For lovers of movies from the silent era to modern day with an emphasis on horror, sci-fi, exploitation, WIP, westerns and anything of the fantastic and bizarre. THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO BOB WILKINS, GEORGE ROMERO, ALAN FREED ,ROGER CORMAN, CAROLINE MUNRO, JOHN FREDRIKSEN, JOHN ZACHERLE, CLEO MOORE , ROSALBA NERI, ERIKA BLANC, FEMI BENUSSI, SHIRLEY CORRIGAN, ROSANNA YANNI, MIRTA MILLER and, of course, CASEY KASEM.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
OSS 117 DOUBLE AGENT 1968 (KINO) BLU-RAY
The final spy feature on the remarkable set from Kino.
Another top notch entry in the French spy series. This one stars John Gavin as OSS 117. In this entry he is infiltrating a terrorist organization that is killing politicians involved in peace talks with the hopes of starting a very profitable war for certain people.
OSS 117 takes on the name of William Chandler and gets into the organization after an elaborate kidnapping which lands him in a manor run by a nameless man played by Curd Jurgens.
OSS 117 is sent to kill a high ranking politician working to avoid an African war. He fakes the death and uses another corpse, but soon finds that the plan didn't work and his life is in danger as well as a very sexy woman he likes named Aicha played by gorgeous Margaret Lee.
Lots of romance, action, fist fights and car chases keep things moving quickly. The rest of the cast for this fun film includes two other incredibly sexy women of the euro cinema, Luciana Paluzzi and Rosalba Neri. George Eastman also makes an appearance and is very effective in his role.
This is a far above average spy film that I highly recommend. The presentation is in French with English subtitles and the picture quality is excellent. Who cannot like a film with Margaret Lee, Luciana Paluzzi and Rosalba Neri in it????
Thursday, June 28, 2018
THE AMBULANCE 1990 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY
One of the oddest films from Larry Cohen, but what else would you expect?
Eric Roberts stars as a young man who meets a beautiful woman walking down a street in New York. Suddenly she collapses and an ambulance picks her up. He promises her he will get to the hospital to see her.
Roberts' character of Josh Baker tries to find the young woman, but is met with indifference and hostility at every hospital he goes to. Josh finally decides to make a police report.
The officer on the case, Lt. Spencer (James Earl Jones) is a little crazy and does not believe Josh about the woman or the Ambulance. There are a few more disappearances and even Josh is almost taken in the old style Ambulance. Spencer is killed in a high speed chance with Ambulance which is carrying it's next victim.
Office Sandra Malloy (Megan Gallagher) starts to believe Josh and things only get wilder from there until the very bizarre and well done climax. Director Cohen is a MASTER of bizarre cinema, and if anyone reading this has seen some of his work, then you known exactly what I am talking about.
The rest of the cast includes Red Buttons as an aging news reporter named Elias Zacharai who helps Josh track down the killer Ambulance, Janine Turner, Eric Braeden (in a great role), and Cohen regular James Dixon. Look for Lauren Landon in a small role.
The Blu-ray presentation is very good and this disc is a must for horror fans and Cohen fans in particular. RECOMMENDED!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD 1976 (NEW CONCORDE)
Yes, I have reviewed this before from my bootleg DVD taken from a VHS tape.
This is one of my favorite movies and I finally obtained a DVD from New Concorde. The beautiful Candice Rialson stars as a young woman who travels to California to make it big in Hollywood.
She meets up with a sleazy agent named Walter Paisley (Dick Miller), who, after some mishaps finally lands her a job with a B movie company called Miracle Pictures.
Miracle Pictures is currently being plagued by mysterious deaths, but the director Erich Von Leppe (Paul Bartel) lets nothing stop him from getting his films done.
Paisley tells the young woman to call herself "Candy Wednesday" and much to her surprise the name really sticks and she soon finds herself acting in extremely low budget films such as "Machete Maidens Of Mora Tau".
Who is the mysterious killer? Will Candy become a star? Will Miracle Pictures ever make a great film? The answer to these questions can be found in this spot on look at low budget film making. A lot of the things that happen in this film I have had to deal with first hand in my film making career and this movie always makes me laugh out loud.
The rest of the cast includes Mary Woronov, George Wagner, Jonathan Kaplan, Tara Strohmeierand John Kramer. The widescreen presentation is excellent and if by some chance you haven't seen this little homage to low budgets and stock footage, then I suggest you get a copy quickly and enjoy.
Monday, June 25, 2018
JACK THE GIANT KILLER 1962 (KINO) BLU-RAY
A fun adventure fantasy for people of all ages.
Back when I was young, this is the kind of cool stuff you'd see on TV.
Kerwin Matthews stars in this fun film directed by Nathan Juran. He plays Jack, a young man who during one ordinary day finds himself saving a beautiful princess from a giant satyr-like monster.
Jack soon learns that the Princess is really a Princess named Elaine (Judi Meredith) and that she was being kidnapped by the monster for an evil man named Pendragon (Torin Thatcher). Pendragon manages to kidnap Elaine while she is being transported out of the country via a secret ship and it is up to Jack to save her.
There are all kind of very good stop motion effects in this film including a tentacled sea monster, a two headed giant, the above mentioned satyr and more. This film is fast paced and a hell of a lot of fun.
It might remind you a bit of "7th Voyage Of Sinbad" and for good reason, the director also helmed that film and Matthews and Thatcher also starred in that film as well. The Blu-ray presentation is gorgeous and the disc also contains the original trailer.
Other extras are the hideous 91 minute re-envisioned musical version of the film. I saw this by accident on day many years ago and had to shut it off. It is totally unnecessary and unneeded. However, Kino has seen the need to include it. In my opinion, just watch the original 94 minute cut of the film and skip that awful musical version.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
RIP DEANNA LUND 1937-2018
I have received word of another sad passing.
My favorite actress from and Irwin Allen TV shows has died. Deanna Lund who turned 81 this past May 30th died on June 23rd less than a month later.
Lund, of course, starred in "Land Of The Giants" as Valerie Scott, one of the little people stranded on a mysterious planet of giants. After seeing her in this show I fell in love with her, or should I say lust.
Lund also appeared in some of my favorite films including "Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine" as a robot and "Sting Of Death" which as everyone who reads this blog knows is a top 10 favorite film of all time for me.
She acted in many other TV shows including "The Loner", "My Brother The Angel" and much more during her career that spanned 55 years. Deanna was also in two Elvis films, "Spinout" and "Paradise Hawaiian Style".
I first saw Lund in "Land Of The Giants" but I loved everything she did which also included a great little movie I reviewed here a while back called "Dimension 5" and her performance in the original Batman TV show as a character named Anna Gram.
Rest in Peace to a truly beautiful woman who entertained me for countless hours during my formative years.
OSS 117: MISSION TO TOKYO 1966 (KINO) BLU-RAY
Absolutely the best of the five film series from Kino....so far. I have one to go.
Fredrick Stafford returns as agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath aka OSS 117.
When an American Navy base is wiped out on a small island OSS 117 is called in to investigate who is behind it. Almost immediately he discovers that a young woman working in the US Embassy in Tokyo gave secret information to mysterious men who she claims are blackmailing her. She is Eva Wilson (Marina Vlady) and she tells a pretty convincing story.
Hubert believes her and takes on the role of her husband to try and find out who is blackmailing her, but it seems she has double crossed him as she disappears during a visit with the mysterious organization.
Hubert is almost killed numerous times and is finally joined by the Japanese secret police and a beautiful police Sargent named Tetsuko (Jitsuko Yoshimura) whom he quickly falls for, and who could blame him.
There are a lot of crosses and double crosses in this exciting little gem of a spy picture as Oss 117 has only a limited time before another US base is annihilated. He and Tetsuko race against time to stop the terrorists who are blackmailing the Government.
As I said at the beginning, this is one of the best of the series and a very enjoyable film all together. The print looks very good, of course and again, it is presented in French language with English subtitles.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
RANDY SAVAGE UNRELEASED 2018 (WWE)
A three disc set that every wrestling fab should own.
Sean Mooney, Diamond Dallas Page and Bayley discuss the life and career of one of the greatest performers ever to enter the squared circle.
To avoid any confusion I have to say that "Unreleased" means never released to DVD or anywhere. The matches are plenty and span from Savage's first match in the WWF against Aldo Marino to 1999 when he and Medusa took on Ric Flair and Little Natch.
Some of the matches don't have announcers as they are from various house shows around the country or hadn't eve been shown and had no voice overs, but that is fine as to me anyway it enhances the action. There are matches with Randy against Andre The Guant, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig and many, many more.
Randy Savage was as intense out of the ring as in, but he was a hell of a nice guy who'd do anything for you once he got to know you. I find it rather sad that so many people I knew appear on this DVD and are now deceased.
Has that much time really gone by? Well anyway, there is plenty of entertainment packed into an almost 9 hour presentation and I can't think of too many old school wrestling fans that wouldn't like this set.
I highly recommend it and if you watch it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Friday, June 22, 2018
OSS 117: MISSION FOR A KILLER 1965 (KINO) BLU-RAY
This movie, at least for me was a fun ride.
Frederick Stafford takes over the role of OSS 117 in this interesting tale.
This was his first role and he does very well as the suave French secret agent. OSS 117 is sent to Rio de Janeiro to investigate a twisted organization that is out to again destroy all of the world.
The mysterious drug that the organization is creating is capable of completely controlling the minds of people who are infected with it.
OSS 117 slowly infiltrates the group and runs into the gorgeous Anna-Maria Sulza played by Mylene Demongeot, who of course was a top French sex symbol of the 50's and 60's, oh and does she look delicious in this film!
There is plenty of action, romance and gadgetry going on to keep fans interested. The plots are usually very simple as in the 007 films they are trying to emulate.
This film is a winner and one of the best of the series. Kino again brings this to you in French with English subtitles. Recommended!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Lindsay Wagner is 69, Kris Kristofferson is 82, Bruce Campbell is 60, and Cyndi Lauper is 65.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
RIP MARIA ROHM 1945-2018
One of the most beautiful women in cinema history has passed away.
I saw Maria in a Fu Manchu movie entitled "Vengeance Of Fu Manchu" when I was about 10 and have loved her ever since. As I grew older I searched out everything she did and was always impressed.
The sultry actress appeared in many Euro horror and exploitation films, some directed by Jess Franco and produced by Harry Alan Towers. She married Towers in 1964 and they were married until he died in 2009. I always considered him a VERY lucky man.
Some of her many films include "99 Women", "Vengeance Of Fu Manchu", "Blood Of Fu Manchu", "10 Little Indians", "Justine", "Bloody Judge", "Rio 70", and "The Million Eyes Of Sumuru".
I have tried to collect every film she was in and I am only missing a few, but that will change in time. She was simply stunningly beautiful in EVERY film she was in and I guess I will always love Maria. She often said she loved the film industry as it brought her in contact with the love of her life...Harry Alan Towers.
She will be missed, but her legacy will live forever. She died June 18th, 2018 at the age of 72
RAMBLINGS....
I have been super busy the last few days without much time for anything, so I need to get caught up here.
First a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Nikki Darling who turned 35 a few days ago.
Secondly, I had an interesting talk with someone the other day who was trying to download movies off of the internet, and while I don't condone that practice I believe in live and let live.
However, he had mentioned that some of these movies that had to be paid for including such classics as "Day The Earth Stood Still" from 1951 which makes the movie 67 years old. He said he thought it was stupid that one would have to pay for these films as they are old and that studio greed was responsible.
I always believe movies should come at a cost, no matter what age. As a film maker, I would never want my movie stolen by people who didn't think they had to pay. I explained to him that when films fall into the public domain, they are often tampered with, scenes cut, and the prints usually are not too great.
However, my main point is that movies are somebody's hard work and if you want to see it you should pay for it no matter how old the film is. I hear this a lot from people and it always amazes me. I have heard it called greed but it's just capitalism and paying to download a movie online is no worse than paying for the DVD in most cases.
I will stand behind anyone who has made a film if someone is trying to get it for free. Nothing in life is free, and yes, these are just movies, but they are extremely popular and still make some money so why shouldn't the studios continue to collect the money.
Thirdly, thanks for the recent comments. It's always good to hear from people who like these films or have worked on them in some way. Just to clear the air, NO I will NOT be seeing the Halloween film in October or the remake of SUSPERIA. SACRILEGE!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
RIP LEON WHITE 1955-2018
One of the greatest professional wrestlers in history has died.
His wrestling name was Big Van Vader and damn was he entertaining. His wrestling career started in the AWA and his career took off from there.
Vader had some classic matches especially against Mick Foley in the NWA. A big man with great agility and speed. When White hit you, you knew you had been hit.
Before entering the squared circle White was a football player with the Los Angeles Rams. He was WCW Heavyweight Champion 3 times and he also appeared in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as WWE and TNA.
He passed away on June 18th, 2018 at the age of 63 from pneumonia. A great athlete and entertainer he will be missed by wrestling fans around the world.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
RIP FREDRIC HOBBS 1931-2018
The artist and sculpture creator has died.
Hobbs is best known for his very, very odd little collection of films he directed in the 60's and 70's.
His films include "Troika", "Roseland" and his two most popular "Alabama's Ghost" and "Godmonster Of Indian Flats".
Hobbs never made another film after Godmonster and that is a shame. Never in my life have I seen such a bizarre film. It is soon to be released on Blu-ray and I can only hope for "Alabama's Ghost.
Hobbs passed away on April 25th, 2018 at the age of 85. A one of a kind film maker.
THE MAZE 1953 (KINO) BLU-RAY
Yes, I have reviewed this before from the wonderful Sinister Cinema edition, but this Kino release on Blu-ray is about as good as it gets.
Kino released this with both the 2D and 3D versions and this is only based on the 2D version as I cannot watch anything in 3D. You can tell, however, just by watching the 2D version that director William Cameron Menzies really knew what he was doing with atmospheric sets and depth.
This effective little thriller stars Richard Carlson as Gerald MacTeam who is happily engaged to a lovely young woman Kitty Murray (Veronica Hurst). One day shortly before their marriage Gerald receives a message from an ancestor in Scotland. He tells Kitty he will return in time for their wedding which is 2 weeks away.
Well needless to say he never returns and Kitty and her Aunt Edith travel to the Scottish castle where Gerald was last known to be going. They find Gerald there looking about 20 years older and graying hair. He treats them coldly and tells them they must leave.
Kitty is not willing to give up that quickly and refuses to leave. During the night mysterious noises are heard and strange lights are seen in a huge Maze in the center of the grounds of the estate.
Slowly Kitty and Edith get closer to the truth, or so they think. This film is infamous for it's ending and truly bizarre monster. To be honest, it's a bizarre movie all around. The rest of the cast includes Michael Pate, Hillary Brooke and Katherine Emery as Aunt Edith.
The presentation is a wonder to behold. I have never seen the film looking so good. This Blu-ray also includes the original 3D trailer and a short interview with star Veronica Hurst. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Monday, June 18, 2018
THE PSYCHOPATH 1966 (KINO) BLU-RAY
A long sought after Amicus film finally arrives on Blu-ray.
Freddie Francis directed this shocker written by Robert Bloch.
Patick Wymark stars as Inspector Holloway who is given the task of investigating a bizarre series of murders in which each victim is killed horribly and a doll resembling the person killed is left at the scene.
The movie opens with the brutal slaying of a man who belonged to a group of 4 men who all seem to share a secret. Holloway digs deeper into the case and soon almost faces death himself. He questions the other three men, Frank Seville (Alexander Knox), Martin Roth (Thorley Walters) and Martin Roth (Robert Crewdson) but learns very little.
One by one the men die and Holloway suspects an invalid woman named Mrs. Von Sturm (Margaret Johnston) who collects and makes dolls as well as talkng to them and treating them like they were alive. Her son Mark (John Standing) takes care of her and becomes a suspect himself.
Frank's daughter Louise (beautiful Judi Huxtable) tries to aid Holloway in this bizarre case and things quickly spiral out of control. If you've ever seen this movie you know how disturbing the final five minutes are, and it just sticks in your mind.
I was very pleased to see Kino come out with this little and sadly forgotten Amicus thriller that actually ranks right up there with anything Hammer studios was turning out at the time.
The Blu-ray presentation is excellent and I recommend this film highly. Watch it late at night with no lights on and see if it doesn't work on you a bit.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
OSS 117: PANIC IN BANGKOK 1964 (KINO) BLU-RAY
Kerwin Matthews returns as a suave secret agent.
In this outing, Hubert Bonisseur AKA OSS 117 is sent to Bangkok to investigate the murder of an agent who was looking into an extremely dangerous organization run my a mysterious Dr. Sinn (Robert Hossein).
Sinn and his men are causing people to die of a virus. They are stealing the vaccines and then replacing them with the virus with plans on infecting the entire world.
Mathews is suave as the handsome secret agent who meets and falls in love with Sinn's daughter Lila played by the lovely Pier Angeli who would team with Mathews again on "Octaman" before her untimely death.
The two work well together here and the movie moves a a quick pace although I have read many reviews that say it is slow, but I guess to each his own. The Blu-ray presentation is beautiful and in the correct aspect ratio. The film is also in French with English subtitles.
I don't really know if anyone reading this blog is a fan of this series of films, but if you are, you should find this entire set of five films from Kino a welcome addition to your Blu-ray library.
Over the next few days all of the five films on the set will be reviewed. Recommended!
Saturday, June 16, 2018
OSS 117 UNLEASHED 1963 (KINO) BLU-RAY
I have heard a lot about these little spy films, but have never seen any of them. I finally got the set from Kino which contains five movies from the series.
This first entry stars Kerwin Mathews as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, otherwise known as agent OSS 117.
The plot revolves around an agent who was killed on a scuba trip and the resulting investigation into the who's, why's and how's. Mathews does a good job in the title role and his character is very laid back.
During his investigation 117 meets the very sexy Brigetta (Nadia Sanders) with whom he falls for quickly. He suspects she is the key to finding out what happened. She seems to want to help him, but then turn against him at the same time. Slowly but surely, 117 gets to the bottom of things.
This was, of course, released to a wider audience after the release and worldwide popularity of "Dr. No" and I have reasd a lot of comparisons, which simply arr not true.
There is an underlying evil where ever OSS 117 goes and while the film does not have a lot of action, when it happens it happens in a generous proportion.
This nifty little thriller was released in 1963 and is the only one on the Kino set in Black and White, however don't let that deter you. The rest of the cast for this French thriller includes Irina Demick and Daniel Emilfork in a great role.
The print looks excellent and is in original French language with English subtitles.
Friday, June 15, 2018
REMEMBERING CASEY KASEM 1932-2014
On this day 4 years ago broadcasting lost it's greatest personality.
I was at work when I got the call Kasem had passed away. He died under very sad circumstances, and those that caused it will pay eventually.
I ALWAYS listened to AMERICAN TOP 40 and thanks to that show I became the music junkie I am today. I wrote down every song and kept my own charts for years along with Casey.
The man made my Sunday mornings special and for 3 hours every week I was in utopia. When the show went to 4 hours I was ecstatic. Casey also made Saturdays special when I watched Scooby Doo for as you know he was the voice of Shaggy.
I have seen every TV and movie appearance Kasem made from Charlie's Angels to the Incredible Two Headed Transplant. I also used to watch Americans Top 10 which Casey hosted on TV.
Today thanks to Casey and my mother, I am a music nut that has almost every American Top 40 show from the 70's which is 520 episodes, and about half of the shows from the 80's.
Casey Kasem will always be the greatest voice radio ever had. He left a legacy behind which will live for many, many more years and all I listen to is AT40 shows anymore. Modern radio is dead, but Casey keeps my obsession with music from the 50's thru the 80's alive and well.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Judy Pace is 76, Joy Bang is 73, Antony Carbone is 93, Pamela Martinez is 29, and Richard P. Rubinstein is 71.
