CRY IN THE NIGHT 1956 (TCM VIEWING)

Fascinating film noir.

Raymond Burr stars as an unhinged man named Harold Loftus who is the product of a very overprotective mother played by Carol Veazie.

While in Lover's Lane on night spying on people making out Harold is spotted by a young man with his sweetheart. The man Owen Clark (Richard Anderson)is knocked out and his date, Liz Taggert (Natalie Wood) is kidnapped by Harold.

A police investigation follows and it is discovered that Liz is the daughter of police Capt. Dan Taggert (Edmond O' Brien) who is himself an overprotective parent.

The police investigate every possible angle and Taggert always gets the info thru his brash and gruff tactics. His boss, Capt. Ed Bates (Brian Donlevy) tries to calm him down and send him home, but Taggerts wants the creep that has taken his daughter.

Natalie Wood does a very good job with the role she has and Burr is always entertaining as a crazy man. The film moves along at a very quick pace and never lets up.

The excellent cast is rounded out by Herb Vigran and Tina Carver in a very interesting role as Mrs. Marie Holzapple.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Brooke Mills is 68 and Cristina Galbo is 67.

RIP FRANCINE YORK 1938-2017

News has reached me about the death of a very beautiful actress.

Francine York passed away on Jan. 6th at the age of 79. The never married York was a very sexy highpoint in my movie loving life.

Her career in front of the camera began in 1958 and lasted until the end of her life. Throughout her career she made hundreds of appearances in TV shows and movies.

It was her movies I will always remember and some of them include "Curse Of The Swamp Creature", "Space Probe Taurus", "The Centerfold Girls" and, of course, "The Doll Squad".

A simply beautiful woman who was always, at least to me, sadly overlooked as a good actress. I enjoyed her in everything I saw her in.

RIP Francine and thanks for the many memories.

THE SEVEN FACES OF BANNAI TARAO, PRIVATE DETECTIVE 1964 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A very good Japanese crime drama.

This is a very obscure film from 1956. Kataoka Chiezo stars as Tarao, a detective who attempts to destroy a gun smuggling ring.

He gets between two rival gangs and slowly but surely brings them against each other. He uses seven different disguises to accomplish this task as he gets deeper and deeper into danger.

The performances are good by all involved and if you like obscure Japanese crime dramas with a film noir flavor you might like this unknown gem.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

John Carpenter is 69, beautiful Caroline Munro is 68, and Marilu Tolo is 73.

RIP WILLIAM PETER BLATTY 1928-2017

One of the greatest authors of our time has passed away.

The author of the best selling book "The Exorcist" has died at the age of 89.

Blatty not only wrote the above mentioned book but other best sellers that were also made into movies such as "Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane" which was made into "The Ninth Configuration" and "Legion" which was made into "Exorcist 3".

Blatty also wrote the screenplay both films as well as "The Omega Man" of which he was not credited.

But it was "The Exorcist" that forever remained with him and his work will continue to thrill many people. He died from complications from a form of blood cancer on January 12th.

RIP JIMMY SNUKA 1943-2017

A real professional wrestling legend is gone.

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka has passed away at the age of 73. I grew up watching him on the tube and he was one of the most exciting wrestlers I had ever seen.

Most of his matches are legendary and his feud with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is wrestling history. Weather delivering a powerful chop, kick of flying off a 15 foot high cage anyone who saw Snuka during his heyday got a real treat.

Snuka had been fighting illness lately and a media smear campaigne which in my opinion was concocted by the media because they have nothing better to do.

RIP Superfly and thanks a hell of a lot for all the entertainment you brought to me.

MURDER ON APPROVAL 1955 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Tom Conway stars in this little film noir gem from RKO.

Conway is Tom Martin, a private investigator asked to look into a matter of stamp counterfeiting.

This, of course, leads to several murders and Martin must hurry to solve the crime in order to apprehend the killers. This has been compared to both "The Saint" and "The Falcon" films which Conway also starred in for RKO.

It's not a bad little film but there are times it seems like a retread of those earlier films. Conway does his usual good job and this makes for a nice time waster.

I actually had never heard of this film until Sinister offered it. try it and see if you like it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Phyllis Coates is 90, Barbie Blank is 30, and Shane McMahon is 47.

RIP DICK GAUTIER 1931-2017

The very prolific actor has passed away.

Dick Gautier may not be a familiar name to most, but he was one of the most prolific actors and voice men in the business. His career started in 1963 and ended in 2010.

For me he will always be remembered as Hymie the robot from Get Smart, a role he was born to play. His other role that sticks with me forever is that if Mel Tarter, the swinger in the Night Stalker episode entitled "The Werewolf".

Gautier appeared on many game shows during the 70's and in his later career he did voices for such animated entertainment such as Batman: The Animated Series, Tom and Jerry Kids Show and Garfield.

His death was first reported by his wife on her Facebook page. He was 85. Thanks for the memories Hymie.

SLANDER 1957 (TCM VIEWING)

Very interesting film noir.

Steve Cochran steals the show as the publisher of a scandal magazine that will stop at nothing to increase sales. He targets the new host of a kiddie show for a past descretion.

Van Johnson is Scott Martin, a man with a past, but now having served his time is trying to make it big in show business. Cochran's character, H. R. Manly wants to print a story about Martin's arrest many years ago for robbery, and that will probably destroy his career.

However, Manly tells Martin that he will not publish the story is he will spill the irty beans about another actress Martin grew up with.

This puts Martin in a bad position and almost destroys his marriage to Connie (Ann Blyth). They have a child named Joey who is killed and the tragedy destroys everyone involved.

Manly really doesn't care until he gets his comeuppance at the conclusion. The entire cast is very good in this tight little film directed by Roy Rowland.

This movie is available from Warner Archives and is highly recommended for film noir fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Marjoe Gortner is 73, Linda Lawson is 81, Jim Duggan is 63, and the late Vonetta McGee would be 72.

COMING ATTRACTIONS....

Warner Archives has announced a great Blu-ray for February...

The fantastic dino film with animation by Jim Danforth "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" will be released on Blu-ray.

This will be the 100 minute uncut version. More on this as it becomes available.

ONIBABA 1964 (TCM VIEWING)

Great Japanese film that combines horror, revenge and pathos.

Two women kill samurai warriors and sell their belongings to survive an then dump their bodies in a deep pit. This situation continues until a man arrives and begins having an affair with the younger one of the two.

The other woman meets a mysterious Samurai with a strange mask on his face. She leads him to the pit and he falls in, killing himself. Never one to let a good bargain escape her she takes his belongings as well as the mask which she has to pry off of his face.

She discovers that his face is scarred and contorted from said mask. She then uses the mask to scare the younger one from having her affair. This seems to work until she discovers that the mask cannot be removed.

The scene of the women trying to get the mask off is one of utter horror and sorrow. The ending is something you'll not forget too soon.

Nobody, but nobody makes horror films like the Japanese. Their culture is so ripe with bizarre images and ghosts, and they always tap these for exceptional movies. This is available on DVD from Criterion and comes as a most Highly Recommended thriller.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Billy Gray is 79, and Traci Bingham is 49.