Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold

Hey folks. I am working this Monday and for those that didn't see their Instagram or Facebook, the lovely Laurene Landon sent me some 8x10 glossies and I thought that was incredibly awesome of her. So much so, I decided let's snag another Laurene Landon film. But what to choose? Hey! Here's a Western! I don't get to review Westerns often. This is Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold a.k.a. Yellow Hair and the Pecos Kid a.k.a.Yellow Hair & the Pecos Kid.

Um the mating dance commence?

Yay! Alternative titles give me the warm and fuzzies! Okay kids, we are back with director Matt Cimber (The Black 6, That Girl from Boston, Butterfly, Fake-Out, Hundra, Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold and Miriam) so we are in Spain again shooting an Italian director, so is this technically a Spaghetti Western? Our opening credits feels like a nod to Western serials from the 40s and 50s.

Yellow Hair (Laurene Landon of Hundra, Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold, Maniac Cop, Maniac Cop 2, 1313: Hercules Unbound!, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance and Syndicate Smasher) is a half breed Apache (Cue Gunsmoke intro music!) who travels with her faithful companion, the Pecos Kid (Producer/actor Ken Roberson of Rigged and Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold) have heard the legends of Mayan gold and set to go on an adventure in search of this elusive treasure. Mind you, Yellow Hair will have to bust Pecos out of the hoosegow before they can high tail it to the gold.

They have stiff competition such as a band of outlaws led by Flores (Aldo Sambrell of Shaft in Africa, the Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Voodoo black Exorcist,House of the Damned, The Black Pearl, Cabo Blanco and Last Harem), Colonel Torres (Luis Lorenzo of Waiting for Daddy, Children's War, Estudio 1, The Black Wolf, Revenge of the Black Wolf, National Adultery, Hundra and Eliminators) a ruthless, vicious tyrant as butch as an ice skater's partner and a plethora of Talupans, direct descendants of Aztec warriors (in Spain? Or are we in Mexico? Meh.) 

 

Italian Lee Van Cleef?  Nah.

Flores using a an antler carved with sigils and map runes, is well unto his way to finding the Lost City. Lotta lost empires and kingdoms, right? You notice this too? He and his crew are ambushed by the Talupans with a ton of rocks and spears. I'd point out they have the high ground and plenty of cover as well if needs be but Flores whips out his six shooter (the gun you pervs. I don't know the man's prowess) and starts a blastin'. We are treated to at least one Wilhelm scream, so yup official Western now.

With a ritual by the Talupan Indians as they sew a guy's eylids, hang him upside down and dunk him in molten gold like a chicken Mcnugget.   So perhaps not one for the kiddies.   Kinda get the vibe it was hoping to piggyback on Raiders of the Lost Ark or King Solomon's Mines.  Hey I think its story will merit its own following.

After bouncing Pecos around in his cell a bit, the Colonel is beside himself. Maybe a bucket of chicken would help. (Yeah cue the boos.)

Dave & Buster's of the Old West.

Yellow Hair's mother, Grey Cloud (Claudia Gravy of Rebels of Arizona, The New Spainards, The Nun and the Devil, Kilma, Queen of the Amazons, The Black Pearl, The Creature and A Dog Called...Vengeance) has basically raised both Yellow Hair and Pecos since they were small.

Yellow Hair is training against an Apache warrior and it's kind of intense. Thankfully unlike Charlton Heston in Arrowhead, you can root for her and not feel icky. And she did a Kirk double jump kick!

Half of these canyon shots, suddenly the theme song from Yor, Hunter of the Future popped in my head. Occupational hazard I guess.

Explosions, gunfights, fist fights fire fights on horseback! Near escapes from gatling gunfire!!

We got a lot going on as at least three parties trying to lay claim to the booty. The treasure. Not grabbing Yellow Hair's hinder. Trust me, she doesn't seem that forgiving for an ass slap. Really has a El Dorado gold hunt/Treasure of the Sierra Madre feel to it. Landon again does her stunts in this and let's face it, that is a lot of rock, gravel and next to no pads to land on.

She and Ken Roberson steal the scenes. Their chemistry is pretty solid and it works as a partnership. You almost see her having a kid brother relationship with Pecos but it could bloom into something else. Flores pays Grey Cloud a visit but she stuck him pretty good. Dude is a hot mess. Arrow wound to the leg, blade wound to the gut. It hasn't been a pleasant few days for him.

With a vengeance story underway, Yellow Hair seeks out Man Who Knows (Eduardo Fajardo o f Django, Maniac Mansion, The Shark Hunter, Nightmare City, Oasis of Zombies, Hundra and The Brother from Space) as he tells Yellow Hair the secret Grey Cloud held from her all these years. Will it bring new meaning to Yellow Hair's life? Will the foppish Colonel have his day? 

Read too many scathing reviews on IMDB just brow beating this movie. If you don't like it, fine. No need to make sound as viewing this film you sacrificed yourself to the film gods for the good of the fellow cinema goers. Personally? I have enjoyed the hell out of it. It a slow start for about 17 minutes but really starts kicking in the moment Laurene's on screen. A great musical score by composer Franco Piersanti (Tenerezza, The Spider Labyrinth, Open Doors, Corto Maltese, Don't Tell, The Caiman and The Missing Star) really sets the moods.

My copy hails from Mill Creek Entertainment. I know because the damn logo pops up every 8 minutes. This really needs a good Blu Ray release as well as Hundra. Make it a Landon Double Feature!

Periwinkle blue is working there, Yellow Hair.

An Interview with Vida Ghaffari

Hey folks. Today's review isn't one. Rather I was asked by an actress/voice actress appearing in Mind of Mencia, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Mindy Project. This actress sought me out as she has previously worked with a mutual friend Dustin Ferguson (Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die!, Gloved Murderess, Cheerleader Camp: To the Death, Invitation to Die and Nemesis 5: The New Model) and I admire that level of boldness.  Let's see what we can learn.

Photo(s) courtesy of Guillermo Proano /PR Photos.

Photo(s) courtesy of Guillermo Proano /PR Photos.

So you do a Suspense Show for an audio drama.  Why voice work?  "It was something I fell into and enjoyed doing when I was an entertainment reporter for an international satellite Persian TV station a while back. I had to voice my promos in Farsi and English and joked that did twice as much work for half the pay! So I actually started out in vo before acting. While I love the field of voice over, some of the industry is suffering from all the underpaid work that is unfortunately and oddly enough part of all this great technology, where anyone anywhere can do vo for often little to no payment and undervalue it, especially commercially."

"Dave and Dave Recording Studios are one of the best in trends and technical.

Veteran voice announcer Don LaFontane has a studio named after him with his passing in 2008.  Don LaFontaine Voiceover Lab with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.   Some of my mentors were mentored by Don and they are just paying it forward with the same patience and grace he had."

For those that do not know, this gruff voiced man was known in the biz as King of the Movie Trailers, The Voice and The Godfather of Trailers. "In a world..." Ring any bells? Okay fine. Xena's promo announcer, Renegade's narrator and JAG's opening narrator to name just some of the man's work.

Rock' N' Sexxxy with Amber Lynn and Yan Birch

I understand that you have been a reoccurring guest host on Amber Lynn's Rock 'N' Sexxxy for LA Talk Radio. I have listened to only a handful of her interviews but I admit I am slowly becoming a fan.   "Amber is lovely, outgoing and such a fine host. She always makes an interview fun. I'm so flattered that she thought of me and extended the gracious invite. I'm more east coast and she's an Orange County gal at heart, so I think it's a good combination. We just had Yan Birch on that Thursday. I had just acted with him in a film called Abeyance." 

Yan Birch who I knew as Stairmaster from Wes Craven's People Under the Stairs. I was just looking at this man's bio and it is vast.  "He is such a great actor and take great pauses and goes from moment to moment with such an intensity. He does so much with his eyes. It's riveting."   Both Vida and I are convinced the man stopped aging. I am going with Highlander immortal to explain it.

It is my take that Amber can get answers with ease and seems to be easy going.  My friend Dustin Ferguson was the first interview I heard when he was plugging Nemesis 5: The New Model.

Vida found Dustin to be so hardworking all the time. They were at a film festival this past spring when his film was screening and he had to head out to finish some more editing for another project. I'm assuming it was right after the Q and A. "He gets the most out of every scene and he is great at what he does". I confirmed he and I could speak obscure films all day long.

Daiane Azura and Vida team-up!

Abeyance is Sci-fi/Action with Billy Wirth of War Party, The Lost Boys, Scout Taylor Taylor-Compton of Halloween 1 and 2, Richard Tyson of Three O' Clock High. " Richard Tyson has a MFA from Cornell and is an actor's actor.   This open and humble man from Mobile, Alabama and is down to Earth and centered. He recited Shakespearean sonnets in between takes with perfection and ease!"   Birch, who was referenced above, also starred in this film along with noted actor Mel Novak from Bruce Lee's Game of Death. 

Director Harley Wallen directs like a captain of the ship, constantly there but not checking on you. He knows what you can do and what you are capable of. Such a tremendous talent. What a treat it was to work with him and might I add that he had an amazing crew!" 

Let's talk about Facebook Live with Ford and Vida. How did this come about?

"We were all over L.A. Because Ford put me in touch with Artists for Trauma and we promoted charity events but ironically our first show was a wedding and jewelry for Macy's. He was the first person to receive this help after being in this horrific car accident, he was told he may never walk again and two years after the accident he was back to singing, dancing and acting once more.

He is a on-point lovely fellow and his wife Lauree Dash is an open hearted person that is heart centered person, that made a great power couple."

Just got done watching Mel Novak in Holy Terror.   Couldn't help but recognize some folk I recognize in it.  Like Kristine DeBell of Meatballs, Battle Creek Brawl and Blood Brothers.   I swear I am not aging myself on purpose.

You worked with Dawna Lee Heising of Natural Born Filmmakers, Horndog's Party Beach and Copperhead Creek.  "Yes, we just shot Horndog's Beach Party and Dawna was incredible as the nosy cougar next door. Most actors would play a caricature, but Dawna dug deep!  Though the film is comedy in the vein of Porky's, I like the believability of it.  If I haven't said it enough already, Dustin is an incredible director.  I dunno when the guy sleeps. He's always working on something!"  

What do you have coming up? 

I have a film I'm working on this fall and I'm re-occurring on the Suspense Show on XM Satellite Radio. I recently voiced an episode with Adrienne Wilkinson (Xena: Princess Warrior) and Keston John (Bosch). I also voiced an episode with Mel that will hopefully be up soon, where I play the ultimate femme fatale. I was just nominated for best voiceover for another episode I voiced, "Have A Hacking, Whacking Christmas" at the 2018 Los Angeles Nollywood Awards this Sunday, August 5th at the Miracle Theater in Inglewood.  Mel, Dawna, and Dustin are all nominated for Sci Fi awards for their work on Nemesis 5: The New Model.  Harley is also nominated in the Thriller category and so is his talented and stunning wife Kaiti. More info at http://lanfaa.com/ 

Voice actor, hostess, actress, comedian and fashion guru, it is safe to say that Vida has drive, ambition but is modest at her accomplishments. With a wry sarcastic humor she is very warm and inviting with no apprehension I could find. Polite and charming with passion for her family, friends and projects. She has been referenced as the "Persian Linda Blair" thanks to her work in Holy Terror and to be honest, it felt like stepping back in time. Watching the Exorcist for the first time. Keep your eyes peeled for Abeyance and Copperhead Creek in works now and keep watch of this rising star.

Yes, I will give a review on Holy Terror.

Serial Week

Hey folks. Sorry for starting the week on a Tuesday but apparently it was Migraine Monday. Yeah really hope that is not going to be a thing but weather patterns are screwy that way. Well last week got to glimpse some interesting Free-to-Play games on Steam which a handful of them were actually fun... well a few... okay I really only enjoyed one. This time around I thought I would give acknowledgement to a time honored concept that hailed back when going to the movies meant spending a dime and popcorn was also cheap as could be.

Now put on your mittens, Robin. You have to shovel the walk.

During the 1930s and the 1940s short cartoons or even programming of live-action capers and thrillers would shown before the feature length movie. These shows would have a continuing plot that furthers the story from anything from undersea voyages, cowboys and even a few comic book heroes.

These short films were called serials. As one chapter of thrills and spills ended, next week a new one would happen. Giving the term cliffhanger (a plot device in fiction where a main character is in a difficult scenario or confronted with shocking news that will change their life forever) originated in Movie and Radio bringing as much as excitement to their customers and listeners at home and always ending with To Be Continued or The End? The following serial would most commonly begin with a recap of the events in the previous episode to lend it weight to the audience or justify the outcome.

Created by 5 major studios in competition with one another, each trying to bring their own spin of things and persons, Columbia Pictures brought you such titles as: (The Secret of Treasure Island, The Spider's Web, Flying G-Men and Mandrake the Magician) while Universal Pictures had (The Spell of the Circus, The Airmail Mystery, The Lost Special and Clancy of the Mounted) Mascot Pictures and Pathe Exchange were fading out due to the introduction to the age of sound, Pathe stopped production in the latter 20s while Mascot merged with the most known picture racket of the serials Republic Pictures producing shows like : (Dick Tracy, Zorro Rides Again, The Lone Ranger, Captain America and Batman)

So this week we take a look at some of these serials that brought joy, terror and a bit of exhilaration to audiences during the Depression and WWII, because they sure needed it.

We might have some laughs, some elation and possibly be diverted to joy. Let's find out, shall we?

Hello police?  Yeah my sidekick took my bike and shield again.

Joan Crawford Week: Johnny Guitar

Howdy folks and welcome to Day 4 of Joan Crawford Week. We are a moseyin' into Old Timey West with Ms. Crawford today as we enjoy a Western that gender swaps making Crawford the real hero of the flick and Sterling Hayden the plucky heroine?? With this amazing cast and direction by Nicolas Ray (Flying Leathernecks, On Dangerous Ground, The Lusty Men, Run for Cover, Rebel Without a Cause and Bitter Victory) it is a wonder why this is only a cult classic and not a much more beloved western. This is Johnny Guitar.

BARTENDER!!! I SAID A BOTTLE OF VODKA!!!

Our opening sequence is Johnny Logan (Sterling Hayden of Battle Taxi, Timberjack, The Last Command, The Killing, Valerie and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) riding away from a series of explosions through a hillside. I mean this is action hero worthy of his stalwart bad-ass self.

In a town of the outskirts of Sedona Arizona, this cattle town (amazingly enough more than one horse) a smart, aggressive saloon owner and operator Vienna (Joan Crawford of Grand Hotel, The Women, Susan and God, Possessed, Flamingo Road and The Damned Don't Cry) supports the coming track of a new railroad in spite of the rest of the townsfolk declaring it will be the end of their way of life. She even allows the The Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady of Blood Arrow, Shotgun Slade, Five Bloody Graves, Hell's Bloody Angels, Bonnie's Kids and Police Story) and his compatriots to enjoy the saloon, gambling and liquor a plenty.

Crap! Are they mining out here??!!!

The lead cattle rancher with the most head of cattle and acreage, John McIvers (Ward Bond of The Maltese Falcon, It's a Wonderful Life, The Searchers Wagon Train and Rio Bravo) gots a cactus burr in his rear saddle about how Vienna is a doin' things around these here parts are determined to run Vienna out of town and a previous stick-up of the stage coach is a good enough reason to lay blame. Ah, mob mentality. Vienna doesn't give them an inch and refuses to back down with a little bit of help from Johnny Guitar himself they shoo these cowpokes out easily. Vienna and Johny seem to have one of the hotter love/hate relationships as they banter, snark and flirt back and forth through the better portion of the second act until McIvers tells them that they and the Dancin' Kid and crew have just 24 hours to skidaddle or shootin' irons will do all their talking.

Will the Kid and crew give the town a major shoot up? Will McIvers get the surgery needed to pull that stick out of his ass? Will Vienna and Johnny ever make heads or tails of their past and present relationship?

A tiny amount of trivia on the flick. With theme song by Peggy Lee and Victor Young, the instrumental is played throughout the movie. Filmed in Mono this film also used the tired concept of Trucolor prior to Technocolor... Watch it in black and white, folks. So much better and people don't look peach colored that way.

Joan Crawford insisted on her close-ups only to be filmed in the studio, where the lighting could be controlled. Not one of her close-ups was shot on location. Sterling Hayden stated: "There is not enough money in Hollywood to lure me into make another picture with Joan Crawford. And I like money."

Yup, that's me, Johnny.  

Weird West Week

Howdy pardners and welcome to the week!! Now you cowpokes and tenderfoots must be a wonderin' whats a goin'on and well lemme tell ya it is a doozy. Okay let me get away from that form of lingo before it drives me plum loco. I have found a subgenre residing in horror that has existed since the 1926 silent film Haunted Range about a cowboy attempting to solve the murder of his father at the hands of a ghostly apparition known only as The Black Rider.

Jurassic Park Mexico had some setbacks.

This subgenre has been referenced as Weird West, Spaghetti Horror or Western Horrors. Ghost stories, werewolves, vampires and ghouls roaming about. Some demonic and satanic angles and forces of darkness tackling remote towns with little to no law enforcement or even a competent priest to ward off the evils.

This of course falls back to campfire stories of terror told around the trail blazing tales. It hails from anything to the H.P. Lovecraft stories, legends of mythological creatures such as the Chupucabra, ghouls, spectres and demons being raised from the pit. So we shall gaze into Weird West Week and see how these ranch hands, men of God and outlaws deal with the realms of the unknown and the mess it entitles.

Meatloaf of the Old West!!!

Burt Reynolds Week: 100 Rifles

Back again for more of Burt Reynolds week and I apologize for the delay.  I was busily assisting my folks in getting my mom back to more comfortable surroundings and last night’s thunderstorm said stay away from the computer.   

I thought this time around we would journey back to 1969. A western based on the 1966 novel The Californio by Robert MacLeond was getting a screenplay treatment by writer/director Tom Gries (Hell’s Horizon, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman and The Rat Patrol) and writer Clair Huffaker (Lawman, Colt .45, The Comacheros, Posse from Hell and The Second Time Around) cooked up the wild western tale of a revolution in Mexico and our boy Burt is smack dab in the middle of it all.  So saddle them horses, ride till dark and don’t shoot unless shot upon.  This is 100 Rifles.

 

Well clearly I will blend into this town.

You big headed spoiler! You are such a dummy!

The year is 1912, the place Mexico as the tyrannical General Verdugo (Fernando Lamas of The Merry Widow, The Lost World, Magic Fountain, The Violent Ones, The Lonely Profession and The Cheap Detective) puts a virtual stranglehold over the land, exploiting the Yaqui Indians into slave labor and has anyone and everyone shot who disagrees with his policy.  Think G.W. only with bigger cojones.   Joe Herrera (Burt Reynolds of Sharkey’s Machine, Stick, Heat, Malone, Switching Channels and Evening Shade) a half-breed Indian (Sheesh am I in Gunsmoke again?) of the Yaqui tribe sneaks off to Arizona and steals 6,000 buckaroos to buy rifles for his people.   Their plan is a bloody siege and storm against Verdugo’s men and defenses. 

I'm sorry but you are too big for marachi. 

Lawman Lyedecker (NFL fullback of the Cleveland Browns Jim Brown of The Dirty Dozen, Riot, Black Gunn, The Slams, Three the Hard Way, Take a Hard Ride and Mars Attacks) hops a train down to Mexico to find this bank robbing little blaggard and toss his hairy hinder in a cage for the rest of his natural days.    The two men get damn near pinched by Verdugo’s men and they flee for the hills when they are found by gorgeous revolutionary Sarita (Raquel Welch of Fantastic Voyage, One Million Years B.C., Fathom, Bandolero!, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeer: Milady’s Revenge and Right to Die) led into the hills for safety.  The fellas trade snotty comments, ethnic slurs and fists as well until Lyedecker agrees to take command of the Yaqui tribe for an assault on the general.

Now I have a few bones about this movie, and seeing Raquel’s shower scene was NOT one of them. This is in all intents purpose an action movie and yet I get the feeling Tom Gries had little experience in such matters.  Apparently his idea of zooming up on Raquel or Jim firing then cut scene to staggering soldier was the end all.  Half of the time these actors avoided physics in that they fell forward when they should have dropped to the side or on their back.  Also there were so many dynamics with rough and tough thief, iron clad lawman and then sexy revolutionary I was trying to figure out whose story I should be following. 

Alright Palmer, where's my alimony??!!

The whole love story between Lyedecker and Sarita felt a bit sudden but hey I am not writing the bloody thing.  It was a bit confusing but this is very common when trying to translate a 500 page book into a script not even half that long. 

It felt like the film wanted to tell the entire lands their tale but they ran out of time.  Still all in all a fairly enjoyable flick and quite a crack up to see Reynolds sock it out with Jim Brown.

Blog 225!!! Burt Reynolds Week

Hey folks I thought this week we would pay a bit of homage to an actor who paid his dues from Westerns, Action, Comedy and serious Drama.  A man that stands at 5'11" and for many ladies appreciation did a near nude in Cosmopolitan in 1972 on a tiger skin rug.  So this week will be focused none other than Burt Reynolds.

So ladies try to not swoon, Fellas don't be haters.  I hope you all enjoy.

Little cheesecake for the ladies.

Exploitation Week

Hello there yet again readers and it is time for a request of the week and I have put this off for bit given its name.  Exploitation.  Now to be clear we are not referring to the means of extortion or shady deal but rather the cashing in on a popular theme which is more commonly associated with B-Movies.  From anything to an all African American cast with some racy themes to the down and out biker anti-heroes, this particular concept has been promoted from action, horror, drama, science fiction and even some westerns.

Some are loosely referred as Cult Classics but frequently the term exploitation has themes of nudity, violence and racial derogatory content.   As I myself have viewed several of these films I can honestly say there is entertainment to be found in this sect of film as well as abysmal failures.   So let's explore this phenomenon together, shall we?

Speaking of exploitation...woo hoo.

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

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.

Old Vs New Week

This week we will endure the concepts of originals vs its remakes.  This week is Old Vs New.   With horror films, action, Scifi and heck even Westerns are not safe from this injustice and frankly only you the reader can be the true judge on what was better.  Old Vs New will be a collective of both films and hopefully gives you a full view of each film.  I shall attempt to make it fun and informative as always.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)











   


VS

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)