ROBBERY UNDER ARMS (1985) – The irreplaceable Sam Neill has passed away. Other sites will be focusing on Neill’s more well-known projects like the Jurassic Park movies, Reilly – Ace of Spies, The Hunt for Red October, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Event Horizon and so many others. In keeping with Balladeer’s Blog’s theme I’m taking a look at Sam’s neglected Bushranger movie Robbery Under Arms.
Before I dive into a review of that Australian production, let me point out two of my previous examinations of lesser-known Sam Neill films like the horror tale Possession (1981) and the Cold War espionage movie Enigma (1982). Plus a review of the better known In the Mouth of Madness (1994).
Thank you to Jason McGathey for reminding me about the 1994 film.
On to Robbery Under Arms, the film is based on the Australian novel of the same name, which was published in serialized form in 1882 before being collected in novel form later in the decade. Robbery Under Arms is a monumental work of fiction Down Under and has been adapted several times since 1907 – a year after Australia’s silent movie The Story of the Kelly Gang.
For readers who are not aware of this, Australia’s Gold Rushes beginning in the 1850s spawned a tableau like America’s Wild West in terms of outlaws and desert landscapes. Real life Bushrangers (Aussie outlaws of the deserts and bush regions) included Mad Dog Morgan, Ben Hall and of course Ned Kelly and his gang. Any fan of American Westerns would likely enjoy Bushranger flicks.
In Robbery Under Arms, Sam Neill stars as a fictional outlaw leader known by the alias Captain Starlight, the type of flashy name used by real-life Bushrangers like Midnight, Moondyne Joe, Captain Moonlite and others. Continue reading
Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at another YouTube movie review channel. This one is called Hard Cut Reviews. I haven’t been this enthusiastic about a YT channel since Red Letter Media when I covered them way back in the early years of 2010 and 2011. 
JOHN PAUL JONES (1959) – Robert Stack stars as the title character, Charles Coburn plays Benjamin Franklin, Bette Davis is Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, Macdonald Carey is Patrick Henry and Thomas Gomez portrays Commodore Esek Hopkins. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate John Paul Jones a 6. I wish it could be higher.
ROB ROY: THE HIGHLAND ROGUE (1953) – Accurate history has no place in this Disney film in which Richard Todd stars as Scottish Clan leader and legendary outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. The film begins in 1715 as Clan MacGregor is among the Scottish forces fighting against King George the First of England in the Jacobite Uprising. 
Montrose pardons all the Jacobite Clans except the MacGregors, who are forbidden to even use their surname, hence their leader being renowned as simply Rob Roy. Our hero is imprisoned by Montrose but escapes and leads his kinsmen and loyalists in rustling Montrose’s cattle and looting his estates. 
THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) – In the 1600s, Dutch Captain Laurent van Horn (Paul Henreid) is using his ship to transport refugees from the current war in Holland to safety in the Carolina Colonies. Storms and other misfortunes cause the ship to go wildly off course, ultimately wrecking near Cartagena. Spanish Colonial Governor Don Juan Alvarado (Walter Slezak) imprisons Laurent and his crew, sentencing them to hang. 
Captain van Horn and his crew take the Contessa to the port where the Barracuda and other pirate vessels hide out. A very inaccurate rendition of pirate Anne Bonny (Binnie Barnes) is jealous that Francesca has taken her man Laurent. She joins forces with pirate captains who resent van Horn’s leadership to deliver Francesca to Alvarado. 
SECRET OF THE INCAS (1954) – Considering that some of the costume and design staff members for Raiders of the Lost Ark have openly stated that they did repeated viewings of this neglected Charlton Heston film while putting together the “look” of that 1981 blockbuster I admit to being as puzzled as they are that Secret of the Incas isn’t mentioned as much as old serials are as an influence. 
Location filming in Peru greatly improves the quality of this overlooked film. Footage of Machu Pichu’s 1950s condition is fascinating and Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as priestess Kori-Tica performs a few folk songs in honor of Inca culture. Expect a movie closer to Film Noir with archeological trappings rather than an action spectacle and you may enjoy Secret of the Incas as much as I do. Beautiful Nicole Maurey plays Heston’s love interest. 
Remember when Marion Ravenwood tells Dr. Jones “You’re not the man I knew ten years ago.” Well, it’s tempting to think that Harry Steele IS what Indy was like ten years ago. Brasher than Jones in Raiders and as ruthless as Han Solo, Steele is also fluent in multiple languages, including Quechua. As a veteran relic hunter he’s also well-versed in ancient cultures and is buddies with the scholars at Cuzco’s museum. 
MOLLY O (1921) – This film was produced by Mabel’s longtime romantic partner Mack Sennett (the musical Mack & Mabel is about them) and co-written by Mary Hunt. Originally 80 minutes long, this comedy was once considered completely lost like so many other silent movies. 
That footage from the fallen U.S.S.R.’s film archives helped UCLA film historians flesh out what surviving footage they held with the chopped-up Russian version to make the 57-minute cut. Luckily the ending is intact and reviews from 1921 help fill in any missing story beats. 
With the passing of the iconic Chuck Norris I’m taking a look at my favorite films of his. I was never the biggest Norris fan, so this list is purely from the perspective of a casual fan. 
INVASION USA (1985) – Psychotronic cinema in its purest form, Invasion USA was so firmly in the realm of fantasy that it’s ridiculous that some critics tore into it so deeply. The same type of critics probably loved the pretentious One Battle After Another, which was basically Invasion USA in reverse. 
Matt is among the people fighting back against the communist invaders in escapist, over the top action scenes. Anti-Castro Cubans fight the invaders in alliance with our main character. Red Dawn was too juvenile in my opinion, so I much prefer this Norris flick.
SCHALCKEN THE PAINTER (1979) – The British Film Institute has released a terrific video edition of this 69-minute Gothic Horror telefilm which originally aired on December 23rd, 1979 as part of the Omnibus program. 
Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy fame stars as the Dutch artist Schalcken with Maurice Denham as his already famous teacher Garrett Dou and Cheryl Kennedy as Rose, Dou’s niece and Schalcken’s desire.
RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS (1961) – Montalban stars as 1600s buccaneer Captain Gordon aka the Black Pirate (no relation to 
Romero’s most dangerous ally is Captain Tortuga (Jose Jaspe), a ruthless slaver who has clashed with Captain Gordon over the years. Montalban shines as the hero viewers can’t help but cheer for, especially when he thwarts the efforts of slavers to dump their chained human “cargo” overboard to drown rather than have our pirate captain liberate them. 
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