On 8 July back in 1924, the television writer Gene L Coon was born in the small town of Beatrice, Nebraska.

Although he died of cancer at the age of 49, he had quite the life. To start, he served in both World War II and the Korean War. Within a few years of this, he was writing for TV. But he was also running a pharmacy (something he picked up during his time in Korea). His writing included 23 screenplays for Wagon Train from 1958 through 1968. In 1961, he published a novel based on his war experiences, Meanwhile Back at the Front.

And then there was Star Trek.

This isn’t surprising. Most science fiction is little more than westerns with bad costume design. And Coon was a craftsman. Most of his scripts were based on others’ short stories. This included some of the best episodes on the series like “Space Seed” (which would lead to the best thing in all of Star Trek, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) and “A Piece of the Action.” But he was the only writer on two other excellent episodes, “The Devil in the Dark” and “Errand of Mercy.”

Interestingly, during the third season of the show, Gene L Coon was under contract with Universal. But he still wrote four episodes. He just did it under a pseudonym, Lee Cronin.

After Star Trek, Coon continued to work in TV, including producing 17 episodes of the Robert Wagner vehicle It Takes a Thief. His second novel, The Short End of the Stick, was published after his death.

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Image of Gene L Coon derived from photo on Memory Alpha Fandom under Fair Use.

On 7 July in 1949, Shelley Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas. But she spent most of her early years in Houston. We are also coming up on the anniversary of her death at the age of 75 last year on 11 July. She was a remarkable actor — quirky but believable, which is a hard combination.

Two films really stand out to me — both from 1980. The first is Popeye, an underrated gem of a film. Even at the time, it was hard not to think she was born to play Olive Oyl. I have never been much of a fan of the cartoon but I love this film. Robin Williams is great in it but without Duvall, the whole thing would fall flat. She is also good in other Robert Altman films like McCabe & Mrs Miller.

The second film is, of course, The Shining. And this is a hard one because by all accounts Stanley Kubrick tortured her during the production. Apologists (Yes, Kubrick has apologists and they are about as bad as any apologist you can name.) come up with reasons for this — or dismiss it as the way Kubrick worked. Well, sure. Kubrick was an asshole who abused a lot of people. He’s like Sergio Leone: a talented director who got way more power than he deserved, which he misused. Duvall would have given an excellent performance regardless who directed The Shining. Jack Nicholson, on the other hand, might have given a less cartoonish performance under a more careful director.

Anyway, I know Shelley Duvall primarily as an actor. But she is arguably more important as a producer of children’s TV. I only ever saw her Showtime series Faerie Tale Theatre. But she created and produced a lot of others after that.

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Image of Shelley Duvall is in the public domain.

On 6 July in 1963, Blood Feast had its premiere at the Bellevue Drive-In Theatre in the suburbs of Peoria, Illinois.

You may be wondering why producer David F Friedman chose this little town and not Chicago? Because he didn’t want to risk the film being seen by critics, which he thought could doom its distribution. And he was right! When the reviews came, they were savage. But Variety didn’t review it until 6 May 1964 — over a year later, by which time the film had made millions.

I have written extensively about Blood Feast. If there is anything you want to know about it, you should go check out my main article. Right now, I’d like to concentrate on the drive-in.

Bellevue is a tiny town. During the heyday of drive-ins, it had a population of roughly 1,500 people. That was certainly the case when, in 1948, the Bellevue Drive-In Theatre opened. That may seem like a poor place for a drive-in, but that tended to be the case. Drive-ins sprang up where land was plentiful. And the area had no problem supporting the theater for three decades.

It was apparently destroyed in a fire and demolished to make way for a K-Mart that was never built. And today, it appears to have an automotive repair and tractor retailer.

In later years, like many struggling drive-in theaters, it switched to airing pornography. But for one brief instant, the Bellevue Drive-In Theatre was part of film history!

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Bellevue Drive-In Theatre image taken from Cinema Treasures under Fair Use.

On 5 July 1972, Dr Phibes Rises Again premiered. This is barely a year after the release of The Abominable Dr Phibes. And American International Pictures apparently wanted to make a third. But as they say, the best laid plans of Nicholson and Arkoff oft go awry. It’s a shame because the second film sets up a third.

I don’t have much to say about either film. They are both revenge comedies that are always fun to watch. They are close to Theatre of Blood in the level to which Vincent Price chews up the screen. I tend to prefer the first because it has a compelling story. But the Rises Again has the great advantage of looking better. Hard to say. Perfect double feature though!

Let me instead provide you with a quote from Tom Weaver’s excellent Attack of the Monster Movie Makers. He (or one of his research associates) asked Vincent Price about the first film. Here is his reply:

Dr Phibes, and Dr Phibes Rises Again, were really funny pictures, I think two of the funniest pictures ever made. Scary, but funny — each one of the murders had a little fillip to it that made it funny. But the guy who directed it [Robert Fuest] was a madman — and wonderful. He would say, “Do this” and you did it, because there was nothing else to do! It was so mad and so crazy but they were great fun to do. I loved doing those two!

If you love either of these films like I do, I suggest you get the Kino Lorber Blu-ray. It is a single disc with both films and a ton of extras. So you will be able to have that double feature and much more!

Unfortunately, it is only streaming on DailyMotion, which comes with a ton of commercials. But it’s better than nothing.

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Image is a single frame from from the Midnite Movies release of Dr Phibes Rises Again! taken under Fair Use.

On 4 July 1969, Once Upon a Time in the West was released in the United States. It makes sense that this western classic from Italy should come to our country on Independence Day.

But let me get a little controversial here. Once Upon a Time in the West is a good film. But like almost all Sergio Leone films, it would be better with a strong producer who could have limited Leone’s excesses. The international versions of the film are almost 3 hours long. And the US cut was almost two and a half hours long. There is also his cringy sexual fetishes, which I could do without. Thankfully, there isn’t that much of it here.

The film is still very good — and the only one that comes close to Leone’s best, A Fistful of Dollars. But I used to think even more highly of the film.

The more I study film, the more I lose my admiration for directors. When it comes to “great” directors, people normally can’t provide much more than one example of what makes them great. Stanley Kubrick? Axial cuts! Martin Scorsese? Steadicam! Orson Welles? Ceilings! And with Leone, it’s the extreme close-up.

Don’t get me wrong: he was a wonderful director. But I don’t think the work of any director in history has suffered as much as Leone’s did because of his reputation for greatness. If it weren’t for the fact that the money people and Leone himself thought he was a genius, we would have gotten better films — and probably many more of them.

But I’ll take what I can get. Once Upon a Time in the West is one of his best. Sadly, it isn’t available to stream for free as far as I can tell.

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Once Upon a Time in the West poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Other than a premiere at Century City two days earlier, Tri-Star Pictures released Terminator 2: Judgment Day on 3 July 1991 throughout North America. It was released slowly around the world over the following six months.

I probably like Terminator 2 more than I should. And by that, I mean that I got excited to watch Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. And that was a disappointment! But it didn’t do much worse at the box office. I think that’s really what drives Hollywood. As William Goldman taught us, “Nobody knows anything.” Critics and audiences are chaotic. They might like something good. Or not. Whatever. Nobody knows anything, and all that matters is making a bunch of money.

But I love Terminator 2. And I especially like the extended version. As with The Abyss, most of the cool parts that make me love each film was taken out of the release cut. That results in a more standard telling of the stories. But it doesn’t make much sense. How does cutting 15 minutes matter? The release cut is well over 2 hours long; in for a penny; in for a pound.

I’m not saying that the rest of the franchise sucks. I quite liked Terminator: Dark Fate. But I haven’t seen Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys. I don’t see much point. I think Sarah Connor is the only really interesting character. I’m a big fan of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Of course, as is typical, the show was canceled. And it left us with perhaps the most annoying cliff-hanger in TV history.

But Terminator 2: Judgment Day is always good fun. Wouldn’t it be great if we could watch the extended cut for free?! If only we lived in such a world! Oh, I forgot! We have the Internet Archive with a great print!

But if you have a more childlike mind, you can watch the release cut for free too!

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Terminator 2: Judgment Day poster image taken from Wikipedia and used under Fair Use.

John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China is probably his most unusual film. And on this day (2 July) in 1986, it was released throughout the United States.

More than any other Carpenter film, Big Trouble in Little China is a romp. It has quirky special effects, a fast-paced and clever script, and joyously vigorous acting. Just the same, I’ve seen it a handful of times and I can’t really tell you what the plot is. A young woman is kidnapped and the good guys must rescue her in a world full of magic?

The film is fairly typical of Carpenter films in that it wasn’t much liked when it came out and was only appreciated later. A lot of the early reviews complained about — Wait for it! — character development! It’s a standard complaint. A film “critic” doesn’t like a film but also he has no clear reason for not liking it. And… “This cartoon-style film lacks character depth!” I previously wrote, “[T]he biggest problem with film critics is that they just don’t like fun. What’s not to like here?!”

I’m not much of a fan of Kurt Russell but he works well with this role. It’s a modern version of Tony Curtis (another actor I’m pretty meh about) in The Great Race. Kim Cattrall plays a fairly typical role for her — at least before she became Samantha.

But it is the Chinese cast that makes the film work. James Hong (One Spy Too Many) is, as always, great. And it’s just so nice to see Victor Wong (Tremors), who didn’t work enough for my tastes.

Big Trouble in Little China is rated PG-13. But it is a great film to share with kids. Just make sure they are your children. Kidnapping is wrong even for the purpose of showing a great film they will love. Or you could just watch it alone. And for free with this great print on Archive!

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Image taken from Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Karen Black was born back on 1 July 1939. She’d be 86 today if it weren’t for the fact that she died back in 2013 after a few years fighting cancer.

I find her interesting because she effectively had two careers. She was very successful in mainstream films — even being nominated for an Oscar and winning two Golden Globes. But she also appeared in a lot of psychotronic films. But really, she just seems to have enjoyed working a lot. In that way, she had a career similar to Mark Hamill in showing a love of acting more than stardom.

Although considered a sex symbol in her prime, I find her rather odd-looking. But I think that worked to her advantage as an actor. It allowed her to play a wide variety of roles.

I always enjoy seeing Black in films, even when they are (as they often were) weak, like Killer Fish. But I will remember her for two films. The first (and lesser) is Tobe Hooper’s excellent remake of Invaders From Mars. She’s wonderful as the kind school nurse although frankly the casting of her son in the lead role was a mistake.

My favorite Karen Black film is Dan Curtis’ amazing made-for-TV Trilogy of Terror. I saw it when it premiered. I was just 11 years old and it was thrilling. But mostly, people only remember the last story, “Amelia.” That’s the one with the little Aboriginal doll with menacing teeth. It chases her all over her apartment.

But the other two stories are also quite good. The first is my favorite, “Julie.” It is about a mousey English professor who is blackmailed into a sexual relationship with her student. The second is “Millicent and Therese.” It is good in that it allows Black to play very different twins. However, it’s kind of tired now, given the idea has been overused.

So celebrate Karen Black’s birthday by watching Trilogy of Terror — for free!

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Image clipped from Trilogy of Terror by Fair Use.

On 30 June 1971, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory went into wide release in the United States. But it did have its premiere two days earlier in Chicago.

It’s an odd little film. I like it but there are things that bother me. Two of them bothered me as a child. The first is that Charlie strikes me as too much of a Nazi Youth. I know this is largely based on the fact that I grew up watching Nazi documentaries. And it isn’t as though I didn’t feel for the kid. But I didn’t understand why he didn’t just lie in class. I certainly would have.

The other thing is a more reasonable problem: I didn’t understand why giving the Everlasting Gobstopper back was the key to the puzzle. He also stole Fizzy Lifting Drink, which ain’t coming back! The scene feels forced — like they needed one bit of drama to end the film but couldn’t be bothered to think of anything good.

Both of those problems were well addressed in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). And with the addition of a dentistry subplot, I do prefer it. But the original is a lot of fun. Gene Wilder is better than Johnny Depp (Dead Man) if only because he comes off as a bit twisted but not totally insane.

And the 2005 feature doesn’t have anything as great as the tunnel scene, which scarred a generation of children! (My generation!)

Of course, it isn’t just that scene. The whole movie (The whole book!) is very dark. And I do think it’s fine for kids. As long as you aren’t showing anything really disturbing (like dead bodies), I think it’s fine — no worse than Brothers Grimm!

So if not for yourself, will you at least think of the children?! You can enjoy what is sure to be an excellent print of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory on MAX. But there is also a free copy on Archive. And as Tom Peterson liked to say, “Free is a very good price!”

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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Ray Harryhausen was born on 29 June 1920. He is an icon of 20th-century special effects. And when I was growing up, anything he made was instantly considered a classic. And the films live on. The skeleton sword fight in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad holds up a lot better after almost 70 years than the Neo playground fight in Matrix Reloaded only 20 years ago.

Harryhausen was a protégé of special effects icon Willis O’Brien — best known for King Kong but like Harryhaussen basically defined the field during his prime. They worked together on Mighty Joe Young, which won an Oscar for O’Brien. Additionally, O’Brien thought Harryhaussen should share the award with him. Harryhaussen would ultimately receive a lifetime achievement Oscar, which makes sense given that no single film stands out. The two men also produced the fabulous dinosaur section in The Animal World (1956).

His first major solo success was The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was very successful — even with critics who tended to dislike films of this type. But perhaps most important, it was the direct influence of Godzilla. And Ray Harryhausen spent the rest of his life hating the Japanese monster despite the fact that it was rendered completely different (man in a suit with tiny models). But this is pretty typical of great artists who work in the shadows. Consider, for example, Richard Matheson.

Up next was the similar (I think better, at least in terms of the special effects) It Came from Beneath the Sea. It was similarly successful with audiences. Critics tended to ignore it. The following year he went in a different direction with Earth vs the Flying Saucers. But he was back to monsters in 1957 with 20 Million Miles to Earth.

With The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Ray Harryhausen entered a new phase of his career. For one thing, the films are all made in color. And they aren’t monster movies anymore. Mostly, it is the fantasy that his best known for — and some science fiction. Here is the skeleton sword fight I mentioned above from his first color feature:

Other notable films of this era are Jason and the Argonauts, the bizarre The Valley of Gwangi, and his last film, Clash of the Titans. But that was pretty much the end of his career, at least when it came to large projects. This was, after all, when digital effects were taking off. And he was 60-years-old. It was time for the industry to applaud him even as the projects ran dry. But he lived on — dying in London in 2013 at the age of 92.

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Ray Harryhausen image by Max Crawford (Potatojunkie) under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.