RIP ROARING RILEY (1935)

 A THUNDERBOLT DRAMA OF FEDERAL MEN IN THE WAR ON CRIME! 

I'm sorry but I enjoyed the hell out of this one.  I've seen tons of these 30's B-movies which are horror adjacent and have some crazy device or death ray or killing machine that needs to be taken care of by a square-jawed hero. . . . but many of them are rather dull.  This one, however, can really be described as "rip roaring", that's for sure! 

Ive just managed to watch this -- even though I first heard about it decades ago in the classic book FORGOTTEN HORRORS by George E. Turner & Michael H. Price et. al.   The action starts almost immediately with G-Man Ted Riley (Lloyd Hughes) wrapping up a case.  His boss then assigns him to investigate the mysterious happenings on Diamond Island.  Turns out there are 'enemies of this country' who are trying to perfect a gas which is deadly to all animal and vegetable life.  This gas is being invented by naive Prof. Baker (John Cowell); who happens to be an old science professor of Riley's.  The enemy agents are led by the bogus Major Gray (Grant Withers).  No sooner does Riley take on the case than he's involved in a (sorta) high speed chase (this is 1935 so it's kinda leisurely).  The villains kept up to Riley and force him to drive somewhere which probably won't be too good for his future health.  In a spectacular move, Riley pulls up behind a lumber truck and grabs onto protruding 2x4's; lifting himself out of the driver seat of the car and making his escape while the car careens driverless to a crash.  Leaving behind the naughties, Riley approaches Diamond Island in a motorboat which he sets on fire and blows up near the shore.  He jumps in the water right before the explosion. 

On shore, Prof. Baker's daughter Ann (Marion Burns) sees the commotion and runs get help from the unknown-to-her villains.  They are supremely uninterested in helping so Ann runs for a speedboat and heads out to rescue Riley.  Feeling the should make a show of attempting to help, the villains hop in their own boat and attempt to run down Riley.  Ann helps Riley into her boat and brings him to the island where Prof. Baker recognizes Riley and the enemy agents aren't really able to touch him.  At first.  Of course, the bad guys make several attempts to kill Riley which he manages to avoid with some really nice stuntwork by all concerned.  Of particular note is the fistfight Riley gets into at the top of some wooden stairs.  Riley is clocked by the bad guy and goes flying down a couple flights of stairs and clearly lands on the wooden bannister ON HIS STOMACH.  OUCH!  Seriously, this stunt has to be seen to be believed!

These low-budget B-movies did the stunts for real and this one looks wicked painful.  It might be a stuntman or it might be Hughes himself  -- it's hard to tell - but actors in these movies often did their own stunts and, whoever it is, it's a wonder he didn't bust a rib or two on that stunt alone.  In the last reel, the poison gas is accidentally released and covers the island endangering good guys and bad guys equally.  What will they do?!?!?  RIP ROARING RILEY is just under an hour long and it fills every minute with action and adventure.  I think it does a better job than most other movies of its ilk I've previously seen and I had a whale of a time watching it.  Unlike many others, this movie I will watch again and again! 

Lloyd Hughes makes an engaging hero as Riley (at no point did I notice anyone refer to him as "Rip Roaring" so that's probably just for the film title.  Also, I was extremely heartened to see Marion Burns character of Ann Baker not only beautiful but also a woman of action; she doesn't play the simpering heroine needing rescue but instead seems very capable of taking care of herself -- starting from the first moment we see her running down to the dock to rescue a drowning man.   Director Elmer Clifton, as mentioned, keeps things going at a rapid pace; giving the film the feel of those 30's and 40's movie serials (of which he directed his share including CAPTAIN AMERICA) and there is scarcely a pause to catch your breath.  I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did!

WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO TRAVEL?

 THIS IS ONE OF THE 4,332 THINGS WHICH CONFUSE ME ABOUT HUMANS. 

I'm sure I'll get around to the other annoying things humans do in good time.  And as usual, my hero Fran Lebowitz puts it so well in the third episode of PRETEND IT'S A CITY:    "As far as wanting to go places, I can’t believe people do it for fun. When I’m in airports, and I see people going on vacations, I think, ‘How horrible could your life be? How bad is your regular life, that you think, you know what would be fun? Let’s get the kids, go to the airport, with thousands of pieces of luggage, stand in these lines, be yelled at by a bunch of morons, leave late, be squished all together—and this is better than our actual life.'” 

Yes, people are perplexing to me.  When you spend so much time making the place you live as comfortable and filled with things you love as possible -- then you constantly want to pick up and leave it to go somewhere.  I can see picking up and going to Tuscany or the Isle of Skye because you'd want to move there to live -- but to go there and just come back again???  Surely there's a travel documentary you can watch and avoid all the horrors of travel and experience any place in the world to the best advantage.  From a distance.  On your comfy sofa.  Out of the heat and bad weather.  Away from crowds.  This is why I have made it a long-running tradition to go to the 'Stay Inside Festival' every year

and I can't recommend it highly enough!  AND I got this cool T-shirt too!!! 

JUNE 2023 TOP TEN LIST

 My favourite movies that I watched for the very first time in June 2023

1. THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS  (1966)
2. UPTIGHT  (1968)
3. TWISTED NERVE  (1968)
4. THE BIG GUNDOWN  (1967)
5. WALKING AND TALKING  (1996)
6. WEIRD:  THE AL YANKOVIC STORY  (2022)
7. BACK TO THE WALL  (1958)
8. THE FINAL GIRLS  (2015)
9. THE LINEUP  (1958)
10. BATTLE OF BRITAIN  (1969)

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER [1993]

 YEAH, THIS SEEMED RATHER RUSHED

and, of course, it isn't a patch on the movie version (despite it's 1950's censorship).

The performances of Natasha Richardson and Maggie Smith bump this up half a star because they're both so good. I'm not gonna really hit the easy target of Rob Lowe's performance because I'm fond of trees. Moira Redmond seems to have seen Mercedes McCambridge's portrayal in the film as she plays it almost exactly the same. Richard E. Grant is kinda wasted in an admittedly small part he does his best to enliven in this production. For such a southern-fried, hothouse play, it does seem very odd to have an almost completely British cast but we know that going in so there isn't any justification in complaining about it. Ditto the fact that some people moan and moan about "it looks like just a filmed play" because apparently people need flashing, needless camera tricks to be able to focus their pathetic attention spans. There are, in fact, quite a lot of 'camera moves' which don't call attention to themselves and frankly if you can't watch a one-set movie, go play a video game. No, this adaptation of Tennessee Williams' workhorse play is OK but nothing special; other than the performances of Smith and Richardson. It's cut down for the telly so we're missing a lot but, if you want to see SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER then go watch the fifties flick. You'll thank yourself for it.

SUPERMAN - THE MAD SCIENTIST (1941)

 THE VERY FIRST OF THE CLASSIC FLEISCHER STUDIOS SUPERMAN CARTOONS WAS ALSO THE VERY FIRST ONE I EVER SAW. 

I have a hard time pinning down exactly when it was I first encountered this mind-blowingly excellent cartoon but I know where I saw it.  It was the extremely early 1980's --

very possibly 1981 but surely no later than that.  And it was on the legendary late lamented TV show NIGHT FLIGHT which aired on the cable channel USA Network.  The delicious-voiced Pat Prescott introduced weird item after weird item; among those I first saw on Night Flight were J-MEN FOREVER, Cat Stevens' MOONSHADOW video, the Church of the Sub Genius, Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith Odeon, and countless other mind-bending films that haunted early cable television for 4 hours starting at 11:PM . . . and when the 4 hours were up the entire NIGHT FLIGHT show we just watched would repeat again and run until dawn.  This is why early cable TV was so magical.  And this is the magical place where suddenly I encountered my first Fleischer Superman cartoon:  THE MAD SCIENTIST! 

Now, long before the internet I had no idea there even was such a thing as a series of early-1940's Superman cartoons so this came as quite a shock to this young, unprepared comic book fan to see Superman animated SO BLOODY WELL.  Was I dreaming it?  It was pretty late at night.  But no, there it was and I was riveted!  The art deco, 1940's-ness of the cartoon was beautiful to behold as was the high quality animation and chiaroscuro lighting; no brightly-lit, sunny Superman skies here but a moody, atmospheric cartoon where you could practically sense the war clouds gathering as Superman faced his foe the mad scientist. 

This mad scientist was threatening to use his 'Electrothanasia Ray' to rain destruction down on all those who laughed at the nutty guy.  He's gonna do the dirty deed at midnight (natch!) and that what makes this cartoon so good and so unusual in the long history of the Man of Steel; we get a nighttime adventure where atmosphere and spookiness can get their due.  If more Superman stories took place at night, I think they'd be a hell of a lot more interesting!  The overgrown boy scout needs all the help he can get and bringing a moodiness to the proceedings (as these Fleischer Studio cartoons usually do) makes it so much more interesting. 

"The hour has come," snarls the mad scientist as he and his wacky evil bird head towards the Electrothanasia Ray (the size of the Mount Palomar observatory or anything Dr. Janos Rukh had lying around) and the device is fitted out with sparking, arcing electricity bolts a la Kenneth Strickfaden!  This is great stuff!  The mountaintop aerie the mad scientist has strongly evokes the windmill lab in FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and, more directly, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) which was released only a couple short years before this cartoon. 

The Man of Tomorrow doesn't even appear until six and a half minutes into the cartoon (not counting the beautiful origin story of Superman that occurs at the beginning of the film).  When Supes does finally appear, he bare-knuckle punches the destructo-ray (which makes absolutely no sense but is frikkin' faboo!  There's nothing else to the story but, as an introduction of Superman to the world of animation, this is all you need to inaugurate a classic series of superhero cartoons which would become the benchmark of all to follow.

When Super-Heroes Knew How To Have Fun

 AREN'T DARK & SOMBER SUPER-HEROES BORING?  Back in the day, super-heroes knew how to have fun.  Their lives were filled with catching crooks and fun leisure activities.  Evidenced by what Superman, Batman & Robin used to get up to on the covers of 1940's WORLD'S FINEST COMICS.  I mean, with all the fun they were having, it's a wonder any super-villain ever got caught!  

Here they are playing baseball

Gardening & Skiing

Playing baseball again and mountain climbing

Buggy racing and Tug O' War

Tennis and Unicycling

A Foot race and visiting the Hall of Mirrors

Go-Carts & Surfing!

Going to a Costume Party & Amateur Photography

Going Fishing & Playing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Superbots

Roller Skating & Car Racing

Bicycling & Skiing again

Playing basketball & autograph hunting

Waterskiing & Playing on the See Saw (that really attracts the babes!!!)

May 2023 Top Ten List

MY FAVOURITE MOVIES THAT I WATCHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MAY 2023.

1. THE MAN FROM EARTH  [2007]
2. A RAISIN IN THE SUN  [1961]
3. LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN  [2006]
4. OUT THERE HALLOWEEN MEGA TAPE  [2022]
5. THE ZODIAC KILLER  [1971]
6. MURDER BY CONTRACT  [1958]
7. MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND  [1996]
8. TRAITORS WITHIN:  SPIES WHO SOLD OUT AMERICA  [2002]
9. STATION X  [1999]
10. THE HORSE SOLDIERS  [1959]

APRIL 2023 TOP TEN

MY FAVOURITE MOVIES THAT I WATCH FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN APRIL 2023!  And this also includes the influence of OLD SCHOOL APRIL!  Yes, my team, the Blue Barracudas won so CHOMP CHOMP, BITCH!!!!  🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟

1. LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS  [1998]
2. MARTIN LUTHER  [1953]
3. THE GENTLEMEN  [2019]
4. COCAINE BEAR  [2023]
5. CRAZY FAT ETHEL  [2016]
6. RITA MORENO:  JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT  [2021]
7. THE MURDER IN ANGEL LANE  [2013]
8. HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE  [2016]
9. TED BUNDY  {2002]
10. THE WHALE  [2022]

YEAR-BY-YEAR RANKING: 2022

 IN A RARE OCCURRENCE FOR ME, I HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN A GREAT MANY FILMS FROM THE YEAR 2022 ALREADY.  A post a little while ago listed my 10 nominees for the Rickster Oscars for Best film of the year and this list at last shows the winner!

1. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
2. THE MENU
3. THE WOMAN KING
4. TAR
5. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
6. THE FABELMANS
7. PEARL
8. WOMEN TALKING
9. SHE SAID
10. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING
11. BULLET TRAIN
12. PREY
13. IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS PART III
14. UP LATE WITH BOB WILKINS
15. IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?
16. MOONAGE DAYDREAM
17. SCARE PACKAGE II:  RAD CHAD'S REVENGE
18. CATWOMAN:  HUNTED
19. THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE
20. AMERICAN WEREWOLVES
21. THE WHALE
22. GLASS ONION:  A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
23. THE BATMAN
24. NOPE
25. MEN
26. JIMMY SAVILE:  A BRITISH HORROR STORY
27. BLACK ADAM
28. ELVIS
29. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
30. TRICK OR TREAT, SCOOBY-DOO
31. GIRL IN THE PICTURE
32. THE NORTHMAN
33. SCREAM
34. BATMAN AND SUPERMAN:  BATTLE OF THE SUPER SONS
35. GREEN LANTERN:  BEWARE MY POWER
36. A TRIP TO INFINITY
37. BLOODLINES:  THE JERSEY DEVIL CURSE
    
38. THE MYSTERY OF MARILYN MONROE:  THE UNHEARD TAPES
39. INSIDE THE MIND OF A CAT
40. THE BARN PART II
41. UNCLE SLEAZO'S TOXIC AND TERRIFYING T.V. HOUR
42. SMILE
43. DARK GLASSES
44. CLERKS III
45. PUPPET MASTER:  DOKTOR DEATH
46. CHRISTMAS BLOODY CHRISTMAS
47. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
48. BODIES BODIES BODIES
49. WHO DONE IT:  THE CLUE DOCUMENTARY
50. CAPTURING THE KILLER NURSE
51. X
52. M3GAN
53. SICK
54. CONSTANTINE:  THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY
55. 10/31 PART III
56. DAY SHIFT
57. THE CURSE OF BRIDGE HOLLOW
58. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (TRAVELIN' BAND) - LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1970
59. TINY CINEMA
60. BENEATH THE OLD DARK HOUSE
61. BLACK PANTHER:  WAKANDA FOREVER
62. HELLRAISER
63. STUDIO 666
64. THOR:  LOVE AND THUNDER
65. SHARKULA
66. HALLOWEEN ENDS
67. FALL
68. BLASTED
69. THE MUNSTERS
70. MORBIUS
71. MOONFALL

  

OLD SCHOOL APRIL 2023

 OK, SO I'M SUPER LATE TO THE PARTY BUT TODAY I SIGNED UP FOR THE 2023 READATHON "OLD SCHOOL APRIL". 

I've never done a readathon before but this certainly looks like a lot of fun.  And since it's half a "watchathon" too, I'll be getting points/temple pendants for what I read AND watch!  The youtube channel "Slime and Slashers" by Kelsi is one of the driving forces behind this so I've posted her video below in which she explains what it is, who's hosting and how to join in.  It's not too late.  Hey, I just joined on April 11th.  When I saw Kelsi's video/announcement in March, I was tempted but didn't pull the trigger until fellow fave youtuber Cameron Chaney (at Library Macabre) also posted a video saying he's joining and he never does readathons!  So I guess that was the impetus that finally tipped the scales towards me joining this! 

This is a team challenge (with 3 teams originating from the Nickelodeon show "LEGEND OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE" and I joined the Blue Barracudas team.   I don't know, it sure looks like a lot of fun and it's super laid-back/no pressure so I'm in.

Readathon Prompts - 1 completed prompt = 1 point / 1 “Temple Pendant”

Readathon Prompt 1: Read any Goosebumps book OR read a book that fits the theme or vibe of an episode of AYAOTD (publishing year doesn’t matter).

Picking a Book that Matches the Vibe of an Are You Afraid of the Dark Examples:

The Tale of Laughing in the Dark (read a book featuring clowns or a carnival)

The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner (read a comic book)

The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter (read a book about books)

The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float (read a book featuring a pool or any kind of water)

The Tale of the Twisted Claw (read a Halloween-themed book)

The Tale of the Pinball Wizard (read a book that features arcades or malls)

The Tale of the 13th Floor (a book with 13 in the title)

The Tale of the Midnight Madness (read a book about movies or featuring vampires)

Readathon Prompt 2: Read any horror book published OR set in the 80’s OR Read a middle grade or YA book published OR set in the 80’s OR a book with an old school vibe.

Readathon Prompt 3: Read an animal attack book (publishing year doesn’t matter).

Readathon Prompt 4: Nostalgic Technology - Read a book featuring older technology on the cover or in the story: cassettes, tube TV, arcade machines, VHS tapes, Walkman, radio, polaroid pictures, typewriter, corded telephone (publishing year doesn’t matter).

Readathon Prompt 5: MOOD READ (book published in OR set in 2003 or earlier OR a book with a retro vibe)

Readathon Prompt 6: Read a Fear Street book OR a Point Horror book OR a Christopher Pike book

Readathon Prompt 7: Teen Witch - Read a book with magic, magical elements, magical items, wizards, sorcerers, witches, cursed objects, occult/supernatural elements, etc. (pub year doesn’t matter)

Readathon Prompt 8: Read any horror book published in the 90’s OR Read a middle grade or YA book published or set in the 90’s OR* a book with an old school vibe.

Readathon Prompt 9: Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Read a story/book with a female protagonist OR a book/story written by a woman (publishing year doesn’t matter).

BONUS/REPLACEMENT PROMPT: (use this to replace any other prompt, if desired)  Read a book with neon on the cover (publishing year doesn’t matter). 

Watchathon Prompts - 1 completed prompt = 1 point / 1 “Temple Pendant”

Watchathon Prompt 1: Watch a Goosebumps episode.

Watchathon Prompt 2: Watch any 80s horror movie.

Watchathon Prompt 3: Watch an episode of any 90’s Nickelodeon show or watch a Nickelodeon movie.

Watchathon Prompt 4: Watch a movie/TV show episode set in the 80s/90s or watch a newer adaptation of an old school movie, show, or book.

Watchathon Prompt 5: MOOD WATCH (anything from 2003 or earlier).

Watchathon Prompt 6: Watch an episode of any Disney Channel show or a DCOM from the 90s or EARLY 2000s (but nothing that was released after 2003).

Watchathon Prompt 7: Watch any 80’s movie or TV show episode.

Watchathon Prompt 8: Watch any 90’s horror movie.

Watchathon Prompt 9: Watch any 90s movie or TV show episode. 

Here are the reading/watching prompts for the horror books, movies, TV shows, etc. in the form of Bingo cards (Sweet!) and I've actually fulfilled several of them already.

 Hopefully I'll provide an update here on how I did (and what I watched and read) when it's all over on May 1st.  Until then, CHOMP CHOMP, BITCH!!!!