WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

The Cady Lodge, owned and run by Cady (Henry Corden), is located not far from a prison. That very night a man, Pierce, is about to be executed, although witness Sam Morgan (James Brown) isn't so sure about his identification of the condemned man. On the road Sam picks up Ellie (Merry Anders of Legacy of Blood), who turns out to be Mrs. Pierce, the wife of the man on death row. Apparently there's $600,000 floating around and both Sam and Ellie want a piece of it -- could the answer be in the condemned man's effects? As the couple conspire, Sheriff Mitchell (Roy Barcroft of G-Men Never Forget) drops by for his usual beer --- and there's two other visitors to the lodge: Martinez (Jorge Moreno), who insists that he killed the man allegedly murdered by the now-dead Pierce; and yet another "Mrs. Pierce" (Peggy Stewart)!

Corden, Brown and Anders

When the Clock Strikes, while illogical at times, certainly has an intriguing premise as well as a few good twists. It's fun to see major serial villain Roy Barcroft playing a good guy for a change. Brown and Anders offer lead performances that are competent but suggest there wasn't much rehearsal time for this very low-budget opus. Edward L. Cahn was the prolific director of seemingly a thousand B movies, including The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and Voodoo Woman. 

Verdict: Minor but intriguing little mystery movie. **1/2. 

HEARTACHES (1947)

HEARTACHES (1947). Director: Basil Wrangell.

Obnoxious Vic Morton (Kenneth Farrell) is making his latest romantic movie, "Heartaches," when he gets a death threat in the mail. Vic's publicity agent, Toni (Sheila Ryan of Railroaded), is afraid that her boyfriend, reporter Jimmy McDonald (Edward Norris), will discover that Vic can't actually sing a note, but is dubbed by the un-handsome Bogey (Chill Wills). Lt. Armstrong (James Seay of Beginning of the End) thinks the business with the death threats -- which keep on coming -- is just a publicity stunt, but then a couple of dead bodies turn up. Potential suspects and victims include Mike Connolly (Frank Orth), Vic's agent, and Anatole Hendricks (Edward Earle),. who can't understand why Vic won't sign a very lucrative radio contract. 

Edward Norris, Sheila Ryan, Kenneth Farrell

Heartaches is better than the usual PRC production (which should stand for "Poverty Row Crap" but actually stands for "Producer's Releasing Corporation"), although this is still a minor murder mystery with the denouement practically a foregone conclusion. It has an interesting supporting cast: Keefe Brasselle as a prop boy who is also a suspect; Western star Lash La Rue as an actor in the film-within-a film whose gun somehow has real bullets in it (this is never really explained); Arthur Space of Panther Girl of the Kongo as a postal executive who investigates the threatening letters; Terry Moore as an actress in a coming attraction; and Minerva Urecal as a cleaning lady who discovers two corpses during her rounds. As for the leads, Chill Wills adds the most flavor as the man who was a lead vocalist with a band and is now just singing off-screen. Ken Farrell is suitably bitchy and twitchy, while Ryan and Norris are both adept but not terribly appealing. NOTE: Chill Wills was also lip-syncing -- the actual singer is unknown.

Verdict: Not since milli vanilli! **1/2. 

DIAL RED O

Bill Elliott as Det. Andy Flynn

DIAL RED O (1955). Written and directed by Daniel B. Ullman. 

After receiving divorce papers, a highly-decorated marine, Ralph Wyatt (Keith Larsen), sneaks out of the psych ward at a L.A. veteran's hospital. Lt. Detective Andy Flynn (Bill Elliott) fears that Wyatt may do something to his wife, Connie (Helene Stanley), a "good-time gal," so has a policewoman, Gloria (Elaine Riley), go undercover in bars. Meanwhile Connie has taken a lover, Norman (Paul Picerni of The Untouchables), but he has no intention of leaving his wife. When Gloria tells Norman she's pregnant, all hell breaks loose. This leads into a manhunt, but it may not be for our troubled veteran. 

Paul Picerni and Helene Stanley

Dial Red O was the first of five cop films starring former western hero "Wild" Bill Elliott as an L.A. detective. In this first film his name is Flynn, but it was changed to Doyle for the next four films. Dial Red O is not badly done, and Elliott makes a convincing detective, but the suspense is minimized because the murder is shown and the killer revealed halfway through the movie. Mort Mills of Psycho and Rick Vallin have smaller roles. Keith Larsen makes a positive impression as Wyatt. He appeared mostly in B movies and on television, also wrote and directed, and was married to Vera Miles for eleven years.

Verdict: Solid B effort which gives away its secrets too soon. **1/2. 

SUNSET CARSON RIDES AGAIN

Sunset Carson and Pat Starling

SUNSET CARSON RIDES AGAIN (1948). Director: Oliver Drake.

Sunset Carson, playing himself, hopes to raise money for a school in the area, and comes upon the idea of holding a boxing match. His sinister employee, Sam (John Cason), who plans to kill Sunset and take off with the proceeds, will fight a professional, but when this man is injured someone else has to take his place. A newcomer named the Kansas Kid (Al Terry) is chosen to fight Sam. Sam knows something that Sunset doesn't: the Kansas Kid is actually Bob Ward, who thinks that Sunset murdered his father. Also at stake is Sunset's wonder horse Comanche, who will go to the winner of the boxing match. 

Al Terry with Pat Starling

Sunset Carson did a series of westerns for Republic studios before he was fired for alleged malfeasances. Sunset Carson Rides Again was done by the bargain basement Yucca Pictures. Carson was 6 ft 6 and nice-looking but he lacks the charm and acting skill -- if that's the word -- of Roy Rogers. Sunset doesn't sing, but Al Terry reveals a very nice voice, as does Pat Starling playing Sunset's sister, Joan, when they do a duet of "Paradise Trail." Despite being in CineColor, there isn't much to recommended in this ultra-cheap western, although it's relatively fast-paced and has some minor action sequences. However, expert fiddler Buddy McDowell of the Rodeo Revelers can imitate birds with his strings! Carson played the same character, himself, in two more pictures and then rode into the sunset until he was resuscitated for a flick called Alien Outlaw in 1985. 

Verdict: Oddly pleasant but utterly mediocre low-budget western. **. 

MOTORCYCLE GANG

Steve Terrell and Anne Neyland

MOTORCYCLE GANG (1957). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

Randy (Steven Terrell of Invasion of the Saucer Men) importunes tough motocycle gal Terry (Anne Neyland) to join his club, but she isn't crazy about the rules set down by Lt. Watson (Russ Bender). Neither is Nick (John Ashley), who has just finished a 15 month spell in prison for which he blames Randy. Randy and Nick now hate each other and compete for Terry while a discarded Marilyn (Jean Moorhead of The Violent Years) can only simmer. The rivalry really erupts when Terry convinces Randy to accept Nick's challenge to race on the railroad tracks, which will surely end in disaster. 

Anne Neyland, Jean Moorhead, John Ashley

The performances in Motorcycle Gang, aside from the ever-mediocre Jean Moorhead, really aren't terrible, but the cliche-ridden script doesn't ask too much of its players. Steve Terrell is as appealing in this as he was in all of his movies. The same year this drek came out leading lady Anne Neyland, who has a certain saucy insolence, also had decent parts in Jailhouse Rock and was John Payne's leading lady in Hidden Fear. Alas this only led to a few minor TV credits; even Moorhead did better, so to speak. Clowning around all through the movie is a goofy character named Speed, whom I did not recognize at all as Carl "Alfalfa "Switzer of Little Rascals fame; he's okay. The picture has a spurt of excitement at the very end when Nick and his moronic buddies try to terrorize a cafe owner, his wife, and others only to get their clocks cleaned by Randy and his buddies. Overall this is rather dull.  

Verdict: Try to miss it if you can. *1/2. 

FORBIDDEN WORLD

FORBIDDEN WORLD (aka Mutant/1982). Director: Allan Holzman. Produced by Roger Corman. 

Commander Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) is sent to an isolated  scientific research station on the planet Xarbia. There he is told by Dr. Gordon Hauser (Linden Chiles) that "subject 20," a "metamorphic mutation" -- a genetic fusion of Proto B cells and human being -- has destroyed all of the lab animals and still remains a threat. Naturally the creature breaks out of confinement and begins chomping on people. Consisting mostly of a huge maw and gigantic teeth, the creature resembles the monster in Parasite, and may well be the exact same mock-up. Forbidden World isn't a very good movie, but it's fun in a limited way, and the gooey make-up effects are well done. It also has a low-budget but effective production design borrowed from Galaxy of Terror. And then there's the acting ...

As the nominal hero, Jesse Vint is professional as is Linden Chiles -- along with Ray Oliver and Scott Paulin -- as other workers in the research facility. Fox Harris is generally awful  as Cal, the Chief of Bacteriology, acting as if he thought he were in a parody of a monster movie on The Carol Burnett Show. Michael Bowen, who is adept enough as Jimmy, the first victim in the movie, went on to better things. As for the two women in the cast, who shall remain nameless, they are so insufficient that I've no doubt some audience members wondered if they were dragged in from adult films! They don't seem even remotely like scientists, but they do get to have tedious sex scenes with Jesse Vint and his -- or the commander's -- scarred body. This is yet another clone of Alien. 

Verdict: Worth one look in a weak moment and no more. **1/2. 

BEHEMOTH (2011)

Ed Quinn

BEHEMOTH (2011 telefilm). Director: W. D. Hogan. 

Thomas Walsh (Ed Quinn) is a construction foreman working at Mount Lincoln in the small town of Ascension. There are constant tremors and a leakage of CO2 from the ground which kills one workman and threatens to endanger the entire town. Is a long-dormant volcano awakening? Geologist Emily Allington (Pascale Hutton), an old girlfriend of Thomas', is convinced that it is but another geologist, Jack (Ty Olsson), sent from the government, knows that the real truth behind the tremors is even worse. Just as Thomas' somewhat crazy father, William (William B. Davis), has been insisting, there's a gargantuan creature in the mountain that is about to break out and threaten the entire world. 

the creature pops out

Behemoth reminds one of a story from Atlas/Marvel's old monster comics like Strange Tales, where huge, frightening beasts roamed in all sorts of places. However, in Behemoth the science behind all this is never explained in any rational or logical fashion. Worse, when the monster finally breaks out of the mountain -- "it is the mountain," says one character -- its design is not much more credible than what you get in, say, the fifties creature feature The Giant Claw! The computer effects in the movie are variable, but one sequence when a humongous eyeball peaks out through a hole in the mountain is effectively creepy. The creature has many snake-like tentacles and a reptilian kind of beak with many teeth. 

Have a smoke? William B. davis

Behemoth does manage to have some suspense and a couple of good scenes, especially one when Thomas nearly falls off the mountain trying to retrieve a weapon left behind by Jack. However, the weapon itself, a kind of bazooka, is laughable when you consider it's meant to destroy a creature of such tremendous size. The actors, at least, are quite convincing in their roles. The only recognizable face belongs to Davis, who had a recurring role on The X Files as the "cigarette-smoking man." The sequences when he tries to escape from a sunken diner with the waitress Zoe (Jessica Parker Kennedy) quickly become tiresome, unfortunately. Cindy Busby and James Kirk are appealing as Thomas' pretty sister and her ill-fated boyfriend.

Verdict: Not as good as The Giant Claw but you can't have everything. **1/2. 

THE THIRD TWIN

Jason Gedrick times two 

THE THIRD TWIN (1997 two-part telefilm). Director: Tom McLoughlin. 

Dr. Jean Ferrami (Kelly McGillis) is exploring criminal behavior by doing research on twins. She meets a man named Steve Logan (Jason Gedrick), who is later accused of raping Jean's assistant, Lisa (Lisa Vidal). Lisa makes a positive identification of Steve, who insists he is not the rapist. There is a man who looks just like Steve, but he's been in prison for months. Falling for Steve -- with some admitted trepidation -- Jean determines to find out the truth. When she travels to a certain fertility clinic with Steve, he attacks her on the highway, but her landlord insists that Steve never left Philadelphia. Could there possibly be a third "twin" out there, but how could such a thing be possible? Jean's boss, Barrington Jones (Larry Hagman), may have the answers. Could these lookalikes all be clones, and how many of them are there? Worse, is Jean getting too close to the truth? 

McGillis and Holbrook

The Third Twin is a very entertaining, fast-paced sci-fi thriller which plays up the suspense aspects much more than the science fiction. Jason Gedrick gives an excellent performance -- or should I say performances -- as a variety of duplicates, all of whom have their own personal style and way of speaking -- a great showcase for a talented actor. Kelly McGillis can really do little than play off of Gedrick's intensity and sex appeal, and she's okay on that level, but this is Gedrick's show. Hagman does his usual variation on J. R. Ewing, Marion Ross is unconvincing as Jean's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother, but Hal Holbrook really scores in a terrific portrayal of Jean's lovable mountebank of a father. Based on a novel by Ken Follett, this is a little far-fetched but memorable.

Verdict: Slick and exciting telefilm. ***.  

SCREAM VI

SCREAM VI (2023). Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 

A lovely young woman is butchered in an alleyway outside a trendy restaurant in Manhattan, but the killer takes off his ghostface mask for the audience to see. Is this a radical change in the Scream franchise formula, will we know who the killer is from the beginning of the film? No, because this psycho is dispatched with by someone else, and then it's anybody's guess as to who's slicing and dicing up anyone who gets in the way of killing heroine Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her little sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), who were also major characters in the last Scream installment. They and their friends who survived the massacre of the last film have moved to New York City, where of course no one ever gets murdered. But someone is still out to get them. 

Who is Ghostface this time?

Scream VI is slick, effective slasher film material which keeps you in suspense, keeps you guessing, and has you wondering not only who the killer is but which of the characters -- including the "legacy" ones such as reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) -- will survive the latest rampage of the masked Ghostface killer. If you're looking for anything else aside from some spurts of blood and excitement, you won't find it, but the flick is quite entertaining.

Some cast members of Scream VI

There are a couple of stand-out sequences, such as one involving a few cast members trying to escape the slasher by climbing on a precarious ladder that spans across and high above an alleyway. Then there's a creepy scene on the subway, and a climax that takes place in an abandoned movie theater that's been turned into a shrine to the Stab movies-within-a-movie. The acting from a large cast is all professional, although no one will be taking home any Oscars. The trouble with leading lady Barrera is that she just isn't that distinctive. This is better than the last Scream, which had the same two directors.  

Verdict: There's life in the Scream franchise after all, although this may be the last hurrah. *** 

CRUSH 2013)

Lucas Till 

CRUSH (2013). Director: Malik Bader.

Scott (Lucas Till) is a handsome and athletic high school student who inspires lust and romantic fantasies in some of the women surrounding him. This includes sort-of girlfriend Jules (Sarah Bolger), his English teacher Mrs. Brown (Camille Guaty) -- who pushes Scott and everyone else to read Charlotte Bronte's Villette --  and a painfully shy young lady named Bess (Crystal Reed). Bess works in a store with a sympathetic older woman named Andie (Caitriona Balfe) and her boss, David (Leigh Whannell), and has a friendly "stalker" of her own named Jeffrey (Reid Ewing). When strange and sinister things start happening -- including attacks on women and nasty emails -- Scott is sure that Bess is responsible, but his true enemy may be hiding in plain sight. 

Bess' fantasy: Till with Crystal Reed

Crush is one of several movies, often with the same title, that feature young women obsessed with handsome young men. This is about on the level of most of them. The good-looking cast is professional enough, but the flick has a general gloss of mediocrity. Things get a bit lively at the climax, when a certain party tries to keep Scott captive in a basement. The movie is generally too tasteful to really have much impact,  however. Still, it does keep you watching. Leigh Whannell later wrote and directed The Invisible Man and also wrote films in the Saw and Insidious series. 

Verdict: Never quite cuts loose the way you hope it will. **1/4.