CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS (1962-color) Still

Despite much poo-pooing of the film over the years by critics, I actually find CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS to be a fairly gripping story about humanity coping with the rise of machines which threaten to replace us. In light of recent concerns, I'd argue the film has taken on a fresh tone that makes it worth a second look. Given his reviews of such movies, I'd be curious what Dave Cullen would say about it...

A Quick Look: FLIGHT TO MARS (1951 - color)

Often overlooked in the wake of DESTINATION MOON, ROCKETSHIP X-M, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, and several other contemporary classics, FLIGHT TO MARS is a compelling, tightly-paced, emotionally complex and nuanced science fiction adventure story that makes the most of a modest budget and a fine cast of familiar faces. The script is incredibly strong, and should be studied by anyone interested in writing, with subtleness and directness almost unrecognizable in modern fiction (cinematic or otherwise). On the surface, the characters are fairly stock: the dedicated scientist so committed to his project that he remains coldy unaware of the affections of the woman who not-so-secretly loves him, the cynical reporter who has seen it all and remains unphased by momentous events, the lady scientist who has made a name for herself in a man's world through hard work and brains but secretly desires a more normal brand of life that even she has difficulty realizing, etc. But the film gives these characters dimension and motivation and arc you seldom run across in today's landscape of flat, unrelatable characters defined by nothing greater than self-importance. The plot is fairly simple, and thus kept to a tight pace: A team of scientists and a reporter embark on the first manned mission to Mars. This event is announced on it's eve, leaving the world little time to react but quickly divided along political lines. After an eventful journey, the crew makes it to Mars but damages their ship in the process. Then they discover the red planet is inhabited...    Just a dandy picture. Only about 70 minutes or so long, it packs a surprising amount of material into it's brisk runtime. What's more, it doesn't spell everything out for the viewer, but expects us to piece things together. On it's surface, it's a B picture just there to capitalize on the current craze, but it gives us enough credit to go along with it without talking down to us at any point. Just take a look at this level of writing, and you begin to understand why movies being made in more recent years are so lacking (and why they tend to run over two hours when their stories seldom justify that much footage). A great little picture sadly knocked aside into relative obscurity, it's worth a look if it falls into your scope.

A Quick Look: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 DREAM WARRIORS (1987-color)

    In the 80's cycle of slasher horror, one franchise stood apart with a degree of intelligence and special effects, although the series could be hit or miss. Wes Craven delivered a superior horror epic called A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET which did boffo box office. In it, teenager Nancy found her friends being bumped off by supernatural killer Fred Kruger, a murderer who had been killed by the parents of his victims only to come back in their dreams as a monster which could kill them in reality. A sequel film, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2, FREDDY'S REVENGE, found Kruger trying to take over the body of the young man who had moved into Nancy's old room in an effort to exit the dream world and step into our world. This one was pretty good too, as 80's monster movies go, but New Line Cinema felt it wasn't quite on par. Craven was brought back to provide the script for the third entry, which stands as the high water mark of the series.

   Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy, now a dream psychologist who discovers Kruger is again trying to slay the teenage children of Elm Street. Said kids have been gathered at an asylum to which Nancy enters the staff. With nobody but Nancy willing to believe the truth of the situation -that the kids can't risk going to sleep lest they be horribly slain by Kruger, the gang must unite to defeat the bogey man. This is possible thanks to one of the inmates, a young lady who has the power to actually pull others into her dreams.

   This was easily the best entry in the series, not to be matched until Wes Craven and Heather Langenkamp, along with John Saxon, returned for WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE -which was a stand-out bit of fiction that fizzled at the box office possibly due to it's being too intelligent. Meanwhile, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3, DREAM WARRIORS stands as one of the best horror movies of the 80's, and certainly one of the better sequels offered up by a decade noted for it's numerous sequels. (In fact, as a kid, that was how I figured a series was a success or a flop: if it reached a third entry.)

A Quick Look: HOMEBODIES (1974-color)

    One of the quirkiest flicks I've run across. HOMEBODIES tells the story of a group of elderly folk who live in a condemned building in a city slum area. The block is being cleared for an industrial project by it's owner, but the tenets of this building refuse to move out of their familiar surroundings. When an accident causes delay in construction of a new skyscraper, the elders begin arranging for more accidents to keep their building standing a little longer... One oddball picture. It's opening sequences imply it's going to be about the hardships of the elderly in an uncaring world, but we eventually figure out that these people are just insane (standing in the way of progress out of selfishness more than anything else, but beyond being able to realize it). A weird one, to say the least, but I gotta admit that it kept me engaged. Plenty of familiar faces here, including Ian Wolfe, Peter Brocco, and Ken Tobey. An odd one you might not return to very soon, but intriguing in it's own quirky way.

A Quick Look: THRILLER (1983-color)

    Say what you will about Michael Jackson, he certainly earned his title of The King Of Pop in the 80's. Truly, the Jackson sound defined 80's pop music. Once a member of the Jackson Five, Michael embarked on a solo career which produced hit after hit and really defined the new entertainment form of the music video (while the format went back to the dawn of the cinematic age, it really became a force in the opulent 80's). Still considered one of the best music videos ever made, THRILLER was an ambitious project directed by John Landis, co-written by Landis and Jackson. The two-reeler was a tribute to classic monster movies, which is somewhat ironic as Jackson reportedly hadn't seen all that many monster flicks. (Despite his performance here, he thought the genre too scary!)

   The plot is fairly simple. We open with a sequence in which a young lady is shocked to discover her fella is a werewolf, but this turns out only to be a movie being viewed by Jackson and his girl (Playmate Ola Ray) at the theater. Despite the fact that the couple is IN the movie they're watching, she finds the picture more terrifying than enjoyable so Michael walks her home and begins singing the title tune to calm her down. Unfortunately, as they pass a cemetery, the corpses start crawling out of their graves. When they surround the couple, Michael becomes a zombie himself and leads the undead in an elaborately choreographed production number.

   Running a full 14 minutes, the film is an incredible work of art. Rick Baker (no relation) provides the make-up (amusingly, within the zombie horde is a fella meant to resemble Tor Johnson). Elmer Bernstein provides the "scary" music in between the song sequences. Vincent Price provides some spooky voice over during the scene where the zombies are emerging from their graves. Co-producing with Jackson is legendary music man Quincy Jones. Forry Ackerman and Charlton Heston are visible in the theater audience. The budget for the film, that was released theatrically, was five times what the average video cost. 

   Reportedly, it only took four days to shoot, which is pretty impressive. Jackson proves a decent actor as well as a great singer, although at this point he's already had his nose reduced beyond the point of no return (which makes his zombie makeup effective, but I could never figure why a singer would risk his craft by having his nose operated on -not that he was the first by any means, Dean Martin had his nose reduced and obviously his voice never suffered for it). Given his later escapades, it's difficult to praise his work with such relish, but there's no denying the incredible talent on display here.

   THRILLER remains one of the most popular music videos of all time, and like so many of Jackson's tunes from this period has you humming the song endlessly after hearing it.

A Quick Look: BLINKY BILL (1992-color)

 

    America has Mickey Mouse, England has Winnie The Pooh, Canada has The Raccoons, and Australia has Blinky Bill. Ironically, the pride of Australian kiddie fare was actually the creation of an immigrant from neighboring New Zealand. Reportedly, Dorothy Wall invented the character to entertain her young son, but the books she authored became huge hits. Almost from the start, Dorothy knew the character would be perfect for the animated screen and she simplified the (originally more realistic) character designs before shopping the the idea around to every major animation studio in Hollywood. She failed to generate much interest, and then she suddenly passed away in, I think, 1946. Blinky lay dormant for decades, but continued to become ingrained in Aussie culture. It was Australian cartoon studio Yoram Gross which finally brought Blinky to the screen in 1992.

 

   BLINKY BILL, in short, tells of the sudden calamity which befalls the animal community of Greenpatch when loggers (illegal ones, the film stresses, lest it come across as an attack on the logging industry as a whole) crash through and harvest all the trees for lumber. As the villagers seek shelter in some caves, Blinky Bill mounts a rescue operation to save his friend Nutsy, who has become trapped in the loggers' home where their young daughter wants to keep her as a pet. During the rescue operation, Blinky finds his missing mother, who has been trapped inside the tree they lived in and has been stranded inside the wood pile slated to become wood chips. The mill, as one might expect, suffers heavy damage before the animals drive away in the loggers' own truck.

 

   Most of the characters that would carry into the resulting series are present. There's Blinky the young, and quite 'cheeky' koala, of course, and his very sweet feminine counter-part Nutsy. Their friends include the insecure marsupial mouse Marcia, who after being rather frightened in this picture would go on to front a courageous personality. Flap is the amusing young platypus who would go on to become one of the most visible characters in the franchise. Splodge is Blinky's closest friend, a young kangaroo. The sage of the group is the elder Mr. Wombat (whom everybody calls "Wombo" much to his dislike). Mayor Pelican is the loud-mouthed windbag he would continue to be throughout the resulting series, and so on. 

 

   The movie seems to rely on the audience being aware of the characters, and it helped me that I'd already seen the resulting TV series (it pretty much HAD to go to series, since the movie ends with the animals still in exodus). It's notable for the Yoram Gross trademark of laying animation over live-action background plates. All the following series would opt for traditional drawn backgrounds. I'm not sure the film works all that well as a stand-alone vehicle, but it was a success and television was quick to continue the story.

 

   The Adventures Of Blinky Bill followed the animals as they set down roots in a new territory and rebuilt their town of New Greenpatch. This included an uneasy co-existence with a family of dingoes, which is interesting to watch develop over the course of the series and it's sequels -as the dingoes go from trouble-making neighbors to strong allies. Notable is the character of Daisy Dingo, a figure of womanly proportions who became first crush to a lot of Aussie boys.

 

   Essentially the second season of the show, the follow-up series was Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Excursion. Starting and finishing with more typical Greenpatch adventures, the larger middle of the series found Blinky and his friends getting lost and wandering the outback as they searched for home. That was the last of the 90's episodes, but the series continued to be popular and in 2003 a new series came along simply titled Blinky Bill. This one was basically one long serial as Blinky, Nutsy, and Flap rescued some abused circus animals and then traveled the globe to return them to their families. This series was noted for it's slight change in aesthetic (which might be best described as looking more like a comic book than a cartoon series), but it was also a bit more energetic than the first two series (which grow on you, but it must be admitted start kinda slow).

 

   Finally, in 2005 came a second movie BLINKY BILL'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, which returned to the more comfortable aesthetic of the first two seasons. The cast was reduced somewhat for this vehicle, as it mostly follows Blinky and Flap as they search for a pine tree to present to Wombo as a Christmas present.  Following this, the whole franchise was re-tooled and the results are reportedly pretty weak. Despite all this material, the only bit of it that has gotten to the US so far is a DVD set of the first season of the teleseries (and it was rather weirdly packaged, showing the show opening, then all the episodes playing back-to-back without titles, and the end credits playing on the last episode).

   In the end, it may not have been the most perfect franchise, but it was incredibly charming. Those interested in some relaxed fun could do far worse. As to the movie itself, well, I think it helps if you can follow it up with the teleseries. Particularly if you can follow it through to the delightful Christmas special.

   An odd little side note is the interaction betwixt the animals and humans. In the movie and the first series, neither understands the other when they speak. In the second series, the animals can understand humans if they actively listen to them. By the third series, there's no language barrier at all!

A Quick Look: THE "LEGEND OF DINOSAURS" (1977 - color)

   THE "LEGEND OF DINOSAURS" is legendary in bad movie circles. Filmed in 1977, it was Japan's answer to JAWS. The plot (if it can so be described) tells the discovery of an ice cave near Mt. Fuji. There's a heatwave hitting Japan, and this has caused the cave to begin melting, which naturally exposes some viable dinosaur eggs. From one egg comes a massive, flesh-hungry water monster that takes up residence in one of the local lakes. From another egg hatches (twice, apparently) a pterodactyl. For some reason, the reviving dinosaurs cause natural disasters, including massive earthquakes and the eruption of Mt. Fuji! Nothing here makes sense, and the dialog is astoundingly bizarre. The film didn't hit the States until about a decade later, when Sandy Frank imported the film as part of Celebrity Video's Just For Kids line (which included a number of Japanese genre films, including a few of the Gamera movies and the infamous TIME OF THE APES). THE "LEGEND OF DINOSAURS" was a bit rough for the supposedly kid-friendly series, including as it does some mild gore and even a tiny nude scene. The film has recently been released on DVD under the title "The Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds" -a direct translation of the Japanese title. This presents a nice scope transfer, which helps greatly and gives the film a tad more polish. It's still literally insane, of course, but it's prettier than it was when I saw it as a kid!

A Quick Look: MOTHRA (1962-color)

   MOTHRA was one of those uniquely Japanese concepts, a film more fairy tale of the Atomic Age than outright science fiction. In the film, some shipwreck survivors are rescued from an area heavily contaminated by radioactive fallout from recent tests conducted by the mythical superpower of Rolisica. The survivors show absolutely no signs of exposure to radioactivity, and even tell of natives on the officially uninhabited island where they washed ashore. This prompts an investigation, and sure enough the island is found to be populated by primitive natives and killer plants. Most extraordinary is the discovery of twin girls, standing less than a foot high! Corrupt Rolisican showman/gangster Nelson returns to the island and abducts the girls to appear as a theatrical attraction. Unknown to Nelson, during the nightly performances the girls sing a song of rescue to Mothra -the indestructible giant insect the natives worship! Soon enough, Mothra is headed toward Japan, and no weapon of warfare seems able to stop it! Entertaining stuff, provided you never try to put too much thought into it. Mothra would go on to be one of the major players of the Toho monster universe, returning a couple years later to take on the Big Blue Dinosaur in GODZILLA VS THE THING. Following that, Mothra became a series regular through the end of the decade. Mothra was revived again for the 90's cycle of Godzilla movies, and was then spun-off into a colorful-but-goofy trilogy of it's own. Mothra seemed to re-surface periodically after that, even making it into the new American Godzilla series.

A Quick Look: VIRUS (1980 - color)

    The late Robert Vaughn was one of a dozen major stars to headline the 1980 disaster epic VIRUS, a Japanese-Canadian co-production shot around the world. In the film, a super-virus is accidentally released and rapidly reduces the world's population to a handful of survivors in the antarctic. Though they escape the titular virus, they soon find themselves endangered by an automatic atomic strike when a coming earthquake triggers a fail-safe device in Washington! This while the survivors of the virus are already having trouble preserving some sense of civilization in a world where man has largely been destroyed... Despite being a minor masterpiece of it's subgenre, the film under-performed and went by with barely a notice (though it did enjoy a long life as a video rental title). Co-star George Kennedy figured this was because the title simply didn't impress people, who would hear the word VIRUS and think of nothing more serious than the common cold. (Ironically, recent years have seen the media latch onto the label, which now increases fearful reaction to illness...) Amid the star-power on display is Glenn Ford as the US President, Chuck Connors as a submarine captain, and, oh, too many others to name! The only weak performance is from Henry Silva, who for some reason has been directed to overact wildly and broadly. Still, the film is a dandy forgotten gem. At least such can be said about it's American form. Reportedly, the Japanese cut runs much longer but deviates into some supremely goofy sub-plots. Seeing how perfectly structured the US cut is, it's hard to believe it was whittled down from a larger mess. The film as it exists on American video and DVD is so tight! Worth a look.

A Quick Look at Flint...

   There was a spy even cooler than Bond, and his name was Flint. Ask most movie spy fans which secret agent is our favorite, and the majority of us will tell you, without hesitation, Derek Flint. James Coburn scored his first major lead role as the strong-willed, unstoppable human computer known as Flint in 20th Century Fox's OUR MAN FLINT. In this adventure, a secret organization known as Galaxy has perfected a weather control machine and the only man who has a chance of saving the day is Flint! Coburn would return for the more elegant sequel, IN LIKE FLINT. (OUR MAN FLINT made Coburn a star, but he didn't want to get tied down a series.) In IN LIKE FLINT, Flint swings into action to help his former boss at Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage and happens onto a plot to replace the US President with a look-a-like, arm an experimental space platform, and shift the balance of power in favor of the female sex. During the course of events, Flint is assumed dead. (So, we have a thought-dead hero, an imposter president, and an armed space platform. I must wonder if that second G.I.JOE movie is officially a remake or not....) A little more elegant than the first film, IN LIKE FLINT is just as delightful. Unfortunately, saturation of the genre meant there wouldn't be a third film.* The two pictures have a breezy quality, a comic book mentality, that often has them written off as comedies. Unabashedly over the top, the films none the less deliver the goods. The two Flint films remain among my favorites in espionage entertainment. When I think of great spy music, it's Jerry Goldsmith's Flint theme that first comes to mind. For the tops in pop adventure, you can't go wrong with Flint!

(*Like Matt Helm, Derek Flint was revived for a TV movie in the 70's. While MATT HELM tried to capture the character played by Dean Martin, however, OUR MAN FLINT: DEAD ON TARGET shows absolutely no connection to the Coburn films. Ray Danton, who had played a Flint-like character in SECRET AGENT SUPER DRAGON, plays this Flint as a supposedly intelligent private detective in an adventure so bland and dull and poorly produced that it staggers the imagination. The action highlight is an exploding file cabinet, and the fireball might've at worst singed Flint's eyebrows. Really, the thing was terrible. And weirdly, Danton -with his dark greasy hair combed over his forehead- more resembles Harvey Lembeck than he does James Coburn.)

A Quick Look: KING KONG VS GODZILLA (1963 - color)

   KING KONG's effects master Willis O'Brien had been trying to pitch a sequel, evidently since the 1930's. "King Kong vs Frankenstein" would've featured the giant ape confronting the latest monstrous creation of Dr. Frankenstein. It wasn't until the early 60's that he finally sold the idea to producer John Beck, who in turn sold the idea to Japan's Toho studio. Toho chose to replace the Frankenstein monster with their signature giant, and thus was born KING KONG VS GODZILLA. The film remains one of the most popular and successful of Toho's releases. It was the first Godzilla movie many monster kids saw, and it remains sheer enjoyment.

 

   In short, a Japanese pharmaceutical company is eager to capitalize on a legendary giant that feeds on some island berries the company has purchased. Whether it exists or not, some employees of the company are sent to the tropics to find the creature. They do, and soon Kong is headed toward Japan on a raft. Meanwhile, Godzilla has emerged from an iceberg and is heading straight for Japan... The result is one of the most enjoyable giant monster movies ever made. Just fun. At least for those who can take the movie on it's own merits... 

 

   O'Brien passed away before the film was released, and some have put forth that maybe it was best he never saw the final results since it departed so far from his initial idea. Obie's beloved stop-motion magic obviously couldn't be employed, and the man-in-suit Kong is light-years departed from anything as good as the master craftsman could've done. Honestly, it's a pretty shabby costume in general, far outclassed by iconic suits like those worn by George Barrows, etc. Conversely, Godzilla looks great, and the effects work really shines if you can just get around that crummy Kong suit. It's easy enough to do, though, and clearly the original audience didn't have any misgivings. It remains one of the top Godzilla movies of all time. This is the one really responsible for the continuing series of the 60's.

 

   The studio did hang onto the Frankenstein idea, though, and couple years later made FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD (only they would've turned the Frankenstein monster into an ever-growing giant who does battle with a fire-spitting dinosaur...). Toho made another, unrelated Kong movie in 1967, KING KONG ESCAPES, which itself was based on the Saturday morning cartoon series of 1966!

A Quick Look: MONSTER ZERO (1965/70 - color)

   MONSTER ZERO is remembered not only as a fine Godzilla movie, but a good picture in general terms. Co-produced by American Henry Saperstein, the film starred Nick Adams alongside Japan's heartthrob Akira Takarada and the exotic beauty Kumi Mizuno. In the film, astronauts explore the newly-discovered Planet X and find it to be inhabited by a race ruled by machines. They've been having some trouble lately with Ghidrah, the three-headed monster -whom they've named Monster Zero. "Everything is numbered here. The Monster is Zero." The Xians beg our help, to loan them Godzilla and Rodan to fight off the space dragon, in exchange for the formula of miracle cure. When the tape containing this formula is played, however, the Xians announce a double-cross, and send their collection of monsters marching against Earth cities! Meanwhile, Nick has been seeing a girl who turns out to be an Xian agent! 

 

   MONSTER ZERO is set in the 1990's, placing itself outside the timeline of the other films, giving the results a vague Gerry Anderson flavor which is quite welcome (presumably, then, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS could be considered a more or less direct sequel). A wonderful cast brings to life a strong assortment of characters in a breathlessly-paced adventure from an exceptionally strong script. Filmed in 1965, the film was the first in the series to rely on stock footage to help reduce costs. For some reason, it didn't come to American shores until 1970 on a double bill with THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS -itself held back since 1966. Adams and Mizuno had a great screen chemistry, also making FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD the same year. (They also made a spy epic called THE KILLING BOTTLE. Despite being prepared for American release about three times, however, the film never made it to the States.) 

 

   MONSTER ZERO is great stuff, one of those perfect 60's adventure movies. The film is sometimes called by it's British title, INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER -the title on the very nice DVD release from Classic Media (but the print itself has the MONSTER ZERO title, so don't worry). It's 80's video/TV title, meanwhile, was "Godzilla vs Monster Zero."

A Quick Look: ATRAGON (1965-color)

   Here's another import from Japan, and in my experience one of the rarer such films. ATRAGON tells of an attack on the surface world by the undersea kingdom of the Mu Empire. Mu, for all it's primitiveness, possesses futuristic technology, flying saucers, and the ability to control earthquakes. Mankind's only hope rests in an embittered former Imperial Japanese Navy Officer and his fantastic futuristic submarine, Atragon. Atragon was built at the end of the War to turn the tide of battle back in Japan's favor, but the Land of the Rising Sun surrendered before the ship could be sent into battle. Though the times have passed up her Captain, he must put aside his baggage and march into action against the Mu forces. Complex character study supports engaging adventure story, complete with Toho's customary giant monster -in this case a huge serpent worshiped by the Mu. Elements of the plot would be re-hashed several times over the next several decades. GODZILLA VS MEGALON was a more kiddie matinee version of the same story, while THE WAR IN SPACE re-purposed the plot for use in a space opera. Manda, the giant serpent, would wash back into the Godzilla series when the beast was selected to be one of the returning giants featured in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (the US posters for the film even named Manda among the major players). Though only as quick stock shots from that film, Manda would be seen throughout the remaining films of the original Godzilla cycle. Atragon itself was only one of numerous flying submarines with drilling cones in the nose section to be highlighted in Japanese pop culture! The film is finally available in a nice scope transfer on American DVD, but unfortunately the superior AIP release dub remains missing. Reportedly, the American DVD distributor wanted to include the better dub, but they were prevented from doing so by Toho itself!

A Quick Look: THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960)

   As a director, Roger Corman sometimes did things just to see if he could. Known for his speed, Corman decided to put himself to the test and shoot a picture in two days. That film was THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (and it ultimately took two and 1/2 days shooting). Perpetual loser Seymour comes up with a new hybrid plant, which quickly makes him a heralded genius of the botanical world -much to the delight of his boss, flower shop owner Muschnik. This gives Seymour the courage to begin a romantic relationship with co-worker Audrey, after whom he has also named his new plant. But Audrey Jr. soon proves to be more of a handful than Seymour bargained for -when the talking plant develops an appetite for human flesh! Filmed for peanuts, but sporting a good cast (trivia nuts will note a young Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient) and sharp script, the film became a hit. And, like so many weeds, it refused to die! In the early 70's, a porno called PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER used the earlier film's story as a frame-work. Then "The Little Shop Of Horrors" became a smash musical stage production. That, in turn, was adapted to the screen in the form of big-budgeted musical comedy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS in the 1980's! This new version, sporting an all-star cast and eye-popping special effects, was an even bigger hit than the original. It spawned a very short-lived Saturday morning cartoon show (seriously, I even caught the pilot first-run). Seems I've heard rumors of yet another film version of the play being in the works, and of course the play continues to be mounted by regional companies. That is one healthy plant. "Feed me!!"

A Quick Look: CASINO ROYALE (1967 - color)

 
   The one Fleming story EON didn't posses the rights to when they began making the books into a film franchise was the very first Bond story, Casino Royale. Instead, another company used the story as the base for a wild spoof of James Bond and the spy genre in general, resulting in 1967's CASINO ROYALE. David Niven plays Sir James Bond, the greatest spy to ever live. Sir James is a moral man, and none too thrilled that his name and number have been passed on to the promiscuous hero currently fighting the forces of evil. With the enemy organization SMERSH on the verge of taking over the world, M and some of his peers beg Sir James to come out of retirement and take charge. When an explosion kills M, Sir James must take control of MI6. His first move is to name all field agents James Bond 007, even the girls, in order to confuse the enemy. An amazing cast is assembled, which includes the likes of Peter Sellers, William Holden, Orson Wells, and Ursula Andress. Multiple directors and a slew of writers parody every aspect of international espionage and intrigue, but this gives the film great unevenness. While there are a few amusing bits sprinkled throughout, the bulk of the film is an unfunny mess. (An example of the film's humor -and actually one of the more amusing bits- is that Sir James stutters through the first few reels. When he takes control of MI6, he tells Moneypenny that he doesn't have time to stutter anymore, and speaks perfectly well for the rest of the picture.) The best the movie offers are some amazing special effects and the marvelous sets for SMERSH's underground headquarters. But it's all too random to really be very entertaining. The film flopped. On the plus side, Barbara Bouchet played Miss Moneypenny, as seen standing next to Sir James in the photo. "CASINO ROYALE is too much for one James Bond!" screamed the ads, parodied by OPERATION KID BROTHER's previews "Neil Connery is too much! OPERATION KID BROTHER is too much, for one mother!" Because of the slew of actors playing "James Bond" in CASINO ROYALE, ads for YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE proudly screamed "Sean Connery IS James Bond!" Around the turn of the century, EON finally secured the rights to the novel, and used a much straighter version of CASINO ROYALE to introduce Daniel Craig as the new 007.

A Quick Look: GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956)

   Arguably, the single most influential film of the 50's was GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. Most obviously, it kicked off a series (genre, really) that is still being done to this very day -although it's becoming more sporadic as the attempts to update the franchise become more varied. More generally, the big blue dinosaur is probably Japan's most visible contribution to world pop culture. Not bad for a nation still a couple years away from really finding it's feet, economically. One could easily credit Toho's films being as vital to the reconstruction as were Big Mac and the industrious resolve of the Japanese peoples (at the risk of going overboard). The plot was indicative of the era, with atomic testing reviving a prehistoric monster which proves invulnerable to modern weapons, and can only be stopped by a tormented scientist's dangerous secret. The film was a massive success State-side, too, when the film was re-edited to include Raymond Burr as American newsman Steve Martin getting swept into the events. The editing is truly skillful, and while critics like to carp about the supposed watering down of the original story, an argument can be made that the US cut is actually stronger in some respects. It was certainly an impressive task assembling a Japanese film into an American blockbuster, one provided a full A picture release by infamous producer Joseph E. Levine. The Japanese liked our version so much, they released it in Japan the next year! Much has been said about GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS in the decades since it's release. Not really sure what I can add to that, as it's place in world popular culture is very firmly established. It created a profitable new direction for one of Japan's most illustrious studios, and opened the doors for said fare to become staples of American entertainment as well. The title was even re-used when an American remake series was tried a couple years ago.

A Quick Look: FROGS (1972 - color)

   THE BIRDS heavily influenced the exploitation field, though the imitations really didn't start coming until a decade later. In the early 70's, pollution was the menace of the week and it created a whole genre of nature-strikes-back movies which basically took their cues from THE BIRDS and substituted various other menaces in revolt because man has been mistreating his planet. Though this may sound silly, the genre did sire a couple of legitimate classics like KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, DOGS, and SOMETHING IS OUT THERE (more commonly known as DAY OF THE ANIMALS). FROGS was an AIP offering in which the animals of a deep south island begin to rebel against man's careless littering. Frogs spearhead a rebellion of spiders, snakes, and it seems even plant life. Photographer Sam Elliott begins to piece things together while the unexpected house-guest of Ray Milland, the patriarch of a wealthy family of spoiled brats. (For ladles of not-so-subtle subtext, the family name is Crockett and all have gathered to celebrate Ray's birthday on the 4th of July.) There are some intriguing ideas explored here in spite of the inherit goofiness, and the film is a slick enough production that it doesn't come off as silly as it otherwise might. The climax could be a little stronger, since the massing frogs seem more an irritation than a menace, but all in all a fine little drive-in picture. That poster image of a frog chewing on a human arm may be one of the most iconic images of the decade. The film saw plenty of TV play, and was one of the films released by MGM on disk. Said disk provided a gorgeous transfer.

A Quick Look: GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE (1989 - color)

   1989's GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE marks a dividing line between eras. It was the last Godzilla movie to have a decent dub track (which is sad, because it was done by the same crew responsible for the lame international dubs in earlier decades -solid gold compared to those that followed, however). It was also the last entry in a very long time to have a strong script and almost uniformly good performances. Really, every time I revisit the picture I find it even better than I remembered. The film picks up in the aftermath of GODZILLA 1985, as spies from various countries are sorting through the rubble to find cell samples. Some years later, when Godzilla shows signs of stirring within his volcano prison, a genetic scientist is asked to work with the cells in finding a counter-weapon should Godzilla fully awake. He's initially opposed to the project, but figures he can use the Godzilla cells to help him with another little project which results in the plant monster Biollante. Meanwhile, terrorists are hot to get their hands on the new bio-weapon made from Godzilla's cells and hold Japan hostage by threatening to release Godzilla from his volcano... The second Godzilla film of the 80's hits a lot of good marks, and was prepared for US theatrical release. At the last minute, though -possibly due to recent terrorist activity, the film was instead released to home video and occasional airings on the HBO channel. Unexpectedly, the video, released in the early 90's, was letterboxed! GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE was thus one of the earliest films to be seen scope in electronic home viewing. The tapes still float around and are quite desirable. The film recently got a DVD release, but the print there lacks the translated titles found on the VHS version. Back in Japan, the film triggered a whole new series of films. Though that cycle has it's moments, none of them came within shouting distance of GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE.

A Quick Look: YOG, MONSTER FROM SPACE (1971 - color)

   YOG, MONSTER FORM SPACE came during a period in which Toho studios of Japan was falling upon hard times. Much like England's Hammer Films, the true heyday for the studio's popular output was coming to a close in the early 70's. A throwback to the mid-60's glory days, YOG detailed the exploits of a group of people on a tropical island under assault by a shapeless space monster that could create giants out of the local animal life. Nice pacing, fairly strong script, fine cast of familiar Toho faces. Oh, and some cool monsters, too! Released State-side by American International, it hit video in the 80's via a tape on which the sound was off by about 20 seconds for a good five minute stretch! Sadly, it is only commercially available now under the International title of "Space Amoeba" and sporting the frustratingly awful International dub. This dub is notable, however, for referring to the film's giant jungle turtle as the "stegosaurus bat." That one still has us scratching our heads!

A Quick Look: SON OF GODZILLA (1967 - color)

   During the classic era, only two Godzilla movies were released directly to television States-side. One was GODZILLA VERSUS THE SEA MONSTER, the other was SON OF GODZILLA. SON OF GODZILLA tells of a top-secret weather control experiment being conducted on a small island in the Pacific. Strange waves of unknown origin are messing with the equipment, resulting in an accident which bathes the island in severe radioactive heat. When it again becomes safe to leave the protection of the scientists' compound, it is discovered the storm has caused the island's man-sized mantises to balloon into dinosaur-scale monstrosities! The insects converge on a single point and begin digging, unearthing a massive prehistoric egg. From this hatches "a baby Godzilla" just as the big blue dinosaur himself hits the scene in answer to the baby's brainwaves which have been causing all the trouble with the scientists' electronics. Delightful, entertaining entry is one of the most casual and fun, mixing science fiction, giant monsters, and jungle themes. The film features a jungle girl, the first human being to befriend a giant monster when she meets Godzilla's son. Also on hand is an enormous spider that wants to eat the junior monster! Godzilla takes on the role of protector for this new creature of his species, and Godzilla's son would figure into the next few films rather prominently -much to the ire of fans who remain hostile to the annoying little squirt! The recent DVD release has been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, we can finally see the film scope. On the other, it uses one of those awful international dubs instead of the superior Titra dub heard on television for decades. One of my very favorite entries, right behind GODZILLA VS THE THING and KING KONG VS GODZILLA.