Category Archives: 1965

Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster 
Directed by Robert Gaffney
Written by George Garrett
1960/USA
Futurama Entertainment Corp./Vernon-Seneca Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Princess Marcuzan: We have won the war, but we have no women. We have come here to this plaent for one purpose only: to acquire breeding stock to repopulate our planet.[/box]

I was looking for something to cheer me up.  WINNER!

Story starts out looking like your typical “Mars Needs Women” plot with Princess Marcuzan and right-hand-man Dr. Nadir in a space ship scouting Earth for a potential solution to the planet’s problem.  The princess runs a tight ship and she punishes “failure” with a visit to half-alien, half-gorilla space monster “Mull”.

Simultaneously, the U.S. is attempting to launch a space ship of its own.  The princess and co.  mistake the rockets as missiles and shoot them down.  The U.S. retaliates by manning a ship with a life-like robot.  He turns into a monster when an explosion burns his circuits.  The movie follows Frank as he rampages through town and the Martians as they kidnap bikini clad girls from pool and beach parties.

Things I love about this movie:

1.  Poster is truth in advertising.  It makes the movie sound as cheesy as it actually is.
2. Completely ridiculous space monster used mostly in extreme close-ups in hopes of disguising the minuscule special effects budget.
3. Effective Frankenstein attire.
4. Lou Cutell as Dr. Nadir.  Seriously … his line readings and facial expressions must be seen to be believed.
5. Every minute inside the space ship with Dr. Nadir and Princess Marcuzan.
6. All the dialogue.
7. It is never boring except during the musical sequences see below.  You will never see anything quite like it.

Things that mark this as a “bad” movie:

1.  Seemingly interminable filler in which scenes of auto trips, dance parties, etc. are used over a background of faux-British Invasion American pop rock musak.
2. Everything is laughably over-the-top.

On balance, obviously a must-see for fellow fans of the genre.  I see that the complete film is currently available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9It2mr5hP8

The Brigand of Kandahar
Directed by John Gilling
Written by John Gilling
1965/UK
Hammer Films/Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Captain Boyd: It’s ironical that your husband should volunteer for special mission with your lover, don’t you think?[/box]

There may be such a thing as having seen too many movies.

Lieutenant Case is a mixed-race officer stationed at the British colonial fort at Kanadahar. His commanding officer despises him but finds him useful.  Case is sent with another officer to spy on war lord Ali Kahn (Oliver Reed) who is revolting against the British.  It just so happens that Case is having an affair with the officer’s wife.  Through no fault of Case’s, the officer is captured.  Case is imprisoned but freed by one of Ali’s spies.  Thereafter, he fights on the side of the rebels.

I felt like I had seen the story many, many times before.  Usually it is a Western.  The film is most notable for its battles and fist fights but these are nothing special. Lately it seems like 1965 isn’t offering me much.   I’m going to watch a couple of “bad” movies today in hopes of getting my mojo back.

Clip

Shenandoah
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Written by James Lee Barrett
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Charlie Anderson: Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we’re about to eat, amen.[/box]

OK Civil War/Western tale.

Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is the patriarch of a Northern Virginia farming family. The family does not keep slaves and therefore has opted out of taking sides in the Civil War.  But, when the youngest son is mistakenly arrested by Yankees for being an escaped prisoner of war, Charlie and family are moved into action.  With Katharine Ross as the young wife of one of the sons.

This was all right if nothing exceptional.  It has kind of a folksy, family friendly tone.

I Saw What You Did
Directed by William Castle
Written by William P. McGivern from a novel by Ursula Curtiss
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/my DVD collection

[box] Libby: I saw what you did, and I know who you are.[/box]

Nice little thriller about teenage crank callers but don’t come expecting a lot from Joan Crawford.

Kit Austin and Libby Mannering are bored high schoolers left at home alone.  They use the opportunity to play pranks with the telephone.  These start with trying to make trouble in marriages and then escalate into random “I saw what you did” calls.  Unfortunately, they eventually zero in on a man (John Ireland) who just murdered his wife.

The rest of the movie focuses on the man’s efforts to eliminate the “witnesses”.  Crawford plays the man’s lustful blackmailing neighbor.

I generally enjoy William Castle’s films and this was no exception.  I had expected more high camp, a la Strait Jacket, but this is still a decent entertainment.

The Moment of Truth (Il momento della verita)
Directed by Francesco Rossi
Written by Pedro Beltran, Ricardo Muñoz Suay, Pere Portabella, Francesco Rossi
1965/Italy/Spain
As Films Produccion/Federiz
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] “Courage and grace is a formidable mixture. The only place to see it is the bullring.” ― Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Dietrich’s ABC[/box]

Stunningly beautiful film about an ugly subject.

The film covers the career of a poor boy (Miguelin) who makes it big as a bullfighter.  Most of the story takes place in the bullring.

The bullfighter in this is one gorgeous man and his artistry and courage in the ring are beyond compare.  It really does look like a dance.  On the other hand, there is plenty of graphic carnage and animal death on hand.

The Nanny
Directed by Seth Holt
Written by Jimmy Sangster from a novel by Marryam Model
1965/UK
Hammer Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] The nanny: What was so bad about Mrs. Griggs?

Joey Fane: She was like you.[/box]

Bette Davis was the grandest of the dames during the era of psycho-biddy films.  She is wonderful in this Hammer Studios thriller.

The nanny has been with the Fane family for years.  She was nanny to mother Virginia Fane and her sister when they were girls, stayed on to serve the fragile Virgie, and went on to nanny for her children Joey and Susy.  Susy was killed a couple of years before by drowning in the bathtub.  The incident was blamed on young Joey.  Joey is certain that the nanny did it but his smart mouth has not assisted his cause.  He has just been released by the institution to which he was confined after the incident.

Joey refuses to eat anything the nanny prepares or to sleep, claiming fear of kindly old nanny.  The action escalates to a rather predictable end.

Did Bette Davis ever turn in a bad performance?  I think not.  This is a solid thriller, nothing far out.  Davis has a nice steely glint in her eye beneath all the Mary Poppins sweetness.

The 10th Victim (La decima vittima)
Directed by Elio Petri
Written by Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni, Ennio Faiano, and Elio Petri from a story by Robert Sheckley
1965/Italy/France
Compagnia Cinematografica Champion/Les Films Concordia
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Narrator: A study of history confirms the validity of the Big Hunt theory: it is mankind’s safety valve. And if in 1940 the Big Hunt had existed, Hitler would’ve been a member and we could have avoided WWII. Now all is resolved, wars are over, and the violent instincts of man can now be expressed by a single and set competition.[/box]

I certainly was not prepared for what I got!  That’s a recommendation.

As the movie begins, a man is openly chasing a woman around town with a gun.  She teases him as she runs and eventually gets the better of him.  They are participants in a state-run competition known as The Big Hunt, which has been devised to channel man’s violent impulses and end war.  The “hunter” knows everything about his/her victim while the victim knows nothing about the hunter, including his/her identity.  Competitors earn a title and a million dollars when they win 10 games

The main game we follow is that between Caroline Meredith’s Hunter (Ursula Andress) and Marcello Polleti’s Victim (Marcello Mastroianni).  She’ll win her competition with his death. Sexy byplay alternates with ruthless double-dealing.  With Elsa Martinelli as Mastroianni’s wife.

This movie is insane!  You never know where you really are.  It’s kind of James Bond meets Hunger Games meets La Dolce Vita with many witty set pieces and fantastic art direction. Recommended to lovers of cult cinema.