BEAUTIFUL SWORDSWOMAN 1969 (CRASH MASTERS)

This was a pretty good chop-socky sword epic.

This filmed in Taiwan epic was directed by Su Yang and during the opening credits we see about 20 people die is sword fights.

Ling Wang stars as a spoiled rich woman who has another life as a super skilled swordswoman who is seeking to right some wrongs that she sees in her life as well as get revenge for the murder of her parents when she was an infant.

Made during the golden era of films like this, it offers nothing new, but is it violent. I lost count, but there must be at least 100 people killed in the 90 minute running time.'

The subtitling isn't too good, but you really don't need them. It's the action that matters in movies like this, not the dialogue. The movie moves along very well and is fast paced, as you'd expect it to be.

If you're a fan of these films, you'll enjoy this. I don't watch too many of these, but I liked this one.

IT'S NOT A WOLF 2022 (TUBI)

Apparently this is a movie most people haven't seen.

This is a strange concept, but it's a well handled movie. This Italian production starts with the introduction of Glauco (Thomas Francesconi) who has just been released from prison and is under house arrest.

His neighbor is an old lady who hates him and one day calls the police when all of her chickens are killed. She blames him, but the police can't prove it.

One night a beautiful young woman named Laura (Susanna Valtucci) breaks into his house to meet him because she has seen him and likes him a lot. After a session in bed they hear a bizarre noise outside and Glauco goes to investigate.

Laura tells him is probably wolves but nope...it turns out much worse...it's an invasion of prehistoric raptors and Glauco and Laura barely escape with their lives.

From this point on the film introduces us to various characters, many of which are strange and twisted. Glauco and Laura fight for survival from the stupid people trapped in the small Italian town as well as the raptors.

I found this to be better than I thought it would be and it's made much different than anything here in the US. I won't describe it, I just think you should see it.

There isn't too much information on this on the internet. I hope more people will find this on streaming and enjoy it. Good stuff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Reb Brown is 76.

RIP MARGARET LEE 1943-2024

Very sad news.

One of my favorite European actresses has passed away.

Margaret Lee has ALWAYS been of my list of beautiful women I would watch in any movie. She appeared in many, many films that I have enjoyed since I was a kid.

Her credits include "The Bloody Judge", "Secret Agent Super Dragon", "Venus In Furs", "Five Golden Dragons", "Dick Smart 2.007", "Psycho Circus", and so many more.

The always incredibly sexy actress passed away on April 24, 2023 at the age of 80.

BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME 1946 (IMAGE)

A great Universal comedy with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.

Corporal Slicker Smith (Bud Abbott) and Private Herbie Brown (Lou Costello) return from the service at the end of WW2. Herbie has smuggled Evie (Beverly Simmons) onto the returning ship. She is a young child that wants to stay with Herbie.

The men run into their old Sergeant played by Nat Pendelton, whose performance is top notch all the way. Slicker and Herbie try and find a way to keep Evie in the country and stopping her from being sent back to France.

This film is fun from beginning to end and the laughs come quick and often. This is Abbott and Costello at the top of their game and if you've never seen one of the films, this is a good starting point.

This is, of course, a sequel to "Buck Privates" which came out in 1941 and while that was a good movie, this one is much better. The madcap race car scene at the end of the movie is a show stealer.

Do yourself a favor and see this.

The rest of the cast includes Joan Shawlee, Tom Brown, Donald MacBride, Don Beddoe, Charles Trowbridge, Russell Hicks and Milburn Stone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jessica Alba is 43, Ann-Margret is 83, and Kari Wuhrer is 57.

NUCLEAR HURRICANE 2007 (E1 ENTERTAINMENT)

Fred Olen Ray film about bad technology.

The crux of the tale is about a new computer system that has been developed at a nuclear plant, and it does very well until it gets a mind of it's own.

Two people, Linda (Jamie Lunar) and Rusty (Jack Scalia) are trapped inside the power plant with a huge hurricane coming and everything falling apart at one time.

The computer system shuts down the backup system which will prevent a melydown in the core and it refuses to re-boot it. Will everything work out well? You gotta watch it to find out.

I read a lot of bad things about this movie, but figured I'd give it a try anyway since it was a Ray film. I really found nothing wrong with it. I can admit it's not original in any way, shape or form, but I think the cast did very well and Ray did fine in the directing department.

It's also interesting to note that this movie is a reunion between actors Gil Gerard and Erin Gray from the 70's show "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century".

They play executives in California who are not very helpful with the potential trouble ahead. It was nice to see them both on screen together after all these years.

Anyway, you might like this if you give it a chance. I enjoyed it and found it a painless 90 minutes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sheena Easton is 65.

INVISIBLE MR. UNMEI 1951 (TUBI)

Strange and very obscure film also known as "Oriental Evil".

Cheryl Banning (Martha Hyer) arrives in Japan to clear her dead brother name. Her brother had been involved in selling Opium and used his import business as a cover.

He was killed under mysterious circumstances and Cheryl wants tp prove his innocence. She runs into a kindly English gentleman named Roger Mansfield (Byron Michie) who decides to help Cheryl in her task.

Cheryl and Roger uncover a name of Tom Putnam, and he seems to be the one who caused Cheryl's brother to be killed. As they investigate further, they fall for each other and soon Cheryl finds some shocking facts out about Mr. Mansfield.

All the while this is going on we are also introduced to Mr. Unmei who, according to Japanese legend, is a spirit known as fate, and if you see him you are going to die.

This all mixes into an interesting mixture of crime drama and subtle supernatural elements. One of the directors of this was George Breakston who also brought us "The Manster".

The rest of the cast also includes Tetsu Nakamura, Richard Binge, Kokuten Kodo and Richard Hughes. If you get a chance, check this out. It's very unique.

STAMPEDE 1949 (TUBI)

A pretty darn good western.

This Allied Artists release stars Rod Cameron as Mike McCall, a cattle rancher who is against all the honmesteaders moving in and fencing off his grazing land.

McCall has the largest cattle herd around and he also controls a large lake and refuses to let the new arrivals have water for their land. A man named Stanton (Don Curtis) has other ideas about everything.

Stanton wants McCall out of the way and he also wants to control the land, and he will stop at nothing to get it. This movie is filled with some very interesting characters and it holds your attention.

Cameron is a tall and impressive bad guy that isn't what he seems to be as the movie progresses and Gale Storm does well as the woman who finally falls for him.

The best scene in the film involves a cattle stampede where the cattle all go over a cliff. That one really surprised me and we see it happening and then the aftermath. It's well done for the time.

I would recommend this for any fan of westerns.

The rest of the cast includes Johnny Mack Brown,Don Castle, John Eldredge and I. Stanford Jolley.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gina Torres is 55,and Bjorn Ulvaeus is 79.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stacy Haiduk is 56.

STIGMA 1980 (TUBI)

Well done Spanish/Italian horror film directed by Jose Larraz.

A young man named Sebastian (Christian Borromeo) starts having strange fears and some hallucinations after his father is killed.

Sebastian believes he has the ability to kill anyone with his thoughts and when he does this his bottom lip begins to bleed. He kills a school friend by haing her fall from a tall building and even after he has hypnosis done, his ability to kill seems to get even stronger.

Things get worse and worse for Sebastian and one day he has a taxi take him to an old country home that he dreams about a lot. He finds the house abandoned but enters anyway.

There are a lot of complicated twists in the plot, even though they don't seem that way. I don't want to give away too much here, but let me say that he does discover the awful truth in this house and that the film has a bleak ending worthy of any 40's American film noir.

Since this is an Italian/Spanish production you know you can expect lots of gorgeous women. Here you have Helga Line, Alexandra Bastedo, Berta Cabre and Annabella Incontrera. Also in the cast is Craig Hill.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lee Majors is 85, Joanna Krupa is 45, Britt Baker is 33, and Suzy Stokey is 67.

INVADERS FROM MARS 1953 (IGNITE) BLU-RAY

Well I have written about this classic before, but with the great Re-mastering from Ignite, I thought I'd do it again.

We all know the plot. A young boy named David (Jimmy Hunt) sees a spaceship land in a field but nobody will believe him. Soon people start disappearing, only to reappear and act very different.

David's parents played by Hillary Brooke and Leif Erickson are the first to be taken over along with two policemen and the police chief. David grows more and more desparate as he seeks help and finally finds it in a lovely doctor named Blake (Helena Carter).

Black, David and Dr. Stuart Kessler (Arthur Franz) convince the military that aliens are taking over. The army is led by Col. Fielding (Morris Ankrum) and soon the army is trying to flush out the underground invaders.

This has always been a favorite of mine since I was very young. I even owned a poster for this film back in the day. This wonderful film has had a great restoration and all the garish colors are gorgeous as they should be.

I had a great time viewing this again and seeing what a job Ignite had done. William Cameron Menzies directed this all time gem and the rest of the cast includes Max Wagner, William Phipps, Milburn Stone, Janine Perreau, Fay Baker, Barbara Billingsley, Peter Brocco and Richard Deacon.

It goes without saying...this is a MUST SEE. Since it's initial release was April 22, 1953 I thought today would be a nice time to publish this...April 22, 2024...71 years later and still going strong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jack Nicholson is 87, Catherine Mary Stewart is 65, Sarah French is 42, and Mark Damon is 91.

COMMON LAW WIFE 1961 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

Strange mishmash of a movie.

This movie was started by Larry Buchanan as "Swamp Rose" and when that film couldn't be completed because of lack of funds, another director, Eric Sayers took over and shot new footage and blended both together with dubious results.

A rich oldman named Shug (George Edgley) has lived for many years with a woman named Linda (Annabelle Weenick) and he decides to throw her out and let his sexy niece take care of him.

Linda is not pleased and she discovers that under state law she is actually married to Shug after all these years and refuses to leave. The niece, known only as Baby Doll (Lacey Kelly) plans to kill Shug and take his money.

None of this ends well for anyone involved, and the ending is quite a shocker. It ranks right up there with the best of film noir. This shot in Texas film is ok and I enjoyed it, but it was very disjointing to see different actors playing some of the same roles.

What I mean is that a character like Baby Doll is played by Lacey Kelly is some scenes and then a different actress in others since no attempt was made to hide the fact that this is two different movies blended together.

People pop in and out of the film with no rhyme or reason. Oh well, it still does no detract from the ending. The cast also includes Texas regulars Max Anderson and the gorgeous Libby Hall.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ed Leslie is 67.

LOCH NESS HORROR 2023 (TUBI)

Another modern movie that had so much missed potential.

Not to be confused with the Larry Buchanan film of the same name from the 1980's, this movie was made in the UK in 2022 and released here in 2023.

Is it a good movie? It's what I call so-so. A two person submarine is destroyed by a very huge creature and another group is sent in to investigate. The group is tricked into thinking they are there ONLY to investigate when in reality they are supposed to try and capture this giant monster.

This proves to be a totally hopeless task as the creature is much stronger and smarter than they realize. It also infects a man and before you know it, not only do they have a mammoth sea monster that is killing and eating the crew, they have a dangerous parasite which comes out of one of the victims' bodies and is now prowling the ship.

The effects aren't too bad for CGI, but they could always be better. Everything the people do to fight the monster doesn't even come close to stopping it.

The ending is what one expects today. They manage to kill the monster with a torpedo from a smaller sub, but right at the end an even bigger monster appears and all is lost.

This was ok, but as I said, it had so much potential and that was lost. Catch it on TUBI if you're interested. You might like it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Clint Howard is 65, Carmen Electra is 52, Veronica Cartwright is 75, Judith O' Dea is 79, and Olga Karlatos is 77.

JENNIE: WIFE/CHILD 1968 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

It took two directors to make this wonderful slice of country sleaze.

This black and white epic concerns an older farmer named Albert Peckingpaw (Jack Lester) who has married a 20 year old girl named Jennie (Beverly Lunsford).

Jennie and Albert don't get along because she is after the handsome young handyman working on the farm. His name is Mario (Jim Reader) and while he likes Jennie a lot he is terrified of Albert.

Things get hot and heavy until Jennie finally seduces Mario and they have a little tryst in the barn, but Albert spots them and he plots revenge. He manages to drug them both during a birthday party for Jennie.

He chains them in the basement and prepares to kill them and cut their bodies up and bury them in a deep hole on his farm. Now, this is a great set up, but it does not come into being.

For some reason the filmmakers decided to have a somewhat happy ending, and it really takes the wind out of the sails of this movie. I won't explain anything because I think you need to discover this gem for yourself.

This is one strange film made even stranger by the ending. The directors were Robert Carl Cohen and James Landis. The rest of the cast includes Virginia Wood, Richard Cowl and Don Epperson.

THE BREAK 1962 (TUBI)

Well made British film noir.

The film opens with convicted killer Jacko Thomas (William Lucas) overpowering a prison guard and both fall from a moving train. Jacko kills the guard and escapes into the countryside.

He arrives at a small inn thanks to his sister Sue (Christina Gregg) paying a man named Judd Tredgar (Eddie Byrne) to get him there safely. Jacko and several others are guests at the Inn, and Jacko grows impatient in wanting to get to Scotland.

Sue slowly comes to discover that Jacko has murderous tendancies that always get out of control. He ends up killing a few people at the Inn, and Judd finds it harder and harder to cover for him.

Lucas plays the psycho killer perfectly and everyone in the cast does a great job thanks to the strong direction from Lance Comfort. Most of the cast you will know from Hammer horror films made both before and after this was filmed.

The rest of the cast includes Tony Britton, Robert Urquhart, Sonia Dresdel, Edwin Richfield and John Junkin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eric Roberts is 68, James Woods is 77, Melissa Joan Hart is 48, and Melody Thomas Scott is 68.

THE MOONSTONE 1934 (MILL CREEK)

Fun little Monogram mystery.

This is a typical 30's murder mystery which involves a very valuable piece of jewelry called "The Moonstone".

It's brought from India by Franklin Blake (David Manners) for his fiance Anne Verinder (Phyllis Barry). During a storm the lights go out and the item is stolen.

A Scotland Yard inspector named Cuff (Charles Irwin) is called into the case and must find the thief.

It has been many years since I saw this and what I find odd is that the running time is listed for 62 minutes, but the only version I have ever seen, and the only one that has been released runs 46 minutes.

I'm not too sure what is right and what is wrong, but if 18 minutes are actually missing from this film, then I'm shocked that the film makes any sense at all.

Check it out anyway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Olivia Hussey is 73, and Michael Forest is 95.

INVASION OF THE GIRL SNATCHERS 1973 (TUBI)

This is perhaps one of the top ten oddest films I have ever seen.

The original titles for this film is "The Hidan Of Maukbeingjow" and don't even ask me what the hell that means.

Aliens arrive on Earth with the intent of taking over and croos paths with a couple of drug smugglers and other assortred weird characters. It's much more complicated than one could imagine.

The story also involves a christian woman named Prudence (Elizabeth Rush) who is the apprentice of a wizard who is fighting evil spirits!! Now before you give this a walk away vote, understand that this is not as bad as people think.

It's just a supremely bizarre movie. What I liked best is the 70's flavor of the movie. The cars, the clothes and the women. It was more a trip down memory lane for me.

I used to see this VHS tape available for rent or sale and I never took a look at it until I saw it on streaming the other day. Shame on me for waiting so long.

Yes, the acting is not too good, and the stroy is crazy, but I gotta give the filmmakers kudos for getting it done and coming out with something not so ordinary.

The rest of the unknown cast includes Ele Grigsby, Carla Rueckurt and Pepper Thurston.

SPOOKS RUN WILD 1941 (SINISTER CINEMA)

As you can see I've been delving into Bowery Boys and East Side Kids comedy films.

As I said in another review, I am sure everyone who reads this had probably seen the film.

The East Side kids are stranded in a small little town and have nothing to do. They sneek out of a temporary shelter and explor the countryside in hopes of finding a "monster killer" that has been reported by the news.

Peewee (David Gorcey) is shot by a cemetary worker and the gang takes him to a creepy mansion where a mysterious man named Nardo (Bela Lugosi) lives. Nardo is helped by a midget named Luigi (Angela Rossitto).

Nardo helps the boys, but everyone seems to think he is the mysterious killer around town. It is soon discovered otherwise as a kindly doctor is really the killer and Nardo is a magician working with the police to capture the monster.

This was, as usual, a good way to kill a short amount of time. The comedy still is timely, at least in my opinion. Lugosi looks menacing enough to fool the locals for a while anyway.

The rest of the cast includes Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David O'Brien, Dorothy Short and Ernest Morrison.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Claudia Cardinale is 86, and Samantha Fox is 58.

TENNESSEE'S PARTNER 1955 (TUBI)

Allen Dawn directed this very well made western that has not been easy to find or see.

John Payne stars as Tennessee, a gambler with a shady past who always seems to get into trouble. One night after winning a huge amount of money an angry gambler attempts to kill Tennessee.

JUst before this can be done a man with no name played by Ronald Reagan shoits and kills the man. Both he and Tennessee are arrested by the Sheriff played by Leo Gordon.

The two men become friends and Tennessee calls the man Cowpoke, but still doesn't know his real name. Cowpoke is in town to meet his new bride to be named Goldie Slater (Coleen Gray). Tennessee knws Goldie for the gold digger she is and after much goes on he makes her leave and go back to San Francisco.

This infuriates Cowpoke who vows to kill Tennessee. While all this is going on a miner called Grubsteak (Chubby Johnson) hits it big in a gold strike and Tennessee takes him home after a drunken night. The next morning Grubsteak is found murdered and his map to the mine is gone.

The town is in an uproar as Tennessee is accused of murder and the sheriff forms a posse. It gets even more involved before all is settled, but it makes for a hell of a great film.

The colors are beautiful and so are the women. The rest of the cast includes gorgeous Rhonda Fleming, Morris Ankrum, Myron Healey, Anthony Caruso and Angie Dickinson.

I think all western fans should check this out. It's one for the ages.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sarah Michelle Geller is 47, and Amy Dumas is 49.

GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE 1943 (SINISTER CINEMA)

I can probably say all of you reading this have seen this movie at some point. Believe it or not, this was my first time seeing it.

This is a fun film starring The East Side Kids. They try to fix up a house for some newlyweds and enter the wrong house only to find it being used by Nazi spies.

An agent named Emil (Bela Lugosi) is the head of the spy ring and all of the usual gags ensue when the spies try to get rid of the East Side Kids and viceaversa.

This is a very simple Monogram film and is a lot of fun. The cast includes Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, and Ava Gardner in her first credited role.

The film is very easy to see, so if you haven't watched it do so.