I finished three books during this week, as well as one pulp magazine issue. Books Scarlet Riders: Pulp Fiction Tales of the Mounties, ed. by Don Hutchison — as an anthology, the usual mixed bag, with some stories straightforward adventure (e.g., “Red Snows,” by Harold F. Cruikshank, and “Doom Ice,” by Dan O’Rourke) and some …
The Evil Karate (1971)
A fairly common plot — villains after a book describing secret martial arts techniques — doesn’t keep this movie from providing some entertainment. The vicious “Seven Monsters of Poison” are tasked with obtaining the book, but the man who is key to finding it temporarily eludes them, finding brief refuge with a household whose young …
The Peking Medallion (1967)
A freelance photographer (Robert Stack) ends up in possession of a medallion that provides a key to hidden treasure, and others (most notably crooks led by Nancy Kwan) are after it. And can the photographer trust the purported widow (Elke Sommer) of the man who entrusted him with the item? Stack’s protagonist is effective in …
Shaolin’s Magnificent Disciples (1977)
Ming loyalists battle Manchus in this historical tale, originally titled Wu lin ke zhan, that offers some twists — including one that was a surprise to me but others that were fairly obvious — but drags despite a good deal of action, in part because the editing makes it hard to follow. Carter Wong stars …
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Casus Kiran (1968)
More superhero action in Turkey, as “Spy Smasher” (the English title, an older comic book hero who also was the subject of a 1942 Republic serial), together with his girlfriend (top-billed Sevda Ferdag), battles an archcriminal, The Mask, and his minions. There are the usual violence and odd situations, but it’s not really worth a …
Neutron versus the Amazing Dr. Corante (1963)
Black-masked wrestler Neutron has another round of battling the evil scientist (and wrestler) Dr. Caronte, who is himself aided by faithful henchman Nick and some manufactured zombies. There’s plenty of action, but not much plot. Original title: Neutrón contra el Dr. Caronte. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great. Movie …
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Onna hissatsu ken: Kiki ippatsu (1974)
Etsuko Shihomi is back as Koryu in thesecond Sister Street Fighter movie, also known as Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread. This time around, she again travels to Japan looking for a woman who has gotten involved in smuggling diamonds in a very uncomfortable fashion, and Koryu learns to her dismay of a family …
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Hercules against the Barbarians (1964)
Hercules (Mark Forest) is in love with a village maiden who is actually the rightful princess of Poland, hidden away years before by her father to protect her in the face of the Mongol invasion, but she unfortunately is captured by the nomads. Infighting among the sons of Genghis Khan provides an opportunity for the …
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Leng yue gu xing jian wu qing (1977)
Plenty of good fights and a challenging arena competition among noted fighters make for an entertaining tale filled with vengeance, love, and humor, in this movie also known as Invincible Swordswoman. Fans of the genre will want to take a look. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great. Movie 481 …
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Tôkyô nagaremono (1966)
Stylish, even stylized, cinematography adds visual interest to this movie, also known as Tokyo Drifter, as a reformed gang enforcer (Tetsuya Watari) encounters betrayal when a rival gang takes aim at his yakuza’s holdings. Deliberate pacing and visual set-pieces are punctuated by violence as the enforcer becomes the drifter of the title, but I found …