cult film freak: May 2024

Written by James M. Tate / 5/24/2024 / No comments / action , adventure , ann smyrner , espionage , lex barker , neo noir , nicolas roeg , robert lynn , ronald fraser , sixties , spy , veronique vendell

LEX BARKER WITH VÉRONIQUE VENDELL IN 'CODE 7, VICTIM 5'

<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/AVvXsEjR5OtiCI30X-r-YSN2mSh09_FF4rmoYjw-X10uLh85wUkxAStnpJU82k7RkdpdM51XYFqi-GTJaPHrROLwHgNL1IZsTY4LtYs5MgUIy89Y2JwNjDMQMshL27DuREwvUtJ1iCES1tPGUudDKDQvbXw7poaoGgo4zhhJ_TB5hy8xAgzoHvcnYUoFZ71lCJ4T/s2068/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-24%20at%205.08.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="2068" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5OtiCI30X-r-YSN2mSh09_FF4rmoYjw-X10uLh85wUkxAStnpJU82k7RkdpdM51XYFqi-GTJaPHrROLwHgNL1IZsTY4LtYs5MgUIy89Y2JwNjDMQMshL27DuREwvUtJ1iCES1tPGUudDKDQvbXw7poaoGgo4zhhJ_TB5hy8xAgzoHvcnYUoFZ71lCJ4T/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-24%20at%205.08.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: CODE 7, VICTIM 5 Alternate Title: VICTIM FIVE Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>With a title that sounds more like the final score of a computer corporation's soccer match than a spy movie, CODE 7, VICTIM 5 takes the then-Sean Connery/James Bond blueprint into b-movie territory under flowing direction from Robert Lynn but more importantly with creatively maneuvered and vibrantly colored cinematography by future legendary auteur Nicolas Roeg, providing former Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller's  replacement) actor Lex Barker on a case to discover who murdered a millionaire's servant at a bizarre parade... But Barker's character Steve Martin (also Raymond Burr's name in GODZILLA before THE JERK comic became famous) is more busy with two lovely dames, equally alluring in their own right while following neo-noir cinema tropes...

action, adventure, ann smyrner, espionage, lex barker, neo noir, nicolas roeg, robert lynn, ronald fraser, sixties, spy, veronique vendell

LEX BARKER WITH VÉRONIQUE VENDELL IN 'CODE 7, VICTIM 5'

Title: CODE 7, VICTIM 5 Alternate Title: VICTIM FIVE Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 With a title that sounds more like the final score of a compu...

GLENN FORD, LEE MARVIN & GLORIA GRAHAME IN 'THE BIG HEAT'

<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/AVvXsEjb-lFXZTduUiqdF3fnGWYpfG_u63EdvKtR7Vmj_MS_ONhkDvg4DfUb6h9IrdovA5yfUxlm86laqp11_eGUY93Vt2N1EUokLg0L7DEt5NINtNz_TeXaXOP2nPZD4t9Rh1Xw5TVaLsECx3ieGN1xWIlVIQjecCpmDU4UZMYhtYe890zHULsu_vLenLtALnyC/s968/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="968" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-lFXZTduUiqdF3fnGWYpfG_u63EdvKtR7Vmj_MS_ONhkDvg4DfUb6h9IrdovA5yfUxlm86laqp11_eGUY93Vt2N1EUokLg0L7DEt5NINtNz_TeXaXOP2nPZD4t9Rh1Xw5TVaLsECx3ieGN1xWIlVIQjecCpmDU4UZMYhtYe890zHULsu_vLenLtALnyC/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE BIG HEAT Shown: Glenn Ford Year: 1953 Rating: *****</td></tr></tbody></table>On posters for Fritz Lang's classic film noir THE BIG HEAT there's what looks like an impassioned couple raging with sensuality in Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, which is misleading since neither care about each other within most of the story, and yet, perhaps no other actor and actress have ultimately shared so much energy and chemistry on screen... She's the beautiful, animated moll of chief gangster's thug Vince, played by Lee Marvin, who, before his days of tough anti-heroes, played neurotic, borderline sociopath hoods: and literally sizzles here as the title becomes too real for scene-stealing Graham, getting scalding coffee thrown on her face, punishment for having visited Ford's hidden cove apartment behind his back...

alexander scourby, andy williams, cop, fifties, film noir or melodrama, fritz lang, glenn ford, gloria grahame, jeanette nolan, jocelyn brando, john crawford, lee marvin, peter whitney, revenge

GLENN FORD, LEE MARVIN & GLORIA GRAHAME IN 'THE BIG HEAT'

Title: THE BIG HEAT Shown: Glenn Ford Year: 1953 Rating: ***** On posters for Fritz Lang's classic film noir THE BIG HEAT there's wh...

BRODERICK CRAWFORD, NEVILLE BRAND & RICHARD KILEY 'THE MOB'

<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/AVvXsEimn1AJq9VekXaZx_cNcVAKhiTfN6RBvnOC4TdycYZkNVBRyf_JsZv-LKTE83hoDxC_ghmjuldUigkGDWh_SR12I3rXSvAKdDkYX1M0s6awIA5g8Nma8bulcTMkbDtZIv4gMlqxFlOwvhSU0A-rRvIBZw9JQKNF1U9LaQBrNuGI4KPSE_6ezBLvVcAdvRji/s1768/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-07%20at%2010.23.56%20PM%202%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn1AJq9VekXaZx_cNcVAKhiTfN6RBvnOC4TdycYZkNVBRyf_JsZv-LKTE83hoDxC_ghmjuldUigkGDWh_SR12I3rXSvAKdDkYX1M0s6awIA5g8Nma8bulcTMkbDtZIv4gMlqxFlOwvhSU0A-rRvIBZw9JQKNF1U9LaQBrNuGI4KPSE_6ezBLvVcAdvRji/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-07%20at%2010.23.56%20PM%202%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 1951 Cast: Broderick Crawford, Ernest Borgnine, John Marley, Neville Brand, Richard Kiley  Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>In 1955, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/charles%20bronson">Charles Bronson</a> played a cellmate to Broderick Crawford in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/06/BHUSA.html">BIG HOUSE USA</a> — and only four-years earlier, Bronson (known as Charles Buchinsky), had a quick yet important part in the Waterfront film noir THE MOB...Where Crawford's an undercover cop (after the opening theme later used for THE BIG HEAT) seeking the leader/boss of a crime-syndicate screwing around the workers by choosing only their own...  and Bronson's the one guy complaining during his single scene where they're calling out rigged names for work (overseen by future GODFATHER horse-head victim John Marley), while Crawford and his newfound working-class buddy Richard Kiley look on...

broderick crawford, charles bronson, emile meyer, ernest borgnine, fifties, film noir or melodrama, john marley, lynn baggett, mobster, neville brand, richard kiley, thriller

BRODERICK CRAWFORD, NEVILLE BRAND & RICHARD KILEY 'THE MOB'

Year: 1951 Cast: Broderick Crawford, Ernest Borgnine, John Marley, Neville Brand, Richard Kiley Rating: ***1/2 In 1955, Charles Bronson pl...

STANLEY KUBRICK'S NOIR 'THE KILLING' WITH STERLING HAYDEN

<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/AVvXsEjIxp1F60j_-Tr6L-v4m5bpaeFHNCMl6i1vGyhezFzijxZKU1NWBgTU1U_tF7OC2VXhsbk557NJEYELm-XB34tpi3qmvDsIzM7CmHbBFkKl3WKoyRNV9OYgjJSAh1oIQw066TVJSbCvy4RfAp9Xh0fsEBxQohsol4qbuZOIB237Q9Hmi5-FfqsjEP1fWEsN/s2026/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-06%20at%204.52.06%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="2026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxp1F60j_-Tr6L-v4m5bpaeFHNCMl6i1vGyhezFzijxZKU1NWBgTU1U_tF7OC2VXhsbk557NJEYELm-XB34tpi3qmvDsIzM7CmHbBFkKl3WKoyRNV9OYgjJSAh1oIQw066TVJSbCvy4RfAp9Xh0fsEBxQohsol4qbuZOIB237Q9Hmi5-FfqsjEP1fWEsN/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-06%20at%204.52.06%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: THE KILLING Year: 1956 Rating: ****1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>Following what's more an art-house crime melodrama in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/03/KKiss.html">KILLER'S KISS</a>, young photographer turned director Stanley Kubrick created a more polished, genuine film noir that — using a then-rare, non-linear structure — is also far more complicated... so much that the studio forced one of those docudrama-style narrations throughout...Working best to map-out the ensemble of criminals who are otherwise everyday workers at the targeted racetrack along with a crooked cop, a wrestler and last but not least, a bonafide hoodlum to shoot a running horse...

coleen gray, elisha cook jr., film noir or melodrama, heist, joe sawyer, joe turkel, marie windsor, stanley kubrick, sterling hayden, ted decorsia, timothy carey, vince edwards

STANLEY KUBRICK'S NOIR 'THE KILLING' WITH STERLING HAYDEN

Title: THE KILLING Year: 1956 Rating: ****1/2 Following what's more an art-house crime melodrama in KILLER'S KISS , young photograph...

STANLEY KUBRICK'S RUDIMENTARY FILM NOIR OF 'KILLER'S KISS'

<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/AVvXsEhnxacvx1OGHKutZmjhLccTP7wJ4FHdYKn4EmGSkamaeK-rspzSl75vDfeJ08ajYU5AhhX-xYGFjrWiPGdvQY3SoAO0NLnnJw9VKPdkw2xxhvZ4RemsnIUzmt51N8VckiAWdVYP3lal7YRitFYFC4ZQyxPcjqNPz5_alIRVNtCbBM3Ta_Jce7GsTlnbEfGW/s2456/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-25%20at%209.35.08%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxacvx1OGHKutZmjhLccTP7wJ4FHdYKn4EmGSkamaeK-rspzSl75vDfeJ08ajYU5AhhX-xYGFjrWiPGdvQY3SoAO0NLnnJw9VKPdkw2xxhvZ4RemsnIUzmt51N8VckiAWdVYP3lal7YRitFYFC4ZQyxPcjqNPz5_alIRVNtCbBM3Ta_Jce7GsTlnbEfGW/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-25%20at%209.35.08%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: Stanley Kubrick's KILLER'S KISS Year: 1955 Rating: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>When it's not a primal, jazz piano, mamba-like rhythm as gangster/dance club owner Frank Silvera tries keeping his trophy girl from being romanced by someone truly deserving, the deepest, more soulful orchestration is very reminiscent of (years later) THE GODFATHER score... 
 
Despite director Stanley Kubrick referring to KILLER'S KISS as a student film, his rudimentary Noir is a beautiful, intentionally-simplistic tale with the auteur's metronomic, haunting rhythm intact, and, harboring such a flowing, naturally offbeat groove throughout, it's hard to fathom that, at this point, with only an even more low-budget (and unreleased) movie under his belt, he already possessed a vibe and structure all his own...

boxing, felice orlandi, fifties, film noir or melodrama, frank silvera, irene kane, jamie smith, jazz-score, mobster, stanley kubrick, thriller

STANLEY KUBRICK'S RUDIMENTARY FILM NOIR OF 'KILLER'S KISS'

Title: Stanley Kubrick's KILLER'S KISS Year: 1955 Rating: **** When it's not a primal, jazz piano, mamba-like rhythm as gangste...

STANLEY KUBRICK'S CLASSIC SCOUNDREL EPIC OF 'BARRY LYNDON'

<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/AVvXsEiA5XWRs4fqdGqjnSKPOAZr8xISDm8N478UswCFSOA-OH5k99LinAoyBVD9ZIk8kZF-AytzfAXGP-6AW4s_WNg9CTgiRU8FsxT61AC5Gup0OcSSF2vaexMsb2hrK0WnmFilgQjDOgUE5oAkYlbFomTBUSWJutT08ETYcEz8eyOLdRw9Ayj2Pk5EXYrzQJEy/s2026/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="2026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5XWRs4fqdGqjnSKPOAZr8xISDm8N478UswCFSOA-OH5k99LinAoyBVD9ZIk8kZF-AytzfAXGP-6AW4s_WNg9CTgiRU8FsxT61AC5Gup0OcSSF2vaexMsb2hrK0WnmFilgQjDOgUE5oAkYlbFomTBUSWJutT08ETYcEz8eyOLdRw9Ayj2Pk5EXYrzQJEy/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: BARRY LYNDON Year: 1975 Rating: ****1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>In the mid-to-late 1700's Europe, by the time Ryan O'Neal's BARRY LYNDON has fled from his small hometown village in Ireland... then becomes a soldier at war and then a war-deserter and then a captured-deserter throughout several countries... ninety-minutes have passed... Which is the length of an average film, and with so much literal ground covered, director Stanley Kubrick provides more an episodic journey than adventure since every location is its own thematic vignette with a beginning, middle and end...