Reviews

I grew up during the '70's and love the movies made during that decade, and Lady Cocoa is at the top of the list. I'm not sure if I enjoyed them as much then as I do now, because in the present I'm looking back wistfully in time, through a hazy mirror that somewhat distorts the images. Lady Cocoa also has constant background noise and the sound of wind even when the action is inside in the casino where she spends her night of freedom. The film has too much indoor lighting and not enough outdoor lighting. For me, that's perfect. Can you really expect to look at the past and expect to see it perfectly clear? Would you want to? If only police shows today could be so tame. Lady Cocoa speaks her mind and sometimes she speaks it in a way that would make a tough guy from the '70's blush. But, deep down, she's a good girl whose naive. She's gone to jail to protect her boyfriend, but now, in exchange for turning state's evidence against the man she loves, she get's a day of freedom. What? 24 hours in a Lake Tahoe casino (Where The King's Castle was located) is compensation for 1 and ½ years in prison for committing essentially no crime? Ask yourself why she would do this as you watch this film.

There is no wonder that Lola Fallana later made a fortune in Las Vegas; she is constant energy and she acts with passion. She is undoubtedly the star of the show, but the performance by Alex Dreier, as Lieutenant Ramsey Miller is a very good one. Dreier's distinctive voice was, certainly, one of his greater assets as a performer. Fallana's co-star, Gene Washington, is, in the beginning, a bit wooden with his performance but loosens up as the movie progresses. "Mean" Joe Greene is, indeed, mean in "Lady Cocoa" as he stalks her, but he and his sidekick had no trouble memorizing their lines: there were none.

Lady Cocoa is a film worth watching. It moves, though slowly, towards a surprise ending, yet the rate of progression towards the conclusion is both entertaining and captivating. And, most important for this viewer, it takes you back to how we once were...and how a lot of films really looked in those days!

First, though, you need to know what I mean by "magnificent." I LOVE movies that appear "dark" and "low budget" because it gives them a eerie dimension not seen in 21st century attempts at horror. Growing up during the early '70's, I am, too, a bit wistful for these days long gone, so, I appreciate the marked quality difference in these films because that's how the past is...somewhat dark and "fuzzy." Darkness and less-than-perfect-images are very appropriate for a horror film.

Silent Night, Bloody Night is a magnificent, appropriate name for this movie, but the title has little to remind the viewer what time of the year it is. We ARE told, though, that Wilfred Butler died on Christmas Eve 1950, and the horrible events that unfold twenty years later occur during the Yuletide season. Aside from the mayor whistling Silent Night and his lovely daughter wrapping a gift in black and white, diamond-designed early '70's "mod" paper, there is little else seasonal about this film.

Patrick O'Neal plays lawyer/real estate agent Jack Carter who comes to town to sell the beautiful, old home of Wilfred Butler, who has not been seen by his neighbors in years. The house, however, has been kept in immaculate repair by his caretaker, and there is much speculation why his grandson, Jeffrey, would sell it for a mere $50,000. When word spreads through the communtiy that the mansion is to be sold, the message reaches an insane asylum nearby,prompting an inmate's escape and a night of terror. But be prepared for twists and turns and a mystery; this is no modern-day mindless thrasher-slasher.

The parts are played very well. The plot is good. Wilfred Butler was eccentric, and in the film's final segment you will come to understand that this is an understatement. Silent Night, Bloody Night is scary and it transports you to that "other Earth" where horror occurs to people in and around big old houses. And, most important for this viewer, it takes you back to how we once were...and how a lot of films really looked in those days!