PLAYGIRL KILLER 1967 ( PLATINUM)

Great little psycho killer film.

William Kerwin stars as Bill, an artist who is trying to get the "perfect" beauty onto his artists canvas. The one problem Bill has is that the women all move.

The slightest movement causes Bill to go into a psychotic rage and kill the women! He kills one with a speargun in the opening scene and this pretty much sets up the entire film.

As he escapes from the police he happens upon a young, lovely woman who is staying at her fathers mansion, and Bill ecides to set up shop there after being seduced by the woman.

His killing gets worse and worse, but not to worry. Bill puts the bodies in a freezer and creates an even greater piece of art.

This is one bizarre film, but a hell of a lot of fun thanks to Kerwin and everyone involved. Neil Sedaka also stars as a singer named Bob who croons a tune called "Waterbug" early in the film.

This has been in my DVD library since the very early days of the medium and it has been about 8 years since I watched it. I found it had lost none of it's entertainment value for me over that time. Platinum was a company out of Wisconsin that turned out some very interesting stuff back in the early days of DVD, and this is one of them.

Highly Recommended viewing, and what an ending!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stephen Tobolowsky is 66, Michael J. Pollard is 78, Ted McGinley is 59, Ruta Lee is 82, Jennifer Ellison is 34, Deanna Lund is 80, and Jake Roberts is 62.

OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN 1983 (TCM VIEWING)

Film debut of Shannon Tweed.

Peter Weller stars as a rising executive who has recently remodeled his townhouse. He has a beautiful wife (Shannon Tweed) and a child, and seems to be stable and well off.

His wife and child take a short trip and almost immediately after they leave Weller's character of Bart Hughes finds he may have a rat infestation problem. His job keeps him so busy that he really pays no mind until things get even worse.

Exterminators are called, traps are set, but the rodent eats the traps and chews up the check left for the exterminator. It soon become apparent that Bart has a most unusual visitor to his home.

This is one of the most unusual films I have ever seen as far as man vs. rodent goes. Weller does very well as a man slowly driven to the edge of sanity by a highly intelligent rodent who is bigger than most rats and also likes to eat cats.

Everything in this film is so over the top and it actually works very, very well. This was actually my first time ever viewing this movie and it was a treat.

Director George Cosmatos handles the film very well and brings out the best in everyone involved. Tweed's character of Meg, the wife of Bart isn't really given too much to do in her film debut, but she looks hotter than hell and that is fine with me.

I found the end of this film a hoot and if you've seen it you will too. Recommended!!

REMEMBERING VINCENT PRICE...

Vincent price was born on May 27th, 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Price had a career that spanned 65 years and along with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, his movies helped shape my absolute love for horror that has been with me for almost 51 years.

He started his acting career in movies in 1938 and never looked back. He was an art collector and gourmet chef as well as one of the worlds greatest performers.

The first film I ever saw him in was "The Invisible Man Returns" on an afternoon movie way back in the early 70's. I loved him in that and from then on I tried to watch everything I could with him in it.

To be honest I have never seen a Price film I didn't like and some of my favorites of his include "House On Haunted Hill", "Last man On Earth", "Tower of London (1962)", "The Tingler", "House of Wax", "Haunted Palace" and "From A Whisper To A Scream".

Vincent Price died on October 25th, 1993. It was a time before the internet and instant information and I remember not even hearing about his passing until that night I came home from work and watched a documentary on his life and films, then at the end of the program it said "Dedicated to the Memory Of Vincent Price".

It hit me pretty hard as Price had always been a part of my life thru his films and TV shows. Another thing most people aren't familiar with is his flair for comedy. Nobody could do black comedy better than Price.

This is another great performer whose rich legacy of film has long outlived him and continues to entertain people like me and probably always will.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Sondra Locke is 73, Carroll Baker is 86, Shane Rimmer is 85, Glays Knight is 73, and Kevin Van Hentenryck is 64.

REMEMBERING CHRISTOPHER LEE

Christopher Lee was born on May 27th 1927 in London.

Lee has a career spanning almost 70 years and that is an incredible run.

I was first introduced to Lee in "Horror Of Dracula" and then countless other Hammer horror films throughout my childhood. As with Peter Cushing, a good friend whom he was teamed in many films, I discovered Lee's pre-Hammer works after VHS became so popular.

His deep voice and 6' 5" frame made his a perfect movie villain, and he essayed the role of Count Dracula 7 times. Lee's career in cinema is unmatched by anyone.

Some of my favorite films he appeared in include "Horror Of Dracula", "The Devil Rides Out", "Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors", "Curse Of Frankenstein", "Man Who Could Cheat Death", "Man With The Golden Gun", "Hannie Caulder" and "Dracula A.D. 1972".

Lee died at the age of 93 on June 7th, 2015, just 10 days after his 93rd birthday. He left us with a very rich legacy of films that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lee Meriwether is 82, Linnea Quigley is 59, and Natalie Neidhart is 35.

REMEMBERING PETER CUSHING...

Peter Cushing was born on May 26th, 1913 and became one of the worlds most popular actors.

I grew up watching Cushing in many Hammer Horror films which were a HUGE influence on me as a child. As a matter of fact Cushing was the first "Baron Frankenstein" I had ever seen in film.

His heroic Van Helsing in "Horror Of Dracula" was also a first for me. Only after these films did I get to see the original "Frankenstein" and "Dracula", but the character Cushing created has stuck with me all my life.

In later years as VHS became the new home entertainment boom, I discovered Cushing in many, many different roles and I have never seen one I didn't enjoy.

Cushing was also a rare actor in that he was a faithful family man who loved his wife and when she passed away he changed a bit as a big part of his life was gone. That is rare, especially among the "actors" today whom mostly sleep around.

People who read this blog will know Cushing's resume as far as films go and everyone has their favorites. My favorites of his long a distinguished career include "Horror Of Dracula", "Island Of Terror", "Asylum", "The Mummy", and "Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors".

Sadly Cushing passed away on Aug. 11th, 1994 at the age of 81 from prostate cancer. On that day the world lost a true acting legend and a damn nice guy to boot. However, his lasting film legacy just proves that Peter Cushing was simply one of the greatest performers in the world.

WAR OF THE ROBOTS 1978 (MILL CREEK)

Director Al Bradley strikes again.

Meliaas Longo, Yanti Somer and Giacomo Rossi Stuart headline the cast in this bizarre tale about alien invaders.

An alien race that is facing extinction kidnaps two Earth scientists to help the race develop genetically. Earth is forced to take action against the humanoid robots.

This film has the same cast as "Star Odyssey" as well as the same costumes and some of the same effects shots. If you watch the two films together it's hard to tell them apart.

Director Al Bradley is also known as Alfonso Brescia and his final film in this trilogy is "Cosmos: War Of The Planet" which again looks exactly like this film.

The Italians really tried to rip off Star Wars, but the budgets on these films are so pathetic that they don't even come close. What does happen though is a very bizarre drug induced trip into space with colorful costumes, laser light shows and sometime stilted dubbed dialogue.

If you like this kind of thing then I can recommend this no problem.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Pam Grier is 68, Stevie Nicks is 69, Ashley Massaro is 38, and Ingrid Goude is 80.

RIP JARED MARTIN 1941-2017

The actor most remembered as Dusty Farlow on Dallas has passed away.

Martin was also in The War Of The Worlds mini series as well as Silk Stalkings and appearances on shows such as The New Mike Hammer and many more.

His movie roles included Aenigma, The Sea Serpent and Mississippi Summer. I am sure genre fans will remember him from roles in such show as Night Gallery and is starring role in the 1970's TV series Fantastic Journey.

He was 75.

PLANET OUTLAWS 1953 (MILL CREEK)

This is the 1939 serial Buck Rogers edited into feature form for a release in the early 50's.

Buster Crabbe stars as Rogers who is an American soldier who crashes his ship and wakes up from suspended animation in the year 2500.

Here he finds an incredible world, but one still besieged by trouble. Rogers and his co-pilot Buddy who also was in suspended animation find themselves fighting an evil ruler named Killer Kane (Anthony Warde) who wants to rule the universe.

To edit a serial into a feature requires a lot of footage lost and what we have here is almost non-stop action and very little explanation. Perhaps that is a good thing. For being re-released in 1953 I do have to admit that even by 1953 this serial was dated and looks rather out of place.

Don't misunderstand, I love the 30's serials as they have a charm all their own, but I guess I don't understand the reasoning behind this re-release. It's fun to watch, and Buck Rogers is a favorite of mine, but I think I would prefer the entire chapter play as opposed to the re-edit feature.

The rest of the cast includes Constance Moore as Wilma Deering, Jackie Moran as Buddy, Philson Ahn, Kenne Duncan, and Reed Howes. I can recommend this is you're a serial fan. I know I am.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Leslie Uggams is 74, Ann Robinson is 88, and Reiko Ike is 64.

RIP DINA MERRILL 1923-2017

A very talented actress has passed away.

Merrill is best remembered by genre fans for her performance in "Batman" as Calamity Jane in 1968 in three episodes.

She appeared in hundreds of TV shows over her long career and some of those shows included "Ellery Queen", "Batman", "Mission Impossible", "Night Gallery" and many more.

She passed away at the age of 93 on May 22nd.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sybil Danning is 65.

RIP ROGER MOORE 1927-2017

My favorite James Bond actor is dead.

Roger Moore was James Bond to me and much better than anyone who ever played the character.

I was first introduced to Roger Moore thru his television series "The Saint" on TV back in the mid 70's and I liked his suave and sophisticated approach to the material and the title character.

Later I saw him in "The Spy Who Loved Me" which turned into my favorite James Bond film. All of the other Bond films he did were great in my opinion, but that one took the cake.

He made many TV appearances and everyone he did with class and style. He was born in Stockwell, England in 1927. He died in Switzerland on May 23, 2017.

RIP 007.

WARRIORS OF THE WASTELAND 1983 (MILL CREEK)

Strange but interesting Italian Road Warrior ripoff.

Giancarlo Prete is Scorpion, a loner who comes upon a woman being chased by a group of crazies known as The Templars. He rescues her and soon teams up with another loner named Nadir.

Both men find themselves defending a small colony of people from the Templars. It seems the Templar leader wants to wipe out all that is left of the human race. George Eastman handles this role excellently.

In case you haven't guessed this movie takes place in the future, in the year 2019 and if this is what we have to look forward to in a couple of years we are in trouble.

Fred Williamson turns in a good performance as Nadir the man who fights with Scorpion and very often has to rescue him for bad situations. The dubbing is awful, as is usually the case. There is plenty of action for fans of this genre.

Anna Kanakis as Alma is a standout and she will catch your eyes every time she appears on the screen. All in all not too bad of an action film. It could have been so much more, but then again, would we really want ti to be "much more"?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Barbara Parkins is 75, Richard Benjamin is 79, Marilyn Joi is 72, and Ashley Renee is 53.

STAR ODYSSEY 1979 (MILL CREEK)

One of many Italian "Star Wars" ripoffs.

The plot is pretty simple. Earth is attacked by an intergalactic madman and his robot army.

The robots wear silver uniforms and have the same bad blonde wigs on. The alien is on a quest to gather up slave stock for his planet.

One scene shows the aliens getting their slaves from Africa and i know this makes people a little bit nervous. But later it is said that people from other countries are being grabbed for slaves as well, so I guess that makes it better.

One thing I noticed is that in the opening credits the cast is presented in alphabetical order, which isn't true, but hey, I'm nitpicking.

the movie is full of bizarre costumes and gorgeous babes, so what more could you ask for? The print from Mill Creek is ok, but I do wish it was wide screen.

Director Alfonso Brescia, known as Al Bradley here in the states made three films which use the same costumes, effects and cast. Turn off your brain and enjoy this Italian trash.

ALIEN SPECIES 1996 (MILL CREEK)

Low budget, but entertaining B movie.

Charles Napier stars as Sheriff Nate Culver in this off the wall film about an alien invasion.

Two sheriff deputies are transporting two prisoners to another jail when they happen upon three people stranded on the road side. The three are Prof. Chambers (Hoke Howell), his granddaughter and another young woman.

At the same time aliens have begun an invasion of Earth and while they are destroying everything in sight and taking human and animal specimens aboard their ships the seven people in the police van have an accident and must find shelter in a rain storm.

Unknown to them, the cave they find is being used by the aliens as a headquarters. The monster costumes are very good and the alien spaceships are done strictly by computer and therefore lack a lot, but what can you do with a super low budget?

Napier and Howell turn in the best performances, of course as both are vets at this kind of stuff.

The people vs. monsters in a cave scenes are well done and it appears that is where most of the money went. This is included on many 50 pack movie collections from Mill Creek, and if you get a chance, check it out. It's really no better or worse than anything else turned out in this time period.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Joan Staley is 77.

COUNTERBLAST 1948 (MILL CREEK)

Pretty interesting film with tinges of sci-fi elements.

Mervyn Johns stars as an escaped Nazi doctor who kills a British doctor and impersonates him.

The reason he has done this is to work on an antidote for a deadly bacteria that the Germans want to try and use during the next war.

His plans work flawlessly until he falls for the young woman working as his assistant. He cannot have her, of course, and this causes him to lose sight of his actual project.

Johns carries the character perfectly and meets a demise worthy of the best film noir. The plot is very good and so is the acting as it depicts a world where a terrible war has just ended and it trying to put itself back together again.

The print from Mill Creek is awful, but watchable. I do wish the film looked a bit better and Mill Creek should get a better print. However, it really didn't detract once you get into the film.

This is an oddity I had never heard of and I did enjoy it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Nancy Kwan is 78.

WILLARD 1971 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

FINALLY the 70's horror classic is made available!

I can't see it possible that anyone reading this blog and it my age didn't see this in theaters when first released in 1971.

Bruce Davison stars as Willard Stiles, a rather spineless young man whose boss humiliates him at work, stole the business from Willard's father and Willard never speaks up or stands up for himself.

He lives at home with his bizarre mother (Elsa Lanchester) in a broken, decaying mansion. One day he befriends a rat family and begins to take care and raise them.

His two favorite rats are a white one named Socrates and a brown one named Ben. Before too long Willard has thousands of rat friends and he trains them to do his bidding. After his mother dies he begins having a relationship with a beautiful temporary office worker named Joan (Sondra Locke).

Willard uses his rats to help him steal money from a wealthy man, ruin his bosses (Ernest Borgnine) party raise general havoc. Ben and Willard constantly go against each other, and it appears that Ben has more of a mind of his own.

A Willard's life spirals down deeper he uses his rats to attack and kill his boss in a scene that is never forgotten when once seen. It still gives me the creeps even to this day.

Director Daniel Mann brings out the very, very best in a top notch cast which also includes Michael Dante, Jody Gilbert, J. Pat O' Malley, Joan Shawlee and Sherry Presnell.

The Blu-ray presentation from Shout is absolutely beautiful and it makes the film look like it was shot last week. I hadn't seen this film in 46 years, but as I watched it it all came flooding back. You know a movie is good if it sticks with you that long, and this is a damn good movie.

The film was thought lost for many years due to legal problems associated with Bing Crosby Productions and the fact that the original distributor, Cinerama Releasing went out of business.

Shout has to be commended for getting this film out once again and in a beautiful package. Extras include commentary from Bruce Davison, trailers, radio spots, stills and an interview with Davison as well.

Highly recommend film that is surely one of the top releases of 2017 and a very fitting film for my 6000th post!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Dwayne Hickman is 83.

THIS BLOG IS NOW 7 YEARS OLD....

It was on this day in 2010 that I first started and I cannot believe I am still doing it.

Back when I started this I had only one follower and not a lot of readers. I have increased both, especially the amount of people who access this blog and read it.

7 years later and 5998 posts and still going strong. I want to thank everyone who reads this, follows it and comments on it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Dawn Dunlap is 54.

BLACK SHAMPOO 1976 (VCI)

One of the oddest films I have ever seen.

A black hairdresser name Mr. Jonathan is very popular with the ladies and he has sex with as many of his clients as time will allow.

Suddenly he finds a mob boss is after the pretty young secretary he has working for him. Her name is Brenda (Tanya Boyd) and she is in love with Jonathan.

Thugs break into the business and wreck it as well as abuse some of the help. This sets off a chain of events in which Jonathan loses Brenda to the mob boss, but that doesn't last long as all is made clear a little while later.

The ending involving a small chainsaw and pool cues with have you, if you're like me, with you jaw hitting the floor. It's one of the wildest ending to a film I have seen in quite a while.

Greydon Clark directed this little "blaxploitation" gem and it has all of the usual Clark touches including some bizarre characters as usual.

Tanya Boyd steals the show. The woman is simply beautiful. The scene where she and Jonathan are running thru the woods to get away from the gangsters while wearing only a large blue shirt is priceless.

The rest of the cast includes Joseph Carlo, Skip E. Lowe and William Bonner. Recommended for fans of the genre.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Megan Fox is 31 and Pierce Brosnan is 64.

RIP POWERS BOOTHE 1948-2017

Another character actor has passed away.

I was first introduced to Boothe in The Guyana Tragedy back in 1980, and his performance as Jim Jones blew me away.

Boothe appeared in many, many TV show including Philip Marlowe Private Eye, 24 and his last one, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hia many movie roles included a vast array of different types of films.

The movies included Sin City, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Mutant Species, Red Dawn and Southern Comfort. He died in sleep from natural causes at the age of 68.