Monthly Archives: May 2019

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Gojira, Ebira, Mosura: Nankai daiketto)
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
1966/Japan
Toho Studios
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Yoshimura: So that’s it, it’s a heavy water factory.

Nita: Huh? What can they do with that?

Yoshimura: Atom bombs are made with it.

Nita: Huh? I’m getting out of here![/box]

The first Godzilla movie I’ve seen goofy enough absolutely to qualify as a guilty pleasure.

Some hapless young men are on a mission to rescue one’s brother from an island and need a boat.  They sneak on to a luxury yacht to look around and are confronted by a thief using the stolen boat for his get-away.  They end up locating the brother in a slave labor camp/heavy water factory/island operated by a terrorist organization.  In the meantime the island is threatened by Ebira, a giant lobster.  Before the film is over the heroes will call on Godzilla and Mothra, the giant moth, to defend them.  This provides the opportunity for a revisit to Infant Island and its bizarre Mothra rituals.

This is at bottom a pretty bad kid-friendly adventure movie.  The monster action occupies too little time.  But when it comes it just the icing on the cake.  Most ludicrous monsters since the “Flying Claw” and worst miniature work possibly ever.  The DVD print, on the other hand, is pristine with beautiful color.

Chamber of Horrors
Directed by Hy Averback
Written by Stephen Kandel and Ray Russell
1966/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Insp. Matthew Strudwick: You cannot predict the workings of an insane mind![/box]

Do not be lured in by the irresistible temptation of the “Fear Flasher” and “Horror Horn”!

The “Baltimore Strangler” (who doesn’t strangle anyone in the film) lost his hand while escaping his own hanging.  He has his stump fitted with various prosthetic weapons and goes on a rampage on those he thinks have wronged him.

The production values are good but the gimmick is a total rip-off.  Each time the horn sounds and the flasher flashes red, the viewer is supposed to close her eyes.  Good advice because there are no scares to be had …  The whole thing, which ends with a cliff-hanger, plays out like the pilot for a TV show.

Picture Mommy Dead
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Written by Robert Sherman
1966/US
Bert I. Gordon Productions
First viewing/YouTube

[box] “You gave birth to your own death.” ― Euripides, Electra[/box]

I watched this for the Old Hollywood cast.  Unfortunately, the material let the actors down

Susan (Susan Gordon) has just returned to the family manse from a stay in an asylum where she was sent after her mother Jessica (Zsa Zsa Gabor) died in a house fire.  Susan has terrible nightmares about the incident.  Her father Edward (Don Ameche) quickly remarried Susan’s governess Francene (Martha Hyer), a cold-hearted gold digger. Lawyer Clayborn (Wendell Corey) explains the very complicated terms of Jessica’s will, which put Susan’s life in considerable danger.  And then a bunch of other stuff happens.

This plods along with dialogue reminiscent of a pretty bad TV movie].  I never have liked Martha Hyer very much but what a treat to see Don Ameche after all these “years”.

Born Free
Directed by James Hill and Tom McGowan
Written by Lester Cole from a book by Joy Adamson
1966/UK/US
Open Road Films/Atlas/Highroad
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Joy Adamson: yes, yes, she was born free and she has the right to live free. Why don’t we live in a more comfortable setting George? Other people do. We chose to live out here cause it represents freedom for us. Because we can breathe.[/box]

An African photo safari is on my bucket list.  Until then this pleasant entertainment will have to do.

The film is based on the true story of game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy. The two rescue three lion cubs left orphaned after the killing of their father, a man eater, and mother who was trying to protect her babies.  Two of the cubs are sent directly to zoos but Joy begs for and keeps the runt of the litter, Elsa.  Elsa becomes more or less a pet.  After she reaches sexual maturity, the Adamson’s boss more or less demands that she be sent to a zoo.  But Joy wins a reprieve to try to reintroduce Elsa to the wild.  The couple become the first to successfully do so.

I am a sucker for animals and animal movies.  The lions do some pretty amazing stuff.  It has the feel of a 1966 “family movie” – that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Composer John Barry won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Song and Best Music, Original Music Score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qzEVSORU3o

Zatoichi’s Vengeance (Zatoichi no uta ga kikorero)
Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka
Written by Hajime Takaiwa
1966/Japan
Daiei Studios
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable. John Milton [/box]

Always a treat to have the next fix of my favorite blind swordsman!

The plot of these things is always same-ish, which matters to me not at all.  In this one, the wandering Ichi sets out to deliver a bag of money to a dying man’s son.  In the process, he rescues damsels in distress and anguishes over his inability to stop killing.

There are two reasons to watch these things: the awesome Shintaro Katsu’s performance as Zatoichi and the chance for some equally awesome sword fighting.  This one ends with Zatoichi fighting off at least 20 opponents while they are trying to confuse his keen sense of hearing with “thunder drums”.  The whole thing is done in silhouette – very cool.

Kill Baby … Kill! (Operazione paura)
Directed by Mario Bava
Written by Romano Migliorini, Roberto Natale, and Mario Bava
1966/Italy
F.U.L. Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
They Shoot Zombies Don’t They?

[box] [on why his films were more popular with Americans and the French than Italians] Because they are more stupid than us! – Mario Bava[/box]

Bava always does a lot with a little.  Not bad, not a favorite either.

The setting is early Twentieth Century Transylvania.  A mother takes out her vengeance on the villagers she blames for the death of her seven-year-old daughter.  If the daughter’s ghost appears to a person, “suicide” follows soon after.  The town’s only salvation may be a witch who is almost as creepy as the ghost.

There are some genuinely creepy moments but Bava takes it too far with the camerawork in this one at times.  Some of the “ghostly” effects look like something out of an old video game.  I was able to watch in Italian with sub-titles.

Clip – dubbed version

The Reptile
Directed by John Gilling
Written by Anthony Hinds
1966/UK
Hammer Films/Seven Arts Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
They Shoot Zombies Don’t They?

[box] Tagline: What strange power made her half woman – half snake?[/box]

OK Hammer horror entry is marred by ridiculous creature.

In Cornwall, locals are dropping like flies from “heart attacks” which prove to be snake bites.  Newcomers to the area are treated coldly,  Their weird neighbor advises them to sell their cottage ASAP.  But when fate draws them to the neighbor’s house, a horrible secret is revealed.

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are sorely missed in this lackluster horror film.  Non-scary reptile doesn’t redeem it.