PARANOIA

Carroll Baker and Lou Castel

PARANOIA (aka Orgasmo/1969). Director: Umberto Lenzi. 

Kathryn (Carroll Baker), recently widowed, moves into her wealthy late husband's fabulous estate in Italy. Her only companion is the dyspeptic housekeeper, Teresa (Lilla Brignone), with occasional visits from family lawyer Brian (Tino Carraro), who wants to marry her. Into her life pops hunky Peter (Lou Castel), a comparatively penniless young man who moves in on Kathryn and eventually into her home. Then who should show up but his free-spirited sister, Eva (Colette Descombes), who seems to have a hankering for Kathryn. But is Eva really Peter's sister, or something more? It isn't long before Kathryn begins to regret ever meeting the couple. 

Baker, Castel, Descombes

Paranoia is an entertaining and well-acted suspense-thriller that presents some truly despicable villains even if their victim isn't entirely sympathetic. There's another twist at the end and a satisfying denouement. This is one of several films that Baker did for director Umberto Lenzi. (This is not to be confused with another Baker/Lenzi collaboration entitled Paranoia or A Quiet Place to Kill.) Lou Castel was a Columbian actor who appeared in a number of Italian/International productions. Like most of the other films Baker did with Lenzi, lesbianism or bisexuality figures in the plot. Most of the others remind one of Diabolique, but not Paranoia.

Verdict: Absorbing story with intriguing plot and some very good players. ***. 

THE MAN WITH THE GLASS EYE

Narzib Sokatscheff

THE MAN WITH THE GLASS EYE (aka Der Mann mit dem Glausage/1969). Director: Alfred Vohrer. 

A man is stabbed to death in his hotel room where a glass eye is found, and his lover, a dancer, is later poisoned via two needles in her mask. Inspector Perkins (Horst Tappert) investigates and is assisted by Sgt. Pepper (Stefan Behrens), a relative buffoon. This incredibly convoluted Edgar Wallace-based story bounces from a theater where the "Las Vegas Girls" are performing -- along with a knife thrower and a ventriloquist with a huge, ugly dummy -- to a billiards parlor which is a front for a white slavery gang allegedly run by the "Boss" (Narzib Sokatscheff), who has a glass eye. There is also Lord Bruce (Fritz Webber), whose monster-mother Lady Sheringham (a vivid Friedel Schuster) objects to his relationship with another dancer named Yvonne (Karin Hubner). Of course Sir Arthur (Hubert von Meyerinck) and his assistant Mabel (Ilse Page) of Scotland Yard are along for the ride.  

Friedel Schuster

The Man with the Glass Eye actually has an interesting plot once you decipher what's going on, but the execution is generally dismal. Many of these West German Wallace flicks lay on the humor too thickly, and this production is one of the worst offenders -- the tone of the whole thing is just plain stupid. What makes it worse is that the forced prostitution angle is rather grim and at complete odds with the general ambiance. There are a few interesting bits throughout the running time but the movie only really comes alive in the final twenty minutes or so, once we meet the sinister Lady Sheringham and learn her true relationship with Yvonne, who knew her years before. The climactic sequence between the nasty old lady and the actual killer aboard ship is well-done. Behrens as the comedy relief is given an awful dubbed voice like something out of a cartoon, but otherwise he doesn't seem as irritating as Eddi Arent who appeared in many other krimi movies. This was the last of director Alfred Vohrer's Wallace adaptations. 

Verdict: A good story nearly ruined by too many silly characters. **. 

DEAD BODY ON BROADWAY

George Nader and Heinz Weiss

DEAD BODY ON BROADWAY (aka Broadways Deadly Gold aka Todesschusse am Broadway/1969.) Director: Harald Reinl. 

FBL agent Johnny Peters (Hans Heyde) infiltrates a gang run by Joe Costello (Miha Baloh), but manages to hide the three million in gold they stole before he is murdered. Costello has his face altered, kills off the surgeons, and tries to get ahold of Peters' girlfriend, Cindy (Heidy Bohlen), thinking she knows where the loot is hidden. Having always suspected that her Johnny was on the side of the angels, she bravely decides to work with Jerry Cotton (George Nader) and Phil Decker (Heinz Weiss) as a decoy. Another player is wealthy Woody Davis (Horst Naumann), who runs his own gang and is also out to find Cindy -- and the loot. His niece, Alice (Michaela May), is innocently embroiled in the intrigue. 

Miha Baloh

This is the eighth and last in the West German Jerry Cotton film series starring George Nader as Cotton. As usual, it has a fast pace, a lot of running around, lots of fist fights and gun shots, and some exciting sequences, although it isn't the best of the series. Joe Costello is such an utterly loathsome villain that at one point he kidnaps a young boy, then later hands him a loaded grenade hoping to blow the child up -- fortunately Jerry saves the boy's life. Costello gets his just desserts but his death isn't nearly horrible enough. The flick, shot in West Germany, features second unit work in New York and Las Vegas, where Jerry takes a brief detour. Locations of shattered ruins, garbage-strewn back alleys, and dank tunnels add much to the atmosphere. Two times during the film Cindy sings one of the most dreadful pop numbers I've ever heard, "See You Later, Alligator." 

Apparently Nader was dubbed for these German productions, but fortunately his real voice is used for the English-dubbed versions. His performances as Cotton are always on the money, adding a soupcon of humor and style to his square-jawed characterization. German actor Weiss is never given as much to do, but is also effective. 

Verdict: The last of the sixties Cotton movies. **3/4. 

NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT

Gilbert Wynne and Donald Sumpter

NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT (1969). Director: Lindsay Shonteff. 

A Jack the Ripper-type killer is preying on prostitutes in London. Inspector Rowan (Gilbert Wynne) immediately focuses on the thuggish Pete Laver (Donald Sumpter), and is convinced he is the killer. When Rowan's wife, Jenny (Linda Marlowe of Spaceflight IC-1) becomes the latest victim, slashed in her bathtub, a furious Rowan follows Pete everywhere and threatens him. But as the murders continue new suspects come into view. Also involved in the case are Judge Lomax (Jack May), his wife, Helena (Justine Lord), and his seriously weird assistant, Carter (Terry Scully). 

Gilbert Wynne and Jack May

The excellent performance of Donald Sumpter is the main reason to watch the mediocre Night After Night After Night. To be fair, it's possible the film was less interested in creating suspense over the identity of the killer -- which is no surprise -- than it was in looking at his home life, but his psychopathology seems to come out of nowhere. The performances are generally good but Jack May is way, way over the top as hanging Judge Lomax. The ending to the film is dragged out to a ridiculous length, with everyone in the audience probably wanting someone to just shoot the guy and be done with it. As usual, Lindsay Shonteff betrays little directorial skill. 

Verdict: One of the lesser "ripper" movies despite some very good performances. **. 

SO SWEET ... SO PERVERSE

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Carroll Baker

SO SWEET ... SO PERVERSE (aka  Cosi dolce ,,, cosi perversa//1969). Director: Umberto Lenzi. 

Jean Reynard (Jean-Louis Trintignant) lives with his wife, Danielle (Erika Blanc), in a Paris apartment. Danielle has stopped sleeping with Jean, which necessitates his having affairs. Jean becomes intrigued with the woman, Nicole (Carroll Baker of The Fourth Victim), who has moved into the apartment upstairs, and learns that she is being dominated by a lover named Klaus (Horst Frank). It isn't long before one of these people is murdered, while the other three accuse the others of pretending this victim is still alive -- which may even be true ...

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Erika Blanc

So Sweet ... So Perverse is essentially a retread of Diabolique, with its own twists, including that one of the female characters has come to realize she is a lesbian. The actors use their real voices, but the over-dubbing makes their performances, especially Baker's, seem a little off. Erika Blanc decidedly gives the most impressive performance. An unintentionally hilarious moment occurs when the police insist on one character making an ID in the morgue, although the corpse has been described as "completely unrecognizable!" This is one of four movies that Carroll Baker did for director Umberto Lenzi: Knife of Ice; Paranoia, which was originally called Orgasmo; and A Quiet Place to Kill, which was originally called Paranoia! Go figure!

Verdict: Minor but absorbing suspense film -- and nominal giallo -- with some new twists on an old idea. **1/2. 

THE LOVE MACHINE Jacqueline Susann

THE LOVE MACHINE. Jacqueline Susann. Simon and Schuster; 1969. 

Jacqueline Susann followed up her smash bestseller -- a highly entertaining potboiler -- Valley of the Dolls with this well-plotted anti-romance. Although the main character, TV personality and producer Robin Stone, is a man, Love Machine follows the Dolls formula with its story of three women who fall in love with Robin. Robin describes television itself as being a "love machine," but the term is used by the press and gossip columnists for Stone himself. 

Susann was excoriated by the critics, not only for her unapologetically undistinguished if functional prose style, but for the fact that a woman dared to write about sex in all its facets and employ four-letter words to boot. Admittedly Harold Robbins was never seen as any kind of great writer, but he was not necessarily taken to task for any vulgarity, as Susann was. Whatever her flaws as a writer, Susann was an excellent storyteller, kept things moving in a generally unpredictable fashion, and created believable, three-dimensional characters. Her dialogue also rings true more often than not. 

The three women who fall for Robin include the model Amanda, the actress Maggie, and the bosses wife, Judith. My favorite character, however, is Ethel, a plain publicity woman determined to have it all despite her lack of beauty, and who hooks up with a second-rate singer, Christie Lane, who becomes a TV star. As for Robin, you get the impression that Susann doesn't quite understand him any more than Robin understands himself, and there are chapters where he undergoes psychoanalysis and even travels to discover more of his background and what makes him tick. He has qualities that are both admirable and just the opposite. 

Although Robin is neither gay nor bisexual, there is some interesting LGBT stuff, especially as Love Machine was published the very year of Stonewall. Robin becomes friends with a handsome gay Italian, Sergio, who is the caregiver for Robin's adoptive mother. He basically has a positive if somewhat patronizing attitude towards this character. Learning that Sergio undressed him after he passed out, he implies that Sergio may have had his way with him. Sergio asks Robin if he would take advantage of a drunken woman, and wonders why he would assume that he, Sergio, would. In another sequence, Robin has hot sex with a woman who turns out to be transgender, but learning the truth does not anger him. The book is, of course, full of a lot of typically sixties negativity about LGBT matters -- and the word "faggot" is used far too often -- but in other ways Susann was a bit ahead of her time. 

Although Susann can't resist going the soap opera route in certain areas -- one major character is a Kay Kendall-type whose fatal illness is hidden by her loved ones -- the book contains some sharp and satirical observations. I even confess I found the ending moving. 

Verdict: No literary genius, perhaps, but the woman could tell a good story. Much better than the film adaptation. ***. 

THE MIGHTY GORGA

THE MIGHTY GORGA (1969.) Director David L. Hewitt.

Anthony Eisley of The Wasp Woman plays a circus owner who teams up with a female animal trapper (Megan Timothy) to find a mythical giant ape in the supposed jungles of Africa. (This section of the jungle is referred to as "Green Hell" and is supposed to be an area where no white man has ever gone -- even though the natives are all played by white guys!) Climbing to the top of the plateau (shades of The Lost Continent with Cesar Romero), the couple encounter a hilarious forced perspective T Rex with a flapping bottom jaw, as well as a kind of cave lizard or dragon brought to life by a few seconds of crude stop motion animation (the only time it's employed in the film). 

Gorga turns out to be man in an ape suit and a mask with immobile eyes. Miniature props are used to make the ape seem giant-sized. Director Hewitt's script is an affectionate homage to great and not-so-great old monster movies like King Kong (giant ape), The Lost World (plateau with dinosaurs), Monster from Green Hell, and so on, but the film lacks the budget and imagination to make it work and the whole thing comes off like an ambitious home movie. This is a cheapjack, ultra low-budget film devoid of pacing, style or suspense. The actors aren't bad at all, and give the film more than it deserves. Kent Taylor and Scott Brady are also in the cast. Even if you think you love monster movies you should probably skip this one. 

Verdict. 1/2* for the creditable acting.

HOSTILE WITNESS

Ray Milland also directed the film

HOSTILE WITNESS (1969). Director: Ray Milland. 

Attorney Simon Crawford (Ray Milland, who also directed the film) is horrified to learn that his daughter, Joanna (Sandra Tallent), has been killed by a hit and run driver. Soon after, Simon's old friend, Judge Gregory (Percy Marmont), who was practically an uncle to the young lady, is found murdered. The prosecutor insists that there is evidence that the dead judge was the hit and run driver, and that Simon, who swore to kill whoever ran over his daughter, is the murderer. Simon does not believe that the judge was the driver, and knows he did not commit the murder. Now the arrogant barrister finds himself on trial, and a lot depends on a strange letter and a private investigator who may or may not even exist. 

Hostile Witness is absorbing enough although the plot, taken from a stage play, is a bit on the creaky side. Milland is fine as Simon, and he gets some able support from Sylvia Syms as a legal assistant, Ewan Roberts as his lawyer, Hamish Gillespie, and Norman Barrs as another associate, Charles Milburn. Geoffrey Lunsden is also effective as Major Maitland, a dear friend of Simon's who may do more harm than good on the witness stand. It's all professional, reasonably fast-paced, but all in all just too minor to be that memorable. Milland also directed Panic in the Year Zero and a few other theatrical films along with several TV episodes. There is at least one loose end remaining at the film's conclusion. 

Verdict: Watchable if forgettable. **1/4. 

MISSION IMPROBABLE: CINNAMON CARTER DOES DIETRICH

Bain as Cinnamon as Dietrich

MISSION IMPROBABLE: "CINNAMON CARTER" DOES DIETRICH.

In the season three episode of Mission: Impossible entitled "Illusion," Barbara Bain, playing model-turned-spy Cinnamon Carter, summons up the image of a woman who was murdered by imitating her act in a nightclub. Intentional or not, Bain does an absolutely hilarious take-off on Marlene Dietrich, flat, off-key singing in a German accent and all. Arguably, it's the best acting Bain ever did on the show. Rarely did Cinnamon (or Bain) ever show emotion, and when Cinnamon -- arrested and jailed during a mission in another episode ("The Exchange") -- seems to break down in her cell, it's hard to tell if Bain is actually acting or just pretending to act like Cinnamon does. Incredibly, Bain won an Outstanding Actress Emmy for all three seasons that she was on the show, while her much more talented husband, Martin Landau, while nominated each year, never won (he did, however, win a well-deserved Supporting Actor Oscar for Ed Wood.) You just never know ... To be fair to Bain, while a great actress she may never have been (My mother used to say, "she only has one expression!") she did add a certain something, a kind of oomph to Mission: Impossible, and both she and Landau were missed when they left the show, although Leonard Nimoy was a great replacement for Landau.

Verdict: They should have recorded Cinnamon's singing on an album and played it at parties for laughs!