GLENN FORD, LEE MARVIN & GLORIA GRAHAME IN 'THE BIG HEAT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjb-lFXZTduUiqdF3fnGWYpfG_u63EdvKtR7Vmj_MS_ONhkDvg4DfUb6h9IrdovA5yfUxlm86laqp11_eGUY93Vt2N1EUokLg0L7DEt5NINtNz_TeXaXOP2nPZD4t9Rh1Xw5TVaLsECx3ieGN1xWIlVIQjecCpmDU4UZMYhtYe890zHULsu_vLenLtALnyC/s968/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="968" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-lFXZTduUiqdF3fnGWYpfG_u63EdvKtR7Vmj_MS_ONhkDvg4DfUb6h9IrdovA5yfUxlm86laqp11_eGUY93Vt2N1EUokLg0L7DEt5NINtNz_TeXaXOP2nPZD4t9Rh1Xw5TVaLsECx3ieGN1xWIlVIQjecCpmDU4UZMYhtYe890zHULsu_vLenLtALnyC/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE BIG HEAT Shown: Glenn Ford Year: 1953 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>On posters for Fritz Lang's classic film noir THE BIG HEAT there's what looks like an impassioned couple raging with sensuality in Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, which is misleading since neither care about each other within most of the story, and yet, perhaps no other actor and actress have ultimately shared so much energy and chemistry on screen... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>She's the beautiful, animated moll of chief gangster's thug Vince, played by Lee Marvin, who, before his days of tough anti-heroes, played neurotic, borderline sociopath hoods: and literally sizzles here as the title becomes too real for scene-stealing Graham, getting scalding coffee thrown on her face, punishment for having visited Ford's hidden cove apartment behind his back...</p><p><span></span></p>

alexander scourby, andy williams, cop, fifties, film noir or melodrama, fritz lang, glenn ford, gloria grahame, jeanette nolan, jocelyn brando, john crawford, lee marvin, peter whitney, revenge, willis bouchey

GLENN FORD, LEE MARVIN & GLORIA GRAHAME IN 'THE BIG HEAT'

Title: THE BIG HEAT Shown: Glenn Ford Year: 1953 Rating: ***** On posters for Fritz Lang's classic film noir THE BIG HEAT there's wh...

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY' WITH VICTOR MATURE

<p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhZ2PODFlnroMgovaHJR-BRB0PdCte9eIprlXxGvSoIBiyuobR0m_D12CFEDrMtOhojLwrqtLz0fUwkh_jbURqlmIWCmzUjILQ9eEzaP974xFKNzTnbIE0lLDQgDTwkasNO3lnVD6LGxgtOb6sC8e2StXSsmoHK1njY2WdI7wEsNvBbFVMioHvI6SKbocfA/s2524/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-26%20at%204.14.41%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="2524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2PODFlnroMgovaHJR-BRB0PdCte9eIprlXxGvSoIBiyuobR0m_D12CFEDrMtOhojLwrqtLz0fUwkh_jbURqlmIWCmzUjILQ9eEzaP974xFKNzTnbIE0lLDQgDTwkasNO3lnVD6LGxgtOb6sC8e2StXSsmoHK1njY2WdI7wEsNvBbFVMioHvI6SKbocfA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-26%20at%204.14.41%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: VIOLENT SATURDAY Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Richard Fleischer crafted a tight, sparse, edgy noir also replete with enough paperback melodrama for a dozen Douglas Sirk features, which <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/V-sat.html">VIOLENT SATURDAY</a> resembles but only from either close-up or afar...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The first because of the soapy situations, like a cheating wife or a father whose son seems to hate him... and the latter from the vibrant technicolor cinematography of an Arizona small town, richly contrasting from Fleischer's previous B&W city-set thrillers ARMORED CAR ROBBERY,  FOLLOW ME QUIETLY and THE CLAY PIGEON...</p><p><span></span></p>

dorothy patrick, fifties, film noir or melodrama, heist, j. carrol naish, lee marvin, love triangle, margaret hayes, richard egan, richard fleischer, stephen mcnally, victor mature, virginia leith

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY' WITH VICTOR MATURE

Title: VIOLENT SATURDAY Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2 Director Richard Fleischer crafted a tight, sparse, edgy noir also replete with enough pa...

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

<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/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s1946/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common yet are completely different as World War II adventure films... the first has a group of POW's escaping from the Germans while the second involves American convicts training to <i>enter</i> Germany, as both somewhat awkwardly balance comedy with drama, and, while entertaining popcorn time-fillers, they're predictably and painfully mainstream...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>While ESCAPE centered on many men hoping to tunnel out, only a handful are centered on, which happens with DOZEN: but THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN lacks the catchy alliteration... </p><p><span></span></p>

charles bronson, clint walker, donald sutherland, jim brown, john cassavetes, lee marvin, mission, ralph meeker, robert aldrich, telly savalas, war, world war II

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common ye...

TECHNICOLOR 'HIGH SIERRA' REMAKE 'I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES'

<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/AVvXsEjKd88bCz7XOEsSgqNp9evoaY6TSHkFnMWj_A58qh7l_5xNWFytCSLYrHIaf3Z2o7yNQ8zD4LrUPtpNvfOWrdkdmqibkhwuoddj0_A6lCGoKlA25KJk33FBBl2XYg6wBrfnKo14yXXkm4m9ud22uLzVdL2siy6ECzr8qk5QCHJ65qfvReGrtASFPDIg5w/s1409/AVvXsEjGmTMwGvvI4oMjcY7lvRAUg0iR5L-iuIIccMUHnLfgf9IKMmpw9mFUu6QkR3yuHF_l5z6HABbMclWlgkgJXkVxMX3kjctX384lIP9K98z4uLck4wPg02Pgqo1FCYAI--QZBf_z7w4UF06sgDA7lGvRNCMmY1-uw8MpDoy8Q0VJSXAj7DMd6x0VmDLRmA=s16000.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKd88bCz7XOEsSgqNp9evoaY6TSHkFnMWj_A58qh7l_5xNWFytCSLYrHIaf3Z2o7yNQ8zD4LrUPtpNvfOWrdkdmqibkhwuoddj0_A6lCGoKlA25KJk33FBBl2XYg6wBrfnKo14yXXkm4m9ud22uLzVdL2siy6ECzr8qk5QCHJ65qfvReGrtASFPDIg5w/s16000/AVvXsEjGmTMwGvvI4oMjcY7lvRAUg0iR5L-iuIIccMUHnLfgf9IKMmpw9mFUu6QkR3yuHF_l5z6HABbMclWlgkgJXkVxMX3kjctX384lIP9K98z4uLck4wPg02Pgqo1FCYAI--QZBf_z7w4UF06sgDA7lGvRNCMmY1-uw8MpDoy8Q0VJSXAj7DMd6x0VmDLRmA=s16000.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's strange that I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES, the 1955 practically scene-for-scene remake of the Humphrey Bogart noir classic HIGH SIERRA, didn't keep the same title since they moved that mountainous backdrop even closer to the characters, where most of the dialogue-backed action takes place... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A fishing retreat with Jack Palance in Bogart's shoes, fresh out of prison with a job to knock off a plush hotel full of jewelry; and like Bogart he isn't very thrilled with the gang he's in charge of...<br></p><span></span>

dennis hopper, earl holliman, fifties, film noir or melodrama, heist, jack palance, lee marvin, lon chaney jr., lori nelson, perry lopez, remake, richard davalos, shelley winters, warner archives

TECHNICOLOR 'HIGH SIERRA' REMAKE 'I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES'

Title: I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2 It's strange that I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES, the 1955 practically scene-for-scene...

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...

LEE MARVIN & ERNEST BORGNINE IN 'EMPEROR OF THE NORTH'

<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/AVvXsEi2znJgS24G_gHiW_S9tBCNvr6_AaphzqijYIUofSkLXwdeBFHCjCTew7ni1zm0cyMkhg3YIhGm0N4Ouxx9NVJPmrF-tSHnPlFKs-EEMQ1ZfkEuN8TUIKCR0w5Rm_1YpszyGY9kWYyt-LKi/s1600/emperor-of-the-north-pole-movie-poster-1973-1020464469.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="552" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2znJgS24G_gHiW_S9tBCNvr6_AaphzqijYIUofSkLXwdeBFHCjCTew7ni1zm0cyMkhg3YIhGm0N4Ouxx9NVJPmrF-tSHnPlFKs-EEMQ1ZfkEuN8TUIKCR0w5Rm_1YpszyGY9kWYyt-LKi/s400/emperor-of-the-north-pole-movie-poster-1973-1020464469.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Foreign Poster for EMPEROR OF THE NORTH Year: 1973</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> EMPEROR OF THE NORTH has us believe that, during the Depression when hobos made their way jumping trains, the railway workers were deadlier than Germany's Stormtroopers...<br> <br> Meanwhile, Hitler's American double, played by Ernest Borgnine, kills any and all vagrants with a big hammer, and when Lee Marvin successfully leaps a train, along with young, counter-culture representative Keith Carradine, Borgnine has to live up to his reputation and thus a battle between good and evil, Marvin and Borgnine, ensues in this Robert Aldrich venture directed and edited wonderfully, but is as far-fetched and convoluted as can be. The actors are good but much of the pulpy dialogue is downright embarrassing. Some terrific fight scenes occur even though the plot derails less than halfway through. A handsome wreck.<br>

action, adventure, depression-era, ernest borgnine, keith carradine, lee marvin, robert aldrich, seventies

LEE MARVIN & ERNEST BORGNINE IN 'EMPEROR OF THE NORTH'

Foreign Poster for EMPEROR OF THE NORTH Year: 1973 EMPEROR OF THE NORTH has us believe that, during the Depression when hobos made thei...

JACK PALANCE IN THE NOIR REMAKE 'I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES'

<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/AVvXsEgGxkm3axbK-BgQGBkfBwL6EizFW4kIjQJjvCQ42bb4EyXVewzqE-3ftaEiEfDChLKFUsZaV2gzN1S3zh38HJVsSGIWb8p02T8yTBIrrVPqyuebpp5ynm6lMbYliwjYjIRkohjgUcqiptPk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-03+at+4.26.09+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="854" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxkm3axbK-BgQGBkfBwL6EizFW4kIjQJjvCQ42bb4EyXVewzqE-3ftaEiEfDChLKFUsZaV2gzN1S3zh38HJVsSGIWb8p02T8yTBIrrVPqyuebpp5ynm6lMbYliwjYjIRkohjgUcqiptPk/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-07-03+at+4.26.09+AM.jpeg" width="226"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Warner Archives DVD Year: 1955</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> HIGH SIERRA is a great book that became an even greater film: With Raoul Walsh's tight direction from an adapted screenplay by Humphrey Bogart's (soon to be) most famous collaborator, John Huston, the iconic MALTESE FALCON, KEY LARGO and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE star was finally, after playing villains in George Raft and James Cagney vehicles (Walsh directed THE ROARING TWENTIES), turned into a bonafide Hollywood A-lister, whose heavies would become anti-heroes thereafter...<br> <br> Although, just like John Wayne in his career-catapult, STAGECOACH, Bogie takes second-billing to a dame in tough and determined Ida Lupido...<br> <br> Which doesn't occur in the 1955 remake as Shelley Winters is far more vulnerable and passive, and, while not as pretty, does fit the role – had some knockout bombshell co-starred opposite Jack Palance as Roy Earle, he wouldn't be so initially dead-set on getting rid of her... That is, asking her to split from the woodsy fishing lake locale where four men, including himself, are poised to rob safe-kept jewels in a luxurious hotel not far away...<br>

earl holliman, fifties, film noir or melodrama, heist, jack palance, jazz-score, lee marvin, perry lopez, remake, shelley winters

JACK PALANCE IN THE NOIR REMAKE 'I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES'

Warner Archives DVD Year: 1955 HIGH SIERRA is a great book that became an even greater film: With Raoul Walsh's tight direction from...

MARVIN VS BORGNINE IN 'EMPEROR OF THE NORTH'

<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/AVvXsEjJ0xgijerXs_aDj7YosOylgg6a8H44WWRzVH7qru_nQ2l-4DsGl1TTMVg0MeJg-0xb-E3LRSi3YOrTV0m6RFlgXvxSjHktLy-nccA0KTBjuNPU4bAJHPDqiG_4GGlVDcMmVsqAq9L-VJU/s1600/emp0.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0xgijerXs_aDj7YosOylgg6a8H44WWRzVH7qru_nQ2l-4DsGl1TTMVg0MeJg-0xb-E3LRSi3YOrTV0m6RFlgXvxSjHktLy-nccA0KTBjuNPU4bAJHPDqiG_4GGlVDcMmVsqAq9L-VJU/s400/emp0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lee Marvin & Robert Carradine in this Robert Alrich action flick</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Arguably, director Robert Aldrich turned in his best work over a decade before he got down and DIRTY DOZEN...<br /> <br /> That is, the entire Film Noir genre was practically named after his severe yet subdued, intensely claustrophobic KISS ME DEADLY, adding cult status with the risky thriller WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, but it's a movie like EMPEROR OF THE NORTH, pitting a folk-hero hobo against a lethal Railroad man in the height of the Depression in a sort of cat and mouse game with taut action and gorgeous exterior, that Aldrich pulls off splendidly... <br /> <br /> <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/AVvXsEhQT2I9TFGBs_rIbO11AKXduHS6BNaInlCYUt39jcb5zm1K6lxOiWRFqLGrGP9zwUOwXimszcy_MF4Ai7QZM0fu2SfZrmy99xHby8mW4m_sZpRgXh0GNB6pxkjsipEXldGXGUYFyOigxMg/s1600/emp3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT2I9TFGBs_rIbO11AKXduHS6BNaInlCYUt39jcb5zm1K6lxOiWRFqLGrGP9zwUOwXimszcy_MF4Ai7QZM0fu2SfZrmy99xHby8mW4m_sZpRgXh0GNB6pxkjsipEXldGXGUYFyOigxMg/s320/emp3.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sid Haig joining in</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The eclectic filmmaker's work resembles the antique film stock of a, for instance, Franklin J. Schaffner, or even Richard Fleischer, keeping an "old style" antique look, almost seeming like color was added to black & white film stock, counterbalancing the more modern realism of the 1970's, providing a throwback vibe and allowing actors to, like in NORTH, break into sudden bursts of hysterical laughter wherein you can almost hear the director yelling "Action" and "Cut" in-between the over-the-top hysterical outbursts...<br /> <br /> Hell, it even happened in what's considered Sam Peckinpah's greatest achievement (not agreed here), THE WILD BUNCH, after the title bandits, surrounding a campfire, found out they stole bagfuls of slugs. Long story short, some movies didn't have the timeless vibe of a FRENCH CONNECTION or GODFATHER during that time: even though there's a degree of exploitive violence that you won't see in the other more realistic projects. And talk about violent: Ernest Borgnine plays the horrendously awful villain, Shack, equally despised by his employees and fellow railroad workers as he is the bums who know his legendary ways of cleaning up infamous Train 19: by finding any particular stowaway hobo and busting his skull with a mallet, and that's the end of that. It's as if they never existed.<br /> <br /> <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/AVvXsEjP3oIMGklMcOl2PxliXUeZBcmk3sZwjxBfNkDCm3tCZOeArPdHduBpM6_Nspt1KCcrswdbTCU3HPwuNryanYbpVpKj7-5Srv-cU-jX3y9UeEqw3w18ZKVZ_T8w9tmlEffcBjXAlnYBnDk/s1600/emp11.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3oIMGklMcOl2PxliXUeZBcmk3sZwjxBfNkDCm3tCZOeArPdHduBpM6_Nspt1KCcrswdbTCU3HPwuNryanYbpVpKj7-5Srv-cU-jX3y9UeEqw3w18ZKVZ_T8w9tmlEffcBjXAlnYBnDk/s320/emp11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Borg9 going overboard again</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The best scenes are the interplay between veteran actors Lee Marvin and Borgnine; Marvin's character a folk hero amongst train-jumpers and vowing to ride old 19 despite the fact it's an almost impossible task. The way he plays tricks on both the machine and the machinist throughout the gorgeous location makes not only for mobile adventure, but dark humor and loads of suspenseful momentum: The irony is that the DOZEN veterans don't spend much time on screen together at all, save for their final battle, which could very well be one of the best man-to-man fights ever filmed. And beforehand, for anyone to "accuse" Borgnine for overacting, well... it's not that much a stretch. But with his face, he can get away with just about anything; and does here, in droves. <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEjzhVpk2iSLKRa4vwZMetLOsNu0hm5WHspqiziY4MtSiZL2xGgq_t5nI0exyikR4-eTjVLSKAM6meuNiloWVjROTxtWg1Xg4zkljNLnhTb-vdGKx5hzFZCKC7g_PMu0zir_XhcoDaWtfNaV/s1600/EmperorOfTheNorth_BD_HighRes__29466.1522683638.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="766" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhVpk2iSLKRa4vwZMetLOsNu0hm5WHspqiziY4MtSiZL2xGgq_t5nI0exyikR4-eTjVLSKAM6meuNiloWVjROTxtWg1Xg4zkljNLnhTb-vdGKx5hzFZCKC7g_PMu0zir_XhcoDaWtfNaV/s320/EmperorOfTheNorth_BD_HighRes__29466.1522683638.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Limited Edition Blu Ray</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> On the softer, younger and more vulnerable side, Keith Carradine's cocky yet vulnerable upstart, Cigaret, who Marvin's character, known simply as "A Number 1," is reluctant to take in as a partner. Lee's no mentor and yet, with Carradine's persistence, he has no choice. Think Jon Voight and Eric Roberts in RUNAWAY TRAIN years later, only they were on the same proverbial boat from the beginning, and here we have no unnecessary love interest to derail the bloody, sweaty ride that, although contrived at times, is never unfocused on what, or rather, who the important elements are: two men doing their jobs, and only one getting paid for it.<br /> <br /> <u>RATING</u>: ***1/2<br /> <u>TRIVIA</u>: Many faces turn up quickly without much of a part other than the main four or five leads including Western favorite Matt Clark and THE LONGEST YARD snitch and always villainous Charles Tyner, the ultimate YARD rat who doesn't think much of James Hampton... Speaking of that film, underrated black actor, Harry Caesar, whose bug-eyes seem like they've seen just about everything and everyone, is the coal shoveling man on the train, and as pictured, an actor who'd become a b-movie legend years later, Sid Haig, plays one of many laughing bums, this one holding a turkey, while Marvin's in the process of derailing Borgnine's legacy.

adventure, ernest borgnine, keith carradine, lee marvin, robert aldrich, seventies, sid haig

MARVIN VS BORGNINE IN 'EMPEROR OF THE NORTH'

Lee Marvin & Robert Carradine in this Robert Alrich action flick Arguably, director Robert Aldrich turned in his best work over a de...

TWO SERVINGS OF 'PRIME CUT' W/ LEE MARVIN & GENE HACKMAN

<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/AVvXsEhUz15R8-Yl4v4x-fH5EOku737PqpXzTRSBeJ17jrqZSn3yuMfjaGDNx8YOFYCvryuyAYlp2onSJjwFNJoa5z521Wr_mm72eN48maRAE6kP6aHWxpVaOVIw4uQztYEK34Koe2j2MWPduxY/s1600/tumblr_n052pwxE5j1r6ivyno1_1280.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUz15R8-Yl4v4x-fH5EOku737PqpXzTRSBeJ17jrqZSn3yuMfjaGDNx8YOFYCvryuyAYlp2onSJjwFNJoa5z521Wr_mm72eN48maRAE6kP6aHWxpVaOVIw4uQztYEK34Koe2j2MWPduxY/w440-h640/tumblr_n052pwxE5j1r6ivyno1_1280.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1972 Director: Michael Ritchie</td></tr> </tbody></table> 1970's crime flicks don't get this strange, although PRIME CUT is also pretty basic and simple, and it takes an eclectic powerhouse actor like Gene Hackman to pull off playing a flawed, perverted character actually named Mary Ann (the boy called Sue had no problems comparably), a Kansas City gangster turned cattle rancher dealing in young prostitutes, initially giving in quickly to leading man Lee Marvin as Chicago mob enforcer Nick Devlin who, with a group of hired (albeit friendly) thugs, travels from big city Chicago to rural Middle America where it's not easy to hide from the bullets: especially once they start flying. And that occurs during the third act, a wonderfully prolonged death hunt within a wheat field (a nod, perhaps, to Alfred Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST), extremely suspenseful despite such a wide open space.<br /> <br /> After Marvin's Nick frees one of the more vulnerable girls from a literal barn auction of young, heroin-addled female flesh, there's sweet but ponderous and even overly-sentimental downtime with Sissy Spacek's sweet-natured Poppy, who ultimately contrasts from Angel Tompkins as rich bitch Clarabelle, a sort of THIRD MAN character more spoken of/anticipated than actually seen in this Neo Noir meets gritty exploitation helmed by Michael Ritchie, who would go on to direct mostly comedies (though classic ones including THE BAD NEWS BEARS and FLETCH), keeping the pace at such a cool, even keel while every second matters. For this isn't just another nickel-plated Lee Marvin vehicle. It truly belongs to the rural location serving as a purgatory that makes Marvin's usual tough guy out of place and more interesting and desperate than ever. Meanwhile, Gregory Walcott, as Hackman's brother/partner-in-crime, catapults the movie in one of the best opening credit sequences ever, and in his own way, within this gritty, hopeless setting, seems more genuine than any actor on board.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfajOrulVYV-7HunXE3dO5KOBrgbpin0wKz7VVYehovztKDEAEPPLkYrSv0AWrEdpwsjZy_FslowY_88zEE2jNdunZBgF8oH00UoWpJt0jYSwJV-fJhyLFsLE-z4jBbt7yklPorbA8mA/s1600/prime-cut-cinema-quad-movie-poster-%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfajOrulVYV-7HunXE3dO5KOBrgbpin0wKz7VVYehovztKDEAEPPLkYrSv0AWrEdpwsjZy_FslowY_88zEE2jNdunZBgF8oH00UoWpJt0jYSwJV-fJhyLFsLE-z4jBbt7yklPorbA8mA/s400/prime-cut-cinema-quad-movie-poster-%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>title: </b>PRIME CUT<br /> <b>year: </b>1972<br /> <b>cast:</b> Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman<br /> <b>rating: </b>****1/2<br /> <br /> “Chicago is a sick old sow grunting for fresh cream... Someday they’re gonna boil that town down for fat.” This is what Gene Hackman’s Mary Ann (what a name for a thug) tells Lee Marvin’s Nick Devlin, a mob enforcer sent from the Windy City to Kansas to collect a half a million-dollar debt. The opening credit sequence, as a very special batch of hot dogs are created inside a beef factory, could make you never want to go to a ballgame again. And for a reason: Turns out there’s been three different thugs sent to Kansas after Mary Ann and his strong-arm partner. All turn up missing and/or… lunch. Here’s a gritty and bizarre crime flick with a simple premise: one guys owes money and another’s gonna collect. Ex Illinois criminal Hackman owns a plush beef factory and estate, a front for an underage prostitute slave ring. Marvin winds up saving a teenager, Poppy, played by a lovely and vulnerable Sissy Spacek (while poor Janit Baldwin stays put).<br /> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpC50Obmt_lpZpwlQGx4X6O7Al1tsKR4FyC-nmBp8z0mUtQ4mGLbQU2PbPJyoyBz0X7LRGqV_26KqOLVGf3s9i18tJujbxPxcvBqKaCbYfimT7A3cWqpxTPG6aZXOMcaBNb5bRPYXwcdB4/s1600/MPW-38052.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpC50Obmt_lpZpwlQGx4X6O7Al1tsKR4FyC-nmBp8z0mUtQ4mGLbQU2PbPJyoyBz0X7LRGqV_26KqOLVGf3s9i18tJujbxPxcvBqKaCbYfimT7A3cWqpxTPG6aZXOMcaBNb5bRPYXwcdB4/s400/MPW-38052.jpg" width="400" /></a>Much like TAXI DRIVER a few years later, our antihero wants to protect the ingénue from the bad element with no ulterior motive. But his main job is to first collect from, and then escape from, a lethal Hackman: who’s got the home court advantage. A visual masterpiece that doesn’t need a lot of action to gain momentum or intensity. Rural Heartland Kansas, with the slop and slime and surreptitious criminal underbelly, is seedier than an urban alleyway. And one pivotal scene, when Marvin and Spacek escape from the local Fair into a field of wheat (perhaps a nod to NORTH BY NORTHWEST), proves director Michael Ritchie, most known for making comedies, had a real edge.

angel tompkins, crime, eddie egan, gene hackman, howard platt, janit baldiwn, lee marvin, les lannom, neo noir, seventies, sissy spacek

TWO SERVINGS OF 'PRIME CUT' W/ LEE MARVIN & GENE HACKMAN

year: 1972 Director: Michael Ritchie 1970's crime flicks don't get this strange, although PRIME CUT is also pretty basic and sim...