DON TAYLOR & HOWARD DUFF IN JULES DASSIN'S 'THE NAKED CITY'

<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/AVvXsEiVubG96ZNBcpilnclPWZ_PSRC528kA5rZ9DAPvFKe-u7IP7PPQps05JqeZvVfma5MrXYvTS_vTFXhx2neTrj0V8rxZMAVVKwdlvvwpV2ZE_h7ZqDSKt_Ytz8mM3YXWueCwaDRdVUxjdp9PYTr_GboUm3D64ccKfZCbbV7yQzcHMEi9lMs8bcPENzrCCg/s1337/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-01%20at%203.40.30%20PM-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVubG96ZNBcpilnclPWZ_PSRC528kA5rZ9DAPvFKe-u7IP7PPQps05JqeZvVfma5MrXYvTS_vTFXhx2neTrj0V8rxZMAVVKwdlvvwpV2ZE_h7ZqDSKt_Ytz8mM3YXWueCwaDRdVUxjdp9PYTr_GboUm3D64ccKfZCbbV7yQzcHMEi9lMs8bcPENzrCCg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-01%20at%203.40.30%20PM-1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Howard Duff pays for crime in Jules Dassin's THE NAKED CITY Year: 1948 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After producer Mark Hellinger's famous opening narration, introducing the audience to THE NAKED CITY, following authentic shots of New York City exteriors, from buildings to shipyards... interiors from noisy newspaper offices to lonely radio stations... when we eventually catch a quick glimpse of Hollywood actors Howard Duff and Dorothy Hart at a fancy nightclub, there's an awkward contrast to those grainy/gritty shots in a police procedural that resembles a documentary one second and a dressed-up melodrama the next...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Centered on two detectives seeking the killer of a beautiful dame drowned in a classy apartment bathtub, they couldn't be more different: the veteran, Barry Fitzgerald, is like a wise old leprechaun while tall/lanky young Don Taylor traipses around town, searching for clues — yet it's stout every-man cop Tom Pedi who compliments the grittier images, like a dockyard silhouette of a formidable criminal, eventually revealed soon enough so NAKED trades mystery for a by-the-numbers investigation... </p><p><span></span></p>

anne sargent, barry fitzgerald, cop, don taylor, dorothy hart, film noir or melodrama, howard duff, john mcquade, jules dassin, kathleen freeman, ted decorsia, thriller

DON TAYLOR & HOWARD DUFF IN JULES DASSIN'S 'THE NAKED CITY'

Howard Duff pays for crime in Jules Dassin's THE NAKED CITY Year: 1948 Rating: ***1/2 After producer Mark Hellinger's famous opening...

BURT LANCASTER IN JULES DASSIN'S PRISON NOIR 'BRUTE FORCE'

<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/AVvXsEj1SeAcGzHE41enIU6uEzYYkwLtDTYyWEsHGH5UZYGhmtWLTLuyTUC5WA4P6Fvx1qg_o0UCgj3uQQGKRsCGdV8NkjxvqArYWoHjTDCPTsucJdz0heQ7i364b_3k9_MAkfnfOyzjNtObHA2a9k8TqGA0yBb64DId8hlyo2kvhPRW43NmMOKYFrnCotf5mw/s940/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="940" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SeAcGzHE41enIU6uEzYYkwLtDTYyWEsHGH5UZYGhmtWLTLuyTUC5WA4P6Fvx1qg_o0UCgj3uQQGKRsCGdV8NkjxvqArYWoHjTDCPTsucJdz0heQ7i364b_3k9_MAkfnfOyzjNtObHA2a9k8TqGA0yBb64DId8hlyo2kvhPRW43NmMOKYFrnCotf5mw/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Criterion Cover for BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Jules Dassin basically made his own post-war World War II picture, only set in an American hoosegow with prisoners as proverbial soldiers and an obvious Nazi representation in Hume Cronyn, who, as chief guard eyeing the warden spot, not only runs the place like a sadistic, tyrannical dictator, but mentally and physically tortures inmates while listening to Wagner... </p><p></p><p>Actually, BRUTE FORCE is a fairly effective prison noir/expose, bathed in rich B&W cinematography and splendid matte-painted backdrops, centered on desperate men stuck in a doomed purgatory: yet there are a few exterior flashbacks involving dames that, either sassy or sympathetic, landed these fellas into their current predicament... </p><span></span>

anita colby, ann blyth, burt lancaster, film noir or melodrama, howard duff, hume cronyn, jeff corey, john hoyt, jules dassin, prison, sam levene, yvonne de carlo

BURT LANCASTER IN JULES DASSIN'S PRISON NOIR 'BRUTE FORCE'

Criterion Cover for BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2 Director Jules Dassin basically made his own post-war World War II picture, only s...

OLIVER REED IN HAMMER FILMS 'PARANOIAC' WITH JANETTE SCOTT

<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/AVvXsEh6vWBjLr6HLNf3xFljqHl-WVo5Zw5cf3FRQhm-4715QwEeuhE6cmwfQOCRhocb224e2DYp59jAveE9Rbnp2iyTocsSRRSoVYM_xuraQz4KJSPrQ-X2KuHzmxwwOufUeWNitCfBLIIlUArXmK8T729zUE0Xc862abcJcUXOfR5qauu4r7TjSnu-C9bodw/s1932/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-29%20at%207.33.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1932" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWBjLr6HLNf3xFljqHl-WVo5Zw5cf3FRQhm-4715QwEeuhE6cmwfQOCRhocb224e2DYp59jAveE9Rbnp2iyTocsSRRSoVYM_xuraQz4KJSPrQ-X2KuHzmxwwOufUeWNitCfBLIIlUArXmK8T729zUE0Xc862abcJcUXOfR5qauu4r7TjSnu-C9bodw/w400-h288/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-29%20at%207.33.54%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for PARANOIAC Year: 1963 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>If Terence Fisher was the <i>Universal Classic Monsters </i>version of England's HAMMER FILMS then Freddie Francis was their Hitchcock, and PARANOIAC one of Hammer's best psychological thrillers, providing stock actor Oliver Reed a grand performance, showcasing what would become his two signature traits: moody brooding and overboard intensity: He's the brother of troubled, haunted ingenue Jeanette Scott, set to inherit a bundle (strictly overseen by an aunt and family lawyer), holed up in the family's sea-cliff estate, but not if Reed (with moll Liliane Brousse) can help it...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And while mostly working alone, he's <i>not</i> alone in agenda: The leading man is a con artist, which we learn soon enough for PARANOIAC to not quite reach Mystery-genre status: But those fifteen minutes when handsome Alexander Davion may or may not be her adored prodigal brother are the most intriguing: After which, coinciding with the kind of quick-split editing wherein everything beforehand meant only how the scene abruptly ends, Reed and his boisterous persona takes over, making this a frantic game of wits using creative camera angles within a shadowy B&W aesthetic that'd perfectly suit Film Noir... and it's only five years shy of being one — for then it'd get a lot more praise and attention beyond the lot of We the faithfully dedicated/eternal Hammerheads.  </p><p><span></span></p>

alexander davion, british new wave, hammer films, horror, janette scott, liliane brousse, oliver reed, sixties, suspense, thriller

OLIVER REED IN HAMMER FILMS 'PARANOIAC' WITH JANETTE SCOTT

Poster for PARANOIAC Year: 1963 Rating: **** If Terence Fisher was the Universal Classic Monsters version of England's HAMMER FILMS then...

OLIVER REED DOES ITALIAN CRIME IN 'REVOLVER' W/ FABIO TESTI

<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="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-nTT-17JmC-StSR8r_bDw8GYaozlXh39aV1RKPT1Z2E-ht_Hwt1bLrARoqHBx0xRQYP6ZUGnJ5zM4JhHyfQLfiu4GE5Q1Moqapxc_1HiozKr_QurrREnTQwXJUXlOBwVlBo6Na2Y61tmxAjthuC7XMUeOrTk7_rtuo2d_KzmN5uXd2M9f96htvg7qw/s398/213d893b595fbac41c737dab309c3718.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="398" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-nTT-17JmC-StSR8r_bDw8GYaozlXh39aV1RKPT1Z2E-ht_Hwt1bLrARoqHBx0xRQYP6ZUGnJ5zM4JhHyfQLfiu4GE5Q1Moqapxc_1HiozKr_QurrREnTQwXJUXlOBwVlBo6Na2Y61tmxAjthuC7XMUeOrTk7_rtuo2d_KzmN5uXd2M9f96htvg7qw/w400-h293/213d893b595fbac41c737dab309c3718.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Oliver Reed in Revolver Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A promising, clever premise of a government official, played by genuine bad-ass Oliver Reed, who surreptitiously allows a prisoner to escape before abducting him in exchange for his kidnapped wife... occurring between steely, intentionally claustrophobic scenes in dingy offices harboring dingier jail sells... almost succeeds...</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 best moments of this action/thriller hybrid involves polar opposites Reed ("a stray dog without a home") and prisoner Fabio Testi on the run... in the latter's rogue territory... </p><p>Petty thief Testi teaching strict/timid lawman Reed to steal a car is a standout, and there needed more of this kind of Film Noir-inspired ambiguity combined with the European tough guy team-up (although their roles should be reversed) instead of a subpar subplot involving a pretty boy musician connected to a powerful politician... Leading to an 11th hour escape by use of hiking across a mountain border and yet, despite the flaws, Italian ingenue Paola Pitagora brightens up the joint while Reed, using the same gangster-cinema-inspired American accent he used in a <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/08/reed-saint.html">THE SAINT episode</a>, doesn't need to overact to show the audience his love for this woman... Any sane man would.  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, crime, escape, fabio testi, frédéric de pasquale, italian, jailbreak, kidnapping, oliver reed, paola pitagora, seventies, teamup, thriller, wrong man

OLIVER REED DOES ITALIAN CRIME IN 'REVOLVER' W/ FABIO TESTI

Oliver Reed in Revolver Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2 A promising, clever premise of a government official, played by genuine bad-ass Oliver Ree...

HAMMER PRESENTS 'NIGHT CREATURES' WITH PETER CUSHING

<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/AVvXsEiWTz9m6RhzMPCFlFr3qO8z-6M1AeD-lb72Tzq43aRbO6EkJwm4cjsYZEIXC1_c39mBWl_3EP7RyJI9MXDAWm9k7dIJrEc7e_yIJCvzE6FQjO7XEPfV2fygkXtoL5vezZEskUVAQsHvNP5jdAY9Yyx-N1fHIhj1WXB9Nw2LiHar-hTqk_W3xTOoURyujQ/s1581/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-15%20at%208.27.42%20PM%203.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTz9m6RhzMPCFlFr3qO8z-6M1AeD-lb72Tzq43aRbO6EkJwm4cjsYZEIXC1_c39mBWl_3EP7RyJI9MXDAWm9k7dIJrEc7e_yIJCvzE6FQjO7XEPfV2fygkXtoL5vezZEskUVAQsHvNP5jdAY9Yyx-N1fHIhj1WXB9Nw2LiHar-hTqk_W3xTOoURyujQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-15%20at%208.27.42%20PM%203.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Oliver Reed and Peter Cushing in Hammer's NIGHT CREATURES Year: 1962 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hammer's decision to name this hybrid of thriller, horror and mystery CAPTAIN CLEGG proves that that last genre wasn't intended since spoiling Peter Cushing's true identity doesn't only ruin the plot's sneaky, intriguing premise, it makes Cushing's uniquely affable performance yet another fervent and intense one, not battling monsters this time but England's 1800's-era "tax man" himself...<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>In Patrick Allen's square-jawed Captain Collier, sent with his troops to investigate what he doesn't yet realize is a tightknit, secret-latch, wine-smuggling operation run by Cushing playing local vicar Rev. Dr. Blyss, THE ONLY character that director Peter Graham Scott... until well into the second act... intends him to be...<br></p><span></span>

british, david lodge, derek francis, hammer films, horror, martin benson, martin reid, michael ripper, mystery, oliver reed, patrick allen, peter cushing, peter graham scott, sixties, yvonne romain

HAMMER PRESENTS 'NIGHT CREATURES' WITH PETER CUSHING

Oliver Reed and Peter Cushing in Hammer's NIGHT CREATURES Year: 1962 Rating: ****1/2 Hammer's decision to name this hybrid of thrill...

HAMMER'S VICTORIAN HORROR 'THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF'

<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/AVvXsEg9-j7OKftPmdn4CV2OvYtY0iQZZATcHPtP2ZSe-QJRneKHI6HhbA638MSqZtX7LcoYo_lTPCgtOp38HluHTiLaJ_xrmRA0xxnEjAEd2n6jN1qP4z8FLhOHgLzPEhiM3B_6XwHetWDTfSutHToc7iuV3ZHG5uuzEo5ZEbynBdxeHHlDNsgU86tAsZ0x6g/s2250/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="2250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-j7OKftPmdn4CV2OvYtY0iQZZATcHPtP2ZSe-QJRneKHI6HhbA638MSqZtX7LcoYo_lTPCgtOp38HluHTiLaJ_xrmRA0xxnEjAEd2n6jN1qP4z8FLhOHgLzPEhiM3B_6XwHetWDTfSutHToc7iuV3ZHG5uuzEo5ZEbynBdxeHHlDNsgU86tAsZ0x6g/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Oliver Reed in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF Year: 1961 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A man gets bitten by a wolf and slowly turns into one… Which probably sounds extremely familiar but the British-run Hammer Films will have nothing to do with anything <i>that</i> simple, basic or cliche…</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The setup, before we even meet Oliver Reed’s Leon, is eerie and creative, introducing the story set during the colorfully antique 1800’s where a beggar's thrown out of a tavern, and then ventures naively into the last place he’s wanted: a lush castle where an aged King has married his beautiful young bride (a nefarious, later grotesque Anthony Dawson to insanely gorgeous blonde Josephine Llewellyn)… <br> </p>

anthony dawson, british, hammer films, horror, joy webster, oliver reed, richard wordsworth, terence fisher, victorian, werewolf, yvonne romain

HAMMER'S VICTORIAN HORROR 'THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF'

Oliver Reed in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF Year: 1961 Rating: **** A man gets bitten by a wolf and slowly turns into one… Which probably sou...

MICHAEL WINNER DIRECTS OLIVER REED IN 'HANNIBAL BROOKS'

<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><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/AVvXsEiNny3OLtM-VOyfiuUel9Z7l_qir5ioMq7dph66RsiKUiFGF53OU7BzaWnuXi4hkzLFYEnZwBTg6i429rOkyoAN5Ec3mljfzx7C1vysoObX95sgI75ZUoPyt89AddXs0FYt5SXsKFK6MxD63Wz40PuqddwHpNhXZJtw5H_Io__QuNBYSAm0l4zPp2ulmw/s1593/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-20%20at%204.00.30%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNny3OLtM-VOyfiuUel9Z7l_qir5ioMq7dph66RsiKUiFGF53OU7BzaWnuXi4hkzLFYEnZwBTg6i429rOkyoAN5Ec3mljfzx7C1vysoObX95sgI75ZUoPyt89AddXs0FYt5SXsKFK6MxD63Wz40PuqddwHpNhXZJtw5H_Io__QuNBYSAm0l4zPp2ulmw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-20%20at%204.00.30%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Oliver Reed in HANNIBAL BROOKS Year: 1969 Rating: ***</u><u>*</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Short, quirky, extremely offbeat Michael J. Pollard is like a novelty song of an actor, with BONNIE AND CLYDE his one big hit while in other movies — like <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/michael%20winner">Michael Winner's</a> fourth collaboration with <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/10/system.html">THE SYSTEM</a> star <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/oliver%20reed">Oliver Reed</a> titled HANNIBAL BROOKS — Pollard doesn't really fit at all... </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></p><p></p><p>Although he's almost deliberately cast against type as a gung-ho explosives-expert leading partisans around to kill Germans, and since Reed himself hardly seems part of World War II, both work together comfortably enough in a hybrid of road movie, comedy and action/adventure where Reed, a POW in Germany... after conveniently working in a German zoo... takes a prized elephant across enemy lines into, eventually, Switzerland... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, comedy, james donald, john alderton, michael j. pollard, michael winner, nazi, oliver reed, pow, road movie, sixties, world war II

MICHAEL WINNER DIRECTS OLIVER REED IN 'HANNIBAL BROOKS'

Oliver Reed in HANNIBAL BROOKS Year: 1969 Rating: *** * Short, quirky, extremely offbeat Michael J. Pollard is like a novelty song of an act...

CAROL LYNLEY IN 'THE SHUTTERED ROOM' WITH OLIVER REED

<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/AVvXsEj9EMgCXboxY58-vdVsKrShprjoJlD0duReNMb1vD0ipBmPYPokso-hgWRbxm2Vi3pXBs1_O6KNXwTPdLMhSPG-grHBSofvYdkX6Vddt_HqcQpW8Rq7S2GiNQTh16XN58cCoaZ5GfFud09n6J8SY9nW-G2ljtk7_ISzMcX9tVpBWEmt0_d-Urubj2r8iw/s1759/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EMgCXboxY58-vdVsKrShprjoJlD0duReNMb1vD0ipBmPYPokso-hgWRbxm2Vi3pXBs1_O6KNXwTPdLMhSPG-grHBSofvYdkX6Vddt_HqcQpW8Rq7S2GiNQTh16XN58cCoaZ5GfFud09n6J8SY9nW-G2ljtk7_ISzMcX9tVpBWEmt0_d-Urubj2r8iw/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SHUTTERED ROOM Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A near clone of Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS only five years earlier, during the psychedelic era, which is only apparent from the bare-bone jazz soundtrack orchestrating a married couple consisting of a beautiful blonde wife with an ordinary, unassuming husband returning to her small New England-based island home (yet obviously shot in the beautifully rustic exterior of England), part of an eerie Gothic mill that's its very own living/breathing character...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Making the inevitable climax of who's hiding within the titular SHUTTERED ROOM not that important a surprise-twist having been teased during a surreal, horror-trope prologue by mostly TV-director David Greene...  </p><p><span></span></p>

body count, british, bully, carol lynley, david greene, drama, gig young, gothic, horror, jazz score, oliver reed, rural, sixties, thriller

CAROL LYNLEY IN 'THE SHUTTERED ROOM' WITH OLIVER REED

Title: THE SHUTTERED ROOM Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 A near clone of Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS only five years earlier, during the psych...

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY DEFECT IN 'THE IRON CURTAIN'

<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/AVvXsEj3ijfAZoh6r56n3Z0h0lFPfNs7Xj_SNqbVMnbEEN8alAeSkzsGR6buXWAhG6rittUK0vHZnZ08wZhNt1taSIIN8eYTs5VMxKW4XTPBmM42cL7qQliAeTm4H8yb7Ke7l2lbzdHKLyuWJQcU5HHeHzbJJu5UYzvWCu1mRIwFJ9s9f_e2G8kR54gHAGN2Gw/s1309/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-13%20at%203.36.32%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ijfAZoh6r56n3Z0h0lFPfNs7Xj_SNqbVMnbEEN8alAeSkzsGR6buXWAhG6rittUK0vHZnZ08wZhNt1taSIIN8eYTs5VMxKW4XTPBmM42cL7qQliAeTm4H8yb7Ke7l2lbzdHKLyuWJQcU5HHeHzbJJu5UYzvWCu1mRIwFJ9s9f_e2G8kR54gHAGN2Gw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-13%20at%203.36.32%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE IRON CURTAIN Year of Capture and Release: 1948 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Between the famous Otto Preminger Film Noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/Loir.html">LAURA</a> and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/WTSends.html">WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS</a> and almost a decade past TOBACCO ROAD is the sublime pair-up of Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney under the direction of William A. Wellman in a Cold War Thriller at the rudimentary stages of that very thing: the movie takes place during and right after WWII and was released only three years after the war ended...<br> <br> Based on the true story of "Soviet cypher-clerk Igor Gouzenko who was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada in 1943... to reveal the extent of Soviet espionage activities directed against Canada," Dana Andrews takes a sort of reverse risk since nothing's worse than an American actor caught doing a bad-hammy foreign accent, especially one as thick as Russian...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

berry kroeger, biopic, cold war, dana andrews, espionage, film noir or melodrama, gene tierney, june havoc, peter whitney, thriller, war

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY DEFECT IN 'THE IRON CURTAIN'

Title: THE IRON CURTAIN Year of Capture and Release: 1948 Rates: ***1/2 Between the famous Otto Preminger Film Noir LAURA and WHERE THE SI...

BEFORE MAKING A BULLITT PETER YATES STAGED THIS 'ROBBERY'

<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/AVvXsEgFFwzT4Q_QEuFeN4j-Z419jWVEOTJyxCHE7y2o5nvvz3MJHHZzMNN4Sph6Ndyg2YinvP6DVYw2GOilyAOZLIlY62ALrbzAS9xFUYP7M-yFWpWVIN6Txxvvm4KTq-2jc7y60JFHxwfWhFEAmkcIetPJfeL5vOwNseZi1pCcjRx9IRMh-4ZUqjUNe8RLvg/s1835/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-17%20at%204.48.55%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1835" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFwzT4Q_QEuFeN4j-Z419jWVEOTJyxCHE7y2o5nvvz3MJHHZzMNN4Sph6Ndyg2YinvP6DVYw2GOilyAOZLIlY62ALrbzAS9xFUYP7M-yFWpWVIN6Txxvvm4KTq-2jc7y60JFHxwfWhFEAmkcIetPJfeL5vOwNseZi1pCcjRx9IRMh-4ZUqjUNe8RLvg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-17%20at%204.48.55%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: ROBBERY Director: Peter Yates Star: Stanley Baker Year: 1967 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Best known as the obscure crime film that gave English director Peter Yates his big game-changing opportunity to make BULLITT stateside, after Steve McQueen had witnessed the rudimentary car chase sequence from ROBBERY, an extremely sparse, deliberately cold/heartless British Neo-Noir Heist-Thriller... </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>And it's not <i>just</i> this initial chase that Yates carried over to the McQueen classic, but also the meticulous and metronomic and strategic moments leading up...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, barry foster, british neo noir, british new wave, frank finlay, glynn edwards, heist, james booth, joanna pettet, peter yates, sixties, stanley baker, william marlowe

BEFORE MAKING A BULLITT PETER YATES STAGED THIS 'ROBBERY'

Title: ROBBERY Director: Peter Yates Star: Stanley Baker Year: 1967 Rating: ****1/2 Best known as the obscure crime film that gave English d...

SAM PECKINPAH'S CONTROVERSIAL BRITISH CLASSIC 'STRAW DOGS'

<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/AVvXsEiL6xBpNxltrFP-L-hSwug0JXrTdVy7dRKMJ2Q38GmKDiGCD3CIpvTyz0DRarrfKP-Re98EOy-DWrBoVd8cH6bIuXbjXvBKoCcGRKf7ayjEEJW3MsWbVtfm11bBaY6ebMp1twH1rHgYfSER105-3TP1PCG0RLKZtLLr4zuWgW_-lFKalagXnvbGKGza3A/s1343/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-04%20at%208.18.55%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6xBpNxltrFP-L-hSwug0JXrTdVy7dRKMJ2Q38GmKDiGCD3CIpvTyz0DRarrfKP-Re98EOy-DWrBoVd8cH6bIuXbjXvBKoCcGRKf7ayjEEJW3MsWbVtfm11bBaY6ebMp1twH1rHgYfSER105-3TP1PCG0RLKZtLLr4zuWgW_-lFKalagXnvbGKGza3A/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-04%20at%208.18.55%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: <u>STRAW DOGS Year: 1971 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>American director Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH is considered his peak — yet an even wilder albeit initially more subtle and ambiguous bunch exist within the British-set (and extremely British-styled) STRAW DOGS...</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>Where nuclear scientist Dustin Hoffman attempts much needed study-time in an old stone-cobbled house with young wife Susan George, who's more like the locals she grew up around than him... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

british neo noir, colin welland, david warner, del henney, donald webster, dustin hoffman, jim norton, ken hutchison, peter vaughan, sam peckinpah, seventies, susan george, t.p. mckenna, thriller

SAM PECKINPAH'S CONTROVERSIAL BRITISH CLASSIC 'STRAW DOGS'

Title: STRAW DOGS Year: 1971 Rating: ***** American director Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH is considered his peak — yet an even wilder ...

STEVE MCQUEEN IN THE ORIGINAL LEGENDARY CLASSIC 'THE BLOB'

<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/AVvXsEj-gFyynjjRr73r9j2jZ0-A6WRj2nKCPp9NcI53flOb3rV8P13pK04a88STpcQ6kvSHR2rCqyg0NZNCobdr9FsGbWiy6uW7jU6B3beNyT94CQ8LTtK_5bg8E2Cn91lwwEttoFXfukJGNk3vGCwNjyNeOGAywZT0ryMDsJOmv6htUW2ziKVZ1Sm1ld6CQg/s1309/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-05%20at%209.31.48%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gFyynjjRr73r9j2jZ0-A6WRj2nKCPp9NcI53flOb3rV8P13pK04a88STpcQ6kvSHR2rCqyg0NZNCobdr9FsGbWiy6uW7jU6B3beNyT94CQ8LTtK_5bg8E2Cn91lwwEttoFXfukJGNk3vGCwNjyNeOGAywZT0ryMDsJOmv6htUW2ziKVZ1Sm1ld6CQg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-05%20at%209.31.48%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve McQueen in THE BLOB Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>During the prelude of an eclectic and highly successful career, Steve McQueen, billed as Steven McQueen as a guy named Steve, has never played a character so untrusted, underrated or downright frustratingly unappreciated...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>He knows what everyone, including his best girl, has strong, stubborn doubts about. And we're not only supposed to believe that the rugged-looking, world-weary McQueen is a teenager but that he'd actually get taunted, goaded and borderline bullied by the small town by a bunch of car-jerks who look as if <i>they'd</i> follow <i>him</i>...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, cult, dinosaur, exploitation, fifties, horror, irvin s. yeaworth jr., jack harris, james congdon, jazz score, lee meriwether, robert fields, robert lansing, sixties, steve mcqueen, suspense, thriller

STEVE MCQUEEN IN THE ORIGINAL LEGENDARY CLASSIC 'THE BLOB'

Steve McQueen in THE BLOB Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2 During the prelude of an eclectic and highly successful career, Steve McQueen, billed ...

STEVE MCQUEEN LITERALLY STEALS SAM PECKINPAH'S 'THE GETAWAY'

<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/AVvXsEgYZfaDhaKcFYfnihZyx5XmPMo0GcNWvpTUMqTlhVg_xQNCtMyPBkfevqgpmXo52LkbQ3nwYhvgLbZGf7aZU0pcna8-sFzoFZRIGmBkXrqRWitI6qMTtYZOKePYjEvF74j2UFXb8G5xQ-9iQNCyJzrF6dsEwurMA7wC0Zt07pduUUG3_ay4FNq5nga71g/s1189/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%204.13.12%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZfaDhaKcFYfnihZyx5XmPMo0GcNWvpTUMqTlhVg_xQNCtMyPBkfevqgpmXo52LkbQ3nwYhvgLbZGf7aZU0pcna8-sFzoFZRIGmBkXrqRWitI6qMTtYZOKePYjEvF74j2UFXb8G5xQ-9iQNCyJzrF6dsEwurMA7wC0Zt07pduUUG3_ay4FNq5nga71g/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%204.13.12%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The machine-pounding prologue/montage of Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY embodies caged hopelessness of prison life better than most <i>entire</i>ly-<i>set-in</i>-<i>prison</i> prison flicks... plus it's the only sequence centered solely on Steve McQueen as career criminal Doc McCoy sans the uninspired acting of ingenue/partner Ali MacGraw...</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>During a pivotal meeting — tempted by Texas millionaire Ben Johnson after having sex to get Doc paroled and then tortured with envy — she has a vacant expression as opposed to McQueen's sharpened countenance... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, al bright, al lettieri, ali macgraw, ben johnson, bo hopkins, crime, exploitation, heist, modern western, road movie, sally struthers, sam peckinpah, steve mcqueen

STEVE MCQUEEN LITERALLY STEALS SAM PECKINPAH'S 'THE GETAWAY'

Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: **** The machine-pounding prologue/montage of Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY embodies caged hopelessn...

PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

<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><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/AVvXsEheODNJ4z2vRENTVhOQ91F48YtUjWEo2tk6E6xFYRDeWD99blTZ8MELcU0cUF33BuH9REcOYxre44oxeg4EJfC1rySRaVufK6DeK6ZccCM--5Odz7SNxxqMdQj_VKmaUB8t6ntGMZ9By0bn3uEXiDHHyTI-AYEUtg6HAtb0x1txmbuhUOM6rWk_eCCZEg/s1286/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%205.20.08%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheODNJ4z2vRENTVhOQ91F48YtUjWEo2tk6E6xFYRDeWD99blTZ8MELcU0cUF33BuH9REcOYxre44oxeg4EJfC1rySRaVufK6DeK6ZccCM--5Odz7SNxxqMdQj_VKmaUB8t6ntGMZ9By0bn3uEXiDHHyTI-AYEUtg6HAtb0x1txmbuhUOM6rWk_eCCZEg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%205.20.08%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for the media since director Peter Yates's prior chase in his British heist thriller <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/AR.html">ROBBERY</a> was so admired by Steve McQueen, Yates got <i>this</i> gig... </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>But like there is far more than just action throughout the strategically tempered neo noir cadence of ROBBERY, Yates's cop/crime classic BULLITT is also more about words than wheels...</p><span></span>

action, classic, cop, crime, cult, don gordon, felice orlandi, jacqueline bisset, pat renella, peter yates, robert vaughn, simon oakland, sixties, steve mcqueen, thriller

PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: ***** The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for t...

STEVE MCQUEEN'S FINAL LIFETIME BOUNTY FOR 'THE HUNTER'

<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/AVvXsEjnDuTpclX-2JKLjRmYgrzQf9kqb7UHJ8-3UX9KtYyOJjN5YGeaGS5CwZJMuicfW1HnBpsIwpX74HeVW1wLg6tC5z59c5N7XtD6bwhecYMs3r_r0RyzHUsuR0gvNfTZwnu9R4qgmDi40hTESP-0QRLb6JhhMHBimKIRTpzFV6EQ2iAl1l3kWfnYPU1C_g/s1432/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-03%20at%203.37.25%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDuTpclX-2JKLjRmYgrzQf9kqb7UHJ8-3UX9KtYyOJjN5YGeaGS5CwZJMuicfW1HnBpsIwpX74HeVW1wLg6tC5z59c5N7XtD6bwhecYMs3r_r0RyzHUsuR0gvNfTZwnu9R4qgmDi40hTESP-0QRLb6JhhMHBimKIRTpzFV6EQ2iAl1l3kWfnYPU1C_g/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-03%20at%203.37.25%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Steve McQueen began his career as a bounty hunter on TV's WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE and ended as one on the big screen, twice: TOM HORN was also a <i>rebounder</i> tale, and actually resembled a theatrical motion picture while THE HUNTER looks and plays-out like a made-for-TV movie... </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>But a pretty good one as McQueen's real life Ralph 'Papa' Thorson seeks various bond-skippers, each more difficult than the next: In one case the violent powerhouse nephew of McQueen's GETAWAY foe Ben Johnson; and later a literally explosive tractor vs Trans Am cornfield chase... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, ben johnson, biopic, cop, crime, eighties, eli wallach, kathryn harrold, lavar burton, steve mcqueen, tracey walter, tribute

STEVE MCQUEEN'S FINAL LIFETIME BOUNTY FOR 'THE HUNTER'

Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: **** Steve McQueen began his career as a bounty hunter on TV's WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE and ended as ...