Shameless Self Expression

Set in the California town of Peckham, there’s been a bizarre string of murders where it appears the male victims have been…fornicated to the point of death. Federal agent William Smith shows up to aid local law (represented by Cliff Osmond) in their investigation. Anitra Ford plays an entomologist specialising in bees, whilst Victoria Vetri turns up as a librarian at the local scientific research facility. Nudity and sense of humour in the Nicholas Meyer (director of “Time After Time” and two “Star Trek” films) script make this 1973 B-grade film the cheesy cult classic that it is. Without that humorous touch, I doubt it would be as affectionately received including by at least one well-known, dearly departed critic (and occasional screenwriter) I could name. Directed by Denis Sanders (the concert doco “Elvis: That’s the Way It Is” ) it’s played totally deadpan for very silly, comedic effect in what is essentially a non-porno about men being fucked to death by an alien race. It’s ver...

Vincent Price stars as 19 th century adventurer Gilbert de Quincey, a sailor who helps rescue Chinese slave girls from the Tongs in San Francisco’s Chinatown area. He also imbibes opium from time to time. A Vincent Price film about Chinese gangs, the slave trade, and opium dens sounds alternately irresistible and horrendously outdated. The outdated part is pretty correct, though crushing boredom more than racial insensitivity is the real culprit here. This 1962 Vincent Price vehicle from director Albert Zugsmith (producer of “Touch of Evil” and “The Incredible Shrinking Man” , writer-director of a lot of exploitation films) is easily Price’s strangest film but not in any interesting or effective way, at least not for me. The Joseph Biroc ( “It’s a Wonderful Life” , “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” , “Blazing Saddles” ) B&W cinematography does a foggy good job of making this seem more expensive and artistic than it really is. That and Price’s mellifluous voice have to carry this one ...