TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING (1977)
Article 4529 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-9-2014
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Featuring Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne
Country: USA / West Germany
What it is: Political thriller

A former Air Force general, jailed under trumped-up charges, escapes from prison with a couple of men and manages to infiltrate a missile base. He then threatens to launch nine nuclear missiles to start World War III if his demands aren’t met, one of which is that a secret document describing the ulterior motives for Vietnam war is released to the public.

This had the potential to be a truly nail-biting thriller; unfortunately, the movie never realizes that potential. There are various reasons for this, and at least one of them is that several usually dependable actors disappoint in their performances, including Burt Lancaster (who I usually really like) and Charles Durning; for some reason, Lancaster’s character never becomes compellingly real, and Durning fails to convince as a president. There are also a number of scenes that strike very false notes, not least of which is the scene where the secrets of the document are finally revealed. The movie has also one of the worst cases of what I believed Roger Ebert referred to as the phenomenon of “Mamet Dammit”; there is a lot of cussing in the script, but it all sounds forced and fake. These problems, combined with an overuse of unnecessary split screen and a length of two and a half hours, conspire to make this movie almost interminable. Ultimately, the movie failed to convince, and despite a handful of good performances (including those of Melvyn Douglas and Joseph Cotten), it never takes off. I was very disappointed.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (1971)
Article 4528 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-8-2014
Directed by Anthony Harvey
Featuring George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward, Jack Gilford
Country: USA
What it is: Odd comic romance

A female psychiatrist by the name of Watson takes on the task of treating a man who is under the delusion that he is Sherlock Holmes, and, towards that end, she follows him in an adventure where he seeks the whereabouts of his enemy, Moriarty.

James Goldman originally wrote this as a stage play, but after its initial production, he withdrew the play, feeling that he never quite got it right. The fact that he wrote the screenplay for this movie version does seem to indicate that he didn’t quite give up on it. Still, I can see what he means; there’s something about this meditation on Sherlock Holmes as filtered through the sensibility of “Don Quixote” that doesn’t quite come together. Whatever its flaws, however, the acting is not at fault; both George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward are wonderful in their respective roles, and there are some wonderful moments here. Two of my favorite moments include a scene where Scott’s character manages to make a non-speaking mental patient finally open up and talk, and the wonderful, if ambiguous, ending where he finds what he’s looking for. The theme of the madmen being saner than the supposedly normal people of the world isn’t particularly novel, especially in the anti-establishment countercultural world of the early seventies, but I find myself wondering if that was the theme of the original play from ten years earlier; nevertheless, Scott’s acting abilities give it a fascination and a depth that make the theme resonate. The fantastic content is a little tougher to pin down; we do have the theme of madness here, and the ending may lend itself to a fantastic interpretation. At any rate, I’ve developed a definite love for this movie, and I’d like to read the play version, if I ever get a chance.

TORGUS (1921)
aka Verlogene Moral, Torgus the Coffin Maker
Article 4472 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-12-2014
Directed by Hanns Kobe
Featuring Gerd Fricke, Ferdinand Gregori, Eugen Klopfer
Country: Germany
What it is: Drama

A strict aunt plans to send her nephew away to agricultural school, only to learn that one of her maids is pregnant with the nephew’s child. She sends the nephew away and hides the maid in the house of a local coffin-maker, and then steals the baby away from the maid after it is born.

For the most part, there is certainly nothing here that would make this rather dark drama qualify as a horror movie. However, there is a final macabre turn to the tale that pushes it into horror territory, and that’s why it’s being covered here. This one was quite difficult to find, and the only copy I’ve been able to acquire is in very poor condition; this makes it a little difficult to follow, and though I’ve heard that it has some of the same expressionistic style of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, it’s hard to confirm that with this print. I quite liked it overall; it’s a sad tale of cruelty and tragedy, and even with the print in the condition it is, it retains some of its power.

THE TREASURE OF THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1965)
aka Il tesoro della foresta pietrificata
Article 4451 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-15-2014
Directed by Emimmo Salvi
Featuring Gordon Mitchell, Ivica Pajer, Eleanora Bianchi
Country: Italy
What it is: Norse epic

Evil viking Hunding seeks the Sword of the Nibelungen, which is hidden in the petrified forest. It is up to Siegmund, son of Wotan and leader of the Nibelungen, to prevent him from getting it.

Though I can’t quite think of this one as a sword-and-sandal movie, it’s pretty much in the same mode. It takes place in the same fantasy world as the Nibelungen myth, but I think those seeking it for its fantastic content will be disappointed; Siegmund may be the son of Wotan, but he has no superpowers; the Valkyries (who decide who will live and die in battle and take the dead to Valhalla) mostly ride around on horses and shoot bows and arrows in battles that they are not supposed to be involved in, and if the sought-after sword has any powers at all, all that manifested itself in the movie is that you can run someone through with it, a power that it seems any sword might have. In fact, outside of the presence of a soothsayer who makes some predictions, almost all of the fantastic content is merely talked about rather than shown. As for the movie itself, it seems to be mostly an endless series of battle scenes fleshing out a story of little consequence. However, I will say that this movie convinced me that Gordon Mitchell is probably better cast as a villain as he is here than he is as a hero; he has the ability to project an effective streak of cruelty that is on display here. There’s lots of carnage, the usual betrayals, a comic-relief dwarf, and very little in the way of surprises.

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976)
Article 4431 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 1-26-2014
Directed by Charles B. Pierce
Featuring Ben Johnson, Andrew Prine, Dawn Wells
Country: USA
What it is: Based-on-a-true-story serial killer thriller

In 1946, a serial killer began a reign of terror in the town of Texarkana. A famous Texas ranger leads the investigate to catch him.

Charles B. Pierce wasn’t a particularly good director, but he had a good handle on how authentic locations and local color could enhance a movie, and he knows enough about how to keep you on the edge of your seat to get by. When the movie embraces its semi-documentary approach and keeps the tone serious, it works quite well. Unfortunately, the script makes a big mistake; instead of concentrating on focusing on the details of the investigation of the killings, it tends to gloss over them and shift the attention to a comic relief character played by the director himself. The character isn’t so bad that he becomes intolerable, but his scenes are so poorly integrated into the main story that they reveal themselves for the padding they are. That’s a real shame; I’d rather have been presented with a real-life investigation of the murders, and had the movie gone for that, there would have been no need for the padding. Still, the tension, suspense and horror are strong enough to compensate for this, but I do feel it’s merely a good movie when it could have been a great one.

LA TERRIFICANTE NOTTE DEL DEMONIO (1971)
aka The Devil’s Nightmare, La plus longue nuit du diable
Article 4422 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 1-14-2014
Directed by Jean Brismee
Featuring Erika Blanc, Jean Servais, Daniel Emilfork
Country: Belgium / Italy
What it is: Offbeat Eurohorror

A group of tourists are forced to spend the night at the castle of a Baron whose family lives under a curse; the daughters born into the family are succubi.

If there’s one thing I can say about this movie, it’s that it recognizes that the devil isn’t just after your life; it’s after your soul as well. And since the seven people staying at the castle represent the seven deadly sins, their demises happen when they’re deepest in the throes of whichever particular sin is their one of choice. It gives the movie an interesting vibe, which is a good thing, as it helps compensate for the occasionally lethargic pacing and the fact that it takes quite a while before things really start moving. It even manages to throw some surprising and interesting twists as the movie nears its end. Still, you have a lot of the usual Eurohorror setpieces, including the obligatory and unnecessary lesbian sex scene. It’s a mixed bag, but I do like that it does have a few surprises up its sleeve.

2019: AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK (1983)
aka 2019 – Dopo la caduta di New York
Article 4388 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-9-2013
Directed by Sergio Martino
Featuring Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier, George Eastman
Country: Italy / France
What it is: Post-apocalyptic action

After the apocalypse, all women have been rendered sterile by radiation. What remains of the American government recruits a loner to infiltrate New York (under the control of an invading foreign power), find the only fertile woman left on the planet, and get her out of there so they can save the human race.

As should be fairly obvious, the movie is one of the many clones of THE ROAD WARRIOR and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, with Michael Sopkiw playing a Mad Max/Snake Plissken role. As such, it doesn’t score any big points on originality, and it has its share of problems, with the jittery, hard-to-follow action sequences being one of them. Still, amid the very familiar elements, it does have a few interesting touches. My favorite of these is that the sterility of the human race ends up having a side effect of causing a resentment of dwarfs because of their resemblance to children; the latter have a hidden colony in the sewers of the city. It also shows a certain tenderness and a sense of philosophy on occasion; yes, these touches don’t always work, but given that the rest of the movie is non-stop action, I’m a little surprised they exist. As a result, though the movie is nowhere near as good as its models, it isn’t a total waste of time either, and those with a weak spot for this type of movie will like this one all right.

THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA (1964)
Article 4386 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-6-2013
Directed by Don Chaffey
Featuring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, Laurence Naismith
Country: UK / USA
What it is: Fantasy drama

When a veterinarian (who lost his wife years ago) is forced to put his own daughter’s cat to sleep, he finds himself losing her love and affection, and must find within himself the strength to love again.

Despite the fact that the cat is the title character in the movie, she’s really more of a plot device than the main character. The main character is that of the veterinarian, who has lost much of his faith, compassion and ability to love due to the loss of his wife during a plague. In that sense, this is a story of redemption, and, being a soft touch for this type of story, it’s no surprise that I got caught up in it and enjoyed the movie tremendously. It helps that the veterinarian is played by Patrick McGoohan, who plays him with a real human complexity, and the movie often features characters making difficult choices. There’s also very good work from Susan Hampshire as a woman believed to be a witch who has the qualities the veterinarian lacks, Laurence Naismith as the reverend who serves as the veterinarian’s conscience, and Karen Dotrice as the inconsolable daughter. As for the movie’s fantastic content, I suppose it may be up for debate; the woman believed to be a witch is actually no such thing, and the possibility that Thomasina was actually dead and came back to life could be seen as ambiguous. However, since the story is told from the cat’s point of view, and there is a scene in which the cat visits the world of the afterlife (for cats), I’d say the fantastic content is substantial enough for inclusion here. I recommend this one, especially to animal lovers.

TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT (1960)
Article 4385 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-5-2013
Directed by Robert Day
Featuring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, Betta St. John
Country: USA
What it is: Tarzan movie

Tarzan captures a wanted criminal who killed a friend of his, and vows to have him taken through the jungle to a city where he can collect the reward for his capture and distribute the money to the dead friend’s family. But the criminal’s own family are out to rescue him, and they won’t let anyone stand in their way…

This Tarzan movie has no more fantastic content than the one I saw yesterday, but beyond that, there’s a world of distance between the two movies. Yesterday’s was a lazy, uninspired affair, unconvincingly shot in the studio and loaded with filler. This one focuses in on the story, the action and the characters. Jane and Boy are not in the picture, and after a token antic-free scene early in the movie, Cheta is left in the care of someone else and plays no subsequent role in the movie. This one is shot on location in Africa and it shows it. Gordon Scott is back as Tarzan, and Jock Mahoney (who would eventually take on the role of Tarzan himself) plays the main villain of the piece. Other names in the cast include Lionel Jeffries as a big-talking man who proves a coward when put to the test, and John Carradine as the criminal’s father. It’s well directed by Robert Day, and it manages to keep the suspense fairly high during the proceedings. For the most part, the movie is a chase film of sorts, with Tarzan and company trying to evade pursuit from the criminal’s family; it gets a little tiresome before it’s all over, but the final fight scene is memorable, and it’s such an improvement over the last Tarzan movie I saw that it’s like a breath of fresh air.

TARZAN’S FIGHT FOR LIFE (1958)
Article 4384 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-4-2013
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Featuring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen
Country: USA
What it is: Tarzan jungle antics

Tarzan gets caught up in a conflict between a benevolent doctor trying to maintain a hospital in the jungle and a witch doctor who sees him as competition.

One of my sources sees fit to include practically every Tarzan movie ever made, even though for the most part, they can only be considered marginal fantasies at best. I’ve covered quite a few of them at this point, and when a series is that long lasting, it becomes difficult to find fresh, new situations for the characters. This one in particular feels tired, and the usual padding that fills up the movies (Tarzan and Jane swimming, Cheta engaged in antics, stock footage, etc.) becomes extremely noticeable. It’s also very studio bound, and when you show the studio jungle right next to authentic location stock footage and scenes culled from other Tarzan movies that were shot on location, the contrast becomes almost embarrassing at times; the scene where Tarzan talks and shares food with some friendly tribesmen is particularly bad in this regard. Gordon Scott makes for a muscular Tarzan, and Woody Strode has great presence as a warrior named Ramo, and they are the best things about this one; the rest is jungle business as usual.