Strike Me Deadly

When a film is held up in release for 4 years you have to figure it's a stinker. In that sense Strike Me Deadly does not disappoint.

Someone must have had the idea to make a film with a forest fire background. We do get quite a bit of that filling out the running time. The story is how forest ranger Gary Clarke and his wife Jeannine Riley are forced to lead killer Steve Ihnat through the fire.

Ihnat does register well in his part. But this one was a cheapo deluxe and looks like it was shot with my father's old Bell&Howell.

For Steve Ihnat's fans only.

A few years ago I made a list of movies that I still wanted to see, ranked by year. Having watched a number of them, I made a second list of movies that I haven't seen, ranked by director. One of the directors on the list is Ted V. Mikels. I saw the presentation of his "Girl in Gold Boots" on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" many years ago, but now I've seen his directorial debut, 1963's "Strike Me Deadly".

This look at a man and his girlfriend trying to escape a killer amid a forest fire isn't a good or bad movie, just average. The forest fire adds some extra tension, but mostly it's nothing innovative. I will say Jeannine Riley's a real babe, though.

Worth seeing if you're interested in the director's early works.

Strike Me Deadly (1963)

** (out of 4)

Low-budget thriller has a man murdering someone in what appears to be cold blood. What he doesn't realize is that a local park ranger spotted the action so he must chase him down and try to kill the only witness. The man makes it back to his girlfriend's cabin but the killer bursts in on them and it becomes a hostage situation.

Ted V. Mikels made his directorial debut with this film and for the most part I'd probably call it his best looking movie. I say that because the director actually works quite well with the low-budget and makes the film seems like it was shot on something higher. Usually, with his low-budgets, you can tell that the film's lack much money but that's not really the case here.

The first twenty-minutes or so are certainly the highlight as we see the killer chasing the witness and there's some nice editing here that builds some good suspense. I'd also argue that the final fifteen-minutes were quite good as well. The problem is everything in the middle as we get a flashback that tells a subplot and this here got pretty boring pretty quickly.

I'd also say that the performances are rather weak and there's not enough going on during the middle section to really help the overall film. WIth that said, it is well-made and features some great footage of an actual wildfire that helps things.

Some spoilers .Highly recommended! Once again we have another multi talented director who transcends a low budget to make a enjoyable film! Stuntman, actor, writer, cinematographer, and director Ted V. Mikels directs his first film, and it is one of his finest! Gary Clarke who also starred in Herbert L. Strock's classic (How To Make A Monster) and Richard E. Cunha's (Missile To The Moon) is perfectly cast as as Jimmy a forest ranger! Also in the cast is beautiful sexy actress Jeannine Riley in her film debut. She later went on to star in the popular television series, (Petticoat Junction). Together Clarke and Riley have the right chemistry! Steven Quinn is very convincing in his portrayal as a psychopathic killer, who Clarke sees killing a man! He later incinerates the dead man's body, inadvertently starting a major forest fire! He then chases Clarke and Riley through the forest trying to kill them with his high powered rifle! This film has a underlying current similar to RKO's 1932 film (The Most Dangerous Game) and (Bloodlust) 1961. In which a psychopath stalks human victims for sport, with the aid of a crossbow! Excellent music by Nicholas Carras who's other credits include (She Demons) and (Missile To The Moon). Fine outdoor cinematography from Basil Bradbury. Director Mikels went on to give us such fine gems as (The Corpse Grinders) not to be mistaken with the (The Corpse Eaters) another fine film about gourmet dining!