Doug McClure And Kevin Connor Movies
In 1978 I was taken to the cinema to see a movie called Warlords of Atlantis. It was a movie that appealed to me on a lot of levels; Atlantis!; nasty creatures!; a bathysphere! I was young and bathyspheres were cool, so sue me. The movie’s lead was played by Doug McClure and over the years that followed thanks to the explosion of VHS films and then weekend showings on television I became introduced to a few other Doug McClure films too – The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, and At The Earth’s Core – all of which had a common theme of explorers exploring, adventures adventuring, and monsters monstering, and all of which were directed by Kevin Connor. The Land That Time Forgot (1975) Based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs book of the same name and set during the first world war the story follows what happens when survivors of a German U-boat attack take control of the vessel but end up chancing upon an isolated, volcanic island where dinosaurs still exist alongside various types of humans. Just like in the Bible. The first lobby card from the movie shows the scene on the island of Caprona where we learn that the dinosaurs have learned over the millenia to abhor violence. Here, a prehistoric creature takes the dangerous guns from the sailors. America’s NRA launched a successful lobbying campaign of their own to get this particular scene cut from the American release of the film and to dub over the movie’s dialogue where Doug McClure’s character Bowen Tyler speaks of his admiration for the dinosaurs’ evolved sense of morality, replacing it instead with a wish that there was a good monster with a gun nearby to terminate the bad monster with his own gun. A memorable moment from the movie captured in this card when the German submarine commander performs a thrilling cabaret with some of the various creatures swimming around near his boat. The act of holding his hand within the jaws of an enormous plesiosaur demonstrates his bravery and helps to cement a blossoming relationship between himself and Tyler. The final lobby card shown from The Land That Time Forgot features a still from the middle third of the movie, the infamous hardcore sex scene between Susan Penhaligon’s character Lisa Clayton and a caveman. Gratuitous, very graphic, and highly censored worldwide it’s subsequently been very difficult to get hold of a print of the film that leaves much of the scene intact which does make the ending of the movie with Clayton nursing a hairy baby a tad confusing. The People That...
Ghost Chili
What happens when you eat a ghost chili? Does it hurt to eat a ghost chili? Should you drink copious amounts of milk to offset the searing pain that comes from consuming a ghost chili? I’ve no idea. Personally, I think you have to be certifiable to want to eat anything that will hurt you. I’ve got a scientific background and I’ve no interest in investigating these questions but your luck’s in if you’re keen to know just what level of agony eating a ghost chili will deliver as others are stupider/braver than...
Tool Triple
You wait ages for any posts with a reference to the word tool and then two come along at once. Hot on the heels of the Ridgid Tools Calendars post comes this trio of music videos from American rock band Tool. Not a lot to say about the videos other than that they seem to perfectly fit the dark, brooding music and the styles of stop motion animation along with bizarre creature make up – the sort of things that wouldn’t look out of place in Pan’s Labyrinth – really appeals to me. Sober Parabola...
Massenet’s Cendrillon
Out of nowhere while flicking around the TV channels yesterday I spotted that an opera whose name I didn’t recognise was about to start. Every now and then I like to pretend I’ve got a smidgeon of class about me so I settled down and watched from start to finish a performance of Massenet’s Cendrillon as played out at the Royal Opera House in 2011. I was captivated by it. This was the first non-English opera I’d ever watched and it was enthralling. Beautiful acting and singing performances by all involved, clever set design, some gorgeous outfits, and a really nice version of the Cinderella story. I’ve no idea if the video I’m embedding here will get yanked at some point but it’s a part of the third act which takes place on the rooftops and sees both Cendrillon and Prince Charming bewitched by a spell cast by the gorgeous fairy godmother that means they can’t see one another; when the spell is finally broken I actually had goosebumps and a slight welling of tears when watching it for the first time. Cendrillon was played by Joyce DiDonato, the fairy godmother by Eglise Gutiérrez, and Prince Charming – who I thought looked a bit effeminate at the time – turns out to be acted by Alice Coote, so that explains that. It doesn’t quite explain why he looks like Father Dougal McGuire though. Such an enjoyable opera, we might just look into taking a trip to London at some point and checking one out in the...
Lauren Bacall – Key Largo
A wonderful actress and stunningly beautiful woman died today and to celebrate her life here’s the delightfully atmospheric Key Largo, in which she starred alongside her first husband, Humphrey...
Portsmouth In Colour, 1939
Film footage from 1939 of Portsmouth shot in colour. Interesting to see familiar and not-so-familiar parts of Portsmouth and quite amazing how much some of it has changed, some of it obviously lost to bombings during the war and other areas changed just as a matter of course. The film includes shots from the Brickwoods brewery, Clarence Pier amusements, the airport, one of the first festivals of the sea, a parade taking place in Southsea, and contestants in the Miss Portsmouth competition among other bits. Please note: some of the film is a little bit racy (quite surprising for the era) and may not be safe for...
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