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Five Minutes to Live
Door-to-Door Maniac
Door-to-Door Killer
USA 1961
produced by James Ellsworth, Ludlow Flower (executive) for Flower Film Productions
directed by Bill Karn
starring Johnny Cash, Donald Woods, Cay Forester, Pamela Mason, Midge Ware, Vic Tayback, Ron Howard, Merle Travis, Norma Varden, Leslie Kimmell, Marge Waller, Patricia Lynn, Frances Flower, Hanna Landy, Cynthia Flower, Max Manning, Howard Wright, Charles Buck, Byrd Holland, Rue McClanahan
screenplay by Cay Forester, based on a story by Palmer Thompson, adaptation by Robert L. Joseph, music by Gene Kauer, songs performed by Johnny Cash
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Wannabe gangster bigshot Dorella (Vic Tayback) thinks he has the
perfect plan on how to rob a small town bank with a crew of only two,
himself and Johnny Cabot (Johnny Cash), a small fry crook with a violent
streak. The plan's very simple, Dorella himself is to waltz into the bank
and ask for a health sum of money from the bank's vice president Wilson
(Donald Woods), while Cabot is to enter Wilson's home, take his wife Nancy
(Cay Forester) hostage, rough her up a bit, and promising to kill her if
Dorella's demands aren't met. This way Dorella could even be sure that
he'll be able to leave the bank with the money before Wilson would even
dream of calling the police. It seems like a perfect plan as the Wilsons'
perfect suburban facade tells Dorella Wilson must love his wife very much
- only it's not so as Wilson plans to escape to Las Vegas with his lover
Ellen (Pamela Mason) to leave suburban life for good. So he really muses
about having his wife killed by Cabpt to get rid of her scot-free, and
Dorella has to appeal to his conscience. And all the waiting around at the
Wilsons' house makes Cabot more than a little frisky, to the point where
he rapes Nancy. It's only eventually that the good comes through in Wilson
and he gives in to Dorella's demands. But him handing out a large chunk of
money of course doesn't go unnoticed by his boss at the bank (Leslie
Kimmell) - so what Dorella considered a perfect plan is undone more and
more by unaccounted for variables ... By 1961, Johnny Cash was
by no means the music legend we know him to be today, so bearing that in
mind it's not that surprising to see him play a particularly unsavory
villain in this low budget crime thriller - abd play him particularly
well, too, even when he's performing a couple of his tunes at really
unapropriate moments. The film as a whole is a pulpy affair that might be
accused of rather simplistic writing. But that said, i't's well played by
all involved, with special praise going to Cash of course, and his partner
in most of his scenes, Cay Forester, who really bring the central drama of
the film to life. The film's also well-paced enough to have one not too
think too much about narrative inconsistencies at least when watching, and
there's suspense in all the right places to make this ... well, maybe not
a forgotten classic as such, but an underrated gem at the very least.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Thanks for watching !!!
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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