John Cardos Movies

In this sword and sorcery sequel to Gor, a bland professor again finds himself upon Gor, that planetary bastion of barbarous men and savage women. This time he must take on a vicious queen after he is accused of murder by her wicked priest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

George Lollar (Charles Grodin) overrides his wife's judgment and takes his family for a vacation on a sunny Caribbean island that just happens to be on the verge of a revolution. Their hotel is not the usual Hilton on the beach but a pick-up joint for singles where the main activities are sex, sex, and sex. In that order. As the horrified father watches almost helplessly, his wife becomes liberated, his daughter falls for a Frenchman who is actually a guerrilla, one of his sons loses his virginity to a buxom, worldly-wise woman, and his other son burns down the mini-camp he was forced to attend. But that's hardly the worst of it -- there is that small matter of a political overthrow about to explode on the scene. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this bargain basement sci-fi film Time Warp-The Day Time Ended, a family moves into their state-of-the-art solar-powered home in an isolated part of the desert to start a new peaceful life. Meanwhile, far away in deep space, three stars simultaneously explode, sending disruptive, time-bending shock waves through the cosmic void. These waves hit the house and soon some mighty bizarre things begin to happen, including a sudden resurgence of dinosaurs in their backyard, visitations from diminutive aliens, and a robot from outer space. The film is also titled Time Warp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In Kingdom of the Spiders a swarm of huge tarantulas, enraged by the misuse of pesticides, try to take over their part of the world. Dr. Robert Hansen (William Shatner), a local Arizona veterinarian joins forces with entomologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) to keep the spider population under control. Woody Strode and Altovise Davis also appear as the owners of a neighboring ranch. Unstylishly directed by John Cardos and produced with a sense of humor by "Arachnid Productions," -- and despite bad dialogue, wooden acting and poor special effects -- Kingdom of the Spiders has become a cult classic and favorite of several generations of giant insect horror film buffs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This dark, brooding low-budget effort opens in Vietnam, where young infantryman Andy Brooks (Richard Backus) is struck down by a sniper's bullet. At the same time in Andy's hometown, his poor mother is uttering a desperate prayer for Andy to come home... and shortly thereafter, he does. Despite Mrs. Brooks' exultation at her son's safe return, it becomes apparent to the rest of the family that there's something terribly wrong with Andy; he won't do much more than sit in a chair, staring blankly at the walls of his room... that is, until nightfall, when he prowls the town in search of human blood, which he extracts from his victims through a syringe and injects into his own veins. The first horror effort from director Bob Clark, who followed with Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things! and the effective thriller Black Christmas, this haunting film (released as The Veteran in 1972) functions as a Vietnam-era variant on the classic story of "The Monkey's Paw" and was one of the first films of the genre to address the stateside reactions to the horrors of that war. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The most horrifying part of this British spooker is seeing former clean-cut teen idol Frankie Avalon cast as Chris, a London hooligan who with his druggie friends decides to spend the night in a supposedly haunted house and hold a seance. The seance is a bust, so the buddies decide to do a little exploration and split up. Unfortunately, one of them gets brutally killed, leaving Chris and his surviving pals to wonder who did the deed. Was it one of them, or was it a monstrous demon? Not wanting to attract undue attention, the punks decide to hide the body, zip their lips, and split from the house. Unfortunately, the cops find out and begin questioning everyone, causing Chris and his friend to return to the house and look for clues. For poor Chris, it is a fatal mistake. Just for the record, though he plays a teen, Avalon was 30 years old when this film was made. In Britain the film was released as The Haunted House of Horror. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

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

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

Jennie (Susan Strasberg) travels to San Francisco to locate her hippie brother Steve (Bruce Dern). She meets Stoney (Jack Nicholson) in a coffeehouse and he helps her look for Steve, who Stoney has seen in his various attempts to start a rock & roll band. Stoney and his pals transform the square girl into a swinging hippie chick, complete with a mod miniskirt. Along with their buddy Dave (Dean Stockwell), they search for Steve amidst the psychedelic splendor of the Haight-Ashbury hippie haunts. Dave is killed by a car when he wanders around in an STP-induced stupor. LSD, marijuana, and the good and the bad sides of hippie life are illustrated with non-judgmental accuracy. The soundtrack of the movie is a musical gem, complete with the international smash "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. (The group reached the top of the charts with the song in October 1967.) Also on hand are the Seeds, although they don't get to perform their best-known song, "Pushin' to Hard." (Seeds lead singer Sky Saxon would gain as much notoriety as an acid casualty as he would from his musical ability.) Also adding music are the Storybook and Cryque Boenzee. The latter group contained Rusty Young and George Grantham, who would join with former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina from the legendary, long-lived country-rock band Poco. This time-capsulized gem was produced by Dick Clark, the world's oldest teenager. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This violent motorcycle gang drama finds the outlaws riding onto an Indian reservation to take over. A rival gang has other ideas. There are few likeable characters in this feature, the possible exception being Johnnie (Robert Walker), and he is a convicted thief. Rock-guitar legend Duane Eddy plays off the seven, while Penny Marshall makes an early big screen appearance. Marshall would gain fame for her television work in the 1970s, and by the 1990s she would become one of Hollywoods leading directors. The Savage Seven is a modern-day cowboys and Indians tale, only instead of horses, the outlaws ride motorcycles. ~ Dan Pavlides, 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