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C.B. HUSTLERS (1978)--Directed
by Stu Segall. Stars Janice Jordan, Catherine Barkley, Uschi Digard, Edward Roehm, Jake Barnes, John Alderman.
Three sexy young prostitutes troll the back roads of a small California community, communicating with their johns over citizens'
band radio. With kind pimp Alderman running interference in his van, codenamed "Hot Box One", the girls use their own
swanky van as their traveling office/boudoir. Nobody seems to mind very much, except local newspaper editor Mountain
Dean (Roehm), who wears a press pass in his hatband and is obsessed with breaking down the girls' C.B. code so he can catch
them in the act. The whole thing runs only about 75 minutes, and is not among the era's most important or interesting
exploitation films. It's good-natured, though, with a likeably hammy performance by Roehm and enthusiastic lovemaking
by the three female leads, all of whom perform nude scenes. Monstrously bosomed Digard, a veteran of sex movies for
at least a decade prior to HUSTLERS, actually speaks in this one, but is billed as "Elke Vann". Look for B-movie regular
Bruce Kimball (DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN) as a sleazy sheriff, and Alderman, who was a heavy in THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ZORRO,
co-wrote the screenplay. Segall made several sexploitation films before moving into television as a producer and writer
on HUNTER.
C.C. AND COMPANY (1970)--Directed
by Seymour Robbie. Stars Joe Namath, Ann-Margret, William Smith, Don Chastain. The charismatic New York Jets quarterback makes
his uncharismatic film debut as a sensitive biker who rescues Ann-Margret from a gang of vicious gang-raping bikers. Smith
is great as the biker gang leader, but Namath shows the acting skills that landed him the leading role in TV's WAVERLY WONDERS.
Robbie, who was mainly a television director, put together a pretty good supporting cast: Sid Haig, Bruce Glover, Jennifer
Billingsley, Greg Mullavey and Wayne Cochran. Some action and motorcycle crashes, and lots of laughs. Ann-Margret's actor
husband Roger Smith (77 SUNSET STRIP) produced this dull biker flick.
CABIN FEVER (2003)--Directed by
Eli Roth. Stars Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, Cerina Vincent, James DeBello, Joey Kern, Giuseppe Andrews. What is
it about CABIN FEVER that so many others see and I don't? After seeing it at last year's Toronto Film Festival, Lion's
Gate Entertainment reportedly shelled out more dough (in the "high seven figures") to distribute it than they had ever spent
before. The hipsters at FILM THREAT and THE VILLAGE VOICE are going ga-ga over it without really explaining why director/producer/co-writer
Eli Roth is "the real shit" or why the film "isn't really horror" (which it obviously is). Even geek guru Peter Jackson,
who preceded his triumphant LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy with a popular little splatter movie called DEAD ALIVE, has been quoted
as calling CABIN FEVER "brilliant." To paraphrase Carleton Young in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, perhaps this is
a case where "when the hype becomes fact, print the hype." Because the only thing "brilliant" about CABIN FEVER are
the lights used to photograph the woody North Carolina locations.
Here's the premise: five college students attempt
to vacation at a remote cabin in the forest, only to encounter fear and death in a non-human form. What a great idea...when
Sam Raimi created it in THE EVIL DEAD more than twenty years ago (where he also had the marvelously expressive Bruce Campbell
to anchor the supernatural evil in some sort of relatable reality, instead of the wimpy BOY MEETS WORLD castoff Rider Strong).
On their way to the cabin, the five encounter several eccentric and possibly racist backwoods types at the general store (DELIVERANCE),
including blond-maned wolf boy Dennis, whose passion for pancakes is matched only by his tendency to bite strangers (the influence
of David Lynch, for whom Roth worked before making CABIN FEVER). The other influences are there too: LAST HOUSE
ON THE LEFT, TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, John Carpenter's THE THING. CABIN FEVER feels as though
Roth had a checklist of his favorite horror movies with him on the set and crossed off each title as he ripped off...uh, that
is, paid homage to...it.
In so doing, Roth created perhaps the most unlikable
cast in recent horror history. Our five protagonists include virginal Paul (Strong), who has a crush on chaste cocktease
Karen (Jordan Ladd, Cheryl's lookalike daughter); sex-crazed couple Jeff (Joey Kern) and Marcy (Cerina Vincent, memorable
as Areola in NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE); and gun-toting, beer-swigging lunk Bert (James DeBello). Each character acts exactly
as you would expect them to act, given that their antecedents lie in FRIDAY THE 13TH and so many other past horror movies
with a teen slant. Why couldn't the blonde Ladd play the horny girl and the brunette Vincent the virgin? Wouldn't
it have been more interesting to make the slight Strong an obnoxious lout and the hulking DeBello the "sensitive one"?
Of course, this would require imagination, a trait decidedly lacking in Roth's approach to material older than most of his
cast. When I originally read Roth's claims that CABIN FEVER was as much a comedy as a horror film, I anticipated he
would be somehow satirizing in SCREAM-like fashion horror-movie clichés. If he is, it's the subtlest application of
satire I've ever seen because I couldn't find it. And I looked. Brother, did I look.
On their first night at the cabin, the youths are assaulted
by a stranger covered in blood, the victim of a flesh-eating virus contaminating the forest. They chase the poor guy
away, but his infectious influence remains behind. Which of the five will get sick next? How will the others react?
If you're guessing "sensitively", "intelligently" or "logically", you must go directly to Movie Jail and forfeit 200 Junior
Mints.
Let's give the devilish Roth his due and acknowledge
what CABIN FEVER does right. Scott Kevan's cinematography is crisper than this low-budget movie probably deserves, imbuing
the forest's brown richness with a foreboding beauty. Nathan Barr, with the assistance of Lynch maestro Angelo Badalamente,
provides a brooding musical soundscape punctuated by ominous fly-buzzing. The gooey makeup effects by KNB, Inc. are
suitably gruesome. And Giuseppe Andrews as a party-loving deputy contributes one of the funniest supporting performances
of the year.
But it's what Roth does wrong that sinks the picture.
Even setting aside the massive plot holes that plague the ending (like why aren't more people affected by the virus?), it's
pretty clear that whatever ideas Roth had evaporate an hour or so into the picture, as he piles on one superfluous climax
after another, presumably figuring that one will finally wrap things up in a suitably ironic fashion. Oh, and speaking
of that. The final "twist" proves that Roth watches more than just horror movies. He has also seen DIRTY MARY
CRAZY LARRY.
CABOBLANCO (1980)--Directed by J. Lee
Thompson. Stars Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Dominique Sanda, Fernando Rey, Simon MacCorkindale. Ex-patriate
Giff Hoyt (Bronson) runs an inn just after World War II in the Peruvian village of Cabo Blanco, where he encounters a Nazi
war criminal (Robards), a corrupt police chief (Rey), a beautiful Frenchwoman (Sanda) and a British agent (MacCorkindale)
all searching for sunken treasure in the form of $22 million in Nazi gold. Yeah, you know the story all right, but despite
the best efforts of the cast and composer Jerry Goldsmith, Thompson doesn't provide enough intrigue, and Bronson's fans will
likely miss their hero's usual helping of fisticuffs and gunplay. Gilbert Roland, Camilla Sparv, Denny Miller and James
Booth also appear. Filmed in Mexico.
CADDYSHACK (1980)--Directed by
Harold Ramis. Stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan. Ramis,
a former head writer on SCTV who struck it big in Hollywood co-writing the monster hit NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, made
his directorial debut with this ragged slob comedy that has since become an acknowledged classic. Basically a series
of subplots that happen to inhabit the same setting, that of the snobbish Bushwood Country Club, CADDYSHACK presents O'Keefe
as Danny Noonan, an enthusiastic young caddy hoping to get a law-school scholarship by sucking up to the club's president,
the officious Judge Smails (Knight). Chase is top-billed as insouciant hedonist Ty Webb, who mixes Zen philosophy with
his golfing, while Dangerfield practically steals the show as obnoxious Al Czervik, a loud-dressing, loud-talking wild man
who runs afoul of the club's conservative membership. If Dangerfield doesn't swipe all the scenery, then Murray definitely
does as the eminently quotable groundskeeper Carl Spackler. Never as consistently funny as it should be and technically
quite crude at times, CADDYSHACK puts enough funny moments and improvisational masterstrokes on the screen to earn its reputation
as one of Ramis' best films (that goes for all the cast members too). Fondly remembered more than twenty years later,
it's nigh impossible to golf without quoting from Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Brian Doyle-Murray's screenplay. Morgan
(TRON) makes a bold statement as the eternally horny Lacey Underall. Also with Doyle-Murray, Scott Colomby, Dan Resin,
Sarah Holcomb, Henry Wilcoxon, Albert Salmi and John Barmon. Music by Johnny Mandel with songs by Kenny Loggins, including
the hit "I'm Alright". Don't bother with CADDYSHACK II.
CADDYSHACK II (1988)--Directed by Allan
Arkush. Stars Jackie Mason, Dyan Cannon, Robert Stack, Dina Merrill, Brian McNamara, Chynna Phillips, Randy Quaid. Dismal
sequel just doesn't have the anarchic flavor of the original. Jewish Mason wants to join an exclusive country club, but is
opposed by stuffed-shirt club president Stack and his snobbish wife Merrill. Mason has his moments, and Quaid is good, but
there just aren't many laughs here. Chevy Chase (reprising his Ty Webb role) and Dan Aykroyd have embarrassing cameos. Phillips
is the daughter of John and Michelle of the Mamas and Papas. From the director of HEARTBEEPS.
CADILLAC MAN
(1990)--Directed by Roger Donaldson. Stars Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed, Annabella Sciorra, Fran Drescher. On
the surface, a film starring Williams as a fast-talking car salesman forced to use his selling skills to talk a crazed gunman
(Robbins) into releasing his hostages sounds like it couldn't miss, but it does miss, and I'm not sure why. The cast is good,
but maybe Donaldson (THE GETAWAY) just isn't the right director for this kind of farce. Also with Zack Norman, Lori Petty,
Elaine Stritch and Lauren Tom (great as a sassy Chinese waitress).
CAGE (1989)--Directed by Lang
Elliot. Stars Reb Brown, Lou Ferrigno, James Shigeta. Brown and Ferrigno are Vietnam War buddies who become unwittingly involved
in cage fighting, where two men fight in a locked cage until one is dead. Ferrigno's (who is deaf in real-life) speech impediment
is explained away by having him being shot in the head in a Vietnam flashback! Brown played Captain America in two '70s TV-movies.
CAGED FURY (1989)--Directed by Bill Milling. Stars Erik Estrada, Roxanne Michaels, Richie Barathy.
This horrid women-in-prison movie directed by a porn filmmaker is what happens when you land a few “name” stars,
but only for a couple of days, and they don’t overlap. Estrada (CHIPS) gets star billing, but gets little to do
but tag along with husky mulleted kung fu fighter Barathy, who does the heavy lifting. Milling proves he’s in
no way ready to go legit, as his clunky direction and lamebrained screenplay are woeful, even by WIP standards.
Good girl Cat (Michaels) moves from her family’s
Utah farm to Los Angeles to become an actress. Her second day there, pornographers frame her on a prostitution charge,
and she’s sentenced to three months at Honeywell Prison for Women, where the inmates are auctioned off by the white
slavers who run the place. Heck, it ain’t even a real prison. An idiotic plot twist reveals that the prison
is really a set on a movie lot (located directly across Hollywood Boulevard from Grauman’s Chinese Theater!), and that
the judge and district attorney who sentenced Cat, as well as all of the attorneys, bailiffs and courtroom spectators, are
really actors who are part of the white slavery operation. You may be asking, “Then what is the point of the whole
charade? Why not just kidnap the girls, rather than involve dozens of conspirators?” The answer is, “Because
Bill Milling, that’s why.”
CAGED FURY doesn’t even hold together on
the basis of its own internal logic. Not only does the villains’ operation make no sense, none of the characters
behaves like a normal human being. Late in the game comes Barathy as a ridiculous fireplug named Dirk Ramsey who kicks
his way through brick walls and walks calmly through the prison, dispatching fake guards (who attack him one at a time and
without guns) while the top-heavy inmates flock around him. Jack Carter (ALLIGATOR), James Hong, Ron Jeremy, Paul Smith
(POPEYE) and Melissa Moore (SAMURAI COP) also appear, as does Michael Parks (KILL BILL, VOL. 2), who miraculously appears
to give a damn and is the only thing real about the entire film.
CAGED HEAT (1974)--Directed by
Jonathan Demme. Stars Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins, Erica Gavin, Rainbeaux Smith, Ella Reid, Barbara Steele, Warren Miller,
Lynda Gold. Oscar-winner Demme's first feature is the most ambitious women-in-prison flick of the '70s and sexploitation at
its best. Gavin (Russ Meyer's VIXEN) is Jackie Wilson, who is arrested on drug charges and taken to Connorsville, a womens'
work prison located in California (these films are almost always set in foreign countries, but Demme was trying to make a
statement about cruel and inhumane U.S. prison conditions, and he does it well). There she meets blond Belle (Collins), who
tells jokes; tough Maggie (Brown); Belle's best pal Pandora (Reid); and shy Lavelle (Smith). B-movie legend Steele (BLACK
SUNDAY) is McQueen (a role written by Demme expressly for her), the sexually-repressed, wheelchair-bound warden who punishes
prisoners by allowing sadistic Dr. Randolph (Miller) to perform lobotomies on them (McQueen is unaware that he also drugs,
rapes and photographs them). Jackie and Maggie manage to escape, and team up with Maggie's friend Crazy Alice (Gold) to rob
a gang of bank robbers, but when Belle is scheduled for one of Randolph's operations, they decide to bust back into prison
and rescue her.
Probably the least misogynist WIP ever made, Demme is careful not to glamorize the torture and mistreatment
of his cast, and while CAGED HEAT has its fair share of catfights, shower scenes, broad comedy and casual nudity, the exploitative
aspects are presented so matter-of-fact that instead of leering at these beautiful young women, we find ourselves identifying
and rooting for them. The acting is mostly very good; Collins and Smith, both of whom deserved major roles in A-features,
stand out the most. Despite the arty touches by Demme and his longtime collaborator, cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, CAGED HEAT
can be appreciated as both a feminist diatribe against The Man and a late-night drive-in flick. I enjoyed it on both counts.
John Cale delivers a colorful blues score, which relies mostly on harmonica and viola. Also with future filmmakers Joe Viola
(BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA), George Armitage (GROSSE POINTE BLANK), Gary Goetzman and Gary Littlejohn, Carmen Argenziano, John
Aprea, Irene Stokes, porn actress Desiree Cousteau and MELVIN AND HOWARD production designer Toby Carr Rafelson (wife of director
Bob Rafelson) as McQueen's assistant Pinter. Demme's wife Evelyn Purcell produced, and Roger Corman was the executive producer
for New World Pictures.
CAGED HEAT II: STRIPPED OF FREEDOM (1994)--Directed by Cirio H. Santiago.
Stars Jewel Shepard, Vic Diaz, Chanel Akiko Hirai. The best women-in-prison movie since CHAINED HEAT. It certainly
must be among the sleaziest. No cliché is left unturned by the Filipino Roger Corman--catfights, mudfights, rape, torture,
gratuitous shower scenes, doublecrosses. Jewel (who's not a good actress) is an undercover agent for the CIA sent to
a Filipino prison to break out a kidnapped Asian princess. Diaz, who plays the corrupt warden, has acted in just about
every exploitation movie filmed in the Philippines since the '70s. Also with Pamila D'Pella and Susan Harvey.
All of the female leads appear nude, and Shepard is tortured by being hung by her long curly brown locks. Bears no resemblance
whatsoever to CAGED HEAT, which was directed by Jonathan Demme.
CAHILL--U.S. MARSHAL (1973)--Directed
by Andrew V. McLaglen. Stars John Wayne, George Kennedy, Gary Grimes, Neville Brand, Clay O'Brien. Marshall Cahill (Wayne)
finds himself in a real pickle when neglected sons Grimes and O'Brien start robbing banks, egged on by vicious Kennedy. Brand
plays a rare good-guy character. Pretty violent.
CAIN'S CUTTHROATS (1970)--Directed by Kent Osborne.
Stars Scott Brady, John Carradine, Robert Dix. Pretty bad Western with plenty of blood and not much else. Justice Cain (Brady)
is an ex-Confederate soldier who has settled down after the Civil War with his son and his black wife. His former squad, however,
is a different story. The Cutthroats roam the West raping, killing and robbing. When they try to recruit Cain as their leader
once again, and are turned down, the soldiers murder Brady's family. Cain teams up with an eccentric preacher/bounty hunter
(Carradine), and tracks down his family's killers one at a time. Sound, editing and script by SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN writer
Wilton Denmark are all inept.
THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)--Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Stars Humphrey
Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Jose Ferrer, Robert Francis. Bogie's last great performance was as paranoid Captain Queeg
in this adaptation of Herman Wouks Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. After a series of increasingly neurotic acts, Queeg becomes
unhinged during a typhoon, and is forced by executive officer Meryk (Johnson) to relinquish his command. The film's final
third consists of Johnson's court-martial, where Navy lawyer Ferrer defends him. Bogart's mental breakdown on the witness
stand is one of the most famous moments in cinema, and earned him an Academy Award nomination. MacMurray also shines as the
Caine's communications officer, who instigates the mutiny, then, in an act of cowardice, claims ignorance on the witness stand
later. Dmytryk's claustrophobic direction betrays his stage origins; the film also suffers from an unnecessary romantic subplot,
poor miniature work, wooden acting by Francis, and even a painfully obvious boom mike dipping into the shot at one point.
However, the four leads are outstanding, the story is a good one, and THE CAINE MUTINY sports a number of familiar faces in
supporting roles such as E.G. Marshall, Lee Marvin, Claude Akins, Don Dubbins, Jerry Paris and Whit Bissell. Music by Max
Steiner.
CALENDAR GIRL MURDERS (1984)--Directed
by William A. Graham. Stars Tom Skerritt, Robert Culp, Sharon Stone, Barbara Parkins, Robert Morse, Alan Thicke, Michael
C. Gwynne. Who is killing, in chronological order, the monthly centerfold girls of PARADISE magazine? Suspects
include alky entertainer Nat (Morse), stalker Albert (Gwynne), photographer Alan (Thicke), icy editor Cleo (Parkins) and Heftastic
publisher Richard Trainor (Culp). Meanwhile, the married cop investigating the murders, Dan Stoner (Skerritt), is struggling
not to fall in love with a potential victim, “Angel of the Year” Cassie (Stone). I guessed the killer’s
identity early on, and the motive less than halfway through, so the mystery angle is a bust, as is Graham’s attempt
to work up any suspense in this bloodless, inert affair. The cast is fine, but not enough to make up for the droning
story. Being a centerfold doesn’t even seem like much fun, as the hideous ‘80s fashions and music make Trainor’s
“hedonistic” parties look tame and stupid. The still-inexperienced Stone is not bad here. Also with
Barbara Bosson, Robert Beltran, Rip Taylor, Meredith MacRae, Claudia Christian, Wendy Kilbourne, Silvana Gallardo, Pat Corley
and Peter Brown. Music by Brad Fiedel.
CALENDAR GIRLS (2003)--Directed
by Nigel Cole. Stars Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton. Director Nigel Cole's previous film, SAVING GRACE,
starred Brenda Blethyn (SECRETS & LIES) as a middle-aged woman in a quiet English village who turns to marijuana farming
to pay off the debts left behind by her dead husband. It's a quaint comedy filled with gentle dope humor and the tried-and-true
use of elderly people acting silly and undignified to earn laughs. If you liked SAVING GRACE, you'll likely enjoy Cole's
follow-up feature CALENDAR GIRLS, which recycles more or less the same plot, setting and mild approach to its potentially
ribald subject matter.
Helen Mirren (GOSFORD PARK) and Julie Walters (BILLY
ELLIOT) are Chris and Annie, members of a Yorkshire chapter of Women's Institute, a British organization dedicated to "enlightenment,
fun and friendship". Cheekier than their stiff-upper-lipped peers in the WI, the two best friends react with muted laughter,
rather than boredom, to their monthly meetings, which present hymns and speeches on every humdrum subject from broccoli to
bugs. To stir things up--and to raise a few pounds for a charitable cause--Chris proposes a different take on the impending
WI wall calendar, which traditionally has featured photos of flowers and spice cakes. As a tribute to Annie's late husband
John (John Alderton), a victim of leukemia, who once compared the local women to the local flower population--"The last stage
is the most glorious"--Chris convinces her saggy-breasted compatriots to pose nude for the calendar, which opens up plenty
of embarrassing, empowering and dramatic possibilities for the screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi to play with.
CALENDAR GIRLS is quite fun for the most part, particularly
Mirren's performance. She may be 58 years old and not exactly built like Raquel Welch, but her breezy wit and progressive
non-conformist swinging are indeed sexy, and it's easy to believe she could persuade a bunch of prim old ladies to drop trou
for charity. She and Walters are a delightful screen team; it's surprising these two Academy Award-nominated stars have
never before appeared on film together. Firth and Towhidi's humor is drawn from the characters and, despite the bawdy
plot, is clean and tasteful, never condescending to sniggering sex jokes. The nudity, as the PG-13 rating demonstrates,
is well-handled, showing just enough to make its point (and I suppose it's a tribute to Cole and the actresses that, when
a flash of nudity is shown, the audience reacts to the characters and not to the novelty of seeing an older woman's breast).
Unfortunately, CALENDAR GIRLS, like the sponge cake with
which Chris inappropriately wins a blue ribbon at the local fair, is much too light to sustain its 107-minute running time.
The comedy leading up to the calendar's eventual release is solid enough, but Cole runs out of material after that, tacking
on a grotesque visit to Hollywood (and the ubiquitous Jay Leno's TONIGHT SHOW) and an unlikely falling-out between Annie and
Chris. I suppose the fact that CALENDAR GIRLS is based upon a real women's group that did go on THE TONIGHT SHOW in
1999 made this third act necessary, but, while the performers are very good at making us care about their characters during
the awkwardness, I don't think it holds up to the first two-thirds. For modest laughs, CALENDAR GIRL left my heart in
a whirl, but not for every day of the year. Also with Ciaran Hinds (VERONICA GUERIN), Linda Bassett, John-Paul McLeod
and Penelope Wilton. Filmed in London, Los Angeles and on stunning, green Yorkshire country locations.
CALIBER 9 (1972)--Directed by Fernando
Di Leo. Stars Gastone Moschin, Barbara Bouchet, Frank Wolff, Mario Adorf, Lionel Stander. Small-time hood Ugo
(Moschin) is released from prison and finds himself stalked by mobsters looking for $400,000 hidden away. Bald, intense
Moschin is probably a better character actor than leading man; I didn't think he was magnetic enough to carry this film, which
has a broad turn by Adorf (MANHUNT IN MILAN) as a psycho gunsel and the always-alluring presence of the gorgeous Bouchet,
who turns up the heat with a naughty dance number. The twisty, downbeat climax counts for something, I suppose, but
this one, also known as MILANO CALIBRE 9, is not among my favorite Italian crime dramas, although Di Leo's pacing is fine
and Luis Enriquez Bacalov's score is good.
CALIGULA (1980)--Directed by Tinto
Brass. Stars Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud. If anyone asks, I haven't seen this film. Off the
record, PENTHOUSE magazine editor Bob Guccione produced this incredibly inept and vulgar X-rated sex film. I have no idea
what O'Toole, Mirren and Gielgud are doing in this garbage; they couldn't have seen copies of the complete script, if there
ever was one. Not only does this feature some intense sex and nudity, there are also scenes of disgusting violence that will
make you sick to your stomach. Stay away at all costs. With 1975 Penthouse Pet of the Year Marjorie Lee Thorson, who sued
Guccione, claiming this movie had destroyed her acting career. The Supreme Court awarded her $4.06. Written by Gore Vidal.
He took his name off the credits. Smart move.
CALL HIM MR. SHATTER (1974)--Directed by Michael Carreras.
Stars Stuart Whitman, Anton Diffring, Peter Cushing, Lily Li. The result of a two-picture deal between England's Hammer Films
and Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers was LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES (also with Cushing) and this kung-fu crime drama. Both
were troubled productions plagued by rewrites, reshoots and, in the case of SHATTER, the original director (Monte Hellman)
being fired weeks into production. While SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES turned out to be a pretty nifty hybrid of the Dracula and martial-arts
genres, CALL HIM MR. SHATTER is just a standard (albeit entertaining) action flick. American star Whitman is Mr. Shatter,
an international hitman who assassinates a West African dictator and swipes some important-looking papers as a bonus. When
he arrives in Hong Kong to receive payment from banker Leber (Diffring), he finds he has been used as a pawn by both the Syndicate
and the English government, represented by shady agent Rattwood (Cushing). Since no one will pay him for his killing, Shatter
teams up with a kung-fu instructor and a cute masseuse to exact his revenge. Three cinematographers are credited with this
cheap-looking mishmash, and while the dubbing and sets aren't exactly first class, SHATTER is better than most '70s kung-fu
flicks, and Carreras certainly didn't skimp on the action quota. Cushing, billed as a guest star, really just turns in a cameo.
Filmed in late '73-early '74, SHATTER wasn't released in the U.S.A. until January 1976.
THE CANDIDATE
(1972)--Directed by Michael Ritchie. Stars Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Don Porter, Melvyn Douglas. Ritchie's best films have
been about competition, whether it be sports (DOWNHILL RACER), beauty pageants (SMILE), or politics. Redford is an idealistic
attorney running for a U.S. Senate seat who is genuinely "for the people" and wants to run on his own terms. Sadly, he finds
he can only run under the influence of more powerful interests. Douglas is terrific as Redford's ex-governor father. Jeremy
Larner's script won an Academy Award. Tim Robbins's BOB ROBERTS (1992) took a more satirical look at the same subject.
THE CANDY SNATCHERS
(1973)--Directed by Guerdon Trueblood. Stars Tiffany Bolling, Susan Sennett,
Ben Piazza, Brad David, Vince Martorano, Christophe. This sleazy '70s crime thriller
has never received a legal home video release, which is somewhat surprising considering that it seems to have fallen into
the public domain (its distributor, General Film Corporation, which also released the equally grimy THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS,
reportedly failed to maintain its copyright). It's also better than you might
think, filled with good performances and quirky dialogue, as well as multiple doublecrosses and a healthy dose of nudity and
violence.
A trio of kidnappers--blonde Jessie
(Bolling), her rapist brother Alan (David, who says, "Do I get to ball her?") and sensitive hulk Eddy (Martorano, who receives
an "Introducing" credit)--"snatch" teen Candy (Sennett, later in BIG BAD MAMA) as she's walking home from school and hold
her for ransom. They instruct her jewelry store manager father Avery (Piazza)
to steal some of his store's diamonds and meet them in a half hour, when they'll return Candy to him safe and sound. Except that, instead of making the drop, Avery pours his middle-aged alcoholic wife
a drink, tells her he'll be working late again ("the damn Dutch"), and heads to the apartment of his foxy secretary for a
little Scotch & sofa. Meanwhile, Candy's underground cell (she's been bound,
gagged and blindfolded and buried in the dirt with only a pipe to provide her with oxygen) has been discovered by mute neighbor
boy Sean (Christophe), who appears to be about five years old and not exactly "all there".
His parents are abusive--even more so when his inability (or unwillingness--the film isn't clear on this point) to
speak causes his father to lose a promotion at work.
Putting CANDY a
notch or two above routine drive-in fare are its performances and its willingness to go all the way in terms of sleaze factor--rape,
deceit, adultery, incest, dismemberment...it's all here. Bolling in particular
is very good--she usually only got to play the "icy blonde" in exploitation films and episodic television--but all three kidnappers
get a chance to flesh out their characters somewhat with logical backstories concocted by first-time screenwriter and producer
Bryan Gindoff (HARD TIMES). Piazza, who played smarmy heavies a zillion times
on TV (think Jason Evers), is a real pro here, and young Sennett, who later married rocker Graham Nash, is a real sport, spending
nearly all her screen time tied up, beaten and raped; I wonder if TV dad Ozzie Nelson (the syndicated sitcom OZZIE'S GIRLS)
ever saw her topless scenes here. TV writer Trueblood (TARANTULA: THE DEADLY
CARGO, ANTS!), directing his only feature film, shows a nice touch with actors and even some visual flair--the final crane
shot is a doozy and gives the film a mighty punch to end on.
Also
with Bonnie Boland, Phyllis Major, TV writer Harry Kronman and THE HILLS HAVE EYES star James Whitworth in a funny fight scene
as a phone repairman. Robert Drasnin's score is very STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO-ish,
but the theme song, "Love Is the Root of All Happiness", is a hilarious hoot.
CANDY STRIPE NURSES (1974)--Directed by Alan Holleb.
Stars Candice Rialson, Maria Rojo, Robin Mattson. Another formulaic entry in New World Pictures' unofficial "3 Girls"
series, in which a trio of beautiful young professional women fall in love and get involved in trendy social issues of the
day. In this one, our heroines are high school girls who volunteer as "candy stripers" at a local hospital. Rialson
(who was also in SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS) is top-billed as Sandy, who sleeps with doctors who do her homework for her and masquerades
as a sex therapist so she can hook up with an impotent English rock star. Mattson (later a major soap opera star) plays
a stuck-up artsy-fartsy type who falls for a speed freak college basketball star. And Rojo (31 years old at the time!)
plays a juvenile delinquent sentenced to volunteer duty after attacking one of her teachers who runs around L.A. trying to
find the gas station robbers who framed her new boyfriend. Unquestionably one of the most politically incorrect pictures
you're likely to see, CANDY STRIPE NURSES may raise some eyebrows in its treatment of underage sex and school violence, but
it's all played amiably (if not especially smoothly) by its stars, all three of whom pop their tops on-camera (Mattson engages
in a particularly steamy nude sex scene that would probably bug the eyes out of the housewives who watch her on TV every day).
Also with Roger Cruz, Don Keefer, Tara Strohmeier, Kendrew Lascelles, Bill Erwin, Sally Kirkland, Monte Landis, Stanley Ralph
Ross and Dick Miller (of course). Roger Corman was the executive producer, while his wife Julie served as producer.
Unlike other New World directors of the period like Jonathan Kaplan and Barbara Peeters, Holleb didn't make another film for
Corman and, in fact, didn't direct anything until 1985's SCHOOL SPIRIT. Rojo has worked consistently in Mexican cinema
since the '60s.
CANE
TOADS (1988)--Directed by Mark Lewis. This short documentary details one of the Australian government's biggest
goof-ups. In the 1940's, in order to prevent pests from destroying the sugar cane crop, cane toads--monstrous, ugly
toads that can poison a human if he isn't careful--were transplanted from their native Hawaii. However, when the toads
got Down Under, it was discovered that A) they don't eat the pests, B) they multiply very quickly, and C) they have no natural
enemies in Australia, therefore the population went out of control. Funnier than your typical Discovery Channel show,
although often too cute for its own good.
CANNIBAL
APOCALYPSE (1980)—Directed by Antonio Margheriti. Stars John Saxon, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Tony King,
Wallace Wilkinson. Italy produced a ton of zombie movies and cannibal movies following the huge success of DAWN OF THE
DEAD. Margheriti (WILD WILD PLANET) more or less combines the two genres and makes a movie aimed more at the action
audience than at horror fans. Green Beret Saxon rescues some buddies from the Viet Cong and is shocked to discover them
chowing down on one of the captors. One of them bites Saxon, transferring to him a virus that produces an overwhelming
urge to eat human flesh. Years later, home in Atlanta, Saxon has managed to keep his cannibalistic tendencies sublimated,
but the cute teenager living next door has a tight tummy he just can’t resist… There isn’t much of
an “apocalypse” here; only about four or five mad cannibals on the run from cops with flamethrowers commanded
by hilariously profane cop Wilkinson (who went on to become governor of Kentucky!). Saxon manages to bring a bit of
humanity to an almost impossible role, and Radice (billed as John Morghen) and King (BUCKTOWN) are welcome sights for cult-movie
fans. One cool special effect finds the camera peering through a hole clear through Radice’s chest. Saxon
claims he’s never seen CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, saying the gore turned him off.
CANNIBAL
ATTACK (1954)--Directed by Lee Sholem. Stars Johnny Weissmuller, Judy Walsh, David Bruce. Producer Sam
Katzman must have grown weary of paying King Features a licensing fee, because Weissmuller is no longer called “Jungle
Jim” in his 14th Jungle Jim movie. In his last three Columbia programmers for Katzman, Johnny plays…Johnny
Weissmuller! He dresses just like Jungle Jim, though, and the sets, plots, music and action remain the same. Outside
of calling the lead character “Johnny,” no attempt is made to differentiate this movie from previous Jungle Jim
movies. I’m surprised King Features didn’t attempt to sue for copyright infringement.
Carroll
Young’s comic-book-like story finds Johnny investigating a missing cache of cobalt that appears to have been attacked
by crocodiles. In one of the series’ unlikeliest plot devices, the villains disguise themselves as crocs by crawling
around in rubber suits. Conniving jungle girl Luora, played by the very sexy Judy Walsh, is the brains and the curves
behind the plot to hijack the cobalt and sell it to a sinister government. Johnny is something of a clod in this movie.
He gets knocked out several times, and, while trying to rescue a friend from a (real) croc attack, even trips over his own
feet and knocks himself out. What a maroon. Also with Bruce Cowling, Steve Darrell and Charles Evans. There
is no cannibalism in this movie.
CANNIBAL
GIRLS (1973)--Directed by Ivan Reitman. Stars Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin. This low-budget Canadian horror
movie is remembered today only as an early credit for Reitman, who went on to direct Hollywood blockbusters like GHOSTBUSTERS
and EVOLUTION, and SCTV comedians Levy and Martin, who play a young couple on vacation who stop for the night in a sleepy
snowbound town. The motel manager tells them an urban legend about a mysterious house populated by three sexy nymphs
who lure men home, fatten them up, kill them and eat them. Wouldn't ya know it's no myth after all? What starts
out as an amusing comedy turns frightfully slow-paced and confusing about halfway through. Levy is a scream with his
huge Afro, mustache and sunglasses, and plays well, of course, against his friend Martin. Judging from the credits,
the dialogue seems to have been improvised. Also with Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson, the scrumptious
Mira Pawluk, snatches of nudity and gore, and a music score by Doug Riley. AIP released this Stateside in 1974 with
a warning buzzer attached to warn squeamish audiences of an upcoming fright scene, a gimmick not appended to home video or
cable versions.
CANNIBAL
WOMEN IN THE AVOCADO JUNGLE OF DEATH (1988)--Directed by J.D. Athens. Stars Shannon Tweed, Bill Maher, Adrienne Barbeau,
Karen Mistal, Barry Primus. This jungle parody stars statuesque Shannon as a jungle adventurer who sets out with a bumbling
safari hunter (Maher) and a bubbleheaded bimbo (Mistal) to find a lost tribe of cannibal chicks who eat their mates after
sex. Better than you might expect from the silly title; many of the jokes and gags are entertaining, albeit not as much as
the sight of the bodacious Barbeau in a loincloth. Writer/director Athens is actually J.F. Lawton, who scripted PRETTY WOMAN
and UNDER SIEGE.
CANNON:
HE WHO DIGS A GRAVE (1973)--Directed by Richard Donner. Stars William Conrad, David Janssen, Barry Sullivan,
Anne Baxter, Lee Purcell. This two-part third-season premiere of Conrad's CANNON TV series features a rare episodic
guest shot by Janssen (THE FUGITIVE), who plays Ian Kirk, an alcoholic writer accused of killing his wealthy younger wife
Irene and her even younger lover. Tossed into the slammer of a small town that mistrusts strangers and resents him for
marrying into Irene's family in the first place, Kirk calls upon his old Army buddy, Los Angeles private detective Frank Cannon
(Conrad), for help. Kirk claims his wife was a suicide and that she left a note; however, when Kirk was found passed
out at his home after the murder by the town's mayor, Helen Blye (Baxter), and self-righteous sheriff Luke (Sullivan), no
note was found.
Penned by
Stephen Kandel, one of the period's best TV scenarists, from a novel by David Delman, HE WHO DIGS A GRAVE is a well-crafted
mystery with plenty of suspects and a rich performance by Conrad, who belies his portly frame with a sharp mind and wit and
the ability to hold his own in a brawl if necessary. Donner, still a few years away from his feature-film breakthrough,
THE OMEN, directs at a steady pace, taking advantage of executive producer Quinn Martin's typically slick production values
to shoot on location in Nevada County, California and assembling a marvelous cast. Janssen is properly ambivalent in
his limited screen time (he spends most of the show locked in a cell). Also with Lee Purcell as Janssen's hot-to-trot
teen mistress, Tim O'Connor, Murray Hamilton, Royal Dano, R.G. Armstrong, Dabbs Greer, Robert Hogan, Bill Quinn, Lenore Kasdorf
and Cathy Lee Crosby as the late Irene Kirk. CANNON theme by John Parker.
CANNONBALL
(1976)--Directed by Paul Bartel. Stars David Carradine, Gerrit Graham, Veronica Hamel, Bill McKinney, Robert Carradine,
Belinda Balaski, Mary Woronov, James Keach. Executive producer Roger Corman made a ton of dough on DEATH RACE 2000,
so what's an exploitation filmmaker to do, other than round up director Bartel and star Carradine, and crash more cars in
the name of entertainment. Bartel was reportedly brought kicking and screaming onto the project, and it shows, since
CANNONBALL lacks the political satire and black comedy of DEATH RACE 2000. It's still an enjoyable comic-book-like action
film, filled with good ol' '70s muscle cars and a delightful array of guest stars.
Coy
"Cannonball" Buckman (Carradine), a washed-up racecar driver, is the favorite to win this year's Cannonball, an illegal cross-country
race from Santa Monica to New York City inspired by the same real-life event that spawned Hal Needham's CANNONBALL RUN movies
a few years later. Accompanying Cannonball is Linda (Hamel), his gorgeous policewoman girlfriend, whom he kidnaps to
prevent her from turning him in. Other racers include a pair of peace-loving sweethearts (Balaski and Robert Carradine,
David's half-brother), three hot chicks in a van driven by Sandy (Woronov), an obnoxious German (Keach) and Cannonball's redneck
rival Cade Redman (McKinney), who's bringing along an aspiring country-western singer (Graham) to share expenses.
CANNONBALL
offers even more chases, crashes and cutups than DEATH RACE 2000, adding a number of subplots to give it more of a madcap
MAD, MAD WORLD feel. Considering its low budget, it works pretty well, even though the stars of this road movie never
left California. What's really fun is picking out all the New World regulars in supporting or cameo roles, such as Dick
Miller as Cannonball's brother, Sylvester Stallone (DEATH RACE 2000) and directors Joe Dante (PIRANHA), Allan Arkush (ROCK
AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL), Martin Scorsese (BOXCAR BERTHA), Jonathan Kaplan (NIGHT CALL NURSES), Miller Drake (SCREAMERS) and
even Corman and Bartel themselves. Also with Judy Canova, JAWS writer Carl Gottlieb, Archie Hahn, Louisa Moritz, John
Alderman and Aron Kincaid. Music by David Axelrod.
THE CANNONBALL RUN (1981)--Directed
by Hal Needham. Stars Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. Don't ask me
to explain why I like this rowdy combination of smashed-up cars, country music and good ol' boy humor, but I do. Maybe it's
because I'm a Reynolds fan, and this looks like one of his home movies. I'm sure it felt like one on the set. Burt earned
$5 million for 4 weeks work as wisecracking, womanizing J.J. McClure, who teams up with his corpulent, borderline retarded
pal Victor (DeLuise) in a souped-up ambulance to win an illegal, cross-country road race called the Cannonball Run. J.J. also
has to deal with Victor's alter-ego, an earnest superhero named Captain Chaos! Moore comes off best as a Jewish playboy with
delusions of being a certain British actor who played James Bond ("I must warn you...I'm Roger Moore." "Who?"), but a drunken
Dean and Sammy score plenty of silly laughs disguised as priests in a red Ferrari, and Farrah looks smashing as Burt's love
interest. Also with Adrienne Barbeau (MAUDE) and Tara Buckman (THE MISADVENTURES OF SHERIFF LOBO) as cleavage-baring speedsters,
Jackie Chan (practically unknown to American audiences at the time) and Michael Hui, Jamie Farr, Jack Elam, Peter Fonda as
a biker, Bianca Jagger, Mel Tillis and Terry Bradshaw (who drive into a swimming pool), Bert Convy and Warren Berlinger, George
Furth, Molly Picon, Jimmy the Greek, Rick Aviles, footballer Joe Klecko, Alfie Wise, Johnny Yune and Robert Tessier. Needham
and scripter Brock Yates participated in the real-life Cannonball Run, driving the same ambulance used by Burt and Dom in
the film; Needham says it could get up to 145 mph! Running bloopers over the closing titles became a Reynolds/Needham trademark.
CANNONBALL RUN II (1984)--Directed by Hal Needham. Stars Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, and the rest
of the out-of-work section of the Screen Actors Guild. More of the same, except there's now a kidnapping plot. Cast includes
Marilu Henner, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas, Doug McClure, Ricardo Montalban,
Tony Danza, Mel Tillis, George "Goober" Lindsay, Catherine Bach, Joe Theisman, Fred Dryer, Alex Rocco, Henry Silva, Don Knotts,
Arte Johnson, and Frank Sinatra! Burt, Dom, and Sammy dress in drag and lip-synch to the Supremes. Telly calls Charles Nelson
Reilly "Dum-Dum". Awesome.
CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (1987)--Directed by Steve Rash. Stars Patrick Dempsey,
Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains. Sweet comedy about a high-school nerd (Dempsey) who wants to be a big man on campus, so he
pays a beautiful snob (Peterson) to pretend to be his girlfriend. What starts as a scam eventually turns into the real thing.
Song by The Beatles is pretty good too. From the director of THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY.
CAN'T HARDLY WAIT (1998)--Directed by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan. Stars Ethan Embry,
Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose. Forgettable PG-13 teen fluff about a wild teenage party the night
of high-school graduation, in which nice-guy dreamer Preston (Embry) hopes to date his dream girl, sweet sexpot Amanda (Hewitt),
now that her jerk boyfriend has dumped her. There's no real plot in Elfont and Kaplan's screenplay, just a lot of running
around and unmemorable storylines played by an attractive cast of young actors, many of which have had successful careers,
particularly the buxom Hewitt, who even portrayed Audrey Hepburn in an acclaimed TV biography. Also with Charlie Korsmo,
Peter Facinelli, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaime Pressly, Chris Owen, Clea DuVall, Jason Segal, Selma Blair, Eric Balfour, and
uncredited bits by Jenna Elfman, Jerry O'Connell, Melissa Joan Hart and Breckin Meyer. Was heavily cut to avoid an R
rating, which included several references to drunkenness and drug use. The film could have used them.
CAN'T
STOP THE MUSIC (1980)--Directed by Nancy Walker (!) Stars the Village People (!!), Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner
(!!!), Steve Guttenberg, Paul Sand, Barbara Rush. Incredible musical camp starring those irrepressible landmarks of '70s gay
culture, the Village People. Their "YMCA" number has to be seen to be believed. Olympic gold-medal winner Jenner is incredibly
stiff in his film debut, but not really any worse than Guttenberg. Produced by disco schlockmeister Allan Carr. With Jack
Weston, Leigh Taylor-Young, June Havoc. The director was Rosie the Bounty paper towel lady in commercials. One of the most
notorious box-office flops in history.
CAPE FEAR (1992)--Directed by Martin Scorsese. Stars Robert
DeNiro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Joe Don Baker, Juliette Lewis. This remake of the 1962 thriller goes way over the top in
terms of acting and camera pyrotechnics. DeNiro is Max Cady, a convicted rapist who gets out of prison and extracts his revenge
on Nolte, playing his lawyer who failed to keep him out of jail, and Nolte's family (wife Lange and 17-year-old daughter Lewis).
DeNiro uses every Method acting trick in the book to convince us of Cady's psychotic nature; that's DeNiro's problem in most
of his performances. You always know that he's acting. Scorsese does introduce some interesting elements that were not in
the original movie; most importantly, the relationship between DeNiro and Lewis. Cady takes advantage of Lewis's burgeoning
sexuality and confusion concerning her parents' marital problems in an effort to mess her up emotionally. The wild, improbable
finale is a pastiche of cliches and editing tricks. The thriller works, but buffs will probably prefer the original. Also
with original stars Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Martin Balsam in cameo roles.
THE
CAPITOL CONSPIRACY (1999)--Directed by Fred Olen Ray. Stars Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Alexander Keith.
This typically stupid Ray action vehicle mixes in a touch of SF, giving Wilson's character slight psychic ability as the result
of a government experiment he was forced to participate in as a child. CIA agent Jarrid (Wilson) is teamed up with sexy
operative Oakley (Keith) and ordered to capture a handful of individuals who, unbeknownst to him, were also guinea pigs in
the experiment. An unknown killer is a step ahead of the agents, though, murdering their targets before Jarrid can discover
the conspiracy. Wilson shows a bit of a sense of humor in this one, and even though the action scenes are unspectacular,
at least they're plentiful. Keith provides a brief nude scene that ups the exploitative element, and it's fun to see
familiar faces like Barbara Steele (PIRANHA), Robert Quarry (COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE), Richard Gabai (DINOSAUR ISLAND), Chick
Vennera (TYCUS), Rick Dean (BLOODFIST III) and Arthur Roberts (REVENGE OF THE NINJA) pop up. Filmed as THE PROPHET.
CAPRICORN
ONE (1978)--Directed by Peter Hyams. Stars Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Hal Holbrook, Sam Waterston,
O.J. Simpson. Hot on the heels of Watergate came this paranoid thriller that addresses one of contemporary American
history's most amusing urban legends--that NASA's 1969 moon landing was staged using film sets and special effects for the
benefit of the American people. If you think later Hollywood projects like THE X-FILES portray the United States government
in a negative light, wait 'til you get a load at these sleazebag politicians.
Three
astronauts--leader Brubaker (Brolin), joker Willis (Waterston) and Walker (Simpson)--are strapped into Capricorn One and counting
down to blast off to Mars when they are surreptitiously removed from the rocket and swept away to a secret desert base.
NASA boss Kelloway (Holbrook) explains that Capricorn One's life-support system is faulty, but fears that a delayed launch
would force budget cuts spurred him to keep the malfunction a secret. Leading the astronauts to a large soundstage equipped
with a duplicate of Capricorn One on a Mars sandscape, Kelloway forces them to take part in the subterfuge by threatening
the men's families. They do, grudgingly, although Brubaker almost spills the beans during a videoconference with his
wife (Vaccaro). Eight months later, as NASA prepares to drop the astronauts off at the real capsule's splashdown, the
heat shield collapses and the capsule is destroyed. The world believes Brubaker and his crew to be dead, but the three
men are very much alive. Gee, won't that raise some questions when they show up back in Houston? I bet you can
guess Kelloway's solution to that problem. Meanwhile, top-billed Gould, who worked with writer/director Hyams on BUSTING,
plays Caulfield, a nosy reporter who suspects something is fishy with Capricorn One's tragic flight and finds his life endangered
when he attempts to penetrate the government's iron shield of secrecy.
Don't
let the plot holes and occasional slow spots deter you from this crackerjack entertainment, which may not be plausible, but
is certainly crowd-pleasing. Hyams spends the first hour setting up the plot, giving his veteran cast juicy if not terribly
realistic dialogue to spout (Holbrook's lengthy monologue to the astronauts is a highlight, as is the banter between Gould
and his editor, played by CHARLIE'S ANGELS' David Doyle) while positing an idea that seems a bit out there, but, given the
contemporary political climate, wouldn't really surprise anybody if it turned out to be true. Most of the action occurs
in the second half, as black helicopters chase the astronauts across the desert, Gould is shot at and run off the road, and
Hyams stages a marvelous aerial duel between the choppers and a decrepit cropduster. Aided by a crisp, edge-of-the-seat
Jerry Goldsmith score, one of his best from a particularly fertile period in his career, CAPRICORN ONE is an exciting, well-performed
experience for conspiracy buffs and action fans. Usually lumped in with the science fiction genre, it really contains
no SF elements outside of the trip to Mars, which, of course, doesn't actually occur. Also with Karen Black, Telly Savalas,
Robert Walden, Barbara Bosson, Denise Nicholas, David Huddleston, James B. Sikking, Alan Fudge, James Karen and Nancy Malone.
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