cult film freak: rod taylor

Showing posts with label rod taylor. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 6/01/2021 / No comments / ahna capri , chris robinson , gumshoe , janet maclachlan , neo noir , robert clouse , robert phillips , rod taylor , seventies , suzy kendall , william smith

ROD TAYLOR LITERALLY VS WILLIAM SMITH IN 'DARKER THAN AMBER'

<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/AVvXsEiEEmGoMbxTG-unBMqSdpfO5miEVz6yc6_EJKd9NWBNf67uPxm8ZixX1EzcZUjRWQbrfO20cg0kmSab5DVU479Eb8UAgWqPT4s6sm255hh6FnhyU2yIas73cnOK90wGlBux4qAt8M9WxznR/s778/Screen+Shot+2021-06-14+at+10.53.03+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="778" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEmGoMbxTG-unBMqSdpfO5miEVz6yc6_EJKd9NWBNf67uPxm8ZixX1EzcZUjRWQbrfO20cg0kmSab5DVU479Eb8UAgWqPT4s6sm255hh6FnhyU2yIas73cnOK90wGlBux4qAt8M9WxznR/w400-h369/Screen+Shot+2021-06-14+at+10.53.03+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Book Cover Darker than Amber Year: 1970 Rates: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>"And speaking of that... What about that?" is some of the clunky dialogue in Robert Clouse's cinematic venture for pulp author John D. McDonald's beach bum/salvage seller Travis McGee, here played by an aged-to-granite Rod Taylor, more befitting a suit during the cruise ship second half than bulky shirtless on his own boat... a balmy Florida Keys Neo Noir during an intriguing set-up when Taylor's McGee rescues a beautiful blonde dumped off a bridge with weighted ankles... </p><p></p><p>The kind of colorfully psychedelic counter-culture clashing an otherwise gray-toned detective-style thriller, and especially vivid is the young girl, all open-minded and groovy in Suzy Kendall, who, pretty enough to fall for quickly, there's not enough romantic chemistry to merit McGee such severe depression after her death...<br></p><p>Quickly followed by a contrived resurrection as Kendall plays a different girl, used to trick muscular bleach-blond psycho <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/06/falcon-eddie.html">William Smith</a>: And what DARKER THAN AMBER is known for is the climactic fight between Taylor and Smith that wound up real, captured by director Clouse that landed him Bruce Lee's ENTER THE DRAGON: Which also featured blonde bombshell Ahna Capri who, like Smith and beautiful black actress Janet MacLachlan as well as pinch thug Robert Phillips, isn't given enough screen time in a deliberate b-movie that's more a scattered collection of scenes. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

ahna capri, chris robinson, gumshoe, janet maclachlan, neo noir, robert clouse, robert phillips, rod taylor, seventies, suzy kendall, william smith

ROD TAYLOR LITERALLY VS WILLIAM SMITH IN 'DARKER THAN AMBER'

Book Cover Darker than Amber Year: 1970 Rates: *** "And speaking of that... What about that?" is some of the clunky dialogue in Ro...

HOW 'HELL RIVER' CONNECTS 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Brioni Farrell with Rod Taylor in HELL RIVER Year: 1974 </u></td></tr>
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In Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, Leonardo 
DiCaprio plays an actor named Rick Dalton who, in 1969, is already a 
washed-up, has-been former Western television series star with a number 
of forgotten Western and War Movies under his belt...<br>
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Including and especially "The 14 
Fists of McCluskey" that shows quick footage from this film, HELL RIVER, which is technically impossible since the low-budget Yugoslavian WWII exploitation came out five years after Dalton's time in the Tarantino universe: Then again this obscure Rod Taylor curio, originally 
and more fitfully titled Partizani aka Partisans (there are only two rivers shown, and neither are hellish),
doesn't really exist in HOLLYWOOD since it's become a 
fictional movie for its fictional star...<br>

action, adam west, adventure, brioni farrell, drama, exploitation, rod taylor, seventies, war, world war II

HOW 'HELL RIVER' CONNECTS 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'

Brioni Farrell with Rod Taylor in HELL RIVER Year: 1974 In Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, Leonardo DiCaprio pla...

ROD TAYLOR IN 'HOTEL' WITH KEVIN MCCARTHY & RICHARD CONTE

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</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/AVvXsEjXmymrCekORQ-YnkqVBdMkqzcKMa_bxyXwNcnoZc69HEdCfTCzfH8s2ipcj8u9SYKT2nZ1stnLRyvNGVIbnlcs0P0hH5DBDTSEroXf59Z_W_sAAHrMxKFsgHhe61v9e7533CkTXx95L7L-O4N_06CYzwEG22OKjpXj-Uw2hzomGLCQAkcsPCm8SvGmFUJG/s2054/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.37.51%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="2054" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmymrCekORQ-YnkqVBdMkqzcKMa_bxyXwNcnoZc69HEdCfTCzfH8s2ipcj8u9SYKT2nZ1stnLRyvNGVIbnlcs0P0hH5DBDTSEroXf59Z_W_sAAHrMxKFsgHhe61v9e7533CkTXx95L7L-O4N_06CYzwEG22OKjpXj-Uw2hzomGLCQAkcsPCm8SvGmFUJG/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.37.51%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Catherine Spaak and Kevin McCarthy in HOTEL Year: 1967 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The 1967 film HOTEL occurs at a strange and contradictory crossroads for women: While Catherine Spaak plays the typical young and complacent, older rich man's trophy girlfriend, she can't stand him — and even tells him so. That being Kevin McCarthy, whose Curtis O'Keefe represents two things Hollywood despises: He's supposedly a Christian, leading a bizarre prayer ritual that sounds as if God were his own personal accountant; and he's a corporate raider who's actually pretty sharp, knowledgeable and experienced: Yet we're not supposed to appreciate (or even notice) these things because no one in the movie does...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As a phony-polite, sophisticated villain, McCarthy plays the kind of boss even his closest, well-paid employees roll their eyes at. And yet he's the most interesting character — especially when opening-up to Spaak's Jeanne about how he was once young, broke, and denied a job as assistant desk clerk at the St. Gregory i.e. our titular HOTEL... <br />
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</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/AVvXsEgVsCAQeK3YRIP9BpW4UhwNFK4JwtPdfdqB-sAH9p_JU8bIbWSIBdwbZ_GvoMfElalbA33fQ94yXGcUtg_UlrtCyl8snp2cmHGpokWiwV3cM_vN-hMnZsU1QbP-fywjsr0jnfdb_gUI_KjFb8WB5B_Rgt62qnvOHloRRKOikwstFiVjPwrNP5ir8u33pFzx/s1360/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.16.14%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsCAQeK3YRIP9BpW4UhwNFK4JwtPdfdqB-sAH9p_JU8bIbWSIBdwbZ_GvoMfElalbA33fQ94yXGcUtg_UlrtCyl8snp2cmHGpokWiwV3cM_vN-hMnZsU1QbP-fywjsr0jnfdb_gUI_KjFb8WB5B_Rgt62qnvOHloRRKOikwstFiVjPwrNP5ir8u33pFzx/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.16.14%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rod Taylor and Kevin McCarthy in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From that story alone we learn more about McCarthy's character and motivation than the handsome, square-jawed Rod Taylor who, as the hotel manager, is more about the present time — always thinking and moving ahead: His Peter McDermott is owner Melvin Douglas's right <i>and</i> left hand man: as well as heart, soul, brain, and moral conscience... <br /></p><p></p><p></p><p>And in the role, Taylor is his usual capable, strong silent type who seems like he knows almost everything — and can eventually figure out what he doesn't. Taking interest in the gorgeous French girl from the onset, it's intentionally predictable they'd eventually hook up...<br />
</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/AVvXsEiPI69crbw2708CSltax9GBMS4N13er9mtypovAl7-oAjPDxdQh81-I3Zs__a9Zt-eMUqF8X_AdVR5DMXNcwclp6j53W7NFZfO3Sxb2HoeioREj72PkQzjCtHheFDEqxiSUmFwPTIsWJ8jInktO7W5tw1ThOO3UTlsyUUA9IQvXMgmUn5unDCbIKJ67VR8y/s2072/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.23.29%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="2072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI69crbw2708CSltax9GBMS4N13er9mtypovAl7-oAjPDxdQh81-I3Zs__a9Zt-eMUqF8X_AdVR5DMXNcwclp6j53W7NFZfO3Sxb2HoeioREj72PkQzjCtHheFDEqxiSUmFwPTIsWJ8jInktO7W5tw1ThOO3UTlsyUUA9IQvXMgmUn5unDCbIKJ67VR8y/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.23.29%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jessica Rabbit body-model Vikki Dougan in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>But there are more important stories tucked away in other rooms: Like an elegant yet paranoid and/or guilt-ridden Countess and Count played by well-dressed beauties Merle Oberon and Michael Rennie, covering up for a lethal drunk driving car accident with the help of slick and slimy Richard Conte as the hotel's crooked house detective...</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the most fun's had with Karl Malden as a roving, room-to-room thief, who even overacts when just his eyes are shown. He'll do anything to snake other people's money, and at one point teams up with a neighboring strip joint's b-girl for a random cash-in-pocket heist (former 1950's backless dress model/starlet Vikki Dougan, who inspired the iconic cartoon sexpot "Jessica Rabbit" from the neck down)... <br />
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</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/AVvXsEhfhwdoKI2mJgUDUankxDXj7rMOfr85qdl9-qr6B5dhgW0jQect3LVlzYCEzz1PgCjpqFh7Pk45oJw9tPvVzV5wxUk5rQ_AzNv3WT3XdufF-QSwv9xv0yr3nzD83-ZfFrtHVLxvdET8Lee9rORFN5i5Vmn9ta10th2W2jUiVJpQ9L41GiafVFdkWDju5Qy4/s2190/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.28.37%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="2190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhwdoKI2mJgUDUankxDXj7rMOfr85qdl9-qr6B5dhgW0jQect3LVlzYCEzz1PgCjpqFh7Pk45oJw9tPvVzV5wxUk5rQ_AzNv3WT3XdufF-QSwv9xv0yr3nzD83-ZfFrtHVLxvdET8Lee9rORFN5i5Vmn9ta10th2W2jUiVJpQ9L41GiafVFdkWDju5Qy4/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.28.37%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rod Taylor and Kevin McCarthy in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While it seems that actor turned director Richard Quine's pleasurable, addictive, New Orleans-jazz blaring HOTEL is the kind of all-star ensemble that'd saturate the following decade's Irwin Allen pictures, or Agatha Christie adaptations, these actors and actresses were, at the time, more distinguished than relevant except for Taylor, the star of two already established (and at that time, semi-recent) classics, THE TIME MACHINE and THE BIRDS...</p><p></p><p></p><p>He walks around with a sharp eye — figuring how to thwart McCarthy's plans to morph the turn-of-the-century hotel into a proverbial shopping mall — all the while making side-deals, trying to keep his boss modern, and avoiding a local-media scandal... <br />
</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/AVvXsEiEOkr6bfZojI9VB_LCGCDdFhWjhSGzMvfAvQH8YF0nKGhpYlsQc_gVs8IHgQsvr41aQuYSZtcQxR_AmCypBXYH-x5SFvWY3iN61y3Qm9W3Art3ZuhhY1-NsOw_OMz-MBxzqSlEHp0BMNMzJR_dBhnCuwLuIhJgWlnaJVqFror1PnMjINK91ZNYHz_4Kfi0/s2244/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.29.36%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="2244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOkr6bfZojI9VB_LCGCDdFhWjhSGzMvfAvQH8YF0nKGhpYlsQc_gVs8IHgQsvr41aQuYSZtcQxR_AmCypBXYH-x5SFvWY3iN61y3Qm9W3Art3ZuhhY1-NsOw_OMz-MBxzqSlEHp0BMNMzJR_dBhnCuwLuIhJgWlnaJVqFror1PnMjINK91ZNYHz_4Kfi0/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.29.36%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Richard Conte in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So when not wasting time with the glorified French harlot, who <i>is</i> downright gorgeous with a good-enough screen presence for her otherwise robotic delivery to not really matter, Taylor juggles various problems in a suave, smooth manner...</p><p></p><p></p><p>And, thankfully, the political/racial elements aren't dated or preachy, connected tightly within a story-line that rarely strays from providing a cozy two-hours of pleasurable, top rate, four-star entertainment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>More impressive than the Hotel is Rod Taylor's f-pad where he beds the glorified Frog Whore in HOTEL</u></td></tr>
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<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/AVvXsEjAYwTC_ToklNQdo36kqNrwxBc6dWNo4rdnqqq_ZvEpkqb7FDkQNEaBM-at31LOQZcaNkUHpeC6FNd7BiWt04CjAL8apd261V1Wm8xp90piSLhNKKmpiCMlFcfci1d-KZWx5zAdI9-wdvFRtAUylzVIZr_JeZxF-yY9TehniZP2WwtncL99cHAaChG9c2SN/s1332/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.32.29%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="1332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYwTC_ToklNQdo36kqNrwxBc6dWNo4rdnqqq_ZvEpkqb7FDkQNEaBM-at31LOQZcaNkUHpeC6FNd7BiWt04CjAL8apd261V1Wm8xp90piSLhNKKmpiCMlFcfci1d-KZWx5zAdI9-wdvFRtAUylzVIZr_JeZxF-yY9TehniZP2WwtncL99cHAaChG9c2SN/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.32.29%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rod Taylor and Merle Oberon in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQO5g_cZQONCtp-WgpBk6HkLzBI0BCtKf-aefiL86nYWrghcgcogR4tm8SGCERwDShU02FcFd6R97agV-Irqx9yFDwAj1rN8WGRq9t1NitjRgSMrnVCXPHkubgiz1aHEuTqRUxjaEgEDagywM1Bpb_QLQo03JoAljVjAoAfY0HqnNydm6hc-V34PkggV0/s1340/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.35.04%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="1340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQO5g_cZQONCtp-WgpBk6HkLzBI0BCtKf-aefiL86nYWrghcgcogR4tm8SGCERwDShU02FcFd6R97agV-Irqx9yFDwAj1rN8WGRq9t1NitjRgSMrnVCXPHkubgiz1aHEuTqRUxjaEgEDagywM1Bpb_QLQo03JoAljVjAoAfY0HqnNydm6hc-V34PkggV0/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-24%20at%204.35.04%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Karl MaldenVikki Dougan in HOTEL</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnS0pqMEMyVp5Ixwey4_F90US5T-7608ga0wl7i9N0Kts9PxKnRx9Crv7M8JBr-ArNJzj8qKcOVQk9-LVqoLz1yAUyHYBrOnh2DTUgKKosIkpJ3DyfOdl2R6N95J8V5BlAxRZY6m3RvW6obl5hO_6z-KEY0jYWNrUJ0RitGyKPDCXgc2GmFDQB-9KxHvz/s929/65316955_732066530555859_4080981021607067648_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="929" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnS0pqMEMyVp5Ixwey4_F90US5T-7608ga0wl7i9N0Kts9PxKnRx9Crv7M8JBr-ArNJzj8qKcOVQk9-LVqoLz1yAUyHYBrOnh2DTUgKKosIkpJ3DyfOdl2R6N95J8V5BlAxRZY6m3RvW6obl5hO_6z-KEY0jYWNrUJ0RitGyKPDCXgc2GmFDQB-9KxHvz/s16000/65316955_732066530555859_4080981021607067648_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Debbie Dean and Adele Claire as 2nd and 1st Hooker in HOTEL (1967</u></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

annazette chase, catherine spaak, drama, ensemble, jack donner, jazz score, karl malden, melvin douglas, merle oberon, michael rennie, richard conte, rod taylor, sixties, vikki dougan

ROD TAYLOR IN 'HOTEL' WITH KEVIN MCCARTHY & RICHARD CONTE

Catherine Spaak and Kevin McCarthy in HOTEL Year: 1967 Rating: **** The 1967 film HOTEL occurs at a strange and contradictory crossroads fo...

Written by James M. Tate / 5/19/2016 / No comments / booth colman , disaster , glenn ford , joe patridge , mark stevens , mystery , nancy kwan , nehemiah persoff , neo noir , rod taylor , sixties , thriller

GLENN FORD & ROD TAYLOR CRASH OUT IN 'FATE IS THE HUNTER'

<p></p><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/AVvXsEjMpYjvO2A0Tathjqdz9nGm7TOUVHLLPQbPkhlTghYbmIiXdpXYbZ5R6uvMi9oghnwOKq_9-vHIUgV6mcw5JXRNvnXWGwrh25Oht9ap8G558qtqkGGcMPrfGM7XW9Xu5DC_I1X09SO04s3B5S_l_LvcNj4O-31jQnhQc7AJyoGPJUtT_dSvus4lyxqYdQ/s1418/s-l1600.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1016" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpYjvO2A0Tathjqdz9nGm7TOUVHLLPQbPkhlTghYbmIiXdpXYbZ5R6uvMi9oghnwOKq_9-vHIUgV6mcw5JXRNvnXWGwrh25Oht9ap8G558qtqkGGcMPrfGM7XW9Xu5DC_I1X09SO04s3B5S_l_LvcNj4O-31jQnhQc7AJyoGPJUtT_dSvus4lyxqYdQ/w286-h400/s-l1600.jpeg" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>FATE IS THE HUNTER Year: 1964</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Remember those one-hour TWILIGHT ZONE episodes? They weren't that quirky and strange, which was the problem...</p><p></p><p>A short story has a beginning and a middle embraced by a theme, and a twist-ending is merely part of that unending scheme... But a novel completes itself, as did those too-long episodes, which, seeming more of the Thriller template than bizarre Science-Fiction, only lasted one season, Number Four, which is why it's not available on Netflix and is rarely shown on reruns...</p><p>Well FATE IS THE HUNTER is much like a two-hour ZONE: extremely weird yet only because it seems all too normal, somehow... Beginning with a plane crash that you think might have a longer buildup... Not the crash itself but the situation inside of the plane: getting to know the cocky pilot played by Rod Taylor, and a tough stewardess in Suzanne Pleshette as, like both were in THE BIRDS, attracted yet repelled by each other's presence.<br />
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</tbody></table><p>As seen on the posters and already "spoiled" in the film's description, the plane crashes and, after a fabulously cheesy opening credit sequence, with words rushing to the screen backed by a rousing soundtrack theme, an investigation emerges.., A gumshoe kinda thing along with breezy flashbacks as Glenn Ford, a top rank member of the Airline Safety board hoping for a promotion, has a gut feeling the crash had nothing to do with Pilot Error, and not only because his old war buddy, Taylor, was inside the exploding cockpit...Memories spoken by Taylor's girl, Nancy Kwan, seem removed from Ford's edgy primary plot-line, highlighted by a pivotal war memory about Taylor and a frightened Wally Cox, stuck in a faulty plane about to crash, where Taylor's pilot is (always) crooning "Blue Moon" with corny and downright cringing gusto...</p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEiaqf5PZJlMpRD8DQTR5nYgl-FXrq3CN2qR-C6lw2SJnqDx6NCgmQBflotC16wBoI4sGWfHWCN9Cjn9FmHFunE9wPF5siS2cvZnNkZ89G4FevTwMoW33hid7rNnb3t07BXCCpb4eup7dnjABM5daNcwv-I2m-JKRTM_QZSMxu7k_boXpc53poepGcPNuQ/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-08-14+at+5.38.15+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqf5PZJlMpRD8DQTR5nYgl-FXrq3CN2qR-C6lw2SJnqDx6NCgmQBflotC16wBoI4sGWfHWCN9Cjn9FmHFunE9wPF5siS2cvZnNkZ89G4FevTwMoW33hid7rNnb3t07BXCCpb4eup7dnjABM5daNcwv-I2m-JKRTM_QZSMxu7k_boXpc53poepGcPNuQ/w400-h200/Screen+Shot+2021-08-14+at+5.38.15+AM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Inside the Blu Ray for Fate is the Hunter</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This isn't one of Rod's best performances, and he looks heftier and older than he did only four years previously in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/02/TMACHINE.html">THE TIME MACHINE</a>. But he's a fun distraction as FATE eventually shifts from melodramatic to corny/relaxing, and the really weird parts occur during the third act...</p><p></p><p></p><p>What Glenn Ford does to find out what happened, concerning FATE, is not only far-fetched but is still downright confounding (the usually subtle icon often goes into ham overdrive along with airline manager, and always intense character-actor, Nehemiah Persoff)... And it all winds up serving a hybrid of Asian Spiritualism (a reboot of Buddhism later referred to as New Age) with a touch of Film Noir Mystique. And FATE OF THE HUNTER goes on an hour longer than the already overlong ZONE episodes, and could possibly be the most bizarre, uneven and confounding motion picture ever made. So for people who think they've seen it all... prepare to meet your match!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Howard St. John, Robert Wilke, Glenn Ford and Nehemiah Persoff in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Wally Cox, Nancy Kwan and Glenn Ford in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Co-pilot Joe Patridge w/ pilot Rod Taylor and stewardess Suzanne Pleshette in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTrsA-dfhyphenhyphenkmsmrBNZjk12F4t-MU3bXiTUdWCmXxyIpGhiNRgIpn_4qZszwhzckeAEoDdPfKu7F2tGUiOSBHRQMxbf4dpB6bW0K4s2jkvJZp8jvmJo18RzTJgo_NaTSvjvuxofuUj1b6w/s1600/55842818_676264856136027_6660311845829607424_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTrsA-dfhyphenhyphenkmsmrBNZjk12F4t-MU3bXiTUdWCmXxyIpGhiNRgIpn_4qZszwhzckeAEoDdPfKu7F2tGUiOSBHRQMxbf4dpB6bW0K4s2jkvJZp8jvmJo18RzTJgo_NaTSvjvuxofuUj1b6w/s1600/55842818_676264856136027_6660311845829607424_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rod Taylor and Glenn Ford in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6l8Al7wjHu1hSpU5OtLC1oIR9My_piAe1V8p4HuuTLVZL3FNowEDbhjGLlCyI9CHRBmlM5YfmzTPA0gqjHSBBzEmpymC4lmqijIU9UYKZ_Q5kYbwuVjVy9k8FA5IXYw3VM9EpE4dZKBi/s1600/65310112_734964853599360_4202804019451658240_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6l8Al7wjHu1hSpU5OtLC1oIR9My_piAe1V8p4HuuTLVZL3FNowEDbhjGLlCyI9CHRBmlM5YfmzTPA0gqjHSBBzEmpymC4lmqijIU9UYKZ_Q5kYbwuVjVy9k8FA5IXYw3VM9EpE4dZKBi/s1600/65310112_734964853599360_4202804019451658240_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rod Taylor and Glenn Ford in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr>
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<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/AVvXsEjaZIyk9QWmRxHGOpg13zDpULI73voVfnsjf5MlG7vFiOxpTNyhbu55sckUqBbBSerHvUSPUYA1XPB7jv0lvCXk27veYWDRfqY_s5jcOm1w_hAd2-FOo_6Jy1UC_L5tPmchkOxLN_GoHqMH/s960/66046646_740023393093506_3501153530339655680_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZIyk9QWmRxHGOpg13zDpULI73voVfnsjf5MlG7vFiOxpTNyhbu55sckUqBbBSerHvUSPUYA1XPB7jv0lvCXk27veYWDRfqY_s5jcOm1w_hAd2-FOo_6Jy1UC_L5tPmchkOxLN_GoHqMH/s16000/66046646_740023393093506_3501153530339655680_n.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Glenn Ford in FATE IS THE HUNTER</u></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />

booth colman, disaster, glenn ford, joe patridge, mark stevens, mystery, nancy kwan, nehemiah persoff, neo noir, rod taylor, sixties, thriller

GLENN FORD & ROD TAYLOR CRASH OUT IN 'FATE IS THE HUNTER'

FATE IS THE HUNTER Year: 1964 Remember those one-hour TWILIGHT ZONE episodes? They weren't that quirky and strange, which was the probl...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/23/2016 / No comments / adventure , horror , rod taylor , science fiction , sixties , time travel , victorian , yvette mimieux

ROD TAYLOR AND YVETTE MIMIEUX IN 'THE TIME MACHINE'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWboB8CqcfT-tMVaLEymh2E4JeSZeiFeOkoGdjzkMna8tL5HMdpX98gg-3gZtiwZp-F3cqjqh_Ntd3GsZS7n8Ouy4pxF5FjZ_Rs6yEMmRed-25F8EjbYbFcwvGthch0PXXdB5ZJqoAS4/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWboB8CqcfT-tMVaLEymh2E4JeSZeiFeOkoGdjzkMna8tL5HMdpX98gg-3gZtiwZp-F3cqjqh_Ntd3GsZS7n8Ouy4pxF5FjZ_Rs6yEMmRed-25F8EjbYbFcwvGthch0PXXdB5ZJqoAS4/s16000/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Yvette Mimieux & Rod Taylor in George Pal's 1960 classic science-fiction cult phenom THE TIME MACHINE</u></td></tr>
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It's too bad so much of the energy is built on obscuring the twist ending, and the middle-ground to the classic George Pal version of the H.G. Wells novel is a dated, tacked-on anti-nukes message, because the sophisticated first thirty minutes, setting up our story with a turn-of-the-century British inventor H. George Wells (given the same name as the author, making his story seem true), returning from an unknown future and late for dinner with his stuffy contemporaries, is where Rod Taylor, an unknown actor cast because of an anemic budget, really shines, portraying the right touch of neurosis and intensity of a man who could, would, and does create an actual time machine...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yB7eDIW2vxF2MEdG9IqKcgKAqR2hJ05qXJjKIfBH7sRJw7CVaIlOSBKZu6Ezi-8fk0QiWVJ4rOzAI_oaTDT6H8evLsWVXtjq75ywqL8BYFM_ED4PU0sZJsX9JzqD3trfl1emvOvGPbo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-02-23+at+7.40.17+AM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yB7eDIW2vxF2MEdG9IqKcgKAqR2hJ05qXJjKIfBH7sRJw7CVaIlOSBKZu6Ezi-8fk0QiWVJ4rOzAI_oaTDT6H8evLsWVXtjq75ywqL8BYFM_ED4PU0sZJsX9JzqD3trfl1emvOvGPbo/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-02-23+at+7.40.17+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the post of THE TIME MACHINE</td></tr>
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A vessel that, throughout audible dinner table narration, travels past World War II, into the throes of a post nuclear 1966, and then winds up where most of the picture takes place: a seemingly perfect green Eden paradise where beautiful humans, known as Eloi, including the extremely gorgeous Yvette Mimieux as Weena, exist and... it turns out, they are ruled by voracious creatures called Morlocks, and aren't just slaves while the best, most re-watchable scenes involve Wells' first discovering the wonder of time travel, using a store shop window mannequin as his fashion guide throughout the years. A career-making role for the late Rod Taylor, who would follow-up with Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, this science-fiction classic has creative relation to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, later on STAR TREK and a blockbuster that Taylor was originally considered to star for, THE PLANET OF THE APES, which would lack the "damn dirty" classic performance but might have been pretty swell.

adventure, horror, rod taylor, science fiction, sixties, time travel, victorian, yvette mimieux