*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)
*contains spoilers Filmmaker Larry Buchanan (1923-2004 collapsed lung) is feted for his bad movies and the worst of these are his Azalea Pictures. They are a series of eight movies, which were shot on budgets of about $30,000 each, starting in the mid-1960s. Produced by American International Pictures they were the first of the colour…
Read more The Cult of the Azalea Pictures by Larry Buchanan (Part One)
*contains spoilers There is a link between cult favourite – well, for a few – The Day of the Dolphin (1973) and the film Altered States (1980). That link is American scientist John C. Lilly (1915-2001 heart failure). Lilly studied the communication between humans and dolphins for many years in the 1950s and 60s which…
*contains spoilers But Bowie is far from the grave as the human population ages as he remains the same… All Bowie wants is to be left alone and live in peace. His heterosexual relationship brings him company but it has also corrupted him with alcohol which has spoiled his simple pleasures. Is this what leads…
Read more David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Director Nicholas Roeg’s (1928-2018 natural causes) film The Man Who Fell to Earth, starring music legend David Bowie (1947-2016 liver cancer) is essentially a science fiction film about alcoholism. Bowie plays an alien who comes to Earth in search of water for his parched planet. He has left his family behind in the…
Read more David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth (Part One)
*contains spoilers Name: PhilAge: 56 Occupation: Former Storeman Favourite Movie: Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959)First Saw It: On television as a kid at home Starring: James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker and Thayer David. Plot: Based on Jules Verne’s 19th Century novel about a daring expedition to the centre of…
Read more My Cult Movie: “It’s the kind of thing I treasure in my memory…”
*contains spoilers The Fan (1981) stars Humphrey Bogart’s (1899-1957 throat cancer) widow Lauren Bacall (1924-2014 massive stroke) well past her prime but worthy of the attention of a fan – like me! Released by Paramount Studios and produced by Robert Stigwood (1934-2016) who had incredible success with Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978) along…
*contains spoilers The Sorcerers is only one of a few movies directed by Michael Reeves, who many believe committed suicide in his mid-20s at the height of his career, despite it being recorded as a case of accidental drug overdose in the coroner’s report. Reeves was a promising director, obvious from his first low budget…
Read more The Virtue Brainstorm is Virtually no Remake (Part Two)
*contains spoilers “I’ve been around the course a couple of times now,” says Linda, admitting to thirty and brooding over past boyfriends. “Poor Linda, here she goes again,” she says to herself as they leave the café, looking forward to that moment again, where they can physically and spiritually bare their souls. Before it vanishes…
Read more The Cult of Gutsy Beauty of Linda Haynes (Part Two)
