Charley Varrick (1973)

The movie opens with a small gang of thieves being led by the titular Charley Varrick. As we meet them they are about to knock over a small town bank to score a few bucks. Along with Charley is his wife Nadine, Harman, and another man who doesn’t really matter much. Spoilers he gets shot right away. See their plan goes sideways on them when a deputy checks the plates on the getaway car only to discover it is stolen. This means when they leave with the bags of cash the cops are there and a gunfight/car chase breaks out. The gang gets away but like I said one of them is dead in the bank and unfortunately Nadine is fatally wounded as well.

Here is where things get really interesting. First, we see that Charley might be sentimental as he takes the wedding ring from his wife but doesn’t seem that broken up when they leave her in the getaway car with a bomb to cover their tracks. Second, they tear open the bags to find a cool seven hundred and fifty thousand when they expected maybe twenty grand. Turns out the bank was mobbed up and not only are the cops hunting them, but a nasty hit man named Molly is on their trail as well. The rest of the movie is Charley dealing with the surviving gang member, the cops, and the mob in his efforts to get away with his life and maybe the cash.

I’m a huge movie nerd and have spent my entire life tracking down and watching all sorts of genres. Being a child of the seventies one of those genres that I’ve always loved is the crime drama. I like nothing better than watching plans being made and going awry with sometimes terrible results. The more twists and turns the better. So it was sort of a shock for me when I stumbled over Charley Varrick streaming on Netflix. This is just the sort of thing that I would have expected to have caught on HBO back in the day. Hell it stars Walter Matthau who I know better for his comedies and am a huge fan of.

The story is solid and stays on track unfolding the twists and turns as Charlie does his best to not get killed or caught. There are a lot of characters that get introduced like the mobster from Reno (played by John “Go Fuck an Iceberg” Vernon!), the crooked bank manager, and a bank examiner played by Norman Fell. This is all in addition to the surviving gang member Harmon (Andrew Robinson) and the hitman Molly (Joe Don Baker). You would think that would be too many characters muddling up the story but in reality they all serve a purpose to move the plot along nicely. Each of them has their part to play and the action quickly connects back to the primary plotline of Charley and the money.

How do they manage this? Well, it is a nice bit of storytelling thanks to a screenplay that is balanced and well thought out. The story knows exactly where it wants to go and keeps things on track. It also doesn’t hurt that the movie has a legendary director in Don Siegel. You may not recognize the name, but the man was responsible for some amazing movies. From the classic fifties science fiction movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers to later efforts with Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry, Escape from Alcatraz, and my personal favorite The Beguiled) as well as John Wayne (The Shootist). When you are the preferred director for actors like this then you have to be great. Hell he even worked with Charles Bronson on Telefon.

There was a lot of talent both in front of as well as behind the camera. When that happens you normally get excellent results and that is what happened here. Charley Varrick is a movie that wasn’t on my radar until recently, but I can guarantee you that I will be revisiting it in the future. This is a nifty crime drama/thriller that has me looking at Walter Matthau and what he could do as an actor in a totally different way. I highly recommend everyone check this one out.

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

The Cat and the Canary (1978)

I’m a big fan of the Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard version (review here) of this story shot almost forty years earlier in nineteen thirty nine, so I was interested in this remake. After poking around and finding out that Olivia Hussey, Carol Lynley and an honest to God Bond girl, Honor Blackman starred I was even more excited to check it out. How does it compare and is it worth checking out? Might as well jump in and find out.

After some unpleasantness involving a Cat and a Canary… I guess they took the title a bit literally here… relatives start to arrive for the reading of a will. In total there are six relatives all vying for the fortune of their deceased and odd potential benefactor Cyrus West. There is some frustration as they have been waiting for twenty years as his will stipulated. Why the wait? There seems to be some shenanigans involving him wanting to see who made it that far. Old Cyrus basically feels like his family is undeserving leeches and is playing some games with them from beyond the grave.

After some bickering it is announced that his niece or great niece… they aren’t quite specific about relationships… Annabelle is the sole beneficiary. Though she needs to make it thru the night alive and insane to collect. Yep the old guy set them up with a motive for murder. Though the catch is no one knows who is next in line if she should be unavailable. Though the executor of the will disappears so someone might have found a way to find out. Lots of creeping around the house in the dark while a storm rages outside ensues. There is also some romance between Annabelle and her cousin Michael who I suppose are kissing cousins! Oh, and another murder. Eventually the identity of the killer and their motives are revealed.

This version of the movie made me appreciate the magical delivery and chemistry of Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. This isn’t quite a shot for shot remake, but it basically is the same story. The main characters of Annabelle (Carol Lynley) and Michael (Paul Jones) don’t have nearly the chemistry which means we have time to notice how linear and at times inexplicably boring the basic plot here is. People come to the house, a will gets read, and then folks start to yell and argue. Even when the first body is found it isn’t all that interesting. There are also attempts at comedy with Michael stumbling around a bit in the dark, but it is quickly abandoned as he simply lacks the chops to pull it off. The dude isn’t funny but that doesn’t stop them from trying.

This version of the story is also much longer clocking in at almost an hour and forty minutes. There simply isn’t enough meat on the bone for that sort of runtime. We spend far too much time on characters that simply don’t matter much to the plot while others like Hussey’s character are totally wasted. Honestly you had her and Honor Blackman on the cast and give them nothing to do? That seems like a bad decision. Much of this I blame on director and co-writer Radley Metzger. That name might sound familiar to you. He was best known for making adult films and I believe that this was his one attempt at a “legitimate” movie. I use quotes because I don’t automatically discount the quality of work in classic adult movies as many are quite good. Here Metzger misses every opportunity to make a decent movie and that is a bummer.

I could go on but honestly, I think that I’ve made my point. There is nothing charming or engaging about this version of The Cat and the Canary. Do yourself a favor and just check out the Hope version. You can pretty much find it streaming all over the place. That movie is very much worth your time this one not so much.

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

Steel Arena (1973)

More automotive shenanigans with me checking out Steel Arena. The plot, such as it is, follows a driver named Dusty. When we first meet him, he is hitching a ride into a small town. He strolls into the bar and after letting the bartender know he can’t afford his drinks is offered a job. They want him to run some moonshine which leads to a car chase after the sheriff shows up at the still! Dusty isn’t getting paid because he lost the load but does end up in a brawl where he meets Buddy. The pair then take the car down to enter a destruction derby for the prize money. Not only do they win but are then offered a job as daredevils for the traveling stunt show.

The rest of the movie are the pair along with the other drivers and stunt folks going from town to town smashing cars, jumping and smashing cars, and flipping and smashing cars. There is a lot of smashing here. We also get an attempt at storytelling where Crash, another driver, gets jealous that Dusty is the new featured driver in the show and is getting all the good stunts. This leads to bigger and more dangerous stunts as everyone has to up their game. Folks start to die and then the credits roll.

Much like C.B. Hustlers, which I covered recently, this movie is light on plot. There is just enough narrative to connect the various stunt shows. The story follows the pattern of some talking, a stunt show, some more talking as they drive to the next town, and another show. We do get hints at subplots with the owner of the show manipulating Dusty into riskier tricks to draw bigger crowds. There is also a lady that travels with Dusty, though I don’t think she ever gets a name. They even setup the fact that a now fired and angry Crash is going to sabotage the big jump that happens at the end of the flick. Though nothing is ever shown on screen and things end abruptly with the final scene being the girl boarding a bus to go home. Story wise there isn’t much here.  

The lack of plot isn’t helped by the fact that the cast is made up of actual stunt drivers using their real names and not actors playing parts. This means when they do try to deliver lines it mostly comes off flat and uninspired. So maybe not spending much time trying to develop characters and storylines is a good thing. The flip side of this is the cast is doing the stunts on screen and that brings a realism to the proceedings you don’t see in most of these movies. Cars get smashed up and the character climbs out of them, many times without a cut (to the scene not the actor)! That was a cool twist on this familiar genre.

The stunts are also well executed and since most of them are on tracks as part of a show take place in a controlled environment where they can really crank things up. Though the same tricks are show again and again as they build up the desire to jump further and flip more. From a narrative standpoint it makes sense, but seeing it play out repeatedly gets a bit old. Still, I think that while this isn’t a great movie it does bring enough mayhem and smashed up old cars that fans of this subgenre will dig it enough for at least a single watch.

Not a huge recommendation but unlike some of the other tedious entries I’ve covered, again C.B. Hustlers is a prime example, there are enough payoffs with the car crashes that I can’t completely hate it. But then again, I did grow up in the seventies where going to the county fair to see folks purposely run into each other until either they or the car couldn’t continue was considered a fun Saturday night! Still is actually…

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Hooch (1977)

Eddie Joe, played by Gil Gerard, is running shine and the sheriff knows it. But every time he tries to catch him in the act he either gets away or doesn’t have anything on him. This is especially annoying to the sheriff because Eddie Joe is sweet on his niece Ginnie. If the criminal stuff isn’t enough, he is pissed off that Eddie Joe is stepping out with another woman, Jamie Sue, the daughter of one of the other moonshiners! Toss in the fact that Eddie Joe is the only supplier of shine that refuses to pay the sheriff off and it gets messy.

It gets worse when a stranger shows up in town. His name is Tony, and he is a mobster checking out the local bootlegging scene. When he sees how much money can be made he brings his boss in and they start making plans to take over. With the help of Old Bill, Jamie Sue’s pop, they locate the other stills and blow them up. Then they try arranging a meeting and try to blow up the bootleggers themselves. Along the way they try to frame Eddie Joe for the crime and turn the locals against him. Not only does he have the best shine, but his still is hidden and is the only one they haven’t been able to get rid of. This leads to a big finale with a shoot out and a car chase. Damn I forgot to mention that Eddie Joe drives a sweet El Camino.

I really liked this movie. It is a mix of carsploitation, moonshiners, and hicksploitation blended in a fun package. Gerard is great as Eddie Joe playing it low key and laid back. It is almost as if the part was written for his personality, which it was. He also wrote the story that the script was based on! There is always something happening on screen whether it is him romancing one of the two ladies, cracking wise with the sheriff, or the comedic gags with the locals it is a blast. There is a bit in the middle with a musical number and a lot of dancing and a bar fight that feels like padding where Hooch slows down a bit. But then the movie does pick up after that and ends in a fun finale.

It was the '70s and Gil was cool!

I was expecting a bit more car chase action, but what we do get is fine. Honestly, I don’t think they had the budget to crash anything so manage your expectations. You do get to see a couple nice rides and folks do end up in disposable vehicles, so you know they are going over an embankment or into the river. The inclusion of the mobsters halfway thru feels a bit forced but the actors are decent and there are some laughs to be had. It was weird to see Danny Aiello in a movie like this. He plays Tony and ends up with a butt full of buckshot… comedy!

A few other things to mention about Hooch. The soundtrack is filled with some appropriate seventies’ country toons. There are some awesome lines like, “I like my bourbon old and my women young.” Seriously Eddie Joe is one smooth operator when it comes to the ladies! There is even a funny Kojak line that if you don’t recognize one of the actors you will miss, but it made me giggle. Finally, the financial success of this movie was partly responsible for the creation of The Dukes of Hazzard. Honestly as a child of the seventies how the hell did I not know about this movie before now?

I had a lot of fun with Hooch and recommend that you go track yourself down a copy. It is a fun bit of drive-in cheese that is a must watch for folks who dig cars, hicks, or are just looking for a fun way to kill ninety minutes.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

C.B. Hustlers (1976)

You guys ready for another batch of Automotive mayhem? These are the movies set in and around the car culture and/or highway life. It is a uniquely American thing and was very important for the drive-in movie market from the fifties thru the sixties. This one, for better or worse, is a prime example.

Let me start with a plot synopsis, though for a movie like this it doesn’t much matter. There is a guy who goes by the C.B. Handle of Dancer. He drives around in a sweet custom van (Hot Box 1) talking to truckers on the radio. Why? Well because he has another van (Hot Box 2) with working girls in it, the titular C.B. Hustlers, and acts as their pimp. We find this out pretty fast as he directs them to a truck stop and they get right to work.

There is also a local sheriff who wants to clean up his county and get rid of all the undesirables. This includes a bunch of van enthusiasts who are having a festival/rally in an open field. I suppose there is some conflict because the girls ignore their normal eighteen wheeler customers for the four wheeler customers, but nothing much comes out of it. The local paper, basically a couple guys who serve as comedic relief, are also trying to do an expose like them “Watergate fellas”. Stuff happens and then the movie is over.

C.B. Hustlers is a prime example of someone making product for the drive-in circuit rather than a movie. There isn’t much story here, so it is easy to imagine this as the second or third feature on the bill when the audience was well into the other pursuits. There is a reason that they were called passion pits you know. There is some eye candy for those occasionally looking up at the screen in both the cool vans and the ladies getting naked. There are a lot of examples, and they are spaced evenly throughout the duration. And if you insist on watching the movie, as I did for this review, there are also some attempts at humor. Though they don’t really work well.

My biggest issue with the movie is a complete lack of plot. They have at best an outline of what they want, but many of the scenes are clearly improvised. We also get wide shots from way back with characters walking up and “talking” to each other. Far enough away that you can’t see their mouths move which allows the filmmakers to dub whatever dialogue or exposition they need in to push the story along. After about half an hour C.B. Hustlers runs out of steam and becomes tedious. This is the case even though I watched the VHS cut which removes ten minutes of the movie! From what I can tell it isn’t anything good they were just trying to speed it up.

Fans might be interested in the fact that the movie was directed by Stu Segall who was responsible for the much better Drive-in Massacre. It also stars… well one of the girls is played by Uschi Digard. If you don’t recognize that name, she was an actress who brought her ample “assets” to many a Russ Meyer flick.

Unless you are a diehard drive-in aficionado like myself, I can’t imagine you would have any desire to spend your time watching C.B. Hustlers. It had a decent formula and folks behind and in front of the camera who knew what they were doing. Sadly, the utter lack of plot dooms this to the pile of painfully mediocre schlock.

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Black Samson (1974)

This is an entry into the Blaxploitation genre that no one seems to ever talk about. That is a damn shame because it stars Carol Speed of Abby and The Mack fame as well as one of the got to bad guys from seventies cinema William Smith. I’m getting ahead of myself here so before I go much further let’s talk Black Samson. 

Things kick off with a couple of white guys wandering into Samson’s bar. They are clearly up to no good as one of them keeps propositioning one of the dancing girls like she is a hooker. That annoys the proprietor, and he warns Johnny Nappa, William Smith’s character, that his buddy needs to cool it. He doesn’t so a proper beat down occurs, and the man is tossed out of the bar. That isn’t a good thing because they were mobsters and were scoping things out. It seems that they want to move into the neighborhood with their smack, but Samson keeps his street clean. Everyone seems to respect that except for hotshot Johnny Nappa. 

The rest of the movie plays out with escalating violence as Nappa keeps trying to buy off and then kill off Samson who won’t let his people or neighborhood down. Ladies get smacked around, bars get blow up, cars get crashed, and much justice is meted out with Samson’s weapon of choice an impressive staff. Finally, the mobsters get tricked into the neighborhood so that everyone can let them know just how they feel about their attempts to flood their home with drugs. Spoilers it involves kitchen appliances getting tossed off buildings. 

This is a fun movie with a great story that while not groundbreaking is executed in a way that makes it entertaining. Things kick off with a bang as Samson tosses the gangsters out of his bar. We get a little bit of character building with the homeless guy acting as a night watchman for the bar before more butt kicking occurs. This is one of those flicks that manage to tell you a decent story with characters that you will like all while keeping things moving along briskly. It is never boring, even on a fourth or fifth watch. 

This is a very seventies experience filled with all sorts of odd fashions and groovy dialogue. Really its beautiful baby just beautiful. We get some quality seventies nudity with a lot of the ladies showing some skin. Not trying to be creepy but this is a drive-in movie, so such things are expected. Black Samson delivers the goods in this category. We also have a decent car chase, fight scenes that are pretty good, and a fun soundtrack. Everything that I expect when I sit down to watch a Blaxploitation movie is on display and I dig it. 

I should mention one thing. While I’m not in support of judging a movie that is nearly fifty years old by today’s standards, I will say that William Smith’s character is a racists asshole. Because of that he uses a particular slur a lot in the movie. Given that he is the bad guy and that we are supposed to hate him and root for Samson I’m okay with it. But I also equally understand if that might bother a viewer, so I wanted to mention it. Since I’m going to recommend this one and I don’t want anyone to sit down and be traumatized by the language. 

Like I just said I’m going to recommend Black Samson. This movie is a lot of fun and checks a lot of boxes. I watch it every few years and always enjoy it. If you haven’t seen it I encourage you to track down a copy. You won’t be disappointed. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

Blaxploitation movies dipped a lot into the horror genre putting their own unique takes on them. This is the first one that I’ve covered for the site, but it won’t be the last. Here we have a doctor named Henry Pryde. He is a successful doctor and researcher who still takes time to volunteer at a free clinic. Though one of his regular patients, Linda, accuses him of just feeling guilty about being so rich. We also see that Pryde is working on a formula to regenerate liver tissue. His mother drank herself to death and he hasn’t gotten over that. 

You can probably guess what happens next. Pryde’s formula has side effects. The worst one is that it turns you white and homicidal! As the story plays out we are told that Pryde’s mother was a cleaning lady at a brothel and when she collapsed he went looking for help but none of the ladies would open their door to him. So, when he gets all crazed killer, he targets working girls and their pimps for his wrath. Did I mention that Linda is a working girl? She ends up on his list but the cops show up in the nick of time to save the day. 

This movie has an interesting take on the story that I rather liked. The motivation for Pryde going after prostitutes didn’t make much sense as he went from wanting to experiment with is drug to lets just kill people. But then the movie, in an excellent bit of writing, lets you in on why when he loses control, he targets them. Unfortunately, the writing also is very flawed. First up there isn’t a whole lot of story to fill up the runtime. So, there is a lot of talky bits as Pryde does science stuff with his assistant. There is also a lot of Linda and her friend’s kids that doesn’t do anything to serve the actual plot. 

It also bugged me that they do their best to setup Pryde as a smart guy. But then after seeing the serum turn a rat into a killer that wipes out everything in its cage as well as turning a very sick woman nuts and having her attack a nurse, he still injects himself. I’m pretty sure that he would have realized there were issues. Toss in the fact that at sometimes he is bulletproof and other times when it serves the plot he suddenly isn’t! They had the makings of a cool movie here but just failed to deliver on it. 

Bernie Casey seems like a good choice to cast as the lead. He normally is good in whatever role he was cast in. I’m not sure if it was just a poor choice on how to portray the character or if he was just phoning it in but he isn’t very good. There isn’t much effort put into bringing Pryde to the screen and the performance feels flat. The one exception to this is when he is relating to Linda what happened to his mother. He nails that scene which makes the rest of his performance rather disappointing. The rest of the cast is decent, but nothing terribly memorable. 

The makeup on Casey when he turns into Hyde is simple but very effective. We get some pale skin, contacts to make the eyes weird looking, and a dusting of white in his hair. Again, it is very simple, but also creepy. He is also a large man so when he is all “monstered” out it is intimidating and effective. It wasn’t until I was watching the credits that I realized this makeup was the handywork of the late great Stan Winston! 

Dr. Black Mr. Hyde isn’t a terrible movie, but it is disappointing. There was potential here but they somehow missed the boat. Still if you are a fan of Blaxploitation movies, especially horror ones, this is probably worth a watch. Though unlike Blacula or Abby, I can’t see myself in a hurry to watch it again. With that lukewarm recommendation I’m out. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (1977)

This is one of those movies that the title alone stopped me in my tracks. I mean Soul Brothers of Kung Fu. I must watch this! When I realized that it also starred Bruce Li (note the spelling) that only made it even more of a must watch. In case you were uninformed after the death of Bruce Lee there were a lot of knock offs that paid “homage” to the man. Bruce Li was one of the if not the best of them. Toss in some Blaxploitation vibes and I’m sold.

The movie opens with a couple of men and a woman on a raft at sea. They are stranded and in dire need of help. The next scene is them on a boat rescued. Then later they are living in Hong Kong and Wong, the Bruce Li character, keeps getting in fights and losing his job. But all the fights are righteous because he is just trying to do right. This includes saving a young black man named Tom from a beating. He becomes the fourth friend, and they train him in Kung Fu. I’m thinking that is how they got the title.

Wong ends up annoying a crime boss or maybe just a Kung Fu guy, I’m not sure. Regardless that man sends his three best after Wong. During the fight they kill his wife and cripple him. Tom sticks with him and helps him rehab while the other man from the boat, Chin, becomes a bad guy. This leads to some Kung Fu revenge as Wong puts everything right. Heh… yeah, I did that on purpose. In the end there is only one man standing and he has lost everything. That is kind of a bummer ending that I didn’t see coming.

Other than the inclusion of the Tom character and some racist bad guys this movie isn’t as much of a Blaxploitation movie as it is a Kung Fu flick made to appeal to the urban grindhouses. But then to be fair there isn’t much to this story to fit it into any specific category. The plot is paper thin and there are no explanations as to character motivations. Not only that but there are characters that drop in and out as needed including one that just sort of disappears never to be seen again. At best the story and those non-Kung Fu fighting parts are there just to bridge the many scenes of ass kicking. I think that I’m okay with that.

The fights are many and take up most of the runtime. They are inventive with some happening in the ring, others in a park, and yet more in a lumber mill. These are just a few of the plentiful sequences of mayhem that we are treated to. The actors are all very good martial artists and execute the solid choreography perfectly. When I watch a movie like Soul Brothers of Kung Fu I want to see a lot of punches and kicks being thrown and boy howdy do we get that with this one. Movie you had one job and you delivered the goods.

This isn’t a great movie and I’ve already stated that the plot and characters leave a lot to be desired. But I still liked it. Based on feedback from earlier reviews of Kung Fu movies I also feel the need to say the following. If you aren’t a fan of such things, then you probably won’t like this movie. Seriously I’ve had these conversations in the past. On the other hand, if you dig some Martial Arts and want to see gravity defying moves then Soul Brothers of Kung Fu is for you.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Slaughter (1972)

I haven’t covered many Blaxploitation movies here at the site. If you are unaware of what I’m talking about with this genre the following link will explain it better than I can. Wikipedia is our friend! I watch a lot of these flicks, so I thought it was about time to correct that. So welcome to my first ever marathon of Blaxploitation movies.

Former football star Jim Brown stars as the titular character Slaughter. He is a Green Beret who comes home after his parents were killed in a car bomb. He understands that his father had mob connections, but his mother was innocent. That means that someone is about to pay for what they did to her. Starting with his Dad’s girlfriend he works his way back to the hitman, but just as he is about to put him down things go sideways. Slaughter gets caught up with the Treasury Department, he screwed up their investigation, and ends up in South America. Not only can he fix what he screwed up, but that is also where his parent’s killer is as well. Two birds one stone sort of thing.

I figured why not start off with one of the better but sadly lesser known Blaxploitation movies. Slaughter is a kick in the butt with the action starting from the opening scene and coming non-stop most of the way until another bit of car related violence at the end. In between we get car chases including one with a plane. There are many fistfights, a knife fight, gunfights, and Jim Brown even gets physical with a car. Seriously the bad guys are fighting him with cars while he jumps around them kicking ass! We do get some character development and a subplot of Slaughter falling for the head bad guys lady, but it is paced well so that it never slows the movie down. In fact, we get just enough to root for Slaughter and against Dominic (the assassin and main villain).

The editing of the action sequences are great and it flows perfectly on screen. Jim Brown wasn’t that far removed from his football career and was still a world class athlete. It shows as he is very smooth and natural in all the physical stuff he is asked to do. What gets lost and something a lot of people don’t realize is that he was a good actor as well. Sure, he might not be an Oscar level talent, though an argument can be made he was never given those types of roles. What isn’t debatable is that he can carry a movie.

The rest of the cast is equally as good. You have Stella Stevens as Ann, the gangster’s girlfriend who falls for Slaughter. Rip Torn is Dominic, the gangster who likes to drop “N” bombs and generally make an ass of himself. Torn is really good in this movie and you can’t wait for Slaughter to kill him. Don Gordon who is normally relegated to small supporting roles has a decent part as Harry, the partner Slaughter doesn’t want. Finally, there is a small glorified cameo from Cameron Mitchell. There is a lot of talent around Brown and it only helps to make the movie that much better.

What else haven’t I mentioned? There is a great theme song and a lot of fun groovy music. The camera work is great and includes a weird “fish eye” lens that gives some of the action sequences a unique look. Honestly, I don’t have a bad thing to say about this movie. It is exactly what I want when I sit down too watch an early seventies action movie and because of that I highly recommend Slaughter. Do yourself a favor and track down a copy of the movie.

 

Ó Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Challenge of the McKennas (1970)

Time for another western. The movie opens with the hanging of a man by some bad guys while his lady begs them to stop and cries beneath his swinging body when she is unsuccessful. Later another man stops by and helps the woman to her buggy, buries the body, and takes her to the nearest ranch for help. Turns out that ranch is her home but instead of being happy to see her the father, Don Diego, is annoyed that he buried the man on his land. Seems that Diego was responsible for his hanging because he didn’t approve of his daughter’s choice in boyfriend. The mysterious stranger Jones, played by John Ireland, quickly moves on and heads to town, but not until he annoys Diego.

In town Jones meets up with the local madam, Maggie, and runs afoul of Diego’s son Chris. Thru a series of escalating events including another rancher trying to win Diego’s approval in marrying his daughter by killing Jones, things get much worse. As the violence escalates, we also get more background to Jones, including why he can be so violent but still refuses to wear a gun. When he is finally forced to kill a man, all bets are off and things end quickly and rather bloody. 

I really liked this movie. First up John Ireland is fantastic as Jones, carrying most of the movie with his portrayal. He is rather mysterious in the fact that he keeps quoting scriptures, while casually tossing a bible away. He is also quick to anger and not afraid to use his fists or even threaten to use a pistol, though he never carries one. At least not until the end. Though the ending has him tossing it away in disgust as he realizes the folks around him forced his hand. Why is he like this? You know I’m not going to spoil that, especially since the story is slowly reveals that and gives the ending a real punch. I will say that it is very satisfying and is well thought out. I also liked that it isn’t a clone of the already iconic and much copied formula that most Spaghetti westerns were following by the early seventies.

I’ve already mentioned how much I liked Ireland’s performance. We also get another familiar face as Robert Woods, who I just covered in 4 Dollars of Revenge, plays a villain role here as Chris, the spoiled son of Don Diego. At first is seemed like he was going to be the foil to Ireland’s heroic Jones, but he is really manipulated by his father. He is so eager for his acceptance that it causes the violence and eventual deaths to occur. That was a cool twist. Woods is also a perfect blend of weasel and irrationally violent. He is good in the role.

The action sequences are exciting and range from a cool bit with some Molotov cocktails, multiple fistfights, and a climactic gunfight that while short is stylistically shot and immensely satisfying. There are a few spots where the stuntman standing in for Ireland is clearly obvious (it isn’t even close!) but that didn’t bother me much. Speaking of style this is also a beautifully shot movie with one of the highlights being the sun poking in and out from behind the hanged man’s body swinging on the rope.

There is a lot to recommend Challenge of the McKennas and I’m going to recommend that you track yourself down a copy. I think it is easy to find, but I hadn’t heard of it before finding it in my to watch pile. Though if it isn’t an Eastwood or a Van Cleef flick that isn’t too surprising. One of the reasons I’m doing this mini marathon is to correct that and find some new to me Spaghetti westerns. This one is worth finding.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Red, White, and Black (1970)

This western is set after the Civil War when the U.S. Army fielded all black cavalry units commonly referred to as Buffalo Soldiers. Here we follow a man named Eli who gets caught in bed with another man’s wife. To escape the gun wielding angry spouse he gets in line and joins the army. Then we watch him arrive at a fort and go thru training where we are also introduced to other soldiers as well as the seamstress Miss Julie.

Here is where things go sideways for me. There is a brief romance and then Eli marries Miss Julie. I was expecting more shootouts and cowboy stuff, but we get this instead. Okay fine… but then there is a subplot with a local Indian leader, played by the very white Robert Dix (yikes!). He is friendly and has a treaty with the army, but that ends poorly when a local merchant guns one of his braves down and is in turn killed. Even that makes little sense because they go from friendly to let’s kill everyone without every trying to either hide the crime or explain what happened. Oh, there is also a subplot where Miss Julie hops into bed with another soldier that causes some drama but goes nowhere.

I suppose I would have enjoyed this movie if it had picked one of the storylines and stuck with it. Even if that wasn’t the action that I expected at least I could have followed and maybe had some sort of resolution. Instead what we get is a mess of plot threads that all unravel and never get resolved. Eli is supposed to be our main character, at least I think so. But after spending so much time with him and the fallout from him discovering Miss Julie’s affair he is unceremoniously killed off before the big finale involving the Indians! Yeah, the last ten minutes we are minus what has been the focus of the prior hour and fifteen minutes of plot development.

The above is further muddled with the inclusion of a brief affair and quickly forgotten violence from our main character Eli. Seriously he goes from sympathetic man who we could be rooting for to an abusive and scary husband threating to kill his wife. The entire Indian subplot is also confusing as it serves no purpose other than to maybe insinuate that the African American troops and the oppressed Native Americans should be fighting the real enemy (listen to the song that keeps playing). But then all the white officers are portrayed as at least kind towards the men they command. I’m so confused by this. It basically made it impossible for me to follow or really care about what was happening on screen.

The cast is solid with the previously mentioned Robert Dix as well as the legendary Cesar Romero, Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons), Barbara Hale (Perry Mason), and Robert DoQuil (Robocop, Walking Tall II). There was a lot of talent in front of the camera as well as behind it with one of my personal favorites, John “Bud” Cardos, behind it directing the action. The fact that they are so let down with a terrible script that also has some very clunky and awkward dialogue makes for an extremely disappointing experience. Obviously, I’m not recommending The Red, White, and Black.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Spasmo (1974)

I thought I mix things up a bit here for the marathon with some Giallo goodness from director Umberto Lenzi. This movie finds a man named Christian walking on the beach with a lady when they see what they think is a body. Turns out the woman was just sleeping. Her name is Barbara and Christian becomes obsessed with her. He tracks her down to a yacht party where the pair hit it off. Just as things are going well and he is about to bed her a man breaks into the place and threatens him with a gun. Well not wanting to be denied there is a fight, and the intruder is shot. Here is where things get weird.

They don’t report this to the police. Instead, they head out to a house that belongs to Barbara’s artistic friend. They don’t know that it has been leased to a weird pair who befriend them. Oh, and the dead guy isn’t dead, at least not right away. We also get a subplot about Christian and his brother, who runs their father’s company. He is the black sheep of the family. If that weren’t enough there is also a killer running around killing women. I can’t say much more without giving away spoilers and I don’t want to do that. 

This is an entertaining movie that had me confused, in a good way. There is clearly something going on and while we don’t know right away how all the characters connect, they eventually do give the audience a satisfying ending. I had several guesses as to what was going on and I have to say that I was very wrong. When we do finally see it, then things become clear. Things that were clearly happening under our noses. This is the kind of movie that is fun to watch a second time to see all the spots where they hinted at the big twist. If found the story engaging and a fun watch. 

The cast is solid with Robert Hoffman, who I remember from Eyes Behind the Stars which I really enjoyed. Ivan Rassimov who was in some other killer Gialli like All the Colors of the Dark has a smaller role as Christian’s brother Ivan. I wish we got more of his creepy self in this flick. But what is the best bit of casting was the lovely Suzy Kendall playing the female lead Barbara. She did a lot of cool flicks with my favorite being either Torso or The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Both of which I should get around to reviewing for the site. I mention all of this because Lenzi assembled a hell of a cast for Spasmo and that only makes the already solid movie even better. 

The kills in this movie aren’t all that explicit or honestly that great. This is tame compared to many other Gialli. We also only get five deaths in the movie. But each of them is impactful and move the story along. So, they serve their purpose. Spasmo isn’t about shocking you with violence but instead sucking you in to the plot and getting you to care about the characters. That it does very well. If you are looking for a bloody Giallo to watch then maybe Bay of Blood or one of Argento’s flicks are more up your alley. 

I really liked this movie. If what I’ve mentioned above hasn’t convinced you to watch Spasmo then how about an original score from the master Ennio Morricone! Seriously this movie had one hell of a creative crew both in front of as well as behind the camera. I highly recommend it and think that this is a great place for someone new to the genre to start. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Dark Places (1974)

A doctor, Mandeville, is summoned to the hospital to tend to a dying man named Marr. He arrives too late, but we do see the man speaking to Edward Foster. He tells him he is willing his old home to him, but he wants him to keep it and “the money” safe for his children when they return. Foster arrives in town to find that the locals aren’t too keen on him reopening the place as they all seem to think that it is haunted or at least cursed. This does seem to be the case when Foster immediately falls thru the rotten bridge and is taken to see the doctor. That doctor is a familiar face as it is Mandeville from earlier. 

Here he meets the doctor, his sister Sarah (played by Joan Collins), and eventually the dead man’s solicitor Prescott. All of them try and warn him off but we quickly see that they are also all looking for the missing fortune that is hidden in the house. The rest of the movie is Foster hearing weird noises and possibly getting possessed by the dead man’s spirit. We eventually find out that it was a mental hospital and that the man was committed after his wife, children, and mistress all disappeared mysteriously at the same time that the money did. Is this a real haunting or is someone trying to frighten him out of the home and away from the money? Well, I can’t say without some spoilers which I don’t want to do. I will say that things wrap up with an unexpected but fun twist that may create as many questions as it answered. 

This isn’t a perfect movie. It has stretches that feel drawn out and some of the plot twists don’t make sense. But the story does go places and play with expectations in entertaining ways. At times it seems like someone is certainly gaslighting Foster. Hell, there are even discussions between characters as they scheme about it. Though this also leads to one of them congratulating the other for a clever trick only to find out that they weren’t responsible for it. So maybe there was a ghost after all. The plot keeps us guessing, even up to the end. What we see and how it ends could be explained in several ways, which is a nice bit of writing. 

If that doesn’t get your attention there is yet another twist with Foster that ventures yet another possible explanation of what we just watched. The real trick is that none of this feels implausible as the writing is good enough that even the last bit fits like a puzzle piece and doesn’t feel forced. The more I think about Dark Places the more I’m liking it. 

The cast is excellent. Our lead is Robert Hardy as Foster. I vaguely remembered him from the Harry Potter movies but was impressed with his resume. The man worked a lot in supporting roles but here as the lead he is able to carry the movie. Where the movie shines though is the supporting cast. I’ve already mentioned that Joan Collins plays Mandeville’s sister Sarah. She is very good in the role as she normally was. Prescott the solicitor (lawyer for my fellow Americans) is played by the legendary Herbert Lom. I saved the best for last as Dr. Mandeville is played by Christopher Lee! This is an amazing cast that keeps things interesting to watch even when maybe there wasn’t a lot going on. 

I hadn’t heard of this one before pulling it out of my to watch pile. Not sure where I got it and who recommended it to me… though I suppose this could be a blind by. I normally check out anything Christopher Lee appeared in, which has led to some unfortunate experiences. Dark Places validates my desire to watch all things Lee though as it is a good spooky bit of fun. Not sure where you can find this one at, but it is worth a look. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Hickey and Boggs (1972)

This is an interesting movie that I was recently reminded about when some folks online were talking about it. It had been on my to watch list before but as is the case when I have so many damn movies to check out, I had forgotten about it. Based on a script written by Walter Hill (48 Hours, The Warriors) and directed by Robert Culp, who also stars, it follows a pair of detectives played by Culp and frequent co-star Bill Cosby. Am I allowed to like a Bill Cosby movie anymore?

We follow along as they are hired to find a woman named Mary Jane, which seems like a simple job. But this gets them into a lot of trouble as Mary Jane is tangled up in some missing money from a robbery that the mob wants back. I think it is her husband that was part of the crew that stole the money and then hid it from the gangsters that were either owed a cut or planned the crime. The movie doesn’t really tell us too much about that. What we do see is our detectives Hickey (Cosby) and Boggs (Culp) running around Los Angeles dodging mob hitmen, the police, and other folks looking for Mary Jane and the missing cash which she is trying to launder. This leads to some shootouts, fist fights, and a finale that honestly, I didn’t see coming.

I’m trying to keep things a bit vague as much of the fun here is watching the story unfold. What I’ve shared about the stolen money, Mary Jane, and the mob is shown early on. But there are some other plot twists that I don’t want to spoil. What I can say is that I rather enjoyed the movie. The story plays out like an old film noir with some hardboiled detectives dealing with the criminal underground dodging bullets while trying to get some resolution. Even after getting fired they keep at it. Why? I’m not entirely sure but I get the feeling that they have some sort of code that makes them feel they must see it thru. But then again by then they have figured out that some serious cash is involved. Plus, there is a thing that happens later which makes it very personal for Hickey.

I will admit that like many of the hard boiled detective flicks this one does meander a bit and leans so heavily into the dozens of characters that it can feel a bit long and confusing at points. The filmmakers don’t feel obliged to spoon feed the audience how all the characters and goings on connect to one another. This is the sort of movie that you have to pay close attention to and even then, might lose you. Now I like that sort of thing, so I had no issues with it. I just wanted to point it out.

The cast here is solid and filled with many familiar faces. Not only do we have the stars Culp and Cosby, but this is a whose who of seventies television stars and character actors. Rosalind Cash (Good Times, Uptown Saturday Night) is Hickey’s ex, Robert Mandan (Soap, Kojak) is the mob boss, Michael Moriarty (Law and Order, The Stuff) is one of his henchmen. Hell Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons) has a blink and you will miss it bit part. When you have a cast this good it is hard to make a bad movie.

Hickey and Boggs has a gritty take that many later seventies flicks would share. While I won’t say that this is to the level as something like The French Connection, Chinatown, or Serpico it does scratch a familiar itch. If you haven’t seen this one before and like those movies I think you may enjoy it. If nothing else it might be worth a watch just to see an early writing effort from Walter Hill as well as the only feature movie directed by Robert Culp. That last one really bugs me because I think he had an interesting vision and would have loved to see more from him as a director. As of the writing of this review you can find this one floating around the internet to watch for free as well as a reasonably priced DVD.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Darker than Night (1976)

Doing another dive into the stacks of movies that I’ve collected but haven’t watched I stumbled over Darker than Night. This Mexican made movie bills itself as a haunted house/ghost story and quite frankly I was in the mood for one of those.

The movie opens with an elderly woman petting her black cat. We never get to see her face but do watch her tend the garden, knit, and dote on her feline friend. Though it ends when she has an attack of some sort and dies all while the cat watches traumatized. Then we meet what turns out to be our main characters. The four beautiful young women are Ofelia, Aurora, Marta, and Pilar. Turns out that Ofelia is the niece of the woman and has inherited the house as well as everything inside of it. So off they go to check it out.

When they arrive they are greeted with the creepy housekeeper, Sofia, who is clearly not pleased with the disrespect that they show towards the possessions of her former mistress (not in the creepy way but as in the long time employer way). The girls also don’t like the cat, but Ofelia is taking her aunt’s wishes that she takes care of it seriously and it does seem to grow on her. Weird stuff starts to happen though when they hear a voice calling for the cat at night in the garden as well as the house. This gets much creepier when the cat is accidentally locked in the basement and dies. Suddenly there is the apparition of the old woman, and the girls start to be scared to death.

So, is it a ghost or is there something else going on at the house? Also, what is up with the cat’s death? There are many questions that get answered before this one ends and I’m not going to spoil it here in this review. Why? Because I liked this movie quite a bit but the guessing as to what is going on is part of the fun. The guessing game as to if things are supernatural or if it a more mundane and corporeal threat killing off the girls is kept vague until the very end. Sofia at times seems suspicious and it becomes clear that she is taking blame for things that she may not be responsible for. Is she protecting someone? If so, who could it be? I like the mysterious aspects to the plot as it kept me engaged with both the characters and story.

The above is key because I’m sure many horror fans might be annoyed by how long it takes for the movie to get rolling. I will warn you that this is a slow burn to start with not much happening for the first half hour as the characters and situation is setup. After that we get a lot of sneaking around the spooky house building atmosphere before things really kick into gear. But when it does there are plenty of weird noises, moaning, and crying echoing in the darkness to set the mood. This is at times a very creepy movie and I appreciated that they filmmakers leaned into this sort of stuff rather than cheap jump scares. But then again this was the seventies when people put effort into trying to scare the audience so that isn’t too much of a surprise.

To sum things up I did really like Darker than Night. It meanders a bit in the first half, but it makes up for it by keeping us guessing as to what the hell is actually going on. There is the previously mentioned atmosphere as well as a solid ending that mostly answers all the questions we the audience have. It is worth checking this one out. I believe that Vinegar Syndrome just put it out on Blu-Ray, so it isn’t too hard to locate.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Shivers (1975)

I spend a lot of my time here at the site reviewing new or obscure older movies. That is a conscious decision as I want to try and talk about stuff you guys have never heard of or seen before. It is way more fun for me and I hope is more useful for you readers. But every now and then I like to revisit and talk about an old favorite and Cronenberg’s Shivers is one of those movies. Please indulge me as I nerd out and if you haven’t seen this movie, you are in for a treat.

The movie opens with an advertisement for a high rise apartment building that sits on an island near the city. It has all the necessities for the community like a medical clinic and grocery store. Everything you need right at your fingertips without having to leave home. With that setting established we are treated to an older gentleman breaking down the door to an apartment and grabbing a young woman. After strangling her he tosses the body on the dining room table and does some impromptu autopsy action on her. After pouring something caustic into her chest cavity he slices his own throat with a scalpel. Now that is how you start a movie my friends!

Now onto the rest of the characters and story. We meet another resident of the building named Nicholas. He is having some issues with his stomach as he gets ready for work. On his way out he stops at the woman’s apartment and finds the bodies but instead of raising the alarm he goes to the office. We also meet his wife, Janine, when she goes to see her neighbor Betts (legit horror legend Barbara Steele!) to ask for some advice. She is concerned that he has been acting weird and Betts suggests talking to the facilities doctor. Here we meet Roger, the doctor, and his nurse/girlfriend Forsythe (the always awesome Lynn Lowry).

Dude has worm issues!

Lots of twisted stuff happens before we find out that man from earlier was experimenting on the woman. He wanted to create a parasite that would take the place of a failing organ creating a mutually beneficial situation. Instead, he created a monster that infected the host ramping up their sex drive to infect others. Yep, a sexually transmitted parasite that eats you from the inside out. No one and I mean no one does body horror better then David Cronenberg!

The story is interesting and unlike anything that I’ve seen before. The action kicks off right away with the door being broken down and the girl mutilated to stop the parasites. Then it quickly establishes the characters and lets us know what is going on. The cutting between the doctor’s investigation and the infection progressing in Nicholas lets us know exactly what is happening and what is likely to come for the characters newly infected. This tightrope is walked perfectly by writer director Cronenberg never lingering longer than necessary. It makes for an entertaining though disturbing watch.

On the subject of disturbing the body horror that comes with the idea of something physically infecting and hijacking a human being is itself twisted. But when you add in the sexual aspects of the infection it makes the movie even creepier. While it doesn’t get quite as in your face as the notorious characters in George Romero’s The Crazies (another Lynn Lowry flick) there is some nasty stuff hinted at in this movie. The father basically offering up his daughter was chilling without being too in your face. This is the kind of movie that explores ideas and horror that will get under your skin and make the audience uncomfortable in ways they maybe hadn’t expected. That is when director Cronenberg is at his best.

There isn’t a lot of what I’d consider gore in Shivers. There are some good gags with the worms coming out of the mouth but most everything is right off screen and implied. The most in your face effects work is the initial attack and suicide. I think that was a wise choice as it sets the tone for the movie and lets your imagination fill in the blanks of what you aren’t seeing. Most of the chills from this movie come from how it makes you feel and where your mind wanders instead of blood spraying in your face. I know that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.

I think that I have made it very clear from the start that I dig this movie a lot. Just in case you weren’t already sure though I’m highly recommending you check it out. There is a newer release of this movie on Blu-Ray from Lionsgate that is filled with some cool extras and has a wonderful transfer. That is what I watched for this review and am glad to have finally upgraded my old VHS clamshell. It is worth the upgrade for sure.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer