Out of the Inkwell

Guilty, guilty pleasures

Yes, I can appreciate the great movies – most of them, at least – but I find that I'm drawn to films that live on the fringes of polite movie society.

"The Mad Doctor of Blood Island" is a thoroughly unhinged mad scientist movie shot in the Philippines with an American cast, but a decidedly different point of view. I will watch damn near any film shot in that nation in the 1960s and '70s. They look and feel different, even if an American director is on board.

"The Fiend of Dope Island" is the kind of film that makes me wonder, "Just why did they make this thing?" Bruce Bennett was an Olympic athlete who was slated to play Tarzan at MGm before an injury prevented him from doing so. He made a number of low budget films under his real name of Herman Brix in the 1930s, but changed his name and appeared in a string of big budget A films for major studios. By the late 1950s, he appeared in this pt boiler. He also co-produced. It has an evil hypnotic char,

Few films deserve more of revival than "Shakes the Clown." Starring, written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, "Shakes" gives all of us who grew up mistrustful of clowns plenty of ammunition. Very funny and in highly questionable taste, "Shakes" is one of my favorites.

There are few films from the 1970s that I love more than this movie created on a dare by Joe Dante and Allan Arkush when they were cutting trailers for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Made in 10 days and utilizing a lot of existing footage from other Corman movies, it has a true charm and stars an actress who is largely forgotten today, Candice Rialson. She was a young woman who should have been a major star, but spent most of her career in low budget films. She could have done much, much more.

By the way the trailer is not safe for work.