It's a question for the ages: If the Prophet Mohammed (may peas be upon him) and Mojo Nixon were to have a rock-off, who would win?
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
'Bad Blonde' is an okay crime drama
Bad Blonde (aka "The Flanagan Boy") (1953)
Starring: Tony Wright, Barbara Payton, Frederick Valk, Sid James, and John Slater
Director: Reginald Le Borg
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A boxing promoter's trophy wife (Payton) seduces and manipulates a young prize fighter (Wright) into murdering her husband.
"Bad Blonde" is a crime drama mixed with a sports movie and a dash of film noir. Despite the American title, the film's main focus is actually the up-and-coming boxing star Johnny Flanagan, to whom the original British title referred, and how he is undone and ultimately destroyed by the sociopathic Lorna Vecchi.
It's a tragic story, because we watch Lorna destroy two decent men--and ruin the lives of two others--as the film unfolds. Boxing promoter Giuseppe Vecchi (played by Frederick Valch) is a kindhearted man who works very hard to treat everyone he interacts with fairly and to make all his friends happy, so as Lorna keeps pushing Johnny to murder him with her lies and sexual wiles, we keep hoping that he will come to his senses and tell his manager about what is really going on between him and Lorna. The fact that Johnny is also a good person makes us root even harder for him, especially when Lorna preys on Johnny's naivete by claiming to be threatening suicide and claiming to be pregnant to push him over the edge.
Because her victims are so likable, it is very satisfying to watch Lorna get her just rewards at the end of the movie. It would be even more satisfying if it made a little more sense than it does, or if one didn't have the feeling that she might easily be able to lie her way out of full punishment, but there are few characters in films that viewers want to see dragged off in chains than Lorna Vecchi.
The ending might also have been more satisfying if Barbara Payton had been a slightly better actress. She excels at putting sexiness--or, more accurately, horniness--on the screen, and she's quite good at delivering lines that are supposed to come across as haughty or bitchy, but when required to act angry or scared, her performance falls flat.
Fortunately, the rest of the cast is strong enough to carry the movie, with the supporting actors providing enough emotion and the tension to bring life and strength to the flawed ending. Likewise, the character of Giuseppe Vecchi could easily have come across as an annoying buffoon if he had been portrayed by a lesser actor than Valk. Much credit also goes to director Reginald Le Borg for keeping the film moving at a fast pace and further negating the lack of range in Payton's performance.
"Bad Blonde" is one of a dozen or so film-noirish crime drama's that Hammer Films co-produced with American B-movie mogul Robert L. Lippert. It's worth checking out if you want to see a neglected side of the greatest British B-movie studio. It's not the best film that came out of the partnership, but it's still very entertaining.
Starring: Tony Wright, Barbara Payton, Frederick Valk, Sid James, and John Slater
Director: Reginald Le Borg
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A boxing promoter's trophy wife (Payton) seduces and manipulates a young prize fighter (Wright) into murdering her husband.
"Bad Blonde" is a crime drama mixed with a sports movie and a dash of film noir. Despite the American title, the film's main focus is actually the up-and-coming boxing star Johnny Flanagan, to whom the original British title referred, and how he is undone and ultimately destroyed by the sociopathic Lorna Vecchi.
It's a tragic story, because we watch Lorna destroy two decent men--and ruin the lives of two others--as the film unfolds. Boxing promoter Giuseppe Vecchi (played by Frederick Valch) is a kindhearted man who works very hard to treat everyone he interacts with fairly and to make all his friends happy, so as Lorna keeps pushing Johnny to murder him with her lies and sexual wiles, we keep hoping that he will come to his senses and tell his manager about what is really going on between him and Lorna. The fact that Johnny is also a good person makes us root even harder for him, especially when Lorna preys on Johnny's naivete by claiming to be threatening suicide and claiming to be pregnant to push him over the edge.
Because her victims are so likable, it is very satisfying to watch Lorna get her just rewards at the end of the movie. It would be even more satisfying if it made a little more sense than it does, or if one didn't have the feeling that she might easily be able to lie her way out of full punishment, but there are few characters in films that viewers want to see dragged off in chains than Lorna Vecchi.
The ending might also have been more satisfying if Barbara Payton had been a slightly better actress. She excels at putting sexiness--or, more accurately, horniness--on the screen, and she's quite good at delivering lines that are supposed to come across as haughty or bitchy, but when required to act angry or scared, her performance falls flat.
Fortunately, the rest of the cast is strong enough to carry the movie, with the supporting actors providing enough emotion and the tension to bring life and strength to the flawed ending. Likewise, the character of Giuseppe Vecchi could easily have come across as an annoying buffoon if he had been portrayed by a lesser actor than Valk. Much credit also goes to director Reginald Le Borg for keeping the film moving at a fast pace and further negating the lack of range in Payton's performance.
"Bad Blonde" is one of a dozen or so film-noirish crime drama's that Hammer Films co-produced with American B-movie mogul Robert L. Lippert. It's worth checking out if you want to see a neglected side of the greatest British B-movie studio. It's not the best film that came out of the partnership, but it's still very entertaining.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Picture Perfect Wednesday: Zoe Saldana
My thanks to actress Zoe Saldana for succinctly demonstrating the unifying theme of the Shades of Gray blog.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
'The Flying Serpent' was better as 'The Devil Bat'
The Flying Serpent (1946)
Starring: George Zucco, Hope Kramer, Ralph Lewis, and James Metcalf
Director: Sam Newfield
Rating: Five of Ten Stars
A demented archeologist (Zucco) uses a strange flying serpent that may or may not be the god Quetzalcoatl to protect an Aztec treasure and kill anyone who annoys him.
"The Flying Serpent" is, essentially, a remake of one of PRC's greatest horror flicks, "The Devil Bat", only with even less story logic. Once again, a mad scientist (here Zucco's archeologist instead of Lugosi's chemist) uses a flying monster to take out anyone who crosses him, up to and including the dashing romantic hero of the film. Instead of Lugosi's giant bat which is trained to attack anyone who is wearing a certain type of cologne, the creature in this film attacks anyone who is carrying one of its feathers.
Unfortunately, the one thing that doesn't have a parallel between the two pictures is the interesting performances, amusing script, and moody atmosphere from "The Devil Bat". The only non-bland aspect to this film is George Zucco's overblown performance as a melodramatic madman. It's almost a shame he didn't have a mustache, because he should have been twirling it. Even the creature--aside from the slightly silly, pseudo-supernatural ability it has to find its plucked feathers--is bland and uninteresting. Worse, the film has a slap-dash feel to it, as if only a minimum of effort was put into the script and the filming process... and nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in the film's climax (which I won't detail due to my policy of trying to avoid spoiling a film).
If you want to a PRC film featuring a horror movie icon sending a flying monster to rip the throats out of anyone he doesn't like, go with "The Devil Bat". You'll be glad you did. (Although if you're a fan of this film, I'd love to hear your take on it, especially the ending.)
Starring: George Zucco, Hope Kramer, Ralph Lewis, and James Metcalf
Director: Sam Newfield
Rating: Five of Ten Stars
A demented archeologist (Zucco) uses a strange flying serpent that may or may not be the god Quetzalcoatl to protect an Aztec treasure and kill anyone who annoys him.
"The Flying Serpent" is, essentially, a remake of one of PRC's greatest horror flicks, "The Devil Bat", only with even less story logic. Once again, a mad scientist (here Zucco's archeologist instead of Lugosi's chemist) uses a flying monster to take out anyone who crosses him, up to and including the dashing romantic hero of the film. Instead of Lugosi's giant bat which is trained to attack anyone who is wearing a certain type of cologne, the creature in this film attacks anyone who is carrying one of its feathers.
Unfortunately, the one thing that doesn't have a parallel between the two pictures is the interesting performances, amusing script, and moody atmosphere from "The Devil Bat". The only non-bland aspect to this film is George Zucco's overblown performance as a melodramatic madman. It's almost a shame he didn't have a mustache, because he should have been twirling it. Even the creature--aside from the slightly silly, pseudo-supernatural ability it has to find its plucked feathers--is bland and uninteresting. Worse, the film has a slap-dash feel to it, as if only a minimum of effort was put into the script and the filming process... and nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in the film's climax (which I won't detail due to my policy of trying to avoid spoiling a film).
If you want to a PRC film featuring a horror movie icon sending a flying monster to rip the throats out of anyone he doesn't like, go with "The Devil Bat". You'll be glad you did. (Although if you're a fan of this film, I'd love to hear your take on it, especially the ending.)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mohammed Monday: Mo and the Mountain
That Gary Larson cartoon--which features both the all-holy image and name of the Prophet Mohammed (may pyrite be upon him)--was syndicated around the world in 1994, yet there were no mobs in the streets, no attacks on embassies, nor cowardice and hysterical pants-wetting from the editorial staffs of the newspapers across the United States of America.
At what point did the idol-worshiping heathens who seek to kill any non-believer who DARES show the image of their god, "The Prophet Mohammed (may peat be upon him)", become the dominant and governing force in the so-called Muslim World? When did the followers of the self-described "Religion of Peace" in the Western World turn into a bunch of dimwitted barbarians who spent their time making mountains out of Mo' hills?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Picture Perfect Special:
Princesses of Mars, Part Two
Princesses of Mars, Part Two
This is the second installment in a series of posts featuring images of beautiful Martian maidens, such as John Carter's beloved Dejah Thoris, from a range of talented artists.
Click on the artist's name under each illustration to see more of that artist's work at their official website (if they have one.)
Click on the artist's name under each illustration to see more of that artist's work at their official website (if they have one.)
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| By Gil Kane |
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| By William Stout |
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| By Josh Howard |
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| By Andy Kuhn |
Thursday, January 13, 2011
'Ghost Rider' reprint book ablaze with quality
Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 2 (Marvel Comics, 2007)
Writers: Michael Fleisher, Roger MacKenzie, Don Glut, Jim Shooter, and Gerry Conway
Atists: Don Perlin, Carmine Infantino, Tom Sutton, et.al.
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
The adventures of Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist cursed by Satan to be the vessel of a mysterious vengeance demon continue. At the start of this collection, Johnny's (relatively) peaceful life as a stuntman at Zelazny Studios is destroyed as he once again finds himself losing control of his transformation from human to fiery demon. As time progresses, the demonic spirit within him grows wilder and wilder, and Johnny finds himself constantly on the move, with no opportunity to ever settle down.
"Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 2" reprints issues 21-50 of the original "Ghost Rider" comics from the late 1970s and early 1980s. As I mentioned in my review of "Essential Ghost Rider, Vol 1", this is a series that followed a curve opposite of what most comic books do... it got better as time wore on.
While this volume doesn't contain the best of "Ghost Rider"--that doesn't come until the tales that originally appeared starting with the issues in the mid-60s and running through the series end with #81--the stories steadily improve, moving from an almost straight superhero phase, into a pulp-action horror phase, and then drifting back in the direction of superhero-flavored horror, as the Ghost Rider crosses paths with Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, and other Marvel heroes.
A great contributing factor to the "Ghost Rider" stories getting better is that the creative teams stabilized--with Don Perlin serving as the artist on most of the tales collected here, and Michael Fleisher writing more than half of them. Another is that a pair of editors who turned everything they touched to gold took turns at the book's helm--Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil.
To move the title in the right direction, the creators tore down the world that had been built up around Johnny Blaze--having a confrontation with Dr. Druid (the goofiest of Marvel's mystical characters) force him to unleash his demon in front of everyone, and then have his on-again, off-again true love Roxy Simpson be brainwashed into forgetting him by a shadowy figure (in a subplot that isn't resolved in this volume), stripping him of his Stunt Cycling World Championship title, and ultimately starting to morph his curse again, preventing him from ever feeling secure enough to settle down.
While the constant changing of Johnny Blaze's curse and his relationship with the demon inside him was a detriment to the first 20 or so issues of "Ghost Rider", here the shift takes place over many issues and it becomes an asset to the title. Rather than seeming like the product of editors and creators who has no clue what to do with a character, here it seems like the subplot is moving along toward a planned point. (And, as we discover a little later in the title--beyond what is reprinted here--it was.)
The art throughout the book is serviceable--with the two-part tale where a mad wizard separates Johnny and the demon he is host to pencilled by Carmine Infantino being the strongest--and competent, but it is nothing to rave about. The stories are another matter--the writing is top-notch and the tales are mostly timeless action/horror stories that carry very little of the painful "hipness" that caused so many of the tales in the first volume to be embarrassingly stuck in the decade that produced them.
The only complaint I have with the writing in this book is that when the creators are pushing Ghost Rider hard in the direction of ever-increasing quality, they don't take time to look back--the book is almost entirely continuity free for the final ten or so reprinted tales, except for the growing strength of Johnny's demon. The book closes out with Johnny once again become embroiled with Native American mysticism and curses... I would have loved to see a return of the Witch Woman (hot-pants and all) for those tales.
Writers: Michael Fleisher, Roger MacKenzie, Don Glut, Jim Shooter, and Gerry Conway
Atists: Don Perlin, Carmine Infantino, Tom Sutton, et.al.
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
The adventures of Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist cursed by Satan to be the vessel of a mysterious vengeance demon continue. At the start of this collection, Johnny's (relatively) peaceful life as a stuntman at Zelazny Studios is destroyed as he once again finds himself losing control of his transformation from human to fiery demon. As time progresses, the demonic spirit within him grows wilder and wilder, and Johnny finds himself constantly on the move, with no opportunity to ever settle down.
While this volume doesn't contain the best of "Ghost Rider"--that doesn't come until the tales that originally appeared starting with the issues in the mid-60s and running through the series end with #81--the stories steadily improve, moving from an almost straight superhero phase, into a pulp-action horror phase, and then drifting back in the direction of superhero-flavored horror, as the Ghost Rider crosses paths with Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, and other Marvel heroes.
A great contributing factor to the "Ghost Rider" stories getting better is that the creative teams stabilized--with Don Perlin serving as the artist on most of the tales collected here, and Michael Fleisher writing more than half of them. Another is that a pair of editors who turned everything they touched to gold took turns at the book's helm--Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil.
To move the title in the right direction, the creators tore down the world that had been built up around Johnny Blaze--having a confrontation with Dr. Druid (the goofiest of Marvel's mystical characters) force him to unleash his demon in front of everyone, and then have his on-again, off-again true love Roxy Simpson be brainwashed into forgetting him by a shadowy figure (in a subplot that isn't resolved in this volume), stripping him of his Stunt Cycling World Championship title, and ultimately starting to morph his curse again, preventing him from ever feeling secure enough to settle down.
While the constant changing of Johnny Blaze's curse and his relationship with the demon inside him was a detriment to the first 20 or so issues of "Ghost Rider", here the shift takes place over many issues and it becomes an asset to the title. Rather than seeming like the product of editors and creators who has no clue what to do with a character, here it seems like the subplot is moving along toward a planned point. (And, as we discover a little later in the title--beyond what is reprinted here--it was.)
The art throughout the book is serviceable--with the two-part tale where a mad wizard separates Johnny and the demon he is host to pencilled by Carmine Infantino being the strongest--and competent, but it is nothing to rave about. The stories are another matter--the writing is top-notch and the tales are mostly timeless action/horror stories that carry very little of the painful "hipness" that caused so many of the tales in the first volume to be embarrassingly stuck in the decade that produced them.
The only complaint I have with the writing in this book is that when the creators are pushing Ghost Rider hard in the direction of ever-increasing quality, they don't take time to look back--the book is almost entirely continuity free for the final ten or so reprinted tales, except for the growing strength of Johnny's demon. The book closes out with Johnny once again become embroiled with Native American mysticism and curses... I would have loved to see a return of the Witch Woman (hot-pants and all) for those tales.
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