PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

A Pair Of Briefs 1962

A Pair Of Briefs 1962 Based on the 1960 play How Say You? by Harold Brooke and Kay Bannerman, screenplay by Nicholas Phipps, directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E Box and Earl St John. Nicholas Phipps was an actor and screenwriter, he is mostly known for the Doctor series of film. I've seen quite a few of the films Ralph Thomas directed, including the 1959 version of The 39 Steps with Kenneth More. It's my favorite version of the novel. Ralph Thomas is also the director of the Doctor series of films. His  brother Gerald Thomas is the director of the Carry On... series of films. Betty E Box is married to Carry On... producer Peter Rogers. British law is different, they've got two types of lawyers, solicitors and barristers, the solicitor handles the preparation of the case before trail, the barrister handles the trial work in front of the judge. 

A young woman called Frances Pilbright is a junior barrister, she's also the niece of the senior barrister in the firm. She gets put into an office with Tony Stevens, also a junior barrister. He's had a few cases but they are rather unexciting, mostly dealing with sewer complaints. Tony gets a bit put out when a choice case for "restitution of conjugal rights" is given to her. Frances and Tony have already had the annoying incident in the road before they officially meet at work. Neither comes across so well.

Frances's client is a lady who says she married a guy during WW2. She got bombed shortly after the ceremony and lost her memory. She gets it back years later and decides to find her husband. The marriage registry was bombed, she has no  marriage certificate or any other proof. Frances decides to take her case. Tony finagles the husband's side of the case from his solicitor. The case doesn't go so well for the wife, no proof, no claim. After an outburst at the end of the case our newbie barristers are teetering on being disbarred. It all works out in the end with a dopey  ending.

Much of the movie is rather familiar, sadly there's nothing much special in story to stand out. Micheal Craig and Mary Peach don't have any chemistry for a couple falling in love. The rest of the cast is fairly good. There's an early appearance by Judy Carne. The wife turns out to be smarter than most of the law talking people. The judge seems to have her number when her shenanigans are revealed. It's not one of Ralph's better comedies. I had a couple of laughs but wish there were more and better jokes. I wouldn't rush to see it again. The posters make it out to be more sexy than the actual film can deliver. You can see it on YouTube.

The Brass Bottle 1964

The Brass Bottle 1964 Based on the 1900 novel The Brass Bottle by Thomas Ansley Guthrie, screenplay by Oscar Brodney, directed by Harry Keller. Sidney Sheldon was inspired by the movie to create a female genie as a foil for Larry Hagman on I Dream Of Jeannie.

Tony Randall plays an architect who's engaged to Barbara Eden. Her parents rush back from vacation to try to put a stop to the marriage plans. Tony picks up a brass bottle for the father but winds up keeping it when he sees the same as a lamp in his house. The parents talk the couple into waiting. At home Tony decides to open the brass bottle.

Burl Ives plays the genie, soon as he pops out fo the bottle the chaos begins. Tony gets slammed with one bad thing after another, all from the genie trying to make his life better. It gets so bad Tony wind sup in jail. The situations are pretty broad and there's a good bit of slapstick. Eventually things work out for the better.

I think I had seen this when I was a kid but nothing much was familiar to me. The comedy is rather like I Dream Of Jeannie but with something for Barbara Eden to do that was more interesting. It looks nice and I had a few laughs. I had picked up the Kino Lorber Blu-ray and watched that. The only extras are a handful of trails and a commentary with film historian Lee Gambin. Not the best commentary, he's a character but it does include a good long interview with Barbara Eden. Lee's questions for were where a mixed bag. Poor Barbara was well into her 80s and her memory is failing. Still, better than mine at times.

 

 

Las Vegas Hillbillys 1966

Las Vegas Hillbillys 1966 Written by Larry E Jackson and directed by Arthur C Pierce. Another Woolner Brothers production.

Ferlin Husky plays Woody. When we meet him he's hauling wood for some moonshiners. The moonshiners have a still in the woods and day we meet Woody is the day it blows up because of a stuck valve. It's also the day Ferlin finds out he's inherited a casino in Las Vegas. He takes his battered old truck there to see what the place looks like. Not much. It's run down and not located on the strip with the more popular casinos. It a bit out of town and lumbered with $38,000 in debt.

Ferlin wants to clean the place up and offer country music. He gets some help from singer Boots Malone, played by Mamie Van Doren, and his Ma, played by Billie Bird. Ma used to hire acts for a place back home and she calls in some favors from some performers. There's a spot of trouble with the car dealer who keeps asking for the money owed on a car Woody's uncle just bought. The car dealer's muscle is Richard Kiel. Jayne Mansfield plays a local club owner who helps Woody out. They all band together to clean the place up and put on an evening of entertainment.

It's mostly good natured, there's a few laughs and some slapstick but it's below average. The musical numbers are about the same. I found a copy on Rarelust. I'll keep it but doubt I'll get around to watching it again anytime soon.

The Cool Mikado 1963

The Cool Mikado 1963 Adapted from the Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Mikado by Maurice Browning, screenplay by Michael Winner, directed by Michael Winner. A British musical with Stubby Kaye and Frankie Howerd. I'm always interested in seeing Frankie Howerd material I haven't seen.

A group of people are flying back to the US. Stubby Kaye recounts some of his touristy action, a soldier called Mike tells Stubby how he meet his future wife Yum-Yum. Their stories are filled with comedy and music. Frankie plays Ko-Ko Flintridge, he's a local gangster who's fiance is the woman that Mike is going to marry. There's a whole lot of time spent on that subplot, other minor characters sing, dance and joke about.

Sadly, many of the jokes aren't the best and the production suffers from the low budget. Frankie is his usual entertaining self, Stubby is as good as he normally is and Burt Kwouk is fine as a couple of different characters. A good bit of the music from the opera is gone, the remaining musical numbers are changed to make them more modern, not necessarily making them better. I enjoyed Frankie but I can't say I thought the movie was any great shakes. It gets a 3.6 on the IMDb with only 83 votes. I gave it a 4 because of Frankie. I might watch it again someday but who knows when.

Friday Night Movies 1019

Black Tight Killers 1966 Written by Ryūzō Nakanishi and Michio Tsuzuki, directed by Yasuharu Hasebe. A Japanese spy film spoof. We watched the Radiance Films Blu-ray.

Honda is a war photographer, he's just finished an assignment in Vietnam, on the plane back to Japan he meets a flight attendant called Yuriko. They meet up for a drink after the flight, leaving the club separately a creepy guy attacks Yuriko. She's helped out by three black tight wearing ladies. Honda shows up a bit late only to be beaten by the ladies. They run off.

Soon after someone kidnaps Yuriko, Honda chases after her. He finds out there are a couple of groups competing for a treasure that Yuriko's father left behind when he died. Honda forms a bit of an alliance with the black tight gang, sadly the gals get picked off one by one. Eventually Honda and Yuriko prevail and the movie ends with them heading back to their jobs.

There's plenty of fights and gun play, lots of running about and nice scenery. It's a fun bit of business and I enjoyed it. I'd watch it again. For those too cheap broke to buy all the Blu-rays out there, you can download it at Rarelust.

Bunny The Killer Thing 2015 Written by Joonas Makkonen and Miika J Norvanto, directed by Joonas Makkonen. A Finnish slasher comedy based on the director's previous short film. It's part of a two movie DVD set with Sky Sharks.

A couple arrive at their vacation house only to be attacked by a man with a shotgun, he kills the woman and kidnap the man. The man wakes up in a dirty lab, two men give him a shot of some silvery serum. The man reacts to the shot immediately, he shakes and moans then breaks free with his new found strength. After beating the men the man  runs away. The animation in the opening credits shows the man changing into a man size bunny with an enormous wang.

After the credits we are introduced to some folks going camping. Lucky for them they picked the part of the forest where the bunny man is raping and killing. He's uncontrollably horny, he'll rape anything and everything that looks like a vagina. He continuously whirls his wang as he attacks.

It's plenty gory and very violent, not something for the average viewer, but there are plenty of laughs to be had from some of the gags and situations. Not surprisingly it got poor reviews in Finland but it's since got a bit of following on disc. I enjoyed it well enough, I might even watch it again.

The Best House In London 1969

The Best House In London 1969 Written by Denis Norden and directed by Philip Saville. A British comedy about a knocking shop in Victorian London.

Sir Francis Leybourne, played by George Saunders, is an aristocrat who's been charged by the government to head the pilot brothel in London. The idea is to get the prostitutes off of the street into a house based on the French brothel model. Sir Francis has a bird on the side, a gal called Babette, played by Dany Robin, who's having an affair with Sir Francis's estranged son Walter, played by David Hemmings.

Josephine Pacefoot, played by Joanna Pettet, is the niece of Sir Francis, she heads the League of Social Purity. She wants to help streetwalkers gain skills to help them get out of the trade. Sir Francis dies unexpectedly and Josephine gets his money to help her cause. Babette tries to get the estate to create the bordello.

It's pretty much average, there's nothing really special about it, there's some jokes and George Sanders is entertaining. Most of the cast is fine but the script looses a bit of steam as it plays out. I speed it up a bit for the last act. I still enjoyed it and might watch it again some time.

Hillbillys In A Haunted House 1967

Hillbillys In A Haunted House 1967 Written by Duke Yelton and directed by Jean Yarbrough. A musical horror comedy film that's a sequel to The Las Vegas Hillbillys.

Ferlin Husky plays band leader Woody Wetherby, he's heading to Nashville with his band. Their car breaks down, Woody and company take shelter in an abandoned house. Turns out the place is haunted. Turns out the house is secretly occupied by three spies. They're played by Lon Chaney Jr, Basil Rathbone and John Carradine. They're there to steal a rocket fuel formula.

There's some gags and some of them were funny. There's a handful of songs but nothing to write home about. Despite being rather poor, I sort of enjoyed it, I might even watch it again sometime. I'm downloading the first movie from Rarelust but it will take a while. You can watch this movie on YouTube.

Lord Love A Duck 1966

Lord Love A Duck 1966 Based on Lord Love A Duck by Al Hine, screenplay by Larry H Johnson and George Axelrod, directed by George Axelrod. George wrote the play The Seven Year Itch, screenplays for Bus Stop, Breakfast At Tiffany's, The Manchurian Candidate, How To Murder Your Wife and a few more I've not seen. This was one of two movies he directed, the other was The Secret Life Of An American Wife.

I wasn't old enough to go see Lord Love A Duck when it came out but I did see it in the 80s. I didn't care that much for it. I didn't like the main characters, they weren't the kind of people I would have wanted to be around. Recently I bought the Kino Lorber DVD, it was a whim, it was on sale. Let's pretend it was to get me over the minimum order total to get free shipping.

Roddy McDowall plays a high school senior called Allan, he decides he needs to make Barbara happy by helping her with her wishes and ambitions. He helps her get a husband over the man's mother's objections. He helps her get a screen test against her hubby's objection. Allan's helping leads to murder, Allan is telling his story to us from behind prison bars, most of the movie is a flashback of the last year. Barbara managed to stay out of jail and became a film star in in her debut movie Bikini Widow. Tuesday Weld plays Barbara and Ruth Gordon plays her mother Stella. Lola Albright and Harvey Korman also have roles.

The movie wasn't a big hit and I'm not surprised much by that failure. There's hardly any likeable characters. I know the film is supposed to be making fun of these sorts but who wants to sit around with them when the jokes are that weak. I'm going to be hard pressed to watch it again, serves me right. The really sad thing is there are no extras except a trailer, the weakest of all the extras, along with the picture gallery.

Barbarella 1969

Barbarella 1969 Based on the comic book Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest, screenplay by Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates and Jean-Claude Forest, directed by Roger Vadim. I went to see Barbarella in the theater when it was new. I liked it then and still do.

Jane Fonda plays Barbarella, an agent for the Earth government, who's sent to Tau Ceti to capture Duran Duran and retrieve his new weapon, the positronic ray, that could wipe out humanity. Her ship has trouble and crashes on a planet in the Tau Ceti system. She has a series of adventures trying to find Duran Duran. She's almost killed by murderous dolls but gets rescued by a hairy man who captures runaway children. He introduces her to real physical sex, long gone out of favor on Earth, and send her off to the main city of Sogo.

In Sogo Barbarella meets the blind angel Pygar, Professor Ping, the Black Queen, Dildano and the Concierge. She finds Duran Duran and escapes the clutches of the evil Black Queen with the help of Dildano and Pygar. She shags a few of them along the way.

It's all pretty silly and entertaining, even after numerous viewings over the years. The sets, costumes and characters are fun and there's always something to see as the story plays out. I just picked up the Arrow 2 disc Blu-ray and that was packed with hours of extras, including a commentary by Tim Lucas. Worth picking up for the fans of the movie.

Science Fiction Sunday 803

2 + 5 Missione Hydra 1966 Written by Pietro Francisci and Fernando Paolo Girolami, directed by Pietro Francisci. A dubbed version was released in the US in 1977 under the title Star Pilot. It has a new script by Ian Danby and additional footage from other movies. I saw the US version some years ago. I picked up the Blu-ray during the current Kino Lorber sale. It has the original film and the US version. I watched both and listened to the commentary on the original version.

The movie opens as a spaceship from the planet Hydra lands on Sardinia and buries itself in the ground. Next we spend some time with a young lady on a movie set. She drives around Rome with her friend and goes to pick up her scientist father. They get involved with an accident and takes an unconscious man to a clinic at the airport. The actress, her friend and her father all take a ride in a helicopter to a remote location. The unconscious man wakes and runs off to join the suspicious guys in a big car.

At the remote camp the scientist and his team do some work, it leads them to a cave where they find and enter the ship. The aliens observe the humans and figure they might be the ones needed to make repairs to their ship. They take the scientist, his daughter and a couple of technicians hostage and make them do the work.

Once the ship is repaired the aliens decide to take the humans with them to Hydra. During the flight the humans rebel. The ship is damaged and a photonic storm sends them to a strange planet the aliens are unfamiliar with, they land and look the place over. There's some time for romance before the ape creatures attack. There's a bit of a battle and the ship leaves. They return to Earth to find the place a mess, cities have been destroyed. There's a montage of destruction and some dramatic music. They leave the Earth behind and travel to another planet where they meet some nice aliens. 

It's much more entertaining to see the Italian version of the film. It's still not a great film but the story holds together a bit better. It comes across as more satirical and camp, similar to films like Barbarella and Wild Wild Planet. The 4K restoration is nice looking with clear images and sound track. There's a spirited audio commentary with David Del Valle and Matteo Molinari. David's a film historian and Matteo works in the film industry. Matteo was born and raised in Italy until he moved to the US as a teenager. They've got a good bit of info to share. Glad I bought the Blu-ray. I'll probably watch it again someday.