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CANNON MOVIE 3: The Uranium Conspiracy (1978)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the next several days, I’ll be covering movies either directed by Menahem Golan or produced by Golan and Globus before they bought Cannon.

You know how I always say that these Eurospy movies are like the UN? How about this one, which is an Israeli/German/Italian movie co-directed by Gianfranco Baldanello (Danger!! Death Ray) and one of my favorite insane people, Menahem Golan — the man who would soon enough direct the magnum opus The Apple.

Who would star, some would wonder? Fabio Testi from One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana! and Fulci’s The Four of the Apocalypse and Contraband. Oh yes.

The love interest? Janet Agren from City of the Living Dead! Oh man!

That’s most of the excitement of the film, which promises a Bond-like experience from its poster and description and does not deliver, except for an incredible boat chase in Amsterdam. You can tell Golan was excited about the action scenes and not so much anything else. But hey! The soundtrack by Coriolano Gori (The Legend of Wolf Woman) and Dov Seltzer (Night Terrors) is pretty good. Cannon Bros will also rejoice to see the face of Yehuda Efroni. If you know, as they say, you know.

You can watch this on YouTube.

CANNON MONTH 3: God’s Gun (1976)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the next several days, I’ll be covering movies either directed by Menahem Golan or produced by Golan and Globus before they bought Cannon.

I had no idea that this Italian Western was an Israeli co-production and just a few years before they’d make it to the USA, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus would work with The Irwin Yablans Company and Cannon Film Distributors to bring this movie to screens all over the world.

Sam Clayton (Jack Palance, as always, a grinning force of complete menace) and his gang have taken over Juno City, stabbing men and assaulting women before leaving the town in the bloody dust. No man will ride out to stop them, except Father John (Lee Van Cleef), a holy man who rides out unarmed and takes the guilty gang members to jail.

The gang breaks them out of jail and kills the priest, sending a young boy named Johnny (Leif Garrett!) to Mexico to bring Lewis, the twin brother of the dead man of the cloth, and he comes back with vengeance on his mind, even if it turns out that Clayton ends up being Johnny’s father.

Also known as Diamante Lobo and A Bullet From God, this is Lee Van Cleef’s last filmed Western (and second movie with Garrett). It was a rough film for Richard Boone, who had started having health problems, then got drunk and walked off the set, leaving the Israeli location before he even dubbed his dialogue. He’d say in an interview, “I’m starring in the worst picture ever made. The producer is an Israeli and the director is Italian, and they don’t speak. Fortunately it doesn’t matter, because the director is deaf in both ears.”

That deaf director was Gianfranco Parolini, better known in America as Frank Kramer, and the maker of some wild stuff like Sabata; Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century; Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill; The Three Fantastic Supermen and writing If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death. It was written by John Fonseca, whose career is all over the place, acting in The Uranium Conspiracy (also produced by Golan), serving as a dialogue coach and even shooting stills on the sets of Don’t Open Till Christmas and Slaughter High.

How did I get this far without telling you Sybil Danning is in this movie? Am I slipping?

This may not be the best Italian Western you’ve ever seen, but honestly, the end with Palance rambling in a cemetery and alternating between being paternal and horrifying, well, that’s worth the price of this blu ray. And Lee Van Cleef? Always just right.

The 2024 Scarecrow Psychotronic Challenge Is Here!

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Scarecrow Video isn’t just a video store. It’s a landmark for all we love about movies.

Each year, they do a month-long challenge to get people to stretch out and watch some movies they’ve never seen before.

You can also check out the Letterboxd list for 2023 as well as our lists for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The basic guidelines are:

• Watch at least 1 movie per day during the month of October in whatever order suits you.

• Must fall within the psychotronic definition.

• Have fun and get weird.

• If you see something, say something! Post your watches on social media and make sure to tag them with #SCVpsychochallenge. @scarecrowvideo (Letterboxd, Twitter/X, Facebook) @scarecrow.video.official (Instagram) @scarecrow.video (Tiktok)

• Want to be part of B&S About Movies’ Scarecrow entries? Just reply or email me at bandsaboutmovies@gmail.com

Here are the challenges!

1. JUMP-OFF POINT: Kick off the Challenge festivities by watching a movie that inspired a TV series.

2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules…

3. BLURRING THE LINES: Magical realism is the key for today’s witnessing.

4. FAMILY MATTERS: It takes a family to raise this village.

5. BROKEN BONES: Snap, crackle, “stop… is it sticking out?”

6. MAN’S BEST FRIEND?: This canine is no pal of mine.

7. LITTLE DEVILS, BIG SHRIEKS: How much terror can a child really wreak?

8. POOL PARTY: Is there a swimming pool in your plot? Take a dip, mind the drip.

9. BUT AFTER THE GIG: Just because the party has ended, that doesn’t mean the activities have.

10. NEW YORK NEW YORK: A slice and dice set in the city so nice they named it New York.

11. BREAKING THE MOLD: More than make up, this one is when practical effects masters employ their crafting skills directly to making the whole damn movie.

12. THE LIVING IMPAIRED: Insert zombie joke here.

13. ALL THINGS BEING SEQUEL: …As long as it isn’t a Part 1.

14. HALLOWED GROUND: Made by an indigenous filmmaker or has featured indigenous cast members.

15. YOU TOO, SHALL PASS: …If the gatekeeper permits.

16. INCREMENTAL BREAKDOWN: Stop-motion films are hard to make. Appreciate that mania today.

17. DON’T BLAME THE NAME: Many great films have been poo-pooed because of dumb titles. It’s time to let go of your judgement and enjoy one of those.

18. THE EYES HAVE IT: Elect to watch one with an eye specific scene. See what I did there?

19. VIDEO STORE DAY: This is the big one. Watch something physically rented or bought from an actual video store. If you live in a place that is unfortunate enough not to have one of these archival treasures then watch a movie with a video store scene in it at least. #vivaphysicalmedia

20. WITCH, PLEASE!: Watch a saucy spell caster do her damnedest. Be sure to check the Witch, Please! book for spelling errors…

21. STAGEFRIGHTS: Musicals are hell to endure. Can I get a hell yeah!?

22. CTHULHU’S COHORT: Wrap your tentacles around a “weird fiction” tale.

23. FOR PEAT’S SAKE: Log one that takes place in a swamp or a bog.

24. SHLOCK & AWE: Can you believe how “good” this is?

25. ICONOCLADS: Features a character that you have dressed up as for Halloween.

26. DANZA MACABRA: Boogie down with some soundtrack heavy Giallo.

27. MAN & MACHINE: When one interacts with the other, both are forever changed.

28. COUNTDOWN TO OBLIVION: Watch a race-against-timer. Oh, the tension…

29. RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB: An antagonist is only as good as his implements.

30. EXHUMATION POINT: Digging up the past one coffin at a tomb time.

31. “I’LL BE BACK”: We hope you had a good time with our little Challenge. Conclude your journey by watching one with a catchphrase you find yourself repeating in the real world.

Here are the challenges! Visit the Scarecrow site too!Get a printable PDF!

Unsung Horrors Horror Gives Back 2024!

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Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which is working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across America, giving pets second chances and happy homes.

To be part of this, just donate $1 or more per horror movie you watch in October. You can follow their prompts or your own path, then share picks with #horrorgivesback

I’ll be part of this and I hope you will be too. Look for posts all month long!

  1. Universal Horror
  2. Sequel
  3. Philippines
  4. Birth Year
  5. 1990s
  6. Vampires
  7. 1950s
  8. Spain
  9. Unsung Horrors Rule
  10. Michael Ironside
  11. Ghosts
  12. Physical Media
  13. 1960s
  14. Australia
  15. In Memoriam
  16. Series Episode
  17. Pick a Lance
  18. Bleeding Skull!
  19. Animal Attacks
  20. 1980s
  21. Karen Black
  22. Mexico
  23. Hail Satan
  24. Black & White
  25. Made for Tv Movie
  26. 1970s
  27. The Sweetest Taboo
  28. Gothic Horror
  29. Slasher
  30. Hammer Time
  31. Viewers Choice

CANNON MONTH 3: Kid Vengeance (1977)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the next several days, I’ll be covering movies either directed by Menahem Golan or produced by Golan and Globus before they bought Cannon.

Golan and Globus also produced a Western, God’s Gun, starring Leif Garrett and Lee Van Cleef in which Garrett was mentored by Cleef. The producers paid Garrett to stay in Israel for two months until filming began on that movie, which was released before this.

Kid Vengeance stars both of them but in totally different roles, as Garrett is Tom, who watched Van Cleef’s McClain murder most of his immediate family, getting gang member Jesus (John Marley) to shoot dad (David Loden), before he rapes and murders mom (Dalia Penn) and kidnaps sister Lisa (Glynnis O’Connor). Once he comes out of hiding, Tom makes his way across the plains and like some tween slasher antagonist, he kills them all off, one by one, by arrow, by scorpion, by snake, bye bye.

Instead of Gianfranco Parolini, this was directed by Joseph Manduke, who made the TV movie Beatlemania and Omega Syndrome. It was written by Ken Globus, who also wrote the Golan/Globus movies Operation Thunderbolt and Lupo! and was on second unit for their films The Highway Queen, The Passover Plot and Kazablan. He was joined by writers Bud Robbins and James Telfer.

Isaac (Jim Brown) helps Tom learn how to be a man, but if you’re hoping for a Jim Brown heroic role, this isn’t it. This is not a sequel to Take a Hard Ride, despite what you may have heard. Maybe watch that instead.

You can watch this on Tubi.

CANNON MOVIE 3: Eagles Attack at Dawn (1980)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the next several days, I’ll be covering movies either directed by Menahem Golan or produced by Golan and Globus before they bought Cannon.

Directed by Menahem Golan, who wrote the script with Joseph and Yosef Gross (The Magician) with Yorum Globus producing, Ha-Pritza Hagdola is the story of Israel at war with Egypt — although never said — and the POWs of the El Muzzir prison, which is lorded over by the brutal Major Heikal (Joseph Shiloach).

Five Israeli commandos are being kept there and despite the UN attempting to see if they are being treated in accordance to the Geneva Convention, After trying to break the men with firing squad fakeouts where he ties them up, blindfolds them and repeatedly plays gun noises over a loudspeaker, one of them, Eli (Yehoram Gaon) gets away and back to Israel. He’s angry that no one is doing anything to save his fellow men. He steals an ambulance and goes to speak with his former leader Beno (Rick Jason). He agrees to get together some of his other retired commandos and rescue the men.

While all this is going on, Life Magazine reporter Abe Koleman (Peter Brown) is buttering up to Heikal and planning an article that will show the improve side of Egypt and how they treat prisoners. It turns out that some of the guards are on the side of Israel and have given Koleman photos of abuses which he uses to get the interview and into the prison itself. Of course, he’s on the side of the commandos and before you can say The Delta Force, grenades and bullets and bodies are flying all over the place.

Also known as Hostages in the Gulf, The Big Escape and From Hell to Victory, this is an intriguing early Menahem film that predates his later Cannon action mastery.

You can watch this on YouTube.

The Sizzlin’ Something Weird Summer Challenge 2024: Bunny Yeager’s Las Vegas (1964)

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BONUS WILDCARD WEEK (September 22 – 28) Go order something from the SWV website and watch it!

You know, this movie isn’t very good, but I just want to talk about Bunny Yeager, so indulge me.

Linnea Eleanor “Bunny” Yeager was born in Wilkinsburg, one of the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and moved to Florida when she was 17. There, she got the nickname she’d use for the rest of her life. It either came from Lana Turner’s character Bunny Smith in Week-End at the Waldorf or because Yeager played the Easter Bunny in a school play.

Just a few years out of school, Bunny won plenty of beauty pageants, including Miss Army & Air Force, Miss Personality of Miami Beach, Queen of Miami, Florida Orchid Queen, Miss Trailercoach of Dade County, Queen of the Sports Carnival and Cheesecake Queen of 1951.

She never wore the same outfit twice and made plenty of the clothes that other girls wore for their shoots. She’s even been credited with being one of the influencers that made the bikini a hot number in the mid 50’s.

Originally, Bunny went to school to be a photographer so she could save money and make her own prints. However, one of her class projects ended up being the March 1954 cover of Eye magazine and she went pro. Bunny was one of the first photographers to shoot girls in natural light.

She’s probably best known for popularizing Bettie Page (she shot her January 1955 Playboy centerfold) and her work in Playboy, including discovering the very first centerfold, Lisa Winters. She also appeared in the magazine herself five times and was photographed by Hugh Hefner in a pictorial named “Queen of the Playboy Centerfolds.”

Once sexy movies got more gynecological, Yeager moved into mainstream magazines and even took the famous photo of Ursula Andress in her white bikini from the set of Dr. No.

Before the sexual revolution, Bunny Yeager was working within the male gaze to be a trailblazer. She’s one of my heroines and deserves so much more credit and interest than now. Check out her photos today and you’ll see imagery that remains incredibly alive.

As for the movie, there’s no story, it’s just Bunny taking photos of girls and it will make you sad, because it’s shot in the wonderful old Las Vegas, filled with neon and tiki bars and everything magical that the world threw away.

The Sizzlin’ Something Weird Summer Challenge 2024: Atomic Rulers (1957)

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BONUS WILDCARD WEEK (September 22 – 28) Go order something from the SWV website and watch it!

There are nine Sūpā Jaiantsu (Super Giant) movies that were first shown in Japan. Takeo Nagamatsu’s 1930 kamishibai The Golden Bat (Ōgon Batto) may have been Japan’s first modern superhero and Gekkō Kamen (Moonlight Mask) the first hero to be on TV, but the first actual super hero movie in Japan was this one.

It was bought for distribution to U.S. television and edited into four films by Walter Manley Enterprises and Medallion Films. The first two original Japanese films, Super Giant and Super Giant Continues, have been cut, edited and have library music instead of the original soundtrack. Also, Super Giant became Starman.

The Mysterious Spacemen’s Demonic Castle and Earth on the Verge of Destruction were turned into Invaders from Space, while The Artificial Satellite and the Destruction of Humanity and The Spaceship and the Clash of the Artificial Satellite was released in the U.S. as Attack from Space. The last film, Evil Brain from Outer Space, is edited together from three movies, The Space Mutant Appears, The Devil’s Incarnation and Kingdom of the Poison Moth.

The films were also sold to France and Italy, where Super Giant is known as Spaceman.

Ken Utsui plays the hero and he always downplayed this movie when interviewed. Some say he was upset about the costume, which had a stuffed crotch. In the first installment, he fights to save the Earth from the country of Metropol and their nuclear arsenal. You’ll notice the connection to sentai shows like Power Rangers with this, but it’s also very similar to the American TV version of Superman. I loved it when I was a kid and still do.

The Sizzlin’ Something Weird Summer Challenge 2024: Alice In Acidland (1969)

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BONUS WILDCARD WEEK (September 22 – 28) Go order something from the SWV website and watch it!

Rescued by Something Weird, Alice In Acidland starts as a nudie cutie before its black and white sequences go full color once that acid gets dropped.

Alice (Sheri Jackson, The Babysitter, Love Camp 7) is a good college girl who goes to a party with her not-so-good friend Kathy (Janice Kelly, Run, Swinger, Run!) being thrown by their French teacher Frieda (Julia Blackburn, The Ramrodder). What follows are baths, nudity, sex, more drugs, orgies, more nudity, more sex and more drugs for an hour and a few extra minutes. None of the sex is hardcore, but mainly the titilation that pre-Deep Throat films usually end up having.

Donn Greer, who directed and produced this, also is the narrator, saying things like, “Removing her clothes, Alice changed into a costume more befitting her new personality. She now belonged to another society, another world. A world of Pot, LSD and Free Love. Alice Trenton, as her father knew her, was dead. Long Live Alice. She had now become a wild and provocative twinight hippie. Complete with the Indian beads and moccasins.” and “Here was her chance to prove that she belonged in the sex-for-pleasure inner circle, and prove it she did.”

This was written by Gertrude Steen, which has to be a Greer pen name.

You can download this from the Internet Archive.

The Sizzlin’ Something Weird Summer Challenge 2024: The Witch’s Mirror (1960)

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BONUS WILDCARD WEEK (September 22 – 28) Go order something from the SWV website and watch it!

The Witch’s Mirror is why I love 1960’s Mexican horror. Some movies of that era only hint at witchcraft and the occult and this one goes full in, showing rituals and all manner of Satanic mayhem. Ah, Mexico. Long may your movies live on.

It’s directed by Chano Urueta, who also made the confoundingly wonderous El Baron del Terror and the Blue Demon films.

If you’re going to steal, I always say to steal big. Chanto takes from so many sources here — Edgar Allan Poe, Hitchcock’s Rebecca, Eyes Without a Face — while somehow synthesizing them into his own out there narrative.

Deborah (Rosita Arenas, Xochitl from the Aztec Mummy movies) is the new wife of Dr. Eduardo Ramos (Armando Calvo), but she has no idea that years ago, he poisoned his first wife, Elena (Dina de Marco).

The thing is, Elena may be dead, but her spirit will not rest. She calls out to her aunt, a witch named Sara (Isabela Corona), whose spells and incantations place Deborah directly in the path of revenge, starting with her face being burned in a fire.

Luckily — or maybe not — Dr. Ramos ends up being somewhat of a mad scientist, so he starts stealing dead bodies to take their skin and attempt to give his new bride her beauty back.

Somehow, in all of this, the witch comes off the best of all of them. This movie is nightmarish in ways that movies made outside of Mexico just can’t pull off, because I get the idea that the filmmakers have one foot in believing that everything in this movie is possible.