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CRUD Challenge: The Bloody Fists

2026-05-09T02:13:32Z

The Bloody Fists (1972) dir. Ng See-Yuen

It is the 1930s in China. A certain fugitive named Jang Wu-dip (Sing Chen) attacks a dignitary's automobile, but it turns out to be a police trap. (Jackie Chan is one of the cop extras!) The fugitive barely escapes.

Cut to a rural village best known for growing Dragon Herb, a medicinal plant that is especially effective against the type of plague currently sweeping North China. It's harvest time and some buyers have shown up. Unfortunately, these are a group of Japanese martial artists who want to get a monopoly on Dragon Herb supply and then hold the medicine hostage to force concessions to Japan from China. They're willing to pay a high price to get all the Dragon Herb, but if that fails, they're okay with using force. And they've set up a gymnasium as a base, clearly intending to stay long-term.

The villagers attempt to stave off the intruders, but the Japanese have sent top-ranked martial artists and things aren't going well for the locals. But then the fugitive stumbles into the situation as he's caught the plague and needs medical attention. He'd be just as happy to get cured and leave without meddling, but the Japanese won't stop bugging him.

This is a pretty typical low-budget chop-sockey action film of the time period, most notable for having fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill. The plot is thin, and the characterization shallow. The Japanese invaders are of course evil, though they do have a veneer of martial arts honor they uphold until it gets inconvenient. Considerably more despicable is their Chinese toady, a fellow who was kicked out of the village years ago for unspecified villainy, and went to Japan to learn karate. It hasn't made him any more effective in combat, and he's a cowardly suck-up to the Japanese, even selling out his own family with basically no qualms.

The fugitive gets what little nuance there is, being a self-centered criminal who would prefer to mind his own business, but does have a soft spot for mute medical assistant Ya Ba (Kwok-Choi Hon).

The fights are good, but the stuff in between is generally forgettable.

Content note: martial arts violence, often bloody or fatal. Torture. Rape. A bit of female nudity. Teens on up should be okay, though sensitive viewers might want to skip the rape scene.

This is an overall okay movie for old style martial arts fans, but not anything you need to seek out.

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CRUD Challenge: Meera (1992)

2026-04-27T01:11:49Z

Meera (1992) dir. P.C. Sreeram

When we first meet Meera (Aishwarya), she is heavily pregnant and has returned to her college to give birth. She addresses the camera and asks if we want to hear her story.

Meera was once a pretty young university student from a wealthy family, who met Jeeva (Vikram) when he accidentally (?) spilled paint all over her new car. She immediately takes a virulent dislike to him, but he's smitten. Jeeva begins a campaign of aggressive wooing which is not winning Meera over at all, and won't stop sexually harassing her. This gets him thrown out of school.

That leads into the first musical number of the movie, which echoes a certain Pink Floyd song. The setback does not deter Jeeva, who again attempts to roughly woo his target. Meera throws him off and heads for the police station to report his harassment. But on her way, the story suddenly takes a turn. Crossing a bridge in the bad part of town, Meera happens to witness two people getting murdered. She runs to the station, but when the cops are ready to take her statement, the commanding officer (Sarath Kumar) turns out to be the killer.

Meera barely escapes, but is forced on the run as she obviously doesn't know which police officers are in on the crime and which are just patsies. Jeeva finds out Meera is trying to flee the city when he rescues her maid from some thugs, and heads after her. This leads into a series of misadventures for the pair as they flee for their lives and fall in love.

This Tamil-language romantic comedy/thriller was Vikram's first big role. Thankfully, he got better material quickly.

Good stuff: The stars are pretty, and there are some nice musical numbers. If you're willing to wait a long time, the last bit of the movie has cool death scenes.

Less good: The tonal shifts are jarring and poorly coordinated. Neither main character is appealing. Meera is an obnoxious rich girl who flaunts her wealth and social status as she continually puts Jeeva down at the beginning. She's also kind of screechy, but that's just my personal taste. Jeeva is the kind of fellow who does not take no for an answer from a woman and just keeps pushing and pushing and pushing and does not hesitate to initiate physical contact. That he basically wears Meera down by saving her life repeatedly until she finally realizes how awesome he is comes across as obnoxious.

Since the movie has to fill a lot of time, the leadup to the main plotline takes nearly half an hour of tedious and uncomfortable conversation. And then the roaring rampage of revenge at the end is crammed into about the last ten minutes.

Content note: Murder, some very gory, including the death of a dog and a child. Jeeva sexually harasses and stalks Meera. Tight wet clothing for Meera, shirtless men. Police are either corrupt or useless.

Overall, not a recommended movie, but might be of mild interest to Bollywood fans.

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CRUD Challenge: Demonia

2026-03-15T15:01:08Z

Demonia (1990) dir. Lucio Fulci

In 15th Century Sicily, five nuns are crucified in a chamber of their convent. This is somehow seen by Liza Harris (Meg Register), an archaeology student, during a seance in Seattle in 1990. Her mentor, Canadian archaeologist Professor Paul Evans (Brett Halsey) scoffs at her vision as superstitious nonsense. He instructs her to get ready for their upcoming expedition to modern-day Sicily.

Oh look, the seaside village in Sicily where the dig is to be held just happens to have an abandoned Fifteenth-Century convent exactly like the one Liza saw in her vision. But they're not here for that, instead working on a nearby amphitheater from back when this was an Ancient Greek colony. The dig crew is warned that they'll get no support from the locals, though British ex-pat Porter (Al Cliver) notes that none of the villagers will ever give a straight answer as to why. (We later find out that's because anyone who actually explains the problem also dies.)

Despite the fact that the expedition is not there to investigate the convent, and it is specifically off-limits to them, Liza finds herself compelled to explore it. She discovers that this place is indeed the one from her vision, and the crucified nuns are still inside. Soon after, people begin to die one by one in horrible ways.

Inspector Carter (Lucio Fulci) of Interpol suspects human involvement, perhaps outspoken local butcher Turi DeSimone (Lino Salemme). But local medium Lilla (Carla Cassola) has another explanation, one that seems to fit the facts better, even if it's more outlandish.

This is late-period Fulci, and really shows a lack of budget (an electric light is clearly visible in one of the 15th Century scenes.) The plot's kind of incoherent and after the opening crucifixion scene takes a long slow approach to setting up all the violence in the back half.

But there are individual cool scenes and some pretty scenery. There's even a mostly funny running gag about Robbie (Francesco Cusimano), a small child that the married couple who are part of the expedition brought along, and his inability to stay clean for even two minutes (seriously, you brought him to an archaeological dig, there's dirt everywhere.)

I'm also kind of amused by how bad of an archaeology student Liza is, being freaked out by long-dead corpses (normal ones, not the crucified nuns), and breaking through a wall without getting proper documentation.

Content note: It's a Lucio Fulci film, so heavy on the gory deaths, including eyes being gouged out and someone being torn in half. Infanticide (not gory.) On-screen extramarital sex (genitals covered). Male and female toplessness. Child in peril. Older teenagers with morbid tastes should be fine, but maybe skip for sensitive viewers.

This is lower-tier Fulci, but still pretty enjoyable if you're into his sort of movie. A decent choice for a slow afternoon or early evening.

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CRUD Challenge: The Avengers (1998)

2026-03-08T15:53:39Z

The Avengers (1998) dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik

The Prospero Program, a method of manipulating weather patterns to create an atmospheric shield over the United Kingdom, has been compromised. It is now completely non-functional. The chief suspect is Dr. Emma Peel (Uma Thurman), one of the project scientists. While she was caught on camera at the time of the malfunction, she was also somewhere else at the time. Odd. The Ministry, led by bickering commanders Mother (Jim Broadbent) and Father (Fiona Shaw), assign top agent John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) to investigate Mrs. Peel, or whoever was impersonating her.

It quickly becomes apparent that the most likely perpetrator is Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), eccentric Scots laird, weather-obsessed climatologist and furry. His top goon Bailey (Eddie Izzard) and other minions create a series of challenges that complicate the investigation. And is there a second Emma Peel, or is she leading a double life?

This movie was a homage to the much-loved Diana Rigg seasons of the British television series The Avengers which blended spy action with science fiction and a bit of humor. (I've reviewed a later season of the show on this blog before.) As such, it falls prey to many of the problems associated with "modern" movie remakes of classic television shows.

The first of which is that much of the charm of those seasons was the specific chemistry of the main characters as played by Patrick McNee (who gets a fun cameo) and Diana Rigg (who declined the offer.) Mr. Fiennes and Ms. Thurman are fine actors who do adequate work here, but simply remind us of how much better the originals were in this particular combination. A poor editing job by studio management makes hash of the plot, and wastes "Evil Emma".

I do have to admit there's a lot of style here, starting with some innovative but hard to read opening credits. We get quite a bit of British quaintness, including multiple sessions of tea. The special effects are good for the time period. And Sir August gets to chew scenery magnificently, even if some of his character traits seem based on the seedier side of Mr. Connery's personal life. I do wish they'd leaned more into the furry thing.

Content notes: Quite a bit of violence, sometimes lethal. Male nudity, played for laughs (no genitals). Mrs. Peel barrels through a bit of gender exclusion. Interestingly, Father's blindness is never actually mentioned aloud, so the audience has to infer it. (Points for that.)

This is one of those movies that isn't quite as bad as its reputation at the time, but was entirely unnecessary. It's an okay watch if you're a fan of one or more of the stars.

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CRUD Challenge: Joe Kidd

2026-03-03T03:50:54Z

Joe Kidd (1972) dir. John Sturges

New Mexico Territory, 1902. The county and town of Sinola. Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) is in jail. The former bounty hunter poached on reservation land, got drunk and disorderly, and resisted arrest. His cellmate, Naco (Pepe Callahan), taunts Joe by refusing to help him reach breakfast. When Sheriff Mitchell (Gregory Walcott) comes to pick Joe up for trial, Mr. Kidd retaliates by dumping the breakfast over Naco's head.

At the courthouse, the judge (John Carter) considers the charges to be barely worth his time, but sentences Joe to either a $10.00 fine (which Joe doesn't have right now) or ten days in jail. The trial is interrupted by the invasion of several Mexican rebels, led by Luis Chama (John Saxon). It seems that the land grants and titles held by Mexican nationals in the territory vanished in a mysterious courtroom fire, and without those documents, the deeds brought forth by white settlers are being favored by the courts. Luis burns several of those deeds held in this courtroom, and generally causes some havoc. His men also free Naco from jail.

On the way out of town, Naco foolishly decides to kill Joe Kidd before leaving. Joe shoots faster. It's ruled self-defense, but Joe still has to serve his sentence.

While Joe is cleaning the street, someone else comes into town. Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall), a very wealthy landowner. He pays Joe's fine and tries to recruit him for a hunt. A hunt with human prey, as he feels that Chama will slow the process of him consolidating his land holdings.

Mr. Kidd is initially reluctant, but then discovers that his small ranch was raided by Chama's men, who stole his horses and one, Ramon (Ron Soble), seriously injured his foreman. So he agrees to join the hunt.

Along the way, the hunt collects Helen Sanchez (Stella Garcia), a Mexican woman, to prevent her from going off to warn Chama. Only Joe knows she's actually Chama's sweetheart. Other important members of Harlan's team include overly competitive Lamarr (Don Stroud), sniper Mingo (James Wainwright) and Roy (Paul Koslo) who is a fluent Spanish speaker.

It soon becomes apparent that Frank Harlan is a very unpleasant person, with no qualms about killing innocent hostages to try to draw Chama out of the hills. He also fires Joe Kidd, who is not directly loyal to him. It's no surprise then that Joe kind of switches sides, though he isn't exactly fond of Chama.

Good: The script was written by Elmore Leonard so it has good bones, and the guns are period-authentic. There's a great sequence where a locomotive crashes through a building that was achieved by having a locomotive crash through a building. The acting is generally high quality.

Less good: John Sturges was struggling with alcoholism so often showed up to set too drunk to properly direct, and he did not get along with Clint Eastwood (at least partially due to the drunk thing.) Thus the direction is somewhat inconsistent and not his best work.

While this wasn't very non-Hispanic John Saxon's first go-round as a Mexican character, it still kind of grates on modern sensibilities. The original script had Chama be a more heroic character, but as the star Eastwood asked for changes to make Joe more the hero of the story and Chama more stereotypically flawed. (Mr. Saxon later apologized to Mexican groups for the portrayal.)

Content note: Loads of gun violence, often lethal, and some other violence as well. Horses killed. Implications of extramarital sex. Ethnic prejudice. Alcohol abuse.

Overall: Not the best movie for anyone involved, but decently watchable. Recommended to Eastwood completists.

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CRUD Challenge: Death Walks at Midnight

2026-02-24T15:04:34Z

Death Walks at Midnight (1972) dir. Luciano Ercoli

Dateline: Milan, Italy in the early 1970s. Valentina (Nieves Navarro) is a model whose primary job is appearing in fumetti fotoromanzi which are basically comic books done with photographs instead of drawings, a popular medium of the time. As a lark, she agrees to take an LSD-like hallucinogen and describe the experience to her friend Gio Baldi (Simón Andreu), who works for the sleazy news rag Novella 2000. He promises that no names will be used and she can wear an eyeless mask for the photographs. Also, the entire thing will be under the supervision of a doctor and nurse, so completely safe!

As soon as Valentina's high, Gio starts using her real name and slips the mask off so he can get better photos. (Also, the medical professionals are really other people who work at his paper.) So much for journalistic integrity! At first, Valentina is having a ball with the colors and music and such. But then she winds up at the window, looking at the empty apartment across the alley. She hallucinates that she sees a young woman being beaten to death by a man wearing oversized sunglasses and a spiked metal glove. Bad trip, man.

Gio prints the story with her real face and name, costing Valentina her current job due to the mild scandal. She has a big argument with him, which he shrugs off. Who believes anything that appears in his paper? She finally throws a rock through his office window, which gets them both hauled before Inspector Serino (Carlo Gentili) of the Milan police. They manage to talk themselves out of immediate trouble (illegal drugs are after all illegal).

Valentina runs into her ex-boyfriend Stefano (Peter Martell), a sculptor, and they start to rekindle their relationship. But then Valentina starts seeing the man from her vision in various places, or is she having acid flashbacks? And there was a murder very similar to the one she described in that apartment six months ago. Could she have witnessed it at the time but not realized it? And if it's a real memory, why don't the victim or murderer look like the people she saw while high? What's real? Even she's not sure, even though there are hints that something dangerous is going on.

This film is a giallo, a type of Italian crime thriller most prevalent in the late 1960s through the 1970s. The name originally comes from the yellow covers of a popular crime novel publishing line. Various elements common to these include lurid violence (for the time), perspective tricks, and a main character who for various reasons isn't believed about what they've witnessed except by the killer.

Valentina is a fiery young woman, who may be backfooted by her circumstances, but is by no means helpless. (As we see when a random normal creep tries to sexually assault her.) She comes across as very Italian despite the backstory saying she's originally from London.

There's lots of twists and turns, and many minor characters who act as either red herrings or comic relief, including camp gay photographer Pino (Elio Veller). But some of these are actually important, so pay attention!

The scenery is very nice, the director using real settings whenever possible. Despite the title, most of the action is in bright daylight, allowing us to see what's going on, even if some of it may be hallucinatory.

The story perhaps falls apart a bit when the truth is revealed at the climax as there has to be some stupidity involved for the villain to spill the entire plot to our not actually dead yet heroine.

Content note: Murder, sometimes gory, and various other minor violence. Attempted sexual assault. Drug abuse, including a fellow who drinks while driving. Consensual extramarital sex just off-camera. Shirtless man. Dubious depiction of the mentally ill. Camp gay stereotype humor. Late teens on up should be able to handle it.

This is a fun movie of its type, and pretty well done. The Arrow Video DVD release has the Italian version, the English dub, and the TV edit version as well as commentary and a couple of related interviews, so is good value for money. Recommended to thriller fans.

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CRUD Challenge: The Buddy Holly Story

2026-02-05T00:39:07Z

The Buddy Holly Story (1978) dir. Steve Rash

We first meet Buddy Holly (Gary Busey) and his bandmates Jesse (Don Stroud) and Ray Bob (Charles Martin Smith) at a roller rink in Lubbock, Texas. They're just out of high school and doing okay on a local level. But Buddy has a new sound in mind, more boppish in nature. His original songs are a big hit with the youngsters, but the establishment types who control the money think the new rock-style music ranges between noise and Satanism. If Buddy wants to get ahead in the music business, he's going to have to find a different audience.

A short stint in Nashville proves unfruitful, as Buddy clashes with their production style and insistence on a "country" sound. But then "That'll Be the Day" manages to get to a record label in New York City, and it proves to be a big hit. Buddy Holly and his band, now named the Crickets, are on their way!

February 3, 1959 was "the day the music died" (not just Buddy, but the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens also perished in that airplane crash) so on the anniversary I watched this fictionalized biography of Holly.

We follow Buddy Holly as he works to refine his unique musical style, becomes wildly popular, and courts his soon to be wife Maria Elena (Maria Richwine). It becomes painfully obvious to the rest of the Crickets that Buddy is the headliner and they're replaceable, plus they (in-movie) aren't really ready for the music star life. So they part ways for a while.

And then one last big concert before disaster strikes.

The production of this movie apparently took a while to get off the ground because they decided to cast actors who could actually play instruments and the vast majority of the musical numbers in the film are recorded directly from the people playing on set. This is all to the good for realism and an authentic feel. Musically, the movie is very good.

Due to Holly's short career and tragically premature death, this movie comes across very clean-cut compared to many musical biographies. There's never a dive into decadence or rock bottom moment. About the worst thing that Buddy Holly does here is be an auteur, his drive to make music exactly his own way irritating people who have to work with him.

Content note: Period racism, which of course Buddy Holly is completely above (even black people love the Crickets!). Alcohol abuse (not by Buddy.) Buddy and Maria cuddle in bed after they get married.

The fictionalization does warp history somewhat, so you may want to also read a more neutral biography. Ritchie Valens is barely in the movie, so you may also want to watch La Bamba to learn more about his backstory. Sadly, there's no biopic for the Big Bopper.

Recommended to rock and roll fans, especially those who enjoy the early stuff.

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CRUD Challenge: A Shriek in the Night

2026-01-28T23:19:34Z

A Shriek in the Night (1933) dir. Albert Ray

This movie delivers on the title right after the credits as wealthy philanthropist Adam Harker (uncredited) plunges screaming to his death from the skyscraper apartment building he lived in. The obvious assumption is that he fell from the balcony of his penthouse. So it's there that Police Inspector Russell (Purnell Pratt) and his meek assistant Wilfred (Arthur Hoyt) go looking for initial clues. There they meet Mr. Harker's live in secretary, the lovely Miss Terry (Ginger Rogers) and dim-witted housekeeper Augusta (Lillian Harmer). Both claim to have been asleep at the time.

The inspector suspects not all is as it seems, and he's right. "Miss Terry" is actually Pat Morgan, a newspaper reporter who had gone undercover to infiltrate Mr. Harker's life as her editor Perkins (Clarence Wilson) had suspected the philanthropist had a darker side. She's discovered a clue she hasn't told the police about yet, and tries to phone a preliminary story in to her paper.

However, rival reporter Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot) has managed to access the apartment with a "borrowed" police badge, and uses the phone extension to trick Pat into thinking she's talking to the "rewrite man" at her paper. Armed with her juicy inside knowledge, he steals the scoop. Despite the friction this causes between the two, they're soon forced to work together to investigate the continuing deaths.

Inspector Russell has his hands full dealing not just with the nosy reporters, but the many suspects. Harker had been having an affair with the married woman in the apartment directly below his, and her husband is missing. He'd also been getting late night visits from Josephus Martini (Maurice Black), reputed racketeer. And then there's the building staff, Peterson the janitor (Harvey Clark) and the maid (Louise Beavers).

This is a relatively early movie for Ginger Rogers, before she got teamed up with Fred Astaire for dancing roles. Her Pat is cute and sharp-tongued, particularly toward Ted. Unsurprisingly, while frequently quarreling, it's clear that they have romantic feelings for each other. This makes the movie more of a comedy-mystery. Lyle Talbot is good in this role, assured and daunting.

Inspector Russell isn't particularly stupid, which is a nice change for police detectives of this vintage, but he's hampered both by the reporters withholding evidence, and an assumption he's made about the people around him.

Louise Beavers' character is stuck with the stereotypical "black people are scared of spooky stuff" routine, though it might also be a classism thing as white Augusta is also comic relief. The latter is a big fan of Detective Fiction Weekly, which I reviewed some years ago.

This isn't a top-flight movie, the coda is particularly weak, but it's enjoyable and only an hour long. It might make a good double feature with a grittier mystery. Recommended to fans of 30s comedy-mystery.

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CRUD Challenge: An Inspector Calls (1954)

2026-01-27T02:30:21Z

An Inspector Calls (1954) dir. Guy Hamilton

It is spring, 1912 in the English town of Brumley. Wealthy manufacturer Arthur Birling (Arthur Young) and his wife Sybil (Olga Lindo) are having a small dinner party to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Sheila (Eileen Moore) to Gerald Croft (Brian Worth), son of one of Arthur’s business rivals and a touch higher in social status. Sheila’s brother Eric (Bryan Forbes) is also there, though he may have had a bit much to drink. All seems happy enough until an inspector calls. Inspector Poole (Alastair Sim) informs them that a young woman has committed suicide, and he just needs to ask a few questions. A few uncomfortable questions.

I've reviewed a graphic novel version of this story before, and the play was written by J.B. Priestley.

One by one, the family and guest are pressured into confessing that they interacted with Eva Smith (Jane Wenham) and contributing to her death. Except there are some odd holes in the story. Are they certain it was actually the same young woman? Is Poole even an actual inspector? Have they been had by a clever blackmailer? And then there's the end....

The 1912 setting is deliberate. The society that the Birlings live in is about to have the bottom drop out of it with the Great War and all the associated changes. And here we see the corruption that lay beneath the wealth and "good" family image.

The movie makes a couple of important changes from the play. First, the inspector's name is changed from Goole to Poole to make the final twist a bit less obvious. Also, there are flashbacks to the events of the Birlings' and Gerald's interactions with Eva Smith that were merely described in the play. This works quite well.

Alastair Sim gives a great performance as the inspector, and the rest of the cast is also good. The movie is also well-shot.

The family is careless of the consequences of their actions on other people, and the inspector brings it home that all of us are responsible for how we act, and how we affect others.

Content note: Suicide, what's effectively rape, extramarital sex is alluded to. I think junior high students on up will have the maturity to understand the themes of the story.

This is an excellent adaptation if you can't see the original play.

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CRUD Challenge: A Date with the Falcon

2026-01-14T02:36:13Z

A Date with the Falcon (1942) dir. Irving Reis

Gay Lawrence (George Sanders), also known as "The Falcon", is planning a trip with his fiancée, Helen Reed (Wendy Barrie) to get married and have a honeymoon far from big city crime. But his old frenemy on the police force, Inspector Mike O'Hara (James Gleason) wants to draw him into the case of a missing scientist. Waldo Sampson (Alec Craig) has developed a formula for synthetic diamonds that are indistinguishable from real ones. Sampson was preparing to sell his process to the government to make industrial diamonds, much needed in the defense industry. Unfortunately, it appears that criminals also want the formula and have kidnapped its creator.

The Falcon initially turns down the case, but is soon lured in by a mysterious woman who says they've met before, possible jewel thief Rita Mara (Mona Maris). Gay's sidekick Jonathan "Goldy" Locke (Allen Jenkins) is none too happy about this, as it will expose them to danger, and the Falcon's wandering eye will raise Helen's jealous temper.

Before the case is solved, Gay will have chatted with several charming women, been kidnapped twice, and gotten wanted for murder. Is he ever going to get on that plane?

This is the second RKO film starring George Sanders as the Falcon, the first being The Gay Falcon (1941). The movies closely follow the pattern of the Saint movies that Sanders had also appeared in, so closely that Simon Templar creator Leslie Charteris actually sued!

This is an enjoyable B-movie, just over an hour long with little to no dragging. There's some witty dialog, plenty of twists and turns, plus Hans Conried gets an extended cameo as a nosy hotel desk clerk, and he's fun. The modest budget is used well.

Helen is ill-served though, having to veer between jealous shrew and melting lover at a moment's notice.

This is a fine short entertainment for those who like their detective suave and almost gentlemanly. It's short so would make a good double feature with a more noirish movie.

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CRUD Challenge: Adrenalin: Fear the Rush

2026-01-10T19:06:07Z

Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996) dir. Albert Pyun

In the very near future, a biochemical weapon is accidentally released in Eastern Europe. The resulting viral plague makes its way across the continent and over the ocean to America. All Eastern Europeans are suspect, and they are rounded up and confined to Boston in what was supposed to be a temporary quarantine. By 2007, it's become clear that it's a permanent situation. There are only two ways to get passports out of Boston. The first is to work for the government and stay healthy long enough to earn one. This is the route chosen by Officer Delon (Natasha Henstridge). But it won't get her small son a passport, so she's purchased one on the black market.

However, first she has to survive on the job. It appears that somehow (never adequately explained), a person has been infected with an even worse virus and turned into a deranged killer. The suspect (Darrell Davis) has already killed a civilian, some random street gang members, and a couple of cops. Delon is assigned to a squad to go out and arrest the killer. The other most important member of the team is Officer Lemieux (Christopher Lambert).

They track down the suspect to a former prison, but the killer is cunning and the police officers are quickly whittled down in numbers. Meanwhile, military?/federal? agents are trying to also locate the suspect before he becomes contagious.

This is not a good movie. It's not clear how much of the blame is on the original writer, Albert Pyun, and how much is on the botched editing required by the American studio executives. The latter required that the film's Romanian setting become Boston (with the result that the city looks nothing like Boston and everything like Bratislava) with the virus plotline being extended to not just the killer, but also used to explain why everyone is trapped in the city.

Our two main stars do the best they can with the lines and actions they're given, but what they're given isn't great material. There's a dearth of exposition and character development, and the plot is often nonsensical.

Apparently, the killer is the subject of biological warfare experimentation who somehow escaped. Possibly he's got military combat training, as he's far more adept with guns and knives than the cops are, in addition to his ability to rip a man's head off with his bare hands. He's also able to survive multiple gunshot wounds. The killer doesn't talk, but clearly retains a fair amount of intelligence and planning skills. It's not clear if the virus is giving him superhuman prowess, or if he's surviving the virus because he was already so tough. And of course, the feds knowing exact timing on when he's going to become contagious is suspicious.

The cinematography leans heavily on shaky-cam and poor lighting that makes it hard to tell what's going on in action sequences.

Content note: Multiple murders. Gunshot and other wounds, often gory. Rough language. Ethnic prejudice is mentioned. A man attempts public urination.

I only watched the 76-minute American cut; apparently there's a slightly longer European cut with a bit more dialogue. If Mr. Pyun's commentary is to be taken at face value, the movie as he envisioned it could have been mediocre instead of actively bad. Recommended to completists of the director or cast members, or bad action movie fans.

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CRUD Challenge: Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

2025-12-15T02:51:30Z

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) dir. Curt Geda

Gotham City is once again the scene of crime. In this case, Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot, Rupert "Boss" Thorne and Carlton "I've Been Here All Along" DuQuesne, three crimelords, have joined forces in an arms smuggling deal. It's perhaps not surprising when a bat-winged silhouette falls on the truck carrying a shipment of advanced weaponry, but it is a bit of a shock that it's not Batman, but a new vigilante known as the Batwoman. The Caped Crusader is just as baffled as the criminals. Although it's admirable that she is fighting crime, Batwoman is not as careful as she should be about endangering human life. Like, it's pretty clear she's willing to kill criminals.

It's quickly established that this is not Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon in a new costume, as she's out of town. And Bruce Wayne instantly rejects the suggestion from Tim "Robin" Drake that it might be Selina "Catwoman" Kyle, as she's also not the "uses guns" type. Batman begins investigating the mystery of the Batwoman as she's too dangerous to leave running around on her own.

We are quickly introduced to three suspects. Cathy DuQuesne, bitter daughter of Carlton; Roxanne "Rocky Ballantine, brilliant but clumsy scientist; and Detective Sonia Alcana, Harvey Bullock's new partner on the police force. Each of them is about the right age and build, each has a motivation to take down at least one of the criminals, and each is offstage at least some of the time when Batwoman is present. And you're not going to figure it out from the voice, because Batwoman has her own voice actor.

This animated movie takes place in the Batman the Animated Series continuity, somewhere shortly after the television series ended as Tim Drake is visibly older, but no one else seems to have changed much. (There's a small continuity glitch with Barbara, but we'll ignore that for now.)

Interestingly, because this Batwoman was going to be a harsher, less heroic character than the long-dead comic book Batwoman, Kathy Kane, DC Comics asked that she not be used. Instead, one of the suspects has a similar name. (In 2006, the comics would reboot Batwoman as Kate Kane, a harsher character than Batman, at least at first.)

The mystery is decently set up, but comics savvy viewers will figure out the truth pretty quickly, even if they didn't have it spoiled for them. We as the audience have clues that Batman does not, after all.

There's some decent action, especially once the Penguin hires Bane as additional muscle. The romance angle is...okay, but we all know it isn't going to last past the ending credits. The voice actors are on target, and Kevin Conroy does an excellent Batman.

The DVD version comes with a dialogueless short, "Chase Me", in which Batman chases Catwoman after a robbery, and the sexual tension is high. Or is it just Bruce Wayne's memory/daydream? I like the sax music.

Content note: Comic book violence, including gunfire. Some minor injuries, a little blood. Deaths have occurred in the backstory and are discussed. Batwoman is willing to kill, but no one actually dies during the movie. (Okay, sure, Bane falls into flames. But like that's going to kill him? And if you've seen Batman Beyond, which aired before the movie came out, he turns up alive there.) Some younger children might need adult guidance.

Oh, and this movie has one of the smartest criminal goons in the franchise.

This film matches the high quality of the TV series it's based on (and there's a couple of scenes with even better animation) and has a satisfying plot. Recommended to Batman fans (though maybe not to Batwoman fans as this is not any of the comic book versions.)

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CRUD Challenge: Die! Die! My Darling!

2025-10-28T22:39:20Z

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) dir. Silvio Narizzano

Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) and her fiancé Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann) are back in London after a couple of years in America. Alan has to take care of some business, so Patricia decides she needs to finally make a condolence visit to the mother of her former fiancé Stephen, who died in a car accident. She never actually met Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead) before Stephen's death, but wants to share her sympathy over the woman's loss. As it happens, Mrs. Trefoile is a wealthy widow with a small country estate and big house, most of which is disused.

Stephen's mother turns out to be a religious fanatic, spurning such frivolities as makeup, telephones and bright clothing. Even though Patricia meant for her visit to be perhaps an hour, Mrs. Trefoile prevails upon her to stay the night so that they may pray in church together for Stephen's soul the next morning. After that prayer, it becomes apparent that Mrs. Trefoile has...extreme...views on the sanctity of marriage, and considers Patricia to Have been married to Stephen. The older woman has no intention of letting Patricia out into the world again.

This Hammer Horror film was part of a minor boom of movies starring actresses of a certain age in Gothic tales of murder and suspense. It was, at least, a decent paycheck for women who no longer got the steady work of younger days. As such, Tallulah Bankhead is definitely the star of the movie and plays the role with great vigor. The script was adapted to have Mrs. Trefoile be an actress in her youth, before her conversion, so that the production could use old glamour pictures of Ms. Bankhead.

Of course, a frail old woman probably couldn't keep a vigorous young one imprisoned without help, so the widow has a trio of servants. Harry (Peter Vaughan) and Anna (Yootha Joyce) are a married couple with their own secrets and reasons for obeying their employer's every whim. Joseph (Donald Sutherland) is a developmentally disabled odd-job man, friendly but loyal to Mrs. Trefoile.

The early part of the movie is kind of painful. the cringy horror of being the guest of someone whose opinions you don't share or really respect but don't want to conflict with. There's a scene where dinner is about to be served, and Mrs. Trefoile begins reading aloud the pre-meal Scripture. It's still daylight when she begins, but dark when she finishes and they can finally eat.

Once the imprisonment begins, the movie livens up as Patricia tries various means to try to escape, and the household starts to fall apart. And eventually Alan's going to come looking, so that's a deadline that has to be dealt with.

As is often the case with Hammer, the film doesn't look at all cheap despite the modest budget. Most of the action in the house is well-lighted, not needing night or shadows to do its work.

Content note: Murder, assorted minor mayhem, some blood. Mention of suicide. Attempted sexual assault. Slut-shaming. Implied extramarital sex. Late teens on up should be fine.

With some light suspension of disbelief at some of Patricia's stupider decisions, this is a fine old thriller, though most recommended to fans of classic old actresses getting to be over the top.

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CRUD Challenge: Attack of the Giant Leeches

2025-10-22T00:37:17Z

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) dir. Bernard L. Kowalski

Steve Benton (Ken Clark) is a state game warden in a rural area of Florida not so far from Cape Canaveral. He's checking up on a wild story told by local poacher Lem Sawyer (George Cisar) about a weird looking critter that he shot at and possibly killed, though he didn't bring in the body. Steve is disturbed to find Lem's corpse, which has strange wounds. Sheriff Kovis (Gene Roth) callously decides that it's an alligator attack (despite the wounds not resembling those made by gators) and calls it a day.

Steve consults with local physician and man of science Doc Greyson (Tyler McVey) who agrees that there might be something else in the swamp that attacked Lem. The game warden takes Doc's daughter Nan Greyson (Jan Shepard) out exploring in a boat with him but they don't spot anything out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, general store owner Dave Walker (Bruno VeSota) is having marital difficulties with his wife Liz Walker (Yvette Vickers). They'd married when Liz was a recent widow (her husband got into lethal difficulties with the police) and she initially appreciated his kindness and relative stability. But Dave's no good looker and not exactly fulfilling in bed. So to no one's surprise but Dave's, she's been fooling around with his best friend Cal Moulton (Michael Emmet).

The naughty couple are making out in the swamp at night only to have Dave stumble across them during a delivery. Understandably infuriated, Dave uses close misses with his gun to drive the betrayers into the water. Just as his temper cools and Dave decides to let them out of the water so that they can discuss things like adults, something horrible grabs Cal and Liz and drags them under. He fires at the giant leech-like thing, but to no avail.

Sheriff Kovis only believes the first half of Dave's story and arrests him for the probable murder of Liz and Cal. There's a small reward posted for the retrieval of the couple's bodies, and two locals, Sam (Joseph Hamilton) and Reed (Dan White) go poking around the gator hollows looking. Dave commits suicide in his cell, and the two old coots go missing.

Over Steve's objection, Doc uses an explosive in the oddly gator-free lake to bring up the bodies of two of the missing. Now it's time to deal with whatever is in the water. But can anyone survive the attack of the giant leeches?

This Corman quickie came in at the tail end of the 1950s monster movie craze. It was shot back-to-back with Night of the Blood Beast and used most of the same crew.

You can tell this was another of the producer's low, low budget film, relying heavily on "night" scenes and heavy shadows to hide how shabby the monster costumes are. The acting is no great shakes, and there manage to be some slow bits even though it's only a little over an hour long.

That said, the monsters are pretty creepy, Yvette Vickers manages to exude some sex appeal, and the sequel hook makes sense. I can see the bones of a much better movie in here. And of course, it's amazing how much movie the Corman brothers were able to get for their buck.

Mostly for Corman completists, and would make a good double feature with another swamp movie.

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CRUD Challenge List October 2025

2025-10-11T01:22:42Z

This is a list of movies I've had lying around for ages and never got around to watching, so I am participating in the CRUD Challenge. A member of the CRUD Buddies community will be picking four of these movies for me to watch during each month, and post reviews of same.

20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009) dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (2009) dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi

The Accidental Spy (2001) dir. Teddy Chan
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) dir. Lotte Reiniger
The Alien Factor (1978) dir. Don Dohler
Alien Prey (1977) dir. Norman J. Warren
Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls (2008) dir. Mark Atkins
All Over Town (1937) dir. James W. Horne
All-Star Superman (2011) dir. Sam Liu
Anna Karenina (1948) dir. Julien Duvivier
Apocalypse (2007) dir. Justin Jones
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) dir. Frank Capra
Attack of the Moon Zombies (2011) dir. Christopher R. Mihm
At the Gate of the Ghost (2011) dir. Pundhevanop Dhewakul
The Avenger (1962) dir. Giorgio Venturini
Azumi 2 (2005) dir. Shusuke Kaneko

The Bat (1926) dir. Roland West
The Bat (1959) dir. Crane Wilbur
The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) dir. Michael Goguen
The Battle of El Alamein (1969) dir. Giorgio Ferroni
Battleship Potemkin (1925) dir. Sergei M. Eisenstein
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) dir. Coleman Francis
Bedlam (1946) dir. Mark Robson
The Beguiled (1971) dir. Don Siegel
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) dir. William Wyler
Black Orpheus (1959) dir. Marcel Camus
Blake of Scotland Yard (1937) dir. Robert F. Hill
Blonde for a Day (1946) dir. Sam Newfield
Blood Mania (1970) dir. Robert Vincent O'Neil
Blood Thirst (1971) dir. Newt Arnold
The Bloody Fists (1972) dir. Ng See-Yuen
The Body Snatcher (1945) dir. Robert Wise
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) dir. Blake Edwards
Breakout from Oppression (1978) dir. Lau Kar-leung
Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West (1965) dir. Mario Costa
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952) dir. Bernard B. Ray
Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) dir. James P. Hogan

Calling Philo Vance (1940) dir. William Clemens
Call of the Wild (1935) dir. William A. Wellman
Captain Kidd (1945) dir. Rowland V. Lee
The Case of the Black Cat (1936) dir. William C. McGann
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937) dir. William Clemens
The Cave (2005) dir. Bruce Hunt
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) dir. Phil Rosen
The Chase (1946) dir. Arthur Ripley
Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) dir.Tay Garnett
Child Bride (1938) dir. Harry Revier
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) dir. Ken Hughes
The Cocaine Fiends (1935) dir. William A. O'Connor
The Cowboys (1972) dir. Mark Rydell
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) dir. Michael Carreras

Deadfall (1993) dir. Christopher Coppola
The Dead Matter (2010) dir. Edward Douglas
The Dead Pool (1988) dir. Buddy Van Horn
The Devil Bat (1940) dir. Jean Yarbrough
Devil Girl from Mars (1954) dir. David MacDonald
Dishonored Lady (1947) dir. Robert Stevenson
Dogman (2012) dir. Richard Brauer
Dracula 2000 (2000) dir. Patrick Lussier
Dracula II: Ascension (2003) dir. Patrick Lussier
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) dir. John S. Robertson
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) dir. Victor Fleming
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) dir. Fritz Lang

Election (1999) dir. Alexander Payne
Election (2005) dir. Johnnie To
Elmer Gantry (1960) dir. Richard Brooks

The Falcon Takes Over (1942) dir. Irving Reis
A Farewell to Arms (1957) dir. Charles Vidor
The Farmer's Wife (1928) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Fast Track: No Limits (2008) dir. Axel Sand
Father's Little Dividend (1951) dir. Vincente Minnelli
Ferris Bueller's Day Off I1986) dir. John Hughes
Flash Gordon: Rocketship (1936) dir. Ford Beebe
The Flying Deuces (1939) dir. A. Edward Sutherland
The Flying Scotsman (1929) dir. Castleton Knight
For Me and My Gal (1942) dir. Busby Berkeley
The Forsaken (2001) dir. J.S. Cardone
Funny Face (1957) dir. Stanley Donen
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum (1966) dir. Richard Lester

Gamers (2006) dir. Christopher Fallon
The Garden Murder Case (1936) dir. Edwin L. Marin
The Gay Falcon (1941) dir. Irving Reis
Genocide (1968) dir. Kazui Nihonmatsu
The Ghost & Mr. Chicken (1966) dir. Alan Rafkin
The Giant Gila Monster (1959) dir. Ray Kellogg
Great American West (1973) dir. Denis Sanders
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) dir. Mark Gustafson

The House of Mystery (1921) dir. Alexandre Volkoff
Imitation of Life (1934) dir. John M. Stahl
Imitation of Life (1959) dir. Douglas Sirk
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) dir. Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) dir. Steven Spielberg
Inner Sanctum (1948) dir. Lew Landers
Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (2002) dir. Toshiya Shinohara
The Invisible Ray (1935) dir. Lambert Hillyer
Ip Man 3 (2015) dir. Wilson Yip

Jamaica Inn (1939) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
Jungle Book (1942) dir. Zoltan Korda
Jungle Jim (1937) dir. Ford Beebe
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) dir. Sam Liu
Justice League Doom (2012) dir. Lauren Montgomery
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019) dir. Wes Gleason

Kentucky Rifle (1955) dir. Carl Hittleman
Kill! (1968) dir. Kihachi Okamoto
King and the Cowboy (1932) dir. Kurt Neumann
Kiss and Make-up (1934) dir. Harlan Thompson
Kung Fu Mahjong 2 (2005) dir. Wong Jing
Kunpan: Legend of the Warlord (2002) dir. Tanit Jitnukul
Kuroneko (1968) dir. Kaneto Shindo

The Land that Time Forgot (2009) dir. C. Thomas Howell
The Last Laugh (1924) dir. F.W. Murnau
The Last Picture Show (1971) dir. Peter Bogdanovich
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) dir. Richard Brooks
Law of the Wild (1934) dir. B. Reeves Eason
Lean On Me (1989) dir. John G. Avildsen
The Lightning Warrior (1931) dir. Benjamin J. Kline
Live and Let Die (1973) dir. Guy Hamilton
La Llorona (2019) dir. Jayro Bustamante
Lost Canyon (1942) dir. Lesley Selander
Lover Come Back (1961) dir. Delbert Mann
The Lucky Texan (1934) dir. Robert N. Bradbury
Lupin III: The First (2019) dir. Takashi Yamazaki

Ma and Pa Kettle (1949) dir. Charles Lamont
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950) dir. Charles Lamont
Mad Love (1935) dir. Karl Freund
Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) dir. Arthur Crabtree
Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987) dir. Jim Monaco
The Maggie (1954) dir. Alexander Mackendrick
Maggie (2015) dir. Henry Hobson
The Man in Grey (1943) dir. Leslie Arliss
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) dir. Otto Preminger
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) dir. Guy Hamilton
Maze (1996) dir. Atsushi Aono
The Medicine Man (1930) dir. Scott Pembroke
Meera (1992) dir. P.C. Sreeram
The Milky Way (1936) dir. Leo McCarey
The Mouse that Roared (1959) dir. Jack Arnold
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) dir. Frank Capra
Mrs. Miniver (1942) dir. William Wyler
Murder by Death (1976) dir. Robert Moore
Murder Is My Business (1946) dir. Sam Newfield
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) dir. Robert Florey
The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) dir. William Nigh
The Mystic (1925) dir. Tod Browning

Night Key (1937) dir. Lloyd Corrigan
Nosferatu (1922) dir. F.W. Murnau

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) dir. Sergio Leone
OSS 117 Is Unleashed (1963) dir. Andre Hunebelle
OSS 117 Panic in Bangkok dir. Andre Hunebelle
Outlaws of the Desert (1941) dir. Howard Bretherton

Pacific Rim (2013) dir. Guillermo del Toro
Passport to Pimlico (1949) dir. Henry Cornelius
Pelt (2010) dir. Richard Swindell
Phantom from Space (1953) dir. W. Lee Wilder
Pillow Talk (1959) dir. Michael Gordon
The Plague of the Zombies (1966) dir. John Gilling
Play Misty for Me (1971) dir. Clint Eastwood
Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns (2000) dir. Matsamitsu Hidaka
Private Snuffy Smith (1942) dir. Edward F. Cline
Prodigal Boxer (?) dir. Unknown, stars Fei Meng

Quicksand (1950) dir. Irving Pichel
Rage at Dawn (1955) dir. Tim Whelan
Rear Window (1954) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Red Heat (1988) dir. Walter Hill
Reign of Fire (2002) dir. Rob Bowman
The Return of Doctor X (1939) dir. Vincent Sherman
Revolt of the Zombies (1936) die. Victor Halperin
River's End (2005) dir. William Katt
Robin Hood (1973) dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
Rocketship X-M (1958) dir. Kurt Neumann

Sagebrush Trail (1933) dir. Armand Schaefer
Samurai Princess (2009) dir. Kengo Kaji
Samurai Spy (1965) dir. Masahiro Shinoda
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) dir. Allan Dwan
The Scarlet Clue (1945) dir. Phil Rosen
Scott of the Antarctic (1948) dir. Charles Frend
Secret of the Andes (1998) dir. Alejandro Azzano
The Shining (1980) dir. Stanley Kubrick
Sitting Bull (1954) dir. Sidney Salkow
Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) dir. Henry King
Spaceballs (1987) dir. Mel Brooks
Spies (1928) dir. Fritz Lang
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) dir. Lewis Gilbert
Swamp Diamonds (1955) dir. Roger Corman
Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) dir. Terence Fisher

Tales from the East (unknown) dir. Manfred Wong
Tarzan and the Trappers (1958) dir. Charles F. Haas
Tarzan's Revenge (1938) dir. D. Ross Lederman
Thirty Day Princess (1934) dir. Marion Gering
Thunderball (1965) dir. Terence Young
Tokyo! (2008) dir. Leos Carax
Tower of London (1939) dir. Rowland V. Lee
Triad Election (2006) dir. Johnnie To
Tulsa (1949) dir. Stuart Heisler

The Unknown (1927) dir. Tod Browning
Vertigo (1958) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Victims of Sin (1951) dir. Emilio Fernandez

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (2008) dir. C. Thomas Howell
When Worlds Collide (1951) dir. Rudolph Mate
Winds of the Wasteland (1936) dir. Mack Wright
Without Honor (1949) dir. Irving Pichel
The Woman in Green (1945) dir. Roy William Neill
Wonder Woman (1974) dir. Vincent McEveety

The X from Outer Space (1967) dir. Kazui Nihonmatsu
Yuma (1970) dir. Ted Post
Zoltan...Hound of Dracula (1977) dir. Albert Band

I've now moved "previously watched for challenge" movies to another post.

The Avengers (1998) dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik
Demonia (1990) dir. Lucio Fulci

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CRUD Challenge: Isle of the Dead (1945)

2025-10-05T05:46:17Z

Isle of the Dead (1945) dir. Mark Robson

General Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) is leading Greek forces in the first Balkan War of 1912. His troops have just won a hard-fought battle. But perhaps less of them would have died if one of his officers hadn't arrived too late. The officer tries to make excuses, but is stripped of his rank and General Pherides silently offers him a choice between a firing squad and honorable suicide. American reporter Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer) is shocked by this apparent cruelty.

We learn of the general's rigid adherence to what he sees as his duty to protect Greece, its laws, and his troops. He's not called "the Bulldog" for nothing. Outside, corpses litter the ground, and already exhausted soldiers are slaving to take them away. Army doctor Drossos (Ernst Deutsch) explains that disease is endemic on the battlefield, and the dead must be buried or destroyed immediately to prevent its spread. Sure, using horses would lighten the load, but unlike human beings they would not understand the need to keep working past exhaustion.

General Pherides also understands personal loss. His wife passed away many years ago, and as it happens is buried on a small island nearby, an Isle of the Dead. He has decided to pay his respects at her tomb tonight while he has the chance. Mr. Davis volunteers to come with him to see a more peaceful area of Greece.

When they reach the island (modeled on a famous painting) which is symbolically guarded by a statue of Cerberus, the three headed dog of Hades, they are shocked to discover that the tomb of the general's wife has been despoiled and her coffin opened and empty. In face, all the coffins are empty. What sacrilege is this? A haunting song draws them to a house nearby, the only living habitation on the island.

This turns out to be the dwelling place of Albrecht (Jason Robards Sr.), a Swiss archaeologist. He explains that he unwittingly set the destruction in motion some years before when he arrived in the area and began offering money for antiquities. The impoverished villagers were quick to realize that the only untapped source of antiquities in the area was the Isle of the Dead, and looted it to get money to eat and survive. Once Albrecht realized what had happened, he settled on the island in the hopes of preserving what was left.

As it happens, the house is full of people tonight. In addition to Albrecht and his elderly housekeeper Madame Kyra (Helene Thimig), there's British consul St. Aubyn (Alan Napier), his sickly wife Mrs. Mary St. Aubyn (Katherine Emery), Mrs. St. Aubyn's companion/servant Thea (Ellen Drew) and Cockney tinsmith Andrew Robbins (Skelton Knaggs). The British people (though Thea is also Greek) were forced to detour here due to the battle on the mainland. Mr. Robbins is behaving oddly, put down to drunkenness, and is shown to bed. Since it is very late, General Pherides and Mr. Davis are talked into sleeping at the villa until dawn.

Except that it turns out that Mr. Robbins was not drunk, but dying, and the general suspects he knows why. Dr. Drossos is summoned, and confirms that the cause of death was septicemic plague, and everyone present, including himself, must stay on the island until the plague is confirmed to have run its course.

One by one, the group begins to die. But is it actually plague, or is it something far darker? Madame Kyra fears that a vorvolaka (a malign spirit of Greek folklore) is on the Isle of the Dead and is using the plague as a cover for its sinister actions. The others scoff at first, but as the casualties mount, General Pherides begins to think there's some truth to this.

This film is one of three that producer Val Lewton was contractually obligated to make starring Boris Karloff. While initially displeased, Mr. Lewton found Karloff easy to work with and the partnership did well. The cold and somewhat cruel general is a far cry from Mr. Karloff's "type" of somewhat sympathetic doctors and scientists driven to evil. The curly-haired wig takes some getting used to, but the actor's inherent dignity manages to pull it off. An important bit of characterization happens early on when Thea admits she hates the general because he'd killed several of her neighbors for refusing to pay unfair taxes. "Anyone who refuses to follow the law of Greece is not a Greek."

Despite his coldness, we can see his reasoning and his strong discipline, so his descent into paranoia and madness is more striking.

Madame Kyra is the main villain here, allowing her superstition and dislike of Thea to fix accusations in her head, and poisoning the atmosphere. She's responsible for unnecessary tragedy.

The other standout character is Mrs. St. Aubyn. Her chronic illness sometimes leaves her in a cataleptic state, so she has a horror of being buried alive. Unfortunately, Dr. Drossos, the one person around who can tell the difference between catalepsy and death, dies before her.

Mr. Davis and Thea are more shallow characters, set up to be the romantic subplot.

There's some musing on deeper themes. Science vs. faith, law vs. compassion, meditations on mortality.

Content note: Murder, suicide and other deaths, no gore, though we see a lot of corpses. Someone is buried alive. Older teens on up should be fine.

This is not considered one of Lewton's top films, but is still pretty good, and is well above some of the crap Karloff got stuck with. It'd be a good choice if you want to see a horror movie that's more suspenseful than scary. Recommended to Boris Karloff fans.

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CRUD Challenge: Hand of Death

2025-09-27T20:50:42Z

Hand of Death (1962) dir. Gene Nelson

Alex Marsh (John Agar) is a biochemist who was supposed to be working on an aerosol anesthesia that patients could absorb through the skin. This research got derailed when Alex stumbled across a formula that instead caused temporary paralysis of the entire body, effectively a nerve gas. It's also apparently very compatible for mixture with other chemical compounds. So his current project is combining the nerve gas with a will-deadening hypnotic so that even when the paralysis wears off, the victims will be suggestible and easily controlled. The military will certainly want this!

The people he's explaining this to aren't so sure. His wheelchair-bound mentor Dr. Frederick Ramsey (Roy Gordon), girlfriend Carol Wilson (Paula Raymond) and friendly rival Tom Holland (Stephen Dunne) are all concerned about the safety and possibly the morality of such research. Alex dismisses their concerns and returns to his desert laboratory. Carlos (John A. Alonzo), his laboratory assistant, is also concerned with the possible dangers, but his paycheck depends on Alex, so agrees to help.

A combination of overwork and being exposed to trace amounts of the nerve gas causes Alex to become less rational and more careless. One night, he accidentally knocks over his latest combination serum and tries to wipe up the mess with his bare hand. This causes great pain and he rips his shirt open, falling into his bed with severe hallucinations.

When he wakes up, Alex is feeling somewhat better, but his skin has darkened. And when Carlos tries to get him medical attention, Alex grabs his arm to stop him...which causes Carlos to drop dead with the affected skin turning black. To cover up the accidental death, Alex sets the lab on fire and flees to seek a cure. Things only go downhill for him from there.

This low budget horror flick seems more Fifties than Sixties, and may have been written much earlier. It's less than an hour long, suitable for a quick drive-in feature before the main movie of the night. The love triangle subplot feels stuffed in to bring the story up to even that length.

The makeup for Alex's monster form is admittedly crude, but in black and white it works decently well. The acting is adequate.

One scene reminded me this takes place before the Americans with Disability Act. Dr. Ramsey has been in a wheelchair for decades due to an accident with live polio virus. The entrance to the institute where he works has a staircase. And in all the years he's worked there, no one has thought to put in a ramp or handicapped entrance. This isn't said out loud, but simply shown.

There's a couple of interesting cameos. Joe Besser, one of the substitute Stooges, plays an over-eager gas station attendant. And The Munsters' Butch Patrick is a little boy who finds Alex lying on the beach and almost touches him. Oh, and then there's the taxi driver (Fred Korne) who sees a man with a blackened, crackled face in his cab and doesn't get scared or concerned, just angry. Perhaps bigotry is overcoming his ability to perceive beyond skin color?

Content note: Several deaths, including two mice. Deformity. Alex is a little too into the idea of turning enemy soldiers into medical zombies.

This movie was apparently lost media for a few decades, so those of you interested in the history of horror films might want to check it out to fill in your knowledge. Viewers with little patience may want to fast forward to when Alex is contaminated and the scary parts begin.

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CRUD Challenge: Too Many Winners

2025-09-27T14:48:38Z

Too Many Winners (1947) dir. William Beaudine

Private eye Michael Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) and his secretary Phyllis Hamilton (Trudy Marshall) have been invited for a duck hunting vacation with one of her relatives. Phyllis is looking forward to this, so is irritated when Gil Madden (Ben Welden) enters, looking like a client. She quickly informs him the office is closed, only for Mr. Madden to say that he'd planned to offer $2000 for Mike not to take a case. Oops! Then Michael gets a call from Mayme Martin (Claire Carlton), a vampish blackmailer offering a hot tip. Naturally, he's off to investigate, promising he'll be right back.

The meeting is inconclusive, as Mayme wants cash up front, and the hints she's giving are for a case Shayne isn't involved with. A thousand dollars is a lot of money for information that might be useless. Outside the apartment building, Mike is abducted by two thugs who want to know what he learned from Mayme, and don't believe him when he truthfully admits he didn't learn anything. They beat him up and toss the detective into the City Dump.

When Shayne finally makes it back to the office a few hours later, the rightfully steamed Phyllis has left on her own, leaving a message about a persistent caller. This turns out to be the owner of the Santa Rosita racetrack, who needs a private eye, and asks him to meet with track manager John Hardeman (Grandon Rhodes) in the Santa Rosita Hotel. Now that he's on the case, Mike asks reporter pal Tim Rourke (Charles Mitchell) to visit Mayme and pay her for the information.

Tim arrives just in time to meet police detective Peter Rafferty (Ralph Dunn) who's investigating Mayme's murder. Tim's presence and peanut shells in an ashtray leads Rafferty to suspect his old enemy Michael Shayne is mixed up in this somehow.

At Santa Rosita, Mike meets with Hardeman and finds out what the case is about. The racetrack has had too many winning tickets recently, consistently more than the number they actually sold. Therefore, someone must be counterfeiting betting slips wholesale--but how? The local police resent Shayne being called in, but they haven't been able to figure the case out, and the track's been losing enough money to not be profitable.

Can Michael Shayne crack the case and win back Phyllis, and how many people will need to die to do this?

This is the last of the Hugh Beaumont Shayne movies (though not the last I will review), and the cast switches up a bit again. The dialogue is still snappy, and the comedy bits hit often. Special callout to George Meader as put-upon hotel clerk Clarence.

This version of Phyllis has a quicker temper than her predecessors, and Mike treats her pretty badly. Because the movie is meant as light-hearted, no one seems very broken up about the multiple corpses, with one exception who's given a sympathetic family so Shayne tries not to make things worse for them.

This is a middle of the road low-budget series film, and perhaps it's best that the studio pulled the plug at this point before the movies really declined. It's short, so I'd recommend it as a double feature with a more gritty mystery. Recommended for lighter mystery fans.

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CRUD Challenge: Starship Troopers (1997)

2025-09-23T02:02:12Z

Starship Troopers (1997) dir. Paul Verhoeven

John D. "Johnny" Rico (Casper Van Dien) is a jumpball star at his local high school in Buenos Aires in the 22nd Century. But he has decided he doesn't want to go professional, and he's having second thoughts about simply working for his wealthy father's (Christopher Curry) company. Instead, he's thinking of going into government service, which guarantees citizenship, the right to vote. He's been influenced in this by his civics teacher, Jean Raszcak (Michael Ironside) who flatly states that most civilians can't cut it in government service, and his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), who is signing up herself.

Despite his parents' strong objections, Johnny signs up right out of high school, as do Carmen, Dizzy Flores (Dana Meyer) who is a fellow jumpball player and attracted to Johnny, and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris), a "sensitive" with some psychic abilities. Carmen gets a prestigious flight academy posting, Carl is sent off to military research, while Johnny and Dizzy, not exactly being mental powerhouses, have to "settle" for the Mobile Infantry, the grunts of the future military.

At boot camp, Johnny meets tough but fair drill instructor Sergeant Zim (Clancy Brown), new best friend Ace Levy (Jake Busey), and a number of other recruits. Johnny's skillset and personality give him potential as a soldier, and he's soon a temporary squad leader. Then a fatal training mistake shatters Johnny's confidence. He's about to quit when the conflict with an alien species called the Bugs goes hot with the destruction of Buenos Aires. A war's on now, and Johnny is going to do his part!

Would you like to know more?

This sci-fi action movie is loosely based on Robert A. Heinlein's novel of the same name. And by "loosely", I mean that the director read the first couple of chapters, bounced hard, asked the scriptwriter to summarize the plot, then decided to make a satire of what he thought the book's themes were, completely missing the actual social commentary contained therein.

Which is not to say it isn't a great movie. You just have to catch that it's an in-universe propaganda film made by a fascist regime to sell an ill-thought-out war to its populace. There are plenty of hints. The Buenos Aires characters might have Hispanic names, but are conspicuously white-looking and don't show any signs of Hispanic culture. Buenos Aires might be a city from the little we see of it, but the high school sure looks feels like a small-town school. Once we get into the military portion, there's a lot of echoes of fascist symbology. The tactics are laughable, and some of the propaganda blurbs are outright silly.

And of course, to make a good satire, it also has to work as an actual example of the genre. A likeable hero, relatable struggles, awesome action and reasonably plausible plot twists.

Instead of the book's single narrative following just Johnny, we cut to Carmen's story every so often, making her an actual character in the story. This also allows the filmmakers to introduce romance subplotting that was almost completely ignored in the book.

The special effects are top-notch for the time, and haven't aged badly at all.

Will we ever see a reasonably faithful adaptation of the book? Probably not. It's very much a reaction to American (and to a lesser extent global) conditions of the 1950s and so would need updating to deal with current cultural touchstones. (For example, a Filipino as the protagonist would be seen by conservatives as "woke" rather than the mind-blowing reveal it was when the book was first published.)

In the meantime, we have this twisted adaptation to enjoy.

Content note: Lots of military violence, often gory and/or lethal. Quite a bit of mutilation and severed limbs. Torture by whipping. A cow dies with minimal censoring. Extramarital sex just off-camera. Male and female nudity, including the infamous mixed shower scene. People with bug phobias might want to skip this altogether. Vomiting. Some rough language. This is an R-rated movie and fully earns that.

People who prefer their science fiction serious should read the book instead. Also, if you see the movie I recommend reading the book so see what Heinlein was actually talking about. Still, this is a good movie, and recommended to people who understand where the director is coming from.

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CRUD Challenge: Choices (1981)

2025-09-11T14:34:08Z

Choices (1981) dir. Silvio Narizzano

John Carluccio (Paul Carafotes) has a pretty good life. Yes, he's got severe hearing loss due to a childhood accident, but with the help of a hearing aid, he's able to function in hearing society just fine. He's first violin in his high school orchestra (been playing since age 3 due to his grandfather (George Barrows) urging it on him, Gramps also being the orchestra director. John's the star running back on the football team, which actually has a chance of making it into the playoffs this year. And on nights when he doesn't have too much school stuff going on, he plays fiddle in a rockabilly band at the local bar.

Trouble comes when the old school doctor retires and is replaced by Dr. Bowers (Dennis Patrick). While reviewing the school's medical records, Dr. Bowers notices John's hearing loss and decides that he should no longer be allowed to play football. This decision understandably enrages John, as well as his father Gary (Victor French) whose own athletic dreams were crushed by injury, and Coach Rizzo (Val Avery) who's finally got a team with a shot at the championship. Gramps thinks this is okay because it will allow John to devote more time to music. And while most of the football team is supportive of John, Lance (Don Stark), the back-up running back who's been benched most of the season due to John being just so much better, would just as soon have his rival out of the way.

Now, Dr. Bowers means well, and his point isn't that John physically can't play football (which makes the attempts to show Dr. Bowers that he can kind of redundant) but that further injury could make John lose his remaining hearing, and John has never bothered to learn lip reading or sign language, so he's woefully unprepared for total deafness. But Dr. Bowers is bad at explaining himself, especially to teenagers, and comes across as arbitrary and cruel.

When the matter is brought up to the school board, they let the doctor's decision stand so that they can review the evidence and make a decision at their next meeting in two weeks.

While he also loves music, John's identity as a high school student is tied to his stardom as a football player. Banned from the sport, he begins to spiral. He starts hanging out with his hoodlum friend Chris (Stephen Nicols) way more, begins smoking and drinking, and having fights with his family and other friends.

Oh, and sweetheart Corri (Demi Moore) is also there.

This TV movie is allegedly based on a true story, and veers into Afterschool Special territory. It's mostly remembered now for being Demi Moore's first official movie role, and the promotional art features her heavily, though she's got a small supporting role. She does okay in it.

The music is good, both the classical music played by the school orchestra, and the original songs played by the band or just on the soundtrack. There's some effective sound design to show John's hearing loss.

John's downward spiral is perhaps a bit too steep and fast for plausibility, and tends towards the melodramatic, but is excusable to fit it within ninety minutes run time and a bit over two weeks in story time.

The acting ranges from wooden to average; the most interesting job is done by Pat Buttram as "Pops" the folksy bar owner.

Content notes: Some fistfights. Relatively mild ableism. Underage drinking and smoking. Chris' character leans a little too much into stereotypes of "the criminal class." Teenagers should be able to handle it just fine.

It's an okay TV drama of its time and place. Recommended primarily to families with teenagers who can use it to spark discussions. Demi Moore fans will be disappointed, so only for completionists.

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CRUD Challenge: Detour (1945)

2025-08-24T00:40:55Z

Detour (1945) dir. Edgar G. Ulmer

When we first meet Al Roberts (Tom Neal), he's hitchhiking east, unshaven, haunted-looking, and reacting badly to a jukebox song. That song used to mean something different, when he was a pianist in a small club, hoping for a break into the big time, and singer Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake) was his sweetheart. His memory flashes back, remembering how he got into this mess....

Neither Al nor Sue is getting better job offers in New York City, so she moves to Los Angeles in hopes of getting into the movies. Al tries to stick it out in the Big Apple for a while, but his emotional state deteriorates, so he decides to follow her. Problem is that he has no savings, so a plane or train ticket is out. Guess he'll have to go by hitchhiking.

Progress is slow, most people are only going to the next town over, and Al loses a few rides because he or the driver get sore. By the time he reaches Arizona, he's dead broke. That's when he's picked up by Charles Haskell, Jr. (Edmund MacDonald), who bears a faint resemblance to Al. At first, this seems like a lucky break. Haskell plans to go all the way to L.A., and needs to get there ASAP so he's willing to let Al spell him on driving. Haskell's a bit shady, admitting to being a bookie, but he's friendly seeming, and quite garrulous. He explains some nasty scratches on his wrist came from a female hitchhiker he picked up earlier, but that's nothing compared to his dueling scar.

Haskell's been popping pills, we never find out what kind. But eventually, he needs to sleep, and Al takes over driving through the night. At oh dark thirty, there's a sudden rainstorm, and Al decides to stop so he can put up the convertible's top. He tries to rouse Haskell, but the man is unresponsive. Al opens the passenger door, intending to move Haskell out of the way so the top can be raised. The other man falls out of the automobile and hits his head on a rock at the side of the road. If he wasn't already dead (quite possible), he's definitely dead now!

Al panics. He's sure the police won't believe his story that Haskell's death was entirely an accident. There's only one thing to do. Switch clothes and identification with the corpse, then hide it off the road. (Driver's licenses didn't have photographs back then, and the statistics listed match his own, so he figures he can get away with it, at least for a while.) Haskell had a decent amount of money in his wallet, so Al is able to stop at a motel, freshen up and sleep (restlessly) for a few hours.

He gets through a police checkpoint okay, and is starting to think he'll do okay. Al's confidence is boosted enough that when he sees an attractive woman needing a lift, he doesn't think twice about picking her up. Unfortunately, Vera (Ann Savage) just happens to have been the woman who have Haskell those scratches, having managed to catch another ride that got ahead of Al while he was sleeping. She almost immediately clocks that this is Charles Haskell's car, and those are Haskell's clothes, but Al isn't Haskell. She jumps to the entirely logical conclusion that Al robbed and murdered Haskell.

But Vera is no friend of the law. She sees...possibilities...in Al, and won't turn him in just yet, if he'll help her raise some cash, one way or another. Things aren't going to get any better for Al from this point on.

This immediately post-war film noir was made on a tiny budget--the car that most of the action takes around was the director's own personal automobile, and one of the outfits Vera wears belonged to the script clerk. There's a minimum of sets, very few stunts, and limited special effects. Al's piano-playing is closeups of the film score composer's hands. You can tell this was a Poverty Row picture. But that said, this is a very good movie for what it is.

It's very dark and pessimistic, as Al's options keep getting worse and worse, and Vera gets ever greedier. The runtime is short, making sure the movie doesn't outstay its welcome. The dialogue works well.

Some moments in the story don't quite make sense as presented, but since Al is the narrator, it's possible he's not telling the entire truth. The ending is ambiguous...up to the final shot which the Hays Code insisted had to be added. The script makes that work, mostly.

Content note: "Accidental" death. It's implied Haskell attempted unwanted sexual contact with Vera. Alcohol abuse. Some rough language, as bad as the Hays Code will allow.

This is a very good B-movie that is short enough to work as part of a double feature. Recommended to noir fans.

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CRUD Challenge: Final Encounter (2000)

2025-08-17T16:47:50Z

Final Encounter (2000) dir. David Douglas. aka For the Cause

It is several centuries into the future. Two human colonies have been established on an Earth-like planet to get away from the constant wars on the mother world. Alas, Brecca and Obsidian eventually turned hostile to each other for reasons now lost to history, and the war between them has been going on for 99 years. Brecca is in rough shape. Its citizens are undernourished, and the attrition among soldiers is high. The recruitment age has been repeatedly dropped, so many of the soldiers are barely in their teens. While they still have advanced computer technology, the understanding of it is limited to specialized female operatives called "witches." Morale is at an all-time low, and the Brecca army spends most of its time fighting its own deserters and separatists. It's estimated that unless the Obsidian forces are somehow neutralized, Brecca will lose the war in a matter of months.

General Murran (Dean Cain) has a plan. There's an ancient superweapon codenamed "Warhammer" that supposedly would disable Obsidian's technology if detonated in their capital city, allowing Brecca to sue for peace from a position of strength. Twenty years ago, his father had attempted to invade Obsidian in strength, only to get almost all the troops with him killed, and the previous general either died or was captured. The components of Warhammer, which had been separated for security, fell into the hands of different factions. So, the components will need to be reassembled, and someone will have to sneak into Obsidian to deliver the device.

But this time, it will need to be an elite strike team led by General Murran himself. To join him, he selects Sutherland (Justin Whalin), the most loyal and effective soldier Brecca has left; Stoner (Trae Thomas), a more cynical heavy weapons expert; Abel (Jodi Bianca Wise), Brecca's top combat witch; and Layton (Michelle Krusiec), the next best available witch. Their first action is to rescue Evans (Thomas Ian Griffith), the only man who knows how to safely get through the Wall, a lost technology barrier that prevents ground assaults on Obsidian.

As the mission continues, the team suffers losses one by one. But is this just the normal casualties of war, or something more sinister?

This low-budget science fiction action film was released straight to video. Money was saved by shooting in Bulgaria, using affordable actors and using an in-house computer effects team.

Good: The producers of the film had a background in computer graphics, so the CGI effects are pretty good for the time, and there's an in-universe reason they look unnatural. The setup of the war is interesting, and Bulgaria stands in well for the alien planet.

Less Good: The dialogue is hokey, and the acting ranges from adequate to wooden. The ending is cheesy, and a subplot involving Abel's precocious little sister just kind of fizzles out offscreen.

Funny: Cain and Whalin had previously starred together as Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen respectively in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman which added a certain weirdness to their interactions in this movie.

Content note: Lots of lethal violence. A bone is broken in an unnatural way. A child is lured by an adult in a really creepy way (she's fine.)

This is one of those movies that isn't good, but not bad in a fun way. I found it on one of those multi-film sets at the discount store, and that's about the quality. Mildly recommended if you are interested in one of the actors.

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CRUD Challenge: McLIntock!

2025-08-09T21:57:31Z

McLintock! (1963) dir. Andrew V. McLaglen

It is summer, 1895, and Elizabeth "Betsy" McLintock (Stefanie Powers) is coming home from college in the East to her hometown of McLintock, named after her father George Washington "G.W." McLintock (John Wayne). She has no idea what she's walking in to. G.W. and his wife Katherine "Kate" McLintock (Maureen O'Hara) have been separated for the last two years, and she's been hanging out as a socialite in the territory capital in the eastern part of the territory. Now that Betsy has graduated, the fiery-tempered Katherine has returned to the family ranch to seek a divorce and custody of their daughter.

And there's quite a bit more going on in McLintock. Recently a new crop of homesteaders arrived, lured by the prospect of "free" government land. Land agent Matt Douglas (Gordon Jones) is looking forward to all the transaction fees he'll be pocketing, and tries to preempt G.W.'s warning that the land parcels are unfit for farming by claiming that this is the usual cattlemen vs. settlers conflict. One young man, Devlin "Dev" Warren (Patrick Wayne), has already lost his chance at a parcel due to the death of his father, whose name the parcel was in. He asks G.W. for a ranch hand job, initially being turned down as the rancher doesn't hire "farmers", but persists when old-timer Bunny Dull (Edgar Buchanan) advises him not to be too proud to beg. He breaks down a bit when this works, but G.W. turns out to appreciate that proud streak. When G.W. discovers that Dev's mother Louise Warren (Yvonne De Carlo) is an excellent cook, he hires her as well, not really thinking about her good looks, but not minding them if you catch my drift.

Also on the train is Mr. Douglas' son, Matt Junior (Jerry Van Dyke), who's kind of a goofball and is sweet on Betsy. G.W. is very unimpressed with him, so Betsy allows the boy to court her out of contrariness. This doesn't sit well with Dev, who also takes a liking to Betsy, though the two don't get off on the right foot (Betsy shares quite a bit of her mother's temper.)

More dramatically, four Comanche chiefs have been released from confinement and also arrived on the train, though they had to ride in a cargo car. They include Chief Puma (Michael Pate), G.W's old arch-enemy and blood brother, and are met by members of their tribe including deadpan humorist Running Buffalo (John Stanley). Inept "Indian agent" Mr. Agard (Strother Martin) speaks no Comanche and knows nothing of their culture, but expects them to obey his orders. Including being deported from their current reservation to Fort Sill, Oklahoma so that they can be better controlled. This plan is endorsed by territorial governor Cuthbert H. Humphrey (Robert Lowery).

All these ingredients and a few more set to bubbling, and things come to a boil at the McLintock Fourth of July celebration.

This comedy-Western took its initial inspiration from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, thus the female lead's name, and the now infamous spanking scenes which espoused that men should take firm physical measures to handle "unruly" women and that this would repair relationships.

Other script elements were introduced to feature John Wayne's personal interests. He'd disliked how racist his character was portrayed in The Searchers, so in this movie, G.W. is depicted as a good friend to the Comanche despite having been at war with them previously, and standing up for them against the inept federal government. Governor Humphrey was a direct shot at Minnesota senator Hubert H. Humphrey, whose politics and personality Wayne didn't like. (Though at this late date only people from Minnesota are likely to catch the reference.) There's even chess scenes reflecting John Wayne's fondness for the game.

Good: Some nice fist fights (the mud pit sequence is particularly good) and stunt work. A lot of the comedy hits. The treatment of Native Americans is very respectful for the time it was made.

Less good: The whole "spanking your woman is good for your relationship" thing. This sort of thing was already frowned upon in America by the time this movie was made, but Mr. Wayne thought modern society had gotten too soft on the subject. Plus, it was very much a callback to Shakespeare. People who are triggered by physical abuse may want to sit this one out.

G.W. is depicted as being basically right about absolutely everything, except when he's trying to be too "nice." This verges on excusing his jerk moments as just being kind of rude.

Content note: In addition to the issues already discussed, a bird dies on camera as part of hunting. While teenagers up should be okay, parents and other responsible adults may want to be ready for conversations about physical violence in a relationship.

Overall: This is a cracking good movie with some attitudes that haven't aged well. Recommended to Western fans with some caution.

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CRUD Challenge: Spy Smasher

2025-08-03T23:16:46Z

Spy Smasher (1942) dir. William Witney

Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) was an American journalist working in France when Germany invaded. Unable to stay neutral, Alan faked his own death so he could operate as freelance operative Spy Smasher. As our story opens, Spy Smasher is captured by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death by firing squad. The execution is faked by Free French undercover operator Captain Pierre Durand (Frano Corsaro) so that Spy Smasher can get back to the United States with information on the Nazi plan to flood the U.S. with counterfeit money.

In America, Alan makes contact with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond), who is the special deputy to Admiral Corby (Sam Flint) who is the newly appointed head of Foreign Intelligence. Jack's also the sweetheart of the admiral's daughter and secretary Eve Corby (Marguerite Chapman). The twins decide to keep the return of Alan secret so that he can continue operating freely as Spy Smasher. Now it's time to defeat the many schemes of the top Gestapo agent in the U.S., the Mask (Hans Schumm)!

This 1942 Republic serial was loosely based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher. The most notable change from the comic book was giving Alan a twin brother. In the comics, Spy Smasher worked directly with Admiral Corby and was Eve's sweetie. Also interestingly, the Mask's mask is off most of the time, except when directly giving orders to his minions. It's not to conceal his identity as was often the case for main villains in serials.

This serial was written and shot before December 7, 1941, when the U.S. has very obviously chosen sides in World War II, but was still officially at peace. Thus it's a plot point in one of the chapters that the American government can't just attack agents of the German government. But by the time it came out in theaters, America was very much at war with Nazi Germany, which gave the serial a boost in popularity.

It also helped that Spy Smasher is one of Republic's best serials, with tight writing, excellent stunt work and special effects, and strong cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers late in the run is considered especially notable for reasons that will be obvious when you come to it.

That said, there are repetitive bits, so this can wear on you if you are watching the three plus hours all in one sitting. Eve is the only notable female character, and she is locked out of the loop on what's going on with the twins, so doesn't get to do much for most of the story. On the other hand, the serial only resorts to having her kidnapped once, and she's shown as smart enough to leave a clue using her typing skills.

Another interesting bit is the Mask's main field agent, Drake (Tristram Coffin). He's a reporter for Oceanic Television News, a fledgling TV service. His gimmick is leaving the camera on when he leaves Admiral Corby's office so that he and the Mask can listen in on secret meetings. Of course, at the time American civilian television was restricted to a few thousand sets in the hands of the wealthy or eccentric, so the news service itself probably wasn't very successful.

After the war, Spy Smasher got renamed Crime Smasher and fought ordinary criminals, but this didn't last long. After DC bought Fawcett's character assets, they sat on them for over a decade, and by the time they started integrating them into their comics, Spy Smasher was a long-forgotten item used only for brief cameos. He did, however, get a cool appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Patriot Act" and there was a legacy character running around in the comics a decade or so ago.

Oh, and the music's also nifty. The title theme is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, to evoke the "V for Victory" meme of the time, and Spy Smasher's leitmotif references that, but it's not overused in the main body of the chapters.

If you're pressed for time or patience, you may want to try the edited down 1960s version Spy Smasher Returns (not a sequel despite the title). This is a rip-roaring good time with plenty of Nazi (and a few Vichy early on) punching.

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CRUD Challenge: Tears of the Black Tiger

2025-07-27T15:34:40Z

Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) dir. Wisit Sasanatieng

Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan) and Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi) first met as children, when her wealthy father was visiting his father's farm village. An encounter with a trio of bullies wound up with Dum being scarred and Rumpoey nearly drowned. Rather than find out what had happened, Dum was brutally punished by his father. As the boy was recovering, Rumpoey came by to give him a harmonica, and he silently came to watch her train pull out when her vacation was over.

They reconnected years later in Bangkok in school when Rumpoey recognized Dum by the harmonica he was playing. Unfortunately, the same trio of bullies, who'd also come to the school, accosted Rumpoey again. Dum easily won the ensuing fight, but the school officials took the bullies' side and expelled Dum. Rumpoey felt guilty about getting the boy she had always secretly loved in trouble again, and took him to a beach where they had a heart-to-heart talk. Dum admitted that he too had always loved her, but felt that the vast gap in their social status meant that he could never be with her. Rumpoey declared that she was willing to sacrifice her social standing to be with Dum, and they arranged to meet at a certain sentimental location on a future date.

When Dum returned home, he found the farmstead wrecked, most of his clan dead, and his father dying. This, his father said, was the work of the jealous Kong clan. Naturally, the police could do nothing, and it was up to Dum to avenge his clan and father. Except that in the process, he was joined by the notorious bandit Fai (Sombat Metanee), who'd owed Dum's father a favor for saving his life years before. The vengeance was completed, and Dum was inducted into Fai's gang of outlaws, the Tigers.

Problem is, Fai has a strict rule that anyone who betrays him, by, say, leaving the gang or informing on them, must die. So Dum couldn't leave the gang. His skills, bravery and integrity soon earned him the nickname Black Tiger, and he became Fai's right-hand man, to the jealousy of former right-hand man Mahesuan (Supakorn Kitsuwon). On the date that Dum was supposed to meet Rumpoey, he and Mahesuan are stuck on a mission to wipe out traitors to the gang. Dum bails as soon as the traitors are dead, but arrives too late; Rumpoey is already gone.

Meanwhile, Rumpoey's father has become provincial governor. Being the kind of man who never actually asks his daughter's opinion on anything, he's engaged her to ambitious Police Captain Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangvuth), who is so taken by Rumpoey's beauty that he's utterly failed to notice how cold she is towards him. Now that Dum has (she thinks) failed her, Rumpoey has no choice but to go through with the engagement.

Captain Kumjorn wants to prove himself worthy of this honor, so he's pledged to destroy the Tigers once and for all. The stage is set for tragedy.

This romantic drama is a homage to Hollywood, especially the Western genre. Even though the setting is 1950s Thailand, the bandits dress and ride horses like Wild West outlaws, and Western-style background music is common. (There's also insert songs that are more Fifties Thai pop music.) The colors are rich, and many of the sets deliberately artificial-looking. The violence scenes are clearly homaging the violent Westerns of Leone and Peckinpah.

Black Tiger is a stoic and emotionally repressed protagonist. He'd very much prefer not to be a bad guy, but his life circumstances and skills at killing have pushed him into an outlaw role. He chooses to show brotherhood and trust to Mahesuan; too bad his fellow bandit doesn't reciprocate.

Rumpoey is a much put-upon heroine, bratty as a child and cold as an adult. Men are constantly hitting on her, and perhaps the reason she like Dum so much is because he has to be asked his opinion. She's willing to defy social convention, but only if she gets the support of her lover, otherwise being an obedient daughter.

Captain Kumjorn is an ass. He's well-meaning, but completely misses that Rumpoey is not in any way attracted to him as a lover or even a friend until far too late in the story. His reaction to that is ill-advised, and leads to the final tragedy.

The action is exciting, it's a good-looking movie, the music's nice. The artificiality of some of the acting is meant to be a feature, not a bug, but sometimes it goes a little too far and that threw me out of suspension of disbelief several times.

This movie was first optioned for American distribution by a company that shortened it, tacked on a happier ending, and then shelved it for several years. It was then bought by a smaller distributor and released at full length and the plot intact, but by that time the publicity buzz had worn off, so it remains obscure.

Content note: Frequent gory violence and death, including a severed limb. Child abuse. Peril to a child. Sexual harassment and attempted marital rape. Black Tiger and Mahesuan swear blood brotherhood before Buddha, actual blood is involved, and Mahesuan is being impious. Animal death. A little person bandit is used for sight gags, but otherwise seems to be treated as an equal by the bandits. This film is unrated, but would probably come down as an "R" for violence, so sensitive viewers should proceed with caution.

This is a movie that makes it onto a lot of "weird movies" lists; it's by no means bad, but it's not going to be to many viewers' taste. But if you like both Golden Age Hollywood romantic drama and violent Westerns, this might be the movie for you.

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