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Reviews
Charley-One-Eye (1973)
UK RETRO CHANNEL CHOPPED THIS FILM IN HALF
I've been looking for this film for years so last night I recorded it from the UK Retro Channel and when I watched it back it had been edited down to 45 minutes!
I don't remember Nigel Davenport appearing.
Hilarious but disappointing!
Boy with a Flute (1964)
British short film not without interest but some clunky dialogue.
This short film was definitely released back in the mid-60's because I saw it at least twice as a support to different 'A' features.
It was on the Talking Pictures Channel today and I recorded it purely to hear once again the terrible clunky line the detective (Guy Doleman) speaks as he nabs the bad guys at the end..." I arrest you for attempting to obtain a painting by means of a trick".
By means of a trick? It sounds like a daft line that Spike Milligan might have said while dressed as a comedy constable in his TV series 'Q'
Dangerous Knowledge (1976)
condensed version of this series
What was a six-part TV serial has been re-edited into a fast-paced 90 minute play/film which can currently ( January 2014 ) be seen on Britains 'Movies For Men' digital channel under its original title.
The fact that it's been edited so much is glaringly obvious at times as one scene replaces another at breakneck speed, but the plot is easy to follow, nonetheless.
However because six half-hours have been edited so tightly, it's amusing to witness the vast consumption of alcohol, particularly whisky, consumed by John Gregsons character in the 90 minute version. It's also sad to see him smoking so much, in almost every scene, knowing that this fine actor died from a heart attack not long after making the series.
I can't agree with a previous poster that this was a children's serial. It is being marketed on DVD as an "Armchair Thriller" which was the umbrella title for a prime-time ITV series in the 70's, not a tea-time slot.
Gideon's Day (1958)
Responding to someones comments
With reference to the cardboard bridge and fake 'bus being pulled across it in "Gideons Day ", the same bizarre thing happens in the 1961 film "No Love For Johnnie ".
Whenever Peter Finch and his fellow actors are on the terrace of the House Of Commons ( a studio set )with Westminster Bridge in the background, the bridge is obviously a piece of scenery and every now and then a flat cardboard 'bus and the occasional car can be seen juddering back and for. In real life of course, even in 1961 there would have been a constant stream of traffic on the bridge.
It's an unbelievably ( and laughably ) cheap effect, especially in such a gritty, kitchen-sink style political drama which was pretty sensational stuff at the time of its release. Yet no one mentions it on the films IMDb page!
Faces in the Dark (1960)
Blind man in jeopardy thriller worth seeing
This taut little gem was on British television last night - January 23rd 2010 - on the Film 24 channel, which has been treating old movie fans to some really obscure titles recently including two other John Gregson films ' To Dorothy A Son ' and ' SOS Pacific '.
I have now recorded it in case it's another 50 years before it turns up! It's got a very dark, disturbing ending for a British film made in 1959, no doubt because of it's French literary origins.
While it's definitely worth thriller & mystery lovers spending 90 minutes of their time, the sudden disappearance of John Ireland ( who adopts a pretty good English accent as Gregsons ner-do-well brother ) mid-way through the film, is the biggest mystery of all.
I believe he was making the TV action series " The Cheaters " in London at the same time so maybe he had to bow out of " Faces In The Dark " because of other work commitments.
He didn't even have a dramatic death scene...suddenly he was gone and referred to as being dead! All these years later, we'll never know why an actor of his stature had such a minor role in the film,
The Hellions (1961)
A South African ' western ' with the outlaws dying in the Transvaal dust.
I saw this film on television ( in black and white ) around 1969/70 and thought it was incredible. Marty Wildes title song is up there with Gunfight At The OK Corral and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
Then the film vanished ( this was long before we could record films off TV and watch them over and over ) and many film reference books ignore it.
Fans of the film know it's practically unobtainable in any format.
But here's what's interesting...
I recently bought a back-issue of ' Whats On In London' magazine, dated the week the film opened in London and it has the poster on the front. Which looks great.
But inside, the films reviewer, F. Maurice Speed, states he doesn't know if the film was supposed to be a comedy, because it was so bad, and mentions some poor performances by one or two lead actors.
I couldn't understand these comments, as in my memory ( 45 years on ) the film was a classic.
Then I managed to get a VHS copy taped by a friend off American TV and the film, watched now, is awful, with the Hellions themselves all way over the top, especially James Booth who chews the scenery unmercifully.
But the worst performance by miles is by South African actor Jamie Uys, who mumbles and whispers and looks down at his feet most of the time. It's hilarious because he is absolutely atrocious. He looks like he wandered onto the set to give someone a message and the camera kept rolling.
It just goes to show that what you think is a great film when you're a kid can be a major disappointment when you catch up with is half-a-century later.
Siege of the Saxons (1963)
A rousing swashbuckler that entertained family audiences in 1963
This is not a remake of The Black Knight but uses extensive footage from the 1954 Alan Ladd film, as well as the suit of armour he wore.
I assume this was brought out of storage for Ronald Lewis to wear - which begs the question did he only get the part because he was the same size as Alan Ladd? The film also used footage from other Columbia 1950's swashbucklers, possibly " Rogues Of Sherwood Forest "? Whateve it's failings, " Saxons " was chosen as co-feature to " Jason And The Argonauts " in the summer of 1963 and this ' colossus of adventure ' double bill ( as it was described at the time ) made a fortune, and was re-issued several times during subsequent school holidays.
The following summer, Charles H. Schneer, who was the producer of both " Jason " & " Saxons " put together another fantastic double bill - " First Men In The Moon " ( another Harryhausen movie ) and " East Of Sudan " which was mostly made up of stock footage from the 1939 Korda epic " The Four Feathers ", footage that had already been re-cycled once before in the 1955 Cinemascope remake of " The Four Feathers " entitled " Storm Over The Nile " !