I
even have a testimony connected to this one! I remember looking through
a catalog that used an image of this film's poster art, and I casually
told God that I'd love to have a poster for THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE.
I was thinking a half-sheet or window
card when I said it. Not long after, a one-sheet for the film was gifted
to me! Thank you, Father! As to the film itself, my copy's box refers
to the movie as a cross between The Avengers and INVASION OF THE BODY
SNATCHERS. That's actually a pretty accurate assessment! Robert Hutton
plays a scientist who, by virtue of a metal plate in his skull, cannot
have his body taken over by invisible invaders who spread a plague through the English country side to hide their secret project. Pretty nifty 60's
British science fiction. I do need to upgrade my print, though, as a
pristine scope version aired on TCM once and it blows my copy out of the
water. Problem is, it's a public domain film, so I don't know which
release to hunt down in order to find a superior transfer.
Needless to say, there've been a lot of memorials for Billy Graham today. It's hard not to weigh in on the passing of such an American icon. Graham was such a powerful force, and he became the face of the American church. His sermons were effectively simple, basically noting "the Bible says..." and then telling it. He walked this earth for nearly a century, and became the friend and spiritual advisor to countless millions, including kings and presidents, show folk and the average Joe. His televised crusades saved millions, from Bettie Page to Jesse Duplantis. Steve McQueen's most prized possession was the bible Billy gave him. He will be missed. The best summation of his passing is in his own words: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead—don’t you
believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just
have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God." God bless you, Billy.
Finally, here's the stirring memorial from evangelist Mario Murillo...
"Today, you will read many things about Billy Graham. Greater
writers and more famous voices than I will pay tribute to this singular
man sent by God. I have chosen a different path for my words about him.I will leave it to the more qualified to astound you by recounting
the achievements of this evangelist of evangelists. Let me take you on
another course…
In front of a barn in the middle of nowhere, a group of farmers met
to pray. One of them spoke up and said, “I don’t know why but I believe
that from this spot, the Gospel will go around the world.” Not far
away, a little skinny boy did his chores—his name was Billy Graham.
In that day, Mortdecai Ham blazed a trail of revival. His fiery
sermons electrified vast audiences. Yet, one of his crusades was a
devastating disappointment. This entry was in his diary: “This week
only 2 souls were saved.” One of them was a 12-year-old Billy Graham.
My soul drew a strange comfort every year that Billy Graham was kept
alive. He was the Christian father praying for a wayward nation. He
was the national pastor whose very presence made me feel that there was a
hand of protection on America. He gave me hope that our nation could
still repent.
I am choking back tears of sadness and dread. Does his departure
signal the fact that we have finally crossed the deadline? Or does his
entrance into heaven mean a fresh mantle of soul winning will fall to
many men and women. Everything in me screams “LORD LET IT BE THE
LATTER!”
Thank God we have a president who will honor Billy Graham. Thank
God, that the many angry and hateful voices, who would strip America of
every last semblance of Christ, will be forced to relive the miracle of a
country boy, with a simple message who spoke about Jesus to more people
face to face, than anyone in history.
Thank God that perhaps, today’s preachers will get a lesson.
I was a little brother to the great evangelist scandals of the
1980’s. I remember how the most popular magazine of the day posted a
gallery of well-known evangelists. Under each picture was a list of
their sins. The last picture was of Billy Graham with this caption
underneath: Above Reproach.
Many young preachers learned nothing about integrity from those
scandals. Instead of fearing God and humbling themselves they invented
new ways to express pride and materialism. They lust for best sellers
and mansions.
What they never got—and still do not have—is the impact on society of a Billy Graham.
One simple example is when he toured the eastern bloc nations. Not
long after his crusades, the Soviet Union broke apart. A careful look
shows the first nations to discard communism were the same places where
this man of God preached. Impact not popularity. Get it?
Maybe you can see today—my dear brother—how much more he would have said to Oprah than you did.
Our loss stings. Perhaps the sting is divine. Let preachers feel
it. Let them see how thundering the Cross, the Blood, repentance, and
hell, filled the largest stadiums in the world. It can again.
The word paragon is an interesting word. It means a model of
excellence. A towering, convicting, awe-inspiring paragon of evangelism
has gone to heaven." -Mario Murillo
One of a tiny handful of films Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made away
from Universal, AFRICA SCREAMS was a delightful parody of jungle
pictures -complete with real-life big game wranglers Clyde Beatty and
Frank "Bring 'em Back Alive" Buck. The story has some crooks looking to
raid a native diamond mine in darkest Africa. Lou, a store salesman
petrified of animals, is hired as guide when it turns out he's the only
one who knows the way! Typically hysterical hijinks produced during
the period where Bud and Lou really hit their stride, AFRICA SCREAMS
went on to become a hugely popular TV and home video staple. (It was the
first film I purchased on DVD.) Everything is firing correctly, and the
film's cast adds some fun trivia value. The femme fatal is Hillary
Brooke, who shortly went on to star as the charming girl across the hall
on The Abbott and Costello Show. The film sports two Stooges as well.
Shemp Howard is a nearly blind gun bearer, while Joe Besser (who also
went on to join Bud and Lou's TV program) is his typically annoying
self. Despite not being produced under Universal, the film remains one
of the best the team did. Rapid-fire family entertainment that I can't
imagine a childhood not including.
The coolest show that never was, The Solarnauts was an aggressively groovy, everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink
space opera pilot produced for British television. Unfortunately, the
series wasn't picked up. (Last I checked, the complete pilot could be
found on YouTube, for those interested.)
The plot, which I think was lifted from an old episode of Space Patrol,
dealt with an inter-galactic despot threatening the universe with a
killer cloud. A brave pair of astronauts journey to the enemy's planet
and in the process rescue a space babe played by Martine Beswick.
Watching The Solarnauts is a lot like watching one of your better
Italian space operas concentrated into a half hour that retains every
bit of it's flavor. Seldom have I seen a show where so much happened so
quickly! But alas, this was to be our only mission with the Solarnauts.
From the better-than-it's-reputation
file, MARS NEEDS WOMEN was one of the better AIP-TV movies from
director Larry Buchanan. Unlike the bulk of these films, MARS NEEDS
WOMEN wasn't a shoestring remake of an earlier, far better, picture. An
original work, the film is cheap but effective. Martians infiltrate our
society in order to select suitable
breeding stock to save their dying world, and their leader falls in love
with an Earth woman. True, it's not the most original premise, but
Buchanan does some good stuff with it. The film's simple approach of
having Martians silently slip into our society by dressing the same as
everybody else has a nice subtle undertone. Seen here are the leads,
Tommy Kirk and Yvonne Craig. Because both actors are associated with
Beach movies, some reviewers have labored under the false impression
that the film is somehow intended as camp, or that the film is
Buchanan's re-working of PAJAMA PARTY -in which Kirk played a Martian
spy who falls in love with an Earth woman! Really, though, the film is
nicely effective and I'd heartily recommend it to genre fans.
JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN was Gerry Anderson's first
live-action theatrical movie, though it retains much of the same crew
who made Anderson's beloved television series. As result, the film has
much the same aesthetic as UFO or Thunderbirds, and comes complete with
the marvelous music of Barry Gray and the amazing miniature effects of
Derek Meddings. Even so, the film's tone is quite a bit darker than the
family puppet shows audiences were familiar with and connected
to Anderson's name. Some time in the future, the EUROSEC space agency
discovers a new planet in Earth's orbit, but directly on the other side
of the sun. EUROSEC balks at the idea of sending a rocket there when the
cost is calculated at a billion US dollars. When a spy is caught
transmitting information about the new planet to unfriendly powers,
however, EUROSEC joins forces with N.A.S.A. to send a pair of
astronauts to investigate the new world in our system. Roy Thinnes
stars, and finds that this other planet is... Adult-themed science
fiction epic plays politics as much as it does adventure. It is, at
times, shockingly cynical, in fact. Thinnes is having troubles with his
wife (while the film doesn't come straight out and say it, we get the
distinct impression that she's been stepping out on him), and the
relationship is rather more shaded than one might expect. (Also
interesting is that she's played by Lynn Loring, Mrs. Roy Thinnes
herself.) Herbert Lom has a brief turn as a spy with a false eye, and
Edward Bishop is on hand for an all-too-short segment. Intriguing film
is thought-provoking and colorful, but wasn't what audiences expected.
Reportedly, the film did only fair at the box office and Gerry Anderson
returned to the safety of television. Many of the props and costumes
were recycled for UFO.
Although
Roger Corman made a handful of horse operas, the one he'll always be
remembered for is GUNSLINGER. GUNSLINGER is the brisk tale of a widowed
woman who takes on the responsibility of wearing her deceased husband's
tin star. Her efforts to clean up the town don't sit well with the local
saloon owner, who hires a bounty killer to slaughter the lady sheriff.
Law-lady and outlaw instead fall in love
with each other, yet remain duty bound. Sharp little oater is matinee
fluff with some real dramatic meat. Corman is helped out greatly by a
strong cast. Beverly Garland is the widow, the late William Shallert her
husband. John Ireland, who had earlier done THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
with Roger, is the gunslinger. Allison Hayes is the saloon owner working
all the angles. The whole Garland vs Hayes spectacle no doubt kept this
one in people's memories!
(The title could easily be confused with the
90's video feature THE GUNSLINGER, starring evangelist Kenneth Copeland
as a reformed-outlaw-turned-U.S. Marshall who loses his memory and ends up riding with his old gang. This one is also worth a look. The eye
for period detail is mighty impressive for a video feature. Followed by two sequels. I haven't seen
the third film, but the second one -COVENANT RIDER- showed major improvements in the craft of movie-making and is also recommended. I think
there may've even been a TV spin-off at one point.)
GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND was part of a new breed of less expensive movies geared toward kiddie
audiences rather than general viewers. Just the same, the film was one
of the better of it's cycle. Agents from a distant planet are seeking
the return of a computer tape stolen by a young woman who suspects her
missing brother is being held hostage at an under-construction amusement
park. When she crosses paths with a cartoonist hired to design monster
statues for the park, it becomes clear that something sinister is afoot.
Godzilla and his sidekick Angillas (my favored of the twenty various
spellings of the name of the spiky fellow in the middle) are roused by
the playing of the computer tape, and hit Japan as the invaders have
brought in series heavy Ghidrah and new kid Gigan (the film's alternate
title was, in fact, GODZILLA VS GIGAN). The result is some prolonged
monster fight action! The producers set out to make the film as
different from the previous year's GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER as
possible. Where the earlier film had been gloomy and slow, this one is
colorful and packed with action. For whatever reason, the film wasn't
imported to the States until 1977 (Japanese release was back in '72).
Although GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND is a great handle, it's pretty
misleading, since very little of the film takes place on the giant
monster magnet of the south seas. Infamously, this is the one in which
Godzilla's conversation with Angillas is translated into spoken word in
one scene! Critics are down on the film because it uses a ton of stock
footage from previous films in an effort to keep the costs down. It's
always been a favorite of mine, though. And, in fact, it was this film
that taught me about alternate titles -as it was issued on video under
both and we rented each thinking they were different movies!
