cult film freak: February 2024

Written by James M. Tate / 2/28/2024 / No comments / body count , cult , donna anderson , edward walsh , horror , judy lang , michael murphy , robert quarry , seventies , vampire

ROBERT QUARRY SINKS HIS TEEH INTO 'COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE'

<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/AVvXsEiOuKRTyfUWhsE8AoYvkFGM67fvdW10fVSiytFOQE0Tjzha0OiH06R6McVdqn84jzXmEQaEbzaPMYKHzvRe0QJDjXx1RF_Cqp5IqNUysk7lxgarHvN-1Ww2mUhKN5hbb6Ewlen-nbLNezQ8FSUoPENSJERv9a0xZf75RPRItsZ-5A1eSJQg26I8LFGwK5a7/s1970/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="1970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuKRTyfUWhsE8AoYvkFGM67fvdW10fVSiytFOQE0Tjzha0OiH06R6McVdqn84jzXmEQaEbzaPMYKHzvRe0QJDjXx1RF_Cqp5IqNUysk7lxgarHvN-1Ww2mUhKN5hbb6Ewlen-nbLNezQ8FSUoPENSJERv9a0xZf75RPRItsZ-5A1eSJQg26I8LFGwK5a7/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE Year: 1970 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>A hybrid of late-1960's leading to early-1970's low-budget exploitation horror and the classic horror genre, COUNT YORGA VAMPIRE balances rough, grainy exterior with an American actor seeming extremely British... so formidably sophisticated yet wonderfully underplayed, he was supposed to replace an aging Vincent Prince for American International Pictures... Consisting of sparse-setup interiors, gothic mansion exteriors and stolen shots of various characters having looped-in conversations throughout daylight Los Angeles, YORGA not only made money but was critically praised... mainly because of Robert Quarry's titular role, more befitting a higher-budgeted, Victorian-era Hammer production...

body count, cult, donna anderson, edward walsh, horror, judy lang, michael murphy, robert quarry, seventies, vampire

ROBERT QUARRY SINKS HIS TEEH INTO 'COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE'

Title: COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE Year: 1970 Rating: **** A hybrid of late-1960's leading to early-1970's low-budget exploitation horror a...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & ANNE JEFFREYS RETURN FOR 'STEP BY STEP'

<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/AVvXsEhZD_bUZjUuD2SlQNPoky1T_bGXQkbgZ5mzjZ022JxnZAF1e8Cn1cbgGSaExmEy5cWmlxb83ZqHSQdshQ_xIZOfOSdBqNEs0DURmKbg72649XjZLBnlCFTiZjbljqVfeukpik0WQForOyomAheW6bebESxD-IOoNZvlT_caJ8ZKmvW1u8cdJz90ZwSiX2bj/s1433/0%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD_bUZjUuD2SlQNPoky1T_bGXQkbgZ5mzjZ022JxnZAF1e8Cn1cbgGSaExmEy5cWmlxb83ZqHSQdshQ_xIZOfOSdBqNEs0DURmKbg72649XjZLBnlCFTiZjbljqVfeukpik0WQForOyomAheW6bebESxD-IOoNZvlT_caJ8ZKmvW1u8cdJz90ZwSiX2bj/s16000/0%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys in STEP BY STEP Year: 1946 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Lawrence Tierney with Anne Jeffreys, the gangster and moll from DILLINGER, return for STEP BY STEP, a programmer that involves crime yet is only partially film noir and, with an endearing mascot dog liken to (but a different breed than) THE THIN MAN franchise, it's a breezy ride... Jeffreys is the newly-hired secretary for a politician working from a beachfront mansion and, in-between top-secret office work, she meets a shirtless Tierney on the beach... after his dog breaks the ice (why most men own them)... and from that point, Tierney has her number...

adventure, anne jeffreys, chase, cold war, film noir or melodrama, forties, james flavin, jason robarts sr., lawrence tierney, myrna dell, mystery, romance, wrong man

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & ANNE JEFFREYS RETURN FOR 'STEP BY STEP'

Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys in STEP BY STEP Year: 1946 Rating: **** Lawrence Tierney with Anne Jeffreys, the gangster and moll from D...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY DEAD AS 'DILLINGER' WITH ANNE JEFFREYS

<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/AVvXsEgLoh_hflrUIs4QUgwtgC2PlLHWzUYTEtUVpPUW_JrsbW4JyqOmbNkAdyEwRyUqjUs4hQGXsXRg9U8EyXRrxHpO_tpqXNoenBBcfkjeP5G3hT_9wr5X-4e4bC7LyAZE7rQhmf24eDqqN8Hdb8CpOQQRrUv8ZsHLsdCXgkG2TIMu8XPdUVZQE3pPEr8F349h/s2076/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-29%20at%206.41.48%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="2076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoh_hflrUIs4QUgwtgC2PlLHWzUYTEtUVpPUW_JrsbW4JyqOmbNkAdyEwRyUqjUs4hQGXsXRg9U8EyXRrxHpO_tpqXNoenBBcfkjeP5G3hT_9wr5X-4e4bC7LyAZE7rQhmf24eDqqN8Hdb8CpOQQRrUv8ZsHLsdCXgkG2TIMu8XPdUVZQE3pPEr8F349h/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-29%20at%206.41.48%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Jeffreys and Lawrence Tierney in DILLINGER Year: 1945 Rating: ****1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>In the 1930's through to the 1960's and 1970's, before and after the Hayes Code, movie gangsters and especially bank robbers were usually adventurous anti-heroes, and in-between, the common crooks and petty thieves were desperate and woefully sympathetic, always in dire need of money to feed themselves or their family instead of just robbing for kicks... In other words, the bad guys were good guys forced to do bad things for... understandable reason...So in what's known as The Lawrence Tierney DILLINGER (compared to the historically accurate Warren Oates DILLINGER) there's a touch of Noir since our man starts out a naive dolt: thrown in prison for attempting to knock-off a corner store to buy his shallow date a few more drinks at a fancy restaurant. Then, behind bars, what he learns — especially from Edmund Lowe as a bank robbing mentor named Specs — turns the real life criminal/folk hero into what The Tierney DILLINGER is: a downright formidable monster in his very own proverbial Monster Movie...

anne jeffreys, biopic, constance worth, dewey robinson, eduardo ciannelli, elisha cook jr., film noir or melodrama, forties, heist, lawrence tierney, lou lubin, marc lawrence, max nosseck

LAWRENCE TIERNEY DEAD AS 'DILLINGER' WITH ANNE JEFFREYS

Anne Jeffreys and Lawrence Tierney in DILLINGER Year: 1945 Rating: ****1/2 In the 1930's through to the 1960's and 1970's, befo...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY PLAYS THE WRONG MAN IN 'KILL OR BE KILLED'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: KILL OR BE KILLED Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The epitome of a crime programmer with a beginning, middle and end, and plenty in-between which includes deadly piranha, mistreated jungle labor, the beautiful yet put-upon wife of an eccentric German land developer and one of the few things befitting the Noir template...Though this is more an action-packed adventure where our hero, Lawrence Tierney, is not his usual DILLINGER vicious (also directed by Max Nosseck), BORN TO KILL sneaky, DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE sociopathic or THE HOODLUM dangerously lethal villain... but in this particular case, as the epitome of a Wrong Man, he's not only wronged but not as angry or cunning as usual: Even after returning to an Opening Soon Nightclub after installing a complicated air conditioning system throughout the two-story joint: which was a bragged-about three month task. He even gets to sing and dance with gorgeous Spanish blonde Leonor Maia, until he learns he ain't getting paid. Of course a loud argument arises – and soon enough the boss is killed by a wraithlike stranger who makes out the window in seconds flat, and it sure seems like  Tierney's Robert Warren is the killer...

action, adventure, film noir or melodrama, forties, george coulouris, lawrence tierney, max nosseck, piranha, romance, rudolph anders, wrong man

LAWRENCE TIERNEY PLAYS THE WRONG MAN IN 'KILL OR BE KILLED'

Title: KILL OR BE KILLED Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2 The epitome of a crime programmer with a beginning, middle and end, and plenty in-bet...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY VILLAINIZES 'NAKED CITY: ONE TO GET LOST'

<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/AVvXsEjChIATj1cBKqk0FKdmJBg1XyqhC03M-mEhmUEeGOufq-bc_IxYD9X7qEyeU_jVQD5wgjBFBFXx_1DNmnbudliKXmC2QXNMurmMSODoRYSTFlGe9wj2Xa2DSrPh2L6t7Foq5UCj1T9V9XDn0HRKi_5VGuX8XRg3FIh9kMtqDG0_owNu-go3NU1OdO1BRMVy/s2058/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-29%20at%205.05.08%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="2058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChIATj1cBKqk0FKdmJBg1XyqhC03M-mEhmUEeGOufq-bc_IxYD9X7qEyeU_jVQD5wgjBFBFXx_1DNmnbudliKXmC2QXNMurmMSODoRYSTFlGe9wj2Xa2DSrPh2L6t7Foq5UCj1T9V9XDn0HRKi_5VGuX8XRg3FIh9kMtqDG0_owNu-go3NU1OdO1BRMVy/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-29%20at%205.05.08%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrence Tierney in Naked City: One To Get Lost Year: 1959 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>By the late 1950's, Lawrence Tierney, who was an RKO leading man ten years earlier, turned up mostly on television... and it was in-between his infamous drunken brawls that had ruined his career and, ironically, made those villainous small-screen guest spots a reality...But he's always good, like this episode of NAKED CITY titled ONE TO GET LOST in which mild-mannered businessman (and another former RKO contract actor) Kent Smith has cheated on his wife with a loose lover who turns up dead and, hours before, said admitted to be dating an elevator operator...

fifties, film noir or melodrama, harry bellaver, james francsiscus, jeanette nolan, john mcintire, kent smith, lawrence tierney, TV

LAWRENCE TIERNEY VILLAINIZES 'NAKED CITY: ONE TO GET LOST'

Lawrence Tierney in Naked City: One To Get Lost Year: 1959 Rating: ***1/2 By the late 1950's, Lawrence Tierney, who was an RKO leading m...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & BETTY LAWFORD IN 'THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE'

<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/AVvXsEhiUb-hHCwW1l7_8YYgwQkftxWEuAeLcSzh52PoanFyT52NN06qvxaCpKUm4DIcK2bdx2EJTRNsvxVya2DuGmC8nIStBS6VoDDxfz93IQCQ13y7Nh43h2x3xYci0rwtlRnH7x6rVam560R23-vvbIreUVbk8ZfWpGm8MVJhZMuSLFFsCJA5ZQHJd0TEVzCH/s2076/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUb-hHCwW1l7_8YYgwQkftxWEuAeLcSzh52PoanFyT52NN06qvxaCpKUm4DIcK2bdx2EJTRNsvxVya2DuGmC8nIStBS6VoDDxfz93IQCQ13y7Nh43h2x3xYci0rwtlRnH7x6rVam560R23-vvbIreUVbk8ZfWpGm8MVJhZMuSLFFsCJA5ZQHJd0TEVzCH/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrence Tierney & Betty Lawford in The Devil Thumbs a Ride Year: 1947 Rates: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>One year after Lawrence Tierney played an affable character with a cute pet dog in STEP BY STEP, he was back to being bad, in this case downright formidable, preferring friendly driver Ted North run over a dog than almost crash with four people on board, including two dames with nowhere to go until meeting Tierney's secretly-on-the-lam criminal Steve Morgan and North as a mundane traveling salesman heading back home to his typical wife...Yet most of THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE pans out like an early version of DESPERATE HOURS, off road after a motorcycle-cop-chase and in a (Hollywood-shot) Oceanside to Laguna Beach beach-house where North's friend left a key while Tierney takes his time, keeping his ace card pocketed from the conveniently useful man and dames...

betty lawford, crime, film noir or melodrama, forties, harry shannon, lawrence tierney, nan leslie, road movie, ted north, thriller

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & BETTY LAWFORD IN 'THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE'

Lawrence Tierney & Betty Lawford in The Devil Thumbs a Ride Year: 1947 Rates: ***1/2 One year after Lawrence Tierney played an affable c...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'FEMALE JUNGLE' WITH JAYNE MANSFIELD

<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/AVvXsEgE3hpnx43lxeOZwrpG9s_y0Oh4A2-YqrYDuLctawWk1SjSw6NJL2CUNAcuYIbCkS14zKgO8QWcKvMOiJQIUCNCfqpi99h4zFlmZ9bJSKPNctcTcD9xdZ1bGcy_tqcdQrA1wSqqE23Ykl8vicuaYldUhwlGhbR5XTkciuS5D1tPwji3Uf7oN5a03RjUct2q/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/AVvXsEgE3hpnx43lxeOZwrpG9s_y0Oh4A2-YqrYDuLctawWk1SjSw6NJL2CUNAcuYIbCkS14zKgO8QWcKvMOiJQIUCNCfqpi99h4zFlmZ9bJSKPNctcTcD9xdZ1bGcy_tqcdQrA1wSqqE23Ykl8vicuaYldUhwlGhbR5XTkciuS5D1tPwji3Uf7oN5a03RjUct2q/s16000/MV5BZmUyYWIxNGYtM2Q5NS00NDQ0LWI3ODAtYmFmYTU5YTljOTE1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODcwODg0OQ@@._V1_.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: FEMALE JUNGLE Year: 1955 Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney Rates: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>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... 
 
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 artist who draws caricature for very little pay...

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 Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney Rates: ***1/2 Iconic tough guy Lawrence Tierney, ten years after his hey-...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY AND JOHN IRELAND IN 'THE BUSHWHACKERS'

<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/AVvXsEhlZsIREvMvscmo1gTHq2ugOKfc8xn1eiYaWD-H8UNcKQmIG8kJd76KUgrwJH5z8zZjHkJp5VRINdQVgU_BzLmgws8xuCbCSX-4LxgueiaaetJc6mflcRNN1-46jJfuYyrJ-sJYFiNR0Hjl5JhGH97IA3aWwvPFuO3vxN5lb3hyphenhyphenAkprJJa5sNDL7Z5Zxll-/s2074/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-28%20at%207.46.22%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1452" data-original-width="2074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZsIREvMvscmo1gTHq2ugOKfc8xn1eiYaWD-H8UNcKQmIG8kJd76KUgrwJH5z8zZjHkJp5VRINdQVgU_BzLmgws8xuCbCSX-4LxgueiaaetJc6mflcRNN1-46jJfuYyrJ-sJYFiNR0Hjl5JhGH97IA3aWwvPFuO3vxN5lb3hyphenhyphenAkprJJa5sNDL7Z5Zxll-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-28%20at%207.46.22%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE BUSHWHACKERS Year: 1951 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>By the time Lawrence Tierney turned up in the b-western THE BUSHWHACKERS, his leading man status was practically finished.. but he's used importantly here, at least in the rudimentary stages: a hired thug actually appearing before crippled land baron Lon Chaney Jr and his lethal daughter who hired Tierney to kill random settlers... Ironically, Chaney's correct about the squatters being more interested in big money than settling down... while Tierney continues bullying more underdogs, including passive leading man John Ireland, a Civil War veteran who, during a historic prelude, promised to never use a gun again...

action, dorothy malone, fifties, john ireland, lawrence tierney, lon chaney jr., myrna dell, wayne morris, western

LAWRENCE TIERNEY AND JOHN IRELAND IN 'THE BUSHWHACKERS'

Title: THE BUSHWHACKERS Year: 1951 Rating: *** By the time Lawrence Tierney turned up in the b-western THE BUSHWHACKERS, his leading man sta...

SCOTT BRADY & JEFF COREY PRISON ESCAPE NOIR 'CANON CITY'

<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/AVvXsEijSPFZq860vvHLfTN8OIZjy9oPr0o8XNSG6ripi_6A5-VQ6h7wb1tDGYVTmDQi3Jbe4O00zfjgEVccxM_MMZYQqOtL8SMB5qE9_r6K4ritZ38ug_wPqfwWBLemsnCexnQ6EId9ZL0p4x_lJ-h1qndC1jQ-Mb8Lq4l6RlHmWH2eo7y9lkdb1P0Fe5DYxcDP/s1804/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%206.40.12%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1804" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSPFZq860vvHLfTN8OIZjy9oPr0o8XNSG6ripi_6A5-VQ6h7wb1tDGYVTmDQi3Jbe4O00zfjgEVccxM_MMZYQqOtL8SMB5qE9_r6K4ritZ38ug_wPqfwWBLemsnCexnQ6EId9ZL0p4x_lJ-h1qndC1jQ-Mb8Lq4l6RlHmWH2eo7y9lkdb1P0Fe5DYxcDP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%206.40.12%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: CANON CITY Year: 1948 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>The semi-documentary/docudrama film noir device can be awkward, always beginning with real glimpses into actual people, including, in this case, the title prison CANON CITY warden Roy Best, along with several actual inmates, being asked questions off-camera by the deep voice of Reed Hadley... so when we reach the fictional story with tough guy actors wanting to break out of a prison they consider unlawful (and that looks pretty awful to the naked eye), it's confusing as to why they'd start off with such outright propaganda for such a crummy place...And Scott Brady's the link between good and evil, being the sole honest prisoner who wants nothing to do with the impending escape he's forced into, and, led by lockup-noir veteran Jeff Corey from BRUTE FORCE, the planning stages are the most intriguing, using creative shadows while the central prisoners are fleshed-out decently enough...

docudrama, escape, film noir or melodrama, forties, prison, scott brady, whit bissell

SCOTT BRADY & JEFF COREY PRISON ESCAPE NOIR 'CANON CITY'

Title: CANON CITY Year: 1948 Rating: *** The semi-documentary/docudrama film noir device can be awkward, always beginning with real glimpses...

SCOTT BRADY WITH PEGGY DOW IN WILLIAM CASTLE'S 'UNDERTOW'

<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/AVvXsEiO2vg_I-dg20R4VDma_INFkcyIrN049tuDujpqsEKYUW3omsqqLt-7uEBrFq8oAj3HXtUbI17RcZSj1mCsY7T5KJe7blXVAjM_jtwhCXAcCDuW4ylLC67d6-DXL2VP0rhtg-QU-dE_YGw1wXrw-ubOeQGpWqFPbAIUOilmZIbh62gat7Y-T7dtz3o8C3JZ/s2196/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-19%20at%207.32.21%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="2196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2vg_I-dg20R4VDma_INFkcyIrN049tuDujpqsEKYUW3omsqqLt-7uEBrFq8oAj3HXtUbI17RcZSj1mCsY7T5KJe7blXVAjM_jtwhCXAcCDuW4ylLC67d6-DXL2VP0rhtg-QU-dE_YGw1wXrw-ubOeQGpWqFPbAIUOilmZIbh62gat7Y-T7dtz3o8C3JZ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-19%20at%207.32.21%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott Brady and Peggy Dow in UNDERTOW Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>Scott Brady, younger brother of tough guy legend Lawrence Tierney, is thrust into a wrong man noir before he even realizes where his feet are planted for director William Castle's UNDERTOW... After talking about purchasing a rural lodge, he meets lovely good-girl Peggy Dow at a casino and then an airplane on the way to Chicago to peak up fiance Dorothy Hart: only the cops know he's an ex-con hated by a casino-owner named Big Jim... who we never actually meet and who he's eventually blamed for killing... as Scott  becomes desperate enough to break into lead cop Bruce Bennett's home, pull out a gun and beg for help...

action, dorothy hart, film noir or melodrama, forties, john russell, peggy dow, scott brady, william castle, wrong man

SCOTT BRADY WITH PEGGY DOW IN WILLIAM CASTLE'S 'UNDERTOW'

Scott Brady and Peggy Dow in UNDERTOW Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2 Scott Brady, younger brother of tough guy legend Lawrence Tierney, is thrust...

DEAN JAGGER AND WILLIAM LUCAS IN HAMMER'S 'X THE UNKNOWN'

<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/AVvXsEiOFYr9YI4BhkslOH6CpAAH7SCLjfSmNcOmcuSvas8maCfYWtZZ8EoanyuJsjPcxLvYHxzN4MrfTMxrFTMwoZ3-stt2YGCuqJtfGs12D5S0xXye0EeMe9iI03fk6Au9UVabhC2m592yMgckIO740Mq5DJSTEhx-HOJAYWgq72kcjUSBAQCw5xR1gtaRpFwW/s2078/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%2012.24.59%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="2078" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFYr9YI4BhkslOH6CpAAH7SCLjfSmNcOmcuSvas8maCfYWtZZ8EoanyuJsjPcxLvYHxzN4MrfTMxrFTMwoZ3-stt2YGCuqJtfGs12D5S0xXye0EeMe9iI03fk6Au9UVabhC2m592yMgckIO740Mq5DJSTEhx-HOJAYWgq72kcjUSBAQCw5xR1gtaRpFwW/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%2012.24.59%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X THE UNKNOWN Year: 1957 Rates: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Hammer's science-fiction/horror hybrid X THE UNKNOWN came out the same year as QUATERMASS 2, sequel to THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT where Brian Donlevy played the inevitable creature-seeking Dr. Quatermass in both... And this production was supposed to be yet another of that franchise, which makes sense since Dean Jagger plays central investigative scientist Dr. Adam Royston with more genuinely cerebral concentration and would have made a far superior, more effective title character... but being a standalone makes X a solidly entertaining thriller about a
 mysterious atomic substance that first kills a soldier (Kenneth Cope) and then a child in a rural wide-open field...

british, creature, dean jagger, fifties, hammer films, horror, kenneth cope, leo mckern, michael ripper, nuclear, science-fiction, william lucas

DEAN JAGGER AND WILLIAM LUCAS IN HAMMER'S 'X THE UNKNOWN'

X THE UNKNOWN Year: 1957 Rates: **** Hammer's science-fiction/horror hybrid X THE UNKNOWN came out the same year as QUATERMASS 2, sequel...

BARBARA PAYTON IN HAMMER'S 'THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE'

<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-GIjwOyNWVbxwxV3p5N2-GpGAhb5rEy0C3wNJCp3bmfeapoC4HZhyphenhyphen2z9FQ7jR7Mlpwd9IAKKu2knh9RTGpsMhP8DZpbyQNOA4wQi9fb4qQO2UtXbTGETFo91ezQHbDlCvXjgSZYAEToxv62WLAt60YHOqRkd-OLLUzH1uqa2d-kLxEX6dg6AsO3cUMVGA/s2148/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%202.14.20%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="2148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GIjwOyNWVbxwxV3p5N2-GpGAhb5rEy0C3wNJCp3bmfeapoC4HZhyphenhyphen2z9FQ7jR7Mlpwd9IAKKu2knh9RTGpsMhP8DZpbyQNOA4wQi9fb4qQO2UtXbTGETFo91ezQHbDlCvXjgSZYAEToxv62WLAt60YHOqRkd-OLLUzH1uqa2d-kLxEX6dg6AsO3cUMVGA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%202.14.20%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE (Spanish Translation: OF THE EVIL GENIUS) Year: 1953 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Before Hammer's Golden Age of Victorian Horror, from DRACULA to FRANKENSTEIN, primary director Terence Fisher got prepared for the latter, involving an ultimately mad-scientist creating the duplicate of lead actress Barbara Payton within a familiar kind of dark laboratory, filled with sizzling electrical wires when the right buttons are pressed... The catch is that Payton's Lena has been in love with central inventor Bill's best friend Robin since childhood, beginning with a prelude of that era where she literally chooses one over the other, and, cut to the present where both grown men are absent of their companion (momentarily back in America), they invent a machine also reminiscent of what would be in THE FLY, placing an object on one enclosure as its copy's created miraculously inside the other, initially tested with a pocket watch and signed check...

barbara payton, british, fifties, hammer films, james hayter, john van eyssen, science-fiction, stephen murray, thriller

BARBARA PAYTON IN HAMMER'S 'THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE'

Title: THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE (Spanish Translation: OF THE EVIL GENIUS) Year: 1953 Rating: **** Before Hammer's Golden Age of Victorian...

BARBARA SHELLEY & WILLIAM LUCAS IN 'THE SHADOW OF THE CAT'

<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/AVvXsEjhH67vdUajYqACC_1dLGjAUL5vCkPnYoLncwomExQEAvdo2BatTOfB0Cxo8CiHJdXC8oYb1id2XVcoBsHAcpOXYZS-UPeIJn2hcu-EapQBePH1BmVx95x7YthAyNWBSpJ8fgq9WaW8IIJXSP9F2EZAwX89lvKe4cI7_ETwUAe6O6piGN4RWoOLYQXGJN7o/s2164/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2010.16.17%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="2164" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhH67vdUajYqACC_1dLGjAUL5vCkPnYoLncwomExQEAvdo2BatTOfB0Cxo8CiHJdXC8oYb1id2XVcoBsHAcpOXYZS-UPeIJn2hcu-EapQBePH1BmVx95x7YthAyNWBSpJ8fgq9WaW8IIJXSP9F2EZAwX89lvKe4cI7_ETwUAe6O6piGN4RWoOLYQXGJN7o/w400-h258/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-25%20at%2010.16.17%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE SHADOW OF THE CAT Year: 1961 Rating: **</td></tr></tbody></table>Hammer Films pitted vulnerable humans against a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy, a mad scientist's monster... yet one of the most formidable is a house cat... who had witnessed the murder of its wealthy caretaker living in a giant mansion, and enough money to be richly inherited... a setting usually befitting theatrical mysteries, only we see the particular killers: also witnessed by the feline, making THE SHADOW OF THE CAT a revenge-driven horror/thriller...And no one... not even the glib and sneaky, twice-removed William Lucas setting various traps... can stop this furry devil, which already caused elderly patriarch André Morell to practically die of a heart attack... yet the titular tabby's just as passively protects the only kindhearted relative in Hammer stock ingenue Barbara Shelley, usually a scream queen only here everyone else is screaming... while the otherwise standard direction and horror cliches (like perfectly-timed lighting and wide-lens perspectives) provides SHADOW a relatively weak bite... compared to if the titular CAT witnessed these horrible people killing each other off instead: after all, they're the true villains, so their inevitable deaths hardly matter anyway.

barbara shelley, body count, exploitation, hammer films, horror, thriller, vanda godsell, william lucas

BARBARA SHELLEY & WILLIAM LUCAS IN 'THE SHADOW OF THE CAT'

Title: THE SHADOW OF THE CAT Year: 1961 Rating: ** Hammer Films pitted vulnerable humans against a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy, a mad scien...

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

<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/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s1606/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdkzOqtMKw5hMN5keaNjS7UFMcosEetHRO8MVq6DaCsxMb7GD7dsbA5nBiJMTeO1XtlqLQr-dVMYVilgdDUpIBkXCpz6_93wTyfjK339p2r2KZEy9Z2bZ4ZcBkb60yl93TFfxOeMI67YTuCoAoIXOqSAHfun_mbXEx_Q0nBNemTop1kmLZZhrv1tlNbt7/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%2011.14.23%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024 </td></tr></tbody></table>Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underline crime flick edge to FINAL WAGER, an otherwise tavern-set romantic-comedy with a TWILIGHT ZONE-style twist of an unlucky gambler who realizes he cannot lose a bet on Christmas: so it's also an upbeat Holiday flick... but without getting lost in sentimentalism despite a financial assistance subplot driving our resilient, likeable lead... Instead, it's his fiance, played by down-to-earth, light-up-a-room beauty Fernanda Romero... owner of the central bar... who keeps the low-budget yet impressively slick and professional-looking indie not only intriguing, but surprisingly unpredictable despite the firmly established fact this lucky-streak-gambler will always win — because he can possibly lose his girl, and from beginning, middle and end, their relationship is what FINAL WAGER truly relies on.

2024, christmas, comedy, fernanda romano, gambling, michael madsen, new, romantic comedy, scott hamm duenas

MICHAEL MADSEN AND SCOTT HAMM DUENAS IN 'FINAL WAGER'

Michael Madsen in FINAL WAGER Year: 2024 Michael Madsen's famous tough guy voice has become even harsher with age, providing an underlin...

RICHARD BASEHART AND MARILYN MAXWELL IN 'OUTSIDE THE WALL'

<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/AVvXsEjhV1yrEpLI63xTY3jFC6qzgrgW7o-2n3Z2MSruGzeq-7UgQaaPZhLFKaMFL27ynGYNDuFy9OqZJVG3VEwgdO63NzKL6yZqjY7tk5Rl1TQ3tKn0i0wblL_GdGQaxS7thFCKIkqIbqm0p2Dt62-MRs6qyMOaPFvtRedl-9OOixnYalRMwPfbj4gWcrxnohOA/s2074/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-20%20at%204.03.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="2074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhV1yrEpLI63xTY3jFC6qzgrgW7o-2n3Z2MSruGzeq-7UgQaaPZhLFKaMFL27ynGYNDuFy9OqZJVG3VEwgdO63NzKL6yZqjY7tk5Rl1TQ3tKn0i0wblL_GdGQaxS7thFCKIkqIbqm0p2Dt62-MRs6qyMOaPFvtRedl-9OOixnYalRMwPfbj4gWcrxnohOA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-20%20at%204.03.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: OUTSIDE THE WALL Year: 1950 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>Crane Wilber's OUTSIDE THE WALL is three movies in one, and the first two are the best: starting with Richard Basehart as Larry Nelson, who had been locked-up in prison from age 15 to 30 for having punched a guard, causeding him to fall to his death, told in expository as Basehart... with the right amount of prowess, naivety and vulnerability... is paroled OUTSIDE THE WALL, quickly learning about dangerous traffic and a crooked bar floozy... And soon he's into the second picture, which has the most potential, featuring bad blonde Marilyn Maxwell as blunt, selfish, shrewd and downright crooked hospital nurse who Basehart's Larry winds up working alongside... although she looks a decade too old, her character has sharp fatale potential, curbed by good girl Dorothy Hart (who just played the crooked dame in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/02/undertow.html">UNDERTOW</a>)...

dorothy hart, fifties, film noir or melodrama, harry morgan, heist, john hoyt, joseph pevney, marilyn maxwell, prison, richard basehart

RICHARD BASEHART AND MARILYN MAXWELL IN 'OUTSIDE THE WALL'

Title: OUTSIDE THE WALL Year: 1950 Rating: *** Crane Wilber's OUTSIDE THE WALL is three movies in one, and the first two are the best: s...

TOM CONWAY AS DUKE MARTIN BRITISH CRIME DOUBLE-FEATURE

<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/AVvXsEiyG8zcu2si6JFcRXJB-P-3r-OcXATPCmxaBuoWhnVHBjlRvQmPhNJPOMmL8R5p8W6INLJqgEE9I411U6phuSl2yZC6q9RT2s1buq8h10uh_lpvMNNMWVkmmFegY_SJGYWjiuF9R9mXL-gNcE1Z0xTMSaCYzm1FFo7x_xcuYJ-0w71XFjJ488jbNtiKW1Xz/s1425/b0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyG8zcu2si6JFcRXJB-P-3r-OcXATPCmxaBuoWhnVHBjlRvQmPhNJPOMmL8R5p8W6INLJqgEE9I411U6phuSl2yZC6q9RT2s1buq8h10uh_lpvMNNMWVkmmFegY_SJGYWjiuF9R9mXL-gNcE1Z0xTMSaCYzm1FFo7x_xcuYJ-0w71XFjJ488jbNtiKW1Xz/s16000/b0.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: BREAKAWAY Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>BREAKAWAY: Former FALCON Tom Conway in the second Tom 'Duke' Martin private eye flicks made in Britain during the film noir 1950's, with the right balance of gunplay, mystery and polite traipsing from various locations... from mansions to airports... gathering clues wherein sidekick Michael Balfour's overweight, ex-crook Barney is the better fighter during the rare times where that kind of thing happens... yet the villain and his henchman (including a young John Colicos) still mean business, having kidnapped beautiful Honor Blackman's beautiful sister, who might be carrying a scientist's secret that everyone's after... Nothing like the tough guy American Humphrey Bogart vehicles from the previous decade, BREAKAWAY is lightweight British yet still desperately urgent, keeping both the dignified snoop and audience on edge... despite knowing almost exactly who the villains are, and why.  <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/AVvXsEhEzhcrWfNc8ltLzz_kXNQPfFgpRcohBYPkFR5oiYlfod1fZCoxGL4OExSq07VD2_CStVH7mokKoPuqn_A_W1ZAzJ4eHQGQJXrwVNMaAeIHGjZJh3WRn8fWYd9S0735rO9czNpzyeWtblYoJmmjG4RoinvSgfwufNW5KQDeyw8vg3FJ_BEAP-YkcmNnuHAA/s1630/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzhcrWfNc8ltLzz_kXNQPfFgpRcohBYPkFR5oiYlfod1fZCoxGL4OExSq07VD2_CStVH7mokKoPuqn_A_W1ZAzJ4eHQGQJXrwVNMaAeIHGjZJh3WRn8fWYd9S0735rO9czNpzyeWtblYoJmmjG4RoinvSgfwufNW5KQDeyw8vg3FJ_BEAP-YkcmNnuHAA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.49%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Colicos in BREAKAWAY </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEhArNqL2tzjwAjULGNOqd7Pcu4hXWWwYZynROIhXXneOhrEWmHMKSVI2nrI8eJIOwjxRwVNpcHHAGoRJJNgIHA2KhMJaFbZbKwOkeq4IQmzaDE-NHiXcGkCB3xcTKvi1fKm-fx9fenrRt-Y_NjHXXUTA-BkdDfxu10ywQMLz6twyv5p7Nld6ViwHz6_NHrP/s1448/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.58%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArNqL2tzjwAjULGNOqd7Pcu4hXWWwYZynROIhXXneOhrEWmHMKSVI2nrI8eJIOwjxRwVNpcHHAGoRJJNgIHA2KhMJaFbZbKwOkeq4IQmzaDE-NHiXcGkCB3xcTKvi1fKm-fx9fenrRt-Y_NjHXXUTA-BkdDfxu10ywQMLz6twyv5p7Nld6ViwHz6_NHrP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.47.58%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEiPCvEtIx2KkZnkFiz2FIl8PRGEYQubG8PryqKx5SaqHA7i0os_Pj0qOJF1y-a_ow-pNdXQmpU9x4EPW8MBxt-y4bcBzBQwZ-m-4_TXJBSgedIiT2YTDkCupgJmZoTMT-9fA6Pjam_wbF7q4o2xap4_2Yr7aJ-5SfdxlIK_3GnLKmgkJYXsFSbRswHQOhQZ/s1468/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.09%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCvEtIx2KkZnkFiz2FIl8PRGEYQubG8PryqKx5SaqHA7i0os_Pj0qOJF1y-a_ow-pNdXQmpU9x4EPW8MBxt-y4bcBzBQwZ-m-4_TXJBSgedIiT2YTDkCupgJmZoTMT-9fA6Pjam_wbF7q4o2xap4_2Yr7aJ-5SfdxlIK_3GnLKmgkJYXsFSbRswHQOhQZ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.09%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Colicos in BREAKAWAY with Tom Conway and Larry Taylor </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgRZ9j1EHHvgSNiVZKVTe4H7It7qkGUh613Y3NkjMQKQuXKFCIIc_Aftm0bHjpFTePDAiUwuKyws-69pvUjf36rVWMcs_B4_rGDWKckLPhvYrKSOZyUejIDgaurqT_VXGE1ccb2-FG17qq5U1wXn2_8nVdSV_vD06AuYZz9c9Juo8eMXlTMwR03WpNqa6AQ/s1420/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.16%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ9j1EHHvgSNiVZKVTe4H7It7qkGUh613Y3NkjMQKQuXKFCIIc_Aftm0bHjpFTePDAiUwuKyws-69pvUjf36rVWMcs_B4_rGDWKckLPhvYrKSOZyUejIDgaurqT_VXGE1ccb2-FG17qq5U1wXn2_8nVdSV_vD06AuYZz9c9Juo8eMXlTMwR03WpNqa6AQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.16%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY with Honor Blackman </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEigqEOIQILCw8U0ifgUfkcipABS1YcMDkFMtj-FZ0aVUKeZFWKrOzCuEU3UgOwD4T9gxtElCI5eM9Kp0RA-8KOEcVN2GpbBqIJVPyMFM-ZLEnX2kXcAgUivV12jz5Otq5F9jkAxkUaZpVm_0BDvDPgJthaxwi1gRuBYYW28bsROQTtiJk-2ExHvkbeK1s4S/s1440/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqEOIQILCw8U0ifgUfkcipABS1YcMDkFMtj-FZ0aVUKeZFWKrOzCuEU3UgOwD4T9gxtElCI5eM9Kp0RA-8KOEcVN2GpbBqIJVPyMFM-ZLEnX2kXcAgUivV12jz5Otq5F9jkAxkUaZpVm_0BDvDPgJthaxwi1gRuBYYW28bsROQTtiJk-2ExHvkbeK1s4S/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.29%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway in BREAKAWAY with Michael Balfour </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjF1F7L6nnTQwwttFkGf9tXaxia_2Z6bRl6nuwIKK6XcWj9LNfjSFYNlC6rAN990VTMvUQziUPA7BcKw3FalI_Yaa1TpnQKl1ebukRPzp1LZL_hfDuodfO8XNj8sqLpkxqj6Xan9U21PCyt9KX2Vu9UW7Pi4IBPY9zK5aENKdWTjkKwn83GAMKV3m1lR4j-/s1460/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.57%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1F7L6nnTQwwttFkGf9tXaxia_2Z6bRl6nuwIKK6XcWj9LNfjSFYNlC6rAN990VTMvUQziUPA7BcKw3FalI_Yaa1TpnQKl1ebukRPzp1LZL_hfDuodfO8XNj8sqLpkxqj6Xan9U21PCyt9KX2Vu9UW7Pi4IBPY9zK5aENKdWTjkKwn83GAMKV3m1lR4j-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.48.57%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honor Blackman in BREAKAWAY with Michael Balfour</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjSjfvHpuVDPqrEu__20cREwVyja1rAjRFo9i4XwxURv2nAX5zRErFxHBAjKU3tQGGYxyyVSJxXCoKphgAi-hF1ZW-couR13DIp7GSF3DajYXsLaVuuZ-5PeV_njf-aDDO5TVw6KE6_wmai-XO0t4RNUj6LFGIUy3L3jim1fzz8vK5iP5C9C5mBeYn4n-hS/s1450/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjfvHpuVDPqrEu__20cREwVyja1rAjRFo9i4XwxURv2nAX5zRErFxHBAjKU3tQGGYxyyVSJxXCoKphgAi-hF1ZW-couR13DIp7GSF3DajYXsLaVuuZ-5PeV_njf-aDDO5TVw6KE6_wmai-XO0t4RNUj6LFGIUy3L3jim1fzz8vK5iP5C9C5mBeYn4n-hS/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.08%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honor Blackman in BREAKAWAY with Tom Conway </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjN2Z04Rw1L-0RqgxEv7H41pliiRMHqZE71-ydOTTSLzoCJPV02HDkEBbQl5DPTbAsqJsOvgSg_2ntfEt8KV7a4YlArmYZZcqa_dOaqIBqSEBbXLeNhndHPNpCV_pGowwUxyS_cWVOs9CerPatUo-0p5un5-33ulH1eZmEpnYbDk3Ji8mKphKOZ1L4cjQHs/s1430/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.15%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2Z04Rw1L-0RqgxEv7H41pliiRMHqZE71-ydOTTSLzoCJPV02HDkEBbQl5DPTbAsqJsOvgSg_2ntfEt8KV7a4YlArmYZZcqa_dOaqIBqSEBbXLeNhndHPNpCV_pGowwUxyS_cWVOs9CerPatUo-0p5un5-33ulH1eZmEpnYbDk3Ji8mKphKOZ1L4cjQHs/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.15%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian Worth and Paddy Webster in BREAKAWAY</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgQTmdWX9bxbVLVIXt9yy4MJ65QYrhLdsfQHcl87W3kmgo1twKAbZvn8HSl5yOo_5AUTGZ1emUBf9fUSC39WNoIuSPcJ6umKf9ZNnIjHrOhNATYiFs0NJ-ioHOqLarVgahx4JLaFzQULgoseQd3_OZyz-_W8gNUD1oxr2KtEa3GrFO77RHJjsHF1oHDNjCy/s1434/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.22%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTmdWX9bxbVLVIXt9yy4MJ65QYrhLdsfQHcl87W3kmgo1twKAbZvn8HSl5yOo_5AUTGZ1emUBf9fUSC39WNoIuSPcJ6umKf9ZNnIjHrOhNATYiFs0NJ-ioHOqLarVgahx4JLaFzQULgoseQd3_OZyz-_W8gNUD1oxr2KtEa3GrFO77RHJjsHF1oHDNjCy/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.22%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From BREAKAWAY</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgQiu032fG7kh4TNphS8FM0UDgI-GVReWvFrnqjTVL2Y58sCm-_j9S4s0de9PB-AZpw09aCPvSw6w7v2rqqsctch0b2heEeEYcSbmzrRlGERhYA0SLr8NhcZDASCXbgzn4YjuDhIgmD_T0FEiELFRARrfoN9fxxRYClwVcEZBKJqyWZb2sTEvGSIrH1aYZD/s1446/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiu032fG7kh4TNphS8FM0UDgI-GVReWvFrnqjTVL2Y58sCm-_j9S4s0de9PB-AZpw09aCPvSw6w7v2rqqsctch0b2heEeEYcSbmzrRlGERhYA0SLr8NhcZDASCXbgzn4YjuDhIgmD_T0FEiELFRARrfoN9fxxRYClwVcEZBKJqyWZb2sTEvGSIrH1aYZD/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.49.29%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From BREAKAWAY</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><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/AVvXsEg4D2Vu-3zxZEDhBEi3TmU5HtdXtMRd8W087FdrsYApLREyZ_l6CmXDZ-TX-NauvJ5QJ4cmcDQdNfeZFhv44bQ72E-0sqAo_66gZp9CN2YQOd3s4hWA1jFiPfiv4whf0q9MzDD6HRCf2P-HtI3XN3miIBH3MQbG2s8jTd0EDg0Z4sm3i3hyEh47zdGN0Ttl/s1898/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.51.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4D2Vu-3zxZEDhBEi3TmU5HtdXtMRd8W087FdrsYApLREyZ_l6CmXDZ-TX-NauvJ5QJ4cmcDQdNfeZFhv44bQ72E-0sqAo_66gZp9CN2YQOd3s4hWA1jFiPfiv4whf0q9MzDD6HRCf2P-HtI3XN3miIBH3MQbG2s8jTd0EDg0Z4sm3i3hyEh47zdGN0Ttl/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.51.54%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: BARBADOS QUEST aka Murder on Approval Year: 1955 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>While the sequel BREAKAWAY is more action-packed, going from a brutal kidnapping to Tom Conway's dapper gumshoe Tom 'Duke' Martin searching for various clues, BARBADOS QUEST is more like reading a book... or watching the reading of a book... with a passive plot about a phony high-priced stamp, called the Barbados Overprint, hence the main title that's also known by a more pulpy, mainstream-sounding MURDER ON APPROVAL... With violence more an afterthought as this original programmer smoothly sets up the characters, where Michael Balfour's comic-relief sidekick Barney is not quite yet a former criminal, but has stolen the fancy car he and his boss drive around in... while the ingenue is sultry, low-voiced Delphi Lawrence,  initially hands-on and helpful, like a partner, until an enigmatic fatale twist (where her persona's more fitting): plus a snooping Scotland Yard inspector while the bad guys are played by returning actors Brian Worth and another thug role for John Colicos... in what seems more like a TV-movie but a nice, tight and intriguing one: with BREAKAWAY its more roving big-screen-style followup.<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/AVvXsEjry7GehnEAo5vCWsNI5AmDapxo-sdelzTg4EwwlH1qw-kwdeF9q1Z51JVV1_A0u1-VqYumf7x9X7hr3eJgmSJ9yhe2IhOVCTyvxWZHovHnjSTw_zdD48SGQFx3te-6oDtCnEc0U14ly89HmNhSclsipCAMwOLb9F2qUD7G6dwbKwTNp4mnv_4NufYwMLWa/s2014/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.59.17%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="2014" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry7GehnEAo5vCWsNI5AmDapxo-sdelzTg4EwwlH1qw-kwdeF9q1Z51JVV1_A0u1-VqYumf7x9X7hr3eJgmSJ9yhe2IhOVCTyvxWZHovHnjSTw_zdD48SGQFx3te-6oDtCnEc0U14ly89HmNhSclsipCAMwOLb9F2qUD7G6dwbKwTNp4mnv_4NufYwMLWa/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.59.17%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delphi Lawrence in Barbados Quest </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEhEnx3RNKLdxgkoCwVTprVWEZnwdWu1Fovnx8M0EhBMhLwq3NipZYGEZjsSHEGABp4Wk_zEXnnl8TuCmAvlQ7LTTrDyGLHitB4c2M7XDnQjVhp2FX6EMiYyRo7E1m0tQliqk6DqyYiU25MBIH1-AlBSzgiDkPY3UFE5te9aLGGH5c2cVaEX2H91T5Jm2Kuz/s1458/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.02%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnx3RNKLdxgkoCwVTprVWEZnwdWu1Fovnx8M0EhBMhLwq3NipZYGEZjsSHEGABp4Wk_zEXnnl8TuCmAvlQ7LTTrDyGLHitB4c2M7XDnQjVhp2FX6EMiYyRo7E1m0tQliqk6DqyYiU25MBIH1-AlBSzgiDkPY3UFE5te9aLGGH5c2cVaEX2H91T5Jm2Kuz/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.02%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgL_WTLfQbvWyu5HOfLxXC1757udRBTqoftWa6zGUpEjlaqXMlDJaY7b8UfgBh1tbT6Xd_KA-a-BYOutaoh0iQKZId8hUQUi70JTOfeWWgoNb4oiyOXN2GqgVi-fJDMa0v_h5_YYc4K1Se3kzJCwOmYWY7qoirLMevZTAStXke8t7wulNR9dTnyquydQrOL/s1450/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_WTLfQbvWyu5HOfLxXC1757udRBTqoftWa6zGUpEjlaqXMlDJaY7b8UfgBh1tbT6Xd_KA-a-BYOutaoh0iQKZId8hUQUi70JTOfeWWgoNb4oiyOXN2GqgVi-fJDMa0v_h5_YYc4K1Se3kzJCwOmYWY7qoirLMevZTAStXke8t7wulNR9dTnyquydQrOL/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.24%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest with Brian Worth & Delphi Lawrence </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEiBgTx-w47KccJGefMJog0YIC0J5PlktsFVUt1sTZgaPxlFc8C2oHvggTtLNGE7yLehdX0LZs3mGFO8IZT_ylxJ5HIo98eF5TfAkFzFdrYDfsQQiWMV4NgwJtjNRhYFuE_uC4rQlqCdE_G6YKxbpFBGVDOTLu83tS1xH2Zl27HI6CDHOOcLWcpHfV95r-m8/s1428/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgTx-w47KccJGefMJog0YIC0J5PlktsFVUt1sTZgaPxlFc8C2oHvggTtLNGE7yLehdX0LZs3mGFO8IZT_ylxJ5HIo98eF5TfAkFzFdrYDfsQQiWMV4NgwJtjNRhYFuE_uC4rQlqCdE_G6YKxbpFBGVDOTLu83tS1xH2Zl27HI6CDHOOcLWcpHfV95r-m8/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.36%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway and Michael Balfour in Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEh5ON63krcNhQVB8k5XDkwxGl-6cvq9EjfUeiU7CNhHIcQzMOQTzLYCQdUy09W7IFSING3QciwtCMbsjC4mv0PjOzssw5MCLGRJusLWGMRdJeDbMByt0lxl7ScZr8uMedTBvY31_P3Oqv2mpxJ0go-T3AqSCb2SRBbY9RPDBgJpG21GDYeDHDfEjWwDTn4g/s1412/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.46%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ON63krcNhQVB8k5XDkwxGl-6cvq9EjfUeiU7CNhHIcQzMOQTzLYCQdUy09W7IFSING3QciwtCMbsjC4mv0PjOzssw5MCLGRJusLWGMRdJeDbMByt0lxl7ScZr8uMedTBvY31_P3Oqv2mpxJ0go-T3AqSCb2SRBbY9RPDBgJpG21GDYeDHDfEjWwDTn4g/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.46%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway in Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEiWTAoEfH5MnrOBIh9EoHOceuWVuh8yUSTUSglQVK3u4a70-EUZ0waFM29sqEKeQp1YeIfGIMHTrm-_ZhuJnFM7BifYkIzvI71MQZHT6zipY90duwTSRBV21o1HynHt_jXPeQd23Jh_K30PsVmM2P5HG6HTIzP0WtlUnaI1I7F-vLzeFTa8qLnJ4nrhffYn/s1970/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.55.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTAoEfH5MnrOBIh9EoHOceuWVuh8yUSTUSglQVK3u4a70-EUZ0waFM29sqEKeQp1YeIfGIMHTrm-_ZhuJnFM7BifYkIzvI71MQZHT6zipY90duwTSRBV21o1HynHt_jXPeQd23Jh_K30PsVmM2P5HG6HTIzP0WtlUnaI1I7F-vLzeFTa8qLnJ4nrhffYn/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.55.46%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Conway and John Colicos in Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEg68MMplhyphenhyphenAlbLofTbF54Tbexuu3uUb7sWDSCQ0Joh2XQL6d6GxOMMykR2lmfQP99cZDYv3r3u-rQjWB8b5wivjEosHJHnvbUJEGXbtF98SlEcOxstSjfxyMFDugk8YNFBI_o2UxLVlXXz-ytbBOu1Ye48dk79pJLPB1nA3Mp0ydGMBU8uf3KtkzCeZAVqv/s1328/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.57.35%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68MMplhyphenhyphenAlbLofTbF54Tbexuu3uUb7sWDSCQ0Joh2XQL6d6GxOMMykR2lmfQP99cZDYv3r3u-rQjWB8b5wivjEosHJHnvbUJEGXbtF98SlEcOxstSjfxyMFDugk8YNFBI_o2UxLVlXXz-ytbBOu1Ye48dk79pJLPB1nA3Mp0ydGMBU8uf3KtkzCeZAVqv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.57.35%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Colicos and Tom Conway in Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEiq56Q5aUX0jjv5diTSa3yo1vvZnzBMGBfVu5Kjf9u9m9tIVC8y_HFA2V1WTTQnfQfhfsJz3tsxpEUgqv1R4sxswAX3VHqJE7FejrABaEqw3Bh4bvjkRb8QRxS63lQVfuy2YwMIv6OojBaJ0gJMBpM8yKHNPcNzu1bM4JYL3d3iubEzYCyaXziDByQMsLjG/s1438/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq56Q5aUX0jjv5diTSa3yo1vvZnzBMGBfVu5Kjf9u9m9tIVC8y_HFA2V1WTTQnfQfhfsJz3tsxpEUgqv1R4sxswAX3VHqJE7FejrABaEqw3Bh4bvjkRb8QRxS63lQVfuy2YwMIv6OojBaJ0gJMBpM8yKHNPcNzu1bM4JYL3d3iubEzYCyaXziDByQMsLjG/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%209.52.54%20PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Barbados Quest</td></tr></tbody></table>

british film noir, crime, delphi lawrence, gumshoe, honor blackman, john colicos, michael balflour, michael balfour, mystery, thriller, tom conway

TOM CONWAY AS DUKE MARTIN BRITISH CRIME DOUBLE-FEATURE

Title: BREAKAWAY Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2 BREAKAWAY : Former FALCON Tom Conway in the second Tom 'Duke' Martin private eye flicks m...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/13/2024 / No comments / action , brian donlevy , bruce bennett , fifties , film noir or melodrama , howard duff , lawrence tierney , peggy dow , thriller

HOWARD DUFF, PEGGY DOW & LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'SHAKEDOWN'

<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/AVvXsEhx1j_XHBzmAut6yLnWR6h2Yj8ACijHO-sRGSzY0VbmmogpaVlo7LBCm-SJBQK0BwccwQ5YubLuDcozoU0XoPZCnyxIowrgcHLSGqYS1wRMTTEVwF4-r8WcdcA4BK6fWrGDQfAV5PbXZorN61elYKDy0iT561xF6dIhJmu9E74C6bCbg1OkLFlE-EkCt2U2/s1740/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.16.05%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1740" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1j_XHBzmAut6yLnWR6h2Yj8ACijHO-sRGSzY0VbmmogpaVlo7LBCm-SJBQK0BwccwQ5YubLuDcozoU0XoPZCnyxIowrgcHLSGqYS1wRMTTEVwF4-r8WcdcA4BK6fWrGDQfAV5PbXZorN61elYKDy0iT561xF6dIhJmu9E74C6bCbg1OkLFlE-EkCt2U2/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%206.16.05%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE SHADOW OF THE CAT Year: 1961 Rating: **</td></tr></tbody></table>In the 1930's James Cagney programmer PICTURE SNATCHER, he plays a photographer who will stop at nothing (even taking contrived shortcuts) to get a sensational photo... meanwhile romancing the newspaper boss's secretary and dealing with the mob.... who he used to work for but in the case of a more upfront and seemingly sophisticated Howard Duff in SHAKEDOWN, it's a blackmail photo of deadly criminal Lawrence Tierney that lands him in hot water... Although he did get that gorgeous secretary Peggy Dow with no effort, who basically landed him the job through Bruce Bennett, running the paper and not trusting Duff's Jack Early no matter how exciting the photos are... from a man almost drowning in a car to Brian Donlevy's ex-mobster getting blown up in one...

action, brian donlevy, bruce bennett, fifties, film noir or melodrama, howard duff, lawrence tierney, peggy dow, thriller

HOWARD DUFF, PEGGY DOW & LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'SHAKEDOWN'

Title: THE SHADOW OF THE CAT Year: 1961 Rating: ** In the 1930's James Cagney programmer PICTURE SNATCHER, he plays a photographer who w...

EDMOND O'BRIEN RACES THROUGH THE CLASSIC FILM NOIR 'D.O.A.'

<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/AVvXsEjdDX4nhHupyCn_IlsmPtDOB0KyUkd8TQwt3HWQ8rFF9IyLMyS6F3yhfUDATt_gHV6xcFeraN7tUDvv0rsFwpeKfzd8PdcqE6RDrR-0ET3GeKIWJ2WTJ8PujA6DA7lRmsNukJnu3Jwg9EcnQhc_UgCPCSScnYcMplgsX1WLOxniwN8g9iFzNTX07lsl-iXa/s2076/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-22%20at%208.43.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="2076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDX4nhHupyCn_IlsmPtDOB0KyUkd8TQwt3HWQ8rFF9IyLMyS6F3yhfUDATt_gHV6xcFeraN7tUDvv0rsFwpeKfzd8PdcqE6RDrR-0ET3GeKIWJ2WTJ8PujA6DA7lRmsNukJnu3Jwg9EcnQhc_UgCPCSScnYcMplgsX1WLOxniwN8g9iFzNTX07lsl-iXa/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-22%20at%208.43.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: D.O.A. Year: 1959 Director: Rudolph Maté Stars: Edmond O'Brien Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>For one of the most literally deadly-serious film noirs ever made, when accountant Edmond O'Brien goes from his L. A. office to a San Francisco hotel for a vacation, there are cheesy wolf-whistles added whenever a beautiful woman walks by, starting at the lobby and then upstairs where a salesman convention rages — but for O'Brien's Frank Bigelow the good times don't roll very long... Although the rudimentary suarez is like a short film all its own, which is what distinguishes D. O. A. since it's really three pictures in one: the first peaking at a noisy jazz club where O'Brien's distracted by gorgeous and rich, blonde jazz-freak Virginia Lee while a hooded mystery man puts something in his drink, causing O'Brien to wake up feeling even worse than the hangover he'd have anyway...

beverly garland, edmond o'brien, fifties, film noir or melodrama, hugh o'brian, jazz-score, laurette luez, luther adler, mystery, neville brand, race against time, thriller, virginia lee

EDMOND O'BRIEN RACES THROUGH THE CLASSIC FILM NOIR 'D.O.A.'

Title: D.O.A. Year: 1959 Director: Rudolph Maté Stars: Edmond O'Brien Rating: **** For one of the most literally deadly-serious film noi...

BURT LANCASTER IN ROBERT SIODMAK'S HEIST-NOIR 'CRISS CROSS'

<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/AVvXsEiketICUjCFEizT3tbg1Ekirxe1zpol5EENLtM4tqVwALfpJE49zwuVB4VkL06Di6KSo4h92lyb0tXvVe2JqWOoaPrB54Wcmg1Hx3lWsRSmrXbzaCVW0QPCcgqaac-8ijgpkWBEug3gT7Ups_m6eys164gFoBYKFhoxBCtbzXRKOb5BVeIJkMDalyjGjb2s/s1030/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-19%20at%203.27.40%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiketICUjCFEizT3tbg1Ekirxe1zpol5EENLtM4tqVwALfpJE49zwuVB4VkL06Di6KSo4h92lyb0tXvVe2JqWOoaPrB54Wcmg1Hx3lWsRSmrXbzaCVW0QPCcgqaac-8ijgpkWBEug3gT7Ups_m6eys164gFoBYKFhoxBCtbzXRKOb5BVeIJkMDalyjGjb2s/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-19%20at%203.27.40%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: CRISS CROSS Year: 1949 Rating: ***</td></tr></tbody></table>Burt Lancaster became a breakout star in director Robert Siodmak's complicated heist-noir THE KILLERS, and after his followup in Jules Dassin's prison drama BRUTE FORCE, he returned with Siodmak in what's a crime thriller more scrambled than hard-boiled... and in CRISS CROSS, like that first film, Lancaster ultimately steals stolen money from a big score...Before that is terrific shadowy-interior atmosphere including a central tavern and various apartment rooms planning a much more basic heist involving armored cars from an armored car company owned by icy villain Dan Duryea...

burt lancaster, dan duryea, film noir or melodrama, forties, heist, robert osterloh, stephen mcnally, tom pedi, yvonne de carlo

BURT LANCASTER IN ROBERT SIODMAK'S HEIST-NOIR 'CRISS CROSS'

Title: CRISS CROSS Year: 1949 Rating: *** Burt Lancaster became a breakout star in director Robert Siodmak's complicated heist-noir THE ...

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

<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/AVvXsEjHRBqJqswGhk0aIR9hsvanxgrcYFAo_1SzFWrFCRr3iMWvZMBURYul4TqPY5Q5VQC6gGcNtr8WD2VLFWV7NiC8cTNVvlY2nZMjuAMtfy38ggt3PfyxdI0_jECJOXDs8PfgvszTSYHUVudFevYFdDfEvBIKgKUxMZd4B8cbwPi9sqjLyv04HX39PDR3zqyA/s2186/111%203%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="2186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRBqJqswGhk0aIR9hsvanxgrcYFAo_1SzFWrFCRr3iMWvZMBURYul4TqPY5Q5VQC6gGcNtr8WD2VLFWV7NiC8cTNVvlY2nZMjuAMtfy38ggt3PfyxdI0_jECJOXDs8PfgvszTSYHUVudFevYFdDfEvBIKgKUxMZd4B8cbwPi9sqjLyv04HX39PDR3zqyA/s16000/111%203%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>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... 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...

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

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

BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2 Director Jules Dassin basically made his own post-war World War II picture, only set in an American ho...

BURT LANCASTER IN HEMINGWAY'S PULP FICTION 'THE KILLERS'

<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/AVvXsEi15dEgwX5yFIl5fXt0Jn_Ymd82iLvH6ROnOXhGBBjrPWvu-m6UyDBiiEvyjnU7w37XEAoGIbOIahzeWPoFDGy1yX7-OY_4sz1JNNoaVZoxCdF2NmDuR8FBZtzSPOt5Usf_zNizEHgj9srS2heR_pvKxDkVeQGJbOFVx1jlqJW5zue8ofXGwEi8tu7FE7Hq/s1795/0%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="1795" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15dEgwX5yFIl5fXt0Jn_Ymd82iLvH6ROnOXhGBBjrPWvu-m6UyDBiiEvyjnU7w37XEAoGIbOIahzeWPoFDGy1yX7-OY_4sz1JNNoaVZoxCdF2NmDuR8FBZtzSPOt5Usf_zNizEHgj9srS2heR_pvKxDkVeQGJbOFVx1jlqJW5zue8ofXGwEi8tu7FE7Hq/s16000/0%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE KILLERS Year: 1946 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Little did Ernest Hemingway know, when he created the very short short-story THE KILLERS, that he was writing a first act of what would become two movies... the <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/10/Killers2.html">second</a> a year after his death and beginning with the same-titled film noir introducing Burt Lancaster, who winds up telling young Nick Adams (Hemingway's autobiographical doppelganger) that he doesn't mind if two hit-men murder him... This happens after a wiseguy duo get information in a small town diner while progressively taking it over, learning where Lancaster's The Swede is hiding out and, as the titular villains, William Conrad and Charles McGraw seem ready to villainize the entire picture... but they'd have to wait until a climactic encore as Jeff Corey and Jack Lambert help fill the backstory-hoodlum roles in-between...

albert dekker, ava gardner, burt lancaster, edmond o'brien, ernest hemingway, film noir or melodrama, forties, jack lambert, jeff corey, phil brown, thriller

BURT LANCASTER IN HEMINGWAY'S PULP FICTION 'THE KILLERS'

Title: THE KILLERS Year: 1946 Rating: **** Little did Ernest Hemingway know, when he created the very short short-story THE KILLERS, that he...

CLARK GABLE, MONTOMERY CLIFT & MARILYN MONROE 'THE MISFITS

<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/AVvXsEjvNaWYp2sJ-Y-bs7ruMFPiq02nYzqAQb4jlu53J0vA3sdk7Abmcns-eH3X_WEfpTpvm9QFoOsWLPu80zVFrHNmgdM3jqqP8F9wKKeVMVfJZnku54Ve1ytvlS2oxjDJ7M1FRtNlqtck8VGMCX_k88f3enc8Buh5dW4EhpnSvEnMngP1vuGRWwpI9tdR5B_p/s2084/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-11%20at%201.44.16%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2084" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNaWYp2sJ-Y-bs7ruMFPiq02nYzqAQb4jlu53J0vA3sdk7Abmcns-eH3X_WEfpTpvm9QFoOsWLPu80zVFrHNmgdM3jqqP8F9wKKeVMVfJZnku54Ve1ytvlS2oxjDJ7M1FRtNlqtck8VGMCX_k88f3enc8Buh5dW4EhpnSvEnMngP1vuGRWwpI9tdR5B_p/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-11%20at%201.44.16%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE MISFITS Year: 1961 Shown: Clark Gable Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>Most famous about THE MISFITS is that Clark Gable died right after filming, and Marilyn Monroe would live only a year or so later, both being their final films and... written by Marilyn's real life husband, playwright Arthur Miller, based on their May/December relationship with Gable as an old tough cowboy instead of scholar (trying to understand this woman as quirky as she's beautiful)... it's simply too crowded... All that's really needed were the two soon-fallen stars... Although Eli Wallach (who ironically lasted until his nineties) has a strategic role as Gable's horse-herding partner, who initially meets the divorcing Monroe's Roslyn (living with experienced mentor Thelma Ritter) in the central town of Reno, Nevada where director John Huston injects his usual sparse B&W into natural dialogue and creative camera angles, much like an Americanized French New Wave film... even taking intentional time before completely revealing Monroe's face...

clark gable, drama, eli wallach, john huston, marilyn monroe, montgomery clift, romance, sixties, thelma ritter, western

CLARK GABLE, MONTOMERY CLIFT & MARILYN MONROE 'THE MISFITS

Title: THE MISFITS Year: 1961 Shown: Clark Gable Rating: ***1/2 Most famous about THE MISFITS is that Clark Gable died right after filming, ...

DUSTIN HOFFMAN ALONGSIDE JON VOIGHT IN 'MIDNIGHT COWBOY'

<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/AVvXsEhDu84Kn72nGi9-ZG-ttp4H0o5oEgvQiNK19p6c2OGxhB2mFBQ0r0uxpZ8v9S95ebdXPFVunxZdUb6RhEbVaotM30dQ7va5E6T_8wiPmFoB_5_9JXLv8r4cesNGGdWHt5iG5Pv80Bx4CX9Qg6_OumcAgSIKOvcES6vDgEzyrGe0npkhjNOY-I0pYPwQ7hUc/s2080/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-24%20at%209.08.34%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="2080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDu84Kn72nGi9-ZG-ttp4H0o5oEgvQiNK19p6c2OGxhB2mFBQ0r0uxpZ8v9S95ebdXPFVunxZdUb6RhEbVaotM30dQ7va5E6T_8wiPmFoB_5_9JXLv8r4cesNGGdWHt5iG5Pv80Bx4CX9Qg6_OumcAgSIKOvcES6vDgEzyrGe0npkhjNOY-I0pYPwQ7hUc/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-24%20at%209.08.34%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in MIDNIGHT COWBOY Year: 1969 Rating: *****</td></tr></tbody></table>A simplistic but mostly naive young man from Texas, Joe Buck, ironically becomes a cowboy after deciding to leave his hometown, headed to the last place that that kind of legendary hero exists, New York City, as every frame of MIDNIGHT COWBOY means something: starting from a sunlit drive-in to a public shower where Joe drops the soap... 
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An obvious nod for an inevitable detour within a disturbing, almost sadistic character-driven story that's also bright and cheerful, particularly when initially centered on Jon Voight's title character, who shows enough humanity and vulnerability in what he's hiding as first-billed sidekick Dustin Hoffman's crippled con-man hustler, Ratso Rizzo, only seems helpful up front...

buddy, classic, drama, drug culture, dustin hoffman, jon voight, m. emmett walsh, oscar, sixties

DUSTIN HOFFMAN ALONGSIDE JON VOIGHT IN 'MIDNIGHT COWBOY'

Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in MIDNIGHT COWBOY Year: 1969 Rating: ***** A simplistic but mostly naive young man from Texas, Joe Buck, iro...

DUSTIN HOFFMAN AND TOM CRUISE CRUSING THROUGH 'RAIN MAN'

<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/AVvXsEhU9Hc613Vi0PqayrXlgJA8nMAihPGNcK4E6C0IB2JqINSLtaLe3eRCSIIauNWnv_MSkE32qoxaFjwgBmkZTygKToqKIIiGwXlVziCCs8tP6UeJdfKICXynxu3Wsq6-ppIED-jOaCCELZB2wO7CmInfutfGteeUNYb0bvXbc8ZHo1MzwyBeJiPHeculJggt/s1360/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-14%20at%209.16.22%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9Hc613Vi0PqayrXlgJA8nMAihPGNcK4E6C0IB2JqINSLtaLe3eRCSIIauNWnv_MSkE32qoxaFjwgBmkZTygKToqKIIiGwXlVziCCs8tP6UeJdfKICXynxu3Wsq6-ppIED-jOaCCELZB2wO7CmInfutfGteeUNYb0bvXbc8ZHo1MzwyBeJiPHeculJggt/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-14%20at%209.16.22%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RAIN MAN Year: 1988 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Dustin Hoffman's RAIN MAN character is intentionally annoying since the Barry Levinson Oscar-winning movie's over two-hours of Tom Cruise... as a great-looking swindler who always has an agenda... struggling to connect with his newly-found older brother, hidden away in a plush hospital and, with autism, can do amazing things mathmatically but doesn't understand the basic concept of saying hello, goodbye or really caring about anything or anybody...Making Cruise equally (though not deliberately) annoying since his Charlie Babbitt, whether angry at his monotone, child-like, uncompromisingly schedule-obsessed sibling or trying to heartfully connect, fails to grasp the extent of his brother’s emotional dissociation... although there's three-million on the line after Charlie's estranged father's death, leaving everything (except the primary 1949 Buick Roadmaster) to Hoffman's Raymond, ironically having no concept of money, something Charlie not only needs desperately but completely lives for...

barry levinson, drama, dustin hoffman, eighties, oscar, road movie, tom cruise, valaria golino

DUSTIN HOFFMAN AND TOM CRUISE CRUSING THROUGH 'RAIN MAN'

RAIN MAN Year: 1988 Rating: **** Dustin Hoffman's RAIN MAN character is intentionally annoying since the Barry Levinson Oscar-winning mo...

DOROTHY MICHAELS STEALS HUGO HASS'S BIZARRE NOIR 'PICKUP'

<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/AVvXsEhlQL1CwtX1jynChlOfUy3mn_u_Ve2-QGN1yHsgHzXfBjkiSu_rI8MMkAsKtbpUyjKSs4lGUT87x2TX-0M0TAYENLc1wuOcGN4HzsMbV91GHv7zm0i-FRz64FIRnx7PhQW98GhtpOMwYCpbJRz9f5C052E7cSKiNPB9Msw9bTNtuROx1GxO8ZvrojqnjEXj/s2066/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%203.33.08%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="2066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQL1CwtX1jynChlOfUy3mn_u_Ve2-QGN1yHsgHzXfBjkiSu_rI8MMkAsKtbpUyjKSs4lGUT87x2TX-0M0TAYENLc1wuOcGN4HzsMbV91GHv7zm0i-FRz64FIRnx7PhQW98GhtpOMwYCpbJRz9f5C052E7cSKiNPB9Msw9bTNtuROx1GxO8ZvrojqnjEXj/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%203.33.08%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beverly Michaels in PICKUP Year: 1951 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>There's nothing better than when a bad blonde steals a film noir, and none have been as bad as Beverly Michaels in director/co-star Hugo Haas's PICKUP, a take on THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE centering on Haas as a well-off, rural railroad-station-owning husband of the beautiful dame that a handsome young employee is after...An aspect/plot that takes second stage to Michaels' non-performance performance, so natural even while practically winking her crooked prowess to the camera while playing mind games with not only husband Haas but young handsome smitten dolt Allan Nixon, who she sums up at one point with: "Never fails... Young, handsome. Broke..."

beverly michaels, desert, fifties, film noir or melodrama, howland chamberlain, hugo hass, jo-carroll dennison, rural, train

DOROTHY MICHAELS STEALS HUGO HASS'S BIZARRE NOIR 'PICKUP'

Beverly Michaels in PICKUP Year: 1951 Rating: **** There's nothing better than when a bad blonde steals a film noir, and none have been ...

MIKE HODGES DIRECTS A KILLER MICHAEL CAINE IN 'GET CARTER'

<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/AVvXsEjSD36OBqqh1u6xPWb1OI7eAeIcZGaUU2xbjYq7vxOIhWHwAHEIl1JP0I9wWAORKPOZFPTa5jZurj2sSIvxQzu7SDbg6-JemYmqxV1AwtX4JNvIHV0ZY_9wdQDLMvfa7bqKoqRCaBtdpQY0eAGcFk5IQnD0uXIoEQqYqdQgtYDEosiyuo3k8YpPLtSB9fu1/s1824/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-02%20at%2012.42.26%20AM-1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1824" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD36OBqqh1u6xPWb1OI7eAeIcZGaUU2xbjYq7vxOIhWHwAHEIl1JP0I9wWAORKPOZFPTa5jZurj2sSIvxQzu7SDbg6-JemYmqxV1AwtX4JNvIHV0ZY_9wdQDLMvfa7bqKoqRCaBtdpQY0eAGcFk5IQnD0uXIoEQqYqdQgtYDEosiyuo3k8YpPLtSB9fu1/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-02%20at%2012.42.26%20AM-1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: GET CARTER Year: 1971 Rating: *****</td></tr></tbody></table>The plot of director Mike Hodges' GET CARTER is simple enough: London-based gangster Michael Caine as Jack Carter returns to the squalor of hometown Newcastle to find out how his brother died, which was supposedly a drunk driving accident that Jack thinks was murder...Easy so far, sure, but how he figures out the truth is more complicated than memorizing Shakespeare in Klingon... And in the opening scene he's reading Raymond Chandler, a nod to the kind of Film Noir that GET CARTER embraces by the myriad of last names spouted in a dizzying barrage that needs close paying attention to...

alun armstrong, british neo noir, british new wave, exploitation, george sewell, godfrey quigley, ian hendry, john bindon, michael caine, mike hodges, petra markham, seventies, thriller, tony beckley

MIKE HODGES DIRECTS A KILLER MICHAEL CAINE IN 'GET CARTER'

Title: GET CARTER Year: 1971 Rating: ***** The plot of director Mike Hodges' GET CARTER is simple enough: London-based gangster Michael ...

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

<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/AVvXsEg8N6sx3lBySCRJll6wj47bkTMR8Nps5QxkLJs3OeRK8Fvuf9o-ufrLfw-oW3Fz7g3zShCLS-9Jd77cPa0i6hylzhCG4B3BW-jOmPRPkeqH3zGBFbJ0tIElupFswoysdHOJZJLLJv0zMrER95YvIp59do0UCOzIJzsdlTH0NLd7v0-gnLWXCLeUxipzksXK/s1502/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.21.31%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8N6sx3lBySCRJll6wj47bkTMR8Nps5QxkLJs3OeRK8Fvuf9o-ufrLfw-oW3Fz7g3zShCLS-9Jd77cPa0i6hylzhCG4B3BW-jOmPRPkeqH3zGBFbJ0tIElupFswoysdHOJZJLLJv0zMrER95YvIp59do0UCOzIJzsdlTH0NLd7v0-gnLWXCLeUxipzksXK/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%204.21.31%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Cheating with the sped-up effect ala Keystone Cops, the hauling-trucks for HELL DRIVERS picks up granite and races it back to the factory as quickly as possible... at breakneck speed taking neck-breaking curves... and newly hired honest ex-con Stanley Baker catches on that he's not very wanted... that is, the boss wants him driving fast, but not too fast... 
 
And if you like breathing, you can NEVER beat the high score of antagonist Patrick McGoohan, looking like a severe, battered, modern-day pirate with a cocky grin behind the dangerous, risk-taking wheel...

action, british film noir/melodrama, british new wave, cy endfield, david mccallum, fifties, herbert lom, jerry stovin, jill ireland, patrick mcgoohan, peggy cummins, sean connery, stanley baker

STANLEY BAKER TRUCKS WITH PEGGY CUMMINS IN 'HELL DRIVERS'

Title: HELL DRIVERS Year: 1957 Rating: **** Cheating with the sped-up effect ala Keystone Cops, the hauling-trucks for HELL DRIVERS picks up...

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Written by James M. Tate / 2/28/2024 / No comments / body count , cult , donna anderson , edward walsh , horror , judy lang , michael murphy , robert quarry , seventies , vampire

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Written by James M. Tate / 2/26/2024 / No comments / anne jeffreys , biopic , constance worth , dewey robinson , eduardo ciannelli , elisha cook jr. , film noir or melodrama , forties , heist , lawrence tierney , lou lubin , marc lawrence , max nosseck

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Written by James M. Tate / 2/18/2024 / No comments / british , creature , dean jagger , fifties , hammer films , horror , kenneth cope , leo mckern , michael ripper , nuclear , science-fiction , william lucas

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Written by James M. Tate / 2/13/2024 / No comments / action , brian donlevy , bruce bennett , fifties , film noir or melodrama , howard duff , lawrence tierney , peggy dow , thriller

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Written by James M. Tate / 2/09/2024 / No comments / anita colby , ann blyth , burt lancaster , film noir or melodrama , howard duff , howland chamberlain , hume cronyn , jack overman , jeff corey , john hoyt , jules dassin , prison , sam levene , yvonne de carlo

Written by James M. Tate / 2/08/2024 / No comments / albert dekker , ava gardner , burt lancaster , edmond o'brien , ernest hemingway , film noir or melodrama , forties , jack lambert , jeff corey , phil brown , thriller

Written by James M. Tate / 2/07/2024 / No comments / clark gable , drama , eli wallach , john huston , marilyn monroe , montgomery clift , romance , sixties , thelma ritter , western

Written by James M. Tate / 2/06/2024 / No comments / buddy , classic , drama , drug culture , dustin hoffman , jon voight , m. emmett walsh , oscar , sixties

Written by James M. Tate / 2/05/2024 / No comments / barry levinson , drama , dustin hoffman , eighties , oscar , road movie , tom cruise , valaria golino

Written by James M. Tate / 2/04/2024 / No comments / beverly michaels , desert , fifties , film noir or melodrama , howland chamberlain , hugo hass , jo-carroll dennison , rural , train

Written by James M. Tate / 2/02/2024 / No comments / alun armstrong , british neo noir , british new wave , exploitation , george sewell , godfrey quigley , ian hendry , john bindon , michael caine , mike hodges , petra markham , seventies , thriller , tony beckley

Written by James M. Tate / 2/01/2024 / No comments / action , british film noir/melodrama , british new wave , cy endfield , david mccallum , fifties , herbert lom , jerry stovin , jill ireland , patrick mcgoohan , peggy cummins , sean connery , stanley baker

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