cult film freak: October 2020

Written by James M. Tate / 10/31/2020 / No comments / action , adventure , charlotte rampling , fantasy , future , john alderton , john boorman , memorial , sara kestelman , science-fiction , sean connery , tribute

SEAN CONNERY IN JOHN BOORMAN'S EXPERIMENTAL 'ZARDOZ'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KstDmudp-7U/X53geu_1ArI/AAAAAAABZS4/jo7-4fGee3oj3P8H5kB2xuxLOpVQ0w9cgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1088/zardoz-pic-7.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1088" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KstDmudp-7U/X53geu_1ArI/AAAAAAABZS4/jo7-4fGee3oj3P8H5kB2xuxLOpVQ0w9cgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h283/zardoz-pic-7.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean Connery as Zed in ZARDOZ Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>After scoring big with DELIVERANCE, adventurous and intrepid director John Boorman wound up with the bizarre futuristic fable ZARDOZ, a picture that could never be made today...About a raping and pillaging (and raping) barbarian, part of a raping and pillaging barbarian race, violently riding horseback along the beachy outskirts of a world run within a hidden wilderness Utopia of sexless intellectuals, that never (really) age... And the coolest sequence has Sean Connery's resilient muscular/shirtless title character discovering his way there, stowed inside a giant floating god-head statue; and then becoming an experimental neanderthal that these flaky neo-hippies can study — in particular the gorgeous and stubborn Charlotte Rampling and scene-stealing arthouse beauty Sara Kestelman, both shrewder than passive male counterpart John Alderton, who all share scenes with Connery's Zed when he isn't alone, investigating what makes this strange land tick, dating back to the 20th Century — with a twist literally built into the title: A cerebral STAR TREK meets TWILIGHT ZONE that needs far more pockets of action throughout endless philosophizing so heavy-handed, it's nearly impossible for an audience to fully grasp... at least the first time around.

action, adventure, charlotte rampling, fantasy, future, john alderton, john boorman, memorial, sara kestelman, science-fiction, sean connery, tribute

SEAN CONNERY IN JOHN BOORMAN'S EXPERIMENTAL 'ZARDOZ'

Sean Connery as Zed in ZARDOZ Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2 After scoring big with DELIVERANCE, adventurous and intrepid director John Boorman w...

FREDERIC FORREST AND STEACH KEACH ARE 'THE DION BROTHERS'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfj22cRCTIPe7Ti8pAW5k6sxJKVx34aVUSsH_rCIZgWA71T_Pm-qSZ9A1VEykR6E7sZVkBM194XsaK2lL8BpGdSwlXQwoNJni4g3vw341icCYW4FOcEAqBvbV4JjUWnejf7_uUoDB3JUFba68LdAXRZ9VYEiaoiucNLyc3vYYZmbXYT8GmZuajdEb8Iec/s1386/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-24%20at%208.47.00%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1386" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfj22cRCTIPe7Ti8pAW5k6sxJKVx34aVUSsH_rCIZgWA71T_Pm-qSZ9A1VEykR6E7sZVkBM194XsaK2lL8BpGdSwlXQwoNJni4g3vw341icCYW4FOcEAqBvbV4JjUWnejf7_uUoDB3JUFba68LdAXRZ9VYEiaoiucNLyc3vYYZmbXYT8GmZuajdEb8Iec/w400-h314/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-24%20at%208.47.00%20PM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: The Dion Brothers Year: 1974 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>
THE DION BROTHERS, originally titled THE GRAVY TRAIN, if taken as a serious crime film, seems kinda bad at first; even, at times, embarrassing. Terrence Malick and co-writer Bill Kerby's script is riddled with cliches, and the characters banter the words like a mediocre Las Vegas standup act... But when you realize it's a comedy/action team-up, it's apparent they knew what they were doing: creating a fun, and sporadically gritty, heist flick...Frederic Forrest and Stacy Keach are blue collar brothers from West Virginia. Keach has moved to Washington DC and is a con-man in the Insurance Industry i.e. a guy who wants to get rich quick. Forrest is an ex-convict working in a coal mine who joins Keach and some other slackers (including Denny Miller and Robert Romanus) to rob an armored truck, which, like all heist films, doesn't go as planned, so the last half consists of the siblings, a cross between Laurel/Hardy and Dillinger/Nelson, escaping police and mob assassins as the two leads, both terrific actors, get better as the film itself improves during the third act: when the situation gets more and more desperate. And tough guy actor/director Jack Starrett guides the few actions scenes nicely, resulting in a terrific old-school shootout reminiscent of the classic gangster movies: where crime doesn't pay.

action, buddy, comedy, crime, frederic forrest, gangster, heist, jack starrett, neo noir, seventies, stacy keach, terrence malick

FREDERIC FORREST AND STEACH KEACH ARE 'THE DION BROTHERS'

Title: The Dion Brothers Year: 1974 Rating: *** THE DION BROTHERS, originally titled THE GRAVY TRAIN, if taken as a serious crime film, s...

REST IN PEACE TO RHONDA FLEMING FROM THE NOIR 'CRY DANGER'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rE4OMkM3vIs/X4qv72yb0wI/AAAAAAABY_Q/0yjZtrnlBnsEkQWTRuksUgP-YfwbLskIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s482/aab84cb6855700f964cfcfea3f3a5c31.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="482" height="315" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rE4OMkM3vIs/X4qv72yb0wI/AAAAAAABY_Q/0yjZtrnlBnsEkQWTRuksUgP-YfwbLskIQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h315/aab84cb6855700f964cfcfea3f3a5c31.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Powell & Rhonda Fleming 1951 Rates: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>The recently-departed Queen of Technicolor Rhonda Fleming also reigned in a few B&W Film Noirs, like the famous OUT OF THE PAST... and the obscure CRY DANGER starring Dick Powell as a pardoned convict who, five years earlier, was falsely accused of stealing a load of still-missing cash...And the first twist involves Richard Erdman as a limping war hero, providing Powell's Rocky a false alibi, with a motive — making him an endearing sidekick but one that spouts too much exposition, filling Powell and the audience in on what could've panned-out more creatively otherwise...Like the fact Rocky's still-incarcerated partner's pretty/perfect wife is even crazier about Rocky, and here's where an intensely dedicated, immensely worried (if somewhat underused) Rhonda Fleming enters, living in a trailer park where the boys — having hatched a comeback plan — temporarily reside. Meanwhile chief villain William Conrad scowls behind his big bookie desk, and Rocky threatens him endlessly while being endlessly dogged by a determined cop: Which all sounds pretty complicated, as Noirs usually involve a mazy plotline, or two. But what works here are the simplistic and (even back then) nostalgic 1930's Gangster-era shoot-outs within a sparse aesthetic — and yet, peppered with so many nifty, convenient one-liners, CRY DANGER is often too clever and self-aware for its own good.

cult, fifties, film noir or melodrama, regis toomey, rhonda fleming, thriller, william conrad, william powell

REST IN PEACE TO RHONDA FLEMING FROM THE NOIR 'CRY DANGER'

William Powell & Rhonda Fleming 1951 Rates: ***1/2 The recently-departed Queen of Technicolor Rhonda Fleming also reigned in a few B&...

YOUNG MARRIEDS EDDIE & VALERIE BET 'THE SEDUCTION OF GINA'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOR-xfzAnw4/X4LgPyRNN8I/AAAAAAABY3I/r9ueyiPELBgMV54txRVGNCT7kqVmxNjYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1993/00.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="1993" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOR-xfzAnw4/X4LgPyRNN8I/AAAAAAABY3I/r9ueyiPELBgMV54txRVGNCT7kqVmxNjYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/00.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valerie Bertinelli as GINA Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>It was love and marriage that prompted premiere rock god Eddie Van Halen to score this 1984 TV-movie THE SEDUCTION OF GINA for wife Valerie Bertinelli; only don't expect cool beachy grooves like the same years' <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/11/THEwildLIFE.html">THE WILD LIFE</a> that he thoroughly composed: herein among three prerecorded instrumental tracks, a Jump-like synth-driven opener introduces Valerie's titular GINA as a flaky college student married to a serious med student, and after a beginner's luck bout of barroom horse race gambling, she winds up a desperate addict...Which is not only constrained by television standards, but someone as adorable as Valerie hitting rock bottom isn't very rocky, or bottomy...The casino mogul (Michael Brandon) she owes and ultimately "has to" sleep with is both better looking and more aptly suited than her downer husband; and then a streetwise bookie hardly puts pressure since she gets trust fund money so easily. But that doesn't mean this SEDUCTION doesn't have value. There's a good amount of suspense while she's actually gambling (mostly Black Jack) within the plush Tahoe casino, and one morning-after as she rushes to her apartment seconds before her husband arrives is a genuine nail-biter. Meanwhile, best pal Dinah Manoff has potential as a boy-crazy sidekick... if this were a series-pilot instead... But GINA is a basic tale about what happens when a gorgeous young lady has too much free-time that winds up costing. If only she stuck with the polite millionaire and dropped the whiny loser... But then she'd have no more problems and this is — while doing for gambling what PRETTY WOMAN does for prostitution — an addiction melodrama that's a decent bet for passing the time.

dinah manoff, edward van halen, eighties, exploitation, gambling, melodrama, michael brandon, TV, tv movie, valerie bertinelli

YOUNG MARRIEDS EDDIE & VALERIE BET 'THE SEDUCTION OF GINA'

Valerie Bertinelli as GINA Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 It was love and marriage that prompted premiere rock god Eddie Van Halen to score this ...

RICHARD WIDMARK SCORNED IN THE FILM NOIR ROAD HOUSE

<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/AVvXsEgE6KX8TwWtDwykx7TffO2-fxA56TJ0gjnIDWl6y2WeTaeJv5uvqjTxUqsKFdU6hRvLLUfKHg-_xWjzgIDwswabS0ureEp9kdF3JN50GPtlmSY1J1xGLZIYgXZCA_r603f48gr7XwGuIGevLMluiCG-rcggDvrYVZMLloTSZ7iEon38RXbtZm7CDDjf_g/s1468/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-11%20at%203.52.01%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1468" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6KX8TwWtDwykx7TffO2-fxA56TJ0gjnIDWl6y2WeTaeJv5uvqjTxUqsKFdU6hRvLLUfKHg-_xWjzgIDwswabS0ureEp9kdF3JN50GPtlmSY1J1xGLZIYgXZCA_r603f48gr7XwGuIGevLMluiCG-rcggDvrYVZMLloTSZ7iEon38RXbtZm7CDDjf_g/w400-h261/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-11%20at%203.52.01%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YEAR OF RELEASE: 1948</td></tr></tbody></table>No this doesn't star Patrick Swayze... ROAD HOUSE was originally a Noir title — the third of Richard Widmark's sleazy villain roles igniting with the staircase-shoving Tommy Udo in KISS OF DEATH followed by a nervous and edgy gang-boss in THE STREET WITH NO NAME... 
 
Widmark is the guy who, in these early roles, is far from pretty, or even manly, but does have either power or money, or both, and here he's just the rich part, owner of the title location where bowling is the forefront till he brings Ida Lupino to sing in the lounge: starting out, me mostly see her from the perspective of hero Cornel Wilde as Peter, the manager and bouncer who does all the work: one scene taking down a large and lusty drunk equalling two of Patrick Swayze's rowdy opponents. So Peter has the least amount of fun. That is, until Lupino begins to shun the man who hired her... And like in many a Noir, the rich guy practically hands a woman, his woman (in this case, only in his mind) into the arms of the younger, handsome stud, and seems completely puzzled when they turn out falling in love... Although at one point, when Lupino describes her scary boss to Pete, he responds: "You don't understand — Jefty just needs to have somebody around." And how!

british film noir/melodrama, cornel wilde, ida lupino, richard widmark

RICHARD WIDMARK SCORNED IN THE FILM NOIR ROAD HOUSE

YEAR OF RELEASE: 1948 No this doesn't star Patrick Swayze... ROAD HOUSE was originally a Noir title — t he third of Richard Widmark&#...

AND GOD RESTED: A RAMBLING FAREWELL TO EDDIE VAN HALEN

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BxBZTn_z-4A/X30G2-9zWxI/AAAAAAABYus/xmF1kAXMRVMKwqUF9QHcQ_bDadWdkKL0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/R-2120293-1265128957.jpeg.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BxBZTn_z-4A/X30G2-9zWxI/AAAAAAABYus/xmF1kAXMRVMKwqUF9QHcQ_bDadWdkKL0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h320/R-2120293-1265128957.jpeg.jpeg" width="320"></a></div>Faded memory of two long-haired kids riding a BMX bike... The one on the handlebars holds a ghetto blaster as they're leaving the high school campus while Van Halen's Feel Your Love Tonight blares from outta those circular speakers... Well that was very long ago when Eddie Van Halen existed on radios and television AND IN MOVIES too... One to catch is <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/11/THEwildLIFE.html">THE WILD LIFE</a> where as SOLE COMPOSER he's not burdened by temperamental (or just plain MENTAL) lead singers... ... And throughout Cameron Crowe's counter <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2010/03/robert-romanus-fast-times-at-ridgemont.html">FAST TIMES</a> tale of two former high school buddies (and one hippie little brother) are blues and rock instrumentals, and even a lightning-fast jazz track taking place in a donut shop... And before that was Jonathan Kaplan's miraculous teen-angst cult classic OVER THE EDGE... Made in 1979 (and released on cable in 1982) where Van Halen's first album's Kinks cover YOU REALLY GOT ME orchestrated heavy metal kids Matt Dillon, Michael Kramer and Tom Fergus entering a two-story suburban house filled with rowdy movie kids representing rowdier kids from real life... mainly influenced by movies, and music: Most of who would eventually either burn out from or grow out of those lean young crazy years... But some of us never forgot the tunes that those seemingly endless great times grooved to... And how Eddie Van Halen's beachy rhythm/riffs could exceed even his signature/legendary hammer-on solos... And... So... Anyways... REST IN PEACE to an eternal Guitar God: This post's for you!

edward van halen, eighties, memorial, music, seventies, tribute, van halen

AND GOD RESTED: A RAMBLING FAREWELL TO EDDIE VAN HALEN

Faded memory of two long-haired kids riding a BMX bike... The one on the handlebars holds a ghetto blaster as they're leaving the high s...

BRITISH WEREWOLF FROM OUTER SPACE HORROR FLICK 'PREY'

<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/-NRpxrA8L8Cw/X3luAXQPQFI/AAAAAAABYgY/cQQtgTJM8OsFAEUoMnu6_FssHHoPtQ7hQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1061/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-09-28%2Bat%2B2.37.21%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="961" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NRpxrA8L8Cw/X3luAXQPQFI/AAAAAAABYgY/cQQtgTJM8OsFAEUoMnu6_FssHHoPtQ7hQCLcBGAsYHQ/w363-h400/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-09-28%2Bat%2B2.37.21%2BPM.jpeg" width="363"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: PREY Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>A shape-shifting space alien takes the form of a handsome young man on Earth and, after violently doing what he was sent for (which we learn at the end), he finds two pretty lesbians holed-up in a rural country estate... just so he can study their daily/nightly routine... Which means that men are all the same no matter what planet they derive... For a robotic-like secret monster in Barry Stokes it's a complicated (and often risky) lesson of love and jealousy in what's an offbeat triangle within a low-budget science-fiction horror with plenty of intended downtime, giving the feel that cult director Norman J. Warren's PREY is actually more of a deliberately slow-paced arthouse thriller, and, filmed in England with British actors, the acting's quite good when it really shouldn't be... Featuring the more feminine and once straight Glory Annen (with an unseen backstory involving an ex-husband), who's given either loving/controlling kisses or dirty/frustrated looks by her shorter-haired yet equally attractive lover (Sally Faulkner), the most fun is how the bickering couple tries figuring out this strange male visitor, who winds up like a benign, manipulated little brother of sorts... Meanwhile the taboo exploitation gets sporadically intruded upon by what hardcore horror fans would want much more of, like gruesome body count deaths by the alien, particularly while sporting full fangs, an interstellar wolfman, who, despite having plenty to watch (as a voyeur along with the intended male audience) has very little to do.

barry stokes, british, exploitation, glory annen, horror, indie, lesbian, norman j. warren, rural, sally faulkner, science-fiction, seventies, thriller

BRITISH WEREWOLF FROM OUTER SPACE HORROR FLICK 'PREY'

Title: PREY Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 A shape-shifting space alien takes the form of a handsome young man on Earth and, after violently doin...

LOW BUDGET BRITISH ANTHOLOGY HORROR FLICK 'SCREAMTIME'

<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/-prJnANdjeRI/X3vuxppXoJI/AAAAAAABYj8/xgqghSXqptAXBXM1Qws_kzY29VlCxV2HQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2042/1.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="2042" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-prJnANdjeRI/X3vuxppXoJI/AAAAAAABYj8/xgqghSXqptAXBXM1Qws_kzY29VlCxV2HQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h299/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dione Inman in SCREAMTIME Year: 1983 Rating: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>"They're British," says New York lowlife Vincent Russo after stealing three video rentals, "I can tell by the way they talk." But it's more than that: the mellow pace and steady acting punctuates British cinema while SCREAMTIME involves a wraparound story where two thieves insert and eject short films that they and we are viewing...And the best is the first, THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT, about creepy puppet Punch handled by an old man with a nagging wife — plus a goading stepson whose girlfriend Dione Inman becomes the "final girl" as the deaths leading to her climactic chase are predictably well-deserved... Followed by DREAMHOUSE where a married woman is tortured by images of the title location's past: This one's more cerebral and a bit plodding yet ultimately saved by a fantastic twist, which is all DO YOU BELIEVE IN FAIRIES amounts to: a dirt-bike racer housesits for two ecentric old ladies... and while a Punch puppet is the first tale's tiny killer, here it's a slew of Garden Gnome statues led by wide-eyed Kim Thomson's telekinetic Fairy Queen ghost. And it's lucky those East Coast punks actually robbed a London video store since Britain's super-cheap horror flicks are usually worthwhile: Like a broken antique clock can't tell time but is still magnificent to look at, there's plenty here to savor.