THE FUGITIVE COMES TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY^TM AND DIGITAL

THE 1993 ACTION THRILLER FILM STARRING HARRISON FORD AND TOMMY LEE JONES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

Purchase the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital November 21

Burbank, Calif., October 4, 2023 – As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the acclaimed action thriller film The Fugitive from director Andrew Davis (A Perfect Murder, Holes) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time on November 21.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its 1993 release, The Fugitive will be available to purchase on November 21 on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.

The Fugitive stars Academy Award nominee Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble and Tommy Lee Jones as Deputy U.S. Marshall Sam Gerard, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  The film also stars Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, and Jeroen Krabbé.  

Directed by Davis from a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and David Twohy from a story by Twohy, the film is based the television series “The Fugitive” which was created by Roy Huggins and ran from 1963 to 1967. The film was produced by Arnold Koppelson.

The Fugitive was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, for which Jones won the award, and Best Original Score.

The Fugitive will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc for $33.99 ERP and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version of the feature film in 4K with HDR and a Digital download of the film. Fans can also own The Fugitive in 4K Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on November 21.  

The 4K restoration of The Fugitive was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was sourced from the original camera negative.  The restoration was overseen by director Andrew Davis.

About the Film

The Fugitive Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the following previously released special features:

Introduction by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford

Commentary by Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones

"The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase"

"On the Run with the Fugitive"

"Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck"

Theatrical Trailer

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Imprint, the Australian video company, has released a boxed set of Blu-rays devoted to Gene Hackman. The set is region-free and limited to 1500 copies.The set includes "I Never Sang for My Father", "Bite the Bullet", "March or Die" and "The Domino Principal".

Click here to order. (Prices are in Australian dollars. Use currency converter to see value in your local currency.)

By Doug Oswald

William Holden, Grace Kelly and Mickey Rooney star in James A. Michener’s Korean War drama, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Holden is Lieutenant Harry Brubaker, a lawyer and Naval Reservist called to active duty during the Korean War. The film opens in November 1952 where we meet Brubaker returning to the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island off the coast of Korea. He ends up ditching his plane in the ocean after running out of fuel and is rescued from the icy waters. Mickey Rooney gives a memorable performance as Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney, the helicopter pilot who rescues Brubaker from the ocean. Forney wears an unauthorized addition to his uniform, a green top hat and matching scarf, when flying. He also likes to brawl while on shore leave due to girlfriend problems. Earl Holliman plays Nestor Gamidge, the rescue man who assists in getting the pilots into the helicopter and brawling with Mike.

Brubaker is a good pilot and WWII veteran who’s resentful because his civilian life was disrupted by the recall for the Korean War. He starts to question his abilities as a pilot after ditching his plane and is nervous about an upcoming bombing mission. Grace Kelly plays his wife, Nancy Brubaker, who surprises her husband by visiting Japan with their children which casts additional doubts on Brubaker’s ability to carry out dangerous missions.

Headquartered on the USS Savo Island, the naval task force commander is Rear Admiral George Tarrant and is played by Fredric March. Tarrant lost his sons during WWII and is filled with many regrets in life but tries to change Brubaker’s mind about his career as a naval aviator. Rounding out the cast is Charles McGraw as Commander Wayne Lee, the fighter wing commander, who leads the climactic assault on the bridges. Robert Strauss is Lieutenant “Beer Barrel,” and Willis Bouchey as Captain Evans. There’s also an uncredited bit role by Dennis Weaver as the mission briefing officer.

The movie is divided into three parts. We meet the members of the carrier crew in part one. The middle section features shore leave in Japan where we meet Mrs. Brubaker and the Brubaker’s two young daughters. There’s also some shore leave drama involving Forney and Nestor which shows Brubaker’s dedication to these men. The final part of the movie involves the bombing mission at Toko-Ri which pays off beautifully.

The movie features great use of United States Navy resources as the bulk of the film takes place on the deck of the carrier USS Essex with extensive use of the F9F Panther and shots of the carrier task force. The use of actual United States Navy ships and aircraft rather than models is an essential part of the authenticity of this movie. Michener himself spent time on board the USS Essex gathering research for what would become the short novel, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” which was released in 1953. That experience by Michener was made into the MGM release, “Men of the Fighting Lady,” with Michener played by Louis Calhern. That movie was released in May 1954, a few months prior to the premier of “Toko-Ri.”

Holden gives one of his typical cynical performances which he was great at doing, especially in such films as “Sunset Blvd,” “Stalag 17” and later in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and “The Horse Soldiers.” He’s not quite so cynical in this film and gives a great performance as Brubaker. Grace Kelly isn’t given much to do other than looking beautiful as the dutiful wife with kids in tow, but she’s important in sealing her husband’s’ doubts. All her scenes were filmed on studio sets in Hollywood with someone doubling for her in long shots in the location scenes. I think Rooney gives the standout performance as Mike Forney with the green top hat and scarf. Earl Holliman is also good as Mike’s best friend and sidekick with Fredric March and Charles McGraw good as the stoic and capable father figures. I wish Robert Strauss’ comedic skills were put to greater use in the film, especially considering he is fondly remembered in “Stalag 17” with Holden. There’s a side story set up at the start and end of shore leave involving a set of golf clubs carried by Beer Barrel that’s never explained.

The movie is directed by Mark Robson with a screenplay by Valentine Davies. While Robson is not a name that rings bells, you certainly know his movies which include “Peyton Place,” “The Prize,” “Von Ryan’s Express,” “Valley of the Dolls” and “Earthquake” to name a few of his most well-known movies. Robson started his career working uncredited as an assistant editor for Orson Welles and eventually worked his way up to editor and director culminating in several high-profile big budget movies. He died of a heart attack in 1978 shortly after the completion of “Avalanche Express” which was released the following year.

The score by Lyn Murray is serviceable and the on-location shipboard filming adds great production value to the movie. The model work depicting the crash landing scenes are very done as well. The film was released theatrically in December 1954 by Paramount. This Kino Lorber release looks and sounds better than ever. The movie clocks in at 102 minutes and is presented in a widescreen aspect ratio which resembles VistaVision, even though it isn’t, as the movie went into production during the transition period when the process was still being perfected. The Blu-ray release includes an outstanding audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Steven J. Rubin as well as trailers for this and other Kino Lorber releases. The movie is highly recommended for fans of Holden, Kelly, Rooney and military drama.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release: 

THE BELOVED HOLIDAY FAVORITE COMES HOME

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON 4K ULTRA HD

"LOVE ACTUALLY 20^TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION"

YOURS TO OWN NOVEMBER 21, 2023

FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

INCLUDES BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL CODE

SYNOPSIS: Funny, irresistible, and heartwarming, Love Actually is the ultimate romantic comedy that follows eight couples whose lives intersect shortly before Christmas. From the makers of Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill, this beloved film is headlined by an incredible roster of stars including Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and more. Take a breathtaking tour of love's delightful twists and turns as you fall under the spell of Love Actually and share the laughs and charm again and again!

• BONUS FEATURES:
• · Making LOVE ACTUALLY (NEW)
• o Join Writer/Director Richard Curtis along the with cast and crew as they reflect on the making of the film and its legacy 20 years later.
• · Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Richard Curtis
• · The Music of LOVE ACTUALLY with Introductions by Richard Curtis
• · The Storytellers
• o A featurette exploring the film’s main storylines, featuring interviews with the cast discussing their characters and the major elements within each on-screen relationship.
• · Kelly Clarkson “The Trouble with Love is” Music Video
• · Billy Mack “Christmas is All Around” Music Video
• · Feature Commentary with Director Richard Curtis and Actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangsters

Instagram: @uniallaccess

X: @UniAllAccess

Tiktok: @universalallaccess

LOVE ACTUALLY FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Martine McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson

Casting By: Mary Selway _CDG

Music By: Craig Armstrong

Co-Producers: Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin

Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston

Line Producers: Chris Thompson

Production Designer: Jim Clay

Director of Photography: Michael Coulter _BSC

Editor: Nick Moore

Produced By: Duncan Kenworthy, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner

Written and Directed By: Richard Curtis 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

"Some Kind of a Nut" is yet another obscure movie from the late 1960s (1969, to be precise) that is available through Screenpix, which is an ancillary subscription channel through Amazon Prime. The film is not currently available on home video in the U.S. and I don't know if it ever was. I was aware that the movie didn't make any impact upon its initial release but, given the amount of talent involved in it, I thought it was time to invest 90 minutes of my life to see a collaboration between star Dick Van Dyke and legendary writer/director Garson Kanin. Van Dyke was a hot property at the time, having left his classic TV sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to concentrate on a career in feature films, where he initially found considerable success. Van Dyke was busy with so many projects at the time that "Some Kind of a Nut" had a bizarre shooting schedule to accommodate him. According to the TCM web site, some of the film was shot in May of 1968 with the rest filmed in January 1969. The logistics of arranging this with a full cast and crew must have been challenging but Van Dyke's presence in the film led United Artists to agree to the terms. The company had recently released "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with Van Dyke in the starring role. The studio was also seeking a long-term relationship with Garson Kanin and signed him to a four-picture deal arranged by producer Walter Mirisch, but none of the other projects came to fruition and Kanin retired from making feature films after "Some Kind of a Nut".

Van Dyke is cast as Fred Amidon, a mousey bank teller who works in a busy branch in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. He and the other employees suffer in an Orwellian atmosphere under the thumb of a priggish, humorless boss who demands complete conformity with conservative banking policies. Fred is also carrying the weight of his pending divorce from his wife Rachel (Angie Dickinson) which will be finalized in a few weeks time. His one pleasant diversion is his romantic relationship with fellow bank clerk Pamela Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson) played by Rosemary Forsyth. While enjoying a precious lunch hour together in Central Park, Fred is stung on the chin by a bee. The painful sting proves to be stubborn and won't go away even when the couple leave on a cross-country vacation. Frustrated by the unsightly wound on his chin, Fred decides to grow a beard. (For a bank with prison-like working conditions, the institution must have a very liberal vacation policy, as Fred and Pamela have enough time to drive to San Francisco and back and for Fred's beard to come into full glory.) Upon returning to the bank, his new appearance causes a scandal. His boss insists that he shave it off, as beards are against bank policy. When Fred refuses, he is summarily fired. His stance earns him the respect of his fellow employees and when the media learns of his situation, he becomes a cause celebre. Before long, Fred becomes a reluctant hero to everyday people who are fed up with having to conform to outdated policies in society. He is particularly embraced by the counter-culture movement, making him an unlikely figurehead for local hippies. He has more problems: his soon to be ex-wife Rachel reconnects with him because she is impressed by his new-found courage. This complicates things with Pamela, who detests the beard and the symbolism it represents. She's under the influence of her two meddlesome brothers who seek to compromise Fred's status as a cult figure. Meanwhile, Fred starts to dabble in Eastern mysticism and begins consulting an Asian guru in one of the film's funniest scenes. Beyond this, however, Kanin's script is anything but unpredictable and you can pretty much guess the outcome of the movie long before it arrives.

"Some Kind of a Nut" was filmed under the working title "The One with the Fuzz". It was a dud with critics and audiences, as was often the case when older filmmakers tried to be relevant to the anti-Establishment crowd of the era. (All the hippies are safe, joyous and satisfied carrying protest signs that are about as controversial as "No Trespassing". There isn't a hint of the Vietnam War and civil rights protests that defined the era, let alone any expletives. The film paints a Brady Bunch-like depiction of a time that never was. Nevertheless, the script does have something to say about the price of conformity, expressed in comical fashion through the inimitable talents of Dick Van Dyke, who makes otherwise unfunny scenes amusing. Angie Dickinson has a rather bland role and her screen time is limited, though director Kanin ensures there is a scene set at a swimming pool for no other reason than to present the welcome sight of Dickinson in a bikini.The film also has the virtue of presenting some nostalgic scenes shot on location in Manhattan. For Dick Van Dyke, the movie would be the first of two feature films released in 1969 that were ambitious in content but failures at the boxoffice and with critics, although the second film, Carl Reiner's comedy/drama "The Comic" has earned respect over the years in certain quarters. Van Dyke would only star in one more comedy on the big screen, "Cold Turkey", released in 1971. That film proved to be quite popular. Thereafter, he would not star in a feature film for another eight years, when he appeared in the leading role in Stanley Kramer's admirable but under-appreciated final movie "The Runner Stumbles", in which Van Dyke gave a fine dramatic performance. He returned to the medium where he had originally found success: television and his late career series "Diagnosis: Murder" would prove to be a major hit that ran for many seasons.

("Some Kind of a Nut" is currently streaming on Screenpix, available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional $2.99 a month.)

By Fred Blosser

“The Hands of Orlac,” a 1960 U.K.-French co-production, was the third movie version of “Les Mains d’Orlac,” a sensational 1920 novel by French writer Maurice Renard. Like many of the other horror pictures released in 1960, it was filmed in black-and-white. The director, Edmond T. Gréville, was a veteran French-born filmmaker who had worked in both France and England. His previous picture, “Beat Girl” (1960), had featured Christopher Lee as a strip club impresario in an exploitative story about beatniks, aspiring rockers, and strippers. Lee and other British actors filled most of the major supporting roles in “The Hands of Orlac.” Exterior scenes were filmed on the French Riviera, interiors at Britain’s Shepperton Studios. An American actor, Mel Ferrer, was cast in the lead. Ferrer was a reliably familiar leading man for the all-important U.S. market. His name lent box-office appeal in those days when foreign movies were suspect in small-town America, as it did for another offbeat horror production in which he also starred that same year, Roger Vadim’s “Blood and Roses,” a French and Italian co-production. But U.S. distributors apparently saw no pressing need to slip Gréville’s film into American theaters, since it didn’t open here until 1964. By that time, a promotional still from the movie had appeared in the October 1963 issue of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine, in a preview of upcoming horror and fantasy releases.

In the story, a celebrated concert pianist and composer, Stephen Orlac (Ferrer), flies from London to France to visit his fiancee, Louise (Lucile Saint Simon). His small plane wrecks in a fog, and Orlac’s hands are “burnt to the bone” in the crash. After his ambulance passes through a police checkpoint where a condemned murderer, Vasseur, is being transported to the guillotine, Louise prevails on a famous surgeon, Dr. Volchett (Donald Wolfit), to operate in an effort to save her lover’s badly injured hands. Coming out of the anaesthetic, Orlac finds his hands encased in huge, unsightly plaster casts. Worse, he sees the front page of a newspaper that juxtaposes a report about Vasseur’s execution with one about his own injuries. To his groggy eyes, the stories gradually merge into one under the headline, “Stephen Orlac Receives the Hands of Vasseur, the Murderer.” Lifting the grotesque casts, Orlac flies into hysterics. This was the publicity still that intrigued us young readers of “Famous Monsters” in 1963. It was also the centerpiece of the movie’s lobby-poster art.

Did the newspaper actually display the stories that Orlac read, more or less as he interpreted them? Was he hallucinating? Was there even a newspaper at all? No matter, the high-strung pianist becomes convinced that the surgeon found his hands irreparably damaged, amputated them, and replaced them with Vasseur’s, especially since, as he mourns, “They feel as if they no longer belong to me!” After the casts come off, he can’t get his fingers to strike the right notes on the keyboard.

The obsession grows stronger when Orlac and Louise make love. His fingers unconsciously tighten around her throat, and she begins to choke. That incident and others convince the pianist that Vasseur’s hands have a violent will of their own, and his fiancee’s life is in danger as long as they’re together. He checks into a sketchy Marseilles hotel under an assumed name, where he encounters a small-time stage magician named Nero (Christopher Lee, returning from “Beat Girl” as an even sleazier character). Nero senses an opportunity for blackmail; obviously, “Mr. Stephen” is a well-off guy who wouldn’t be holed up in a dump unless he had something to hide. Nero pimps out his pouty assistant and mistress, Li-Lang (Dany Carrel), to cozy up to Orlac and get him to talk.

Orlac’s self-imposed exile doesn’t last long. After Louise tracks him down, he decides to straighten up, return to England, marry Louise, and resume his career. But he continues to brood over his persuasion that his hands are no longer his own. Discovering “Mr. Stephen’s” true identity, Nero and Li-Lang follow. Nero sets about to feed Orlac’s paranoia, reasoning that the unhinged pianist will kill someone sooner or later, opening himself to big-time extortion.

To the extent that film enthusiasts take notice of “The Hands of Orlac” at all, they mostly judge it seriously inferior to the previous movie versions of Renard’s novel. Robert Wiene’s “Orlacs Hände” (1924), also called “The Hands of Orlac” in English-language prints, was a classic of German silent cinema, with Conrad Veidt as the title character amid feverish Expressionist sets. Following in 1935 from MGM, Karl Freund’s “Mad Love” with Colin Clive as Orlac draped the story in sadism and sexual perversion, to the extent Freund could do so under the vigilant eyes of the Hays Code censors.

Gréville’s remake dialed back on Wiene’s and Freund’s extravagance, accounting for some of its lacklustre press from critics who like to see the gothic thriller envelope pushed further than Gréville pushed it, at least in their opinion. It’s very much a product of 1960, emphasising the psychological aspect of Orlac’s dilemma and stepping into film noir territory once the intimidating Nero and Li-Lang enter the plot. It even evokes the emerging New Wave of French cinema with its documentarian exterior shots on the Riviera. Claude Bolling’s musical score includes light jazz for a scene in which Orlac tools around in a vintage sports car, and rinky-tink cabaret music for Li-Lang’s sultry song-and-slink routine following Nero’s magic act, juxtaposed with Beethoven and Liszt in the concert scenes that open and close the movie. Mel Ferrer lacks Conrad Veidt’s eye-popping hysteria and Colin Clive’s furrowed anxiety, his Orlac repurposed for 1960 as a sophisticate in shades, pullover sweater, and tailored slacks for casual wear, and an expensive suit for business occasions. If you’re a retro-fan of JFK-era men’s fashions, you probably won’t mind. You may even prefer Ferrer’s interpretation over his predecessors’. Like other British horror films of the time, such as “Jack the Ripper” (1959) and “The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll” (1960), “The Hands of Orlac” promises plenty of sex appeal courtesy of Lucile Saint Simon’s filmy negligees and Dany Carrel’s showgirl outfits. In truth, this stuff is pretty tame by 2023 standards, but it was a draw for male filmgoers at a time when even the centrefolds in “Playboy” were often modestly posed.

For most of the picture, we don’t know whether Orlac’s obsession has a basis in reality, since we don’t actually see the operation itself. Were the killer’s hands really grafted onto his wrists, or is the pianist suffering from a morbid neurosis? An explanation is made toward the end that for may find satisfying or frustrating, depending on your tastes. It doesn’t help that Orlac is surrounded by oddball characters who only compound his unease. Nero is the only one who is overtly menacing, but others are unsettling in their own ways. In his few minutes on screen, Donald Wolfit’s Dr. Volchett is brusque and possibly alcoholic; his decision to save (or replace) Stephen’s damaged hands seems more a whim than a humanitarian impulse. His unnamed assistant (Anita Sharp Bolster) is a starchy spinster who wears rimless glasses with impenetrably thick lenses, like Albert Dekker’s in 1940’s “Dr. Cyclops.” When Orlac tries to call Dr. Volchett to either confirm or relieve his suspicions, the assistant tells him the surgeon is on professional travel—to Moscow!—and unreachable in that era before cellphones and Zoom. She brightens up as she enjoys a chance to extol her boss, but her comments only deepen Orlac’s fears: “Dr. Volchett is a magician,” she declares. “Your case was his greatest triumph.” In a small but bravura appearance, Donald Pleasence plays Coates, a sculptor who wants to use Orlac’s hands as the model for those of Lazarus in a biblical tableau of Lazarus raised from the dead. “All we see of Lazarus is his hands—your hands, Orlac!”, he exclaims, seizing the pianist’s wrists. Given Stephen’s state of mind, the sculptor’s fervor is more invasive than flattering, like the irritating stranger who latches on to you at a party and won’t let go. As he makes his pitch with growing enthusiasm, Orlac stares at his hands (poised exactly as he had scrutinized his grotesque casts earlier in the story), and runs off in panic.

“The Hands of Orlac” isn’t the best horror thriller of 1960. That would be Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” with “Blood and Roses” and Georges Franju’s “Eyes Without a Face” as close seconds. But it’s better than its obscurity would imply. In the U.S., “Eyes Without a Face” was dumped onto double bills as “The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus” and generally ignored by critics, much as “The Hands of Orlac” was. Now, it’s widely regarded as a classic. It’s surprising that Gréville’s picture hasn’t received similar reappraisal, given the renewed interest in neglected horror films in the home video era, and the movie’s value as an early showcase for Christopher Lee and Donald Pleasence. The problem may lie with the fact that an official DVD or Blu-ray edition for fair evaluation doesn’t exist in the U.S., the U.K., or anywhere else as far as I can tell. DVD-R versions are sold on the collector’s market, with caveats about their visual quality.

We discovered this presentation of the film on YouTube, apparently sourced from tape, perhaps one of two competing VHS releases in the 1990s, or a videotape from a long-ago television broadcast. The image is better than you might expect, if inferior to the hi-def transfers we’ve come to expect nowadays. It’s also the easiest way to find the movie, at least until we can hope to see original elements unearthed, if they still exist, and a better print prepared for Blu-ray or one of the major streaming platforms.

(To watch in full screen format, click on "Watch on YouTube".)

By Doug Gerbino

Flicker Alley’s recent Blu-Ray release of “Laurel & Hardy Year One-The Newly Restoed 1927 Silents” is the start of a ground-breaking project which is a joy for all film fan,s especially Laurel & Hardy aficionados. Produced by film historians and restoration specialists Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange in conjunction with Lobster Films, Blackhawk Films and The Library of Congress, this 2-disc set contains the first 15 extant films that feature Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the casts. A number of the films can just boast having Laurel & Hardy in the same film-not yet a team.

Many of these films are being seen in their most complete versions thus far due to the collaboration of various film archives and collectors. This is the seminal period of the teaming of Laurel & Hardy. They are not quite a team in the earliest films in this collection. This set gives us the opportunity to study their evolving partnership.

In typical Flicker Alley fashion the set is chock full of wonderful bonus materials. Each film has newly recorded audio commentary by Laurel & Hardy scholar Randy Skretvedt. There are three documentaries: Restoring Laurel & Hardy, Laurel & Hardy on Location & Hats Off!-a slide show presentation of the only completely lost Laurel and Hardy film. There are Multiple Image Galleries, additional music scores for three of the shorts and a very informative 35-page booklet.

If you have seen any previous Flicker Alley releases, you know the image quality is superb. This initial release is an exciting start to a multiple year project. Year Two (1928) is next. We will have the opportunity to watch the teaming of one of the greatest comedy teams mature into legends. Very much recommended.

Films included in the set:

Lucky Dog (1921)

45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926)

-1927-

Duck Soup

Slipping Wives!

Love ‘Em and Weep

Why Girls Love Sailors

With Love and Hisses

Sailors, Beware!

Do Detectives Think?

Flying Elephants

Sugar Daddies

The Second 100 Years

Call of the Cuckoo

Putting Pants on Phillip

The Battle of the Century

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By Hank Reineke

Roger Corman had, over a relatively short period of time, directed and/or produced more than a half-dozen pictures since his entry into the movie industry in 1955. His first efforts were modest successes, but the filmmaker firmly broke into a dependably bankable stride within two years’ time. Though already having helmed two low budget science-fiction pictures with some success (Day the World Ended (1955) and It Conquered the World (1956) his reputation in Hollywood - as a budget-minded money-spinner - was properly recognized following the box office counting of his 1957 chiller combo: Attack of the Crab Monsters/Not of This Earth. Variety noted the package – each film made on a “slenderized bankroll of $85, 000,” had brought in an impressive domestic gross of $800,000. By early November of ’57, that package, distributed through Allied Artists, had earned back the entirety of its production and marketing costs within twelve weeks of its release.

Through the remainder of the 1950s and well into the early 1960s, Corman continued to grind out a dizzying array of feature films, not all of the horror and sci-fi variety: there were plenty of exploitative teenage rock n’ roll pictures and crime dramas offered as well. But from 1960 through 1964, Corman worked primarily – though not exclusively – producing and directing an impressive slate of upscale horror classics. He had already given fans such soon-to-be low-budget cult favorites as Bucket of Blood (1959) and Little Shop of Horrors (1960). But in 1960 he more famously scored with House of Usher, the first of his iconic and moody cycle of Poe and H.P. Lovecraft adaptations - many featuring Vincent Price in roles as both tormentor and tormented.

One of Corman’s most important collaborators in his early years was screenwriter Charles B. Griffith. Griffith would receive screenwriting credit – or co-credit – on no fewer than eight of Corman’s earliest films 1956-59. The writer would later recall for Beast from Haunted Cave he had been commissioned by Corman to essentially rework the storyline of an earlier film they had crafted together – Naked Paradise (1957) aka Thunder Over Hawaii. Naked Paradise, of which Griffith was brought on late to the project for a re-write, was essentially a South Seas crime-drama set in a pineapple plantation under the umbrella of a glistening sun.

Since that film had done well enough, Corman wanted to revisit the scenario of Naked Paradise for the reimagined crime drama titled Beast from Haunted Cave. There would be a new twist: the new scenario was to take place in and around a gold mining community nestled in the dead winter snow of South Dakota’s Black Hills. Oh, and Corman advised Griffith that he also wanted a genuine cave-dwelling monster thrown in for good measure - that sort of thing was still selling. That was essentially all the background material given to Griffith to get started on the project.

Despite its menacing title Beast from Haunted Cave appears more a crime-drama than horror flick in the course of its 65-minute running time. The story revolves around the criminal doings of a circle of bandits: chain-smoking mastermind Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff), his two minions Marty Jones (Richard Sinatra) and Byron Smith (Wally Campo) and Ward’s oft- inebriated “secretary” Gypsy Boulet (Sheila Carol). The thieves have gathered in the snow-capped mountain winter of the pioneer town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Their plan is to plant an explosive in an abandoned cave in the early hours of a quiet Sunday morning. The explosion is set merely as a strategic ploy to distract authorities for a time, enabling the thieves’ free reign to steal gold bars from an unattended payroll office of a local gold-mining company.

Unfortunately, their plans don’t run smoothly. Ward’s dissatisfied and affection-starved lover-secretary, Gypsy, has a bit of a drinking problem. She complicates matters when she falls hard for ski instructor and trail guide Gil Jackson (Michael Forest), a swarthy, dark-haired gentleman of gentle temperament. (As an aside, I occasionally had a bit of trouble understanding actress Sheila Carol’s dialogue in this film: her diction seemed a perplexing amalgam of drunken slurred words and a faux Katherine Hepburn accent). The cold Ward takes notice of his woman’s wandering eye but is unworried. He has plans to kill Jackson once the skier - unwittingly - guides this gaggle of crooks on a cross-country trail run to a remote location.

Ward had plans to rendezvous with a waiting plane to ferry his gang - and their misbegotten treasure - off to safe sanctuary in Canada. But this plan too is scuttled by an unwelcome blizzard passing through the mountains. (As a second aside, Ward’s cross-country ski scheme is surely the most ineffectual escape route ever mapped by criminals carrying weighted gold bars in rucksacks. They really would have done better just hightailing it out of town in their rented car). To complicate matters further – and this is where the horror finally comes in - their explosive mine charge has awakened the titular beast, sort of an upright walking, giant spider that collects his victims by webbing them against cave walls and drinking their blood at his leisure. Let’s just say the moral of the story is a familiar one: essentially, crime doesn’t pay.

In Corman’s attempt to make their chilly time in the Black Hills more productive and worthwhile (i.e. profitable), the filming of Beast was to be produced back-to-back on location in Deadwood with yet another Charles B. Griffith script, Ski Troop Attack. This second film was to be a somewhat more ambitious project, a snow-bound WWII action-adventure pitting American ski-troopers against their wintry Nazi counterparts. The Corman team would use the same primary on-and off screen talents featured in the cast and credits of Beast for Ski Troop Attack.

The scenario of Ski Troop Attack referentially takes place in the snow-capped mountains of Germany’s Hürtgen Forest, circa December 1944. A small American band of ski-troopers are the only remaining Allied force active in this Nazi-controlled region, hiding themselves behind enemy lines so they can spy and report on SS ski-troop movements. The level-head Lieutenant Factor (Forest), a graduate of the Army’s Officer Candidate School, wishes to stay clear of engaging in active combat with the enemy. As the only team of Allied forces positioned inside the Nazi-controlled German-Belgian border, it is Forest’s belief his outfit should purposely avoid direct contact. He instead wants to concentrate his efforts on secret reconnaissance missions. By acting as the covert eyes of the good guys behind enemy lines, his outfit would be able to transmit vital information on Nazi troop movements back to HQ.

But Factor is at loggerheads with tough-talking Sergeant Potter (a mustache-less Wolff, again cast in a “heavy” role). Potter is described by Factor as an old school “regular army guy,” a man of pure fighting spirit but someone strategically short-sighted. Potter desperately wants to engage the Nazi ski-troopers in active combat and is mostly dismissive of the Factor’s civilian background and wartime decision-making capabilities. Potter does get a number of chances to engage in hand-to-hand combat. The film actually offers no shortage of brutal on screen violence with competing ski-troops ambushing and beating one another with fisticuffs, rifles butts, bayonets, knives and machine-gun fire.

Ultimately, the American’s decide to blow up a strategic railroad bridge that Allied air powers are unable to access and target. But while attempting to get to the base of the bridge to set off their detonators, they must first successfully climb an ice-covered vertical cliff side. If this isn’t problematic or dangerous enough, they must also fend off a team of six pursuing Nazi ski-troopers hot on their trail. The German skiing contingent, incidentally, is led by the badly-dubbed Roger Corman himself. The film’s climactic ending is, somewhat surprisingly for this type of adventure, more bleak than celebratory.

Griffith’s screenplay is actually far more nuanced than it is given credit for in the film’s original round of reviews. The sensitively written dialogue is mature – the scene where soldier Grammelsbacher (Sinatra) sits around a campfire musing if somewhere out there there’s still “a bullet with my name on it” – is particularly gripping. The better written dialogue also brings out better acting performances of all involved – including Shelia Carol who appears midway through the film as a spiteful German captive of the Americans.

The film does plod a bit. There’s a lot of wartime newsreel footage interlaced throughout, and no matter how beautiful the mountain settings are photographed, there’s far too many time-filling shots of ski-troopers silently trudging cross-country style through the tundra. Having said that that, there’s also some well-executed ski chase scenes captured on screen, such action-footage surprising for a film shot on a threadbare budget. The soundtrack of the film is riddled with the sound of machine-gun fire and a decent score courtesy of composer Fred Katz – though fans of Corman’s earliest films will surely recognize a good number of Katz’s recycled musical motifs are in play.

As both projects were to be shot on tight schedules, Roger’s brother, Gene, stepped in as the de facto producer of Beast. Once a Hollywood agent, Gene Corman was co-founder (with Roger) of their company Filmgroup, Inc. Gene’s earliest entries as producer would include a number of exploitative sci-fi efforts such as Night of the Blood Beast (1958) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959). With Roger set to both produce and direct Ski Troop Attack, the directorial duties of Beast were given to first-timer Monte Hellman - whose only previous film experience was having worked as an apprentice editor at ABC-TV.

In his entertaining memoir, How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime (Random House, 1990), Roger Corman recalled the wintertime location shooting in and around snowbound Deadwood as “unbearable” and “a very tough challenge.” When shooting was to commence on the peak of Mount Terry, Corman recorded temperatures of a frigid thirty-eight degrees below zero. In the recollection of script supervisor Kinta Zertuche, her primary job was simply “to find ways to keep the film warm enough so it wouldn’t get brittle and crack.” She was also deigned to find ways of keeping the production cameras from freezing – not always successfully.

Production assistant Paul Rapp recalled he had been tasked to drive the parsimonious Corman – and an automobile-filled cache of film props - from Los Angeles to Deadwood, so the director “could save on airfare and have an extra car on location.” When filming one downhill ski sequence, Corman accidentally set off a small avalanche by shouting “Action!” too loudly through a bullhorn. Rapp recalled while the incident scared him half-to-death, Corman quickly realized the potential visual impact of what the camera was capturing. So the team was commanded to continue to roll film, Corman exhorting via bullhorn that his terrified skiers try their best to “Stay Ahead of the Avalanche!”

In March of 1959, there was a trade announcement that “Corman’s distributing outfit, The Filmgroup,” was planning to release Beast from Haunted Cave nationally (paired with The Wasp Woman) as early as June 1, with Ski Troop Attack (to be paired with Task Force 38) a little more than a month later, July 13. But neither of those prospective release dates would actually roll out as planned, even though the films themselves were ready to roll. Beast would come closest to realizing its projected release date, appearing on some screens in July 1959.

As early as February of 1960, Variety reported that the steamroller that was Filmgroup was optimistically planning to roll out eight feature films a month between March and June of 1960. Ski Troop Attack was to see release on the very tail end of that schedule. The Hollywood Reporter suggested Filmgroup’s plan as more ambitious than even originally announced: the company was planning on issuing no less than twenty-four features over a year’s period, with eleven of those titles already in the can and ready to go.

The company was also interested in testing international markets. It was reported that the usually closed-to-outsiders Soviet film market was interested in importing four Corman titles – including Beast and Ski – assuming whether or not Irving Allen, president of Canada’s Astral Films, could finalize a deal while visiting London. Later in May of 1960, it was reported Filmgroup had sealed another deal to distribute eight films – again, including Beast and Ski - throughout the Philippine islands. Finally, in August of 1960, Continental Distributors would obtain rights of Filmgroup product for European markets.

But the U.S. market was of most concern to the filmmakers. On March 16, 1960, there was a very belated press screening of the Beast and Wasp combo at the Hollywood Theatre. Variety was generally impressed with Hellman’s Beast, but suggested the film’s scenario was completely illogical. The critic also pondered that perhaps interest in horror films was generally on the wane. He opined, audiences were growing “inured to monsters and hardly blink when this one guzzles its customary quota of blood.” The review of Wasp was likewise middling in praise. The trade noted, while the film was certainly an “exploitable” passable entertainment, “it’s pretty slow and not very frightening.”

The “official” premiere of Beast from Haunted Cave was to take place at dual locations in South Dakota: Rapid City’s State Theatre and the Hile-Hi Drive-in outside of Deadwood: the latter venue was to enjoy a four day night run of Beast beginning August 2, 1959. This was obviously a nod of acknowledgment to the folks living in the area of the Black Mountain Hills who hosted and assisted the film’s production. But no matter how well-intentioned the “premiere” honor, Beast from Haunted Cave and The Wasp Woman had already been projected on screens in the mid and southwestern U.S. as early as July of ’59.

Earlier that spring, director Gene Corman had written Allan “Birdie” Arnold of Deadwood’s Chamber of Commerce City Council, a champion of the film shoot. “We saw a rough cut of our picture, it is very good and I’m sure everyone who helped, especially you, will be proud and pleased,” Gene wrote, adding, “I plan to make it a full length picture and hope to release it in the summer.” For their assistance, both Arnold and Mayor Ed Keene of Lead, South Dakota, were given “Technical Advisor” credits on Beast.

By Lee Pfeiffer

A film that became a legendary bomb, the 1977 Western The White Buffalo has been re-evaluated by movie fans in recent years and many consider it to be an underrated classic. Count me out of this assessment. The film is certainly unique: an ambitious attempt to blend the Western and horror film genres, but it falls short on most counts.The United Artists production stars Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickcok, who- for reasons never adequately explained- is haunted by terrifying nightmares involving him in a life-or-death confrontation with a giant white buffalo. I didn't know that buffalo come in colors, but I'll cede the point. (Given the dreadful styles of the 1970s, it's surprising the film wasn't titled The Plaid Buffalo.) Simultaneously, Chief Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) is having his own white buffalo problems. Seems the actual rampaging beast wreaked havoc on his village and killed his child. In order to restore his pride and stature among the tribe, he must hunt down and slaughter the animal- or be stuck with the monicker of "The Worm" henceforth. (This must be the Indian equivalent of "nerd".)

The two men are on obsessive journeys and are destined to meet up - but both feel they have the singular right to kill the buffalo. Hickcok meanders through some cow towns under an alias and hooks up with a mountain man geezer (Jack Warden, channeling the ghost of Gabby Hayes) who decides to accompany him on his quest. When Hickcok and Crazy Horse do meet up, they end up saving each other's life in respective ambushes and declare themselves blood brothers. Despite this, each man is determined to be the one who slays the white buffalo.

The film is moody and atmospheric and at times is offbeat enough that, if it weren't for the Colorado scenery, one might suspect this is an Italian Western. Nevertheless, the screenplay by producer, screenwriter and director Richard Sale (based on his novel) is erratic and contains many disparate elements that never blend together in a satisfactory manner. The film is peppered with welcome appearances by many Western favorites (Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, John Carradine) but their characters are superfluous and smack of gimmicky cameos. Clint Walker shows up briefly, well-cast and playing against type as a villain. There is also the rather odd presence of Kim Novak in a nothing role as a good-hearted hooker who suffers the humiliation of being rejected by Hickcok even as he shares her bed. (This must be the first case of erectile dysfunction caused by a white buffalo.)

The movie was an attempt by producer Dino De Laurentiis to exploit the dying Western genre by finding a way to incorporate elements of Jaws. De Laurentiis seemed to have a fixation on giant, mythic animals taking vengeance on mankind, as he produced "King Kong", "Orca" and "The White Buffalo" all within a two-year period. Despite the prestigious cast and the fact that this was a United Artists production, the budget was clearly skimpy. The film abounds with shoddy rear screen projection shots and some amateurish sets, particularly in the mountain sequences set at night. There's plenty of plastic snow and the sets are somewhat less realistic than a Christmas window display at Macy's. Then there is the titular character of which much has been written in movie lore. Apparently devoid of anything other than a $20 bill for special effects work, the white buffalo is generally shot in extreme closeup in very brief cuts to mask its ludicrous appearance. Although the buffalo is seemingly immortal and can crash through mountains of snow and cave walls, it never looks any more menacing than a slightly perturbed mountain goat. The analogies to Moby Dick also become a bit too obvious especially when Crazy Horse rides atop the beast, flaying at it with a knife. (just like Ahab and the whale- get it?) All of this is set to an atmospheric if somewhat low-key score by John Barry that fits the proceedings well.

Perhaps the most unintentionally amusing aspect of the movie is the initial meetings between Hickcok and Crazy Horse. The two men face each other and gesture with elaborate Indian sign language- despite the fact they are simultaneously speaking to each other in perfect English! This is as practical as using signal flags to communicate with a dinner companion and seems more suited to an episode of Police Squad.

Despite all of these criticisms, there is something admirable about the concept of The White Buffalo in that the film at least tries to be an original take on an age-old genre. It also represents one of the last movies in which Charles Bronson at least tried to stretch his acting muscles. With his saggy eyes and droopy mustache, he's perfectly cast as Hickcok. The failure of this film seemed to discourage his professional ambitions. With a couple of exceptions (Telefon, Death Hunt) Bronson went happily into B movie hell, churning out low-rent but profitable potboilers aimed at inner city and drive-in audiences. The shame of it is that he also encouraged once respected directors like J. Lee Thompson and Michael Winner to go along with him.

The White Buffalo was one of those major failures that initiated the virtual end of the Western film genre, and it was Heaven's Gate three years later that nailed the coffin shut. The Bronson film has grown in stature as a curiosity in the ensuing years and apologists claim that the chintzy set pieces must have been intended in order to convey the dream-like quality of the plot. Much the same has been said of Hitchcock's Marnie, which was also heavily criticized for its abysmal sets, rear screen production work and use of matte paintings. However, in both cases the hypothesis seems unlikely. They were simply troubled productions overseen by directors who seem to have lost interest in their respective projects. Universal ended up losing money on the Hitchcock drama while United Artists was forced to pick up the tab for the buffalo bill, if you'll pardon the pun.

The White Buffalo has recently been re-released by  Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The transfer is superb, which only makes the white buffalo look even phonier, but that just adds to the fun.  An original trailer is included and this time around, a commentary track has been added by Paul Talbot, author of the terrific "Bronson's Loose" books. Talbot admits he's obsessed by Bronson and his films and provides a master class on the making of The White Buffalo. His track is highly informative, if lacking in humor, as he discusses the career credits of virtually every actor who appears in a speaking role. Talbot's contribution makes the film worth obtaining, even if you had the earlier version.

By Lee Pfeiffer

"The Hawaiians" was regarded as a cinematic misfire, was released in England under the title Master of the Islands. The 1970 big budget movie was a critical and commercial failure in its day, but evaluating it after all these years leads the viewer to accentuate its many positive elements. The story is actually an official continuation of James Michener's Hawaii, which was made into a major film in 1966 that curiously also underwhelmed critics and public. This sequel doesn't have the epic proportions of its predecessor, but it does boast some impressively lush production values and a typically enticing score by Henry Mancini. For this film, Heston reunited with director Tom Gries, with whom he made the vastly under-appreciated 1968 Western "Will Penny" which Heston regarded as one of his most satisfying artistic accomplishments. He is cast against type here in a somewhat unsympathetic role during a period of his career in which he was typically cast as a stalwart heroic figure. Heston plays Whip Hoxworth, a hard-nosed sea captain who transports luckless Chinese immigrants to Hawaii where they become cheated, abused and enter into what amounts to indentured servitude. The opening sequence finds the Chinese crammed into the sweltering hold of the ship and falling victim to illness and malnutrition. Hoxworth only adds to their misery by applying beatings and coldly calculating his human cargo in terms of acceptable deaths, 'lest his ultimate profits fall short of expectations. Hoxworth is the black sheep of a wealthy family. He is cut out of his father's will and has a contentious relationship with his siblings, who have little use for him. Barred from further sea duties, he is relegated to a failing plantation which he is determined to turn into a success, if only to spite his relatives. Geraldine Chaplin is his half-Hawaiian wife, whom he adores but who, for reasons never satisfactorily explained in the script, turns frigid after their son is born.

The film tells a parallel story about the plight of two immigrants who work on his plantation: Nyuk Tsin (Tina Chen) and Mun Ki (Mako), two people who, through necessity, live as man and wife even though Mun Ki tells Nyuk Tsin that the children she has borne him will not be considered hers. Instead, Chinese tradition dictates that they will ultimately return to China where his wife will assume the mantle of mother and Nyuk Tsin will be relegated to the status of an aunt. The couple's hard work appeals to Hoxworth's generally dormant sympathies and he allows them to prosper financially, especially when they successfully grow the first pineapples on Hawaii - a development that makes Hoxworth rich. However, the film piles crisis upon crisis on each of the major characters, including political intrigue, armed revolution and, in particularly affecting sequences, outbreaks of leprosy and plague. John Phillip Law appears late in the 134-minute film as Heston's grown son, whose humanitarianism brings him into direct conflict with his father's Machevellian ways.

The Hawiians is big-budget soap opera at every level, but it's a consistently engrossing one. Heston excels playing part that takes him into new territory as an actor. The supporting cast is equally good, with both Mako and Tina Chen giving outstanding performances. It can't be said that the film is an unqualified success, but it's never boring and it probably seems more impressive today than it did at the time of its initial release.  It should be mentioned that the movie has a fine score by Henry Mancini. There are worse fates than spending a couple of hours with Heston under any circumstance.

(Now streaming on Screenpix, available to Amazon Prime subscribers for $2.99 a month.) 

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

"Fans can plumb the depths of the horror genre with this collectible box set featuring five unforgettable movies, all in eye-popping 4K Ultra HD, along with over four hours of legacy special features and exclusive collectible items. Housed in deluxe packaging, each of the following films is presented in a special sleeve with artwork exclusive to the collection— Rosemary's Baby (1968) · Pet Sematary (1989) · Smile (2022) · Crawl (2019) · and a special mystery title making its 4K Ultra HD debut. The PARAMOUNT SCARES VOL. 1 Limited-Edition 4K Blu-ray Box Set also boasts collectible items, including an exclusive, full-size Fangoria magazine produced especially for the release. This special edition of the celebrated publication—"first in fright" since 1979—features a curated selection of new and classic articles from the magazine's archives. The set also includes a Paramount Scares enamel pin, unique stickers, and access to a Digital copy of each film. • Rosemary’s Baby (1968) • Pet Sematary (1989) • Crawl (2019) • Smile (2022) • “Mystery” Exclusive 5th Feature."

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By Fred Blosser

As a kid, I watched “Bourbon Street Beat” (1959-60), a Warner Brothers TV series starring Richard Long and Andrew Duggan as two private detectives in New Orleans, Rex and Cal. Even in those days of generally undemanding audiences, most grown-up viewers probably realized something I didn’t as a nine-year-old. “Bourbon Street Beat” was produced on nickels and dimes like every other Warner Brothers PI and Western series of the day, and authentic New Orleans backdrops were limited to a fleeting street shot of the French Quarter, taken from stock footage. Everything else was filmed on the Warners backlot in Burbank, including a partial exterior set representing the Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street where the two private eyes supposedly held down their office. With a quick switch, the detectives’ window looking out on the Vieux Carre could be transformed into a window looking out on Waikiki, once this week’s episode wrapped and filming began tomorrow for “Hawaiian Eye.” The most authentic element of the show may have been Arlene Howell, a gorgeous model and former Miss Louisiana who played Rex and Cal’s secretary, Melody Lee. Certainly, she was a better reason to tune in than the archival footage.

Fast-forward to 1986 and “The Big Easy,” a crime drama with on-location street scenes and Crescent City atmosphere in abundance. Budgets and audience expectations had come a long way since “Bourbon Street Beat.” The movie, directed by Jim McBride, is available from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on Blu-ray. It opens with Detective-Lieutenant Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) investigating the murder of a hit man that he and his fellow officers in the New Orleans Police Department quickly attribute to a war between rival organized crime gangs, one commanded by an aging mafia capo (Marc Lawrence) and the other by a Black kingpin, Daddy Manton (Solomon Burke). The theory begins to unravel when Assistant District Attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) looks into the case and calls McSwain’s conclusion premature. She is as strait-laced as the half-Irish, half-Cajun McSwain is uninhibited, and offended by his offhand acceptance of free meals at restaurants and other gratuities as perks that go with his badge. So naturally, in the usual Hollywood formula prizing sexual chemistry over logic, the two quickly get a thing going. But duty intrudes. Remy is caught in an Internal Affairs sting operation, and Anne faces him in court as the chief prosecutor. Meanwhile, additional mob gunmen are murdered. McSwain examines new clues with a more critical eye as they begin to pile up, and he comes to agree with Anne. A gang war isn’t as air-tight an explanation as he’d first thought.

Well-cast with Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Charles Ludlam in supporting roles, “The Big Easy” was a respectable hit, even launching a 1996-97 TV series executive-produced by Daniel Petrie Jr., who wrote the script for the movie. Quaid and Barkin, both rising talents, were a big draw, as were McBride’s plentiful scenes of zydeco parties, crawfish boils, dinner at Antoine’s, and other exotic rituals in those days before the Mardi Gras Week marathons on the Travel Channel and the Food Channel. For fans of detective films who want scripts to cut to the chase, though, there may be too much of Remy’s toothy flirting with Anne and too much jambalaya in the first half of the movie, which begins to drag. But the pace picks up in the second half with clever plot twists and a couple of crisply directed action scenes, in which Quaid appears to do his less dangerous physical stunts. Full disclosure, I have three degrees of separation from Dennis Quaid, through someone who knows members of the Quaid family, but fuller disclosure, I’ve never met the actor and I’m sure, never will.

The Kino Lorber release of “The Big Easy” presents a rich image at the 1.85:1 aspect and informative audio commentary from Jim McBride, moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale. McBride offers interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes, including an explanation of how the great R&B singer Solomon Burke was cast as Daddy Manton. Burke is one of two surprise faces in the cast. The other is former New Orleans district attorney and Kennedy conspiracy theorist Jim Garrison, who held a Louisiana state appeals court judgeship from 1978 until his death in 1992. Garrison plays Judge Jim Garrison, who presides over Remy McSwain’s bribery trial, much as the Beatles, Nicholas Cage, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Alan Freed, John Malkovich, and others have played “themselves” on the screen.

The Blu-ray edition of “The Big Easy” also includes trailers for several other Kino Lorber crime movies and SDH captions for those of us old enough to remember who Jim Garrison was.

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(Fred Blosser is the author of "Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes". Click here to order from Amazon)

By Darren Allison

Film Masters is a new classic film restoration and distribution company formed by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins. The company launched on September 26th with an impressive, region-free Blu-ray release. For decades, dating back to the humble early beginnings of the home video cassette, these two public domain favourites seemed to once flood the market. Often struck and scanned from poor quality 16mm prints, the process and distribution hardly helped the reputation of these two low-budget slices of fifties science fiction. Of course, there’s no getting away from the fact that The Giant Gila Monster (1959) and The Killer Shrews (1959) were ever going to be regarded as stunning examples of quality science fiction, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be considered as hugely entertaining and enjoyable vehicles.

Both films (directed by Ray Kellogg) were originally released as a drive-in, double-bill feature in 1959. Bringing both films together here, each with their own dedicated disc, not only makes perfect sense, but offers a nice form of symmetry – giving the overall package additional logic and weight. It’s a decision that also offers a degree of ‘worth’ for fans and collectors. Fans are an appreciative group of people, so this collective form of package will only help Film Masters in gaining a healthy reputation and a certain degree of loyalty.

Beginning with what appears to be the leading feature, The Giant Gila Monster opens with a young couple, Pat (Grady Vaughn) and Liz (Yolanda Salas), parked in a bleak, rural locale overlooking a ravine. A giant Gila monster attacks the car, sending it into the ravine and killing the couple. Later, several friends of the couple assist the local sheriff (Fred Graham) in his search for the missing teens. Chase Winstead (Don Sullivan), a young mechanic and hot rod racer, locates the crashed car in the ravine and finds evidence of the giant lizard. However, it is only when the hungry reptile attacks a train that the authorities realise they are dealing with a giant venomous lizard. By this time, emboldened by its attacks and hungry for prey, the creature attacks the town. It heads for the local dance hall, where the town's teenagers are gathered for a hop.

Filmed near Dallas, Texas, the film was budgeted at $175,000 and was produced by Dallas drive-in theatre chain owner Gordon McLendon who wanted co-features for his main attractions. McLendon shot the film back-to-back with The Killer Shrews. In exchange for providing the special effects, Ray Kellogg was allowed to direct the film, while Curtis allowed his lead Don Sullivan to pick and perform three songs. The reasoning not only helped in padding out the action but also served in targeting the healthy teenage market. Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low-budget monster movies, proves to be confident in both his role and surroundings, while Lisa Simone (a former French contestant for the 1957 Miss Universe contest) is arguably a little more wooden and uncomfortable.

For the best part, Ray Kellogg’s special effects work adequately well. With such a low budget, there was little consideration for an established name such as Ray Harryhausen and his stop-motion animation. So instead, a live Mexican beaded lizard was shot against scaled-down model landscapes and sets. This technique wasn’t anything new, iguanas and chameleons were also being used the very same year over at 20^th Century Fox for their adaptation of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). The Giant Gila Monster (naturally) was not afforded the same budget, it was simply a locally made film that was marketed and sold in a very clever way, making sure it received both nationwide and foreign distribution. But above all, it remains hugely enjoyable and serves as a reminder of far less serious times in terms of filmmaking on a shoestring.

As for the video’s quality, this new 4K scan from original 35mm material, looks incredibly good. Sharpness, contrast and sound are all highly impressive. Film Masters have provided a new level of respect for this minor league classic, and the results have really raised its once questionable profile. There is also an option of watching the film in either a TV ratio (standard 1.33:1) or a theatrical version (1.85:1). I opted for the theatrical version for reviewing which works perfectly well.

Film Masters have also provided some very nice bonus features. Heading these is a full-length audio commentary by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, and Matt Weinhold from The Monster Party Podcast. As the name suggests, this is a light-hearted overview but nevertheless thoroughly enjoyable. The group offer a cheekily mocking level of critique but never in with a cruel intension. The common denominator is obviously a shared love for the film. The group manage to unearth some excellent production detail and history, often quoting from original source material such as pressbooks and publicity from its time of release.

There is also a restored and remastered original theatrical trailer and a very enjoyable archival audio interview with star Don Sullivan (1929- 2018). Asking the questions is author Bryan Senn, who digs deep in extracting as much detail as possible. Sullivan appears happy to answer anything he can recall, and the interview is relaxed and unhurried. Despite the audio quality which occasionally wavers (the source sounds to be via a telephone) it remains interesting throughout and offers a unique, first-hand insight.

Next up is The Killer Shrews (1959), again directed by Ray Kellogg and utilising most of the same production crew. The story follows a group of researchers who are trapped in their remote island compound overnight by a hurricane and find themselves under siege by their abnormally large and venomous mutant test subjects, the shrews. Captain Thorne Sherman and first mate Rook Griswold deliver supplies by ship to a research compound on the remote island. The station inhabitants (scientist Marlowe Craigis, his research assistant Radford Baines, Marlowe's daughter Ann, her fiancé Jerry Farrel, and a servant Mario) give them a cold welcome and direct them to unload the ship and leave immediately. Marlowe explains he has been trying to isolate the genes responsible for growth and metabolism in order to shrink humans to half their size so as to reduce the impact of human overpopulation. He uses shrews as test animals due to their short lifespan, allowing him to track results over multiple generations. However, Marlowe's experiments have created a batch of mutant wolf-sized shrews which have escaped. The group barricade themselves inside their compound every evening before the sun sets due to the creatures' nocturnal feeding habits. They have not contacted the coast guard so that they can complete their research, predicting that the shrews will cannibalize each other once they have consumed all other food on the island.

And so begins this really enjoyable little romp. Catching up with this film once again reminded me of just how good this film really is. In fact, I’ll come right out and say it – I still think this is the superior film when compared to The Giant Gila Monster. The whole concept of a group of people trapped in a secluded and isolated locale is one that still proves effective. The film is often compared to that of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead made some 9 years later in 1968. If you take that concept, replacing the zombies with wild, oversized, very hungry shrews, then you get the general idea. Yes, one could argue that (on paper) the whole idea sounds rather ludicrous. But the film has some really creative and effective moments, especially for 1959. Considering that the ($123,000) budget for The Killer Shrews was even tighter than that of The Giant Gila Monster, the results are even more impressive.

Ray Kellogg makes exceptional good use of his special effects background. OK, so the shrews were in actual fact large coonhound dogs dressed up with long carpeted hair and Saber fangs. And close-up shots were nothing more than mere hand puppets! But somehow, the effects still work. Good use of sound effects also provides an eerie warning of the shrews’ imminent arrival. Clever quick editing also adds to the film’s overall sense of tension and drama. In fact, there are also some cleverly constructed jump shock moments and some particularly gruesome scenes – not to mention a ludicrously ingenious escape plan! So, The Killer Shrews has a great deal of positives in its favour and is well worth a re-evaluation – especially in this sparkling new transfer.

As with The Giant Gila Monster, Film Masters have afforded The Killer Shrews with another equally high-quality transfer. I thought it looked quite faultless actually, a nice clean, crisp transfer with lovely deep black tones and contrast. The audio again is also clear and sharp throughout its duration. Again, there is an option to view in either 1.33:1 or in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

The bonus features are very enjoyable, consisting of another full-length audio commentary this time provided by author Jason A. Ney. This commentary offers a more scholarly, academic approach which is both informative and enjoyable in equal measure. Ray Kellogg – An Unsung Master is a fascinating Ballyhoo motion pictures documentary exploring the life and career of the director. And to round off the disc is a large collection of original radio spots for each movie courtesy of Gary L. Prange. Inside there is also a full colour, 22-page booklet with essays by Don Stradley and Jason A. Ney.

Overall, Film Masters have delivered a very impressive debut package. With the hope of producing similarly styled releases on a monthly basis, there’s certainly a great deal more to look forward to and their efforts should be applauded.

(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro.)

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"Retro-Active: From the Cinema Retro Archives"

By Fred Blosser

Frederick Knott's suspense play "Wait Until Dark" premiered on Broadway on Feb. 2, 1966.  Lee Remick played Susy Hendrix, a young blind woman who becomes the target of a manipulative scheme orchestrated by a sinisterly glib psychopath, Harry Roat Jr. from Scarsdale. Robert Duvall, in his Broadway debut, had the pivotal supporting role of Roat. A movie version opened on Oct. 26, 1967, starring Audrey Hepburn (in an Oscar-nominated performance) as Susy and Alan Arkin as Roat, produced by Mel Ferrer (Hepburn's husband at the time), directed by Terence Young, and scored by Henry Mancini. A predecessor of today's popular, trickily plotted suspense movies like "Gone Gir" (2014) and "The Girl on the Train" (2016), the film was a commercial and critical success, ranking number sixteen in box-office returns for the year. Movies adapted from plays often feel stage-bound, but "Wait Until Dark" avoids those constraints, thanks in no small part to Young's fine pacing, sharp eye for detail, and sure grasp of character.

Bosley Crowther's October 27, 1967, film review in the New York Times noted that the Radio City Music Hall screening of "Wait Until Dark" included a stage show with a ballet troupe, performing dogs, and the Rockettes. Fifty years later, going out to a movie, you're lucky to get a good seat and decently lit projection for the price of admission. Any live entertainment comes courtesy of the patrons behind you who can't put away their smartphones for two hours.

Knott's play was confined to one interior set, Susy's cramped Greenwich Village apartment, which makes it a perennial favorite for little-theater and high-school drama productions on limited budgets. The movie adds a new opening scene in which Sus's husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), a freelance photographer, meets an attractive young woman, Lisa, as they board a flight from Montreal. When they land at JFK, Lisa hands Sam a child's doll and asks him to hold on to it for her temporarily. She says it's a present for the child of a friend, she just learned that the friend and the little girl will be meeting her at the airport, and she doesn't want to spoil the surprise; she'll call and come by for it later. Unknown to the obliging Sam, it's a phony story: Lisa is a drug mule, and narcotics are hidden inside the doll.

Lisa had planned to double-cross her accomplice Roat and split the money from the drug shipment with Mike (Richard Crenna) and Carlino (Jack Weston), her partners in past criminal schemes. Roat murders Lisa and enlists Mike and Carlino to help him find the doll in Susy and Sam's apartment. He lures Sam away with a call promising a big photo assignment. In his absence, Mike poses as an old Army friend of Sam's, and Carlino impersonates a detective investigating Lisa's murder. In a bad guy/good guy ploy, the phony Detective Sgt. Carlino insinuates that he suspects Sam of Lisa's murder. Mike intervenes, offering his support to Susy to gain her trust. To further disorient Susy, Roat poses as two men who appear to lend credence to the con.Harry Roat Sr., an an aggressive old man, barges into the apartment, noisily claiming to be in search of evidence that Lisa, his daughter-in-law, carried on a clandestine affair with Sam. Later, mild-mannered Harry Roat Jr. knocks on the door and apologizes for his father's outburst. It's a nice gimmick for Alan Arkin, who gets to impersonate three characters with different costumes and personalities. For audiences who watched the Broadway production, it might also have provided an effective "Aha" moment when they realized that there was only one Roat, not three. But it's no surprise for the movie audience, since close-up camera angles make it clear immediately that the other two are also Arkin in heavy make-up.

The new Blu-ray release of "Wait Until Dark" from the Warner Archive Collection presents the movie in a 1080p print for high-def TV. It's a definite improvement in richness from previous TV and home-video prints. The tailor-made audience is likely to be those older viewers who saw the film on the big screen in 1967, who may wonder if the movie's "gotcha"climax still holds up. Suffice to say without spoiling the scene for new viewers by going into details, it does. The film's stage origins are obvious in the dialogue-driven plot set-up and in the constrained setting of one cramped apartment. The measured exposition may be a hurdle for younger viewers used to a faster pace and visual shorthand, but the concentration of character interplay in a closed space isn't necessarily a problem, even for Millennials who have been conditioned to expect ADHD editing and splashy FX in movies. It imposes a sense of claustrophobia that subtly forces the audience to share Susy's mounting fear of being hemmed in and trapped.

In "Take a Look in the Dark", an eight-minute special feature ported over to the Blu-ray from a 2003 Warner Home Video DVD release, Alan Arkin notes that the psychotic Roat, with his granny-frame sunglasses and urban-hipster patter, was a break from the usual sneering, buttoned-down movie and TV villains of the time. "By and large, the public had not been exposed to that kind of person", he recalls. "But they began to have people like that live next to them, or see them in the newspapers or on TV." Ironically, if Roat was unsettling to 1967 audiences, he and his flick knife may seem insufficiently scary for younger viewers today, in the endless wake of movies and TV shows about flamboyantly demented murderers since "The Silence of the Lambs" (1990) -- not to mention the perpetrators of real-life mass murders that, numbingly, we seem to see every night on CNN, network, and local news.

In the special feature, Arkin and Ferrer also express fond appreciation of Hepburn, who wanted to star in "Wait Until Dark" when she realized that she was getting too old to continue playing demure ingenues, Ferrer says. Once Susy starts to figure out the con in the last half-hour of the movie and, isolated from help, summons the inner resources to fight back, she begins to resemble today's omnipresent model of screen feminism, the smart, ass-kicking action hero. Two supporting actresses are unfamiliar by name and face: Samantha Jones as Lisa and Julie Harrod as Susy's 14-year-old neighbor Gloria. Jones has a chilling scene in which Lisa's corpse hangs in a makeshift body bag in Susy's closet, and Susy, unaware, almost bumps into it. Both actresses are so good that viewers will wonder why they didn't have more prominent careers. (I don't know either.) One bit of casting may be distracting to viewers in 2017 in a way that it wasn't to audiences in 1967: as Carlino, the fine character actor Jack Weston is almost a dead ringer for New Jersey Gov. and failed 2016 Republican Presidential hopeful Chris Christie. (He's now running again- Ed.)

Besides "Take a Look in the Dark", the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray includes two trailers also repeated from the 2003 DVD. One, titled the "warning trailer" ominously cautions that "during the last eight minutes of this picture, the theater will be darkened to the legal limit to heighten the terror of the breath-taking climax." As a gimmick for luring curious masochists into the movie theater, it doesn't quite rise to the truly inspired heights of William Castle's "Emergo", "Percepto", or "Punishment Poll", but it's still a charming bit of vintage Hollywood hucksterism.

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FRED BLOSSER IS THE AUTHOR OF "SAVAGE SCROLLS: VOLUME ONE: SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE HYBORIAN AGE". CLICK HERE TO ORDER ON AMAZON

Imprint, the Australian video label, is releasing a boxed set dedicated to the film of Marlon Brando. The discs are region-free. The edition is available for pre-order. 

One of the greatest actors of all time, Marlon Brando, brings six powerful performances to this Limited Edition boxset. Sayonara (1957) The Fugitive Kind (1960) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) The Ugly American (1963) Bedtime Story (1964) A Countess From Hong Kong (1967) Limited Edition 6-Disc Hardbox. 1500 copies only. Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer and contributing writers Paul Scrabo and Tony Latino provide commentary tracks for "A Countess from Hong Kong" and "Bedtime Story". 

By Fred Blosser

Released on June 29, 1966, “Nevada Smith” was well-received by audiences who still flocked to A-list Westerns in those days, earning $14 million in ticket sales—about $132 million in today’s value. Produced by Joseph E. Levine and directed by Henry Hathaway, it starred Steve McQueen in the title role, as a young half-Indian man, birth name Max Sand, who determines to track down the three outlaws who murdered his parents. The movie was a spinoff from a previous Levine release, “The Carpetbaggers,” a sensational hit in 1964 based on a Harold Robbins novel. There, in his final role, Alan Ladd played the older Nevada Smith, a reformed gunfighter turned B-movie cowboy actor in the 1930s. Thus the 1966 release was a prequel, as we’d now call it, based on a lengthy section from Robbins’ novel. The reviews for the 1966 production were mostly positive, except for two opinions that observers continue to raise in on-line and print discussions about the film. At 35, they argue, McQueen was too old and seasoned to play a kid supposedly in his late teens. And with blond hair and blue eyes, nobody would mistake him for anyone with Native American genetics. Does either point of view stand up to examination? We McQueen fans would say, not really. Movies are all about illusion anyway, in case anyone forgets all those John Hughes films of the ‘80s starring actors in their twenties as high school kids. At this late date with McQueen’s iconic status firmly established, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part. (Although someone else tried, not counting Alan Ladd as the older, more sedate Nevada in “The Carpetbaggers.” Cliff Potts essayed the role in a 1975 TV production also titled “Nevada Smith,” designed as a direct sequel to Hathaway’s picture. Filmed as a hopeful pilot for a TV series, it’s pretty much forgotten now. Cliff Potts was a good actor, usually cast as charming but devious characters, but he was no Steve McQueen.)

In Hathaway’s movie, three drifters, Fitch, Bowdre, and Coe, ride up to young Max Sand and claim to be friends of his father’s. The actors in the roles were Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, and Martin Landau. Try to find a trio of that caliber in any 2023 release. Helpfully, Max tells the strangers to find the homestead, immediately getting a bad feeling when they speed off, yelling and firing their pistols. The three drifters know the elder Sand all right, but they’ve really come to demand the gold they believe he’s found in a nearby mine. When he says the mine is worthless, and all it ever yielded was a $38 nugget, the intruders don’t believe him and work themselves into a rage. Coe draws a knife, cold-bloodedly cuts Sand’s Kiowa wife, and threatens to skin her alive if the miner doesn’t tell them where he’s supposedly hidden his riches. By the time Max reaches the cabin, he finds his parents’ mangled corpses, and the killers are long gone.

Max sets out to avenge the murders, but inexperienced and naive, he isn’t cut out for the job—at first. “If you want to find those men, you’ll have to look in every saloon, hog farm, and whorehouse you come to,” warns a chance acquaintance, Jonas Cord (Brian Keith), a friendly traveling gunsmith. “You’ll have to become what they are, and wallow in the same garbage they do.” Realizing he can’t persuade Max to call it quits, Jonas teaches him the essential skills he’ll need to survive: draw fast and shoot straight, learn to play poker, do everything you can not to give yourself away, and don’t trust anybody, “not even your friends.” Working his way up through Coe and Bowdre, he finally locates Fitch. Calling himself “Nevada Smith,” he joins the outlaw’s new gang in a plan to rob a gold shipment, bringing the story, neatly, full circle. Fitch knows Max Sand is after him, but he doesn’t remember what Max looks like; regardless, he grows suspicious and paranoid about Nevada Smith as the day of the robbery approaches.

Filmed at locations in California and Louisiana (where Max robs a bank to get himself sentenced to a prison farm, next to Bowdre), “Nevada Smith” impressed audiences in 1966 with McQueen’s athletic performance against scenic outdoor backdrops, beautifully composed by Hathaway and his cinematographer, Lucian Ballard. This may not seem to be a remarkable achievement until you revisit the old TV Westerns of the ‘60s, which still run every day on streaming platforms like GritTV and Cinevault Westerns, and remember their tired stock-in-trade of aging stars, repetitive storylines, meager action, and generic backlot sets standing in for Dodge City, the Ponderosa, and the Big Valley. A new Blu-ray edition of “Nevada Smith” from Kino Lorber, in a 4K scan of the original camera negative, reproduces the vistas in stunning detail and richness, a long overdue boost for viewers who may have seen the movie only in edited, pan-and-scan TV prints. C. Courtney Joyner, Mark Jordan Legan, and Henry Parke offer a fine ensemble audio commentary, pointing out—among other elements—the legion of fine character actors in the supporting cast. Normally, I pride myself on that sort of Hollywood trivia, but Joyner, Legan, and Parke put me in my place. They pointed out some faces I would have missed otherwise.

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(Fred Blosser is the author of "Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes". Click here to order from Amazon)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Don Knotts came to fame with his trademark comedy style of portraying a meek, excessively nervous character. He was Woody Allen before Woody Allen was Woody Allen. Knotts honed his skills on Steve Allen's show in the 1950s, with his "man on the street" Nervous Nellie routine sending audiences into fits of laughter. He co-starred with fellow up-and-comer Andy Griffith in the hit Broadway production of "No Time for Sergeants" and the subsequent film version. When Griffith landed his own TV series in 1960 in which he played the sheriff of fictional small town Mayberry, Knotts imposed upon him to write a small, occasional part he could play as Barney Fife, Griffith's inept but loyal sheriff. Griffith complied and the role made Knotts an icon of American comedy, allowing him to win an astonishing five Emmys for playing the same character. Five years into the series, Knotts was offered a multi-feature deal by Lew Wasserman, the reigning mogul of Universal Pictures. Knotts took the bait and enjoyed creative control over the films to a certain degree. He could pretty much do what he wanted as long has he played the same nervous schlep audiences wanted to see. The films had to be low-budget, shot quickly and enjoy modest profits from rural audiences where Knotts' popularity skewed the highest. His first feature film was The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, released in 1966 and written by the same writing team from the "The Andy Griffith Show". (Griffith actually co-wrote the script but declined taking a writing credit.) The film astonished the industry, rolling up big grosses in small markets where it proved to have remarkable staying power. Similarly, his next film, The Reluctant Astronaut also proved to be a big hit, as was his 1969 western spoof The Shakiest Gun in the West.  Within a few years, however, changing audience tastes had rendered Knotts' brand of innocent, gentle humor somewhat moot. By the late 1960s audiences were getting their laughs from the new film freedoms. It was hard to find the antics of a middle-aged virgin much fun when you could see Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice cavorting in the same bed. Still, Knotts soldiered on, providing fare for the drive-in markets that still wanted his films. In 1969 he made The Love God?, a very funny and underrated film that tried to be more contemporary by casting Knotts as an innocent ninny who is manipulated into fronting what he thinks is a magazine for bird watchers but, in reality, is a cover for a pornography empire. Knotts' traditional audience balked at the relatively tame sex jokes and for his final film for Universal, How to Frame a Figg, he reverted back to his old formula. 

Released in 1971, Figg casts Don Knotts as the titular character, Hollis Figg, a nondescript wimp who toils as an overlooked accountant in a basement of  city hall. The film is set in a Mayberry-like small town environment but any other similarity ends there. In Mayberry, only the visiting city slickers were ever corrupt. The citizenry may have been comprised of goofballs and eccentrics, but they were all scrupulously honest. In Figg's world, however, the top government officials are all con-men and crooks. They are ruled by the town's beloved paternal father figure, Old Charley Spaulding (Parker Fennelly), a decrepit character who hands out pennies to everyone he encounters, with the heart-warming greeting "A shiny penny for your future!" In fact, Old Charley  has plenty of those pennies stashed away. He and his hand-picked fellow crooks, including the mayor and police chief, have been systemically ripping off the state by grossly inflating the costs of local building projects and secretly pocketing the overages. Concerned that the accountants might get wind of their activities, they summarily fire them all except for Figg, who is deemed to be too naive to ever catch on. They justify the firings by saying it's fiscally prudent and replace the accountants with a gigantic computer that is supposed to be even more efficient. Through a quirk of fate, Figg and his equally naive friend, Prentiss (Frank Welker), the janitor for city hall, discover exactly what is going on. Figg dutifully reports his findings to the mayor (Edward Andrews), who convinces him to keep it secret while he launches his own investigation. Old Charley, the mayor and their cohorts decide to make Figg the fall guy for the corrupt practices. They give him a big promotion, a new red convertible and even hire a private secretary for him. She's Glorianna (Yvonne Craig), a leggy femme fatale who wears mini skirts and oozes sex. When her attempts to seduce Figg leave him paralyzed with fear because of his allegiance to his new girlfriend, the equally virginal waitress Ema Letha (Elaine Joyce), Glorianna gets Figg drunk, takes some embarrassing photos of him and then proceeds to have him sign a stream of incriminating documents that he has not bothered to read. Before long, Figg is blamed for all the missing funds and faces a jail sentence- unless he and the dim-witted Prentiss can figure out how to use the computer to thwart the real crooks. 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Video: 

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the heartfelt drama TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, arriving for the first time on 4K Ultra HD as part of the Paramount Presents line on November 14, 2023 from Paramount Home Entertainment.   

James L. Brooks produced, wrote the screenplay (based on the novel by Larry McMurtry), and made his directorial debut with TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, which ultimately earned 11 Academy Award® nominations and won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Shirley MacLaine), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Nicholson), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

Both critically acclaimed and a box-office blockbuster, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT features a powerhouse cast including Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and John Lithgow.  Originally released on November 23, 1983, the enduring classic follows the ups and downs of a mother-daughter relationship with honesty, heart, and humor. 

This Paramount Presents release includes the film in sparkling 4K Ultra HD, with a transfer from the original camera negative reviewed and approved by Brooks.  The set includes a 4K Ultra HD Disc, a Blu-ray Disc™, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as a brand-new Filmmaker Focus with James L. Brooks. In this newly recorded interview, Brooks reflects on the challenges and excitement that came with being a first-time director, including getting directing critiques from Jack Nicholson. He also discusses the casting process and the film’s amazing performances.  The set also includes a legacy commentary with director James L. Brooks, co-producer Penney Finkelman Cox, and production designer Polly Platt, as well as the theatrical trailer.

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Imprint, the Australian video label, is releasing "The Avengers: The Tara King Collection" as a region-free Blu-ray set on 29 November. Here are the details:

John Steed fights crime and diabolical masterminds in his own inimitable manner with nonchalant efficiency, sophistication, and charm. With the departure of Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg), Steed (Patrick Macnee) has acquired a new assistant, Tara King (Linda Thorson), who relies less on judo and more on feminine guile to dispatch her assailants. Miss King will use a coo or a kiss rather than a karate chop, not to mention an occasional brick-in-the-handbag technique! Emotional, earthy, cunning, Tara is thoroughly emancipated, while remaining essentially feminine. This is her real distinction and it makes her devastating! 

In this stunning celebration of the Tara King era, The Avengers probe 33 colourful adventures in stunning high-definition, with a bountiful collection of vintage and new Special Features. 

Plus an additional disc brings together early episodes from the first two seasons of the series and audio reconstructions for Series 1 lost episodes. 

A second bonus disc features the worldwide Blu-ray debut of Patrick Macnee’s 1970 post-Avengers crime caper Mister Jerico, sporting a brand NEW 2K scan from the original negative.

11 DISC BLU-RAY SET + 120 page collectable booklet in LIMITED EDITION HARDBOX packaging.

THE AVENGERS SERIES 6 – all 33 episodes on 9 discs

Special Features and Technical Specs: 

• 1080p high-definition presentation from the original 35mm elements 
• Collectable double-sided Hardbox packaging – 1500 copies only
• NEW! 120-page booklet featuring an essay by television writer / historian Andrew Pixley, and Press/Story Information from the original studio files
• Original ‘as broadcast’ mono audio track (LPCM) and “The Avengers in Color” opening slate
• NEW! Audio Commentary on “The Forget-Me-Knot” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
• NEW! Audio Commentary on the Terry Nation scripted episode “Invasion of the Earthmen”  by writer/film critic Kim Newman and screenwriter/author Robert Shearman (2023)
• Audio Commentary on “Split!” by writer/producer Brian Clemens and director Roy Ward Waker 
• NEW! Audio Commentary on “LOOK! (stop me if you’ve heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers…” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
• NEW! Never-before-released Video Commentary on “All Done With Mirrors” featuring actress Linda Thorson, director Raymond Austin, composer Howard Blake, producer Brian Clemens recorded on-stage at “THE AVENGERS AT 50” event in 2011
• Audio Commentary on “All Done With Mirrors” by actress Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady 
• Audio Commentary on “Game” by director Robert Fuest
• Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by actress Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady 
• 2nd Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by stuntwoman Cyd Child
• NEW! 3rd Audio Commentary on “Noon Doomsday” by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens (2023)
• Audio Commentary on “Killer” by guest actress Jennifer Croxton
• Audio Commentary on “The Morning After” by director John Hough
• Audio Commentary on “Love All” by writer Jeremy Burnham and guest actress Veronica Strong
• NEW! Audio Commentary on “Fog” by film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2023)
• NEW! Audio Commentary on “Thingumajig” by film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2023)
• NEW! Audio Commentary on “Bizarre” by television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland (2023)
• Video Introductions to “The Interrogators”, “Love All”, “Take Me To Your Leader”, “Pandora”, “Thingumajig” and “Requiem” by Linda Thorson 
• Video Introduction to “Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?” by director Cyril Frankel
• NEW! Audio Recollection on “Get-A-Way!” by guest actor Peter Bowles 
• “THE AVENGERS AT 50” – Interviews captured at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the series, held at Chichester University (2011) 
  • Helicopter arrival and Audio Commentary by Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady 
  • NEW! Linda Thorson introduces video message from Patrick Macnee
  • NEW! “The Impact of The Avengers” – panel discussion with Linda Thorson, Paul O’Grady, director Raymond Austin, actor John Carson and author Alwyn Turner
  • NEW! “The Music of The Avengers” – Themes from the series (and The New Avengers) performed by the Chichester University Orchestra 
  • Interview with Linda Thorson by Paul O’Grady 
  • “The Two Sides of Tara King” – with Linda Thorson and stuntwoman Cyd Child
  • Interview with director John Hough
  • Interview with director Robert Fuest
  • Interview with composer Howard Blake
  • Interview with director/stunt co-ordinator Raymond Austin (NEW! Complete unreleased version) 
• “In the Footsteps of Tara King” – interview with Linda Thorson by Oliver Kalkofe (2010)
• “Wish You Were Here” – Locations featurette 
• “Avenging The Avengers” – featurette on the series (1992) plus additional unused interviews
• “Thriller: Lady Killer” – complete episode from the ATV series starring Linda Thorson, written by Brian Clemens (in Standard Definition) 
• “Return of the Saint: The Roman Touch” – complete episode of the ITC action series guest starring Linda Thorson (in Standard Definition) 

Archival Vault Material 

• “Introducing Linda Thorson” – Vintage Promotional Trailer
• “Girl About Town” – Vintage Promotional Short Film about Linda Thorson with optional Audio Commentary by Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady
• Artists Screen Tests – vault film of various actresses auditioning to be the new “Avengers Girl” (mute with optional Audio Commentary) 
• “Invasion of the Earthmen” – Alternative U.S. End Credits
• Series 6 Textless Closing Credits with theme music
• U.S. ABC Network Commercial Break Bumpers 
• “Mit Schirm, Charme Und Melone” – German Opening Titles / Closing Credits
• “Granada Plus Points” for “The Forget-Me-Knot” featuring Patrick Macnee
• Extensive Photo Galleries from the studio archives 

Bonus Disc 1: The Avengers – The Early Years 

• “Hot Snow Act 1” – the only surviving material from the very first episode of Series 1, with optional Audio Commentary by producer Leonard White (in Standard Definition)
• “Girl on the Trapeze” – the complete 6th episode from Series 1 (in Standard Definition)
• “The Frighteners” – the complete 15th episode from Series 1 (in Standard Definition)
• “Bullseye” – the complete 8th episode from Series 2, with optional Audio Commentary by actress Honor Blackman and Paul O’Grady
• “Warlock” – the complete 16th episode from Series 2, with optional, NEW! previously unreleased Audio Commentary by Honor Blackman and story editor Richard Bates recorded at “THE AVENGERS AT 50” event in 2011
• 14 Audio Reconstructions for missing Series 1 episodes 
• “THE AVENGERS AT 50” – Interview with producers Leonard White and Brian Tessler, actresses Honor Blackman and Julie Stevens (2011)

Bonus Disc 2: Mister Jerico (1970)

1970 crime caper produced by ITC as the pilot to a proposed new Patrick Macnee series, but ultimately aired as a one-off television film, and theatrically exhibited in some territories.

• NEW! 1080p high-definition presentation of a 2023, 2K scan from the original camera negative by Imprint, with grading by award-winning colourist Jonathan Wood 
• NEW! Audio Commentary by television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland (2023)
• NEW! Restoration Featurette 
• Original Theatrical Trailer (previously unreleased) 
• Textless Titles
• Photo Gallery

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER 

(Prices are in Australian dollars. Use  a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.)

By Lee Pfeiffer

If something seems too good to be true, it's probably going to turn out to be too good to be true. Amazon Prime's streaming service has offered an exceptional library of new, original series and films as well as a treasure trove of retro movies that can be streamed commercial-free. That will come to an end in early 2024 when "ad-free" streaming will now command an additional monthly fee of $2.99 in the USA for customers who currently pay $14.99 a month. International customers will presumably be charged the approximate amount in local currency. There will be no increase in fees if you're willing to see classic movies interrupted by advertisements. If you're reading Cinema Retro, you're probably as snooty as we are about how we watch the movies we love. However, the truth is that the general public is very undemanding when it comes to movie viewing. That's how American cable TV channels can still find people who will sit through a telecast of  censored versions of "Apocalypse Now" or "Jaws" along with many other classics with accompanying ads for everything from cars to hemorrhoid medicine. While it isn't our intention to carry water for Amazon, the increased price still seems reasonable for gaining access to so many films including plenty of titles that are not available on home video. For more, click here. 

By Sheldon Hall

*SPOILERS*

The problem with McVicar (1980) as a biopic is that the part of its subject’s life I most wanted to know about is covered in a brief caption at the very end. A closing intertitle informs us, if we didn’t already know, that John McVicar (1940-2022), a career criminal handed consecutive prison sentences totalling 23 years, eventually left behind his life of crime to gain a first-class honours degree while still behind bars and become a successful journalist and author. Indeed, he co-wrote the screenplay, based on his published memoir. But this fascinating turnabout is not part of the film’s story, which ends in 1970 after he is put back inside following a prison break and violent bank robbery.

What we have instead is a conventional tale of porridge and solitary on the inside, awkward family life on the outside. Although McVicar is competently played by The Who front man Roger Daltrey (who co-produced the film and also performs some songs on the soundtrack), there is little here to suggest that beneath the hard-man surface lay an articulate intelligence with a sharp understanding of the social causes of criminality. The script prefers to revel in the aggressive bravado with which he taunts prison officers, instigates riots, tunnels out of the shower block and risks re-arrest after escape. McVicar’s attempts to bond with his young son are sentimental rather than sensitive, all the film’s energy coming from its criminal elements.

Directed by Tom Clegg, a specialist in TV crime shows who also made Sweeney 2 (1978), it has a surface authenticity slightly belied by the high-definition transfer on Fabulous Films’ Region B Blu-ray, which makes the photography look more glossy than it probably did on first release in cinemas (where it achieved substantial commercial success, placing twelfth among UK general releases of 1980). In the scenes set in Durham Prison, the actors playing the screws try slightly too hard with their Geordie accents (all ‘bonnie lads’ and ‘kiddas’) but this makes for an effective clash with the mainly cockney prisoners. Cheryl Campbell’s role as McVicar’s wife is predictably thankless but Adam Faith (another pop star turned capable actor), Billy Murray, Steven Berkoff and Ian Hendry all fulfil their generic requirements admirably.

(Photo: Fabulous Films)

The extras, on what has been dubbed ‘Break-out Edition’, are an informative making-of, with contributions from the genial Daltrey, co-producer Bill Curbishley and music composer-arranger Jeff Wayne, and a short interview by actor Keith Allen (who is not in the film) with the real McVicar, recorded late in his life. He tells a sad and fascinating tale, more interesting than anything in the main feature.

(Sheldon Hall is the Copy Editor of Cinema Retro magazine.) 

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RETRO-ACTIVE: FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although I have a weak spot for Italian westerns of the 1960s and 1970s, most can be appropriately evaluated by paraphrasing Longfellow: "When they were good, they were very, very good, and when they were bad, they were horrid." "Blindman" is a curiosity from 1971 that I previously panned after viewing an allegedly "remastered" DVD edition that looked barely better than a VHS transfer.  The film fits rather comfortably into the latter part of Longfellow's famous nursery rhyme. Although the movie has a devoted fan base, when I first reviewed it I call it "a pretty horrid experience and inexcusably amateurish in execution, given the well-seasoned people involved". The good news is that Abkco Films has released a truly remastered DVD version that considerably improves one's perception of the film. As the title implies, it's about...well, a blind man. He's played by Tony Anthony, who did rather well for himself as a sort of Clint Eastwood Lite character known as The Stranger in a series of Euro Westerns (Any similarity to Eastwood's Man With No Name must have been purely coincidental). Anthony went on to star in any number of lucrative, low-budget action films, the most notable being "Comin' At Ya!, a 3-D flick that has also built a loyal cult following.  His co-star in "Blindman" is Ringo Starr. More about him later. The film was based on a Japanese movie titled "Zatoichi" about a blind samurai hero. As with "The Magnificent Seven", which was based on Kurasawa's "Seven Samurai", the story has been transplanted to the American west. When we first see the Blindman (whose name is never mentioned), he rides into a one-horse town and confronts his former partners. Seems they had a lucrative contract to deliver 50 mail order brides to some horny miners. However, a better offer was made from a Mexican bandito named Domingo (Lloyd Battista), who has exported them South 'O the Border to force them into prostitution. Blindman apparently has a sense of honor in terms of fulfilling the original contract. He manages to kill his former partners and sets off to Mexico to rescue the women, presumably so they can sold into another form of prostitution. At first the premise of this film intrigued me. How, after all, can you logically present a story about a blind gunslinger? The answer is you apparently can't. You could get away with it if the film was a satire, but there is surprisingly little overt humor in "Blindman". Yes, in true Eastwood fashion, the hero sometimes makes some snarky quips before, during and after dispatching his adversaries, but for the most part, the film takes itself far too seriously. 

How does the Blindman find his way around? Well, he has his own "wonder horse" who seems more like a companion than a beast of burden. The hoofed hero is always at his disposal and seems to be able to do everything but read a map for him. Speaking of maps, Blindman gets to various destinations by running his finger over maps that engraved in leather...sort of a braille system. Given the fact that he has to navigate the state of Texas, then Mexico, one would think he would require maps the size of rolls of kitchen linoleum, but somehow he gets by with navigational tools that fit neatly into his pocket.  When Blindman arrives in Mexico, he has numerous confrontations with the brutal Domingo and his army of thugs. He suffers the ritualistic beatings of any hero in the Italian western genre, but always manages to get the better hand by his deadly use of the rifle that he uses as a walking stick. Somehow the Blindman can use instinct and an uncanny hearing ability to gun down his would-be assassins with uncanny precision, though occasionally he does impose on some allies for advice. He also confronts Candy (Ringo Starr), Domingo's equally sadistic brother, who is keeping a captive woman as his mistress. What follows is a seemingly endless series of  chases, confrontations and the obligatory imitation Morricone score, all of it under the pedestrian direction of Ferdinando Baldi, who has a revered reputation with some fans of the genre and does manage to set off some impressive explosions. (Amusingly, the concept of showing the "50" mail order brides must have taxed the limited budget so we only get to see them in small clusters.). There are a couple of sequences that stand out in terms of creativity. One involves the surprise slaughter of a barroom filled with Mexican soldiers. The other has a bit of suspense as the Blindman is served a food bowl that he doesn't realize contains a deadly snake. The finale of the film finds Blindman wrestling with Domingo, who has been blinded by a cigar! (Don't ask...) It's supposed to be a tense confrontation, but the sight of the two blind guys rolling around in the dirt looks like an outtake from a Monty Python sketch.  The most intriguing aspect of the film is what led Ringo Starr into appearing in it. He had considerable on-screen charisma that he parlayed into a successful acting career. Here, however, his role is colorless and bland. He doesn't even play the main villain, but rather a supporting character who disappears from the story before the movie even reaches the one-hour mark. Starr supposedly was looking to jump-start his film career and worked with Tony Anthony to develop this production. While he acquits himself credibly, he might have at least given his character some memorable lines or characteristics. 

The previously reviewed version of the film pointed out that the packaging had indicated the film had a running time of 105 minutes, which matches with the original timing cited on on the IMDB site. However, the screener we reviewed ran only 83 minutes and it looked like it had been edited with a meat cleaver. The ABCKO version is the actual 105 minute cut and the transfer is excellent, a vast improvement over the muddy mess we had previously reviewed. Seeing "Blindman" again under these conditions has allowed me to reevaluate my opinion of the film. While it certainly never rises to the standards of a Sergio Leone production, the movie's quirky premise and the amusing performance by Tony Anthony made the experience far more enjoyable the second time around. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer

In the wake of their success co-starring in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, Warner Brothers realized they had captured lightning in a bottle with the teaming of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. The studio quickly paired the two character actors again in the Bogart films Casablanca and Passage to Marseilles. In 1944, Warners decided to give Greenstreet and Lorre what amounted to starring roles in the thriller The Mask of Dimitrios, based on the Eric Ambler novel and set in pre-WWII Europe. (Lorre received fourth billing in the film behind Greenstreet, Zachary Scott and Faye Emerson, but in terms of screen time, he is the star of the movie.) Lorre plays Cornelius Leyden, a mild mannered crime novelist who is visiting Istanbul, where he becomes intrigued by the murder of a man named Dimitrios, who was a local legend in terms of his criminal activities. Dimitrios's body has washed ashore, as shows evidence that he has been stabbed to death. Sensing a good story in the murder, Leyden pursues the man's background and finds out he was known throughout Europe for his audacious crimes. Leyden decides to track down those who interacted with Dimitrios, including jilted partner and abandoned girlfriends. All agree that he was a charismatic cad who worked his way up from petty crimes in Istanbul to being an integral part of Europe's pre-war espionage activities. Leyden is followed in his footsteps by Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), an affable man of mystery who is also obsessed with tracking down Dimitrios's acquaintances and activities leading up to the man's death. After a rocky introduction at the point of Peters' gun, the two men forge an alliance and travel through Turkey, Yuguoslavia and finally Paris in their quest. Along the way, they determine that Dimitrios is very much alive and well, having used another man's murder as an opportunity to fake his own death. Peters is determined to use that information to blackmail Dimitrios and thus ensure acquiring enough money to afford a comfortable retirement. 

Much of the story is told in flashbacks as various individuals relate their experiences with Dimitrios to Leyden and Peters. As played by Zachary Scott, Dimitrios lives up to his legend as handsome womanizer and persuasive businessman, though each of his friends and partners ends up being abruptly jilted in some manner, as Dimitrios moves on to his next scam. (Jack Warner had high hopes for Scott becoming the studio's next great leading man, but his interest in promoting Scott seemed to wane and the actor never really acquired the stardom that his role in this film would seem to have assured.) Leyden and Peters also meet Irana, an entertainer in a squalid Istanbul cafe, who relates how Dimitrios became her lover and ensured that her fortunes improved. However, when she loaned him her savings, he abandoned her, never to be heard from again. Although nursing a broken heart and bearing resentment for the man on one level, she admits she still carries a torch and his abandonment of her left her in a depressed state of mind that still continues. (Apparently, once you've experienced Dimitrios, no other man comes to close as a lover.) As Leyden and Peters close in on their prey, the stakes become higher - and they realize their lives are very much at risk.

The Mask of Dimitrios, ably directed by Jean Negulesco, is a joy to watch. It doesn't have the artistic pretensions of The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, but it is a thoroughly entertaining movie. Lorre and Greenstreet's "Mutt and Jeff" act continues to present them as essentially the same character in film after film, but that doesn't in any way compromise the delight of watching these two eccentric actors at the peak of their careers. The supporting performances are also equally delightful and the film bares all the rich artistic hallmarks of a WB release from the era. 

The Warner Archive has released the film on DVD. The transfer is excellent. An original trailer is included that features specially-filmed footage of Greenstreet and Lorre addressing the audience. The DVD is region free but it's time for a Blu-ray release! 

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount:

Hailed as “the biggest and best action movie of the year” (Screen Rant), the edge-of-your-seat, non-stop thrill ride MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One becomes available to buy on Digital for fans to watch at home starting October 10, 2023.  The blockbuster hit will debut on 4K Ultra HD SteelBook^™, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, and DVD on October 31^st.

“Tom Cruise is at the top of his game” in “the best ‘Mission’ ever” (KTLA-TV) that’s loaded with “next level action and thrills” (Entertainment Weekly).  Certified Fresh with a stellar 96% critic score^* on Rotten Tomatoes,® MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One received widespread acclaim and a coveted “A” CinemaScore from fans.

Fans who purchase the film on Digital can go deeper into the mission with extensive, action-packed bonus content.  Get an inside look at how Tom Cruise and the filmmaking team pulled off multiple breathtaking stunts, go behind-the-scenes of the exotic filming locations, delve into spectacular footage not seen in theatres, learn about the intricacies of the filmmaking process with director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton, and more!  Bonus content is detailed below:

• Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton—McQuarrie and Hamilton take viewers through each compelling scene with in-depth commentary.

• Abu Dhabi—Explore the exotic filming locations in the desert and at the international airport and discover how each thrilling sequence was shot.

• Rome—Take a behind-the-scenes look at the thrilling car chase through Italy's historic capital, as Tom Cruise's driving skills are pushed to the limit while handcuffed to Hayley Atwell!

• Venice—See the breathtaking city of Venice as it's never been shown on film.  Plus, witness the cast's dedication and commitment to their training as they prepare to get "Mission Ready."

• Freefall—An extended behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest stunts in cinema history.  Watch never-before-seen footage of the rigorous training as Tom launches a motorcycle off a cliff.

• Speed Flying—Join Tom and the crew as they explain the various training techniques involved in pulling off the dangerous speed flying stunts in the film.

• Train—See how the climactic train sequence was captured on film.  From building an actual train from scratch to crashing it using practical effects, you don't want to miss this!

• Deleted Shots Montage—Director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton share some of the breathtaking, never-before-seen footage that didn't make the final film.

• Editorial Featurette: The Sevastopol—Director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton take viewers through the intense opening scene.

(Photo: Paramount)

Synopsis

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission - not even the lives of those he cares about most.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present

A TOM CRUISE Production TOM CRUISE “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART ONE”

HAYLEY ATWELL VING RHAMES SIMON PEGG REBECCA FERGUSON VANESSA KIRBY

and HENRY CZERNY Casting by MINDY MARIN, CSA

Music by LORNE BALFE Costume Designer JILL TAYLOR Film Editor EDDIE HAMILTON, ACE

Production Designer GARY FREEMAN Director of Photography FRASER TAGGART

Executive Producers DAVID ELLISON DANA GOLDBERG DON GRANGER

TOMMY GORMLEY CHRIS BROCK SUSAN E. NOVICK

Produced by TOM CRUISE CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE

Based on the Television Series Created by BRUCE GELLER

Written by CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE & ERIK JENDRESEN

Directed by CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE

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By Lee Pfeiffer

When Lillian Helllman's "Toys in the Attic" debuted on Broadway in 1960, it was not unanimously acclaimed but it did win enough acclaim to secure major Tony nominations and enjoy a healthy run that lasted over one year. The show was an important career boost for up-and-coming Jason Robards, who played the male lead. In 1963, United Artists brought the play to the screen, directed by future Oscar winner George Roy Hill. It was Hill's second major film following "Period of Adjustment" the year before. In the 1950s and early 1960s, studios were enamored of moss-dripping family dramas set in the deep South. That's because this sub-genre often derived from the works of acclaimed authors such as Hellman, Tennessee Williams and William Inge. Some memorable films resulted: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Baby Doll and The Long Hot Summer among them. Although these stories diverge in terms of plot, there is a commonality: they generally deal with an emotionally-wrought woman or women who are devoted to a manipulative and generally charismatic cad."Toys in the Attic" is firmly entrenched in this scenario. Dean Martin plays Julian Berniers, a ne're-do-well hunky young man who returns to his family home in New Orleans with his new bride, Lily (Yvette Mimieaux). The house is occupied by Julian's two spinster sisters, Carrie (Geraldine Page) and Anna (Wendy Hiller), both of whom live in self-imposed isolation, largely removed from the outside world. Julian's reputation as a man with big dreams and small results precedes him. He has lost a valuable factory and is presumed in bankruptcy. However, he appears in a jubilant mood bearing expensive gifts for his bewildered sisters. Carrie is especially overjoyed to see him, having harbored incestuous feelings for Julian for many years. She takes an instant dislike to the affable but naive Lily, largely due to personal jealousy. Julian is loaded with cash after concluding a mysterious $150,000 business deal that he won't reveal the details of. He assures his sisters that their days of financial challenges are over and even books them on a European cruise. However, there are consequential aspects to the secrets that Julian keeps and as they are eventually unwoven, a web of lies, deceit and betrayal are unveiled with devastating consequences for all.

"Toys in the Attic" probably works better as a stage production. Director George Roy Hill, confined by a modest budget, doesn't try to "open up" the tale, as there are very few exterior shots in the film. In some cases, this proves to be a wise choice when transferring a stage production to the screen, as evidenced by "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". However, "Toys in the Attic" simply looks like a cheapo production despite the impressive cast. Dean Martin registers well in the role of Julian, a serial exaggerator and braggart who is finally trying to elevate himself from being known as a loser. Martin had already established himself as a serious actor in the wake of his breakup with Jerry Lewis, giving powerful performances in "The Young Lions" and "Some Came Running". Nevertheless, critics were rather cruel to him in regard to his casting in this film, but no one emerged unscathed except for Wendy Hiller, who is the only cast member whose performance is somewhat understated. Mimieux radiates wide-eyed innocence as Julian's child-like bride, but her whining and dependency grow weary to view. Coming off worst is Geraldine Page, who director Hill encourages to play her character in an over-the-top manner that comes close to Piper Laurie's lunatic mother in "Carrie". Gene Tierney makes a brief appearance as Lily's rich-but-shallow mother who Lily suspects of having paid Julien to marry her. There's also an interracial romance hinted at  between Tierney's character and her Black servant, played by Frank Silvera. Apparently, this relationship was watered down from the stage production version. James Poe's screenplay is a muddled affair filled with some many eccentric characters concerned about so many scandals that the story becomes difficult to follow. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote "With an eye for more melodramatics than for contours of character that might make plausible its story of two spinster sisters' odd devotion to their brother, Mr. Hill has allowed this turgid drama and his avid actors to get completely out of hand and run wild in a baffling confusion of theatrical bursts and attitudes." Other critics followed suit and the movie was a financial failure that seemed to diffuse Hollywood's belief that films about Southern scandal-scarred families meant good results at the boxoffice. Fortunately, all involved would move on to more impressive work.

"Toys in the Attic" is available on DVD through MGM.There are no bonus extras. Click here to order DVD from Amazon.

Australian-based video label Imprint is release the complete TV series of "Mission: Impossible" in a Blu-ray boxed set in October. The set is region-free and contains 46 discs. It is now available for pre-order.

(Prices are in Australian dollars. Use  a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.)

"BLAST FROM THE PAST: FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES"

By Lee Pfeiffer

"Saturday Night Live" spawned many a memorable comic character, some of whom were exploited in feature films. While "The Coneheads" proved to be  popular on the big screen, other TV-to-cinema transfers of iconic "SNL" pop culture figures proved to be duds. Al Franken's memorable incarnation of Stuart Smalley was the subject of "Stuart Saves His Family", a 1995 production directed by Harold Ramis that received some surprisingly favorable reviews but ended up with a North American boxoffice gross of less than $1 million. That ranks as a major success compared to "It's Pat: The Movie", released the prior year and starring Julia Sweeney as the androgynous character that proved to be a popular staple of "SNL" during this period. Pat was a visually unattractive figure with an obnoxious manner of speaking that repulsed his/her coworkers, who were constantly striving to discover whether Pat was a male or female. Inevitably, Pat would provide unintentionally ambiguous answers to leading questions that would only heighten the mystery and thwart those who were seeking to unveil Pat's genetic makeup. As the subject of five-minute comedy sketches the concept worked great and Sweeney's Pat became a popular staple of the show. Then Hollywood came knocking. Fox approached Sweeney to turn the concept into a feature film. Sweeney admitted she couldn't envision how Pat could remain interesting to viewers in any format other than TV skits. After putting some development money into the film, Fox agreed and backed off only to have Disney's Touchstone Pictures ride to the rescue and give the production the green light. The result was a disaster. The film was given some sporadic openings only to be pulled within a week due to complete rejection by audiences. The movie's boxoffice gross in North America stands at $61,000. Although modestly-budgeted, the movie still had cost more than $10 million to make. Time has not been kind to dear Pat, as it boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%. Now those brave souls at Kino Lorber have released a Blu-ray of "Pat: The Movie" and, consequently, it's time to revisit the film.

The plot (such as it is) opens with Pat alienating everyone in his/her orbit with obnoxious behavior. A local store owner gives Pat items for free just to expedite his/her departure. Pat tries various career moves but inevitably loses every job due to ineptness. Just when things seem hopeless, Pat finds love with Chris (Dave Foley in a role originated by Dana Carvey on "SNL"), another androgynous individual. The two set up house together and live as a normal couple, though both seem blissfully unaware that their sexuality is a mystery to those around them. Are they a straight couple? A gay couple? Two men? Two women? A subplot is introduced in which a hunky new neighbor, Kyle (Charles Rocket) and his wife Stacy (Julie Hayden) find their lives disrupted by Kyle's increasing obsession with Pat. He is sexually attracted to him/her, much to the alarm of Stacy, and that attraction turns into a psychological mania that finds Kyle dressing like Pat and even stroking a doll that resembles him/her. Meanwhile, the hapless Pat blunders into some successful career steps by making an appearance with a rock band that leads to him/ her becoming a media sensation. When he/she drops by a radio station to visit a friend, Kathy (Kathy Griffin), who hosts a popular romantic advice show, Pat unintentionally upstages her and gets the hosting gig. Pat's success has alienated Chris, who breaks up the relationship and decides to move abroad. The finale finds Pat coming to grips with his/her faults and making a mad dash to a cruise ship line to prevent Chris from leaving the country.

The animosity extended to "Pat: The Movie", which was directed by Adam Bernstein, is a bit difficult to understand. It isn't very good, to be sure, but it's amusing at times and never veers into the overtly offensive gross-out humor that characterizes many of today's comedies. One of the main problems with the film is that there are no sympathetic characters. I don't recall Pat being an overt narcissist on the "SNL" sketches but here the character is mean-spirited, self-centered and devoid of any likable behavior. Kyle is even more repulsive and barely looks up when his wife leaves him. Now this is an absurdist comedy, to be sure, but the best comedies allow the audience to relate to the protagonists on some level. Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey played klutzes but they were klutzes you could cheer for. Not so with Sweeney's Pat. Additionally, Sweeney's fears that the one-note concept could not be sustained over the course of a feature film proved correct. Even with the running time of 77 minutes, the movie plods. Still, there are some genuine laughs, most of them centered on the traditional gag of those around Pat becoming increasingly frustrated by their failure to determine his/her sex. When Pat and Chris are presented with a gift of a sexy corset, they both smile wryly and say "We'll enjoy this!" There is also some genuine amusement in Pat's physical appearance, a kind of grotesque version of Jerry Lewis's Prof. Kelp from "The Nutty Professor". But the laughs are too few even for the abbreviated running time. There also some annoyances that are due to simple sloppiness: when Pat tries to escape a pursuer, she randomly enters a building only to find the place is a night club hosting a packed, on-going, ear-splitting rock concert taking place apparently in the middle of the afternoon. Such absurdities leave one to think that the film was slapped together quickly in order to make a fast buck.

Julia Sweeney tragically faced more challenges than the complete failure of "It's Pat" with critics and the public. Around the time of the film's release, her brother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. After caring for him, she was diagnosed with cancer. Sweeney beat the disease and made lemonade from the lemons life had handed her when she wrote and starred in her acclaimed one-woman play, "God Said Hah!" which chronicled her personal trials and tribulations through a comedic lens. (The play would later be the basis for a documentary.) Her co-star Charles Rocket fared worse, committing suicide in 2005. However, most of those associated with the debacle of "It's Pat" found their careers survived. Director Adam Bernstein went on to a highly successful career in television. Dave Foley continues to work steadily in TV and films and Kathy Griffin emerged as a popular standup comedienne and pundit on CNN until her increasingly foul-mouthed rants backfired, topped by sending around an image on social media depicting her holding the bloody, severed head of President Trump. That stunt achieved the distinction of being denounced by even the president's most ardent critics and Griffin lost her CNN gig.

"It's Pat" opened and closed before the age of E mail and social media had taken the world by storm. It's failure today would have been the stuff of snarky jokes and cynical criticisms of all those involved. However, because the film wasn't highly anticipated, it's failure occurred without much notice or damage to anyone's personal reputation. There's plenty of laughs left in dear Pat but they can mostly be found in the original "SNL" skits. Ironically, with transgender issues now the topic of current debates, the film might have found a more receptive audience today.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray has an impressive transfer, a teaser trailer for the film and a gallery of other comedies available through the company.

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Following the enormous success of his variety show, NBC signed Dean Martin to a new series: celebrity roasts. These became "must-see" telecasts for millions of American viewers. The format was clearly based on the famed Friars Club roasts, minus the expletives. The "honoree" is subjected to a barrage of insults from friends and colleagues in front of a live audience. This telecast, provided by Shout! Factory, illustrates the last hurrah of the golden age of comedy with a dais consisting of the likes of Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Ginger Rogers, Foster Brooks, Henry Fonda, Totie Fields, Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller Rowan and Martin, Nipsey Russell, Don Rickles and Lucy's long-time friends and co-stars Gale Gordon and Vivian Vance.  After being roasted mercilessly, Lucy exacts her "revenge" on those who took potshots at her. The show harkens back to a time when people were more open to laughing at themselves. Much of the humor would be considered to be politically incorrect today, and younger viewers would undoubtedly be appalled. But those who grew up in a different era may find it very amusing, as race, age, weight, physical appearance and drinking habits are all fair game because everyone knew it was all in fun.- Lee Pfeiffer

By Lee Pfeiffer

"A Twist of Sand" is a 1968 production currently streaming on Amazon Prime. You can be forgiven if you are not familiar with the film, as it was one of many made in this era that was not intended to be a blockbuster or win awards. It was made on a modest budget with the expectation of making a modest profit. The plot is the same time-worn scenario that had been seen in countless films: a group of misfits band together on a dangerous quest for gold. Even by 1968, the concept had enough moss on it to make penicillin but there is a reason the concept has repeatedly been recycled: it works. There is always dramatic tension among the participants and this particular tale is no exception.

The film opens with gunrunner Geoffrey Peace (Richard Johnson) and his partner and first mate David Garland (Roy Dotrice) smuggling a large batch of valuable rifles through the straits of Malta. They are intercepted by a British patrol boat and forced to dump the weapons into the sea to avoid arrest and prosecution. The ploy works but they are now destitute with their boat as their only asset. Along comes Harry Riker (Jeremy Kemp), a German fortune hunter who is accompanied by Johann (Peter Vaughan), a hulking, largely mute henchman. Riker spins a tale about having information that might lead them to a cache of priceless diamonds that is buried in an old shipwreck from hundreds of years ago. The shifting of the sands has now placed the vessel somewhere in the middle of the desert off the Skeleton Coast in South West Africa. Peace has an immediate dislike for the men but is desperate enough to agree to the expedition- and they are accompanied by Julie Chambois (Honor Blackman), whose late husband was a prospector who claimed to have unearthed and hidden the diamonds, revealing to her the exact location on the wreck. Adding to the drama is a sub-plot that reveals in flashback that Peace had been commanding a British submarine off the Skeleton Coast during WWII. A German U-Boat was disabled in a firefight and the crew was slaughtered by an errant member of Peace's submarine command who wielded a machine gun to kill all but one man, Johann, who has sworn to somehow take vengeance on the British sub commander. This rather contrived plot point is intended to add tension to the story but we all know that simply by introducing it, Johann will ultimately discover the truth and square off against Peace. 

The disparate group of fortune hunters navigate through the treacherous waters off the Skelton Coast and director Don Chaffey manages to ring some momentary tension out of these scenes. I kept waiting for the cliched scenario that inevitably arises in any of these desert adventure films in which a lone attractive woman causes sexual tension among her male companions. However, screenwriter Marvin H. Albert keeps the characters rather disappointingly chaste. There's more lust to be found in an old Tarzan film than there is here. The movie improves when the motley group lands on the African coast and discovers the wreck of the ancient ship they are looking for now firmly settled into the desert sands. These are the movie's best scenes as the men desperately dig inside the wreck, facing death from being buried by sand or struck by a falling timber. The production design by John Stoller is especially impressive. Naturally, this part of a treasure hunter adventure is always when the double-crosses are introduced and this is no exception. 

The script never directly divulges what year the story is taking place in, thus the viewer would be forgiven for thinking it was in contemporary times. I wondered how we were to believe that the characters would not have aged at all over a period of about 25 years. However, late in the film there is a reference to the fact that it is six years after the war, which would place the timetable sometime in the early 1950s.  The rights to  the novel "A Twist of Sand"  by Geoffrey Jenkins had originally been obtained by Nunnally Johnson, who intended to write the script for a production starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr but for some reason the production never materialized. Instead, the film would eventually be made as this "B" movie production. Director Don Chaffey does a decent job, considering the budget constraints and he has a good cast. Richard Johnson plays against type as a grumpy and humorless protagonist. In real life, Johnson was one of the most humorous and charismatic people this writer has ever known. Jeremy Kemp steals his scenes as his scheming partner. Honor Blackman has very little to do and was obviously cast simply to add a bit of sex appeal. 

"A Twist of Sand" is the kind of movie from this era that a I have a soft spot for. These films were competently made and entertaining, if rather forgettable. To my knowledge, the film has never been released on video in the USA, so its presence on Amazon Prime is especially appreciated. 

1000 copies only!

The next four Carry On Films come to Blu-ray in one Limited Edition Box, with an exclusive 112 page booklet featuring reproductions of the original pressbooks for the first twelve films. 

Includes the worldwide Blu-ray premiere for Carry On Spying!

Carry On Spying (1964)

Worldwide first on Blu-ray! Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless agent Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bind, aided and abetted by the comely Agent Honeybutt and Agent Crump, battle against the evil powers of international bad guys STENCH and their three cronies.

Carry On Cleo (1964)

Two Brits—inventor Hengist Pod, and Horse, a brave and cunning fighter—are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Cleopatra.

Carry On Cowboy (1965)

Stodge City is in the grip of the Rumpo Kid and his gang. Mistaken identity again takes a hand as a ‘sanitary engineer’ named Marshal P. Knutt is mistaken for a law marshal. Being the conscientious sort, Marshal tries to help the town get rid of Rumpo, and a showdown is inevitable. Marshal has two aids—revenge-seeking Annie Oakley and his sanitary expertise.

Carry On Screaming! (1966)

The sinister Dr Watt has an evil scheme going. He’s kidnapping beautiful young women and turning them into mannequins to sell to local stores. Fortunately for Dr Watt, Detective-Sergeant Bung is on the case, and he doesn’t have a clue! In this send up of the Hammer Horror movies, there are send-ups of all the horror greats from Frankenstein to Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde.

Special Features:

• Limited Edition 112-page booklet containing reproductions of the original pressbooks of the first 12 films (1000 copies)
• Carry on Spying Audio Commentary by Bernard Cribbins and Dilys Laye
• Carry on Cleo Audio Commentary by Amanda Barrie and Julie Stevens
• Carry on Cowboy Audio Commentary by Angela Douglas
• Carry on Screaming Audio Commentary by Angela Douglas and Fenella Fielding
• Carry on Spying Textless Titles
• Theatrical Trailers
• Photo Galleries
Imprint limited editions tend to sell out quickly. Click here to  PRE-ORDER. (Prices are in Australian dollars. Use  a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.) The Blu-ray set is Region-Free. 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Fabulous Films regarding the Region 2 Blu-ray and DVD releases of "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", which are being released on 28 August. 

One of Woody Allen’s best-loved films, Hannah and Her Sisters, won three richly deserved Oscars and is considered a joy from start to perfectly-judged finish.

The films ensemble cast includes Max von Sydow, Carrie Fisher, Sir Michael Caine, Diane Wiest, Lloyd Nolan (who died 4 months before the film's release), Mia Farrow and Daniel Stern. Caine won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role while Wiest won Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Allen won Best Screenplay (beating Crocodile Dundee, My Beautiful Laundrette, Platoon and Salvador). Max von Sydow and Barbara Hershey received a standing ovation from the crew after they finished filming their characters' break-up scene.

The film has some great one-liners, with a philosophical discussion about the nature of good and evil getting shot down with “How should I know why there were Nazi’s, I don’t even know how the can opener works”

Synopsis: Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful actress. She’s also the emotional backbone of the family, and her sisters Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) depend on this stability while also resenting it because they can’t help but compare Hannah’s seemingly perfect life with theirs. But with her husband Elliott (Michael Caine) becoming increasingly interested in Lee, it’s clear that Hannah might have problems of her own.

Cast: Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O’Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Richard Jenkins, Fred Melamed, Lewis Black, Joanna Gleason, John Turturro, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Dianne Wiest.

Extras: Theatrical Trailer

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“One of (Woody) Allen’s most enduring accomplishments” - BoxOffice

Nominated for two Academy-Awards® Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously photographed in black and white (Allen’s first film in that format) and accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score which includes Rhapsody in Blue.

Released in 1979. Manhattan won Best Film and Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs. Mariel Hemingway aged 16 years old earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance. Woody Allen and Marshall Brinkman were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Synopsis: Forty-two-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), whom he doesn’t love, and a lesbian ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who’s writing a tell-all book about their marriage...and whom he’d like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend’s sexy intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginnings of Isaac’s quest for romance and fulfilment . In a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gateway to true love...is a revolving door.

Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne.

Extras: Theatrical Trailer

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By Hank Reineke

If we are to use history as a guide – as we should – Earl Derr Biggers’ creation of Charlie Chan marked the first occasion of a fictional Asian detective (Chinese-American to be precise) to be received warmly by not only a U.S. audience but by filmgoers worldwide. Biggers had published no fewer than six Chan mystery novels in the years 1925-1932. The author may have even continued the series had he not died young, age 48, in the spring of 1933. Though there had been preceding Chan film adaptations – the first being a 1926 serial - it wasn’t until Swede Warner Oland’s assumption of the role in 1931 that the character became an iconic totem of detective cinema.

Though Oland had a clear lock on the public’s perception of the inscrutable, unflappable Asian detective, the literary Chan was now moribund. Sensing a vacuum, yet another American author, John P. Marquand, would create the friendly (and obviously pre-war) Japanese spy Mr. Moto. The missions of that character were first serialized in issues of the Saturday Evening Post (1935-1938), those stories soon turned into novels by Boston’s Little Brown & Co. Following Daryl F. Zanuck’s licensing of character rights for 2oth Century Fox in July of 1936, the studio issued no fewer than eight Mr. Moto mystery films (featuring Peter Lorre) in the years 1937-1939.

Whether it was Lorre who chose not to renew his Fox contract, or whether Fox decided the series had simply played out or whether it was the actions of an increasingly belligerent and aggressive Japan (who would formally align with the Axis Powers in September of 1940), Mr. Moto’s final pre-WWII film adventure, ironically titled Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, was released in summer of 1939. Whatever the reason, it was the success of the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto series that allowed Colliers magazine to coattail introduce Hugh Wiley’s Chinese-American James Lee Wong series of detective stories in 1934.

In September of 1938 a California newspaper reported that author Wiley had “just sold four of his detective stories, centering about the character of James Lee Wong, to Monogram Pictures.” The proposed film series was purportedly to feature Boris Karloff – just off production of Son of Frankenstein (Universal) – as the film’s title character. Technically, this character licensing report was old news. In February of 1938, there were already reports that Monogram’s Scott Dunlap was looking for the right actor to cast as Mr. Wong. There was one sensible suggestion that the studio was hoping to find a “Keye Luke” type. Luke was now approachable as Oland’s incarnate of Charlie Chan had recently come to an abrupt, sad end. When Oland passed in August of 1938, Luke was passed over for consideration as a successor. The part ignobly went to Sidney Toler, yet another actor of European ancestry.

Keye Luke was already a familiar figure to cinemagoers – he popularly played the “Number One Son” to Oland’s Chan in a number of films in that popular series. Luke chose to exit the Chan franchise following Oland’s passing: but while now available to Monogram he was not considered a guaranteed box office draw. The Los Angeles Daily News reported on April 14, 1938 that, following negotiations on a long-distance phone call, Dunlap had secured the promise of Boris Karloff, age 50, to star in the proposed series. Shortly following that news, snippy Hollywood gossiper Louella Parsons sniffed that Karloff was exhibiting more than a bit of courage should he expect to “muscle in on the territory so triumphantly held by Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto.”

On April 26, 1938, Variety reported that the Monogram president had been “conferring” with producer Scott R. Dunlap, looking to rush into production for the “1938-1939 releasing season” four new feature films, one of which was Mr. Wong, Detective. On 10 May Variety reported that Richard Weil, “the author of the Charlie Chan radio adventures” had been tasked to write the screenplay for the film. But whether due to a “conflict of interest” concern or simply a scheduling issue, Weil soon fell out and scripting duties went to Houston Branch, a Monogram dependable. In any event, it wasn’t until late August of 1938 that the trades announced that Monogram’s Mr. Wong film - suggested as the “first of four whodunits” all to star Boris Karloff - was to go into production in a week’s time. Industry trade Box Office made further note that the four Wong serial mysteries slated for production were Mr. Wong, Detective, Mr. Wong at Headquarters, Mr. Wong in Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wong.

There would be no shortage of Asian detective melodramas in 1938. Monogram’s Mr. Wong was to compete directly against 20^th Century Fox’s Mr. Moto series and the Chan films still touring the regional circuit. And all three would feature non-Asian actors as the title characters. Karloff, of course, was no stranger to accepting East-Asian roles, having already appeared in such films as The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and, more recently, West of Shanghai (1937). On June 20^th, the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News offered while a complete script had not yet been turned in, cameras were set to roll on Mr. Wong, Detective in three weeks’ time. That deadline was apparently missed, as the first day of shooting on Mr. Wong, Detective would not start until late August (the 25^th according to one contemporary newspaper accounting, the 24^th according to this film’s audio commentary).

We do know that on 3 September 1938, a journalist visited Monogram’s Mr. Wong set. The writer had chosen to sit through a portion of Karloff’s grueling three-and-a-half hour session in the makeup chair of Gordon Bau. Karloff was no stranger to make-up applications, but admitted to the reporter that such wearying sessions weren’t the favorite part of his day. “It’s lovely to get up and go to the studio at 6:00 A.M., stretch out in a barber chair and have somebody with hobnailed boots crawl in and out of your eyes.” Bau defensively parried that such applications were necessary evils, admitting his work on applying rubber cement near Karloff’s eyes to create epicurean folds proved the most challenging part of the actor’s physical transformation.

Karloff agreed the eye make-up applications were the most wearying to endure. “By the time you get done,” Karloff sighed, “my eyeballs are pressed, my vision is off focus and I walk around all day in a haze.” Turning his attention to the visiting journalist, Karloff sniggered, “And when finally he gets through with me, he’s proud of what he’s done. He thinks it is a work of art.” For the most part, Karloff’s reimaging is surprisingly subtle: a slick of pressed black hair, a slim moustache and thickened eyebrows, slight eye folds often disguised behind a set of reading glasses.

If Bau’s reasonably understated make-up appliance was a work of art, critics were divided on whether or not Mr. Wong, Detective was. The story itself concerns a cabal of spies working in interest of an unnamed foreign power and trying to steal a poison gas formula for nefarious ends. The first of Monogram’s Mr. Wong pictures, shot in a mere few weeks’ time, was set for October 5, 1938 release – a mere month following Karloff’s session in Bau’s make-up chair.

Upon the film’s release Variety couldn’t help but comment on the film’s rushed, bargain basement appearance, citing the production as ranging at best from “standard to skimpy.” The Variety critic blamed director William Nigh and scripter Houston Branch for the film’s shortfalls: “First picture suffers from directorial and writing troubles, plus a combination of careless acting and haphazard casting,” the reviewer sighed. Despite such criticism, it was noted that Karloff did the best with the lackluster material given. Fighting “vigorously” against the odds, the scribe conceded that Karloff had at the very least proven his utility as an actor: his presence was enough to prove he needn’t have to affix “grotesque makeup to register.”

Other reviews were kinder. London’s Picturegoer was less critical of the picture, describing Karloff’s Mr. Wong as “a serious rival to Charlie Chan.” But exhibitors were more cautious, split in their opinion of the film’s merit: when one described Mr. Wong Detective, “Worthy of a top spot on a double,” a second complained, “Where does Monogram get the idea this is good? Awful – slowest moving thing I have seen in years.”

Slow or not, by late January of 1939, Monogram was already into production of the second of the series, The Mystery of Mr. Wong. W.T. Lackey took over producing duties from Scott Dunlap, and scripter Branch was relieved of scenario duties, screenwriting credit given to W. Scott Darling. Darling had been the screenwriter of Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) which, interestingly, pitted Oland’s detective against a villainous Boris Karloff.

This second Wong was more of a pedestrian and routine parlor murder mystery, one concerning the theft of a rare and expensive sapphire. By March of 1939, The Mystery of Mr. Wong was already reported as being in the “cutting room.” The film would be released in April of 1939. Though this second entry of the series fared a wee better than its predecessor in critical analysis, this sophomore effort too was faulted for its “lack of action,” the weaving of too many obvious red herrings into the script, and an appreciable number of wooden performances by the cast.

The lukewarm reviews were of little consequence. That same April, it was announced that scripter Darling was to return and write the series’ third entry, Mr. Wong in Chinatown (aka Mr. Wong’s Chinatown Squad). At Monogram’s sales convention at Chicago’s Drake Hotel in spring of 1939, it was evident - despite the lackluster reviews - that studio bosses were pleased with the box office takes of the first two Wong serials. They promised four more titles were already in the pipeline: Mr. Wong Vanishes, Mr. Wong in Havana, Mr. Wong’s Chinatown Squad and Mr. Wong in New York.

By June of 1939 Mr. Wong in Chinatown was already well in production, screenwriter Darling reported mid-month to have already begun scripting duties on what would be the fourth of the series, Mr. Wong at Headquarters. The scenario for Mr. Wong in Chinatown concerns his investigation into the murder of a royal princess who had been visiting the United States on a mission to purchase airplanes for defense of her country against a hostile nation-state.

When Mr. Wong in Chinatown was previewed in July of 1939, the reviews remained consistent with the first two, tagging the film a “slow whodunit.” Though the picture was lacking in any appreciable action, there was a concession that enough, “color and mystery [was] attached to the proceedings to attract fair trade” – well, if exploited properly. One exhibitor agreed, reporting good box office receipts and anointing Mr. Wong in Chinatown, the “Best of the Wong series” to date.

The blandly titled Mr. Wong at Headquarters went into production in November of 1939, and was already in the cutting room by December’s end. By January of 1940 the film’s working title was officially changed to the more mysterious and exotic The Fatal Hour and scheduled for a January 15, 1940 release. This time Wong is called to investigate the waterfront murder of a fellow detective, the scenario intertwined with a bit of a smuggling subplot. New York’s Daily News thought it a not particularly “absorbing of murder mysteries, although it is filled with enough complications to make a Philadelphia lawyer’s head spin.”

In late January of 1940, the Los Angeles Times reported, erroneously, that a fifth Mr. Wong serial - tentatively titled Chamber of Horrors – was in the works, Dorothy Reid cited as readying a script. Some months later the trades reported, far more reliably, that William Nigh was, for a fifth time, signed to direct a Mr. Wong mystery. Though Reid would not be associated with this final Karloff Mr. Wong effort, there was no reason to disbelieve the Times initial report: Reid had served as a producer and writer at Monogram and had previously collaborated with Nigh on such productions as A Bride for Henry (1937) and Rose of the Rio Grande (1938). There was in fact a Monogram horror flick titled Chamber of Horrors produced in 1940, but this was a Norman Lee film, based on the creaky Edgar Wallace novel of 1926, The Door with Seven Locks. Neither Reid nor Nigh was publically connected to that film’s production.

When the final Karloff Wong film, Doomed to Die (aka Mystery of the Wentworth Castle from a script penned by series’ newcomer Ralph G. Bettinson), played Manhattan’s Rialto Theatre, the Hollywood Reporter caustically reported the picture was, if nothing else, “aptly named for it died within a few days” of its showcase. The Baltimore Sun coldly piled on with a bad notice of its own: “The direction, writing and acting are slipshod beyond the limit of that large tolerance accorded this extravert type of drama.” Still more harsh criticism of the picture lie ahead. “Charlie Chan would shake with professional pity,” wrote the New York Herald Tribune, sighing that the great Karloff “has never had a duller, more unexacting role.”

It was the last of Karloff’s involvement in the Mr. Wong series. There was really no reason for the actor to continue on in the role as he certainly did not need the work – nor did he need the piling on of bad notices that continued to accumulate. In 1940, the year that Doomed to Die was released, Karloff would star in no fewer than nine additional features for Columbia, Warner Bros., Universal, RKO Radio and Monogram. He would certainly survive his departure from the role. But would Mr. Wong?

That question was answered in June of 1940 when Monogram announced Keye Luke as Karloff’s successor in the role. It was a sensible progressive move on Monogram’s part, a UPI correspondent writing a glowing tribute to Keye Luke who would now serve – at long last – as “cinema’s one and only genuine Oriental detective.” Though Monogram signed the actor to a four-picture “Mr. Wong” deal, the only entry produced with Luke in the detective role was Phil Rosen’s Phantom of Chinatown, released in November of 1940. The change of actor (and director) was mostly seamless and arguably refreshing: Luke did bring a bit more energy and excitement to the role. (Karloff was often cited by critics as a miscast who, largely unchallenged, chose to sleepwalk through the role). Most reviews of Luke’s Wong were complimentary, echoing those of a Variety critic who thought Phantom of Chinatown “worthy of the average ‘B’ thriller of this type.”

There was some industry talk in January of 1941 that Paul Malvern (an associate producer of Doomed to Die and the producer of Phantom of Chinatown) was preparing Luke’s return as Mr. Wong for the actor’s second outing, provisionally titled Million Dollar Mystery. Had that film been produced, it would have been the seventh in the Monogram series. But no such film was greenlit (perhaps due to Malvern’s 1941 defection to Universal) making Phantom of Chinatown the last of Monogram’s Mr. Wong series. Luke would fulfil his four-pic Monogram contract in a waste of his talent making small appearances in The Gang’s All Here, Bowery Blitzkrieg and Let’s Go Collegiate, all released in 1941.

It’s of some disappointment that Phantom of Chinatown was excluded from this new Kino Lorber Blu-ray collection. Perhaps Kino is planning a standalone release of the title sometime in the future… at least I hope so. In the meantime, I suppose sad Completists will have to hang on to their copies of VCI’s Mr. Wong Detective: The Complete Collection DVD set for a bit longer. (Luke’s Phantom of Chinatown can be found on that 2008 set in far better quality than you can find any of those bargain-priced PD multi-film “mystery collection” type collections… although the DVD issued by Film Detective in 2015 is also a worthwhile seek out).

The five films featured on this Kino Lorber Studio Classic Blu-ray issue of their Boris Karloff: Mr. Wong Collection are all presented in 1920x1080p, in 1.37:1 aspect and DTS monaural sound. The films have been sourced from new Hi-Definition masters made from 2K fine grain scans. The films are not visually perfect. There are moments of flickering, and scratches and print damage, but this is likely the best we’ll ever get of these dimly-recalled throw-away programmers. I’m certainly not complaining.

Other than the usual removable English subs, the Kino set includes only a single feature – an audio commentary for Mr. Wong, Detective courtesy of Tom Weaver and Larry Blamire. On first pass, it might seem the inclusion of only a single commentary on a five-film set is sparse and ungenerous. But the behind-the-camera artisans of Wong series were a particularly insular if clever and creative cabal: William Nigh, director of all five Karloff entries, actor Grant Withers as “Captain Street” in all five as well, William Lackey, an associate producer of four, and W. Scott Darling the screenwriter of three. The contributions of these and others in front of and behind the camera are duly noted on this set’s single but informative and engaging commentary.

Weaver suggests at the commentaries front end that his plan is to “keep things fun,” and he most certainly does. Both Weaver and Blamire have done their homework, digging out practically every morsel of historical information they could source for these uncelebrated Monogram quickies: this includes their deep dig into (less reliable) information gleaned from ballyhoo appearing in the film’s pressbook and other publicity materials, alongside contemporary reviews from the Hollywood trades and newspapers. Blamire has really gone the extra mile, choosing to preemptively read twelve of the twenty Hugh Wiley’s Mr. Wong short-stories so he might pick out the moments and small bits the filmmakers used for the series.

I wasn’t as admiring of the “actor re-creations” of interview transcripts of Karloff and others scattered about the commentary. It seems unnecessary and distracting - a simple “quote/unquote” recitation of such material is preferable to badly-mimicked vocal imitations. The (thankfully) occasional insertion of MST3K-style sound effects and dubbed-in jokey one-liners were also unnecessary IMHO, but I’m admittedly a grouch. If you prefer your Wong with a dash of irreverence then have at it. Weaver and Blamire also sidecar their commentary with several detours touching on the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto series, all fair game. All in all, the commentary track serves as an excellent primer for fans wishing to learn a bit more about Mr. Wong on page and film. To summarize, this excellent package from Kino Lorber is a “must-have."

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By Doug Oswald

Frank Lovejoy, Richard Carlson and Rusty Tamblyn are United States Marines sent to South Korea in the early days of the Korean War in the 1952 film “Retreat, Hell!,” available on DVD and Blu-ray from Olive Films. The movie follows the fictionalized exploits of a Marine battalion during America’s “forgotten war,” one often overlooked in film as well as in our collective memories. We follow these Marines from training at Camp Pendleton, California, to the 1950 landing at Inchon, South Korea, followed by their battles with North Korean and Chinese soldiers through a bitterly cold winter. Everything goes as planned until faced with the unexpected overwhelming response by the enemy.

The film features a fine performance by Richard Carlson as Captain Paul Hanson. He’s a married reserve officer and WWII veteran recalled to active service. He balances family and the needs of the military including military deployments. Carlson’s Captain Hanson is not happy about being recalled to active duty and moving his family to California. Soon after arriving, he’s informed he and his men will be spending all their time in the field training which ratchets up his resentment because he’s not able to spend any time with his family prior to deploying to Korea. This creates conflict between Hanson and his commanding officer and mistrust of his leadership skills. Frank Lovejoy is his commander, Lt. Colonel Steve Corbett, who places duty above all else.

Captain Hanson’s wife, Ruth, is played by Anita Louise. Louise is an actress remembered today for her work in television after she made this film. She isn’t given much to do here with only a couple of scenes as a supportive wife and mother, but does the best she can given the limited time to develop her character. Lovejoy is an actor who dies too young at age 50 in 1962. He’s best remembered for a wide variety of credits on stage, screen and television often specializing as military men, cops and detectives. He’s very good here as the Marine commander holding his men together as they retreat after facing overwhelming Chinese and North Korean troops.

Carlson is best remembered today for his work in the sci-fi classics “It Came from Outer Space,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “The Valley of Gwangi.” He appeared in another Korean War drama, “Flat Top,” as well as the Bob Hope comedy “The Ghost Breakers,” the 1950 version of “King Solomon’s Mines,” the Elvis drama “Change of Habit” and scores of television series and movies. According to IMdb, John Wayne was scheduled to appear in the movie, but backed out due to other movie commitments. It certainly would have changed the movie, depending on the role, if the Duke would have been cast.

Rounding out the cast is Russ Tamblyn (billed as Rusty Tamblyn) as Private Jimmy McDermid, fresh from basic training. Tamblyn is undoubtably the best remembered of the cast today for his role in the David Lynch cult classic “Twin Peaks.” He also appeared in countless classic movies including “The Haunting,” How the West Was Won,” “The Long Ships,” “Peyton Place,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “Tom Thumb,” “The War of the Gargantuas” (if you haven’t seen it, you must!), “West Side Story,” “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” and countless other movies and television series. Tamblyn remains one of the great underrated talents in film and television.

The movie’s title comes from a statement made by Major General O.P. Smith, commanding general of the First Marine Division at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, who was asked if he was ordering his men to retreat. The general replied, "Retreat, Hell! We're not retreating, we're just advancing in a different direction." In the movie, the line is spoken by Frank Lovejoy. The phrase, “Retreat, Hell!,” is common among Marines to this day. “Advancing in a different direction” is a phrase often repeated by military troops in all branches.

A co-production of United States Pictures and Warner Bros., the movie was released in February 1952 by Warner Bros. The movie could be easily mistaken for propaganda as it was released during the Korean War and opens with the Marine Corps song over the titles in a score by William Lava which plays throughout the movie. Filmed with the approval of the Marine Corps, the drama is apolitical with a focus on the personal drama of the men caught in extraordinary circumstances. The movie was directed by Joseph H. Lewis with a screenplay co-written by Milton Sperling and Ted Sherdeman. All three have a variety of big and small screen credits from low-budget thrillers to television into the 1960s.

The film is lacking by the obvious California locations standing in for Korea which was commonly used in military dramas and a score which consists mostly of variations on the Marine Corps song But the movie stands out as a small gem about the Korean War with fine performances by Carlson, Lovejoy and Tamblyn.

Prior to the film’s release in San Antonio, Texas, the title was changed to “Retreat, Heck” in local radio ads because the original title was deemed offensive. Both the DVD and Blu-ray look terrific in glorious black & white in this disc released by Olive films. The movie clocks in at 95 minutes in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray. I recommend picking up the Blu-ray, but you can’t go wrong with the DVD version if that’s your format of choice. In both cases, the movie looks and sounds terrific, although there are no bonus features.. “Retreat, Hell!” is recommended for fans of military movies.

(Note: It has been announced that Olive Films has unfortunately ceased operations. However, this video is still available on Amazon.)

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

ENTER THE DRAGON COMES TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY^TM AND DIGITAL.

TO CELEBRATE THE ICONIC FILM’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, ENTER THE DRAGON WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

Purchase the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on 8/8/23

As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100^th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the iconic martial arts film Enter the Dragon will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital this August.

Celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its 1973 release, on August 8 Enter the Dragon will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. Enter the Dragon is considered one of the most influential action films of all time and is credited with bringing interest in the Asian martial arts genre to mainstream Western cinema.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc includes both the theatrical version of the film and the Special Edition of the film which features three additional minutes of footage.

Directed by Robert Clouse, Enter the Dragon stars Bruce Lee in his final completed film role. Lee is widely regarded as one of the most influential martial artists of all time and was a pop culture icon of the 20th century.  In addition to Lee, the film also stars John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kein, and introduces Jim Kelly.  It was written by Michael Allin and produced by Fred Weintraub, Paul Heller, and Raymond Chow with a score by honorary Academy Award recipient Lalo Schifrin.

In 2004, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 1999, Bruce Lee was listed in Time magazine’s “100 most influential people of the century.”

Enter the Dragon will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc for $24.99 ERP and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version of the feature film in 4K with HDR, the Special Edition version of the film in 4K with HDR, and a Digital download of both versions of the film. Fans can also own Enter the Dragon in 4K Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on 8/8/23. 

About the Film

Bruce Lee explodes onto the screen in the film that rocketed him to international superstardom, Enter The Dragon. Lee plays a martial arts expert determined to take down the ruthless gang leader, Han, who was responsible for the death of his sister. Recruited by an intelligence agency, he poses a student and attends a tournament at a remote island fortress. His goal is to gather evidence that will prove Han’s involvement with drug trafficking and prostitution. With one man focused on crime and the other bent on revenge, the two engage in the now-classic fight-to-the-death finish. They both enter a mirrored maze and deadly battle. Only one will exit.

Enter the Dragon Ultra HD Blu-ray disc and Digital the following previously released special features:

· Introduction by Linda Lee Cadwell (run time: 2:17 minutes)

· Commentary by Paul Heller and Michael Allin (run time: 110 minutes)

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the BFI concerning their new Region 2 Blu-ray of "Brannigan", which can be pre-ordered for 21 August release.

“The Duke is in London, and London will never be the same!”

Veteran Chicago detective Jim Brannigan (John Wayne, The Searchers) is dispatched to London to bring back notorious gangster Ben Larkin (John Vernon, Dirty Harry), and is assured that the whole operation will run smoothly. However, when things don’t go to plan, Brannigan finds himself in the crosshairs of Larkin’s thugs. Reluctantly teaming up with by-the-book Commander Swann of Scotland Yard (Richard Attenborough, The Great Escape), but determined to recapture Larkin no matter what, Brannigan tears through London, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Boasting incredible stunts, powerful punch-ups, dry dialogue and panoramic views of 1970s London shot by cinematographer Gerry Fisher (The Go-Between, Highlander), as well as a superb supporting cast including Judy Geeson and Mel Ferrer, Brannigan still stands tall as an explosive, action-packed, highly entertaining and peculiarly British excursion for the legendary John Wayne.

Extras

• Presented in High Definition
• Audio commentary by Steve Mitchell and critic Nathaniel Thompson (2017)
• A Duke Out of Water (2023, 37 mins): reminiscences from the people who made Brannigan
• Frank Henson on Brannigan (2021, 4 mins): the veteran stuntman looks back on doubling the Duke
• Take It to the Bridge (1905-1956, 23 mins): historical glimpses of the Thames, Tower Bridge and other Brannigan locations
• A Policeman’s Lot (1896-1973, 35 mins): a copper’s clutch of films concerning crimefighters and crooks, proceeding from the very earliest days of cinema towards the Brannigan era
• The Guardian Interview: Richard Attenborough (1983, 89 mins, audio only): the award-winning actor and director, and John Wayne’s Brannigan co-star, reflects upon his illustrious career
• An extensive selection of location photographs, featuring cast and crew
• Original trailer
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new essays by Johnny Mains and John Oliver, notes on the special features and credits

Click here to pre-order from the BFI shop.

By Hank Reineke

We film collectors are a spoiled lot: and, yes, I include myself in that assessment. When Australian video label Imprint first announced their seminal Silver Screams Cinema collection in 2021, I was ecstatic. Though the now defunct U.S. based Olive Films had already given us Blu-rays of three titles soon-to-be featured on the Imprint set (Return of the Ape Man (Monogram, 1944) She Devil (1957) and The Vampire’s Ghost (Republic, 1945), it was the Aussie’s inclusion of several long-neglected films from the vault of Republic Pictures - Valley of the Zombies (1946), The Phantom Speaks (1945) and The Lady and the Monster (1944) - that compelled one to pre-order.

The Imprint set contained almost every title a fan of Republic’s horror-mystery offerings might desire… with one notable exception. Where was Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris (1946)? It was the one Republic horror flick I had been wishing on the longest. Decades ago I gave up hope of ever seeing any sort of legitimate home video issue. So I sought out the serviceable – if scratchy and hazy - gray-market bootleg long making the rounds on the collector’s market. So the exclusion of The Catman of Paris from Imprint’s otherwise magnificent Silver Screams set was a bit frustrating.

So it was with great anticipation when Imprint’s single-disc Blu-ray of The Catman of Paris recently arrived. I’m pleased to report that the release not only looks great but also arrives with a couple of bonus features. But while this film’s arrival on Blu-ray brings with it a satisfying sense of closure, I think it’s best to acknowledge that The Catman of Paris is by no means a riveting lost classic of horror cinema. Though the film holds a certain charm in my personal nostalgia bank, The Catman of Paris often plods along for most of its hour or so running time. But I’m still a fan.

Republic Pictures was, of course - unfairly, in my mind – deemed a Hollywood “Poverty Row” studio. But the production values of the studio were often of high-caliber despite meager budgets, the studio producing more than a thousand features and serials from its inception in 1935. Though associated with Monogram Pictures – a purveyor of a number of 1940s low-rent horror and mystery pictures (which often featured the likes of genre stars Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill and John Carradine), Republic was late in getting on the exploitative horror-film train. I suppose it can be argued that they nearly missed the train entirely. The studio only really began to test the horror-picture market when public interest in such fare was clearly on the wane.

But the studio’s first horror pic The Lady and the Monster (1944), featuring Erich von Stroheim as a cold and humorless mad scientist, did well enough for the studio to greenlight a double-dose of new horror in 1945: The Vampire’s Ghost and The Phantom Speaks – two films which we’ll get to in a moment. Generally speaking, the Republic horrors were of similar construct to Monogram’s. But unlike the Monogram films – which have been mostly available over the years on home video due to their public domain status – the Republic horror pics have been, until recently, almost entirely commercially inaccessible to students of the genre.

It’s possible the Republic horror pics have been glossed over due to the fact that, unlike the studio’s western film counterparts – which featured such star-spangled stars as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and John Wayne – their horror pics offered no similar marquee attraction. Perhaps if the Republic horror and mysteries features offered such boogeymen as Lugosi or Boris Karloff there might have been more of a commercial interest in getting these out to fans and collectors. But Paramount Pictures, the company that ultimately absorbed the Republic catalog, seemed mostly disinterested in making available that studio’s horror film efforts.

To be fair, Republic wasn’t Universal: there actually wasn’t a great deal of true “horrors” to choose from. In 1999, film historian Tom Weaver examined some of the Republic titles in his tome Poverty Row Horrors!: Monogram, PRC, and Republic Horror Films of the Forties (MacFarland). A decade- and -a -half later author Brian McFadden published his Republic Horrors: The Serial Studio’s Chillers. Both books were welcome additions to the film scholar’s personal libraries. But while McFadden’s effort seemed to promise a deeper-dive into the Republic’s long-neglected horror catalog, it mostly reminded readers that the studio actually released very few true horror pictures during the Golden Age of the 1940s. Of the ten films chosen for examination by McFadden, only five could justify being classified as genuine “horrors.” The remaining five titles selected were simply mysteries with woven eerie elements.

But if Universal’s reign as the preeminent horror-movie studio was beginning to wind down by the mid-1940s, Republic’s was just beginning to rev up. In early May of 1945, the Los Angeles Times reported that executives at Republic Pictures, “encouraged by the current success of The Vampire’s Ghost and The Phantom Speaks,” were already planning a pair of thrillers of similar design. Under the watchful eye of producer William O’ Sullivan, Republic’s newest horror pics, titled The Catman of Paris and The Valley of the Zombies, was to “be sold to exhibitors as a pair.”

Associate producer Marek M. Libkov told the Hollywood Reporter that their newest, The Catman of Paris, would have a provisional start date of September 20, 1945 with casting to “start immediately.” In fact, most of the principal casting was already in place by early September, though casting notices for small roles were still being announced as late as October 5. It was also later reported that the film’s start date would be pushed to September 22. The film’s presumed co-feature – Phil Ford’s Valley of the Zombies – was already just shy of two weeks into production with production on The Catman of Paris set to follow immediately on its heels. But even the revised start date of September 22 is in doubt. On September 24, 1945, the Los Angeles Times noted production on Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris was, at long last, to start “today at Republic.”

It’s of some interest that the two primary cast members of The Catman of Paris, Carl Esmond and Lenore Aubert, were both born in Vienna, Austria. Though neither had ever appeared in a horror film, both already would share near-miss flirtations with real-life horrors. Esmond left for the U.S. as early as 1938 at the behest of MGM’s Louis B. Mayer. The actor had been performing with a touring company in London when Nazi troops swept into Austria in March of 1938. Esmond reflected to Hollywood scribe Maxine Garrison that Mayer dangled an MGM contract before him, warning ‘You would be foolish not to come [to America]. Europe will be lost in war before long.” Esmond admitted, “I had not thought of it that way, but he was right.”

Aubert too left Vienna, choosing travel to Paris. But with German troops already occupying the City of Light, the actress also made the decision to immigrate to America. (Ironically, Aubert’s first screen credit was for a performance as a villainous Nazi spy for Samuel Goldwyn’s They Got Me Covered (1943), an early Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour comedy). Though not a household name to most cinephiles, the darkly beautiful Aubert is likely best remembered for her performance as the sinister Dr. Mornay in the time-tested Universal classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

The Hollywood trades were reporting a lot of activity on the Republic Studios lot that first week of October of 1945… but most interest was fixed on producer-director Frank Borsage’s ambitious and expensive Technicolor effort Concerto. But a wandering journalist noted that only “two stages away,” Republic’s dual monochrome horror pics, The Catman of Paris and Valley of the Zombies, were being shot concurrently for a provisional double-feature release. “On both sets, the visitor must have nerves of steel,” it was reported, “to withstand sudden appearances of perambulating cat people and corpses.”

By Thursday, October 11, 1945, the Hollywood Reporter noted that production on The Catman of Paris had wrapped on the night previous, when “final exterior scenes were filmed on the studio’s back lot.” The report also indicated that co-feature Valley of the Zombies had finished shooting a mere “one day before Republic started rolling Selander’s picture.” If true, the earlier reportage of dual-picture sightings of “perambulating cat people and corpses” was little more than promotional ballyhoo.

So who was this sinister cinematic Catman of Paris? Parisian police detectives are of the belief that it’s none other than the best-selling, dashingly handsome French novelist Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond). The popular-selling author has recently returned to Paris following two years of international travel – including a possibly fateful visit to the tropics. Not everyone has enjoyed his most recent book. Regnier’s fiction-novel Fraudulent Justice has come to the attention – and annoyance – of the French government. It seems Regnier’s narrative appears to have been based on a true-life crime and trial: the details of which were never brought to public scrutiny and the judicial outcome now thought a travesty of justice. So how was it that Regnier could accurately account so much about a secretive government trial?

Regnier has also returned to Paris to wrestle other demons. The writer suffers headaches which bring about unexplainable subsequent episodes of amnesia. During such sessions Regnier is visited by images of violent weather disturbances and of a mysterious black cat. Regnier’s moneyed patron, Henri Borchard (Douglas Dumbrille), suggests Regnier’s fragile mental state is due to his having contracted some sort of fever when visiting the tropics. There’s also a measure of astrological hokum in the scripting mix as well.

Both Bouchard and Regnier’s publisher Paul Audet (Francis Pierlot) are concerned that following two gruesome murders of which Regnier is at least tangentially involved, the author’s book sales might plummet and bankrupt the publishing house. And circumstantial evidence of Regnier’s involvement in the murders continues to mount. The Catman’s most recent victim - Regnier’s high-society fiancé Marguerite Duvall (Adele Mara), was recently jilted so the author might enjoy a new romance with publisher’s daughter Marie (Lenore Aubert). Having completely fallen for the dashing author, Marie Audet is completely convinced of Regnier’s innocence… until she herself is chased through a misty evening garden by a cloak and top-hatted Catman on the prowl for her blood.

Though the film would eventually pair with Valley of the Zombies, The Catman of Paris was initially paired on release with John English’s somewhat better-received ice-skating musical-mystery Murder in the Music Hall. The first wave of reviews of The Catman of Paris were generally fair - if mostly unfavorable. The Hollywood Reporter ignobly described the film as an “absurdity,” a career embarrassments to all involved. The lugubrious screenplay of Republic scenarist Sherman L. Lowe was decried as far too “wordy… every character uttering editorials instead of dialog.”

There were complaints – also not unfair - that the film displayed a curious lack of “physical action.” Variety was a bit more forgiving in its assessment, calling the Valentine’s Day preview of The Catman of Paris “a cross between a garden-variety whodunit and a Jekyll-Hyde horror-meller […] that taxes belief to the breaking point.” The Christian Science Monitor dismissed the film outright as a “routine horror story based on far-fetched thrills.”

Despite the lukewarm reviews of both Murder in the Music Hall and The Catman of Paris, the package managed a successful earning of $35,000 in its first week. Which, at the very least, guaranteed a second week of booking. Republic, presumptively optimistic and encouraged by strong initial returns, inked producer Libkov to a contract of three additional pictures. Though there was the inevitable revenue fall-off in the second week of release, the trades were reporting box office tallies in and around Los Angeles remained “good” if not showing signs of sustained momentum. But by week three, the box office receipts were down to disappointing four figure earnings. As the Catman creeped regionally across the U.S. through autumn of 1946, local reviewers and small-town theater managers found the film a mild mystery offering at best. Subsequently, four-figure weekly returns were now the norm.

By Doug Oswald

Frank Sinatra made his directorial debut with the World War II drama “None But the Brave,” available on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. An American C-47 carrying Marines and a Navy Corpsman, crashes on a Pacific island in the Solomon Islands chain. The island is occupied by a small force of Japanese soldiers who have been stranded and forgotten. The C-47 radio is damaged in the crash and the Americans have a limited supply of food, water and ammunition. The Japanese control the only source of fresh water on the island, grow food, fish and have built a boat.

The Americans have a Navy corpsman and the Japanese have an injured soldier. The Americans also have a hot-headed Marine Lieutenant itching to kill Japanese. Fortunately, the senior ranking American is the cool-headed Army Air Corp pilot of the downed C-47 and he keeps the Lieutenant and his men in check. The Americans and Japanese form a temporary truce; food and water in exchange for medical care for their injured soldier.

The movie is part of a sub-genre of WWII movies about adversaries who become stranded and must survive within enemy territory until rescued. “No Man is an Island” (1963) and “Hell in the Pacific” (1968) are examples. While its doubtful American and Japanese ever created such a truce, the concept does make for interesting story telling. There have even been sci-fi versions of this premise such as “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” (1964) and “Enemy Mine” (1985). William Dafoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” is a clear literary source for this genre.

When a typhoon hits the island, the Americans and Japanese have to work together to save the fresh water pond. The Americans repair the radio and rescue is at hand, bringing everyone to the brutal conclusion. The movie ends with a preachy epitaph, “Nobody Ever Wins,” which comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. Sinatra and the writers may have been making an early statement about the Vietnam War at a time when American audiences were still eager to see WWII action movies like “The Great Escape,” “The Dirty Dozen” and his own “Von Ryan’s Express.” “None But the Brave” is a good WWII movie with a great cast, but I think Sinatra may have picked the wrong war to send an anti-war message. Perhaps disillusioned, he never directed another film.

Sinatra co-produced the movie and receives star billing in what is essentially a co-starring role as Maloney, a cynical Navy chief who drinks too much. Clint Walker is at his best as the Army C-47 pilot, Captain Dennis Bourke, who has a history with Maloney. His Japanese counterpart is Lieutenant Kuroke played by Tatsuya Mihashi. Tommy Sands is the hot-headed Marine, 2nd Lieutenant Blair in a performance that is a bit over-the-top, and Takeshi Kato as his equallyhot headed Japanese counterpart, Sergeant Tamura. Other familiar faces in the American cast include Brad Dexter as Sergeant Bleeker and Tony Bill as Keller, the C-47 radio operator. Hisao Dazai appears as Corporal Fujimoto and may be familiar to fans of Godzilla movies, as he featured in several Toho monster movies. Laraine Stephens, one of only two women in the movie, appears uncredited in a flashback scene as Lorie.

Sinatra gives his typical easy-going performance as Maloney and his direction is equally easy-going, making use of the tropical location with Kaua'I, Hawaii, filling in for the South Pacific island. The Japanese-American co-production has a screenplay co-written by John Twist and Takeshi Kato and is based on a story by Kikumaru Okuda. There’s unconvincing model work used in the plane crash scene at the start of the movie with a model Japanese Zero shooting down the C-47 and an American fighter. The main sets include the freshwater pond, the C-47 hulk and the Japanese Army compound. I’m sure the cast and crew enjoyed their time in Hawaii.

The movie was released in February 1965 by Warner Bros. and clocks in at 106 minutes. The Warner Archive region-free Blu-ray looks very good and sounds great, with an early score by John Williams. The only extra on the disc is the trailer which is interesting because it shows Sinatra acting as both director and star. The English subtitle option is welcome, especially during the Japanese scenes. The movie is not perfect, but it is an enjoyable afternoon movie recommended for Sinatra fans and WWII military adventure.

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By Fred Blosser

From the vantage point of 2023, the domestic and professional situations depicted in Mervyn Le Roy’s “Moment to Moment,” a romantic melodrama released on January 27, 1966, might as well be a portrait of an alien society. Kay Stanton (Jean Seberg) lives in a charming rented villa in Cannes, France, thanks to her husband Neil’s sabbatical from his tenured position as an eminent professor of psychology at Columbia University. If you ask a professor nowadays if he or she ever expects to receive a year’s paid leave on the French Riviera complete with housing, the answer is likely to be, “Sure, in your dreams.” In today’s penny-pinching, increasingly conservative institutions of higher learning, most professors are lucky to get tenure.

Kay has no visible interests or pursuits outside of her role as a housewife, and even the chores of cooking, cleaning, and supervising the couple’s well-behaved ten-year-old son are fulfilled by paid help. Today’s overworked, stressed-out soccer moms would pant with envy, but Kay is lonely. Neil (an archetypal Arthur Hill role played here by . . . Arthur Hill!) is a loving husband, but he’s on the road most of the time, happily accepting offers to lecture in London and Edinburgh. In that pre-IT age, he and Kay don’t even have the luxury of seeing each other on FaceTime. The best Kay can expect is a hurried call on her landline as Neil rushes off to an appointment, and the most excitement she can muster are the afternoon cocktails with her impish, divorced neighbor Daphne (Honor Blackman). Daphne is as happily promiscuous as Kay is strait-laced, offering a perpetual open house to randy gangs of officers on leave from a nearby American Navy base. Despite her good-times facade, we eventually learn that Daphne’s objective is as middle-class as they come, hoping eventually to land Mr. Right in the form of a well-to-do, well-connected commander or admiral.

For Kay, temptation enters as she encounters Mark Dominic (Sean Garrison), a handsome Naval ensign with ambitions as an artist. They meet when her son Timmy notices Mark painting at an easel in town, and from there they drift into a relationship when she offers to drive him around to scout out potential backdrops at quaint village plazas and cafes. In the best Soap Opera tradition of smart people who do stupid things against their better judgment — not unlike real life, come to think of it — Kay goes to bed with Mark one night when her son is sleeping over at a friend’s house and the housekeeper is on vacation. Next morning, Kay suffers remorse and tells Mark it’s over. Mark reacts angrily, a gun is brandished and goes off, and he drops to the floor, apparently dead. Kay compounds one stupid act with another when she convinces Daphne to help her dispose of the body.

At that point, the movie finds its surest footing as a suspense thriller. Kay calls the police anonymously to tell them where to find Mark, and soon the shrewd Inspector DeFargo (Grégoire Aslan) is on the case. He suspects Kay of being the culprit, and begins to tighten the screws by asking Neil, newly arrived home not knowing about Kay’s infidelity, to help treat a young man with amnesia. The patient is Mark, alive but suffering a total loss of memory beginning with the morning he met Kay. In scenes of sadistic comedy that nearly rival Alfred Hitchcock’s best, DeFargo engineers a series of meetings with Neil, Kay, and Mark in which various visual and acoustic clues threaten to jog the young officer’s memory. Kay cringes, Neil is oblivious, and DeFargo watches like a spider contemplating a fly in its web. To say the least, it’s unorthodox police procedure. At least he doesn’t propose the old Hollywood remedy of smacking Mark on the head again to see if that does the trick. Maybe he found it more amusing to torment Kay.

“Moment to Moment” was the final film of Melvyn Le Roy’s long and versatile career, except for uncredited assistance on John Wayne’s “The Green Berets,” and it is largely forgotten today even as new generations of movie buffs rediscover “Little Caesar,” “Gold Diggers of 1933,” “The Bad Seed,” and “Gypsy.” In part, it was probably a matter of having a B+ cast instead of an A cast. Jean Seberg was a well-established actress, but not a proven box-office draw like Audrey Hepburn or a rising luminary like Faye Dunaway. Sean Garrison co-starred in a short-lived TV Western, “Dundee and the Culhane,” and then drifted into a busy but low-key career as a supporting actor. He had the misfortune of entering the business at the same time as dozens of other young, good-looking hopefuls, and unlike James Brolin, Chad Everett, Harrison Ford, Lee Majors, and Robert Redford, he never quite had the charisma or lucky break needed to surface above the pack.

But the main jinx for the movie was bad timing. Released the same year that “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Blow-Up” began to shake Hollywood’s taboos against explicit language and nudity, “Moment to Moment” struck critics and probably most viewers as glossy, old-fashioned entertainment not much racier than the TV Soap Operas of the era. Today, that very quality is likely to work in its favor among viewers who weren’t even born in 1966. Who wouldn’t be curious about a world in which a thirty-something woman lounges around the house in Yves Saint Laurent dresses instead of yoga pants and a sweatshirt? The plot about marital infidelity and attempted murder is mirrored now by true-crime podcasts and “NBC Dateline Two-Hour Events,” although the culprits there are usually less attractive and a lot less classy than Kay Stanton, and the cops less idiosyncratic than Inspector DeFargo.

A new Blu-ray edition of “Moment to Moment” from Kino Lorber Studio Classics presents the movie in a sharp, 1.85:1 image much richer than the old prints that used to run on local TV stations in the 1980s, before “Dr. Phil” and “The View” claimed their time-slot. Special features include an amusing, informative audio commentary by Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson, and a short 1966 featurette, “Moment to Moment with Henry Mancini.” The featurette, actually a slightly extended trailer, intercuts shots of the composer conducting his lush score for the picture with quick scenes illustrating how the music underlines Le Roy’s moods of romance and suspense. Would that we had more composers now as talented as Henry Mancini, and more directors with Mervyn Le Roy’s versatility, sharp sense of composition, and confident pace.

Click here to order from Amazon

(Fred Blosser is the author of "Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes". Click here to order from Amazon)

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray of the 1961 comedy Bachelor in Paradise which features the considerable star power of Bob Hope and Lana Turner. As with most Hope vehicles, this is a low-key affair that was designed to please his core base of fans. If the film doesn't break any new ground for Hope the actor, it at least provides plenty of yucks from his trademark wisecracks. Hope plays Adam Niles,an international playboy and best-selling author who has gotten rich by writing books about the sex lives of different nationalities and cultures. When devastating tax troubles force him to return to America, he reluctantly accepts an assignment to help offset his staggering debt to the government. Niles' publisher concocts a scheme whereby he will go undercover to research and write about the sex lives of Americans. He ends up moving to a suburban community known as Paradise, where he assumes an alias and goes about assessing the love lives of his neighbors. The presence of a single man among so many married couples causes an instant scandal, especially when Niles begins wooing neighborhood wives to his lectures about how to improve their sex lives. (This being 1961, it is unsurprising that his conclusions all revolve around what women can do to entice their men. No reciprocal protocols are expected). Before long, husbands are marching on Niles' home like the villagers storming Frankenstein's castle. His main ally is Paradise manager Rosemary Howard (Lana Turner) who puts her career on the line to defend Niles' right to live in the neighborhood, even as she rejects his heavy-handed attempts to seduce her.

Bachelor in Paradise, directed by Jack Arnold and boasting a score by Henry Mancini, is a surprisingly racy premise for a Hope movie. Released during an era when the terms "suburbs" still conjured up images of wife-swapping and orgies, the movie looks positively quaint by today's standards. Women prance around in house dresses as they endlessly ponder what more than can do to please their hard-working hubbies. Some of Hope's zingers still connect and his chemistry with Turner is considerable. The movie also benefits from a terrific cast of supporting actors including sexy Paula Prentiss, Jim Hutton, Janis Paige (as the neighborhood nymphomaniac), Don Porter and the always wonderful John McGiver. The film isn't a comedy classic but provides enough genuine laughs to merit viewing. An original theatrical trailer is included.

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By Hank Reineke

There were passing moments when watching this gorgeously curated Blu-ray of Phil Tucker’s cult 3-D masterwork Robot Monster (1953) that I mulled its reputation as cinema’s most fabled wreck was undeserved. Surely, I thought, I’ve cringingly sat through worse sci-fi films produced before and since. But then some particularly awful line of dialogue (delivered woodenly, of course), or a bizarre plot turn, or a not-so-special effect, or an inexplicable episode of dinosaur wrangling would interrupt my musings, causing a return to sober reality. Phil Tucker’s low-low-low budget monster-piece is a crazed vision, to be sure. But acknowledging that, Robot Monster is most certainly not one of the world’s worst films: it’s too entertaining to be dismissed as such. On the same token, it’s undeniably one of the most desperate and unhinged cinematic artifacts lensed by an indie Hollywood film-outfit of the ‘50s.

The sullied reputation of Robot Monster is the result, no doubt, due to the merciless flailing of the production by the smirking Medved brothers - Michael and Harry – who infamously skewered the film in their pop-culture, eminently readable and caustic tomes The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (1978) and The Golden Turkey Awards (1980). Still the film’s space helmet and gorilla-suit sporting “Ro-man” (as listed in the film’s end credits) – has somehow managed to become as visually iconic a totem of 1950s sci-fi as the gigantic robot Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still (2oth Century Fox, 1951) or the Metaluna monster in This Island Earth (Universal-International, 1955).

As is so often the case, the backstory to the creation of Robot Monster is perhaps more interesting than the artifact produced. The screenplay was written by Wyott “Barney” Ordung. The Californian was trying desperately to break into the film business, initially as an acting student working occasionally in walk-on roles, often uncredited. In a 1983 interview with the late film and 3-D historian Ray Zone, Ordung recalled it was in 1952 when he was approached by Tucker – who he’d known casually from working on a previous picture – to write the script for Robot Monster. Ordung recalled he was originally tasked to play the role of the “Ro-Man” – at least in earliest test footage photography.

Ordung’s script for Robot Monster would serve as his springboard into the world of professional filmmaking. Following that film’s release, the Californian would script the war film Combat Squad (1953) as well as another sci-fi guilty pleasure Target Earth (1954). Still (mercifully) unproduced is the script Ordung wrote directly following the release of Robot Monster. That prospective film was, according to Sun Valley’s Valley Times, to feature Ordung’s “3-D comedy” scenario based on “Mildred Seamster’s Hollywood beauty salon.” The plot would “deal with the varied individuals who patronize a beauty salon and their interesting escapades.” Oy.

That film would not materialize, but it was of little matter as Ordung would soon receive his first directing credit when Roger Corman tapped him to helm Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954). Though Ordung had not previously helmed any sort of film production, it was an offer and partnership of economic necessity. Corman agreed to allow Ordung to direct on the condition he contribute $2,000 of his Robot Monster earnings to the new film’s budget and work for “a piece of the picture.” Hey, a break’s a break.

First-time director Phil Tucker too was looking for his first big break in the film industry and was of the mind that Robot Monster just might be the ticket. But his experience working on Robot Monster was, alas, bittersweet. Less than two months following the release of that film, Tucker was found in Fairbanks, Alaska – of all places - shooting his non-union follow-up epic: the seventy-five minute Venusian “science-fiction thriller” Space Jockey – a film never released and now thought lost. Tucker grudgingly told a journalist in Fairbanks that with only Robot Monster to his credit, he had already soured on the politics of Tinseltown.

“The movie industry is stifled in Hollywood,” he director complained. “They tell you what to write, how to produce it, when to direct it, who [to] put in it and when to try to sell it. It’s a tight little island of rulers and it’s a hard place in which to breathe free.” Tucker did confess he wasn’t trying to be a true auteur in any sense of the word: “I’m not trying to create art. I’m trying to make money,” he offered plainly.

The primary stumbling block to Tucker’s earning any monies was New York-born Al Zimbalist, the executive producer and guiding hand of Robot Monster. The movie was the first of the films Zimbalist would oversee as producer – and occasionally as “writer,” though that was mostly as concoctor of “original stories” and little more. Throughout the 1950s and a bit beyond, Zimbalist delivered such bargain-basement fare as Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Miss Robin Crusoe (1953), King Dinosaur (1955) and Monster from Green Hell (1957) to the pleasures of a mostly undiscerning cinema-going audience. It was also Zimbalist who steered Robot Monster to go the then popular 3-D filming route. It was an unusual decision for an indie film to be shot on a shoestring budget.

It made some sense. Hollywood’s production of 3-D films was at its zenith in 1953. Box Office would note in April of 1953 that no fewer than sixty-two films to offer the 3-D treatment were either completed, in production or in the planning stages. Practically every major studio was readying a slate of 3-D cinematic fare: Columbia, Paramount, RKO Radio, United Artists and Warner Bros. among them. By far, 20^th Century Fox was leading the way with a scheduled twenty-two 3-D films on the drawing board. There were only a couple of independents in the mix, having chosen to dip their toe in the 3-D pool. Al Zimbalist and Phil Tucker’s “newly organized” Third Dimension Pictures was one of them.

The trades reported on March 21, 1953 that Zimbalist was to employ a unique “Tru-Depth system of 3-D” photography for his in-the-works Robot Monster project. Then, a mere week following the start of the film’s production, Box Office noted that Robot Monster had completed shooting… though no release date had yet been set. Zimbalist was so pleased with the results of the “Tru-Depth” system, that in April of ’53 the Hollywood maverick announced the formation of his “Tru-Stereo Corporation.” The company would “make available a stereoscopic 3-D system to independent producers.” “Tru-Stereo” would serve as an affordable, budget-conscious alternative to the more expensive 3-D systems used by the Hollywood majors.

In fact, there were no fewer than twenty-two competing 3-D systems being used by filmmakers by late spring of 1953. (“Tru-Depth” had since been rechristened as “Tru-Stereo.)” The Tru-Stereo 3-D was proffered as being similar to the others: it too employed two cameras to create the three-dimensional effect. But the system also boasted “an authentic interlocking control which is said to insure against faulty synchronization.” Robot Monster had also boastingly employed “a newly developed stereophonic sound system devised by the Master-Tone Sound Corporation.”

The first casting notices for Robot Monster were announced in March of 1953. Handsome leading man George Nader was reportedly hired to play the role of “Roy” following his appearance in the still unreleased pic Miss Robin Crusoe. Nader’s performance in that film impressed Zimbalist who worked on the same as associate producer. Roy’s love interest, Alice (Claudia Barrett) hadn’t much big-screen experience, but had been steadily working on any number of early television series. The film’s egghead professor would be played by the long-working Ukrainian actor John Mylong, his children, Johnny and Carla, by stage-kids Gregory Moffett and Pamela Paulson, respectively.

The role of the professor’s wife went to Selena Royle, an actress with a familiar face due to her long run as a dependable player at MGM. Royle was happy to get the role – any role – as she had recently been blacklisted in the pages of Red Channels, “the American Legion’s list of 200 motion picture workers suspected of communist leanings.” Her crime was the organizing and serving of free meals to the un-and-under employed actors in and around New York City during the throes of the Depression. Royle vowed to fight the accusations, telling journalist her post-blacklist acting income had dropped from six figures to a mere three figures by mid-summer of 1952. Robot Monster would be one of her two final feature film appearances, Royle and her husband choosing to immigrate to Mexico in 1957.

Imprint, the Australian-based video label, has announced some more forthcoming releases. All Blu-rays are region-free. Please keep in mind that prices quoted are in Australian dollars. Use a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency. 

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Enjoy the full presentation of the 1967 crime comedy "Eight on the Lam" which teams Bob Hope with Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters and two Bond Girls: Shirley Eaton and Jill St. John. (To watch the film in full screen mode, click on "Watch on YouTube.")

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The old adage that good things come in small packages applies to movies, specifically "B" movies. They were once a valued staple of the film business during the eras in which local theaters generally showed double features. "B" movies were sometimes the top-billed feature but more often than not they were produced simply to provide programming for the bottom half of the bill at a low cost. This is not to diminish their worth. Most of these productions were quite entertaining and some have gone on to be regarded as cult classics. "The Gun Runners", a 1958 United Artists film, is not a cult classic but it is a "B" movie and it is quite good, largely because this story about a deep sea fisherman has director Don Siegel's firm hand on the tiller. The screenplay is derived from two Ernest Hemingway sources: a 1934 short story, "One Trip Across" and his classic novel "To Have and Have Not" which was brought to the screenin 1944 by director Howard Hawks and star Humphrey Bogart. Only a few years later, it had been remade as "The Breaking Point" starring John Garfield. For whatever reason, the producers assumed there was still fertile ground to be exploit in Hemingway's tales and this loose adaptation also owes some obvious inspiration to John Huston's 1948 classic "Key Largo". Despite the hodgepodge nature of its source material and a micro budget, "The Gun Runners" is engrossing throughout.

Audie Murphy stars as Sam Martin, a down-on-his-luck deep sea fisherman who operates a charter boat out of Key West. Sam is happily married to Lucy (Patricia Owens), a devoted wife whose passion for her husband results in the film having a somewhat edgy content in terms of sexual innuendo, as the young couple can barely keep their hands off each other. Sam's home life may be blissful but he's in deep debt due to slumping rentals of his boat. On an excursion to Havana during the midst of the revolution (which was in progress when the movie was filmed, though California locations are stand ins for Cuban locales), Sam is approached by a couple of shady revolutionaries who want to employ his boat for illicit purposes. Sam rejects their overture but within seconds, he witnesses an inquisitive police officer brutally murdered by the men. He flees Cuba before anyone can place him as an eyewitness. Back home, his fortunes continue to decline and he fears having his boat foreclosed on. Good fortune seems to smile upon him when a wealthy man named Hanagan (Eddie Albert), accompanied by his beautiful young mistress Eva (Gita Hall), wants to pay to charter Sam's boat for a princely sum- with the caveat that they make an unauthorized nighttime visit to Havana without getting a travel permit. Sam takes an immediate dislike to the perpetually jovial Hannigan and doubts his story that he and Eva simply want to sample the nightlife in Havana. Sam reluctantly agrees out of financial desperation. Once in Cuba, however, Hannigan is actually secretly meeting with revolutionaries, who pay him a large sum of cash in return for promising to deliver a cache of weapons to them on his next visit. Things get hairier from there when Hannigan uses financial blackmail to force Sam into making a return visit to Cuba in order to drop off the weapons. In the "Key Largo"-like finale, he finds himself on board the small vessel with Hannigan and his gang of cutthroats (including sadistic Richard Jaeckel) who have every incentive to kill him once the mission is complete. Of particular interest is the screenplay's attempts to remain politically ambivalent in dealing with the Cuban revolution, though the writers clearly seem to paint the rebels in an unfavorable light. (Only a few months after the film's release, the Batista regime would fall to Castro's forces.)

Director Siegel was known for making his films lean and mean and this is no exception. Working with a threadbare budget, he manages to squeeze considerable suspense out of the scenarios with nary a wasted frame of film or a superfluous line of dialogue. Audie Murphy suffices in the lead role, but the part calls out for someone with a harder edge. The film benefits from a marvelous cast of supporting actors with Everett Sloane especially good as Sam's elderly, wino first mate who he keeps on simply out of sentiment. There are also bit parts by Jack Elam and John Ford regular John Qualen. The two female leads are very good but Gita Hall steals the show in the traditional role of glamorous femme fatale, a young woman who is mortgaging her future for the trappings of luxury by serving as Hannigan's mistress. (If she were in a higher profile film, she may have gone on to stardom.) By far the best performance is given by Eddie Albert, who makes for a larger-than-life, smarmy villain. The diversity of this actor is often overlooked. He could play light comedy (he was great in "Green Acres") with exceptional skill while also delivering dramatic performances that are equally impressive.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features the original trailer with an English track but Italian titles (go figure) and some bonus trailers. I don't want to overstate the merits of "The Gun Runners" but as a "B" movie it exceeds expectations. Recommended.

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Retro-Active: From the Cinema Retro Archives

The 1961 MGM Western A Thunder of Drums has been released by the Warner Archive. The film was regarded as a standard oater in its day but has since built a loyal following who have been eager to have the movie available on the home video market. What sets A Thunder of Drums apart from many of the indistinguishable Westerns of the period is its downbeat storyline and intelligent script, which was clearly geared for adults as opposed to moppets. There's also the impressive cast: Richard Boone, George Hamilton, Charles Bronson, Arthur O'Connell, Richard Chamberlain and Slim Pickens among them.The film opens with a sequence that was very unsettling and shocking for its day: an Indian attack on a tranquil homestead. A little girl is forced to witness the gang rape and murders of her mother and teenage sister. The plot then shifts to the local fort where commandant Boone is overseeing an understaffed cavalry contingent that has to find and defeat the marauding tribe, which has already slaughtered numerous settlers and soldiers. The Indians are window dressing in the story: nameless, faceless adversaries who are not given any particular motivation for their savagery. (These was, remember, far less enlightened times and such conflicts were generally presented without nuance.)

George Hamilton is the by-the-book West Point graduate assigned to the fort as Boone's second-in-command. He gets a frosty reception from minute one. Boone tells him he doesn't meet the requirements of a seasoned officer who can survive in the hostile environment. The two men spend a good deal of their time in a psychological war of wills. Adding to Hamilton's discomfort is the discovery that his former lover, Luana Patten, is not only living at the remote outpost, but is engaged to one of his fellow officers. The two rekindle their own romance and this leads to scandalous and tragic results. 

The film is based on a novel by popular Western writer James Warner Bellah and probably represents the career high water mark of director Joseph Newman, who was destined to toil for decades helming B movies. He gets vibrant performances from his cast. The ever-watchable Boone is in his predictably crusty mode, cynically second-guessing his officers and men, tossing out insults and sucking on an omnipresent stogie. Boone was so dominant in every role he played, one wonders why he never reached a higher status as a reliable box-office figure. Hamilton is in his standard pretty boy mode, but holds his own against macho men Boone and Charles Bronson, who is cast against type as a somewhat dim-witted character of low scruples. Singer Duane Eddy, who was a teenage pop star at the time, made his film debut here with a degree of fanfare, but it was obviously last minute stunt casting as Eddy is given virtually nothing to do except strum a few chords on his guitar. The film boasts some magnificent scenery and some rousing action sequences that are more realistic than those found in  most Westerns of the time. A Thunder of Drums isn't art or even a great or important Western - but it is fine entertainment and the Warner Archive edition looks terrific. A Blu-ray edition is overdue! The only bonus feature is the original theatrical trailer is included (the one seen above is of inferior quality to the trailer featured on the disc, but it does give a good overview of the film).

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

With Russia currently dominating world news in an unfavorable way and authoritarian political figures making headlines even in democracies, it's relevant to look back on the 1983 crime thriller "Gorky Park", which has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The film was based on Martin Cruz Smith's international bestseller and was unique in its day because it centered on subterfuge within the Soviet law enforcement system and was set primarily in Moscow. Director Michael Apted had hoped to be the first major Hollywood studio production to shoot within the Soviet Union but unsurprisingly he was turned down due to the fact that the story dealt with systemic corruption throughout every layer of the government. Apted settled for the next best thing, shooting in Finland and Sweden, both of which make convincing substitutes for the USSR. Transforming the lengthy, complex novel to a screenplay could have been no easy task, even for acclaimed screenwriter Dennis Potter ("Pennies from Heaven"). Although the film has a leisurely running time of 128 minutes, there are still some portions of the story that are not fleshed out enough to be easily understood.

The movie gets off to a gripping start when three young people drift away from the crowd at a winter festival in Moscow's Gorky Park. They are shot dead shortly thereafter, although we don't know why or by who. Police detective Arkady Renko (William Hurt) is first on the scene and he discovers that the snow-covered bodies have been horribly mutilated with their fingers removed and their faces skinned so that their can be no recognition of the victims. This leads to some particularly gory scenes in which a pathologist skillfully manages to recreate their facial features using synthetic skin. In a country and political system in which everyone is justifiably paranoid, Renko begins to suspect that the KGB might have been behind the killings and are looking to set him up as a fall guy. An interesting cast of characters is gradually introduced. Irina Asanova (Joanna Pacula in her screen debut) is a glamorous actress who was a friend of the victims. Renko cannot persuade her that they are dead, as she has been assured that they escaped into exile by Jack Osborne (Lee Marvin). He's a well-connected, rich American businessman who deals in the lucrative trade of sable furs. Renko is immediately suspicious that Osborne, with his bought-and-paid for allies in Soviet law enforcement, is somehow tied to the murders. This results in a few of those scenes moviegoers love in which the hero and villain banter words, using euphemisms to represent their actual thoughts as they engage in a duel of wits. The more dedicated Renko becomes in solving the crime, the more he realizes his is putting his own life in danger. He later gets assistance from an American visitor, William Kirwill (Brian Dennehy), a detective who is in Moscow to try to solve the murder of his brother, who was one of the three victims. Together, he and Renko begin to unravel a tangled web of corruption, deceit, betrayal and more murders. 

"Gorky Park" enjoyed good reviews at the time of its release but it was a boxoffice disappointment. Viewing the new Blu-ray, I found it more intriguing and enjoyable than I had previously- even though the plot gets very complicated and so many characters are introduced that by the end of the movie, I can't say for sure why the original three murder victims were killed. The movie was an important early starring role for William Hurt and he's adequate in the role but rather bland at times, although he and Pacula engage in the kind of steamy sex scene that was de rigueur at a time before movies became largely devoid of eroticism. Pacula gives a very fine performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination and Dennehy steals every scene he's in, although the premise of an American detective thinking he will have free reign to operate in one of the most oppressive societies in the world is a bit of a stretch. Ian Bannen is a welcome presence as Renko's superior officer, who may be in the pocket of Osborne. As the American fur trader, Lee Marvin is terrific in a marvelous late-career role. It must be said that the largely British cast of supporting actors retain their natural accents, which proves to be a distraction since they are supposed to be playing Russians. Hurt supposedly complained about this because, for the sake of consistency, it forced him to adapt his own version of a British accent, which seems like a hybrid with American English. It doesn't work at all and it's surprising that a skilled director like Apted didn't simply encourage his cast to adopt Russian accents. The production design is rich and expensive-looking but James Horner's score, which was acclaimed in some quarters, sounds dated and very much from an era in which synthesizers were employed ad nauseum.

For those of who came of age during the Cold War period, the film is a reminder of how every aspect of Soviet life was put under scrutiny, with paranoia instilled in citizens to keep everyone off-balance and reluctant to trust anyone else. Despite the Putin regime's quashing of many societal freedoms, today's Russia still enjoys far more freedoms and prosperity than it did when "Gorky Park" was made. Michael Apted's direction is first-rate. Dennis Potter's screenplay excels at showing what life is like in an authoritarian state, where the trappings of democracy are undermined by the fact that everyone knows that there are people who follow the people who follow them. What I found surprising and refreshing is that Renko, who is aware of and frustrated by the Orwellian aspects of his country, remains a dedicated law enforcement official who proudly serves the Soviet state. "Gorky Park" is not a classic but it is a compelling and offbeat thriller that holds up today. 

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks very good, indeed. Cinematographer Rolf D. Bode's cinematography really impresses, as he shot the film in a rather washed out, colorless manner to reflect the blandness of the Soviet state. The release is one of the few from KL that doesn't include a commentary track, but there is an excellent 16-minute recent interview with Michael Apted, who says he rarely revisits his own films but did so in this case. He says he was surprised at how well the film has held up but expresses his frustration that, despite good reviews, the movie was not successful at the American boxoffice, though it did well internationally. Apted recalls the challenges of trying to replicate Moscow in Helsinki and speaks well of his cast and crew. He says that Lee Marvin, though appearing healthy on screen, was in intensive care in a hospital just prior to filming, as he suffered from emphysema. He relates that Marvin was especially enthused about the film because it gave him a rare opportunity to play a character who was sophisticated and highly cultured. The Blu-ray also includes the original trailer, a teaser trailer and TV spots for "Gorky Park" and an extensive number of trailers for other action films available from KL.

A personal observation: it should be noted that the interview segment with Michael Apted was produced by Walter Olsen, co-founder with his brother Bill of the Scorpion Releasing video label. Scorpion had partnered with KL in recent years to release many under-radar-films on Blu-ray. Walter passed away in May just months after his brother died. Those of us who value their contributions to the home video industry mourn their passing. 

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On September 27, the Australian video company Imprint/ViaVision will release a 4-film box set showcasing films starring George Peppard. Here are the details:

With his dashing good looks and irresistible charm, George Peppard became one of the most iconic actors of the 1960s. 

Enjoy four forgotten gems from his prolific career for the first time on Blu-ray in Australia:

• P.J. (1968)
• Pendulum (1969)
• The Executioner (1970) – Worldwide first on Blu-ray!
• Newman’s Law (1974)

Limited Edition 4-Disc Hardbox. 1500 copies only.

P.J. (1968) – Imprint Collection #252

Peppard faces off against Raymond Burr (Rear Window) when he becomes entangled in an affair with deadly consequences in P.J.

Private eye P.J. Detweiler is reluctant to protect the mistress of a millionaire from attacks by his client’s wife and greedy family. In truth, P.J. is walking into a deadly intrigue in which he is to play a central part. 

Special Features & Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K scan
• NEW Audio Commentary by film historian & author Toby Roan
• Audio Commentary by critics Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell
• NEW Interview with author & screenwriter Courtney Joyner on the career of director John Guillermin
• NEW Video essay on George Peppard & John Guillermin 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
• Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono

Pendulum (1969) – Imprint Collection #253

George Peppard embarks on a relentless quest for justice in this thrilling classic.

Cynical Washington, DC, police captain Frank Matthews risked his life to catch a young rapist and murderer. But the psychopath is set free when a civil liberties’ attorney proves to the Supreme Court that Matthews never read the killer his rights. When Matthews’ wife is found murdered alongside her lover, and he becomes the prime suspect, Matthews decides his best option is to capture the real killer himself.

Special Features & Technical Specs:

• 1080P High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• Special Features TBC
• Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
• Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono

The Executioner (1970) – Imprint Collection #254

Worldwide first on Blu-ray!

Joan Collins, Keith Mitchell and Judy Geeson also star in The Executioner, the nail-biting thriller and worldwide first on Blu-ray.

When a covert operation in Vienna goes awry, British Intelligence operative John Shay suspects his colleague, Adam Booth, may be a double agent. Appointing himself executioner, Shay kills Booth and then assumes his identity to obtain conclusive evidence that Booth was a traitor.

Special Features & Technical Specs:

• 1080P High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• Special Features TBC
• Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
• Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono

Newman’s Law (1974) – Imprint Collection #255

The creator of Banacek, Anthony Wilson, and George Peppard reunite in the gritty police drama Newman’s Law.

When a hard-nosed LA cop is booted from duty after being falsely accused of extortion, he goes rogue to investigate an organised crime case, uncovering a conspiracy that might extend to the highest levels of his own department. 

Special Features & Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K scan
• NEW Audio Commentary by film historian Steve Mitchell and producer/screenwriter Cyrus Voris
• NEW Interview with director Jeff Burr on the career of director Richard T. Heffron
• Radio Spots
• Theatrical Trailer
• Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
• Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono

Any pre-order titles will be dispatched in the week leading up to its aforementioned release date. Special features and artwork are subject to change.

Imprint limited editions tend to sell out quickly. Click here to pre-order. (Prices are in Australian dollars. Use  a currency converter to see what the price is in your local currency.) The Blu-ray set is Region-Free. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Most rock 'n roll movies of the 1950s and 1060s were rightly regarded as disposable entertainment. With a few exceptions, they were low-budget attempts to cash in on the new fad before it might fade away. Elvis Presley's films were cinematic gold for a while but even they began to fade with the release of director Richard Lester's two Beatles films, "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!", both of which brought innovation and style to the genre. The Monkees' feature film "Head" would also go boldly where no rock 'n roll flick would. "The Cool Ones", however, appears to have been made by people whose sensibilities were stuck in amber. Despite being released in an era when rock music was being defined by groups with a cutting edge, this musical comedy, released in 1967, has the hallmarks of similar films made a decade before. In short, it's a movie designed for hipsters but made by middle-aged squares. 

The film centers on the adventures of Hallie Rodgers (Debbie Watson), a dancer seen on one of those "Shindig"-type TV series designed to appeal to teenagers by presenting musical groups performing their latest hits live on stage. Hallie feels she has true star power but the show's arrogant producer, played by Phil Harris, refuses to give her a chance to sing on the program. In an act of defiance on live TV, Hallie steals the microphone from guest performer Glen Campbell and belts out a song. As she is chased around the stage by production executives, she engages in wild mannerisms that the audience mistakes for a new dance. She's summarily fired but later learns she has gained a following and that her moves on stage are now the latest dance craze called "The Tantrum". (I'm not making this up, folks.) She then attempts to woo one-time teen idol Cliff Donner (Gil Peterson) to form a duo. Cliff has fallen on hard times and is currently performing in a failing nightclub run by avuncular British export Stanley Crumley (Robert Coote). The moody Gil is smitten with Hallie but is reluctant to try to regain his former stardom. Ultimately, he concedes when the sees the enthusiastic response from their duets, which help revive Stanley's nightclub. With Stanley as their manager, they set about promoting the act by performing The Tantrum in front of growing audiences. At this point, they are approached by Stanley's estranged brother Tony (Roddy McDowall), a legendary record producer who travels with his own posse and who enjoys a rabid fan base himself. Tony takes control of the act but his sheer narcissism and arrogance results in tension between Hallie and Gil, who break up and reunite more times than I can recount. The bizarre production gets even stranger with a closing act by Mrs. Miller, who was a sixtyish everyday woman whose cover version recording of Petula Clark's "Downtown" became a novelty hit that elevated her to temporary fame.

"The Cool Ones" is awful on every level, but it's so awful it has the virtue to keep the viewer glued to the screen to see if it becomes even more awful.  The songs are mostly awful despite being the creations of notable talents Lee Hazlewood and Billy Strange, although the best of the lot, "This Town", would be a well-received recording by Frank Sinatra a couple of years later. The depiction of teenagers is awful, presenting them as brain-dead zombies who instinctively embrace every new song and dance move they experience on a TV show and instantly turn into raving mobs of fans. Young people are presented in an inoffensive, sanitized manner. No one smokes (cigarettes or anything else) and they're all satisfied sipping tonics and sodas in nightclubs. Cripes, to think this film was sandwiched between the release of "The Wild Angels" and the Woodstock festival....The direction by Gene Nelson (who displayed some talent in other films and TV series) is awful and so are the performances, with Debbie Watson overacting and Gil Peterson, who looks like a human Ken doll, underplaying with predictably boring results. They make for the  least erotic couple seen on screen since the Ma and Pa Kettle series. But the scene-stealing awful performance is provided by Roddy McDowall, who chews the scenery and everything else in sight while presenting an over-the-top caricature of a fussy, demanding gay man. But since film producers felt that teenagers shouldn't know that gay people exist, a plot device is inserted in which we learn Tony's unseen girlfriend is pregnant, which sends him into an even greater hissy fit that only reinforces the gay stereotype. Only dear old Robert Coote emerges with some dignity intact. The film does have colors that jump out of the screen and it is fun to see location footage of old L.A., which is marvelously photographed by legendary cinematographer Floyd Crosby, whose achievements include "High Noon". This would be his final film. The dance numbers are also well-choreographed by Toni Basil, who would go on to have the hit record "Mickey" in the 1980s. In the end, however, the movie makes those Frankie and Annette beach pictures look like biting social commentaries on life in the 1960s. I expected young Mickey Rooney to show up on screen shouting, "Hey, kids- we can put the show on in the barn!!!" The film was released as the bottom attraction on double features. There was probably no damage to anyone's career because few people saw it. 

In viewing "The Cool Ones", I came to the conclusion that I had to disagree with Huey Lewis and the News in that it isn't hip to be square. The film is available on DVD from the Warner Archive. It's a nice transfer and includes the original trailer. The DVD is region-free so that bad movie lovers everywhere can enjoy the film.

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Retro-Active: From the Cinema Retro Archives

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Justly acclaimed as one of the greatest film noir movies ever made, director Don Siegel's 1958 thriller The Lineup has been reissued by Sony as part of their burn-to-order DVD collection. The DVD carries over the bonus extras from the film's initial release in a Sony noir boxed set from 2009. Siegel makes the most of his modest budget, eschewing studio sets for actual San Francisco locations that add immeasurably the authenticity of the story and the action sequences, which are among the most ambitious of the era. The film derived from a popular TV series of the same name and features the star of the show, Warner Anderson, as a San Francisco detective, Lt. Ben Guthrie. His sidekick, Inspector Al Quine was originally played in the show by Tom Tully but the part in the film is played by Emile Meyer, whose mug perfectly suits the style of the movie. The "Macguffin" of this caper movie is an ornate doll loaded with heroin that has been carried into the United States by an innocent tourist (Raymond Bailey, the future Mr. Drysdale of "The Beverly Hillbillies".). The doll ends up in the hands of an equally innocent little girl and her mother who were on the same cruise ship. However, this is just a necessary plot device to present a fascinating character study of a team of criminals who are assigned to fly from Miami to San Francisco to claim the doll and deliver the drugs to a mysterious crime lord. Things go awry from the first few frames of the movie when an attempt to steal the tourist's luggage goes wrong, resulting in the death of a crime syndicate courier who bungles the first attempt to get the doll. The resulting action follows the desperate attempts by the Miami crooks to secure the missing drugs. Their lives depend on it because if they fail, the mob will suspect they have double-crossed them and kept the heroin for themselves. The criminal team is among the most psychotic ever seen on film. Dancer (Eli Wallach) is the younger man being groomed by his older mentor, Julian (Robert Keith, father of Brian Keith) to be his heir apparent. The two men are outwardly charismatic and friendly, but as the story progresses, we realize they are merciless sadists who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When they kidnap the young girl and her mother, we get a glimpse at exactly how devoid of human emotions they are. 

The caper story, expertly penned by the great Sterling Silliphant,  follows the efforts of the detectives to get to the drugs first-- but the cops are mere window dressing, as Siegel is clearly saving the best scenes for his hit men. Wallach and Keith rival that great pairing of Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager as the creepy criminal team in Siegel's memorable 1964 remake of The Killers. On one level, Keith is acting as a father to a younger man who might be seen as an adopted son. However, it doesn't take much to see that Siegel has introduced a very clear homoerotic element to the story which becomes even more apparent when the pair end up in a "social club" and hotel that very obviously caters to homosexual men. In case there is still too much subtlety for the viewer, the place is named the Seaman's Club!  (In one of the film's best remembered sequences, Wallach "offs" a would-be lover in a steam room.) The film is packed with inventive sequences that are still somewhat shocking today. It's rather amazing that some of these scenes were not diluted by squeamish studio executives. A helpless woman and her young child are kidnapped and menaced, a man in a wheelchair is thrown to his death and any number of innocent people are put in harm's way by the relentless criminal's quest to secure the missing dope. Most impressive is the climax of the film wherein Siegel films an exciting car chase that culminates on an unfinished stretch of freeway. It will have you on the edge of your seat (look for an amazing bit of stunt work in which a car is driven at high speed within feet of dropping off the end of the construction site.) All the earmarks are evident for what would become trademarks of Siegel's films: the story moves quickly, there isn't a wasted frame and the performances are terrific. 

Sony's DVD boasts an excellent transfer and some very interesting extras, though the studio once again undermines the latter features by not even bothering to mention them on the packaging. There is an interview with Christopher Nolan, who discusses the influence of noir films on his own work. There is also a feature length commentary track hosted by Eddie Muller of Turner Classic Movies and The Film Noir Foundation and bestselling crime novelist James Ellroy, whose work includes L.A. Confidential. Muller is extremely informative, conveying fascinating information about the film and the San Francisco locations. However, Ellroy, who describes himself as "The White Knight of the Far Right" wears out his welcome pretty quickly. His efforts to come across as politically incorrect become blatantly pretentious, as he peppers his comments with expletives and makes homophobic jokes with regularity. Even Muller seems a bit taken off balance by him. Nevertheless, Sony deserves kudos for allowing Ellroy's controversial commentaries to remain intact. If you can put up with Ellroy, you'll get some great insights into the film and Siegel's methods of working. 

The Lineup is American film noir at its best. 

(This DVD is "all region", meaning it will play on any international system). 

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Kino Lorber has released a new Blu-ray special edition of director Marcel Ophuls' landmark 1969 documentary "The Sorrow and the Pity". Here are the official details:

From its first release at an underground theater in Paris, this account of France’s occupation under the Nazi regime has been acclaimed as one of the most moving and influential films ever made. Director Marcel Ophuls interviewed the residents of Clermont-Ferrand who remembered the occupation, as well as government officials, writers, farmers, artists, and German veterans. Here, in their own words, is the story of how ordinary citizens and leaders alike behaved under military siege. Originally refused by French TV, the film garnered international success and acclaim – including an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary – while shattering the myth of an undivided and universally resistant France under the Vichy government. A triumph of on-the-ground filmmaking, The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) remains gripping, appalling, and exhilarating for its unflinching view of humanity.

Special Features:
• Marcel Ophuls Visual History (40 minutes, courtesy of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, ©2017 A.M.P.A.S.)
• Re-release trailer

Reviews

“One of the greatest documentaries ever made.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“An artistic and intellectual triumph.” – Time Magazine

“Through its scale, intelligence, wit, imaginative organisation and polemical thrust, it changed the face of the documentary forever.” – The Observer

“The film is so boldly conceived, richly textured and beautifully paced that its marathon running time feels more like a sprint.” – The Guardian

THE DC COMICS SUPERHERO COMES TO LIFE IN WES CRAVEN’S CULT CLASSIC FILM, MAKING ITS DEBUT ON 4K ULTRA HD!

Deep in Florida's darkest everglades, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise, Robocop) and a sexy government agent, Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter’s The Fog) have developed a secret formula that could end world hunger and change civilization forever. Little do they know, however, that their arch nemesis, Arcane (Louis Jourdan, Octopussy) is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish schemes. Looting the lab and kidnapping Cable, Arcane douses Holland with the chemicals and leaves him for dead in the swamp. Mutated by his own formula, Holland becomes “Swamp Thing” - a half human/half plant superhero who will stop at nothing to rescue the beautiful Cable and defeat the evil Arcane... even if it costs him his life.

DISC 1: 4K ULTRA HD SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 2023 4K Restoration (16-Bit Scan of the Original Camera Negative) of both the US Theatrical PG Version and Unrated International Version of the film presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio in Dolby Vision / HDR
• Audio: DTS-HD Master 2.0 Mono, Spanish Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Wes Craven moderated by Sean Clark (Theatrical / PG Version)
• Audio Commentary with Makeup Effects Artist William Munns moderated by Michael Felsher (Theatrical / PG Version)
• Collectible “4K LaserVision” Mini-Poster of cover art

DISC 2: BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 2023 HD Restoration of both the US Theatrical PG Version and Unrated International Version of the film presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Wes Craven moderated by Sean Clark (Theatrical / PG Version)
• Audio Commentary with Makeup Effects Artist William Munns moderated by Michael Felsher (Theatrical / PG Version)
• Audio: DTS-HD Master 2.0 Mono, Spanish Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Tales From the Swamp" (Remastered) with Actress Adrienne Barbeau (HD, 16:56)
• "Hey Jude" with Actor Reggie Batts (HD, 14:30)
• "That Swamp Thing" with Len Wein, Creator of Swamp Thing (HD, 13:19)
• "Swamp Screen: Designing DC's Main Monster" featurette (HD, 20:32)
• "From Krug to Comics: How the Mainstream Shaped a Radical Genre Voice" featurette (HD, 17:34)
• Posters & Lobby Cards - Photo Gallery
• Photos from the Film - Photo Gallery
• William Munns’ Behind the Scenes Pictures - Photo Gallery
• Behind the Scenes Photos by Geoffrey Rayle – Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:31)

• * Special Features May Not Be Rated, Closed Captioned Or In High Definition.

This title will be released on July 25. Click here to order from Amazon and save 30%.