PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Bring Me The Vampire 1963

Bring Me The Vampire 1963 Story by Mario Garcia Camberos, screenplay by Alfredo Ruanova, directed by Alfredo B Crevenna and Alberto Mariscal.

Seven people are beneficiaries of a man's will, they must stay in a house for a certain period of time or loose millions of pesos. They are scared by the crazy brother of the dead man, he's mad because he thinks the money should have gone to him, he's also supposed to be a murderer and possibly a vampire. There's a spooky housekeeper and a creepy lawyer.

During the first night some of the inheritors are killed off. There's plenty of running about and yelling, some ghostly apparitions and way too many goofy characters. Of the 7 inheritors, three seem to be channeling Bud Abbott. Sadly their jokes are kind of flat. There's so many people in the house that they're all bumping into each other in some scenes.

Even though it's from 1963 the movie seems like something made in the 1930s or 1940s. I watched a copy on YouTube, link above, and enjoyed the chaos. I didn't enjoy the dubbing much. There's nothing new here but it was interesting to see a Mexican horror comedy. I don't see that many of them. Not for everyone, some might get a kick out of it.

Ladies Who Do 1963

Ladies Who Do 1963 Written by Michael Pertwee and John Bignall, directed by C M Pennington-Richards. Micheal is Jon's older brother.

I watched a copy off of YouTube but I see there is a DVD available on Amazon for for $6.51. I'd pay that for a nicer copy than the one on YouTube. I did find a better copy on the Internet Archive that is complete. The YouTube video has the end cut off the film, missing a whole gag. I wondered as the video ended with out credits but I also realize some of the people who post on YouTube are total bellends.

Those are the ladies who do, that's British slang for cleaning ladies who work in commercial offices or homes. I know a fair bit of British slang but I often run into people who aren't up on the lingo. Bellend is slang for dickhead. The lady in the middle is Peggy Mount, she does for Harry H Corbett.

That's Harry H Corbett on the right, the other fellow is Jon Pertwee, his partner in real estate development. Harry's big plan is to over extend himself financially and hope that all his long shots fall into place in order to meet his obligations. Peggy overhears the pair taking about a city take over bid that's failed. After they leave she takes an unused cigar out of the trash and passes it along to Robert Morley. Peggy is his part time cook and maid.

Robert's delighted with the cigar and he's even more delighted with the bit of paper it was wrapped in. It's a telegram that talks about the deal that Harry and Jon were talking about. Long story short, Robert bets his house on a stock deal and doubles his money.

Peggy is angered by Harry's comments about the locals, she joins with Robert and 3 other gals to form a company that will invest in stocks. They'll get their tips from the trash cans of the offices they work at. They do really well and crush Harry in the process.

All pretty much good fun with a little bit of mayhem tossed in to spice things up. One of Harry's better films, glad I got to see it. I'd watch it again someday. 

Omicron 1963

Omicron 1963 Written and directed by Ugo Gregoretti.

A science fiction comedy about a superior alien life form taking over a human body, it's part of an alien invasion plan. Our bodies are so inferior he has a hard time adjusting and there are slapstick moments. Even when he adjusts to his new environment he's not that motivated to do well, he really just wants to go home. There are typical fish out of water gags and some of them are funny.

There's a whole bit of the movie tied up in worker relations and production efficiency. I'm not hip to Italian worker strife in the 60s but I do remember something from the past about how Italian workers were striking a lot.

A lot rides on the alien's report. Will the Earth be invaded. Hope so. You can see it on the Internet Archive with too many subtitles or download a nice copy from the guys at Rarelust. You might like it but at least you can say you've seen an Italian SF comedy.

Inn For Trouble 1960

Inn For Trouble 1960 Written by Fred Robinson, directed by C M Pennington-Richards. A spin off film from the 1958 TV series The Larkins.

Peggy Mount and David Kossoff play Mr and Mrs Larkin. Mr has retired from the beer company and as part of his retirement package he's given a company pub to manage. Once he gets there he finds t's a poor pub with hardly any customers. The couple try various schemes to get the people into the pub and slowly they come to realize that the locals just don't like the pub's brand beer. Unfortunately the pub is owned by the brewery and it can only sell it's own brand.

I thought it was an entertaining comedy and I had a few laughs. I enjoyed the cast. I spotted Leslie Phillips, Glyn Owen, Yvonne Monlaur, Willoughby Goddard, Charles Hawtrey, Esma Cannon, Graham Moffatt and Graham Stark. You can see the film on YouTube. Link above.

Friday Night Movies 868

In Search Of The Castaways 1962 Based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, screenplay by Lowell S Hawley, directed by Robert Stevenson. Lowell and Robert both worked for Disney in the fifties and sixties. Lowell was the story editor and wrote scripts for the Disney Zorro series. That's always been one of my favorite Disney shows of the era. Robert wrote and directed films in the UK before going to Hollywood in 1939, you might have seen F.P.1. or the 1937 King Solomon's Mines.

In 1957 Robert directed his first Disney film Johnny Tremaine, he would direct 18 more films for them, including Darby O'Gill And The Little People, The Absent Minded Professor, Mary Poppins and Bedknobs And Broomsticks. Plenty of pleasurable memories watching those films when they were new, some we saw in the theaters but many were watched on one of the Disney TV programs or another. Sadly I only saw them in B&W, we didn't have color TV until I was into my twenties. The first time I saw Star Trek in color was on 16 film at an SF convention. 

In Search Of The Castaways has the children of a ship's captain appeal to the head of the shipping company to find their father. Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere are the kids, Jack Gwillim is their father, Maurice Chevalier is the man who finds the father's note in a bottle, Wilfred Hyde White is the head of the company. It takes a while to convince Wilfred to make the trip but he goes and they have a grand adventure in South America, Australia and New Zealand.

There's plenty of action and derring do, the expedition battles nature and man. There's a giant flood, a tidal wave, a lightning storm and a volcano. George Sanders plays the smooth talking baddie who tricks Wilfred in hiring him, only to steal his ship and turn the rescue party into castaways. Some of the effects looks poor by today's standards but the models and matte paintings are still very nice. They get the job done and it's not something I would complain about. The only thing I would complain about are the songs. I started fast forwarding through them. There's a happy ending and it all looks nice and bright. I was happy to see it and will have to watch it again sometime.

The Great Spy Chase 1963 Written by Michel Audiard and Albert Simonin, directed by Georges Lautner. These are the same fellows that wrote and directed Monsieur Gangster which I just watched a short time ago. The French title of The Great Spy Chase is Les Barbouzes, french slang for spies, it was retitled for the US market. Lino Ventura appears in both films and both films are in release in the US from Olive Films. I watched the Blu-ray of The Great Spy Chase and it looks very nice. No extras though.

Bernard Sachs is a massive arms dealer, he's also a massive guy. All the spy agencies keep an eye on him. He's known to have acquired a number of patents for nuclear weapons. When he dies the spy agencies all want to get their hands on those patents, which are now in the hands of his wife.

All the spy agencies send people around to the wife's Bavarian castle to buy or steal the patents. Lino plays the spy from France, he's been assigned to take the body to the wife. Several other spies are on their trail. Things hot up at the castle as the different groups descend on the place. There's plenty of action, a massive body count, plenty of collateral damage, all slathered in barrels of slapstick. Made me laugh out loud a couple of times. Glad I picked it up.

Let's Kill Uncle 1966

Let's Kill Uncle 1966 Based on the novel of the same name by Rohan O'Grady, screenplay by Mark Rodgers, directed by William Castle. I watched the Blu-ray that came out last year. I didn't notice it had come out from Kino Lorber but ordered one as soon as I saw it. I suppose I could keep up with the new releases but that's a lot of work.

Rohan O'Grady turns out to be a 41 year old Canadian called June Margaret O'Grady Skinner. It's her 3rd novel, she wrote 4 more, only Let's Kill Uncle is available as a eBook. I think I'll get it, it sounds much darker than the film, that might be fun. The commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger and Mike McPadden talks about the book and the changes to the story.

Pat Cardi plays a 12 year old orphan called Barnaby, he's being escorted to a his new home on an island. His rich father has died and Barnaby is going to live with his Uncle Kevin. Mary Badham plays Chrissie, she's on the boat with Barnaby, they don't get along, fighting and causing damage. Mary's early role as Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird had earned her an Oscar nomination, the first for a person of her age.

Robert Pickering plays Sgt Travis and Linda Lawson plays Justine, she's Chrissie's aunt and the romantic interest for the Sgt.

Nigel Green plays Uncle Kevin as a big game hunter adventurer sort. Barnaby is all excited to go live with Uncle Kevin, he's fascinated by Uncle Kevin, especially his WWII memoir Killing The Enemy. Uncle Kevin describes many gruesome ways to dispatch a Nazi. Little does Barnaby know that his cash poor Uncle Kevin is going to be using his deadly skills to deprive Barnaby of his inheritance.

The movie becomes a battle between the boy and the man, Chrissie aides  Barnaby and the adults are oblivious to what's going on. The kids adapt to the situation, if the adults aren't going to help them then they'll have to help themselves. Chrissie puts the idea of killing Uncle Kevin into Barnaby's head and the boy takes to the idea like a duck to water. I enjoy Castle's sense of humor. He's done well making a black comedy for the kids. I would have loved this as a child.

I saw a so-so download about 10 years ago and really enjoyed it. I'm a huge William Castle fan, I have most of his movies. Some are harder to get than others, this is the first time that Let's Kill Uncle has been released to home video. It's been restored and the 2K transfer looks fine. Nice and colorful too. I enjoyed it all over again.

The commentary is one of the few extras, there's a couple of trailers and an interview with Pat Cardi. He speaks well of his time on the film and William Castle. Both Kat Ellinger and Mike McPadden are huge William Castle fans and I enjoyed their enthusiasm for Castle and his work.

I find Castle fascinating as a film maker, he's more than his gimmick films. I like the gimmick films and have watched many of his films 3 or 4 times. I'm glad to have picked this up and will certainly want to watch it again. I should have a William Castle binge sometime.

Twice Around The Daffodils 1962

Twice Around The Daffodils 1962 Based on the play Ring For Caty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale, screenplay by Norman Hudis, directed by Gerald Thomas. The 1959 film Carry On Nurse, the 2nd of the Carry On film series, was based on the same play, Norman wrote the screenplay and Gerald was the director. Norman wrote the first 6 of the Carry On series and Gerald directed all 30 films in the series.

Joan Sims, Jill Ireland and Kenneth Williams appeared in both this film and Carry On Nurse but playing different parts. I knew some of the rest of the cast, Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Ronald Lewis, Andrew Ray, Lance Percival and Sheila Hancock.

The setting is a TB sanitarium and all those guys have TB. They've all got some screen time to build up their characters and we see the way they deal with the disease. They are in the sanitarium for over 6 months and it has an effect on their home lives. A Welsh coal minor doesn't believe he sick at first, another fellow has his girlfriend leave him, a man's sister writes him so many letters that they've nothing to talk about on her visits, a west country farmer learns to play chess and a young man falls in love with a young nurse. There's a second romance, the guy who lost his girlfriend winds up with Juliet Mills.

It's not Carry On funny but it still has a nice sense of humor with a bit of drama here and there. I thought it entertaining to the end and was glad to have seen it. I'll watch it again sometime.

The Spider's Web 1960

The Spider's Web 1960 Based on the 1954 play by Agatha Christie, screenplay by Eldon Howard and Albert G Miller, directed by Godfrey Grayson, produced by the Danzigers. The play was Agatha's second longest running play with 744 performances. Her longest is The Mousetrap which ran continuously from October 6 1952 to March 16 2020, it closed for the pandemic and reopened May 17 2021, it's had more them 28,000 performances. It was adapted by the BBC in 1956 and 1982, it was adapted by German TV in 1956.

Glynis Johns is married to John Justin, they live in a big manor house and he works for the government. John has a daughter from his first marriage and she's an imaginative 12 year old. John returns home one evening with important news, he's to host a foreign dignitary at the manor house that evening and it's a big secret. He goes off to pick up his guest and Glynis finds a dead guy behind the couch.

Glynis tries to hide the body but the dead guy is heavy. She comes up with a plan and enlists her pals to carry it out. The police show up, tipped off by an anonymous source, and interrupt the plan.

It's a fairly fun bit of business, kind of droll, with a good cast. You might know some of them, Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Ronald Howard, David Nixon, Ferdy Mayne, Basil Dignam, Peter Butterworth, Anton Rodgers and Robert Raglan. I enjoyed it and would like to see the other two adaptations. You can see it on YouTube.

Diamonds For Breakfast 1968

Diamonds For Breakfast 1968 Written by Ronald Harwood, Pierre Rouve, NF Simpson, and an uncredited Ernesto Gastaldi, directed by Christopher Morahan. The film lost nearly $1.5 mill on release and it never was released in the US. Christopher has a good number of directing credits on the IMDb, most of them are on TV. I've seen very little of his TV work, mostly dramas for the BBC and ITV, but I have seen his 1969 film All Neat In Black Stockings and enjoyed that more.

Marcello Mastroianni is Grand Duke Nikolay Vladimirovich Godunov, he's a heir to the Russian court, and a display of the Czar's diamonds in a London museum. He thinks the diamonds should be his and he puts together a team of pretty ladies to do some stealin'. There are plenty of shenanigans as the team plans the robbery.

Rita Tushingham, Elaine Taylor, Margaret Blye, Francesca Tu and The Karlins play the ladies. Other cast members include Warren Mitchell, Nora Nicholson, Bryan Pringle, Leonard Rossiter, Bill Frazer, David Horne and Charles Lloyd-Pack.

Despite all the activity the film never quite rises above other heist films I like. I wonder what all those writers were doing instead of creating a good story. There are a few jokes and some silliness, which I enjoyed, but I thought it rather lackluster and distinctly average. I might still watch it again but it would be more fun to watch a good heist comedy like TopKapi.

It's All Happening 1963

It's All Happening 1963 Written by Leigh Vance, directed by Don Sharp. After this film Don would direct a good number of movies for Hammer Film Productions and others. You might have seen The Kiss Of The Vampire, Curse Of The Fly, Rasputin The Mad Monk, The Face of Fu Manchu, Jules Verne's Rocket To The Moon or Psychomania. I know I have.

It's All Happening is part of Network's DVD series The British Film. My absolute fav DVD series. There are over 500 releases in the series and a small number of them have more than one film. It's pretty close to 600 titles and they add the new titles all the time.

Tommy Steele was an actor and a singer who had already made 5 films by the time he starred in It's All Happening. He'd had several hit records and he appeared on lots of TV. He's still working at 84 years old. He's also still married to Ann Donoghue, they married in 1960. He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 2020.

In IAH Tommy plays a good hearted but shy guy who works for a music company. His boss treats him poorly but he's well received at the orphanage he grew up in, he brings presents and treats for the kids. It's here we see get to see that Tommy is a good singer, he does a number with the orphans, it turns up again in the final scene.

There's plenty of strife in Tommy's life. Angela Douglas plays his girlfriend, she's on his case to stand up more for himself, she also works at the same company. His boss doesn't like him, he keeps telling Tommy to work harder, he'll eventually make up some baloney and have Tommy fired. Tommy spends a lot of his work time searching for new talent and this comes in real handy when the orphanage develops some cash flow problems.

Tommy decides to put on a concert and get some of the talent he's works with to come and do a number. Their written invites don't get mailed and the night of the concert no one is turning up to sing or dance. While Angela tries to find some of the acts, Tommy faces his fears, steps on stage and gets a happy ending.

Tommy is a charming fellow, I liked him and I liked his movie. I liked seeing Bernard Bresslaw, Jean Harvey, Michael Medwin, Walter Hudd and all the rest of the cast I didn't know. I wasn't as big a fan of some of the singers, some were a bit soppy. I didn't know most of the entertainers but I'm not as fond of pre-Beatles pop as I am of post-Beatles pop. All in all, entertained, I'd want to watch it again sometime.