PETER LORRE & ROCHELLE HUDSON IN 'ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN'

<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/AVvXsEilrLSuVJ5oed-dg6ms4BeoymgjTLCMwBu6f-0IAiYXs2yO0WVD_YTlxMx1sqQtc_qo8yQihO9p-60TJL6sv4w0_-s9Jf0ZyxppPgr7a7HWSGHOM7m2OpcfgYpynMWYs2gc4lEdfSZKrcDYJWa8wuDdjQBQHoYee09fzUMDYTAl0xtioT-iRtfYSDPEMIVm/s1688/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-12%20at%203.29.34%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1688" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrLSuVJ5oed-dg6ms4BeoymgjTLCMwBu6f-0IAiYXs2yO0WVD_YTlxMx1sqQtc_qo8yQihO9p-60TJL6sv4w0_-s9Jf0ZyxppPgr7a7HWSGHOM7m2OpcfgYpynMWYs2gc4lEdfSZKrcDYJWa8wuDdjQBQHoYee09fzUMDYTAl0xtioT-iRtfYSDPEMIVm/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-12%20at%203.29.34%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Peter Lorre and Rochelle Hudson in ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN Year: 1940 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The pulpy tagline to the 1940 thriller ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN is "Women shuddering at his cruel caress" despite the fact only one woman, the wife of evil slave-master Peter Lorre, is on the titular island: and within their balmy plantation villa interior, he hardly touches or even speaks to her at all...<br><br>As classic beauty Rochelle Hudson quickly and understandably falls for handsome, dark-haired buried-lead Robert Wilcox, whose initial wrong-man story-line fits more into a deliberately-complicated film-noir beyond what's often mistaken as a horror flick (the plot heavily infused into Lawrence Tierney's jungle-traipsing <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/06/KOBK.html">KILL OR BE KILLED</a>)... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

forties, george e. stone, kenneth macdonald, peter lorre, prison, robert wilcox, rochelle hudson, thriller

PETER LORRE & ROCHELLE HUDSON IN 'ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN'

Peter Lorre and Rochelle Hudson in ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN Year: 1940 Rating: ***1/2 The pulpy tagline to the 1940 thriller ISLAND OF DOOMED ME...

ENA HARTMAN, TOM SELLECK & MARTA KRISTEN 'TERMINAL ISLAND'

<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/AVvXsEhBjl-9g4qzPfCEd_zyMpTbFeKihvuAdm0pLqSGNjmhIHU-BXOhSDwYczPxwr1nyhMKVRBfsObOPuMPvz0LVDvUbjvrJvPW5mGbSjXAmUDyPzEWJlCN_iNEli9byryTrxdA1KxHn51LYjqEp15YZUeD0xqG-EusRCqBE1kuuA9IaXulFhOZmMfBJtunVpp9/s1756/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1756" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjl-9g4qzPfCEd_zyMpTbFeKihvuAdm0pLqSGNjmhIHU-BXOhSDwYczPxwr1nyhMKVRBfsObOPuMPvz0LVDvUbjvrJvPW5mGbSjXAmUDyPzEWJlCN_iNEli9byryTrxdA1KxHn51LYjqEp15YZUeD0xqG-EusRCqBE1kuuA9IaXulFhOZmMfBJtunVpp9/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marta Kristen, Don Marshall & Ena Hartman in TERMINAL ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For an exploitation flick that seems to make itself up as it goes, TERMINAL ISLAND begins creatively enough, much like the same years' WESTWORLD with random interviews about the title location... </p><p></p><p></p><p>In this case, based on the actual California death penalty being overturned (making The Manson Family eligible for parole soon after), random people are asked what they think of the prison island alternative, like ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK after while based on the infamous Devil's Island, where murderous convicts are left to their own devices...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, blaxploitation, don marshall, ena hartman, exploitation, marta kristen, phyllis davis, prison, roger e. mosley, science-fiction, tom selleck

ENA HARTMAN, TOM SELLECK & MARTA KRISTEN 'TERMINAL ISLAND'

Marta Kristen, Don Marshall & Ena Hartman in TERMINAL ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: **1/2 For an exploitation flick that seems to make itsel...

BURT REYNOLDS, NED BEATTY & BO HOPKINS IN 'WHITE LIGHTNING'

<p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEgyRAALyT-Ql23lJqBetLYXRwxSbpwWd-x6uiJse6ulunwhep_0_YkGnMFByW6rOKuMZflsFxNdTxH4HshFAD13AF45YzWgo8oItEv31fIAS333o2_kH5PPa7ha_Gg8ttqa_0CTj6JCSgaugcY4WO6wvNMVGiuNABxhnU5TPgBuVBIpgwiPGt-E58aEkPgo/s1096/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-01%20at%209.45.42%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1096" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRAALyT-Ql23lJqBetLYXRwxSbpwWd-x6uiJse6ulunwhep_0_YkGnMFByW6rOKuMZflsFxNdTxH4HshFAD13AF45YzWgo8oItEv31fIAS333o2_kH5PPa7ha_Gg8ttqa_0CTj6JCSgaugcY4WO6wvNMVGiuNABxhnU5TPgBuVBIpgwiPGt-E58aEkPgo/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-09-01%20at%209.45.42%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Burt Reynolds in WHITE LIGHTNING (Reassessment Review) Year: 1973 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For Burt Reynolds, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/06/white-lightning.html">WHITE LIGHTNING</a> was a cross between the previous-years' DELIVERANCE and near-future <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/08/bandit1.html">SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT</a> with creative and gritty 1970's-renaissance-era direction of the first and more mainstream good-old-boy muscle car action of the latter...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Burt looks as if his manly <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/09/deliverance.html">DELIVERANCE</a> character had never been injured and, doing a five-year sentence on a scorching work-farm for moonshine, he learns what the audience witnessed in the dusky prologue, ironically set in an extremely familiar rural river setting...<br></p><span></span>

action, burt reynolds, diane ladd, jennifer billingsley, john steadman, joseph sargent, laura dern, louise latham, matt clark, ned beatty, prison, r.g. armstrong, stephanie burchfield

BURT REYNOLDS, NED BEATTY & BO HOPKINS IN 'WHITE LIGHTNING'

Burt Reynolds in WHITE LIGHTNING (Reassessment Review) Year: 1973 Rating: **** For Burt Reynolds, WHITE LIGHTNING was a cross between the p...

EDDIE MURPHY AND MARTIN LAWRENCE SERVE TED DEMME'S 'LIFE'

<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/AVvXsEhz-6zFbBPQP6_detFxY5JNYSYxIYHbqmoZnLCymkqb2FRziWjeFtMB9RlSOQvMdnktjiMCyrJGfgqYTUXRL_m6fUgg15zWivbmZUOIKp82Iw5EbWMiLv9PicM_cihMem_-e8koqNDnzYa5mTNh7MMFSoUg-JmqxJxeutEtfLAnsbyc7-oeXYLTzqyArRIn/s1632/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-21%20at%2012.13.59%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-6zFbBPQP6_detFxY5JNYSYxIYHbqmoZnLCymkqb2FRziWjeFtMB9RlSOQvMdnktjiMCyrJGfgqYTUXRL_m6fUgg15zWivbmZUOIKp82Iw5EbWMiLv9PicM_cihMem_-e8koqNDnzYa5mTNh7MMFSoUg-JmqxJxeutEtfLAnsbyc7-oeXYLTzqyArRIn/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-21%20at%2012.13.59%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in LIFE Year: 1999 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Eddie Murphy's final classic being COMING TO AMERICA is half true: it's his last quality vehicle that made a lot of money when in reality, the box-office disappointment LIFE has Murphy really proving himself within a quality central plot that, like his breakthrough 48 HRS., involves crime, prison, mixes comedy with drama and provides the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE star an equal partner... there in Nick Nolte, and here in Martin Lawrence...<br><br>Who Murphy was as much a standup comedy-mentor as Richard Pryor was to Murphy... the latter having starred in HARLEM NIGHTS that, like LIFE, takes place during the Depression-era... and one of the best moments includes what seems a homage to the Murphy-directed misfire when, trapped in the fence-less, gun-surrounding, rural-southern chain-gang workcamp, he and the entire group of eclectic underdog prisoners (all intriguing despite befitting every prison-flick trope from STIR CRAZY to SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) dream of partying in Murphy's would-be nightclub... a one-minute fantasy-sequence more entertaining than the entire NIGHTS...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

comedy, depression-era, drama, eddie murphy, martin lawrence, ned beatty, nick cassavetes, nineties, prison, r. lee ermey, ted demme

EDDIE MURPHY AND MARTIN LAWRENCE SERVE TED DEMME'S 'LIFE'

Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in LIFE Year: 1999 Rating: **** Eddie Murphy's final classic being COMING TO AMERICA is half true: it...

SEAN PENN WITH ESAI MORALES IN RICK ROSENTHAL'S 'BAD BOYS'

<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/AVvXsEjoatKSNqK0GU1SrP-MUVQSYVdo53hSNa5Ss1SHlp_XzxGRbIsQtI3ZVfPKCZBx-D7VHP33xigqvqSgT37JnGZwgVb9KaqRoDGI4cq4Xiw4PQPDSU7Av_-gde3vV3bBh0Ax2jdHRG8x0iEyyAIxZBmMoETepPt43TTQIPPCbN350taniJ_tRoq9m58zZsHn/s2434/moreblue%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1514" data-original-width="2434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoatKSNqK0GU1SrP-MUVQSYVdo53hSNa5Ss1SHlp_XzxGRbIsQtI3ZVfPKCZBx-D7VHP33xigqvqSgT37JnGZwgVb9KaqRoDGI4cq4Xiw4PQPDSU7Av_-gde3vV3bBh0Ax2jdHRG8x0iEyyAIxZBmMoETepPt43TTQIPPCbN350taniJ_tRoq9m58zZsHn/s16000/moreblue%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sean Penn from the soundtrack cover of Rick Rosenthal's BAD BOYS Year: 1983 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1983, between playing a poignantly-logical, well-read military academy student in TAPS; a fan-favorite, classic-quote-spouting stoner in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/11/fast-times.html">FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH</a>; and a rambling, high-strung, coke-dealing spy in THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, director Rick Rothenthal provided Sean Penn his greatest, most authentic performance in BAD BOYS where ironically, driven by an intensely defiant glare, he hardly speaks at all...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As the first act takes place in the crime-ridden night-streets involving a Spanish vs black gang's big-money drug-deal as O'Brien and naive pal Alan Ruck attempt snaking the spoils, leading to the death of the little brother of Esai Morales's Paco Moreno, who intensely bookends the movie's revenge-driven main antagonist spot and yet, during the primary lockup scenes in a severe youth reformatory straight from the previous decade's gritty and uncompromising, steadicam-gliding, rock/funk-blasting exploitation era, it's Clancy Brown and Robert Lee Rush as violent/raping versions of high school bullies that terrorized 1980's cinema...</p><span></span>

action, alan ruck, ally sheedy, clancy brown, cult, eighties, exploitation, jason gedrick, prison, reni santoni, rich rothenthal, sean penn

SEAN PENN WITH ESAI MORALES IN RICK ROSENTHAL'S 'BAD BOYS'

Sean Penn from the soundtrack cover of Rick Rosenthal's BAD BOYS Year: 1983 Rating: ***** In 1983, between playing a poignantly-logical,...

JAMES CAGNEY CAGED UP IN 'WHITE HEAT' WITH VIRGINA MAYO

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEi4RAPZGyQokKL4V2ZmArdYOL8DXj4ELfZKI2OZxmp9Rzjj5jftlSKsRdcBtZfONhW_A1ADVDOtqf9n6qwmt0x0CETNDBah4Hc5ovcjqFdn4UO2T55jUfb-xysPjc4R4Y3l5gLsBH_bpCPNqmQy-ZVryojYsmnymIvnv2s42T6ypUwicpuzG2P6CjfK0nWf/s2114/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-15%20at%209.07.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="2114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RAPZGyQokKL4V2ZmArdYOL8DXj4ELfZKI2OZxmp9Rzjj5jftlSKsRdcBtZfONhW_A1ADVDOtqf9n6qwmt0x0CETNDBah4Hc5ovcjqFdn4UO2T55jUfb-xysPjc4R4Y3l5gLsBH_bpCPNqmQy-ZVryojYsmnymIvnv2s42T6ypUwicpuzG2P6CjfK0nWf/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-15%20at%209.07.11%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WHITE HEAT 1949 Prison Sentence: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the peak of the 1940's, no one but James Cagney could play the toughest guy in crime who remains the world's toughest criminal even after suffering random massive headaches where he's basically screaming and crying for his mommy, either in front of his own gang or an entire prison population...<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>Simply because no one dare call him on it, making WHITE HEAT not only Cagney's greatest Classic Gangster flick but an otherwise bonafide Monster Movie within the Action-Crime arena (in one spooky sequence of lurking, vengeful menace in a rural country house, Cagney's Cody Jarrett is a "not human" Horror genre killer)...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, aline towne, classic gangster, crime, edmond o'brien, forties, heist, james cagney, john archer, post-heist, prison, robert osterloh, steve cochran, virginia mayo

JAMES CAGNEY CAGED UP IN 'WHITE HEAT' WITH VIRGINA MAYO

Title: WHITE HEAT 1949 Prison Sentence: ****1/2 At the peak of the 1940's, no one but James Cagney could play the toughest guy in crime ...

SCOTT BRADY & JEFF COREY PRISON ESCAPE NOIR 'CANON CITY'

<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/AVvXsEijSPFZq860vvHLfTN8OIZjy9oPr0o8XNSG6ripi_6A5-VQ6h7wb1tDGYVTmDQi3Jbe4O00zfjgEVccxM_MMZYQqOtL8SMB5qE9_r6K4ritZ38ug_wPqfwWBLemsnCexnQ6EId9ZL0p4x_lJ-h1qndC1jQ-Mb8Lq4l6RlHmWH2eo7y9lkdb1P0Fe5DYxcDP/s1804/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%206.40.12%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1804" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSPFZq860vvHLfTN8OIZjy9oPr0o8XNSG6ripi_6A5-VQ6h7wb1tDGYVTmDQi3Jbe4O00zfjgEVccxM_MMZYQqOtL8SMB5qE9_r6K4ritZ38ug_wPqfwWBLemsnCexnQ6EId9ZL0p4x_lJ-h1qndC1jQ-Mb8Lq4l6RlHmWH2eo7y9lkdb1P0Fe5DYxcDP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%206.40.12%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CANON CITY Year: 1948 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The semi-documentary/docudrama film noir device can be awkward, always beginning with real glimpses into actual people, including, in this case, the title prison CANON CITY warden Roy Best, along with several actual inmates, being asked questions off-camera by the deep voice of Reed Hadley... so when we reach the fictional story with tough guy actors wanting to break out of a prison they consider unlawful (and that looks pretty awful to the naked eye), it's confusing as to why they'd start off with such outright propaganda for such a crummy place...</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 Scott Brady's the link between good and evil, being the sole honest prisoner who wants nothing to do with the impending escape he's forced into, and, led by lockup-noir veteran Jeff Corey from BRUTE FORCE, the planning stages are the most intriguing, using creative shadows while the central prisoners are fleshed-out decently enough...</p><p><span></span></p>

docudrama, escape, film noir or melodrama, forties, prison, scott brady, whit bissell

SCOTT BRADY & JEFF COREY PRISON ESCAPE NOIR 'CANON CITY'

Title: CANON CITY Year: 1948 Rating: *** The semi-documentary/docudrama film noir device can be awkward, always beginning with real glimpses...

RICHARD BASEHART AND MARILYN MAXWELL IN 'OUTSIDE THE WALL'

<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/AVvXsEjhV1yrEpLI63xTY3jFC6qzgrgW7o-2n3Z2MSruGzeq-7UgQaaPZhLFKaMFL27ynGYNDuFy9OqZJVG3VEwgdO63NzKL6yZqjY7tk5Rl1TQ3tKn0i0wblL_GdGQaxS7thFCKIkqIbqm0p2Dt62-MRs6qyMOaPFvtRedl-9OOixnYalRMwPfbj4gWcrxnohOA/s2074/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-20%20at%204.03.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="2074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhV1yrEpLI63xTY3jFC6qzgrgW7o-2n3Z2MSruGzeq-7UgQaaPZhLFKaMFL27ynGYNDuFy9OqZJVG3VEwgdO63NzKL6yZqjY7tk5Rl1TQ3tKn0i0wblL_GdGQaxS7thFCKIkqIbqm0p2Dt62-MRs6qyMOaPFvtRedl-9OOixnYalRMwPfbj4gWcrxnohOA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-20%20at%204.03.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: OUTSIDE THE WALL Year: 1950 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Crane Wilber's OUTSIDE THE WALL is three movies in one, and the first two are the best: starting with Richard Basehart as Larry Nelson, who had been locked-up in prison from age 15 to 30 for having punched a guard, causeding him to fall to his death, told in expository as Basehart... with the right amount of prowess, naivety and vulnerability... is paroled OUTSIDE THE WALL, quickly learning about dangerous traffic and a crooked bar floozy... </p><p></p><p>And soon he's into the second picture, which has the most potential, featuring bad blonde Marilyn Maxwell as blunt, selfish, shrewd and downright crooked hospital nurse who Basehart's Larry winds up working alongside... although she looks a decade too old, her character has sharp fatale potential, curbed by good girl Dorothy Hart (who just played the crooked dame in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/02/undertow.html">UNDERTOW</a>)...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

dorothy hart, fifties, film noir or melodrama, harry morgan, heist, john hoyt, joseph pevney, marilyn maxwell, prison, richard basehart

RICHARD BASEHART AND MARILYN MAXWELL IN 'OUTSIDE THE WALL'

Title: OUTSIDE THE WALL Year: 1950 Rating: *** Crane Wilber's OUTSIDE THE WALL is three movies in one, and the first two are the best: s...

BURT LANCASTER IN JULES DASSIN'S PRISON NOIR 'BRUTE FORCE'

<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/AVvXsEjHRBqJqswGhk0aIR9hsvanxgrcYFAo_1SzFWrFCRr3iMWvZMBURYul4TqPY5Q5VQC6gGcNtr8WD2VLFWV7NiC8cTNVvlY2nZMjuAMtfy38ggt3PfyxdI0_jECJOXDs8PfgvszTSYHUVudFevYFdDfEvBIKgKUxMZd4B8cbwPi9sqjLyv04HX39PDR3zqyA/s2186/111%203%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="2186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRBqJqswGhk0aIR9hsvanxgrcYFAo_1SzFWrFCRr3iMWvZMBURYul4TqPY5Q5VQC6gGcNtr8WD2VLFWV7NiC8cTNVvlY2nZMjuAMtfy38ggt3PfyxdI0_jECJOXDs8PfgvszTSYHUVudFevYFdDfEvBIKgKUxMZd4B8cbwPi9sqjLyv04HX39PDR3zqyA/s16000/111%203%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Jules Dassin basically made his own post-war World War II picture, only set in an American hoosegow with prisoners as proverbial soldiers and an obvious Nazi representation in Hume Cronyn, who, as chief guard eyeing the warden spot, not only runs the place like a sadistic, tyrannical dictator, but mentally and physically tortures inmates while listening to Wagner... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, BRUTE FORCE is a fairly effective prison noir/expose, bathed in rich B&W cinematography and splendid matte-painted backdrops, centered on desperate men stuck in a doomed purgatory: yet there are a few exterior flashbacks involving dames that, either sassy or sympathetic, landed these fellas into their current predicament... </p><span></span>

anita colby, ann blyth, burt lancaster, film noir or melodrama, howard duff, howland chamberlain, hume cronyn, jack overman, jeff corey, john hoyt, jules dassin, prison, sam levene, yvonne de carlo

BURT LANCASTER IN JULES DASSIN'S PRISON NOIR 'BRUTE FORCE'

BRUTE FORCE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2 Director Jules Dassin basically made his own post-war World War II picture, only set in an American ho...

CHARLES BRONSON IN 'THE FAMILY' THAT IMPROVES 'VIOLENT CITY'

<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/AVvXsEjRe1rPaZE6MzRFpGDTITAGsfP7OJzZMkhSzMpGq0eZZp-sdWxvZDKhiBC6zx0WGFErSi_C2amP5nV9E743MYL-md8dVgczupbw3_2j0Ty13Sd0yt2p5s83OESJ_5HDnL1tN42zpwkTKpz-pg-o3sdmhm8Kgg8by6-YTIZGJvpgJN8KmaQzOzo5Q2G_MVzT/s2080/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-04%20at%2010.16.29%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="2080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRe1rPaZE6MzRFpGDTITAGsfP7OJzZMkhSzMpGq0eZZp-sdWxvZDKhiBC6zx0WGFErSi_C2amP5nV9E743MYL-md8dVgczupbw3_2j0Ty13Sd0yt2p5s83OESJ_5HDnL1tN42zpwkTKpz-pg-o3sdmhm8Kgg8by6-YTIZGJvpgJN8KmaQzOzo5Q2G_MVzT/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-04%20at%2010.16.29%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in THE FAMILY (Improved English-Only Version of VIOLENT CITY) Year: 1970 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sergio Sollima's Italian-crime thriller VIOLENT CITY starring Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Jill Ireland is a bizarre cinematic tragedy being a worthwhile neo-noir on the one hand — while the other awkwardly serves the main problem...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Right when the audience settles into a romance between Bronson's hit-man character Jeff Heston during a tropical vacation, opening with Sollima filming Ireland's body like he would a pristine statue, Heston's shot, nearly killed and, now in prison, the inmates suddenly... without any explanation (and without subtitles)... speak Italian: wherein Bronson's low-dubbed voice sounds nothing like his own...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, charles bronson, crime, hit man, italian, jill ireland, mafia, michel constantin, neo noir, prison, sergio sollima, seventies, telly savalas, thriller, umberto orsini

CHARLES BRONSON IN 'THE FAMILY' THAT IMPROVES 'VIOLENT CITY'

Charles Bronson in THE FAMILY (Improved English-Only Version of VIOLENT CITY) Year: 1970 Rating: **** Sergio Sollima's Italian-crime thr...

MERRY ANDERS WITH JOHNNY DESMOND 1957 DOUBLE-FEATURE

<p> <u></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u></u></div><p><u></u></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/AVvXsEhAd9xLOokoeOzpaPO57SmouGv8KimvxCH-7adMnKTqKzRWxE6A21CthdWMkyhdFOQzlZ8gNxiEGsLi8YGUtD26Czq360ry70z9xPy4nAUaontsqXuyDWAsdMojqFoG1-d7suZBD_wx4aizb3PaiAYrKHJ57ZBjt6JRJFiF-NDiH8mMyCGj2cIysMgduVHj/s1205/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="1205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd9xLOokoeOzpaPO57SmouGv8KimvxCH-7adMnKTqKzRWxE6A21CthdWMkyhdFOQzlZ8gNxiEGsLi8YGUtD26Czq360ry70z9xPy4nAUaontsqXuyDWAsdMojqFoG1-d7suZBD_wx4aizb3PaiAYrKHJ57ZBjt6JRJFiF-NDiH8mMyCGj2cIysMgduVHj/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Merry Anders with villain Richard Devon in ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN Year: 1957 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u>ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN</u>: More a legit film noir than the b-crime programmer it otherwise seems from the action-faring, plot-describing title, which can mislead viewers into thinking ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN centers more on high-octane breakout bedlam than dialogue-driven suspense with a side dish of gun-wielding intrigue since all the usual hackneyed prison devices are absent, including makeshift underground tunnels, irritable guards, a Fascist warden and put-upon convicts tapping dire/urgent messages along the walls...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead, the rudimentary setting is a work farm not a prison; and it's one man's occupation, or in this case, previous skill that makes real life crooner Johnny Desmond a lucrative player for his hardened convict and cellmate "buddy" Richard Devon, whose tough lifer character, Roy, unlike Johnny's Mike who has only two years left, goads him into flying a small plane to freedom in what's ultimately a much too simple escape, especially for the movie to be named after: the duo headed to the same town where Roy buried a bag of loot...</p><p><span></span></p>

alan arkin, comedy, double-feature, escape, fifties, film noir or melodrama, fred f. sears, johnny desmond, meg myles, merry anders, michael granger, music, prison, richard devon, victor millan

MERRY ANDERS WITH JOHNNY DESMOND 1957 DOUBLE-FEATURE

Merry Anders with villain Richard Devon in ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN Year: 1957 Rating: ****1/2 ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN : More a legit film n...

DIANA DORS IN 'YIELD TO THE NIGHT' WITH MICHAEL CRAIG

<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/AVvXsEgt6hYS4ZBA--eezjO5bkYMg6gFwrG3XkVjz9rzhhaKb9ihVED8DEu2vo4N172gzor9l8rER4it-yix5sGzseed4I4bHhvPtw1hzXeh_neoUB04rinD_SRTHmjif_YJnDHRye4MSJgQLkbqJrelSTIYi8QSmbhixqAPsZf8jBrEr4zsaK6TLUQv_2DD8Dmo/s1060/darker.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="1060" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6hYS4ZBA--eezjO5bkYMg6gFwrG3XkVjz9rzhhaKb9ihVED8DEu2vo4N172gzor9l8rER4it-yix5sGzseed4I4bHhvPtw1hzXeh_neoUB04rinD_SRTHmjif_YJnDHRye4MSJgQLkbqJrelSTIYi8QSmbhixqAPsZf8jBrEr4zsaK6TLUQv_2DD8Dmo/s16000/darker.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Diana Dors in YIELD TO THE NIGHT Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The true life capital punishment expose YIELD TO THE NIGHT had its name changed to BLONDE SINNER, with poster images focusing on a gun-wielding, femme-fatale type in the full-lipped Marilyn Monroe of England, Diana Dors, smitten by her seemingly bad boy boyfriend in lounge piano player Michael Craig...</p><p></p><p></p><p>But this 1950's J. Lee Thompson vehicle is more melodrama than any kind of thriller, mostly taken place inside a death row cell where Dors, as condemned Mary Hilton, strikes up a dialog-filled friendship with lady guard Yvonne Mitchell...</p><p><span></span></p>

biopic, british, british film noir, crime, diana dors, fifties, j. lee thompson, liam redmond, michael craig, michael ripper, prison

DIANA DORS IN 'YIELD TO THE NIGHT' WITH MICHAEL CRAIG

Diana Dors in YIELD TO THE NIGHT Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2 The true life capital punishment expose YIELD TO THE NIGHT had its name changed to...

RALPH MEEKER IN 'BIG HOUSE U.S.A.' WITH CHARLES BRONSON

<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/AVvXsEhKkZnpKXBnyjd9lTtLvP1wbuMzWwsG5TVp7Gu-mBs1OFFJof6PR1q5qc5TrHeuEAI6Fwzesh5ZoZqizOD1CdX3G0xBaQilcjk6glty3m1l_NtE_lPdN2FbZ8pRQT6jGLkLA60EpaqtB6JgVNI67SzMgesclZXjSd79KZUb5cVsKgrk_3nn6VtDAzdl-w/s1554/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2010.33.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkZnpKXBnyjd9lTtLvP1wbuMzWwsG5TVp7Gu-mBs1OFFJof6PR1q5qc5TrHeuEAI6Fwzesh5ZoZqizOD1CdX3G0xBaQilcjk6glty3m1l_NtE_lPdN2FbZ8pRQT6jGLkLA60EpaqtB6JgVNI67SzMgesclZXjSd79KZUb5cVsKgrk_3nn6VtDAzdl-w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2010.33.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for BIG HOUSE U.S.A. Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A strange, investigative, manipulative, adventurous sort of crime/prison flick begins at a rural setting with Ralph Meeker involved in the botched kidnapping of a sickly young boy at summer camp: This gritty b-picture has been disputed by some of the more uptight viewers as a legit Film Noir since the main character doesn't have the necessary "moral ambiguity," although the otherwise vicious convicts serving at THE BIG HOUSE must realize, with a "child abductor" residing in the cell, maybe they're not so bad after all: perhaps, then, it's a kind of Film Noir in reverse...<br> <br> One scene has pre-PERRY MASON lawyer and post-ARMORED CAR ROBBERY firebrand William Talman suffering guilt-ridden doubts when cold-blooded kingpin Broderick Crawford tells him, once the gang has escaped from the island fortress and are "hidden" on a fishing boat within a foggy ocean, to strategically kill a sleeping friend...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

bel air productions, broderick crawford, charles bronson, fifties, film noir or melodrama, lon chaney jr., prison, ralph meeker

RALPH MEEKER IN 'BIG HOUSE U.S.A.' WITH CHARLES BRONSON

Poster for BIG HOUSE U.S.A. Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2 A strange, investigative, manipulative, adventurous sort of crime/prison flick begin...

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

<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/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s2182/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="2182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you could call it BRING ME THE HEAD OF ROBERT DUVALL, and the Bloody Sam similarities include echoed gunshots under the hot Mexico sun; a white shirt soaked with gory, bright red blood; a slow-motion body falling to the ground as the opening credits appear across  paused-images as Jerry Goldsmith's score opens with soft, skeletal vibes into a Spanish groove... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And even beyond all that, BREAKOUT is a modern Spaghetti Western (released the same year as Gries/Bronson's actual Western BREAKHEART PASS) wherein action hero Charles Bronson is similar to his colorful MR. MAJESTYK character, only even more playfully cocky and wisecracking... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, alan vint, charles bronson, escape, jailbreak, jill ireland, john huston, mexico, prison, randy quaid, robert duvall, roy jenson, rural, seventies, sheree north, tom gries

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2 The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you cou...

JIM BROWN'S PAPILLON CLONE 'I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND'

<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/AVvXsEhaGTCLGrosJZtERIkaAn3I6NwqX1ArIq7uXR9oAezX7KfyDYtb1Xc0j5yqjJXxsMsn01exxP0Fii1HkJAVCnd0yRC3L94GR_Jb4n1kW8faJBlFHf5myFa9UtZen2heD7pjpOEcR2jDAJxDbIH5IJ2dkvX6pXaRkD3Jc2wE3VYLhBaH5GKDKfYjmZSl1Q/s1152/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2012.22.45%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGTCLGrosJZtERIkaAn3I6NwqX1ArIq7uXR9oAezX7KfyDYtb1Xc0j5yqjJXxsMsn01exxP0Fii1HkJAVCnd0yRC3L94GR_Jb4n1kW8faJBlFHf5myFa9UtZen2heD7pjpOEcR2jDAJxDbIH5IJ2dkvX6pXaRkD3Jc2wE3VYLhBaH5GKDKfYjmZSl1Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2012.22.45%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Straying from his usual racially-charged blaxploitation cinema, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/jim%20brown">Jim Brown</a> in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND is not only pure <i>exploitation</i>, attempting to bank on the popularity of the novel turned adapted motion picture <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/03/pap.html">PAPILLON</a> about a French prisoner who escapes this movie's titular island, but it's practically an outright remake...<br><br>Jim Brown has the strong escape-minded Steve McQueen part while the vulnerable Dustin Hoffman sidekick role's for Christopher George, a passive progressive that Brown has to carry (while roughnecks Robert Phillips and James Luisi both fill Woodrow Palfrey's shoes), and, starting from a beach-set bamboo-scattered makeshift prison, brutal guard <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/05/underw.html">Richard Rust</a> reigns — and there's even a helpful homosexual convict along with a neighboring leper colony...</p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, christopher george, escape, indie, james luisi, jim brown, jungle, prison, richard rust, robert phillips, roland bob harris, seventies, shark

JIM BROWN'S PAPILLON CLONE 'I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND'

Jim Brown in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: *** Straying from his usual racially-charged blaxploitation cinema, Jim Br...

DIRECTOR JONATHAN KAPLAN LOCKS JIM BROWN INTO 'THE SLAMS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEjDnjPHH_bvDEkE1k7U4kEe0ii39PxvqKbZ-hKwl-sI-L03tGG63X0R2nCQSPaKTytoKLBgzS9TlYIzIwyTeQnGuf1bJj6D5eUTq2ef0hyphenhyphenFWyyxYC1PKyLMQeMz7fs2b7GVK6ESLlbtLQHGPY-zceiyOjrABRl1yHfyD6SOnw_rHlKMVD7wsny90IWtNS8-/s2560/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-11%20at%209.23.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnjPHH_bvDEkE1k7U4kEe0ii39PxvqKbZ-hKwl-sI-L03tGG63X0R2nCQSPaKTytoKLBgzS9TlYIzIwyTeQnGuf1bJj6D5eUTq2ef0hyphenhyphenFWyyxYC1PKyLMQeMz7fs2b7GVK6ESLlbtLQHGPY-zceiyOjrABRl1yHfyD6SOnw_rHlKMVD7wsny90IWtNS8-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-11%20at%209.23.28%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in THE SLAMS Year: 1973 Director: Jonathan Kaplan Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blaxploitation TRUCK TURNER, director Jonathan Kaplan put Jim Brown in prison for a more sparse and serious THE SLAMS, mostly taking place behind bars but without relying on melodramatic prison tropes, since everything that goes down... from bullies to shiv-fights to mean guards... is tightly connected to the plot...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Jim Brown, an idealistic criminal from a groovy heist prologue, stole and hid loot from the mob, and, once locked-up, a gangster hires gigantic convict Ted Cassady to attempt getting the formidable Brown to confess...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

blaxploitation, charles cyphers, exploitation, frenchia guizon, heist, herbert jefferson jr., jack cassidy, jerry jones, jim brown, jonathan kaplan, judy pace, paul harris, prison, roland bob harris, seventies

DIRECTOR JONATHAN KAPLAN LOCKS JIM BROWN INTO 'THE SLAMS'

Jim Brown in THE SLAMS Year: 1973 Director: Jonathan Kaplan Rates: ***1/2 A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blax...

JIM BROWN WITH GENE HACKMAN ESCAPE THE CELL BLOCK 'RIOT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhw-heW70nO9dEuixq3RwLARtEsslCY0GdciTkPIFKgdw_gNaUVjxIwz76jzqzgTTpdetOwIAjwRsNKUAHn897TnileyKJu6qLtCwHZB50pqaPlaVPkJfqYKvP7Iar59yxaJgu8DGPo3T43QNtPwxTFsBsA-AKS8RySSweUGSUYqJgBA7M_lhGbADrMUYQu/s2258/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-03%20at%204.20.12%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="2258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-heW70nO9dEuixq3RwLARtEsslCY0GdciTkPIFKgdw_gNaUVjxIwz76jzqzgTTpdetOwIAjwRsNKUAHn897TnileyKJu6qLtCwHZB50pqaPlaVPkJfqYKvP7Iar59yxaJgu8DGPo3T43QNtPwxTFsBsA-AKS8RySSweUGSUYqJgBA7M_lhGbADrMUYQu/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-03%20at%204.20.12%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown </u><u>and Gene Hackman in RIOT Year: 1969 Rating: **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Basically a remake of Don Siegel's docudrama noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/12/block11.html">RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11</a>, Buzz Kulick's RIOT follows its muse by having the titular convict pandemonium — after capturing the guards — not matter beyond a strategic distraction...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead centering on a few clever inmates' feigning an attempt for a media-led change of inhumane prison conditions — but this RIOT goes one step beyond Siegel's CELL BLOCK political expose...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, buzz, clifford david, drama, escape, gene hackman, gerald s. o'loughlin, jim brown, mike kellin, prison, sixties, suspense, thriller, william castle

JIM BROWN WITH GENE HACKMAN ESCAPE THE CELL BLOCK 'RIOT'

Jim Brown and Gene Hackman in RIOT Year: 1969 Rating: **** Basically a remake of Don Siegel's docudrama noir RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 , Buz...

STEVE MCQUEEN AND JAMES GARNER MAKE 'THE GREAT ESCAPE'

<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/AVvXsEj8oyNg-8zJuTkddWXiGvHty-UhhMSusP9Ql93nfeMymLAmBCLp0pwflQUmBUuzTS7oaW40S4HzxE_4QluqDK-4W4VFo6l88FSSxW-FUgwErG_Oj8fgSfau-DfliGWCtsIuUOiWBRaq3HMybtlSyMwFns6ZsB2m-1GRrFVi3XoVvG2bwf1UWtNBuCG_DA/s1921/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="1921" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oyNg-8zJuTkddWXiGvHty-UhhMSusP9Ql93nfeMymLAmBCLp0pwflQUmBUuzTS7oaW40S4HzxE_4QluqDK-4W4VFo6l88FSSxW-FUgwErG_Oj8fgSfau-DfliGWCtsIuUOiWBRaq3HMybtlSyMwFns6ZsB2m-1GRrFVi3XoVvG2bwf1UWtNBuCG_DA/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE GREAT ESCAPE Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While the World War II German-set Prison-of-War movie THE GREAT ESCAPE was being filmed, and would eventually make Steve McQueen a superstar, he was doing everything possible to ruin that potential since he wanted as many lines as other cast members, and would often storm off the set and at one point nearly flew back home... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Being especially envious of James Garner as Scrounger, the token sneaky resilient fella who can get anything, and — teamed with Donald Pleasance as a completely vulnerable Forger slowly going blind — he's the most interesting and overall entertaining character, with the right combination of affable humor and focused determination... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

charles bronson, david mccallum, donald pleasence, ensemble, escape, james coburn, james donald, james garner, john leyton, prison, richard attenborough, sixties, steve mcqueen, world war II

STEVE MCQUEEN AND JAMES GARNER MAKE 'THE GREAT ESCAPE'

Title: THE GREAT ESCAPE Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2 While the World War II German-set Prison-of-War movie THE GREAT ESCAPE was being filmed, a...

STEVE MCQUEEN & DUSTIN HOFFMAN IN THE ORIGINAL 'PAPILLON'

<p> <span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></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/AVvXsEgTMMO_OXdMDPrjjKc4qNLr-2ZZvQ_5h3-jqkI9dg9L1Gf1BqWBayoR9vy1DsDr5MAvVSssAbH2lWjRIlksAl5SX_UW-cxmciy6wAsZmJciXF1OUPqExax_LjPwkXuzsWAErBkU_va898GFTk6nSwiaGNC-56AbHHGiGwqvc3Ynbsys2qx3_RPrJ7xGdw/s1129/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-25%20at%2012.09.54%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMMO_OXdMDPrjjKc4qNLr-2ZZvQ_5h3-jqkI9dg9L1Gf1BqWBayoR9vy1DsDr5MAvVSssAbH2lWjRIlksAl5SX_UW-cxmciy6wAsZmJciXF1OUPqExax_LjPwkXuzsWAErBkU_va898GFTk6nSwiaGNC-56AbHHGiGwqvc3Ynbsys2qx3_RPrJ7xGdw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-25%20at%2012.09.54%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: PAPILLON Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: small;">Director Francis J. Schaffner and scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo convert </span><span style="font-size: small;">Henri Charrière's riveting biographical novel to the big screen, providing Steve McQueen with a more fleshed-out role than usual and rebooting Dustin Hoffman's minor character in the book to main sidekick on screen...</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Both have a realistic aura, surviving hell as they work a swampy chain-gang and eventually plan their escape, and each scene is like a movie in itself, beginning with a slave ship to the initial prison (initially along with a grownup but still young Bill Mumy and McQueen's BULLITT and TOWERING INFERNO partner Don Gordon)...</p><span></span>

adventure, bill mumy, biopic, don gordon, drama, dustin hoffman, francis j. schaffner, henri charrière, john quade, prison, seventies, steve mcqueen, woodrow palfrey

STEVE MCQUEEN & DUSTIN HOFFMAN IN THE ORIGINAL 'PAPILLON'

Title: PAPILLON Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2 Director Francis J. Schaffner and scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo convert Henri Charrière's riveti...

ROBERT BLAKE AND TIMOTHY CAREY 'REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE'

<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/AVvXsEjJnFEHl77w84PH4AOUHgZ0arlhTSxH-9obwiH_XIXKdI9bQM52d0Jmk-E3s-gQCkCfffAcIBk_8eu-09GcnPlZ4wuyyi8y38jmBH8T3KU4m3l448vzxgYMA9CIy6pW8Pde4jM7OP4wRgR-quZZZrQDz17nNY2fWD0_VzBw2SNj2dOo56H-f64W8CMmAw/s965/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="965" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnFEHl77w84PH4AOUHgZ0arlhTSxH-9obwiH_XIXKdI9bQM52d0Jmk-E3s-gQCkCfffAcIBk_8eu-09GcnPlZ4wuyyi8y38jmBH8T3KU4m3l448vzxgYMA9CIy6pW8Pde4jM7OP4wRgR-quZZZrQDz17nNY2fWD0_VzBw2SNj2dOo56H-f64W8CMmAw/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE Year: 1958 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In most prison flicks, whenever a convict returns from solitary confinement... a week or longer in almost pitch dark... they'd emerge like from a well-lit office, maybe a little more tired, ragged...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But Robert Blake in the low-budget b-crimer REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE has an extremely jaded expression, rubbing his eyes while suffering the proverbial devil's hangover, back into the flow of prisoners that includes our main star, Gene Evans, as a once-powerful headline-making mobster, now doing twenty years to life...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, emile meyer, exploitation, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gene evans, prison, robert blake, timothy carey, walter barnes

ROBERT BLAKE AND TIMOTHY CAREY 'REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE'

Title: REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE Year: 1958 Rating: **** In most prison flicks, whenever a convict returns from solitary confinement... a week...