You were the daring and doomed Dr. Andre Delambre in "The Fly '58", occupying both hybrid forms in the CinemaScope, science-fiction thriller, but you also made the rounds in other exciting ways, sometimes by your first name, Al, though more often by your middle, David.
You were the swashbuckling "Son of Robin Hood" and costarred in "The Enemy Below", "Marines, Let's Go", "Mach 2", "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2", "Spectres", "North Sea Hijack", "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and Irwin Allen's "The Lost World".
On a historic note, you were the only actor to play the suave Felix Leiter twice in the 007 series, in "Live and Let Die" and "License to Kill".
However, for a legion of '60s television fans, it's your portrayal of staunch Captain Lee Crane on Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" that best defines you.
You were a handsome, class act, Mr. Hedison: a man of heroic depth and identifiable finesse, with a pop-cultural legacy that will continue to rouse, command and grow.
On July 22, 1959, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s "Plan 9 From Outer Space" began its run on a state-by-state basis. Though labeled "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" when filmed in '56 (and having premiered as such to a private party in '57), the rise of "Plan 9" was gradual, having gained cult status more through television (and offbeat time slots) than the big screen. Still, it has become a quirky classic that only its eccentric writer/director could have conceived.
Its plot is simple, unfurling like a Halloween play that kids have staged in their backyard: Invading aliens resurrect the dead to attack the living.
Its cast is impressive: Bela Lugosi; Lyle Tablot; Mailia Nurmi (Vampira); Criswell; Tor Johnson; Gregory Walcott; Tom Keene, Mona McKinnon; Dudley Manlove; Bunny Breckinridge; Duke Moore; Joanna Lee; Paul Marco; Conrad Brooks; and as Lugosi's bountiful stand-in, Tom Mason.
The atmosphere is rich and pulpy. Its science-fiction seasoning pervasive, but the movie invokes more so Universal's monster classics and perhaps to a greater degree, their low-budget competitors, like "The Devil Bat" "The Corpse Vanishes" and "Return of the Vampire". It also acts as a forerunner to "Invisible Invaders", "Night of the Living Dead" and a 2015 homage starring "Cinema Insomnia" host, Mister Lobo.
"Plan 9" is the stuff of mad, giddy nightmares, too often dismissed as uneven and substandard by those whose "stupid minds" can't grasp its grandeur. However, to those of us of superior intellect, it's a childhood favorite that always has and always will command.
Pay your respects with a view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln7WF78PolA. You know you want to...
Though I've been unkind to most Disney remakes, I'm hip to Jon Favreau's "The Jungle Book". Let's face it, there have been other adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale prior to and beyond the studio's exalted cartoon: case in point, Disney '94, live-action edition with Jason Scott Lee.
I'm also hip to Favreau's retelling of "The Lion King" for much the same reason. Whether new or old, "The Lion King" is a retread at heart, stealing shamelessly from "Kimba the White Lion" and "Hamlet". "Lion King" also captures the let's-crush-the-cuteness conflict of "Watership Down", as well as the prophetic power of Arthurian legend, but maybe I'm stretchin' it a tad. All the same, most media-savvy folks would label "Lion King" a fine, royal hodgepodge.
Unlike other recent Disney remakes, the new "Lion King" isn't truly live action. I suspect its redundancy could cause some distress among those desiring actual animals with simulated mouths. No matter how one spins it, "Lion King '19" is another animated endeavor, despite it looking "live". It's also rich in character and breadth and damn it, I do dig its colorful, CGI components, even though (I suppose) I shouldn't.
The top-drawer vocal talent doesn't hurt, either: Donald Glover and JD McCrary as Simba; Beyonce as Nala; Seth Rogan as Pumbaa; Eric Andre as Azizi; Kegan-Michael Key as Kamari; Florence Kasumba as Shenzi; Billy Eicher as Timon; Chiwetel Ejiofor as Uncle Scar; John Kani as Rifki; Alfri Woodard as Sarabi; John Oliver as Zazu; Phil Lamarr as Impala...and sticking to regal tradition, James Earl Jones as King Mufasa.
To fortify the familiar unfurling, Jeff Nathanson's script presents the same, epic setup that Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Wooverton offered in '94, albeit with a half hour of padding. At least Nathanson's extensions aren't as superfluous as those of the new "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast". In fact, "Lion King'"s heft holds welcoming virility and ferocity: ideal for essaying the ups and downs of seizing one's rightful crown within that great circle of lion-eat-lion life.
These beefy additives balance well with the movie's intermittent levity. When those beloved, Elton John/Tim Rice songs (along with the Tokens' wondrous "Wimoweh") bounce off Hans Zimmer's reinstated score, the effort feels natural and never overdone, thanks to Favreau's dealt-in-moderation execution.
Impulse inspires me to call this remake the majestic exception to the rule, exceeding its famous foundation on all (or at the very least, most) aesthetic levels. I sure didn't see that coming, but it's made me darn glad and maybe a little more open-minded to future Disney rehashes.
On the other hand, an imprint is an imprint, and just because something hits the right chord at the right moment doesn't make Gus Van Sant-ish tactics acceptable. Will I get that "Lion King" vibe when I catch Disney's live-action "Lady and the Tramp" and/or "The Little Mermaid"? Probably not, but if my chord just so happens to be receptive...
Don A. Smeraldi's Scary Monsters #113 is an absolute must for horror-vixen fans, covering such stunning scream queens as Barbara Steele (dig that striking, Scott Jackson cover), Karen Black, Carolyn Kearney, Dee Wallace, Jeanne Bates, Musetta Vander, Gloria Holden, Janet Leigh, Marli Renfro (Leigh's "Psycho" body double), Jamie Lee Curtis and many more in a comprehensive gallery that will leave readers gasping in lustful delight.
To make the issue's 178 pages all the more enticing, dear ol' Dr. Gangrene offers an in-depth, threesome interview with the beautiful, iconic stars of my favorite film of the year, writer/director Joshua Kennedy's "House of the Gorgon". (See April '19 for full review.)
"House of the Gorgon" features Hammer sirens Caroline Munro, Martine Bestwick and Veronica Carlson; and let's not forget the dashing Christopher Neame. (That's right--the one and only Johnny Alucard from "Dracula: A.D. 1972.")
That Scary Monsters highlights this modern classic and its stars is most appreciated and in my estimation sets the mag on an even higher, prestigious perch.
BTW: Issue #113 also offers a charming article on affable actor, Aron Kincaid, by Tim Lisanti, entitled, "The Beach Boys vs the Creature of Destruction". How's that for extra splash?
If by some crazy chance, you still need convincing, check out #113's ghoulish, video preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h-PxjyfKbI.
Grab this sensational submission today at your local bookstore or order straight from the Scary Monsters mad lab:
https://www.mymoviemonsters.com/store.php/mymoviemonsters/pd9736371/_scary_monsters_magazine_113__women_of_the_silver_scream_issue_preorder_now.
"Crawl" (not to be confused with the 2011 thriller of the same name) is the latest in a long line of alligator/crocodile-attacks ("Jaws" inspired) flicks, which includes "Alligator"; "Alligator II: the Mutation"; "The Great Alligator"; "Alligator Alley"; "Supergator"; "Eaten Alive"; "Crocodile"; "Croc"; "Dinocroc"; "Primeval"; "Black Water"; "Rogue"; "Xtinction: Predator X"; and the ever touching "Lake Placid". "Crawl" tugs at 'em all, which makes it redundant, but it matters little, since the movie entertains.
The set-up revolves around crackerjack swimmer, Haley Keller (Kaya "Pirates of the Caribbean V" Scodelario) and her estranged dad, Dave (Barry "Battlefield Earth" Pepper) who are trapped in their home (along with the family dog) during a Florida (Category 5) hurricane. Dave has gained a pip of an injury, which hinders his ability to help as wind, water and ultra-large alligators rush in. It's then a matter of survival and bonding as the leads mend old rifts and fend off the mighty monsters.
I realize that the politically correct will bitch about my having called the alligators "monsters", but that's what they are in the context of this story, and in real life, I'd doubt they'd be cuddly and sweet under the same chewy circumstances.
The story's successful simplicity springs from Michael and Shawn Rassumussen's script and Alexandre "Piranha 3D" Aja's swift direction. Sam "Evil Dead" Raimi co-produced it, which might be another reason why it snaps so well.
Part of that "snap" is how limber Keller conjures the courage to battle the beasts. She's not an Ellen Ripley clone, mind you, but certainly cut from the same intrepid cloth, which I suppose makes "Crawl" a kind of "Alien" on Earth, as much as it grabs from those aforementioned titles.
"Crawl" wasn't made to win an Oscar. It's not that type of monster movie, nor does it desire to be. Look upon it as a SyFy, rampaging-animal picture, only sleeker and without all those damn, commercial interruptions. That's good enough for me to sing its praises. Do yourself a favor. Check it out.
