Golden Queen Commandos (1982) starring Hui SanYang (Elsa Yeung), Bridget Lin, Sally Yeh, Teresa Tsui, Silvia Pang, Hao-yi Liu, and Sophia Chin. Directed by Yen-ping Chu.
Synopsis: When seven beautiful, but deadly, women are imprisoned in World War II Japan, they are joined together by Black Fox (Bridget Lin) for a special mission. They escape the jail and ride off to the plains of Tibet. There, at all costs, they must stop an evil genius from perfecting an insidious chemical weapon .
The Bugg Picture: To say that the synopsis doesn’t do Golden Queen Commandos justice is a massive understatement. If you’ve ever wanted to see a film that had everything (and I mean everything), then you have got to check this flick out. The film kicks off by introducing each of our heroines with separate vignettes topped off by freeze frames, and then it becomes a women in prison film. After they play basketball (yes, you heard me right), GQC changes gears into an escape from prison film that morphs into a Western. Then after the noodle eating contest (yep, you heard me right again), the femme fatales become women on a mission, and with equal parts James Bond and supernatural undertones, the film rolls along to a thrilling climax.
It should come as no surprise to fans of Asian cinema that this miasma of styles was penned by Godfrey Ho, the master of the Hong Kong B-movie, and first time writer and sometimes composer Li Fu. Ho really went all out on this one, and second time director Yen-ping Chu (directing as Laurence Full) was clearly ready to go along with the ride. The film is such a mix of styles and eras that it is incredible. Black Car (Hui San Yang) looks like she stepped right out of anime while the Amazon (Teresa Tsui) is the super strong jungle queen that her name implies, and Sophia Chin’s Sugar is a Southern accented prostitute. While the plot is bizarre and the characters surreal, what really makes the film is the dubbing. I don’t know who is responsible for the over the top voices, but I would love to shake their hand. All the voices are inspired, and if you listen closely you can pick up little things they snuck in such as when a group of Japanese SS troops are after the girls and one of them says, “I got to get to the leather bar.”
Needless to say, I loved this picture and would love to see the sequel Pink Force Commandos that reunited the main cast in similar roles. Everything about Golden Queen Commandos makes it one of the best cult films I’ve ever seen. It is a great film to watch alone, and an even better film to put on when you’ve got friends over. So if the thought of a film that features everything except the kitchen sink appeals to you, then you owe it to yourself to check out this classic piece of bizarre cinema.
Bloody Payroll (1976) starring Claudio Cassinelli, Elio Zamuto, John Steiner, Silvia Dionisio, Salvatore Puntillo. Directed by Mario Caino.
A group of thugs stage a daring daylight robbery of a company payroll, but when everything starts to go wrong, the gang escapes with the money, but only barely. The gang has the cops hot on their trail, and they split up with two of them holding the cash. The leader of the gang, Raul, will do anything to get the money back no matter how much blood has to be spilled.
The Bugg Picture: Back in the last newsletter, I profiled Mario Caino’s first Polizi film, …Calling All Police Cars, and now I’m back again with his next film, Bloody Payroll. This second film follows much in the same style as the first with the emphasis still on procedure, but this time, Caino wisely spends a lot of time with the bad guys. When you’ve got baddies like Cassinelli and Steiner hanging around, that’s more than a good idea.
Cassinelli is one of my favorite Italian actors, and many genre fans will know him from Martino’s At the Mountain of the Cannibal God or the ever popular Hands of Steel. In Bloody Payroll, he turns in the role of a lifetime as Raul, the most villainous amongst a group of villains. He easily steals the show and his scenes with the very lovely Silvia Dionisio, best known as Perla in Andy Warhol’s Dracula, are near perfection. John Steiner also shines as the criminal trying to get one over on Cassinelli’s Raul. The weakest performances come from the cops on their trail, but the film spends precious little time on them. As in …Calling All Police Cars, the cops are just cops, normal ordinary cops, so there’s no need for them to be more than badges.
With this second Polizi, Caino veers more toward a straight Italo-Crime picture, and it may have benefited from dropping the cops from the picture completely. However, the film we do get is an exciting flick full of excitement, treachery, and one of the greater car chases ever put to film. Fans of Italian cinema, take notice because this is one film that really pays off.
Ghost of the Hunchback (1965) [Japan: Kaidan semushi took] starring Nishimura Kou, Shinjiro Ebara, Masumi Harukawa, and Yoko Hayama. Directed by Hajime Soto.
When a Doctor and his family move into a massive mansion, they are soon beset with strange supernatural occurrences, and it seems like the place might be haunted. However, the hunchbacked caretaker (Nishimura Kou) who has taken a liking to the Doctor’s young daughter may be to blame.
The Bugg Picture: While it is always a challenge to watch a film that is neither dubbed nor subtitled, sometimes the effort is worth it. In the case of The Ghost of the Hunchback, this is definitely the case. Directed by Hajime Soto, who also helmed The Terror Beneath the Sea and The Golden Bat (both starring a very young Sonny Chiba), The Ghost of the Hunchback is a supernatural tale which was clearly taking it’s inspiration from the early works of Mario Bava’s work such as Black Sunday. Soto makes very good use of light and shadow to give the film a very spooky feeling and the gothic setting of the story surely does not hurt.
It’s hard to judge performances, but Nishimura Kou did an excellent job as the hunchback who walks the fine line between friend and foe. The other acting seemed very good, but seeing as this version of the film which is dubbed in Italian and titled Il Pozzo Di Satana, it would be very hard to judge how the actual performances were. I will have to say that the actors looked appropriately freaked out, and it was good to see a Japanese ghost story that did not involve eyes, a video tape, or creepy little ghost girls.
What makes The Ghost of the Hunchback an interesting watch is to see how far reaching an influence Italian genre filmmakers had in the late sixties. As I understand it, this film did very well in the Italian market, and I can see why. It perfectly mirrors the contemporary style of film, but grafts onto it the substance of an eerie Japanese ghost tale.
Damned in Venice (1978) [Italian: Nero veneziano] starring Renato Cestie, Rena Niehaus, and Yorgo Voyagis. Directed by Ugo Liberatore.
A young blind boy, Mark (Renato Cestie) begins to have visions of death and tragedy as he and his sister Christine (Rena Niehaus) go to live in a boarding house in Venice. His sister ignores his warning of a dark force that seeks to invade their lives even as people around them start to die. After Dan (Yorgo Voyagis), who Mark has seen in his visions, takes a room in the house, Christine soon becomes pregnant with what Mark believes is the child of Satan. Unable to find any help, and perhaps even being a pawn in the game, Mark is helpless to prevent the birth of the Antichrist and the coming Apocalypse.
The Bugg Picture: Damned in Venice was not the first, or the last, of the Omen/Rosemary’s Baby clones released in Italy in the late seventies, but for my money, it may well be the best. Other than the plot revolving around the birth of the Antichrist, there is little to the plot that seems unoriginal. While the pacing of the movie is a bit slow, the twists and turns of the plot will leave even the most studious of watchers guessing right up until the very last scenes. I’m no fan of remakes, but I would love to see this forgotten film get a faithful retelling because the story is so deftly crafted.
I even have to give it up for young Ronato Cestie for a pretty fine performance as Mark. Child actors in low budget features are usually not very adept at their roles, but Cestie gets high marks from me. He not only does a good job selling his blindness, but he also gives a fine performance as he helplessly watches his sister overwhelmed by the powers of darkness. Cestie was no stranger to the screen by this point having had roles in Fulci’s The Return of White Fang, Martino’s Torso, and Mario Bava’s classic Twitch of a Death Nerve.
The other performances that ground the film are quite good as well. Rena Niehaus transitions Christine quite well from innocent young girl to the “Mary” of Satan’s evil plot. Yorgo Voyagis (Pavlo in the classic Zorba the Greek) provides the necessary amount of menace as the carrier of Satan’s seed, and Fabio Gamma, playing the man who weds Christine even though she is already with child, is fabulous. His performance as the tortured husband, and the only one who accepts Mark’s visions, is the emotional linchpin of the piece. Also watch out for a brief appearance by Greek actress Olga Karlatos who would go on to star in Fulci’s Murder Rock and play Prince’s mom in the film Purple Rain.
For anyone who is a fan of films like Beyond the Door or Carpi’s Ring of Darkness, you’ll find a lot to like here. The supernatural elements are kept pretty low key, and mostly they are relegated to within Mark’s eerie visions. This gives the film a tone that almost combines the supernatural with a giallo. It is difficult to see where the film is headed, but by the time you get to the destination it is a conclusion that will leave you with chills running down your spine.
Hot Summer in the City (1976) starring Lisa Baker, Duke Johnson, and Black Orchid. Directed by Gail Palmer.
Debbie (Lisa Baker, 1967 Playmate of the Year) is a nice Christian girl who won’t even let her boyfriend get to second base. So, one night when she goes home and discovers her mother being double teamed by two men, she takes off into the night. Wandering on the dark streets, she is soon abducted by a black gang and taken off to their country compound. There the leader Duke (Duke Johnson) put her to work doing menial tasks, and he demands that the girl be his alone. Soon the gang, and his girlfriend Jody (Black Orchid), take issue with the Debbie, and the film builds to a bloody and brutal climax.
The Bugg Picture: Hot Summer in the City has been described by Quentin Tarantino as “the best porno ever made”, and while I think that is a mighty big claim, Hot Summer in the City is a singular kind of film, the likes of which you’ve almost surely never seen. This roughie (generally meaning a porno featuring simulated rape) was directed by Gail Palmer (a.k.a. The Hare) who directed her first adult film when she was still a student at Michigan State University. Palmer would go on to direct several more XXX features including the much lighter 1978 film The Erotic Adventures of Candy.
Hot Summer is a film that’s not an easy or comfortable watch. The broad depiction of the black gang with militant aspirations is painted with the broadest of stokes that appeal to the worst of stereotypes. Meanwhile, Lisa Baker’s near mute performance as Debbie gives the rape scenes and the shell-shocked look in her eyes a harrowing feeling of realism. The best performance comes from Black Orchid, and it’s too bad it was her only film. I could really see her being quite entertaining in straight up blaxploitation films.
Hot Summer in the City also sports quite the interesting soundtrack with some serious copyright infringement going on. The movie kicks off with The Lovin Spoonful’s ’ “Hot Summer in the City”, and then it veers into wildly inappropriate territory as it goes on to feature The Four Tops “I Can’t Help Myself”, The Beach Boy’s “Good Vibrations”, and the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack”. It’s interesting too see this kind of music in the film, and the good time sounds add to how unsettling the action unfolding actually is.
This is not a film for everyone as it’s quite graphic and pretty disturbing in its depiction of rape. The dialog is laughable at best, and at its worst, offensive. This is not pure blaxploitation or pure porn, and perhaps “roughie” is the right term for it. From the acting to the film making to the action on screen, it’s all pretty rough. However, I will say once again, you’ve most likely never seen anything quite like it.
China 9, Liberty 37 (1978) starring Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, Jenny Agutter, and Sam Peckinpah. Directed by Marty Hellman.
Clayton Drumm (Testi) is awaiting execution in the little town on China, but he’s given a reprieve when the railroad company needs a gunman to kill Matthew Sebanack (Oates), a stubborn former gunfighter who won’t sell the land he’s mining. Clayton rides out to see Matthew, but once he meets him, he can’t bring himself to finish the job. He can bring himself to sleep with Matthew’s promiscuous wife Catherine (Agutter). When Matthew finds out he starts to beat Catherine who then runs off with Clayton, but Matthew isn’t dead so he heads out on the trail to find the pair and deal with them both.
The Bugg Picture: Monte Hellman might not be a household name, even if you have a genre movie loving household like mine but he sure as hell should be. After all here’s a guy who got his start with Roger Corman, filmed new footage for American TV to pad out Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dollars, and directed excellent films like Two Lane Blacktop, Ride in the Whirlwind, and The Shooting. The latter of these films was the first time he had teamed up with the Kentuckian character actor Warren Oates. China 9, Liberty 37 (a.k.a Amore, piombo e furore) was the second occasion, this time with Oates in a lead role.
Oates, who is always enjoyable to see, is brilliant here as the man scorned, and how can you blame him? If my wife tried to kill me and ran off with Fabio Testi I would be a trifle upset as well. Testi, who performs his role in English, looks more the part of the loverboy than a fast gun in this flick, but the story really hinges on the emotional arc rather than blood and violence. That’s not to say there’s not any. This film was clearly inspired by the wave of revisionist westerns that dominated the ‘70’s, and the work of Sam Peckinpah comes to mind. So it’s no real surprise when Sam shows up in a small role as Wilber Olsen, Dime Novelist. (In 1975, Hellman worked as an editor on Peckinpah’s film The Killer Elite.)
China 9, Liberty 37 has a wonderfully overexposed look, and it flatters the unassuming beauty of Jenny Agutter, perhaps better known as the luscious Jennifer 6 in Logan’s Run, as well as gives the film a very interesting look. I must tip my hat to cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (The Stendhal Syndrome, Popeye, Satyricon) for his skilled work behind the lens. The film is clearly influenced b the Spaghetti westerns and Peckinpah, but it shows it’s real roots are in the classic westerns of John Ford and Howard Hawkes.
The score by Pino Donaggio (Carrie, The Howling, Beyond the Door) relies a bit too heavily on harmonica and recalls Moriccone’s work, but it is serviceable and does not detract from the film. The film also features a song written by Donaggio and performed by Ronee Blakely. She may be better known as Nancy’s mom in Nightmare on Elm Street, but prior to her acting career, she was a folk musician performing with the likes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen as well as appearing in Robert Altman’s Nashville.
Hellman might not be a big name and China 9, Liberty 37 is not a well known film, but anyone who likes the emotionally driven or metaphysical westerns, should get to know this film. It features some wonderful performances, is stunningly photographed, and features a truly original storyline. So if you like westerns, Warren Oates, Fabio Testi, or the other films of Marty Hellman, then give this one a shot, hell, give it six shots.
Open House (1987) starring Adrienne Barbeau, Joseph Bottoms, Barry Hope, and Darwyn Swalve. Directed by Jag Mundhra.
The L.A real estate business has always been cut throat, but now it’s gotten out of hand. Someone is killing off real estate agents as they try to sell homes, and the police have no leads. When the killer starts calling into Dr. David Kelley’s radio talk show to brag about his crimes, David and his real estate agent girlfriend, Lisa Grant, find themselves on the killer’s hit list.
The Bugg Picture: The ‘80’s were the time when Wall Street, Trickle Down Economics, and Yuppies all came to the forefront. So it’s no real surprise that someone tapped into the lucrative field of real estate for a slasher film. Director Jag Mundhra, who wrote the original story, crafted a film that combined the campy comedy of a film like Slaughter High with a political subtext. Open House was Mundhra’s first American feature after getting his start in Bollywood film, and while it shows the flaws of a novice director, it is an ambitious film with a truly original narrative.
Of course the film is bolstered by the appearance of genre film favorite Adrienne Barbeau. This is Barbeau after her prime when she made a string of great films with John Carpenter, but she still brings a sense of class to the proceedings in her role as Lisa, the hunted real estate agent. Then there’s Joseph Bottoms, the former star of Disney’s The Black Hole, as the radio Doctor with a magnificently permed head of hair. He goes way over the top, but that’s what kind of film this is so you barely notice. Lastly, I have to mention the dog food eating, rejected Mad Max extra looking killer known as Harry. He is played by Darwyn Swalve who some may recognize as Blanco from Hands of Steel or the Wrestler from the Coen Brother’s Barton Fink.
If you’re a fan of ‘80’s slashers, then you’ve probably seen all the basics and branched out into the more obscure titles available. Chances are you’ve never seen Open House, and if you like campy horror, then you owe it to yourself to check this one out. After all, it’s a great deal, just check the listing.
The Woman Hunt (1973) starring Pat Woodall, John Ashley, Sid Haig, Lisa Todd and Eddie Garcia. Directed by Eddie Romero.
When a couple of girls hire Silas and his ship for an afternoon pleasure cruise off the coast of the Philippines, they don’t expect that by the end of the day they will join three other women as prisoners in the jungle. They are taken to the home of criminal mastermind Spiros. After a dinner party, the girls soon find out they are to be hunted through the jungle as prey in a game that will only end in their death.
The Bugg Picture: If the plot sounds familiar, well, it should. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a story that filmmakers like to go back to time and time again. This variation on the theme was written by Jack Hill, the legendary writer director of Coffe, The Big Bird Cage, and Switchblade Sisters, but the director’s chair was filled by Eddie Romero, the Filipino director of the Blood Island films.
Even though Hill was only undertaking writing duties, one of the best things about the flick is the appearance of Hill regular Sid Haig. Haig is gloriously perverse and offensive, and it made me feel like I was watching the early years of his House of 100 Corpses character Captain Spaulding. The film also stars Pat Woodall, who was the one time innocent Bobbie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction, but she made a turn into genre film work with 1971’s The Big Doll House. She seems an unlikely heroine, but she fits into the role nicely as the film goes on.
The Woman Hunt does begin a bit slow, but once the women are loosed in the jungle the film hits high gear. Thankfully, the first two thirds of the film are kept entertaining by Haig and his relentless pursuit of a beautiful ebony prisoner. This is a great forgotten piece of ‘70’s sleaze, and fans of Jack Hill, exploitation films, or beautiful ladies in peril will want to Hunt this one down.
The Specialist (1969) starring Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Fennec, Gastone Moschin, and Mario Adorf. Directed Sergio Corbucci.
Synopsis: A notorious gunslinger, Hud (Hallyday) makes his way to Blackstone where his brother had been hanged for suspicion of bank robbery a few months earlier. He’s come to uncover the truth about his brother’s death, and he finds himself embroiled in a mystery that involves nearly everyone in town. The money from the robbery was never recovered, and now everyone wants to know where it is including the treacherous widow who owns the bank, the sheriff with big dreams, and one armed bandit El Diablo.
The Bugg Picture: The Specialist was the fourth in a series of spaghetti westerns directed by the genre’s other Sergio, Sergio Corbucci. Having worked with Joseph Cotton (The Hellbenders, 1967), Franco Nero (The Mercenary, 1968), and Klaus Kinski (The Great Silence, 1968), Corbucci cast Johnny Hallyday, a French singer who had been greatly influenced by Elvis Presley, in the starring role of Hud. Unlike the King’s campy westerns, The Specialist revels in the same gritty, bleak tones that Corbucci explored in his previous films. There are no real redeemable characters and nearly everyone seems to have a secret they are keeping.
The Specialist was filmed in the alps and the cinematography by Dario Di Palma perfectly captures the natural beauty of the surroundings, but more than that he enhances the performances in the film with some stunning photography. When Hud is introduced he is shadowed except for his face, and this is a great introduction to a character whose motivations run toward the dark end of the scale. All the performances are good but Hallyday really stands out, and it’s no wonder he is still working in films today. So if you’re a fan of the offbeat westerns, the films of Corbucci, or if the idea of a mystery wrapped up in gunfights appeals to you, then do yourself a favor and check this little known gem out.
A group of women escape a Communist run labor camp, only to be captured by a group of Gorilla fighters lead by a woman named Piranha. One of the girls, Petunia, spreads a rumor that the girls are on a mission to stop the Communists from getting plans for a nuclear weapon, and Piranha agrees to train the girls for the mission. In reality, the girls are going after a stash of diamonds, but are they crazy enough to go through with the mission?
The Bugg Picture: Think you might want to see this flick. Two words: Virgin Commandos. If those two didn’t work then try these three on for size: Lunatic Frog Women. How great is a movie that has not one but two awesome movie titles. This flick may have come out of Hong Kong in 1989, but it has the feeling of a film at least ten years older than that. I can’t believe this one didn’t come out of the classic exploitation era. It’s got everything. Kick ass chicks? Check. Training montages? Check. Nudity? Check. Comic relief from a guy who looks like Sammo Hung’s ugly brother? Yeah, it’s got that too.
Director Yong Chin Bong had a short career with only three other films to his name, but from the titles alone, Lady Avenger, Pretty Women at War, and Searching for Love, something tells me that Mr. Bong had a thing for putting tough chicks on celluloid. From the opening scenes of Virgin Commandos, these chicks prove they can hang with the toughest of hombres. They kick more ass in the first ten minutes than some action stars (Segal, I’m looking at you.) kick all day. I love it when the Gorilla leader Piranha states that the girls have had no formal military training “they’re just real tough”. Preach on, sister.
All of the Virgin Commandos were unknown actresses who came from nowhere and faded back into obscurity when their roles were done, but the film is bolstered by the appearance of Pei-Pei Cheng. The veteran actress began her career in 1966 and has appeared in over sixty films. Her credits include dozens of Wushu films, the 1994 Michelle Yeoh film Wing Chung, the Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and a role in the recent film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.
If you like flicks full of great action and women who can dish it out, then this is a flick I can’t recommend enough. It remains pacey throughout, and Virgin Commandos grabbed me from the first scene and wouldn’t let go. I do love me some women that kick the ass, and I do like me some movies with great titles. So take it from the Bugg, this one’s got both and you should take the plunge with these frog women.
Dagmar’s Hot Pants (1971) starring Diana Kjær, Robert Strauss, Poul Bundgaard, and Anne Grette. Directed by Vernon P. Becker.
It’s Dagmar’s last day as a call girl, and she’s got a busy day ahead of her. With marriage proposals to avoid, an apartment to lease, virgins to deflower, and last minute clients to meet, it’s a wonder that a girl can get everything done. However, Dagmar’s a girl who can do it all, and she’s just got one more day to do it.
While Diana Kjær’s Dagmar never dons the titular hot pants (she’s more often doffing her clothing), she turns in a powerhouse performance in a role that could have been nothing more than the “hooker with a heart of gold.” Instead, Dagmar comes off as a rather endearing girl who just happens to be a member of the world’s oldest profession. Dagmar is at once funny, sexy, cute, and smart as a whip. She’s a great character in a truly enjoyable film.
When it comes to foreign sex comedies, sometimes much that gets lost in the translation, but thankfully, there are no problems like that getting between you and Dagmar’s Hot Pants. Director Vernon Becker’s previous credit had been a documentary on the legendary Buster Keaton, and the silent film influence is on full display. It is especially well used in a scene where Dagmar’s client, a conductor, has a liaison with her to the tune of the William Tell Overture. Thankfully, Dagmar’s Hot Pants has more to offer than that, the verbal humor is just as punchy, and I found very few of the jokes to be dated. Of all the sex comedies I’ve seen, Dagmar’s Hot Pants has rocketed to the number one spot in my book. So check it out and spend the day with Dagmar. You won’t be sorry you did.
Pensione paura (1977) [a.k.a Hotel of Few] starring Luc Merrenda, Leonora Fani, Lidia Biondi, and Jole Fierro. Directed by Francesco Barilli.
Rosa (Fani) and her mother (Biondi) are left running a hotel while Rosa’s father is off being a fighter pilot in World War II. The hotel is full of many creepy denizens, and most of them seem to have an unnatural attraction to the young Rosa. Things don’t get bad for Rosa until her mother is killed violently, and then the poor girl suffers rape at the hands of Rodolfo (Merrenda). Soon a black gloved killer is stalking the hotel righting the wrongs Rosa has suffered, but who is the mysterious murderer and what does he want with Rosa.
The Bugg Picture: Pensione paura is a very rare giallo helmed by Francesco Barilli, who also directed 1974’s The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Perhaps the best hallmark for the flick is the screenwriter Barbara Alberti who penned Tinto Brass’ film Frivolous Lola as well as Cavini’s The Night Porter. Clearly with this script she was influenced by contemporary gialli, especially the early films of Dario Argento. In fact the whole film feels a bit like Argento light.
The film features a few very interesting performances. Leonora Fani gives an excellent turn as the terrorized Rosa. The beginning of the film where she is being hounded by a hotel full of perverts sets up her sympathetic character nicely. So when her one real ally, her mother, is slain, it plays out very nicely. Then there’s Luc Merrenda playing against type as a sleazebag kept man. Merrenda is almost unrecognizable from his roles in Charles Bronson’s Red Sun, Martino’s Gambling City, or Di Leo’s Shoot First Die Later. In recent times, along with some other Italian genre film luminaries, he appeared in Eli Roth’s Hostel II. So if you like gialli, check this one out. It remains well paced and scripted, and it’s one you should check out…. Or should you check in?
