Reviews

This focus of this film is on the morning of Sunday, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor.

This movie is outstanding... just superb. You won't find better action footage in any WW II film and there's plenty of it too! We (Americans) clearly got our behinds tromped during the Pearl Harbor invasion but, because this is an American film, that facet of actuality is slightly played down, (micro victories by individuals are featured to counter our overall demise), as is Roosevelt's alleged desire to enter the war minimized, (my 90 year-old aunt asserts that FDR was Satan himself, I think mostly due to how our family members, during the conflict, were fruitlessly lost and suffered as POWs).

In any event, the scenes herein shift between Washington D.C. political activities and those of the Pearl Harbor principals. Of course, the Japanese planning and action sequences are similarly featured.

The film is shot in letterbox and runs 144 minutes in length. Excellent color saturation, with great casting (bulging with big period stars), top scenery, believable script, 70 mm cinematography, and awesome sets all contribute to the aggregate success of this exceptional film. It's all very realistic and not hokey in any sense. A lot of the footage, where the Japanese are speaking, is subtitled in English but it's well-done and not at all distracting. Compare it to the German subtitles in "The Longest Day".

I can't convey enough good comments about this movie. If you are even just a casual movie viewer of common genres, you'll probably much enjoy this well-made historical film, albeit some dramatic artistic license was tastefully invoked by the directors, Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, and Toshio Masuda .

I do recommend that you have the movie "Midway," (a sort of historic Act II), ready at hand to watch following "Tora! Tora! Tora!" the former of which is a similarly fine film.

I saw this film at the drive-in theater when it first came out -- it was the "warm-up" movie to the feature attraction, I think a Hell's Angels flick.

Anyway, this is a pretty awful movie, a sort of documentary of the late Tiny Lund (1929-1975) who won the 1963 Daytona 500. I met Tiny and got to know him a bit just two years before he tragically died in a racing crash and he was a great guy, a huge man (6'-6") with an endearing, if somewhat mercenary, personality. He was still racing at that time. Unfortunately, Tiny didn't have it in him to dazzle people with interesting things to say on camera.

In the movie, we get a poorly-effected interview with Tiny on the sidelines as cars race round the track. It's quite possibly the worst movie ever made. It doesn't even have any tongue-in-cheek campy qualities. It is in color, if that is of interest to anyone.

If you want to see Tiny Lund in a far superior context, watch "Speedway," starring Elvis Presley.

The only people who might wish to endure "Tiny Lund: Hard Charger!" would include those rabid NASCAR fans who are also interested in the history of the sport. Otherwise, pass this one by!

The acting was a bit stilted in this one but, all in all, not a bad rendition of a Christie favorite (I'm a HUGE Christie fan). The filming comes off as sort of soap-opera-ie for the indoor shots but the outdoor scenes are A-O-K.

I confess (as a Christie apologist) that this is one of Christie's more implausible mysteries but the director pulled it off darn good, without making his actors look ridiculous, (always a potential problem with Christie films). I was especially impressed with the length of this film, quite long, and a good partial afternoon of DVD or TV entertainment as far as I am concerned.

To summarize, if you're an absolute Agatha Christie NUT, go ahead and consider this one an 8-star rating... however, if you are randomly looking around for ANY film to watch, regardless of genre, and have never seen a Christie mystery, you might find this to be a TWO.... (or a ONE!). I liked it a great deal and very much recommend it to appropriate fans.

Not ONE of the other Charlie Chan films can touch this one! The casting is brilliant, the acting is superior, the cinematography is dramatic and, the location is PERFECT. Imagine that! A castle in the desert!

This is a poisoning case, (sort of), and Charlie is summoned to help solve it. He's warned from going from the moment he's invited and, of course, one of his numerous sons (not quite so goofy as some others we've seen), tags along to watch out for his dear dad. Dark characters are everywhere and the sub-plots are above average.

Fans of Charlie Chan films will drool over this one but the average viewer can enjoy this light mystery as well. The desert town, old vehicles, the landscapes, the castle, (and it's creepy accoutrements) are all about the coolest things you'll ever view in a black and white old-timey mystery film.

This is one of my top ten DVDs (there are 2 separate DVDs to complete all episodes if you plan to purchase this serial work). Yes, I have to hold my nose as Gene Autry sings his ridiculous and twangy songs, but WOW, what a great idea for a movie serial... underground pseudo-space men (and women), evil gangsters, great B&W western cinematography and cowboys (and cowkids) to the rescue.

I have watched various versions of this serial (e.g., the movie RADIO RANCH) over the years but there's nothing like watching the whole thing. It takes hours to do so but you can go get a sandwich, let the video run, and come back to still figure out pretty much what happened. The beauty of any of the old serials is the level of action -- back in the 40s and 50s, they originally only showed these serials at the theaters at a rate of 1/2 hour per week so they had to cram in a lot of fights and narrow escapes. So, when you sit down for this complete cliffhanger marathon, there's never a dull moment. Yes, the plot is ridiculous but it's nostalgic escapism at its very best.

If you were born in the late 40s or early 50s and loved Roy Rogers' TV episodes, you'll savor this mad masterpiece of a cult serial 'till your dying day.

I loved this book and I love Shostakovich's filmscore from the movie.

You'll have to read the book to get the gist of the movie because it is NOT SUBTITLED in English, (or in any other language), being rendered in Russian. Still, I already knew what they were saying, having practically memorized the book, so I watched the entire movie, comprehended it perfectly, and enjoyed it highly.

The film is very true to the book so this is quite helpful if you don't speak Russian. The DVD, if you can find one!) WILL play on all DVD players, and that too is helpful to know as well. There are occasional "film scratch lines" moreso in some scenes than in others, and the color is pretty faded, going mostly to reds, but I can live with that.

The acting is tremendous and I particularly loved the filmscore which is played DIFFERENTLY from the Shostakovich CD version -- it was interesting to hear the ACTUAL, ORIGINAL filmscore, played on somewhat different instruments, (even classical guitar at one point!), by a different orchestra, probably by a different conductor.

Now, I confess to being a little nutzo over this story/film so if you are casually looking for just any nice film to watch, this one is probably not a good selection for you; however, if you are a student of film, or, if you read "The Gadfly" and loved it, you'll no doubt savor the film version. It will be really nice when the subtitled version emerges (if ever), but I'm very happy with the one I received (I got mine from a Russian guy on e-Bay).

The locations, the Italian mountain regions and the regal old buildings, are second to none -- very impressive. I hope you enjoy "The Gadfly" as much as I did.

This film never drags. While complex, if you pay attention, the details in this story render its excellence. Great casting, incredible cinematography... historic! This film has it all. If film can ever be art, this one is likely a prototype.

French rebel-patriots desire to assassinate de Gaulle after he liberates Algeria. After failed attempts to kill him, they hire The Jackal to finish the job. The Jackal is effective, ruthless and nobody's fool -- he also manages a quick and hot affair with a French Nobleman's lonely wife.

A shrewd, high-ranking French detective is brought in on the case as are the full crime-detection resources of the British and U.S. Governments once 10 Downing Street is alerted to the fact that The Jackal may be an Englishman! Of course, as we near the end, it is a race for time since de Gaulle refuses to hide behind closed doors.

Perfect levels of suspense prevail at every moment. A "must view." I find myself re-watching this film on DVD at least once monthly.

I'm going to quickly cite some of my qualifications for rating this film because it's relevant to what I have to say: I'm a HUGE Christie fan -- I've read every book/play (some 2 or 3 times) that she wrote (over 80 in all), her Mary Westmacott pseudonym stuff, her tome of an autobiography (not a very good or honest work, BTW!), and all the films and TV productions of Christie mysteries which are available to date.

Now, I will begin by noting that, for me, there are essentially 3 facets to evaluating a "Christie film" -- 1. Was it a good book to begin with? -- some are excellent, some are pretty lame, 2. How closely did the screenwriter adhere to the original work?, and, 3. Did the acting come off as "genuine" or was it hokey? (Christie stories, in particular, always manifest the dreaded potential to come off badly in the hands of an unskilled director).

With that, here's my evaluative summary of "The Mirror Crack'd".

"The Mirror Crack'd," is a pretty good Christie book -- and in this film, we are presented with an overage of big names.... and I mean BIG! Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis and Edward Fox, the latter giving a VERY fine performance, maybe even "saving" the film for me in the second half.

The story: A frumpy local woman is murdered (poisoned) as she attends a high-end theatrical party with hundreds present... but was she the intended victim? This time, Miss Marple (Christie's top female snooper), of course, reveals all at the conclusion.

I must sadly report that Angela Lansbury played Miss Marple, deplorably, and it's equally sad that the screenwriters departed significantly from Chistie's rendering of the favorite lady amateur detective's profile. Lansbury comes off as very assertive, not humble at all, and even puffs away at a non-filtered coffin nail near the end of the flick, an act that would have appalled Christie's Miss Marple.

I'm a huge Elizabeth Taylor fan and she conveyed her character quite well, as expected -- unfortunately, this film was shot in 1980 and Liz was a lumbering side of Hereford beef, sporting 2 1/2 chins -- I was much saddened by this has-been appearance. Hudson, who played her husband, was similarly worn-looking with very bad make-up. Throughout the movie, he looked as if he'd been on a week-long bender. At one point, in a sort of love scene, he's lying on the bed, face up, and Taylor launches herself on to him -- you could almost hear the air hiss out of poor guy and old Rock additionally didn't seem to know what to do with his arms and hands as they didn't encircle her all that effectively. Then, the camera angle switches to Taylor's face, scrunched up on Hudson's shoulder, and it takes on a gargoyle-ish essence -- the editors should have caught this but, like the rest of the movie, you get the idea that this one was all about "yielding product," and nothing about creating art.

The entire film is like this -- a "has-been actors' struggle" I would call it. Edward Fox plays the Scotland Yard Inspector, (and loyal nephew to Lansbury/Marple), and again, he saves the film from being a complete fizzle. Poor Tony Curtis looked as if he'd been run through a tree shredder, with very bad, scruffy-looking, (and very little), hair. Christie fans will like this film okay but I can't recommend it to anyone else. Positive aspects include the letterbox format and very nice cinematography. To conclude this one, I give it a 4 on the low end.

I found this B&W '63 drive-in genre movie rather difficult to assign a star rating because, today, it's clearly a CULT FILM and peoples' opinions are going to vary widely.

Scheider, the only real star in this one, was subsequently type-cast, (especially by "Jaws"), and here, in what was surely a very early career entry, he plays a divergent role as the family drunk and weakling.

The story, which takes place in 1898, is about a rotten and rich old patriarch who suffers from catalepsy and, following the pronouncement of his death by the oldest son who is a very cheesy and unethical doctor, the family hurriedly secures his casket in a mausoleum. They quickly want RID of all traces of the old scoundrel as he has tormented each of them unmercifully over the years. Since the old bugger was always terrified of being buried alive, in his will he had assigned each and every family member, as well as a trusted servant, a little task which would allow him to escape his tomb in case he might not really have died. The family, for the most part, is as rotten as was the old man and they promptly ignore his testamentary directives, much to the consternation of the family lawyer, the controller of the family money, and who hangs around the mansion all the time.

Stated in the old man's will was also a direct threat against each family member who failed to carry out his assigned task, (e.g., "Don't lock the mausoleum door!"), in addition to their being financially cut out of the will: the daughter fears water, the widow fears fire, the doctor-son fears disfigurement, etc. So, you pretty much KNOW, right off the bat, what's going to happen to these folks.

About halfway through the film, a buffoon of a police inspector is called in to investigate the deaths that have transpired so far, and he's assisted by his equally inept constable. These two also hang around the old mansion to make sure that there are no more murders, albeit they are not very successful in this endeavor.

About the only bright figures among the family spore are a nephew and his pretty wife, both of whom the old man apparently liked somewhat -- but even these two are still under the testamentary threat just like the rest of the clan. Still, the viewing audience at least has a couple of characters who are sympathetic to root for, which generates some additional subtle level of suspense.

The murder-fare includes a chopped off head, some very nasty quicksand, and various other vehicles of horrific death. We're also treated to the old secret panel in the library and, the eyes peeping from behind the portrait routines. The 'Living Corpse' slinks around in a long cape and his face is covered by a black scarf, revealing only his eyes... sort of a Bela Lugosi 'Plan 9' look.

The biggest actual problem with this film is that the director chose to make the horror/mystery facet serious, and the police activities as a tongue-in-cheek operation -- in this movie, the two concepts fail to mesh. Beyond that, the cinematography is pretty darn good, and the sets are really tops, all of which helps to save the film. Also, Scheider is pretty convincing in his role which also aids in carrying the film.

Finally, this flick really doesn't drag at any point which is an unexpected, but pleasant, surprise. This movie's not as good as the early Roger Corman films (e.g., "Dementia 13"), but it's okay.

If you're not into horror/mystery cult films, skip this one. If you're a fan of such productions then you'll probably enjoy it as I did.

This is the story of a demented old silent film actress who decides her day is not over. Through a comedy of errors, a happy-go-lucky and handsome young screenwriter stumbles into her realm and she latches on to him like a spider on a fly. He's broke and she's filthy rich -- she commissions him to live-in and write her Pinnacle role which she intends for Cecil B. DeMille, her friend of the good old days, to produce. She also intends for the young man to be her gigolo, a role that he's unwilling to fulfill.

DeMille actually makes a cameo appearance in this fine old black and white production and the story is just a great one.

I particularly recommend this movie to anyone interested in the doings of old Hollywood; however, almost anyone would enjoy this picture of love, hate, hope, revenge, and ultimately, murder!

This picture is a French-Russian collaboration but I saw little French influence here -- in any event, it's a simple story but a spectacular film.

I'm not all that keen on contemporary films but this one caught my attention due to the Russian angle, which I have come to enjoy in both literature and film. It's a cute love story with a Chechnyn War battle as the backdrop.

The staff and inmates of a marginally budgeted mental institution on the Russia-Chechnyn border come under fire, finding themselves betwixt the Russian Army and the Muslim Rebel Guerillas. The staff is forced to vacate the precesses to try to get some buses to evacuate their patients but they are compelled, due to the hot battle, to stay away for a few days. In the meantime, the patients are free to roam.

The Muslim Rebels take over the asylum as a base, pretty much ignoring all the inmates, (who think it's all great fun as the walls explode from tank shelling!), except for one very pretty female accordion-playing nut. She's not quite as looney as her peers until she receives a kidding marriage proposal from one of the Muslim Rebels, Ahmed, the ugliest of the lot -- and then she's head over heels in love with the guy.

There's a bit of a sub-plot in that the girl is also obsessed with a fantasy of singer Bryan Adams (who "shows up" periodically, singing love songs to her in English!), with whom she believes that she's engaged to. Still, she's willing to marry the Chechnyn since he's right there all the time, so to speak.

A second male inmate is also somewhat sane, (his foible is his backpack which he never takes off), and he realizes that there is no real engagement for his nutty friend so he tries to retreive her from the nearby Rebel camp, after the girl follows Ahmed into actual battle.

It's difficult to understand how the cuteness of the main theme can be combined with a killing war so successfully, but they've done it here. This is really a fine, well-made film.

If you can at all tolerate English subtitles of the Russian verbiage, (which are also well-done and very readable without much distraction), then don't pass this one by. It's a real sleeper that you won't hear much about in the West.

I want to say, up front, that this is a fine Gothic Frankenstein film. It's actually based upon a fairly straightforward Frankenstein theme, (semi-mad doctor wants to make monster, the brain is damaged, and the monster kills people), but Dr. Victor Frankenstein (very credibly played by Ralph Bates) comes off as a classic, if cultured, psychopath. He cares naught in the slightest about the sanctity of human life, as long as his vision of creating a man (from used parts) is fulfilled.

Here are the numerous characteristics (events) which generate most viewers' dark paradigm of this particular Dr. Victor Frankenstein: 1. He has the sex drive of Don Juan and Rasputin combined and any consequences of his amorous advances do not concern him in the least. After impregnating his University Dean's daughter, he just drops her like a hot rock, never giving her a further thought. He also demands double-duty from his lovers... sex slave on demand and housekeeper routinely.

2. He really savours killing people (you can tell by the smirk on his face as he does so), including his father, a highwayman (whom he also decapitates), his best friend and assistant, the provider of his corpses, and a local professor (via poison). He even kills an associate's pet tortoise with a smile! 3. He much enjoys setting his monster to killing: the corpse-snatcher's greedy wife, a lover and, a woodsman who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

4. He's really into personal intimidation of those who are supposed to be his superiors while he is a medical student and later on too.

This 1970 British story goes like this: Dr. Frankenstein decides (as a student) that his big goal will be to create a man (basically from corpse parts) so he takes on a pal whom eventually becomes more and more skittish as the experiments with body parts become more and more audacious and heinous. People who get into the way of the young Doctor's plans are snuffed without a second thought. So, what I'm saying here is that there are no huge surprises.

True to the Hammer philosophy, this film is not hair-raising scary like, say, "The Exorcist," "Halloween," or Hitchcock's "Psycho," albeit it's a much darker film than all the other Hammer Frankenstein flicks. This is clearly due to the fact that this movie was directed by Hammer's fair-haired horror writer, Jimmy Sangster, who had clearly been drooling to actually direct one of these films. It's really all just quite entertaining.

There are even intermittent moments of sly humor to be found throughout the movie. At one point, a buxom lass of the Doctor's former acquaintance is practically displaying her mammalian wares for him and he wryly comments, "You've gained weight in a couple of places." Nicely put! The monster is a bit of an enigma. Played by David Prowse, his face is left pretty much unchanged, make-up-wise -- there is just the add-on to the top of the head. The monster thus looks a lot like one of my larger neighbors. He's not a very shrewd monster as the brain, of course, was damaged somewhat by the corpse-snatcher having dropped it. Just your basic killer who generally follows his master's instructions in order to get fed. This particular brain, by the way, was a sort of steel-blue in its hue and I thought that was a little strange.

The filmscore is superb, composed and conveyed by Malcolm Williamson. It embraces that late 60s atmospheric ambiance which goes along so well with period monster flicks, akin to the themes of the great Les Baxter. The film is shot in letterbox and the sets and locations are outstanding. The long shot of the ominous castle is simply timeless. The color saturation is of equal high-quality.

In summary, we do somewhat miss the great Peter Cushing in this Hammer entry; however, it's a fine performance by Ralph Bates and his supporting cast and I think, overall, is one of the best Frankenstein films that I've seen anywhere.

Baby Boomer alert! This horror flick is not for us -- it's for X-generation viewers and younger. Why? Because it is NOT in the least scary.

If this is actually a SPOOF of horror films, I relent and give it three stars for my generation of viewers. But I don't think it IS a spoof. I think that they meant for this to be a shocker. The younger crowd should really just ignore this review because you probably have a very different basis for gauging this film.

Here's what the film is about: it's a cabin-in-the-woods remake/ripoff of the old B&W original of "Night of the Living Dead" with an additional caveat... the producers tossed in every possible type of monster, moving pieces of monsters, evil spirits, demons, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Guys, and so on. The action is akin to that found in the second half of "From Dusk 'till Dawn," (a film that I liked a lot!) The sound track is little more than a generic sound effects recording played in reverse, at various speeds, manipulated with digital delay. I think I might also have heard a variation of backwards "Revolution No. 9" in there at one point. All in all, not terrifically innovative.

The story: A guy and his gal travel to this evil cabin and, as the legitimate residents aren't there, they help themselves to the place. She gets taken over right away by the evil spirits from the so-called Book of the Dead (he should NOT have played back that tape recording!!!) and the guy ALMOST falls to the same fate but he continues to drive the critters out of his system.

Sometimes he outruns them in his big 4-door GM automobile, sometimes he outruns them on foot, and finally, the sun at dawn nixes them for the day. But the bridge is out and he cannot escape this rotten spot on the planet.

The daughter of the legal residents and her husband come along a bit later and attempt to visit her parents at the cabin but, again, the bridge to get there has been utterly destroyed by some of the "creatures" (only God knows which one DUNNIT!); however, a half-witted, local Hillbilly-type and his chickie agree to take them in via the secret back route for a few bucks. All travelers to the evil cabin soon regret THAT unfortunate trip! The reason that the movie makes little sense to older horror fans is because there's no "for-certain safe spot" from these multiple monsters (the cabin is somewhat safe, sometimes !?!), nor is there a standard means of killing them. Sometimes, the following are effective to nullify monsters: double-barreled shotgun, sunlight, chainsaw, knife, bludgeon, etc. Sometimes, none of this works for crap.

We finally learn (from the semi-good spirit of the original male resident) that our heroes have to read a certain passage from that dang Book of the Dead to rid themselves of all the monster-demon chaos, so I was at least glad to hear that there was finally one clear way to end this misery.

So, the group battles on and on with no apparent plot on which any of them can ride. And is it a SPOILER to say that the main guy is suddenly sucked into a Time Tunnel near the end of the flick which lands him in the middle of a pack of Medieval knights who are being attacked by a Pterodactylish Demon-headed Gargoyle??? "The Exorcist" is scary. Hitchcock's "Psycho" is scary. "Halloween" is scary. This film is as scary as "Exorcist, The Heretic," (Exorcist II) with Richard Burton.... but there is some decent head-mashing-type humor dribbled here and there. The film is also well-made, strictly in terms of picture quality and for its letterbox format.

A final comment.... this film appears to be the prequel to "Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness".

I am reviewing all four parts here as that is the way that it comes on DVD.

This is one of the better Tom Baker entries. It ran in 1977 (January 29th - February 19th), and is 95 minutes in length (broken down into 4 episodes). It's full-screen and in color. The story was written by Chris Boucher (story No. 090) and this copy is nice and clear with no film scratch lines or other distortions. There are a few special features (photo gallery, commentary, and some really weird unused footage).

The story here is that The Doctor and Leela (she's very hot-looking as usual) land the Tardis on a desolate mining planet where a few humans (men and women) oversee lots of busy robots who do all the work, including running the huge Juggernaut of a machine that does the mining. In fact, almost all the sequences are filmed "inside" the big mining-ship.

Right after the two show up, one of the miners is coincidentally murdered and The Doctor and Leela get blamed because the robots are programmed never to harm humans. There seems to be no motive for one human miner to have killed another. But it soon becomes apparent that the robots' programming may have been altered by some subversive.... (well, THAT would be a SPOILER!) In any event, it ends up being pretty much the robots versus the humans before it's all over... with a couple of exceptions. And, I should reiterate, the robots look pretty spiffy, with metallic humanoid faces.

Tom Baker is at his best in this one and it doesn't drag anywhere. The story is interesting and the sets are pretty darn good. Overall, this is a top Doctor Who entry and I would recommend it to all sci-fi fans.

First, I want to point out that the copy of this film (DVD) that you want, if you plan to buy it, is the re-worked UCLA film lab version that was digitized from a very pristine black-and-white 35 mm print. All other copies are inferior to this one. The aspect is full-screen.

The stars here are Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. We also get to see the great Henry Daniell (as Sir Anthony Lloyd) and Reginald Denny (as Sir Evan Barham). The film was directed by John Rawlins.

The story takes place during WW II as the Nazis have formulated a plan to terrorize all England. The Voice of Terror makes radio broadcasts, informing the public of real-time disasters which their secret operatives have initiated right in the English homeland, ranging from blowing up airplane factories to wrecking trains, usually demolishing secret plans of the British offensive. The 'Inner Council' of British Army and Navy Intelligence seem to be stymied in dealing with the strikes so Sherlock Holmes is called in by the head of the council... but some of the Inner Council members clearly oppose this decision.

One of Holmes' street informants is murdered on the doorstep of 221B Baker Street (Holmes' flat) so Holmes and Watson head for Limehouse to discover the secret of the victim's last word: "Christopher".

In Limehouse, the two fend off attacks before they end up in a sleazy pub where Holmes has to prevail upon the victim's girlfriend ("Kitty") for help in unearthing the Nazi's plans. Kitty, in turn, has to convey an extemporaneous patriotic speech to the Limehouse street criminals in order to engage their help in discovering what "Christopher" means.

At one point, the Limehouse boys save Holmes' bacon but the chief Nazi escapes. It falls to Kitty again to save the day. In the meantime, Holmes is also suspicious of the respective Inner Council members as he is certain that one of them is an enemy agent.

The end is, again, a patriotic salute to the intestinal fortitude of the English, and to the brain of Holmes, in facing down their Third Reich adversaries.

This is a good film, coherently directed, and with good cinematography. While it's not up to the standard of the other series entries, such as "The Hound of the Baskervilles," it's still certainly worth watching.

First, I want to point out that the copy of this film (DVD) that you want is the re-worked UCLA film lab version that was digitized from a very pristine black-and-white 35 mm print. All other copies are inferior to this one. The aspect is full-screen.

In the story, A British courier is dispatched to Washington as a decoy for the real carrier of a secret WW II document which is imperative to the Allied offensive. The real courier is one Alfred Pettibone, traveling under the alias of John Gregson (played by Gerald Hamer, astonishingly, uncredited in this film! We also saw Hamer play the postman in "Sherlock Holmes and The Scarlet Claw"; and other characters in "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" ; in "Pursuit to Algiers," and in; "Terror by Night").

Pettibone/Gregson manages to surreptitiously hand off the document, which he had reduced to microfilm and embedded in a matchbook, to the fiancé of an American Navy Lieutenant -- she doesn't know that she has it until she suddenly recalls that Pettibone/Gregson dropped the matchbook into her purse just after he lit her cigarette. Still, she plays dumb to Zucco's threatened tortures. Before the girl's actual abduction, Pettibone/Gregson is kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by these same Nazi agents, (one of whom is played by Daniell).

Holmes and Pettibone had worked together before on important cases so Holmes is ready to take on the task and travel with Watson to Washington when the British authorities tell him that his associate has disappeared, along with the document. Subsequent to attempts on his own life and that of Watson's, the pair travel to America where the Washington D.C. police are at their beck and call.

It's soon discovered by both Holmes and the Nazis that the young fiancé has the document, or at least a knowledge of its whereabouts, so the bad guys kidnap her just before Holmes can get to her. Then, Holmes has to dredge up some quick clues to locate the Nazi agents' (the boss of whom is played by the great and sinister George Zucco!) base of operations.

Will Holmes be in time to save the girl and recover the document?!? What do YOU think *.* Still, it's a good suspenseful film with plenty of action. Definitely worth watching.

I am reviewing all 4 parts here as that is the way that this film comes on DVD.

The title of this entry is somewhat deceiving because ninety percent of the action transpires on a picturesque English estate and, inside the appurtenant Manor House. Just a little footage is shot in a replicated Egyptian tomb and the remainder in a very coolly fabricated Martian cave, the latter being near the end (was I being redundant there???). In any event, there IS plenty of action (a frequent failing of Doctor Who episodes).

Basically, the story is that Sutekh (Satan to us) has been entombed by the Egyptian God Horace for thousands of years but the intervention of an English archaeologist led to The Evil One's chance to escape captivity. So, Sutekh takes over the archaeologist's body and travels back to his huge estate to set up camp where he needs to transport his "being" to Mars to destroy the Eye of Horace which holds him in captivity.

Just as Sutekh gets rolling on this endeavor, Doctor Who and his sidekick, Sarah, swoop in with the TARDIS and the two proceed to complicate matters for old Sutekh, who is neither amused nor the first bit pleased with the Time Lord's interference with his plans. And don't let the hefty "mummies" fool you when you first see them -- they're actually evil, but groovy, robots, the sinister minions of Sutekh the Terrible.

This entry is well-done with plenty of great cinematography and is supported by a solid and coherent story. Elisabeth Sladen stars as Sarah and the great Tom Baker as Doctor Who. This BBC production is 97 minutes in length, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, and is listed as "Story No. 82," airing originally from 10/25/75 through 11/15/75. It was written by Stephen Harris and directed by Paddy Russell.

I've watched a ton of Doctor Who and this is certainly one of the better ones that I've ever seen. A good selection for either Doctor Who fans or casual sci-fi enthusiasts.

First, I want to point out that the copy of this film (DVD) that you want, if you plan to buy it, is the re-worked UCLA film lab version that was digitized from a very pristine black-and-white 35 mm print. All other copies are inferior to this one. The aspect is full-screen.

As to the story, it takes place in a small Canadian Hamlet where an aristocrat's wife has been murdered. She had tried to contact Sherlock Holmes by letter of her impending demise, but alas, too late!!! However, Holmes and Dr. Watson (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) commit to avenging Lady Penrose's death by unveiling her murderer, a dastardly serial killer who uses a toothed gardening trowel as his weapon of choice.

The mysterious aristocrat, (played by the amazing Paul Cavanaugh), wants Holmes off the case but, of course, Holmes ignores the man's veiled threats and persists in his inquiries. Soon, another murder sets Holmes and Watson to redouble their efforts before further disasters follow, (which they do).

In this film, we get a little reincarnation of "The Hound" as Holmes and Watson track their shrewd nemesis into the nearby swamps where this killer lurks like a phosphorescent apparition. But, of course, Holmes has been this route before! The movie is a film-noir, moreso than previous Rathbone/Bruce entries, due to one particular murder in the story, (can't say which one because it's a SPOILER!), which makes this particular killer all that much more of a rotten scoundrel. Viewers will also note that the cast is bulging with crusty old curmudgeons, perhaps the most profound, and the best ever cast, of any in this renowned film series.

I have my favorites in the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series of films, (I'm really hot on "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death"), but I have to say that this entry certainly upholds the excellence for which these great old black and white British mysteries are known.

In this 1971 Hammer Films entry, we get the "reincarnation of the Egyptian Princess theme," but with a certain caveat -- there's no "bandaged-wrapped mummy" to avenge her or to drag her off at the end of the movie! Directed by Seth Holt, this is a fine horror flick with all the great set and location ambiance that we've come to expect from the British-based Hammer Film Company. It's shot in letterbox and the color saturation is most pleasing, as it punctuates the impressiveness of all the Egyptian sets and icons.

The story, conveyed somewhat in retrospect, is that of a British expedition that unearths a tomb in which is found a perfectly-preserved princess (or "mummy" for this one), except that her hand has been lobbed off and the disembodied hand has a nice ring on one finger. The expedition falls under a bit of a curse (always bad to open these sacred tombs) and these paranoid tomb-raiders ultimately disband and scatter like dried leaves in the Autumn. But when the expedition leader gives his daughter the ring, which he conveniently cobbed from the tomb, the trouble really begins.

The large ring's stone has embedded within it a star alignment (which looks amazingly like The Big Dipper!) and that star alignment is, of course, when the reincarnation of the Princess is to begin. And did I mention that this gal who got the ring looks EXACTLY like the Egyptian Princess? It's so and the original expedition members begin to fall like flies when she subsequently visits them.

There aren't any heavyweight actors in this film but I was pleased to see Aubrey Morris (as Dr. Putnam) who also played the birdwatcher ("Quince") in a great old B&W Avengers Episode, "Silent Dust". Morris was a fine actor and, albeit his role is a small one here, his toothy performance adds to the film's overall appeal.

In the larger picture, the sets and locations are terrific in this film and the casting is spot-on. The film doesn't drag anywhere and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It's one that fans of older horror films will enjoy watching over and over.

This review is for all for parts because that's the way it comes on the DVD.

Three guys manning a lighthouse take shifts on the watch -- the youngest of them spots a strange light come down from the sky and enter into the sea. It's actually a Ruton Space Vessel, such creatures being a nemesis to Earth. Rutons are slime creatures (bright green blobs!) who are of superior intellect and who can morph into any form, including human form.

Well, it's not long before the Rutons begin messing with the lighthouse light and as the chief engineer goes to the lower level to inspect the generators, the Ruton snuffs him. It's at about this time that Doctor Who and his female sidekick show up and, from that point forward, it's the Time Lord and his human associates against the Ruton.

It sounds like there's not much here but this is a very good episode. You'll love how the Ruton yells every time he gets temporarily zapped by The Doctor. It's a real hoot! You won't get hurt by buying this one -- it's one of my personal favorites.

I'm reviewing both parts 1 and 2 here because that's the way it comes on the video.

This one is a really great episode, one of my personal favorites. Tom Baker plays Doctor Who and Sarah is his sidekick along with one other male sidekick, Ian Sullivan.

Doctor Who stops off on Earth (far in the Earth's future when it is no longer inhabited) to make repairs to some equipment that he has based there. Sarah and her friend come along for some R&R in the beautiful English countryside but they run into a "hole-trap" right away! Pretty soon some human astronaults show up and they are very suspicious of the TARDIS trio because some of their crew members have been killed.

The facts ultimately show that it is Field Major Styre, a Sontaran, along with his devilish mobile robot, who has been torturing and killing off the astronaults. Styre had lured them to Earth with a fake distress call and then destroyed their space ship after they had landed. He is conducting "experiments" on humans to detect all their mental and physical inferiorities, (e.g., by water deprivation, by mashing them, etc.), so that his tribe can invade the galaxy and exploit these weaknesses. His superiors are awaiting his final report prior to the invasion.

But Doctor Who has other plans for the Sontarans! The Sontaran, Styre, (as well as his look-alike superior), looks like a giant russett potato with arms and legs and dressed in a cool space suit, and is actually made up quite good. His robot is also a timeless work of tinsmithing art. The cinematography in this entry is spectacular and the action is constant.

If I have a singular critique of this one it's that it is one of the shorter Doctor Who episodes, having only two parts. Still, it's very worthwhile television. My highest recommendation.

Hollywood simply did not make enough of these great color, letterbox format, Pacific Theater, WW II films! Director Ron Winston did a fine job with this one which is one of the best I've seen. Baby Boomers, in particular, will be hot on this one.

A young James Mitchum, (talented brother of Robert and John Mitchum), holds the starring role here over Hugh O'Brian and Mickey Rooney. Mitchum plays Private Grenier, a smart-aleck rookie U.S. Marine who has gotten himself shanghaied into a top secret special operation in the Phillipines during the Japanese occcupation. All the other marines, about a dozen of them, are highly-trained and experienced specialists in their respective fields. Mitchum, the radio guy, was grudgingly brought along as a last-minute replacement for the regular top communications specialist who came down with illness just prior to this imperative guerilla operation.

They are secreted to the island by float-plane at night. Soon after entering the jungle, the Captain of the operation is killed during a desperate scuffle with some Japanese soldiers at their campfire. Hugh O'Brian, playing the Lieutenant, takes over command and he doesn't much like Mitchum, viewing the Private as trivial and immature. Mitchum is eventually told the purpose of the operation: A Phillipine guide will take them across the jungle island to the Japanese base where their contact person, a covert Allied agent, will provide information that is critical to MacArthur's immanent Allied re-invasion of the Phillipines. Thus, it will eventually fall on Mitchum, the most important member of the team in terms of duty, to convey this critical intelligence by radio.

In yet another early confrontation with a small platoon of Japanese infantry, who are also equipped with a very cool little army tank, more Marines are killed and this also sets the Japanese hot on their trail through the jungle. Just before their destination is reached the Marine's native guide, the only person who knew who the identity of the contact agent, is killed -- Hugh O'Brian is forced to sneak into the Japanese-infested village and ferret out the contact agent at great risk. I'll have to stop here to avoid a SPOILER! One of the best features of this movie is the superb filmscore, composed and conducted by Richard LaSalle. It's one of those atmospheric sixty-ish scores reminiscent of those fine soundtracks previously conveyed by Hugo Friedhofer and Les Baxter. It really adds to the suspense and to the ambiance of this fine film.

The abundance of tropical flora, great locations and sets, the super cinematography, and, the great casting additionally support the superb quality of the movie. Compare this film to yet another of these singular film treasures: "Never So Few" It's all really just first-class. If you enjoy World War II films, especially those concerning the Pacific Theater, you'll love this terrific 1966 entry. My highest recommendation!