shepardjessica

This late 1960's exploitation film is REALLY the bottom of the barrel. The main plot was a good idea for this type of flick, but the results are unbearably boring and painful to watch. The entire film is post-dubbed which is not that unusual, but the sound and picture quality are abysmal and the "performances" are not up to snuff, even with this genre of film.

The lead girl is particularly horrifying. The tormented despairing souls in this do not deserve empathy or the mind-crushing symbolism hinted at by the narration of the main guy. Set in Las Vegas, you get a few nice shots of "old" Vegas, but there's nothing to recommend this tripe. Spam-tasting monotony that wears on the nerves. Forget this one!

This B/W film about a naive young woman moving to the big city is not half-bad for this type of stuff. The main actress is boringly realistic in her quest for a more exciting life. The first flop-house she goes to has has incredible wallpaper in the lobby. The character of Mona is very good and when she's wearing her wrinkled evening gown she looks like she's about to attend an Ed Wood premiere. THe entire film is post-dubbed and almost everyone wears wrinkled clothes.

Some decent location shots and music and it's quite the morality tale with a nice closing shot. A 4 out of 10. Minor nudity with lots of bad hairstyles and big underwear. Not bad!

Kirk Douglas is well-cast in this mid-50's color drama about V. Van Gogh directed by Vincente Minelli. He looks remarkably like Vincent and has the temperament to match. Anthony Quinn is right on the money as Paul Gaugin and the film has a nice flow to it with excellent soundtrack and cinematography.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Kirk Douglas. Unfortunately, Kirk would never be nominated again for Oscar (Honorary Oscar in the 90's), although he was great in LONELY ARE THE BRAVE and others after this one including PATHS OF GLORY and SPARTACUS. Most Bio-Pics are pretty shmaltzy, but this plays out with heart and passion.

Gorgeous Brigitte Bardot is perfect as the mixed-up, spoiled young woman carrying on with an older attorney (Jean Gabin)who sets up her own fate. Mr. Gabin has always been a marvelous actor with a commanding presence at all times. Nice music and cinematography, but it's Ms. Bardot who makes it worthwhile. Beside her looks and sex appeal, her personality always shines through and she seems very comfortable on screen, even at a young age.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = B. Bardot. You never quite knew where this film was going to end up, but it reaches a touching ending of closure for all concerned.

This cool (1958, not 1957) bouncy fable with Mamie V. Doren & other good actors with good rock n' roll songs and a PLOT blows away other "exploitation" films made under Warner Bros. (B-movie) department. Mamie doesn't even hog screen time with her cool sister, played by Lori Nelson (the younger sister by one year), ...great dancing by actors, great locale and set, cinematography, issues, sexy girls, corruption, cotton-pickin', cops, black and white, an amusing cook named Pinky who spouts philosophy, clean towels and bad pay....Lurene Tuttle (from PSYCHO and MA BARKER'S KILLER BROOD) as a corrupt, in-love 50 yr.old with a clean-cut son who is a good guy, AND Mamie piping out 3 songs at appropriate times (while people rock n' roll) with keeping her threads on and being sexier than ever AND INNOCENT OF ALL CHARGES.

An 8 out of 10, for sure. I'm very surprised of the rating of this film by the voters. Oh, well...See it again..it's a cool cat! I'm stunned and perplexed by the seemingly lackadaisical response by the IMDb public..seriously. Has geriatric boobism taken over the spines of folks watching a fun, (with relevant issues) in a undoubtedly exploitation flick of the late 50's, but the recurrence of good times is always prevalent in this very decent plot. The timing of the first song in first 20 minutes comes right out of nowhere, but the second song in the cotton field is like...OKAY. And these are the fun parts of this dramady that kicks it completely (as a B-movie). But, people should stand up for their tastes (or lack of). Once again, an 8 out of 10. Best performance = Mamie Van Doren. A cleverly written poem of Southwest Justice and all of the girls are beautiful in this movie (which helps when there's a real plot).

The final twists and turns of the final 1/2 hour shows why Elvis' post-Army color movies were all BAD. Anyway, I'm sure I'm babbling now, but give this one a shot; you won't be disappointed even if you're not into Mamie Van Doren or this style of analytic form about late 50's pseudo-exploit-low budget W. Bros B-movies. Try to find this movie...it's really nice.

Although Misty Ayers (burlesque stripper) is certainly attractive as the blonde lead, this flick is just an excuse to let her strip down to her underwear a few times (no nudity in 1954 when this film was made; not 1965).

The guy who hires her to work in a whorehouse resembles Bud Abbott of Abbott & Costello. Most of the other woman are unattractive, and the drunken woman is semi-amusing in a creepy way.

A 2 out of 10. Ms. Ayers has a curvacious physique, but you can't judge any acting talent because the ENTIRE film is post-dubbed. Some of these "exploitation films", usually made later than this one, are interesting in some way, but this is really a bore fest. Sid Melton (MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY) directed. There are some Samurai-like facial expressions and interesting apartments, but there's really NOTHING here.

This mid-60's potboiler has some interesting scenes and SOME of the dialogue is great. The best thing about this flick is the presence of the incredible Ms. Lobato (whose husband directed it). She's a gorgeous creature who's great when she's angry or in a bikini. The ending was quite a surprise. A 5 out of 10.

Best performance = Ms. Lobato. The dopey good-guy husband is well-cast and the cinematography by Ray Steckler is great. All of the attorney scenes are a bore-fest. Interesting musical score. But Nelida Lobato makes it all worthwhile. I wish she'd made more films. Apparently she was a singer as well.

Saw this on DVD (along with SCUM OF THE EARTH) and was actually expecting it to be even sleazier after reading about it. The main character is a complete sociopath but this was fairly well-made. Good music some of the time and the acting was decent, especially Byron Mabe (who directed some films). The lead girl looked perfect and was completely believable (not from acting; just being the type). A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Byron Mabe.

This would have been completely unwatchable in color, but B/W lends itself to this kind of material. The barbarous freedom of the two young men is pretty frightening (especially in '65). I've seen a number of 60's "exploitation" flicks and this one scores some points (acting, mood, cinematography) and slightly better than most. THE AGONY OF LOVE is one of the better ones with Pat Barrington.

Burt Reynolds should have stuck to movies like this! A typical redneck, crooked-cop hillbilly flick, it flows nicely with perfect casting, including the neglected Jennifer Billingsley, Matt Clark, and Bo Hopkins. A 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jennifer Billingsley. There was a sequel (GATOR) a few years later.

Although Burt was good in DELIVERANCE, this was more his fare (distinctly different that SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT) and he excelled at this type of character. Ms. Billingsley was also great in LADY IN A CAGE in the mid-1960's. Ned Beatty and R.G. Armstrong offer decent support in this Bogan County tale.

Nice locations and decent "daytime" cinematography in La Jolla, but a terrible low-grade exploitation flick..YUCK! Lots of booze bottles and tacky paintings in this movie. The father and son look to be the same age. The cross-dressing psycho is completely idiotic..he has such a pretty wife. What's his problem? Best line of dialogue - "People go crazy...every day people go crazy". What is John Ireland doing in this one? I know he made some bad flicks, but this is too much. Some nudity. A 2 out of 10. Best performance = Beverly Bain. Ms. Bain plays the attractive and very normal wife of the crazy. Elena Verdugo from MARCUS WELBY, M.D. has a small role as does Liz Renay from John Waters flicks.

The Good Deed Mission guys are right out of the Bowery Boys. Not much to recommend here with the acting low-grade and repellent passivity of most of the characters, especially Mr. Ireland as the world-weary detective. Terrible!

This early "roughie" directed H.G. Lewis is average, but has some interesting dialogue. The main actress is SO TERRIBLE she actually seems to be this naive girl! Otherwise, well-cast and shot. A 4 out of 10. A great final shot! It's a bit long but the second half tension improves the conglomerate of bad taste. A definite morality tale. Herman Hesse would be tickled!

This must have been fascinating to see on it's release in 1963. The photographer with the strange-colored hair seems pretty realistic and I can't imagine where they found the lead girl. It's almost as if she was coached to be the complete amateur with bad timing and unbelievable pauses between lines of dialogue, but somehow she makes it work. Worth seeing.

Another 60's COP SINATRA flick about nothing, but with the usual amount of a bevy of beautiful women (and Actresses). Jill St. John once again, she knew the Rat Pack, blesses a "decent" crime film with her presence with an actual character (who Sinatra doesn't date). Typical stuff, from the director and supp. cast (the men - cronies of Frankie from Vegas who know they can't act (even in'67)), but it's on the beach and Frankie will solve his case. Thank you America!

A 5 out of 10 (mainly because of Ms. St. John's character) that plods and wipes it's brow and guys still wearing hats (post Sgt. Pepper's) ACTING HIP...I guess. A sense of humor would come in handy EVEN THEN, Mr. Sinatra.

Anyway, it's not terrible..the crime stuff is feasible (plot-wise), but it's mainly (Sinatra played this character again POST-Rat Pack) Sinatra running down babes to say cool lines (from the 50's) because he probably produced this flick. If you excerpt the Frank lines when he is talking to "suspects" or babes, there's actually a detective story happening. Thank you Jill St. John. Standard basic stuff, with a few "interesting" twists (but not from Frank's Oscar-winning acting capabilities..no offence). A 5 out of 10!

Why does Ashley Judd, one of the loveliest actresses in many years continue to make junky movies? Her beauty and poise cannot carry this hollow, unbelievable form of bad movie. I know she's intelligent and loves acting so whoever is advising her should be fired.

Samuel L. Jackson, who was a wonderful actor before he became famous is completely miscast and Andy Garcia hasn't made a good film in years. The plot is like a bad cartoon and except for a couple of interesting expressions on Ms. Judd's face early in the film, there is nothing to recommend about this empty vessel. A 2 out of 10. This must have made a lot of money since most hits are JUNK!

Alan Arkin, especially in the 60's and 70's, was one of our best actors and in this average but interesting movie he plays a Puerto Rican father with two young sons and he's totally on the mark! Rita Moreno is wonderful as always. The two young boys gave believable performances.

A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Alan Arkin. Arthur Hiller was a pretty average director (except for THE HOSPITAL). The film never really takes off like it should but it's pleasant entertainment and Arkin works wonders as a caring father with few prospects of a better life. Another wonderful character in Arkin's gallery! Another semi-interesting New York tale of survival.

I never saw this film until the 90's and had heard wonderful things about it and I was glad I found it. Strange, witty, and crazy, it rolls along at a pace that can't be described. Tuesday Weld is beautiful and funny as always and her "sweater-buying" scene is out of this world (especially her nutty father). Roddy McDowall is cool, intelligent and wacked out. Ruth Gordon is a special presence. Harvey Korman adds another classic comic character to his gallery and Lola Albright is touching as Tuesday's cocktail waitress mom.

A definite 7 out of 10. Best performance = T. Weld. I can see why this material would turn some people off, but give it a chance and you'll comic treasures and nifty satire.

Most Elvis flicks were pretty lame but this one is at the bottom of the stack. The few good things are the women - cute Dodie Marshall (who made two Elvis films), Diane McBain (Claudelle English), Deborah Walley, and Shelley Fabares who always lights up the screen. Carl Betz who played Fabares' Dad on The Donna Reed Show on TV is also in it.

A 2 out of 10. Best performance = Dodie Marshall (what ever happened to her?) Bad songs, bad race car jokes and meandering "NON-PLOT" puts this in a category of it's own. The world was going through major changes in '66, but you'd never know it from this throwback to banality. But Shelley and Dodie are spark-plugs!

This flick is fairly frightening! The plot is beyond explanation, but it does include the beautiful and undervalued Jocelyn Lane (Hell's Belles) and Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50-foot Woman). Not only are all of the songs forgettable, the script was left in the trailer.

A 2 out of 10. Best performance = Jocelyn Lane. Don't go near this one unless you've sat through Schindler's List and need a goofy fix of sterilized nonsense (plenty of pretty girls though). Jack Mullaney is his usual mental defective sidekick and Julie Adams was a decent actress (Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Last Movie), but this one is right there with SPINOUT, CLAMBAKE, and LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE. Sorry Elvis!

This is basically a mess with a lovely as always Ms. Sommer and good jazz score. Decent location work, but the script is all over the place. I don't know if this made money in the early 60's, probably did. The presence of a 20 y/o Elke Sommer (very well cast) helps it along, but there's no where to go with this story.

A 3 out of 10. Best performance = Elke Sommer. Slight nudity and cool clubs don't make up for the stuttering lack of balance or control. Some beautiful girls, lots of smoking and slick maneuvers by the men doesn't translate into cohesive story. But Elke fans should check this one out (very early in her career) pre-America.

This groundbreaking Vadim film made Ms. Bardot the hottest sex symbol on the planet back in 1956. Vadim was never much of a director, but he had great taste in women (Bardot, Deneuve, J. Fonda). Brigitte Bardot is a knockout as a spoiled and selfish 20 y/o who doesn't seem to know what she wants, but all the men want HER! No one walks down a street like Ms. Bardot. Beautiful location and good performances all around.

It's too bad the dubbed version has a terrible voice used for Brigitte, but her physical presence carries it anyway. She knows how to move and hold your attention. Just an incredibly vibrant creature of the 50's. She has undervalued as an actress and no one was sexier or more sure of herself (at least ON screen). Best performance = Bardot. A 7 out of 10.

Fairly interesting exploitation flick in black and white written by David F. Friedman. The lead actress Stacey Walker is well-cast and strangely attractive. She resembles a deranged Renee Zellweger with a bad hair-do. This chick only made two of these films and then moved back to Texas. The music is terrible. One of her boyfriends is played by Sam Melville (from the TV show THE ROOKIES) using a different name.

Best line in the film from Tony - "Are you putting me on, doll? None of my chicks put me on". Good B/W cinematography from Laslo Kovacs (EASY RIDER & TARGETS & many others). Good locales (cool swimming pool, also used in THE DEFILERS). Strange ending but fitting. A 4 out of 10. Best performance Stacey Walker.

A totally under-appreciated and unseen film (except for some Gregory Peck fans) with Estelle Parsons and Ralph Meeker and the glorious totally bashed actress (in movies since age 12) and this is AFTER Pretty Poison, a witty and insightful script directed by (apparently a one-shot guy, Noel Black) that nobody got to see!

1970 was a great year for films and this didn't make my top TEN, but it's very interesting...with a moral that actually plays out in a semi-realistic and human AMERICAN way, but unfortunately, it was considered drive-in fare by whatever studio released it. Try to find this one. It's like Deliverance combined with Love with the Proper Stranger and it's quite unique, mainly because of Tuesday Weld's performance. An 8 out of 10 in a very good year. Best performance = T. Weld.

This could be one of the Worst 10 of ALL time! No offense to the folks involved, although they are all to be blamed. I think Mr. Newton tried to make a bad Elvis film (where he pretended to be serious) and it's a complete mess of good intentions, fake emotions, bad acting and hilarious (not even TV) comments on society 35 years ago.

Wayne Newton who has a stage presence (even if you can't stand him) has absolutely NO screen presence and the plot is too unbelievable even for an after school kid special. The cryptic narcissism of Newton's character is false bravado from his opening scene. His bombastic child-like passion for what passes (or tries to) for human empathy is pretty disgusting. A 1 out of 10 and I am not even trying to be cruel.

Even though, supposedly, Alber DeSalvo wasn't the Boston Stranger, this R. Fleischer late 60's film makes a pretty good case (and at the time everybody bought). That doesn't really matter. It's a well-paced "docu-melodrama" about a notorious serial killer in Boston in the early sixties. Anyway, Henry Fonda (who I love as an actor) is surprisingly bland as a top official as is George Kennedy as a Main detective. All of the social misfits and suspects they question and harrass, all of the actors are good (especially Bill Hickey - famous acting teacher who (in the movie) likes women's shoes) and Sally Kellerman is effective in a small role a few years before M.A.S.H.

But Tony Curtis is disturbingly ice-like and unhappy (for a change) and with very few lines of dialogue conveys a complicated man. Very good editing as well, although I HATE the split-screen imagery which is used constantly in a very superfluous way. Buy the time this "plot-line" gets moving, you're in for demented futility on the part of the investigators....which makes it seem more real (even in the 60's). There are dubious intentions all around, but that doesn't mean LOGIC will reign true (as far as capturing the lead actor in a captive way), but it does open up the possibility of insolent arrogance once these "detectives" but somebody after "messing with" everybody in Boston, because paranoia was more acceptable than professionalism. It doesn't really matter. As a movie, it rolls, it stalls, it scares you, and it ultimately has repellant passivity, which was unfortunate for Tony Curtis as an actor because he might have been nominated in '68 (in a tough field), but the putrid flavor of detectives seeking out suspects turns this into an exploitive film with a false and unkempt morality base, but that's plot stuff anyway...but that is the script (the weakest part of the film), but it's well worth delving into.

This flick was always on a "double-bill" because nobody in it (including one of the leads, Frankie Avalon - who starred in Beach Movies before this) was REALLY A-list quality talent, except for the beautiful Ms. Shirley Eaton (Painted-gold girl in GOLDFINGER). The plot is wack-city on a bad dexedrine trip with ancient greed or something. The sacriligious testament to Z-movie cultures exemplifies NOTHING! This flick isn't even EVIL or robotic, it's just a zenith of confusion ("plot"-wise), let alone there's some beautiful babes spouting Amazon-like platitudes about illusions of purity.

Needless to say, this sounds like a turkey (and technically it is), but it's an exploitation film without any known characteristic (sex, violence, bikers, horror..etc.) and manages to make you believe that these characters are actually believing what they're saying. George Nader was never great shakes as an actor, but had a lengthy career without having "known" talent or good hair. Shirley Eaton, one of the brightest, most beautiful and enchanting Brits of the 50's and 60's never gets to show something. But you have to check this one out. I give it a high (7) for this kind of thing rating, ..only because everyone involved SEEMS convinced it's a REAL PLOT! Anyway, give it a shot (if you can find it). Quite enjoyable in a sleepy, demented way.

I'm almost surprised that Paul Anka, who was a hit teen singer when he made this, didn't worry about being type-cast forever as a peeping tom, even though his parents are pretty worthless. Nevertheless, this little exploitation (TEEN) flick about social generation-gap stuff is right on the money, especially since most of the actors were professions.....But this has some creepy (not really sleazy) scenes but they always lead into TRYING TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM. The parents are drunks, cheating on their spouses, unattentive, and Paul Anka's character is similar to Tony Perkins in PSYCHO except he's not crazy or a murderer..he's just curious how other people live. Ruth Roman..I won't even go into how "cool" they cast the adults in this (for once) and the teenager characters do a good job.

This is not some Perv movie or anything (even for then) and I'm in my 50's and am an artist and Don't thinks it's some creepy thing...AND THERES VERY little humor to fake it. It's unfortunate how real these families in this little movie were (at the time in America) in an affluent, I guess, neighborhood, with the adults (FOR REAL) kind of being the screw-ups, teen-agers, lost, whatever), but if you can find it. I don't know if it's on DVD or Video, but it's a slice of somebody's life (well told) with a Zero budget..Check it!