Terror bajo el sol

This guy, John Derek, had 3 of the most beautiful women ever: Ursula Andress, Linda Evans, Bo Derek, probably because he was long (1.85 m)... Well, as an actor, he's not bad in the lead role in this movie. And as a director he is even better, this being his first film as director (along with Marc "gangster face" Lawrence). The movie is not great, but not bad either. We have some acting recitals here: the beautiful and very young Ursula Andress has also the shortest part, because she is killed after the beginning of the film, anyway, she has a lot of charm in her small role; the best and most convincing, having the most difficult role, is Arthur O'Connell, seen by me in many movies, among the best being "Fantastic Voyage" and "Cimarron"; then Aldo Ray, seen by me in a very good role in "Nightfall"; a very young and not very great Robert Duvall, John Marley, good as usual, Keenan Wynn, good, the same as in all his movies, Sammy Davis Jr. and Richard Jaeckel in two very small roles.

The appearance of a subdued Sammy Davis Jr. in a cameo as a truck driver establishes early on the quirky unpredictability that informs much of the rest of this raw little independent production superbly shot in colour in 15 days by veteran cameraman Stanley Cortez that sure lives up to its title. (I could, however, have done with less of Paul Glass's noisy score, which is still pounding away in my head as I write this.)

John Marley has one of the larger supporting roles, and is notably good as one of the relatively few 'normal' characters. After a rather meandering middle section involving bikers Robert Duvall and Richard Jaeckel it picks up pace again with a trio of eccentrics played by Laurene Tuttle, George Tobias and Keenan Wynn and a conclusion that improbably but satisfyingly settles the question that increasingly preys on your mind as it approaches the end of its 80 minute running time: how on earth is this all going to be resolved in the time left?

Ursula Andress picks up hitch hiker John Derek and has a tryst with him. Her husband, Arthur O'Connell catches them. It's not the first time she has betrayed him. O'Connell kills her, and with the help of corrupt sheriff Aldo Ray, frames Derek, who escapes, although still handcuffed.

It's directed by Marc Lawrence with uncredited help by Derek, and while the meandering and eventually pointless story isn't particularly compelling -- Derek was one of those bland leading men of the 1950s, which doesn't help -- there is a wealth of storied performers, probably drawn in by having played innumerable times with Lawrence. Old performers like Sammy Davis, Jr., Allyn Joslyn, Keenan Wynn, George Tobias, Chick Chandler, and Douglas Fowley take small roles, and new performers like Robert Duvall and Richard Jaeckel also appear. Perhaps it's a metaphor for the collapse of order and tradition in Hollywood.

Writer/director/producer Marc Lawrence does a very solid job when it comes to "NIghtmare in the Sun". Lawrence delivers a nice, tight thriller. He also gets nice performances from a strong cast. The only weak link is John Derek. Derek is a pretty face but he's out of his league with this bunch. The copy I watched was not very good. It looked like the kind of copy Good Times video used to release back in the '80s. I won't fault "Nightmare in the Sun" for that. I will fault it, however, for its music. The music in this movie stinks. It's probably the movie's biggest demerit. Otherwise, this is a movie that is worth seeing. Honorable mention: a dreamy Ursula Andress.

This was Marc Lawrence's first movie, made seven years before his second (and last to date) effort, Daddy's Deadly Darling aka The Pigs. Lawrence is mostly an actor, seeing as he's had small roles in almost 200 films. He's a fine director, though, and might have had a career in that field as well.

Nightmare in the Sun is the story of a drifter who comes into a small town and gets caught up in a rather messy affair. He has a fling with the local beauty (Ursula Andress), who is regularly cheating on her increasingly paranoid husband. Just after he leaves her to travel on her angry hubby blows a casket and shoots her with a rifle. Enter the town's sheriff who decides he'll frame our protagonist in exchange of some of the real murderers significant wealth. Soon a handful of cops, a local mob and two apparently gay bikers (one played by a very young Robert Duvall) are hunting the innocent man ...

It's a pretty basic story but Lawrence makes it work. He puts the barren desert locations to great use and gets some good performances out of his actors, most notably John Derek as the nameless drifter/hitchhiker. The score is a bit overbearing at first and takes some time to get used to but in the end it's pretty effective.

All in all a very watchable and suspenseful film that deserves better than to sink further and further into obscurity. I got it on a used VHS for a couple bucks but someone really needs to resurrect this for the DVD age!