SEVEN SINNERS 1940 (UNIVERSAL)

Well made John Wayne film from Universal.

Marlene Dietrich stars as Bijou, a saloon entertainer who is constantly being deported to different places because the authorities consider her bad news.

She uses her wiles to entice politicians, gangsters and servicemen in order to get what she wants. A Navy officer named Dan (John Wayne) enters the picture and he and Bijou are slowly drawn to one another.

People try to keep them apart but the romance blossoms and the two become very well aquanted. This is a fun romance film and Wayne and Dietrich play off of each other very well.

It's light, brisk entertainment that Wayne fans will enjoy. The rest of the great cast includes Albert Dekker, Anna Lee, Broderick Crawford, mischa Auer and Samuel S. Hinds as the Governor who tries to warn Wayne about Dietrich.

For those who have only seen Wayne in action films and westerns, this is a good change of pace.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Addison Rae is 21, and Lou Cutell is 91.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Laura Gemser is 71, Nancy Barrett is 78, and Terri Runnels is 55.

THE CREEPER 1946 (BETAMAX TV)

Strange little B horror film.

Onslow Steves stars as Dr. Jim Bordon, a dedicated doctor working on a mysterious serum.

There soon starts a series of violent killing in which the victims have been torn up by what appears to be claws. The police are baffled, as usual in these kinds of films.

Bordon's partner, Dr. Lester Cavigny (Ralph Morgan) wants the experiments with the serum halted, and this eventually costs him his life. Several more killing occur and it's revealed that Bordon has taken the serum himself and turns into a cat-like killer.

I had never really heard of this movie until I stumbled upon it on TV. It's not too bad of a film, and it's fun to watch, but the potential was missed by the film makers.

The rest of the cast includes June Vincent, Eduardo Ciannelli, John Baragray and Janis Wilson. You might want to check this out if you can find it. I would recommend it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kyra Schon is 64.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Pamela Hensley is 70.

DELTA FORCE 1986 (MGM)

An all star cast in a wild and violent action film.

Chuck Norris stars as Scott, a former commando who is called back into service by Nick (Lee Marvin) when an airplane is hijacked by terrorists.

The head of the terrorists is Abdul (Robert Forster) and his partner is Mustafa. Both men are nothing but brutal and sadistic and fend off two attempts of rescue by the Delta Force.

Finally Delta Force manages to get the plane down and then must go look for several Jewish passengers who are being held in Beruit. The non stop action really sweeps you up in the movie, and it really strikes home in light of recent world events.

Sadly you could never make a movie like this today, but it's great to see the good old USA killing and blowing terrorists up in a barrage of wild action.

Lee Marvin and Norris work well together as a team and both men should have been in more movies together. The rest of the top notch cast includes Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, George Kennedy, Lainie Kazan, Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters and Bo Svenson.

This was one of Cannon Films biggest hits as it came out at just the right time. A very good action film that I can Highly Recommend. Simple plot, great execution.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Romina Powers is 70, Robin Riker is 69, Tiffany is 50, Karissa Shannon is 32, and Kristina Shannon is 32.

MEGACONDA 2013 (TUBI)

Christopher Ray directed this film written by Steve Latshaw.

This is not too bad of a modern day monster movie. Volcanic activity release a huge anaconda snake that then proceeds to eat people left and right without being discovered.

Greg Evigan stars as Parker, a man who will do anything to keep his business interests going no matter how many people die. His worksite has been plagued with mysterious deaths and disappearances.

The local sheriff investigates and he finds a giant monster is doing the killings. Actually there are two of them running loose and the sheriff, played by Ted Monte must find a way to stop them.

This is a fun flick from the son of Fred Olen Ray and it never slows down. The CGI effects are cheap, of course, but one can get past that and enjoy the film for what it is.

The rest of the cast includes Michelle Bauer, Brianna Lee Johnson, Angela Landis and Stella Stevens.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stella Stevens is 83, Cindy Margolis is 56, Michelle Bauer is 63, and Leticia Cline is 43.

RIP TOMMY KIRK 1941-2021

The prolific actor has passed away.

Tommy Kirk was first seen by the public on TV in 1955 on "TV Readers Digest" and his career took off quickly.

He then appeared in many shows but was best known on TV as Joe Hardy on the "Hardy Boys Mysteries" in 1957. His most famous role came that year as well when he was cast as Travis Coates in the Walt Disney film "Old Yeller".

Kirk then went on the make "The Shaggy Dog" anf "The Absent Minded Professor" also for Disney. Genre fans know him best for such films as "Village Of The Giants", "Pajama Party", "Ghost In The Invisible Bikini", "The Wild Weird World Of Dr. Goldfoot", "Blood Of Ghastly Horror", "Mars Needs Women" and "It's Alive".

In 1975 Kirk was fed up with acting and got out of the business. He only made very sporadic film appearances in films such as "Attack Of The 60 Foot Centerfold" in 1995 for Fred Olen Ray.

Kirk passed away on Sept. 28th, 2021 at the age of 79.

RIP JEAN HALE 1938-2021

The well known actress has died.

Hale started her acting career in 1960 on an episode of "The Naked City" and went on to appear in many TV shows such as "Dick Powell Theater", "My Favorite Martian, "Perry Mason" and many others.

She also starred in several movies the likes of "Violent Midnight", "The Oscar" and "In Like Flint". Most genre fans remember her in "The St. Valentines Day Massacre" and an episode of the original "Batman TV show entitled "The Mad Hatter Runs Afowl" and ""The Contaminated Cowl.

Jean Hale and I shared the same birthday. She was born on December 27th and she passed away on Aug. 3rd, 2021 at the age of 82.

KING OF KONG ISLAND 1968 (TUBI)

This one is tough to sit through, but it does have a couple of things going for it.

Brad Harris is Burt Dawson, and explorer who is suddenly attacked by two rather shoddy looking gorillas.

The gorillas kidnap a beautiful woman named Diana (Ursula Davis) and then it's up to Burt to rescue her. A mad scientist, Albert Muller (Marc Lawrence) wants to take over the world so he is trying to create a race of killer gorillas using implanted radio receiver parts.

Burt meanwhile is on the trail to rescue Diana when he stumbles upon a beautiful woman named Eva (Esmerelda Barros) who lives in the jungle. She cannot speak, but she helps Burt find the lair of the mad doctor.

This is a very bizarre film I first saw on the USA network many years ago. I couldn't really like it then and I still don't, but I do like seeing Barros. There are several directions this film seems to want to go, but it never does go anywhere.

Barros steals the film when she is on screen, which isn's near enough. She passed away last year but I will always remember her for this role. I wasted 90 plus minutes of my life with this film. Watch at your own risk.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Angie Dickinson is 90, Ian Ogilvy is 78, Angela Pleasence is 80, Candice Michelle is 43, and Marilyn McCoo is 78.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Brigitte Bardot is 87, and Dita Von Teese is 49.