This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[moira finnie]

Bronxie--I believe that Targets and The Last Picture Show are the two best movies that Bogdanavich ever made. Boris is so moving in one of his last roles, if you like him at all, you will not forget his work in this movie. I think his true spirit shines through beautifully in his role as an elderly actor.

[RedRiver]

A member of our local community theatre is 6'7 and built like a steam shovel. When are we going to do OF MICE AND MEN, I ask! Some opportunities just shouldn't be ovelooked.

That Bogdanovich. I like PAPER MOON a lot. Also "Picture Show" and MASK. Then comes ILLEGALLY YOURS, the director's second failed attempt at recreating screwball. THEY ALL LAUGHED is a miss, despite the irresistible presence of Audrey H. A few years ago, I watched half of THE CAT'S MEOW, then decided to scrub the toilet using only a toothbrush instead! This is a filmmaker who showed a lot of promise, but didn't deliver.

[Western Guy]

I forgot about MASK. My bad. That really is a terrific film with an incredible performance by Cher -- and Eric Stoltz is no slouch, either - nor that real "Western Guy" Sam Elliott. I'd rate that film on an equal par with TARGETS.

[Bronxgirl48]

I'm not a particularly big fan of Bogdanovich's films either, Bronxgirl, though he did score a masterpiece with TARGETS. Nothing in my estimation comes close to that work.

Yeah, interesting Chaney casting. It seems more like a Broderick Crawford part. But . . . when you consider Crawford originated "Lennie" on Broadway . . . maybe one can picture Chaney in some of the roles that Crawford played. Actually it's not too difficult since the two men seemed to possess similar personalities. Where I would have a problem is seeing Crawford taking over Lon's "monster" parts.

TARGETS would unfortunately be very timely these days....

Not sure about Broderick Crawford as an immigrant, though, Western Guy. Maybe Eddie Robinson or Luther Adler? (btw, Adler makes a great "so sorry" villain in D.O.A. You know the type -- the outwardly refined bad guy who always apologizes to the hero for "needing" to kill him)

I could see Brod filling in for Tor Johnson. Brod would have almost as much trouble scrambling out of that grave in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. As for a Chaney substitution, can't one envisage Crawford in something like MAN MADE MONSTER, lol.

[Bronxgirl48]

Bronxie--I believe that Targets and The Last Picture Show are the two best movies that Bogdanavich ever made. Boris is so moving in one of his last roles, if you like him at all, you will not forget his work in this movie. I think his true spirit shines through beautifully in his role as an elderly actor.

Even though I don't care for Bogdanavich (more, I think, for his personal life than as a director) moira, I'm betting that Peter treated Boris much better during the actor's last years than Roger Let's Get This Picture Made in Five Minutes Corman.

[Western Guy]

Well Bronxgirl, on the surface Chaney also seems like an unlikely choice to play a Greek immigrant so I don't know about Crawford being unsuitable in Chaney's role. But out of all of Chaney's monster characterizations I can imagine Broderick as "Dynamo Dan".

As for Corman and Karloff - I remember reading where Karloff did express some dissatisfaction with Corman's style of directing. When he once asked Roger for some advice on how to play a scene, Corman apparently replied: "That's your pigeon." Corman was apparently more concerned with getting a picture done quickly and on budget than guiding his actors' performances.

[Bronxgirl48]

In between those low-budget Runyan-esque gangster types Brod essayed in the early forties, he could very well have made an interesting electrical conduit in MAN MADE MONSTER. (and wasn't THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN a remake of it? I seem to recall Lon creeping through L.A. tunnels in that one, hell-bent for revenge...)

I read somewhere years ago that Corman's directorial style (if indeed he had one, lol) exacerbated Karloff's respiratory problems during THE RAVEN. Something about the set being cold, I think. Roger apparently didn't want to take time from his rigid shooting schedule to make things a bit more physically comfortable for Boris.

[Western Guy]

Bronxgirl, I believe the Corman movie that you speak of was THE TERROR where Karloff played the closeup scenes during the flooding of the castle. Already suffering from respiratory problems Karloff plunged into the waters to wrestle with Sandra Knight and was to suffer accordingly for it. Doubles were naturally used for the long shots, but I don't know whether Corman asked or Karloff volunteered to film the closeups himself. One thing: Karloff was dedicated to his craft and even as far back as FRANKENSTEIN began to perform onscreen actions that later would cause him physical problems.

Another film that really adversely affected Karloff's health was CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR, which was often filmed in England and the climate was often damp and cold. Apparently Karloff caught a chill which then developed into pneumonia. Sad, too, because I recall it not being a very good film and one for which Boris should never have submitted himself to, especially with the consequences to his health. In fact, one could argue that it was this movie that eventually killed him.

THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN is similar to MAN-MADE MONSTER but I wouldn't call it a remake. For one thing "Dynamo Dan" is a much more sympathetic character than "Butcher Benton", and Dan is the unwilling guinea pig who is charged with high volts of electricity to become the titular character whereas Benton is revived from the dead to become a revenge-seeking zombie. I much prefer MAN-MADE MONSTER. THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN is a pretty shoddy movie, marred mainly IMO by the narration and some long, pointless scenes. Chaney is as good as can be expected in the part but after his character is brought back to life he looks as if he's rehearsing for that later role of "Groton" in DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN. Interesting how Chaney's 50 genre roles often had him playing mutes: THE BLACK CASTLE, THE BLACK SLEEP.

[Rita Hayworth]

What's Up Doc - 1972 Movie

Director Peter Bogdanovich and starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, and Madeline Kahn in her first feature film role was by far one of the funniest movie ever made in the 70's and I would say that this movie will stand the test of time - and I would love to see it on TCM someday - and on any other channel. Like Moira said ... The Last Picture Show - was a gem and so is Paper Moon too. He is a very versatile director and I say there is very little that he can do and I wished he did more movies - and he is quite creative, gifted, and talented too.

I like his work altogether!

[RedRiver]

Corman was apparently more concerned with getting a picture done quickly and on budget than guiding his actors' performances.

I suspect Roger Corman, and other filmmakers of that type, delighted in awkward, overstated presentation. It makes the movie that much more...whatever it's supposed to be!

[RedRiver]

To me, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN is just cheezy enough to be adorable. I like it! It probably helps that I got a copy at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Along with QUICKSAND! An unpredictable acquisition adds to the pleasure. I've probably seen MAN MADE MONSTER, but it's been a long time. Don't remember it well. That Lon. For a man who really wasn't very talented, he sure was likeable.

[Western Guy]

A cheesy charm. I like that, R.R.

I'd disagree with you about Lon not being very talented. In the right role, coached by the proper director Lon could deliver quite effective performances. Unfortunately that didn't happen a lot throughout his career.Sadly, many of his roles were variants on Lennie. Worked well with Milestone, but with lesser-grade directors in budget productions . . . ugh. I reckon that's why Lon took special pride whenever he was complimented on his work in "The Golden Junkman". And again, I would hasten to add that wonderful scene with "Coop" in HIGH NOON.

BTW: I adore QUICKSAND. Probably tops the list of my favorite "B" movies.

[RedRiver]

So, tonight on Svengoolie, it's CULT OF THE COBRA, a fun B feature that was shown only a few months ago. Next week is the very strange CURSE OF THE UNDEAD. A bizarre western in which the mysterious gunfighter is, in fact, a vampire! Michael Pate does the blood-sucking honors while Rawhide's Eric Fleming fills in for Van Helsing. This is not my favorite movie. But it sure is different. It's not too often we get to play Cowboys and Monsters!

Directed by someone named Edward Dein. Anybody familiar?

[MissGoddess]

Eric Fleming is one of my new crushes so I may tune in next week.

[CineMaven]

Call me crazy, call me silly, but I think “CULT OF THE COBRA” wasn’t half-bad. I enjoyed the film. No, it doesn’t have the likes of John Ashley or William Campbell, but it does have a plethora of good solid-tv actors. ( I even saw David Janssen smiling! )



Richard Long - “The Big Valley”; Marshall Thompson - “Daktari”; Jack Kelly - “Maverick” ; David Janssen - “The Fugitive” and William Reynolds - “The F.B.I.”.

This all wouldn’t come together without the right actress to play the head cobra.



Faith Domergue is cast as the cobra who turns into a woman. Or a woman who turns into a cobra. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, she was head and shoulders ( and rattle ) above original Cobra Woman Maria Montez. How and why Domergue's imbued with this power of transformation is not explained. And here is where my suspension of disbelief begins. Domergue has a different kind of look, wouldn’t you say, from the normal leech woman or wasp woman-type; but I do think Gloria Talbot could give her a run for her money as shown by the work she did in “All That Heaven Allows” and “I Married A Monster From Outer Space.”

A couple of Airforce men spend a thoughtful last day of leave atypically watching a snake-y religious ceremony unfit for Western eyes. I'm guessing the budget was too low to depict a house of ill-repute.


William Reynolds, Richard Long, David Janssen, Marshall Thompson and Jack Kelly

Of course like a bull in a china shop, the soldiers disrupt the sacred ceremony and are chased through the fake set of the Casbah by an angry snake worshipping mob. ( It doesn't look quite like Asia to me but hey...suspending, suspending. ) A curse is laid upon these Infidels that follows them back to the States and their unenlisted lives. Anyone can outrun a Mummy but it’s tough to outrun a cobra that slithers up behind you.


Eeeek!

Pay no attention to howling dogs, whinnying horses or screeching cats who react when Domergue crosses their paths; their animal instincts are only infinitely more honed than mankind’s by eons of evolutionary years. Alright alright, so the movie’s low budget prevents us from seeing how the cobra goes from crayons-to-perfume and we do without Jack Pierce’s mastery. But I accept and believe her shadow on the wall going from the female form divine to a handpuppet of a snake. One minute we have the snake’s p.o.v.:


The last thing he sees...

...And the next minute, Faith Domergue is standing uncomfortably close to you staring with ‘her eyes, like a cobra’s eyes’:



That’s no one-armed man he sees. It’s the cobra woman sitting in the back seat of his car:



Domergue is conflicted. She has already killed three of Thompson's buddies before she begins to develop feelings for him:



Now I don't want to spoil the ending for you. You can do that yourself by clicking here for Part 6. ( Or start from the beginning by clicking onto the Title Card above. ) You'll never see it coming. Suffice it to say a cobra does NOT nine lives. Say, I wonder what would happen if it were a bunch of Waves or WACs who witnessed the ceremony. I can just see Rex Reason and Jeff Morrow, slithering through the woodwork. Now that I gotta see. Preferably in 3-D.