Track the Films You Watch (2010) - Page 30

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Originally Posted by Martin Teller 

Plan 9 from Outer Space - This is not "the worst movie ever made" (a stupid appellation invented by *The Biggest Dipshit Ever Born, Michael Medved). Yes, its amateurish inadequacies are well-documented: the cheap sets, the laughable dialogue, the outrageous disregard for the most basic continuity, the absurd science, the hilarious attempt to conceal Lugosi's posthumous double, the subpar performances and baffling characterizations. But fuck it, it's a minor miracle to get any movie made, especially with just a few friends and a miniscule budget. **I'll reserve my "worst movie ever made" title for something that has some big studio money behind it and still manages to be awful. Something like Empire Records. And this movie is also not "so bad it's good". Well... it is, but that's not all it is. It's rather entertaining in its own right, and maybe this is just me projecting based on Burton's biopic, but you can feel that there is a certain passion for the material. It's mostly a lot of fun, both because of and despite all its ineptitudes. ***And besides... Wood actually pulls off a few interesting shots, some of the performances aren't that bad, and the score is really quite good. It doesn't merit the "worst ever" title, nor does it merit a fanatical cult following. I'd watch it again... and to me that's the most important indicator of quality. Rating: 7
 

I'm glad you finally got to see a Wood picture.  I wasn't sure if you'd start with this one or JAIL BAIT since it was a noir film.

* Agree about Medved.  I remember watching this guy with Lyons and thought both were rather nuts but Medved was just downright crazy.  I think it's unfair to call him a film buff as he knows very little and seems to just use movies for a way to make things political.  I'm not sure if one should hate that book he wrote because it at least put Wood in the spotlight but the "worst director" tag is a pretty big insult considering how many people are there are so much worse.  My opinion of Medved became even less when I learned that he hasn't even seen the majority of the movies that take up space in that book. 

**Another point I'd agree with.  Someone like Spielberg has the talent, money and time so he should never make anything bad.  I can overlook you and I spending $200 on something that turns out bad but when you'd got all the resources you need then there's no excuse.

***The score has always been a favorite of mine.  I'm not sure if you got the Image disc but the 2-hr. documentary with it is actually pretty good and well worth watching as they point out some of the better moments in the film that get overlooked due to how many bad things there are. 

The cape falling off the Lugosi double is still my favorite scene.  

I'm very proud to give this sucker 4-stars because you're not going to find a better movie of its type and it's entertaining as hell. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mario Gauci 

 

Are you familiar with other films of Joseph H. Lewis', Mike? I've seen 9 of them so far and have 6 more in my unwatched pile. I particularly recommend MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945), GUN CRAZY (1949) and THE BIG COMBO (1955).

 

I watched MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS earlier this year and I've seen GUN CRAZY as well.  I'm not overly familiar with his films but I think I got another one on my DVR, although the title escapes my mind right now. 

Triple Trouble (1950)

Jean Yarbrough

A gangster in prison is using a radio system to give messages to him mom and two buddies on the outside ordering them to rob certain businesses.  Slip, Sach and the boys end up catching them in the middle of a robbery but they're find guilty of the crime and sent to the big house where they try to bring down the real culprit.  It's hard to believe this was the 19th film in the series and we've still got twenty-nine more to go.  This is far from a classic and it's certainly not a "good" movie but at the same time you really have to sit back and tip your hat that the production team and cast could at least deliver something entertaining this far into the series.  Most actors/directors couldn't even get nineteen films off the ground yet deliver so many in such a short period of time.  This certainly isn't the best of the series but we do get some very funny moments including one where Leo Gorcey does an impersonation of Edward G. Robinson and Huntz Hall does his hand at Cagney.  I thought Gorcey was very good and delivered a few of the mannerisms pretty well.  Hall, on the other hand, was pretty bad but it's so bad that you'll end up laughing anyways.  I think the actual story was an interesting one and I wish they had done a little more with it but for the most part we just get dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue.  I think there's a little too much talking going on and we needed a few more action and when we're behind prison bars the film could have benefited from some more spoofing of the prison genre.  Tough guy Pat Collins plays the main bad guy and adds some charm to the role.  The boys are pretty much on the mark as they always are with Gorcey stealing the film with some nice mixed-up words.  His father Bernard also gets some very good moments including one where he's shaken down by the police.  The opening robbery sequence is pretty effective and will remind some of Yarbrough's horror films and you might go as far as to say this sequence is the best thing the director has done in the genre.  We see the robbery with some masked men approaching the scenes and it's filmed extremely well.  In the end, this isn't the strongest film out there but there are enough laughs to make it worth watching for fans of the series.

Blues Busters (1950)

William Beaudine

Sach (Huntz Hall) goes into the hospital to have his tonsils removed and when he comes out he has an amazing, crooning singing voice.  Slip (Leo Gorcey) decides to make money off of him so they turn Louie's shop into a nightclub but this causes trouble with the club owner across the street.  Number twenty in the series is one of the lesser entries as it starts off pretty well but the one-joke nature gets tiresome rather quick and in the end I had a hard time making it through the rather short 67-minute running time.  The early jokes in the hospital were pretty funny as were the scenes where Hall discovers his talent but after this it's one boring joke after another.  As I go through this series I'm starting to re-think my opinion on director Beaudine who previously had been a favorite of mine.  When you see the style of his films and compare them to other director's in the series you really start to see a product that is rather rushed and one that really doesn't look like a "B" picture.  There were several sequences that just seemed like they were under performed and that a little better editing and perhaps a different take would have made the scene better.  For the most part we get a one-joke film as Sach becomes a hot property and you've got two sides fighting over him.  The one thing I didn't understand is that, in the end, Louie is broke yet they had a pack house for three shows a night so why he was broke at the end is beyond me but then again, perhaps I'm just putting too much thought into it.  I think Hall is in pretty good form as he is obviously having a good time singing even though he's dubbed.  His "acting" of a crooner was pretty good and his facial gestures at least gave us a few nice laughs.  Gorcey, both father and son, are also in good form but Gabriel Dell is pretty must wasted in his part.  I wasn't too impressed with any of the supporting players as they all struck me as being underwritten and none of the performers brought anything to the role.  The real stand out here is John Lorenz who dubs Hall and I must admit that I really enjoyed the songs and his voice.  However, this is a comedy and I just didn't laugh enough to make the film work.

Bowery Battalion (1951)

William Beaudine

Number twenty-one has Slip, Sach and the other three joining the Army accidentally when they think the country comes under attack.  Once there they battled with Sgt. Frisbie (Donald MacBride) as Louie (Bernard Gorcey) is called to Washington, D.C. as it turns out he was a WW1 hero who just happened to create a special bomb.  Soon a couple spies are trying to kill Louie and it's up to the boys to try and keep him safe.  I'm surprised it took so long for the studio to send the boys to the Army especially when you consider most comedy team do this at some point in their careers.  Even by 1951 the "dumb recruits" battling the mean drill Sergent had already grown old and sadly this film doesn't add anything new or fresh.  I think the biggest problem with the film is that they're working with an incredibly unoriginal story and there's not single attempt to do anything with it.  We get so many forced situations that you can't help but sit there and feel as if you've seen it countless times before and done much better.  The running gag here is that the boys keep doing dumb things and keep getting thrown into jail.  This happens around four times.  It wasn't funny the first time and it's certainly not funny any of the other times.  I was really surprised at how unfunny many of the scenes where even if they weren't original.  Usually the scene where the men try to follow all the instructions at least gets a few laughs but not here.  The only saving grace happens early on when the boys don't like their outfits and try on some others, which just happen to belong to some Majors.  The boys start going around not fully understanding why everyone is saluting them but of course they figure it out after it's too late.  I think Hall comes off the best here as he's at least energetic and tries to keep things moving.  Leo doesn't get to do much, which is shocking but even more so is the fact that he's not given any good dialogue to mix up.  Daddy Gorcey comes off a little better and especially in the early scene where he tries to enlist.  I think the stuff dealing with him missing the boys was quite touching in its own right.  With that said, we've simply seen this type of film way too many times and this one here just isn't funny enough to bother with.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Guy Hamilton

At the time this was meant to be Sean Connery's final turn as James Bond and you can tell that the producers decided to pretty much throw everything into the film and just see what all would stick.  This time out Bond is put on the trail of some diamond thieves who are taking the items from South Africa and trying to get them into the United States.  Once in the States Bond finds himself once again battling Blofeld (Charles Gray) who is held up in Las Vegas where there's more than just stolen diamond at stake.  There's no question that this here was a major step up from the previous entry and I thought the opening sequence was masterfully done.  It's obvious the director, producers and even Connery were aware that they had made a mistake by not having the now legend in the role and the opening sequence perfectly winks at the audience by not showing the "actor" doing the Bond stuff for the first couple scenes and then we're punched right in the face by a terrific opening where we finally see Connery.  Some would probably argue that there's way too much "cute" stuff going on with Connery pretty much looking right into the camera and smiling but I would disagree because this is simply his role and it was a lot of fun seeing him back in it even after just being away for one film.  I think the film also benefits from the Las Vegas settings because is there a better city to have someone like Bond in?  I loved the stuff in the casino and especially one sequence where a money grabber goes back to Bond's room with him only to be tossed out the window.  Another good thing working in this film is that it's a tad bit more adult in nature than the previous entries.  We get some mild cuss words, some more graphic violence and even a tad bit of nudity.  That's not to say this film is pure sleaze because it isn't but at the same time it's fun seeing it a tad bit more grown up.  Connery is certainly welcomed back and it's apparent he's having a lot of fun in the film as he's perfect in the role.  The walk, the talk and pretty much everything else is masterfully done.  Gray is pretty good in the role of Blofeld but I must admit that I thought he was still the weakest of the three actors who played him in this portion of films.  Putter Smith and Bruce Glover play the bad guys and both were a great delight and added so much fun to the film.  I've read a few reviews that put them down for being too "gay" but I thought that was rather unfair as the characters were just so much fun.  Jill St. John and Lana Wood are both wonderful as the Bond girls with St. John doing a fantastic job and making for one of the more memorable love interest roles.  The fun doesn't stop there as we even get Bruce Cabot (KING KONG) in his final role.  Add in a terrific sequence by Bernard Lee and you've got the most impressive all-around cast from the Bond pictures so far.  The action scenes are mostly good, although a couple of the special effects are embarrassingly bad.  Outside of a few pacing problems the terrific cast makes this a very entertaining entry in the series. 

Live and Let Die (1973)

Guy Hamilton

After several British agents are killed, James Bond (Roger Moore) is called in to try and find the connection between a Harlem drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto) and a voodoo master on a Caribbean island.  Soon he's matched up with tarot card reader (Jane Seymour) while trying to stay clear of not only the voodoo guys but a strong man with a steel hand.  This eighth film in the series could be called a lot of things ranging from stupid to energetic to perhaps bizarre.  Unlike the previous films in the series, this one here is clearly working with a much smaller budget but I must say the lack of budget didn't stop the screenplay from coming up with some very bizarre situations and in the end this here plays out much more like a blaxploiation flick from AIP than an actual Bond movie.  I must admit that I was rather shocked at how different this movie was from the others but this is what really set it apart and made it entertaining no matter how silly it got.  You could call this a blaxploitation film but you could also compare it to the various serials made during the 30s and 40s as Bond and his woman are constantly put into situations that appear to have their death coming but they manage to find someway out.  One of the best scenes in the movie takes place at an alligator farm where Bond is on a large rock surrounded by the creatures yet manages to pull out some magic.  Another good scene happens early on when he checks into a hotel and a poisonous snake gets free in the room.  I thought the film had a terrific sense of humor from start to finish and it's this humor that Moore really works wonders doing.  I must admit that I found Moore to be extremely good in the role as he managed to make it his own without trying to copy anything that Connery did in earlier films.  He certainly plays up the playboy angle but I didn't think they over did it and instead he made Bond more funny than anything else.  I've read some reviews that were unhappy with how much this resembled a comic book but I thought the difference made it entertaining.  Seymour is easy on the eyes but I didn't feel too much for her character and never really felt too much chemistry with Bond.  Black actress Gloria Hendry is without question the perfect match for Bond as the two have some great chemistry and make for some very entertaining scenes but I guess certain political climates at the time prevented her from being in the entire movie, which was a real shame.  Kotto is extremely fun in his role as he eats up each scene he's in and really makes for a fun villain.  I said the movie was strange and the weirdest bit comes from a redneck sheriff who tries stopping both Bond as well as the black "boys" in some rather strange, politically incorrect scenes.  I must admit that I found a few of these scenes funny but for the most part they seem like something from a different movie and in the end I think the movie would have worked better with this stuff on the editing room floor.  I do wonder how much of these was the inspiration for the stuff in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.  George Martin's score is a really enjoyable and rocking one and we've got the classic title song from Paul McCartney and Wings that works beautifully well with the terrific opening credits.  I guess a more sensible person would probably drop the rating down half a star but I must admit that the movie kept me entertained from start to finish.  I do think it ran a bit too long but it's certainly unique in what it tries to do and for the most part it worked.

Man with the Golden Gun, The (1974)

Guy Hamilton

James Bond (Roger Moore) is given information that the greatest assassin in the world (Christopher Lee) has been paid one-million to take him out.  Wanting to stay ahead of the game, Bond goes out to locate the assassin and when the two come face to face there's a tad bit more behind the assassin's plan.  It seems most reviews on this one here are split but I enjoyed the story, the performances and I think once again we're given an all-around great cast who really fit their roles nicely.  Once again we have Moore leading the way as Bond and I'm really starting to enjoy him more and more.  There's no doubt that the character is a little different from the one Connery played but I think the screenplay really lets Moore do his own thing.  That thing is more comedy but the actor is very good with his one-liners and is constantly charming in the part.  I also thought Lee turned in a wonderful performance and one you can tell he's having fun with.  I'm not the biggest fan of Lee the person but there's no question that he's a very good actor and especially when he's given something to work with.  You can tell he and Moore are having fun going at one another and the two make a great hero/villain team.  Lee's co-star from the previous year's THE WICKER MAN, Britt Ekland, is the  Bond girl here and I found her quite charming as well.  I certainly didn't believe her in the part but she's certainly cute and charming enough to make the role her own.  Maud Adams gets a few good scenes with Moore as does Herve Villechaize who is a lot of fun playing Lee's sidekick.  For some reason they brought back the racist sheriff from the previous film.  Once again he has a couple funny bits but on the whole I think his brand of comedy really stopped the film in its tracks.  As far as action goes we get a very good car chase as well as a kung fu sequence that was pretty funny simply because of some of the humor Moore brings to one of the fight.  Once again we're treated to some nice cinematography and a good music score but I must admit that I wasn't a fan of the main song.  I know Alice Cooper claimed his version, which finally appeared on his "Muscle of Love" album, was originally meant to be in the film but the producer's got worried over the controversy surrounding him.  His version certainly isn't one of his best songs but I thought it was better than the Lulu version here.  In the end, the great locations and the star power of Moore, Lee and Ekland makes this an entertaining entry in the series.

You should just agree with them and then show up with a Jess Franco clip-fest for the kiddies.  That should go over well.

It's strange that one film would cause so much trouble but you never know with people. 

Batman (1966)

Leslie H. Martinson

Camp 101 as Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) must track down four evil masterminds who have plans of taking over the world.  We get Lee Meriweather as Catwoman, Cesar Romero as The Joker, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin and Frank Gorshin as The Riddler.  There's a part of me that wants to call this the most entertaining Batman movie ever made.  Yes, it doesn't feature anything as great as what we see in THE DARK KNIGHT but in terms of pure entertainment this thing here is incredibly wacky and one can't help but keep your eyes open never knowing what you're going to see next.  I'll admit that I'm clearly not the type of person this movie was made for but at the same time I think those who find the stuff here horrible will still be fascinated by what's going on simply because of how crazy it is.  Just take a look at an early scene where Robin is flying a helicopter and he's lowering Batman onto a boat that magically disappears.  This means Batman gets lowered into the ocean and when Robin brings him up there's now a shark attached to his leg.  This scene is without question one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.  It's obvious the shark is fake but just seeing this thing with Batman's leg in its mouth was just downright funny and it got even better when Batman starts punching the thing.  It's a good thing Robin had some shark repellent on board, which leads to yet another great (in terms of camp) scene where the fish explodes.  Those who said JAWS: THE REVENGE featured the craziest scene with a shark should certainly check this thing out.  As for the rest of the film, I didn't find anything as funny but there's just a certain charm this thing has.  I thought the colors were downright beautiful to look out and I really loved the overall look, which seems right out of an actual comic book.  I found the Batman and Robin characters to be rather campy but perhaps this was the purpose but the dialogue they are constantly saying is just downright bad.  As for the villains, I thought Meredith came off the best simply because that voice fits the role so well.  I also enjoyed Romero as The Joker and it was nice seeing Reginald Denny.  With all of that said, I think the movie still runs a bit too long and could have benefited from some editing but I'm sure fans of the comic and TV show will eat this thing up.  Others, like myself, will probably have a hard time looking away.

Vice Squad (1982)

Gary Sherman

Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson) proudly works the vice squad where his main goal is bringing down a violent pimp (Wings Hauser) who has no problem torturing and beating his women.  Along with the help of a prostitute (Season Hubley) they get the pimp in a string but he escapes and goes to get revenge on the woman who set him up.  Now the vice squad must try and find her before the pimp does.  I must admit that I was really disappointed in this thing after hearing so much about it.  When the Anchor Bay DVD was released there was a good amount of people who really talked this film up as being one of the last sleaze productions before movies really started to changed.  In all honesty they must have been watching another movie because if you take out the bad language you're left with a rather tame movie.  Sure, there's a tad bit of brief nudity but not enough to make one call this an exploiatation movies.  The violence is mostly off screen and just suggestive so there's another reason this really doesn't enter the sleaze market.  I'm really not sure why this film got the reputation of being a disturbing movie because it's actually just a low-rent police drama.  As a police drama it doesn't really work either because I couldn't help but think the cops here were among the dumbest people to ever be put into a film.  The movie kicks off with a disclaimer about the real vice squad and I really, really hope it wasn't like what's shown in this film.  I won't ruin the ending but the pimp has the hooker in a car with the police following yet they don't try to pull him over because they're worried he will kill here.  So what do they do?  They let him take her into an apartment and be in there with her a good ten-minutes while they're all either outside or waiting to arrive on the scene.  What in the hell did they think he was going to do when he had her inside a room with no one else around?  I thought Swanson was pretty good in his role as he has the perfect look for a worn down cop.  Hubley wasn't too bad either but I did have a hard time believing she was one of the more popular prostitutes out on the streets.  Hauser doesn't give an Oscar-worthy performance but he's so over the top that you can't help but enjoy what he brings to the film.  Director Sherman at least builds up a very nice atmosphere and one really gets the dirty feeling that they're on the streets with these women.  This overall mood and feel makes the film worth sitting through at least once but there's still not enough to make this a complete winner.  BTW, Frank Capra, Jr. was one of the producers.

Conquest of Cochise (1953)

William Castle

Another Castle Western from Columbia certainly sticks to its "B" origins but there are a few interesting ideas that make it worth sitting through, although no one should expect a classic.  Set in 1953 Arizona, Maj. Tom Burke (Robert Stack) wants to avoid a war between whites and Indians but a greedy Mexican wants both sides to fight and kill each other off.  Indian Cochise (John Hodiak), on the other hand, wants peace but his people begin to pressure him into fighting this war.  This film certainly doesn't have enough going for it to recommend to all people but I think those who enjoy "B" Westerns might find enough entertainment in its 70-minutes to make it worth watching.  The film has way too much talk during the early parts but the final fifteen-minutes really pick up and end up packing a very strong punch.  We start off when Cochise is sentenced to three tortures with one being bathed in hot steam and another impressive sequence where he's tied to a pole while the other Indians ride their horses up to him and slice him up with knives.  This sequence doesn't contain anything too graphic but the editing and way it was directed makes it quite effective.  We fall this up with a big battle scene that has the expected gunshots, bodies falling and of course the wild horse chases.  Director Castle is best known for his horror films and most of them were in B&W but these early Westerns he did at Columbia gives you the chance to see him work in color and he certainly takes advantage of it.  This movie looks like a coloring book because of all the vivid colors that are constantly on display.  Whenever a set is on display it's got as many colors as they could possibly put in and this is a plus as there's always something to look at.  Stack is pretty good in his role as I enjoyed the laid back approach he brought the character.  It seems like the majority of the budget went to painting Hodiak red but he too is good in the role and gives it a certain passion that you can feel.  The rest of the cast are pretty much what you'd expect in a film like this in terms of performances and character.  Sam Katzman served as producer so that should pretty much tell you everything you'd need to know.  Again, there's nothing overly special here but the final fifteen-minutes are well worth watching.

Iron Glove, The (1954)

William Castle

Incredibly silly production by Sam Katzman with director William Castle trying to keep everything together.  Depending on the scene, Scotish or Irish accents are full speed ahead as an adventurer (Robert Stack) is hired to find a bride for James Stuart, the son of King James, so that the crowd of the country can be returned to the Stuart family but there are others who don't want to see that.  If you're looking for a history lesson then I'm sure you're going to be disappointed as the director couldn't even keep up with what type of accent the actors should be speaking so it's doubtful he or Katzman were paying too much attention to history details.  In his autobiography Stack was pretty hard on this film and for good reason as it's obvious very little time or effort went into making it.  Both Castle and Katzman put their names on a wide range of "B" movies but this one here gets off to a bad start and really never picks up any steam.  It appears everything from the music score to the cinematography are just going through the motions and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what they were trying to do with this thing.  Everything you look at are obviously sets so you never get any sort of epic or realistic feel.  Another problem is that the actors seem to either be drunk, don't care or are trying to re-enact their styles when they were in high school productions.  All of the actors are incredibly wooden and poor Stack looks incredibly uncomfortable in his role.  As mentioned before, his accent is constantly going in and out from one scene to the next and there are moments where the American voice comes through.Ursula Thiess, Richard Stapley and Alan Hale, Jr. round out the supporting cast but none of them inject any life to the picture.  At 77-minutes the movie feels twice as long and in the end this is just a very cheap production that I'm sure was sold as the bottom half of a triple-feature.  Either way, only those, such as myself, who must see all of Castle's films should bother with this.

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

George Cukor

Perhaps the greatest story known, MGM didn't spare any money in this lavish production of William Shakespeare's play and they were rewarded with a major hit and four Oscar-nominations.  Norma Shearer, 35-years-old at the time, and Leslie Howard, 42-years-old, were cast as teenage lovers Romeo and Juliet and one would have a laughing fit seeing how old they were for their roles but that really doesn't matter because the two are so great in the roles that you can overlook their age.  There's no question that a lot of blood, sweet and tears went into this production because every inch of every frame has something beautiful in it.  It doesn't get mentioned often but I think William Daniels cinematography is one of the main stars here as he gets an incredibly haunting look that works wonders for the film.  For the most part the film takes place in dark shadows and this adds a lot of atmosphere to the tragic tale but when the more romantic moments happen Daniels is still able to lighten things up and really capture a certain innocence that really jumps off the screen.  Another major plus are the terrific sets and the hundreds of extras that fill them out.  There wasn't a single second that you'd think you were on the back lot of MGM because everything looks so realistic that you'd swear you were really on these locations in the time that the story takes place.  Herbert Stothart's score is also pitch-perfect and one that would be reused in countless future romances by the studio.  The main reason to watch this film are the wonderful performances by the all-star cast.  Shearer and Howard are way, way, way too old for their roles and the first time you see them it will somewhat catch you off guard because these are suppose to be teenagers after all.  However, as soon as they start to speak you pretty much forget about their ages and get right into the story as both deliver their lines so well and with so much passion that you can't help but get caught up with them.  The legendary and world-famous sequence on the balcony was masterfully done by both actors.  John Barrymore nearly steals the film as Mercutio.  Barrymore is a legend at Shakespeare and hearing him read these lines is so grand that it's almost like old William wrote them with Barrymore in mind.  Edna May Oliver, C. Aubrey Smith and Andy Devine round out the supporting cast and we get an Oscar-nominated Basil Rathbone in the role of Tybalt.  This story is so well-known that it's hard to watch any film version with fresh eyes as you know what's going to happen and when.  That really doesn't take away from this film because the performances are so strong, the story so great and the direction holds everything together.

Cat Girl (1957)

Alfred Shaughnessy

AIP remake of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE has Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) returning to her home place with two friends and her new husband.  At the house her uncle informs her that the family is cursed by having the power of turning into a leopard and that she's next in line to get it.  If you see the AIP icon pop up at the start of the movie and expect nothing more than dumbness with a bad monster outfit then you'd be partially right.  This isn't a good movie but I tip my hat to the producer's for at least trying to do a psychological horror film instead of just a monster running around in a bad mask type of film.  The first forty-minutes of the film are pretty dark as our main character battles her family and her unfaithful husband as she slowly starts to lose her mind thinking that she does have the power to turn into a killing machine.  After the forty-minute mark we turn into some cheap AIP stuff, which includes a couple transformation sequences were we get to see the title character.  The outfit is pretty un-scary but I must admit that I liked the look of it and found it rather cute, which was strange considering I don't like cats.  The outfit and its small hands looking so cute is obviously one reason why I didn't find the thing scary.  The biggest problem with the film is that they do try for the psychological stuff but fail pretty badly.  There's really nothing creepy about the film and there's never really any scene that even makes you tense up.  That's not good when you're watching a film like this but director Shaughnessy at least knows how to build some mild atmosphere by keeping the lights off and everything dark and moody.  Shelley, who had yet to make a big name for herself in the genre, turns in a decent performance but the screenplay really doesn't do her much good.  Robert Ayres, Kay Callard and Ernest Milton round out the cast but none of them exactly jump off the screen.  The film, thanks to the title, is a reworking of CAT PEOPLE but I think it actually has a lot more in common with Lewton's THE LEOPARD MAN.  There are even moments towards the end where the character is having a mental breakdown, which will make people think of the Larry Talbot character from Universal's THE WOLF MAN.  Either way, this film isn't in any of their league so it's only recommended to those who must watch every horror film from this period.

Re: BATMAN

I'm not a fan of the four pre-Nolan films but plan on giving them another viewing at some point.  The original wasn't too bad but I certainly won't be watching it again, although I'll certain stop and watch that shark scene if I come across it.

Re: VICE SQUAD

Pete, I actually watched that documentary last year or the year before.  I had a lot of friends recommend VICE SQUAD due to how "graphic" it was so I was a little surprised to see how tame it was for an "exploitation" film.  As a police drama, which it pretty much is, the thing was just way too stupid as I found the cops to be complete idiots and I think this took away from the drama for me. 

You bring up an interesting thing that I read an article about not too long ago.  The basic idea of this article was that there were so many movies that were hard to see that someone would see it, start a lot of buzz about how shocking it was and that built the cult of fans who wanted to see a "legendary sleaze" movie that was not on video or shown on cable.  Over the past ten years a lot of these films eventually got released and it turned out that the fake ideas of them were a lot better than the actual films.  Kinda like LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT and the fact that it's probably the most wanted lost movie yet, if the movie was around, it would probably be forgotten simply because it's not suppose to be very good.  Because it's lost and people have a desire to see it, the thing will never die.

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Originally Posted by Pete York 

Take a movie out of circulation and it is instant catnip to enthusiasts.

I just finished episode 5 from the HOLLYWOOD series so tell me about it!!!  As I go through the series I'm writing down titles to try and track down and some of my most wanted ones are freakin' lost, which is a real downer but I was trying to prepare myself for this as I figured it would happen.  I haven't had too much luck as it seems like most of the titles are rotting in the studio vaults, which is a shame.  It's a bigger shame that they (the big studios) won't allow this documentary to get released yet at the same time they don't bother releasing what they own.

THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED is actually #2 on my "most wanted" list.  I'm really not sure how awful the film actually is but I've got a burning desire to watch it even though I've yet to read a single good thing about it. 

I plan on watching GREED next month and I'm highly interested in the running time.  Most people are viewed as worthless if a studio alters their scenes, cuts footage or takes a film from the director and changes something.  I'm curious how a studio could cut 6 1/2 hours from a film and yet it still remains a masterpiece.  I've always been curious about this running time and how factual it actually was.  Of course, I don't blame MGM one bit for doing what they did, as you said, who in the hell would go watch a 9-hr. movie?

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Originally Posted by Pete York 

 I don't know if you saw, but TCM has put together some big, multi-part history of Hollywood doc that they're showing in November. Might be a good time for them to put out a box of silents.

 

In case you've never seen this, here is a link to the Spy magazine article where the people who have seen this talk about it. So what's the #1 most wanted?

 

 

I have this circled as well. It looks like the 4-hour recreation with the stills in for the missing footage. I'd like to see it both ways at some point.

I did notice that documentary in November.  On another board I said this November is the most impressive schedule I've ever seen from TCM.  This is coming from someone who usually records at least 30 movies a movie and sometimes more.  I'm certainly looking forward to that documentary as well as the many rare silents. 

I think I"ll start with the shorter version of GREED and then do the 4-hour one.  I've got it someone on a DVD-R recorded from TCM so I just have to dig it out.

As for what silent I'd wish found............ that's a hard question.  Do I make a personal choice or one that would please the most amount of film buffs from across the world?

As a Griffith die-hard I'd select THE GREAT LOVE.  I've read at least a dozen books on Griffith over the past few years and this lost film never really struck me as too inspiring until I read a detailed review by someone who had seen the film when it was originally released.  The interracial kiss between the black dying soldier and his racist partner is something all the books mentioned but hearing about it in detail made me really want to see it.  The way it was shot, how it was shown and the way Griffith used it was apparently something incredible.  However, considering Griffith has nearly 500 movies that aren't lost, I probably shouldn't pick this one to save.

So, if someone gave me the power to locate one movie then it would probably be A BLIND BARGAIN.  Yes, most people would pick LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT from the Chaney lost film archive but to me that film just doesn't look overly good and I believe the reviews that say it's so-so to downright bad.  Plus, MARK OF THE VAMPIRE doesn't leave me with much desire to see another version of it.  I'd go with A BLIND BARGAIN as number one as the photos of Chaney look amazing and it's suppose to be a very, very good horror film.  He didn't do too many straight horror movies so I'd probably pick this as my most wanted and the one film I'd save if I got the chance. 

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Originally Posted by Pete York 

Also, if this was ever discovered, it would complicate the narrative of Griffith as history's greatest monster and it would be really annoying to have to revise that.

That myth could be killed in a heartbeat just by the film's that are still around and available for viewing.  People need a punching bag and he'll always be it.  I doubt it's that much of a loss considering the people doing the bitching and how they're nothing more than leeches willing to jump on just about anything to get their name in the media.  These dip-shits can't debate anything because they know they'd lose so instead they just want to keep things in the closet and pretend they never happened.

I recently read THE FILMS OF D.W. GRIFFTH, which was written in the 1960s.  I had stayed away from the book because I rolled my eyes at how any book could cover 400+ Biograph films in just 28 pages but it turned out this is the greatest book I've read on this era in terms of how it broke things down.  It broke all the films down by happy endings, tragic endings or open ended closings.  It told which films had whites as bad guys, Indians as bad guys or Gypsies as bad guys.  It showed how many of the films featured religion as bad/good guys, alcohol as bad/good guys and it even featured how many showed the Klan as good/bad guys.  The numbers show a different story. 

With the one film in question, apparently bits of it turned up over a year ago so there's hope that the rest is out there somewhere.

Hollywood (1980)

Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

**For those interested, over at IMDB I put more details in the episode listings section of the documentary.

This 1980 documentary from Brownlow and Gill is perhaps one of the most famous among film buffs as the filmmakers worked well over a decade capturing many interviews from those who worked in silent pictures and many of these are the only interviews these folks ever gave.  The film was released as a mini-series and included thirteen separate episodes, each running just over fifty-minutes.  The word epic certainly fits this production and it's terrific reputation certainly holds up when you see it.  It's just a shame that thirty-years after being made it's still not on DVD due to several of the major studios not willing to come to a deal to make it possible.  I might not have cared too much if the actual films on display here had been released but that's not the case.  I can't see how it's possible that studios can't agree to terms on releasing this documentary yet at the same time they have no desire to release the actual films either.

The film tells thirteen different stories of the silent era with things kicking off with THE PIONEERS, which features discussion of the earliest film to THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and then D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION.  Episode two, IN THE BEGINNING, takes things to California where the industry begins to pick up steam before crashing down with the arrest of Fatty Arbuckle, which is documented in SINGLE BEDS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS.  This third episode is perhaps the greatest of the set because it really shows what type of hypocrisy was going on in this country and how the studios were clearly only interested in money and they weren't going to stop even if it meant hurting someone.  HOLLYWOOD GOES TO WAR covers, as the title says, talks about Hollywood and how it showed us in the war.  This includes Griffith going to the front lines to get footage for HEARTS OF THE WORLD and how after the war people didn't want to see these types of films until John Gilbert showed up in THE BIG PARADE.  One of the greatest things about silents are the amazing stunts and these are covered in HAZARD OF THE GAME, which talks about how these were done and we also get to hear about how many lives were lost. 

SWANSON AND VALENTINO, perhaps the weakest in the set, looks at the two stars and how they rose to be the giants they were.  THE AUTOCRATS looks at Cecil B. DeMille whose wild demands made him a legend while the craziness of Erich von Stroheim ended his career.  COMEDY - A SERIOUS BUSINESS gives small bios of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon with some nice interviews and plenty of great footage.  OUT WEST explains why Westerns were one of the most popular genres in the silent era and why the Old West dying sent a flood of real cowboys to Hollywood looking for a way to make a living.  THE MAN WITH THE MICROPHONE focuses in on directors and their crazy attitudes and demands.  TRICK OF THE LIGHT takes a look at cinematography and how the men behind the camera were often more important than some of the stuff in front of it.  STAR TREATMENT goes back the hypocrisy of Hollywood and how Clara Bow's sexuality made her a star only to have the sex in her real life kill her career.  We also hear about John Gilbert's rise to fame and the legends around his eventual fall.  Finally, END OF AN ERA talks about the many early attempts at sound and the eventual release of THE JAZZ SINGER.

These thirteen episodes pretty much tell you all you'd need to know but I'm going to guess that a majority of those familiar with silent cinema will know many of the scenes here.  There is so much wonderful footage here that if you don't know a film then you're going to be doing research trying to figure out what it is and find out how to buy it.  If you know the film then seeing the clips are just going to make you want to see it again from start to finish.  I think what makes this documentary so important is how wonderfully well-made it is because I really do believe you could show episodes of this to people who don't like silent movies and I think they'd open up a little bit.  I'm not sure if the majority of them would become silent film buffs but I think they'd view the films in a different light.  I think the third episode about Fatty would show them that Hollywood has always had its scandals and it didn't start with recent celebrities.  I think the stunt episode would show people how much more exciting these films were than the CGI, safe films of today.  I'm sure even the most jaded person would be outraged at how the career of Clara Bow fell apart simply because of some weird folks with morals that were nothing more than double standards. 

Another major plus of watching this are the amazing interviews with the likes of Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Frank Capra, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, Harvey Parry, Bob Rose, King Vidor, Janet Gaynor, Colleen Moore, Allan Dwan, Karl Brown and countless others.  It's a shame that so many other well-known stars turned down the opportunity of being in the picture but we can at least be thankful for who is actually here.  A lot of the interviews here are the only ones these folks did so these are quite important for that alone.  The amazing thing is that the memories are so crystal clear and you can tell these people are having a great time reliving these early days of Hollywood.  You can't help but wonder how many more stories they had and I'm sure several were just bursting to tell them and finally had the chance with this documentary.  Again, there's plenty of footage shown from dozens of silent films but sadly many of them are still unreleased to VHS or DVD, which is a real shame.  I personally can't understand how studios like Kino and Image can release lesser known silents yet the major guys can't get bigger films released.

Silent film fans have made this documentary somewhat legendary but it lived up to its reputation and I'd recommend you getting a copy no matter how you must do it.  Hopefully one day the studios will let this be released in a restored edition but until then at least there are ways of seeing it.  This is certainly a landmark documentary and a very important one that deserves to be viewed.