Let's Go To the Movies #6 Friday 2 June 1972

 

Over at the Colonial on Woodward Ave (in the exact spot where Little Caesars Arena now stands) is the Filipino produced THE HOT BOX (Their guns are hot and their bodies are hard!) with Margaret Markov leading a group of escaped female prisoners/revolutionaries. 

Also on the bill is Lee Frost's CHAIN GANG WOMEN (which is mostly chain gang men) , Dario Argento's THE CAT-O'- NINE TAILS and the complete unknown to me CUE MASTER (pool tableploitation ??) 

An interesting combination of a blaxploitation/heist film with some film noir elements, COOL BREEZE is playing several downtown theatres and drive-ins. Another one that really needs a nice Blu-ray release.

FRITZ THE CAT, complete with a Judith Crist quote ("Fritz The Cat is a Ball For the Open Mind!") is still playing a few theatres after its April premier. 

Held over for its second week is THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY. Starring Shirley MacLaine, this interesting & creepy  NYC based voodoo possession has finally gotten some Blu-ray love the past few years. 

Another MIA on Blu-ray, THE LONERS has Dean Stockwell leading a trio on a vicious crime spree and is trying to hitch on the the "new Hollywood" bandwagon from the previous decade with its shout outs to BONNIE AND CLYDE and EASY RIDER. 

"Fun & Thrills At the Drive-Ins Tonite!" with the double feature of the classic THEY CALL ME TRINITY along with the Joe Namath/Ann Margaret biker flick C.C. AND COMPANY which got some interest with its appearance in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD courtesy of Margot Robbie's theatre visit. 

A pretty great triple feature with a couple of Eddie Romero directed Filipino horror classics including TWILIGHT PEOPLE (a homage to The Island of Doctor Moreau) and BRIDES OF BLOOD (sadly most likely without the "oath of green blood"). THE BLOOD FIEND is a retitling of 1967's THEATRE OF BLOOD starring Christopher Lee.

The world premiere of TOP OF THE HEAP is playing downtown at the Fox. Written, produced,  directed by and starring Christopher St. John, it recently received a new 4K restoration so hopefully a new physical release is coming. St. John had appeared in SHAFT and used his salary from that to finance this amazing film. 

A couple of major studio releases playing around are Peter Bogdanovich's wonderful screwball comedy WHAT'S UP DOC? and a jut-jawed Chuck Heston saving the day (plus a gaggle of TV stars and former Hollywood sort-of A-listers) in SKYJACKED. 

SHRIEK OF THE MULTILATED 1974

 

"Piece By Piece, By Piece, the Bodies Vanish in ... Shriek of the Mutilated"

One of the more bizarre offerings amid 70’s cinema bigfoot/yeti mania, SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED is the cinema offspring of low budget New York director/writer/producer Ed Adlum (who was behind the druid/gore classic INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS 1972) and the NYC sexploitation/ roughie creative team couple Michael and Roberta Findlay.  Although not living up to what one would think this pairing of inventive minds would conjure up, it’s still entertainingly deranged with retina burning 70’s fashions, the expected WTF dialogue, bright blood red splattered low-budget gore plus you get satanic rituals and cannibalism (!!) mixed in. What more could you want?

Written by Adlum & Ed Kelleher, SHRIEK shares crew members and cast from INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS (and which would make a heck of a double feature with). Adlum reached out to Michael Findlay to direct, with Roberta managing the camera chores. The couple had separated by this time and as Roberta explains on the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray commentary track Michael was too "psychologically damaged" to complete the film on his own, so she took over the director’s chair.

Opening with a prologue featuring someone wearing a bigfoot-like mask and a red robe next to a swimming pool who then chops off a victim’s head (which plops into the pool) while a giggling Michael Findlay looks on, we start with the standard Cryptozoology cinema scene of a professor lecturing a group of students on yeti-like creatures. The professor is Dr. Ernst Prell (Alan Brock) who is giving some last-minute instructions to a group of students who will accompany him on his expedition. The students are Keith Henshaw (Michael Harris), Karen Hunter (Jennifer Stock GOD’S BLOODY ACRE 1975), Tom Nash (Jack Neubeck INVAISON OF THE BLOOD FARMERS 1972) and Lynn Kelly (Darcy Brown). Most of the actors have an exceedingly small resume appearing here and in INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS except for Jennifer Stock and Darcy Brown. Brown had an interesting sexploitation career appearing in DIARY OF A SWINGER 1967, BACCHANATE 1970 (which also has a Roberta Findlay cameo) and DYNAMITE 1972.

After some stilted dialogue outside the classroom the group goes to a party which features awkward dancing and a guy with a popcorn cart making the greasiest, most nasty-looking popcorn in the world while the song “Popcorn” by Hot Butter plays (this song was missing on previous home video until the Vinegar Syndrome release).  A survivor from one of Prell’s previous expeditions shows up at the party (sporting one of the greatest comb overs in cinema history) along with his wife and he gives a drunken monologue about the fate of the previous expedition. This leads to a bizarre out of nowhere sequence where we are treated to a double murder/revenge-murder involving an electric carving knife and a toaster.

The group travels to the “remote island” (a suburban house in Westchester County NY) in a van with flowers pasted on the side which gives off some Scooby Doo vibes. Of course, they stop at a gas station along the way so the old guy can ominously speak of their destination (“Cause no matter what I say, they're bound to get there, and they're bound to get what they went there for…”). Upon arriving they meet up with Dr. Karl Warner (Thom Ellis) who sports the balding guy with a ponytail look and wears knee-high boots with way too tight pants. Warner also has the whitest hairiest Native American ever seen who works for him as a caretaker and to whom he refers to him as “my Indian” (all of which sounds like even in 1974 was highly problematic).

Warner tells the group that there is a yeti in the area as he has heard its heart beating loudly and soon the expected carnage ensues with the gore mostly consisting of severed limbs tossed about and closeups of bloody scratched faces. The yeti is shown with surprising clarity for this type of film, and it looks like the camera work is mostly based on hiding the zipper. However, this all does play into the film’s bizarre climax.

The film has that low-budget weirdness about it with long stretches of people standing around bickering and/or shouting at each other, engaging in blustering monologues to explain plot points and particular to bigfoot cinema there’s aimless wondering about the woods.

The plot features bunches of expositions and random sequences through its first one-third or so and to its credit it does tie most of them into the films multi-layered conspiracy climax (one facet of which is made obvious to viewers and involves a “native dish”).

Roberta Findlay’s camerawork is sometimes very impressive with a nice autumnal feel to the film although we never feel like we are in anyplace remote starting with the iron girder and concrete bridge that accesses the “remote island.” Roberta is one of the more fascinating characters in the 1960’s NYC sexploitation world. She started working with then husband Michael on his “Flesh” trilogy in addition  to the infamous SNUFF in 1976. She was one of the few females who worked behind the camera in 60s sexploitation and later in in the coming decades hardcore. Along with her excellent take on Polanski’s REPULSION with A WOMAN’S TORMENT 1977 there are a few interesting horror films in her filmography including ORACLE 1985, BLOOD SISTERS 1988, and PRIME EVIL 1988. Michael Findlay would die in a helicopter accident on top of the Pan Am building in 1977, but Roberta is happily still with us. Her commentaries on various DVD/Blu-ray  releases are highly entertaining and informative. 

Let's Go To The Movies # 5 Fri. 28 June 1974

 One week 'till the 4th of July and lots of cool stuff playing around town! 

Playing multiple drive-ins around Detroit (including the inspiration for this blog's title), it doesn't get much better than this double feature of DIRTY O'NEIL THE LOVE LIFE OF A COP ("Women Who Make Him The Kind Of Offer A Cop Can't Refuse!") and the Swedish exploitation classic THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (aka THRILLER- "The Movie That Has No Limits Of Evil!") starring the great Christina Lindberg. 

Kind of like if Joseph Wambaugh had written a drive-in movie, DIRTY O'NEIL is another title that we really need a legit Blu of and the mega-sleazy & nasty THEY CALL HER ONE EYE is getting a spanking new release from Vinegar Syndrome in May of 2022.

Co-starring Sandra Peabody (THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT) and Chris Jordan (A TOUCH OF GENIE) TEENAGE HITCHHIKERS ("Everything You're Looking For...More Than You Bargained For!") is getting its premiere at seven local theaters. Peabody and Jordan had previously co-starred in MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS! the previous year. 

 

"In the miracle of Dynarama" here is Ray Harryhausen's THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (complete with a "Flying Homunculus"!) and of course Caroline Munro.

My favorite Blaxploitation film TRUCK TURNER ("Anybody asks you what happened, tell 'em you been hit by a truck- Mac 'Truck' Turner!") is playing a midnight show at the Mercury and Grand Circus

The Ralph Bakshi-less (and not a very good sequel) THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT is opening at numerous theatres including way out in the 'burbs at the Shelby Twin (a "rocking chair theatre") along with Don Siegel's kind-of-forgotten today THE BLACK WINDMILL.

 

Kung-Fu double features downtown at the Fox and the Adams with BLOOD FINGERS (originally released back in 1972 as BRUTAL BOXER) and starring the great Alan Tang paired with THE GODFATHERS OF HONG KONG at the Fox while at the Adams you got SHANGHAI LIL AND THE SUN LUCK KID (starring one of my favorites Szu Shih) along with the excellent MAN OF IRON which is a great double feature.

It's cool when your scrolling old newspapers and you see large ads for major Hollywood releases that you've never heard of before. Frank Hardy from The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew started in a (surely a sickeningly sweet that ends tragically) movie together?!?

PINK FLOYD AT POMPEII (or simply PINK FLOYD) "An overwhelming full volume Pink Floyd color experience" is in its final weekend - no doubt playing to hordes of stoned patrons

Major release stuff including the great road movie/heist film THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT with Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, a scene-stealing Geoffrey Lewis, a never-ending stream of 70's character actors, and drive-in favorite Luanne Roberts (THE TALE OF THE DEAN'S WIFE and BONNIES KIDS) as "suburban housewife".

Opening (and closing soon afterward) is Peter Bogdanovich's mega-bomb DAISY CLOVER.

Lots of choices if you're 18 years or older (or if you have an alternate ID) including the incredible MEMORIES WITHIN MISS AGGIE from director Gerard Damiano whose THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES is perpetually playing in a sticky-floored Detroit theatre. 

Let's Go To The Movies # 4 Fri. 12 Oct 1973

 Crisp Midwest fall Oct. evening with only a couple of weeks 'till Halloween ! Lots of re-releases this week as the drive-in season winds down in Detroit, Michigan. 

The magnificent Tamera Dobson in CLEOPATRA JONES ("She's 6 feet 2" of Dynamite!") is getting a re-release with COME BACK, CHARLESTON BLUE (the sequel to COTTON COMES TO HARLEM) as the second feature at The Plaza downtown on Woodward Ave. and three drive-ins. 

"2 Houses of Hell-together for a night of HORROR!" Hallmark Releasing has a re-release double feature of S.F. Brownrigg's DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (originally released as THE FORGOTTEN but retitled for the "Don't" marketing craze) and Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT from 1972 which is still out there on the grindhouse circuit (and would continue to be for years). 

Released back in Aug. GORDON"S WAR starring Paul Winfield and directed by Ossie Davis. "They said it would take an army to get the mob out of Harlem. This is the army! This is Gordon's war!" is on a late show at the Palms downtown and the Mercury out on the west side. 

Ossie Davis discovered that he could not competently film the action sequences in the film so Bruce Kessler (SIMON, KING OF WITCHES and ANGELS FROM HELL) was brought in and directed all the violence and action. 

From earlier in 1973 is WALKING TALL ("the "in" movie of 1973") starring Joe Don Baker and his big whup-ass stick. Oddly they seem to be trying to sell it as a love story and/or family drama this time around. 

Russ Meyer's BLACK SNAKE (here re-titled SWEET SUZY) is playing with Paul Rapp's THE CURIOUS FEMALE which was originally going to be titled LOVE COMPUTER STYLE and had its world premiere in Detroit back in 1970.

BLACK SNAKE was Russ Meyer's return to self-financed film production and attempt at the Blaxploitation market after his stint at 20th Century which had resulted in BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLL and THE SEVEN MINUTES. BLACK SNAKE had a troubled production including the last minute drop out of it lead actress and was a box office failure which led it to being released under several different titles. 

Here we got the horrifically bad ARNOLD'S WRECKING COMPANY which was filmed in 1971 but not released until 1973 and is a "comedy" about a nerdy high school student who starts dealing pot and runs afoul of police and gangsters. 

The mondo film AFRICA UNCENSORED from 1972 is running downtown with the much more watchable and entertaining BLACULA (also from 1972). AFRICA UNCENSORED was directed by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni and Guido Guerrasio who did a whole series of African mondo films that mostly focused (as to be expected) on sexual fertility rites along with animal killings. 

Some major studio releases include a sneak preview of THE WAY WE WERE at the Americana and Eastland, the kind-of-forgotten today OKLAHOMA CRUDE w/ George C. Scott and Faye Dunaway and a western I've never heard of with Glenn Ford. 

Terrific double feature of ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE ("He's a good cop..on a big bike...on a bad road") and the great THE OUTSIDE MAN (which is way overdue for a Blu-ray release) is playing multiple theatres around the Motor City. 

At the Grand Circus downtown is some King-Fu action with FEARLESS FIGHTERS (aka NINJA KILLERS) from 1971 and going way back to 1967 (!!) is KISS AND KILL on the bottom half of the bill which is a Hong Kong remake of the Euro-spy PASSPORT TO HELL: SECRET AGENT 3S3.

Lots of XXX around including a nice big ad for the Krim I and II showing THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES and BEHIND THE BREEN DOOR and SPIKEY'S MAGIC WAND at the 6 Mile and Art I which is hawking stars Harry Reems and Georgina Spelvin from the classics (and perpetually running) THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES and DEEP THROAT.