LIBIDO 1965 (TUBI)

A great Italian Giallo.

Shot in beautiful black and white, this tight film really delivers the goods.

The small cast has only 4 people in it. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Christian, a man who as a child, saw his father murder a young woman he had tied to a bed.

This has affected his entire life and he is afraid that he will become like his father, a killer. He and three other people go back to his family estate for what is supposed to be a getaway, but it turns deadly.

Christian's wife Helene (Dominique Boschero) accompanies him and his fried Paul (Luciano Pigozzi) and his sexy blonde wife Brigitte (Mara Maryl) to the estate.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this classic film and before you know it the murders start. Italian Giallo usually makes you think you know what is going to happen and then makes a complete 180 is a different direction, and this film is no exception.

Everyone meets bizarre death and I think the most disturbing is that of Brigitte. She is alive at the end of ther movie, but that will change in time. I will not give anything away in case you haven't seen the movie.

A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FILM INDEED!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Yvonne Lime is 89.

AMAZONS.VS. SUPERMEN 1969 (TUBI)

This is also known as "Super Stooges Vs. The Wonder Women", and it's one of the oddest films I have ever seen.

It's an Italian, Hong Kong and USA production which is an odd mixture in and of itself. It a comedy adventure film about 3 men with super powers getting in the middle of a war between a peaceful village and a powerful race of beautiful Amazons.

The dialogue and acting is bad, but I think all of this is deliberate because of the action on the screen. There is a lot of Kung Fu fighting and the women that make up the Amazon tribe are all hot looking babes.

The fact that this is an Italian film makes beautiful women no surprise at all.

Aldo Canti is the hero in this film which also stars Malisa Longo, Magda Konopka, Genie Woods, Kristen Gillie, Lynne Moody, Karen Yeh and Giacomo Rizzo.

If you're in the right frame of mind this will keep you amused. I liked it, but I have seen much better. I admit I watched it and only the women held my attention.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Billy Dee Williams is 87, Judi Bowker is 70, Roy Thinnes is 86, and Judith McConnell is 80.

FACE AT THE WINDOW 1939 (SINISTER CINEMA)

I know this is hard to believe, but this was the first Tod Slaughter film I ever saw.

This is set in the 1880's and is thick with gothic atmosphere.

There has been a series of brutal knifings attributed to a mysterious killer called "The Face" but it's also called a wolf man. The face that appears at the windows of victims is indeed all messed up.

Chevalier del Gardo (Tod Slaughter) is madly in love with Cecile de Brisson (Marjorie Taylor) and will do anything to obtain her as his bride. This includes setting up her lover to have him fired from his job and then framed for a murder.

However, the intended victim Lucien Cortier (John Warwick) is hard to pin anything on, so Gardo has him tied and thrown in the river, but that fails as well.

While all this is going on the Face is still killing and his bizarre howls are still heard in the village. Finally Cortier gets even with the madman Gardo, and all ends well.

Slaughter is always perfect for melodramatic overplaying of a character. This was a fast moving one hour film, and one I really liked. I guess I'll have to check out other Slaughter films as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Roger Corman is 98. Jane Asher is 78, Roger Davis is 85, and Agnetha Faltskog is 74.

NATASSA 1970 (TUBI)

Very well made film that when released in 1970 it was the highest grossing film in Greece for almost 3 decades.

Aliki Vougiouklaki stars as Natassa in this excellent film about a selfless patriot during WW2. The movie opens with Natassa visiting a concentration camp. That in itself is haunting.

After this she boards a train that is heading to her home, and we see her heartbreaking story in flashback. At the beginning of WW2 Germany has invaded Greece and Natassa runs into a German SS soldier named Max (Kostas Karras) whom she knows and kind of likes.

Max loves Natassa and the two have a kind of fractured affair until Max takes things too far and starts killing people in her village. Natassa meets a freedom fighter named Orestis (Dimitris Papamichael) and they fall in love.

When Orestis is wounded by the Nazi's and Max he kills some Germans, and before you know it both are on the run.

What follows is an amazing story of love, bravery and selflessness. There are a lot of shocking scenes in this film, and one of them is when Orestis is shot and killed by Greek freedom fighters who thought he was a nazi soldier.

This is also a very touching film in that we all know Natassa is very lonely and broken even after 2 decades of life after WW2. Her being broken is of course, caused by the loss of her husband Orestis (Yes they do marry in the film and it's a scene you won't soon forget) and the brutal tortures she endures at the hands of the Nazi guards. This is a GREAT film and I think everyone should see it.

It's dubbed into English and I have to say Aliki makes a very attractive Greek soldier.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Simone Griffeth is 74.

RIP LYNN LORING 1943-2023

I just got his information.

Lynn Loring was married to Roy Thinnes from 1967 to 1984. She was a writer, producer and actress.

She appeared in TV shows such as "The Invaders" and movies such as "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun", "Black Noon" and "Horror At 37,000 Feet" all of them starring Roy Thinnes as well.

Loring passed away on December 23, 2023 at the age of 80.

LION OF ST. MARK 1963 (TUBI)

Not too shabby of a swashbuckler.

This is set in Venice in 1620. It seems pirates attack the city once a week and nobody has been trying to stop them.

One night during a party the pirates attack and steal the guests jewelry. or at least try to. One man on hand is named Manrico (Gordon Scott), and he makes a fool out of several pirates during an short fight.

He then vows to protect the city from these attacks, and slowly he gains an army and the name "Lion Of St. Mark". He also has help from a good friend named Jandolo (Rik Battaglia).

Manrico falls for a lovely female pirate, Rosanna, played by Gianna Maria Canale. They keep their romance a secret for a while. but soon the wrong people find out and Manrico must fight for his country and his the heart of a woman.

This is a beautifully shot film and the colors really standout. The cast is superb and know how to handle the material. The only problem I have with this movie is the running time. It run about 106 minutes and there isn't enough to keep it from dragging at times.

However, this is a small problem that really shouldn't steer you from seeing this adventure film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eric Braeden is 83, Jennifer Rubin is 62, and Lamberto Bava is 80.

SPOOKIES 1984 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

This is a film I have long wanted to see, but never had the chance.

This hs a very typical 80's horror film, and it is made up from two different movies as one can easily see when watching.

The very short plot line you see everywhere says it's about an evil sorcerer living in an old mansion with his dead wife and he hopes to use the life force from some people who get lost and arrive at the house to bring his wife back to life.

Yeah...ok. The mixing of these two films ends up having it make no sense whatsoever, but it still is a really fun film if you can get by the "what the hell plot".

The creature effects are great for such a low budget film, and I think the most bizarre one is the "Spider Woman" which comes across as really creepy and scary.

The Muck Men are ok creatures, but the other standout is The Grim Reaper. I am amazed at how well done everything is. It's a shame this was intercut with another film called "Twisted Souls".

The presentation is beautiful and I am glad this finally made it's way to Blu-ray. A real curio and well worth seeking out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lindy Booth is 45.

RIP BARBARA RUSH 1927-2024

One of my greatest young man crushes has died.

Barbara Rush started her acting career in 1950 and appeared in almost every genre of movie and TV show. I loved her in everything I saw her in.

I was first introduced to her in the 1953 sci-fi classic "It Came From Outer Space" and the love affair started. I looked for her in everything I could.

She ios best known for her role on the above mentioned movie but she also starred in "When Worlds Collide", "Black Shield Of Falworth", "Bigger Than Life", "Moon Of The Wolf", "Eyes Of Charlie Sands" and many, many more.

Her television appearances were too many to mention them all, but she was in "Night Gallery", "Outer Limits", "Ironside", "Streets Of San Francisco", "Matt Houston" and "Fantasy Island" just to name a few.

Barbara Rush passed away on March 31st, 2024 at the age of 97.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Heather Young is 79, Jonathan Haze is 95, and Traci Lind is 56.