cult film freak: cy endfield

Showing posts with label cy endfield. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 6/01/2025 / No comments / 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'

<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;">Stanley Baker in JET STORM Year: 1959 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>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...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...

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...

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, british new wave, cy endfield, david mccallum, fifties, herbert lom, jerry stovin, jill ireland, patrick mcgoohan, peggy cummins, sean connery, sidney james, stanley baker, vera day

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...

RAY HARRYHAUSEN EFFECTS JULES VERNE'S 'MYSTERIOUS ISLAND'

<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/AVvXsEjaPoVqCCQoqVRwJJuidhrTe6CbDxj3VqcNwJdVtqerpjB3Tm3Jg8fwY7gXehwZyihGbny2E16eK0xh59RqUfJzNs_qDyZ_DSXRoDLEDOmTELPUFl-9o4FX9ftgbtqrLzrGRYovr09N2zSY-756BqmBViyNGgmg8MyglDhTrxLxEB6q7NJ4AbSJ7YNti5dv/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-30%20at%2011.02.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPoVqCCQoqVRwJJuidhrTe6CbDxj3VqcNwJdVtqerpjB3Tm3Jg8fwY7gXehwZyihGbny2E16eK0xh59RqUfJzNs_qDyZ_DSXRoDLEDOmTELPUFl-9o4FX9ftgbtqrLzrGRYovr09N2zSY-756BqmBViyNGgmg8MyglDhTrxLxEB6q7NJ4AbSJ7YNti5dv/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-30%20at%2011.02.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: MYSTERIOUS ISLAND Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>Known for Ray Harryhausen's giant crab and some kind of lethal chicken, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is really about the characters, and if you're not "way into films" they're mostly no-named actors, bookended by two handsome fellas, the Alpha in Captain Cyrus Harding, played by a tough and swarthy Michael Craig, and the boyish, semi-cowardly yet endearingly helpful Michael Callan as Herbert Brown... 
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These are Northern prisoners from the Civil War who, right from the start, escape during a raging tempest and steal a hot air balloon that's moving back and forth right outside the prison gates, for some reason... as to why the South has this vessel it's never explained...

adventure, beth rogan, cy endfield, gary merrill, michael callan, michael craig, ray harryhausen, sixties

RAY HARRYHAUSEN EFFECTS JULES VERNE'S 'MYSTERIOUS ISLAND'

Title: MYSTERIOUS ISLAND Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2 Known for Ray Harryhausen's giant crab and some kind of lethal chicken, MYSTERIOUS I...

CY ENDFIELD DIRECTS STANLEY BAKER AGAIN FOR 'SEA FURY'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipkIFIXy_Ws0i-El79V6QOqyqkg2oaQAAJ8Zqz5YuRF1IngffGWC15T1lrACa69fioxmJf9CcE0mM880_7ux51tAMFwbkAWtXxSr3_W3nmtDug8Gylhq5ekJ8wjpDDv9Z0VDIejXbTd2p7xK0trXOzi4oXo6ITQ2wH8iIAa3E-z2ZUcZA6ywanfj3P2w=s1299" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="1299" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipkIFIXy_Ws0i-El79V6QOqyqkg2oaQAAJ8Zqz5YuRF1IngffGWC15T1lrACa69fioxmJf9CcE0mM880_7ux51tAMFwbkAWtXxSr3_W3nmtDug8Gylhq5ekJ8wjpDDv9Z0VDIejXbTd2p7xK0trXOzi4oXo6ITQ2wH8iIAa3E-z2ZUcZA6ywanfj3P2w=w400-h306" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 1958 Rating: **</td></tr></tbody></table>Future ZULU collaborators American blacklisted turned British-film director Cy Endfield and his previous years' HELL DRIVERS leading man Stanley Baker basically made the same movie only about a tug boat instead of trucks and with very little action, intrigue or competition... Although the love triangle is more important and upfront as old, somewhat friendly and completely weathered captain Victor McLaglen practically gets youthful (local) Spanish beauty Luciana Paluzzi thrown into his lap by her money-hungry father... Only she, quickly and predictably, falls for the captain's handsome new first mate Baker who, like in DRIVERS, goes from stranger in town to hard-edged over-achiever whose fellow workmates, especially an underused Robert Shaw, wants him knocked down but sadly, given the cast and old school Errol Flynn-style seafront locale, the description of a battle between old and young man for the young lady never pans out, making an extremely misleading title of SEA FURY that's also the literal name of the boat... one that, despite an adventurous 11th hour rescue, runs out of steam before even really gaining any.

adventure, british, cy endfield, fifties, luciana paluzzi, robert shaw, stanley baker, victor mclaglen

CY ENDFIELD DIRECTS STANLEY BAKER AGAIN FOR 'SEA FURY'

Year: 1958 Rating: ** Future ZULU collaborators American blacklisted turned British-film director Cy Endfield and his previous years' HE...

STANLEY BAKER AND MICHAEL CAINE BATTLING THROUGH 'ZULU'

<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/AVvXsEiRkJViiH0hqInRvcHU2oau_ng4DAdAO2HH0IK51lV1--0YCHOCyslQqeR2zREupA6nRHNaS9YKWAANYHehI4Zrf9wIDI809ze5oQ92A5xmNIIjqnJbLXEa6gILo21kmNKSvBwDLXNyCpQl1TF2MiTQrU8t4TUa9swYD_HIWeg8aEYJuf29pBXiTnPf7A/s1688/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-17%20at%205.52.26%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1688" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkJViiH0hqInRvcHU2oau_ng4DAdAO2HH0IK51lV1--0YCHOCyslQqeR2zREupA6nRHNaS9YKWAANYHehI4Zrf9wIDI809ze5oQ92A5xmNIIjqnJbLXEa6gILo21kmNKSvBwDLXNyCpQl1TF2MiTQrU8t4TUa9swYD_HIWeg8aEYJuf29pBXiTnPf7A/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-17%20at%205.52.26%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stanley Baker & Michael Caine in ZULU Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>A cross between LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and THE ODD COUPLE, Cy Endfield's cast-of-thousands ZULU was directed by an American and features a crop of great British actors about their own history — yet the first of several problems is it feels more mainstream American than edgy/offbeat British... Especially some of the performances, seeming more catered to Oscar nominations (particularly Jack Hawkins as a ridiculously passive yet hammy priest) than moving the story forward: about a South African outpost called Rorke's Drift after a massive Little Big Horn style defeat of the British by Zulu warriors...