HELLCATS 1968 (TUBI)

This was a movie I thought would be better than is was.

A policeman is killed and his brother Monta (Ross Hagen) and fiancee Linda (Dee Duffy) infiltrate and girl ler biker gang to find out why.

This leads them to a world of drugs and violence.

The only thing I liked about the movie was Ross Hagen and the several beautiful women in the movie, and that is it. The plot just drags and really goes nowhere.

It's this kind of movie that gives low budget films a bad name. There was some potential here, but the director never met it. It is a good time capsule for the era, but I can't recommend seeing it for that reason.

I found Dee Duffy to be a very attractive woman, but I don't think she was given enough to do in the movie. Check it out at your own risk.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Dean Cain is 58, and France Nuyen is 85.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

I forgot to mention the lovely Yvonne Strahovski is 42.

RIP JODY FAIR 1934-2023

The prolific actress has passed away.

Jody Fair was a very familiar face in lots of movies and TV shows over the years.

Some of the great movies she starred in include "Brain Eaters", "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow", "Girls Town", "Sex Kittens Go To College", "Hot Rod Girl" and "High School Confidential".

She passed away at the age of 89 on October 12th, 2023.

MARK OF ZORRO 1940 (MGM)

A true classic movie.

Tyrone Power stars as Diego, a young nobleman who returns to California from Spain and finds that it is being run by a corrupt government who has thrown his father out of power.

He finds that taxes have been raised to the point nobody can afford them, and this is all in effort to make the man in charge, Don Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg) rich.

Diego is disgusted and while pretending to be a spoiled rich aristocrat, he also adopts the persona of the masked man Zorro, who fights for the downtrodden by stealing their tax money back and working with the local Frey Filipe (Eugene Pallette) to keep it hidden.

While doing all this he fals for the young daughter of Quintero, Lolita (Linda Darnell). This is grand action and the final encounter between Diego and Capt. Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone) is a swordfighters dream.

It is excellent and very well staged. The entire movie is a great a dventure that will always hold your attention. If you haven't seen this cinema classic, you should.

This is how movies should still be made. The rest of the cast includes Gale Sondergaard, Montagu Love, Janet Beecher, Robert Lowery and Chris-Pin Martin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is 77, Vivica A. Fox is 60, Monique Gabrielle is 61, and Christopher Ray is 47.

THE BIG BUST OUT 1972 (SHOUT FACTORY)

A very odd Italian WIP film.

Roger Cormans' company called The Filmgroup brought this movie to the USA and cut 21 minutes out of it. This is the US version I am taking about.

Some female convicts in what I assume is a prison in Morocco escape after going to work in a Catholic mission, and they are accompanied by a Nun named Sister Maria (Monica Teuber).

A friend of one of the women, Nadia (Vonetta McGee) agrees to help them, but soon her lover Bob Shaw (William Burger) decides to sell the women as slaves to a man named El Kadir (Gordon Mitchell), and this includes Nadia.

The women and a ship captain named Jeff Robinson (Tony Kendall) find nothing but constant danger in their effort to escape the country and find freedom.

There is plenty of nudity, torture and sadism which is expected in films like this, but it really becomes a lot of set pieces. Now, I don't know what was taken out of the original Italian print, but maybe it should have been left in.

Oh well, this is what we have and it's not too shabby, it just doesn't make too much sense at times. Great cast and plenty of beautiful women to look at.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Robert Fuller is 91, Delia Sheppard is 64, Tina Krause is 54, Roz Kelly is 81, and Scott Steiner is 62.

BOMBAY WATERFRONT 1952 (RENOWN)

No too bad of a thriler.

This was also known as "Paul Temple Returns" but the name Paul Temple was unknown in America at the time of release.

John Bentley stars as crime writer Paul Temple who along with his gorgeous wife Steve (Patricia Dainton) life a very quiet and comfortable life.

A killer is terrorizing London and every victim is found to have a note signed by "The Marquis" left on their body. Scotland Yard is stumped by the case since there is not one piece of evidence connecting any of the victims.

Temple is warned to stay away from the case, but her and Steve are finally called in after a few more murders. This is the fourth and final film in the series and it moves along very well.

The ending where the killer is finally revealed is well handled and the cast is very well suited to the material. As I watched this I also thought of the many Edgar Wallace murder mysteries I have seen and read over the years.

The rest of the cast includes Christopher Lee, Arthur Hill, Robert Urquhart, Valentine Dyall and Dan Jackson. I woould really recommend this for mystery fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Elizabeth Berkley is 52, Lisa Gastoni is 89, Danielle De Luca is 46, and Maura Monti is 82.

UPTURNED GLASS 1947 (SINISTER CINEMA)

I had heard a lot of great things about this movie.

I was disappointed in it.

James Mason stars as Michael Joyce, a noted brain surgeon. He helps a young child and falls for the mother of the child. She is married and he isn't, but she sends a note to her husband about the affair.

Both know it won't work and all seems quiet until Michael reads that his former lover fell out of a window and died.

He stays quiet for a long time and plots to get revenge on her murderer. The first hour of this film really drags, at least it did for me. The last 30 minutes are very good, with Mason carrying out his own revenge plot.

The director of this was also the director some 20 years later for "The Vulture" which is far different, of course. If you like film noir I suggest you check it out. You might not feel the same way about it as I do.

I will say the ending is somewhat bizarre as well. The rest of the cast includes Rosamund John, Pamela Mason, Jane Hylton and Morland Graham.

PURGATORY 1988 (MEDIA COLLECTIBLES)

A good WIP film and starring the gorgeous Tanya Roberts.

The plot of the film is nothing original at all. Two peace corps workers attempt to flle an African nation after a military coup.

The two women, Carly (Tanya Toberts) and Melanie (Julie Pop) pick up a young man on the road while fleeing. Their vehicle is stopped and they are caught. The young man has lots oc heroine on him and the women are framed for the crime, even though they don't know the hitchhiker they picked up.

They are thrown into a prison hell and Melanie doesn't survive long. Carly on the other hand is made the personal sex toy of the warden, and she must either escape or die.

I first saw this back in the early 90's on VHS and it was, of course Tanya Roberts who caught my interest. This is not the usual WIP film simply because it doesn't have enough torture and abuse of Roberts' character.

Yes, we see her topless for a few quick shota, and Tanya looks great in a teddy, but there just wasn't the usual things you see in these kinds of movies.

If you're looking to see sexy Tanya Roberts strut her stuff, then see this movie, but if you're looking for a more sleazy film, look somewhere else.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Linda Harrison is 79, and Susan George is 74.

FEAR NO EVIL 1981 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

Wow...this film is a trip.

I was involved in the film business when this came out and I never had the time to see it..until now.

A high school student is actually the reincarnation of Satan and he is coming back to take over the Earth. Stefan Arngrim is the demonic being. The last time I saw him in anything he was a child on the series "Land Of The Giants".

Two archangels are sent to stop him. They are Mikhail (Elizabeth Hoffman) and Gabrielle (Kathleen Rowe McAllen).

This is a very confusing film. Parts of it are very well done but a lot of times we have things happening without any explanation. This film has a lot of the usual things including pot smoking, angels and demons but we also have zombies, a killer basketball and an all male nude shower scene!!

This all culminates in a good vs. evil climax, but the viewer feels totally unrewarded, or maybe it was just me. The only thing I really liked was Kathleen McAllen. She sticks in my mind.

I think horror fans should see this for something a little different, but leave your mind shut off and don't worry about plot.

RIP CARLA BALENDA 1925-2024

Her name may not be well known, but I am sure you've seen her in something.

Carla appeard in many TV shows including "Perry Mason", "Men Into Space" and 13 episodes of "Adventures Of Fu Manchu".

Her films included "The Whip Hand", "Outlaw Women", "Rustlers Of The Badlands", "Prince Of Pirates", "Seconds" and many more.

Carla Balenda died on April 9, 2024 at the age of 98.

WORLD OF GIANTS 1959 (CLASSIC FLIX)

This is a very rare TV series that was issued on DVD and Blu-ray last summer. I managed to get thru only 3 episodes last December and then because of life changes I never got back to them until just recently.

This was produced in 1959, and at the time it was one of, if not the most expensive TV show ever produced. After 13 episodes were filmed they could not find a sponser so it was shelved until 1961 when it was picked up for first run syndication by ZIV.

The series is about Mel Hunter (Marshall Thompson), a secret agent who was involved in an accident behind the Iron Curtain and was mysteriously shrunk to 6 inches in height.

He continues working for the Government while doctors try to find a cure. His partner is Bill Winters (Arthur Franz) who carries Mel around in a special briefcase.

Each of the episodes is well done, and you can see where all the money went. The effects were pretty darned good for the day and that kind of stuff always costs an arm and a leg. It's interesting to note this was done a few years before Irwin Allen came out with "Land Of The Giants", and both are very similar.

Classic Flix has restored all of these wonderful episodes from 16mm prints and they look very good indeed. This has been a much sought after series for years and it was almost forgotten. Now here it is in all it's glory for sci-fi fans to enjoy once again.

The 13 episodes feature some of the best names in the business at the time. Some of them are gorgeous Peggy Castle, Gavin MacLeod, Barry Kroeger, Narda Onyx, Carol Kelly, James Seay and the always beautiful Allison Hayes.

If you get a chance I highly recommend this. It's a fun show and a great trip down memory lane with ZIV, one of the best companies ever involved with TV. I'll have more on them later if I get the time.

Episode List:

SPECIAL AGENT

TIME BOMB

TEETH OF THE WATCHDOG

DEATH TRAP

GAMBLING STORY

CHEMICAL STORY

FEATHERED FOE

THE POOL

RAINBOW OF FIRE

THE SMUGGLERS

OFF BEAT

UNEXPECTED MURDER

PANIC IN 3-B

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jennifer Lopez is 55, Lynda Carter is 73, Torrie Wilson is 49 and Heidi Kristoffer is 42.

RIP TERESA GIMPERA 1936-2024

The gorgeous Spanish actress has passed away.

Any fan of Spanish cinema knows who this beauty was.

The first film I ever saw her in was "Young Hannah Queen Of The Vampires" in 1972. She appeared in many Spanish films and many genre types such as "Macabre", "Count Dracula", "Feast Of Satan", "Night Of The Scorpion", "Night Of The Devils", Naked Girl Murdered In The Park", "Love Slaves Of The Blood Mummy" and many others.

Teresa Gimpera passed away at 87. As of this writing I don't have a date of her death.

THEN THERE WERE THREE 1961 (US IMPORT)

Strange little WW2 film starring and directed by actor Alex Nicol.

The movie opens with an unseen spy being given orders by a German soldier and then we are switched to a small group of 8 men who have been separated from their units.

They are headed to a small town in Italy where a prisoner is being kept, and the Germans want to silence that particular person. The core of the story is that one by one the soldiers die mysterious deaths as they make their way to the town of San Corrado, and one of them is a German spy whose mission it is to kill the Italian prisoner.

This is a rare combination of WW2 and mystery which makes for interesting viewing, at least for me anyway. I enjoyed the hell out of this movie.

It moves along at a good clip, and it will be a surprise who the killer is. I kind of suspected, but was never really sure until it got to about the last 4 men.

The rest of the cast includes Frank Latimore, Barry Cahill, Sidney Klute, Frank Gregory, Fredrick Clark and eye candy provided by the delicious Adriana Cole and Paola Falchi.

This is an obscure movie, but seek it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ronny Cox is 86, Charisma Carpenter is 54, Lydia Cornell is 71, and Erika Blanc is 82.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Erica Gavin is 77.

CAVALRY COMMAND 1963 (ALPHA)

This somewhat rare little film is also known as "Day Of The Trumpet".

Set in a small Filipino village in 1902, this tale is about a small band of US calvarymen help the locals with such things as building bridges, housing and getting things running for themselves.

A renagade nationalist sees the US soldiers helping his people with food amd medicine and decides to stop it any way he can. Sgt. Judd Norcutt (John Agar) is in charge and will not let anything stop his men from helping the people of the village.

This is an interesting film that for some reason has been lost to the cracks in filmmaking time. The cast also includes Alicia Vergel, Richard Arlen, William Phipps, Myron Healey, and of course Vic Diaz.

It's a color film and with a cast like is mentioned above, I'm shocked it's not better known. There are some very good battle sequences and the film never slows down.

I've read some hogwash garbage about the film being offensive to some. If you're one of those just shut up and move on. I know it's 2024 and everyone seems to have to whine about something, but remember it's only a movie.

VON RICHTHOFEN AND BROWN 1971 (MGM)

Excellent Roger Corman directed film about the famous German pilot if WW1.

John Phillip Law essays the title role of Manfred von Richthofen, an ace WW1 pilot that is at odds with both the enemy of the air and other german pilots who are envious of his accomplishments.

Don Stroud also stars as English pilot Roy Brown, the man who has vowed to kill Manfred.

The air battle scenes in this movie are amazing and Corman handles everything with the usual flair that made him a legend in the world of film.

The characters are all very believable and once the action starts it does not stop. This is one of Corman's films that for some reason isn't talked about much. It's a gem.

Others in the cast include Hurd Hatfield, Karen Ericson, Tom Adams, Corin Redgrave, Ferdy Mayne and Clint Kimbrough. I Highly Recommend this film, and if you get a chance to see it, check it out.

BACK FROM THE DEAD 1957 (KINO) BLU-RAY

I did a review for this obscure film a few years ago after watching it on YouTube.

Now it finally gets a 4K Blu-ray release. It has never been available in any format and is a very welcome addition to any horror collection.

This 20th Century Fox thriller stars gorgeous Peggy Castle as Mandy Anthony, a newly married woman. Her husband, Dick Anthony (Arthur Franz) is perplexed by her sometimes odd behavior.

One night Mandy passes out and when she comes to again she claims to be a woman named Felicia, who was Dick's first wife. It seems that Felicia was involved in the occult.

Felecia vowed to come back from the dead and now she has. Dick and Mandy's sister try and find a way to end this nightmare before Felicia takes over for good.

This macabre gem is sometimes a little slow, but it's no big deal. I like slow burning horror. The cast does a great job under the direction of Charles Marquis Warren.

The movie is presented in wonderful widescreen "Regalscope" with a crisp black and white image. I also have to admit that it's never a bad thing to see Peggy Castle in a black negligee, especially remastered.

A huge shout out to Kino for finally bringing this movie to Blu-ray and doing such a darn good job with it. The rest of the cast includes Marsha Hunt, Don Haggerty, James Bell, Marianne Stewart and Otto Reichow.

WOMEN BEHIND BARS 1975 (BLUE UNDERGROUND)

A Jess Franco WIP starring gorgeous Lina Romay.

Romay stars as Shirley Fields, a young woman who has a boyfriend that is a small time hood. He steals some diamonds and hides them away before going home.

She kills him and is then arrested and sentenced to a women's prison where she is regularly tortured. The warden is a sadist who loves watching the women get whipped, and he really gets excited when Shirley is tortured.

One day a man visits Shirley in the prison and he tells her that if she can get him the diamonds she will be set free. As you might expect this doesn't work out well.

This being a Jess Franco film you can expect beautiful women who are mostly naked, and hey, that is a plus. Franco even has a small role in the movie.

The movie has a very good ending and I am going to let you know I enjoyed this a lot. The team of Franco and his muse Romay made a ton of movies together, and this is one of the better ones.

The cast also includes Martine Stedil and Roger Darton as the Warden. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Elizabeth Kaitan is 64.

RIP YVONNE FURNEAUX 1926-2024

Her movie career lasted 32 years and she made a lasting impression on me.

She was not as well known as other actresses of her time but she made a lot of darned good movies including "La Dolce Vita", "Cross Channel", "The Mummy" from 1959 Hammer Studios, "Charge of The Black Lancers" and "Repulsion".

I just watched her in "Repulsion" and "Charge Of The Black Lancers" both of which will be appearing here soon.

A very beautiful woman who always carried the show. Furneaux passed away on Juy 5th, 2024 at the age of 98.

UNKNOWN TERROR 1957 (KINO) BLU-RAY

This is a personal favorite of mine.

The past reviews of this have been from the long OOP Sinister Cinema DVD. Kino brings this to Blu-ray in a stunning "Regalscope" print that is simply beautiful.

An explorer gets lost in a cave and his sister Gina Matthews (Mala Powers) and her husband Dan (John Howard) launch an expedition to find him.

The third person in the party is Peter Morgan (Paul Richards) who was injured in an earlier accident with Dan. The three travel to a small south american village and find nothing but trouble.

They meet a doctor named Ramsey (Gerald Milton) and his beautiful wife Concha (May Wynn). Ramsey is no help to the three, but thry finally locate a mysterious underground cave thanks to Concha.

The doctor has been experimenting with molds and has created a mold that multiplies and cannot be killed. He also has infected many of the natives with it and turned them into fungus men.

I think this is a fun little film and have always enjoyed it. Thank goodness this is now out on Blu-ray and I believe every 50's monster movie fan will want to see this unhearalded gem.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Audrey Landers is 68, Molly Culver is 57, and Amanda Saccomanno is 34.

STAR OF INDIA 1954 (SHOUT FACTORY)

A good swashbuckler.

The story deals with a Squire named Pierre St. Laurent (Cornel Wilde) who returns to France after fighting a war in India only to find that his entire estate has been confiscated for back taxes.

On top of that is has been resold to Katrina (Jean Wallace) who is a Dutch Countess.

Pierre goes to the tax collector, a man named Narbonne (Herbert Lom) and demands justice, but Narbonne just laughs at him. Katrina offers to give Pierre's estate back to him is he will obtain a rare gem called "Star Of India" for her.

The only trouble is Narbonne has the priceless jewel and never lets it out of his sight. This sets up a great and colorful tale that really keeps the viewers interest.

The entire cast does their job well and Wallace looks as beautiful as ever. If you like great adventure films, I am sure you'll like this little effort from United Artists.

The cast also includes Yvonne Sanson, John Slater and Walter Rilla. This is good entertainment all around.