skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Military radar over the US pick up strange and fast moving craft. At the same time reports come in that there is a strange globe like object found floating in a canyon. Colonel Matthews (Paul Langton) and Dr. Karl Sorenson (Bruce Bennett) are sent to investigate, staying at a local woman's b & b. There then develops the age old military vs scientist routine, all watched by the mysterious cosmic man (John Carradine) who watches. Then decides he may as well check into the b & b himself!
The usual 50's theramin heavy alien sci-fi that's basically an inferior remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Enjoyable if into people spouting pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo. Or aliens in bottle bottom glasses, such a great disguise!
The lives, loves and medical drama's of a hospital and the doctors and nurses that work there. There are two major events in the life of the hospital, a 7 year old child with a hole in his heart, who needs an operation, and a woman (Joan Sims) who is about to give birth to quads. Unrest comes in the form of Dr. Stephen Russell (Michael Craig) the new medical registrar who puts a few noses out of joint. Things come to a head when he learns that people are talking about his relationship with another doctor's wife.
Based on the highly popular TV soap opera Emergency Ward 10, that ran for over 10 years and a thousand episodes. This is a well acted little drama, centered on Oxbridge General Hospital, that tries to develop the stories further than TV soaps, and wring as much drama out of the child's operation as physically possible.
An UNCLE agent manages to get through with part of a message to head quarters before being killed. WASP the agency that were being investigated realise that he's sent a partial message and try to kill all those that they believe may have heard it. Solo (Robert Vaughn) is assigned to find out what's happening and protect an African head of state, that they believe may be the target of an assassination attempt when on a visit to Andrew Vulcan's (Fritz Weaver) chemical plant. This may be true as we know that the Vulcan plant is really a front for WASP. To help him Solo enlists the help of Elaine (Patricia Crowley) a high school sweetheart of Vulcan's, who Solo reintroduces to get close to Vulcan.
This was the first of The Man From UNCLE movies, which was put together by combining two of the tv series episodes, with some additional footage. In this case 'The Vulcan Affair' and 'The Four Steps Affair'. These being two separate stories, they also adapted the scripts in order to make it work. The main example of this is that instead of the usual THRUSH the villains in this are an outfit called WASP. This is the usual light spy thriller, that entertains, though as a film betrays its TV origins. It's also interesting to note that as they were from season one the TV episodes were shown in Black and white.
aka Dance Of The Vampires. The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck.
Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran), a doddery old man and his nieve assistant Alfred (Roman Polanski), are searching rural Transylvania for proof that vampires exist. They hit pay dirt when they stop at village inn, noticing the garlic and fear in the natives. Alfred immediately falls for the inn-keeper's young daughter Sarah (Sharon Tate). Unfortunately she is spotted by Count Krolock (Ferdie Mayne) who having had a nibble, likes what he's tasted and wisks her off to his castle. There is nothing for it but for the Professor and Alfred to brave the castle and it's vampire inhabitants.
Roman manages to create a wonderful look and feel, with lavish and obviously stagey sets and great use of colour. He also encouraged an element of over the top actingas exampled by Alfie Bass as a Jewish vampire. When confronted with a girl wealding a cross he mocks her, chuckling 'wrong religion'! Overall an entertaining and fun homage to gothic horror. Just make sure you watch the uncut, rather than the bastardised American version.
The fictionalised account of the real life adventurer or pirate, William Walker (Ed Harris), who with a band of mercenaries took over Nicaragua in the 1856, installing himself as President. In the film, Walker's misguided ideal of installing democracy winds up creating chaos and dissolved into a tyrannical government that was ultimately doomed to failure.
When I previously viewed this I really wanted to like it, but didn't. Upon re-watching it though I came to appreciate it more. Sure there is some sledgehammer politicking going on, (railing against the philosophy of 'manifest destiny' and including many modern day American references such as Coca-Cola bottles), and overall it has an uneven feel, but it is a bravado piece of film making that was effectively seen as ending Alex's career in Hollywood. Who else would at the height of Reagan's power effectively release a diatribe against the interference of the US in Latin America. It was on a hiding to nothing, no one likes to pay to watch themselves being criticised, and definitely not by some jumped up Brit! What must have been uncomfortable viewing in the 80's, is now an interesting curio selling itself as a spaghetti western, something it does rather effectively, with some glorious set pieces.
aka The Tough Guy. The Slasher.
Post war South London and the little old ladies of Battersea are the prey of Roy Walsh (James Kenney) and his gang of teenage thugs. We meet Walshy as he's caught after coshing an old lady and put on probation. Loose and out of control, with no parental restrictions his bad attitude and criminal activity only escalates. Especially after he learns his all to lenient widowed mother is going out with someone. It can only end in trouble for all concerned.
Joan Collins has an early starring role as a led astray teenager who gets pregnant, in this post war example of morale panic. Where children with no father figures are left to run amok in the ruins of bombed out London. The newly identified problem of juvenile delinquency is examined in this simplistic and moral story of damnation and the slippery slope of crime. Basically it breaks down to 'spare the rod and ruin the child'. An interesting look at the attitudes and ideas of the time.
aka Spirit of the Dead. The Horror of Death.
Sir Hugo (Robert Stephens) is a Victorian amateur scientist, who in experimenting with camera's manages to photograph the asphyx, a creature that escorts your soul at the moment of your death. Like all sane people he then comes to the conclusion that if he could trap it, it would make that person immortal. Hugo conducts a series of experiments , finally managing to capture his asphyx. But tragedy strikes when he then tries to trap his daughters (Jane Lapotaire), killing her. Paul (Robert Powell), her fiance, and Sir Hugo's assistant, then commits suicide by blowing up himself and the lab. Hugo now realising what he has done burns the letter containing the combination to the safe where his asphyx in contained. He has damned himself to live forever in torment. The film closes with a wiserned old man walking into oncoming traffic in a pitiful and doomed attempt to commit suicide.
An interesting concept, done competently. Unfortunately it demands you suspend your disbelief rather too often. I mean, if you were going to pretend to kill someone, why would you use a working guillotine, you are asking for trouble! But if you can do so it's worth it for the truly tragic ending.
aka Behind the Mask.
Janos (Peter Lorre) is a nieve immigrant to America. The day he arrives he's caught in a hotel fire and hideously disfigured. With his face in this condition he finds it impossible to find work and is driven to contemplate suicide. Just at moment he meets the only person who will talk or even look at him, Dinky (George E Jones). Dinky shows Janos real kindness, and also how to rob! Something that Janos is unhappy about, but out of necessity finds he is very good at. Soon he's made enough money to get himself a lifelike mask made to cover his features and heads up a gang of thieves. Then he meets a blind girl, Helen (Evelyn Keyes) who he falls for, deciding to give up crime. Unfortunately some of the gang believe he has set them up and decide to take revenge.
This is a fascinating character study of a man who goes through the gamit of emotions due to his changes in circumstances, centred around a beauty and the beast love story. There's no slack in this tale, with performances to match; one worth seeing if you like a tight, and compelling story.
Military radar over the US pick up strange and fast moving craft. At the same time reports come in that there is a strange globe like object found floating in a canyon. Colonel Matthews (Paul Langton) and Dr. Karl Sorenson (Bruce Bennett) are sent to investigate, staying at a local woman's b & b. There then develops the age old military vs scientist routine, all watched by the mysterious cosmic man (John Carradine) who watches. Then decides he may as well check into the b & b himself!
