THE MAN WHO WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES (1937)

Since reading a collection of the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was around ten years old, I've been a fan of the character and those original Doyle tales. For a long time I was very resistant to adaptations of the stories or uses of the character that strayed from the canon in any way. But a few decades ago, I gave up such silly restrictions on my enjoyment and embraced an exploration of various authors interpretations of the character. This includes an openness to changing the setting (outer space), the possible gender (American television) and even the time period of the life of Holmes (Rathbone’s 1940’s movies). Regardless of some of the more extraneous details of a Sherlock adventure, as long as the characters act correctly and react intelligently to the circumstances of the mysteries placed in front of them, I find myself enjoying most pastiches I come across.  

My constant searching for new variations and additions to the noncanonical Holmes literary tradition often turns up things that seem like they might be played for comedy and in those cases I tend to stay away. Sherlock Holmes played for comedy instead of Sherlock Holmes stories with comedic moments within them always seem a little forced to me. But my curiosity about the German film THE MAN WHO WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES was strong enough for me to give it a shot and make it a blind buy. The fact that it was made and released in 1937 in a country being led by a dictator made me even more interested to see just what it might be. What a surprise!

The movie follows two men in Europe who stop a passing passenger train and give the impression that they are the actual Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. We are privy immediately to the fact that they are not those famous people and they seem to be pulling a con to get free transport to their destination. Once they leave the train, they use their faked identifies to obtain a hotel suite and are then pulled by the police into a stymied criminal investigation. Leaning into their roles the men proceed to act like detectives and start uncovering some interesting connections.

I’ll not spoil the film anymore because I think it is well worth seeking out with as little story information as possible. The delights of the plot are best discovered as cold as can be arranged. I haven’t enjoyed a ‘Holmes’ tale this much in years and this fine film is easily one of the best new finds of 2021. I haven’t smiled this much at the finale of a movie in years! Brilliant!

Poster Art for THE MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR SATAN (1940)

 

I love this mad Republic serial! It was originally planned as a Superman serial but the license that National Comics had provided to Fleischer Studios to make their Superman cartoon series was in force at the time preventing other film companies from using the character. The script was then reworked with a new character named The Copperhead standing in for Superman. The Copperhead's love interest Lois had only her surname changed while the hero's secret identity name mimicked Batman's Bruce Wayne, National's other major comic book character. I have often wondered if that choice was some kind of dig at the comic book company for having to revise the concept. Of course, I always try to picture Clark Kent in this story while I watch. I am strange. 

The Bloody Pit #124- TURKEY SHOOT (1982)

We’ve never before dug into the fertile field of Australian genre movies here on The Bloody Pit which means it is long overdue. The classic Ozploitation period is generally thought of has having lasted from the middle of the 1970’s to the late 1980’s which seems a short length of time until you look at the number of films that fall into this category. There are more than three dozen movies produced just in the 1980’s that comfortably fit under the Ozploitation umbrella with several worldwide hits like MAD MAX 2 (1982), ROAD GAMES (1981), RAZORBACK (1984) and DEAD-END DRIVE-IN (1986) being most well-known. Add to that list 70’s stunners such as MAD DOG MORGAN (1976), THE MAN FROM HONG KONG (1975), PATRICK (1978) and the ground breaking MAD MAX (1979) and it becomes clear that the Australian output of horror, action and post-apocalyptic cinema has had powerful, long lasting influence. But, in many cases, the Aussie versions of exploitation fodder was following the prevailing trends and copying successes as best they could. And that brings us to this movie! 

Director Brian Trenchard-Smith has described TURKEY SHOOT (1982) as a movie in which "1984 meets The Camp on Blood Island where they play 'The Most Dangerous Game'". If that isn’t a perfect enticement for curious, thrill-seeking movie goers I don’t know what could be! John Hudson and Bobby Hazzard join me for a rollicking discussion of this astonishing piece of sadistic insanity. We marvel at the actors willing to put themselves through this crazed scenario with emphasis on the pure hell of trying to shoot a film under very difficult circumstances. We toss around many strange metaphors as we attempt to describe the action of the story and have great fun watching people blow up real good! I’m not sure how but somehow Gilligan’s Island is invoked alongside a discussion of pants stuffed with raw meat and dummy deaths. Oh! And Bobby manages to make me do an actual spit-take! Waste of good beer, sadly. 

If you have any comments or questions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the email address for the show. Let us know what you think of TURKEY SHOOT or your favorite Ozploitation film. Should we cover more of them? Could be fun! Thank you for listening. 

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Lost In Space Comic Book Covers

If the show was one quarter as exciting as these amazing covers it would have been the greatest thing to ever appear on television! 

Wow! 

Naschycast #66 - SHADOWS OF BLOOD (1988)

Years ago I decided that, because I did not want to watch SHADOWS OF BLOOD (1988), we would not cover it on the Naschycast. I could simply see no upside to wallowing in what we knew was commonly considered the star’s worst film. I suspected that it would be a painful and depressing experience so I opted to avoid it and instead seek out less reviled fodder for the show. But then a friend pointed Troy and I toward a humorous Australian podcast called Finding Desperado. In that show the hosts conduct a hunt for a lost film that eventually finds them bemusedly watching SOB as part of their research. After listening to the eight hilarious episodes of this podcast I realized that these two funny men had pointed the way toward covering this movie – puzzled confusion. So, we decided to finally dive into what I’ll forever refer to as Naschy’s Nadir.

We dig into the genesis of this film starting with some details about the low point that Naschy’s career had reached by the mid-1980’s. It’s doubtful that he would have participated in this shot on video ‘production’ if he'd had anything better as an alternative but chance often leads the dance in movie making. We discuss Lord Sidney Ling who is the writer/director responsible for this film including his bizarre history as a fabulist of the highest order. Finding Desperado relates much more detail about this strange man and his self-aggrandizing nature but we concentrate on what might have influenced the poorly thought out ‘story’ he concocted for SHADOWS OF BLOOD. We trudge through the film trying to understand what might have been intended, occasionally getting lost in the dull sameness of the events onscreen. The sloppy narrative follows two escaped lunatics as they walk (and walk) around Amsterdam murdering random people in a competition to see who can kill the most victims. It is a mostly embarrassing exercise in senseless tedium that, even with its short running time, will test the most devoted Naschy fan. I’m just glad we finally have this one behind us!

 

We have a couple of emails at the end of the show including an amazing tale from listener Kurt that reads like a possible future noir film. His brief life story is well worth knowing. If you want to add your story to the podcast naschycast@gmail.com is the address where we can be reached. Let us know what’s on your mind! And thanks for listening to the show. 

Finding Desperado Podcast LINK 

Apple Podcast LINK 

MP3 Download LINK 

Homework - SHADOWS OF BLOOD (1988)

Look. I'm not going to tell you that this 'film' is good. I'm not even going to try to convince you that it is an entertaining way to waste 70 minutes. But this is the film under discussion in the next episode of the Naschycast. I fought against covering it for years but finally succumbed. 

Trailers From Hell - THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)

 

I agree with everything Josh Olsen has to say about this fantastic John Huston film. It is one of the best movies ever made and neither of the two stars ever made a better film. If you've never seen this fun adventure then you are in luck - Warner has just put it out on Blu-Ray, so now is the time.