FOLK COSTUMES OF THE WORLD

002: USSR

The woman on the left is from Moldavia. The woman on the right is dressed in the costume from Georgia.

From Folk Costumes of the World (1978) by Robert Harrold. Illustration by Phyllida Legg.

AND SIR JOHN GIELGUD...

One of the things I really like about US TV movies of the 1970s (all I watch now, you know) is the eclectic range of actors that appear in them. The slow decline of the Hollywood studio system led to scores of out of contract thespians, many of them quite famous, few of them totally unknown, but most not quite what they once were. 

Not everyone in show business can be a megastar forever, of course, just as not everyone in a hospital can be a surgeon, or everyone in the army can be a hero. It's the natural way of things, and it's often quite arbitrary. TV movies of this era not only provided steady employment for everyone but they threw the star system in the air and totally rearranged it on a weekly basis, as well as providing a quick payday for big names with a few free days and a swimming pool to pay for.

Originally broadcast by the NBC network as a pilot, Probe (1972) is a glossy detective drama with science fiction elements that didn't result in a series. It stars Hugh O'Brian, a big handsome guy (apparently chiselled out of wood) who was most famous for playing Wyatt Earp on TV, but the true attraction is the ensemble cast. 

Amongst others, we have a European sex-symbol (Sommer), a double Oscar nominee (Meredith), a leading man of 1940s b-movies (Smith), the guy who played Davy Jones' Grandad on The Monkees (Wright), and one of Britain's Holy Trinity of 20th century theatrical knights, Sir John Gielgud. Sir John is a hoot throughout and seems to be having the time of his life, doing all sorts of cool stuff, including, at one point, being machine gunned. Good times.

OH, LUMME!

In American TV Movies, nothing says you have arrived in England more than a badly put together sign and a random red bus. Only bettered if paired with a burst of 'Rule Britannia' on the soundtrack. 

From 1974's The Questor Tapes, a Gene Rodenberry production about a super-advanced android and his search for meaning in an incomprehensible world. To his credit, he finds his purpose in about three days, which is 21,013 days ahead of where I am in life - and counting.

EVERYDAY ELECTRONICS

017: Telephone Remote Monitor

INESCAPABLE OBSESSION

I don't want to get into the weeds on this one, but I now only watch American TV Movies from the 1970s, and there's nothing you or anybody else can do about it. 

There are hundreds of these damn things, and all human life is here. Genre themes dominate, particularly horror, espionage, sci fi (in contemporary settings) and natural disasters, lots of them, from fire to floods to avalanches, earthquakes, swarms of killer bees and Bigfoot. They usually run for about 70 minutes and are only now available in faded recordings that are spread across a number of platforms. Very few of them are loved and cared for; only a small proportion achieve genuine greatness or, in some cases, even quite good-ness. However, as we've already established, that's all I watch now, so I'm forced to just make the best of it.

If I were to try and evidence some of the attraction, let me draw your attention to Escape, a Movie Of The Week originally broadcast by the ABC network on April 6th, 1971. It's about an escape artist / private detective / bon viveur / all round good guy called Cameron Steele who battles a badly scarred mad scientist who has developed a virus that will turn humanity into slaves. The Bond-like supervillain operates out of an amusement park, and his secret lair is under the ghost train. The climax of the movie takes place on the roller coaster. It's fantastic, and if you don't want to see it based on that brief description I wash my hands of you.

Star Christopher George is in lots of TV movies (and some entertaining b-pictures). He's believably tough without being macho, charming without being slick, and he keeps on top of things nicely. I'm rather fond of him and his steady presence, and the fact that he didn't speak English until he was 6 (he was born in the USA to  Greek immigrant parents) makes him even more likeable. 

More TV Movies soon. I've told you twice already, that's all I watch now.

ROMANCE - GLAMOUR (LET'S TWIST)

 

Exciting AND glamorous? I'm in!

BRING HOME THE MOTHERLODE, BARRY

 

Beyond The Black Rainbow, d. Panos Cosmatos (2010)

In 1983, a young mute woman with uncanny abilities is held prisoner within the sterile and dehumanising Arboria Institute. Her captor is Dr Barry Nile, a sinister, wig wearing pseudo-scientist. He becomes increasingly obsessed with her and, when she escapes, he loses his mind completely during the pursuit.

The first film of a major new talent, this may lack the preposterous imagination and violent energy of Mandy (perhaps my favourite film of the 21st century - so far), but it is an important introduction to the strange new / old world of director / writer Panos Cosmatos: a place where time and space are malleable (Black Rainbow is set in 1983, but it could be 1969 or 2001 or 2120); a place where hallucinogenic drugs are mandatory even though they are not necessary; a place where science fiction and horror and fantasy gleefully collide into each other, and cosmic sparks fly on impact. 

I absolutely love this guy, so much so that I'm not even frustrated by the paucity of his output (just two films and a 56 minute TV episode in 15 years): the quality of his work is so extraordinarily high I'm just waiting to see what he does next.

FOLK COSTUMES OF THE WORLD

 

001: England / Ireland

A traditional Morris Dancer and a couple dressed for Irish dancing.

From Folk Costumes of the World (1978) by Robert Harrold. Illustration by Phyllida Legg.

TWEET

 

TENSE AMBIANCE

I was struck (unlike that dinky target) by this sequence in the 2011 Japanese film Schoolgirl Apocalypse, particularly the subtitles. Despite what you might reasonably suspect from a Japanese film about young women, there's nothing prurient about this film, in which awkward schoolgirl Sakura has her life turned upside down by murderous zombies (are there any other type?), then has to battle against them (and self-doubt) in order to survive. Naturally, her aim improves very quickly indeed.