Wild Wild Podcast Season 3: Episode 3 - RABID DOGS (1974)

This time Adrian and I take a deep dive into the formerly lost Mario Bava crime film Rabid Dogs, aka 'Cani arrabbiati', aka 'Kidnapped', aka 'Semaforo rosso', aka 'L'uomo e il bambino'. We try to unpick the tricky post-production history, and Adrian posits the controversial opinion that all Stelvio Cipriani themes sound the same. Direct all gasps of anger and disbelief at him!

The new book on Bava mentioned in the show is Mario Bava:The Artisan as Italian Horror Auteur by Leon Hunt.

We would love to hear from you if you have any favourite Poliziotteschi films. You can contact us on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. Please remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice!

The Bloody Pit #148 - CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943)

We enter into one of the odder areas of the 1940’s Universal Horrors with CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943)! The few jungle girl movies made by the studio in the 40's can be seen as a slightly faltering bridge between the occasional jungle themed serials of the 1930’s, the Weissmuller Tarzan series and the rapid growth of such film and television tales in the 1950’s. By the time the Jungle Jim and Bomba films were Saturday matinee staples while Sheena and Ramar were also enticing young viewers at home it seemed that you couldn't swing a dead panther without hitting a jungle hero. These tales of wild animals, poachers and evil treasure hunters were perfect adventure fodder for young minds and if the star was a leopard skin clad Jungle Girl then you might even find a few adults tuning in for the action.

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN is an interesting attempt to build a mad scientist horror film out of a lot of exciting circus footage. It is more effective than you might expect but the ratio of horror stuff to circus stuff is probably weighted in the wrong direction. Troy and I chew our popcorn while watching the spectacle! Deciding which parts work and which ones are very strange occupy most of our time but we discuss the cast and director with some detail too.  The film only gives us a short period of time with Acquanetta’s silent wild woman/gorilla character but the 1932 animal act footage is skillfully integrated into the film almost making you forget this is supposed to be a horror tale. Luckily, John Carradine is one of the smoothest mad scientists of all time so it’s a joy to watch him slither across the screen.

The show can be reached at thebloodypit@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments. We would love to hear from you and we do wonder who you would name as best Jungle Girl or most impressive Mad Scientist. Thank you for listening! 

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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)