This Gothic-styled giallo, originally titled La morte negli occhi del gatto, features a series of killings around a visit by a young woman (Jane Birkin) to her weird family. It’s reasonably engaging, despite some tedious elements (a rebellious cousin, for example) and some oddities (e.g., the cousin has a gorilla). The titular cat is indeed …
Read the full post →“<em>Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eyes</em> (1973)”
Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is present, albeit in disguise, at the discovery of the crown of the Queen of Sheba, and he later exerts himself to thwart the many crooks — including the master criminal called Metaxa, whose identity is unknown — who wish to steal the crown from the museum where it has been …
Read the full post →“<em>Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1939)”
Bad guys use attacks, purportedly by headhunters, to get their ally, whom the ringleader has rescued from a murder conviction, into power over a native tribe so that he can sign away the tribe’s mineral rights and the villains can exploit the oil that is there. Jungle Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) works with a young military …
Read the full post →“<em>Valley of Head Hunters</em> (Columbia, 1955)”
A killer stalks the heirs of an eccentric man who requires them to stay for a week together at his mansion in order to inherit — and their greed proves fatal for some, as the titular scarf makes its appearance in the hands of a murderer. This is a pleasing if rather unoriginal Edgar Wallace …
One of many movies trading on the name of the popular character Django for marketing purposes, Django Kills Softly (original title: Bill il taciturno) stars George Eastman as Bill, a gunslinger who sets out to avenge the man who had hired him for protection. Bill thus takes on two gangs — those who murdered his …
Retired battler Sacramento (Ty Hardin) is the target of murderous attacks by his enemy in this inconsistent and finally not particularly funny western, originally titled Sei iellato, amico hai incontrato Sacramento, with dollops of comedy. There’s a fair amount of action, but it just doesn’t add up to much. Mildly recommended for genre fans. Otto …
Read the full post →“<em>You’re Jinxed, Friend, You’ve Met Sacramento</em> (1972)”
Aliens use cyborgs made to resemble a scientist’s son, whom the aliens killed, as part of their plan to conquer the Earth. The film, originally titled I pianeti contro di noi, is rather slow-moving, with too many scenes that don’t develop the plot, and also often confusing, in part because multiple cyborgs look the same. …
Eva Gabor had her film debut in this Richard Arlen actioner. Arlen plays a hotheaded pilot who comes to the country of Mosaque for work but clashes with a local military official (Nils Asther), particularly over the officer’s fiancée (Gabor). When the young woman’s father is ill and in trouble — workers on the vital …
Read the full post →“<em>Forced Landing</em> (Paramount, 1941)”
This tedious sword-and-sorcery flick, originally titled Il trono di fuoco, stars Pietro Torrisi as Siegfried, who must battle the evil Morak (Harrison Muller), son of Satan, and keep the Princess Valkari (Sabrina Siani) from his clutches. There’s little fresh on offer here; Torrisi has little charisma, and the other leads don’t offer much either. Not …
Famed outlaw Dusty Morton has apparently resurfaced after a decade, and crooks in the area are eager to find where Morton hid his loot. Morton’s son, now 13, does not believe his father was such a bad man, though he has little support for such a positive view, save for the opinion of the town …
Read the full post →“<em>Riders of the Lone Star</em> (Columbia, 1947)”
