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.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Ruta Lee is 88, Catherine Corcoran is 31, Jennifer Ellison is 40, and Jake Roberts is 68.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
SHOOTOUT AT BIG SAG 1962 (TUBI)
Odd little western.
This western was a pilot for a TV series and it didn't sell, so several minutes of extra footage was shot so it could at least go to theaters.
Walter Brennan stars as Preacher Hawker who, along with his three sons is being driven by his shrewish wife into a range war. She even goes so far as to hire local crook and bar owner Chan Bartholomew (Les Tremayne) into helping her.
In the meantime her daughter Hannah (Luana Patten) has fallen in love with a young man named Lee Barbee (Chris Robinson) whom her mother Sarah (Virginia Gregg) hates because he is not a man of importance.
When the range war finally starts Hawker loses his three sons in battle and is forever regretful. Sarah Hawker finally realizes her mistake and tries to make amends.
There is far less action than this little review suggests, but I did like the film mainly because of the cast. It works well, but I can see why this didn't sell, even in 1962.
I think some people are too harsh with this film. If you're a westerns fan you might like it. It only runs 64 minutes. The rest of the cast includes Leif Erickson, Constance Ford, Andy Brennen, Hal Needham and Don Kelly.
Saturday, May 27, 2023
THUNDER OVER HAWAII 1957 (YOUTUBE)
This was one Roger Corman film from the 50's I had never seen.
AKA "Thunder Over Hawaii", this Roger Corman directed film was shot in two weeks back to back with "She Gods Of Shark Reef".
This isn't a fast paced story, but I did enjoy it. Gangster Zach Cotton (Leslie Bradley) and his two henchmen Mitch (Dick Miller) and Stony (Jonathan Haze) plan a heist, but it goes terribly wrong.
They force a boat captain named Duke Bradley (Richard Denning) to take them to another island for safety. Duke and Zach's moll Maxine (Beverly Garland) fall for each other and try to escape, but that does not come easy.
I enjoyed this film on a lot of levels. ANY Corman film from the 50's is a winner in my book, but the cast is full of Corman regulars and it was made for AIP. The others in the cast include Lisa Montell, Carol Lindsay. Sam Arkoff and Corman himself in a small role.
The print on Youtube was ok, but the color was really off on most scenes, but it's probably the only was I will ever see this rare film that is never shown anymore.
Corman fans should check it out.
RIP GARY KENT 1933-2023
The great character actor has passed away.
You may not know the name, but there is no way you haven't seen him in some film during the past 45 years or more.
Kent acted in hundreds of film and TV shows. His film career lasted over 60 years and includes such gemre films as "The Thrill Killers", "Ride In The Whirlwind", "Mighty Gorga", "Dracula Vs. Frankenstein" and "Schoolgirls In Chains" just to nme a few.
He was a very good actor who could do any role that he was asked, and do it well. Gark Kent died on May 25th, 2023 at the age of 89, just about a week shy of his 90th birthday.
Friday, May 26, 2023
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN 1967 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY
I finally picked this Hammer gem up on Blu-ray.
This is one of the most unique Frankenstein films Hammer ever produced. The Baron (Peter Cushing) is trying to figure out how to make life eternal, and he's come close to figuring it out.
He gets to prove his theory when his young assistant Hans (Robert Morris) is tried and convicted to death in a muder he had no part of. Hans secret loves is a crippled woman named Christina (Susan Denberg).
After Hans is executed she kills herself. Frankenstein gets both bodies and before you know it he has transferred Hans' soul into the body of Christina. He also performs surgery on Christina and transforms her into a gorgeous woman again.
The soul of Hans takes control of the body and forces Christina to seek revenge against the three rich young men who framed Hans for murder. This is a very bizarre film, but it's a great one.
Cushing is in fine form as the mad Baron Frankenstein and Thorley Walters is perfect as his elderly helper Dr. Hertz. Denberg looks fantastic and I have always wondered what would have happened with her acting career if her personal life had been different.
The Blu-ray presentation is beautiful and the disc contain a lot of extras including The World Of Hammer episode entitled "The Curse Of Frankenstein" and the documentary called "Hammer Glamour" which discusses some of the gorgeous women who starred in many of these films.
If you're a horror fan you've probably already got this disc, but if not it's highly recommended.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Pam Grier is 74, Stevie Nicks is 75, Richard Harrison is 88, Olivia Pascal is 67 and Ingrid Goude is 86.
Thursday, May 25, 2023
RIP JIM BROWN 1936-2023
One of my favorite actors has passed away.
Brown as most famous as a star NFL football player when it was still a fun game to watch. He retired from football and went into acting and it seemed like a very smooth transition.
I never reall saw a Jim Brown film I didn't like in the 60's or 70's. His list of impressive credits includes "The Dirty Dozen", "Ice Station Zebra", "The Split", "100 Rifles", "Black Gunn", "Slaughter", "Mars Attacks" and so many others.
Brown is one of the very rare football players that NEVER missed a game from injury or anything else. He passed away on May 18, 2023 at the age of 87.
RIP MARLENE CLARK 1949-2023
The legenadry actress has passed away.
Marlene started out as a model and then moved into acting. She appeared in many films and TV shows, and did a lot of genre related material.
Some of her classic films include "Night Of The Cobra Woman", "The Beast Must Die", "Lord Shango", "Beware The Blob", "Ganja And Hess" and many more. Her TV credits included "McCloud", "The Mod Squad", "The Rookies" and "Sanford and Son".
A beautiful and talented woman indeed. Clark passed away on May 18th 2023 at the age of 73.
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Monday, May 22, 2023
Saturday, May 20, 2023
UNION STATION 1950 (OLIVE)
A fine film noir classic with a great cast.
A very sharp eyed woman named Joyce Willecombe (Nancy Olson) spots a man on a train with a gun and tries to alert railroad detectives about what she has seen.
Lt. Bill Calhoun (William Holden) takes the case and discovers that the mystery man is the head of a ring of criminals who have kidnapped a blind heiress named Lorna Murchison (Allene Roberts).
It soon becomes a race against time to find the kidnapper and stop him as they know he will kill Lorna, even if her father pays the huge ransom. The kidnapper, Joe Beacom (Lyle Bettger) will stop at nothing to get the ransom, and he proves it by killing everyone that was in on the crime as well as his girlfriend Marge (Jan Sterling).
Calhoun however will not give up his attempts to stop Beacom no matter what. The cat and mouse games continue until the final confrontation between Calhoun and Beacom in the tunnels beneath Union Station.
Rudolph Mate handles the directing chores very well and gives us a good, tight film. The rest of the cast includes Barry Fitzgerald, James Seay, Herbert Hayes, Fred Graff and Parley Baer.
If you're a noir fan you simply cannot miss this film. I gotta admit that Lyle Bettger steals the show. He is superb indeed.
Friday, May 19, 2023
BOG CREATURES 2003 (TUBI)
I saw the title to this film and figured I'd give it a look.
The movie is supposed to take place in Denmark, but it looks more like Conneticut, but who is caring about that?
Five typical angry young people travel to an excavation site for a professor and they find the buried remains of a Viking Berserker cult. They manage to dig up a few of the bodies and while doing so they discover a young woman who is acting very terrified.
The womans name is Tara (Debbie Rochon), and before anyone can really figure out why she is the way she is, a few lond dead corpses attack and claim one of the young people.
Before long all of them are fighting for their lives against an army of decaying corpses and they also discover that Tara is their leader and Queen.
I love Debbie to death, but I have come to expect sub-par movies when I see her name in the credits, and this is no exception. The acting is ok, but you never really give a damn about any of these characters and some of them you just hope get killed.
The movie is 20 years old and I guess you can say it holds up well. What I mean by that is that the movie just does not stand out from anything else made in the last two decades.
I just couldn't get into the movie much but I guess you can say it's a time waster and that's about it. However I must admit Rochon always looks great.
Watch at your own risk.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Sunday, May 14, 2023
SADDLE THE WIND 1958 (WARNER)
A great western co-written by Rod Serling.
A former gunfighter named Steve Sinclair (Robert Taylor) has settled down and is running a small free roaming cattle ranch.
One day his younger brother named Tony (John Cassavetes) arrives at the ranch with his new bride Joan Blake (Julie London) and it soon becomes apparent that Tony love to use a gun.
He kills a man called L;arry Venables (Charles McGraw) who was looking for Steve and that sets loose a chain reaction of events that throw everything into chaos.
When a group of squatters arrive at the ranch with a deed to a small part of land Steve asks them to leave quietly, but Tony comes along and starts shooting them up.
This leads to a showdown between brother and a man named Deneen (Donald Crisp) who happens to own a large portion of land that Steve uses. Joan finds herself disliking Tony more and more until the final grim outcome.
This is a beautifully shot western in gorgeous color and a top notch cast that also includes Royal Dano, Douglas Spencer, Richard Erdman, Stanley Adams, Ray Teal and Jay Adler.
No westerns fan should miss this one, and of course Julie is simply gorgeous.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
SANTO VS. DR. DEATH 1973 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY
I've read a lot of crap about this film, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Despite the title, this film is an very well made Euro spy film that has Santo hired by Interpol.
Santo is hied to find out who is stealing priceless paintings from all over the world. He is sent to Madrid to investigate the latest crime and becomes involved with a master criminal known only as Dr. Death.
This film plays out as a euro-crime thriller and it's mixture of Santo is very odd indeed.
Santo has three wrestling matches in between his fighting crime and investigating the mystery of art theft in Spain. What adds to the Euro flavor is the cast which includes Helga Line and Mirta Miller, two of the most beautiful women to ever appear in films from anywhere.
Santo works on the investigation and finds that Dr. Robert Mann (George Riguard) is making the switches in famous works of art and keeping the originals for himself.
I always like seeing Santo films I have never seen, and this one was very good and all I can say is no Santo fan should miss it. The Blu-Ray quality is beautiful and it is presented in original Spanish language and we as a dubbed edition.
Highly Recommended movie.
Friday, May 12, 2023
MOHAWK 1956 (TUBI)
This is a fun western that I have seen many times, but TUBI has the best quality of any print to date.
This movie revolves around a painter named Jonathan (Scott Brady) who lives in a remote army post. He is juggling his fiancee named Cynthia (Lori Nelson), his model Greta (Allison Hayes) and his love for painting.
Cynthia arrives at the army post unannounced. This causes no problem for Jonathan as he is a rather free spirit. He has no enemies and has no problems with the Indians living around the land either.
Everything seems to be going ok until a man named Butler (John Hoyt) kills the son of the Mohawk chief, War is declared by all the local tribes and it is going to be a bloodbath.
Jonathan reveals who the real killer is to the Indians, but not before many lives are lost on both sides. This is a fast moving, beautifully shot color film that should attract any Westerns fans as well as fans of the cast. My goodness, you have both Lori Nelson and Allison Hayes as well as the beautiful Rita Gam as Onida, the Indian woman who captures Jonathan's heart.
If you get a chance you might want to see this if you haven't already. It's been on many PD tapes and discs, but as I said, the quality here is the best I have ever seen.
The rest of tjhe cast includes Rhys Williams, Neville Brand, Mae Clarke, Ted de Corsia, Tommy Cook, and John Hudson.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
RIP LISA MONTELL 1933-2023
The exotic beauty has passed away.
I have just received news that the very underrated actress passed away in March of this year at the age of 89.
Lisa Montell was a very beautiful and talented actress who could play almost any role and had a knack for accents. Some of her movie credits include "World Without End", "Naked Paradise", "She Gods Of Shark Reef", "Escape To Burma", and "Tomahawk Trail" just to name a few.
She also did many, many TV shows including "Tales Of Wells Fargo", :The Millionaire", "Adventures Of Jim Bowie", and "Mike Hammer".
For me it was always a pleasure to see Montell in anything. She will be missed, but never forgotten.
