JOHN PAYNE IN PHIL KARLSON'S VISTAVISION NOIR 'HELL'S ISLAND'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D_RJhoTE0RNAhs6F4gloxWHo8fS-IBgQoEGqdTbEIWY8hgBGW33RvKKXoy868c7FkXlIk8N-fN2UPtnI0KTQFIufeIfXtSs_HNbWjVwxDmaDxINFgWKHRwdaQB6zo52Yrxu4cCxOvEBp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-30+at+7.25.09+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1493" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D_RJhoTE0RNAhs6F4gloxWHo8fS-IBgQoEGqdTbEIWY8hgBGW33RvKKXoy868c7FkXlIk8N-fN2UPtnI0KTQFIufeIfXtSs_HNbWjVwxDmaDxINFgWKHRwdaQB6zo52Yrxu4cCxOvEBp/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-30+at+7.25.09+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Mary Murphy and John Payne in HELL ISLAND Year: 1955</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Much lighter, more efficient b-movie mainstream entertainment than the John Payne and director Phil Karlson's more edgy, driven and well known 99 RIVER STREET and especially the intentionally claustrophobic KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL...<br> <div> <br> John Payne and Phil Karlson's HELL'S ISLAND borrows from the adventure genre in its set-up of a Las Vegas bouncer sent to the title Spanish location to find a ruby, and it's rather confusing since we begin with Payne's character telling his story (and thus the overall narration) to a cop and then, during the flashback of getting the assignment we go back, again, as he discusses two time lapses at once... or something: But things get rolling, slowly but in an interesting fashion, once the mission's underway, and one that, despite the title, doesn't have a lot of danger in store for our hero, whose main problem is getting back in touch with the dark woman (with light hair) who had broken his heart...<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIFuDm9dGkI6lc0QoiswM8cvnbSwZ-FXGE35qQj2-9RDO_oJKh6Ts1ZnBG_4Dj-8Z7I7NjJ7lSzAY0WUvYUddy9TQLTTlJbgyyjlZhTFqG6LEkWOP0zjCmFDGO2y6P3-N5toBBiYe57lq/s1600/3+2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="838" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIFuDm9dGkI6lc0QoiswM8cvnbSwZ-FXGE35qQj2-9RDO_oJKh6Ts1ZnBG_4Dj-8Z7I7NjJ7lSzAY0WUvYUddy9TQLTTlJbgyyjlZhTFqG6LEkWOP0zjCmFDGO2y6P3-N5toBBiYe57lq/s400/3+2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>HELL'S RATING: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> And this is where the Noir element pours on: The sappy heart leading the otherwise tough guy around as he goes to various locations to gather clues in what becomes less of a plot and more a <i>Fog of Love</i> resulting in what's Payne and Karlson's weakest effort although...<br> <br> This seems as intentional as a great band inserting a breezy ballad between two intense rockers (although this is their last collaboration following, in order, KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL and 99 RIVER STREET). And the look distinguishes from the other films' black and white, which of course is the Film Noir usual: This color/aesthetic is enhanced from a wonderful technology (that ranged from 1950's Alfred Hitchcock to the special effects shots in 1977's STAR WARS) known as...<br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuZsRoWDVxI7VtwRoDnEzJzxtvrZ1Yy84hkWabM8DIETrrz8LtHQO1lFrVdV0T2dVUUuTIb5TJIleqTEyFE6Qft-MV2-mQPE9ELhGk9gTA88_WO267gRV8Tg4GijE8lscT4fKLeH7zqPP/s1600/5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="910" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuZsRoWDVxI7VtwRoDnEzJzxtvrZ1Yy84hkWabM8DIETrrz8LtHQO1lFrVdV0T2dVUUuTIb5TJIleqTEyFE6Qft-MV2-mQPE9ELhGk9gTA88_WO267gRV8Tg4GijE8lscT4fKLeH7zqPP/s1600/5.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Payne attempting some humor on (or, in) HELL'S ISLAND</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> </div>

crime, film noir or melodrama, john payne, mary murphy, phil karlson, thriller, vistavision

JOHN PAYNE IN PHIL KARLSON'S VISTAVISION NOIR 'HELL'S ISLAND'

Mary Murphy and John Payne in HELL ISLAND Year: 1955 Much lighter, more efficient b-movie mainstream entertainment than the John Payne ...

JAMES GARNER IN 'SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF' W/ BRUCE DERN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UJaSDfWIPSUi2ikebc3j_og525TlU1kg3Bt7hIhh2TE6JE2MIaTZk8vL2Dlr9igN9bpfQDEu7ztaH0wNTaefGt_7OsGvyJcrKHKatUiRuOIvIs-c4xqE7j8u94t7ojOLFI8H0ukl4IDn/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-03-29%252Bat%252B3.39.04%252BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1054" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UJaSDfWIPSUi2ikebc3j_og525TlU1kg3Bt7hIhh2TE6JE2MIaTZk8vL2Dlr9igN9bpfQDEu7ztaH0wNTaefGt_7OsGvyJcrKHKatUiRuOIvIs-c4xqE7j8u94t7ojOLFI8H0ukl4IDn/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-03-29%252Bat%252B3.39.04%252BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Garner, Bruce Dern and Jack Elam YEAR: 1969</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In the part of Jason McCullough, supposedly on his way to Australia where the Wild West is starting all over again, James Garner is the guy we know and love, and the actor, soon to find his niche, again, on television's ROCKFORD FILES, is as relaxing as a warm setting sun, and nothing can stop him...<br> <br> Not Bruce Dern, who'd slay John Wayne in THE COWBOYS and would often play crazies, and is basically what Claude Akins was to RIO BRAVO. His scruffy clan consisting of two brothers and a headstrong father who need to break him free, at any cost. And yet, like that montage in SADDLES... though this is comedy, not spoof... whatever they throw at the Sheriff to stop him is quickly, easily, without a single hitch or problem, taken care of... Kind of like the cartoon of Popeye sleepwalking on a construction site girder, his feet accidentally yet successfully guiding him through one stage to anther till he's safe on the other side...<br>

action, bruce dern, comedy, harry morgan, jack elam, james garner, joan hackett, sixties, western

JAMES GARNER IN 'SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF' W/ BRUCE DERN

James Garner, Bruce Dern and Jack Elam YEAR: 1969 In the part of Jason McCullough, supposedly on his way to Australia where the Wild W...

JENNIFER SALT REBORN: THE FIRST CULT FILM FREAK INTERVIEW

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bJERWjzGGbbCICxJsrjKwe4l99AU1rkrnVVfE3wjXTQAer-LPqc6uisgtcZGWRhM4ju3u4Yl_fDJS6F_xJd1dzKHknmWPf0g-DedMGwYDWHpS6aTKCNvijDfhy1mJmjV-eoSjIuUQEQc/s1600/55788337_672936056468907_8626073469030760448_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="876" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bJERWjzGGbbCICxJsrjKwe4l99AU1rkrnVVfE3wjXTQAer-LPqc6uisgtcZGWRhM4ju3u4Yl_fDJS6F_xJd1dzKHknmWPf0g-DedMGwYDWHpS6aTKCNvijDfhy1mJmjV-eoSjIuUQEQc/s400/55788337_672936056468907_8626073469030760448_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Parking the 2007 Interview with Jennifer Salt at its new location</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>Now an executive producer of the hit series AMERICAN HORROR STORY and had been a writer for NIP/TUCK, when the name Jennifer Salt shows up on the modern hi-def television screen, memories flash back of a young actress who played cute yet headstrong characters in cult exploitation classics... </i><br> <br> <i>Her eclectic roles and credits range from Crazy Annie, Jon Voight's Texas girlfriend shown via flashback in MIDNIGHT COWBOY to Woody Allen's first date in PLAY IT AGAIN SAM...</i><br> <i><br></i> <i>The buried lead in Brian De Palma's SISTERS opposite two Margot Kidders; Cornel Wilde's scream queen daughter in the TV-movie GARGOYLES: Yet with all that and more under her belt, she's probably best known as Eunice Tate on the situation comedy, SOAP: And here she is on the very first Cult Film Freak interview, from 2007, initially on the now defunct original website (cult film freak dot com, singular) and hereby eternally resurrected on our main blog site (cult film freaks, plural)...</i><br>

brian de palma, charles durining, exploitation, interview, jennifer salt, john schlesinger, jon voight, seventies, sixties, TV, waldo salt, woody allen

JENNIFER SALT REBORN: THE FIRST CULT FILM FREAK INTERVIEW

Parking the 2007 Interview with Jennifer Salt at its new location Now an executive producer of the hit series AMERICAN HORROR STORY and ...

GREAT NOVELIZATIONS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ALAN DEAN FOSTER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoCq0fHzj3V5-MKIgow1kCyayIQ-lDnjDKQqAhBaY1cUkMLOs1QGZXNMzS-hRFiOF7Y47F9Oyg4VOH5oaJnSv6pHTIRRChNLn2RDD7zgCgTYsCrk5mzLJoTjgycvIen8GlMtkk-zX-aAL/s1600/70299128_2624188730958724_9090780039875657728_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="964" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoCq0fHzj3V5-MKIgow1kCyayIQ-lDnjDKQqAhBaY1cUkMLOs1QGZXNMzS-hRFiOF7Y47F9Oyg4VOH5oaJnSv6pHTIRRChNLn2RDD7zgCgTYsCrk5mzLJoTjgycvIen8GlMtkk-zX-aAL/s400/70299128_2624188730958724_9090780039875657728_o.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Star Trek The Motion Picture Early Artwork for Vulcan Shuttle</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>A long time ago, in... the seventies and early eighties, it wasn’t so easy for a movie buff to own a film they’d enjoyed in theaters. DVDs and the Internet weren’t invented; and Beta/VHS tapes, which did exist, weren’t as abundant or readily available as DVDs are now or that VHS would be only a few years later.</i><br> <i><br></i> <i>But one thing that fans of  ALIEN, THE BLACK HOLE, THE THING, CLASH OF THE TITANS, THE LAST STARFIGHTER and other films did have were novelizations: books that covered the scripted story but also provided insight into back-story, character-development, and coolest of all, entire scenes/segments that didn’t make the film’s final cut i.e. deleted scenes that are brought to life. And before the novelizations began, he was the perfect candidate as ghostwriter for a young filmmaker named George Lucas, who had embarked on a risky science-fiction project titled STAR WARS, and the STAR TREK Log Books along with the screenplay for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. </i><br>

action, alan dean foster, eighties, george lucas, horror, interview, john carpenter, science-fiction, seventies, star trek, star wars, thriller

GREAT NOVELIZATIONS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ALAN DEAN FOSTER

Star Trek The Motion Picture Early Artwork for Vulcan Shuttle A long time ago, in... the seventies and early eighties, it wasn’t so easy...

MICHAEL MADSEN INTERVIEW & LAWRENCE TIERNEY'S NEPHEW TIM

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWWzkTPF0wE1zgGe0IPS7c2AV8ic4qu2t7Gu4JX1uD6hL94kVYkxDpSGEZ4l1KWGhcJo5hUSz_brwbv3XvTdt-0OAWj0bOYUD24RYbuhovNTFC7bqRAAirBaR8yTBd0dndcWbakgBDMrY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-16+at+8.04.32+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="817" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWWzkTPF0wE1zgGe0IPS7c2AV8ic4qu2t7Gu4JX1uD6hL94kVYkxDpSGEZ4l1KWGhcJo5hUSz_brwbv3XvTdt-0OAWj0bOYUD24RYbuhovNTFC7bqRAAirBaR8yTBd0dndcWbakgBDMrY/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-16+at+8.04.32+AM.jpeg" width="362"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Madsen as Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>Michael Madsen has been in a large number of films dating back three decades, and is beloved by countless fans as the cool, tough and sinister Vic Vega  aka “Mr. Blonde” in the Quentin Tarantino masterpiece RESERVOIR DOGS. He also worked with Tarantino along with the late David Carradine on KILL BILL (and right below is an interview with Tim Tierney, the nephew of Madsen's DOGS boss Lawrence Tierney and son of Lawrence's brother, actor Scott Brady, born Scott Tierney)... </i><br> <br> <u>Michael, how was it doing the RESERVOIR DOGS office scene with Lawrence Tierney and Chris Penn?</u><br> <br> Lawrence was angry and Chris and I were having fun. Lawrence didn't really like Quentin at that point. We did three wrestling takes. We broke a lot of stuff and kept going out of frame. Lawrence kept yelling at us because he wanted to go home. Finally the third one was the only one usable and that's the one in the movie. If you look at our close ups you can see how sweaty and out of breath we were because they did all three takes really fast. It was a long morning. 
<br>

british film noir/melodrama, fifties, forties, interview, lawrence tierney, michael madsen, nineties, quentin tarantino, scott brady

MICHAEL MADSEN INTERVIEW & LAWRENCE TIERNEY'S NEPHEW TIM

Michael Madsen as Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs Michael Madsen has been in a large number of films dating back three decades, and is belove...

THE BLOB'S JACK HARRIS & IRVIN YEAWORTH JR. PRESENT '4D MAN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfmaZY3bmceTxAr10NLB04EJGmZmHoOkszse5in845bIFkpt_zMMAKwMks55qsqRAs_FkHneyRBBp3phxQeuSTxQbYVvreFg0fC4IcalZ1q4Zyir7dySftjayoPneuQOwSupyOAK7WToN/s1600/12+2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="790" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfmaZY3bmceTxAr10NLB04EJGmZmHoOkszse5in845bIFkpt_zMMAKwMks55qsqRAs_FkHneyRBBp3phxQeuSTxQbYVvreFg0fC4IcalZ1q4Zyir7dySftjayoPneuQOwSupyOAK7WToN/s400/12+2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Lansing's got mail in 4D MAN Year: 1959</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Robert Lansing can make just about anything believable. His performance in director Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. and producer Jack H. Harris's sophomore vehicle 4D MAN is slowburn, natural and patient: Like their THE BLOB, the plot takes time to not only build, but to make things understandable since the hard-to-explain science isn't a gooey space alien...<br> <br> As close to Noir as these filmmakers got, 4D MAN is about flawed humans like Lee Meriwether and James Congdon as the assistant and brother of our leading man, Lansing's Dr. Scott Nelson: the latter busy at a corporate lab to make what's called "Cargonite" stronger than steel. In the acting department, James Congdon's Dr. Tony Nelson, though high-spirited and intense, seems either miscast, acting more like a small town quarterback than a brilliant scientist on the verge of a literal breakthrough; or perhaps he's just underwhelming compared to Lansing, who's broodingly tortured even before it becomes literal...<br> <br>

body count, fifties, irvin s. yeaworth jr., jack harris, jazz-score, lee meriwether, patty duke, robert lansing, science-fiction, thriller

THE BLOB'S JACK HARRIS & IRVIN YEAWORTH JR. PRESENT '4D MAN'

Robert Lansing's got mail in 4D MAN Year: 1959 Robert Lansing can make just about anything believable. His performance in director I...

JOHN WAYNE PRESENTS 'RING OF FEAR' WITH JOHN BROMFIELD

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCy5mitt3fFDnNA7BYsrSzpfDVmlP_j2y7llkqqvvXo6Bu7Nn2KNvAdqLvW-atpRIJYn5D1gej0LjJNpWlF6Fr-HczQ5NJy2e6dHEZAAWkoxMyRKssKnFemVbsxMCaBLZL7MLeOsX8X8i/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-10+at+6.50.03+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="883" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCy5mitt3fFDnNA7BYsrSzpfDVmlP_j2y7llkqqvvXo6Bu7Nn2KNvAdqLvW-atpRIJYn5D1gej0LjJNpWlF6Fr-HczQ5NJy2e6dHEZAAWkoxMyRKssKnFemVbsxMCaBLZL7MLeOsX8X8i/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-10+at+6.50.03+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Pat O'Brien, Sean McClory & Mickey Spillane YEAR: 1954</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> There's THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, considered by some the <i>greatest</i> Circus Movie — unless you count the more personal, character-driven melodrama, TRAPEZE or maybe JUMBO, THE BIG CIRCUS or else this lesser known but more entertaining little circus thriller: a John Wayne production (that he doesn't appear in) titled RING OF FEAR wherein the first three credited stars include two that are exploited for their skills while being non-actors and playing themselves...<br> <br> The second is real life pulp author Mickey Spillane, complimented by surrounding circus employees, all fans of his gritty and popular (and brilliant) gumshoe novels: as an example of the unapologetic exploitation element, one vendor <i>just happens</i> to be reading a Spillane potboiler as Mickey stops for a hot dog — then hands him his latest paperback potboiler...<br>

action, body count, circus, exploitation, fifties, film noir or melodrama, john bromfield, john wayne, marian carr, mickey spillane, pat o'brien, sean mcclory, thriller

JOHN WAYNE PRESENTS 'RING OF FEAR' WITH JOHN BROMFIELD

Pat O'Brien, Sean McClory & Mickey Spillane YEAR: 1954 There's THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, considered by some the greatest ...

A BAGFUL OF PARANTHETICAL BLAKE EDWARDS ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5i8I6XW7qRVg0-P7pdb_1aQlJG9r039-Y-svtB1uHlX8XIAcZZ9cjieA5JKMs15fQW0xHW1ESAw5LKVYgILWT3PWPl5t6MHTavvrf3u06QZtw13FiawghkW5Ikz-FoNPnlyjtOCvGpqe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-09+at+9.54.23+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="675" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5i8I6XW7qRVg0-P7pdb_1aQlJG9r039-Y-svtB1uHlX8XIAcZZ9cjieA5JKMs15fQW0xHW1ESAw5LKVYgILWT3PWPl5t6MHTavvrf3u06QZtw13FiawghkW5Ikz-FoNPnlyjtOCvGpqe/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-09+at+9.54.23+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Willis and Malcolm McDowell YEAR: 1991 Score: **1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><u>SUNSET:</u></span> James Garner is the real life Marshall Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis is cowboy actor Tom Mix portraying Earp in a movie, and they team-up to solve a murder in old Hollywoodland...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Reminiscent of those episodes of "Rockford Files" with Garner and the classier, prettier and younger Tom Selleck, but since there's really no clashing between the REAL cowboy and the FAKE one there's not much chemistry either. It's like watching two friends agreeing upon everything — what's the fun in that? But there are some decent performances and you'll have light fun watching. Meanwhile, as usual, Bruce Willis is passable doing his ever-charming-reaction acting style and James Garner keeps the ball rolling at a comfortable pace. Although in the end you'll forgot you've seen anything: except maybe cult icon Malcolm McDowell's final moments as a bizarre, classy and then monstrous villain as the affable comedy morphs wickedly into a chilling/thrilling Hammer Film.  <br>

blake edwards, bruce willis, comedy, eighties, fifties, jack lemmon, james garner, john ritter, lee remick, malcolm mcdowell, romantic comedy, sixties, thriller, TV, william holden

A BAGFUL OF PARANTHETICAL BLAKE EDWARDS ARCHIVE REVIEWS

Bruce Willis and Malcolm McDowell YEAR: 1991 Score: **1/2 SUNSET: James Garner is the real life Marshall Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis i...

MEMORIAL BAGFUL OF JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2rH-7LJjjGY984IkodDkmmGjpArZCgrPfys4vBNpM9QfBOtWELI27i66qr87E9SZLEnxO90CdKOTbg34_WL3i2tx2PM27i1qXPWWwsxl-A0Ooucw-ywJl6r33FxG1urG3XSkTJK8i3ot/s1600/000b.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2rH-7LJjjGY984IkodDkmmGjpArZCgrPfys4vBNpM9QfBOtWELI27i66qr87E9SZLEnxO90CdKOTbg34_WL3i2tx2PM27i1qXPWWwsxl-A0Ooucw-ywJl6r33FxG1urG3XSkTJK8i3ot/s1600/000b.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent and Robert Mitchum Year: 1971 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>GOING HOME:</u> This obscure drama, bordering on intentional page-turning melodrama and centering on a war hero, Robert Mitchum, who violently murders his wife (Sally Kirkland) witnessed by his four-year-old son, now grown-up in the form of brooding rebel Jan-Michael Vincent, is passably entertaining fare... <br> <br> Robert Mitchum (who'd star with Vincent in THE WINDS OF WAR a decade later) resides with miscast trailer-trash girlfriend (she seems too upper-middle suburbia for lowlife) Brenda Vaccaro, while Jan-Michael, having just returned home, seems either bent on revenge or forgiveness for his aged, yet still tough as nails, pop as they hang out bowling and drinking: making up for lost time. The best moments involve jarring situations that seem vividly real but aren't really happening (seen in Vincent's mind)... one has Mitchum destroying a pick-up-truck with a tire iron... or flashbacks viewed in present-time locations ala IN COLD BLOOD. It's a breezy character-study but without much character-development, neither Mitchum or Vincent becoming fully realized, nor their past fitfully resolved, but it's nice seeing the two steely mavericks together either way.<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn3Gbg0O2yN_eQ0x1jbBBr5OX-ENfiwqmpRPp8em6gErgZBTOVLZHPY5zn4W4U7CltcUXAMY3PErljaebw6UKVU-2AXdU3FASucqtHTHGqCkeS-EDx-4oygAYJ01gkhEhLW-cE3N1IL4u/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+10.04.39+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="1366" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn3Gbg0O2yN_eQ0x1jbBBr5OX-ENfiwqmpRPp8em6gErgZBTOVLZHPY5zn4W4U7CltcUXAMY3PErljaebw6UKVU-2AXdU3FASucqtHTHGqCkeS-EDx-4oygAYJ01gkhEhLW-cE3N1IL4u/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+10.04.39+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent in Hard Country YEAR: 1981 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>HARD COUNTRY:</u> One of those blue collar beer guzzlin' factory worker films where if you're not one of the endearingly-flawed good guys, you're a shady, sinister rich jerk... with no in-betweens: Plot centers on a disgruntled factory worker, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, who loves drinkin' and lovin' his girlfriend – in that order – and his better half, a young Kim Basinger, who wants to move to California for a better life: one that doesn't include drunken cowboys and bar fights.<br> <br> This movie can't get any more predictable but the two leads carry things decently enough till the end, which you'll see coming for miles. Michael Parks is Vincent's real estate mogul brother who, once he spouts a racial epitaph out loud, you know he'll eventually fall by the wayside. Tanya Tucker is Kim Basinger's famous country singin' older sis who plants the seed that Texas is a place to get out of while the gettin' out is good. Daryl Hannah is Kim's younger sister who digs Texas fine enough – just as long as there's another car to fix. And character-actor Gailard Sartain, usually cast as an uptight stuffed-shirt (the fat cop in HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS), plays Vincent's comic relief buddy. Meanwhile, up front, Jan-Michael provides his usual slow-burn cool, and, donning a Bronson-tough mustache, is as great to watch as ever – as long as you don't mind the simplistic and forced classy envy undertone.  <br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpWrg3PxaBuG4Hi-DIcgVWgFtwceHEG6uyGVexnENAQyrHGY5CGlJXRiBbVRn69bKtzHVtEFqWWm_025WeSV3E55Ng52H_KlJekg7Iek68uYOGQYvImUVLSgjFpVD-cPTOhkydnMRbIPZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+7.16.05+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1356" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpWrg3PxaBuG4Hi-DIcgVWgFtwceHEG6uyGVexnENAQyrHGY5CGlJXRiBbVRn69bKtzHVtEFqWWm_025WeSV3E55Ng52H_KlJekg7Iek68uYOGQYvImUVLSgjFpVD-cPTOhkydnMRbIPZ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+7.16.05+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent w/ Joan Goodfellow 1974 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>BUSTER AND BILLIE:</u> Even in the good times, a touch of melancholy permeates the idyllic existence of Buster, played by Jan-Michael Vincent: Good looking and friendly, he's different than most cinematic popular high schoolers, hanging with town outcast Whitey (Robert Englund), he dates the lovely and uptight Margie (Pamela Sue Martin) and shoots pool, hustling young locals more envious than loyal...<br> <br> When Buster meets a quiet backwoods girl named Billie, who’s been around the block with all of Buster’s friends, the shift changes into a melodic, strange love story. Their scenes together, spending time in the plush woodsy exterior, feel like two people with nothing left on earth but each other; while the romance, with few words spoken, is never corny or melodramatic: This is one of Jan-Michael Vincent’s best performances: he’s intense, caring and tough at the same time. But it’s Joan Goodfellow’s Billie that mesmerizes not only our smitten hero, but with her subtle beauty and sad eyes, provides a gentle substance – like she's caught in a daydream. All leading to an explosive doubled-edge climax both shocking and tragic, albeit you’ll<i> </i>see it coming for miles.<br>

action, bagful, eighties, exploitation, jan-michael vincent, joan goodfellow, melodrama, post-apocalyptic, robert englund, robert mitchum, sally kirkland, science-fiction, seventies, tribute

MEMORIAL BAGFUL OF JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT ARCHIVE REVIEWS

Jan-Michael Vincent and Robert Mitchum Year: 1971 Rates: *** GOING HOME: This obscure drama, bordering on intentional page-turning melo...

DIRK BENEDICT IN 'UNDERGROUND ACES' W/ MELANIE GRIFFITH

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6mZCZQhMhysC7gyTeNvR5Emv6k1Dufq3He9HwNx-KZSyxSfC-Ech7EyaUrolEkZHiDUYWK6WEwMSg8RMY8RcPGGOp6AxQy8GiirOOa_Pf9h23u9p-AOZ3UPA3i7-u2LEVa5IvZc6Mlcz/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-07+at+9.29.43+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6mZCZQhMhysC7gyTeNvR5Emv6k1Dufq3He9HwNx-KZSyxSfC-Ech7EyaUrolEkZHiDUYWK6WEwMSg8RMY8RcPGGOp6AxQy8GiirOOa_Pf9h23u9p-AOZ3UPA3i7-u2LEVa5IvZc6Mlcz/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-07+at+9.29.43+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Urban landscape opening credit shot YEAR: 1981</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Dirk Benedict was two years between, before and after BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE A-TEAM when he starred in this CAR WASH clone where a group of misfits are <i>supposed</i> to park rich people's vehicles in the parking lot beneath a plush hotel — only to race them around, now and again... <br> <br> The rest of the picture involves the gang of mostly minorities like Robert Hegyes as a Latin lover; black dudes Randy Brooks, the always optimistic T.K. Carter with an otherwise non-speaking, barking/howling human voice-box Michael Winslow; and handsome Italian Rick Podell as a selfish mechanic boyfriend of ingenue Melanie Griffith as the latter predictably edges toward Benedict, the new guy/resilient con man and soon enough, leader of the pack...<br>

comedy, dirk benedict, eighties, ensemble, exploitation, frank gorshin, melanie griffith, michael winslow, randy brooks, sid haig, t.k. carter

DIRK BENEDICT IN 'UNDERGROUND ACES' W/ MELANIE GRIFFITH

Urban landscape opening credit shot YEAR: 1981 Dirk Benedict was two years between, before and after BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE A-TEAM...

LUKE PERRY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING: A 90'S NOSTALGIC TRIBUTE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTf_s4_tSN1wDMeBmQ7W3143nJ8Tzh751ZuNxFu4J7VemaXFmW5LvaY-LFug0miws5cO-aXwvGssy5IjAdW0P3by6cPXQ-fzQxCmvEEJeURq6W7fC35iNI0lTWptK71fx8DYrOC1rRnmY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-04+at+6.58.25+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTf_s4_tSN1wDMeBmQ7W3143nJ8Tzh751ZuNxFu4J7VemaXFmW5LvaY-LFug0miws5cO-aXwvGssy5IjAdW0P3by6cPXQ-fzQxCmvEEJeURq6W7fC35iNI0lTWptK71fx8DYrOC1rRnmY/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-04+at+6.58.25+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Luke Perry's second image on Beverly Hills 90210 Episode 2 in 1990</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Luke Perry was The Fonz of BEVERLY HILLS 90210. His first moment on the show, he protected a nerdy kid (and later, a cute beach bunny played by Heather McAdam, pictured throughout for obvious reasons); and that's what Fonzie did, especially earlier on on HAPPY DAYS: saved the underdogs from the bullies... <br> <br> Also like Henry Winkler's iconic character, the lead of 90210 started out as Brandon Walsh, played by Jason Priestly... like Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham... but soon enough, as every poster shop in the world had Luke Perry's image backed by that era's neon-pink glow, the rebellious and rich, secretly deep, tortured, troubled and brooding surfer Dylan McKay was the draw of the show. But, as often happens, after a handful of seasons, the sex symbol had had enough. He left the series... but then miraculously returned, and literally became the main character since Jason Priestly had exited, for good. That paycheck must have been something else to lure Perry back. Plus the fact his movies either didn't do well at the box office (8 SECONDS), or succeeded for reasons other than him (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER).<br> <br>

heather mcadam, ian ziering, luke perry, nineties, series, tribute, TV

LUKE PERRY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING: A 90'S NOSTALGIC TRIBUTE

Luke Perry's second image on Beverly Hills 90210 Episode 2 in 1990 Luke Perry was The Fonz of BEVERLY HILLS 90210. His first moment...