'70s Class: The Sentinel (1977)

 Satan was really big in the '70s.  Hmm...that might look weird without context?

This is 1977's The Sentinel.  It is a Horror Film about a woman living in an Apartment Building with a secret surrounded by strange people.  No, it is not Rosemary's Baby.  I could see how you might think that though.

Our Heroine wants to live alone- despite having a boyfriend who is Chris Sarandon- and find a place that is too good to be true.  At first, it seems great when Burgess Meredith is your Neighbor.  Well, in 1978, it would.  If he's your Neighbor NOW, you may need to seek some help.

This Michael Winner Film is chock full of past, present and future Stars of its day.  I'll try to cover them all, but I might miss one.

Is it as good as more famous brethren like Baby or The Omen?  To find out, read on...

Our Heroine is a Model, which we see in a Montage of her posing for pictures, being shown on Magazine Covers and the like.

Right away, we see a familiar face as a Photographer- Jeff Goldblum.

It's actually a step up for Jeff as he was one of the Rapists in Winner's Death Wish!

After her Father's death, she attends the service and remembers some traumatic experiences.

In a clever bit, she sees 'herself' go by in a Flashback of when she saw her Dad in some sort of sex party, freaked out and tried to kill herself.

A woman- Ava Gardner- shows her a lovely place that she marks down the price of instantly, which should be a red flag.

Like the Realtor in The Amityville Horror, she was giving you a hint...

She starts to get affected at work by what is going on, having fainting spells and just generally not being well.

This even affects her at a Commercial Shoot run by...Jerry Orbach?!?

'70s Doctors, as usual, are no help.

Amongst her strange neighbors there is a blind Priest- John Carradine-, a pair of strange Sister- one of whom is Beverly D'angelo in her first Role- and a quirky old man- Burgess Meredith.

There's an accidental Batman connection here as we also get Eli Wallach in the Film later aka the 3rd Mr. Freeze from the Show.

She keeps seeing weird things with her neighbors, including a black & white dream where she attends a Birthday party, but everyone is freaky.  D'angelo appears nude here, since, again, first Role and all.

She later wanders upstairs and is attacked by a Zombie that looks like her dead Dad, running outside.

After she recovers, she tells this to Gardner, who reveals that the Apartments are actually empty and she has no Neighbors!

The Police eventually investigate what is going on when a body matching the description of her attack on 'Dad' is found.

The Detective- Wallach- suspects that the Boyfriend is at fault, since he has 2 dead ladies in his past.

And yes, that is Christopher Walken, who mostly just stands in the background and has like lines.
At least he wasn't dubbed like Goldblum was!

A long, strange finale ensues.

Sarandon finds out that his lady has been chosen to be The Sentinel (roll credits) of a Gate to Hell, which the Apartment covers.  He tries to kill Carradine...

...but he's killed off-camera and now he's damned like the other Residents.  They were/are actually the spirits of killers that are also damned.

We know they are evil since they are all humans with various deformities.  Sigh.

Another Priest- Jose Ferrer- and Carradine show up to save the day, scaring away the evil spirits and Meredith.

In the aftermath, she's the new Guardian, but she's good...since she didn't kill herself like the spirits wanted.

Look, it's a muddy finale.

We get a 'they will try again' ending a la The Wicker Man ('04) and The Devil's Advocate to close us out.

A good Film, but it will definitely be an acquired taste.  '70s Films are often talked about as 'slow burns.'  If this one was burning any slower, it would still be unused in the matchbox!

The Plot moves at a very deliberate pace, with some weird stuff happening early on and then not much for a while.  If a woman being uncomfortable and confused qualifies as 'Horror,' then this is the scariest Film of all time!

That's not to say that it is bad, which I didn't.  It is well-made, even if there was apparently A LOT of drama Behind the Scenes.  Basically, Winner didn't get along with too many people, annoying the Writer of the Book (and Co-Writer of the Screenplay) and making Chris Sarandon so unhappy that he considered quitting Acting altogether.  You almost ruined Fright Night, Michael Winner!

So, if you're into a slower, more just generally-odd Horror Film, this is a good one.  It has an amazing Cast both for at the time- with Legends like Wallach, Meredith and Gardner- and looking back at it- Walken, Goldblum, D'angelo, etc.

In fact, it has so many random Stars in it that I can't pick just one Cameo for my Stinger.  You'll see why.

Do I pick between a young Tom Berenger
or an uncredited Richard Dreyfuss?

Next up, another Film from the seemingly-bottomless pile.  Will I clear out the Horror Films that I never got around to during October next?  Stay tuned...

Old-School Flix: Bluebeard (1944)

 Clearing another random DVD off of the Watch Pile.  This time, it is Bluebeard, a 1944 Film that is sadly not a Pirate Film.  If you don't know, the term comes from the name given to Men who date rich, older Women and then kill them.  That's thankfully not a notable thing anymore, not that, you know, murder and all that doesn't still happen.  It's also not *that* important to know here, since the Film is actually not about that.  Why the Title?  Dunno.  They call him that for no clear reason, so let's just accept it.  It was Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who has a few notable Films on his Resume.  For one, he did the 1934 'version' of The Black Cat (with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff), as well as other Films from this time.  Its Star is John Carradine, who is thankfully in the good part of his Career and not the part where he's singing 'Night Train to Mundo Fine.'  Good times.  In the Film, Carradine is a killer who falls in love.  Aw.  Will he be able to stop himself?  To find out, read on...

A random woman's body is found floating in the River Seine.

Don't worry- the Film isn't too French.
In fact, it's mostly just American with like 4 French guys in it.

There is a killer on the loose!

Thankfully, this Exposition Flyer is there to explain it all...and to take way too long to go away, since I guess people read slower back in the '40s.

I mean, it's obviously this guy.

The Film makes no mystery of this, so why should I?

Carradine's Character is a bit complicated to explain, so let me try...

- He's a Serial Killer.

- He's a Puppeteer

- He's also a Painter.

- He paints a portrait of a woman before he kills her.

All good?

He has an Art Dealer who sells said Paintings on the Black Market, but always wants more.

Of course, he knows how he gets them too AND he knows that they could be evidence...like when he sells it to a rich guy who displays it proudly.

It was the last victim.  Oops.

The woman who happens to be falling for Carradine turns out to be the Sister of the Detective trying to solve the case.

What are the odds of that?!?

They set up a sting operation to catch Carradine, but he recognizes the woman from earlier and kills her!

His Dealer friend helps out by delaying the Police and escaping...until he's killed too in his next Scene.

Our Heroine eventually finds Carradine- as part of another Police Sting- and he says that he feels bad about, you know, killing her Sister.

Well, that's alright then....hey, wait a minute!!!!

He fights off the Police- since he suddenly can't kill a woman fast since she's the Main Character- fairly well...until he falls to his death.  

The End.

A slow, but steady Film.  The Plot is fairly-simple...at first.  He's a killer, but he's also conflicted.  Got it.  Now he's a Puppeteer that falls in love- sure, alright.  Now he's also a Painter who draws his victims before he kills them.  Um...alright.  Now there's an Art Dealer, who's separately-corrupt, a Detective, a rich guy, the Sister, a random Courtroom Scene with some Prostitutes, a Police Sting, an underground Phantom of the Opera-esque Tunnel and...did I miss anything?  There's a bit much, no?  The Puppeteer stuff also completely vanishes after the first 20 minutes (it just gets him with her), so what was the real point of it?  Why couldn't he just be a Painter who tries to romance her?  The Movie's not really that long by modern standards (70 minutes) and pretty much on par for its time.  I guess they couldn't reach the proper length without that pointless Puppet Show version of Faust, eh?  None of the seeming-filler is bad though.  Ultimately, it's a Film that is all about letting you see the killer and somewhat understand him.  That's something that would be more prevalent in later Decades, so kudos.  Bluebeard is a good, if 'of its time' Film (no on-screen killing, for instance).  If you can't say one thing about it too, it sure is certified.

Next time, I dig deeper into the Random DVD Pile.  Who knows what will come up next?  Stay tuned...

Old School Horror: The Black Sleep (1956)

 A great Cast does not always a Classic Film make.  This is The Black Sleep, a 1956 Horror/Thriller with some big potential.  The Film is also important for a key historical reason.  

Right off the bat, you have to know who's in this Film. 
Basil Rathbone. 
Lon Chaney Jr. 
John Carradine. 
Tor Johnson. 
Bela Lugosi.  

How many notable names can you get for one Film?!?  As a bonus, it was Directed by Reginald Le Borg, who was behind the lens of a number of notable Films.  Jungle Woman, Weird Woman, Calling Dr. Death (both parts of the Inner Sanctum Series) and The Mummy's Ghost- just to name a few.  

Back to Lugosi, this would- unfortunately- be the final Film that he completed before his death.  Yes, his Test Footage/Random bits for Plan 9 don't count for this. 
So why is a Film with so many Stars/Attractions and a (dark) historical importance so forgotten? 
The Plot involves a mad Doctor, brain surgery and a random-ass Third Act.  To find out how this turns out, read on...

A man is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit.  His Doctor friend- Rathbone- gives him a formula that fakes his death and takes his body away.

He awakens as a free and 'dead' man.

The pair are up to no good, doing experimental surgery on people that the latter catches.  They are then drugged with the titular substance.

The guy on the right was supposed to be Peter Lorre, but his asking price was too high.

The 'dead' man is a Doctor and agrees to help Rathbone with his treatments.

His work involves brain surgery and it, well, is a work in progress.

One of his past subjects- Mongo (Chaney).

He used to be a Doctor, but the surgery made him a bit crazy.
His Daughter works with Rathbone, but it gets awkward when her Dad keeps trying to choke her to death.

Lugosi is another Subject, but he's better off- he's just mute.

Just don't try telling Bela (back when you could) that he was better off- he was pissed that he got no Dialog!

As enough time goes by the good Doctor and the Daughter suspect that more is going on.  They're right.

They see the previous subjects and find out that they are still alive, albeit mutated and/or crazy.

They also find out that the Doctor was framed for his crime (shocking, I know) by Rathbone and the 'victim' is still alive.  It's another mute, angry-faced Tor Johnson role.

The show-stealer- an absolutely bonkers John Carradine as a man who thinks that he's a Soldier in The Crusades!  It's like he's from a different Movie!

It all leads to a silly confrontation that ends in all of the bad people being killed...in pretty lame ways.

The Cops arrive and...that's it.  The End.

A Film that should be great.  Basil Rathbone as a Mad Scientist- great.  Lon Chaney Jr as a mute marauder- good.  Lugosi as, well, anything- good.  It's just a shame that the big attractions don't get to do nearly enough.  

Carradine appears so late in the Film that he can't do much more than steal the Show.  He's such a fun, random character that him being in here like this is just plain weird.  He belongs in a big, broad Comedy and this ain't one!  Chaney is, well, that's about all he can really do.  You don't lose much with him here- no disrespect.  The same goes with Tor, although his towering presence is a nice treat.  You get a mute killer showdown that we were denied when New Line didn't go with Jason vs. Michael back in the day.  Even if it is brief, seeing the pair have a face-off is a bit like that 'tease a match for later during a big match' thing that the WWF/E likes to do.  

Lugosi is wasted here the most as I genuinely can't talk about anything interesting he does.  He exists in the background (see above) and that's about it.  What excuse do you have?  

Rathbone does shine here, as he was clearly determined to make his villain more than one-dimensional.  You get the same basic beats that you'd later get with Classics like Eyes Without a Face (got no human race) or the less-classic Mansion of the Doomed.  Good for him.  

The Film is pretty damn dry and that's a shame.  You can have some fun with this one, but...eh, it's just alright.  

On the plus side, this Film is the context for this weird picture you see making the rounds on Google...

Next time, I cover another Black Film.  Will Bela get a second chance?  Stay tuned...

Very Rare Flix: Kung Fu- The Next Generation (1987)

 Many things would be lost to time without YouTube.  Admittedly, alot of the things they save are Viral Videos and YouTubers who can't stop saying the N-Word.  

In this case, we are dealing with a long-lost Pilot aired once in 1987.  Kung Fu: The Next Generation was an updated Pilot that followed the TV Movie's attempt to continue the Series.  What changed?  Well, they jumped to the Modern Day...and also lost Carradine.  I can't find out why and I can't exactly ask most of the people involved, unfortunately.  

Regardless, this aired as a big deal...if you consider a dumping ground to be a big deal.  The CBS Summer Playhouse was a way to show off Pilots and then gage whether or not there was interest.  

The copy I found was not on DVD or even VHS- it was taped off of TV back in 1987, it seems.  Sadly, they cut out the commercials!  

Let's get to the real interesting question- which came first?  Was this branding an attempt to copy Star Trek: The Next Generation?  Well, they both debuted in 1987 on TV.  However, this showed up in the Summer, while Trek showed up in Syndication in September.  

So I don't think anyone ripped each other off...or did they?!?  Probably not.  No, you'll just have to live with Ator 3 stealing its Theme Music in the same Year instead.  

While it didn't work for CBS, is this a hidden gem of a Pilot?  To find out, read on...

The only copy of this easily available still has the lead-in for it- neat.

I could probably do without this lady doing that pose and the voice you think she does though.

In the Present (of 1987), Brandon Lee is his own descendant and he's up to no good.

He's robbing a House with Miguel Ferrer (who has a history with unsold Pilots) and gets caught, while his cohort escapes.

Kwai Chang (not Carradine- aw!) takes his son under his supervision while charges are being considered.

The pair don't get along as the Mother left (presumably to return in the Show) and haven't spoken in a year.  On top of that, Lee is the first man in the family to NOT take the Kwai Chang name, going by Johnny instead.

Trying to adapt to a new life with his Dad, Lee is distracted by Ferrer's return and offer of- say it with me- one last job for his Boss to repay his debt.

Lee declines.

A trip to Kwai Chang's old home sees the pair reconcile, as well as Carradine's Force Ghost making a cameo.

We also get an odd explanation for his death- he was dying and then just vanished.

Yep- Jedi.

Lee thinks he can make right by setting up the Boss, only to find out *gasp* *shock* that Ferrer was the Boss the whole time!

Kwai Chang shows up to have an over-dramatic fight (which covers how little Kung Fu David Darlow can actually do).

To wrap things up, the pair agree to trust each other and set up the Show.

…only the program ACTUALLY ends with the Hosts telling you a number to call to decide the Show's future fate.

Just like Jason Todd, it didn't end well apparently.  This does though.  The End.

A good to strong start to the Show.  The positives for me outweigh the negatives.  Darlow is a decent replacement for Carradine here and is solid on his own.  I can't blame him for the other Actor not being here (presumably).  Lee is good as well, playing up his character's anger and unhappiness with his Dad.  

They feel like a real estranged father-son duo, which makes for a good Story.  Their reconciliation works quite well and they obviously set up a good idea for a Show.  Ferrer was always good and this is no exception.  It's weird seeing him as 'the young friend' when he was my age at the time, while Lee was 22 at the time.  

The twist with him as the Boss is good, even if it is a bit silly when you think about it.  

How much work has he put into tricking Lee for so little payoff?  

 The Series setup is pretty transparent here, which is kind of fun looking back at it.  I wish I could find more out about the Show, but the Internet has so little info on it.  

As far as I can tell, Darlow is sadly the only Lead from this still alive (he last acted in 2019), so it is a bit of an uphill battle.  

Regardless, this is a bit of a hidden gem for fans of the Characters and it is just a shame that a Series couldn't happen.  If only there was someone there to, you know, make it so...

Next time, I cover a Film that is a Critic darling and a Cult Classic.  Was I right to take this long to go to the City?  Stay tuned...

Rare Flix: Kung Fu- The Movie (1985)

 A rare and forgotten look at what could have been.  This is Kung Fu: The Movie, a 1985 Backdoor Pilot for CBS.  After years away, there were plans to bring back the classic TV Show.  This was made to set it up.  Of course, you likely know that this didn't succeed and was instead brought back about a Decade later as Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.  I haven't seen that Show in ages, bur I was a fan.  Would I have liked this Show better though?  The Plot is a continuation of the original Series, as opposed to making him Caine's descendant in the later Show.  With new Villains and a new Plot, could this work?  The notable Cast includes Brandon Lee in his first Role (at least as far as billing goes) and Martin Landau.  This came and went in 1985, but it does have a DVD.  As for me, I found a VHS Copy 'in the wild' and bought it.  Ah, glorious Hi-Fi!  To find out how this mostly-forgotten Film turned out, read on...

Caine is still in the Old West, but he can sometimes summon his Dead Master Superman-style with a necklace.

Hey, they wanted him to be in the Film, so why not do this nonsense?

An old 'Chinese' man (actually Mako) and his young companion (Lee) show up and the latter seems to be easily set off by something.

He beats up the guy who wanted to rob them, giving us the only Action Scene for the first 1/3 of the Film.

After a faux Preacher is killed while looking into an Opium Den, Caine appears and is dragged into this mess.

He's also followed by Lee, who eventually tells him that he wants to be trained.

Well, he seems so friendly! 

He gets him a job at the Factory, but he almost instantly tries to kill the Racist guy who runs it.

He has much to learn.

In the least surprising Plot Twist ever, we learn that he's actually Caine's Son.

They use Stock Footage (alot of it, in fact) to make him the Son from an earlier Episode's hook-up.  Also that's Barbara Hershey, if I'm not mistaken.

Lee is under the control of Mako, who wants revenge on Caine for killing his Brother in the Pilot (the first one).  He'll kill the Son if Caine won't show up...to be killed by his Son.  Tough choices.

As my VHS Copy doesn't work in a Computer and Google is short on Images, you'll have to live with this kind of visual filler.

Just imagine Landau's handle-bar mustache and enjoy that glimpse of Mako's silly armor below...

Can Caine save his Son from Mako's mind-control?

Can he stop the obvious bad guy in Landau?

Will this not actually wrap up the Plot since it was meant to be the start of a TV Show ?

To find out, watch this Film like I did.

A nice little hidden gem.  For better or worse, this feels like a continuation of the original Show.  I guess you could make the fair argument that feeling *exactly* like a 1970s Show in the mid-80s was a bad thing.  To a certain extent, I can see that.  At the same time, the formula worked and everyone delivers here.  Lee doesn't do all that much, but he's also the newest of the bunch.  The heavy lifting is done by Carradine and Mako, though Landau does much in his small role.  The format here really does him a disservice as he was setup as the bad guy for the Show.  So with no Show, no payoff for him.  Given how much he does indirectly in this, it is a real shame.  There's some obvious stuff you have to ignore as a modern viewer if you watch this today.  For instance, Mako is JAPANESE and playing Chinese and, you know, the whole Carradine thing.  That leads to a fun irony of the Film...that was likely unplanned.  Famously Bruce Lee pitches a version of this Show, but can't get the Lead Role.  As such, a reliable hand like Carradine gets it.  A decade later, Lee's Son is now Carradine's Son!  No way they meant to do that.  If you like the original Show, this is quite good.  It can be a bit slow- since it feels like the Show-, but I found it quite enjoyable.  As you can see, I'm not the only one who had a good time...

Next up, I cover...the other one?!?  Yes, there's apparently ANOTHER TV Pilot, this time splitting the difference between this and The Legend Continues.  Stay tuned...