WILLIAN GREFÉ TURNS 'STANLEY' INTO 'MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH'

<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/AVvXsEi5X04ATd4fd5Cm6HamRQ3a12DCJCJQt0sX34zGYC8rK2CI31Na9xMvbX61IWJC0hlGN7o5PH6Zb1lgU_yRxV0hSUCNlWlM1HZKl2F9sNuMOikRK6Gcaa8T1zRo7R8ke9pppgKnbuGc8AFwoPMEOuby9B5_BBe4YjEht-xNuDUSruwKyU7pLyw7VZ8OvA/s1366/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-29%20at%202.47.17%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1366" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X04ATd4fd5Cm6HamRQ3a12DCJCJQt0sX34zGYC8rK2CI31Na9xMvbX61IWJC0hlGN7o5PH6Zb1lgU_yRxV0hSUCNlWlM1HZKl2F9sNuMOikRK6Gcaa8T1zRo7R8ke9pppgKnbuGc8AFwoPMEOuby9B5_BBe4YjEht-xNuDUSruwKyU7pLyw7VZ8OvA/w400-h286/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-29%20at%202.47.17%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1976</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Someone already pointed out that MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH is a hybrid of JAWS and a cult classic about a young man with a twisted connection to rats, WILLARD. But this film's director William Grefé's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/07/snakes.html">STANLEY</a>, about a slightly older fella hooked on snakes, already borrowed from the WILLARD template, making JAWS OF DEATH a clone of a clone of a clone...<br> <br> As Richard Jaekel, no stranger to creepy roles despite or even accentuated by his blond-haired, man-next-door look, goes back and forth from the seaside town to the sea itself, where the opening credits of a diver swimming smoothly beside a killer shark proves the introductory scrawl, about how the underwater crew <i>risked their lives in making this motion picture</i>, wasn't just for show: the first two minutes alone defines exploitation cinema at its finest, and riskiest...<br>

body count, cult, exploitation, jaws-clone, jennifer bishop, john davis chandler, revenge, richard jaekal, seventies, shark, thriller, william grefé

WILLIAN GREFÉ TURNS 'STANLEY' INTO 'MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH'

Year: 1976 Someone already pointed out that MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH is a hybrid of JAWS and a cult classic about a young man with a twisted...

CONNIE STEVENS & WILLIAM SMITH CONNECTING FOR 'SCORCHY'

<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/AVvXsEjuUqOuJvqXap2wcfEYcSxdN7FBFlwaw6IY1T1A-dF-QkkXAIijqdJdCi5B_t8kUBuJ_pgBjtTCvTYBSJJtrRmSrKkmOtlMA5ZdN9SJYA_EeovE-3huIBhg13v6UZC2QYtNBMW5uLxKqGsTanDc3BBFcopIcHxfl8mI3rDhfkPhMWj8UIoUXCd4Sn_ASQ/s1810/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-29%20at%208.58.23%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUqOuJvqXap2wcfEYcSxdN7FBFlwaw6IY1T1A-dF-QkkXAIijqdJdCi5B_t8kUBuJ_pgBjtTCvTYBSJJtrRmSrKkmOtlMA5ZdN9SJYA_EeovE-3huIBhg13v6UZC2QYtNBMW5uLxKqGsTanDc3BBFcopIcHxfl8mI3rDhfkPhMWj8UIoUXCd4Sn_ASQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-29%20at%208.58.23%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Connie Stevens and William Smith in SCORCHY Year: 1976 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cult exploitation SCORCHY is actually a b-movie revamp of THE FRENCH CONNECTION about undercover cops hiding in plain sight while both outwardly and secretly trailing a rich, handsome, sophisticated gangster planning a massive heroin deal from overseas, backed by a deadly henchman... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The latter played by ever-menacing William Smith, part of a central chase scene against our female Gene Hackman in Connie Stevens, initially watching from a taxi as he escapes by tram-car above until he nabs a dirt-bike, providing Connie's SCORCHY a reason to steal a dune buggy with keys conveniently inside... and what a chase it is, going from city streets to upper and lower construction site outskirts... even more entertaining than its Oscar-winning muse...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, caesar danova, connie stevens, cop, crime, drugs, exploitation, john davis chandler, seventies, smuggling, william smith

CONNIE STEVENS & WILLIAM SMITH CONNECTING FOR 'SCORCHY'

Connie Stevens and William Smith in SCORCHY Year: 1976 Rating: **** The cult exploitation SCORCHY is actually a b-movie revamp of THE FRENCH...

OLIVIA HUSSEY IN BOB CLARK'S CULT SLASHER 'BLACK CHRISTMAS'

<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/AVvXsEjPa0lifL_UgIrZByL3A8x5whRCrO6QaJMgMBUiluwlTI2ZgGW119wchu2plL7BGlFs7A6E1VUunAslBtN4o-9EMzmzPpmGzuMAH3fib7eX3wSl01l_oLvPExECIGPBGEAEwmveoiA6-B8p-f_7hzlIlAI-7B1qscmmCvLuS_5lH9eXeVOFirjRgiUrHA/s1417/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPa0lifL_UgIrZByL3A8x5whRCrO6QaJMgMBUiluwlTI2ZgGW119wchu2plL7BGlFs7A6E1VUunAslBtN4o-9EMzmzPpmGzuMAH3fib7eX3wSl01l_oLvPExECIGPBGEAEwmveoiA6-B8p-f_7hzlIlAI-7B1qscmmCvLuS_5lH9eXeVOFirjRgiUrHA/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Olivia Hussey in BLACK CHRISTMAS Year: 1974 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the case of Bob Clark's 1974 cult-horror BLACK CHRISTMAS, Christmas comes before HALLOWEEN since John Carpenter's 1978 slasher took some inspiration from not only a killer stalking a group of pretty young ladies (college instead of high school), but the camera sporadically becomes his shaky, formidable perspective... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But not for long enough as most of the would-be victims remain alive for too long: except poor Lynne Griffin's curiously foreboding shy girl, seeming perfect for the sole survivor — described by a loose, foul-mouthed Margot Kidder (more befitting a sex comedy than horror) as a <i>professional virgin</i> — but lovely-lithe Olivia Hussey's our <i>final girl</i>... </p><p><span></span></p>

andrea martin, art hindle, bob clark, body count, exploitation, holiday, horror, john saxon, keir dullea, lynne griffin, margot kidder, olivia hussey, seventies, slasher, thriller

OLIVIA HUSSEY IN BOB CLARK'S CULT SLASHER 'BLACK CHRISTMAS'

Olivia Hussey in BLACK CHRISTMAS Year: 1974 Rating: **1/2 In the case of Bob Clark's 1974 cult-horror BLACK CHRISTMAS, Christmas comes b...

BRIAN KERWIN AND STEPHEN FURST ARE 'GETTING WASTED'

<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/AVvXsEgGBAlO2irHrjA8B_JVNFn2_Vx_NpLjFd9FmFMPIbILJVQViOSVlbTLKosYBI0a4yjnG5USUPqML-uBErSipDTsIMFGsrYlTrC4pozaQh3kTRDw2o8Jwhp-j3-LmkwjgoVCYwCbBgBsOMVD2xg_pUrDiqKSBpS-M2sHXuTj59mfVsNMytE4we43OAHvSg/s1717/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-26%20at%2010.13.06%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1717" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBAlO2irHrjA8B_JVNFn2_Vx_NpLjFd9FmFMPIbILJVQViOSVlbTLKosYBI0a4yjnG5USUPqML-uBErSipDTsIMFGsrYlTrC4pozaQh3kTRDw2o8Jwhp-j3-LmkwjgoVCYwCbBgBsOMVD2xg_pUrDiqKSBpS-M2sHXuTj59mfVsNMytE4we43OAHvSg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-26%20at%2010.13.06%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GETTING WASTED aka SOFT EXPLOSTION Year: 1980 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Plenty of wild-party-flicks came out in the wake of ANIMAL HOUSE, and GETTING WASTED — trading college for a military academy — co-stars Stephen Furst, literally the biggest geek in HOUSE and one of many pot-smokers here that are... well... GETTING WASTED (or more like pretty buzzed)...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p>And when new guy Brian Kerwin shows up in the bunkhouse... after being driven to the academy while Buffalo Springfield's counter-culture anthem <i>For What It's Worth</i> plays... he gets along with the local cadets instantly, especially cool guy Cooper Huckabee and second-string sidekick Ken Michelman...</p><p><span></span></p>

brian kerwin, comedy, cooper huckabee, counter-culture, eighties, ken michelman, military academy, stephen furst

BRIAN KERWIN AND STEPHEN FURST ARE 'GETTING WASTED'

Title: GETTING WASTED aka SOFT EXPLOSTION Year: 1980 Rating: *** Plenty of wild-party-flicks came out in the wake of ANIMAL HOUSE, and GETTI...

FAITH DOMERGUE WITH DAVID JANSSEN IN 'CULT OF THE COBRA'

<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/AVvXsEiRyKFkXwFgHpyZCuCMiuJXBu71hRIrWOB73XWsMn3sphmzU9UFtZ8W5LCXFyVzA7mVwYmyyKOFrtuciBBE7WZ8xBbEuj-DFbQYuROzrRsNo-4iicWKg7s8nrTszubw0TueNk5ardfEcZ6U3lzqZqmr8Ww2c0cxIT1ub6R-uaBfuYdclreseTE9v4lqaQ/s1546/AVvXsEheUodVIpI1NjMSQF1UHGlfpY_YtRPU-eL16ZW69jlt01oGdtLfaqp5XbOtoIR74uW_DhmlduBHeYvC9pzedYpJRG9v6VgNKQKmzKdKDDPw1yRH0EmbggiFEIMInMqyPEzFr49ObJlImTO03v72v7HjXyCKX5uCwUe19SoeGgySHQ0b5glwby0hZNsOWg=s16000%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyKFkXwFgHpyZCuCMiuJXBu71hRIrWOB73XWsMn3sphmzU9UFtZ8W5LCXFyVzA7mVwYmyyKOFrtuciBBE7WZ8xBbEuj-DFbQYuROzrRsNo-4iicWKg7s8nrTszubw0TueNk5ardfEcZ6U3lzqZqmr8Ww2c0cxIT1ub6R-uaBfuYdclreseTE9v4lqaQ/s16000/AVvXsEheUodVIpI1NjMSQF1UHGlfpY_YtRPU-eL16ZW69jlt01oGdtLfaqp5XbOtoIR74uW_DhmlduBHeYvC9pzedYpJRG9v6VgNKQKmzKdKDDPw1yRH0EmbggiFEIMInMqyPEzFr49ObJlImTO03v72v7HjXyCKX5uCwUe19SoeGgySHQ0b5glwby0hZNsOWg=s16000%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Artwork for CULT OF THE COBRA Year: 1955 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The kind of Horror flick epitomizing the "Body Count" aspect since, at the beginning, before a group of soldiers return from Asia to America... after breaking a no-camera rule in a cobra cult temple... that they'll all die <i>one after one</i>; so it's no surprise when that very thing happens and keeps happening, making CULT OF THE COBRA suspenseful despite its telegraphed predictability...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Before which our creature feature's femme fatale in Faith Domergue does the sexiest of sexy dame dances wearing unique tight-fitting clothes, a surrogate special-effect actually resembling a serpent as she slithers across the floor till that flashbulb flashes... after which she winds up in New York City, in human form, with a vengeance...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

body count, creature, david janssen, faith domergue, horror, kathleen hughes, marshall thompson, richard long, snake, thriller, universal monsters, william reynolds

FAITH DOMERGUE WITH DAVID JANSSEN IN 'CULT OF THE COBRA'

Poster Artwork for CULT OF THE COBRA Year: 1955 Rating: **** The kind of Horror flick epitomizing the "Body Count" aspect since, a...

DEBORAH WINTERS IN 'TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO'

<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/AVvXsEi4Fdlvc8_E5eCOHFR2xz4q1km4xdCkEvjJ18XDlsaT78wJImqOAmj0RDbuEFqJVpJPvwSTkpWB9YnckeJSYFqI08Djh6Ol911P3hgGsn7KQzbMEXm6Qd7MiX9LkKxzptQASS-QDR44nUnEgU3ucxKlBqXnZFNs4yR6uqbyVHonx1YuYDZdrpvKzQR8fQ/s1041/81OSWD3f3PL._SL1500_.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1041" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Fdlvc8_E5eCOHFR2xz4q1km4xdCkEvjJ18XDlsaT78wJImqOAmj0RDbuEFqJVpJPvwSTkpWB9YnckeJSYFqI08Djh6Ol911P3hgGsn7KQzbMEXm6Qd7MiX9LkKxzptQASS-QDR44nUnEgU3ucxKlBqXnZFNs4yR6uqbyVHonx1YuYDZdrpvKzQR8fQ/s16000/81OSWD3f3PL._SL1500_.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO Year: 1977 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The JAWS craze went beyond hungry fish as the TV-Movie TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO winds up with a town torn between business and people's safety, with cranky Bert Remsen in the Murray Hamilton mayoral position, running an orange mill where the furry-legged-critters wind up...<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>That's after what seems like two separate short films, especially the intro where grungy maverick pilot/smugglers Howard Hessmann and Tom Atkins sneak coffee beans away from the local crooked government, and they wind up as <i>Janet Leigh from PSYCHO</i> characters in that they <i>only seem</i> permanent...</p><p><span></span></p>

bert remsen, charles frank, charles siebert, creature, deborah winters, ensemble, howard hesseman, matthew labyorteaux, pat hingle, penelope windust, seventies, spiders, tom atkins

DEBORAH WINTERS IN 'TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO'

Title: TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO Year: 1977 Rating: ***1/2 The JAWS craze went beyond hungry fish as the TV-Movie TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY ...

ROBERT FORSTER VS THE JAWS OF LEWIS TEAGUE'S 'ALLIGATOR'

<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/AVvXsEjLhjZZEXaCTvBzXASbNLH3AyED7yAnSo5-wsY_nggShpWZdsKSGeGqFoSD2e-xkjy0ctqHyg6mViP_qea7pZFQGUivg7V6v5SRzbRT4neC9zIJfl-MU_EQ2jGjMTsZVHYk2e7T1GpHCDqnw0q6085GYdiH7NzcQuvglTcrA178s3zDty_vgAeacmeyoQ/s1924/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-17%20at%208.49.16%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1924" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhjZZEXaCTvBzXASbNLH3AyED7yAnSo5-wsY_nggShpWZdsKSGeGqFoSD2e-xkjy0ctqHyg6mViP_qea7pZFQGUivg7V6v5SRzbRT4neC9zIJfl-MU_EQ2jGjMTsZVHYk2e7T1GpHCDqnw0q6085GYdiH7NzcQuvglTcrA178s3zDty_vgAeacmeyoQ/w400-h289/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-17%20at%208.49.16%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster art for Lewis Teague's ALLIGATOR Year: 1980</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Of the many JAWS-clones, ALLIGATOR is the most original, and, the second with an original screenplay by John Sayles after PIRANHA, there's an extremely memorable opening with a baby alligator getting flushed down a toilet...<br> <br> Well little "Ramon" grows up, and really, really big since a corporation's testing a growth-serum on dogs, and a pet store owner tosses the enlarged, steroid-filled corpses into the Los Angeles sewer that the gator feeds and grows on: The audience learning all this a step before Robert Forster's cop with a past, David, a kind of old school detective type snooping around and ultimately believing what seems farfetched if impossible. Like JAWS, the mayor cares only about money, and there are enough edgy obstacles to make this creature-feature play like a legitimate thriller... <br>

bart braverman, body count, cop, creature, cult, eighties, exploitation, henry silva, horror, jaws-clone, leslie brown, lewis teague, perry lang, robert forster, robin riker, thriller

ROBERT FORSTER VS THE JAWS OF LEWIS TEAGUE'S 'ALLIGATOR'

Poster art for Lewis Teague's ALLIGATOR Year: 1980 Of the many JAWS-clones, ALLIGATOR is the most original, and, the second with an ori...

ROCK HUDSON, MIA FARROW AND ROBERT FORSTER IN 'AVALANCHE'

<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/AVvXsEhQPmIrMQngAqyqXtq3ExnHtdsRqOOT5ImDvKHD2V5fe7pJsGLTDAHlP6f74WF9eU22ZSe8jaoKSW6Fs21wy6sArOWgS6OaBdKYsUjrqxkciHQjiLGsm1v5YXPMhj2QLO3m5jP29gwJyj4Ulvv91pMBHizPQ8sM0aT27gTJqXzCplwSZrpn4hoTYO8fPA/s2035/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-17%20at%205.40.42%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="2035" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPmIrMQngAqyqXtq3ExnHtdsRqOOT5ImDvKHD2V5fe7pJsGLTDAHlP6f74WF9eU22ZSe8jaoKSW6Fs21wy6sArOWgS6OaBdKYsUjrqxkciHQjiLGsm1v5YXPMhj2QLO3m5jP29gwJyj4Ulvv91pMBHizPQ8sM0aT27gTJqXzCplwSZrpn4hoTYO8fPA/w400-h274/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-17%20at%205.40.42%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rock Hudson in Avalanche YEAR: 1978 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Yes it's another of many 1970's JAWS clones, even though AVALANCHE is a wannabe Irwin Allen disaster flick with the disastrous situation named after exactly that. Rock Hudson stars as both the JAWS Murray Hamilton greedy mayor and Roy Scheider's central, intrepid Sheriff...<br> <br> First he wants to keep his expensive resort open while putting his tourists in jeopardy after ignoring repeated advice from Robert Forster's Nick Thorne, basically the Richard Dreyfuss science-minded harbinger (more a non-preachy conservationist like Sam Elliott in FROGS) warning the millionaire industrialist not to mess with nature. Then Hudson becomes the suddenly guilt-free chief-rescuer once Forster's character is all but forgotten later on...  <br>

anthony carbone, barry primus, corey allen, disaster, ensemble, jaws-clone, mia farrow, rick moses, robert forster, rock hudson, roger corman, seventies, suspense

ROCK HUDSON, MIA FARROW AND ROBERT FORSTER IN 'AVALANCHE'

Rock Hudson in Avalanche YEAR: 1978 Rates: ***1/2 Yes it's another of many 1970's JAWS clones, even though AVALANCHE is a wannabe I...

FORGOTTEN RIBBITING CULT OF 'HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN'

<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/AVvXsEjbu8lwcmyRIKt4M_VmCj-2nW8TS-28yF9zIyGNzF3zblMZ2htgt38yY0-V252O484M2UYzze4LRCURsauJ7_xJxuprN4gn-4qgTPV15zona8FfF4Rrm58zixmThPq7crIh4dstD-YFCciftPrq-uXFThF2B83M3Ad_23GWyEFU-Yk3sjFaiYUQnOSUjQ/s900/69270725_773217419774103_7288319700402962432_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu8lwcmyRIKt4M_VmCj-2nW8TS-28yF9zIyGNzF3zblMZ2htgt38yY0-V252O484M2UYzze4LRCURsauJ7_xJxuprN4gn-4qgTPV15zona8FfF4Rrm58zixmThPq7crIh4dstD-YFCciftPrq-uXFThF2B83M3Ad_23GWyEFU-Yk3sjFaiYUQnOSUjQ/s16000/69270725_773217419774103_7288319700402962432_n.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cec Verrell in HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN Year: 1988 Rating: ***</u><u>*</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Insanely gorgeous Cec Verrell doing a RAT PATROL imitation with a mounted gun on a desert-roaming vehicle in a picture obviously made to be a cult film, which in itself goes against the term of something that gains a following later: But HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN has all the right elements taking its own post-apocalyptic future very seriously, including the titular town filmed in a giant steel mill where most of the story takes place...<br> <br> By that time Verrell's gunner-moll Centinella is off-screen and it's all up to Roddy Piper, who made THEY LIVE under John Carpenter the very same year, and CONAN THE BARBARIAN starlet Sandahl Bergman, ultimately forced to do "the dance of the three snakes," perfectly befitting an actress who started out a dancer...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, cec verrell, cult, danelle hand, eighties, post-apocalyptic, roddy piper, rory calhoun, sandahl bergman, science-fiction, william smith

FORGOTTEN RIBBITING CULT OF 'HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN'

Cec Verrell in HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN Year: 1988 Rating: *** * Insanely gorgeous Cec Verrell doing a RAT PATROL imitation with a mounted gu...

ORIGINAL KILLER CULT CLASSIC OF JOE DANTE'S 'PIRANHA'

<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/AVvXsEjlCCGa8ol3jXftUhAsvT_Wi5kQPXUByRgDqFWejE5Zzx8DAfgalt64F_Uo6EKnnVAOoksZZhypGkSAmvIbFxz2XYO8A2w3k7Gnxgcedr6cnjtdxGJKa5b_Wth7mFPgh-dR51ITVTdXgm4Y0UvgK8wF-dYVQc9bJtXBQg5VEn-CnwyKnnLbbmiUj1DaBA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-07-17+at+1.10.58+PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCCGa8ol3jXftUhAsvT_Wi5kQPXUByRgDqFWejE5Zzx8DAfgalt64F_Uo6EKnnVAOoksZZhypGkSAmvIbFxz2XYO8A2w3k7Gnxgcedr6cnjtdxGJKa5b_Wth7mFPgh-dR51ITVTdXgm4Y0UvgK8wF-dYVQc9bJtXBQg5VEn-CnwyKnnLbbmiUj1DaBA/w400-h215/Screen+Shot+2018-07-17+at+1.10.58+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>YEAR: 1978</u></td></tr></tbody></table>"Joe Dante trusted me enough to listen and allow the freedom to write scenes in every show I ever did with him" <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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2I0rOPA6tQ/WR5jCfZvtZI/AAAAAAAAx1w/s2vaXudHkn884FID9Z-4p_A1tNKJyHRhwCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B8.12.39%2BPM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2I0rOPA6tQ/WR5jCfZvtZI/AAAAAAAAx1w/s2vaXudHkn884FID9Z-4p_A1tNKJyHRhwCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-18%2Bat%2B8.12.39%2BPM.jpg" width="120"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>JAWS-like image</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">said the director's regular troupe member, Belinda Balaski, who we'll continue with later as now, from the origin is, at that time, a future arthouse/indie director, John Sayles, starting out a scriptwriter with terrific pulpy creature-features. Two for Joe Dante: PIRANHA, which you're reading about now, and years later THE HOWLING, very loosely based on a sparse, uncomplicated novel, and the screenplay's far more creative and edgy. And for director Lewis Teague, Sayles wrote ALLIGATOR, one of those "title says it all" flicks but with some depth and, best yet, an actor like Robert Forster who can legitimize anything... </span><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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDFguKVu3B8/WR4kYJDB_mI/AAAAAAAAxz0/IHVyGlu8hwk2XSQ3Q9ajg29-A34QhvBtgCLcB/s1600/18519827_316957655400084_7360665445922273565_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDFguKVu3B8/WR4kYJDB_mI/AAAAAAAAxz0/IHVyGlu8hwk2XSQ3Q9ajg29-A34QhvBtgCLcB/s400/18519827_316957655400084_7360665445922273565_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">And anyone familiar with COMPULSION knows that Bradford Dillman, who had won the Cannes Festival Best Actor award back in 1959, was no slouch either... </span><br> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br></span> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">As a bearded alcoholic divorced-dad living in a rural cabin, he makes an otherwise limited character interesting and humorous. Which, of course, has a lot to do with the script... </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">But Dillman's chemistry with 70's scream queen Heather Menzies, who shrieked brilliantly at the end of SSSSSSS a few years earlier, makes a really good movie great: And there's no mystery as to homage since </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Joe Dante says, right up front on the DVD commentary, that PIRANHA is an intentional JAWS clone. But it's no carbon copy of the Steven Spielberg shark classic, taking place on a rural river instead of the ocean... the latter where the deadly Gov't-Created-for-Vietnam fanged-fish are ultimately headed. Plus there's a car chase/race against time: popular back then. But it's no shock that in PIRANHA, the real action takes place in the water...</span><br>

belinda balaski, bradford dillman, creature, heather menzies, horror, interview, jaws-clone, joe dante, piranha, richard deacon, roger corman, seventies, suspense

ORIGINAL KILLER CULT CLASSIC OF JOE DANTE'S 'PIRANHA'

YEAR: 1978 "Joe Dante trusted me enough to listen and allow the freedom to write scenes in every show I ever did with him" JAWS...

LEE MAJORS, MARGAUX HEMINGWAY & KAREN BLACK IN 'KILLER FISH'

<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><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/AVvXsEiXgP6YLTe-d2h6vgYhpJFbjTkMfpIDJQHMN3d1-9ME-cUtuw6t9KYKvA4vmlZ2dI7eDChB2ht644z9J_AIipjSbZ_O0BUxNFzKkqS8HN-OpMDCvpZj6HS8VUhpulVx5vkEVWSZHYO_FC7ymfPcOnByRjKpjxKH7MRtIgvYGe7YLGQLBdqdYY5x7aJZfA/s2035/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-11%20at%204.54.18%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="2035" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgP6YLTe-d2h6vgYhpJFbjTkMfpIDJQHMN3d1-9ME-cUtuw6t9KYKvA4vmlZ2dI7eDChB2ht644z9J_AIipjSbZ_O0BUxNFzKkqS8HN-OpMDCvpZj6HS8VUhpulVx5vkEVWSZHYO_FC7ymfPcOnByRjKpjxKH7MRtIgvYGe7YLGQLBdqdYY5x7aJZfA/w400-h272/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-11%20at%204.54.18%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><u>The Naked Sun poster aka KILLER FISH Year: 1979</u></span></td></tr></tbody></table>This infamous low-budget Brazilian import isn't so bad: Centering on a group of diamond thieves in South America who, after blowing up a big outpost during the opening credits and nabbing a cache of jewels, hide the goods in a lake they don't know's inhabited by killer fish i.e. piranha...</span><br> <br> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">All pets of millionaire James Franciscus (or more like his weapons, so they're not the central and/or focal point like Joe Dante's PIRANHA the previous year)... Deadly insurance to weed-out any takers, and </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">a couple of the thieves (including a scene-stealing Frank Pesce) are gobbled up attempting a premature recovery in the lake... Because of this, Lee Majors and Karen Black are pitted against each other in a double-crossing Film Noir fashion: Black joins with Fransiscus and beautiful Margaux Hemingway, as a model on a location-shoot, beds the Bionic Man.</span><br>

antonio margheriti, exploitation, frank pesce, heist, james francsiscus, jaws-clone, karen black, karen black interviews, lee majors, margaux hemingway, marisa berenson, neo noir, piranha, seventies

LEE MAJORS, MARGAUX HEMINGWAY & KAREN BLACK IN 'KILLER FISH'

The Naked Sun poster aka KILLER FISH Year: 1979 This infamous low-budget Brazilian import isn't so bad: Centering on a group of diamond...

CORNEL WILDE, SCOTT GLENN AND JENNIFER SALT IN 'GARGOYLES'

<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/AVvXsEiISIBIOKMNf6qgKqb61cUN9jurpVdl5-UD_iYMMmCoEe8APCkCvLuOnOtd7-BGAWKca7B-deO0OGUTSBcPy_FpHa3-gG2aGYqMYSP_-oFf8CdK8nkpBSCw1LfrBZ-mm5i45AO--9VPSXwSmXrNsDCgJt8tTbZR7zPA70Jo8RwLw5DGqNCMiVFVwO7iQA/s1396/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISIBIOKMNf6qgKqb61cUN9jurpVdl5-UD_iYMMmCoEe8APCkCvLuOnOtd7-BGAWKca7B-deO0OGUTSBcPy_FpHa3-gG2aGYqMYSP_-oFf8CdK8nkpBSCw1LfrBZ-mm5i45AO--9VPSXwSmXrNsDCgJt8tTbZR7zPA70Jo8RwLw5DGqNCMiVFVwO7iQA/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GARGOYLES Year: 1973 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Cornel Wilde plays a writer obsessed with debunking Gothic mythologies, and answers a call to hear an old man in the middle of the desert who owns a rural liquor store/freak show hybrid, and has a Gargoyle skeleton to <i>possibly</i> prove it...</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>Jennifer Salt tags along as Wilde's progressive photographer daughter, and eventually winds up kidnapped by the titular creatures that... seeking their skeletal bones that Wilde took with him... prance around in a surreal/dreamlike fashion; ultimately led by Bernie Casey outfitted in green monster garb that, created by Stan Winston, looks effective and creepy, especially for a TV-movie...</p><p><span></span></p>

adventure, bernie casey, cornel wilde, creature feature, horror, jennifer salt, scott glenn, seventies, thriller, tv movie

CORNEL WILDE, SCOTT GLENN AND JENNIFER SALT IN 'GARGOYLES'

Title: GARGOYLES Year: 1973 Rating: **** Cornel Wilde plays a writer obsessed with debunking Gothic mythologies, and answers a call to hear ...

CORNEL WILDE, JEAN WALLACE & RICHARD CONTE 'THE BIG COMBO'

<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/AVvXsEgRp_yak4J5d3Eh8bnz5T5IIFfG_QOA3qgVzppBLkgXyk9tLiFJuV4fh7qxEcICgsXY2hIOKQ8pcCzRp9SqH0rG6NuYLi8GMHiyRT8pOwiu-w3Oam1OEbICu9mOSzGlF_8dwFAf8FKXAQmqYQosBO62WZWvhfJGEBv5vb4e6vi1lclPgv0se06_fh86iA/s2099/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-07%20at%208.56.20%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="2099" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRp_yak4J5d3Eh8bnz5T5IIFfG_QOA3qgVzppBLkgXyk9tLiFJuV4fh7qxEcICgsXY2hIOKQ8pcCzRp9SqH0rG6NuYLi8GMHiyRT8pOwiu-w3Oam1OEbICu9mOSzGlF_8dwFAf8FKXAQmqYQosBO62WZWvhfJGEBv5vb4e6vi1lclPgv0se06_fh86iA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-07%20at%208.56.20%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>CORNEL WILDE IN THE BIG COMBO YEAR: 1955 RATING: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Given a dollar for every time Richard Conte's big time gangster says he makes more money than idealist cop Cornel Wilde, you'd be richer than Conte's Mr. Brown, a kingpin with an Achilles Heel shown right off the bat: his reluctant and guilt-ridden, suicidal moll, Jean Wallace, Who becomes more of a wishbone between Wilde and Conte, and it's a gritty, sleazy, jazz-soaked time reaching a conclusion that becomes more  unpredictable with another dame in the mix... </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>And low-rent showgirl Helen Walker has more femme fatale attitude despite being the cop's girl, "used like a glove when he's cold" and, with Wallace's Susan spitefully in love with her first love Conte, things get pretty chilly in this late Noir that, like many, recalls the sparse 1930's gangster style over the sinfully lavish programmers of the 40's...</p><span></span>

cop, cornel wilde, earl holliman, film noir or melodrama, helen walker, jazz score, jean wallace, lee van cleef, richard conte

CORNEL WILDE, JEAN WALLACE & RICHARD CONTE 'THE BIG COMBO'

CORNEL WILDE IN THE BIG COMBO YEAR: 1955 RATING: **** Given a dollar for every time Richard Conte's big time gangster says he makes more...

RICHARD FLEISCHER DIRECTS LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'BODYGUARD'

<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/AVvXsEgWcpapHYse1HHKzLsgXpfXkMUCwfApkulW8SGvujmVLBL3QQLvIYTtpXMkXUVHTzXDMg1pJvaV_ax3__3-5aXVkAqgvbDUvyad6ZYYlwG5Bn8krT-maYHBLlvyNSVz_LYR52hpLqr4Lc_lIcwcE91aBh4ApY80-E5kjxmR5Te9VHG-Ci641tDX_C0XGA/s2114/0%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="2114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcpapHYse1HHKzLsgXpfXkMUCwfApkulW8SGvujmVLBL3QQLvIYTtpXMkXUVHTzXDMg1pJvaV_ax3__3-5aXVkAqgvbDUvyad6ZYYlwG5Bn8krT-maYHBLlvyNSVz_LYR52hpLqr4Lc_lIcwcE91aBh4ApY80-E5kjxmR5Te9VHG-Ci641tDX_C0XGA/s16000/0%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BODYGUARD Year: 1948 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Famously-capable director Richard Fleischer could turn out b-movie noirs and most were pretty good while actor Lawrence Tierney had the same appeal as either a leading villain or grimacing good guy... </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 latter here playing a tough maverick cop who punches the captain and loses his job in BODYGUARD, written by young future auteur Robert Altman and involving the owner of a meat-packing-plant (a strange concept in itself) having Tierney be her own personal... well... the title says it all...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, cop, film noir or melodrama, forties, lawrence tierney, priscilla lane, richard fleischer, robert altman, thriller, wrong man

RICHARD FLEISCHER DIRECTS LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'BODYGUARD'

Title: BODYGUARD Year: 1948 Rating: ** Famously-capable director Richard Fleischer could turn out b-movie noirs and most were pretty good wh...

RUDIMENTARY RAMBLING FOR THE LEGENDARY 'RESERVOIR DOGS'

<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/AVvXsEhwtMDOWZ4_rJgbyZ3Bs0WU2GE8U-gIL3f7t-uvC3OOE-1Lao9P6xpIQuH_4kFldVNfO3AoBW5kzBdioexmeqFMj317CUr_PdyjLHrwvC5usf71g12b1jBZ7fz46LjgdzOqOBBEc6S_A84fln7CgxgZjvzP7MUrOlN_DrNAtBfUnlCKqMVotoaK6m5pFQ/s1155/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtMDOWZ4_rJgbyZ3Bs0WU2GE8U-gIL3f7t-uvC3OOE-1Lao9P6xpIQuH_4kFldVNfO3AoBW5kzBdioexmeqFMj317CUr_PdyjLHrwvC5usf71g12b1jBZ7fz46LjgdzOqOBBEc6S_A84fln7CgxgZjvzP7MUrOlN_DrNAtBfUnlCKqMVotoaK6m5pFQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lawrence Tierney in RESERVOIR DOGS Year: 1991 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>If, before 1991, someone mentioned that a movie involving a group of hardened thugs… including Noir legend/tough guy Lawrence Tierney, 1970's cinema legend who resembles an actual criminal Harvey Keitel, and real life ex-prisoner Eddie Bunker… would sit around in a diner discussing (or listening to others discuss) Madonna songs, no one would believe it.... <br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"> </div><p> But it took that kind of creative pop culture insanity to create one of the greatest modern crime flicks, written and directed by a former video store employee who’d soon become an international icon...</p><p><span></span></p>

chris penn, exploitation, gangster, harvey keitel, kirk baltz, michael madsen, nineties, quentin tarantino, randy brooks, steve buscemi, tim roth

RUDIMENTARY RAMBLING FOR THE LEGENDARY 'RESERVOIR DOGS'

Lawrence Tierney in RESERVOIR DOGS Year: 1991 Rating: ***** If, before 1991, someone mentioned that a movie involving a group of hardened t...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'THE NEGLECTED NOIR OF 'THE HOODLUM'

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEi5_PGLhNEL1SXpKa8k-ijfMSbObNNqPvOI16bIIPsh6dZYj92p_gnwmi-hXIDUNRdf9Q5v5P8ipjbjGeFEWEFEPz5SXyKxldhpz56ePNjHMJKnekzNm9Hi5UbBr6bOV83YAqvzsj1D2bIyO-A19e7vHsL1KbgTJ1Zy9kMv0meM3FjwVX-HLVyMz8siZw/s1070/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1070" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_PGLhNEL1SXpKa8k-ijfMSbObNNqPvOI16bIIPsh6dZYj92p_gnwmi-hXIDUNRdf9Q5v5P8ipjbjGeFEWEFEPz5SXyKxldhpz56ePNjHMJKnekzNm9Hi5UbBr6bOV83YAqvzsj1D2bIyO-A19e7vHsL1KbgTJ1Zy9kMv0meM3FjwVX-HLVyMz8siZw/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE HOODLUM Shown: Lawrence Tierney, </u><u>Angela Stevens </u><u>Year: 1951 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Pulpy programmer about a newly released convict, Vincent, played by Lawrence Tierney, master of the scowling grimace and gruesome growl, working at younger brother Johnny's gas station and not liking his contrived freedom one bit...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"> </div><p> There's a chip on Vince's shoulder the size of the lucrative bank across the street, and he wants a quick buck instead of pouring gas for complaining customers, who all act like they haven't had their morning coffee — as if he's being tested on purpose by secret shoppers hired by the grouchy cop who reluctantly paroled him...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

alleen roberts, angela stevens, cult, fifties, film noir or melodrama, forties, heist, lawrence tierney, marjorie riordan, max nosseck, thriller

LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'THE NEGLECTED NOIR OF 'THE HOODLUM'

Title: THE HOODLUM Shown: Lawrence Tierney, Angela Stevens Year: 1951 Rating: *** Pulpy programmer about a newly released convict, Vincen...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY FORTIES FILM NOIR MELODRAMA 'BORN TO KILL'

<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/AVvXsEiDrhjzL9CuZV-BKc2gyR4SFLUSKqzXqtsKLTyK2MS4H9I41eOfMDFCrgTfGIDL-dmCdnvKbCiJOrLPbhMrOI-KIHgxOQu9xnasA1niLma7pG7eJcG46mNB2jLqIjtKIxts-qin9wu3yTu4LMj9D3tf6NV3glprp-NkLCONegiiK6unF0xnHZnH-Nyomg/s1494/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%204.25.13%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1494" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrhjzL9CuZV-BKc2gyR4SFLUSKqzXqtsKLTyK2MS4H9I41eOfMDFCrgTfGIDL-dmCdnvKbCiJOrLPbhMrOI-KIHgxOQu9xnasA1niLma7pG7eJcG46mNB2jLqIjtKIxts-qin9wu3yTu4LMj9D3tf6NV3glprp-NkLCONegiiK6unF0xnHZnH-Nyomg/w400-h304/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%204.25.13%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1947</u></td></tr></tbody></table>For better or worse, BORN TO KILL is the epitome of Film Noir. All to love and hate about the genre is here: the shadows, the melodrama, the erupting musical score, the love-struck, the love-wary, the gross (much too lucky snoop Walter Slezak), the beautiful (Claire Trevor), the hammy (Esther Howard, begging to be killed), the classy (Philip Terry) and, of course, the viciously vile...<br> <br> <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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5WAOqxqwf9E/WtrKAilt5rI/AAAAAAAA1Q4/VMQHFLFczFgkSMXShI5PYTX8SlGFwyi1gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-20%2Bat%2B10.19.44%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5WAOqxqwf9E/WtrKAilt5rI/AAAAAAAA1Q4/VMQHFLFczFgkSMXShI5PYTX8SlGFwyi1gCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-04-20%2Bat%2B10.19.44%2BPM.png" width="145"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BornToScore: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Enter Lawrence Tierney as a killer aptly named Sam Wild — and the only person worthwhile: During scenes as our proverbial shark glides within a goldfish bowl... with actors and actresses brimming with boundless stage-like energy... one thing becomes abundantly clear: this man, personifying the film's title, isn't messing around. Only there's not enough vent for the ventilator... <br> <br> Tierney, with his usual understated, timeless acting style, seems like an intruder on the wrong set: as if he's waiting for everyone (except Elisha Cook Jr. as a fellow ex-con) to relax a bit. Perhaps if it were made twenty years later, anti-hero-villain Tierney would've had more to do (and more to murder). Then again, the handsomely detailed time-capsuled aspects of this striking 1940's previously-neglected gem, studiously helmed by former Val Lewton director Robert Wise, makes BORN TO KILL, in its own unique way, a plush and cerebral, intoxicating journey: But it needed more of the snake and less of the garden. <br>

claire trevor, elisha cook jr., film noir or melodrama, forties, lawrence tierney, romance, thriller, walter zlezak

LAWRENCE TIERNEY FORTIES FILM NOIR MELODRAMA 'BORN TO KILL'

Year of Release: 1947 For better or worse, BORN TO KILL is the epitome of Film Noir. All to love and hate about the genre is here: the shad...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'FEMALE JUNGLE' WITH JAYNE MANSFIELD

<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/AVvXsEgoA_dOPsXpnv2xq2NgZVCnwfZy9NIGjDKUkDDjbNfRiU6egMtu1xWk9aZJMHlxc9nHEY0PxFKEsXdKWxolpOKsP_zj28pFcVdU4w56Mk4YDGpxdxN0BTSBgJyoIzchqFQ0B7YelXyu2g84Wd9vC31v3v_RSWrEg6DToTb4qqco6GNv8Jv5p9Xh3P1pyg/s2605/MV5BZmUyYWIxNGYtM2Q5NS00NDQ0LWI3ODAtYmFmYTU5YTljOTE1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODcwODg0OQ@@._V1_.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="2605" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA_dOPsXpnv2xq2NgZVCnwfZy9NIGjDKUkDDjbNfRiU6egMtu1xWk9aZJMHlxc9nHEY0PxFKEsXdKWxolpOKsP_zj28pFcVdU4w56Mk4YDGpxdxN0BTSBgJyoIzchqFQ0B7YelXyu2g84Wd9vC31v3v_RSWrEg6DToTb4qqco6GNv8Jv5p9Xh3P1pyg/s16000/MV5BZmUyYWIxNGYtM2Q5NS00NDQ0LWI3ODAtYmFmYTU5YTljOTE1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODcwODg0OQ@@._V1_.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: FEMALE JUNGLE Year: 1955 Shown: Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Iconic tough guy Lawrence Tierney, ten years after his hey-day and with only a handful of roles rolling into the mid-1950's, plays a cop who gets drunk in a bar one night, and escorts a lovely lady to her cab...<br> <br> She's killed and now Tierney's Detective Jack Stevens wanders the night retracing his steps. Meanwhile we're introduced to more people from the bar including a lovely waitress played by Kathleen Crowley and her husband, unassuming Burt Kaiser (who also wrote, produced and is good actor for being completely unknown), a frustrated cartoonist who draws caricature for very little pay...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

exploitation, fifties, film noir or melodrama, indie, jayne mansfield, john carradine, kathleen crowley, lawrence tierney, mystery, thriller

LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'FEMALE JUNGLE' WITH JAYNE MANSFIELD

Title: FEMALE JUNGLE Year: 1955 Shown: Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney Rates: ***1/2 Iconic tough guy Lawrence Tierney, ten years after h...