THE OUTFIT 1973 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

An excellent movie!!

Robert Duvall stars as Earl Macklin, a man released from prison after robbing a bank owned by the mob. We see his brother being killed in the opening minutes of the movie, and from then on we know that there will be hell to pay.

Macklin isn't out of jail 24 hours before he starts his private war on the Mob and their boss named Mailer (Robert Ryan). Macklin is met when released by Bett Harrow (Karen Black). She is a former girlfriend and not too hot on what Macklin wants to do.

Macklin robs a private poker party by top mob bosses and soon starts small robberies everywhere mob money is involved. This enrages Mailer who demands that Macklin be killed no matter what.

One thing leads to another and before you know it Macklin is becoming more of a pain to the mob than they ever imagined. All of the performances in the movie are very, very good.

A cast of very familiar faces to movie fans and a great story makes this film just fly by. If you're a fan of crime movies, then this is for you.

The rest of the cast includes Joe Don Baker, Timothy Carey, Richard Jaeckel, Sheree North, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Jane Greer, Henry Jones, Joanna Cassidy and Tom Reese.

One of the best casts for a 70's film noir. I thought Joanna Cassidy's performance as Mailer's wife was terrific, even if there wasn't much for her to do but look sexy. However the winning role in my opinion goes to Sheree North. North was always a very gorgeous woman, but this role is, well, unforgettable.

I won't give anything away, but just take my word for it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CRIME FILM!!

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sarah French who turned 43 on April 22, 2025.

FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD 1947 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Another fun entry in the series.

Ton Conway stars as Tom Lawrence, The Falcon. Lawrence is on vacation in Hollywood when he gets involved in the murder of an actor on a Hollywood movie set.

Lawrence is determined to find the killer, and along the way meets a perky taxi driver named Billie (Veda Annn Borg) who helps him in the investigation.

Two detectives, McBride (Emory Parnell) and Higgins (Frank Jenks) always seem to be one step behind Lawrence. It's a fast paced fun little murder yarn which was very typical of RKO thrillers and "B" films of the day.

The rest of the cast includes Barbara Hale, John Abbott, Sheldon Leonard, Jean Brooks, Paula Corday and Robert Clarke.

A top notch entry in the series, I always enjoy going back in time with these movies and seeing how things used to be. I really miss actor like Conway and actresses such as Borg and the very beautiful Corday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Michelle Pfeiffer is 67, Uma Thurman is 55, Candace Owens is 36, and Cheri Caffaro is 80.

RIP DAMIEN THOMAS 1942-2025

The British actor has died.

Damien Thomas may not be a familiar name to many, but his career spanned over 50 years.

He appeared in such TV fare as "Journey Into The Unknown", "Madigan" and "Special Branch", just to name a few.

His movie roles included "Journey Into Darkness", "Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger" and his most famous role as Count Karnstein in "Twins Of Evil".

Damien Thomas passed away on April 18, 2025 at the age of 83, just one week after his birthday.

IN A COLT'S SHADOW 1965 (WILD EAST)

A very enjoyable and fast moving Spaghetti Western.

This is a story about 2 gunslingers who are good friends. Steve (Stephen Forsyth) and Duke (Conrado San Martin) work very well together and are two of the fastest guns alive.

Steve is in love with Duke's daughter but Duke disapproves as he feels life with Steve will be too dangerous for her. They go their separate ways and Steve ends up in a small town run by two crooked men.

Steve brings Susan (Duke's sister played by Anna Maria Polani) to the town and has several battles with the crooked men running the town. Finally he buys a ranch outside of town and he and Susan settle down.

The ending has Steve and Duke in a final shoot out that doesn't go quite as planned. The ending of this film was a very good one and it fit the story well.

This is an obscure western that doesn't seem to get much attention. The DVD is very rare now, but it was also streaming on TUBI last I knew.

If you're a fan of the genre as I am I highly recommend this story of love, betrayal and justice. The rest of the cast includes beautiful Helga Line.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jessica Alba is 44, Ann-Margret is 84, and Kari Wuhrer is 58.

KILLER'S MOON 1978 (REDEMPTION)

Obscure horror thriller which delivers on many levels.

The story revolves around 4 mental patients who escape from a hospital. To make matters worse they have been the subjects of unauthorized experiments and given drugs to make them think everything is a dream.

Add into this mix a busload of young choir girls whose bus has broken down, and you have a very twisted story. These four madmen terrorize and rape some of the girls while two young men try and help the girls get away.

There are some gory deaths in this film, but it isn't much. The four men reminded me of "A Clockwork Orange" in their white bedclothes and running around the countryside killing with no feelings or morals.

This is an effective thriller should please horror fans. It's not an original idea, but it works. The scene where the three legged dog kills one of the crazies is only one of some very good set pieces.

Without giving anything away here, there is one line of dialogue that I found to be shocking in regards to a rape, and I don't know who came up with that line. Watch the movie to see what I'm talking about.

The cast includes Anthony Forrest, Tom Marshall, Jane Hayden (Linda's sister), and Lisa Vanderpump. I strongly believe that Lisa should have stayed in the low budget movie world instead of becoming a "reality" TV "star".

Anyway, check this movie out and enjoy it. Yes, it's disturbing, but it keeps the viewer glued to the action on screen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sheena Easton is 66.

FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW 1972 (KINO)

Another Pete Walker thriller.

I first saw this on USA Network back in the 80's and it was so edited I stopped watching it.

This film centers around a small group of actors that are rehearsing at a small seaside theater. All is well until they start being killed one by one.

The plot is really nothing new, of course, but the way it is presented is very good in my opinion. Walker was just hitting his stride with this fun little shocker.

The women are all beautiful and slip out of their clothes often, which is why it was edited so badly on the USA Network. The ending is in 3-D, but the version I saw has it shown in black and white, which actually makes more sense.

The ending may not suprise you, but it works. The cast includes Ray Brooks, Jenny Hanley, Luan Peters, Robin Askwith, Candace Glendenning, Tristan Rogers and Judy Matheson.

I really recommend this "pre slasher" era film. There isn't a lot of blood, but Walker knows how to handle every scene and make you think you're seeing more than you really are.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Carol Burnett is 92, and Koo Stark is 69.

RIP LAR PARK LINCOLN 1961-2025

The very underrated actress has passed away.

Her career spanned about 40 plus years and I always thought she deserved a bigger fan base, especially since she made many horror films.

She appeared in various TV shows as "Murder She Wrote", "City Of Justice" and 48 episodes of "Knots Landing".

Some of the horror films she appeared in include "House 2: The Second Story", "Friday the 13th:The New Blood", and "Ghost Party". Some of these films were forgettable, but Lincoln was always a very welcome face in these movies and on TV.

The beautiful Lar Park Lincoln passed away on April 22, 2025 at the age of 63.

FALCON'S BROTHER 1942 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

I finally got another chance to see some of this great series again.

George Sanders stars as Gay Lawrence, a private detective who has been working to solve a murder. His brother Tom (Tom Conway) arrives to help him, but soon Gay is hit by a car and is put out of action for a while.

Tom soon finds himself involved in a Nazi spy ring to sabotage the US war effort. With the help of a beautiful female reporter named Marcia Brooks (Jane Randolph), he slowly unravels the mystery.

During the final battle with the spies Gay is killed, and Tom receives a mysterious phone call and he decides to stay and fight crime himself.

George Sanders wanted out of the series and RKO was going to make this the final film in the series, but Tom Conway came in and the series lasted 4 more years.

I like Sanders a lot, but Conway always seemed like he enjoyed the role better. These are fast moving little "B" films from RKO and I haven't seen them in ages. If I recall, I was never disappointed by any of them.

The rest of the cast includes Don Barclay, Edward Gargan, Kay Aldridge, Eddie Dunn, Charlotte Wynters and Keye Luke.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gina Torres is 56, Talia Shire is 79.

FANTOMAS 1964 (KINO) BLU-RAY

The first of the series of three films, and I actually watched them from number 3 to number 1.

Jean Marias stars as the master criminal Fantomas. A reporter makes fun of Fantomas because he refuses to believe that a master criminal can really exist.

Much to his astonishment he is kidnapped by Fantomas and then used by him in order to destroy his reputation. Fantomas goes around disguised as the reporter and commits some crimes before adopting the face of Commissaire Luve (Louis de Funes) to commit more crimes.

It sounds much more complicated than it is and this film is actually better than the two that were to follow. This is uaually the case with movies however.

There is a ton of action and some wild stunts, and of course we have the gorgeous Mylene Demongeot to make things even better. If you like these French Bond knock offs you will no doubt enjoy this movie.

I recommend this but watch the others at your own risk. As I just mentioned, they are not as good, but they are entertaining.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stacy Haiduk is 57.

RIP STEVE "MONGO" McMICHAEL 1957-2025

I hate to say it, but the football and wrestling great has died.

Steve McMichael was a great football star with the Chicago Bears, but I remember him most from WCW Wrestling in the 1990's.

"Mongo" was his nickname and he lived up to that. In the world of wrestling he wes a top athelete and could sell anything. His war with the NWO and his joining the "Four Horsemen" with Ric Flair was unforgettable.

Steve McMichael suffered from ALS for the last few years, and it finally won. But Steve will NEVER be forgotten by football or wrestling fans the world over.

He was one of a kind, and sadly there aren't too many people like that around anymore. McMichael passed away on April 23, 2025 at the age of 67.

PHENOMENA 1986 (SYNAPSE) BLU-RAY

A very bizarre film from Dario Argento.

I am ssure most people who read this have already seen the movie if you're a horror fan, but for me it's a first time watch and I admit I enjoyed it.

The plot is unique in itself. A young girl named Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) has a very unusual ability to communicate with insects and comes to the attention of Prof. John McGregor (Donald Pleasence).

McGregor has studied insects for years and he sees that Corvino has a strange power of them and that they will protect. He convinces her to help him find a very evil and twisted killer stalking the woods around the all girls school she is staying at.

The plot gets thicker and thicker as Corvino gets closer to discovering who the killer is. I am not going to give away anything else, but let us say that the killer is not what people expect and it just makes the plot even more bizarre.

Argento has always been a different kind of filmmaker, and it really shows here. There is so much going on and yet it all comes together in a crazy kind of way.

The rest of the cast imcludes Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Patrick Bauchau and Fiore Argento.

If by chance you haven't seen this movie I recommend you do, but only the uncut version. There are several versions out there under the title "The Creepers" and it's heavily edited. The Blu-ray is gorgeous and the movie never slows down once it starts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lee Majors is 86, Britt Baker is 34, and Tony Atlas is 71.

THE MAD BOMBER 1972 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

An unbelievable film from Bert I. Gordon.

When I say that, I mean it in a good way. The man who brought us such fare as "War Of The Colossal Beast", "Amazing Colossal Man", "Earth Vs. The Spider" and so many more really changes pace here.

This is the sleazy story of William Dorn (Chuck Conners) who goes around setting off bombs in Los Angeles as a way of getting revenge on society after his daughter dies from a drug overdose.

The police, led by Lt. Geronimo Minneli (Vince Edwards) have no leads until Dorn bombs a mental hospital and is spotted by another psycho named George Fromley (Neville Brand) who has just raped a woman in the very same basement Dorn has planted his explosive.

After a lot of police work Minneli and his men capture Fromley and he identified Dorn, then the chase is on to find him. The ending is quite good, but it is very graphic.

I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I hadn't seen it since the old VHS days when every company seemed to turn this out, and it was never in an uncut form.

This Blu-ray is beautiful and it's nice to see this fully uncut.There is lots of nudity, and as I said, the ending is something else indeed. The print is under the films original title "The Police Connection".

The rest of the cast includes Hank Brandt, Del Monroe, Christine Hart, Ilona Wilson and Nancy Hannold. Very Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jack Nicholson is 88, and Catherine Mary Stewart is 66.

KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE 1968 (KINO)

Damn good Italian western.

Chuck Conners stars as Clyde McKay, a mercenary who is hired by a conniving Confederate spy named Captain Lynch (Frank Wolff) to steal 1 million in gold from a Union Army fortress.

McKay has brought five very odd yet brutal men with him to complete the task. Once the plan is put into motion there is more action than I have seen in 10 movies just like this.

The body count must be in the hundreds as the men kill anyone who gets in their way and they even turn on each other. What we learn is that McKay already has his own plan in mind, hence the title of the movie.

There are some amazing sequences in this film and I really think you should see it if you're a western movie fan. I found it also very interesting that there is not one woman to be seen in the entire movie.

That is extremely odd for an Italian western. However, the cast does and excellent job and director Enzo G. Castellari handles the movie very well.

The rest of the cast includes Franco Citti, Hercules Cortes, Antonio Molino Rojo and Leo Anchoriz.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ed Leslie is 68.

VAMPIRE HAPPENING 1971 (ANCHOR BAY)

Very light horror/comedy mix that sometimes works and sometimes not.

An American actress named Betty Williams ( Pia Dagermark) inherits a castle in Transylvania and stops by for a vacation and a visit.

This visit causes confusion since Betty's ancestor, Baroness Catali (Pia Dagermark) is still alive and a real vampire who prowls the night.

Yvor Murillo is Josef, the caretaker who really steals the show with his antics. He is always trying to kill the Baroness, but can never keep it straight who is who.

Some of the humor doesn't work well, but that could be because it's German...I don't know. There are however, plenty of great looking women on display. The most notable is Dagermark herself.

She makes the entire movie tolerable. The movie ends with a huge vampire party in a castle hosted by Count Dracula (Ferdy Mayne) who arrives in a "Bat-copter".

If you're looking for light entertainment, this is for you. I've seen much worse in my time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Clint Howard is 66, Veronica Cartwright is 76, Olga Karlatos is 80, Judith O'Dea is 80, and the luscious Carmen Electra is 53.

ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS 1966 (REDEMPTION FILMS) BLU-RAY

Fun little sci-fi/spy film from Jess Franco.

This French.Spanish co-production stars Eddie Constantine as Al Pereira, a former government agent who is called out of retirement to investigate some mysterious assassinations.

It seems that all over the world people have been assassinating high officials with no rhyme or reason. It's discovered that the killers have a rare blood type that Pereira also has and so he is sent to be kidnapped.

The movie moves along at a very good pace and the spy elements are played up much more than the sci-fi, but it is a good mix. Constantine is excellent as usual and he is supported by a great cast that includes Fernando Rey, Francoise Brion, Mara Laso, Dina Loy and Sophie Hardy.

The black and white photography is a perfect mood setter for this film. The climax is a great battle between Pereira and the mad doctor with his creations.

When I was much younger I had several chances to see this movie and turned every one of them down as I thought the movie would be boring. I am much older now and I found it to be great fun.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

FANTOMAS UNLEASHED 1965 (KINO)

This is the second installment of the French Bond spoofs.

I call it a spoof as there is a lot of comedy. Not as much as in "Fantomas Vs. Scotland Yard" but enough to make me shake my head and wonder why in the hell I am watching this.

It must be because I love seeing Mylene Demongeot in anything. The other usual suspects are here again such as Jean Marais as Fantomas and Louis de Funes as Juve.

In this effort a Professor named Marchand is kidnapped by Fantomas in the hopes that he can get his hands on a ray that controls all thought.

The movie drags a lot and all the action takes place in the last 15 minutes which includes the first ever skydiving sequence done for the big screen.

I did notice that the movie really tried to be like the Bond films with Fantomas' huge hideout and such, but to me anyway, the film fails.

I am watching these in backwards order, so hopefully the first one will be better. I guess I'll find out. Watch this at your own risk.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eric Roberts is 69, Hayley Mills is 79, James Woods is 78, Melissa Joan Hart is 49, and Melody Thomas Scott is 69.

BEYOND DARKNESS 1990 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

This Italian horror film was shot in Louisana at the same house as the other Italian horror films "The Beyond" and "Killing Birds".

I swear I have seen this before after watching it this time, but it barely rings a bell.

Claudio Fragasso directed this movie about a priest named Peter (Gene LeBrock) and his wife Annie (Barbara Bingham) who, along with their two children, move into a haunted house in the deep south.

There is not a lot of gore in this movie, which is fine by me, but there isn't a lot that makes sense either. A former priest played by David Brandon seems to be fighting a demon who captures souls of the innocent and devours them, but we see this in the first scenes of the film and then it's integrated into the plot later on.

The movie moves along at a good pace, and there are a couple of good scares, but it's nothing I haven't seen many times before and done much better, including the no suprise ending.

The Blu0ray presentation is excellent, but I have seen much better films based on the same subject matter. This is only recommended as a time waster for die hard Italian horror fans....like me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Michael Forest is 96.

RIP WINK MARTINDALE 1933-2025

A true radio and TV talent has passed away.

If you grew up in the 70's and 80's Martindale was always around on various game shows including "Gambit", "Tic-Tac-Dough", "High Rollers" and many more.

He got his start in radio back in the 50's and became one of Elvis' best friends, and they remaind so until Presley died in 1977. Martindale also guest hosted American Top 40 for Casey Kasem one time.

A true class act and gentleman. They don't make them like Wink anymore.

Wink Martindale passed away on April 15, 2025 at the age of 91.

FANTOMAS VS. SCOTLAND YARD 1967 (KINO)

This is the third and final film in the 1960's trilogy of French comedy/spy films about Fantomas.

Jean Marais stars as Fantomas, the master criminal who is up to no good as usual. In this outing he is attemting to tax the very, very wealthy in Scotland a "living" tax.

This means they have to pay him a huge amount just to stay alive. Commissaire Juve (Louis de Funes) is called into the cae once again and ends up falling short on his investigation.

A reporter played by Robert Dalban and his very sexy girlfriend Helene (Mylene Demongeot) attempt to capture Fantomas, but they to fail. I found that there was way too much comedy in this film to make it an effective spy thriller or action movie.

I guess I just don't understand French filmmaking. Anyway the color photography is beautiful and so in the gorgeous Demongeot, who makes all of these films just abit more watchable.

I don't think is the right one to start off the series with. I found it a bit disappointing and hope the others will be a bit better. I found this to be only for very die hard spy movie fans.