JOHN THAW VS TONY SELBY FROM 'THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN'

<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/AVvXsEhEW6DVh2G8jyauM0nabmjnx0b7S33MbdI7YKvfgHVc8-ZYAaL_4yFQQpFyBjbAHwSvrl-qTU4Na5YJBgTL6r52kVzEhoFOlWRC5YibJt9OP-lruDZAD02mQUkeOaMC0w6cm1b1iFyyHYEwiPgX-UstKLoP-opuBZRkLBCVC7EA1FUSxLuxIF5fuITn8j08/s938/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-21%20at%201.15.07%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEW6DVh2G8jyauM0nabmjnx0b7S33MbdI7YKvfgHVc8-ZYAaL_4yFQQpFyBjbAHwSvrl-qTU4Na5YJBgTL6r52kVzEhoFOlWRC5YibJt9OP-lruDZAD02mQUkeOaMC0w6cm1b1iFyyHYEwiPgX-UstKLoP-opuBZRkLBCVC7EA1FUSxLuxIF5fuITn8j08/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-21%20at%201.15.07%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From HIGH SIERRA before to CARLITO'S WAY after, the device of a famously-guilty convict freed on a technicality is nothing new... and the first half of QUEEN'S PAWN has the unapologetic gall of Tony Selby's Johnny Lyon getting Inspector Regan's goat... a whole mountain of them actually...  </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Surrounded by floozy moll Lynn Dearth, pseudo family man Tony Caunter and eventual weak link married couple Christopher Ellison and Judy Monahan, the episode has John Thaw's Regan and Dennis Waterman as Sgt. Carter putting heat on the Lyon's den of thieves; but the most intimidating is a different kind of crook...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, dennis waterman, gangster, john flanagan, john thaw, julian glover, lynn dearth, seventies, sweeney, tony selby

JOHN THAW VS TONY SELBY FROM 'THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN'

Title: THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2 From HIGH SIERRA before to CARLITO'S WAY after, the device of a famously-...

CHRISTOPHER LEE VS NIGEL GREEN IN 'THE FACE OF FU MANCHU'

<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/AVvXsEhM9tKnsvIlTu2T6B55VRCQbk4zNgyX5g7YdScNuXUhc7Qza63rk3w9MYIwBxQ6kkDWcIllEpJcgUisSTg-0HgCDOw0lQH5qbxpZrWshuDwYGpoY4CjSD6CjE6B6fGXV6dUG9flsxN_xwG0EHdEFlRsQDk2LriH3nChUsPq_9NeVIWB2OovSVyx4cz8JA-X/s828/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="828" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9tKnsvIlTu2T6B55VRCQbk4zNgyX5g7YdScNuXUhc7Qza63rk3w9MYIwBxQ6kkDWcIllEpJcgUisSTg-0HgCDOw0lQH5qbxpZrWshuDwYGpoY4CjSD6CjE6B6fGXV6dUG9flsxN_xwG0EHdEFlRsQDk2LriH3nChUsPq_9NeVIWB2OovSVyx4cz8JA-X/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Christopher Lee and Deborah DeLacey in THE FACE OF FU MANCHU Year: 1965 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/08/beatG.html">BEAT GIRL</a>, Christopher Lee played a sleazy nightclub owner where his even more slimy manager berated girls into becoming strippers... and here the always-intense Nigel Green is in opposite camps of Lee's titular FACE OF FU MANCHU: the one and only time as Sax Rohmer's Scotland Yard Inspector Nayland Smith...<br><br>Later replaced by a more classy and dignified Douglas Wilmer, Green's the first and overall best lawman/adversary since he really seems to completely detest Asian mastermind/super-criminal Fu Manchu...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, christopher lee, don sharp, franchise, fu manchu, harry alan towers, howard marion-crawford, jim norton, karin dor, nigel green, sixties, spy, tsai chin, walter rilla

CHRISTOPHER LEE VS NIGEL GREEN IN 'THE FACE OF FU MANCHU'

Christopher Lee and Deborah DeLacey in THE FACE OF FU MANCHU Year: 1965 Rating: *** In BEAT GIRL , Christopher Lee played a sleazy nightclub...

TERENCE YOUNG'S 'SAFARI' WITH VICTOR MATURE & JANET LEIGH

<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/AVvXsEiEXa3gipR3Moalve1GiLlM8_pB_aeEguiuXV9oHi71rtja_fuYFErwqyelGY3VS_LgQWzdmpmIy9unpa05_bHbjBJ8ZqZT_gQXwvFfw1VlcfB7PZIXLQwjTO8RcVuG5wsAfgv18h_aX44VUai8kZUWc_cyGlrYdbhZYhedCTFkWSWTvEnN98ggCNBcOfzW/s2042/SS.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="2042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEXa3gipR3Moalve1GiLlM8_pB_aeEguiuXV9oHi71rtja_fuYFErwqyelGY3VS_LgQWzdmpmIy9unpa05_bHbjBJ8ZqZT_gQXwvFfw1VlcfB7PZIXLQwjTO8RcVuG5wsAfgv18h_aX44VUai8kZUWc_cyGlrYdbhZYhedCTFkWSWTvEnN98ggCNBcOfzW/s16000/SS.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SAFARI Year: 1956 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1956, future James Bond franchise director Terence Young had Victor Mature playing a charming kind of scoundrel, twice... in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2025/11/zarak.html">ZARAK</a> his title character's an Arab bandit, and in SAFARI he's a kind of AFRICAN QUEEN Humphrey Bogart had he been in a revenge-driven b-adventure flick...<br><br>As the worst parts occur before he's hired to be a lion-hunting guide for old rich jerk Roland Culver, engaged to one of the most gorgeous actresses of all time, looking possibly her most gorgeous here... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, british, fifties, janet leigh, john justin, jungle, liam redmond, roland vulver, terence young, victor mature

TERENCE YOUNG'S 'SAFARI' WITH VICTOR MATURE & JANET LEIGH

Title: SAFARI Year: 1956 Rating: *** In 1956, future James Bond franchise director Terence Young had Victor Mature playing a charming kind o...

CORNEL WILDE, DONNA REED & CHRISTOPHER LEE 'BEYOND MOMBASA'

<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/AVvXsEg6OQskJD0q_Hc1Z6Oic6wkY7icnRlk35O2HySQpyI8rN2S88lSUCg7JPnBG1c5NsbDqf0tXS1AyctUNhKaYP-osT-958UeTdOYGxbcysamaGHZctrsStSsdKJLE005ghNWTQer53VKt7qplaOg-fkYfSRaK3D2AWXa611OG5IdZVUSH6kdkFFVm1pOW-L9/s1218/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-27%20at%201.35.12%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OQskJD0q_Hc1Z6Oic6wkY7icnRlk35O2HySQpyI8rN2S88lSUCg7JPnBG1c5NsbDqf0tXS1AyctUNhKaYP-osT-958UeTdOYGxbcysamaGHZctrsStSsdKJLE005ghNWTQer53VKt7qplaOg-fkYfSRaK3D2AWXa611OG5IdZVUSH6kdkFFVm1pOW-L9/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-27%20at%201.35.12%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BEYOND MOMBASA Year: 1956 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The same year and basically the same plot-line of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2025/11/safari.html">Terence Young's SAFARI</a>,, where a scoundrel safari guide romances a lovely sophisticated woman by having nothing in common but both being attractive... <br></p><p><br>And the fact he also has a revenge-driven ulterior motive, in this case his brother having been murdered, BEYOND MOMBASA is slightly edgier since Cornel Wilde's overall rogue attitude are far more intriguing than Victor Mature's...  <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, british, christopher lee, cornel wilde, fifties, george marshall, jungle, leo genn, ron randell

CORNEL WILDE, DONNA REED & CHRISTOPHER LEE 'BEYOND MOMBASA'

Title: BEYOND MOMBASA Year: 1956 Rating: *** The same year and basically the same plot-line of  Terence Young's SAFARI ,, where a scound...

TERENCE YOUNG'S 'ZARAK' WITH VICTOR MATURE & EUNICE GAYSON

<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/AVvXsEgPbdhyX3Cs3MWxMHThwMC1uDy9pHS_aweGJagSCD0YVMLe1VfDsLN3_o_-GY5YyxKJKEzgcGNEXmag1_PEkZsrGne3v5Q-2VvNOu8jmfQXwmjDFW2BW62ZN_7wC7Zx0FmlzamRpJqizj9aJ379dmyeQ6PnHtsqtYDHfTIU1jQBvL8VEaf-Hrknn5W4VRuv/s1510/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-26%20at%201.40.43%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbdhyX3Cs3MWxMHThwMC1uDy9pHS_aweGJagSCD0YVMLe1VfDsLN3_o_-GY5YyxKJKEzgcGNEXmag1_PEkZsrGne3v5Q-2VvNOu8jmfQXwmjDFW2BW62ZN_7wC7Zx0FmlzamRpJqizj9aJ379dmyeQ6PnHtsqtYDHfTIU1jQBvL8VEaf-Hrknn5W4VRuv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-26%20at%201.40.43%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: ZARAK Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Future James Bond directing icon Terence Young made the Arabic Adventure ZARAK so full of bright 1950's technicolor, it's only when the matte paintings of lush background sunsets and deserts are too obvious is it apparent this is basically yet another low-budget British potboiler... but those matte paintings are painted beautifully...<br><br>And with the kind of setup for what would seem a pre LAWRENCE OF ARABIA epic, where a powerful Arab leader father banishes his son Cain-style into the endless sandy wilderness for having an affair with his prettiest of many wives, Anita Ekberg, American import Victor Mature's title character is really a charming anti-heroic bandit straight from any American-shot b-Western...</p><p><span></span></p>

adventure, anita ekberg, bonar colleano, british, eddie byrne, eunice gayson, fifties, patrick mcgoohan, terence young, victor mature

TERENCE YOUNG'S 'ZARAK' WITH VICTOR MATURE & EUNICE GAYSON

Title: ZARAK Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2 Future James Bond directing icon Terence Young made the Arabic Adventure ZARAK so full of bright 1950...

CAROLE GRAY & GEORGE BAKER BUZZ THROUGH 'CURSE OF THE FLY'

<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/AVvXsEiv4VZfmJIsp9Cili1phZU2SsxLPuMK89v1r8h6tNmH5Uv__W7S7qkCmWmiSBfuo4-ptH8Ndt5vL_JOi-z1Evs8r0nld0VCkYYs4BLNQrEIuSd5FsrRnzBseYuqZgDiIZdQLOUMbwKzOKXWBSSmZjq9ry73nhyphenhyphenLmUThSk9EquSMy2dBHa7aPmvFK2hV0MUL/s1892/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-09%20at%205.43.18%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1892" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4VZfmJIsp9Cili1phZU2SsxLPuMK89v1r8h6tNmH5Uv__W7S7qkCmWmiSBfuo4-ptH8Ndt5vL_JOi-z1Evs8r0nld0VCkYYs4BLNQrEIuSd5FsrRnzBseYuqZgDiIZdQLOUMbwKzOKXWBSSmZjq9ry73nhyphenhyphenLmUThSk9EquSMy2dBHa7aPmvFK2hV0MUL/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-09%20at%205.43.18%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Carole Gray in CURSE OF THE FLY Year: 1965 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In one of those cinematic examples of problems you want to have, George Baker's Martin Delambre, grandson of the original FLY David Hedison... whose father and brother are still working on a cure for their son/brother turning into the titular insect... is driving into Toronto, Canada when gorgeous brunette <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/carole%20gray">Carole Gray</a>, wearing only sexy undergarments, runs by his vehicle... and within two more scenes they're married... <br><br>In what's more Alfred Hitchcock's REBECCA than a horror-genre continuation, most of the screen-time has the new wife feeling spooked and uncomfortable in the enigmatic family manor, that's also a laboratory... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

brian donlevy, british, burt kwouk, carole gray, franchise, george baker, horror, jeremy wilkin, michael graham, science-fiction, sequel, sixties, thriller, yvette rees

CAROLE GRAY & GEORGE BAKER BUZZ THROUGH 'CURSE OF THE FLY'

Carole Gray in CURSE OF THE FLY Year: 1965 Rating: ***1/2 In one of those cinematic examples of problems you want to have, George Baker'...

CAROLE GRAY AND WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN 'DEVILS OF DARKNESS'

<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/AVvXsEicX3GlXWdswVqhKJTbvjxpkv76ZC43fCjyN6sk25MGfsj2-Tq9Lbnrq1l6i7fCNt6uQgzjtTfprfQEMHyBUXLEQFpcL2_Fq2pQSE_-Wq4bolIHymw3zDfqsYXFheTgJ2RFDIkVOdquC54VFG9rBOZB-OL2RO7GZxWkjHeuAEoC4tkq54E4KrEK_CDK8qR5/s1498/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-07%20at%2010.50.38%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicX3GlXWdswVqhKJTbvjxpkv76ZC43fCjyN6sk25MGfsj2-Tq9Lbnrq1l6i7fCNt6uQgzjtTfprfQEMHyBUXLEQFpcL2_Fq2pQSE_-Wq4bolIHymw3zDfqsYXFheTgJ2RFDIkVOdquC54VFG9rBOZB-OL2RO7GZxWkjHeuAEoC4tkq54E4KrEK_CDK8qR5/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-07%20at%2010.50.38%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Carole Gray in DEVILS OF DARKNESS Year: 1965 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before playing the benign bombshell in Planet Film's ISLAND OF TERROR, raven-haired/full-lipped beauty <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/carole%20gray">Carole Gray</a> had a sensuously demonic/scene-stealing role in DEVILS OF DARKNESS that, shot by veteran crime-genre director Lance Comfort, is a hybrid of Hammer's DRACULA, Universal's THE WOLF MAN (with a harbinger gypsy woman), and the myriad of Satanic Occult Horrors that were gaining traction during the middle-to-late 1960's... <br><br>The first half being in Comfort's comfort zone with gentlemanly American-actor-in-England William Sylvester (later in Stanley Kubrick's 2001) and upper-class girlfriend Diana Decker (previously in Kubrick's LOLITA) figuring out that their idyllic vacation locale is really a demonic cult led by Hubert Noël's Count Sinistre, channeling Christopher Lee's neck-biter but more broodingly asexual and melancholy... <br><span></span></p>

british, carole gray, diana decker, eddie byrne, hubert hoël, lance comfort, marianne stone, rona anderson, sixties, tracy reed, vampire, william sylvester

CAROLE GRAY AND WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN 'DEVILS OF DARKNESS'

Carole Gray in DEVILS OF DARKNESS Year: 1965 Rating: *** Before playing the benign bombshell in Planet Film's ISLAND OF TERROR, raven-ha...

CAROLE GRAY, EDWARD JUDD & PETER CUSHING 'ISLAND OF TERROR'

<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/AVvXsEj6uUe9AI9XfzyEDX_gG2ajcd1KmfAhTPqFhWGKByuaVX9G3GJvWrmd5a9FeYMQURGXqs8t4Yl7k_n0vFhs_tnRjVsJj-1u4MMI1mTIt6MDyzJF6RGLiRML024OMQwUgvJ9WjaJm7IajIdSZTqaLq-v4Zj46zjHtCO_gKMbPQ4lsVe4NqdLYQzuZGtdZ6_U/s1250/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-06%20at%2011.10.55%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6uUe9AI9XfzyEDX_gG2ajcd1KmfAhTPqFhWGKByuaVX9G3GJvWrmd5a9FeYMQURGXqs8t4Yl7k_n0vFhs_tnRjVsJj-1u4MMI1mTIt6MDyzJF6RGLiRML024OMQwUgvJ9WjaJm7IajIdSZTqaLq-v4Zj46zjHtCO_gKMbPQ4lsVe4NqdLYQzuZGtdZ6_U/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-06%20at%2011.10.55%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1966 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Two horror-genre leading men star in the scientific creature-feature ISLAND OF TERROR, which is normal for British b-movies to pair up equally-important male characters, and a gorgeous woman in-between...<br><br>Full-lipped bombshell <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/carole%20gray">Carole Gray's</a> the affable rich girl girlfriend of Edward Judd, the second bone-doctor sought out by the first of three medical experts in British character-actor (and future STAR WARS general) Eddie Byrne, who, after bluntly glib college professor Peter Cushing has no answers, they all seek Judd (for the solution) and Gray (for daddy's helicopter) to head-off for the titular Irish ISLAND...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, carole gray, creature, eddie byrne, edward judd, horror, james caffrey, niall macginnis, peter cushing, science-fiction, shay gorman, sixties, terence fisher

CAROLE GRAY, EDWARD JUDD & PETER CUSHING 'ISLAND OF TERROR'

Year: 1966 Rating: **** Two horror-genre leading men star in the scientific creature-feature ISLAND OF TERROR, which is normal for British b...

JILL IRELAND IN THE GIRLS-BEHIND-BARS DRAMA 'SO EVIL, SO YOUNG'

<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/AVvXsEhkFx8rfRcnVLhzKHzXTR4Jbbl0dO9WfhDXlIHpHoZW6gEzVgtJEDMeKWlFBiTMXTx5tt4VKH7SuFsa2d60wFCA-k-jSplLNIo0kzaSGNVKXDSivRiY5rVyqIj2G1YhhbGxP62bAx2B4p46w2Fz0z-pL2AQ6Fh6_KkZ-vtzGUd7Xu1bFm8FSdjS8GaZvlPy/s1320/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-25%20at%207.18.41%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFx8rfRcnVLhzKHzXTR4Jbbl0dO9WfhDXlIHpHoZW6gEzVgtJEDMeKWlFBiTMXTx5tt4VKH7SuFsa2d60wFCA-k-jSplLNIo0kzaSGNVKXDSivRiY5rVyqIj2G1YhhbGxP62bAx2B4p46w2Fz0z-pL2AQ6Fh6_KkZ-vtzGUd7Xu1bFm8FSdjS8GaZvlPy/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-25%20at%207.18.41%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jill Ireland in SO EVIL, SO YOUNG Year: 1961 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When framed-for-burglary good girl Jill Ireland is put into isolation in an all-girls reformatory, the already unfitting mellow jazz soundtrack suddenly explodes into a bedlam of vibes and horns, almost seeming like that very music's being pumped into the room to drive her crazy, as she starts grabbing the bars, desperately wanting to get out... <br><br>Contrasting to what begins as a rather tame earlier version of THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER but involving girls... and yes, SO EVIL SO YOUNG is a women's prison movie taking place in more of a boarding bunkhouse... and there are some pretty ingenues including Ireland's JUNGLE STREET co-starlet Gillian Watts: But one scene-stealing inmate gains much-needed momentum during the third act... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

british, colin tapley, ellen pollock, jocelyn britton, john longden, olive mcfarland, sixties, women in prison

JILL IRELAND IN THE GIRLS-BEHIND-BARS DRAMA 'SO EVIL, SO YOUNG'

Jill Ireland in SO EVIL, SO YOUNG Year: 1961 Rating: *** When framed-for-burglary good girl Jill Ireland is put into isolation in an all-gir...

EUGÉNE LOURIÈ DIRECTS WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN BRITAIN'S 'GORGO'

<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/AVvXsEgOCb012SNM_ZOUG1AaaD27e7QLiUtxbZJRLAuDPOrfmGZKCxpXy8ES3aBde0E1MYDDwvkHmrlWo9Z471a_0mncoo-IByiKCdJBhVluV2N8Vbj4WOt2wG6f1qMMgkyRZROfCvHmq5WljD2jMlEJEk_yN2U81GouFkeI9RSLB9LGvTm237xYLlaVzQJhyphenhyphen_ff/s1138/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-24%20at%206.32.30%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="1138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCb012SNM_ZOUG1AaaD27e7QLiUtxbZJRLAuDPOrfmGZKCxpXy8ES3aBde0E1MYDDwvkHmrlWo9Z471a_0mncoo-IByiKCdJBhVluV2N8Vbj4WOt2wG6f1qMMgkyRZROfCvHmq5WljD2jMlEJEk_yN2U81GouFkeI9RSLB9LGvTm237xYLlaVzQJhyphenhyphen_ff/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-24%20at%206.32.30%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GORGO Year: 1961 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While GORGO seems like an unapologetic GODZILLA ripoff, director Eugène Lourié had already made BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, which, released a year before the Japanese GODZILLA/GOJIRA, was a direct inspiration... </p><p></p><p>However, the movie that inspired both creature-features, RKO's classic KING KONG, is what GORGO is primarily based on: a gigantic beast is taken from its remote sea-surrounding-island home, and turned into a corporate carnival attraction... breaking free at one point from a banal photographer's intrusive flashbulb... </p><p><span></span></p>

bill travers, british, creature feature, eugène lourié, martin benson, maurice kaufmann, monster, sixties, william sylvester

EUGÉNE LOURIÈ DIRECTS WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN BRITAIN'S 'GORGO'

Title: GORGO Year: 1961 Rating: *** While GORGO seems like an unapologetic GODZILLA ripoff, director Eugène Lourié had already made BEAST FR...

DAVID NIVEN, PETER SELLERS & ORSON WELLES IN 'CASINO ROYALE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgyuyN-zlYMgY67mWigqqMci60-QtXedCh54-nVdPB9ik5Dx53yrCYEDy88v9cJZyum8S0LmwS7L4XIT5GARSriQE_ux-ImQneBCdOLHL9YdPRjecU9LcYh6C9P0Ox6EEJqWjzqraIETHxKWdrVVuy8vX_k29EI9HcyxxcriDuFLyUtFAzf8kM_8agULEop/s2758/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-29%20at%209.04.23%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="2758" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuyN-zlYMgY67mWigqqMci60-QtXedCh54-nVdPB9ik5Dx53yrCYEDy88v9cJZyum8S0LmwS7L4XIT5GARSriQE_ux-ImQneBCdOLHL9YdPRjecU9LcYh6C9P0Ox6EEJqWjzqraIETHxKWdrVVuy8vX_k29EI9HcyxxcriDuFLyUtFAzf8kM_8agULEop/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-29%20at%209.04.23%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>ORSON WELLES from CASINO ROYALE Year: 1967 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The infamous James Bond Spy Spoof CASINO ROYALE from the much-too-colorful 1960's could be deemed unbelievably awful but with a collection of writers and directors (including <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/val%20guest">Val Guest</a> and John Huston) desperately herding their all-star cast into what wound up resembling a high-priced TV variety show, it IS believable to have turned out so... well... unbelievably awful...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Chopped into vignettes, by far the most awkward has David Niven's retired/reserved James Bond in Scotland (some kind of homage to Sean Connery) being tempted by a castle of gorgeous "daughters" of John Huston's newly-killed M...</p><p><span></span></p>

angela scoular, barbara bouchet, british, comedy, david niven, deborah kerr, james bond, joanna pettet, john huston, orson welles, peter sellers, spoof, spy, ursula andress, val guest, woody allen

DAVID NIVEN, PETER SELLERS & ORSON WELLES IN 'CASINO ROYALE'

ORSON WELLES from CASINO ROYALE Year: 1967 Rating: *1/2 The infamous James Bond Spy Spoof CASINO ROYALE from the much-too-colorful 1960'...

PETER SELLERS OVERTAKES WOODY ALLEN'S 'WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?'

<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/AVvXsEi7mkAukfq4Rq1gCLeRAVcbSjzYcO3vO3iyYcT27aNkEuMDit__YiGCjHVoaA1T6WY-Eb35hWsOa0q_7ufO3KoyePdXFMtFHOc1MRXPQjuIVmVTFOI57mjOPCow5Ua65OOOHdDMvNYLFORqJ09NS6-kNhkMFgrgF8RZWPPso7P0HEGiFbhaTSA7_pOe5sox/s1428/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-24%20at%2011.25.41%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mkAukfq4Rq1gCLeRAVcbSjzYcO3vO3iyYcT27aNkEuMDit__YiGCjHVoaA1T6WY-Eb35hWsOa0q_7ufO3KoyePdXFMtFHOc1MRXPQjuIVmVTFOI57mjOPCow5Ua65OOOHdDMvNYLFORqJ09NS6-kNhkMFgrgF8RZWPPso7P0HEGiFbhaTSA7_pOe5sox/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-24%20at%2011.25.41%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? Year: 1965 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Young standup-comedian Woody Allen got his cinematic kickstart writing the screenplay for what turned out to be a smash hit, especially in England where WHAT'S UP PUSSYCAT? was made and takes place, foreshadowing the womanizer sub-genre of ALFIE while setting up the kind of neurotic-guy jokes that Allen would become famous for...<br><br>Sadly, he has the smallest role here, as the geeky strike-out-king friend of central star Peter O'Toole... the latter who visually fits the role of a handsome fashion magazine editor that every woman in London's Swinging 60's falls for, but being an intense dramatic actor who ignited his fame in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, he's even more miscast for the fumbling-comedy template than the otherwise brilliant comedic actor who basically ruins the movie...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

british, capucine, comedy, paula prentiss, peter o'toole, peter sellers, romy schneider, ursula andress, woody allen

PETER SELLERS OVERTAKES WOODY ALLEN'S 'WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?'

Title: WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? Year: 1965 Rating: ** Young standup-comedian Woody Allen got his cinematic kickstart writing the screenplay ...

PETER SELLERS, BRITT EKLAND & VICTOR MATURE 'AFTER THE FOX'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEik2yYKAeosus31RNiQfBZPjomm1z3tiMeeSDhCjGpE9pnvDoddXutx5iuNnvsaWGRdeAM25WChylhc_CsbsUw_TUivXuuMzb7r2chOqWx1SffFIcsZ1B7vH9Omj8AmCGt4RIsk-nWK4BzKdWHU95wwT9I6dsC04USv_mps2bf8i0oRRy5JazDFTBrCibjV/s1604/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-02%20at%206.25.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2yYKAeosus31RNiQfBZPjomm1z3tiMeeSDhCjGpE9pnvDoddXutx5iuNnvsaWGRdeAM25WChylhc_CsbsUw_TUivXuuMzb7r2chOqWx1SffFIcsZ1B7vH9Omj8AmCGt4RIsk-nWK4BzKdWHU95wwT9I6dsC04USv_mps2bf8i0oRRy5JazDFTBrCibjV/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-02%20at%206.25.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: AFTER THE FOX Year: 1966 Rates: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Victor Mature plays an aged, has-been actor who spends so much time bickering with agent Martin Balsam about doing or <i>not</i> doing a French existential film, you'll simply want things to narrow into what the <i>real</i> movie's about as AFTER THE FOX doesn't mean <i>what follows</i> but <i>who's followin</i>g Peter Sellers' criminal named Fox, who broke out of prison, in disguise, and there's plenty of humor but not enough laughs... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Shame since the cinematography's so gorgeous, a satire on the pretentious side of 1960's French New Wave cinema, ironically directed by 1950's minimalist BICYCLE THIEVES auteur Vittorio De Sica, not allowing either his funny guy (Sellers) or straight man (Mature) enough time together... </p><p><span></span></p>

akim tamiroff, brit ekland, british, comedy, cult, french, heist, jailbreak, maria grazia buccella, peter sellers, post-heist, satire, sixties, victor mature

PETER SELLERS, BRITT EKLAND & VICTOR MATURE 'AFTER THE FOX'

Title: AFTER THE FOX Year: 1966 Rates: *** Victor Mature plays an aged, has-been actor who spends so much time bickering with agent Martin B...

JACQUELINE ELLIS HITCHES JIM O'CONNOLLY'S 'THE HI-JACKERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhkUyJxDz-nWmKEVmKAVXwwmmHpsLuga0zc9o-FvOu8eQVQG2ZIKK7nmgTW7tWAhOEEZ1Hn4sJvxCx2fT-eIeRAkzqNaP29-DPY70br56HK1YmI1Gw23rl_v0CSkNebPdMaAK4-UtQC3kXfEZSju6opD7tlhHbLMqcOISYH4NewX_cMZs3-KRJBMbUw2hUz/s1406/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%2012.52.05%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUyJxDz-nWmKEVmKAVXwwmmHpsLuga0zc9o-FvOu8eQVQG2ZIKK7nmgTW7tWAhOEEZ1Hn4sJvxCx2fT-eIeRAkzqNaP29-DPY70br56HK1YmI1Gw23rl_v0CSkNebPdMaAK4-UtQC3kXfEZSju6opD7tlhHbLMqcOISYH4NewX_cMZs3-KRJBMbUw2hUz/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%2012.52.05%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Title: THE HI-JACKERSYear: 1963 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Writer/director Jim O'Connolly should be well known for two films where the cult status went to someone else: In BERSERK, Joan Crawford gets credit while stop-motion guru Ray Harryhausen and his dinosaurs ruled THE VALLEY OF GWANGI. But O'Connolly's by himself in creating two neat, tight and entertaining B&W post-noir crime flicks derived from the British b-picture company, Butcher's, in the early/mid 1960's...<br> <br> The first being THE HI-JACKERS starring Anthony Booth as an independent truck/lorry driver: victim of the titular gang faking accident scenes on the rural roadside and then stealing the cargo: in his case, cases of Johnnie Walker Red...<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>

anthony booth, british, british neo noir, british new wave, crime, david gregory, derek francis, glynn edwards, jacqueline ellis, jazz-score, jim o'connolly, marianne stone, sixties

JACQUELINE ELLIS HITCHES JIM O'CONNOLLY'S 'THE HI-JACKERS'

Title: THE HI-JACKERSYear: 1963 Rating: **** Writer/director Jim O'Connolly should be well known for two films where the cult status we...

STANLEY BAKER IN CY ENDFIELD'S AIRLINE DISASTER 'JET STORM'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEi6PsOtZW51zPCP_5z-l-EmTH93d0Xi_r6tT2f6rMDafTPIXkIIwVoslFW2OsEJ812wF_8_7sy27fyzLVrYcTJoEY6dy8nIKPQaYiIJGmyXb1ldE1XaLg9Vf5l8IGAK64c192d-aUGeG72TvjyFK5mNs5gDRCt6LpEdTAO17be-W3dUHZSHR-mBgt5TdHVv/s1702/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-01%20at%201.12.07%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1702" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PsOtZW51zPCP_5z-l-EmTH93d0Xi_r6tT2f6rMDafTPIXkIIwVoslFW2OsEJ812wF_8_7sy27fyzLVrYcTJoEY6dy8nIKPQaYiIJGmyXb1ldE1XaLg9Vf5l8IGAK64c192d-aUGeG72TvjyFK5mNs5gDRCt6LpEdTAO17be-W3dUHZSHR-mBgt5TdHVv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-01%20at%201.12.07%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Stanley Baker in JET STORM Year: 1959 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Pink Floyd lyric "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way" could have summed up the entire undercurrent of the British airline-disaster JET STORM, the second collaboration of Blacklisted American director Cy Endfield and Welsh actor Stanley Baker... who became a bonafide movie star the previous year in their action/noir HELL DRIVERS...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span class="Rxerq">Yet here, Baker is second-billed in what's mostly an equal ensemble of passengers that he's the stalwart pilot of, trying to talk down psychotically hardboiled (first-billed) Richard Attenborough, who planted a bomb somewhere that could go off, sometime, because someone on board had killed his daughter in a hit-and-run accident years earlier... <br></span></p><p><span class="Rxerq"><span></span></span></p>

airplane, british, cy endfield, diane cilento, disaster, elizabeth sellars, fifties, jocelyn lane, mai zetterling, patrick allen, paul carpenter, richard attenborough, stanley baker, thriller, virginia maskell

STANLEY BAKER IN CY ENDFIELD'S AIRLINE DISASTER 'JET STORM'

Stanley Baker in JET STORM Year: 1959 Rating: ***1/2 The Pink Floyd lyric "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way" cou...

RICHARD CONTE DRIVES HAMMER'S RACE VEHICLE 'MASK OF DUST'

<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/AVvXsEhmko6Wix_HzMS8Atgk6U2frqkZ6RbG87g8rc-1kvaijBMlGSgkY2YIYPfnvGB9EWXGfSPi6x57U1elC4gprihy5TQNIXX2yPeNuVEJ2pNbvpXLXX8N532A5zUYToCrKWVPHvpUrQ_vCtv4DBUBb94YOsyj7eNghldsXAMM4UqRNQE5R69WXA3SkXxKgxRl/s2312/Screen%20Shot%202025-05-16%20at%204.55.03%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="2312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmko6Wix_HzMS8Atgk6U2frqkZ6RbG87g8rc-1kvaijBMlGSgkY2YIYPfnvGB9EWXGfSPi6x57U1elC4gprihy5TQNIXX2yPeNuVEJ2pNbvpXLXX8N532A5zUYToCrKWVPHvpUrQ_vCtv4DBUBb94YOsyj7eNghldsXAMM4UqRNQE5R69WXA3SkXxKgxRl/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-05-16%20at%204.55.03%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MASK OF DUST Year: 1954 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the greatest titles for a race car movie, Terence Fisher's pre-horror Hammer MASK OF DUST settled stateside for the blandly retooled RACE FOR LIFE, and yet, neither really fit the actual movie...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Starring American crime-genre actor Richard Conte, perhaps <i>Interior Conversations of Exterior Driving</i> would fare better to what's a stagey melodrama with real and/or rear-projected racing shots where Grand Prix drivers fight to survive...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, fifties, george coulouris, hammer films, james copeland, mari aldon, melodrama, race car, terence fisher

RICHARD CONTE DRIVES HAMMER'S RACE VEHICLE 'MASK OF DUST'

Title: MASK OF DUST Year: 1954 Rating: ** One of the greatest titles for a race car movie, Terence Fisher's pre-horror Hammer MASK OF DU...

NEDA ARNERIC SPREADS 'VENOM' IN 'THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST'

<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/AVvXsEjhzanOkC1P0rZLkGQFEj_9vZPfK1AxtHmiQ0rL5_aAnr7zYtgC_hLnXLK9CZptSOGpRPMNAakzdd5iHtbJLOIzyZbth7sUqz9qHCYEtatKwmaYrdb7AxX_zkVMgFsK2sm4Dg0BER4R-U86rv8OshWcybp-MiK0r6p-RlbKHnq04AdE7onjTZWlrOLPFriI/s1042/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="1042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzanOkC1P0rZLkGQFEj_9vZPfK1AxtHmiQ0rL5_aAnr7zYtgC_hLnXLK9CZptSOGpRPMNAakzdd5iHtbJLOIzyZbth7sUqz9qHCYEtatKwmaYrdb7AxX_zkVMgFsK2sm4Dg0BER4R-U86rv8OshWcybp-MiK0r6p-RlbKHnq04AdE7onjTZWlrOLPFriI/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Neda Americ in VENOM Alternate: THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST Year: 1971 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After the grainy, low-budget VENOM aka THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST, British director Peter Sykes landed a job for legendary British horror production Hammer for <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/02/BEAT-hammer-GIRL.html">DEMONS OF THE MIND</a>, with more money, bigger names and continuing the psychological-horror sub-genre, only VENOM is a lot more affective... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Mostly set in a tree-shrouded, shade-soaked, shadow-splintered forest where lovely Neda Arneric (a combination of Sarah Miles and Mia Farrow) plays Anna, a nature-traipsing wild girl with an enigmatic spider tattoo on her shoulder, following bland/handsome journalist Simon Brent around until he winds up, seemingly safe in a local tavern where, once back in the forest, he has more problems connected to a gang of muscularly rural locals liken to the 60's British thriller <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/05/shuttered.html">THE SHUTTERED ROOM</a>, only these guys are no (and there really needed someone intriguing like an) Oliver Reed...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, cult, horror, neda arneric, peter sykes, rural, seventies, sheila allen, simon brent, spiders

NEDA ARNERIC SPREADS 'VENOM' IN 'THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST'

Neda Americ in VENOM Alternate: THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST Year: 1971 Rating: *** After the grainy, low-budget VENOM aka THE LEGEND OF SPID...

MEL BROOKS PRESENTS DAVID LYNCH'S ICONIC 'THE ELEPHANT MAN'

<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/AVvXsEhh-z-YOkkJdTZ9nmgkZ0ZrfHRN6Sqkw1b9Q0ORg2a6dkbOTunWlYiLqzZWpiO5m-Q-Erk2qAzJm3YErGniwUOhZ5gpwhebH7jnga0DzlWeNx_kF_7w8E9X-ftxLvWxtKVpu5UXHB-cP5F-J0S0lDH33YTZN0dHDz-v-c8f6Rv8pqeiQi8Q6locj4tGUxDz/s1786/Screen%20Shot%202025-01-22%20at%201.37.58%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-z-YOkkJdTZ9nmgkZ0ZrfHRN6Sqkw1b9Q0ORg2a6dkbOTunWlYiLqzZWpiO5m-Q-Erk2qAzJm3YErGniwUOhZ5gpwhebH7jnga0DzlWeNx_kF_7w8E9X-ftxLvWxtKVpu5UXHB-cP5F-J0S0lDH33YTZN0dHDz-v-c8f6Rv8pqeiQi8Q6locj4tGUxDz/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-01-22%20at%201.37.58%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Anthony Hopkins in David Lynch's THE ELEPHANT MAN Year: 1980 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After the bleak B&W, nightmarishly bizarre ERASERHEAD, otherwise comedy producer Mel Brooks hired offbeat auteur David Lynch to provide 1880's England the same kind of Industrial-doomed, smokestack-bursting aesthetic...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yet what's expected of Lynch's signature weirdness (before and after), THE ELEPHANT MAN mostly plays out like an against-the-odds high school bully flick... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

anne bancroft, anthony hopkins, british, david lynch, eighties, freddie francis, freddie jones, frederick treves, hannah gordon, history, john geilgud, time period

MEL BROOKS PRESENTS DAVID LYNCH'S ICONIC 'THE ELEPHANT MAN'

Anthony Hopkins in David Lynch's THE ELEPHANT MAN Year: 1980 Rating: **** After the bleak B&W, nightmarishly bizarre ERASERHEAD, oth...

MARY MAUDE WITH JUDY MATHESON IN 'CRUCIBLE OF TERROR'

<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/AVvXsEhkLtdcs-KbUeL7Te_r4KkjY0WlBVbA7JCxq0yC3mjjvEkyL7n9-MtmEnPFaBhzSKtTwMawsw1DDNgoE-uuAUKnkxirJCslFqnWRXg_rk9ykXsp6eD4c4htEHIXTLPIGY5gfsVCQO_y1iloBtEDP933qo0bNi_2JQzjFngkCOi2Yb103hidI-efr2kh8Ody/s2072/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-29%20at%207.09.18%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="2072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLtdcs-KbUeL7Te_r4KkjY0WlBVbA7JCxq0yC3mjjvEkyL7n9-MtmEnPFaBhzSKtTwMawsw1DDNgoE-uuAUKnkxirJCslFqnWRXg_rk9ykXsp6eD4c4htEHIXTLPIGY5gfsVCQO_y1iloBtEDP933qo0bNi_2JQzjFngkCOi2Yb103hidI-efr2kh8Ody/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-29%20at%207.09.18%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Mary Maude in CRUCIBLE OF TERROR Year: 1971 Rates: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Fair and sophisticated, lithe and docile, straight-long-haired classic British beauty Mary Maude was as perfect a vulnerable ingenue in CRUCIBLE OF TERROR (an obvious muse for <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/04/moevil.html">MESSIAH OF EVIL</a>) as she's the sublime target for who seems to be a serial killing sculptor in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/12/lustvamp.html">LUST OF THE VAMPIRE</a> antagonist Mike Raven, looking fitfully wicked enough to provide Mary's character Millie an inevitably nightmarish 11th hour chase...<br><br>Which does occur, kind of... but with a twist... beforehand spending most of the screen-time in an artistically Gothic beachside house where various beauties are either posing or being murdered, ranging from scream queen Judy Matheson as the artist's more faithful yet seductive, devilish (and possibly bisexual) moll to Raven's daughter-in-law Beth Morris, as sexy a blonde as Matheson's a deeply gorgeous brunette...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

beth morris, body count, british, horror, james bolam, john arnatt, judy matheson, mary maude, me me lai, melissa stribling, mike raven, mystery, ronald lacey, seventies, thriller

MARY MAUDE WITH JUDY MATHESON IN 'CRUCIBLE OF TERROR'

Mary Maude in CRUCIBLE OF TERROR Year: 1971 Rates: ***1/2 Fair and sophisticated, lithe and docile, straight-long-haired classic British bea...

BOLTING HAMMER'S UNDERRRATED 'THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEiej6SXAIncnjaRRuNYXqM3TMbG7iyUrTtZ3-_GfRJqN8LEV0KAHQlQ0OnE4NI7x55ltpeewbe60dNWAAUu2Icbmi90NP1g6pxugd_PBnMrFSM0Mxv_TbaOYHpV2LkGjNYphOOBrZVlawYfkYq_F2k4mmsaaS02Z108a7VjNtZoPyQF4LSkMtKGDjnbI4VX/s1618/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-25%20at%2010.01.17%20AM%202%205.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej6SXAIncnjaRRuNYXqM3TMbG7iyUrTtZ3-_GfRJqN8LEV0KAHQlQ0OnE4NI7x55ltpeewbe60dNWAAUu2Icbmi90NP1g6pxugd_PBnMrFSM0Mxv_TbaOYHpV2LkGjNYphOOBrZVlawYfkYq_F2k4mmsaaS02Z108a7VjNtZoPyQF4LSkMtKGDjnbI4VX/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-25%20at%2010.01.17%20AM%202%205.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Peter Cushing with Katy Wild with and Kiwi Kingston The Evil of Frankenstein 1964 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hammer's third Peter Cushing Frankenstein THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN is a kind of throwback to director James Whale's second starring Boris Karloff, but instead of Cushing having a BRIDE he seeks help from a small village's carnival sorcerer/charlatan named Zoltan the way Colin Clive needed Doctor Pretorius... both involving two mad scientists reanimating/controlling the one monster...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here thinned from ice in an old cavern that Cushing and his normal/classy assistant Hans not so accidentally find... with the help of one of the prettiest Hammer starlets: which is saying something for a production company that churned out some of the prettiest faces on the big screen...</p><p><span></span></p>

british, caron gardner, duncan lamont, franchise, frankenstein, gothic, hammer films, horror, james maxwell, katy wild, kiwi kingston, peter cushing, peter woodthorpe, sequel, sixties

BOLTING HAMMER'S UNDERRRATED 'THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN'

Peter Cushing with Katy Wild with and Kiwi Kingston The Evil of Frankenstein 1964 Rates: ***1/2 Hammer's third Peter Cushing Frankenstei...