Chuck's "first" movie, 26 September 2017
IMDb's plot summary for Breaker! Breaker! Is short and sweet – "Truck driver searches for his brother, who has disappeared in a town run by a corrupt judge." There's really not much more that needs to be said about the plot. Chuck Norris goes looking for his brother, discovers he disappeared in a backwoods town, kicks everyone in sight, calls his trucker buddies to bust up the buildings, rescues his bother. That's it. There are no twists or turns or other surprises. Breaker! Breaker! moves from point A to point B in the straightest line imaginable. If the writers spent more than 30 minutes on the script, they were wasting their time. For me, Breaker! Breaker! is predictable, silly, and not a lot of fun.
Watching Breaker! Breaker!, it's difficult to believe that Norris would go on to have the film career he did. Other than kicking a few dudes, Norris doesn't offer much. He was never an award quality actor, but some of his films are at least entertaining. Even some of his early films are fun – I especially enjoy Silent Rage. I say this to point out that I'm not a hater – I just don't enjoy this movie.
Two things that I did, however, enjoy were the performances of George Murdock and Jack Nance. Murdock's over-the-top portrayal of Judge Joshua Trimmings is one of the few highlights. And Jack Nance is always a lot of fun. It's a shame these guys are wasted in this turkey of a film.
3/10
Psycho-Rama - what a lame idea., 24 September 2017
Sheila Wayne (Kathy O'Donnell) has reoccurring dreams about an old, foreboding house. Recently married, she and her new husband move to Florida. Their house . . . well, it's the house of her nightmares. She quickly learns that this house is a place of evil, a place where bad things have happened. But how did Kathy end up in this house? How is it that her husband just happened to find this house? Who's crazy, who's sane, and what actually happened in the house?
Terror in the Haunted House (or My World Dies Screaming - which i prefer) is like cross between Hitchcock's Rebecca and the dreadful The Screaming Skull. Unforutnatley, our movie has more in common with the latter than it does Hitchcock's masterpiece. I'll start by saying it's not the worst movie in the world. This isn't much of an endorsement, but you could certainly do a whole lot worse. But make not mistake, it's still pretty bad. Here's a quick list of some of the things that bothered me:
1. Sheila Wayne - The screaming got old real quick. And for a woman in peril, she's not very sympathetic. After a while, I didn't care what happened to her. She was just so annoying and stupid.
2. Acting - Some of it is plain old bad. In particular, William Ching gives a totally wooden and unnatural performance. No one talks like that in real life.
3. Gerald Mohr - He's a decent enough actor, but he's miscast here. The New York accent really got in the way. No way was I buying the notion he grew up in Florida.
4. Predictable - The director does everything he can to throw the viewer off the track regarding who's crazy and who's not. But it's all so obvious that it backfires. I could spot the baddie almost immediately.
5. Psycho-Rama - Was William Castle associated with this movie? The constant subliminal images were about as annoying as Sheila Wayne.
With all the problems I had with the movie, I think I'm being generous in rating Terror in the Haunted Hiuse a 4/10.
4/10
Element 112, 24 September 2017
Dr. David Conway (William Leslie), with the assistance of Laura "Hutch" Hutchinson (Kathryn Grant), is in a race to stop a series of earthquakes that threaten the entire world. It seems that a newly discovered element, Element 112, expands and explodes when dry and mixed with nitrogen. And, because of mining and oil exploration, Element 112 is making its way to the Earth's surface.
By no means is The Night the World Exploded a great film, but I found it reasonably entertaining. It's slow, lacks big-budget special effects, and the lead is a bit dry, but it's got something about it that worked for me. The sci-fi elements are presented believably enough to be effective. And there's some nice slow-burn suspense that's built throughout that worked on me. Other aspects that helped the film include a perky female lead in Kathryn Grant, real life disaster footage nicely blended into the film, and a short runtime.
I called William Leslie "dry", but it's not just him, it's his character also. I know his Dr Conway is a driven professional, but come on - how could not not see Hutch has feelings for him? It's not until the world is about to end that he pays any notice to her. What a dolt!
5/10
- Island of the Burning Damned
Very British, 23 September 2017
Fara Island, off the coast of Scotland, is experiencing some very unusual weather. While the rest of country is in the midst of a normal cold winter, the island is hot. The temperature has hit 100 F and continues to rise. And it's not just the heat - people are hearing odd buzzing noises and sheep are dying in mysterious ways. What's behind the strange goings on? A scientist working on Fara thinks he has the answer - the heat, noises and deaths can be attributed to an alien invasion.
Night of the Big Heat (or Island of the Burning Damned if you prefer - I've actually seen it under both titles) is a very low-budget, very British sci-fi film with an unbelievably strong cast. I've seen this movie at least four or five times and it never fails to entertain. It's not a thrill-a-minute type movie, but it excels in tension and atmosphere. The plot may seem silly, but its presented in a manner that works for me. I believe square-jawed Patrick Allen, shirt dripping with sweat, when he tells me it's hot. I believe Christopher Lee's ramblings about the heat being generated by creatures from another world. And I believe Peter Cushing when he stumbles on one of the creatures in the middle of the night. This cast could make me believe just about anything. Lee and Cushing may be the big names in British genre films, but Patrick Allen is their equal when it comes to acting. Together, they make Night of the Big Heat a lot of fun.
I wish the filmmakers would have made the decision to not show the aliens. I've read a lot of comments and some people can't seem to get past their appearance - a cross between a fried egg and a roasted marshmallow. I would have preferred that either they not be shown and left it up to the viewer's imagination or take the cop-out route a lot of other low-budget sci-fi films of the era did and make the creatures invisible. Seeing the creatures is not necessary. All the work building tension and atmosphere had already been accomplished. The low-budget effects don't add to what came before - they only serve to detract.
7/10
Entertaining despite its weaknesses, 23 September 2017
A group of scientists working in an undersea station discover an alien spacecraft. They, quite naturally, investigate. They discover a cylinder shaped object and bring it to their station for further testing. Before you can say "guy in a rubber suit", the thing hatches an amphibious type creature who immediately goes on a rampage. The good guys must try to stay alive and destroy the alien craft before any more of these things show up.
Admittedly, there are a lot of problems with Destination Inner Space. It's goofy, features from ridiculous acting, and has obvious budgetary limitations. But despite all that, there is a good deal of fun to be had. Fans of monster romps should find something to enjoy. I found the monster suit surprisingly effective. It's a unique design quite a bit different form what I've seen before. I especially enjoyed the use of color. Makes it look a bit like the sunfish I used to catch as a child when I went fishing with my grandfather. A decent amount of action, some scientific mumbo-jumbo, and some cheap, but fun miniatures are other highlights. Overall, a decent amount of entertainment despite the weaknesses.
Two other things worth mentioning:
1. I got a real unintended laugh out of star Scott Brady. First, he's a complete fish out of water. He has no business being in this movie. Second, just watching him try to buckle his diving vest over his pooch is a hoot.
2. I'm not sure I've ever actually seen Mike Road in a movie, but I knew that voice as soon as I heard it - Race Bannon. Too cool!
5/10
I always enjoy seeing Keye Luke, 22 September 2017
Mundy goes undercover as a member of the State Department assigned to a young Asian prince. Mundy's job is to spot and stop any nefarious goings on. Good thing, as the prince's uncle has his sights set on a valuable jewel encrusted statue. The theft of the statue will lead to tension between the US and prince's country and will give the uncle his chance to make a power grab. After the uncle steals the idol, Mundy must get it back and replace it before anyone notices it's missing.
As my rating clearly indicates, When Good Friends Get Together is not among my favorite episodes. It's good, but just nowhere near as good as some of the others. The problems I have include: Patrick Adiarte's prince is super annoying, Mundy's woman of the week played by Rosemary Forsyth is super dull, and the heist is super simple. I think just about any State Department employee with a half decent golf game could have handled this case. No need to bother a master thief like Mundy.
Although he was only on-screen for a few seconds, I really enjoyed seeing Keye Luke. He's been a favorite of mine since I was very young and would stay up late to watch Charlie Chan films. It was an unexpectedly nice, but all too brief, cameo.
5/10
I'm a sucker for Egyptian mumbo-jumbo., 22 September 2017
At the exact moment that Egyptologist Professor Fuchs (Andrew Keir) and party are opening the tomb of the Egyptian Queen of the Darkness, Tara, Fuchs' daughter is born dead in a London hospital. The two events are connected as Tara's spirit enters young Margaret Fuchs (Valerie Leon) and bring her back to life. Unaware of their connection, Margaret grows up to be the spitting image of Tara. Nearing her 21st (?) birthday, Margaret begins having unsettling dreams of Tara. Thus begins Tara's resurrection. To complete the transformation, Margaret/Tara must collect the artifacts from her tomb that are now in the possession of Professor Fuchs' colleagues who assisted in the original expedition. Collecting the objects will lead to a trail of bloody bodies, each with its throat ripped out.
Writing that poorly worded plot synopsis was much more difficult that it should have been. The problem is that the plot in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a mess of ideas going in several different directions. It's entertaining, but it is admittedly a mess. I quite enjoy the story, but as I've written before, I'm a sucker for Egyptian mumbo- jumbo. Throw in some hokum about an evil queen, possessed artifacts, stars aligning in just the right way, and a traveling, disembodied hand and I'll eat it up. So, despite the many flaws in the plot, none of it really matters to me as I always have great fun watching Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.
Watching the film last night for the first time in about 10 years, I realized I had forgotten much about the plot and really most everything else. One thing I hadn't forgotten was Valerie Leon. I defy anyone to watch this movie and not remember Ms Leon. I realize she wasn't hired for her acting ability, but she isn't all that bad. She may be a bit wooden in some scenes, but at worst, she's always watchable. I know Hammer used young women like Ms Leon, but at least Hammer provided her and others the opportunity to star in film. Hammer gave actresses like Ms Leon, Yutte Stensgaard, and Jennifer Daniel a chance for a role with some meat to it. None will be remembered as award caliber actresses, but all are memorable to fans in the various Hammer films/roles.
Beyond Ms Leon, the rest of the cast is surprisingly strong. Andrew Keir was a real pro and is quite good as Professor Fuchs. James Villers, as the scheming Corbeck, is a scene-stealer. He's one part smarmy and one part evil. An entertaining combination. The rest of the cast is solid with Aubrey Morris, George Coulouris, and Mark Edwards giving memorable performances.
To summarize, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb features a messy but very fun story, the memorable Valerie Leon, and a solid supporting cast. I'm keeping the 7/10 rating I gave it 10 years ago.
7/10
