The Sharkfighters

A WWII pilot serving in the Pacific is shot down, his plane crashing in the ocean. Besides worrying about pilots strafing him and finishing what they couldn't, besides worrying about being rescued before any survival supplies run out, that pilot had to worry about one major thing. What about sharks cruising for a meal? Like Robert Shaw's iconic monologue in Jaws, maybe sharks were the most dangerous thing of all. Enter 1956's The Sharkfighters, an interesting look at a Navy effort to create a shark repellent for downed pilots.

It's the middle of World War II, and Navy officer Lt. Commander Ben Staves (Victor Mature) has been tasked with a mission that could save many lives. It isn't behind the lines or even at the front lines, but instead on a small island off of Cuba where a Navy science team is at work. He has been placed in command of the small outpost that's been tasked with creating a shark repellent that downed pilots can use until rescue arrives. The team has been at it for months with little in the way of results, but with some harrowing personal background on the subject, Staves hopes to whip his team into shape and get them going toward something positive. The bays and water all around the island is a virtual shark hunting ground so the samples are there, but the team has to come up with something that can work first. And it better work because they have to do a human test -- man in the water with sharks and repellent -- before sending it to Washington D.C. for approval. Can they do it?

Nothing flashy here that calls attention to itself in this WWII adventure film from director Jerry Hopper that's based on a true story. As if the ocean wasn't scary enough in itself, how about sharks trying to eat you? That simple and very real fear goes a long way in making this story interesting. Now, if the scientific process to develop a shark repellent isn't the most exciting thing around, that's a fair criticism. I've read about downed pilots, shipwreck victims trying to survive as sharks swam all around them, and yeah, it's fair to say I'm deeply, deeply terrified at the thought. Just 73 minutes long, 'Sharkfighters' doesn't screw around, getting to the nitty gritty quickly. It was filmed on location in Cuba -- 3 years before Castro's takeover -- so if for nothing else, give it a try to see 1950s Havana and Cuba in general, some supremely cool locations. Composer Jerome Moross' score is decent too. 

I got a kick out of a couple reviews pointing out that Mature took this film as a good chance to have a couple beers while shooting a pretty straightforward movie in Cuba. Fair? Yeah, I wouldn't pass that up either, but I thought Mature does a good job with his lead performance. He's no scientific experience or background with sharks, fish or the ocean, just a personal experience. The commander of a Navy destroyer, he saw his ship sunk by the Japanese and sharks decimate the survivors in the hours and days before they could be rescued. Like the movie itself, it's nothing flashy, but I've always been a Victor Mature fan, and he's good here. His Navy science team includes replaced commander and zoology expert Evans (Philip Coolidge), Ensign Harold Duncan (James Olson), a young chemist itching to get to the fighting, Chief Gordon (Claude Akins), the cameraman on board documenting the tests, and Carlos (Rafael Campos), a young Cuban man who helps on board.

The one odd point in a 73-minute movie for me was including Lt. Commander Staves' wife, Martha (Karen Steele), who moves to Havana with her husband and sees him on his few breaks. I'm assuming this addition to the script was an attempt to humanize Staves, to make him more than just a driven officer. We see a different side of him, but not necessarily a more interesting side of him. It isn't a long movie to begin with, and in the last 40 minutes or so it felt like far too much time was spent on the Staves' relationship rather than the mission at hand. I'm also assuming Steele was cast so Hopper and Co. would have an excuse to have a swimming at the beach scene, Steele wearing a clingy swimsuit. Subtle, it ain't.

For the most part, I liked this one. The tests of the repellent end up being the coolest thing going by far. We watch sharks swim around the test repellents and eagerly await a positive or a failure. Will the shark attack? Will it swim on? The highlight is not surprisingly the human test, a human subject -- no SPOILERS here as to who it is, silly reader -- getting into the water after 72 successful tests with fish and scraps. It's tense and simple and uncomfortable, a really high energy finale for a decent movie. Good, maybe even only average, but I enjoyed it. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, and Cuba is a great backdrop to the story with much of the film spent in Havana and out on the water with Operation Shark Chaser.

The Sharkfighters (1956): ** 1/2 /****

Escort West

Think 'wild west,' and a lot of people will think of the 30-plus years after the Civil War right on through the end of the 19th Century. But there is a crossover as the two historical eras overlapped. Yes, the Civil War western like Major Dundee, Escape from Fort Bravo, Two Flags West, and now, a new entry, 1958's Escort West.

It's been just a few months since the end of the Civil War, and ex-Confederate soldier Ben Lassiter (Victor Mature) is riding west with his 10-year old daughter, Abby (Reba Walters). They're heading to Oregon -- via Nevada? -- but now they've caught up with a Union patrol guarding a payroll shipment. Ben and Abby head their separate ways, but down the trail they ride across the massacred remains of the patrol with two female survivors, sisters Beth (Elaine Stewart) and Martha (Faith Domergue) Drury. A Modoc war party is on the warpath killing everything in its path. The Drury sisters tell Ben they were supposed to meet up with another Union patrol somewhere ahead of them, but they're not sure exactly where. While trying to avoid the Modoc warriors, can Ben and Co. manage to find the patrol and safety?

This western from director Francis D. Lyon is interesting for its writing staff; actor/writer Leo Gordon and Fred Hartsook (cool name). Gordon made a career out of playing tough guy roles in films like Tobruk (also wrote), Hondo and many others, including this one. He also wrote more than a few films and TV episodes and did it well. Gordon had a knack for writing meat and potato stories that audiences ate up. They're pretty straight forward, but they feature plenty of action and tough guys beating the hell out of each other. This one is pretty straightforward too, even a little short at 75 minutes, but western fans should enjoy it.

The Civil War western angle plays well here. A few months since the end of the war, Mature's Ben is looking for a fresh start. He's put the war behind him and wants to move on with his daughter. Meeting up with Union cavalry troopers though that aren't so forgiving, the hatred and rivalry from the war still very much alive. It's made worse when Ben meets the Drury sisters. Beth likes the Confederate and his daughter, but Martha isn't so forgiving, holding a hard-edged hatred for the Confederacy having lost her husband in the war (but there's more going on there too). The Union vs. Confederacy angle works well, giving a familiar western a fresh perspective. Then, the two former enemies must band together to survive Indian attacks. Good stuff all around.

The casting is good from top to bottom here, starting with Mature. He's a very capable soldier, but we also see a softer side of him as he looks out for his daughter. Stewart is solid and Domergue is appropriately shrill and hateful as the Drury sisters. Rex Ingram is a scene-stealer as Nelson, a black Union quartermaster wounded in the attack who bonds with Ben. The Union troopers include William Ching and Noah Beery Jr. as the officers in charge with Slim Pickens, Harry Carey Jr., Ken Curtis and Gordon. With a movie that's just 75 minutes, none of these familiar western faces are given much to do, but it's cool to see so many in one film. Would the movie be better with some more development in story and characters? Sure, what movie wouldn't? What's here is solid though.

Filmed in black and white, 'Escort' has the California hills/mountains posing as the Nevada mountains. It's got an interesting visual look to the story, the black and white adding a nice touch. The cavalry vs. Modoc story develops nicely with a claustrophobic touch as the canyons full of rocks and plants seem to be closing in on the troopers. Indians are hiding all around, just waiting to attack. An actor named X Brands play Tago, the Modoc leader. The biggest flaw may be that at 75 minutes, it feels rushed. The ending comes together too quickly, wrapping up in a flash because....well, because it does. It's a solid, entertaining B-western that could have been significantly better, but it's not bad for what it is.

Escort West (1958): ** 1/2 /**** 

Dangerous Mission

Having produced movies since the 1930s, RKO Pictures had to try different things to keep up with movies from other studios with more money to burn. They had to try something to keep up, giving audiences a reason to come out and see their films. Take 1954's Dangerous Mission, a generally pretty normal noir-ish film that capitalizes on some cool location shooting.

Witness to a mob killing in a night club, Louise Graham (Piper Laurie) is on the run with both mobsters and the police looking for her. She's hidden out in Glacier National Park, starting a job at a souvenir stand at one of several hotels offered to tourists. As the search intensifies -- the mob wanting to kill her, the police wanting to bring her in as a witness -- several newcomers have arrived in the park, including smooth-talking New Yorker Matt Hallett (Victor Mature), an ex-Marine. What are his intentions? Is he "visiting" to protect Louise or to kill her? Looking out for Louise's safety, Park Ranger Joe Parker (William Bendix) starts to investigate the newcomer, but keeps his eye on some others, including amiable photographer Paul Adams (Vincent Price).  Just what is everyone up to?

It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure what the appeal for me was in the 1954 RKO movie. The best thing going for director Louis King's film is the location shooting at Glacier National Park. Yes, I know it's not the same park, but I visited Yellowstone National Park with my family, and visually stunning doesn't begin to describe the place. The same goes for Glacier, especially a time capsule-esque look we get here to 1954 Glacier. Yes, indoor sets are clearly back in Hollywood, but we get enough of Mature, Laurie and Co. actually walking around in the park, including in and around Saint Mary Lake (I think, I could be way off). So while the budget was obviously limited and the scale kept on a smaller level, this B-movie makes the attempt to lure audiences in. It's a gimmick, but one that pays off in the end.

As long as we're throwing compliments out here, we might as well continue on. Clocking in at just 75 minutes, 'Dangerous' isn't too interested in deep back stories, any history at all. Here's the story, here's the characters, now deal with it. Of course, there's more to it than that. The opening 40 minutes is a gem because of a couple of key omissions. For one, that would be that no one is properly introduced. We never actually even see Laurie's Louise, just hear her scream upon stumbling into the murder scene. The same for Mature and Price. In a mobster scene, we see a man's arm draped in a chair -- but nothing else -- with orders to find and kill the witness as quickly as possible. Cue Mature driving into the park (packing a gun) and then the hotel where Louise works. Anyone with two working brain cells can no doubt deduce who's who, but it's another cool gimmick that went a long way. It's Clue: The RKO Film Noir Version.

And even in a small scale flick that doesn't hit the 90-minute mark, there's still some solid casting. I've always been a fan of Mature, and he looks to be enjoying himself here. Throw in Price, Laurie, and Bendix, and you've got a good mix. Also look for Betta St. John as Mary, an Indian girl and friend of Louise, Harry Cheshire as Elster, the guffawing, boozing Texan who may know more than he's letting on, and Steve Darrell as Katoonai Tiller, Mary's father who's wanted for murder. Also keep an eye out for Dennis Weaver in a bit part as a Ranger clerk.

While 'Dangerous' does have some surprising positives, there's some familiar negatives to boot. It is only 75 minutes long, but my estimation, there's probably about 45 minutes of actual story (and that might be generous). To flesh things out, we see an avalanche take out a house party, Mature's Matt getting a loose livewire under control. We get lots of goofing around and drinking and smoking, even a sighting of the dreaded love triangle as Matt and Paul battle -- in the goofy sense -- for Louise. Mature, Price and Bendix later have to put out an immense, fast-moving forest fire. It's ridiculous. They laugh and laugh, but at no point does Louise really question what's going on. She's running for her life but decides to keep a very high profile position in Glacier. Maybe......just maybe......one of these guys wants to kill her? I don't know, I could be way off base here.

And to counter balance the actual shooting on location in Glacier, we also some awfully cheap cutaways to indoor sets posing as Glacier. To say they stand out like a sore thumb is an understatement. It's pretty straightforward stuff, but I still liked it. The purpose seems to be entertainment -- however they get it done -- including a reliance on always dressing Piper Laurie in outfits that look like she's one sneeze away from popping out of her dress/shirt/skirt. Subtle it is not, but B-movies weren't meant to be. Not bad if you find a copy.

Dangerous Mission (1954): ** 1/2 /****  

Safari (1956)

If only the characters the movies we're watching were aware of the genre they were in. Out of the box, existential intro, huh? That way, these characters would realize they're making the exact same mistake that countless other characters have done. Take 1956's Safari, or any movie with an African safari to be fair. If you're an old, rich hunter, just don't bring your babely girlfriend/fiance along for the fun. She will be scooped up by the younger, more athletic and dreamier big game hunter and/or safari guide. I'm just saying...

While out leading a safari in Kenya, big game hunter and guide Ken Duffield (Victor Mature) is alerted that his family and home have been attacked. He returns to the scorched remains to find his son's dead body amongst the wreckage and swears revenge when he finds out one of his house workers, Jeroge (Earl Cameron), is among the Mau Mau rebels who led the attack. Fearing he will take vengeance, the government takes back Duffield's license and ships him out, but he finds a way back in-country. He signs on with Sir Vincent Brampton (Roland Culver) who wants to undertake a safari, bringing his fiance, Linda (Janet Leigh), along. Duffield intends to lead the safari, but he's got his sites set on revenge too.

From director Terence Young, this 1956 African safari epic is a doozy of a movie, but an entertaining if somewhat oddly-tuned final product. It's not that it's bad -- far from it, I enjoyed it a lot -- but if a movie was schizophrenic, it would be 'Safari.' One minute it's interested in dazzling the eye with its African locations. The next minute its an intensely dark and cynical look at the real-life Mau Mau Uprising. Last, it's a fun, somewhat dumb story meant to spotlight Orlando Martins (playing camp boy Jerusalem) and his goofy, light-hearted theme song, 'We're on a Safari.' I don't exactly know how, but it manages to work in the end through all its schizo tendencies. Go figure, all that stuff packed into a 91-minute movie, and it ends up being an entertaining final package.

Filming on location in Kenya, 'Safari' is obviously aided by the gorgeous, expansive Kenyan savannahs. We see shots of herds of animals running across the savannah, crocodiles diving into rivers, elephants, rhinos and lions charging at the camera. For lack of a better description, it's cool to see, and that's just one reason 'Safari' succeeds. Like the recently reviewed 'Rampage,' or any number of other safari movies from the 1950s and 1960s (Hatari, Killers of Kiliminjaro, King Solomon's Mines, The Naked Prey), this one follows a familiar formula. If you're even remotely paying attention, you know where it will end up before the movie itself might even know. Hopefully, if you're like me, you enjoy going along for the ride even if you know where you'll end up.

Right in the midst of his heyday in terms of popularity, Mature is a solid choice to play the lead role, the safari guide who's pissed at the world and looking to exact some revenge. Oh, and he might be looking for love too. Watch out Janet, he's got his eye on you! I don't think anyone will ever claim Mature was a great actor, but he's a good meat and potatoes kind of star. Nothing flashy, just gets the job done as he does here. Leigh is the eye candy as the somewhat innocent/naive Linda (or just plain stupid), given a variety of gowns, dresses and revealing outfits to wear in the African wilderness. She also bathes a lot, the water always cutting off at a strategic place. Coincidence? Yeah, "probably." Culver is the doomed older man, not aware of how stupid he is or what he's stumbled into. John Justin plays Brian, Sir Vincent's much-maligned assistant who can't do anything right.

The other parts range from odd to mildly offensive to stock characters. Martins treads that fine line between offensive minority character and goofy, hammy character. The same for Tanzinian actor Juma who plays cackling camp boy Odongo in an incredibly stereotypical part. His laugh is bizarre, making me question if we're supposed to question the boy's sanity. As the intensely evil Jeroge, Cameron is pretty one-note, saying maybe five words while sneering and enjoying his kills far too much. Lionel Ngakane leaves a positive impression as Kakora, Duffield's assistant and leader of the camp boys.

Through it all, I was entertained at basically all times, at least partially due to its schizophrenic nature. By the end once that whole safari business is resolved, the story degenerates into one big running shootout at Jeroge leads some 200 Mau Mau rebels on a bloody rampage. Mature's Ken calmly stands in front of the charging rebels, blazing away with a Sten gun, smiling all the way. Even Leigh's Linda gets in on the action, picking off bad guys left and right with her rifle. Mindlessly entertaining and a fun movie to watch if nothing particularly new, it's worth a watch as a good popcorn movie, a solid rainy day effort.

Safari (1956): ***/****

Tank Force

Running for two season in the 1960s, The Rat Patrol was a fun, little show following the exploits of the real-life Long Range Desert Group. Yes, it was ridiculous, four men taking on seemingly the entire German army in North Africa without taking casualties, but it was entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. Released in 1958, British war flick Tank Force seems almost like a dry run for the short-lived TV show.

Caught up in a chaotic back and forth battle, two British tank crews, one commanded by an American, Sgt. Thatcher (Victor Mature), and the other by Sgt. Kendall (Leo Genn), are captured by German forces. They are transported to a makeshift prison camp where hundreds of other Allied prisoners are being held in the Libyan desert. Kendall goes along with the flow, joining the escape committee and joining in on the effort to pull off a successful escape. Thatcher on the other hand is looking out for himself, planning his own escape without checking in with the rest of the camp. His efforts piss off the other prisoners, but he has his reasoning. An SS officer is headed to the camp to interrogate Thatcher who has no intention of being around for that questioning.

Directed by future James Bond director Terence Young, 'Tank' is a forgettable if entertaining WWII story. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it and probably won't feel the need to revisit again anytime soon. Part tank battle, part POW escape story, it's heavy on action and short on story and any sort of reality. It is entertaining though, and a WWII story that focuses on the 1942 North Africa campaign is rarely dull. Desert warfare always makes for interesting, unique viewing, and an escape across that desert with murdering Arab tribesmen, Italian and German forces on patrol and waiting is a cool premise.

American and British, a natural and historical rivalry, so in step Mature and Genn. Their dynamic is easily the best thing going in 'Tank.' They both want the same thing but go about it in polar opposite fashion, Mature's Thatcher on his own and Genn's Kendall as part of the team. Only when their backs are against the wall do they decide to work together. Their rivalry actually consists of a handful of scenes where they argue back and forth, but seeing the brooding intimidating American -- with an interesting backstory at that -- and the stuffy shirt, prim and proper British soldier going at it certainly keeps the action going.

Filling out Tank's Rat Patrol is a small but international bunch, starting with Anthony Newley as Pvt. 'Tiger' Noakes, Kendall's driver and all-around optimist. Nothing seems to rattle him, and he's always ready with a joke like most of Newley's supporting parts were. Bonar Colleano plays Walewski, the Polish POW who teams up with Thatcher in his escape efforts. Ready and willing to kill to preserve his own well-being, it certainly adds a darker dimension to the group. Some other familiar faces include Sean Kelly, Percy Herbert, David Lodge and Alfred Burke as the other British prisoners. Future Bond-girl/villain Luciana Paluzzi has a small part to as Carola, an Italian woman aiding the escape effort.

Not surprisingly, the action is what will draw most viewers in. Escaping the prison camp, Thatcher, Kendall and crew cut a swath through North Africa a mile wide, taking out Germans and Italians wherever they go. It's a fun movie overall that isn't great and isn't bad. Entertaining and forgettable but not much else. Probably worth a watch if nothing else.

Tank Force (1958): ** 1/2 /****

The Bandit of Zhobe

Late this summer I reviewed 1956's Zarak, a quasi-historical epic that was entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Epically bad choices in casting, lack of story and character development, all lost in a search for that epic scale which was never really there to begin with.  So how do you improve on it? Well, long story short, you don't. Made three years later, 1959's The Bandit of Zhobe is almost scene-for-scene the exact same movie.

A chieftain of an Indian tribe (India, not Native American) on the frontier, Kasim Khan (Victor Mature) has his family and life torn apart from him, his tribe massacred in a brutal massacre led by Azhad Khan (Walter Gotell), a rival chief who leads the attack with his men dressed as British troops. With a small but loyal group of followers, Kasim becomes a bandit, terrorizing British interests in the area. The regional commander, Major Cowley (Norman Wooland), would like nothing more than to get his hands on the bandit, but Kasim avoids him at every turn. Cowley's daughter, Zena (Anne Aubrey), believes Kasim deserves a chance to know the truth, but can she get him to believe what actually happened?

I gave a marginally positive review for 1956's Zarak (read HERE) in July. The TCM website inexplicably listed this quasi-sequel/remake as a western, but it was apparent almost immediately that this was basically the same thing as Zarak.  Check that, it's not basically the same thing. It is the same thing. Mature plays the same character risen from the dead, Wooland the capable British officer trying to arrest him, and Aubrey the oddly out of place possible love interest. Maybe studios thought audiences were stupid enough to forget. Maybe the studios just didn't care, seeing a cheap chance to make some money. Yeah, that second one sounds more appropriate.

For whatever reason and having seen the two movies about four-five months apart, I liked 'Bandit' considerably more than its predecessor.  Go figure because I certainly can't. The same problems are there -- little story, just a running series of battles, no character development -- but I went along with it this time. Hoping to capitalize and make some easy $, the studio reuses countless shots and whole sequences.  Watch them back-to-back and you'll see at least 15-20 minutes of footage pop up in both films.  The battle scenes are ripped from Zarak in their entirety and dropped into this movie. The positive? The Zarak battles scenes were the best thing going for that movie, and not surprisingly they work here too.

Looking like he's phoning it in for a paycheck, Mature says about 18 words the whole movie. Those words are growled and muttered. He is the star of the movie with name recognition only, nothing else. The focus instead turns to his British counterparts.  Anthony Newley plays Cpl. Stokes, the somewhat goofy British soldier placed in charge of watching the major's daughter and not enjoying his duty at all. Some comedy but not too much thankfully.  Aubrey is the innocent one, sure she can figure everything out without anything bad happening, Wooland the veteran officer trying to avoid a full-scale war breaking out.

So this isn't much of a shocker, but for a 1959 British movie generally forgotten and made on the cheap, there isn't much info out there about 'Bandit.' I'd like to say where the movie was filmed, but I honestly have no idea, and I can't find that information anywhere. So what to say? In Italy or Asia or wherever 'Bandit' was filmed, it is a starkly shot but certainly visually interesting film. The TCM print was in pan-n-scan too, and it still looked good. That speaks to something. An average movie for sure, but one I enjoyed. I'd say watch Zarak too, but the pure awesomeness might blow your mind.

The Bandit of Zhobe <---Youtube scene (1959): ** 1/2 /****

Zarak

When I think of Victor Mature, I think of a lot of different things. I think of his far from accurate but highly enjoyable performance of Doc Holliday in John Ford's My Darling Clementine. I think of an accurate who was most at home in big pictures, historical and biblical epics where his on-screen presence was given a chance to shine. His biggest successes though came in the late 1940s and early 1950s so by the second half of the decade he was taking movies that just aren't that good, including 1956's Zarak.

There I go again contradicting myself, saying Mature was most comfortable in historical epics -- The Robe, Samson and Delilah, Demetrius and the Gladiators -- which he usually was. This qualifies then as a quasi-epic...I guess.  It certainly has some impressive scale with a considerable budget spent filling out a cast of thousands (okay, maybe a couple hundred), but Zarak is such an obviously over the top attempt at an epic that it doesn't quite work. The scale is there, but at the sacrifice of story and character if that means anything to you. The best epics, the ones that stand the test of time are those that blend all three. Maybe it isn't fair to judge Zarak on that level because it doesn't aspire to be a classic, but some effort would have been appreciated.

The eldest son of an Afghan chieftain in the 1860s, Zarak (Mature) is caught kissing Salma (Anita Ekberg), his father's favorite and most beautiful wife. Instead of killing him for the betrayal, his father banishes him, forcing him to leave the tribe where he quickly becomes a notorious outlaw who becomes a huge thorn in the side of the country's British rulers.  His gang of bandits continues to grow until finally a high-ranking, highly respected British officer, Major Ingram (Michael Wilding), is called in to deal with the issue. Zarak thinks little of the new challenge, joining forces with a powerful chief, Ahmad (Peter Illing), to take the attack to the British. All the infamous bandit's plans may go for naught though as betrayal lies around every corner as the bounty on his head increases with his growing notoriety.

Because I'm a fan of Mature, let's start there. A role is a role, especially when your star isn't as bright as it once was.  A few years later in 1961, he would play a Viking, but this is one of the oddest choices I've seen. A very Italian looking Mature playing a young Afghan warrior/prince? It just doesn't work. That's the least of the problems here. The script never really decides what it wants to do with this character. Is he a wrongfully punished and banished son looking for redemption and forgiveness? Is he the notorious, murdering bandit he's made out to be? Is he both? Whoo, lots of questions, none of which are answered when they really need to be. As a viewer, I don't mind figuring things out for myself, but some help is appreciated. The movie needed to make a stance on this character and to whether we should side with him or against him. You can only chalk up so much of the blame to Mr. Mature.

Physical differences aside, Mature's acting is the least of the movie's problems. Swedish beauty Ekberg, God bless her little heart, was one beautiful woman, but she just could not act. Her character also does a two or three minute stripper's routine, even grinding on a pole and two lucky court attendants and is usually in various stages of undress.  Check out part of her dance routine HERE. Like Mature, she doesn't exactly look like a woman who lived in 1860s Afghanistan with her immaculate hair and make-up. Her scenes that require acting and not sexy dancing fall far short too. The rest of the cast is okay if underused or underutilized. Wilding is dull as Major Ingram, Eunice Gayson unnecessary as Ingram's wife, Bonar Colleano and Eddie Byrne not used enough as Zarak's treacherous brothers, and Bernard Miles making the most of a smaller part as the loyal Hassu, Zarak's right hand man. Look for a young Patrick McGoohan as a British officer in Ingram's command, making an early appearance in one of his first speaking film roles.

Director Terence Young -- later of the early James Bond films -- does not skimp on the scale of this attempted epic filmed in Morocco.  The battle sequences are just that; epic, with hundreds of riders and soldiers doing battle on the Moroccan/Afghan landscape.  For an otherwise moderately budgeted movie, the battles are well choreographed and don't disappoint. But in his zest for scale, Young goes overboard. His movie is just 99 minutes long, and I watched it in a little over an hour. Thank you fast forward button. Repeated scenes of a long column of riders making their way across the land is impressive the first two or three times before it quickly gets tedious. The actual story is so disjointed and all over the place that I wondered what had happened to put characters in these spots (I'm sure the fast forwarding had something to do with it). Young wants to 'Wow!' you with the scale of Zarak, but it comes at an expense.

For all the big, sweeping shots accompanied by composer William Alwyn's obnoxious, blaring and overbearing score, there are quick shots to clear examples of indoor studio shots. One second a stand-in is attacking a rider in a big wide open, and then the next, Mature is in a studio pulling someone off a horse. Painfully obvious, and one of my biggest pet peeves. Nowhere is it more evident than the ending, Mature's mysterious and still undecided folk hero/mythical bandit deciding whether to go through with a difficult decision. The ending doesn't come as much of a surprise -- it's been telegraphed half the movie -- but not much does surprise here. Any entertaining if not particularly well made historical epic. Decent, worth a watch, but that's it.

Zarak (1956): **/****

After the Fox

The years following World War II changed the way many countries made movies, and nowhere was that more evident than in war-torn Italy.  A whole genre of films devoted to dealing and discussing how a country moves on following such a world-shattering event emerged called Italian neorealism. If you want a cliff note's version of the genre, they're usually artsy movies that border on the existential with images, stories and characters that force the viewer to make up their own minds and interpret something. There's the part of me that avoids these movies because they sound pretentious and overbearing, all the while knowing there has to be something to these well-received films.

So what does that intro to a review have to do with anything? Well, I didn't actually watch an Italian neorealist film (not yet at least). Instead I watched an Italian comedy that spoofed the genre with star Peter Sellers impersonating a director that sounds suspiciously a lot like famous Italian director Federico Fellini, 1966's After the Fox. This isn't an obvious spoof like Airplane! or The Naked Gun series, but it certainly pokes fun at these art-house movies that are held in such high regard.  Not a hilarious movie, but still a funny one with Sellers dominating the movie like so few can.

Serving a sentence in an Italian mountaintop prison, infamous master thief Aldo Vanucci (Sellers) hears his younger sister, Gina (Britt Ekland), is in trouble and promptly breaks out of prison as easy as snapping his fingers.  When he quickly realizes there's nothing he can do to help his aspiring actress of a sister, Aldo decides to take part in a dangerous job of helping transport 300 gold bars from Egypt into Italy. Every police and detective agency in Europe knows the gold is coming so how can Aldo and his "gang" help get the gold into the country? He develops a plan where he'll pose as an Italian filmmaker filming a movie in a small coastal village about what else? A ship carrying bars of gold landing in Italy after a successful heist of course. The plan seems ludicrous, but could it somehow work?

Growing up watching movies, I was never a huge fan of Peter Sellers.  Aware of him, yes, but I never sought out his movies.  The original Pink Panther didn't hit me right, but I'd like to give it another try at some point.  One criticism I've had of Sellers is that he seems to play the same niche role.  Like Eddie Murphy has done over the last 15 or 20 years, Sellers would play two or three roles in a single movie, and something that I can't explain always bugged me about that.  We get it, you're talented. Now back off.  As I see more of him though, it's easy to see why he's got such a strong fan following.  Regardless of the role, the man is extremely funny.  His deliveries are impeccable, that perfect mix of subtle laughs and more obvious physical, slapstick humor.

Nowhere is that more evident than the second half of After the Fox when Sellers' Aldo unleashes his plan to get the gold into Italy.  He dupes an entire town, a police chief, and even an American actor (Victor Mature poking fun at himself) to star in this "film." The only problem is the timing doesn't work out quite to plan so Aldo -- renaming himself Federico Fabrizi -- has to actually stage scenes to buy himself some time.  So with no script and no real movie at all (with an entire village watching all the time), Aldo improvises and comes up with a neorealistic film about two lost loves (Mature and Ekland) finding each other in this other-worldly depiction of love.  This is Sellers at his best, big and loud, screaming and directing like a nut.  These are the inspired scenes that produce the biggest laughs.

With Sellers posing like a madman as he "directs" his movie all in hopes of actually pulling off this heist, it's Victor Mature as past his prime American actor Tony Powell who steals the movie.  Looking to legitimize his fake film, Sellers somehow convinces Mature's Powell to take part in this innovative new project.  Martin Balsam as Mature's questioning, worrying agent is priceless as well.  So hard up for work and desperately looking to get back into the limelight, Powell goes for it hook, line and sinker. Every request, every command Aldo makes, Powell goes for it, enthusiastically replying 'Beautiful!' before immediately complying.  Mature is playing a variation on himself by this point in his career and nails the part.  It's a bit of a dig without being mean or cruel, but because he commits so forcefully to this wacky movie you can't help but laugh.

All told, I liked this movie but didn't love it.  Director Vittorio De Sica takes his time getting the story where it needs to be so that first hour takes a little while to develop. Sellers helps things along and keeps them moving thankfully.  For the rest of the cast, Ekland doesn't look Italian even with brown hair instead of her usual blonde, but she makes the most of a smaller part.  Akim Tamiroff is the stupidly evil plotter of the gold heist always ready with a double-cross with the beautiful Maria Grazia Buccella as his eye candy. Paolo Stoppa, Tino Buazzelli, and Mac Ronay are very funny as Aldo's inept gang too. A funny movie in the vein of a light-hearted spoof, worthwhile for Sellers and Mature.

After the Fox <---trailer (1966): ***/****   

The Tartars

Three years after the release of The Vikings starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, an Italian movie with a somewhat similar storyline about Vikings was released with some interesting casting choices.  It is a story that focuses on a conflict between a Viking tribe and the Tartars, a large nation of nomadic warriors sweeping into Eastern Europe for land, riches and power.  The Tartars are clearly the villains, and for no reason other than name-repeating, we get 1961's The Tartars even though they're the secondary characters. 

The movie is a sign of the times where any, and I mean any, historical story had a shot at making it into a feature length movie. Studios were giving audiences what they wanted, and moviegoers wanted big, epic spectacle movies.  The Tartars makes an attempt at least at being an epic movie, but it's one of those movies that is not particularly good or bad.  It sits somewhere in between although thanks to two fairly odd casting choices it is very much worth watching.

Those stars are Victor Mature and Orson Welles, both logical choices to play a Viking and a Russian warrior, don't you think? Both actors are well past their starring days in Hollywood and look to be taking on whatever role they can find.  Mature, with his slicked back black hair and and dark skin, may be the weirdest choice to ever play a Viking chieftain leading a tribe full of pale, blonde-haired people.  Welles was quite the presence by 1961, and that's nothing to do with his acting ability.  He was a BIG man by this time and looks like if he fell over he might roll off the set.  Good starting point for a historical epic if you ask me.

Visiting a nearby Tartar tribe to pay homage, Viking chief Oleg (Mature) ends up in a bloody brawl and kills the Tartar chief.  Oleg, his brother Eric (Luciano Marin) and their men escape the bloody fight, kidnapping the Tartar chief's daughter Samia (Bella Cortez) in the process. The deceased chief's brother, Arundai (Welles), comes to avenge his brother and destroy the Vikings once and for all.  Arundai offers Oleg one last chance to join him in their conquest of the world but the Viking chief refuses.  Arundai has one last ace up his sleeve though as he has kidnapped Oleg's wife Helga (Liana Orfei) and wants to arrange a trade.

Clocking in at under 90 minutes, this story certainly keeps up a fast pace and never really slows down.  The setting is an Eastern European steppe, an equivalent of the American prairie but closer to a desert in terms of lack of water or landmarks.  With the setting and the warring factions, it definitely has the feel of an American western with Vikings and Tartars replacing the cowboys/settlers and the Indians.  It's a fun movie though and entertaining throughout partially because it is pretty bad.  Money was clearly spent on certain things -- extras, costumes, filming locations, sets -- while clearly not spent on others, like the script for one.  Really though, it's a minor complaint.  You don't head into an Italian made movie about a Viking tribe breaking new ground in terms of storytelling.

Even at 83 minutes, the scale of 'Tartars' can be impressive.  There are basically two sets, Arundai's palace (which looks grander because of some matte paintings) and the Viking fort which looks awfully similar to the U.S. cavalry forts that dotted trails all through the American west.  Interesting, hhmm?  Some action is thrown in here and there to keep you interested along the way with most of the fireworks saved for the finale as Arundai's enraged warriors assault Oleg's fortified garrison.  I was impressed with the scale of the battle, a pretty impressive effort considering this is a lower budget Italian movie.

This is not going to be a very long review mostly because the movie doesn't try to be anything other than entertaining.  Sure, there's some weird moments like Mature being dubbed by a different actor in certain scenes while in others it is clearly him speaking.  The whole movie is so bad that it's good.  If Mature as a Viking and Welles as a Tartar chief doesn't intrigue you, you should probably steer clear of this one.  If it does sound interesting, sit back and enjoy the badness.

The Tartars <----TCM trailer (1961): ** 1/2 /****

The Las Vegas Story

Cities like New York, L.A., and Chicago may have inspired more stories and probably more movies, but running a close fourth is Las Vegas, the City of Lights.  Movies like the original Ocean's 11, the remake, Vegas Vacation, The Hangover, and many others are set in Sin City.  Gambling, women, entertainment and debauchery left and right just translates well I guess.  Made right in the boom as the city became the city we know today, 1952's The Las Vegas Story presents a desert town full of love triangles, robberies, fraud, embezzlement, and of course, murder.

What caught my eye with this film noirish story was the cast, but I ended up liking it as a whole and not just because of the talent involved.  Certain outdoor scenes were obviously filmed in Las Vegas for any shots of the Strip or the hotels, but other than those, it's pretty clear most scenes were shot indoors at the Hollywood studios.  It's not a big deal really, but don't expect lots of live shots of the city.  The story starts off as one thing and ends up going down a very different route.  Lots of different elements must have been thrown into the blender, and when it came out, there was The Las Vegas Story.


Taking a cross country trip, husband and wife Lloyd Rollins (Vincent Price) and Linda Rollins (Jane Russell) make a stop in Las Vegas.  Lloyd is acting suspiciously, but that is overshadowed by Linda, who worked for years in the city as a lounge singer and left under less than ideal conditions.  She left behind her fiance who is now a detective on the LVPD, Dave Andrews (Victor Mature).  They awkwardly meet up with some baggage from their past, but that's just the beginning. Lloyd has a money issue (or lack of) and is quickly in the hole.  He pawns off one of Linda's necklaces, but the casino/club owner (Robert J. Wilke) he sold it to ends up dead and the necklace goes missing.  An insurance investigator (Brad Dexter) is on the case as well, where it seems anyone could be the murderer.

The plot detour works, making this love triangle more of a driving force to the story than the focus point.  Of course because of that, the story is all over the place, and not always in a good way.  It's still well-made and entertaining as these twists and detours lead to a great ending.  SPOILERS  The actual killer is Dexter's insurance investigator.  Dexter almost always played a heavy so it's no real surprise when it is revealed he is the killer.  Mature's Det. Andrews figures it out though and goes after Linda -- the kidnapped love of his life -- who Dexter took prisoner.  Watch the showdown HERE.   The finale features some great stuntwork involving a helicopter chasing a car in and around an abandoned airfield.  Even after the chase, there's a great cat and mouse game between Dexter and Mature in the wide open, dusty and windy expanses of this airfield.  END OF SPOILERS

Looking at the casting, RKO Studios didn't always have the biggest names in their movies, but that makes these type of movies appeal to me more.  Jane Russell is drop dead gorgeous, but too often that's all her roles required of her -- and to be fair, her character is neglected in the last 20 minutes.  When given the chance, she showed a knack for playing tough femme fatale who can pull off some humor and be sexy at the same time.  As for the looks department, 'Vegas Story' does display her proudly, including one silhouette shower scene that seems tame now.  A beauty on screen, she's often stereotyped as a body with no acting ability, but she is a strong actress with the right part.

Mature and Price provide some fireworks as the love interests.  As an actor, Mature is underrated in my book the same way Russell is.  He's got quite the presence when the camera focuses on him, and maybe he doesn't have the greatest range.  But if you do what you're good at and find those appropriate roles, who cares?  As a police detective scorned by his fiance, Mature gets to do the romantic scenes and the action too so it's the best of both worlds.  Price was a versatile actor and shows it here as a character who's motivations are left in the shadows until the end.  Horror, comedy, or thriller, Price could do them all.  Dexter is Dexter, and Jay C. Flippen has a funny part as a veteran cop who thinks he knows everything.

My only other complaint about this movie is Hoagy Carmichael being cast in a supporting role.  A bandleader, singer and composer, Carmichael plays Happy, a piano player who used to work with Russell's Linda.  Russell was a singer as well as an actress, and she had a decent voice but this also means she sings in her movies.  In some situations -- like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes -- a quick song is fine because it fits with the tone of the movie.  But a murder mystery noir full of deceit and infidelity?  Not so much.  Still, we get songs with Russell and Carmichael singing, like HERE, instead of focusing on the more interesting, more entertaining storyline.  Still, with all that said, the movie is worth a watch.  It's a mess of a movie, but an entertaining one at that.

The Las Vegas Story <---trailer (1952): ** 1/2 /****

Kiss of Death

Most actors have to pay their due before they make it as a big star. Maybe do some low-budget movies, a TV show, Broadway plays. I'm hard pressed to think of many who make the jump from complete anonymity to instant stardom. Only two really come to mind, Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark.

A veteran of stage and radio, Widmark made the jump to movies in 1947 in a film noir classic called Kiss of Death. Making his screen debut, the 33-year old actor received fourth billing as a supporting character with three more established actors taking the lead roles. Even with a role that has him on-screen for maybe 20-25 minutes of a 98 minute movie, Widmark steals the film with a part that catapulted him to stardom and almost threatened to typecast him early in his Hollywood career.

Given a lengthy prison sentence for a jewel heist, low-level hood Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) refuses to squeal about the other men who took part on the job and accepts his sentence. Several years pass and then Bianco finds out his wife has killed herself and his two daughters have been sent to an orphanage. Cutting a deal with the assistant district attorney, Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), Bianco agrees to be a snitch for the cases D'Angelo is trying to put away. Bianco's first case? Get evidence on a suspected killer and a previous acquaintance, Tommy Udo (Widmark). Bianco gets the evidence and even testifies in court, but a jury acquits Udo and he quickly eludes his tail. Now living with his wife (Coleen Gray) and his two daughters, Bianco knows it's only a matter of time before Udo shows up looking for revenge.

With Mature and Donlevy taking the starring roles, Widmark leaves an instant impression as psychotic, cackling killer Tommy Udo. Mention 'Kiss of Death' and most people will associate Widmark with the movie, and more specifically one scene. Looking to catch a snitch, Udo infamously ties an old woman into her wheelchair and pushes her to her death down a flight of stairs, watch it HERE starting at the 2:40 mark. Widmark's Udo seems to revel and delight in administering punishment and death. His distinct giggle sends chills down your back, and hard to place accent with his low voice just add layers and personality to this character who is impossible to take your eyes off of.

In fact, Widmark was so good in the part that over the next three or four years, he was only offered similar roles, deranged psychos and villains in film noirish type movies. Granted, no actor wants to be typecast, but he's incredible in this part. The rest of the movie is entertaining enough, but when he's not onscreen it does lag in places. After the wheelchair incident, you're just not quite sure what he's capable of. Apparently audiences and critics agreed, Widmark was given his only Oscar nomination -- as best supporting actor -- for the part. On the irony meter, this one gets a 10. He lost to Edmund Gwenn who played Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street. The most villainous guy around vs. the sweetest guy ever, too perfect.

The story takes a little while to develop, but the momentum picks up once Mature's Bianco cuts his deal with Donlevy's D'Angelo. Mature could be a little stiff in certain parts, but this is one of his stronger parts. Bianco has never really amounted to much and has spent several years behind bars, but when his daughters are in trouble he decides to do anything he can to make their lives better. Coleen Gray's Nettie used to babysit the girls and then marries Nick -- which has some creepy undertones as we see their marriage. Donlevy has a thankless role as the district attorney but always a professional still makes the character interesting. Also look for Karl Malden in a small part working with Donlevy.

The highlight of the movie is by the last 30 minutes following Udo's acquittal. The black and white shadows of film noir come to life and Henry Hathaway's direction creates an incredible mood, a sense of impending doom about to be unleashed. Mature sits in his home waiting for Udo to show up, only to decide he'll go on the offensive and seek out Udo instead. There's a great confrontation between Mature and Widmark in the finale although the climax does have a bit of a cop-out.

An above average, very professionally made film noir. Mature, Donlevy and Gray are decent enough with their respective leading parts, but this movie belongs to Richard Widmark in his screen debut. He'd go on to play more heroic parts, but this may be his most well-known role. Check the whole movie out at Youtube, starting with Part 1 of 10.

Kiss of Death <----trailer (1947): ***/****