Tuesday, December 14, 2021

 Crisp Midwest fall Oct. evening with only a couple of weeks 'till Halloween ! Lots of re-releases this week as the drive-in season winds down in Detroit, Michigan. 


The magnificent Tamera Dobson in CLEOPATRA JONES ("She's 6 feet 2" of Dynamite!") is getting a re-release with COME BACK, CHARLESTON BLUE (the sequel to COTTON COMES TO HARLEM) as the second feature at The Plaza downtown on Woodward Ave. and three drive-ins. 


"2 Houses of Hell-together for a night of HORROR!" Hallmark Releasing has a re-release double feature of S.F. Brownrigg's DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (originally released as THE FORGOTTEN but retitled for the "Don't" marketing craze) and Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT from 1972 which is still out there on the grindhouse circuit (and would continue to be for years). 


Released back in Aug. GORDON"S WAR starring Paul Winfield and directed by Ossie Davis. "They said it would take an army to get the mob out of Harlem. This is the army! This is Gordon's war!" is on a late show at the Palms downtown and the Mercury out on the west side. 

Ossie Davis discovered that he could not competently film the action sequences in the film so Bruce Kessler (SIMON, KING OF WITCHES and ANGELS FROM HELL) was brought in and directed all the violence and action. 


From earlier in 1973 is WALKING TALL ("the "in" movie of 1973") starring Joe Don Baker and his big whup-ass stick. Oddly they seem to be trying to sell it as a love story and/or family drama this time around. 


Russ Meyer's BLACK SNAKE (here re-titled SWEET SUZY) is playing with Paul Rapp's THE CURIOUS FEMALE which was originally going to be titled LOVE COMPUTER STYLE and had its world premiere in Detroit back in 1970.

BLACK SNAKE was Russ Meyer's return to self-financed film production and attempt at the Blaxploitation market after his stint at 20th Century which had resulted in BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLL and THE SEVEN MINUTES. BLACK SNAKE had a troubled production including the last minute drop out of it lead actress and was a box office failure which led it to being released under several different titles. 


Here we got the horrifically bad ARNOLD'S WRECKING COMPANY which was filmed in 1971 but not released until 1973 and is a "comedy" about a nerdy high school student who starts dealing pot and runs afoul of police and gangsters. 


The mondo film AFRICA UNCENSORED from 1972 is running downtown with the much more watchable and entertaining BLACULA (also from 1972). AFRICA UNCENSORED was directed by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni and Guido Guerrasio who did a whole series of African mondo films that mostly focused (as to be expected) on sexual fertility rites along with animal killings. 




Some major studio releases include a sneak preview of THE WAY WE WERE at the Americana and Eastland, the kind-of-forgotten today OKLAHOMA CRUDE w/ George C. Scott and Faye Dunaway and a western I've never heard of with Glenn Ford. 


Terrific double feature of ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE ("He's a good cop..on a big bike...on a bad road") and the great THE OUTSIDE MAN (which is way overdue for a Blu-ray release) is playing multiple theatres around the Motor City. 


At the Grand Circus downtown is some King-Fu action with FEARLESS FIGHTERS (aka NINJA KILLERS) from 1971 and going way back to 1967 (!!) is KISS AND KILL on the bottom half of the bill which is a Hong Kong remake of the Euro-spy PASSPORT TO HELL: SECRET AGENT 3S3.

Lots of XXX around including a nice big ad for the Krim I and II showing THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES and BEHIND THE BREEN DOOR and SPIKEY'S MAGIC WAND at the 6 Mile and Art I which is hawking stars Harry Reems and Georgina Spelvin from the classics (and perpetually running) THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES and DEEP THROAT. 











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