WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Puzzle (1974)
Released in Italy as L’uomo senza memoria (The Man Without a Memory), Puzzle was directed by Duccio Tessari, who like many Italy exploitation directors had a career that went from genre to genre: peplum (he wrote several, including Goliath and the Vampires and Mario Bava’s Hercules in the Haunted World), westerns (he wrote and directed A Pistol for Ringo […]
CULTPIX MONTH: The Street Fighter (1974)
Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken is the story of Terry Tsurugi (the legendary Sonny Chiba). Terry isn’t a hero. He doesn’t have a heart of gold. He’s a mercenary, an assassin and a deeply unpleasant human being who lives in a world of pure, unadulterated machismo. When a wealthy oil magnate dies, the Yakuza tries to hire Terry to […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Impulse (1974)
When a movie has the working title Want A Ride, Little Girl? you know it’s going to be scummy. What may surprise you is that William Shatner — who director William Gréfe met at an airport — is in the lead role. Don’t be fooled by the supernatural looking poster. No, this is a slasher with […]
Scarlet Warning 666 (1974)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Upton is an American (non-werewolf) writer/editor in London. She currently works as a freelance ghostwriter of personal memoirs and writes for several blogs on topics as diverse as film history, punk rock, women’s issues, and international politics. For links to her work, please visit https://www.jennuptonwriter.com or send her a Tweet @Jennxldn I have no idea what […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: How Come Nobody’s on Our Side? (1974)
Directed by Richard Michaels (Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean) and penned by Leigh Chapman, the former actress turned screenwriter who wrote the Chuck Norris cult hit The Octagon, this film is a strange cocktail of industry cynicism and low-budget grit. The film stars Adam Roarke as Person and Larry Bishop as Brandy. If those […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: High School Girl (1974)
Cugini Carnali translates as First Cousins, but this movie was also titled The Visitor, Hot and Bothered, La Prima, Loving Cousins, and High School Girl. This is the story of Nico d’Altamura (Alredo Pea, who was also in two other commedia sexy all’italiana, the Dagmar Lassander-starring Classe Mista and the Edwige Fenech movie The School Teacher), who is a shy […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Help Me… I’m Possessed (1974)
I’m still trying to figure this out. Made as Nightmare at Blood Castle, this is about Dr. Arthur Blackwood (Bill Greer, who co-wrote the script with Deedy Peters, who were a comedy team; he would go on to write and produce House Calls, Goodnight Beantown and Charles In Charge; she would be in 17 episodes of House Calls), who […]
The Silk Worm (1974)
Smeralda Amadier (Nadja Tiller) is a singer who has gone from fame to owing money to loan sharks. They give her three days to pay, or else… well, you know, else. She decides to sell all of her jewelry, but after a night of passion, she wakes up to her safe empty. The cops show […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Hangup (1974)
Based on The Face of Night by Bernard Brunner, this is the last film for director Henry Hathaway, who directed True Grit, The Sons of Katie Elder and Call Northside 777. It’s a blaxploutation film that was distributed by American-International Pictures; amazingly, Hathaway had turned down Rooster Cogburn. Re-released as Super Dude, this is all about heroic black cop Ken […]
Together Brothers (1974)
I don’t know of any other giallo or giallo adjacent movies with a Barry White soundtrack. Mr. Kool (Ed Bernard) is a black policeman who patrols the worst parts of the hood, but has the respect of nearly everyone, including The Dudes, a kid gang that includes H.J. (Ahmad Nurradin), his borther Tommy (Anthony […]
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