darqside-42074

THE WONDERLAND MASSACRE & THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2024 / Docuseries / MGM+). Narrator: Michael Connelly. Director: Alison Ellwood. Here's my review:

2½ out of 4

Examination of the infamous 1981 multiple homicide in Los Angeles leaves no stone unturned. Four people, brutally slain and one in critical condition, were found in a house on the appropriately-named Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Hollywood. It was quickly determined the killings were in retaliation for a major robbery of local sleazebag / drug kingpin Eddie Nash. Nash soon becomes the central figure, but porn star John Holmes is implicated also. The case eventually peters out with no convictions of anyone and the docuseries segues to other Nash activities, including those involving Liberace and his young lover, Scott Thorson. As the years drag on, however, the Wonderland massacre continues to hang over the proceedings like lockerroom body odor. Crime fiction author Michael Connelly, who narrated, also appears throughout, interviewing key participants.

ACROSS 110th STREET (1972 / Tubi), starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Paul Benjamin, Richard Ward, Antonio Fargas. Director: Barry Shear. Here's my review:

3½ out of 4

Three men rob a numbers bank in Harlem and it's only a question of who gets to them first, the police or the mob. Not the cops and robbers movie it appears to be, rather a compelling, noir-drenched tale of desperate men, each driven by different forces, barreling toward the violent climax. Film looks like it started off in producer meetings as blaxploitation, but with the addition of Quinn and Franciosa, quickly escaped that genre. High-caliber performances by the entire cast, as well as stunning location shooting in the most squalid areas of 1970s Harlem, lift this film way above the rest. Opening scene is as good as you'll find. Director Shear shows a real feel for the material. Title song by Bobby Womack is memorable.

TARGET EARTH (1954 / YouTube), starring Richard Denning, Kathleen Crowley, Virginia Grey, Richard Reeves. Director: Sherman A Rose. Here's my review:

2½ out of 4

Invaders arrive from outer space and the city is evacuated overnight. A few stragglers are left behind and they awake to find a deserted city. Slowly, they piece together what has happened. Luckily, Whit Bissell and his team of scientists are around to figure out the invaders' weakness and save the world. Low-budget film could only afford one robot, but nevertheless is salvaged by good cast. Adapted from Paul W Fairman's short story, "Deadly City".