YAPHET KOTTO REFLECTS 'ALIEN' AND DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT

<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/-ik6Q2ceZgHY/XeNyYvBWeUI/AAAAAAABL-I/rDDZ-lCCEcMvVTq-p-qhKasmvVN9Dr7pACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Alien_126Pyxurz-678x381.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="561" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ik6Q2ceZgHY/XeNyYvBWeUI/AAAAAAABL-I/rDDZ-lCCEcMvVTq-p-qhKasmvVN9Dr7pACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Alien_126Pyxurz-678x381.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Yaphet Kotto serves up intensity as Parker in ALIENS circa 1979</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> "All of the scenes were challenging," said Yaphet Kotto in a Cult Film Freak interview about the classic science-fiction monster movie ALIEN. "Particularly when you know you have to act against sets that were huge. The special effects determined where you could walk. Then you ask yourself how can you survive in acting against a monster. Will you be remembered?" <br> <br> On director Ridley Scott, Kotto recalls: "Ridley Scott was cool. He gave us a ninety-page outline detailing each of our characters and then he disappeared behind the camera. That’s how he directs; he operates his own camera." As for Scott's direction on the actors: "Ridley told me 'No, no, don’t start cozying up with Sigourney.'<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grf9crxvX1Q/XeNtKVXlHTI/AAAAAAABL90/SR48IlAwvHQp5AAbIRsT2NPO02VSeTwjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/gallery_medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="554" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grf9crxvX1Q/XeNtKVXlHTI/AAAAAAABL90/SR48IlAwvHQp5AAbIRsT2NPO02VSeTwjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/gallery_medium.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Signourney Weaver and Yaphet Kotto in ALIEN</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> "He wanted me to annoy the crap out of her, which I did. He told me to get on Sigourney’s nerves; stop speaking to her on the lunch breaks, dressing rooms...<br> <br> "All for the end of the movie at that moment when she blows up at (me) 'Parker' and takes over leadership. And I did exactly as Ridley told me. To this day, I don’t know if he ever told her. I will never let a director do that to me again! I asked him when I saw him in Canada at their film festival and the release of the Director’s Cut and I don’t think he had."<br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n_yKjiz247k/XeNt9ZJWVpI/AAAAAAABL-A/1rVG3JheM6w5c3J1Zxw3FrbTFhlxkFvJACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/e83a0659df05871098fed1600eba11fe.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1086" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n_yKjiz247k/XeNt9ZJWVpI/AAAAAAABL-A/1rVG3JheM6w5c3J1Zxw3FrbTFhlxkFvJACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/e83a0659df05871098fed1600eba11fe.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harry Dean Stanton as Brett and Yaphet Kotto blue collaring in ALIEN</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div>

horror, interview, ridley scott, science-fiction, seventies, sigourney weaver, yaphet kotto

YAPHET KOTTO REFLECTS 'ALIEN' AND DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT

Yaphet Kotto serves up intensity as Parker in ALIENS circa 1979 "All of the scenes were challenging," said Yaphet Kotto in a C...

JUDD NELSON & ALLY SHEEDY IN THE BRAT PACK NOIR 'BLUE CITY'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nUk0dVi4r04/XeCwp2OmMlI/AAAAAAABL3c/6iuaIY1ZFCgMPa9TFhyYYmUPpWTkWxj7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="884" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nUk0dVi4r04/XeCwp2OmMlI/AAAAAAABL3c/6iuaIY1ZFCgMPa9TFhyYYmUPpWTkWxj7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B3.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ally Sheedy facing fellow Brat Packer Judd Nelson in the Neo Noir Action flick Blu City Year: 1986</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This dark horse Brat Pack outing was up for a few Razzie Awards, but for what exactly? BLUE CITY is actually a decent action/thriller about the son of a beloved slain mayor returning to a Florida town, Blue City, now run (from inside a roadhouse bar) by seedy Scott Wilson...<br /> <br /> Seeking clues, Nelson gets back in touch with his old drinking buddy David Caruso, who is sober, paranoid, and running a fishing boat. And what makes this Brat a Pack in our love interest: Caruso's pretty sister, Ally Sheedy, who becomes smitten with Judd... a former crush resurfaced. She works at the local jail he was thrown into after a brawling bar fight.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DB0S7i4M520/Xd9OuXDeNmI/AAAAAAABL2Q/8j-g5NLvVtkApSLyCnMD6yHGyn6trzegwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B4.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1128" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DB0S7i4M520/Xd9OuXDeNmI/AAAAAAABL2Q/8j-g5NLvVtkApSLyCnMD6yHGyn6trzegwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B4.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Walter Hill presents Judd Nelson in Blue City directed by Breakfast Club producer Michelle Manning</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> The best scenes are his gun-toting revenge against a bevy of Wilson's thugs. In the usual action flick fashion, the underdog is in over his head, and yet his lack of experience makes him cocky, reckless and assertive.<br /> <br /> "I'm new at this," Judd quips after kicking in the door of a racetrack office during a heist. And he soon learns how to get around, eventually finding out who killed his father... which isn't such a shocker... but there's always a cost.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBm812Tdkco/Xd9tagB-xMI/AAAAAAABL3E/XoThLJ4eFPktKBjdqYJsP7nzK2dFCsO-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBm812Tdkco/Xd9tagB-xMI/AAAAAAABL3E/XoThLJ4eFPktKBjdqYJsP7nzK2dFCsO-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B2.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>An angry and wonderfully overacting Scott Wilson in Blue City RATES: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> BLUE CITY is colorful action Neo Noir directed by Michelle Manning, who makes this a Brat Pack trifecta being she produced both SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB for John Hughes.<br /> <br /> And in this departure from teen melodrama are plenty of old school cinema stuff to keep you entertained like fist fights, gun fights, explosions, and a nifty side cast including sexy Anita Morris as his lush stepmother and the always watchable Paul Winfield.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-chl7AwdzReU/Xd9PBK1SHUI/AAAAAAABL2Y/BlTH_lI7J_4JTAi_NFjlxKKqlU2Rwr-BQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B5%2B2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="1132" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-chl7AwdzReU/Xd9PBK1SHUI/AAAAAAABL2Y/BlTH_lI7J_4JTAi_NFjlxKKqlU2Rwr-BQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B5%2B2.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judd Nelson in Blue City aka Laiton Kaupunki aka Vromiki politeia</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> But it's Scott Wilson's grimacing villain who really stands out like bad guys often do in Walter Hill films, this one produced and co-written, not directed by...<br /> <br /> In many ways,  CITY feels like his project, although more STREETS OF FIRE than 48 HRS. Even his stock musician Ry Cooder provides a beach-breezy score with more synth than slide.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rHo0IgNPKA/Xd9OIFOfiPI/AAAAAAABL14/0k0YJn7VIwg6C4ecQojeszgxvtCuN4IaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B6.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rHo0IgNPKA/Xd9OIFOfiPI/AAAAAAABL14/0k0YJn7VIwg6C4ecQojeszgxvtCuN4IaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Picture%252B6.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>David Caruso in Blue City aka </u><u>Staden bortom lagen aka Блу-сити </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ_Pgwd8JmA/Xd9QgEK5qAI/AAAAAAABL2g/tZ-Pt1t355AMuGhFUwzzmM6p9jE022n1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bluecity-2-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="986" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ_Pgwd8JmA/Xd9QgEK5qAI/AAAAAAABL2g/tZ-Pt1t355AMuGhFUwzzmM6p9jE022n1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bluecity-2-1.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judd Nelson in BLUE CITY aka Cidade Corrupta aka Ciudad corrompida</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

action, ally sheedy, anita morris, brat pack, david caruso, eighties, judd nelson, neo noir, scott wilson, walter hill

JUDD NELSON & ALLY SHEEDY IN THE BRAT PACK NOIR 'BLUE CITY'

Ally Sheedy facing fellow Brat Packer Judd Nelson in the Neo Noir Action flick Blu City Year: 1986 This dark horse Brat Pack outing was ...

REVIEW OF MARTIN SCORSESE'S ANTICIPATED 'THE IRISHMAN'

<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/-k7hlwIE8cdE/XfEAAzI842I/AAAAAAABMVw/MmtTJ7L65H8hlPk3ePJPaCADxwAme9L8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/z.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k7hlwIE8cdE/XfEAAzI842I/AAAAAAABMVw/MmtTJ7L65H8hlPk3ePJPaCADxwAme9L8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/z.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in THE IRISHMEN Year: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> At a run-time of over three hours, you'd think director Martin Scorsese would make something more liken to an addictive limited cable series than an epic about absolutely nothing. It is, however, about <i>someone</i>; and that's Jimmy Hoffa played by a CGI-youthful Al Pacino, who, with Robert De Niro as sidekick "house painter" i.e. assassin Frank Sheeran, are involved in endless dialogue leading absolutely nowhere...<br> <br> Unlike Scorsese's mob classic GOODFELLAS, ironically playing-out like binge crime serials do now — with something to anticipate around every suspenseful corner — there's nothing to look forward to here except more and more conversations with De Niro on cruise control and Pacino using a fake accent that's not only distracting, but completely unnecessary.<br>

2019, al pacino, biopic, drama, epic, joe pesci, martin scorsese, mob, robert deniro, thriller

REVIEW OF MARTIN SCORSESE'S ANTICIPATED 'THE IRISHMAN'

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in THE IRISHMEN Year: 2019 At a run-time of over three hours, you'd think director Martin Scorsese would...

CANVASING THE PICTURESQUE 'THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT'

<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/-VxmuqPB2knY/XdzGu_tJkeI/AAAAAAABLvk/BGeb2m7ATVgqDj9zNyLJoeUG2JcxQuoLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1573" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VxmuqPB2knY/XdzGu_tJkeI/AAAAAAABLvk/BGeb2m7ATVgqDj9zNyLJoeUG2JcxQuoLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/4.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot circa 1974</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> There's a quote in THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT, a movie about an experienced ex-bank robber played by Clint Eastwood teamed with Jeff Bridges as a young and freewheeling upstart... <br> <br> "Stick with me, kid, you're gonna live forever" is ironically Jeff's line as Lightfoot to Clint's Thunderbolt since <i>this</i> enigmatic kid  speaks in almost all hackneyed adages...<br> <br> Quips ranging from "You're only as old as you look" to "In for a penny, in for a pound" to "A rolling stone gathers no moss," he's the most interesting and offbeat aspect in an Eastwood vehicle that's miles beyond his other action-genre Modern Westerns. But in a visual, stylistic sense, the director (and writer) makes all the difference...<br>

action, bill mckinney, catherine bach, chase, clint eastwood, geoffrey lewis, george kennedy, heist, jack dodson, jeff bridges, june fairchild, michael cimino

CANVASING THE PICTURESQUE 'THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT'

Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot circa 1974 There's a quote in THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT, a movie about ...

ROD STEIGER PLAYS 'THE SERGEANT' WITH JOHN PHILLIP LAW

<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/-NDaPXqjLVQI/XdsBlprAXQI/AAAAAAABLp8/T3i1b5JwUhUi9dGsJHtkHrAsr89Z3wDKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-24%2Bat%2B9.46.17%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NDaPXqjLVQI/XdsBlprAXQI/AAAAAAABLp8/T3i1b5JwUhUi9dGsJHtkHrAsr89Z3wDKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-24%2Bat%2B9.46.17%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Artwork for THE SERGEANT Year: 1968</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> It's not just <i>what</i> THE SERGEANT is about, or even <i>who</i> it's about: An American Second World War war hero returning to France the following decade for a peacetime gig not as quite risky or daring: This Army Sergeant of military construction laborers wielding old-school, tough-as-nails tactics to shape things up — until both someone <i>and</i> something distracts him...<br> <br> MSgt. Albert Callan is an extremely closeted closet homosexual, and on the surface, Rod Steiger portrays a lonely Army lifer who finally finds a true friend he can mentor and/or simply hang around with. Of course it's deeper than that; but as a film from 1968 <i>about</i> 1952, John Flynn directs with a unique, strategic approach perfectly suited to Steiger's creepy-harsh yet desperately sympathetic performance.<br>

controversial, drama, exploitation, homosexual, john flynn, john phillip law, ludmila mikaël, military, rod steiger, sixties

ROD STEIGER PLAYS 'THE SERGEANT' WITH JOHN PHILLIP LAW

Poster Artwork for THE SERGEANT Year: 1968 It's not just what THE SERGEANT is about, or even who it's about: An American Secon...

MARILEE EARLE IN 'STREET OF SINNERS' W/ GEORGE MONTGOMERY

<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/-OWAXQaW6PC0/XditLZ1RlGI/AAAAAAABLZA/pD7sUJpCJMwVM4CkshY-TKR6G6pKUCSHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/11.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="817" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWAXQaW6PC0/XditLZ1RlGI/AAAAAAABLZA/pD7sUJpCJMwVM4CkshY-TKR6G6pKUCSHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/11.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marilee Earle and George Montgomery in Street of Sinners Year: 1957</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> With Dana Andrews as Cult Film Freak's all-time favorite actor, and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/08/feardemon.html">THE FEARMAKERS</a> the favorite movie, it's hard not to fall hard for obscure ingenue/bombshell Marilee Earle, whose deep, dark, narrowed, penetrating eyes are reminiscent of Elizabeth Short i.e. The Black Dahlia — yet with a sweet voice she'd often play vulnerable characters: alongside Dana she's a kindhearted secretary and a meek pregnant wife in the cold war thriller THE LOST MISSILE...<br> <br> So she really gets to shine in STREET OF SINNERS, a stage play type of B&W melodrama where everything is pushed into one setting, basically: a restaurant run by shady and not very mysteriously nefarious Nehemiah Persoff, who plays a different kind of crime boss who "runs the entire street" since he fully admits and even brags about his crooked reign, even to a much-too-old rookie cop played by George Montgomery as Johnny...<br>

clifford david, crime, diana millay, drama, exploitation, fifties, george montgomery, geraldine brooks, jazz score, marilee earle, melodrama, mob, nehemiah persoff

MARILEE EARLE IN 'STREET OF SINNERS' W/ GEORGE MONTGOMERY

Marilee Earle and George Montgomery in Street of Sinners Year: 1957 With Dana Andrews as Cult Film Freak's all-time favorite actor, ...

PETER VAUGHAN IN 'SMOKESCREEN' WITH YVONNE ROMAIN

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xypkniMKnfg/Xdd22Kgi5_I/AAAAAAABLRs/yYNc7kF6v08rIvMOQn2XZG5Fffh9wHevACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xypkniMKnfg/Xdd22Kgi5_I/AAAAAAABLRs/yYNc7kF6v08rIvMOQn2XZG5Fffh9wHevACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0%2B2.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Peter Vaughan & Yvonne Romain in SMOKESCREEN Year: 1964</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The biggest shame about Jim O'Connelly's quirky low-budget British post-noir SMOKESCREEN is that it was a film instead of a television series since Peter Vaughan's perpetually cautious and stingy insurance adjuster Roper had so many more adventures in him....<br> <br> His particular case involves what the audience and a young couple witness from the very beginning: a burning car driving off a cliff, and we never see a driver, which is what Roper searches for throughout the hour-long programmer, going from one person to the next in the usual investigative fashion... <br>

british neo noir, david gregory, glynn edwards, jill curzon, jim o'connolly, john carson, peter vaughan, sixties, yvonne romain

PETER VAUGHAN IN 'SMOKESCREEN' WITH YVONNE ROMAIN

Peter Vaughan & Yvonne Romain in SMOKESCREEN Year: 1964 The biggest shame about Jim O'Connelly's quirky low-budget British p...

JIM O'CONNOLLY DIRECTS JACQUELINE ELLIS IN 'THE HI-JACKERS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1sGI_sptsQ/XdYN8AeoJ_I/AAAAAAABLMg/gP6W3d14D204QApOPjGukxS1MxccubozQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1sGI_sptsQ/XdYN8AeoJ_I/AAAAAAABLMg/gP6W3d14D204QApOPjGukxS1MxccubozQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Opening title sequence for THE HI-JACKERS circa 1963</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Writer/director Jim O'Connolly should be well known for two films where the cult status went to someone else: In BERSERK, Joan Crawford gets credit while stop-motion guru Ray Harryhausen and his dinosaurs ruled THE VALLEY OF GWANGI. But O'Connolly's by himself in creating two neat, tight and entertaining B&W post-noir crime flicks derived from the British b-picture company, Butcher's, in the early/mid 1960's...<br> <br> The first being THE HI-JACKERS starring Anthony Booth as an independent truck/lorry driver: victim of the titular gang faking accident scenes on the rural roadside and then stealing the cargo: in his case, cases of Johnnie Walker Red...<br>

anthony booth, british, british neo noir, crime, david gregory, derek francis, glynn edwards, jacqueline ellis, jazz score, jim o'connolly, sixties

JIM O'CONNOLLY DIRECTS JACQUELINE ELLIS IN 'THE HI-JACKERS'

Opening title sequence for THE HI-JACKERS circa 1963 Writer/director Jim O'Connolly should be well known for two films where the cul...

LISA LANGLOIS IN THE ROGER CORMAN JAWS-CLONE 'THE NEST'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHwdrbHuIec/XdB6uw4WoTI/AAAAAAABK6U/W19YnVmwbnwiotcFfsrs7B5bd3AfecgXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHwdrbHuIec/XdB6uw4WoTI/AAAAAAABK6U/W19YnVmwbnwiotcFfsrs7B5bd3AfecgXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span class="_mh6 _wsc" id="cch_f1a60812ac19e66"><span class="_3oh- _58nk">"Working on that film was amongst the worst experiences of my career" Lisa Langlois</span></span> YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The same year Roger Corman's former New World Pictures put out the slug infestation Jaws-Clone <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/11/slugs.html">SLUGS</a>, his new company New Horizons, led by daughter Julie Corman, made a killer cockroach flick titled THE NEST...<br> <br> Which is almost as effective, and with a higher grade of actors including legendary Robert Lansing as a real estate developer who, a cross between the greedy JAWS mayor and a similar land-developer in another Steven Spielberg thriller, POLTERGEIST, is covering up not an Indian burial ground but some kind of waste that harbors mutant cockroaches doing tons of local damage...<br>

body count, creature, eighties, exploitation, horror, jaws-clone, lisa langlois, robert lansing, roger corman, terri treas

LISA LANGLOIS IN THE ROGER CORMAN JAWS-CLONE 'THE NEST'

"Working on that film was amongst the worst experiences of my career" Lisa Langlois YEAR: 1988 The same year Roger Corman'...

TRACKING THE JAWS-CLONE OF NEW WORLD PICTURES 'SLUGS'

<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/-Y8hPrVHexC4/XdB7d_qxisI/AAAAAAABK6o/uxq55H-3MbASIMWvSDfsYEFshv7k--KugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8hPrVHexC4/XdB7d_qxisI/AAAAAAABK6o/uxq55H-3MbASIMWvSDfsYEFshv7k--KugCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/7.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tammy Reger as Pam in SLUGS Year: 1988</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Roger Corman's New World Pictures sans Roger Corman made a surprisingly decent Jaws-Clone, taking its time for the body count deaths with pretty good actors spouting pretty good dialogue between gross-out sequences that outshine the suspenseful horror aspect, overall more catered to the drive-in exploitation crowd...<br> <br> Beginning with a bikini-clad blonde on a boat with her boyfriend, the JAWS connection is contrived right up front since SLUGS aren't known for being water/lake creatures. But soon we're at a small town that, within its cozy confides, has a nice guy health inspector (named Mike Brady of all things) who, along with his pretty wife and working class buddy, investigates what could be killing (and skinning bare) various townspeople...<br>

body count, creature, eighties, exploitation, horror, jaws-clone, suspense, thriller

TRACKING THE JAWS-CLONE OF NEW WORLD PICTURES 'SLUGS'

Tammy Reger as Pam in SLUGS Year: 1988 Roger Corman's New World Pictures sans Roger Corman made a surprisingly decent Jaws-Clone, ta...

MERRY ANDERS IN 'THE TIME TRAVELERS' WITH PRESTON FOSTER

<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/-LPKELxqGIFw/XcaMmdC4ezI/AAAAAAABKoA/65fEkMILuSAqb5c4vVWAG9wwpa16DpBsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-06%2Bat%2B7.31.31%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPKELxqGIFw/XcaMmdC4ezI/AAAAAAABKoA/65fEkMILuSAqb5c4vVWAG9wwpa16DpBsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-06%2Bat%2B7.31.31%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dennis Patrick scowls in The Time Travelers Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Takes place mainly within a technically-streamlined underground cavern where a relatively sparse number of survivors keep a horde of radiated mutants from gaining entry, and then playing host to our four time-trapped heroes, who had opened a portal in their university lab a hundred years ago but only ten minutes earlier... <br> <br> Initially set in 2001 and led by "modern day" scientist Preston Foster; his younger, handsome sidekick Philip Carey; Carey's beautiful girlfriend Merry Anders; and scene-stealing comic relief (and everybody's sidekick) Steve Franken, THE TIME TRAVELERS is unfairly deemed bad campy schlock, and yet writer/director Ib Melchior created a <i>true</i> science-fiction story in which the viewer and visitors are continuously <i>presented</i> the inner-workings of this self-contained new world, from a wide range of monitors to a wondrously creative android factory: elaborate and highly impressive, labor-of-love sets that would simply be computer-generated today... <br>

delores wells, dennis patrick, forrest j. ackerman, ib melchior, john hoyt, merry anders, philip carey, post-apocalyptic, preston foster, race against time, science-fiction, steve franken, thriller, time travel

MERRY ANDERS IN 'THE TIME TRAVELERS' WITH PRESTON FOSTER

Dennis Patrick scowls in The Time Travelers Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 Takes place mainly within a technically-streamlined underground ca...

PAUL LEMAT CRUISES DIANNE HULL IN 'ALOHA BOBBY AND ROSE'

<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/-q4ORFKnrLxY/XcjdYI-P8sI/AAAAAAABKxQ/GobOQBs6CmwzSCv8haUyfGyPDuZHIkzFACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-10%2Bat%2B6.09.53%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="898" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q4ORFKnrLxY/XcjdYI-P8sI/AAAAAAABKxQ/GobOQBs6CmwzSCv8haUyfGyPDuZHIkzFACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-10%2Bat%2B6.09.53%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Aloha Bobby and Rose vehicle cruising Graffiti style in 1974</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> When we learn at the close of AMERICAN GRAFFITI that a drunk driver would kill John Milner, the cocky motorhead played by Paul LeMat, a deep pang of depression occurs…<br> <br> After all, Milner’s the type of guy you’d want cruising the boulevard forever, and this was his chance to return, in some form...<br> <br> And might be back in the <i>specific</i> form of Bobby, a freespirited mechanic who drives a ’68 Camaro, drag racing the L.A. streets and even crashes a bonafide drag race, wherein the first fifteen minutes of ALOHA BOBBY AND ROSE are fully-loaded with rip-roaring potential: Bobby hangs with his pal Moxey (Robert Carradine) and the night is their own frolicking playground...<br>

dianne hull, drama, drug culture, edward james olmos, hangout, melodrama, paul lemat, robert carradine, rolling stones, romance, seventies, tim mcintire

PAUL LEMAT CRUISES DIANNE HULL IN 'ALOHA BOBBY AND ROSE'

The Aloha Bobby and Rose vehicle cruising Graffiti style in 1974 When we learn at the close of AMERICAN GRAFFITI that a drunk driver w...

STOMPING THROUGH THE LEGENDARY ORIGINAL 'KING KONG'

<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/-3ApLfbecaYQ/XckHQ7DhamI/AAAAAAABKxc/P-XW_D4K6ng1iEgtf81y9NJOYXLcYzbkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/33%252B1.06.07%252BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="813" height="331" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ApLfbecaYQ/XckHQ7DhamI/AAAAAAABKxc/P-XW_D4K6ng1iEgtf81y9NJOYXLcYzbkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/33%252B1.06.07%252BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Fay Wray as Ann Darrow in KING KONG Year: 1933</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> If you discovered prehistoric/extremely instinct dinosaurs roaming on an uncharted island, would a giant gorilla really matter? Well in this case it’s personal as the legendary simian is ticked off with brutal fists flying, razor-sharp teeth, and he’s captured Ann Darrow, the street girl turned makeshift actress hired by maverick cinema auteur Carl Denham to star in his next picture shot entirely at Skull Island, a location that doesn’t even appear on the map and, shrouded by a wall of thick, ominous, forboding fog, it's place you don’t want to spend your vacation…<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Frud26JJHc/XckIOBgDzBI/AAAAAAABKxw/FW2CYkv7M3MkUTqmJTRRTzDlk7rvxJKvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MPW-28028.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Frud26JJHc/XckIOBgDzBI/AAAAAAABKxw/FW2CYkv7M3MkUTqmJTRRTzDlk7rvxJKvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MPW-28028.jpeg" width="152"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>King Kong Rates: *****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Natives dot the shoreline and reside mostly behind a giant fortress protected from the unseen god they live to fear… And King Kong Kong might not be impressively aesthetic to today’s standards. His hair moves with each movement, but we can suspend cinema disbelief by blaming wind. In reality, Willis O’Brien moved Kong by hand, and those are their very own imprints.<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/-XtdwE_XW7K8/XchZUpdOj0I/AAAAAAABKrw/esJLEllCOA88FPgbr8q19YvIHFzlQi7vACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/35705343540_fa13e7375b_b.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="692" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtdwE_XW7K8/XchZUpdOj0I/AAAAAAABKrw/esJLEllCOA88FPgbr8q19YvIHFzlQi7vACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/35705343540_fa13e7375b_b.jpeg" width="254"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Timeless beauty Fay Wray as Ann</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As later on, the famously fake looking shark in JAWS didn’t matter or distract from the well-told story, either does a model-clay gorilla... There's enough build-up to get to know the characters, beginning with a middleman telling Robert Armstrong’s headstrong director no studio will allow an actress to risk such a venture: So Denhman hits the New York Depression-era streets and finds his dame in the form of Faye Wray’s Darrow…<br> <br> With pale skin, longing eyes, a windswept countenance and an almost primal, haunting beauty, Wray, who even at the time was no stranger to horror film roles, was given her big break – she's the perfectly suited scream queen and boy can she holler… After the forty-five minute mark, when she’s kidnapped by the natives and sacrificed to a giddy Kong, her wailing never really ceases and, unlike the two remakes, the human ingénue doesn’t fall in subliminal love with her giant captor… It’s an unrequited, one-sided obsession, and that makes the titular ape even more formidable and sinister. <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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sS9ZSLwBLeQ/VfG_AaWREJI/AAAAAAAApAM/6dgVzaeL2tQ/s1600/6.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sS9ZSLwBLeQ/VfG_AaWREJI/AAAAAAAApAM/6dgVzaeL2tQ/s320/6.jpg" width="228"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Terrific Pulpy Artwork</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As Kong battles a giant snake, a menacing pterodactyl and a  romping and raging, tail-wagging T-Rex to protect his new discovery, he becomes a savior/bodyguard, but most likely for territorial reasons...<br> <br> Although, Bruce Cabot’s John Driscoll is perpetually shadowing Kong to get his lady back... One great camera-gliding visual has Driscoll and a weary Darrow running for safety as an unseen Kong approaches... And although Cabot is the heroic lead, Armstrong’s Denham is the main male character...<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/-luW58ikOElk/XchayO8Jd8I/AAAAAAABKr4/e4c9QDxvv8g-6sx33ycx-RR8kXtljG6fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/king-kong-poster-1933-granger.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="380" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-luW58ikOElk/XchayO8Jd8I/AAAAAAABKr4/e4c9QDxvv8g-6sx33ycx-RR8kXtljG6fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/king-kong-poster-1933-granger.jpeg" width="246"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Original King Kong Poster Art </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In the modern era, never would a man responsible for capturing and exploiting an extremely rare species be considered a hero of any kind… In fact, Charles Grodin and Jack Black, basically playing the same guy in both sequels, were villains and/or jerks. Either way, “It was beauty that killed the beast" lends more cruel irony than anything else. But perhaps this line can be explained when, on the Island, Kong breaks down the native's wall that, most likely, couldn't be penetrated under normal circumstances...<br> <br> It took Darrow to give him the extra strength to fulfill his tragic destiny. And despite ravaging the native village and following the Americans to shore with loathsome vengeance, Kong is no match against gas bombs being hurled at his feet, cutting quickly from Skull Island back to New York, where Kong’s on display for a theater of impatient sophisticates, resulting in a barrage of the city leading to the famous Empire State Building standoff where Kong battles airplanes with machine guns, the unfair slaying of an iconic creature beloved by audiences, still, even though, in the original movie and in his original form, KING KONG was a lethal monster to both respect and fear.<br>

bruce cabot, classic, creature, ernest schoedsack, fay wray, franchise, king kong, merian cooper, robert armstrong, sequel, stop-motion, thirties

STOMPING THROUGH THE LEGENDARY ORIGINAL 'KING KONG'

Fay Wray as Ann Darrow in KING KONG Year: 1933 If you discovered prehistoric/extremely instinct dinosaurs roaming on an uncharted islan...

THOR MARVELS THE HULK IN 'THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS'

<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/-h2Fg6bqeGxA/XcaF0--dyII/AAAAAAABKns/m7raJLrksoYCLvGBL4tMTCfbR76uDWhlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/30.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1600" height="293" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h2Fg6bqeGxA/XcaF0--dyII/AAAAAAABKns/m7raJLrksoYCLvGBL4tMTCfbR76uDWhlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/30.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jack Colvin wouldn't like Eric Allan Kramer angry either YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The first and best of three post series Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno INCREDIBLE HULK television movies, and since Marvels' THE AVENGERS is such a hot commodity, this live-action Thor teaming with Hulk circa 1988 was decades ahead of its time...<br> <br> And comparably dated, but it's hard to deny the infectious charm of Eric Allan Kramer as the Norse god who, discovered from a backstory/flashback by his dweeby keeper played by dweeby actor Steve Levitt, is a scene-stealing stranger in a strange land, making THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS more like a possible Thor pilot than a continuation of the titular green hero. After Thor (and Levitt's Donald Blake) parties at a local biker bar, he helps Lou Ferrigno's Hulk<i> after</i> fighting him inside a corporation laboratory where, once again, Bixby's David Banner surreptitiously works, trying to permanently cease his roaring alter ego... And what does every mobile lonely man need?<br>

bill bixby, charles napier, eighties, eric allan kramer, franchise, interview, jack colvin, lee purcell, lou ferrigno, marvel, steve levitt, tim thomerson, tv movie

THOR MARVELS THE HULK IN 'THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS'

Jack Colvin wouldn't like Eric Allan Kramer angry either YEAR: 1988 The first and best of three post series Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno ...

ROBERT ARMSTRONG RETURNS IN 'SON OF KONG' WITH HELEN MACK

<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/-f83oSRcPtII/XcJ3pilm90I/AAAAAAABKbs/Yfzjze5RTE4MLycBGSt2A9vil2pDaLb2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/the-son-of-kong-affiche_158192_23698.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="413" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f83oSRcPtII/XcJ3pilm90I/AAAAAAABKbs/Yfzjze5RTE4MLycBGSt2A9vil2pDaLb2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/the-son-of-kong-affiche_158192_23698.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Artwork for SON OF KONG Year of Release and Capture: 1933</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Skull Island… But why return to a place full of carnivorous monstrosities? And you thought forced sequels were a new concept... yet SON is actually not that bad, and Carl Denham, again played by Merien Cooper doppelganger Robert Armstrong, had a lousy year… His giant attraction ruined most of New York City...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> From tossing a woman off a building to stepping on residents to damaging a subway car, the once great filmmaker is facing lawsuits that will put him in debt for centuries. Then he gets a shamelessly convenient second chance in the form of the original charter Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher along with Victor the Chinese Cook) to hitch a ride and become partners in the freight business… Denham sets out on the same boat for a far off location to seek new customers, and just happens to catch a low-rent stage show including an insanely adorable Helen Mack as Hilda, who's just as girl-next-girl cute as Fay Wray was bombshell-gorgeous.<br>

action, adventure, classic, creature, dinosaur, ernest schoedsack, fantasy, helen mack, king kong, merian cooper, monster, robert armstrong, sequel, thirties

ROBERT ARMSTRONG RETURNS IN 'SON OF KONG' WITH HELEN MACK

Artwork for SON OF KONG Year of Release and Capture: 1933 Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Skull Island… But why return t...

HELEN MACK BACK WITH SON OF KONG'S MERIAN COOPER FOR 'SHE'

<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/-OfiT9ZYGN7U/XcPVDFPuhOI/AAAAAAABKgw/FKNEnfQ0WmAwHkcyGq4AKYDbuD9MMo0nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/she-nigel-bruce-randolph-scott-helen-mack-1935%252C2408198.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="552" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OfiT9ZYGN7U/XcPVDFPuhOI/AAAAAAABKgw/FKNEnfQ0WmAwHkcyGq4AKYDbuD9MMo0nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/she-nigel-bruce-randolph-scott-helen-mack-1935%252C2408198.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nigel Bruce, Randolph Scott & Helen Mack in SHE Year: 1935</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> H. Rider Haggard's immortal book SHE was produced by RKO under the leadership of KING KONG creator Meriam Cooper and writer/adapter Ruth Rose, and the similarities go beyond the exact same massive wall and an even more immense cliff-side: It's basically an adventure story that, unlike the classic gorilla flick, lacks smaller adventures along the way...<br> <br> Known simply as SHE and played by Helen Gahagan, SHE isn't quite as fulfilling. Imagine if in KONG, instead of battling various prehistoric monsters leading up to the title character, the only adversaries were those natives, and that's what happens here. Actually, there is one creature they run into along the way: an immense sabertooth tiger, which would have been a terrific and timeless stop-motion visual...<br>

action, adventure, classic, fantasy, helen mack, merian cooper, nigel bruce, randolph scott, thirties

HELEN MACK BACK WITH SON OF KONG'S MERIAN COOPER FOR 'SHE'

Nigel Bruce, Randolph Scott & Helen Mack in SHE Year: 1935 H. Rider Haggard's immortal book SHE was produced by RKO under the le...

KING KONG'S SISTER PRODUCTION 'THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME'

<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/-x-13nFzi33E/XcxRfc1FmcI/AAAAAAABK00/l3Xsuy1WxVY30OHi2TWhQTiXC0Tm-jksQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-13%2Bat%2B10.50.14%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="768" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x-13nFzi33E/XcxRfc1FmcI/AAAAAAABK00/l3Xsuy1WxVY30OHi2TWhQTiXC0Tm-jksQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-13%2Bat%2B10.50.14%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The opening credit doorknob in Most Dangerous Game Year: 1933</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Based a short story by Richard Connell, the GAME template has been used many times, but the best adaptation is the Cooper & Schoedsack production that proceeded the groundbreaking KING KONG, filmed mostly in the same island location and starring several familiar faces.<br> <br> We spend the first few minutes on a boat where a group of high class, cigar puffing gentleman talk about their favorite sport, highlighting their special guest Bob, played by Joel McCrea, a lanky chap famous for hunting wild tigers and never backing down… Right when Bob mentions how he’s glad to be the hunter and not the hunted, the boat hits a reef, goes down into shark-infested waters, and everyone dies except our hero, who winds up on a beach, making his way into a giant spooky castle inhabited by an obviously nefarious white man Zaroff, played by Leslie Banks. And there are guests left over by the last shipwreck…<br>

action, adventure, cult, ernest schoedsack, fay wray, joel mccrea, leslie banks, merian cooper, noble johnson, robert armstrong, thirties

KING KONG'S SISTER PRODUCTION 'THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME'

The opening credit doorknob in Most Dangerous Game Year: 1933 Based a short story by Richard Connell, the GAME template has been used m...

JOHN MILIUS PRESENTS 'MELVIN PURVIS G-MAN' W/ HARRIS YULIN

<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/-xZ788v95CUA/XcGLvLKvHII/AAAAAAABKWo/oOPMnIFq50EtbrN5xZNS50LlEA4_KFh_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-05%2Bat%2B6.41.56%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="973" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xZ788v95CUA/XcGLvLKvHII/AAAAAAABKWo/oOPMnIFq50EtbrN5xZNS50LlEA4_KFh_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-05%2Bat%2B6.41.56%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harris Yulin in MELVIN PURVIS G MAN Year: 1974 Grade: C+</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> John Milius's DILLINGER has everything you'll ever want in a gangster flick with a thousand bullets to spare. Warren Oates plays Dillinger and Ben Johnson plays Melvin Purvis, both to perfection. A year after the 1973 theatrical hit, Milius figured Purvis's story needed more coverage, and we get it here with this TV-movie written by Milius , directed by horror icon Dan Curtis, and starring Dale Robertson in the title role.<br> <br> But there's not enough Purvis and too much of the bad guys, who are Machine Gun Kelly and his gang of bickering villains. So this is more or less a prequel to DILLINGER, and being that it was made for TV, there are limitations to the kind of violence these movies need. While Harris Yulin is a dependable actor, his portrayal of Kelly borders on overboard. Although the climax before the climax: a shootout between the G-Men and the thugs, is fairly good, reminiscent of the Milius film, and, overall there's nothing gained/nothing lost here, except an hour fifteen minutes where you could have watched something better. <br>

action, crime, dale robertson, dan curtis, gangster, harris yulin, john milius, mobster, seventies, tv movie

JOHN MILIUS PRESENTS 'MELVIN PURVIS G-MAN' W/ HARRIS YULIN

Harris Yulin in MELVIN PURVIS G MAN Year: 1974 Grade: C+ John Milius's DILLINGER has everything you'll ever want in a gangster ...

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER RETURNS IN 'TERMINATOR: DARK FATE'

<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/-QU8WkSeHOs4/Xb9UzMPMoiI/AAAAAAABKTU/zUWr-3uecRs5sIHfQ1zVln0_LE_3uYP1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/darkfateimax.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="1053" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QU8WkSeHOs4/Xb9UzMPMoiI/AAAAAAABKTU/zUWr-3uecRs5sIHfQ1zVln0_LE_3uYP1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/darkfateimax.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton in the YEAR: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> TERMINATOR: DARK FATE not only brings back beloved originals Linda Hamilton (who hasn't been around a while) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (part of two maligned followups), there's the liquid-morphing metallic CGI from the second movie, and now we know: despite all the technical innovations, special effects have not improved since the days of T2 and/or JURASSIC PARK... <br> <br> During one scene, as the new Terminator leaps into the air, he looks almost made of rubber. And the overall atmosphere and aesthetic fits the DARK title as many of the fight scenes happen either at night or inside someplace without much light, making it extremely difficult to see the action panning out or to keep score about what exactly's going on...<br>

2019, action, arnold schwarzenegger, franchise, linda hamilton, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, sequel, time travel

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER RETURNS IN 'TERMINATOR: DARK FATE'

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton in the YEAR: 2019 TERMINATOR: DARK FATE not only brings back beloved originals Linda Hamilton (...

WILLIAM LUSTIG & LARRY COHEN WANT YOU TO FEAR 'UNCLE SAM'

<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/-6scgdVIPvtM/Xb1op6mAhyI/AAAAAAABKP0/9cIdU2OMKnIgEYkua6WM-GxhCCYAHhnCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1451" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6scgdVIPvtM/Xb1op6mAhyI/AAAAAAABKP0/9cIdU2OMKnIgEYkua6WM-GxhCCYAHhnCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/0%2B2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Christopher Ogden daydreaming of war in UNCLE SAM Year: 1996</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Never have two actresses looked so much like sisters who aren't playing sisters but sisters-in-law, and one was married to a really bad guy named Sam Harper who, having gone missing in Iraq during the 1990's Iraq War (that never actually began), his body's found dead... or... wait...<br> <br> The MANIAC COP franchise team of writer Larry Cohen and director William Lustig open things with intentionally campy horror: a soldier corpse resembling an Iron Maiden album cover reanimates to kill actor William Smith, responding to what's infamously referred to as friendly fire: Smith whose anti-war rap-song ends the show, sounding like a 6th grade idealist. He's a better actor, but sadly, with a voice so scratchy he can hardly speak and still looking the intense and bulky badass, he has very little screen-time and is less than a guest star...<br>

bo hopkins, body count, christopher ogden, exploitation, horror, isaac hayes, larry cohen, leslie neale, morgan paull, nineties, pj soles, robert forster, war, william lustig, william smith

WILLIAM LUSTIG & LARRY COHEN WANT YOU TO FEAR 'UNCLE SAM'

Christopher Ogden daydreaming of war in UNCLE SAM Year: 1996 Never have two actresses looked so much like sisters who aren't playing...