Hot Rod Gang (1958)
American International Pictures led by cigar chomping Hollywood stereotype Samuel Z. Arkoff produced lots of these teen exploitation B Movies in the 50’s and 60’s and Hot Rod Gang is one of them. The formula was simple, hot rods, fights,…
Carry on Screaming! (1966)
This delightful spoof on the contemporaneous – and equally popular – Hammer Horror style is undeniably a highlight of the “Carry On” series: the film is remarkably evocative with respect to color scheme, sets, lighting, even the score (though the…
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
ROTLD is one of the rare cases where horror meets comedy to good effect. With some classic lines like “you gotta hit the brain” and “watch your mouth kid if you like this job”, this film works because it doesn’t…
Hands of the Ripper (1971)
Orphaned teenager Anna (innocent-looking Angharad Rees) is placed under the care of the awful Mrs. Golding (Dora Bryan), a fake medium who uses her in moneymaking schemes and pimps her out to customers, which leads to her murder. Anna is…
Spaceways (1953)
The title and the poster tend to set the viewer up for a large disappointment with this one, a less-than-gripping film from director Terence Fisher, laudable mostly for the fact that it was made so early in the 1950s. The…
She Demons (1958)
1958’s She Demons is a fine example of late 1950’s schlock horror. Those of you that have read other reviews of mine are familiar with my admonition not to take films such as these too seriously and appreciate them for…
Running Wild (1955)
For 1955, well-made exploitation teen car-thief ring story with William Campbell (decent actor) as the lead and Keenan Wynn (wonderful actor) as an adult type throw this flick into second-gear immediately with a great dance scene, BUT..I only wish Mamie…
Cyborg 2087 (1966)
Often dismissed as a “quickie” movie using a great deal of television elements, “Cyborg 2087” is a prime example of what Hollywood was trying to do between the late fifties and mid-sixties: get people (especially the kids) away from the…
Floating Hope: Searching for New Movie Theatre Economy
Last week, The Historic Artcraft Theatre had six sold out shows of HOME ALONE, now HOME ALONE was released in 1990 and 27 years later it is capable of selling 3,738 admissions on one weekend. This week they will do…
Jungle Blue (1978)
JUNGLE BLUE is an embarrassing attempt by Carlos Tobalina to make an on- location (Peru) adventure film. To call it amateurish would insult hard-working amateurs everywhere. I saw this movie theatrically in June 1982 off Times Square on a double…
Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)
Using his instincts, reporter Morgan Randall, (Robert Deveau) figures out a story lead near an old farmhouse, only to narrowly escape a zombie attack instead. Receiving help from Shelly Goodwin, (Donna Asali) and she helps him get back to town….