Giant from the Unknown (1958)

Geologist Wayne Brooks is doing geological research in a mountain village when strange things happen. Cows are slaughtered, people are killed, and naturally cantankerous Sheriff Parker suspects Brooks. Dr. Cleveland arrives with his pretty daughter looking for evidence of Spanish conquistadors who enslaved the local native population. They were led by a very large man. A “giant”, if you will.

Our Diablo Giant was played by 6’7” Buddy Baer, who was the brother of world heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer and uncle of Max Baer, Jr better known as Jethro Bodine. Makeup legend Jack Pierce designed the Giant’s look.

It’s no surprise that the science depicted is wonky as hell. Our hero shows off a living lizard that was suspended in rock for millions of years. And the long dead giant is resurrected by lightning. Unfortunately, this happens in the second act, after the cattle mutilations and suspicious deaths. Close enough, I guess.

Despite itself, Giant from the Unknown is an amusing enough watch. You don’t go into this kind of film expecting Shakespeare. I mean, you literally know exactly where the giant came from. They were looking for him. But apart from that and the lightening, there’s little to take you out of the story. AMRU 3.

The Blackbird (1926)

London police investigating a robbery want to speak with the notorious Blackbird (Lon Chaney). However, The Blackbird’s alibi is provided by his saintly and crippled twin brother known as The Bishop (also Lon Chaney), who runs a mission for the poor.

The Blackbird has his eye on the pretty Fifi Lorraine (Renée Adorée), but she is interested in the fancy Bertram Glayde  (Owen Moore), who is in fact no gentleman but the notorious thief, West End Bertie! The conflict between the two thieves escalates to disaster.

Pretty Adorée successfully transitioned to sound cinema but contracted tuberculosis. She would die at age 35. Moore wouldn’t fare much better, dying of a whisky influenced heart attack in 1939. Both would outlive Chaney.

The Blackbird plays out much like many Chaney films do. Chaney’s performance is always mesmerizing, regardless of the context. Regrettably, it has been six years since I last watched a Chaney film. Of his 83 feature-ish length films, very many are lost and the rest are somewhat difficult to come by. I'll try not to wait that long again. AMRU 3.5.

Scars of Dracula (1970)

Dracula (Christopher Lee) is alive again thanks to a drooling bat, and living in a castle that the villagers unwisely tried to burn down. This apparently scars him emotionally. A traveler passes by in need of shelter. It doesn’t end well for him. His brother and lady-friend investigate to find out what happened.

Hammer followed the old rule that the monster must die in the end, but that sentiment is sabotaged by how trivial it is for Dracula to return. Literally, a drooling bat. While Taste The Blood was set in Victorian London, Scars has a much more rural and medieval setting. They just wanted to make another, disconnected Dracula film but were obliged to make it a sequel.

Recall from the last review how Lee didn’t want to continue reprising his Dracula character. Well, plus one this time. He outright hated this film. And because the Hammer horrors were less and less successful in America, Hollywood studios didn’t invest. This was his third Hammer Dracula film released in 1970. He would do two more.

I prefer the setting of Scars of Dracula, but I also prefer horror films to be at least a little bit spooky. It's not a bad film, but it's just another uninspired rehash of the same material. Hammer was in serious decline at this point and the end would come quick. AMRU 3.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Three rich men do charitable work once a week, by which I mean they go hoaring. When they realize that their transgressions no longer tips their triggers, they enlist the help of a ne’er-do-well, who has just the thing. What if we were to summon the devil? And by the Devil we mean Dracula. Things don’t go as planned and now Dracula wants to kill the three men.

At this point in his career Christopher Lee was increasingly reluctant to reprise his Dracula character. The filmmakers initially intended to make a Dracula film without Dracula, but the producers wouldn’t back it without Lee, so they found a number that Lee was agreeable to.

When the film isn’t following the three leches, it focuses on their collective pure of heart children. It becomes a little difficult to remember who are sibling or courting, and which lecher is their father, but the effort isn’t necessary. Nor does the film deserve that level of attention. Pretty Alice Hargood and good Paul Paxton are the only important ones.

Hammer horrors from this time period tend to blend into each other. Vaguely interesting, vaguely scary. The bad guys are bad enough where Drac almost becomes the hero. Almost. Surprisingly someone does literally taste the blood of Dracula. So, there’s that. AMRU 3.

Targets (1968)

Feeling like a relic in modern Hollywood, horror legend Byron Orlok (horror legend Boris Karloff) decides to retire. Industry sycophants urge him to reconsider. In a parallel story, gun enthusiast Bobby (Tim O’Kelly) starts having intrusive thoughts.

Producer Roger Corman gave young Peter Bogdanovich the chance to direct his first feature. He got the use of Karloff for two days, who was paid by the day, and scenes from The Terror (1963). Brash young director Bogdanovich cast himself as the brash young director.

Karloff would pass less than six months after the film’s premiere (just over a year from when shooting wrapped), but would somehow manage to appear in five more films and make two television appearances. Only The Crimson Cult would prove memorable.

Firearm aficionado O’Kelly would appear in fairly little before retiring at 29. He was the original Danno on Hawaii Five-O before being replaced. Director Sammy’s would-be love interest Nancy Hsueh would have a similarly abbreviated career, doing a little TV and one more film before retiring.

Targets is not a very complex story, but it is a very effective thriller. The events feel real and Bogdanovich was expert at putting thoughts into the viewer’s head. Intrusive thoughts, one might say. A decent film, but an excellent first film. AMRU 3.5.

What Else I Watched, 2026Q3

What's up, Doc? (1972)
I first saw this back in 2020 and I liked it. Didn’t love it, but it had some good stuff in there. Felt mostly the same this time around. Barbra was very charming.

His Girl Friday (1940)
It gets better every time I watch it. The original play was adapted again by Billy Wilder in 1974, with Lemmon and Matthau. I may see that version soon.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)
After watching the cringy live action version, it was nice to see an Avatar that felt like the Avatar. It’s interesting that they chose not to use the original voice actors. It’s pretty forgettable, though. I feel it fading from my memory as I type …

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
It has been about ten and a half years since I watched this film, and it holds up to a second viewing. Still just as tense.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Two years after I watched it last, I still find the comedy mean spirited. But what I noticed this time is that it’s a better than fair heist film.

Clue (1985)
This was my send-off for Tim Curry, and I watched it with a group from my back yard. While it may not be the best 80’s comedy, and some of the humor does not age well, it was a pleasure to watch. Tim was a unique talent. Nobody could replace him.

My Cousin Vinny (1988)
This might have been the first time I watched it all the way through. Excellent courtroom drama and an excellent comedy. Marisa Tomei was not expected to win Best Supporting Actress which gave rise to silly conspiracy theories. Get a grip. She gave a charming performance.

Midnight in the War Room (2026)
Still listed as in post-production, this documentary premiered in August at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. The cybersecurity company that produced the film held a screening in Boston, and I got a ticket. The message of the doc is that we are in a full-blown cyber war, and it is escalating. Being in the biz, that wasn't news to me. Still, it was an interesting watch.

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Pretty Nell (Marilyn Monroe) is hired to watch a young girl while her parents attend a banquet at a fancy New York hotel. She catches the eye of recently dumped pilot Jed (Richard Widmark), but he soon discovers she is a few crackers short of a full sleeve.

Monroe was finally offered the chance for a starring role and showed surprising depth, although contemporary reviews didn’t acknowledge it. Co-star Widmark was already an established leading man and had a long career, frequently playing military leaders.

Old friend Eliza Cook Jr. plays Monroe’s uncle and Millionaire Jim Backus is the little girl’s father. Anne Bancroft is the pilot’s heart-breaker in her first feature role.

While not a truly remarkable film, Don’t Bother to Knock covers some fairly serious subject matter, and a little more maturely than I would have expected. But it is Jed who experiences the character arc, learning to care about other people. This felt a little unearned, but it may have been part of the source material. AMRU 3.5.

Jamaica Inn (1939)

After her mother dies, young Mary (Maureen O’Hara) travels to the notorious Jamaica Inn to live with her aunt (Marie Ney). She discovers that something sinister goes on there and confides in her new friend, aristocrat Sir Humphrey (Charles Laughton).

Jamaica Inn was based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, who also penned Rebecca and The Birds. Perhaps because it's a period piece, it didn't feel much like a Hitchcock film. Because the notoriously difficult Laughton was a co-producer, Hitch said he didn't so much direct it as referee it.

This was the first major role for 18 year old O’Hara, and the first after dropping her real last name, FitzSimons. Her cruel uncle Joss was played by Leslie Banks. Scaring from World War I facilitated his casting in villainous roles. I have yet to notice it. Laughton was excellent in the Charles Laughton role.

Jamaica Inn, after you acclimate to the expressive acting, is a better than fair watch. Perhaps not well remembered today, it still entertains. AMRU 3.5.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

A kerfuffle-prone artist Dick (Cary Grant) catches the affection of highschooler Susan (Shirley Temple), who happens to be the younger sister of the judge (Myrna Loy) he was brought in front of. The court decides to drop all charges, and in exchange Dick will date Susan until her infatuation subsides. What could possibly go wrong?

Forty two year old Grant was twenty four years older than his co-star, but Susan’s math revealed that his character was thirty five. Band leader Rudy Vallee plays another annoying antagonist. He’s a man who knew a thing or two about dating teenagers. His third wife was nineteen when they married. He was forty two. Marital bliss lasted less than eight months.

This film is yet another example of classic Hollywood’s infatuation with underage girls. But to the film’s credit Grant’s Dick, that is to say, his character, doesn’t for a moment imply any attraction to Susan. And Temple’s performance is fairly innocent. It’s all played off as an awkward situation.

Temple is actually pretty good. She never made it as an adult actress and I believed there were reasons for this. Her singer/dancer/actress skills were cute when she was ten but now she was going up against the likes of Deborah Kerr, Vera-Ellen, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse. She simply wasn’t in that class. Fort Apache may be in my future.

Grant is always interesting to watch but he doesn’t give off painter artist vibes. Perhaps a writer would have been more fitting. Age appropriate Myrna Loy is also great. The court-ordered courting of a minor makes The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer a fairly screwy screwball comedy, but it's not among the funniest. It has some good moments, but also some extended unfunny bits. AMRU 3. I will end with a real-life Rudy Vallee quote:

“People called me the guy with the cock in his voice. Maybe that's why in 84 years of life I've been with over 145 women and girls.”

Deadline at Dawn (1946)

While on a drinking binge with a floozie, naive sailor Alex (Bill Williams) pockets a wad of her cash. Once sober, he tries to return it only to find her dead. For reasons that make the film go, he decides he must find the murderer before he ships out at 6:00 AM. World weary dance hall girl June (Susan Hayward) helps for the very same reason.

Quite a bit is going on here. Dead Edna was up to no good and her brother is a notorious gangster. More people enter the circle of suspects. There are also a number of amusing side characters, like Babe Dooley, the washed up ball player (apparently modeled after Hack Wilson), the philosophical taxi driver, and a dance hall patron who means no disrespect.

This is the first film with Susan Hayward as the lead. She was quite good in the hard boiled role, having to recite some pretty ridiculous lines. When sailor boy says something unexpected, she replies “let’s pause for station identification”. It was just as awkward on screen as it seems. Gangster Vic has a few gems of his own. "People with wax heads should keep out of the sun."

Deadline at Dawn is an entertaining watch, and the cheesy dialog only adds to the amusement. Sailor boy may have been a pretty weak protagonist but Hayward was quite charming. AMRU 3.5.

“She was no lullaby, but she had the brains, like a man.”

Boxcar Bertha (1972)

During the depression, Bertha (Barbara Hershey) joins up with a union rabble-rouser (David Carradine) and a card cheat to become outlaws. David’s dad John plays the evil rail baron.

Director Martin Scorsese was given an opportunity and a script from Roger Corman. This opportunity allegedly came with a requirement to include nudity, possibly every fifteen minutes or pages, it’s unclear. This didn’t stop Marty from being clever with his storytelling. Unfortunately there is only so much he could do with this sow’s ear. Famously John Cassavetes told Scorsese that was too good to be making this kind of shit.

Boxcar Bertha was rumored to be based on a true story, but it's not. This may have been a stunt to cause audiences to associate it with Bonnie and Clyde, a far better film. But story and acting performances aside, Boxcar Bertha isn’t hard to watch. And at 90 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. AMRU 3.

Forbidden Zone (1980)

Exchange student Frenchy discovers that a door in the host family’s basement leads to the sixth dimension. Excitedly, she enters to discover a bizarre world ruled by a jealous queen.

Richard Elfman, brother of Danny, scratched together money to finance a film featuring his band of street performers, known then as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. What was captured on screen was an absurdist, frenetic performance unlike anything. Like a twisted Alice in Wonderland, the king (Hervé Villechaize) takes a shine to her but Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell) won’t just stand by. The cast of characters is too numerous to list. Brother Danny plays the Devil and sings Minnie the Moocher.

Originally shot in black and white to give it a German expressionist vibe, it was digitally colorized in 2008. The lack of sharpness is noticeable but the colorization isn’t if you didn’t already know. The sets appear to be made from trash bags, cardboard, and markers but still show a high level of craftsmanship. Despite the very small budget, around a hundred grand, Elfman lost his shirt. And his house.

Forbidden Zone has scenes most will interpret as racist, misogynist, or homophobic, and will be offensive to those who are so inclined. Elfman disputed this, but did change a blackface scene into clown-face. It did see success on midnight showing.

I’ve only just scratched the surface. There’s a dancing frog-man, a topless princess, a chicken-boy named Squeezit, and so much more insanity. Love it or hate it, one thing is certain. You can’t take your eyes from the screen. I’m rating it AMRU 3.5, but I feel there is just no way I won’t see it a second time.

From the Earth to the Moon (1958)

With the Civil War over, war profiteer Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotten) sees profits drop. He gathers together his war monger friends for a proposition. He has invented Power X, a powerful explosive unlike anything ever seen. Problem is, it’s too powerful to demonstrate it on Earth. His plan is to fire a rocket to the moon and detonate it there. To convince investors, he performs a demonstration on Earth. President Grant catches wind and makes him promise not to blow up the moon. So instead he decides to travel from the Earth to the Moon. Skeptic Nicholl (George Sanders) comes along for the ride.

This was a big budget production under RKO, who went bankrupt during production. The budget was slashed and the film was released by Warner Brothers, which may account for some of the plot holes. But it is riddled with them, and there is no excuse. Grant was not yet president at the year the movie is set.

Pretty Debra Pagent is Sanders’ daughter, smitten with Cotten’s assistant. She did a lot of genre pictures until one tragic day she turned thirty. She is apparently still with us, just celebrating her ninety third birthday. Henry Daniell appears in a small role as one of the war mongers. Script wiz Dalton Trumbo was hired to give the script a tune up.

From the Earth to the Moon is of that strange sub-genre of High Tech Victorian sci-fi. See The Time Machine (1960) for a better example. But this isn’t the problem. The story is quite messy in parts and, try as they might, lacks drama. Wasn’t painful to watch, but should have been better. AMRU 2.5.

Murder Ahoy (1964)

Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is elected to a board of trustees that funds a nautical themed program for wayward boys. Another trustee says he learned damning information about the program, but dies before he can explain. Heart attack, say the police. Bad snuff, says Marple. She invites herself aboard the program ship to do some snooping.

Not that it matters, but I intended to watch the four Marple films in release order. Both this and Murder Most Foul were released in 1964, but this was the last. A fifth was planned but never materialized.

Marple must find the secret, find the murder, and discover what else is going on. Quite a bit is going on. But rest assured, we get there in the end. The viewer can't investigate along because of hidden information and many red herrings. But I did guess the culprit, but that had more to do with spotting the pattern than spotting the clues.

Murder Ahoy isn’t a great mystery, nor a great comedy, and Rutherford isn’t very believable as a detective. Agatha Christie wasn't a fan of the casting. But the movie is entertaining enough, for 90 minutes anyhow. AMRU 3.

The Story of Mankind (1957)

Mankind has invented the “Super H-Bomb”, and if they detonate it, the Earth and all men will be destroyed. Women too. A tribunal is held in Heaven to decide if mankind should be allowed to destroy itself. Advocate for the defense is The Spirit of Man (Ronald Coleman). Mr. Scratch (Vincent Price) advocates for destruction.

The “Master of Disaster” Irwin Allen assembled a large cast of stars by promising one day of work for $25,000. Several big names appear in cameos: Virginia Mayo as Cleopatra, Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc, Peter Lorre as Emperor Nero. The three main Marx Brothers appear and this is sometimes included as an official Marx Brothers film, but their screen time is brief and they don’t appear together. Scenes of action and of large set pieces were borrowed from better films.

The storybook version of world history is illustrated with Mr. Scratch pointing out the war, cruelty, and injustice, while The Spirit of Man points out the occasional scientific discovery or work of art. I’m glad they acknowledged the treatment of native americans, but much is still hand-waved away. The prosecution’s case is pretty air-tight.

The Story of Mankind is a cringy vanity project. It doesn’t earn its all star cast or grand scale. It’s a dull, tedious watch whose only real entertainment is to play spot the fading start. But that too gets tedious. AMRU 2.

Contempt (1963)

A screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) is hired by an arrogant American producer (Jack Palance) to punch up a script during filming, and his marriage to his disproportionately attractive wife (Brigitte Bardot) begins to deteriorate.

Director Fritz Lang plays director Fritz Lang. Real-life Lang’s directing career was already over, due mostly to failing eyesight. Here he is directing, interestingly enough, The Odyssey.

The film was a success for director Jean-Luc Godard, but for Bardot, one of the biggest stars at the time, it was a bit of a disappointment. Half of the million dollar budget went into her fee.

Husband and wife wander around their apartment while arguing. The scene goes on for thirty-four minutes and nothing sees to be communicated. This is the key to the film. A relationship goes from very solid to on the rocks, and the root cause is never uttered. It is left to the audience to decide. I have my theory, and it's not what's in the IMDb blurb.

Contempt is a very talky movie. Little action of consequence and the viewer is left to decide what it all meant. A second viewing may be in order, but I don’t feel compelled to do so. AMRU 3. It is, however, my favorite Jean-Luc Godard film so far.

Glen or Glenda (1953)

Jesus, where to begin.

The story of Christine Jorgensen, a US Army vet who had sex reassignment surgery in Denmark, was quite the buzz in 1952 and Producer George Weiss wanted to make a film about her. Edward Wood, despite having almost no film experience, begged to direct. He confided that he was a cross dresser, which could have gotten him arrested. Weiss agreed and Wood did more than direct, he also wrote and starred in it. Nobody wrote dialog quite like Ed Wood.

But rather than concentrate on Jorgensen, Wood focuses on cross dressing, initially on a man who committed suicide because the law would not allow him to live the life he wanted. Jorgensen and sex reassignment gets brief coverage in the third act.

There were a few take-aways. First, Wood takes a surprisingly compassionate tone. Surprising for 1953, that is. Also, he asserts that there is no connection between transvestites and homosexuality. I plead ignorance on the subject. Additionally, he claimed Jorgensen was a “pseudohemaphrodite”, which I learned was a common belief at the time, not that Jorgensen ever said. A biological component may have made the story easier to handle back then.

Wood’s film came back at around 50 minutes. Too short to be considered a feature, so Weiss added a bizarre fourteen minute dream sequence that did not add to the barely-there narrative. Also bizarre is Bela Lugosi’s role in the film. Titled just “Scientist”, dressed like Dracula, he just repeats strange lines from a traditional gothic horror set piece. Broke and suffering from substance abuse at the time, Bela took any role offered.

Glen or Glenda is a prime example of poor storytelling. While wondering where the story is going, the viewer is confronted with yet more exposition. In parts the acting is laughingly bad, but pay attention to the dialog. It’s just confoundingly terrible. But, at a brisk 65 minutes, it’s surprisingly watchable. How many films can you say were a completely unique viewing experience? And for those who feel “this whole transgender thing” appeared out of nowhere in the past ten years, here is exhibit A from 1953. AMRU 3.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

The chronicles of Brian of Nazareth, whose life parallels his better known neighbor, Jesus.

You are either a Python fan or you’re not. The second of four feature films (if you include Live at the Hollywood Bowl) under the Python banner took religious satire to a new level. Annoyed by being repeatedly asked what’s next, Eric Idle sarcastically replied “Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory”. While considering a movie about Jesus, they didn’t find much humor in it. Rather, they created Brian, born at the same time and mistaken for the messiah. Christian conservatives were not amused.

Because of the sensitive subject matter, financier EMI backed out. Private funding came from, of all people, George Harrison. When asked why he did this, his response was “I wanted to see the movie”. Terry Jones, who directed, joked it was the world’s most expensive cinema ticket.

Life of Brian faced widespread protests, and bans that lasted decades. And despite this, it was a huge commercial success, out earning The Holy Grail seven fold. The group argued quite correctly that the film does not satirize theology, but dogma. Depictions of Jesus were handled with respect. It’s everyone else that is skewered. The various anti-Roman separatist groups fighting amongst themselves rather than fighting the Romans, their propensity to endlessly debate rather than take to action, and the people following Brian not agreeing what his message actually was.

But the message, plainly stated, is that you don’t have to follow anyone. You need to make decisions for yourself. This leads to quite possibly one of funniest scenes in any film, where Brian confronts his followers with the above message and they reply in unison “Yes, we are all individuals”.

The Holy Grail may be the troop’s most accessible film, but Life of Brian exceeds it in social and political satire, and is arguably the funnier film. AMRU 5.

"I'm not"

At War with the Army (1950)

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis are in the army. Antics ensue. Set before the war, there are a few sub-plots (for lack of a better term), one involving a young woman who is apparently with child.

This is the first of fourteen Martin and Lewis comedy films over seven years, not including comic relief cameos. Their lucrative partnership lasted exactly ten years and would end in bitter acrimony. The two would not speak for twenty years.

The comedian + singer buddy comedy genre was proven successful with the Hope and Crosby road movies. Each pair would cameo in the other’s films. Director Hal Walker even worked on two of them.

At War with the Army is a fairly meh comedy with few giggles, if any. If you find Lewis cross-dressing and sarcastically saying “Oh, big man!” funny, then you might have something. It is the lowest rated of the pair’s films, so that’s encouraging. AMRU 2.5.

Clash by Night (1952)

World-weary Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her hometown, defeated by the past ten years. Now just wanting to be safe, she agrees to marry nice guy fisherman Jerry (Paul Douglas). Mae hates Jerry’s boorish, arrogant friend Earl (Robert Ryan), so predictably, they have an affair.

Marilyn Monroe plays the girlfriend of Mae’s little brother. On loan from 20th Century Fox, this was her first sizable role. Back-handed compliments aside, her performance earned her better roles. Old friend J. Carrol Naish played Uncle Vince. A very different role for him.

Commonly labeled film-noir, Clash by Night certainly has a noir title. It also has a noir cast and director, and the tone is fairly pessimistic, but It seems to just miss. Even TCM’s Eddie Muller seems to waffle on the subject.

Clash by Night is a domestic drama populated by fully flushed out characters. The setting feels very ‘lived in’, probably because it was based on a successful play. Robert Ryan performed in the play as Joe Doyle. Maybe not noir, but excellent performances make it an entertaining watch. AMRU 3.5.