Grindhouse Flicks: Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Greetings and salutations. We are at Day 5 of Grindhouse Flicks and what better way to end this week but a Femme Fatale Jiggly Girl film? Okay, that might be a bit mean but we are relying exploitation/sexploitation writer/director Russ Meyer (Eve and the Handyman, Heavenly Bodies!, Erotica, Motorpsycho!, Vixens, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, The Seven Minutes and Black Snake) so expect... well mud wrestling and buxom girls. This is Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Sexploitation??  Where?

Our anti-heroines Varla (exotic dancer Tura Satana of Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Our Man Flint, The Astro-Zombies and the Doll Squad) rough girl Rosie (Haji of Motorpsycho!, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Up Your Alley, Supervixens, Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell and Demonoid: Messenger of Death) and ditzy blonde Billie (Lori Williams of Honey West, A Swingin' Summer, The Long, Hot Summer, It's a Bikini World, Love, American Style and the Marvelous Land of Oz) are three strippers....I mean go-go dancers looking for kicks and thrills and racing cars in the desert.

As they are done with racing each other they find a a couple out zipping around and decide to race these two in a time trial. After the race, Varla just snaps doofy boyfriend's neck like it was kinling and given the size of her She-Hulk physique, I can buy that. She also abducts the late doofus's girlfriend Linda (Susan Bernard of Stranger in Hollywood, The Witchmaker, That Tender Touch, The Phynx and Necromancy) because...well she is a lesbian and doofus can't please her or you know ever could. Hey he was a doofus not seeing that Varla is clearly off her rocker. Next incarnation have a sawed-off under the car seat.

Ryan Reynolds hitches a ride in the TARDIS.

They stop for gas in this one horse town and encounter a zany old guy which credits call him "the Old Man". Classy. The Old Man (Stuart Lancaster of The Born Losers, Lila, The Secret Sex Lives of Romeo and Juliet, The Satin Mushroom. The Seven Minutes and Mistress of the Apes) is kooky because of a railway of accident and an inheritance of some serious coin of the realm. Varla starts getting ideas to follow him and search his ranch for the cash... with their captive hostage still in tow.

Varla lands on a plan to seduce the Old Man's eldest son Kirk (Paul Trinka of It's a Man's World, Fate Is the Hunter, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants and Night Gallery) has some smoochy face with the clueless lad. Linda manages to escape Billie who decided to get bombed off her butt instead of keeping an eye on her.

This whole thing is going pear shaped Varla just tells the girls we are greasing everyone to cover up the kidnapping and the previous murder. Yeah not enough to kidnap and a homicide but this kooky dame wants to add 3 more bodies to the mix, thus pre-meditated and now moving into first-degree murder. Oh why are the hot ones always crazed murderers??

Will Kirk see through Varla's facade and shoulder roll his way to kicking her ass? Will the Gorn eat the Old Man?? Does Rosie get many lines or what?

Just jotting a few notes of interest on the flick. While a complete bomb at the box office in its original release, folks of the VHS era found it to be odd but entertaining while other felt it was a blow to the lesbian and feminist community and well yeah it really is a slap in the face to both. The cult following of the movie brings so many pop culture references to this flick I will try to catch them all.

American glam metal band Faster Pussycat clearly took the name from the movie. Dialogue from the picture itself has been lifted and spread over (kinky) four songs in White Zombie for Thunder Kiss '65, Welcome to the Planet Motherf**ker, Black Sunshine and Cosmic Monsters, Inc. Oh Rob and your love of exploitation.

 Hell, punk band the Cramps released a cover of Faster Pussycat on their mini-album in '83 Smell of Female.    As for me...well I was kinda bored to tears up until the third act so not a saving grace there.  

Some gorgeous cinematography filmed in glorious 35mm black and white with the Mitchell BNC (Blimped Newreel Camera) great for sound shot capture and gets great zoom and pan out shots. Of course they shot in Mojave Desert so I was stoked as it was giving the two ghost towns Randsburg and Johansburg filming all the action it got.   For good or bad, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Has made a massive impact on American culture whether it likes it or not

You owe us each for the lapdance, Old Man.

Joan Crawford Week

Good day and welcome to the week, my readers. Well, I posted in as many places as I could asking the reading public any ideas for the week. Alas only one person answered and offered up an actress that I am familiar with but had not explored with a great degree. My friend Hodge suggested the queen of the screen, the madam of misery and with such charisma and fashion, an icon for many. With a less than flattering tell-all book written by her adopted daughter, a film portraying her in the spotlight as obsessive compulsive, cruel and prone to fits of rage. With the illusion of pouty lips, it became known as Hunter's Bow Lips and she was credited as helping to converge America's dislike against lipstick.

Ooo, she gonna whoop somebody.

Having met Steven Spielberg on the set of Night Gallery as a young director and was a source of inspiration for his early years. A cultural icon started out in a collective of menial jobs to allow her time to continue and perfect her dancing. Entering in several contests she landed herself in a spot of a chorus line dancing her way through the Midwest and East Coast when after two years of this she simply moved to Hollywood for the next big step in being a star when she landed her first bit part as a showgirl in Pretty Ladies.

With the hurdles of the talkies driying up and handed more and more bit parts, Crawford grew tired of MGM studios and head for their primary rival Warner Brothers in the later 1940s, landed the plum role for Mildred Pierce allowed her to show her full range as an actress captivated the audience and earning her an Oscar for Best Actress. Born Lucille Fay LeSueur was informed by MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer to her stage name because according to his very narrow piggy little head that LeSeur sounded to close to sewer. Thus Joan Crawford was born.

With that in mind we will examine and go over the various well known titles of this actress that to this very day. Her following is as great as it was in the day and quite possibly more appreciated. Please sit back and enjoy Joan Crawford Week.

More smoke on this film than a Cuban tobacco harvest.

This Week Off

Hey readers. Apologies for not being on yesterday but my muse dropped by after a myriad of months stinking of whiskey, reeking of cigarette smoke and too much debauchery. Apparently she can afford to give me a little inspiration into my delayed work on my hard boiled detective novel so with that in mind, the goal is to get at least 2 to 3 chapters done in it and that is why I will not be reviewing any film, TV or video game with the exception of my own amusement.

Well the kid is off for the week and this bottle of rye ain't drinkin' itself.

That in mind, not all is lost as my co-host Shawn and I will be back with another podcast for Rotten Ramblin' On. The input of our first podcast was very positive and I felt we covered all our bases with the announcement that it is indeed an adult show with the adult language, so not one for the kiddies I imagine. The topic will be a tad more structured, we both have microphones and this will not be recorded on an Android cellphone this time around.

So I am off to get my detective Jake Malone into more trouble than he is getting paid for, making new friends, enemies and maybe a dame or two will come into his life. Who can say?

We'll hold Marcel Proust's calls while he's gone.

Movie Starlets of the 1940's

Hello there readers, I have a quick question for you.  When you look at Hollywood of today, do you see the glitz, the glamour, the grace and gravitas?  Do the actresses of modern compare to the poise of yesteryear?  I find some rare exceptions but in a world filled with paparazzi upskirt shots, trailing them to secluded beaches and party goings on, the elegance is lost.

Keep it under 50, Legs. We don't need no heat.

This is what I propose (Jake, it's so sudden!) that we observe some of the most captivating women of the 1940's that got their start in the latter 30's.  From love interests to stage stealers; from suzy homemaker to femme fatale, these ladies of cinema have captured imaginations and swooned men and women alike with their flawless executions and unique appeal.  These women that commanded performances from the stage, lit up a room or cut a man down to the core had altered the face of cinema in the day and still touch lives to this day.  I invite you to enjoy these sirens of the screen and hope you take away from this week the same impact they have made across the world.

Technicolor Cheesecake!

007 Week: Thunderball

Hello and welcome to the beginning of 007 Week and we clearly cannot start this off without a Connery Bond film.  Sadly, it will not be Dr. No as I already reviewed that for Sean Connery Week if you will recall.  Mind you, there were other things you could have been doing during that week such as: laundry, hemming a skirt or making a quiche.  Nevertheless, we shall have to carry on and move to a popular title to this very day.  From its disturbing content of nuclear arms easily lifted to Bond having to prevent the impending World War III, this film brings us excitement, memorable villains and of course, the fetching ladies of the film.  This is Thunderball.

So... what are you doing after the funeral?

Madame LaPorte: You sound disappointed you did not kill him yourself.
Bond: I am. Jacques Bouvar spoiled two of my colleagues.





As this is the fourth film in the Bond Series starring Sean Connery (An Age of Kings, Macbeth Dr. No, Marnie, Goldfinger, The Anderson Tapes, Meteor, Outland, Highlander and The Hunt for Red October) Bond has returned from avenging several friends from a risque mission when he learns from his superior "M" (Benard Lee of The Angry Silence, Partners in Crime, Whistle Down the Wind, The Brain and Goldfinger) that an organization calling itself SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) has captured two NATO atomic warheads demanding no less than $100 million in diamonds or an undisclosed major city in England or the States will be destroyed.  Hot on the case, Bond follows leads to the Bahamas where he meets Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi of Pleasant Nights, The Honey Pot, Danger: Diablolik,  Hitler: The Last Ten Days, Ten Little Indians and The Next Man) a eye-patch wearing, card playing gambler that Bond suspects that SPECTRE's man of operations for this caper.

Mr. Peepers reporting as ordered, sir.

Bond's CIA contact Felix Leiter (Rik Van Nutter of Assignment: Outer Space, The Passionate Thief and Romanoff and Juliet) along with Largo's "niece" Domino (Claudine Auger of The Reckless, The Devil in Love, The Killing Game, Anyone Can Play, A Bay of Blood, Equinox and Summertime Killer) both clue Bond into where the warheads are being kept and pointing out the sheer amount of manpower Largo has at his fingertips.  Not for calling in the cavalry, Bond proceeds with his mission at all costs for Queen and country.

Some interesting facts about this film now.  This is the first of the Bond Franchise to have multiple alternative titles due to the translation gap.  These are: Operation: Thunderball, Ian Fleming's Thunderball, Agente 007- Thunderball, James Bond 007- Feuerball, Atomic Ball, Agent 007 Into The Fire, Thunderball Fighting, Operation Thunder, James Bond, Secret Agent, Operation Thunder and Longitude 78 West.

The "Golden Grotto" in the Bahamas does in fact exist and is now to this day been rechristened as "Thunderball Reef".  Sadly, the villa was torn down in 1990 for a hotel resort.   This is the first time we see all the double o's in one room as "M" has called them all to the carpet for a debriefing.  This is also the first of the Bond films to be shot entirely in Panavision (Anamorphic lens for widescreen shooting).  I really wanted to nick the 1965 Thunderbird Largo was driving around in Paris at the start of the film but I seemed to have misplaced my blue police box.

I think a grip left a tack on my chair!

007 Week

Yes, I have seen Jolie in the buff.  Impressive.

Good day and hello to my readers of my tripe.  I appreciate each and everyone of you for comments, complaints and overall suggestions.  That being said I am bringing us a few cinematic collections based on one suave, sophisticated and lethal fellow in service of the Queen.  Based on internationally known novelist Ian Fleming we will be checking out a man in more states of undress than Courtney Love "sober".   I speak of none other than James Bond.   This week we will be going over the various incarnations of this iconic character with the minor exception I will NOT sit through On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  I would rather have my eye lids taped back with needles threatening to gouge them if I blink or look away from one of Andy Dick's sexual soirees.

Lazenby?  Don't make me laugh.

The basis of the character was created as a Royal Naval Reserve Commander during World War II, where he went on to being an intelligence analyst and finally an field agent for the fictitious MI-6 receiving his double o status of license to kill.  A blunt instrument with a certain sophistication, charm and grace and remain out of the spotlight...  and yet they kept casting faces and builds that we recognized.  Go figure.  Officially 7 men have portrayed this character, Sean Connery against Ian Fleming's wishes being the first.  Bring a sense of humor and a mildly repressed Scottish accent, Dr. No managed to gross more than $16 million from the US in 1962 on a $1.1 million dollar budget.  Not too shabby, eh?    So grab a dame, a vodka martini, shaken not stirred and keep the Walther PPK at the ready.

Not upset, just holding in a sneeze.

Mickey Rooney Week: Quicksand

Hey there all and greetings to Day 3 of Mickey Rooney Week.  Y'know for a change I think we will review a Mickey Rooney movie where he has lead role and would be his first time challenging his goody two shoes persona he had been known for.   Hows-about a story where a lad gets in over his head with debt, criminals and the law and all for a shallow girl?   Sounds like quite the caper I agree, but I think I can sweeten the pot with a Peter Lorre sighting as well.  Did I mention it is film noir?   This is Quicksand.

Jeepers, boobies!

Daniel 'Dan' Brady: I feel like I'm bein' shoved into a spoiler, and if I don't get out soon, it'll be too late. Maybe it's too late already!



How much trouble can one guy get into? Oh brother you got no clue at all.    A struggling auto mechanic Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney of The Black Stallion, Donovan's Kid, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, Arabian Adventure and One of the Boys) just bragged to his co-worker about dropping his squeaky clean girlfriend as he goes ga ga for an obvious femme fatale Vera Novak (Jeanne Cagney of Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Time of Your Life, Don't Bother to Knock,  A Lion Is in the Streets and Town Tamer) who wants to be adored and fawned after.  Dan strapped for cash boosts 20 clams from the till because he can just get the money back from his buddy who he hasn't ran into yet.

Whudda mean no Laser Tag??!!! Gyp!

That night on the Santa Monica pier Vera and Dan have a swell time in spite of her old boss of the penny arcade Nick (Peter Lorre of M, The Maltese Falcon, My Favorite Brunette and Arsenic and Old Lace) but sorry fellas no action shown in this 50's film so fade to black.   Dan never runs into Chuck to get his funds and finds out the shop's book keeper arrived two days earlier than expected so Dan hatches a brillant scheme that he will buy an expensive watch and pawn it for the money he could get from it then sneaks the scratch into the till.  That is a minor felony but hey no worries, he is bound to get into crazier circumstances.

 A day later Dan forgot he put the auto shop down as his work address and an investigator for the store tells Dan he has 24 hours to pay the money to avoid grand larceny charges.  Dan also seem to space the concept of serial numbers.    On a binder at the local bar, Dan spots the local bingo caller Shorty, clearly tanked and a wallet full of cash.   Dan gets Shorty (heh) and swipes the cash.  He runs into Vera and Nick squabbling and Dan gives him a licking but leaves his handkerchief behind.  The same one he used in the robbery.
Nick meets with Dan about the robbery and demands a car for himself or this goes to the cops, see?  Without no choice in sight, Dan swipes a car off the lot only to be spotted by his sleazebag boss who in turn blackmails the lad for the marked up price of the car or this goes to the cops.   Anyone seeing a pattern with the people Dan interacts with?

I had just a few comments about the film.  This role was meat and potatoes for Rooney allowing him to step out of the goody goody image and gives an amazing performance.  Sadly the ladies Cagney and Barbara Bates don't have anything new to the table and didn't grant the same moral quagmire that Rooney and Lorre's executions on screen.  The dolls of the flick got the typical good girl and bad girl bird cage with no wiggle room in between.   I have to say while there was a fair amount of product placement in the film, for the most part it was low key and most of this film was shot on Santa Monica with almost all exterior scenes on the old pier.  Low cost, great pace and spectacular showmanship is all these ingredients found in Quicksand.  Well at least the film that is.

Don't forget tomorrow, yer givin' me a sponge bath.

Larson 80s TV Week: Magnum P.I.

Hiya kiddies and welcome back for another helping of Larson 80’s TV Week.   Boy I make the weeks longer and more confusing than Mapquest directions.  This time around I thought we would find us another tough guy with even better hair, better build and rocking a solid mustache.  He hails from Hawaii though sounds like he is from Chicago.  This is Magnum P.I.

Yeah a delicious shake and a two hour workout.

Mac: Time has little do with spoiler and jelly donuts.

Based in Honolulu Hawaii our shameless shamus stays at the palatial Robin’s Nest Estate owned by world acclaimed novelist Robin Masters…who is never ever at this amazing crib.  Seriously, I have never seen this cat appear in any episode.   It was eluded in the pilot episode that our flatfoot Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck of Daughters of Satan, 3 Men and a Baby, An Innocent Man, The Closer, Friends, Jesse Stone: Stone Cold and Blue Bloods) had done Masters a serious favor…guess he hid all the dead hookers that one time in Vegas…anyway apparently since Masters is nowhere on the premises he allows Magnum the run of the roost if you will including being about to roll up in a GORGEOUS Ferrari 308 GTS and probably raids the wine cellar for the good stuff.  

Whadda mean I ain't rocking the Bogart?? Jerks.

Between his cases he has to contend with Masters’ groundskeeper, butler and all around handyman John Higgins (John Hillerman of Blazing Saddles, Chinatown. At Long Last Love, Ellery Queen and Valerie) a former British Army Sergeant Major who was the model of a major general who has information, vegetable, animal and mineral…oh wait, no sorry that’s The Pirates of Penzance.   Higgins patrols the grounds with two horrible abominations before the eyes of the Lord, Doberman Pinschers named Zeus and Apollo.   I guess one is faster than lightning and sleeps with anything that moves and the other is very sunny. 

Aside from his daily grind with Higgins, Magnum’s…associates…cohorts???  Ah screw it, his sidekicks.    One is T.C.  Calvin (Roger E. Mosley of Hit Man, Cruise Into Terror, The Jericho Mile, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, Letters from a Killer and FCU: Fact Checkers Unit), former Marine recon now tourist helicopter pilot for the island and their buddy Rick Right (Larry Manetti of Sudden Death, Black Sheep Squadron, Battlestar Galactica, Swamp Thing and Hawaii Five-0) also former Marine recon that now owns Rick’s Place a nice homage to Casablanca and hey, who doesn’t love Bogart?    To give the show a nice throwback to the 30’s dimestore detective Magnum does a lot of narrative in each case giving it humorous content in the midst of even the most dire of situations.

I had just a few points about the show now.   It has been established that Magnum and his buddies are from the same Vietnam outfit but we never saw any of them using Marine takedowns, martial arts or handle their firearms in that level of training.  However, this show was the first portrayal of Vietnam vets in a positive light and that has to count for something there alone.  It was hinted at that the producers wanted Orson Welles to appear as the enigmatic Robin Masters but sadly he passed away shortly after voice acting in Transformers: The Movie as the planet devouring Unicron.    

With the series lasting 9 years, a bevy of female and male clients and a memorable TV intro theme, Selleck was proud to be a part of TV history but only after the writers laxed his character a bit instead of making him too smooth and lady killer but more of a down to Earth jock type.

What's wrong with my shirt?

A Dash of Film Noir: Murder, My Sweet

Alright you cats and kittens wrap your peepers around this; to Day 4 of A Dash of Film Noir Week.  Seems our favorite flatfoot Philip Marlowe has got himself mixed up in a tawdry tale of lies, larceny, a bit of theft and of course a dishy femme fatale.  Will he come out on top or will he be left holding the bag and taking the rap?  If you want the low down I suggest you be packing some heat, watch who you get pally with and don’t end up the patsy.  This is Murder, My Sweet.

 

Call the zoo. There's a gorilla on the loose.

Phillip Marlowe: I caught the blackjack right behind my ear. A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in.  It had no spoiler.  I felt pretty good- like an amputated leg.

Our talking picture opens up in a sweat box, lamp full on in Marlowe’s mug and three buzzers working him over to get to what they think is the truth.  Feeling like a duck in a shootin’ gallery Marlowe (Dick Powell of Too Busy to Work, 42^nd Street, Twenty Million Sweethearts, Hard to Get, Right Cross and The Band and the Beautiful) has been informed his involvement about the events up to a couple of murders.  Flimsy as the evidence is the department is fixing Marlowe for a rope under the neck so Marlowe makes like a canary and sings his sad song.

A tasty but dangerous dish to be had.

Chasing down a lost husband for a tomato Marlowe was getting nowhere with it when in walks a 6’5” beast of a man named Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki of Nightmare Alley, Dark City, Some Like It Hot, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Mob Boss), claims he is missing his bird after a seven year stretch in the joint.  Says the looker ain’t been around to chat with him in six years and he wants her found.  With arms the length of a football field our dapper fellow seems determined to find Velma (Claire Trevor of Texas, Street of Chance, The Woman of the Town, Born to Kill and Key Largo). Marlowe reluctantly takes the case so as to not upset King Kong and starts pounding the pavement on the lookout for this missing lady.   No sooner does he make a little headway, a fancy dan in a daisy suit shows up in his office needing to buy back some stolen swag on the QT so Marlowe plays tag along and that’s when things get a bit blurry.

Director Edward Dmytryk (Golden Gloves, The Blonde from Singapore, Seven Miles from Alcatraz, Behind the Rising Sun, The Caine Mutiny and The End of the Affair) was deemed Hollywood’s golden boy when it came to the pictures.  People loved or hated him for his anal retention but he was a director that could get the film in on time, under budget and still wow the viewing public.  Writer John Paxton (My Pal Wolf, Cornered, Crack-Up, Rope of Sand, The Wild One and Pickup Alley) managed to adapt Raymond Chandler’s novel bringing it to the black & white in the a nice steady stride with the right amount of suspense and thrills. 

Dick Powell’s portrayal of Marlowe was so eerie that Raymond Chandler himself felt he had the right stuff for the character. Not a overtly tall fellow but a short and scrappy guy who was quick witted, sassy and packed a decent right cross.

Look Mr. Bogart, don't get steamed if they called me first.

A Dash of Film Noir: The Killing

Hey there gang and welcome to Day 1 of A Dash of Film Noir Week.   I was scouring through the film archives and came across what I can call a fine example of the genre.  Fortunately a seasoned director had his hands on this flick.   Director Stanley Kubrick (Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey) helmed our movie as it was his third full-length feature film about a robbery gone wrong.  So let’s hold out in the flop house, clean and prep the roscoes and try to keep a cool head.  This is The Killing.

So fellas, gin rummy anyone?

Johnny Clay: Alright spoiler, that’s a mighty pretty head you got on your shoulders. You want to keep it there or start carrying it around in your hands?

Our movie’s leading role ain’t one of the good guys but a career criminal that is planning one last score before he and the missus settle down for the house with the white picket fence.  Tough guy Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden of Flaming Feather, Hellgate, The Golden Hawk, The Star, So Big, Dr. Strangelove and 1900) is as vicious as they come but with a heart of gold. His doll baby Fay (Coleen Gray of Kiss of Death, Red River, Kansas City Confidential and Cry from the Mountain) is a gal with great stems and a can do attitude and Johnny would move the heavens just to give her a better view.

Oh Johnny, why can't you be more like Burt Lancaster?

With a few choice teammates he assembled Johnny plans to rob a little over two million dollars from a racetrack during a high stakes race.  With using a betting teller George Peatty (Elisha Cook Jr. of The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, House on Haunted Hill, Blacula and Salem’s Lot: The Movie) giving the access to the back room, a crackshot sniper who is cold as they come, Nikki Arcane (Timothy Carey of Rio Conchos, Beach Blanket Bingo, Gunsmoke, A Time for Killing, Head and What’s the Matter with Helen?) a corrupt cop Randy (Ted de Corsia of The Lady from Shanghai, The Naked City, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Delta Factor),  a wrestler Maurice (Pro Wrestler Kola Kwariani of  The Killing) for crowd distraction. The deck is stacked and ready for game time. 

One slight hitch is George blabs the plan to his annoyed wife Sherry (Marie Windsor of Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin, Swamp Diamonds, The Day Mars Invaded Earth, Bedtime Story and Salem’s Lot: The Movie) who schemes to  get her gunsel boy toy Val Cannon (Vince Edwards of Ben Casey, The Victors, The Devil’s Brigade, The Return of Ben Casey and Son of Darkness: To Die For II) to rob the lot of them and do them in if they get out of line.   The heist is set and everyone knows their part but George tells Johnny his wife knows everything and Johnny takes care of business with Sherry telling her to know her place and she and George are getting a big piece of the action as it is.   Will the scheme go off without complications or will it blow up in their faces?  Hey check it out because it is another brilliant Kubrick film.

When clowns turn to crime!!

A Dash of Film Noir

Well folks welcome to the blog and I am managing to give the page a touch of class by offering up a week that does not involve blood and ichor strewn about the place.  Nifty, right?   I thought that for the week we would have a dash of film noir instead.  So we will have a round of gang violence, maybe a bank robbery or diamond heist, a few gunsels with their channeled thug mentality and a hard boiled police or P.I. or two.

Baby, this world is our oyster.

This happens to be one of my favorite genres and I came to the conclusion to explore titles I myself have not encountered before and that way we all get to enjoy something.  It will be a refreshing change from zombies, vampires and copious amounts of T & A.   Frankly I believe we could all benefit from that so without further adieu we will start the week of Film Noir.

Philip Marlowe Week: Finger Man

Back again kids with that flatfoot for hire and it seems he is having a difficulty with clients…keeping them alive that is.  Seems the town has got it in for Marlowe and he has to figure how to get back in the City of Angels’ good graces.  So grab those binoculars, keep your rod handy and prep for the worst.  This is Finger Man.

Sorry McGee I am always this pretty.

Philip Marlowe: It was Friday the 13^th; I’ve been hit with a subpoena to testify in the Grand jury in the spoiler killing.  A traffic accident on the highway already made me 20 minutes late.  Last thing I needed was to be signed in as contempt of court.

Marlowe finds himself in as a star witness to the biggest homicide in the town in 20 years.  The special investigator for the Governor’s life is being threatened by letters and phone calls. The investigator’s wife demands protection for her husband but Lt. McGee says they cannot give protection to a man who does not want it so he suggests she hire Marlowe.  Marlowe keeps tabs on the investigator until he takes a meeting out to a house watched over at least two gunsels one of which Marlowe can identify in court.

Porkins??!!!

With a weekend to kill, Marlowe is considering a holiday when an old friend and former numbers make an appearance.  “Lucky” Lou Harmer (Christopher Muncke of The Spy Who Loved Me, How Sleep the Brave, D.A.R.Y.L. and Haunted Honeymoon) plans to hit a casino and wants some muscle in case he scores big. With his date Sally Glen (Gayle Hunnicutt of Marlowe, Scorpio, The Legend of Hell House and Target) they plan to make the scene.  Marlowe gets sapped and his .38 long barrel gets lifted, his head ringing like a four alarm bell only find out Harmer got a .38 driven in his heart.

Sally shows up to Marlowe’s office with 25,000 gees, Harmer’s winnings and a sob story.   Marlowe gets a well armed invitation by enough muscle to rival Gold’s Gym.  He meets with the brilliant mob boss running the show, Frank Dorr (William Hootkins of Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Batman).  He offers Marlowe a scotch neat and the deal of countermanding his official statement and have it stricken from the record and in return he gets his gun back and gets to keep the 25,000 gees as a bonus.  Eloquent as always Marlowe tells him to stick it which leads to him shooting his way out of Dorr’s compound.  Now Marlowe has to dodge the cops, deal with the mob and clear his name before the long arm of the law tosses him in the jug.

Damn hat keeps slipping.

I have just a quick couple of notes on this episode if you will.   Marlowe’s ride is a 1934 Ford Two Door Sedan powder blue.   The chairs and desk in Dorr’s office are Wolfgang Hoffmann creations, I believe they were recreations for the episode given the extreme value that furniture fetches but I do not have those details.  I can’t do everything for you people!  Sheesh.

Film Noir Week: Out of the Past

Back again boys and girls and welcome to Day 2 of Film Noir Week.  As it is known to be a grim, bleak and disturbing setting with these films, the stories have a tendency to go that extra mile and impress us all with dastardly villains, femme fatales and stout heroes…but let’s be honest; a lot of you are there for the fights, gunfights and twist endings.  I can relate.   So how about we take a peek at this fine Jacques Torneur film.   This is Out of the Past.

Stop falling in love with me, baby.

How big a spoiler can you get to be? I was finding out.

What is a man made up of? Is it his humble beginnings or is it possibly the chance to start all over again?   This is the story of Jeff Bailey a.k.a. Jeff Markham (Robert Mitchum of Crossfire, Blood on the Moon, El Dorado, Man with the Gun, The Yakuza and The Big Sleep) operating out of a shabby little garage in Bridgeport California and dating a swell gal named Ann (Virginia Huston of Nocturne, Sudden Fear, Tarzan’s Peril and Knock on Wood) when a big muscled goon name of Joe Stephanos tells Jeff him a fella name of Whit Sterling demands to see him.  Jeff agrees reluctantly.  That night Jeff picks up Ann and the two just drive off to Jeff’s meeting and the story gets narrated by Mitchum as we are treated to the rest of the movie in the form of a flashback.   Relax Highlander fans, flashbacks can be your friend too.  

Mustn't fart in front of Douglas..Hold it.

Jeff pins our ears back a spell and gives us the low down about him being a gumshoe with a partner named Fisher (Steve Brodie of The Wild World of Batwoman, Bonanaza, Lassie, Gunsmoke and The Giant Spider Invasion) working for a man named Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas of A Letter to Three Wives, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Spartacus, 2000 Leagues Under the Sea and the Vikings).  What’s the problem you might ask?  A dame with enough beauty to make a preacher kick in a stained glass window, a woman with more slink than a cat; in short his mistress Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer of Dick Tracy, Sunset Pass, Station West, You for Me and The Prisoner of Zenda).  Sterling spins us a yarn about the tomato pulled a roscoe, pumped two bits of lead in him and off with more than 40 large.   This fella says bygones is bygones and just wants her back in his life.  Not Jacks’ cross to bear but a gig is a gig they say.

I have just a few comments and observations about the film at this time.  This story is very tongue in cheek, snappy patter and Mitchum just revels in being a tough guy and yet you can believe what happens to him was inevitable.  Jane Greer’s performance just gets under your skin to one point you could see her talking you into a mass murder spree, convincing you it was your idea in the first place.

Mmm, the Surgeon General never warned me about her.

Back with 35mm Spherical giving a wide scope on the film’s view at a nice, steady pace of 97 minutes this film will keep surprising you.   Based on the novel Build My Gallows High by San Fransico newspaper man Daniel Mainwaring a.k.a. Geoffrey Holmes, this book was adapted by a few name alterations and punching up the third act to follow the spice and danger the book laid out.   Thrills, chills and spills with this one and Mitchum has some damn good lines that will sizzle the ladies’ socks.

150th Post! Film Noir Week: The Woman in the Window

Alrighty kids welcome to the Film Noir Week and let’s kick this shindig off with some Fritz Lang (Metropolis, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, M and Fury) and we will see the genius envelope you and the phenomenal standing that is this movie.  So wipe down those prints, ditch the murder weapon and try to blot up that blood pool.  This is The Woman in the Window.

An indecent proposal?  Well...okay.

The streets were dark with something more than spoilers

This film tells the sad tale of a middle aged professor of psychology Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson of Double Indemnity, The Stranger, Key Largo and The Ten Commandments)  and friends ogle a portrait of a lovely woman in the window next to the fellas’ gentlemen’s club .  By happenstance Wanley bumps into the lovely Alice Reed and becomes enamored with the young model/femme fatale. After a get together with Alice Reed (Joan Bennett of Scarlett Street, Man Hunt, Girl Trouble, Nob Hill and Dark Shadows) to check out her etchings (wink wink) but feels it is a bit off being a married man, nevertheless he follows her up to said apartment.  As he and Alice relax, her boyfriend misconstrues Wanley’s intent and instigates a donnybrook.  Reed accidently stabs him and the professor’s life goes topsy-turvy after killing Alice’s insanely jealous sugar daddy, know as Frank Howard (Arthur Loft of Teddy the Rough Rider, Charlie Chan in the Secret Service, Scarlet Street, Blondie Knows Best and Lone Star Moonlight)  slowly quickly sinks into a quagmire of blackmail and murder Wanley is terrified for his career and life,    he is flailing around in a world he has lectured against he feels there is no one to turn to that would believe him anyway.

Alright! I will move from your chair!

Inspector Jackson (Thomas E. Jackson of Manhattan Melodrama, Little Caesar, The Big Sleep, Meet Me at the Fair and Crime Wave) attached to Homicide is hot on the case as Wanley is sweating bullets, trying to stay on top of the case all the while attempting to remain calm and collective.  Alice tries to meet with Wanley and tells him that blackmail is on the rise and he needs to help her raise the money to keep the blackmailer at bay.    Yeah that trick always works.

Just a few points of the film I would like to observe.  The film is based on the novel One Off Guard by J.H. Wallis, screenplay was adapted by accomplished screenwriter Nunnally Johnson (The Grapes of the Wrath, How to Marry a Millionare, The Three Faces of Eve and The Dirty Dozen) was able to form International Pictures, his own independent production company into a radio play adaption reprising the roles for all actors.  

So Professor, how does one conceal a body well?

35mm Spherical Panavision and the lighting and soundtrack speak such volumes for this movie.  The tone is dark and bleak with no sign of a safety net in sight.   This is a roller coaster of a film. Robinson’s performance is incredibly believable and Bennett is a desperate beauty whose portrayal is so convincing you truly feel for both of them and you are just on pins and needles as this story unfolds.  This mystery is absolutely spellbinding and I highly recommend this film for everyone that enjoys this genre.