Charlton Heston Week: Touch of Evil

Hello and welcome to Day 5 of Charlton Heston Week and I grabbed an Orson Welles classic according to most.  Lost love, police corruption, treachery and possibly murder and the most terrifying portrayal of all, Heston as a Mexican Narcotics cop?   So get some fireworks, avoid the donkey shows and never drink the water.  This is Touch of Evil.

Mexican Norman Bates is worried if you have fresh towels.

This is where spoilers go to die.

Newlywed honeymooners Miguel (Charlton Heston of Ben-Hur, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Anthony and Cleopatra, The Omega Man and Skyjacked) and Susan (Janet Leigh of Psycho, The Manchurian Candidate, Night of the Lepus, The Fog and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later) Vargas are on their honeymoon when a Mexican bomb goes off on American soil killing two people.  Realizing how this could be bad PR for the Mexican Government, Vargas takes his own interest into the investigation. 

 Chief of Police Pete Gould (Harry Shannon of Citizen Kane, High Noon and Gypsy) and D.A. Adair (Ray Collins of Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, Perry Mason and Science Fiction Theatre) are first on the scene followed by Captain Quinlan (Orson Welles of Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady of Shanghai, Mr. Arkadin, F for Fake and Catch-22) with his partner of many years Sergeant Pete Menzies (Joseph Calleia of Gilda, Lured, Branded, Vendetta and When in Rome) and you get the feel that they want this incident to be taken care of and over with ASAP. 

Mexican accent? Um, how about Greek instead?

This is a major embarrassment for both countries and Vargas offers to assist as both Quinlan and Menzies want to look over a fella who is their prime suspect Sanchez who is secretly married to the victim’s daughter.  Quinlan and Menzies grill Sanchez and Vargas has a look around Sanchez’s pad, accidently knocks over an empty shoe box and gets back to the interview.  Menzies “finds” that same shoebox but this time it has two sticks of dynamite in it.   Hmm that seems a bit fishy…in the same way the Atlantic Ocean is. 

Vargas is concerned about this being a smear job and starts looking into further if a man he has been investigating prior, Joe Grandi (Akim Tamiroff of for Whom the Bell Tolls, Anastasia, Alphaville and the Great Bank Robbery) a suspected small-time boss for rum running, racketeering, protection and numbers man.   Taking the investigation across the border Quinlan and Vargas hit a brothel of Grandi’s ran by a former lover of Quinlan’s Tanya (Marlene Dietrich of Angel, The Lady is Willing, Kismet, Jigsaw, Stage Fright and Judgment at Nuremberg) who not only didn’t recognize Quinlan but suggests he lay off the candy bars for a time.

Speaking of smokin' hot...saaaaaaay....

I have just a few bits of nitpicking and observation if you don’t mind.  It was shot 35mm Spherical Imperial arc for the whole film and coming in at 112 minutes.  Orson Welles viewed this as his pinnacle crowning achievement throughout his acting, producing and directing career for being both the writer and director for this movie.  The film opens with a continuous tracking shot for up to three minutes and 20 some odd seconds making it one of the longest takes in cinema history.   

Mexican Gigolo makes his move.

The rebuttals and racist remarks are mildly subtle but once again we have to justify the protagonist’s heritage and wither or not he or she is up for the task at hand.   Learn from the wisdom of John Sturges’ Mystery Street, Welles.  The diversity of race isn’t even covered by the cops in that brilliant Film Noir. 

I prefer the black& white version over Technicolor myself but that is just me.  This film is well written, the cast is very impressive but to be honest I really did not want to see Gringo Heston playing the lead in this one.  Sorry Chuck but that did see a bit off you playing brown face.

Charlton Heston Week: The Ten Commandments

Howdy folks and welcome to Day 4 of Charlton Heston Week and boy this should be a role easily recognized by even the most lapse of catholic but none other than Moses, deliverer of the Hebrew slaves…played by an Anglo Saxon. So get your sandals on, avoid heavy stone lifting and mind your Ps and Qs.  This is The Ten Commandments.

Oh my stars, what a filthy man.

Harden yourself against spoilers. Have no friend. Trust no woman.

To escape the decree of the Pharaoh, Rameses the first sentencing all newborn Hebrew males to death, young infant Moses is set up river on the Nile in a basket made of reeds. Saved by the pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, she adopts the wee lad and he is raised in the Egyptian royalty.  As he has grown and becomes a man, Moses (Charlton Heston) is a general and a conqueror in his own right, fresh from the war with Ethiopia and has wooed the heart of Nefretiri (Anne Baxter of The Magnificent Ambersons, I Confess and All About Eve), all seems well for Moses until one day a slave is almost crushed to death by a pillar and the guards are reamed by Moses.  He speaks with the stone cutter Joshua (John Derek of All the King’s Men, Exodus and the Frontier Circus) to have another pillar commissioned and Joshua explains about the teachings of the Hebrew God. 

Um, we will just behave with this picture.

Moses sees with new eyes on how the Hebrew people have been mistreated and makes amendments to makes the work forces a bit easier and to allow these people a bit of a break if you will. These reforms irk Prince Rameses (Yul Brynner of Westworld, The King and I, The Magnificent Seven, and Death Rage) that he is most annoyed at the potential of revolt that he confides with Moses in private chambers the slaves call Moses the Deliverer of the prophecy.  Dathan (Edward G Robinson of The Man with Two Faces, Bullets or Ballots, Blackmail and The Sea Wolf) and Baka, (Vincent Price of the Fly, The Last Man on Earth, Master of the World, The Raven and Beach Party) master builder of the royal court do not care to see their childhood chum in this new light. Baka claims Joshua’s fiancée Liliah (Debra Paget of Broken Arrow, Love Me Tender and The Tomb of Love) because…well Joshua is a slave and has no rights at all…duh.  Moses gives up on reason and just clobbers the no good bum.   Banishment is very likely or possibly even death but Moses’ convictions were his.

And now I have just a few quick tidbits on the film itself. Mitchell VistaVision cameras giving a horizontal view and less fish eye lens than anamorphic were barely tested prior to this movie.   After Gone with the Wind, this was the highest grossing and earning Paramount Pictures film until The Sound of Music.  This film tallies out to 3 hours and 39 minutes which while this can kill your bottom from sitting that long you will find the movie to be rather captivating, the effects that made its era, an amazing musical score and top notch cast.  Point of fact that this was to be the last picture of director/producer Cecil B. DeMille(Why Change Your Wife? Adam’s Rib, Manslaughter, Feet of Clay, Cleopatra,Union Pacific and The Buccaneer) after directing the same titled movie 33 years prior.

Ladies and gentlemen, Cher!!

Charlton Heston Week: Planet of the Apes

Well I have hinted and eluded to the film for the last two days so you knew it was inevitable.  The 1967 sci-fi classic depiction of Pierre Boulle’s Monkey Planet with a substantial cast, brilliant cinematography, a wonderful soundtrack and the dawning era of prosthetic FX make-up for the 20^th century.   So stock up on bananas, grab the lore keeper’s copy of the sacred scrolls and don’t forget to wash your throwing hand.   This is Planet of the Apes.

 

Time for your tick bath, Bright Eyes.

You know the saying, Spoilers see, Spoilers do.

From the creative treatment of Michael Wilson (A Place in the Sun, 5 Fingers, Lawrence of Arabia and The Sandpiper) and Rod Serling (Playhouse 90, Armchair Theatre, Twilight Zone, The Loner, The Man and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery) and director Franklin J. Schaffner (The Defenders, The Stripper, The DuPont Show of the Week, Patton, Papillon and The Boys from Brazil) sought out to create a standing of this civilization compromised of apes.

You will feel confident with your new hair.

Commander George Taylor (Charlton Heston of Will Penny, The Hawaiians, Skyjacked, The Call of the Wild, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, Earthquake, Midway and The Awaking) a cynical poet and astronaut is pondering the imponderables of the nature of the universe and the absurdity of the cosmos while making his final journal entry as he is scheduled to a deep cryogenic slumber as his space journey comes to an end.   His vessel crash lands on re-entry as his crew members Landon (Robert Gunner of Frontier Circus, Our Man Flint, The Green Hornet, Caprice and The Jackals) and Dodge (Jeff Burton of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, The Manhunter, The Mad Bomber, Coffy and Street Sisters) as they explore this wasteland of a planet being more than 2000 years into their future.  This will be where they must stay until they can call for help.

   

After exploring for 3 days they encounter a lush cornfield full of primitive humans who panic and flee from apes on horseback?   A planet of buffalo bills with fur??   Our astronauts flee for their lives and get separated during this insane dash through the fields and Taylor is shot and wounded.  He awakes in a camp with other humans but they display less intelligence or thinking process beyond instinctual.  You can manage debates were a bit difficult but not impossible.  The city, society, religion and economics are constructed solely by apes which makes you wonder if they have it right after all.

 

Think I have some rabbit in my teeth. Check for me?

And now, I would like to make a few comments and facts about the movie if you don’t mind.  Edward G Robinson (The Last Gangster, Confession of a Nazi Spy, Double Indemnity, Key Largo, The Stranger, The Ten Commandments and Soylent Green) was intended to play Dr. Zaius instead of Maurice Evans but the prosthetics made Robinson claustrophobic and disturbed his heart so he had to bow out of the project.  The primary locations for said movie were Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas California with Vasquez Rock as well as Glen Canyon in Utah.    This film was shot entirely in Panavision via helicopter aerial shots, tight zooms, dolly and hand held.  It is dark, brilliant and offers some amusing concepts as well as a different view of humanity as a whole.

Charlton Heston Week: Arrowhead

Hey boys and girls and welcome to Day 2 Charlton Heston Week.  Journey with me through the halls of yesteryear… The year is 1953 and Heston is all of 30, rugged, good smile and apparently made the ladies swoon…and no damn dirty apes was shot in the making of this Western, so gather around the campfire, dig into the penny candy and let me spin you a yarn.   This is Arrowhead.

Actually Jack, no one craps bigger than me.

Spoilers don’t like horses, Sergeant. They’ll ride ‘em until they drop, kill ‘em and eat ‘em and then steal some more.

Let me be succinct, if you are of Native American blood line and or have a fondness for the culture then you shall not care for the portrayal of the Apaches in this movie.   That being said on with the show.   Stationed at Fort Clark, The US cavalry is to attempt peace talks with the Apache tribes and convince them to move from Texas to Florida where they will be place on reservations.  Maybe if it had a few lounge acts and a golf course but seems a bit off to me.  Lead scout Ed Bannon (Charlton Heston of The President’s Lady, Pony Express, The Ten Commandments, The Buccaneer, Soylent Green and Airport 1975) who raised by the Apaches knows how they think, act and fight.  He is a man caught between two worlds and neither really wants anything to do with him.   His commanding officer ignores his warnings on the incoming Apaches and it is best to just mow them down.   The colonel ignores him and follows his orders to his unfortunate death.   Next time listen to the top billed actor!!!

Aw Chuck she just wants a man with a slow hand.

Cavalry Captain Bill North (Brian Keith of Desert Hell, Sierra Baron, Ten Who Dared, The Raiders, Hooper and Hardcastle and McCormick) is about his only friend and their relationship is rocky at best. 

Bannon takes delight in the sweetheart that got away, Lela Wilson (Mary Sinclair of Studio One in Hollywood, Woman with a Past and Room to Move) is torn between her affection for Bannon and what would the townsfolk say of her being with this “Half-Breed”.  Yes that particular compound word makes its way a lot and yes I winced when I hear it.

  

Bannon’s closer…companion is Nita (Katy Jurado of High Noon, One-Eyed Jacks, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid and Under the Volcano), a Mexcian Apache lovely that has her eye on Bannon  and his pal Chief Chief Chattez (Frank DeKova of The Ten Commandments, F Troop, Heavy Traffic and The Mechanic) who acts as aide and fellow scout.  Word is spread throughout the fort that the Elder chief’s son Toriano (Jack Palance of Shane, The Barbarians, The Mongols, Contempt, City Slickers and Batman) has returned from an law school learning the White eyes laws (you know the ones that allowed whites to own blacks, shoot Mexicans and eradicate several Native American tribes) and he feels it is time to act and not simply react.  

NRA Chapter meeting goes awry!

Now I have just a few tidbits about this film.  It is a dark storyline that shows two sides of the conflicts.  We really do not have any heroes here but then again we really do not have villains either.   Betrayal, sneakiness and underhanded plays are the name of the game and Keith, Heston and Palance are all a bunch of barrel chested, low vocal badasses in this film.  That is hard labor man muscle.

Spherical 35mm was the order of the shoot and only two different locations were needed for the entire film so the location scout was done in no time.  The foley artist (sound effects man) even gave us a few Wilhelm screams (film and TV stock sound effect from the 1951 film Distant Drums) beloved by Western, Action and Sci-fi and here I thought it was the Nazi and Stormtrooper death rattle.

Charlton Heston Week: The Omega Man

Well hello and welcome to Day 1 of Charlton Heston week and I find we could start off with a little sci-fi.  A different take on The Last Man on Earth based on the Richard Matheson’s novel I am Legend with a bit more of an edge.  So gas up your generator, maintain your defenses and execute your Second Amendments.   This is The Omega Man.

NO RIDERS!!!!

There’s never a spoiler around when you need one…

Taking away from the 1964 sci-fi/horror movie The Last Man on Earth, from TV director Boris Sagal (Mr. Lucky, The Emperor’s Clothes, Peter Gunn, Adventures in Paradise, Dr. Kildare and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters) and treated the infection outbreak in a different fashion.  Biological warfare of warring nations of Russia and China spread this manmade plague throughout the world.   Military based with not only the Martial Law of an entire nation but this virulent disease spreading it all ages and nationality, Colonel Robert Neville (Charlton Heston of Arrowhead, Naked Jungle, The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Touch of Evil and Planet of the Apes) takes a helicopter over to the next staging area with an experimental vaccine.  His pilot gets violently sick and crashes the copter.  Barely able to tumble his way from the wreckage and realizing he too now has the virus, Neville injects himself with the untested vaccine in the hopes he can survive.

Stop playing Bread or it is two to the coconut!

Now Neville is all alone with no one on his side.  A few hundred or so of survivors are scarred and deformed from the plague call themselves The Family (Has a nice Manson ring to it, right?) who can only journey out at night due to have an intense photophobia to light now and their leaves them almost albino.  They believe that since science and technology cause the war that their punishment is to do without such tools and machinery and that Neville is basically the devil that brought this punishment to them and they must cleanse him…with fire.  Well heck makes about as much sense as Scientology.

Almost 3 years he has managed this struggle against “The Family” hiding in his pillbox apartment with a private elevator, security cameras, flood lights and enough firearms to start a week long siege.  The man had to sandbag his patio and put up barb wire just to get some peace of mind which and let’s be fair given the scenario is slipping.    Their leader Matthias (Anthony Zerbe of The Streets of San Francisco, Mannix, Rooster Cogburn, Harry O, How the West Was Won and The Dead Zone) leads his flock into what he believes to be the best course of action against the past and burn it all down.

 

For your crimes against humanity you will burn, Eminem!

Yes, now I have a little input on the film and yes I am babbling on as usual.  Hammer Films was attempting their own adaptation of I am Omega with the title “The Night Creatures” which was written by Richard Matheson himself but apparently the project was too graphic with its violence and too much retuning of it made investors leave thus the project died.  

Neville favored the Smith & Wesson M76 submachine gun.  A machine gun that was primarily going to be used for covert ops in Vietnam but the Swedish government put a ban on selling these fires due to that very same war.  Primarily it went to police and civilians as a whole the US Navy scrapped any further use of it.  He was also accustomed to using his BAR (Browning automatic rifle) with an infrared scope to just clip and wound “The Family” members from a distance.  His siege warfare tactics were surprisingly humane overall and no sudden homemade nitroglycerin bombs or hot tar dropped from above.   

35 mm anamorphic Panavision was the order of the day.  A few crane shots, lots of exterior dolly and the stadium scene alone must have been a nightmare to film in Dodger Stadium.  A dark apocalyptic view of the world with the last Atomic Age man to fight against it, Neville was a ballsy fella.

Charlton Heston Week

He's been a cowboy, a Roman, an astronaut and even the last man on Earth.  Ranging from Westerns, Drama, Action and Science Fiction, this 6 foot 3 inch barrel chested fellow has been hitting the screen since David Bradley's 1950 portrayal of Julius Caesar.  Former NRA president Charlton Heston has hit the big screen more decades than most actors of his caliber.  This week we will check out films from all these genre and see what we will see.  

Look at all these damn hippies...makes you sick.