“The Mutations” aka “The Freakmaker” (1974) / Z-View

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The Mutations aka The Freakmaker (1974)

Director:  Jack Cardiff

Screenplay:  Robert D. Weinbach, Edward Mann

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris and Michael Dunn

Tagline:  It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature…… it can be HORRIFYING! EVEN TO THEM!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Professor Nolter (Pleasence) believes he is close to a breakthrough.  His goal to create the next stage in human development — a hybrid human/plant!  Nolter gives the results of his failed experiments to a circus sideshow owner who puts them on display.  When students from Professor Nolter’s class start disappearing, it’s time to check to see if the sideshow is getting bigger.

The Mutations would have been the third or fourth feature at a drive-in theater.  Donald Pleasence wanted to play his character “low key”.  If that means without emotion and monotone, he succeeded.  Like many low-budget films of this type made in the early 70s, The Mutations included several topless scenes with women who were in danger,  The producers brought in real sideshow performers to take up some of the slack when no boobies were showing.

Jack Cardiff, the director of The Mutations, was an Oscar nominee for Best Director in 1960, but you’d never guess it from this film.  Mr. Cardiff was better known for his Oscar-worthy Cinematography (3 nominations for Best Cinematography with one win and one Honorary Oscar)!  As a side note, Jack Cardiff was the Director of Photography on Rambo; First Blood, Part II.

The Mutations barely earns a 2 of 5 star rating.

“Fatty Joins the Force” (1913) / Z-View

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Fatty Joins the Force (1913)

Director:  George Nichols

Screenplay:  Mack Sennett

Starring:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Fatty (Arbuckle) is walking in the park with his girlfriend (who has a thing for policemen), when a little girl falls into a pond, Fatty’s girlfriend pushes him in to rescue the child.  The little girl turns out to be the Police Commissioner’s daughter.  The Commissioner is so appreciative, he makes Fatty a police officer.

Once Fatty is on the force, let the good times roll!  Fatty attempts to break up a fight and gets the worst of it.  While catching his breath afterwards, four boys pelt him with food and Fatty gets a pie in the face.  When Fatty strips down to his underclothes and goes into the pond to wash up, the boys cut up Fatty’s clothes.  Fatty comes out and dresses in his cut up duds. When two ladies see Fatty in his strange outfit hiding in the bushes, they think a mad man is loose!  Meanwhile, Fatty’s police coat is found floating in the pond.  His squad thinks he drowned… until two policemen bring in the captured mad man aka Fatty!  Fatty is put behind bars while his girlfriend is consoled by the police chief.

All this take place in 12 minutes with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle as the star.  That earns Fatty Joins the Force 4 of 5 stars.

“The Man from Toronto” Starring Kevin Hart & Woody Harrelson – the Trailer is Here! 

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The Man from Toronto trailer is here.  Kevin Hart mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin!  Deal me in.

A case of mistaken identity arises after a screw-up sales consultant and the world’s deadliest assassin—known only as The Man from Toronto— run into each other at a holiday rental. Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson star in this action packed comedy only on Netflix 6/24.

“Attack!” (1956) / Z-View

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Attack! (1956)

Director:  Robert Aldrich

Screenplay:  James Poe, based on the 1954 play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks

Starring:  Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen  and Strother Martin

Tagline: TRAPPED BEHIND ENEMY LINES…THEY PASSED THE WORD ALONG TO — ATTACK!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II is rumored to be coming to an end, but the fighting on the front lines is still fierce.  When Lt. Costa (Palance) and a few of his men discover a German machine gun post, they radio Captain Cooney (Albert) and advise him of the situation.  Lt. Costa believes with covering fire, his men can take out the pill box.  Captain Cooney agrees his men will provide the cover needed.

As Lt. Costa’s men approach and begin firing on the Germans, he radios for the protective cover.  Captain Cooney seeing Costa’s men being shot down, freezes and never gives the order for the protective cover fire.  Lt. Costa loses several good men.

When the soldiers return to camp, Lt. Costa reports the incident to Lieutenant Colonel Bartlett (Marvin).  Bartlett is aware of Captain Cooney’s shortcomings as a soldier.  He is also very much aware that Cooney’s dad is a judge with a lot of political sway back home.  Colonel Bartlett has political ambitions after the war. Bartlett flat out tells Costa that he won’t do anything to upset the judge.   Lt. Costa is livid.  He says if Cooney freezes again and any of his men die, he will kill Captain Cooney.  Colonel Bartlett says that their unit is unlikely to see any more action.

Then an order comes down to take back a city fortified by German soldiers with tanks!  Captain Cooney, Lt. Costa and their men head back into battle.  Will Captain Cooney “freeze up” again?  If so will more good soldiers die as a result?  And if that does happen, will Lt. Costa keep his word and kill the Captain?

Directed by Robert (The Dirty Dozen; The Longest Yard; Emperor of the North) Aldrich, Attack doesn’t feel like a 1950s war film. Part of that is due to the great cast they assembled:

  • Eddie Albert plays the cowardly Captain Cooney perfectly.  He’s the disappointing son to a powerful judge.  A wanna be tough guy, who should have never risen to the rank where he leads men into battle.  What makes Albert’s portrayal even more impressive is that he was an actual Bronze Star medal winner in World War II.
  • Jack Palance is the hero of the film and my guess is he enjoyed the change of pace since he was usually cast as a villain.
  • Lee Marvin plays the smug Lt. Colonel who will put his ambitions ahead of his men’s lives.
  • Robert Strauss and Buddy Ebsen provide just the right amount of comedy relief.

Norman Brooks (wrote the play) and James Poe adapted it to create the screenplay.  Attack! has a surprisingly modern take on war.  The screenplay was so controversial that the Defense Dept. refused to provide ANY support for the film!

Attack! is an under-rated film with a great cast, talented directed and surprising story.  It earns a 4 of 5 star rating from me.

“My Name Is Julia Ross” (1945) / Z-View

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My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)

Director:  Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay:  Muriel Roy Bolton, based on the novel  The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert

Starring:  Nina Foch, May Whitty, George Macready and Roland Varno

Tagline:  She went to sleep as a secretary … and woke up a madman’s “bride”!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Julia Ross (Foch) is getting desperate. She’s out of work and behind on her rent. The man she loved, Dennis Bruce (Varno) has left to marry another.  Julia has applied for jobs, without luck.  When she sees an ad for a personal secretary, Julia heads to the agency.  Mrs. Hughes (Whitty) says the job pays well, but requires a dedicated person. She asks if Julia has family or a boyfriend.  Julia has neither and is hired on the spot.  Mrs. Hughes needs Julia to come to her house immediately.

Julia returns to her apartment to get her personal items.  As she is leaving, Dennis Bruce shows up.  He’s come to his senses and realizes he loves Julia.  She is happy and explains that she’s starting a new job.  She gives Bruce Mrs. Hughes’ address and agrees to meet him the following evening for dinner.

Julia goes to Mrs. Hughes’ house, is greeted and shown to her bedroom.  Julia wakes up two days later in a different bedroom.  This one is on the upper floor of a mansion.  Julia learns that she’s in a different town and her name isn’t Julia Ross. Her name is Marion and she’s suffering from a mental illness.  Mrs. Hughes is her mother-in-law!  She assures Julia that she and her son Ralph are going to do everything in their power to nurse her back to health.

Julia cannot understand why this is happening.  Why would Mrs. Hughes and Ralph take such extreme measures to make her think she’s crazy?  Either Julia has suffered a nervous breakdown and is Marion, or Ralph and his mother have plans that put Julia’s life in danger.  But why?  Julia will find out if it kills her.

I would have never watched My Name is Julia Ross if it wasn’t for Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley hosted by Eddie Mueller.  My Name is Julia Ross is that rare breakout film that deserves more attention.  Originally released as a “B” movie, it became the first feature on many double bills.

My Name is Julia Ross wastes little time setting up the plot and moves at a brisk pace throughout.  Clocking in at just 65 minutes, the film packs in plot twist after plot twist and ratchets the tension as Julia comes to realize she’s not crazy, but is trapped by a madman and his mother!  Hats off to George Macready as the insane and sadistic Ralph Hughes who can’t wait to kill Julia (and is ready to kill his own mother)!

I also appreciate the ending.  Although it wraps things up quickly, there is a moment that will bring a gasp from audiences.  Nina Foch had a long career as a tv actress.  I’m surprised she didn’t do more features.

My Name is Julia Ross rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Dr. Phibes Rises Again” (1972) / Z-View

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Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Director:  Robert Fuest

Screenplay:  Robert Fuest, Robert Blees based on characters created by James Whiton and William Goldstein

Starring:  Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Valli Kemp, Milton Reid, Peter Cushing, Terry-Thomas, Caroline Munro and Gary Owens

Tagline: He lives!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Three years after the events in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, the moon and planets literally align to bring Dr. Phibes (Price) back from his self-imposed suspended animation.  According to an ancient papyrus that Phibes locked away, there is a secret location in Egypt that contains the River of Life.  This river has special powers that will bring Phibes’ wife back from the dead and provide them with eternal life.

Phibes learns that Darius Biederbeck (Quarry) has stolen the papyrus, so Phibes recruits his mute assistant Vulnavia to help him get it back.  They will kill anyone who gets in their way.  And so they do.  The strange murders get the police involved.  Phibes and Bierderbeck race to Egypt to find the River of Life, with the police in hot pursuit.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again isn’t quite as strange as The Abominable Dr. Phibes, but it’s close.  If you liked the original, you should enjoy this follow-up.  I was disappointed that Darrus Biederbeck’s manservant, Cheng (Reid) was killed so soon, but at least he got to go out in an amusing way.  Dr. Phibes Rises Again is one of those movies where you don’t question what you’re seeing and just go with the flow like you’re on the River of Life.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet – We have the poster and trailer.  I like both.  Deal me in.

Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet is a 6-part anthology series from director Brian Knappenberger, Luminant Media and Imagine Documentaries that tells stories of people caught in the dark and twisted web of modern misinformation and digital deception. Haunting, bizarre and up-to-the-moment relevant, the series explores consequences of “SWATing”, takes a chilling trip down the rabbit hole of white supremacy, joins a Federal hunt for the suspect of a brazen IRS heist and dives into Russian election interference. Rich with distinctive characters and surprising plotlines, reality is distorted when the ordinary American household collides with a chaotic web of misinformation.


Source: First Showing.

IN the CUT by Frank Zafiro / Z-View

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In the Cut by Frank Zafiro

Trade Paperback: ‎ 248 pages
Publisher: ‎ Code 4 Press

First sentence…

Rolling up on trouble shouldn’t feel so cold.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Boone has been a prospect with the Iron Brotherhood for a year.  The life of a prospect sucks, but offers a great reward if you can withstand the crap jobs and disrespect full IB members give you.  The payoff is that you become a full member of the Iron Brotherhood.

A couple of months ago, Boone met Faith.  She’s not a motorcycle club groupie and not really like any other woman Boone’s ever known.  He may be in love with her.  Maybe.

That’s not the only indecision in his life.  Boone sometimes wonders if a life in the Iron Brotherhood will give him want he wants.  Then something happens that forces his decision and there’s no turning back.  Things heat up when rumors that someone around the club is feeding cops information.  The Iron Brotherhood is on full alert and has greenlit the rat for execution.

Frank Zafiro is back with the second story in his SpoCompton trilogy.  It’s cool that Jake Stankovich (from At Their Own Game) shows up a couple of times.  As In the Cut unfolds, we see the hell that a motorcycle gang club prospect goes through to become a member.  We also come to understand why a person would be willing to go through that (the gang becomes family) and why the club needs to harshly vet potential members.

Zafiro set In the Cut up so that the first “mystery” is will Boone get in the club or not.  As a reader, we feel the pain of Boone’s indecision about that and his relationship with Faith.  Once word comes that the club has a rat, the tension escalates and I couldn’t read the pages fast enough.  And, oh THAT ending.  I didn’t see it coming and loved it.

In the Cut rates 4 of 5 stars.

In the Cut TradePaperback

In the Cut Kindle

Rating:

Quentin Tarantino’s CINEMA SPECULATION is coming!

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Quentin Tarantino’s Cinema Speculation is coming and sounds like something many of us will like.  Here’s the lowdown…

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino.

In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films. Now, with Cinema Speculation, the time has come, and the results are everything his passionate fans—and all movie lovers—could have hoped for. Organized around key American films from the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time, this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining. At once film criticism, film theory, a feat of reporting, and wonderful personal history, it is all written in the singular voice recognizable immediately as QT’s and with the rare perspective about cinema possible only from one of the greatest practitioners of the artform ever.

Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino pre-orders are available now!  (And if you prefer Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino on Kindle)

“Witness to Murder” (1954) / Z-View

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Witness to Murder (1954)

Director:  Roy Rowland

Screenplay:  Chester Erskine, Nunnally Johnson (uncredited)

Starring:  Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill,  Jesse White and Claude Akins

Tagline: No one would believe what she saw that night… not the police… not her friends… no one — but the murderer himself!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Looking out of her window one evening, Cheryl Draper (Stanwyck) witnesses a murder committed in an apartment across the way.  The murderer sees the police arrive, and by the time they get to his room, he’s hidden the body in an empty apartment.  Albert Richter (Sanders) greets the police as if he’s been awakened from a sound sleep and he couldn’t be more accommodating.  The police report back to Miss Draper that she was mistaken.

The next day Miss Draper sees Richter putting a trunk into his car and driving away.  She’s convinced that he’s disposing of the body.  Draper decides to get into his apartment to find evidence and then go to the police.  Unfortunately for Cheryl Draper, it’s like the movie’s tag line says: No one believes what she saw that night… not the police… not her friends… no one — but the murderer himself!

Witness to Murder was released in 1954, the same year as Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.  The release year isn’t the only thing the films have in common,  The plots of each have someone witness a murder in an apartment across the way and no one believes it but the murderer.  Hitchcock’s film is a classic, and Witness to Murder is under-rated.

Witness to Murder wastes no time to get the story going.  The black and white photography adds a feeling of menace.  Although Barbara Stanwyck is the first billed star, it is George Sanders who steals the show.  While the “insane” woman aspect of the movie is dated, Sanders’ portrayal of a sociopathic killer who is always steps ahead of the witness and cops could have been written today.  Several familiar faces show up: George Sanders, Gerry Merrill, Jesse White (the Maytag repairman!) and even an unbilled Claude Akins.

Witness to Murder is a fun ride.  Clocking in at a fast-paced one hour and twenty-three minutes, it’s a journey you might enjoy.  I did and that’s why I give Witness to Murder 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: Bo Hopkins

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Bo Hopkins died yesterday after suffering a heart attack.  Mr. Hopkins was eighty.

Although he was named William at birth and called Billy as he was growing up, his stage name became Bo when producers of his first off-Broadway play suggested a name change.  Bo was the name of the character he was playing.

Bo Hopkins decided on an acting career after serving in the army.  He began getting parts in local plays, then moved to New York for more stage acting.  Later Mr. Hopkins moved to Hollywood to seek his fame and fortune.  His first roles were guest appearances on television shows.   Then Bo Hopkins got his breakout role in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch.  For the remainder of his career Mr. Hopkins alternated between television appearances and feature films.

Some of Bo Hopkins’ television appearances are on: The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, The Andy Griffith Show, The Rat Patrol, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Bonanza, Ironside, Nichols, Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files (4 episodes), Charlie’s Angels, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Dynasty (18 episodes), Matlock and Murder She Wrote.

Feature Films on Bo Hopkins’ resume include: The Wild Bunch, Monte Walsh, The Getaway, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, American Graffiti, White Lightning, The Killer Elite, Midnight Express, More American Graffiti and Shade.

I first time I saw Bo Hopkins was on The Wild, Wild West, but the role that comes to mind when his name is mentioned is in The Wild Bunch.  Bo Hopkins appeared in quite a few television shows throughout his career and many of them were shows I watched.  I quickly came to realize that if Bo Hopkins showed up in the credits, things were about to go down.  Then he began appearing in movies often opposite of the tough guy stars: Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Burt Reynolds and James Caan to name a few.  Bo Hopkins made a great adversary.  I also love that Bo Hopkins appeared in Shade with Sly Stallone.  Any time Bo Hopkins name appeared in the credits, I knew we were in for something special.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.