JOHN BROMFIELD WITH JOI LANSING & MARK DANA IN 'HOT CARS'

<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/AVvXsEiD_LsWqSvlHZ3mMNy_It7VRbV9mQiVfqp_TOch3lBGykJgeTLeDTHiPECB0Oi7NQMm6sFGlyCnoWHmmNnf8lIThihaP5DLPkNDnslZ5PiNrJ9TrffbgnlJwT0cgXvkTYk4ArmzQnOPbxUKeG16p2tVjiCWNqhvRo019yNikmaJ6pb0xcFk5EBiQCGQ1GBi/s1896/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-23%20at%203.55.32%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1896" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_LsWqSvlHZ3mMNy_It7VRbV9mQiVfqp_TOch3lBGykJgeTLeDTHiPECB0Oi7NQMm6sFGlyCnoWHmmNnf8lIThihaP5DLPkNDnslZ5PiNrJ9TrffbgnlJwT0cgXvkTYk4ArmzQnOPbxUKeG16p2tVjiCWNqhvRo019yNikmaJ6pb0xcFk5EBiQCGQ1GBi/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-23%20at%203.55.32%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Joi Lansing, John Bromfield, Carol Shanno & Mark Dana in HOT CARS Year: 1956 Rates: ****</u><u>*</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Despite not making any Film Noir lists, HOT CARS is the epitome of the seedy side of crime cinema led by an otherwise honest guy who, in this case, is ironically a used car salesman in John Bromfield, married to the perfect suburban wife and father of a sick child: thus needing extra money, and quick...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yet the best scenes occur in the first act when Bromfield's Nick can't catch a break, mainly from bullying boss Robert Osterloh, who both sophisticated desk-set villain Ralph Clanton and handsome killer henchman Mark Dano... eventually targeting token snoopy cop Dabs Greer... are initially a nice break from...</p><p><span></span></p>

bel air productions, carol shannon, fifties, film noir or melodrama, jazz-score, john bromfield, joi lansing, mark dana, paula hill, ralph clanton, robert osterloh, thriller

JOHN BROMFIELD WITH JOI LANSING & MARK DANA IN 'HOT CARS'

Joi Lansing, John Bromfield, Carol Shanno & Mark Dana in HOT CARS Year: 1956 Rates: **** * Despite not making any Film Noir lists, HOT C...

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...

VINCE EDWARDS WITH JUDY GEESON & DIANA DORS IN 'HAMMERHEAD'

<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/AVvXsEiuytAqQXeWwxyhYDNS9vu6FDbA1C69hKCVyg6hwn5IfHYQvQi9qYhGPyvLh_zm2zMX7UKBLVWc3ddTSF1tVfCZztDNmZKMmcngsMuzVl4hmgNghybdeLVFo4JqhfhDfXAhRYLp5pm-KMDOvHJ82z6A2MLcPlGAL18E7F7tyo111uU38iAXZqeKqWFhGxQl/s2090/DD.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="2090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuytAqQXeWwxyhYDNS9vu6FDbA1C69hKCVyg6hwn5IfHYQvQi9qYhGPyvLh_zm2zMX7UKBLVWc3ddTSF1tVfCZztDNmZKMmcngsMuzVl4hmgNghybdeLVFo4JqhfhDfXAhRYLp5pm-KMDOvHJ82z6A2MLcPlGAL18E7F7tyo111uU38iAXZqeKqWFhGxQl/s16000/DD.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Vince Edwards and Judy Geeson in HAMMERHEAD Year: 1968 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Irwin Allen's production HAMMERHEAD is yet another James Bond clone, released at the peak of the jazz-driven, horn-blasting, colorfully-vibrant, boisterously-flamboyant, dancing-girl Swinging-60's...<br><br>Where a swarthy sex symbol from the previous decade lethargically jaunts from a British nightclub to a plush yacht to canvas-decorated castle interiors to a street party in Lisbon, Portugal... <br></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/AVvXsEhdlZ2V9h0arvCOeZcwlHkIY21BZLpZtiED2UUm8Qx2RxQmyS9lGmDt1g4gZejgD2cyIG9UdvkaH7a1rh5Pr6-CsXecflgnaF_qUfzhhKRN_BFTF2dVbQ0bp8NIf5AdsI3BmftdPEEQuMFqf9yF5rzZeYUkWwrIZKgwIN8XJc6QBn-6f2p37QiEqwZmf1bj/s2092/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-01%20at%2011.52.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="2092" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlZ2V9h0arvCOeZcwlHkIY21BZLpZtiED2UUm8Qx2RxQmyS9lGmDt1g4gZejgD2cyIG9UdvkaH7a1rh5Pr6-CsXecflgnaF_qUfzhhKRN_BFTF2dVbQ0bp8NIf5AdsI3BmftdPEEQuMFqf9yF5rzZeYUkWwrIZKgwIN8XJc6QBn-6f2p37QiEqwZmf1bj/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-01%20at%2011.52.46%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From Irwin Allen's HAMMERHEAD</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While the only intriguing aspect that keeps American Vince Edwards' undercover agent Charles Hood interested is British blonde beauty Judy Geeson, who flirtatiously frolics around (competing with lanky Dorothy Adams and voluptuous Diana Dors) as he investigates the titular HAMMERHEAD... <br><br>Who, played by character-actor Peter Vaughan (guarded by future Darth Vader David Prowse), is an art-collecting billionaire with the usual cliche agenda on controlling the world — but it's never quite clear exactly how, or why.  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, beverly adams, david prowse, diana dors, irwin allen, jazz-score, judy geeson, kenneth cope, patrick cargill, peter vaughan, sixties, spy, vince edwards

VINCE EDWARDS WITH JUDY GEESON & DIANA DORS IN 'HAMMERHEAD'

Vince Edwards and Judy Geeson in HAMMERHEAD Year: 1968 Rating: **1/2 Irwin Allen's production HAMMERHEAD is yet another James Bond clone...

JUNE KENNEY, JACK HOGAN & GREG PALMER IN 'THE CAT BURGLER'

<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/AVvXsEhd2foCWQna0b0zKbDvLQK8X6SD-M2A3w0Nt9G8BoF3QxVG9h-3XCwucWh4nrSQDEWeWO63GwB_LbMptpUBlGffw_dxaTwOXnWVg2g0j0-kers1-ToU-pFnrih4nDbdddOoHiWazKlVPqVIPbu4k8gBcRJoAO3eOtUd-sgFK3rkz0RyCO8rIURXyUXxau8K/s1444/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2foCWQna0b0zKbDvLQK8X6SD-M2A3w0Nt9G8BoF3QxVG9h-3XCwucWh4nrSQDEWeWO63GwB_LbMptpUBlGffw_dxaTwOXnWVg2g0j0-kers1-ToU-pFnrih4nDbdddOoHiWazKlVPqVIPbu4k8gBcRJoAO3eOtUd-sgFK3rkz0RyCO8rIURXyUXxau8K/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jack Hogan and June Kenney in THE CAT BURGLAR Year: 1961 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Late film-noir/early-neo-noir often had beatnik-like characters backed by hip jazz scores including sporadic explosions of bongo drums... and the swiftly-directed THE CAT BURGLAR begins with what seems like your average crime flick until Jack Hogan, while robbing an apartment, steals a briefcase... <br><br>Turning a thriller into outright espionage after the apartment's victim June Kenney, known for playing screaming ingenues in monster movies, gets one of her first grownup roles, skinnier and edgier but still insanely gorgeous...</p><p><span></span></p>

beatnik, espionage, gene roth, gregg palmer, jack hogan, jazz-score, june kenney, neo noir, sixties, thriller

JUNE KENNEY, JACK HOGAN & GREG PALMER IN 'THE CAT BURGLER'

Jack Hogan and June Kenney in THE CAT BURGLAR Year: 1961 Rating: *** Late film-noir/early-neo-noir often had beatnik-like characters backed ...

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

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

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

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

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

FRANK SINATRA RETURNING AS TONY ROME IN 'LADY IN CEMENT'

<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/AVvXsEjsIYtJRllfexjYwxcmIhV8B8K6DY0zGtijnWCOfW8KIkueUYY7agnvU4en-oWRaG3uQEjhLbcGsMhfmxIKS4-Dwcy3iI-O2nk3fNU7V765PhetyFSDNa227Mf1kNm7UsC0Wok4vkCkjTpPWrdq93QAKXcl53fA2CDhjrfBRZ7pUwMBM4sA5a4bN7EtKyS-/s1878/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-14%20at%207.13.52%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1878" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIYtJRllfexjYwxcmIhV8B8K6DY0zGtijnWCOfW8KIkueUYY7agnvU4en-oWRaG3uQEjhLbcGsMhfmxIKS4-Dwcy3iI-O2nk3fNU7V765PhetyFSDNa227Mf1kNm7UsC0Wok4vkCkjTpPWrdq93QAKXcl53fA2CDhjrfBRZ7pUwMBM4sA5a4bN7EtKyS-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-14%20at%207.13.52%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>In LADY IN CEMENT Year: 1967 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the sequel to the neo-noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/04/lyon-of-rome.html">TONY ROME</a>, with legendary cool crooner Frank Sinatra in the lead role during the colorful late 1960's... while deep sea diving he literally sees the LADY IN CEMENT at the bottom of the ocean...<br><br>Her naked, otherwise model-looking corpse surrounded by a guardian shark (that would have probably stripped her to the bone) as the original film's otherwise capable director Gordon Douglas (KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE), who filmed several other of Frank's crime/heist vehicles, doesn't get a lot of tension out of what should be an extremely suspenseful situation: as Rome (actually the stunt diver) merely brushes off the killer fish as if they were nothing... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

action, chris robinson, dan blocker, exploitation, frank sinatra, gumshoe, jazz-score, lainie kazan, mystery, neo noir, raquel welch, richard conte, shark, sixties, tony rome

FRANK SINATRA RETURNING AS TONY ROME IN 'LADY IN CEMENT'

In LADY IN CEMENT Year: 1967 Rating: *** In the sequel to the neo-noir TONY ROME , with legendary cool crooner Frank Sinatra in the lead rol...

STANLEY KUBRICK'S RUDIMENTARY FILM NOIR OF 'KILLER'S KISS'

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhnxacvx1OGHKutZmjhLccTP7wJ4FHdYKn4EmGSkamaeK-rspzSl75vDfeJ08ajYU5AhhX-xYGFjrWiPGdvQY3SoAO0NLnnJw9VKPdkw2xxhvZ4RemsnIUzmt51N8VckiAWdVYP3lal7YRitFYFC4ZQyxPcjqNPz5_alIRVNtCbBM3Ta_Jce7GsTlnbEfGW/s2456/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-25%20at%209.35.08%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxacvx1OGHKutZmjhLccTP7wJ4FHdYKn4EmGSkamaeK-rspzSl75vDfeJ08ajYU5AhhX-xYGFjrWiPGdvQY3SoAO0NLnnJw9VKPdkw2xxhvZ4RemsnIUzmt51N8VckiAWdVYP3lal7YRitFYFC4ZQyxPcjqNPz5_alIRVNtCbBM3Ta_Jce7GsTlnbEfGW/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-25%20at%209.35.08%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Stanley Kubrick's KILLER'S KISS Year: 1955 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When it's not a primal, jazz piano, mamba-like rhythm as gangster/dance club owner Frank Silvera tries keeping his trophy girl from being romanced by someone truly deserving, the deepest, more soulful orchestration is very reminiscent of (years later) THE GODFATHER score...<br> <br> Despite director Stanley Kubrick referring to KILLER'S KISS as a student film, his rudimentary Noir is a beautiful, intentionally-simplistic tale with the auteur's metronomic, haunting rhythm intact, and, harboring such a flowing, naturally offbeat groove throughout, it's hard to fathom that, at this point, with only an even more low-budget (and unreleased) movie under his belt, he already possessed a vibe and structure all his own... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

boxing, felice orlandi, fifties, film noir or melodrama, frank silvera, irene kane, jamie smith, jazz-score, mobster, stanley kubrick, thriller

STANLEY KUBRICK'S RUDIMENTARY FILM NOIR OF 'KILLER'S KISS'

Title: Stanley Kubrick's KILLER'S KISS Year: 1955 Rating: **** When it's not a primal, jazz piano, mamba-like rhythm as gangste...

PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjqGcowbgZy8_l1GFYTSWL4ZdjJz6ZieNOvvxYkA4dAEPcRDJukjslHkvqW8Nm4xUtljM-Da1jwEwFD1ZOxmCjs0rN1BFJ8ewgaGY0bo0_2-wfdmX66DWqp96oqRIG7tolnRHh9WUJANcZk8kzgzn3DvTwYLMnXa7X0hruRvLHkQGG6w24BDzbwVQwmFdG_/s1512/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-25%20at%202.37.27%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGcowbgZy8_l1GFYTSWL4ZdjJz6ZieNOvvxYkA4dAEPcRDJukjslHkvqW8Nm4xUtljM-Da1jwEwFD1ZOxmCjs0rN1BFJ8ewgaGY0bo0_2-wfdmX66DWqp96oqRIG7tolnRHh9WUJANcZk8kzgzn3DvTwYLMnXa7X0hruRvLHkQGG6w24BDzbwVQwmFdG_/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-25%20at%202.37.27%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for the media since director Peter Yates's prior chase in his British heist thriller <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/AR.html">ROBBERY</a> was so admired by Steve McQueen, Yates got <i>this</i> gig... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But like there is far more than just action throughout the strategically tempered neo noir cadence of ROBBERY, Yates's cop/crime classic BULLITT is also more about words than wheels...</p><span></span>

action, bill hickman, carl reindel, classic, cop, crime, cult, don gordon, felice orlandi, jacqueline bisset, jazz-score, pat renella, peter yates, robert vaughn, simon oakland, sixties, steve mcqueen, thriller

PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: ***** The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for t...

GARY LOCKWOOD IN ANTONIO ISASI'S 'THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS'

<p></p><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/AVvXsEhHkvaoBwXYs_raeoK7gnr2dFgIPc940R3ky3qUoaHGDfS00ucqmRup_7a5-WOuP2rJvteMIjM3RJyNxiz4SZwrrVjiGeSSGBlCeuoxwkz8oO-ScsvaY4WdCA7EbQDjqie9_LR-miHK5jKBbEiZ74Hqh32xS_1Wl4hyLbSpJktKlRZJPQ_9QBNpTsu1nzSe/s1226/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-14%20at%207.17.05%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="1226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkvaoBwXYs_raeoK7gnr2dFgIPc940R3ky3qUoaHGDfS00ucqmRup_7a5-WOuP2rJvteMIjM3RJyNxiz4SZwrrVjiGeSSGBlCeuoxwkz8oO-ScsvaY4WdCA7EbQDjqie9_LR-miHK5jKBbEiZ74Hqh32xS_1Wl4hyLbSpJktKlRZJPQ_9QBNpTsu1nzSe/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-14%20at%207.17.05%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS </u><u>aka LAS VEGAS, 500 MILLONES Rating: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Spanish auteur Antonio Isasi was definitely a fan of gangster films since almost every single shot of his heist-caper THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS epitomizes the classic crime genre's style and structure, making this a combination of steely homage and groovy/fast-paced 1960's kitsch, jazzy soundtrack and all... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Starring American import Gary Lockwood the same year he'd soar through Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the biggest flaw is the budget spent on two other name-actors, Lee J. Cobb as the targeted armored car company owner, and Jack Palance as an insurance investigator with eyes on both Cobb and Lockwood...</p><p><span></span></p>

antonio isasi, armored car, caper, crime, elke sommer, exploitation, gary lockwood, heist, italian, jack palance, jazz-score, jean servais, lee j. cobb, mobster, neo noir, post-heist, spanish, warner archives

GARY LOCKWOOD IN ANTONIO ISASI'S 'THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS'

From THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS aka LAS VEGAS, 500 MILLONES Rating: ***1/2 Spanish auteur Antonio Isasi was definitely a fan of gangster fil...

RORY CALHOUN WITH MARY COSTA & COREY ALLEN 'THE BIG CAPER'

<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/AVvXsEi7-vA19lI3l-iuBTltkn4iyORsryuEVYzoZpcMa3cKpPaF5xJzSgTnX2xKrHEHa6ebBg6EbQVSMyI-gJufORs3s7JfkH1ZFhsr68Hk-76VTj4t-QZgijZPCi5yz7qdyF3fXVVrJd_2y13-2-3_HZxIPesiXFTbsSWobHbYVvBAPYog8W1QEDxYtiqwbS5r/s1832/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-24%20at%203.03.27%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1832" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-vA19lI3l-iuBTltkn4iyORsryuEVYzoZpcMa3cKpPaF5xJzSgTnX2xKrHEHa6ebBg6EbQVSMyI-gJufORs3s7JfkH1ZFhsr68Hk-76VTj4t-QZgijZPCi5yz7qdyF3fXVVrJd_2y13-2-3_HZxIPesiXFTbsSWobHbYVvBAPYog8W1QEDxYtiqwbS5r/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-24%20at%203.03.27%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE BIG CAPER Year: 1957 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By late 1950's Film Noir, the kind of beatnik jazz listened to by the criminals also provides the soundtrack, whether it's source music (played deliberately from a radio within the movie) or part of the overall score...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the crooks are a lot stranger and eccentric, especially in THE BIG CAPER where Rory Calhoun works for James Gregory, whose boss-moll Mary Costa's planted with Calhoun to pose as a bland married couple in the suburbs... waiting to pounce on a bank job that's particularly lucrative for carrying money to deliver to the marine's Camp Pendleton in Southern California... but without the beachy establishing exterior since most of CAPER takes place indoors...</p><p><span></span></p>

film noir or melodrama, heist, james gregory, jazz-score, mary costa, paul picerni, rory calhoun, roxanne arlen

RORY CALHOUN WITH MARY COSTA & COREY ALLEN 'THE BIG CAPER'

Title: THE BIG CAPER Year: 1957 Rating: *** By late 1950's Film Noir, the kind of beatnik jazz listened to by the criminals also provide...

EDMOND O'BRIEN RACES THROUGH THE CLASSIC FILM NOIR 'D.O.A.'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjdDX4nhHupyCn_IlsmPtDOB0KyUkd8TQwt3HWQ8rFF9IyLMyS6F3yhfUDATt_gHV6xcFeraN7tUDvv0rsFwpeKfzd8PdcqE6RDrR-0ET3GeKIWJ2WTJ8PujA6DA7lRmsNukJnu3Jwg9EcnQhc_UgCPCSScnYcMplgsX1WLOxniwN8g9iFzNTX07lsl-iXa/s2076/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-22%20at%208.43.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="2076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDX4nhHupyCn_IlsmPtDOB0KyUkd8TQwt3HWQ8rFF9IyLMyS6F3yhfUDATt_gHV6xcFeraN7tUDvv0rsFwpeKfzd8PdcqE6RDrR-0ET3GeKIWJ2WTJ8PujA6DA7lRmsNukJnu3Jwg9EcnQhc_UgCPCSScnYcMplgsX1WLOxniwN8g9iFzNTX07lsl-iXa/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-22%20at%208.43.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: D.O.A. Year: 1959 Director: Rudolph Maté Stars: Edmond O'Brien Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For one of the most literally deadly-serious film noirs ever made, when accountant Edmond O'Brien goes from his L. A. office to a San Francisco hotel for a vacation, there are cheesy wolf-whistles added whenever a beautiful woman walks by, starting at the lobby and then upstairs where a salesman convention rages — but for O'Brien's Frank Bigelow the good times don't roll very long...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Although the rudimentary suarez<i> is</i> like a short film all its own, which is what distinguishes D. O. A. since it's really three pictures in one: the first peaking at a noisy jazz club where O'Brien's distracted by gorgeous and rich, blonde jazz-freak Virginia Lee while a hooded mystery man puts something in his drink, causing O'Brien to wake up feeling even worse than the hangover he'd have anyway...</p><p><span></span></p>

beverly garland, edmond o'brien, fifties, film noir or melodrama, hugh o'brian, jazz-score, laurette luez, luther adler, mystery, neville brand, race against time, rudolph maté', thriller, virginia lee

EDMOND O'BRIEN RACES THROUGH THE CLASSIC FILM NOIR 'D.O.A.'

Title: D.O.A. Year: 1959 Director: Rudolph Maté Stars: Edmond O'Brien Rating: **** For one of the most literally deadly-serious film noi...

STANLEY BAKER BONDING ESPIONAGE FOR 'INNOCENT BYSTANDERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjP1QPSgODcxadGDLzACTN7avqjTe-9fMYXLdq9tHg1LKypZMxOJT4rHRwIvIWJb16jI99ISbK2PoQDVfwtr1gGZjRG9pZyz2mY0eCeLkKgnXmuGhhSOcENijPY94dknq1oaW_iVSlCQBXR0Zr6jrHA6HhNEyw1NZLJZLzSIYV0NA2uOcAcaJUdM6JPDfd8/s1998/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-31%20at%201.29.44%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1998" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1QPSgODcxadGDLzACTN7avqjTe-9fMYXLdq9tHg1LKypZMxOJT4rHRwIvIWJb16jI99ISbK2PoQDVfwtr1gGZjRG9pZyz2mY0eCeLkKgnXmuGhhSOcENijPY94dknq1oaW_iVSlCQBXR0Zr6jrHA6HhNEyw1NZLJZLzSIYV0NA2uOcAcaJUdM6JPDfd8/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-31%20at%201.29.44%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: INNOCENT BYSTANDERS Cast: Stanley Baker, Darren Nesbitt 1972 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Tough, sturdy, square-jawed British actor Stanley Baker was considered for James Bond... ironically he looks like Sean Connery (or vice versa) and <i>starred</i> in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/HellDrivers.html">HELL DRIVERS</a> where a young Connery began... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Then, skip 15-years later after super-star Connery left the iconic spy role, Baker starred in a movie so Bondish that... just hearing the flaunting, jazzy, repetitive score, you'd think INNOCENT BYSTANDERS was yet another 007 entry, including power-hungry villains, led by the most famous of Bond foes, Donald Pleasence, danging a carrot to lesser corporate heavy Dana Andrews...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, dana andrews, derren nesbitt, donald pleasence, espionage, geraldine chaplin, jazz-score, pauline chamberlain, peter collinson, seventies, spy, stanley baker, sue lloyd, warren mitchell

STANLEY BAKER BONDING ESPIONAGE FOR 'INNOCENT BYSTANDERS'

Title: INNOCENT BYSTANDERS Cast: Stanley Baker, Darren Nesbitt 1972 Rating: ***1/2 Tough, sturdy, square-jawed British actor Stanley Baker w...

WILLAM CONRAD REINCARNATES NOIR WITH 'MY BLOOD RUNS COLD'

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjMQm2XnJNYoZzwS9IjGv1KhisUw_aqVBYpR-Y2QMh0rsLyZtugD09WitTv8-uCCpvD6VtuuFLgi9_qdg5msA9OWc0NX7cSXUrLbhhSQsIY3Y1FQEIIBxkssK8FRINeV7Ehy_gzEyhvOuOtn8xDSsVG3wpQxxcLcCNBK2fvNwaZQoyJq1M4NvesAa2Wg1we/s2452/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-27%20at%201.15.29%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQm2XnJNYoZzwS9IjGv1KhisUw_aqVBYpR-Y2QMh0rsLyZtugD09WitTv8-uCCpvD6VtuuFLgi9_qdg5msA9OWc0NX7cSXUrLbhhSQsIY3Y1FQEIIBxkssK8FRINeV7Ehy_gzEyhvOuOtn8xDSsVG3wpQxxcLcCNBK2fvNwaZQoyJq1M4NvesAa2Wg1we/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-27%20at%201.15.29%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MY BLOOD RUNS COLD Cast: Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton  Year: 1965 Year: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Along with throwaway horror flick TWO ON A GUILLOTINE in an extremely busy three-picture-year of 1965, the best-known-for-television actor William Conrad directed an unintentional neo-noir double-feature, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2023/11/brainstorm.html">BRAINSTORM</a> and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/08/citizen-cannon.html">MY BLOOD RUNS COLD</a>, both unique, creative and eclectic while the latter provided limited-rage Troy Donahue a surprisingly intense performance... with layers...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Albeit most of them intentionally hidden since his character is deeply enigmatic from the start, <i>and</i> desperately vulnerable — literally when he's almost killed by spoiled, fitfully gorgeous rich girl Joey Heatherton...</p><p><span></span></p>

barry sullivan, jazz-score, jeanette nolan, joey heatherton, melodrama, neo noir, nicolas coster, romance, sixties, thriller, troy donahue, william conrad

WILLAM CONRAD REINCARNATES NOIR WITH 'MY BLOOD RUNS COLD'

Title: MY BLOOD RUNS COLD Cast: Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton  Year: 1965 Year: **** Along with throwaway horror flick TWO ON A GUILLOTINE ...

ROBERT BLAKE & SCOTT WILSON BREAKTHROUGH 'IN COLD BLOOD'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjSkZWYOuVMgVfu7D-CYzlXLUfdOjffQkvII_XPwEphtYHXdvk7IYZZzocFfSPOSOcV7eGW8Z2enyWzvUpGt9n27B7qOwFJ9K_a_iMhqyyeECHT60fYCyPiIrPr4bZVPV_Hs3kkSLTyA_rMbBrHaSUXomwpdSvOMu9PmBXRk-GCBzGcJkiWyerz0KO43OLK/s1652/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-18%20at%2010.35.47%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1652" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkZWYOuVMgVfu7D-CYzlXLUfdOjffQkvII_XPwEphtYHXdvk7IYZZzocFfSPOSOcV7eGW8Z2enyWzvUpGt9n27B7qOwFJ9K_a_iMhqyyeECHT60fYCyPiIrPr4bZVPV_Hs3kkSLTyA_rMbBrHaSUXomwpdSvOMu9PmBXRk-GCBzGcJkiWyerz0KO43OLK/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-18%20at%2010.35.47%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: IN COLD BLOOD Director: Richard Brooks Year: 1967 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Made in the late-1960's leading to the early-1970's American Renaissance, Richard Brooks's theatrical adaptation of Truman Capote's non-fiction bestseller IN COLD BLOOD, taking place in the late 1950's, is a sublime combination of the then-budding style of modern-method/character-driven performances and the more polished and studied throwback to Hollywood's Golden Age (including hard-boiled documentary-style narration)...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And as real-life killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcok, Robert Blake and Scott Wilson hand-off individual importance: Wilson during the first half as a cocky conman instigating the heist of a supposed Kansas farmer's lucrative safe, and, following their Nevada capture, the previously brooding, strong-silent Blake drives the story home, right down to the inevitable hangman's noose...</p><span></span>

biopic, brenda currin, charles mcgraw, crime, gerald s. o'loughlin, james flavin, jazz-score, jeff corey, john forsythe, john mcliam, paul stewart, richard brooks, robert blake, scott wilson, sixties, will geer

ROBERT BLAKE & SCOTT WILSON BREAKTHROUGH 'IN COLD BLOOD'

Title: IN COLD BLOOD Director: Richard Brooks Year: 1967 Rating: ***** Made in the late-1960's leading to the early-1970's American ...

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...

BURT REYNOLDS STARS/DIRECTS THE NEO NOIR 'SHARKY'S MACHINE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhlc58prpFJfj1m4HHqFvC25yNzqmXicU58scAaXWvcKg_mJY3MQtDHuefuDGxQBxgLjwFgBieOo2GbhxfTKZ4CvQNeWsObyc1SWLsvHCnl3cO8HZxIGGtHkGZnBEzMxeMyCIUbP1trrxHl5k6dKYMl64QwXWiaLUthfoZFU04OS8JJcRFeyyPS07CfNWhf/s1976/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-14%20at%202.25.54%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1976" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc58prpFJfj1m4HHqFvC25yNzqmXicU58scAaXWvcKg_mJY3MQtDHuefuDGxQBxgLjwFgBieOo2GbhxfTKZ4CvQNeWsObyc1SWLsvHCnl3cO8HZxIGGtHkGZnBEzMxeMyCIUbP1trrxHl5k6dKYMl64QwXWiaLUthfoZFU04OS8JJcRFeyyPS07CfNWhf/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-14%20at%202.25.54%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SHARKY'S MACHINE Year: 1981 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although Burt Reynolds' box office rival Clint Eastwood deemed SHARKY'S MACHINE "Dirty Harry in Georgia," it's actually a spiritual remake of the film noir LAURA where a cop falls for a mysterious woman who was supposedly murdered by a killer using a shotgun at her apartment door — but turns out being another dame entirely...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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 before all that, Reynolds goes from a risky narc officer... whose opening drug deal turns into a solid city shootout... to one of several vice squad members in the shabby and neglected police headquarters-basement; and their first gig busting whores at a political rally with the two coolest characters, not including Burt, also the director... and with a skin-diver's cut instead of his usual distracting toupee, he hasn't been this legit since DELIVERANCE... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, bernie casey, brian keith, burt reynolds, charles durning, cop, earl holliman, eighties, henry silva, jazz-score, neo noir, rachel ward, vice, vittorio gassman

BURT REYNOLDS STARS/DIRECTS THE NEO NOIR 'SHARKY'S MACHINE'

Title: SHARKY'S MACHINE Year: 1981 Rating: **** Although Burt Reynolds' box office rival Clint Eastwood deemed SHARKY'S MACHINE ...

NOIR TORPEDO VINCE EDWARDS KILLS IN 'MURDER BY CONTRACT'

<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/AVvXsEjFxZBVbwamw0ie4-PBPgev1C1uIATf_RWUWy4QeoYo4_ApjrE1MPxchz5h3BGXjptXfQO07mzwqWvK5P9x6sffEg-rpk9L8HBPheUmioNa43883V1N1we6CUY320YZgrKIzW-au5iRL-iZawRBtvZ6mQSCM-O9KBeS2W9W_M7Nm1iNANyae9vEtF_Q1Q/s1566/3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxZBVbwamw0ie4-PBPgev1C1uIATf_RWUWy4QeoYo4_ApjrE1MPxchz5h3BGXjptXfQO07mzwqWvK5P9x6sffEg-rpk9L8HBPheUmioNa43883V1N1we6CUY320YZgrKIzW-au5iRL-iZawRBtvZ6mQSCM-O9KBeS2W9W_M7Nm1iNANyae9vEtF_Q1Q/s16000/3.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MURDER BY CONTRACT Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Deliberately sparse and slow-paced, unpretentiously stylized film noir with a solitary jazz guitar played to a continuous phantom metronome, somewhat like THE THIRD MAN theme only more in the background of a picture whose main characters are, in a way, in the background...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Particularly Vince Edwards, one of the strangest, most eccentric cinematic hit men ever while taking his sweet time for a big job following a nifty montage of smaller gigs, ranging from a deadly barber shop to an undercover hospital visit... and always returning back to his shabby apartment room, stilted with hours of frigid meantime... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

body count, exploitation, fifties, film noir or melodrama, irvine lerner, jazz-score, kathie browne, pnillip pine, thriller, vince edwards

NOIR TORPEDO VINCE EDWARDS KILLS IN 'MURDER BY CONTRACT'

Title: MURDER BY CONTRACT Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2 Deliberately sparse and slow-paced, unpretentiously stylized film noir with a solitary j...

JAMES CAAN AND PETER BOYLE IN THE NOIR ROAD MOVIE 'SLITHER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhmyDSeaQIPnKW9gANDS56ErDzOuoft7m1Ax6u4TNxOrlH53ghAnAZ9LbcbH6wSPwZBXChpAVfpRbNUtFVEi2UTvW-woLwDGjteZJR8_owtxjZ_2X5RcsKM2g_5lHeKMJA5TEYNpTHKvrA-RgqFQCWxZmwVgp0tg6izxQP5hytxJ_XDGWCbSMzZVnkE6FLg/s1798/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-30%20at%209.08.07%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1798" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyDSeaQIPnKW9gANDS56ErDzOuoft7m1Ax6u4TNxOrlH53ghAnAZ9LbcbH6wSPwZBXChpAVfpRbNUtFVEi2UTvW-woLwDGjteZJR8_owtxjZ_2X5RcsKM2g_5lHeKMJA5TEYNpTHKvrA-RgqFQCWxZmwVgp0tg6izxQP5hytxJ_XDGWCbSMzZVnkE6FLg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-07-30%20at%209.08.07%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Caan in SLITHER Director: Howard Zieff Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Right after playing the tough, feisty Sonny Corleone in THE GODFATHER, square-jawed James Caan went another direction; but it takes around fifteen minutes into SLITHER to realize this particular hardened criminal (a freshly sprung ex-con) isn't really tough at all...<br> <br> As in, he doesn't prefer fighting, whether offense or defense, seeming dazedly reluctant when a cranky farmer wants to break his arm for hitchhiking... and what Caan holds back provides one of his best performances...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

action, adventure, alex rocco, allen garfield, howard zieff, james caan, jazz-score, louise lasser, mystery, neo noir, peter boyle, richard b. shull, road movie, sally kellerman, seventies, warner archives

JAMES CAAN AND PETER BOYLE IN THE NOIR ROAD MOVIE 'SLITHER'

James Caan in SLITHER Director: Howard Zieff Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2 Right after playing the tough, feisty Sonny Corleone in THE GODFATHE...

REVIEW OF 'NIGHT TIDE' WITH DENNIS HOPPER & LINDA LAWSON

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgHf2Vmnzr_8t0Amyq5v0hLx0sts6bmmWT2ihr85N6wt6tiyGzltRY4Z9n6o2z3Az11pBs8rXcKe5ihceXNasECIxW1IX32i36ByM3V9RLE5NnsSf-YyzXX2krPD6h0bmErkTVoJvNIw1yi9zbgsUF9Ad3t-QueO12VgIjO5tVQJBtmWO_zVdtuoqyxJ7eH/s1824/361299165_1767949773634191_2885771630620816365_n%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1215" data-original-width="1824" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf2Vmnzr_8t0Amyq5v0hLx0sts6bmmWT2ihr85N6wt6tiyGzltRY4Z9n6o2z3Az11pBs8rXcKe5ihceXNasECIxW1IX32i36ByM3V9RLE5NnsSf-YyzXX2krPD6h0bmErkTVoJvNIw1yi9zbgsUF9Ad3t-QueO12VgIjO5tVQJBtmWO_zVdtuoqyxJ7eH/s16000/361299165_1767949773634191_2885771630620816365_n%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Curtis Harrington's NIGHT TIDE Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Many early-1960's films had a million dissolves, and didn't always know where they were going. But this low-budget arthouse knows exactly what it is, even if the audience is never quite sure: Taking place in the early, sparse days of Venice Beach, California, a sailor meets an exotic woman who works at a carnival as a mermaid... and a few men she's dated have turned/washed up dead...<br> <br> A young cherubic-faced Dennis Hopper is fun to watch as the gullible love-sick sailor. He won't listen to all the warning about her track record. Let's face it, the guy is <i>hooked</i>... And it's nice seeing Hopper as a normal person, not a burn-out, weirdo or psychopath, in a movie with gorgeous B&W cinematography and a jazz score, and club...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

arthouse, curtis harrington, dennis hopper, indie, jazz-score, linda lawson, luana anders, mystery, romance, sixties, thriller

REVIEW OF 'NIGHT TIDE' WITH DENNIS HOPPER & LINDA LAWSON

Curtis Harrington's NIGHT TIDE Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2 Many early-1960's films had a million dissolves, and didn't always kno...

YOUNG BRITISH BLONDE BEAUTY GILLIAN HILLS AS 'BEAT GIRL'

<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/AVvXsEiRrpD2-OWAzCwv4qOZtgfJuONutzmXZD_WArrMRhpGb9hRpcq2BBrqwh2ttylqGcqhbM59YZUZ06zyrY26JpG4tTm-JzHj6V5UjbOLixRT3UIpi13CJxNxTP-sgDdRxZED_wkagm3pEcl0KHeYmtYG8ovlOaA_XQG03Usptzh30G4jUzbRD-FCmBGmaDfI/s2482/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-21%20at%202.09.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1524" data-original-width="2482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrpD2-OWAzCwv4qOZtgfJuONutzmXZD_WArrMRhpGb9hRpcq2BBrqwh2ttylqGcqhbM59YZUZ06zyrY26JpG4tTm-JzHj6V5UjbOLixRT3UIpi13CJxNxTP-sgDdRxZED_wkagm3pEcl0KHeYmtYG8ovlOaA_XQG03Usptzh30G4jUzbRD-FCmBGmaDfI/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-11-21%20at%202.09.24%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gillian Hills and Christopher Lee in BEAT GIRL Year: 1960</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>BEAT GIRL is like two movies in one, and both are pretty great with the insanely gorgeous Gillian Hills, a hybrid of Sue Lyon's LOLITA and Diane Lane in RUMBLE FISH: All three looking dynamic in B&W while <i>this</i> more obscure gem centers on teenagers <i>wild</i> about the Stateside "hopeless and soapless" Beatnik movement, grooving to the jazz score of composer John Barry (featuring his live John Barry Seven)...<br> <br> And when the wayward/lackadaisical youngsters aren't hanging-out, the main plot centers solely on Gillian's Jennifer Linden, a rich spoiled brat of sixteen (her real age), who unfairly loathes her architect father David Farrar's new wife (Noelle Adam), a pretty yet earthy, twenty-something French girl — with a past...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

beatnik, british new wave, carol white, christopher lee, claire gordon, david farrar, david gregory, delphi lawrence, exploitation, gillian hills, jazz-score, noëlle adam, oliver reed, shirley anne field, sixties

YOUNG BRITISH BLONDE BEAUTY GILLIAN HILLS AS 'BEAT GIRL'

Gillian Hills and Christopher Lee in BEAT GIRL Year: 1960 BEAT GIRL is like two movies in one, and both are pretty great with the insanely ...