PARENTHETICAL ANALYSIS OF MICHAEL WINNER'S 'THE MECHANIC'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQnU2bx_YCFrvPb8mMfT4TbbRkBsl_UMhyphenhyphennCbrX2YuvweEB1sIbW6B3h3HcOk92LUh45Y3udDeH_6UH2A_HF7uedKyowPojpOyvLRY5Ru9DZyQS5-yMLAzCxz2Crgi3WZsWMmQCiXBmHLbhcfbASobVLOuyo5DQinKn9zj6rWBlZSFeqJXbzrDtX9wO7K/s1939/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-02%20at%208.08.56%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1939" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQnU2bx_YCFrvPb8mMfT4TbbRkBsl_UMhyphenhyphennCbrX2YuvweEB1sIbW6B3h3HcOk92LUh45Y3udDeH_6UH2A_HF7uedKyowPojpOyvLRY5Ru9DZyQS5-yMLAzCxz2Crgi3WZsWMmQCiXBmHLbhcfbASobVLOuyo5DQinKn9zj6rWBlZSFeqJXbzrDtX9wO7K/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-02%20at%208.08.56%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson in THE MECHANIC from 1974 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By the time professional hit-man Arthur Bishop, skillfully underplayed by Charles Bronson... starring in the first of the 1972-1974 unconnected crime trilogy under the creative direction of eclectic British auteur Michael Winner... meets his match in young upstart Jan-Michael Vincent, the best part of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/BW2-MECH.html">THE MECHANIC</a> had already occurred...  <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Centering on the titular eccentric hired-killer slumming in a shabby Los Angeles motel, strategically rented across the street from his human target's non-rented room... providing a smooth, menial, fifteen-minute killer-at-work sequence that, given his narrowed, exacting professionalism, deliberately lacks suspense while replete with Winner's signature camera movements, from dramatic zooms to quick cuts, and herein, most importantly, no dialogue...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfF4YXy6iB31ckrPPXZIHJBZdeOY2fN_WZSE_ljHVBc_7sfYypRbDgVy4E_Z6c4z9ZyYzFAOsZFaKMNPKWzGcq3eO3xICz2RCqX1-2kpjricHQ-iaNBwTXBDZ53y1b-XF2i-z1Rf0oU_rN6vtmS_iJ0daqeTEoG-KWly0STxq1_stBOjim_Oq3jNuS-s1/s2260/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-02%20at%208.21.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="2260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfF4YXy6iB31ckrPPXZIHJBZdeOY2fN_WZSE_ljHVBc_7sfYypRbDgVy4E_Z6c4z9ZyYzFAOsZFaKMNPKWzGcq3eO3xICz2RCqX1-2kpjricHQ-iaNBwTXBDZ53y1b-XF2i-z1Rf0oU_rN6vtmS_iJ0daqeTEoG-KWly0STxq1_stBOjim_Oq3jNuS-s1/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-02%20at%208.21.08%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jerry Fielding credit from THE MECHANIC</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Instead filled with underrated composer Jerry Fielding's rich and cerebral, classically orchestrated yet equally jazz-induced score that also worked for Dustin Hoffman's mind-game marriage from Sam Peckpinpah's<a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/11/peckinpahdogs.html"> STRAW DOGS</a> (after having successfully tracked Peckinpah's blockbuster THE WILD BUNCH); Warren Oates's exhausted contemplation in the same director's BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA; or building tension for Clint Eastwood in either THE ENFORCER or <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2023/11/clintclimbs.html">THE EIGER SANCTION</a>... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A few examples of how and where Jerry Fielding's music fits tough and paranoiac, melancholy souls suffering personal battles so that the inevitable violence remains on the verge of eruption, even during meditative downtime — providing brooding overtures <i>inside</i> as well as <i>about</i> the characters...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, article, charles bronson, crime, hit-man, jan-michael vincent, jerry fielding, jill ireland, michael winner, neo noir, seventies, team-up, thriller

PARENTHETICAL ANALYSIS OF MICHAEL WINNER'S 'THE MECHANIC'

Charles Bronson in THE MECHANIC from 1974 Rating: **** By the time professional hit-man Arthur Bishop, skillfully underplayed by Charles Bro...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT FIGHTS BACK IN JOHN FLYNN'S 'DEFIANCE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oZNOzMIVfno_yjpxIbHJgy0PU8ymWVZ3DnNuqQc8uuS254hNVnjMql3VTuTnzdblUkOE7brZhBVrp2yzvfs3LfnL7wR9z5Ym3izFrkZacZtl5Y7v9mBAG8CyZDb5QBW5u0DWjIIE6iBN7TUUZrrnGPWnr3NHwnWud5p2IcNol-faFxmA27d2FcffQA1l/s1864/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-16%20at%201.32.08%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oZNOzMIVfno_yjpxIbHJgy0PU8ymWVZ3DnNuqQc8uuS254hNVnjMql3VTuTnzdblUkOE7brZhBVrp2yzvfs3LfnL7wR9z5Ym3izFrkZacZtl5Y7v9mBAG8CyZDb5QBW5u0DWjIIE6iBN7TUUZrrnGPWnr3NHwnWud5p2IcNol-faFxmA27d2FcffQA1l/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-16%20at%201.32.08%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: DEFIANCE Year: 1980 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both lead actors from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/BW2-MECH.html">THE MECHANIC</a> would get the vigilante bug, especially Charles Bronson, two years later inadvertently igniting the DEATH WISH franchise; and right before the second of five features, Jan-Michael Vincent waged DEFIANCE directed by the always capable John Flynn, who does his best work with low budget b-flicks with big budget intensity... wherein Vincent plays a merchant seaman on leave and doesn't want to be... stuck in New York where the usual bullying gang rears from the woodwork, led by Rudy Ramos, looking a kind of stylish Zoot Suit throwback... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Soon enough this villain's hateful eyes lock on Vincent, about to enter his shabby apartment in a shabbier building that includes the token young mentored boy and gorgeous ingenue, here played with Spanish zest by zesty Italian beauty Theresa Saldana, throwing herself at Vincent's tough silent type... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, church ortiz, danny aiello, don blakely, eighties, frank pesce, jan-michael vincent, john flynn, lenny montana, rudy ramos, theresa saldano, vigilante

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT FIGHTS BACK IN JOHN FLYNN'S 'DEFIANCE'

Title: DEFIANCE Year: 1980 Rating: ***1/2 Both lead actors from THE MECHANIC would get the vigilante bug, especially Charles Bronson, two y...

BURT REYNOLDS DRIVES 'HOOPER' WITH JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs5o3Ov_wtQzeFl3a7D3bjVZFmstyAegVDzN5jUVDBN04NSd0BYOnTMXtCzGRjWrI5dYaXfJIplp8rY2cjLZGuJ5fDRlt1kZuY84-_tnJiNOzdbY0OsGX0LnSv3iufnt76jtNgo0AWkMcYBAk9VP4FTLaSe7Rr_j4sszGDM_PwwwYdyuI6rT6q2mI5Q/s1769/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1769" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs5o3Ov_wtQzeFl3a7D3bjVZFmstyAegVDzN5jUVDBN04NSd0BYOnTMXtCzGRjWrI5dYaXfJIplp8rY2cjLZGuJ5fDRlt1kZuY84-_tnJiNOzdbY0OsGX0LnSv3iufnt76jtNgo0AWkMcYBAk9VP4FTLaSe7Rr_j4sszGDM_PwwwYdyuI6rT6q2mI5Q/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Burt Reynolds and Jan-Michael Vincent in HOOPER Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By the time HOOPER hit theaters, star Burt Reynolds and director Hal Needham were already reeling from the blockbuster success of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, a car-chase movie with a lot of stunts — so it made sense to have their next literal vehicle be a tribute to stuntmen...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Plus the fact Burt liked doing his own, and Needham was a genuine Hollywood fall guy for decades, making this a doubled-down labor-of-love that mostly strays from the intentional silliness of SMOKEY... with a few exceptions...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adam west, brian keith, burt reynolds, car, hal needham, hollywood satire, james best, jan-michael vincent, sally field, seventies

BURT REYNOLDS DRIVES 'HOOPER' WITH JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT

Burt Reynolds and Jan-Michael Vincent in HOOPER Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 By the time HOOPER hit theaters, star Burt Reynolds and director H...

LEE PURCELL REFLECTS THE CULT CLASSIC OF 'BIG WEDNESDAY'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvxlhZgNSK4W1XYWTXm-2YH2VBv-HrMFYDOPLl5SASrJyfh2Ow3EcWbELnSemhnN8164Mi4eXR9LPeEcMfcaqMWykpH73oEBLSDVSSA9orEDllctQRjIpDwm1eKcLKEtHUM8tGddj43Mb/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-04-28%252Bat%252B4.17.32%252BAM%252B4.49.53%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvxlhZgNSK4W1XYWTXm-2YH2VBv-HrMFYDOPLl5SASrJyfh2Ow3EcWbELnSemhnN8164Mi4eXR9LPeEcMfcaqMWykpH73oEBLSDVSSA9orEDllctQRjIpDwm1eKcLKEtHUM8tGddj43Mb/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-04-28%252Bat%252B4.17.32%252BAM%252B4.49.53%252BAM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Actress Lee Purcell Interview on the John Milius surf classic BIG WEDNESDAY pictured here with Jan-Michael Vincent</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>How were you selected for the role of Peggy Gordon in BIG WEDNESDAY?</u> There is a funny story about my audition. I was given the script and invited to audition for the role Patti (d’Arbanville) ended up playing, but I had already recently played similar characters. So I asked if I could instead audition for the role of Peggy. John (Milius) said yes, but that I had to come into Warner Brothers Studio and show them how I looked in a bikini.<br> <br> I was appalled since I was a “serious” actress, trained in London, etc. But, I wasn’t going to get the role if I didn’t, so I showed up in a trench coat with a bikini underneath. I told them to watch me carefully and not blink, and “flashed” everyone in the room then quickly closed the coat. They all laughed and I had the role then and there.<br>

actress, gary busey, interview, jan-michael vincent, john milius, lee purcell, patti d'arbanville, seventies, sport, william katt

LEE PURCELL REFLECTS THE CULT CLASSIC OF 'BIG WEDNESDAY'

Actress Lee Purcell Interview on the John Milius surf classic BIG WEDNESDAY pictured here with Jan-Michael Vincent How were you selected...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IS 'THE WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlNO2AVKH-SLaufMEgrAXaNt8zlyBEel2Q2plGuIzeV4O_R5TGSE3YVtTk6oda4PVjTUrzCF-pag2Ou1ai7EQVwXAVth3W-Jc49kqcQ5s1kRI5hlb_E276Hrw3AMBpOSLs3qZYrUbYiYitsZxdbyaHvC2ml5Ms9DA7pcsSjGVeIpkbh3apKTfvRPWCQ/s1932/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1932" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlNO2AVKH-SLaufMEgrAXaNt8zlyBEel2Q2plGuIzeV4O_R5TGSE3YVtTk6oda4PVjTUrzCF-pag2Ou1ai7EQVwXAVth3W-Jc49kqcQ5s1kRI5hlb_E276Hrw3AMBpOSLs3qZYrUbYiYitsZxdbyaHvC2ml5Ms9DA7pcsSjGVeIpkbh3apKTfvRPWCQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1973 cast: Jan-Michael Vincent, John Amos, Tim Conway rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>John Amos and Tim Conway, the most strangely cast comedic duo in history, are coaches at a loser junior college full of extremely inept athletes: making the team from GUS seem like professionals. The duo take a trip to Africa and find the greatest athlete in the world... and get this, he's white!<br> <br> A young ripped Jan-Michael Vincent plays Nanu, a monotone-speaking Tarzan who Amos and Conway trick into returning to the States to monopolize the school's teams... and gain them a reputation as awesome coaches...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

adventure, comedy, dayle haddon, disney, jan-michael vincent, john amos, seventies, sports, tim conway

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IS 'THE WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE'

year: 1973 cast: Jan-Michael Vincent, John Amos, Tim Conway rating: ***1/2 John Amos and Tim Conway, the most strangely cast comedic duo in...

GENE HACKMAN RIDES IN 'BITE THE BULLET' WITH JAMES COBURN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWU9XbmqOsvkx5hkDOZIsqLS6lLx9RM_8-dJkDWSJr3htURJt5QIwVOzF1rzk1bMmhS0ffaS7jhTUTjvAZIxlOoi7avktbcJY6mAdGGSoMLzJNGiS4ursZedXjjWzbW65a9nHbu8sF32Xc/s1600/4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="755" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWU9XbmqOsvkx5hkDOZIsqLS6lLx9RM_8-dJkDWSJr3htURJt5QIwVOzF1rzk1bMmhS0ffaS7jhTUTjvAZIxlOoi7avktbcJY6mAdGGSoMLzJNGiS4ursZedXjjWzbW65a9nHbu8sF32Xc/s400/4.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Coburn in BITE THE BULLET Year: 1975</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A homesteader's chopping wood when James Coburn rides up and, after asking several questions without a response, tells the man he doesn't know nothin', for which Wood Chopper replies: "I ain't the one who's lost." And snappy dialogue is the best thing going, especially with Coburn's scene-stealing character, at one point saying to young and obnoxious Jan-Michael Vincent, more antagonistic than he'd ever been before or after: "I want you to tell me the story of your life: Just skip everything up till the last fifteen minutes."<br> <br> BITE THE BULLET is a Western action/adventure about a horse race more character-driven than horse-driven, and that's good and bad since the characters are played by wonderful actors who share a few wonderful moments, but some are borderline cliché: Like pacifist Gene Hackman as an ex Rough Rider who may have been the founder of PETA while Candace Bergen is a modern feminist in chaps, and would have been more realistic if played by tougher-looking "hooker" Sally Kirkland, who'd sell her body the same year in another Western, BREAKHEART PASS: both featuring a pivotal train and veteran actor Ben Johnson, here an old-timer with a predictable death scene...<br>

action, adventure, ben johnson, candace bergen, ensemble, gene hackman, james coburn, jan-michael vincent, richard brooks, sally kirkland, seventies, western

GENE HACKMAN RIDES IN 'BITE THE BULLET' WITH JAMES COBURN

James Coburn in BITE THE BULLET Year: 1975 A homesteader's chopping wood when James Coburn rides up and, after asking several questi...

MEMORIAL BAGFUL OF JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT ARCHIVE REVIEWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2rH-7LJjjGY984IkodDkmmGjpArZCgrPfys4vBNpM9QfBOtWELI27i66qr87E9SZLEnxO90CdKOTbg34_WL3i2tx2PM27i1qXPWWwsxl-A0Ooucw-ywJl6r33FxG1urG3XSkTJK8i3ot/s1600/000b.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2rH-7LJjjGY984IkodDkmmGjpArZCgrPfys4vBNpM9QfBOtWELI27i66qr87E9SZLEnxO90CdKOTbg34_WL3i2tx2PM27i1qXPWWwsxl-A0Ooucw-ywJl6r33FxG1urG3XSkTJK8i3ot/s1600/000b.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent and Robert Mitchum Year: 1971 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>GOING HOME:</u> This obscure drama, bordering on intentional page-turning melodrama and centering on a war hero, Robert Mitchum, who violently murders his wife (Sally Kirkland) witnessed by his four-year-old son, now grown-up in the form of brooding rebel Jan-Michael Vincent, is passably entertaining fare... <br> <br> Robert Mitchum (who'd star with Vincent in THE WINDS OF WAR a decade later) resides with miscast trailer-trash girlfriend (she seems too upper-middle suburbia for lowlife) Brenda Vaccaro, while Jan-Michael, having just returned home, seems either bent on revenge or forgiveness for his aged, yet still tough as nails, pop as they hang out bowling and drinking: making up for lost time. The best moments involve jarring situations that seem vividly real but aren't really happening (seen in Vincent's mind)... one has Mitchum destroying a pick-up-truck with a tire iron... or flashbacks viewed in present-time locations ala IN COLD BLOOD. It's a breezy character-study but without much character-development, neither Mitchum or Vincent becoming fully realized, nor their past fitfully resolved, but it's nice seeing the two steely mavericks together either way.<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn3Gbg0O2yN_eQ0x1jbBBr5OX-ENfiwqmpRPp8em6gErgZBTOVLZHPY5zn4W4U7CltcUXAMY3PErljaebw6UKVU-2AXdU3FASucqtHTHGqCkeS-EDx-4oygAYJ01gkhEhLW-cE3N1IL4u/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+10.04.39+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="1366" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn3Gbg0O2yN_eQ0x1jbBBr5OX-ENfiwqmpRPp8em6gErgZBTOVLZHPY5zn4W4U7CltcUXAMY3PErljaebw6UKVU-2AXdU3FASucqtHTHGqCkeS-EDx-4oygAYJ01gkhEhLW-cE3N1IL4u/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+10.04.39+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent in Hard Country YEAR: 1981 Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>HARD COUNTRY:</u> One of those blue collar beer guzzlin' factory worker films where if you're not one of the endearingly-flawed good guys, you're a shady, sinister rich jerk... with no in-betweens: Plot centers on a disgruntled factory worker, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, who loves drinkin' and lovin' his girlfriend – in that order – and his better half, a young Kim Basinger, who wants to move to California for a better life: one that doesn't include drunken cowboys and bar fights.<br> <br> This movie can't get any more predictable but the two leads carry things decently enough till the end, which you'll see coming for miles. Michael Parks is Vincent's real estate mogul brother who, once he spouts a racial epitaph out loud, you know he'll eventually fall by the wayside. Tanya Tucker is Kim Basinger's famous country singin' older sis who plants the seed that Texas is a place to get out of while the gettin' out is good. Daryl Hannah is Kim's younger sister who digs Texas fine enough – just as long as there's another car to fix. And character-actor Gailard Sartain, usually cast as an uptight stuffed-shirt (the fat cop in HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS), plays Vincent's comic relief buddy. Meanwhile, up front, Jan-Michael provides his usual slow-burn cool, and, donning a Bronson-tough mustache, is as great to watch as ever – as long as you don't mind the simplistic and forced classy envy undertone.  <br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpWrg3PxaBuG4Hi-DIcgVWgFtwceHEG6uyGVexnENAQyrHGY5CGlJXRiBbVRn69bKtzHVtEFqWWm_025WeSV3E55Ng52H_KlJekg7Iek68uYOGQYvImUVLSgjFpVD-cPTOhkydnMRbIPZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+7.16.05+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1356" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpWrg3PxaBuG4Hi-DIcgVWgFtwceHEG6uyGVexnENAQyrHGY5CGlJXRiBbVRn69bKtzHVtEFqWWm_025WeSV3E55Ng52H_KlJekg7Iek68uYOGQYvImUVLSgjFpVD-cPTOhkydnMRbIPZ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+7.16.05+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent w/ Joan Goodfellow 1974 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>BUSTER AND BILLIE:</u> Even in the good times, a touch of melancholy permeates the idyllic existence of Buster, played by Jan-Michael Vincent: Good looking and friendly, he's different than most cinematic popular high schoolers, hanging with town outcast Whitey (Robert Englund), he dates the lovely and uptight Margie (Pamela Sue Martin) and shoots pool, hustling young locals more envious than loyal...<br> <br> When Buster meets a quiet backwoods girl named Billie, who’s been around the block with all of Buster’s friends, the shift changes into a melodic, strange love story. Their scenes together, spending time in the plush woodsy exterior, feel like two people with nothing left on earth but each other; while the romance, with few words spoken, is never corny or melodramatic: This is one of Jan-Michael Vincent’s best performances: he’s intense, caring and tough at the same time. But it’s Joan Goodfellow’s Billie that mesmerizes not only our smitten hero, but with her subtle beauty and sad eyes, provides a gentle substance – like she's caught in a daydream. All leading to an explosive doubled-edge climax both shocking and tragic, albeit you’ll<i> </i>see it coming for miles.<br>

action, bagful, eighties, exploitation, jan-michael vincent, joan goodfellow, melodrama, post-apocalyptic, robert englund, robert mitchum, sally kirkland, science-fiction, seventies, tribute

MEMORIAL BAGFUL OF JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT ARCHIVE REVIEWS

Jan-Michael Vincent and Robert Mitchum Year: 1971 Rates: *** GOING HOME: This obscure drama, bordering on intentional page-turning melo...

EDGE OF GREATNESS ABOUT JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT REVIEWED

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYazgvywzZuWOHukmwyJhHswyMRMPgXT9_uhiETLgY0j60V1vfZaKWWC-3rG3gWbWzI3hRvHRiT7e0t8MYzFYOv-o1X3LaRbeLz42OhdoadDl5y0uKSyw8JXkKmrb7h0a3j7-Rb7aQSUk/s1600/12367_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="609" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYazgvywzZuWOHukmwyJhHswyMRMPgXT9_uhiETLgY0j60V1vfZaKWWC-3rG3gWbWzI3hRvHRiT7e0t8MYzFYOv-o1X3LaRbeLz42OhdoadDl5y0uKSyw8JXkKmrb7h0a3j7-Rb7aQSUk/s400/12367_4.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From VIGILANTE FORCE, one of many so-called forgotten films</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"This is not a life," David Grove writes in the final page of his book, EDGE OF GREATNESS, about the eclectic acting career of Jan-Michael Vincent. "It's obvious now that he was not born; he was invented. I thought there would be more, but this is it. He got what he deserved."</span><br> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ouch! Especially coming from a talented author and film historian, bringing the reader back in time, through an endless ringer. It's lovely writing, but where's the love? There was obviously a lot "more" that Jan-Michael Vincent felt, and lived, and discovered, than could be conjured up "in your philosophy," as Shakespeare wrote of his narrow-minded Horatio. </span><br>

book review, dominique sanda, jan-michael vincent

EDGE OF GREATNESS ABOUT JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT REVIEWED

From VIGILANTE FORCE, one of many so-called forgotten films "This is not a life," David Grove writes in the final page of his ...

COMEDY FILM CHARACTERS WHO TAKE THEMSELVES SERIOUSLY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeuPe7eewrPPzrqp2UTqmIQmEcYbj98gohKhDaly4SkKjSvYkX70rIwD5u9QDrD-PRsWLhzN2UW9J6R95VrYWT430utqRHXcLcpGxQ8Yb04gtMEfhxVHcqKszLPSe2BU1mvSav_k9-sOV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-10-08+at+4.22.07+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeuPe7eewrPPzrqp2UTqmIQmEcYbj98gohKhDaly4SkKjSvYkX70rIwD5u9QDrD-PRsWLhzN2UW9J6R95VrYWT430utqRHXcLcpGxQ8Yb04gtMEfhxVHcqKszLPSe2BU1mvSav_k9-sOV/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-10-08+at+4.22.07+PM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Only one of these two USED CAR actors made the cut</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This List, originally conceived as THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A COMEDY, involves ten actors who didn't have to "hit the right comedic marks" to fit neatly inside a comedy vehicle...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Which doesn't mean the actors or actresses were somehow misdirected or misguided into being overly headstrong, determined, melodramatic and, while in a project where laughs are estimated before the production even begins, the ultimate goal of audience-reaction pretty much counts for everything, and yet, these (sometimes Method) Actors stick to their guns, loaded with a natural style, either hot or cold, laid-back or edgy, and are never throwing a proverbial wink to the audience that says, "It's all for fun" — separating an actor playing for a laugh (which <i>is</i> an art-form in itself) to those simply playing the role outright, and just happening to be in a comedy film: An extremely fine line...<br>

art metrano, christopher guest, eighties, harry nothup, jan-michael vincent, jerry reed, joe pesci, june chadwick, list, matt dillon, peter sellers, seventies, sixties, vic morrow, walter matthau

COMEDY FILM CHARACTERS WHO TAKE THEMSELVES SERIOUSLY

Only one of these two USED CAR actors made the cut This List, originally conceived as THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A COMEDY, involves ten...

CHARLES BRONSON IS 'THE MECHANIC' WITH JAN MICHAEL-VINCENT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfrGMixkn6KRoQ7iMv59R7MiD7vl7Ke2eXe11LIRe47bLpPzyF4FWNL2Yp1lfnlbVm75pB96NZk5gB3LJy7P7l5XU9CZ9hJH9N7FUv1YSZS-H_KJpwrINhwxCR8hE50LcXOZKjX1HnLit/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-07-06+at+12.32.47+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="2048" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfrGMixkn6KRoQ7iMv59R7MiD7vl7Ke2eXe11LIRe47bLpPzyF4FWNL2Yp1lfnlbVm75pB96NZk5gB3LJy7P7l5XU9CZ9hJH9N7FUv1YSZS-H_KJpwrINhwxCR8hE50LcXOZKjX1HnLit/w400-h224/Screen+Shot+2021-07-06+at+12.32.47+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: The Mechanic Year: 1972 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Fan-favorite neo noir cult vehicle THE MECHANIC... one of the six collaborations between tough guy American actor Charles Bronson and <i>tough guy cinema</i> British director Michael Winner, proceeding CHATO'S  LAND and followed by THE STONE KILLER before their breakout blockbuster DEATH WISH and later DEATH WISH II and DEATH WISH III... is visually their greatest and most memorable joint effort...</p><p>The camerawork is topnotch with the underrated auteur's signature shots, including establishing zooms in an urgent and gritty 1970's fashion with just-enough action on the side, exceeding others of its 1970's exploitation kind: <i>But it's the first fifteen minutes</i>, a take on the Police Procedural noir only here being a Hit Man/Assassin Procedural, where Bronson's title character Arthur Bishop, who doesn't fixes cars but problems in the form of people, are more intense and suspenseful than how most movies end...<br> </p>

action, charles bronson, crime, europe, exploitation, frank dekova, hit-man, jan-michael vincent, jerry fielding, jill ireland, keenan wynn, michael winner, neo noir, seventies, team-up, thriller

CHARLES BRONSON IS 'THE MECHANIC' WITH JAN MICHAEL-VINCENT

Title: The Mechanic Year: 1972 Rates: **** Fan-favorite neo noir cult vehicle THE MECHANIC... one of the six collaborations between tough gu...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT & KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 'VIGILANTE FORCE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDma3l3EzIeStkSgDQKyWmTFc8TlyVg0vGR2kFdMuxFMJAt_6MhHCfytC-Qa_3HFTT6r2uvFkaozCYDuJ21hlJLmTewgSFbrPQuJQ_X-1uwrBFcAWSnNEw67pX2dbidE2QEZjhmpv_twF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-08-14+at+2.16.09+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1484" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDma3l3EzIeStkSgDQKyWmTFc8TlyVg0vGR2kFdMuxFMJAt_6MhHCfytC-Qa_3HFTT6r2uvFkaozCYDuJ21hlJLmTewgSFbrPQuJQ_X-1uwrBFcAWSnNEw67pX2dbidE2QEZjhmpv_twF/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-08-14+at+2.16.09+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Jan-Michael Vincent in Vigilante Force YEAR: 1976</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A movie in which low-budget Roger Corman... actually his brother Gene... gets to blow big bullet holes into two of Hollywood's most hated things, at that time, 1976...<br> <br> The first, Vietnam, in which Kris Kristofferson's Aaron, older brother to Jan-Michal Vincent as Ben, is a tough, no-nonsense veteran of...<br> <br> And then Big Oil, where a boom has occurred in the small-town where Vincent's Ben and his family reside, and that we learn Aaron was never too fond of, pre-war, which was nothing compared to the new oil-crazed drunks causing bloody havoc, from shooting cops in the street to causing your typical bar fights as the local law is down to four men, who have little to no control... of anything.... <br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx7gMea_TJr2lfl9VT3NPrdrSPKFkwpINfmpgrIy7FuwWl4Gs4VWD0_T65Snp6Ou-Dbhg6fmpglci3DgepPvNkniEGPy4fvji3hn72ZtsYIMIb_FhtOr9kcAc5mbpGvo5jdaJyajLo3I-/s1600/91F-De5dWAL._SL1500_.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx7gMea_TJr2lfl9VT3NPrdrSPKFkwpINfmpgrIy7FuwWl4Gs4VWD0_T65Snp6Ou-Dbhg6fmpglci3DgepPvNkniEGPy4fvji3hn72ZtsYIMIb_FhtOr9kcAc5mbpGvo5jdaJyajLo3I-/s400/91F-De5dWAL._SL1500_.jpeg" width="373"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Blu Ray Cover for VIGILANTE FORCE</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Like the Joel McCrea Western, WICHITA and just about every other episode of GUNSMOKE, where cowboys cause havoc but spend tons of saloon money and are great for business, it's a catch-22 situation...<br> <br> The powers that be don't like the trouble but they don't want it cured, which <i>is</i> gonna happen after Jan-Michael's initial conversation with a few important townsfolk, including Film Noir veteran Brad Dexter as a Sheriff who lost his power but still wants a piece of the money-making action...<br> <br> Importantly leading to a fond reunion with big bro, Aaron, who, as mentioned, is fresh from Vietnam and, working a crappy warehouse job, gets offered a really good one: not for the paycheck, but with a few other veterans helping out, including future John Carpenter regular Charles Cyphers and BREAKFAST CLUB bully-teacher Paul Gleason, things don't go as planned. Meanwhile, Gleason gets a chance to knock around Ben's best girl, Linda, played by the gorgeous Victoria Principal who would, in two year's time, co-star in an epic television series in which she's smitten (first engaged and then married to) a handsome, good-natured earthy type with a twisted older brother: all having to do with oil.<br>

action, exploitation, jan-michael vincent, kris kristofferson, loni anderson, roger corman, seventies, small town, victoria principal

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT & KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 'VIGILANTE FORCE'

Jan-Michael Vincent in Vigilante Force YEAR: 1976 A movie in which low-budget Roger Corman... actually his brother Gene... gets to blow ...

THREE RADICAL INTERVIEW REFLECTIONS ON 'BIG WEDNESDAY'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfPlAVlhzHrg-3kd7XdId5OvgiAzF2JZt8EkJbkSNOpJwB6_QOrc_EVm5CwRKIkxpLmZhHffRlcrlEGbS_zbkmg2N5bsCHt2IhmBF-GeUEHuTuELoAAXFIEK-7tlBLZYEOnf11R0z5hg/s1600/big-wednesday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfPlAVlhzHrg-3kd7XdId5OvgiAzF2JZt8EkJbkSNOpJwB6_QOrc_EVm5CwRKIkxpLmZhHffRlcrlEGbS_zbkmg2N5bsCHt2IhmBF-GeUEHuTuELoAAXFIEK-7tlBLZYEOnf11R0z5hg/s320/big-wednesday.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cult Film Freak Three-Tier BW Retrospective</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="color: #cccccc;"></span>In the wake of DILLINGER and THE WIND AND THE LION, writer/director JOHN MILIUS set out on his next project, which turned out to be his most personal. Based on experiences growing up as a surfer in Southern California, he and fellow surfer Dennis Aaberg wrote BIG WEDNESDAY, a masterpiece that centers on three friends... <br /> <br /> MATT JOHNSON (Jan-Michael Vincent), JACK BARLOW (William Katt), and LEROY SMITH (Gary Busey) on their personal journey for big parties, big waves, and good times eventually curtailed by the Vietnam War... Other characters include BEAR (Sam Melville), the group's mentor who makes boards on the pier until he's forced inland where he opens a board shop; WAXER (Darrell Fetty), the party mascot who works for Bear and is eventually shipped off to Vietnam; and ENFORCER (Reb Brown), a muscular stud who defends the group from inland party crashers.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rIIbA2S14wSM2j5YCCvoM-yapooL5QnOGRtp5VZCq3Tr_oVtkj2mw30IZql8EUgaFVLfm75kA-KO3s-EKSDRclhYthFT8UCRwCChf3ocBGx-VnNtgLQ3RegH1nkh8VYjwV1Ep29nRudX/s1600/5295_1229492219858_1305660700_30717727_12043_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rIIbA2S14wSM2j5YCCvoM-yapooL5QnOGRtp5VZCq3Tr_oVtkj2mw30IZql8EUgaFVLfm75kA-KO3s-EKSDRclhYthFT8UCRwCChf3ocBGx-VnNtgLQ3RegH1nkh8VYjwV1Ep29nRudX/s200/5295_1229492219858_1305660700_30717727_12043_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee with Patty D'Arbanville</td></tr> </tbody></table> And the TWO CENTRAL FEMALE ROLES are played by Lee Purcell (Matt's girl, PEGGY) and Patti D'Arbanville (Jack's girl, SALLY). Other cast includes Geoff Parks (THRASHER), Robert Englund (as FLY, who also narrates)...<br /> <br /> And co-writer Dennis Aaberg (as SLICK) with appearances by Steve Kanaly, Frank McCrae, Joe Spinell, Fran Ryan, Michael Talbott, Perry Lang, Charlene Tilton, Terry Bolo, Rick Dano, Perry Lang, and even John Millius himself as a Marijuana dealer in Tijuana.<br /> <br /> <b>from LEE PURCELL ("Peggy Gordon"): WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF THE KEG PARTY SCENE?</b><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkeXzL2mgV9kbDuzrwEO9gdhyphenhyphenhEAMpxwLhDAMDIV3GmyqhOfNWo9_M9wd8NHpJVkt6C5VgN0lbuLnwkkhguzkrBMPmUhwDiMqpAscI0bOcTvr_WkoFtN0Uq39V9JeWJ481ONdywtuF66H/s1600/5735_1220647638749_1305660700_30686211_7572528_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkeXzL2mgV9kbDuzrwEO9gdhyphenhyphenhEAMpxwLhDAMDIV3GmyqhOfNWo9_M9wd8NHpJVkt6C5VgN0lbuLnwkkhguzkrBMPmUhwDiMqpAscI0bOcTvr_WkoFtN0Uq39V9JeWJ481ONdywtuF66H/s320/5735_1220647638749_1305660700_30686211_7572528_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee strikes back</td></tr> </tbody></table> "The best part for me was in the bathroom when I tell a girl she should wear a padded bra and she responds that she already is! Very funny and very realistic female dialogue!"<br /> <br /> GIRL AT PARTY: "You've got a great figure."<br /> PEGGY GORDON: "Thank you. You too."<br /> GIRL AT PARTY: "Is that a padded bra?"<br /> PEGGY GORDON: "No, this is all me."<br /> GIRL AT PARTY: "God."<br /> PEGGY GORDON: "You should try a padded bra."<br /> GIRL AT PARTY: "I have one on."<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPmMQYOnLe-Lo8_EsDAPpSY7mYpdluOPHESbzCWCU4_zcmayMDQGqum4n8rv-yeYvLQToLdwPo1WXxHtcN9Nz_8wutEIhIbsf1E9itYrSfMJkWY1ZLB2J8GiSG8q9xK2r_c9JOcMVghzA/s1600/5335_1231462349110_1305660700_30723101_8179970_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPmMQYOnLe-Lo8_EsDAPpSY7mYpdluOPHESbzCWCU4_zcmayMDQGqum4n8rv-yeYvLQToLdwPo1WXxHtcN9Nz_8wutEIhIbsf1E9itYrSfMJkWY1ZLB2J8GiSG8q9xK2r_c9JOcMVghzA/s200/5335_1231462349110_1305660700_30723101_8179970_n.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with JM Vincent</td></tr> </tbody></table> "When Jan (Matt) and I were on the couch towards the end, and my character is so drunk that I fall over sideways. That was my improv and John loved it and kept it in. Of course, then I had to fall over and over, from different angles, for many takes." Lee Purcell<br /> <br /> from TERRY BOLO ("Party Girl") WERE THERE GOOD TIMES BETWEEN TAKES? "The party crowd led by the Pied Piper, Sam Melville, who played Bear, and Darrell Fetty, hung out in Sam's motor home, dubbed <i>The Motor Hooter</i>. Some people would go home on Sun, back to LA, again...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCClZJmbWNH7qMiXOBPN_xI5Vgrh_bVKqb2rEdcKbXr5BHmljTeFRSkAVaeUO8kSUQEh5CGN3FXP5vNS-4Li214A3fGsUTVveawuWuhrfhOMRA3sIh2mwqAlqLev73A0366QYN4mj4LPWR/s1600/5735_1221263134136_1305660700_30688342_3226994_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCClZJmbWNH7qMiXOBPN_xI5Vgrh_bVKqb2rEdcKbXr5BHmljTeFRSkAVaeUO8kSUQEh5CGN3FXP5vNS-4Li214A3fGsUTVveawuWuhrfhOMRA3sIh2mwqAlqLev73A0366QYN4mj4LPWR/s200/5735_1221263134136_1305660700_30688342_3226994_n.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry Bolo toasts</td></tr> </tbody></table> "I can't remember how long we were up there, maybe 3 weeks or more. Well, the crew and extra bus, coming back from the location, was the place to be. Word soon got out, and even the principal actors and some of the key crew, would pass on their privately driven cars, and join the party bus."<b> </b><br /> <br /> <b>GOING BACK TO BEAR</b><br /> <br /> MATT JOHNSON is the epitome of a star surfer. In his time he was the top dog. After hitting the skids and becoming a heavy drinker, he causes a traffic accident and gets kicked off the beach by Jack, now a responsible lifeguard.<br /> <br /> Matt returns to Bear's inland shop. Bear tells him an idea to make a Matt Johnson model surfboard. Matt wants no part of it:<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6wBP-R32dzNFxmL9fir2I4b9PI7IX_4FoJYVMEwU7XMUw02OJcX7QGkc_xw7tp4QuimY3nu-us8t_7MFai3fgU1j1FTB_NzOMn8Oq0WOun6JeBbnf7Z4v2t4pGLTkq-iflP27Wj51dT/s1600/0.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6wBP-R32dzNFxmL9fir2I4b9PI7IX_4FoJYVMEwU7XMUw02OJcX7QGkc_xw7tp4QuimY3nu-us8t_7MFai3fgU1j1FTB_NzOMn8Oq0WOun6JeBbnf7Z4v2t4pGLTkq-iflP27Wj51dT/s200/0.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JMV paddles out</td></tr> </tbody></table> MATT JOHNSON: "I don't wanna be a star. Have my picture in magazines, have a bunch of kids looking up to me. I'm a drunk, Bear, a screw up. I just surf cause its good to go out and ride with your friends. I don't even have that anymore."<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnetCK6Fb29o8b1ZFPXTae3jW8ryCGGbSBDcyBB1Xx4ms5rKcNI9LJwmCxYs5aHoZI7Zy65mmQCdCeWgOKpV_fRRO38y3YEmpdrALvnOxaiKGJeaInSWUngp0SGP9jO3oL2JG0fRBVYFH/s1600/bigwed_4-1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnetCK6Fb29o8b1ZFPXTae3jW8ryCGGbSBDcyBB1Xx4ms5rKcNI9LJwmCxYs5aHoZI7Zy65mmQCdCeWgOKpV_fRRO38y3YEmpdrALvnOxaiKGJeaInSWUngp0SGP9jO3oL2JG0fRBVYFH/s200/bigwed_4-1.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam Melville</td></tr> </tbody></table> Bear was played by the late Sam Melville, best known for his part as a cop in THE ROOKIES television show.<br /> <br /> His character Bear is the baseline of the movie: both father figure and mentor, and during the party is a very liberal chaperone.<br /> <br /> There is a epic quality to this character. In a movie centering on young people running wild, he is the safety net.<br /> <br /> The pivotal Bear wedding scene is the film's centerpiece, as Jack and Matt become friends once again.<b> </b><br /> <br /> "I loved working with Sam Melville (Bear); he was a wonderful person and terrific actor. That scene has a wonderful bittersweet quality to it that is so true of time passing, people growing up and the inevitable changes of life." Lee Purcell<br /> <br /> <b>ANYONE FEEL A DRAFT?</b><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zZjr35FxqHfhq8nXSPN1dUx81S5-k_ri8y0MSyHoZL_xn5SNnhOO1K1C15SeFp7tpJo5PKw-N05IITGWN6xOEFBzmQVtkhE_6qPRqZsTd_e6GwLuqesyZQpGSM6vaAeB6wLZBrxdUx9/s1600/5735_1221262694125_1305660700_30688339_7590117_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zZjr35FxqHfhq8nXSPN1dUx81S5-k_ri8y0MSyHoZL_xn5SNnhOO1K1C15SeFp7tpJo5PKw-N05IITGWN6xOEFBzmQVtkhE_6qPRqZsTd_e6GwLuqesyZQpGSM6vaAeB6wLZBrxdUx9/s200/5735_1221262694125_1305660700_30688339_7590117_n.jpg" width="170" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wild Bunch</td></tr> </tbody></table> Matt, Leroy, Waxer and several others are called to serve in Vietnam, something they don't want to do. So they show up to the recruiting station, each with their own way to get out of it.<br /> <br /> Leroy the Masochist feigns insanity:<br /> <br /> PSYCHOLOGIST: “I see here they call you a masochist.”<br /> LEROY THE MASOCHIST: “I like pain.”<br /> PSYCHOLOGIST: “Can you be specific? What kind of pain do you like?”<br /> LEROY THE MASOCHIST: “Any kind of pain.”<br /> PSYCHOLOGIST: “Such as?”<br /> LEROY THE MASOCHIST: “I like fights, I've dove through windows, I've eaten light bulbs, I like sharks, any kind of blood. If you gave me a gun, I'd shoot you in the face just to see what it looked like when the bullet hit.”<br /> <br /> Matt Johnson fakes a knee injury; Fly blindness... And Waxer had his own unique approach:<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bIcK2wCK7r_CmMsNmUaRLmCjDxwkG63-7PqyTgFECSxb0BVF2x66ZxVArhXVrz3ipMofiEXTbUoYTXlgbAIs4_6lHKCyUVX6NU_PgCYZbEQOFK9iarrBQFPGZCmxRAyaKKbK51Vn06Zh/s1600/5735_1221260094060_1305660700_30688329_7110213_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bIcK2wCK7r_CmMsNmUaRLmCjDxwkG63-7PqyTgFECSxb0BVF2x66ZxVArhXVrz3ipMofiEXTbUoYTXlgbAIs4_6lHKCyUVX6NU_PgCYZbEQOFK9iarrBQFPGZCmxRAyaKKbK51Vn06Zh/s200/5735_1221260094060_1305660700_30688329_7110213_n.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank McCrea & Waxer</td></tr> </tbody></table> SERGEANT: "Are you a homosexual?"<br /> WAXER: "Well, I guess I am. I wrote it down, 'Homosexual Tendencies: Yes.' Yes."<br /> SERGEANT: "Well, you're just gonna love it in the United States Army. There's lots of men there. And they get real close in foxholes and tanks, and in combat. Get him out of here and process him in the Marine Corps."<br /> WAXER: "If you send me to Vietnam, I'll just die."<br /> <br /> The Drill Sergeant is played by character-actor Frank McCrae, who also appeared in the Milius classic DILLINGER and a string of other movies spanning many decades. The scene involving Frank McCrae and Darrell Fetty is one of the most memorable in the film.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2xgywnOhxmfnvg9yGvOrutFxMDbvQxH7VDHuI6y8u_2YVhZiJFJjsa4P5hRWpzZyVv7-ocmbXOpltk5a3zI-Qd1mqTLYFzWfUOJGYM9UobfomCBGAeWFvZBLVp9rLwqvB8jhuJQIJ5Nu/s1600/5251_208121425429_152196620429_7874326_1120267_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2xgywnOhxmfnvg9yGvOrutFxMDbvQxH7VDHuI6y8u_2YVhZiJFJjsa4P5hRWpzZyVv7-ocmbXOpltk5a3zI-Qd1mqTLYFzWfUOJGYM9UobfomCBGAeWFvZBLVp9rLwqvB8jhuJQIJ5Nu/s200/5251_208121425429_152196620429_7874326_1120267_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With director John Milius</td></tr> </tbody></table> from DARRELL FETTY ("Waxer")<br /> <br /> "John Milius set it up so I'd be uncomfortable within that scene - I didn't quite know what was coming when Frank was screaming at me. That's actually one of the places where there was a little improvisation. In fact, the line that buttons the scene 'If you send me to Viet Nam, I'll just die!' was a pre-scene suggestion from Carolyne, my wife at the time. I sprang it on John and Frank during the take, and John kept it in, because as you know in the movie I do go to Viet Nam and get killed."<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi8_Sfi8ZEeyarjaD8oicSunQf5_QF4h3a-TioRaCsr07qQ7-e15M_vhTdVUphWeBClPhUfCDBJClWKqah-LV0gUKqIT3fbfEbFcaDfm-PwmuJKNMH5wrTFB2CVIpLNHrh2c-TEOZxkS7/s1600/5735_1221262734126_1305660700_30688340_1466664_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /> </a></div> <b>EULOGY FOR THE WAXER</b><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifr-6SoNKafkZ8iajV7hyhSzY4aP8mPWqsHo5iBwQ1pwdp9t8o6D_ckflKiHa2ulktJtdz7LFmnD-kTMn4OfkcklLMtHQ8I1XnqDLxiDeFGCS7qwJ2jtZcE1GmPzxWk17u33EkB7rFxouJ/s1600/5251_208121470429_152196620429_7874335_6457935_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifr-6SoNKafkZ8iajV7hyhSzY4aP8mPWqsHo5iBwQ1pwdp9t8o6D_ckflKiHa2ulktJtdz7LFmnD-kTMn4OfkcklLMtHQ8I1XnqDLxiDeFGCS7qwJ2jtZcE1GmPzxWk17u33EkB7rFxouJ/s200/5251_208121470429_152196620429_7874335_6457935_n.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darrell Fetty waxed</td></tr> </tbody></table> The funeral scene involving Matt, Jack and Leroy reflecting on their fallen friend Waxer at a military graveyard is one of the most poignant in the film, especially the eulogy given by Jan-Michael Vincent.<br /> <br /> MATT JOHNSON: "We're gathered here to say a few words about our friend Jim King. We called him Waxer. I'd just like to say that… he was a good surfer… and a really great guy. He had a nice cutback. He rode the nose real well. He was kind of screwed up the way he treated women, but he always got the one he wanted. So it doesn't matter anyway because he was a good guy all the way around. He'd always give people waves... Just give them a wave. He'd always stick up for his friends in a fight. He wasn't worth a damn but he was always right in there. I don't ever remember a big day that Waxer wouldn't go out and ride with his friends. Old Waxer was our friend. He was a little part of us. And we're gonna miss him."<br /> <br /> Waxer is a very memorable, important character. He's the number one party animal, the mascot: representing the epitome of having a good time, which makes his loss the turning point of the film.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNxL2Wi0xdRsOcFFfgOz0A2-KxM_z7B06u-yu339yPFBsm9HCSmeV3caKy1sb0m1sLdQUAFue1p29n6SHQmAnyxDiWB9_IvyRxdF_2asDamPDxUPRFrmaNIhHfkaKef9t03MkhNQY35bp/s1600/5335_1231462469113_1305660700_30723104_5302830_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNxL2Wi0xdRsOcFFfgOz0A2-KxM_z7B06u-yu339yPFBsm9HCSmeV3caKy1sb0m1sLdQUAFue1p29n6SHQmAnyxDiWB9_IvyRxdF_2asDamPDxUPRFrmaNIhHfkaKef9t03MkhNQY35bp/s200/5335_1231462469113_1305660700_30723104_5302830_n.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darrell Fetty</td></tr> </tbody></table> "What's surprising is that at film festivals and special screenings, quite a few present-day surfers and younger fans come up to me to quote Waxer lines…although they mostly quote lines that Jan, Gary, and Billy Katt say about Waxer during that drunken cemetery scene." Darrell Fetty<br /> <br /> <b>AND THE MOST IMPORTANT<i> </i>THINGS FOR LAST</b><br /> <br /> from Lee Purcell: "I also loved working with Billy’s mother, Barbara Hale – she is a great woman, a real trouper and very funny. " Before the big day of surf, Matt has some business to take care of. He shows at Jack's house, and Jack's mother (Barbara Hale) answers the door. After a short surface conversation, Matt opens up with:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfStMQOyHFwixEl8jSS1Iu4AGOzuXzf9rtHjLpPPd6E89UDgp_1LTDOsECm4yIE-i8SEo-sKISB5ROxooEvWbtHQh-h5cVhwEXDzfSOY_bvwS2Lef_nrkFHhebNGm56bZ9kVcGNb7fgrF/s1600/16427519_263363664092817_7458809765822626497_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfStMQOyHFwixEl8jSS1Iu4AGOzuXzf9rtHjLpPPd6E89UDgp_1LTDOsECm4yIE-i8SEo-sKISB5ROxooEvWbtHQh-h5cVhwEXDzfSOY_bvwS2Lef_nrkFHhebNGm56bZ9kVcGNb7fgrF/s320/16427519_263363664092817_7458809765822626497_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Both Katt and Jack's mom, Barbara Hale with Catch 22 book</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> MATT JOHNSON: "You know, Mrs. Barlow, there's something I'd like straighten out."<br /> MRS. BARLOW: "What's that, Matt?"<br /> MATT JOHNSON: "Well, I did a lot of things around here I'm kind of ashamed of. I tore up your lawn with my '40 Ford..."<br /> MRS. BARLOW: "Many times."<br /> MATT JOHNSON: "Took my pants off in front of your friends..."<br /> MRS. BARLOW: "Oh, yes."<br /> MATT JOHNSON: "And I even passed out in your closet, but I never... and I don't know who could have if I didn't... but I never, and I repeat never, ever pissed in your steam iron."<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29qO2SiYzDKxlhJToqxQwU8r95xqOZ8dFA9dmDPZNinPWvQJvvGIwP_OEdm-WiXnS0tnffo1cm4dbBOoVA_9JVAWJukCH9zwk3uOdThi9M2mpH2rQW78komSOw-WmkCpr9iRDLLuPvnH4/s1600/5335_1231458349010_1305660700_30723080_5377404_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29qO2SiYzDKxlhJToqxQwU8r95xqOZ8dFA9dmDPZNinPWvQJvvGIwP_OEdm-WiXnS0tnffo1cm4dbBOoVA_9JVAWJukCH9zwk3uOdThi9M2mpH2rQW78komSOw-WmkCpr9iRDLLuPvnH4/s200/5335_1231458349010_1305660700_30723080_5377404_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Wednesday</td></tr> </tbody></table> "BIG WEDNESDAY is a classic, now considered one of the great films of that incredibly innovative 1970s era of filmmaking. Many say it's the most authentic surfing movie ever made. I think it's been featured at more film festivals, benefits, and retrospectives than any of John's movies. I know I've made more personal appearances at various screenings as The Waxer than for any other role I've done." Darrell Fetty<br /> <br /> BIG WEDNESDAY RETROSPECTIVE BY JAMES M. TATE AND COMING SOON TO AN OCEAN NEAR YOU, THE ENFORCER HIMSELF, REB BROWN, SHARES ALL ABOUT THIS CLASSIC FILM AND ANOTHER JOHN MILIUS/A-TEAM PRODUCTION <i>UNCOMMON VALOR</i>...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95u5rCqnLLiYvGhObNWKxwNU0aJq3t0Rtxe99V3jXibhzv494DgJ9HkOMNnS9YTV15iTeazR6fUCSZpB3gBOU5TGtOHiUF3qByUmEemw_wyCKfWWJFgRgIT7Ec7TVjCzS76kR8EM0qHGi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+11.04.08+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95u5rCqnLLiYvGhObNWKxwNU0aJq3t0Rtxe99V3jXibhzv494DgJ9HkOMNnS9YTV15iTeazR6fUCSZpB3gBOU5TGtOHiUF3qByUmEemw_wyCKfWWJFgRgIT7Ec7TVjCzS76kR8EM0qHGi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-08+at+11.04.08+PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gary Busey and William Katt help Jan-Michael Vincent take the waves in BIG WEDNESDAY</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

darrell fetty, gary busey, jan-michael vincent, john milius, lee purcell, retrospective, seventies, william katt

THREE RADICAL INTERVIEW REFLECTIONS ON 'BIG WEDNESDAY'

Cult Film Freak Three-Tier BW Retrospective In the wake of DILLINGER and THE WIND AND THE LION, writer/director JOHN MILIUS set out on h...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT SEEKS 'DEMONSTONE' WITH R. LEE ERMEY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTEeW0oj1kxmpJWAhU4YJTj8O4Y7fk5uh3_Lf7fbiPY-iayFIcbz1ABfCO4VW9MXnsbd6kdhtOriO3pLcWCcNbuEobpajzNa0INzBRe7K4fWAihwhKfB_lrS3Mxln7NVgqdjjRF_trro/s1600/70087114-1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTEeW0oj1kxmpJWAhU4YJTj8O4Y7fk5uh3_Lf7fbiPY-iayFIcbz1ABfCO4VW9MXnsbd6kdhtOriO3pLcWCcNbuEobpajzNa0INzBRe7K4fWAihwhKfB_lrS3Mxln7NVgqdjjRF_trro/s400/70087114-1.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>title: Demonstone year: 1990</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Although it's one of those bargain bin movies that you might find on late night cable purgatory,  DEMONSTONE is really not that bad for a ninety-minute roller coaster borrowing bits and pieces of every genre under the “thriller” template including horror, action, and science fiction..</span><br /> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The main description is somewhat misleading: "A 400-year curse within a carved stone possesses a young woman to unleash supernatural powers." Well this actually happens but only sporadically...</span><br /> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Most of the time we have tough guys Jan-Michael Vincent and R. Lee Ermey teamed up in the Philippines to investigate a young American soldier accused of killing a room full of locals, Vincent’s hardedge Andy Buck, a world-weary former soldier, goes from one location to the next gathering clues in a seemingly endless maze of red herrings. After joining up with Ermy’s Colonel Haines, the two wind up in car chases and machine gun battles (or a combination of both)...</span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbCHEcN3w3ShMcuJ0v_g5dLPY4aUOgzE6cbgxXYItFA1DjEJV6tU4PBc2oZ0ua06m3focXqqskQnIoOH4Lr0yFKA4ryPSPYPcNDYz5J0BuHCvc9l4ytb_CQaU-csLxc6mg9iOzFc1cKM/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbCHEcN3w3ShMcuJ0v_g5dLPY4aUOgzE6cbgxXYItFA1DjEJV6tU4PBc2oZ0ua06m3focXqqskQnIoOH4Lr0yFKA4ryPSPYPcNDYz5J0BuHCvc9l4ytb_CQaU-csLxc6mg9iOzFc1cKM/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Video Box</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">On the peripheral, the falsely accused young soldier fights to stay alive as pretty journalist Sharon Gale (Nancy Everhard), having found the amulet in the film’s prologue, is possessed by an ancient monk seeking revenge against those who unearthed the stone: With fiery red eyes she kills random villains, but these corny horror segments (with lame special effects that are very... <i>special</i>) has little to do with what makes DEMONSTONE a surprisingly pleasurable viewing experience...</span><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01JDN0Qd12N9vJNImi6VWiaygdNQ0qURiVXnUPtJBuysua73Dm7Lka_MGmXNSTndO1laj9DDQ4xDMUOwDqTFtO3gm8JyQvMbZ8svKeBpyy9Ts8skQ-DxSRXEQEKi3hl_8uHu8fxVDLC2q/s1600/demonstone2.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01JDN0Qd12N9vJNImi6VWiaygdNQ0qURiVXnUPtJBuysua73Dm7Lka_MGmXNSTndO1laj9DDQ4xDMUOwDqTFtO3gm8JyQvMbZ8svKeBpyy9Ts8skQ-DxSRXEQEKi3hl_8uHu8fxVDLC2q/s200/demonstone2.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">DemonScore: ***</span></u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">It's great seeing Jan-Michael Vincent still in muscular, leading man form, right before his sad derelict decline, and Ermy playing a character that, instead of barking orders, takes an energetic part in the gun blazing bravado. And there’s also a side plot involving a Philippines mafia while one nicely choreographed scene has an entire town erupting in a violent protest. And through it all, our brawny heroes survive just about anything thrown at them – and then some. Until the end when it's apparent our boys have been babysitting that possessed lady all along, and she, or rather, he... isn't happy!</span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

action, jan-michael vincent, nineties, r lee ermey, thriller

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT SEEKS 'DEMONSTONE' WITH R. LEE ERMEY

title: Demonstone year: 1990 Although it's one of those bargain bin movies that you might find on late night cable purgatory,  DEMON...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IN BUSTER AND BILLIE

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtF0mNONE32_y7FsVa5RT-QGRCbwereDAcOYRCkN-aN8D8CsPrhjFMiY0irt03yTfeS3uLcHIodJ16h1K7xaEzxRtFkT2ciMym9y7JXMFxqoRnMTRgi72vEo6Pxqgy9QpGVU-zaG5joc4/s1600/MPW-25036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtF0mNONE32_y7FsVa5RT-QGRCbwereDAcOYRCkN-aN8D8CsPrhjFMiY0irt03yTfeS3uLcHIodJ16h1K7xaEzxRtFkT2ciMym9y7JXMFxqoRnMTRgi72vEo6Pxqgy9QpGVU-zaG5joc4/s320/MPW-25036.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1974 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> What begins as a somewhat standard “good times roll in the late 40’s small town” flick becomes a deeply heartfelt love story – although a touch of melancholy permeates the idyllic existence of Buster, played by Jan-Michael Vincent.<br /> <br /> A good looking high school kid, he’s open minded and friendly to people no one else likes – different than how popular guys are usually portrayed. He hangs around with town outcast Whitey (Robert Englund), dates the lovely yet uptight Margie (Pamela Sue Martin), and shoots pool at a scant LAST PICTURE SHOW style dive, hustling young locals more envious than loyal.<br /> <br /> When Buster meets a quiet backwoods girl named Billie, who’s been around the block with all of Buster’s friends, the shift changes into a melodic, strange love story. Their scenes together, spending time in the plush woodsy exterior, feel like two people with nothing left on earth but each other; while the romance, with few words spoken, is never corny or melodramatic: This is one of Jan-Michael Vincent’s best performances: he’s intense, caring and tough at the same time. But it’s Joan Goodfellow’s Billie that mesmerizes not only our smitten hero, but with her subtle beauty and sad eyes, provides a gentle substance – like she's caught in a daydream. All leading to an explosive doubled-edge climax both shocking and tragic, albeit you’ll<i> </i>see it coming for miles.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl8pJjf22Wvx5Zkp8cmyK3oXjbp1QI_g6ZKk_ScOKjeTSDs4NLS8gAyAoFaAgrqi-UBTw61ujLCjOLdt0B5CEw6Hk0wdO9kFSLGdBaGPU1pqM99QDFdzErYXprmPzgXSxpeRaTlg0-JE0/s1600/title00_001527289.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl8pJjf22Wvx5Zkp8cmyK3oXjbp1QI_g6ZKk_ScOKjeTSDs4NLS8gAyAoFaAgrqi-UBTw61ujLCjOLdt0B5CEw6Hk0wdO9kFSLGdBaGPU1pqM99QDFdzErYXprmPzgXSxpeRaTlg0-JE0/s640/title00_001527289.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jan-Michael Vincent as BUSTER in BUSTER AND BILLIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzawBDUO2l57HGIYeFi1OkE-eVy6Fvw1Ii3o79y61DZFlwVibJvq9w8O6CRdlNwKn_8yUNL12dbqcq2rR01Xukdb7z2m6Ac3LSuFbvi85-Tnf10Ce3NoHfAtWHyhjKDBIHb9bwEdj57Vu/s626/title00_00154142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzawBDUO2l57HGIYeFi1OkE-eVy6Fvw1Ii3o79y61DZFlwVibJvq9w8O6CRdlNwKn_8yUNL12dbqcq2rR01Xukdb7z2m6Ac3LSuFbvi85-Tnf10Ce3NoHfAtWHyhjKDBIHb9bwEdj57Vu/s640/title00_00154142.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joan Goodfellow as Billie in BUSTER AND BILLIE</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROsOAKRrckkblJBsnSX8P9bR1UCz-jehNjFo6cRvofL8j1Hcw9nNz0E8fIO3K7H8FDOfku-2-hTyJ2R5VslEFwTJbvuA86Jf6uLkPnVuWhBh-25BEx2mRub8ThTnnjjh6Ts8DMPx5cLK4/s1600/title00_001159269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROsOAKRrckkblJBsnSX8P9bR1UCz-jehNjFo6cRvofL8j1Hcw9nNz0E8fIO3K7H8FDOfku-2-hTyJ2R5VslEFwTJbvuA86Jf6uLkPnVuWhBh-25BEx2mRub8ThTnnjjh6Ts8DMPx5cLK4/s640/title00_001159269.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buster's got his mind on Billie</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrOTV0N0pujD1Q4Gr8Pl_9M4HLzBXH1F6Sc5ev1mOL7dssCSzDvYkTKW5kZaHUwZWndIbhXXlfzdMwbOtLwIYexIE6A4nepxoixcEazvLsTticZ8J1CNjbefPMNGRR-1ewG9t109zTWiu/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrOTV0N0pujD1Q4Gr8Pl_9M4HLzBXH1F6Sc5ev1mOL7dssCSzDvYkTKW5kZaHUwZWndIbhXXlfzdMwbOtLwIYexIE6A4nepxoixcEazvLsTticZ8J1CNjbefPMNGRR-1ewG9t109zTWiu/s640/photo-2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ioffer.com/i/buster-and-billie-%E2%80%93-dvd-%E2%80%93-jan-michael-vincent-204403888">Available at a low price at this IOFFER store</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

drama, exploitation, jan-michael vincent, joan goodfellow, pamela sue martin, robert englund, romance, seventies, teen

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IN BUSTER AND BILLIE

year: 1974 rating: ***1/2 What begins as a somewhat standard “good times roll in the late 40’s small town” flick becomes a deeply hear...

MITCHUM & VINCENT IN GOING HOME

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd4ogwqW8PtRRI5CQEY4FR9Ng31fLKPJCBPW7_akMpSevpap9Q4K45MsO3DyzMsC7giBWgiOAeq6oUFueROUd8ntAkKhHxp5azLa6C7-fFA-PQal8JTjsnOLcS3mG64a96x6ZwCYA7kkF/s1600/232578.1020.A.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618339378154024738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd4ogwqW8PtRRI5CQEY4FR9Ng31fLKPJCBPW7_akMpSevpap9Q4K45MsO3DyzMsC7giBWgiOAeq6oUFueROUd8ntAkKhHxp5azLa6C7-fFA-PQal8JTjsnOLcS3mG64a96x6ZwCYA7kkF/s200/232578.1020.A.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 250px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 140px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> GOING HOME<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 1971<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Kirkland<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***<br /> <br /> This obscure drama, centering on a war hero, Robert Mitchum, who violently murders his wife (Sally Kirkland) witnessed by his four-year-old son, now grown-up in the form of brooding rebel Jan-Michael Vincent, is passably entertaining fare. Mitchum lives with young trailer-trash girlfriend Brenda Vaccaro, while Jan-Michael, having just returned home, seems either bent on revenge or forgiveness for his aged, yet still tough as nails, pop as they hang out bowling and drinking: making up for lost time. The best moments involve jarring situations that seem vividly real but aren't really happening (seen in Vincent's mind)... one has Mitchum destroying a pick-up-truck with a tire iron... or flashbacks viewed in present-time locations ala IN COLD BLOOD. It's a breezy character-study but without much character-development, neither Mitchum or Vincent becoming fully realized, nor their past fitfully resolved, but it's nice seeing the two steely mavericks together either way.

drama, jan-michael vincent, robert mitchum, sally kirkland, seventies

MITCHUM & VINCENT IN GOING HOME

title: GOING HOME year: 1971 cast: Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Kirkland rating: *** This obscure drama, centering on ...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IN HARD COUNTRY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoSrVdJ6z83yyfcLpXvQhm85eh5BNWLGkLaMqOml1eU5mFjHbsfp8UdDEhzAsN7O9mgYWJ0IfVxQofUMr48vLYp8snuPippQ4vAFDxRU_c8tdHfhTc_ovDYAP-LWknyqyBDjvw7XU_Gc/s1600/hard%25252Bcountry.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617931020621216818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoSrVdJ6z83yyfcLpXvQhm85eh5BNWLGkLaMqOml1eU5mFjHbsfp8UdDEhzAsN7O9mgYWJ0IfVxQofUMr48vLYp8snuPippQ4vAFDxRU_c8tdHfhTc_ovDYAP-LWknyqyBDjvw7XU_Gc/s200/hard%25252Bcountry.jpg" style="float: right; height: 187px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>1981<b> rating: </b>***</td></tr> </tbody></table> One of those blue collar beer guzzlin' factory worker films where if you're not one of the endearingly-flawed good guys, you're a shady, sinister rich jerk... with no in-betweens.<br /> <br /> Plot centers on a disgruntled factory worker, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, who loves drinkin' and lovin' his girlfriend – in that order – and his better half, a young Kim Basinger, who wants to move to California for a better life: one that doesn't include drunken cowboys and bar fights.<br /> <br /> This movie can't get any more predictable but the two leads carry things decently enough till the end, which you'll see coming for miles. Michael Parks is Vincent's real estate mogul brother who, once he spouts a racial epitaph out loud, you know he'll eventually fall by the wayside. Tanya Tucker is Kim Basinger's famous country singin' older sis who plants the seed that Texas is a place to get out of while the gettin' out is good. Daryl Hannah is Kim's younger sister who digs Texas fine enough – just as long as there's another car to fix. And character-actor Gailard Sartain, usually cast as an uptight stuffed-shirt, plays Vincent's fat slob party animal buddy i.e. the comic relief.<br /> <br /> Jan-Michael provides his usual slow-burn cool, and, donning a Bronson-tough mustache, is as great to watch as ever – as long as you don't mind simplistic, predictable fare.

bar fight, drama, eighties, jan-michael vincent, kim basinger

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT IN HARD COUNTRY

year: 1981 rating: *** One of those blue collar beer guzzlin' factory worker films where if you're not one of the endearingly-f...

DAMNATION ALLEY

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MDUSezEwYi2kJRJ7Q61RhI7xxMy5mUL8qE5bbYMh_A8Lct7OD6do8L2XFYRJ1ZB3NlnLHxWXN1Fb53P4fJrCSmdm9nA-HkYgS6xLsSUe0jhPEOx-JJVRho_aYjUfRTFojV5KiTUxZrg/s1600/damnationalley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MDUSezEwYi2kJRJ7Q61RhI7xxMy5mUL8qE5bbYMh_A8Lct7OD6do8L2XFYRJ1ZB3NlnLHxWXN1Fb53P4fJrCSmdm9nA-HkYgS6xLsSUe0jhPEOx-JJVRho_aYjUfRTFojV5KiTUxZrg/s1600/damnationalley.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>1977 <b>cast:</b> Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Jackie Earle Haley<b> rating: </b>****</td></tr> </tbody></table> DAMNATION ALLEY has regarded by some critics as a horrible science-fiction post-nuclear film... it isn't: An adventurous and creative plot centers on a group of military survivors in and outside of a large all-terrain desert vehicle called "The Landmaster" battling killer cockroaches, giant crabs, and mutated hillbillies: a terrific ride that keeps you interested in the fate of the military men played by Jan-Michael Vincent (the dirt bike riding rogue), George Peppard (the leader), Paul Winfield (the artist), and the civilians they pick up on the way: Dominique Sanda (the babe) and Jackie Earle Haley (a rock throwing kid).<br /> <br /> Scenes involving the shark-shaped vehicle plundering across the barren desert avoiding lighting storms, tornadoes and floods are riveting and intense, as are the frequent stops at seemingly deserted gas stations and towns where various antagonists, man and beast alike, try killing them.<br /> <br /> It's a post-nuke RAT PATROL that kicks ass from beginning to end. But on the other side of the coin, and why the film’s quality is often maligned, are the dated special effects: but that's okay. It's a character-driven piece so the visual flaws don't matter.

action, dominique sanda, george peppard, jackie earle haley, jan-michael vincent, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, seventies

DAMNATION ALLEY

year: 1977 cast: Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Jackie Earle Haley rating: **** DAMNATION ALLEY has regarded by some critics as ...