Random Pick: Hunters of the Golden Cobra

Hey gang. Sorry about the week. Been caught up in writing that short story and well I really didn't want to stop. So I was looking up cheeseball action movie titles and well this seemed like complete dog flop. With the capable hands of one Antonio Margheriti (Horror Castle, Flesh for Frankenstein, Cannibal Apocalypse, Yor, Hunter from the Future, The Last Blood, The Ark of the Sun God, Jungle Raiders, Kommando Leopard and Alien from the Deep) this could go either way. This is The Hunters of the Golden Cobra a.k.a. Golden Cobra, Hunters of the Golden Cobra, Jungle Hunt.

I say old sport, this is a spot of bother, ah wot?

For more than 40 years, many a household plans a bad movie night for riffing, mockery or just flat out having plenty of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moments. Today's film is no exception. Fimed in Italy, the taglines alone are worth the viewing.  The Mission: Recover the World's Most Priceless Treasure. The Odds: Impossible! No we are not chasing after the Ark of the Covenant nor the Holy Grail. Instead the Golden Cobra is besought and coveted for its supernatural powers. Not sure if it has anything to do with a ruthless terrorist organization bent on ruling the world.

New Wave Sheena of the Jungle.

Towards the end of WWII, American Green Beret Bob Jackson (David Warbeck of Duck, You Sucker, The Beyond, The Last Hunter, The Black Cat, Karate Warrior 4, Karate Warrior 5 and Mean Tricks) and British Intelligence Officer (MI-6 I guess and possibly SAS trained) Captain David Franks (John Steiner of Beyond the Door II, A Man Called Blade, Question of Love, Caligula, The Last Hunter, Tenebre, Yor, the Hunter from the Future, The Ark of the Sun God and Cut and Run) get separated from each other during their mission to eliminate a lunatic Japanese general. With bit of assistance of stock footage, pyrotechnics at work for flame pots, the fortified region is no more and our boys slip in. The action feels a bit Guns of the Navarone meets Raiders of the Lost Ark. Franks gives of the stereotypical appearance of an Englishman unflappable in the path of danger while Jackson is mildly whimsical.

Several small scale model explosions but well matched to the existing footage so planes, fuel trucks and junglescape getting blown up left and right. Jackson witnesses the fleeing major taken down by poisonous blow darts propelled by the cannibal cast of Zombie Holocaust. One year later, Franks and Jackson catch up as both men beat the crap out of each other morphing a wonderful day for cockfighting into a full donnybrook. Franks offers a fair degree of cash not mention both their governments want to know the location of the Golden Cobra. Believed to have belonged to ancient Asian people the Amox, this relic could insight holy wars, mystical powers and possibly leave the governments of Asia toppled due superstitious fear.

Pantless cocktail hour? Count me in.

And once again a familiar character actor playing Greenwater looking far more reputable than ever , an American archeologist searching for his lost niece (Luciano Pigozzi of General Della Rovere, Two Women, Blood and Black Lace, Werewolf in a Girl's Domitory, Castle of the Living Dead and Yor, Hunter of the Future) once again voiced in dub by the one and only Edward Mannix.

Most of our jungle war scenes, yup you guessed it we are back in the Philippines because Vietnam just doesn't care for film crews at all. Something about a police action in the 60s and 70s. I dunno. Wasn't paying attention. A lot of the soundtrack sounds lifted from Man From U.N.C.L.E. All the incidental music screams, "I belong on the set of Gunsmoke," but I could be wrong. Coming at you with an hour and 35 minutes, this is well paced, tries to be original in spite of the source materials it is clearly lifting and is actually engaging. 

Hmm Roger Moore or Jonny Lee Miller?

Serial Week: Flash Gordon

Welcome, welcome welcome one and all back for Day 3 of Serial Week. My apologies for not doing this yesterday but family visits, chores and the like can take its toll. That being said, let's journey into some sci-fi. Alex Raymond (Cartoonist from the 1930s) hit the jackpot working on such strips as Tillie the Toiler and Tim Tyler's Luck. His work was hailed as some of the very best that it allowed him to persue the creation of the jungle adventure series Jungle Jim and spy adventurer Secret Agent X-9. Jungle Jim and Secret Agent X-9 was even set for radio dramas in the day but as he was deemed the artist's artist and most of his work is still a major influence in comic books and the strips, the notoriety of these titles did not give him the recognition as his most popular and well-known science fiction character did. In competition with Buck Rogers, our Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Famer brought boys and girls and many adult, a favorite for ages to come.   This is Flash Gordon.

Hope they don't notice me floating an air biscuit.

With the planet Mongo rocketing towards Earth at unbelievable speeds...yet somehow gravity and atmosphere seem normal as if in the orbit of a sun or moon, Doctor Alexis Zarkov (Frank Shannon of Anthony Adverse, The Texas Rangers, Roll Along,Cowboy, The Adventurous Blonde, Blondes at Work, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars and You Can't Take It With You) ponders and calculates the precise trajectory of Mongo's arrival. Conferring with his colleague Professor Gordon that a daring attempt must be made to confab with the inhabitants of Mongo.

With the help of an experimental rocket ship, Doctor Zarkov abducts his colleague's son Flash (Buster Crabbe of Tarzan the Fearless, Flash Gordon, The Kid Rides Again, Fugitive of the Plains, The Renegade, Devil Riders and Valley of Vengeance) and his friend Dale Arden (Jean Rogers of Flash Gordon, Ace Drummond, Flash Gordon'sTrip to Mars, Charlie Chan in Panama, Whistling in Brooklyn, Gay Blades and The Second Woman) as hostages a.k.a. Assistants in this flight to save humanity.

It also makes Jiffy Pop Popcorn!

No sooner our would-be heroes land on the planet, they are startled by massive lizards (iguanas in super-imposed camera effect) and hoisted to safety by the Emperor's men for violating their airspace and sullying their lands with their filthy human disease. Gotta fear that polio.   Our armored thugs drag the threesome (stop it, ya pervs) to the Emperor himself and you know they are in the hands of a benevolent and kind ruler named...Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton of The Good Earth, Hollywood Cowboy, Conquest, Stand-In, Jezebel, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars and Jesse James). Our villainous ruler takes an almost immediate shine to Dale (Guess they don't see many blondes) and puts Flash into an arena for MORTAL COMBAAAAAAATTTT!!!!

Will Flash make it out alive? Can Ming be reasoned with? Will Princess Aura have even tinier outfits?

Interspursed with Stage 28 of the Universal Studios we also get to make yet more trips to Bronson Caves in Griffith Park. Look I know it is a prime location for Westerns and Sci-fi but c'mon! I could map this place out in my head I have seen the landmarks that many times.

With a scheduled 13 part chapter serial, the entire show was shot in six weeks meaning cast and crew were pulling fourteen hour days. A budget of $360,000, three times the normal for a chapter play it allowed for elaborate armored costumes, scale and full size models and even stunt choreography that was not seen in previous serials.

Despite the substantial budget of the day, most of the show used existing sets from other Universal films such as: the laboratory and crypt sets from Bride of Frankenstein, the castle interiors from Dracula's Daughter, the idol from the Mummy and even the outer walls of Ming's castle was actually the cathedral walls from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Pretty snazzy, huh?

Excuse me, I am on the throne. Wink wink!  Shut the door!

Wild West TV Week: The Big Valley

Day 3 of Wild West TV is upon us and we journey to California in Calaveras County, not to be confused with Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  This frontier land deals with the usual issues of cattle rustlers, bandits, revolutionaries and robber barons.  Only one woman can hold this family and ranch together.  This is The Big Valley.

Horse's killing my bionic butt.

Heath: Boy Howdy! I've got spoilers in places I didn't even know I had places.






Wealthy widow Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck of Meet John Doe, The Lady Eve, Double Indemnity, Sorry, Wrong Number, Crime of Passion, Wagon Train, Dynasty and The Colbys) owner of the Barkley Ranch is a stubborn, tough as nails yet refined lady in an uncivilized land.  Head of the household has to keep her land and family in order with a hybrid grace and guts. Her eldest son Jarrod (Richard Long of Matinee Theatre, House on Haunted Hill, Maverick, Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip and Nanny and the Professor) is a reknown and respected attorney who manages all the family's legal and business affairs and while prefers to side with the law on disputes was not above frontier law and drawing a gun when needed.  Audra the only daughter in this sea of testosterone (Linda Evans of Those Calloways,  Beach Blanket Bingo, Hunter, North and South, Book II and Dynasty) is pretty as a picture, a bit self-involved and a bit of a tomboy.

Ahh disembodied floaty hot head!!!

Last but certainly not least is the illegitimate son of the late Thomas Barkley, Heath (Lee Majors of Will Penny, The Virginian, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy, Tour of Duty, Raven, Trojan War and The Protector) a young man that claims on his mother's deathbed, she never bothered to tell his father of his existence (Thanks mom!) and he has to stake his claim in this family to be recognized as a Barkley.  With more than 30,000 acres to watch over you almost get the same feel as Bonanza but it does have enough episodes to stand alone if not a bit similar and Stanwyck is the glue of this show from her demure performance one minute to ironclad and hard hitting the next.

A few comments about the show now.  Apparently it is Hell being a Sheriff in this region as they went through more than 5 sheriffs in 4 seasons.  Originally there was a fourth Barkley son Eugene played by Charles Briles who was in 8 episodes for season 1 but in real life he was drafted by the U.S. Army and his character was written off as he went to college and was never mentioned again.  Not even a postcard or a drop-by with dirty laundry?

Lee Majors' portrayal of Heath is to this day deemed one of the most likable characters in TV history. For his level headed attitude to his steadfast loyalty to family and friends, Heath was a stand-up guy that you could depend on in a clinch.

With guest stars of Joe Don Baker, John Carradine, Claude Akins, Judy Carne, Charles Bronson, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Oates, Jack Lord, Kathleen Nolan and William Shatner, the popularity of this show had some of the highest Nielsen ratings.
In spite of those ratings, the show was canceled after 4 seasons due to network trying to steer away from Westerns and move to a more modern TV era.  Smooth move, CBS.  Bunch of dinks.

Oh great, clutch is stuck!

Indiana Jones Week: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Howdy all and greetings to Day 3 of Indiana Jones Week.  Today we tackle what has been exclaimed as the best of the series and so on.  With Spielberg at the director's chair again we will see what this archaeologist got mixed up in this time.  You can bet it involves Nazis, a femme fatale and maybe a holy relic.  He's got a thing for history as you may have noticed.  This is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

When I grow up I am gonna pummel guys in a fedora hat.

Elsa: What's this?
Indiana Jones: Spoiler of the Covenant.
Elsa: Are you sure?
Indiana Jones: Pretty sure.



Our story opens with a flashback in 1912 of 13 to maybe 14 year old Indiana Jones (River Phoenix of Explorers, Stand by Me, The Mosquito Coast and Sneakers) out in Utah on a boy scout outing.  He finds a few men digging in a cave that found the gold cross of Coronado (the Spanish Conquistador that was reputed to found the mythic Seven Cities of Gold), Indy steals it from the tomb raiders in order to donate it to a museum.   The men give chase, Indy gets punched and gives punches, meets up with the Sheriff who demands that Indy turns the cross over to rightful owner.  One of the men tells Indy he doesn't have to lump it and maybe there will be a next time then he plops a fedora on Indy's head.

Cut to 1938 as Indy is getting punched for stealing the same cross again, the owner is most annoyed and tries to have him pitched overboard in the sea but the waves cause some serious chop, giving Indy a fighting chance.  Pummeling the bad guys, stealing the cross back and the boat blew up, Jones makes his way back to Marshall College, to tell and show off the cross to Marcus Brody.  

So you drag all men down to see coffins or am I the first?

Later that day getting mail from Venice, Indy attends an prestigious party with a wealthy collector Walter Donovan (Julian Glover of The Fourth Protocol, Cry Freedom, Hearts of Fire, The House of Angelo and Game of Thrones) who asks Jones to assist them in a new expedition to finding the Holy Grail.  The Cup of Christ that caused the Crusades.  Jones tells Donovan that his father Professor Henry Jones (Sean Connery of Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, The Anderson Tapes, Highlander, The Rock and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) is the foremost expert on Christian theology and he is Donovan's man.  Donovan states they did contract Professor Jones and have not heard from him for some time.
 Brody and Indy check Henry's home to find the place torn apart looking at mail.  Indy looks at the small parcel in his pocket to discover it is his father's Grail diary.  40 years of research has lead this man to uncovering the location of the Grail.   As Brody and Jones head to Venice it is all too painfully obvious that the Nazis are searching for the Grail on behalf of Hitler.  Can Indy find his father and the Grail before the Nazis plunge the known world into darkness?

And now some fun facts and trivia about the flick.  This is Spielberg's favorite of the three Indy movies.  Writer Tom Stoppard (Brazil, Empire in the Sun, Shakespeare in Love and Anna Karenina) was paid $120,000 for the dialogue between Henry and Indy on the Zeppelin, in the castle and on the road.  His job was to make it emotional but no sentiment, a disconnection between father and son but at the same time the conversation should have a humorous attachment to it.  Based on its success, Stoppard was paid an additional $1 million.
After working with him on The Mosquito Coast, Ford nominated River Phoenix for the role of Young Indy based on his professionalism, preparation and honing of the craft.
Character actor/stuntman Pat Roach has been in three Indy movies as the German Mechanic Indy fights in Raiders of the Lost Ark, The behemoth Thuggee in the Temple of Doom and finally a member of the Gestapo in the Last Crusade.  At 6'5", shoulders as wide as a doorway and barrel chested, he is quite difficult to miss.   Also tangled with Connery in Never Say Never Again.

Rameirez??!!  But you died in 1541!

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?

Burt Reynolds Week: Gator

Welcome back readers for Burt Reynolds Week continuation.  I thought we would tackle a sequel and you know how I have issues with sequels but this might very well be enjoyable.  So grab a drink, take off your shoes and sit a spell.   This is Gator.

Uh, Black Russian please.

“Why do they call you Spoiler?” “Cause I TELL THEM too.”

When we last left McKlusky, he had pulled the rug out from under Sheriff J.C. and got out of the hoosegow and went back to his white lightning days.   Running liquor is risky as always but the cash is too good to pass up.  The governor (Mike Douglas of the Mike Douglas Show, The Carol Burnett Show and The Last Valley) is tired of hearing about the lack of stopping crime in his fair county when his PR boys in junction with a New York cop off to serve up the man that has been wrecking the county with prostitution, protection and moonshine. 

Domesticated swamp bliss.

After a lengthy speed boat chase through the swamps of which was about 8 minutes long, the cops just nab Pappy McKulsky and Gator’s little girl for leverage.  Low and behold the Feds pinch Gator (Burt Reynolds of Gunsmoke, Navajo Joe, Hawk, Fade-In, Impasse, Fuzz, Hustle and Shamus) and give him a deal overlook the shine and NOT take his 9 year old daughter to foster care if he is willing to rat out an old schoolmate Bama McCall (Jerry Reed of Smokey and the Bandit, Hot Stuff, Good Ol’ Boys, Concrete Cowboys, The Survivors, What Comes Around and The Waterboy). 

The undercover NYC cop Irving Greenfield (Jack Weston of The Thomas Crown Affair, Wait Until Dark, All in a Night’s Work, My Sister Eileen, The Honeymoon Machine, The Hathaways and It’s Only Money) wants to work the sting with Gator but he points out to Greenfield he will stick out like a bagel in a bowl of grits.   

Ready for my close up, Mr. Reynolds.

There is a far amount of racism throughout the movie and none too subtle but it is mostly delivered as snotty dialogue and sarcasm which makes it slightly entertaining.   Gator of course is back to his usual roots such as; drinking, racing, chasing loose women and pissing off the officials and the criminals. 

Gator gets in good with Bama only to spy a pretty little reporter Aggie Maybank (Supermodel Lauren Hutton of The Gambler, Viva Knivevel!, A Wedding, American Gigolo, Zorro: The Gay Blade and Once Bitten) and typical habits are to follow.

I have a quick few odds and ends about the film.  Initially Richard Kiel was slated to play Bones the behemoth bodyguard but he had a schedule conflict and suggested his also gargantuan buddy William Engesser.   The romance between Aggie and Gator feels a bit hammy and not as believable.  Sure Burt is pretty but that can last all of a weekend with this character while Hutton’s character is a charming, sophisticated and intelligent woman that just seemed out of place by this man’s side but that is just a writer’s critique.   

The action is impressive, the jokes are mildly raunchy and the car chases almost rival the boat sequence.  This follows under Good Ole Boy film in that the plot is decent but a bit pale compared to White Lightning.   Still not a bad film.

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.

Western Week: Shane

Hi-dy doo all!  Welcome to Day 3 of Western Week and man o man I found me a classic.  One of the most talked about, fussed over and in general beloved Westerns to this very day.  So kick yer shoes off, sit a spell and hell why not take a shot at widdlin’ some.   This is Shane.

Hey, an actual watering hole!

Come back Spoilers!!!...

A fella come riding into town in buckskin (No not Navajo Joe) and a six shooter in the sparsely settled of Wyoming just a bit after the Homestead Act.   The town while unaware of this fella who goes by Shane (Alan Ladd of This Gun for Hire, The Iron Mistress, Desert Legion, The Blue Dahlia, The Black Knight, Hell on Frisco Bay and Salty O’ Rourke), a man with a past but he is clearly pegged as a gunslinger and finds himself right in the middle of a homesteader Joe Starrett (Van Heflin of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, 3:10 to Yuma and Airport) and cattle baron Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer of The Man with the Golden Arm, Paths of Glory and Sweet Smell of Success) and tries his level best to keep it civil. Ryker clearly wants the land for cheap and wants the settlers to vamoose from town so I guess he can have more grazing land i.e. more beef for the bank.  Shane is invited to supper and a bunk for the night by Joe’s wife, Marian (Jean Arthur of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can’t Take It with You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Too Many Husbands and The Devil and Miss Jones) takes a liking to these folks and signs on as a farmhand.

Whiskey anyone?!

 Joey, Joe and Marian’s boy becomes fast friends with Shane and asks him about shooting.  Shane is willing to teach both Joey (Brandon De Wilde of Jamie, Good-bye My Lady, Night Passage,  Hud and The Deserter)and Marian both, instilling that a gun is no more than a tool.  Granted it is a killing tool but only the owner can make the decision for what good or evil it will do.   Get all that NRA???    Marian is clearly not a fan of the hogleg and would rather her boy did not learn the ways of violence.   A fist fight brews in town when Joe and Shane run into some of Ryker’s men and they kicked butt.    Ryker is furious about this and hires himself one cold blooded son of a…well you get the idea *ahem* gunfighter named Jack Wilson (Jack Palance of Arrowhead, Flight to Tangier, Man in the Attic, Sign of the Pagan, The Silver Chalice, The Big Knife, Kiss of Fire, A Professional Gun, Batman and City Slickers) and brother this man is one cool customer.  He could shoot a fella as easily as order a drink of whiskey.    Yup what will the town do with this maniac on the streets? 

I have a few observations of this movie now if you don’t mind.  The setting of this town was based on the Johnson County War and was shot primarily on location but there was also more than a few sets via Paramount Studios backdrop.  Some of the exterior shots had a few matte paintings but damn some of these you look at you would swear is the open sky.  Similar to the Italian Eastman format this film was shot in spherical so great close ups and foreground but background looks a little hazy.   

I crap bigger than you, door.

35mm of course and sadly in Technicolor and yes I am not a fan of Technicolor.   Keep in black and white for that matter I say.  Hell how many films could be made better just dropped in black and white alone?    Moving right along, apparently Alan Ladd was not the first draft pick for Shane as the director George Stevens (A Place in the Sun, Penny Serenade and Giant) Montgomery Clift (Red River, I Confess, A Place in the Sun and From Here to Eternity) given their previous work history together.   This has it all.  Good story, likable characters and secondary characters, catchy themes and good luck getting that opening theme out of your head.  I can see why this is hailed as good cinema.

70's TV Week: Starsky and Hutch

Back again kids and this time with a cop drama.  Yes plainclothes cops busting down on the street crime, taking flack from the captain and deals with their snitches.  So grab a cup of coffee, sweat out the prisoner in interrogation and get the goods.   This is Starsky and Hutch.

Little old lady 120 pts!

The spoilers are cutting us off at every turn!

Defending the good citizens of Bay City California, Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson (David Soul of Here Comes The Bride, Magnum Force, Salem’s Lot, World War III, Through Naked Eyes, The Yellow Rose and Tides of War) and Detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser of Fiddler on the Roof, The Streets of San Francisco, The Waltons and Third Watch) work together, fight side by side and have the general friendship among men that are friends and partners.   Getting their orders from their commanding officer, Captain Dobey (Bernie Hamilton of Tarzan, The Swimmer, Walk the Walk, The Name of the Game, Hammer and Scream Blacula Scream)    Keeping their fingers on the pulse of the city Starsky and Hutch regularly squeeze their contact Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas of Busting, Conrack, Foxy Brown, Carwash, The Ambush Murders, Crimewave and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka).  Armed with their wits, A Colt .45 and .357 Colt Python as well as usually Starsky’s 1974’s Ford Gran Torino the men of call sign Zebra Three, these no nonsense policemen, get their hands dirty and get the job done.  Occasionally they take Hutch’s battered Ford Galaxie and man it looks like a tank.

Dig it...

For most of the word on the street the fellas hit The Pits, Huggy Bear’s bar and while Huggy is supposed to be a bit of a rebel he always helps them out and in my opinion a fairly positive role model.  This is the first prime time series to show supporting black characters in a positive light for a change.  Writer and creator William Blinn (Bonanza, Shane, Here Come the Brides, The Interns, Hunter and Eight Is Enough)

While most cop shows are a gamble based on ratings, likability and coherent writing.  While I don’t think this series was that violent I am sure there was someone losing their marbles over it.  During season 4 the retuning the series made Glaser want to take off.  They attempted to bring in a younger brother of Starsky as some need to keep the title of the show but season 5 was eventually scraped and they passed on it all together.  There were even talks of a spin-off starring Huggy Bear as the main character but it did not make it past a 90 page screen treatment.  

Nah, not a big Stephen King fan.

With growing up with the era of CHiPs and Hill Street Blues, this gave buddy cop a decent definition and a sense of comradely to likes which seems to be duplicated again and again.  This was a diverting show, simple enough writing but with solid characters.

While Bay City may be fictional, Los Angeles San Pedro was not and by God a great location teeming for car chases and good gunfights.   Interestingly enough San Pedro’s Metro Division was used is the San Pedro City Hall these days.

70's TV Week: Vega$

What’s shakin’ babies?  Day 2 of 1970’s TV shows and I thought we need to examine the private investigator standing.  The place is Sin City itself and the adventures, hijinks and cases of damsels in distress.  Maybe a femme fatale or maybe a conspiracy but above all else, there will be leisure suits.  So grab a martini, turn on that hi-fi and kick back.  This is Vega$.

That cat can croon!

Spoilers can be a drag, man…

The year is 1978 in Las Vegas Nevada.  One would think that being a shamus in this town would be moot point given how secrets have a tendency to get out on its own but like any town husbands and wives are suspect of cheating on each other, water’s wet and the sky is blue.  An age of debauchery, devil may care attitude could put you in quite the pickle so at 200 buckaroos a day P.I. Dan Tanna (Robert Urich of Magnum Force, S.W.A.T., Soap, Tabitha, Spencer for Hire and Lonesome Dove) is on the case.  Hell or high water, possibly a dishy dame or two might distract him but his assistant Binzer (Bart Braverman of 20 Million Miles to Earth, Alligator, Hit and Run, The New Odd Couple and Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book) tries to help Tanna on the straight and narrow in the town full of gray areas.  

Of course I am too cool for letterbox. Why?

His mentor and reoccurring client Phillip “Slick” Roth (Tony Curtis of Some Like It Hot, The Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones, The Great Race, The Rat Race, Spartacus and Sex and the Single Girl) is the answer to Howard Hughes but less paranoia but dear God this man is too wealthy.  He flew a helicopter from one of his casinos over to the other.     Mind you Tanna has his eyes ever faithful to his lady friend Angie Turner (Judy Landers of Charlie’s Angels, B.J. and the Bear, Madame’s Place, The Love Boat and Stewardess School) a buxom blond that would turn a priest away from his vows.

 Now to keep in mind younger readers, you will be seeing buildings that Vegas ultimately decided to DESTROY!!!  That is I mean they felt this casinos were no longer of any use so if by chance you seen Dunes and are baffled well look to the leisure suits and disco belts and you will realize this is a timeline different from yours.   No you have not entered another dimension, you’re fine.   Writer/ Director/Producer Michael Mann (Starsky and Hutch, Crime Story, Miami Vice, Manhunter, and L.A. Takedown) cut his teeth under this project and started to develop his style of lighting, love of composure with dialogue and cut scenes.  With this project, the Miami Vice elements via episode blended so well that it translated to big film experiences such as: (Thief, Manhunter, Heat and Collateral).  

Who loves ya Tony?

 This has what you came to expect from a TV detective show; run ins with the cops,  fist fights via boxing, gunfights, car chases, car crashes, wooing the girl and getting bloody vindication sworn at him once a week.   Personally I would raise my rates to at least $500 a day but that’s just me.    Nice steady pace for a story arc to occur via the 1970’s as well.  I cannot help but agree.  Take your time and let the story envelop the audience.     Wisecracking, smart assed but built pretty boy with solid right hook, Dan Tanna does alright for himself but dear God do NOT let Binzer drive the T-bird man.   

Sydney Pollack Week: Three Days of the Condor

Hey all and welcome to the beginning of Sydney Pollack Week and I thought I would start us off with a thriller of point and counterpoint or if you prefer spy vs. spy.  With misinformation, a staggering body count and not knowing who to trust this struggle could prove to be very entertaining.  So synchronize your watches, prep a rally point and grab that phone in a shoe.   This is Three Days of the Condor.

Operator, I really want to direct...

Spoilers may surprise you…

With the Cold War in swing the Central Intelligence Agency is devising ways to control the flow of information, on us, on them and hey how about those guys over there.   Based on the novel Six Days of the Condor by author James Grady this political thriller film focuses on cryptography.  Hiding messages within prewritten text or a cipher that allows spies of different nations to not go strictly by courier or private broadcast.   Meet Joe Turner, (Robert Redford of Barefoot in the Park, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Downhill Racer, All The President’s Men, The Electric Horseman, Indecent Proposal, Sneakers and Spy Game) CIA analyst for a living decodes books from every portion of the world and with vast ability of micro processing…yeah well they still had to deal in 3 whole megabytes at a time. 

After a detailed report of a zero quality thriller novel his office was forced to read Turner expect the higher ups to let him know what they thought of his findings. This low interest novel is only translated in a few languages and not all of the regions are US friendly, coincidence?   As Turner does a lunch run for the office he finds all 6 members of his team assassinated where they sat or fell.  Panicked but still with his wits about him, Turner calls the CIA New York office and is told to arrange a meeting with fellow agents.  The meeting feels hinky and Turner hears the words of Admiral Ackbar in that, it is indeed a trap.

Y at-il une femme?

Barely escaping Turner picks Kathy Hale (Faye Dunaway of Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, The Thomas Crown Affair, Network, Supergirl, Midnight Crossing and Double Edge) a woman at random for a place to hold up.  Frustrated, nervous and holding a person hostage in her own apartment, Turner realizes he may have to rely on Ms. Hale, a total stranger because he has no one really to turn to.  After yet another attempt on his life by a false postman Turner kidnaps the deputy director of the CIA New York office Higgins (Cliff Robertson of Gidget, Midway, PT 109, Sunday in New York, The Best Man, Escape from L.A. and Spiderman 1 and 2) who enlightens Turner that the assassin was a Frenchman by the name of Joubert

Most of this movie is based in Washington and New York from tight pan zooms to exterior crane shots, this film clearly had a flexible budget allowing Pollack and crew to give it their all.   Lot of close up of eyes, to capture the vast level of emotion and the music is subtle and not overpowering the story as it unravels.  With a nice Panavision anamorphic lens we get the feeling of being in the movie and while the Eastman 100T is a monster to lug for any cinematographer, its Technicolor response to the scope of this movie is captured so well.  Looooved the Aerial shots of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Hold it, Mugsy!

From both book and movie you can all feel the influence they gave for films like Mission: Impossible and Enemy of the State.  Granted I do not hear a film in mono recording too often but bravo.     Next to The Manchurian Candidate (1962 original) I do not think I have seen a grittier spy film that is more stories based and dialogue driven rather than action.  You want action based spy flicks hey we got James Bond, Jason Bourne and Xander Cage.     You however might enjoy a combination of action, compelling dialogue of the cynical timeline and a pretty decent score for soundtrack then look no further and have a blast.