gawlinskie

In El Dorado's (1966) opening scenes where sheriff J. P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) confronts Cole Thornton (John Wayne) a point is made about the sheriff's rifle (which plays an important role in the thrilling climax). This rifle looks a lot like the rifle Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) used in the TV series The Rifleman (1958 – 1963).

In El Dorado, Cole Thornton is attacked by Luke MacDonald (Johnny Crawford). I don't know if this was planned, but the actor who played Luke MacDonald also played Lucas McCain's son in The Rifleman. I hadn't recognized Crawford. He plays his small role well. This brief shootout starts a chain of events that leads to the Due using the modified winchester at the end of the movie.

The scene where Alan Bourdillion Traherne (James Caan) armed with only a knife, kills a gunslinger reminds me of the Magnificent Seven (1960) when Britt (James Coburn) does the same thing. This early Caan movie shows his acting skills that gave him his long and fruitful career.

This is a very solid western. There is a lot of action, revenge, loyalty, fair play, and humor … The story line makes sense. There is no wasted activity it is a tight plot. This is one of the movies that I choose when I'm by myself. I'm very glad to have it as part of my collection.

"It's gone... like a spook! I've never seen a car move so fast." The two police officers who are constantly chasing the Green Hornet's car say that in almost every episode. Britt Reid (the Green Hornet) is a rich guy who like Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) has a secret identity that he uses to fight crime.

This serial is a lot of fun and like most serials ends each episode with an exciting cliff hanger. It suffers from the defects typical of serials of this era but also has the charm that is also typical of them.

Those of us who remember the Abbott and Costello Show will enjoy seeing Gordon Jones as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet. He was Officer Mike. Although Keye Luke (Kato) is no Bruce Lee he plays the part well. Those who enjoyed David Carradine as Caine in Kung Fu will enjoy seeing how Master Po (the blind monk who called Caine "grasshopper") looked as a young man.

Don't expect a sophisticated plot or deep character development. The dialog is corny but there is plenty of action and lots of fun.

Soylent Green (1973), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), and Demolition Man (1993) are three movies about roughly the same future timeframe, the first third of the twenty-first century. Together they give a rather discouraging view of the future, but each is a good portrayal of what might happen if a current trend is carried to an extreme. In 2022 (Soylent), Charlton Heston is a New York City police detective (Thorn). New York is now populated by 40 million people, food is scarce and so is space. In this society, women are part of the rented furniture. Corruption is rampant. Natasha Richardson (Handmaid) is a young women capable of bearing children. This is very rare in Gilead (the United States of the future). Only 1% of the women of Gilead can bear children. Kate is sentenced to become a Handmaid whose function is to bear a child for the infertile wife of a powerful leader (The Commander). This is based on a Bible story (Genesis 29:31–35; 30:1–24). This is a society controlled by fear and repression. It does not have the overpopulation and resulting scarcity found in Soylent but is not an encouraging view of the future. Sylvestor Stalone (Demolition) is detective Spartan who was cryogenically frozen in 1996 and then thawed in 2032. The world into which he finds himself is discouraging in its lack of freedom and extreme social control. Foul language, meat, smoking, anything stimulating has been outlawed. Sex is accomplished through the exchange of mental sexual energy rather than exchanging messy body fluids. The degradation of women seen in Sylent and Handmaid is not found in this sterile vision of the future. Sandra Bullock's character (Huxley) is no less free than her male co-workers. This society does not have the lawless corruption and scarcity found in Soylent or the fear and repression found in Handmaid. However, it is sterile and stagnant. These three views of what the future might be are each well done and together make an enjoyable movie marathon unless you find these three views of the future too depressing.