Ken Smith Movies
- 1983
In this horror spoof, after not paying his yearly taxes, Dr. Frankenstein is in danger of being kicked off of the family estate. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Pleasence, Yvonne Furneaux, (more)
- 1979
Jake (Charles Grodin), an insurance investigator, is assigned to probe the killing of a wealthy businessman in Acapulco. To help him, he hires a beautiful New York model, Ellie (Farah Fawcett), to act as his wife, and they pretend to be tourists on vacation. Art Carney plays Marcus, a local detective who befriends Jake but gets him into various scrapes. Joan Collins also appears as the suspicious Nera. Sunburn was a made-for-TV movie which featured a pop-song soundtrack blaring from characters' tape recorders that included tunes by Herbie Hancock. The movie was based on the novel The Bind by Stanley Ellin. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1977
Director Roger Donaldson's directorial debut was also a breakthrough film for New Zealand filmmakers, being the first film from New Zealand to open in the United States. Sam Neill stars as a man named Smith who lives in a near future of economic collapse in New Zealand. Smith is a husband who discovers that his wife has been having an affair. Unable to deal with it, he decides to move out and live by himself. But the precarious political chaos in New Zealand has created a right wing backlash, with repressive government forces murdering opponents to the government's policies. Smith finds himself joining a group of freedom fighters that sets out to preserve democracy. Opposing Smith and the freedom fighters are the government thugs and an apolitical soldier of fortune named Willoughby (Warren Oates). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Bernard Kearns, (more)
- 1967
In this psychological thriller, Paul (James Caan) and Jennifer (Katherine Ross) are a pair of wealthy but blasé socialites with a sadistic streak. Lisa (Simone Signoret), an older woman from France, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics; the couple invite her in, and when the conversation reveals that Lisa is believed to have psychic abilities, Paul and Jennifer ask her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to. The arrival of Norman (Don Stroud), a delivery boy, is Jennifer's cue to seduce him, just in time for Paul to arrive and shoot him in a fit of jealousy. Norman is then coated with plaster and placed in the corner, disguised as a work of art; however, Paul soon leaves on a business trip, and Jennifer discovers that Norman isn't dead after all. She panics and shoots Norman dead, only to discover that the previous murder was merely a "game" staged by Lisa. Jennifer, however, is having a very real nervous breakdown, which seems to be what Paul had in mind all along. But once Jennifer is committed to a mental hospital, Paul discovers that Lisa is not necessarily his ally in this increasingly dangerous game. Games was directed by Curtis Harrington, a one-time experimental filmmaker who previously helmed such horror cult movies as Queen of Blood and Night Tide. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, James Caan, (more)
- 1961
When a pregnant cow cannot give milk, a farm nears disaster and the prayers and religious conviction of a young farm girl saves the farm. ~ All Movie Guide
Yet another oddball Mexican fantasy brought to American audiences by cut-rate exploitation titan K. Gordon Murray, this seasonal tale concerns Santa Claus (Jose Elias Moreno), who we discover doesn't work out of the North Pole after all. Instead, Santa and his friend and associate Merlin the Magician have a base of operations in a castle orbiting the Earth on a small satellite, upon which they observe the activities of children both good and bad through an elaborate surveillance system. While kids all over the globe (most of whom apparently wear stereotypical native costumes at all times) are trying to be good, the Devil wants to increase youthful misbehavior. With this in mind, he sends his emissary Pitch (Cesareo Quezadas, aka Pulgarcito), a demon with a digestive problem, to Earth and Pitch starts his reign of terror by attempting to goad a little girl from a poor family into stealing the doll that she wants. Eventually, Santa and Merlin catch up with Pitch for a final battle of Good vs. Evil. Santa Claus also offers new insight into St. Nick's weight, eating habits, and mode of transportation; the film played the kiddie matinee circuit for years, and later was analyzed by Mike Nelson and his robot pals on Mystery Science Theater 3000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Moreno
A little girl is found wandering in the desert, in a state of complete shock. When she finally revives, she can scream out only one word: "Them!" Any aficionado of 1950s horror films can readily tell you that "Them" are giant ants, a byproduct of the radiation attending the atomic bomb tests of the era. Extremely well organized, these deadly eight-to-twenty-foot mutations converge on the storm drains of Los Angeles in the finale. Forming a united front against the oncoming ant battalions are New Mexico police sergeant James Whitmore, FBI representative James Arness, and father-and-daughter entomologists Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon. Since the details of Them are fairly common knowledge today, the mystery-thriller structure of the film's first half tends to drag a bit. Things liven up considerably during the search-and-destroy final reels, as the audience is barraged with convincing special effects and miniature work-not to mention that eerie ant-induced sound effect, so often imitated by subsequent lesser films. Fess Parker appears in a starmaking cameo as a pilot driven to the booby hatch after witnessing the ants in action, while an uncredited Leonard Nimoy is seen pulling info out of IBM machine. Definitely the high point in the careers of director Gordon Douglas and scenarists Ted Sherdeman and George Worthing Yates, Them is also one of the handful of vintage science-fiction thrillers that holds up as well today as it did when first released. (Sidebar: Though filmed in black-and-white, Them is alleged to have been released with a Technicolor opening title, the word THEM! hurtling towards the audience in a vibrant red). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, (more)
Made on a miniscule budget primarily financed by its star Franchot Tone, Jigsaw is a strange little crime film. Howard Malloy (Tone), a crusading New York assistant district attorney, is dedicated to exposing a group of supposedly patriotic Americans who have murdered his friend after he discovered that they were truly a fascist "hate group." The group sends Barbara, (Jean Wallace) to seduce and compromise Malloy. Barbara regrets her actions and is murdered as she attempts to confess to Malloy. Malloy now is determined to expose the group. All the loose ends are tied up in the climax, which takes place in a modern art museum. Jigsaw is a competent, uninspired crime drama peppered with cameo appearances by top Hollywood stars including Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, Burgess Meredith and John Garfield. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Jean Wallace, (more)
