LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

<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/AVvXsEipGiYCQfl5g-_AoEQ_Z_SksNItElfanALiYJFj9O5YhVF7E3JA7rBvmQcxSh92MZwVp9MfZYIWwBTXv0tsM3D8e_HNV7IdMtEtgZImvxqjhc1lxu7woT1-haf46Ib32yMbQDs05NuqTR_WW051Jog9TNlzL-RAmgRVjGxILZ7Ugbq0jikyhyphenhyphenTAelZCSXCx/s929/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-04%20at%208.10.47%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="929" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGiYCQfl5g-_AoEQ_Z_SksNItElfanALiYJFj9O5YhVF7E3JA7rBvmQcxSh92MZwVp9MfZYIWwBTXv0tsM3D8e_HNV7IdMtEtgZImvxqjhc1lxu7woT1-haf46Ib32yMbQDs05NuqTR_WW051Jog9TNlzL-RAmgRVjGxILZ7Ugbq0jikyhyphenhyphenTAelZCSXCx/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-11-04%20at%208.10.47%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking they're taking part in just another paid gig that turns out to be incredibly real and dangerous... in a way began with Nick Castle's THE LAST STARFIGHTER where Lance Guest plays the oldest son of a trailer park landlady... in the kind of lonely Middle American town that Steven Spielberg practically created for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (and a bit like the "there's something better somewhere else" planet of Tattooine in STAR WARS)...</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>Castle includes other Speilbergian touches, like a highway speed-limit-sign rattling from the power of a spaceship.... here belonging to scene-stealer Robert Preston, who, with his signature speaking voice that practically sings every line, is beyond perfect as the pre BACK TO THE FUTURE DeLoreon-driving alien-in-human-form recruiter for an actual "star war" that Guest's Alex Rogen is hired to fight in...</p><span></span>

action, catherine mary stewart, cult, dan o'herlihy, fantasy, lance guest, nick castle, robert preston, rural, science-fiction, war

LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking ...

JOHN MILIUS DIRECTS 'RED DAWN' STARRING PATRICK SWAYZE

<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/AVvXsEhiOEEf9-VoH8pGxBqdBaSTog_W0gLDEJd-RPKhwqRhOnq3fmIcLpjobTn1W56UZMu0QR3Y2SYFqB_d4NTVBlG5jYFMeWjLKV8e3RRWW0mTP7fRteyMeMsCxjjx5aPdyoxhZFIOhSl9dH0CmkC7kipwJzJzuX5w0MWUQUcNrNLnX5iHOJEWwDETS2WIZjxG/s2506/366355594_1784408195321682_5276256121142775162_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="2506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOEEf9-VoH8pGxBqdBaSTog_W0gLDEJd-RPKhwqRhOnq3fmIcLpjobTn1W56UZMu0QR3Y2SYFqB_d4NTVBlG5jYFMeWjLKV8e3RRWW0mTP7fRteyMeMsCxjjx5aPdyoxhZFIOhSl9dH0CmkC7kipwJzJzuX5w0MWUQUcNrNLnX5iHOJEWwDETS2WIZjxG/s16000/366355594_1784408195321682_5276256121142775162_n.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: RED DAWN Year: 1984 Director: John Milius Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By the time Powers Booth's Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Tanner is found near his crashed jet fighter plane, and then begins helping a band of young rebels fighting against an insanely unanticipated World War III, it seems like John Milius is finally directing the film he wanted to make all along... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which is basically an old-fashion war picture, in this case beginning with a high school's perspective of being attacking by commandos, destroying and ultimately taking over the connected rural small town...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, body count, charlie sheen, frank mcrea, harry dean stanton, jennifer grey, johh milius, lea thompson, powers booth, war, william smith

JOHN MILIUS DIRECTS 'RED DAWN' STARRING PATRICK SWAYZE

Title: RED DAWN Year: 1984 Director: John Milius Rating: ***1/2 By the time Powers Booth's Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Tanner is found near ...

MEMORIAL FOR 'APOCALYPSE NOW' LEGEND FREDERIC FORREST

<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/AVvXsEhw3UeBvtDfWDNUtL7i0YWsYVPe5l17pz2A-Xa2o7CO0mr249sUIzb1ZXau6CDydm8HUC-KmEnyjeGimJnNEBMLOtfmGQpWqNQBC9q9-A9s3xoKwbGHE7hoOsGlwRFZLsrOx4esoMB_-sPiEpk_0S7To5YTp7JJWLp02CZEfrK5uoo209dH9M3qc_SPxyOf/s2380/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-24%20at%202.47.36%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="2380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3UeBvtDfWDNUtL7i0YWsYVPe5l17pz2A-Xa2o7CO0mr249sUIzb1ZXau6CDydm8HUC-KmEnyjeGimJnNEBMLOtfmGQpWqNQBC9q9-A9s3xoKwbGHE7hoOsGlwRFZLsrOx4esoMB_-sPiEpk_0S7To5YTp7JJWLp02CZEfrK5uoo209dH9M3qc_SPxyOf/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-24%20at%202.47.36%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Memorial for Frederic Forrest as Chef in Apocalypse Now</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam epic APOCALYPSE NOW, by the time Martin Sheen's Captain Willard reveals to one of two surviving PBR-boat crewman about his secret mission to kill Marlon Brando's rogue American Colonel Kurtz, Coppola's THE CONVERSATION actor Frederic Forrest loudly rails against the insane irony of risking <i>and losing</i> lives to "kill one of our own guys"...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And yet this imperative dialogue is heard either off-screen or in a peripheral wide-shot as, from beginning to end, Forrest's Jay "Chef" Hicks provides a foreboding backbone to each intense scene like, earlier on, when he and Sheen are chased by a jungle tiger, leading to Chef's explosive breakdown that soon fades out with the scene...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

2023, dennis hopper, francis ford coppola, frederic forrest, martin sheen, memorial, sam bottoms, seventies, vietnam, war

MEMORIAL FOR 'APOCALYPSE NOW' LEGEND FREDERIC FORREST

Memorial for Frederic Forrest as Chef in Apocalypse Now In Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam epic APOCALYPSE NOW, by the time Martin S...

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

<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/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s1946/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A3mAlkqkzEWXXuE7iD67pT2OI90JhKxiFPx_lKve_b-yiye7g-VQxzZ0RnjcpIPZllqFN6piNJxUjA5YpFqWclE3J951hevwjrPpoM2uaAqIUn7G2o67Anh9P73Xgereg3N4fzDempdGd83nl7jkM5RCvo5TD-u2tDPsfM3B_PqjKVxc_U2pIy4dJQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-29%20at%205.48.43%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common yet are completely different as World War II adventure films... the first has a group of POW's escaping from the Germans while the second involves American convicts training to <i>enter</i> Germany, as both somewhat awkwardly balance comedy with drama, and, while entertaining popcorn time-fillers, they're predictably and painfully mainstream...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>While ESCAPE centered on many men hoping to tunnel out, only a handful are centered on, which happens with DOZEN: but THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN lacks the catchy alliteration... </p><p><span></span></p>

charles bronson, clint walker, donald sutherland, jim brown, john cassavetes, lee marvin, mission, ralph meeker, robert aldrich, telly savalas, war, world war II

ROBERT ALDRICH'S WAR MISSION ENSEMBLE OF 'THE DIRTY DOZEN'

Charles Bronson and Jim Brown in THE DIRTY DOZEN Year: 1967 Rating: ***1/2 Both THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN have a lot in common ye...

JACK NICHOLSON IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'BACK DOOR TO HELL'

<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/AVvXsEjBlH7RmSOZr52Dm9Ic84RkaIIZsij--Z--VIPogh_XuWkzEiGH0lkCJFBxTwb2btpkxU_PX0hq3im7MzyLKqTEakGQAcM9Ur-_2ydGyWAeGV0UiONrR9oGp0xCagNbllxeoUxKY_HSddnmG3OaKyNw59puXtvHS978omZdHJEU_EUXSWLAlefBBS1FLQ/s1836/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1836" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlH7RmSOZr52Dm9Ic84RkaIIZsij--Z--VIPogh_XuWkzEiGH0lkCJFBxTwb2btpkxU_PX0hq3im7MzyLKqTEakGQAcM9Ur-_2ydGyWAeGV0UiONrR9oGp0xCagNbllxeoUxKY_HSddnmG3OaKyNw59puXtvHS978omZdHJEU_EUXSWLAlefBBS1FLQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BACK DOOR TO HELL Director: Monte Hellman Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Following existential Westerns THE SHOOTING and RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND, Monte Hellman had initially directed Jack Nicholson in BACK DOOR TO HELL, a low-budget war programmer, actually starring real life crooner Jimmie Rodgers as one of three soldiers, including Nicholson's radio operator Burnett...<br><br>Who, during one conversation with the square-jawed, old school militaristic type, Jersey, played by co-writer John Hackett (he'd sporadically work with Nicholson until 1996), they discusses Rodger's character, Lt. Craig... </p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, conrad maga, indie, jack nicholson, jimmie rodgers, john hackett, monte hellman, sixties, war

JACK NICHOLSON IN MONTE HELLMAN'S 'BACK DOOR TO HELL'

Title: BACK DOOR TO HELL Director: Monte Hellman Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 Following existential Westerns THE SHOOTING and RIDE IN THE WHIRL...

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS' WITH DENNIS MORGAN

<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/AVvXsEj12dTqYmLWlzNBb6EOGJKerGXFnvrK7uO5CBURVx1beh2EN4QFtalJc7_mfARJWd7F6EXpVWfq6cJazLN7jQSt2q7WS2_KZJL6lC4gK9dXze4s_sIZYg6UsJiGBZroC4HWGtkPOgp_BpWn0igf8I7tcLSfPBxT97HoAVTa4pELOcr61lliYNRswNXj-w/s1287/s-l1600%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12dTqYmLWlzNBb6EOGJKerGXFnvrK7uO5CBURVx1beh2EN4QFtalJc7_mfARJWd7F6EXpVWfq6cJazLN7jQSt2q7WS2_KZJL6lC4gK9dXze4s_sIZYg6UsJiGBZroC4HWGtkPOgp_BpWn0igf8I7tcLSfPBxT97HoAVTa4pELOcr61lliYNRswNXj-w/s16000/s-l1600%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Cagney, Brenda Marshall, Dennis Morgan in Captains of the Clouds Year: 1942 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>James Cagney’s stalwart expression on the poster, and a glorious title like CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS involving Canadian Bush Pilots training to fight in World War II, could be misleading for anyone loving the tough, snarky, womanizing Cagney: the persona that built his reputation before venturing into more serious matters – especially after the Second World War broke out...<br> <br> But most of this film has the pint-sized icon of the previous decade, naturally playing a daredevil pilot stealing jobs from his fellow airmen (also including affable Cagney cinema regulars George Tobias and Alan Hale Sr.), using every trick in the book and being shrewder than ever...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

action, adventure, airplane, alan hale sr, brenda marshall, buddy, dennis morgan, forties, george tobias, james cagney, michael curtiz, reginald gardiner, romance, war, world war II

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS' WITH DENNIS MORGAN

James Cagney, Brenda Marshall, Dennis Morgan in Captains of the Clouds Year: 1942 Rates: ***1/2 James Cagney’s stalwart expression on the p...

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY DEFECT IN 'THE IRON CURTAIN'

<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/AVvXsEjk65DbgXiL0JZ4LNSKfYajJoR6Jd0el67AC8NAp7cR1bCBbVMfejU8JEApwTPux6sT6VbRT7OX1NtvvdBbmS7S2zOhoCLqP55LoioLmrixPmW7muqxOQ4pMaSQPZdxe2VhziP_pgLvur7yGWH5j-TxezBfWhdxE2apT8HuQK_s7m4ST_wkui7i_GiRdUJR/s1687/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-13%20at%203.42.36%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1687" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk65DbgXiL0JZ4LNSKfYajJoR6Jd0el67AC8NAp7cR1bCBbVMfejU8JEApwTPux6sT6VbRT7OX1NtvvdBbmS7S2zOhoCLqP55LoioLmrixPmW7muqxOQ4pMaSQPZdxe2VhziP_pgLvur7yGWH5j-TxezBfWhdxE2apT8HuQK_s7m4ST_wkui7i_GiRdUJR/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-13%20at%203.42.36%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana Andrews in THE IRON CURTAIN Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Between the famous Otto Preminger Film Noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/Loir.html">LAURA</a> and <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/WTSends.html">WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS</a> and almost a decade past TOBACCO ROAD is the sublime pair-up of Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney under the direction of William A. Wellman in a Cold War Thriller at the rudimentary stages of that very thing... </p><p></p><p>Taking place during and right after The Second World War, and was released only three years after the war ended, based on the "true story of Soviet cypher-clerk Igor Gouzenko, posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, 1943... to reveal the extent of Soviet espionage activities directed against Canada," where Dana Andrews takes a reverse risk since nothing's worse than an American actor badly attempting a foreign accent, especially one as thick as Russian...  </p><p><span></span></p>

berry kroeger, biopic, cold war, dana andrews, espionage, film noir or melodrama, gene tierney, june havoc, peter whitney, thriller, war

DANA ANDREWS & GENE TIERNEY DEFECT IN 'THE IRON CURTAIN'

Dana Andrews in THE IRON CURTAIN Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2 Between the famous Otto Preminger Film Noir LAURA and WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS  ...

STEVE COCHRAN & LIZABETH SCOTT IN VAL GUEST'S 'THE WEAPON'

<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/AVvXsEgRhiCQR7fEp9LGnsbO2JDTe7HktpbZYJyX93yowJZWfphUV-H_aQR-aOv1epz3S622pKqcd1uKr2ggjyOKE0oE07xOcp7U2s9NarGE3gVqNLu2VFIvD3U1gCu7QZ_i3Uy5j6KHBew6XqNzfm7RecrqbERfCIAHkHVc6_oGXIcyjdgFPqy2gD0NBsyDqvY8/s931/81Ba0hrocML._AC_SL1500_.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="931" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhiCQR7fEp9LGnsbO2JDTe7HktpbZYJyX93yowJZWfphUV-H_aQR-aOv1epz3S622pKqcd1uKr2ggjyOKE0oE07xOcp7U2s9NarGE3gVqNLu2VFIvD3U1gCu7QZ_i3Uy5j6KHBew6XqNzfm7RecrqbERfCIAHkHVc6_oGXIcyjdgFPqy2gD0NBsyDqvY8/s16000/81Ba0hrocML._AC_SL1500_.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE WEAPON Pictured: Steve Cochran and George Cole Year: 1957 Rating: **** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Post War British a decade past, hence the genuine bombed-out ruins where a pistol (THE WEAPON) is buried from an unsolved wartime murder, and local little boy Jon Whiteley finds it, accidentally shoots a bully, and runs like hell... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Morphing <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/val%20guest">Val Guest's</a> thriller from war to noir as Whiteley's Erik hits the dark shadowy streets while worried American widow/mom Lizabeth Scott, in her penultimate still-young big screen role, hitting the right emotional marks, is charmed by shady Brit George Cole while putting up with ultra-serious military investigator Steve Cochran... </p><p><span></span></p>

british film noir, drama, fifties, george cole, herbert marshall, jon whiteley, lizabeth scott, mystery, nicole maurey, sally anne field, steve cochran, thriller, val guest, war

STEVE COCHRAN & LIZABETH SCOTT IN VAL GUEST'S 'THE WEAPON'

Title: THE WEAPON Pictured: Steve Cochran and George Cole Year: 1957 Rating: **** Post War British a decade past, hence the genuine bombed-o...

DANA ANDREWS IN THE WAR NOIR THRILLER OF 'SEALED CARGO'

<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/AVvXsEh1W1rjv86R3ZArQCkZ_JJZFK6rz1YCVD-nFXL2okN6T8ZCXnGWzTYrxB2qH8rIeuVFHRAFc7TX6LohycJbmdWdNTX-I7wB2EUCFatmqUURfZyNIhqzMRT7GjRbcOP-M7SmGlxeakB4OmZQThMGPH2U_2hWpUmnBTkD5mmPb03bd-6UdGQRfndRmNZY_w/s1268/Screen+Shot+2020-06-24+at+7.42.25+PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1W1rjv86R3ZArQCkZ_JJZFK6rz1YCVD-nFXL2okN6T8ZCXnGWzTYrxB2qH8rIeuVFHRAFc7TX6LohycJbmdWdNTX-I7wB2EUCFatmqUURfZyNIhqzMRT7GjRbcOP-M7SmGlxeakB4OmZQThMGPH2U_2hWpUmnBTkD5mmPb03bd-6UdGQRfndRmNZY_w/s16000/Screen+Shot+2020-06-24+at+7.42.25+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SEALED CARGO Stars: Dana Andrews, Claude Rains Year: 1951 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Alfred Werker's darkly atmospheric potboiler SEALED CARGO initially plays like a Ghost Ship mystery/thriller as fisherman Dana Andrews (sustaining the harsh determination from WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS) climbs aboard what seems an abandoned larger vessel... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Claude Rains, as an enigmatic sea captain, is met with the kind of cautionary distrust that owns this wartime espionage, ultimately shaping into a heist/caper: but instead of stealing money it's about blowing up the titular contraband... or else...</p><span></span>

alfred werker, carla balenda, claude rains, dana andrews, fifties, ghost ship, mystery, onslow stevens, philip dorn, race against time, skip homeier, skip homeler, steve forrest, thriller, war, world war II

DANA ANDREWS IN THE WAR NOIR THRILLER OF 'SEALED CARGO'

Title: SEALED CARGO Stars: Dana Andrews, Claude Rains Year: 1951 Rating: **** Director Alfred Werker's darkly atmospheric potboiler SEA...

GLENN FORD IN 'THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE'

<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><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/AVvXsEj2WpAcgQ1EW290ypOs8CJiUws2wLFVw9E3WwkeTilOufLg3Ekuotism34PWOIsdF-ETK8NPuxRhSY9T6PsWG-vybGcX3xTJrmN9vX4FPy_fdYqWZn21JgBYvEPPvlT5_96X_A5U9-YCKrVgjbxHsb0KFTCF12ki4mglORwmhMr3dlHne9a4WSmrfJIsQ/s1170/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-27%20at%204.49.20%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WpAcgQ1EW290ypOs8CJiUws2wLFVw9E3WwkeTilOufLg3Ekuotism34PWOIsdF-ETK8NPuxRhSY9T6PsWG-vybGcX3xTJrmN9vX4FPy_fdYqWZn21JgBYvEPPvlT5_96X_A5U9-YCKrVgjbxHsb0KFTCF12ki4mglORwmhMr3dlHne9a4WSmrfJIsQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-27%20at%204.49.20%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>YEAR: 1962</u></td></tr></tbody></table>In GET SHORTY, John Travolta's movie fanatic gangster brags about going to see "Charlton Heston playing a Mexican" on the big screen, a pop culture punchline for the classic border killing Film Noir TOUCH OF EVIL, probably since there wasn't anywhere to go from that point... I</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">n actuality, Heston, known for chewing up intentionally overboard roles (many based on Biblical stories) is at his most subtle and genuine, turning in a surprisingly realistic and earthy performance while the likes of, "You damn dirty gringo!" is nowhere to be heard... </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/AVvXsEg67bdGiuiIoBoJWxt9tV1LvHQghEOA9Hw0rcgxWX66eL3zK15ND8_wI19WgVU1WywqTh3WHIY9P1LgHQz61pwygoI9ba6P_MjFcn5yjopmg27srYGFq2P3kmWohbqz0YEQgzLiE4DGdmlX/s1600/%2524%2528KGrHqV%252C%2521nsFJv%2529qWSH4BSeCeuekbg--60_1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67bdGiuiIoBoJWxt9tV1LvHQghEOA9Hw0rcgxWX66eL3zK15ND8_wI19WgVU1WywqTh3WHIY9P1LgHQz61pwygoI9ba6P_MjFcn5yjopmg27srYGFq2P3kmWohbqz0YEQgzLiE4DGdmlX/s400/%2524%2528KGrHqV%252C%2521nsFJv%2529qWSH4BSeCeuekbg--60_1.jpg" width="277"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Warner Archive Original Blue Cover</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The same goes for Glenn Ford, a much more subtle and overall dependable actor to begin with, as the rich grandson of boisterous old-timer Lee J. Cobb; both are from Argentina; Ford a flaky, would-be painter hanging around Paris during the late 1930's without a care in the world — other than seducing a classy married French society dame played to perfection by Ingrid Thulin, whose husband is sent overseas to fight the Nazis: Those infamous devils being all too human here, including Ford's own cousin who was a med student in Germany before joining the Third Reich. This soft-spoken yet proud and intense young man is also the grandson of the family patriarch, Lee J. Cobb, who stretches a small amount of time onscreen to the hilt, and beyond...<br> <br> Leading to the most intense, memorable and important scene, and (arguably) the campiest. Cobb, who, along with grandson Ford, both bear the name of Julio (while looking entirely Caucasian), loses his mind after finding out, at a dinner party reunion, that one-third of his clan serve proudly under Adolf Hitler, making Cobb's Julio Sr. suffer a panic attack followed by a heart attack. Before which, he hallucinates the four title horsemen from the Bible's book of Revelations: a creepy and sinister vision riding the darkened clouds. This catapults a two-hour-plus soap operatic melodrama separating those against the Nazi takeover of France, like Julio's sister, a young idealistic college beauty, Yvette Mimieux, who tries to get her brother to stop having so much fun and to join the cause.<br>

charles boyer, epic, glenn ford, karlheinz böhm, lee j. cobb, melodrama, nazi, romance, sixties, war, warner archives, yvette mimieux

GLENN FORD IN 'THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE'

YEAR: 1962 In GET SHORTY, John Travolta's movie fanatic gangster brags about going to see "Charlton Heston playing a Mexican" ...

JOHN AGAR AND FRANK LOVEJOY FIGHT IN 'BREAKTHROUGH'

<p> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span></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/a/AVvXsEia8PSwqVIPsmtFDktHuZRNG-iR4DhgrDn_5xMB04bcBcITd8-vSexWR-JZOpaLxrOEzDIDkUhkYvFYLc4VMLfWZMQ-Ctct39vvbk5an-94H1_hZKRgS06xKBZ1Cxka_1A3F5bGsyCn6G7GPUDSd68WhfkoNajyQg4-kePTLhntXPiI9MT0ywcei0IyOA=s1168" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia8PSwqVIPsmtFDktHuZRNG-iR4DhgrDn_5xMB04bcBcITd8-vSexWR-JZOpaLxrOEzDIDkUhkYvFYLc4VMLfWZMQ-Ctct39vvbk5an-94H1_hZKRgS06xKBZ1Cxka_1A3F5bGsyCn6G7GPUDSd68WhfkoNajyQg4-kePTLhntXPiI9MT0ywcei0IyOA=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1950 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">It's refreshing to find an old B&W World War II flick that's more adventure than melodrama, despite the corny trope of the nicest guy on board showing-off a picture of his wife and kids, and winding up predictably dead...</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">There's also the comic relief; a kindhearted simpleton; a muscle-bound dolt; a nervous, really young small town kid; a wise, head-strong Sergeant; an educated Lieutenant who lacks actual fighting experience; and his jaded, too-experienced Captain, trying to get him ready to, in this particular story, lead men onto the beaches of Normandy...</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> </span></p><p></p><p><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span></span></span></p>

action, david brian, dick wesson, fifties, frank lovejoy, john agar, war, warner archives

JOHN AGAR AND FRANK LOVEJOY FIGHT IN 'BREAKTHROUGH'

Year: 1950 Rating: **** It's refreshing to find an old B&W World War II flick that's more adventure than melodrama, despite the...

MALCOLM MCDOWELL IN 'ACES HIGH' WITH CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER

<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/a/AVvXsEjycKw1Nh4QIUj66JIvuHVH6WnzvhUxamj8a22epBpJLMDnxUtaCez2Rivms_4gOJTeod81grxYR-op97UDD111E9bdHtMoo-pDRZXpDRMm8nEDHOj3UnTK9TmtOLaAK59qZqjO3P3XdbHIDqvXc-s_S5OP0vJwnylgIiEkdbiLFjnZnRFv6M51gkJxDw=s1525" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjycKw1Nh4QIUj66JIvuHVH6WnzvhUxamj8a22epBpJLMDnxUtaCez2Rivms_4gOJTeod81grxYR-op97UDD111E9bdHtMoo-pDRZXpDRMm8nEDHOj3UnTK9TmtOLaAK59qZqjO3P3XdbHIDqvXc-s_S5OP0vJwnylgIiEkdbiLFjnZnRFv6M51gkJxDw=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: ACES HIGH Year: 1976 Rating: **</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Following the Victorian-era <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/12/royalflash.html">ROYAL FLASH</a>, this is the second consecutive movie that begins with <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/malcolm%20mcdowell">Malcolm McDowell</a> addressing a cathedral of students, only in ACES HIGH it's World War I and his character, hot-shot flier Major Gresham, is dead serious and genuinely intrepid in battle...</p><p></p><p>Part of the Flying Corps stationed in a grassy field with makeshift barracks in France, Gresham's troop of young men sporadically take to the sky in buzzing biplanes but without any actual layout or perspective on what's to be accomplished or protected... More like practice runs, they come and go in five minutes with nothing gained or lost...<br></p><span></span>

adaptaiton, british, christopher plummer, drama, ensemble, malcolm mcdowell, peter firth, seventies, simon ward, war, world war I

MALCOLM MCDOWELL IN 'ACES HIGH' WITH CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER

Title: ACES HIGH Year: 1976 Rating: ** Following the Victorian-era ROYAL FLASH , this is the second consecutive movie that begins with Malco...

MALCOLM MCDOWELL IN 'THE PASSAGE' STARRING ANTHONY QUINN

<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/AVvXsEgn_K8YZfsyNL7aGtnUocEBarfLFx1XOO-GjS-8ZPWx5U7yERpNgMuK8AuU-D3ayYhtgrfJ4oKpZKf8KnnHEvtas0rYyZjCHju0DI4fbTAV17lD_x_c2i8-M_9SzFuVctkMyWHLxpdjgS2T/s789/123.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="789" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_K8YZfsyNL7aGtnUocEBarfLFx1XOO-GjS-8ZPWx5U7yERpNgMuK8AuU-D3ayYhtgrfJ4oKpZKf8KnnHEvtas0rYyZjCHju0DI4fbTAV17lD_x_c2i8-M_9SzFuVctkMyWHLxpdjgS2T/w400-h360/123.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster art for THE PASSAGE Year: 1979 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's already been written and spoken about that the infamous World War II flick THE PASSAGE is two movies in one; and in the critic's collective opinion, neither are very good: The first being the usual traipsing behind enemy lines action/adventure: In this case the snowy mountainous region of Pyrénées France with headliner Anthony Quinn... </p><p>Returned with GUNS OF NAVARONE director J. Lee Thompson, this particular tough character's paid to move a family... led by patriarchal scientist James Mason (with the brains to do a lot of damage if he winds up in Germany's hands)... into neighboring Spain, and the trek's a much anticipated, possibly lethal chore, predicted by Quinn's gruff Basque Shepard that Mason's crippled wife (Patricia Neal) doesn't have a prayer...</p><p></p><p>And there are two kids, supposedly teenagers.. The first is the youngest in ultimately intrepid but initially reluctant, mistrusting and whiny son Paul Clemens (sounding as if dubbed at times); and then this film's exploitation-starlet Kay Lenz, who seems cast just to be nakedly manhandled and raped by Nazi villain's villain<i> </i>Malcolm McDowell, psychopathic scoundrel and star of that <i>second movie</i>, channeling his bratty and demented A CLOCKWORK ORANGE character so heavily he could call the French Resistance member Michael Lonsdale his "Droogie" which, in the Stanley Kubrick classic, means friend, compatriot...<br></p><p></p><p></p><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/AVvXsEi0yw0BkjvPf3lA9jgLWS_kdRCZuJQcK3Flmqp_BhXp7esy-nm9xl_QGy9ugIKhqlovp6hH_lXwgN5NE-NTmv3CrTZg-a5w45dWoHnLDJeOPJ3dVlkXRlLUb02krlvW5ohpV2iV8QLNB0Gk/s933/Screen+Shot+2021-06-30+at+5.00.16+AM+4.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="933" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yw0BkjvPf3lA9jgLWS_kdRCZuJQcK3Flmqp_BhXp7esy-nm9xl_QGy9ugIKhqlovp6hH_lXwgN5NE-NTmv3CrTZg-a5w45dWoHnLDJeOPJ3dVlkXRlLUb02krlvW5ohpV2iV8QLNB0Gk/w400-h283/Screen+Shot+2021-06-30+at+5.00.16+AM+4.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster Art for THE PASSAGE</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Which is how McDowell's quirky killer Capt. Von Berkow enters into the interrogation... a charming/appreciative <i>Columbo</i> tactic making the captured character AND audience think everything may possibly turn out fine... </p><p></p><p>For which auteur and actor work nicely together and, like Quentin Tarantino's obviously-inspired INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Nazi-villain Hans Landa's Oscar-winning prelude-monologue, the suspense leading up to each interrogated victim's fate is what really matters... </p><p></p><p>But it's not only McDowell providing the ultra-violence as some of the deadliest moments are given to tough/experienced old Quinn... leading the family from shadow-filled alleyways to a Hitchockesque train-ride to the titular mountain journey... he kills any questioning German, and is quite good here, not just going through the motions. Meanwhile, real life war hero Christopher Lee's given a quick yet important Gypsy King cameo along with FRENCH CONNECTION assassin Marcel Bozzuffi, playing nice this time... Then again, compared to crazy Malcolm, they're all pretty affable. But at the same time both sides mean business. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, anthony quinn, christopher lee, exploitation, j. lee thompson, james mason, kay lenz, malcolm mcdowell, michael lonsdale, patricia neal, paul clemens, seventies, war

MALCOLM MCDOWELL IN 'THE PASSAGE' STARRING ANTHONY QUINN

Poster art for THE PASSAGE Year: 1979 Rates: **** It's already been written and spoken about that the infamous World War II flick THE PA...

WILLIAM KATT, WAYNE CRAWFORD & REB BROWN IN 'WHITE GHOST'

<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/AVvXsEgV1gvTYlmjJS5WvSLwe1NcSw7_ZX_lnX1EQpnTskaL7yxTWbKKylMEw6SlGNknRW1SEgYuA2spqyrKc8aYJzN-Ij4_5n71sZe_ood3xGhHTlqh736DSGDt0BydzWKfJiPCsOsM0OaIzck2GiqgnaIM42Z39_cT6NAhBUm-QIUNwgBWDhd3PJJ5Idle6pNF/s2014/new-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1376" data-original-width="2014" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1gvTYlmjJS5WvSLwe1NcSw7_ZX_lnX1EQpnTskaL7yxTWbKKylMEw6SlGNknRW1SEgYuA2spqyrKc8aYJzN-Ij4_5n71sZe_ood3xGhHTlqh736DSGDt0BydzWKfJiPCsOsM0OaIzck2GiqgnaIM42Z39_cT6NAhBUm-QIUNwgBWDhd3PJJ5Idle6pNF/s16000/new-1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Brown-haired Reb Brown artwork for WHITE GHOST Year: 1988 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Actor/Producer Wayne Crawford plays a grouchy commando common enough to have a line that finishes with "Cap in your ass!" And with WHITE GHOST there's a lesson on how to use William Katt's BIG WEDNESDAY co-star, Reb Brown (who had resembled a skinny and large version of each other), the right and wrong way — starting with what <i>not</i> to do...<br> <br> The mission to "rescue" and/or "recover" Katt's titular rogue from the Vietnam jungle, where he's existed, obscured behind a phantom legacy since the unpopular war's closure almost twenty years earlier, is headed by Reb Brown, portraying a very serious, seemingly passive major, addressing a round table of grimacing politicians wanting nothing to do with the near-historic error of Vietnam...<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></p>

action, adventure, eighties, exploitation, martin hewitt, reb brown, rosalind chao, vietnam, war, wayne crawford, william katt

WILLIAM KATT, WAYNE CRAWFORD & REB BROWN IN 'WHITE GHOST'

Brown-haired Reb Brown artwork for WHITE GHOST Year: 1988 Rating: *** Actor/Producer Wayne Crawford plays a grouchy commando common enough...

DANA ANDREWS & MÄRTA TORÉN RULING 'SWORD IN THE DESERT'

<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/AVvXsEi2s2mS858lgRaxroKtPkwzRb0ffxJA9PVJE3x-FlIQaIqvsEseE1oURLBwTzmQ_sGxdp9HW0ZTOQWZVJyBTc4abIrttxALZqgJ1QT-JpLfeltbZSSSj8utKvtLsgZRM2ZPf6Hb4xUPMRcQ/s1046/Screen+Shot+2021-05-15+at+7.52.49+PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1046" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s2mS858lgRaxroKtPkwzRb0ffxJA9PVJE3x-FlIQaIqvsEseE1oURLBwTzmQ_sGxdp9HW0ZTOQWZVJyBTc4abIrttxALZqgJ1QT-JpLfeltbZSSSj8utKvtLsgZRM2ZPf6Hb4xUPMRcQ/w400-h329/Screen+Shot+2021-05-15+at+7.52.49+PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sword in the Desert Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although approved by the British Film Board, SWORD IN THE DESERT was banned in England, and it's understandable as British soldiers are basically Nazis in this story of Jews shipped from Europe to Israel, beating Otto Preminger's EXODUS by over a decade and, starring his stock star <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/dana%20andrews">Dana Andrews</a>, here directed in a propaganda fashion by George Sherman, there are decent sand-leaping action sequences alongside preachy symbolism, but it could have been worse since DESERT feels like the usual WWII programmer, and Dana's in his cocky prime as a maverick freighter captain so overly reluctant to finish the job — taking the immigrants from his boat to the beach where <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/V-sat.html">Stephen McNally</a> has the payment — it's hard to believe he'd signed on at all...<br></p><p></p><p>And his bitter reluctance sustains through most of the story; usually the anti-hero would join the cause a lot sooner, and mostly because of a gorgeous dame... in this case by Dana's future ASSIGNMENT PARIS beauty <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/04/AP.html">Märta Torén</a> as the rebel's very own radio-goading Tokyo Rose, and, with handsome head honcho Jeff Chandler by her, McNally's and feisty Irishman Liam Redmond's side, the British soldiers have only their bullying tactics (only two officers feel guilty), eventually attempting to use the captured (and still on-the-fence) Andrews to name-names in the 11th hour... But as mainstream as this SWORD gets, there's no hackneyed wind-swept romance or any cheap melodramatic last words by dying soldiers, and it all goes down pretty well. The main problem, and the Brit's biggest gripe, is that the Arabs get off scot-free while hymn-singing Christians get all the blame... And in that, cinema hasn't changed one bit.  <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, british, dana andrews, forties, george sherman, jeff chandler, liam redmond., märta torén, stephen mcnally, war

DANA ANDREWS & MÄRTA TORÉN RULING 'SWORD IN THE DESERT'

Sword in the Desert Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2 Although approved by the British Film Board, SWORD IN THE DESERT was banned in England, and it...

RALPH MEEKER AND MARLA ENGLISH IN 'DESERT SANDS'

<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/AVvXsEgvzWgNt3TLb3eQXo6ociZmfJZYla-biKIB52RlqivqrtuWcF_UufIm7WCIQLwGdWWMcT-6qetG9XKkejoL4KdRxVzQKwBUkNKSQDpRtCRS4RsAwcnV0IY9udirfg17qlVeoK-ium2bmdIg/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2021-04-25%252Bat%252B1.12.52%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="400" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzWgNt3TLb3eQXo6ociZmfJZYla-biKIB52RlqivqrtuWcF_UufIm7WCIQLwGdWWMcT-6qetG9XKkejoL4KdRxVzQKwBUkNKSQDpRtCRS4RsAwcnV0IY9udirfg17qlVeoK-ium2bmdIg/w400-h308/Screen%252BShot%252B2021-04-25%252Bat%252B1.12.52%252BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marla English in DESERT SANDS Year: 1955 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A kind of ZULU one decade earlier, b-movie company Bel Air made this Foreign Legion adventure about a group of soldiers trapped in their fort in the middle of the Arabian desert... </p><p>During act two they fight off Arabs, and act three, after being captured from within, try outsmarting the captors, led by a very American Keith Larsen as El Zanel with sexy sister Marla English: thus the biggest flaw is how many other Americans or Brits work within the French army, and it's never really explained why Ralph Meeker's the captain or young Texan John Smith's there with Australian scoundrel Ron Randell barked at by sergeant J. Carrol Naish...</p><p>Yet DESERT SANDS is an above average war movie with many layers, including a forced yet intriguing romance between Meeker and Marla English, and a backstory where John Carradine's lethal Arab had tricked his niece and nephew into becoming the vengeful legion-haters they'd grow into, with the power to take over the fort, which includes a neat bloody battle leading to what could've been superfluous downtime as the men await their doom, but having been properly fleshed out in act one, ironically griping about not having enough to do, not only does their fate matter, but their dialogue, never filler, does as well. </p><p><span></span></p>

bel air productions, exploitation, fifties, j. carrol naish, john carradine, john smith, keith larsen, ralph meeker, ron randell, war

RALPH MEEKER AND MARLA ENGLISH IN 'DESERT SANDS'

Marla English in DESERT SANDS Year: 1955 Rating: **** A kind of ZULU one decade earlier, b-movie company Bel Air made this Foreign Legion ad...

STANLEY BAKER AND MICHAEL CAINE BATTLING THROUGH 'ZULU'

<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/AVvXsEiRkJViiH0hqInRvcHU2oau_ng4DAdAO2HH0IK51lV1--0YCHOCyslQqeR2zREupA6nRHNaS9YKWAANYHehI4Zrf9wIDI809ze5oQ92A5xmNIIjqnJbLXEa6gILo21kmNKSvBwDLXNyCpQl1TF2MiTQrU8t4TUa9swYD_HIWeg8aEYJuf29pBXiTnPf7A/s1688/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-17%20at%205.52.26%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1688" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkJViiH0hqInRvcHU2oau_ng4DAdAO2HH0IK51lV1--0YCHOCyslQqeR2zREupA6nRHNaS9YKWAANYHehI4Zrf9wIDI809ze5oQ92A5xmNIIjqnJbLXEa6gILo21kmNKSvBwDLXNyCpQl1TF2MiTQrU8t4TUa9swYD_HIWeg8aEYJuf29pBXiTnPf7A/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-17%20at%205.52.26%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Stanley Baker & Michael Caine in ZULU Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A cross between LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and THE ODD COUPLE, Cy Endfield's cast-of-thousands ZULU was directed by an American and features a crop of great British actors about their own history — yet the first of several problems is it feels more mainstream American than edgy/offbeat British... </p><p></p><p>Especially some of the performances, seeming more catered to Oscar nominations (particularly Jack Hawkins as a ridiculously passive yet hammy priest) than moving the story forward: about a South African outpost called <span>Rorke's Drift after a massive Little Big Horn style defeat of the British by Zulu warriors...</span></p><p><span><span></span></span></p>

action, adventure, british, cy endfield, epic, history, james booth, michael caine, nigel green, sixties, stanley baker, war

STANLEY BAKER AND MICHAEL CAINE BATTLING THROUGH 'ZULU'

Stanley Baker & Michael Caine in ZULU Year: 1964 Rating: ***1/2 A cross between LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and THE ODD COUPLE, Cy Endfield's...

STANLEY BAKER BATTLES THROUGH HAMMER'S 'YESTERDAY'S ENEMY'

<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/AVvXsEgUwF8tR9_JTPpGSvo80p62QcyHEXhEHb9y-jJvV1JwJrI_AHIydZgecwfp-C5mc1FAq1vjPNBAeMDETlFy72dKFsBxgBUmi6GU6GrPu4elNw3Xk9KgjdukkDJ6IN8UXUataTAaFuLB-g7v/s2048/lf.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2044" data-original-width="2048" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwF8tR9_JTPpGSvo80p62QcyHEXhEHb9y-jJvV1JwJrI_AHIydZgecwfp-C5mc1FAq1vjPNBAeMDETlFy72dKFsBxgBUmi6GU6GrPu4elNw3Xk9KgjdukkDJ6IN8UXUataTAaFuLB-g7v/w400-h399/lf.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Stanley Baker in Edwina Carroll Year: 1959 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This Hammer WWII b-movie was originally a stage-play, and with the contained setting and tons of dialog it's apparent.. but Stanley Baker turns in his greatest performance... a one-man show despite being surrounded by character-actors like faithful sergeant Gordon Jackson countered by idealistic reporter Leo McKern and priest Guy Rolfe, driving the central moral-quandary plot-line...<br></p><p></p><p>Beginning with their troop of disheveled British soldiers, lost and trudging through the Burmese jungle, happening upon a two-hut village where Baker's no-nonsense captain figures he MUST scare an informer by killing two elderly locals... </p><p>The best scenes occur during this first half when Baker's lethal, cold-blooded methods start becoming more clear and, because of the vital information gained, somewhat logical, and he never wavers to the ethical humanity in a village foreshadowing future Vietnam films (and their tropes) about murderous white soldiers...  </p><p>These include Brian De Palma's CASUALTIES OF WAR and Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning PLATOON, each paling to this low budget, obscure gem mostly thanks to Stanley Baker, keeping up the same stubborn, determined intensity when the Japanese — led by a philosophizing Philip Ahn — turns the tables, and the adaptation becomes even more stagey and yet with tight, edgy suspense by Val Guest, one of Hammer's best directors, YESTERDAY'S ENEMY keeps the audience as locked-in and tightly-wound as its unflappable leading man.  </p><span></span>

action, adventure, bryan forbes, burt kwouk, edwina carroll, fifties, gordon jackson, guy rolfe, hammer films, leo mckern, philip ahn, stanley baker, val guest, war

STANLEY BAKER BATTLES THROUGH HAMMER'S 'YESTERDAY'S ENEMY'

Stanley Baker in Edwina Carroll Year: 1959 Rates: **** This Hammer WWII b-movie was originally a stage-play, and with the contained setting ...

DECEMBER 7TH POST OF RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'TORA! TORA! TORA!'

<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_i82NaEgwyNa6-o1iZqtF0K9HNcJypDbgsX-PEXs4Zrm73IPsRps3UFdLLlYxoKUc2wNk3mR9Y2jBmPTkjPNcSF5jtAqS9Wxtp1NKZQyzHSGVPPo_jjYLl5tp3kMM4pwHH497uAisERF/s1031/Screen+Shot+2020-12-07+at+12.06.41+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="885" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_i82NaEgwyNa6-o1iZqtF0K9HNcJypDbgsX-PEXs4Zrm73IPsRps3UFdLLlYxoKUc2wNk3mR9Y2jBmPTkjPNcSF5jtAqS9Wxtp1NKZQyzHSGVPPo_jjYLl5tp3kMM4pwHH497uAisERF/w344-h400/Screen+Shot+2020-12-07+at+12.06.41+AM.jpeg" width="344"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Tora! Tora! Tora! Year: 1970 Rating: ****</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>American director/producer Richard Fleischer mans only half of TORA! TORA! TORA! centering before and during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, leaving the rest to the equal perspective of Japanese military leaders by Japanese filmmakers Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda, a device you wouldn't get about the German Leaders' side of World War II... </p><p></p><p>But what aspects really work made the movie fail at the box office: No big stars to outshine the subject matter along with rapid-fire subtitles, a non-dramatic, documentary realism and the true <i>main characters</i> are E.G. Marshall and Wesley Addy playing two Washington D.C. insiders using an early "fax machine" that provides enigmatic yet foreboding information, inserting a little espionage into the war genre... <br></p><p>While on the other side of the Pacific, Sô Yamamura plays Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto with far more empathy and prowess than Navy flakes Jason Robards and Martin Balsam as Generals Short and Kimmel: One demanding/commanding an extremely unwise location for all "parked" aircraft, the other ready for a cozy round of golf (exactly 79-years from today) on the fateful early morning of December 7th, 1941...</p><p>Taking up the action-packed third act with explosive widescreen glory mixed with cold and calculating reality like actually being there, though mostly as an<i> </i>impartial observer since there aren't any cliché movie-soldiers (like some naïve freckle-faced kid with a "girl back home" or the cynical cigar-chomping maverick he'd look up to): Unlike most other films on this subject, TORA! TORA! TORA! is about historical accuracy, not fictional history... <i>take that </i>Michael Bay!</p><p><span></span></p>

carl reindel, e.g. marshall, espionage, history, japanese, jason robards, martin balsam, richard fleischer, seventies, war, wesley addy, world war II

DECEMBER 7TH POST OF RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'TORA! TORA! TORA!'

Title: Tora! Tora! Tora! Year: 1970 Rating: **** American director/producer Richard Fleischer mans only half of TORA! TORA! TORA! centering ...

DELROY LINDO STARS IN 'DA 5 BLOODS' DIRECTED BY SPIKE LEE

<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/AVvXsEgaYbDHXrIICo7ZAQTEOm8KB7PCyaOrnqpgrE8xqUa-ckWhTUZruB4oobIPrpJRjzsbqXbXy48jM_Bxy7k5JbSSGtPLocdZwOWWyrWyvFJds8nS7pQoScZzYwycSJcM6bAPLz0dObDJZ61H/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-06-18%252Bat%252B3.36.52%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYbDHXrIICo7ZAQTEOm8KB7PCyaOrnqpgrE8xqUa-ckWhTUZruB4oobIPrpJRjzsbqXbXy48jM_Bxy7k5JbSSGtPLocdZwOWWyrWyvFJds8nS7pQoScZzYwycSJcM6bAPLz0dObDJZ61H/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-06-18%252Bat%252B3.36.52%252BAM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Photo of Delroy Lindo from More American Graffiti used here in Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS Year: 2020</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As shown in an archive photo turning up in DA 5 BLOODS, this isn't the first time Delroy Lindo goes to Vietnam. In <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/01/more-american-graffiti.html">MORE AMERICAN GRAFFTI</a> he has a quick cameo (credited as Army Sergeant) and now, forty long years later, he's basically the only character in Spike Lee's current "Joint" that means anything...<br> <br> Consisting of four really old African American Vietnam Vets returning to retrieve their deceased leader's/mentor's remains and many bars of gold, BLOODS is a hybrid of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE for the hunt; UNCOMMON VALOR about a group of returning vets (ten years later/thirty years younger); and COCOON, where some cranky old-timers get a second wind of sorts...<br>

2020, action, adventure, delroy lindo, ensemble, history, jean reno, new, politics, spike lee, treasure, vietnam, war

DELROY LINDO STARS IN 'DA 5 BLOODS' DIRECTED BY SPIKE LEE

Photo of Delroy Lindo from More American Graffiti used here in Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS Year: 2020 As shown in an archive photo turni...