cult film freak: richard egan

Showing posts with label richard egan. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 10/03/2025 / No comments / byron kane , constance dowling , fifties , herbert marshall , john wengraf , michael fox , philip van zandt , richard egan , science-fiction , stephen roberts , william schallert

RICHARD EGAN AND CONSTANCE DOWLING BATTLE ROBOTS IN 'GOG'

<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/AVvXsEgmux9ftvVJ7rtpwpfa1vvRUOqyI6Z4f_BxeWXXWO121Ek3u7rTbYs0aFknoCLknnrRvZCslV0dCMZIkFgJ_YoJGtB1vUGYOpO01hyIokUFBVbbYLYyRPEEHA_nXIdiA0O2D5HJVXQMLZsimLIxY_O69hdcMogDxhHpMm_hooDFsJCQxpInlwpCbe3w_iXl/s2136/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-04%20at%207.54.34%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="2136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmux9ftvVJ7rtpwpfa1vvRUOqyI6Z4f_BxeWXXWO121Ek3u7rTbYs0aFknoCLknnrRvZCslV0dCMZIkFgJ_YoJGtB1vUGYOpO01hyIokUFBVbbYLYyRPEEHA_nXIdiA0O2D5HJVXQMLZsimLIxY_O69hdcMogDxhHpMm_hooDFsJCQxpInlwpCbe3w_iXl/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-04%20at%207.54.34%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Constance Dowling and Richard Egan in GOG </u><u>Year: 1954 Grade: C—</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There's nothing cooler than taking a flamethrower to killer robots... unless it's the 1950's, during the peak of the pulpy-magazine-inspired b-movies where GOG plays out like what's referred to as real science-fiction as opposed to fantastical programmers involving laser pistols... <br><br>Herein mostly entailing scientists inside a multi-room laboratory explaining various gadgets and theories on space travel... which would be semi-intriguing if the action weren't at a snail's pace...<span></span></p>

byron kane, constance dowling, fifties, herbert marshall, john wengraf, michael fox, philip van zandt, richard egan, science-fiction, stephen roberts, william schallert

RICHARD EGAN AND CONSTANCE DOWLING BATTLE ROBOTS IN 'GOG'

Constance Dowling and Richard Egan in GOG Year: 1954 Grade: C— There's nothing cooler than taking a flamethrower to killer robots... unl...

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY' WITH VICTOR MATURE

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

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

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'VIOLENT SATURDAY' WITH VICTOR MATURE

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

STEVE COCHRAN GANGSTER NOIR REVIEW OF 'HIGHWAY 301'

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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></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/a/AVvXsEhqSOAdYbkYs700BS-ToGhVf77h09kdhePWong4wfp9vf3v2UQAUO8bM-jJ0S-uUzg1rRfwjn1_q03IGhynErnw38dNiTn8fUqF6IbUwu93QQOtve2sbHyptFPppUvLgPUrLiP40rW2SWwdK9QUSKRp6qeWLd8RqZO3jyngT3N8HP5S_F0QKiYJedBDag=s1039" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1039" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqSOAdYbkYs700BS-ToGhVf77h09kdhePWong4wfp9vf3v2UQAUO8bM-jJ0S-uUzg1rRfwjn1_q03IGhynErnw38dNiTn8fUqF6IbUwu93QQOtve2sbHyptFPppUvLgPUrLiP40rW2SWwdK9QUSKRp6qeWLd8RqZO3jyngT3N8HP5S_F0QKiYJedBDag=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HIGHWAY 301 Year: 1950 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Steve Cochran will be no stranger in the months to come. From playing heavies in popular Film Noir flicks like THE DAMNED DON'T CRY to heroes in b-pictures like our popular "thiral" review of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2017/05/qR.html">QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS</a>, and plenty of others spanning two and a half decades...</span><br>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Let's begin with a quick summary of one of his more blunt, by-the-numbers Noir movies that features, within his shadowy gang of hat-donning hoods, the actor who'd play Joan Crawford's straitlaced husband in the aforementioned DAMNED, Richard Egan, his character introduced by name through a stern, steady narration following eerie, monotone real life politicians, seated behind their desks, lecturing the audience how <i>Crime Doesn't Pay</i>... </span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span></span></span></p>

fifties, film noir or melodrama, richard egan, steve cochran, warner archives

STEVE COCHRAN GANGSTER NOIR REVIEW OF 'HIGHWAY 301'

Title: HIGHWAY 301 Year: 1950 Rating: **1/2 Steve Cochran will be no stranger in the months to come. From playing heavies in popular Film N...

BARK ALL 'DAY OF THE WOLVES' LITTLE DOGGIE

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Screen Capture from the opening of the 1974 exploitation cult thriller DAY OF THE WOLVES</u></td></tr>
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For fans of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2011/06/reservoir-dogs.html">RESERVOIR DOGS</a> or any kind of Film Noir/Neo Noir heist flick that began with the likes of THE KILLING and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL — robberies where only the group leader knows all the real names while the hoodlums are basically strangers to each other: before, during and after. A planned strategy that's supposed to remain intact but something always gets messed up, and that's where the good stuff begins...<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS2LDgS-N-rtj6NmEwj-vbmVk9Oh6Huh5zfJI5L8caNx2mPZ-wHbFTEZxnK4ZErTKd0MyUaqB2F5Al9E9Hi99gLXum58SWw-UAKsGPu8atk2pVrlGAwL1eMfIg-UkHYwhjEnLzhAqyaCw/s1600/Day-Poster1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS2LDgS-N-rtj6NmEwj-vbmVk9Oh6Huh5zfJI5L8caNx2mPZ-wHbFTEZxnK4ZErTKd0MyUaqB2F5Al9E9Hi99gLXum58SWw-UAKsGPu8atk2pVrlGAwL1eMfIg-UkHYwhjEnLzhAqyaCw/s1600/Day-Poster1.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>WolveScore: ***</u></td></tr>
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Except in this much more obscure DOGS predecessor (intentionally skipping CITY OF FEAR since that's "another story") titled THE DAY OF THE WOLVES, that peaks earlier than late, mostly because of how instantly interesting the film's pieced-together, like a living/breathing storyboard. By the capture above you can see the similarity to Quentin Tarantula's (that's what happens when you spellcheck Tarantino) groundbreaking, career-making classic...<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWp6puMlFOj_ZYmLKANr_e5gjNC6J3hjsM1FHNm-7jHMAKr1o17WcQdIJs5jftepaunx8DbUIBxRhkLHalPcmqXCzxA64I-ak3RxpP2zHZaOy9kI2kyKhux_3BLY4RhT7YVZEg5AvQmoy/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWp6puMlFOj_ZYmLKANr_e5gjNC6J3hjsM1FHNm-7jHMAKr1o17WcQdIJs5jftepaunx8DbUIBxRhkLHalPcmqXCzxA64I-ak3RxpP2zHZaOy9kI2kyKhux_3BLY4RhT7YVZEg5AvQmoy/s1600/download.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2011/06/reservoir-dogs.html">RDOGS Review</a></td></tr>
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But what led us to rewatch this grungy gem after many years was actor Richard Egan from the 1955 Color-Noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/V-sat.html">VIOLENT SATURDAY</a> as a put-upon millionaire who's wife is cheating on him. It's 1974 and he is, of course, older, gruffer, and along with "faces" like Rick Jason and even Sean McClory (a personal fav from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/12/RingOFear.html">RING OF FEAR</a>), the "known" actors (with fake beards to cover their identity) are what slows down the pace of this super low budget curio where each moment... from a private plane's door closing to a shoe scraping across the ground to a gun firing... isn't wasted except overlong scenes of dialogue where director Ferde Grofé Jr. seems to be proving — if perhaps only to himself — that he could make a "real movie" with a former semi-popular actors. Rather it's the surreal, gritty, by-the-numbers, dot-to-dot sketch of a multi-robbery Modern Western exploitation... set in a town small enough to let it happen unless Egan's ex Sheriff stops it... that grabs the attention — and does't completely let go!<br>

crime, exploitation, independent, richard egan, rick jason, sean mcclory, seventies, thriller