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, HELGA LINE, CAROLINE MUNRO, JOHN FREDRIKSEN, JOHN ZACHERLE, CLEO MOORE , ROSALBA NERI, ERIKA BLANC, FEMI BENUSSI, SHIRLEY CORRIGAN, ROSANNA YANNI, MIRTA MILLER, KARIN DOR, BARBARA BOUCHET, MAMIE VAN DOREN, BARBARA STEELE and, of course, CASEY KASEM.
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
THE WIND 1986 (ARROW) BLU-RAY
This filmed in Greece thriller left me wanting so much more.
Meg Foster stars as a writer of mysteries and murder tales named Sian Anderson. Her husband, John does not want her to go to Greece to write her new story, but she thinks being apart for a while will do them both good.
When she arrives she meets the owner of the house where she will spend the night. His name is Elias Appleby (Robert Morley), and he proves to be a somewhat pompas ass.
However, Sian's real problem begins when she meets the handyman named Phil (Wings Hauser) who turns out to be a homicidal maniac. Hauser plays these kinds of roles so well, it's easy to believe he's actually like this in real life.
A cat and mouse game of survival ensues between Sian and Phil, and while I wont give away the ending, I will say it takes its toll on both parties.
The film is well done, but it really lacks in some departments. Hauser and Foster are great, but the story has a hell of a lot of holes in it, and as is so overplayed in 80's horror, evil can never be stopped. I get tired of that formula.
The Blu-ray presentation is perfect and I do applaud Arrow for getting this one out so more people can see it.
Monday, May 12, 2025
CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE 1943 (TUBI)
This is the second in the Crime Doctor series of films.
Warner Baxter stars as Dr. Robert Ordway, now a doctor and once a criminal. He helps gimsellf and the police in solving mysterious cases, much like this one.
Lloyd Bridges is Jimmy Trotter, a young man working as a personal secretary for a very wealthy man. Trotter has a criminal past but was cleared of the crime of poisoning his former employer.
The man Trotter works for now is killed in the same way and it seems that someone is trying to frame Jimmy for the crime. Ordway helps Jimmy prove his innocence, but along the way he comes across some very odd red herrings and a lot of plot twists.
This is a very entertaining murder mystery and I have to admit it's the first "Crime Doctor" film I have ever seen. If you're a mystery fan you'll want to see this.
The rest of the cast for this fine Columbia thriller includes Barton MacLane, Lynn Merrick, Gloria Dickson, Jerome Cowan, Reginald Denny and Rose Hobart.
I hope I get the chance to see more of these films. I caught this on streaming, but have not been able to locate them on DVD or Blu-ray.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
RIP TERRY BRUNK 1964-2025
The King of hardcore wrestling is dead.
Terry wrestled under the name of "Sabu" and if you're a wrestling fan you know when I say Terry was hardcore, you know what I mean.
Brunk took the world by storm with his no holds barred style and he would often sacrifice his body for the sport he loved so very much. He had just wrestled his last match on April 19,2025 at the old ECW arena.
Sabu wrestled in ECW, WWE and WCW before staying on the indie scene for the rest of his career. Terry brunk passed away on March 11, 2025 at the young age of 60.
ANGELS IN DISGUISE 1949 (TUBI)
Fun entry in the series.
The Bowery Boys investigate a murder. Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are copy boys on a daily paper when they get the news that a police officer friend has been shot in a holdup involving "The Loop Gang".
The boys infiltrate the gang and trouble ensues when they are accepted by the Loop Gang as partners in an upcoming robbery attempt.
As I said this is a fun film and it contains some classic material such as Louis (Bernard Gorcey) acting the part of a very dangerous gangster and Slip being attracted to gunmoll Vivkie Darwell (Jean Dean).
It's nothing new, but it is fun to watch and if you're a fan, you'll enjoy it.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
FALCON STRIKES BACK 1943 (WARNER ARCHIVE)
This is an engaging little entry in the series.
Tom Conway again stars as Tom Lawrence AKA The Falcon. In this entry he is caught up in murder and the theft of war bonds.
In an interesting twist, Lawrence is framed for both a murder and a theft in a very clever way by a very exotic and beautiful woman at the beginning of the movie.
The patriotic angel was put in this film just like many other during the war and it works well. The movie is just over an hour and it moves at a quick pace. You may also notice one of the puppets used during a puppet show is Goofy from Walt Disney. Very unusual for this to happen, but a piece of movie trivia none the less.
Anyway, this is a good entry and Conway does his usual good job. The climax is very well done and at the very end, of course, The Falcon is moving on to his next adventure by helping another beautiful damsel in distress.
The rest of the cast for this RKO film includes Harriet Nelson, Jane Randolph, Edgar Kennedy, Paula Corday, Richard Loo, Edward Gargan, Joan Barclay and ean Brooks.
Recommended!
Friday, May 9, 2025
RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND 1960 (WARNER ARCHIVE)
It has been 11 years since I last saw this on TCM and wrote about it here.
I still think this is one of the best films of its kind ever made. Ray Danton stars as Jack "Legs" Diamond and he really commands the entire movie.
The film opens with Diamond and his brother Eddie (Warren Oates) arriving in Chicago and the first thing they see is a gangland killing. Jack sees the dead may lying in front of a jewelry store and his first thoughts are robbing the place.
Before long Jack rises to some power in the gang world, but his quest for more power costs everyone around him including the people that really love and care for him.
He has his brother killed while trying to take over the entire crime empire, and even his associates are stunned by this. Soon, however, Jack comes up against a gangster force he cannot overcome.
This movie is superb in every way. The director was Budd Boetticher, and he always knows how to make a great movie. The rest of the cast is perfect and includes beautiful Karen Steele, sexy Elaine Stewart, Jesse White, Simon Oakland, Robert Lowery, Kudson Pratt, Frank De Kova, Josepy Ruskin, Dyan Cannon, and Gordon Jones.
There is not one thing wrong with this film and if you like gangster movies, then this is for you. It has everything...powerful lead characters...great action...beautiful women and a good tight story.
Thursday, May 8, 2025
DRANGO 1957 (TUBI)
I REALLY liked this movie and can't believe it's not better known or seen much.
Jeff Chandler stars as Clint Drango, a former member of Sherman's army who carried out orders to burn everything in Georgia that he across.
After the war he returns to a small town that suffered under that destruction and tries to help the people rebuild. The people are very resentful as the film opens with the hanging of a man named Henry Calder (Morris Ankrum).
Drango knows he has his work cut out for him to get the people to work together. Nobody wants to cooperate thanks to the constant propaganda spewed by one Clay Allen (Ronald Howard).
Things spiral out of control until a child is killed in a fire set by Allen's men. The beautiful black and white photography by James Wong Howe is really helps this movie and it looks fantastic.
If you like westerns I would recommend this tense film. The direction is very good and the cast is top notch. It includes gorgeous Julie London, Joanne Dru, Donald Crisp, John Lupton, Walter Sande, Milburn Stone, Parley Baer, Barney Phillips, Charles Horvath and Chubby Johnson.
This is what I call a lost, but available film that should really be seen more. Hopefully with it streaming on TUBI it'll get more exposure.
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