Tom Maruzzi Movies
- 1961
Director John A. Bushelman makes a departure from his usual western and action films to guide this respectable, canine-centered, family film about a big dog by the name of Pete with definite separation anxiety. When the impoverished Brancato family takes off from their Nevada home to look for a better life in Los Angeles, they are forced to leave their dog in the care of a dubious-looking neighbor. Their son is heart-broken, and no one is particularly happy, especially Pete. Not willing to stand for this kind of treatment, Pete takes off to cover the hundreds of miles to L.A. and hunt down his family, meeting all kinds of hoboes, truckers, and other characters along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Mobley, David McLean, (more)
- 1961
Although limited by a low-budget, this is a respectable wartime drama by director John A. Bushelman, set on the front lines at the end of the Korean War, just before a truce is called. In spite of the pending truce, a gung-ho captain in need of leave time (John Goddard) decides to take his men on a useless patrol, convinced that it is necessary. Before the men can be led into any dangerous situations, the captain accidentally steps on a unique type of landmine (called a "bouncing Betty"). He is suddenly frozen with his foot on the mine because unlike all other mines, these lethal weapons are designed to go off after the pressure on them is released. A corporal long anxious to get out of Korea overcomes his desire for a safe and happy exodus to tackle the problem of disentangling the captain without killing either of them in the process. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Ging, John Goddard, (more)
Another cheap horror hodgepodge from the redoubtable Jerry Warren, Man Beast consists largely of footage from a forgotten Mexican production. The patchwork plot concerns a Himalayan expedition conducted by Trevor Hudson (Lloyd Nelson) and Connie Haward (Virigina Maynor). While searching for Connie's lost brother, the explorers make contact with Dr. Erickson (George Wells Lewis), an expert on the "Yeti", or Abominable Snowman. It is Erickson's contention that the Yeti are actually primitive human beings, a theory that is borne out when mountain guide Varga (George Skaff), himself a descendant of the Yeti, kidnaps Connie for breeding purposes. None of the newly shot scenes properly match the stock footage from earlier sources, but this is the least of the film's problems. Man Beast is the sort of bottom-barrel horror fare that seemed destined from the start to be the object of derision on TV's Mystery Science Theatre 3000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Madison, Virginia Maynor, (more)
