A Quick Look: THE HELL AND BACK (1955 - color)

TO HELL AND BACK was the (sanitized) big screen adaptation of Audie Murphy's autobiography of the same name. Murphy plays himself, supported by a number of familiar character actors, in all the production value Universal International can muster. This may be one of the earliest big-budget war epics to feature Patton tanks as German Panzers or Tigers, a practice which quickly became the norm -with the apparent promise that, "if you overlook the shape of the enemy tanks, we'll make up for it with big spectacle." Murphy was seen as something of a runt, but eagerly enlisted when the War came to America -lying about his age in order to join up, as did several young men. By War's end, the tenacious Murphy had fought in nine major campaigns and been wounded three times. Audie was the highest-decorated combat soldier of the War, earning 33 medals and decorations from the US, France, and Belgium -including America's highest honor, the Metal of Honor. He is credited with no less than 240 kills. Seemingly ageless, handsome, and talented, he eventually got into acting, and made for a good leading man. Of all his films, though, no doubt his most personal was TO HELL AND BACK.

A Quick Look: OPERATION KID BROTHER (1967 - color)

   One of the most notable, though sadly obscure, spy epics is OPERATION KID BROTHER. Sean Connery's brother Neil was talked into becoming an actor and his first major assignment was to play the brother of 007. Neil Connery plays Neil Connery, brilliant surgeon and hypnotist drafted into secret service when his skills are required to defeat a criminal organization. Although his name is Connery, he's the brother of you-know-who, and thus quickly falls into the pace of things. With Neil are Barnard Lee and Lois Maxwell, M and Moneypenny of the James Bond franchise. Clearly, they're playing the same parts under civilian code names (Miss Maxwell really enjoyed the chance to be a more active part in a mission than she ever got to be in the Bond films). The magic of OPERATION KID BROTHER is that the producers could've gone the cheap road and made a cheesy quickie to cash in on Bondmania, but instead produced a lush, legitimate spy adventure which is easily among the best Europe ever produced. When Sean Connery decided to leave the role of James Bond, Neil was suggested to EON as a suitable replacement. That would've been a pretty good idea, but as history shows, EON passed. Neil acted in a few other things, but never had another starring role in a major motion picture (his next, and next-best, part was as the hero's sidekick in THE BODY STEALERS). And because Italian pictures were shot MOS (minus optical sound), the finished film doesn't even feature Neil's voice! The actor fell ill and wasn't able to attend the recording session.

Seeking a DVD distributor for the Cartoon Cuties Static-Mation shorts...

 After completing the first cycle of YouTube video shorts, the plan now is to collect the videos into an official DVD release. Still searching for a distributor, but I've drawn up some cover artwork to accompany the project...

A Quick Look: GODZILLA VS MEGALON (1973/76 - color)

   Although it has never been held in the highest regard, GODZILLA VS MEGALON remains one of the biggest hits of the franchise, and one of the most visible entries. Spies from an underground kingdom launch an assault on the surface world via their living instrument of revenge, the giant insect Megalon. To guide the creature in it's invasion, they steal a robot from a Japanese toy inventor. The good guys manage to regain control of the robot and send him off to collect Godzilla. Meanwhile, the meanies from beneath the earth contract with spacemen to bring Gigan into the fray. US audiences first saw Gigan here, only to be re-introduced to the character when GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND finally came over the next year! Heavily influenced by the explosion of popular costumed superheroes on Japanese TV, the film focuses mainly on the humanoid robot Jet Jaguar. Godzilla basically functions as a guest star in his own movie! Cinema Shares imported the film in 1976, when it went head to head against the remake of KING KONG (one reason the US poster art features the recently-finished twin towers). The film, released in a couple of different cuts, was a smash hit and became a staple at kiddie matinees. When the film came to television, it was a ratings bonanza (in one event hosted by John Belushi wearing a Godzilla costume). Later, the film was a huge hit on home video. By that time, the dubbed version had fallen into public domain, so just about every video label had a release of the picture. Due to this status, the film became an experiment on Mystery Science Theater 3000. The episode was issued on disk, but by that time the rights had been restored and the disks were pulled. As result, they command a high price when you run across 'em. Recently, the film finally saw a widescreen release hit DVD, although for some idiotic reason, the titles remain in Japanese! The widescreen print featuring the English titles had already been floating around the Sci-Fi Channel for a few years!

Commission piece that was really fun...

 

  I was asked to draw Minerva Mink in the style of airplane nose art. It was a fun commission, and I colored my scan of the piece just for fun. The drawing itself is black and white. The original version is below...

 

A Quick Look: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968 - color)

   DESTROY ALL MONSTERS was the giant monster equivalent of those Rat Pack movies of the 60's. Originally figured as a last hurrah for the Godzilla franchise, the Toho studio threw together just about every giant monster they had in their stable. The plot concerned a future invasion by space women who used mind control devices to subvert scientists into assisting them in world conquest. To facilitate this, they unleash the world's giant monsters and set them to destroying our major cities. The film did so well that Godzilla would continue his activities well into the next decade and eventually far beyond. Due to unspecified legal trouble, the film was missing in action for decades, becoming legend among fans who longed to see the film (outside of Japan, anyway). Finally, around the turn of the century, the film surfaced on the Sci-Fi Channel, presented in a lovely scope transfer. The only real drawback was that this print was the International version. Fortunately, the AIP dub has finally been restored to the film on recent DVD releases. It was a long time in coming, but the ultimate Godzilla movie is finally on our shelves where it belongs!

A Quick Look: 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)

In addition to some nifty crime thrillers (and a ton of westerns), Columbia also offered up some pretty cool science fiction/monster pictures in the 50's. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH is one of the most famous, and considered by many to be animator Ray Harryhausen's master work of the black and white era (of which this would be the last). The story concerns an astronaut who returns to Earth with a sample of Venusian animal life in a sealed container. When a small boy discovers the container after the rocket crashes into the sea, an ever-growing dinosaur-like creature is unleashed upon the world. Ultimately, the adventure ends up in Rome. William Hopper is the courageous astronaut, who the same year would find himself facing THE DEADLY MANTIS over at Universal International. Harryhausen's monster (known as the Ymir, though the word is never spoken in the film) was reportedly his favorite character and puppet. The creature possesses almost no malice, but it keeps getting poked and shot and cornered into attacking. One of the most unique movie monsters of the atomic age, and the Roman setting adds some international spice. (Speaking of Rome, lovers of unusual movies should check out 2015's RISEN. It approaches the Resurrection of the Christ from the Roman perspective, played like a detective story. Very impressive, and worth a look.)