MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES

Katherine Ross and Barry Bostwick

MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES (1979 telefilm). Director: Robert Day.

Arthur Sinclair (Hal Holbrook) is a famous "mentalist" who claims psychic powers that may or may not be real. His younger wife, Alison (Katharine Ross), is having an affair with the struggling actor, Gil Weston (Barry Bostwick), and she urges him to help her carry out a plot to kill Arthur. Of course nothing runs smoothly, but there are other players in the drama who may have their own schemes at work ... Murder By Natural Causes has a typically twisty and satisfying plot by Richard Levinson and William Link, and boasts top performances by Holbook and Bostwick, who really score in a cat and mouse sequence inside Arthur's imposing mansion. Ross [Games] and Richard Anderson [The Night Strangler], who plays the Sinclairs' lawyer, are competent and effective but a cut below the other two. In addition to many other mystery scripts, Levinson and Link also wrote That Certain Summer, which also starred Holbrook.

Verdict: This pic won't make you "mental." ***.

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 AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD

Mike Henry as Tarzan

TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD (1966). Director: Robert Day.

"A couple of animals and a half-naked wild man against Vinero?"

This widescreen, technicolor Tarzan adventure starts out like a Eurospy movie with Tarzan (Mike Henry) in suit and tie attacked by a sniper in an empty stadium -- it's actually an excellent sequence. Tarzan then strips down to his loincloth -- giving even Gordon Scott a run for his money in the body department -- to take on the evil Augustus Vinero (David Opatoshu), who hopes to loot a hidden city of its treasure of gold. Vinero is a thoroughly nasty character who affixes a medallion with a bomb on it to his ex-girlfriend (Nancy Kovack of Diary of a Madman) and tells her if she moves just an inch she'll explode! Tarzan goes to the city with his pals, a chimp named Dinky, a trained lion named Major, and a little boy from this "lost" city named Ramel (Manuel Padilla Jr.). The villain gets a very ironic and satisfying comeuppance. Arguably the sexiest of all the Tarzans, Henry plays the strong, silent type and is perfectly okay in that mode. This appears to take place in South America and not in Africa, as the later Tarzan films often placed the ape man in other countries. Val Alexander's jazzy musical theme is completely inappropriate, as this really isn't a Eurospy film. Aside from the lead players, the film is dubbed, primarily by the busy Paul Frees [The War of the Worlds]. Robert Day also directed She with Ursula Andress.

Verdict: Entertaining sixties Tarzan adventure. ***.

SHE (1965)

SHE (1965). Director: Robert Day.

In 1918, Leo Vincey (John Richardson), upon discovering that he looks exactly like an ancestor named Killikrates, journeys with his friend Major Holly (Peter Cushing) and pretty Ustane (Rosenda Monteros), to the lost desert city of Kuma in the "Mountains of the Moon." There they encounter the cruel, immortal Ayesha or "She" (Ursula Andress), who wishes Leo to join her in the flame that will give them both life everlasting. Holly and Ustane, however, recognize that Leo has fallen under She's spell, and is not acting the way he should. Who will win the battle for Leo's love, Ayesha or Ustane? Despite the widescreen and color, She is inferior to the 1935 original, although it, too, has some colorful and interesting settings, such as the striking entrance to the city. Andress [Dr. No] gives the weakest performance, but her looks and manner get her by. Cushing, Christopher Lee as a High Priest, and Andre Morell as the leader of a tribe of slaves, are excellent as usual. Like Andress, Richardson [Torso] certainly looks good -- he's like a cross between Troy Donahue and Guy Madison with a little Kerwin Mathews thrown in -- and his acting isn't bad, although Leo is a rather weak hero in this. Rosenda Monteros [The White Orchid] is lovely and very effective as Ustane, as is Bernard Cribbins as Job. The biggest problem with this Hammer remake is its slow pace. In the original film the lost city was in icy terrain but here it's in the desert. The best scene may be the slaves thrown into the fire pit.

Verdict: Not as much fun as The Mole People. **.