801. The Primevals, at last! (review)

Was this worth the wait... mostly.

The Code of Doc Savage

I am watching a fan edit of the 1975 Doc Savage movie, which tries to curtail some of the sillier things in the movie.  I probably would have loved the movie had I seen it at age ten, in 1975.

708. Takin' a Dive with The Warlords of Atlantis! (1978 review)

                     This movie works really well overall.  It is very pulpy, yet very original, at least as far as movies go.

533. The savage Land Unknown of 1957!

             I didn't make too many lost valley of lands jokes, since this movie predates those shows.  I like it, as mentioned earlier.

The Land Unknown

 

This unknown land is pretty darn savage!  We have talked about it on this blog a few times, and featured the creatures way back in the "Monster of the Week" posts.  I didn't even remember posting that oddball Super 8 trailer a couple years ago.  It sure will make for a great addition to the future podcast episode I have planned.  I like the movie, though I kinda wish Universal had put a bit more money into the movie, since it is a cracking good adventure movie.  Very pulp-like, if you will.

HOTW- The Green Lama

 

From Public Domain Superheroes: Jethro Dumont, a rich resident of New York City, spent ten years in Tibet studying to be a lama (a Buddhist guru) and learning many mystical secrets in the process. He returned to the United States in order to spread the Buddhist teachings, but after witnessing a murder he realized he could be of more help by fighting evil and crime. He receives his Green Lama powers by reciting the mantra "om mani padme hum." Dumont is also endowed with superhuman abilities acquired through his scientific knowledge of radioactive salts.  Dumont has two alter egos - the crime-fighting Green Lama, and the Buddhist priest Dr. Pali. Back to me again:

401. Doc Savage Histories!

              Here's a fun and enjoyable look at Doc's legacy and overall influence on both comic books and movies.

312. Halloween at the Earth's Core, again!

            

Prehistoric Women/Theatrical Trailer (1967)

Re-Enter Fu-Manchu (1957)

 

Fu Manchu returns to pester the world.  This time he plans on taking over China by helping the US.  This involves some nonsense about an invisible shield that will stop incoming missiles.  No one would seriously believe that was possible, would they?  Merrick is contracted to be an aide to Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, and things go from there.  After a lot of talking and traveling to London, Cairo and New York City, the action starts!  Fu Manchu has seemingly thought of everything.  There are spies and and agents everywhere.

HOTW- Doc Savage

 

Clark Savage, Jr. was raised by his father to be superhuman.  He would work to eradicate crime and other human miseries all over the world.  His plan was to eradicate evil, but of course, that can never happen.  He had help from the Fabulous Five, who were all top in their respective fields.  Doc could do just about anything physical, as he was trained to be nearly a super man from birth.  It is a good thing, as Doc and his aides have to stop a lot of madmen and madwomen from trying to take over the planet.  Or at least, some portions of it.  He has a unending supply of gold supplied to him from an undiscovered country called Hildago, in Central America.  He also should have been rich from the multitude of patents from his inventions.

Warlords of Atlantis 1978 theatrical trailer

    

Strange World (2022)

Jaeger Clade and his son, Searcher are out exploring a way over the mountains, to see what is on the other side.  No one has ever done that before.  Searcher finds a plant full of energy, and decides to harvest it and go home.  Jaeger is upset and continues his quest.  Some 25 years later "Pando" the energy source is not working, and the Clades go on a quest to save it.  Things are never quite as they appear, and surprises abound in the world beneath the surface.  Also, the family has to come to terms with each other so they can complete their mission.

Sven- The Land Unknown (1957)

 

An expedition is sent to the Antarctic to investigate water that is warmer than it should be.  Suddenly, a storm happens and the helicopter with its crew of four runs into it.  They don't have enough fuel to return to the ship, and also run into a strange pterosauroid.  This creature damages the copter and they crash into this strange, savage land filled with large lizards and two other prehistoric animals.  There is also a survivor of a crash from 1947, and he has turned into a caveman of sorts. Hunter (how apt) knows where the spare parts to fix the helicopter are, but wants to keep Maggie there in the lost land.  After much ado, everyone gets rescued.  Including the yet unborn baby!

The Great Pulp Heroes

I got this book maybe ten years ago, before I started blogging.  I love pulp stories, even if they don't always feature people in flashy costumes.  Many of them who wore costumes tended to be all in black, i.e. the Shadow and the Spider.  Heck, some were even completely invisible!  These heroes and villains flourished for quite some time on cheap pulp paper, even after four color comics came into being and dented their sales with actual superheroes.  Many of the more popular heroes did try their hand at comic books, but most were changed into characters that barely resembled their original IDs.

Lensman (1984)

I just got a subbed/dubbed copy of this movie based on E.E. "Doc" Smith's long running series of the same name.  I've only ever read one of the stories, "Dragon Lensman" or something to that effect.  If I recall correctly I enjoyed it, but never have found more of the books.  And of course, I would have wanted to read them in order, thinking there would be a lot of continuity between the stories.  So glad I am over that sort of thinking these days.

"Six Men of Evil" The Shadow #24

I've never read a Shadow story before.  I'd heard they were pretty great, but I heard that about the Spider and the one I read was not that good.  But since I got a free copy of two Shadow stories (this being the first, from 1933) at Media-con last week I thought I'd give it a shot.  These two stories are some of the weirder ones from the vast amount of novels published.  It's interesting that the Shadow was a more "realistic" pulp hero, at least in the early years, as opposed to the Spider or Doc Savage.

Mr Wong, Detective (1938)

I had never seen one of these Mr. Wong movies.  If I recall correctly, they were a staple of late night TV in my area growing up, but I didn't know what they were.  I was also pretty sure that there were no monsters in them, and if so I had other things to do.  Five of the six films starred Boris Karloff as Wong, and the sixth and final one featured Keye Luke, the first Asian to portray an Asian in the movies.  How about that?

Doc Savage (1975)

this is a frustrating movie.  it could have been quite good if they left out some of the overt silliness that runs through it.  or if perhaps they went all out and made it a complete comedy, though I would rather not have it done that way.  and it's just enough nonsense that when it happens it takes you completely out of the picture.  which is sad, because there is a lot to like about the movie, if you aren't expecting too much.

and the choice of using John Philip Sousa's marches was not a good idea at all.  add to that dopey lyrics and it completely negates any sense of urgency or drama during the film.  maybe once and without the singing, but dang, all through the movie?