Mad Movie Tuesday...
One of the great retail innovations of the 1990s was the "Pound (£) Shop". Operating as both independents and nationwide chains (Poundland is one of the largest - http://www.poundland.co.uk), these gloriously cheap 'n' cheerful outlets sprung up almost overnight, shaking established High Street stores to their very (high rental cost and corresponding profit margin) foundations. They seem to stock almost everything, from recognisable brand name consumables in large multipack varieties, to own-label variations and European imports. Food, clothing, toiletries, electronic goods, stationery, and toys - all with one distinguishing feature or USP: Everything is just one pound (sterling).
The DVDs, however, were a genuine surprise. They first started appearing on the £shop shelves at the turn of this century, and although in the past couple of years they have generally blanded-out into Linda bloody Barker "home improvement" overstock titles, and unfathomably obscure National Geographic and History Channel "Disc 3 of 12" offerings, there are still occasional gems to be had for a quid each, including many "flipover", two-films-on-one-disc examples.
Today's Mad Movie selection was acquired on Region 0 (Pal encoded, "Will play anywhere in the world except NTSC regions, USA, Canada, Japan & South Korea") DVD from just such an emporium, and stars an actor who has already been praised on these virtual pages - Robert Quarry.
Deathmaster (1972), directed by Ray Danton. So of its time that it's almost a series of counterculture clichés loosely strung together, this highly entertaining tale of Count Khorda (Quarry, basically revisiting his Count Yorga* character from the two previous years' cinematic exploits, albeit with a different hairstyle** and goatee beard), who becomes a charismatic leader of a bunch of Californian hippies before revealing himself to be a vampire, is a bit of a lost classic.
The IMDb entry is very thin, I'm afraid - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068459/ - but there's a terrific "fansite", featuring stills and some of the excellent posters (including the one above) here: http://www.geocities.com/agentbillh/DEATHMASTER1972.html
*A quick plug for "Todd Dominion" over on YouTube, who has been tirelessly uploading the trailers for Quarry's back catalogue: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ToddDominion Well worth a look.
**I'm being uncharacteristically kind. They're probably both wigs.
The DVDs, however, were a genuine surprise. They first started appearing on the £shop shelves at the turn of this century, and although in the past couple of years they have generally blanded-out into Linda bloody Barker "home improvement" overstock titles, and unfathomably obscure National Geographic and History Channel "Disc 3 of 12" offerings, there are still occasional gems to be had for a quid each, including many "flipover", two-films-on-one-disc examples.
Today's Mad Movie selection was acquired on Region 0 (Pal encoded, "Will play anywhere in the world except NTSC regions, USA, Canada, Japan & South Korea") DVD from just such an emporium, and stars an actor who has already been praised on these virtual pages - Robert Quarry.
Deathmaster (1972), directed by Ray Danton. So of its time that it's almost a series of counterculture clichés loosely strung together, this highly entertaining tale of Count Khorda (Quarry, basically revisiting his Count Yorga* character from the two previous years' cinematic exploits, albeit with a different hairstyle** and goatee beard), who becomes a charismatic leader of a bunch of Californian hippies before revealing himself to be a vampire, is a bit of a lost classic.
The IMDb entry is very thin, I'm afraid - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068459/ - but there's a terrific "fansite", featuring stills and some of the excellent posters (including the one above) here: http://www.geocities.com/agentbillh/DEATHMASTER1972.html
*A quick plug for "Todd Dominion" over on YouTube, who has been tirelessly uploading the trailers for Quarry's back catalogue: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ToddDominion Well worth a look.
**I'm being uncharacteristically kind. They're probably both wigs.