I don't think so; I didn't see a kangaroo or a mouse anywhere near Clint or Eli Wallach.

Around the height of the spaghetti western, Italy also started to knock out war movies; specifically, World War 2 movies. Forget the fact that they were on the losing side, after backing fascism (or that they switched sides, when they were getting whooped), most of these films weren't about Italian soldiers, anyway. True to form, Italy was just copying Hollywood, as the 60s were a time where WW2 was being romanticized and jazzed up for action films, though a certain cynical streak was starting to emerge in some quarters. The Dirty Dozen had given us the concept of 12 condemned prisoner brought together to specifically kill a large group of senior German officers, to sow chaos into the command structure when D-Day came. Then, there was the Guns of Navarone, a thriller where a commando team must infiltrate a German-held Greek island and destroy a pair of radar-controlled coastal artillery guns, so that a British fleet can arrive to rescue a trapped contingent of soldiers on another island. These two films would pretty much set the template for much of what became known as the "Macaroni Combat" film (get it? Spaghetti western....Macaroni Combat? See, they're both pasta....)

One of the earliest films had more in common with Hollywood productions: top international cast, good production values, and a taught script. It was called Under Ten Flags....



The film features a German merchant raider that is attacking only merchant ships, sinking them rapidly, but never engaging warships. The British Admiralty works desperately to identify, locate and sink the vessel. At first, they believe it to be a submarine, but then realize it is a surface vessel and come to determine it isn't a warship.

The film is obviously inspired by the success of CS Forrester's Sink the Bismark, which was adapted into a British war film, at this time. However, it was also inspired by an actual commerce raider, the Atlantis, a German merchant ship that was converted into a raider. It was armed with 6 5 inch guns, a 3 inch gun at the bow, two torpedo tubes and a mine-laying compartment. That's a hell of an armament for any vessel (equivalent of a light cruiser). Gun turrets were disguised to appear as the superstructure of an average merchant ship. The ship captured or sank 22 ships from the Allied nations.

The film stars Van Heflin as the German captain, Charles Laughton as the British admiral hunting for him, and a cast that included Cecil Parker and Peter Carsten. It may seem a bit slow, to some, but it does present an interesting and real element of the war, with a fine group of actors and a better film dubbing.

In 1963, Italy produced a war comedy (Hollywood did this with Blake Edwards' Operation Petticoat and What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?) about two idiot petty criminals, forced to join the Italian Army (in WW1, so they are on the right side) who inadvertently help win a major battle against the Austrians. The Italian title is Il Giorno Piu Corto; but, in English, it is known as The Shortest Day, spoofing the epic The Longest Day. The fiklm features cameos from a wide range of Italian stars, who did cameos and small parts in an effort to help save the studio from bankruptcy. Even the poster is a spoof of the Italian movie poster for the Longest Day...



Another version accentuated all of the stars in the film....



Another spoof was Due marines e un generale, aka War Italian Style. A pair of hapless Marines, played by Itaklian comedy duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia, with Buster Keaton as the mute general. The two marines find themselves in the Battle of Anzio, facing an artillery piece.



Now, the first film to be considered part of the Macaroni Combat subgenre was 1967's The Dirty Heroes, which directly copied the formula of The Dirty Dozen.



The the spaghetti westerns, the violence level is raised dramatically, while the story is much looser. This one benefits from a better cast, with renowned actor Curd Jurgens as a German officer, married to a Jewish woman (Daniela Bianchi, of From Russia With Love), John Ireland, and Adolfo Celi (Thunderball). Two prisoners escape a POW camp and team up with Dutch Resistance figthers to steal V1 and V2 rocket documents, while also attempting to steal diamonds from a vault. Acting is so-so (mostly due to dubbing), but the emphasis is on action. Ennio Morricone provides the score, with Bruno Nicolai getting co-credit, which was unusual. Nicolai often conducted Morricone's themes but was uncredited or credited as a conductor. he also wrote his own themes.

The genre now well established, multiple films would come out with the same basic premise. Ken Clark, an American expatriate (known for the Agent 077 spy films), starred in Desert Commandos.


(That's actually the opening scenes, rather than an actual trailer)

A team of German specialists is assembled and parachuted into the North African Desert, to reach Casablanca and kill Roosevelt, Churchill and de Gaulle, at the Casablanca Conference. They have to traverse a treacherous desert, mine fields, and Arab bedouins who have no love for them. Its a reverse Dirty Dozen, though with a bit in common to The Eagle Has Landed (from the Jack Higgins novel), where German paratroops, disguised as Polish troops, land in England to try to capture Churchill (the novel was published in 1975 and the film in '76; so, Higgins may be the copiest, here). The fiklm is available on Youtube and has intriguing moments, though it is a bit of a slog. The acting is hardly stellar, nor is the dub; but, the action scenes are quite good and there is conflict between the soldiers that gives a framework for a story. It is directed by Umberto Lenzi, who was at the upper tier of the directors of these things.

Hell in Normandy is a Guns of Navarone plot, as an operation is undertaken to scout a German bunker than can flood the Omaha Beach area with oil and set it ablaze and then launch an airborne attack on the bunker.



Probably one of the best known films of this phase of Italian war films is Commandos, starring Lee Van Cleef.



A group of Italian-American soldiers are recruited to infiltrate an Italian base, in North Africa, in advance of the Operation Torch landings. Their objective is to capture and hold the base until an American battalion arrives and seize any intel, without the Germans getting wind of it. At the base, they find a camp prostitute, which complicates things. The disguised soldiers operate the camp as if all is normal, hosting the Germans to obtain intel, but, the leader of the group is a green officer, with Van Cleef at odds with him, as the experienced sergeant. The film is big on argument scenes and a ton of violence, but not much in the way of subtlety or great acting. It's good in segments; but it doesn't ever really come together.

At the top of the genre is Anzio, a tale set during the Allied landings at Anzio, as they try to jumpstart the Italian Campaign. The film features Peter Falk and Robert Mitchum, directed by Edward Dmytryk, who was one of the Hollywood Ten, who were blacklisted.



This was am international production, with a budget, from Dino de Laurentiis . It has everything the typical Macaroni film lacked: money, real stars and actors, special effects, and a good story. It is a bit episodic, but a pretty good film, overall. Mitchum is a war correspondent(!!) who travels with a group of Rangers on a recon mission, who end up holed up in an Italian farmhouse. Mitchum questions why the men fight and die, with Falk saying he loves the fighting, as he is more alive than at any time. The Allied commanders are shown to be incompetent and politically motivated, which is both probably a swipe at those who persecuted Dmytryk, as well as a reflection of many who felt the Italian campaign was led by the less-than-the cream of the crop of the Allied armies (many felt Gen Mark Clark was throwing men needlessly in a meat grinder, with bad planning and wouldn't listen to better officers, though he was a close friend of Eisenhower).

Peter Falk felt the script was cliched and wanted off the film, but was persuaded to stay with the option of choosing a writer to rewrite his dialogue. He did it himself and got billing above the title.

Back into more usual territory, with Eagles Over London...



On the surface, it appears to be a war epic, riding on the coattails of The Battle of Britain, which had been shot but not yet released. The latter part is true, that the producers wanted their own Battle of Britain film, to ride the coattails of Harry Saltzman's more lavish production. However, the plot is different. The Saltzman film was a dramatization of the events and the people of the Battle of Britain. This film is a fictional story set in the Battle of Britain, but focusing on a team of commandos who infiltrate England, disguised as British soldiers, in the evacuation of Dunkirk. They then attempt to sabotage radar installations and RAF Fighter Command. A group of British soldiers are hunting them. It is filled with tons of historical innacuracies, starting with different planes (with German planes filling in for British ones), a "1,000 plane" raid on London, and an attack on RAF Fighter Command. Still, director Enzo Castellari makes it look fantastic and was angered to find that his footage was later recut into the film From Hell to Victory.



The film tells a fictional account of the Second Battle of El Alamein, from 3 points of view: Rommel's command bunker, Montgomery's command center and an Italian artillery battery caught in the middle. The Italians are forced to fight with all of their might and wits against overwhelming odds, while they are sacrificed by the Germans in a losing cause. Michael Rennie is the Hollywood name, playing Montgomery (and dubebd by someone else), while Frederick Stafford (Dirty Heroes, Eagles Over London) is an Italian officer, trying to keep his men alive. The film depicts Rommel as being part of the Valkyrie bomb plot (no, he wasn't involved in that aspect of the resistance to Hitler) and plays Montgomery similarly to Michael Bates, in Patton. It also makes very noticeable us of 1960s American tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers (Patton had US tanks, too, since it was also filmed in Spain). The first half spends time on character and overall strategy and is good drama, while the second half is the action and slaughter. Kind of a mixed set-up.

Umberto Lenzi would direct another Dirty Dozen riff with Battle of the Commandos (aka The Legion of the Damned), with Jack Palance, with Curd Jurgens, Gina Lollobrigida, Wolfgang Preiss, about a Marine Commando who has to lead a band of prisoners to destroy a massive rail gun. Palance's bad Scottish accent is a hoot(man)!



Palance also stars in The Battle Giants, aka A Bullet for Rommel...



Again, 1960s Spanish equipment, including American half-tracks and tanks and the Spanish Star Model Z-45 submachine gun, which was a copy of the MP-40, though with a different barrel design (also seen in the tv series The Rat Patrol). Another in the style of The Dirty Dozen and the Guns of Navarone.

1970 brought Rock Hudson into this world as he starred in Hornet's Nest, about an American paratrooper who ends up leading a band of Italian partisans against the SS. It's a fairly brutal film and a bit shocking if you are used to Rock and Doris Day.



Hudson is joined by an excellent Italian cast, including Sylva Koscina (The Secret War of Harry Frigg) and Sergio Fantonio (What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? and Von Ryan's Express). The film is a harsh one, showing mental deterioration due to the horrors of war, plus those inflicted on children who grow up with death and violence. This very subject led to the film being attacked by critics and its relative failure pretty much ended Hudson's attempts to prop up his sagging film career and led him to taking the lead role in the tv series McMillan and Wife.

Before we get to the one that brought us here, we will look at the sidebar of the Macaroni films, those featuring mercenary soldiers. In 1968, MGM distributed Jack Cardiff's adaptation of the Wilbur Smith novel, Dark of the Sun, about mercenaries in the Congo. The original novel was set in the in-between period, after independence and the Katanga secession, but before the Simba revolt. It was the Baluba War, which was an offshoot of the Katanga issue. A mercenary unit must reinforce a train to go into enemy territory and rescue European civilians and a cache of diamonds. The film version, starring Rod Taylor and Jim Brown, moved things into the more contemporary Simba revolt, and featured a pretty bloody "hero" who pretty much commits a brutal murder, after a friend is murdered. Pretty much no one was a hero, in that film.

The first knock off came immediately, with The Red Berets, aka Seven red Berets, aka Congo Hell.



The lone survivor of an ambush must lead a mercenary unit back into Simba territory to recover secret documents and a female French journalist. Apart from bloody action, there isn't much to recommend.

In the late 70s, a new generation of Mercenary films emerged, after the European success of The Wild Geese. Most of these films would feature British actor Lewis Collins (Who Dares Wins, The Professionals tv series). The first of these, The Wild Geese Attack Again, did not feature Collins and reused footage from the Seven Red Berets. Code Name: Wild Geese, was a different story, with Collins, Lee Van Cleef, and Ernest Borgnine



The film follows the basic structure of The Wild Geese, except the mercenaries are recruited by a DEA agent to destroy opium factories in the Golden Triangle and are double-crossed.

Commando Leopard finds Collins in Latin America, aiding a revolution, while trying to blow a dam...



Both of these films are from Antonio Margheriti, who directed the Gamma One series of sci-fi films. Both were joint Italian/German films, which probably explains Klaus Kinski's involvement. Neither is anything great; but, if you like stuff blowed up, real good, they are entertaining enough.

There is also a Vietnam subset of these things, including The Last Hunter, a rip off of Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter...

(warning, gory shot at the start of things)


Don't eat dinner before this one. There is also a Rambo knockoff...



I can't recommend that stuff. The Lewis Collins ones are trashy enough, though less exploitive. These are just insulting and gory.

Okay, time for the main feature: 1978's The Inglorious Bastards...



The film is from Enzo Castellari (Eagles over London) and features Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Parts 2 & 3 and the tv series, Heartbreak Ridge), Fred Williamson, Ian Bannen and the original Dr Strange, Peter Hooten, as a group of escaped prisoners who end up dragooned into carrying out a special mission, after they accidentally shoot a commando team, in German uniform. Their objective is a V2 prototype.

This is pretty lively stuff, with a decent cast and actio, which doesn't go too deeply into slaughterhouse territory. Biggest problem is it was the 1970s and they weren't getting paid enough to get a haircut. This is probably the only really good 1970s one (apart from Hornet's Nest) and, for my money, is way better than Tarantino's film, of the misspelled name and Hitler revenge fantasy.

We'll wrap up La Dolce Vita Cinematica, with a look at a few Italian sci-fi films, from the wonky Gamma One film of Antonio Margheriti to the gripping sci-fi/horror Planet of the Vampires, from Mario Bava.

Now, let's put on some appropriate music for our next topic...



The song is "Silver Machine," the group is the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, and the lead vocalist is David Suich. Song originally recorded by Hawkwind, with vocals by Lemmy Kilmister. I could have used to original; but, the Uke's version is so great, the video is fun, and David looks like he should be playing the hero of our next two films: Doctor Who.

In November, 1963, a new, rather unlikely hero graced the screens of television set in Great Britain. Unlikely because he was a cranky old man who seems to delight in snapping at people, whisks them away from their homes without a by-your-leave and has a tendency to rail at authority figures. His name is unknown; his granddaughter, Susan, just calls him "grandfather." To everyone else, he is the Doctor.....



When the show premiered, the opening story featured two teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who compare notes about a precocious, but rather odd student, Susan. She has scientific and mathematic knowledge beyond her years, yet is ignorant of day to day matters and areas of the arts and humanities. In many ways, she is like a foreign visitor, yet she appears to be English. The pair follow her home one night, to try to talk to her parent or guardian and find her entering a scrapyard, where they encounter her grandfather, a cantankerous old man who wants nothing to do with them. They stumble into a police box, which turns out to be "bigger on the inside." The soon learn it is the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), and it can travel through time and space, though not always under its own direction. Ian and Barbara join the Doctor and Susan on adventures through time and on alien planets (sometimes both at once) where they encounter the Daleks, mysterious creatures who inhabit armored vehicles, covered in weapons, who seek to exterminate all human life They become the Doctor's greatest enemies, returning again and again to plague the universe.

The Daleks first appeared in the second Doctor Who serial, whose first episode was titled The Dead Planet. From there, the nightmare-inducing creatures filled multiple episodes, mechanically chanting "Exterminate!", while running around with energy guns and plungers.



Apparently, they are descended from a race of plumbers or something; I don't know....

The creatures were a hit from the word go and would make rapid reappearance in the series, as well as future episodes. Soon, kids were running around, shouting "Exterminate!", to both the annoyance and possibly concern of their parents. The Daleks were the creation of writer Terry Nation, who would write their most significant stories and create their history, later introducing their creator, Davros. Soon, the BBC would start merchandising the monsters, along with other elements of Doctor Who. Being ones to never miss a trick, film producers came calling.

The film studio Amicus (a rival to Hammer) had optioned the tv series and the Daleks from the BBC and Terry Nation )who held rights to the monsters) and started production on a film adaptation of their first appearance, using the basic plot, but altering the characters a bit for an audience who might not have seen or have access to the tv show. In typical fashion, they made great changes to the hero, not least of which, he was no longer an alien or a cranky old buzzard.



The films stars Peter Cushing as the Doctor, Jennie Linden, as Barbara, Roy Castle as Ian, and Roberta Tovey as Susan. Now, let's address the changes up front. Susan is still the Doctor's granddaughter; but, so is Barbara. Susan is actually younger than in the tv series (played as a teenager, by Carol Anne Ford, who was 23, when the tv series premiered). Here, she is a pre-teen (Roberta Tovey was 12), though still quite intelligent and precocious. Ian is no longer Barbara's colleague, he is her boyfriend and the Doctor is an Earthman, who built the TARDIS. The Daleks and the Thals (more on them, in a moment) are pretty much as they appeared in the tv series, except the Daleks have a higher budget and get a few optional extras that their tv cousins didn't get. They also get color chassis.

The film finds Ian at the Doctor's home to pick up Barbara, for a date. Young Susan isn't overly impressed, but, part of that is probably because she is more intelligent than him (or her sister, for that matter). He stumbles into the Doctor's TARDIS and leans on the activation lever, accidentally activating it, and they are hurled through space, to another world. When they step outside, they find themselves on a petrified world, with everything covered in grey ash, frozen as it had been, hundreds or thousands of years before. They discover a container with some kind of serum, in vials, which they put in the TARDIS. They spot a nearby city and the Doctor fakes damage to his machine to entice the others to visit the city, to find parts. There, they encounter the Daleks and are taken prisoner. They speak of the drugs they have found and Susan is sent to retrieve them and encounters Alydon, leader of the Thals, a humanoid species who fought a war against the Daleks. He gives Susan more of the anti-radiation drugs, in case tyhe Dalek's don't hold to their promise to release them and provide them with the serum. The Thals' crops have failed and they are planning to visit the city to bargain anti-radiation drugs for food. Susan returns with the drugs and the second set is discovered, but the Daleks let the humans treat themselves. They overhear about the Thals and plan to wipe them out, now that they have a sample of the serum. The Doctor and his companions break out of their cell and aid the Thals in stiopping the Daleks.

Now, the film got rather poor reviews, at the time, as most critics dismissed it as entertainment for anyone but small children. Doctor Who fans tend to have pretty low regard for the films. The changes to make it more friendly to a mass audience tend to put them off and most felt Cushing's Doctor was a rather weak character, as he is mostly a befuddled absent-minded professor type, rather than the irasacoble hero, as played by William Hartnell. It's a pretty valid criticism, as Hartnell's Doctor has more of an edge to him; you don't always trust him and he kind of slowly mellows as time goes on, endearing him to the audience; but, he is a strong, decisive figure. Hartnell is playing what he was given; but, he does a good job in playing the nicer hero. Since he was saddled with the cliche of eccentric inventor, he plays it with gusto and conviction. He never winks at the audience, so you can buy him, if you aren't that committed to the tv version. Also, his relationship with Susan is far stronger than in the tv series. really, until the final episode for Susan's character, you aren't often sure why Susan loves the Doctor, as he isn't affectionate. Here, Cushing and Roberta Tovey present a very believable grandfather and granddaughter. He adores her and her scientific curiosity and intellect, which matches his own. She has a maturity beyond her years, which makes her a better companion for adventure than Carol Anne Ford's version, who mostly stood around screaming at monsters. This Susan takes on monsters. In fact, Susan is one of the reasons why I love these films, when others don't.

Susan is a much stronger and more believable character here; and, more interesting, as she is younger. Her relationship with the Doctor, aided by Roberta Tovey's tremendous chemistry with Peter Cushing, comes across well. She is a child hero, perfect for the audience of children who were the target of the film. Tovey is a fine actress, especially given her age. She doesn't play cute; she is smart, resourceful, courageous and curious, which makes for a far better role model than a kid who mugs for the camera and makes wisecracks.

Jennie Linden's Barbara is written as a pretty weak character. She is mostly around for someone to rescue. Ian is more bumbling than in the series, though Roy Castle has such an endearing charm that you can forgive Ian. besides, when the chips are down, he is there to be counted.

Color allows the Daleks to appear more sleek and modern (though stark black & white made them more menacing) and their armored shells are given a taller and more rugged appearance. They are given more conical lights, rather than the half domes of the tv design, plus, they get pincer arms instead of plungers. No backed up toilets for this bunch.

The Thals, on the other hand......well, they look like a troupe of cabaret performers.........most likely in a gay club.



Okay, mostly just the guys, as the women have more subdued makeup...



However, they prove to be just as tough as anyone, given a chance. The tv versions were a bit less flamboyant...



Here's where I think the producers went a bit nuts. They were trying for alien; but, it comes across as a bit too camp.

The budget also allows for a wider scope to the city and for livelier action scenes and effects. The climax features plenty of action and thrills to keep an adult as enthralled as a child, even if some of the dialogue ranges from stilted to goofy.

The film did well at the box office, despite the critics and purists. Kids wanted Daleks and they got them. A sequel followed adapting another Terry nation script, where the Daleks have invaded London, in the year 2150 AD...



The Robomen look like Judge Dredd's grandpa!

Roy Catle and Jennie Linden did not return for this one; but, the real stars, Peter Cushing and Roberta Tovey, are here. They are joined by Jill Curzon, as Louise, the Doctor's niece. Ian is also written out and replaced by a police officer, PC Tom Campbell, played by comedic master Bernard Cribbins. He is attacked by criminals as they execute a smash and grab robbery and stumbles into the TARDIS, to call for help. He finds the Doctor and his granddaughters taking off to the future of 2150. There, they find London a landscape of rubble, much like during the Blitz. Only this time, it is a massive spaceship that has attacked the city. It lands and unleashes Robomen, mind-controlled humans who act as shock troops. Soon, the Doctor learns that the Robomen work for the Daleks. He and Tom are captured by the Daleks, while Louise and Susan end up with a band of rebels, fighting the Daleks. The Doctor is able to escape from his cell and escape, though Tom remains trapped on board and Louise ends up a prisoner, on the ship. The Doctor learns about a mine in Bedfordshire, where the Daleks plan to drop a bomb into the Earth's core.

This one tends to be my favorite, as it has a bit more comedy elements, plus plenty of action and a wider scope. Doctor Who and the Daleks is probably a tighter film, with more atmosphere; so, it really depends on what you fancy more. Roy Castle was quite charming in the first, but Bernard Cribbins has impeccable comedic timing and is a darn good actor, especially as a man out of his element. Susan gets a ton of great scenes, especially as she sort of shames one of the rebels into action. Added to the mix are Ray Brooks (of the Swinging 60s film The Knack...and How To Get It), as the action leader of the rebels; and Andrew Keir (who played Prof Quatermass in Quatermass and the Pit, and was the Duke of Argyle, in Rob Roy), as Wexler, a gruff, reluctant rebel, who ends up with Susan who kind of nudges him into heroics. Phillip Madoc plays a shifty black marketeer, later in the film. The Welsh actor, noted for his deep, rich voice, would play characters in two of Patrick Troughton's serials, including the War King, in "The War Games," the final story for Troughton, which reveals he is a Time Lord, when he must call for their help. He also did two serials during the Tom Baker years and has reprised The War King for the Big Finish Doctor Who audio series.

So, don't listen to the Haters (Dalek sympathizers!) and check out the pair of films. There is also a documentary, Dalekmania, which looks at both the Dalek phenomena and the two films, with interviews with the surviving actors.



Roberta Tovey provided commentary for the films, in the dvd versions.

The film series tends to get left out in discussions of the tv show, which I think is a shame. No, they aren't as imaginative (especially the interior of the Tardis, which looks more like a cluttered warehouse), nor as long-lasting; but, they were good adventure films, in my opinion. Peter Cushing deserved to be remembered as the Doctor as much as anyone. As I said, Roberta Tovey was a superior Susan and the film Daleks were later integrated into the tv series, as they got to use the props. The color scheme would be adopted, once the show was broadcast in color.

Now, speaking of the Doctor and Andrew Keir, next time, we will explore one of his colleagues, who proceeded him in facing alien threats: Professor Quatermass. Here again, popular BBC serials will be turned into major motion pictures.

There are many debates as to who is responsible for the success of Doctor Who (a combination of many people); but, one thing is clear...without Prof. Bernard Quartermass, of the British Experimental Rocket Group, he probably wouldn't have existed.

In 1953, the BBC had a 6-week hole in their summer schedule, on Saturday evenings. They turned to Nigel Kneale, an expensive acquisition to their writing staff, for an idea. Kneale was an accomplished actor and writer, with an interest in science,e specially science gone bad. He concocted the idea of man's first space flight "bringing something back." He conceived The Quatermass Experiment, a 6-part serial that became a huge hit, causing streets to be emptied when it was on (or so the story goes). The BBC soon commissioned more, and a sequel appeared in 1955, and a third in 1958. Reginald Tate played Prof Quatermass in the first, John Robinson in the second, and Andre Morell in the third.



Hamer Films snapped up the rights to the serials immediately and went to work. However, it didn't come without changes. The title of the first film was altered to The Quatermass Xperiment, to emphasize that it was an X-Certificate, which meant adults only. They also cast American actor Brian Donlevy in the role, instead of a British actor, to better sell the film to US audiences. Donlevy was noted for playing heavies in film noir, or authority figures in other films, wasn't exactly a physical specimen, and played the character with a certain brusque air. To further add to things, the ending is altered to make it seem more noble and the film was retitled The Creeping Unknown, for US release.



The plot find the rocket that carried the first manned spaceflight returning, surprisingly, to Earth, after being feared lost. Two of the 3-man crew are dead, and the survivor is taken back to the research center to treat him, where he lies mute. His face seems changed and examination eventually reveals a strange growth on a shoulder and seeming alterations to his facial structure. The other 2 crewmen are missing, with only empty spacesuits remaining. Inspector Lomax is tasked with investigating their disappearance. Camera footage from the rocket's cabin reveals everything normal until the ship is buffeted by something in space. Visuals go distorted, then there are frantic cries from the others and their suits lose shape, with Carroon, the survivor, the only one remaining. fingerprint tests reveal Carroon's fingerprints aren't like any other human. Carroon escapes from a hospital and collides with a cactus and starts mutating and releases spores, which grow a new life form. Eventually, Quatermass and Lomax chase down the creature's movements and it is cornered in an abbey.

The film has some really strong and unsettling moments, setting the DNA for later features, like Alien. The British Experimental Rocket Group is a mixture of actual British space exploration projects and other sci-fi sources, like the Dan Dare comic strip, which was basically the RAF In Space. Donlevy plays Quatermass as a cranky authoritarian, who believes science is above human concerns, until he is forced to see otherwise. British film stalwart Jack Warner (Mr Jorkin, rival of Fezziwigg, in the 1951 A Christmas Carol, with Alistair Sim) plays Lomax. Much of the film is shot around the grounds of the BERG, a later hospital, and the environs where the creature has gone. We see ships crash down in the countryside, soldiers deployed, scientists and police investigating weird slime trails, strange deaths and disappearances, then a horrible, mutated creature, which is growing and looking to change the Earth for itself. It's everything that Doctor Who would bring, except the travelling in time and space.

Nigel Kneale hated the film, especially Donlevy, who he felt played his creation all wrong (the actor was an alcoholic; but, the director picked up on it and was able to keep him sober and focused). The film did modest business in the US but was popular enough in the UK. Like the tv series, the sequel would gain an adaptation, with Donlevy returning.



Quatermass 2 (or Enemy From Space, in the US) finds Prof Crankyass....I mean, Quatermass working on a moon colonization project, which isn't getting much government support. A meteor shower bombards the area with meteorites. He and his assistant find a rocket-shaped stone, which cracks like an egg and releases a gass in the assistant's face. A V-shaped mark appears on his forehead. Armed guards, wearing gas masks, turn up and take the assistant away and threaten the Prof, if he doesn't leave. He follows at a distance and finds a facility that mirrors his moon base vision. he contacts Inspector Lomax, who puts him in touch with a government MP, who has been trying to investigate the area. They make an official visit and are shown around the plant, which they are told manufactures artificial food (like Cheez Wiz?). The MP slips away and goes poking around one of the domes in the plant. Quartermass sees him die and is driven off by gunfire from guards. he gets to Lomax, who reports to a superior, but sees the V-shaped mark on his forehead. He puts Quatermass in touch with a journalist, who goes to a new prefab housing area, for the workers building the facility. they think he is nuts, until a meteor crashes through and kills a barmaid. A mob, aided by Quatermass, storms the plant and barricades themselves in. Quatermass discovers the domes house an alien life form and that they are prepping for more to come. The air must be poisonous, he realizes and he pumps oxygen into the dome, killing the creatures. His assistant launches a rocket at the point of origin of the meteors. A pitched battle at the plant ensues and the creatures are released from a dome and combine into something bigger.

This one has more action in it, and a similar feel to things like Village of the Damned and similar efforts, where a remote area has an event and locals are hostile to outside investigators. It is also a but subversive, in that this commercial enterprise is holding off government inspection and is seen as something sinister. Definitely not a Thatcher-era film.

For the third film, the lead is recast with Andrew Keir, as workers on an Underground offshoot line discover ancient artifacts.



Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth) finds the excavations uncover ancient skeletons of what appear to be a hominoid ancestor of man. It also finds a metal object, which appears to be a potential unexploded bomb. An Army bomb disposal team is called in and discover what appears to be a vehicle. Quatermass is arguing with a British Army major about his moon project (still not off the ground, 10 years later), who is called in to lend expertise with the "bomb". Quatermass accompanies him and advises on the scene. Quatermass consults with the paleontologist studying the hominoid skeletons and the Prof beliecves the metal object is of alien origin. Attempts to pierce its skin fail. The area has a curious history of hysteria and beliefs of devils attacking. Attempts to open the craft find an insectoid skeleton inside and seem to unleash horrible visions and terrors. Eventually, Quatermass theorizes the alien creatures have visited before and implanted images in the minds of residents that were responsible for the hysteria.

Andrew Keir is a bit more of a maverick figure than Brian Donlevy, which is probably due to being a bit closer to the tv script. The film had taken so long because of financing, as Columbia passed on it and it was several years before Warner/Seven Arts greenlit it.

Julian Glover is the British major, having worked with director Roy Ward Baker on the Avengers tv series. Barbara Shelly, a Hammer regular, was the assistant to the paleontologist, played by James Donald (senior POW officer in The Great Escape). The film is more into ancient horror, slash biblical horror territory; not quite Lovecraft or bug-eyed monster; but, pulling elements from that. The previous films fit more of the 50s invasion cycle/monster films. This is a bit more horrific, in that much of the terror is imagined, making for an unsettling atmosphere, as your mind is left to fill in things.

In 1979, a 4th Quatermass appeared on Thames Television (on the ITV network), with John Mills as the Professor, who is retired. His granddaughter goes missing and he goes in search of her and sees the decay of the cities. A joint US/USSR space mission is destroyed on screen and evidence points to extraterrestrial origin. A hippie group is travelling neolithic sites , where they believe they will be transported to a better life; but, are, instead, incinerated. Quatermass learns that humans are being harvested by an alien for protein.

The serial was set to be broadcast in September, 1979 and a major marketing campaign was undertaken. Nigel Kneale had written the script. However, a strike interrupted plans and it wouldn't air until the end of October, to middling reviews. The serial was a commentary on the times, with urban decay, labor unrest, political failure and the general malaise of the 1970s recession. Quatermass was also not a man of action, which didn't help the energy of the thing. A movie version of the serial was also released and shown on US tv.

In 1996, Kneale created a radio series, the Quatermass memoirs, which explored the professor's past, including in Nazi Germany. There was talk of a p[requel serial, with Quatermass in 1936 Berlin, with Werner Von Braun, who works with the professor, who helps a Jewish woman escape the Nazis. he would then work in secret Allied projects, during the war.

2005 saw a remake of the original serial, with Jason Flemyng. The production was done as a live broadcast, scheduled for 2 hours; but, under-running by 15 minutes, which was explained as nervousness, due to live transmission causing the actors to deliver their lines at a quicker pace. Quatermass fan Mark Gatiss appeared in the production, as did future Doctor Who David Tennant. Julian Glover's wife, actress Isla Blair, played the Home Secretary.

Of the original serials, only 2 of six episodes of The Quatermass Experiment still exist; but, the other two exist in their entirety. The surviving parts of the first two serials can be seen on Youtube. The 1979 serial can be seen on Youtube, as well.

Next, a slight detour back to Italy for a recommendation from the world of sword and sandal films. One hint...

One guy who I really think "gets" comic book stories, yet, surprisingly, hasn't done a comic book related movie (entirely) is John Carpenter. If you look at his films, particularly the action/sci-fi ones, you will see the larger than life characters, the memorable villains, the ridiculous moments and pretty much everything that makes a great comic book story.

Carpenter was the son of a music professor and grew up in Bowling Greene, KY (after a brief stint in New York state). It is obvious to see where his interest in music came into play. He was a fan of sci-fi, John Ford and Howard Hawkes westerns, comic books and pro wrestling, as he related to Rowdy Roddy Piper, on his podcast (and Carpenter name dropped some guys that only a real fan would bring up, not just the usual suspects). He attended Western Kentucky University, before transferring to USC film school, where he fell in with that mob, including writer Dan O'Bannon. At USC, he did a student film, Captain Voyeur, which would feature many elements that wouyld turn up in his horror classic (if you like that kind of thing) Halloween. He also collaborated on the short film The Resurrection of Bronco Billy, which won an Oscar for short film. From there, he and O'Bannon collaborated on the film Dark Star.



I'll be honest, I've never made it through more than the first 20 minutes or so, of this one. The basic plot is the crew of the Dark Star have spent 20 years destroying unstable planets, to ensure they do not endanger man's colonization of space. Their ship is falling apart and their AI thermonuclear bombs are getting screwy. Some kind of storm makes everything worse.

The film was done for $60,000 and is basically a student picture/amateur production, with no real actors. Co-writer Dan O'Bannon is one of the crew and provide a bomb's voice, plus future collaborator Nick Castle plays an alien. It features a realistic take on space, with a lived-in look, technobabble and people talking over each other. It would prove influential, more than successful, as O'Bannon would turn many of the ideas within it into Alien. For me, though, there aren't enough drugs to get me through the film, which seems to be the key audience for the film.

Carpenter's next film is a bit closer to the mark, though I find the pacing in it a bit slow.



Carpenter wanted to do a western, but the budget wasn't there. Instead, he conceived of Rio Bravo, in a modern setting. Assault on Precinct 13 features a police station that is being decommissioned. A motorcycle cop is assigned to oversea its last hours. A street gang steals a cache of automatic weapons, but runs into an ambush by the police. They vow vengeance and go on a random killing spree, that includes a little girl (Escape to Witch Mountain's Kim Richards) In grief, her father kills the leader of the street gang. He ends up running from the gang and holes up in the police station, in a catatonic state. The gang besieges the precinct. Meanwhile, a prison transfer bus stops in for medical aid for a prisoner. When the siege unfolds, the prisoners are released to aid in the fight. The gang uses noise suppressors (silencers) to keep other police from being alerted. The people inside most hold off wave after wave of assaults, while they try to alert help.

The film is filled with homages to Hawkes and Rio Bravo, as well as naming a character after screenwriter and sci-fi pioneer Leigh Brackett. Austin Stoker (Battle for the Planet of the Apes and voice actor on the animated Return to the Planet of the Apes) stars as the cop in charge and frequent Carpenter collaborator Frank Doubleday is one of the street gang leaders. As is usual, Carpenter also wrote and played the music on synthesizers, mixing stylistic elements of the score to Dirty Harry and "Immigrant Song". The film is raw stuff and an exploitation style, but, with a sharp eye and a few key actors to ground things. Low budget means less accomplished actors, which is both a blessing and a curse. Carpenter casts for character; but, sometimes the result is mixed. Other times it is memorable.

Carpenter's big success would be the horror classic Halloween, with Jamie Lee Curtis.



I'm not big on horror; I had to vivid an imagination, as a kid and could conjure up nightmares from Gilligan's Island episodes (the Mad Doctor one, with Vito Scotti, where he switches their minds and bodies) and viewmaster reels (a Batman tv shows set). Trailers for these things made me leave the room, when they came on tv. So, no, I haven't seen this and have no desire. It was made for $300,ooo and grossed $65 million. Carpenter had a big hit and it got Jamie Lee Curtis noticed, in Hollywood, as someone other than the daughter of two stars. Carpenter's theme became memorable and a big hit in its own right. The film is credited as one of the earliest slasher films, though Carpenter has denied any moral message, as seen in other ones, where promiscuity is always punished. He was doing a haunted house film.

Carpenter's next film began his collaboration with Kurt Russell, who would prove to be the perfect actor for his work. They worked together on the tv movie Elvis.



Carpenter was a fan and wanted to do something dramatic and this was a chance. Russell was itching to play serious roles, after a long stint with Disney and a baseball career derailed by injury. The film doesn't just detail El;vis' life; it makes it live on the screen. Russel doesn't play Elvis or immitate him, he portrays him. He worked with Elvis when he was 12 years-old, tossed around a baseball with him, talked about his father's (Bing Russell) westerns with Elvis. Russel was the perfect actor to become Elvis because he knew the person behind the performance, the kid from Tennessee. He brought that element to life. A lot of people sat up and took notice of Russell, because of that film. Carpenter did not have final edit and did not do the score and wasn't satisfied with his work; but, it's a great film.

Carpenter's next film was another horror picture, The Fog, which drew inspiration from EC Comics, with a tale of revenge and monsters hiding behind clouds. Haven't seen it. Many of the characters' names are in jokes, named after friends, like Dan O'Bannon and Nick Castle. Carpenter's then-wife, Adrienne Barbeau stars, along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, John Houseman, and Buck Flower, who would go on to apepar in 3 more Carpenter films.

Now we get to the good stuff.....



Escape From New York is set in a dystopian future (for 1981), where the US has been in a hot war against the USSR, the crime rate in the country skyrocketed and the citizens have slowly gone insane. New York was cut off and turned into a maximum security prison, with a life sentence. Within this world, a group of revolutionaries have hijacked Air Force One and the President ejects in an escape pod, somewhere in Manhattan. The plane crashes and the US Police Force, under the command of war veteran Bob Hauk, mobilizes a rescue team to go into the prison and bring out the President. Instead, they find a weird character, named Romero (after George Romero), who tells them that if they aren't in the air in 60 seconds, the President dies. If they try to come in force, he dies. He presents them with a severed finger, with the Presidential Ring. Hauk withdraws his men. Meanwhile, a piece of luck lands in Hauk's lap. A new arrival for processing to go into the prison is one "Snake" Plissken (I heard he was dead...). Plissken pulled off the robbery of a US bank, making off with hundreds of debit cards. His accomplice hotwires the transcontinental underground rail system to get them a ride out. The reach their destination and leave, but something makes Plissken feel uneasy. He soon spots an ambush; but, his accomplice can't escape (he's lame) and Plissken surrenders, though his buddy is shot dead. Plissken is brought to Hauk who makes him an offer: fly a glider into Manhattan, use a tracker to locate the President and get both him and a coded tape out of the prison, so that he can attend a summit meeting. The deal includes a full pardon and cash and transport to anywhere. However, to make sure Plissken carries out his mission, he is injected with micro-explosives, which will dissolve in less than 24 hours and blow open his arteries. If he brings out the President, they can neutralize the charges. Snake flies in, and things start going wrong and he must renew old acquaintances and make new friends to find his target and get him away from The Duke of New York, who runs the prison.

Russell is terrific as he channels Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, practically whispering his dialogue, in scenes, while he acts like a coiled snake, waiting to strike. Russell was an athlete and got into great shape and looks like the Specioal Forces veteran he is supposed to be. Lee Van Clief is Hauk and brings that same kind of a-hole charm he had in the Leone films. Donald Pleasance, who worked with Carpenter on Halloween, is the President, attempting a Mid-Atlantic accent, with mixed results. Isaac Hayes is The Duke, Harry Dean Stanton is Brain (an old "friend"), Adrienne Barbeau is Maggy, Brain's bodyguard and lover. Frank Doubleday is Romero and Ernest Borgnine is Cabbie. Buck Flower has a cameo as a drunk who is wearing the President's tracer bracelet and pro wrestler Ox Baker is Slag, a gladiator who Snake is forced to battle.

The film was shot almost entirely at night, in East St Louis and St Louis. ESL had suffered a big fire, which burned out large neighborhoods of the city. The city was willing to shut off power for several blocks to give the urban setting a dark feel. Real burnt out buildings showed the decay within the prison. The Old Chain of Rocks bridge, across the Mississippi was used for the "69th Street Brudge", with the filmmakers purchasing it for a dollar, for filming, then selling it back. The fight against Slag was shot in the disused Union Station train station, which was being developed as a hotel and shopping mall. Carpenter used miniatures and matte paintings to give the New York skyline and a sequence involving the computer display of the city, on the glider's instruments, was shot using a black miniature, lined with reflective tape, which looked like a wireframe display. The sequence was shot by effects people from Roger Corman's New World Pictures, including James Cameron.

In the film, Snake is outfitted with gear that would make the Punisher aroused, as he is given a .357 magnum revolver with scope, an Ingram M-10 submachine gun with noise suppressor and scope, holsters for both, shuriken, tracker, radio, amphetamines, and ammo. He is decked out in his old camo utilities, which feature a pattern not seen in any army, at the time, giving it an other world look. Snake has an eye patch and you immediately think Nick Fury, if you were a comic fan. In some publicity shots, Russell is holding a compact rifle which looks like it was a customized AR-7 survival rifle (or AR-like pellet gun), but no such weapon appears in the film. USPF troopers carry M-16A1 rifles, with plastic tubular barrel shrouds, rather than the standard triangular ones of the model, or the tubular ones of the A2 version.

vs

The scope isn't going to help on that thing, as it has a range of about 50 yards; but, it looks cool.

I read the novelization, by Nike McQuay, first. It features an expansion of the story, especially Snake's past. It gets into detail about his mission into Leningrad, which Hauk mentions. He and his men were wearing chemical gear, when the eyepiece of his gas mask was hit and broke, causing him to lose sight in his left eye. His parents were killed by the USPF and his home burnt to the ground. That is when he started taking back, leading to his crimes. It also suggests that chemical attacks on the US are responsible for driving the populace insane, causing the spike in crime that leads to the world of the story. It further establishes that the tape the president is carrying details a new cobalt-based thermonuclear weapon which is a game changer, which will be used to make demands of the USSR and China. There is also a sequence when Plissken is being prepped for entry into the prison, which is supposed to include castration and he is taunted by a guard. That does not appear in the film; but, Snake runs into a woman (played by Russell's then-wife Season Hubley), who remarks that he still has his testicles.

The bank robbery and escape was originally shot; but, deleted from the film after it tested poorly, as it was confusing to the audience and also messed with the pacing of the film. The theatrical release introduces Snake when he arrives, via bus, to the prison embarkation processing. The Liberty Island command center was done by editing shots of the Sepulveda Dam, in LA and the real liberty Island. We first see the shots blend as a trooper walks from one set to the other, via a guard station, which acts to splice the shots. The film also features the glider landing on the World Trade Center.

The cast is great, aside from the more amateur actors, like Isaac Hayes and a few of the bit players. Hayes has the charisma to pull off what he lacks in acting technique. For the gladiator battle, Ox Bake and Kurt Russell do most of their own stunts and Baker was laying it on a bit heavy, according to the commentary. Carpenter says Russell tweaked Baker in the groin and told him to settle down (Baker was always more of a wrestling gimmick than an accomplished mat wrestler or brawler; he had a great look and voice and that was about it)



The film was greatly inspired by Watergate and the US Hostage Crisis, in Iran, and features a rather dark and cynical take on the road the US was on. It satirized many elements of New York and urban life, plus politics and ethnic divisions. Now, it looks tame. Carpenter & Russell would revisit Snake in 1996, in Escape from LA



Essentially, it was a big budget remake, transposed to LA (earthquakes caused sections of the LA area to sink into the ocean, rendering it an island), with satire of the Religious Right added to the mix, as well as Political Correctness and LA culture. It really adds nothing new or great, other than the soundtrack, including Rob Zombie.

Next, Carpenter remade an old favorite, Howard Hawkes' The Thing from Another World...



An Antarctic research station uncovers an alien species, which absorbs and assimilates other living creatures and destroys a Norwegian station. Kurt Russell is McReady, a helicopter pilot, while Keith David, Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart and Donnald Moffat are the more noted members of the cast.

The film became known for its advanced special effects and violent imagery, which turned off many critics and filmgoers and the film did middling box office. It found new life on home video and cable, as did Escape from New York.

Carpenter's Next film has a tenuous comic connection; the title...



The film features Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Richard Jaeckel and Charles Martin Smith. Bridges is an alien who has inhabited the body of Allen's dead husband. Allen grieves for him and is startled by his reappearance. She helps the alien learn and then goes on the run with him when the government and scientists try to locate and capture him, for study. The film is a tremendously underrated work of both science fiction and romantic drama. It carries ethical debates about the government's pursuit and motives, while Allen is drawn to the alien, who appears as the man she loved. However, she slowly comes to love the alien entity, for who he is. There are tons of memorable scenes, including one where the alien uses one of his energy spheres to resurrect a dead deer, killed by hunters. It is the tenderness that he demonstrates that draws Allen in and makes her want to directly assist him. Bridges is cloned from a lock of hair of the deceased, rather than resurrecting his corpse. He later impregnates Allen and tells her he made a baby in her, though she says she is infertile. he tells her it is so and will be her husband's since it is his DNA. he must get to an Arizona rendezvous with his people or die and the film becomes a chase.

Really great, human stuff. It was later adapted into a tv series, with Robert Hayes, as the alien returned to find his young adult son.

Next, was the other perfect Carpenter comic book movie. Greatly inspired by Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors of Magic Mountain, Carpenter conceived Big Trouble, in Little China...



Kurt Russell is Jack Burton (channeling John Wayne) a blowhard of a truck driver who makes a delivery to San Francisco's Chinatown and plays cards with friend Wang Chi. He goes with his pal to meet his girl, arriving from China, who is grabbed by gang members, out joyriding. Wang and Jack try to catch them and end up in a battle between rival tongs. The gang fight is broken up by The Three Storms, martial arts and elemental masters, who take the girl away, later on. They work for Lo Pan, an ancient evil warlord who is cursed, but a girl with green eyes can provide blood that will release him from the curse. They team up with a social activist, a head waiter, a journalist and a Taoist sorcerer to fight Lo Pan, the Three Storms and the Wing Kong tong.

James Hong plays Lo Pan, who is, essentially, Fu Manchu, but is at least and Asian-American actor. Kim Cattrall is social activist Gracie Law, who insinuates herself into things. Kate Burton (daughter of Richard) is the journalist, Dennis Dunn is Wang Chi, Donald Li is Eddie (Wang's buddy), and Victor Wong is Egg Shen, the Taoist magician.

Russell is a hoot as the boastful Jack Burton, carrying Wayne's swagger, but in a deluded form. Dunn is the martial arts hero, who battles one of the Storms at Lo-Pan's. Cattrall is the scatterbrained love interest and the dialogue has that Howard Hawkes rapid-fire pace. The stuntwork is pure Hong Kong and makes for exciting fight sequences and the films is very funny. The commentary track is mostly Carpenter and Russell talking about their kids.

Carpenter would finish out the 80s with the ultimate satire of consumerism, Reaganism, and yuppies, with They Live!



Roddy Piper is John Nada, a homeless man, in search of work. he gets a job at a construction site where he meets Frank (Keith David) a former factory worker from Detroit. Nada hears a street preacher talk about creatures form elsewhere taking over, making them slaves to greed and corruption. Later, at a Hooverville (homeless camp), he sees a tv broadcast interrupted by a pirate signal which speaks of aliens making the people their slaves, setting the populace against each other and fed subliminal messages. Nada notices strange activity at a nearby church and overhears the camp leader talking to the street preacher and the man from the pirate broadcast. he also finds boxes of black sunglasses which allow him to see subliminal messages in advertising, product packaging, magazines and tv. He also sees what appear to be people with their skin stripped away, mixing with normal humans. He is noticed by one of the creatures who uses a watch to report the situation and escape. Soon, Nada is arrested by police and fights his way free. He abducts a female executive from a tv station and forces her to help him escape. When his guard is down, she slugs him and knocks him over a balcony. he eventually returns to the construction site and finds Frank and forces him to try the glasses. They end up meeting with rebels and learn the truth. The woman turns up, having looked at the glasses. The go to destroy a transmitter at the tv station.

Piper had done some acting, in the film The One and Only, where Henry Winkler plays a failed actor who becomes a Gorgeous George-like wrestler. Piper plays Leatherneck Joe, one of his opponents, while other lA wrestlers appear (including Chavo Guerrero Sr and Gen LeBell) and the movies Hell Comes to Frogtown and Bodyslam. He's actually pretty good as Nada, handling the quet stuff well enough and capturing the paranoia, plus delivering one of the best lines of 80s action films...



The line was adlibbed by Piper, who was used to improvising promos. He and Carpenter discussed the film on Piper's podcast and Carpenter praised him for both giving the character a realistic feel (as Piper had the look of someone who has lived a hard, but colorful life) and could just nail important lines. Keith David is also great, as Frank, his friend, who kind of fills in details about the loss of jobs and the hopelessness of things. Meg Foster is the tv woman Piper abducts and her trademark green eyes giver her an other-worldly appearance and accentuate her fright when she is abducted. Foster was never the greatest actress out there; but, she has such a unique look that is haunting. Buck Flower is there as a camp member and there are several other great character actors, like Raymond St Jacques (The Green Berets) and Peter Jason (Heartbreak Ridge, Deadwood). The film really captures the feeling of loss and despair for those in the Rust Belt, during the Reagan/Bush 80s, as jobs disappeared, unemployment and debt rose, and homeless numbers climbed. It also satirizes the greed culture and consumerism, as the aliens use this to make pets of humans.

The film is sort of a comic book adaptation. It is based on a sci-fi short story, that was adapted in Eclipse Comics' Alien Encounters, by Ray Nelson and Bill Wray, as "Nada." I saw an article about it in either Starlog or Comic Scene (their comic magazine) and had it confused that Eclipse was doing a comic adaptation, rather than Carpenter adapting their comic story.

This was probably Carpenter's last great film, as he became involved a series of poorly received movies, including Ghosts of Mars, which started out as a third Snake Plissken story that morphed into something else and didn't work. Regardless, Carpenter's Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China and They Live are perfect for the comic fan, with The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 good choices for those who enjoy that kind of thing. If you are a horror fan, you probably already know about Halloween and The Fog.

Next, a pair of Tom Selleck films that were attempts to cash in on his near miss, with Indiana Jones. They also have a connection to our previous look at Hong Kong cinema.

What a fun film. It still holds up today as a multi-hyphenated action/comedy/kung fu/superhero film. My teen son enjoyed it.

Another nice write-up. Pity you don't like horror, as Halloween and The Thing are both top-notch (as is In the Mouth of Madness, for that matter). On the plus side, you got to skip Prince of Darkness.

Has any other director made as many movies that didn't do well at first but caught on much later? The Thing, Big Trouble, and They Live all took quite a while to find their audience. Has to be pretty frustrating.

I saw Dark Star long ago, and it has its moments, but overall you're not missing much. I think the main problem is that while Carpenter and O'Bannon can be funny, that's not the same as being able to do comedy. I have the same problem with the Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy movies--they try too hard to be comedies instead of simply being funny, and there's way too much forced "humor" as a result.

It still boggles my mind that the same guy (Frank Doubleday) played the gang leader in Assault on Precinct 13 and Romero in Escape from New York. I've also never been able to figure out how he looks about a foot taller in the former.

Given the nature of Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China, I would say that Kurt Russell isn't channeling John Wayne so much as channeling John Wayne's biggest and dimmest fan.