Wednesday, June 6, 2012

UN OMBRA NELL'OMBRA - "Ring Of Darkness" - "SATAN'S WIFE" (1979)

"Un Ombra Nell'Ombra" or in English, "Satan's Wife" is an interesting gal, but she just ain't that much fun!! The music for this feature was written by a well known name deep down here, Stelvio Cipriani!!! Where to start and where to stop? Stelvio has over 200 insane titles to his composing credit like "12 + 1," "Overrun," "Whirlpool," "The Beast," "The Lickerish Quartet," "The Devil Has Seven Faces," etc etc. The list goes on and on!

Here's an intimate moment from the wedding ceremony!

The Devil's gang signs!! This looks like one of those awkward moments when you go to shake somebody's hand and you don't know which kind of hand shake they are going to use!

The 13 year old actress Lara Wendel as Daria Rhodes is the only thing that makes this movie even remotely interesting! You know what they say about if looks could kill! Lara's got that look down pat!!

"Satan's Wife" is not a film without talent, "Miss Great Britain," 1950, Anne Heywood, towards the end of her career plays Daria's Mother, Carlotta Rhodes! Anne Heywood's name at birth was Violet Pretty, but after her first film in 1951, "Bikini Baby," she changed it! Anne played The Brain's wife in "The Brain" and had the role of Fulvia in "Carthage In Flames!" Back in the day, she even posed for Playboy!

The priest summoned to do the exorcism is played by none other than John Phillip Law who we know from "Barbarella" and "Danger: Diabolik!"

My, my, that is quite a headdress she has on!!

If you have some kind of insane burning desire to see every devil worshiping "Exorcist" wannabe flick ever made, then put this one on your list for sure!! Not at the top, but on there somewhere!!

Flaming pitchforks almighty, it's the God Damn Devil his self!!

A more than generous portion of this film is dedicated to ceremonies conducted in the altogether, and nudity is not necessarily a worthwhile substitution for a good script in my humble opinion!

I think I read that the producers of this film stirred themselves up a bit of controversy because Lara Wendel briefly appeared nude in a couple of scenes!

I don't quite get it, but Lara Wendel is a hard one to find information about! Born Daniela Rachele Barnes, her parents were both actors. Her Mother was Britta (Wendel) Barnes who was in two Italian flicks, and her father was former professional football player turned actor, Walter Barnes! Walter was a big man and was in "Captain Sinbad" as Rolf, and many of the western TV shows of the 60's, like "Maverick," and "Gunsmoke!"

This looks like a shot from a lost "Married With Children" episode titled something like "Al Goes To Hell!"

Lara's name was a combination of the last two letters of her first name Daniela, and the first two letters of her middle name Rachele! Here's that look again, notched up a gear!!

So I guess you probably figured it out, if Daria's Mom is "Satan's Wife," that makes Daria the daughter of The Devil, and not one to be trifled with!!

Among Lara Wendel's credits are "Fellini's Intervista" and Dario Argento's "Tenebre!" I have no idea where she is or what she's doing these days, but we'd love to do an interview with her!!

That's one cab fare you should have probably skipped, Amigo!! How ironic, today is 6-6-12..........

Monday, June 4, 2012

CALTIKI The Immortal Monster / Climax Pictures - 1959

Wow, here's a crazy little flick that Eegah!! and I saw back in 1960 at our favorite fun place, the Sierra Theater. We loved it because it had a freakin' blob, the weirdest of all movie monsters! The original director, Riccardo Freda, later claimed that he abandoned the project so that Mario Bava would have a chance to direct because he knew Mario could be a good director and he wanted him to have the chance.

Eegah!! has given us a very cool soundclip from this classic creepfest, so, you can push the big red 'GO' button there next to the purple ejection seat, NOW, Ralphie the Tarantula! Here's some of... CALTIKI The Immortal Monster!

This lucky guy actually got to meet Caltiki! Now, here's a real story of how monster movies could influence kids in 1960... One night when Eegah!! and I were visiting my cousin in the country, we went out to the Mad Trailer and mixed up a batch of 'Caltiki' to put on door knobs, car door handles and to scare kids with! Then, here's a great story from our pal, TedMo... One night, him and a friend stuffed a shirt and pants to look like a person and dropped it out of an overhanging tree onto a car that was whizzing down the street. The pissed-off guy threatened to kill them!!

Seriously, this native dance scene at the beginning has got to be one of the hottest pre-nude routines in film history!.. Her dress is ripped because a bunch of the guys were pulling at it, ejole!!

When the greedy explorers go treasure hunting in this pool in a sacred cave, it brings the terrifying creature out of it's slumber!

The look on the doctor's face really captures the sheer horror as the thing grabs and starts absorbing Max's arm! Is that a dent in the doc's forehead?

The flick's all about Max, it just wouldn't be the same without him! The weird looking Gérard Herter plays the demented pervert, this was his second of 34 acting credits.

Max escapes from the hospital after killing his nurse, then, tries to elude authorities as he makes his way across the countryside. He has basically turned into an animal, the photo of him drinking water is always a disturbing sight!

The lab is nearly destroyed when one of the things starts growing and breaks out of it's tank!

A cosmic connection is finally made linking the comet present in the night sky to the ancient growing mass of doom.

Max somehow makes it to the doc's house, and, he's in love with the the doc's wife so he harasses her in her nightie! The second photo shows Max shooting his loyal girlfriend, Linda, point blank, in cold blood!! Max is a disgusting excuse for a person, you can hear the rat shoot her in the soundclip, and, after she brought him a sandwich!!

In the meantime, the sample of the monster the doctor brought to his home to study has broken out of the lab and is dividing and growing like crazy!

A very satisfying moment is when Max gets what's coming to him yet again!

The Army finally shows up with their tanks and flame throwers to put an end to the terror what once was... CALTIKI, The Immortal Monster!!

A typical Italian horror card, emphasis on sex!.. Is that a dent in the doc's forehead?

Saturday, June 2, 2012

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE vs. MURDERERS' ROW

For this Super Saturday Spy Special I'm going to compare two movies that were both the second release in a series, "From Russia With Love" made in 1963, and "Murderer's Row" made in 1966! There will be 10 different reference points, and whoever gets the most points is the winner! It's gonna be that simple! I'm sure to catch some flack no matter which way it goes, so let's just get ready to rumble!!

"From Russia With Love" is soft and sensual, and not quite what you'd expect!

"Murderers' Row" is great Pop Art, but it is kind of brash and cartoony! First point goes to "From Russia With Love!"

02 Handsome Leading Man:

Unfortunately, nobody is better than Sean Connery as the character James Bond, he's smooth, he's suave, and he's got a license to kill!

Dean Martin as Matt Helm leads in the Swagger Department, but since "Murderers' Row" is obviously a comedy, Matt Helm is never given a chance to be taken seriously! James Bond wins this point!

03 First Distraction Of Sorts:

This provocative pose doesn't work on James Bond!

Circle wins the square, point for Matt Helm!

04 The Bad Guy:

Robert (A TOWN CALLED HELL) Shaw as Agent for SPECTRE Red Grant is one mean and ruthless character no doubt, but as tough as he is, he still seems vulnerable!

Tom Reese is a guy named freakin' Ironhead! Tom's had a long and outstanding career. He was in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "The Intruder," and was the Sheriff in "Vanishing Point." At the end of the film, Ironhead gets picked up by a huge magnet! That's got to be a stainless steel plate in his head, otherwise it would get all rusty and infected, and any good metallurgist will tell you that stainless isn't magnetic, so that concept didn't work! Still, Ironhead is a bigger weirdo than Red Grant, another point for "Murderers' Row!"

05 Hottest Secretary:

Boy, this is getting really difficult! Lois Maxwell played the flirty Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond movies!

Beverly (HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI, TORTURE GARDEN) Adams played Lovey Kravezit in the first three Matt Helm Flicks! I've always had a thing for Miss Moneypenny, so this point goes to James Bond, although I do like Lovey's see through outfit with the strategically placed stripes!!

06 Cool Gadgetry:

Bond's got a briefcase that contains a folding rifle, ammunition, gold coins, and a throwing knife, and if you open it the wrong way, tear gas shoots in your face!

Matt Helm's issued a gun that after you pull the trigger, it takes 9 seconds to actually shoot, so when it gets into the hands of some bad guy, he usually ends up shooting himself, after fumbling around with it when it doesn't go off the first time! The gun wins this round!

07 Main Squeeze In A Nightie:

Miss Rome 1960, the classy Daniela Bianchi is Tatiana Romanova, the Russian Pawn! They had to dub Daniela's voice because her ultra strong Italian accent made her English almost indecipherable!

The always alluring Ann-Margret is the dancing machine Suzie! Her babydoll nightie and fuzzy slippers get the nod on this one!!

08 Most Colourful Costume:

Magnificent Martine (QUEEN OF EVIL, SISTER HYDE) Beswick as Zora on the left, and the amazing Aliza (AGENT FOR H.A.R.M., BEAST OF MOROCCO) Gur as Vida get ready for a good olde fashioned gypsy catfight!! It just so happens I have a cat named Zora!!

Ann-Margret's outfit in this scene is almost unbelievable, and screams out WTF!?? Pop Culture or not, Ann's outfit is just too much! I give this point to Martine and Aliza!!

09 Evil Overachiever:

Okay, here's the choices, poison shoed Lotte (SEMI-TOUGH) Lenya as psycho-bitch #3 Rosa Klebb....

....or Karl (13 RUE MADELEINE, PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE, THE CAT O' NINE TAILS) Malden as the man who would rule the world, Julian Wall! My vote goes to Karl Malden! At least he didn't have to pretend to be a maid!

10 Extra Gratuitous Scantily Clad Women:

Oh, What the Hell, both of these stills are from "Murderer's Row!" So I guess that settles it, it was a close fight, but in the end, it was "Murderers' Row" by TKO in the last round!!

Just for the record, the music in both movies is great, and here's just a taste to whet your appetite!

"From Russian With Love" - Matt Munro

From "Murderer's Row" - Dino, Desi, and Billy

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??