While there’s no question that the 1970s were responsible for many, many embarrassing things, one phenomenon for which the decade has no need to apologise is that of the made-for-television movie. In 1969, the ABC network premiered its Tuesday night Movie Of The Week; and so successful did it prove that not only did ABC expand the program to Tuesday and Saturday, but almost forced the other networks to compete by establishing their own MFTV units, as well as prompting an increase in that sort of production by the major motion picture studios.

However, these little films, known for their professionalism and casts of reliable familiar faces, were no mere filler: many of them could boast a remarkable writing pedigree; quite a number dealt seriously with controversial issues, including alcoholism, drug abuse and homosexuality; although at the same time, there is no doubt that fans of genre fare like horror, science fiction and disaster movies were particularly well served.

But then the 80s arrived, and made the 70s seem less embarrasing by comparison. The time of the MFTVM sputtered to a close. It was, indeed, the end of an era; an era that we at the B-Masters intend to spend a full month celebrating. Join us as we relive the memories…and the nightmares.

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Ghosts of Goldfield (2007) begins with those terribly ominous words, “Based on true events.” That usually means that the filmmakers are preemptively excusing their deficiencies in originality, story coherence, etc., by claiming that they were hampered by the facts. Beyond a few simple historical facts, I can neither confirm nor deny the factual basis of any part of the story presented, but I can say this: If a movie sucks, it sucks, and one can’t use the facts as a defense.

Enchanting Shadow

If you are a fan of A Chinese Ghost Story, or if you simply enjoy a solid supernatural film, there’s a lot to love in Enchanting Shadow. It’s the sort of elegant, artfully crafted sort of film you don’t see much of any more, with an attention to detail that wouldn’t be matched until Chu Yuan started directed wuxia movies for the same studio. Enchanting Shadow is one of the first significant films in the fledgling Hong Kong horror scene and would be worth seeing for historical importance alone. Luckily, it has a lot more to offer the viewer than a mere film history lesson. It’s a beautifully acted, beautifully crafted, genuinely creepy high point in the long tradition of good old fashioned ghost stories.

Injustice can be….pretty unjust.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

The flight-crew and passengers of a commercial airliner are stricken with food poisoning, and the only hope of a safe landing lies in the hands of a former fighter pilot who hasn’t flown in ten years, after a traumatic war-time experience…

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ZERO HOUR! (1957)

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Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl
“However, it must be said, that the climax is everything you’d expect from a film as weird as this. I don’t want to give too much away here, but I have to talk about one sequence. I can’t help it, and this sequence, in some ways, truly encapsulates the film. During the battle, Vampire Girl disappears up a tower. Frankenstein Girl has to follow her. So, producing a power drill, with a Philips-head screwdriver bit, she detaches her arm, which is holding a knife. Then, she reattaches the arm and the blade onto her head. Her arm and blade begin to spin like a helicopter propeller until she lifts off and flies after her quarry.”

The Great Jesse James Raid (1953)

Thanks to the continuing resentment in the South after the Civil War, James was hailed not as a common criminal but as a symbol of indomitable South’s-gonna-rise-again spirit and a frontier “Robin Hood,” even though he always left out that “give to the poor” part after robbing the rich. Dime novels filled with fanciful versions of his exploits were popular even when he was still alive, and upon his death he became the subject of a full-fledged martyr’s mythology. Jesse James the murderous bank robber had become in the public mind Jesse James the champion of the oppressed and symbol of the fading frontier. America wouldn’t mythologize its contemporary criminal element to the same degree until the days of Bonnie and Clyde.

Well, it’s that time of the month again… time for me to update my site with a new review. This time it’s an Indonesian movie about a Red Visitor from Down Below: Mahluk dari Neraka (“The Creature from Hell”, 1994), a direct-to-video movie that truly deserves its obscurity. It’s not easy spotting such rare films; finding this one took some heavy spotting indeed.

In spite of its short running time, the movie is padded about as much as possible. Padded maximally, you might say. Maxi-padded, in fact. Throw in a narrative with irregular flow, and you’ll see why this flick has a not-so-fresh feeling.

One thing I can’t understand is why makers of B-movies these days seldom venture into the western genre. Yeah yeah, there is the obvious fact that audiences these days don’t seem to be as hungry for westerns as they were a few decades ago… though as I’ve pointed out before, there have been significant turn-outs the few times a good western has arrived in theaters these past few years. And westerns made-for-cable have been delivering solid ratings during this period as well. Plus, the western genre offers many advantages for those often cash-strapped B-movie producers. For one thing, there’s thousands of acres of magnificent landscape with little to no hassle to get permission to shoot on. Not only can Mother Nature can look like a million bucks and instantly increase the look of your movie, but you are often far away from nosy union representatives as well. Scenes that take place in towns? No problem; there are still some old western town sets standing, and with few westerns being shot these days, it’s likely you can rent them cheaply. And some incidentals like period clothing can be reasonably replicated or found cheaply as well.

But what about essential personnel, like directors or (most importantly) actors with at least a passable amount of star value? In the case of The Shooter, they managed to round up a respectable number of B movie stars: Randy Travis, William Smith, Andrew Stevens, and Robert Quarry. Oh, and Michael Dudikoff as the hero gunfighter. As for the director, they got the infamous Fred Olen Ray. Getting the picture now?

…but if you fight, you MUST win!

And GALLANTS (2010) does just that

In an industry that doesn’t really feature seniors as anything other than background characters or cheap comic relief (“Oh, look — they’re having Betty White curse again”), and seems to worship at the altar of youth, Gallants never allows it’s older cast to be presented as novelties. Yeah, for long time fans, seeing Bruce Leung, Chen Kuan-tai, Lo Meng, and Siu Yam-yam in action once more is a treat, but the movie would betray its own theme if it allowed itself to simply get by on nostalgia alone. The writing-directing team of Clement Cheng, Kwok Chi-kin, and Frankie Tam don’t have much experience between them, but they work hard to make Gallants heartfelt, honest, and witty, and something much more than a crass exercise in exploiting yesteryear. Like the cast, the crew puts everything into trying to make this movie good. And just like it does for the character sin the movie, that unwillingness to compromise, or to take the easy route, is what makes Gallants such a tremendously enjoyable movie.