SWORD OF VENUS

"catfight" at the Black Cat tavern: Clarke, Stapp, De Marco

SWORD OF VENUS (1953). Director: Harold Daniels.

Robert Dantes (Robert Clarke) is the gal-and-life loving son of Alexander Dumas' famous Count of Monte Cristo, who got revenge on those who had him falsely convicted and confined. Now some of these enemies, especially Baron Danglars (Dan O'Herlihy), want to get even with the Count via a diabolical plot to frame his son and steal the family fortune. At first Claire (Catherine McLeod) goes along with the scheme to entrap Robert, but later her conscience gets the better of her. Nevertheless Danglars forces her to continue, along with certain associates, such as the drunken lawyer Valmont (William Schallert). Sentenced to hard labor in a rock quarry, how can Robert get his life back?  

Robert Clarke and Marjorie Stapp

Robert Clarke is best-known for a number of low-budget sci fi films, but he did work in other genres, including this sequel to "The Count of Monte Cristo." It has many of the diabolical twists and turns of Dumas' original book, but the film itself is only moderately successful. Both Clarke and especially Dan O'Herlihy, marvelously underplaying in a most sinister fashion, give good performances, along with the rest of the cast, but a certain intensity and panache is missing. The liveliest sequence is when Robert takes the married Countess Lily (Marjorie Stapp) to the notorious Black Cat tavern, where she gets into a catfight with the dancer Suzette (Renee De Marco). The two really give each other some good whacks! 

Verdict: Minor-league historical melodrama with some good performances and a zesty "catfight." **1/2. 

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. ***. 

GOG

Richard Egan and Herbert Marshall

GOG (1954). Director: Herbert L. Strock. Produced by Ivan Tors. 

Two scientists at a top-secret underground research facility in the desert are horribly killed in their lab when locked into a chamber with a freezing gas. Security man David Sheppard (Richard Egan) is called in to investigate the murders and other incidents of sabotage. Old girlfriend Joanna Merritt (Constance Dowling) is on hand and is also an undercover security agent. Their suspects include virtually everyone in the complex, such as Dr Elzevir (Philip Van Zandt) and his wife (Valerie Vernon); radiation expert Dr. Carter (Byron Kane); and Dr. Zeitman (John Wengraf), who is in charge of the computer, NOVAC, which runs the complex, as well as the two robots, named after the biblical legends Gog and Magog. Project head Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall) tries to help Sheppard and Merritt figure out what's going on before there are even more murders. 

Gog has an excellent premise but the execution is far from perfect. Herbert L. Strock both directs and edits and does a mediocre job in both instances. The first half of the film is much too talky, with a lot of lectures, although it eventually has several exciting scenes: a laser attack on Mrs. Elzevir, and a scene when a spinning contraption in a pressure chamber runs amok, as well as the robotic attack at the climax in which the whole place is nearly blown to smithereens. Egan and Marshall, romantic heroes, at first seem out of place in the film but are assets to the production, as is Constance Dowling, although this was her last theatrical feature (she had two more TV credits than retired when she married Gog's producer, Ivan Tors, with whom she had five children. She died young at 49.) Michael Fox and William Schallert have smaller roles. 

Verdict: Despite the clumsy direction, this does work up some suspense and is entertaining and well-acted. ***. 

THE MAN FROM PLANET X

Margaret Field and Robert Clarke

THE MAN FROM PLANET X (1951). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer. 

A cosmic body known only as "Planet X" is approaching the earth. Reporter John Lawrence (Robert Clarke) travels to an isolated Scottish island to consult with Professor Elliot (Raymond Bond) and the sinister Dr. Mears (William Schallert), while romancing Elliot's daughter, Enid (Margaret Field). One late evening Enid comes across a strange vehicle out on the moors, and gets a shock when she sees its inhabitant, a grotesque-looking alien in a helmet. The question for our cast is if this alien is friendly or not, and if his attitude toward us will be changed by the selfish motivations of Dr. Mears. Before long, people are being mind-controlled even as Planet X comes closer and closer to Earth. 

The alien appears to earthlings

The science of The Man from Planet X is about on a 1950's comic book level, so the viewer has to suspend disbelief to get into the movie, which has its eerie moments on the moors and is modestly entertaining. The acting is solid, with the normally genial William Schallert essaying a distinctly negative character and doing it very well. Roy Engel is also effective as the constable, who is up against something he never thought he'd have to face in his career. The production makes the most of its low budget. This is one of director Ulmer's [Daughter of Dr. Jekyll] better-regarded pictures, possibly because one can never be sure about how the alien feels about earthlings, and the pace of the film is reasonably swift. Clarke, Field and Schallert all appeared together in the bizarre Captive Women. 

Verdict: Has a certain minor charm. **3/4. 

THROUGH NAKED EYES

 

David Soul

THROUGH NAKED EYES (1983 telefilm). Director: John Llewellyn Moxey. 

In an apartment complex in Chicago, an unknown murderer is killing both men and women. One of the chief suspects is flautist William Parrish (David Soul), who uses binoculars to watch a neighbor, Anne (Pam Dawber), across the way and discovers that she is looking at him with a telescope. Eventually the two meet, even as obnoxious Sgt. Scopetta (Gerald Castillo) follows Parrish' every move and even warns Anne about him. Anne is convinced that William is just a nice, lonely guy with artistic abilities but then she discovers some photographs in his possession ... 

Pam Dawber and David Soul

Through Naked Eyes, written by Jeffrey Bloom, is a better-than-average TV movie with some good performances and a considerable amount of suspense. The biggest problem with the film is that it has no style, even though it somewhat apes Brian De Palma (although De Palma's Body Double did not come out until a year later) and Dario Argento -- minus the gore. Soul never gives away whether he is guilty or not, Dawber is bland but effective, and William Schallert steals the film as Parrish' father, who is given a very affecting, well-delivered speech in which he tries to address the gap between the two men and the lonely life that he, too, is living. The telefilm is capped by an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Supporting and bit roles are played by Rod McCary, Dennis Farina, John Mahoney, and Ted Levine. The plot of this film has some similarities to the Italian film The Case of the Bloody Iris. 

Verdict: Absorbing thriller with an interesting storyline. ***.