Regina Carrol Movies
Regina Carrol is best remembered for her work in exploitation films of the late '60s, '70s, and early '80s, directed (and occasionally produced) by her husband, filmmaker Al Adamson. Although she was never taken seriously as an actress, Carrol's voluptuous physical presence and subtle sense of humor made her a star in this field. Born Regina Gelfan in Boston, MA, in 1943, she was an attractive child and was brought on auditions by her mother as early as age five. After losing her mother to cancer at age 15, she was left virtually on her own, and in her later teens was a dancer in Las Vegas; it was her dancing that earned Carrol her screen debut, in Albert Zugsmith's exploitation movie The Beat Generation. She later played small, uncredited roles in John Ford's Two Rode Together, the Paul Newman-starring From the Terrace, The Slender Thread with Sidney Poitier, Viva Las Vegas starring Elvis Presley, and the Doris Day vehicle The Glass Bottom Boat. That kind of work didn't constitute a real career, however, and it was only after meeting Al Adamson and appearing in his biker film Satan's Sadists that Carrol's screen career took off. Although Carrol only worked in fewer than a dozen movies made by Adamson -- whom she married -- Carroll became a star within that field. She gave up movies following a diagnosis of cancer, although she did later resume some work in cabaret. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
Markov the Magnificent (Don Stewart) is a magician in a small circus whose main asset is his talking chimpanzee, Alexander the Great. The magician's life is without any gray clouds; he even has some romantic interests. But then his famous monkey is chimp-napped by the dastardly lion tamer who intends to hand him over to a doctor for some very nasty experiments. Now Markov has to come up with a plan to save Alexander -- and his livelihood in the bargain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Stewart
- 1976
- R
In this blaxploitation actioner from cult filmmaker Al Adamson, Timothy Brown plays a Las Vegas detective named "Kicks" Carter. He must foil a gang of criminals dealing arms to Central America and save some gambling addicts who are forced to pay off their debts as prostitutes in a hotel for women. Russ Tamblyn is featured as a vicious thug, Adamson's wife Regina Carrol sings in a nightclub, and there's a vile gang-rape scene. Gary Graver provided the cinematography, which often catches unpleasant real-life details such as toenail clippings on the floor of the hotel. Only genre completists are likely to find much to enjoy, but there are some wonderfully campy moments of unintentional hilarity among the sleaze. Brown had also appeared in Adamson's Dynamite Brothers, while co-star Tanya Boyd was in Greydon Clark's laughable Black Shampoo. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Brown, Russ Tamblyn, (more)
- 1975
- R
Three female prisoners are liberated by a vengeful woman in this thriller. The woman is angry after her husband is murdered; she uses the fugitives to find the murderers and slay them one-by-one. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
When a bunch of beautiful stewardesses attempt to relax at a ranch, they find themselves attacked by mysterious horsemen. Ignoring the smarmy script, the Ritz Brothers regale their old fans and win a few new ones by running through some of their classic routines, including the legendary "hero sandwich" bit. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Speed (Ross Hagen) is the leader of a rowdy biker gang who reluctantly leaves his girlfriend, Donna (Jill Woefel), behind when the boys take off on an extended run. While waiting for their men to return, the girls take to the road on their own motorcycles and look for action. After avenging a fellow sister's rape and sexually assaulting a reluctant farmboy, the ladies evade the law and hide out at the Spahn Movie Ranch. The ranch is inhabited by a sinister hippie cult led by the charismatic King (William Bonner), who preaches peace and love but is involved in some illegal activities that he's willing to kill for. Meanwhile, the bikers are living it up, having a raucous stag party in the woods complete with beer drinking contests and fistfights. When Terry (Vicki Volante) dies after sleeping with King, Margo (Regina Carrol) knows she has to escape and get help from Speed and the gang. King decides to sacrifice Donna in a weird ritual meant to protect the "philosophy" of the cult, while the bikers race to her rescue. With fists blazing, they make short work of the evil hippies, but King escapes and it's up to Speed and his brother, Turk (Preston Pierce), to exact the proper revenge. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
Al Adamson, shameless purveyor of countless horror anti-classics, juggles around most of the footage from his 1965 clunker Psycho-A-Go-Go after dressing up and re-releasing it on no less than three prior occasions (under a wide assortment of titles -- see below) with a few incomprehensible subplots added to further confuse audiences into thinking they were watching something else. The initial premise involves an insane Vietnam veteran being fitted with a brain implant by mad medic John Carradine (a regular Adamson player by this point) and used as a remote-control zombie by a cabal of jewel thieves. Their pet maniac subsequently blows a gasket, breaks his programming and turns on his controllers, strangles some dancing girls, then gets his revenge on Carradine. Enter gratuitous subplot #1 as the electro-fiend heads straight for Lake Tahoe (can you blame him?), where his rampage continues until he is eventually killed by the cops. Splice in gratuitous subplot #2: The late psycho's embittered pop is also a monster-making mad scientist, who avenges his son's death by mutilating Carradine's buxom daughter. None of the aforementioned plot combinations can disguise Adamson's trademark style -- i.e. cheap gore, cardboard sets, hideous acting, and so on. Viewers who manage to make sense of this piecework monstrosity should switch off their VCRs and seek immediate professional help. Sundry title variations include The Man with the Synthetic Brain, The Fiend with the Atomic Brain, The Fiend with the Electronic Brain, The Fiend with the Synthetic Brain... you should begin to notice a vague pattern here. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
King Amir (Reed Hadley), the beloved leader of a small Middle Eastern country named Khaleed, is sick with terminal cancer and he isn't prepared to die. His confidants arrange with an American scientist to carry out an experimental operation: Amir's brain will be transplanted into the skull of a healthy new body, allowing him to cheat death and continue ruling as a benevolent despot. When he succumbs, the corpse is rushed to the United States, where Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor) immediately removes the brain and places it in a specially prepared receptacle. Trenton sends Amir's associates away so he can finish the procedure, but as they drive down a steep mountain road, their car is besieged by a menacing driver who succeeds in forcing them off a cliff. Robert (Grant Williams) survives, and suspects that someone is trying to usurp Amir's throne. Meanwhile, the mad doctor dispatches his servant Gor (John Bloom) to find him a healthy male body for Amir to inhabit. Gor, a hulking monstrosity with a twisted face and a child's intelligence, is too clumsy in his horrible task, and Dr. Trenton deems the victim unusable. But Amir's brain can only live outside of the body for a matter of hours, even though they keep it nourished with plenty of fresh human blood (obtained by keeping some teenage girls chained in the basement and tapping them like kegs). Gor is picked to host the transplanted brain, despite his hideous scars, and when Amir awakens and discovers the horrific body the doctor has given him, he goes mad. Robert returns to save his leader, but now Dr. Trenton is demanding control over Khaleed, and special electrodes he secretly implanted in Amir's brain mean he might succeed. Directed by Al Adamson, this gory shocker features Adamson regulars like Zandor Vorkov, Angelo Rossitto, and Regina Carrol. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
A slapdash epic of bad filmmaking geared strictly toward drive-in audiences, Dracula vs. Frankenstein has gone on to achieve cult status thanks to its sheer ineptness and impressive cast. At an oceanside amusement park, Dr. Frankenstein (J. Carrol Naish) runs a house of horrors that serves as a cover for his more devious scientific experimentation -- work that requires the murderous deeds of his mute assistant Groton (Lon Chaney Jr.). After stealing the corpse of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula visits the doctor and makes him an offer he can't refuse: resurrect the monster so that Dracula can use the beast to carry out his plan to take over the world. At the same time, lounge singer Judith (Regina Carrol) arrives at the park against the advice of detective Martin (Jim Davis) to search for her missing sister. She is drugged in a bar and winds up in the care of kindly stud Mike (Anthony Eisley), who takes up the investigation with her. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein and Dracula resurrect the monster and immediately send it to kill the doctor's old enemy (Forrest J. Ackerman). Judith and Mike encounter the monster and, after a narrow escape, they confront Dr. Frankenstein who is beheaded in the ensuing melee. Sgt. Martin arrives in time to kill Groton before he attacks Judith, but not before Dracula kills Mike and takes Judith captive. He ties her up in the lab and prepares to bite her, but the monster goes mad, leading to a ferocious battle. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
The Mojave desert becomes a battleground when vicious bikers go on a killing spree, causing innocent would-be victims to get bloody revenge. Classic exploitation film violence and action ensues. This low-budget film marks the comeback of formerly popular child actor Russ Tamblyn who goes against type and plays the leader of the motorcycle pack. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russ Tamblyn, Scott Brady, (more)
