tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568236866401725032024-03-17T20:03:20.553-07:00The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogDan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.comBlogger1244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-47081826018392251432024-03-13T13:58:00.000-07:002024-03-13T13:58:20.176-07:00THE DIVINE LADY <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWDao1enmJrG2A1S3TrGDwwQhnhzo61n_FCYhrqqbZNhfRBTIeMSlmA2F3FlbVXf-nmd0DJ6Ble4pXtkRxqJ_elqz_SiTZaSDMC76YVqKZNMFm7P78ilKEn6Ihh0zc7BJ6w8XVMgrrJ_Rt_p3i_KIR0gh2D2Okengcj4s5-DskcXimTfjnjLP82p7PtY/s968/The_Divine_Lady_(1929_film)_poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWDao1enmJrG2A1S3TrGDwwQhnhzo61n_FCYhrqqbZNhfRBTIeMSlmA2F3FlbVXf-nmd0DJ6Ble4pXtkRxqJ_elqz_SiTZaSDMC76YVqKZNMFm7P78ilKEn6Ihh0zc7BJ6w8XVMgrrJ_Rt_p3i_KIR0gh2D2Okengcj4s5-DskcXimTfjnjLP82p7PtY/s320/The_Divine_Lady_(1929_film)_poster.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>For the last few weeks Turner Classic Movies has been showing a marathon of Oscar-nominated features. Most of these are films that I have seen over and over again, but TCM did happen to sneak in an obscure title: the 1929 THE DIVINE LADY, about the famous love affair between Lady Emma Hamilton and British military icon Horatio Nelson. THE DIVINE LADY was made by First National, and while it has no dialogue, it does have a music track that also features songs and sound effects. </p><p>The most famous film about Lady Hamilton and Admiral Nelson by far is Alexander Korda's THAT HAMILTON WOMAN, starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh as the notorious couple. THE DIVINE LADY has Corinne Griffith as Lady Hamilton and Victor Varconi as Nelson. Griffith was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, while Frank Lloyd won for Best Direction. Cinematographer John Seitz was also nominated. </p><p>The storyline of THE DIVINE LADY is almost exactly the same as THAT HAMILTON WOMAN. The movie charts the rise of Emma Hart from maid to society darling, due to her beauty and her attachments to rich, powerful men. Emma marries the much older British Ambassador to Naples, Sir William Hamilton (H.B. Warner), and encounters Captain Horatio Nelson when he arrives on naval business. Later when Nelson's squadron is desperate to stop at Naples to replenish much needed supplies, Emma intervenes with the city-state's queen to help the British fleet. Emma and Nelson fall more and more in love, but both are married to others, and the now-Admiral's rise in fame and glory doesn't help matters. The Battle of Trafalgar brings the couple's relationship to a close. </p><p>THE DIVINE LADY is now what would be called a Hollywood big-budget spectacular. Nothing was done on the cheap with this production. The costumes, sets, art direction, and photography are all excellent, and there's plenty of extras swarming about. The story is more about Lady Hamilton than Nelson, but there are a few impressive battles at sea, and the death of Nelson is adequately dramatized. </p><p>This is a very well-made picture....but it's also rather stately and even stuffy at times. I felt it lacked a certain spark, that certain something to set it apart from other historical epics. Corinne Griffith is certainly attractive enough to be Emma Hamilton, but she's much kinder and gentler than the Emma of Vivien Leigh. Victor Varconi is generically handsome enough, but he doesn't have the commanding presence one would expect from one of the greatest naval heroes of all time. Griffith and Varconi lack the fire and passion displayed by Leigh and Olivier in THAT HAMILTON WOMAN. The Lady Hamilton and Nelson of THE DIVINE LADY are portrayed in a sentimental and sympathetic manner--they moon over each other like a couple of teenagers. (Notice also how the difference in the titles reflect the attitude of each movie: in one Emma is a divine lady, while in the other she's "that Hamilton woman".) The fact that Emma and Nelson's affair produced a child is not even mentioned in this film. </p><p>There is a notable supporting cast here, with H.B. Warner, Ian Keith, and Montagu Love as Captain Hardy. Marie Dressler plays Emma's mother, but she doesn't have much screen time (in the latter part of the film her character disappears). Despite not having a lot of scenes Dressler still manages to steal the ones she is in. </p><p>THE DIVINE LADY is an above-average epic for its time, but there's more romance in it than historical adventure. Corinne Griffith was quite popular in the 1920s, but she wasn't able to make a successful transition to sound, while Victor Varconi became a steadily-working character actor. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-42604626525430212502024-03-10T09:56:00.000-07:002024-03-10T09:56:26.242-07:00THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN, released in 1932 by Universal, is the next film James Whale directed after he made the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN. </p><p>According to James Curtis' biography of Whale, Universal executive Carl Laemmle Jr. bought the rights to a salacious novel called THE IMPATIENT VIRGIN as an intended vehicle for Clara Bow. Laemmle hoped to make a lurid box-office hit with the material and the notorious actress. Numerous problems with the Hays office made Universal rename the property THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN and downplay the more extreme aspects of the story. James Whale wound up attached to the project, even though it appears he wasn't too enthusiastic about it. </p><p>THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN deals with a young woman named Ruth Robbins (Mae Clarke), who works as a secretary to a successful divorce attorney. Due to the people she deals with coming into her boss' office every day, and the low-rent neighborhood she lives in, Ruth is cynical and suspicious about getting married. Ruth falls in love with a young doctor named Myron Brown (Lew Ayres). Myron doesn't want to get married because he's just starting out his medical career and he doesn't have a lot of money. Their refusal to totally commit to one another causes Ruth and Myron to draw apart. Ruth's boss (John Halliday) tries to set her up as his mistress, but she still loves Myron. The doctor becomes angry over Ruth's situation with her employer, but a medical emergency brings the couple together for good. </p><p>THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN might have been better if it had been made according to its original intentions. It's not an example of Pre-Code naughtiness--the characters of Ruth and Myron are too decent for that. The script lays on its bad attitude over marriage with a trowel--nearly everyone Ruth and Myron deal with has a bad relationship. There's also a lot of weird humor in the story that one assumes was put in by Whale. Ruth has a ditzy friend and roommate named Betty (Una Merkle), while Myron has his own ditzy friend in the form of Clarence (Andy Devine), a male nurse. (Of course Betty and Clarence get together, and they have a smoother relationship than Ruth and Myron do.) At one point Clarence puts Betty into a new type of straitjacket he has invented, and she gets stuck and put into a psychopathic ward. While that's going on, Myron gives Ruth a fluoroscopy--a bizarre way for the two main male characters to romance the two female leads. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMUSO6L3IQqozS9vfRWQN7bQMKM14sL3LQHF7GCW8SX91zNthsVqQ12T5ChBcTLC5iXGPcJwHIQKVtgGtmz9lFmSliSzV9Eu4oMYmeq2rBd7LF44DlFoAa395KI0y0hH6vCWc8lgzSn7q-uEUKhZPrZowkNptfGJOL1G51wt2uQXXS029-4lT2m_Rrn0/s1841/Impatient%20Maiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="1841" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMUSO6L3IQqozS9vfRWQN7bQMKM14sL3LQHF7GCW8SX91zNthsVqQ12T5ChBcTLC5iXGPcJwHIQKVtgGtmz9lFmSliSzV9Eu4oMYmeq2rBd7LF44DlFoAa395KI0y0hH6vCWc8lgzSn7q-uEUKhZPrZowkNptfGJOL1G51wt2uQXXS029-4lT2m_Rrn0/s320/Impatient%20Maiden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke in THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>James Curtis states that James Whale wasn't all that interested in THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN. One can understand why, especially after what Whale went through on the production of FRANKENSTEIN. Whale and cinematographer Arthur Edeson do try to give some life to the material visually with an opening sequence set at Los Angeles' Angel's Flight mini-railway, and a camera that occasionally sweeps thru rooms. The climatic operating sequence is filmed in almost a documentary-like matter (Whale had an actual doctor on set to guide the actors). There's no Frankenstein-like stylistics to this sequence, or dramatic editing or music, but because of this, the ending isn't as gripping as it should be. <div><br /></div><div>Mae Clarke is very good as Ruth. She's not a conniving golddigger, she's just a woman unsure of marriage and true love. Lew Ayres seems unsure of himself as Myron--the actor stated in interviews that he felt James Whale didn't like him, and wasn't interested in giving him any direction. Una Merkle and Andy Devine get the showiest roles (one can debate on whether that was a good or bad thing). Hattie McDaniel has a cameo as a woman Myron is treating--she and her husband beat each other up. (It's another example of the story's--or Whale's--attitude toward marriage.) </div><div><br /></div><div>I watched THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN on YouTube, and the print was in bad shape (the audio quality was mediocre as well). Kino Lorber has recently released early James Whale Universal pictures such as THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR and BY CANDLELIGHT on home video, so perhaps THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN will soon get a restoration as well. It's not prime James Whale, but any film by the director is worth watching, and it marks the very last time Whale and Mae Clarke worked together. <br /><div><p><br /></p></div></div>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-9830225220048600962024-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:002024-03-09T08:27:31.614-08:00TEPEPA <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmUkNvA8b4xyI-VpMtufa9GasUsCIf45UBu3l7HFhsvW_rRkWOcZceLkUy9R2csrEbi8HW_9CuvEXF6w_fGmooBT4F4X2NYg5Fmaf2xUCCukwZZlKJbtfobTZrwCN3smhL8kn1JtwYQ58aPb_rQ9TuzcIjkwwtBm6xQs6EfJ2euwoCdDyxm5RgYfFNwk/s650/Lobby%20card%20from%20Giulio%20Petroni's%20_Tepepa_%20(1969)%20with%20Orson%20Welles%20as%20the%20antagonistic%20Colonel%20Cascorro_.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmUkNvA8b4xyI-VpMtufa9GasUsCIf45UBu3l7HFhsvW_rRkWOcZceLkUy9R2csrEbi8HW_9CuvEXF6w_fGmooBT4F4X2NYg5Fmaf2xUCCukwZZlKJbtfobTZrwCN3smhL8kn1JtwYQ58aPb_rQ9TuzcIjkwwtBm6xQs6EfJ2euwoCdDyxm5RgYfFNwk/s320/Lobby%20card%20from%20Giulio%20Petroni's%20_Tepepa_%20(1969)%20with%20Orson%20Welles%20as%20the%20antagonistic%20Colonel%20Cascorro_.jpeg" width="246" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>TEPEPA is a 1969 Euro Western, directed by Giulio Petroni (DEATH RIDES A HORSE) and co-written by Franco Solinas (THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS). </p><p>The movie is set during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s. A dynamic rebel leader named Jose Maria Moran, also known as Tepepa (Tomas Milian) is sentenced to be executed under the supervision of a military colonel named Cascorro (Orson Welles). Tepepa is saved and spirited away by an English doctor named Henry Price (John Steiner). The reason the doctor saved Tepepa is that he wants to kill the rebel himself. As the story progresses, a series of flashbacks reveals how Tepepa became a vaunted figure in the revolution, and why the doctor wants to kill him. </p><p>TEPEPA is a cut above the average spaghetti western. It's over two hours long, and it has an epic scope and feel to it (mainly due to director Petroni's excellent eye for widescreen compositions). While it does feature some fine action sequences, TEPEPA is more about plot and characterization. It also has another fine score from the Maestro, Ennio Morricone. </p><p>While watching TEPEPA those familiar with the Euro Western genre will be reminded of such other films set during the Mexican Revolution as A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL and THE MERCENARY (two other scripts that Franco Solinas also worked on). TEPEPA also anticipates Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE in a number of ways. TEPEPA examines the whole point of revolutions, and what those who are involved actually get out of them (Tepepa was sentenced to die by the very government he fought to establish). </p><p>The movie also examines the influence a charismatic revolutionary leader can have. Tepepa is certainly committed to the cause of his people, the poor rural folk of Mexico, but he's no saint, and when it is revealed why Dr. Price wants to kill him, the viewer has to re-examine their thoughts about the title character. TEPEPA asks what's more important--a revolution that supposedly will help many or the lives of individuals--and it doesn't offer up any easy answers. </p><p>Tomas Milian played many similar roles to Tepepa in his long Euro Western career, but he had the screen presence to make these characters engaging and interesting. Milian as an actor also had an element of danger about him--you never could predict what he was going to do, and that certainly applies to Tepepa, who can be charming, philosophical, or crude at the snap of a finger. </p><p>One would expect that a Mexican military strongman played by Orson Welles would have all sorts of flamboyant braggadocio, but Welles underplays the role (either that or he wasn't very happy with being involved in this sort of production). I have to say that Welles looks more Chinese than Mexican here. John Steiner also underplays the role of Dr. Price--instead of seething for vengeance against Tepepa, he calmly allows events to take their course. Usually the main gringo in a Mexican Revolution story made in Europe is either a bounty hunter or a mercenary who is a weapons expert, but Dr. Price is nothing of the sort--he has no interest in politics or money, his matter with Tepepa is personal. </p><p>TEPEPA was much better than I thought it would be. I assumed it was just going to be Tomas Milian driving bad guy Orson Welles crazy all over Mexico, but it's much more than that. TEPEPA, as far as I know, doesn't have an official North American home video release, but it assuredly deserves one. (It is available uncut on the Plex streaming channel.) TEPEPA doesn't have the wild excesses of other spaghetti westerns (well, there is that sequence with the exploding goats....) so that might be one reason it doesn't have a bigger reputation. It is a film that fans of the genre should seek out. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-37311320992796206482024-03-03T08:09:00.000-08:002024-03-03T08:09:28.961-08:00DUNE (Part Two) <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgWcRP-80WCpR_OicgehexcdyNDUbxMa5mQH5UhfgpLiCy1wPx8CyOrTcZPr-nXlwqOUj4MdzQy82QlrNxjzLEep9sOBNDQDQyeHd73XCsWeTK8ktlYJeO5SDAMPjs6MlQEE4OuzaUDcGL6YrtZGDgnN9soXt0GqhTSXhrx7cTVx6Lc07Ra-_eoQzp_0/s4096/MV5BMjMzYzNhMWQtZjU0Ni00ODY4LTk3ZWQtNDU1MTdiODg2ZTUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1MTE1NDMx._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="2764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgWcRP-80WCpR_OicgehexcdyNDUbxMa5mQH5UhfgpLiCy1wPx8CyOrTcZPr-nXlwqOUj4MdzQy82QlrNxjzLEep9sOBNDQDQyeHd73XCsWeTK8ktlYJeO5SDAMPjs6MlQEE4OuzaUDcGL6YrtZGDgnN9soXt0GqhTSXhrx7cTVx6Lc07Ra-_eoQzp_0/s320/MV5BMjMzYzNhMWQtZjU0Ni00ODY4LTk3ZWQtNDU1MTdiODg2ZTUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1MTE1NDMx._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The second part of Denis Villeneuve's mammoth screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's famous novel is a true serious science-fiction/fantasy epic, and a welcome respite from the many Marvel clones clogging up today's theaters. </p><p>DUNE Part Two deals with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) becoming a leader of the Fremen race on the planet of Arrakis, and using these people as warriors against those who destroyed his family and his legacy. Part Two also introduces characters such as the Emperor of the Universe (Christopher Walken), his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), Lady Fenring (Lea Seydoux), and the psychopathic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). </p><p>The main advantage that Villeneuve has is the time (and the budget) to closely adapt Herbert's sprawling saga. In the 1984 DUNE, it seemingly takes Paul a few minutes to unite the Fremen under his banner. Here Paul's journey is much more complicated, with even his lover Chani (Zendaya) worried about what he will do with the power that he covets. </p><p>DUNE Part Two isn't a tidy tale about good and evil. As I've stated before, Paul Atreides is more Anakin Skywalker than Luke. Part Two deals with such elements as religious fundamentalism, military insurgency, and the danger of giving oneself completely over to charismatic leaders. </p><p>In DUNE Part One I felt that Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho made the biggest impression. In Part Two, it's Javier Bardem as Fremen chieftain Stilgar, but the cast is excellent overall. I had some worries about whether the baby-faced Timothee Chalamet could properly portray the "chosen one" version of Paul, but he did much better than I expected. (It needs to be pointed out that the character arc of Paul would be a major challenge to <i>any </i>actor.) </p><p>The major reason that this new DUNE saga is effective is the rich visual qualities it possesses. As in Part One, Villeneuve, cinematographer Greig Fraser, and the entire production team create a fully-fledged universe that is believable, impressive, and intriguing. There are plenty of breathtaking shot compositions here, but they are smoothly integrated into the story being told--they're not just an example of the filmmakers showing off. </p><p>DUNE Part Two might be even better than Part One. Together the films form a 5+ hour spectacular that presents how classic science-fiction should be adapted for the big screen. Denis Villeneuve hasn't just done a great service for Frank Herbert's novel, he's done a great service for 21st Century genre cinema. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-22137324855731526592024-03-02T07:55:00.000-08:002024-03-02T07:55:22.207-08:00THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE On Blu-ray From Vinegar Syndrome <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1kV2u1VTWeB1VRwD5BrpyD97ic43AwFSr8Uz_sXRvQ5QhbUow4Tqff0NJ-TsrZZC4C5QfSmdMT5T1Fdx9nnE4DbcfmM__G_sUShCkAbkFNHLw04I3tNYHWWlaMMTtEzwNVzCua-ag16yVz_ucxzvSPOBZoU7ylKpqRvJlH9y5fhutgAzmUS1SkQ5UwPs/s1632/1a5abccf0c52102bf1ebaf74ef147c3f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1kV2u1VTWeB1VRwD5BrpyD97ic43AwFSr8Uz_sXRvQ5QhbUow4Tqff0NJ-TsrZZC4C5QfSmdMT5T1Fdx9nnE4DbcfmM__G_sUShCkAbkFNHLw04I3tNYHWWlaMMTtEzwNVzCua-ag16yVz_ucxzvSPOBZoU7ylKpqRvJlH9y5fhutgAzmUS1SkQ5UwPs/s320/1a5abccf0c52102bf1ebaf74ef147c3f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Vinegar Syndrome has released another title from the classic era of Italian Gothic horror. THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (original title L'ULTIMA PREDA DEL VAMPIRO) makes its Blu-ray debut. </p><p>This movie forms an unofficial trilogy with fellow early 1960s Italian flicks THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA and THE VAMPIRE OF THE OPERA. All three films are in black & white and set in contemporary times, and all three feature a bevy of curvy dancing girls under threat by the undead. In THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE, it's five dancing girls (along with their manager and accompanist) who are stranded at a creepy castle inhabited by one Count Kernassy (Walter Brandi). The Count happens to have a lookalike centuries-old vampire ancestor (also played by Brandi), and one of the girls happens to be a dead ringer for the undead's lost love. </p><p>I wrote a blog post on THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE a while ago, and I noted that it wasn't as good as the two other films linked to it. What hurts it the most is that none of the actors are particularly charismatic or interesting (Brandi is underwhelming in both his roles). It does have some notable elements, such as the fact that one of the dancing girls who has been turned into a vampire cavorts about in the nude.</p><p>Vinegar Syndrome states that THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE has been scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm fine grain master. The movie looks better than the many versions one finds on the internet and YouTube, but the image appears soft at times and the visual quality is rather flat. I think this is more due to the source material--THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE isn't as cinematic as most Italian Gothics made during this period. The film is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio.This Blu-ray features Italian and English audio tracks, along with newly translated English subtitles. The disc is region-free. </p><p>The main extra is a 26 minute featurette with Mark Thompson-Ashworth, who mentions the unofficial "Dancing Girls and Vampires" trilogy, along with going into some background about the cast & crew. including writer-director Piero Regnoli. Unfortunately there is no audio commentary. </p><p>The disc also has three alternate title sequences for the film, an original trailer, and a still gallery. If you order the movie direct from Vinegar Syndrome, you get a wraparound sleeve with vintage ad artwork for the film, and the disc case sleeve is reversible as well (see above). The artwork is more energetic than just about anything in the movie!</p><p>THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE isn't one of the best Italian Gothics, but it's perfect late-night viewing for old monster movie buffs. It's nice that Vinegar Syndrome has given it an official release. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-72324437782472165122024-02-25T10:00:00.000-08:002024-02-25T10:00:22.759-08:00SPEED (1936)<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKicQ4ms8uV2oWCjU3-4BJb69Km4-GRIk3WfDrGG_d31HJ40rve6v-FDlRhyphenhypheni86fbz7LcQmrwZBsFjAiUGhZW6189E1u8kekg4O7-72CNYlc2u7_Rb-8xKxhpQrmdPWyrw5C_fhwN0y0PfotMILhGkbxb9__3RF3kMNauL9Tx2-hP3naSEhGVu_gszGl0/s1500/MV5BOTdiN2Y3ZWEtNmZmNi00YzNlLTgxY2YtZTY5ZmEzMDI5ZDM5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKicQ4ms8uV2oWCjU3-4BJb69Km4-GRIk3WfDrGG_d31HJ40rve6v-FDlRhyphenhypheni86fbz7LcQmrwZBsFjAiUGhZW6189E1u8kekg4O7-72CNYlc2u7_Rb-8xKxhpQrmdPWyrw5C_fhwN0y0PfotMILhGkbxb9__3RF3kMNauL9Tx2-hP3naSEhGVu_gszGl0/s320/MV5BOTdiN2Y3ZWEtNmZmNi00YzNlLTgxY2YtZTY5ZmEzMDI5ZDM5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>No, this isn't <i>that </i>movie with Keanu Reeves. This SPEED was made in 1936, and it was the very first leading role for James Stewart. The actor was under contract to MGM at the time, and the studio put him in a low-budget B-type of picture for his first starring turn. </p><p>In SPEED Stewart plays Terry Martin, a mechanic-test driver for Emery Motors. Terry is a cynical type who has a grudge against the front office, and he's also trying to invent a new type of carburetor. Terry gets distracted by his interest in Jane (Wendy Barrie), who has just gotten a job in the publicity department. But Jane is also being wooed by Frank (Weldon Heyburn), an Emery engineer who is assigned to work with Terry on the carburetor idea. Terry and Frank test the carburetor out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on the Muroc Dry Lake, and after a number of crashes and romantic mix-ups, everything is resolved at the end. </p><p>SPEED isn't so much a James Stewart movie as it is a promotional film for the American automobile industry. The viewer is shown plenty of footage of cars being made on an assembly plant and being tested in all sorts of ways (this footage was filmed by MGM at a Chrysler plant in Michigan). We also get a lot of stock footage of racing at the Indy 500 and high-speed auto testing at the Muroc Dry Lake in California. The viewer is also constantly reminded by the characters that all this racing & testing is for the safety and comfort of the average American driver (I wonder if some MGM executives got some nice deals on new cars because of this production). </p><p>James Stewart had only been at MGM for about a year when he worked on SPEED, but he already shows a natural likability and notable onscreen presence. It's a good thing he does, because the character of Terry Martin does him no favors. Terry has a chip on his shoulder, and he's bullheaded--a lesser actor would have wound up just annoying the audience. I don't want to give away the ending of SPEED, but in it Terry becomes the one in need of rescue, an unusual circumstance for a leading character in a film like this. </p><p>Wendy Barrie does a competent job as June, but she and Stewart don't seem to have a lot of chemistry together. Weldon Heyburn (there's a name for you) was one of the many generic-looking, dull actors during this period who played second leads and romantic rivals who never got the leading lady. Former Stooge leader Ted Healy plays the comic relief role of Terry's buddy Gadget (you can tell he's supposed to be comic relief because he has a "funny" moniker). It appears as if Healy is ad-libbing dialogue in every scene he's in. </p><p>The real surprise in this film is Una Merkel. She plays an executive of Emery Motors, and we are told that she worked her way up from being a secretary. This time Merkel is <i>not </i>playing a flighty or zany lady--her character is actually somewhat disappointed in her white collar life, and she has eyes for Frank. I felt that the story of Merkel's character would have been much more interesting than what goes on in SPEED. Something else about Merkel here--she has only a few moments of screen time with Jimmy Stewart, but the two of them have way more chemistry than Stewart did with Wendy Barrie (it would have been more fitting if Stewart and Merkel wound up as a couple at the end of this film). Ralph Morgan plays an Emery vice-president. </p><p>SPEED was directed by low-budget veteran Edwin L. Marin, and it is only about 70 minutes long. The film will be of interest today to James Stewart fans and classic car and racing buffs. This was one of the very few Jimmy Stewart films I had never seen. It's not a major part of the actor's resume, but it is historically notable as his first lead in a film. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-29936125128953396452024-02-24T10:27:00.000-08:002024-02-24T10:27:00.988-08:00THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK On Blu-ray From Vinegar Syndrome<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOxWoJ5HYE2ABVlsLVWqkNXOI25Vrm17ASie6qUY6RNHdMoONbvq3qOD5anWdVeKdfNlb2E3qDW1E1bL_Sf0WqrHkWZ1rEf4AYxrXNrN_PEBgo_pzTsBp_bppvuTJLuF6nosGw1mHzfkIPrCrqYWWpWitf_lUWgxIuAZqglgm2wYiydyZJenCJwcn4yM/s1632/ff409ebe9804caaafc1358199de55900.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOxWoJ5HYE2ABVlsLVWqkNXOI25Vrm17ASie6qUY6RNHdMoONbvq3qOD5anWdVeKdfNlb2E3qDW1E1bL_Sf0WqrHkWZ1rEf4AYxrXNrN_PEBgo_pzTsBp_bppvuTJLuF6nosGw1mHzfkIPrCrqYWWpWitf_lUWgxIuAZqglgm2wYiydyZJenCJwcn4yM/s320/ff409ebe9804caaafc1358199de55900.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Vinegar Syndrome has released a super special edition of the famed Italian Gothic horror film THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK on 4K and Blu-ray. (For the purposes of this blog post, I will be reviewing the Blu-ray on this set, since I don't even have a 4K player. If there's anyone out there who would like to <i>buy </i>me a 4K player, go right ahead!) </p><p>Vinegar Syndrome's release contains two discs, a 4K and a Blu-ray. The 4K and Blu-ray discs have both the Italian and American cuts of the film, and the Blu-ray has all the extras as well. </p><p>THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK is famed due to its starring Barbara Steele, and due to its rather lurid subject matter. For those who have not seen this film, let's just say that the main character, Prof. Bernard Hichcock (Robert Flemyng), likes his women passive--very, <i>very </i>passive. In 1885 London, the good doctor secretly subjects his wife to one of his kinky experiments, and the woman dies. The distraught Hichcock goes into exile for 12 years, and returns with a new wife, Cynthia (Barbara Steele). The doctor tries to go back to his old life, but that also includes his perverse hobbies....and is the first Mrs. Hichcock still alive, roaming the grounds of the estate? The innocent Cynthia soon realizes that there's a lot more to this marriage than she expected. </p><p>THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOK (originally titled L'ORRIBILE SEGRETO DEL DR. HICHCOCK) was directed by Riccardo Freda and written by Ernesto Gastaldi, two important names in Eurocult cinema. Despite the main character's unusual tastes, the movie has very little gore and no nudity. It's a true 19th Century Gothic tale with luxurious color cinematography by Raffaele Masciocchi and opulent-looking production design by Franco Fumagalli (who in the main credits goes by the name Frank Smokecocks!) There's all sorts of stories about how little time it took to make this movie, but the visual aspects of it are right up there with the best Hammer horrors made during that company's golden period of the late Fifties and early Sixties. </p><p>The name Dr. Hichcock was obviously a nod to Alfred Hitchcock, but there's more to the title than just a blatant name drop. THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK will remind viewers of such films by Sir Alfred as REBECCA, UNDER CAPRICORN, and SUSPICION. There's also a heavy influence from JANE EYRE. </p><p>Despite Barbara Steele getting top billing, this is Robert Flemyng's film all the way. The English character actor was a strange choice for Dr. Hichcock (Flemyng wasn't even a major name in his native country). Flemyng plays the doctor in an unexpected manner--the man is quietly sinister instead of mad or outrageous (Hichcock does go off the rails during the climax). I think Flemyng's portrayal works very well, though some might want a mad scientist in the Bela Lugosi-Lionel Atwill mode. As for Barbara Steele, this is the only time in her Italian Gothic career where she played a truly generic damsel in distress. The role of Cynthia doesn't take advantage of Steele's ability to play dual characters, or at least characters with a dual nature, but she does make an extremely attractive scream queen. Harriet Medin offers up fine support as Hichcock's creepy housekeeper, a role the actress would inhabit in a number of other Italian Gothics. </p><p>The original Italian 87 minute version of THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK is included on the Blu-ray, along with the 76 minute American cut. (Both versions are also on the 4K disc.) Vinegar Syndrome states that the full-length Italian version has been restored from its original 35mm camera negative, and the results are simply stunning. The American cut has also been restored from a 35mm negative, and it looks very impressive as well (though not as fantastic as the Italian version). Both versions have a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The Italian version has Italian and English mono voice tracks with available English subtitles. The sound quality on the Italian version is much better than other home video releases of DR. HICHCOCK. The American version has an English mono voice track which is slightly different from the one on the Italian version, and this track also has some distortion on it. </p><p>Vinegar Syndrome has filled this release with plenty of extras. There's a 40 page illustrated booklet with essays by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Erica Shultz, and Nathaniel Thompson. Heller-Nicholas and Shultz focus mainly on the depraved desires of Dr. Hichcock, while Thompson discusses the film's production and its themes. Nathaniel Thompson also takes part in a brand new audio commentary which is on both the 4K and Blu-ray discs. Thompson is joined by Troy Howarth and Eugenio Ercolani. It's an excellent discussion, with the trio talking about the careers of Riccardo Freda and Ernesto Gastaldi. They also bring up the intriguing idea that Barbara Steele should have played <i>both </i>of Dr. Hichcock's wives. </p><p>The Blu-ray also has a audio track featuring Barbara Steele and Russ Lanier. It is referred to as a scene select commentary track on the back of the disc case, but it's mainly a nearly half-hour interview in which Steele voices a number of opinions (at times it sounds as if she's reading from something she has already written down). It would have been much better if Steele had been able to do a full-length proper audio commentary. The Blu-ray also has three short featurettes. Two spotlight Marcello Avallone, who was an assistant director on DR. HICHCOCK. One has Avallone relating his memories about his relationship with Riccardo Freda, and the other has him discussing Italian horror films in general. The other featurette has an interview with Ernesto Gastaldi. Gastaldi is one of the few important names of Italian cult cinema still with us, and due to this he has been featured on the extras for many home video releases. If you buy the same time of cult movies as I do, you've no doubt heard most of the stories Gastaldi tells in this program from the other disc extras he has been on. I must point out that the three featurettes have very little discussion of DR. HICHCOCK. There's also an alternate English main title sequence, an original Italian trailer, and a still gallery. </p><p>Vinegar Syndrome has put the Region A 4K and Blu-ray discs inside a slipcase with advertising art inside an overall case with new artwork. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-4s-spi_3MosQhsDW9ks3q8G2HmO_uWMBvvgv4imC3mynDvwp2k4EzRTBdzzTjmqZ81AFM2Hq-a-_dMKaOrxu8jsAGgjkgBKVJ7slu-IstbmJ_9FI_8rz2ZMEvufwE_tB9wGUXLMZTmuryEae_Eb5MdgL2J1v_c3HYB6wrowA_4-SKA8QecXpbFIecs/s1632/84448911a7d9e7ed30c4db78d88101f2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-4s-spi_3MosQhsDW9ks3q8G2HmO_uWMBvvgv4imC3mynDvwp2k4EzRTBdzzTjmqZ81AFM2Hq-a-_dMKaOrxu8jsAGgjkgBKVJ7slu-IstbmJ_9FI_8rz2ZMEvufwE_tB9wGUXLMZTmuryEae_Eb5MdgL2J1v_c3HYB6wrowA_4-SKA8QecXpbFIecs/s320/84448911a7d9e7ed30c4db78d88101f2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMEaRPFxBdjO5DWr6pO20imLiu1IhK4aGmkNPkp1D3JRzw66prGCEnKuSgHm2i4Jl_NZ5KIGL4u8sFfe-Iq6vmYfMnJpl6d6qZ1gOT2xl8FIHPa_pOTqj74VaomigLMa-o_Kt2f4bczUZSWDpJPhrOMSq7yNHLYzWDbwDZvL_VhuOKR76rKxapk-2HWw/s1632/02a20d77ef4c6d73a9b2149ae4488ff1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMEaRPFxBdjO5DWr6pO20imLiu1IhK4aGmkNPkp1D3JRzw66prGCEnKuSgHm2i4Jl_NZ5KIGL4u8sFfe-Iq6vmYfMnJpl6d6qZ1gOT2xl8FIHPa_pOTqj74VaomigLMa-o_Kt2f4bczUZSWDpJPhrOMSq7yNHLYzWDbwDZvL_VhuOKR76rKxapk-2HWw/s320/02a20d77ef4c6d73a9b2149ae4488ff1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This is an outstanding release from Vinegar Syndrome, giving one of the great Italian Gothics the spotlight it deserves. Candelabras, negligees, sumptuous color, large portraits of dead wives, secret crypts, Barbara Steele.....it's all here, along with a very disturbing fetish. This is by far the ultimate version of THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-24425602818964402062024-02-19T12:56:00.000-08:002024-02-19T12:56:40.357-08:00THE PERFECT KILLER <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7J7KkAKkjpSnRO08t3XEEOw9fYB5sMu7Yw2sOD9tpHxkCwfgOgk82oi1Cj2C0x708OfkZWcRonjk0Pcc6RdihwF4eiiLa2ZARt1zpp3GCmHKXSsZkr78QVlGHDc-ckIvRVOwCRot13eX128BP2wvpkPxrjw-3RFjk5egfive06fblo_lPVqXqKyu-CQ/s1442/MV5BNWY4YjY1ZjUtZjQ3MC00MzZjLWIwMTgtMzI2ZmNkOTBjOWM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc5MjA3OA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7J7KkAKkjpSnRO08t3XEEOw9fYB5sMu7Yw2sOD9tpHxkCwfgOgk82oi1Cj2C0x708OfkZWcRonjk0Pcc6RdihwF4eiiLa2ZARt1zpp3GCmHKXSsZkr78QVlGHDc-ckIvRVOwCRot13eX128BP2wvpkPxrjw-3RFjk5egfive06fblo_lPVqXqKyu-CQ/s320/MV5BNWY4YjY1ZjUtZjQ3MC00MzZjLWIwMTgtMzI2ZmNkOTBjOWM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc5MjA3OA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>This is another Tubi discovery. THE PERFECT KILLER (original Italian title QUEL POMERIGGIO MALEDETTO) is a 1977 Italian-Spanish crime drama starring the legendary Lee Van Cleef. </p><p>Van Cleef plays career criminal Harry Chapman, who in the beginning of the story gets nabbed during a robbery at a dog racing track while his lover Krista (Carmen Cervera) and his partner Jack (Aldo Bufi Landi) get away with the loot. Harry gets out of jail early, due to "The Organization", who springs him so he can serve them as a hitman. Harry decides to get out of the assassination game when he's ordered to kill a friend, but the organization won't let him leave that easily, and the devious Krista still has the power to ensnare him in her web. </p><p>The plot of THE PERFECT KILLER--a tough con betrayed by his comrades and/or a lover--will be quite familiar to movie buffs. THE PERFECT KILLER resembles a number of more famous action movies and film noirs, and it has a lot in common with VIOLENT CITY, another Italian production with an American star (Charles Bronson). Longtime Van Cleef fans might take a while to get used to seeing the actor in 1970s sportcoats and slacks, but the taciturn Harry is a perfect role for him. </p><p>It must be said that THE PERFECT KILLER is not a bullet-riddled thrill ride. There's more character interaction than violent action, and the movie has a measured pace. Van Cleef even gets overshadowed a bit by his co-stars. Alberto Dell'Acqua (who started his film career as a stuntman) plays Luc, a grinning psychopath sent by the mob to deal with Harry. Dell'Acqua has the showiest role, and he makes the most of it. Carmen Cervera makes a sexy femme fatale, with her Krista screwing over--or just plain screwing--every man she has dealings with. The title of this film could easily refer to the characters of Luc and Krista as much as it does Harry. </p><p>John Ireland plays a buddy of Harry's, and Fernando Sancho (like Van Cleef and Dell'Acqua, a longtime Spaghetti Western veteran) has a small role. </p><p>THE PERFECT KILLER was directed by Mario Siciliano. The movie has plenty of attractive European locations, but action fans might be left wanting more. Like a lot of Italian genre films of this period, there's more than a few weird elements, such as the character of Luc getting in a fight with a trio of transvestites, and Harry being chased around by a hot-to-trot model who looks young enough to be his granddaughter. There's also a fair amount of nudity. </p><p>Tubi presents THE PERFECT KILLER in a fine-looking 2.35:1 transfer, and it appears to be uncut. It has an English dub track, but a few lines of dialogue are in Italian, and there's even a few times where it sounds as if someone else other than Van Cleef is voicing Harry. </p><p>THE PERFECT KILLER will be a revelation to those who only know Lee Van Cleef from Westerns. If Van Cleef had gotten better opportunities, he could have easily gone the Charles Bronson route and done all sorts of cops and crime action flicks in the late 1970s. THE PERFECT KILLER gives Van Cleef a good leading role, even though I don't think it made the most out of him. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-8341801666786047132024-02-17T09:01:00.000-08:002024-02-17T09:01:29.855-08:00ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS--"Beta Delta Gamma" <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I recently purchased Vinegar Syndrome's special edition 4K/Blu-ray release of the Italian Gothic THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK, starring Barbara Steele. I intend to write a blog post on this release, but one thing I learned from the extras on it is that Barbara Steele had a connection to <i>Alfred </i>Hitchcock. She appeared on an episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS called "Beta Delta Gamma", which is available on the Roku and Peacock streaming channels. </p><p>"Beta Delta Gamma" was first shown in 1961 during the seventh season of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, the year before the show transitioned to an hour-long format. The episode deals with a group of college students who are partying at their fraternity's beach house. The group appears to be led by Alan (Burt Brinckerhoff), who tries to get his buddy Mark (Duke Howard) to engage in a beer-drinking contest. Alan passes out, and the group, annoyed by Alan's behavior, decides to play a prank on him. Encouraged by Phyllis (Barbara Steele), the group sets it up so that it appears Mark has been killed by Alan. As expected, the prank works all too well. </p><p>"Beta Delta Gamma" isn't one of the better ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episodes. If you've watched enough of these 1960s TV anthology shows (as I certainly have), you can easily predict what will happen at the climax. The episode was directed by Alan Crosland Jr. and written by Calvin Clements, both longtime network TV veterans, and most of the story takes place in the beach house or on the beach itself, both generic-looking locations. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EEMuOxwlwE9SEfxAzZk3RmcuvVmC_o03UCpYNd-nU72x5uJVZK2pG1LneflA3EA1DiHJovZMrCKLFSmMAqRdt_4XmfZ3wD5iLYWjpNMI6cflgfs-Gq8yIliH1Rt5guN4tLCKBIpjAQEtWDkM4CYJD3GOFjUJLlZTpm4MNLan9WjiVQQ9Qb2Q_uV0EXU/s1434/ahps7e06_7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1434" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EEMuOxwlwE9SEfxAzZk3RmcuvVmC_o03UCpYNd-nU72x5uJVZK2pG1LneflA3EA1DiHJovZMrCKLFSmMAqRdt_4XmfZ3wD5iLYWjpNMI6cflgfs-Gq8yIliH1Rt5guN4tLCKBIpjAQEtWDkM4CYJD3GOFjUJLlZTpm4MNLan9WjiVQQ9Qb2Q_uV0EXU/s320/ahps7e06_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Barbara Steele in "Beta Delta Gamma"</div><br /><p>What hurts the episode is that the group of college students are not very interesting or sympathetic. They spend most of their time lounging around drunk, and the main reason they come up with the prank seems to be because they are bored. Barbara Steele by far has the most screen presence of the small cast, and there's the added benefit of seeing her in shorts. The viewer also gets to hear Steele's actual voice. </p><p>The two lead actors in the story, Burt Brinckerhoff and Duke Howard, are rather bland, and I had not heard of any of them before. (Brinkerhoff actually went on to become a TV director/producer, while Howard didn't have a very long acting career.) One of the story elements of "Beta Delta Gamma" is that Phyllis is attracted to Alan, but it's hard to believe that Barbara Steele would have any interest in any of the characters in this tale--one wonders why she's even hanging out with this group in the first place. Severn Darden and Barbara Harris (who would later star in Hitchcock's FAMILY PLOT) are also in the group, but other than looking like a couple of beatniks, they don't get much to do. </p><p>One thing that "Beta Delta Gamma" shows is that Barbara Steele could easily play a "normal" role in a contemporary story, and her actual voice was just fine for acting purposes. BLACK SUNDAY and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM had already been released in the U.S. when the episode first aired, and it's surprising that the folks behind ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS didn't try and give Steele a much more flamboyant role in a much more flamboyant story. (She did at least get a "with Barbara Steele" special credit at the end of "Beta Delta Gamma".)</p><p>If Barbara Steele had stuck around in Hollywood, there's no doubt she would have had plenty of opportunities to appear on American network TV. But if she hadn't of gone back to Italy, she wouldn't have become the icon she is now. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-77819293005878681752024-02-12T12:47:00.000-08:002024-02-12T12:47:44.036-08:00THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES, directed by Jeff Malmberg and Morgan Neville, is a documentary concerning the life and times of independent baseball pioneer Mike Veeck. </p><p>Mike Veeck is the son of legendary baseball executive and Hall of Fame inductee Bill Veeck. The beginning of the film details that as a young man Mike wanted nothing more than to get out of the shadow of his famous father, but when Bill Veeck took control of the Chicago White Sox in the mid-1970s and asked his son to come work with him, the younger man couldn't pass up the opportunity. Mike Veeck was filled with ideas and enthusiasm, and he hoped to impress and get to know his father at the same time. </p><p>But during the summer of 1979, one of Mike's promotions, the infamous Disco Demolition Night, literally blew up in his face. A riot ensued, causing the White Sox to forfeit a game, and Mike Veeck was forever associated with that incident. The younger Veeck left Major League Baseball a marked man, and spent years trying to find a niche for himself. In 1993, Mike became involved with the St. Paul Saints, an independent professional baseball team. Being independent (especially in the early 1990s) meant that Veeck was just about on the lowest rung of baseball operations one could be--but it also meant Veeck could basically do whatever crazy scheme entered his head. Veeck soon got the Saints national attention, and he wound up having control of several other minor and independent clubs, bringing his unique way of having fun at the old ballpark to fans throughout the United States, and inspiring other club owners to copy (and outright steal) his innovations. </p><p>THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES covers all of this, along with various personal trials & tribulations Veeck dealt with along the way. At numerous times in the film, Mike's history is dramatized in flashback scenes with actor Charlie Day as Mike (Mike himself plays his dad Bill in a few of these sequences). At first I thought the flashback scenes were a bit hokey, but I started to realize that the filmmakers were framing Mike's story as a goofy sentimental 1980s style comedy flick, which is essentially what it is. (The narration in the film is by Jeff Daniels.) </p><p>One big story point in the film is how much Mike Veeck wanted to get back to the Major Leagues in some sort of capacity. Eventually Mike learns that his family and his minor league work are far more meaningful to him than anything that MLB could provide. Mike Veeck achieved his own redemption through his work as an independent baseball operator, and he enabled others along the way to find redemption as well. </p><p>The ironic thing is that even without getting a long time job in the Major Leagues, Veeck made a huge mark on baseball. Go to any ball game at any level--professional or amateur--and one of Veeck's ideas is being used. Most of the promotions and events that fans take for granted when they go to any ball game more than likely originated with something Mike Veeck thought up or put into practice. </p><p>Baseball fans will certainly appreciate THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES, especially for some of the vintage footage involving the White Sox. And yes, there's plenty of actual footage of Disco Demolition as well...some of it amazingly up close and personal (during the Disco Demolition sequence you almost feel as if you are right in the middle of the maelstrom). Watching this sequence makes one realize that it's fortunate that no one was seriously injured or even killed during that notorious night. </p><p>Like all great sports documentaries, THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES is much more than just sports. It's a story about life, family, and what's really important. It's funny, and moving, and you don't even have to know anything about baseball to appreciate it. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-14660457826593410432024-02-04T10:01:00.000-08:002024-02-04T10:01:17.590-08:00TANK FORCE (AKA NO TIME TO DIE) <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7cE2TAdybQ3YUpiMHcbq1UifCapyqfniI49s3a-dFOOQeNze30oUc7EAtp1qfIT_b0cB3XEupBRB4pXvY_5ZJyOGCrEe9nObxWeNsHqGi9_4Ca-KVK1vZ2kJpUpSCmXIQ63eJEO2ExNXVVwjczYfhiMMfPc1q19TawFDha2Q8C1XTfpX9fvR-7OYF4A/s711/MV5BMzM4ZjQyZmYtMGRkNy00NTlkLTg2ZTgtOTUwMGY3MGM0MzQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQ3Njg3MQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7cE2TAdybQ3YUpiMHcbq1UifCapyqfniI49s3a-dFOOQeNze30oUc7EAtp1qfIT_b0cB3XEupBRB4pXvY_5ZJyOGCrEe9nObxWeNsHqGi9_4Ca-KVK1vZ2kJpUpSCmXIQ63eJEO2ExNXVVwjczYfhiMMfPc1q19TawFDha2Q8C1XTfpX9fvR-7OYF4A/s320/MV5BMzM4ZjQyZmYtMGRkNy00NTlkLTg2ZTgtOTUwMGY3MGM0MzQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQ3Njg3MQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The last James Bond film, NO TIME TO DIE, was not a favorite of mine by any means. When its title was officially announced, I thought it was rather generic for a 007 movie. It certainly didn't have anything to do with the works of Ian Fleming....but I later found out that the title did have a connection with the James Bond movie franchise. </p><p>Before he started up the Bond film franchise with Harry Saltzman, Albert Broccoli produced a series of action movies in England in the 1950s with his then-partner Irving Allen. One of those films was a 1958 WWII story set in North Africa that was titled NO TIME TO DIE. In America the film was released through Columbia as TANK FORCE (talk about generic titles). </p><p>This NO TIME TO DIE shares plenty more connections with the Bond franchise than just a name. Its director (Terence Young), co-writer (Richard Maibaum) and cinematographer (Ted Moore) all worked on the early James Bond films, and set the course for the rest of the series. </p><p>Calling the film TANK FORCE for the American market is a bit of a misnomer. There are two tank battles, at the very beginning and the very end, but most of the story deals with the travails of a handful of Allied soldiers who have escaped from a POW camp in Libya. </p><p>One of the soldiers happens to be an American, serving in the British Eighth Army, named David Thatcher (Victor Mature). A number of lower-budget British movies made in the Fifties would use an American star, and those films usually had a plot explanation about why the American character was in the story. The explanation for Thatcher's presence in TANK FORCE is a doozy--he was married to a Jewish woman who was sent to a concentration camp and died, so he threw a bomb at Joseph Goebbels!! (Apparently TANK FORCE is set before America's entry into the war, and Thatcher seems to have joined the British army to continue to get back at the Nazis.) Needless to say, Thatcher doesn't want to be captured by the Germans and have his identity found out, so he's determined to lead his small group to safety behind the Allied lines. </p><p>Among the group of escaped POWs is a stiff-upper lip, by-the-book sergeant (Leo Genn), who acts as a counterpoint to Thatcher. There's also a very young British soldier who acts as a sort of comic relief (Anthony Newley), and a trigger-happy Pole (Bonar Colleano) whose main focus is to kill as many Germans as he can. </p><p>The group goes through plenty of trials and tribulations along the way, including being assisted by the hostess (Luciana Paluzzi) of an Italian officer's club, dealing with sandstorms, and being pursued by Arab tribesmen. The group also deals with an unexpected betrayal, and unexpected help. (Luciana Paluzzi would also be involved in the Bond franchise--she played the femme fatale in THUNDERBALL.) </p><p>What helps make TANK FORCE stand out from other WWII tales is that it was filmed in color and Cinemascope, and most of the story was actually shot in Libya. (There's also as many Italians in this story as there are Germans.) The tank sequences were filmed with the assistance of the British army, and the footage is impressive, even though most of the vehicles are not of WWII vintage. It's not the most realistic war film ever made, but it was designed to be a crowd-pleasing action adventure. Terence Young (who co-wrote the screenplay along with Richard Maibaum) keeps things moving, with one incident after another. Kenneth V. Jones contributes a rousing musical score. </p><p>Victor Mature was in his mid-forties when he worked on TANK FORCE, but he appears older, and he also looks as if he hasn't had a lot of sleep (and no, I don't think that was his attempt at being an accurate-looking POW). According to internet sources, Mature got the part after a number of other leading men were considered. Leo Genn does much better in the role of the practical sergeant--he's more the type of person a group of escaped POWs would follow, but movies like this have to have the notable American name as the lead. </p><p>TANK FORCE/NO TIME TO DIE isn't a major WWII epic, but it's entertaining enough. A much more charismatic leading man certainly would have helped. I will say I'd much rather watch this NO TIME TO DIE again than the later James Bond film with the same title. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-54233117566625642442024-02-03T10:03:00.000-08:002024-02-03T10:03:28.967-08:00RED SUN <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hibwZT6ZB750Xoi8eYKt5dmhyztbKkHy0QFVe53AqYRkDlqvG0xIvg9WD8Dva0F9mEI8YpqgBsaGWkvDOUiSQ7TNsEsShr0Z7Qiw1MCBVlmosSnyxL2nXn729hbW1cnEFUDEjHBmnhyuTPvGpAMPMhFSOg5bvFenfryfZLxcJnbCX-uufYFDpc2RLZc/s1000/MV5BODI3ZWNiZmYtYjBiMS00Yjc0LWE0Y2QtMDM1ZTQ2NmY2NzUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="659" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hibwZT6ZB750Xoi8eYKt5dmhyztbKkHy0QFVe53AqYRkDlqvG0xIvg9WD8Dva0F9mEI8YpqgBsaGWkvDOUiSQ7TNsEsShr0Z7Qiw1MCBVlmosSnyxL2nXn729hbW1cnEFUDEjHBmnhyuTPvGpAMPMhFSOg5bvFenfryfZLxcJnbCX-uufYFDpc2RLZc/s320/MV5BODI3ZWNiZmYtYjBiMS00Yjc0LWE0Y2QtMDM1ZTQ2NmY2NzUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>RED SUN technically qualifies as a Euro Western--it was filmed in Spain, at many locations that would be familiar to Spaghetti Western fans. The movie has an international cast, with Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Ursula Andress, and Alain Delon in the leading roles. RED SUN was directed by James Bond veteran Terence Young. With that type of cast and director, one expects a lot out of the picture, but it doesn't live up to them. </p><p>In post-Civil War America, bandits Link (Charles Bronson) and Gauche (Alain Delon) lead a raid on a money-laden train. One of the passengers happens to be the new Japanese ambassador to the United States, who is bringing with him a ceremonial samurai sword to present to the President. Gauche takes the sword, then attempts to kill Link in an explosion so he can keep more of the loot for himself. Link survives, and he teams up with a samurai named Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune) who was assigned to guard the ambassador. Link and Kuroda form an uneasy alliance--the former wants to find Gauche mainly to retrieve the loot, while the latter wants to kill Gauche for the insult of stealing the sword. Link, Gauche, Kuroda, and Gauche's lover Cristina (Ursula Andress) wind up being besieged by Comanches. </p><p>RED SUN opens with a massive train robbery (Gauche's gang seems to consist of dozens and dozens of men), sets up the situation with Link and Kuroda going after Gauche, and then settles into a "Odd Couple" type of relationship between Bronson and Mifune. The two men are constantly trying to one-up each other, with Link attempting to take advantage of Kuroda's presumed lack of awareness about the American West. The taciturn Mifune winds up stealing the film from his co-stars, and he's able to put across much while saying very little (this is one time in a Charles Bronson movie where one of his co-stars has less dialogue than he does). Mifune's Kuroda is really the only sympathetic character in the story--he's a man of honor and principle, whereas everyone else in the movie is out for themselves. </p><p>Alain Delon is surprisingly quite good as the nattily attired black-garbed Gauche. Despite his pretty boy looks Gauche is a cold-blooded killer who'll betray anyone. (Delon has a lot less screen time than Bronson and Mifune do.) Despite being second-billed, Ursula Andress doesn't show up until about an hour into the picture. Her character is used as bait by Link and Kuroda to get to Gauche, and she spends most of her screen time complaining about her plight. It won't surprise anyone to know that Andress appears topless during one scene. Of course Andress had worked with Terence Young before in DR. NO. As for Charles Bronson, he's much more talkative and personable than usual--was this his way of trying to compete with Toshiro Mifune? (I'm sure Bronson had to have known that Mifune had the better part.) </p><p>Capucine plays the madam of the brothel that Ursula Andress' character works at, and another DR. NO alumnus, Anthony Dawson, plays a member of Gauche's gang. (Note: this is Anthony Dawson the British actor, <i>not </i>the Italian director Antonio Margheriti who was often billed as Anthony Dawson and who made a number of Euro Westerns of his own.) Much of the supporting cast consists of Spaghetti Western veterans, while the climax is hurt by the "Comanches" being played by a group of dull-looking European extras. These Comanches are set up as a major threat, but they come off as dangerous as a bunch of kids dressed up for Halloween. The film has a music score by Maurice Jarre, but in my opinion it's not one of the composer's best. </p><p>RED SUN is not a bad film--it's a decent time-filler--but one has to wonder what would have resulted if a true Spaghetti Western director, such as Margheriti or Sergio Corbucci, had been in charge. Terence Young was an efficient, capable filmmaker, but he isn't able to provide the elaborate elements a Euro Western like this usually has. The main reason to watch RED SUN is the four international stars in it. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-9312102797936752582024-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:002024-02-02T08:08:36.940-08:00ALBERT R.N. On Blu-ray From Cohen <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKB61-Y7-O8wfStX91OPb54ye3TkGkCkDhRremMbt9Tm5pwYRGe53ihZWH4QcGCHIuiiW-bzzMSIsAm2WbjNDCUTQEorUwp6zxGGdC8pK8PyRAvqt2VPqOvR_mX6y-exXHFM5bpCG9zam-qr5Yn5UHV70YScqPe76ukWWPIRrcxBk4ByyGNR4_Gh8neM/s981/e70f6f7993b08256ab7bcb503a9c570d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKB61-Y7-O8wfStX91OPb54ye3TkGkCkDhRremMbt9Tm5pwYRGe53ihZWH4QcGCHIuiiW-bzzMSIsAm2WbjNDCUTQEorUwp6zxGGdC8pK8PyRAvqt2VPqOvR_mX6y-exXHFM5bpCG9zam-qr5Yn5UHV70YScqPe76ukWWPIRrcxBk4ByyGNR4_Gh8neM/s320/e70f6f7993b08256ab7bcb503a9c570d.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ALBERT R.N. is a 1953 British WWII POW story, included on a Blu-ray disc along with THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM that has been recently released by the Cohen Media Group. Both films were directed by Lewis Gilbert, both are in black & white, and both pictures share many of the same cast & crew. </p><p>ALBERT R.N. takes place in a 1944 POW camp in Germany for naval officers. Most of the men have been in the camp for years, and they have seen several escape attempts fail. One of the prisoners, an artist named Geoff (Anthony Steel), constructs a life-like dummy. He suggests to the POW's senior officer (Jack Warner) that the dummy be used during head counts to take the place of men who have escaped. The ruse succeeds, but it is later learned that the man who ran away was killed. Geoff starts to feel guilty about building the dummy in the first place, while other prisoners debate how and when Albert should be used again. </p><p>ALBERT R.N. (the R.N. stands for Royal Navy) is a restrained POW tale that doesn't have any major action sequences or any elaborate escape attempts involving dozens of men. Still, Lewis Gilbert manages to get a lot of drama and suspense out of what is admittedly a rather talkative story (it was based on a stage play). The focus of ALBERT R.N. is on the interplay of the characters and on the situation that the ensemble of actors is in. There isn't one character that particularly stands out among the rest, and that includes even "Albert" himself. </p><p>All of the actors give fine, realistic performances. The POWs in the camp appear to be treated decently for the most part--the camp's commandant is a German naval officer, played by Frederick Valk, and he is portrayed as efficient and fair (most British WWII movies did not feature stereotypical over-the-top Nazis). Anton Diffring is an SS officer under Valk's command, and while he is certainly the main threat to the POWs, he's not shown as outlandish or unbelievable. Diffring plays the SS officer as a determined, cold-blooded, calculating fellow, and out of the many, many German officers the actor played during his film career, this performance ranks very highly. </p><p>Among the rest of the cast are William Sylvester as an American flyer (from Texas!) who is desperate to get out of the camp, Robert Beatty (who would, along with Sylvester, appear in 2001; A SPACE ODYSSEY), and Eddie Byrne. James Bond fans will recognize Walter Gotell as a German guard. Just like THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM, ALBERT R.N. has a number of connections to Hammer Films. The associate producer was Anthony Nelson-Keys, the art director was Bernard Robinson, and the cinematographer was Jack Asher. Asher is known for his work on the Hammer color Gothics, but he also did well in black & white, as in this picture. </p><p>By the way, ALBERT R.N. is based on a true story. A dummy really was constructed in an actual POW camp in WWII, and it was used to facilitate an escape attempt....and the POW who built the original dummy went on to build the dummy used in the film!</p><p>ALBERT R.N. is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, and it looks much better than THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM--the image is very crisp. Unfortunately, the only extra is a new trailer for the film created by Cohen. Audio commentaries would have been most welcome for both the films on this disc. </p><p>Like THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM, ALBERT R.N. focuses more on human drama instead of explosions or large-scale battle sequences. It's a very good film, and it has the benefit of an ironic, and very fitting, climax. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-54438313410508292152024-02-01T12:53:00.000-08:002024-02-01T12:54:23.019-08:00SERGIO LEONE: THE ITALIAN WHO INVENTED AMERICA<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>SERGIO LEONE: THE ITALIAN WHO INVENTED AMERICA is a 2022 documentary on the great filmmaker, written & directed by Francesco Zippel, and co-produced by the company run by two of Leone's children. I watched the film on the Max streaming channel. </p><p>This documentary has a number of big names involved in it, including Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro, and Dario Argento. These men, and others, talk about their love for Leone's films and the legacy that they have today. </p><p>Sergio Leone is one of my favorite directors of all time, and I know all his films backwards and forwards. Someone like me is certainly going to appreciate this film, but I must say that even though all three of Leone's children provide their thoughts and memories, it doesn't give much personal insight into the man--the most a viewer finds out about his personality is that he loved cinema and he had a childlike sensibility. There are a number of film clips and audio snippets of Leone, but at times these seem almost inserted at random. The result is that instead of a film dealing with Leone, it's instead a film dealing with a group of famous folks <i>discussing </i>Leone (not that there's anything wrong with that). </p><p>As expected, there's plenty of clips from Leone's films, something like a "Greatest Hits" collection of famous scenes. There's also behind the scenes footage taken during the making of some of the films. Needless to say, Ennio Morricone plays a large part in the proceedings, whether speaking on-camera or his music being featured on the soundtrack. </p><p>If you are a major Leone fan, and love his films like I do, there's nothing here that will be surprising or revealing. The celebrated anecdote about the premature explosion of the bridge during the Civil War battle in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is brought up, and Leone biographer Christopher Frayling makes an appearance. </p><p>There are a few items the documentary does not cover, such as MY NAME IS NOBODY (Tonino Valerii is the credited director on that one, but Leone was producer, co-writer, and he personally directed a few scenes himself), and the series of commercials Leone made during his semi-retirement. </p><p>SERGIO LEONE: THE ITALIAN WHO INVENTED AMERICA is a well-made project, and it provides the basic knowledge one needs to have about Leone and his directorial career. I enjoyed watching it--heck, I'd enjoy a film about random people on the street discussing Sergio Leone--but I felt that it wasn't as thorough or as penetrating as it could have been. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-34013023622235162102024-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:002024-01-27T09:05:22.255-08:00THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM On Blu-ray From Cohen <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdILXUpMwqyRaOxuWLQWzgSoHNNmFybdRTLK8Fw4ixgDQtxicCBJixP8KuXhMyifUgfVNsn1A3fA6WZcb1_rg9Pck1ab3HhRItqKvJBsoLV8ZE_A9keHAzY___sAdmBZaUpWwSTpJsGY0KmccU5OPruJ3xq22m-NDUcrXXCi-7FXqynNdL5FH2YrqIRM/s981/e70f6f7993b08256ab7bcb503a9c570d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdILXUpMwqyRaOxuWLQWzgSoHNNmFybdRTLK8Fw4ixgDQtxicCBJixP8KuXhMyifUgfVNsn1A3fA6WZcb1_rg9Pck1ab3HhRItqKvJBsoLV8ZE_A9keHAzY___sAdmBZaUpWwSTpJsGY0KmccU5OPruJ3xq22m-NDUcrXXCi-7FXqynNdL5FH2YrqIRM/s320/e70f6f7993b08256ab7bcb503a9c570d.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have released a double feature of British 1950s black & white WWII films directed by Lewis Gilbert. The movies are ALBERT R.N. and THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM, which I will be covering in this post. </p><p>British director Lewis Gilbert had a long and distinguished career. He's not as well known as some of his contemporaries, probably due to the fact that he made films of all types, and he didn't have a particular "style" that film buffs could pin down. Gilbert directed contemporary comedy-dramas like ALFIE and EDUCATING RITA, but he also directed three very big-budget James Bond spectaculars, and plenty of historical war features. </p><p>Gilbert made a number of movies concerning WWII, including well-regarded ones such as REACH FOR THE SKY and SINK THE BISMARCK! This disc has two of Gilbert's lesser-known Second World War features. </p><p>THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM deals with a very little-known aspect of the Royal Air Force--their air & sea rescue units. The main story, set in 1944, concerns the search for the crew of a Hudson plane shot down over the North Sea. The crew tries to survive the harsh conditions while riding out the choppy waters on a dinghy, while a RAF rescue boat searches for them. Among the crew of the shot-down plane are Michael Redgrave and Dirk Bogarde, while the crew of the rescue boat contains a number of fine British supporting actors. </p><p>The British WWII films of the 1940s and the 50s have a tendency to be much more lower-key and realistic than the ones made in Hollywood. British WWII films mostly focus on a group working together and putting their issues and problems aside instead of any individual heroics. You won't find any John Wayne or Errol Flynn types in movies like THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM. In that film you will see a firm but fair skipper of the rescue boat (played by Anthony Steel), and a gruff but caring Flight Sergeant (played by Nigel Patrick). Michael Redgrave and Dirk Bogarde are the most notable names in the credits, but they do not have much more screen time (or importance) than the rest of the cast. </p><p>Of course, there's all sorts of trials and tribulations for the characters to go through before the men in the dinghy can be rescued. One thing that is made clear in THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM is how bad the conditions are--nearly everyone in the cast winds up wet, chilly, and miserable. The rainy, freezing weather is so vividly portrayed that one might need to have some blankets and hot chocolate handy when watching this Blu-ray. </p><p>THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM does not contain major battle sequences, and most of the actors spend a lot of time on sets in front of a process screen. This might annoy modern viewers who are not used to classic films, but the story is dramatic enough to make one put aside such details. </p><p>Any movie made in Britain in the 1950s is going to have connections to Hammer Films, and THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM has plenty. Among the supporting cast are actors such as Victor Maddern, Eddie Byrne, Michael Ripper, and Anton Diffring, who plays a downed German fighter pilot. Anthony Nelson Keys was associate producer on the film, and the art director was Bernard Robinson. </p><p>The film is presented on this Cohen Media Group Blu-ray disc in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The print used here is not in the best condition. Wear and damage can be seen from time to time, and the image is not very sharp. It's certainly watchable, but considering this is a Blu-ray one wishes a better looking version of the film had been available. </p><p>Despite the condition of the film THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM is a very good WWII drama, and it's another example of the fine directorial work of Lewis Gilbert. I'll be looking at ALBERT R.N. (which much of the cast & crew of THE SEA SHALL NOT HAVE THEM also worked on) in the future. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-76239953819199084272024-01-21T13:01:00.000-08:002024-01-21T13:01:33.355-08:00THE CRIMINAL ACTS OF TOD SLAUGHTER On Blu-ray From Indicator <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZAmB5zTTrJ22Y2ffcVIQUdDSYs3W_OZAmXrsRTi7A2WdXlVLc2b4NGWaV3T03Gx7SLqU30Jk1WBgf4A4Pmp636o-X5MEh6l93E3IOmuzW1hKwEtZ2LpXgfu8buwhaeyA9B9XSZA62E0eVQoRtuJZUAregx5JjnKl12Qh6rYPa5jLLdb92az2Qk7WmrI/s736/9aa04c776f82ffa78ff9967c3aa113c2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="736" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZAmB5zTTrJ22Y2ffcVIQUdDSYs3W_OZAmXrsRTi7A2WdXlVLc2b4NGWaV3T03Gx7SLqU30Jk1WBgf4A4Pmp636o-X5MEh6l93E3IOmuzW1hKwEtZ2LpXgfu8buwhaeyA9B9XSZA62E0eVQoRtuJZUAregx5JjnKl12Qh6rYPa5jLLdb92az2Qk7WmrI/s320/9aa04c776f82ffa78ff9967c3aa113c2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is a fantastic four disc, eight movie set, dedicated to the British actor Tod Slaughter. Slaughter was referred to as "The Horror Man of Europe", but these films are really Victorian melodramas, while Slaughter himself doesn't play monsters in the traditional sense. He plays over-the-top villains whose aims revolve around two basic drives: greed and lust. </p><p>I had never actually seen a Tod Slaughter film before I bought this set, but I had certainly heard of him. If you read any book or article about the history of horror films, particularly British ones, his unique career is usually mentioned. Slaughter was a barnstorming stage actor who, in the 1930s, started appearing in movies mostly based on the blood & thunder plays he had performed in the theater. </p><p>Slaughter was known for his grandiose acting style--if you prefer subtle, refined performances, this box set is not for you. In the eight films in this set, Slaughter essentially plays the same role--he's a heavy-set, middle-aged man who is after money and innocent young women, and he'll do just about anything to obtain what he wants. Slaughter's characters almost always go about in a flowing cloak and a top hat, and he usually sports a flamboyant mustache. As soon as he appears in one of these films, you know right off the bat that Slaughter is up to no good--yet it takes almost the whole running time for the supporting cast to figure out the villain's true intentions. (Most of the supporting cast in these films are played by the same actors, playing the same types of roles in each.) </p><p>Slaughter is so enamored with his villainy that he spends most of his onscreen time with a disconcerting grin on his face, and during most of his nefarious deeds he actually chortles with glee. Slaughter is more of a cartoon villain than a supernatural or psychological threat. </p><p>At times while watching these films I wondered if one was supposed to react to them as if they were amusing. The thing is, what Slaughter does isn't amusing. He commits all sorts of murders, and in one film he kills a child! He assaults women, he steals, lies, ruins the reputations of others, threatens folks with blackmail, etc. The movies in this set fall into a strange category--they're not out-and-out camp, but at the same time it's hard to take them absolutely seriously. The one movie in the set that is an outlier is SEXTON BLAKE AND THE HOODED TERROR. It's set in contemporary times, and while Slaughter is still the main villain, he's not as over-the-top, proving he could act in a "normal" setting. </p><p>The eight films in the set are MARIA MARTEN, SWEENEY TODD, THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE, IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND, THE TICKET OF LEAVE MAN, SEXTON BLAKE AND THE HOODED TERROR, THE FACE AT THE WINDOW, and CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE. The four discs contain two films each. </p><p>A number of these films can be found on the internet in terrible public domain versions. This Indicator set presents the films in brand new restorations, and they all look and sound fantastic. I had always assumed that the films Slaughter appeared in were very low budget. While it's obvious that there wasn't a lot of money spent on the films in this set, they don't look cheap. The production design and costumes are very well done, and these movies are much more impressive looking than, say, the Hollywood poverty row horrors made by PRC and Monogram. All of the films in this set were either produced or directed by George King, a British low-budget filmmaker who was the real guiding hand behind the Tod Slaughter movie persona. </p><p>I wouldn't call any of these films magnificent, but they are all entertaining, especially if you accept the stories for what they are and get into the spirit of the proceedings. SWEENEY TODD is the best-known film in the set, but I would say THE FACE AT THE WINDOW and CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE are the best overall. CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE, by the way, has art direction by future Hammer veteran Bernard Robinson, and the story, which is based on the Wilkie Collins novel THE WOMAN IN WHITE, is the type of thing Hammer should have made during the comapny's heyday. </p><p>All the films are in black & white (with the photography being very atmospheric at times), and the features average about 70 minutes in running time, which, I believe, is very fitting for the melodramatic tales being told. </p><p>Indicator has filled this set to the brim with important extras. First of all, the set comes with a 120 page illustrated booklet that includes cast & crew credits for all the films, along with a number of articles dealing with Tod Slaughter's life and acting career. Each of the four discs in the set has plenty of extras as well. Each film has an audio commentary with such luminaries as Kim Newman, Jonathan Rigby, and Stephen Jones. Each film also has an image gallery. Along the other items spread among the discs are recordings of Tod Slaughter, silent film footage of him acting on stage, an interview with Slaughter's great-niece, and featurettes on the supporting actors and the Slaughter's film career in general. The set is Region Free. </p><p>This truly is an impressive release, and film geeks will appreciate that it shines a light on an obscure and very unusual talent. I've seen just about everything when it comes to classic horror cinema, but I never took the opportunity to delve into the films of Tod Slaughter. I wouldn't put him on the same level as Karloff or Lugosi--he's more of an Atwill or Zucco type--but he is entertaining in his own unique way, and these films in this set are much more impressive than I thought they would be. The extras in this set give you all the info you need about Tod Slaughter's life and career. Indicator deserves as many compliments as they can get on this excellent release. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-42552493856562460312024-01-20T08:51:00.000-08:002024-01-20T08:51:45.995-08:00UMBRACLE On Blu-ray From Severin <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS04LCXu5qu9gHvVxyWh9WYa8oEXiJfxUVi51bacMAfdQGwUFzdJ_r4CuyqoyaI1WeLQA3kgDoxTzz7ysxVb6tMshKnmtfImNTRUCu3lNOPmOrffFs7SUwmU9DAFAQkHoshICiX_gUx-CWidbW18qXLpwCmgKeRzqZ233uJJkwSrS2Ke4mEiViD8tKFR4/s981/1db35769c4dd5d04ff54dcb373a1b92b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS04LCXu5qu9gHvVxyWh9WYa8oEXiJfxUVi51bacMAfdQGwUFzdJ_r4CuyqoyaI1WeLQA3kgDoxTzz7ysxVb6tMshKnmtfImNTRUCu3lNOPmOrffFs7SUwmU9DAFAQkHoshICiX_gUx-CWidbW18qXLpwCmgKeRzqZ233uJJkwSrS2Ke4mEiViD8tKFR4/s320/1db35769c4dd5d04ff54dcb373a1b92b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>My last post dealt with VAMPIR-CUADECUC, which Severin has put on a Blu-ray also containing UMBRACLE. Both films were directed by Spanish artist Pere Portabella, and both feature Christopher Lee, who is the main reason to watch these films. </p><p>UMBRACLE has a lot in common with VAMPIR-CUADECUC other than director and star. Both films are in a high contrast black & white, and both have a soundtrack filled with discordant sounds and strange musical choices. Both films also have almost no dialogue whatsoever. But while VAMPIR-CUADECUC at least deals with the filming of Jess Franco's COUNT DRACULA, UMBRACLE is far more idiosyncratic and harder to pin down. </p><p>Much of UMBRACLE has Christopher Lee wandering around various Spanish locations, doing such things as examining exhibits in a museum and buying cigars. Along the way we are shown a couple of men discussing the censorship involved in the Spanish film industry, a very long excerpt from a film made in the 1950s about the Spanish Civil War, and a clown act on an empty stage. Lee also has a couple of encounters with a mysterious young blonde woman, played by Jeannine Mestre, who was one of Dracula's brides in COUNT DRACULA. </p><p>The big highlight of the film is when Lee states that he wants to sing--and he does, first in German and then in French. Lee then decides to recite Poe's THE RAVEN, but first he goes on to "explain" the poem....and his explanation is almost as long as the recital. (Those who know Lee's reputation for pontificating will be rather amused.) Lee's singing and poetry reading are worth buying the Blu-ray alone. </p><p>As for the rest of the film, what does it all mean? It's supposed to be a critical statement on the Franco regime in Spain, but for most viewers it will be just a random set of weird events strung together. Near the end we are shown chickens going to their doom in a slaughterhouse, while a cover version of The Carpenters' "Close To You" plays on the soundtrack, not exactly the most subtle moment. </p><p>The highly political Portabella and the very British Lee would seem to be a strange pairing, but the director was able to get an international star in his very non-mainstream film, while Lee was able to get some critical plaudits beyond his usual acting work. (In Jonathan Rigby's book CHRISTOPHER LEE: THE AUTHORIZED SCREEN HISTORY, it states that according to Portabella Lee appeared in UMBRACLE so he could get the chance to sample some Spanish golf courses.) </p><p>As a huge Christopher Lee fan, I'm very happy that Severin decided to put VAMPIR-CUADECUC and UMBRACLE on high quality Blu-ray. Both films are among the most obscure items in Lee's acting career, and they both allow the viewer to get a better appreciation of Lee as an actor and a person. VAMPIR-CUADECUC is much more watchable than UMBRACLE, but both movies are not "normal" productions. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-33003028563976875652024-01-14T10:18:00.000-08:002024-01-14T10:18:36.899-08:00VAMPIR-CUADECUC On Blu-ray From Severin <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOihXGdEWwqcrCYkG9J6-4DzObnktdnzHHjtuPhvJi67C-1m-1a5LeCl0lEuuYGUAW9SDAtkyztFXKgOFtYjIDYlDoApNELVmyCIaeEkmrQiOCvIv3HegpADzvN_v4d9ZSRFUs_wttSSg6HPSNftoj8R10_-8S36fnJUAW164Cq-dMYUrregKMhbP7ZeU/s981/1db35769c4dd5d04ff54dcb373a1b92b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOihXGdEWwqcrCYkG9J6-4DzObnktdnzHHjtuPhvJi67C-1m-1a5LeCl0lEuuYGUAW9SDAtkyztFXKgOFtYjIDYlDoApNELVmyCIaeEkmrQiOCvIv3HegpADzvN_v4d9ZSRFUs_wttSSg6HPSNftoj8R10_-8S36fnJUAW164Cq-dMYUrregKMhbP7ZeU/s320/1db35769c4dd5d04ff54dcb373a1b92b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In 2023 Severin did not release a third THE EUROCRYPT OF CHRISTOPHER LEE Blu-ray set, but they did make available two of Lee's most obscure appearances. VAMPIR-CUADECUC and UMBRACLE are a couple of almost undefinable productions directed by avant-garde Spanish filmmaker Pere Portabella, and they have now been released on HD for the first time on a single disc. </p><p>VAMPIR-CUADECUC was made during the filming of Jess Franco's COUNT DRACULA in late 1969. COUNT DRACULA was an attempt to make a more authoritative version of Bram Stoker's novel, but it fell far short of its goals. (One can understand why with the director being Jess Franco and the writer-producer being Harry Alan Towers.) Christopher Lee had hoped that this project would finally give him the chance to truly portray Stoker's character faithfully (as opposed to the series of Dracula films he was involved with at Hammer), but the actor also had to have known what he was going to be in for (he had worked with Franco and Towers before). </p><p>I've never been a big fan of COUNT DRACULA. Lee is as majestic as expected, but the film feels rather lifeless (no pun intended). It also looks rather threadbare--it comes nowhere near matching the epic scope of the novel. (My copy of COUNT DRACULA is the DVD from Dark Sky, which I think I got from a Walmart for $5.) Severin now has a brand new 4K restoration of COUNT DRACULA for sale, along with copious extras. If I saw that, would my thoughts about the film change? Maybe. </p><p>VAMPIR-CUADECUC isn't so much a documentation of the making of COUNT DRACULA, it's more like an alternate version of the film. The thing is, in my opinion, it's more atmospheric, and more cinematic, than COUNT DRACULA. VAMPIR-CUADECUC was filmed in grainy, high contrast black & white, and the only audio (until the very end) consists of weird sound effects and strange musical cues. Watching VAMPIR-CUADECUC is like having a bizarre dream about viewing a movie, while seeing how it is being made at the very same time. </p><p>VAMPIR-CUADECUC follows the COUNT DRACULA storyline very closely, except that I believe Portabella's shot choices are much more interesting and dramatic. We not only see the story unfolding, we also see what goes on behind the scenes. Stagehands create fake cobwebs and mist, while actors are made up. We see performers such as Lee, Maria Rohm, Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, and Herbert Lom at work, and we even get to see good old Jess Franco himself. (Klaus Kinski was also in COUNT DRACULA, but he doesn't appear in VAMPIR-CUADECUC. I'm sure Kinski's scenes were shot at a different time and at a different location, but when one thinks about it, putting a camera on the volatile actor in between shots wouldn't have been the best idea in the world.) </p><p>We also get such treats as Soledad Miranda pensively smoking a cigarette before a scene, and Maria Rohm dressed like a fashion model as she serenely observes a sequence being shot. There's also the fact that Lee is very well aware of Portabella's camera, and he reacts to it a number of times in a surprisingly playful manner. (Would Lee have been as playful behind the scenes of a Hammer Dracula film?) For whatever reason, Lee and Portabella seemed to hit it off--Lee would later appear in the director's UMBRACLE (which I have not yet watched). </p><p>The ending of VAMPIR-CUADECUC has Lee, in his dressing room, reciting the death of Dracula from a copy of Stoker's novel. It is the only time a person's voice is heard in VAMPIR-CUADECUC, and some might even say that this climax is much better than the disappointing ending of COUNT DRACULA. </p><p>Pere Portabella was not a mainstream filmmaker, but after seeing VAMPIR-CUADECUC, I wish that <i>he </i>had directed COUNT DRACULA--or at least made a true Gothic horror of his own. (I wonder if Christopher Lee himself had broached this proposal to Portabella at one point.) What VAMPIR-CUADECUC does show is that COUNT DRACULA had all sorts of possibilities, but they were not fully realized. </p><p>Severin's Blu-ray of VAMPIR-CUADECUC and UMBRACLE contains a booklet which has an article by Pere Portabella, along with reviews of the two films, all written in the 1970s. The disc also has a featurette on Portabella's background as a filmmaker, with Dr. Alex Mendibil. What the disc does <i>not </i>have are audio commentaries for the films, and they are sorely needed. After viewing VAMPIR-CUADECUC I'd love to know more about the circumstances behind it, and how those involved felt about it. Severin's new 4K/Blu-ray of COUNT DRACULA has listed among its extras a full-length documentary dealing with the making of Franco's film and VAMPIR-CUADECUC. </p><p>VAMPIR-CUADECUC is a must for Christopher Lee fans, and it gives a very rare glimpse into the working lives of some of the most notable names involved with Euro Gothic cinema. It's also a better film than some of the "official" vampire movies made around this time. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-5123522792259163822024-01-13T09:06:00.000-08:002024-01-13T09:06:36.654-08:00THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) On Blu-ray From Film Masters<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcc5MIlR9szrbqYlRnbkeyF4tIn6xJq-tu4zGVAYpOhTAH5hWspGh9KHIrF0WNh9G3JGOaLO5MAtGRv7Kd_ToDVOoKULaiC9zJ5V8E3ZvC78kpdveYag1JQdcQcggNNoh9GReILx_jEmczLI7pC_ddMKsfkmHsQAUqXKu3rM5OEUPvL9h4yJocS5H_G0/s981/f9e9e6cf79f1ea8a2efbc46cb4d62310.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcc5MIlR9szrbqYlRnbkeyF4tIn6xJq-tu4zGVAYpOhTAH5hWspGh9KHIrF0WNh9G3JGOaLO5MAtGRv7Kd_ToDVOoKULaiC9zJ5V8E3ZvC78kpdveYag1JQdcQcggNNoh9GReILx_jEmczLI7pC_ddMKsfkmHsQAUqXKu3rM5OEUPvL9h4yJocS5H_G0/s320/f9e9e6cf79f1ea8a2efbc46cb4d62310.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The Film Masters Blu-ray release of THE TERROR (1963) contains a second disc with another famed public domain cult film: the original THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. </p><p>The production history of the original LITTLE SHOP has become a film geek legend. Roger Corman's ultra-cheap, ultra-quick black comedy might even be his most famous film as a director. A follow-up to another gonzo dark satire, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, LITTLE SHOP bears more of the stamp of its writer Charles B. Griffith than Corman. But Corman must be given credit for letting Griffith's writing--and the comedic talents of the ensemble cast--hold sway. Said cast features Jonathan Haze as the pathetic but endearing Seymour, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, and a memorable cameo by Jack Nicholson. (And don't forget the hungry plant, Audrey Jr.)</p><p>THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS became such a cult item it wound up being adapted into a cult stage musical, which itself was adapted as a big-budget film with a name cast. The film version of the musical has its own charms, but the original LITTLE SHOP is for me the best version of the tale. Its ragged, unpolished production fits the tone of the story perfectly. The musical version may have had a song about Skid Row, but the exteriors for the movie actually <i>were </i>filmed on Skid Row. LITTLE SHOP is ridiculously funny and entertaining, and its laughs per budget spent ratio has to be among the greatest in cinema history. </p><p>Like THE TERROR, LITTLE SHOP has had several fly-by-night home video releases over the years, and its even been sadly colorized at one point. Film Masters gives us a sharp HD black & white print presented in a 16:9 screen ratio. A few purists might be annoyed at that, but I felt the shot compositions came out very well. This print also has the complete opening & closing credits, which most public domain versions do not feature. </p><p>The extras on the LITTLE SHOP disc include a new audio commentary with Justin Humphreys and the movie's star, Jonathan Haze. It's a fun and informative one, with Humphreys providing the historical details and Haze sharing his memories of the shoot, Roger Corman, and the various personalities involved in LITTLE SHOP and other Corman pictures made during the same period. There is also a 17 minute featurette on the Filmgroup Comapny, Roger Corman's own unit, which the prolific director set up while still churning out features for American-International. (THE TERROR and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS are actually Filmgroup productions--they were just released by AIP.) The featurette is narrated by C. Courtney Joyner. A new trailer for LITTLE SHOP is also provided. The booklet contained in this Blu-ray package has an article on the making of LITTLE SHOP by Mark McGee. </p><p>THE TERROR and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS have long deserved proper, authoritative home video releases, and Film Masters has accomplished this. Film buffs and movie collectors will certainly want this Roger Corman/Jack Nicholson double feature, although it's more accurate to call it a Jonathan Haze/Dick Miller double feature. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-71973530676003261242024-01-07T08:57:00.000-08:002024-01-07T08:57:21.522-08:00ARIZONA COLT <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlhM3-gi1w4ju3S2u9YDG4-YK9lknD1tt-SbOmXU-6YWvj-ivKh_oTd8l_9R3Q5m4249OVOab3TGHCWRnZpN7WPyNs1RlXsHwB_lcEtBtWvv2R1vFBfaK6829BzKcpeZ3fwNTACl8wjx58K-sDbfvQRQXaDrdrI7eig19FXmqqD9eZcZrBvEpEpfYxzI/s884/MV5BYTM3YmRmNmYtOTFlZC00NzAzLTg0NDktOWIzNzRhZjg4OWFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzA4ODc3ODU@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlhM3-gi1w4ju3S2u9YDG4-YK9lknD1tt-SbOmXU-6YWvj-ivKh_oTd8l_9R3Q5m4249OVOab3TGHCWRnZpN7WPyNs1RlXsHwB_lcEtBtWvv2R1vFBfaK6829BzKcpeZ3fwNTACl8wjx58K-sDbfvQRQXaDrdrI7eig19FXmqqD9eZcZrBvEpEpfYxzI/s320/MV5BYTM3YmRmNmYtOTFlZC00NzAzLTg0NDktOWIzNzRhZjg4OWFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzA4ODc3ODU@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>One of the best things about the Tubi streaming channel is that it has a great selection of Euro Westerns, and for the most part these films are presented uncut and in their original aspect ratio. One Spaghetti Western recently added to Tubi is the 1966 ARIZONA COLT, starring one of the genre's legends, Giuliano Gemma. </p><p>Gemma plays the title character, a bounty hunter who causes all sorts of trouble for a Mexican bandit chief named Gordo (Fernando Sancho) and his gang. Arizona deals with Gordo almost as if he's playing a game, but things take a sharp turn when the bandit chief shoots Arizona in both of his legs <i>and </i>hands. The injured bounty hunter is given impetus to stop Gordo's rampaging of a frontier town by the attractive daughter of a saloon owner (Corinne Marchand) and a quirky former member of Gordo's gang (Roberto Camardiel). </p><p>ARIZONA COLT is a more traditional type of story as opposed to the more wilder examples of the Euro Western. This fits Giuliano Gemma (the original Ringo) just fine, as he's not the usual Spaghetti Western leading man. Gemma's Arizona Colt isn't a taciturn cold-blooded superman--he's charismatic, engaging, and very talkative. Arizona is an expert shot, but he'd rather trick, disarm, or annoy his opponents. (When asked any sort of direct question, Arizona's usual reply is "I'll think about it.") </p><p>Arizona, however, isn't a goody-goody--he cheats at cards, he's not above using someone else's misfortune for his own personal gain, and at the beginning of the film, he's locked up in a Mexican jail (though we are never told why). Despite the handsome Gemma's ability to woo Corinne Marchand's Jane, he still winds up riding off alone at the end. </p><p>ARIZONA COLT (also known as THE MAN FROM NOWHERE) is rather long for this type of Western (the version I saw on Tubi runs for two hours). It also has an inconsistent tone--it jumps from playful to dark at the drop of a hat, and a lot of innocent people wind up getting killed. One of the victims is Jane's sexy sister Dolores, played by Rosalba Neri (LADY FRANKENSTEIN). The seductive Neri, as usual, makes a huge impression, but sadly she's only onscreen a few minutes before she's bumped off. (It is a bit hard to believe, even for a Euro Western, that the blonde French Corinne Marchand and the dark-haired Italian Neri are sisters.) </p><p>Fernando Sancho played dozens of Mexican bandits in Euro Westerns, but he's particularly bloodthirsty here. Roberto Camardiel gets the bulk of the comic relief as the scruffy Whisky, a member of Gordo's gang who is an explosives expert, and who also decides to change sides and join up with Arizona. Spaghetti Western fans will notice all sorts of familiar locations and faces among Gordo's gang, and there's a memorable "What the??" moment during the final shootout concerning the major way Arizona fools the villains. </p><p>ARIZONA COLT was directed by Michele Lupo and co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi. I wouldn't call it a great Euro Western--it could have used some tighter editing--but it is entertaining, and Gemma is always watchable. This is another film that deserves an official North American home video release. (I have to point out that Tubi's presentation of the film has an English dubbed voice track.) </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-62114872148453991522024-01-06T10:28:00.000-08:002024-01-06T10:28:21.719-08:00THE TERROR On Blu-ray From Film Masters <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishISGovJjqU6pw3BCIFZtHx7Koo9h7rH2SthqwrsSvJ57QpVhRg44dMVCwNXlv0dPhOoN0YublbgbI_PtVhcfxnkZW8E257yq_x0wBTy2fEIltc3bHAdLzXQxeokMvhFJ_YmBwgHWduGTZ6dXLTWcoCQHMP0r6TuwtzrCalkv91syahaHdiRO3rBvdBQ/s981/f9e9e6cf79f1ea8a2efbc46cb4d62310.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishISGovJjqU6pw3BCIFZtHx7Koo9h7rH2SthqwrsSvJ57QpVhRg44dMVCwNXlv0dPhOoN0YublbgbI_PtVhcfxnkZW8E257yq_x0wBTy2fEIltc3bHAdLzXQxeokMvhFJ_YmBwgHWduGTZ6dXLTWcoCQHMP0r6TuwtzrCalkv91syahaHdiRO3rBvdBQ/s320/f9e9e6cf79f1ea8a2efbc46cb4d62310.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Film Masters has been doing a series of Blu-ray releases involving low-budget horror/sci-fi films from the late 1950s and early 1960s. One of these releases is a two-disc set featuring a couple of films from Roger Corman that are among the most famous public domain titles of all time: THE TERROR and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. This post will cover the disc containing THE TERROR. </p><p>THE TERROR (1963) is more notable for its production history than for whatever quality it may have as a film. It started out as a way for Roger Corman to use Boris Karloff and the leftover sets from THE RAVEN for a couple days as the basis for a different project. That basis grew into a convoluted shoot involving several months and other directors (including such names as Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, and Jack Hill). Corman even wound up using the sets for THE HAUNTED PALACE to shoot some scenes. </p><p>The result is a hodgepodge of a story that feels more like an imitation of a Roger Corman Poe tale than the real thing. There's plenty of Corman/Poe elements on display, such as a hermit-like aristocrat who shuts himself up in a creepy castle and broods over a dead wife. But the story never really comes together, and the last-minute "explanation" of the plot just confuses the viewer even more. Much of the movie consists of Jack Nicholson (miscast as a Napoleonic soldier) and Boris Karloff (as the hermit-like aristocrat) wandering around. It might have been better for Karloff if he hadn't worked for Corman those two extra days--he isn't used to his best advantage here, and being immersed in waist-deep in water during the climax certainly didn't do the frail and elderly actor any favors. </p><p>Because of its public domain status and the name value of Nicholson, Karloff, and Corman, dozens and dozens of fly-by-night video companies put THE TERROR out on VHS and DVD--I bet the total amount of home video releases of this title number into the hundreds. Needless to say, the general quality of them is sorely lacking. Film Masters states that their release is a new HD restoration from original 35mm elements. This Blu-ray is miles above any other version of the film. The color is much bolder and the picture, for the most part, is much sharper. There are still more than a few scenes that are soft and faded, but this is probably the best that one can expect THE TERROR to look. The sound quality is much better as well, giving heft to Ronald Stein's excellent music score (one of the best things about the movie). The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen format, and the disc is Region Free. </p><p>The extras for this disc of THE TERROR include a long visual essay entitled GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE: ART & ARTIFICE IN ROGER CORMAN'S CELLULOID CASTLE by Howard S. Berger and Kevin Marr. The essay takes a deep, <i>deep </i>analytical dive into the film, proposing that it has all sorts of themes and meanings to it, with a portentous narration by Berger. There's also a brand new audio commentary by C. Courtney Joyner and Steve Haberman. It's a lively discussion, as the two talk about the film's unusual production, the Corman/Poe series, and Boris Karloff's work with American-International Pictures. A 22-page booklet is included with this release, and it has two articles: one by C. Courtney Joyner on the long association that Boris Karloff had with the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and the other has Mark McGee delving into the making of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. </p><p>I have to say that I'm still not all that impressed with THE TERROR as a film, but I am impressed with this Film Masters release, and the extras that are included on it. Roger Corman and Boris Karloff fans will at least appreciate a proper home video release for this title. I'll be covering THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS disc, and the extras on that, for a future blog post. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-6818740932496786592024-01-05T08:57:00.000-08:002024-01-05T08:57:23.084-08:00RAID ON ROMMEL <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGRVRZZQl7GmS1EwDFg0p-kh5Vn4xyIj07501jXxX5lfMbux6mdJ1F29oUnb-U_Gstcj2E3LVK1yvD3RSAETqHEiQmenDd-alZkL9tVsLNi-YTkoSDPsFjGmvhFRjCptxKbNjSOyeHICibHWuHGOgYzn0denjG1NJFDlJKSol6Pdx79EutrBHWzNODeo/s981/488b686fe8eaa5877b08f6c71d1761d2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGRVRZZQl7GmS1EwDFg0p-kh5Vn4xyIj07501jXxX5lfMbux6mdJ1F29oUnb-U_Gstcj2E3LVK1yvD3RSAETqHEiQmenDd-alZkL9tVsLNi-YTkoSDPsFjGmvhFRjCptxKbNjSOyeHICibHWuHGOgYzn0denjG1NJFDlJKSol6Pdx79EutrBHWzNODeo/s320/488b686fe8eaa5877b08f6c71d1761d2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Another movie I picked up cheap from Edward R. Hamilton, RAID ON ROMMEL is a standard 1971 WWII action-adventure produced by Universal.</p><p>The director of RAID ON ROMMEL, Henry Hathaway, had helmed THE DESERT FOX, a biography of Erwin Rommel with James Mason as the famed Field Marshal. The star of RAID ON ROMMEL, Richard Burton, had appeared in THE DESERT RATS, a film that also featured Mason as Rommel. RAID ON ROMMEL isn't as good as those earlier films--as a matter of fact, a lot of its footage was taken from another Universal WWII story set in North Africa, TOBRUK. </p><p>RAID ON ROMMEL has elements of WHERE EAGLES DARE, THE DIRTY DOZEN, and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, but it's not on the same scale as those action epics. Richard Burton plays a British intelligence officer who infiltrates a German POW convoy headed for Tobruk. Burton's plan is to use the POWs to attack and destroy shore batteries on the Libyan coast--but most of the commandos who were supposed to help him didn't arrive, and he has to train the POWs while on the way. Of course there's all sorts of complications, including the mistress (Danielle De Metz) of an Italian general, and a meeting with Rommel himself (Wolfgang Preiss). </p><p>There isn't much that's surprising or unique about RAID ON ROMMEL--it's the usual "impossible mission" scenario. According to internet sources, the movie was first planned as a TV project, and it feels like a small-screen story at times. Burton is the only major name of note in the feature, unless you count Euro cult star Wolfgang Preiss, who actually resembles Rommel a bit. </p><p>The action scenes from TOBRUK are spectacular, and are edited in so well that if you didn't know they were from another movie, you certainly wouldn't have guessed it. (Richard Burton's hair is even dyed blond so it could match up with long shots of George Peppard from TOBRUK.) For those who are wondering how a major American studio could reuse so much footage for a movie with a major director and a major star, one must remember that in 1971 there was no home video industry, or 24-hour movie cable TV channels, or geeks minutely examining films on the internet. I'm sure most folks watching RAID ON ROMMEL had no idea of the reused footage. </p><p>If you are also wondering how Richard Burton got involved in such a project, he got paid a lot of money for not a lot of work (he does have to handle a flamethrower in one scene.) RAID ON ROMMEL was actually filmed in Arizona and Mexico, and the tanks used are not of WWII vintage. </p><p>Also not of WWII vintage is Danielle De Metz, who looks (and acts) like a 1970 fashion model--thankfully she doesn't have much to do here. Another item that will annoy WWII buffs is that a title card at the beginning claims the story is set in 1943. In that year Rommel and his dwindling troops were on the run from the allies, and certainly not as powerful as shown in this film. </p><p>If you can look beyond historical nitpicking, RAID ON ROMMEL is a decent, if generic, 99 minutes of action-adventure. (There's plenty of explosions, that's for sure.) I must admit I wouldn't have bought this film if it wasn't at a major discount. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-82674213909392400792024-01-01T08:55:00.000-08:002024-01-01T08:55:50.049-08:00THE TRAMPLERS <p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtzXPIc1SK_Cde61FEKmwj-6jiIKmAdlMaoxWZGq-SXYAVVtGFX9g5C7-cJ9Z5Y9VloDgZON4h35kvEdfj5O-mhX5q8iU_3jHYD6piy07_2mh2lj2nCReA7ZbPWUVdKkWTRpshrep22xBQXidarj3fY1Cze8m6SxN8NtyRLX8UjOmKLiPHpiZ9oZx98g/s1531/MV5BYzA0YTVkN2YtYTg5NS00NzhjLWJkOTQtNDVkZGY3N2U2ODdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1531" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtzXPIc1SK_Cde61FEKmwj-6jiIKmAdlMaoxWZGq-SXYAVVtGFX9g5C7-cJ9Z5Y9VloDgZON4h35kvEdfj5O-mhX5q8iU_3jHYD6piy07_2mh2lj2nCReA7ZbPWUVdKkWTRpshrep22xBQXidarj3fY1Cze8m6SxN8NtyRLX8UjOmKLiPHpiZ9oZx98g/s320/MV5BYzA0YTVkN2YtYTg5NS00NzhjLWJkOTQtNDVkZGY3N2U2ODdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Joseph Cotten appeared in some of the most famous films ever made, such as CITIZEN KANE, THE THIRD MAN, and SHADOW OF A DOUBT. He also was in Mario Bava's BARON BLOOD, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, Ishiro Honda's LATITUDE ZERO, and he even pops up in HEAVEN'S GATE. Cotten even wound up in a couple Spaghetti Westerns. One of them is a rather notable entry in the genre: Sergio Corbucci's THE HELLBENDERS. The other, THE TRAMPLERS (1965), is much lesser known. (The original Italian title of THE TRAMPLERS is GLI UOMINI DEL PASSO PESANTE.) </p><p>The same production team behind THE HELLBENDERS was responsible for THE TRAMPLERS, except the latter film was directed by producer and co-writer Albert Band. (Many sources credit Mario Sequi as co-director.) THE TRAMPLERS is a much more traditional Western than THE HELLBENDERS--it's not as dark or cynical, and the main plot of a family dispute caused by the rigid head of the clan makes the film feel like something made in 1950s Hollywood. </p><p>The story is set right after the end of the Civil War. Lon Cordeen (Gordon Scott), who fought for the Confederacy, returns home to his family's vast spread in Texas after three years of being away. Lon finds out that his brothers and his father Temple (Joseph Cotten) lord over the nearby town, and act as if the South didn't lose the war. Lon is so disgusted by his family's behavior, he decides to break away and build a life of his own. Lon, with his youngest brother Hoby (Jim Mitchum), sister Bess (Emma Valloni) and her husband Charley (Franco Nero), organizes and begins a cattle drive to raise money. The imperious Temple, however, won't accept the fact that some of his children won't do what he wants them to, and demands that the group be brought back dead or alive. The result is a final showdown between the entire family. </p><p>If THE TRAMPLERS had been made a few years later, when the Euro Western boom was in full swing, it probably would have been a much different film (especially if it had been directed by Sergio Corbucci). The look and feel of the film is very much in the classic American Western tradition--there are no scruffy loners or quirky musical themes here. Gordon Scott, best known for the many sword & sandal films he starred in, actually comes off quite well as a stalwart frontier hero. Jim Mitchum (son of Robert) does well too as youngster Hoby, who grows from kindly innocent to steely-eyed gunslinger. </p><p>Joseph Cotten plays the flamboyantly named Temple Cordeen, who has a resemblance to the character the actor played in THE HELLBENDERS. The difference is that Cordeen has a secure base in which to work from--it's mentioned that the local townsfolk are either afraid of the Cordeen family or in agreement with their political and social beliefs. Behind Cordeen's surface charm & courtesy is an inflexible patriarch who won't take no for an answer. Cotten's Temple isn't a ranting or raving lunatic--he's someone who acts like a Southern gentleman, yet expects his orders to be carried out at all times. (He's also cold-blooded enough to carry out the lynching of a newspaperman at the very beginning of the film.) One wonders how Cotten felt about making Westerns in Italy, but it certainly didn't affect his acting ability. </p><p>Making his Western debut here is Franco Nero (he's billed as Frank Nero). Very soon after working on this film, Nero would get the starring role in DJANGO, and go on to become a cult icon. Nero plays Lon Cordeen's decent upstanding brother-in-law, a far cry from the Euro Western characters he would eventually be known for. (The role of Charley might be the most normal one Nero would play in a Western.) </p><p>THE TRAMPLERS has a much greener and pastoral look than the usual Spaghetti Western (the cattle herd sequences were actually filmed in Argentina). A cattle drive is an unusual plot point in any Euro Western (most characters in that genre are not interested in doing that type of work--or any real work at all). The ending is somewhat surprising as well. There is the obligatory final shootout, but instead of going out in a blaze of glory, Temple Cordeen is shocked into realizing that his actions have destroyed his family. </p><p>I had never seen THE TRAMPLERS, and I had assumed that it wasn't on the same level as THE HELLBENDERS. It's actually a decent Western in its own right, and it has a more traditional feel to it. THE TRAMPLERS certainly deserves to get an official North American home video release. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-92075461696979866212023-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:002023-12-31T08:06:06.010-08:00My Top Five Blu-rays Of 2023<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcO2YEPfWDn21-e9bZ6CNxe616ZvR3Golg6XpEFmLyXDgyUgZ6SiMuVJii80DoF0WgyDE_q57SqzjjGyusUXjBJYYf6dJTelUAQZ9USoc_POQbnplvscSOy9uZXHFk265OMfe2e7QhhHnvCJ7soAzx8Rlttwwk5gyTDD-0NGzU_T_WU7_4lFqyFjJdEk/s736/d9877d47bd2c3f6dc6e4480c467afc88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="736" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcO2YEPfWDn21-e9bZ6CNxe616ZvR3Golg6XpEFmLyXDgyUgZ6SiMuVJii80DoF0WgyDE_q57SqzjjGyusUXjBJYYf6dJTelUAQZ9USoc_POQbnplvscSOy9uZXHFk265OMfe2e7QhhHnvCJ7soAzx8Rlttwwk5gyTDD-0NGzU_T_WU7_4lFqyFjJdEk/s320/d9877d47bd2c3f6dc6e4480c467afc88.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It's time for another end-of-the-year best Blu-rays post. As usual, I tried to cut back on my home video purchases, and, as usual, I failed miserably. But it's my life. </p><p>I must point out that all the choices were releases that I actually bought and watched in 2023. If you are wondering why there are no 4K releases on this list, it's because I don't have a 4K player. If you good folks want me to start writing posts on 4K discs, then I suggest you buy me a 4K player--and while you're at it, get me a 4K monitor and a region-free player too. </p><p>Anyway, here's the list: </p><p><br /></p><p>1. CUSHING CURIOSITIES from Severin</p><p>Anyone who has any personal knowledge of me is well aware of the fact that Peter Cushing is my favorite all-time actor, so of course this set is going to be No. 1. There's been some internet griping about the films contained in the set, but the title isn't CUSHING STUFF THAT HAS BEEN RELEASED BEFORE MULTIPLE TIMES. I wrote a full post on this last month. </p><p><br /></p><p>2. LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR ONE from Flicker Alley</p><p>The beginnings of the world's most famous big-screen comedy team, with plenty of rare treats that most folks have never seen. Here's hoping there is a LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO forthcoming. I wrote a post on this in September. </p><p><br /></p><p>3. THE CRIMINAL ACTS OF TOD SLAUGHTER from Indicator</p><p>I haven't written a full post on this set yet, but I intend to. Tod Slaughter was an English stage performer who had a larger-than-life acting style, and he made a number of melodramas that are considered the beginnings of the English Gothic movie genre. This set contains eight of Slaughter's films, remastered and restored, with all sorts of extras and an info-packed booklet. </p><p><br /></p><p>4. TOD BROWNING'S SIDESHOW SHOCKERS from Criterion</p><p>Three films from the master of classic Hollywood macabre, including a restored THE UNKNOWN with Lon Chaney, the very rare THE MYSTIC, and the notorious FREAKS, with all the expected Criterion bells & whistles. </p><p><br /></p><p>5. DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS DOUBLE FEATURE: THE THREE MUSKETEERS AND THE IRON MASK</p><p>Two magnificently restored silent films, made and starring a true icon of the pre-talkies age. I wrote a full post on this in November. </p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-556823686640172503.post-30914189939016735172023-12-30T08:10:00.000-08:002023-12-30T08:10:58.336-08:00HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS<p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuq135QnlBLmtwvKH3b7kD7QSC2ghCEiZKvfnV7oS77syms4bxT8blekvMntE_lVM4V19WC2pEyh-tpnkpBJOT4e8Tblo0kY5xIrSrPVt0EajIcSHblxsmp7Craun3-9fiVcJ9i5x4hHxZivJere43WP763fV2An-A8J3F3Iu8dy2Fb5Lp8qsLW93D59k/s981/d934103dea501ce13f84a9b85166f17a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuq135QnlBLmtwvKH3b7kD7QSC2ghCEiZKvfnV7oS77syms4bxT8blekvMntE_lVM4V19WC2pEyh-tpnkpBJOT4e8Tblo0kY5xIrSrPVt0EajIcSHblxsmp7Craun3-9fiVcJ9i5x4hHxZivJere43WP763fV2An-A8J3F3Iu8dy2Fb5Lp8qsLW93D59k/s320/d934103dea501ce13f84a9b85166f17a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I recently received another batch of discount movies from Edward R. Hamilton, and among them was a DVD of the 1973 British-Italian co-production HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS, with Alec Guinness in the title role. </p><p>Any film dealing with Hitler now has to be compared with DOWNFALL, starring Bruno Ganz. DOWNFALL in my opinion is by far the best cinematic representation of the Nazi regime, and while HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS covers essentially the exact same material, it falls short of being either historically dramatic or notable. </p><p>Most of the film is set (as expected) in Hitler's bunker during the waning days of the Third Reich in April 1945. This version of those events is a dreary affair, as most of the scenes have the supporting cast listening to Hitler's bizarre observations and rants. Unlike DOWNFALL, the supporting characters are barely sketched out--it's as if they are around mainly to give Hitler an audience. </p><p>HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS feels more like a stage play instead of a movie, with a main element being the heavy atmosphere of the cramped and stuffy bunker facility. I realize that this is an important part of any story dealing with the last days of Hitler, but DOWNFALL was able to overcome this by showing what life was like outside in war-torn Berlin. THE LAST TEN DAYS sprinkles in a few scenes of black & white newsreel footage from time to time, but these scenes seem inserted almost at random. </p><p>Alec Guinness is one of my favorite actors, and the very idea of him playing Adolf Hitler has to pique the interest of any film geek. I have to admit that while watching THE LAST TEN DAYS I didn't feel if I was seeing Hitler--I felt that I was seeing Alec Guinness trying to <i>be </i>Hitler. Guinness puts a lot of emphasis on the Fuhrer's gestures and mannerisms, but I felt he was at his best when he kept perfectly still and reduced his expression to a cold glare. Guinness' Hitler also seems far too healthy and mentally alert to be the wreck of a man trapped in a bunker while his supposedly beloved Germany goes up in flames above him. </p><p>As with just about any British historical film made in the 1960s-70s, this has an esteemed supporting cast, with Simon Ward, Julian Glover, and Joss Ackland. Due to this being a part-Italian production, Adolfo Celi and Gabriele Ferzetti are in the cast as well. Celi in particular feels out of place here--he was one of the most well-known Italian actors, and he's dubbed by Robert Rietty, who also did Celi's voice as Largo in THUNDERBALL. Seeing Celi in this film makes one wonder if he was supposed to be a representative of Mussolini, or if SPECTRE had somehow infiltrated the German High Command. Doris Kunstsmann is a glamorous Eva Braun, and Angela Pleasence, daughter of Donald, has a cameo. </p><p>The story perks up a bit when famed pilot Hanna Reitsch (Diane Cilento) arrives with General von Greim (Eric Porter). This leads to a strange sub-plot in which Reitsch is jealous of Eva Braun. This diversion isn't enough to give the film momentum, as the viewer merely waits for Hitler to come to his well-known end. </p><p>Despite being mostly filmed in England, HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS was directed (and co-written) by Italian Ennio De Concini, a man who has his name on the writing credits of a number of notable European productions. It's not a bad attempt to portray the last days of the Third Reich, but unfortunately a number of scenes border on being unintentionally funny, especially the ones showing the relationship between Hitler and Eva Braun. (This is a problem that any movie and TV show portraying Hitler has to deal with--it's something Mel Brooks understood quite well.) Despite his mammoth talents, I don't think Alec Guinness was particularly suited for the role of Adolf Hitler. </p><p><br /></p>Dan Day, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05896579878291701895noreply@blogger.com0