RODDY MCDOWALL WAGES 'BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES'

<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/AVvXsEgMS6H8hqt8hcQ9T0TrAzXDoITFP2zn2ofQ_aaOygv79SQqkq38r6QNrTnMup5sZ29FAf9IG7P5vWsuGX-S6A7wi0irFeHm31-kKoHc1Jtfk6_YGJmdaj4sur-OFSEK0EJVwO2LPdcCX_KcgiXVDz_rZ_2dCjsrfdL0KuoxziRLU-Qb3NkGT0o0dK0A-hFG/s1776/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-30%20at%204.54.34%20AM%203.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1776" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS6H8hqt8hcQ9T0TrAzXDoITFP2zn2ofQ_aaOygv79SQqkq38r6QNrTnMup5sZ29FAf9IG7P5vWsuGX-S6A7wi0irFeHm31-kKoHc1Jtfk6_YGJmdaj4sur-OFSEK0EJVwO2LPdcCX_KcgiXVDz_rZ_2dCjsrfdL0KuoxziRLU-Qb3NkGT0o0dK0A-hFG/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-30%20at%204.54.34%20AM%203.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roddy McDowall in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Like RETURN OF THE JEDI would a decade later, ending the original STAR WARS franchise with a more accessible forest location along with big-budget science-fiction style lighted-corridors throughout dark steely fortresses, so the original ape series concluded with BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES costing the least amount of money... only you wouldn't know since the new exterior locale (where both apes and humans can speak) takes place in what seems like something from a sparsely affordable Robinson Caruso production...</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>Yet not entirely since at the end of the previous film, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/04/conquest.html">CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES</a>, there was an unseen and, herein, narrated-about (by John Huston) nuclear war after Roddy McDowall's Caesar took over... so the wilderness setting has a built-in explanation of the world going back to scratch... but there's also an underground compound of the previous formidable city after the holocaust: where the slain governor's main interrogator Severn Darden, with eerie post-nuke fallout garb, is now the main baddie...</p><p><span></span></p>

RODDY MCDOWALL WAGES 'BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/30/2024

Roddy McDowall in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2Like RETURN OF THE JEDI would a decade later, ending the original STAR WARS franchise with a more accessible forest location along with big-budget science-fictio

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RODDY MCDOWALL RULES 'CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES'

<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/AVvXsEgEL7FMJ6Zkjrjm9iRswqd76Rvs3RqkvWbUlqxj8VSNoKtEeJLpaLtnhaIUWke1lekx_LGaqlxgs0qSykhmat2KxXxhUHqSPIGSW3okQpLg2yWAXgaGSux56DbhpN4ttxJt6U9paIYNP255BNMIYYAKH4zvtTkLo1G5v0LkewQ8ST9NzRBXOI4awnXF0jfh/s1422/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-30%20at%204.37.30%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEL7FMJ6Zkjrjm9iRswqd76Rvs3RqkvWbUlqxj8VSNoKtEeJLpaLtnhaIUWke1lekx_LGaqlxgs0qSykhmat2KxXxhUHqSPIGSW3okQpLg2yWAXgaGSux56DbhpN4ttxJt6U9paIYNP255BNMIYYAKH4zvtTkLo1G5v0LkewQ8ST9NzRBXOI4awnXF0jfh/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-30%20at%204.37.30%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roddy McDowall in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Taking place twenty-years after the previous/third film of the franchise, ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES, which was set in the then-modern/groovy 1970's and hardly resembled a science-fiction film except the two talking chimps, Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter as scientist couple Cornelius and Kira, dying violently at the end but, in a surprise twist, their talking baby chimp was saved by traveling circus owner Ricardo Montalban as Armando...</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>Who for some reason, as CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES begins, makes a rather idiotic decision to visit the primary police-state location shot at the University of Irvine in California, resembling a sparse, steely fortress/city ruled by a firm futuristic government, casting a daunting shadow over its inhabitants...</p><p><span></span></p>

RODDY MCDOWALL RULES 'CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/29/2024

Roddy McDowall in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2Taking place twenty-years after the previous/third film of the franchise, ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES, which was set in the then-modern/groovy 1970's and

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RODDY MCDOWALL IN 'ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES'

<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/AVvXsEgJ1EZyXc2cBY6tsQpnfKp0F9UNP06nVHzUOGLdQ8cEfSsPJAQYabVVW1RooNn41gtFdTZi6rrH5z1WoJaYS7zDD1aqnBxtgbP1KYONKOVLavPWUszyFUgg6X3i_DIjCUwkDj1rDGeHOELvRnWBwOMrb9RZUgjHxKjh1NI4YRmuqzbFkE0dGLHQaBn3cGQI/s2584/23%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="2584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1EZyXc2cBY6tsQpnfKp0F9UNP06nVHzUOGLdQ8cEfSsPJAQYabVVW1RooNn41gtFdTZi6rrH5z1WoJaYS7zDD1aqnBxtgbP1KYONKOVLavPWUszyFUgg6X3i_DIjCUwkDj1rDGeHOELvRnWBwOMrb9RZUgjHxKjh1NI4YRmuqzbFkE0dGLHQaBn3cGQI/s16000/23%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roddy McDowall in Escape from the Planet of the Apes Year: 1971 Score for ESCAPE: ***** Score for BENEATH: *<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The title ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES hardly fits the actual original third APES vehicle since we begin with them having already landed in the current earth's 1973 ocean/beach, so there's no actual literal escape except what's explained later... and really, what this is an escape from is Charlton Heston's ludicrous demand to — in the second feature BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES not worthy enough to even be reviewed — have the world blow up from a worshiped nuclear warhead, mounted by a cult of zombie-like humans while the b-story above involves warring gorillas as the chimpanzees remain neutral...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well actually, they were also pretty busy since franchise stars Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter as Cornelius and Zira with an even smarter scientist in Sal Mineo's Dr. Milo had rebuilt Heston as Taylor's original spaceship, thus explaining how they arrived to present-day Earth... a brilliant idea to restart the series from scratch as ESCAPE is the original 1968 classic in reverse...</p><p><span></span></p>

RODDY MCDOWALL IN 'ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/28/2024

Roddy McDowall in Escape from the Planet of the Apes Year: 1971 Score for ESCAPE: ***** Score for BENEATH: *The title ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES hardly fits the actual original third APES vehicle since we begin with them having alre

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CHARLTON HESTON & RODDY MCDOWALL IN 'PLANET OF THE APES'

<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/AVvXsEgOWNTRT4k2V0pvCl_WeP3GMz1ZI0UBp6exG3LKYUfPW9zhkY6eYdI2yHfH-WMaOB0N97obXLk-2ITsOfXP1bVYPqnVzkQPHY_CEs0YxpHvzxNLMY4x7w7EweALgZRXUZ2mYjkX7i0Prkg6J__f_6NTnCniZd7jvagYoWiaJ2Teu8tLUZKcNZjQdEz6bGJe/s1456/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-28%20at%205.11.23%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWNTRT4k2V0pvCl_WeP3GMz1ZI0UBp6exG3LKYUfPW9zhkY6eYdI2yHfH-WMaOB0N97obXLk-2ITsOfXP1bVYPqnVzkQPHY_CEs0YxpHvzxNLMY4x7w7EweALgZRXUZ2mYjkX7i0Prkg6J__f_6NTnCniZd7jvagYoWiaJ2Teu8tLUZKcNZjQdEz6bGJe/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-28%20at%205.11.23%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: PLANET OF THE APES Year: 1968 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With a built-in spoiler title such as PLANET OF THE APES, the fact the apes don't appear, riding like lethal humans on horseback, until 32-minutes in isn't because the first act's created to simply lead into that important moment... instead, the three American astronauts Taylor, Landon and Dodge played by Charlton Heston, Robert Gunner and Jeff Burton, have their very own seemingly separate short film/prologue...<br></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></p><p>Crash landing on a mysterious planet from an outer-space mission, they search throughout initially lifeless scorched terrain where the characters are economically fleshed-out, particularly Heston's Taylor, poking fun at (or as black astronaut Dodge says, "riding") Landon for still being patriotic... so basically, the shocking and violent ape-hunting-party's more of an interruption of the astronauts' rudimentary journey than their own first act predictably leading to the inevitable reverse-evolution reality...<br></p><span></span>

CHARLTON HESTON & RODDY MCDOWALL IN 'PLANET OF THE APES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/27/2024

Title: PLANET OF THE APES Year: 1968 Rating: ****1/2With a built-in spoiler title such as PLANET OF THE APES, the fact the apes don't appear, riding like lethal humans on horseback, until 32-minutes in isn't because the first act's created

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TV SERIES 'PLANET OF THE APES' FIRST & ONLY SEASON REVIEWS

<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/AVvXsEggP9BW5Gku-dDDm3xCdrgcCqcai35C6mX3bsqdgdXyLhQrsOtzo1NOAHEf_VgSZl-gKqYwumGe_6wkhiQps_XvnLHhSXnQiK0I9z-hrtX2BeiuCQoRvgQHMUjoQSdXN-YHwZ8WQV2WC5wWSnE9FMY3Ji0aQ4iRuc9IhETIw0vyg90WGYHYchHd6mzbBzot/s1736/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-01%20at%2012.16.58%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1736" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggP9BW5Gku-dDDm3xCdrgcCqcai35C6mX3bsqdgdXyLhQrsOtzo1NOAHEf_VgSZl-gKqYwumGe_6wkhiQps_XvnLHhSXnQiK0I9z-hrtX2BeiuCQoRvgQHMUjoQSdXN-YHwZ8WQV2WC5wWSnE9FMY3Ji0aQ4iRuc9IhETIw0vyg90WGYHYchHd6mzbBzot/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-01%20at%2012.16.58%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Planet of the Apes 1974 Television Series Episode Reviews</u></td></tr></tbody></table>When <u>THE PLANET OF THE APES</u> movies were all finished, fans of the franchise wanted more, so, with no more money for movies, the producers set their sites on television...<br> <br> <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/AVvXsEgz9hvjT4WywItFT4AduLqfjw28dgiZxxDI-trtPfChlGqQKvQMc1AnjftYTaMpVe5JMt6ETHoSVJRSG4MkIy_9plXvekNODXUgxwIjpVEJcB-gyLrZ73TqHqNyA_IN9Do_7f5wLrA1cZ47/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-13+at+8.16.19+PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1324" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9hvjT4WywItFT4AduLqfjw28dgiZxxDI-trtPfChlGqQKvQMc1AnjftYTaMpVe5JMt6ETHoSVJRSG4MkIy_9plXvekNODXUgxwIjpVEJcB-gyLrZ73TqHqNyA_IN9Do_7f5wLrA1cZ47/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-12-13+at+8.16.19+PM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sondra Locke guest stars in episode The Cure</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> And after one season, there was no more of the Apes canon...<br> <br> That's if you don't count the one-season cartoon titled RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES: fans got the same plot as the 1968 Pierre Boulle novel, which involved apes in modern cities, driving cars, jeeps and flying airplanes. Meanwhile, this live-action cult series was inspired by and modeled after the blockbuster Charlton Heston loosely-adapted motion picture where the simians live in caves while caging humans: And replacing Heston are two astronauts who resemble that world's very own Starskey and Hutch... <br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEgYhuTWCqkcYqF4-UqfYlWZMuCudROqjq3O25l_8JkvjYLoE8Np2kDed9hglisqLjjHAuncwVPM8349DBac4TlaLc7E1K1pTnNI8KwjFfvbRUNuvYKLcKkUQPN78PQr56XEWg2lXzmwbysd/s1600/lost74c+2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="577" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYhuTWCqkcYqF4-UqfYlWZMuCudROqjq3O25l_8JkvjYLoE8Np2kDed9hglisqLjjHAuncwVPM8349DBac4TlaLc7E1K1pTnNI8KwjFfvbRUNuvYKLcKkUQPN78PQr56XEWg2lXzmwbysd/s400/lost74c+2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Left astronaut is dead: Ron Harper & James Naughton, alive</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>Episode One: ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW:</u> Pilot episode of the television series based on the franchise of motion pictures involving two astronauts: older blond-haired Ron Harper and cool young dark-haired James Naughton aka Virdon and Burke, who land on a planet ruled by… you got it… talking apes. The beleaguered astronauts meet Roddy McDowall as Galen, a friendly chimp (Cornelius with a new name...<br> <br> Galen was actually an assistant chimp in the original movie) helping them dodge gun-totting militaristic Gorillas while a local, Royal Dano, provides shelter and exposition about their situation. The suspenseful plot involves straight-line survival, setting up the series’ template: Virdon, Burke and Galen are known fugitives who must be caught and it’s General Urko, played by a fitfully hammy Mark Lenard, who heads up the chase – although it’s the scientific orangutan, Zaius, who wants them alive: but for scientific reasons, which would lead to the same lethal conclusion.<br>

TV SERIES 'PLANET OF THE APES' FIRST & ONLY SEASON REVIEWS

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/26/2024

Planet of the Apes 1974 Television Series Episode ReviewsWhen THE PLANET OF THE APES movies were all finished, fans of the franchise wanted more, so, with no more money for movies, the producers set their sites on television... Sondra Locke

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ANIMATED POTBOILER OF 'RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES'

<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/AVvXsEhFChmkTk5j7XJdQWOE1KhM-lPyCr9TQdQBTADOldr0ZocQFc-NBWYvdEQqkpwRkoETBoVLJCmNBtlERr36EFMFxUx9qsVLhaZRkJoEsgCuHU7vyJzVzsvjwkM2OahllOlzCuw5qXneO5Qskrj8xJUce-NWD-FD8tDxRHazGgFRRpcgeXejXVKXOV4lgERJ/s926/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-01%20at%203.16.21%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="926" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFChmkTk5j7XJdQWOE1KhM-lPyCr9TQdQBTADOldr0ZocQFc-NBWYvdEQqkpwRkoETBoVLJCmNBtlERr36EFMFxUx9qsVLhaZRkJoEsgCuHU7vyJzVzsvjwkM2OahllOlzCuw5qXneO5Qskrj8xJUce-NWD-FD8tDxRHazGgFRRpcgeXejXVKXOV4lgERJ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-01%20at%203.16.21%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harry Corden in RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES Year: 1975 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES, they finally faithfully covered the titular planet created by source novel author Pierre Boulle, whose evolved apes had everything modern-day humans enjoy (that couldn't be afforded on the big screen): from airplanes to full-fledged military weapons/transports to cities that don't look out of the stone age... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The animation is of the 1970'x cost-cutting low-budget Hanna-Barbara-type, but is also coolly stylized and visually intriguing, including establishing still-shots of the sun or lightning or various character expressions, seeming more like frequently moving matte-paintings than an animated cartoon catered to Saturday morning children... </p><span></span>

ANIMATED POTBOILER OF 'RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/25/2024

Harry Corden in RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES Year: 1975 Rates: ****With RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES, they finally faithfully covered the titular planet created by source novel author Pierre Boulle, whose evolved apes had everything

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PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

<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><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><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><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/AVvXsEjqGcowbgZy8_l1GFYTSWL4ZdjJz6ZieNOvvxYkA4dAEPcRDJukjslHkvqW8Nm4xUtljM-Da1jwEwFD1ZOxmCjs0rN1BFJ8ewgaGY0bo0_2-wfdmX66DWqp96oqRIG7tolnRHh9WUJANcZk8kzgzn3DvTwYLMnXa7X0hruRvLHkQGG6w24BDzbwVQwmFdG_/s1512/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-25%20at%202.37.27%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGcowbgZy8_l1GFYTSWL4ZdjJz6ZieNOvvxYkA4dAEPcRDJukjslHkvqW8Nm4xUtljM-Da1jwEwFD1ZOxmCjs0rN1BFJ8ewgaGY0bo0_2-wfdmX66DWqp96oqRIG7tolnRHh9WUJANcZk8kzgzn3DvTwYLMnXa7X0hruRvLHkQGG6w24BDzbwVQwmFdG_/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-25%20at%202.37.27%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for the media since director Peter Yates's prior chase in his British heist thriller <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/AR.html">ROBBERY</a> was so admired by Steve McQueen, Yates got <i>this</i> gig... </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></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>But like there is far more than just action throughout the strategically tempered neo noir cadence of ROBBERY, Yates's cop/crime classic BULLITT is also more about words than wheels...</p><span></span>

PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/24/2024

Steve McQueen in BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: *****The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for the media since director Peter Yates's prior chase in his British heist thriller ROBBERY was so admire

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STEVE MCQUEEN LITERALLY STEALS SAM PECKINPAH'S 'THE GETAWAY'

<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><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/AVvXsEgy4b6xpueFjRRCYKM4hojOyL15gAnXgfdmA5WGl-ujZ-Ylwaa9rVFnjGFuiMBw1KCDQein_KffAFx3y801tWF0kl7r9Kcjcv6CtDz_TdfQ6-_UstwLNxQ8vuNgchMkiiF177gEsE9vU8VflrCH-OaULQBMtNwmNGsekcJoShFfg_yiGpLLEoi0IYC2cr35/s1189/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%204.13.12%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4b6xpueFjRRCYKM4hojOyL15gAnXgfdmA5WGl-ujZ-Ylwaa9rVFnjGFuiMBw1KCDQein_KffAFx3y801tWF0kl7r9Kcjcv6CtDz_TdfQ6-_UstwLNxQ8vuNgchMkiiF177gEsE9vU8VflrCH-OaULQBMtNwmNGsekcJoShFfg_yiGpLLEoi0IYC2cr35/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%204.13.12%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The machine-pounding prologue/montage of Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY embodies caged hopelessness of prison life better than most <i>entire</i>ly-<i>set-in</i>-<i>prison</i> prison flicks... plus it's the only sequence centered solely on Steve McQueen as career criminal Doc McCoy sans the uninspired acting of ingenue/partner Ali MacGraw...</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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>During a pivotal meeting — tempted by Texas millionaire Ben Johnson after having sex to get Doc paroled and then tortured with envy — she has a vacant expression as opposed to McQueen's sharpened countenance... </p><p><span></span></p>

STEVE MCQUEEN LITERALLY STEALS SAM PECKINPAH'S 'THE GETAWAY'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/23/2024

Title: THE GETAWAY Year: 1972 Rating: ****The machine-pounding prologue/montage of Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY embodies caged hopelessness of prison life better than most entirely-set-in-prison prison flicks... plus it's the only sequence c

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JAMES CAGNEY WITH RICHARD CONTE IN '13 RUE MADELEINE'

<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/AVvXsEiVEYsTrKrmKX9MBVmSXZh9RDIFEV0FItSDBJI4UnyOGL81VtuHkwhL8bKd7sMfeX2TyM9BxNAsAqUXMM0XaFUoyUmT1ya14HG8lT5tpUtm5s-gSsrXbLx3FV0x83e0Nbx2WPwOGuiNGVE4iyfU2JLHRlZmsjm5-Aa-OCer7zM_NWKhNjOq8asW974qZ7QJ/s1852/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-21%20at%203.42.06%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1852" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEYsTrKrmKX9MBVmSXZh9RDIFEV0FItSDBJI4UnyOGL81VtuHkwhL8bKd7sMfeX2TyM9BxNAsAqUXMM0XaFUoyUmT1ya14HG8lT5tpUtm5s-gSsrXbLx3FV0x83e0Nbx2WPwOGuiNGVE4iyfU2JLHRlZmsjm5-Aa-OCer7zM_NWKhNjOq8asW974qZ7QJ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-21%20at%203.42.06%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 13 RUE MADELEINE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the 1940's, James Cagney went to war... well, not literally... but at forty-years old and already an iconic movie star, once WW2 began, he put away his wise-guy garb and did only patriotic features...</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>Which is unfortunate, as the soldiers overseas would probably rather cheer Cagney on in another ROARING TWENTIES-style vehicle to get their minds off reality... But maybe these features were for American audiences to see what sacrifices were going on overseas... </p><span></span>

JAMES CAGNEY WITH RICHARD CONTE IN '13 RUE MADELEINE'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/20/2024

Title: 13 RUE MADELEINE Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2In the 1940's, James Cagney went to war... well, not literally... but at forty-years old and already an iconic movie star, once WW2 began, he put away his wise-guy garb and did only patriotic

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GARY LOCKWOOD PROTESTS 'R.P.M.' STARRING ANTHONY QUINN

<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/AVvXsEiUx2bAVJWw_Wg2HkGJl4KhDddzmXr061sVf-6TKg9CJAASgE4aUtXVfaPG2tSos2VoGYIWbGLIFU5kvRFTA81u4bBOijTaluZonxnF5fSW7FPUP3eKpbZVzbF8ZY5u-6sASSD8XluM2coTiWj5crpsV7c3PB9ZSYf7UnRsqAjgUBILN8ENvaMhz6hh_SxP/s1120/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-17%20at%203.24.22%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx2bAVJWw_Wg2HkGJl4KhDddzmXr061sVf-6TKg9CJAASgE4aUtXVfaPG2tSos2VoGYIWbGLIFU5kvRFTA81u4bBOijTaluZonxnF5fSW7FPUP3eKpbZVzbF8ZY5u-6sASSD8XluM2coTiWj5crpsV7c3PB9ZSYf7UnRsqAjgUBILN8ENvaMhz6hh_SxP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-17%20at%203.24.22%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Lockwood in R.P.M. Year: 1970 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A year after Gary Lockwood was slightly too old to play a hapless hippie about to go to Vietnam, cruising around L. A. with nothing to do but get stoned in MODEL SHOP, he played an even younger hippie and is<i> completely</i> miscast... especially since he's also balding... but this rebel at least has a cause...</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>Leader of a student group taking over a university's computer center, Lockwood (along with fellow thirty-something Paul Winfield) have demands for a liberal sociology professor they once really dug...</p><p><span></span></p>

GARY LOCKWOOD PROTESTS 'R.P.M.' STARRING ANTHONY QUINN

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/19/2024

Gary Lockwood in R.P.M. Year: 1970 Rating: **1/2A year after Gary Lockwood was slightly too old to play a hapless hippie about to go to Vietnam, cruising around L. A. with nothing to do but get stoned in MODEL SHOP, he played an even younge

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CRUISING THROUGH STANLEY KUBRICK'S '2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY'

<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><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/AVvXsEiEBDxvr0msbeCDp6p-n0p36s_pWmL8TfSdAbnfZAaLdVWlkUG6Tx_Orn7yPHao2YYaHMWTlBqD69GD-r4pIgyKXDPsjWcbstMAlyQSNOqd7suXorfC74lIGH1Q_MrrxDH4IOxrI9jHnAO5Duz36OvdUDmwWgF60Wo9g7RR6_pejfUYht34AiNrn1clwcxH/s2728/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-07%20at%207.53.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="2728" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBDxvr0msbeCDp6p-n0p36s_pWmL8TfSdAbnfZAaLdVWlkUG6Tx_Orn7yPHao2YYaHMWTlBqD69GD-r4pIgyKXDPsjWcbstMAlyQSNOqd7suXorfC74lIGH1Q_MrrxDH4IOxrI9jHnAO5Duz36OvdUDmwWgF60Wo9g7RR6_pejfUYht34AiNrn1clwcxH/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-07%20at%207.53.04%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Year: 1968 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The greatest cinema epics (from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA before to GOODFELLAS after) have various sequences that feel like their own separate short films that ultimately connect as a whole...</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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And in that, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is a perfectly multi-tiered vehicle, showcasing both the advanced pioneering of space exploration through orbital technology with the formidable perils of its mere existence... </p><span></span>

CRUISING THROUGH STANLEY KUBRICK'S '2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/18/2024

Title: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Year: 1968 Rating: *****The greatest cinema epics (from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA before to GOODFELLAS after) have various sequences that feel like their own separate short films that ultimately connect as a whole...An

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GARY LOCKWOOD IN ANTONIO ISASI'S 'THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS'

<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/AVvXsEhHkvaoBwXYs_raeoK7gnr2dFgIPc940R3ky3qUoaHGDfS00ucqmRup_7a5-WOuP2rJvteMIjM3RJyNxiz4SZwrrVjiGeSSGBlCeuoxwkz8oO-ScsvaY4WdCA7EbQDjqie9_LR-miHK5jKBbEiZ74Hqh32xS_1Wl4hyLbSpJktKlRZJPQ_9QBNpTsu1nzSe/s1226/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-14%20at%207.17.05%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="1226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkvaoBwXYs_raeoK7gnr2dFgIPc940R3ky3qUoaHGDfS00ucqmRup_7a5-WOuP2rJvteMIjM3RJyNxiz4SZwrrVjiGeSSGBlCeuoxwkz8oO-ScsvaY4WdCA7EbQDjqie9_LR-miHK5jKBbEiZ74Hqh32xS_1Wl4hyLbSpJktKlRZJPQ_9QBNpTsu1nzSe/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-14%20at%207.17.05%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS </u><u>aka LAS VEGAS, 500 MILLONES Rating: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Spanish auteur Antonio Isasi was definitely a fan of gangster films since almost every single shot of his heist-caper THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS epitomizes the classic crime genre's style and structure, making this a combination of steely homage and groovy/fast-paced 1960's kitsch, jazzy soundtrack and all... <br></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>Starring American import Gary Lockwood the same year he'd soar through Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the biggest flaw is the budget spent on two other name-actors, Lee J. Cobb as the targeted armored car company owner, and Jack Palance as an insurance investigator with eyes on both Cobb and Lockwood...</p><p><span></span></p>

GARY LOCKWOOD IN ANTONIO ISASI'S 'THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/14/2024

From THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS aka LAS VEGAS, 500 MILLONES Rating: ***1/2Spanish auteur Antonio Isasi was definitely a fan of gangster films since almost every single shot of his heist-caper THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS epitomizes the classi

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GARY LOCKWOOD WITH JAMES STEWART & HENRY FONDA 'FIRECREEK'

<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/AVvXsEjvGRLaTzSaAO6chJDrI_T019EqDsJd7MrqQ7_45dkzjkgNgvDderu7KeqOZDXlX721of8kPfEDHqodFRdf4yMTGomogwOAjN0TpmUEDGknTPzxNdsjUTkbZuRZU1QSmNRAedu71rz7wkGXBVsSaXzgnb0bCLSYeCTs-0-qD9TR_DtYNt-qCapuuS05qLo4/s2080/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-15%20at%202.30.32%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="2080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGRLaTzSaAO6chJDrI_T019EqDsJd7MrqQ7_45dkzjkgNgvDderu7KeqOZDXlX721of8kPfEDHqodFRdf4yMTGomogwOAjN0TpmUEDGknTPzxNdsjUTkbZuRZU1QSmNRAedu71rz7wkGXBVsSaXzgnb0bCLSYeCTs-0-qD9TR_DtYNt-qCapuuS05qLo4/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-15%20at%202.30.32%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Lockwood in FIRECREEK Year: 1968 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With biker movies all the rampaging counter-culture rage, lower budgeted Westerns during the 1960's and 1970's became far more dark, violent, pulpy and contained, and yet, some still followed the old John Ford giant landscape aesthetic — in full background display for FIRECREEK where a gang of subtle yet vicious marauding riders ride into a small town that's literally a main street, and hardly even that...<br> <br> Where James Stewart plays a humble outskirts-farmer/passive substitute sheriff in this titular locale "taken over" in a passive-aggressive fashion, where much of the suspense relies more on implied threat than bloodshed... which <i>does</i> occur at the climax: a worthy wait after a few long scenes where the good guys ponder their lives in existential "is this all there is?" dialogue (one involving Dean Jagger describing the purgatory "town full of losers")...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

GARY LOCKWOOD WITH JAMES STEWART & HENRY FONDA 'FIRECREEK'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/13/2024

Gary Lockwood in FIRECREEK Year: 1968 Rating: ****With biker movies all the rampaging counter-culture rage, lower budgeted Westerns during the 1960's and 1970's became far more dark, violent, pulpy and contained, and yet, some still followe

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GARY LOCKWOOD GUESTS 'HAWAII FIVE-O: SCHOOL FOR ASSASSINS'

<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><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/AVvXsEiWIIZ53Ek_F94EMtWDgouSnM_NRSV7GiIWK56bNYj-_DUamytQPbscOBTWiGX4ZtDy-UI36NNQPfdvw_miY2BOUdqYVP1qZqRZSkcPIUvpbhpmTtx-HKzAVdBQwdDER1mwUv4Y9Q20y_0GO5sCvsswEzG4m57EPzlZNOEpqt029b6_pzQ83VbhSNNyBABy/s2104/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-16%20at%207.08.12%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="2104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIIZ53Ek_F94EMtWDgouSnM_NRSV7GiIWK56bNYj-_DUamytQPbscOBTWiGX4ZtDy-UI36NNQPfdvw_miY2BOUdqYVP1qZqRZSkcPIUvpbhpmTtx-HKzAVdBQwdDER1mwUv4Y9Q20y_0GO5sCvsswEzG4m57EPzlZNOEpqt029b6_pzQ83VbhSNNyBABy/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-16%20at%207.08.12%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Lockwood in Hawaii Five-0: School for Assassins Year: 1980 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After playing second-fiddle in Stanley Kubrick's highly-successful (and forever legendary) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Gary Lockwood never had much of a followup career on the big screen... </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></p><p></p><p>He starred in three b-movies: the Spanish-import heist-noir THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS; the Frenchman-directed French New Wave via Los Angeles counter-culture indie MODEL SHOP; and the more mainstream counter-culture melodrama R. P. M. (REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE)...</p><p><span></span></p>

GARY LOCKWOOD GUESTS 'HAWAII FIVE-O: SCHOOL FOR ASSASSINS'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/13/2024

Gary Lockwood in Hawaii Five-0: School for Assassins Year: 1980 Rates: ***1/2After playing second-fiddle in Stanley Kubrick's highly-successful (and forever legendary) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Gary Lockwood never had much of a followup career

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GARY LOCKWOOD DRIVES THROUGH JACQUES DEMY'S 'MODEL SHOP'

<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><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/AVvXsEhSUJf3zvNAbW-WY_h3XddNWxlqK0c2nGaxzUwrvCIbSqZiX99qw8yQQ-yLOiLIVeQ_HN7qVU3JW9GIubpZKlETmvAQ-ClyjbOnSCcDwc7b_7B28hHeXa_PuGeHF1bywynZYT9EBzMb3UV_KqNXubvytUhSALyPL4Y8_NHfbG5xquMs3DVXo89alOByhWvQ/s1594/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-13%20at%205.10.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUJf3zvNAbW-WY_h3XddNWxlqK0c2nGaxzUwrvCIbSqZiX99qw8yQQ-yLOiLIVeQ_HN7qVU3JW9GIubpZKlETmvAQ-ClyjbOnSCcDwc7b_7B28hHeXa_PuGeHF1bywynZYT9EBzMb3UV_KqNXubvytUhSALyPL4Y8_NHfbG5xquMs3DVXo89alOByhWvQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-13%20at%205.10.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Lockwood and Anne Randall in MODEL SHOP Year: 1969 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Leading up to French New Wave director Jacques Demy's car-cruising hangout ode to 1969 Los Angeles, actor Gary Lockwood had a decade of interesting characters, like an idealistic young lieutenant on Gene Roddenberry's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/11/lieutenant-uhura-in-gene-roddenberrys.html">THE LIEUTENANT</a>; Captain Kirk's lethal foil on an episode of Roddenberry's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/04/star-trek-where-no-man-has-gone-before_27.html">STAR TREK</a>; a crude gunslinger in the Western <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/02/firecreek.html">FIRECREEK</a>; and most famously an astronaut in Stanley Kubrick's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/04/2001space.html">2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY</a>...</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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And here he's dropped any pretense of his usual intensity in MODEL SHOP where he drives a classic jalopy around town, smitten with French starlet Anouk Aimée, who's only first-billed since she'd worked with the director previously (being a loose sequel to LOLA)... when she was younger, much prettier... and it's not like she's unattractive...</p><p><span></span></p>

GARY LOCKWOOD DRIVES THROUGH JACQUES DEMY'S 'MODEL SHOP'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/12/2024

Gary Lockwood and Anne Randall in MODEL SHOP Year: 1969 Rating: ***1/2Leading up to French New Wave director Jacques Demy's car-cruising hangout ode to 1969 Los Angeles, actor Gary Lockwood had a decade of interesting characters, like an id

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CLASSIC HORROR VIBES REVIVING 'THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES'

<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/AVvXsEiObePtAJXoDJjFC2YKppkkqyxv26BMVieghj0LQm3SNIhilAESFzrnZUZ9rT79iWA7wR_lxS-EWDmvE9kR1K14bCK0N_bbnn3V75vg9PUTNQGnCdgdB6sk7_WBTKarYG6gm6rUq0-jiViTTsIO6hrVmi9vPwcpMEUHpWJrvYDPiTmWHJqt4b_1YiymLsf9/s1930/1%202%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObePtAJXoDJjFC2YKppkkqyxv26BMVieghj0LQm3SNIhilAESFzrnZUZ9rT79iWA7wR_lxS-EWDmvE9kR1K14bCK0N_bbnn3V75vg9PUTNQGnCdgdB6sk7_WBTKarYG6gm6rUq0-jiViTTsIO6hrVmi9vPwcpMEUHpWJrvYDPiTmWHJqt4b_1YiymLsf9/s16000/1%202%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Virginia North in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES Year: 1971 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For American International Pictures, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES was a hit, and for star Vincent Price, a comeback... despite the fact he never followed it up with anything quite as good and, for a comparably modern body count horror still holding onto the antique Victorian style within then present-day England, the titular Phibes gets severe revenge by killing off an assortment of who we later learn are fellow doctors that had...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well that's something that shouldn't be spoiled despite every summary doing so, particularly since the movie deliberately plays out with that very twist concealed... while each and every Biblical Plague death carried-out, from a man in a suffocating frog mask to killer bats to bloodletting and being frozen alive in an automobile, is unique and spellbinding... and a lot of bloody fun with the kind of class that Price, only able to speak through a contraption that makes the audience basically adhere to an expository narration, pulls off with ease...</p><p><span></span></p>

CLASSIC HORROR VIBES REVIVING 'THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/11/2024

Virginia North in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES Year: 1971 Rating: ****1/2For American International Pictures, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES was a hit, and for star Vincent Price, a comeback... despite the fact he never followed it up with anything

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ROBERT MORSE, ROD STEIGER & ANJANETTE COMER 'THE LOVED ONE'

<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/AVvXsEicnigBVbzATSPW-tZ87cuH4mDX5ADwO8x6X35vdblt5zC1JQPTQd_p5bwrxmT3AKVj5ZXTthR1cwAVaGAKZLcydZNmUl4eY7i64Uo3oDX23rgtlOmWHXweKcPa711JtWsMozMjlq-cJktkKGvK1nbJaTLwgRR1Ne3aDNZonffjYX_JB1TIc2qx6rhzuwrK/s1462/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-09%20at%206.09.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnigBVbzATSPW-tZ87cuH4mDX5ADwO8x6X35vdblt5zC1JQPTQd_p5bwrxmT3AKVj5ZXTthR1cwAVaGAKZLcydZNmUl4eY7i64Uo3oDX23rgtlOmWHXweKcPa711JtWsMozMjlq-cJktkKGvK1nbJaTLwgRR1Ne3aDNZonffjYX_JB1TIc2qx6rhzuwrK/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-09%20at%206.09.46%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Pamela Curran and Robert Morse in Tony Richardson's THE LOVED ONE Year: 1965 Rating: **1/2 Grade: C+</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After American director Stanley Kubrick made DR. STRANGELOVE in England, British director Tony Richardson attempted his own offbeat dark comedy in Los Angeles... with Jonathan Winters replacing the Peter Sellers multi-role device as the owner of a plush cemetery catered to the rich, and a dodgy pet cemetery for just about anyone... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where offbeat Robert Morse ends up working after his Hollywood producer uncle (John Geilgud) hangs himself, bringing the audience into Whispering Glades Funeral Parlor that (with Haskell Wexler cinematography) grounds the most intriguing and creatively shot B&W sequences...  </p><p><span></span></p>

ROBERT MORSE, ROD STEIGER & ANJANETTE COMER 'THE LOVED ONE'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/10/2024

Pamela Curran and Robert Morse in Tony Richardson's THE LOVED ONE Year: 1965 Rating: **1/2 Grade: C+After American director Stanley Kubrick made DR. STRANGELOVE in England, British director Tony Richardson attempted his own offbeat dark com

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MARIANNA HILL WITH JOY BANG & ANITRA FORD 'MESSIAH OF EVIL'

<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/AVvXsEg0N3IiLJmZGGbc6zFGFOwwUOXuKJPLul7TRX6bMz98Soetuxh-Jg3b3ISm_QOjBmHWa3nAGMMfH1x5Ehq3KrqW1-WJhnogoxT7oK70s8QRlBIaI4poi0rsxXUVCENBdm-GTv_yrDWG_X6UT5YHXDljH6y_OBMgG5wXdAc7WkTjUNO35O7e1tKX1eo6PiBO/s1150/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%206.58.15%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N3IiLJmZGGbc6zFGFOwwUOXuKJPLul7TRX6bMz98Soetuxh-Jg3b3ISm_QOjBmHWa3nAGMMfH1x5Ehq3KrqW1-WJhnogoxT7oK70s8QRlBIaI4poi0rsxXUVCENBdm-GTv_yrDWG_X6UT5YHXDljH6y_OBMgG5wXdAc7WkTjUNO35O7e1tKX1eo6PiBO/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-10%20at%206.58.15%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: MESSIAH OF EVIL Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Directing married couple (and future George Lucas collaborators) Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz's arthouse horror MESSIAH OF EVIL has hauntingly gorgeous scream-queen Marianna Hill's narrated story-line about the search for her artist father at a beach community, pieced together in long sequences of gothic dialogue and neatly combined with three of the most eerily suspenseful moments of low-budget exploitation cinema... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Wherein monotone Michael Greer seems to be the title character, a stranger holed-up at her daddy's pad with two lovely girls, Anitra Ford and Joy Bang, each making their own separate horror-trope mistake of leaving an otherwise safe location to venture out alone... in this case into the small beach town, inland from a wave-lapping, moon-lit beach...</p><p><span></span></p>

MARIANNA HILL WITH JOY BANG & ANITRA FORD 'MESSIAH OF EVIL'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/09/2024

Title: MESSIAH OF EVIL Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2Directing married couple (and future George Lucas collaborators) Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz's arthouse horror MESSIAH OF EVIL has hauntingly gorgeous scream-queen Marianna Hill's narrated s

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ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

<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/AVvXsEgiVTTHag1ShCE3rC3u7lS9Tw3ZkNH-r_rEp3BiXA2l0dJsJeFtN-PuKHyHgNC51TT1ch_M88khfBw2ch_A1RpICYqa22p7jeUbUw3KtNphyphenhyphenpeyBTG1q_BGynzjgJz_4Lyy8Jh4nRr5B1fJCPSr62TEphTLCh1-8AX2IAVcBJkbsL7sK1y8c64IWV9BdTQQ/s1652/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-27%20at%202.05.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1652" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVTTHag1ShCE3rC3u7lS9Tw3ZkNH-r_rEp3BiXA2l0dJsJeFtN-PuKHyHgNC51TT1ch_M88khfBw2ch_A1RpICYqa22p7jeUbUw3KtNphyphenhyphenpeyBTG1q_BGynzjgJz_4Lyy8Jh4nRr5B1fJCPSr62TEphTLCh1-8AX2IAVcBJkbsL7sK1y8c64IWV9BdTQQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-27%20at%202.05.04%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act where scientists William Sylvester and Robert Beatty are figuring out an enigmatic presence on the moon, the pair was grounded as polar opposite siblings in the mystery/thriller POSTMARK FOR DANGER...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which was originally titled PORTRAIT OF ALISON, a reworking of the classic film noir LAURA in which a cop falls for a dead woman from a painting who, it turns out, is very alive...</p><p><span></span></p>

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/07/2024

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: **Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act where scientists William Sylvester and Robert Beatty are figuring out an enigmatic presence on the moon, the

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BRUCE DERN SURVIVING DOUGLAS TRUMBULL'S 'SILENT RUNNING'

<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/AVvXsEgbxcReodThzhLfUzQddPIHehV8WY4MZzzy_FMyGSWhX8x5SkBwchJiyL_UvfnaYrXZCe2YPWfZ9ovqI85JauuRbb6seXVmKKqO7INW8WnxcTPARlrra7NyPKka7G3hb-qdXejS6Da6hI-l0tOS4gQvv3oJ-CW31K2otT-EPiAnyx4cv53QPuwVgIm8osbu/s1508/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxcReodThzhLfUzQddPIHehV8WY4MZzzy_FMyGSWhX8x5SkBwchJiyL_UvfnaYrXZCe2YPWfZ9ovqI85JauuRbb6seXVmKKqO7INW8WnxcTPARlrra7NyPKka7G3hb-qdXejS6Da6hI-l0tOS4gQvv3oJ-CW31K2otT-EPiAnyx4cv53QPuwVgIm8osbu/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern in SILENT RUNNING Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Science-Fiction Special Effects wizard Douglas Trumbull went from making Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY look both futuristic and prehistoric while his own directorial SILENT RUNNING starts at the same planet the first winds up, Jupiter... while back on Earth, it's learned that life sustains not only without forests, but doesn't seem to need any...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which goes against Bruce Dern's sole mission, despite literally sharing space with three other astronauts... who eventually get orders to send vessel-carrying forest domes into nuclear annihilation so they can finally return home: until Dern's Freeman Lowell decides to kill off his human cohorts to save one last portion of tangible nature... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

BRUCE DERN SURVIVING DOUGLAS TRUMBULL'S 'SILENT RUNNING'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/05/2024

Bruce Dern in SILENT RUNNING Year: 1972 Rating: ****1/2Science-Fiction Special Effects wizard Douglas Trumbull went from making Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY look both futuristic and prehistoric while his own directorial SILENT RU

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BRUCE DERN WITH MARTHE KELLER & ROBERT SHAW 'BLACK SUNDAY'

<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><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/AVvXsEj-mSSFPpkSzNP5KYwFDm7JXAMiXGKxIGfv6du4RqqOAAa_Y6luRkRCTKpwE7xz9yzoX-K6YUYnsiyO_vHrjt7FX341IXJuyRCkC4e_1vH7b2b7TEKOotlwdwfjP0zp5GJqFORZAkhPrHFUBezJkABE4LGKJ6oLTyjlz4SpwgivIz2CL1kSP3qdSJhm5h-Y/s2296/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-08%20at%205.52.06%20PM%202-1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="2296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mSSFPpkSzNP5KYwFDm7JXAMiXGKxIGfv6du4RqqOAAa_Y6luRkRCTKpwE7xz9yzoX-K6YUYnsiyO_vHrjt7FX341IXJuyRCkC4e_1vH7b2b7TEKOotlwdwfjP0zp5GJqFORZAkhPrHFUBezJkABE4LGKJ6oLTyjlz4SpwgivIz2CL1kSP3qdSJhm5h-Y/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-04-08%20at%205.52.06%20PM%202-1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern in BLACK SUNDAY Year: 1977 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the peak of Bruce Dern's 1970's career playing insane, frantic characters, Palestinian terrorist Marthe Keller cautiously asks if he has a deadly contraption (that shoots tiny shards upon explosion) ready as Dern quickly answers, finishing what he thinks she was really getting to, "Do I feel CRAZY today?" </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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>She's the perfectly patient black-widow moll to Dern's off-kilter Vietnam vet, who flies the Goodyear blimp over football games and will soon work the targeted Super Bowl... while on the heroic side is another contrary team-up in Robert Shaw's brooding yet effectively lethal Israeli commando with edgy, bickering sidekick Steven Keats...</p><p><span></span></p>

BRUCE DERN WITH MARTHE KELLER & ROBERT SHAW 'BLACK SUNDAY'

 No comment / Posted by James M. Tate / 4/04/2024

Bruce Dern in BLACK SUNDAY Year: 1977 Rating: ****At the peak of Bruce Dern's 1970's career playing insane, frantic characters, Palestinian terrorist Marthe Keller cautiously asks if he has a deadly contraption (that shoots tiny shards upon

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