WONDER WOMEN (1973)

 The plot of this movie seems like something some knucklehead would have made up to make one of those modern day throwback "grindhouse"-type flicks but strangely enough this was actually made back in '73. It deals with mad-scientist/gang boss lady  Dr. Tsu(Nancy Kwan) who has a whole island of female kung-fu killers that she sends out to kidnap the world's top athletes so she can cut them up and create a sort-of super-jock/Frankenstein creation. Also Sid Haig(back when he had an almost full head of hair) acts as her sidekick/money-man. There's lots of groovy 70s fashion on display, gargantuan afros, kung-fu and gun-fu fighting, a ridiculously long chase scene and nekkid supervillainesses. Our hero, Ross Hagen, comes of as a bit dull to me but overall I still find this one more entertaining than any of the big James Bond flicks from this era that it seems to be emulating/spoofing? Just make sure to skip over the Filipino cock-fighting scene if you're a big rooster lover.




                                                       That's one clunky tagline!!:

A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE (1968)

 As far as spaghetti-westerns go this one doesn't really stand out much. The main character here(Alex Cord) has to deal with developing a shaky gun hand and generally doesn't come off as being all that exciting. There's a bunch of political corruption, vigilante gang justice, a corrupt marshall(Arthur Kennedy, who would go on to be that inspector jerk in THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE) and many shootouts. This isn't a bad film overall, and it's shot really well, but there's probably a zillion more entertaining Euro-westerns you could watch before this one. AKA DEAD OR ALIVE and OUTLAW GUN

This movie does have a great title and The Flesh Eaters must have agreed:

THE BEATNIKS (1960)

 Since I don't think you could really consider anyone in this movie a beatnik of any sort the title is a just a tad misleading. The plot actually deals with a group of street hoodlums/petty thieves who, after robbing a convenience store, happen to run into a talent agent who offers the gang leader(Tony Travis) a shot at becoming a pop star. The film is pretty clunky(like for example; why does this producer guy offer this piece of shit hoodlum anything after he just smashed into his car?) but moves along at a brisk enough pace that it still works as an entertaining look at 50s juvenile delinquents. My favorite character, who only appears briefly, is the old lady owner of a craphole diner named "Mama" who possesses the most cartoonish accent I've possibly ever heard. The original working title was SIDEBURNS AND SYMPATHY which is a lot more accurate. Give it a watch for some old-timey knife fights, Sinatra-esque crooning, and various 50s hooligan shenanigans. The director of this "raging teenagers in their 30s" epic was Paul Frees who is most well known for being a voice actor in tons of animated stuff and maybe most importantly on THE BANANA SPLITS program. This would be his only directing job which is kind of a shame because he certainly had that exploitation movie feel down.

"Revealing as it holds the answers to the beatnik questions all America is asking!":



 

THE GREAT SILENCE (1968)

 A couple of years before this, director Sergio Corbucci made the great DJANGO, which is one of my favorite spaghetti-westerns ever. After seeing this one, in it's revamped, restored and re-beautified version, at a recent theatrical showing in NYC, I'm thinking this actually tops it. Perhaps it's Klaus Kinski's standout performance, though all the acting in this is pretty top-notch, or the snowy setting which reminded me of THE CUT-THROATS 9, another favorite. Most of all though it's probably the bleak ending that makes this one really stand out for me though it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. . Corbucci drives home quite the anti-capitalist message here which I'm not even sure I totally agree with but it's all done so well that it's hard to find any other faults here. 
 There's an alternate cut of this that actually has a happy ending which I think really reduces the films power and effect.
 The hot and sexy Vonetta McGee would go on to be in BLACULA and that women-in-prison flick THE BIG BUST OUT. This was only her second role and while everyone blames the movies downer ending on it not getting a release in America or England I can't help but think that her interracial love scene played at least a small part in this being viewed as pretty controversial for the times.