THE AGE OF CONSENT. RKO Pictures, USA, 1932, b/w, 63 min. Directed by Gregory LaCava. Cinematography by J. Roy Hunt. Music by Max Steiner and Oscar Levant (uncredited). Starring Dorothy Wilson, Richard Cromwell, Arline Judge, Aileen Pringle, Eric Linden, Betty Grable, Reginald Barlow and John Halliday.
Dorothy Wilson was a mere secretary at RKO when she was chosen to play the lead in The Age of Consent,
a pre-code melodrama about college mores, but she delivered such a surprising
performance that the studio offered her an immediate long term
contract. Her character is a star-crossed undergraduate who gets
involved in a near disastrous romantic incident along with her handsome
boyfriend, played by Richard Cromwell. By the time their story ends both
students have learned immensely valuable lessons about sex, morality,
marriage, and life--and we the rapt audience have been thoroughly
entertained by some of the most intense kissing scenes ever made for a
film of this era, or any era for that matter. Directed with a skillful
hand and puckering lips by Gregory LaCava.
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ANNE OF THE INDIES. Twentieth Century Fox, USA, 1951, color, 81 minutes. Directed by Jacques Tourneur. Cinematography by Harry Jackson. Music by Franz Waxman. Starring Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Thomas Gomez, James Robertson Justice, Herbert Marshall, Frances Pierlot, Sean McClory and Debra Paget.
Loosely based on the life of a real female pirate named Anne Bonny, Anne of the Indies is awash in sword fights, floggings, glittering doubloons, peg-legs, eye-patches, powdered wigs, plank walking, cannon fire, burning galleons, and enough pirate jargon to make every salty dog swim for shore. It also has a feisty appearance by the most famed pirate of them all, Blackbeard! The vivacious Jean Peters makes a "big splash" in her first title starring role, securing a prominent place in action film history.
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BEFORE DAWN. RKO Pictures, USA, 1933, b/w, 60 min. Directed by Irving Pichel. Screenplay by Garrett Fort (from a story by Edgar Wallace). Cinematography by Lucien N. Androit. Music by Max Steiner (uncredited). Starring Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Wilson, Jane Darwell, Dudley Digges, Gertrude Hoffman, Frank Reicher, Oscar Apfel, and Warner Oland.
In Before Dawn, a clairvoyant young woman (Dorothy Wilson) and her father (Dudley Digges) help police recover some lost gold in a mysterious "Old Dark House" that's filled with secret doors, hidden passages, and hidden chambers. Complicating everything is Dr. Cornelius (Warner Oland), an evil, greedy, scheming psychoanalyst, who wants the gold all for himself and is willing to commit even murder to make it so. Solid black & white cinematography, swift pacing, and a strong cast turn this modest little programmer, based on a story by Edgar Wallace, into a solid hour of mystery fun.
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BOMBAY MAIL. Universal Pictures, USA, 1934, b/w, 70 min. Directed by Edwin L. Marin. Cinematography by Charles J. Stumar. Music by Heinz Roemheld (uncredited). Starring Edmund Lowe, Shirley Grey, Walter Armitage, Ralph Forbes, Georges Renavent, Brandon Hurst, Jameson Thomas, Ferdinand Gottschalk, John Wray, John Davidson and Hedda Hopper.
Bombay Mail is a brisk, mystery-thriller, based on a well-received novel of the same name by Lawrence G. Blochman. It was filmed primarily on a sound stage but with added landscape and breakaway scenes to allow for local
color and atmosphere (India). Edmund Lowe plays British Inspector Dyke of His Majesty's forces, assigned to investigate a dastardly murder on board a train traveling between Calcutta and Bombay. Among the international suspects is the mysterious Sonia Smeganoff, played wonderfully by the beautiful Shirley Grey. Heinz Roemheld floats a nice music score to accompany the solid directorial effort by Edwin L. Marin.
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CRUISE INTO TERROR. ABC Television, USA, 1978, color, 100 min. Directed by Bruce Kessler. Written by Michael Braverman. Cinematography by Arch Dalzell. Music by Gerald Fried. Starring Hugh O' Brian. Stella Stevens. Dirk Benedict, Frank Converse, John Forsythe, Lee Meriwether, Marshall Thompson, Jo Ann Harris, Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Roger E. Mosely, and Ray Milland.
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Yes, I flinch when having to justify this inclusion, an Aaron Spelling Productions "Made-for-TV" thriller affectionately nick-named Satan's Love Boat. And yet I could argue that Cruise Into Terror is an entertaining swim in the memory ocean, while being at times both scary and hilarious, especially with all that period hair and clothing. It also boasts a star-studded Seventies cast of up-and-comers, fading also-rans, and long-in-the-tooth veterans. The focus here is the discovery of an eerie sarcophagus, found on board a small dilapidated cruise ship, which seems to be taking possession of the passengers minds, influencing their behavior in most peculiar ways. Inside the stone coffin just might be something the devil himself has spawned--and it freakishly "breathes!"
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DEATH CRUISE. ABC Television, USA, 1974, color, 75 min. Directed by Ralph Senensky. Written by Jack B. Sowards. Cinematography by Tim Southcott. Music by Pete Rugolo. Starring Kate Jackson, Edward Albert, Richard Long, Michael Constantine, Celeste Holm, Tom Bosley, Amzie Strickland, Polly Bergen, Alain Patrick, and Cesare Danova.
Do you remember long-legged Kate Jackson back in her heyday? Taut, effective, "Made for TV" mysteries like this one helped increase her popularity, ultimately catapulting her into a major television star during the late Seventies & Eighties. In Death Cruise Jackson is paired with her then real-life husband Edward Albert, and both are part of an ensemble cast of star-studded television performers. They all play various couples, recipients of a free cruise courtesy of a contest no one can actually remember entering, except now when they finally set sail the winners become losers as one-after-another they are hopelessly murdered. The ship's doctor, ably played by Michael Constantine, tries to keep the body count from growing by connecting the dots and hopefully stopping the killer.
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DELITTO ALLO SPECCHIO (Death on the Fourposter or Sexy Party). Cinematografica, Italy, 1964, b/w, 77 min. Directed by Jean Josipovici. Written by Jean Josipovici. Cinematography by Raffaele Masciocchi. Starring John Drew Barrymore, Michel Lemoine, Gloria Milland, Luisa Rivelli, Antonella Lualdi, Mario Valdermarin, Massimo Corocci, Joe Atlanta, Alberto Cevenini, Maria Pia Conte, Vittoria Prada, Monique Vita, Giuseppe Fortis, and Jose Greci.
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Several hip people gather for a party at a remote castle to dance and play sexy adult games (spearheaded by the gorgeous Antonella Lualdi, seen above), and to witness a a psychic reading (it's the Sixties, after all). After the divination's of the clairvoyant (John Drew Barrymore) are revealed ("... you will see yourself above yourself!"), things take a turn for the worse when someone is actually found murdered, causing panic and fear among the revelers. Aldo (Giuseppe Fortis), the imbecilic servant who's been so dutiful yet always just this side of being creepy too, is promptly blamed for committing the foul act. But is Aldo merely the scapegoat in a night of prophesied evil? This atmospheric film boasts some of the finest looking women in giallo history, including the stunning José Greci who would go on to star in numerous sword & sandal pictures.
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FEAR NO EVIL. NBC Television, USA, 1969, color, 120 min. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Written by Richard Alan Simmons. Cinematography by Andrew J. McIntyre. Music by Billy (William) Goldenberg. Starring Louis Jourdan, Lynda Day (George), Carrol O'Connor, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Katherine Woodville, Jeanne Buckley, Ivor Barry and Bradford Dillman.
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FIVE CAME BACK. RKO Pictures, USA, 1939, b/w, 75 min. Directed by John Farrow. Written by Jerome Cady and Dalton Trumbo. Cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. Music by Roy Webb. Starring Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, C. Aubrey Smith, Allen Jenkins, Elisabeth Risden, Kent Taylor, John Carradine, Patrick Knowles, Casey Johnson and Joseph Calleia.
A small plane carrying twelve people crashes in the Amazon jungle with most of its occupants surviving. What follows is the typical kind of behavior we've come to expect when civilized people are suddenly faced with surviving in a hostile environment; there's resourcefulness and sacrifice but also extreme selfishness and rapacity. Five Came Back, based on a story by Richard Carroll, is primarily an adventure story, but it's also a valiant attempt by screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to create a serious backdrop for examining class distinctions and role-types during the Great Depression. Director John Farrow remade this programmer in 1956 as Back From Eternity, casting the great actor Rod Steiger as one of the principal characters, but I still prefer the original.
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GOLD OF THE SEVEN SAINTS. Warner Bros., USA, 1961, b/w, 88 min. Directed by Gordon Douglas. Cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc. Music by Howard Jackson. Starring Clint Walker, Roger Moore, Leticia Roman, Robert Middleton, Gene Evans, Roberto Contreras, Jack Williams, Arthur Stewart, Vito Scotti and Chill Wills.
Gold of the Seven Saints was the last of a trilogy of Western
films directed by Gordon Douglas that featured TV star Clint Walker and
his "national treasure" of a chest. Robert Frazee's excellent novel, Desert Guns,
was the basis of the story which concerns a pair of fur trappers
(Walker & Roger Moore) trying to keep a cache of gold out of the
hands of scoundrels, who continually show up at every turn. The two
stars exhibit great chemistry together, as well as a few gratuitous
shirtless moments, which help propel the film to its natural, spirited
conclusion. The movie was filmed primarily in Arches National Park,
Utah, with impressive black and white photography by cinematographer
Joseph Biroc.
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HEADLINE SHOOTER. RKO Pictures, USA, 1933, b/w, 61 min. Directed by Otto Brower. Cinematography by Nicolas Musuraca. Music by Max Steiner. Starring Frances Dee, William Gargan, Ralph Bellamy, Jack La Rue, Betty Furness, Hobart Cavanaugh, June Brewster, Franklin Pangborn, Dorothy Burgess, Robert Benchley and Wallace Ford.
This overlooked little programmer, based on the novel Muddy Waters by Wallace West, tells the story of a reckless newsreel photographer (William Gargan) and his tenuous relationship with a fellow journalist (Frances Dee). In the mix are stock footage of fires, floods, and other exciting natural disasters such as the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933, into which our intrepid hero stalks with his rather cumbersome camera. The primary cinematography in Headline Shooter was done by Nicolas Musuraca, who became noted for lensing several Noir classics, including 1947's Out of the Past.
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THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED (La Residencia). Anabel Films, Spain. 1969, color, 104 min, Anabel Films, Spain. Directed by Narcisco Ibanez Serrador. Cinematography by Manuel Berenguer. Starring Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbo, John Moulder-Brown, Mary Maude and Conchita Paredes.
A young woman (Cristina Galbo) enrolls in an eerie, 19th-century French boarding school for
troubled girls, run by a rigid headmistress (Lilli Palmer), and hesitatingly
befriends her psychopathic son (John Moulder-Brown). A whole lot of creepiness ensues, albeit at a
snail's pace, involving voyeurism, flagellation, and gruesome murder, and it all channels into a
sensationally twisted ending. Cinematographer Berenguer infuses The House That Screamed with Gothic atmosphere by the masterful use of his prowling camera and
compositions, taking full advantage of the baroque school, its
sprawling campus and its mostly attractive denizens.
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MADAME SPY. Universal Pictures, USA, 1934, b/w, 70 min. Directed by Karl Freund. Cinematography by Norbert Brodine. Music by Heinz Roemheld, David Klazkin & Guissepe Becce. Starring Fay Wray, Nils Asther, Edward Arnold, Noah Beery, Stephen Chase, Ruth Fallows, John Miljan, David Torrence, Robert Ellis, Rollo Lloyd and Oscar Apfel.
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Madame Spy is an implausible but stylishly romantic melodrama, with handsome Nils Asther playing a German captain determined to apprehend an elusive secret agent known as B-24, which could very well be his Russian born wife, played by the always alluring Fay Wray. Karl Freund directs with visual flair and verve, resulting in an fairly entertaining hour of intrigue and espionage.
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LA MANSION DE LA NIEBLA (Murder Mansion or Maniac Mansion). Mundial Films, Spain, 1972, color, 83 min. Directed by Francisco Lara Polop. Cinematography by Guglielmo Mancori. Music by Marcello Giombini. Starring Analía Gadé, Andrés Resino, Lisa Leonardi (Anna Lisa Nardi), Evelyn Stewart, Eduardo Fajardo, Franco Fantasia, Alberto Dalbés, Yelena Samarina, José Luis Velasco and Ingrid Garbo.
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This Spanish & Italian joint effort is about various people seeking refuge in an old mansion on a fog enshrouded night, and is reminiscent of the great cinematographer Mario Bava's best work in the Gothic tradition. La Mansion de la Neibla also employs a continental "Old Dark House" style of storytelling to create an excellent atmosphere of menace and mystery. Among the film's many high water marks (its low mark is definitely the lousy score) are a haunted cemetery, eerie tunnels, and of course marvelous Seventies period clothing.
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| "You stay the hell out of my mine, laddie!" |
Movies are clearly in the eye of the beholder. This thriller (scripted by Charton Heston's son Fraser Clarke Heston), about a young couple flying into the northwest wilderness to locate a lost colleague, has been universally dismissed by critics because of its lackluster story. I won't argue against that necessarily, but I will counter with these impressive Mother Lode film facts: Actual location filming in the stunning Rocky Mountains of British Columbia; Excellent cinematography by the under-appreciated Richard Leitierman; A fresh and virginal Kim Basinger; A Scottish bagpipe playing Inverness Gathering deep inside a wilderness forest to eerie effect; An incredible, unexpected, and unplanned action sequence during the film's first half; Dark, dank, creepy mine shafts; And finally, a scare-the-bejezus-out-of-us performance by Charlton Heston, which happens to be one of his finest. All that is enough to convince me the critics are clueless.
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It's the English Civil War (yr.1650) and Oliver Cromwell is trying to purge Britain of its royalists, chief among them the feared "Moonraker", played by an exceptionally charismatic George Baker. Exciting sword fights, horsemanship, witty repartee, and superb period detail, including actual location filming at Bodiam Castle, Stonehenge and Lulworth Cove, coupled with a a rousing musical score, all help make The Moonraker, based on a play by Arthur Watkin, one of the most enjoyable films in the swashbuckling genre. As a bonus, Paul Whitsun-Jones (seen below) gives a splendidly pompous performance as the Moonraker's newfound ally. Riotish living, indeed!
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NECROMANCY (The Witching). Columbia Pictures, USA, 1972, color, 82 min. Directed by Bert I. Gordon. Cinematography by Winton C. Hoch. Music by Fred Karger & Robert (Rob) J. Walsh. Starring Pamela Franklin, Orson Welles, Lee Purcell, Lisa James, Harvey Jason, Sue Bernard and Michael Ontkean.
Somehow, inexplicably, Bert I. Gordon managed to convince Orson Welles and Pamela Franklin to star in his film Necromancy, about satanic witchcraft and returning the dead back to life. It must've been a helluva sales pitch! Welles, playing the leader of a witches' coven, is in only a few scenes, mostly as a talking head, and he probably fulfilled his contractual obligations in one day. Franklin was not so lucky. Re-edited, re-scored (synthetic music) and re-released on VHS in the early eighties as The Witching, with several scenes excised, this previously acceptable thriller became suddenly muddled and disjointed. Its reputation soured as a result even with Franklin's hypnotic contributions. Let's hope that buried in a vault or basement room somewhere is an original uncut print, which if found and released again could help vindicate our poor Mr. Gordon.
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NEXT OF KIN. SIS Films, Australia, 1982, color, 89 min. Directed by Tony Williams. Cinematography by Gary Hansen. Music by Klaus Schulze. Starring Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt, Alex Scott, Gerda Nicolson, Robert Ratti, Tommy Dysart, Debra Lawrance, Isobel Harley and Bernadette Gibson.
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THE NIGHT MY NUMBER CAME UP. Ealing Studio, UK, 1955, b/w, 94 min. Directed by Leslie Norman. Cinematography by Lionel Banes. Music by Malcolm Arnold. Starring Michael Redgrave, Michael Hordern, Alexander Knox, David Orr, Nigel Stock, Sheila Sim, Ursula Jeans, Ralph Truman and Denholm Elliott.
A pilot reveals his disconcerting dream about a plane crash to dinner companions, and three of the attendees who are scheduled to fly out in an almost identical manner realize they could be destined to die in what might be the machinations of a prophetic dream. Listing The Night My Number Came Up here in context with the other titles concerning plane crashes may seem like I have a fixation with air disasters, but nothing could be further from the truth. This film gets the green light because director Norman and screenwriter R. C. Sheriff have fashioned a first-rate suspense film that will have you holding your breath as the circumstances build to a climatic finish. No codswallop here.
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Night Nurse, based on a novel of the same name by by Dora Macy (a pseudonym of Grace Perkins), is a highly entertaining, unusual, pre-code hospital melodrama, replete with unscrupulous doctors and nurses. Clark Gable's sublime entrance (his screen debut) and macho displays with Barbara Stanwyck made Hollywood sit up and take instant notice. Stylishly directed by William Wellman, with outstanding photography by Svengali cinematographer Barney McGill.
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1994 BAKER STREET: SHERLOCK HOLMES RETURNS. CBS Television, USA, 1993, color, 96 min. Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. Cinematography by Ken Orieux. Music by James Di Pasquale. Starring Anthony Higgins, Debrah Farentino, Mark Adair-Rios, Joy Coghill, Julian Christopher, Eli Gabay, Kerry Sandomirsky, Gerry Therrien and Ken Pogue.
In 1994 Baker Street Sherlock Holmes Returns, Sherlock Holmes awakens to a modern world after placing himself in suspended animation (in a device he built himself), and finds himself pitted against the descendant of his old nemesis, the evil Dr. Moriarty. The lovely Debrah Farentino does a nice turn as a kind of alternative Dr. Watson, and Anthony Higgins delivers a bravura, if sometimes overarching, performance as the venerable Victorian detective, who is out of sorts in the twentieth century, yet quickly adapting to his strange new environment. 1994 Baker Street is a Made-for-TV" movie, and footloose to be sure, but it's also breathlessly paced, and will keep most Holmes aficionados enthralled with its quirky juxtapositioning of old school sleuthing methods and modern-day deductions.
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THE 9th GUEST. Columbia Pictures, USA, 1934, b/w, 65 min. Directed by Roy William Neill. Cinematography by Benjamin H. Kline. Music by Louis Silvers. Starring Donald Cook, Genevieve Tobin, Hardie Albright, Vince Barnett, Edward Ellis, Sidney Bracey, Edwin Maxwell, Samuel S. Hinds, and Helen Flint.
The 9th Guest is another "Old Dark House" mystery, based on the 1930 crime novel The Invisible Host, by husband and wife team Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning (which probably inspired Agatha Christie to write Ten Little Indians), but this time the "house" is actually an Art-Deco styled penthouse apartment, where eight loosely connected citizens have been, via dinner invitations, imprisoned, and forced to outwit the "ninth" guest until morning or die. That ominous "ninth" guest, who may or may not be physically present, communicates to the others via a cabinet-styled radio residing in the reception room. An excellent set design and a talented cast help propel this hour long gem to its wicked, entertaining conclusion.
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NON-STOP NEW YORK (reissued as THE LISBON CLIPPER MYSTERY). Gaumont British Pictures, UK, 1937, b/w, 69 min. Directed By Robert Stevenson. Cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum. Music by Hubert Bath, Bretton Byrd & Louis Levy. Starring Anna Lee, Frank Cellier, Desmond Tester, Athene Seyler, Drusilla Wills, William Dewhurst, Peter Bull, Frances L. Sullivan, Jerry Verno, Ellen Pollock, James Pirrie and John Loder.
Chorus girl Jennie Carr (Anna Lee) boards a Transatlantic Clipper seaplane in an effort to save an innocent man from wrongful prosecution, and rushes headlong into danger in Non-Stop New York. This competent little mystery programmer, based on the novel Sky Steward by Ken Attiwill, is briskly told, with a solid cast that includes some notable British heavyweights. The remarkable double-decked, flying luxury liner, which was based on the Boeing 341 Clipper, is fitted with staterooms, dining facilities, wet bars, and it even has a balcony!-- all of which makes for a fantastic, picturesque setting.
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NORTHWEST PASSAGE. MGM Studios, USA, 1940, color, 126 min. Directed by King Vidor. Cinematography by William V. Skall & Sidney Wagner. Music by Herbert Stothart. Starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, Walter Brennan, Louis Hector, Robert Barrat, Lumsden Hare, Donald MacBride, Isabel Jewell, Regis Toomey, Douglas Walton, Truman Bradley, Lester Matthews, Addison Richards, Montague Love and Nat Pendleton.
During the French & Indian War in the year 1759, the inimitable Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy) leads America's first special-forces unit deep into the wilderness frontier to attack an Abenaki village named St. Francis. Much adventure and hardship ensues during their campaign. Northwest Passage is unquestionably director King Vidor's masterpiece, and it was based on the great novel of the same name by Kenneth Roberts, itself based on real historical events. The film is one of the best technically made films of its era, with tremendous visual flair and incredible action choreography, yet the film suffers from distorted sentiment, questionable period detail (including stereotypes), and inaccurate historical locations: all location shooting having been done in the mountains of Idaho and Oregon and not in New York and Quebec where it should have been shot. However, if approached as a purely fictional, alternate-universe-adventure, there are few movies even to this day that can rival it.
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OFELAS (also known as Veiviseren (Wizard), and The Pathfinder). Filmkameratene, Norway, 1987, color, 86 min. Directed by Nils Gaup. Cinematography by Erling Thurmann-Andersen. Music by Kjetil Bjerkestrand, Marius Müller Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. Starring Mikkel Gaup, Ingvald Guttorm, Henrik H. Buljo, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Helgi Skúlason, Knut Walle, John Sigurd Kristensen, Sarah Marit Gaup, Anne-Marja Blind, Svein Scharffenberg and Nils Utsi.
Ofelas in Norweigian means "guide", but translated into English it's Pathfinder. Ofelas is the tale of a young man's violent and heroic rite of passage in the year 1000 A.D in northern Scandinavia, and based entirely on the legend of The Pathfinder, an ancient folktale of the Sámi people of Sápmi, formerly known as Lapland. Director Nils Gaup and his crew have made a veracious historical adventure film, filling every celluloid frame with stunning snowscapes, remarkable action sequences, authentic period detail, and distinctive actors and extras. It's superior filmmaking on almost every level.
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PHANTOM LADY. Universal Pictures, USA, 1944, b/w, 87 min. Directed by Robert Siodmak. Cinematography by Elwood Bredell. Starring Ella Raines, Francot Tone, Fay Helm, Regis Toomey, Andrew Tombes, Thomas Gomez and Elisha Cook Jr.
Phantom Lady, an early film-noir based on the novel of the same name by William Irish (a pseudonym of Cornell Woolrich), is more an exercise in style than actual content, but that style includes (at least) three standout sequences that are worth your time, the most famous being the "orgasmic drumming solo" (dubbed by master-musician Buddy Rich), which was enthusiastically performed by actor Elisha Cook Jr. for the exclusive benefit of an incredibly appreciative Ella Raines--fairly astonishing for its era.
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RITUAL OF EVIL. NBC Television, USA, 1970, color, 100 min. Directed by Robert Day. Written by Robert Presnell Jr., with cinematography by Lionel Lindon. Starring Louis Jourdan, Anne Baxter, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Diana Hyland.
Ritual of Evil was intended to be the first episode of Bedeviled, a new television series on NBC, about a psychiatrist (Louis Jourdan) and his investigations into the supernatural. Instead, the series was never properly formalized and this follow-up to the already aired pilot Fear No Evil morphed into an expanded "Movie-of-the-Week" offering just like its predecessor (note the combo Blu-ray release seen above). But, and fortuitously, this effort was also directed by a competent veteran helmsman (Robert Day), raising the bar for this type of scary, prime-time fare. Here, the psychiatrist and his side-kick pal (Wilfrid Hyde-White) uncover a sinister devil cult in southern California while looking into the suspicious death of an heiress. Diana Hyland turns in a silky smooth performance as the film's villain to perfectly coincide with Jourdan's own polished performance, and once again a simple television project becomes a veritable diamond in the rough.
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SHADOWZONE. Fullmoon Features, USA, 1990, color, 88 min. Directed by J. S. Cardone. Cinematography by Karen Grossman. Starring Louise Fletcher, David Beecroft, James Hong, Frederic Flynn, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Lu Leonard, Maureen Flaherty, Robbie Rives and Shawn Weatherly.
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SOLE SURVIVOR. CBS Television, USA, 1970, color, 100 min. Directed by Paul Stanley. Cinematography by James Crabe. Starring Vince Edwards, Richard Basehart, William Shatner, Lou Antonio, Lawrence P. Casey, Dennis Cooney, Brad David, Alan Caillou, Noah Keen, Timur Bashtu, and Patrick Wayne.
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This "Made-for-TV" film, the first ever by CBS, is loosely based on the true story of a B24 bomber (the Lady Be Good) that crashed, almost virtually intact, in the desert of Libya during WWII, except here we have some supernatural elements thrown in for good measure. And boy do they measure up! Richard Basehart, in a standout performance, plays a guilt-ridden survivor of that fateful crash, now part of an military investigative team that recently discovered the wreckage. His former plane-mates are still stuck in the plane, and have been for many years, but now rescue and redemption are imminent if only they can reveal the truth of their situation to the investigators. Sole Survivor is one of the most under-valued TV movies ever made, and excellent entertainment for anyone still interested in World War II events.
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STARCROSSED. ABC Television, USA, 1985, color, 90 min. Directed by Jeffrey Bloom. Cinematography by Gil Hubbs. Starring James Spader, Belinda Bauer, Peter Kowanko, Clark Johnson, Ed Groenenberg, Roland Groenenberg, James Kidnie and Chuck Shamata.
Starcrossed is a "Made-for-TV" low budget knockoff of John Carpenter's successful movie Starman, but with equally fleshed out characters and a superior, more poignant romance thanks to the terrific chemistry between Belinda Bauer and James Spader. Bauer plays a desperate alien, stranded on earth and pursued by both rogue aliens (her own kind) and a shadowy government agency (Men-in-Black). There's action here, featuring blasting lasers and glittering explosions, and it's all supported by a weird (but relatively smooth) electro-jazz type modern score (note the CD album above). Unfortunately, the special effects are substandard of their type, which will likely disappoint most science fiction fans. But, if you're looking for a star-crossed love story (literally speaking that is), you won't find many movies out there to equal this little television quickie.
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UNEARTHLY STRANGER. Independent Artists, UK, 1963, b/w, 78 min. Directed by John Krish. Screenplay by Rex Carlton and Jeffrey Stone. Cinematography by Reginald H. Wyer. Starring John Neville, Jean Marsch, Gabriella Licudi, Philip Stone, Patrick Newell and Warren Mitchell.
This neglected British chiller, rumored to be based on William Sloane's classic novel To Walk The Night (1938), is about a scientist working on a secret space-time project who discovers his wife is actually an alien from another world, here to spearhead an invasion of earth. Although Unearthly Stranger is practically devoid of special effects, and clearly dried out by too many endless conversations (some involving a numbskull of an intelligence officer), it somehow remains voluminous, with eerie, suspenseful and paranoid filled moments. It is, for the most part, well acted, well written, and thoughtful, and full of suggested implications rather than blatant tellings. Imagine that, having to use your own imagination to enhance a movie's viewing experience, and all for your own betterment!
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HAPPY VIEWING!
[© April, 2020, Jeffersen]
