COMING ATTRACTIONS...

A couple of great little films coming to Blu-ray in 2020.

MVD is releasing the exploitation gem entitled "Nathlie: Escape From Hell" on July 14th. The cover art is a guaranteed seller. It's covers like this that make movies sell. It sold me...lol.

A young woman is imprisoned in a high class bordello while looking for a missing person. Jack Taylor stars along with Brigitte Lahaie.

And now the BEST news yet!!! Shout Factory has announced the 1959 horror/western classic "Curse Of The Undead" for a stunning 2K release coming later this year. No date yet.

I have waited for this to reach disc for years and now it is finally here!! Michael Pate stars as a gunslinger who also happens to be a blood sucking vampire. Kathleen Crowley and Eric Fleming also star.

ESPIONAGE IN TANGIERS 1964 (SHOUT TV)

A very well made spy film.

This was one of the most successful spy films ever made during the James Bond period.

Gregg Tallas directed this film about a secret agent named Mike Murphey (Luis Davila) who is assigned to stop a group of criminal;s from obtaining a super secret death ray invented by a professor.

Rigo Orie (Alberto Dalbes) is the head of the criminal gang and they intend to steal the ray and use it to control the world. There are tons of car chases, fist fights, gun battles and beautiful women to keep your attention for 98 minutes.

It's easy to understand why this film was a block buster in Europe at the time of it's release. It has everything. Perla Cristal and Ana Castor are two damn sexy babes in this film and they battle for the attention of Murphey.

This fast moving film goes into a bit of territory that the American Bond films did not, such as the spy actually enjoying killing his victims and slapping women around in order to get them to do as ordered.

However, the film is well made and was a joy to see. I had missed this on several occasions, but finally caught it on Shout TV. Highly recommended little spy film that holds up very well today. Look quickly for George Lazenby in a small role before he became James Bond for one film.

The rest of the cast includes Jose Greci, Tomas Blanco and Joe Camel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Carol Speed is 75, and Gregory Moffett is 77.

RAMBLINGS...

The world is a crazy place indeed.

For the last two weeks I have been inundated with insanity and it seems to be spreading. Let me explain.

All my life from as far back as I can remember I have been a fan of movies. Basically the older films as they provide entertainment, unlike most of todays garbage. However, this imaginary Coronavirus has really made me stop and think about a few things.

There are a lot of people who like movies...actually countless hundreds of thousands of people do, but I am beginning to think they take them way to seriously and the line between fantasy and reality has been blurred for many of these people.

What I mean is this.....people are taking this virus way out of the bounds of common sense. Many horror conventions have been cancelled, the NBA has cancelled things until further notice from what I understand and March Madness will be played in empty arenas. My question is why?

I can only surmise that people have been brainwashed by movies and the media to believe there is some deadly strain out there killing millions. This only happens in the movies and cannot happen in real life. I have been to some of these "fanboy" sights and am shocked to the point of nausea with their comments, which is why I NEVER join any of them.

These people seem to think what they see in movies is real and by God they are more than ready to put their entire lives on hold because of it. Ridiculous to say the least. As I said, this way of thinking is brought on by movies and the media.

I have never understood why people accept ANYTHING they are told without questioning it. I don't support the NBA or any college athletics, but those that do should stop their panic and go and enjoy life. We only get one shot at it and I don't believe in living in fear.

As for the horror conventions, it's a sad day when people who share a common love for genre films also share a common fear that a killer virus is loose. The only killer virus there will ever be was in such films as "Last Man On Earth" and many others of it's kind.

I will continue living my life and enjoying the things I enjoy without letting imaginary things destroy it. I hope some of you out there feel the same. Sad times indeed and there will be even more hysteria to come I am sure. Where I live, life continues as always.

MOTORCYCLE GANG 1957 (SHOUT TV)

Another AIP film I had never seen.

Edward L. Cahn handled the directing chores on this fun little film.

John Ashley stars as Nick Rogers, a young man recently released from prison after 15 months. He returns to his old motorcycle gang and finds it has been turned into a club that is too goody goody for him.

He immediately clashes with Randy (Steve Terrell), who Nick believes is responsible for sending him to jail. Both young men are attracted to a gorgeous woman named Terry (Anne Neyland) and she plays both of them for a while.

Randy has a goal of making a big race so he can earn enough money to get himself and his mother out of where they are living and into a better place.

Problems escalate as Randy and Nick continue to clash and all culminates in a final confrontation when Nick and his gang terrorize a small group of people in a small town and Randy and the police come to the rescue.

This is a very well made little film and Cahn handles the directing chores very well as always. Ashley lays the character of Nick as a total psycho, and he does it well...sometimes very well.

The rest of the cast includes AIP regulars Raymond Hatton, Russ Bender and Scott Peters. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer is third or fourth billed in the movie and it was one of his last films he made before his death at the age of 31. Look quickly for Paul Blaisdell in a small role as well.

I liked this film a lot and am very glad I am getting to see these via Shout TV. I do hope some of these get a blu-ray release someday as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Feldon is 87.

REFORM SCHOOL GIRL 1957 (SHOUT TV)

This is a fun little film it took me about 45 years to finally see.

Edward Bernds directed this classic AIP movie and it's a trip.

Lovely Gloria Castillo stars as Donna Price, a young woman living with her sleazy uncle (Jack Kruschen) who is always making movies on her. She escapes this misery by hanging out with some of her friends.

One night she is with a sometimes violent young man named Vince (Edd Byrnes) and she is involved in a murder when Vince runs over a pedestrian while speeding and drinking behind the wheel.

Vince makes Donna swear to secrecy about the incident and flees the scene. Donna is sentenced to a reform school and there she finds even more problems with certain girls there. He only solace comes from a young man she meets who comes to the fence everyday to speak with her.

Vince later tries to get Donna killed on the inside after he believes she has squealed on him. This is a good little film that moves along and never stops going.

Byrnes is perfect in the role of Vince, who is a homicidal madman with no feelings for anyone but himself. The rest of the cast for this gem includes Yvette Vickers, Ross Ford, Helen Wallace, Luana Anders and Nedson Booth.

I love American International Pictures especially from the 1950's and this is a shining example as to why they were leading the pack back in the day with movie making for young people at the drive-in. The print on Shout TV is beautiful and if you're a fan of JD films, I can easily recommend this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Nancy Kovack is 85.

TALES FROM THE TRENCHES 2019 EPISODE 9 FANTASY (SHOUT TV)

Roger Corman and his wife Julie talk about some very interesting films here.

The program starts off with "Sorceress" and how it was made to cash in on the tremendous success of other Sword and Sorcery films Corman had produced. He also taks about "Deathstalker" and how there was so much fan mail for a supporting actress named Lana Clarkson that he decided to make films starring her, and thus her legend was born. Smart move on his part.

"Warrior and the Sorceress", "Deathstalker 2" and "Wizards of The Lost Kingdom" are discussed next and even though all made a lot of money, Corman decided to stop making those kinds of films as he felt they were becoming repetitive.

Next is "Magic Voyage Of Sinbad" back in 1962 in which Corman took a Russian film and re-dubbed it for American release. It is a charming and colorful film that Corman's Filmgroup company turned out in the early 60's and it played on TV for years.

Julie Corman then talks about "The Dirt Bike Kid" and how Roger warned her that a family film would not be successful, and he was right, but it's release when VHS became popular made it a huge hit on cassette. Another made for VHS entry was "A Very Unlucky Leprechaun" which was another family film. Corman shot this in Ireland for the tax credit.

Lastly Roger talks about "Sting Of The Black Scorpion" which was a huge success and spawned a TV series for Showtime. The movie was shot for Showtime when Corman saw that there was a shrinking market for the distribution of low budget films.

All in all a very interesting episode.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sharon Stone is 62, Chuck Norris is 80, Shannon Tweed is 63, Venetia Stevenson is 82, Cynthia Brimhall is 56, and Ron Starr is 78.

RIP MAX VON SYDOW 1929-2020

Father Merrin has died.

One of the most versatile actors on the planet has passed away. In his spectacular 70 year career, Sydow appeared in every genre of film ever made.

In 1957 he starred in Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" and "The Seventh Seal". Both are simply great films in my opinion. In 1965 he played Jesus Christ in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" but greater fame was awaiting him.

Max Von Sydow went down in cinema history when he played the role of Father Lankester Merrin in the shocker "The Exorcist" in 1973. It is the role he is best remembered for by many film fans. He reprised the role in the sequel "The Exorcist 2" which was a bomb.

In later years he appeared in such films as "Flash Gordon", "Conan The Barbarian" and "Strange Brew". A mixed bag indeed, but this is exactly what a real actor does.

Von Sydow passed away on March 8th, 2020 at the age of 90. A long and illustrious career and an actor and gentleman that will not be soon forgotten.

X THE UNKNOWN 1956 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

I have waited for this title to be released on Blu-ray for a long time, and that time finally arrived.

This classic Hammer film stars Dean Jagger as Prof. Royston, a scientist who works with atomic radiation. After several soldiers are burned by a mysterious radiation that has emerged out of a strange fissure in the Earth he is called in to investigate.

There are several more people killed by burns and then there are several break-ins where large quantities of radioactive materials are stolen. Both the police and the Scottish Government are puzzled by the killings, until the cause of it all shows itself.

The creature is a mud-like substance that is actually a living creature from the bowels of the Earth that has slowly growing and is now seeking food above ground. A Government investigator named McGill (Leo McKern) aids Royston in trying to kill the monster.

This is a top notch story written by Jimmy Sangster and directed by Leslie Norman. The story flows perfectly and never slows down for a moment. Jagger and McGill play off of each other perfectly and the rest of the cast includes Edward Chapman, Anthony Newley and Michael Ripper. All do a great job in their respective roles.

This movie has never been available on DVD before and it is a sheer joy to see this finally arriving via Shout Factory. The picture looks very good and the disc also includes the original trailer, the World Of Hammer episode entitled "Sci-Fi" and a brand new documentary called "The Men Who Made Hammer" and this one is about Jimmy Sangster.

This is a great addition to any horror Blu-ray collection and if you like good sci-fi this is for you. Also I would recommend this for fans of the Hammer Quatermass series as the film is very reminiscent of "The Quatermass Xperiment" in many ways.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Trish Van Devere is 79, and Melina Perez is 41.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sue Ann Langdon is 84, Cynthia Rothrock is 63, Micky Dolenz is 75, Kathy Shower is 67, Silvia Tortosa is 73, and Carole Bayer Sager is 73.

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Monifa Jansen turned 27 on March 1st. How I missed this I have no idea.