Le détraqué

One of the more solid selections from the Bert I. Gordon roster, "The Mad Bomber" is the heartwarming tale of a man spiraling into insanity who decides that the sinful world needs to be punished through serial bombings. Chuck Connors plays this part well, but it's Neville Brand's show all the way as a pathetic scumbag rapist who holds the key to stopping the T.N.T maniac. Fairly terse low-budgeter is quite grueling at times, and deserves more substantial notoriety.

A flick likely to turn up on a local TV "Late, Late, Late Show", though possibly missing some of the more graphic moments. Still, worth a look and recommended.

5.5/10

"The Mad Bomber" is a very adult suspense film....so adult I am surprised it didn't earn an X rating back when it debuted. After all, "Midnight Cowboy" was rated X and only had a tiny bit of nudity...and that came out only four years before this film. Yet, in "The Mad Bomber" you have some graphic rape scenes, tons of violence as well as full frontal nudity...all which shocked me as the film progressed. Even today I think you'd have a hard time getting an R for this one because of the rapes....something that did NOT need to be this graphic. So, please, please, please...be careful with this one. It's not for kids and perhaps you might wanna be sure you are looking at one of the edited versions (and they are apparently quite common).

The film is about a psychopath (Chuck Connors) who has a variety of gripes about the world. Tons of things tick him off and now he's going to show the world by planting a string of bombs as retribution. At the same time, a rapist is running amok...and the two might have seen each other. So, if you catch one, you might just be able to catch the other. Lt. Minneli (Vince Edwards) is the cop investigating these cases.

So is this any good? "The Detective" is a super-gritty X rated cop film...and I loved it...so there is a place for tough crime films. The film is very exciting and in some ways well made. However, one portion of the film made zero sense. The rapist (Neville Brand) is eventually caught in the act of raping a woman and later the Lieutenant's boss tells him to release the suspect...no charges...nothing!! On what planet would this make sense?! The Lieutenant later trumps up a traffic charge in order to bring him in for questioning. Shouldn't the fact that he gagged a woman and ripped her clothing off be enough to merit bringing him back in for questioning?!?! Another dopey moment was late in the film when the bomber was driving about on a motorcycle. He COULD he have possibly escaped?! Odd that the film was so sloppy here and there when it was otherwise exciting (though quite sleazy!).

By the way, I noticed that one reviewer seemed surprised that director Bert I. Gordon would make a 'sick' film like this. Considering he made the god-awful "Food of the Gods", "Empire of the Ants" and "How to Succeed With Sex", I certainly am not surprised by this movie! It seems pretty much in keeping with his output at that time, though the quality is a tad better than usual.

Provocative film about the hunt for a lunatic on a rampage and the investigation leading to his apprehension. Despite the copious amount of graphic female nudity, it has the overall look of a 70's cop show or TV movie.

Chuck Connors (TV's The Rifleman) convincingly inhabits his role as the deranged bomber and Neville Brand has an interesting turn as a rapist who happens to witness him en route to one of the targets of his violence. The weak link in the cast is Vince Edwards, whose one-note performance as the obsessed police detective left me wanting more.

Give this one a shot and you may be pleasantly surprised!

William Dorn (Chuck Connors) is an angry and disturbed man. Frustrated over the drug overdose of his daughter, he decides to strike back at anyone whom he's imagined was responsible for her death. But what he really wants to do is punish society at large. He'll even leave bombs at feminist gatherings. Determined to nail this paranoid villain is grouchy, hard nosed detective Geronimo Minelli (!) (Vince Edwards), the kind of guy who does anything it takes to get his man. That includes working with the one man who can identify Dorn, and HE turns out to be a rapist! George Fromley (Neville Brand) is loathe to cooperate with Minelli until he realizes what the cop is capable of.

Producer / director / screenwriter / cinematographer Bert I. Gordon (a.k.a. Mr. B.I.G.) is better known for his "giant monster" flicks of the 1950s, but this endlessly amusing pile of garbage that he's created deserves to be just as well known. He brings the sleaze in a major way; his movie is slow at times and crude, but undeniably a real hoot. Fans of 1970s exploitation will be delighted to note the abundance of nudity (provided by Ilona Wilson as Fromley's wife) and the wonderfully graphic gore. Of course, it's the acting that really brings this one to life. Edwards is good as the unrelenting protagonist, and Brand is a very effective creep. Hank Brandt, Christina Hart, and Ted Gehring co-star, but it's Connors who will command most of your attention. With an array of truly priceless facial expressions, he's a hysterically nutty bad guy. The icing on the cake is a music score by Michel Mention that's sometimes entertaining but is also hilariously AWFUL at other times. The movie establishes Dorn in a great way right up front, as he chastises a stranger for littering on the sidewalk.

Well worth seeing if you like your cop thrillers to be on the trashy side.

Seven out of 10.

This is probably the only decent film that Bert I. Gordon ever did in his career. The story film is full of tension as we see the protagonist, Geronimo Minelli, not only hunting down the bomber, but he must also try to save the life of the creepy rapist who witnessed his second bombing. Vince Edwards does a pretty good job playing Minelli and Chuck Connors is good as Dorn, the title bomber. Connors really shows how much he really wants to get back at the people he feels has wronged him, and goes about his "work" with such cold, unemotional efficiency. However, Neville Brand steals the film as the rapist. Brand showed why he was one of the more popular villains in film with his disturbing performance. Its a shame that this picture isn't shown on television anymore.