Robert Dix Movies

Bikers, Nazis, Mafiosi, and the FBI all clash in this wild and wooly exploitation picture from director Al Adamson. Mark Adams (John Gabriel) is an FBI agent who has been assigned to infiltrate an organized crime ring that has obtained a set of printing plates that will allow them to produce nearly perfect counterfeit 20-dollar bills. The plates were made in Germany during World War II, and were discovered by a radical right-wing group hoping to restore the Nazi Party to power. The American gangsters are in cahoots with a group of wealthy American neo-Nazis sympathetic to the new German cause, led by fugitive war criminal Count von Delberg (Kent Taylor); the count has in turn recruited a vicious motorcycle gang, the Bloody Devils, to do his dirty work. Also featuring Broderick Crawford, John Carradine, and Col. Harland Sanders (the latter in a shameless plug for Kentucky Fried Chicken), Hell's Bloody Devils was produced under the titles The Fakers and Operation M as a straightforward espionage thriller; when distributors balked at the finished product, Al Adamson and producer Samuel M. Sherman added the biker subplot, and gave the product a more exploitive title. Shorn of the motorcycle gang footage, the film was also released as Smashing the Crime Syndicate. Nelson Riddle co-wrote the film's theme song, and Laszlo Kovacs and Gary Graver were among the cameramen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Perhaps the most flagrantly re-packaged and re-titled no-budget project from notorious schlockmeister Al Adamson, this goofy melange culls footage from no less than three separate films -- including a Filipino caveman/monster movie (shot in black-and-white, then tinted fruity colors by Adamson) and the sci-fi flicks Unknown Island and One Million B.C.. If a plot can be detected amid this car crash of disassembled storylines, it might involve the efforts of a scientist (John Carradine) to send an expedition to a distant planet of space-vampires to halt their invasion of Earth. Once there, the astronauts don't find any vampires, but they do come across legions of oversized iguanas and rowdy Filipino cavemen. Aside from the distinction of having distinguished cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera, this film holds some kind of record for the most re-titlings in movie history. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Ben Thompson (Robert Dix) rides through the wilds of Arizona seeking revenge in this violent, low-budget Al Adamson Western. For many years, Thompson has been searching for the Indian who killed his bride on their wedding day, with Death as his only companion. The man he seeks is Satago (John Cardos), the chief of the Yaqui, a renegade Apache tribe that has declared war on all white settlers. Ben teams up with Satago's half-brother, Joe Lightfoot (also played by Cardos), and when the duo comes upon a wrecked stagecoach, they try to keep the survivors safe in dangerous Indian territory. Along with hard-boiled gambler Jim Wade (Scott Brady) and his high-strung wife, Lavinia (Julie Edwards), are a mysterious preacher (John Carradine), hard-drinking madam Kansas Kelly (Paula Raymond), and Althea (Darlene Lucht), one of Kelly's "working girls" who takes a shine to stoic cowboy Ben. There's more danger than just the Yaqui to deal with when a pair of unscrupulous gun runners join the group, and revenge and bloodshed rules the day despite Ben's struggle to get the women to safety. The action is commented upon with a philosophical air by the Voice of Death (Gene Raymond) in this downbeat film, which was released under several titles including Five Bloody Graves, The Gun Riders, and Five Bloody Days to Tombstone. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

One man must take on a band of roving outlaws in this Harley-fueled variation on High Noon. Paul Collier (Cameron Mitchell) is an architect who has decided to ask his girlfriend Karen (Diane Ladd), who is with child, for her hand in marriage. However, during a trip to the beach with Karen, Paul is confronted by J.J. (Bruce Dern), an old high school friend who has fallen in with a motorcycle gang, the Rebels. The Rebels take one look at Karen and claim her for themselves, staging drag races to determine who will have the right to her, and J.J. is unable (or unwilling) to stop them. Furious and betrayed, Paul tries to round up the townspeople in hopes of outnumbering the Rebels, but he is soon forced to rescue Karen on his own. Shot in 1967, Rebel Rousers also features Jack Nicholson as a biker named Bunny; the film was shelved until 1969, when Nicholson's star-making turns in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces gave his name (and the film) stronger marquee power. Also keep an eye peeled for Harry Dean Stanton as another one of the Rebels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A clan of Carolina moonshiners struggle to outsmart the revenuers and deliver their potent brew in this crime drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A simple case of mistaken identity causes a gold prospector to get mixed up in a grudge between two outlaws in this Western-thriller featuring Arch Hall Jr. in his sixth screen appearance. When Southern gold prospector Billy May (Hall) sets up camp in the Deadwood, the fearful inhabitants of the lawless town quickly mistake him for Billy the Kid. Unaware that Wild Bill Hickok is on the hunt for Billy the Kid and deeply in love with a beautiful squaw, Billy May sets out to seek revenge in Deadwood when his girl is raped by a pair of local troublemakers. As Wild Bill Hickok arrives in Deadwood awaiting the appearance of Billy the Kid, the stage is set for an explosive confrontation that could blow the whole Western frontier sky high. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Air Patrol is a 62-minute Cinemascope programmer, specifically designed for lower berths in 20th Century-Fox double-feature programs. Willard Parker and Robert Dix play a pair of airborne detectives, in search of a couple of art thieves. The criminals have made a clean getaway, courtesy of a helicopter. Using what few clues they have (including a cryptic ransom note), Parker and Dix climb into their own copter and take chase. The high-above-the-clouds climax, photographed by John M. Nickolaus Jr., is the best part of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This action film set just after the Civil War tends to stay on the surface of the story instead of diving deeper into character motivation. A group of Union Army soldiers is charged with protecting a box of gold and getting it to its rightful place within the government coffers. As might be expected, their biggest enemies are former Confederate soldiers who have their own ideas about what to do with the gold. Battles and skirmishes succeed each other as the fight for the gold begins, and even some of the Union men start to wonder if the gold would not be better off in their own hands. Dissension splits the ranks as the drama heads towards its conclusion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A routine western with a classic theme, the "lone Texan" of the title is Clint Banister (Willard Parker) who finds trouble at home when he returns after serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. Given his military history, he is hardly welcomed with open arms. In addition to the animosity of his former friends, he has to face an even more difficult issue. His lawless brother Greg (Grant Williams) is the town's sheriff, busy terrorizing the citizens, aided and abetted by his three chief deputies. Clint has no choice but to go against his brother, in spite of their family relationship and the town's attitude toward him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Frankenstein's Daughter, a low-budget American horror movie badly directed by Richard E. Cunha, is another in a series of poorly made adaptations of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel. Here, the original Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, Oliver Frankenstein (Donald Murphy), now living in Los Angeles, creates a female version of the Monster from sweet teenage girl, Trudy (Sandra Knight) who then goes on a killing rampage. This thriller, with poor production values and bad sets, has some intentional humor, but little real horror. Also released as She Monster of the Night, Frankenstein's Daughter was featured in It Came from Hollywood, an amusing and loving tribute to horror films and their makers. Also, lovers of trivia should note that Sandra Knight, who plays Trudy, would later become the wife of actor Jack Nicholson. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

The D-Day invasion of 1944 provides a backdrop for the Allied Artists actioner Screaming Eagles. Tom Tryon plays Private Mason, an ill-tempered member of the 101st Airborne Infantry division. Mason makes plenty of enemies with his negative attitude until good-guy lieutenant Pauling (Jan Merlin) straightens him out. The 101st' s main objective (once all personal travails are swept away, that is) is to capture and hold a vital bridge in Normandy. Jacqueline Beer, later one of the costars of TV's 77 Sunset Strip, provides the feminine interest as an attractive resistance fighter (were there ever any unattractive resistance fighters?) Featured in the cast are TV favorites Martin Milner and Alvy Moore and second-generation thespian Edward G. Robinson Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide