Sunday, February 19, 2012

***EXTRA***Movies I Saw In 1974, Part 3

Part three of my list of movies seen in theaters in 1974. Here are the next ten. 


21-99 & 44/100% DEAD-July 21st, Newport
Richard Harris and his female co-star Ann Turkel were all over the talk shows promoting this stylish and somewhat campy crime thriller about a hit man in a gang war. The two actually married in real-life. I remember enjoying it at the time but at this point, all I recall is Harris's stupid hairstyle.


22-M*A*S*H-July 21st, Newport
This was actually double-featured with the above. I'd seen it before and it has long been a favorite film. By this point, the TV series version was popular so it kept getting re-released.


23-BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID-July 23rd, Newport
This was another re-release of a favorite film that I caught just a couple days after the above double-feature. The classic western comedy drama teaming Newman and Redford, re-release in the wake of THE STING.


24-DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY-July 24th, Newport
A great car chase exploitation flick with Peter Fonda, Susan George and Vic Morrow. Again at Newport. They were having the best stuff for a while that summer.


25-THE THREE MUSKETEERS-July 31st, Newport
Richard Lester's now-classic version of Dumas' famous story and one of my favorite seventies movies.


26-BORN LOSERS-August 8th, Newport
Terry and I were big into BILLY JACK since that film's successful re-release so I was anxious to catch this low-budget biker film that introduced the character as played by Tom Laughlin. Jane Russell--of all people--co-starred! Love or hate the main BJ trilogy, this one is a whole different animal.


27-BLAZING SADDLES-August 17th, Madison
In my Top Five list of the funniest comedies ever made to this day, this politically incorrect comic western leaves nary a moment to catch one's breath.


28-HOMEBODIES-August 18th, Skywalk
This was the world premiere engagement of a low-budget horror film about homicidal senior citizens. It starred Ruth McDevitt and Paula Trueman and had been shot partly in the Cincinnati area. It was just okay.


29-ANIMAL CRACKERS-August 20th, Skywalk
This was the highly touted big-screen re-release of the 1930 Marx Brothers comedy. Being a lifelong Groucho fan who hadn't even realized he had brothers until not long before this, I was first in line to catch it's sold out presentation!


30--RETURN OF THE DRAGON-August 24th, RKO Albee
    
Bruce Lee had been dead over a year before this film--one he had never intended to be released in the US--finally came out. Apparently finished just before ENTER THE DRAGON, this was called WAY OF THE DRAGON in most of the world. It is not in any way related to Lee's huge Warner Brothers hit but was now being billed as a sequel. It isn't very good overall but its memorable set-piece is Bruce Lee's one on one fight with Chuck Norris in the Roman Colosseum. It being Bruce's movie, he wins. 






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