Trailer Time: HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963)

Legend’s meatiest mightiest heroes united!

 

…indeed they are, and 3 times the beefcake is the result!

Kirk Morris and Richard Lloyd (aka Rod Flash) are mighty fine as Hercules and Samson, respectively. Enzo Cerusico brings it to three superheros fighting it out in what is really one of the most enjoyable sword and sandals I have ever seen, and one that would look so awesome in a nice, anamorphic, wide-screen DVD release!

Please to enjoy the trailer for the American release of this Italian extravaganza:

Trailer Time: DRAGSTRIP RIOT (1958) “Bare-fisted hate! Exploding into shocking headlines!”

I have lately been very negligent in updating the Pedro (the ape bomb) blog. September has been such a busy month what with trying to sell my home and then moving into an apartment. Frankly, I am exhausted. But to keep the cobwebs from forming around here I will present a thrilling, action packed trailer to another fantastical film treat.

DRAGSTRIP RIOT is one of dozens of juvenile delinquent films which poured out of Hollywood in the 1950s, specially geared towards the teen age crowd. In this picture we have sweet as pie Yvonne Lime and a strangely platinum  blonde Gary Clarke  pursued by a vicious motorcycle gang seeking vengeance for the accidental death of one of there members.

Yet to be officially released on DVD, this AIP actioner packs an entertaining wallop and deserves to be put out there for public consumption (would certainly make a nice double feature with DRAGSTRIP GIRL or MOTORCYCLE GANG, dontcha thing?). Alas, until that time comes we will have to simply enjoy this trailer to DRAGSTRIP RIOT!

Terror takes it’s toll on those caught in DRAGSTIP RIOT!

Trailer Time: RACING FEVER (1964) “They live it up, and love it up…”

In honor of actor Joe Morrison’s birthday here is the spectacular trailer to the even more spectacular made-in-Florida film RACING FEVER!

A Florida resident for many years, Joe was a favorite of film maker William Grefe, who cast the dark haired hunk in several locally made B movies including the jelly fish monster-on-the-loose film STING OF DEATH.  Joe also guest starred on two memorable episodes of my favorite TV show, FLIPPER.

Joe later moved to Los Angeles where he continued acting (under the name Quinn Morrison). Now retired, he is a practicing Buddhist, excercises regularly, still looks fantastic (has a better  build then guys more then half his age!) and is an all around great guy! My interview with Joe/Quinn will be out in the very near future!

The kicks never stop for the racing set!

Enjoy!

Bollywood Calendar 2011 is a hit!

It is never too early to order your next years Bollywood calendar, and the 2011 one looks fabulous! Posters from Jigri Dost, Jawanmard (Dara Singh & Mumtaz!) and lots more beauts!

You can get yours at: 

http://www.calendars.com/Drama-Movies/Bollywood-2011-Wall-Calendar/prod1289582/?categoryId=cat00065

Happy shopping!

Movie Trailer of the week: IN A DAY (2006) The kind of romance film you wish filmmakers would make more often!

If the name Evan Richards sounds familiar to you it may be because you saw him as a child actor in 1980s films like TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, ALTERED STATES, TWO KINDS OF LOVE, DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS, and SOCIETY. Or maybe you caught one of the short lived tv series that he was a regular on such as BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS, and MAMA MALONE (am I the only one who remembers this show?). As a young adult he appeared in the thriller MUTE WITNESS and he played Lowell Thomas in THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES series of tv movies.

 Evan back in the 1980s

Evan has now works behind the camera, having written, produced and directed the independent feature film IN A DAY (2006). IN A DAY is about a young woman whose day starts off badly, and seems headed to get even worse until she meets a charming young stranger who spends the day with her in order to cheer her up. This is the type of romance movie you wish film makers would create more often, a movie that really just makes you feel good. It is simple and sweet, touching and very entertaining.

I was lucky enough to see IN A DAY when Evan brought it to a film festival in Portland, Oregon a few years back. I knew Evan’s mother, former film actress Diana Darrin, who I had interviewed for Filmfax magazine.  

   Diana Darrin

Diana let me know that Evan was going to be in my area with his film and I jumped at the opportunity to go meet him. I adore his mom, so I knew I had to meet her son. Not only was Evan a delight to meet and spend an evening with, along with his buddie, former actor and now Portland filmmaker, Chris Claridge, but his movie ALL IN A DAY surpassed my every expectation. Going into the viewing I had no idea what it would be like, whether I would enjoy it, or if I was going to have to just grin and pretend I liked it. I got a couple of buddies of mine together and we made an evening of it and the three of us were blown away at how wonderful this film was (even my action film fanatic friend Ron enjoyed it).  The film charmed us all (and I am not just saying that to be kind, this is completely sincere praise).I can’t recommend IN A DAY highly enough.

IN A DAY airs on the INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL ( IFC), so check it out, and let Evan know what you thought of it! Here is his website: #mce_temp_url#

And Evan’s blog: #mce_temp_url#

And let me know what you think. By the way the film is available on DVD, as well! Just click here: #mce_temp_url#

And of course, here is the film’s trailer:

I wish Evan the very best in his current projects and I can’t wait to seeing what he comes up with next!

Trailer of the Week: COLLEGE COACH (1933) “Girls who make the team, but ruin the players!”

Pat O’Brien, Ann Dvorak, Lyle Talbott and Dick Powell…how could this movie not be awesome!

Hmmm…has this played on TCM and I missed it?

Movie Trailer of the Week: LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG (1958) “The sin steeped story of today’s “beat” generation”

How much fun is this movie, let me count the ways!

1. Norma Eberhardt as the bad girl with a heart of stone. A complete reversal of her good girl role in THE RETURN OF DRACULA.

2. Dorothy Provine,  Troy Donahue, Dawn Richard, and Joan Marshall in supporting roles as tormented teens!

3. Universal-International made the film. Nuff said!

Not a dull moment in this entire film as good sister Mary Murphy sets out to find her younger sibling who has set out to make her way in life any way she can and who falls into the clutches of a gang of thieves led by smarmy Mike Connors.

Teenage Tramps on a One Way Street to Hell! Without Conscience, without morals! 

Ek Jind Ek Jaan (2006; One Body, One Soul)

Ek Jind Ek Jaan (2006)

Sukhi (Raj Babbar) and Gurjeet (Ritu Shivpuri) become engaged, but trouble brews when the to-be bride discovers that her intended has no desire to procreate. You see, Sukhi has already taken on the  responsiblity of  raising his young step-siblings which he feels will be more than enough child rearing for one lifetime. Gurjeet does not seem to be overjoyed by the prospect of raising someone else’s children.

Rather then shatter Gurjeet’s dreams of starting a brood of her own, Sukhi decides that it is best to call off the marriage, despite Gurjeet’s brother Kundan (Deep Dhillon)’s offer to pay to have the step-kiddies shipped to a far off hostel (how thoughtful) so that the couple would not have to deal with them.

Kundan is not pleased that Sukhi is refusing to retract his un-engagement to his sister and vow’s that the man is destined to be abandoned by his siblings once they have grown up.

15 years later…..

(thank you subtitlewala, for making this clear for us Angrezi speakers)

….and the little ones have grown up.

…Guddi (Prabhleen)…

…Channi (Mighty Gill)…

…and above all, Karma (Aryan Vaid)…

Guddi and Channi have become well educated, with Guddi now a college co-ed and Channi a medical student at Hero DMC Clinic.

On the other hand, having spent his childhood bunking school, the  handsome, but educationally unmotivated Karma finds himself working a dead-end, low wage delivery job…

Since childhood, slacker Karma has harbored a love for Nimmi (Nagma). Sadly, Nimmi and her family went away to the city many years ago and Karma has neither seen nor heard from her since. In flashback we see the young Karma (Ranvijay) and Nimmi (Rittu) as best friends.

While Sukhi is seeing Nimmi and her family off at the train station for their move to the big city in hopes of a better life, young Karma is off trying to scrape up enough money to buy Nimmi a going away present, a set of red bangles which she specifically had wished for.  Since Sukhi, a farmer, and Nimmi’s dad Dhanwant Singh (Arun Bakshi), a tongawala, are good friends they decide to fix the marriage of the two children right then and there, thus little Nimmi leaves on a happy note.

Karma, with the red bangles, arrives at the station long after the train has departed and thus is unable to gift his friend the jewelry that he worked all day long to buy.

Back to “15 Years Later” we find that Karma is still pining away for Nimmi.

Seeing this, Sukhi decides it is time to reconnect with Dhanwant Singh and family and he sets off for the big, bad metropolis. What Sukhi does not realize yet is that Dhanwant has become a rich, successful, and uncaring capitalist who now has no intention of allowing his daughter to marry Karma, who he considers a penniless grunt.

Humiliated, Sukhi returns to the village and tries to keep the disappointing news from Karma. But Karma finds out and decides to go to the city to find out what’s what with Nimmi.

Posing as an unemployed stranger he manages to worm his way into a washerman job at Singh’s palatial home, thanks to Dhanwant’s kind wife, who has no idea that the new employee is the now grown-up little boy who had been her daughter Nimmi’s best friend.

Into the scene walks Nimmi, all growed up and acting pricey.

Her attitude does not deter Karma, who still loves her. Nimmi, however, now has a fiancée, a beefy tennis player named Pal (Sameep Kang).

Karma refuses to accept defeat and, while still posing as a household servant, vows to learn why Nimmi has forgotten him and taken another. But when he is in danger of losing Nimmi for good, he reveals the truth about who he is during Nimmi and Pal’s engagement party.

Will Nimmi remember Karma? And if so, would her father ever allow her to marry him?

Will Pal break Karma’s instrument? And if so, how will Karma and Nimmi ever make sweet music together?

Will Sukhi ever get over his insult at the hands of his former friend, Dhanwant? And will his step siblings really abandon him as Kundan had predicted?

And what of Channi and Guddi? Will these two siblings develop plotlines of their own?

You must see EK JIND EK JAAN to find out!

Once you get past the multiple, lengthy ads and previews, none of which you are able to by-pass on this Eros DVD, you are in for one great Punjabi entertainer, full of vivid colors and costumes that are an absolute treat for the eye.

Another treat for the eye is Aryan Vaid as Karma. As I have mentioned in my look at his film CHAAHAT EK NASHA, I don’t understand why Vaid does not have a bigger career…Ah well, at least he has steady work with starring roles in B films and secondary roles in major productions such as VEER and RIGHT YA WRONG.

Vaid has a wonderful, deep, masculine voice and I often wonder if he is much of a singer. With a voice like his he could certainly make a fine crooner. To hear his voice for yourself check out this interview (he comes across as a very down to earth sort):

Vaid also shows fine comedic timing in this film, particularly in the delightful sparring between his phoney washerman character and Singh’s Marathi servant Nekiram (played by Kuldeep Sharma) who is not at all happy to have this Punjab hick interfering in his household. Here is a scene of the two as Nekiram shows Karma to his room, which they will both have to share, and which Nekiram tries to divide between the two of them.

As for the remainder of the cast two stand-outs are yesteryear star Raj Babbar who is, as always, wonderful as the elder brother taking care of his kin. Comedy relief is brought to us by the hilarious Gurpreet Guggi who I always find very enjoyable, although I do wonder if there are any other comedians in Punjab? Gurpreet seems ot have a monopoly in films of this region. I have yet to see a Punjabi film, or even a Hindi film with Punjabi characters, that Gurpreet is not in.

One thing that I love about Punjabi cinema, in general, is that they are not afraid to dole out feel good family melodramas, something Hindi films seem to rarely make these days. It may be an  old- fashioned  genre,  but it is a genre that I do really enjoy, particularly after I have overloaded on Hindi and Tamil action pics.  EK JIND EK JAAN is a  nice example of this kinder and gentler product.

I leave you with some additional screen caps for your eye candy enjoyment! There were so many glorious costumes in this film that I just couldn’t not show them to you!

…and I seriously dig the different colors of turbans!

Movie Trailer of the Week: KING KONG ESCAPES (1968) “A gargantuan duel”

Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, suit-mation dinosaurs and a robot gorilla! How can it get any more fun than this?!!!

A staple of my childhood, I made sure to catch this one every time it played on tv back in the 70s. Loved it then, and I still love it now!

and for comparison, the original Japanese trailer.

and heck, why not…here is the German trailer!

And now I am sure you will want to run out and see this film and you can, it is available on DVD at better video stores everywhere (and Amazon.com, too).