MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS

Jock Mahoney

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS (1958). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Western detective "Silver" Ward Hogan (Jock Mahoney) rides into town and is immediately assigned the case of an elderly murdered prospector. Hogan discovers that the killer might be one of the people mentioned in the old man's will, so he sets out to find them and see what's up. The beneficiaries include a cute little boy named Davy (Tim Hovey), who lives with his widowed mother, Mary (Kim Hunter), and who ignites Hogan's cautious interest. Then there's the bearded Briggs (Don Megowan); the supposedly reformed crook Clinton Gunstone (William Campbell), who lives with his wife Mary (Judi Meredith); and the oldtimer Henry Devers (James Gleason), whose best pal is Art Birdwell (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Hogan also has a rival in bounty hunter Johnny Bee (Jeffrey Stone, who makes a good impression in a strange role).

The comically generic title of the movie, along with its poster, promises something that the flick doesn't quite deliver. One imagines Mahoney stumbling out of a dance hall with a smile on his lips and lipstick all over his face, but any dance hall gals in this movie are kept far, far in the background. Instead, Money, Women and Guns is a relatively serious and well-written western-mystery whose major flaw is its very abrupt wind-up. Smaller roles in the film are played by Phillip Terry as a lawyer, Tom Drake as the brother of two desperadoes, and Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] as an autocratic sheriff. Kim Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is fine if a bit out of place as Mary, little Tim Hovey is a scene stealer, and James Gleason [Racket Squad] arguably offers the best performance as Devers. Mahoney has charisma and is competent but is frankly out-classed by some of the other actors. From Universal-International, this is a color CinemaScope production.

Verdict: Entertaining, minor western with a good premise. **1/2. 

IN PIECES: SALLY FIELD

IN PIECES. Sally Field. Grand Central; 2018.

After appearing in the short-lived sitcom Gidget, and then toiling for three years on the hit series The Flying Nun -- a show she absolutely hated and denounced as "drivel" -- Sally Field thought she would never be taken seriously in Hollywood. But after appearing in several telefilms -- as well as another short-lived series, The Girl With Something Extra (she has little good to say about co-star John Davidson) -- she managed to win an Emmy for the multiple personality drama Sybil, and then went on to garner two Best Actress Oscars for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart. She also received accolades for playing Mary Lincoln in Lincoln, and won another Emmy for her role in the TV series Brothers and Sisters. But Field's private life wasn't so successful. In between two marriages to men she admitted she wasn't really in love with, she had a long-term relationship with Burt Reynolds, a control freak and (in my opinion) long-time asshole (he deemed Field the "love of his life," however; his first wife was Judy Carne). She had a  very problematic relationship with both her biological father and her mother, actress Margaret Field [The Man from Planet X], who divorced her husband to marry actor Jock Mahoney [Tarzan's Three Challenges]  and eventually developed a drinking problem. Field claims that Mahoney molested her continuously for several years when she was a minor, but he would only admit to her mother that it was one drunken incident. (After Lex Barker -- who was married to Lana Turner --  Mahoney is the second actor to play Tarzan who allegedly molested a step-daughter.) Trying to be a good mother to her three sons, and (in her eyes, at least) failing more often than not, she couldn't quite avoid the mistakes her own mother made. In Pieces is an extremely well-written memoir, full of honest reflection and in-depth ruminations on life, career, and loves, as well as the usual dose of movie star self-absorption. Field doesn't spend as much time on her films as one might have hoped, but there's plenty of meat in here for people who want to know the inside life of a movie star and for aspiring actors who are hoping to follow in her footsteps.

Verdict: Thoroughly absorbing page-turner proves that Field can write as well as act. ***1/2.  

I'VE LIVED BEFORE

Jock Mahoney

I'VE LIVED BEFORE (1956). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Airline pilot John Bolen (Jock Mahoney of Three Blondes in His Life) basically has a meltdown as his plane is coming in for a landing, and imagines that he is a WW1 flier being pursued by enemy aircraft in France. John's co-pilot, Russell (Jerry Paris), saves the day by knocking him out, but when he wakes up he's convinced he's a man named Peter Stevens, who died in 1918. Once he's himself again, John decides to find out if he truly has any connection to this man who died before he was born by finding a woman who was on the plane, whom he recognized from somewhere, and whom he feels may be responsible in some way for his nearly deadly flashback. I've Lived Before is an interesting if minor-league look at the possibility of reincarnation, although telepathy is also mentioned as a possibility by Dr. Bryant (John McIntire). Mahoney gives an okay performance, and while he was never exactly a Jimmy Stewart, doesn't work up much a sweat delineating the mental torment that John must be undergoing. No one ever suggests a complete set of medical and psychological tests for John, nor is it mentioned that -- reincarnation or no -- he will likely be grounded forever. Leigh Snowden [The Creature Walks Among Us] makes a pleasant impression as John's fiancee, Lois, and has an especially good scene when she talks earnestly to Jane Stone (Ann Harding), a woman who was once engaged to Peter Stevens. Harding [The Animal Kingdom] is a little breathless and slightly affected in the role, but she is also very effective and classes up the picture. The script was co-written by actor William Talman of Perry Mason fame. he and director Bartlett, a former actor himself, worked on several movies starring Mahoney.

Verdict: Won't convince most people either way but it's absorbing enough. **1/2. 

TARZAN AND HIS PALS

Cheetah and girlfriend -- or is it the other way around? 

TARZAN AND HIS PALS.

This week we look at some more movies featuring not just Tarzan, but other jungle adventurers such as Bomba and Jungle Jim. We've got several Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films, as well as some with Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, and Mike Henry playing the role. When Johnny Weissmuller andd Johnny Sheffield, who played Boy, got too old for their roles, they each got their own series, Jungle Jim (with Weissmuller) for Columbia and Bomba, the Jungle Boy (with Sheffield) for Monogram. These comparatively cheap series ran concurrently with the Lex Barker and Jock Mahoney Tarzan's, and there were quite a few entries in each series.

Weissmuller's interpretation of the role did not especially match the character as originally described in Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes. Gradually, the character began to display the intelligence and sophistication that went along with Tarzan's undeniable savagery. After awhile, the more savage aspects of the character were pretty much dropped altogether.

As for the Tarzan series, which had a great many installments, it wasn't long before Cheetah (or Cheeta or Cheta), whose sex kept changing, became the true star of the series, especially in the later Weissmuller features.

NOTE: As I've done a double-load of posts this week, Great Old Movies may take a vacation along with me next week.

GOTTA LOVE THAT TARZAN!

Alexander Skarsgard as Tarzan

GOTTA LOVE THAT TARZAN!

It's amazing that Edgar Rice Burroughs' early twentieth century creation is still going strong over one hundred years later. Next summer Alexander Skarsgard is the latest actor to play the Ape Man, and in a blockbuster summer movie, no less. Let's face it, Tarzan is a product of a simpler time, a thoroughly racist and absurd concoction in a highly fictional "Africa" that nevertheless captured the imaginations of millions of readers -- and filmgoers. More recent films have done away with the condescension towards black natives, added black characters, and done their best to counteract the tone of the early movies, although in the novels Tarzan was never that disrespectful of native Africans.

This week we look at Burroughs' first Tarzan novel, as well as selected films in which Tarzan is portrayed by various actors, beginning with Johnny Weissmuller and going on to Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry.

TARZAN'S THREE CHALLENGES

Jock Mahoney

Woody Strode as Khan

TARZAN'S THREE CHALLENGES (1963). Director: Robert Day.

When a new spiritual leader of an Asian nation is chosen after the death of the old one, Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) is summoned from Africa to be bodyguard to the little boy, Kashi (Ricky Der), who is the successor. The boy's uncle, Khan (Woody Strode), is desirous of the throne himself, although he claims he really wants it for his young son, Nari (Robert Hu), who is wiser and more compassionate than his father. To prove he is an able bodyguard, Tarzan must pass three challenges, and then is chosen to be Kashi's champion when Khan challenges him to a duel to the death. The movie has an exciting sword fight and an even better sabre duel, a horrific forest fire which seems to endanger the entire cast, and an exciting climactic battle above nets and pots of boiling oil. Mahoney [The Land Unknown], a former stunt man, does some excellent "extreme sports" stunts in this, and offers a professional acting performance; he just doesn't come off like Tarzan. Woody Strode* is sensational as Khan, giving a riveting and dynamic performance and exuding such charisma that you almost feel sorry for this essentially evil -- but somehow noble -- man. Strode also plays his own dying brother in early sequences. The two child actors are excellent.Well-photographed by Edward Scaife, the picture, filmed entirely in Thailand, boasts some impressive locations. And there's also a cute baby elephant named Hungry. Intelligent and literate for the most part, this is a very memorable Tarzan adventure. * For his part as Kahn, Strode was dubbed by George Pastell; the dubbing job is not apparent to the causal viewer.

Verdict: Exciting scenes and a strong performance from Strode. *** out of 4.

TARZAN OF THE MOVIES

TARZAN OF THE MOVIES: A Pictorial History of More than Fifty Years of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Legendary Hero. Gabe Essoe. Cadillac Publishing; 1968.

In this heavily illustrated book packed with movie stills and behind-the-scenes shots, Essoe covers dozens of Tarzan features from the silent period up to the Tarzan TV show with Ron Ely. As well, Essoe relates the careers, private lives and subsequent fates of the various actors who played the "Ape Man:" Elmo Lincoln; Johnny Weissmuller; Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett); Buster Crabbe; Gordon Scott; Mike Henry; Lex Barker; Jock Mahoney; and others. There are details on the sound serial The New Adventures of Tarzan; the disastrous Tarzan of the Apes remake with Denny Miller; the color features that were actually filmed in Africa and other exotic locations; and the terrible truth about Cheetah and the various, rather nasty chimps who played him. You'll also learn how Tarzan Escapes was deemed too gruesome and re-shot, with a sequence involving big bat monsters being excised, not to mention the Tarzan/big-crocodile fight that was used over and over and over again in Tarzan and probably other jungle movies.

Verdict: Good, informative read with great pictures. ***.

GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST

Marshall Reed

GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST (15 chapter Columbia serial/1954). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Charles S. Gould.

A Canadian mountie, Sgt. Joe Ward (Jock Mahoney), and Constable Bram Nevin (Clayton Moore) team up to take on the minions of the mysterious Leader of the White Horse Rebels, a black-cloaked man on horseback who wants to take over the entire Northwest Territory and turn it into a lawless Republic. Lynch (Marshall Reed) is chief of the Leader's lieutenants, and Rita (Phyllis Coates) is a gal with secrets who seems to be playing both sides against each other. There's a lost mine from whence comes the gold that the Leader uses to finance his Rebels. Other characters include Inspector Wheeler (Lyle Talbot), to whom the heroes report; Indian Agent Stone (Joseph Allen); Walt Anders (Zon Murray), who tries to forge an alliance with the territory's unfriendly Indians; and Otis Green (Don Harvey), any one of which could be the Leader, although the serial doesn't work up much suspense as to his true identity. Two of the more interesting cliffhangers have Ward unconscious in a boat that is slowly sinking beneath the water, and Ward and Nevin tied to horses that the Indians hope will gallop away and tear them apart. Marshall is again an appealing villain, making the most of his great voice, and the other actors are all at the very least professional. This was not only one of the very last Columbia serials, but one of the very last serials period. The serial benefits from a rousing musical score and some well-chosen locations. Moore, of course, was TV's Lone Ranger and appeared in many serials, while Mahoney starred in The Land Unknown and Three Blondes in His Life.

Verdict: Standard but entertaining western cliffhanger. **1/2.

THE LAND UNKNOWN

THE LAND UNKNOWN (1957). Director: Virgil Vogel.

A helicopter carrying passengers lands in a lost world full of prehistoric animals and dangerous plant life. No, it's not The Lost World, it's The Land Unknown, which came out from Universal three years earlier and was similarly in CinemaScope [if black and white]. The Technicolor 20th Century-Fox production of Lost World, with bigger names in the cast and a ton of publicity, sort of eclipsed this earlier film, which is not bad at all. Commander Roberts (Jock Mahoney), reporter Maggie Hathaway (Shawn Smith), Lt. Carmen (William Reynolds) and machinist's mate Steve Miller (Phil Harvey) set out in their copter to explore the South Pole and wind up descending through mist into a lost world of monsters, discovering the sole human inhabitant is a crashed scientist, Dr. Hunter (Henry Brandon). There are lots of gigantic slithering lizards (which Hunter can control with a horn), some mechanical T-Rex's with slobbering jaws, and a creditable lake monster with big flippers and a long memory, not to mention a big rubbery plant that badly wants to wrap its tentacles around Maggie Hathaway. The optical work can be uneven, but there are many effective shots, as well as an exciting bit with Comdr. Roberts running from a voracious T-Rex. There are some impressive and elaborate sets and excellent art direction, and the film manages to work up some suspense [if the group doesn't get out of this valley in a certain number of days, their ship will leave without them]. Despite their phony appearance, the T-Rex's are better than the ones in Unknown Island and actually work well enough in context. Despite the absence of stop-motion effects, which would have greatly improved the picture, The Land Unknown is still quite entertaining, with the cast more than adequate for the proceedings. Vogel also directed The Mole People. Henry Brandon had a very long list of credits, probably his most famous role being nasty old Barnaby in the 1934 Laurel and Hardy masterpiece Babes in Toyland, in which he was made up to look older than he does in Land Unknown 23 years later! He also had the title role in the 1940 cliffhanger serial Drums of Fu Manchu. Phil Harvey appeared in a number of Universal horror/sci fi films of the period, including The Monolith Monsters. NOTE: This movie is now available in a remastered DVD which keeps the widescreen ratio intact and is complete, a far better way to see it than on TV with commercials, missing sequences, and no Cinemascope, which is how most people have seen it, unfortunately.

Verdict: For big lizard and lost world lovers. ***.