MACHINE-GUN KELLY

 

Another Roger Corman mobster tale, this time based on a real criminal. Charles Bronson stars as the title character in MACHINE-GUN KELLY, released by American-International Pictures in 1958. 

Roger Corman was drawn to the story of 1930s hood George Kelly by the way he was captured by authorities. Kelly didn't go down with his gun blazing--he promptly gave up because he knew he'd probably get killed if he resisted. Corman liked the idea of a gangster movie ending so unexpectedly, and he gave the big screen Kelly some other unique traits as well. 

In this film George Kelly is a moody, temperamental cuss--but he also has a phobia about death, and it affects him so much he has a tendency to freeze up when confronted by reminders of his own mortality. He also has a very complicated relationship with his girlfriend Flo (Susan Cabot). Flo is just as cold and callous as Kelly is, and she is the one who has pushed George into attempting to be a big-time gangster (something the not very bright fellow is not really made out for). 

The movie opens with a finely-honed dialogue free five minute bank robbery sequence, one of the best moments of Roger Corman's directorial career. Kelly has gained his "Machine-Gun" reputation due to a series of bank jobs, but he screws one up when he gets flustered by seeing a coffin. After dealing with the rest of his former gang, Kelly and Flo decide there's more money to be made by kidnapping. The devious duo snatch the preteen daughter of an oil executive, but George's mental hangups and Flo's nasty nature cause that plan to fall apart fast, leading to Kelly accepting defeat instead of death. 

MACHINE-GUN KELLY is a lively film, proving that Roger Corman could deal with any type of genre. As Corman did in all his gangster pictures, he doesn't try to make the audience feel sympathy for the lead hood, or try to "understand" him. Corman presents these gangsters just as they are. George Kelly isn't someone the audience can relate to, especially during the kidnapping part of the story when he reveals that he will kill his very young captive if he feels it is necessary. 

The role of George Kelly provided Charles Bronson with his first lead in a theatrical production. Kelly is a bit more chatty than the usual Bronson character, and the actor is able to show that the man has some major mental issues without going overboard with this aspect. Bronson is ably matched by Susan Cabot, whose Flo is in some ways more dangerous than her gangster boyfriend. Way too many film geeks have read way too many things into Roger Corman's pictures, but it has to be pointed out that Corman's work always featured strong, interesting female characters, and MACHINE-GUN KELLY is a prime example of this. 

Bronson and Cabot overshadow the rest of the small cast, but I do need to mention Morey Amsterdam, who has a supporting role as a weasely associate of Kelly's who is crippled by him. Mention must also be made of Gerald Fried's frenetic score, which constantly drives the narrative forward. 

MACHINE-GUN KELLY got Roger Corman some attention among European film critics, and it still holds up as a low-budget no frills gangster flick that goes against the grain. It also shows that despite his minimalist acting style, Charles Bronson still had enough of a strong, rugged screen presence to carry a film on his own. 

I, MOBSTER

 

Sunday will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of filmmaker Roger Corman. I decided to mark this occasion by viewing a movie directed by Corman that I had never seen before--I, MOBSTER, a gangland tale from 1958. 

It would have been much easier to discuss one of Corman's more famous horror or science fiction features, but I've always thought obscurity is the better part of valor. Some might be surprised that Corman made a movie like I, MOBSTER, but the low-budget maven directed a number of gangster tales. Corman did screen biopics of such real-life hoods as Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, and Ma Barker (albeit in a very fictional manner). I, MOBSTER isn't based on any real person, but it is much more straightforward and low-key than most "authentic" gangland sagas. 

The main character of I, MOBSTER is Joe Sante (Steve Cochran), the son of Italian immigrants. The movie begins with Joe testifying before a Senate committee in Washington investigating organized crime, bringing to mind the Kefauver hearings. As Joe takes the fifth over and over again, he starts to reminisce about his life, from when he was an 11 year old working for a numbers runner through his rise in the gangster hierarchy. 

The main characters in gangster pictures are usually brash and larger than life, but Steve Cochran's Joe Sante is cool and calculating. Sante rarely shows emotion, and he doesn't go off the rails. Some might say this is due to Cochran's tight-lipped matter of fact acting style (a style some may call boring), but I think Roger Corman wanted to get away from the James Cagney--Edward G. Robinson tough guy type. Joe Sante is embarrassed by his working-class upbringing, and he certainly doesn't want to be poor, but even when he finds success as a gangster he doesn't have an extravagant lifestyle. He's more like a hard-edged businessman than a hood kingpin. There's very little actual violence in I, MOBSTER. 

Joe Sante's true love is a nice girl from his neighborhood named Teresa (Lita Milan). Teresa is attracted to Joe, but not to his choice of profession. Because of this she doesn't enter into a relationship with him, until ironically Joe kills her loser brother in self-defense (Joe had given the kid a start in the rackets). It's after this incident that Joe and Teresa become an actual couple. This is another plot element that makes I, MOBSTER stand apart. 

The supporting cast includes Robert Strauss as Joe's gangster mentor, Celia Lovsky as Joe's mother and conscience, and Yvette Vickers as a dame who tries to seduce Joe in order for him to forget about her drug debt. (Vickers is in only one small sequence, but she all but steals the picture). Burlesque performer Lili St. Cyr gets a chance to strut around during a nightclub scene, but this just seems to have been a way to pad the running time. 

I, MOBSTER may not be on the same level as GOODFELLAS, but it's still a proficient and well-moving story. (Actually I, MOBSTER and GOODFELLAS have a lot more in common than you would think.) I've always felt that Roger Corman may not have been a great director, but he was certainly an efficient and inventive one who at times showed a quite creative bent. He was in some way responsible for hundreds of films that still entertain audiences to this day. Like Terence Fisher, Corman gets either too much or not enough credit from film geeks, but no matter how you may personally feel about his cinematic talents, there's no doubt that Roger Corman left a major mark in film history. 

SPACEWAYS

 

This 1953 Hammer Films attempt at science fiction was made after the company's FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE. Both movies were directed by Terence Fisher. Of the two films, SPACEWAYS is the more lackluster. 

Dr. Stephen Mitchell (Howard Duff) is an American rocket scientist working at a top-secret military base in England. Mitchell is determined to get a vehicle into orbit, and to get humans into space as well, but he's burdened by his embittered wife Vanessa (Cecile Chevreau), who is annoyed by the security restrictions of having to live on the base and Stephen's workaholic nature. Vanessa is also having an affair with Dr. Crenshaw (Andrew Osborn), one of the men assigned to Stephen's project. An important test flight does get a ship into orbit, but it doesn't reach the altitude that it was supposed to. While Stephen tries to figure out what went wrong, he learns that Vanessa and Dr. Crenshaw have disappeared. An official from military intelligence named Smith (Alan Wheatley) arrives on the base to investigate, and he comes to the rather fantastic conclusion that Stephen killed his wife and Crenshaw, and hid their bodies on the test rocket before it was shot into space. Stephen believes the only way to prove his innocence is to go up into space himself and bring back the test rocket. Project mathematician Lisa Frank (Eva Bartok) takes it upon herself to accompany Stephen, since she herself is in love with Mitchell. 

SPACEWAYS is another 1950s sci-fi feature that bites off more than it can chew. A glance at the poster above makes one assume there will be space stations and multiple spaceships on hand, but there isn't. Most of the story is decidedly down to earth (pun intended). Howard Duff is very dry here, to the point that one understands why his character's wife would want a new life. On the other hand, it's hard to see why Eva Bartok's Lisa would be so smitten with Mitchell, and why she would risk herself by sneaking aboard a spaceship to go into space with him. 

The whole main idea of Stephen becoming the first man into space just so he can defend himself against a ridiculous murder charge is a weird one, even for low-budget 1950s sci-fi. Every other character in the film seems to accept this idea right away, and there's no type of discussion over whether such a historic event should be attempted over a very personal issue. 

Stephen and Lisa do manage to get up into space, but it's a very short ride, and it is also an unnecessary one, since back on Earth Smith has come to his senses and figures out that Crenshaw and Vanessa are still very much alive, and Crenshaw is actually a spy. The mixture of love triangle, noir espionage, and early rocketry doesn't come off too well--the movie would have been much better if it had stuck to just one main element and played that all the way through. 

Terence Fisher does what he can to move the story along, using a lot more closeups than would be usual for him, and having a lot more cuts than most movies of this type would have. The big problem with SPACEWAYS is that it is a character-driven story, and those characters have very little life to them. The only figure of interest is that of Smith, a quirky fellow who appears to have his own agenda in accusing Mitchell of murder. Smith is the type of role that one could easily see Peter Cushing playing if Hammer had made this movie a few years later. 

SPACEWAYS was a co-production with American Robert Lippert's company, and a few effects shots from Lippert's ROCKETSHIP X-M were used. As expected there is also the obligatory stock footage, but SPACEWAYS does have a few decent mattes. Overall the movie doesn't look as threadbare as other low-budget space flicks, but considering its title, and the way it was advertised, one expects way more out of it. 

This film is part of the current Hammer Films series of high-end 4K home video releases. I haven't ordered the new SPACEWAYS 4K/Blu-ray....I'm sure Hammer has attached all sorts of bells & whistles to it, but I'll save my money for something more worthy. Besides, Tubi has a very nice full-length print of SPACEWAYS available on its streaming channel. 

TARGET EARTH

 

TARGET EARTH (1954) is another 1950s sci-fi flick that takes a novel premise and tries to dramatize it as cheaply as possible.

The movie starts out intriguingly, with a young woman waking up in her bedroom to the sound of a ticking clock. (A shot of a half-empty bottle of sleeping pills lets us know the woman has some issues.) The woman, Nora King (Kathleen Crowley) precedes to dress and walk about her boarding house searching for the other tenants, who are missing. Nora goes outside and quickly realizes her town is deserted. After a few minutes of her wandering around trying to find anyone, she stumbles upon a dead body, and a very live man named Frank Brooks (Richard Denning). Frank explains he was knocked out by muggers and left in an alley the night before, and he and Nora try to find out what has happened. The duo hear music from a bar, and they discover a wisecracking couple (Richard Reeves and Virginia Grey) who also have no idea what is going on. The four discover a jittery milquetoast and a strange shadow, and the group runs into a hotel, where from newspapers they are informed of an invasion of mysterious robots. This is why the town was evacuated, and now the group is in the crossfire between the military and the robots. 

The main plot of TARGET EARTH--small group of people wandering around a deserted city trying to figure out what has happened--has been used for all sorts of science fiction movies and TV episodes, usually as a way to save on the budget. TARGET EARTH is one of the lesser examples of this genre element. Its group of survivors holes up in a generic hotel suite, debating the situation, while the story cutaways to scenes of military officers discussing how to defeat the robot threat. The military has discovered an inert robot, and it is examined at a lab that appears to be located in someone's basement (the main scientist is played by the ubiquitous Whit Bissell). Of course, the military figures out a way to overcome the robot army at the last minute, and the story comes to an abrupt end. 

What hurts TARGET EARTH the most is the fact that we only see one of the robot "army" at a time--due to the fact that the production only had one robot to use. The robot itself is as clunky as it gets--I'm sure even back in the Fifties it got laughs. For some reason a number of characters believe that the robot army is from Venus, although there's no evidence presented to back this up. (it would have been much better if it had been revealed at the climax that the robots were created by a foreign power.) As expected, there's plenty of stock military footage, but even this is used in a lackadaisical manner. 

What TARGET EARTH mostly consists of is a group of people with various personal issues sitting around a hotel suite. This static setup is helped greatly by true pros such as Richard Denning and Virginia Grey, but it isn't enough to make a viewer stop wishing a bunch of robots would show up. Near the climax an armed hoodlum appears to threaten the group, but this is just another distraction from the main story. This movie was directed by Sherman A. Rose and produced by Herman Cohen, whose later use of teenagers mixed up with mad middle-aged men would have been very welcome here. 

While watching TARGET EARTH last night (for the very first time, I must point out), I came to the realization that the movie was sort-of remade as THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING in England in 1964. Both films deal with a small group of survivors trying to figure out why the local area is totally deserted,  they both have an army of robots as antagonists, and even the method to defeat the invaders is very similar.  The main difference is that THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING is set in an English village instead of a large American city, and that movie was directed by the much more capable Terence Fisher. 

TARGET EARTH is very reminiscent of several other science fiction movies and TV episodes, but it isn't as good as the ones that come to mind. It also doesn't do justice to genre legend Richard Denning. 

MARK OF THE TORTOISE

 

Yes, it's another Krimi--with a title like MARK OF THE TORTOISE, what else could it be?? This one is from 1964, made by Rialto, the German company that produced the "official" Edgar Wallace series. MARK OF THE TORTOISE, however, is not based on anything written by Edgar Wallace--it apparently is based on a novel by James Hadley Chase. 

Donald Micklem (Gotz George) arrives at his rich uncle's English estate to find out that he is being blackmailed by a mysterious figure known as "The Tortoise". Micklem's uncle refuses to pay, and he is killed. Donald decides to track down the gang behind the murder, and he becomes involved with the Tortoise's main subordinate, Lorelli (Hildegard Knef) a woman whose motives are not entirely clear. 

MARK OF THE TORTOISE (original German title WARTEZIMMER ZUM JENSEITS) is very different from the usual run of Krimi fare. Its main hero is not a Scotland Yard inspector, but a close relative of the main victim, and the leading lady isn't pursued by the major villain--she's actually working for him. The film noirish aspects of the Krimi are toned down as well, as a large part of the story is set in Trieste (where surprisingly the production actually traveled to and shot scenes there). There are more daytime sequences in MARK OF THE TORTOISE than there are in about a dozen Krimis picked at random altogether. 

Being that it is a different type of Krimi, some of the weirder aspects of the genre are not present here, but there are still some outlandish details. The calling card of The Tortoise is a real live tortoise that has a skull painted onto its shell, a particularly bizarre touch. The Tortoise's base of operations is a large castle in Trieste that has underground levels with all sorts of tricked-out rooms, and the villain (Richard Munch) resembles Dr. Strangelove, in that he wears dark glasses and is wheelchair bound. (His wheelchair is tricked out as well). 

Gotz George and his comic relief sidekick played by Hans Clarin are not exactly standout heroes, and they are overshadowed by The Tortoise and his gang. The bad guys include familiar Krimi faces such as Pinkus Braun and Carl Lange, and good old Klaus Kinski shows up, as the thug who carries out the murder of Micklem's uncle. (Unfortunately Kinski doesn't stay around too long.) Hildegard Knef's femme fatale with a heart is by far the most interesting character. Her ambiguity gives the story an added twist--you have no idea which way she's going to go. 

MARK OF THE TORTOISE was directed by Alfred Vohrer, who made a number of Krimis. With this one he focuses more on the adventure aspects of the story. There's no real mystery in MARK OF THE TORTOISE--we are shown who the bad guys are, and where they hide out. The main suspense is how the hero is going to get back at them, but due to Gotz George's lighthearted nature, the movie doesn't have as much of an edge to it as it should. MARK OF THE TORTOISE is available on Tubi, in an excellent looking black & white widescreen print with an English dubbed voice track. 

ACES HIGH

 

ACES HIGH is a 1976 British film, a loose adaptation of JOURNEY'S END, an acclaimed stage drama concerning life in the trenches during World War One. It is a movie that is almost unknown today, despite its worthy cast. 

Set in 1917, somewhere in France, the story concerns a squadron of British pilots commanded by Major Gresham (Malcolm McDowell). A very young replacement flyer named Croft (Peter Firth) arrives to join the group, much to the consternation of Gresham. Croft is the younger brother of Gresham's girlfriend, and the lad looks up to his commanding officer (the two men attended the same boarding school). Gresham has to drink just to be able to fly, and he doesn't want Croft to discover this. He also doesn't want to be responsible for the younger man's life--pilots don't last very long in this type of war. The eager Croft is full of enthusiasm for what lies ahead, but he soon learns that the life of a military pilot is dreary and deadly instead of being adventurous and heroic. 

One can understand why producer Benjamin Fisz wanted to turn JOURNEY'S END into an aviation tale--Fisz himself was a pilot in WWII, and the original play isn't very cinematic. ACES HIGH tries to mix personal drama exciting action sequences, and the result is the movie has an in-between type of feel. (In an interview presented as an extra on the Kino Blu-ray of ACES HIGH, Malcolm McDowell suggests this feeling is why the film wasn't a major success.) 

The aerial sequences are very impressive, and the movie also makes excellent use of models and miniatures, but I wouldn't call ACES HIGH an action-packed spectacular. It's not on the epic level of WWI sagas such as WINGS or HELL'S ANGELS. What ACES HIGH does feature is some outstanding performances from a number of fine British actors. 

Malcolm McDowell's Gresham is based on the lead character of JOURNEY'S END, Captain Stanhope. Stanhope was memorably played by Colin Clive on stage and screen. Clive's Stanhope was edgy and ready to snap at a moment's notice. McDowell's Gresham, despite his drinking problem, is still able to keep things together and do his job. One would think that McDowell, with his reputation for snarky flamboyance, would go all out with the role of Gresham, but he surprisingly underplays the part--it's one of McDowell's most restrained screen appearances, and it's an approach that works well here. Gresham may be boiling inside, but he's an English gentleman, and he has a duty as a soldier, and McDowell shows that no matter what, he's determined to carry it out. 

Peter Firth is very good as the callow Croft, and Christopher Plummer plays an older officer of the squadron known as "Uncle". Uncle is a kind man who quietly serves as a mentor for the young flyers and as someone Gresham can depend upon. Simon Ward plays a pilot who has lost his nerve, and the film is ably served by guest appearances from John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Ray Milland, and Richard Johnson. 

ACES HIGH didn't make much of a splash when it came out in 1976. It didn't get much of an American theatrical release (some sources say that it wasn't released in America at all). I assume the main reason for it being passed by was that in the mid-1970s something like this would have seemed very old-fashioned (the movie has no overt gore or explicit material). ACES HIGH was capably directed by Jack Gold, and I enjoyed it very much, especially considering that I am a history buff. I must point out though that what happens in the film is very familiar. If you've seen a number of movies concerning WWI flyers, you'll know all the plot points of ACES HIGH: young men trying to survive a pressured-packed situation, the folly and inevitability of war, the idea that the higher brass care little for the men who actually do the fighting, etc. Despite this familiarity ACES HIGH is a fine production that deserves more attention. 

DER HEXER

 

So I finally caught up with what is considered one of the greatest Krimi movies of all time. DER HEXER (also known as THE MYSTERIOUS MAGICIAN) is a 1964 adaptation of Edgar Wallace's crime novel THE RINGER. 

Rialto, the German production company that was responsible for the "official" Edgar Wallace film series, pulled out all the stops for DER HEXER. It stars three different male Krimi stars--Joachim Fuchsberger, Heinz Drache, and Siegfried Lowitz. The trio are all investigating "The Ringer"--a notoriously cunning vigilante who has been barred from setting foot in England ever again, due to his nefarious capabilities.

The Ringer (real name Arthur Milton) sneaks back into London however, when he finds out that his younger sister has been killed and her body dumped into the Thames. It turns out that Miss Milton had too much knowledge about a white slavery ring, and her brother is determined to get revenge. Inspectors Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger) and Warren (Siegfried Lowitz) are hoping that The Ringer will lead them to those behind the ring, so they can catch all involved, including the vigilante, in one fell swoop. Also on The Ringer's trail is a mysterious fellow named James Wesby (Hans Drache), who apparently is writing a series of articles on Arthur Milton--but could he be the culprit himself?? 

DER HEXER also features Edgar Wallace series regulars Siegfried Schurenberg (as Scotland Yard head Sir John) and Eddi Arent (once again playing a presumed silly butler). What the movie doesn't have is Krimi Queen Karin Dor, but this is more than made up for by having three attractive ladies play a major part in the story. Sophie Hardy is Inspector Higgins' hot-to-trot girlfriend, Margot Trooger is The Ringer's wife, and Ann Savo is Sir John's curvaceous secretary. (Surprisingly, Klaus Kinski isn't in this one either--maybe they just couldn't fit him in.) 

DER HEXER, directed by another series veteran, Alfred Vohrer, moves along at a pretty good clip, except when things slow down for the byplay between Inspector Higgins and his girlfriend. It's also a bit lighter than the typical Krimi--it's as if those taking part in it realized the absurdity of the goings-on, and decided to go with the flow. Usually the main thrust of a Krimi plot is finding out who the killer/main villain is, but here it's who The Ringer is. The final revelation of this crafty character is a major surprise, although some viewers might consider it a cheat. (If you're expecting logic and sense in a Krimi movie, you should be watching something else.) 

Among the highlights in this film are a mini-sub, a parochial school for girls which is the front for the white slavery ring, and the three major Krimi heroes chasing each other around while The Ringer plays them all like a fiddle. A bonus treat is Peter Thomas' off-the-rails music score (the title theme has to be heard to be believed). 

DER HEXER was so successful and well-received in its native country that it spawned a follow-up sequel with the title character (I haven't seen that one yet). I haven't viewed enough of the entire Rialto Edgar Wallace series to declare it the best Krimi of them all, but I can safely say it's one of the most entertaining I have watched so far. (If you are new to the Krimi genre, I would watch a few of them before giving DER HEXER a chance. I feel your enjoyment of DER HEXER would increase this way.)