TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
May
8–May 14
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
THE
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (May 12,
8:00 pm): More than any Humphrey Bogart film made
after Casablanca, this
1948 classic showed his versatility at a time when he could have
played the tough guy with a heart of gold for the rest of his career.
In this film, he is down on his luck and desperate enough to do
anything. He meets another guy (Tim Holt) in a similar situation.
They meet an old kooky prospector (Walter Huston in one of
his finest roles) and the three decide to search for gold. Huston's
son, John, wrote and directed this movie. Things go well, but
Bogart's character becomes consumed with paranoia and convinced
the others are trying to cheat him. While Holt holds his own,
this is Bogart and Walter Huston's film. It's an excellent
morality tale with
an ironic ending. And it's got that iconic. though
often misquoted, line: "Badges? We ain't got no
badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you
any stinking badges."
THE
BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (May 12, 12:15 am): An
authentic film that pulls no punches about three soldiers returning
home from World War II attempting to adjust to civilian life.
The film features incredible performances by the legendary and lovely
Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March and Harold Russell (an actual
WWII vet who lost both his hands in the war). The film won seven
Oscars, including Best Picture. Unlike some multi-Oscar films, this
one is truly a classic that remains as real and as powerful as it
must have been to movie-goers when it was released in 1946, only a
year after the war ended. It's very touching, beautiful and so
real. It’s nearly impossible to not be emotionally moved while
watching this extraordinary film.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
TOUCH
OF EVIL (May 8, 8:00 pm): A brilliant noir from Orson
Welles about international narcotics officer Miguel Vargas (Charlton
Heston) who becomes entangled in a web of corruption when he
investigates a sleazy border town’s crooked sheriff (Welles).
Heston’s bride, Susan (Janet Leigh), becomes the innocent pawn in
their struggle. With spectacular performances from Marlene Dietrich
as the town’s madam, Dennis Weaver as a quirky motel night manager,
and Akim Tamairoff as a sleazy small-time crime boss. Also look for
Joseph Cotton as a police surgeon, and best of all, Mercedes
McCambridge in drag as a male Mexican gang leader. With fabulous
photography by Russell Metty and a superb Latin rock score by Henry
Mancini. The film never disappoints for one minute. I hope TCM is
showing the restored version rather than the version put out by
Universal after they took the film away from Welles and butchered it.
THESE
ARE THE DAMNED (May 14, 3:15 pm): Runaway
radioactivity gave us giant bugs and prehistoric monsters in the
‘50s. Now, in 1962, director Joseph Losey brings the chills much
closer to home with this piece of science fiction. The film begins
with an American tourist (Macdonald Carey), disenchanted with modern
life, being mugged by a group of Teddy Boys led by the young Oliver
Reed. After he recovers, he meets bohemian sculptor Freya (Viveca
Lindfors), the mistress of Bernard (Alexander Knox), a stuffy
bureaucrat in charge of a top-secret project whereby a race of
radioactive children is being bred for survival in a post-nuclear
world. This film seemingly has everything: juvenile delinquency and
atomic angst, two of the most popular film subjects in B-dom. But
this is much more than a run-of-the-mill SciFi/JD flick. It’s the
reigning anarchy of youth in the streets versus the cold bureaucracy
represented by the concrete and steel warrens of the secret project.
Either way, we’re done for, Mate, unless we wake up. Also, check
out the fantastic score by James Bernard, whose “Black Leather
Rock” will have you singing it long after the film ends.
WE
DISAGREE ON . . . THE BORN LOSERS (May 11, 8:00 pm)
ED:
B-. This film, which marks the first appearance of
Billy Jack, is the best of the four films starring Tom Laughlin as
Billy Jack, and that isn’t saying much. Born Losers is
a simple, straightforward, biker exploitation film, made before he
began to take himself ultra-seriously. Here he takes on a gang of
local outlaw bikers almost single-handed. Guess who wins? You gotta
love the bikers, with names like “Child,” “Speechless,” and
“Gangrene.” Elizabeth James, who wrote the film under the nom
de plume of E. James Lloyd (Gee, I wonder why?), the female
about whom all the fuss is over, looks as if she’s just stepped off
the stage of Shindig. She can’t act, either, which adds
to the fun. But then she’s co-starring with Laughlin, whose idea of
acting is to stand still and imitate Charles Bronson in the
expression department. Watch for Jane Russell, obviously in need of
money, who’s along for the ride in a great over-the-top performance
as an angry parent of one of the vics. Made in the days before the
Code imploded and graphic violence became the norm, it has a
quaintness about it that makes it seem as though it came straight out
of Biker Flicks 101. One critic called it “a crass, simple-minded
and dumb film.” Yes, it’s all that and less. Why else would we
watch it? For fans of bad movies, and especially bad biker films,
this is a must.
DAVID:
A-. With the exception of Easy Rider,
this is my favorite biker movie. The genre isn't the most
sophisticated, but for pure enjoyment, it's hard to top it. Tom
Laughlin debuted his iconic Billy Jack character in this 1967 film.
It's truly an independent film, one that Laughlin originally funded
and finished with an influx of money from American International
Pictures. Billy Jack is a half-breed Indian and Vietnam veteran who
is the only person in his quaint California town to stand up to a
tough biker gang, called the Born Losers Motorcycle Club. The Losers
are terrorizing the town, beating up a guy in a car for bumping into
one of their motorcycles and mouthing off. He sort of has it coming,
but Billy stops it. Billy ends up getting arrested for using a rifle.
It only gets worse in the town. The Losers rape a series of young
women and intimidate them and witnesses to shut up so none of them
can be convicted of their crimes. But Billy doesn't take crap from
anybody. When Ed mentioned the bikers' names, he forgot "Cueball"
and "Crabs." Elizabeth James, who wrote the script, is
Vicky, a bikini-clad local who is abducted and raped by the gang
members with Billy knocked silly trying to protect her. Vicky agrees
to be the gang's sex toy if they leave Billy alone. But, c'mon, we're
talking about Billy Jack. He goes right into the gangs' lair,
bloodied and injured, with a shotgun intent on getting Vicky out of
there. The gangs' leader, Daniel (I guess being around guys named
Cueball, Gangrene and Speechless, a person with an actual first name
is a novelty), dares Billy to shoot him right between the eyes. Bam,
that's exactly what he gets. The town's cops are of no help, giving
Billy an anti-hero persona. When the cops get involved, they only
screw things up such as shooting Billy at the end of the film,
thinking he's one of the gang members trying to escape. The actors
who play the bikers are pretty good. Jeremy Slate's Daniel has a wild
persona wearing a pair of giant white sunglasses with a maniacal
laugh. Was Laughlin a brilliant actor? Hell, no, but he knew his
audience. He's cool, understated and kicks serious ass. It's not
the most sophisticated film, but it's one with excellent action, a
ton of violence with Billy as a one-man wrecking crew. His second
film, Billy Jack, plays more on the character being an
outcast for being a half-Indian, but it's also a lot of fun to watch.
The later Billy Jack films, including Billy Jack Goes to
Washington (read my Train Wreck Cinema article here), are
ridiculous. But Laughlin was able to make The Born
Losers and Billy Jack into cult classics.
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