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[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  DEATH OF A BATMAN
Steed & Cathy vs. Insider Trading     *****

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Attending the funeral of his old army "batman", Steed learns the man, who worked as a draftsman, somehow legally racked up an enormous fortune. This leads to he & Mrs. Gale investigating the financial dealings of a bank and various investment transactions.

Put simply, "DEATH OF A BATMAN" may be the single most TEDIOUS episode of THE AVENGERS ever made. I know some stories do lean on the "technical" side, but this is ridiculous. If it weren't for the various characters involved, the details of the story would be enough to baffle or bore anyone who wasn't into finance and accounting right into unconsciousness.

Further, I must admit this is the 2nd episode in a row where, until one of the parties involved decided to resort to MURDER to cover up his illegal dealings, I was, frankly, on the side of the crooks! They were helping various small English companies to succeed in the world market, and thereby strengthening the country in general. And while they did it by illegally using insider information AND selling and re-buying other people's stock holdings in order to make a profit, NOBODY was getting hurt.

The more I thought about this, it reminded me of a pair of James Bond stories... CASINO ROYALE, and the 1987 movie THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. In both, someone entrusted with certain funds decided to mis-appropriate said funds, in order to make themselves a huge profit, after which they would take the original money and put it to the use it was supposed to go to in the first place. Of course, the Russian government did not take kindly to one of their agents (or generals) doing this, so I suppose the English government wouldn't either.

Highlights of this story, as I said, are the guest cast, which this time includes Philip Madoc (who I always remember for his various appearances on DOCTOR WHO). The main perpetrator is played by Andre Morell, while the son of the man who died and thereby started the whole investigation (and who gets greedy when he finds out what's going on) is played by a very young David Burke. I kept staring at him, wondering, "Where have I seen him before?" Only when I looked him up online did I realize that this story featured, effectively, 3 different "Dr. Watsons" in the cast! 1-Andre Morell (THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, 1959), 2-Patrick Macnee (SHERLOCK HOLMES IN NEW YORK, 1976) and David Burke (THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1984).

[josemas]

One of these days I've got to sit down and watch all of The Avengers episodes in chronological order.  Over the years I've viewed them in a very hodge-podge way.  I think that I've got about half of them now on DVD so if I can eventually track them all down I'll go for it.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

A big problem with THE AVENGERS is, unlike DOCTOR WHO, where in the 80's PBS stations tended to add more to their line-up (I think the distributor kept adding episodes to their package as they became avaialble), THE AVENGERS have never been aired as a single package.

In the early-70's, the Diana Rigg & Linda Thorson episodes were in syndication.

Beginning in 1978, THE NEW AVENGERS were run on the CBS LATE MOVIE.  They ran them 3 times-- in 78-79, 2 years later in 80-81, and 4 years later, in 84-85. But they never once ran the complete series.  The 1st time, ALL the opening credits were cut!  The 2nd time, they put them back (lucky for me that was the time I taped most of them), but, they skipped a couple episodes, and started the first one 10 minutes EARLY (who the hell starts a show EARLY??). The 3rd time, they pulled a double-butcher job-- they SPED UP THE FILM, and, cut scenes from every episode.

In the 80's, the Rigg & Thorson episodes turned up on PBS-- but most of them were FUZZY prints. It was suggested many years later, they were BOOTLEG copies.

Around 1990, A&E finally ran the 2nd & 3rd seasons, but every episode had 8-1/2 minutes cut for commercials. How did they even make sense? Also, due to some scheduling screw-ups, there's a few of them I NEVER saw.  GRRRR.

So I've been putting up with this somewhat dodgy collection ever since...


At least, thanks to Dave Rogers' books (the 3rd one in particular), I do know what the production order on most of them is.  This was especially important to me for THE NEW AVENGERS, as there is a certain amount of character development over 2 seasons, and CBS mixed episodes from both seasons together completely at random.  (Idiots!!! It's like some people at the networks spent most of their time trying to figure out new ways to F*** up runs of tv shows.)

[Menticide]

Picked up a few odds and ends at a local thrift store last night. I actually do buy VHS regularly, because I usually just transfer them to DVD-R, and then get rid of them. Plus, they are much cheaper than DVDs/Blu-Rays, and sometimes I manage to find stuff that isn't available on disc either.

The Treasure of Bengal, nothing fantastic, but still a kind of fun adventure flick from Italy. This was actually from the 50s, it's set in India, and stars (go figure) Sabu. I grabbed it because the packaging piqued my interest, but it turns out it's really rare, and it's never been released on disc.

The Black Hole, hadn't watched it in years, and buying the tape was cheaper than renting it. Still pretty dumb, still pretty fun, and they need to get around to releasing this on Blu-Ray. I'm sure the Blu-Ray is coming soon actually, because they are supposedly remaking it, and the remake is going to be directed by the same guy that directed Tron Legacy. I can't help but think that this director is probably my age and grew up watching a lot of the same stuff that I did.

A Challenge for Robin Hood, pretty neat little movie from Hammer Studios, and odd change of pace for the company that is best known for their horror films. Again, it turns out this has never been released on DVD either.

UFO the Unsolved Mystery, this is a funny one, and I recommend it for the giggle factor. Boox can attest to the fact that I watch a lot of these UFO documentaries, not because I necessarily believe, but because a lot of my fiction stories are inspired by this stuff. This particular documentary is kind of infamous in UFO buff circles, because of the inclusion of a well-known hoaxer. The hoaxer that I refer to is a man by the name of Richard Doty, he is well known amongst UFO researchers, because he tends to pass around completely bogus, and outlandish stories. In this doc, he appears in shadows, with his voice altered, using the codename of Falcon, and telling ridiculous stories about aliens that are living on secret military bases, and working with the US government. His claims don't seem too silly, until he starts to explain how the E.T.s like Tibetan music, and strawberry ice cream. And, yes, this is not available on DVD either, although, I do think it would sell if it was, because of the silliness factor, and the fact that it has become quite infamous over the years.

I also picked up a surprise for Boox, don't forget to check the mail next week buddy...

[narfstar]

I know that there are a lot of hidden treasures out there. I have a Starblazers VHS that I do not think was ever put on DVD. Probably some others also. I also have some TV shows that I do not know of ever airing again.

[josemas]

A Challenge for Robin Hood, pretty neat little movie from Hammer Studios, and odd change of pace for the company that is best known for their horror films. Again, it turns out this has never been released on DVD either.

I have saved my old VHS copy of this 1967 release as well because I believe that it is the only Hammer title released in the U.S. by Anchor Bay that never got a DVD release.

BTW, Hammer did, at least, one Robin Hood film prior to this- Sword of Sherwood Forest-(1961), with Richard Greene repeating his role of Robin from the popular TV series and with Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed in support.  As far as I know this one has never gotten either a VHS or DVD release (at least here in the States) although I did get to see it on cable about 20 or so years back.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

TCM did run SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST a few years back, which makes me suspect it might have gotten on DVD.  Interesting to see Hammer's Terrence Fisher doing something other than horror.  As several someones pointed out online, it's very odd that they got Richard Greene from the tv series to play Robin Hood, but NO OTHER ACTORS from the show. On the other hand, usually when Hammer does a feature film inspired by a tv series, NONE of the tv actors are in their films. So which is odder-- the lack of the rest of the cast, or the fact that they actually DID get the tv star to reprise his role?

Also interesting was getting to see Peter Cushing swordfighting, and actually playing a baddie who wasn't as bad as some of the other characters in the story.

[boox909]

A Challenge for Robin Hood, pretty neat little movie from Hammer Studios, and odd change of pace for the company that is best known for their horror films. Again, it turns out this has never been released on DVD either.

I have saved my old VHS copy of this 1967 release as well because I believe that it is the only Hammer title released in the U.S. by Anchor Bay that never got a DVD release.

BTW, Hammer did, at least, one Robin Hood film prior to this- Sword of Sherwood Forest-(1961), with Richard Greene repeating his role of Robin from the popular TV series and with Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed in support.  As far as I know this one has never gotten either a VHS or DVD release (at least here in the States) although I did get to see it on cable about 20 or so years back.

Best

Joe

Joe,

Sony Pictures put this out on dvd in 2010.

"Sword of Sherwood Forest [videorecording] / Columbia Pictures presents a Hammer Film production ; produced by Sidney Cole and Richard Greene ; written by Alan Hackney ; directed by Terence Fisher. Culver City, Calif. : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [2010]."

I remembered getting it from my local library last year (at the height of my Richard Greene Robin Hood kick) and finding it very odd that it had nothing to do with continuity from the television series. Sony put some other odd Robin Hood offerings on dvd also and they are floating around.

B.

[josemas]

BTW, Hammer did, at least, one Robin Hood film prior to this- Sword of Sherwood Forest-(1961), with Richard Greene repeating his role of Robin from the popular TV series and with Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed in support.  As far as I know this one has never gotten either a VHS or DVD release (at least here in the States) although I did get to see it on cable about 20 or so years back.

Best

Joe

Joe,

Sony Pictures put this out on dvd in 2010.

"Sword of Sherwood Forest [videorecording] / Columbia Pictures presents a Hammer Film production ; produced by Sidney Cole and Richard Greene ; written by Alan Hackney ; directed by Terence Fisher. Culver City, Calif. : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [2010]."

I remembered getting it from my local library last year (at the height of my Richard Greene Robin Hood kick) and finding it very odd that it had nothing to do with continuity from the television series. Sony put some other odd Robin Hood offerings on dvd also and they are floating around.

B.

Thanks Boox,

I must have missed that one.  As I remember Greene was the only one from the television series to repeat his role.  Prior to originally seeing the film I had only seen a couple episodes of the series.  Now having a number of them under the belt it would be interesting to watch the feature film again.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

It's funny, but I've only ever seen Richard Greene in 3 things...

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) as Sir Henry Baskerville
SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST as Robin Hood
BLOOD OF FU MANCHU and CASTLE OF FU MANCHU as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith

Okay, maybe that's 4 things...  What's astonishing is that most TV series have bigger budgets than those 2 Jess Franco films did (YIKES!).

[boox909]

It's funny, but I've only ever seen Richard Greene in 3 things...

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) as Sir Henry Baskerville
SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST as Robin Hood
BLOOD OF FU MANCHU and CASTLE OF FU MANCHU as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith

Okay, maybe that's 4 things...  What's astonishing is that most TV series have bigger budgets than those 2 Jess Franco films did (YIKES!).

I didn't realize that was Greene in Baskervilles...gotta watch that again soon.

B.

[Menticide]

Last night we watched a couple of Blu-Rays, neither one of which looks or sounds as good as the medium should, but both are very good movies. First we watched Dario Argento's the Bird with the Crystal Plumage, excellent thriller, and still a lot of fun. Then we watched John Woo's the Killer, a movie that I have always loved, and still do, in fact, one of my favorite movies of all time.

[profh0011]

The last few days:

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
DARIA: IS IT COLLEGE YET?

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  NOVEMBER FIVE
Cathy Runs For Office; Steed Manages Her Campaign     *****

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

You'd think a story about a stolen nuclear warhead would be really THRILLING, wouldn't you? Guess again!

It all starts with the results of a local bi-election (the sort of thing MONTY PYTHON liked to make fun of, except if they were involved, at least it would be more entertaining to watch). As results are read off, and one candidate congratulates the other, the winner begins to read his acceptance speech... when he's SHOT DEAD (in the face!!). Horrors. As the question of WHO will take his place in the run-off election is raised, the plot begins to thicken (and into a near-impenetrable mess).

As with several (many?) other AVENGERS episodes, "NOVEMBER FIVE" focuses on a particular field of endeavor. In this case, two-- politics, and marketing. The center of attention in the story turns out to be an advertising and marketing firm whose specialty is handling political campaigns. And trust me-- it's even more tedious than it sounds. Eric Paice, whose own specialty seems to be especially tedious stories (he penned 8 AVENGERS episodes, all within the first 3 seasons) somehow manages to take what should be a gripping mystery and turns it into the kind of thing that made a show like MONTY PYTHON almost a necessity.

As the plot progresses, it comes out that 3 very different motivations stem from the theft of the bomb. 1)One of the people who stole the bomb sends the government a blackmail note demanding a huge sum of money for its safe return (well, that was to be expected, right?). 2)Someone else decides to use the information about the theft to cause a scandal and BRING DOWN the current government, forcing them to resign in disgrace. 3)Another person involved in the theft has been offered another huge sum of money NOT to return the bomb, but rather, let it be DETONATED right in the House of Parliment! If you can work your way thru this morass, it follows that 1) and 3) cause a falling-out between the baddies.

As usual, it's characters who save the day... albeit, in this case, only barely. Arthur Dove (David Davies) proves to be the least corrupt of the characters involved, and actually comes across rather honest and charming, especially when he's flirting with Mrs. Gale while admitting he's bored to tears by his long-time wife, who's stuck with him thru thick and thin. And Mrs. Ellen Dove (Ruth Dunning) admits also being bored to tears by her husband, while mostly amused by it all, and winds up making friends with Cathy at the same time. When both Doves nearly fall victim to the story's REAL baddies, you can't help but be overcome with anxiety, hoping that somehow, rescue will come before it's too late. And sure enough, it does. In fact, my favorite moment in the story is when Mrs. Dove lays into one of the baddies while Cathy takes care of the other.

I can only imagine that once the show switched to film production, and Brian Clemens & Albert Fennell were in charge, stories like this were deemed "too cerebral" and were replaced with those containing more visuals, more action, more location filming, and more outrageousness. Speaking of visual, I'd say Production Designer Douglas James put in the best work in this story, as his "Ad Agency" set looked like it would have been right at home in one of the Diana Rigg episodes.

[Menticide]

X-Men First Class, I wasn't expecting much, but I think this might be my favorite X-Men movie yet. The real star of the movie is Magneto and I think Michael Fassbender does a great job with the character. James McAvoy is pretty good as Professor X too. Kevin Bacon struck me as completely the wrong actor for Sebastian Shaw, but he surprised me, and although he still struck me as wrong for the role, he was still quite good in the film. Not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but still worth a look.

[josemas]

Some TV series recently watched on DVD.

Sons of Anarchy-Season One-  Recommended to me by several friends.  Engaging storyline of biker gang, their families and their battles with rival gangs and the (not always so clean) forces of the law.  I'm ready for season two! 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show-Season One-  Looking at this CBS series again after four decades it doesn't seem nearly as groundbreaking as it did in 1970 but holds up well because of the great building of the characters in the show.
Interestingly enough in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink it was mentioned that the pilot of this show did not do well in advance screenings with test audiences.  The main reason it did not do well is because it was too different (single woman trying to make it on her own in the working world) for them to adjust to in just one episode and it took the show a few months for audiences to get used to it and embrace it.  The same thing happened with All in the Family which premiered a few months later on CBS.
The DVD set also has an excellent "making of" documentary on it as well as other extras.

Foreign Intrigue (Dateline Europe)-Vol 3-  After WWII and right up into the 1960s a number of U.S. companies shot quiote a few television series and movies in various parts of Europe.  Restrictions on how much money foreign countries could remove from various European countries and tax advantages were the main reasons many of these sort of productions were set up.  Sometimes the U.S. companies worked in conjunction with European companies already there and sometimes they did all the producing and provided. at least, part of the crew.  Quite often Americans were brought over to star in the films/series with native actors doing most of the supporting roles.
Foreign Intrigue was basically a cold war era espionage/adventure show that ran for four seasons (156 episodes) from 1951-55.  It changed formats and casts three times in those four years. The first two years it starred Jerome Thor and Sydna Scoot, then James Daly and Anne Preville took over the starring roles, and finally Gerald Mohr was cast as the lead.  Many (although I'm not sure all) of the episodes were shot in Sweden giving them a different look than most other American shows of the period.  It was produced by Sheldon Reynolds (who also shot the 1954-55 Ronald Howard Sherlock Holmes series).  After first run syndication the series was also offered in separate packages showcasing the different formats and casts and had the first two seasons renamed Dateline Europe, with the following seasons renamed Overseas Adventure and Cross Current respectively.
Well this DVD only had four episodes from the first two seasons of the show so it's really hard to judge the entire series but they are all competently written with some nice noirish moments and some well done suspense action when needed.  I'm game for more.


Black Adder the Third-   I have a special fondness for this Black Adder series because it was the first that I ever caught.  Very funny and bawdy!!

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Vol 1-   a 1956-57 syndicated series.  This DVD contains 5 of the original 26 episodes broadcast and gives one a pretty good idea of what the series was like.  It's pretty standard jungle fare but benefits from a couple things-the location shooting in jungle areas of Mexico and the casting of Irish McCalla as Sheena.  McCalla  looks perfect as Sheena and since the role doesn't call for much in the way of acting (monosyllabic Johnny Weissmuller-Tarzan speak) she does fine in that department as well.
I have a friend, who is about a decade older than me, who actually got to see McCalla, in costume as Sheena, at some supermarket promotion in Ohio during the original run of the show.  She made such an impression on his nine year old mind that he's been a fan of the zaftig woman type ever since.

Brenner-  A pretty good father/son half-hour cop series originally shown as Summer replacement series by CBS in 1959 and repeated as such over several of the following Summers with occasional "new" (previously unbroadcast episodes) being doled out up until the Summer of 1965.  15 of the total 26 episodes are on this DVD set.  Set in NYC and shot on location there (although there is not as much use of actual location shooting-as opposed to studio shooting- as I would have liked).  A few name stars pop up inepsiodes including a young (and unbilled) Gene Hackman

Civilisation-   I first watched episodes of Kenneth Clark's 13 episode 1969 BBC series on PBS in the 1970s.  Since then I've caught various episodes being rerun here and there but this was the first time that I've ever worked my way through the series from beginning to end.  An excellent look at the changes and advancements in Western art from the Middle ages onward.   
The DVD set also contains a recent interview with producer David Attenborough who talks about the making of the series.  Interestingly enough one of the big selling points was that it was to be shot in color!  The BBC, having finally worked out a lot of their bugs with color broadcasting, was ready to have a series to show it off and what better a showcase than the great art of the last several hundred years!

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

I remember being blown away the first time I saw Black Adder. I was later exited when I found sequels had been made. Some really funny stuff. I am a huge Keeping Up Appearances fan as is my whole family

[bowers]

My wife and I also love "that Bucket woman". I also enjoy anything with Frye and Laurie- "Jeeves and Wooster" was a riot! Cheers, Bowers

[profh0011]

The last week or so:

THE VILLAIN
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID
I THE JURY  (1982)
GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE
THE FALCON'S ALIBI
THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

[josemas]

The last week or so:

THE VILLAIN
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID
I THE JURY  (1982)
GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE
THE FALCON'S ALIBI
THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

A nice eclectic mix to watch.

Best

Joe

[josemas]

Some of what the Lil' Missus and I have been watching lately-

Godzilla vs. the Thing-1964-Toho-   The Big G against Mothra.  The DVD has both the American release and the original Japanese version.  Surprisingly, for a change, the American version seems the longer of the two, with one brief sequence (of American military taking action) shot only for the U.S. cut.

The Haunting in Connecticut-2009-   Fairly decent recent spooker.

Rebirth of Mothra-1996-Toho-   Relaunch of the series.  Pretty fun.  Done before CGI took over so the fine effects are mostly green screen, puppetry and good-old-fashioned guy in monster suit.

Corruption-1968-Titan-Columbia-   Peter Cushing as doctor who's wife's face gets severely disfigured when hot lights fall on her.  He can fix it but only with continual applications of fresh skin from "unwilling" donors!!!

Army-Navy Screen Magazine-   These were WWII newsreels that the U.S. showed only to servicemen.  A somewhat different slant than the regular newsreels aimed mostly at civilian audiences.  Also included were special cartoons such as the Private Snafu and Hook series which could get a bit more risque than standard cartoons of the era.

Plus episodes of The Buccaneers (1956), Zorro (1958), Ark II (1976), and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1957).

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

CORRUPTION was one of those I saw on a triple-bill down in Houston. I'm not really sure what the other 2 films were that day, but I am pretty sure CORRUPTION was the middle of the 3.  Really "sick" film, but in a weird, fun sort of way.  the climax-- the beach house invaded by the biker gang, the doctor and his wife being held prisoner, and the gang member who decides to check out the freezer (what IS that thing all wrapped up in there?) really stuck with me. Amazing to think I haven't seen it since 1971.

I suspect the main attraction that day was TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA.

[Menticide]

I just dug out my DVD-R copy of the unreleased 1994 version of the Fantastic Four and it got me thinking of a few oddities that I am looking for. If anyone has any of these titles, I'm looking for them, and would be more than willing to workout a few trades.

The Spirit (1987 TV Movie)
Justice League of America (1997 TV Movie)
Legends of the Superheroes (1979 TV Show)
The Space Giants (1967 TV Series)
Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967 TV Series)

I'm looking for a bunch of other stuff too, but these are currently at the top of my list. I have a lot of similar stuff myself and I can produce a list if need be.

[josemas]

CORRUPTION was one of those I saw on a triple-bill down in Houston. I'm not really sure what the other 2 films were that day, but I am pretty sure CORRUPTION was the middle of the 3.  Really "sick" film, but in a weird, fun sort of way.  the climax-- the beach house invaded by the biker gang, the doctor and his wife being held prisoner, and the gang member who decides to check out the freezer (what IS that thing all wrapped up in there?) really stuck with me. Amazing to think I haven't seen it since 1971.

I suspect the main attraction that day was TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA.

Wow!  Pretty darn good memory for a flick last seen 40 years ago!   Sometimes I forget stuff I watched last week!!!

This was the first time viewing Corruption for the Lil' Missus and me and since we're both Peter Cushing fans it was a nice treat.

Best

Joe

[josemas]

The Spirit (1987 TV Movie)
Justice League of America (1997 TV Movie)
Legends of the Superheroes (1979 TV Show)
The Space Giants (1967 TV Series)
Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967 TV Series)

Legends of the Superheroes recently became available from Warner Archives on DVD.   

I remember The Spirit TV movie but have never seen it rerun since it's initial airing. 

A 1997 JLA movie?  How did I miss that??

I've never seen the two 1960s TV series although the names sound familiar.  I must have read something about them in the past.  Are they Japanese?

Curious

Joe