And now on with the Cameron Mitchell world tour...
South Africa
Highlights: ESP-y Cam, baggy-cide and shower curtain-fu.
OK, Part I of the trip ended with some high-fallutin' Swedish art house cinema, so let's change it up by moving on to a gritty South African slasher from 1981, Percival Rubens' The Demon. In it, our boy Cameron stars as a pillow-thrashing, seemingly constipated, irritatingly ineffectual clairvoyant. The story gets out of the gate very quickly with a giallo-like predator kidnapping a girl after attempting to take out her mother in disturbing fashion with a Glad sandwich baggy. Slightly unstable psychic Colonel Bill Carson (Mitchell) is subsequently called in by the missing girl's parents to track down the killer, or find their daughter - it depends on which parent you ask. Carson attempts to accomplish his tasks by immediately tearing up the missing daughter's bedroom pillow, because apparently, that's just how he gets the job done. The story then switches to two pretty nursery school teachers/cousins/roommates and follows them (as does the killer, sort of) while they go about their lives.
The most interesting thing about The Demon (also written and produced by Rubens), is the sub-genre and story conventions that it breaks. The killer is shot mostly in third-person and appears liberally throughout the film sans mask, although he does in fact own one, but oddly chooses not to dawn it until his battle with the final girl. Similarly, he does not wear his special pre-NoES metal fingernail gloves (as seen in the movie poster), until the last act but instead opts for his weapon of choice, the sandwich bag. Speaking of which, the final showdown is a pretty enjoyable head-scratcher as the heroine gets naked to distract the killer with her diversionary bathrobe and then gears up in a shower curtain and cap before going mano a mano with him. I don't think I've seen this strategy employed before but I rather liked it, inexplicable as it was. Another broader break with convention involves a darkly humored plot twist that abruptly ends a story thread I was certain would continue to the climax. It was a ballsy move by Percival on one hand, but on the other, it makes the entire plot line somewhat superfluous and stretches character believability beyond the breaking point. Nevertheless, it was these types of unusual choices that made the film more intriguing than the average slasher. Of course a lot of the sub-genre's tropes are present like the much welcome nudity of the two female leads who are far better looking than the typical 'some nudity required' actresses that usually show up in these things.
The main problem with the film was that the sporadic pacing, lackluster dialogue and the uninspired soundtrack often killed the momentum and atmosphere the filmmakers had initially struggled to build. The beginning and ending of the story moved right along as the killer attempted to commit bag-icide, but there were stretches in the middle with the lead girls, especially when with their respective boyfriends, that are yawn-inducing. They were decent enough actresses but I think the script left them floundering with mundane lines at times. Mitchell himself seemed stiff and uncertain about what he was doing which is odd because I've seen him with much more confidence in much worse films. The composed music was predictable, strictly by-the-numbers stuff and did nothing to create mood or unease. Even the pre-recorded songs were incredibly on-the-nose, like Lipps Inc's, Funkytown played in the local disco or The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight that's overheard through the walls of an urban building.
Overall, the film is only slightly above average horror with a few interesting moments but an uncertain performance by Mitchell. I wouldn't recommend to any but ardent fans of slashers.
The most interesting thing about The Demon (also written and produced by Rubens), is the sub-genre and story conventions that it breaks. The killer is shot mostly in third-person and appears liberally throughout the film sans mask, although he does in fact own one, but oddly chooses not to dawn it until his battle with the final girl. Similarly, he does not wear his special pre-NoES metal fingernail gloves (as seen in the movie poster), until the last act but instead opts for his weapon of choice, the sandwich bag. Speaking of which, the final showdown is a pretty enjoyable head-scratcher as the heroine gets naked to distract the killer with her diversionary bathrobe and then gears up in a shower curtain and cap before going mano a mano with him. I don't think I've seen this strategy employed before but I rather liked it, inexplicable as it was. Another broader break with convention involves a darkly humored plot twist that abruptly ends a story thread I was certain would continue to the climax. It was a ballsy move by Percival on one hand, but on the other, it makes the entire plot line somewhat superfluous and stretches character believability beyond the breaking point. Nevertheless, it was these types of unusual choices that made the film more intriguing than the average slasher. Of course a lot of the sub-genre's tropes are present like the much welcome nudity of the two female leads who are far better looking than the typical 'some nudity required' actresses that usually show up in these things.
The main problem with the film was that the sporadic pacing, lackluster dialogue and the uninspired soundtrack often killed the momentum and atmosphere the filmmakers had initially struggled to build. The beginning and ending of the story moved right along as the killer attempted to commit bag-icide, but there were stretches in the middle with the lead girls, especially when with their respective boyfriends, that are yawn-inducing. They were decent enough actresses but I think the script left them floundering with mundane lines at times. Mitchell himself seemed stiff and uncertain about what he was doing which is odd because I've seen him with much more confidence in much worse films. The composed music was predictable, strictly by-the-numbers stuff and did nothing to create mood or unease. Even the pre-recorded songs were incredibly on-the-nose, like Lipps Inc's, Funkytown played in the local disco or The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight that's overheard through the walls of an urban building.
Overall, the film is only slightly above average horror with a few interesting moments but an uncertain performance by Mitchell. I wouldn't recommend to any but ardent fans of slashers.
6/10
Philippines
Next stop, Manila, where Mitchell plays Harry Dodd, a sea captain who attempts to ferry a holiday cruise liner filled with martial arts fans to a legendary island so scary even the Japanese army wouldn't occupy it during WWII. Raw Force, aka Kung Fu Cannibals from 1982, is a low budget cheese-fest that has a little of everything including Filipino cannibal monks, captive naked women, martial arts zombie/ghosts, a nagging, do-ragged yenta and Hitler's greedy cousin. The elements of comedy, action, soft-core, and horror change like the weather and give the film a somewhat enjoyable train wreck quality as it carelessly jumps from one genre to another at will. It's a dumb, fun romp that mandates viewers check their brains at the door for maximum enjoyment. And although writer/director Charles Murphy's opus lacks the polish of a film by someone like Andy Sidaris, it's not for lack of enthusiasm. Even Mitchell looks to be having a good time in this seat-of-the-pants trash-fest playing the crabby, cantankerous captain who is constantly sparring with the ship's whiny, female, uber-Jewish owner, Hazel Buck, played with gusto by Hope Holiday. Despite some rough editing and the shipboard blackout-like comedy scenes which tend to overstay their welcome, the film moves along quite nicely frequently shifting genres and characters before atrophy can set in. I was happy to see that Mitchell's Dodd and his harpy boss Hazel were along for the ride throughout the movie as they give it some much needed anchoring with their bickering presence and there's a nice payoff to their characters at the end. Though the film doesn't quite live up to the awesomeness or production value its poster would suggest, it's still an enjoyable whacky B-film.
6.25/10
Mexico
We travel back to the west, in more ways than one, in the 1971 Mexican production, El sabor de la venganza (The Taste of Vengeance) aka An Eye for an Eye. Not to be confused with the similarly titled Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent Spanish western from 1966, this film follows the newer, darker stylistic trail set by Euro-westerns of the late 60's and early 70's.
The story gets out of the starting blocks quickly as a father and son are ruthlessly gunned down on their ranch by some bad hombres. It turns out, the son Judd, (Jorge Luke) was not killed and his vengeance-minded mother Sara (Isela Vega) subsequently grooms him to be a gunfighter with the help of a seasoned, world-weary killer. This sensei character is, of course, played by Cameron Mitchell in a role that seems tailor-made for him. Although I was expecting it to be just a walk-on part for Mitchell, he actually plays a significant role and is the conscience of the piece. Vega, as the Lady Macbeth-type mother, is really solid as well and even brings a nice bit of brutal payback down on a would-be masher ranch-hand early in the proceedings. In fact, the most surprising thing about the film was the violence which was harsh, unflinching and down right cold-blooded on more than one occasion. Oft-times, and fittingly, it was the vengeance-obsessed, protagonist Judd who was the most egregious at doling out the merciless violence even going to the extremes of committing rape and shooting an innocent man in the back. Judd's metamorphosis into a soulless killer is predicted by Mitchell's character early on when he warns the mother "you don't want him to turn out like me" and fits in quite nicely thematically speaking. The director, Alberto Mariscal, may have been a little heavy-handed in bringing his point home, but then again, Mexican cinema is not exactly known for its subtlety, and in this instance, the over-the-top, cold blooded aspect of the the lead character, Judd, was its strongest feature and really drove the point home. Unfortunately, Jorge Luke, is fairly average in screen presence so the character's change is not as chilling as it could have been. The villains are likewise nondescript which lessens the satisfaction of seeing them get their comeuppance. The look of the film is not bad, and though it lacks the style of its Italian counterparts, Mariscal occasionally pulls off a nice camera angle. The ultra-closeups favored by most Latin cinema are very present but happily aren't overused. I wish the soundtrack had been more present as the film really suffers from the absence of any mood-enhancing music. Overall though, the film was a better-than-expected, gritty and violent surprise with a decent turn by Mitchell. It's a bit tough to find, but worth a watch if you enjoy Euro-type westerns.
The story gets out of the starting blocks quickly as a father and son are ruthlessly gunned down on their ranch by some bad hombres. It turns out, the son Judd, (Jorge Luke) was not killed and his vengeance-minded mother Sara (Isela Vega) subsequently grooms him to be a gunfighter with the help of a seasoned, world-weary killer. This sensei character is, of course, played by Cameron Mitchell in a role that seems tailor-made for him. Although I was expecting it to be just a walk-on part for Mitchell, he actually plays a significant role and is the conscience of the piece. Vega, as the Lady Macbeth-type mother, is really solid as well and even brings a nice bit of brutal payback down on a would-be masher ranch-hand early in the proceedings. In fact, the most surprising thing about the film was the violence which was harsh, unflinching and down right cold-blooded on more than one occasion. Oft-times, and fittingly, it was the vengeance-obsessed, protagonist Judd who was the most egregious at doling out the merciless violence even going to the extremes of committing rape and shooting an innocent man in the back. Judd's metamorphosis into a soulless killer is predicted by Mitchell's character early on when he warns the mother "you don't want him to turn out like me" and fits in quite nicely thematically speaking. The director, Alberto Mariscal, may have been a little heavy-handed in bringing his point home, but then again, Mexican cinema is not exactly known for its subtlety, and in this instance, the over-the-top, cold blooded aspect of the the lead character, Judd, was its strongest feature and really drove the point home. Unfortunately, Jorge Luke, is fairly average in screen presence so the character's change is not as chilling as it could have been. The villains are likewise nondescript which lessens the satisfaction of seeing them get their comeuppance. The look of the film is not bad, and though it lacks the style of its Italian counterparts, Mariscal occasionally pulls off a nice camera angle. The ultra-closeups favored by most Latin cinema are very present but happily aren't overused. I wish the soundtrack had been more present as the film really suffers from the absence of any mood-enhancing music. Overall though, the film was a better-than-expected, gritty and violent surprise with a decent turn by Mitchell. It's a bit tough to find, but worth a watch if you enjoy Euro-type westerns.
6.5/10
United States
Finally, we're back where we started in sunny Cali- whaaaaat? Cuba? No, not really, it's actually Los Angeles doubling for Havana with a couple of well-placed Spanish-language signs in the 1959 slight error in political judgement called Pier 5, Havana. In this too-timely political/crime thriller, Mitchell stars as Steve Daggett, a Miami businessman who has come to post-Bastista Havana to find his friend who disappeared during the revolution.
While most modern day American filmmakers remain cautiously neutral when it comes to the internal political upheavals of other countries, B-movie king, Edward L. Cahn, had no such compunctions portraying the Castro revolution as a heroic liberation of the island from the Batista regime. The fact that the cartoonish-ly evil baddies in the story are hell-bent on overthrowing the new leader and restoring power to Batista exemplifies the movie's, largely de-facto, pro-Castro bent. It's an instantly dated point of view and amusing in it's naivety but ultimately forgivable considering the US's fair weather foreign policy. Also unintentionally humorous is the newly appointed, pro-Castro, police chief of Havana, Lt Garcia (Michael Granger), who seems to serve as yankee businessman Daggett's personal guardian angel. Garcia's entire job seems to involve waiting around for Daggett to get in over his head and then pulling his fat from the fire. Who knew Castro's cops would be so helpful to the Americanos?
As much fun as I had with the wonky politics of the film, they really take a backseat to the Daggett character's story which involves finding his friend, reconnecting with an old flame and fighting off those nefarious Batista-ites. The crime thriller aspect was the real crux of the film with the recent Cuban revolution more backdrop than anything else. In this respect, and taking into consideration the movie's low budget B-ness, it really works quite well. The pacing is quick, action is peppered throughout, the love interest angle is interesting and the political intrigue is engaging enough to hold attention throughout. Director Cahn, who worked on over one hundred low budget pictures was extremely competent and knew just what was needed to move a story along while still keeping it intelligible and digestible. Mitchell, as the lead, is at the top of his game with an action oriented, hard-bitten character who is both tough and vulnerable. B-movie goddess, Allison Hayes, is also very good as the old flame and adds an element of smolder-y-ness. The only real downside are the villains who are a pretty generic bunch with the exception of Otto Waldis who plays the appropriately named Schluss. All in all, the movie is a technically well-crafted, fun little 68 minute political anomaly with Mitchell and Hayes as the highlights.
While most modern day American filmmakers remain cautiously neutral when it comes to the internal political upheavals of other countries, B-movie king, Edward L. Cahn, had no such compunctions portraying the Castro revolution as a heroic liberation of the island from the Batista regime. The fact that the cartoonish-ly evil baddies in the story are hell-bent on overthrowing the new leader and restoring power to Batista exemplifies the movie's, largely de-facto, pro-Castro bent. It's an instantly dated point of view and amusing in it's naivety but ultimately forgivable considering the US's fair weather foreign policy. Also unintentionally humorous is the newly appointed, pro-Castro, police chief of Havana, Lt Garcia (Michael Granger), who seems to serve as yankee businessman Daggett's personal guardian angel. Garcia's entire job seems to involve waiting around for Daggett to get in over his head and then pulling his fat from the fire. Who knew Castro's cops would be so helpful to the Americanos?
As much fun as I had with the wonky politics of the film, they really take a backseat to the Daggett character's story which involves finding his friend, reconnecting with an old flame and fighting off those nefarious Batista-ites. The crime thriller aspect was the real crux of the film with the recent Cuban revolution more backdrop than anything else. In this respect, and taking into consideration the movie's low budget B-ness, it really works quite well. The pacing is quick, action is peppered throughout, the love interest angle is interesting and the political intrigue is engaging enough to hold attention throughout. Director Cahn, who worked on over one hundred low budget pictures was extremely competent and knew just what was needed to move a story along while still keeping it intelligible and digestible. Mitchell, as the lead, is at the top of his game with an action oriented, hard-bitten character who is both tough and vulnerable. B-movie goddess, Allison Hayes, is also very good as the old flame and adds an element of smolder-y-ness. The only real downside are the villains who are a pretty generic bunch with the exception of Otto Waldis who plays the appropriately named Schluss. All in all, the movie is a technically well-crafted, fun little 68 minute political anomaly with Mitchell and Hayes as the highlights.
6.5/10
I hope you enjoyed our trip around the world with Cameron Mitchell. The guy acted in some very entertaining and often off-kilter movies in some pretty disparate places. This and the previous post are just a small sample of his sizable filmography. If you want to continue the journey, I'd also recommend the following:
Blood and Black Lace (1964) M. Bava
Minnesota Clay (1964) S. Corbucci
Death of a Salesman (1951) L. Benedek
Monkey on my Back (1957) A. De Toth
Flight to Mars (1951) L. Selander (For lovers of fine quality cheese only)
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