*contains spoilers The first time I saw Hearts of Fire (1987) was, surprisingly, on a big screen. For a film which tanked in London and was deemed not worthy of theatrical release in the United States this is definitely surprising. But there was a guy at the Gold Coast Theatre when I lived and worked…
*contains spoilers Name: AnneAge: 52 Occupation: Pet Sitter Favourite Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) First Saw It: One television by myself one Christmas in my late 20s. Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell and Henry Travers Plot: Director Frank Capra’s sentimental tale of a man who has worked all his life…
Read more My Cult Movie: “…No life is trivial or insignificant”
*contains spoilers The music in Wrong World is minimalist, almost experimental, with harmonica, strings and drums which are almost incoherent like the mind of Moir. Certainly the music doesn’t seem to belong, much like Moir. He runs across Kennedy again and says “a rich friend” is funding him, shouting her Chinese, when she’d prefer a…
Read more The Poetic Film Triptych of Director Ian Pringle (Part Two)
*contains spoilers When I say Ian Pringle’s films are poetic I don’t mean in terms of verse but rather their – of not imagination – but their sensitive emotions and their style of expression. There are unknown rhythms to his movies, reflections on nature both human and animal, there is a contrast of man and…
Read more The Poetic Film Triptych of Director Ian Pringle (Part One)
*contains spoilers Name: GeoffAge: 71 Occupation: Retired Detective Sergeant Favourite Movie: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) First Saw: At a suburban cinema when I was in my early 20s. Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach Plot: The third in Leone’s Dollars Trilogy has three low-life types as they each…
*contains spoilers Margaux appeared on an April 1996 instalment of tabloid host Geraldo’s show talking about her bulimia and alcoholism at length and the time in the mid-70s when she slit her wrists after a long night drinking at Studio 54. She showed off the scars on her arms. She was talking suicide, something which…
Read more Actresses Margaux and Mariel and The Hemingway Curse (Part Two)
*contains spoilers The Hemingway sisters Margaux (1954-96 suicide by drug overdose) and Mariel (1961-) are actress sisters and granddaughters of writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961 suicide by gunshot). Their family is said to have been affected by mental illness, alcoholism and suicide – something termed The Hemingway Curse. I will use a couple of books in…
Read more Actresses Margaux and Mariel and The Hemingway Curse (Part One)
*contains spoilers Ashley is an interesting actress, big in the theatre, with a distinctive voice. She was nominated for a Golden Globe way back in 1965 for her role in The Carpetbaggers. It is there she met her future husband George Peppard (1928-94 lung cancer). She took time out to have a child and reportedly…
Read more Enter the Hong Kong Action Trio of Director Robert Clouse (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Director Robert Clouse (1928-97 kidney failure) is no great shakes when it comes to directing and his name isn’t up there with the greats. But he started off well in the early to mid-1960s when two of his short films were nominated for Oscars. He had one massive hit with Bruce Lee’s (1940-73…
Read more Enter the Hong Kong Action Trio of Director Robert Clouse (Part One)
*contains spoilers Mars Needs Women (1967) came next and was an original screenplay, like Swamp Creature, and not a remake of a 1950s movie. It begins with women who are enjoying themselves – on a tennis court, in a nightclub and in a shower – suddenly disappearing. Then the military are informed via teletype from…
Read more The Cult of the Azalea Pictures by Larry Buchanan (Part Two)
Cult Film Alley 