Written by / 3/24/2020 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GENE NELSON & MERRY ANDERS IN '20,000 EYES' W/ JOHN BANNER

Gene Nelson and John Banner in 20th Century Fox's 20,000 EYES Year: 1961 Rating: ***
Filmed in six days, this Post Noir (during the period after genuine Film Noir ended in 1958 and before intentional homage/Neo Noir began in the latter 1960's i.e. before anyone knew what Noir meant) titled 20,000 EYES sure shows its rushed production values, or lack of...

Beginning with a not-so-loving couple played by two 20th Century Fox b-movie players Gene Nelson (under the direction of Jack Leewood, who he'd return with for THUNDER ISLAND)...
Merry Anders, Gene Nelson and James L. Brown in 20,000 EYES
And a personal favorite, Merry Anders, cramped in the kind of one-shot most of the film economically consists of, discussing something unimportant until Nelson's sucker-punched by future HOGAN'S HERO fan-favorite John Banner...

Who in this case, as a wealthy gangster, is the opposite of "I know nothing," explaining the entire plot-line of his "investment counselor" Nelson who embezzled money, now with five days to pay it back... one day less than it took to make the entire movie...
Merry Anders and Gene Nelson in 20,000 EYES from a black and white lobby card
Man and woman are soon joined by the latter's former lover and the guy's current partner played by strong-jawed American-made James L. Brown in the creatively titled 20,000 EYES (referring to the city lights that don't witness the interior crime): a programmer in which, only by the end you'll realize had a nifty twist and an extremely clever heist plan that, during its course, is just suspenseful enough to pass the time...

Including Nelson having to think his way past an intruding night patrolman in a museum where the diamonds are displayed; all while his girlfriend and partner (Anders and Brown) nervously wait outside, making Nelson both a protagonist and antagonist with one shared attribute: taking crazy and desperate, last-minute risks, without which there would be no picture at all.
James L. Brown in 20,000 EYES with Gene Nelson
John Banner in 20,000 EYES with a smoking Gene Nelson
John Banner and moll Judith Rawlins in 20,000 EYES
High School museum dwellers Barbara Parkins and Rex Holman in 20,000 EYES
Actually the 20,000 EYES of the title are the city lights that don't see the heist
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: ** Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act wher...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "The Love Generation... Vicious little creeps!" Peter Strauss, Rich Man Poor Man

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE