ksf-2

Gene barry, barbara hale, eddie arnold. Frank duncan has come up with a scheme to make big bucks, but needs funding from some shady mobsters. And he uses zoe the showgirl to get to the big bosses. But of course, nothing goes according to plan. The headlines tell us how this all turns out, so we go into flashback to see where things went south. Fans will recognize barry from his bat masterson series, a couple years after this was made. And the very first columbo, of course. There's a sassy version of "put the blame on mame", maybe sung by barbara hale... maybe someone else. It's really not bad, just very low budget, from columbia. Directed by william castle, who was known for many low budget films with tacky special effects. This was one of his more serious dramas. For a film about the oil business, we don't see much oil drilling equipment. But it's still a pretty good noir.

We're shown right at the start that talbot is part of some team on a mission. We're not sure just what's going on, but he seems to be one of the good guys. When he's picked up on a minor charge in a back-water town, he knows it won't end well, so he goes on the run. And brings a local girl along with him (suzy kendall). Her job is to shriek any time talbot runs a roadblock or takes a turn too fast. And she turns out to be the daughter of a very rich oil man. You'll also recognize john vernon. He was dean wormer in animal house! It's pretty good! When the bad guys force talbot to work on a project, he tries to find some way to subvert the work before they decide they don't need him. It's good! Some great twists and turns. But did the bad guys really need to wear suits as the sub glides above the ocean floor, at some huge depth? Directed by michael tuchner. The only other film of his i've seen is "villain", from the year before, which is also pretty good! Suzy kendall was also gillian, in "to sir with love" ! A couple years after this film, our lead barry newman will get his own series "petrocelli", for two seasons. Keep an eye out for 29 year old ben kingsley... as .. royale, one of the thugs. Why do they never show this on the talkin picture box??

But cult films are earned over time. This seems to be a project by the skotchdopole family. One of em directed, and a bunch of them produced it. When shane and leah get married, he's worried that some big secret will come to light. Although he isn't even sure if the secret really happened. And when they get to the house where they are spending their honeymoon, they spend the whole time arguing. They don't seem to do that thing that honeymooners are famous for doing. And when the creeps show up to blackmail shane, why don't they just call the cops?? Or shane could just fill his bride in on the big secret. This seems to be chris skotchdopole's first full length film direction. Some of the reviews on the film are more entertaining than watching the film itself. Maybe they should have spent the budget on getting the "invention" developed. It's probably the most interesting thing about the film. But it just really isn't a practical invention. Although the line "bingo, bongo, up the congo!" was pretty funny too. It wants to be a cult film, but it's just dark and quirky. Lots of plot holes. All horrible people. Why didn't they just call the cops? Watch it if you have the patience. It IS his first big film.