ROBERT MITCHUM, JANE GREER & WILLIAM BENDIX 'THE BIG STEAL'

<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/AVvXsEj3fcUyEfvqI1EwtS8me7iMjiKICH4cp6mAYgy1LiQmGPPR4uHIqtpGX9OGe38WnYMOQ_QBM310XuLI6eNtVi3URa7ru5aBA_HJ0sqCirSPzbkqk_X93eWO3FNogj3LFocvwTewMH4CTBKfdgLBSrZCvAuxdCgWWAhyphenhyphenGybAYmQoPDSrIMGE0drABk2wG5XB/s2070/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-12%20at%203.06.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="2070" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fcUyEfvqI1EwtS8me7iMjiKICH4cp6mAYgy1LiQmGPPR4uHIqtpGX9OGe38WnYMOQ_QBM310XuLI6eNtVi3URa7ru5aBA_HJ0sqCirSPzbkqk_X93eWO3FNogj3LFocvwTewMH4CTBKfdgLBSrZCvAuxdCgWWAhyphenhyphenGybAYmQoPDSrIMGE0drABk2wG5XB/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-12%20at%203.06.46%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1949 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In one scene towards the end of director Don Siegel's THE BIG STEAL, Robert Mitchum and reunited OUT OF THE PAST starlet Jane Greer are pulled over in their Mexico-traipsing vehicle, and have some involving dialogue with some Spanish locales... and there's finally some chemistry between the two leads... <br><br>Otherwise it's more of an action crime caper that, while semi-decently flowing from one fast-paced scene to the next... and featuring William Bendix as a cop following Mitchum's cop... there's way too many distracting (and cheap-looking) rear-projected scenes during perpetual car chases... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, don siegel, film noir or melodrama, forties, howard hughes, jane greer, patric knowles, ramon navarro, robert mitchum, william bendix, wrong man

ROBERT MITCHUM, JANE GREER & WILLIAM BENDIX 'THE BIG STEAL'

Year: 1949 Rating: **1/2 In one scene towards the end of director Don Siegel's THE BIG STEAL, Robert Mitchum and reunited OUT OF THE PAS...

CORNEL WILDE INVESTIGATING DON SIEGEL'S 'EDGE OF ETERNITY'

<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/AVvXsEjraQu5NSIGTO-wzK8EyZF6eOt68gLKCehXCTLbqnaZBMHb7Kwgk5UdGtawHWvBxRF7_PQDQFwkVy2CqixKfTSXuJTqtRX93vjT2wuOOZs7NxObMG4FiU7Gi3vMY9ezmuyTa9hVwFB-RBah07EEZ_MBMXyCRtuAxH0dTBqIDLod_nfvM0zH1BXfRkiiZzWM/s934/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-13%20at%2012.11.22%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="934" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraQu5NSIGTO-wzK8EyZF6eOt68gLKCehXCTLbqnaZBMHb7Kwgk5UdGtawHWvBxRF7_PQDQFwkVy2CqixKfTSXuJTqtRX93vjT2wuOOZs7NxObMG4FiU7Gi3vMY9ezmuyTa9hVwFB-RBah07EEZ_MBMXyCRtuAxH0dTBqIDLod_nfvM0zH1BXfRkiiZzWM/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-13%20at%2012.11.22%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1959 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Don Siegel's EDGE OF ETERNITY is a Technicolor Neo Noir, a B-Movie Potboiler and a Novelty Film using actual footage of (and being based around) The Grand Canyon... where at the crest, a murder takes place before the body's mysteriously hung in a small rural connecting town's vacant office... where good deputy Cornel Wilde investigates what's also a partial Mystery/Whodunnit...<br><br>Although there aren't many juicy culprits to choose from, the most obvious being otherwise affable bartender Mickey Shaughnessy, who has played so many energetically cutthroat villains, he can't be what he seems (the same going for chain-smoking Canyon custodian Jack Elam)... <br><span></span></p>

action, alexander lockwood, cornel wilde, dabbs greer, don siegel, edgar buchanan, fifties, jack elam, jazz-score, mickey shaughnessy, neo noir, victoria shaw

CORNEL WILDE INVESTIGATING DON SIEGEL'S 'EDGE OF ETERNITY'

Year: 1959 Rating: *** Don Siegel's EDGE OF ETERNITY is a Technicolor Neo Noir, a B-Movie Potboiler and a Novelty Film using actual foot...

WALTER MATTHAU STEPS UP FOR DON SIEGEL'S 'CHARLEY VARRICK'

<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/AVvXsEj9NB5kAX4pMQUIrD7nYVQkcBVc227tprudiA9nxqhbPX1ij6_dvaE8dzVzkpuZHQmD6vxCKHMU4d34_OKkc2KPmStLofG0DnL4U_A1tfgNPyL90jU1UYPBttxO1teAmIwGVwRe0dm8KQNzA7SI04GXR7GdP9LuKjg9ZMkgTD6RcvkO5VNb3cX4Yz6D7BRT/s2374/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-16%20at%208.14.45%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="2374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NB5kAX4pMQUIrD7nYVQkcBVc227tprudiA9nxqhbPX1ij6_dvaE8dzVzkpuZHQmD6vxCKHMU4d34_OKkc2KPmStLofG0DnL4U_A1tfgNPyL90jU1UYPBttxO1teAmIwGVwRe0dm8KQNzA7SI04GXR7GdP9LuKjg9ZMkgTD6RcvkO5VNb3cX4Yz6D7BRT/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-16%20at%208.14.45%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CHARLEY VARRICK Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ironically the opening credits stating A <i>SIEGEL FILM</i> appears beneath a full moon in an otherwise bright-lit/daytime Neo Noir, referring to director Don Siegel, best known for DIRTY HARRY and before that a string of actual Noirs followed by action flicks and a classic sci-fi... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yet CHARLEY VARRICK is his best work, and a great chance for Walter Matthau to stretch beyond comedy while keeping his usual glib persona, mixed with a calloused experience needed as a bi-plane stunt flyer turned crop duster turned one-time bank robber with tightly-wound partner Andy Robinson and getaway driving wife <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2010/03/jacqueline-scott-planet-of-apes.html">Jacqueline Scott</a>, whose minimal screen-time provides a genuinely violent half to this middle-age Bonnie & Clyde... soon narrowed into just Matthau and young brash Vietnam vet Robinson, winding up with mob cash... So crooked banker John Vernon hires deadly tracker-assassin Joe Don Baker... </p><p><span></span></p>

andy robinson, crime, cult, don siegel, felicia farr, heist, jacqueline scott, joe don baker, john vernon, seventies, sheree north, thriller, tom tully, walter matthau

WALTER MATTHAU STEPS UP FOR DON SIEGEL'S 'CHARLEY VARRICK'

Title: CHARLEY VARRICK Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2 Ironically the opening credits stating A SIEGEL FILM appears beneath a full moon in an ot...

DON SIEGEL'S NOIR-THRILLER 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s400/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UBG4paAhvU9p6uHYJRUdnS7ZnxBUflZXGEfjVgNFt6X7j44pxaYjpr5paoQ4xJgfGaU0c58Pz_6CBjQ0jjRr4eYxqmjFBqSyOHrv4SEe1VvjHG09lfMhNrw4GJsD-y8F4HwWlJhznvSluTXtKKIeOTTVb-ekIcAIkwecyDuQpRyKeo8aO18i7A09XPQI/s320/1.jpeg" width="294"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled through antiques from a cruise ship before focusing on the criminals who collect the stuff: the first fifteen minutes a police procedural based on the television series its named after, also known as SAN FRANCISCO BEAT, which was a Bay Area DRAGNET from the early part of the sparse Eisenhower decade, in which this edgy theatrical adaptation came out in the hipper/jazzier crest of...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Eli Wallach, as the crazy, insecure yet sometimes charming lead thug named Dancer, shipped in from Florida with a tan intact, follows subtle "orders" and educationally-inclined etiquette lessons from elder partner Robert Keith... </p><p>Making for a unique and twisted partnership that could be called MY FAIR SOCIOPATH: both (along with "dipso" getaway driver Richard Jaeckel) going from the various oblivious "mules" to either take the hidden heroin, or their lives. Often both...</p><p>And director Don Siegel keeps the suspense on par with the snappy Noir dialog, and there's even some homoerotic stuff thrown in, way, way ahead of its time... THE LINEUP exceeds the very limited series it's loosely derived (there's even a Lineup scene in the beginning to attempt retrofitting the title). Thank Don for that... who fought to make this LINEUP his own way: where the peripheral cops are but a Greek Chorus for the central killers. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, body count, crime, don siegel, drugs, eli wallach, fifties, film noir or melodrama, mary laroche, richard jaekal, robert keith, TV adaptation, william leslie

DON SIEGEL'S NOIR-THRILLER 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2 Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns out being heroin smuggled thro...

STEVE MCQUEEN STARS IN DONALD SIEGEL'S 'HELL IS FOR HEROES'

<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/AVvXsEj1FQdGv77u3lnVLrbn92l7zIrDX6W019CK_icomnfi5HqUq0Diz3GYfwHIaB4IehfIkbKMiOrhdpOZwtgD_GrtMQczeRNVYfgMXtCO1Sru4VGOjEXTMTyAVE9ygcVtrg0G3dREjuCdFuQZtR9A9-MiHcEMe32KjqE9Xp_Tru1NDQfN9fQmdZzHJ9n-Domc/s2048/367404449_1785533148542520_1594276651702841283_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FQdGv77u3lnVLrbn92l7zIrDX6W019CK_icomnfi5HqUq0Diz3GYfwHIaB4IehfIkbKMiOrhdpOZwtgD_GrtMQczeRNVYfgMXtCO1Sru4VGOjEXTMTyAVE9ygcVtrg0G3dREjuCdFuQZtR9A9-MiHcEMe32KjqE9Xp_Tru1NDQfN9fQmdZzHJ9n-Domc/s16000/367404449_1785533148542520_1594276651702841283_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HELL IS FOR HEROES Year: 1962 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When Bob Newhart is doing the same one-way-telephone bit that made him famous enough to have a comic relief role in director Don Siegel's otherwise intense World War II flick HELL IS FOR HEROES, he actually surprisingly fits since there's a reason behind that call... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Otherwise HELL is one of those sparse, brooding and melancholy vehicles... involving a meager troop of eclectic American soldiers, ironically having to do what the anemic production was actually saddled with — stretch a little into a lot, herein providing only a few men to do the job of an entire platoon, and with very limited special effects or extras...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bob newhart, bobby darin, don siegel, harry guardino, james coburn, mike kellin, nick adams, steve mcqueen, world war II

STEVE MCQUEEN STARS IN DONALD SIEGEL'S 'HELL IS FOR HEROES'

Title: HELL IS FOR HEROES Year: 1962 Rating: *** When Bob Newhart is doing the same one-way-telephone bit that made him famous enough to hav...

BURT REYNOLDS AND DAVID NIVEN IN DON SIEGEL'S 'ROUGH CUT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjWSlt0hUJfUFHuavutZlH4Oat0Rvrrp30b_z0myehRtE5eRUlXRO-5R6JjEymQzvE7IxVP8FDG1440I7FqcER5CgiVKmskF8ZYR2v0gfQTURlcVN7xqXDB59bfetR3xGu8vj68n9wYMlmTVdPqIsKIPk1ArE213nC3rc6w676Vcli_cHd9Ain3VjSmjw/s1962/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-04%20at%208.13.12%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSlt0hUJfUFHuavutZlH4Oat0Rvrrp30b_z0myehRtE5eRUlXRO-5R6JjEymQzvE7IxVP8FDG1440I7FqcER5CgiVKmskF8ZYR2v0gfQTURlcVN7xqXDB59bfetR3xGu8vj68n9wYMlmTVdPqIsKIPk1ArE213nC3rc6w676Vcli_cHd9Ain3VjSmjw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-04%20at%208.13.12%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Asa Maynor in MAN BEAST Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For poor David Niven, ROUGH CUT turned out to be the second heist comedy centering on diamond thieves where he gets lost in the mix: First of course was THE PINK PANTHER as the charming, sophisticated criminal with lawman Peter Sellers historically stealing the show, and here Niven himself is the dogged constable yet the entire picture belongs to Burt Reynolds and Lesley-Anne Down playing the suave burglars...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And although <i>mostly</i> directed by American edgy auteur Don Siegel and starring the American box office champ Reynolds, this British-set CUT has the witty pace and polished style of that country's crime-comedy genre including polite expository banter, lavish interior sets and plenty of champagne...</p><p><span></span></p>

andrew ray, british, burt reynolds, caper, con man, david niven, don siegel, heist, lesley-anne down, sue lloyd, susan littler, wolf kahler

BURT REYNOLDS AND DAVID NIVEN IN DON SIEGEL'S 'ROUGH CUT'

Asa Maynor in MAN BEAST Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2 For poor David Niven, ROUGH CUT turned out to be the second heist comedy centering on diamo...

DON SIEGEL'S VERSION OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S 'THE KILLERS'

<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/AVvXsEgb2c7L1CNGSRYClg2aosrvnBJASPWmgmQcSyBhOaC4BCIE6piQZeNDfy_5F8K5IP5fQpv2jxMrBqNrK5c4BwyLfm3KZ5ti44hyYAh0h8aWVuRiGq97i_irJoLWueYF9WZRu4Rot8YA2pFGd9gvMfOZiu0gaP2t5udYmJNhoIJqwL_5F_HINI-IDLWeMw/s1233/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="1233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2c7L1CNGSRYClg2aosrvnBJASPWmgmQcSyBhOaC4BCIE6piQZeNDfy_5F8K5IP5fQpv2jxMrBqNrK5c4BwyLfm3KZ5ti44hyYAh0h8aWVuRiGq97i_irJoLWueYF9WZRu4Rot8YA2pFGd9gvMfOZiu0gaP2t5udYmJNhoIJqwL_5F_HINI-IDLWeMw/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE KILLERS Year: 1964 Rating: **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ernest Hemingway's 1927 short-story THE KILLERS is indeed quite short, mostly taking place in a diner where two hit men are looking for a renegade who that tale's protagonist, Nick Adams, works with at the small town's gas station... also the prologue to the 1946 Film Noir introducing Burt Lancaster... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This 1964 Don Siegel version couldn't be more different, deleting the central diner scene (from the book and previous film) and was originally intended for television: no surprise given the somewhat mundane framing, noticeable studio sets (more inexpensive than stylized), soapy dialogue and lack of blood — THE KILLERS is not violent enough a theatrical thriller and too intensely lethal for the small screen... <br></p><span></span>

angie dickinson, claude akins, clu gulager, crime, don siegel, ernest hemingway, john cassavetes, lee marvin, norman fell, race car, robert phillips, ronald reagan, sixties, thriller

DON SIEGEL'S VERSION OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S 'THE KILLERS'

Title: THE KILLERS Year: 1964 Rating: **** Ernest Hemingway's 1927 short-story THE KILLERS is indeed quite short, mostly taking place i...

CLINT EASTWOOD STARS IN DON SIEGEL'S 'ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEh0NMPbGR7g33hXOhOea16iVFXLDy79HlkFJyKKA-qTNKkfvlNELXZ--xFhSETJFBPHVaxjlT1osuyYCbj7bWX-TWtucyIgc508bEufPEhv_eHlmnkzktZuUntqkaxR6BkUY3QrRhtdDq6RbCrwOXB-NjH0O9h-kY4KmrXQcasdviU_5rVkxHZzGaKiBg/s1597/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-17%20at%205.31.47%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NMPbGR7g33hXOhOea16iVFXLDy79HlkFJyKKA-qTNKkfvlNELXZ--xFhSETJFBPHVaxjlT1osuyYCbj7bWX-TWtucyIgc508bEufPEhv_eHlmnkzktZuUntqkaxR6BkUY3QrRhtdDq6RbCrwOXB-NjH0O9h-kY4KmrXQcasdviU_5rVkxHZzGaKiBg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-17%20at%205.31.47%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Clint Eastwood in ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ Year: 1979 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Don Siegel's ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ starred his most famous actor/collaborator, Clint Eastwood, and it turns out the picture seems more Eastwood-directed because of the rather safe, mainstream appeal...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For instance, once Eastwood as new inmate Frank Morris... the real life prisoner who actually escaped with two brothers and were never heard of since... enters the infamous rock island as horror movie lightning lights up the dark Alcatraz interior, the upcoming sequences has Clint's character meeting friendly inmates and, with one major exception, the most notorious prison in American history doesn't seem all that awful...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, bruce m. fischer, clint eastwood, don siegel, escape, exploitation, fred ward, jack thibeau, larry hankin, patrick mcgoohan, paul benjamin, prison, roberts blossom, seventies

CLINT EASTWOOD STARS IN DON SIEGEL'S 'ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ'

Clint Eastwood in ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ Year: 1979 Rating: ***1/2 Don Siegel's ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ starred his most famous actor/collabo...

CLINT EASTWOOD WITH JESSICA WALTER IN 'PLAY MISTY FOR ME'

<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/AVvXsEg3LZ4I4jO_fy_AvsdL0QsmxbcOTFLkChnIjKomE346JGCqX9SecvOiFTzE8oI0lbLxToEkBapxD9ofDUbOCV4cqb7Ucj0r0zamTSnpttySs3jNSrTb9TTd0WLLxzG5Ifl0Xx_1CcKUd3PAFNwOh3XwLsXWh0DHQQ26LDqokwVyUjcTsSgK-TRiYlOxIdlL/s2232/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-27%20at%203.43.55%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="2232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LZ4I4jO_fy_AvsdL0QsmxbcOTFLkChnIjKomE346JGCqX9SecvOiFTzE8oI0lbLxToEkBapxD9ofDUbOCV4cqb7Ucj0r0zamTSnpttySs3jNSrTb9TTd0WLLxzG5Ifl0Xx_1CcKUd3PAFNwOh3XwLsXWh0DHQQ26LDqokwVyUjcTsSgK-TRiYlOxIdlL/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-27%20at%203.43.55%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Clint Eastwood directs and stars in PLAY MISTY FOR ME Year: 1971 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Clint Eastwood, in moving from actor to director and combining both... directing himself... isn't quite the scowling tough guy he became famous for — although he has his share of grimacing expressions from a one-night-stand turned obsessed lover Jessica Walter, at one point describing how his nostrils flare when he gets really riled...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>She's enough of a manipulating woman turned lethal nightmare to make anyone reach their breaking point, and, in basically the same role (including a pivotal suicide attempt) that would earn Glenn Close an FATAL ATTRACTION Oscar nomination, poor Jessica doesn't get nearly enough time to spread her devil wings throughout...</p><p><span></span></p>

britt lind, cannonball adderley, clint eastwood, don siegel, donna mills, exploitation, irene hervey, jack ging, james mceachin, jazz-score, jessica walter, john larch, romance, seventies, thriller

CLINT EASTWOOD WITH JESSICA WALTER IN 'PLAY MISTY FOR ME'

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in PLAY MISTY FOR ME Year: 1971 Rating: ***1/2 Clint Eastwood, in moving from actor to director and combini...

DON SIEGEL DIRECTS JOHN WAYNE'S FINAL FILM 'THE SHOOTIST'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgeBZmfvcl4Ud5k2Z43gzBsfrFvI2g0fOXN2PpbQJhw1ed7lMVmb-aNIFjEhwAIcobYkvZ7uAckiPuhCH56hUuLO-pJIiDpKiVsN7R78OYsa4wYTyqoaErnMOqige4lATtRMEzVNGO-Eb5iO29L2lIhyArQgiahecjt3Fj0_HR-x1K-89WLu4JnNWg2Zg/s1945/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-20%20at%202.33.27%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="1945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBZmfvcl4Ud5k2Z43gzBsfrFvI2g0fOXN2PpbQJhw1ed7lMVmb-aNIFjEhwAIcobYkvZ7uAckiPuhCH56hUuLO-pJIiDpKiVsN7R78OYsa4wYTyqoaErnMOqige4lATtRMEzVNGO-Eb5iO29L2lIhyArQgiahecjt3Fj0_HR-x1K-89WLu4JnNWg2Zg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-20%20at%202.33.27%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SHOOTIST Stars: John Wayne, Hugh O'Brien Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Don Siegel's THE SHOOTIST seems perfectly suited as John Wayne's final movie since it's about the final week of an infamous gunslinger dying of cancer (given the news by a doctor played by James Stewart); yet there was a string of slightly younger actors considered before a surprisingly healthy-<i>looking</i> Wayne took the now legendary role...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where his acting is solid, true, even mellow despite the fact he's about to die while almost getting killed at the same time, contrasting with a horribly-miscast Ron Howard as the whiny son of Lauren Bacall, running a bed-and-breakfast where Wayne's holed-up, getting sporadic THIS IS YOUR LIFE drop-ins from various character-actors...</p><p><span></span></p>

don siegel, exploitation, harry morgan, hugh o'brian, james stewart, john wayne, lauren bacall, richard boone, ron howard, seventies, western

DON SIEGEL DIRECTS JOHN WAYNE'S FINAL FILM 'THE SHOOTIST'

Title: THE SHOOTIST Stars: John Wayne, Hugh O'Brien Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2 Don Siegel's THE SHOOTIST seems perfectly suited as Jo...

JOHN CASSAVETES IN 'DEVIL'S ANGELS' & 'CRIME IN THE STREETS'

<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/AVvXsEj6_2XB3d4LiMlfBNX3XR3Emoq7JqeNJGWaysKfyCsDk1NkGurGcHa5reHPDNGE7dUufG81D99Zz9dinzPnSyzUtBAop2VZx3mSswCfJRKrPadpiqiG1Mfk60AEpsswMfGr3idNAoe16H38/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-30+at+9.13.39+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1587" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_2XB3d4LiMlfBNX3XR3Emoq7JqeNJGWaysKfyCsDk1NkGurGcHa5reHPDNGE7dUufG81D99Zz9dinzPnSyzUtBAop2VZx3mSswCfJRKrPadpiqiG1Mfk60AEpsswMfGr3idNAoe16H38/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-09-30+at+9.13.39+PM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1956 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u>CRIME IN THE STREETS</u>: If REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE met WEST SIDE STORY at a carnival where all the rides were broken... </span></span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No, sadly, not even a young "introducing" John Cassavetes, as a street savvy teenage gang member, at odds with a rival group of boy-thugs and pestered by the usual Film Noir (though this is hardly that despite its place in a Noir box set) pestering cop James Whitmore... And the fact it's directed by Don Siegel and co-stars future director Mark Rydell... None of this could save, or even preserve, this corny "urban" dud. Sal Mineo, naive as ever, plays the youngest member of the gang, a fact that alone dooms him from the start.</span></span><br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLymRBsKy6aXBnFRm4X81R-ARvuizBvsmtQfyFVrbJeLDv4U1CRLeaCliRuuVadH1xJhcGVLl0FKLc2RGzzFszE5ED0Y8n-VRcTsvzyuTvQW5gFQYzXB_qxyRxGIppm_tnpRZ-HZWXlRco/s1600/devils-angels-1967-photo-still-8x10-e1436268675665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="423" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLymRBsKy6aXBnFRm4X81R-ARvuizBvsmtQfyFVrbJeLDv4U1CRLeaCliRuuVadH1xJhcGVLl0FKLc2RGzzFszE5ED0Y8n-VRcTsvzyuTvQW5gFQYzXB_qxyRxGIppm_tnpRZ-HZWXlRco/s320/devils-angels-1967-photo-still-8x10-e1436268675665.jpg" width="196"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1967 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u>DEVIL'S ANGELS</u>: Sixties' biker flicks are usually the same: Noisy hog-riders roll into a small quiet town making a mess of things. One of the bikers takes things too far and a "freak verses pig"<i> </i>battle ensues. That's it in a nutshell here... </span></span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The adventure doesn't venture far from the single peaceful town where, after crashing an afternoon carnival, The Skulls are (falsely) accused of raping a local girl stupid enough to party with them. </span></span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Leo Gordon, as the understanding Sheriff, adds essential realism and John Cassavetes, as the thinking-man's gang leader, while embodying his usual askew charm, seems more like an acting teacher than a ruffian (this often occurred during the early sixties, before films caught up with method acting); more attributes of "Franco", his scruffy, scene-stealing character in "The Dirty Dozen", were needed. But no matter, this Roger Corman-produced biker-outing delivers the goods just-good enough, and is exactly as entertaining as it should be. It's a biker flick, after all.  </span></span><br> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br>

crime, don siegel, drama, fifties, john cassavetes, mark rydell, teen

JOHN CASSAVETES IN 'DEVIL'S ANGELS' & 'CRIME IN THE STREETS'

Year: 1956 Rating: *1/2 CRIME IN THE STREETS : If REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE met WEST SIDE STORY at a carnival where all the rides were broke...

STAYING AWAKE FOR THE JOHN LANDIS NOIR INTO THE NIGHT

<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/AVvXsEjwpoKKhPK8ccjftfV7QQYIa19mG0nQ7TYTv0aJtr1To2aZL_ln5ez9GIaL2hmpo6nf_tWr5nVRL-D0JLnYDwA6tXHpsiOzxD3-ZhFAmBLEj5pIkTMlI4T6zLaHSQJe39whQTImRX5xMkE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpoKKhPK8ccjftfV7QQYIa19mG0nQ7TYTv0aJtr1To2aZL_ln5ez9GIaL2hmpo6nf_tWr5nVRL-D0JLnYDwA6tXHpsiOzxD3-ZhFAmBLEj5pIkTMlI4T6zLaHSQJe39whQTImRX5xMkE/s400/3.jpg" width="271"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Clu Gulager's take on things</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Ed Okin, our hero/pawn in the John Landis Neo Noir INTO THE NIGHT, works as an Aeronautical Engineer, which, by the looks of his workplace, with certain pictures around the white walled interior, might have to do with the space shuttle: And a tragic, coincidental irony is that Challenger exploded the year after this movie hit theaters with a box office thud, and famously, or infamously, in Landis's previous venture, a segment of the highly anticipated TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, actor Vic Morrow and two children were killed in a helicopter accident...<br> <br> Going behind the scenes... of this website... in meeting John Landis at a horror genre convention (his AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is an all-time classic), the first thing he said as he prepared to sign the B.B. King-laden album soundtrack (pictured to the right and below), was: "You know, this was my first financial failure," and then he offered a cookie. "Wanna cookie?" he asked, holding one up with a sly Felix the Cat grin. And while hanging with classic veteran actor Clu Gulager in a parking lot of the same venue, the Burbank Marriott Hotel, but on a different date, he stated that John Landis probably needed a lot of established people on board (this movie) since it was, basically, after the Vic Morrow tragedy, his way of sneaking back into Hollywood by, in this reviewer's opinion, going in the <i>back door... </i>using a slow, atmospheric story with a handful of cameos that only rabid movie fans (and not even them) would recognize, and that's <i>not</i> including superstar musician David Bowie as a hit man and even Landis himself as one of four bumbling yet lethal Iranian killers trying to find the McGuiffin: diamonds stolen from the Shah of Iran that Michelle Pfeiffer's Diane has, and, once she meets poor Ed, inside the LAX parking structure, about to possibly catch a flight to Las Vegas for something workmate Dan Aykroyd advised, he gets catapulted... that's right... INTO THE NIGHT.<br>

art evans, clu gulager, david bowie, don siegel, eighties, jeff goldblum, john landis, michelle pfeiffer, neo noir, rick baker

STAYING AWAKE FOR THE JOHN LANDIS NOIR INTO THE NIGHT

Clu Gulager's take on things Ed Okin, our hero/pawn in the John Landis Neo Noir INTO THE NIGHT, works as an Aeronautical Engineer, w...

THE BEGUILED

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPQXLIqvAlaMvpgJJKFeARIl-OFk_cqPViyt2rNRWKpRHjIYmCP153O1Pt8tMnE4xa2xoEfC7wtQlO7SPYE-95l7VKF7RfV9xtO_9q2OB0gWEWREhS_d9BhWcjCri0y7Fr4jccxf-xGE/s1600/the%252Bbeguild.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578559539513582770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPQXLIqvAlaMvpgJJKFeARIl-OFk_cqPViyt2rNRWKpRHjIYmCP153O1Pt8tMnE4xa2xoEfC7wtQlO7SPYE-95l7VKF7RfV9xtO_9q2OB0gWEWREhS_d9BhWcjCri0y7Fr4jccxf-xGE/s200/the%252Bbeguild.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 147px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE BEGUILED<br /> <div> <strong>year:</strong> 1971</div> <div> <strong>cast:</strong> Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Pamelyn Ferdin</div> <div> <strong>rating:</strong> ***1/2</div> <br /> <div> </div> <div> THIS REVIEW <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2017/07/BeHouse.html">HAS MOVED HERE</a>...</div>

civil war, clint eastwood, courtroom drama, don siegel, elizabeth hartman, geraldine page, jo ann harris, seventies

THE BEGUILED

title: THE BEGUILED year: 1971 cast: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Pamelyn Ferdin rating: ***1...

HELL IS FOR HEROES

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MxCPKOi8W3DHoJnoIfKQ7Aa5S7tgOUuZyItzCvqm7sHgq5JJ3w0Rer0M7Il4_HuyjiBm-tnxBLgvxzBVtS99erGh2xuwFvN3kDQ0b_8kTRZ7Dy_3uzHUBDZu0EEVTJQwpqM4MIKArCk/s1600/hellisforheroes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525828147872008322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MxCPKOi8W3DHoJnoIfKQ7Aa5S7tgOUuZyItzCvqm7sHgq5JJ3w0Rer0M7Il4_HuyjiBm-tnxBLgvxzBVtS99erGh2xuwFvN3kDQ0b_8kTRZ7Dy_3uzHUBDZu0EEVTJQwpqM4MIKArCk/s200/hellisforheroes.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 195px;" /></a><b>title:</b> HELL IS FOR HEROES<br /><div><b>year:</b> 1962</div><div><b>cast:</b> Steve McQueen, Nick Adams, Harry Guardino, Bob Newhart, Mike Kellin, Fess Parker, James Coburn</div><div><b>director:</b> Don Siegel </div><div><b>rating:</b> ***</div><br /><div></div><div>Ensemble war film plays like an episode of COMBAT as an outnumbered American troop, poised against a German battalion in a bevy of foxholes, fight the odds and each other. Steve McQueen is effective as an eerily subdued hellion whose only talent occurs in battle; he prefers killing to waiting around like the others including James Coburn as a witty mechanic, Nick Adams a young Russian, Harry Guardino a firm Sargent, and (of all people) Bob Newhart as a nerdy typist accidentally thrust into the dire situation, providing his famous phone bit to trick the Germans. Director Don Siegel moves things along at a nice pace and although the acting's a bit stagy, and stock footage takes away from some of the climactic battle, it all works as a kind of mellow War Noir. </div>

david warner, don siegel, harry guardino, james coburn, nick adams, sixties, steve mcqueen

HELL IS FOR HEROES

title: HELL IS FOR HEROES year: 1962 cast: Steve McQueen, Nick Adams, Harry Guardino, Bob Newhart, Mike Kellin, Fess Parker, James Coburn...

THE LINEUP

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFZicQU4W_YlrYAV2p5Xx0muYLoi8ApzaYGjle9vLvmHmHZeDOSYf23iKAoA3xW01orOEDhkbZ1YNHzF7NwcIn-MrPy3FciPR8z7vCEoF6949n2XMRc3pJrGblstAwfirIB2MzFvbx0sv/s1544/Screen+Shot+2020-10-25+at+8.14.25+PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFZicQU4W_YlrYAV2p5Xx0muYLoi8ApzaYGjle9vLvmHmHZeDOSYf23iKAoA3xW01orOEDhkbZ1YNHzF7NwcIn-MrPy3FciPR8z7vCEoF6949n2XMRc3pJrGblstAwfirIB2MzFvbx0sv/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-10-25+at+8.14.25+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/10/LINEUP.html">THIS REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE: CLICK FOR THE NEW IMPROVED LINEUP REVIEW</a><br />

action, body count, crime, don siegel, drugs, eli wallach, fifties, film noir or melodrama, richard jaekal, robert keith, TV adaptation

THE LINEUP

THIS REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE: CLICK FOR THE NEW IMPROVED LINEUP REVIEW