Starring Boris Karloff, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye, Elisha Cook, Rhodes Reason
Directed by Reginald LeBorg
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A debunker of superstitions is hired to prove a tropical island safe for a hotel magnate's new property, only to find the island is filled with man-eating plants and voodoo-practicing natives.
This film unfortunately sounds better than it is, as despite the presence of Karloff, a good cast, and a promising premise, the payoff once the film reaches the island is rather lackluster. Nevertheless, there's still moments to enjoy here, with fine photography, believable special effects, and some genuinely chilling scenes. Writer Richard Landau has done better and one wonders if his script was censored by budget limitations and the inclusion of a lesbian character. Still, this is a good bit of diverting fun, although anyone expecting horror from the presence of Karloff will be disappointed. A young Adam West appears uncredited in an early sequence in the picture.
Showing posts with label Rhodes Reason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhodes Reason. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2015
Sunday, January 26, 2014
King Kong Escapes (1967)
Starring Rhodes Reason, Mie Hama, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Eisei Amamoto
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After an evil scientist's plans to dig up a radioactive element with a robot duplicate of King Kong fail, he sets out to capture the actual giant ape to perform the task.
Toho Studios' second film using the King Kong creature, following 1962's King Kong Vs. Godzilla, again relies on an actor in a monster suit to portray the creature, and ups the action by adding the robot duplicate for the original Kong to fight while scaling a tower, blonde captive in hand, in a finale far too reminiscent of the original 1933 classic, but not comparable in the least. Although the picture starts out strong with a battle on Kong's home island between the ape and a giant dinosaur, portrayed by another actor in a monster suit, but a highly detailed and convincing one, the excitement isn't sustained, and drags quite a bit until the climax.
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After an evil scientist's plans to dig up a radioactive element with a robot duplicate of King Kong fail, he sets out to capture the actual giant ape to perform the task.
Toho Studios' second film using the King Kong creature, following 1962's King Kong Vs. Godzilla, again relies on an actor in a monster suit to portray the creature, and ups the action by adding the robot duplicate for the original Kong to fight while scaling a tower, blonde captive in hand, in a finale far too reminiscent of the original 1933 classic, but not comparable in the least. Although the picture starts out strong with a battle on Kong's home island between the ape and a giant dinosaur, portrayed by another actor in a monster suit, but a highly detailed and convincing one, the excitement isn't sustained, and drags quite a bit until the climax.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)