The Hired Gun (1957)

A little dull and predictable,  24 December 2020

Ellen Belden (Anne Francis) is set to be hanged for her husband’s murder in Texas.  Ellen’s uncle has one of his ranch hands bust her out of jail and escort across the New Mexico border.  The father of the dead man hires a gunman named Gil McCord (Rory Calhoun) to go into New Mexico and bring Ellen back to face her sentence.  But is Ellen really guilty or is someone else responsible for the murder?

Overall, I’d call this MGM programmer a bit dull.  One of my main issues is that The Hired Gun’s plot offers few, if any, surprises.  Almost everything is predictable after about 15 minutes.  Things like:  Is Ellen guilty?  Who really killed Ellen’s husband?  What will happen with Ellen and McCord?  It doesn’t take a fortune teller to predict the answers to these questions.  

In addition, try as it might, The Hired Gun never has an appropriate Western feel to it.  The sets don’t seem authentic,  the wardrobe looks too modern, and Anne Francis is more Honey West than Old West.   I know budget constraints probably played a role in this, but the lack of a Western feel really took me out of the movie.

I suppose of all the cast, I enjoyed Chuck Connors as Judd Farrow, the ranch hand, as much as anyone.  I felt for the man as time-after-time Ellen rebuffed his advances, yet he kept coming back for more. 

4/10

The Big Steal (1949)

“I’ll tell you what, Chiquita, you believe me, and I’ll believe you.”  24 December 2020

Lt Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is in Mexico trying to catch a man who stole an Army payroll that Halliday’s been wrongly accused of.  Halliday meets Joan Graham (Jane Greer).  She’s after the same con-man as he stole money from her.  Hot on their heels is Capt Vincent Blake (William Bendix).  He’s out to catch Halliday and recover the missing money.  

Good, witty dialogue mixed with plenty of action - that’s what you’ll find in The Big Steal.  It may not be one of those uber-dark noirs, but the light tone works well.  There’s a nice twist at the end that caught me off guard - even though this was a second time viewing for me.  It’s hard to believe that The Big Steal was one of Don Siegel’s first directorial efforts.  He does a fantastic job of keeping things moving and giving the film a nice pace.  But in all honesty, with a veteran, capable cast like that in The Big Steal, I would expect nothing less.  Mitchum and Greer have a nice rapport.  I’ve read the stories about Hughes originally wanting Jane Russell in the female lead but he was afraid Mitchum’s recent marijuana conviction might hurt her career.  I’m glad he made the decision to go with Greer.  MItchum and Greer work together effortlessly.  One thing that bugged me though, and this holds true for many film noirs, is the familiarity characters seem to have with each other on their initial meeting.  I can’t imagine that people in 1949 actually spoke to strangers like that.  Minor quibble, but it always bothers me.  I've never been much of a fan of William Bendix’s brash style, but I quite enjoyed him here.  In general, the acting from the entire cast is first rate throughout.  Finally, the film features some nice shots of the Mexican countryside.  And I appreciate the way the Mexican people are presented.  Too often, a Mexican police officer would be portrayed as either a buffoon or a crook.  Instead, Inspector General Ortega comes across as the smartest person in the whole film.  Highly recommended.

8/10

Horror Island (1941)

“Can somebody tell me why lobsters don’t like beer?”  23 December 2020

Despite being made by Universal in 1941 and carrying a name like Horror Island, this isn’t the horror film most would expect.  Instead, Horror Island is a fun little comedy / mystery with just a few creepy moments thrown in.  The plot goes something like this: A down on his luck boat captain, Bill Martin (Dick Foran), is approached by a one-legged man with a map and a story of hidden treasure on an island Martin owns.  Martin sees this story as an opportunity to make some money.  He sets up a $50 overnight pirate treasure hunt to his island.  Soon he’s got a boatload of paying guests.  But there’s another visitor to the island.  One Martin knows nothing about.  He’s also after the treasure, however, he’s willing to kill for it.

Setting aside the questionable historical accuracy of a 400 year-old gothic castle off the U.S. coast, Horror Island is one fun, entertaining film.  The script is filled with a lot of things that appeal to me in this kind of movie - an old dark castle, secret passages, hidden treasure, and a dungeon.  There are plenty of unusual, creepy spaces and locations for the characters to explore and discover (and get trapped in).  Horror Island may have been a “B” picture, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at it.  Universal made sure these films looked as good as their “A’ releases.  Sets, lighting, and props are first rate.  The direction is good.  Director George Waggner fit a lot into a rather short 60 minute runtime.  As for the acting, the four main players acquit themselves well.  Dick Foran is more than capable of carrying the film on his shoulders.  Peggy Moran (Moran and Foran also worked together on Universal’s The Mummy’s Hand) is a delight as the love interest.  Fuzzy Knight had the hardest job - the comic relief.  I appreciate how funny he was without going overboard.  Finally, I especially enjoyed Leo Carrillo.  His peg-legged sailor is just a fun character that brings a lot to the film.  He had sort of a Karloff vibe to him that worked nicely.  Overall, Horror Island is a worthwhile watch if you’re not overly demanding.  

6/10

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries “Arson and Old Lace” #2.21 (1978) (TV)

Not sure why I keep coming back,  23 December 2020

Nancy Drew has been missing for six months.  The police have done all they can and have pretty much given up any hope of finding Nancy alive.  Frank and Joe won’t accept this and decide to take a look into Nancy’s case.  Oh, and there’s an arsonist loose in the city.

I'm not sure why I keep coming back to this show.  Nostalgia is a funny thing.  What I keep remembering are the episodes from Season 1 and how much fun I had with them back in the 70s.  Arson and Old Lace, like much of Season 2, isn’t very good.  The whole set-up is utterly ridiculous.  Nancy, a kidnap victim with finally quaffed hair and makeup, looks ridiculous.  The reasoning behind the kidnap is ridiculous.  But the worst, the fact that Frank and Joe are able to put together some good clues based on items that the FBI has gone over with a “fine tooth comb” and found nothing is the nadir of ridiculousness.   

I admit, the arson angle added a bit of unexpected, but welcome, drama to the episode.  Even though I knew the Hardy’s would save the day, the tension added by the fire worked.  However, the notion that the once resourceful Nancy Drew was reduced to damsel-in-distress during these scenes didn’t ring true to the series.

Two interesting names in the supporting cast list - Pernell Roberts and Cathy Rigby.  Roberts would shortly go on to success in Trapper John MD.  He makes way more out of his small role than he should have.  As for Rigby, well, she was a gymnast and never much of an actress.  I’ll be generous and say she does okay here. 

4/10

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

“We’ve spotted a Godzilla-like object”,  22 December 2020

Godzilla Raids Again almost feels like two different movies put together.  In the first half, Godzilla brings a pal named Angurius to Osaka for some monster fighting action.  In the second half, the Japanese military attempts to trap Godzilla on an island before he can do any further damage.  

The first Godzilla movie is a solemn, cautionary tale.  Bringing back your monster for a battle royale might be fun, but it can’t and doesn’t have the same impart as the first.  The symbolism of Godzilla is not the same.  However, Godzilla Raids Again is fun - probably more fun than the first. Watching Godzilla and Co destroy a city is always worth the price of admission.  And this is where Godzilla Raids Again shines.  We’re treated to the usual quality miniatures you expect from a Toho film.  It’s truly amazing work.  

As much as I enjoyed the first half, I wasn’t a huge fan of Angurius.  First, the design is bad.  I’m not exactly sure what it’s supposed to be.  Second, anytime you put a man in a rubber suit and ask him to go on all fours, it looks silly.  Another issue I had was with the film’s pacing throughout.  The flow of the film really bogs down anytime we switch from monsters to people talking - and they do a lot of talking.  In addition, I could have really done without that musical interlude or the dinner party.   

Even though I didn’t like much of the conversation, there are a few nuggets of entertainment (maybe unintentional) to be had.  Godzilla has just destroyed most of the city you live in.  You’re busy going through smoldering rubble the next morning.  Sounds like an ideal time to stop and make a series of jokes about the dating habits of one of your coworkers.  And what about the tagline I used for this, “We’ve spotted a Godzilla-like object”.  Wonder what that could be?  Good stuff!

5/10

Killdozer (1974) (TV)

“How do you go about killing a machine?”  22 December 2020

An evil spirit takes control of a bulldozer and uses it to terrorize the workers on a mall island.

I’m usually the one praising 70s-era made-for-TV horror movies, but not this one.  I’m going to use a word to describe Killdozer that I normally don’t use - this is one stupid movie.  My problem is that I don’t see any horror in a bulldozer.  First, these aren’t the most nimble, stealthy vehicles.  You should be able to hear or see one coming from across the tiny island.  Yet time-after-time, the bulldozer is able to sneak up on our oblivious heroes.  Second, sure a bulldozer is reasonably fast in comparison to a man (about 10 mph - I looked it up), but not fast enough a man couldn’t outmaneuver one.  In several instances, the characters in Killdozer stand and wait to be slaughtered.  

Not only is Killdozer stupid, but listening to these full-grown, intelligent men recite the dialogue their given . . . well I’m not sure it’s stupid, but they sure sound dumb.  

2/10

The Terror of the Tongs (1961)

Hammer goes to Hong Kong without leaving England,  22 December 2020

After his daughter is murdered, a sea captain seeks revenge against a powerful organized crime group known as the Red Dragon Tong.

The Terror of the Tongs isn’t the kind of film you normally think of when Hammer Films comes to mind.  There is nothing supernatural, there is no gothic atmosphere, and this isn’t a recycled Universal horror film.  What you will find instead is a reasonable dose of that infamous Hammer blood, England standing in for a foreign land (Hong Kong in this case), and Christopher Lee.  So while it may not be typical Hammer, it is still undeniably Hammer.  

Overall, the movie is reasonably entertaining.  The revenge story moves at a good pace with plenty of action.  It’s all helped by a relatively short runtime that works in the movie’s favor.  I'm not sure the story could have sustained another 15 minutes.  The sets, although stage-bound as you’d expect with Hammer, do evoke a different place.  And the acting, if you can get past the yellow-face, is about what you’d expect.  Lee may be the known quantity, but in all honesty, he doesn’t do that much.  The film is held together by Geoffrey Toone’s performance.  He’s quite good as the man on a mission.  

 

6/10

Sitting Target (1972)

“The spirit is weak, Harry.  Flesh even weaker.”  22 December 2020

Harry (Oliver Reed) and partner, Birdy (Ian McShane), bust out of prison.  Harry’s got some money stashed away, but he has more pressing matters to attend to.  He plans on killing his wife who left him while in prison and is now pregnant with another man’s baby.  

I’m amazed.  Until last night, I’d never even heard of Sitting Target.  What a film!  It’s a dark, dirty film filled with bad people.  It’s the kind of movie where none of the characters has much in the way of good qualities and no one comes out whole in the end. While there’s plenty of violence, it’s quick and sporadic.  Occasionally, it catches you off-guard and, at these times, works to perfection.  Throw Oliver Reed into the mix doing his best crazed, unstable, lunatic schtick (man could he play this kind of character) and add in one of my favorite actors of all time, Ian McShane - how have I not seen this?  

If you break Sitting Target into three acts, the first is fantastic.  The prison break is tension filled.  The violence is sparse, but effective.  The second act does drag a bit, but this is where we get a better indication of what Harry is capable of.  Lastly, the third act is sublime.  The twist is amazing and worked on me as well as any I can remember.  And the violence here leads to an incredibly satisfactory conclusion.  

The weakest part of the film has to be Jill St John as Harry’s wife.  I’m sure she was added to the cast as she was coming off Diamonds are Forever and she had a “name” American audiences would recognize.  But, she’s completely miscast.  She looks and acts like she should be in a different movie.  And that accent - what a disaster.  Still, she’s not bad enough to ruin the experience in its entirety.  Well worth seeking out.

 

8/10

Crime Doctor (1943)

A new series to watch, 21 December 2020

After being thrown from a moving vehicle, a mysterious man wakes in the hospital with no memory.  As much as he’d like, the doctor that takes his case can’t help revive his memories.  The man, now known as Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter), decides to help himself and, ten years later, he’s a practicing psychiatrist.  Out of the blue, he meets a couple of men who refer to Ordway as Morgan.  Do these men know anything about Ordway / Morgan’s past?  And what of the $200,000 they claim Morgan stole?  

I’m a huge fan of the 30s and 40s era mystery programmers that all the studios were producing.  Whether it’s Chan, Holmes, the Falcon, or the Saint, there’s an appeal these films have to me.  I’m not sure why I’ve never seen any of the Crime Doctor movies, but I’m glad to have finally corrected that oversight.  Admittedly, I didn’t find this one, the first in the series, as entertaining as I’d hoped, but it was good enough to seek out the others in the series.  

I think my main issue with Crime Doctor is how long it took things to get going.  The first half is a drag.  It’s not until Ordway’s past starts to catch up with him and the mystery heats up that things get interesting.  I’d probably rate the first half a 4/10 and the second half a 6/10.  I’d probably rate the second half even higher if the ending didn’t feel so rushed.  I’d like to have known more about the location of the missing $200,000.

Baxter is fine, if not a bit underwhelming, in the lead role.  He’s joined by a surprisingly strong cast, including Margaret Lindsay, Harold Huber, Don Costello, and Leon Ames (always a favorite of mine).  But the best of the cast had to be John LItel.  He played a fantastic smart, threatening hood.  He had a way about him that made me uncomfortable to watch.  Nice going.

 

5/10

The Avengers “Castle De’ath” #4.5 (1966) (TV)

“Lean on me, Mistress Peel, as much as you like”, 20 December 2020

Steed and Mrs Peel go undercover to investigate some unusual goings on in a Scottish castle.  It seems a colleague was found dead nearby, but the dead body was taller than when the man was alive. 

It’s not that Castle De’ath is a bad episode or anything (I don't remember any truly bad Mrs Peel episodes - we shall see), but it is definitely one of the weaker.  The problem is that it’s just not very interesting.  Steed and Mrs Peel spend too much time apart so there’s no time for their usual witty banter.  The case’s solution is fairly obvious, down to the reason for the mysterious nightly bagpipes.  And I thought spotting the chief baddie was way too easy.  Overall, Castle De’ath is an average 5/10 episode at best.

A few other notes before I finish this:

1. My favorite bit had to be when Steed went “fishing”.  It was classic Steed.

2. I always enjoy seeing Gordon Jackson.  I probably know him best from Upstairs Downstairs.  

3. The doubles used for Mrs Peel were absolutely lousy.  Are they always this bad?  I haven’t noticed.  There’s one scene where Mrs Peel is running in the dark.  Not only does the double have the wrong hair length, it’s the wrong color.  Too funny.

 

5/10