RYAN O'NEAL & LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-MkymSUOnE7IiqPRVjIge8Qjzh2xT6Tir4oQF54geRFNs99ZV-HuybZB28K91gIB0XaoulRLVWzset55qLO1c1lJfwAK_-s2Fga-L0owxHRXQq8s2e15jkCoqQL9ckq_IbScA-hFV077_vkDlrpj6UwWubEI-5xFhCAx4bSUq2UWbqmpkVp4GezSMA/s1846/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-04%20at%202.40.56%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1846" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-MkymSUOnE7IiqPRVjIge8Qjzh2xT6Tir4oQF54geRFNs99ZV-HuybZB28K91gIB0XaoulRLVWzset55qLO1c1lJfwAK_-s2Fga-L0owxHRXQq8s2e15jkCoqQL9ckq_IbScA-hFV077_vkDlrpj6UwWubEI-5xFhCAx4bSUq2UWbqmpkVp4GezSMA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-04%20at%202.40.56%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ryan O'Neal and Lawrence Tierney in TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE Year: 1987 Rates: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ryan O’Neal’s infamous “Oh Man Oh God” moment, while awful and embarrassing, taken on its own accord... linked all over the Internet... within context of an equally bizarre vehicle, just sort of comes and goes, coinciding with a cheesy spinning camera-glide in this Neo Noir thriller with little thrills, tons of intentionally pulpy dialogue that Norman Mailer, who directed based on his novel turned screenplay, purposely borrows from the likes of Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Although there weren’t many cocaine addicts written about back in those dime novel days; at least not for an aimless anti-hero to be involved with without a second thought. Enter O’Neal’s low-rent ex-con writer, Tim Madden, literally counting the days with shaving cream on a mirror of his missing wife's beachfront mansion...</p><span></span>

cannon, clarence williams III, debra sandlund, eighties, francis fisher, isabella rossellini, lawrence tierney, neo noir, norman mailer, ryan o'neal, wings hauser

RYAN O'NEAL & LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE'

Ryan O'Neal and Lawrence Tierney in TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE Year: 1987 Rates: **1/2 Ryan O’Neal’s infamous “Oh Man Oh God” moment, w...

KEN HUTCHISON STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: STAY LUCKY EH' EPISODE

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjMlmfujBiUdrcmFOHpcq4eAhVOmgS0gg_xoweXSZchEl74JCCyXQ7xsdr87FRDI0AbDYnDn7FreqRtiKtR4RZKwrwm9nZWquKAbR5dPWztMtt0cO0HgKz7Og6qDcTiDLgga4rOfPlANw3LJIqphBySDY6FljAHqF3K3mn8koiIndPEc9AzuVin5wYg/s2184/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-21%20at%204.19.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="2184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjMlmfujBiUdrcmFOHpcq4eAhVOmgS0gg_xoweXSZchEl74JCCyXQ7xsdr87FRDI0AbDYnDn7FreqRtiKtR4RZKwrwm9nZWquKAbR5dPWztMtt0cO0HgKz7Og6qDcTiDLgga4rOfPlANw3LJIqphBySDY6FljAHqF3K3mn8koiIndPEc9AzuVin5wYg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-21%20at%204.19.50%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Sweeney: Stay Lucky Uh? Year: 1975 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before playing Mr. Hill in SWEENEY 2, STRAW DOGS actors Ken Hutchison dons a fake blonde wig and mustache in STAY LUCKY EH where his character Vincent Vaughan steals money before being delivered to mob boss and Ken's STRAW DOGS leader Peter Vaughan while thwarting patsies Alun Armstrong to Michael Ripper...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>One of the few episodes where the heavies get more screen time than John Thaw's Regan and his younger partner Dennis Waterman as Carter... </p><p><span></span></p>

alun armstrong, british, british neo noir, crime, dennis waterman, donald webster, john thaw, ken hutchison, michael ripper, peter vaughan, seventies, sweeney, TV

KEN HUTCHISON STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: STAY LUCKY EH' EPISODE

The Sweeney: Stay Lucky Uh? Year: 1975 Rates: **** Before playing Mr. Hill in SWEENEY 2, STRAW DOGS actors Ken Hutchison dons a fake blonde ...

KEN HUTCHISON PLAYS THE ULTIMATE HEAVY FOR 'SWEENEY 2'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CyDwi-EPuWeZCljnpNSngY4MgZE2drDKeoKqDzlUJlL4btLUIadbykG-nTcA18kJCDaku6PMrPKlRmvbRp8jTd2CPo9LDRpbxIOqQDPM30v3-iH8JfaYPRL2FQw1sMh1Ab4_1l8-U2s4f_L1XRZlnUwUV8SYo3N2BqTLbeQL1geOtLfBhhv7znbmrO5S/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-07%20at%204.08.25%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CyDwi-EPuWeZCljnpNSngY4MgZE2drDKeoKqDzlUJlL4btLUIadbykG-nTcA18kJCDaku6PMrPKlRmvbRp8jTd2CPo9LDRpbxIOqQDPM30v3-iH8JfaYPRL2FQw1sMh1Ab4_1l8-U2s4f_L1XRZlnUwUV8SYo3N2BqTLbeQL1geOtLfBhhv7znbmrO5S/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-07%20at%204.08.25%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SWEENEY 2 Stars: John Thaw, Dennis Waterman Shown: Ken Hutchison Year: 1978 Rates: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before the fourth and final season of the popular British crime television series <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/06/sweeney-sustained.html">THE SWEENEY</a>, two theatrical films hit the big screens in succession, from 1977 to 1978...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The first called <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/06/sweeney-one.html">SWEENEY!</a> centered more on John Thaw's Chief Inspector Regan in a kind of NORTH BY NORTHWEST where his young protege Sergeant Carter, played by Dennis Waterman, had such little screen-time at one point he chooses not to be seen with Regan's "wrong man" at all...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, british neo noir, buddy, cop, crime, dennis waterman, frederick treves, john thaw, ken hutchison, roddy mcmillan, seventies, sweeney

KEN HUTCHISON PLAYS THE ULTIMATE HEAVY FOR 'SWEENEY 2'

Title: SWEENEY 2 Stars: John Thaw, Dennis Waterman Shown: Ken Hutchison Year: 1978 Rates: ****1/2 Before the fourth and final season of the ...

KEN HUTCHISON CINEMA PRESENTS 'SWEENEY 2' W/ 'SWEENEY!'

<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/AVvXsEi0iopp1Ah6VNgHmaXxPfazA5Arfkbh1z6NBpmuJsYsGow8ChRJyIlNBVWeqGqIdVGcMj6wmUwPwAEu3F3auPOoPq9BAj5e61GGJHxTD_pbcz4xlIcmTj1oI65WmH3IkxFyDz_N3R86i5e-nwUhKJtwKx6inX9OCje3WDk8hPknz7Vl6gSeA8VzMcYhYA/s1387/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-24%20at%205.43.08%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1387" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iopp1Ah6VNgHmaXxPfazA5Arfkbh1z6NBpmuJsYsGow8ChRJyIlNBVWeqGqIdVGcMj6wmUwPwAEu3F3auPOoPq9BAj5e61GGJHxTD_pbcz4xlIcmTj1oI65WmH3IkxFyDz_N3R86i5e-nwUhKJtwKx6inX9OCje3WDk8hPknz7Vl6gSeA8VzMcYhYA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-24%20at%205.43.08%20AM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-size: 12.8px;">King of the 70's Obscure Cinema Shotgun is Ken Hutchison</u></td></tr></tbody></table>The last few years provided Cult Film Freak new favorite actors including Tom Courtenay, who we've yet to start covering; Dana Andrews, the site's patron saint, is all over the damn place; and for the last decade, STRAW DOGS villain Ken Hutchison — and here it begins...<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXC1MXdIcSEP2_H726JRxlcOKbFNWDMOvItRsiDLavBjd4z8oXGBjYK1Q-K7ahSLPcTyJGSY8TgYlKJIyybf2FOzcOEcgdysixl7NScbcBd9agAv6S-nqxfjlLiAJMHfBG9pkhN8qmKFG/s1600/0000+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXC1MXdIcSEP2_H726JRxlcOKbFNWDMOvItRsiDLavBjd4z8oXGBjYK1Q-K7ahSLPcTyJGSY8TgYlKJIyybf2FOzcOEcgdysixl7NScbcBd9agAv6S-nqxfjlLiAJMHfBG9pkhN8qmKFG/s400/0000+%25282%2529.jpg" width="186"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison in Sweeney 2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> First off, John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as D.I. Jack Regan and D.S. George Carter are two tough and edgy British cops who look tough and edgy, and are better than ever in their second theatrical venture after the series THE SWEENEY went off the air: First being SWEENEY! sans THE and followed by an exclamation point, and the next, fitfully titled...<br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquWOxyWNFtQmf0bD5lEQkXAAd0vA4qLwRU_9oI3_EMlWFBxME-z5Io5h6UHZJN95K-2f2Pd-yNco0RcmTisu2zTFGRD45NJ3mRLhrfcp-1mENy9ib2nt9lMAfKk1saO0fHV6EHDyeVVT7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-25+at+3.15.37+AM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="369" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquWOxyWNFtQmf0bD5lEQkXAAd0vA4qLwRU_9oI3_EMlWFBxME-z5Io5h6UHZJN95K-2f2Pd-yNco0RcmTisu2zTFGRD45NJ3mRLhrfcp-1mENy9ib2nt9lMAfKk1saO0fHV6EHDyeVVT7/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-11-25+at+3.15.37+AM.jpg" width="206"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison in STRAW DOGS</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <span style="font-size: large;"><u>SWEENEY 2</u></span> centers on a strange group of bank robbers who steal <i>only</i> a particular amount each time, and never has a group of thugs been so cultish and family-oriented...<br> <br> Oddly mundane scenes with the gang sitting at long outdoor table in their poolside home of Malta (each hit pays for exact sections of their expensive compound) gives a parenthetical glimpse into thugs who, once in London, become shotgun-wielding, nylon-masked marauders (known as "blaggers"), and the leader looks natural with that particular weapon in hand as Ken Hutchinson played the meanest of the bullying and untimely deadly STRAW DOGS villains, Norman Scutt, under the tense and ultra-violent direction of Sam Peckinpah...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZi25gpAJ-e0NFhhyiuWEONg-KHjgYpUL5xB1KSIUC6tWnZWFSdA5RgW3r1CHPjS-FyL0zAPTh9KoVCOqMACJHYBP1yNYktiUDJ5wFyFbR7pKpeVP5TuLAITzmIGVFpFWZPF7MogLzatK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-11-14+at+2.19.15+AM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1051" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZi25gpAJ-e0NFhhyiuWEONg-KHjgYpUL5xB1KSIUC6tWnZWFSdA5RgW3r1CHPjS-FyL0zAPTh9KoVCOqMACJHYBP1yNYktiUDJ5wFyFbR7pKpeVP5TuLAITzmIGVFpFWZPF7MogLzatK/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-11-14+at+2.19.15+AM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison aims in SWEENEY 2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> In fact, Ken's character, Hill, is the most memorable, and someone to fear, but there are distractions. One scene, playing more for the sort of dark comedy of the series, involves a time bomb in a hotel. Meanwhile, another side-story about Denholm Elliot as Regan's crooked chief under scrutiny is rushed and contrived...<br> <br> Leaving Hutchison's deadly persona to cut through an intentionally sparse Neo Noir story, second only to a literally smashing chase where a yellow car crashes through a store window and goes blasting through the grungy streets of London. Wherein the action and gunfire evenly curbs the pulpy dialogue, especially between our SWEENEY cops John Thaw as Regan and Dennis Waterman as Carter, always on edge and waiting for the next crime as we get two sparse, offbeat tales from either side of the law.<br>

anna nygh, british, colin welland, denholm elliott, dennis waterman, exploitation, john thaw, ken hutchison, seventies, susan valentine, sweeney

KEN HUTCHISON CINEMA PRESENTS 'SWEENEY 2' W/ 'SWEENEY!'

King of the 70's Obscure Cinema Shotgun is Ken Hutchison The last few years provided Cult Film Freak new favorite actors including Tom ...

EDMOND O'BRIEN HEATS ROBERT OSTERLOH IN '711 OCEAN DRIVE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF2P-s-JjJgRMEFtA4RZuSRp6OdSf8JHTZ-DWkmsDwJBN_XHGmeXCTldKsDCZ9BxDKWGUsEw66DUNf9DPM0z4QtXfRB63JucMrrAusfDlfKV5cqA_6QFDRgbGC40css9Lsat6uaFFoCoovDUK8QnFgsjo7ddkXyttanL_Twfk4BvgTmuh1_VTTm-WCg/s2048/DnuC8AxUcAAX3vX.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF2P-s-JjJgRMEFtA4RZuSRp6OdSf8JHTZ-DWkmsDwJBN_XHGmeXCTldKsDCZ9BxDKWGUsEw66DUNf9DPM0z4QtXfRB63JucMrrAusfDlfKV5cqA_6QFDRgbGC40css9Lsat6uaFFoCoovDUK8QnFgsjo7ddkXyttanL_Twfk4BvgTmuh1_VTTm-WCg/s16000/DnuC8AxUcAAX3vX.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>White Heat's Robert Osterloh & Edmond O'Brien in 711 OCEAN DRIVE Year: 1950 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In one of the most all-out entertaining and fast-moving film noirs from the B&W-shot 1950's, the only outright/upfront flaw about 711 OCEAN DRIVE is the title... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>An address where phone company employee turned bookie's tech turned powerful bookie supposedly lives, yet it's not only never stated but there's only one or two scenes at his beachfront property, having little to do with the ever-progressing plot-line...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, barry kelley, con man, crime, don porter, dorothy patrick, edmond o'brien, fifties, film noir or melodrama, hit-man, howard st. john, joanne dru, otto kruger, robert osterloh, thriller

EDMOND O'BRIEN HEATS ROBERT OSTERLOH IN '711 OCEAN DRIVE'

White Heat's Robert Osterloh & Edmond O'Brien in 711 OCEAN DRIVE Year: 1950 Rating: **** In one of the most all-out entertaining...

DANA ANDREWS & MÄRTA TORÉN COVER 'ASSIGNMENT: PARIS'

<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/AVvXsEhrR1G9Ql10OAVEM60JoGxXjQG5CVyww0DYNPI_qH776Lbe4mM7Mi08H4qekmwNjCsVyOCWyrLWRRqRrygya9nyGZtlZ1HrZEyw54gpcB_cLAbgK9o48V3Q_3pYt28dMnn-m84NscZGI9Obv-FjHO7y3ADJq4T3TefVeyLXzW4cbnMUEQv9DbNaptPD2Q/s400/Screen%20Shot%202021-05-16%20at%204.34.07%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="400" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR1G9Ql10OAVEM60JoGxXjQG5CVyww0DYNPI_qH776Lbe4mM7Mi08H4qekmwNjCsVyOCWyrLWRRqRrygya9nyGZtlZ1HrZEyw54gpcB_cLAbgK9o48V3Q_3pYt28dMnn-m84NscZGI9Obv-FjHO7y3ADJq4T3TefVeyLXzW4cbnMUEQv9DbNaptPD2Q/s320/Screen%20Shot%202021-05-16%20at%204.34.07%20PM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Assignment: Paris Year: 1952 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>George Sanders, the classy, underrated and underused British actor who all but stole Alfred Hitchcock's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT despite being third billed, is number three again and has plenty of time to stand out in the third act...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p>When mainline Dana Andrews, again playing a reporter like in another correspondent, BERLIN CORRESPONDENT, gets captured illegally, held hostage and whose enemies, in this case communist Yugo, winds up altering his voice, another BERLIN trait only more realistic as it's a far better picture... </p><p></p><p>And while some scenes aren't extremely thrilling for a Cold War thriller, there's good use of suspense, whenever needed... </p><p>Plus romance as Andrews puts on his kind of breezy, second-hand charm from the 1950's when, during this Lost Decade of drinking, he'd phone in some performances, even in decent films, as, for what's really a programmer, ASSIGNMENT: PARIS is... also starring love-interest ingenue Märta Torén, who co-starred with Dana in SWORD IN THE DESERT, and the cult noir starlet Audrey Totter, brooding around the Paris newspaper office jealous about Torén, two-fold. </p><p><span></span></p>

audrey totter, cold war, dana andrews, fifties, film noir or melodrama, george sanders, märta torén, thriller

DANA ANDREWS & MÄRTA TORÉN COVER 'ASSIGNMENT: PARIS'

Assignment: Paris Year: 1952 Rates: ***1/2 George Sanders, the classy, underrated and underused British actor who all but stole Alfred Hitch...

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS DANA ANDREWS IN 'THE FEARMAKERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEj5mRLhaDLJvAJ-ARhW4uiubVRSIdWp_6PWKfjO4isRX_1txDFWB22wpx8qPTvW4w328x_kzLZXNqPEm9VGDLzZJl2G_TT1GgZnsQy1wBhZCdqIy6HVBMkI_h2vWi12HgFerVDlxXOifT8vZqdQQS8QT9PZqX5BJnev0DPuCky95hdmI8YTKe0riki5oA/s320/zzz.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="320" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5mRLhaDLJvAJ-ARhW4uiubVRSIdWp_6PWKfjO4isRX_1txDFWB22wpx8qPTvW4w328x_kzLZXNqPEm9VGDLzZJl2G_TT1GgZnsQy1wBhZCdqIy6HVBMkI_h2vWi12HgFerVDlxXOifT8vZqdQQS8QT9PZqX5BJnev0DPuCky95hdmI8YTKe0riki5oA/s1600/zzz.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: The Fearmakers Year: 1958 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE FEARMAKERS is <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/dana%20andrews">Dana Andrews</a>' peak as a dramatic lead, and, circa 1958, is one of the last genuine (albeit disputed) Film Noirs that's more of an early Cold War Political Thriller, directed by his <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/03/CPassage.html">CANYON PASSAGE</a> and the previous years' <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/12/DemonCurse.html">CURSE OF THE DEMON </a>auteur Jacques Tourneur: a suspenseful programmer where the plot's spelled out quick, economically... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Having been a tortured POW in Communist North Korea, and suffering sporadic fainting spells, Dana's Alan Eaton returns to Washington D.C. where his business partner has died, somewhat suspiciously, and their business is taken over by some "pretty big fish with a bad smell" according to his senator friend, so Dana has to investigate, completely from the inside...</p><p></p><p>Basically providing Tourneur low budget office setting, not counting a few restaurants and a memorable B&B scene, owned by mouthy/muscular thug Kelly Thordsen<u> </u> with a sultry fatale-like wife Veda Ann Borg: And eventually everything falls into b movie place with young and naive, sympathetic love interest Marilee Earle, secretary of main boss Dick Foran, shady and sophisticated, the perfect rival to Dana's completely honest businessman, who had professionally and proficiently ran this same Statistic-Research firm that's since become a hot-bed for political corruption... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DjJVfGS4Yfv-j7tyHDYh5-iKUuNtpu1Jf5BMMihQuggNNbovDDJzjt0-4cHILSwqHoDXf8EWnjcCx_o9j9g1PkADQ0m176aixjTpf8WToiAkicF_7R-L7E3EW8-CajR_0qOGaHOh5mmjRy1-g-vadtNca7a7oBgqGQqF6bw7aWwQJ1LN2dVHlfUL1w/s398/the-fearmakers-poster-bottom-from-left-mel-torme-dana-andrews-marilee-picture-id1137188281%202.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="398" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DjJVfGS4Yfv-j7tyHDYh5-iKUuNtpu1Jf5BMMihQuggNNbovDDJzjt0-4cHILSwqHoDXf8EWnjcCx_o9j9g1PkADQ0m176aixjTpf8WToiAkicF_7R-L7E3EW8-CajR_0qOGaHOh5mmjRy1-g-vadtNca7a7oBgqGQqF6bw7aWwQJ1LN2dVHlfUL1w/w400-h198/the-fearmakers-poster-bottom-from-left-mel-torme-dana-andrews-marilee-picture-id1137188281%202.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Which isn't entirely clear as the underlying theme is non-political, equally catered to both patriots and those fearing Washington's backroom wheeling/dealing; teased just enough for the plot-line, all part of an efficient Late Noir where Andrews, after basically skating through (while literally drinking through) two Fritz Lang media-centered Noirs, might not look so great physically... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yet Dana's 1950's tense yet understated presence ala LAURA and FALLEN ANGEL is back in gear, tight and calculating as ever, but the real surprise is musician icon Mel Torme as the most ambiguous, perhaps even the most ambitious character: A nerdy, awkward numbers-guy doing "drone" work for the villain, he's smitten with the secretary hence extremely jealous of our hero: caught perfectly in-between as a sublime scene-stealer. </p><span></span>

dana andrews, fifties, film noir or melodrama, jacques tourneur, kelly thordsen, marilee earle, mel torme, political, thriller, veda ann borg

JACQUES TOURNEUR DIRECTS DANA ANDREWS IN 'THE FEARMAKERS'

Title: The Fearmakers Year: 1958 Rating: **** THE FEARMAKERS is Dana Andrews ' peak as a dramatic lead, and, circa 1958, is one of the l...

DANA ANDREWS IN THE WAR NOIR THRILLER OF 'SEALED CARGO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1W1rjv86R3ZArQCkZ_JJZFK6rz1YCVD-nFXL2okN6T8ZCXnGWzTYrxB2qH8rIeuVFHRAFc7TX6LohycJbmdWdNTX-I7wB2EUCFatmqUURfZyNIhqzMRT7GjRbcOP-M7SmGlxeakB4OmZQThMGPH2U_2hWpUmnBTkD5mmPb03bd-6UdGQRfndRmNZY_w/s1268/Screen+Shot+2020-06-24+at+7.42.25+PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1W1rjv86R3ZArQCkZ_JJZFK6rz1YCVD-nFXL2okN6T8ZCXnGWzTYrxB2qH8rIeuVFHRAFc7TX6LohycJbmdWdNTX-I7wB2EUCFatmqUURfZyNIhqzMRT7GjRbcOP-M7SmGlxeakB4OmZQThMGPH2U_2hWpUmnBTkD5mmPb03bd-6UdGQRfndRmNZY_w/s16000/Screen+Shot+2020-06-24+at+7.42.25+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SEALED CARGO Stars: Dana Andrews, Claude Rains Year: 1951 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Alfred Werker's darkly atmospheric potboiler SEALED CARGO initially plays like a Ghost Ship mystery/thriller as fisherman Dana Andrews (sustaining the harsh determination from WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS) climbs aboard what seems an abandoned larger vessel... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Claude Rains, as an enigmatic sea captain, is met with the kind of cautionary distrust that owns this wartime espionage, ultimately shaping into a heist/caper: but instead of stealing money it's about blowing up the titular contraband... or else...</p><span></span>

alfred werker, carla balenda, claude rains, dana andrews, fifties, ghost ship, mystery, onslow stevens, philip dorn, race against time, skip homeier, skip homeler, steve forrest, thriller, war, world war II

DANA ANDREWS IN THE WAR NOIR THRILLER OF 'SEALED CARGO'

Title: SEALED CARGO Stars: Dana Andrews, Claude Rains Year: 1951 Rating: **** Director Alfred Werker's darkly atmospheric potboiler SEA...

FRITZ LANG DIRECTING DANA ANDREWS 'WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS'

<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/AVvXsEj05KOdd2289pTyLxt7moyYh-uGbFIRge14RxXraKFvfL9phUmTXRS2LjGzg8nn-pblpfnFCWK83DNVECw16__Mlh7M4oKXNTOpz7maY0jQVuXly6n-Ctja6djxAO1L12vKhD_ygoHiDU9MD9kVCbl_hlLTVgMZFKadjBi0Gpo0CYJ1uLD5V0CIgFZiUw=s1082" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="1082" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj05KOdd2289pTyLxt7moyYh-uGbFIRge14RxXraKFvfL9phUmTXRS2LjGzg8nn-pblpfnFCWK83DNVECw16__Mlh7M4oKXNTOpz7maY0jQVuXly6n-Ctja6djxAO1L12vKhD_ygoHiDU9MD9kVCbl_hlLTVgMZFKadjBi0Gpo0CYJ1uLD5V0CIgFZiUw=w400-h300" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Imagine Orson Welles's Charles Foster Kane inheriting a news outlet instead of a goldmine to buy one, and there you have Vincent Price's not so kind Walter Kyne, who, after his powerful but honest father dies, takes over Kyne Enterprises — with a familiar "K" symbol ala CITIZEN KANE — and sets the employees against each other...<br> <br> The winner must name a violent serial killer killing single women, making WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS part Film Noir and occasional Horror... </p><p></p><p>And it needs more of the latter from perhaps having too much of the first, character-wise: the overcrowded Kyne Corporation office ensemble includes whiskey-drinking career-newsroom chief Thomas Mitchell; sharp/flirtatious wire-service runner George Saunders; beyond flirtatious one-woman-womanizer James Craig; and star Andrews, surprisingly the least interesting character as the central newscaster... Although his scenes collaborating with token cop Howard Duff from THE NAKED CITY makes for worthy B&W crime scene Noir elements while a young, gnarly-looking John Barrymore Jr. takes the villain role albeit lacking motivation save the usual mommy issues: and even that's not really clarified...</p><span></span>

dana andrews, ensemble, fifties, film noir or melodrama, fritz lang, howard duff, ida lupino, rhonda fleming, sally forrest, serial killer, thomas mitchell, thriller, vincent price

FRITZ LANG DIRECTING DANA ANDREWS 'WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS'

Title: WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2 Imagine Orson Welles's Charles Foster Kane inheriting a news outlet instead of a ...

ORSON WELLES IN 'FERRY TO HONG KONG' WITH SYLVIA SYMS

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWcVRKD2i1toiHdHbC0jf6y-6hqN41GYD9yxPip8UORrbM8vwc9RYmZHmBrSFO2AVQiBNyqvX7sSa-cTd0ASKGKMY8PM3SN_Gb12qGvwGS_-euiZJk-WwydWpsH-9i6wv-qu2e8VWTK4cw2Bk-3TPkNE7UMa7dqz590ANt1w3ZaooV93CfrwaUsFN8g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-03-11+at+4.23.12+AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWcVRKD2i1toiHdHbC0jf6y-6hqN41GYD9yxPip8UORrbM8vwc9RYmZHmBrSFO2AVQiBNyqvX7sSa-cTd0ASKGKMY8PM3SN_Gb12qGvwGS_-euiZJk-WwydWpsH-9i6wv-qu2e8VWTK4cw2Bk-3TPkNE7UMa7dqz590ANt1w3ZaooV93CfrwaUsFN8g/s16000/Screen+Shot+2020-03-11+at+4.23.12+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Closeup of the dragon around the disc menu for FERRY TO HONG KONG Year: 1959</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>British director Lewis Gilbert's FERRY TO HONG KONG could have made a great pilot for a TV series: The premise has maverick loafer Mark Conrad, played by  Curd Jürgens, winding up on a Ferry from Hong Kong to Macao. Officials at either port won’t let him on land so he has to remain a passenger on the Ferry... thus becoming a not-so-accidental, omnipresent tourist...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Now for the antagonist: Orson Welles as Captain Hart, an uptight, prissy, anal retentive, control freak Captain who runs the boat with a iron fist despite his passive/aggressive composure... <br> </p>

adventure, comedy, curt jurgens, fifties, lewis gilbert, milton reid, orson welles, sylvia syms

ORSON WELLES IN 'FERRY TO HONG KONG' WITH SYLVIA SYMS

Closeup of the dragon around the disc menu for FERRY TO HONG KONG Year: 1959 British director Lewis Gilbert's FERRY TO HONG KONG could ...

ORSON WELLES AND JOSEPH COTTEN SURVIVE 'THE THIRD MAN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTnkM07DtrWLlXQPFOpwCfUXfpdx68FM74OvPL5KAl3Iqc-Cw3JNiG3LJL9tX9S4_u6q5RrYDPkL6qgbh0RA2w-64I0psKcX4s1MY6SCg5dHpzUQKoPv3-twDu2nJcQ05oOGbCqt5JCfzfS3Oic8nOyyEIkMfho2E5nTwjna_cuYnu6hcf3Ri1gyuwEVV/s2418/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-09%20at%203.09.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="2418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTnkM07DtrWLlXQPFOpwCfUXfpdx68FM74OvPL5KAl3Iqc-Cw3JNiG3LJL9tX9S4_u6q5RrYDPkL6qgbh0RA2w-64I0psKcX4s1MY6SCg5dHpzUQKoPv3-twDu2nJcQ05oOGbCqt5JCfzfS3Oic8nOyyEIkMfho2E5nTwjna_cuYnu6hcf3Ri1gyuwEVV/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-09%20at%203.09.28%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN Year: 1949 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's not really that big a deal that Orson Welles turns up over fifty-minutes into THE THIRD MAN, being that audiences awaited KING KONG for about the same period of time...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The term best describing Welles's Harry Lime is <i>anticipated antagonist,</i> and yet all his criminal activity is refuted by best friend Joseph Cotten as <i>cheap novelette</i> Western writer Holly Martins, and especially heartbroken stage-actress-girlfriend Alida Valli, who Cotten attempts subtly romancing... but can't compete with the ghost...</p><p><span></span></p>

alida valli, bernard lee, british film noir, carol reed, forties, joseph cotten, mystery, orson welles, thriller, trevor howard

ORSON WELLES AND JOSEPH COTTEN SURVIVE 'THE THIRD MAN'

Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN Year: 1949 Rating: ***** It's not really that big a deal that Orson Welles turns up over fifty-minutes int...

ORSON WELLES DIRECTS NEO NAZI FILM NOIR 'THE STRANGER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ho3zge4OwcPVeusZz5X5VjyWXVmZVixeXcQfQWMxhEKxaOrIsZGn-XmSd5LVinlOVMT4RKJ4r4LiFf0mWZRF49SsRg9zEuCBdNeW2gll4URelN_8-S_JfV-KSMLMe3vUn5DENrs5ptT_B6eO2Vde-51FKc5rAhyG0TGKmMfIl4KDaflzcyIIODUzAw/s1647/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-29%20at%204.05.47%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1647" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ho3zge4OwcPVeusZz5X5VjyWXVmZVixeXcQfQWMxhEKxaOrIsZGn-XmSd5LVinlOVMT4RKJ4r4LiFf0mWZRF49SsRg9zEuCBdNeW2gll4URelN_8-S_JfV-KSMLMe3vUn5DENrs5ptT_B6eO2Vde-51FKc5rAhyG0TGKmMfIl4KDaflzcyIIODUzAw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-29%20at%204.05.47%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: The Stranger Year: 1946 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Orson Welles plays an edgy and intense but, on the surface, affable, intellectual, quote-spouting teacher about to marry the beautiful daughter of a renown judge in a small town epitomizing post-war, postcard America....</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here where he's the perfect man: brilliant, handsome, and determined, with only one drawback — he's a former Nazi; on top of which, he still believes in "the cause" and that it could possibly sustain... </p><span></span>

billy house, byron keith, edward g. robinson, film noir or melodrama, forties, loretta young, nazi, orson welles, richard long, thriller

ORSON WELLES DIRECTS NEO NAZI FILM NOIR 'THE STRANGER'

Title: The Stranger Year: 1946 Rating: **** Orson Welles plays an edgy and intense but, on the surface, affable, intellectual, quote-spoutin...

ORSON WELLES AGAINST CHARLTON HESTON IN 'TOUCH OF EVIL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8S8f8p1fEnjl8P4u3oEQT_8LiknYYSUA3p_8r8NpJAy0JSrqT6qqUsiD5naSakLVwz2r7w7x4H_wb04_p5iXjBmmngGNxfD7GrgzWACWEbW-S8j8BOX6xHMJFYL-yhdiJ76DJuDDbN45ZisoIjrSqrg1ldsRqS2K4dKd-9vitvYgpSXmKa9uyEffcVQ/s1500/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-30%20at%203.12.25%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8S8f8p1fEnjl8P4u3oEQT_8LiknYYSUA3p_8r8NpJAy0JSrqT6qqUsiD5naSakLVwz2r7w7x4H_wb04_p5iXjBmmngGNxfD7GrgzWACWEbW-S8j8BOX6xHMJFYL-yhdiJ76DJuDDbN45ZisoIjrSqrg1ldsRqS2K4dKd-9vitvYgpSXmKa9uyEffcVQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-30%20at%203.12.25%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Janet Leigh with Charlton Heston and Orson Welles in TOUCH OF EVIL Year: 1958 Bullets: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Through the years since 1958, Charlton Heston felt love, then hate, then love for TOUCH OF EVIL director Orson Welles, being that he's responsible for suggesting that Welles... initially cast as the literal heavy as crooked border police captain Hank Quinlan... also become the film's director for Universal Pictures... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The same studio that would throw the legendary auteur off the lot upon seeing the first cut, deemed too dark and disturbing (commonplace now); after which, decades later, adhering to Welles's 58-page memo, Universal provided a faithfully-restored version: showcasing the opening 3 1/2 minute one-shot-take through an entire street, up and around buildings, trading-off various source music with overlapping dialogue, initially littered with opening credits...</p><span></span>

akim tamiroff, charlton heston, dennis weaver, fifties, film noir or melodrama, janet leigh, joanna moore, joi lansing, joseph calleia, mercedes mccambridge, mort mills, orson welles, wayne taylor

ORSON WELLES AGAINST CHARLTON HESTON IN 'TOUCH OF EVIL'

Janet Leigh with Charlton Heston and Orson Welles in TOUCH OF EVIL Year: 1958 Bullets: ****1/2 Through the years since 1958, Charlton Heston...