PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Manfish 1956

Manfish 1956 Loosely based on two Edgar Allan Poe stories The Gold Bug and The Tell Tale Heart, screenplay by Myles Wilder and Joel Murcott, directed by W Lee Wilder. Myles is W Lee's son and W Lee is Billy Wilder's brother. W Lee had his own film company in the 1950s, they produced a few low budget films, some of which I've seen. W Lee produced and directed The Snow Creature, Killers From Space, Phantom From Space, all of which were written by Myles.

I'll give anything with Lon Cheney Jr in it a chance and that's knowing he's in a lot of so-so films. This is kind of on the slight side, an adventure in the south seas with romance, treasure hunting and betrayal. People go cray-cray for the doubloons. The story told is mostly a flashback, told by a Jamaican Police Inspector to his counterpart in Scotland Yard.

The man from Scotland Yard learns of the recent adventures of Captain Brannigan, Swede and the Professor. The later is the the man he's interested in, a man suspected of being a war criminal. Brannigan is the owner of a fishing boat called Manfish, one that he'd won in a poker game, John Bromfield plays Brannigan, a guy with limited imagination and intelligence. Swede is his first mate, Swede is played by Lon Chaney Jr, he's a big lumbering simple guy with a love of the fishing boat called Manfish. Serious mental illness kind of love.

The Professor is played by Victor Jory and he's pretty darn entertaining. He's a good solid character actor who's turned in good work for decades. Brannigan comes across a half a map and a skull and crossbones ring, when he first meets the Professor he notices the man has the same ring. The Professor has the other half of the map and the brains to figure out the cypher's that lead to the treasure.

The pair team up but it's one of those relationships that you can see is going to end with someone dead at best. Tossing the Professor's treasure hungry lady friend Alita into the mix is like throwing ammunition in a fire, it's just a matter of when things are going to go off. Tessa Pendergast plays Tessa, Tessa was an actress between 1952 and 1954, this is her last film of four. She became a fashion designer in the late 1950s and had her own clothing business in Jamaica. She created the white bikini worn by Ursula Andress in Dr No.

Despite the good story ideas the film is just barely average to me. I gave it a generous 5 on the IMDb where it scores a 4.6 with 245 votes. You can watch it on YouTube. You might like it or not but you'd probably like Victor Jory and Lon Chaney Jr.

Time Lock 1957

Time Lock 1957 It's based on Arthur Hailey's play, the screenplay is by Arthur Hailey and Peter Rogers, it's directed by Gerald Thomas. This is Gerald's second film, he would go on to direct 28 Carry On films and 16 other films, most of which were comedies. I've seen most of them. The film is set in Toronto Canada but shot in the UK.

While locking up the bank vault at the end of the work day, the son of a teller accidentally gets locked in the vault. The time lock is set to unlock in 61 hours but it's likely the boy only has about 8-10 hours worth of air. A desperate attempt to cut through the door fails. One of the welders is played by Sean Connery, that's him up on the right. The man who can open the door has headed out of town on vacation. He's found but he's got to 4 hour drive to get back, lucky for the kid a helicopter goes to get him. Eventually the kid is saved and the bank needs a new door. It was a good story idea but I can't see that it's really a noir film. If anything it's a low-level thriller with a heavy side of melodrama. I thought it was worth seeing. I was glad I bought the DVD set from Kino Video and can watch it again sometime.

Cosh Boy 1953

Cosh Boy 1953 Based on the play Master Crook by Bruce Walker, screenplay by Lewis Gilbert and Vernon Harris, directed by Lewis Gilbert.

The story of a punk ass kid who knocks up Joan Collins then shoots a guy during a robbery. He's just a ball of fury that can't seem to do anything but the wrong thing. He needs a beat down and his new Canadian stepdad is just the guy to give it too him.

The punk does one stupid thing after another and everyone comes to hate him. A mob of women come to his house after poor Joan throws herself into the river when he rejects her pleas to make an honest woman of her. Soon after the police show up to arrest the punk for the shooting, his new Canadian stepdad is there with belt in hand. The police are uncommonly prescient and leave the father to go about his business while they stop over at the other young lad involved in the robbery. Outside the crowd of women listen to the screams and cries of the young punk while the coppers make their way though the crowd. One of my favorite scenes in a movie in a long while.

I liked it quite a bit, especially with that nice payoff. Worth a look for me.

Friday Night Movies 838

The Racetrack Murder 1964 German movie called Das Siebente Opfer, based on the novel by Brian Edgar Wallace, screenplay and direction by Franz Josef Gottlieb. One of several films made from Edgar Wallace's son's novels by a rival German film company, they were not usually as good as the superior Edgar Wallace films from Rialto. The movie is on a DVD with a second film. 

The story is set in the world of horse racing and involves a rich family and the people who work for them. First someone tries to dope the horse, then someone is killed. Scotland Yard are called in and soon after there's another murder. It plods along and the detectives do their best to catch the killer. It's a bit slow moving and sometimes I lost interest. Not as much fun as many of the Edgar Wallace films are. It's about average to me. Glad to have seen it but wish it was more entertaining.

The House In The Woods 1957 Based on a short story called Prelude To Murder by Walter C Brown, screenplay and direction by Maxwell Munden. I had the Network DVD but watched the version on the DVD with The Racetrack Murders. I'll compare the two when I have a chance to dig out that DVD.

Michael Gough is a moody writer who wants to go somewhere nice and quiet. Patricia Roc plays his wife. They find a nice cottage in the country. Ronald Howard plays the owner, he wants to go off traveling and will rent them the place for a pittance. He talks them into staying that very night, so they can see if they like the place.

Ronald's a gracious host and they have a nice time until Michael starts to believe there's something sinister behind all that bonhomie. It takes a while to figure it out and Patricia doesn't believe Michael until it's too late. Now they're in a pickle and it's touch and go for a while.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, it's only an hour and there's a good bit going on. You can watch a copy here.

Cruise Of The Gods 2002  Written by Tim Firth, Michael Marshall Smith and Peter Baynham, directed by Declan Lowney.A made for TV movie for the BBC.

Rob Brydon has been producing his own short interview program from home over the lock down periods in the UK. When he interviewed Steve Coogan they talked about Cruise Of The Gods and it seemed like I would like it. Steve and Rob appeared together in The Trip and all the sequels to that.

Twenty years before the movie starts Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan were in a cheaply produced SF TV show called The Children Of Castor. Steve went on to bigger and better things and Rob is a porter at a hotel. The show has a following and Rob gets hired to appear on a cruise ship for the fans of his show.

The ship is also host to a Jack Jones appreciation get together and a third do for someone else. These are really small gatherings. Jack plays himself in the film and he's great. He's another of the people who pass some sage advice to Rob. Jack sings a number of songs through the movie and he's still in fine voice.

David Walliams plays the head of the fan group and James Corden is his hapless lackey. The lady in the picture above is Helen Coker, she plays a fan of the series and she's another of the people that give Rob a bit of a life lesson. Rob's character is a needy failure who's only fans are the sort of people he hates. He acts like he's still as active actor but his roles are few and far between. Steve's character is a nice guy who's had some breaks, he's currently staring in Sherlock Holmes in Miami, it's a street smart version of Holmes with a black Watson. We're lucky to see some of the movie being made because Steve hires Rob to play the part of Scumbag #3 out of pity.

Because Steve nearly ran over Rob with his yacht he finds out that there's a fan cruise for the show. He's only too happy to put in an appearance and he's happy once he gets there. He's just generally an all around nice person. The lessons continue for poor Rob and eventually there's a happy ending. I laughed a fair bit and there's some good life lessons to learn. I'd certainly recommend it. Sadly, there's only the British DVD out, you need a region free player or VLC Player to play it. I got a copy from Amazon and was glad I picked it up.

Love Island 1952

Love Island 1952 Story by John E Gordon, screenplay by Daniel Kusell, directed by Bud Pollard. Eva Gabor plays a young native woman on the Island of Tuba Tara who falls for a US Navy Lieutenant who had to bail out when his plane went down. He has trouble from a local beau who plays dirty and rough. Nothing much special about it, I was just curious to see Eva in an early role. At this point in her career she had been acting since 1941 and was 32 years of age. You can see it on YouTube, in the link above.

99 River Street 1953

99 River Street 1953 Screenplay by Robert Smith, direction by Phil Karlson. I'd started watching this on YouTube and quickly I knew I had seen this film before. I thought I'd seen it more recently, say the last 3-4 years, but it was in January 2011 that I last set eyes on it.  Surprisingly, for me, I remember many scenes quite vividly.

 

It's a nice crime drama with a solid cast, a great screenplay and nice production values. John Payne is a New York City cab driver, that's him with Frank Faylen on the left, Frank is the manager of the cab company. Frank's career started in 1936 and ended in 1978, sadly most people would know him for being the father of Dobie Gillis in The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis. John used to be a champion boxer but an eye injury retired him from the ring. His wife, Peggy Castle set on gold digger eleven, isn't happy working to help keep a roof over their heads. She thinks she should be living the good life, she would but for her stumble bum husband. That's Peggy with John in the picture on the right. She sure looks like someone wanted to escape her life.

 

Peggy takes up with the criminal scumbag in the picture on the left. That's Brad Dexter, he's been in a lot of entertaining films and TV shows. He plays a creepy villain here. That's Evelyn Keyes with Paul in the other picture. They've just discovered Paul's been framed and the police are on the way. Now he's on the run, looking for a crook, and Evelyn is helping him out. It's touch and go, there's other players in the mix. Not a nice crowd at all.

I liked it the second time around, as much as the first. I'd certainly want to watch it again sometime. You can see a nice copy on YouTube in the link above and for those that like it enough, there's a Kino Lorber DVD available.

The Astonished Heart 1950

The Astonished Heart 1950 Noel Coward wrote the play and screenplay, directed by Anthony Darnborough and Terence Fisher. Noel plays a psychiatrist who has an affair. It's all drama and sadness. It pokes along for me, other's might like it better than me. I was curious because of Terence Fisher but ultimately the film was just a sad story.

British Cinema Collection Volume 3

The 3rd volume of VCI's British Cinema Collections only has four movies and there's a drama theme. 

The Rough And The Smooth 1959 Based on the novel by Robin Maugham, screenplay by Audrey Erskine-Lindop and Dudley Leslie, directed by Robert Siodmak. It was released in the US under the title Portrait Of A Sinner.

Tony Britton has a fiancee but he gets involved with Nadja Tiller anyway. She's a sexy German with lacking morals. She lives with William Bendix but there's nothing romantic going on there. She just wants William's cash to give to Tony Wright, her regular lover.

Why people get involved with tramps like her I can't imagine. What's happened to their brains? At first there's the sexy times then it's drama until the cows come home. What a horrible woman. Best to avoid them. The movie was about average, might have been improved with a murder.

The Scamp 1957 Directed by Wolf Rilla, he adapted the play Uncertain Joy by Charlotte Hastings. Called Strange Affection in the US.

Richard Attenborough is a teacher at a boys school, he befriends Tod, the son of a drunken lout. Terence Morgan plays Tod's dad and Colin Peterson plays Tod. Terence abandons Tod and leaves the area for a while. Tod continuously misbehaves at Richard's place, he and his wife, played by Dorothy Alison, try to help him the best they can.

Terence shows up with a new wife and takes Tod home. Things go poorly there and Terence dies from a blow to the head with an ashtray wielded by Tod. He was just trying to stop his dad from hitting his new mom. Too much drama from Tod for me. The film's about average but the poster is really awful. You can see it on YouTube, link in the title.

Kill Me Tomorrow 1957 Original story by Robert Falconer, screenplay by Robert Falconer and Paddy Manning O'Brine, direction by Terence Fisher.

Pat O'Brien plays an old reporter who's lost his wife and his job. In need of cash he goes to his old editor looking for work only to find the man dead in his office. A crook offers him cash to take the murder rap. Now he's got to figure out how to trap the killer.

There's a fairly good story and some good actor's to help it along, Lois Maxwell, George Coulouris, Ronald Adam, Richard Pascoe, Peter Swanwick and Robert Brown. Tommy Steele plays a song. More enjoyable than the first two films.

Grand National Night 1953 Campbell Christie and Dorothy Christie wrote the play adapted for the movie, the film has no screenplay credit, it was directed by Bob McNaught. Re-titled Wicked Wife in the US.

Nigel Patrick is married to Moira Lister, he raises and trains race horses, she raises trouble. After a big fight she runs off and is found dead in a car. A train ticket in Nigel's pocket puts him in the town where Moira's body was found. He has no alibi and it looks bad for Nigel.

A fairly good story with another good cast, Betty Ann Davies, Michael Horden, Noel Purcell and Colin Gordon. I enjoyed it too. I'd watch the two films on this disc again but would leave the first two.

The Unholy Wife 1957

The Unholy Wife 1957 Story by William Durkee, screenplay by Jonathan Latimer, direction by John Farrow. Jonathan wrote a good number of screenplays between 1937 and 1972 including Topper Returns, The Glass Key, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, The Big Clock and Whistling In Dixie. He also wrote 32 episodes of Perry Mason. John was Mia's father, his other credits include 29 scripts, he directed 49 films. The film he directed before this one was Around The World In 80 Days. I've not seen many of his movies.

 

The Unholy Wife was about the last movie that RKO made. It was filmed in 1956 and a few months into 1957 the company had ceased film making. Diana Dors signed to make I Married A Woman with George Gobel and while they were shooting that in early 1956 they signed her up for two more films. The Unholy Wife was filmed in the fall of 1956 and the third film was dropped when RKO closed up. Diana sued RKO for defamation of character, she sued for $1.25 mil and settled out of court for $200,000. She was 26 when she made the picture. She worked both in the UK and the US and she was married to Richard Dawson of Hogan's Heroes fame in the 60s.

Diana plays Rod Steiger's wife, he's a vintner in Napa Valley, Beulah Bondi is Rod's mom, they all live in a nice big house. Mom is a nervous wreck and when we first meet her she's upset. She thinks that someone was prowling around the house and called the cops. Diana has little sympathy for her and she's mad the mom called the cops. They come and they don't find anyone near by, Diana tells them that Beulah is often hearing things and upset over little.

Diana isn't happy with her situation in most ways. She's got Tom Tryon as a bit on the side but she doesn't want to give up her nice life style. She schemes to kill her husband and marry Tom later. The plan goes all to hell when she kills his best friend. She tells Rod that she killed someone before and the police will find out and deport her and her son. Rod takes the blame, saying it was an accident, and goes to court with everyone thinking he has a good chance of getting off. Their concoction doesn't go down very well and Rod is sent to prison.

Things unravel further when Beulah dies of poison, Dian gets blamed, even though she didn't do it. She confesses to the shooting of Rod's pal and heads for the gas chamber. Rod is free to enjoy his grape fields with Diana's son. The son was the real reason he married her, he couldn't have children because of a war wound, he didn't like Diana that much but wanted a son. It's a helluva price to pay for a son but at least he's out of prison.

What a household, huh. Easily the sort of thing you'd want to watch on TV and not experience first hand. It's still a fairly decent film, I gave it a 6 on the IMDb, with a good cast that also includes Tol Avery, Marie Windsor, Joe De Santis and Arthur Franz.

I found a copy on YouTube but it disappeared right away. Oddly, a copy showed up on Rarelust that you can download. There's no DVD available, other than as a bootleg. Here's a couple more posters and the paperback cover.

Best Of British Classics Double Feature Vol 2

Naked Fury 1959 Insanely called The Pleasure Lovers in the US. There's a title that tries to trick you into the theater on the hope of seeing a much sexier film than you're going to get. It's sad really when the story itself is compelling enough. One particularly dense guy complained on the IMDb that "...nobody is naked or particularly furious..." as if there was only one explanation for naked. There are some furious characters in the film, people die because of their anger, so I'm not sure what he saw. The original story was by Guido Coen, the screenplay by Brock Williams, the director is Charles Saunders. The only actor that I recognized in the lot was Kenneth Cope.

It's a robbery gone wrong film, a gang of crooks rob a payroll, one of them shoots the night guard, as they leave they kidnap the guard's daughter to have a hostage. The crooks all have a bit of a backstory and that drives them to do some stupid stuff. I enjoyed their crumble to doom. Good story, well told, nice soundtrack, pleasure to watch.

Cover Girl Killer 1960 I saw this back in 2015 and still feel the same way about it, I enjoyed it all over again.

A fairly decent 2 film collection, like the first volume the video quality isn't up to modern standards but the films are watchable and the sound is mostly fine.