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The Touch of Satan (1971)
Enjoyable drive-in fare maybe directed by "Billy Jack"??
I first saw The Touch of Satan at the Dublin (Georgia) Drive-In Theater following the 1980 re-release under the title Night of the Demon. It was then released under the original title on VHS video. I have read that it was directed by none other than Tom Laughlin, Mr. Billy Jack himself, despite the director's name being Don Henderson. I am aware that some people do direct films and write books using a false name but I have not seen where this credit has ever been officially given, implied or acknowledged. I am well aware that this film has been laughed-at, low-rated, panned, condemned, damned, parodied, spoofed and razzed by many. many people, but I still like it. There is just a certain something that makes it enjoyable to me. Michael Berry (Jody) seems to have gone on to a career working on film crews as an on-set medic, among other things. Lovely Emby Mellay (Melissa) seems to have simply just disappeared from the face of the earth after making this one movie. The location filming in Santa Ynez, California is one of the positives the film has. The scenery is lovely. The music was also quite good, too. The film also features some early makeup effects work by the talented Joe Blasco. I miss going to the drive-in and this is one film that transports me back to those days. I just wish that this DVD had been made from a better quality print of the film, if not remastered. It even looks a bit like a DVD that was ripped directly from a VHS video copy. That aspect makes me wonder just why the DVD is priced a bit higher than perhaps it warrants. Maybe it is also the fact that the film is so hard to find in other formats other than on MST3K. But I would much rather watch the film just as it was originally made and intended to be seen and relive the good old days of the drive-in. As for it being a "bad" or "awful" film, I have seen quite a few huge-budgeted films, featuring big-name casts that I enjoyed a lot less than The Touch of Satan.
The Life of Riley (1949)
The Life of Riley on the big screen
I have long been a fan of old-time radio but only discovered the wonderful world of The Life of Riley a few months ago. Ever since, I have made every effort to collect every known available episode of the radio program and of the two different t.v. shows (1949 with Jackie Gleason as Riley and the 1953-58 series with William Bendix). And my collection now includes the 1949 big screen feature film version. I am a huge fan of Jackie Gleason, but William Bendix was the definitive Chester A. Riley. He is in the film version, along with Rosemary DeCamp from the 1949 t.v. show as Peg. Lanny Rees is also Junior Riley as he was in the 1949 t.v. series. Unfortunately, they decided to have Barbara "Babs" Riley all grown-up and chose to replace Gloria Winters from the 1949 show with the older Meg Randall. James Gleason, as another reviewer said, was too old to play Riley's neighbour Jim Gillis. It is wonderful to see the great John Brown reprise his radio and 1949 t.v. show character of Digby "Digger" O'Dell. The film is a very good adaptation and well captures the flavour of the post World War II era. It is a lot of fun for Riley fans and for those soon to be.