DECOY (dvd collection -Film Chest )

DECOY  (1957 Television series) (Film Chest Media) DVD set (all 39 episodes on 3 DVDs) $19.98 First episode date: October 14, 1957 episodes run about 25 minutes each. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y18TNQ1/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tvobscur47-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B06Y18TNQ1&linkId=24b5dd7a881e2acaab9606c6f8f612bf

Back in 1992, I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing actress Beverly Garland .The interview appeared in issue ten of SCARLET STREET (to read and see the issue, go to http://scarletstreetmagazine.blogspot.com/2015/10/ )

Best known for her films with Roger Corman as well as her later appearances on MY THREE SONS (74 episodes,Don Fedderson Productions 1969-1972) ,in the late 1950s she starred in a syndicated New York lensed series called DECOY (Official Films ,39 episodes, October 14,1957 -July 7,1958) .

In our SCARLET STREET #10 interview , she called the series the “biggest mistake of her life” as it ran only one season but rerun for seven, and she was labeled a TV actress, thus being forced to start her career all over again.

Now ,in hindsight , we can see how forward thinking the show was, as well as a time capsule of ideas and mores of the period . For one, she was an independent woman who knew self defense and how to work a side arm, as well intelligence. That said, reactions to her show the difficulty of a police woman being looked at as an equal.

 

The series has had certain episodes available from several public domain companies as well as on line video sources, but this is the first time that the entire series has been released in a three DVD collection.

“Presented as a tribute to the Bureau of Policewomen, New York City Police Dept.”(opening credit ).*

 

Ms. Garland was Policewoman Patricia ‘Casey’ Jones . She seems to live up to the Decoy title , as she is often undercover to investigate and stop crime in a no nonsense style reminiscent of the then popular DRAGNET (Mark VII,Ltd. ,1951-1959). She often breaks the fourth wall to address the audience about the case that has just been solved.

She often finds herself in dangerous situations, like becoming an inmate at an insane asylum while pursuing a lead in an heroin case (“Dream Fix”). We know very little about Jones’ personal life except that her boyfriend was a police officer who was killed by a person he was sent to arrest (“The Sound of Tears”), but like her counterpart Joe Friday from DRAGNET ,it was the cases, not her personal life, that were front and center.

Being shot in New York on location gives the series a grittiness often lacking in other series from the time . It also is a time capsule of the many sites and sights no longer around in the city that never sleeps, such as Colony Records and Steeplechase Park ,as well as several that still are (John Jovino’s Gun Shop in Little Italy. The photographer Weegee had a room above the store that overlooked the large pistol replica).

 

                                                (Weegee from his apt fire escape, same locale today)

 

Also, the New York location gave them a talent pool of up and coming actors from the New York Theatre scene .Larry Hagman ,Frank Campanella,Ed Asner , Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Balsam ,Suzanne Pleshette, Diane Ladd and Al Lewis all appeared on the series.

As a syndicated show, it was shot quickly ,and some continuity errors exist .For example, Al Lewis is with a cigar in his mouth in wide shot but cutting to closeup ,we see him putting the cigar into his mouth again.The exteriors were often filmed with a hidden camera , as they did not have the funds to get permits and shut down streets.

The show probably slipped into obscurity due to it’s noticeable lack of violence ,concentrating on gathering evidence and good police work .Plus, with so many people wishing to be “politically correct” , there is a lot of smoking on the show (amazing that Westinghouse rather than Winstons Cigarettes sponsored the series.).

 

That said, it is historically important that it is one of the first dramatic shows to star and be built around a female character, who didn’t have to “sex” it up , or need a male side kick. Indeed, Ms Garland is one of the few recurring characters, having her instead work with officers in different departments to solve the week’s story .Without Policeman “Casey “ Jones, we may not have had an Angie Dickinson’s Sgt. Suzanne “Pepper” Anderson , Teresa Graves’ Christie Love , or Mariska Hagitay’s Olivia Benson .

In other interviews, Ms Garland said : “Throughout my life, I’ve had ten or twenty women come up to me and tell me that they saw me on ‘Decoy’ and because of it they became a policewoman.”

I think that was a source of pride for the actress.

FILM CHEST has done a great job of presenting these full frame black and white episodes. Images are sharp and clear ,with no noticeable dirt or film damage. The mono sound was clear and serviceable. Each of the three discs has 13 episodes ,and can be either played straight through or episodes played separately .

-Recommended.
Kevin G Shinnick

 

The Creep Behind The Camera (Synapse S.E. Blu Ray)

The Creep Behind the Camera (Color,111 min .2014)/The Creeping Terror (B&W,75 min.1964) / (Blu-ray) (Synapse )All-Region $24.99 s.r.p.
http://synapse-films.com/synapse-films/creep-behind-the-camera-the-blu-ray-special-edition/

 

Back in the late 1960s, I caught this awful science fiction film on an UHF channel. At that time, you had to adjust antennas to get a good signal ,as weather could affect your receiving a broadcast. I thought that film was going to be THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1956, aka THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT,Hammer).

The film I experienced was another matter entirely. I mean, it had a spaceship and a creature, but– this seemed awfully inept . And the sound ! Where was the sound for long stretches ? Adjusting the antenna did nothing to bring it in.Oh there it is-narration?? Dubbed voices?? I realized I was watching an American made cheapie, but in those pre VTR days ,as a Monster Kid, you sat and watched what you could get.

For a short film ,it seemed mercilessly drawn out , with nothing happening for what seemed like ages. When it ended ,I remember thinking well I’ll never watch that again.

 

Wrong. Years later it was released by several Public Domain companies (as well as more reputable ones ) who would find a poor 16mm dupe of films and put them onto VHS for a hungry new video market. Ah, while working at a video store, how often it would be brought to the counter and I’d stay silent unless asked for my opinion.

The Creepie Crawlie Meets the Troops

 

Later, the film was “discovered” by a larger audience when Mystery Science Theatre 3000 “riffed the show in their sixth season (episode 606 ,September 17,1994) . The inept film had finally found its audience ,who all laughed at the pictures dreadfulness.

What the majority of us were unaware of was that the true monster was not the carpet creature, but the sadistic sociopath who convinced many that he was the next Orson Welles ,while abusing and using women and possibly even being involved with child pornography.                                                                                         Vic Savage

Writer/Director Pete Schuermann (who directed the comedy Star Trek Spoof ,HICK TREK:THE MOOVIE(1999,ATOZ Films) was someone fascinated by the film THE CREEPING TERROR ,and started to look into the history of the film.

What began as a straightforward documentary developed into a hybrid recreation/documentary/true life film on the project and it’s insane creator Vic Savage .

 

Savage was a perfect moniker for him, as he was seemed to be the poster boy for Anti Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). Those who have this may show symptoms as far back as childhood.Those with ASPD tend to lie, break laws, act impulsively, all with a lack of regard for the well being of others or them selves. That seems to be Savage to a T”.

Born in was born August 14 ,1933 in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Arthur Nelson White , one of the lies he would tell people is that he was born in Oklahoma of Cherokee descent .

Somehow, he met actor Joseph Sargent ,and for some reason Savage gave Sargent his first opportunity to direct . Savage co-produced the film (under his real name Arthur N. White) with Karl Kappel while co-writing the screenplay with Lois White (his long suffering spouse?? ).Savage also cast himself in a supporting role as a 26 year old street punk in the film STREET FIGHTER (1959,Joseph Brenner Associates).

The film ,shot in Savage’s own Bridgeport Connecticut , tells the story of an arrogant teen gang leader who when his girlfriend is murdered, decides to clean up his life .

Star Dora Conn seemed to have appeared only in this one film but actress Ann Atmar appeared in INCUBUS (Contempo III Productions ,1966 , itself a film that was briefly lost )as well as a COLD WIND IN AUGUST(U.A.,1961). Ahmed Bey had appeared in an Arabic film, EL zanati Khalifa in 1952, and was a boxing champ.

Director Sargent went on to direct television episodes of STAR TREK (Paramount,1966-1969) and feature films like COLOSSUS THE FORBIN PROJECT (Universal,1970).

STREET FIGHTER the  film is practically lost. In an odd footnote, in October 2014 , Savage’s ex-wife placed her VHS copy of the film up for auction. The original film print was destroyed by her after it was transferred to this VHS copy, supposedly the only existing copy of the movie . I could not find if this print had been sold .

 

                                                                                               Old DVD cover

Savage bummed around for awhile ,until he got the idea of making a monster movie ,originally to be called ‘Dangerous Charter”. Here ,his con man skills sparked into full gear, fooling nearly everyone that he was a star producer ,getting people to donate materials ,locations, and most of all money to his project .

He also slept around ,often in front of his terrified and abused bride , basking in her helplessness. He also was drugging himself to fuel his excesses, and may have also been involved with creating children pornography. All facts that will make it harder to now sit and laugh through the resultant mess that was and is THE CREEPING TERROR (released by Crown International in 1964).

Pete Schuermann with his THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA creates an appropriately interesting hybrid film, interviewing certain surviving members of the film which are inter-cut with the dramatic recreation of the insanity and terror behind the scenes.                                                                               (A weird fetish of the director ? )

The film definitely holds your attention, thanks in no small part to the powerful performance of actor Josh Phillips. A working actor , this film is a showcase for Phillips, as he goes from goofy to terrifying, often within the same scene. One hopes he was not as method as Daniel Day Lewis, for to be around a personality like that would be too much ,especially on a low budget film.

 

He is matched by the performance of Jodi Lynn Thomas, who suffers more abuse than anyone should or could imagine. That the real life Lois survived and indeed is interviewed for the film is a testament to her inner strength .She even co-wrote a book (HOLLYWOOD CON MAN by Lois Schwartz and Janice Wenger ,iUniverse (January 4, 2001))wherein she changes names of many of the people but tells a sad compelling tale of physical and mental abuse since childhood.

Thinking she found love when she married, she soon realized that another even more vicious abuser had her in his control. That she escaped and is now happily remarried is a reassurance about her but makes you wonder how many thousands of others go through such hell on a daily basis ?

The technical aspects of the film are fine with the early 1960s well recreated ,again on a low budget. The photography and sound are sharp and serve the story, rather than drawing attention to themselves.

Imagine if you will a much darker ED WOOD (Touchstone,1994) and it will give you an idea of what to expect from THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA .

 

                                                                             (Model kit of the Creepie Crawlie)

The Synapse single disc Blu Ray release of THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA is a hi-definition 1080p (1.78:1)presentation with a super sharp image and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound .

Synapse has not skimped on the extras on this release.

They include :

-An all new 2K Scan of the original THE CREEPING TERROR. Having only seen this film in dupey washed out prints ,it is nice to see it as how it probably looked upon its original release. That said, there is nothing that can be done about the QUALITY of the actual acting and storytelling.

-An informative running commentary by Schuerrmann, along with Producer Nancy Theken and actors Josh Phillips and Jodi Lynn Thomas. The group seem to enjoy recalling the making of their film with a lot of laughter as well as awe for the work that was put into their project .

-A Behind The Scenes – MAKING OF documentary

                                                                          (Another VHS box cover )

–HOW TO BUILD A CARPET MONSTER– this multi part doc shows the progress of creating their recreation of the infamous thingie,though done with materials that were probably unavailable to the original creators.

–Breaking Down Art’s Death Scene

–Monster Movie Homages

–ONE MICK TO ANOTHER – Byrd Holland (the original Sheriff from CREEPING TERROR ) and Allan Silliphant (screenwriter, later known for directing /writing /producing the successful 3-D nudie cutie THE STEWARDESSES (Hollywood Films, 1969) over 50 years later about their experiences and lives since CREEPING TERROR.

                                                                                  And another VHS Cover

– Alternate Ending

–The Original Theatrical Trailer

–SCREAMFEST Promo Trailer

–SCREAMFEST Q&A with Frank Conniff (TV’s Frank from MST3K ).An interesting talk with the director and two stars ,with Josh looking like he is auditioning to join the band THE MISFITS !

 

                                                                                   (Annnnnd another VHS release)

–Removable SDH English subtitles .They seem to follow the dialogue fairly closely.

As I am writing this review, Harvey Weinstein  of Miramax /Weinstein  fame is becoming a Pariah due to his long history of sexual misconduct and abuse. He says his attitude was due to the work enviornment of the 1960s.  Vic Savage would smile in sadistic delight.

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

–Kevin G Shinnick

HOUR OF THE GUN (Twilight Time Blu Ray)

HOUR OF THE GUN (U.A.,1967) Twilight Time Blu Ray. 1:41:26 length.  Color . $29.95  . Region Free (A/B/C).https://www.twilighttimemovies.com/hour-of-the-gun-blu-ray/

I grew up watching Westerns. During my childhood , the major channels and the syndicated ones all carried series that dealt with the Wild Frontier.  I found that I never cared for most of the ones wherein they battled the American Indians, feeling that the natives were just defending their lands from invaders ,but I was most fascinated with those tales  that were built around law and order ,and the attempts to enforce it and civilize the society.  

Often it was the American ideal, of one man ( or perhaps a small group) who took on lawlessness and injustice , and won. As the 1970s rolled around, westerns began to fade from popularity ,perhaps from oversaturation , perhaps from changing tastes. Still ,tales of the old west still resonate with our culture .

The story of the Earps and the O.K. Corral is one that is known by most, though the details for most are sketchy. They know there was a famous gun battle ,of which the Earps survived. The true facts are much more muddy .Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was at different times a brothel keeper, gambler,  bar keep , miner, stage coach guard , as well as a lawman .

(Tombstone Today ,with the Gun battle recreated )

Earp and his brothers (James,Virgil, and their younger brother Morgan ) and their familes ended up in Tombstone in 1879 ,wherein they encountered “The Cowboys”,a gang of outlaws that included Tom  and Frank McLaury, and Ike & Billy Clanton , The Earps were lawmen ,and they were threatened with death over the course of their time in Tombstone. It resulted in the Earps , and friend,  a former dentist turned gambler dying of tuberculosis named John “Doc”Holliday. facing The Cowboys at the O.K. Corral on October 26,1881. The battle, which took all of 30 seconds with 30 shots being fired,resulted in Bill Clanton and the McLaury brothers dead,with Virgil ,Morgan, and Holliday all wounded. Clanton and Clairborne fled.

Sheriff John Behan , who witnessed the shootout, charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. A  Tombstone judge found the men not guilty at trial a month later, ruling that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides”.

Virgil was later shot and crippled by hidden attackers, and Morgan was murdered by other killers  while  he was playing pool with his brother Wyatt.

Unable to get proper justice, Wyatt deputized Holliday, and with some other volunteers, tracked down and killed the men they felt responsible. Another local sheriff issued a warrant for the arrest of Earp and company on charges of murder. They fled to the New Mexico Territory. Earp arranged a pardon for Holliday ,who died of T.B. at the age of 36.

Earp escaped punishment for the murders, and led a colorful life ,even becoming an unpaid consultant on silent westerns, before dying January 23,1929 at the age of 80. He spent most of his life defending his actions of the faithful shootout, which many in the press and friends of the Clantons and McLaurys sought to disparage the Earps.

Several books published about Earp (he could not get his own authorized biography published) turned him into the modern myth whom we know of today. That he was never wounded in any of the gunfights he took part in increases this legend.

Oddly, considering how popular Westerns were in the silent era (Edison’s 1903 THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY for one) and with Earp serving as advisor, it is surprising that the earliest film to deal with the legend of the infamous Tombstone shootout did not happen until 50 years after the event.

LAW & ORDER was a 1932 Universal 75 minute sound film starring Walter Huston,written by his son John with additional dialogue by Tom Reed . Based upon the  novel SAINT JOHNSON(A.L.Burt Publishers,NY 1930) by  W.R. Burnett(who also wrote the book that LITTLE CAESAR (WB,1931) was based upon),Walter Huston plays Frame Johnson ,a stand in for Wyatt Earp. Harry Carey plays the Doc Holliday character ,whose death in the movie leads to the gunfight ! Huston is the only survivor, and he drops his badge and walks off, foreshadowing the ending of HIGH NOON (U.A.,1952) by 30 years.  The story was remade in 1940(Johnny Mack Brown) and 1953 (with Ronald Reagan).

FRONTIER MARSHALL(Fox,1934) had George O’Brien as MICHAEL Earp. This version is apparently “lost”. It was remade in 1939 by Fox with  Randolph Scott finally playing a character named WYATT . Caesar Romero was Doc Holliday and John Carradine  is also in the flick .Both films are based upon the novel WYATT EARP FRONTIER MARSHALL   by  Stuart N. Lake (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,NY 1931).Earp’s widow had sued the studio about the novel and the films, getting  a nice settlement.

THE ARIZONIAN(RKO,1935,remade as THE MARSHALL OF MESA CITY (RKO,1939)) featured a shootout  inspired by the OK Corral events.  TOMBSTONE,THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE (Paramount,1942) had a fairly accurate recreation of the battle,with Richard Dix as Wyatt, the part he essentially played in THE ARIZONIAN.

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (Fox,1946) is another inaccurate but immensely entertaining telling of the legend .As director John Ford had Carleton Young  later say in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (Paramount 1962) “No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” .Henry Fonda as Wyatt is out to avenge  the murder of his brother James ,and meets   hard drinking Doc Holliday (Victor Mature,who looks pretty healthy for a T.B. sufferer) who joins Wyatt in his final fight with the Clantons.

On television , there was THE LIFE & LEGEND OF WYATT EARP (A.B.C.,1955-61) starring Hugh O’Brien in the title role.

The June 20,1961 episode called “Gunfight At The O.k. Corral” does a fairly accurate recreation that seems to mirror the actual events.  Also, and most unusual for a show from that era, it depicts the gunfight in slow motion. Hugh O’Brian had been a member of the United States Marine Corps, and he was actually the fastest quick draw of all his fellow actors on TV Westerns. He was able to draw at .08 of a second.

The final episode “The Outlaws Cry Murder” ( June 27,1961 )deals with the trials and Johnny Ringo’s plot to kill the Earps.

O’Brien returned to the role for two t.v. movies, THE GAMBLER RETURNS( N.B.C,1991) where he cameos to the main story about Kenny Rogers’ gambler , and WYATT EARP : RETURN TO TOMBSTONE ( C.B.S, 1994) a film that lifts and colorizes various scenes from the t.v. series, and bridging new footage .

 

STORIES OF THE CENTURY “DOC HOLLIDAY” (Republic, March 25,1954) also covered the story in under 27 minutes. Kim Spalding  played “Doc” and James Craven as Wyatt .

GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL(Paramount,1957) is an exciting if inaccurate telling of the tale starring powerhouses Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas , and directed by  powerhouse John Sturges .

 Lancaster is a hard drinking Wyatt (the real man was a non drinker) powerhouse ,while Kirk Douglas is a pretty healthy Doc Holliday (like Victor Mature , not bad for a man trying to fight consumption).John Ireland is great as fast gun Johnny Ringo. The real Ringo was a loose  associate of the Clantons ,who was suspected of having taken part in the shooting of several of the Earp family .  The final battle happens at sun up and last an exciting 8 minutes (the real battle took all of 30 seconds in the mid afternoon). Still , this is the film that most people thought of when they referenced the shoot out.

Sturges obviously was drawn to the story, as ten years later , he convinced The Mirisch Corporation  to produce HOUR OF THE GUN (United Artists, 1967).

The picture is based on the non-fiction book   Tombstone’s Epitaph  (Univ of New Mexico Press, 1958), with a screenplay by Edward Anhalt (the Oscar nominated screenwriter of the 1964 screen adaptation of BECKET ( Paramount).

Lucien Ballard (RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY,Fox ,1962 , and later THE WILD BUNCH ,WB,1969 ,both for Sam Peckinpah) was the director of photography ,and his work shines in this film.  The score was by  the great Jerry Goldsmith, and a good budget of $1,800,000 ( by comparison, BONNIE & CLYDE (WB,1967 ),another period film that same year , cost $2.5 million).

Tombstone Arizona was not one of the locations used, although Sonoita,Elgin, and the Empire Ranch in Elgin were all used.  The rest of the film was shot in Mexico, including the famous Estudios Churubusco Azteca in Mexico City.

The film opens with the famous gun battle (that in real life took place in a vacant lot next to a photography studio , not in the actual corral itself.It occurred in late afternoon, and unlike the hot sunny weather of the film, it had snow upon the ground) . Doc  ( a marvelous Jason Robards ,who had his own battles with alcoholism  ) and some of the Earp  brothers were wounded ,while a few of the Clanton gang are killed .Wyatt (a stoic James Garner) emerges unscathed (which is something that added to the real life legend .He was never shot in any of his gun battles.Indeed , he was better known for coldcocking his adversaries with the barrel of his Colt).

Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan) does not draw his weapon during the battle ,and survives, and wants the local sheriff to charge his opponents with murder .In real life ,Ike was never the leader of the gang, but Ryan makes an imposing figure in the role.  The  movie changed the name of the County Sheriff from John Behan to Jimmy Bryan  (played by Bill Fletcher) but they accurately got the debate as to whether he could arrest the Earps and Holliday .

A trial is held , presided over by Judge Herman Spicer ( William Schallert ).Though false testimony is given by  several of the Clanton gang, the judge shows that they were in fact lying ,and finds Holliday and the Earps not guilty and had indeed acted within their authority.

Ike does not take well to the news and conspires to assassinate his opponents  When one of his brothers is again wounded and another murdered viciously as they are playing billiards, Earp decides that he will step outside the law and do what he must to stop the Clantons.

The film deals with a lot of the issues that the Earps dealt with, such as that the Clantons had a lot of supporters,  local elections , and even how when they finally get permission to bring in the Clantons, they are told there is no money for deputies!

HOUR OF THE GUN is an exciting telling of the famous tale, with a wonderful group of supporting players taking on minor if important roles.  A young Jon Voight plays  Curly Bill Brocius  ,here shown as a minor gun slinger. In real life, Curly Bill, along with Johnny Ringo , led the “Cowboys” after old Man Clanton died in 1881. Voight was two years away from his career defining role in MIDNIGHT COWBOY (U.A.,1969) . In 1967 ,Voight was a guest star on an episode of the TV series “N.Y.P.D.”,that starred Frank Converse. Converse appeared in HOUR OF THE GUN  as Virgil Earp.

William Windom portrays a drunken gambler who owes Doc Holliday money ,while Monte Markham was Sherman McMasters. McMasters had once been a member of the “Cowboys” but switched sides and actually rode with Wyatt Earp in his vendetta.

The film was not a success when it was first released ,and indeed is often called dull or slow moving.   This may have been due to the influx of the “Spaghetti Westerns” of Clint Eastwood ,and the changing styles of film making. Indeed HOUR OF THE GUN still harkens back in style to classic Hollywood. However, what sets it apart is that it concentrates on the causes and effects of the violence and with the passage of time, we can now appreciate these factors which makes the tale less a black and white good vs evil story.  

TWILIGHT TIME has given this film a marvelous Blu Ray release. The film film has been cleaned up with a 1080p resolution in an aspect ratio of 2.35.1 . The sound has been mixed in 1.0 DTS-HD MA . It is clear without any special sound mixing (though the gunshots did have me reaching to lower the volume ).

As for extras, they are rather spare .  The original theatrical trailer is here and gives you an idea how the film looked in the past. The effects and Jerry Goldsmith’s score can be heard together on a separate track . Julie Kirgo supplies some nice facts in the enclosed booklet  The film itself is the real reason you should pick up this disc.

For anyone who thinks that TOMBSTONE (Touchstone ,1993) was the most accurate telling of the tale of the Earps, I suggest that you check out THE HOUR OF THE GUN .

RECOMMENDED.

 

-Kevin G Shinnick