FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (1980) – It’s the review FOURTEEN YEARS in the making! Yep, Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is yet another one of those classically bad films that I had planned on reviewing here on Balladeer’s Blog back in 2010 but it always fell by the wayside. At long last this review can stand alongside my examinations of other Bruceploitation flicks like The Clones of Bruce Lee and The Dragon Lives Again.
A fictional Karate Tournament being held in Madison Square Garden is hyped as a battle to be the successor to Bruce Lee. That’s just an excuse to feature a conspiracy theory about Bruce having been murdered and mix it in with stock footage from the Master’s interviews, movies, and tv appearances.
Also stretching out this jumbled mess to feature length are scenes from several 1970s and 1960s Chop Socky movies which are supposed to be footage chronicling Bruce’s ancestor, who is called a samurai even though samurai are Japanese, not Chinese. Other forced connections with Lee pollute this sewage.
Where to start with this Psychotronic gem? Well, for starters, it’s obvious that the late Bruce Lee couldn’t do anything about the footage of himself in this low-class bomb, but Fred Williamson and, of all people – ADOLPH CAESAR – chose to participate in this dreck PLAYING THEMSELVES!
Okay, blaxploitation legend Williamson has his fair share of schlock among his screen credits, but Adolph Caesar was one of the greatest stage actors of all time and his performance in A Soldier’s Story (1984) helped make it the powerful movie that it still is.
If you need a Psychotronic connection to justify Caesar’s presence in this travesty, his very memorable voice narrated film trailers for several grindhouse flicks and horror films over the years. Mr. Caesar is a total boss in this movie, making it clear that he knows it’s sheer garbage and smirking sardonically throughout his screen time.
He’s being himself, Adolph Caesar, as if he is doing sports commentary for the Madison Square Garden tournament for network television. The bizarre tone of this film is set within the first five minutes, as Caesar’s play by play of a karate tussle we’re seeing in the ring includes the words “suddenly, he grabs for the eyes and twists violently, ripping them out from the sockets and in a dazzling piece of showmanship tossing them to the crowd.”
A dazzling piece of showmanship. To toss your opponent’s torn-out eyes into the crowd. All said in the legendary voice of Adolph Caesar. It’s a true “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment for viewers who are used to more conventional fare. Continue reading
A VOICE FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1874) – Written by W.S. Lach-Szyrma. The 1874 date marks when a selection of stories that Lach-Szyrma had written beginning at some point around 1865 in untraced magazines were finally collected in novel form. The author penned more novels in the series as the years went by. 
Eventually during his years traveling among human beings, “Dr. Posela” rescues a friendly Englishman who is among those trapped in the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Earthling gets returned to England, and is delighted with Dr. Posela and his philosophical observations about humanity and his theories that life certainly exists on many other planets.
AUGUST 22nd 
AUGUST 24th
ANNA AND THE KING (1972) – It’s a shame that so few people remember this 13-episode attempt to make a television series of Margaret Landon’s classic novel Anna and the King of Siam. The producers even scored the coup of signing screen legend Yul Brynner himself to reprise his role as the King of Siam from the novel’s revered musical adaptation The King and I. 
Samantha Eggar was cast as Anna Leonowens, the British governess brought to Siam in 1862 by King Mongkut to provide a more cosmopolitan element to the education of his children, including 12-year-old son and heir Prince Chulalongkorn, played by Brian Tochi. 
1997 CHAMPIONS – HOUSTON COMETS 
CAPTAIN BRITAIN Vol 1 #16 (January 26th, 1977) 
Reluctantly, Captain Britain uses some of his super-strength and agility to break free of the cops before they can unmask him. The other police on hand start shooting at C.B. when – out of nowhere – Captain America intervenes. He’s used to authorities in the U.S. often being wrong about superheroes so he offers to fight off the cops while Captain Britain escapes. 
The first Friday of every August marks Frontierado, the holiday devoted to the myth of the old west rather than the grinding reality. For some of us the celebration kicked off Thursday night, for others they wait until the actual day of Frontierado to hold their festivities. 
BUFFALO SOLDIERS – Obviously the historical significance of these African American soldiers begins during the U.S. Civil War and goes far into the 20th Century, but for the purposes of this blog post I’ll be looking only at their involvement in conflicts from 1866-1896. 
BATTLE OF THE SALINE RIVER (August 1867) – In Kansas, Cheyenne warriors led by Tall Wolf attacked and killed a party of railroad workers laying the transcontinental railway. Buffalo Soldiers from Fort Hays were sent out after the Cheyenne, and this resulted in the 8-hour long Battle of the Saline River. Under 100 soldiers from the 10th Cavalry clashed with over 400 Native Americans, inflicting greater casualties on them and making it back to Fort Hays alive. 
May ?, 1875 – Susan B. Anthony delivered a lecture in Sidney advocating for women’s suffrage.
DEADWOOD DICK – In general, the Dime Novel period of westerns, detective, science fiction and horror tales lasted from 1860 to around 1919 or the early 1920s. Pulp magazines took over from there. Many Dime Novels were very loosely based on real-life figures like Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane and others. Many more were purely fictional, like Deadwood Dick. 
BREAKHEART PASS (1975) – (Frontierado is coming up August 2nd and, as always, it’s about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality.) Alistair MacLean may be more closely associated with espionage and crime thrillers like When Eight Bells Toll, The Eagle Has Landed and Puppet on a Chain but his lone Western, Breakheart Pass, is a very solid story which transfers MacLean’s usual themes to the American West. 
Some critics bash this above-average film because they apparently thought Alistair MacLean’s name on the script meant it would be an over-the-top Western Spy actioner along the lines of Robert Conrad’s old Wild Wild West television series crossed with Where Eagles Dare. Instead, Breakheart Pass comes closer to grittiness than slickness and is all the more enjoyable for that. 
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