TPTV Films Page 7

Blackout (1950)

Another one of those where they bring in a Yank to spice things up as in 13 East Street (1952) I reviewed last Friday, and again, as in "Impulse" (1954) I reviewed back in August, the American decides not to involve the police by investigating a murder himself - a murder he only stumbled upon at the beginning of the film when he was temporarily blind, post an successful operation to cure him and all he had to go on was the voices he overheard at the murder scene.

Amazingly he survives various skirmishes with the gang of crooks/murderers and it's only the police intervention that stops him being killed at the end of the film.

Good, but the amateur sleuthing was a bit silly. Couple of Brit film stalwarts in the shape of Campbell Singer and Michael Balfour (this time with an Irish accent for some reason)...................Oh, and Sam Kydd who I didn't notice!?

Now that's very interesting.There's a film with a similar plot called "23 paces to Baker Street".
Starring Van Johnson.And very good it is too.

Quote: john tregorran @ 18th September 2019, 9:04 PM

Now that's very interesting.There's a film with a similar plot called "23 paces to Baker Street".
Starring Van Johnson.And very good it is too.

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Ah yes, I remember seeing that one a few years back.

Not a film as such but I've just watched another episode of the 1963 drama "The Human Jungle" featuring Herbert Lom. This one was about a young champion ice skater who had problems in carrying on.

Fire Maidens of Outer Space (1956)

"Plan 9 from Outer Space" was reckoned to be the worse sci-fi film ever made, BUT this beats it hands down and was ahead of it, being made 3 years previous.

I really don't know what to say or where to start with this film - IT WAS EFFIN' DIRE and simply could not have been any worse if they had tried. We had the crew of 5 so called astronauts on this Anglo American space flight to the 13th moon of Jupiter with one American "spaceman" but for some reason the other four Brits ALSO speaking with an American accent (WHY!?) including Harry Fowler (!) and Sydney Tafler who made some half-hearted attempt, but failed miserably. It was SO comical.

I could go on at length about what was wrong with this, but I stuck it out to the bitter end just to see if it could get any worse, which it did, becoming absolutely farcical.

Continuity was non-existent and I thought product placement was a comparatively new idea, but it blatant in this for TWA, Longines, Coca Cola and Polaroid.

Watched The Devil and Daniel Webster on TPTV yesterday. Creepy and brilliant.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 11:50 PM

Fire Maidens of Outer Space (1956)

"Plan 9 from Outer Space" was reckoned to be the worse sci-fi film ever made, BUT this beats it hands down and was ahead of it, being made 3 years previous.

I really don't know what to say or where to start with this film - IT WAS EFFIN' DIRE and simply could not have been any worse if they had tried. We had the crew of 5 so called astronauts on this Anglo American space flight to the 13th moon of Jupiter with one American "spaceman" but for some reason the other four Brits ALSO speaking with an American accent (WHY!?) including Harry Fowler (!) and Sydney Tafler who made some half-hearted attempt, but failed miserably. It was SO comical.
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I googled it and I did like those little tunics the women were wearing.

Quote: chipolata @ 23rd September 2019, 6:38 AM

I googled it and I did like those little tunics the women were wearing.

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God knows what you would have made of the welcoming and sacrificial dances they made - Hot Gossip they ain't! You wouldn't have thought someone could have choreographed something so rubbish and toe-curlingly bad.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 23rd September 2019, 8:30 AM

God knows what you would have made of the welcoming and sacrificial dances they made - Hot Gossip they ain't!

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I have a low titillation threshold.

Well there wasn't much of them on view with those pointy 1950s bras........................ahh sorry yes, I misread your post.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 23rd September 2019, 9:58 AM

Well there wasn't much of them on view with those pointy 1950s bras........................ahh sorry yes, I misread your post.

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The Six Men (1951)

Pretty dire gangland revenge film, the six men that Scotland Yard know are committing a spate of local crimes but their alibis always hold up. Then jealousies step in and each one is grassed up.

Looks as though it was filmed on an 8 mm camera and according to Peter Bull in his memoirs this film had a shooting schedule of ten days! And it shows.

Only other person of note was Judith Furse who I recognised as the Amazonian who always played part "heavy" parts such as a prison warden or a bit of comic muscle.

Strange Harvest (1953)

And "Strange" is an apt title, for I've never seen anything so amateurish and wonder why it made it to the screen. It was only the fact that it was ½ hour long that I managed to watch it to the bitter end, as it was toe-curlingly bad. Like a live Trumpton is the only way I can describe it but even more wooden.

Interesting (?) from the IMDb :-

Originally called THE REAPING OF DEAD MAN'S FIELD it was shot in 35mm during the Coronation summer of 1953 at Peppersgate Farm in Lower Beeding, West Sussex using actors from the nearby Horsham Repertory Company (Edgar Gray, Eve Shirley, Richard Antony and James Delamare). Not in the film, but in the repertory company at that time was 20 year old Michael Scott, in his first job, who later changed his name to Michael Caine.

Not a lot of people know that.

Unearthly Stranger (1963)

Not one bad review of this on the IMDb, but I found it just OK. Good Sci-Fi idea and story, which might have been better suited as a shorter "Twilight Zone" episode. Nonetheless, I didn't feel I had lost an hour and a half of my life.

Most recognisable actors for me were Jean Marsh and Warren Mitchell who was in it very briefly.

Whatabout Patrick Newell aka Mother.?

Quote: john tregorran @ 27th September 2019, 3:11 AM

Whatabout Patrick Newell aka Mother.?

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Ahh yes, well done Tregorrs, I was wondering who was going to be the first to spot that.

But yes, how remiss of me. I had recognised the face but had forgotten his Avengers part.