DEATH FORCE 1978 (VINEGAR SYNDROME)

One hell of a movie.

Leon Isaac is a man who, along with his two friends are just out of Vietnam and headed home. They plan to steal a lot of gold first however. After the theft his two friends stab him and throw him overboard their boat and they think they have killed him.

He washes ashore on an island inhabited by two Japanese soldiers who are left from WW2 an they nurse him to health and teach him to use a sword like a samurai. Upon his return to civilization he finds his wife has been beaten and abused by his former friends and he soon begins to take very bloody revenge on all the gangsters of Los Angeles.

the incredibly sexy Jayne Kennedy is his wife. Jayne was always a very hot and sexy woman and she shows it in this film without even trying. No wonder I watched the CBS pre game football show on Sundays back in the late 70's and early 80's. She does her usual good job of acting here.

There are decapitations and other very bloody deaths and this Philippine made action film moves right along thanks to the very capable direction of Cirio Santiago, the undisputed King of Philippine action and horror films. The ending is quite a surprise and not one that I liked very well, but hey, that is how films are supposed to be.

If you like these kinds of films you'll love this. Vinegar Syndrome does a good job of bringing a very good print to DVD and action fans should be pleased. It is on a double feature with another Santiago film entitled "Vampire Hookers" which will be reviewed here shortly. Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Angie Dickinson is 82, and Marilyn McCoo is 70.

BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN 1969 (MILL CREEK)

Interesting war story.

This is a very well made film set in 1942 about Rommel and his attempt to capture Egypt and how the Axis forces lost again the British.

Michael Rennie is General Montgomery and Robert Hossein is Field Marshall Rommel. Both do very well with their roles and it is interesting to note that this was produced by Sergio Martino. It is based on true incidents and several real battles that took place in WW2.

There is plenty of gunplay, explosions and drama as the British forces fight to keep the Germans at bay. If you like these kinds of action films I would recommend this to you. The quality isn't the greatest but it is very watchable.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Erika Eleniak is 44, Anita Ekberg is 82, Lizabeth Scott is 91, and Jerry Lee Lewis is 78.

RIP KIM HAMILTON 1945-2013

A fine actress and one of the most beautiful women to appear on screen in my opinion has passed away at the age of 68, just four days after her birthday.

Hamilton appeared in many, many TV shows including a great Twilight Zone episode entitled "The Big Tall Wish" and one of my favorite Universal horror films, "The Leech Woman."

growing up in the 70's this lovely woman showed up on many of my favorite shows and will be missed.

WHEN THE GIRLS TAKE OVER 1962 (MILL CREEK)

Harmless fluff.

Strange comedy film about a dictator named El Maximo Toro, played by Robert Lowery who pretends to kidnap his sexy blonde lover who is the daughter of a millionaire played by Marvin Miller. This is to help him become the leader of a small republic named "Hondo Rico" which produces sugar.

Bizarre to say the least, this film really isn't the slapstick kind of funny, but it is mild fluff and good maybe for a rainy afternoon, which is when I decided to watch it. The credits say Technicolor, but the print I saw was black and white, but that makes no difference.

Jackie Coogan, Tommy Cook and James Ellison round out the cast. Not the best film, but not the worst either. If you're bored with nothing else to watch you might give it a try.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Naomi Watts is 45, Brigitte Bardot is 79, and John Sayles is 63.

LEGENDS OF MID-SOUTH WRESTLING 2013 (WWE)

Now this is what a wrestling set should be.

This is a long awaited set finally released by WWE which features some great matches from the 80's from a company i grew up watching...Mid-South Wrestling.

This is NOT "Sports Entertainment" as the idiots call it today. This was back in the days of compelling story telling, great angles, and top notch talent. Bill Watts ran the organization and knew how to cultivate talent. Included in this set are some classic matches including a Ghetto Street Fight between "Junk Yard Dog" and "Hacksaw" Butch Reed, Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling 2 vs. The Midnight Express, The Snowman vs. Jake Roberts and much more. Over 20 matches are included.

This cover the years 1981 thru 1987 and shows how this company rose to greatness. If you are a wrestling fan the memories will come flooding back and it is nice to see WWE release such a set. I can only hope they do more of the Mid-South wrestling very soon.

DEATHRACE 2000 (1975) (SHOUT FACTORY)

An all time classic!

David Carradine stars as "Frankenstein" the world best race car driver who is in the Transcontinental Road Race in which drivers pick up points by running over people.

Sylvester Stallone is "Machine Gun Joe Viterbo" the funniest character in the film and he does an excellent job. Some of the kills are gruesome but very quickly done so as to not gross out the viewer. Each driver has a co-pilot that takes care of their every need and Carradine had gorgeous Simone Griffith who is actually working for an underground organization that is planning on overthrowing the corrupt US Government and stopping the road race for good.

The rest of the cast includes Mary Woronov as "Calamity Jane", Martin Kove as "Nero The Hero Lonigan", Roberta Collins as "Matilda The Hun", Joyce Jameson as "Grace Pander" and "The Real" Don Steel as "Junior Bruce" and he is simply the greatest announcer in this film. I remember him from the 70's and radio in southern California. Look quickly for Leslie McCrea, John Landis, and Fred Grandy.

This is a very fun and entertaining film that never stop thrilling you or making you laugh.

GUNSIGHT RIDGE 1957 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Excellent western.

Joel McCrea stars as a Stage Line Agent named Mike Ryan who investigates a series of robberies in Arizona. The criminal behind all of the robberies is named Velvet Clark and is played very well by Mark Stevens.

Clark hides behind his respectable persona as a piano playing, easy going, but sometimes hot tempered man. The plot is full of twists and turns with McCrea coming very close several times to catching the criminal but always losing him.

Lovely Joan Weldon is the Sheriff's daughter and she really doesn't have a lot to do, but she does make a very sexy presence even in the old west setting. The climax is very satisfying and this movie as a whole should please any western film fan or McCrea fan in general.

Shout Factory did a great job with this and it is included in the Movies 4 You: Classic Westerns along with "Gun Belt", "Lone Gun" and "Ride Out For Revenge". Another set is due out later this year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Olivia Newton-John is 65, Christina Milian is 32, Lysette Anthony is 50, Donna Douglas is 80, Martine Beswick is 72,and Victoria Vetri is 69.

DRACULA'S DAUGHTER 1936 (UNIVERSAL)

The official sequel to Dracula.

This movie picks up right where the original Dracula left off and we see Van Helsing, played again by Edward Van Sloan be accused of murder.

Enter Jeffrey Garth, played by Otto Kruger who is a good friend of Van Helsing and tries to help him in his time of need. A mysterious woman named Contessa Marya Zeleska shows up and burns Dracula's body and then people start dying from blood loss and have two small punctures on their necks.

Zeleska tries to get Garth to helps her but his wise cracking secretary, played by lovely Marguerite Churchill makes sure that doesn't happen. The movie is an excellent example of the "less is more" technique and it works quite well. Holden is very good in her role as she really underplays the part of Zeleska.

Well made Universal film that never seems to get the attention it deserves.

RIDE OUT FOR REVENGE 1957 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Damn good western with a message.

Rory Calhoun is a sheriff who sympathizes with the Indians who are being forced off of their land by the Government. Lloyd Bridges is a Calvary Captain who is a coward and a liar as well as being very hot for the gold on the Indian land.

it was strange seeing Gloria Grahame in this film, but she does a good job with her role as a woman who loves Calhoun although his heart belongs to a pretty Indian woman named "Pretty Willow". The movie is more sympathetic to the Indians and their plight which makes it more interesting from that perspective.

After several murders and double crosses Calhoun manages to keep the bloodthirsty townsfolk in check as well as the Indians. The death of Calhouns' nephew is a shocker as you really never saw many children killed in fllms and the ending has the Indians leaving with a government escort and it's kind of a downer.

If you like westerns you will enjoy this and everyone in the cast is very good. The rest of the cast includes Joanne Gilbert as "Pretty Willow", rank DeKova, Vince Edwards and Cyril Delevanti. Shout has included this on the set entitled Movies 4 You: Western Classics along with "Gun Belt", "Lone Gun" and "Gunsight Ridge".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Heather Locklear is 52, Cheryl Teigs is 66, and Louisa Moritz is 67.

RAMBLINGS......

More time to ramble here. The last ramble I published was about the MST3K clowns and their silly and stupid comments they have sent me. Two people, one in particular said she really always liked the way I spoke...lol....and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for that comment.

Just a reminder that the annual "31 Days Of Halloween" is coming up again soon and there will be both new movie reviews and ones I have done before. The time passes quickly and it has been a very fast year full of both gains and losses. I appreciate all the comments people have sent to me about my last ramble for it seems I hit a chord with a lot of people.

It is nice to know that most people that read this have more than one brain cell.

FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE 2012 (WWE)

A must have for wrestling fans.

This is a three disc set hosted by Mick Foley and features some of the most violent "Falls Count Anywhere: fights in recent wrestling history.

Included in the set are such matches as an Alley Fight between Pat Patterson and Sgt. Slaughter which is still one of the bloodiest matches I have ever seen and I remember it from way back in 1981, a Falls Count Anywhere Death Match between Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow, and a Love Her Or Leave Her Greenwich Street Fight between Teat and Shane McMahon and many others.

This is a set in which you can really see how the business has changed over the last few years. I really enjoyed all of the matches including the women's match which pitted Mickie James against Melina, but the last few on this set really didn't impress me as the business had changed so much since the "good old days."

All in all still a recommended set for wrestling fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Stephanie McMahon is 37, April Hunter is 42, and Bert I. Gordon is 91.

BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE 1962 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

We revisit a timeless classic!!

Jason Evers plays a scientist whose lover is in his car when he has an accident and she is decapitated. He saves her head and keeps it alive in a basement while he then searches for the perfect body to put the head on.

In his country home the doc also has a huge monster in the closet that is a collection of his first mistakes while practicing skin grafting experiments and limb transplants. Virginia Leith hated this film so much that she refused to return for some post dubbing so they got another woman to dub the voice and it doesn't sound like her at all.

The film is a classic and anyone reading this probably already knows that. Love it or hate it, you gotta admit it's bizarre and one of the most bloody films of the period. This has been released in a beautiful version from Shout/Timeless and it really never looked better, and it is completely uncut. The disc also includes a clip of the figure model scene in the film, but this time she is nude. This scene was done for international markets. There is no sound for the 80 second clip, but it is very interesting to see it.

There is a very long story why this wasn't simply inserted into the film and released on DVD. One of which I won't go into. All in all a real pleasure to see it all. Also included on the disc are "Amazing Transparent Man", "Reptilicus" and "Neanderthal Man".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Mickey Rooney is 93, Maren Jensen is 57, and if he were still with us today, Santo, the greatest masked Mexican wrestler ever would be 96.

LONE GUN 1954 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Good western with a great cast.

George Montgomery stars as Cruze, and man who is appointed sheriff of a small town after standing up to the Moran brothers. The brothers kill a rancher while framing another man and they kill the jailer so the Sheriff seeks a posse to find them and bring them back for justice, only nobody wants to go so Cruze sets off to face them by himself.

the plot is very simplistic, but the film itself is very well done and the cast is top notch. Dorothy Malone is Charlotte owning, the woman who falls in love with Cruze. Douglas Kennedy and Neville Brand are two of the Moran brothers and are perfect in their roles. Kennedy was always a favorite of mine.

If you like westerns you'll love this film. Well acted, well directed by Ray Nazzaro and beautiful color phtotgraphy. Shout Factory released this on the Movies 4 You: western Classics along with "Ride Out For Revenge", "Gunsight Ridge" and "Gun Belt". Recommended!

NEANDERTHAL MAN 1953 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Fun Saturday afternoon monster film.

A hunter claims to have seen a tiger with tusks running loose in the mountains and nobody will believe him. Soon a state University zoologist arrives to investigate and he uncovers much more than he ever thought.

It seems a scientist, Clifford Groves, has created a serum that can actually transform man back into his primordial state and he has created a living Saber-tooth Tiger and can turn himself into an ape-like man. The zoologist is played by Richard Crane and Groves is played by Robert Shayne. Both are good in their roles, especially Shayne who after he has been laughed at by his colleagues seems to become completely unhinged.

The very lovely Joyce Terry, whom I have very little information on plays Shayne's daughter and the seriously underrated Tandra Quinn plays the housekeeper whom Shayne has experimented on in the past. This was Quinn's last film an that is a shame as she was a very beautiful woman. Look quickly for Beverly garland in a small role as a waitress at a cafe who is attacked by the crazed ape man.

It's great to see this finally show up on DVD and it looks very goo from Shout/Timeless. This is included on the set Movies 4 You: More Sci-Fi Classics which also includes "Amazing Transparent Man", "Reptilicus" and "Brain That Wouldn't Die". Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Catherine Oxenberg is 52, Toni Basil is 70, and Debbie Boone is 57.

PROPHECY 1979 (PARAMOUNT)

An underrated classic.

John Frankenheimer directed this wonderful little film about a lumber company whose mercury gets into a local water system and starts to mutate the wildlife in the forest. The result is huge fish and tadpoles, wildlife going crazy and a huge mutant bear-like monster that is still damn scary to this day.

Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire are a couple from new York who travel to Maine to fin out what the trouble is, and they find out in a big way. The Indians and the lumber company are at odds and people are being killed by the mutant bear in growing numbers.

The tension builds slowly and soon everything comes down to a battle of survival between the mutant and a few survivors. The rest of the cast is excellent including Armand Assante, Richard Dysart and Victoria Racimo. Critics tore this film apart and there was no reason to. It is exactly what is it supposed to be...an entertaining monster movie. When I first saw it, it blew me away and it still does.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Rebecca Balding is 58, and Sharon Ceccatti is 57.

GUN BELT 1953 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Good western with George Montgomery.

Montgomery stars as Bill Ringo, a reformed gunfighter whose brother escapes from jail and tries to get him in on a big job, but Bill refuses.

John Dehner plays Matt Ringo, the escaped con who tires to convince his brother to help hm steal a large amount of cash being transported by Wells Fargo. After a few initial attempts to change his mind fails the brother uses other, more vile methods including blackmail.

Dehner plays the role well and his cohorts are Jack Elam and Douglas Kennedy, both of whom are very good in the villain roles. Helen Westcott is Arlene Reach, the young woman that Montgomery loves and Tab Hunter is Chip Ringo, the son of Dehner who gets himself in a lot of trouble by trying to be a man way too early.

Not bad as far as westerns go and the color photography is wonderful. This is included on a set called Movies 4 You: Western Classics which also includes "The Lone Gun", "Ride Out For Revenge" and "Gunsight Ridge".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Asia Argento is 38, Sophia Loren is 79, JoAnna Cameron is 62, and Brinke Stevens is 59.