, neo noir, orson welles, romy schneider, sixties, thriller

ORSON WELLES PUTS ANTHONY PERKINS THROUGH 'THE TRIAL'

Anthony Perkins in Orson Welles's THE TRIAL Year: 1962 Rating: ***1/2 Before his final William Shakespeare adaptation CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT...

ORSON WELLES WARTIME CRIME POTBOILER 'JOURNEY INTO FEAR'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7woYajgnwRLSr1xeg8XSci4kCJlsOxti46_S5Ieb5Zr1Pf9cqDUxc1PjgBsOqWc9X68COOHgLrLUY4ikOMfcth8f0yQVUufpha-j-ELGKKwqubOWVMMBTuoRENqos7IJG-l1scjS-czFRpBaER52jb-t8Kgh77fSQzy53uaF0sAXSys93mq_yvTevSQ/s1290/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-26%20at%209.10.32%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7woYajgnwRLSr1xeg8XSci4kCJlsOxti46_S5Ieb5Zr1Pf9cqDUxc1PjgBsOqWc9X68COOHgLrLUY4ikOMfcth8f0yQVUufpha-j-ELGKKwqubOWVMMBTuoRENqos7IJG-l1scjS-czFRpBaER52jb-t8Kgh77fSQzy53uaF0sAXSys93mq_yvTevSQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-26%20at%209.10.32%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Joseph Cotten in JOURNEY INTO FEAR Director: Norman Foster Producer: Orson Welles Year 1943 rating **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An entertaining, lightweight crime yarn about a married and very passive arms dealer... who ironically has never fired a gun... stuck on a cargo ship where there lurks a clandestine Nazi out to kill him...<br> <br> Joseph Cotten stars as the hunted pawn who, having left loyal wife Ruth Warrick ashore, is reluctantly sent aboard with dancer Dolores Del Rio and meets various passengers including a Turkish tobacco dealer, a slick gambler and a German businessman. It's not hard figuring out who the main heavy is, but it doesn't matter...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

agnes moorehead, classic, delores del rio, everette sloane, film noir or melodrama, forties, joseph cotten, mystery, nazi, norman foster, orson welles, ruth warrick, suspense

ORSON WELLES WARTIME CRIME POTBOILER 'JOURNEY INTO FEAR'

Joseph Cotten in JOURNEY INTO FEAR Director: Norman Foster Producer: Orson Welles Year 1943 rating **** An entertaining, lightweight crime ...

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydXZCc1CBC7D-FwVEU1qTr2m0oHr36pMOPxiFIuLbYGPH64yXTJHYm5JEX05ALDfECbruYYy_ic6PuRgJSjCMDh2yxVb4BnkkpocjL9pKYyUpB_d-TNqZZk7naOg07uPzml7DFnSnOoBwfntPysrHRtyEUOUYRpe63iB5gUHmzfiBu-Qj4bQvlW0eVhI8/s1502/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.21.31%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydXZCc1CBC7D-FwVEU1qTr2m0oHr36pMOPxiFIuLbYGPH64yXTJHYm5JEX05ALDfECbruYYy_ic6PuRgJSjCMDh2yxVb4BnkkpocjL9pKYyUpB_d-TNqZZk7naOg07uPzml7DFnSnOoBwfntPysrHRtyEUOUYRpe63iB5gUHmzfiBu-Qj4bQvlW0eVhI8/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.21.31%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Cheating with the sped-up effect ala Keystone Cop films, the hauling-trucks for HELL DRIVERS picks up granite and races it back to the factory as quickly as possible... at breakneck speed taking neck-breaking curves... and newly hired ex-con Stanley Baker catches on that he's not very wanted... that is, the boss wants him fast, but not <i>too</i> fast... <br> <br> And if you like breathing, you can NEVER beat the high score of antagonist Patrick McGoohan, looking like a severe, battered, modern-day pirate with a cocky grin behind the dangerous, risk-taking wheel... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, british film noir/melodrama, british new wave, cy endfield, david mccallum, fifties, herbert lom, jerry stovin, jill ireland, patrick mcgoohan, peggy cummins, sean connery, stanley baker

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

Title: HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 Rating: **** Cheating with the sped-up effect ala Keystone Cop films, the hauling-trucks for HELL DRIVERS pic...

STANLEY BAKER IN 'VIOLENT PLAYGROUND' WITH PETER CUSHING

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXgbArW7l24bJbunaa2txAM_tEyWlhDM7RmrXf-RrQDxQtY_QloRheNFdueKphQ3swamN6ZrugNb64pFT-LiTIcWZ5F7WpUJdQRdhirr88cCP_2JI_5XMXcqiTbtIAPbv4hVvROjgzav9Qzw9HrXrEaJWkvQYDw6N4Dii8iSSqOtX9gysdtWvwWhuMyV8/s1819/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.38.52%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="1819" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXgbArW7l24bJbunaa2txAM_tEyWlhDM7RmrXf-RrQDxQtY_QloRheNFdueKphQ3swamN6ZrugNb64pFT-LiTIcWZ5F7WpUJdQRdhirr88cCP_2JI_5XMXcqiTbtIAPbv4hVvROjgzav9Qzw9HrXrEaJWkvQYDw6N4Dii8iSSqOtX9gysdtWvwWhuMyV8/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.38.52%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: VIOLENT PLAYGROUND Year: 1958 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A year after playing brothers in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/HellDrivers.html">HELL DRIVERS</a>, making Stanley Baker famous and putting cameo David McCallum on the map, they both starred equally in VIOLENT PLAYGROUND, with Baker as a detective reluctantly demoted to juvenile liaison before he can close an arson case...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Little does he know McCallum's street punk Johnny is the fire-starter. And as the movie begins with a <i>Rock Around the Clock</i> clone inspired by BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, this gang not only fights but dances wildly... </p><span></span>

anne heywood, david mccallum, fifties, film noir or melodrama, freddie starr, george a. cooper, john slater, music, peter cushing, stanley baker

STANLEY BAKER IN 'VIOLENT PLAYGROUND' WITH PETER CUSHING

Title: VIOLENT PLAYGROUND Year: 1958 Rates: **** A year after playing brothers in HELL DRIVERS , making Stanley Baker famous and putting cam...

STANLEY BAKER AND GINGER ROGERS IN 'BEAUTIFUL STRANGER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWUlSu62_QuyS_a8HBqw5X1DxAkSYz1LymNAk1xsq-pjvUhtw1-u_lKZ80_RXMbKPeVc9QFFBvAkGby9k717l09VcOrbPD7fqp1zBf6KTCjfenHoVNUH1lFfYvbkNbktngDBX066ZFM9aWd_AnRelOPPWUXxLrBr6mSyTQ0_0DfWta2eCCznElCxAaFFX/s1669/AVvXsEgGxO5W6-TK8mxde3v9S0uy-KfTW-jR8k_4Y_Mg09KDzg3FEZoaerBZQA8zOLDpsUIhIlgPTWPXV24nLGgUNFCNcHQ2oZbJOw-CcV3vf8h6P2uqnOeODmMxRllpY_MvUS6HDK2yh-wIHQhvvMVe4hoYkcyWe-PU4raaUWxCnIK1EluVCpY6ZSMueS_MEQ=s16000.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1669" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWUlSu62_QuyS_a8HBqw5X1DxAkSYz1LymNAk1xsq-pjvUhtw1-u_lKZ80_RXMbKPeVc9QFFBvAkGby9k717l09VcOrbPD7fqp1zBf6KTCjfenHoVNUH1lFfYvbkNbktngDBX066ZFM9aWd_AnRelOPPWUXxLrBr6mSyTQ0_0DfWta2eCCznElCxAaFFX/s16000/AVvXsEgGxO5W6-TK8mxde3v9S0uy-KfTW-jR8k_4Y_Mg09KDzg3FEZoaerBZQA8zOLDpsUIhIlgPTWPXV24nLGgUNFCNcHQ2oZbJOw-CcV3vf8h6P2uqnOeODmMxRllpY_MvUS6HDK2yh-wIHQhvvMVe4hoYkcyWe-PU4raaUWxCnIK1EluVCpY6ZSMueS_MEQ=s16000.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BEAUTIFUL STRANGER AKA TWIST OF FATE Year: 1954 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>"I stole it... I am innocent," Herbert Lom says to <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/stanley%20baker">Stanley Baker</a>... One's a gambling con artist and the other a rich businessman/secret criminal, both connected to central star Ginger Rogers... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Baker's her supposedly single fiance and Lom a friend that bums money <i>and steals </i>jewelry, specifically a bracelet that ignites the alternate-titled TWIST OF FATE involving Rogers's real life husband <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/07/anders1-HYP-EYE.html">Jacques Bergerac</a> as not only a proud-poor artist but a different kind of Wrong Man, more a Mistaken Man...</p><span></span>

british film noir, con man, eddie byrne, fifties, ginger rogers, heist, herbert lom, jacques bergerac, melodrama, romance, stanley baker

STANLEY BAKER AND GINGER ROGERS IN 'BEAUTIFUL STRANGER'

Title: BEAUTIFUL STRANGER AKA TWIST OF FATE Year: 1954 Rating: ***1/2 "I stole it... I am innocent," Herbert Lom says to Stanley B...

VAL GUEST DIRECTS STANLEY BAKER IN HAMMER'S 'HELL IS A CITY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ElG2K6oOgXwkSk5CGOK-IeBuCEuXP1_vd9KAuB0JohktF4_FfwW0ZProsSAuAX2Zxeja94z55CD6UFaQ5e-Az_3aodXOBGTi2FGd-JqcZDailsPu2xGOciXAOmuuMgvKb8pz_y4Lam2wCNUOVFYnr-5ffcfOtV_PNsyq-QhGlLlGIHaKmahndhnVheNK/s1571/brighter.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ElG2K6oOgXwkSk5CGOK-IeBuCEuXP1_vd9KAuB0JohktF4_FfwW0ZProsSAuAX2Zxeja94z55CD6UFaQ5e-Az_3aodXOBGTi2FGd-JqcZDailsPu2xGOciXAOmuuMgvKb8pz_y4Lam2wCNUOVFYnr-5ffcfOtV_PNsyq-QhGlLlGIHaKmahndhnVheNK/s16000/brighter.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Art of John Crawford & Lois Daine for HELL IS A CITY Year: 1960 Rates: ***</u><u>*</u><u>*</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The second and final Hammer feature with Val Guest directing his <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/03/YE.html">YESTERDAY'S ENEMY</a> leading man Stanley Baker, HELL IS A CITY is not only a Noir-like Police Procedural but an Escaped Convict Procedural as sinister John Crawford hops from various former colleagues and lovers while intense cop Baker, who'd originally put him away and is revenge-driven to nab him back, visits/questions the same people...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>From a bookie's cheating wife (Billie Whitelaw ignoring rich husband Donald Pleasence who employed doomed Lois Daine); a flirty waitress; a stubborn salesman with a gorgeous deaf/dumb daughter (Sarah Branch); and featuring various locales run by a shady gang with deliciously pulpy nicknames like Clogger Roach...</p><p><span></span></p>

billie whitelaw, british neo noir, donald pleasence, geoffrey frederick, george a. cooper, hammer films, jazz score, john crawford, lois daine, sarah branch, sixties, stanley baker, val guest, vanda godsell

VAL GUEST DIRECTS STANLEY BAKER IN HAMMER'S 'HELL IS A CITY'

Poster Art of John Crawford & Lois Daine for HELL IS A CITY Year: 1960 Rates: *** * * The second and final Hammer feature with Val Guest...

OLIVER REED REBELS THROUGH HAMMER'S 'THESE ARE THE DAMNED'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpMJSAaB6bJY4ZYrCYx5kxMVshQWT2bRhPdgNW7xnP_N3AaSjWHexEpedz_8NduO83yn5K6ZEaQ3GSs-__89JVVzQwIDo7Ka1y9CG8AfvmzgE94WzcnplFPMs0KXl24EJuYJ9tq817rxxVigMeN5p5eJFZE-z9wTFTa0sEGHpoLKmgHf4bQmj-MJqgA/s964/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="964" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpMJSAaB6bJY4ZYrCYx5kxMVshQWT2bRhPdgNW7xnP_N3AaSjWHexEpedz_8NduO83yn5K6ZEaQ3GSs-__89JVVzQwIDo7Ka1y9CG8AfvmzgE94WzcnplFPMs0KXl24EJuYJ9tq817rxxVigMeN5p5eJFZE-z9wTFTa0sEGHpoLKmgHf4bQmj-MJqgA/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THESE ARE THE DAMNED aka THE DAMNED Year: 1962 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hammer's THESE ARE THE DAMNED has a double-edged title starting with a Teddy Boy gang (young punks from England's 1950's/1960's who dressed in Victorian-era used-clothe leftovers) led by Oliver Reed... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And he's in what seems an incestuous relationship with sexy sibling Shirley Anne Field, who... while the boys whistle the tune of a corny song that'd just conducted their street-savvy march into town... picks up on older, classy American, Macdonald Carey, so he can be deliberately clobbered, robbed...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

alexander knox, british new wave, gang, hammer films, james maxwell, joseph losey, kenneth cope, macdonald carey, nicholas clay, oliver reed, science-fiction, shirley anne field, sixties, viveca lindfors

OLIVER REED REBELS THROUGH HAMMER'S 'THESE ARE THE DAMNED'

Title: THESE ARE THE DAMNED aka THE DAMNED Year: 1962 Rating: **** Hammer's THESE ARE THE DAMNED has a double-edged title starting with ...

WILLIAM LUCAS AND KENNETH COPE STEAL 'DATELINE DIAMONDS'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt6RsLnwHxWr9iSeOYqqoP9ciZFKiXVdRNcpE_wEQ3uPC6yBEKYqU5PAn2qq1wZ9iBrVifNzMAsqUj-upz-PfMSdgM7RPU3_soooSfBCAfA1HwWVOooUHt4ZFvX5wgDELjyuQTLzZ02jb4oe0FOxjeJUflg0n8D-swrF6Rq81gU0SxKn14NjOZA0jYMjy/s952/377258740_1803669840062184_3406730178235353623_n-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="952" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt6RsLnwHxWr9iSeOYqqoP9ciZFKiXVdRNcpE_wEQ3uPC6yBEKYqU5PAn2qq1wZ9iBrVifNzMAsqUj-upz-PfMSdgM7RPU3_soooSfBCAfA1HwWVOooUHt4ZFvX5wgDELjyuQTLzZ02jb4oe0FOxjeJUflg0n8D-swrF6Rq81gU0SxKn14NjOZA0jYMjy/s16000/377258740_1803669840062184_3406730178235353623_n-1.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: DATELINE DIAMONDS Year: 1965 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An otherwise nifty heist caper... with an agenda to promote the British band SMALL FACES... has two fitting actors, old and young, both having starred in several crime b-pictures, beginning with William Lucas, who played every incarnation of criminal... from cold-blooded to cowardly from THE BREAK to CALCULATED RISK to PAYROLL... and the intensely vulnerable Kenneth Cope from JUNGLE STREET, THE CONVICT and THE DAMNED... </p><p></p><p></p><p>Herein, Cope is the crooked manager of the band, and Lucas has his number... an intense actor never using costumes but here he resembles Inspector Clouseau if originally cast Peter Ustinov played him more straight, and his anti-chemistry with the younger Cope works surprisingly well... yet they mostly work together by remaining apart...</p><span></span>

british film noir, british new wave, conrad phillips, george mikell, heist, kenneth cope, music, william lucas

WILLIAM LUCAS AND KENNETH COPE STEAL 'DATELINE DIAMONDS'

Title: DATELINE DIAMONDS Year: 1965 Rating: ***1/2 An otherwise nifty heist caper... with an agenda to promote the British band SMALL FACES....

MARK STEVENS IN 'CRY VENGEANCE' FEATURING SKIP HOMEIER

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W-8T4xEExycmZJa6J2BUd3dwoxLZSjp1eznvmWmSkMJMwEC-ox3m_cYMNpFEZ5Y5uENknJeEfDbyr6Mbx49WZvFeFRnPwaC9ijq-LVsMOi4O52uKwF-KBvJ3b6Au3_UVBHQBWXfsEefUAlzJj-7knN8kcSfVTnMn8Jy9nABF8AvkJpjk8Ch3mR91W9W5/s2048/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W-8T4xEExycmZJa6J2BUd3dwoxLZSjp1eznvmWmSkMJMwEC-ox3m_cYMNpFEZ5Y5uENknJeEfDbyr6Mbx49WZvFeFRnPwaC9ijq-LVsMOi4O52uKwF-KBvJ3b6Au3_UVBHQBWXfsEefUAlzJj-7knN8kcSfVTnMn8Jy9nABF8AvkJpjk8Ch3mR91W9W5/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CRY VENGEANCE Year: 1954 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With the exception of a second-act move from an American big city to rural Alaska, the film noir CRY VENGEANCE is a strange, offbeat venture... and wouldn't be if strange and offbeat Skip Homeier didn't play the primary villain... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p>Despite there being a mob boss that director and star Mark Stevens wants to kill, befitting the revenge title since his family was murdered with half his face burned and deformed before imprisonment... but the tall and lanky Homeier's hit-man Roxey Davis, with white spiked hair that would be normal decades later, soon becomes just about everything...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, fifties, film noir or melodrama, mark stevens, martha hyer, mort mills, revenge, richard deacon, rural, skip homeier, thriller, warren douglas

MARK STEVENS IN 'CRY VENGEANCE' FEATURING SKIP HOMEIER

Title: CRY VENGEANCE Year: 1954 Rating: ***1/2 With the exception of a second-act move from an American big city to rural Alaska, the film n...

DON SIEGEL'S THEATRICAL 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" 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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s400/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s320/1.jpeg" width="294"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled through antiques from a cruise ship before focusing on the criminals who collect the stuff: the first fifteen minutes a police procedural based on the television series its named after, also known as SAN FRANCISCO BEAT, which was a Bay Area DRAGNET from the early part of the sparse Eisenhower decade, in which this edgy theatrical adaptation came out in the hipper/jazzier crest of.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Eli Wallach, as the crazy, insecure yet sometimes charming lead thug named Dancer, shipped in from Florida with a tan intact, follows subtle "orders" and educationally-inclined etiquette lessons from elder partner Robert Keith... </p><p>Making for a unique and twisted partnership that could be called MY FAIR SOCIOPATH: both (along with "dipso" getaway driver Richard Jaeckel) going from the various oblivious "mules" to either take the hidden heroin, or their lives. Often both...</p><p>And director Don Siegel keeps the suspense on par with the snappy Noir dialog, and there's even some homoerotic stuff thrown in, way, way ahead of its time... THE LINEUP exceeds the very limited series it's loosely derived (there's even a Lineup scene in the beginning to attempt retrofitting the title). Thank Don for that... who fought to make this LINEUP his own way: where the cops are but a Greek Chorus for the killers. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, body count, crime, don siegel, drugs, eli wallach, fifties, film noir or melodrama, richard jaekal, robert keith, TV adaptation

DON SIEGEL'S THEATRICAL 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2 Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled thro...

BRIAN KEITH AND KERWIN MATTHEWS IN '5 AGAINST THE HOUSE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9c7h3NYNx6OF-0JMC-MWDPBa3zRlYI3ofeWCZ35mR4C7F_RXsDgT2h3_0BLSq8eKaMmQ7X09wYiDyCBwGtOVnYvmtygg_L4TpPGa5tB4RvGWExxgXryWeQaJDPXY1SX096c6HnZaTDXJm9zJUU4GIVaPqD9jCYVYyYgAF4GBMZKsmMLpW4ifSIyYpS8d/s1096/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-29%20at%201.06.47%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1096" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9c7h3NYNx6OF-0JMC-MWDPBa3zRlYI3ofeWCZ35mR4C7F_RXsDgT2h3_0BLSq8eKaMmQ7X09wYiDyCBwGtOVnYvmtygg_L4TpPGa5tB4RvGWExxgXryWeQaJDPXY1SX096c6HnZaTDXJm9zJUU4GIVaPqD9jCYVYyYgAF4GBMZKsmMLpW4ifSIyYpS8d/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-29%20at%201.06.47%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE Year: 1955 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are more snags in making 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE a decent heist-noir-thriller than the student crooks have robbing a Reno Nevada casino, and, yes, they're all too old for college but this group of Korean War vets are using the GI Bill to get degrees they couldn't while in battle...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And it's a pretty decent cast including Brian Keith mirroring William Bendix's shell-shocked character from another noir, THE BLUE DAHLIA (albeit a womanizing version, picking up on the pretty likes of older Jean Willes and younger Kathryn Grant)... but HOUSE is no classic...</p><p><span></span></p>

alvy moore, brian keith, ensemble, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gambling, guy madison, heist, jean willes, kathryn grant, kerwin matthews, kim novak

BRIAN KEITH AND KERWIN MATTHEWS IN '5 AGAINST THE HOUSE'

Title: 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE Year: 1955 Rating: ** There are more snags in making 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE a decent heist-noir-thriller than the st...

SAMUEL FULLER'S TOKYO-BASED FILM NOIR 'HOUSE OF BAMBOO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAT4lYSn5oopgBCbIFGdXoVuGBY_f8NyHcDPSYLkzkHfB3lB03ti2qDijYVwjuhloNZF3d4N65oiNuZWcviyVdHnVkjoJZGpZmA1Fq4g28fXNsDj3Ag6-47nk9FuKQG5jG3P0val4y5-vgAZ-AOAY_EeiysNd-yrYHuLEB_HhkBJtbd6wu9uq2S7vCS2x/s1437/Screen%20Shot%202021-10-08%20at%2011.51.35%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAT4lYSn5oopgBCbIFGdXoVuGBY_f8NyHcDPSYLkzkHfB3lB03ti2qDijYVwjuhloNZF3d4N65oiNuZWcviyVdHnVkjoJZGpZmA1Fq4g28fXNsDj3Ag6-47nk9FuKQG5jG3P0val4y5-vgAZ-AOAY_EeiysNd-yrYHuLEB_HhkBJtbd6wu9uq2S7vCS2x/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202021-10-08%20at%2011.51.35%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cameron Mitchell's the boss's thug in HOUSE OF BAMBOO Year: 1955 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of Sam Fuller's greatest movies is a Noir remake set in Tokyo, and the 1948 FBI-propaganda THE STREET WITH NO NAME is the best cinematic venture J. Edgar Hoover was ever connected to and starring Mark Stevens as an agent going undercover, literally on Skid Row, first as a boxer and then joining a gang of gangsters more like crooks...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In HOUSE OF BAMBOO the head baddie's Robert Ryan, slowburn and professional, the polar opposite of Richard Widmark's signature tantrum-spouting hood. More a crooked businessman, he's cold to the bone yet eventually finds trust in seemingly wayward stranger-in-town Robert Stack...</p><p><span></span></p>

crime, deforest kelley, FBI, fifties, film noir or melodrama, heist, japanese-based, robert ryan, robert stack

SAMUEL FULLER'S TOKYO-BASED FILM NOIR 'HOUSE OF BAMBOO'

Cameron Mitchell's the boss's thug in HOUSE OF BAMBOO Year: 1955 Rating: **** One of Sam Fuller's greatest movies is a Noir rema...

ROBERT MITCHUM, WILLIAM TALMAN & ROBERT RYAN IN 'THE RACKET'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9lQsYk5ktV0qMST88FxyNa-0jP9sZQ0Wk7arZ4I99NKwK_0b5x8SMEJnmrQnBlKFasVMbReRQ8216aLO4fj9jizU5kkqdU3u7KOlnaWE9USrpzyydPXnXnvl0pwsnoaSMOHZZygxl3Y9QpMqnt0j8OLuKiJGi0IdpyHoJGdZW2S40rSG4NvXuSC8iaE0/s2150/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-04%20at%208.05.05%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9lQsYk5ktV0qMST88FxyNa-0jP9sZQ0Wk7arZ4I99NKwK_0b5x8SMEJnmrQnBlKFasVMbReRQ8216aLO4fj9jizU5kkqdU3u7KOlnaWE9USrpzyydPXnXnvl0pwsnoaSMOHZZygxl3Y9QpMqnt0j8OLuKiJGi0IdpyHoJGdZW2S40rSG4NvXuSC8iaE0/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-04%20at%208.05.05%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE RACKET 1951 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While primarily focusing on the two leads, Robert Mitchum as a determined cop, McQuigg, and Robert Ryan as criminal kingpin Nick Scanlon (in cahoots with crooked politician Ray Collins), it's William Talman's heroic yet idealistically naïve , knee-jerk newbie police officer, ready to take on all things villainous, that really drives things along...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Bookending the literally explosive middle is an involving buildup, as nothing can touch Robert Ryan and his old-school way of running things. Then, during the last half, he realizes his particular kind of shady doesn't quite work in the world of ever-growing politics. But he's not going down easy, and it takes Mitchum's slowburn patience to wear him down. Throw in sexy Lizbeth Scott as the dame caught in the middle and you really have a pretty nifty crime-thriller. <br></p><span></span>

crime, fifties, film noir or melodrama, howard hughes, lizabeth scott, robert mitchum, robert ryan, suspense, william talman

ROBERT MITCHUM, WILLIAM TALMAN & ROBERT RYAN IN 'THE RACKET'

Title: THE RACKET 1951 Rating: ***1/2 While primarily focusing on the two leads, Robert Mitchum as a determined cop, McQuigg, and Robert R...

ROBERT RYAN IN 'CITY BENEATH THE SEA' WITH ANTHONY QUINN

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWR0SPxlP7f7qJBmpDyyzMndffPtOPcW1nC7zxjpCjLHtI5X3VrLM8LAoOd2sx_0BP_ghvxiy6riIhcJuFbrP9-8x3TnhbU2WQCPX8xcI0zVrB3WgKnbhbxVkTNAMtcAsBabORp6feclpfrJqzXyG3845fpuX96ByAVi4awWXlAh8MBF2xNl6aNJ9Cnzg/s400/lf.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="400" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWR0SPxlP7f7qJBmpDyyzMndffPtOPcW1nC7zxjpCjLHtI5X3VrLM8LAoOd2sx_0BP_ghvxiy6riIhcJuFbrP9-8x3TnhbU2WQCPX8xcI0zVrB3WgKnbhbxVkTNAMtcAsBabORp6feclpfrJqzXyG3845fpuX96ByAVi4awWXlAh8MBF2xNl6aNJ9Cnzg/s320/lf.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1953 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A letdown for those who love movies about treasure hunters. Unfortunately, the main character, played by a stiff Robert Ryan, is so uptight, not only does he NOT go along with more energetic and assertive partner Anthony Quinn, to find gold on a sunken ship in a literal CITY BENEATH THE SEA from a volcano explosion hundreds of years ago...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/-MoQVnTWb1BQ/YSzGb9jZs-I/AAAAAAABlsQ/loSo7cMT3g0IjnYeNh2GkD8nYW0D1ZTVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1100/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-30%2Bat%2B4.47.33%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MoQVnTWb1BQ/YSzGb9jZs-I/AAAAAAABlsQ/loSo7cMT3g0IjnYeNh2GkD8nYW0D1ZTVwCLcBGAsYHQ/w142-h320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-30%2Bat%2B4.47.33%2BAM.jpeg" width="142"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Suzan Ball</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>But he moves in to snake the booty first, just to teach his partner a lesson: A lesson is also taught to the audience, who must weather this bland fine-feathered friend who's also an extremely weak central hero, keeping this movie from being edgy, or entertaining... </p><p>And the two lovely ingenues are both gorgeous, and initially tough, independent and assertive, making their characters mean more than just looks and providing a built-in feeling of suspense within the anticipated romance...</p><p>One is the captain of a small boat (Mala Powers) and the other a calypso singer (Suzan Ball, Lucy O'Ball's cousin, who would of cancer die soon after)...</p><p>But without Ryan or Quinn having to do much at all, both ladies melt to their touch in such a pathetic way, without earning it beyond their looks. At one point, singer actually asks Quinn, "What are you thinking?" after they'd known each other ten minutes. Meanwhile, as a b-movie, the low budget is deliberate, and mostly works... including scenes of the boys trudging in heavy "Diver Dan" style underwater gear with matte painted backgrounds. The technicolor is great looking, and otherwise these are capable actors and actresses. But this oceanic thriller is devoid of thrills, and pretty much... sinks upon impact. </p><span></span>

action, adventure, anthony quinn, fifties, pulp, robert ryan, suzan ball, treasure

ROBERT RYAN IN 'CITY BENEATH THE SEA' WITH ANTHONY QUINN

Year: 1953 Rating: ** A letdown for those who love movies about treasure hunters. Unfortunately, the main character, played by a stiff Robe...

ROBERT RYAN VS RHONDA FLEMING & WILLIAM LUNDIGAN 'INFERNO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF0o2oZvs4kDhD34nDSPZl0wT7oyh3Ws2PKgwVEgRSy6o1S3Kl51WT2RECAnUpi0ZDLMVAjvj3-hcTtxAOWsgskLrF0LXQpcErDqTEOJjk6PuVzrzBv53V2lQMrfUceU6Z1PANoFf6T7GVtyfNzXFlnKI4j7VESAO-y74GqWmFlro9O-jkq2nvqREUPzK/s1552/NEWEST.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF0o2oZvs4kDhD34nDSPZl0wT7oyh3Ws2PKgwVEgRSy6o1S3Kl51WT2RECAnUpi0ZDLMVAjvj3-hcTtxAOWsgskLrF0LXQpcErDqTEOJjk6PuVzrzBv53V2lQMrfUceU6Z1PANoFf6T7GVtyfNzXFlnKI4j7VESAO-y74GqWmFlro9O-jkq2nvqREUPzK/s16000/NEWEST.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for Ronda Fleming INFERNO Year: 1953 Rating: *** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Leading <i>and</i> character actor Robert Ryan is difficult to root for since he played contentedly bitter types who didn't want rooting for... but with INFERNO his rich-husband character gets so screwed-over by his wife and her lover, left in the scorching desert — with a broken leg — to trudge through rocky terrain before he's lunch for condors, there's no other option but to have complete sympathy, if anything else for the movie (and his dire situation) to conclude...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yet the most intriguing scenes not only alleviate the halting, awkward tension but add a touch of paperback-pulpy and best yet, film noir/melodrama to the stranded-in-peril, fight-to-survive adventure...</p><p><span></span></p>

3D, action, adventure, desert, fifties, melodrama, rhonda fleming, robert ryan, rural, survival, thriller, william lundigan

ROBERT RYAN VS RHONDA FLEMING & WILLIAM LUNDIGAN 'INFERNO'

Poster for Ronda Fleming INFERNO Year: 1953 Rating: *** Leading and character actor Robert Ryan is difficult to root for since he played co...

FAITH DOMERGUE WITH DAVID JANSSEN IN 'CULT OF THE COBRA'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheooXV1e17HiTeTzEr1AWJBJXh_JJbgCBZwTYzaM8gvj4k3OntyiQ6S3HoO7EJVoeOj22g4iz4oGRXdDAefpTIXPM9eoUpI2PmQithBmdr040SiCC0ARd24W3aGuv2HoQy9TK_-4LAlv5PC8JlqFeQagTBehyWWVqkI6HNVvyZrFhgdq-A6x2AcGWDnBxg/s1546/371811784_1796199184142583_7042591256803873630_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheooXV1e17HiTeTzEr1AWJBJXh_JJbgCBZwTYzaM8gvj4k3OntyiQ6S3HoO7EJVoeOj22g4iz4oGRXdDAefpTIXPM9eoUpI2PmQithBmdr040SiCC0ARd24W3aGuv2HoQy9TK_-4LAlv5PC8JlqFeQagTBehyWWVqkI6HNVvyZrFhgdq-A6x2AcGWDnBxg/s16000/371811784_1796199184142583_7042591256803873630_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Artwork for CULT OF THE COBRA Year: 1955 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The kind of Horror flick epitomizing the "Body Count" aspect since, at the beginning, before a group of soldiers return from Asia to America... after breaking a no-camera rule in a cobra cult temple... that they'll all die <i>one after one</i>; so it's no surprise when that very thing happens and keeps happening, making CULT OF THE COBRA suspenseful despite its telegraphed predictability...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Before which our creature feature's femme fatale in Faith Domergue does the sexiest of sexy dame dances wearing unique tight-fitting clothes, a surrogate special-effect actually resembling a serpent as she slithers across the floor till that flashbulb flashes... after which she winds up in New York City, in human form, with a vengeance...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

body count, creature, david janssen, faith domergue, horror, kathleen hughes, marshall thompson, richard long, snake, thriller, universal monsters, william reynolds

FAITH DOMERGUE WITH DAVID JANSSEN IN 'CULT OF THE COBRA'

Poster Artwork for CULT OF THE COBRA Year: 1955 Rating: **** The kind of Horror flick epitomizing the "Body Count" aspect since, a...

PETER O'TOOLE DIRECTING STEVE RAILSBACK AS 'THE STUNT MAN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6o3dZkypjlho0RUMVh2I1_g0UPLeg9ksAVBbNr1nFwrDoUoF_Gpv2Xw-0d-3bosnPZPOlZMvU4n5olLqk1YKJUYCPsgw3ezPIEVE8hAbgtPAa03NrCiWyKYEjZQs-lyNsGBKLKHIJydb2uqblogO-H0uolCpSqZIQxsn6piTPxnToHzPIhh7-bMbYEA1/s1465/lighter.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6o3dZkypjlho0RUMVh2I1_g0UPLeg9ksAVBbNr1nFwrDoUoF_Gpv2Xw-0d-3bosnPZPOlZMvU4n5olLqk1YKJUYCPsgw3ezPIEVE8hAbgtPAa03NrCiWyKYEjZQs-lyNsGBKLKHIJydb2uqblogO-H0uolCpSqZIQxsn6piTPxnToHzPIhh7-bMbYEA1/s16000/lighter.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Iconic devilish imagery of Peter O'Toole from THE STUNT MAN Year: 1980 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's no surprise director Richard Rush took a decade to make THE STUNT MAN since it adheres to his early creatively-maneuvered camerawork — visually making every scene matter and every moment count... </p><p>Only in this case, instead of 90-minute drive-in flicks, it's an epic labor-of-love Hollywood satire starring Peter O'Toole as a flamboyant, borderline psychotic director who desperately hires a Vietnam-vet criminal as his titular STUNT MAN...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkKNoFCgpiVgJyEgd8RqovVMIUCEg1ITHB-ZYjw_DzVqDIKhpK3y6_LlphqpbzsHi4fcGlhH6h4AeJ-ZpyJkhFVdLlE50wZo_WH6pgeH2mNFqj_Wn1W2GeS2TLoO-I8YxJg6ktwe2dDS0EUtBaXIJPW2CmWiEiqJFxC_TwQICOkUV4Frp_lNa4079TqnB/s2174/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-01%20at%201.37.01%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="2174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkKNoFCgpiVgJyEgd8RqovVMIUCEg1ITHB-ZYjw_DzVqDIKhpK3y6_LlphqpbzsHi4fcGlhH6h4AeJ-ZpyJkhFVdLlE50wZo_WH6pgeH2mNFqj_Wn1W2GeS2TLoO-I8YxJg6ktwe2dDS0EUtBaXIJPW2CmWiEiqJFxC_TwQICOkUV4Frp_lNa4079TqnB/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-01%20at%201.37.01%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Peter O'Toole in THE STUNT MAN</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Herein second-billed Steve Railsback is the true lead, which is good and bad since, during the more dramatic, expository sequences mostly involving vulnerable ingenue (as a vulnerable actress) Barbara Hershey, he still bares campy residual from playing Charles Manson in HELTER SKELTER... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And is far more naturally-suited to intense physical action, either by his character Cameron, initially chased by cops in a fast-paced prologue — or taking on the spontaneous fall guy gig...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adam roarke, allen garfield, barbara hershey, charles bail, eighties, hollywood satire, peter o'toole, richard rush, steve railsback

PETER O'TOOLE DIRECTING STEVE RAILSBACK AS 'THE STUNT MAN'

Iconic devilish imagery of Peter O'Toole from THE STUNT MAN Year: 1980 Rating: **** It's no surprise director Richard Rush took a de...

MARILYN HAMLIN & CHRISTOPHER ALLPORT IN 'SAVAGE WEEKEND'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREOSE9LeBOgZ12pyISoMCJ72FiMI2UAep2LXwYkIPJlXTa_am1L1Chh7diZvLt4TMc30xVe57eqslZm2H4r6jspTbzrEh5tb5OkfeMjVYpIyE8XEz8T7iWoZ5YWwoJT9erAIw5NV4Fah7wOYKFu-5ZaU4JDtvxduu0k43F0Sw83EJ4OrL9oaKRCqyIS44/s1750/redder.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREOSE9LeBOgZ12pyISoMCJ72FiMI2UAep2LXwYkIPJlXTa_am1L1Chh7diZvLt4TMc30xVe57eqslZm2H4r6jspTbzrEh5tb5OkfeMjVYpIyE8XEz8T7iWoZ5YWwoJT9erAIw5NV4Fah7wOYKFu-5ZaU4JDtvxduu0k43F0Sw83EJ4OrL9oaKRCqyIS44/s16000/redder.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SAVAGE WEEKEND Year Released: 1979 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Shot in 1976 under the name THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK, when acquired by Cannon Films in 1979 the title was changed to SAVAGE WEEKEND and yet, no matter which date, there's a deliberately intentional homage to 1974's game-changing slasher THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE as future hillbilly icon William Sanderson faces Gothic brunette-beauty Marilyn Hamlin with, well, a chainsaw... moving in slowly for the kill...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which turns out misleading, as the plot actually involves big city visitors to a rural town to see a boat being built... or something... and includes Christopher Allport as a flamboyant gay dude who still winds up beating-up local barroom rednecks... plus there's another ingenue in classy Caitlin O'Heaney, inevitably served-up as slasher flick victims...</p><p><span></span></p>

body count, caitlin o'heaney, christopher allport, cult, exploitation, horror, indie, marilyn hamlin, seventies, slasher, william sanderson

MARILYN HAMLIN & CHRISTOPHER ALLPORT IN 'SAVAGE WEEKEND'

Title: SAVAGE WEEKEND Year Released: 1979 Rating: *** Shot in 1976 under the name THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK, when acquired by Cannon Films in ...

VICTOR MATURE IN RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6D7Nk8aP3xO2rl6ozYOYtcI2mbNuH5wJfgd5vhxb9eB-Ydy8t46rDwfO2QZdWoY7suhScAvnqZ1h7qRa9N_HzXwrg2pUV0LAV9RhjawYBLL45pJ9wabpCSUvMSl9nAI0T8hRwky9oNZBYwysgkdIO3xj2FvD2ny2_eP0DNMgMPe5KmWX-y0T4guPGw_Mf/s1510/369975592_1791744291254739_1830122581152808511_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6D7Nk8aP3xO2rl6ozYOYtcI2mbNuH5wJfgd5vhxb9eB-Ydy8t46rDwfO2QZdWoY7suhScAvnqZ1h7qRa9N_HzXwrg2pUV0LAV9RhjawYBLL45pJ9wabpCSUvMSl9nAI0T8hRwky9oNZBYwysgkdIO3xj2FvD2ny2_eP0DNMgMPe5KmWX-y0T4guPGw_Mf/s16000/369975592_1791744291254739_1830122581152808511_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: VIOLENT SATURDAY Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Richard Fleischer crafted a tight, sparse, edgy noir also replete with enough paperback melodrama for a dozen Douglas Sirk features, which <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/V-sat.html">VIOLENT SATURDAY</a> resembles but only from either close-up or afar...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The first because of the soapy situations, like a cheating wife or a father whose son seems to hate him... and the latter from the vibrant technicolor cinematography of an Arizona small town, richly contrasting from Fleischer's previous B&W city-set thrillers ARMORED CAR ROBBERY,  FOLLOW ME QUIETLY and THE CLAY PIGEON...</p><p><span></span></p>

crime, ensemble, fifties, film noir or melodrama, heist, j. carrol naish, lee marvin, love triangle, margaret hayes, richard egan, richard fleischer, stephen mcnally, victor mature, virginia leith

VICTOR MATURE IN RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY'

Title: VIOLENT SATURDAY Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2 Director Richard Fleischer crafted a tight, sparse, edgy noir also replete with enough pa...

VICTOR MATURE AND TREVOR HOWARD BATTLE IN 'PICKUP ALLEY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy33Rr1Ww_apBeyTbSElQCojWQrDdRSEHxpOPdw6wfZJiXNrz3wL4aPtPqLCX1DHQaoY78iMaQ-tMIhHqmUdEmGPsQnn3XuVw6mAr3LDWyGkDoYwwHCy4cfcph7u7SJFHJF53wu4jxZDpLRYx7fxFv0bhpAg6xlVokiuzOzFIrn5KOv2SPna3MhbCEQ4Ki/s1858/369792540_1791421271287041_2486943400021753132_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy33Rr1Ww_apBeyTbSElQCojWQrDdRSEHxpOPdw6wfZJiXNrz3wL4aPtPqLCX1DHQaoY78iMaQ-tMIhHqmUdEmGPsQnn3XuVw6mAr3LDWyGkDoYwwHCy4cfcph7u7SJFHJF53wu4jxZDpLRYx7fxFv0bhpAg6xlVokiuzOzFIrn5KOv2SPna3MhbCEQ4Ki/s16000/369792540_1791421271287041_2486943400021753132_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster art for Pickup Alley Year: 1957 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sometimes those late 1950's anti-drug, jazz-soaked neo noirs feature shaky method actors mimicking shaky legend James Dean, and for a reason... they're coming off heroin... and preachy melodrama ensues. But this British import starring American actor Victor Mature only begins that way... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What everything narrows down to is Mature, a U.S. drug enforcement agent, going after classy drug-smuggling kingpin Trevor Howard, himself after an eventual load of heroin in a port among various countries, from England to Greece to France, yet this was all filmed in Italy while making terrific use of their iconic Roman ruins...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, alec mango, anita ekberg, brian wilde, british film noir, drugs, fifties, film noir or melodrama, jazz score, john gilling, maurice browning, trevor howard, victor mature

VICTOR MATURE AND TREVOR HOWARD BATTLE IN 'PICKUP ALLEY'

Poster art for Pickup Alley Year: 1957 Rating: **** Sometimes those late 1950's anti-drug, jazz-soaked neo noirs feature shaky method ac...

VICTOR MATURE WITH DIANA DORS TRUCKING IN 'THE LONG HAUL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds55toXEPVh93M7s_m1hwQIvZ0gsZe_ioJVC2oqlcangr_0lmx5FfQRUOmoH9CNWjbSXj6cr8D_xGNyYs8zeTUjSgqJGNyUqqgelZDh-aH2Hi8oLN0JKpjdCdyVC2SYWGlvThb6R2LcZGhpbC61luLbXGjD1tNBV5IoMZrMlkmEA0DNuaQDCFjoy0nA7X/s1584/370584764_1791579744604527_233743414952011159_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds55toXEPVh93M7s_m1hwQIvZ0gsZe_ioJVC2oqlcangr_0lmx5FfQRUOmoH9CNWjbSXj6cr8D_xGNyYs8zeTUjSgqJGNyUqqgelZDh-aH2Hi8oLN0JKpjdCdyVC2SYWGlvThb6R2LcZGhpbC61luLbXGjD1tNBV5IoMZrMlkmEA0DNuaQDCFjoy0nA7X/s16000/370584764_1791579744604527_233743414952011159_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE LONG HAUL Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>What begins as a kind of lightweight <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/HellDrivers.html">HELL DRIVERS</a> with token Yankee Victor Mature joining a breakneck trucking company, having to drive as quickly and dangerously as possible, far too quickly turns into an ON THE WATERFRONT of crooked British hauling... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where a time-worn yet leathery-tough Mature... sprung from Army life and stuck in Liverpool with a wife who wants to stay put (plus a young son)... screws up company mob boss Patrick Allen's caper of robbing his own business: Thus making both the verbal and physical altercations between Mature (with plucky sidekick Liam Redmond) and Allen... equally square-jawed, stubborn and no-nonsense... fairly entertaining Noir... </p><p><span></span></p>

british film noir/melodrama, caper, diana dors, fifties, gene anderson, liam redmond, patrick allen, truck, victor mature

VICTOR MATURE WITH DIANA DORS TRUCKING IN 'THE LONG HAUL'

Title: THE LONG HAUL Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2 What begins as a kind of lightweight HELL DRIVERS with token Yankee Victor Mature joining a ...

VICTOR MATURE AND LAIRD CREGAR IN 'I WAKE UP SCREAMING'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWO1np82hbOR9gz4aPJLN1NWqdG5WHRLwMNGPfj9odQY8ab0VlU-jmV_BnIGrwfCgZsv77PRBYZWdvxpV-wZgu6KO6iX6vNuM0c7W7vqyKhvyqRqhijgi_9ENm_M6a-JAFZBywLNCOvYqytinJLH6fIXRnA2UYP5F_MbEp-qEGPxLVdLUfnEPtIeaG2j_/s1957/gggggg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1957" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWO1np82hbOR9gz4aPJLN1NWqdG5WHRLwMNGPfj9odQY8ab0VlU-jmV_BnIGrwfCgZsv77PRBYZWdvxpV-wZgu6KO6iX6vNuM0c7W7vqyKhvyqRqhijgi_9ENm_M6a-JAFZBywLNCOvYqytinJLH6fIXRnA2UYP5F_MbEp-qEGPxLVdLUfnEPtIeaG2j_/s16000/gggggg.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: I WAKE UP SCREAMING Year: 1941 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Originally named HOT SPOT since we begin with Victor Mature, noisily and rudely interrogated by detectives and, with that bright light in his eyes, this title describes anyone being heatedly interrogated... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And while the source novel I WAKE UP SCREAMING might have fit the pulpy page, it has nothing to do with this story involving Mature as a talent promoter who, after attempting to turn a beautiful nowhere waitress into an overnight sensation, is blamed for her murder...</p><p><span></span></p>

betty grable, carole landis, cop, film noir or melodrama, forties, laird cregar, mystery, thriller, victor mature, wrong man

VICTOR MATURE AND LAIRD CREGAR IN 'I WAKE UP SCREAMING'

Title: I WAKE UP SCREAMING Year: 1941 Rating: **** Originally named HOT SPOT since we begin with Victor Mature, noisily and rudely interroga...

VICTOR MATURE WITH RICHARD WIDMARK IN 'KISS OF DEATH'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj_MNi9A7VU0w1zgSoj-VXz6jK17ApfyWXn_-XFITWDOUe-HF2EZQ8j9VRDNn2BnxWU19AmtwNfijtyCZ4uEIkylNkulYh_n1uAcGTtj0zjvUt2TUDmms-ulBIkibpn-Gi05vzyGKSjmI4N_ZunVOLYk2EMml8TSf0NeJq7V2EMqLqyLrhGab_VDJSRn_/s1890/367399912_1787890904973411_7469800392131054339_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj_MNi9A7VU0w1zgSoj-VXz6jK17ApfyWXn_-XFITWDOUe-HF2EZQ8j9VRDNn2BnxWU19AmtwNfijtyCZ4uEIkylNkulYh_n1uAcGTtj0zjvUt2TUDmms-ulBIkibpn-Gi05vzyGKSjmI4N_ZunVOLYk2EMml8TSf0NeJq7V2EMqLqyLrhGab_VDJSRn_/s16000/367399912_1787890904973411_7469800392131054339_n.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: KISS OF DEATH Year: 1947 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The original KISS OF DEATH is several movies in one, beginning as a tension-filled heist flick that quickly leads to a prison melodrama involving the husband/father crook going to jail (refusing to rat on his criminal partners)... and then becomes a thriller about one thing and one thing only  — fear...</p><p></p><p></p><p>And it's no coincidence that this part sets up when central lead Victor Mature meets extremely talky and psychotic gangster Tommy Udo, played by cinema newcomer Richard Widmark... thus kicking into <i>full fear</i> gear during the second and third act, after Mature's failed attempt of turning Udo over to dogged moral conscience D.A. Brian Donlevy...</p><span></span>

brian donlevy, coleen gray, film noir or melodrama, forties, heist, karl malden, suspense, thriller, victor mature

VICTOR MATURE WITH RICHARD WIDMARK IN 'KISS OF DEATH'

Title: KISS OF DEATH Year: 1947 Rating: **** The original KISS OF DEATH is several movies in one, beginning as a tension-filled heist flick ...

MARK STEVENS & RICHARD WIDMARK 'THE STREET WITH NO NAME'

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWGzxm087JR3xJaWyaXMzvTRS6OINpETTA2sd1EYmtu-jODWMc5anmjF4idmY_P4nT4M8Z6sVNTozeSQ7IxPkcmhFMbkSbwZ-rG5bSsYiOf0QTlMUqsY8hxzTWzX10AMVzaHEnh0Bd2REAMrDc7PDmHWFJsg9kkrU_qYPTQkfxn-BjuFj6CgP1_ACx-lm/s1264/lighterRED.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWGzxm087JR3xJaWyaXMzvTRS6OINpETTA2sd1EYmtu-jODWMc5anmjF4idmY_P4nT4M8Z6sVNTozeSQ7IxPkcmhFMbkSbwZ-rG5bSsYiOf0QTlMUqsY8hxzTWzX10AMVzaHEnh0Bd2REAMrDc7PDmHWFJsg9kkrU_qYPTQkfxn-BjuFj6CgP1_ACx-lm/s16000/lighterRED.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE STREET WITH NO NAME Year: 1947 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Like James Cagney's more popular G-MEN, this dusty gem begins as sort of an FBI propaganda film, showing the inner workings of the department with a monotone "facts only" narration, yet soon enough it settles darkly into a mean, lean mobster flick as we follow agent Mark Stevens undercover along the titular urban street...<br> <br> Stevens as Gene Cordell, going by the bogus name of George Manly, then coasts into a boxing syndicate led by the dependably-vile Noir favorite Richard Widmark as Alec Stiles, who has solo time on screen, becoming an equal match of mobster verses undercover agent...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

action, crime, donald buka, FBI, film noir or melodrama, gangster, joseph pevney, mark stevens, richard widmark, suspense

MARK STEVENS & RICHARD WIDMARK 'THE STREET WITH NO NAME'

Title: THE STREET WITH NO NAME Year: 1947 Rating: ****1/2 Like James Cagney's more popular G-MEN, this dusty gem begins as sort of an ...