The Bloody Pit #160 - CODE NAME: WILD GEESE (1984)

Adrian Smith joins me as we return to our long-term discussion of the films of Antonio Margheriti. In the 1980’s he made several ‘military men on a mission’ films for various producers. These movies aped everything from THE DIRTY DOZEN to RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2 (1985) accomplishing much with meager budgets. Margheriti’s expertise in special effect work and miniatures were a major help in keeping costs under control. These sometimes great and sometimes insane effects are part of the fun, especially as we get higher definition prints that allow for certain crazy details to become evident.

CODE NAME: WILD GEESE (1984) was the first of trio of jungle action movies Margheriti made with British actor Lewis Collins in the lead and it is easy to see why Collins was briefly considered to play James Bond. He projects ‘tough guy’ hardness well and is a solid actor to boot. This film surrounds him with an international cast including an Oscar winner (Ernest Borgnine) and a couple of classic screen bad guys playing nice (Lee Van Cleef and Klaus Kinski) giving everything a sweaty sheen of near-respectability, even if Kinski is very oddly dubbed. Throw in a ridiculous car chase, a few dozen explosions, gratuitous Mimsy Farmer, a surprise villainous turn and it is easy to overlook the regularly disappearing plot, ill-defined motivations and bizarre effects choices. This one is fun in all the over-the-top ways that 1980’s action cinema aimed to be. So, hop into that small helicopter and let’s torch some opium fields for exciting but vague reasons! Woo hoo!

The show’s email is thebloodypit@gmail.com and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this or any of Antonio Margheriti’s films. And join Adrian and I on our other program Wild, Wild Podcast as we start a season focused on Luigi Cozzi! Thanks for listening!

The Bloody Pit #137 - SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON (1943)

Join Troy, Beth and I as we check out the second of Universal’s Sherlock Holmes adventures.

 

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON (1943) is - as you might have guessed – another World War II tale full of intrigue and subterfuge. The story allows spy-master Holmes the chance for a few interesting disguises and the opportunity to match wits with his long-time rival Professor Moriarty! It seems that the Napoleon of Crime has hatched a plan to profit from the war regardless of the damage it will do to good old England. Is there nothing that villainous snake won’t get up to in his quest for monetary gain? Surely it is time to put an end to his nefarious plots. 

We dig into the film to examine the success the studio had converting the Victorian detective to a soldier in the fight against the Nazi. I have been reading two books that focus in different ways on this series and use them to broaden our discussion a bit. Amanda Field’s ‘England’s Secret Weapon’ is especially interesting, pointing us toward several topics that lurk under the surface of these fast, entertaining movies. We are repeatedly brought back to how fascinating it is to watch these movies with the knowledge that the filmmakers had no way to know how this devastating war would turn out or how dark the future might be. Of course, that doesn’t keep us from babbling praise for the fine actors including our last chance to see Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill paired together onscreen. What we wouldn’t give to have seen many more.

 

As you might expect, our love for the movie doesn’t keep us from cracking a few jokes including our alternate title of SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DANGEROUS PUB CRAWL. When you go hunting for Moriarty in London during the Blitz you end up doing some risky things! Thank goodness for Watson.

 

If you have any Holmesian comments or suggestions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. 

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The Bloody Pit #125 - SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR (1942)

There have been roughly a billion Sherlock Holmes movies made over the last century and the master detective has been portrayed by enough people to populate a full reenactment of the California Gold Rush. But only a handful of these actors became so identified with the role that their physical appearance influenced most future visions of the character. Basil Rathbone played Holmes onscreen fourteen times and in hundreds of radio programs. His voice so perfectly captured the public imagination that his mannerisms and style of speech became the standard for Holmes for decades afterward and he is still considered one of the best to have ever attempted the role. Rathbone’s acting often elevates movies and he brings a level of competence and skill to his Sherlock performances that can help even the weakest of them entertain effectively. Luckily, he was often working with a cast that matched his abilities and a story that was worthy of the Holmes name. Not that there weren’t problems to overcome…..

Universal’s series of Sherlock Holmes adventures are considered a part of the studio’s 1940’s horror output and certainly several of them qualify as scary movies. But not all of them are so obviously part of that genre with most leaning into the expected mystery/suspense field. Strangely, their first Holmes film would stray from mystery more than most and ends up playing more like an espionage story with Holmes as a spy master. This grows out of the decision to set the Holmes and Watson characters in contemporary times instead of their usual Victorian or Edwardian period. This means the war with Germany takes center stage allowing the brilliant Holmes the opportunity to add his efforts to the battle against fascism. But does the change of time period and the repurposing of this great character as a WWII combatant work? We’ll be glad to let you know our thoughts in this episode. 

Troy and I are joined by Sherlock Holmes aficionado Beth Morris for this (and all future Holmes films). She adds her own perspective on Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and the 1940’s version of the characters filtered through her obsessive reading of the original Doyle tales and every pastiche story that she can get her hands on. We discuss the film’s story, the extraordinary cast, the brilliant lighting and the lack of detective work the film has for Holmes. I dig into the way the film treats Evelyn Anker’s character Kitty, probably spending far too much time railing against the Hay’s office rules that force certain irritating actions at the film’s conclusion. I get a bit salty about it and I apologize for my enthusiasm and inability to let it go but it is infuriating!

 

We end the show with an email giving details about this year’s Blob-fest in Lehighton, PA. If you live near enough to attend, we envy you. I’ve really got to try to get to that show one year.

 

Here’s a link to the full info – LINK! 

If you have any comments or suggestions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the email address and we’d love to hear from you. Thank you for listening to the podcast and we’ll be back soon! 

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Video - SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE VOICE OF TERROR (1942)

Those following The Bloody Pit podcast and our ongoing series on the Universal Horror films of the 1940's will know that this is the subject of our next episode. No - it's not a horror film in the strictest sense but it does have horrific elements. And by including the Holmes movies from the studio we get to talk about some incredible actors and the restrictions placed on movies of the period. Plus, the entries later in the run that are unabashed horror movies are best enjoyed with a firm grounding in what came before. 

Enjoy this excellent print of the movie on YouTube and join us in a few days for a lengthy discussion. 

The Bloody Pit #123 - INVISIBLE AGENT (1942)

We return to the Universal Invisible Man series of movies for a wartime adventure!

 

As the United States entered the World War effort in 1942 Hollywood joined in with dozens of films bent around the changed state of political events. A number of the movies produced at the time could be seen as propaganda pieces and INVISIBLE AGENT (1942) certainly fits that description. Picking up with the grandson of the original Invisible Man the story is a mixture of many elements. Our main character is pressed into service for the Allied fighting forces after Pearl Harbor turns him from isolationist to intelligencer. Parachuting into Germany our transparent hero searches for a list of infiltrated undercover Axis agents and then discovers a plot to bomb New York City! How will he warn the American Defense Department in time to stop the massacre of millions? And can he escape from the clutches of the dastardly Nazi army that seems to know he is lurking about? 

Troy and I pull this exciting film apart, examine its flaws and then rave about how much we love it. Sporting two excellent villains played by Sir Cedric Hardwick and Peter Lorre the movie manages to generate some real menace when they are onscreen. Both actors are so good as antagonistic German and Japanese representatives that watching them dance around each other waiting for a mistake is delicious. In fact, the only real problems we find with the film is the unfortunate need to indulge in some silly, out of place Nazi-humiliation scenes that are played for cheap laughs. I would argue that this sequence could have been best left out. Luckily, the movie has more than enough action to keep an audience riveted as the race to stop the Axis baddies ramps up to a special effects laden climax that is fantastic!

 

If you have any comments or suggestions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address to use to make your feelings known. Thank you for listening and please rate and/or review the podcast wherever you catch the show. 

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The Bloody Pit #83 - TORNADO: THE LAST BLOOD (1983)

John Hudson and I dive back into our years long look at the career of Italian director Antonio Margheriti with a show on one of his early 80's war films. Known under several titles but currently available to stream on Amazon under TORNADO (1983) this is a violent action picture modeled closely on the hit movies THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW. Like those bigger budgeted affairs this film tries to make statements about the horrors of the Vietnam war while simultaneously bringing exciting action scenes to the big screen. This attempted balance doesn't always play well in any story and we find ourselves differing on the success of this effort. And both of us end up puzzled by TORNADO's odd ending leaving the two of us wondering what might have been the original intent.

Still, we enjoy quite a few things in the film including the regular appearance of the Alan Collins a.k.a. Luciano Pigozzi as an intrepid reporter trying to do his job in combat. He's one of our favorite Italian character actors even if I manage to get his first name wrong at least once in this episode!

We discuss the details of this fast paced tale and spoil the entire film right to the final scene so, if you want to see this without knowing how it ends, you might want to listen to us after a viewing. Luckily this one isn't difficult to find online although, as a warning, Margheriti continues his streak of onscreen reptile deaths with this film. Of course, he dips his lead actor in a pit of pig feces as well so maybe things equal out in the end. Our conversation takes many barely related side roads (Eddie Dezeen?) but we do eventually wind our way back to the main topic each time. And, for the curious, the damned invisible chimp rears his unwanted head again. Why do I record shows with Hudson? 

Questions and comments can be sent to thebloodypit@gmail.com or left on the show's Facebook page. We'd love to hear from your thoughts about the films of Antonio Margheriti or any of the odd things we babble about in this one. Thank you for playing along with our lengthy trip through these films and we hope you enjoy this episode.

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What I Watched in January

For the first time in a couple of months I got out to the theater and caught AMERICAN SNIPER. I didn't really want to see the film but I lost a coin toss and that's just how things go. So how was the film? Well....

Clint Eastwood knows how to make a good film and has proven his abilities over the past few decades to craft a effective, affecting movie. I haven't always been interested in his subject matter but I have always been impressed with his skill. That is true of this film as well. AMERICAN SNIPER is a well made and emotionally charged film - but I just could not connect to it. I've given this some thought and I think there are several reasons for my lack of appreciation of the film.

The biggest problem I had with the film is that I am aware of how much of the story presented is fictional. I understand that this is a movie and I don't expect strict adherence to the verifiable facts in any dramatic narrative, but in this film the most exciting and compelling moments are the fictional ones. The movie spends a good deal of time on the hunt for two characters, one of which did not exist and the other who did, but never crossed paths with the main character of the film. The imaginary one is called the Butcher who is shown as a brutal, nasty bastard whose very name strikes fear into the Iraqi population and to drive this home we are made to witness the Butcher murder a child with a drill in front of his family.

The real world person presented in the film is a supposed Olympic medal winning sniper working for the enemy. Named Mustapha, he pops up throughout the film killing soldiers with astonishing precision and is clearly in the movie to present a black to Chris Kyle's white in the simplistic narrative. But my knowledge that the two were never a factor in each other's lives makes it feel a little odd for the film to try to create such an artificial foe for our hero to vanquish. I think the exploits of the man this movie is based upon are more than impressive enough ingredients from which to build a good story. Why shove these fake elements into this film? Why not tell a more accurate story?

For me this is worst element of the film - it's well made on every level but knowing how I was being lied to by the artificial narrative I always felt the strings being pulled. I felt the heavy hand of emotional manipulation all of the time. Within the first hour I realized what I was watching- a propaganda piece. That doesn't make it a bad movie but it does make me angry that we still create this kind of movie in the twenty-first century. I'll never forget how I felt when I discovered just how little truth there is in the classic film SERGEANT YORK (1941). The movie was produced as propaganda to push American sentiment in the direction of intervention in the European war being waged by Nazi Germany. It's things like this that make me worry - what war are we being prepped for by a film like AMERICAN SNIPER? In the film Kyle often refers to the Iraqi fighters as 'savages' which is what I would expect from soldiers on a battlefield but I don't want it to be the way we think of them anywhere else. It worries me that this is how a large portion of the American population will view the Iraqi War - as a fight against savage animals worthy only of death. I guess as long as we can demonize the enemy we'll always feel righteous as we kill and I'm disturbed by the idea that we still churn out movies to make us feel good about that. 

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD(1974)- 9 (rewatch)

RIDDICK (2013)- 8 (director's cut is even better)

BREAKHEART PASS (1975)- 7

THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936)- 7 (rewatch)

CAST AWAY (2000)- 7

ROJO SANGRE (2004)- 8(rewatch)

THE SPIRIT (1987)- 4 (terrible TV movie version - but I kind of like it!)

THE HEAD (a.k.a. Die Nackte und der Satan)(1959)-  6 (not bad mad scientist film)

TERROR ON A TRAIN (1953)- 5 (not bad but not great time bomb tale)

CYPHER (2002)- 7 (good SF thriller)

SUPER BITCH (a.k.a. MAFIA JUNCTION) (1973)- 7 (well done Euro-Crime)

BLOODRAYNE: THE THIRD REICH (2011)- 2

THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE (1959) -7 (good thriller)

THE LEGO MOVIE (2014) - 7

$10,000 FOR A MASSACRE (1967) - 7 (solid spaghetti western)

STAR WARS (1977)- 8 (rewatch)

PLANET OF THE DINOSAURS (1977)- 3 (good stop motion saves it from a lesser rating)

SNOW DEVILS (1967)- 4 (rewatch)

A SAINT...A WOMAN...A DEVIL (1977)- 3

SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1963)- 7

AMERICAN SNIPER (2015)- 6 (well made but empty)