HUBERT CORNFIELD'S FILM NOIR PROGRAMMER 'SUDDEN DANGER'

<p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV372bRTDqO8ZBzh4iLeXOBgbJo1HQ9BOjnmEz1AzWI7VtHiZ-hLXdV2HFIdQuV-5MzvEBkVKo-92N_Wbue_9L2WdVSKpH0GdkNxpc0vtirEHqedF8vsYfBlFlaTamlw0OeazXibA2Sak5A3t4JVjhwJHyowX9pNWtnx1V_L47Sap-nQd_wq1Tf6s-aA/s1769/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.59.01%20AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1769" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV372bRTDqO8ZBzh4iLeXOBgbJo1HQ9BOjnmEz1AzWI7VtHiZ-hLXdV2HFIdQuV-5MzvEBkVKo-92N_Wbue_9L2WdVSKpH0GdkNxpc0vtirEHqedF8vsYfBlFlaTamlw0OeazXibA2Sak5A3t4JVjhwJHyowX9pNWtnx1V_L47Sap-nQd_wq1Tf6s-aA/w400-h260/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.59.01%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Sudden Danger Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>All of Film Noir turned Neo Noir director Hubert Cornfield's thrillers start out with an illegal act followed by the characters dealing with the consequences... </p><p></p><p></p><p>And this, being his first picture, marks the biggest difference in that it's a partial mystery... especially since you <i>just know</i> blind Tom Drake can't afford a cure... until his mother's apparent suicide provides him the exact amount for a top surgeon... isn't what the badgering cop Bill Elliott (the second of five movies) thinks he is: guilty of murder...</p><p></p><p>Let's forget the men: the best character is also the prettiest, and there are two contrasting dames including the outright bombshell Helene Stanton, oblivious moll of a sneaky rich guy... But it's Beverly Garland as the blind man's faithful girl-next-door girlfriend who steals the show, particularly in scenes where the cop, trying to wear her down while learning she's not as weak as she seems, gets worn out in the process, thus making SUDDEN DANGER stand above the typical poverty row programmer that, like our blind Wrong Man, deserves another <i>look</i>. </p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

beverly garland, bill elliott, cop, fifties, film noir or melodrama, helene stanton, hubert cornfield, mystery, thriller, tom drake, wrong man

HUBERT CORNFIELD'S FILM NOIR PROGRAMMER 'SUDDEN DANGER'

Title: Sudden Danger Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2 All of Film Noir turned Neo Noir director Hubert Cornfield's thrillers start out with an ...

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'THE 3RD VOICE'

<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/-2TQU6QGs3aI/YBTIwnNgEWI/AAAAAAABcNY/Rj4EaCUa6WwIEF9HmPV0g010TCldc-JXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s517/3RDVOICE1SHHRws.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="517" height="399" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2TQU6QGs3aI/YBTIwnNgEWI/AAAAAAABcNY/Rj4EaCUa6WwIEF9HmPV0g010TCldc-JXgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h399/3RDVOICE1SHHRws.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: The 3rd Voice Year: 1960 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/01/thetameone.html">THE NIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY</a>, the infamous Neo Noir with a troubled production and problems with star Marlon Brando that ended the Hollywood career of director Hubert Cornfield, it's important to go back and see how Cornfield made his few genuine film noir vehicles, or in this case, post noir, the period before anyone knew exactly what noir was to realize it had ended...<br></p><p></p><p>Enter THE 3RD VOICE, a B&W thriller (produced by Maury Dexter) that plays out like one right up to the casting of Edmond O'Brien as a hired con artist who works very hard to impersonate the voice of a blowhard rich man, hired by his disgruntled secretary, another veteran in an effectively sassy, snarky Lorraine Day, and the set-up about O'Brien learning the man's voice and dealings is covered with more expository polish than the rest of an intriguing yet sporadically unfocused thriller... </p><p>Taking place in Mexico, where O'Brien, now solo, maintains the impersonation, mostly during a string of nervous phone calls (that include Noirish self-narration), and where the typical human "close call" occurs, almost meeting one of the real man's old friends. And it's all suspenseful enough. But how exactly he's decided to get all the money (as the actual con plays out) is confusing... Yet everything becomes more clear when the big twist is revealed, and it's a pretty damn good one. But besides sexy ingenue Julie London and the well-shot wheeling & dealing, this is Edmond O'Brien's energetic one-man-show, playing the hell out of two people at once! <br></p><p><span></span></p>

con man, edmond o'brien, hubert cornfield, julie london, laraine day, maury dexter, mexico, neo noir, sixties, thriller

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'THE 3RD VOICE'

Title: The 3rd Voice Year: 1960 Rating: ***1/2 Before THE NIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY , the infamous Neo Noir with a troubled production and...

NORMA PARNELL AND PAULINE SHEPERD IN 'OPERATION CUPID'

<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/-8svY7KntlkA/YFbfZxAw3GI/AAAAAAABeoQ/4mhFn-CqSYgu1TCFz-08SGbGIMywM9a4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1526/55.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1526" height="368" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8svY7KntlkA/YFbfZxAw3GI/AAAAAAABeoQ/4mhFn-CqSYgu1TCFz-08SGbGIMywM9a4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h368/55.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Pauline Shepard in Operation Cupid Year: 1960 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although the low-budget British comedy OPERATION CUPID stars three men basically acting like cockney versions of those famous American Stooges, it's three young women that matter and, unlike the guys... a loser trio who win a marriage agency in a card game... the gals are dispersed throughout...</p><p></p><p>Beginning with <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/Misland.html">MYSTERIOUS ISLAND beauty BETH ROGAN</a> as an experienced barmaid, only around when the boys meet an old rich fella who hands them the business... </p><p>And then, trying to quickly profit and split, they're forced to rely upon this film's femme fatale in the gorgeous black-haired model Norma Parnell as a sultry secretary fitfully named Lola...</p><p>Who not only shows these mugs the ropes on how to bilk a rich woman looking for a rich husband, turning out to be this trio's Moe in bulbous-nosed Charles Farrell, she winds up trying to have the client.... actually conning the con artists... murdered for the insurance... And that lady's daughter is not only the cutest girl yet, she has the greatest ass ever filmed... And with Introducing credit is Pauline Shepard (who'd play a hooker in Hammer's THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL) and, well... There are far worse ways to spend an hour than OPERATION CUPID. </p><span></span>

audrey nicholson, avice landone, beth rogan, british, charles farrell, charles saunders, comedy, crime, guido coen, harold goodwin, norma parnell, pauline shepherd, wallas eaton

NORMA PARNELL AND PAULINE SHEPERD IN 'OPERATION CUPID'

Pauline Shepard in Operation Cupid Year: 1960 Rates: ***1/2 Although the low-budget British comedy OPERATION CUPID stars three men basically...

BRITISH KITCHEN SINK SOCIAL DRAMA 'THE WIND OF CHANGE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" 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/AVvXsEhc_SnluulcdNrjQod6q4UikrB5u3NSX7acXXiowPMy0LMXbQ2rwgCXrnImNgu6lwjz48hx4DLumY5EqHJY-83de2EOR2OOyu-bBZHRg7P0fp1T13klZrB2Ke1xWDrOaYsD9SrgmzkPlhs6dJEKo6LkbI_xrDQaGJS9u9P9_6tdp0H_qzY7-jdAqAmweQ/s1066/Screen%20Shot%202021-02-28%20at%207.18.56%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="1066" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_SnluulcdNrjQod6q4UikrB5u3NSX7acXXiowPMy0LMXbQ2rwgCXrnImNgu6lwjz48hx4DLumY5EqHJY-83de2EOR2OOyu-bBZHRg7P0fp1T13klZrB2Ke1xWDrOaYsD9SrgmzkPlhs6dJEKo6LkbI_xrDQaGJS9u9P9_6tdp0H_qzY7-jdAqAmweQ/w400-h361/Screen%20Shot%202021-02-28%20at%207.18.56%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Johnny Briggs YEAR of 1961 Rates: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Not only is this racially-charged/socially conscious film a prime example of "Kitchen Sink Dramas" from the early-to-mid 1960's England, but the rebellious main character literally washes blood off his hands in one: From an attacked "Coloured  Boy" his sister Ann Lynn's dating in a stage-like story mostly taking place in a quaint family home, where passive patriarch Donald Pleasence spends more time with his pet rabbits than teenagers: Especially square-jawed, no-good son Johnny Briggs, who doesn't need nor care for the old man anyhow...</p><p></p><p>As a venom-spouting racist, the future CORONATION STREET soap actor is fitfully intense and edgy in the role...</p><p>When not at home he's hanging at the local soda shop where one buddy (David Hemmings) brings a guitar and another (Norman Gunn) sings... All to the chagrin of moody ingenue Angela Douglas while the suspense occurs back home, when — as the token pressing cop presses in — dad must choose whether to tell the truth or join frantic wife Hilda Fenemore's cover-up of her son's gang's attack/murder of the black youth... making THE WIND OF CHANGE, despite its bland, common title, far less <i>breezy</i> than the performances leading up to what really matters: And not without bizarre and ambiguous loose ends, like Lynn's "sensitive" perfect boyfriend being a cheater, and the idealistic dad's sole black rabbit with the name of... the N-word.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79D0ugZcHvw/YD0gDEY7goI/AAAAAAABdTA/rUBXjoWTIH0gsckW2itfuPzTL-16OIHSACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-01%2Bat%2B9.06.35%2BAM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79D0ugZcHvw/YD0gDEY7goI/AAAAAAABdTA/rUBXjoWTIH0gsckW2itfuPzTL-16OIHSACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-01%2Bat%2B9.06.35%2BAM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Angela Douglas and Topsy Jane in The Winds of Change</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span></span></p>

angela douglas, ann lynn, antonita dias, british new wave, david hemmings, donald pleasence, hilda fenemore, johnny briggs, sixties, teddy boys, topsy jane

BRITISH KITCHEN SINK SOCIAL DRAMA 'THE WIND OF CHANGE'

Johnny Briggs YEAR of 1961 Rates: *** Not only is this racially-charged/socially conscious film a prime example of "Kitchen Sink Dramas...

MARLON BRANDO IN MICHAEL WINNER'S 'THE NIGHTCOMERS'

<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O-DMcxMtf8U/YBLEaLyGgzI/AAAAAAABcEw/3urzjCoQ9k0PLAYZQ65C2Gauccof6Gs8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1172/z.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1172" height="355" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O-DMcxMtf8U/YBLEaLyGgzI/AAAAAAABcEw/3urzjCoQ9k0PLAYZQ65C2Gauccof6Gs8gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h355/z.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Nightcomers Year: 1971 Rating: **1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Marlon Brando's THE GODFATHER comeback was more of a legacy accreditation for an entire career, blending with the STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and ON THE WATERFRONT roles as if all the forgettable films in-between didn't exist; and here's another that perhaps he should have avoided... <br></p><p>Strangely enough, the title NIGHTCOMERS fits the adaptation of Henry James's enigmatic supernatural short story TURN OF THE SCREW ala 1961's THE INNOCENTS as two ghosts (our lovers here, when alive) come at night, appearing before the same children along with their caretaker: the latter arriving at the tail-end and, like ROGUE ONE years later, connects to the famous predecessor... but was the Henry James tale (or its adaptation) relevant enough for an entire prequel/backstory? </p><p></p><p>In the director's chair is the creatively offbeat Michael Winner, using his usual zoom lens and symbolic set-ups, who may have been influenced by former collaborator Oliver Reed's art-films directed by time-period sex-exploitation Ken Russell — possibly a better fit here since NIGHTCOMERS plays more comfortably with sadistic lust than the kind of psychedelic horror popular in the early seventies, heavy on off-putting violence and short on plot.. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVXpNkg6hWA/YBMbO04hbLI/AAAAAAABcHk/sTdznYMmIhIe3aYrJipvUw0AxG-ruc-EACLcBGAsYHQ/s1982/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-28%2Bat%2B12.13.43%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="1982" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVXpNkg6hWA/YBMbO04hbLI/AAAAAAABcHk/sTdznYMmIhIe3aYrJipvUw0AxG-ruc-EACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-28%2Bat%2B12.13.43%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Verna Harvey in Nightcomers RATING: **1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Which has Henry James's two spoiled, death-obsessed (and not very inspired) literary children residing in a rural gothic English manor of Bly...</p><p></p><p>Their parents are dead and an aloof uncle turns them over to Stephanie Beacham, a religious caretaker, deliberately contrasting to Brando's Quint as an Atheist groundskeeper... donning the same unkempt hair and Irish accent used in THE MISSOURI BREAKS, another film in which he seems part of a totally different picture...<br></p><p></p><p>And here his frolicking, childish behavior is both infectious to the adoring kids <i>and</i> the movie's cadence: But with more sympathy and perspective angled upon Beacham's naiveté, Brando's rebellious, sexually-charged, reckless behavior would have provided more shock value instead of seeming mundane and commonplace. Basically, watching THE NIGHTCOMERS is like electricity being electrocuted. The best thing is Jerry Fielding's brooding, haunting music, similar to his STRAW DOGS score. And yet, like the Brando thriller <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/01/thetameone.html">NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY</a> — another maligned pre-GODFATHER outing — there's a comfortable surrealistic quality as if this particular NIGHT was intended for a very selective cult-movie audience all along. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

anna palk, christopher ellis, gothic, harry andrews, henry james, horror, marlon brando, michael winner, prequel, seventies, stephanie beacham, thriller, verna harvey

MARLON BRANDO IN MICHAEL WINNER'S 'THE NIGHTCOMERS'

The Nightcomers Year: 1971 Rating: **1/2 Marlon Brando's THE GODFATHER comeback was more of a legacy accreditation for an entire career,...

MICHAEL CAINE IN THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF 'THE ITALIAN JOB'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ_WRdSIbjp2EYw8eWqWOoBJnhAZnm3SvHQR8jEYbMeZJrOmxx2esI_0bTG_vQKeSV-qsNRCrkd4mgwBgJmTIvXv-oovZNQOlIWKedooaM_r5M9Jz9ax066cHmvJKdJWm2AiAVkkrPlX_zTPfvBIueZwMdoWErbJUnVc2KUvLhVsE8L5F5f-nTpfIJfA=s779" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="779" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ_WRdSIbjp2EYw8eWqWOoBJnhAZnm3SvHQR8jEYbMeZJrOmxx2esI_0bTG_vQKeSV-qsNRCrkd4mgwBgJmTIvXv-oovZNQOlIWKedooaM_r5M9Jz9ax066cHmvJKdJWm2AiAVkkrPlX_zTPfvBIueZwMdoWErbJUnVc2KUvLhVsE8L5F5f-nTpfIJfA=w400-h297" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Caine in The Italian Job Year: 1969 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A stern, turtleneck-clad Michael Caine resembles BULLITT Steve McQueen on THE ITALIAN JOB poster, a misleading heist film as slapstick impairs what could have been a damn cool action vehicle... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which <i>it is</i> during the 11th hour when those famously nifty mini-cars zip through Italy after Caine's gang of British criminals rob millions in gold... but the chase follows what's a far too easy heist with very few hitches, and the main problem is the overlong setup: a shame since the "collecting of ensemble misfits" is usually involving and fun...<br></p><p>But only Michael Caine — fresh out of prison before breaking back in to talk Noel Coward into funding the heist — seems like he knows what's going on and how the hell to get there, and back: Even the experienced getaway bus driver at the literal cliffhanger finale was the wrong choice, taking mountainous corners like a wacky open road joyride, and, while many viewers loathe the ambiguous ending, it's actually the best (and most suspenseful) scene in the picture since, for the first time, all of the otherwise goofy characters (backed by an even goofier main song/track) are dead serious, literally for their very lives, which should have happened a lot more times, and a whole lot sooner. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, caper, comedy, cult, ensemble, harry baird, heist, margaret blye, michael caine, noel coward, peter collinson, sixties

MICHAEL CAINE IN THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF 'THE ITALIAN JOB'

Michael Caine in The Italian Job Year: 1969 Rating: **1/2 A stern, turtleneck-clad Michael Caine resembles BULLITT Steve McQueen on THE ITAL...

HARRY LAUTER, HANNA LANDY & JOE PATRIDGE IN 'CONVICT STAGE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" 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/AVvXsEigW0_vXhcoBO57pMHajK-k0y-QQUV2DKK9zzOuJtQa3xu5xXIXTCwrTPTtCc5p2tQHgOqCCf1DxCfAQ3Hmiw0nuRqanUO_-XRG9ronyyS4TAnu6aeTx_QTVi99NtsSA7B1J_ftAR_DCp3vJ6hti8vJULTh029MfBu-Zdeuk20uqPp_hb7nmlccVGfH5g/s789/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-29%20at%203.01.37%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="789" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigW0_vXhcoBO57pMHajK-k0y-QQUV2DKK9zzOuJtQa3xu5xXIXTCwrTPTtCc5p2tQHgOqCCf1DxCfAQ3Hmiw0nuRqanUO_-XRG9ronyyS4TAnu6aeTx_QTVi99NtsSA7B1J_ftAR_DCp3vJ6hti8vJULTh029MfBu-Zdeuk20uqPp_hb7nmlccVGfH5g/w400-h391/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-29%20at%203.01.37%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CONVICT STAGE Year: 1965 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Two venomous outlaw brothers are on "Top of the World, ma" for their Ma Jarrett type Hanna Landy, the scene-stealer of CONVICT STAGE... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A b-Western with a tight, contained story to fit the tight, contained setting of a ghost town where all the (surviving) characters wind up, including a tough old sheriff and Harry Lauter as a gunfighter, whose sister is murdered during a prologue that ignites a revenge plot-line that doesn't completely own the programmer as often happens... <br></p><p></p><p>And yet, only the revenge-seeker's wife is consumed by it.. by <i>hating</i> it... threatening to leave if he kills cold-blooded siblings Joe Patridge and Eric Matthews who, given more time and a bigger budget, could have made a great antagonist duo... </p><p>But there's still some cool sporadic action in several dusty locales as the brothers are taken by that titular coach to/towards jail, and that's where (as her phantom gang prepares elsewhere) resilient mom Hanna Landy comes in...</p><p>And right under sheriff Don 'Red' Barry's nose as one of several supposedly mundane passengers, also including the ingenue/wife and a few other gruff gun-toting cowboys, who wind up in a cliché, very rushed shoot-em-up finale (straight from a Knott's Berry Farm main street reenactment) — but <i>only</i> because of the essential time spent building the characters and motivations since in CONVICT STAGE, everyone's got something either hidden up their sleeve or bleeding right outside it.  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, don barry, don red barry, eric matthews, hanna landy, harry lauter, heist, joe patridge, sixties, thriller, western

HARRY LAUTER, HANNA LANDY & JOE PATRIDGE IN 'CONVICT STAGE'

Title: CONVICT STAGE Year: 1965 Rating: **** Two venomous outlaw brothers are on "Top of the World, ma" for their Ma Jarrett type ...

ANTS MARCH ON MELODRMA IN BYRON HASKIN'S 'THE NAKED JUNGLE'

<p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zy5aaPzttFU/X_Jp_-VPBlI/AAAAAAABbPM/kp5h2tTUh5w4g1W2BKfKzTLca7bB3zcFgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1790/1.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1790" height="294" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zy5aaPzttFU/X_Jp_-VPBlI/AAAAAAABbPM/kp5h2tTUh5w4g1W2BKfKzTLca7bB3zcFgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h294/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charlton Heston & Eleanor Parker Year: 1954 Rates: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>No Killer Ant movie is as strange (or as lacking of ants) as Byron Haskin's THE NAKED JUNGLE, which covers over fifty-minutes of a bizarre melodrama concerning a North American plantation owner in South America, being not so welcoming and unimaginably rude to gorgeous mail-order bride Eleanor Parker... </p><p>But Charlton Heston, over-dramatic in straight-forward drama, is more natural during the 11th hour whilst attempting to thwart hordes of ants marching closer and closer home. </p><p></p><p>Haskin, fresh from WAR OF THE WORLDS, directs with a stage-play finesse as the camera glides along with the conversational "action" between the couple: while Heston fights the urge to lust for a once-married "used" beauty, she resists his manly, open-shirt arrogance. Meanwhile, chief servant Abraham Sofaer is no stranger to playing butler to a rich plantation owner with a young, lonely trophy wife since it happened the same year in ELEPHANT WALK, and both films are extremely similar: only in WALK the elephants are mentioned a few times leading up to their inevitable attack, while here the ants simply invade as if let loose by a disgruntled crew member allergic to Harlequin-style romance. Still though, somehow, THE NAKED JUNGLE flows decently enough since Haskin's beyond capable at moving humans along what's basically a losing game. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

abraham sofaer, action, byron haskin, charlton heston, creature, disaster, eleanor parker, fifties, melodrama, romance, william conrad

ANTS MARCH ON MELODRMA IN BYRON HASKIN'S 'THE NAKED JUNGLE'

Charlton Heston & Eleanor Parker Year: 1954 Rates: *** No Killer Ant movie is as strange (or as lacking of ants) as Byron Haskin's T...

BYRON HASKIN DIRECTS A VENGEFUL EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'WARPATH'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><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/-YJHBVv9pWkU/X_K7hTf891I/AAAAAAABbP8/lHzeE78CmFMMN794AIk_mGGjPJnMiRgKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MV5BODhlMzEyZjUtNjk3Zi00NmI2LWI3ZDgtNjMzMjBjNWNlYzY2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzg1ODEwNQ%252540%252540._V1_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="400" height="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YJHBVv9pWkU/X_K7hTf891I/AAAAAAABbP8/lHzeE78CmFMMN794AIk_mGGjPJnMiRgKgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h241/MV5BODhlMzEyZjUtNjk3Zi00NmI2LWI3ZDgtNjMzMjBjNWNlYzY2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzg1ODEwNQ%252540%252540._V1_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WARPATH Year: 1951 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An epitome of a filler b-Western that still looks pretty grand with all the epic outdoor shots, specifically the Cavalry vs Indians, eventually led by none other than Custer, not a bad sort here, quickly seeing a problem with middle-aged (and pudgy for a leading man) former captain Edmond O'Brien as a private... but there <i>is</i> a reason...<br></p><p></p><p>Enter the Revenge aspect where O'Brien, after killing one of three split-up badmen who killed his "true love" years earlier, has trouble with big bullying Forrest Tucker... </p><p>First saving pretty ingenue Polly Bergen from the drunken sergeant's clutches, and then serving in Tucker's regiment of old-timers like Wallace Ford and Paul Fix. The problem is how soon things are figured out, and O'Brien isn't kept the dark longer longer for that particular vengeful element to blend more smoothly with the gun-blasting Indian fighting, seeming like another picture altogether. But still, director Byron Haskin moves the camera nicely, and he was one of the most "capable" directors around: one reason he never got the due he's worth.  <br></p><p><span></span></p>

byron haskin, dean jagger, edmond o'brien, fifties, forrest tucker, paul fix, wallace ford, western

BYRON HASKIN DIRECTS A VENGEFUL EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'WARPATH'

Title: WARPATH Year: 1951 Rating: ***1/2 An epitome of a filler b-Western that still looks pretty grand with all the epic outdoor shots, spe...

PAIGE CONNER POSSESSES EXPLOITATION HORROR IN 'THE VISITOR'

<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/-lfo1KcpP3X8/YAvIqpNwp1I/AAAAAAABbzY/_XFVErtFwgkrj6_1O51DZXfMtpYdmBjngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1635/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-22%2Bat%2B9.20.01%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1635" height="311" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lfo1KcpP3X8/YAvIqpNwp1I/AAAAAAABbzY/_XFVErtFwgkrj6_1O51DZXfMtpYdmBjngCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h311/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-22%2Bat%2B9.20.01%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Paige Conner in THE VISITOR Year: 1979</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE VISITOR has many cult influences starting with THE BIRDS since the blonde-haired, blue-eyed eight-year-old girl, possessed by supernatural forces, has a lethal fine-feathered friend who keeps her safe: Especially from a detective played by the most famous of the "special guest" stars, Glenn Ford, a rudimentary tether to hold onto but not for long before a gritty exploitation element takes charge, ultimately making Ford a cameo... </p><p></p><p>Which can't be said of the titular star, John Huston, an Obi-Wan Kenobi type who, after a meeting with Franco Nero as an intergalactic utopian Christ, ventures to Earth to take down this little monster...</p><p>In that, Paige Conner turns in one of the greatest possessed kid performances ever, more the proverbial verb to Linda Blair's devilish noun i.e. this shaking bed gets around: The daughter of a basketball team owner's girlfriend, entering another homage, ROSEMARY'S BABY (Lance Henriksen as the John Cassevetes soul-seller). And despite the low-budget effects showing what's beyond our world, VISITOR takes to the streets with precision, and looking downright professionally choreographed... <br></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cPm6EhEDBE/YAvTUUzzgCI/AAAAAAABbzg/nTMk1wndEjQqjEi9DbLNGMQF-9mx36fYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1941/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-22%2Bat%2B9.09.58%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="1941" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cPm6EhEDBE/YAvTUUzzgCI/AAAAAAABbzg/nTMk1wndEjQqjEi9DbLNGMQF-9mx36fYgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h261/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-22%2Bat%2B9.09.58%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Paige Conner in THE VISITOR Rating: ****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Veering into INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS or even CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND when the film's only human antagonist... the lovely mom in Patrica Nail... is abducted by some kind of aliens that, well... </p><p>There's a lot of THE VISITOR that shouldn't be spoiled, and it's not as insufferably campy as its reputation implies... John Huston, along with tough nanny Shelley Winters, seem more into this Italian import than TENTACLES. Making this dusty gem a great fixture for the time and genre...</p><p></p><p>And despite the flaws, it's still original — but goes on twenty-minutes too long while the climax is remarkably creepy with insane violence, and the Italian director seems to know he's punishing his characters as well as even his intended cult audience. And least we forget one of the most borrowed if overused multi-mirror peaks derived by Orson Welles for THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI. Yet by this time you'll be either stunned or entertained, or a combination of both.</p><p><span></span></p>

action, exploitation, glenn ford, horror, indie, john huston, lance henriksen, ovidio g. assonitis, paige conner, patricia nial, sam peckinpah, science-fiction, seventies, shelley winters

PAIGE CONNER POSSESSES EXPLOITATION HORROR IN 'THE VISITOR'

Paige Conner in THE VISITOR Year: 1979 THE VISITOR has many cult influences starting with THE BIRDS since the blonde-haired, blue-eyed eight...

TOASTING NEW YEARS WITH NEW YEARS PARTY FLICK 'GET CRAZY'

<p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xT0EICA28l8/X--cTxHM-TI/AAAAAAABbKE/61BoRjvNl3MUShEGPUUga3ol50xfmNgRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-12-30%252Bat%252B10.55.21%252BPM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xT0EICA28l8/X--cTxHM-TI/AAAAAAABbKE/61BoRjvNl3MUShEGPUUga3ol50xfmNgRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-12-30%252Bat%252B10.55.21%252BPM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GET CRAZY Year: 1983 Rating: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The "Stoned <i>Out</i>" device from EASY RIDER to BREAKFAST CLUB overdoses in Alan Arkush's GET CRAZY where drugs allow the characters to miraculously change their ways...  <br></p><p>Not like there's any doubt things wouldn't have turned out perfectly for Bill Graham-inspired Max Wolfe (Allen Garfield), preparing for his club's New Year's 15-year anniversary concert with acts from blues-man Bill Henderson to campy anthem-rocker Malcolm McDowell's Reggie Wanker, who, living up to his last name and high on groovy juice provided by a magical drug dealer, talks and listens to his own... um... wanker...</p><p>Meanwhile, club managers Daniel Stern and Gail Edwards almost amount to a romance but there's so much ongoing music and old style physical comedy shenanigans exploding in every direction, no real plots can bother with GET CRAZY: Mixing an eclectic ensemble also including McDowell's hot Swedish girlfriend Anna Bjorn, crooked mogul Ed Begley Jr. trying to purchase the club using the owner's selfish nephew while Lou Reed walks the streets thinking up a comeback song, Lee Ving stage dives and Stern's gorgeous little sister Stacey Nelkin's dying to meet a rock star, any rock star that, again... comes to nothing but noise. Which must be deliberate. A shame since the characters have potential to stretch beyond the surrounding good times.<br></p>

allen garfield, anna bjorn, bill henderson, comedy, daniel stern, denise galik, ed begley jr., eighties, ensemble, gail edwards, lee ving, lou reed, malcolm mcdowell, miles chapin, music, slapstick, stacey nelkin

TOASTING NEW YEARS WITH NEW YEARS PARTY FLICK 'GET CRAZY'

Title: GET CRAZY Year: 1983 Rating: ***1/2 The "Stoned Out " device from EASY RIDER to BREAKFAST CLUB overdoses in Alan Arkush...