Dejael

Harry Langdon is back to being the baby-faced imp with the clownish hat in this story about trying to do his bit for the American war drive for surplus materials and ends up foiling a ring of Nazi saboteurs (among them, Vernon Dent and Bud Jamison) in grand comic style! He tries to impress his wife and her friends, who have formed a committee of emergency nurses, and make a practice dummy out of him. He then he goes off on his own to see what he can do for the war effort. Thanks to the writing and coaching skills of Clyde Bruckman, who no doubt worked with Harry to set up the big brawl at the end, this is a very amusing and enjoyable old-time comedy!

Yesterday I received my new DVD in the mail from the Warner Archive of Frank Capra's classic screwball horror comedy "ARSENIC AND OLD LACE" (WB, 1944) and watched it last night. I hadn't seen it in many years, and it was terrific to watch this comedy gem again! One of the most entertaining movies made in the 1940s. Cary Grant was incredible as a physical comedian, as Mortimer Brewster, and I was comparing his performance to say, Jerry Lewis, and it is really way over the top! I consider this film to be Cary Grant's greatest comedy performance! Priscilla Lane as his fiancée/wife was such a beautiful, sweet blonde, sweet as honey, the two naughty aunts with their bad habits of poisoning lonely old men with their arsenic-laced elderberry wine were superb; John Alexander as the wacko-nutcase Brewster brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt was also a standout: "Charge!" as he runs up the staircase, as he was as the fallen angel Doremus in Jack Benny's HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (1945), and Raymond Massey in full horror makeup (including some very realistic-looking stitched scars on his face) as a diabolically evil Karloff-knockoff horror character, Jonathan Brewster, is fantastic! Of course, those of us who have done our homework on this picture know that Karloff played this very role in the Broadway play! And Peter Lorre, as his lesser, but just as diabolical sidekick (whose fluid acting makes him seem to be a cartoon character) Dr. Einstein, is terrific! Plus Jack Carson as the knucklehead cop on the beat O'Hara, with the added understated comedy performances of Edward Everett Horton as Mr. Witherspoon, the happy-go-lucky director of Happydale Sanitarium, matchstick-slim James Gleason as the police inspector (who goes from being a police lieutenant to a captain in the dialogue), a brief appearance of crusty old Charles Lane, makes this movie a wonderful Halloween masterpiece, originally filmed in late 1941, and released about a month before Halloween 1944. Capra at his very best! Highly Recommended for the Dead Comedians Society!

I recently attended a private screening of this film, and found it to be very engaging and involving subject matter. I don't normally see these sort of movies, but upon viewing the trailer, I just had to see the film! Also, as a non-Catholic protestant, I did not find the story to be done from my point of view, but it was well done, regardless. Great cast, acting, direction, script, story, use of production values, locations, cinematography, with warm lighting and a colorful scenic backdrop for the story. And the theme music is memorable, with a good music score. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie again when it is in general release! This film should be a great success! I congratulate Paul Davids and Patricia Crespin!

This is one that only gets better every time you see it. Made circa 1986-1987 in classic black & white (the IMDb release date is merely that of its video reissue), pop sci-fi fantasy genre filmmaker Ted Newsom's got it down in every scene with some fine-tuned scriptwriting and brings back many fine performers from their B-movie heyday in the Fabulous Fifties, places his characters in a typical cheesy plot, and then lets the audience decide for themselves. This film was first shown at a Los Angeles sci-fi film convention circa 1988, and since the filmmakers couldn't secure a good distribution deal the film slipped into celluloid oblivion except with the fans who saw it and remembered it fondly like me. Thanks to video this movie has a whole new audience, bigger by far than the few thousand fans who saw it when it was first released on film circa 24 years ago.

If you don't know this movie was made for fans, and with tongue very much in cheek, then you won't catch all the gags and subtle nuances which resonate with the era of Psychotronic films. And you'll miss out on all the fun - of course it's supposed to be cheap and cheesy - that's the point - but it's also got that 'studio gloss' that showed in the better 1950s studios' efforts with a good music score by Ronald Stein, black & white cinematography, editing, art direction, costumes, etc.

Ken Tobey is up for the challenge to reprise his character from Howard Hawks' The THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (RKO, 1951) and he aces the job with clever well-placed timing and humor, and makes us cheer when he finally puts on Captain Hendry's "Monster fighting suit" (a vintage leather bomber flight jacket exactly like his wardrobe in The THING).

Other stars, including 1953's WAR OF THE WORLDS' Ann Robinson, are equally adept at milking their plum cameo roles in this campy 'spot-the-stars' night out. A fine time is to be had by all fans of 1950s B-sci-fi and horror movies. Pass the popcorn!

(Originally posted on January 3, 2005)

Caution: *** May contain spoilers *** This movie was another in a series of unrelated Air Force-tribute "Flagwaver" movies made in the 1950s such as TOWARD THE UNKNOWN(WB, 1956) and ON THE THRESHOLD OF SPACE (Fox, 1956) which were bigger, better movies, and were wisely filmed in color while this was not.

Rex Reason, already a familiar face in a jet pilot's role from his lead in THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955) as scientist Dr. Cal Meacham, was probably cast in this one because of his screen presence in the Universal sci-fi classic, and would be reunited once again with a Lockheed T-33A fighter jet in this movie as Captain Morley. Having been a big fan of actor Rex Reason since I first saw him star in THIS ISLAND EARTH in 1955 on the big Technicolor screen when I was 8 years old, it's a real shame I had to wait 50 years to see this poorly made film, after much great anticipation of perhaps discovering yet another lost classic, or lost cinematic gem. Imagine my disappointment when I finally got hold of a DVD copy made by a third-party bootleg movie business on the internet, and the print they copied onto the DVD was a very poor quality, choppy-splicy dupe of an old pan-and-scan 16mm TV print, and was NOT in wide screen format.

This film is interesting and engaging at times, and simply awful at other times, due to poor direction, a really bad music score by Irving Gertz (who usually composed high quality music scores, especially at Universal Studios), poor production values, faulty cinematography, and flawed sound mixing and reproduction. Add to this the liability of being an episodic soap opera mixed with a flag-waving tribute to the men of the U.S. Air Force, filmed in black & white instead of color, and you get equally drippy results.

On the positive side, the acting is first-rate, especially by star Rex Reason, who unfortunately does not get much of a chance to shine in this story due to his flawed character, Captain Steve Morley, who is too rigid and inflexible while training the men under his command to be the top-notch top gunner test pilots that the Air Force expects him to, under the Colonel's watchful eye, played by aging former 1940s matinée idol Dick Foran. Love interest for Steve Morley is lovely young Audrey Dalton, who plays the part well, but is limited by her script and being the only good-looking woman on screen for the entire movie. Look for Bob Conrad in his first screen performance as handsome, energetic and enthusiastic Lieutenant 'Tiger' Bob Kiley, who does his best but doesn't make the grade. And Gregg Palmer, who also appeared with Rex Reason in Universal's third installment in the CREATURE series, THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956) does a good turn as Rex's cohort, Captain Cory Dexter, and handsome young newcomer Barry Coe tries to steal Rex's girl as the hot-shot fly-boy Captain 'Cotton' Davis, driving a flashy 1957 T-bird in one scene, and then being saved from his own overconfidence by Rex's Captain Morley in a dramatic heroic moment in the air. And to round things out, delightful comic actor Sid Melton makes a bright, enjoyable appearance as the staff bartender, chief cook and bottle-washer, Sgt. Eddie Stone.

Also equally good are the flying sequences filmed at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, over Muroc and Rosamond Dry Lake beds, but it all falls flat due to the lack of color film to add much-needed three-dimensional realism. And to make matters worse, when the fly-boys are not in the air, it all gets rather tedious and dull after a few minutes of talky dialogue. Highly recommended to fans of Rex Reason like myself, but others may not find it interesting due to the irritating, silly music score which often sounds like Muzak playing in the background. Also highly recommended to Air Force history and jet plane buffs, for those who love to watch jet planes go through their paces in the stratosphere.

This film is often maligned in the critical press as being so bad that it was a terrible bomb (and was facetiously by Benny himself in his later radio and TV career, as the biggest bomb of his career. He was using it for comedy, playing it for laughs.)

However, it was not a bomb at all, and was a modest success when first released in April 1945.

The real reason this movie bombed at the box office was timing. It was released right at the end of World War 2, after Hitler had ravaged almost all of Europe, and Japan had made a colossal mess out of the South Pacific, and then WE nuked TWO of their cities to stop them!

People then were very sensitive about issues like life and death, Heaven and Hell, even in a comedy context, in America. Almost every family had lost someone near and dear to them in the War, and they didn't want to be reminded of these kinds of things even in a Hollywood movie, at least for a few years until STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (1947) in beautiful Technicolor starring David Niven and Kim Hunter proved that the postwar era had begun.

If only WB had waited until the fall of 1945 to release this, it would have fared much better at the box office and with movie critics far and wide, and given Jack Benny something to be proud of, instead of a long-running gag in his later years.

Dejael

* Warning! This review may contain spoilers! *

This episode appears to be a totally fictional story although it states that it happened in the North African rout of Rommel's troops during World War 2 in 1944, as Lieutenant Harold Wilenski is the only survivor of a P-38 airplane crash in the northern Sahara desert in Egypt, having gone off course from Libya by a large sandstorm and impacted in the desert sands hundreds of miles away from his intended destination.

When he is discovered by a passing caravan of nomadic Bedouins, they take him to a field hospital somewhere in Alexandria, Egypt where he recovers slowly from the torturous effects of wind-blown sunburn exposure and must remain covered in bandages for weeks.

When he removes his mask, his facial features have changed into those of an ancient Egyptian prince, who then regales a recovering, convalescing professor of Egyptology with tales of his nights under the moon with his beloved princess in remote antiquity. Harold Wilenski knows nothing of this, however, and seems to have a split personality.

Finally, Wilenski, under the dominant spell of the disembodied spirit of the dead Egyptian prince, begins writing ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics on notepads and then his hospital room wall.

The Egyptologist, Dr. Beauvais, then takes Wilenski back to the site where Wilenski was found, near the ruins of an ancient temple, and next to a broken column base, they find the entrance to a 4,000-year-old tomb which has gone unplundered for millenia. Of course, the tomb is that of the dead monarch who has possessed Harold Wilenski, and the dead prince's spirit, apparently appeased at having his tomb discovered, goes away, and Wilenski's own facial features return once again.

A beautifully written tale, well acted and directed, is made less believable since John Newland's production staff did not think it important enough to hire a real Egyptologist as a technical consultant, so the Egyptian hieroglyphs we see in this film are just so much phony gobbledegook instead of being real, legible ancient Egyptian script.

The makeup job on the actor with his changes of faces is very impressive and the offbeat, bizarre storyline makes this episode one of the most memorable ones in the series. Highly recommended!

* Warning! This review may contain spoilers! *

This story is very similar in content and context to that of the science fiction fantasy film The MAZE (Allied Artists, 1953) starring Richard Carlson. The basic plot seems to be derived from a possibly true story of a genetic defect in a Scottish aristocracy in the 17th Century found in Charles Fort's book "The Book of the Damned", in which the person with the genetic disorder looks more like an amphibian or fish than a human being. In The MAZE, the man resembled a giant frog; in this episode, he looks more like a man-fish genetic defect, with scales on his skin like a fish.

It is a known fact that human embryos do resemble amphibians in an early developmental stage, so one person whose DNA is scrambled so that he does not develop past this amphibious appearance but grows to adulthood looking more like an amphibious fish than a human being is a possibility.

Another aspect of this late 19th Century story that is interesting is the use of hypnosis, made popular by Dr. Carl Mesmer. It is also possible that with hypnotherapy such as that shown in this episode, a person born with a terrible genetic defect such as this could overcome his natural aversion to be part of human society instead of feeling like an outcast. However, no amount of hypnotism can correct flaws in one's own genetic DNA makeup.

An interesting, thought-provoking episode, showing how people are always looking at the outward appearances of persons, instead of knowing their inward thoughts in their hearts and minds, and appreciating them as people in their own right. Highly recommended!

* Warning! This review may contain spoilers! *

This episode starring Ross Martin is the one episode out of this series which most resembles a typical episode of Rod Serling's TWILIGHT ZONE in style and substance.

From the beginning to the fadeout, we almost expect to see Rod Serling narrating the story at opening and end.

Ross Martin gives a gripping, outstanding performance of a man possessed by fear, dread and anxiety, wondering if it is really true - did he really kill his wife?

The course of events unfolds in Rod Serling fashion with scenes in a bus station, on a street, and in a hotel room while he waits for his dead wife's brother (played by Ed Kemmer, SPACE PATROL's Commander Buzz Corey) to arrive from Australia to testify at a hearing about him.

The weird, eerie and bizarre vision in a mirror of someone trying to kill him finally proves to be his undoing, as he goes over the edge and into the abyss of evil.

From a dramatic point of view, this is one of the best episodes in the series, with an excellent script, acting, and direction, and realistic settings. Highly recommended viewing!

Another movie I'd love to see released on video/DVD that's been too long neglected is "BECAUSE THEY'RE YOUNG" (Columbia, 1960) starring Dick Clark of American Bandstand with Duane Eddy and his Rockin' Rebels, and Bobby Rydell on the soundtrack. Oh yes, that cool blonde hottie Tuesday Weld was in there too. Too bad it was in black & white, but they were doing a retake on "BLACKBOARD JUNGLE" (MGM, 1955) so it had to be, and look like a B-movie. I know I'm dating myself, but I did see this movie in the theaters when it was released in May-June 1960. It was the coolest, man. I mean like I really dug it the most, at age 13. I was into Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes' jive talk, rock'n'roll, and hip beatnik jazz so Maynard G. Krebs was my buddy on TV. And DIck Clark was a swingin' hipster on American Bandstand, WFIL-TV in Philly, broadcast on ABC-TV network nationwide. I watched it every afternoon after coming home from school, along with reruns of "Adventures of SUPERMAN", "Topper", and "Ramar of the Jungle"! Dick Clark really clicked for teens and kids in this movie, I remember everyone thought he did a great job with his first acting role. In retrospect, not having seen this movie since the early '70s when it was shown on TV one Saturday afternoon, I can't really judge it as an adult, but I fondly remember it being kind of a dark, melodramatic sort of "American Graffiti" movie experience. I would love to see it again after all these years! Please, Sony Pictures, put this one on your DVD-to-do list!!! I'd love to see an interview with Dick Clark about this movie. I wonder if he's up to that challenge now?

Bob Burns stars in this brilliant send-up of 1940s Republic movie serials, a short film which really needs to see the light of day (and the darkness of theaters and living rooms) again!

He plays Major Mars, stalwart hero-scientist-adventurer, who uses his rocket-suit jet-pack with helmet to fly through the air and save people and pets from danger, like Commando Cody, King of the Rocketmen.

Unfortunately, his sidekick Sparky is always never around when he needs him to help him. Once, he said to me, "Don, where is Sparky? He always leaves when I need him!"

This was a joy to see on its premiere release at the 1976 Star Trek Equicon Convention, and was a favorite projected in 16mm at subsequent sci-fi film cons through 1980 or so. We saw it again at the 1979 Fantasy Con in San Jose, California, with Bob Burns in attendance, and dang! He even brought the Major Mars rocket suit with him! You can tell that the folks who hand-crafted this little gem had a wonderful time making it with loving care.

A delightful blend of sci-fi, fantasy, old movie serial clichés, action, campy comedy, with liberal doses of humor sprinkled throughout. I highly recommend it as a "selected short" subject! A well done effort by all concerned. What can I say but "Boffo Comedy Spoof!"

Oh, if only this were available on home video!!!

Nostalgic, entertaining, well-done effort about Lucy and Desi, is a fine piece of film-making. Colorful behind-the-scenes look at the real lives of the Hollywood couple, played very convincingly by the principals. However, Frances Fisher is the real star of this marvelous film, with her uncanny resemblance to the real Lucille Ball, and her excellent performance which makes you believe she IS Lucy. Her makeup and hairstyles are impeccably detailed and true to life. Lucille Ball would have been proud of this dramatization of her life, just as she was the real star in many of their films. However, the casting of Benard as Desi leaves something to be desired. There wasn't enough attention given to his makeup and hairstyles, and his performance is less than inspired, and downright lethargic and insipid in some scenes, and his accent is not authentically Cuban. What makes the movie work is the well-written script and marvelous acting by Fisher. The supporting cast are all just so much window dressing - and as others have also noted, the performers cast as Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Fred & Ethel Mertz are not that believable either. Brilliant casting of one lead, Fisher does not justify poor casting of other equally important roles. I for one would have loved to see Desi Arnaz Jr. portray his own father in this film, as he did so well in The MAMBO KINGS (1992). Now that would have made this picture a real piece of art! Even as it is, the film works well, was well-produced, and the color cinematography is first-rate. One outstanding scene is their comedy act in front of Desi's orchestra, with Lucy (like Judy Garland had also done) in clown makeup, another is a remarkable black & white re-creation of a scene from a TV episode of "I Love Lucy". My rating is 7 stars out of 10, mostly for Frances Fisher's excellent performance in the role of a lifetime as that bottle-redhead ball of energy from Jamestown, New York.

As one reviewer has commented, this film is worth watching just for the luscious, talented Belinda Bauer alone, as the alien, which is a standout; or for James Spader's excellent performance as Boston-Irish Joey Callahan. Both were at the beginning of their careers in the mid-1980s and this film is a highly artistic work which has everything going for it except a dismal special visual effects budget which reduces the credibility of the film, script, characters and actors exponentially.

Jeff Bloom's script, direction, with acting, characters, costumes, makeup, performances, art direction, plus edgy electronic music score by Gil Melle are first-rate. With a bigger budget for scope and visual effects, this film could have succeeded as a theatrical feature. Unfortunately, its producers, Charles Fries Productions, cheaped out and made this a good little B-picture which is character-driven instead of effects-laden. Its style and substance make up for the almost nonexistent visual effects, which consist mainly of some early CGI animation which looks like 3-D CAD drawings, standing in for the alien spaceships which are only believable as nocturnal lights, especially at the end.

This film was available on VHS videotape in the late 1980s directly from Fries Entertainment, but was discontinued sometime in the early 1990s. As far as I know it has never been reissued on video. The soundtrack score by Gil Melle is worthy of a CD release also.

Highly recommended. A 7 out of 10.

This excellent musical movie, in beautiful Technicolor, is so wonderful it's enough to make every person of Irish descent feel proud. Full of the joy and celebration of all things Irish, a fine cast, with brilliant settings and superb theatrical trappings, lovely Irish music and the superlative Irish tenor voice of star Dennis Morgan, 'tis the luck o' the Irish to have such a marvelous movie to enjoy over and over again! Not just just for St. Patty's Day, mind you, but for all year round.

One of the jewels produced by Jack L. Warner during his heyday as studio boss in Burbank in the 1940s.

Shame on Warner Brothers for not having this fine picture available on home video and DVD!

This pretentious B-movie is a waste of time to watch and a waste of all the talents involved in the cast. Starring legendary horror star John Carradine, science fiction stars Jeff Morrow and Faith Domergue (THIS ISLAND EARTH, 1955) this low-budget Grade-Z movie is a real clunker which is amateurish in every way. The director didn't seem to know what he was doing and had not a clue what to do with his actors or the terrible script. It's a real shame such acting talent was wasted on such trite material. Only for diehard B-horror fans. Otherwise avoid this movie like the plague!

(*May contain spoilers*) This fine 20th Century Fox production directed by Henry Koster (The ROBE, 1953) is a timeless classic of hope, faith and inspiration based on the book of Ruth in the Bible. The characters are well defined, the cast is superb, and the writing of the script is both literate and meaningful, handling this subject with a deft sensitivity. Add to that the elaborate production values of the Fox studio, color, and wide-screen CinemaScope, an uplifting, rousing music score, and you have a well-mounted film of style and substance. Pretty young Elana Eden shines in her only starring role as Ruth, the Moabite girl who loves a Jew named Mahlon (handsome, stalwart Tom Tryon), marrying him moments before his untimely death, and befriends his elder kinswoman Naomi (Peggy Wood in a finely crafted performance) who embraces her as Ruth becomes part of the family. Now Ruth must choose between the beguiling but mischievous Tobit (Jeff Morrow sparkles in a fine character role), or handsome young stud Boaz (burly Stuart Whitman in an outstanding part) as they both vie for her affections. The film's story is a true celebration of life overcoming the adversities of death and sorrow, and faith overcoming the difficulties of calamities and complications due to ethnic barriers (the Jews were not normally allowed to associate with the Moabites). It also illustrates the conflicts caused by pagan idolatry. The marriage of Ruth to Boaz is a triumph of faith and love, for through this union would come the lineage of King David of Israel, and ultimately, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, a thousand years later. Highly recommended Biblical classic is literate and faithful to the original story in the Bible.

(The above Summary line is not my own but was given to this clunker by the Medved Brothers several years ago in their GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS books.) (*May contain spoilers*) This movie is a BOMB. What started out as a serious attempt to do a good sci-fi B-monster movie was reduced to trivial junk by the incredibly bad special visual effects, among the worst to ever be seen in a movie. This dubious honor goes to Ralph Hammeras, who before this ridiculous mess, had a solid career as a special visual effects artist and cameraman. However the guilt does not fall on him alone. When we think of Columbia Pictures in the 1950s, we must remember B-movie unit line producer Sam Katzman, who endeared himself to no one. Katzman is the real responsible party for making this film a useless dud. We are fortunate that his attempts to obfuscate the fine visual effects work of Ray Harryhausen and Charles H. Schneer on their three black & white classics made while working with Katzman at Columbia, were futile, and Harryhausen managed to keep Katzman from ruining his pictures too by not allowing him into his studio, although he couldn't keep him off the set. Katzman was a bargain-basement low-budget B-movie maestro whose work is for the most part forgettable. It was his decision to force Hammeras into doing the visual effects on a shoestring budget (which looks like about $1.98) down at a low-rent studio in Mexico City because Hollywood was just too expensive for Katzman's budget. The results on the screen are painfully obvious as a fairly good third-rate script was trashed to complete hysterics by the gangly, ugly giant bird-on-a-string which menaces no one but the actors who are painfully annoyed. Film star Jeff Morrow (THIS ISLAND EARTH, 1955, and KRONOS, 1957) told me this film was the biggest mistake of his career, causing him no small amount of grief at the box office and the scathingly laughable reviews. When he signed to do the picture, he had no idea that the visual effects work would be so patently ridiculous. Morrow's acting in the picture is superb as Captain Mitchell McAfee, reminding us of Ken Tobey's performance in The THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951). However, apart from the fine work of supporting character actors Morris Ankrum and Robert Shayne, that's where the praise for this film must end. (Morrow had done such an admirable job in the classic sci-fi B-thriller KRONOS also released in the summer of 1957, which holds up so well even today, though dated, because of its thoughtful, literate script, fine cast, production values and impressive but uneven special visual effects which made the film work so well.) When he went to the premiere screening of the film at the Fox Westwood Theater with his wife Anna Karen and friends, he told me he just wanted to crawl down under the seat and hide when he saw this spindly papier-mache marionette puppet as his character's nemesis. He then got up and walked out of the theater and went to the nearest pub for a stiff drink, and never saw the entire film until several years later on TV. He was still embarrassed by this movie to the end of his days. Incredibly bad, ridiculous mess is now only worth watching to laugh at. A useless waste of all the talent involved, including Hammeras, who could have been doing something much more worthwhile with his time than making this bomb for Katzman. Watch at your own risk - don't let your friends catch you watching this!

This terrific syndicated TV series, in 52 black & white 30-minute episodes, made by 20th Century Fox Television, now seemingly long-forgotten by TV viewers, had a new angle at the time of its release as a family show, and that was to tone down the violent aspects of Western stories and concentrate on how outlaws could be brought to justice just as well by the printing press as they could with a gun, using the old maxim "the pen is mightier than the sword".

Starring handsome hunk, baritone-voiced movie star Rex Reason, most famous as Dr. Cal Meacham in the science fiction classic THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955), as Adam MacLean, a crusading newspaper reporter and editor-in-chief of the "YELLOWSTONE SENTINEL" newspaper in the rustic western town of Yellowstone, Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park, with a circulation all over the Dakotas, thanks to his dispatches via Western Union and Wells Fargo Express.

Adam MacLean was an idealistic impresario in this small town who has as his chief ally and friend Sheriff and U.S. Marshal Frank Tallman, well played by actor Mort Mills, and often would pal around with series regulars Harry Harvey Sr. as Mayor George Dixon and Forrest Taylor as Doc Brannon in the course of his investigations. Guest stars included many popular TV actresses of the day as passing love interests for burly Adam MacLean.

Running for 52 episodes, produced from the fall of 1957 to late 1959, this popular series had its season premiere in September 1958 and ran for two seasons thru spring of 1960.

Rex Reason admirably showcased how moral ethics and common sense could be used instead of violence to bring crooks and outlaws to justice, but was not averse to an occasional fistfight if the situation demanded it.

As MacLean, Reason also used his newspaper office as a schoolroom to teach youngsters their lessons as well as common decency and the difference between right and wrong.

Rex Reason as a Western star was comparable to James Garner and Jack Kelly in MAVERICK, Clint Walker in CHEYENNE or Ty Hardin in BRONCO. Rex had already starred in a few Western movies so he was comfortable and well-suited to the series, and well-received by viewers.

One particular episode from the second season, titled "DEVIL'S ACRES" was filmed like an episode of Rod Serling's TWILIGHT ZONE, as a fantasy allegory, and is especially memorable. Pretty blonde actress Carol Ohmart (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, 1959) guest-starred as a young lady who came to claim her lost relative's land, only to realize it was claimed by the Devil, played in an uncredited cameo role by John Carradine, who rides off on a black horse at the end!

Highly recommended to Western movie and TV fans, or anyone who loves classic TV of the 1950s & 1960s.

"AS EYE SEE IT" Film Review of LUTHER (2003) by D.J. Long

Warning: *May contain spoilers*

I went to see the new movie LUTHER today with my church group, and I must say it was a thrilling and moving spiritual experience. I highly recommend it! It is excellent!!!

The story of Martin Luther (1483-1546) has never been told better on the cinema screen than in this factual, realistic, colorful, epic-in-scale production. Everything - casting, actors, acting, script, direction, production values, sets, props, costumes, crowd scenes, cinematography, and involving, moving music, is extremely well-handled.

Made in Germany, this European production spared no expense to give the film the realistic look it so deserves to work so well. Starring British actor Joseph Fiennes, brother of actor Ralph Fiennes, in the title role, the film is an inspiring view of the triumph of the Christian Faith over the Roman Catholic Church in 16th Century Germany. The film covers the years 1507 to 1530 of Martin Luther's life. The only thing I would say doesn't really work for me in this movie is that the star doesn't really look like any of the portraits of Martin Luther which have come down to us. Joseph Fiennes is tall and slender, but the real Luther was short and heavy-set, and became overweight in his later years. However, this fine actor, title star of "SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE" (1998) overcomes this liability and gives a thoughtful, intense and moving performance as he struggles with himself, overcoming his fears, evil spirits, as he is constantly tormented by demons, and the monumental weight of the Roman Church upon him in his efforts to bring the Word of God to the people and translate it into German from the original languages in defiance of the Roman Church's dictum that it only be in Roman Latin and only read and interpreted by the clergy, in keeping the Bible inaccessible to the common man and woman. The supporting cast is excellent and makes us believe these are real flesh and blood people of the 16th Century. Especially noteworthy is the grand old man of film, Peter Ustinov, as Luther's protector, the Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia, who intercedes on Luther's behalf and keeps him from certain death at the hands of the Roman clerics. Peter Ustinov has starred in movies and TV for more than 50 years (remember his unforgettable role as the overindulgent beast, the Roman Emperor Nero, in QVO VADIS [MGM, 1951]? ) and is still marvelous to watch with his comic sense of whimsy in each performance. The spiritual theme of this movie makes it clear to me that it was made by Protestant Christians, if not Lutherans themselves. It is definitely biased against the Roman Catholic Church but in all fairness shows the Papal Church exactly as it was then, selling people's souls for money. The film dares to tell the truth and is intensely realistic. Although I'm not a Lutheran, simply a Bible-believing Christian, I believe in the ethics and moral principles for which Martin Luther stood, standing together with them, and the story of his heroic quest, like a holy knight, for spiritual freedom, is a story that needs to be told and retold to every new generation.

Don J. Long

You have got to go see this movie!!! It is very similar in style and substance to many historical films like it, such as A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1967), NOSTRADAMUS (1994), and BRAVEHEART (1995). My Rating: ***** (5 Stars out of 5!)

NOSTRADAMUS, aka: Michel de Notre Dame (1503-1566) is an enigmatic, elusive character in history books and dusty old biographies. What this excellent biopic does is make him a real flesh-and-blood person with passions, desires, fears and dreams, and the extremely talented European actor Tcheky Karyo (The CORE, 2002) carries the film admirably from start to finish. He makes Nostradamus a living, breathing human being, a Christian Jew who is seeking to understand his place in the Universe and is an open-minded seeker of truth and a true scientist and physician, a dedicated man of science who invented the first chewable Vitamin C tablet made with rose hips as an effective cure for the Black Plague in its early stages. Of course there was no cure once the plague had spread in the body, so it must have been especially a cruel twist of fate for Michel when his dear first wife Marie and their two children died of the plague and he could not even save them! The casting, acting, production, story and script, and lush cinematography at fascinating locations (filmed in Romania and Europe in 1993) are all first-rate. All aspects of this production are extremely well-handled. Especially good are flawless performances by Julia Ormond, Assumpta Serna, Amanda Plummer, Rutger Hauer, Anthony Higgins, and F. Murray Abraham as the remarkable Dr. Julius Caesar Scalinger (1484-1558), a wealthy friend of both Nostradamus and Dr. Rabelais of Paris, the most noted physician of his day in Europe. The visual effects are a bit shaky here and there, but in all everything works well to a satisfying look into the life of one of the greatest mystery men of the early Renaissance. His prophecies are fascinating and penetrating, as a latter-day prophet. One thing I would love to know is where that beautiful mansion of Dr. Scalinger is, and more about it. If it was built during the life of Nostradamus, it certainly was one of the most modern structures in the world, in its day! An interesting site, with its ornate topiary garden.

The music score by Barrington Pheloung is captivating and should be available on CD. This film deserves a wide-screen DVD release! Classic epic drama, although episodic, with true European realism in its depiction of vignettes from Michel's love life, showing us the world as it really was in the plague-ridden Roman Catholic-dominated 16th Century Europe. Highly recommended, worth several viewings to take all of it in.

One of the best films of 1965, and a spectacular wide-screen Stereorama epic of a fictional 1910 air race held in Merrie Olde England, TMMITFM is an unqualified success in all departments. Excellent in every way! Released circa late June 1965 at the same time as its similar-themed colorful competitor, Blake Edwards' boffo comedy The GREAT RACE, this pair of old-time era comedies were highlights of the international cinema experience in the summer of 1965 with the exception of The Beatles' brilliant farce HELP! and Michael Caine's first appearance as Harry Palmer in The IPCRESS FILE. Originally presented in 70mm Todd-AO Wide Screen 2:20:1 and 6-Track Magnetic Stereo, filmed in 65mm Todd-AO, this superb film features awesome DeLuxe Color cinematography, surround sound Stereo, a fine cast of dramatic and comic performers, a marvelously rousing music-hall style vocal theme song and brilliant vintage music and symphonic orchestral soundtrack score by Ron Goodwin (The BATTLE OF Britain), and a dozen or so absolutely meticulously maintained vintage aircraft from the early days of aviation, along with period costumes, makeup and antique automobiles including a marvelous Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Also over-the-top is the cleverly-done vintage sepiatone nickelodeon-newsreel style film intro prologue featuring Red Skelton as comical characters seeking to fly and hilariously flopping. Brilliantly conceived and directed by British director Ken Annakin. Production Design and Art Direction are flawlessly crafted. Acting kudos to lovely British ingenue Sarah Miles, with the proper Edward Fox, American cowboy Stuart Whitman, stuff-shirt Robert Morley, dastardly Terry-Thomas and bombastic Gert Frobe (GOLDFINGER) heading a sparkling cast of internationals. Fox wisely released this blockbuster comedy available on Wide-Screen surround-sound Stereo DVD in 2003, and it should still be available. (The flat-ratio VHS tape just doesn't do it justice. We want to see ALL the picture!!!) Absolutely highly recommended for ALL ages! A Magnificent film!

A terrific relic of TV's early days, this was one of the first TV sitcoms of the early 1950s, along with "The Life Of Riley" and "I Remember Mama". This program was originally titled "The Trouble With Father" on its first network run, then became "The Stu Erwin Show" in syndication in the late 1950s. Who knows how long it's been since this series was last shown on TV?

The shows were predictable but always fun, kind of a blueprint for TV shows of their kind from "Ozzie and Harriet", "Father Knows Best", "Make Room For Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show", "Leave It To Beaver", "The Donna Reed Show" to "My Three Sons", among others, as an archetypal Saturday Evening Post-Norman Rockwell look at American postwar life in the suburbs.

This popular sitcom's humor surrounded Stu Erwin's bewilderment with life, his lovely wife June Collyer's simple matter-of-fact acceptance of even the most improbable turn of events, the teenaged lovers whose attraction were a matter of concern for parents Stu and June, and irrepressible Jackie as the rowdy tomboy kid who got into trouble about every other episode. (You may remember Jackie as Zelda Gilroy in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" TV sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman.)

And of course the show wouldn't be complete without comic relief from house servant Willie Best (also in "My Little Margie") who was always a delight, in spite of his typical character for the times. As was the formula in the other popular TV sitcoms, the show relied on the usual stereotypical characters, but was always great fun to watch. Worth it to search the web and buy a few episodes on video, if you love good classic TV of the 1950s. It's really a shame that more classic TV from the early days is still unavailable in good quality on video for people to enjoy today.

(By the way, Stu Erwin and June Collyer were real-life husband and wife, and had acted together for nearly 20 years before they starred in this wonderful old TV show together.) Great fun!

Terrific remake of JOHNNY DARK (Universal, 1954), like the title says, this is a lively, fun picture. A young auto enthusiast and race-car driver, Casey Owens (James Darren reprising the Tony Curtis role from the earlier picture) enters a cross-country endurance road race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada. The car(s) he enters in the race were the unique Chrysler Turbine Cars, of which 50 examples were built; a few of them were used on loan from Chrysler Corporation to make this movie, a few were sent to Auto Museums around the country after their testing was completed, and the rest were unfortunately destroyed to please the IRS. A cool, very enjoyable teenage-market movie, although with the usual teen romance, this was made by Universal to compete with Elvis Presley's MGM picture VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964) then in production, and this movie turned out to be more satisfying with an audience than the contrived romance of ELVIS and Ann-Margret, despite their obvious on-screen chemistry. And, to be even more cool, there were some surf music-hot rod songs by The Surfaris, like "Boss Barracuda", a song by hit pop singer Joanie Sommers (in her only movie role), "Casey Wake Up!", and the first film score written by pop singer Bobby Darin, who wisely did not sing in this movie. But what put this picture over the top was the elaborate, realistic, grueling road race from L.A. to Las Vegas, covered by real KMPC Radio announcers Dick Whittinghill and Captain Max Schumaker. Great stuff! Great cast! Highly recommended. From the same team that made the classic Universal sci-fi movies of the 1950s like IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. So what's not to like? So Universal, why isn't this out on video?

A bumbling, clowning alien visitor named Kreton observes the ways of humans here on Earth. Arriving in Richmond, Virginia in Civil War costume in 1960, he believes he is just in time to witness the beginnings of the Civil War, but is off by 100 years. He then decides to observe the customs of 20th Century American life, including such things as lovemaking rituals and what people do for entertainment: he watches two people romantically involved with each other (Holliman & Blackman), billing and cooing at one another, and ends up getting between them; he goes to a Beatnik nightclub, and realizes that the Beatniks are more like the aliens he knows than humans. Lots of hilarious Jerry Lewis mugging, sight-gags and comedy routines, terrific special effects work by the master John P. Fulton; great flying saucers! Terrific counterpoint with Lewis' Kreton and his professor back home, Mr. Delton, played by the distinguished English actor John Williams; a few Lewis gems: "Keep your nose out of other people's planets", even if you think "the grass is greener on the other side of the galaxy"! A really fun picture. I saw this when it first came out in the summer of 1960. Too bad it wasn't filmed in Technicolor; that's really the only flaw I find in it - it was made in b&w. It would have been so much better in Technicolor. This is probably why it wasn't more popular. Great fun for the whole family, with a terrific cast. This was Lewis' last studio picture under his old Paramount contract before he formed his own independent production company; he made "The Bellboy" in six weeks completely on his own, right after completing work on this movie, and sold it to Paramount. This would be his arrangement with the film studio on all his subsequent films of the 1960s at the studio until he went on to other studios. Delightful for Jerry Lewis fans, and a delightful music score by Leigh Harline. So why isn't this out on video?

Set in the Old Kingdom age of Ancient Egypt, in the 4th Dynasty reign of King Khufu, c. 3000 B.C. This wonderful, but critically maligned film tells the highly fictionalized story of the building of the Great Pyramid. One of Hawks' best films, in spite of his obvious lack of focus with this sprawling epic yarn, and one of Hawkins' best starring roles in his career, he makes us believe he IS King Khufu! And young, beautiful, sexy Joan Collins' first major starring role (at age 21) as a power-hungry princess, Nellifer, from the island kingdom of Cyprus who sets herself to the ambitious task of becoming Queen of Egypt by seducing the King, and killing his wife, the rightful Queen, by treachery. Collins blazed across screen history as one of the most delightfully wicked vixens ever to appear in a classic epic. This guilty pleasure was two years in the making; production began in the summer of 1953, and principal photography was done in the summer of 1954. Filmed on location in Egypt, with a literal cast of thousands, using no less than 16 CinemaScope 35mm Mitchell cameras, and 21,000 persons involved in the production; the scenes of the building of the Pyramid are impressive; everything was done on a colossal scale in this larger-than-life old-fashioned melodrama. Of course, there are several historical inaccuracies in this movie, due to the fact that Hawks, unlike Darryl F. Zanuck, did not hire the services of an Egyptologist as a technical consultant (not that movie moguls often would actually listen to them): (Such as: 1600 Camels! 104 specially-built barges, amazingly detailed and realistic props and sets, etc.) Still, the film is very well done, imaginative and resourceful, highly evocative of the real Egypt of 5000 years ago, when the Pyramid Age began. The Old Kingdom period setpieces are remarkably accurate. Collins is a voluptuous wildcat in this; Minotis shines as the Grand Vizier, Kerima is a sheer delight as the Queen, looking every bit like a real ancient Egyptian noble-royal woman. Martin shows off his young hardbody, Justice has a choice role with his distinctive basso profundo voice, and Hayter provides the amusing comedy relief. A general impression of Old Kingdom Egypt is given by the settings amply provided by the European production designer Trauner, the sweep and spectacle of CinemaScope and WarnerColor, and a magnificent, rousing music score in full symphonic Stereo is given by seasoned composer Tiomkin. It is one of his all-time best, and deserves its own Stereo soundtrack album. Although the film is full of inaccuracies, it resonates powerfully, as well as the music score, with the Soul of the Ancient Egyptian people, and the Land of the Nile; a mystical, metaphysical era is well-represented. The Laserdisc is the best wide-screen version available on video, and it is now out of print. AOL-TW, where is the DVD?