RIP MEG MYLES 1934-2019

A popular 50's pin-up girl, singer and actress has passed away.

Meg Myles appeared in a couple of great film noir movies early in her career and they were "New York Confidential" and Phenix City Story".

She began her career in 1951 on the soap opera entitled "Search For Tomorrow" and then she was in "Guiding Light" the following year. After recording several albums and gracing many men's magazines she later starred in other soaps during the 80's including "The Edge Of Night" and "Young & The Restless".

Her role in the 1968 classic "Coogan's Bluff" is probably her most remembered work. She passed away on Nov. 16th, 2019...just two days after her 85th birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Zoe Bell is 41, Daisy Fuentes is 53, Gordon Lightfoot is 81, and Lynn Stalmaster is 92.

OZARK SHARKS 2016 (MILL CREEK)

Shark week continues with a rather bizarre entry.

I am fully convinced that the SYFY network was created to destroy the horror genre, or at least give it a bad name.

Misty Talley directed this film about bull sharks infiltrating the freshwater system and raising havoc in Arkansas. The sharks invade a small town's fireworks festival and that is where the most fun begins in this film.

The special effects are typical of this kind of movie from SYFY..in other words they suck. The leading actress is Allisyn Ashley Arm and she plays her role so low key you'd think she was on something to calm her nerves.

I can't really say too much more about this film without becoming redundant but suffice to say if you feel the need to see every shark movie that SYFY has produced, then you'll want to see this one...otherwise you may be wise to pass on it.

If you have 87 minutes and you don't care what you do with the time then check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Clu Gulager is 91, Joanna Pettet is 77, and Barbara Leigh is 73.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER SHARKS 2017 (MILL CREEK)

"Shark Week" continues with this utter snoozefest.

Easily one of the most boring movies I have seen involving sharks. This film concerns a group of locals who must stop an attack by sharks at a fish rodeo on the Mississippi.

They are helped in this task by a visiting actor who has been in a series of successful shark movies. That is the plot and entire story that is supposed to keep this story moving for 87 minutes.

The shark attacks are all done with CGI, of course, and they look very bad. The acting is something I cannot even talk about. I can usually forgive some bad acting, but this really goes over the top.

Directed by Misty Talley for the SYFY network, this stinker is best left as shark bait. I wasted 90 minutes of my life watching this and I hope you don't get the same pleasure.

Sorry, I just didn't like this film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Yaphet Kotto is 80, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad is 74.

GHOST SHARK 2012 (MILL CREEK)

Over the next few days I am going to be doing "Shark Week". Why? Because I am crazy that's why.

There are a ton of rotten shark movies out there and we are going to look at a few here in the next few days. The films are of varying quality of course, and they a bizarre lot indeed.

This is a film called "Ghost Shark" and it starts out with a couple of people fishing on a boat that are involved in some sort of contest to catch the biggest fish.

A shark swims by and eats their catch and costs them $35,000 so they set out to kill it, and kill it they do.

Now, the ghost of that shark seeks revenge on a small community called Smallport. As if this wasn't already stretching my mind to the max, it's how the shark gets revenge that really put my mind and suspension of disbelief to the test.

It seems that ghost shark can travel thru drain pipes, water hoses and anything else. We see the shark kill a plumber by pulling him into a sink faucet and several kids are killed using their slip n' slid toy as the shark comes thru the outside faucet.

There are so many incredibly stupid scenes in this film, but that is it's one saving grace. At least it makes it interesting to some degree. The film moves along at a good pace, but the human mind can only take so much.

The only cast member I knew was Richard Moll as Finch, a local alcoholic loony who knows about ghost sharks!!! If you're in the mood for brain dead film making you might enjoy this. It's better than some I have seen, but not many. Some of the women in bikinis look great, but that does not make this a good film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sandahl Bergman is 68, and Kathleen Hughes is 91.

RIP VIRGINIA LEITH 1925-2019

The leading actress of one of my all time favorite films had died.

Virginia started her acting career in the 1953 film "Fear And Desire" and then appeared in "Violent Saturday" and many more.

Leith never became a major star, but does leave behind a small but impressive list of credits. Among people here her most remembered role was that of Jan Compton, the living head in a pan in the classic presentation of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die".

A very beautiful woman whose sultry voice always caught my attention, I usually tried to catch anything movie she was in, or TV show she appeared in. Leith passed away on Nov. 12th at the age of 94.

RAMBLINGS...

I am going to have a rant here.

Coming up on Nov. 14th Fathom is presenting 5 episodes of the original Twilight Zone TV series on the big screen in theaters across the country.. This promises to be a great event and one that I will attend and talk about here in a few days.

However it NEVER ceases to amaze me that the articles I read about it are all turned into political Trump bashing. I cannot figure out why the insane media is so adamant on dividing people. There are millions of fans of this show here in the USA alone, and I have read two articles that are nothing but anti Trump messages in disguise.

First off I am well aware that most people who have ever worked in the movie business are liberal or just plain stupid. Everyone has an opinion and that is fine, but why turn everything, especially an article abut such a wonderful show into a hate article? I get messages all the time from liberal nuts out there and I refuse to publish them because this blog is about MOVIES NOT POLITICS except this rant, which is well deserved.

It is disappointing that the media cannot see past their liberal bias even for an article of this flavor. Frankly I don't care about these people's politics dead or alive. Just because these people are liberal does not mean that I won't watch old TV shows and movies or listen to their music. These are my passions in life and I can get past the anti Trump nonsense, I just wish others could.

Rod Serling was a very creative man and it's sad to read stupid comments by his daughter about Trump. A very sad day in America that's for sure.

However, I will still attend the showing and enjoy it to the max and as much as I detest liberals, I certainly will not be watching any of these episodes and thinking about Socialism or all the other brain dead garbage they spew.

I hope every Twilight Zone fan will get a chance to attend this great little get together, have a good time and enjoy the episodes for the wonderful things they are...great stories from a great writer. End of rant.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Tracy Scoggins is 66, and Tom Atkins is 84.

DEEP SPACE 1988 (SCORPION) BLU-RAY

I have waited a very long time for this to get any kind of DVD release, and finally it has arrived.

This is one of my favorite Fred Olen Ray films that I watched many times when I owned the VHS many years ago. It's bizarre, but a hell of a lot of fun.

An American satellite returns to Earth and a new bio weapon is on board. It starts to re-activate and there lies the problem. Two teenagers find the crashed remains and are torn apart by a strange life form that escapes from the capsule.

Policemen Ian McLemore (Charles Napier) and Jerry Merris (Ron Glass) are assigned to the case by their boss Captain Robertson (Bo Svenson). Both men dig into the case are soon find themselves stopped by Government agents who are trying to destroy their creation and keep everything a secret at the same time.

Michael Forest has a great role as Hawkins, a government stooge who is always trying to stop Ian and his partner, but never succeeds.

The monster is a little like the creature from "Alien" but way more bizarre with thousands of teeth and body snapping tentacles. There are also two smaller creatures on the run in the film and one kills Merris in his home while McLamore deals with the other one with a baseball bat.

There are a lot of bizarre set pieces in this film including McLemore seducing a beautiful young female police officer named Carla Sandbourn Ann Turkel) by playing the bagpipes after a bargain basement dinner. I might try this someday and see if it works....lol. There are some gore effects, and when Ian fights the monster with a chainsaw you really see the blood fly.

Anyway, this is a fun film and the rest of the cast includes Julie Newmar, James Booth, Norman Burton, Peter Palmer, Anthony Eisley and Fox Harris. The Blu-ray looks beautiful and I am very grateful to Scorpion for turning it out. You'll never see this film in better quality, and I do consider it a top release of the year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Valerie Leon is 76, and Rhonda Shear is 65.

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 1950 (WARNER)

I wrote abut this movie many years ago and since I saw it again on DVD a few days ago, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to post something more about this great film noir classic.

John Huston directed this film that at the time of it's release flopped and yet has, over the years, garnered a cult following and is now recognized as a modern American classic.

Sterling Hayden stars as Dix Handley, a small time crook who is always in trouble with the law. A criminal mastermind named Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) is released from jail and immediately seeks other for the largest criminal heist in history.

Dix is chosen as well as Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso). Crooked attorney Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern) offers to hide the entire stash of diamonds and other jewelry and then dispose of it for everyone.

The heist goes off, but not as planned when Ciavelli is shot and Dix is wounded. From this point on, nothing seems to ge right as everything comes unraveled. Alonzo is planning to keep all the jewels with the help of his friend and private detective Bob Brannum (Brad Dexter). He needs the money because he is broke and yet must take care of his very young mistress, Angela (Marilyn Monroe).

There are a hell of a lot of double crosses and back stabbing in this film and we are shown a lot of the characters and their hangups. What I mean by this is Doc is arrested while watching a young woman dance in a bar,and that is Doc's one hangup...young women. Alonzo has a loving but sickly wife but he would rather pay attention to a beautiful young mistress named Angela. These are the kinds of faults that bring the characters to a violent end.

This is a film that shouldn't be missed and is also available on Blu-ray from Criterion. I haven't seen that version yet, but someday maybe. The rest of the cast includes Jean Hagen, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence and Barry Kelly.

The ending to the film is a bittersweet one of loneliness, despair and long harbored love. It's a classic all right. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jill Whitlow is 56.