Happy Holidays ☼ from The Last Drive In, Rudolph & the Island of Misfit Toys

Even if “no child wants to play with a Charlie in the box... or you’re a choo choo with square wheels on your caboose!”

No matter how broken you might feel by the end of a long year… Everyone deserves a little love & joyful cheer!

Debuted on NBC in 1964, by Rankin/Bass

And remember… Broken can be beautiful… Your Everlovin’ Joey Monstergirl

Quote of the Day! The Naked Zoo (1970)

THE NAKED ZOO 1970

The Naked Zoo

Director William Grefe’s 70s exploitation romp bring the generation gap ever closer together starring Rita Heyworth, Steve Oliver and Fay Spain.

THe NAked ZOo lobby card Rita Hayworth

Steve Oliver as Terry Shaw:Jean, you are a juvenile bitch siren, and you just killed the poet in me.”

It’s always for ‘kicks’–Your Ever Lovin’ Joey

Robert Siodmak’s The Killers (1946): Brutal Noir- The First 12 Killer Minutes!

Lancaster The Killers

"Noir exploits the oddness of odd settings, as it transforms the mundane quality of familiar ones, in order to create an environment that pulses with intimations of nightmare."Foster Hirsch, The Dark Side of the Screen

You can read more about this iconic noir masterpiece in The Dark Pages feature issue.

Here’s the link below to order a copy of The Dark Pages for yourself or subscribe all year round… so you’ll always get your fill of everything Noir from this sensational publication!

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The Dark Pages Giant Killer Issue

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Produced by Mark Hellinger (The Naked City, Brute Force, and The Two Mrs. Carrolls Music by Miklós Rózsa; Cinematography by Elwood Bredell (Ghost of Frankenstein 1942, Phantom Lady 1944). Boldly directed by the great Robert Siodmak. The Screenplay is by Anthony Veiller and uncredited co-writers John Huston and Richard Brooks.

The Killers (1946), with its doomed hero, flashbacks, and seedy characters is one of the finest in the film noir canon. The film is a gritty dream with carnal fluidity and monochromatic beauty. The Killers is a neo-gangster noir film with a liminal and evocative intensity. Director Robert Siodmak gives the film a violently surreal tone"” it's a stylishly slick, richly colorful black and white film where the players live in a world condemned by shadow. Burt Lancaster plays out the obsession theme with ‘unfaithful women’ leading to his ultimate demise.

Killers, The (1946)

The evocative opening scene is one of the most powerfully ferocious in film noir. It is faithful to Ernest Hemingway's short story. The determined thrust of the first twelve minutes mesmerizes. It has a villainous and cynical rhythm, paced like shadowy poetry in a dark room with no open windows. The film opens with Miklos Rozsa's ominous brassy jazz that later becomes the killer’s motif. Two men drive into a small town, Anywhere, USA. We see them from behind in the darkest black silhouette inside the car.

While cars and trains are iconographic means of escape in noir films, the opening sequence of The Killers offers no escape. The two gunmen enter the screen in their vehicle veiled by the darkness of the highway road. The vision is more like one of bringing the means of death to this ordinary environment. The peculiar, unsettling gunmen Al and Max (Charles McGraw and William Conrad) are two dark forces invading an ordinary landscape with their malicious and aggressive presence. The dark highway is a typical Hemingway metaphor for the eternal strife, of ‘going nowhere’ and his cycle of ‘heroic fatalism.' The road is an unfinished trajectory, unpredictable and unknown with no way out but "˜the end.'

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coming from the dark

We see the two walking onto the street silhouetted in shadow. We know they are trouble. They enter a diner reminiscent of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting "˜Nighthawks.' Perhaps this American Diner scene influenced scavenger-hunting director Quentin Tarantino for his Pulp Fiction in 1994.

The men ask about a man they're looking for, "˜the Swede.' They make no effort to hide their malevolence. They revel in belligerence as they demean and degrade the men in the small-town diner. Al and Max begin to psychologically torture George (Harry Hayden) who works the counter and Nick the boy at the end of the counter. They exude an offensive egotism and a cruel antisocial spirit as they barrage the men with perverse assaults.

The Killers 1946 diner

George: "What'll it be, gentlemen?""¨Max: "I don't know. What you want to eat, Al?""¨Al: "I don't know what I want to eat.""¨ Max: "I'll have the roast pork tenderloin with apple sauce and mashed potatoes.""¨ George: "That's not ready yet.""¨ Max: "Then what's it on the card for?""¨ George: "Well, that's on the dinner. You can have that at six o'clock. That clock is ten minutes fast. The dinner isn't ready yet.""¨ Max: "Never mind the clock. What have you got to eat?"

The conversation is absurd and meaningless. It is just a mechanism to bully these townsmen. They continue to harass George asking "You got anything to drink?" George tells them "I can give you beer, soda, or ginger ale." Al: "I said you got anything to drink?" George submits a quiet "no." Max says "This is a hot town, whatta you call it?" George: "Brentwood." Al turns to Max "You ever hear of Brentwood?" Max shakes his head no. Al asks George "What do you do for nights?"

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Max takes a deep breath and groans "They eat the dinner, they all come here and eat The Big Dinner." The outsider mocks the small-town conformity of eating whatever is served. George looks downward murmuring "That's right" and Al says "You're a pretty bright boy aren't you?" He uses "boy" to demean. George mutters "Sure" and Al snaps back "Well you're not!"

Al now shouts to the young man at the end of the counter "Hey you, what's your name?" he looks earnestly at Al and says "Adams. Nick Adams." Al says, "Another bright boy." There is sadism at work here, almost subconsciously homophobic/homoerotic in the way they are using the term "boy" to subvert these bystanders' manhood. Max says, "town's full of bright boys."

The cook comes out from the kitchen bringing the plates. "One ham and one bacon and" George starts to serve the men the food and asks "Which one is yours?" Al says "Don't you remember bright boy?" the continued use of this phrase truly begins to tear at the layers of our nerve endings. George starts laughing and Max says "What are you laughing at?" "nothing."

"You see something funny?" "No." "Then don't laugh." "Alright." Again Max says "He thinks it's alright." Al says "Oh, he's a thinker." It's an antisocial backlash to an intellectual society that would perceive Al and Max as outcasts. This is where a noir film begins to break the molds of Hollywood’s civilized society. The two intruders have trespassed into an ordinarily quiet community to shatter its sense of security. It is the death of humanism in film language.

Max and Al tie up Nick and the cook in the kitchen. "I'll tell ya what's gonna happen, we're gonna kill the Swede, you know big Swede, works over at the filling station." He lights a cigarette. George says, "You mean Pete Lund?" Max takes the cigarette out of his mouth and the smoke enervates George's face, "If that's what he calls himself"¦ Comes in every night at 6 o'clock don't he?"

Georges asks "What are you gonna kill him for? What did Pete Lund ever do to you?" Max replies," He never had a chance to do anything to us he never even seen us." The conversation is so matter-of-fact that it's chillingly absurd. Again George asks, "What are you gonna kill him for?" Max smirks "We're killing him for a friend." Al pokes his head through the sliding window to the kitchen "Shut up you talk too much" but Max says "I gotta keep bright boy amused don't I?"

In the kitchen

When George explains that "˜the Swede' never comes in after 6 pm, the killers head to the station where he works. George unties the men in the kitchen. Nick leaves to warn "˜Swedes,' jumping fences on his way to the rooming house.

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the killers

At the rooming house, Pete (Lancaster) is on his bed in almost complete darkness, face hidden in the shadows, his body's repose in stark contrast to the backdrop of the frenetic orchestration by Rozsa. Nick enters and urgently warns him about the two dangerous men. Nick asks, "Why'd do they want to kill ya?" He replies: "There’s nothing I can do about it. I did something wrong. Once. Thanks for coming.” His tone is soft and fatalistic.

Nick offers "I can tell you what they're like?" Swede replies "I don't wanna know what they're like… thanks for coming." "Don't you wanna go and see the police?" "No that wouldn't do any good." Nick asks "Isn't there something I could do?" "There ain't anything to do." "Couldn't you get out of town?" He answers "No… I'm through with all that running around."

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A merciful violin plays while Swede remains resigned to the dark bed. His large hands rub his face. We hear the squeaking of a door downstairs as it opens slowly and then shuts. The Swede turns his head looking slightly worried for the first time. He leans up in the bed, the light from outside hitting his face, as Al and Max mount the staircase that leads to his room.

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The Swede listens like a trapped animal. He does not betray any fear, only a gloomy resignation that his life is about to end. It is not death that he ponders, but memories and another enemy. Cinematographer Elwood Bredell switches between close-ups of Lancaster's face and the door, then suddenly the two men come in blasting. From pitch black begins a light show, arcing like electricity striking a void. The canon fire gunshots pour into a field of blackness. The killers walking up the stairs acts as foreplay and the gunfire is like violent intercourse"¦ White hot flashes of light break grave blackness. The last image we see as it fades to black is Lancaster's hand falling limp by the bedpost. The last words we hear are Swede uttering "Charleston was right, Charleston was right."

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This is where the powerful prologue ends and Hemingway's story leaves us with no explanation as to the reason for Swede's murder, nor insight into why he acquiesces to his death by not trying to elude the killers and his fate. From this moment on Veiller's screenplay starts to expose the back story of the killing.

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Look at the killer chemistry between Lancaster & Gardner… I’d get shot up in the dark for either one…!

This has been a killer post! Your Everlovin’ Joey

Quote of the Day! Love Has Many Faces (1965)

LOVE HAS MANY FACES 1965

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Hugh O’Brian as the smarmy Hank Walker“Haven’t I seen you around?”

Ruth Roman as the tough-as-nails Margot Eliot– “It’s possible. I’ve been there.”

Director Alexander Singer’s  melodrama (Singer’s Psyche 59 (1964) starring Patricia Neal who suffers from hysterical blindness, has a much more compelling frenetic slick psychology) Love Has Many Faces comes off as a meandering soap opera in balmy Acapulco Mexico… as Lana Turner plays Kit Jordan a millionairess who marries Cliff Robertson a self-loathing malcontent who sold all 8 pints of his blood to be owned by her. Though her love is as ‘thin as ice…’

Enrique Lucero is marvelous as Lieutenant Riccardo Andrade a Mexican Columbo who is trying to get to the bottom of one of Lana’s young male lovers who apparently committed suicide over their break up.

Aside from wishing that the fabulous Ruth Roman and Virginia Grey had more of a presence in the film…

Virgina Grey
Virginia Grey was the audacious Candy in The Naked Kiss 1964 … God she was gorgeous!

… I was struck by two things…

Ruth as Margot
If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that I love Ruth Roman-she has a raw natural sensuality that dwells in her eyes and oozes out of her pores.
instant blackmail Hugh O'Brian and Ruth Roman Love Has Many Faces
“Instant blackmail”
Turner and O'Brian
Kit is never without a drink or a flashy beach ensemble!

Besides the high melodrama… 1) Hugh O’Brian is a beach bum gigolo who spends the entire movie, well mostly… baring his sweaty hairy virile chest and 2) Lana Turner changes wardrobe more than there are cigarettes and cocktails in the picture… Wow, that’s a lot of sexy beach wear and lamé, bare shoulders, back and leg… Lana! Thanks to Edith Head… you do look fabulous!

Turner & Garflied Postman Always Rings Twice
This is how I like my Lana Turner & my bare-chested men (John Garfield) … from Tay Garnett’s noir masterpiece The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946

I’ll see you around… I’ve been there too! Cheers Joey

The Clip Joint: Anna Lucasta (1958)

ANNA LUCASTA 1958

Anna-Lucasta

Though I appreciate Paulette Goddard’s work in the 1949 version, the re-filming of Anna Lucasta in 1958 again written and scripted by Phillip Yordan with an all black cast is powerful good. Arnold Laven’s direction brings to life a more visually potent assemblage of splendid characters. I go through little bursts of adoration and nostalgia, a while ago it was for Paul Williams… lately I’ve been loving Sammy Davis Jr. Both he and the sensuous depth of Eartha Kitt create an atmosphere of volatile romanticism.

The story is an engaging and moral tale about young Anna (Eartha Kitt) who is rejected by her sanctimonious father Joe played to the hilt by Rex Ingram (God’s Little Acre 1958, Desire in the Dust 1960) While the rest of the family wants Anna to come home, her self-righteous father can’t resist demonizing his daughter, with an underlying incestuous desire that he is battling. She takes the road of the fallen woman and becomes a good time gal who meets Danny (Sammy Davis Jr.) a cab driving sailor who is as smooth as silk and as fiery as molten lead. Here they are in a surreal sequence that showcases the versatile beauty and ease both performers possess- set against the stirring Elmer Bernstein modern jazz score!

Who can make the sunshine? Sammy Davis Jr can!… Cheers Your Everlovin’ Joey

Life Lessons From Barney Fife! “…there are forces loose on this earth…”

“Andy… there are forces loose on this earth that you wouldn't believe"¦ I tell ya it would make your hair stand on end!”

The Andy Griffith Show-Season 5, Episode 14 –

“Three Wishes for Opie” aired on Dec. 21 1964

Opies Three Wishes, Goober Barney and Floyd
George “Goober Lindsey, Don Knotts as the lovable superstitious deputy Barney Fife and Howard McNear as Floyd Lawson in one of my favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show Three Wishes For Opie

Your Everlovin’ MonsterGirl sayin’ watch out for those forces loose on this earth!

 

 

 

The Clip Joint: Bait (1954) “What a pair of…”

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BAIT 1954

Hugo Haas yet again plays the downtrodden man, Marko who is in search of his lost gold mine. He hires Ray (John Agar) to help locate the gold, and filling out the triangle is the cherub-cheeked blonde Cleo Moore as Peggy who winds up marrying the Balkan blowhard for his gold while tantalizing the younger and desiring Ray.

Marko tries to figure out various ways of getting rid of his partner in order to keep all the loot! He even uses Peggy as bait, as part of his tricks to arouse their attraction giving him a reason to shoot Ray. Great prologue delivered by Sir Cedric Hardwick as the Devil… in this ironic light mystery directed by Haas.

Peggy (talking about Ray's dog"Oh Mike"¦ Isn't he beautiful? Ooh, what a pair of eyes!”

Ray Brighton-(staring at Peggy like a sirloin steak) “Yeah"¦ what a pair of"¦(pause) eyes"¦”

Your Everlovin’ Joey Monstergirl