RALPH MEEKER IN 'BIG HOUSE U.S.A.' WITH CHARLES BRONSON

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkZnpKXBnyjd9lTtLvP1wbuMzWwsG5TVp7Gu-mBs1OFFJof6PR1q5qc5TrHeuEAI6Fwzesh5ZoZqizOD1CdX3G0xBaQilcjk6glty3m1l_NtE_lPdN2FbZ8pRQT6jGLkLA60EpaqtB6JgVNI67SzMgesclZXjSd79KZUb5cVsKgrk_3nn6VtDAzdl-w/s1554/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2010.33.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkZnpKXBnyjd9lTtLvP1wbuMzWwsG5TVp7Gu-mBs1OFFJof6PR1q5qc5TrHeuEAI6Fwzesh5ZoZqizOD1CdX3G0xBaQilcjk6glty3m1l_NtE_lPdN2FbZ8pRQT6jGLkLA60EpaqtB6JgVNI67SzMgesclZXjSd79KZUb5cVsKgrk_3nn6VtDAzdl-w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2010.33.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster for BIG HOUSE U.S.A. Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A strange, investigative, manipulative, adventurous sort of crime/prison flick begins at a rural setting with Ralph Meeker involved in the botched kidnapping of a sickly young boy at summer camp: This gritty b-picture has been disputed by some of the more uptight viewers as a legit Film Noir since the main character doesn't have the necessary "moral ambiguity," although the otherwise vicious convicts serving at THE BIG HOUSE must realize, with a "child abductor" residing in the cell, maybe they're not so bad after all: perhaps, then, it's a kind of Film Noir in reverse...<br> <br> One scene has pre-PERRY MASON lawyer and post-ARMORED CAR ROBBERY firebrand William Talman suffering guilt-ridden doubts when cold-blooded kingpin Broderick Crawford tells him, once the gang has escaped from the island fortress and are "hidden" on a fishing boat within a foggy ocean, to strategically kill a sleeping friend...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

bel air productions, broderick crawford, charles bronson, fifties, film noir or melodrama, lon chaney jr., prison, ralph meeker

RALPH MEEKER IN 'BIG HOUSE U.S.A.' WITH CHARLES BRONSON

Poster for BIG HOUSE U.S.A. Year: 1955 Rating: ****1/2 A strange, investigative, manipulative, adventurous sort of crime/prison flick begin...

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s2182/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="2182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhvd0Sb_UlVtNIuL63ZQOfL81SqBuBygSDz1JTK1ukn63MWGpGT5WAnnmPIqSvDQ1tgOhFDw3GSbju3ss6EQTBxhF5xEfrc14PuDtwQm06WKkDO9wAUzNfAkYptgNHbGnYIB4hEoVULKiQxGMOZKtCfOFhyreqzWr7cOlSa3CFML6vUoewq8OST7WCw/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you could call it BRING ME THE HEAD OF ROBERT DUVALL, and the Bloody Sam similarities include echoed gunshots under the hot Mexico sun; a white shirt soaked with gory, bright red blood; a slow-motion body falling to the ground as the opening credits appear across  paused-images as Jerry Goldsmith's score opens with soft, skeletal vibes into a Spanish groove... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And even beyond all that, BREAKOUT is a modern Spaghetti Western (released the same year as Gries/Bronson's actual Western BREAKHEART PASS) wherein action hero Charles Bronson is similar to his colorful MR. MAJESTYK character, only even more playfully cocky and wisecracking... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, alan vint, charles bronson, escape, jailbreak, jill ireland, john huston, mexico, prison, randy quaid, robert duvall, roy jenson, rural, seventies, sheree north, tom gries

CHARLES BRONSON & ROBERT DUVALL BAND APART FOR 'BREAKOUT'

Charles Bronson in BREAKOUT Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2 The violent prologue of the 1975 Tom Gries jailbreak flick is so Sam Peckinpah you cou...

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s1946/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common yet are completely different as World War II adventure films... the first has a group of POW's escaping from the Germans while the second involves American convicts training to <i>enter</i> Germany, as both somewhat awkwardly balance comedy with drama, and, while entertaining popcorn time-fillers, they're predictably and painfully mainstream...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>While ESCAPE centered on many men hoping to tunnel out, only a handful are centered on, which happens with DOZEN: but THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN lacks the catchy alliteration... </p><p><span></span></p>

charles bronson, clint walker, donald sutherland, jim brown, john cassavetes, lee marvin, mission, ralph meeker, robert aldrich, telly savalas, war, world war II

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common ye...

JIM BROWN'S PAPILLON CLONE 'I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGTCLGrosJZtERIkaAn3I6NwqX1ArIq7uXR9oAezX7KfyDYtb1Xc0j5yqjJXxsMsn01exxP0Fii1HkJAVCnd0yRC3L94GR_Jb4n1kW8faJBlFHf5myFa9UtZen2heD7pjpOEcR2jDAJxDbIH5IJ2dkvX6pXaRkD3Jc2wE3VYLhBaH5GKDKfYjmZSl1Q/s1152/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2012.22.45%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGTCLGrosJZtERIkaAn3I6NwqX1ArIq7uXR9oAezX7KfyDYtb1Xc0j5yqjJXxsMsn01exxP0Fii1HkJAVCnd0yRC3L94GR_Jb4n1kW8faJBlFHf5myFa9UtZen2heD7pjpOEcR2jDAJxDbIH5IJ2dkvX6pXaRkD3Jc2wE3VYLhBaH5GKDKfYjmZSl1Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%2012.22.45%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Straying from his usual racially-charged blaxploitation cinema, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/jim%20brown">Jim Brown</a> in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND is not only pure <i>exploitation</i>, attempting to bank on the popularity of the novel turned adapted motion picture <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/03/pap.html">PAPILLON</a> about a French prisoner who escapes this movie's titular island, but it's practically an outright remake...<br><br>Jim Brown has the strong escape-minded Steve McQueen part while the vulnerable Dustin Hoffman sidekick role's for Christopher George, a passive progressive that Brown has to carry (while roughnecks Robert Phillips and James Luisi both fill Woodrow Palfrey's shoes), and, starting from a beach-set bamboo-scattered makeshift prison, brutal guard <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/05/underw.html">Richard Rust</a> reigns — and there's even a helpful homosexual convict along with a neighboring leper colony...</p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, christopher george, escape, indie, james luisi, jim brown, jungle, prison, richard rust, robert phillips, roland bob harris, seventies, shark

JIM BROWN'S PAPILLON CLONE 'I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND'

Jim Brown in I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND Year: 1973 Rating: *** Straying from his usual racially-charged blaxploitation cinema, Jim Br...

JIM BROWN, DON STROUD AND GEORGE KENNEDY 'TICK, TICK, TICK'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z16S_LEM-DaU99WwnnEl_RQOWosscpZGyFh9DUuPVdFlyqLVHgf68TOgsKE2KD1vQrU8iMfQvoJWuvDZdGH0nXjFM6k91Kr4BYvYs1LgRVB2W-hXlfHQHTq3BGkiYNsLRoVaVAjXNrR4O1WTRecJsTStM8T6DUZZ-OPDGn5-6sqgHejUSrqmayRFZg/s1474/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z16S_LEM-DaU99WwnnEl_RQOWosscpZGyFh9DUuPVdFlyqLVHgf68TOgsKE2KD1vQrU8iMfQvoJWuvDZdGH0nXjFM6k91Kr4BYvYs1LgRVB2W-hXlfHQHTq3BGkiYNsLRoVaVAjXNrR4O1WTRecJsTStM8T6DUZZ-OPDGn5-6sqgHejUSrqmayRFZg/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in TICK, TICK, TICK Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Similar plot-line to the past and future, TICK TICK TICK pays homage to IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT while foreshadowing a dramatic version of BLAZING SADDLES since there's a new sheriff/lawman in a small Southern town from the late 1960's, and Jim Brown replaces a surprisingly upbeat, open-minded George Kennedy backed by semi-progressive mayor Fredric March: one winding up the black man's deputy, the other a semi-mentor...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What plays out more like a TV-movie or series pilot than a theatrical motion picture, TICK is also the beginning of Brown's racially-driven foray into 1970's low-budget blaxploitation after co-starring in the previous decade's blockbusters or crime potboilers: from THE DIRTY DOZEN and ICE STATION ZEBRA to THE RIOT and THE SPLIT... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, bernie casey, blaxploitation, cop, don stroud, exploitation, fredric march, george kennedy, jim brown, mills watson, seventies, small town, thriller

JIM BROWN, DON STROUD AND GEORGE KENNEDY 'TICK, TICK, TICK'

Jim Brown in TICK, TICK, TICK Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2 Similar plot-line to the past and future, TICK TICK TICK pays homage to IN THE HEAT ...

JIM BROWN IN 'SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF' WITH DON STROUD

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-i3dRbNxcUF-ZTi42guPNaIaN4DCs_kD8GNNRhRqjIovsWxLMpBj6S57oU9jHVfpK3IINkWLuoIStwWAhO-Y6JqmFoZKqgKuuw9uRQEM3HXz9xW16p6cWiRkGGLzy_C9kVQnHEqFxkc6-GDcbGmi-2di3Rf1hG1OLTu4sUz8XcoVP6roa7NumsQ-9g/s1516/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="1516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-i3dRbNxcUF-ZTi42guPNaIaN4DCs_kD8GNNRhRqjIovsWxLMpBj6S57oU9jHVfpK3IINkWLuoIStwWAhO-Y6JqmFoZKqgKuuw9uRQEM3HXz9xW16p6cWiRkGGLzy_C9kVQnHEqFxkc6-GDcbGmi-2di3Rf1hG1OLTu4sUz8XcoVP6roa7NumsQ-9g/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP OFF directed by crime-cinema veteran Gordon Douglas is a sequel not only better than the original, SLAUGHTER, it stands completely alone, the only plot being Jim Brown's former Green Beret character avenging the deaths of a few friends at an outside party-picnic prologue by a retro biplane's machine gun...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>His initial search is for the pilot, played by biker-flick actor Adam Roarke for about five minutes in a mansion poolside of bigwig mobster Ed McMahon — actually pretty good here — hiring another much meaner and far more lethal thug Don Stroud to kill the first killer, making for possibly the best blaxploitation heavy ever...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, art metrano, blaxploitation, body count, dick anthony williams, don stroud, ed mcmahon, exploitation, gordon douglas, hit-man, jim brown, judy brown, lisa farringer, revenge, seventies, thriller

JIM BROWN IN 'SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF' WITH DON STROUD

Jim Brown in SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2 SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP OFF directed by crime-cinema veteran Gordon Doug...

JIM BROWN AND JIM KELLY 'TAKE A HARD RIDE' FRED WILLIAMSON

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfylsO-AMrVT4MdATJV9_nDjen2IQ1bKykCjc5mRkN6c13zPY9YCQco811-13tiLyq7NAFcfeKAfRVBBG_mRdCOqouKX_v3gZ686FHWLsYkuHXiKIL9LgBrTvwFVw0ch8SWxOhnWird7sL_QhUAh_8DKq9ni3jiSSMJ4FAaannBu60ZaSLLkMdcxAqg/s2206/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-26%20at%208.54.59%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="2206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfylsO-AMrVT4MdATJV9_nDjen2IQ1bKykCjc5mRkN6c13zPY9YCQco811-13tiLyq7NAFcfeKAfRVBBG_mRdCOqouKX_v3gZ686FHWLsYkuHXiKIL9LgBrTvwFVw0ch8SWxOhnWird7sL_QhUAh_8DKq9ni3jiSSMJ4FAaannBu60ZaSLLkMdcxAqg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-26%20at%208.54.59%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TAKE A HARD RIDE Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Expectations for a Blaxploitation-Western, being that Jim Brown and Fred Williamson play the hero and anti-hero, or a Spaghetti Western, since Lee Van Cleef is the bad guy, will be disappointed. While it does have some of the (very intentional) Spaghetti elements in style and music, and slick action sequences for Blaxploitation fans...<br> <br> TAKE A HARD RIDE is actually an old-fashioned cowboy flick involving honest man Jim Brown and dishonest gambler Fred Williamson, on a quest to deliver money (that Brown made with late boss Dana Andrews, veteran of said classic Westerns) to a small town with cunning and deadly bounty hunter Van Cleef on their trail...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

action, catherine spaak, dana andrews, fred williamson, jim brown, jim kelly, karate, lee van cleef, road movie, seventies, western

JIM BROWN AND JIM KELLY 'TAKE A HARD RIDE' FRED WILLIAMSON

Title: TAKE A HARD RIDE Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2 Expectations for a Blaxploitation-Western, being that Jim Brown and Fred Williamson play...

JIM BROWN WITH GENE HACKMAN ESCAPE THE CELL BLOCK 'RIOT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNfwb2DDAkfBOrEYB9rcMdarCOQZrKWW_xGjR2lXcj0aPOUFVJb15Mkrd3jn1Lj1Kl1aP1mpdWy6aiira1jtIcexgQ2YjDWPB_jFIsQsEWf5hPfxCqba6W63iPP_oikejRNzjg5y1-7ipocWsvKnRPKXsZ2bGUzPnVJ02Flb7kTQKli-48e64ssmUsw/s1597/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNfwb2DDAkfBOrEYB9rcMdarCOQZrKWW_xGjR2lXcj0aPOUFVJb15Mkrd3jn1Lj1Kl1aP1mpdWy6aiira1jtIcexgQ2YjDWPB_jFIsQsEWf5hPfxCqba6W63iPP_oikejRNzjg5y1-7ipocWsvKnRPKXsZ2bGUzPnVJ02Flb7kTQKli-48e64ssmUsw/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown </u><u>in RIOT Producer: William Castle Director: Buzz Kulick Year: 1969 Rating: **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Basically a remake of Don Siegel's docudrama noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/12/block11.html">RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11</a>, Buzz Kulick's RIOT follows its muse by having the titular convict pandemonium — after capturing the guards — not matter beyond a strategic distraction...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead centering on a few clever inmates' feigning an attempt for a media-led change of inhumane prison conditions — but this RIOT goes one step beyond Siegel's CELL BLOCK political expose...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, buzz, clifford david, drama, escape, gene hackman, gerald s. o'loughlin, jim brown, mike kellin, prison, sixties, suspense, thriller, william castle

JIM BROWN WITH GENE HACKMAN ESCAPE THE CELL BLOCK 'RIOT'

Jim Brown in RIOT Producer: William Castle Director: Buzz Kulick Year: 1969 Rating: **** Basically a remake of Don Siegel's docudrama no...

GEORGE MAHARIS SABOTAGES THE TV-MOVIE 'DEATH FLIGHT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg-ldcKkLlNWd_mYrnF9-mEDBZXD9pbwNeZByDyASctUqdWbq46kGMPDYHeXYkObaurEUViZBCBWYnpu91MGA-mpG73mo0wSNaUvZjhErhzIGrwdATD4at7kD5aRnlnugbF2tRdTsj3GhnIMsQCcyQ6u5bhDDLpGBE7idZgJoUECqYe_4_FOqaQasPQ/s1840/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-01%20at%203.45.19%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg-ldcKkLlNWd_mYrnF9-mEDBZXD9pbwNeZByDyASctUqdWbq46kGMPDYHeXYkObaurEUViZBCBWYnpu91MGA-mpG73mo0wSNaUvZjhErhzIGrwdATD4at7kD5aRnlnugbF2tRdTsj3GhnIMsQCcyQ6u5bhDDLpGBE7idZgJoUECqYe_4_FOqaQasPQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-01%20at%203.45.19%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>George Maharis up to no good for DEATH FLIGHT Year: 1977 Rates: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Killing two birds with one stone... the death of ROUTE 66 star George Maharis, where two young men travel throughout various cities and towns of early-sixties America, and are actually filmed in each: this Corvette-driving combo of regular guy Martin Milner and intense guy Maharis had terrific chemistry, which it lasted, which wasn't long enough... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Because Maharis left towards the end of Season 3 of 4 seasons, replaced by dumb-jock actor Glenn Corbett, and, either way, it's a creative, sometimes bizarre pseudo-anthology, feeling like a hybrid of Jack Kerouac (who Maharis resembles, and whose novel ON THE ROAD was an inspiration) and Tennessee Williams: but is actually constructed by famous scriptwriter Stirling Silliphant, and featuring a host of future stars from Gene Hackman to Robert Duvall...</p><span></span>

airplane, bert convy, billy crystal, burgess meredith, disaster, doug mcclure, george maharis, martin milner, misty rowe, peter graves, season hubley, seventies, susan strasberg, tina louise, tv movie

GEORGE MAHARIS SABOTAGES THE TV-MOVIE 'DEATH FLIGHT'

George Maharis up to no good for DEATH FLIGHT Year: 1977 Rates: ***1/2 Killing two birds with one stone... the death of ROUTE 66 star George...

JIM BROWN, MARTIN LANDAU & BRUCE GLOVER IN 'BLACK GUNN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhePez-Wat53pTZI-ZLcrAJoTrbWXEJEksLOxKlElIWpU9NGgEYCl0Epzum0hbj52EBVpjILCzgU9GEw-Q-4j3RY-746u_ZsdNPWAsRwQuAxzjvpiI7pJxVqrJAh4BxjK0W76q6ALHf-JlpY_Nr1fQOlmSaBfUoXYOEKcuOi_hFf1DeAumbrhVNNj0w/s1746/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhePez-Wat53pTZI-ZLcrAJoTrbWXEJEksLOxKlElIWpU9NGgEYCl0Epzum0hbj52EBVpjILCzgU9GEw-Q-4j3RY-746u_ZsdNPWAsRwQuAxzjvpiI7pJxVqrJAh4BxjK0W76q6ALHf-JlpY_Nr1fQOlmSaBfUoXYOEKcuOi_hFf1DeAumbrhVNNj0w/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in BLACK GUNN Year: 1972 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1972, two blaxploitation movies had similar plots: a group of black criminals successfully steal cash from a mafia money-counting outpost, followed by the inevitable thugs hunting them down... but in this case they only want Herbert Jefferson Jr. as Scott Gunn, younger brother of our titular hero in Jim Brown's rich  nightclub owner GUNN...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For the first half the smooth star's caught in-between a political pickle with the mafia against his hidden-away brother's militant black gang, including another ex-footballer Bernie Casey... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, bernie casey, blaxploitation, brenda sykes, bruce glover, jim brown, katherine woodville, mafia, martin landau, neo noir, seventies, thriller

JIM BROWN, MARTIN LANDAU & BRUCE GLOVER IN 'BLACK GUNN'

Jim Brown in BLACK GUNN Year: 1972 Rating: **** In 1972, two blaxploitation movies had similar plots: a group of black criminals successfull...

BLAXPLOITATION MEXPLOITATION HYBRID WESTERN '100 RIFLES'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihp_4_AnugEviComFhTPStpXAjM-e27nzBaD3ndZ7iKHshdwIbyWKIiC9-SPkDaUqkjbCbxDsS788-Ieu3ZLjVJYZS-AjeW5rzINc9vzwoMPFqsXuvkcZLU4k5Z-5RIXqgimt9yLWNfbK5ftnwEv6xL_Q8aZNzhED_sd_qOtumyxpOgebX8r-1MVefEg/s1002/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-20%20at%205.53.31%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihp_4_AnugEviComFhTPStpXAjM-e27nzBaD3ndZ7iKHshdwIbyWKIiC9-SPkDaUqkjbCbxDsS788-Ieu3ZLjVJYZS-AjeW5rzINc9vzwoMPFqsXuvkcZLU4k5Z-5RIXqgimt9yLWNfbK5ftnwEv6xL_Q8aZNzhED_sd_qOtumyxpOgebX8r-1MVefEg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-20%20at%205.53.31%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 100 RIFLES Year: 1969 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Word has it Burt Reynolds and  Raquel Welch couldn't stand each other on the set of Tom Gries' grungy Neo-Western 100 RIFLES where she was famous and he... still just a climber... already had the attitude of a big star... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Robustly playing the half-Indian bank robber that black lawman Jim Brown, more of a bounty hunter in nature, wants to take from Indian-massacring Mexican authorities back to America...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, blaxploitation, burt reynolds, jim brown, raquel welch, sixties, soledad miranda, tom gries

BLAXPLOITATION MEXPLOITATION HYBRID WESTERN '100 RIFLES'

Title: 100 RIFLES Year: 1969 Rating: **1/2 Word has it Burt Reynolds and  Raquel Welch couldn't stand each other on the set of Tom Gries...

DIRECTOR JONATHAN KAPLAN LOCKS JIM BROWN INTO 'THE SLAMS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnjPHH_bvDEkE1k7U4kEe0ii39PxvqKbZ-hKwl-sI-L03tGG63X0R2nCQSPaKTytoKLBgzS9TlYIzIwyTeQnGuf1bJj6D5eUTq2ef0hyphenhyphenFWyyxYC1PKyLMQeMz7fs2b7GVK6ESLlbtLQHGPY-zceiyOjrABRl1yHfyD6SOnw_rHlKMVD7wsny90IWtNS8-/s2560/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-11%20at%209.23.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnjPHH_bvDEkE1k7U4kEe0ii39PxvqKbZ-hKwl-sI-L03tGG63X0R2nCQSPaKTytoKLBgzS9TlYIzIwyTeQnGuf1bJj6D5eUTq2ef0hyphenhyphenFWyyxYC1PKyLMQeMz7fs2b7GVK6ESLlbtLQHGPY-zceiyOjrABRl1yHfyD6SOnw_rHlKMVD7wsny90IWtNS8-/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-11%20at%209.23.28%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in THE SLAMS Year: 1973 Director: Jonathan Kaplan Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blaxploitation TRUCK TURNER, director Jonathan Kaplan put Jim Brown in prison for a more sparse and serious THE SLAMS, mostly taking place behind bars but without relying on melodramatic prison tropes, since everything that goes down... from bullies to shiv-fights to mean guards... is tightly connected to the plot...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Jim Brown, an idealistic criminal from a groovy heist prologue, stole and hid loot from the mob, and, once locked-up, a gangster hires gigantic convict Ted Cassady to attempt getting the formidable Brown to confess...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

blaxploitation, charles cyphers, exploitation, frenchia guizon, heist, herbert jefferson jr., jack cassidy, jerry jones, jim brown, jonathan kaplan, judy pace, paul harris, prison, roland bob harris, seventies

DIRECTOR JONATHAN KAPLAN LOCKS JIM BROWN INTO 'THE SLAMS'

Jim Brown in THE SLAMS Year: 1973 Director: Jonathan Kaplan Rates: ***1/2 A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blax...

JIM BROWN AND GENE HACKMAN ALMOST TEAM FOR 'THE SPLIT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAX-SNKELW1jWIbR_m2RHkx0y6n4Q7Zwk_oVQoB9a_BM5nSs2sXdKhmIiaPAMjebSkbGsXADHszXEeMzewIbsRg_w0w0oOj69vgmHcWhcxb7GvTDlS8OTsNLWva8k2sm7haydLRH4jODokmaVcu43F6UHVHZqZaWs23WTPnPxmWf-f0eKQzgvpqPzP9A/s2136/bew.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="2136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAX-SNKELW1jWIbR_m2RHkx0y6n4Q7Zwk_oVQoB9a_BM5nSs2sXdKhmIiaPAMjebSkbGsXADHszXEeMzewIbsRg_w0w0oOj69vgmHcWhcxb7GvTDlS8OTsNLWva8k2sm7haydLRH4jODokmaVcu43F6UHVHZqZaWs23WTPnPxmWf-f0eKQzgvpqPzP9A/s16000/bew.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jim Brown in THE SPLIT Year: 1968 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The first Rated-R movie ever made came out the same year as a similar ensemble heist picture THE THOMAS CROWNE AFFAIR, centering on selected thieves chosen to rob a giant bank...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And here, starring former record-breaking football hero turned groundbreaking black movie star Jim Brown, THE SPLIT proves just how long ago Brown was a truly relevant star... </p><p><span></span></p>

crime, donald sutherland, ernest borgnine, football, gene hackman, heist, jack klugman, jim brown, julie harris, neo noir, sixties, warren oates

JIM BROWN AND GENE HACKMAN ALMOST TEAM FOR 'THE SPLIT'

Jim Brown in THE SPLIT Year: 1968 Rating: ** The first Rated-R movie ever made came out the same year as a similar ensemble heist picture TH...

JACK NICHOLSON DRIVES 'THE PASSENGER' WITH IAN HENDRY

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsawegnt2bdIasdQXVRoYby0CXk1J94aP4_bsIWCgwCe_wlBbmKM6OmrNLK8RUhEsdnky-uYXnbiD02ONpC4fPlJ4ZSWqGZHdlU0_bJW1ocaqkBMmEWYzRm65hV-jLbiGL1NC5JytbSoWdz5Alz6cpjxeYGFZzSw96c-_XqgEnJcJuIVEu-0W0D6dikQ/s1184/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-15%20at%208.04.03%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsawegnt2bdIasdQXVRoYby0CXk1J94aP4_bsIWCgwCe_wlBbmKM6OmrNLK8RUhEsdnky-uYXnbiD02ONpC4fPlJ4ZSWqGZHdlU0_bJW1ocaqkBMmEWYzRm65hV-jLbiGL1NC5JytbSoWdz5Alz6cpjxeYGFZzSw96c-_XqgEnJcJuIVEu-0W0D6dikQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-15%20at%208.04.03%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jack Nicholson in Michelangelo Antonioni's THE PASSENGER Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For a legendary arthouse director inclined to create more character than plot-driven films, BLOW-UP auteur Michelangelo Antonioni's THE PASSENGER is almost entirely plot — heavily built into the main character... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>After Jack Nicholson — as a reporter originally named Locke — takes the identity of a dead arms-dealing doppelganger, he goes from scorched Algerian desert terrain into various European locations tailed by shady businessmen, separated-wife Jenny Runacre and BBC producer-boss Ian Hendry... all clinging to the secret-identity device that, while panning-out in a slow-burn, ambiguous manner, is more primary than parenthetical... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

arthouse, desert, europe, ian hendry, indie, jack nicholson, jenny runacre, maria schneider, michelangelo antonioni, neo noir, romance, steven berkoff, thriller

JACK NICHOLSON DRIVES 'THE PASSENGER' WITH IAN HENDRY

Jack Nicholson in Michelangelo Antonioni's THE PASSENGER Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2 For a legendary arthouse director inclined to create ...

JACK NICHOLSON IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'BACK DOOR TO HELL'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlH7RmSOZr52Dm9Ic84RkaIIZsij--Z--VIPogh_XuWkzEiGH0lkCJFBxTwb2btpkxU_PX0hq3im7MzyLKqTEakGQAcM9Ur-_2ydGyWAeGV0UiONrR9oGp0xCagNbllxeoUxKY_HSddnmG3OaKyNw59puXtvHS978omZdHJEU_EUXSWLAlefBBS1FLQ/s1836/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1836" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlH7RmSOZr52Dm9Ic84RkaIIZsij--Z--VIPogh_XuWkzEiGH0lkCJFBxTwb2btpkxU_PX0hq3im7MzyLKqTEakGQAcM9Ur-_2ydGyWAeGV0UiONrR9oGp0xCagNbllxeoUxKY_HSddnmG3OaKyNw59puXtvHS978omZdHJEU_EUXSWLAlefBBS1FLQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BACK DOOR TO HELL Director: Monte Hellman Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Following existential Westerns THE SHOOTING and RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND, Monte Hellman had initially directed Jack Nicholson in BACK DOOR TO HELL, a low-budget war programmer, actually starring real life crooner Jimmie Rodgers as one of three soldiers, including Nicholson's radio operator Burnett...<br><br>Who, during one conversation with the square-jawed, old school militaristic type, Jersey, played by co-writer John Hackett (he'd sporadically work with Nicholson until 1996), they discusses Rodger's character, Lt. Craig... </p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, conrad maga, indie, jack nicholson, jimmie rodgers, john hackett, monte hellman, sixties, war

JACK NICHOLSON IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'BACK DOOR TO HELL'

Title: BACK DOOR TO HELL Director: Monte Hellman Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 Following existential Westerns THE SHOOTING and RIDE IN THE WHIRL...

JACK NICHOLSON & FAY SPAIN IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'FLIGHT TO FURY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ERbUGEqQcRaEQpzg8b1odQEGCulmJ36I3wqVmRfE6tZdYwd85-VY54t7Mnz5Prm724LDP46Ggmtf18h0rv7D7276eTZ0ULZ5nDXyzAdjCTrrJl5b2ucfkh1Eb47j8sVkDlITlWqeFZSDfBOqUrEh_czsAeIVuErsnuZNQcRU792baZpGr5VeGjQlng/s1307/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ERbUGEqQcRaEQpzg8b1odQEGCulmJ36I3wqVmRfE6tZdYwd85-VY54t7Mnz5Prm724LDP46Ggmtf18h0rv7D7276eTZ0ULZ5nDXyzAdjCTrrJl5b2ucfkh1Eb47j8sVkDlITlWqeFZSDfBOqUrEh_czsAeIVuErsnuZNQcRU792baZpGr5VeGjQlng/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jack Nicholson in FLIGHT TO FURY Year: 1964 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the early years — from the late 1950's throughout most of the 1960's — before EASY RIDER turned Jack Nicholson into a charming scoundrel-playing superstar, he frequently collaborated with two low-budget directors: the  multi-genre exploitation icon Roger Corman and b-action auteur Monte Hellman... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But in the case of FLIGHT TO FURY, Hellman, shooting the first of two movies in the Philippines along with the war drama BACK DOOR TO HELL, is following Corman's footsteps...</p><p><span></span></p>

adventure, airplane, dewey martin, fay spain, indie, jack nicholson, john hackett, monte hellman, neo noir, sixties, treasure, vic diaz

JACK NICHOLSON & FAY SPAIN IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'FLIGHT TO FURY'

Jack Nicholson in FLIGHT TO FURY Year: 1964 Rating: ** In the early years — from the late 1950's throughout most of the 1960's — bef...

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS' WITH DENNIS MORGAN

<p> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12dTqYmLWlzNBb6EOGJKerGXFnvrK7uO5CBURVx1beh2EN4QFtalJc7_mfARJWd7F6EXpVWfq6cJazLN7jQSt2q7WS2_KZJL6lC4gK9dXze4s_sIZYg6UsJiGBZroC4HWGtkPOgp_BpWn0igf8I7tcLSfPBxT97HoAVTa4pELOcr61lliYNRswNXj-w/s1287/s-l1600%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12dTqYmLWlzNBb6EOGJKerGXFnvrK7uO5CBURVx1beh2EN4QFtalJc7_mfARJWd7F6EXpVWfq6cJazLN7jQSt2q7WS2_KZJL6lC4gK9dXze4s_sIZYg6UsJiGBZroC4HWGtkPOgp_BpWn0igf8I7tcLSfPBxT97HoAVTa4pELOcr61lliYNRswNXj-w/s16000/s-l1600%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Cagney, Brenda Marshall, Dennis Morgan in Captains of the Clouds Year: 1942 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>James Cagney’s stalwart expression on the poster, and a glorious title like CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS involving Canadian Bush Pilots training to fight in World War II, could be misleading for anyone loving the tough, snarky, womanizing Cagney: the persona that built his reputation before venturing into more serious matters – especially after the Second World War broke out...<br> <br> But most of this film has the pint-sized icon of the previous decade, naturally playing a daredevil pilot stealing jobs from his fellow airmen (also including affable Cagney cinema regulars George Tobias and Alan Hale Sr.), using every trick in the book and being shrewder than ever...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

action, adventure, airplane, alan hale sr, brenda marshall, buddy, dennis morgan, forties, george tobias, james cagney, michael curtiz, reginald gardiner, romance, war, world war II

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS' WITH DENNIS MORGAN

James Cagney, Brenda Marshall, Dennis Morgan in Captains of the Clouds Year: 1942 Rates: ***1/2 James Cagney’s stalwart expression on the p...

CHARLES BRONSON RUSSIAN THROUGH DON SIEGEL'S 'TELEFON'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0wPk2F3UiXPMSEYZa4jOtRgDMKlKM5nzrGSJxxwLGu1KEehOEWWzUMrQY6PngvaBqltQFTRfDl4fafN88zL_bIa2nCMllFO7WHgWrsELj4hQq7zCvO8J_8VVTPX8SwYyRBVmphYa9BJVnaaAMzjbTtuW6rRDyAiid6NUcyGX8sn_LuLadGiSAXalew/s1624/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0wPk2F3UiXPMSEYZa4jOtRgDMKlKM5nzrGSJxxwLGu1KEehOEWWzUMrQY6PngvaBqltQFTRfDl4fafN88zL_bIa2nCMllFO7WHgWrsELj4hQq7zCvO8J_8VVTPX8SwYyRBVmphYa9BJVnaaAMzjbTtuW6rRDyAiid6NUcyGX8sn_LuLadGiSAXalew/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in TELEFON Year: 1977 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With a plot-device highly influenced by THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE before and spoofed later in THE NAKED GUN, a string of random telephone calls to ordinary Americans, with a monotone voice reciting a Robert Frost poem to hypnotize each target... from a gas station owner to a charter pilot to a bathrobe-donning housewife... is causing plenty of explosive mayhem to various military installations...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And for a spy movie, Donald Pleasence fits perfectly as the villain: he's the one making those calls and then, from a station wagon, watches the suicide-bombing destruction first hand... </p><p><span></span></p>

alan badel, charles bronson, cold war, donald pleasence, hit-man, lee remick, patrick magee, seventies, spy, thriller, tyne daley

CHARLES BRONSON RUSSIAN THROUGH DON SIEGEL'S 'TELEFON'

Charles Bronson in TELEFON Year: 1977 Rating: ***1/2 With a plot-device highly influenced by THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE before and spoofed lat...

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE SLEEPY CRIME THRILLER 'BORDERLINE'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx30gY_lYEktEuHIAP_SWvkFK0rgMQmBDY_p9acxg4dGaOWnhRUJxIDRiymb4x53vnUW1381vBd_xPFTQNHEZYKierW5ObINr8PBjCpdl_8p0gQ4z7ZusWw6SlpdVgXPP3lH7CjlcY948wleBT1D0M4P8CgEZhkccWkVHXI3eqigKpJlg2fSN7UPHccA/s1553/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.42.44%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="1553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx30gY_lYEktEuHIAP_SWvkFK0rgMQmBDY_p9acxg4dGaOWnhRUJxIDRiymb4x53vnUW1381vBd_xPFTQNHEZYKierW5ObINr8PBjCpdl_8p0gQ4z7ZusWw6SlpdVgXPP3lH7CjlcY948wleBT1D0M4P8CgEZhkccWkVHXI3eqigKpJlg2fSN7UPHccA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.42.44%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>title: BORDERLINE year: 1980 stars: Charles Bronson rating: *</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before Charles Bronson spent the 1980's working with Cannon Films, usually noted as his worst period, he starred in a few ITC productions that make Cannon seem like MGM, including the neo noir road picture LOVE & BULLETS, the intentional CASABLANCA knockoff CABOBLANCO and, before the limp exploitation THE EVIL THAT MEN DO is his worst latter film <i>and </i>performance in BORDERLINE...</p><p></p><p></p><p>It's actually more of a non-performance of a mild-mannered Border cop investigating the murder of another agent, played by Wilford Brimley in a scene where a young "Introducing" Ed Harris proves himself a cunning villain, only he's hardly in the picture at all, and never really goes head-to-head with Bronson... at least not all that intensely...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

bert remsen, bruno kirby, charles bronson, crime, ed harris, eighties, john ashton, mexico, wilford brimley

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE SLEEPY CRIME THRILLER 'BORDERLINE'

title: BORDERLINE year: 1980 stars: Charles Bronson rating: * Before Charles Bronson spent the 1980's working with Cannon Films, usually...

DIRECTOR JACK ARNOLD'S 'THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUHeMWsRUW3dtJlfai-AxDU4bPUnHAyKs8Op64ifJi6GEJdx1nxy2p3kc07dbC5jn0kyw0Ak74mlG6rjs8X6ljsGnQqavpk6FVvDGra_vP7uW1LGNtZB00TNnDD7UycfOgNYubxkqS4gawEjTJqOPmMN0RQ8UHGcSxtjA_H8vSzhgM-JZ-UAqCKbcZA/s995/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-07%20at%207.36.52%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="995" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUHeMWsRUW3dtJlfai-AxDU4bPUnHAyKs8Op64ifJi6GEJdx1nxy2p3kc07dbC5jn0kyw0Ak74mlG6rjs8X6ljsGnQqavpk6FVvDGra_vP7uW1LGNtZB00TNnDD7UycfOgNYubxkqS4gawEjTJqOPmMN0RQ8UHGcSxtjA_H8vSzhgM-JZ-UAqCKbcZA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-07%20at%207.36.52%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Jack Arnold had a way of taking the most fantastical stories and making them seem completely grounded, even normal... from aliens landing in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/10/IT.html">IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE</a>, a giant arachnid attack for <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/09/TARANTULAlland.html">TARANTULA</a>, or in this case, a grown man shrinking as THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN...</p><p>In the first act, when Grant Williams goes from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out why his work-clothes keep outgrowing him, it's like a separate movie... a kind of intentionally uncomfortable melodrama told in a slow-burn, semi-nightmarish, page-turning fashion... much different than the suspenseful action-packed survival-tale involving a comparably gigantic cat and spider the movie's most famous for...</p>

action, adventure, april kent, cult, fifties, grant williams, jack arnold, randy stuart, richard matheson, science-fiction, universal monsters, william schallert

DIRECTOR JACK ARNOLD'S 'THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN'

Title: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2 Director Jack Arnold had a way of taking the most fantastical stories and maki...

MICHAEL GOUGH CONTROLS 'KONGA' FEATURING CLAIRE GORDON

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47vjvPw1AIq3cBM7Xv7d1ZARKCorTL7jxCUGIsrtxiNIlFYIzY4XsnG7e2OxqklnQwen4t6-depgHY0oy11DEWYeHR901l5hq5o3IDpUZ7txGPnAMDPUdGYz3KRpSmIjA2fWrTQ9_Rhrf2jT-trjjMfPf9-51asDvCj1SCqI4d8IqZEBX1Q3eFzy1OQ/s2029/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-05%20at%2012.41.45%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="2029" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47vjvPw1AIq3cBM7Xv7d1ZARKCorTL7jxCUGIsrtxiNIlFYIzY4XsnG7e2OxqklnQwen4t6-depgHY0oy11DEWYeHR901l5hq5o3IDpUZ7txGPnAMDPUdGYz3KRpSmIjA2fWrTQ9_Rhrf2jT-trjjMfPf9-51asDvCj1SCqI4d8IqZEBX1Q3eFzy1OQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-05%20at%2012.41.45%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: KONGA Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A movie that finally proves dumb things can sound smart when spoken in an English accent as Michael Gough explains his growth serum, starting out on neat looking Venus Flytraps and then pet chimp KONGA, who eventually grows to the size of KING KONG. By that point, when the superimposed giant ape reaches half as tall as the Big Ben Clock Tower, no one's speaking in any accent so everything falls apart slowly, and stupidly...<br> <br> But most of the film has a tall man in a tall gorilla suit, taking out particular strategic enemies of Gough's mad scientist/professor named Dr. Charles Decker in a body count fashion both intriguing and fun. From the snippy dean of the college he works for, after having returned from Africa with a wealth of expository knowledge taking up the first five minutes via media interview, to a handsome male student rightfully smitten with young voluptuous Claire Gordon (as cute Kim Tracy waits in the wings), this movie's bombshell blonde Fay Wray, bitterly jealous of the time and attention teacher spends on his teacher's pet, especially on an outdoor field trip...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

body count, british, claire gordon, creature feature, horror, jess conrad, kim tracy, margo johns, michael gough, monster, rupert osborne, steven berkoff, vanda godsell, waveney lee

MICHAEL GOUGH CONTROLS 'KONGA' FEATURING CLAIRE GORDON

Title: KONGA Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2 A movie that finally proves dumb things can sound smart when spoken in an English accent as Michael ...

VERA DAY 'THE WOMAN EATER' GEORGE VOULOURIS & JOY WEBSTER

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxQYA_PSwX7E8-KEd_lJDwLv9sdoczOPtNqbF3CZrzkKvEu_Y66SIFgp4p2CAOhyS_Mn2RgXd29yyBIWNRR27oSibiySQxEjlTCAxvcTlRRPxJqJUcXCg8MyjX-_fDbLx0PRh-qgCvt5IJjkC89w1_qWnKKa6kuBStMkVeUEQarFlb5Vc1cD3tEj3oQ/s1704/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-03%20at%2011.49.13%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1704" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxQYA_PSwX7E8-KEd_lJDwLv9sdoczOPtNqbF3CZrzkKvEu_Y66SIFgp4p2CAOhyS_Mn2RgXd29yyBIWNRR27oSibiySQxEjlTCAxvcTlRRPxJqJUcXCg8MyjX-_fDbLx0PRh-qgCvt5IJjkC89w1_qWnKKa6kuBStMkVeUEQarFlb5Vc1cD3tEj3oQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-03%20at%2011.49.13%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WOMANEATER aka THE WOMAN EATER Year: 1958 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The makers of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/jungle.html">JUNGLE STREET</a> producer Guido Coen and director Charles Saunders had already created WOMANEATER about a killer African plant that mad scientist George Coulouris takes back to England for a serum to revive the dead...</p><p></p><p></p><p>A plot harboring two suspenseful kills as <i>only beautiful women</i> can be eaten by this lethally hugging tree while an imported native plays bongos, making British scream queen Vera Day the anticipated target while her romance with a mechanic coincides with the scientist's experiments <i>and</i> conflict with his middle-aged secretary's envy about hiring Day, whose spooked innocence the entire story's based around... </p><span></span>

body count, charles saunders, exploitation, fifties, george coulouris, guido coen, horror, joy webster, joyce gregg, science-fiction, vera day

VERA DAY 'THE WOMAN EATER' GEORGE VOULOURIS & JOY WEBSTER

Title: WOMANEATER aka THE WOMAN EATER Year: 1958 Rating: **** The makers of JUNGLE STREET producer Guido Coen and director Charles Saunders...

BROWN, WILLIAMSON AND KELLY ARE 'THREE THE HARD WAY'

<span style="font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbedTJ_DDadc9rTC7dmQlR8tWhgy6njZBJ23jPRtKarIHeFZ7XeDU6wzKUpP4xN8Nj4vSrx-L1NxSP_099vyuXk4uhD85R2Dh4-o6bNtVZpodhJ25FLrx_yybvdBAIXmvS5RtwRTbnCgQ7E5bNF48oWL6TmbrJg8JR1zhGPn3WTGg3eau2y7ldg3cT4Q/s1968/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-22%20at%2011.03.34%20PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1968" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbedTJ_DDadc9rTC7dmQlR8tWhgy6njZBJ23jPRtKarIHeFZ7XeDU6wzKUpP4xN8Nj4vSrx-L1NxSP_099vyuXk4uhD85R2Dh4-o6bNtVZpodhJ25FLrx_yybvdBAIXmvS5RtwRTbnCgQ7E5bNF48oWL6TmbrJg8JR1zhGPn3WTGg3eau2y7ldg3cT4Q/w400-h284/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-22%20at%2011.03.34%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div></span><u><span>title: </span>THREE THE HARD WAY<span> year:</span> 1974<span> cast:</span> Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly<span> rating:</span> ****</u><br /> <br /> A mad scientist and a white supremacist millionaire will poison the water supplies of three American cities, killing only the black population in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, unless Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly stop them. This action packed blaxploitation, bordering on Roger Moore era Bond, never lets up as the dynamic trio, sometimes together, sometimes alone, fight cops and goons alike, surviving car chases, foot chases, gun fights, explosions, and everything else thrown their way. A scene where three motorcycle riding vixens cruise the streets and then torture a crooked cop will confirm the sort of affect this had on Quentin Tarantino's work. And most importantly, all three black icons have their own separate identities: Fred Williams is the suave womanizer, Jim Kelly the mellow karate man, and Jim Brown as the badass bottom line.   

action, alex rocco, blaxploitation, fred williamson, jim brown, jim kelly, seventies

BROWN, WILLIAMSON AND KELLY ARE 'THREE THE HARD WAY'

title: THREE THE HARD WAY year: 1974 cast: Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly rating: **** A mad scientist and a white supremacis...