tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57661172069260043572024-03-24T03:10:29.428-04:00Forgotten CinemaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-6746282589642318672024-03-06T10:32:00.002-05:002024-03-06T10:44:37.192-05:00SHAKEDOWN (1950)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLcKCSSgxSaYgVa_Tm2c4NyIr8Xjw79E1xXTqnt5Z3VDTDKpsECHqCKoQlIbikviGD88BUgm-oBNVZuHrWJlFZv7Yke87YOzXlebv2PCLBQdwt_a_8rHWECISpKOpWlByjiiNBuUzsxqddmMLcjCTkuQ-zFe6_Iu0ScA-xdKQxKc4zMev9GBQQotw-_Q/s849/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="849" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLcKCSSgxSaYgVa_Tm2c4NyIr8Xjw79E1xXTqnt5Z3VDTDKpsECHqCKoQlIbikviGD88BUgm-oBNVZuHrWJlFZv7Yke87YOzXlebv2PCLBQdwt_a_8rHWECISpKOpWlByjiiNBuUzsxqddmMLcjCTkuQ-zFe6_Iu0ScA-xdKQxKc4zMev9GBQQotw-_Q/w400-h313/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Howard Duff plays an
over-confident, womanizing con man with a camera who despises the low income of society, of which he is currently a part. The opening
beating he takes sets the tone for his well-known lack of character.
Among other things, the love of money is the root of all evil and he
will use anyone as a stepping stone for financial gain. A newspaper
photo editor, Peggy Dow, falls for Duff's smooth, charming manner and
ambition, then vouches for him to the editor-in-chief, Bruce Bennett. With a nose for
news, honesty and integrity, he does not like Duff from the
outset</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">something rotten is
developing. Nevertheless, due to her persistence, he is hired. In
time, his uncanny ability to be in the exact spot to capture a
newsworthy happening suspiciously lacks authenticity. Like the time
Duff happens upon an apartment fire and spots a lady breaking a third-story window for escape. He tells her to pause then yells, "Now
jump." Click! I assume there were firemen to catch her. Not an
issue for Duff.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmTIlNAHG51P5HnA8_G40yDG_zL2HVQAk9Tro2vcwsLTYebjma1uvKhaC7FM046S3ywHy49_ubELycKdQw7S__A82Kw0w9WIXyW-qB0f2T4DCg9FzolombZAVd6Uzgk_Y7XBLU1Zz4EsVuinuiwNc6gqS6djOYISDO_EjaI8CG0FxyK_PehBr9GzqMzQ/s450/dow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="450" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmTIlNAHG51P5HnA8_G40yDG_zL2HVQAk9Tro2vcwsLTYebjma1uvKhaC7FM046S3ywHy49_ubELycKdQw7S__A82Kw0w9WIXyW-qB0f2T4DCg9FzolombZAVd6Uzgk_Y7XBLU1Zz4EsVuinuiwNc6gqS6djOYISDO_EjaI8CG0FxyK_PehBr9GzqMzQ/w400-h288/dow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmDf9KL4hJN1aWVtFjSKt4_uOtJVggusZSVA346vCgemzlwP6bpU8bfX1ZmMUQ06W2NV895wU8BKwYdBuKvXlGLRweOCGm4mPUv1mH-oSp4PYmWLh3LVnFi4R8GS3f4z2y9pMsS8L4vo2_IaUw9kV9zaL7VMmQNmqAQ3DUTIWjcEtfNvudXku-6f6xoo/s450/phone%20call.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="450" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmDf9KL4hJN1aWVtFjSKt4_uOtJVggusZSVA346vCgemzlwP6bpU8bfX1ZmMUQ06W2NV895wU8BKwYdBuKvXlGLRweOCGm4mPUv1mH-oSp4PYmWLh3LVnFi4R8GS3f4z2y9pMsS8L4vo2_IaUw9kV9zaL7VMmQNmqAQ3DUTIWjcEtfNvudXku-6f6xoo/w400-h288/phone%20call.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Duff surviving until the
end of this film seems highly unlikely. His cocky, yet naivete, gets
him involved with organized crime. He is well paid for his darkroom
skills, going to work for a racketeer, Brian Donlevy, who provides
him with inside information about a rival's activity. Duff just
"happens" to be in downtown San Francisco to capture
Lawrence Tierney during the bank robbery. Duff later approaches
Tierney to offer him a deal<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>he
will keep the negative in safe keeping for a substantial fee. If that
is not enough, he later hides in a parking garage to capture him in
the act of installing an after-market accessory to Donlevy's
limo: a bomb. The unscrupulous shutterbug now has the blackmail image
of his dreams. Duff is free to swoop in for Donlevy's widow, Anne
Vernon.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the rapid climax
at a high society formal event, Duff's true colors are revealed to
Vernon<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>Tierney suggests he
was responsible for her husband's death. But those negatives, hidden
within a picture frame at Dow's apartment, will prove otherwise.
Duff's frantic call proves fruitless. She is fed up with his
fabrications and hangs up on him. Duff is a marked man. After<span face="Arial, sans-serif">
being shot three times, </span>he still manages to squeeze the
shutter release cable hanging from his tripod to photograph Tierney
firing the fatal bullet.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Duff lived for a “shot”
at immortality. His photographic evidence brings the mobsters to
justice. Yet the newspaper staff knew he was a "skunk of the
first odor" all along.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
The eighty-minute film was released by Universal Pictures and
directed by Joseph Pevney. It is a better-than-average B-movie noir.
Fine performances all around. The powerful scores are from a stock
library by several well-known composers. Duff effortlessly delivers
numerous sarcastic, witty quips throughout<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>like
a guy who memorized the excellent screenplay by Martin Goldsmith and
Alfred Lewis Levitt. Ignore the poster. At no time did Donlevy
attempt to punch out Duff. The viewers on the other hand....</i></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>There
is at least one gullible moment in the film. Duff desperately wants
that image few could capture. As a taxi fare, he notices the car in
front is weaving left and right and thinks it might lead to something.
The erratic car does plunge into shallow water, balanced
precipitously on its side<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>the
driver in a panic. Rather than help the driver, Duff tells him to
stick his head out the side window and then stretch out his arms in a
show of desperation. Why the driver would comply with these commands
is difficult to fathom. </i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-2869870942425339912024-02-08T09:59:00.009-05:002024-02-18T11:52:09.639-05:00FALLGUY (1962)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj605jGg9Yap2EzTlb20o8_Y8cOVX91O1G-GVnfQG1MCFZmbMjpe3XIGMlzINZLFTM2c5CssuRlEA-Cx0W_u1SHmeCBF7KkUvn4gpxQ-F-_0xwmkBdr2lt5kJEGUHyo8cOZ36vfmYXlC5zatLuwBLJkMdt2JY6DRZRcdHNngiMBL8kiyZXynyZXoojjd6A/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj605jGg9Yap2EzTlb20o8_Y8cOVX91O1G-GVnfQG1MCFZmbMjpe3XIGMlzINZLFTM2c5CssuRlEA-Cx0W_u1SHmeCBF7KkUvn4gpxQ-F-_0xwmkBdr2lt5kJEGUHyo8cOZ36vfmYXlC5zatLuwBLJkMdt2JY6DRZRcdHNngiMBL8kiyZXynyZXoojjd6A/w400-h225/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">This one-off crime drama
opens in a highly interpretive manner as we watch a pair of slacks
and a briefcase enter a house where three female bimbos are lounging
around. Naturally, there is the obligatory saxophone to accompany
them. A guy comes down the stairs and hands some cash to the
slacks</span></span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">now with a hat. The
scene cuts to the minimalist office of a newspaper editor/mob boss. He
smugly tells his two operatives that the Indian is set to deliver his
contract tonight. Crank up the cool jazz theme and graphics. This
intriguingly quirky opening may have you wondering if it is an Indian
from New Mexico or New Delhi. Like passing an automobile accident, not gawking might be difficult. But if the entire</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> sixty-four minutes </span><span style="font-family: arial;">cannot be watched, the following should suffice. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">A myriad of awkward or funny elements is worthy of mention.</span></span></div></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span>That pounding opening
jazz score by Jaime Medoza-Nave will remind those familiar with the
then-current television series, <i>Checkmate</i>, and its cool theme
written two years earlier by Johnny (John) Williams. The graphic
title sequence is an obvious knock-off of the genius work of Saul
Bass, then breaking new ground with film title graphics. These
assumed “inspirations” end up being the only classy elements of
the film. An independent production, its lack of creativity is a good
example of a wasted low budget. The film had no chance of being successful. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is not a foreign film but the post-production vocal recording was no doubt necessary for this inexperienced cast. Actors who indicate their apparent limited experience in community theater. The film’s star, Mr. Ed Dugan (top), saved his best performance for his final film. This was also his first film. There are moments when one more retake might have helped his delivery. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp3jHNPLuRtsDFVMBjmwdM9PAC7F9hFgwSeEmEdM6CKzUPuZYnr57GySPbuVqt8p_9vx1ZkkJewj_4e3kG2ZODwvXUaSqngnEjEB12sHd8dmkS5jWdVN5m3CGl86C2Nmbw_T47MHY6kOcXVro91xCJ0fvBcokjmtcFuVImDOgJ1txgv1zrdBBzvvgtKlo/s870/cast.jpg" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="817" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp3jHNPLuRtsDFVMBjmwdM9PAC7F9hFgwSeEmEdM6CKzUPuZYnr57GySPbuVqt8p_9vx1ZkkJewj_4e3kG2ZODwvXUaSqngnEjEB12sHd8dmkS5jWdVN5m3CGl86C2Nmbw_T47MHY6kOcXVro91xCJ0fvBcokjmtcFuVImDOgJ1txgv1zrdBBzvvgtKlo/w376-h400/cast.jpg" width="376" /></a></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Driving home one night in his Triumph TR3,
Dugan comes to the aid of a badly injured motorist (assumed dead by the
Indian). The head laceration of the injured man is well done. Hats
off to the makeup department. At gunpoint, however, the thug forces
Dugan to take him to the syndicate's doctor, working out of his
white, plywood-paneled basement. Looks sterile enough. Recognizing the man,
the doctor knows the Indian’s contract was unsuccessful. As the
injured driver collapses, Dugan grabs the gun but it accidentally
expels a bullet into the thug. The syndicate attempts to frame Dugan
as the title character. A crooked police chief grills him under a
single 65-watt bulb.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some of the oddest scenes
occur at the editor’s home, played by G. J. Mitchell, where he is constantly lounging and
enjoying the finer things of a middle-class lifestyle. The boss's
partners, the weasel-of-a-doctor in a bow tie, and a pudgy police
chief are talking syndicate business when an irrelevant and bazaar
catfight breaks out on the carpet by two ladies on the editor’s
“payroll.” Those rug burns are going to sting. Ignoring the
obvious distraction, the double-chinned chief is actually miffed that Dugan has
not changed one word of his testimony. That would make total sense,
actually. The chief is also angry with the boss. Not because he is
dressed in a “Hugh Hefner” lounging robe on his Sears massage
recliner, but because of music on his radio. The chief yells
at him, 'Will you shut that thing off and listen to me!' The boss
obliges, reaching over to turn it off. Viewers hear a click but the
background score faintly continues as before. “That's better!”</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Due to a freak fender
bender, Dugan escapes the squad car and as the chief attempts to fire
his gun, he slams the door on his hand. The film actually
improves slightly at this halfway point as the shaved-head Indian is
now in pursuit, giving the Dugan a chance to shine as he pantomime’s
fear. An improvement over delivering any dialogue. The jazz score
helps out these dark, lengthy scenes. The Wile E. Coyote of Indian
hitmen hangs his head in shame as he reports to the boss. The police
chief suggests 'Chief Broken Head'</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">as
he sarcastically calls him</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">go
back in front of a cigar store. The funniest line in the film.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the funnier
scenes, however, has all three operatives again at the mob boss’s home,
mostly arguing about how the Indian is a lousy shot or the police
chief complaining about the doctor fretting over his daughter’s
well-being, constantly phoning her in near panic. Amid all
the petty squabbling, there sits the boss in his recliner, preparing
to shave. Now he decides to shave?! Unique and totally uncalled for.
Suggesting a product placement, he uses a portable, non-electric wind-up shaver of the period<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>in
case of a shaving emergency during a blackout. In actuality, they
were used on NASA’s early space flights. He yanks on the tiny cord
several times, making a high-pitched “zip-whirr” noise. Then
there is this: though a warm California sunset splash is not out of
the realm of reason, it is unusual to film the scene in near total darkness with the characters poolside in swimwear as working on their “moontan.”</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dugan ends up at the
doctor’s house where he tries to convince his daughter that
he is being framed. She is skeptical. The police chief arrives with
the doctor and he takes a pot-shot at Dugan from outside the house,
wounding him in the shoulder. His second shot mistakenly hits the daughter (D'oh!), and the scene shifts to the surgical basement ward
where four cast members are conveniently staged. In his
great-grandfather’s tradition, no one hears the Indian tip-toeing
down the basement's wooden steps. He fires one chamber of his shotgun at his
two current hits. He then succumbs from simultaneous return fire, as
his second chamber accidentally goes off...hitting Dugan’s knee.
Whoops!</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">One Indian and two oafs
down, the boss makes a run for it as the police move in. He attempts
to step into an elevator and suddenly discovers the passenger cubicle
is several floors below<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>potentially
plunging to his death. Actually, it is a clever, startling scene assisted
by blaring trumpets. He wisely takes the stairs. Ironically, he
stumbles on the very top step and dies instantly by the time he hits
the first landing. A genuine fall guy.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The final scene has the
daughter off on a flight for unknown reasons via a TWA Boeing 707.
There is a profile close-up of Dugan's head as the opening jazz theme
cranks up. For the suggested cool ending, the camera pans away as
Dugan turns toward the camera with a full-body shot of him hobbling
away from the airliner on crutches. Job well done, Ed Dugan. Well
done. An amusing ending for the film.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note: This film could be found as part of a triple billing to help ease the insult for buying a ticket for it alone. The director and producer, Donn Harling, vanished after this, his one
and only film. It is a risky assumption but he may be more to blame
than the story and screenplay by Richard Adams and one George
Mitchell. The confusing stats on IMBD dot com indicate (correctly) that G. J. Mitchell plays mob boss Carl Ramin. The “G” stands for
George, apparently. However, he is credited as George André in an
effort to never be found again. Many sources mistakenly suggest
character actor, George Mitchell (1905-1972), plays Ramin. He is not
in this film and he has zero credits as a screenwriter as well.</i></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-76798789844573748542024-01-03T12:16:00.004-05:002024-01-23T13:59:57.923-05:00SUDDENLY (1955)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51ng6gjmD9ZVyFclgsBx0xtQtjjtsfFFqattA2IE2kScZrHnfGMyPyGB5a8yy8N4q-cRIfKrjcf1kvJO5NZSwDdP2K7BOE4Bq8i5_LF36Ca2sc-G6N_q4xm-wHlEO_5orQktoVXfQ2Ic8XQYRMSUZb3oTIcZ897NK7HXB1m3qb-eCbBPBpuMPoHAloR0/s768/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="768" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51ng6gjmD9ZVyFclgsBx0xtQtjjtsfFFqattA2IE2kScZrHnfGMyPyGB5a8yy8N4q-cRIfKrjcf1kvJO5NZSwDdP2K7BOE4Bq8i5_LF36Ca2sc-G6N_q4xm-wHlEO_5orQktoVXfQ2Ic8XQYRMSUZb3oTIcZ897NK7HXB1m3qb-eCbBPBpuMPoHAloR0/w400-h291/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Directed
by Lewis Allen, with a screenplay by Richard Sale from his 1943
story, </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Active Duty</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">, this film was distributed by United
Artists. Hardly unknown to anyone with access to the Internet or a
Sinatra fan, the crooner capitalizes on his Oscar performance the
year before. He is riveting as a big-shot contract killer whose
self-imposed bravado in World War II does not quite ring true. My
essay goes into more detail than usual to highlight the good aspects
and call attention to some gullible moments. Based on the film's familiarity today, spoiler alerts are inevitable. The premise falls into
the noir slot because of the content. Do not expect dark, shadowy visuals in sunny
California.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
his second credited film role, television’s Paul Wexler plays a
deputy sheriff who opens the movie with a wooden delivery and bass
voice belying such a narrow guy. He gets the film off to a shaky
B-movie start with an attempt at local humor about the town's name to
a motorist. The film quickly gathers momentum, though, as David
Raksin’s score fires up. His complex composition during the opening
bars features soaring brass and dissonant strings suggesting something
is about to happen. The score quickly shifts as representative of a
bustling small town. In a slice of chaotic realism, the railroad
telegraph operator interprets a top-secret message of national
significance. Caught off guard by the urgency, he habitually blurts,
'Good. Night. Shirt!'</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49WFHz9v-F-0TQHh2zYF74KiziiT34M0hzQvN0Z4GZLGXzKpaVoED7uNXiv48W5cCTochsuPT-HwUm-VBmMDI0IDlBxLK7CqoAYhwE2VYJeS-XU1IH6WoI5yH4ap74AFRTZuirXY_0ItEmrKXhmMwCeKcUEA53atGCwikJR90_E4vfPNlbddSaI3m84I/s680/cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="680" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49WFHz9v-F-0TQHh2zYF74KiziiT34M0hzQvN0Z4GZLGXzKpaVoED7uNXiv48W5cCTochsuPT-HwUm-VBmMDI0IDlBxLK7CqoAYhwE2VYJeS-XU1IH6WoI5yH4ap74AFRTZuirXY_0ItEmrKXhmMwCeKcUEA53atGCwikJR90_E4vfPNlbddSaI3m84I/w400-h290/cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><div style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Co-starring
in the film </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">is
</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Sterling Hayden,
the chief of police</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
who</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> knows
instinctively what to do. The Secret Service soon arrives, headed by
the ever-present Willis Bouchey, who coordinates with local officials
to make the President's stopover secure. He is surprised to learn
that his old boss, James Gleason, lives nearby and would like to see
him. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Gleason's on-screen daughter and grandson, played by
Nancy Gates and Kim Charney respectively, live with him. Her son and
Hayden get along quite well. The boy has his eye on a toy gun inside
a window display</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Gates
will have none of it</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">to
pretend he is Hayden or his grandpa, a former Secret Service agent
for President Coolidge. A grieving war widow, Gates despises guns and
is hesitant to move on with any new relationship. The film's
believability is at an all-time high at this point.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">FASTEN
YOUR SUSPENDED DISBELIEF SEAT BELT</div></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sinatra,
along with his accomplices, Christopher Dark, and actor/voice-over
artist, Paul Frees, arrive at Gleason's house ahead of schedule with
phony FBI credentials. Gleason wonders what the FBI is doing on this
type of assignment. As Hayden and Bouchey approach, the trio hides in
an adjoining room. Out pops 'ol Blue Eyes with Bouchey going for his
gun, who is the first to go down. Hayden takes a bullet in the arm,
breaking a bone, which needs to be reset. He asks the smirking
Sinatra to do it but he replies, 'You couldn’t take it.' Hayden
insists. Sinatra, sensing a gruesome delight coming his way tells
him, 'Hold on brave boy.' One hard yank and a smile erupts on his
face. Not a peep out of Hayden. A little man in every sense of the
word, Hayden sizes him up pretty quickly. It is interesting to note
the size difference between the two when standing toe to toe. Surely
a subliminal message.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Perhaps
overlooked in editing or simply badly staged, the house, when viewed
from the depot, appears to be about an eighth of a mile up a
hillside. But viewed from the house, the depot is directly across the
tracks! Sinatra was counting on a wooden table to screw to the floor
and provide stability for his scoped rifle. Instead, he has to settle
on Gleason’s metal table. Considering how close Sinatra is to the
depot, a scope will be useless. Either way</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">,
all passengers are hidden from his view by exiting onto the platform,
from the opposite side of the coach! Lazy </span>Frees whines about
the hassle of bolting everything down. He suggests that a “Tommy”
gun would work just as well. Here is a guy who knows the distance to
the depot. Like Tonto to his Lone Ranger, Frees is told to go into
town and see what is happening. He whines. Frees gets questioned by
Wexler, loses his cool and the deputy gets wounded. The coward does
not get far, groaning and whining as he goes down from, ironically,
one of his beloved “Tommy” guns.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe8gxl0Wwm80BMxeNYnxISOKZUGDuDOfxESRQA_SgyVtXPeZXbfSaMEd0MP-cnTZa64UujZxNjc_-UU-HSivfJ0hxxrsBmZhXockMnFwRvIsDC_nQ1tjGddujFr4nxYxuhu6Zb8yVmwyco5x6PGXlUxIUKvuFgfB4I5LQ0TJX0U3nLhF2iIXGlZ-xWKU/s639/rect363.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="639" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe8gxl0Wwm80BMxeNYnxISOKZUGDuDOfxESRQA_SgyVtXPeZXbfSaMEd0MP-cnTZa64UujZxNjc_-UU-HSivfJ0hxxrsBmZhXockMnFwRvIsDC_nQ1tjGddujFr4nxYxuhu6Zb8yVmwyco5x6PGXlUxIUKvuFgfB4I5LQ0TJX0U3nLhF2iIXGlZ-xWKU/w400-h360/rect363.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gleason
was in the process of fixing his television but ended up calling their
local repairman. Using his past field training, he sets up the
exciting climax by suggesting the clueless and puzzled repairman
clamp the wires—the 5,000-volt ones—to the metal table for better
“reception.” Sinatra seems annoyed by all the background
electronic gibberish but is also clueless. Gleason fakes an angina
attack with the grandson fetching his pills in the next room. After
grabbing the pills, the lad swaps his toy gun for Gleason's real one.
The geezer “accidentally” spills his cup of water on the floor
near the metal table. The shallow puddle goes unnoticed. Dark, who
just prior wanted to call the whole thing off and make a run for it,
(suddenly) is excited to view the shot through the gun’s scope. He
will get a microscopic view of one nail in the depot's sign! With his
soles sufficiently wet and the rifle gripped, his soul is sent into
the afterlife. His involuntary reflexes repeatedly pull the trigger
and their location is no longer a secret. Sinatra sees the sparks,
yanks off the clamp, pushes dead Dark out of the way, and rapidly
steps up to the rifle in fear of missing the shot. Hayden throws a
heavy ceramic ashtray at Sinatra’s spine then Charney, the little
pistol, takes an errant shot. He tosses the revolver across the
carpet.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span>Not
phased by all the personal attention from the rear, Sinatra grins,
suggesting he is locked in, ready to fire. Except the train has not
remotely slowed down. The special train does not intend to stop
thanks to a stool pigeon's tip about the assassination plot. His face
goes into shock. The scene sets up beautifully delivered lines for
Sinatra. In utter bewilderment, almost to tears realizing his moment
of glory is gone, he hesitantly and quietly says, 'It didn’t stop. I</span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">t. Didn’t. Stop.' </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">He quickly pivots, facing the center of the room, and shouts, 'It
didn’t stop!' Gates delivers an accurate second bullet (suddenly)
realizing a gun can be a crime deterrent.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
Though not flawless as noted, it is seventy-five minutes well spent
in Suddenly, California. Visually it is a time capsule of small-town
America, the storefronts and their interiors, the vehicles and the
Southern Pacific Railroad. It was an era when a U.S. President made a
stop, it was a rare and special event. As a testament to the era,
early in the movie, Hayden asks Gates if he can pick her up for
church on Sunday. Try suggesting that for any modern action movie.
Incidentally, after the television is fixed, it is Paul Frees’
voice-over calling the fake baseball play-by-play.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-42981431363788842172023-12-06T09:54:00.005-05:002023-12-06T09:56:37.557-05:00HELL BOUND (1957)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk836nUH4pUbWQ3Hqq6GJkycSCTGnlM-ZN4CmyLQkXjHW7ius8eIGD2metVQ_Ru350Kp7fZfY475dldCGzSZQfeuRoyqIvhKmNDwHyfLCgvD1DxVz0vMvqoL3K9JuD3WPnvixQ5OTZrN41Wyt4zlef7lVaLfTWwACgc07sK6o8-bhEKcdg83fWAsb2YaE/s1209/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1209" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk836nUH4pUbWQ3Hqq6GJkycSCTGnlM-ZN4CmyLQkXjHW7ius8eIGD2metVQ_Ru350Kp7fZfY475dldCGzSZQfeuRoyqIvhKmNDwHyfLCgvD1DxVz0vMvqoL3K9JuD3WPnvixQ5OTZrN41Wyt4zlef7lVaLfTWwACgc07sK6o8-bhEKcdg83fWAsb2YaE/w400-h309/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This
seventy-one-minute Bel-Air Production project is directed by William
J. Hole, Jr., produced by Howard W. Koch, and distributed by United
Artists. A Bel-Air standby, Carl E. Guthrie is the cinematographer.
This crime drama has its quirks and slow sections, but it is another
well-acted and filmed offering. Part of its problem is some scenes
extend far too long, affecting the viewer's attention span. Editing
out about ten minutes might have been wise.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although
not readily apparent at the outset, it is a small film within a
larger film. As so many B-movies did during this era, a voice-over
narration seems to provide the background of a coordinated robbery on
a freighter entering the port with 250 grand of surplus narcotics from
the 1940s. The viewer assumes the drugs have not exceeded their
expiration date. Three impostors<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>a
man rescued in open waters on a dingy, a diabetic ship's doctor, and
a nurse complete the gang. It is the perfect setup and goes without
a flaw as if it might result in the shortest Bel-Air movie of all
time. Except that what the viewer is witnessing has never happened.
Yet. This opening is the most clever twist of this film, done better
nearly a decade later in <i>Gambit</i> (1966). As in that romantic
comedy, nothing quite goes as the mastermind planned.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcKzd9Fs27uSHfWwe6UcLBd24zPpthccsKN0WzJgpDN0HeWExmP4vYR0Qa5RG1n4Db2UI4qKoxEce96Gm93ssjB9hVuwy3qYpecovRYU4IqFOfNos72pGRUf2v5bfIHsNiGaL5ZLsMk0uzuwgRX5frwELKaGFmGfnPa_65avyxOJtt-66-51UCR_5h5o/s1000/russell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcKzd9Fs27uSHfWwe6UcLBd24zPpthccsKN0WzJgpDN0HeWExmP4vYR0Qa5RG1n4Db2UI4qKoxEce96Gm93ssjB9hVuwy3qYpecovRYU4IqFOfNos72pGRUf2v5bfIHsNiGaL5ZLsMk0uzuwgRX5frwELKaGFmGfnPa_65avyxOJtt-66-51UCR_5h5o/w400-h225/russell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">John
Russell, with his menacing good looks, is once again a cold-blooded
killer with severe anger issues. Do not be fooled by his charming
countenance used for the above poster. His smile is turned upside
down in this film. He is the fourth impostor in his demonstration
film to entice a crooked businessman into financing the plot. His
assistant slash girl is played by June Blair who has a particular
knack for imposing herself on any male and sensing a good plan when
she hears one. She is competent in her screen debut. Russell turns a
cold shoulder to Blair's repeated “come-ons” and is especially
not pleased she volunteers to be the nurse, squeezing out his
girlfriend intended for the part. But the reality of people's
personalities has a way of changing one's future. For this film,
reality becomes a bit more confusing than the "home movie"
financed by Russell.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Speaking
of dragging a scene out, Russell beats a drug addict into submission
in convincing fashion to force him into playing the rescued man on a
dingy. Between shadows and total darkness, he is pummeled
relentlessly. So this beating can come to an end, the addict agrees to
the assignment. But when the heist is mid-cycle, he is so strung out
for a fix he panics and never follows through. Russell pressures
Stanley Adams into playing the diabetic doctor, in reality, an actual
diabetic. Adams is to inject himself with insulin to put him into
diabetic shock. But it is good news, bad news from his doctor. Adams'
improving health means insulin injections are not currently
necessary. Indeed, an injection could be fatal. The waiting
ambulance is intended to take Adams and the phony nurse to the
hospital. Enter Stuart Whitman, in a brief but pivotal role as an
intern slash ambulance driver.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSdVBS5-TyhNT0UGMKU8NwujVdmImZON0v-Hjqjq2bTjqchBGGVJjWIRH2NyKCRoypvu3Zfgn6sOUYzNC1Ne-0Ya9kuaokGM7Jwu5o3NiV3kVFIruUb1by7AYvt5M2NxlSowtZjhftqgLGxRxZ4ongN3F_GFqEL5xFWybB0M5posx6JEwrkImSmF8tik/s819/whitman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="819" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSdVBS5-TyhNT0UGMKU8NwujVdmImZON0v-Hjqjq2bTjqchBGGVJjWIRH2NyKCRoypvu3Zfgn6sOUYzNC1Ne-0Ya9kuaokGM7Jwu5o3NiV3kVFIruUb1by7AYvt5M2NxlSowtZjhftqgLGxRxZ4ongN3F_GFqEL5xFWybB0M5posx6JEwrkImSmF8tik/w400-h301/whitman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8c5JhAmaRJID1sLaII1ks2xWKZgDB3OXfSAxu0_OjnQyK0nZm4mDT0r-da75Ao21ysd6HU1A50rYqHZPEnGMjJ6H351hkaEO_P4bUn24_IZBU4h9lGwiD1h9a_xSz6kAJKALvL5l_eUx6a64ky3pY8JXKYT7aTxGhPg-_24hqv2QCdiqMbHmupkOo6c/s640/club.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="640" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8c5JhAmaRJID1sLaII1ks2xWKZgDB3OXfSAxu0_OjnQyK0nZm4mDT0r-da75Ao21ysd6HU1A50rYqHZPEnGMjJ6H351hkaEO_P4bUn24_IZBU4h9lGwiD1h9a_xSz6kAJKALvL5l_eUx6a64ky3pY8JXKYT7aTxGhPg-_24hqv2QCdiqMbHmupkOo6c/w400-h303/club.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">One
may not be surprised the actual heist action aboard the ship looks
like the very same footage from Russell's home movie<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—with
different</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> actors</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">.
Not to go unnoticed </span>is at least one implausible segment with
Whitman and Blair sharing ambulance runs while she, somehow, covers for her total lack of medical knowledge. They also share
some milk and cookies<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>no
kidding<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>in his humble
apartment. And passionate kisses.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Russell
is livid she wants to go legit with the sensible intern. He drops in
on her later and viciously slaps her among the furniture before
stabbing her, shoving the pocket knife in as far as possible. Russell
becomes the useless operative in his "ideal" heist and is
now hell-bound to drag out the final segments of the film. In a
somewhat clever climactic scene, his demise in a scrap metal yard
provides his final disappointment.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Notes:
The music score by Les Baxter is a bit overkill at times as if he is
not quite sure what should support a scene. Mundane scenes might be
backed by bold, staccato brass, while other parts of the score nearly
disappear. The talented musician was noted for providing stock music
for numerous projects. Scoring a film was perhaps not his strong
suit.</i></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Better
known for his many Westerns, Dehl Berti has an uncredited role as
Daddy, a heroin supplier, decked out in sunglasses inside a dark
strip club (above). He is interrupted by the addicted dingy
“survivor” who needs another fix. Ever cool and calm, the
unintentionally funny character smirks his way through clipped
conversation in monotone fashion</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i>—</i></span><i>h</i><i>ead
hardly moving. He cannot help the addict. His bazaar scene ends when
the camera pivots to focus on the dancer, then to a seeing-eye dog in
the wings. Perhaps I made the equally bazaar assumption that it was
the canine's eyesight that allowed him to ogle the ladies.</i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-50647678718627206402023-11-01T09:53:00.008-04:002024-01-21T13:24:34.176-05:00THE BIG CHASE (1954)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GOPJYaXUZdjvW-mrApVS88DXqHvvJC2zVoIHluSNCSU673XD0owxyktTPESjcAa5oWP9c5TsWcn1ocP3AKJ-c9rb30kMzZcir3QI4AsxL0kopD6zoIuorg9EdzRW3Iw7uCOnvK0sr9FmVTx5PYCYTwpbugZ-D9HCIPrsZMuNmTrE4sVUBCMQWJgpnro/s1145/the-big-chase.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1145" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GOPJYaXUZdjvW-mrApVS88DXqHvvJC2zVoIHluSNCSU673XD0owxyktTPESjcAa5oWP9c5TsWcn1ocP3AKJ-c9rb30kMzZcir3QI4AsxL0kopD6zoIuorg9EdzRW3Iw7uCOnvK0sr9FmVTx5PYCYTwpbugZ-D9HCIPrsZMuNmTrE4sVUBCMQWJgpnro/w400-h305/the-big-chase.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>The
opening score beneath the title credits and Los Angeles highway
footage sounds like music for a 1940s Lon Chaney Jr. horror
film</span><span>—</span><span>ironically a supporting
player in this film. The rest of the music would fit right in for an
old action serial. Few films are more aptly titled </span><span>as
</span><span>about one-third of the movie</span><span> is
a </span><span>climactic chase sequence that flits from car to rowboat to
motorboat to helicopter, and to dress shoes.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Such
as it is, the plot concerns a police officer, his expectant wife, and
criminals out to steal a payroll truck. Starring again in a
“limp-pert” production are actors past their career peaks, Glenn
Langan, Adele Jergens, and Jim Davis. The opening amateurish dialogue
between the police lieutenant, Douglas “B-movie” Kennedy, and
reporter, Joe Flynn, (in a thankless role) is a weak spot yet the
other unknown supporting actors think their own dialogue is not only
important but terrific. As recalled by Kennedy to Flynn, it sets up a
backstory about Langan and Jergens (in a role against type) back to
his graduation from the police academy and the following months on
the force. Kennedy is very supportive of the expectant couple and as
a point of encouragement, visits them periodically. Their dialogue is
also clichéd. By the way,
Kennedy and Flynn wrap up the film in hokey style.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhta-dt6LvI-dJtHhV9s3Ov_FhY4V0JaIkzSdBBLFXhGnCjGkZdNfVw91AtuxQ4lGcF7j54_OHmkWznBbKCKm8hUOqmFewwjeBN9hRo1o1gIV8LEzRG50QGWtDLIytgyxNL4607vOm_eiSxq3F_VORNPnznaPltbcCoPBEYqdE05tVjhgmjnN8qmzfGNW0/s571/nash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="571" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhta-dt6LvI-dJtHhV9s3Ov_FhY4V0JaIkzSdBBLFXhGnCjGkZdNfVw91AtuxQ4lGcF7j54_OHmkWznBbKCKm8hUOqmFewwjeBN9hRo1o1gIV8LEzRG50QGWtDLIytgyxNL4607vOm_eiSxq3F_VORNPnznaPltbcCoPBEYqdE05tVjhgmjnN8qmzfGNW0/w400-h290/nash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Hg-lFpmhUaxTsU7ct0TDg0vb1gC0W0WfqkDtlN7kUgmxa8x7GabJ4PwTG4GXixP-eljzgzJUq7Lrda5ouj-NWEgykSVcyEncX1fdRIemuvtQKEnR00rg9fESSsz2lI4Y_kSYH3qWbhV2jnRgm7rXDGqXvyHC80J5A-2o7Tp00m3GCgUCjWuvwBFvBPY/s947/jump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="947" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Hg-lFpmhUaxTsU7ct0TDg0vb1gC0W0WfqkDtlN7kUgmxa8x7GabJ4PwTG4GXixP-eljzgzJUq7Lrda5ouj-NWEgykSVcyEncX1fdRIemuvtQKEnR00rg9fESSsz2lI4Y_kSYH3qWbhV2jnRgm7rXDGqXvyHC80J5A-2o7Tp00m3GCgUCjWuvwBFvBPY/w400-h290/jump.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Aside
from some good location filming on land and sea, there are some cheap
high school drama sets during the early prison scenes. A potential
riot stirs up the acting extras as they pound their tin cups on a
table in front of a blank wall. Making it laughable are extras
casually “photo-bombing” in front of the main actors in slow
motion in the prison yard. Jim Davis plays a hardened criminal
planning a big breakout. This is the last we hear about that—plot
hole number one. Instead, he is released from prison and looking to
reconnect with his wife and a couple of prison pals
for a payroll robbery. As the chase begins, the trailing
police attempt to shoot someone or something in the convertible getaway
car while on the freeway. Davis’s wife is assumed to be shot dead
and he takes the wheel to steer the car. Somehow, he manages to bring
the car to a stop. In a surprisingly despicable act, more in tune
with movies twenty years into the future, the guys push her from the
car and over a cliff. Catch you later, babe! Then sit back for an
“editing festival” as scenes jump from one location or automobile
in a matter of seconds. The railroad yard sequence appears to wrap up
the chase after Chaney is shot multiple times and the music fades. I
was wrong. The two remaining criminals are now on foot to an awaiting
row boat to Mexico. Amazingly, they trade their row boat for a motor
boat abandoned on the open water. In an impressive supporting
performance, a Nash Ambassador patrol car comes in hot, skidding at
an angle toward the camera next to a waiting police helicopter.
Langan misses his child's birth as the chase continues. On
</span><i>Florsheims</i><span>.</span></span></div></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
In contrast to this movie's lead, Robert L. Lippert senior was
probably present for his son's birth. It appears Junior picked up
some of his father's traits. Number six of seven in his producing
career, this film is by no means horrible. The film was directed by
Arthur Hilton, and taking full responsibility for the mundane
dialogue is the writing team of Fred Freiberger and the uncredited
(by request?) Orville Hampton. The 3-D footage will have no relevance
today, but it was thrust upon the viewer willy-nilly during the big
chase. The producer edited that footage into this film from his film
short, Bandit Island (1953). The twenty-five-minute short had no
dialogue. Probably a wise choice. The above poster appears to promote
Bandit Island with an overlaying poster.</i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-89195216464730005752023-10-04T13:43:00.009-04:002023-10-04T13:52:59.748-04:00HI-JACKED (1950)<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe65OWpQdWkATT5TSa5VRkmNnh6aZ8IDB4Mg1OltwI81z7x06IrLhyphenhyphen7JQFvAyXWLI4TrYyKOp0gNgkQIeXL3B7M9APF2Cr79i70xxSxgvMQrDzI_IEJyCqqJ6xkeOZelMh3uAm5AQKbBFHjPrikutPp24gd6tKJ9l35abySD4DJAdl62fWK0RHguaLF04/s1019/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1019" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe65OWpQdWkATT5TSa5VRkmNnh6aZ8IDB4Mg1OltwI81z7x06IrLhyphenhyphen7JQFvAyXWLI4TrYyKOp0gNgkQIeXL3B7M9APF2Cr79i70xxSxgvMQrDzI_IEJyCqqJ6xkeOZelMh3uAm5AQKbBFHjPrikutPp24gd6tKJ9l35abySD4DJAdl62fWK0RHguaLF04/w400-h315/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Unlike last month's <a href="https://unknownhollywood.blogspot.com/2023/09/highway-13-1948.html" target="_blank"><i>Highway 13</i></a>,</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"> this project has a greater element of authenticity
thanks to the Lippert team director, Sam Newfield, and cinematography
by Philip Tannura. No sped-up film gimmicks nor does it have a 1930s
look and feel. Sigmund Neufeld Productions produced this sixty-six-minute little gem, one of the better Lippert suspense-filled crime
dramas. Expect superb performances by low-budget actors and location
filming of interstate trucking. This time around it is not sabotage,
but hi-jacking. Iris Adrian (below right) adds her usual spark as the diner waitress.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: transparent;">Jim
Davis drives for a company experiencing more than their fare share of
truck hi-jacks. He is also trying to shake the stigma of his
incarceration for embezzlement. Now on the up and up, he becomes the
unwitting pawn to ship millions in stolen furs. Davis still has a
chip on his shoulder, believing his employment future is bleak as an
ex-con. His pessimistic, smart-aleck attitude toward a highway
patrolman during a trailer inspection is not going to help. The
patrolman says as much.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqCKozLVE1sUoprZJtIgYwfGN36L72m7OkVW8hnA-cWD6EHQR3YaLR3g9_CLEWes6DB56MP-dB133gG5US0gfpGKSGXh74jdb0cS-EsNdF-y2xt-Ljx7BdzKY1Ps1wLbX3XYIVB5ypvMNjoMrU_n6_hPquHRZu05Odti1epaKhKC8PMLAmrMOu2YzQb0/s816/rect363.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="816" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqCKozLVE1sUoprZJtIgYwfGN36L72m7OkVW8hnA-cWD6EHQR3YaLR3g9_CLEWes6DB56MP-dB133gG5US0gfpGKSGXh74jdb0cS-EsNdF-y2xt-Ljx7BdzKY1Ps1wLbX3XYIVB5ypvMNjoMrU_n6_hPquHRZu05Odti1epaKhKC8PMLAmrMOu2YzQb0/w400-h196/rect363.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial;">The
film has a strong opening sequence in a driving rain. Davis stops to
help a motorist but it is simply part of a gang of hi-jackers, who
leaves him in a ditch. Lots of film is used to show Davis in a late Forties GMC ACR 723 tractor during deliveries. An eyeful from
bygone days. The mob's goons slip a sleeping sedative in his coffee
thermos while distracted at the diner, resulting in another
hi-jacking. He later takes a beating at home and they hide a fur coat
in the room. Davis tells his wife, Marcia Jones, that someone must be
working from inside the trucking firm. He logically narrows the
culprit down to the shipping manager. After a pretty exciting climax
of fist-o-cuffs and gunplay, the police arrive to arrest the mob,
the finger man, and the fence.</span></div></span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: transparent;">Note:
Lippert regulars, House Peters, Jr. and Sid Melton, take their usual
spot in this film. “Killer” Melton is the comedic relief as an
awkward goon who dreams of having his own gun and someday being a
mob kingpin. He is hopelessly in the wrong line of work. Speaking of
levity, one cannot ignore Iris Adrian as the quintessential diner
waitress. Do not blink and miss Myron Healy as a police dispatcher.</span></i></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><i><span style="background: transparent;"><br /> </span></i></span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122;"><i>Check
out my series on seven other Lippert films that ran from February to
July 2022, starting</i> <a href="https://unknownhollywood.blogspot.com/2022/02/lippert-pictures-series.html" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a>.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-7621651386849369162023-09-04T10:51:00.002-04:002023-09-04T10:52:09.664-04:00HIGHWAY 13 (1948)<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRp7xbtC3Dq4hfqUQTKTLRiUybOE_8JNJ6A_7612sIWVLeRJ9lodzz89MJG2L9DxW95hEYMxDahdnCW-ioSMydVO2im0FyOWqK0Ap0EmeJrufM5vecidTeZz_kbSVNHAjPune1tt5J6ITjUMItldZtoBznZZMazTmN3_Vdd_KbMXjXt54cmfKuVG8kENw/s920/poster%20color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="568" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRp7xbtC3Dq4hfqUQTKTLRiUybOE_8JNJ6A_7612sIWVLeRJ9lodzz89MJG2L9DxW95hEYMxDahdnCW-ioSMydVO2im0FyOWqK0Ap0EmeJrufM5vecidTeZz_kbSVNHAjPune1tt5J6ITjUMItldZtoBznZZMazTmN3_Vdd_KbMXjXt54cmfKuVG8kENw/w248-h400/poster%20color.jpg" width="248" /></a></div></span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial;"><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Robert
L. Lippert Productions churned out countless low-budget films. This
project's budget came in under Sixty grand and Sixty minutes. It was
distributed by Screen Guild Productions. Top billing goes to Robert
Lowery, sans mustache. He is supported by Pamela Blake (below right), and Michael
Whalen whom Lippert tapped into more than once, and everyone's
favorite sardonic curmudgeon, Clem Bevins (below left), who plays her uncle.
Whalen and Maris Wrixon both have pivotal roles.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51rAooNTfZ-z-0xTby6DivNLUfvSam38ZjaDm7cLlf8gnt3Qd8ZRyet6-kOmgMutkbQKa7NVRI1TptLliNXu8XTyetF8AKS9IdBAmZJust8A0B6LIPk2ZewEAJBY_w5DS3tmKvt9PIQPwqyUxUAhxVs2F6ywQOD5OYfFC7rW8bcnrpQxs7iDzletYNaw/s1003/rect363.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="1003" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51rAooNTfZ-z-0xTby6DivNLUfvSam38ZjaDm7cLlf8gnt3Qd8ZRyet6-kOmgMutkbQKa7NVRI1TptLliNXu8XTyetF8AKS9IdBAmZJust8A0B6LIPk2ZewEAJBY_w5DS3tmKvt9PIQPwqyUxUAhxVs2F6ywQOD5OYfFC7rW8bcnrpQxs7iDzletYNaw/w400-h153/rect363.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span>Trucking
was a popular movie theme during the early years of overland
shipments with engines that could increasingly go the extra miles. It
was a noisy, physical job to pilot a tractor or single-axle truck
during the 1940s and 1950s. <a href="https://unknownhollywood.blogspot.com/2022/04/thieves-highway-1949.html" target="_blank">Sabotage</a> was a sure bet premise. This film is not subtle about addressing </span></span><span style="color: #202122;">this
as the opening scenes use a constant barrage of trucks</span><span style="color: #202122;">—</span><span style="color: #202122;">at
least one miniature</span><span style="color: #202122;">—</span><span style="color: #202122;">crashing
over a cliff on a mountainous section of “jinxed” Highway 13. But
it is the sedan that enthusiastically powers over a cliff</span><span style="color: #202122;">
</span><span style="color: #202122;">that is out of sequence. The driver, Whalen, survives, but his
wife, the heiress to the trucking company, does not. After a period
of recovery, he returns to the office and expresses to the owner his
concern that the rash of driver eliminations is more than accidents.
He seems sincere. He later meets the truck driver who found his wife
after the fiery crash. Lowery. Imagine his surprise to see that Walen
survived.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #202122; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bevins,
whose age seems to always be pushing ninety, regularly checks the
trucks over before the drivers hit the road again. Adjacent to the
studio garage set is a studio diner set where Blake takes short
orders. Lowery is a regular customer and after their back-and-forth
teasing quips, it is apparent they are planning a future together. As
per usual, Bevins is likable as “Pops” with disparaging remarks
about coffee's effect on him. Not entirely on the up-and-up, however,
he starts spreading rumors that Lowery may be responsible for the
rash of crashes.</span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span style="color: #202122; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Walen
hires a private detective to pose as their newest driver to
investigate the sabotages. Expect the usual sped-up truck sequences
as they power around a curve like a sports car. He and Wrixon try to
pin his “accidental” death on Lowery.<span style="color: black;"> The</span>
climax involves an unconscious Lowery, a stowaway Blake and truck
pilot, Bevins. With a strong bit of suspended disbelief, you might
accept the unlikely and clichéd
final sequence.</span></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #202122; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
One interesting historical element is the lost art of using a manual
choke lever on the dashboard. Before electronic fuel injection, a
manual choke provided a way to get the right mixture of fuel and air
in the carburetor. It was mainly used during cold starts, especially
in winter. A full choke at start-up, however, might “flood” the
engine with too much fuel, making it nearly impossible to start
immediately and a short waiting game ensues until the fuel drains
from the carburetor. Once underway, pulling the choke all the way out
would provide enough fuel to keep a vehicle slowly rolling without
the need to have a foot on the accelerator pedal. Lowery does this
early in the film (albeit a studio prop truck) as he opens the door,
places his left foot on the running board and stands to get a better
view of an accident ahead. Bevins also uses the manual choke in the
movie's climax for his stunt double to jump from a moving truck.</i></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-72360717187308905212023-08-07T09:14:00.005-04:002023-08-07T09:17:39.151-04:00SO’S YOUR AUNT EMMA! (1942)<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiQJCR8xQ_T2-ruuH0_B2F6zJLyyKg3GsE18Eg_n4lQ8zmzdgcl0EZTdEuXyZpGpwvVA6QBuLVVE-NGKtdee6XNFEcc8H73fec7xhxltTWm3QCK1VDnJ4OIicaCUnOcbuhAj8yf2egia5FbCKplAwGTqZStdfMVHESuI6CPBluxIekGn_mw3124JtyTE/s1144/emma%20poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1144" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiQJCR8xQ_T2-ruuH0_B2F6zJLyyKg3GsE18Eg_n4lQ8zmzdgcl0EZTdEuXyZpGpwvVA6QBuLVVE-NGKtdee6XNFEcc8H73fec7xhxltTWm3QCK1VDnJ4OIicaCUnOcbuhAj8yf2egia5FbCKplAwGTqZStdfMVHESuI6CPBluxIekGn_mw3124JtyTE/w400-h306/emma%20poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial;"><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">This comedic American </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_film" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;">film</span></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">stars
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ZaSu
Pitts, and Roger Pryor,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">
in his third of fifteen films, here, as a</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"> sports writer. Aunt Emma (Pitts) </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: arial;">is
a spinster living with her decidedly unmarried sisters. Life is very
simple in their small town. Quiet, except for her caustic siblings.
Pitts </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">sees
a newspaper headline about a boxing match that reminds her of a past
love, a prize fighter. Turns out the headlined boxer is his son.
After hearing radio comments about his lifestyle and lack of
training, she feels compelled to visit him in New York City and give
him some advice on what it takes to be a successful boxer. There is
potential for a wacky screwball comedy, but there are few laughs in
this dull, slow-paced waste of Pitts' talents. Her performance is so
subtle one wonders if the director, Jean Yarbrough, had any input at
all. Thankfully, the film runs just two ticks over an hour. Pitts
could be quite funny as a timid character, with forlorn eyes, and a
crestfallen delivery. This film did not capture most of those
qualities.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Whv8UXXsVkauWoMLagGv3fp0tvelXdNUjvr6ioCjOuPag1lOtdQy-MOBrsSahTfy4sWfOsZOx_pPyGtIRG3cdGuwvvDbw0hM0V3OjxNf9sKLu59e7imO7HmNmTjyMcRQAGFgs0Oz067SFNZxqOYyQnHcq5pPQ_LCm7qPYzMnWLJXNplGUrWfPEHOxD4/s639/pitts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="639" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Whv8UXXsVkauWoMLagGv3fp0tvelXdNUjvr6ioCjOuPag1lOtdQy-MOBrsSahTfy4sWfOsZOx_pPyGtIRG3cdGuwvvDbw0hM0V3OjxNf9sKLu59e7imO7HmNmTjyMcRQAGFgs0Oz067SFNZxqOYyQnHcq5pPQ_LCm7qPYzMnWLJXNplGUrWfPEHOxD4/w400-h296/pitts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;">There
is kidnapping, murder, a postponed wedding for Pryor, and two
dim-witted gangsters who jump to assumptions. They introduce the only
remotely funny element—Pitts’
ever-present umbrella. The clincher for them is that she appears to
be muscling in on the young boxer's handlers. She is immediately
taken to be the infamous “Ma Parker” who was known to carry a gun
under her own umbrella. Never mind that the real Parker died in 1935.
The myriad of intertwined characters does not provide much clarity.
Once Pitts finds out about their assumptions, she decides to learn
how to talk tough and play the role—not
very convincingly but she is courageous.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLn8pa-goIfNWbITOpNCyChd3frg4tv2XIFQauQd34VzDJcl_m5iOOUXM0EBrG3vPm8ztryHnGlm-S1Dk9yXjjN2kTN3nIHP0rWnUNxr9OWdnJWBRCkC-os3QU1-I_ohHQk1leu-sjBDZ_9rSIeECsQDg60C3Q5k0lml4U1hlR9ecVFCvV3EjRfQkfdI/s908/blog.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="908" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLn8pa-goIfNWbITOpNCyChd3frg4tv2XIFQauQd34VzDJcl_m5iOOUXM0EBrG3vPm8ztryHnGlm-S1Dk9yXjjN2kTN3nIHP0rWnUNxr9OWdnJWBRCkC-os3QU1-I_ohHQk1leu-sjBDZ_9rSIeECsQDg60C3Q5k0lml4U1hlR9ecVFCvV3EjRfQkfdI/w400-h149/blog.png" width="400" /></a></div></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #202122;">In
the end, Pitts becomes the unlikely trainer for the wayward boxer
back in her hometown. With her Ma Parker attitude, she puts her two
nagging sisters in their place as well.</span></span></div><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /><i>Note:
The film's title might suggest this is one in a series of popular "Emma" adventures. In reality, it was </i></span></span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: arial;">based on the story, “Aunt Emma Paints the Town” by Harry Hervey. The screenplay was written</i><i style="color: #202122; font-family: arial;"> by George Bricker and Edmond Kelso. It was
produced by Lindsley Parsons and distributed by Monogram Pictures.
The most notable of the supporting cast includes Warren Hymer, Dick
Elliot, and B-movie stalwart, Tristam Coffin.</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-18763399423075385122023-07-03T08:47:00.007-04:002023-07-16T11:09:40.181-04:00THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH (1962)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7AscPXDFrYgzYeXU_3NWZgMJdSXgLE-ExwcXyxvCxAVIQ7BTam0iCQiD6IGC2UHI3gbgZW1AKOoqg3uMc7P2_5IX9I4e3_SDc30hJn_xOU2gzwIl9NTxgjCEM1VeQ8Ee7_VpU5j7PSBXYt2iu_xDX_4N814c6VnUeWATvgoYh2HxyJm4jypIQ9lnfn8/s867/poster%201962.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="867" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7AscPXDFrYgzYeXU_3NWZgMJdSXgLE-ExwcXyxvCxAVIQ7BTam0iCQiD6IGC2UHI3gbgZW1AKOoqg3uMc7P2_5IX9I4e3_SDc30hJn_xOU2gzwIl9NTxgjCEM1VeQ8Ee7_VpU5j7PSBXYt2iu_xDX_4N814c6VnUeWATvgoYh2HxyJm4jypIQ9lnfn8/w400-h310/poster%201962.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This
independently made black-and-white CinemaScope science fiction film
was backed by Robert L. Lippert and had its premiere in the cinema
capital of the world, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The seventy-minute is
best viewed during daylight hours when there is a lower chance of
dosing off. The film was released by Twentieth Century Fox as the
bottom half of a double feature, Elvis Presley's </span><i>Kissin' Cousins</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">.
Ouch! </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;">On the positive side, there are no
embarrassing alien monsters to groan about. Hauntingly dull best
describes the film.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQRz3qOWgJ95p484cOxUdgwX-1tYDylEyiWXFqUFCxiIk6-XoE1IRxPnmlszjXHts7fiIRWN7ScnT-XMmMjswRwAAAHQ9ruL499wsPqq4YpADbzK5ktinUbFxJkAbpG1JHSRu05PcJJavKDCZJvQTQ2Wqf0lwxyFjWzkSI5FIN8WFy16NSLeyilU-u_Y/s499/taylor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="499" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQRz3qOWgJ95p484cOxUdgwX-1tYDylEyiWXFqUFCxiIk6-XoE1IRxPnmlszjXHts7fiIRWN7ScnT-XMmMjswRwAAAHQ9ruL499wsPqq4YpADbzK5ktinUbFxJkAbpG1JHSRu05PcJJavKDCZJvQTQ2Wqf0lwxyFjWzkSI5FIN8WFy16NSLeyilU-u_Y/w400-h285/taylor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kent
Taylor halfway through reading the screenplay</span></div></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
film was directed and produced by Maury Dexter, and it was the second
and (thankfully) final script written by Harry Spalding. The film
stars B-movie regulars, Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, and William Mims.
Taylor is the anchor of the film but not his family. He is just too
brilliant in his position at NASA to be there for his kid's
birthdays, April Fool's Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, or even
Easter. It could explain Windsor's lackluster performance, who seems
sedated throughout the film.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVPdsdqNxrZ7TyqQEQ4L5nnB-zN9HZ5HmGpe5eUpReu482NKhpK5Tb7q9c4U7zHIYzeT8VrS3DF3ULtU_iwwcX8ZAonnlhRvLnjDDQPBIP0DwC_DatrZszDpGNsiDgag31LNjnhEQ2QeCFIDxHdsuiJqR1308DRlJc4hiEjZ0DSkvaMn0AIwQn1FMiz8/s517/windsor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="517" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVPdsdqNxrZ7TyqQEQ4L5nnB-zN9HZ5HmGpe5eUpReu482NKhpK5Tb7q9c4U7zHIYzeT8VrS3DF3ULtU_iwwcX8ZAonnlhRvLnjDDQPBIP0DwC_DatrZszDpGNsiDgag31LNjnhEQ2QeCFIDxHdsuiJqR1308DRlJc4hiEjZ0DSkvaMn0AIwQn1FMiz8/w400-h305/windsor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Marie
Windsor cannot believe she signed the film's contract</span></div></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Taylor
is in charge of a probe surveyor craft to Mars. The robotic probe is
destroyed on the surface by some unknown force, and that same force
makes Taylor's face get all blurry. More than this, there are double
Taylors, with at least one showing up for a rare family Christmas at
the Windsor family's lavish, 46,000-square-foot mansion. Taylor's
entire family eventually gets all blurry-faced and when he goes
looking for his wife, she is in two places at the same time. </span>The
footage of Taylor or Windsor wandering through acres of the
well-groomed estate is covered by a “sleep-inducing” soap opera
score.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">William
Mims, a family friend and future blurry face, is a cohort of Taylor
He is invited to the mansion and their conversation turns to the four
extra “people” at the estate. His wanderlust being strong, Taylor
later stumbles upon his duplicate. The Taylor martian tells him that
they are without physical bodies and possess energy-generated
intelligence. Sort of a hologram without the film's special effects
department able to show that on screen. The Martians travel to Earth
by two-way radio waves, preferably the FM band with its lack of
static. Speaking of static, the Martians do not want any. Turns out
they are not the social animals Hollywood usually envisions<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>they
want no more illegal Earthling visits.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
film puts “provoking” into “thought-provoking”<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—m</span>ostly
wondering if one can sit through the film. Spoiler alert: there is a
bit of clever writing after the entire human cast has been reduced to
ashes at the bottom of an empty swimming pool<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>in
proportioned silhouette forms. The water jets are opened and the
ashes disappear down the drain without a trace. Like one's money
disappearing in a crooked hedge fund. The five aliens pile into the
Plymouth station wagon and drive off to an unresolved ending. Spooky.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
Most of the film was shot at the Greystone Mansion located in Beverly
Hills since 1928. It has been used in countless films over the
decades and is currently a public park and set aside for special
events.</i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-12965788877605130902023-06-05T09:21:00.002-04:002023-07-06T12:25:49.734-04:00JOHNNY STOOL PIGEON (1949)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBzoz522SN3PtCXzmNS51uJOtCwooEXQHXfjMDODgKeR_nfQHZRX-gnTa19fcJkydjnvzf-TVQJjNJFWtWJR60jw6tI0IBgJA9xIvGA28wVnhocWy8qURNM6t7UTcsMUEJnUbKhcoEYim_emkaL7pZvASs1bRGqDSzBzH3lo2uNiC_I_Mq-kERGOB/s2793/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2172" data-original-width="2793" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBzoz522SN3PtCXzmNS51uJOtCwooEXQHXfjMDODgKeR_nfQHZRX-gnTa19fcJkydjnvzf-TVQJjNJFWtWJR60jw6tI0IBgJA9xIvGA28wVnhocWy8qURNM6t7UTcsMUEJnUbKhcoEYim_emkaL7pZvASs1bRGqDSzBzH3lo2uNiC_I_Mq-kERGOB/w400-h311/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It
is safe to say this seventy-five-minute American crime drama,
directed by William Castle with a screenplay by Robert L. Richards
from a story by Henry Jordan, has been essentially unknown. The film was
produced by Aaron Rosenberg and is a typical effort from Castle
before his more infamous “horror” projects. But thanks to the
professional casting of Howard Duff and Dan Duryea, it may satisfy the fans of television's </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Dragnet</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. The middle section stays
fairly upright thanks to the film's bookends of action. In a role in
which he was well equipped, Duff works for the US Treasury's
narcotics bureau. Echoing </span><i>Dragnet </i>with a no-nonsense, low-key delivery, <span face="Arial, sans-serif">his periodic voiceovers fill in any gaps for those who might have dosed off. With handgun
drawn, peeking around a brick building, the suspense-filled opening
sets up an attempt to crack an international drug ring. But he is
going to need help.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymnZPYO5tl1xeGK47FMYgc1Dljq64GHkexpj9qD9Whwc-Ydun68Dr7hccVwP8k2v1IvI5HvMu5z3uPZooBRtnWBFx8teNFubcuRN6563p5SqGFx28TjQXWjnC1efmBtAqwntCYQp86uDQqQSZ16z3teY1xMX5BGr2lB3Ar0H97SyAXD6NRTnBXgyw/s794/cast.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="715" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymnZPYO5tl1xeGK47FMYgc1Dljq64GHkexpj9qD9Whwc-Ydun68Dr7hccVwP8k2v1IvI5HvMu5z3uPZooBRtnWBFx8teNFubcuRN6563p5SqGFx28TjQXWjnC1efmBtAqwntCYQp86uDQqQSZ16z3teY1xMX5BGr2lB3Ar0H97SyAXD6NRTnBXgyw/w360-h400/cast.png" width="360" /></a></div></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Duff
wants to suspend Duryea's three-year stay in Alcatraz to become the
title character. Not surprisingly, the movie perks up with Duryea's
first appearance. In an effort to convince him he desperately needs
his help, Duff wants him to identify a corpse at the morgue. Duryea
is sickened to see that it is his estranged wife, a victim of drug
pushers. Though still holding out hope of revenge, he agrees to train
Duff into becoming a tough-talking drug dealer with substantial
connections.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Shelly
Winters has already met Duff and Duryea. During this era she was
ensconced in “high school dropout” roles, here as a helpless pawn
to mob boss, John McIntire, who could play genial or despicable, but
rarely in the same film. One of his operatives is a junior hitman
played by Tony Curtis, who appears to be puzzled about something
during his scenes. The climax provides the other bookend of “thrills”
as Duff's undercover is blown—never saw </span><i>that </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">coming. In the
end, Duryea is deserving of a reduced sentence, and Winters. Duff's
final voice-over wraps the film.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-23709177995855428062023-05-01T09:31:00.005-04:002023-05-01T09:43:14.868-04:00SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcNaQwYPL_ipYib0KhEtraQFC6xzkMmjgz22Eo241EzjG5NC2l2AA3yDKRaDJvLyUGG-e_vJr4WJyXZeyGK7Hh1n4ydd71ULGblPkkw3Ockh79JYlkvxVa8rGd-EyJRCDk-Mh5-y3R3l4JEhJ-9wr9NNbBU99uR0r6VyHO-CU6F0bNYMlLKyfbm7M/s552/film-poster-original.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="552" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcNaQwYPL_ipYib0KhEtraQFC6xzkMmjgz22Eo241EzjG5NC2l2AA3yDKRaDJvLyUGG-e_vJr4WJyXZeyGK7Hh1n4ydd71ULGblPkkw3Ockh79JYlkvxVa8rGd-EyJRCDk-Mh5-y3R3l4JEhJ-9wr9NNbBU99uR0r6VyHO-CU6F0bNYMlLKyfbm7M/w400-h303/film-poster-original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">This
movie surely got lost on its opening weekend, but no need to apologize
for their efforts. You will enjoy this rather unconventionally titled
film. One might think this is a filmed stage play as ninety-five
percent of the film takes place in a diner [set] along California's
Highway 101. The viewer gets hooked in the first five minutes and
past this point, the plot slowly unfolds. A story not about the life
of Pie, but centering around a common theme during this period:
national security. This slow-burn film has an interesting mix of
humor and mystery during the “who do you trust” era. Condense
this down to under sixty minutes and you would have one of the better
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="font-family: arial;">Alfred Hitchcock Hour</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> episodes.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrvGiFsEJypugOJUeeN14UG4ndFSmHquIZ7h14N3sRuCauIYEADTpRTPm61zKZ1Ur88QV3AJmuxyGKMzcRUmX5PcsF0wJiOKIOJegxViVjfAB9lpZWg0pWftA5vXiz1mVM9zE-_tvL7i9qhuCEGkDlQERg64XdGGkeWg-SEQjV0DkfbGlIo8_ghff/s737/cast%201.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="737" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrvGiFsEJypugOJUeeN14UG4ndFSmHquIZ7h14N3sRuCauIYEADTpRTPm61zKZ1Ur88QV3AJmuxyGKMzcRUmX5PcsF0wJiOKIOJegxViVjfAB9lpZWg0pWftA5vXiz1mVM9zE-_tvL7i9qhuCEGkDlQERg64XdGGkeWg-SEQjV0DkfbGlIo8_ghff/w400-h374/cast%201.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All
the diner's patrons interact with numerous one-on-one conversations.
There is Lee Marvin, a character who swings from lecherous slob to
comical buddy. Everyone's cliched short-order cook. If Marvin seemed
to be under-appreciated mid-century he did not go unnoticed. He is
quite versatile here, handling a pivotal dual role. He has a lot
cooking but it is not chili. Keenan Wynn, the sarcastic eatery owner,
does not like Marvin's attitude and apparently his cooking. Their
verbal jabs is the daily routine. He and Marvin have the funniest
scene during their weight-lifting challenge. It is full of sarcastic
insults as each tries to out manly the other. Lean and lanky, Marvin
is hilarious.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNtpRU6Ck9KPpLUYUjB-BdWNpbR54NVZYt3Ow32V-CxA2uai8cS1T-gGMVkhmkHOAk-eLhqSw1oeSYeN9o4mx6ZaA8YtvwLT64SjDP9HcTwsr1p14OMDIxLIKJuY20vzcN52FpprElPrPLAA8zKKYOGygsPfdEm_WHhUYa3Yja165Gj9tqAlee1WV/s1055/humor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="1055" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNtpRU6Ck9KPpLUYUjB-BdWNpbR54NVZYt3Ow32V-CxA2uai8cS1T-gGMVkhmkHOAk-eLhqSw1oeSYeN9o4mx6ZaA8YtvwLT64SjDP9HcTwsr1p14OMDIxLIKJuY20vzcN52FpprElPrPLAA8zKKYOGygsPfdEm_WHhUYa3Yja165Gj9tqAlee1WV/w400-h136/humor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Throw
in smokey-voiced tenor, Frank Lovejoy, with a few secrets; throw in a
naive waitress, Terry Moore, and you have a reason to show up at the
diner. Despite her top billing, this is Marvin's film. If you are
expecting Whit Bissell to show up then you will not be disappointed.
He plays the D-Day buddy of Wynn’s character. Len Lesser
(Seinfeld’s Uncle Leo) and Marvin seem to have a long-standing
relationship. Their odd mock "boxing match" at arm's length
with opposite ends of a towel between their teeth would seem to have
a childhood history.</span></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
This eighty-minute suspense drama was directed by Edward Dein with a
twisty screenplay by him and Mildred Dein. It was produced by William
F. Broidy Productions and released by United Artists Pictures. The
ever-present Paul Dunlap offered up the music score, starting off
with a jazzy jukebox number.</i></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-19833302247545177392023-04-03T09:59:00.003-04:002023-04-21T12:57:33.428-04:00THE THREAT (1949)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9n0H9fLnIH5wVRS_63sieik4twQlnZluo9oItnSzPqX4xgbQY8WW0gsYzDe06MQRVxnDKVBSzdjUBLSUEWbzp3nYGJ3MCG5Bc_UrqGfqK3MfYKXbLlkyT9ZUVZc58ny3JDyqWvycMqK0McMMxLPy0EIPoHKHZ7OKaYdJwYmc5mAQPdFYmE0HWd5r/s641/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="641" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9n0H9fLnIH5wVRS_63sieik4twQlnZluo9oItnSzPqX4xgbQY8WW0gsYzDe06MQRVxnDKVBSzdjUBLSUEWbzp3nYGJ3MCG5Bc_UrqGfqK3MfYKXbLlkyT9ZUVZc58ny3JDyqWvycMqK0McMMxLPy0EIPoHKHZ7OKaYdJwYmc5mAQPdFYmE0HWd5r/w400-h315/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
film opens dramatically during a night prison break and a constant
barrage of machine guns blazing willy-nilly hoping the guards might
hit something moving other than the opening credits. All unknown to
detective Michael O'Shea, recuperating at home from a broken rib. A
phone call from the police inspector, Robert Shayne, informs him
about the breakout of a notorious homicidal criminal, who had sworn
to kill those who placed him behind bars. O'Shea, being number one.
Rather than obey his wife's wishes, he goes into action without a
single grimace from that rib injury. But before he can even start his
patrol car, he is kidnapped by the cold-blooded killer. Few films
start out so compelling. That cannot be said for an ending that
provides few surprises.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Typical
of O'Shea's B-movies, one would never call him truly tough,
especially when compared to the likes of Charles McGraw, in perhaps
his most evil role. With gasoline prices hovering around thirty cents
per gallon, the criminal trio was happy to burn the police car's
tank as they make the rounds gathering up the other “death
warrants” on a District Attorney and nightclub singer, Virginia
Grey, in a familiar role at odds with a man who thinks she squealed
on him. Once again, a criminal does not comprehend why he spent time
behind bars in the first place, preferring to blame others for his
despicable lifestyle.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-hW1LNf17tEEkE1-FPR_LfyDWaC-cRX2BsmorbOF3sXr5WLVYe-YWF-tJMw8xWmI8EiSzvQ4KpT0b02PMhrBic4FQ0pGCgYKWbLevriUU2vFk3-CE1Ez93NycT6LayjCoQ7eNzmnabzxJRmV4KW_we-Z5-rg_pSSL9VP5BU133JegcZeNbxrcKd1/s788/threat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="718" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-hW1LNf17tEEkE1-FPR_LfyDWaC-cRX2BsmorbOF3sXr5WLVYe-YWF-tJMw8xWmI8EiSzvQ4KpT0b02PMhrBic4FQ0pGCgYKWbLevriUU2vFk3-CE1Ez93NycT6LayjCoQ7eNzmnabzxJRmV4KW_we-Z5-rg_pSSL9VP5BU133JegcZeNbxrcKd1/w365-h400/threat.png" width="365" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Known
only by McGraw's alias, an unsuspecting Don McQuire is hired to pick
up a load in his moving van at a designated location. He gets a bit
suspicious after seeing what is loaded into his van: a police car.
This weighs heavily on McGuire's conscience. The van is later abandoned and unloaded, and he tries to beg off and return with his van. But all
seven end up at a dilapidated shack in the desert, thus beginning the
brief slow down in the film. Suspended disbelief is needed when they
enter the dusty, cobweb-infested shack that appears to have not been
inhabited for twenty years. McGraw growls out a command for Grey to
make some sandwiches. Pretty amazing she could find anything
eatable</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">—</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">certainly
nothing to spread on or meat to place between two slices of
rock-hard, moldy bread. Those “sandwiches” eaten do appear to be
simply two slices of bread. Yum. The hot beer is no help.</span></span></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not
fully grasping the gravity of the situation, McQuire again demands to
be set free, swearing not to rat on the gang as he heads for the
door. McGraw, stone-cold, calmly addresses him by name. Knowing he will probably
be shot, he angrily takes his seat back inside. McGraw uses O'Shea to
send a misleading message to Shayne over the police car's radio. But
he uses a “code name” that only his wife will understand. The
gang stays put until the arrival of their escape plane, leading to
their portion of the loot. The hostages are rightfully concerned that
there is only room for three passengers upon takeoff.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
RKO Radio Picture film is a hard-hitting sixty-six-minute crime drama
from a screenplay by Dick Irving Hyland and Hugh King from King's own
story. Edited by Samuel E. Beetley, it is supported by a music score
by Paul Sawtell. Though not the first film-noir that comes to mind
associated with Charles McGraw, this obscure film is a good one to
finish out the 1940s.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
O'Shea's police training seems to get the upper hand on McGraw from
the adjoining, locked, hostage room, but the killer starts firing
randomly through the door, hitting O'Shea in the leg. Already known for
his high threshold for pain, the bullet in the leg nor the broken rib
do not phase him in the least when he drops down from the rafters
onto McGraw. Welcome to the land of make-believe.</i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-65174058132749918982023-03-06T11:41:00.005-05:002023-12-11T10:17:12.570-05:00TWENTY PLUS TWO (1961)<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Fuq3hyA15H2eNy74qZT4iJQr3EKXsr5eYB_g7IJPYfrLCOVdB7TxBgukH1Snnr8NoB7ZoHegDDgusGqLfVT4pIXrw24a-3co2G3Mw_QIz2CvdpGZCBDvbbCVA_gcK0wrXG6mf1FT2xbHQUmYIW_tWNAwSUTqzgN6IbK4L4RrFh9NcgmvgZ5hCMXI/s1211/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1211" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Fuq3hyA15H2eNy74qZT4iJQr3EKXsr5eYB_g7IJPYfrLCOVdB7TxBgukH1Snnr8NoB7ZoHegDDgusGqLfVT4pIXrw24a-3co2G3Mw_QIz2CvdpGZCBDvbbCVA_gcK0wrXG6mf1FT2xbHQUmYIW_tWNAwSUTqzgN6IbK4L4RrFh9NcgmvgZ5hCMXI/w400-h308/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This
American mystery film is directed by Joseph M. Newman and is adapted
from Frank Gruber's 1961 novel of the same mysterious title. Ten
years into Gerald Fried's career is a period-specific jazz band
score. The prolific television composer's opening theme here suggests
a private eye caper. Close enough. The film was released by Allied
Artists Pictures (uh-oh) and stars David Janssen, Jeanne Crain, and Dina
Merrill, with a dandy performance by Jacques Aubuchon. Fans of
Janssen will be pleased, if not the entirety of the film. His
downplayed trademark acting skill is well suited for this role. This
film is sandwiched between Janssen's television success with the
</span><i>Richard Diamond</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> series and his phenomenal hit, </span><i>The
Fugitive</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. There are touches of both characters in this film from
his potential smile twitch at the right side of his mouth, a general
awkward nervousness, and his occasional glib humor. I have centered
my comments only on the actors and the production. There are no
spoiler alerts except this one: far left, the poster suggests Ellie Kent is an integral part of the film. On the contrary, she has an </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">uncredited </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">bit part and a viewer's sneeze will make one miss her entirely. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Set
ten years after his Korean War service, Janssen plays an investigator
[privately] specializing in locating lost heirs and perhaps bringing
closure to any unresolved issues. His interest is peaked by a teenage
girl who went missing a decade prior—perhaps dead or alive. It
leads to encounters with a detective associate, the mother of the
missing girl, and a former flame. Surprisingly, such a talkative
film holds one's interest thanks to Janssen's performance and a
well-paced script. Not all “talkies” come off this well.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqhNV_h1JCfjrffEBMyKXiw4MF6UFAeyTF6YJn-gztBcUEVyblBJbES5zKzeOr03q07DGbSIJqRVoU_khVKXNgfxbcKDIggauQsEDExkNQ4iLaSIkTwqeeRgFyk4z67h6Qp4y4rSabGLu0jv4bzgTTcRhz6flf6wY8Hlz18prz9cE51vMchnZt9fb/s719/1961.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="719" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqhNV_h1JCfjrffEBMyKXiw4MF6UFAeyTF6YJn-gztBcUEVyblBJbES5zKzeOr03q07DGbSIJqRVoU_khVKXNgfxbcKDIggauQsEDExkNQ4iLaSIkTwqeeRgFyk4z67h6Qp4y4rSabGLu0jv4bzgTTcRhz6flf6wY8Hlz18prz9cE51vMchnZt9fb/w400-h349/1961.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
early scene between Janssen and Aubuchon—tailing him
everywhere—lays down the personalities of both characters. Aubuchon
needs his services to locate his brother, who may be using an
assumed name. His sophisticated demeanor and superior attitude are
amusing and off-putting to Janssen, whose humorous counters to his
proposal are subtle highlights. Just who is using assumed names in
this film is something Janssen needs to unravel. This in itself
provides most of the script's twists.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coming
off his role in <i>The Magnificent Seven</i> is Brad Dexter, once
again at his smarmy best. No one, including the viewers, trusts this
guy. Crain is the past flame of Janssen who insists on rekindling
those dying embers. Her "Dear John" letter while he was in
the war still stings after ten years. Time to move on, you two! One
wonders why her character is even in this film, but even she has a
connection to Janssen's investigation.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
production itself has its problems. One is the year that the young
girl disappeared from school. It is not consistent throughout the
film—like the film editing. I have not spent enough time to figure out how the <i>Twenty
Plus Two</i> title fits into this film since I have not read the
book. Who has? Perhaps it is the year of the missing girl's birth
advanced to what would be her current age: twenty...plus two. Except that Merrill is thirty-eight! There is
a ten-year flashback in the final third of the film set in Japan that
might have been less of a surprise had the film used the alternate
title, <i>It Started in Tokyo</i>. During this flashback, Janssen's
acting persona comes off as much younger—an awkward young
adult—something Merrill does not accomplish. This brings up a problem early in the film when Janssen and Merrill are seated
on a United Airlines flight.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">He
cannot quite place where he has seen her. She apparently has no clue
who he is. This makes sense until that late flashback blows this whole
scene to smithereens. How a highly trained investigator is unable to
recognize the woman with whom he had a pivotal fling simply because of her altered
hair color is beyond reason. Maybe the hint of "crow's feet"
emanating from her eyes through him off. The suspension of disbelief
should not have to stretch this far. It is kind of like Richard
Kimble "dying" his hair black for four years. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note: On the positive side, whereas low-budget
film companies were notorious for switching aircraft mid-flight,
United Airlines provided all the airline footage. So the Douglas DC-8
remains constant throughout the film. </i></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-80807834469868200042023-02-13T13:24:00.006-05:002023-02-13T13:31:42.133-05:00TWELVE HOURS TO KILL (1960)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdJ9JocqDjqzLvAi8jt1qOMCeGQgZeF4t0cyS5qbKOBdvOb2ariTs3661Bp0QD5SA9k_gSshlkw9kRdC7F06C_0UJ33-zfKUIeCtobYKZx7ZrmlPuAts5KF68_lrLfUg9_8m-zYNqVxoX-ptZcdW3PC_j9xmz1B5Wt2OhNjqzjBfO76IGvFWbTC1_/s633/Untitled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="633" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdJ9JocqDjqzLvAi8jt1qOMCeGQgZeF4t0cyS5qbKOBdvOb2ariTs3661Bp0QD5SA9k_gSshlkw9kRdC7F06C_0UJ33-zfKUIeCtobYKZx7ZrmlPuAts5KF68_lrLfUg9_8m-zYNqVxoX-ptZcdW3PC_j9xmz1B5Wt2OhNjqzjBfO76IGvFWbTC1_/w400-h255/Untitled.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Twelve
Hours to Kill</i> is an unimaginative premise hampered by a tired
script and a poorly directed lead actor providing eighty-three
minutes to kill. This might have played better a decade earlier.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is a bit close to a B-movie, what
with a few stalwart B-actors involved. More than likely it is due to
the director, Edward L. Cahn, infamously known for his mediocre
films. It is written by Jerry Sohl, based on a 1959 Saturday Evening
Post story by Richard G. Stern, <i>Set Up for Murder.</i> The
prolific Paul Dunlap handled the music score adequately.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
Greek actor, Nico Minardos, in his first lead role, provides no spark
to the film given his lack of direction or experience. He plays an
immigrant amazed after arriving in America. Nico witnesses a mob hit
outside his apartment and then hesitantly reports it to the police. They
find it hard to convince him that he could be just as dead in America
as in Greece. No way! Not making a solid commitment as to what to do, he
flees to a small town by train and finds himself offering a seat to
Barbara Eden whose destination is the same, her hometown. She is the
most optimistic and trusting person<span>—</span>nothing
phases her<span>—</span>sounding a lot
like the Jeanne some will dream about in the near future. Dramas were not the light comedienne's strong suit and her character
also stretches believability. </span></div><p style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2B_vWIYt9L0I0N43VTwQlcBNxM8i3TLOgJZUdfFUbJ938Nz9Lapp8EIGWiHWKwSkzX4Cb16Sh3AckPs3u72jwDdevRQozoK6gWGkacP6mQtqSI2R4oNgBzkoJgPggPAAL6EwVG2Em-5cEGosdzK6VuSr26plE1MVtueWyrMXzPkj7yUHQ22eo_zRe/s1184/bitmap.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1052" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2B_vWIYt9L0I0N43VTwQlcBNxM8i3TLOgJZUdfFUbJ938Nz9Lapp8EIGWiHWKwSkzX4Cb16Sh3AckPs3u72jwDdevRQozoK6gWGkacP6mQtqSI2R4oNgBzkoJgPggPAAL6EwVG2Em-5cEGosdzK6VuSr26plE1MVtueWyrMXzPkj7yUHQ22eo_zRe/w355-h400/bitmap.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Both
leave the train hand in hand as if on their first date. All
googly-eyed. She may find out too late about his lack of commitment.
Also waiting at the depot are a pair of thugs, Richard Reeves and
Gavin MacLeod. The latter seemingly lifted from a comedy skit while
MacLeod, as was often the case early in his career, is a heartless
gangster. Eden drives an adorable 1959 Simca Aronde Oc</span><span style="font-family: arial;">é</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ane.
The standout element in this movie. Spotting the suspicious duo,
Minardos asks for a ride. She is happy to do so for her favorite
total stranger. She quickly learns of his "death dilemma"
and being the take-charge kind of person she is, tries to help. Not
so much. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not
surprisingly, the mobsters find Eden home alone and, right out of the
Hollywood playbook, they get rough with her. After this encounter,
viewers never see her again but assume a reuniting with her only
love, the Simca ...er...Minardos. The movie moseys along as two
detectives, Grant Richards and Russ Conway, try to locate the
Greek</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">one with no interest
in his safety. There is a soft closing as the "ever kind and
wise" Art Baker, the police captain, exposes the double-crossing
cop and gives MacLeod a choice before going to jail: one will kill
him en route. He chooses wisely.</span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-54968531782774504762023-01-02T11:34:00.004-05:002023-08-06T10:07:53.315-04:00THUNDER IN CAROLINA (1960)<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSI_DXshHYAiWyN_45zMARliYZIFmtFBy5GRr0i6HoXFTu2cI2t24n9oNolHtRPpzPDmCoczEeKN5ZRzgs0SqS0QNy7NnfZXlLJ7ZpNTiwDzWcdWV5wwdLBCiT9n6KfMpJHzWdRkfHStvnJc9kMENEb7xn8xwAdLA9OobDmG7TZVw_RN72R_XMlub/s1060/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="669" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSI_DXshHYAiWyN_45zMARliYZIFmtFBy5GRr0i6HoXFTu2cI2t24n9oNolHtRPpzPDmCoczEeKN5ZRzgs0SqS0QNy7NnfZXlLJ7ZpNTiwDzWcdWV5wwdLBCiT9n6KfMpJHzWdRkfHStvnJc9kMENEb7xn8xwAdLA9OobDmG7TZVw_RN72R_XMlub/w253-h400/poster.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Dirt
track racing footage and the roar of eight cylinders with no exhaust
system play heavy under opening credits in this Howco International
Pictures' shoestring budgeted story about some “good ‘ol boys”
racing in South Carolina. </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This is my <a href="https://unknownhollywood.blogspot.com/2016/04/lost-lonely-and-vicious-1958.html " target="_blank">second</a></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Howco-distributed film review yet this one is not embarrassing. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It is the oft-told tale of a former
bootlegger who has risen through the ranks to become a top driver but
is in the middle of a multi-year losing streak. Directed by Paul
Helmick and written by Alexander Richards, this ninety-two-minute
double-billed release was produced by J. Francis White. Helmets off
to cinematographer, Joseph C. Brun and his capture of early highway
and dirt track racing. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: black;">Expect
the customary studio prop cars against project background scenery
when necessity focuses on the actor's faces. But the vintage race
footage at Darlington Raceway is certainly the big climax for NASCAR
fans—and a highlight today
for actual stock car enthusiasts of the period—during
what has proven to be the start of a deadly decade of stock car
racing. It is rather amusing as the race track announcer
editorializes about the central character’s unethical driving
during each pass by the grandstand. That precedes the veteran driver
blowing a tire, ending with a crumpled car and a resulting broken
ankle. A forlorn saxophone supports his continued bad fortune as he
hobbles with a cane and a plastered leg toward the unrecognizable
mangled metal on his trailer. I could imagine wagers at the body shop
on whether it was an Oldsmobile or Chrysler. </span><br /></span></div>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rory
Calhoun plays the veteran driver and raises the film up a few thousand RPMs for the independent studio. He is believable, but do not
expect a southern accent even though his character grew up in the
South Carolina hills. Alan Hale (sans the junior and accent) is
Calhoun’s former racing buddy and rightfully garners second
billing. With his trademark smile and over-confident boasting, he
adds the only acting spark. In a simple yet hard-to-believe
director's solution, his right-hand stays in his pocket all the time
because he lost the use of his arm in a devastating crash. Everyone
else gets the caution flag</span><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">particularly </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Race Gentry</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">credited here with his birth name, John Gentry</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">i</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">n his third
and final motion picture. Given the movie’s subject, I thought his
professional name was an inside joke specifically for this film.
Calhoun shows up at his service station in hopes of seeing his old
mechanic again. But that was three years ago…back when he was not
dead. Gentry is rather cool to the “old guy” who comes off as
someone expecting a handout</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">until
he makes out his famous name on his race car. Calhoun also steps over
the boundaries of ethical behavior off the track. Perhaps his
personal life played a key role in this film as “Calhoun the Cad”
immediately attempts to hit on Gentry’s wife</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Connie
Hines holds her own in her only film role</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">after
only one glance. Hines would later gain fame as a co-star to <i>Mr. Ed </i>on television.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Calhoun
cannot drive. Gentry wants to. So he teaches the eager young mechanic
how to drive fast, and smartly. His first driver training session is on
curvy mountain roads and is a highlight in the early going. The sound
of the 1955 hot rod echoing among the hills</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">makes more noise than speed</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">reaching
about 45 mph on a straight away</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">it
would appear. They catch the eye of revenuers from their hidden speed
trap. One can tell the suspensions between their 1959 production car
and the modified car is not equal as the stock car lays stiff in the
curves. A roadblock brings the training to a standstill. The
revenuer recognizes the infamous Calhoun and suspects he is running
moonshine again. After thoroughly searching the car and finding
nothing suspicious, their total disappointment only generates more
hate.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There
are obligatory arguments between husband and wife about their
future together in true soap opera fashion. Gentry gains race
experience throughout the summer season of the film, eventually
qualifying with the big boys. Calhoun and Gentry have a falling out
late in the film as the latter’s head get too big for his helmet.
That exciting race footage of NASCAR's Southern 500 is interrupted
repeatedly with fifteen-second cuts of Hines pacing the floor amid
soothing music from a radio. Then it is back to racing mayhem as
Calhoun (sans plastered leg) battles Gentry for the checkered flag.
Hines finally gets enough courage to arrive at the racetrack, getting
her own checkered flag as she comes to grips with her husband's
danger. She can always remarry if things go really bad.</span></p>
<p><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note:
One race competitor is famed stunt driver, Cary Loftin, eight years
away from stepping in for Steve McQueen in Bullitt. His controlled
crash during his qualifying run and subsequent cut to flaming
wreckage footage ends his character’s life.</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><i>Periodically,
the music score during Brun's racing scenes would be more fitting of a
Western movie about a grand cattle drive. With cars three or four
abreast, visually that is not too far off. Finally, I am n</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><i>ot
sure why a song was written for this film, but Ann Stevens sings
beautifully in her only professional credit, accompanied by her
laptop Autoharp.</i></span></span></p></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-90572390126592409452022-12-12T13:08:00.004-05:002023-02-21T11:59:22.094-05:00PANIC IN YEAR ZERO! (1962)<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RoJ1mJbsGgNan39Dnp8xtmy6qRqPLVfEAvq7nobZ2Y3WPVsvFHPbu2rJohkz2FBj276MmYT3gM1UNd6s3c4Ef_JrB7eIPc4twIIrGJaUvKhu9GJ7__apCZCm9FksO93DiPZ_bgL-LzgoMfydzL_zzq_Okc7e36FTlmbxQQxjnxmrX1Z10xzK-BKz/s934/panic_in_year_zero_poster_02--1962.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="934" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RoJ1mJbsGgNan39Dnp8xtmy6qRqPLVfEAvq7nobZ2Y3WPVsvFHPbu2rJohkz2FBj276MmYT3gM1UNd6s3c4Ef_JrB7eIPc4twIIrGJaUvKhu9GJ7__apCZCm9FksO93DiPZ_bgL-LzgoMfydzL_zzq_Okc7e36FTlmbxQQxjnxmrX1Z10xzK-BKz/w400-h306/panic_in_year_zero_poster_02--1962.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">American
International Pictures (AIP) is known for its budgeted productions,
horror films, and sensationalism. By the end of the Sixties, they
transitioned to violent motorcycle gang films. Only hinting at that
future is this science fiction black and white survival film,
destined upon completion to be a double feature. Using the crew from
Roger Corman Productions (Santa Clara Productions, here), it is
produced by Arnold Houghland and Lou Rusoff. The fast-paced
screenplay is by John Morton and Jay Simms, helping make the film
profitable. It would have to be an awful film to not turn a profit
from a 225-grand budget. Up to the halfway point, the film is
captivating with non-stop action and tension, set during the height
of the Cold War. The second half slows considerably and gets more
violent as a trio of lawless hep-cat thugs get their kicks by
looting, female sexual assaults, and cold-blooded murder. These are
the less-than-zero-trio.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3HyfHp2X1zCY1yqbpM-kslZQSWz-vL9CGXHNrd4RlIzR-csw6MxgEcK3bVSrH8zMplPDfNapYbEfq7xCga6fvo0kxxDuLCZb3jE5pXdqk5pBA7Z3-GfBmXLCVMo3uGbEKkxFwRjTCHIhUUOtTr-fTXDOIka8mdP-PzPrRNlgru7UeKVjKvmxB6NB/s884/cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="636" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3HyfHp2X1zCY1yqbpM-kslZQSWz-vL9CGXHNrd4RlIzR-csw6MxgEcK3bVSrH8zMplPDfNapYbEfq7xCga6fvo0kxxDuLCZb3jE5pXdqk5pBA7Z3-GfBmXLCVMo3uGbEKkxFwRjTCHIhUUOtTr-fTXDOIka8mdP-PzPrRNlgru7UeKVjKvmxB6NB/w288-h400/cast.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Leading
the Baldwin family on vacation to the mountains is Ray Milland. His
co-starring family consists of Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, and Mary
Mitchel. Featured prominently is a 1962 Mercury Monterey with a
Kenskill travel trailer in tow. With this film's success, Avalon made
several pictures for AIP, mainly at a beach. This is Mitchel's first
film and displays her lack of experience. Miles away they witness the
bright flash of an atomic explosion. The special effects of an
auburn-tinted flash and distant nuclear cloud over Los Angeles looked
believable but their second look back was spliced-in stock footage
that looked more like Indian smoke signals.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Slightly
long at ninety-three minutes, the film could have survived without
the many abrupt edits. Milland pretty much nailed the opening
vacation section as director, but his overall inability to focus on
the film's elements leads to mounting editing implausibilities. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The
f</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">ilm's editor, William Austin, perhaps out of necessity or
simply following directives, pads the film with repeated
footage</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">albeit from different
angles</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">of the same
automobiles in their high-speed mountain escapes. The panicking
citizens recklessly speeding up the two-lane mountain highway</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">many
in the passing lane on a blind curve</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">is
too perfectly arranged to be believed. At one point both lanes are
clogged with maniacs going the opposite direction, leaving the
Baldwins seemingly nowhere to drive. Post-production relied on
splicing in frequent, three-second close-ups of the Mercury's
wheels</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">with an odd sound
effect like bad wheel bearings</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—and
close-up blurs of automobiles zipping by. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">At one point, poor-quality stock footage of multi-lane automobile traffic from a totally
different location and vantage point was used. These cheapen the
otherwise well-spent film.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">However,
one could not have a better survival leader during a nuclear winter
than Mr. Baldwin. Milland's character knows precisely what to do and
how much supplies they will need</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">his
dry run during the 1958 recession may have helped. The family uses a
damp, chilly cave as their home</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">last
used in the Prehistoric era</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">which
no one has located since. Before partaking in their first cave
meal together, Milland asks for God's protection with prayer. He
had vowed earlier to protect his family by whatever means, including
physically assaulting a store owner and gas station attendant,
crashing through a barricade after being asked to turn around,
destroying a bridge that might give others access to their food, and
making deadly use of his firearms</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">not
just for hunting. Perhaps a prayer of forgiveness will be
forthcoming.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><i>Note:
The opening jazz score by big band legend Les Baxter provided no
sense of doom or tension. Optimistically, given the film's opening
is focused on a car's radio, maybe the tune was supposed to be coming
from there. Still, it simply seems misplaced music of the period more
fitting a pulp fiction film or centering on a group of idle teenagers
succumbing to a life of crime. Perhaps it was a foreshadowing theme
for those three hoodlums.</i></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-5966520917625313782022-11-21T14:43:00.018-05:002024-03-14T16:06:41.992-04:00CODE 7 VICTIM 5 (1964)<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLbiT91CmOE_U_VahT4laZH7iVdDUbxpAp7CyoECWpOJnKTwOQrBRA69HWXMXCKXQQTlw3wY0aL48cYySB9UpQIUmDV6lWABWbfCemEK7AMfzVym6xr67gNuiXxLxBKjkdaBDfoj08xn2EYt8qr95nPLMVStUJ3oOV6EKqP5A2dtz4zDtSSL52oR3/s610/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="398" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLbiT91CmOE_U_VahT4laZH7iVdDUbxpAp7CyoECWpOJnKTwOQrBRA69HWXMXCKXQQTlw3wY0aL48cYySB9UpQIUmDV6lWABWbfCemEK7AMfzVym6xr67gNuiXxLxBKjkdaBDfoj08xn2EYt8qr95nPLMVStUJ3oOV6EKqP5A2dtz4zDtSSL52oR3/w261-h400/poster.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An
annual week-long celebration is the cold intro to this film. Once the
mountains are spotted in the background you know it is not New
Orleans. The colorful parade traverses the Cape Town streets with
instrumentalists and flag wavers creasing the point of view camera as
participants pass by. Amid the celebration, however, three clowns
commit a murder.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Released
in America in 1965 by Columbia Pictures, nearly half of this
eight-nine-minute film has a potential license to thrill. I was
impressed with the great opening theme music by Johnny Douglas as the
credits rolled with his faint nod to the signature sound of the "007" franchise of the period. Coupled with Nicolas Roeg's beautiful panning of Cape Town's
bay from high in the mountains, it portends what might have been an
international action-packed thriller. Add a winding mountain car
chase amid views of the sea between two unlikely vehicles, one can expect a lot of tire-screeching. Another reason for optimism is the
presence of the maturely handsome Lex Barker,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> a New York City
private detective with great-looking hair. In the early going the
private detective delivers exactly two one-liners ala Mr. Bond of the
period. Yet there is not much action for him in town</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—and</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
his stuntman</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">outside an early
fistfight with attackers. The film starts to lose its intrigue with
a somewhat confused and dull final third.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbYG-1_08uOLsSwyLc2jnzD-UWKEFQMRlhvj8wQG9VCEIA6sWH2IGStICRwynG3WcTQXQ0yietA4bNvdLRn7LNdSTmCYJw8BV6cOkz8o6dQ77oNzCiOvSfKjKQxMGIReiAJ60r2rrWtIOflN8tBB_oPwJIHd-7gQMVwQXQBEmWeu49Z6WK0VAD6ZD/s954/cast%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="954" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbYG-1_08uOLsSwyLc2jnzD-UWKEFQMRlhvj8wQG9VCEIA6sWH2IGStICRwynG3WcTQXQ0yietA4bNvdLRn7LNdSTmCYJw8BV6cOkz8o6dQ77oNzCiOvSfKjKQxMGIReiAJ60r2rrWtIOflN8tBB_oPwJIHd-7gQMVwQXQBEmWeu49Z6WK0VAD6ZD/w400-h281/cast%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From
the moment Barker steps off the Lufthansa Boeing 720 the film has
secret agent potential. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">He never looked better.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet he is more a puzzle-solver than tough
detective womanizer. The engaging script continues as he is quickly
met by the beautiful (naturally) Ann Smyrner, secretary of a wealthy
German, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Walter Rilla, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">whose butler was the film's opening victim</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">the
reason for Barker's hiring. The heavily French-accented Veronique Vendell plays Rilla's adoptive daughter. The dodgeball-faced tart bounces from "any male" to another. Smyrner is not only an aviation pilot,
she also takes the helm of a 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III 430
CID V8 convertible land yacht as it wallows up the mountains toward
the estate. Roeg's </span><span style="font-family: arial;">distant</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> pan
shots of the vehicle add adventure</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">and
no back-screen projection scenery ala Hitchcock's </span><i style="font-family: arial;">It Takes a Thief
</i><span style="font-family: arial;">from a decade earlier. But look out</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">they are pursued by an eighteen-year-old Dodge Custom, perhaps on its
last legs.</span></div></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Barker<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>not
to be confused by a word scramble of band leader Les Baxter<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>is
one of two faces Americans will recognize. Less so is perhaps Ronald
Fraser as Inspector Lean, Barker's help in solving the case and the
film's levity. Fraser's lifestyle is ogling bikini-clad females, always arriving late to assist Barker. With
his somewhat disparate facial features<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>a
mouth no wider than his nose flanked by inflated cheeks<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—t</span>he
ladies are not too discriminating. Rilla sits poolside in a wheelchair though he is
not the least bit physically impaired.
Reminiscent of Program Manager, “Guy Caballero,” of <i>SCTV</i>
fame. Baxter discovers a well-hidden photograph at the estate of four people marked
for death. The butler makes it five. But no reveal of
Code 7. Perhaps for good reason: Code 7 officially means “out of
service to eat” for American police squads, making the tagline at
the top of this poster hilariously misguided.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This
British Lion Film Corporation endeavor was written by Harry Alan
Towers under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck with a screenplay by Peter
Yeldham. With its obvious Ian Fleming influence, the
film made a tidy profit. Originally filmed as <i>Table Bay</i>, the
current spy craze gave it the obscure <i>Code 7 Victim</i> <i>5</i>
title<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—yet again</span> as the more logical <i>Victim Five. </i>The end result is a rather talky mystery as it
bounces from location to location. The former Tarzan, Barker shifts
to “African Safari” summer wear from JC Penney as he explores a
diamond mine, shoots an attacking lion and goes scuba diving with viewers wondering its point in the film. The “point” is the tip of a
spear gun's harpoon mysteriously skewering one of the cast. Expect
the oft-used battle between good and evil on a gondola lift as it
ascends a mountain and an implausible (nee ridiculous) cliff-hanging climactic
pursuit.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i>Note: There is no doubt this film has some 1960s foreign trademarks of abrupt editing and a studio soundtrack seemingly unconnected to any screen action. Code 7 Victim 5 was released </i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>on Blu-ray </i><i>in 2016 with another 1964 South African
caper, the talkative and dull, Mozambique<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>essential with the same production team<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>as
a double feature. It stars a weary Steve Cochran,
with an American release eight months after his death. The same or similar </i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Lufthansa Boeing 720 from this film is also used in Mozambique. With t</i><i>he astounding success of the Eurowestern, The Treasure of Silver Lake (1962)</i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="font-family: arial;">—and its six sequels </i><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">as "Old Shatterhand"</i><i style="font-family: arial;">—</i><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Barker was on a career resurgence in Germany by the time "Code 7" was released.</i></span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-82711322560082781792022-10-24T13:29:00.004-04:002023-02-13T13:36:17.137-05:00THE OMEGA MAN (1971)<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAQa7qRp2dwwoCBx3yPQ-Hy9A7FgE19Ta19HTqCYaFJcf7Jt49cIMTiiYTkFMAAQSgBtKqmy9ekbtrEEs22ylVtZdzREl3W0SYA5VZvIaRJJ00cptmKkHwyH8_jJbgu4SsXTuawmUbF8sF5YJEwhg2evOZf3cvXpTvFjsCb8XiTYFWWzpYGWBQago/s767/The%20Omega%20Man%201971%20poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="659" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAQa7qRp2dwwoCBx3yPQ-Hy9A7FgE19Ta19HTqCYaFJcf7Jt49cIMTiiYTkFMAAQSgBtKqmy9ekbtrEEs22ylVtZdzREl3W0SYA5VZvIaRJJ00cptmKkHwyH8_jJbgu4SsXTuawmUbF8sF5YJEwhg2evOZf3cvXpTvFjsCb8XiTYFWWzpYGWBQago/w344-h400/The%20Omega%20Man%201971%20poster.jpg" width="344" /></a></p><p></p><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">I
suspect this Warner Bros. film was a popular topic in the break room
some fifty years ago. Critics at the time were certainly divided,
though. It has not held up all that well and it is longer than
necessary at nearly one hundred minutes. The intrigue during the
first third holds up the best and that is where I have focused my
comments. Directed by Boris Sagal with a screenplay by John and Joyce
Corrington, it is a warped adaption of Richard Matheson's novel, <i>I
Am Legend</i><span>, from 1954. Australian composer Ron Grainer—of
</span><i>Doctor Who</i> and <i>The Prisoner </i><span>fame—</span>was
tapped to do the music score, and though it never gets in the way, it
is merely adequate. One can give Matheson some leeway as he
speculates about chemical warfare seventeen years in the future with
apocalyptic proportions. Speculating only four years into the future,
as his film does, simply displays the mindset of Hollywood's
pessimistic fears of the “inevitable,” either from nuclear war or cosmic and environmental chaos.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Charlton
Heston could be noteworthy in the right roles, where his stiff upper
lip</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">the
envy of all ventriloquist's dummies</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">a
chiseled face or the machismo of bare chest resonate. Coming off his
successful </span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Planet
of The Apes</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
science fiction film, this post-apocalyptic tale also seems
well-suited for him as the only person left on Earth</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">with
a sense of humor</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">and
perhaps the only one </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">inoculated.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
But this film does not readily reveal that there might be those
naturally immune to the toxins. It could easily be construed as an
absurd reverse scenario for Covid-19: those not vaccinated try to
belittle</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">or
eliminate in this case</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">those
who are.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmmrY9Ul1lf9la4sDSjUncegTFlhhd5mdJzwNRgs-a2u7AJHWG1EE7mXT9qs-ZUloLcKxq_sFeWpHcikZ4hazYmdn_gaB3kYg7gojJmCYhyCSlg-G9MJ_qXqykLU2225GfUYj2gj0hsg91PnUmJVIbZsAEZL6vZ6UF1qN1qKTxPvYqU4-XudOx6jd/s2972/cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="2972" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmmrY9Ul1lf9la4sDSjUncegTFlhhd5mdJzwNRgs-a2u7AJHWG1EE7mXT9qs-ZUloLcKxq_sFeWpHcikZ4hazYmdn_gaB3kYg7gojJmCYhyCSlg-G9MJ_qXqykLU2225GfUYj2gj0hsg91PnUmJVIbZsAEZL6vZ6UF1qN1qKTxPvYqU4-XudOx6jd/w400-h201/cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Filming
in downtown Los Angeles on a deserted Sunday morning helped pull off
the barren authenticity. Less authentic is Heston's driving skills of
a modern-day Ford XL</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">which
he crashes almost immediately</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">due
to driving inattentively and too fast for conditions. Furthermore,
Heston is on record stating that piloting a chariot was easier than
that motorcycle in the film. It must be true. Except for closeups of
Heston when stopped, it is an obvious stuntman doing all the
cycling. There is an amusing “Keystone Cops” moment during the
opening</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">speaking
of that Ford convertible</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">when
the film is sped up as Heston stands from the driver's seat to fire
his automatic rifle at a mutant in a multi-story building. But I
cannot understand why unless Heston made it even more awkward in real-time.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">A
small group missing out on the vaccine</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">has
become a creepy cult of powder-faced “plaguesters” </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">calling
themselves the “Family.”</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
These nocturnal albino mutants</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">in
Monk robes and matching designer sunglasses represent the biggest
credibility gap in the film. Overall, they never seem all that
committed to living the night life though torching buildings would
appear to be a pleasing pastime. Despite their serious physical
ailments, their CEO, Anthony Zerbe, wants no part of modern
technology, Heston's vaccine or the serum created from his own blood.
Zerbe's plum role is quite understated when compared to so many
recent insane villains. His right-hand mutant, Zachary, puts the
“kill” in Lincoln Kilpatrick however, and he might have made a
more disturbing leader. One thing is for sure, they both hate the
“social good life” Heston is living</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">―i</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">f
one calls living like a prisoner in their own apartment every night.
In true anarchist form, a select few destroy Heston’s personal
property and all his lab work in a small-scale riot over a
disagreement on how one chooses to live.</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-36964976199890810852022-09-12T11:21:00.004-04:002023-03-30T18:56:23.700-04:00FILM BRAKE: THE PHIL SILVERS SPECIAL<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVbN5H_tlwLiMOI8Cma7uHPJBdBLf3jtjdNqtSwEWmhVC9qdarrXXtDh1hPD_Da8mJFy_weKyLieqDzI9__h9E6svqNWwOAApUREGsHjp0QdQ_Wt1J48nnSvoAtslVkJo9BbKBNbvc8MyfUlBF-YYJaMp5f6_L-p8tlwfIlmc6LrqGfQah5VyWlbr/s630/stars.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVbN5H_tlwLiMOI8Cma7uHPJBdBLf3jtjdNqtSwEWmhVC9qdarrXXtDh1hPD_Da8mJFy_weKyLieqDzI9__h9E6svqNWwOAApUREGsHjp0QdQ_Wt1J48nnSvoAtslVkJo9BbKBNbvc8MyfUlBF-YYJaMp5f6_L-p8tlwfIlmc6LrqGfQah5VyWlbr/w318-h400/stars.jpg" width="318" /></a></p><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On
the first Saturday in May 1960, CBS aired a very funny 55-minute
send-up of a television western starring Phil Silvers and Jack Benny,
<i>The Slowest Gun In The West</i><span>. Written and produced by Nat
Hiken—</span>following his success
of <i>The Phil Silvers Show</i><span>—</span>and
directed by Herschel Daugherty, the story centers on Silvers,
Fletcher Bissell III, aka The Silver Dollar Kid, who is the slowest
gun in the west outside Benny, as Chicken “Chick” Finsterwald.
Both frightened by even the hint of violence, they have been bluffing
their way through the old west to stay alive. In many ways, it is a variation on Silvers' signature character, Sgt. Bilko. Like Don Knotts' Barney Fife to follow, the Bilko role defined his career. After the opening's
brilliant set-up and humorous script, the movie drags a bit with
gratuitous canned laughter not helping. For Benny's part, he appears
to be reusing a skit from his own show. These two are the designated
funny men with the balance of the cast featuring Bruce Cabot, Ted de
Corsia, Robert Wilke, Jean Willes, Jack Elam, and Lee Van Cleef,
among others, playing it straight. It is a hoot to watch in all its
absurdity. Unfortunately, any online print is of terrible quality.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kjtcpbXZZza5LJzXF51OZhCao_FmahxAJFmyXgMXMOIcUfUwRDDarg0Rjr0O6FVu_uOO8Ya4DBbPye6Kwm6ERT2S5gENAVx5JiyopvYLUpCoNXYZJdRfdinOmVwZs9KDq4C4bE_NBAPHRT5Tjibvs15nVOtDQ4RsDFmbJBAN7T-6r7u1vhCTY1Jg/s827/review.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kjtcpbXZZza5LJzXF51OZhCao_FmahxAJFmyXgMXMOIcUfUwRDDarg0Rjr0O6FVu_uOO8Ya4DBbPye6Kwm6ERT2S5gENAVx5JiyopvYLUpCoNXYZJdRfdinOmVwZs9KDq4C4bE_NBAPHRT5Tjibvs15nVOtDQ4RsDFmbJBAN7T-6r7u1vhCTY1Jg/w318-h400/review.png" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Conrad
Salinger's opening folk ballad, </span><i style="font-family: arial;">The Silver Dollar Kid</i><span style="font-family: arial;">,
suggests a number of early television westerns, this time featuring a
lone rider on a ridge. Sung by the pop-folk duo of </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Bud and Travis</i><span style="font-family: arial;">,
complete with an acoustic guitar, it appears to be a potential
classic prime-time western. Cleverly, the story flashes forward to modern day as an ancestor recalls the
town's darkest days to a vacationing family. In 1878, Primrose,
Arizona was the roughest town in the west and with another wavy-screen flashback, Silvers sashays through the saloon doors decked-out in
shiny black leather...and black-rimmed eyeglasses. It is a</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> burst-out laughing moment even without the canned laughter.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Kid talks tough with an angry disposition, and the saloon patrons are wary of the
mysterious man in black. The initial confrontation with de Corsia,
the town's fastest gun, is beautifully played out. Proving just how
fast he is, Silvers places his gun several feet away from himself on
the bar counter, suggesting, that even at that distance, he is incredibly
fast. Assessing the impossible, the gunslinger starts his 1-2-3
countdown to draw. Silvers then begins peeling and eating a boiled
egg! de Corsia is incredulous. The ever-calm Silvers' mind game
suggests he has not counted to number three yet. It is classic
Silvers all the way as the fastest tongue in the west. His conniving,
confusing logic melts another challenger, Van Cleef, who becomes
psychologically beaten down into a child, realizing he has a Freudian
complex</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">his guns simply
represent teddy bears.</span></span></div></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
gunslingers cannot have the reputation for shooting the slowest gun
in the west, so the mayor hires Silvers as sheriff believing he would
never be killed. But the outlaws have had enough of “motor mouth”
and hire an even slower
on-the-draw coward, Benny, to
go up against Silvers. Both end up liking each other—partly
out of fear—yet get into an
argument about who is more “yellow.” The two cowards are thrust
into the street by the townsfolk for a gunfight and at the very
least, eliminate one of them. Each challenges the other to draw first
but each defers. Hilariously, the whole charade extends to nightfall
and into the next morning! A final flashback to 1960 has Silvers as a
modern police officer—certainly
looking like an ancestor of Fletcher Bissell—who
is startled by the young boy in the family who points his toy “cowboy
gun” at him.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Note:
Bud Dashiell and Travis Edmundson, alias "Bud and Travis"
only had one hit song, The Ballad of The Alamo (1960) but made
several successful albums for Liberty Records between 1958 and 1965.</i></span></span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-81965326820407897452022-08-29T10:45:00.007-04:002022-08-29T10:48:53.524-04:00THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1948)<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC24njnr7yJriOFjQIJQfPXJCTlx_H3czNn5Cd9Ay2cubeZJTr8DIIKkgGSWXvct17983PHt8cG9EsdwZEaX8BzULby11vTeCu1nhX7Nli9-pHi6fY48p8K0lOZZFYEITSFztCJC-yDoMAYVr12ACu78KPKr0vd2vwkXrwzuh0pVTHZLSFmP6-8M_3/s1876/Poster-Three-Musketeers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1419" data-original-width="1876" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC24njnr7yJriOFjQIJQfPXJCTlx_H3czNn5Cd9Ay2cubeZJTr8DIIKkgGSWXvct17983PHt8cG9EsdwZEaX8BzULby11vTeCu1nhX7Nli9-pHi6fY48p8K0lOZZFYEITSFztCJC-yDoMAYVr12ACu78KPKr0vd2vwkXrwzuh0pVTHZLSFmP6-8M_3/w400-h303/Poster-Three-Musketeers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgMiJkeC1IX1GFLNDydm8RyUjeisO1JOiBGbvhBal5Y4tJEtFE8PTDx4wxu8spdNWnbJ-bzXhNBIBaAa9vRyEL1WVwiEXKrTr9plxeRKDSLitngXu4sL4Uaoch_mm_kakJ9vyR4Z7GKXQ2SFpWTnb2ySgGNaTPKVx2CpihUIUAaN1vgEWTwME6xMZ/s1200/The%20Three%20Musketeers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1200" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgMiJkeC1IX1GFLNDydm8RyUjeisO1JOiBGbvhBal5Y4tJEtFE8PTDx4wxu8spdNWnbJ-bzXhNBIBaAa9vRyEL1WVwiEXKrTr9plxeRKDSLitngXu4sL4Uaoch_mm_kakJ9vyR4Z7GKXQ2SFpWTnb2ySgGNaTPKVx2CpihUIUAaN1vgEWTwME6xMZ/w400-h356/The%20Three%20Musketeers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I
have never read Alexander Dumas' classic, but have seen a few film
adaptions. This movie may explain the reasoning behind most versions
only taking it as far as the jewel theft plot. By trying to cover all
the characters and subplots<span>—</span><span>even
with 125 minutes—there </span>is not
enough time to develop either. The story lacks a strong central focus
and it is all over the place. Just when one thinks it will be wrapped
up, it goes "back around" for a second or third time
introducing irrelevant characters or repeated sequencing. What
follows are my takes on a beautifully filmed costumed extravaganza
that is not exactly perfect. But what great movie-making.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p align="CENTER" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">THE
DANCING FOIL</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
film starts out as a pseudo-slapstick comedy with the over-eager
reactions of Gene Kelly (D'Artagnan) closely resembling a cartoon
figure. If Kelly could possibly keep this up, I would have likened
his character to Danny Kaye's later perfection in the hilarious film,
</span><i style="font-family: arial;">The Court Jester</i><span style="font-family: arial;">. One might expect (wish) this to set the tone
of the film. Kelley's fencing scenes are excellent and possess enough
believability to give a pass on any repetitions. The
well-choreographed, opening swordplay</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">filmed
at Busch Gardens in Pasadena</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—i</span><span style="font-family: arial;">s
hilariously explosive, and done with the great acrobatic skills of
Kelly</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It is easy to see that
he enjoyed the role. This amusing sequence opens the door for an
undying friendship with the film's title characters. Kelly broke his
ankle about a year before the film's release, and these scenes were
some of the last filmed in order to give him maximum recovery time.
So there is physicality better left to professional stuntmen like
effortlessly climbing up a trellis to a second story, jumping from
great heights or onto a horse. Then again, I doubt Kelly's agent
wanted him leaping off rooftops. The humor is in shorter supply as
the film progresses.</span></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">CASTING
A LOT</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lana
Turner gets top billing yet is arguably the least talented of the
big-name actresses of her era. Like many Hollywood discoveries, her
appeal was strictly physical and her youthful glow which was so
magical at the beginning of the decade began to fade. One male
equivalent might be Errol Flynn during his first decade. A hint in
this film is when she is imprisoned and lacks makeup. I do not know
when those scenes were shot, but after casting her in the role, the
director wanted her to lose weight. Her face seems squarish and
perhaps heavier. Of course, lighting or camera angle has a great
effect on visual perception, perhaps as the director envisioned someone imprisoned in a dark cell. Turner still looked astonishing in
other close-ups. She simply did possess a strong ability to pull off a
self-serving villain. She was reluctant to take a supporting role,
not fully understanding it was a lead character.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Angela
Lansbury campaigned for the Turner role but MGM said no. Turner was
the bigger star at the time</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Lansbury
had no clout. Lansbury seems wasted (today) in her brief appearance
as Queen Anne. Quite astutely, June Allyson did not think a period
piece was right for her, but her opening scene with Kelly works well.
If you blink at the wrong time you will miss Marie Windsor's two
brief glimpses. Fans probably expected her to develop into someone,
but she is never seen a third time. Very strange. Along the same
lines, Patricia Medina</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">on a
career upswing</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">appears out of
nowhere as Turner's maid. The airhead character could have been left
on the cutting room floor. Van Heflin brought a heavy-drinking flair
to his role with Gig Young and Richard Coote as adequate comrades.
Speaking of old coots, Frank Morgan was too much Wizard</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">as the king of France. Long-time MGM contract player, Lewis
Stone, might have been a better</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">perhaps
the only choice within the studio. In face-altering disguise, it may
take a bit of time to recognize Keenan Wynn</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—until
his first sentence—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">as d'Artagnan's right-hand man.</span></span></p>
<p align="CENTER" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">FLAMBOYANT
COSTUMES</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
wardrobe department </span><i style="font-family: arial;">pulled out all the stops </i><span style="font-family: arial;">(for you pipe
organ enthusiasts) with costuming, though some today might take
exception to their authenticity. One of Turner's hats</span><span style="font-family: arial;">,
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">the green feathered black hat pops off the screen and adds
about three feet to her height.</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
Vincent </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Price looked authentic enough</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">accented
in red</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">and I loved his angled
gray/white stripes across his torso for one costume. The musketeers
looked as one would expect</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">like
on the candy bar wrapper of the day</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">in
capes, wide-brimmed feathery hats, and vibrant colors.</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite
some questionable casting for a period piece, the film was an
entertaining hit with the full MGM splash</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
without</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> singing</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">magnificent
cinematography in dazzling Technicolor. The film's credits can be
found on numerous websites as well as a Dumas synopsis if you choose
to explore.</span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-75280360180745439272022-08-01T10:37:00.009-04:002023-01-16T09:35:16.318-05:00Allied Artists Productions<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I
am highlighting three of the five crime movies released by Allied
Artists<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—each </span>roughly
an hour long<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>that are all
quite routine. The films center around the Los Angeles police
department and, in particular, a no-nonsense police lieutenant, the
low-energy Bill Elliott. He seems out of place in a modern-day
setting after his popular cowboy daze. </i></div>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEGiQDPjW6AjbjKQkSQjUkV6jScaF5yPTrTRhjewrLqP56C6CHhRWQH78sZcxpjEEZ_RKeGRmNA6QdLOxulL2ZPG_ZS-JVr0OiC9gmoydJi22kXf9Hh2sMQJty7Jljom2SROLS81yatfcGoKLuRMsa6MU2KsZib0C8WRsnIkHc-nrXfXo0sTtbUpm/s743/blog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="743" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEGiQDPjW6AjbjKQkSQjUkV6jScaF5yPTrTRhjewrLqP56C6CHhRWQH78sZcxpjEEZ_RKeGRmNA6QdLOxulL2ZPG_ZS-JVr0OiC9gmoydJi22kXf9Hh2sMQJty7Jljom2SROLS81yatfcGoKLuRMsa6MU2KsZib0C8WRsnIkHc-nrXfXo0sTtbUpm/w400-h300/blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFQG9eM9y_9pqaD_JP4AhiiACFuFq-LNzOc73ZAnnQx4QnVIym2-H2h7Fiif09c4-RIYqdtmsAWkuHdjPaDEQkeb8rpVwmJMt6rfrvKee7qc-M-HcMUzw8iAAwQ5mvkUCwOlrLXtj00T-2oOTeQ4aw-MTpJf36QKZAB_uhGu7EGRUeaPdBxjL143-/s1327/cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1327" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFQG9eM9y_9pqaD_JP4AhiiACFuFq-LNzOc73ZAnnQx4QnVIym2-H2h7Fiif09c4-RIYqdtmsAWkuHdjPaDEQkeb8rpVwmJMt6rfrvKee7qc-M-HcMUzw8iAAwQ5mvkUCwOlrLXtj00T-2oOTeQ4aw-MTpJf36QKZAB_uhGu7EGRUeaPdBxjL143-/w400-h241/cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">DIAL RED O (1955)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This
slow-moving, sixty-three-minute film, directed and written by Daniel
B. Ullman, is as predictable as daylight. Not as obvious at the time
was Allied Artists Production's intention to produce four more crime
mysteries over the next two years. Rather intriguing [confusing] is
that the symbol “O” actually represents the zero on the phone's
dial. Apparently, the operator can offer a great deal of assistance
no matter the circumstance. In a nutshell, the film opens with a
mysterious, intriguing escape from a veteran hospital's psychiatric
ward. A war-torn, highly decorated World War II and Korean veteran
seeks his wife, who is preparing divorce papers. His escape initiates
an all-out manhunt, not really sure if the veteran is unstable or
what his plans are for his wife's life. The police department enlists
the help of an undercover policewoman, played by Elaine Riley, to
help locate the escapee.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Keith
Larsen plays the even-tempered, well-mannered veteran whose potential
contact with his wife, Helene Stanley, is his only reason for going
AWOL. In fact, he plans to return to the hospital that evening. But
the audience is way ahead of him as we learn she is involved with
Paul Picerni, a Realtor paying for her fancy apartment. In the habit
of making demands, she wants Picerni to also get a divorce.
Immediately. Temper's flair, he is slapped, and he judo chops her to
death, as his combat and Realtor training comes into play. He returns
to his office to call a few clients as an alibi for his whereabouts. By
happenstance, Larsen spots his realty office lit up. The two Marine
buddies have a cordial reunion with Larsen hoping he has seen or
heard from his wife. Picerni's devious wheels start turning. He
contacts the police about his concern over Larsen's visit. Larsen is
jailed but bamboozles the officer with a clever combat trick and
escapes. Marlin Skiles' score finally makes itself evident as the
escapee heads straight for Picerni and the two combat-trained vets
share a few bullets in total darkness. But you cannot bamboozle
Elliott's good judge of character. That, and Stanley's autopsy
reveals a detail that dooms Picerni.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Note:
Bill Elliott, popular cowboy star for the past two decades, plays Lt.
Andy Flynn in this first outing. He is the constant in the series. It
was soon brought to Allied's attention there was a real Andy Flynn in
Los Angeles law enforcement, so for the remaining films in the
series, the lieutenant becomes Andy Doyle. Elliott is about as
tight-lipped as a ventriloquist and appears to really miss the slow
pace, prairie campfires with his horse, Sonny.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">________________________________________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm9liZMz6ARgVmywhRNgIVU78lRZuPDieJWfveLtrTDMy7LExNTkqncvLlTkFsTMsQAqj4iTnSk3VDQZoxz3BRr08zMiXpUiTjvY6y62yUGZrCp8qisRLEn5gL1zTfkhf_Or_dp8ORe2WYAHvwsuH91Esv9ZbBfhlWmnmV6l4k3KgzqFYaS17_oMj/s1168/poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="588" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm9liZMz6ARgVmywhRNgIVU78lRZuPDieJWfveLtrTDMy7LExNTkqncvLlTkFsTMsQAqj4iTnSk3VDQZoxz3BRr08zMiXpUiTjvY6y62yUGZrCp8qisRLEn5gL1zTfkhf_Or_dp8ORe2WYAHvwsuH91Esv9ZbBfhlWmnmV6l4k3KgzqFYaS17_oMj/w201-h400/poster.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">SUDDEN
DANGER (1955)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tom
Drake "guest stars" in this week’s episode of
television's "CSM: Crime Scene Mystery" series. Except this
film was never meant as home entertainment, being the second film
from Allied Artists Production, Inc. about a Los Angeles detective,
Bill Elliott, solving another crime with repeated questioning and
methodical deduction. Like the other films in the set of five, it is
a talky procedural offering with zero excitement until the last-minute climax. Viewers will know that point when the otherwise
dormant Merlin Stiles' score explodes. With less professional
performances, the film could have been a laugh-fest. Elliott seems a
bit less wooden than in his first installment and he is able to smile
appropriately in this routine whodunit. </span></span></div><p style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A1xM8_xA00QPkP1x2Ko-LoU38VosfiT59_sMtihe8w2LPZcXR0AntwPst4HFewsdR5lPzcaQEmA6bdw3tAZaG589SlrQrhvNEvXn1A7kVYtcJHcAZ9comMapDUk58R6TBsIBeCwXpTtUDWAAubvDnkm_wHrL_hXb9deHGFWZrip_0zaIOTZ4fPJQ/s1393/cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1393" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A1xM8_xA00QPkP1x2Ko-LoU38VosfiT59_sMtihe8w2LPZcXR0AntwPst4HFewsdR5lPzcaQEmA6bdw3tAZaG589SlrQrhvNEvXn1A7kVYtcJHcAZ9comMapDUk58R6TBsIBeCwXpTtUDWAAubvDnkm_wHrL_hXb9deHGFWZrip_0zaIOTZ4fPJQ/w400-h243/cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span><span>The
film opens under the credits as we watch men's shoes and dog paws
walk on a sidewalk. The Thom McAn's belong to Drake and the paws to
his seeing-eye dog. The German Shepherd barks and refuses to go
inside their apartment. The natural gas smell is heavy and he yells
for his mother but it is too late. Elliott investigates the apparent
suicide of the woman, a clothing manufacturing company executive.
There is substantial evidence that does not support suicide and all
eyes are on her son, who lost his sight years earlier due to his
mother selecting what she thought were eye drops. Feeling pretty
embarrassed since that day, her insurance policy designated it go
toward his eye surgery. A successful operation later, he feigns his
blindness under sunglasses around his mother's attorney and
insurance agent in the hope of finding clues to the murderer. Drake
is helped by his girlfriend, Beverly Garland, a swimsuit fashion
designer for the company. Typically, near the halfway point in the
film, Elliott already knows who staged the suicide.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Note:
Minerva Urecal plays the apartment manager where Drake lives. Her
negative attitude causes trouble for him when she gives false
details to Elliott. This frequently happens when someone does not
have any facts to back up their opinions. Another Hollywood stalwart,
Frank Jenks, plays a bartender with his usual facial contortions.
Garland more often than not played strong characters</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">like
in this film</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">when
she was not screaming at a creature in a science fiction film.</span></i></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: medium;">__________________________________________________________</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wk3j4rbivhyFutIkL91Qpp-abKNtc58WUlWRxjB-c9jJzfIyV7av36vqJdmZRI6LT5NLQULHNBqYvmLUwyNV0O0uO_GGoNrcAe5h8XYNPOVxC3XMq0Jfdh2nJshKssXB_b-poxqDQLSwM1CFcukrBKz5sDcPigoVM0kYfnX_uTqdqBVWykFZj5S-/s1511/Footsteps-Night.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1511" data-original-width="948" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wk3j4rbivhyFutIkL91Qpp-abKNtc58WUlWRxjB-c9jJzfIyV7av36vqJdmZRI6LT5NLQULHNBqYvmLUwyNV0O0uO_GGoNrcAe5h8XYNPOVxC3XMq0Jfdh2nJshKssXB_b-poxqDQLSwM1CFcukrBKz5sDcPigoVM0kYfnX_uTqdqBVWykFZj5S-/w251-h400/Footsteps-Night.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">FOOTSTEPS
IN THE NIGHT (1957)</span></div></i></span></div></span><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">This
film opens with a teaser. We see a man leave his motel kitchenette to
find his poker partner dead in the other room. This all plays out as
the camera focuses on a record playing part of a jazzy Marlin Skiles
score. A flashback repeats the scene in sequence as the movie
unfolds. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, this is the fifth and final film
series by Allied Artists Productions Inc. that follows detective Bill
Elliott with the Novocaine upper lip. A man of controlled emotions
with suits bought off the rack. Don Haggerty plays his partner and
they sort of echo the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Dragnet</i></span><span style="color: black;">
series at times during their idle, barely humorous, chit-chat. This
sixty-two-minute film is a talk-fest of interviews between witnesses
and those who are anxious to help the department track down a
murderer. Pretty boring stuff with Elliott not quite fully awake. He
headed for the “Sunset Retirement Corral” after this film. Never
mind the poster. Amazingly, no women were attacked in the film.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: black;">Douglas
Dick, looking at times like the higher fore-headed brother of actor,
Roger Smith, has had a serious gambling problem in the past but when
we are introduced to his character, he has put all that behind him.
Thanks, in big part, to his fiancé, Eleanore Tanin. His acquaintance
and motel neighbor, Robert Shayne, has not kicked the habit and
pesters Dick into playing a small stakes game of poker with him.
Shayne is not meant to be likable in his brief role. In order to
clear some debt and put Shayne in his place, Dick decides to clean
him out, then suddenly calls it quits. Shayne is irate that he is not
given the chance to win it back and promptly leaves the room in a
huff—to get ice for their drinks. The opening scene returns though
the viewer never witnesses the murder.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: black;">We
later learn of the somewhat humorous premise about the world's
fastest strangler, played by Gregg Palmer. In his confusion between
two different motels with similar names, he accidentally kills Shayne
in bungalow 8 at the wrong motel. The “Bungling Bungalow”
strangler intended to kill and rob James Flavin, another bungalow 8
motel occupant. In the murderer's defense, he and Shayne share a
similar appearance from behind. Elliott does not figure Dick for a
killer, but Haggerty, who never saw the opening scene, bets
otherwise. See Dick run. See Dick get apprehended.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><br /><span style="color: black;">Flavin
is a spark of fun in an otherwise droll screenplay. Noted for being a
typically high-strung Irishman, he is an extrovert of the highest
order in this film. A flamboyant salesman who flashes his big-money
roll around to attract big business. Spend money to make money. He
drives a station wagon loaded with every option. Where he gets his
car serviced plays a pivotal role in his future. Elliott wants to use
him to flesh out the strangler. Flavin finds the plan exciting until
he is informed that he will be the bait for the killer. His
excitement wanes momentarily.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span><br /><span style="color: black;">Palmer
has finally caught up with Flavin in the correct motel just as
Elliott planned on his 36” x 24” stakeout drawing. Before
strangling Flavin from behind, the baiting police step in. The killer
pushes Flavin into Elliott, escapes, and drives away. The gunshot
sound effect during this ”exciting” ending sounds like any number
of old Saturday morning cowboy shoot-em-ups. Palmer speeds off
leaving the viewer wondering if he gets away. We are suddenly back in
the squad room to wrap up the movie with “Deadpan Elliott”
explaining to Dick and Jane...er...his fiancé what exactly happened.
Tucked neatly within the dialogue is a reveal that Palmer was
actually wounded during his getaway. He did not get far and lived a
simple life on behalf of the state.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><i>Note:
Elliott's other two Allied films are Calling Homicide (1956), and Chain of Evidence
(1957).</i></span></span></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-81854735987810894002022-08-01T09:41:00.011-04:002024-03-23T14:02:02.839-04:00FILM BRAKE: A CONFIDENT MAN<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhazUrchnR6CMCvP5PBKofkp_fCntTcYcpuF66L-Ajglao3l7ESQYSf8c_hF8x7qL0VSwmwEZA153Igey1LyukiRww3h9dITzOBhXGgWq8UE9p5IpVqRfBRkrqQJOoU_RSG1GhJaUCmPakXVatp-i6MzDQ-J7YvFPq7ZFDFl8ojXrkomKTY9Vw6jQ/s1280/1938_1__38795.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1280" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhazUrchnR6CMCvP5PBKofkp_fCntTcYcpuF66L-Ajglao3l7ESQYSf8c_hF8x7qL0VSwmwEZA153Igey1LyukiRww3h9dITzOBhXGgWq8UE9p5IpVqRfBRkrqQJOoU_RSG1GhJaUCmPakXVatp-i6MzDQ-J7YvFPq7ZFDFl8ojXrkomKTY9Vw6jQ/w400-h313/1938_1__38795.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p></p><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i>Yancy
Derringer</i> (1958-59) is a thirty-four-episode American action/adventure
series that was originally broadcast Thursdays on CBS. T</span></span>he opening theme song followed the era's trend as one of the shortest orchestral themes of the era, in the likes
of <i>Wanted: Dead or Alive</i> or <i>The Rifleman</i>. Both of whom carried unique firearms. The
thirty-minute show was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed
in Hollywood by Desilu Productions. Halfway through the season, the show was deemed a success with a second season planned. Now realizing its potential, CBS suddenly demanded a percentage in the profits and wanted Desilu out of the picture. Neither the star nor the creators wanted any part of the plan and the network canceled the show. </span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Those
sensing the show was another gimmick Western was on to
something. It would seem to be cashing in on <i>Have Gun – Will
Travel's </i>popularity, which reached its peak at about the same
year. Both Paladin<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>when at
the Hotel Carlton<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>and Yancy
like a white suit with frilly shirts and were lovers of fine cuisine and an eye for the ladies. Both were super confident, both used
their physical dominance to settle arguments, and both might act as detectives or secret agents. Each knew their way around
derringers, too. Paladin carries a 2-barrel version, and Yancy ups the
ante with three 4-barrel Sharps pepperboxes hidden in his hat, under a coat sleeve, or in his vest. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Though the series is centered in New Orleans, Yancy</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">like Paladin from San Francisco</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">might be hired to travel to far-off destinations. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Set three years after the Civil War, the series follows Yancy's exploits as an ex-Confederate soldier turned cardsharp and gentleman adventurer. The promising first episode set up the series premise as Yancy returns to his estate in New Orleans after several years. A civil engineer and city administrator, the hard-nosed John Colton</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">played by television veteran Kevin Hagen</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—makes a deal with</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Yancy to clean up crime in the city however he sees fit. Colton cleverly makes sure there are no records of them as a team</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">it is their little secret. Their arrangement brings up one distinct difference between Paladin and Yancy. The latter never gets paid.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">There are unique aspects to Yancy, aside from the unlikely pairing of a cool, dapper <a href=" https://wikimili.com/en/Jock_Mahoney" target="_blank">Jock Mahoney</a> with an emotionless and silent partner, the largest gimmick of the era: Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah, or simply Pahoo. Played by <a href="https://wikimili.com/en/X_Brands" target="_blank">X Brands</a>, a Pawnee Indian who carried a knife at his upper back and a double-barreled
shotgun under his Native blanket. He always had Yancy's back and the duo were considered blood brothers after Paho saved Yancy's life. They communicate only by hand gestures</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">both
excellent at charades I imagine. It was Mahoney's suggestion that X Brands not say a word during his audition. He became a defining character of the show.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Oddly, Mahoney's voice quality may differ during a given scene</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—at</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> times a puny, nasal sound that can give way to a rich baritone.</span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Mahoney </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">is certainly appealing with his unflappable, fluid persona. He is a
smooth talker as well as a walker with a short stride and a back as
straight as a ship's mast. He is quite likable with some witty
one-liners added for charm. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">With fists of iron and a cane that conceals a sword for additional protection. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Considered by most in Hollywood at the time to be the most amazing stuntman working, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">viewers get to witness his athleticism during the occasional fight scene or jumping from a second-story veranda. Somewhat pale in comparison to his amazing work in his earlier Western series, </span><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Range Rider, </i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">however.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">X Brands started as a stuntman as well and they worked together on new stunts. One of the slickest was the tossing of Pahoo's knife back and forth in a rapid, flawless exchange</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—s</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">ometimes backward over the shoulder.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A series regular is Madame Francine, played by Frances Bergen, owner of a members-only gambling house in New Orleans.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Bergen was the wife of Edgar (and Charlie McCarthy).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-22109443655015861282022-07-25T09:26:00.007-04:002023-07-16T08:35:18.446-04:00 D.O.A. (1950)<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9se0itGrPu5vOCIlgTUlJrcNg2clgOXjb3JcsL54jPcudW6K3t07TAUegIMKxrM2yjd27cAz8YvhkglTxLAzTCWqa81zPBF3DjAG8dPS9Qdxxu559i0Oh8uaBCOEODZ-YG_AQVtr9XGfFbdyGzD4JwKvp4NSjworFZOQEzSTZIGrQe4pX899l-Q9/s1680/DOA1950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1680" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9se0itGrPu5vOCIlgTUlJrcNg2clgOXjb3JcsL54jPcudW6K3t07TAUegIMKxrM2yjd27cAz8YvhkglTxLAzTCWqa81zPBF3DjAG8dPS9Qdxxu559i0Oh8uaBCOEODZ-YG_AQVtr9XGfFbdyGzD4JwKvp4NSjworFZOQEzSTZIGrQe4pX899l-Q9/w244-h400/DOA1950.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><p></p><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">This
film is hardly unknown to any film-noir or B-movie fan so I have
focused on some memorable elements that stand out. Few movies ever
opened with this level of intrigue. First up is the captivating
opening sequence. The innovative behind-the-back view of Edmond
O'Brien<span>—</span><span>under a driving
Dimitri Tiompkin score—</span><span>as the
viewer follows his brisk walking down a sidewalk then down the
hallway of a police station—</span>Tiompkin
always on pace with O'Brien's gate. If a director is saddled with a
routine script, just hire Tiompkin to better the film. To his
surprise, the police have been trying to locate him. To their
surprise, O'Brien is there to report his murder. If there was ever a
film needing a big flashback, this is it.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">The
story and screenplay, written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene,
of intertwining characters, need the moviegoer's full attention.
Additionally, it seems inconceivable that one person could be singled
out for murder by mere circumstances. Probably a tad long at
eighty-four minutes, it is directed by Rudolph Maté and produced by
Leo C. Popkin. The cinematography by Ernest Laszlo is as powerful as
Tiompkin's score. This "mystery murder" has indeed become a
classic.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">O'Brien's
performances are rarely subtle. Here, he possesses all the pent-up
rage of an accountant and notary public who is not dead yet. His
backstory ramps up while on vacation. The director includes a
laughable and silly slide whistle sound effect numerous times
whenever O'Brien spots a female, which would seem to indicate his
main reason for a vacation. A noisy sales convention party in the
adjoining suite gets his attention. The salesman and their locally
acquired female companions want to paint the town and the accountant
is invited. It is a bad omen for O'Brien whose drink is unknowingly
switched at a bar. Later feeling ill, he visits a hospital that sets
up a second powerful sequence concerning the physicality of O'Brien.
After getting the doctor's diagnosis from swallowing a deadly
luminous toxin, he bolts from the office in wide-eyed panic.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I
have always been impressed with actors of this era running full bore
in Florsheim dress shoes on pavement. Forrest Gump nor Nike have
nothing on Frank Bigelow. The thirty-five-year-old fluidly descends
down the hospital's long set of steps—feet
are two blurs. I assume this was done in one take. He sprints
down crowded sidewalks and across mid-town traffic, setting a new
notary record until his momentary pause at the point of
exhaustion—pedestrians
unaware a film is in progress. He then begins a slow walk, gradually
picking up steam with Tiompkin's score accelerating with O'Brien's
pace. His anger propels him to solve his murder. The film then
settles into a rather routine crime mystery.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">O'Brien's
girlfriend slash secretary, Pamela Britton, provides an early lead
about a bill of sale for the toxin, something he notarized. In the
pursuit of truth, he discovers another person poisoned, a couple of
possible suicide leads, and continually intersects with several
flip-flopping characters under police investigation. All of which
filters back to the guy who knows too much, O'Brien. The final
confrontation between the murdered and the murderer ends the
flashback. O'Brien, in one final laugh-out-loud moment, leans over to
speak Paula's name to the police officer then quickly pushes himself
backward and instantly collapses horizontally, disappearing behind
the desk.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Note:
There is an indelible performance by Neville “Chester” Brand, the
ever so psychopathic henchman hired to kill O'Brien in a more rapid
manner. Before ushering him into a waiting sedan, Brand pokes his gun
hard into O'Brien's stomach, who doubles over in pain. Delighted by
the pain inflicted, the smirking Brand informs him, “You're soft in
the belly!”</i></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-36105553028347745922022-07-25T09:12:00.005-04:002023-01-23T11:16:10.359-05:00FEAR NO MORE (1961)<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHVM-kXbekCkP4ypOLjkLHkyL7S30Hr8isBMdfyU2m0tyownvJENbwKV5wEPbSDO6bv99hflvu9DnHXYWTzkUpVcfMa2HJFcE_FhC_TTJ697dxwyx0uzsPyxAAPvqX-10XdQJwKXYJeqqiifCVZV-KbB3hCY5QDJ3TEtRaRXa5qALwVIaT4hP0AAc/s1248/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1248" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHVM-kXbekCkP4ypOLjkLHkyL7S30Hr8isBMdfyU2m0tyownvJENbwKV5wEPbSDO6bv99hflvu9DnHXYWTzkUpVcfMa2HJFcE_FhC_TTJ697dxwyx0uzsPyxAAPvqX-10XdQJwKXYJeqqiifCVZV-KbB3hCY5QDJ3TEtRaRXa5qALwVIaT4hP0AAc/w400-h320/poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Personal
secretary, Mala Powers, boards a train with an assignment from her
boss, John Harding, to deliver an important letter. She is instantly
accosted in her compartment by a man with a gun, then knocked
unconscious. She is awakened by an assumed police officer who accuses
her of murder, part of the weakest frame-up ever. It is going to be
that kind of movie. There are many secrets in this film. In general,
if you are gullible enough, they are revealed by the very
end</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">assuming one can hold out
for the full eighty minutes. This is strictly television fare</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">perhaps
suspenseful</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">like a low-grade
attempt to copy a less successful Hitchcock film. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Some lavish praise
on Powers' acting in this nightmare of improbable characters. I
thought she was much better eight years earlier in </span><a href="https://unknownhollywood.blogspot.com/2017/09/city-that-never-sleeps-1953.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><i>City That Never Sleeps</i></a><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I
will say, I never doubted her character's six months in a mental
hospital due to a nervous breakdown. Powers' repetitious, wide-eyed
hysteria would seem to indicate she has issues. I find her
over-acting captivating. Keeping tabs on who is or who should be a
mental patient may be a task.</span></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYy9RXBbU_TkV42WGmCF1rraahErKuRaI6-9XI-Ti76yZd3pipSApCaoy7ZaPOLLOvt6c2AS6BhyRtiQ1QiR2JYa1lo5p-409v3T_03Kva3yR-TlBqGmMDqw_ygsK94i7RDIqO8oUD9QxYjulqimuZis7c_XN4S63AD6o7ObM92jhw6mRMNz3mGqb/s890/ford.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="890" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYy9RXBbU_TkV42WGmCF1rraahErKuRaI6-9XI-Ti76yZd3pipSApCaoy7ZaPOLLOvt6c2AS6BhyRtiQ1QiR2JYa1lo5p-409v3T_03Kva3yR-TlBqGmMDqw_ygsK94i7RDIqO8oUD9QxYjulqimuZis7c_XN4S63AD6o7ObM92jhw6mRMNz3mGqb/w400-h301/ford.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She
appears to escape the clutches of the officer after the train stops
and in total panic, is nearly run over by a 1960 Ford driven by
Jacques Bergerac<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>Hollywood's
worst fake French accent from an actual Frenchman. Michael Palin was
just as good in that Holy Grail movie. His character is not well
defined except we know he is divorced and has a young son who cannot
stop crying from bumping his head on the dashboard after the panic
stop. We do know this: he wants Powers to level with him. Something
she has difficulty doing throughout the first hour. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">When
Powers returns to Harding's home, his habitual lies are dispensed
flawlessly. It is an old premise where he denies the train incident
or that the letter ever existed. The remaining players are in kind,
also denying her reality. Appearing totally perplexed by it all, it
is a highly improbable conspiracy that includes the chauffeur who
drove her to the station, the lady she was accused of killing, and
the officer who arrested her. It is all a bit much and I found it
very silly with an assumed climax, barring one twist. Harding's
condescending explanations for what never actually happened are hard
to sit through. Bergerac seems to be along as Powers' defense
attorney or hostage negotiator. The movie-goer's frustration all leads
up to a hilarious ending of bad acting with a detailed</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">albeit
confusing</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">explanation of what
the first fifty-eight minutes were about. The only twist worth
mentioning is that Powers and Bergerac are the only ones who do not
belong in a sanatorium.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Notes:
Based on the 1946 novel of the same name by Leslie Edgley, this
pseudo-thriller was directed by Bernard Wiesen. It was produced by
Wiesen, Earl Durham, and Julie Gibson for Scaramouche Productions and
distributed by Astor Pictures, a poverty row film distributor from
the Thirties through the Fifties.</span></i></div><div style="line-height: 124%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The
studio prop car that Bergerac "drives" in traffic is
typical of low-budget films. No</span></i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">t
long after they first meet, he is so exasperated by Powers' secrets
it appears he stops in the middle lane (at night) and asks her to get
out. Yet the projected screen traffic is still moving behind him.
Indeed, her reality is that she will more than likely be struck by a
vehicle if she exits. Every driver behind him is courteous without a
single horn honk.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766117206926004357.post-18752193364911062662022-07-04T10:20:00.003-04:002023-05-20T17:48:29.714-04:00 Lippert Pictures Series <div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Robert
L. Lippert controlled a successful low-budget American film
production and distribution company from 1948 to 1956, producing
short, fast-paced westerns and crime films <span face="Arial, sans-serif">with
</span>a penchant for obligatory humor, and the occasional jarring
edits. This is my final review of eight Lippert films.</span></i></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsdgN8-Y70-1NZUQ7trfG5elxU4V4hiBVBGo8i_f7fvHejr6IoIWpHkg9wi28eApHUCQOlWTJX7zYLq0er4A30g-BQj8ksellivscUz4eQfYzRbvvcreH42EYgZEnNfkCk0XjLjOTqVuR0NSPUYAXs__Hd8KWWlnWbLkUkxMmFAa1Kucwnh1rh4hy/s1021/blog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="651" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsdgN8-Y70-1NZUQ7trfG5elxU4V4hiBVBGo8i_f7fvHejr6IoIWpHkg9wi28eApHUCQOlWTJX7zYLq0er4A30g-BQj8ksellivscUz4eQfYzRbvvcreH42EYgZEnNfkCk0XjLjOTqVuR0NSPUYAXs__Hd8KWWlnWbLkUkxMmFAa1Kucwnh1rh4hy/w255-h400/blog.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MOTOR
PATROL (1950)</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">This
hour-long film opens in obviously low-budget fashion yet as an honorable
tribute to the motorcycle patrol officers of Los Angeles. I felt like
standing to salute during the opening score by Ozzie
Caswell<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>reminiscent of a
college marching band or a football newsreel<span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span>as
motorcycles leave the station in parade fashion. This main theme
returns to close out the film. Later, during overlapping scenes of
night patrols, he uses a couple of bars of situational comedy music.
Certainly worthy of issuing a ticket. There is some location shooting
but expect a lot of back-screen projected scenery during the studio
motorcycle “chase” segments. The speedy, climactic cycle chase is
especially funny as the hero's fedora is surely stapled to his
forehead. <i>Motor Patrol</i> is produced by Robert L. Lippert and
Barney A. Sarecky for Lippert Pictures and directed again by Sam
Newfield. Fast-pacing was a Lippert signature yet this movie
definitely played better in mid-twentieth century. Other Lippert
signatures are the occasional abrupt editing.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">As each motorcycle peels off from the "parade" to its intended patrol area, the film quickly
shifts to the Los Angeles Police Academy's firing range. First up are
the female traffic cops aiming at parking meter silhouettes. You can
believe that if you want. The male officers only get a tiny dot on
cardboard. The location provides the perfect opportunity for Newfield
to introduce the main cast, Officers William Henry and Don Castle,
plus Detective Reed Hadley. Richard Travis innocuously appears later
as another detective. Yes, Lippert regular, Sid Melton, does his
shtick as a bar owner where everyone knows his name: Omar. The leads
work well enough in this dialogue-heavy screenplay by Maurice
Tombragel and Orville Hampton, but expect some amateurs in the
supporting cast.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Once
Officer Henry's character is established, one gets the distinct
feeling his days on the force are numbered. The apparent hit-and-run
accident he was investigating was simply a cover for an automobile
theft racket. Henry pays the price for getting too well-informed.
Castle, engaged to Henry's sister, is asked to infiltrate the gang of
pre-owned vehicles. The gang employs a tow truck driver</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">a
familiar face from his Warner Bros. days</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Frank
Jenks, who is suspicious of the new guy. Things really heat up during
the final aforementioned motorcycle pursuit. </span></span></span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0