Author: Dave Sindelar

Fugitive Alien (1986)

Fugitive Alien (1986)
Article 6071 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11/3/2022
Directed by Minoru Kanaya, and Kiyosumi Kuzakawa
Featuring Tatsuya Azuma, Miyuki Tanagawa, Jo Shishido
Country: USA / Japan
What it is: TV episodes converted into a movie

A turncoat alien invader joins a crew of space adventurers.

I first became familiar with this one through the MST3K versions, which is a confusing muddle which may be due to the large chunks of story that were omitted. The complete version here is better, but still has its problems due to the fact that the basic story is uninteresting and that it ends abruptly with very little resolved. It’s another case of a TV series being converted into a couple of movies,, the second of which (STAR FORCE: ALIEN FUGITIVE 2) completes the story arc. The original series was SUTAURUFU, but I can’t find much information on this Japanese TV series from 1976. From what I see here, it was a forgettable action series. I found this one to be pretty dull.

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The Sender (1982)

The Sender (1982)
Article 6070 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-1-2022
Directed by Roger Christian
Featuring Kathryn Harrold, Zeljko Ivanek, Shirley Knight
Country: UK
What it is: Offbeat horror film

A psychiatrist attempts to treat a suicidal amnesiac in a mental ward only to discover the patient has an uncontrollable psychic ability to project his nightmares into the minds of others.

Though I feel this movie has some flaws (such as being a bit muddled at times and having a somewhat unsatisfying ending), I’m really taken with the low-key approach the movie uses to tell its story; it makes the fantastic aspects more unsettling and provides a good contrast to the nightmare sequences. The movie is also anchored by the performances of the leads; Harrold, Ivanek and Knight (as the young man’s mother) all give fine, engaging performances. There are also some odd religious subtexts to the story, given that the young man does not believe he has a father and is mistaken as a Christ figure by some of the other patients. In the end, the positive aspects of the movie are strong enough to make it a worthy view.

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Phony News Flashes (1955)

Phony News Flashes (1955)
Article 6069 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-28-2022
Directed by Connie Rasinski
Featuring the voice of Dayton Allen
Country: USA
What it is: Terrytoons news service

We see a series of news flashes about world events we may have missed.

This type of cartoon was very common during the forties, but not so much after that, so this one feels a little archaic. But when you open the festivities (such as they are) with three mother-in-law jokes, you’re really not trying to be innovative. As you might expect, this is a very uneven cartoon; the best moments to my eyes is a gag involving a slow motion spitball and the section about a town that passes an ordinance on noise control. One of the jokes involves an alien from another planet, and there is a bit where astronomers investigate a new heavenly body; neither bit is a highlight. Forgettable and harmless.

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String Bean Jack (1938)

String Bean Jack (1938)
Article 6068 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-16-2022
Directed by John Foster
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Slightly comic retelling of fairy tale

Jack is sent out by his mother to sell the family cow for money, but he sells it for a handful of jelly beans. The mother throws them out but they grow into a beanstalk overnight, and you know the rest…

This cartoon from Terrytoons has a certain historical value, in it was the first one the studio did in color. For this studio, it’s not too bad; it does have a little fun with the two-headed giants, and there are a couple of famous comedians referenced (W. C. Fields and Harpo Marx). Still, once you realize it’s a “Jack and the Beanstalk” variation, it has little in the way of surprises, and the giant appears to be no taller than a rather tall man, a disappointing choice for an animated cartoon. Still, it is one of the better Terrytoons out there.

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K Movies

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Kadoyng (1972)

Kaibyo anima goten (1953)

Kaibyo Okazaki sodo (1954)

Kaibyo Yonaki Numa (1957)

Kaidan “Chidori-ga-fuchi” (1956)

Kaidan Fukagawa jowa (1952)

Kaidan Saga Yashiki (1953)

Kaleidoscope (1935)

Kaliya Mardan (1919)

Karate Killers (1967)

Karzan, le maitre de la jungle (1972)

Kashtanka (1952)

Keep My Grave Open (1976)

The Keeper (1976)

The Kid (1921)

A Kid for Two Farthings (1956)

Kilink in Istanbul (1967)

Kill and Kill Again (1981)

Kill, Baby, Kill (1966)

Kill or Be Killed (1967)

Killah Priest (1977)

Killdozer (1974)

Killer Ape (1953)

Killer Bees (1974)

Killer Fish (1979)

A Killer in Every Corner (1974)

The Killer Nun (1978)

Killer on the Loose (1936)

The Killer Shrews (1959)

The Killer Spores (1977)

Killer With Two Faces (1975)

The Killers are Challenges (1967)

Killers from Space (1954)

Killer’s Moon (1978)

The Killing Hour (1982)

The Killing Kind (1973)

The Killings of Outpost Zeta (1980)

Kindar, the Invulnerable (1965)

The King and the Jester (1907)

King Arthur, the Young Warlord (1975)

King Dinosaur (1955)

King Klunk (1933)

King Kong (1933)

King Kong (1976)

King Kong Escapes (1967)

King Kong vs, Godzilla (1962)

King Midas, Junior (1942)

King Neptune (1932)

King of Kings (1927)

King of the Congo (1952)

King of the Jungle (1933)

King of the Kongo (1929)

King of the Mounties (1942)

King of the Rocket Men (1949)

King of the Royal Mounted (1940)

King of the Wild (1931)

King of the Zombies (1941)

King Solomon’s Minds (1937)

King Tut’s Tomb (1950)

The Kingdom of the Fairies (1903)

Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

The King’s Daughter (1934)

Kismet (1944)

Kismet (1955)

Kiss Daddy Goodbye (1981)

A Kiss for Cinderella (1925)

Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill (1966)

Kiss Me! (1904)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Kiss Me, Kill Me (1973)

Kiss Me, Monster (1969)

Kiss Me Quick! (1965)

KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

Kiss of the Tarantula (1976)

The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966)

Kisses for My President (1964)

Klaun Ferdinand a raketa (1963)

A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

The Knight of Black Art (1908)

The Knight of the Snows (1912)

Knights of Terror (1963)

Knights of the Round Table (1953)

Knives of the Avenger (1966)

Ko-Ko the Kop (1927)

Ko-Ko’s Hypnotism (1929)

Koko Kills Time (1927)

Koko’s Haunted House (1928)

Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: zettai zetsumai (1967)

Komposition in Blau (1935)

Koneko no rakugaki (1957)

Kong Island (1968)

Konga (1961)

Kongo (1932)

Der Kongress Amusiert Sich (1966)

Konyok-gorbunok (1941)

Kotetsu no kyojin (1957)

Krakatit (1947)

Krazy Magic (1938)

Krazy’s Race of Time (1937)

Kriemhilde’s Revenge (1924)

Kronos (1957)

Kung Fu From Beyond the Grave (1982)

Kung Fu Zombie (1982)

Kuroneko (1968)

Kwaidan (1964)

Kyberneticka babicka (1962)

Kyuketsu-ga (1956)

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The Glitterball (1977)

The Glitterball (1977)
Article 6067 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-10-2022
Directed by Harley Cokeliss
Featuring Ben Buckton, Keith Jayne, Ron Pember
Country: UK
What it is: The Children’s Film Foundation strikes again.

Two children have a close encounter with a tiny spherical alien that is stranded on planet earth and needs a massive amount of electrical energy to summon a mothership to rescue it. Will it get away despite interference from the military and a petty thief?

Those looking for another variation on the type of story Spielberg used for his E.T. will quickly recognize that this movie shares some definite plot elements with the later movie; there’s a definite similarity in the alien’s attempt to contact the mothership and the whole “E.T. Phone Home” plot element. Granted, this movie has none of the grandiosity of the later movie; it’s pretty slight, with a lion’s share of the plot focused on the hapless petty thief. Nonetheless, it’s watchable and harmless; it keeps the plot moving, even to the point where it starts running its end credits in the middle of the “final scene” of the movie; whatever its other flaws (such as a plethora of coincidences), the story is efficiently told. All in all, this is about average for a Chidlren’s Film Foundation movie.

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Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)

Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
Article 6066 from Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-5-2022
Directed by John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon
Featuring the voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Wallis
Country: USA
What it is: DVD extra feature

Mater the tow truck has a bad habit of playing scary gags on his friends. But when he hears the terrifying story of the Ghostlight, he becomes terrified. Will Mater get his comeuppance?

Yes, I’m an admitted Pixar fan, but the “Cars” franchise is one area where we part company; in fact, this short is the only thing I’ve seen connected to the series. And, despite the fact that he’s a fellow Nebraskan, I’m not particularly partial to the comedy stylings of Larry the Cable Guy, who provides Mater’s voice. That being said, this short (obviously intended as an extra on the CARS dvd) is an acceptably well done variation of a pretty standard story. For my money, the best moment is the final post-credits reversal-of-expectation gag. On a sadder note, according to IMDB, this short marked Paul Newman’s final performance before his death.

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J Movies

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J. D.’s Revenge (1976)

Jabberwocky (1977)

J’accuse (1919)

J’accuse (1938)

Jack and the Beanstalk (1902)

Jack and the Beanstalk (1912)

Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)

Jack and the Beanstalk (1974)

Jack Armstrong (1947)

Jack Frost (1965)

Jack Frost (1979)

Jack-Jack Attack (2005)

Jack Jaggs and Dum Dum (1903)

Jack the Giant Killer (1925)

Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

Jack the Ripper (1958)

Jack the Ripper (1959)

Jack the Ripper (1976)

The Jade Mask (1945)

Jalopy (1953)

James Tont Operazione D.U.E. (1966)

James Tont Operazione U.N.O (1965)

Jane Eyre (1944)

Japon de fantaisie (1909)

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Jasper (1942-1946)

Jasper and the Haunted House (1942)

Jassy (1947)

Jaws (1975)

The Jaws of Death (1976)

Jaws of Satan (1971)

Jaws 2 (1978)

Je t’aime, je t’aime (1968)

Jean Taris, champion de France (1931)

The Jeep (1938)

Jeepers Creepers (1939)

Jekyll and Hyde: Pact With the Devil (1969)

The Jeckyl and Hyde Portfolio (1972)

Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again (1982)

Jenkins and the Donkey (1911)

Jennifer (1978)

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1965)

Jesus of Nazareth (1912)

La jetee (1962)

Jeux des reflets et de la vitesse (1925)

Joan of Arc (1900)

Joan the Woman (1916)

Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1944)

Johnny Got His Gun (1971)

Johnny, the Giant Killer (1950)

La joie de vivre (1934)

A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964)

Jonathan (1970)

Journey Back to Oz (1972)

Journey Beneath the Desert (1961)

Journey Into Darkness (1968)

Journey to Midnight (1968)

Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Journey to the Center of Time (1967)

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969)

Journey to the Lost City (1959)

Journey to the Moon (1959)

Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)

Journey to the Unknown (1969)

Ju jin yuki otoka (1955)

Jubilee (1978)

Judex (1916)

Judex (1963)

Los jueves, Milagro (1957)

Juggernaut (1936)

Julius Caesar (1910)

Jumpin’ Jupiter (1955)

Die Jungen Jakobiter (1960)

The Jungle (1952)

The Jungle Book (1942)

The Jungle Book (1967)

Jungle Captive (1945)

Jungle Girl (1941)

Jungle Hell (1956)

Jungle Jim (1948)

Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952)

Jungle Manhunt (1951)

Jungle Moon Men (1955)

Jungle Princess (1936)

Jungle Queen (1945)

Jungle Raiders (1945)

Jungle Woman (1944)

Junior G-Men (1940)

Junior G-Men of the Air (1942)

Jupiter’s Thunderballs (1903)

Just Imagine (1930)

Juve vs. Fantomas (1913)

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Dracula Blows his Cool (1979)

Dracula Blows his Cool (1979)
aka Graf Dracula in Oberbayern
Article 6065 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-24-2022
Directed by Carl Schenkel
Featuring Gianni Garko, Betty Virges, Bea Fiedler
Country: West Germany / Italy
What it is: Dracula disco sexploitation comedy

A photographer who specializes in girlie magazines inherits a castle with the intent on turning it into a sexy disco hotel, unaware that his ancestors in the family crypt are vampires.

Let’s see, a Dracula disco sexploitation comedy? If you’re me, this sounds abysmal, and if I say I found it better than I expected it would be, it might simply be because my expectations were extremely low. So why did this one feel better than I expected. For one thing, some of the jokes worked; I was amused by the confusion between a giant phallus sculpture and a garden gnome at one point in particular. Secondly, though the movie is pretty bad, it doesn’t come off as desperate. Thirdly, the music didn’t annoy the hell out of me, a nice feat for a movie with “disco” in the title. Fourth, Dracula is not portrayed as a hapless buffoon, and his presence and situation adds a little depth to the proceedings. And finally, the plot in its second half veers the movie in the direction of satire when the presence of a vampire in the castle becomes a marketing tool for the hotel owners. No, the movie never really becomes good, but it does keep from being overly painful, and actually gave me some food for thought.

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I Movies

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I Am Suzanne! (1933)

I Bury the Living (1958)

I, Desire (1982)

I Dismember Mama (1974)

I Drink Your Blood (1970)

I Eat Your Skin (1964)

I Haven’t Got a Hat (1935)

I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen (1970)

I Killed Rasputin (1967)

I Like Babies and Infinks (1937)

I Like Mountain Music (1933)

I Love a Mystery (1945)

I Love to Singa (1936)

I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)

I Married a Vampire (1987)

I Married a Witch (1942)

I Married an Angel (1942)

I, Monster (1971)

I.N.R.I. (1923)

I Saw What You Did (1965)

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1958)

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

I Yam What I Yam (1933)

Ibong Adarna (1941)

The Ice House (1969)

The Ice Pirates (1964)

Iceman (1984)

Idaho Transfer (1973)

L’idee (1932)

Idle Roomers (1944)

If…. (1968)

If a Body Meets a Body (1945)

L’igiene dei Tombolino (1932)

I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You (1932)

I’ll Never Forget You (1951)

I’ll See You In Hell (1960)

Illusion of Blood (1966)

The Illustrated Man (1969)

Images (1972)

Immer Arger mit dem Bett (1961)

The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959)

Immoral Tales (1974)

The Immortal (1969)

L’Immortelle (1963)

The Imperceptible Transmutations (1904)

An Impossible Balancing Feat (1902)

An Impossible Voyage (1904)

Impulse (1974)

In Like Flint (1967)

In Possession (1984)

In Search of Ancient Astronauts (1973)

In Search of Ancient Mysteries (1975)

In Search of Bigfoot (1976)

In Search of Dracula (1975)

In Search of Noah’s Ark (1976)

In Search of the Castaways (1962)

In the Barber Shop (1908)

In the Bogie Man’s Cave (1907)

In the Devil’s Garden (1971)

In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986)

In the Year 2889 (1967)

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)

L’inconnu di Shandigor (1967)

The Incredible Hulk (1977)

The Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family (1977)

The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)

The Incredible Paris Incident (1967)

The Incredible Petrified World (1959)

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)

The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1963)

Incubus (1965)

Indestructible Man (1956)

The Indian Sorcerer (1908)

The Indian Tomb Part One: The Mission of the Yogi (1921)

The Indian Tomb Part 2: The Tiger of Bengal (1921)

Une indigestion (1902)

Das Indische Tuch (1963)

The Infantry Blues (1945)

The Infernal Cake-Walk (1903)

The Infernal Cauldron (1903)

Infernal Trio (1974)

L’inferno (1911)

Inferno (1980)

Inferno in Space (1956)

Infra-Man (1975)

Ingmarssonerna (1919)

The Inheritance (1947)

L’inhumaine (1924)

The Initiation of Sarah (1978)

Inn of the Damned (1977)

The Inn Where No Man Rests (1903)

Inner Sanctum (1948)

The Innocents (1961)

Inquisition (1976)

L’insaisissable Pickpocket (1908)

The Insects’ Christmas (1913)

Die Insel der Seligen (1913)

An Inspector Calls (1954)

Inspirace (1949)

An Interesting Story (1904)

International House (1933)

Interplanetary Revolution (1924)

The Intruder (1933)

The Intruder (1977)

The Intruder (1981)

The Intruder Within (1981)

Invaders from Space (1965)

Invasion (1966)

The Invasion (1982)

Invasion of the Animal People (1959)

Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)

Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Stealers (1969)

Invasion of the Mindbenders (1970)

Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

Invasion of the Star Creatures (1963)

The Invasion of the Vampires (1963)

The Invasion of the Zombies (1962)

Invasion USA (1952)

The Invincible Brothers Maciste (1964)

The Invincible Masked Rider (1963)

The Invisible Agent (1942)

The Invisible Avenger (1958)

The Invisible Boy (1957)

Invisible Creature (1960)

The Invisible Dr. Mabuse (1962)

The Invisible Fluid (1908)

The Invisible Ghost (1941)

Invisible Invaders (1959)

The Invisible Killer (1939)

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man (1975)

The Invisible Man (1984)

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

The Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (1957)

The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944)

The Invisible Monster (1950)

The Invisible Mouse (1947)

The Invisible Ray (1936)

The Invisible Terror (1963)

Invisible Thief (1909)

The Invisible Woman (1940)

Les invisibles (1906)

Los invisibles (1963)

Io uccido, tu uciddi (1965)

The Iron Claw (1941)

The Iron Giant (1999)

The Iron Super Man (1974)

Is My Palm Read (1933)

Isabel (1968)

The Island at the Top of the World (1974)

Island of Doomed Men (1940)

Island of Lost Souls (1933)

Island of Lost Women (1959)

Island of Terror (1966)

Island of the Dinosaurs (1966)

Island of the Lost (1967)

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Isle of the Dead (1945)

Isn’t it Shocking? (1973)

L’isola degli uomini pesce (1979)

It! (1965)

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

It Came from Outer Space (1953)

It Conquered the World (1956)

It Grows on Trees (1952)

It Had to be You (1947)

It Happened at Nightmare Inn (1973)

It Happened Here (1965)

It Happened Tomorrow (1944)

It Happens Every Spring (1949)

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

It’s a Dog’s Life (1955)

It’s a Gift (1923)

It’s a Greek Life (1936)

It’s a Small World (1950)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s Alive (1969)

It’s Alive (1974)

It’s All in the Stars (1945)

It’s Got Me Again (1932)

It’s Not the Size that Counts (1974)

I’ve Lived Before (1956)

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