Here's a post-Christmas treat!
Artist Mark Maddox has had a very
busy year. He remains in high demand for book and magazine covers along with
all his other work. 2018 saw him finally branch out into Blu-Ray art, doing the
spectacular rendering of Christopher Lee for the cover of Scream Factory's new
disc of DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966). Hopefully the strong, positive
response to that piece will get him the opportunity to do more in that vein and
soon. Fingers crossed.
But, because Mark has been so busy, he and I haven't had the
chance to record a show together all year - until now! HELL DRIVERS (1957) was
a film I was totally unaware of before Mr. Maddox started talking about it a
few months ago. I don't know how I missed it considering the talented people
involved. There is a host of future British television and film stars packed
into this tight little drama including a Doctor Who, a James Bond and at least
two other soon-to-be small screen espionage agents. Oh! And the great Herbert
Lom as an Italian expatriate working in England and romancing the lovely
Peggy Cummins. Writer/director Cy Endfield shows his skill at crafting a strong
script with believable characters but also knows how to stage exciting action
scenes. We watch huge trucks barreling down roads that are clearly too small
for that type of traffic while at the same time the complicated personal
relationships become more deadly as well. But the film offers more than just
bar fights and lustful quandaries. Just why would a company run these young
drivers so hard?
As is the norm for a conversation between Mark and I, there
comes a point where we go off track. In fact we went so far off track that it
became difficult to know just how long we had been roaming around talking about
something other than HELL DRIVERS! We drift into a discussion of toys including
fan-made collectables, then move on to the British 'Carry On' film series and
film humor in general with a surprising revelation or two from Mark. There are
at least a dozen other topics that we charge right into with little reasonable
concern for the fact that you folks might eventually be listening to us ramble.
Sorry about that.
Oh! It turns out that this film is available to stream on Amazon Prime! The link is below.
Oh! It turns out that this film is available to stream on Amazon Prime! The link is below.
If you have any comments or if you'd like to correct either
of us please write the show at thebloodypit@gmail.com where we'll be thrilled
to answer all questions. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you again
soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment