In honor of Director Frank Darabont’s 66th birthday, I’m sharing a scene from his masterpiece, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. One of the best things about this movie is how much humor is found behind those prison walls, often coming from seemingly unexpected places. In this scene, the humor is found when the characters take on the mundane task of cataloging the prison library. Enjoy!
I recently reviewed THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION on my son’s birthday.
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 January 27th, we’re watching FEAR CITY starring Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia and Melanie Griffith.
So why did I pick FEAR CITY, you might ask?
So join us tonight to for #MondayMuggers and watch FEAR CITY! It’s on Amazon Prime.
Since Sunday is a day of rest for a lot of people, I present #SundayShorts, a weekly mini review of a movie I’ve recently watched.
Master diamond thief Frank Warren (Rutger Hauer) pulls off a big job with the help of his fiancé Noelle (Joan Chen) and his best friend Sam (James Remar). Unfortunately, after the job is finished, Noelle unceremoniously ends her courtship with Frank when she shoots him multiple times because she’s now hooked up with Sam. The next time we see Frank, who somehow survived the close-range shootings, he’s on a bus to a prison called Camp Holliday, which is run by Warden Holliday (Stephen Tobolowsky). Camp Holliday is a high-tech prison where each inmate is gifted a collar containing an explosive device that also happens to be electronically connected to another inmate. As long as the two prisoners are within 100 yards from each other, it’s all good. If they are separated by more than 100 yards, their collars will explode leaving a bloody nub where their head used to be. And since nobody knows who their “wedlock partner” is, trying to escape is not a strong option. One day fellow prisoner Tracy Riggs (Mimi Rogers) comes to Frank and tells him that she’s his wedlock partner. Through a variety of circumstances, the two are able to escape, but they still must maintain their 100-yard proximity as the authorities try to track them down. Meanwhile, Sam and Noelle, and even Warden Holliday, have all teamed up to try to find where Frank stashed the diamonds prior to heading to prison. And what about Tracy, who’s side is she really on?
I didn’t have the Home Box Office channel when I was growing up, so I wasn’t aware of this film until it premiered on home video as “DEADLOCK.” Of course, being a huge fan of Rutger Hauer, I rented it as soon as possible. The key to lower budget, made-for TV movies working will always be tied to three things: an entertaining premise, a game cast, and a director who can put the movie together. I’m happy to report that WEDLOCK has each of these things. Even though we had seen exploding neck collars in prison before in THE RUNNING MAN (1987), I like the way this film ties one prisoner’s fate to another’s. That extra dimension makes for some exciting moments in the film. Rutger Hauer is especially good in WEDLOCK. If any other actor was in the lead, I honestly doubt I would have enjoyed it as much, but with him it becomes a fun movie. And the fact that he’s tied to the beautiful Mimi Rogers for most of the movie makes it that much more fun. The remainder of the cast goes pretty far over the top, but that’s okay because subtle character portrayals are not part of the equation in these types of movies. James Remar and Joan Chen are fun as the initial betrayers and current pursuers, Basil Wallace is effectively evil as a bully and fellow inmate, and Stephen Tobolowsky is his usual fun self as Warden Holliday. Director Lewis Teague has a pretty nice resume of interesting films leading up to WEDLOCK, including ALLIGATOR (1980), FIGHTING BACK (1982), CUJO (1983), CAT’S EYE (1985), and NAVY SEALS (1990). He does a fine job here, as the movie has many well executed scenes that play out at a nice pace. Overall, I’ve always been a fan of low budget action movies that are done well. This one fits the bill for me.
Five Fast Facts:
When I rented the film in the early 90’s, it was called DEADLOCK. I’m sure I owned it on VHS at one point in my life.
Check out the trailer below:
Well before THE NAKED GUN was triggering Reggie Jackson, director Don Siegel and Charles Bronson were triggering human time bombs in TELEFON (1977). Quentin Tarantino even borrowed from this film when he chose the Robert Frost poem for Stuntman Mike’s (Kurt Russell) lap dance from Arlene (Vanessa Furlito). It’s not as sexy, but it’s still a good time as Bronson tries to prevent World War III. Enjoy!
Charles Bronson plays a boat captain named Joe Martin who seems be living the good life in the south of France. He has a great job renting out boats to tourists! He has great luck beating his friends out of big stacks of cash in poker. He has a beautiful wife (Liv Ullman), and most importantly, he has about the biggest biceps I’ve seen in a movie not starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This idyllic existence falls apart when some men from his past show up and force him to use his boat to help them smuggle drugs. It seems these guys feel like Martin owes them something since they had to go to prison for killing a cop, while ace driver Martin, escaped. As you might expect, nobody’s plans go as expected and much action ensues!
The first thing that stands out in this film is the cast, that includes James Mason, Liv Ullman, Michael Constantin, and Jill Ireland. Bronson’s European films uniformly had tremendous casts and this one is no different. Even with these well known actors, Jean Topart as the villainous Katanga, is a real standout. Second, this is the first of three films that Bronson completed with director Terence Young, who is most famous for kicking off the James Bond franchise with DR. NO, THUNDERBALL, and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Young knows how to stage action scenes, and with the help of famous French stuntman Remy Julienne, the two men cook up some impressive car stunts and chase sequences. Finally, Bronson himself exudes charisma and is in maximum physical condition in this film. In a career defined largely by his supreme conditioning, this may be Bronson’s most impressive physical performance.
Charles Bronson became an international superstar when he went to Europe in 1968, where he made a series of good films with great international casts. COLD SWEAT doesn’t come together quite as well as some of his other European films like RIDER ON THE RAIN, VIOLENT CITY & RED SUN, but it’s still a fun film with good action sequences and an impressively pumped up Charles Bronson. And the film has never looked better. After decades of shabby VHS and DVD copies, Kino Lorber put out a very nice blu ray in 2019. It’s nice seeing the movie in such a high quality presentation.
Check out the trailer for COLD SWEAT below:
Happy Birthday in heaven to Randolph Scott, who was born on January 23rd, 1898. The picture above is from probably my favorite Randolph Scott film, RIDE LONESOME (1959). Scott made so many great movies, but my personal favorites are the series of westerns he made with director Budd Boetticher from 1956 – 1960. I highly recommend that you search those films out!
Randolph Scott made the film RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY with director Sam Peckinpah in 1962 and then retired from acting. Through his work in film and his excellent investments, he would pass away in 1987 as one of the richest men in Hollywood. I’m so glad that my movie hero Charles Bronson was able to work with Scott in the 1954 film RIDING SHOTGUN. Rest in peace, Mr. Scott!
Quite simply, Rutger Hauer has been one of the most important actors in my life. I write about his movies every Sunday here on The Shattered Lens.
I first saw him in THE HITCHER when I was around 13 years old or so. I spent the night at a friend’s house where we watched the movie, and it scared the crap out of me. I will never, ever, ever pick up a hitchhiker I do not know because of this movie. Although I kept up with him after that fateful night, my next real meaningful memory of Hauer was from 1990 when, as an incoming senior in High School, I attended a six week summer program called Arkansas Governor’s School. We would watch movies every Sunday evening, and one of those movies was BLADE RUNNER (1982). After the movie, we would get together with an instructor to discuss the film. We all thought that Hauer had stolen the film from Harrison Ford, and we had a good time sharing theories about the doves and his character sticking the nail through his hand. I believe this was the first time I ever analyzed a film with a group of film lovers. None of my friends or family members in my “real life” cared about movies like I did.
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been somewhat obsessed with Rutger Hauer from that point forward. I searched out his history of Dutch films and discovered important works like TURKISH DELIGHT (1973 -not one of my favorites) and SOLDIER OF ORANGE (1977 – one of my very favorites). I always wished Hauer would have worked with Director Paul Verhoeven again after 1985’s FLESH AND BLOOD. How cool would it have been to see Hauer as Robocop?! I delighted in seeing him steal the film NIGHTHAWKS (1981), his American debut, from Sylvester Stallone. After 1990, any time Rutger Hauer had a movie playing in a theater near me, I would be there. This included his early 90’s movies like SPLIT SECOND (1992 – where I was the only person in the theater), BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992), and SURVIVING THE GAME (1994), to his character roles in the 2000’s in movies like CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002), SIN CITY (2005), and BATMAN BEGINS (2005). The last time I saw him on the big screen was in THE RITE (2011), where he co-starred with Anthony Hopkins.
Rutger Hauer has so many credits. Aside from his big screen credits, he worked on so many low budget direct to video features, made-for-TV films, as well as quite a few TV series. And I tried to watch them all. I saw some good films and some not so good films, but I always found Hauer interesting no matter what the material was. I remember being excited when it was announced that he would be joining the cast of the hit HBO series TRUE BLOOD (2008-2014), a series that I watched faithfully. The last two films of his that I was truly excited about were HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2010) and DRACULA 3-D (2012). It was satisfying to see him getting a lot of attention that late in his career.
I was sitting on the beach in Perdido Key, FL in 2019, when I got a notification on my phone that Hauer had passed away. It made me sad, as I had no idea he had been sick. It was also fitting that I was sitting in such a beautiful place, because Rutger Hauer had brought such joy to my life for over 30 years. Rest in peace, Mr. Hauer!
Way back in 1995, Jim Jarmusch gave Billy Bob Thornton a part in his film DEAD MAN. Well the next year, Billy Bob Thornton directed his own movie, SLING BLADE. He asked Jarmusch if he would do a small part in his movie. The resulting scene would be one of my favorites in the entire film. I still mention “French fried potaters” to this day, especially the “big ‘uns!” And I just love the fact that Jarmusch was right here in Benton, Arkansas.
The Frosty Cream is a McDonald’s now, but I love seeing the area how it was 30 years ago! Watch and enjoy!
Kemp Spicer (Warren Oates) rides into town and runs into Marian Starett (Jill Ireland) and her father-in-law Tom Starett (Tom Tully) who are there visiting the local blacksmith. Spicer likes what he sees when he looks at Marian, and proceeds to make some creepy advances. He then asks if they know a guy named Shane. When they ask Spicer why he wants to know, he says that him and his family are going to kill him. After Marian and Tom tell Shane (David Carradine) about what they were told, Shane heads into town. He wants to know why they want to kill him, as well as keep the Spicers away from the Starett ranch. When he arrives at Sam Grafton’s saloon, Boon Spicer (Charles Kuenstie) tells him that they are there to get vengeance for Shane killing their brother Joey four years earlier in Abilene. Shane never killed anyone in Abilene so he knows that someone is mistaken, or just flat out lying. Soon other members of the Spicer family arrive in town, led by their Bible-quoting uncle Joshua Spicer (Cliff Osmond). Shane knows he’s going to have to take on these men even though he’s innocent of their family member’s death. He just wants to make sure they don’t go out to the Starett ranch and put the family in danger.
Episode 4 of Shane has our biggest co-star yet, in Warren Oates. It’s fun seeing his Kemp Spicer creep around making threats against Shane, making advances towards Marian, and then questioning whether or not they’re even after the right guy. Cliff Osmond is memorable and interesting as Uncle Joshua Spicer who puts their family honor above everything else. This episode also sees Shane getting some help as he takes on the Spicer clan in the final shootout. This help comes from Tom Starett and Rufe Ryker (Bert Freed), the local foe of the family. I don’t expect this means Ryker has turned good, but he definitely prefers Shane over those “hillbillies” he ran out of the area years earlier. Finally, we continue to learn of Marian’s feelings for Shane in this episode. At one point, she’s willing to leave the entire ranch behind if it keeps Shane safe. Shane doesn’t hear her say this, but her father-in-law remarks that he never realized she loved Shane that much.
I found episode 4 to be an entertaining episode. It features good performances from interesting co-stars. It also makes a good point about how an innocent lie can take on a life of its own and lead to unintended consequences. I’ll be looking forward to Episode 5!
Telly Savalas was born on January 21, 1922 and he died on January 22, 1994. When I think of Savalas, I first think of his most famous character, KOJAK (1973-1978).
After that I think of his work with my movie hero, Charles Bronson. They worked together on THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) and VIOLENT CITY (1970). They were also in the BATTLE OF THE BULGE (1965), but they didn’t share any scenes together. I’ll always remember Savalas in the movie KELLY’S HEROES (1970). This was one of my son’s favorite movies when he was growing up. He watched it constantly.
Based on this work, Telly Savalas will always be one of my favorite actors! Happy birthday, sir, and thanks for countless hours of entertainment in my life!
