RIP GEORGE KENNEDY 1925-2016

One of the greatest actors of my generation has died.

George Kennedy, a man who made hundreds of movies and TV appearances has passed away at the age of 91. He just turned that age 11 days ago.

Kennedy appeared in such films as "Cool Hand Luke", "The Terror Within", "Creepshow 2", "Naked Gun! From The Files Of Police Squad" and the very bizarre "Demonwarp."

His career started in 1956 on the Phil Silvers Show and his last appearance was in The Gambler in 2014. he had a very wonderful 58 years career and in my opinion he never gave a performance that was bad.

He died of natural causes here in Boise, Idaho. RIP my friend.

RANA LEGEND OF SHADOW LAKE 1981 (DVD-R)

Bill Rebane brings us an old fashioned monster film.

The monster in question is a frog-type monster that lives in a lake in Wisconsin. A man relates the story of his youth with his father and how he came to know the beats existed in the first place.

Indians used to worship the monster as a God and it is believed that the monster also protects a large stash of gold. Three men attempt to steal the gold and are killed in horrible fashion such as being torn apart or having their face smashed into a tree trunk.

The ending of the film leaves it open for a sequel. Now, I happen to like this film, yet I really can't define why. It is Rebane's homage to "Creature From The Black Lagoon" and it is super low budget with a no name cast, but something always makes me like this film. It could be that I am a real fan of regional horror films.

I hope this makes it to DVD or Blu-ray someday besides the silly Troma release it got a while back. If you are lucky enough to run across this title I suggest you check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Ken Foree is 68, and Susan Sennett is 64.

CURSE 2: THE BITE 1989 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

An old fashioned monster movie...sort of.

I had forgotten how much fun this film was, especially in the last 20 minutes or so. J. Eddie Peck is a young man who is bitten on the hand by what first appears to be a regular snake.

He is treated by a local man and released, but soon bad things start to happen. he begins to feel sick, has a very short temper and even slaps the hell out of his girlfriend Lisa (Jill Schoelen).

Soon things get even worse as his hand mutates. It was a radioactive snake that bit him so his hand is slowly changing into a huge snake head that kills people. In a desperate act he actually cuts off the hand, but it grows back and he also starts throwing up snakes of all kinds.

The final 20 minutes are a special effects extravaganza from artist Screaming Mad George, and it will hold your attention. A lot of bad raps have been given to this film, but it isn't as bad as most people say. Yes, there are plenty of plot loopholes, but what the hell, it's a movie to be enjoyed.

It has no relation to the film entitled "The Curse" but it is on the same Blu-ray. This is a recommended film from me anyway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Cristina Raines is 64, and Mimsy Farmer is 71.

THE CURSE 1987 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

Interesting 80's horror/sci-fi.

An often overlooked 80's horror film. Nathan Crane (Claude Akins) is a religious fanatic who is trying to hold his farm business together and raise his family. Nathan is very brutal to his adopted son Zack (Wil Wheaton) and he never shows his wife any affection.

The oldest boy is an annoying fat slob who always torments Zack and enjoys watching him getting abused. One night a huge meteor crashes on the farm and before you know it, everything is growing and becoming fruitful.

Before long certain family members start acting weird and the animals begin attacking people. Zack thinks it is something in the water so he tales water from a neighbor who isn't on their well and shares with his sister. All of the vegetables and fruits are infested with worms and other sick things.

Their mother develops facial sores and then goes completely crazy. Nathan refuses to let her go to a doctor because he believes it's God who is punishing her and the rest of them. Zack and his sister are the only normal ones left, an they make a plan to escape while their family mutates into hideous monsters.

This is a loose adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft tales "The Colour Out Of Space". Producer Ovidio Assonitis has stated that this film was inspired by the farm "crisis" in the 80's. David Keith does a good job directing.

This film looks great on Blu-ray. I have always been a fan of this film and it has been a long time since I saw it, and now thanks to Shout Factory it is again available. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Van Williams is 82, and Rosanna Yanni is 78.

THE MALTESE FALCON 1941 (TCM VIEWING)

One of the most famous films ever made.

Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade in this classic film noir. Spade is a private detective who takes on a case involving a couple of very odd criminals, a compulsive liar and a very valuable statue.

Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo and Sidney Greenstreet as Kaspar Gutman steal the show as the two work together perfectly. Elisha Cook, Jr. has an unforgettable role as Wilmer Cook, a cold blooded killer who, when he meets Spade want to kill him immediately.

Mary Astor is Brigid, a compulsive liar and woman who also wants the priceless Falson for herself. This was John Huston's film directing debut, and it has since become a well known classic film.

Everything in the film work perfectly and the actors really make you believe in the roles they are playing. Bogart is in top form and so is the rest of the cast which also includes Gladys George, Barton MacLane, and Ward Bond.

This is simply how movies should be made. A top notch effort all the way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Marta Kristen is 71, Michele Carey is 73, and Fats Domino is 89.

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 1950 (TCM VIEWING)

John Huston directed this film noir gem.

Sterling Hayden stars as Dix Handley who has recently been released from prison. Dix is down on his luck so he is enlisted by another criminal named Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) to be a gunman in a heist of a million dollars in jewels.

Everything goes well in the actual robbery, but too many small mistakes and double crosses and everything comes unraveled and falls apart. Everyone involved in the robbery is either arrested or killed.

Dix is wounded by a cop who recognizes him and he desparately tries to get back to the family farm he remembers so well as a child. This is a very good and tight film that John Huston handles like a pro his first time out.

The cast also includes Jean Hagen as Dix's former girlfriend who still loves him, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore as Gus, John McIntire as the Police Commissioner, Marc Lawrence and Marilyn Monroe.

Just a damn well made film and one that shouldn't be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Ric Flair is 67.

NARROW MARGIN 1951 (TCM VIEWING)

First class film noir gem with a top notch cast.

Charles McGraw stars as a detective who is assigned to protect to wife of a slain mobster. She has to travel on train from the East Coast to Los Angeles to testify.

The mob is out to silence her, but they don't know what she looks like, and McGraw has his hands full when he meets her. McGraw's character of Walter Brown is one of anger and hatred for the world, especially after his partner is killed by a gunman at the beginning of the film.

This only intensifies when the woman, a Mrs. Frankie Neall, played expertly by Marie Windsor shows only contempt for Brown and his late partner.

The mob keeps moving closer and closer to killing Neall an it gets to be a rough job to keep her alive. The story takes place almost entirely on the train an this make for a very claustrophobic feeling. This is how film noir should be, and the rest of the cast is very familiar to noir fans. It includes Queenie Leonard, Don Beddoe and Jacquline White.

The twist ending will take you by surprise. Highly Recommended film!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Teri Weigel is 54.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Peter Fonda is 76, and Linda Cristal is 82.

CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN 1959 (KINO) BLU-RAY

One of my favorite monster movies from the 50's makes it's way to Blu-ray!!

Edward L. Cahn is one of my favorite directors, and he is the one who helmed this little gem. At an ancient digging site a body that is encrusted in lava is discovered along with a small treasure. Both body and treasure are taken to an Italian museum.

Scientists study the encased body and soon, much to their surprise they find it still lives and it's name was Quintillus Aurelius who was once an Etruscan slave. Several people are killed by the creature before he finds what he is really seeking, which happen to be a young woman named Tina Enright.

She is the reincarnation of a woman Quintillus loved in 79 B.C. when Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii.

I really love this little film, ever since I saw it as a child. The cast is very good and it includes Richard Anderson, Luis Van Rooten, Elaine Edwards and Adele Mara. The Blu-ray is flawless and this film really deserves to be on blu. Of course to me every 50's monster movie should be on Blu-ray.

If you get the chance check this little gem out and see what I am raving about. Excellent release by Kino.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Karin Dor is 78.

THE BLUE DAHLIA 1944 (TCM VIEWING)

A fine film noir.

Alan Ladd is Johnny Morrison, an ex bomber pilot who returns from the war and soon finds himself hunted as the suspected killer of his wife.

His two war buddies George Copeland (Hugh beaumont) and Buzz Wancheck (William Benddix, in an unforgettable performance) try to help him out when suddenly Johnny goes on the lamb and meets a young woman, Joyce Harwood, who picks Johnny up while he is walking in a downpour.

Joyce slowly discovers Johnny's plight and helps him whenever she can. In the meantime Johnny runs into many unsavory characters and it soon becomes apparent that his wife was killed because she was messing around with the wrong people. Buzz meanwhile has severe mental problems due to the steel plate in his head.

There are a lot of red herrings in the plot and that is what makes film noir so good. Ladd and Veronica Lake as Harwood make an exceptional team. I cannot recommend this movie enough. If you're a fan of film noir, this is a sure bet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

William Petersen is 63.

BUCKET OF BLOOD 1959 (COMCAST)

Always one of my favorites.

Dick Miller stars as Walter Paisley, a talent-less waiter who accidentally kills a cat and then covers it in plaster. He takes it to work, which is a coffee shop inhabited by beatniks who tell him he is an artist.

This leads to Walter accidentally killing a policeman who follows him home one night after a patron gives Walter some heroine, of which he has no idea what it is. Things get out of control as Walter is highly praised, but must come up with ways to keep the spotlight on him.

This is one of the three Roger Corman directed comedy/horror films which are the stuff of legend. The others are "Little Shop Of Horrors" and "Creature From The Haunted Sea".

I haven't watched this for a long time and since I did I figured I'd just do a small write up on here as well. Most of you have probably seen this and appreciate it for what it is. One of the best films Corman ever made.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Sidney Poitier is 89, Cindy Crawford is 50, Jennifer O'Neill is 68, and Gail Kim is 40.

RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND 1960 (TCM VIEWING)

Budd Boetticher directed this great gangster yarn.

Ray Danton stars as Jack Diamond a small time thief who wants much more out of life. After a brief stint in jail he decides to steal from thieves and slowly moves close to a gangster named Arnold Rothstein (Robert Lowery).

All goes well as Jack causes Rothstein so many problems that he hires him to be a bodyguard. Jack then slowly begins to move in on Rothsteins booze,drugs and women. Soon Jack "Legs" Diamond is running the show.

Simon Oakland is Lt. Moody, a policeman who is always one step behind Diamond. Elaine Stewart is the main woman who belongs to Rothstein and her name is Monica Drake. Diamond soon steals her and them dumps her as he does with most women. The gorgeous Karen Steele Alice Scott, a young woman who is constantly used by Diamond, but cannot help loving him.

One of the other standout performances goes to Warren Oates as Jack's younger brother Eddie. This is a gripping and totally entertaining film that will immediately hook you and keep you watching. Danton gives the performance of a lifetime and this should have made him a huge star.

It's also a kick to see Jesse White as a sadistic mob boss named Leo "Butcher" Bremmer, who is reduced to nothing by Diamond.

This is available from Warner Archive, and I would highly recommend you pick it up and watch a terrific film. The rest of the cast includes Judson Pratt, Frank DeKova, Joseph Ruskin and Dyan Cannon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Smokey Robinson is 76.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

George Kennedy is 91, Jillian Michaels is 42, Julie Strain is 54, Skin Diamond is 29, Lisa Comshaw is 42, Juice Newton is 64.

RIP VANITY 1959-2016

The singer whose real name was Denise Matthews has died at the age of 57.

The ultra sexy pop singer discovered by Prince had a great career in music starting with her best known hit "Nasty Girl" in 1982. She then formed the group Vanity 6 that toured with prince for a while.

She quit and went solo in the 90's and signed with Motown. She sadly battled a Crack addiction and after an over dose her kidney's were shot and she had to go thru almost daily dialysis. She eventually got off of the drugs and became a born again christian.

I always enjoyed seeing her weather in a music video or in movies such as "The Last Dragon" and "Action Jackson". A very sexy woman and a talent is gone way too young.

WHITE LINE FEVER 1975 (MILL CREEK)

Another well made drive in exploitation gem.

Jan-Michael Vincent stars as Carrol Jo Hummer, a young man just returned from serving in the Air Force who decides to enter into the trucking business after he and his wife buy a new rig.

He goes to get his first hauling job only to find the boss (Slim Pickens) wants him to haul contraband which Carrol refuses to do. This leads to a world of trouble as the company run by a man named Buck (L. Q. Jones in a great performance) decides to end Hummer's driving career before it starts.

Hummer is targeted for killing and after several attempts are made on his life other truckers soon join the fight. Buck tries to pin a murder on Hummer but to no avail.

Hummer decides to take matters into his own hands with the help of his trucker friends and all hell breaks loose. This is excellent drive in fodder and the action never lets up. Kay Lenz is Hummer's wife and the rest of the cast is also top notch. it includes Dick Miller, Don Porter, R.G. Armstrong and Martin Kove.

Jonathan Kaplan directed this fun film, and I highly recommend this to any movie fan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jane Seymour is 65, Sherry Jackson is 74, and Erika Remberg is 84.

SCREAMING SKULL 1958 (GAIAM)

It has been a long time since I saw this one.

A man (John Hudson) brings his new wife (Peggy Webber) to his mansion, the same one where his wife died under mysterious circumstances.

Soon this young woman is being haunted by the spirit of her husband's dead wife. Or so everyone thinks that until the gardener, a mentally handicapped young man named Mickey reveals the truth.

Director Alex Nicol pulls double duty here as he also plays Mickey. The ending is a pretty goodd one as Hudson gets his comeuppance in a very horrifying way.

This film has been on hundreds of DVD labels over the years and I wish it would get a Blu-ray release. However, this film is very effective and is a very passable thriller that most horror fans should like.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Meg Tilly is 56.

THE PHANTOM LADY 1944 (TCM VIEWING)

This is a wonderful little film noir.

Ella Raines stars as a young woman who risks her life to try and prove her boss didn't kill his selfish wife.

Alan Curtis is Scott Henderson, a business man who meets a strange woman one night in a bar. They see a show together and then part ways. When Henderson gets home he finds three detectives there and his wife has been murdered.

Scott tries to explain what happened, but he has no name for the woman and everyone the police talk to won't even admit the woman is real. Over time Scott is convicted and jailed, so his secretary Carol Richman sets out to prove him innocent. She is helped by the very detective who helped convict Scott and now believes he is innocent.

This is how film noir should be. It's dark and cynical, but does have it's light spots as well. All of the actors are excellent in their roles and the ending is pretty cool. Franchot Tone is at his best in a film like this. I recommend you see it if you can. One of the best of it's kind, but I sadly admit it has been somewhat forgotten over the years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Kim Novak is 83, George Segal is 82, Bo Svenson is 75, Carol Lynley is 74, Barbara Shelley is 84, and Roberta Vasquez is 53.