The Unknown Movies

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August 10, 2024

Just want to thank you for your piece on The Last Unicorn. I grew il watching that movie and was watching it tonight with my daughter. While researching who actually sang Mia’s parts I came across your article and found it interesting and informative.

So, thanks again!

Warmly,

Hollay


June 18, 2024

Hi,

While doing research on the memoir I’m writing I came upon your review of Survivor.

I was the Set Decorator/Props Master on that movie. A Brit called Grey Lipley was the Art Director. His claim to fame - and the reason he got the job no doubt - was his involvement with the Duran Duran Wild Boys pop vid.

Survivor was shot in an around Cape Town at end of ‘85/86. The underground city location was an old power station at the bottom end of Long Street in the CBD. The shipwreck was in Llundudno (Cape Town); the desert location was Atlantis, nowhere near it, about 30 kms up on the West Coast, this weird little desert area in a mediterranean landscape; and the railroad scenes were shot in a village called Touwsrivier, in the Karoo, about 150kms inland.

Cheers,

Carsten Rasch (credited as Cas Rasch)
Cape Town


October 7, 2021

[re: Demonwarp]

Hello Keith,

I just wanted to thank you for your fabulous comprehensive review of both the film and both scripts.  The interview was even more fabulous added bonus.  Kudos to you for researching and compiling all this.  It was an extremely informative insight into the low-budget film process in the 80s. 

Your article was as solid as anything on "Cinephilia & Beyond"  Great Job.

Regards

Kris Kjornes

P.S.:  Any chance I can get a PDF copy of either draft of the Demonwarp screenplay?

Alas, I just have the scripts in old-fashioned paper format, and I currently have no access to a scanner.


September 9, 2021

Hi. I just stumbled across your site. LOVED the review of The January Man. You nailed the problems right on the head. I worked in the film lab that made release prints for this & watched it about a hundred or more times & kept thinking "gee he's overacting" or "why are they doing this" or "who made that ridiculous toupee for Rod Steiger"? Kudos though to any film with a mad killer who uses Neil Sedaka as a calling card.

Nice commentary at the start too, about the joys of film-making. If first time directors knew what it took to get their vision on screen, they might just write a book instead😉

Cheers!

b-francis


April 15, 2020

Hey Keith...... long time fan. It is funny that you did Inspector Clouseau. About 8 years ago or so I was on a Podcast where we talked about odd movie sequels and this was the one that I highlighted. I knew this movie existed I just never actually seen it. Upon watching it I was stunned to realize that when Peter Sellers comes back to the role… hes actually playing the version of the character that Alan Arkin did. I also never exactly knew that Alan Arkin had such a penchant for physical comedy. He does seem unsure of himself… not everything works… I summed up talking about this movie by saying there's A-line in the movie that Clouseau says. "There is a time to laugh and there is a time not to laugh and this is one of those times."...... I think that best sums up this movie

Billy Flynn


February 8, 2020

[re: Goddess Of Love]

It's a mere detail but the idea of putting the wedding ring on the finger of statue of Venus comes from a short story of the XIXth century, Prosper Mérimée's La Vénus d'Ille (unless Mérimée cribbed the idea from an earlier source).

A bridegroom in his cups puts his wedding ring on a recently-unearthed statue of the eeevil phoenician Venus and can't manage to pry it off, so in the wedding night the statue comes and strangles him (everyone is vainly looking for a rational explanation).

From your review I understand it would have been a better movie than this one.

Keep up the good work ! (I don't always agree with your reviews but they're always worth reading.)

Laurent Garnault


February 1, 2020

One unknown movie that I wish somebody, some day, would review is Emmanuelle vs Dracula. No, I’m not kidding, it exists and its exactly what the title says.  The makers were a bit unclear on the whole concept, though: One of the vampires has a suntan and is wearing a crucifix !

Sandra

I admit that I hadn't even heard of this movie before you told me about it. A little research on it at the Internet Movie Database uncovered a few reviews that should satisfy your wish. As for if I will review it, well, after reading those reviews... uh... well....


December 30, 2019

[re: The Barbarians]

Want to know something weird? I thought of this movie, which I saw years ago, this morning. Then this evening I find your review. That happens to me a lot: I think of a movie and its on the tv within a week; I think of a song and its playing on the next radio I hear. If it’s a kind of esp, it’s useless.  Why can’t I think of winning lottery numbers? Or racehorses?
 
I believe I watched The Barbarians because Richard Lynch was in it. I’d watch pretty much anything he was in. One thing I did like was how the Ragnacks (or whatever they were called)  all had the same tattoo: two lines – the sign of the open road. Simple and elegant. As far as the movie went, it seemed like an okay example of s&s. Mind you, the bar isn’t set very high in the genre. Would I watch it again? If I was in the right mood. 

Some things you have to be in the mood for. Blazing Saddles, for instance, is hilarious if you are in the mood and idiotic if you aren’t.  

Sandra  

If you watch the movie again, best stay clear of the DVD version; the visual quality is crap.


November 13, 2019

I am a fan of your reviews and have enjoyed them for many years. However, after a great deal of travel, I could not remember the name of your site. I could see your page in my mind, the top banner and Shatner's face in the "Genres" section, but for the life of me my mind went blank.

In frustration, I searched and dug out an old, broken phone and fired it up for the bookmarks. What a relief.

It was a delight to find you are still updating. No pressure, but as you are able, keep up the good work, you have fans out here.

There, I said it now I feel better.

Cheers,

TsH

Thank you very much. It's very nice to know my work is greatly appreciated.


October 6, 2019

[re: Ron Livingston, Relative Strangers]

I've always thought he'd be great portraying Richard Nixon. Hear me out, I think he could pull it off, whether in a comedy or a serious movie. Thanks for your web site.

aminthepm2001


May 19, 2019

I would like to suggest a movie (or two) to you. They are called The Devil's Carnival and its sequel The Devil's Carnival: Alleluia! They were made by the team behind Repo: The Genetic Opera and are musicals like that movie was. I'm a big fan of them and I would like to see what you think of them. Peace out.

Ringo Fonebonius Jones


August 27, 2018

Ah yes, Russian Roulette.  There’s a special charm in watching a movie set in your own city, though you tend to do things like think, “He’s driving along Fourth Avenue ... just passing Burrard,” which distracts from paying attention to the plot.  At the time, I lived just around the corner from Rudolf Heke’s apartment building.  As I recall, it was a pretty good movie. 

Sandra


July 15, 2018

[re: The Philadelphia Experiment]

Just read your latest review.  Personally I don't have an issue with time travel films regardless of whether they go to the present or past (I find outdated technology in films charming rather then distracting), i'm fine with different films having different rules about time travel since it's a fantastical concept that nobody really knows that much about (and there's no idea when or if it will ever be possible in our lifetimes).  My personal favorite time travel film is Timecop.

One time travel film I would recommend to you is Primer, as it was actually written by someone with a degree in mathematics who was a former engineer, it's very hard sci-fi with super technical dialogue and philosophy.  Wasn't really my kind of film, but I could definitely see you getting something out of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(film)

It got a minor theatrical release and is somewhat of a cult hit now (but not one of those cult hits that almost everybody has seen like Boondock Saints) so it could make for an interesting review.

Also The Philadelphia Experiment got a sequel in 1993, which only got released to 2 theaters and made less then $3,000 dollars.  It has a somewhat interesting plot, but definitely suffers from having a lower budget then the first film.

Michael Prymula 

Thank you for sending your opinion on time travel movies, and for the suggestion of Primer. I had heard of the title before, but I didn't know what the movie was about until you told me. It does sound interesting, so I will look out for it. As for the sequel to The Philadelphia Experiment, I actually did watch it many years ago when it was released on VHS, but I don't remember too much about it... though my memories suggest it was better than the terrible 2012 remake of the original film.


April 15, 2018

[re: Miracle Of The White Stallions]

You didn’t mention one fact that I found interesting: Robert Taylor was cast because he and Col. Alios Podhajsky looked a lot alike from a distance. That means that during the scene where the horses perform for the American soldiers, that’s the real Colonel putting the stallion through its paces. 
 
The problem with the character is the problem with Robert Taylor in general: the man always appeared to be thoroughly pissed off about something. I don’t know anything about him personally. Maybe he did go through life in a state of simmering rage. It didn’t make him appealing on screen. He never had any chemistry with his leading ladies.
 
The only decent performance he ever gave, IMO, was in The Last Hunt, where he played a mentally unstable sadist. He was convincing in that role.

Sandra


March 14, 2018

Hey I'm really glad you liked Big Bad Wolf, that one was a pleasant surprise for me.  I've got another obscure horror film i'd like to recommend - Cards of Death. It was the holy grail of horror films for years because of the fact that it only ever got a limited VHS release in Japan in 1985 (despite being made in the U.S.), it was until 2013 when Bleeding Skull gave it a limited VHS reissue that most people even saw it.  Fortunately it's finally available for everyone to check out via the website Shudder.

All you have to do is sign up for a free trial, then you can stream that film and many other horror films: https://www.shudder.com/watch/cards-of-death/2337527/1

The film centers around a group of people being taken hostage and being forced into disturbing and graphic situations, so despite being labeled as a slasher film it actually has more in common with films like Hostel despite pre-dating it by two decades.  It certainly has it's flaws, but it's interesting enough to be worth a review.

Michael Prymula


February 2, 2018

[Re: Nomads]

I just thought of this title.  It certainly qualifies as an unknown movie.  It’s weird, but I liked it. 

Sandra

That Pierce Brosnan movie would indeed be a great movie to review. Once I have given my most recent Pierce Brosnan movie review (Taffin) some room, I'll look for Nomads.


May 19, 2017

Hello,

It may be hard to believe, but House of the Long Shadows is the 13th adaptation of Earl Derr Bigger's novel Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913).  Twice on Broadway with actor/playwright George M. Cohan; seven motion pictures (three silent, four with sound); two radio adaptions; and two television productions.

Cohan deliberately made the stage play "old fashioned" in 1913, and that sensibility stuck with it ever since.  Golan and Globus probably OKed the production because by 1983 it was in public domain and wouldn't have to pay royalties.

So it is no surprise that a copy of a copy (of a copy, etc.) fails to catch fire.

Thanks for the enjoyment your web page has brought me,

Bill Culbertson


April 25, 2017

Enjoyed your Riverbend review. I agree, Steve James was an underrated presence. He was excellent in movies like The Exterminator and To Live and Die in LA as well. Someone ripped a VHS copy of Riverbend and put it out on YouTube. Hopefully it will make it to a legit DVD/blu ray release one day but in the meantime here it is in all its haggard glory:

https://youtu.be/Pk0kk39Iiew

Best,

Charles


March 20, 2017

[re: An Enemy Of The People]

This movie was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK in or around 1985. The review on Ceefax (which might still be available) said that although the movie and most of the other actors were stiff, McQueen was excellent. I watched it and entirely agreed. I still remember the way he delivered his lines, the whole body acting, the conviction of his inflections in delivery.

I have little interest in McQueen the action star, and feel this movie is unjustly overlooked because it is too much of a challenge to people's expectations, and therefore prejudices. Just like McQueen's character in the film! For that reason alone it deserves wider release - it could actually help create the world based on truth Dr. Stockmann fights for in the film!

Rumwold Leigh


February 27, 2017

Thanks for your entertaining review of the film Disk-O-Tek Holiday (1966). Though I'm not sure when you initially published your review -and am aware content online has expanded exponentially- please be advised that, according to Discogs.com, the once-unknown Casey Paxton went on to become legendary (imho) disco-era artist D.C. La Rue.

Danny de San Francisco


February 22, 2017

[re: The Time Crystal]

Hi Greywizard,

I've been enjoying your reviews.  I've even seen a few of these movies myself.  Some of my favorite obscure films are: Deathstalker II, Raiders of the Sun, and Expect to Die.

I used to see this movie on local UHF tv regularly, and it might be right up your alley: http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0083198/

On my station KBHK 44 it aired as Tut and Tuttle. It's a made-for-TV children's fantasy adventure where a 1980's boy goes to ancient Egypt and helps young Tut and his sister fend off a coup.  Points of interest include actors Robbie Rist, Jo Ann Worley and Vic Tayback, and director Ron Howard in his early days as a director. I remember a magic crystal, a football helmet, a lot of sand, and Tut's sister pensively addressing the main character "Bobby Tuttle."  I don't know how "unknown" you would consider it, but it popped into my head recently and a few googles later I tracked it down. Haven't seen it in at least 20 years, and I probably never saw the entire thing. Fun memories though!

Jax Crawford


November 1, 2016

[re: Death Riders]

Every once in a while I get curious about my past and punch in "Death Riders" on whatever search engine I happen to be enamored with at the time to see if anyone is aware of the Death Riders Motorcycle Thrill Show of which I was a member for 6 years.  Sitting here at work this morning, I got curious and found your review of the Death Riders movie and found it to be fascinating.  I do agree with on one point in particular, a point I had when the movie was released; why did we do what we did?

You're right, the movie never really explored that.  For me, It was that I was going to break the world's record for distance on a motorcycle and become so rich and famous that I would do only 4 major shows a year, as opposed to the 60 or 70 shows we did in 4 months out of the year.  In trying to book shows, no one would take me seriously even though I had built my own ramps, had a good bike and leathers (actually, canvass at the time, I was a vegan) but only 18 so no one would care to take me seriously.  Ended up with Floyd who turned out to be a really great guy, a father figure for me and for that matter, all of us in the show. 

Floyd and the show gave me an experience that would require a book to describe so I will leave the details to imagination right now but offer that it did help groom my character for the rest of my life.  I joined the Marines after the show where I got  technical training, did well in leaving the Marines after 4 years at the rank of Sargent and went on to a successful career in medical devices.  Danny became an owner/operator over-the-road trucker, his big brother Floyd Jr. owned a number of doughnut shops in Danville, Cheese (Ron) ran his own plumbing company, Steve is a retired cop for Danville as of a few years ago, Larry hooked up with Hollywood from our movie experience and became an audio expert - I see his name pop up in movie credits from time to time, Rusty, our clown, passed away a couple years ago.

I found your review fascinating in that I gave me somewhat of insight to your character and how you perceived our movie which takes it to a personal level.  My reaction was, "Wow, a real person actually watched our movie, scene by scene and was interested in that part of our lives".  Now it will be difficult to focus on work without thinking of this time of my life.  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the Death Riders.

Joe Byars


August 23, 2016

[re: Once In A Blue Moon (1995)]

Have a copy of Kenny and Co. and thought it was fantastic. Their '70ish translated pretty much much to my '77 in Canada. Only grade 2 at the time, but did encapsulate that time (looking at the older dudes that were way cooler than me). Just want to bring up a Canadian one that is probably of the same calibre, just with a twist of humour, Canadiana, and chicken that comes in a bucket (delicacy at the time)...Movie hard as hell to find, but heartwarmingly obscure... Just FYI

Terry


August 12, 2016

Hi there!

I've been a long, long time fan silent admirer of your site since at least '05. I went from high school through college reading your site and I loved the unique perspective you brought to these "Unknown" movies. I want you to know, your site has led me to [At Least] 3 movies that I absolutely love with all my heart. Without The Unknown Movies, I wouldn't have come across (and blind bought) Emperor of the North (Pole), Sonny Boy, & Strange Shadows in an Empty Room. Also, I've got a huge fondness for PM entertainment movies now-my heart skipped a beat when I purchased the Robert Patrick movie Zero Tolerance and saw that familiar logo!

Anyway, keep up the good work, if I may be so bold as to suggest some, I'd love to see some more spaghetti westerns like Mannaja, or Massacre Time.

Keep upholding those REAL movies!

Ross McClintock

Thank you very much for writing in, Ross! I'll be reviewing a spaghetti western in a few weeks, and I'll certainly review more in the future. And don't worry - I'll continue to tell readers what real movies are!


July 16, 2016

[re: Operation Daybreak]

Thank you! You answered an ancient whats-that-movie question of mine. I googled my way to your review of Goliath Awaits. I remembered the mutual suicide in a flooding church basement. And Nazis. But that was it.

Bob Stein

Glad to be of help!


May 4, 2016

I enjoyed your review of Valdez Is Coming and would like to add a thing or two...

This film is, in many ways, an homage to Hombre. Here's why I think so...

Hector Elizondo, an actual blue-eyed Latino in a role that was seemingly written in just for him and which mirrors the role of the Vaquero in Hombre, which was, as I'm sure you know, played to perfection by Frank Silvera. His money scene is a veritable re-write of the scene in Hombre where Silvera climbs the hill to parlay with Newman, right down to the playful wave of the hand.

The attitude that Segundo takes at the end toward shooting Valdez (he refuses) is, again, a rewrite of the final scene in the mining cabin in Hombre...."She's not my woman." It explains both the macho attitude toward fighting for your own woman (the men in both films who should, don't) as well as the secondary status of women in general in these films.

In both fils the hero is being chased because he has something of value to the bad-guy...money&water in Hombre...a woman in Valdez.

Finally, both films are about the expected role and behavior of Latinos in a White West. In Hombre, Mendez lectures Hombre on knowing his place and lives a life of servitude himself, as if it were the natural way of things. In Valdez, both Valdez and the Silvera character show this same deference and nod at their acceptance of it. It is this understanding of power that keeps Valdez so low-key until he shows out.

Of course, this is further shown by the addition in both films of an even lower caste, Apaches and, in Valdez, Blacks.

Just my two cents...good review.

Gibbons

Thanks for writing in with those observations. I think a big reason the two movies are similar are because they are both based on novels written by the same author (Elmore Leonard).


April 23, 2016

[re: The Phantom Kid]

I'm  pretty sure the reason there were any musical numbers at all in this  film was because it's basically a follow-the-leader to Bugsy Malone.  It's possible there were more numbers (not having seen the film, I can't say) that were edited out for pacing and/or low quality.

Brandi

You may be right. That could explain why there was more than one director on the movie.


January 12, 2016

Longtime (early 2000s) reader here; love to catch up on new reviews every couple of months. Thought you would get a kick out of this excellent article on the rise and fall of PM Entertainment.

Cheers,

Austin


December 29, 2015

[re: The Man With One Red Shoe]

The fact is that the French sense of humour is so different from that of the English-speaking world - they think Jerry Lewis is a genius, for goodness sake! - that any attempt to translate a French comedy is doomed to fail.  When they say "the French, they are a funny race", they don't mean "funny ha ha".  From what I've seen of French comedies, they like slapstick a great deal, but have no real sense of the ridiculous.
 
When I was in college, I saw a production of Jean-Paul Sartre's The Respectable Prostitute which was played as a jolly farce, and was pretty darn funny.  Sartre, of course, didn't intend it to be a comedy.  French philosphers aways take themselves very seriously. And of course they can never just do something, they have to philosophize about it.  Sartre's philosophy can be summed up as "Nothing matters, so why bother ?"  As in, why bother thinking about Existentalism ? 
 
I have seen both the French Cage Aux Folles and the American Birdcage, and the French one is much funnier IMO.
 
Anyway, I don't care for Hollywood's habit of making remakes of foreign films.  If I was interested, I see the original, as I did with Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,  a Swedish writer's story about Swedish people, set in Sweden - I think a Swedish film is more likely to understand the characters.  Know what ? If you keep typing the word 'Swedish' it begins to look really odd

Sandra


December 29, 2015

I stumbled on your great site while trying to solve a little puzzle.

There's a pop band here in Canada called Stars that I'm fond of, and their lead singer did a small solo album a few years ago.  It begins with a cheesy voice-over "It began one stormy night in the Aleutian Islands..."  and I was curiously where it came from.  With a bit of Google-fu, I ended up at your review of The Golden Seal.

It turns out that singer Torq Campbell was the young star of this film. 

And this solo side project is called "Dead Child Star" - which strikes me as both poetic and a bit tragic, especially in the context of his recurring themes of holding on to one's innocence and playfulness.

Anyway, neat site - I look forward to digging to find some interesting gems in your trove of reviews!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas, and have a great 2016!

Cheers,

Gareth


October 7, 2015

Hello again!

A long time ago, I read your review of Rituals and as I result, I developed this weird fascination with the movie (probably because it sounded very creepy as well as impossible to find). It wasn't until very recently that I managed to buy my own copy and I have to say, it was everything I hoped it would be. It's a movie that manages to stay tense throughout most of its running time (especially the last couple of scenes) and even the severed head managed to throw me off guard when it appeared, despite that scene being in the trailer.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for introducing me to such a great movie!

Alissa

P.S. Nice to see some appreciation for Golgo 13 as well! He's very underrated in North America, which is a complete shame.


August 8, 2015

[re: Little Ninjas]

Hello.  I used to love this movie and watch it all the time as a kid (27 now). I just finished re-watching it, and after having that "did I really just sit through this?" reaction I decided to look it up online to see if anyone had an opinion on the movie.  I didn't expect to find anything let alone a full in-depth review that pretty much described it to a tee.  Anyway I just wanted to say I enjoyed reading your review and it gave me a really good laugh, and I needed one, so thanks. :)

Raul Hernandez


July 27, 2015

[re: Gargoyles]

I'm fond of that movie myself. It's one of the few 70s tv movies that still show up occasionally and are worth another look when they do.  Another is The Norliss Tapes. I didn't think of the Gargoyles as 'demonic forces', though; the script seemed to me to say that our idea of demons is based on sightings of them.  I also doubt that they would be able to conquer humanity, since only the winged ones are able to breed, and even if the females lay thousands of eggs at a time, we outnumber them millions to one.  Plus there's that reeeeally long incubation period. 

Cheers, 

Sandra


June 17, 2015

[re: The Mouse And His Child]

I just read your review of that film and can empathize with your tale of being haunted by it because of your encounter with it as a child. Not because I saw the film as a child but because of the book which it was based on. I suspect it might come closer to justifying the real estate the film version has taken up in your brain all those many years if you ever wanted to check it out.

At any rate, I read The Mouse and His Child back in middle school and still not only recall portions of the book but the actual reading of it. I may have read it once or twice in the decades since but particular sequences are almost certainly permanently etched into my brain and from the first time I read it no less

The dog food label for one. That had a much larger role in the book than in the film with much of it being a deep explanation of the religious movement that sprang up based around "The Last Visible Dog". The Mouse and His Child has been described as the only children's book which doubles as a treatise on existential philosophy and the film doesn't particularly do a good job of carrying that across. Manny's ultimate fate was the same in each version but the book made it quite obvious how hellish he would consider that fate while the film doesn't really set up the character that way. The shrew armies are another instance that didn't come across as well because they were portrayed as borderline comic relief rather than the murderous lunatics of the book.

As for the other moment you mention burning into your brain, I would hazard a guess that it was either "PEANUT BRITTLE!" or the parts harvesting. The former was more violent than I recall the book sequence being while the latter actually managed to be less.

Michael Stakely


June 8, 2015

[re: The Naked Face]

"Can you name a non-Bond movie [Roger Moore] appeared in while doing James Bond?"

Ffolkes, aka North  Sea Hijack aka Assault Force, in 1979. A very underrated film, I think.

Brandi Weed

Yes, I guess I should have included that movie. Though I'm pretty sure the rest of Roger Moore's non-Bond movies made during his Bond period are pretty unknown to most people.


June 7, 2015

Howdydo, and thanks for giving The Angry Red Planet a fair shake.  More Flash Gordon than Gravity, but they still got some things right.  First-time scripter Sid Pink knocked out the initial draft in 5 days with no pre-formed idea of how it would conclude. Naura Hayden, under contract to Pink, suggested that adding scientific elements might make it more credible. Sci-Fi guy Ib Melchior, who recently passed @ age 97, offered a free rewrite if allowed to direct.    

Pink admitted that the 'Cinemagic' gimmick  didn't work out as expected.  Developed by comics artist Norman Maurer, who also designed the Martian aliens and landscapes, the process intended to make actors appear as a live-action comic.  (Freeze any Mars scene, and it DOES kinda look like a comic.)  Test stills convinced them that it would work.  Regrettably, when filmed it looked like what it was:  B-movie types going thru the motions while trying not to embarass themselves.

Cinematographer Stanley Cortez (Night of the Hunter), unhappy with being shut out of indie productions due to his rep of being slow and tempermental, offered to work for union scale.  (The entire crew, as well as fading Bogart clone Gerald Mohr, also worked @ union scale.)

Mike Mueller


June 1, 2015

[re: I.Q.]

I recall seeing this when it was in the theatres.  The bit I remember best is Einstein asking Fry's psychologist character "How are the rats?"  Fry:  "I've switched to experimenting on the students." E says, "My God, the mazes must be HUGE."

My favorite two stories about Einstein are probably apocryphal, but fun:
 
1. Somebody noticed that Monday to Friday a little girl would enter Einstein's house shortly after school let out, stay a few minutes, then leave.  Asked what that was about, Einstein explained, "I do her mathematics homework and she gives me the cookies from her lunchbox.";-)
 
2. This one comes from Shelley Winters' first autobiography, Sheila or Sharon or whatever ( I can't remember) Called Shelley, so it has to be taken with a grain of salt.  Shelley never let the truth get in the way of a good story:

When Shelley and Marilyn Monroe were starlets, they were room mates.  One night, after Shelley had just broken up with Burt Lancaster and Marilyn with whoever she was seeing, the two of them, presumably after a few drinks, said "Why can't we just be like men and make notches on the bedpost?  Why do we always get involved ?"  So they decided to make a list of all the men they'd like to boink.  First name on Marilyn's list was Albert Einstein.
 
    Shelley :  Isn't he kind of .... old ?
 
    Marilyn:  Yes, but I hear he's really healthy.
 
Several years later, after the two of them had made the bigtime, Shelley noticed a framed photograph of Einstein on Marilyn's mantelpiece, with the inscription To Marilyn, with gratitude. :-D 

Sandra


May 13, 2015

[re: Sword Of The Valiant]

I'm surprised to learn that someone made a movie based on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a medieval poem  written by someone who was not Chaucer.  I believe the same individual also wrote The Pearl, in which the narrator, mourning the death of his baby daughter, has a vision of her as a heavenly maiden, dressed in white, and asks, poignantly ; "Art thou my pearl, that I have plaint?"
 
Well, enough about that. 

One thing that always irritates me in historicals is when the interiors are brightly lit.  "Where's the light coming from?" I yell.  Fireplaces and candles don't produce all that much light, particularly if the room is large.  If you have watched Wolf Hall, for instance, it's dark once night falls.  If you have ever tried to read or sew or whatever by candlelight, its a good way to go blind.
   
If the movie ever shows up on tv, I might watch, just because of the connection to the poem, but I won't have any expectations. 

Sandra


May 7, 2015

[re: The Legend Of Black Thunder Mountain]

Greywizard:
      
Hello, I read your critique of the movie and I was smiling when I came across the part about the crazy old mountain man (Glen Porter). That man was my father and I remember visiting the set and meeting Bozo and feeding her marshmallows, and looking at all the animals. My dad stopped acting due he had three kids and it was real hard back than to find work if you did not know the right people. Thank you for writing about this movie - it was not a flattering review but you talked about it so thank you.
 
Very respectfully,

Jake Porter (Son of the Crazy Mountain man)


May 7, 2015

Hello,

I read your review of Scarface Killer and thought you might like to know that The Cop In Blue Jeans also starring Jack Palance is out on dvd on The Swingin' Seventies 50 movie pack from Mill Creek.  Both of these movies are in the collection.  I hope this is of interest to you.

Glen


May 4, 2015

I've been a fan of your site for quite a while and I just wanted to say that I really admire the work you put into every review. I'll admit, it also saves me from being very bored at my job!

I do have one film suggestion as well.

The Meateater, a very low budget horror movie from 1979. It's basically about a horribly burned guy living in an abandoned movie theater who starts killing people (or at least tries to scare them off) when a family buys it.. The acting isn't very good, a standout being a scene where an old man is asked if he wants something and replies by repeating "No" while slowly shaking his head while the camera zooms in on his face. It's a rather surreal experience, to say the least.

Again, love your site. Keep up the amazing work!

Alissa


January 30, 2015

[re: The Traveling Executioner]

"Why would anyone want to be an executioner?", like "What kind of woman decides to become a guard in a men's prison?" or "What kind of person applies to become the one who picks up dead bodies and takes them to the morgue?" or "Why would a doctor spend a career looking up people's rectums?" (I asked my gastroenterologist and she pointed out that she sees things nobody else does - such as my intestinal tract) - is one of those questions with no answer except, "People are weird. "  

Sandra

You are probably right.


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