DERREN NESBITT & KEITH FAULKER IN 'STRONGROOM' WITH ANN LYNN

<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/AVvXsEjQphBCM_PapbWWykd9ZjlnhBXjvvKKW8nqp5Ojr9wTyj-tNmVlltL6hN9BbBnp-U6Mlix6nPqLhXXvfA8T5f_e_wvw3GzDzbGSf_n6hBuPu9krQXFK1BgPwqAFjfwQYnF_yJLBeqq0yKbkZZIleZj3L-BpMrGUuQuqOOuU00RzOgc3FiJ4oIUO5kuglg5z/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-26%20at%209.18.34%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQphBCM_PapbWWykd9ZjlnhBXjvvKKW8nqp5Ojr9wTyj-tNmVlltL6hN9BbBnp-U6Mlix6nPqLhXXvfA8T5f_e_wvw3GzDzbGSf_n6hBuPu9krQXFK1BgPwqAFjfwQYnF_yJLBeqq0yKbkZZIleZj3L-BpMrGUuQuqOOuU00RzOgc3FiJ4oIUO5kuglg5z/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-26%20at%209.18.34%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for STRONGROOM Year: 1962 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>STRONGROOM is an important early-1960's British crime films as it underlines what you won't find Stateside: to be extra cautious to <i>not harm anyone</i> during a heist or your jail sentence lengthens, making British bad guys not only more sympathetic but far more cautious, which includes bank robbers Keith Faulkner and Derren Nesbitt who, after locking the first guy's coworkers in the titular bank vault, is talked into by the more empathetic crook to return to the crime scene to provide some oxygen...<br></p><p></p><p>A twist ignited by the third robber's death... the older brother to the edgy Keith Faulkner, he held the key to the STRONGROOM that the oblivious cops won't let go of, so, what takes up most of the runtime is the bickering boys seeking a way back while, inside, spectacle-wearing bank manager Colin Gordon and subtle beauty Ann Lynn are running out of air, providing more race-against-time suspense than what should be occurring simultaneously outside, including investigating cops...</p><p><span></span></p>

ann lynn, british neo noir, british new wave, colin gordon, crime, derren nesbitt, guido coen, heist, keith faulkner, race against time, suspense

DERREN NESBITT & KEITH FAULKER IN 'STRONGROOM' WITH ANN LYNN

Poster for STRONGROOM Year: 1962 Rates: ***1/2 STRONGROOM is an important early-1960's British crime films as it underlines what you won...

PETER LORRE IN NORMAN FOSTER'S FIRST TWO 'MR. MOTO' FILMS

<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/AVvXsEjJDYdZpyFR5-bc-p9L913fxBpqoM93pSIlJai_-Gu3B2riLbgibEfL7cE6wGd11hG6fTKEgVy4yneCu0-1jbCAnhfi2Uz77HbmkMjI6eSY9qpDBXiNsR9kqIcQ9TAK6ArdAOUoeATKNPDleBCPXS8vmdAP03UNmkvLQ4mTNaRNezNEcpp-b-4pofJFd60W/s1630/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-10%20at%201.17.05%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDYdZpyFR5-bc-p9L913fxBpqoM93pSIlJai_-Gu3B2riLbgibEfL7cE6wGd11hG6fTKEgVy4yneCu0-1jbCAnhfi2Uz77HbmkMjI6eSY9qpDBXiNsR9kqIcQ9TAK6ArdAOUoeATKNPDleBCPXS8vmdAP03UNmkvLQ4mTNaRNezNEcpp-b-4pofJFd60W/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-10%20at%201.17.05%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1937 cast: Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><u>THINK FAST, MR. MOTO</u>: Peter Lorre is Mr. Moto, a Japanese secret agent who's both underrated and unappreciated... But he'll surprise you with a karate kick sending non-believers flying across the room.<br> <br> Here we begin with Moto in street peddler disguise, including a pointy beard and ragged clothing. He clumsily meanders into a store to sell a rug, and then a diamond, to an impatient proprietor who’s got a dead body semi-hidden in a wicker basket. This brings Moto on board a big ship where an important letter to a rich man’s son, Bob, has been stolen and replaced.<br> </p>

action, adventure, franchise, jayne regan, lotus long, mr moto, norman foster, peter lorre, sequel, sidney blackmer, spy, suspense, thirties, thriller, virginia field

PETER LORRE IN NORMAN FOSTER'S FIRST TWO 'MR. MOTO' FILMS

year: 1937 cast: Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck rating: ***1/2 THINK FAST, MR. MOTO : Peter Lorre is Mr. Moto, a Japanese secret a...

ORSON WELLES AND JOSEPH COTTEN IN 'JOURNEY INTO FEAR'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEguor00zaLn8rcQF8pCjcOACGQEReXaWzBZ0a3V_jFZ9cSA8qu47pgYhL8pkxqcEX714-nQJw1MNqE8IcCpYP6qbz05xxau_EWS4eFsVKXdp15o9fBY9vTUh-fJ4tk6T7ogivvUpv7LPQ08b31Tyo_yMktiet64bAvcJLuj5rFi8KcSYPoKss0CRMgL8DCc/s1882/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2011.00.48%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguor00zaLn8rcQF8pCjcOACGQEReXaWzBZ0a3V_jFZ9cSA8qu47pgYhL8pkxqcEX714-nQJw1MNqE8IcCpYP6qbz05xxau_EWS4eFsVKXdp15o9fBY9vTUh-fJ4tk6T7ogivvUpv7LPQ08b31Tyo_yMktiet64bAvcJLuj5rFi8KcSYPoKss0CRMgL8DCc/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2011.00.48%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles in JOURNEY INTO FEAR Year: 1943 Rating: ****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An entertaining, lightweight crime yarn about a married and very passive arms dealer... who ironically has never fired a gun... stuck on a cargo ship where there lurks a clandestine Nazi out to kill him...<br> <br> Joseph Cotten stars as the hunted pawn who, having left loyal wife Ruth Warrick ashore, is reluctantly sent aboard with dancer Dolores Del Rio and meets various passengers including a Turkish tobacco dealer, a slick gambler and a German businessman. It's not hard figuring out who the main heavy is, but it doesn't matter...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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>

agnes moorehead, classic, delores del rio, everette sloane, film noir or melodrama, forties, hit-man, joseph cotten, mystery, nazi, norman foster, orson welles, ruth warrick, suspense

ORSON WELLES AND JOSEPH COTTEN IN 'JOURNEY INTO FEAR'

Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles in JOURNEY INTO FEAR Year: 1943 Rating: **** An entertaining, lightweight crime yarn about a married and ver...

WILLIAM LUCAS & JOHN RUTLAND WEATHERING 'CALCULATED RISK'

<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/AVvXsEiYHRU7OaVKlLY96mUGH78mkarDQs6TTzgmdORuZrWAfTfgVMy2P48P-72YEFr-WRLbiZETvPVDjatgBbVNCl9vrMzGlYxbn5LoZFWQpTk9cZWr6vFDVxABtNYeTVSpy9BQJ_P07oc4h_t2NxGp39G3GJeo7epT1YWyHheKdVLnVU-ExISjMusScEiUvP6o/s1742/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%206.15.02%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1742" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHRU7OaVKlLY96mUGH78mkarDQs6TTzgmdORuZrWAfTfgVMy2P48P-72YEFr-WRLbiZETvPVDjatgBbVNCl9vrMzGlYxbn5LoZFWQpTk9cZWr6vFDVxABtNYeTVSpy9BQJ_P07oc4h_t2NxGp39G3GJeo7epT1YWyHheKdVLnVU-ExISjMusScEiUvP6o/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%206.15.02%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>William Lucas in CALCULATED RISK Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Low-budget thriller has <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/02/gimme-a.html">THE BREAK</a> baddie and overall capable <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/british%20new%20wave">British New Wave</a> actor William Lucas in CALCULATED RISK, a hybrid of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE as a newly-released older short guy has big plans for a big heist (John Rutland doing Sam Jaffe) and LARCENY INC since they must dig through a pair of locations to reach the targeted goal... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which aren't stores but bombed-out houses from twenty-years past, leading to a lucrative bank vault while Lucas, as a sophisticated yet crooked businessman (like ASPHALT backer Louis Calhern), who really doesn't need the bread (unlike Calhern and more like shifty Marc Lawrence), heads up a group of thugs resembling dockyard barflies...<br> </p>

british neo noir, british new wave, caper, dilys watling, george martin, heist, john rutland, shay gorman, sixties, suspense, terence cooper, thriller, warren mitchell, william lucas

WILLIAM LUCAS & JOHN RUTLAND WEATHERING 'CALCULATED RISK'

William Lucas in CALCULATED RISK Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2 Low-budget thriller has THE BREAK baddie and overall capable British New Wave a...

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY IN 'WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhPb8JjRRH1wWt-iiX7FYG10-nzeRLO8EErcY5OVLHm6Cx7A09fIsAMDqJaGjP7rFsUpKG6V4hzwku6nWNYwKWUAjyLP5cCaXulAmaqn5QhZwvwexT3oKaoEHFX9v8ft1uGBpVPgDzMLzv_9qg9KkC0f5a9XRzOcLIkzOE3WKZVtI3oaUUeJbyFQoZFy0/s1270/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-02%20at%202.50.48%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1270" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhPb8JjRRH1wWt-iiX7FYG10-nzeRLO8EErcY5OVLHm6Cx7A09fIsAMDqJaGjP7rFsUpKG6V4hzwku6nWNYwKWUAjyLP5cCaXulAmaqn5QhZwvwexT3oKaoEHFX9v8ft1uGBpVPgDzMLzv_9qg9KkC0f5a9XRzOcLIkzOE3WKZVtI3oaUUeJbyFQoZFy0/w400-h306/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-02%20at%202.50.48%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana and Gene a third time YEAR: 1950</u></td></tr></tbody></table>A sort of Film Noir in reverse as a downright bad and brutal cop does something accidental and pretty awful, covers it up and then, a bit later, gets half-a-heart, which is how Noir leading men usually start: this after he falls for the Falsely Accused Wrong Man's daughter in Gene Tierney's gorgeous, as usual, Morgan Taylor... Even her name is lovely...<br> <br> Dana Andrews, who resembled a hybrid Sean Connery before there was one famous enough to resemble, and Steve Martin had he been a tough and tall leading man type, stole scenes in the post World War Two classic, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/BYOOurLIVES.html">THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES,</a> and, brother of Steve Forrest, has the same square-jaw and no-nonsense style, and is a lot more edgy and desperate than his snoopy cop in the previous, more lavish and high-budgeted crime melodrama, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/Loir.html">LAURA</a>, with the same director and gorgeous co-star...<br>

bert freed, british film noir/melodrama, cop, craig stevens, dana andrews, fifties, gary merrill, gene tierney, karl malden, otto preminger, suspense

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY IN 'WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS'

Dana and Gene a third time YEAR: 1950 A sort of Film Noir in reverse as a downright bad and brutal cop does something accidental and pretty ...

VILLAINOUS OLIVER REED AND KLAUS KINSKI BITING INTO 'VENOM'

<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><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><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/AVvXsEhC8ju3yKCxQfiIQzger758e-boCfKIZi8J33q4CoTF7oLck4JK1BQhTKZW_sgugbYtMiFCBR9bw9yc1WA1yIsY96IISeM4Jr6p6tK-MC3SLMLFqO6MlhyphenhyphenXQGmRt5XD4K6fPJnI7SVEHl5zSpJU6QNpXWKBi3fk-D9W74ZhhtCESFft5kUW88ioG6dejR9w/s1454/Screen%20Shot%202025-01-20%20at%2011.51.03%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="1454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8ju3yKCxQfiIQzger758e-boCfKIZi8J33q4CoTF7oLck4JK1BQhTKZW_sgugbYtMiFCBR9bw9yc1WA1yIsY96IISeM4Jr6p6tK-MC3SLMLFqO6MlhyphenhyphenXQGmRt5XD4K6fPJnI7SVEHl5zSpJU6QNpXWKBi3fk-D9W74ZhhtCESFft5kUW88ioG6dejR9w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-01-20%20at%2011.51.03%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: VENOM Year: 1981 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: small;">In England, a sickly child and his grandfather are overtaken by the help in their family estate: Earlier that day, the boy picked up the wrong snake from a pet shop: A</span><span style="font-size: small;">nd now a</span><span style="font-size: small;"> deadly Black Mamba slithers around, mostly inside the vents for a snake-eye viewpoint...</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><span style="font-size: small;">A clever enough premise for a group of otherwise shady and hardened DESPERATE HOURS-inspired characters to be paranoid and terrified while cloistered in a doubly-dangerous setting...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p>

cornelia sharpe, creature, drama, eighties, exploitation, horror, hostage, klaus kinski, nicol williamson, oliver reed, sarah miles, snake, sterling hayden, susan george, suspense, thriller

VILLAINOUS OLIVER REED AND KLAUS KINSKI BITING INTO 'VENOM'

Title: VENOM Year: 1981 Rating: **** In England, a sickly child and his grandfather are overtaken by the help in their family estate: Earli...

JOSEPH BOTTOMS, LANA CLARKSON & KEIR DULLEA IN 'BLIND DATE'

<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/AVvXsEj7PSWmVePK_soQENMo2DsyLNLbsTkWV-8So_s5yOZ0sdvh5X-ZWRknXwsXaSrjeEKiK3tKEPwW-JgJxJBY69lxDJBBdwl2daijl0NJob9nFCtDxhiRu4RwseMsQjRsqi8ux9lkEf7sQzwME7aHUats3tv7eLx4TNpojMja4z4qdEAfBT_Ry6mmwHVwHKk3/s1034/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-27%20at%201.44.19%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="1034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PSWmVePK_soQENMo2DsyLNLbsTkWV-8So_s5yOZ0sdvh5X-ZWRknXwsXaSrjeEKiK3tKEPwW-JgJxJBY69lxDJBBdwl2daijl0NJob9nFCtDxhiRu4RwseMsQjRsqi8ux9lkEf7sQzwME7aHUats3tv7eLx4TNpojMja4z4qdEAfBT_Ry6mmwHVwHKk3/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-27%20at%201.44.19%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Joseph Bottoms in BLIND DATE Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>If it weren't for the Sony Walkman that Joseph Bottoms listens to in order to miraculously <i>visualize </i>computer-graphic/inferred grid-like outlines after having lost his sight, offbeat director Nico Mastorakis's BLIND DATE would seem from the steely neo-noir 1970's instead of the more glossy and subdued 1980's...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As that decade brings a wall-to-wall score of loud synthesizers and bad techno pop songs in what's an otherwise intriguing Greek-set giallo that builds beyond an uninspired initial 30-minutes... picking up when blinded Joseph Bottoms becomes a James Stewart/REAR WINDOW-style protagonist, only with moveable investigatory skills like VERTIGO... stalking the dark night for ex-girlfriend (and possible final victim) Lana Clarkson...</p>

body count, eighties, exploitation, james daughton, joseph bottoms, keir dullea, kirstie alley, lana clarkson, marina sirtis, nico mastorakis, science-fiction, serial killer, suspense, thriller, valerie golino

JOSEPH BOTTOMS, LANA CLARKSON & KEIR DULLEA IN 'BLIND DATE'

Joseph Bottoms in BLIND DATE Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 If it weren't for the Sony Walkman that Joseph Bottoms listens to in order to mir...

MARTIN SHEEN IN JOHN SCHLESINGER'S THRILLER 'THE BELIEVERS'

<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/AVvXsEiqsoMk2VDtrq5X3YHc8_cISl8HdZWW7pmWBnfVVxcxftrC2gWBmQd2KhGrbclZw-lpL6EN7nSxPmTIKqGSEiuTTn-ps3hmvCp6S8cB0Ihg2pSsRiCb_IXXpJ2Vw8RMHoomzm7IUHeshn-8zFu_6qiufiUS-vjeSbcyJ1KrQhDzaxXv17kWb0Jb-W2SecKg/s1074/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-04%20at%204.03.23%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsoMk2VDtrq5X3YHc8_cISl8HdZWW7pmWBnfVVxcxftrC2gWBmQd2KhGrbclZw-lpL6EN7nSxPmTIKqGSEiuTTn-ps3hmvCp6S8cB0Ihg2pSsRiCb_IXXpJ2Vw8RMHoomzm7IUHeshn-8zFu_6qiufiUS-vjeSbcyJ1KrQhDzaxXv17kWb0Jb-W2SecKg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-04%20at%204.03.23%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Martin Sheen and Harley Cross in THE BELIEVERS Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The last time Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger put a short and intense method actor through the relatively slow-burn, thriller-genre ringer was Dustin Hoffman in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/06/MM.html">MARATHON MAN</a>...</p><p>Which is similar to 1987's thriller-horror hybrid THE BELIEVERS in that Martin Sheen, ironically jogging at the opening of the film... playing a shrink for troubled, unhinged cops... is up against something much bigger than he had initially realized: for Hoffman it's a Neo Nazi diamond-thief and for Sheen a New York City voodoo cult are sacrificing children — and his own son could be next... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

eighties, horror, jimmy smits, john schlesinger, martin sheen, robert loggia, suspense, thriller

MARTIN SHEEN IN JOHN SCHLESINGER'S THRILLER 'THE BELIEVERS'

Martin Sheen and Harley Cross in THE BELIEVERS Year: 1987 Rating: ***1/2 The last time Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger put a short a...

DICK POWELL AS PHILIP MARLOWE SHADOWS 'MURDER, MY SWEET'

<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/AVvXsEhEmIgeqgdFX0OhJSgI8rNdlV7z5nSHtwgXC6QhEi-2tfFFy17HxrdEz0-_Ywy9doWpk-EI-tn0O3mR4SKsNgO7RwDRGpH9w1FORJNhTJ22-04O5fIx6kDL_GrvuqFImQ7f8vBAmO9OXy7wVWiec7yMKVrOiWMBOpJf8u4M6EM0Lrn0NMbNUKGGbnCohv2t/s1996/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2010.39.41%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1996" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmIgeqgdFX0OhJSgI8rNdlV7z5nSHtwgXC6QhEi-2tfFFy17HxrdEz0-_Ywy9doWpk-EI-tn0O3mR4SKsNgO7RwDRGpH9w1FORJNhTJ22-04O5fIx6kDL_GrvuqFImQ7f8vBAmO9OXy7wVWiec7yMKVrOiWMBOpJf8u4M6EM0Lrn0NMbNUKGGbnCohv2t/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-02%20at%2010.39.41%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MURDER, MY SWEET Year: 1944 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>"You go barging around without a clear idea of what you're doing," says MURDER MY SWEET seemingly good girl Anne Shirley to Dick Powell's loose, congenial, free-form and not particularly tough version of novelist Raymond Chandler's gumshoe private investigator, Philip Marlowe. "Everybody bats you down, smacks you over the head... fills you full of stuff... and you keep right on hitting between tackle and end..." </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And yet, while most think of strong-willed, fully-controlled, woman-loving Humphrey Bogart in Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP to epitomize Chandler's literary turned cinematic snoop, Edward Dmytryk had already directed former romantic comedy song-and-dance-man Powell as Marlowe, more like a staggering kite skidding just above ground, sporadically raked by unpredictable elements in an intense yet affable manner: initially derived from a police hot-spot interrogation frame story, thinking back on the rudimentary job that ignited the nightmare... <br></p><span></span>

anne shirley, claire trevor, daun kennedy, dick powell, film noir or melodrama, forties, gumshoe, mike mazurski, raymond chandler, suspense, thriller

DICK POWELL AS PHILIP MARLOWE SHADOWS 'MURDER, MY SWEET'

Title: MURDER, MY SWEET Year: 1944 Rating: ****1/2 "You go barging around without a clear idea of what you're doing," says MUR...

LANCE HENRIKSEN & ERIC ROBERTS IN 'THE NATURE OF THE BEAST'

<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/AVvXsEj5evglfBmE6u8d2gsY1Ck7OsEvHL79pDobyMZJweBX_io0Db9QTjMTSjzNhDmSPT2hL8JSLEYrKsj6JO4xmMRbYR_XbV_LYvbe2e4EoLEs-k7wTUQSe9hFzVCHwyw2W8eHeUix_nHCRkQtJvo1ibfJxnSx9Q9nyFJUgpNReNHgi24Kcv_8mBANauG9KcAi/s900/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-21%20at%2012.31.59%20AM%202%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5evglfBmE6u8d2gsY1Ck7OsEvHL79pDobyMZJweBX_io0Db9QTjMTSjzNhDmSPT2hL8JSLEYrKsj6JO4xmMRbYR_XbV_LYvbe2e4EoLEs-k7wTUQSe9hFzVCHwyw2W8eHeUix_nHCRkQtJvo1ibfJxnSx9Q9nyFJUgpNReNHgi24Kcv_8mBANauG9KcAi/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-21%20at%2012.31.59%20AM%202%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Eric Roberts & Lance Henriksen in THE NATURE OF THE BEAST Year: 1995 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An exploitation Oscar and Felix casts Eric Roberts as Adrian, a dirty piece of human driftwood hitchhiking the lonesome desert highway where, in random stopovers, people are massacred by a phantom called THE HATCHET MAN...<br> <br> Also, a local bank was robbed of a million bucks and uptight traveling salesman Jack, played by a subdued Lance Henriksen, reluctantly gives Adrian rides throughout the scorched purgatory... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

ana gabriel, brion james, eric roberts, lance henriksen, neo noir, nineties, road movie, rural, serial killer, suspense

LANCE HENRIKSEN & ERIC ROBERTS IN 'THE NATURE OF THE BEAST'

Eric Roberts & Lance Henriksen in THE NATURE OF THE BEAST Year: 1995 Rates: ***1/2 An exploitation Oscar and Felix casts Eric Roberts a...

BRUCE DERN TAILING RYAN O'NEAL IN WALTER HILL'S 'THE DRIVER'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0AWhdGEPBJXOfLvQraq2Ok17UOIim2ecuwOU61L8nw1hs60poMjxjLuUFqe8b1kYnPZ-kK43P1WyFagTIawmVbLi0rkUlzEIXAAfCzSG5VOc-fR-8IlQpNnQE5bjUSPNTuxnlqqwcHGPaY1zJx3J8hKFaOgwqD_xaK-E3uLTwGzvbOH8iE17RGkOI3hx/s1408/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-24%20at%205.39.53%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1408" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0AWhdGEPBJXOfLvQraq2Ok17UOIim2ecuwOU61L8nw1hs60poMjxjLuUFqe8b1kYnPZ-kK43P1WyFagTIawmVbLi0rkUlzEIXAAfCzSG5VOc-fR-8IlQpNnQE5bjUSPNTuxnlqqwcHGPaY1zJx3J8hKFaOgwqD_xaK-E3uLTwGzvbOH8iE17RGkOI3hx/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-24%20at%205.39.53%20PM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE DRIVER Year: 1978 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table>An action vehicle but not entirely, Walter Hill's THE DRIVER is more a meticulous, character-driven Neo Noir than rollercoaster ride: This includes a brooding Ryan O'Neal as a getaway DRIVER sought after by a determined cop played by not only scene but<i> entire film-stealing</i> Bruce Dern as... The Detective...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY46SBJnGRgqf_bvnPfwk4mgBLcNSSRPcCYbD6Xfx61io1_jG32JYm15edUke-9LHw-IYztR9olV2kPIYvmwmhB6HPj5CSQIzRqF3ZNnGIH8lnjx9WXuxhoQLvrv08Ne1WoiVUkUFr9vms/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-07+at+4.39.51+AM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="909" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY46SBJnGRgqf_bvnPfwk4mgBLcNSSRPcCYbD6Xfx61io1_jG32JYm15edUke-9LHw-IYztR9olV2kPIYvmwmhB6HPj5CSQIzRqF3ZNnGIH8lnjx9WXuxhoQLvrv08Ne1WoiVUkUFr9vms/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-07+at+4.39.51+AM.jpeg" width="204"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Driver Mileage Rates: ****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div>As each character is sparsely named after what they are within a pulpy yet stark, slowburn template as no one means anything beyond what they're doing, who they're after or protecting, The Player in particular, Isabelle Adjani caught in-between as... speaking in monotone like everyone else except Dern... her best moments occur while listening...<br> <br> Scenes when Dern questions her or THE DRIVER or a more honest detective in Matt Clark are even better than the chase scenes: Which, of course, directed by future WARRIORS and SOUTHERN COMFORT icon Walter Hill, are topnotch suspenseful and easy to follow – either dodging police prowlers or one of the bad guys who winds up after the titular bad guy we're rooting for. And the most intense screeching tires occur as THE DRIVER shows his stuff inside a parking garage, with no one chasing behind: deliberate car-porn at its finest.<br>

action, bruce dern, car, crime, edward walsh, felice orlandi, getaway driver, isabelle adjani, matt clark, neo noir, rudy ramos, ryan o'neal, seventies, suspense, thriller, twilight time, walter hill

BRUCE DERN TAILING RYAN O'NEAL IN WALTER HILL'S 'THE DRIVER'

Title: THE DRIVER Year: 1978 Rates: **** An action vehicle but not entirely, Walter Hill's THE DRIVER is more a meticulous, character-dr...

ROBERT MITCHUM, WILLIAM TALMAN & ROBERT RYAN IN 'THE RACKET'

<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/AVvXsEiw9lQsYk5ktV0qMST88FxyNa-0jP9sZQ0Wk7arZ4I99NKwK_0b5x8SMEJnmrQnBlKFasVMbReRQ8216aLO4fj9jizU5kkqdU3u7KOlnaWE9USrpzyydPXnXnvl0pwsnoaSMOHZZygxl3Y9QpMqnt0j8OLuKiJGi0IdpyHoJGdZW2S40rSG4NvXuSC8iaE0/s2150/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-04%20at%208.05.05%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9lQsYk5ktV0qMST88FxyNa-0jP9sZQ0Wk7arZ4I99NKwK_0b5x8SMEJnmrQnBlKFasVMbReRQ8216aLO4fj9jizU5kkqdU3u7KOlnaWE9USrpzyydPXnXnvl0pwsnoaSMOHZZygxl3Y9QpMqnt0j8OLuKiJGi0IdpyHoJGdZW2S40rSG4NvXuSC8iaE0/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-04%20at%208.05.05%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE RACKET 1951 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While primarily focusing on the two leads, Robert Mitchum as a determined cop, McQuigg, and Robert Ryan as criminal kingpin Nick Scanlon (in cahoots with crooked politician Ray Collins), it's William Talman's heroic yet idealistically naïve , knee-jerk newbie police officer, ready to take on all things villainous, that really drives things along...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Bookending the literally explosive middle is an involving buildup, as nothing can touch Robert Ryan and his old-school way of running things. Then, during the last half, he realizes his particular kind of shady doesn't quite work in the world of ever-growing politics. But he's not going down easy, and it takes Mitchum's slowburn patience to wear him down. Throw in sexy Lizbeth Scott as the dame caught in the middle and you really have a pretty nifty crime-thriller. <br></p><span></span>

crime, fifties, film noir or melodrama, howard hughes, lizabeth scott, robert mitchum, robert ryan, suspense, william talman

ROBERT MITCHUM, WILLIAM TALMAN & ROBERT RYAN IN 'THE RACKET'

Title: THE RACKET 1951 Rating: ***1/2 While primarily focusing on the two leads, Robert Mitchum as a determined cop, McQuigg, and Robert R...

STANLEY BAKER AND TOM BELL SNEAK THROUGH 'A PRIZE OF ARMS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEh7RUcjfPowY5kNMV_rlEaVifubAOaxqbRx6RMUNEBePOYeKEUDEWAsXPoTooXd_MxhztxXNRtznJB0y4IdpBuQXDjWs2cn7JDtqSpiMWwon-2WOlLUB3SK4iTdi8hv4EFTiPiZeOHCOkyus00U1PAMA6irtvK-coFAWZ3QYN8jZvh31CJ7ydArFC0oNLB6/s2058/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-29%20at%2011.07.31%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="2058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RUcjfPowY5kNMV_rlEaVifubAOaxqbRx6RMUNEBePOYeKEUDEWAsXPoTooXd_MxhztxXNRtznJB0y4IdpBuQXDjWs2cn7JDtqSpiMWwon-2WOlLUB3SK4iTdi8hv4EFTiPiZeOHCOkyus00U1PAMA6irtvK-coFAWZ3QYN8jZvh31CJ7ydArFC0oNLB6/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-29%20at%2011.07.31%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Stanley Baker in A PRIZE OF ARMS Year: 1963 Rating: ****1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The most suspenseful parts from the final act of THE GREAT ESCAPE a year after A PRIZE OF ARMS and the middle of the original decade-later STAR WARS entails hiding in plain site, behind <i>enemy </i>lines while wearing their uniforms and keeping everything in perfect surreptitious motion, without getting noticed and thus, caught and captured... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which ARMS is, practically from beginning to end, epitomizing the sparse heist thriller where two British crooks with one German go undercover to politely infiltrate a British military compound before an overseas mission, since the armory will be loaded with cash... all for the taking...</p><p><span></span></p>

anthony bate, british, british new wave, caper, heist, helmut schmid, michael ripper, military, patrick magee, roddy mcmillan, sixties, stanley baker, suspense, thriller, tom bell

STANLEY BAKER AND TOM BELL SNEAK THROUGH 'A PRIZE OF ARMS'

Stanley Baker in A PRIZE OF ARMS Year: 1963 Rating: ****1/2 The most suspenseful parts from the final act of THE GREAT ESCAPE a year after A...

VICTOR MATURE 'KISS OF DEATH' INTRODUCING RICHARD WIDMARK

<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/AVvXsEi0HWIIQGIeQA7VODaWI4fF08k0PUDvhHy2IMwSFcaCs3AUgS1rYYPfhCrS0YZRXT4MmgZQCcF9TC1JT44I7SaGYx8FCjUK8PKxxiOn2YgCUKQ3ur4mTTMCKnUwZ6l97JToCk5IpUbXHMhduLL1e3IlOupJx27Z9FUeogsMDcfT5z30KSQl7wwbSJhG1Iwt/s1732/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-26%20at%201.26.10%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1732" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HWIIQGIeQA7VODaWI4fF08k0PUDvhHy2IMwSFcaCs3AUgS1rYYPfhCrS0YZRXT4MmgZQCcF9TC1JT44I7SaGYx8FCjUK8PKxxiOn2YgCUKQ3ur4mTTMCKnUwZ6l97JToCk5IpUbXHMhduLL1e3IlOupJx27Z9FUeogsMDcfT5z30KSQl7wwbSJhG1Iwt/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-26%20at%201.26.10%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Richard Widmark and Victor Mature in KISS OF DEATH Year: 1947 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The original KISS OF DEATH is several movies in one, beginning as a tension-filled heist flick that quickly leads to a prison melodrama involving the husband/father crook going to jail (refusing to rat on his criminal partners)... and then becomes a thriller about one thing and one thing only  — fear...</p><p></p><p></p><p>And it's no coincidence that this part sets up when central lead Victor Mature meets extremely talky and psychotic gangster Tommy Udo, played by cinema newcomer Richard Widmark... thus kicking into <i>full fear</i> gear during the second and third act, after Mature's failed attempt of turning Udo over to dogged moral conscience D.A. Brian Donlevy...</p><span></span>

brian donlevy, coleen gray, film noir or melodrama, forties, heist, karl malden, richard widmark, suspense, thriller, victor mature

VICTOR MATURE 'KISS OF DEATH' INTRODUCING RICHARD WIDMARK

Richard Widmark and Victor Mature in KISS OF DEATH Year: 1947 Rating: **** The original KISS OF DEATH is several movies in one, beginning as...

MARK STEVENS & RICHARD WIDMARK 'THE STREET WITH NO NAME'

<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/AVvXsEjXWGzxm087JR3xJaWyaXMzvTRS6OINpETTA2sd1EYmtu-jODWMc5anmjF4idmY_P4nT4M8Z6sVNTozeSQ7IxPkcmhFMbkSbwZ-rG5bSsYiOf0QTlMUqsY8hxzTWzX10AMVzaHEnh0Bd2REAMrDc7PDmHWFJsg9kkrU_qYPTQkfxn-BjuFj6CgP1_ACx-lm/s1264/lighterRED.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWGzxm087JR3xJaWyaXMzvTRS6OINpETTA2sd1EYmtu-jODWMc5anmjF4idmY_P4nT4M8Z6sVNTozeSQ7IxPkcmhFMbkSbwZ-rG5bSsYiOf0QTlMUqsY8hxzTWzX10AMVzaHEnh0Bd2REAMrDc7PDmHWFJsg9kkrU_qYPTQkfxn-BjuFj6CgP1_ACx-lm/s16000/lighterRED.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE STREET WITH NO NAME Year: 1947 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Like James Cagney's more popular G-MEN, this dusty gem begins as sort of an FBI propaganda film, showing the inner workings of the department with a monotone "facts only" narration, yet soon enough it settles darkly into a mean, lean mobster flick as we follow agent Mark Stevens undercover along the titular urban street...<br> <br> Stevens as Gene Cordell, going by the bogus name of George Manly, then coasts into a boxing syndicate led by the dependably-vile Noir favorite Richard Widmark as Alec Stiles, who has solo time on screen, becoming an equal match of mobster verses undercover agent...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

action, crime, donald buka, FBI, film noir or melodrama, gangster, joseph pevney, mark stevens, richard widmark, suspense

MARK STEVENS & RICHARD WIDMARK 'THE STREET WITH NO NAME'

Title: THE STREET WITH NO NAME Year: 1947 Rating: ****1/2 Like James Cagney's more popular G-MEN, this dusty gem begins as sort of an ...

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...

OLIVER REED IN HAMMER FILMS 'PARANOIAC' WITH JANETTE SCOTT

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWBjLr6HLNf3xFljqHl-WVo5Zw5cf3FRQhm-4715QwEeuhE6cmwfQOCRhocb224e2DYp59jAveE9Rbnp2iyTocsSRRSoVYM_xuraQz4KJSPrQ-X2KuHzmxwwOufUeWNitCfBLIIlUArXmK8T729zUE0Xc862abcJcUXOfR5qauu4r7TjSnu-C9bodw/s1932/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-29%20at%207.33.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1932" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWBjLr6HLNf3xFljqHl-WVo5Zw5cf3FRQhm-4715QwEeuhE6cmwfQOCRhocb224e2DYp59jAveE9Rbnp2iyTocsSRRSoVYM_xuraQz4KJSPrQ-X2KuHzmxwwOufUeWNitCfBLIIlUArXmK8T729zUE0Xc862abcJcUXOfR5qauu4r7TjSnu-C9bodw/w400-h288/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-29%20at%207.33.54%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for PARANOIAC Year: 1963 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>If Terence Fisher was the <i>Universal Classic Monsters </i>version of England's HAMMER FILMS then Freddie Francis was their Hitchcock, and PARANOIAC one of Hammer's best psychological thrillers, providing stock actor Oliver Reed a grand performance, showcasing what would become his two signature traits: moody brooding and overboard intensity: He's the brother of troubled, haunted ingenue Jeanette Scott, set to inherit a bundle (strictly overseen by an aunt and family lawyer), holed up in the family's sea-cliff estate, but not if Reed (with moll Liliane Brousse) can help it...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And while mostly working alone, he's <i>not</i> alone in agenda: The leading man is a con artist, which we learn soon enough for PARANOIAC to not quite reach Mystery-genre status: But those fifteen minutes when handsome Alexander Davion may or may not be her adored prodigal brother are the most intriguing: After which, coinciding with the kind of quick-split editing wherein everything beforehand meant only how the scene abruptly ends, Reed and his boisterous persona takes over, making this a frantic game of wits using creative camera angles within a shadowy B&W aesthetic that'd perfectly suit Film Noir... and it's only five years shy of being one — for then it'd get a lot more praise and attention beyond the lot of We the faithfully dedicated/eternal Hammerheads.  </p><p><span></span></p>

alexander davion, british new wave, hammer films, horror, janette scott, liliane brousse, oliver reed, sixties, suspense, thriller

OLIVER REED IN HAMMER FILMS 'PARANOIAC' WITH JANETTE SCOTT

Poster for PARANOIAC Year: 1963 Rating: **** If Terence Fisher was the Universal Classic Monsters version of England's HAMMER FILMS then...

STEVE MCQUEEN IN THE ORIGINAL LEGENDARY CLASSIC 'THE BLOB'

<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/AVvXsEjDsuFtjyrWUVDH7BhgL91grP10vXlJaXxuVMxP4IeDSO1TIxBtMheS6LufjkHwTCWNYIhzIhNS2XyREviZUuIYjTD5iosFimWgM5QDDy9bSgFUWUwo544ORY6gdr5VU266k40GwerMeDwmWGRliB8_dJLC_nvNodRJPAHCuTMsv6edsq-TrLKJZn_ywBUc/s1309/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-05%20at%209.31.48%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsuFtjyrWUVDH7BhgL91grP10vXlJaXxuVMxP4IeDSO1TIxBtMheS6LufjkHwTCWNYIhzIhNS2XyREviZUuIYjTD5iosFimWgM5QDDy9bSgFUWUwo544ORY6gdr5VU266k40GwerMeDwmWGRliB8_dJLC_nvNodRJPAHCuTMsv6edsq-TrLKJZn_ywBUc/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-05%20at%209.31.48%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve McQueen in THE BLOB Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>During the prelude of an eclectic and highly successful career, Steve McQueen, billed as Steven McQueen as a guy named Steve, has never played a character so untrusted, underrated or downright frustratingly unappreciated...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>He knows what everyone, including his best girl, has strong, stubborn doubts about. And we're not only supposed to believe that the rugged-looking, world-weary McQueen is a teenager but that he'd actually get taunted, goaded and borderline bullied by bunch of small town car-jerks who look as if <i>they'd</i> follow <i>him</i>...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, cult, dinosaur, exploitation, fifties, horror, irvin s. yeaworth jr., jack harris, james congdon, jazz score, lee meriwether, robert fields, robert lansing, sixties, steve mcqueen, suspense, thriller

STEVE MCQUEEN IN THE ORIGINAL LEGENDARY CLASSIC 'THE BLOB'

Steve McQueen in THE BLOB Year: 1958 Rating: ***1/2 During the prelude of an eclectic and highly successful career, Steve McQueen, billed ...

MARLON BRANDO INVADES 'THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEhYz3-V8gOl8aW_N-3G3CEI4cplBiXx1y8xNaLeI9zNefFeRttq7sBssofE_XdqW0g4PF0AbpFG9vFGwJuXrI8cjZEIxYbMV9KM-6vz5ZH8ibT_w4M2S-ADshzPtDKg2lSL0CajL7wKR_BTn8lU9GEEMMoXp1NWjH2_n-9RHMKUH8aMa2vhqSdRdavDnBHQ/s2004/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-03%20at%207.45.39%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="2004" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYz3-V8gOl8aW_N-3G3CEI4cplBiXx1y8xNaLeI9zNefFeRttq7sBssofE_XdqW0g4PF0AbpFG9vFGwJuXrI8cjZEIxYbMV9KM-6vz5ZH8ibT_w4M2S-ADshzPtDKg2lSL0CajL7wKR_BTn8lU9GEEMMoXp1NWjH2_n-9RHMKUH8aMa2vhqSdRdavDnBHQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-03%20at%207.45.39%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day 1969 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two things that <i>must be </i>intentional about THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY: One is fortyish Marlon Brando was proving to <i>still </i>be fit and great looking (and he did); the other is this kidnap-thriller's not one bit thrilling, and director Hubert Cornfield deliberately made a character-driven film more about edgy criminals than the edgy situation they're involved in... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></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 kidnapped Pamela Franklin is hardly shown, especially once inside the main location, a French beach house where even a literally fishing cop — flirting with Brando's junky girlfriend (and the passive leader's sister) Rita Moreno — doesn't  evoke suspense...</p><p><span></span></p>

al lettieri, hubert cornfield, jazz score, jess hahn, kidnapping, marlon brando, neo noir, pamela franklin, richard boone, rita moreno, sixties, suspense, thriller

MARLON BRANDO INVADES 'THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY'

Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day 1969 Rating: ***1/2 There are two things that must be intentional about THE NIGHT OF THE FOL...

JOHN CARPENTER'S TV-MOVIE THRILLER 'SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME!'

<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/AVvXsEhQtYArQtu0CdX6KLfoy9lVli41o2XQn7fgQR3ljCCgMpx6puYsikvEHv3z6uDuk0qHPpLb6ZxxH19lEaCMxNN5ZRZc6dkJEt12z4YTrBFa7S45trY3LePH99A5N5TYvFy2U73lCPRizKNgU8vfnRt62-8BJx0oebfjCcL5BR4V4mzP6SKdIs2BdIMM8Q/s1875/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-01%20at%2012.42.57%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1875" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtYArQtu0CdX6KLfoy9lVli41o2XQn7fgQR3ljCCgMpx6puYsikvEHv3z6uDuk0qHPpLb6ZxxH19lEaCMxNN5ZRZc6dkJEt12z4YTrBFa7S45trY3LePH99A5N5TYvFy2U73lCPRizKNgU8vfnRt62-8BJx0oebfjCcL5BR4V4mzP6SKdIs2BdIMM8Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-01%20at%2012.42.57%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title Sequence for Someone's Watching Me YEAR: 1978 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After John Carpenter hit surprise bombshell with the horror/slasher HALLOWEEN, a made-for-TV movie being the next step is a bit strange, but for the small screen it's not bad... </p><p></p><p></p><p>The tense, rather slowburn plot centers on a director played by Lauren Hutton who is, as the title implies, being watched by someone in the building across from her own... </p><span></span>

adrienne barbeau, david birney, horror, john carpenter, lauren becall, mystery, suspense, thriller, tv movie

JOHN CARPENTER'S TV-MOVIE THRILLER 'SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME!'

Title Sequence for Someone's Watching Me YEAR: 1978 Rating: *** After John Carpenter hit surprise bombshell with the horror/slasher HALL...