Questions About THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982)

One of the best things about watching a film with someone else is being able to talk about the event afterwards. Discussions about movies are the entire reason I started a couple of podcasts so you can imagine how many unrecorded gabfests I’m involved in every month. When Beth and I watched THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982) the other night we talked a little about it at the time but the next day we really had a long conversation about it. I brought up several questions I’ve always had about it but she had a different take that showed me several angles I had not considered. From that conversation has come this list of questions. There might be more later! 

1. Why is such a big deal made out of young Talon being shot through the hand if you aren’t going to reference that injury when the adult Talon is crucified? Seems an obvious callback and a missed opportunity. 

2. Is the rebellious blond adult woman who betrays Cromwell near the end of the film supposed to be Talon’s grown sister? And if so, why not bring that up? And why didn’t Talon have some questions about his sister? The last time he saw her she was alive and being dragged away by Cromwell’s men so she is probably still alive someplace. Right? Why no concern about his possibly surviving sister? Did Talon forget she exists or did the script? 

3. Why did those three buxom ladies come down to the dungeon with the keys to let Talon’s buddies out of prison? Was there a deleted scene showing these ladies being motivated to do this dangerous thing? And also somehow getting their hands on the keys? I want to see that scene. 

4. How is Cromwell’s sword so strong that it seems capable of cleaving all other swords into pieces? Is it magical? 

5. And the question that has haunted me since the 1980’s – how is that no one even mentions the rocket powered three bladed sword? It is never spoken about at all! Why? I would think it would be a major topic of conversation for everyone that ever sees it with questions like ‘How do you get the blade back into the hilt after you fire it into an opponent?’ or ‘What is the trigger mechanism’ or ‘How do I get one of those cool things’ being asked all the time! It’s the most amazing thing any of these folks are ever likely to see and they have no comment. Why? Can you buy replacement blades from Harry’s or Dollar Shave? So many questions and no one is asking! 

My goodness this film is a mess! Are there any things we missed but you caught? Let us know. This list can easily be added to later on. 

 

Poster Art - THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982)

I was resistant to the charms of this 80’s adventure film for years. I always saw it as the cheapjack film made to try to beat the first Conan film into theaters and dismissed it as a mess of hackwork. And that is a fairly apt description of the film if your focus is on sillier elements. No, it isn’t as well produced as the famous Schwarzenegger film but it has its own real joys that can often surprise you. I rewatched it about ten years ago and found myself far enough away from my younger self’s sneering dismissal that I really appreciated it. It is far from perfect and it has the spastic structure of a story made up on the fly, but it feels like a sincere effort to make a modern peplum with no winking at the camera. I can respect that and I now count myself as a big fan of the film. Last night I rewatched it on the new Blu-Ray grinning and laughing the whole way through. True, I was sometimes laughing at the film’s failures but I find the effective bits far outnumber the misfires. For a long time I ignored this movie but now I fully embrace it. 

 

Trailers From Hell - THE HATCHET MAN (1932)

If you can overlook the fact that all the Asian characters are played by non-Asians this is heck of an entertaining Pre-Code film. Yeah, Edward G. Robinson might seem out of place but he pulls off his role beautifully. Mr. Schlesinger shares my love of this one and enthusiastically extolls its virtues. 

Pulp Covers - Thrilling Adventures

 

Adventure of nearly every variety! 

What in Watched in February 2022

I love a good werewolf tale, especially one that isn’t afraid to sling a bit of gore around. But if you fear that THE CURSED (2022) is going to be some mindless splatter fest you will be surprised. Written, directed, and shot by Sean Ellis this film is much more interested in mood and a sense of place than in shock value. The film is best described as a slow-burn that rewards patience with excellent creature effects and a creative twist on werewolf mythology. Indeed, the vision of what happens to the people transformed into the beasts after being bitten is a glorious horror to behold.

I’ll admit that the middle section does meander a little as the characters learn what we are already aware of but the creepy atmosphere remains enthralling the entire time. The feeling evoked is of a bit of classic folklore brought to life and that is a wonder to see. THE CURSED is an exciting, fascinating work of horror that will no doubt be one of the year’s best genre releases. It’s an R-rated monster film that is merciless in how it treats its characters and sometimes shocking in its violence. Good stuff!

 

THE LIST 

THE NAUGHTY NINETIES (1945) – 5 (spotty Abbot & Costello effort buoyed by the Who’s On First routine)

BEYOND DARKNESS (1990) – 4 (jumbled Euro-horror)

THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE (1942) – 6 (OK Shayne mystery)

SLEEPERS WEST (1941) – 8 (rewatch) (very good Michael Shayne film)

THE PLOT THINKENS (1936) – 7 (well done Hildegard Withers murder mystery)

MARK OF THE GORILLA (1950) – 5 (juvenile and silly but it moves)

NOBODY (2021) – 8 (excellent action film)

DON’T LOOK UP (2021) – 5 (not as funny or clever as it should be – excellent performances though)

BLUE, WHITE AND PERFECT (1942) – 7 (another good Michael Shayne mystery)

BLOOD CURSE (2006) – 6 (a.k.a. Bad Blood) (Portuguese haunted house story)

THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI (1975) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

DELUGE (1933) – 7 (fascinating disaster and aftermath Pre-Code film)

BACK PAGE (1934) – 6 (small town newspaper intrigue)

CREATURE FEATURE: 60 YEARS OF THE GILL-MAN (2015) – 7

THE MAD DOCTOR (1940) – 7 (Rathbone is superb in this thriller)

HAIL, CAESAR! (2016) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE BRAIN EATERS (1958) – 3 (rewatch on Blu)

DEATH ON THE NILE (2022) – 8 (excellent)

MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER (1946) – 6 (another dark, bleak Whistler noir)

BLUE MOVIE BLACKMAIL (1973) – 7 (rewatch) (Italian crime)

THE CURSED (2022) – 7 (excellent slow burn monster film)

 

 

The Bloody Pit #147 - FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN (1973)

Where is the line between grotesque horror and dark comedy? Paul Morrisey’s FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN (1973) explores that blurry line with colorful delight. Often known as Andy Warhol’s FRANKENSTEIN this is a one-of-a-kind experience and is now finally available on Blu-Ray!

 

Mark Maddox and I discuss the film and our history with it as we look at what we like and/or love about this bizarre piece of cinema. The movie was produced without a full script while the director composed pages on the way to Cinecittà Studios every day of its three week shoot. This creates a strangely meandering story about Baron Frankenstein (Udo Kier) attempting to bring about a Serbian master race by creating a perfect mating pair. As you might expect, things do not go as planned. Scattered about the story we find the mad doctor’s sister/wife, their creepy children and the lower-class servants who are asked to participate in some grisly experiments. It’s a bloody, nudity filled madhouse of a movie and is sure to please or anger an almost equal number of viewers. Our talk ranges from the very talented cast and the opulent sets to the well-done gore effects and the disgusting visuals. Of course, by the end we are off track and talking about other things but we start with good intentions. Forgive us!

The email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com and we’d love to know your thoughts on this odd work of cinema or any other subject we bump up against in our discussion. Thank you for listening. 

Apple Podcast LINK 

MP3 Download LINK

Pulp Covers - Jungle Tales!

With Spring just around the corner my thoughts turn to tales of warmer climes.

 

Paul Naschy Poster Art

NaschyCast #68 - Bob Sargent Interview!

 

The NaschyCast returns with a long episode to reward your patience.

Bob Sargent was the man behind the excellent 1990’s cult movie fanzine Videooze. His issue devoted to Paul Naschy was a major contributor to my early knowledge of the man’s filmography and allowed for fans to have a roadmap for his career. Mr. Sargent is a huge fan of Naschy and reached out recently to gab about our shared fascination with the great Spanish Horror icon. Of course, Troy and I couldn’t wait to get him in front of a Zoom mic and pick his brain about Euro-Horror in general and Naschy in specific. He was even kind enough to put together a list of his personal Top Ten favorite films by Senor Molina! This a is a lively conversation and it ranges over the decades and across a dozen different topics. You might even learn a little about how Videooze came about and who Mr. Sargent credits with pushing him into self-publishing.

If you have any comments or questions naschycast@gmail.com is still the address to send things to. We’ll be back soon with a short episode focused on answering a few emails.

Apple Podcast LINK 

MP3 Download LINK

Wild, Wild Podcast Season 3 Ep. 2 - BLUE MOVIE BLACKMAIL (1973)

This time Adrian and I travel the globe in search of illicit drugs and the perfect J&B, whilst Ivan Rassimov and Stephanie Beacham get stuck into crossing, double-crossing, triple and even quadruple-crossing pretty much everyone along the way. The big question is, could you be more bastard than Inspector Cliff? Probably not possible! 

Podcast LINK

Guest Appearances on Other Podcasts!

I've been a busy bee lately guesting on various friend's podcasts. Over on The DieCast Movie Podcast I once again join Steve to discuss another of director James Whales' films - SHOWBOAT (1936). This takes me out of my comfort zone since I am not known for my depth of knowledge about musicals. Luckily, this is an exceptional piece of work and a true joy to watch. Check it out! 

DieCast Podcast #86 - SHOWBOAT

The amazing B-MovieCast is approaching episode 500 and as part of the run-up to that incredible accomplishment they are having past guests on to talk about various favorite genre works. I was proud to return to the show to discuss and Paul Naschy classic THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI (1975). Nic and Mary are a fun duo with several questions and the sideroads we take can be quite amusing. Check it out too! 

B-MovieCast #492 - WEREWOLF AND THE YETI

The Shadow Novels vs Radio Shows

Over the past month I've read a couple of Classic Shadow pulp novels and I’ve been listening almost every night to old Shadow radio shows. This has, of course, caused me to compare and contrast and I have to say they are incredibly different animals. The radio show centers on Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane, his Girl Friday, but the pulps that I've read almost always have the shadow as a peripheral character. In the novels he is constantly stalking bad guys, listening and taking advantage of the weaknesses of various criminals and their gangs. On the page he is ably assisted by his huge network of helpers or undercover operatives. They occasionally make appearances in a way that push the story along or explain to the reader how certain pieces of information are being related back to the Shadow. I have to admit the two different versions of the Shadow that the radio play and the pulps provide are both very entertaining but I prefer the anthology nature of the pulp stories. I find that having the main focus on the bad guy characters who are being hunted down by the relentless Shadow with his blazing .45's to be much more entertaining. The Shadow radio show has a tendency to fall pretty squarely into the standard mystery or adventure radio shows of the 1930s with lots of bantering back and forth between Lamont and Margo. Of course, I guess it would be natural that you would need a couple of reoccurring characters who talked back and forth on a regular basis presenting different pieces of information and pushing things in the direction that a radio play would go. As I said, I've enjoyed them both and I will continue to do so but the pulp novels are grittier and more to my taste overall.

 

Pulp Covers - Planet Stories

Strange how many of these stories seem to feature women in danger.

 

Trailers From Hell - THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY (1960)

There's a part of me that knows that I should enjoy this film less than I do but I just can't help it. This is Hammer at the height of its power telling a distinctly British version of history through a lens so racist that it almost swallows its own tail, becoming nearly acceptable. I know it's as wrong as their insane version of Rasputin but I just can't stop watching and rewatching these movies. They're like a twisted pulp retelling of historical myths seen from a very specific late 20th century view of what makes a good story and an entertaining film. I guess we should add to 'Print the myth' the corollary 'Film the wildest version of the myth'. And remember - THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY was shot in StrangloScope!