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CRUD Challenge: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Jul. 1st, 2026 10:34 amBreakfast at Tiffany's (1961) dir. Blake Edwards
Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a free-spirited sort of woman, out all night and having breakfast before going to bed by window shopping at the famous jewelry store Tiffany's. She often loses or forgets her key, much to the annoyance of her upstairs neighbor Mr. Yuniyoshi (Mickey Rooney) because she'll then wake him up to get in. Today is a bit different, as the apartment building has a new resident, Paul Varjak (George Peppard).
Paul's a writer, though he hasn't sold anything in a few years. Right now he's the kept man of Ms. "2E" Failenson (Patricia Neal), a wealthy but married woman. Paul becomes fascinated by the antics of his eccentric neighbor and her nameless cat (Orangey). As time goes on and he learns more of Holly's secrets, Paul may be getting in deeper than he expected.
This 1961 movie was based on a 1958 novella by Truman Capote. The adaptation made many changes, including changing it from a bittersweet character study into a romantic comedy with a happier ending. Some of these changes were due to the Hays Code of the time, while others were standard Hollywoodification.
Holly (short for Holiday) was born Lulamae Barnes in rural Texas. Orphaned at an early age, she ran away from the abusive foster home at 14 with her mentally challenged brother Fred. She was taken in by veterinarian "Doc" Golightly (Buddy Ebsen) who married her to have a legal reason to prevent her and her brother from being taken back. At the time, he was a widower with four children nearly Lulamae's age. Yeah.
Now, mind you, Doc isn't the sort of fellow who would *ahem* his child bride, and when now-Holly left him, she was able to get the marriage annulled no problem. But he's never quite grasped why she had to leave in the first place, and thinks she'd be just as happy if she came back to her husband and children. Especially as Fred, who got drafted, is also coming home.
Holly went to California for a while and got an agent, O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam), who started her on French lessons to mitigate her Texan accent. She bailed on him and moved to New York City when she started feeling stifled, but they're still friends. In NYC, Holly mostly does "compensated dating" where men give her money for the restroom, and they get a pretty woman on their arm for a few hours of partying. And it's possible that she's giving them more intimate services. Also, she gets a stipend for visiting jailed mob boss Sally Tomato (Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flintstone) and getting "weather reports" from him. She goes to parties and hosts them in hopes of meeting a rich enough fellow that she can get married for money.
As Paul meets people from Holly's past and pieces all this together, he finally gets over his writer's block and starts publishing again, and also becomes Holly's best male friend. It's soon clear that he wants more, but Holly is still on her "marry rich" plan, and has a possible lead in Brazilian landowner José da Silva Pereira (José Luis de Vilallonga).
Of course, no plan survives the enemy, or in this case long-suffering neighbor Mr. Yuniyoshi. Will Holly have to flee again to stay free, or can Paul persuade her that maybe people belong to each other?
Good: The movie is beautifully shot, Hepburn hits it out of the park as Holly, and "Moon River" is an awesome song that fits with Holly's wanderlust ("there's such a lot of world to see"). Many of the gags are funny, and the supporting cast is largely good.
Less good: Mickey Rooney in bad yellowface makeup and broken English is...not a good look. Director Blake Edwards really wanted to work with Rooney, and thought it was a hilarious performance at the time, but it hasn't aged well.
Also, Paul is played rather aggressively by Peppard, and while he may be a good friend, I think he'd be far too controlling as a lover/husband for Holly's emotional wellbeing.
Trivial: A cameo appearance is a girl who gives her name as "Irving" (Thayer Burton). It's implied she is probably lying, but what if she isn't?
Content note: Implied extramarital sex. Implied nudity. Child abuse in the backstory. Offscreen death. A cat is (temporarily) abandoned. Period sexism. Alcohol and tobacco abuse. Mention of narcotics. Modern older teens should be fine; younger ones should have adult guidance.
Overall: This is a must-see for Audrey Hepburn fans, and good for most other viewers, despite some dated aspects. The brave may also want to try reading the book.
Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a free-spirited sort of woman, out all night and having breakfast before going to bed by window shopping at the famous jewelry store Tiffany's. She often loses or forgets her key, much to the annoyance of her upstairs neighbor Mr. Yuniyoshi (Mickey Rooney) because she'll then wake him up to get in. Today is a bit different, as the apartment building has a new resident, Paul Varjak (George Peppard).
Paul's a writer, though he hasn't sold anything in a few years. Right now he's the kept man of Ms. "2E" Failenson (Patricia Neal), a wealthy but married woman. Paul becomes fascinated by the antics of his eccentric neighbor and her nameless cat (Orangey). As time goes on and he learns more of Holly's secrets, Paul may be getting in deeper than he expected.
This 1961 movie was based on a 1958 novella by Truman Capote. The adaptation made many changes, including changing it from a bittersweet character study into a romantic comedy with a happier ending. Some of these changes were due to the Hays Code of the time, while others were standard Hollywoodification.
Holly (short for Holiday) was born Lulamae Barnes in rural Texas. Orphaned at an early age, she ran away from the abusive foster home at 14 with her mentally challenged brother Fred. She was taken in by veterinarian "Doc" Golightly (Buddy Ebsen) who married her to have a legal reason to prevent her and her brother from being taken back. At the time, he was a widower with four children nearly Lulamae's age. Yeah.
Now, mind you, Doc isn't the sort of fellow who would *ahem* his child bride, and when now-Holly left him, she was able to get the marriage annulled no problem. But he's never quite grasped why she had to leave in the first place, and thinks she'd be just as happy if she came back to her husband and children. Especially as Fred, who got drafted, is also coming home.
Holly went to California for a while and got an agent, O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam), who started her on French lessons to mitigate her Texan accent. She bailed on him and moved to New York City when she started feeling stifled, but they're still friends. In NYC, Holly mostly does "compensated dating" where men give her money for the restroom, and they get a pretty woman on their arm for a few hours of partying. And it's possible that she's giving them more intimate services. Also, she gets a stipend for visiting jailed mob boss Sally Tomato (Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flintstone) and getting "weather reports" from him. She goes to parties and hosts them in hopes of meeting a rich enough fellow that she can get married for money.
As Paul meets people from Holly's past and pieces all this together, he finally gets over his writer's block and starts publishing again, and also becomes Holly's best male friend. It's soon clear that he wants more, but Holly is still on her "marry rich" plan, and has a possible lead in Brazilian landowner José da Silva Pereira (José Luis de Vilallonga).
Of course, no plan survives the enemy, or in this case long-suffering neighbor Mr. Yuniyoshi. Will Holly have to flee again to stay free, or can Paul persuade her that maybe people belong to each other?
Good: The movie is beautifully shot, Hepburn hits it out of the park as Holly, and "Moon River" is an awesome song that fits with Holly's wanderlust ("there's such a lot of world to see"). Many of the gags are funny, and the supporting cast is largely good.
Less good: Mickey Rooney in bad yellowface makeup and broken English is...not a good look. Director Blake Edwards really wanted to work with Rooney, and thought it was a hilarious performance at the time, but it hasn't aged well.
Also, Paul is played rather aggressively by Peppard, and while he may be a good friend, I think he'd be far too controlling as a lover/husband for Holly's emotional wellbeing.
Trivial: A cameo appearance is a girl who gives her name as "Irving" (Thayer Burton). It's implied she is probably lying, but what if she isn't?
Content note: Implied extramarital sex. Implied nudity. Child abuse in the backstory. Offscreen death. A cat is (temporarily) abandoned. Period sexism. Alcohol and tobacco abuse. Mention of narcotics. Modern older teens should be fine; younger ones should have adult guidance.
Overall: This is a must-see for Audrey Hepburn fans, and good for most other viewers, despite some dated aspects. The brave may also want to try reading the book.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) dir. Sergio Leone
Three gunslingers in duster coats (Jack Elam, Woody Strode and Al Mulock) wait at a train station. When the train arrives, at first it seems there were no passengers. But then music is heard, and as the train pulls away we see the man we will come to know as Harmonica (Charles Bronson). He is here to meet "Frank" but that man has sent the gunslingers instead. Only one man will ride away.
In another part of the territory, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his family prepare for his new wife to arrive from New Orleans. There's to be a big party with all the neighbors, and Brett is talking about planning to get rich. They are instead slaughtered by Frank (Henry Fonda) and his gang.
At the train station (a different one from the first we saw), Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) alights from the train only to find no one waiting for her. She's disappointed and a little worried, so hires a carriage to take her out to the homestead, which is called Sweetwater. Along the way, they stop at an inn, where Jill witnesses an interaction between Harmonica and Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a bandit who's just escaped from the deputy trying to take him to jail. The two men verbally spar, but seem to like each other, as much as is possible for men like them.
When Jill arrives at the ranch, she learns she is a widow, and that supposedly Cheyenne is responsible. (Frank left evidence framing the bandit.) Despite this horror, she decides to stay for at least a little while.
This was originally intended to be director Sergio Leone's final word on the Western genre (but contractual issues made him do one more anyway), so the movie is filled with tributes to other classic Western movies. See if you can spot them all! It's a big movie, with the standard cut weighing in at 165 minutes, and even then Leone had to cut some scenes. This running time does allow the movie to slow down for long quiet minutes of dramatic tension, making the action moments stand out.
Henry Fonda is playing against type as Frank, having been the hero in so many other movies that having him play the sort of person who smiles when he murders a child was mind-blowing for 1960s audiences. Even rail baron Mr. Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), who hired him to make sure construction of the rail line to the Pacific Ocean goes through before he dies of "tuberculosis of the bones", finds Frank appalling. He realizes too late that his hireling is less interested in earning a paycheck than in killing in cruel ways.
Cheyenne is a fun character, who might sometimes make you forget he's a murderous bandit. He has a sense of humor, and of proportion. He's a bad person, but he doesn't let that be his only character trait, helping out Jill because it feels right to do so.
Charles Bronson's Harmonica is a mystery man, who comes out of the darkness and doesn't share his past with anyone. We know from early on that he's got a grudge against Frank but Frank is drawing a blank on who Harmonica is or why this man might be after him. He's killed oh so many men, after all. Harmonica does some things that make Jill think he might be attracted to her, but he has no time for romance or anything that might get in the way of his final showdown with Frank.
And Jill is the pivot point that all these men focus on. She has a possession that makes her important to all their plans, even if she doesn't initially understand what it might be. While she's distressed, the widow McBain is no innocent damsel and she rapidly learns what it takes for a woman to survive in the Wild West.
At the end of the tale, many people are dead who were alive at the beginning, and the train comes to Sweetwater. The frontier days are coming to a close, and Mr. Morton is more the future than Cheyenne, Harmonica or Frank. Jill might be willing to live with that.
Content note: Lots of gunplay, often fatal. A minimum of blood. Death of children. A man is hanged. Rape. Jill's former profession as a prostitute is discussed. Partial nudity. Frank is ableist towards his boss. Due to the heavy subject matter (Harmonica's flashback is particularly shocking) and the long slow bits, I'd say younger teens may want to skip this.
There's some great scenery shots, cool action, and a good Morricone soundtrack. You can spot in various places that the movie is dubbed, and some of the slow scenes take too long, but overall this is a top Western for fans of spaghetti.
Three gunslingers in duster coats (Jack Elam, Woody Strode and Al Mulock) wait at a train station. When the train arrives, at first it seems there were no passengers. But then music is heard, and as the train pulls away we see the man we will come to know as Harmonica (Charles Bronson). He is here to meet "Frank" but that man has sent the gunslingers instead. Only one man will ride away.
In another part of the territory, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) and his family prepare for his new wife to arrive from New Orleans. There's to be a big party with all the neighbors, and Brett is talking about planning to get rich. They are instead slaughtered by Frank (Henry Fonda) and his gang.
At the train station (a different one from the first we saw), Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) alights from the train only to find no one waiting for her. She's disappointed and a little worried, so hires a carriage to take her out to the homestead, which is called Sweetwater. Along the way, they stop at an inn, where Jill witnesses an interaction between Harmonica and Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a bandit who's just escaped from the deputy trying to take him to jail. The two men verbally spar, but seem to like each other, as much as is possible for men like them.
When Jill arrives at the ranch, she learns she is a widow, and that supposedly Cheyenne is responsible. (Frank left evidence framing the bandit.) Despite this horror, she decides to stay for at least a little while.
This was originally intended to be director Sergio Leone's final word on the Western genre (but contractual issues made him do one more anyway), so the movie is filled with tributes to other classic Western movies. See if you can spot them all! It's a big movie, with the standard cut weighing in at 165 minutes, and even then Leone had to cut some scenes. This running time does allow the movie to slow down for long quiet minutes of dramatic tension, making the action moments stand out.
Henry Fonda is playing against type as Frank, having been the hero in so many other movies that having him play the sort of person who smiles when he murders a child was mind-blowing for 1960s audiences. Even rail baron Mr. Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), who hired him to make sure construction of the rail line to the Pacific Ocean goes through before he dies of "tuberculosis of the bones", finds Frank appalling. He realizes too late that his hireling is less interested in earning a paycheck than in killing in cruel ways.
Cheyenne is a fun character, who might sometimes make you forget he's a murderous bandit. He has a sense of humor, and of proportion. He's a bad person, but he doesn't let that be his only character trait, helping out Jill because it feels right to do so.
Charles Bronson's Harmonica is a mystery man, who comes out of the darkness and doesn't share his past with anyone. We know from early on that he's got a grudge against Frank but Frank is drawing a blank on who Harmonica is or why this man might be after him. He's killed oh so many men, after all. Harmonica does some things that make Jill think he might be attracted to her, but he has no time for romance or anything that might get in the way of his final showdown with Frank.
And Jill is the pivot point that all these men focus on. She has a possession that makes her important to all their plans, even if she doesn't initially understand what it might be. While she's distressed, the widow McBain is no innocent damsel and she rapidly learns what it takes for a woman to survive in the Wild West.
At the end of the tale, many people are dead who were alive at the beginning, and the train comes to Sweetwater. The frontier days are coming to a close, and Mr. Morton is more the future than Cheyenne, Harmonica or Frank. Jill might be willing to live with that.
Content note: Lots of gunplay, often fatal. A minimum of blood. Death of children. A man is hanged. Rape. Jill's former profession as a prostitute is discussed. Partial nudity. Frank is ableist towards his boss. Due to the heavy subject matter (Harmonica's flashback is particularly shocking) and the long slow bits, I'd say younger teens may want to skip this.
There's some great scenery shots, cool action, and a good Morricone soundtrack. You can spot in various places that the movie is dubbed, and some of the slow scenes take too long, but overall this is a top Western for fans of spaghetti.
CRUD Challenge: The Cowboys (1972)
May. 31st, 2026 03:48 pmThe Cowboys (1972) dir. Mark Rydell
1877. the Montana Territory. Wil Andersen (John Wayne), an aging, flinty rancher, needs to start his cattle on a drive to Bell Fourche, South Dakota, the nearest railhead. Problem is, a gold strike has been made the other side of Bozeman, and the ranch hands have deserted to take their chances on getting rich. Wil's tough and hardworking, so he can handle the spread solo with his wife Annie (Sarah Cunningham), but he certainly can't handle a 1500 head herd for four hundred miles. Much to his disgust, the suggestion of his friend Anse Peterson (Slim Pickens) to hire on the local teenage boys from the schoolhouse turns out to be his only viable option.
It's true the boys are green and immature, but they have some useful skills, and depths they haven't plumbed yet. They quickly pick up some of the missing skills, especially Slim Honeycutt (Robert Carradine). One boy, Cimmaron (A. Martinez), is mixed-race and very sensitive about being born out of wedlock. He's initially dismissed for his violent temper, but rejoins the crew later.
Shortly before the drive is about to start, several grown men appear, looking for a job. Unfortunately, Longhair (Bruce Dern) lies about their references to conceal that they're fresh out of jail. Wil doesn't mind ex-convicts, so he says, but can't abide a liar, so tells them to shove off. Longhair does not take the rejection well.
At last, the camp cook arrives. But it's not the man he had hired, but Jebediah Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne), a black man. He quickly proves himself to be an excellent cook and a good second to Wil, though they stay formal to each other.
The cattle drive begins, and the journey for boys to become men. But not everyone who starts East will arrive there.
This is another classic John Wayne Western, with some great dialogue, wonderful scenery and some surprisingly good acting and riding by the children (several of whom were already rodeo trained, and one or two who went on to rodeo stardom.)
There were some initial worries about the casting of Mr. Wayne, as by this time his strong right-wing views were increasingly out of step with mainstream Hollywood and the director had wanted a more politically compatible actor. But the actor was a professional and it was generally agreed not to talk politics while filming the movie.
One of the movie's themes is the role of male mentors in the formation of boys into men, and dealing with differences in style and discipline. We learn that Wil Andersen's own sons died young long ago, and it's implied that their relationship was not the best. He and Jedidiah Nightlinger butt heads a couple of times about how to handle the children.
Note that this movie has some rather shocking violence that did not go down well with some critics; the boys eventually must defend themselves and avenge their losses by killing. In story, this makes sense but may not be suitable for sensitive viewers.
Content note: Quite a bit of violence, especially in the second half, many deaths, including the death of a child. Wil is more than willing to use physical violence to discipline the boys, though he chooses to be sparing with it. Sexual matters are discussed, and a group of prostitutes appear (nothing physical happens.) Racism, including the N-word. Cimmaron is treated badly due to the circumstances of his birth (and maybe some racism.) A calf is branded. Underage drinking. Some foul language, including a reasonably funny bit from one of the boys. Period sexism: Wil jokingly talks about hiring women, but never considers it seriously, and the schoolgirls are removed from the room when he describes the job to the boys. Teenage boys are likely to be just fine with this movie, but some parental guidance is suggested.
This is a longer movie, over two hours, including musical interlude, so is best for a dedicated movie night. Strongly recommended to Western and John Wayne fans, as well as teenage boys.
1877. the Montana Territory. Wil Andersen (John Wayne), an aging, flinty rancher, needs to start his cattle on a drive to Bell Fourche, South Dakota, the nearest railhead. Problem is, a gold strike has been made the other side of Bozeman, and the ranch hands have deserted to take their chances on getting rich. Wil's tough and hardworking, so he can handle the spread solo with his wife Annie (Sarah Cunningham), but he certainly can't handle a 1500 head herd for four hundred miles. Much to his disgust, the suggestion of his friend Anse Peterson (Slim Pickens) to hire on the local teenage boys from the schoolhouse turns out to be his only viable option.
It's true the boys are green and immature, but they have some useful skills, and depths they haven't plumbed yet. They quickly pick up some of the missing skills, especially Slim Honeycutt (Robert Carradine). One boy, Cimmaron (A. Martinez), is mixed-race and very sensitive about being born out of wedlock. He's initially dismissed for his violent temper, but rejoins the crew later.
Shortly before the drive is about to start, several grown men appear, looking for a job. Unfortunately, Longhair (Bruce Dern) lies about their references to conceal that they're fresh out of jail. Wil doesn't mind ex-convicts, so he says, but can't abide a liar, so tells them to shove off. Longhair does not take the rejection well.
At last, the camp cook arrives. But it's not the man he had hired, but Jebediah Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne), a black man. He quickly proves himself to be an excellent cook and a good second to Wil, though they stay formal to each other.
The cattle drive begins, and the journey for boys to become men. But not everyone who starts East will arrive there.
This is another classic John Wayne Western, with some great dialogue, wonderful scenery and some surprisingly good acting and riding by the children (several of whom were already rodeo trained, and one or two who went on to rodeo stardom.)
There were some initial worries about the casting of Mr. Wayne, as by this time his strong right-wing views were increasingly out of step with mainstream Hollywood and the director had wanted a more politically compatible actor. But the actor was a professional and it was generally agreed not to talk politics while filming the movie.
One of the movie's themes is the role of male mentors in the formation of boys into men, and dealing with differences in style and discipline. We learn that Wil Andersen's own sons died young long ago, and it's implied that their relationship was not the best. He and Jedidiah Nightlinger butt heads a couple of times about how to handle the children.
Note that this movie has some rather shocking violence that did not go down well with some critics; the boys eventually must defend themselves and avenge their losses by killing. In story, this makes sense but may not be suitable for sensitive viewers.
Content note: Quite a bit of violence, especially in the second half, many deaths, including the death of a child. Wil is more than willing to use physical violence to discipline the boys, though he chooses to be sparing with it. Sexual matters are discussed, and a group of prostitutes appear (nothing physical happens.) Racism, including the N-word. Cimmaron is treated badly due to the circumstances of his birth (and maybe some racism.) A calf is branded. Underage drinking. Some foul language, including a reasonably funny bit from one of the boys. Period sexism: Wil jokingly talks about hiring women, but never considers it seriously, and the schoolgirls are removed from the room when he describes the job to the boys. Teenage boys are likely to be just fine with this movie, but some parental guidance is suggested.
This is a longer movie, over two hours, including musical interlude, so is best for a dedicated movie night. Strongly recommended to Western and John Wayne fans, as well as teenage boys.
CRUD Challenge: Live and Let Die
May. 25th, 2026 06:10 pmLive and Let Die (1973) dir. Guy Hamilton
Three British agents die in 24 hours. One in New York at the United Nations, one in New Orleans, and one on the Caribbean island of San Monique. This may have something to do with the connection between President Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) of San Monique and Mr. Big, the mysterious crime lord of Harlem.
James Bond (Roger Moore) is assigned to investigate. He's meant to work with Felix Leiter (David Hedison) but Kananga knows Bond is coming thanks to the Tarot card readings of Solitaire (Jane Seymour). While the initial assassination attempt fails, Bond is not able to stop the wicked leader from departing with Solitaire and his henchmen Tee-Hee (Julius Harris), a man with a dangerous prosthetic arm, and Whisper (Earl Jolley Brown), who has a very quiet voice.
In San Monique, James Bond teams up with rookie CIA agent Rosie (Gloria Hendry) and boatman Quarrel, Jr. (Roy Stewart) son of Bond's old ally who'd died on the island of Dr. No. After some back and forth, James leaves the island with Solitaire for New Orleans.
More action ensues, including an exciting boat chase across Louisiana, much to the chagrin of parish sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James). Solitaire is recaptured, and there is a return to San Monique, where Bond must battle Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder), who may or may not have the power of the loa. Time for the big finale!
This was Roger Moore's first Bond movie, and some care was taken to show that his 007 was going to be a different style. No tuxedo, no hat, no martini, cigars instead of cigarettes. But a moment when Bond hears the phrase "Mrs. Bond" has a reaction that tells us this is still the same character who was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The movie is a bit more over the top in some ways than Diamonds Are Forever but Moore's James Bond isn't quite as silly as he would get later.
The movie is a change-up in other ways. It's closer to blaxploitation (a trend of the time) than the Cold War thrillers of the Connery years, and is the first time 007 kisses a black woman on screen (and has sex with her offscreen.) It was considered having Solitaire be black, but a few important markets such as South Africa would boycott the movie if there were on-screen interracial relations. So the minor character of Rosie got to be the black Bond girl and her romantic scenes with James were clipped in the disapproving markets.
Also, this is the only Bond movie where (maybe) the supernatural is real. Solitaire's preternaturally good at predicting the future until for reasons she isn't, and Baron Samedi is inexplicably alive after seeming to die.
There's some great action and stunts, including that speedboat chase, and when Ross Kananga runs across the backs of crocodiles dressed as James Bond. (He was the owner of the crocodile farm the sequence was shot at and in gratitude they named the villain after him.)
Oh, and one of the top ten Bond theme songs, created by Paul McCartney and Wings. Don't miss the nightclub version sung by Brenda Arnau.
Content notes: Loads of violence, often fatal, but not as gory as some of the other Bond movies. There is some blood in one scene though. People with ophidiophobia might want to skip as there are several scenes with snakes (at least one of which dies), plus there are crocodiles and sharks if you have problems with those. There's an undercurrent of racism that's kind of unavoidable, though it's toned down from the book the story was adapted from, and ethnic slurs are kept to a minimum. The "voodoo" presented is of the Hollywood variety.
This is one of my favorite James Bond movies, and recommended to action fans.
Three British agents die in 24 hours. One in New York at the United Nations, one in New Orleans, and one on the Caribbean island of San Monique. This may have something to do with the connection between President Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) of San Monique and Mr. Big, the mysterious crime lord of Harlem.
James Bond (Roger Moore) is assigned to investigate. He's meant to work with Felix Leiter (David Hedison) but Kananga knows Bond is coming thanks to the Tarot card readings of Solitaire (Jane Seymour). While the initial assassination attempt fails, Bond is not able to stop the wicked leader from departing with Solitaire and his henchmen Tee-Hee (Julius Harris), a man with a dangerous prosthetic arm, and Whisper (Earl Jolley Brown), who has a very quiet voice.
In San Monique, James Bond teams up with rookie CIA agent Rosie (Gloria Hendry) and boatman Quarrel, Jr. (Roy Stewart) son of Bond's old ally who'd died on the island of Dr. No. After some back and forth, James leaves the island with Solitaire for New Orleans.
More action ensues, including an exciting boat chase across Louisiana, much to the chagrin of parish sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James). Solitaire is recaptured, and there is a return to San Monique, where Bond must battle Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder), who may or may not have the power of the loa. Time for the big finale!
This was Roger Moore's first Bond movie, and some care was taken to show that his 007 was going to be a different style. No tuxedo, no hat, no martini, cigars instead of cigarettes. But a moment when Bond hears the phrase "Mrs. Bond" has a reaction that tells us this is still the same character who was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The movie is a bit more over the top in some ways than Diamonds Are Forever but Moore's James Bond isn't quite as silly as he would get later.
The movie is a change-up in other ways. It's closer to blaxploitation (a trend of the time) than the Cold War thrillers of the Connery years, and is the first time 007 kisses a black woman on screen (and has sex with her offscreen.) It was considered having Solitaire be black, but a few important markets such as South Africa would boycott the movie if there were on-screen interracial relations. So the minor character of Rosie got to be the black Bond girl and her romantic scenes with James were clipped in the disapproving markets.
Also, this is the only Bond movie where (maybe) the supernatural is real. Solitaire's preternaturally good at predicting the future until for reasons she isn't, and Baron Samedi is inexplicably alive after seeming to die.
There's some great action and stunts, including that speedboat chase, and when Ross Kananga runs across the backs of crocodiles dressed as James Bond. (He was the owner of the crocodile farm the sequence was shot at and in gratitude they named the villain after him.)
Oh, and one of the top ten Bond theme songs, created by Paul McCartney and Wings. Don't miss the nightclub version sung by Brenda Arnau.
Content notes: Loads of violence, often fatal, but not as gory as some of the other Bond movies. There is some blood in one scene though. People with ophidiophobia might want to skip as there are several scenes with snakes (at least one of which dies), plus there are crocodiles and sharks if you have problems with those. There's an undercurrent of racism that's kind of unavoidable, though it's toned down from the book the story was adapted from, and ethnic slurs are kept to a minimum. The "voodoo" presented is of the Hollywood variety.
This is one of my favorite James Bond movies, and recommended to action fans.
CRUD Challenge: Robin Hood (1973)
May. 17th, 2026 07:58 pmRobin Hood (1973) dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
A long time ago in England, there lived a fellow named Robin Hood (Brian Bedford), an outlaw who lived in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. With his Merry Men, who included Little John (Phil Harris), Friar Tuck (Andy Devine) and Allan-a-Dale (Roger Miller), he stole from the rich to give to the poor. The rich included Prince John (Peter Ustinov) who was regent of England while King Richard was away, his toady Sir Hiss (Terry Thomas), and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram). Technically rich, but in love with Robin is Maid Marian (Monica Evans).
And they were all anthropomorphic animals.
This 1973 Disney movie does not really have to worry too much about faithfulness to the "original" as the Robin Hood legend is an accretion of ballads, tales and plays since at least the 13th Century, with the specific setting of Prince John's reign not coming in until the 16th Century. The main thing is that Robin's a trickster who uses his crimes to stick up for the little guy.
This was an anniversary film for Disney, so it incorporated bits of earlier movies, like dance moves from Snow White and Phil Harris' portrayal of Little John being very reminiscent of how he'd played Baloo in The Jungle Book.
The use of anthropomorphic animals allows the movie to use and sometimes subvert animal stereotypes to shortcut some characterization. Prince John, for example, is scarcely as regal as a lion should be. It also contributes to the ahistorical feeling. It doesn't matter what century this story is taking place in, it's a medieval mash-up with the technology and fashions needed for the plot.
The animation is excellent, there's some good actions and gags, and it hits enough of the high points of Robin Hood to make a satisfying story. The songs are decent, but not quite the bangers some of the other Disney films have had.
What this movie does have that other Robin Hood films don't is a gaggle of village children who have their own little adventures and personalities.
This would make a good introduction to Robin Hood for young children, and is overall a fun movie for the whole family.
A long time ago in England, there lived a fellow named Robin Hood (Brian Bedford), an outlaw who lived in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. With his Merry Men, who included Little John (Phil Harris), Friar Tuck (Andy Devine) and Allan-a-Dale (Roger Miller), he stole from the rich to give to the poor. The rich included Prince John (Peter Ustinov) who was regent of England while King Richard was away, his toady Sir Hiss (Terry Thomas), and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram). Technically rich, but in love with Robin is Maid Marian (Monica Evans).
And they were all anthropomorphic animals.
This 1973 Disney movie does not really have to worry too much about faithfulness to the "original" as the Robin Hood legend is an accretion of ballads, tales and plays since at least the 13th Century, with the specific setting of Prince John's reign not coming in until the 16th Century. The main thing is that Robin's a trickster who uses his crimes to stick up for the little guy.
This was an anniversary film for Disney, so it incorporated bits of earlier movies, like dance moves from Snow White and Phil Harris' portrayal of Little John being very reminiscent of how he'd played Baloo in The Jungle Book.
The use of anthropomorphic animals allows the movie to use and sometimes subvert animal stereotypes to shortcut some characterization. Prince John, for example, is scarcely as regal as a lion should be. It also contributes to the ahistorical feeling. It doesn't matter what century this story is taking place in, it's a medieval mash-up with the technology and fashions needed for the plot.
The animation is excellent, there's some good actions and gags, and it hits enough of the high points of Robin Hood to make a satisfying story. The songs are decent, but not quite the bangers some of the other Disney films have had.
What this movie does have that other Robin Hood films don't is a gaggle of village children who have their own little adventures and personalities.
This would make a good introduction to Robin Hood for young children, and is overall a fun movie for the whole family.
CRUD Challenge: The Bloody Fists
May. 8th, 2026 07:46 amThe 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: Meera (1992)
Apr. 26th, 2026 04:15 pmMeera (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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: Demonia
Mar. 15th, 2026 09:04 amDemonia (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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: The Avengers (1998)
Mar. 8th, 2026 08:59 amThe 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: Joe Kidd
Mar. 2nd, 2026 09:52 pmJoe 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: Death Walks at Midnight
Feb. 23rd, 2026 08:34 pmDeath 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: The Buddy Holly Story
Feb. 4th, 2026 10:37 amThe 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: A Shriek in the Night
Jan. 28th, 2026 04:15 pmA 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: An Inspector Calls (1954)
Jan. 26th, 2026 07:51 pmAn 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: A Date with the Falcon
Jan. 13th, 2026 07:47 pmA 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.
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.
CRUD Challenge: Adrenalin: Fear the Rush
Jan. 10th, 2026 12:26 pmAdrenalin: 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.
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.
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.)
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.)
CRUD Challenge: Die! Die! My Darling!
Oct. 28th, 2025 07:36 amDie! 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.
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.
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.
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.
