4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we pay tribute to the man who gave us Billy Jack. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Tom Laughlin Films
Born Losers (1967, dir by Tom Laughlin)
Billy Jack (1971, dir by Tom Laughlin)
The Trial of Bully Jack (1974, dir by Tom Laughlin)
Billy Jack Goes To Washington (1977, dir by Tom Laughlin)
Today would have been the 94th birthday of Tom Laughlin, the independent film pioneer who gave the world Billy Jack.
In honor of the day of his birth, here’s a scene that I love from Billy Jack. The townspeople think that they can get away with humiliating the students from the Freedom School. Well, Billy Jack’s got something to say about that and, as always, it starts with him taking off his shoes.
I like this video because the opening images and the first few notes of the song remind me of some lost Eurospy classic from the late 60s. It has a nicely decadent, Jess Franco sort of feel to it. And that’s always a good thing!
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which ran on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 before then moving to NBC and being renamed Saved By The Bell. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!
This week, Miss Bliss knows everything.
Episode 1.4 “Leaping To Conclusions”
(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on December 21st, 1988)
It’s time to dissect a frog for Biology class! Nikki (Heather Hopper) doesn’t believe in animal dissection and is especially upset that the frogs are currently still alive and living in a box with “LIVE ANIMALS” written on it.
Mr. Morton (Deryl Carroll), the crazed science teacher, doesn’t care about Nikki’s objections. However, Miss Bliss, the school busybody, definitely does. Miss Bliss tells Nikki to follow her conscience. Nikki steals the “LIVE ANIMALS” box and sets all of the frogs free in a nearby creek and probably ruins Indiana’s ecosystem.
Morton’s angry but Mr. Belding lets Nikki go with a warning because Mr. Belding is convinced that a private academy is trying to recruit Miss Bliss. Belding spends the entire episode giving Miss Bliss anything she asks for — a new globe, money for a field trip, a new projector — while the rest of the teachers receive nothing. When Miss Bliss discovers that Belding went through her mail and saw she had received a letter from a private academy, Miss Bliss does her usual, “Mr. Belding, you stupid little American,” routine. Belding laughs and then redistributes all of the gifts that he previously gave Miss Bliss. Miss Bliss is not amused because, seriously, why should any other teacher have a new projector? Everyone knows the world revolves around Miss Bliss.
As for Nikki, she steals the replacement frogs but then returns them, saying that it’s not fair for her to take away everyone else’s right to dissect a frog. So, Nikki really didn’t have any problem with the frogs being killed. She just didn’t want to be the one to do it. Mr. Morton says he will have to fail Nikki. Miss Bliss says that Nikki can just use a computer program to simulate dissecting a frog and you have to wonder why Miss Bliss is the one making that decision because it’s not even her class!
Seriously, Miss Bliss is the worst. That said, I wouldn’t want to dissect a frog either. That’s one reason why I lost respect for Nikki when she brought the frogs back. When you believe that strongly in something, you don’t turn back.
I’ve been watching reviewing the latest season of the show that I love to hate over at the Big Brother Blog. In all honesty, I pretty much lost interest in this season as soon as Rachel Riley made her entrance.
King of the Hill (Hulu)
Over the course of a rough week, the revival of King of the Hill brought me some much needed joy. I was skeptical when I first heard that King of the Hill was coming back. I was scared that the revival would be too updated and that it wouldn’t stay true to everything that made the updated show so memorable. I should have known better and had faith in Mike Judge. The revival was everything that I love about King of the Hill — honest, sentimental, and very, very funny. After all these years, King of the Hill remains the best show about Texas ever produced.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial! The movie? Earth vs the Spider!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Sam Elliott. In this scene from the classic film Road House, Sam Elliott and Patrick Swayze have a heart-t0-heart. Swayze’s Dalton has a past that can only be understood by Sam Elliott’s Wade Garrett.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
On this date, 107 years ago, Robert Aldrich was born in Cranston, Rhode Island. The first cousin of New York Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Robert Aldrich eschewed business and politics to pursue a career in film. Though his wonderfully melodramatic films were often undervalued when first released, Aldrich is now seen as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. Tarantino loves him.
In honor of Aldrich’s career and legacy, here are….
4 Shots From 4 Robert Aldrich Films
Kiss Me Deadly (1955, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Ernest Laszlo)
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Ernest Haller)
The Dirty Dozen (1967, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Edward Scaife)
Hustle (1975, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Joseph Biroc)
Both this song and the scenes in the videos are taken from one of my favorite films of the last few years, The Shock of the Future. A tribute to the women who helped to create electronic music, The Shock of the Future is a rather inspiring film and it can currently be viewed on Tubi. So, go watch it!
