Devil Girl from Mars (1954)directed by David MacDonald

 

Nyah, a dominatrix looking alien from Mars is heading to Earth to capture some men to bring back to her home planet after " a devastating war of the sexes". Her ship is damaged and crashes to a location near the Scottish Moores where she tries to enlist  men at the local bar/inn. This, believe it or not is NOT a porn movie scenario... though maybe it should be. 

Patricia Laffan who plays the alien Nyah is the saving grace of this otherwise by the books low budget 50's sci-fi. The other actors are fine but their roles and dialogue betray the theatre origins of the project. I would be interested to see as a play if they camped it up a little more. Laffan is superior and condescending to the humans and is only concerned with her mission to get men to mars for breeding purposes. She is over the top but also give a lot with her knowing looks and calm demeanour. Her character is interesting in that she doesn't seem interested personally in mating with earth men. Earthling are like ants to her and  she does not fall into the trop of falling in love with one and changing her mission for him. She is on point the entire time. 

What is the point exactly, though? She crashed before getting London and her ship is repairing itself so she will be there in a few hours. She doesn't need to leave it or interact with the small group of people in the inn at all. If she had just waiting a couple hours and flown to London I don't her having any problems, looking as she does, getting any number of men to fly to Mars and be willing sex slave for a planet of dominant women. 

There are too many other characters I felt, most there only to fulfill plot points. The escaped killer is only there to be an acceptable sacrifice at the end, the worker is just there to be killed to show how cold Nyah is and the little boy is typically annoying and is there to be taken by the Martian to show so the reporter can be shown as a hero when he tried to exchange himself for the boy. The model looking for love in the Scottish Moores in winter is just a trope and she falls in love with the reporter in 15 minutes. Some of the character beats work but overall you don't really feel for any of them. 

The look of the movie and the invader do carry the film enough that it's fun enough to watch. I don't think I would rewatch it. I will watch a super cut of her throwing open the french doors in dramatic fashion the 150 or so times she does it in the film! 

The Servant (1963) Directed by Joseph Losey

 

Written by Harold Pinter, this film is about the class struggle in British society. The 4 main characters are a rich guy, his girlfriend, the manservant he hires and his girlfriend who he introduces to the household as his sister so she can get work as a maid. The rich guy, Tony is an alcoholic and basically an asshat. To be honest, the entire cast is playing unlikeable people to various degrees. As the story moves forward the manservant (Hugo Barrett played by Bogarde) reverses the boss/servant role and takes over and gleefully ruins the life of Tony.

Everyone gets their turn to be the bad guy in this movie and it's fascinating in many ways to see how low they all go and what they put up with from each other. The filming is pretty interesting as well. The images are super clear with no depth of field and much of the action is filmed from behind things, through things, reflected in mirrors and at odd angles. 

If you are looking for any sort of resolution, stop doing that, there isn't any. In a way it's a slice of life sort of thing and end with Tony passed out and Barrett still in charge. That can't last forever, one's money can't last forever and they will all be out in the cold I suspect. 

While everyone in the film is cold hearted, Tony is the biggest jerk in that it's his fault he let it get to the extremes it does but he hardly elicits any more sympathy than the other characters. There is a STRONG homeotic vibe, especially after Barrett takes things over but it is never specifically addressed. 

So it's not for everyone and very much a product of its time but I think worth a watch. 

Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, & Girly

aka "Girly" - I got this one on Netflix on demand!

Funeral Fun

From the delightfully dreadful Confessions From a Holiday Camp

what WAS my summer viewing?

Well, really, amongst other things, The Collector, The Wrong Box, With a Friend Like Harry, Let the Right One In, the ultra-disappointing Watchmen and the Zeitgest films, I've been going to bed each night watching a different Carry On film in no particular order. Quite comforting and lashings of idiocy.

Here's Kenneth Williams and his chimpanzee friend:



I'm currently in the middle of Carry On Constable, an as-yet-to-be- seen-by-me clip below:

Telly Savalas Looks At Birmingham (the one down the bloomin' road from me)

A slight departure, but no one except Telly could convince me that I should mosey on down to Birmingham this Thursday (I'll probably ingest an Indian after taking in the action). I'm even looking forward to the day when I'm eligible to enter the over-40's disco competition.

This "quota-quickie' is from The Baim Collection.

Prevues of Horrific Attractions

Prevues of Bloomin' Attractions

Who's The Daddy?

Ray Winstone playing hardballs in Scum.

Peas

From Monty Python's "The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch of 1971".

Four Dimensions of Greta

Paul Slava sent me this gem via Mod Cinema, who wrote a far better description than I could:
a scene from the 1972 film "Four Dimensions of Greta." Tacky British sleaze at its most glorious and dubious - featuring possibly the worst German accent ever committed to film, enough pubic hair to stuff two sofas, and some of the worst acting and limb contortions ever seen. Greta was Britain's very first 3D feature film and was directed by Pete Walker ("House of Whipcord" and "Cool It, Carol!")



Go on, admit it, you recognize him - Robert Scorpio!

Bitch Killer

Via Blonde Zombies

Mr Jolly

From "The Comic Strip Presents..." Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door

The Innkeeper Negotiation Song

From AD/BC: A Rock Opera.

You can watch the whole thing here (I know how much Donna loves a religious rock opera).

Tom's Gonna Go Fishin'

My Welsh brother Tom may go for Trout but Tony Ferrino knows what I like to catch.

boomp3.com

Frankie Howerd (and a bit of Mavis and Arthur)

Frankie, Mavis and Arthur - Up Je T'aime


The Monochrome Set - He's Frank (Slight Return)



For a moment I thought I saw Papa Lazarou there!

Attitudes Night (BBC Style)

From The Day Today for those of you who haven't checked it out.

My new "roi du comedie" nomination..

I love Steve Coogan! I know he's hot now that he's BFF with Ben Stiller, but I've been a fan for years (thanks, BBC America). I think I'm one of the few hundred people who've actually gone to see "Hamlet 2", mainly because I'll see Mr. Coogan in just about anything...including bad commercials:


I think he has an amazing face that can look horrible or handsome, and he has some hot dance moves:


Okay, he's no Tom Jones...

Theatre of Blood

I haven't seen this since I was a child - it scared the life out of me - but I'm ready to watch it again now because I obviously didn't appreciate the humour back then (and I don't think I was prepared for the gruesome killings which kept me awake at night for a long time after).
It also explains why the guy from the Eurythmics always freaked me out too.

Primitive London