Mongo's Back in Town (1971)

Mongo's Back In Town DVD

CBS
Directed by Marvin Chomsky
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, CBS/Create Space)

Joe Don Baker is a hit man hired by his brother to kill a rival gang member. He gets involved with runaway teen Sally Field, hoping to make it big in LA but finding herself abused instead. Telly Savalas is a police detective hot on his trail, looking and acting very much like his Kojak character which was still 2 years away. Moodily photographed, very often in driving (if faked) rain, accompanied by a downbeat, synthesizer soundtrack; an effective combination especially considering this was made for TV. Joe Don Baker alone would be enough to give it a look, but also features Martin Sheen and Anne Francis in supporting roles!

Heaven and Earth Magic (1962)

Directed by Harry Smith
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Cut-out animated photographs of objects and people, arranged and re-arranged in endless possibilities. Dental instruments pop up with regularity, as do cats, dogs, a watermelon, a skeleton, an umbrella, well, you get the idea. Watching all of the various combinations becomes a bit hypnotic after awhile, but with no plot, no soundtrack (only sound effects as random as the objects) and no characters with which to gain some kind of grounding, it's simply a collection of random objects.

A Spring for the Thirsty (1965)

Directed by Yuri Ilyenko
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Past and present blur for an elderly man in rural Russia. He remembers his young wife, his children and his military service in the war. Many events take place around a well on his property, drawing people from miles around. He builds a coffin and begins to sleep in it, tired of life. A pregnant relative visits, completing the cycle of life and death. It is beautifully filmed in black and white on expansive landscapes. However, lacks a coherent plot, and other than the old man, characters are underdeveloped.

Personel (1975)

Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A young man gets a job as a tailor at a state run theater. He works with the laborers backstage, but secretly wishes he was with the artists rehearsing for the next production. One day a lead actor berates one of the other tailors about his costume in front of everyone on stage. The laborers meet and discuss what to do about it at a rambunctious meeting. Later, he is called into the ornate office of an executive and asked to lie about the details of his friends confrontation. Uneasy mix of political allegory and backstage drama from the famous Polish director is one of his earliest dramas. It was made for TV, which might explain the attempt to veil the politics. The end result is rather talky and unsatisfying, but still worth a look for Kieslowski fans.

La Salamander (1971)

Forum Films (France)
Directed by Alain Tanner
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A writer and his friend decide to make a screenplay based on a real life incident they hear about. A young woman is accused of shooting her uncle, but she claims it was an accident. They befriend her with the intention of interviewing her, but become entranced by her beauty and rebellious lifestyle. Interesting character study carried almost completely by Bulle Ogier as the young woman, just don't expect much in the way of plot.

Charles, Dead or Alive (1969)

New Yorker Films
Directed by Alain Tanner
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A successful businessman suffering a mid life crisis holes up anonymously in a Geneva motel room. After a few days his family reports him missing. He spends his time sleeping and getting drunk. He befriends a young couple in a cafe and they drive to their remote country house. They invite him to stay awhile and helps paint signs and cooks for them. His teenage daughter occasionally visits and she talks about her involvement with local political activists. His family eventually catches up to him and he is taken away to a mental hospital. Talky and politically dated, but still manages to address the timeless themes of the value and meaning of life in the modern world.

End of the Road (1970)

End Of The Road DVD

Allied Artists
Directed by Aram Avakian
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

New college grad Stacy Keach has a "catatonic episode" on a railway station platform. Outrageous "doctor" James Earl Jones taunts him out of his stupor, then supervises his "recovery" at his asylum. He is subjected to visual and aural sensory overload in a special room. After regaining some semblance of sanity, he takes a job teaching English at a local college. He is befriended by another professor and his wife, with whom he becomes involved in an adulterous affair. She becomes pregnant and demands an abortion, performed by his former psychiatrist, leading to tragedy. Cult item broke many Hollywood barriers, for better or worse, including a long, graphic abortion. However, it succeeds in capturing the feel of the times, both intellectually and emotionally, which few films can claim.

Red Heroine (1929)

Directed by Yimin Wen
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A woman agrees to become the concubine of an invading army's leader when he falsely arrests her father for treason. She eventually escapes and with the help of her brother, a wandering hermit and a flying superhero-woman takes revenge. Pure escapist entertainment overcomes a confusing plot and absolutely horrible English inter-titles. Raised to another level entirely by a modern soundtrack by the Devil Music Ensemble perfectly synched to the on-screen action. Originally part of a longer serial, apparently now lost.

The War Wagon (1967)

The War Wagon (Blu-ray + DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet)

Universal Pictures
Directed by Burt Kennedy
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Universal)

Rancher John Wayne, just released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, returns to his dusty western town where he plans to rob the man who framed him. He gets help from gunslinger Kirk Douglas, in a delicious nasty role complete with leather shirt, and wisecracking Indian Howard Keel. Their target is a converted stagecoach, complete with a Gatling gun and steel frame and guarded by about dozen men on horseback, loaded with bags of gold dust. It doesn't go as planned. Fairly predictable western, loaded down with dated 60s sexism. John Wayne appears to be going through the motions in one of his most forgettable roles.

It Happened Here (1965)

It Happened Here DVD

Lopert Pictures
Directed by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

In an alternative history, the Nazi's win WWII and occupy England. There is an active underground resistance, but one nurse decides to make the best of the situation and takes a job as a "black shirt" and works for the regime. She is subject to intense propaganda and eventually buys into it. While visiting some old friends she reluctantly agrees to help them with an injured resistance member. Her superiors find out and transfer her to a "hospital" where forced euthanasia is used on immigrants. She protests but is arrested and joins the resistance. A low budget helps gives this an authentic, documentary feel, replicated newsreels are especially effective, but the acting, mostly amateurs, suffers.