DR. NO (1962)

Director: Terence Young

Writers: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkley Mather adapting Ian Fleming’s novel

Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman

Cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Bernard Lee, Jack Lord, Lois Maxwell, Anthony Dawson, Eunice Gayson, John Kitzmiller, Zena Marshall, Peter Burton, Marguerite LeWars, Louise Blaazer, Yvonne Shima, Michel Mok, William Foster-Davis, Dolores Keator, Reggie Carter, Colonel Burton, Timothy Moxon (uncredited), Milton Reid (uncredited)

When British Intelligence operative John Strangways (Timothy Moxon) goes missing in Jamaica, British Secret Service Agent James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to investigate. Strangways was monitoring radio jamming transmissions detected during failed U.S. space program rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. Bond works in collaboration with CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord). Almost immediately upon Bond’s arrival in Jamaica, he is in mortal danger from various assassins.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

Former British Intelligence officer and writer Ian Fleming is supposed to have selected the name for his world-famous spy hero from an author’s name on a book about birds. Fleming wanted a plain sounding name, and he thought “James Bond” was the most plain one he could have imagined. In retrospect, it is the perfect name that only seems anonymous until the feats of the character himself make that name notable. It is a solid and decisive sounding name that is unforgettable after reading just one of Ian Fleming’s stories.

James Bond's creator, author Ian Fleming

James Bond debuted in Fleming’s 1953 novel, Casino Royale. With the Cold War well underway in a world coming to grips with mankind’s newfound nuclear capabilities for push-button Armageddon, Fleming’s British espionage operative grappled with international security threats that had readers on edge. There are those who prefer to ignore bad news and others who are all too aware of civilization’s precarious balancing act. To comfort that latter segment of the public, James Bond entertained them with the hope that there are always some anonymous brains and brawn bound by duty to spoil the schemes of the West’s enemies. To put it more simply, being entertained by Bond’s adventures was making the best of a bad situation.

All that Ian Fleming intended with his Bond stories was to provide some exciting escapism informed by his background as an intelligence officer, his own sense of refinement, and perhaps a bit of wish fulfilment. That last consideration certainly figured into the appeal of the Secret Agent 007 character to the readers. Despite the pooh-poohing of many critics, Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories were very popular. When it became known that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was a fan, the sales continued to climb.

Actor Barry Nelson as Bond. Jimmy Bond.

If ever there was a property ripe for filmic adaptation, it was James Bond. Before producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman arranged for making a film that they hoped would be successful enough to launch a series, American television beat them to the punch. Just one year after its publication, Casino Royale was adapted for a 1954 episode of Climax!, the CBS Network anthology series. While it is the first on-camera adaptation of Bond, Barry Nelson’s Americanized role of card shark Jimmy Bond is barely remembered. The constraints of a live television broadcast made palatable for the U.S. audience certainly compromised the fidelity to the edgier aspects of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel. It would not be until 1962’s Dr. No movie that Bondmania would begin.

This first James Bond film in the “official” Eon Productions series is quite faithful to Ian Fleming’s novel. That novel was the perfect template for this inaugural film. It has the mix of sex and violence in an exotic locale and plenty of bizarre and grandiose incidents that can’t go unnoticed to the moviegoing public. There is the jet-setting aspect found in so many films of the 1960s that took the audience to picturesque, foreign locations. The title villain is a cold-blooded and grotesque genius housed in a secret, high-tech lair with plenty of henchmen. Dr. No is an operative of a vast organization bent on world domination. The violence is ruthless on the part of both the villain and the heroic James Bond. The hero is a man of class and sophistication that helps himself to the carnal pleasures of the many women that he attracts. As the film series progressed, the scripts would stray ever further from the source material they were adapting, yet those offbeat elements remained vital to the ongoing series’ success.

Every bit as vital was casting just the right actor in the lead role of James Bond. As is often the case for establishing larger-than-life series characters, going with a relatively unknown actor can have fantastic results. That actor can make the part their own without having to defy an already defined public image. That was never proven on a grander scale than with Sean Connery’s first performance as James Bond. To the millions of Bond fans since, Connery seems like an obvious choice, yet there were misgivings at the time. Both author Ian Fleming and director Terence Young thought that the Scottish actor from a working-class background was lacking the refinement that they envisioned for James Bond. Once Young had Connery outfitted with those Saville Row-tailored suits and imparted him with some urbane manner, Connery’s rugged good looks and confidence perfectly complimented the Agent 007 image.

While Sean Connery’s James Bond perfectly embodies the appeal of the character and immediately became an icon of the 1960s, he also roused some critical backlash. As with Ian Fleming’s original novels, the hero was often vilified for his promiscuity and cold-blooded violence. No doubt, the critics feared that the stories legitimized such behavior, which they thought made him just a glamorized thug. However, that was precisely the edgy attitude that thrilled the audience. It lent a visceral, human element to the extravagant adventures.

Dr. No is the launching pad for what would become the action film genre. It began instilling the norm of ruthless violence for movie heroes. There were certainly precursors to such deadly tactics in the Mr. Moto and Tarzan films, but the Bond films elevated the violence with cool panache. You don’t have the cliché of a witty one-liner delivered by the hero just before or after dispatching a villain without it being established by Connery’s Bond in Dr. No. This was not just a strained gag in this film and those to follow, it was an indication of the calloused conditioning of an experienced spy with a license to kill. The filmmakers also had a more pragmatic reason for this humor. They knew they were pushing movie norms with the sex and violence and thought that a bit of wit would take the edge off the bed-hopping and brutality as far as the censors were concerned. Fortunately, their instincts were correct, and Dr. No was released with its edge intact.

One of my favorite things about this first James Bond film is that we are allowed time to settle into this remote character’s circumstances. We get no background about him; we only get to know him through his actions. But we have the time to get fully engaged in Bond’s mission through brief moments of lonely intimacy. Bond’s simple precautions of lightly sprinkling talcum powder on his attaché case latches and pasting one strand of his dark hair across the gap between his twin closet doors will inform him if his hotel room has been searched while he is away. These are stealthy security procedures that remind us of how careful a lone secret agent must be. Arriving back in his room, Bond unwinds with a drink and presses the cold glass to his forehead after a trying, hot Jamaican day. These little touches ground the idealized Bond character in a mortal reality that allows us to vicariously experience his adventures.

We are also introduced to the series’ supporting cast of M (Bernard Lee), his commander at the British Secret Service, and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell), M’s secretary. In addition to assigning Bond to his missions, these two brought a bit of levity into the stories. M often criticizes Bond’s judgement and comes off almost like a school principal reprimanding an unruly student. He almost never fails to bristle at Bond’s sophisticated taste and independence. Miss Moneypenny and Bond always engage in unfulfilled flirtations, while trying to avoid the disapproval of the all-business M.

Aside from a more measured pace in Dr. No than later Bond films, what may strike the casual viewer is an absence of gadgets. That Secret Service gadget-master Q (Desmond Llewelyn) would not appear until the next film in the series. The only hardware Bond is dealt, at M’s insistence, is a Walther PPK pistol to replace Bond’s preferred Beretta.

Another recurrent character in the original Bond stories is CIA operative Felix Leiter. He is played in this first Bond film by Jack Lord. Here Leiter seems as capable and handsome as Bond himself. Lord brings a lot of presence to what seems like little more than a bit part as played by other actors in some later Bond films. Of course, Jack Lord would gain immortality as Steve McGarrett, the head of the law enforcement team in the original Hawaii Five-O television series (1968–80).

While Connery’s first scene introducing his James Bond ranks as one of the most significant events in cinematic history, Ursula Andress in a white bikini rising from the surf on a Jamaican island beach is a stunning sex symbol moment. That is one of the finest incarnations of that feminine fantasy image that would soon be termed the “Bond girl.” As the independent diver and seashell collector Honey Ryder, Andress combines carnal allure and naivety that makes her immediately likable. The Swiss actress had only been in a few small parts in a handful of films, but her Dr. No role brought her immediate international fame. Andress would go on to star in films of many genres with her unique beauty often being their most outstanding feature. It is rather ironic that the most famous Bond girl appearing in the first Bond feature film would later play Vesper Lynd in the Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). The character of Vesper Lynd was Bond’s love interest in the very first Bond novel.

Ursula Andress, as Honey Ryder, is often celebrated as the first Bond Girl, but it is Eunice Gayson’s Sylvia Trench that is the first woman we see score with Bond after losing to him at the casino. Sylvia Trench is also the only one of Bond’s lovers to appear in more than one film until Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). Perhaps the most noteworthy contribution the Sylvia Trench character made to the series is that she inspired Bond’s introduction, which has become one of the most famous film quotes of all time: “Bond. James Bond.”

Bond creator Ian Fleming’s inspiration for the title villain in the original Dr. No novel was Dr. Fu Manchu, the criminal protagonist of the popular series of novels by English author Sax Rohmer. No Bond film is complete without an ambitious, amoral mastermind. Joseph Wiseman’s Dr. Julius No sets the standard for Bondian supervillains. This calm, cold-blooded genius is a high-ranking operative of the international criminal organization SPECTRE. Wiseman’s performance is almost robotic, which compliments the accessories of his prosthetic, metal hands. Dr. No moves very deliberately, his face resists emotional expression, and he speaks in a controlled monotone that still manages to convey some suppressed rage and pride. His hospitality establishes another Bond film tradition of formality and good manners extended by the villain to his foe. Sometimes this is done as a token of respect and always as a display of supreme confidence.

Beginning in this very first James Bond film, music is an important stylistic element. That fantastic “James Bond Theme” serves as the opening credits musical accompaniment and would certainly become one of the most recognized tunes in the world. Monty Norman was credited as the theme’s composer, though it was arranged by future Bond film music maestro John Barry. There has been ongoing contention over the years about whether it was Norman or Barry that composed that famous theme music. Nevertheless, John Barry would go on to create many more terrific movie soundtracks, including eleven more for the Bond series.

Production designer Ken Adam’s ingenuity made the most of Dr. No’s modest million-dollar budget to create some distinctive sets that make the film seem positively plush. Adam’s sets in further Bond films would continue to create a grand, bizarre, and exotic atmosphere for Bond’s larger-than-life adventures.

With the success of Dr. No, Sean Connery became a superstar, the popularity of James Bond exploded, and Bondmania led to a wave of Bond-related merchandise. Such success meant that the spy film became a dominant genre in the 1960s. Secret agents proliferated on both the silver screen and television. Other notable series characters such as Matt Helm, Derek Flint, Harry Palmer, and Napoleon Solo were all imitating, spoofing, or countering the spy hero standard set by the James Bond films.

Dr. No is more than just the cinematic debut of Ian Fleming’s world-famous spy. Not only is it the beginning of one of the longest running and most lucrative film series in the world, but it is also enormously influential. The modern action film genre was truly spawned with Dr. No. Many descendants of that noble film lineage have become brash and brainless bastards. They engage in childish excess to gain attention. As a result, such films become more generic and ludicrous the more hyperactive they become. Unfortunately, some of the later Bond films have run the risk of inheriting some of those defective strains trying to remain relevant, rather than continuing to be the innovators. Dr. No can still show them all how to kick ass with style.

HEAVY METAL (1981)

Director: Gerald Potterton

Writers: Daniel Goldberg, Len Blum, adapting comics stories by Dan O’Bannon, Thomas Warkentin, Moebius, Richard Corben, Berni Wrightson, Angus McKie

Producers: Ivan Reitman, Leonard Mogel

Cast: John Candy, Richard Romanus, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, Sue Roman, Marilyn Lightstone, Jackie Burroughs, Roger Bumpass, Alice Playten, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, John Vernon, Martin Lavut, August Schellenberg, Al Waxman, Harvey Atkin, George Touliatos, Zal Yanovsky, Patty Dworkin, Warren Munson, Thor Bishopric, Ned Conlon, Len Doncheff, Joseph Golland, Charles Joliffe, Mavor Moore, Cedric Smith, Vlasta Vrána, Percy Rodriguez (uncredited)

Space explorer Grimaldi (Don Francks) returns home to his young daughter (Caroline Semple) and shows her a gift he has brought. It is a glowing, green orb that immediately destroys the girl’s father. The orb’s voice (Percy Rodriguez) explains to the horrified child that it is called the Loc-Nar. It is an evil power that has appeared in various civilizations throughout time and space. Before it destroys the child, the Loc-Nar will relate various narratives about its malevolent influence.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

First published in 1974, Métal hurlant (Howling Metal) was an adult-oriented French magazine featuring various comics stories of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. In 1977, the US publishers of National Lampoon started another magazine reprinting many of the comics from Métal hurlant translated into English. This US version of the publication was called Heavy Metal. While introducing US readers to many European comics, Heavy Metal also printed stories by American talents.

Heavy Metal was catering to an audience that appreciated the comic book medium who also wanted more mature content. That “maturity” was often seasoned with the sex and violence that the approved-for-all-ages comics could never get away with. Heavy Metal’s more sophisticated full-color printing process was an ideal way to present stories with often highly detailed and painterly graphics. Frankly, that did not always make for better stories, but it was certainly an alternative that seemed almost mind-blowing at first.

The Heavy Metal movie was an anthology of stories mostly adapted from various features in the magazine. This was an animated film co-produced by Ivan Reitman, who had directed such comedy hits as Meatballs (1979) and Stripes (1981) and would soon helm the blockbuster Ghostbusters (1984). Most famous among the cast of voice actors were veterans from the Canadian sketch comedy television series SCTV: John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. The animation was done by no less than six different studios giving each story an individual style, which also strove to imitate the look of the original comics. This was mostly achieved using that now sadly neglected art of hand-drawn cell animation. Aside from the anthology’s “Soft Landing” opening credits sequence and the “Grimaldi” framing device story of the evil Loc-Nar, the rest of the film is comprised of six individual tales.

“Harry Canyon” is probably my favorite segment of the film. It is a neo-noir tale set in the future, dystopian New York City of 2031. Cab driver Harry Canyon (Richard Romanus) rescues a beautiful girl (Susan Roman) pursued by thugs. They have killed her professor father to take possession of the Loc-Nar he discovered and had turned over to her.

“Den” is a wild, coming-of-age story about a slightly built, brainy teenager named David Ellis Norman (John Candy). He finds a green meteorite in his yard and adds it to his rock collection. The meteorite is actually the Loc-Nar. While David is conducting an experiment at home during a lightning storm, the Loc-Nar transports the boy to a strange and savage world called Neverwhere. The cosmic trip has transformed David into a naked, bald, musclebound man. He now calls himself Den and is soon involved in sex with beautiful women and battles between two hordes competing for possession of the Loc-Nar.

“Captain Sternn” deals with a legal trial aboard a space station. Space Captain Lincoln F. Sternn (Eugene Levy) is being tried for numerous charges that could get him executed. Despite the advice of his defense lawyer (Joe Flaherty) to plead guilty for a reduced sentence, Sternn calmly assures him that the testimony of his bribed witness will clear him. That witness is the meek Hanover Fiste (Roger Bumpass), who toys with a green marble during his questioning. That marble is the Loc-Nar, which suddenly causes Fiste to grow into an angry giant that runs amok disrupting the court proceedings and stalking after Captain Sternn.

“B-17” is about a damaged World War II bomber flying home from an aerial dogfight. The Loc-Nar soars through the sky after the plane and crashes into it. Its green energy reanimates the corpses of the bullet-riddled crew members. The zombies then attack the pilots (Don Francks and George Touliatos).

"So Beautiful & So Dangerous” refers to the Loc-Nar that is now set in a locket adorning the cleavage of Gloria (Alice Playten), a beautiful stenographer at a meeting of The Pentagon. The government and military are concerned about green radiation from space causing a wave of mutations afflicting people throughout the United States. Scientist Dr. Anrak (Roger Bumpass) is addressing the assembly and seems unconcerned about the mutation phenomenon, but he is tantalized by the Loc-Nar locket on Gloria’s ample chest. Dr. Anrak loses control and leaps onto the beautiful stenographer. His assault is interrupted by a huge spaceship that has taken position above The Pentagon. The spaceship is piloted by two stoned aliens (Harold Ramis and Eugene Levy) retrieving Dr. Anrak, who is an alien android. They mistakenly also abduct Gloria, who soon begins a sexual relationship with the spaceship’s horny robot (John Candy).

“Taarna” takes place on another world that the Loc-Nar lands on. It causes a volcano to erupt, engulfing a band of people in green lava and mutating them into green-skinned barbarians. They attack a nearby city of peaceful scholars. The scholars summon Taarna, a mute, beautiful woman who is the last of the Taarakians, a warrior race that made a pact to protect the scholars. Finding that everyone in the city has been killed, Taarna embarks on a quest to avenge the slaughter.

Heavy Metal only aims to be visceral and titillating. It does not explore characters in elaborate plots; it simply revels in situations that are hellbent on unleashing the id of the hetero male teenager (and immature oldsters like me). Therefore, it is laced with action, horror, humor, lust, and rock ’n’ roll. Tunes from contemporary rockers Cheap Trick, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Blue Öyster Cult, Devo, Black Sabbath, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, Donald Fagen, Journey, Nazareth, and Trust really compliment this hedonistic head trip, man. So, lighten your load by ditching your good taste, maturity, and inhibitions. If you are all out of Plutonian Nyborg to snort, just crack open a cold one and take a ride on Heavy Metal.

PAPER MAN (1971)

Director: Walter Grauman

Writers: James D. Buchanan, Ronald Austin, adapted from Anthony Wilson’s story

Producer: Anthony Wilson

Cast: Dean Stockwell, Stefanie Powers, James Stacy, James Olson, Tina Chen, Elliot Street, Ross Elliot, Jason Wingreen, Dan Barton, Len Wayland, Dean Harens, Marcy Lafferty, Robert Patten, Sue Taylor, Johnny Scott Lee, Bob Golden, Craig Guenther

A credit card issued to a Henry Norman is mistakenly sent to the university address of Joel Fisher (Elliot Street). The young college student shares the instant credit with his campus friends Karen McMillan (Stefanie Powers), Jerry (James Stacy), and Lisa (Tina Chen). Joel commemorates their good fortune by assembling an effigy out of computer paper sheets representing the anonymous Henry Norman. Then the four students all use the credit card to go on a modest spending spree. Apparently, the bank realizes their credit card mailing address mistake and mails a request for more information to confirm the identity of the Henry Norman the students have appropriated. Jerry convinces computer science student Avery Jensen (Dean Stockwell) to use the university’s massive, time-sharing computer to establish a complete identity for Henry Norman that will satisfy the bank. However, the four students soon notice an unknown “Henry Norman” is making additional purchases on their credit card. Then they are soon being targeted by a series of deadly, computer-directed mishaps.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

The Frankenstein syndrome is an affliction we have had centuries of warning about; that which man creates can destroy him. It is not just the reckless shenanigans of the lone mad scientist we need to be wary of. The efficiencies of man’s computerized infrastructure can delete us if we are not careful. Unfortunately, as with other man-made threats to our very existence, we may reach the point of no return before we get serious and make a concerted effort to control what we create. After all, in the meantime there are still more bucks to be made and more blogs to write, dammit!

Even though I have not turned one lousy cent infesting the worldwide web with my digital drivel, I will do my penance by spreading more technophobia. We get all too many reminders of how the internet that has ensnared our civilization can be exploited by scammers and hackers to steal our money and identities. That will be the least of our worries if AI becomes truly sentient. Movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) sounded the alarm by extrapolating the dangerous consequences of computer technology. 1971’s CBS network television movie Paper Man also does so on a more intimate level.

This is one of the earliest television terrors I dimly recall seeing as a kid. Most of it went right over my head. Back in 1971, computers were remote tech to the general public. Those electronic brains were always housed someplace else for mysterious government and business purposes. We still had the comfort level of treating computers as that Buck Rogers stuff which was not going to intrude too personally into our lives. Paper Man gets personal.

This is a slow burn story that sets the stage with a very down-to-earth scenario. College students without decent credit ratings can charge purchases with the credit card they mistakenly receive due to a computer glitch. The lucky accident allows them to buy now and pay later. Soon, they are going to pay much more than they bargained for.

Director Walter Grauman helmed quite a few made-for-TV thrillers. Based on this film, I look forward to discovering more of his work. There is an effort made to light things with more shadows and contrast than a lot of the bland cinematography found in assembly line television productions of the day. During some intimate or tense dialogue exchanges, the lighting of faces helps focus our attention on the characters. One really bravura sequence uses a succession of corridor lights turning off to suggest someone is being stalked by technology.

Former child actor Dean Stockwell stars as the introverted computer genius and grad student Avery Jensen. The contrast of his long, curly hair with his suit-and-tie wardrobe makes for an eccentric presence. We eventually find out why he is such a repressed personality. It is probably his social awkwardness and isolation that make him amenable to the flattery of the pushy Jerry and the friendliness of the beautiful Karen.

Stefanie Powers achieved her greatest fame co-starring with Robert Wagner as the rich, husband-and-wife team of mystery solvers in the Hart to Hart television series (1979–84) and in eight additional made-for-television movies from 1993 to 1996. In Paper Man, Powers’ character of psychology major Karen McMillan is intrigued by the reclusive Avery Jensen. She could easily hook up with handsome med student Jerry, yet she finds the mild-mannered computer scientist an interesting challenge to connect with.

The persistent and manipulative Jerry sends Karen over to Avery’s apartment to persuade him to work more of his programming wizardry to bolster their fraudulent Henry Norman credit identity. Actors Stockwell and Powers work wonders with this low-key scene. The introverted recluse immediately impresses his unexpected guest with the neatness of his apartment, and he has a great finishing move of serving the lady beer in a glass. Couldn’t have done better myself. Then Avery one-ups me by explaining computer binary code to Karen. Her gentle reaction of amused incomprehension causes a subtle flicker of social defeat to pass over Avery’s face. This tells us so much about this poor guy’s inability to connect with people. Nevertheless, Avery wins over Karen. Man, just what brand of beer was he serving?

Another nice performance is James Stacy as Vietnam vet-turned-medical student Jerry. Initially, Jerry seems like the charismatic leader of the pack. His interest in Karen is stated early on, but he is never too pushy about it. As the story develops, we notice an opportunistic aspect to his character that is off-putting, but he still doesn’t seem absolutely despicable. We just see a seemingly ideal guy reveal some flaws in his character that create friction within his clique.

Joel (Elliott Street) and Lisa (Tina Chen) round out the group of small-time credit fraudsters. It is Joel’s good fortune mistakenly receiving the credit card that leads to misfortune for all involved. Lisa is featured in the movie’s creepiest sequence.

James Olson is an interesting casting choice. He had been heroic leads in two worthy sci-fi flicks: Moon Zero Two (1969) and The Andromeda Strain (1970). Here, Olson is cast against type as ineffectual university computer technician Art Fletcher. Once he learns of the Henry Norman fraud, Fletcher expresses concern and tries offering advice to the scamming students, but he is consistently ignored. This defiance leads to grave consequences.

Paper Man is suspenseful fun, but it is also quite a forward-thinking film that predicts the malevolent uses of computer technology we now hear about every day. The film also suggests some of the out-of-control actions technology may be capable of in our not-so-distant future. Back in 1971, we thought computers were just the province of the eggheads in labcoats and the rest of us could live in blissful ignorance of technology we did not use or understand. Nowadays, too many of us still live in blissful ignorance embracing the convenience of this technology we have become dependent on. However, most of us still have no more understanding of how this stuff really works than we do about the radios we listen to, the televisions we watch, or the automobiles we drive. Just being comfortable using technology will not keep us safe when it can think for itself.

EATEN ALIVE (1976), aka DEATH TRAP, HORROR HOTEL, STARLIGHT SLAUGHTER

Director: Tobe Hooper

Writers: Alvin L. Fast, Mardi Rustam, Kim Henkel

Producers: Mardi Rustam, Alvin L. Fast

Cast: Neville Brand, Robert Englund, Marilyn Burns, Stuart Whitman, Mel Ferrer, William Finley, Kyle Richards, Crystin Sinclaire, Carolyn Jones, Roberta Collins, Janus Blythe, Betty Cole, Christine Schneider, Ronald W. Davis, Sig Sakowicz, David Hayward, David Carson, Lincoln Kibbee, James Galanis, Tarja Leena Halinen, Caren White, Valerie Lukecart, Jeanne Reichert, Scuffy (the dog)

In rural Texas stands the remote and ramshackle Starlight Hotel. Its proprietor is a mentally unhinged military veteran named Judd (Neville Brand). The pond below his hotel’s front porch distinguishes the squalid accommodations. This pond is home to a huge crocodile. Despite this roadside attraction having bitten off his leg, Judd still thinks highly enough of the voracious varmint to feed it the guests that he murders.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

That Grand Guignol gourmet Tobe Hooper uses this recipe of a dollop of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), a splash of Jaws (1975), and a dash of Psycho (1960) to prep this dish of drive-in delirium called Eaten Alive. It was director Hooper’s follow up to his early-career classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and it always seems to suffer by comparison. Many of Hooper’s critics say that everything else that he made suffers by comparison. I say that a director who creates a genre standard may never eclipse it, but he can continue to make effective and interesting films. That is certainly the case with Eaten Alive.

This production’s most interesting aspect is Hooper’s decision to film almost entirely on movie soundstages. Much like Alfred Hitchcock’s preferred MO, this allowed Hooper complete control of the look and atmosphere in Eaten Alive. Everything feels like it is happening in a rural twilight zone where morality and sanity are in short supply. The movie begins with the only real world exterior shot in the entire film of the full moon in the night sky. This image cross-fades into an uncomfortable close-up of a circular belt buckle and fly being opened by a whorehouse patron. From here on out, the clammy and claustrophobic world of this story is unrelenting.

Some may feel that there is little in the way of plot and an awful lot of weird character antics that are never explained to the audience. I find these bits of eccentric behavior to be interesting and, at times, even irritating, but that establishes the random chaos of human behavior that results in so much conflict and horror in the world. We have all encountered oddballs at one time or another and wondered just what the hell was their problem, yet we will never know. Those are the sorts of weirdos that populate this film as well as Hooper’s acknowledged masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That earlier film is also full of characters that are strange, quirky, and often unlikable without sharing any sort of backstory about them to justify their behavior. I think that the main difference between the two films is Chainsaw’s real world film locations and its more gradual build up to escalating terror.

Aside from this being Tobe Hooper’s second horror feature, Eaten Alive is probably most notable to horror fans for being actor Robert Englund’s debut in the genre. Of course, Englund has achieved horror movie immortality as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and its sequels. In Eaten Alive, his horny character of Buck is always unlikable as he clashes with just about everyone he meets. He opens the film as he opens his pants with some vile verse that declares his drives and establishes the themes of sexual frustration and relationship dysfunction that lead to so much trouble for so many in this story.

That obnoxious horndog Buck managing to score with the luscious Lynette (Janus Blythe) is yet another perplexing and awful injustice in this film’s strange world. Maybe Lynette was a sucker for poetry. In 1977 Blythe would also appear in The Incredible Melting Man and The Hills Have Eyes.

More past and future horror film notables grace the menu of Eaten Alive. Hooper’s Chainsaw scream queen Marilyn Burns makes the scene as Faye only to suffer more abuse. She is accompanied by William Finley (star of 1974’s The Phantom of the Paradise), as her unstable husband Roy, and Kyle Richards (1978’s Halloween), as her daughter Angie. From House of Wax (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and The Addams Family television series (1964-66), Carolyn Jones allows herself to be made up into crotchety whorehouse madam Miss Hatty. The star of 1960’s Blood and Roses, Mel Ferrer, appears as the dying Harvey Wood, who is accompanied by daughter Libby (Crystin Sinclaire) and looking for his other, runaway daughter Clara (Roberta Collins).

Stuart Whitman plays Sheriff Martin. He seems to be that solid authority figure that can reign in some of the insanity running rampant in this story. However, it is soon established that this rural community plays pretty fast and loose with the law. Sheriff Martin is on very cordial terms with the whorehouse madam. As Mel Ferrer’s Harvey Wood asserts, Martin runs a “wide-open town.” This removes any sense of security we may derive from having an officer of the law around. Even though Sheriff Martin seems to be a decent sort, there is also a sense that he won’t be much of a controlling factor over the chaos at the Starlight Hotel.

Neville Brand’s performance really makes this flick click. He is both disturbing and amusing in a darkly comic way. His Judd is a lonely loony that mutters and sings to himself while looking at magazines as he tries on various pairs of old eyeglasses. He makes half-hearted attempts of dusting his cluttered and dingy hotel lobby while listening to obscure country-western songs on his enormous, old radio. His isolation from the rest of the world is only emphasized by his unexplained outbursts while he flashbacks to some traumatizing military experiences. In addition to these quirks, he has some real issues with the opposite sex that he works through with farm tools, rope, and electrical tape.

The icing on this macabre cake is the man-eating crocodile Judd keeps uncomfortably close by in the pond abutting the Starlight Hotel’s front porch. None other than Robert Mattey provided this nasty critter. Mattey was the special effects veteran who had created the giant squid for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and the giant shark for Jaws.

With an interesting cast of old pros and genre favorites, off-kilter humor provided by strange characters, an eerie and remote location, and an unsavory atmosphere, Eaten Alive satisfies the appetite of this grue glutton. Those who dismiss it for not tasting the same as Chainsaw need to order it again and savor its own distinctive flavor. It is still served dripping with Tobe Hooper’s special sauce of hysterical horror.