Trailers From Hell - SHAFT (1971)

The great Bill Duke talks about the classic SHAFT (1971)! 

Trailers From Hell - SHAFT (1971)

The great Bill Duke talks about the seminal 70's action film SHAFT as we wait for the release of the fifth (!) film in the series. 

The Bloody Pit #45 - DR. BLACK MR. HYDE (1976)

Larry Underwood and I have known each other for nearly thirty years. We spent our younger days getting into various types of trouble together but don't get to hang out as much as we'd like anymore. So when Larry suggested covering the blaxploitation horror film DR. BLACK MR. HYDE (1976) I realized that it just might be a good time to reconnect over some great 1970's cinema! Good call, Larry!

In recent years Mr. Underwood has become best known in Nashville as TV horror host Dr. Gangrene, a role he has played on and off for more than 16 years. As cool as that might be I'm an even bigger fan of his ongoing YouTube series TheFantastic Films of Vincent Price in which he is covering every single film with an appearance by the great actor. I highly recommend these fun examinations of Price's career and look forward to the 1970's era. Cool stuff!

In this episode the two of us settle in to look at DR. BLACK MR. HYDE and take the time to discuss the surprisingly small sub-genre of which is a part. I really thought there were a LOT more films of this type! Regardless, this film is a good representative example of the genre with some great performances and a complicated main character at it's center. The movie has a few variations on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story playing with expectations about motivations in some neat ways. The film also goes out of it's way to comment on race and class in American society. Bernie Casey and Rosalind Cash are the big name stars but it's Alabama born actor Ji-Tu Cumbuka as a police officer investigating Hyde's crimes that steals every scene he is given. I would have been happy to see a sequel film just about him and his cop partner.

If you have any comments or questions about the film or the podcast the email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com. Let us know what your favorite Blaxploitation Horror film is or your favorite Blaxpolitation film of any sub-genre. Any other TRUCK TURNER fans out there? Thanks for downloading and listening. 

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DR. BLACK MR. HYDE (1976) on YouTube

I'm preparing a podcast on this odd entry in the very small sub-genre of Blaxploitation Horror. If you're interested you can check it out on YouTube! 

The Bloody Pit #28 - TAKE A HARD RIDE (1975)

Our series of spoiler filled shows focused on the films of Antonio Margheriti continues with one of the director's westerns. Of course, the name in the credits is his standard pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson but we all know who made this excellent combination of Spaghetti Western and Blaxploitation genres. TAKE A HARD RIDE was financed by 20th Century Fox after having great success with Margheriti's previous western for the studio THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER (1974). Teamed again with that film's star Lee Van Cleef Margheriti is able to show his skill again by directing one of best of the very few examples of a western with a mostly black lead cast. Further, this movie has the distinction of reuniting the three male leads of THREE THE HARD WAY (1974) for the last time until Fred Williamson would take it upon himself to cast them all in his 1982 film ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO. A team this good shouldn't have had to wait seven years for another big screen adventure, but that's Hollywood I guess.

Co-host John Hudson and I take a run through this fun film discussing not just the director and stars but also the location shooting; the script's detailed characterizations; the bad guy's deep bench; a possible snake death; the horror of swinging bridges and the many joys of watching Jim Brown and Fred Williamson spar onscreen. It will be clear that we hold this film in high esteem and it will also be clear that John's cat Snowbell has some things to say as well. She makes her presence known throughout the show, so those meows you hear from time to time are not a ghost feline stalking you as you listen to the podcast.

Be warned that we start the show with a few minutes of talk about what we've been reading and watching since we last podcasted together. This time out John came prepared to list off some interesting recent viewings. I take the opportunity to relate that I've been reading an excellent crime novel by the author of 'Money Shot' but I repeatedly refer to the writer by the wrong name. The author of 'Choke Hold' and its predecessor is Christa Faust NOT Christina Faust as I call her in the first part of the show. I apologize to her and to anyone out there that might go in search of her great books and wonder why they can't find them! Sorry!

If you have any comments or suggestions you can reach us at thebloodypit@gmail.com and we'll be glad to include your email in future episodes. 

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THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974)

For years everything I heard about this film was negative without being specific. Snide comments about 'the gimmick' were trotted out as if that were the only memorable thing on offer, with no mention of the movie's other qualities. Heeding these poor reviews I didn't go out of my way to track down The Beast Must Die but a few years ago I was able to finally see it as part of an adventure into other Region DVDs. Imagine my surprise to discover a damned good little movie! Far from being a gimmicky mess (as I'd heard it once described) I found it to be a smart variation on The Most Dangerous Game in which the idea of hunting a man has been one-upped. And now that it has been released on Region 1 DVD, more people can discover this hybrid of horror and thriller. Its well worth the time invested.

Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a wealthy man with one major hobby -  big game hunting. Having bagged every dangerous predator the world has to offer, he has set his sights on something exceedingly rare. Convinced that lycanthropes actually exist, he's determined to provide himself with the opportunity to hunt and kill the most vicious animal in existence.

Having identified several possible victims of the disease and invited them to his isolated country estate, Newcliffe makes the conditions right for the beast to appear. His plan is to keep his guests under watch for the three nights of the full moon and wait for a transformation. To this end he has installed a high-tech tracking and monitoring system covering the grounds of the entire estate. Hired both to set up and control the impressive audio/video surveillance equipment is Pavel (Anton Diffring). When Tom explains the object of his hunt, Pavel is skeptical but as the pay is good he's willing to go along.

At dinner on the first evening Tom reveals to his guests his knowledge of their pasts, laying out his case for each person's possible guilt. He has only circumstantial evidence for his suspicions but is convinced that one of his guests is a werewolf. Is it the artist Paul (Tom Chadbon), whose subjects always seem to end up murdered? Or musician Jan (Michael Gambon), whose concert tour leaves a trail of half-eaten bodies around the world? Has the elderly lycanthrope expert Dr. Lundgren (Peter Cushing) gotten too close to his subject? Or perhaps the beast is Davina (Ciaran Madden), the young woman whose presence at dinner parties presages death by throat-ripping? It could be that disgraced British diplomat Bennington (the great Charles Gray) is hiding the facts about why so many of his aides have disappeared...

Setting the scene carefully to make the mythical beast appear, Tom has rare beef served at dinner and even brings a pollinating wolfbane plant into the house. But after an antagonistic parlor game of 'pass the silver candlestick' gets no reaction, he makes it known that he has no intention of letting his quarry escape. Mr. Newcliffe wants his hunt and he's willing to go to any lengths to get it!

On the first night the surveillance grid shows an animal on the grounds and Tom, clad in shiny black and carrying a submachine gun, gives chase. He only gets a quick glimpse of the animal and misses his shot. But showing a high level of intelligence the beast beats him back to the house to kill Pavel and wreck the monitoring system! Tom realizes that he's underestimated his adversary but refuses to give up. Hiding Pavel's body to keep his death a secret, he continues on to the second night — upping the provocation in hopes of another chance.

Of course, I kept wondering what would happen if more than one of the suspects were lycanthropes! After hearing Tom's list of evidence against them it seemed possible that two or more might be shape changing monsters; maybe they'd join forces to off the sucker dumb enough to get too close. But that's not the way the story goes. We're told at the beginning of the film that there is one werewolf and that the audience will be given the chance to guess the identity of the creature. And this is The Beast Must Die's gimmick: the "Werewolf Break". At a point just before the killer is revealed there is a brief pause in the film, complete with a countdown clock so that viewers can demonstrate their deductive powers. It's a bit silly I admit, but I like it as it gives viewers the chance to talk about the suspects without missing anything. Maybe in the days of Pause buttons this is pointless but I think theatrically it would have been fun. The best thing about it is that the film immediately pulls a switch leading to a nice double-clutch surprise.

The film sports a very strong cast with veteran Cushing leading the way. Doing a nice Norwegian accent, he is easily the least likely suspect but adds enough arched eyebrow mystery to cause some doubt. Charles Gray and Michael Chambon are familiar character actors who bring a high level of performance to the table; Marlene Clark, playing Newcliff's wife Caroline, is very good as well. The real casting surprise is Calvin Lockhart. Casting a black man in a role originally slated to be played by Robert Quarry might have seemed a bit crazed to some but it pays off brilliantly. Lockhart is fantastic in the role, perfectly balancing the slightly mad determination to hunt his prey with the smooth genteel manners of the worldly man of wealth that he has made himself. It's a great performance that holds the movie together well.

Another surprising but effective decision of the filmmakers was in their presentation of the beast itself. Eschewing the standard man-in-a-hairy-outfit, they instead went with a large animal on all fours, loping across the darkened estate and attacking like a mad wolf. I was happy with this choice as well, as it emphasizes the beastly aspect of the creature and is a break with convention. And even if the animal is all too obviously a big dog with extra hairy padding stuck to it, the film does a good job of keeping him in shadow and therefore pretty menacing. The few clear shots of it against a moonlit sky are quite nice with its attack on Pavel being especially well done.

I can understand some of the criticisms leveled against this film over the years even as I don't agree with them all. Yes, the creature could have looked better, the Werewolf Break is cheesy and the film could stand to be about 10 minutes shorter. Strangely, the one element I was most annoyed by is one that I've never heard complaints about — the score. Although I think the music written for the film by Douglas Gamley is a nice slab of '70s semi-funky cheese, it often seems at odds with the seriousness of the film. But this is still a solid monster movie that deserves more attention than it has received. The unique Ten Little Indians/Most Dangerous Game set-up is fascinating and I'm surprised it hasn't been tried since. Indeed, if ever a film was ripe for a remake this is it! As the film is based on a James Blish story, perhaps some enterprising young producer can option that sucker and bring the Werewolf Break into the 21st century!

TAKE A HARD RIDE (1975)

Lee Van Cleef is one of the most recognizable actors in the spaghetti western genre. If he'd done nothing more than turn in his fantastic performances in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly he would have cemented his place in fans' hearts. But those two genre-defining films were just the beginning for Lee Van Cleef. A bit player in Hollywood for years, he had never been able to land any really big starring roles but a movie fan with sharp eyes can spot him in dozens of films starting in 1952's High Noon. He was the man tasked with shooting a radioactive bullet into The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, a gangster in several 1950s Noirs and seems to have appeared in at least one episode of every western television series produced in the '50s and '60s. His one starring role in 'Hollywood' was as the deluded scientist who helps an alien from Venus attack our planet in Roger Corman's It Conquered the World in 1956. I'd love to know what he thought his chances for career enhancement were when he signed on to make westerns with crazy Italians but I bet Clint Eastwood's sudden rise to stardom caused him to think big things were possible. It certainly turned out well for him! After the huge success of the Leone films worldwide LVC went on to star in at least a dozen more westerns including two Sabata films, the brilliant Death Rides a Horse, the western/mystery hybrid The Grand Duel and even a Magnificent Seven sequel. With Take a Hard Ride Van Cleef entered into another sub-genre, the western/blaxploitation combination - a bizarre amalgam that deserves a book written about it though it was woefully short-lived. This was also his second collaboration with veteran Italian director Antonio Margheriti with whom he'd made The Stranger and the Gunfighter just the year before and would work with again in 1983 for Codename: Wild Geese. While Take a Hard Ride wouldn't rank near the top of either man's resume it is a solid movie even if its flaws are all too apparent and, all too often, silly.

Since they get the lion's share of screen time one could argue effectively that the real stars of this film are Jim Brown (Black Gunn) and Fred Williamson (The Inglorious Bastards). Indeed, after a brief sequence at the very start of the film to set up Van Cleef as cold-hearted bounty hunter Kiefer, it becomes clear that the focus of the tale will be Brown's character, Pike. Pike is the trusted right-hand man of rancher Morgan (Dana Andrews), who has just gotten a herd of cattle to market. The herd was a communal project for the small Mexican town Morgan is hoping to help become a stable ranching community. Sadly, the night after the sale the old man dies of a heart attack and with his final breath asks Pike to make sure the $86,000 gets back to the town. Pike takes this responsibility seriously and sets out to keep his pledge even as every criminally minded scumbag within 100 miles starts making plans to rob him. Among these dastardly folks is professional gambler and card cheat Tyree (Williamson). Being smarter than the average crook he meets up with Pike and first helps him fight off a group of bandits before informing him he wants the money just as much as anyone else. But having formed a mutual respect the two men decide to work together until they get to Mexico when all bets will be off.

Bounty hunter Kiefer decides to make a grab for the money but after witnessing the gunplay skills Pike and Tyree possess he opts to pull most of the criminals hunting for them into a group to have a better chance. Offing the few that don't want to join up or running them off the trail he follows along while the two black men trade verbal quips and sniff after the other's possible breaking points. In their trek across the desert landscape the two partners come across a stage under attack by some bandits. Killing the bad guys they rescue ex-prostitute Catherine (Catherine Spaak) but are too late to save her good hearted husband. She elects to travel with them until a town can be reached and in tow is her servant/bodyguard Kashtok (Jim Kelly), a half-Indian mute who appears to have studied under Bruce Lee. Will this group of four be able reach civilization alive and with the money or any combination of the two?

At one point Fred Williamson's character Tryee says, "Everybody has a sad story in their past." As Take a Hard Ride goes on we learn some of these sad stories and how they made the people we are traveling with tick. Pike is a formerly bad man trying to maintain his dignity even as Tyree asks him repeatedly why he would want to keep his word to a white man. Tyree is a man all too aware of the restrictions his black skin places on him and while keeping a smile on his face plots to get what he wants. Catherine is a sad lady unsure of her future and afraid she'll not be able to leave her past behind. Kashtok is a man of two different cultures who doesn't fit into either. And Kiefer is a black-hearted, intelligent and rational man pursuing money with little thought as to why. Placed into this scenario all the flaws and strengths of these people come out leading to some surprising actions. Even if certain sacrifices are never going to be understood by the survivors the influence these people have on each other will last a long time.

But I'm making this out to be a glum tale and its not. Besides the banter between Brown and Williamson there are some great chases, fantastic gun battles and some well choreographed fights. Hollywood legend Hal Needham was the stunt coordinator for the film and it shows in the exciting and believable actions scenes. Director Margheriti has all the elements in place to make a good western and does a damned good job with the material. Margheriti's westerns never reach the mindbending highs of Leone or Corbucci but he also never seems to be aiming for those highs. His westerns are more low-key, less arch with their pleasures usually more subtle in their effect. I almost always enjoy a Margheriti western more the second and third time I watch it. I fear this is because I'm so used to Spaghettis being such 'big' entertainments that, when I see one that aims at a different target, I have to adjust my expectations to notice what's in front of me. That's not to say Margheriti's films aren't entertaining — they're just not entertaining in the same way that the often tongue-in-cheek spaghettis sometimes are. I think this stylistic difference accounts for the general low regard fans of the genre have for his westerns, which is a shame. Watching this film more than once shows an intelligence behind the camera that is easily missed on first impression. Nearly every shot is framed with a skilled eye to position each character in relation to the others for an effect. Someone will be foregrounded at the beginning of a scene as the character tries to argue against something and then advance into frame becoming smaller as they lose the argument until they are smallest object in the scene. This kind of thing occurs repeatedly in Take a Hard Ride, and even if you don't notice it these techniques have their intended effect. That's just excellent filmmaking and it's rarely talked about in this genre with its focus on action and violence. Westerns can be artistic even if most hardcore aficionados would sneer at the idea.

Another great thing about this film is the beautiful location work. Filmed in the Canary Islands off Morocco's coast, the movie looks fantastic and forbidding at the same time. Being an Italian/American co-production, there are more Hollywood players in the cast and crew than most spaghettis usually sport. Besides the short performance from Dana Andrews (Curse/Night of the Demon), there's a small part for the great Barry Sullivan and juicy bad guy roles for recognizable character actors Harry Carey, Jr. and Robert Donner. The score is by the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of the Apes), who turns in a damned good suite of music that I think I'll have to obtain on CD eventually.

Not that the film is without problems. Most viewers will enjoy the rousing, explosive final battle but will be unsatisfied with the fate of Lee Van Cleef's Kiefer. I loved this odd, poetic turn but its 'scorpion-stinging-itself' aspect will turn off those looking for a more conventional ending for such a bad guy. Another troubling element is Kashtok the mute halfbreed played by athlete Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon). Kelly does what he can with the role but the inclusion of a martial arts bad ass makes it hard to take some scenes seriously. High kicking like a Navajo Jackie Chan, it becomes silly and throws off the tone of a few of the fight scenes. The truth is that the film would have been just as good and maybe better without this character at all. A simple rewrite of a few scenes could have eliminated him altogether and made Catherine's predicament in the desert even more troubling.

Blaxploitation Poster Art

HIT MAN (1972)

I finally caught up with HIT MAN (1972) last night (thank you TCM) and enjoyed it very much. I can't say its one of the best of the Blaxploitation sub-genre as it has a real lack of forward momentum and feels a little slow at at times. If there had just been a but more urgency in Bernie Casey's character's search for answers about his brother's death it would have been a better film, I think. This is a good one, though, and I'm glad to check off another box on Pam Grier's resume. She is always fun to watch! 

GORDON'S WAR (1973)

I was excited to see this rare Blaxploitation action film for many reasons. Starring the fine actor Paul Winfield and directed by another fine actor Ossie Davis I had high hopes for a tough tale of vigilante justice on the mean streets of Harlem. I really liked Davis' COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (1972) and I considered this the next in a possible string of engaging and sly urban stories helmed by him. Looking at the cast I expected a film with often underused actors getting to show their talent and having fun playing badasses doling out harsh judgment to scum of every type. Sadly, I found GORDON'S WAR to be a disjointed, sloppy and ultimately frustrating film. I can't completely dismiss it because of some good scenes, excellent New York location shooting and its cool score but it never really works. The storytelling is confused leaving the feeling that parts of the film were cut out or never filmed making things jump forward randomly and then pause unexpectedly.

The truth is that its not an exciting film for the most part. Several action scenes that would sound great on paper are rendered in a flat, dull way with no tension or spark. For this I have to lay the blame at the director's feet. I don't think Ossie Davis was cut out for this type of story. I'm not sorry I caught up with the movie but its not an unsung classic of the era.