CAGE OF EVIL 1960 (DVD-R)

Another great low budget film from Edward L. Cahn.

Ron Foster stars as Det. Scott Harper, a man who has been overlooked for many promotions, but just keeps plugging along.

He gets assigned to a case involving a diamond heist and his life is soon changed forever. He falls for the young woman of the gangster who plotted the robbery. Her name is Holly and is expertly played by Patricia Blair.

Scott also finds himself falling for all the diamonds and he soon finds he has to kill the gangster and also some fellow cops in order to keep the money and escape with Holly to Mexico.

This is another fun little B picture from director Cahn and it moves along at the usual fast pace. Foster does a great job in this just like he did in "Music Box Kid".

I recommend this for fans of crime films and any fan of Edward Cahn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Margia Dean is 95, and Yvonne Lime 82.

RIP DON RICKLES 1926-2017

One of the worlds best comedic talents is gone.

Don Rickles was a one of a kind funny man who took pot shots at anyone and everybody was in on the joke.

I was first introduced to Rickles in a horror film called "X The Man With The X Ray Eyes" also starring Ray Milland. In that film Don was a serious as a heart attack, but his comedy is what made him famous for the last 50 years.

Rickles made other film appearances in such fair as "Muscle Beach Party", "Bikini Beach", "Beach Blanket Bingo", "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Kelly's Heroes".

He also put in an appearance on such TV shows as "The Twilight Zone", "Get Smart", "The Bob Hope Show", "Gilligan's Island" and many more. He had his own series called "CPO Sharkey" which ran for two years. I enjoyed it immensely.

I consider the "Golden Age" of comedy dead now that Don is no longer with us. A true talent has been taken away. He died at the age of 90.

WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET 1965 (DVD-R)

I have always liked this studio bound oddity.

Why this is not on DVD is a mystery to me. Wendell Corey, John Agar and Irene Tsu star in this film that has a very misleading title.

A spaceship crashes on a small planet while bringing citizens of another planet with them to improve race relations. The ship crashes and Corey, as Adm. David King has his ship turn around and head back for rescue. Thanks to the space time continuum this takes 20 years and they find everyone dead.

Tsu is Linda, a beautiful young woman from another planet that King was bringing back leaves the ship and finds a young man named Tang (Robert Ito) and she falls in love with him. They discover they are from the same race and that his parents were two survivors of the crash 20 years ago.

All of the action takes place on obvious studio sets, and I think that is part of the charm of this film. It's impossibly cheap, but all the actors do a good job with the material and this was the film that first got me hooked on Irene Tsu for she is absolutely lovely.

There are a few cavepeople, prehistoric monsters and a giant spider on the planet. The ending is a twist which is done very well. Now about the title. It was originally to be called "The Prehistoric Planet" which fits very well, but producer Jack Broder added the "Women Of.." to the title for overseas marketing. Go figure.

Anyhow, I love this film and hadn't seen it for years and it is a hard one to see. If you get a chance, do so. The rest of the cast is rounded out with Keith Larson, Merry Anders, Adam Roarke and Paul Hampton.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Roy Thinnes is 79, and Judith McConnell is 73.

APACHE WOMAN 1955 (DVD-R)

The first film released by American Releasing Corporation, soon to become American International Pictures.

Roger Corman directed this neat little western and I like this film a lot.

Joan Taylor, looking sexy as hell stars as Anne LeBeau a half Indian half white woman living with her brother. There has been a lot of trouble in the area lately with the Indians and the town is in an uproar.

Anne is targeted with hatred by the white people and this is no better shown than in the opening scene where she has a knife fight with a cowboy (Jonathan Haze). The government sends in a special investigator named Rex Moffett (Lloyd Bridges) and he immediately falls for Anne.

There are a lot of great little scenes in this film, but I have to say that Lance Fuller as Armand LeBeau steals the entire show. He is Anne's brother and is actually the one inciting the problems between Indians and the white people. His performance is subtle until the end when he really cuts loose.

Fuller is perfect as the insane man who will destroy everything he loves for the sake of his inner hatred of white people.

This is a hard to find western. It was released on VHS many years ago on the Columbia/Tri Star label. The print I have is in Black and White even though it says on the credits it was made in pathecolor. I think I prefer it in Black and White anyway.

The rest of the cast includes many Corman regulars such as Dick Miller, Paul Birch, Paul Dubov and Chester Conklin. Alex Gordon produced this gem. Recommended for Corman and western fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Roger Corman is 91, Michael Moriarty is 76, Jane Asher is 71, Dallas Page is 61, Roger Davis is 78, and Agnetha Faltskog is 67.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

Looks like July will also be a banner month for Blu-ray releases.

Shout Factory has announced that on July 4th they will be releasing the rare 1980 horror film WINDOWS. This is a truly bizarre film if there ever was one.

July 11th will see the Shout release of the 1951 sci-fi classic, THE MAN FROM PLANET X starring Robert Clarke.

Finally on July 18th they will be releasing an excellent double feature of Armando De Ossorio films. NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS and LORELEY'S GRASP. This is easily my favorite of the three, but all are very welcome on Blu-ray.

MUSIC BOX KID 1960 (DVD-R)

Very interesting obscure film noir.

Ron Foster is Larry Shaw, a young man who quickly rises in the ranks of organized crime during the 1920's.

He becomes a bodyguard to a top gangster, then a hitman and finally tries to take over the entire crime syndicate using his very powerful murder for hire organization.

He does the take over attempt by kidnapping other gangsters and generally raising havoc until the gangs get together and decide they have had enough.

Foster is very good in the lead role, and this was my first introduction to his career. Edward L. Cahn directs with his usual skill and talent.

The film is a rare one and hard to find, but if you get a chance and you're a film noir buff you might enjoy this fast moving little film.

The rest of the cast includes Luana Patton, Grant Richards, Dayton Lummis, and Johnny Seven. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Luke Halpin is 70, and Simone Griffeth is 67.

CAT MAN OF PARIS 1946 (DVD-R)

Neat little Republic horror.

This seems to be a forgotten horror that isn't talked about much. I found this is my collection of discs by accident and decided to give it another go. It had been years since I watched it.

A string of bizarre murders is being committed by a "cat-man" killer in Paris. A police inspector named Severen (Gerald Mohr) investigates.

His main suspect is an author named Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond) who has traveled the world, written books and now has severe amnesia attacks. Under these attacks he cannot remember where he has been, but he always seems to near the scene of a murder.

This fun little film has an interesting looking monster that isn't on screen for very long, but is pretty cool anyway. A short 60 minute film that is enjoyable and well worth looking for.

The rest of the cast includes Fritz Feld, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara and Douglass Dumbrille.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Eric Braeden is 76, Jennifer Rubin is 55, Jan Merlin is 92, and Lamberto Bava is 73.

CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS 1960 (CREEPY CLASSICS)

It has been many years since I first saw this Phil Tucker classic.

Two alien orbs from space inhabit the dead bodies of two people killed in a car crash and then start meddling with Cape Canaveral launches.

Jason Johnson and Katherine Victor are the aliens. Jonhson's character of Hauron has to have his arm sewn back on by Nadja (Victor). No sooner than his arm is fixed he gets it torn off again by guard dogs near a launching.

Meanwhile, scientists are trying to figure out why every missile they launch crashes back down to earth or explodes in space. Scott Peters is Tom Wright, a brilliant young scientist who seems more interested in Sally Markham (Linda Connell in her only film performance) who is working with him.

Soon both are captured by the aliens and along with the also captured group of people sent to rescue them, they come up with an ingenious escape plan.

This is a very minimalist production and it really shows, but that, I believe is part of it's charm. The invaders have a lot of problems getting along and they have priceless dialogue to prove it. Billy Greene is Dr. Von Hoften and he seems on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown in almost every scene.

Movies simply don't get any better than this. There are a lot of subtexts and not so subtle messages about romance, or the lack of it, and Tucker brings his usual style to this production.

I am very glad to have this film back in my collection as it is an early memory from a childhood well spent watching this kind of stuff on my small black and white 13 inch TV back in the day.

Most people have nothing good to say about this little obscure gem, but I recommend it for those who are ROBOT MONSTER fans or just plain enjoy off the wall entertainment.

My only question is...WHERE IS THE BLU-RAY release???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Lindy Booth is 38.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Aliza Gur is 73.