Notorious as a film with no director credit - it was Brian McDuffie - and with the novelty of being set and shot in Blacktown and featuring a young Jon Blake. There's also Guy Doleman, Kit Taylor, Danny Adockc and some vaguely familiar female leads who I think did a lot of TV.
Various women are turning up dead but there's no suspense, no style, no gore, no nudity.
Haunting mood piece which owes more than a little to Cat People but is effective. Although low budget it benefits from location work at a sea fair. Dennis Hopper is excellent as a lonely, lecherous sailor who falls for a woman who may be a serpent.
Gorgeous, gripping, very accessible - everyone should be able to follow this story, it's a who dunnit (who owns the ear). Kyle McLachlan literally spells out the solution in his phoe calls. The sense of mood is captivating.
McLachlan is a solid Lynch surrogate, Laura Dern does wonders as the blonde (there's something ticking behind her brain), Isabella Rossellini is a standout as a traumatised, sexy, grieving, glamorous, severely mentally ill woman, Dennis Hopper is amazing as the yelling and terrifying Frank, Dean Stockwell impresses as the camp drug dealer.
The film just works with its combination of Americana, mystery, weirdness, underbelly, etc.
I don't know if Moore actually wrote this or if it was ghosted but it definitely feels like him, the wry humour, the self deprecation. He lived a glamorous life, lots of lunches and dinners, and exotic locations. Did plenty of charity work, especially for a "spastic" association as it was called then. I do think that generation had a greater public service aspect, at least in Britiain. His wife Luisa is often mentioned as a figure of fear especially when doing love scenes.
Antics with Jane Seymour and Gloria Henry, a good relationship with Guy Hamilton, hints at an unhappy Yaphet Kotto (who clashed with Hamilton; Moore says he played a joke on Kotto listing a black entertainer that Kotto criticised on the call sheet). Refers to a film that he hoped to direct, written by Bryan Forbes based on Moore's own story.
The references to other incidents in Moore's life are interesting such as a one night appearance on Broadway, acting with Lana Turner. Filming the Bond movie has some accidents but is pretty smooth.
Moore would have been pleasant to deal with after Sean Connery. He praises Connery, makes jokes about Harry Salztman beating him at cards. His behaviour may have been boorish if you weren't in the mood, but most people have nice things to say about Moore.
Entertaining.
Random notes
- I did an earlier review and my opinion hasn't changed much I think this is a solid entry
- superb galaxy of villains, all are strong: Kanaga, Tee Hee, Whisper, the cab driver, the singer - they are scary opponents
- Bond being a white man in an unfamiliar world helps add a lot of tension (though he can always draw on Felix Leiter for help)
- two annoying bits - the baddies constanly try to kill Bond as they should but then they later do it by putting him in an alligator farm and dangling over sharks instead of killing him - I mean, his escaping is fun but it's just a little silly
- Jane Seymour a little young but achingly pretty and a good actor - Roger Moore just young enough to not make it too icky (he gets her into bed by lying)
- Yaphet Kotto a superb actor and David Hedison was the best Felix Leiter until Jeffrey Wright
- fairly witty script full of memorable bits
- Roger Moore very confident from the get-go.
I think Corris got jazzed researching the wreck of the Dunbar - turned into a silent film. The action in the present day involves someone who may have inherited money from the wreck. Then it's ex cons, crims and cops with the setting in Newcastle giving it some variety. Perfectly fine.
Fun. Ticks all the boxes for the genre. Vicious lesbian guard. Showers. Mud wrestling. Escape. Revolutionaries. Third world setting. All the characters are different. It's made with energy. Star turns from Pam Grier, Roberta Collins. Sid Haig fun. The movie works. Stephanie Rothman had the film rewritten by Don Spencer - I wonder what her contribution was.
It's a shame she and Jack Hill seem to clash.
