700th Blog!! Weird West Week: The Shadow of Chikara

Salutations youngins and welcome back for Day 4 of Weird West Week. Well we have had vampires, weeping women, monstrous gunslingers and even a dinosaur so what could possibly be next? How about we journey to Arkansas (only watching the film.. kind of a weird state) towards the last days of the Civil War, when one of the confederates knows he is not gonna make it so he tells two of his buddies of a mound of rocks that may be a treasure in the makings. This is The Shadow of Chikara a.k.a. Curse of Demon Mountain a.k.a. Demon Mountain a.k.a. The Ballad of Virgil Cane a.k.a. Thunder Mountain a.k.a. Wishbone Cutter a.k.a. Shadow Mountain.

Damn Yankees took all our bacon!!

Former Confederate Captain Wishbone Cutter (Joe Don Baker of Lancer, Wild Rover, Walking Tall, Mitchell, The Pack, To Kill a Cop, Fletch, The Living Daylights, In the Heat of the Night and GoldenEye) Irish Indian Half Moon O' Brian (Joy N. Houck Jr of Night of Bloody Horror, Creature from Black Lake, The Brain Machine and Down by Law) and mellow geologist Amos Raymond (Ted Neely of Jesus Christ Superstar, A Perfect Couple, Hard Country, Summer Camp Nightmare, Of Mice and Men and Django Unchained) decide to journey the remote regions of the Arkansas wilderness. Hopefully they avoid a collection of grossly disfigured inbred cannibalistic mountain men similar to the villains of Wrong Turn.

Rough mountain terrain moves deep into the cave their late compatriot described and discover a cache of diamonds. Wealth beyond their wildest dreams and thus far no disturbing hillbilly melee weapon wielding psychos. Then Moon recounts of a tale he has heard of demons that guard a sacred mountain and realizes it may possibly be this mountain (NOW A WARNING??!!!). Warnings aside the threesome collect as many rocks as possible but still light enough to move around the treacherous underfoot when they encounter a battered woman who claims to be the lone survivor of a vicious Indian attack. As shell shocked as she is, she tells the fellas her name is Drucilla Wilcox (Sondra Locke of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Every Which Way is Loose, Sudden Impact, Ratboy and Clean and Narrow). Wishbone less than thrilled a damn woman (his words!) is along to get in the way and may make a play for their treasure reluctantly deals with her joining the party. Methinks he is just bitter because Amos and Moon are vastly prettier than he and more likely to get the girl.

So... live around here?

The long trek back the Untouchable Trio Plus One are ambushed and confused to what is laying these onslaught of attacks. Roving band of Apaches?? The moonshiners from Deliverance? Demons watching over their sacred mountain? The answers to these questions begin to frighten the hell out of them as they become scared, paranoid and loaded with firearms. Will they strike it rich only to die for their uncovered funds? Will life be more important than the diamonds? Why does Wishbone look like Meatloaf?

A few comments on the flick now. Factually speaking diamonds were not discovered in the hills of Arkansas until 1906, 41 years AFTER the Civil War and the use of dynamite for mountaineers, farmers and railroad workers won't happen until two years after the film's set timeline because Sweden hadn't developed it yet. Aside from these mildly interesting facts, this has all the hallmarks of a 70's slow build-up Horror movie. The gradual and meticulous tone that says something spooky is on the rise but we have no idea when the trap is sprung. Painfully staked with an excellent mood altering musical score this film is low key and definitely worthy of the term Ghost Story of the Old West.

The cast is superb, the film has a fair degree of violence for PG which would be bumped to R these days and the setting has a good creep factor. Frankly this is a forgotten gem that deserves a good DVD release. The copy I saw was grainy as hell, recorded in Technicolor and mono so adjust your speakers accordingly. Curiously enough, our director/writer Earl E. Smith also created The Legend of Boggy Creek, The Town That Dreaded Sundown (Original 1976 version) and Sudden Impact. Folks I am 4 for 4 this week and loving it!!! Easiest copy to find is the title Curse of Demon Mountain.

So I'm too doughy to be the Lone Ranger?  Damn.

Weird West Week: The Beast of Hollow Mountain

Welcome back lil' doggies to Day 3 of Weird West Week. Boy howdy this one is a bit of the strange but well keeping into the theme of the week, our story involves an American cowboy tending a ranch out in the Mexican territory. A wretched hive of scum and villainy(just kidding) as several of his cows have gone missing. Leading a team of cowboys to investigate it all seems to connect to an unexplored mountain said to be cursed according to the local villagers. This is The Beast of Hollow Mountain.

Hmm think Speilberg went a little cheap this time.

Cowboy/ranchman Jimmy Ryan (Guy Madison of Red Snow [1952], The Last Frontier, On the Threshold of Space, The Hard Man, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Gunmen of Rio Grande and Five for Revenge) finds himself in quite the pickle as his livestock has gone missing with huge, massive tracks leading away from the granging area. With a posse of 4, Ryan leads the investigation following a path of destruction that leads to Hollow Mountain alongside the swamps that interconnects the land. While checking on the cattle, ranch hand Fellipe (Carlos Rivas of Bonanaza, True Grit, The Undefeated, Topaz, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, The New Adventures of Zorror and Mi vida loca) tells Ryan the tales of the land of a strange beast said to reside in the valley and returns to reek havoc on the lands until its blood-lust is sated.

As they head back they see another ranch as a pack of dumb preteens toss fire crackers spooking horses and cause the ranch owner Pancho (Pascual Garcia Pena of Hidden Paradise, El Zorro vengador, House of the Frights, Los parranderos, Bring Me the Vampire, las mascara de jade, Youth Without Law and The Bandits) to be thrown from his horse and drug in front of his son Panchito (Mario Navarro of The Road of Life, The Black Scorpion, Villa!!, Bolero inmortal and The Magnificent Seven) aiding him from getting bounced around all the terrain.

I bemused by this plucky stranger.

Immediately falling for Don Pedro's daughter Sarita (Patricia Medina of Stranger at My Door, Miami Expose, Zorror, Count Your Blessings, Latitude Zero and Timber Tramps) and is disturbed to find out an wealthy, loathsome ranch owner is chasing after Sarita offering to watch over her father's ranch in return for her hand in marriage and told Jimmy to go back to Texas to ranch.

With the constant squabbling from Enrique the rancher (Eduardo Noriega of Deadly Reef, Mad Drivers, Mojados, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, El hombre sin miedo and Zorro: The Gay Blade) and Jimmy it is getting so the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Pancho decides to continue looking for the lost cattle, tells Panchito to let Jimmy know where he went into the swamp if he does not return by dusk. A loud roar terrifies Pancho and something attacks him.

Fearing the worse, the fellas watch after Panchito before he drops him off to Don Pedro's home and leaves to see off his cattle for shipment. Panchito escapes the house and heads back to the swamps to find his father. Ryan, Enrique and a few others go out to find the boy and encounter a large reptile of prehistoric standing. The Allosaurus proceeds to chase down the horse riders and all hell breaks loose. Can the cowboys stop this massive monster? Will Panchito be saved?

A few points of interest in our movie. Practical effects artist Willis H. O'Brien developed the stop motion creature making it about two feet high and full articulated in over 50 points allowing the creature to move about, clamp his jaws and breathe heavily with an air compression tube.

This is the first film to use stop motion animation with the anamorphic lens or Cinemascope and in Technicolor as well. It has been shot in both Spanish and English with Guy Madison dubbed as his Spanish was barely passible. Aside from a bit of the slapstick drunk antics, this had all the Western themes of fist fights, gunplay and a serious vibe to this monster movie. 3 for 3 this week.

Why yes I am incredibly handsome and rugged.

Weird West Week: Curse of the Undead

Welcome back you cattle rustlers to Day 2 of Weird West Week. Yeah I should stop attempting the Old West speak. Today's endeavor brings us to 1880 in a remote town on a series of Universal sound stages, a virulent disease seems to be affecting the townsfolk's' young girls as they waste away. Dr. Carter has been tending these girls as best as humanly possible but there is no rational explanation. This is Curse of the Undead.

Mind yourself, son.  Good manners means less holes in the body.

Doctor John Carter (John Hoyt of Operation C.I.A., 120' Clock High, Gunpoint, Duel at Diablo, The Big Valley, The Virginian and Return to Peyton Place) and his nurse/daughter Dolores (Kathleen Crowley of Target Earth, Wesward Ho, the Wagons!, The Rebel Set and Downhill Racer) are perplexed at this viral infection, why does it afflict the young and why only the girls? Attending the patients hour at a time, some have died in their sleep when another patient Cora look as though she will pull through it, The Carters have some breakfast and a break from this nightly vigil when they hear a muffled scream from Cora's bedroom. Rushing to get there only to find Cora slumped on her bed, her window open and she is quite dead. Preacher Young (Eric Fleming of Conquest of Space, Queen of Outer Space, Rawhide and The Glass Bottom Boat) prays for the girl's soul when he notices two neat holes in her neck. Prickly heat no doubt.

Doctor Carter makes his way back to his ranch when son Tim (Jimmy Murphy of Mister Roberts, Crashing Las Vegas, Looking for Danger and The Last American Hero) has had nothing but problems from nearby neighbor Buffer (Bruce Gordon of Behind Closed Doors,The Untouchables, Tower of London, Peyton Place and Piranha) trying to steal/ruin/terrorize them off their land to add to his own. Rather than letting Tim just give him the business with a .45 Peacemaker, Doctor Carter suggests talking to the Sheriff about it. While this goes on a mysterious black clad stranger moseys into town with a chiseled jaw and ice in his veins.

Daddy, you missed your turn.   

True to his word the Sheriff (Edward Binns of 12 Angry Men, North by Northwest, Judd for the Defense, It Takes a Thief, Lovin' Molly, Patton, Diary of the Dead and The Verdict) gives Buffer an earful, belts one of his loud mouthed gunfighters and even smoothly draws his hogleg aimed at Buffer's belly waiting for him to draw his own horse pistol. Buffer comes across as the man that buys a gun arm or backshoots a man and just makes nice with the sheriff. The doc makes his way back to the ranch but seems to be asleep at the reigns when he falls limp from the momentum of the coach (buckboard I think)coming to a halt. Tim convinced it was Buffer goes for revenge. Meanwhile the stranger goes for a light nap... in Doctor Carter's coffin. Hmm, interesting.

Tim topped off with enough whiskey can't see straight loses to the gunfight with Buffer. With two funerals and beloved family gone Dolores prints up wanted posters for Tim's killer, the stranger snags one. Couple of Buffer's boys attempt to shoot the stranger when he causally draws his piece and shoots one of them in the hand. The gunhand swears he shot the stranger right in the belly. Dolores meets with the stranger known as Drake Robey (Michael Pate of Hondo, Julius Caesar, The Court Jester, Matlock Police, Death of a Soldier and A Dangerous Life) who is more than eager to take out Buffer but shys away from crucifixes, mirrors and daylight. What does this gunfighter get out of helping a grief-stricken woman? Will there be more deaths to follow?

A few notes of interest at this time. I just realized that the Preacher is Trail boss Gil from Rawhide.

With the mono sound, black and white cinematography and haunting musical score, this fairly fasted paced Western is is clever, well-written and the performances are pretty impressive. Feels like a 50's Western with a hint of horror. Fleming's preacher is cunning and wily about his opposition and must save his town. Yet what of the gunfighter? With his need for Karmic balance, one could argue that he wishes to good as much as what his nature will allow. Coming under 79 minutes this was a decent film and I am damn glad I picked it on a whim.   

Timmy, you've been drinking again.  Honey, take it easy.