*contains spoilers There is a recent documentary entitled Fantastic Fungi (2019) which is narrated by Brie Larson (1989-) and while it’s probably a fantastic adventure through the world of different fungi on the planet – there are a few narrative feature films that fascinate me possibly more since I have first seen them. Surprisingly, there…
*contains spoilers When we talk about the movies of directors Michael (1937-77 killed by helicopter blades) and Roberta Findlay (1948-), many will think of pornography, if they know the filmmakers at all. But it is their horror movies that this article will be concerned with, and even though Michael Findlay only made a couple before…
Read more The Cult of Michael and Roberta Findlay and Shriek of the Mutilated (Part One)
*contains spoilers French director Jean-Marie Pallardy (1940-) made softcore erotic pictures for a while including Emmanuelle 3 (1980) often under the pseudonym Boris Pradley. Then he made some films aimed at the B-movie mainstream market including the slightly kinky White Fire (1984), an adventure which is considered his most ambitious film. Pallardy has more or…
Read more Robert Ginty is Slightly Kinky in White Fire (1984)
*contains spoilers After this rare foray into comedy, Forbes wrote and directed the excellent The Whisperers (1967). Again, he has helped his lead actress, this time Edith Evans (1888-1976), deliver a performance which was nominated for an Oscar. She lost to Katherine Hepburn in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) in the usual sympathy vote.…
Read more Actor/Director Bryan Forbes Takes Over the Asylum (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Actor/Writer/Director/Producer Bryan Forbes (1926-2013 long illness) worked himself up the ladder in the British film industry from a bit part actor to become the studio head of EMI studios in the early 1970s. He is a name not many people recognise today, but his brief stint as head of a filmmaking asylum or…
Read more Actor/Director Bryan Forbes Takes Over the Asylum (Part One)
*contains spoilers It was Darren McGavin’s (1922-2006 heart disease) tv portrayal of Hammer in Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1958-59) that followed this film and McGavin is a decided improvement over Bray even though it’s a half hour tv format. The violence is there if not the sex of the Spillane novels. But McGavin’s Hammer again…
Read more The Cult of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Director William Girdler (1947-78 helicopter crash) made only nine features in his career which spanned the 1970s. Most are considered rubbish by the critics. But when you look at what Girdler did with so little money, you can’t be anything but impressed. Born in Jefferson County, Kentucky in 1947 from one of the…
Read more The Rip-Off Cult of Director William Girdler (Part One)
*contains spoilers While he was filming Longstreet, Jimmy set up the James Franciscus Celebrity Tennis Classic to raise money for the now politically incorrect titled charitable organisation Foundation for Retarded Children of the Desert. Held in the Palm Desert area, the classic appears to have run a few years and should have helped Jimmy get…
Read more The Cult of the James Franciscus Facial Tan Club (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Most people probably prefer the Anaconda (1997) movie and its sequels and there’s no denying the original is quite a good one, but I have three snake tales that I can watch over again and still get a thrill. The first is the film Rattlers (1976), which starts off with a couple of…
Read more The Cult of Actor Sam Chew Jr. in Rattlers (1976) Part One
