Creature from Black Lake (1976)

Two men exploring the Louisiana swamps encounter a Bigfoot-type creature.

C'era una volta il West (1968)

 

 

A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

 

A masterpiece Western that elevates the genre onto a level of pure myth; it is immaculately composed like an opera with leitmotifs for each main protagonist, beautifully photographed in John Ford territory and full of memorable scenes, both humorous and vicious - and Henry Fonda's first appearance in the movie is a genuine shock.

Halliwell***: "Immensely long and convoluted epic Western marking its director's collaboration with an American studio and his desire to make serious statements about something or other. Beautifully made and very violent."

 

Maltin***1/2: "Sergio Leone's follow-up to his "Dollars" trilogy is languid, operatic masterpiece...Fonda (brilliantly cast as one of the coldest villains in screen history). Exciting, funny, and reverent, with now-classic score by Ennio Morricone; not to be missed."

 

The Cannonball Run (1981)

A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race, and they will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.

From memory: All-star cast thigh-slapping car chase comedy, mainly for an audience with a low threshold to have a laugh.

Halliwell (no star): "Well-known stars are all at sea in this comedy/disaster extravaganza, which seems to have begun as a joke rather than a script."

Maltin BOMB: "Just what civilization needs - more Reynolds car-chase silliness...Pretty unendurable, despite unusual cast; rumor has it that the one responsible for casting Dino and Sammy as priests is still doing his Hail Marys."

The Rare Breed (1966)

An English woman and her daughter enlist the aid of a cowboy to try and get their hardy hornless bull to mate with the longhorns of Texas, but have to overcome greedy criminals and the natural elements.

Broad, solidly made Western with an unusual topic is a partly amusing drama, but not really exciting; the star cast does a good job, though.

Halliwell (no star): "Amusing Western idea which misses fire by not coming down firmly as either drama or comedy; it does however pass the time amiably enough."

Maltin***: "Odd part-comedy Western on the unusual subject of improving cattle breeds. Hampered only by too much obvious studio shooting."

The Last Sunset (1961)

At a Mexican ranch, fugitive and pursuing sheriff agree to help rancher drive his herd into Texas where the sheriff could legally arrest the fugitive but the rancher's wife complicates things.

Unusual larger-than-life Western melodrama compels with a complex plot and psychological depth.

Halliwell (no star): "Slow psycho-Western with pretensions to tragedy."

Maltin***: "Strange on the range, courtesy of Aldrich and scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo."

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.