PRETTY POISON

PRETTY POISON (1968). Director: Noel Black.

A twisted romance develops between a disturbed young man named Dennis Pitt (Anthony Perkins of Chillers) and an even more disturbed young woman named Sue Ann Stepanek (Tuesday Weld). Pitt, who was institutionalized for a time, draws Sue Ann into games in which he pretends he's a CIA agent involving her in his dangerous assignments. This leads to more than one murder and a plot by Pitt to get even with the man who fired him. Reasonably entertaining film holds the attention and features some good performances -- especially from Beverly Garland as Sue Ann's unpleasant mother -- and is very well photographed by David Quaid. Good supporting performances from John Randolph and Dick O'Neill (of Gammera, the Invincible). Screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. Noel Black also directed Prime Suspect. 

Verdict: Some good moments but nothing really special. **1/2.

THE NEANDERTHAL MAN

Robert Shayne

THE NEANDERTHAL MAN (1953). Director: Ewald Andre Dupont. 

"The restoration of dormant cells of the mind of man."

Professor Clifford Groves (Robert Shayne of The Giant Claw) is either demented or an asshole. He neglects his pretty fiancee, Ruth (Doris Merrick of Sensation Hunters), and is rude to his daughter, Jan (Joyce Terry), while he continues his rather pointless experiments in regression. He has already managed to turn a kitty cat into a sabretooth tiger (although when we see it roaming about the countryside in long shot it seems quite normal), and excoriates a scientific board for not recognizing that the brains of Neanderthal men were as large as modern man's (no one argues that it wasn't Neanderthals who built civilization, wrote Shakespeare's plays, composed Wagner's music and so on). When Groves stupidly injects himself with his formula, he turns into one of the silliest-looking monsters on record and seems mildly upset when he learns that he's killed friends of his while under the influence, so to speak. Which would not make him less culpable in the eyes of the law, although his dumb daughter might disagree.

Doris Merrick and Richard Crane

There have been a lot of mad scientists in horror films, but the one in The Neanderthal Man is one of the stupidest and most immoral. Without her knowledge or permission, Groves drugs the mute maid (Tandra Quinn) and injects her with his formula. (His daughter should be appalled but she still sticks up for him.) Richard Crane plays a scientist who comes to town to investigate reports of the sabretooth; Robert Bray is a rancher and victim; and Beverly Garland -- knocking one out of the ballpark yet again -- is a waitress who witnesses Groves murder her date and who is carried off by him. While the time-lapse photography of Groves' transformation is acceptable, his fright mask and wig are unintentionally hilarious. The true purpose of Groves' ridiculous experiments is never really explained. Robert Shayne's performance is hammy and unmemorable and the direction is completely uninspired. 

Verdict: A regression you can do without. **. 

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD

Graves, Garland, Van Cleef

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. Colorized version. 

Scientist Paul Nelson (Peter Graves of Killers from Space) helped put a satellite in orbit, and when it briefly disappears, his best friend and fellow scientist Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef of Machete) insists that a creature from Venus is now aboard it and heading for Earth. Anderson is convinced that the alien is benevolent and will bring about a golden age where foolish emotions are unnecessary. Tom's wife, Claire (Beverly Garland of Gunslinger), thinks her husband is nuts, and Paul argues about the alien's alleged good intentions. Especially when after landing and taking refuge in a cave, the creature blocks all energy and electricity and sends out flying, bat-like animals that briefly attach themselves to certain people's necks and sap their free will -- one of the victims is Paul's wife, Joan (Sally Fraser). Claire finally gets a rifle and decides to take matters into her own hands ...  

The crazed Venusian creature on a rampage

There are an awful lot of things you could quibble about with It Conquered the World, but while the movie is often absurd it is also absorbing. As usual Beverly Garland walks off with the acting honors, although Lee Van Cleef isn't too far behind her with his intense portrayal of a rather naive and delusional scientist. Graves and Fraser are a cut below them, but are adequate. (They have hardly any reaction to a plane crash that occurs virtually on top of them.) Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze are cast as comic relief soldiers and add nothing to the picture, unfortunately. Roger Corman keeps things moving at a brisk pace although the climax is a little dragged out. The Venusian creature may look a little silly and has very limited movement, but Corman manages to get across its malevolence and homicidal intent anyway. The highlight of the film is Garland's impassioned verbal and physical attack on the alien. An uncredited remake was Zontar, the Thing from Venus. 

Verdict: Whatever its flaws, this is a creepy Corman classic. ***.

NAKED PARADISE

Beverly Garland and Richard Denning

NAKED PARADISE (aka Thunder Over Hawaii/1957). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. 

Duke Bradley (Richard Denning of The Black Scorpion) owns a charter boat and takes on passengers including gangster Zach Cotton (Leslie Bradley of Attack of the Crab Monsters), his "secretary" Max MacKenzie (Beverly Garland of Gunslinger), and nasty gunsels Mitch (Dick Miller) and Stony (Jonathan Haze). After pulling a robbery the gang set out for an island where Duke learns that Zach plans on forcing him to take them all in his small boat to the mainland, a ridiculous proposition. Duke and Max set sail by themselves but have to turn back due to an approaching hurricane, and are at the mercy of Zach and his cohorts. But all may not be hopeless ... 

Creeps: Miller, Bradley, Haze

Obviously Naked Paradise was considered a more exploitable title than the original Thunder Over Hawaii. The movie, which moves at the expected brisk pace, is reasonably entertaining and also unpredictable -- you're not really certain which of the participants will survive. A major asset of the film, also as expected, is the performance of Garland, who always raises things a notch. The others are all competent but unexceptional, and Bradley completely lacks charisma, essential when playing a gang leader. Miller and Haze have done better work elsewhere, and Denning displays his customary bland charm. The picture has a satisfying wind-up. Shot by Floyd Crosby and with a score by Ronald Stein. 

Verdict: At least the actors got a trip to Hawaii out of it! ***. 

GUNSLINGER

Beverly Garland, Jonathan Haze, Allison Hayes

GUNSLINGER (1956). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

"Sometimes I like awake two or three seconds worrying about it." -- Erica.

1878: Marshal Scott Hood (William Schallert) of Oracle Texas is shot dead in his office right in front of his horrified wife, Rose (Beverly Garland). She immediately shoots and kills one of two assassins and catches up with the other one at her husband's funeral, shooting him dead, too, as he stands hypocritically at the gravesite -- a great scene. 

Beverly Garland and John Ireland

Rose then decides to make herself the marshal of Oracle until a real marshal can show up in two weeks. In those weeks the feisty widow cleans up the town and wages war with Erica Page (Allison Hayes), who owns the Red Dog saloon. Rose insists that Erica keeps regular hours and that the trampy dancing girls leave town (they later attack Rose en masse). Erica and Rose have a zesty cat fight which the latter wins, leading to the former calling for a gunslinger named Cane Miro (John Ireland). Cane is paid $3000 to off the law in town -- Rose -- only Cane finds himself falling for the lady and vice versa. Meanwhile Erica, manipulating things behind the scenes, has bet virtually everything she owns hoping that the railroad will run through Oracle. Will Cane ultimately side with Rose or Erica?

Ireland romances the 50 Foot Woman

There are two obvious influences on Corman's Gunslinger. The first is Johnny Guitar, which came out two years earlier and also featured two women, Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge in this case, in a power struggle (both on and off the set). Then there's Duel in the Sun, made about ten years earlier, in which lovers Jennifer Jones and Gregory Peck have a climactic gun battle -- Gunslinger's climax is basically a steal from that. But that doesn't detract from the fact that Gunslinger is a well-made, well-acted and entertaining picture that is better than its reputation (trashed largely because it was featured on that silly Mystery Science Theater).

Ireland confers with Hayes in front of Haze

Corman's fast-paced direction is a plus, as is the cast. John Ireland successfully keeps you guessing as to his true character and motivations, while Hayes, the 50 foot woman herself, gives possibly her best performance in her hard-as-nails portrayal of Erica. Beverly Garland, always a superior actress who deserved better than a career in B movies, is excellent as Rose, although one flaw in her performance is that she never seems to be grieving for her beloved husband -- but then she's kept pretty busy. Jonathan Haze of The Little Shop of Horrors scores as Jake, the bartender who is in love with Erica and kills poor portly Zebelon Tabb (Bruno VeSota) at her direction. Martin Kingsley doesn't make much of an impression as Mayor Polk, who is hated by Cane, but Margaret Campbell is much better as his wife. Chris Alcaide is Deputy Joshua, and Dick Miller shows up briefly as a postal man who gets shot by the sociopathic Erica. Ronald Stein contributes a quirky and effective score. 

Verdict: With a little more work this under-rated western could have been a real contender. ***. 

SUDDEN DANGER

Bill Elliott with Beverly Garland in background mirror

SUDDEN DANGER (1955). Director: Hubert Cornfield.

Wallace Curtis (Tom Drake of Date with Disaster), who has been blind since an accident, comes home to discover his mother dead from gas. A note suggests that she wants her son to use the insurance money (from a suicide?) for an operation. Detective Lt. Andy Doyle (Bill Elliott) is suspicious of Curtis, especially when he learns that he supposedly argued with his mother about her paying for his operation, lied about the fact that she caused the accident, and discovering that the suicide note was created on his girlfriend, Phyllis' (Beverly Garland), typewriter. As Curtis wonders if the operation will be a success, Doyle seemingly builds a case against him.

Minerva Urecal and Tom Drake

This is the second and one of the best of former western star Bill Elliott's cop movies, with a good suspenseful script, a good score (Marlin Skiles), sharp cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks, and solid performances from everyone -- Elliott is professional if not a great actor. Drake makes a sympathetic figure but he doesn't give away his guilt or innocence, and Garland [Twice-Told Tales] is as expressive and credible as ever. Minerva Urecal scores as Curtis' harridan of a landlady, and Dayton Lummis and Helene Stanton [New Orleans Uncensored] are fine as a business executive and his much-younger squeeze, a model. Ellsworth Fredericks also photographed Invasion of the Body Snatchers the following year. 

Verdict: Surprisingly effective little B mystery. ***. 

TWICE-TOLD TALES

TWICE-TOLD TALES (1963). Director: Sidney Salkow. 

Star Vincent Price appears in three stories freely adapted from the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In Heidegger's Experiment Price and Sebastian Cabot play love rivals who discover the dead woman they both loved has been preserved by a natural chemical like a fountain of youth. As portrayed by Mari Blanchard, however, the lovely Sylvia comes off more like a hard-boiled slattern than anything else, but there's no accounting for taste. In Rappaccini's Daughter a young man (Brett Halsey) falls in love with a woman (Joyce Taylor) who has been raised on poison by a jealous father (Price) and whose very touch means instant death. This is the best of the three stories but it isn't well served by the insufficient playing of the lovers. As an actor, Halsey was good-looking and little else. Primarily a TV actress, Taylor was vivid enough in George Pal's Atlantis the Lost Continent but in this she's simply bad. The weakest segment is a poor and loose adaptation of The House of Seven Gables which is somewhat bolstered by the appearance of Beverly Garland and not at all by the unlikely presence of Richard Denning, although he's not terrible. More derivative of other horror films than of Hawthorne. 

Verdict: Has its moments. **1/2.

NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED

Beverly Garland and Arthur Franz

NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED (1955). Director: William Castle. 

New Orleans, the second busiest port after New York City, has become a hotbed of crime and violence. Dan Corbett (Arthur Franz) only wants to fix up an old rust bucket of a ship and start his own business, but for now he works on the docks. Dan gets involved with two women: Alma Mae (Helene Stanton), who is the sexy girlfriend of mob boss "Zero" Saxon (Michael Ansara); and Marie Reilly (Beverly Garland of Soldiers of Fortune), whose husband, Joe (William Henry of Uranium Boom) works for Saxon and later winds up dead. Dan agrees to help the authorities expose Saxon's corruption by going to work for him undercover, even though he knows he's putting himself in harm's way. 

Arthur Franz and Helene Stanton

Frankly, there's enough material in this picture to have made an exciting thriller, but New Orleans Uncensored just ambles along without ever once igniting. The performances are all credible, although the cops and other authorities are played by real-life policemen. The suspenseful climax the film has supposedly been building to never quite materializes. Other cast members include Mike Mazurki as Saxon's dumb enforcer, and Ed Nelson as a dock worker. This same year Helene Stanton played a blonde goddess in the Jungle Jim film Jungle Moon Men. 

Verdict: Surprisingly, a rather dull William Castle movie. **. 

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

John Russell and Chick Chandler

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE 1955 - 1957 syndicated television series.

This half hour show lasted two seasons and concerned the exploits of two adventurers who would do just about anything and go anywhere if the pay was right: Tim Kelly (John Russell) and Toubo Smith (Chick Chandler). The show used old sets from Republic films and serials as well as a lot of adroitly-employed stock footage. Russell and Chandler -- the former tall, handsome and macho, with a splendid physique, the latter short and plucky -- complimented each other perfectly.

Chandler and Russell

In one first season episode Kelly suggests that Toubo is getting too old and tired, should settle down and marry, he's over the hill. "A friend shouldn't say that to a friend," says an offended Toubo. "Who says you're a friend," replies Kelly "We travel around together," protests Toubo. To which Kelly replies, "I'm just keeping you out of trouble." The viewer honestly doesn't know if Kelly is joking or not, but in an episode in the second season, Kelly clearly risks his life to save his buddy's when the latter is nearly sacrificed to natives, so there's no doubt that there is a genuine bond of friendship between the two men.

John Russell before his Lawman TV series mustache

Soldiers of Fortune was not a classic series, but it was entertaining and (via stock footage and standing sets) managed to send the boys all over the world. Among the more memorable "A" episodes were the following: a woman is plagued by a voodoo cult in "Drums of Far Island;" a Chinese salesman in Limehouse is embroiled in a smuggling plot in "Hatchet Man;" sabotage holds up construction of an underwater tunnel in Cuba in "Sandhogs;" and the boys go undercover on a cargo ship with a sinister crew in "Crew of the Dolly D." 

Chick Chandler

Out of fifty-two episodes I have managed to see all but five, but at least half are of B+ quality. Guest-stars include Henry Brandon ("Greatest Beast" -- was an oil man killed by a Tibetan monster?); Jay Novello ("Vanishing Island" -- that  occasionally rises to the surface and holds a treasure); Beverly Garland ("Lady and the Lion" -- intrigue on an African film set); Jean Byron ("Tattooed Lady of Torima" -- a beautiful woman runs a diamond racket in Columbia); Michael Emmet ("Skull of the Inca" -- an educated native returns to headhunter land to find treasure and encounters giant lizards from One Million B.C. instead). 

"City of Doom" with Pamela Duncan

Also Grant Williams ("Lady of Rajmahal" -- a rajah's frightened wife wants to leave home with some priceless art treasures); Adele Jurgens ("Danger Sisters" -- two gals with a knife-throwing act get into trouble in Tangier); and Pamela Duncan ("The City of Doom" -- a maharajah's sister fears that a cult that is against progress will eventually destroy the city). Many episodes featured women whom at first seemed warm and sympathetic and turned out to have a dagger up their sleeves, and duplicitous characters of both sexes abounded. 

Verdict: Basically a fun if imperfect series that was easy to take. **1/2.