cult film freak: November 2016

Written by James M. Tate / 11/29/2016 / No comments / anne howard , body count , dennis dunn , donald pleasence , eighties , horror , jameson parker , lisa blount , science-fiction , victor wong

JOHN CARPENTER'S 'PRINCE OF DARKNESS' WITH JAMESON PARKER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_nEyXizi__M/WDQqc2GJKbI/AAAAAAAAvWM/UE2zcR4zUJMH6hBEC_yXvU_xtVaZT6-XwCLcB/s1600/15107278_229591994136651_3769791538102164874_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_nEyXizi__M/WDQqc2GJKbI/AAAAAAAAvWM/UE2zcR4zUJMH6hBEC_yXvU_xtVaZT6-XwCLcB/s400/15107278_229591994136651_3769791538102164874_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Between BIG TROUBLE and THEY LIVE Year Released: 1987</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
THE THING was arguably John Carpenter's best work; HALLOWEEN the most groundbreaking; ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK the coolest, edgiest; THE FOG his most sparse, economical and old school ghost story convenient...<br />
<br />
CHRISTINE his slickest; STARMAN his most mainstream; BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA his loosest; THEY LIVE the most mesmerizing; and PRINCE OF DARKNESS, at the cusp of The Master of Horror's peak, is his most personal, comparable to the gritty Martin Scorsese MEAN STREETS verses RAGING BULL and GOODFELLAS: And this cult horror was penned by Martin Quatermass, who, known now but wasn't then, was the man himself and, while sharing elements of his past features including a HALLOWEEN body count and THE THING science-fiction terror, involving something from beyond able to alter human beings: But PRINCE OF DARKNESS is different for several reasons...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<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/--hScmCZ5-I0/WDba5b5N_GI/AAAAAAAAvWw/P5pREQAmX0cZs8Q9ZjBq04kwlwVh0ADtgCLcB/s1600/prince_of_darkness_main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--hScmCZ5-I0/WDba5b5N_GI/AAAAAAAAvWw/P5pREQAmX0cZs8Q9ZjBq04kwlwVh0ADtgCLcB/s400/prince_of_darkness_main.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Shout Factory Blu Ray new artwork</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
The lack of a genuine leading man hero, which would seem like the preppy half of TV's popular SIMON AND SIMON, is Parker Jameson along with leading lady Lisa Blount — who's even more reluctant to believe the Biblical theories driving the unexplained force they're monitoring...<br />
<br />
Both without the energy of young leads, and wind up serving more as beacons to herd what feels like way too many characters (that Carpenter himself compared to the original THING, how a myriad of scientists walk in and out of rooms): they wind up doing paranormal experiments for USC extra credit within a large, closed-down Catholic Church where zombie-like homeless people stand guard outside including heavy metal icon Alice Cooper: pop culture fanatics seem to love the fact that Cooper slays the geek from another television show — Thom Bray from RIPTIDE...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-16V3KKvCrNY/XdIqTAnMjzI/AAAAAAABLHM/Ep-2ql8VMEsmUdBMJxczJ66VXGKwNJgaACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.21.05%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1600" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-16V3KKvCrNY/XdIqTAnMjzI/AAAAAAABLHM/Ep-2ql8VMEsmUdBMJxczJ66VXGKwNJgaACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.21.05%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jameson  Parker in Prince of Darkness</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are a good number of death scenes or near-deaths wherein the bodies come alive again to stalk the shadowy corridors and keep survivors at an even tighter restraint of space...<br />
<br />
And not the kind of screaming and suspenseful pandemonium that usually occurs when people die, one after the other, as the formidable antagonist, who in this case is The Devil...<br />
<br />
And He's trapped inside what looks like a lava lamp imitating a barber shop pole full of Gatorade (which could be CHRISTINE's anti freeze): spewing deathly liquid into the mouth of, first, one of four sexy ingenues, and our personal favorite lass, serving as the most palpable killer later on, and even outshining Cooper, who remains spooky and peripheral outside, mostly unseen past the first and second act.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5algBPzuOIc/XdIry2UdMXI/AAAAAAABLHo/qe8s6TFv6EQBM4k6W--tL6kE06mjUxdwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.26.27%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1118" height="311" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5algBPzuOIc/XdIry2UdMXI/AAAAAAABLHo/qe8s6TFv6EQBM4k6W--tL6kE06mjUxdwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.26.27%2BPM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>More Ann Howard, this time dead and loving it</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Anyone looking for a jolting horror experience, this might not work since the spookiest moments occur in a shared dream by anyone who falls into a nap. As for the antagonist... who's spoken of a lot and only viewed within the glimpse of each quick dream...<br />
<br />
Who knows, perhaps having Lucifer himself as a horror flick heavy is aiming too high for mainstream audiences, or fans of HALLOWEEN and its myriad of clones: Symbolically speaking, this particular DARKNESS is more like scanning the blueprints of a haunted house than being frightfully lost and vulnerable inside one. Alice Cooper and the homeless zombie troupe aside, the real human villain is a she, who, like Satan in many a book and film, has a human name few can remember. This is a reoccurring bit of subtle Carpenter humor: "Have you seen Susan?" "Who?" "Susan, the Radiologist, with the glasses."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XkDQ4qwuNzc/XdIspZlwOFI/AAAAAAABLHw/0qm2wmd4bYYWx0WomeBhYmw_fD4PHhOMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.29.34%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1024" height="346" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XkDQ4qwuNzc/XdIspZlwOFI/AAAAAAABLHw/0qm2wmd4bYYWx0WomeBhYmw_fD4PHhOMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.29.34%2BPM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Church location in Carpenter's Prince of Darkness </u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anne Howard is the girl next door type who <i>does</i> wear glasses but only at first, until taking them off or getting them taken off in a very green, wet manner...<br />
<br />
Then turning into a pale zombie that eventually snowballs a host of others to take care of the survivors, including an actor who was pretty much the main action-star of Carpenter's Kung Fu comedy BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA while Kurt Russell watched in amazement... But here, Dennis Dun is horribly miscast as the sarcastic and reluctant character i.e. our token comic relief... He seems to be reading lines, and his forced glib humor doesn't elevate the chaos or allow the audience to escape the bedlam, as intended. On the plus side: It seems that no matter how many deaths or gruesome bodily-takeovers occur, the movie remains as mellow and constant as the signature synthesizer music by the director himself, providing an even-keeled, foreboding pulse that rarely speeds up, making even the most gory deaths seem completely normal, and commonplace...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VBdLq9Vcocs/XdIrL7kZtfI/AAAAAAABLHc/9lmseyM5WxU0YxTV3Wz7PKU4LXW88AbzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.24.12%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1504" height="220" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VBdLq9Vcocs/XdIrL7kZtfI/AAAAAAABLHc/9lmseyM5WxU0YxTV3Wz7PKU4LXW88AbzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.24.12%2BPM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Victor Wong and Anne Howard in PRINCE OF DARKNESS</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
In this location, they are... For PRICE OF DARKNESS, according to Carpenter in a DVD/Blu Ray Commentary track with his stock actor/buddy Peter Jason...<br />
<br />
The latter who told us, personally, in a Cult Film Freak podcast, that his decision to become a crying zombie was an idea from his personal friend, actor extraordinaire David Warner (who loved Peter's interview but couldn't do one himself): Carpenter revealed this film was actually more like Howard Hawk's THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD than his own THE THING in that much of the story has a group of scientists roaming from one room into another...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l0J2REGa-zo/Wj9ciup1H9I/AAAAAAAA0Mc/RwfQ8_TGtscOM7LBPF9JeP5rGjKRNd45QCLcBGAs/s1600/25591941_412153305880518_2424714536141451863_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="355" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l0J2REGa-zo/Wj9ciup1H9I/AAAAAAAA0Mc/RwfQ8_TGtscOM7LBPF9JeP5rGjKRNd45QCLcBGAs/s400/25591941_412153305880518_2424714536141451863_n.jpg" width="147" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>DarkScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The differences between both THING flicks (of the 50's and 80's) are many, but there's one thing that makes DARKNESS superior to Hawks's science fiction chiller: the number of people dwindle as the film progresses, which means things actually occur in-between...<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yty2gyGm-KE/Wj9d9KZqqSI/AAAAAAAA0Mo/_Ov5Tsys5kgQ14KSnG9H7VB8w2ZiC7ikwCLcBGAs/s1600/25594028_412135992548916_956592917930198457_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="951" height="294" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yty2gyGm-KE/Wj9d9KZqqSI/AAAAAAAA0Mo/_Ov5Tsys5kgQ14KSnG9H7VB8w2ZiC7ikwCLcBGAs/s320/25594028_412135992548916_956592917930198457_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Where the Demons hang out near the water cooler</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
And while the killings aren't extremely scary, there's a palpable sense of dread from the very on-set...<br />
<br />
Cutting from a darkened corridor to the shiny exterior of U.S.C. where existential Philosophy professor Victor Wong teaches his class something about what's <i>actual</i> and what isn't... a theory he alters while aiding the Priest... And where cinematic Christianity and/or Catholicism usually has a temperamental knee-jerk reaction against scientific theories, because of the connection between our two polar opposite but equally wise old-timers, both religion and science is neatly hybrid, which makes Carpenter's script actually quite deep, thought-provoking, and refreshingly open-minded...<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXBPYHn5qas/XdIqq1qBYBI/AAAAAAABLHU/HYJ3_hHdGkErH8baaKTAk_HzUzdiO19UwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MV5BZDNhZjY4ZjktNTJhNi00YzNlLTllN2ItNjE2MGZiYzZkOWY3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjcwNzU2NTE%2540._V1_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1399" height="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXBPYHn5qas/XdIqq1qBYBI/AAAAAAABLHU/HYJ3_hHdGkErH8baaKTAk_HzUzdiO19UwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MV5BZDNhZjY4ZjktNTJhNi00YzNlLTllN2ItNjE2MGZiYzZkOWY3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjcwNzU2NTE%2540._V1_.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bring a watch to the netherworld... time moves slowly, and forever</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
But for those who stray from movies that may as well be Christian or Faith-based since, after-all, if centering on the Devil there must be a hero in God and Jesus Christ, don't fret...<br />
<br />
According to a scroll discovered inside the church, Christ was more of a paranormal researcher than a messiah, and, with an extra terrestrial origin, he was sent to Earth to, along with his disciples, simply keep Old Scratch at bay... So that's the backstory, and what a controversial prequel JESUS CHRIST: GHOST HUNTER would have been. But in all seriousness, this lends a touch of science-fiction to the ancient-curse-horror element...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bFZdYDJsCYo/XdIpe9ozKfI/AAAAAAABLG4/lvZd3f7MkX0QUpJQo5DF5bz0Jq45aIrQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.17.33%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="626" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bFZdYDJsCYo/XdIpe9ozKfI/AAAAAAABLG4/lvZd3f7MkX0QUpJQo5DF5bz0Jq45aIrQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-17%2Bat%2B9.17.33%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Parker Jameson in PRINCE OF DARKNESS</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which fits Carpenter's wheelhouse, and this is definitely his labor of love that's fitfully murky, creepy and remains entertaining from beginning to end despite a few Second Act scenes that drag a bit: And towards the conclusion we go back to one of John's first movies...<br />
<br />
His own personal Modern-Urban-Western that he also wrote himself, titled ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 about a group of survivors trapped within a particular location and, because of nefarious elements outside (gang members trying to enter a closed-down but sparsely occupied police station), they can't get out: Herein, instead of gun-wielding hoods there's Satan controlling a different kind of zombie altogether, which leads to another realization: While maybe not that original a body count horror since it's fairly obvious, judging by the personalities, who will buy the farm — for a Zombie flick, PRINCE OF DARKNESS is a morbid, meticulous and contained one of a kind treat...<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iRYIK0NC8Oo/WDQq7mGe68I/AAAAAAAAvWU/PwqSp3v2Vcgai6iSKdz-6-SE3YKBJPhGgCLcB/s1600/15179000_229587647470419_5809887011989680745_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iRYIK0NC8Oo/WDQq7mGe68I/AAAAAAAAvWU/PwqSp3v2Vcgai6iSKdz-6-SE3YKBJPhGgCLcB/s1600/15179000_229587647470419_5809887011989680745_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>That's John Carpenter, not wanting all to know it's all his own</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CMYccNOFfpc/W8r4qSdSAwI/AAAAAAAA6pE/WgDoSC4IYUQA8ztIhvt46C5lSFm2a1nHwCLcBGAs/s1600/44381606_588685378227309_3975487429292326912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="960" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CMYccNOFfpc/W8r4qSdSAwI/AAAAAAAA6pE/WgDoSC4IYUQA8ztIhvt46C5lSFm2a1nHwCLcBGAs/s1600/44381606_588685378227309_3975487429292326912_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Just from Prince of Darkness Anne Marie Howard is one of our fav scream queens (billed as Anne Howard)</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>

anne howard, body count, dennis dunn, donald pleasence, eighties, horror, jameson parker, lisa blount, science-fiction, victor wong

JOHN CARPENTER'S 'PRINCE OF DARKNESS' WITH JAMESON PARKER

Between BIG TROUBLE and THEY LIVE Year Released: 1987 THE THING was arguably John Carpenter's best work; HALLOWEEN the most groundbr...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/23/2016 / No comments / betty beall , horror , jazz score , kent taylor , marie windsor , maury dexter , science-fiction , sixties

MAURY DEXTER'S 'THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH' W/ KENT TAYLOR

<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rY4fEYgOtSQ/WCrIDK5AHrI/AAAAAAAAvQc/oONXBj-EPDIAGrygfzNYkcB0aii2HPK4gCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-15%2Bat%2B12.30.36%2BAM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rY4fEYgOtSQ/WCrIDK5AHrI/AAAAAAAAvQc/oONXBj-EPDIAGrygfzNYkcB0aii2HPK4gCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-15%2Bat%2B12.30.36%2BAM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Art for the Maury Dexter soft invasion Martian flick YEAR: 1963</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A location scout's job is to discover places to shoot that fits within a script's description  — what the movie needs, they'll find. But in particular super-low budget drive-in flicks like THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH, as director Maury Dexter took a break from jazzy crime and bikini flicks, it seems like the other way around...<br>
<br>
The Beverly Hills mansion where Dr. David Fielding, played by Dexter's WALK TALL villain and HARBOR LIGHTS hero Kent Taylor, and his family are holed-up after he discovering a way to connect or receive messages with the planet Mars, is like a character in itself  — and a starring role since much of Dexter's camera glides us through the endlessly elegant locale as if he'd found something amazing enough to write an entire motion picture around...<br>

betty beall, horror, jazz score, kent taylor, marie windsor, maury dexter, science-fiction, sixties

MAURY DEXTER'S 'THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH' W/ KENT TAYLOR

Poster Art for the Maury Dexter soft invasion Martian flick YEAR: 1963 A location scout's job is to discover places to shoot that ...

WHERE CREDIT'S DUE: LIST OF FIVE UNCREDITED ROLES

<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/-2CDrFqkH2nc/WC1Lsdg9_cI/AAAAAAAAvSE/8dxIT5ggWFcamzW149kNDhgOGA7bcLcaQCLcB/s1600/999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2CDrFqkH2nc/WC1Lsdg9_cI/AAAAAAAAvSE/8dxIT5ggWFcamzW149kNDhgOGA7bcLcaQCLcB/s400/999.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ron Leibman hides his real name yet he's still Sgt. Vaughn Liceman</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here you''ll discover five different types of Uncredited Roles that were caused either by an on-set rift, an intentional audience surprise, or a favor to the director — beginning with what was most likely due to the movie itself...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NOAElSniKxo/WCz1H_VD6JI/AAAAAAAAvRc/rtXtt2umcXk6SFrt1wE89nGmY8QH4NiNgCLcB/s1600/88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NOAElSniKxo/WCz1H_VD6JI/AAAAAAAAvRc/rtXtt2umcXk6SFrt1wE89nGmY8QH4NiNgCLcB/s320/88.jpg" width="122"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Say it Agaaaain!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
1) <u>RON LEIBMAN IN UP THE ACADEMY</u>: A friend had never seen NORMA RAE but did watch, on a particular Bad Movie Night long ago, UP THE ACADEMY, the abyssal, awkward clunker of a military school comedy, surprisingly created by an otherwise, at that time, brilliant and popular, long-running and downright iconic magazine called MAD, who was jumping on the National Lampoon bandwagon following the blockbuster of ANIMAL HOUSE...<br>
<br>
One thing MAD didn't take into account was that a funny script was needed. Perhaps for a bunch of guys who bagged on other movies, it was harder than they realized to create something original (after all, Don Martin and Sergio Aragonés weren't the scriptwriters). Also needed was a director who knew about comedy timing. Along with the horror genre, comedies are the hardest to make since they demand a particular reaction from their audience — beyond simply being entertained. And back to that buddy who was shocked after seeing Ron Lieberman's brilliant turn as an intrepid "New York Jew" Union man down South, who charms Sally Field's flaky single mom/factory worker NORMA RAE into being a diehard spokeswoman for The Union...<br>

list

WHERE CREDIT'S DUE: LIST OF FIVE UNCREDITED ROLES

Ron Leibman hides his real name yet he's still Sgt. Vaughn Liceman Here you''ll discover five different types of Uncredited ...

MERRY ANDERS CINEMA: SPEED KILLS IN 'DEATH IN SMALL DOSES'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nis0K3TbM3g/XscY87hsuOI/AAAAAAABUC0/TXL3DKSubygOgszgI16SPFDNWHpQuxfJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/61aFD5jT%252BEL._AC_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="455" height="306" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nis0K3TbM3g/XscY87hsuOI/AAAAAAABUC0/TXL3DKSubygOgszgI16SPFDNWHpQuxfJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/61aFD5jT%252BEL._AC_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Animated Image of Little Orphan Anders all strung-out YEAR: 1957</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We finally have what seems to be — or at least what's described on the DVD cover — as a bonafide Film Noir featuring Merry Anders, our starlet-spotlight who appeared in a string of crime thrillers and semi-horrors that share particular traits of the famous genre but were never quite 'all there'...<br>
<br>
Centering on truckers who strategically stay awake for long hauls by use of amphetamines, you could say this seems written by A.I. Benzedrine... as opposed to THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT and THIEVE'S HIGHWAY scribe A.I. Bezzerides: And if you have to explain or in this case, repeat a joke it isn't funny — but the speedy shoe fits as DEATH pushes the pedal to the metal like the author's idealistic truck driving Noir films during the rudimentary stages of the genre, only kicking it up a few notches, and is more of yet another late 50's anti-drug crime melodrama the likes of PICKUP ALLEY and STAKEOUT ON DOPE STREET, and stars a man who's ultra-serious tone would eventually be parodied, by himself: Peter Graves, who fits the undercover Noir template pretty good despite seeming too much like The Man in whatever clothes he has on: a sort of b-side Charles McGraw here...<br>

crime, drug culture, jazz score, merry anders, peter graves

MERRY ANDERS CINEMA: SPEED KILLS IN 'DEATH IN SMALL DOSES'

Animated Image of Little Orphan Anders all strung-out YEAR: 1957 We finally have what seems to be — or at least what's described on ...

FIRST OF TWO ROBERT VAUGHN TRIBUTES: THE LIEUTENANT

bill bixby, gary lockwood, gene roddenberry, military, one season, robert vaughn, series, sixties, war

FIRST OF TWO ROBERT VAUGHN TRIBUTES: THE LIEUTENANT

Robert Vaughn with Garry Lockwood on TV in 1963 The Original STAR TREK series, created, co-written and produced by Gene Roddenberry, too...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/09/2016 / No comments / art baker , drama , football , forties , jack paar , jacques tourneur , june bright , lizabeth scott , lucille ball , melodrama , richard erdman , sonny tufts , sport , victor mature

MATURE & SCOTT HAVING A BALL IN TOURNEUR'S 'EASY LIVING'

<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/-z9aUhxdZg7E/XLcO2uXPD2I/AAAAAAABCzk/u6b-zE5PcvM91ckxhBY1CLlu64_DvVP3wCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-04-17%2Bat%2B4.31.20%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="686" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z9aUhxdZg7E/XLcO2uXPD2I/AAAAAAABCzk/u6b-zE5PcvM91ckxhBY1CLlu64_DvVP3wCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-04-17%2Bat%2B4.31.20%2BAM.jpeg" width="243"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1949</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A kind of Sports Noir given that the three main stars <i>and</i> director were staples of that particular mostly black-and-white, dark and shadowy genre...<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NHtb68MJZsg/W8Hcc3xegYI/AAAAAAAA6fM/CK8lS6lpzMwUZlLDD9Ct4FpmarvYk_cDgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-10-13%2Bat%2B4.50.49%2BAM.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="896" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NHtb68MJZsg/W8Hcc3xegYI/AAAAAAAA6fM/CK8lS6lpzMwUZlLDD9Ct4FpmarvYk_cDgCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-10-13%2Bat%2B4.50.49%2BAM.jpg" width="252"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Victor Mature and Lucille Ball</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
And maybe Jacques Tourneur fans, expecting another CAT PEOPLE or OUT OF THE PAST were letdown, surprised or both that their man...<br>
<br>
Who usually thrived on dark subject matters or lavish, energetic Westerns, was behind a seemingly mundane picture about a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams <i>almost </i>past his prime. But there's a lining in any and every cinematic rainbow <i>if </i>you admire a director enough to find their signature gold in an otherwise vacant mine — thanks especially to Tourneur, who helped a project that might've been a completely dull programmer instead of an entertaining, time-filling programmer that, though taking about fifteen minutes to take shape, flows together smoothly...<br>

art baker, drama, football, forties, jack paar, jacques tourneur, june bright, lizabeth scott, lucille ball, melodrama, richard erdman, sonny tufts, sport, victor mature

MATURE & SCOTT HAVING A BALL IN TOURNEUR'S 'EASY LIVING'

Year of Release: 1949 A kind of Sports Noir given that the three main stars and director were staples of that particular mostly black-a...

MERRY ANDERS CINEMA PRESENTS 'HOUSE OF THE DAMNED'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qNpxQdctf3g/XsccRoaGgWI/AAAAAAABUD8/jmyldfktgwwgBm1SYh3DSEaafdEIIdv5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-05-21%2Bat%2B5.21.53%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1297" height="371" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qNpxQdctf3g/XsccRoaGgWI/AAAAAAABUD8/jmyldfktgwwgBm1SYh3DSEaafdEIIdv5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-05-21%2Bat%2B5.21.53%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>House of the Damned with Merry Anders YEAR: 1963</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before becoming a second unit director on two famous television shows produced by Michael Landon in the seventies and eighties, Maury Dexter, during the wild and swinging sixties, was a b-movie filmmaker who tackled eclectic genres ranging from Crime to Western to Horror to Beach to Biker...<br>
<br>
And in HOUSE OF THE DAMNED he gets his genre wires crossed: For example, in one scene, the main couple are sleeping in two single guest room beds...<br>
<br>
An architect and his wife, played by Ron Foster and, wedged between two Dexter flicks, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/08/AirPATROL.html">AIR PATROL</a> the year before and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/07/merry-anders-cinema-raiders-from.html">RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA</a> after, the beautiful and underracted ingenue, Merry Anders, who wakes up right before seeing what the audience catches a few glimpses of: a bizarre, ghaustly silhouette of a legless man walking with his hands through the partial darkness of a Gothic mansion, which should be scary in its own right...<br>

horror, maury dexter, merry anders, sixties