CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD 1973 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

The terrific follow up to the original Cleopatra Jones.

Once again gorgeous Tamara Dobson is Cleopatra Jones, and this time she is kicking ass in Hong Kong.

Cleo is trying to find the head of a very large heroine ring run by a mysterious and very cruel woman known as The Dragon Lady (Stella Stevens). This Lady is also holding two of Cleo's childhood friends captive after they have been caught during a drug turf takeover.

Jones is helped in Hong Kong by a lovely young female agent named Mi Ling played by Ni Tien. There is a ton of action in this film, and it's colorful settings are a treat for the eye.

Dobson is simply stunning in her exotic and beautiful wardrobe. In her climactic battle with Stevens she really shows what she has got.

Sir Run Run Shaw produced this film and it has all the earmarks of a great chop socky flick. Fists and feet fly fast and furious and the spectacular destruction of the Dragon Lady's casino is a true work of film art.

I highly recommend this little gem of the blaxploitation field.

REMEMBERING TAMARA DOBSON 1947-2006

Tamara was taken much too early at the age of 59.

One of my favorite actresses of all time, she was tall at 6'2", black and beautiful and most of all a VERY talented lady.

Dobson appeared in a few films in her brief career, most notably "Cleopatra Jones" and Cleopatra Jones And The Casino Of Gold".

In both of these films Dobson ruled the screen with her persona, height and fantastic good looks. I have never seen her in anything I didn't enjoy and it was a shame when she passed away from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at a young age.

She was born in Baltimore on May 14th, 1947 and died there on Oct. 2nd, 2006. To me she was always one of the best and I think she has been severely underrated by most film fans and critics.

Thanks Tamara for the wonderful memories you have left this movie lover over the years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Yutte Stensgaard is 71.

THE DISMEMBERED 1962 (GARAGEHOUSE) BLU-RAY

This film was made back in 1962 and never got a release until now.

Not too bad mixture of crime, horror and comedy in this ultra rare black and white indie shot in Philadelphia.

Three men rob a mansion of jewels and escape in an ambulance. They make their way to an old abandoned house which just so happens to be where 5 ghosts live.

The ghosts decide to kill the men in "the most horrible way imaginable". One by one they meet their fate, and the head gangster also happens to keep seeing a mysterious young woman who vanishes when she wants.

The first man is tied up and drowned, the second is killed by a crawling hand, and the third...well his fate is pretty cool, and I'll let you see the film to discover what it is.

Directed by Ralph Hirshorn and left unseen for 54 years, this little film finally gets to the light of day on a beautiful Blu-ray transfer from the directors 16mm print. The title on the film is "Oswald, You Botched It Again".

I enjoyed this 64 minute film and while it may not be for everyone, it is nice to see something so rare get a chance to finally be seen. The disc also includes a bizarre short from the same director entitled The End Of Summer (1959). That is one bizarre 11 minutes.

All in all this is another essential if you are into obscure horror films and regional ones. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Senta Berger is 76, and Zohra Lampert is 80.

RIP GEOFFREY BALEDON 1924-2017

A top notch British character actor.

Most people probably are not familiar with his entire acting career, but horror fans knew Baledon very, very well.

He acted in hundreds of films but his most memorable, at least in my opinion was in the 1972 shocker "Asylum" where he portrayed Max the orderly in an insane asylum. His laugh still echoes with me to this day as he strangles and kills a visiting doctor.

Other genre films Baledon acted in where "Horror Of Dracula", "Tales From The Crypt", and "House That Dripped Blood".

In any film he was in, you never forgot the character he played. He died in England at the age of 93.

T MEN 1947 (CLASSIC MEDIA)

Hard hitting Anthony Mann film noir.

Dennis O' Keefe and Alfred Ryder star as two Treasury agents who go undercover to stop a counterfeit money ring.

O' Keefe is Dennis O' Brien and Ryder is Tony Genaro. Both men use phony names to infiltrate the criminal empire, and they find both their lives in danger every step of the way.

Genaro is seen by his wife and she accidentally blows his cover, and, of course, he pays for it with his life. This scene is played out in one of the most intense ways I have ever seen in a film noir, and once seen you never forget it.

O' Brien is left alone to stop the crime ring and he is almost caught on several occasions. The action is hot and heavy until the final stunning conclusion.

Wallace Ford also stars as a character called The Schemer and it is his sleazy presence that almost gets O' Brien killed.

Film noir doesn't get any better than this and I cannot recommend this enough. The supporting cast also includes many familiar faces in these kinds of films including Charles McGraw, Mary Meade, Jane Randolph, John Wengraf and June Lockhart.

If you like this kind of movie, I suggest you add it to your collection. It's essential viewing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Holly Valance is 34, and Yvonne Furneaux is 89.

RIP MICHAEL PARKS 1940-2017

A great character actor has passed away.

Parks acted in a lot of movies I enjoyed including "Kill Bill", "Grindhouse" and the first movie I ever saw him in "Distant Early Warning" on ABC.

His career started in 1960 and lasted 57 years. He is most remembered for his later work with Quintin Tarantino which introduced him to a younger audience.

He appeared in TV shows such as "Walker, Texas Ranger", "Hart To Hart" and "Twin Peaks". He was 77.

RIP KEN MILLER 1931-2017

Actor remembered by 50's monster fans has passed away.

Ken Miller may not be a familiar name to some, but anyone who has watched "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" or "Attack Of The Puppet People" knows Miller.

Over his long career he appeared in other films such as "Touch Of Evil", "This Rebel Breed" and TV shows such as "Official Detective" and "B.L. Stryker".

His role in Teenage Werewolf will always be remembered by monster fans from the 50's. His character of Vic sings a song and then is beaten up by Michael Landon's character of Tony. Good stuff.

Ken passed away from pneumonia on May 9th at the age of 85.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Darren Matthews is 49.

HOUSE ON SKULL MOUNTAIN 1974 (MGM)

Interesting and different voodoo thriller.

This is a pretty cool "blaxploitation" film about a voodoo priestess who dies and the four people who are called to her house for the reading of her will.

The four have never met before and soon all of them are at the mansion. Beautiful Janee Michelle stars as Lorena Christophe, one of the people who have gathered at the house.

Soon they begin to die one by one from mysterious circumstances with a voodoo symbol next to their bodies. Victor French is Dr. Andrew Cunningham, a man who has studied voodoo and he tries to save the others, but all are killed and Lorena is picked as a sacrifice of the voodoo cult that is behind the killings.

This is not as famous of a black horror film as others i.e. Blacula, but it is fun and does have a rather bizarre and very interesting climax.

The rest of the cast includes Jean Durand, Mike Evans, Lloyd Nelson and Xernona Clayton. If you like "blaxploitation" horror films I could easily recommend this. I enjoyed it a lot.

THE MEPHISTO WALTZ 1971 (MGM)

I had never seen this film before and when the DVD came in I was pleased to have the chance.

The title is taken from a musical piece of the same name by Franz Liszt and is very fitting. Alan Alda plays a somewhat successful writer who is sent to interview the worlds greatest piano player, Duncan Ely (Curt Jergens). Alda's character of Myles Clarkson also plays the piano a bit and Ely encourages him to play more.

Gorgeous Jacqueline Bisset is the wife of Myles and soon she is swept into a web of very bizarre terror. It seems Ely is a Satanist who is dying and he wants to exchange souls with Myles so he can continue to play the piano and be young again.

This is accomplished and Myles goes on to great fame, but his wife notices a lot of differences in him, and soon people start dying including their young daughter Abby (Pamelyn Ferdin). Myles and his new lover Roxanne Delancey, who was also Ely's lover plot to have Myles' wife killed, but it doesn't work.

After a lot of investigation Bisset's character of Paula discovers what is actually happening and decides to try and stop it, but she fails, so she does the next best thing....and that is the very cool twist ending to this early 70's horror gem that was lost in the shuffle after Rosemary's baby was released around the same time.

I will not reveal anymore in case you haven't seen it, but I can recommend this to horror fans. The excellent cast in this Quinn Martin production directed by Paul Wendkos includes Barbara Parkins, Bradford Dillman, William Windom, Khigh Dheigh and Berry Kroeger.

This has also just been released on Blu-ray from Criterion. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Salome Jens is 82.

RIP QUINN O' HARA 1941-2017

The Scottish born sex kitten has passed away at the age of 76.

O' Hara started her acting career in 1956 on an episode of Dragnet and from there moved into films.

Her two most familiar film were the 1965 AIP horror comedy "Ghost In The Invisible Bikini" in which she played Sinistra, the very sexy daughter of Basil Rathbone's character Reginald Ripper. Her performance in that film is something I will never forget.

The other film is Larry Buchanan's "In The Year 2889" in which she starred as Jada, the ultra sexy girlfriend of a gangster. The film revolved around the last seven people left alive after an atomic war.

She had many, many TV appearances including shows like "Beverly Hillbillies", "The Fall Guy", "T.J. Hooker" and more.Quinn O' Hara may not be as well known as many other actresses, but once you saw her you never forgot her. She passed away on May 5th.