DANA ANDREWS AND JEANNE CRAIN BACK FOR 'DUEL IN THE JUNGLE'

<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/AVvXsEjq_qgAw3heL1HRnGsJh2GihOTbyovgC76x71ctOCoIHPZT0GVkbPs16jQuaa_5nQv_G6VTY4bPVM3St1UYuYqqRCxv33bTIfH-RQrgNtT3JBHibK50aemAwkkUa4lW3cbri_RXEMA7YfKujmSCvROWY9faXI7AYV9Negs09xRxts3Qscr0iQkIDpsbBMMq/s779/375309307_1796742424088259_6026254812985196549_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="779" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_qgAw3heL1HRnGsJh2GihOTbyovgC76x71ctOCoIHPZT0GVkbPs16jQuaa_5nQv_G6VTY4bPVM3St1UYuYqqRCxv33bTIfH-RQrgNtT3JBHibK50aemAwkkUa4lW3cbri_RXEMA7YfKujmSCvROWY9faXI7AYV9Negs09xRxts3Qscr0iQkIDpsbBMMq/s320/375309307_1796742424088259_6026254812985196549_n.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>DUEL IN THE JUNGLE Year: 1954 </u><u>Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table>"Destiny seems to insist on throwing us together," a persistent and cocky Dana Andrews tells his lovely and reluctant STATE FAIR, MADISON AVENUE and HOT RODS TO HELL three-decade co-star in their second feature, DUEL IN THE JUNGLE...<br> <br> An adventure where Andrews seems more a reluctant gentlemen the likes of Cary Grant or David Niven than an intrepid action star: a proverbial kite in an ongoing breeze instead of a determined salmon moving upstream...<br> <br> With a touch of character-actor about him in the first place, Andrews often tried very hard to stretch beyond the limited leading man persona, even when he played the actual leading man, so the part as a New York insurance investigator in London, England, about to catch a plane just to be be called back at the last minute, fits like a brand new expensive and shiny glove. His voice is a tad higher-pitched, as if sped-up while delivering witty and sophisticated one-liners: imagine if his glibly sophisticated LAURA co-star Clifton Webb were the dialect coach and there you have it. <br>

action, adventure, british, dana andrews, david farrar, england, fifties, import, jeanne crain, team-up, walter gotell, wilfrid hyde-white

DANA ANDREWS AND JEANNE CRAIN BACK FOR 'DUEL IN THE JUNGLE'

DUEL IN THE JUNGLE Year: 1954 Rates: **** "Destiny seems to insist on throwing us together," a persistent and cocky Dana Andrews ...

JACK NICHOLSON 'GOIN' SOUTH' W/ DANNY DEVITO 'GOING APE'

<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/AVvXsEj0FjJL7uWdPaQNRJeKyl9RDqMH3rKJ8Z_8zDQlMFnZ9KRkHC84mcrGkJeeA2VOAAKmOvxAumGip1hVCL89V8FfEcllaNR7sNqVmJLSj6uBPjpwHuUqzPHcKhGqGfVblZSDvkJIckPEImK0/s1600/120792.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="521" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FjJL7uWdPaQNRJeKyl9RDqMH3rKJ8Z_8zDQlMFnZ9KRkHC84mcrGkJeeA2VOAAKmOvxAumGip1hVCL89V8FfEcllaNR7sNqVmJLSj6uBPjpwHuUqzPHcKhGqGfVblZSDvkJIckPEImK0/s400/120792.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lobby Card w/ Jack Nicholson & John Belushi YEAR: 1978</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Jack Nicholson channelling Strother Martin while giving his CUCKOO'S NEST fans the eyebrow-raised crazy-fun guy in a Comedy/Western that Jack himself directed about a scruffy outlaw who, to avoid being hanged, marries a classy gal with plenty of heart and even more gold.<br> <br> Quirky ingenue Mary Steenburgen begins her career as June Tate, using new husband, Nicholson's Henry Moon, for menial chores...<br> <br> Putting him through a sort of honeymoon boot camp wherein they eventually, inevitably, predictably fall for each other. "Women love outlaws like little boys love stray puppies," he grins mischievously in this decent time-filler (think of Nicholson's 1976 Western misfire THE MISSOURI BREAKS with a slightly tighter aim) that works until the last half-hour, when Henry's foes return to steal the gold...<br>

action, christopher lloyd, jack nicholson, john belushi, mary steenburgen, romantic comedy, western

JACK NICHOLSON 'GOIN' SOUTH' W/ DANNY DEVITO 'GOING APE'

Lobby Card w/ Jack Nicholson & John Belushi YEAR: 1978 Jack Nicholson channelling Strother Martin while giving his CUCKOO'S NEST...

ROBERT DUVALL & JOE DON BAKER STEAL FROM 'THE OUTFIT'

<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/AVvXsEiwPsWGMbbKLWXFss8p1oEvqB_-y4I6Su2QBQeAkB-2jK5rV9rrynDQ5CqZH9lymVyT83Ny3CT9gtjyZESD46WUQFmtWgN5ZxDPrrU56ncPddKzV9mKEsfbi7IyLCvzGkbmYGIjAeE4ZxNQ/s1600/MV5BNWIyMmNjZDYtOGQwNi00Zjk4LWE2ODAtMGU0ZTlkN2I1MGNkL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjU4NzU2OTA%2540._V1_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="596" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPsWGMbbKLWXFss8p1oEvqB_-y4I6Su2QBQeAkB-2jK5rV9rrynDQ5CqZH9lymVyT83Ny3CT9gtjyZESD46WUQFmtWgN5ZxDPrrU56ncPddKzV9mKEsfbi7IyLCvzGkbmYGIjAeE4ZxNQ/s400/MV5BNWIyMmNjZDYtOGQwNi00Zjk4LWE2ODAtMGU0ZTlkN2I1MGNkL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjU4NzU2OTA%2540._V1_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sheree North & Robert Duvall poster art YEAR: 1973 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> After serving two years in prison, a paroled bank robber learns his brother was killed (shown in the prologue) by the same mob that set him up. So he gets all kinds of revenge with the help of his former partner/sidekick while cranky gun moll Karen Black basically goes against the grain of the boys crashing various hot spots where the money's at (Sheree North would have fit this role better)...<br> <br> The two main characters played by Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker seem so protected by the gods, there's little urgency or suspense since nothing and no one can stop them... <br> <br> Meanwhile, the targeted mobsters include Film Noir icons Timothy Carey and Robert Ryan, and THE OUTFIT has a Neo Noir template combined with a modern day Western's guns, guts and bravado. And about the only challenge is assassin Felice Orlandi, moving through night shadows after the small town boys do all their stealing and shooting in the daylight. Making this a kind of CLYDE AND CLYDE meets THE GETAWAY. <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/AVvXsEjtOsCL651Q5nP_TohgMp2MVwzNscJrpZRMokkZKsYQ_s63PG10WPQPUwdBgJRtDaAs9uqBa7D9uayJ5gTd1pFl17Hlj_fsAgbW-v7HPPIHB0fje8ZqPSsDJrjyGUOj9kbxPxQKoPzCCae9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-25+at+10.56.52+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1094" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOsCL651Q5nP_TohgMp2MVwzNscJrpZRMokkZKsYQ_s63PG10WPQPUwdBgJRtDaAs9uqBa7D9uayJ5gTd1pFl17Hlj_fsAgbW-v7HPPIHB0fje8ZqPSsDJrjyGUOj9kbxPxQKoPzCCae9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-25+at+10.56.52+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nice and simple VHS for THE OUTFIT with Robert Duvall and Karen Black</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

gangster, joe don baker, karen black, neo noir, road movie, robert duvall, robert ryan, seventies, sheree north, small town, timothy carey

ROBERT DUVALL & JOE DON BAKER STEAL FROM 'THE OUTFIT'

Sheree North & Robert Duvall poster art YEAR: 1973 Rates: *** After serving two years in prison, a paroled bank robber learns his br...

RONALD REAGAN IN 'KINGS ROW' ALSO STARRING ROBERT CUMMINGS

<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/AVvXsEjv9JJrgYIM_i-6MOQymVidY44vc8gF35UU0pqde0Z5gBN6u7kp_H-8QT7Zk1j5_yyPkc7_FKPMHraqPvS7qONZc3fAuBu8HrLOWEZYPmnrJ_6OgZH1VzPnbi2g-qT3bv8CsBAhbOzu3PPr/s1600/MV5BZjdmYjM3NWQtZWQyOC00MWE4LThhODYtNzgxZGE3NzllZWY3L2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUxODE0MDY%2540._V1_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="695" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9JJrgYIM_i-6MOQymVidY44vc8gF35UU0pqde0Z5gBN6u7kp_H-8QT7Zk1j5_yyPkc7_FKPMHraqPvS7qONZc3fAuBu8HrLOWEZYPmnrJ_6OgZH1VzPnbi2g-qT3bv8CsBAhbOzu3PPr/s400/MV5BZjdmYjM3NWQtZWQyOC00MWE4LThhODYtNzgxZGE3NzllZWY3L2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUxODE0MDY%2540._V1_.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1942 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> There's something thoroughly hypnotic and intoxicating about this melodrama centering on a handful of unlucky individuals growing up in a strange dusty town the film's named after.<br> <br> Ronald Reagan, never celebrated for his acting ability, has enough charm to make you forget his limited range, and Robert Cummings is his perfect corny counterpart, always seeming ready to break into proverbial song, and a sad one at that. <br> <br> The best performances are from the ever-competitive envy-ridden women, either going insane or just about to as the camera sweeps to all the right angles and the music flows heavenward, but, by the end, since most of the story-line jumps to and fro at a rather quick pace, KINGS ROW seems like a condensed epic, raising the enviable question: Where's the rest of it? <br>

ann sheridan, drama, forties, melodrama, robert cummings, romance, ronald reagan

RONALD REAGAN IN 'KINGS ROW' ALSO STARRING ROBERT CUMMINGS

Year of Release: 1942 Rating: ***1/2 There's something thoroughly hypnotic and intoxicating about this melodrama centering on a han...

JOHN CANDY GETS HIS OWN FLETCH IN 'WHO'S HARRY CRUMB?'

<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/AVvXsEhHBleBrJNnQr3OmMq8RrZoPMnRfH-nZUcmro3dFbVAJcFWJHL_haPQXHXO3XwY3GDZqA75PB4UlMRf9wLqxY7m_Iy2GYkO-X65s8FvVF-KD-pT8JafWhCjQgRyoXDAHKjauPK4O87v21si/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+6.27.31+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="721" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBleBrJNnQr3OmMq8RrZoPMnRfH-nZUcmro3dFbVAJcFWJHL_haPQXHXO3XwY3GDZqA75PB4UlMRf9wLqxY7m_Iy2GYkO-X65s8FvVF-KD-pT8JafWhCjQgRyoXDAHKjauPK4O87v21si/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+6.27.31+PM.jpeg" width="357"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>VHS/DVD Slip-Cover YEAR: 1989 Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This underrated comedy, with the title-character going from place to place to figure out who kidnapped a rich man's gorgeous daughter, learning he's inept at filling the shoes at his family-owned detective agency while always screwing things up, is an enjoyable time-filler... <br> <br> Basically it's John Candy's FLETCH and, while paling to the Chevy Chase classic (yet far superior to FLETCH LIVES), both wear disguises for each undercover scenario, taking the Film Noir gumshoe template into the bright and glossy late-1980s (there's even a miniature orange tree on Harry's desk, a subtle nod to CHINATOWN)... <br> <br> The funniest moments don't seem intentional like the physical gags, especially as Crumb flounders for the right words around comparably classy, educated tricksters (like Annie Potts or snobby villain Jeffrey Jones). And despite the overall humor being hit and miss, the eclectic RUTHLESS PEOPLE style characters interact well, especially the unique and flowing chemistry between Candy and "ugly duckling" Shawnee Smith as the younger sister of the kidnapped supermodel. And beware of the <i>totally awesome</i> video rental cover (shown above): it's merely a flimsy cardboard slip-cover over the actual DVD/Blu Ray with same artwork sans the retro VHS gimmick.   <br>

annie potts, comedy, eighties, jeffrey jones, john candy, neo noir, shawnee smith

JOHN CANDY GETS HIS OWN FLETCH IN 'WHO'S HARRY CRUMB?'

VHS/DVD Slip-Cover YEAR: 1989 Score: ***1/2 This underrated comedy, with the title-character going from place to place to figure out who...

WHERE 'CRASH DIVE' FITS WITHIN EARLY DANA ANDREWS CINEMA

<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/AVvXsEikB4eEpk9CVvgelMoZiOcwT-WTLX7kWgXZxd9qjT_WaTTaD8lJLiapX6ApbZK_PtQIo_VElD_iOg0S0f9tBDNxITXsarOSzxVcFS4MBKy5h-qb3LFu3dbYXZ8vzQdudlFXpBSIqPVzSLmw/s1600/64911736_729753404120505_3664326982956482560_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="921" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikB4eEpk9CVvgelMoZiOcwT-WTLX7kWgXZxd9qjT_WaTTaD8lJLiapX6ApbZK_PtQIo_VElD_iOg0S0f9tBDNxITXsarOSzxVcFS4MBKy5h-qb3LFu3dbYXZ8vzQdudlFXpBSIqPVzSLmw/s400/64911736_729753404120505_3664326982956482560_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana Andrews w/ Anne Baxter in CRASH DIVE Year: 1943 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In CRASH DIVE, Tyrone Power is credited with his actual war rank, adding to the WW2 propaganda about a PT-boat enthusiast under the submarine command of Dana Andrews and also featuring Harry Morgan in the second of four pictures together. But it's the romance that matters as a flirtatious courtship between Power and Anne Baxter takes up most of the love-triangle story... <br> <br> Enter Dana's SWAMP WATER (and NORTH STAR) ingenue Baxter, who winds up under Tyrone's inevitable and predictable spell. Which comes to very little once their secret is revealed but gives Andrews a little more than a one-dimensional role as the stalwart captain. And the following the next years' LAURA, Andrews would be done losing the girl, but a decade later would return to the third wheel spot in films like ELEPHANT WALK and BRAINSTORM.<br>

action, dana andrews, forties, harry morgan, love triangle, tyrone power, war, world war II

WHERE 'CRASH DIVE' FITS WITHIN EARLY DANA ANDREWS CINEMA

Dana Andrews w/ Anne Baxter in CRASH DIVE Year: 1943 Rates: *** In CRASH DIVE, Tyrone Power is credited with his actual war rank, adding...

JEFF MORROW 'THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US' W/ REX REASON

<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/AVvXsEh6q0hxJja340mAnjNsfTKVTkN4iLV4BOiiwl0WsdhbpwpE3PoYgo0b13PDYndojOp-aivvWo-s86v59fb0KMpif-qo3djt63npgtmGGLqJ4wMOGPsC61Ecs_e1Tlt4UiM4okegWA1g8YGS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-19+at+1.13.44+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1365" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q0hxJja340mAnjNsfTKVTkN4iLV4BOiiwl0WsdhbpwpE3PoYgo0b13PDYndojOp-aivvWo-s86v59fb0KMpif-qo3djt63npgtmGGLqJ4wMOGPsC61Ecs_e1Tlt4UiM4okegWA1g8YGS/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-06-19+at+1.13.44+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Morrow can't Reason with The Creature in the YEAR: 1956</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The easiest way to turn the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON into FRANKENSTEIN is to lose the gills: Which conveniently yet somewhat creatively happens after the third film's third group of scientists, led by sneaky Jeff Morrow and stalwart Rex Reason, captures the aquatic beast, who not only WALKS AMONG US but stomps around the boat's interior in a perplexed yet murderous rage, and even more sympathetically than the intentionally empathetic sequel...<br> <br> And like each predecessor, both directed by Jack Arnold as John Sherwood takes the helm under William Alland's omnipresent production, there are nice moments underwater as good and bad/mad scientist compete for gorgeous ingenue Leigh Snowden, suffering Nitrogen Narcosis (Raptures of the Deep) after the initial Creature's attack between diving sequences that lack the suspenseful vulnerability of the first and the formidable menace of the second... <br>

creature, fifties, franchise, jeff morrow, leigh snowden, rex reason, sequel, universal monster, william alland

JEFF MORROW 'THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US' W/ REX REASON

Morrow can't Reason with The Creature in the YEAR: 1956 The easiest way to turn the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON into FRANKENSTEIN...

WILLIAM ALLAND PRESENTS 'CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON'

<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/AVvXsEgQDMtBtRAptaQPxWnBDZR6VYvT2xiB6sc7jI0iLYIizxXBDBWmZNyJK7pcmfnvyCQ82nO-QcGHD0_cMMy-skZTorTc5idOR9UImGwxKyWXshx6naCNj9TMKYk0h_wgw9MwNR0x4h6k83fp/s1600/111+2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="549" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDMtBtRAptaQPxWnBDZR6VYvT2xiB6sc7jI0iLYIizxXBDBWmZNyJK7pcmfnvyCQ82nO-QcGHD0_cMMy-skZTorTc5idOR9UImGwxKyWXshx6naCNj9TMKYk0h_wgw9MwNR0x4h6k83fp/s400/111+2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Part of a great foreign poster from the YEAR: 1954</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Several films were inspired by CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON; two in particular, and both are connected: The first X-MEN was directed by Bryan Singer ala <i>Bad Hat Harry</i> Productions, a homage to the movie JAWS. And when you see various underwater shots with the camera aimed up at Julia Adams swimming, it's extremely similar to the famously doomed skinny-dipper in the Steven Spielberg killer shark opus... <br> <br> As is the built-in suspense of completely vulnerable characters unaware of what's directly beneath them in the water, where humans have very little control in the first place. As for X-MEN: both that and CREATURE start out with an expository lecture on Evolution, with images... Only in this case it's oddly coupled with Creation, and... well.... back in those days, the Big Bang needed explaining for how that <i>big fuse</i> got lit..<br>

creature, fifties, franchise, horror, jack arnold, julie adams, richard carlson, thriller, universal monster, william alland

WILLIAM ALLAND PRESENTS 'CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON'

Part of a great foreign poster from the YEAR: 1954 Several films were inspired by CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON; two in particular, and...

HOT CARS JOHN BROMFIELD DRIVES 'REVENGE OF THE CREATURE'

<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/AVvXsEi0R36L42lucUC_h8CWTvrJ5J-6fnXyHwSOE22S7SIWVg3xmacXczMBHQHk2iyYX8TUsrgoLfB6XZCE-Hv5kXNiC3VMWoByfh1iedFpFPYQdBbcB6V2JEqzWYaGZACqwtUkA_KPbnyzbqp6/s1600/lf.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="508" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R36L42lucUC_h8CWTvrJ5J-6fnXyHwSOE22S7SIWVg3xmacXczMBHQHk2iyYX8TUsrgoLfB6XZCE-Hv5kXNiC3VMWoByfh1iedFpFPYQdBbcB6V2JEqzWYaGZACqwtUkA_KPbnyzbqp6/s400/lf.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lobby Card with an artful John Bromfield YEAR: 1955</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A maligned yet terrific sequel, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE has a title that somehow <i>slowly rushes</i> its climax during the second half following a comparably sparse and nifty setup...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEhXIStZmgG3Uyrnj7ms-6xyHi8eJzLG_QRkL1YtQdzMoPDExjbszEQ8QQjyVQkC6sjvRFzTY52LJSu-ZQiMW7Znqy2PE5w_wmFNdZrkItGCj-s2Odtg9tRjfO0IYZ8oMPZaSe88mkMlxyyd/s1600/48429488_395000681266041_2149442367835340800_o.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="516" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIStZmgG3Uyrnj7ms-6xyHi8eJzLG_QRkL1YtQdzMoPDExjbszEQ8QQjyVQkC6sjvRFzTY52LJSu-ZQiMW7Znqy2PE5w_wmFNdZrkItGCj-s2Odtg9tRjfO0IYZ8oMPZaSe88mkMlxyyd/s400/48429488_395000681266041_2149442367835340800_o.jpeg" width="138"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Creature Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Where cocky Marineland diver John Bromfield moves the captured "Gill Man" to an underwater tank where<i> he</i> falls for ingenue Lori Nelson, Fay Wray style, compatible with male scientist John Agar while the flirtatious Bromfield moves in: one of several intriguing premises that could've played out longer, until the Creature predictably escapes through the usual screaming crowd; but it's in captivity where the best scenes occur...<br> <br> Especially the underwater shots where, tethered within a limited space, it's the original film in reverse: People (especially classic ingenue Julie Adams) had been vulnerable to the phantom lurking somewhere beneath, evoking the kind of nervy suspense later delivered by Steven Spielberg in JAWS, but now humans are in control... they think.... making REVENGE more of a RETURN, and instead of horror it's an exploitation for the fictional and actual audience both, making The Creature far more sympathetic this time around. All flowing well until the last act around a woodsy lakeside locale, playing cat-and-mouse with our ingenue: At which point returning-director Jack Arnold (again under producer William Alland) doesn't quite know how to end the thing, which, again, should have stayed longer back at the water park.  <br>

creature, cult, fifties, horror, john agar, john bromfield, lori nelson, thriller, universal monster, william alland

HOT CARS JOHN BROMFIELD DRIVES 'REVENGE OF THE CREATURE'

Lobby Card with an artful John Bromfield YEAR: 1955 A maligned yet terrific sequel, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE has a title that somehow slo...

DOLORES FAITH & COLEEN GRAY ARE HOT IN 'THE PHANTOM PLANET'

<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/AVvXsEiosk3E9SS7L_FTLr6B4SGiAxEiPfEwxWvZ7viWTrWK9O0NJFaPx3T9dISsoLeRZk9FX1RdXQo2hNUDKXpWkEgO9i2dVw3naWKRRKPK8KhrS2dbFD0FoeSJbbf-8W1bCPbncQPtgBePhWEu/s1600/f5a3cff1457994785c92059b11457368.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosk3E9SS7L_FTLr6B4SGiAxEiPfEwxWvZ7viWTrWK9O0NJFaPx3T9dISsoLeRZk9FX1RdXQo2hNUDKXpWkEgO9i2dVw3naWKRRKPK8KhrS2dbFD0FoeSJbbf-8W1bCPbncQPtgBePhWEu/s400/f5a3cff1457994785c92059b11457368.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for The Phantom Planet introducing Dolores Faith YEAR: 1961</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Another "bad space movie" that's not so bad, held back by a meager budget that also provides its charm: centering on an astronaut shot not from the Earth to the Moon but, in this particular future, 1980 viewed from 1961, the moon's space station into deeper space where another rocket had already vanished. When Captain Chapman lands from a magnetic pull, he finds a world hybrid of a Biblical Epic and B-Western...<br> <br> The inhabitants are miniaturized, which means nothing since we mostly see Dean Fredericks the same size among them: a square-jawed, high cheek-boned, dyed-blond-haired actor best known as television's really white STEVE CANYON, he also played a score of Native Americans, which, ironically, the leaders of this planet share the same cinematic wisdom of: with technology far beyond our own, they still choose to live in a primal setting, leading to a man-to-man fight between our hero and the only other virile young man around (this scene and their overall anti-chemistry's reminiscent of Sam Jones and Timothy Dalton in FLASH GORDON years later)... <br>

adventure, coleen gray, cult, dean fredericks, dolores faith, science-fiction, sixties

DOLORES FAITH & COLEEN GRAY ARE HOT IN 'THE PHANTOM PLANET'

Poster for The Phantom Planet introducing Dolores Faith YEAR: 1961 Another "bad space movie" that's not so bad, held back ...