DAY MARS INVADED EARTH 1963 (DVD-R)

Interesting and offbeat sci-fi about energy beings from Mars coming to earth and making duplicates of the family of a man who has sent a probe to Mars. The beings are here to stop the exploration of their planet, and they mean business.
Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, Betty beall and Gregg Shank make up the family and William Mims is a good family friend.
Paranoia and fear strike at the family as they become aware of strange things going on until it is too late to do anything about it. The ending is a great one that will surprise you if you haven't seen this film.
This really needs a DVD release, but if you get the chance to see it, then by all means do. Recommended!!

RIDING SHOTGUN 1954 (WARNER BROTHERS)

Randolph Scott is a stage coach guard who is framed so the people of a small town think he is responsible for the murders of several people. He holes up in a small cantina as the townfolk wont let him out.
The tension slowly builds to a great climax in this very well done western directed by Andre De Toth.
Wayne Morris is excelletn as the deputy Tub Murphy, who takes things very slow and logically. Lovely Joan Weldon is Scott's love interest, Joe Sawyer is a banker and Charles Bronson is a baddie out to kill Scott.
A great film that really moves even though it is limited to about two main sets one is outside on the street and the other is the cantina in which Scott is forced to hide. Good stuff.

RIP ROBIN GIBB 1949-2012

Co-Founder of the Bee Gees, one of the greatest groups ever to make music has passed away at the age of 62. Gibb, along with Barry and Maurice hit an all time high popularity with the the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever in 1978. They had been making hits since 1967, but by the mid to late 70's they were on top of the music world followed only by Donna Summer. Another huge loss for the music world.
Gibb dies after a long battle with cancer. RIP.

40 GUNS TO APACHE PASS 1967 (DVD-R)

I said in a pervious review that Randolph Scott is my favorite actor in westerns and now I am telling you Audie Murphy is easily my second. Between these two men they made more entertaining movies than any two people in the western genre in my opinion.
In this film Murphy must get 40 repeating rifiles thru Apache territory and to a small out post to prevent them from being wiped out by Cochise.
Director William Whitney does a good job handling the action scenes and makes this a fine western. Murphy is aided by Ken Tobey in a great villian role, Michael Blodgett, Michael Burns and Laraine Stephens. Audie Murphy is the most decorated war hero of WW2
Sadly Murphy would die four years later in a plane crash outside of Roanoke Virginia.
If you are a westerns fan, you will enjoy this.

CAT BURGLER 1961 (DVD-R)

Extremely rare Gene Corman produced film about a burgler who finds out he has stolen some atomic secrets. Directed by William Whitney and written by Leo Gordon, this little film moves along very well and has a great performance by Gregg Palmer as Reed Taylor, a spy who will stop at nothing to get those papers back.
Jack Hogan is the thief, Billie Bird and Bruno Ve Sota along with very lovely leading lady June Kenney round out a fantastic cast! Highly recommended film noir that has run only once on TCM but nowhere else I can find.

SHOOT TO KILL 1947 (MILL CREEK)

Another fine film noir about a gangster that is framed by a crooked DA and his wife that takes a job undercover to prove it, then there is a further twist involving her which I wont mention.
Moody atmosphere, great camera shots and snappy dialogue make this a winner in any category. Robert Kent is the framed gangster Dixie Logan, Luana Walters is the woman undercover and the rest of the cast includes Russell Wade, Nestor Paiva and Charles Trowbridge.
If you like film noir you can't go wrong with this one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jane Wiedlin is 54, Constance Towers is 79, Joan Staley is 72 and David Hedison is 85.

SLEEPING TIGER 1954 (MILL CREEK)

Film noir thriller about a young man who is a hoodlum being brought to the house of his shrink in hopes of his rehabilitation and how the doctors wife falls in love with the young man in hopes he will take her away from her droll life. When he decides to go straight she plots to gain revenge on him.
This is a very tight and well made film about madness lurking in all of us. Dirk Bogard is the hoodlum, Alexander Know is the doctor and Alexia Smith is the sexually frustrated wife.
Good stuff here for film noir fans and fans of great drama. Recommended!!

FROGS 1972 (MGM)

One of the best 70's horror films!! This gem was released on a double bill with Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. Ray Milland stars as Jason Crockett, a very wealthy man who has been using too many pesticides in his lake front property in Florida, and nature is tired of it.
Members of his family are killed in mysterious ways by various wildlife and insects such as alligators, spiders, lizards and many more.
Sam Elliot is Pickett Smith, a photographer who has his boat tipped over by some of the members of Jason's family and finds himself caught up in their party which slowly turns to terror.
The attacks are well done for what they are and some are very effective when such creepy crawlies such as spiders and leeches are involved. Yuck.
I like this film and I recommend it to any horror fan who hasn't seen it.
The cast also includes Adam Roarke, Joan Van Ark, Lynn Borden, Judy Pace and Mae Mercer.

THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS 1953 (WARNER BROTHERS)

Randolph Scott stars as an army captain who tries to keep the peace between poor farmers and ruthless carpetbaggers in 1869 Texas. Charles McGraw is Ben Westman, a farmer who wages war on the carpetbaggers led by Hugh Sanders and Elisha Cook, Jr.
This is another in a very long line of great westerns that Scott made. The color photography is beautiful and the movies is well acted. Directed well by Andre De Toth.
The cast is rounded out by Phyllis Kirk, Lex Barker, Fess Parker, Henry Hull and Mark Dana. If you like westerns you will no doubt enjoy this.

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO....

Nancy Kwan is 73.

DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY 1974 (SHOUT FACTORY)

One of the best car chase movies ever made and done with real stunts not fake looking CGI crap.
Peter Fonda is Larry, a man who along with a friend rob a grocery store and plan to use the proceeds to get back into racing. Before they know it a beautiful woman with whom Fonda spent the night is also in on the caper and away we go!!
Adam Roarke is Fonda's buddy in crime and lovely Susan George is Mary, a young and loose woman who makes herself a part of their lives. The movie is a long cross country chase against the police led by Vic Morrow as a beligerant sheriff and his superior is played by Ken Tobey.
Susan George tells in the documentary of the film about how scary it was travelling in a car with Fonda driving over 100 mph for almost the entire film.
The stunts are real, the action is nonstop and the movie is 100% entertaining and funny. The surprise ending workes very well as it will jolt you out of your seat. I won't give it away, but I do highly recommend this piece of drive-in americana.
Roddy McDowell has an unbilled role as the grocery store manager.

MAN BEHIND THE GUN 1953 (WARNER BROTHERS)

Randolph Scott, in my opinion the greatest western star ever is an undercover Government agent sent to battle insurrectionists who want California to no longer be a part of the US, but a slave state instead. This is an perfect example of the 50's western and director Feliz Feist does a fine job of keeping everything moving at a very swift pace. Lots of gunfights, fistfights and very interesting human drama.
Scott plays his role with the usuale excellence and the rest of the cast is just as good and includes Patrice Wymore, Phillip Carey, Roy Roberts, Morris Ankrum, Alan Hale, Jr., and Doug Fowley.
You cannot go wrong with this one, it is sure fire entertainment.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka is 69.

RIP DONNA SUMMER 1948-2012

I consider her one of the greatest entertainers ever. As many of you who read this know, I LOVE 70's music and Donna Summer was always my favorite disco singer during the late 70's. I bought everything she ever sang, and still have all her music to this day.
On May 17th Donna lost her battle with cancer and the music world became just a little darker. Donna's greates songs were tunes like "Last Dance", "Bad Girls", "Love To Love You Baby" and many more. In later years she became a born again Christian and was accused of making anti-gay comments, but that is just crap that gay people throw out to make Christians look bad, and it did effect Donna, but she overcame that to. A true musical talent is gone, as are so many of the people I admired and liked. RIP Donna.