What happens in Vegas, slays in Vegas: Horror under the neon lights

When people think of Las Vegas, “horror” usually isn’t the first thing that pops into mind. A lot of ‘G’ words like greed, gluttony, glitz, glamor and gangsters fit Sin City like a glove, but horror, not so much.

Vegas has had it share of real world horrors (and more than its share of the gun violence that plagues the U.S), but the bright, neon lights of a city that never sleeps would seem to be anathema to the supernatural denizens of the night that like to keep to the ink-black shadows.

Or so we thought until The Night Stalker, a super-powered vampire, preyed upon those other creatures of the night, inveterate gamblers, in 1972 Las Vegas. (The Night Stalker, written by Richard Matheson based on an unpublished novel by Vegas journalist Jeff Rice, was a smash hit, becoming the most watched TV movie of its time.)

Actually, The Night Stalker was not the first supernatural entity to plague Vegas on TV or movie screens. A couple of years before Barry Atwater’s vampire showed up in Sin City, a mummy and a were-jackal (!?) mixed it up under the neon lights. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man this was not, being a grade Z monster mash-up starring Anthony Eisley and John Carradine, who were Z movie stand-bys at this point in their careers.

In The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969), Eisley plays Nevada-based archaeologist David Barrie, who retrieves two ancient Egyptian sarcophagi from a crashed plane in Lake Mead (?!), bringing them back to his ramshackle old house on the outskirts of Las Vegas to prepare them for an upcoming major archaeological conference in the big city (archaeologists like to let their hair down like everyone else).

One sarcophagus with a glass lid (uh-huh) contains the perfectly preserved body of the beautiful and alluring Princess Akana (Marliza Pons). The other contains the less than well-preserved remains of a plain old mummy (who was once a nobleman who wanted Akana for himself, and was buried alive to become her protector for all time -- hey mummy fans, sound familiar?).

Barrie is obsessed with Akana, fantasizing about reviving her and gaining worldwide fame by parading the Princess around at the conference. Little does he know that just by being in close proximity to Akana, the Curse of the Jackals takes effect, turning him into a ravening were-jackal by the light of the full moon.

It seems that the goddess Isis has plans for the revived Princess to bring the Old Time Religion, by force if necessary, to 20th century Sin City. In the meantime, the were-jackal and the mummy fight it out in the streets of Las Vegas to become the one, true love and protector of Akana.

Things I learned about Las Vegas from the film:

• Casino managers look askance at rampaging mummies attacking their lounge performers.
• Armed casino guards will not hesitate to fire shots in a crowded room in order to deter murderous mummies.
• By 1969, Vegas visitors were so jaded, mummies and were-jackals shambling down the Strip elicited only bemused smirks.

Things I learned about ancient Egypt and its mythology:

• You don’t have to be bitten by a were-jackal to become one -- mere proximity to a cursed princess is enough
• Were-jackals need lots of naps between murderous rampages.
• 4,000 years ago, Egyptians perfected air-tight plexiglass for sealing up and preserving their deceased nobility.
• Egyptian mummies were supplied with handy oven mitts in case they needed to handle hot food in the afterlife.

Where to find it: Streaming

Even in 1969, shambling mummies were a dime a dozen on the Vegas Strip.

And then there’s Leprechaun 3 (1995), the third entry in the schlocky B horror franchise featuring the titular folk creature (Warwick Davis) who is significantly more ill-tempered and avaricious (not to mention homicidal) than his Lucky Charms cousin. In an inspired opening, a man who is somewhat worse for the wear -- sporting one eye, one leg and a missing hand -- unloads a “life-sized” statue of a leprechaun wearing a red medallion at a downtown Vegas pawn shop, warning the shop owner not to remove the medallion under any circumstances.

Of course the first thing the pawnbroker does is take the bejeweled piece off to inspect it, which, like removing a stake from a vampire’s skeleton, reanimates the vicious little bugger. And before you can say “faith and begorrah,” the little terror makes life a living hell for the pawnbroker, a naive college student stopping over in Las Vegas on his way to school, a second-rate lounge magician, the magician’s beautiful assistant, a sleazy casino manager, and the manager’s avaricious and ambitious female assistant.

Things I learned about Las Vegas from the film:

• Las Vegas is about the only place in the world where stage magicians are still tolerated.
• Casinos rig their gaming devices in order to cheat naive, under-age college students out of their tuition savings.
• All casino managers are sleazebags with bad hairpieces who have nothing better to do all day than grope the help.

Things I learned about leprechauns:

• Ruby medallions are to leprechauns like garlic is to vampires.
• The bite of a leprechaun can turn you into a were-leprechaun.
• Think twice about using a magic coin from a leprechaun’s stash to wish for an extreme makeover.

Where to find it: Streaming

In Vegas, a leprechaun and his stash of gold are soon parted.

Finally, vampires rear their ugly heads under the neon lights in Vampire in Vegas (2009). 300-year-old vampire and fly-by-night Nevada industrialist Sylvian (Tony Todd) is growing tired of the vampire life and wants to branch out into politics by first capturing the governor’s mansion and then the White House. But, he needs to move around during the day, so he hires a glamorous biochemist (Delia Sheppard) to develop a daylight-tolerance serum.

The biochemist uses newly-turned vampires as guinea-pigs to test the serum in the desert outside of Las Vegas. The state police are called in to investigate reports of screaming young women exploding in the sun, but they spend most of the film running around in circles. Leave it to naive bridegroom-to-be Jason (Edward Spivak) to eventually uncover the nefarious plot when his clueless buddies haul him off to a Sylvian-owned private club for a bachelor party blow-out. When the industrialist vampire kidnaps Jason’s sweet, innocent fiance Rachel (Sonya Joy Sims) for more serum experimentation, Jason summons up untapped reserves of courage to save her from a fate worse than death.

Things I learned about Las Vegas from the film:

• Hiking in the desert outside of the city runs the risk of running into mobsters or mad scientists disposing of bodies.
• For bachelor parties, it’s best to avoid vampire-owned private clubs.
• For a hungry vampire, a city that never sleeps is like a buffet that never closes.

Things I learned about vampires:

• After hundreds of years, vampires get bored and like to mix things up by finding other forms of bloodsucking, like politics.
• In Vegas, bodybuilders and exotic dancers are the familiars of choice for wealthy vampires.
• Vampires can conveniently grow wings at a moment’s notice and teleport to wherever they want.

Where to find it: Streaming 1 | Streaming 2 

When the temperature dips below 80 degrees, Las Vegans (vampires included) bundle up before going out.

Dr. Kildare takes up a sword: The Count of Monte-Cristo

Now Playing: The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975)

Pros: Intriguing cast of familiar ‘70s faces headed up by Richard Chamberlain; Kate Nelligan makes the most of her feature film debut; Looks opulent for a TV movie
Cons: Tony Curtis seems to be phoning it in; A few clunker lines roll less than lyrically off the tongues of the actors

When I learned of the Adventure-a-thon hosted by Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews and Barry at Cinematic Catharsis, I knew I wanted to get in on the action (and adventure) of their new blogathon, but couldn’t make up my mind about a title.

Then came the news of Richard Chamberlain’s passing, and I knew immediately that I wanted to pay tribute to this versatile actor who in the course of his prolific career starred in quite a few rousing adventure movies.

I remember occasionally sitting down with the family to watch broadcasts of Dr. Kildare, which was Chamberlain’s first recurring TV role (and which, along with Ben Casey, set impossibly high standards for the healthcare industry, with glamorous doctors who would do anything and everything for their suffering patients).

Who knew that a little over a decade later, Chamberlain would turn in his stethoscope for a rapier sword in Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973), and thereafter become one of the great action-adventure heroes?

With his breakout success as Aramis in the Lester film, Chamberlain swashbuckled his way through three more Alexandre Dumas adaptations in the '70s: The Four Musketeers: Milady’s Revenge (1974), The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1977). (Please note: I'm going with the spelling of 'Monte-Cristo' according to the 1975 movie poster and the IMDb page.)

But the man’s action-adventure career didn’t end there. Starting in the late ‘70s, Chamberlain appeared in several high profile mini-series, including Centennial (1978-79), James Clavell’s Shogun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983), garnering prime-time Emmy nominations for the last two.

Dr. Kildare is ready to operate!

More screen action followed in the ‘80s when he was tapped to play H. Rider Haggard's adventure hero Allan Quatermain in King Solomon’s Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986) -- a clear attempt to capitalize on the huge popularity of the Indiana Jones franchise.

The Alexandre Dumas adaptations were a big part of Chamberlain’s '70s workload. Sandwiched between his roles as Musketeer Aramis and the Man in the Iron Mask, Chamberlain’s turn as The Count of Monte-Cristo allowed him to travel thespically from the depths of despair to the heights of hubris and self-righteousness (not to mention, he absolutely rocks a 19th century Silver Fox look).

For those needing a refresher on The Count of Monte-Cristo (I confess I was hazy on the plot until watching this adaptation), it’s a classic story of betrayal and revenge. Chamberlain plays Edmond Dantes, first mate of a ship whose captain dies enroute back to Marseilles, but not before entrusting a secret note obtained from Elba (where Napoleon is exiled) to Dantes.

Dantes is to deliver the sealed message to a M. Noirtier, who, unknown to the sailor, is a supporter of Napoleon. Upon the ship’s arrival in Marseilles, life is looking up for Dantes, who expects to be given a ship of his own, and to marry the beautiful Mercedes (Kate Nelligan in her first movie role).

The Fickle Finger of Fate is about to tap both of these young lovers.

But Dantes’ life is soon upended by two secretive and jealous rivals: Mercedes’ cousin Fernand Mondego (Tony Curtis) covets Mercedes for himself, and a fellow merchant sailor, Danglars (Donald Pleasence), is jealous of Dantes’ rapid ascension to captaincy. The pair, in the company of another disgruntled sailor, write an anonymous note to Marseille’s crown prosecutor, De Villefort (Louis Jourdan), accusing Dantes of being a Bonapartist.

The day before Dantes is to be wed, De Villefort arrests him and demands the secret note, still unopened (and its contents unknown to Dantes). De Villefort realizes that the conspiratorial message is addressed to his own father, M. Nortier De Villefort, and in the current political climate he will be toast if word gets out that his father is a Bonapartist.

"Alexa, how do you spell 'Bonapartist'?"

De Villefort glibly assures Dantes that he is completely innocent and will only be detained overnight for administrative purposes. However, to Dantes’ dismay, he soons finds himself on a boat to the dreaded island prison of Chateau D’If, to be locked up and forgotten.

Years later, an emaciated, hairy and bedraggled Dantes, pacing his dank cell and almost beyond the point of no return with regard to his sanity, is startled when he hears a weird scraping noise, and is confounded to discover that another prisoner, Abbe Faria (Trevor Howard), has dug a tunnel straight into Dantes’ cell.

Faria, an irrepressible polymath, has spent years upon years tunneling to what he hoped was the prison’s seawall, but due to a miscalculation, has ended up at his fellow prisoner’s cell. Trevor Howard, a tough, grizzled character actor and mainstay of action adventure pictures and dramas after notable roles in Brief Encounter and The Third Man in the '40s, is nearly unrecognizable under all the hair and grime. But his appearance is a highlight of the film.

"Hey Abbe, have you got a match?"
"Yeah, your face and a donkey's behind!"

While Dantes was spending years pacing his cell, Faria was forging digging tools from bits of metal, devising an ingenious sundial on the wall of his cell, tracking the movements of the stars and planets, and contemplating questions in philosophy and theology. He hasn’t let the years of solitary confinement dull his senses -- quite the opposite. Faria is quick to note the irony of their situations: he was imprisoned because of his opposition to Napoleon, and Dantes because of his supposed support.

In addition to sanity-saving companionship, Faria imparts three invaluable gifts to Dantes: the application of cui bono? reasoning to figure out who was responsible for Dantes’ imprisonment, a map to unimaginable treasure located on the island of Monte Cristo, and, upon expiring from old age, an opportunity for Dantes to escape from Chateau D’If.

As the guards prepare to remove Faria in a body bag, Dantes takes advantage of a momentary distraction to drag his friend’s body into the tunnel and wrap himself up in the bag, which is hastily thrown into the ocean.

With the treasure map in hand, Dantes embarks on the next phase of his life -- one of fabulous wealth, which fuels a mission of revenge.

All that glitters is not gold -- precious stones and pearls do that too.

The Count of Monte-Cristo makes a grand entrance as he emerges from shadowy antechambers for his introduction to French high society. Unlimited wealth goes a long way in cleaning up a hairy, louse-ridden political prisoner, his all-white hair carefully coiffed, offsetting his trim dark beard and elegant black ensemble.

Over the years of his imprisonment, Dantes’ betrayers have risen high, representing diverse pillars of French society: Danglars is a wealthy banker, Mondego a pompous military man and presumptive war hero who has had a son with Mercedes (now grown into a young man), and De Villefort is as powerful as ever as the royal prosecutor.

Dantes masterfully exploits each man’s darkest secrets and character weaknesses in bringing them down. He lures Danglars into a risky investment in Spanish bonds, then bankrupts the greedy banker by feeding him bad insider information. Next is De Villefort, who gets his comeuppance when he prosecutes Andrea Benedetto (Carlo Puri), a confederate of the Count’s, for the death of Caderousse (another of the conspirators against Dantes, played by Alessio Orano). In court, Benedetto reveals nasty secrets about Villefort that lead to his ruination in full view of the shocked spectators.

If looks could kill, Dantes' enemies would be nothing but ash heaps.

Finally, Dantes buys a prominent newspaper, which he uses to expose Mondego’s sordid past -- the officer had betrayed and murdered an ally, Ali Pasha, stolen his fortune and sold his daughter into slavery. When Dantes shows up at the military inquiry into Mondego, the two antagonists quickly end up crossing swords, with the stiff-necked members of the military court shouting at them to desist, to no avail. (Up to this point the Count had been a behind-the-scenes manipulator. At least this climactic duel afforded Chamberlain the opportunity to show off more of the skilled swordsmanship he demonstrated in the Richard Lester films.)

Dante’s three main antagonists distinguish this version of Dumas’ tale. For a man who looked like a nondescript accountant, Donald Pleasence got very good at playing villains, often ones who hid their evil under a mask of ordinariness. Nearly a decade before Monte-Cristo, he gained huge exposure playing the very extraordinary Bond villain Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). Not long after Monte-Cristo, Pleasence got a career boost as Dr. Loomis, psychiatrist and monster-hunter, in the original Halloween (1978), and would follow that up with four more appearances in the subsequent popular franchise.

His character Danglars combines an almost nauseating unctuousness with a quiet ruthlessness in pursuing profit (a good combination for success in our times as well as Dumas’). However, Danglar’s willingness to blindly follow the investment advice of his perceived superior, the Count, proves his fatal undoing.

Danglars likes the finer things in life, but it's all about to go bust.

The Count faces another Bond villain, Louis Jourdan, as the royal prosecutor De Villefort (although Jourdan’s turn as Roger Moore’s nemesis in Octopussy was a few years down the road). Jourdan was the epitome of suaveness and courtliness, always adding an element of class to whatever he was in. He was especially effective as a villain, distracting his marks with old-world charm and sophistication even as he was plotting his heinous acts. (As such, he turns in a great performance as the titular character in the almost forgotten TV movie Count Dracula from 1977.)

True to form, Jourdan’s De Villefort is all smiles and silken reassurances that Dantes will only have to spend a night in custody -- all a formality of course -- even as he is arranging to have the unwitting Dantes carted off to spend the rest of his life in a dank dungeon.

In the courtroom scene, De Villefort is full of arrogant self-assurance as he walks into the Count’s trap. As the tables quickly turn and his dark secrets are revealed, the man's breakdown in full public view is all the more spectacular for his former smug confidence.

"Why I oughta....!!!"

Tony Curtis as Mondego is, well, Tony Curtis. The only clue to the passage of time when Mondego meets up with Dantes as the Count is a dramatic streak of white in his hair. Curtis’ natural boyish charm (even in middle age) is on full display here, which highlights his character’s self-satisfaction -- after all, Mondego is a decorated war hero with a beautiful wife and handsome, strapping son. But the Count soon wipes the smirk off his face, as well as wiping up the floor with him in the climactic sword fight.

Feature film newcomer Kate Nelligan as Mercedes has a lesser role, but makes the most her great dramatic moment, when, realizing the real identity of the Count, she appeals to whatever humanity Dantes has left after her son, trying to uphold the dignity of the Mondego family, challenges him to a duel. Before the decade was out, Nelligan would secure the role of Lucy Westenra in the bodice-ripping, heart-throbbing Frank Langella version of Dracula (1979).

"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Oops, wrong movie!

Chamberlain is impressive as the Count, wearing his cool, impassive mask over Dante’s seething thirst for revenge. He even manages ripe lines like “I shall move like the Sword of the Lord with a terrible swiftness,” without venturing into unintentional comedy. He’s at his absolute best in the late scenes with his lost love Mercedes, as it dawns on him that for all his wealth he’s still broken, and revenge has not made him whole:

Dantes: "That was simple justice, madam, and believe me it brought me no joy. But now my task's accomplished. I've no particular place in the world, no strong desire in life... but to make amends where I've hurt the innocent."
Mercedes: "Avenging angels may not ask forgiveness of their victims."

Mercedes mourns the soul-death of her dear Edmond.

This version of Dumas’ tale, produced by the UK’s ITC Entertainment, was originally envisioned as a mini-series, but ultimately it was sold to NBC as a TV movie (although it did see theatrical release in parts of Europe). As in any adaptation, some characters and scenes from the novel don’t make it to the screen, and others are given short shrift. Some details are altered, e.g., the fates of Danglars and Mondego are switched. [Wikipedia] And, the sword fight between Dantes and Mondego at the climax is not in the novel -- but it was a good call to add it.

Like its namesake sandwich the Monte Cristo, the 1975 movie serves up generous portions of acting ham and cheesy dialog, but it’s so well made and sumptuous-looking, and the veteran cast so endearing, that, even with all the other adaptations floating around out there, it’s worth gobbling up, er, looking up.

Much like the sandwich, The Count of Monte-Cristo is a sumptuous feast for the eyes with a gooey, cheesy center.

Where to find it: Streaming 1 | Streaming 2

Day 3 is a wrap for The Third 'Favorite Stars in B Movies' Blogathon!

Before we dive into the last group of entries on this, the last day of the blogathon, I want to thank everyone who helped stitch together this event by contributing wonderful posts, promoting it on their sites and social media, and/or simply providing moral support.

It's a wonderful Frankenstein-like creation (and I mean that in the very best sense of the word), pieced together from the parts of exemplary performances in B movies, drive-in flicks and and various other low-budget pics spanning multiple decades.

Bloggers: If you signed up (or even if you didn't) and your piece isn't quite ready, relax, there's plenty of room on this page once you're done (you know the drill -- comment below or email me, brschuck66@yahoo.com).

Don't forget to check out Day 1 and Day 2 if you haven't already.

Now, on with the third act!

Dustin at Horror and Sons examines the careers of actors who were rising, falling or just coasting when they made Zombie Nightmare (1987):

Sally at 18 Cinema Lane fishes for things to like about Orca (1977), and finds good performances by Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling as they battle a vengeful killer whale:

Marianne at Make Mine Film Noir sings the praises of the low-budget neo-noir Save the Tiger (1973), in which Jack Lemmon plays a harried businessman who is trying to save his failing company, but who really needs to save himself first:

Rebecca at Taking Up Room marvels at how masterfully Vincent Price handles all the horror movie tropes in The Haunted Palace (1963):

Grand Old Movies wonders how the deliriously gorgeous Ava Gardner didn't get even one close-up in her first credited role in the East Side Kids programmer Ghosts on the Loose (1942):

Catherine at Thoughts All Sorts shines a spotlight on the films of Christian Slater's that weren't box office smashes, but are highly watchable due to his presence:

Barry at Cinematic Catharsis celebrates Joan Crawford's last feature film role as a scientist who befriends a throwback caveman in the throwback "Saturday matinee" B-thriller Trog (1970):

Kayla (and co-reviewer Buddy) at Whimsically Classic laugh out loud at the comic antics of horror icons Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone in The Comedy of Terrors (1963):

Yours truly at Films From Beyond the Time Barrier cheers on Maureen O'Sullivan, who tries to protect a lost alien family from clueless earthbound authorities and an extraterrestrial assassin in Stranded (1987):

Raiders of the Lost Aliens: Maureen O’Sullivan in Stranded

Now Playing: Stranded (1987)

Pros: A low-budget sci-fi thriller that masterfully builds suspense, respects its audience and features solid performances
Cons: Fans of CGI and big budget effects won’t find much to like

Thanks to everyone who has participated in the ‘Favorite Stars in B Movies’ blogathon! This post on Maureen O’Sullivan is my contribution to the effort. If you haven’t already, please explore all the other marvellous posts on famous film stars and their B movie appearances: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I have reminisced many times here at Films From Beyond about my Monster Kid days, before the internet era and streaming, before VCRs and time shifting, and even before the advent of basic cable.

Yep, it was just me and the family’s black and white console TV with the rabbit ears antenna that brought in 3 clear channels and maybe another fuzzy one on a good day. But, as an eager young member of the Monster Kid Club, that was good enough. At the height of those salad days, growing up in a small university town in the midwest, I was in TV reissue/syndication heaven.

On Friday nights I had my ‘50s sci-fi movies (broadcast from the big city station 30 miles to the south), and on Saturday nights I eagerly watched the classic monsters (broadcast from the university station in my hometown). While weekend nights generally belonged to the monsters, there were plenty of opportunities to catch family friendlier, but still watchable, action-adventure movies on a number of TV movie matinees (not to mention the local downtown theater).

The Tarzan movies starring former Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller were among the more memorable offerings on those lazy weekend afternoons. Sure, Tarzan was no Frankenstein, Dracula or Wolf Man, but there were enough thrills and chills in those movies to get my 10 year old heart beating just a little faster. (There were even monsters here and there, like the time Boy was trapped in a giant spider’s web in Tarzan’s Desert Mystery).

Speaking of hearts beating a little faster, beautiful Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane Parker joined Weissmuller for a decade-long run in six of the MGM Tarzan films, starting with Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932 and ending with Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942). The skimpy outfits she wore in those films revealed as much skin as ‘30s audiences were ever likely to see (or for that matter, naive ‘60s TV viewers during the height of Tarzan’s syndicated popularity). O’Sullivan undoubtedly was the first movie crush for thousands (if not a whole generation) of fans (and yes, I was a member of that legion).

In an interview with film historian Tom Weaver, O’Sullivan had a good laugh over the fan mail she received as a result of the Tarzan costumes:

"[Weaver:] In the earliest Tarzan movies, your wardrobe was very skimpy. Did that make you self-conscious at all?
[O'Sullivan:] I didn’t think it was so skimpy. What was it now, I’ve forgotten… the outfit torn up the side? No, I thought it was appropriate for where I was. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to wear at Buckingham Palace, or to church or something [laughs], but it was appropriate for what I was doing. So no, it didn’t worry me at all -- until I started getting mail about it. And I thought, 'Well, people are crazy. They have to write about something.' If they didn’t write about that, then they wrote about how they liked me -- it was one thing or the other. I did get a lot of mail on my costume and I thought, 'Do people really have nothing to do except write to strangers?' [Laughs]" [Tom Weaver, I Was a Monster Movie Maker, McFarland, 2010, p. 185]

Fortunately, the talented Miss O’Sullivan got roles that required more than just baring her legs and keeping Tarzan out of trouble. Even as her mailbox was filling up with fan letters appreciative of her jungle wardrobe, she was donning elaborate period costumes in such prestige films as The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), David Copperfield (1935) and Anna Karenina (1935).

After the last Tarzan film in 1942, O’Sullivan took a break from acting to devote time to her husband, writer/director John Farrow, and her growing family (ultimately having seven children, six of whom -- including Mia Farrow -- went on to work in movies and TV).

Upon returning to acting in 1948, O’Sullivan made a splash in a starring role opposite Ray Milland in the film noir classic The Big Clock. Several undistinguished B movies later, O'Sullivan settled into guest shots on TV shows and theater appearances until she played an alcoholic show business mother to her real life daughter Mia Farrow in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).

While Hannah and Her Sisters and the obscure, low-budget sci-fi drama Stranded (released a year later) might seem to be worlds or even universes apart, they both share the theme of families weathering adversity.

In Stranded, O’Sullivan’s movie family is a small one. She plays Grace Clark, an elderly but scrappily independent woman living with her granddaughter Deirdre (Ione Skye) in a farmhouse on the edge of town (later on we learn that Deirdre’s parents were killed in a car crash).

On a dark and stormy night, what seems at first like a lightning hit that takes out the power instead turns out to be a weird energy beam that has delivered something very strange to the Clark house. Deirdre and Grace, who are upstairs, notice a weird blue light shining from the parlor on the ground floor. Grace bravely grabs a shotgun to confront the intruders, but when it becomes apparent these are no garden variety burglars, Grace and Deirdre hide in a bedroom.

Alien travel advisory: In the U.S. there are more guns than people, so exercise caution!

A tense situation turns tragic when Deirdre’s would-be boyfriend Jerry (Kevin Haley) and his dad Vernon choose exactly the wrong time to stop by the Clark house on their way home from a fishing trip. When no one responds to his calls from the darkened house, Jerry gets worried and grabs a gun from the glove compartment.

Instead of finding Deirdre and Grace, Jerry and Vernon are startled by a tall humanoid figure with long white hair standing in the parlor, a glowing blue crystal hovering in front of her. A weird gnome-like humanoid suddenly jumps up and hisses, and before you can say “guns and surprise alien visits don’t mix,” a panicked Jerry shoots the tall figure. In turn, another figure at the top of the stairs blasts Jerry with some sort of energy beam, sending him flying out the front door. Vernon, grief-stricken and vowing revenge, drags his son’s body back to the truck and hightails it out of there.

The only thing Deirdre and Grace have to fear is fear itself.

When things get quiet, Deirdre and Grace tiptoe down the stairs, lamp and shotgun in hand. The creature that blasted Jerry suddenly intercepts them in the hallway, grabbing Grace’s shotgun and then herding them into the front parlor.

The sight that greets them is surreal: The gnome creature and two other slender, pale humanoids with high foreheads and long, flowing hair are huddled around their stricken companion who is lying on the floor. They look like they could be a family -- one of the uninjured aliens is a young, almost androgynous-looking male, and the other is older, with a stiff, regal bearing. Grace whispers, “They almost look like angels!”, to which Deirdre responds “I don’t think so…” The film’s credits list them simply as Prince (the young alien; played by Brendon Hughes), Sir (Dennis Vero) and Queen (the gunshot victim played by Florence Schauffler).

Surprise alien visits and guns don't mix.

There’s alien-looking, and then there’s alien-looking. In the latter category is the short, squat gnome with a huge creased dome of a head and long whiskers growing out of the bottom of his chin-less face (played to great effect by Michael Balzary, aka Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame). The creature seems more like a humanoid pet to the aliens, and just wants to please. After the initial shock, Grace takes to the adorably homely creature, dubbing him “Jester.”

But most alarming is the creature that seems to be the alien family’s bodyguard. Despite having female curves, Warrior (Spice Williams-Crosby) is malevolent-looking, dressed in a form-fitting suit (or is it her skin?) and is mostly faceless with the exception of two large, glowing eyes (not to mention the deadly energy-beam weapon she wears on one arm).

This is not something you want to see in your house at night.

Meanwhile, the aliens and the Clarks are attending to the mortally wounded Queen. Grace deescalates the tense situation, exhibiting clear concern for the alien she calls “dear lady,” saying they need to get her to a hospital (Deirdre patiently explains to her grandmother that “they can’t go to a hospital.”) The Queen passes a brightly glowing blue crystal to Prince before expiring (Sir doesn’t seem to be in the line of succession -- you have to wonder if he’s the Prince Andrew of this royal alien court).

And before you can say “gee, that’s a surprisingly quick response time for a rural area,” multiple Sheriff’s squad cars are pulling up to the house. Even before the sheriff himself (Joe Morton) has had a chance to arrive, Vernon, with nothing but bloody revenge on his mind, goads one of the deputies to seize the day, with predictable results -- the deputy is zapped to death by Warrior, who is only defending her group.

When Sheriff McMahon finally arrives, he realizes he has inherited a cluster-you-know-what, with a dead deputy on the grounds, Deirdre and Grace bewilderingly shouting from the house that they’re not in danger, and deputies who are either too spooked to think straight or are ready to charge the house like brain-dead Rambos.

As if that situation wasn’t bad enough for a newly installed African American sheriff, a caravan of Vernon’s redneck buddies arrive just itching to blast them some aliens to kingdom come. The coup-de-grace is the sudden appearance of a solitary federal agent, Helen Anderson (Susan Barnes), complete in trenchcoat, warning McMahon that if he doesn’t quickly get control of things a military “clean-up” team will do the work for him. It just isn’t his day.

Guns and angry mobs really don't mix.

The best thing about Stranded is that the people behind it realized they didn’t have the budget to make something even remotely resembling Star Wars, so they settled for good writing, believable characters and solid performances. Not only that, but they decided to respect the intelligence of their audience.

For something so low-budget and small scale (just a single location), the film manages to pack a lot of suspense and unease (as well as pathos) into the proceedings. Much is left to the imagination. The visitors don’t arrive in a conventional spaceship, but rather some sort of transporter beam/wormhole that is never explained (and doesn’t need to be).

The aliens don’t speak English, nor is there a convenient Star Trek-style autotranslator. They are mute through most of the film (the implication being that they communicate telepathically), so the actors portraying them have to rely on facial expressions and gestures. Most expressive of all is Jester, the aliens’ “pet,” who wears his simple emotions on his sleeve, so to speak. The “angelic” aliens are a mix of the uncanny (human-looking, yet somehow not), a royal-like reserve, and gentleness.

The visitors’ backstory is communicated first to Deirdre through a series of telepathic images (aided by the blue crystal manipulated by the Prince). The rapid-fire succession of other-worldly images tells a tale of the aliens’ imprisonment, and a daring escape and pursuit by mysterious captors who aren’t shown in their entirety -- just their repulsive, reptilian legs. The sequence is simple and imaginative without requiring expensive effects or indulging in extraneous exposition.

Who needs Star Wars-style holograms when you can just beam what you want straight into somebody's mind?

Somehow, in a cosmic stroke of luck, the escapees managed to beam themselves to just about the only farmhouse in rural America where intruders -- especially such weird-looking ones -- wouldn’t be shot on sight. With their own history of tragedy and loss, Deirdre and Grace aren’t about to greet visitors, especially “angels,” with shotgun blasts.

As a result of their forbearance, Deirdre is given a telepathic glimpse of worlds no human has ever seen before -- not to mention forming a proto-romantic attachment to the angelically handsome Prince -- and Grace forms her own special bond with the alien goofball Jester. But with rival alien assassins on their trail and uncomprehending police with guns encircling the house, the peace won’t last long.

It's the Clarks and their alien visitors against the world (and part of the universe).

Joe Morton as Sheriff McMahon is in a position where, as the new sheriff in town (and an African American one at that), he is made to feel somewhat like an alien intruder in a rural area where racism is still rampant. In his confrontation with the would-be lynch mob, Vernon keeps calling the sheriff “boy,” but McMahon maintains his cool, and his deputies back him up, forcing the mob to back down.

In another example of coolness under pressure, McMahon enters the house to size up the situation and possibly negotiate what looks like a hostage situation. With Deirdre’s encouragement, the aliens give him the same telepathic briefing through the crystal. Outside the house, federal agent Barnes, who has some sort of hidden agenda of her own, suggests to the chief deputy that the aliens are using mind control on the sheriff, and that he needs to be prepared to take charge. With friends like these…

Interestingly, just a few years before, Joe Morton played the title role in the cult hit The Brother from Another Planet (1987), in which he was the alien being pursued by extraterrestrial bounty hunters.

Joe Morton has a moment of sci-fi-induced deja-vu.

Stranded was only the second movie role for UK-born Ione Skye (daughter of ‘60s pop-rock singer Donovan), who debuted in the gut-wrenching River’s Edge (1986). Although she is still working, the height of Skye’s career came with her appearance in one of the great coming-of-age comedies, Say Anything (1989), opposite John Cusack.

On the career flip side, Stranded was the second to last feature film Maureen O’Sullivan made (not counting three TV movies and a series guest shot). With the Grace Clark role O’Sullivan proved she hadn’t lost any of her acting chops, as she seemed to effortlessly combine a bit of steely resolve, a bit of elderly naivete, and a lot of empathy. Perhaps her best scene in Stranded is at the end credits, which are superimposed over footage of a local TV reporter interviewing Grace and Deirdre about their amazing alien encounter. O’Sullivan is completely natural and even a little impish in answering the reporter’s questions. It’s a delightful scene.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the other, behind-the-scenes talents that contributed to this stand-out (but highly neglected) sci-fi drama. Jeffrey Jur’s cinematography is exceptional, making expert use of light and shadow, and avoiding the overly dark, muddled night photography characteristic of other low-budget films. Subtly, the early scenes with the aliens -- when it’s not clear if they're dangerous or not -- are tinged with red, and then gradually, as they gain the trust of Deirdre and Grace, calming blues take over.

The alien design and make-up (credited to Vera Yurtchuk and Brian Wade) is simple yet effective. The Prince and his family seem to be inspired by the Nordic aliens of UFO lore. Warrior looks to be wearing a modified wetsuit, but the large eyes that dominate an otherwise featureless face make her very intimidating. Much less intimidating is Jester, who looks like he could be a cousin to the Ferengi, who were introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation around the same time.

Separated at birth? Top row: Nordic aliens and the Prince. Bottom: a Ferengi and Jester

According to IMDb, director Fleming B. Fuller only directed two other feature films and one TV movie. Stranded is a solid sci-fi thriller that masterfully ratchets up the suspense, stimulates the imagination, and delivers some very good, affecting performances. I don’t know Fuller’s story, but it seems a shame he didn’t do more.

Where to find it: A soft-looking, but still watchable stream can be found here.

Day 2 has dawned on The Third 'Favorite Stars in B Movies' Blogathon!

A new day has dawned, and another set of talented bloggers has labored through the night (okay, maybe not last night, but sometime fairly recently) to bring you accounts of actors and actresses who lent some extra class and charisma to the B movies in which they starred.

Day 1 featured a choice set of performances: Joan Crawford managing a circus with a serial killer on the loose; Oliver Reed negotiating with a crazed hostage taker; Roddy McDowall morphing from a precocious child actor into an intellectual chimpanzee; Carol Lynley dealing with Oliver Reed and something else equally strange in an old, haunted mill; Ray Milland battling wartime spies while looking absolutely stellar; and Rod Taylor breaking his nose at the end of William Smith's fist.

Day 2 promises to be equally wild and crazy, so, on with the show!

John at tales from the freakboy zone muses about the career path not taken by young Leonardo DiCaprio after his appearance in Critters 3:

Kristina at Speakeasy commiserates with academy award winner Dorothy Malone as she puts up with supernovas, vortexes, UFOs, and stop-motion creatures in The Day Time Ended (1980):

Mike at Mike's Movie Room wonders how William Shatner survived to become a starship captain after his harrowing stint teaching hormonal teenagers in The Explosive Generation (1961):

Eric at Diary of a Movie Maniac goes on a vicarious ride with Medieval reenactor Ed Harris and his band of merry Knightriders (1981):

Christianne at Krell Laboratories lauds the deliciously comic performances of Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel in Eating Raoul (1982):

Don't bail on us now, there's more to come on Day 3...

Day 1 of The Third 'Favorite Stars in B Movies' Blogathon has arrived!

Ringmistress Joan and yours truly are ready to introduce all sorts of great posts on your favorite stars as they assemble under the Big Top.

Late in her career, Joan Crawford, referring to one of the stars of Planet of the Apes, once quipped, "Sure, I'd play an ape. Maurice Evans did." [IMDb] Here at Films From Beyond we celebrate the tenacity of actors and actresses who were willing to do anything to keep on working (or alternately work their way up from unassuming B movies into the big leagues).

Joan never wore monkey make-up in any of her later roles, but she did share the spotlight with an ape-like troglodyte in her last feature film, Trog (1970). (Joan is the subject of two posts this year, including Trog and the mystery-horror-thriller Berserk.)

The talented bloggers participating this time around have dipped into every sort of genre from a wide range of decades to bring you the best examples of tenacious B movie acting. And just like the last two installments of the blogathon, some posts feature overviews of careers spent in the Bs.

Hey bloggers! When your post is ready, use the comments below, email me at brschuck66@yahoo.com, or message me on X, @brschuck66. If you've sent me your link and it doesn't appear here, don't worry -- I'm posting in the order I receive them, and I will be spacing them out over three days.

Without further ado, grab your popcorn and peanuts and enjoy the three-ring cinematic circus we call Favorite Stars in B Movies:

The Flashback Fanatic marvels at all the mayhem that is part of the Joan Crawford-run circus in Berserk (1967):

Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews admires Oliver Reed's style as a police detective who indulges in a six pack of beer while negotiating a hostage situation in Tomorrow Never Comes (1978):

Joey at The Last Drive In chronicles the nearly six decade-long acting career of Roddy McDowall, including his forays into horror and B movies:

Daffny at A Vintage Nerd opens the door to The Shuttered Room (1967), airs the place out, and discovers an intriguing performance by Carol Lynley:

Ruth at Silver Screenings finds that even a poor quality public domain streaming copy can't diminish Ray Milland's performance as a "gentleman adventurer" in Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937):

Frank at Smoke in the Library tallies up all the broken ribs and busted noses that resulted from a fight between Rod Taylor and William Smith on the set of Darker Than Amber (1970):

That's not all folks! Check out Day 2 and Day 3...