Author Archives: Bradley Crain

MAN WITH A CAMERA (TV Series) – starring Charles Bronson – S1, E2: The Warning

Posted on by Bradley Crain

This episode opens with Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) receiving an anonymous phone call to come to the corner of Myers St. and Brooklyn Ave., and he’s told to bring his camera! When he gets there, he’s forced at gunpoint by two masked man to take a picture as they kill another man. After the killers drive off, Kovac immediately calls the police. We meet Lt. Abrams (Robert Ellenstein), who tells Kovac that the dead man is a new merchant in town named Sam Bartlett (Bill Erwin) who has been refusing to pay the head of the local protection racket, Glenn Markey (Berry Kroeger). Lt. Abrams asks Kovac to let them plant a story in the paper that says they have an eyewitness to the murder, ace photographer Mike Kovac. Worried that he might be the next man to get killed, Kovac turns him down. Not feeling good about refusing to help the police, Kovac goes to see his dad Anton and tells him the story. Shocked to hear that his son has refused to help the police, especially since it could help put an end to Marky’s reign of terror, Anton asks his son if it’s because he’s afraid. Somewhat shamed into it, Kovac finally agrees and calls Lt. Abrams and tells him they can run the story saying he witnessed the murder. Wouldn’t you know it, the next night Glenn Markey and his funky bunch kidnap Anton in order to force Kovac’s hand. Will Kovac be able to save his dad, and his own skin in the process? Will the police be any help? 

“The Warning” seems to be built upon an irrational request from the police of Mike Kovac… let us plant a fake story and put your life in danger so we can hopefully catch the killer as he tries to kill you. When Kovac refuses to be used that way, as any other rational human being would, Lt. Abrams tells him he’d been told that “Mike Kovac doesn’t scare easily. Guess I heard wrong.” It’s bad enough when anyone implies you’re a coward, but when Mike’s own dad seems disappointed that he’s not helping the police out of fear, Mike is almost forced to help. This is not how it would go down if I found myself in this position, and my dad would be on my side! Even though the premise is somewhat flimsy, there are definitely some good moments in the episode. Once Markey has kidnapped his “Pop,” Kovac turns into the badass Bronson we’ve been waiting for. I enjoyed this tough guy exchange as Markey tries to force Kovac to come with him at gunpoint, not knowing Kovac has brought his own gun:

Markey – “This gun says you’re coming along with me.”

Kovac – “This gun says I’m not.”

Markey – “You’re bluffing, Kovak.”

Kovac – “You just think about that when these slugs start ripping into your body. Maybe it’ll be a comfort to you.”

I also like it when Anton admits he was wrong at the end. After somewhat shaming his son into helping the police, and then having to be rescued later, Anton says, “You were right Michael, these things are dangerous. The next time the police ask for your help, you say NO!” It’s a funny, and more realistic, conclusion to the episode! 

Overall, I enjoyed the episode very much, mainly because of Bronson’s strong central performance. I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here! 

I review THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955), starring James Stewart!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Stewart!

I’m celebrating Jimmy Stewart’s birthday by watching his western THE MAN FROM LARAMIE! Stewart plays Will Lockhart, a man who has run into some bad luck. His brother, a U.S. cavalryman, was recently killed in an attack by Apaches using repeating rifles outside of the town of Coronado, New Mexico. In an attempt to track down the man who sold the rifles to the Indians, Lockhart has come to Coronado from Laramie, WY, to snoop around. He’s welcomed to town by Dave Waggoman (Alex Nicol), we’ll call him “Crazy Dave,” the son of powerful local rancher Alec Waggoman (Donald Crisp). Accusing Lockhart of stealing salt off of their land, Crazy Dave proceeds to drag him with a rope, burn his wagons and shoot his mules. Before he can do even more damage to Lockhart, the foreman of the Waggoman ranch Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy) comes along and stops him. Vic seems like a reasonable man, but he does ask Lockhart to move on down the trail before there’s any more trouble. Lockhart isn’t leaving until he finds out more about those rifles so he politely declines by going back into town, finding Crazy Dave, and kicking his ass. He then goes to see Alec and asks to be paid back for the wagons and mules that crazy Dave destroyed. Alec pays Lockhart back and then calls Vic in to come see him. Here’s where we start to get a feel for Waggoman family dynamics. You see, Alec loves his son no matter how crazy he is, and he expects Vic to keep him out of trouble. He even takes the cost of the destroyed wagons and dead mules out of Vic’s pay instead of Crazy Dave’s. We find out that Crazy Dave is jealous of Vic, and that Vic feels underappreciated by a man he has treated like a father for many years. Against this backdrop of family jealousy and insanity, Lockhart will continue to dig around until he finds out who sold the rifles that killed his brother. Could it be Vic or Crazy Dave?

THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is the last of five westerns that Stewart worked on under the direction of Anthony Mann. Their work is legendary, including the western classics WINCHESTER ‘73 (1950), BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), THE NAKED SPUR (1953), and THE FAR COUNTRY (1954). In my opinion, they may have saved their best for last. Jimmy Stewart gives a masterful performance in the role of Will Lockhart. Stewart was very smart in the way he played his parts in westerns. Tall and gangly, he would never have been a believable western star if he had played his roles more like a John Wayne or Gary Cooper. Rather, his character here is driven by an uncontrollable desire for revenge, so no matter what happens to him, outside of being killed, he’s going to keep on coming. In this movie, he’s dragged, beaten and even has his hand shot from point blank range, but that doesn’t stop him. And every so often he flashes that Jimmy Stewart smile and you can’t help but have complete sympathy for him. The supporting performances are good as well, especially from Donald Crisp as Alec Waggoman and Arthur Kennedy as Vic Hansbro. Neither are completely bad men, but they make bad decisions based on emotions that most of us can completely understand. They’re so good in the roles that we can’t help but kinda like them in spite of those bad decisions. One of the things I love about old westerns is the way they deal with honest emotions and universal truths. At one point in the film, after discovering that Vic has lied to him about something, Alec tells him, “Once you start lying, there’s no way to stop!” If you’ve ever lied about something before, you know that one lie always leads to another, and then to another. The drama in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE centers around what happens to the characters when the truth finally comes to light. In my opinion it’s great stuff, and produces one of my very favorite westerns! 

On a side note, I love this movie so much that I demanded that my wife and I stop and eat in Laramie a couple of years ago when we were visiting family in Wyoming. Here’s a pic from that wonderful day. I wanted to make sure we got the sign in the back that said Laramie!

MAN WITH A CAMERA (TV Series) – Starring Charles Bronson – S1,E1: Second Avenue Assassin

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson began acting in movies and on TV shows in 1951. Through the mid-fifties, he established himself as a solid character actor with a strong physical screen presence. Beginning in October of 1958, he was given the opportunity to headline his own TV show, MAN WITH A CAMERA. The show, which ran for 29 episodes, features Bronson as a freelance photographer from New York named Mike Kovac, a guy who specializes in the difficult and dangerous assignments that his peers stay away from. Always on the side of truth and justice, Kovak will do anything to get the picture. 

In the first episode of the series, Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) wants to get a picture of his old neighborhood pal, Joey Savoyan (Tom Laughlin). Joey has risen in the boxing ranks, and is getting a title shot at the champ, Sal Benning (Don Kennedy). But it seems that success has changed Joey from the guy Mike knew, and there have been many reports that he’s turned into a jerk who’d rather punch a reporter or photographer than look at them. When Mike goes to Joey’s training camp, and proceeds to tell him that his attitude is an embarrassment to the people pulling for him back home, Joey gets pissed and the two men end up in the ring. Apparently Mike could whip him back in the day, but times have changed and after absorbing a few of Mike’s jabs, Joey lays his ass out cold with one punch. The photograph that makes the papers that night is Mike laying flat on his back with the headline “Joey Savoyan puts ace photographer in darkroom!” Licking his wounds with spare ribs at a local restaurant that night, another pal from the old neighborhood shows up to see him. This time it’s Dolly (Ruta Lee), Joey’s main squeeze, who’s there on his behalf. Joey’s in trouble and needs Mike’s help. Mike goes out to Joey’s cabin where he’s filled in on the truth. The reports of his punching photographers and reporters were all made up to create his “killer” image. What’s even worse is the fact that Joey had found out the day before that the fights he had won to get the title shot were all fixed. Now, gangster Willie Fletcher (Theodore Marcuse) is putting the pressure on him to take a dive. Joey doesn’t want to do it, so he asks Mike to get a picture of him, Willie, and the champ planning the fix that night. He believes he can use this picture as leverage to turn the dangerous mobster down. It wouldn’t be much of a show if things went exactly as planned, and the fun is seeing how it all plays out! 

The series MAN WITH A CAMERA stretches our ability to suspend our disbelief right off the bat, when it asks us to accept that anyone, including Billy Jack himself, could lay out Charles Bronson with one punch. The fact that Bronson is shirtless, revealing muscle on top of muscle, makes it that much harder to believe. That lack of realism aside, I really did enjoy this first episode. Bronson plays Mike Kovac with a determination and uncompromising integrity that lets us know right off the bat that he will do whatever it takes to get to the truth, and that he doesn’t care who he has to piss off to accomplish that goal. He seems fearless and very tough. When the gangster Willie Fletcher, who’s known for using his gun, threatens Mike, he responds with “Boy, you talk tough… you scare me, Willie” in a way that would indicate it’s impossible to scare him and you get the feeling he can back it up. As a lifelong fan of Bronson, it’s nice seeing his powerful screen charisma and toughness come across so easily at this early point in his career. It’s also fun seeing Bronson and Tom Laughlin on screen together, even if the writers came up with the unrealistic scenario that I discussed earlier. I have to admit I would love to see Billy Jack take on Chaney from HARD TIMES. I think that would be one hell of a show!

This is a solid first episode, and I’m looking to see where the show heads from here. I’ve watched various episodes of MAN WITH A CAMERA over the years, but this will be first time I’ve ever started from the beginning and watched and reviewed each episode. Although he’s only talked about in episode 1, I remember Mike’s dad being a fairly big part of the series. Father/son relationships on TV and in movies are my favorites, so I’m looking forward to seeing that play out. If Tom Laughlin is any example, I’m also looking forward to the quality of guest stars we’ll be seeing. A quick look on IMDB reveals actors like Don Gordon, Angie Dickinson, Gavin McLeod, and Lawrence Tierney will be showing up throughout the series. This should be a lot of fun!

Brad’s “mini-review” of LOVE AND BULLETS (1979), starring Charles Bronson! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson is an Arizona cop who goes to Switzerland to bring back a gangster’s girlfriend (Jill Ireland). The gangster (Rod Steiger) sends a hitman (Henry Silva) to kill her so she can’t tell his crime secrets to the authorities.  

This isn’t one of Bronson’s best films, but it’s still a fun movie to watch on a chilly, rainy day. There are some good action scenes set in various cold & snowy European locations. This is Bronson in “Bond” mode which is kind of fun and different. And what can you say about a stuttering Rod Steiger screaming at his advisors about the meaning of “love.” It’s fun stuff when you like Steiger as much as I do. I do deduct half a star because Steiger gets so mad at one point that he turns over a table with some of the biggest, most scrumptious looking shrimp I’ve ever seen. That was completely uncalled for and wasteful, but not quite as wasteful as Bronson and Henry Silva in the same movie without an epic battle of some sort. The fact that they didn’t fight it out on the Matterhorn itself can only be described as a missed opportunity. 

#MondayMuggers presents YOUNG GUNS (1988) starring Emilio Etevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Charlie Sheen!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday May 19th, we are showing YOUNG GUNS (1988) starring Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Terry O’Quinn, Brian Keith, and Patrick Wayne.

This movie focuses on a group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez), who become deputies to avenge the murder of John Tunstall (Terence Stamp), the rancher who took them in, gave them jobs, and taught them how to read. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they soon find themselves to be the outlaws and the ones being hunted down.

Join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch the extremely fun YOUNG GUNS! It’s on Amazon Prime. The trailer is included below:

The Hong Kong Film Corner – THE SEVENTH CURSE (1986) – starring Chow Yun-Fat and Chin Siu-Ho!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!

Early in THE SEVENTH CURSE, Dr. Yuan (Chin Siu-Ho) tells a story to his mentor and friend Wisely (Chow Yun-Fat). It seems he had visited Thailand exactly one year earlier on a medical research mission. This turned out to be an eventful trip. While walking along a lake, a beautiful woman in a see through top emerges from the clear waters. The two visit for a moment before she runs into the jungle in fear. Later that evening, Yuan hears the sounds of native drums which seem to signal human sacrifices are about to take place by the local “Worm Tribe.” Deciding to investigate the situation, he sees that same beautiful woman in need of a hero as she’s about to be sacrificed to the “Old Ancestor” by the tribe’s sorcerer (Elvis Tsui). He is able to rescue the lady, but he’s also damned with a blood curse that will periodically burst through his legs. Luckily, the grateful beauty was able to slice a tumor out of her ample bosom that provided an antidote for one year. Well the time is up and the bursts are back. Back in present time, Wisely, who puffs on his pipe and seems to be an expert on everything, advises Yuan to head back to Thailand and find a permanent cure before the final burst kills him. With help at various times from the badass Black Dragon (Dick Wei), the beautiful tribe woman we now know as Betsy (Tsui Sau-Lai), the annoying reporter Rainbow (Maggie Cheung), and Wisely, Yuan must find the cure before the final burst comes straight from the heart. It won’t be easy as they will have to defeat the evil sorcerer of the Worm Tribe, a demon baby animated by the blood of ground up children, and “Old Ancestor” himself, a powerful skeleton with glowing eyes who likes to suck out spinal chords before transforming into something really ugly.

Back in 1986, Chow Yun-Fat essentially filmed an extended cameo for this crazy film that could have only been made in Hong Kong. 1986 was also the same year that Chow Yun-Fat became a megastar all across Asia based on his success in John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW. Of course, the film was sold on his name, but he’s not in it very much, even if he does show up at the end with a bazooka. With that said, for those in the right frame of mind THE SEVENTH CURSE is an entertaining film, and I like Chin Siu-Ho in the lead role as Dr. Yuan. Part Indiana Jones style adventure and part jungle-terror, this film goes completely over the top with its gratuitous nudity and gore. “Restraint” for this movie means not showing children actually getting ground up so their blood can revitalize a demon baby, although we do see them being placed in the grinder and the blood coming out and being collected in bowls. The same restraint isn’t shown for the men who are torn apart by booby traps and Old Ancestor, impaled by spikes, rip their own faces off and have their spinal cords sucked out. For those of “WTF am I watching” cinema, this should be a fun viewing. The special effects aren’t particularly realistic looking which makes it easier for me to watch. 

Overall, THE SEVENTH CURSE is definitely not a film for everyone. The budget is low, the acting isn’t great, it’s gory as hell, and Chow Yun-Fat may have ten minutes of screen time at most. But if my description of the gore doesn’t scare you away and you enjoy crazy cinema, this is probably a movie for you. Enjoy the trailer below:

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – The 3 minute “no-cuts” sequence from HARD BOILED

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!

John Woo’s HARD BOILED (1992) ends with a hospital siege and shootout that goes on for about 30 minutes. The action is very intense, and Woo creates a sequence within this set piece that goes almost 3 minutes without a single cut. It’s a masterpiece of directorial control by the legend, and it’s performed perfectly by Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Phillip Kwok and a large team of stuntmen. And it just looks really cool! Enjoy my friends!

The Hong Kong Film Corner – HARD BOILED (1992) – John Woo & Chow Yun-Fat!

Posted on by Bradley Crain


Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!

John Woo’s action classic HARD BOILED (1992) has a pretty simple story line. Two men are trying to stop a dangerous gun smuggling operation headed by murderous psychopath Johnny (Anthony Wong). One of those men is Tequila Yuen (Chow Yun-Fat), a hard-boiled cop who takes his job especially serious after his partner and best friend is killed in a shootout with Johnny’s men in a teahouse. The other is undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a man who is in so deep that he can pull off a hit as easy as eating breakfast and who doesn’t even remember his own birthday until he’s reminded by his police department handler, Superintendent Pang (Phillip Chan). After almost killing each each other a couple of times, they end up agreeing to work together to try to stop Johnny once and for all. 

First and foremost, HARD BOILED is one of the great action films. Relationships are given some lip service, but John Woo is mostly interested in creating incredible action sequences. HARD BOILED contains three action sequence masterpieces that still, thirty three years after it was released, have to be seen to be believed. I mentioned the teahouse earlier. The most iconic scene from the film can be found in this sequence as Tequila slides down a railing, two guns blazing, in order to take out some dangerous killers. This action sequence lets us know right off the bat that no human being is safe from the carnage, whether you be a cop, a criminal, a waiter, or just a local patron enjoying your song birds and a warm beverage. It’s an incredible opening that would dwarf the entirety of most action films. The next masterpiece takes place in a warehouse where Johnny is stealing the arms inventory of a local competitor, and undercover cop Alan switches his allegiance from his old boss to Johnny. We’re introduced to Johnny’s enforcer Mad Dog (Shaw Brothers legend Phillip Kwok), a true badass with a hint of honor, and of course Tequila shows up thanks to his informant letting him know what’s about to go down. One incredible stunt sequence after another ultimately leads to Tequila and Alan being face to face, with guns pointed at each other’s heads. When Tequila finds his chamber empty and Alan doesn’t kill him, he knows he’s dealing with an undercover. The final masterpiece sequence and conclusion to the film takes place in a hospital where Johnny has stashed his entire arsenal in its basement. This goes on for at least 30 minutes as our heroes may take on henchman on one floor, before taking a quick break as they ride to the next floor and start all over again. Once again, innocent lives are constantly put in danger, including doctors, nurses, handicapped patients and newborn babies in the maternity ward. The most memorable scenes in this section include the “no-cut” action sequence of almost 3 minutes where Tequila and Alan blow away countless bad guys (mostly), as well as Alan’s face off with Mad Dog with a bunch of handicapped patients in between them, and Tequila’s heroic jump from the 3rd floor while clutching a newborn baby. These three action masterpiece sequences are the reason to watch HARD BOILED. I’ve read before that this is John Woo’s “calling card to Hollywood.” About 16 months after HARD BOILED was released in Hong Kong, Woo’s first Hollywood film, HARD TARGET (1993), was released in America. 

Another great reason to watch HARD BOILED is the incredible teaming of Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, two of Hong Kong’s greatest and most decorated actors. While Chow is most closely associated with directors John Woo and Ringo Lam, Leung has done amazing work for Woo, Director Wong Kar-Wai, and many others. Each actor has had their share of international success as well. Leung does the heavy lifting in HARD BOILED as the morally conflicted undercover cop, while Chow mostly relies on his incredible charisma as the badass Supercop. It’s a real treat watching them play off of each other under the most action packed of circumstances. 

It’s probably obvious, but I give HARD BOILED my highest of recommendations. I hadn’t watched it for a few years before today, and I had the best time revisiting these incredible scenes. Action movies just don’t get better than this. 

Jill Ireland passed away 35 years ago today!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I reviewed the entire SHANE TV series here on The Shattered Lens because I wanted to watch Jill Ireland in a role that did not involve her famous husband Charles Bronson. I really enjoyed it. Here’s a personal story about Jill Ireland in my own life!

From December 4th – December 15th, 1989, a 16 year old Bradley was a resident of the Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had a terrible car accident on December 4th and broke my left femur as well as my pelvis in 3 places. As I was healing over those days, I’d watch the morning shows with my mom. Jill Ireland was a guest on one of the shows during that time, and I was excited to watch her. She had a big smile on her face, and she exuded beauty, strength and courage. I have to admit just seeing her made me feel better during a time when I was really struggling. A little over 6 months later, I found out that she had passed away, and it made me very sad.

In 2024, I was able to meet Jill’s niece Lindsay. Finding out what wonderful, caring people they are has been so wonderful. Jill’s children have watched our episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast with Lindsay. It’s so humbling to share my love for this family and actually find out that they also appreciate it. It’s truly wonderful.

See the link to our episode with Linday Ireland below: