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Crown International Pictures

Started by dcj2112, November 16, 2020, 11:36:42 PM

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dcj2112

I've been watching a bunch of their old movies lately off of the Mills Creek budget sets. Anyone have any favorites, least favorites, or just ones they found weird or interesting?

claws

#1
Going through and rating the ones I own:

Very Good

My Chauffeur (1986) - 3.5/5
Policewomen (1974) - 3.5/5

Good

My Tutor (1983) - 3/5

Flawed but Worthy

Terror (1978) - 2.5/5
Horror High (1973) - 2.5/5
The Beach Girls (1982) - 2.5/5
The Hearse (1980) - 2.5/5
Don't Answer the Phone! (1980) - 2.5/5
Malibu High (1979) - 2.5/5
The Pom Pom Girls (1976) - 2.5/5
Satan's Slave (1976) - 2.5/5
*Double Exposure (1982) - 2.5/5
Tomboy (1985) - 2.5/5
French Quarter (1978) - 2.5/5
The Teacher (1974) - 2.5/5
Top Cop (1990) - 2.5/5
Hunk (1987) - 2.5/5
Coach (1978) - 2.5/5

Fair

Pick-up (1975) - 2/5
The Van (1977) - 2/5
Las Vegas Lady (1975) - 2/5
The Devil's Hand (1961) - 2/5
Hot Target (1985) - 2/5
Separate Ways (1981) - 2/5
Trip with the Teacher (1975) - 2/5
Stanley (1972) - 2/5
Wild Riders (1971) - 2/5
Terrified (1963) - 2/5
Scorpion (1986) - 2/5
*Killpoint (1984) - 2/5
Fleshburn (1984) - 2/5
The Devil's Men (1976) - 2/5
Blue Money (1972) - 2/5
*Lurkers (1988) - 2/5

Barely Sufficient

The Silencer (1992) - 1.5/5
Blood Mania (1970) - 1.5/5
Prime Evil (1988) - 1.5/5
*Low Blow (1986) - 1.5/5
*Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985) - 1.5/5
Weekend Pass (1984) - 1.5/5
*Point of Terror (1971) - 1.5/5
Jocks (1986) - 1.5/5
Nightmare in Wax (1969) - 1.5/5
Galaxina (1980) - 1.5/5

Poor

The Crater Lake Monster (1977) - 1/5
Superchick (1973) - 1/5
Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) - 1/5
Night Club (1989) - 1/5

Very Poor

The Dirty Half Dozen (1975) - 0.5/5
Click: The Calendar Girl Killer (1990) - 0.5/5

* unintentional hilarious

Terror (1978), Policewomen (1974) and The Hearse (1980) are definitely my favorites. The Silencer (1992) is dull but worthy a watch because the film seems inspired by Madonna's early 1990s dyed dark brown hair look, and her Like a Prayer music video. The Crater Lake Monster (1977) is a true guilty pleasure.

Trivia: Weekend Pass (1984) was a $20m box office smash  :buggedout: Jocks (1986) was filmed in 1983 I think, but not released until 1986.

and yeah, no matter how you sugar coat it, Galaxina (1980) is not a good movie. They are doing a TV remake though.

dcj2112

Quote from: claws on November 17, 2020, 12:50:29 AM
Going through and rating the ones I own:

Very Good

My Chauffeur (1986) - 3.5/5
Policewomen (1974) - 3.5/5

Good

My Tutor (1983) - 3/5

Flawed but Worthy

Terror (1978) - 2.5/5
Horror High (1973) - 2.5/5
The Beach Girls (1982) - 2.5/5
The Hearse (1980) - 2.5/5
Don't Answer the Phone! (1980) - 2.5/5
Malibu High (1979) - 2.5/5
The Pom Pom Girls (1976) - 2.5/5
Satan's Slave (1976) - 2.5/5
Double Exposure (1982) - 2.5/5
Tomboy (1985) - 2.5/5
French Quarter (1978) - 2.5/5
The Teacher (1974) - 2.5/5
Top Cop (1990) - 2.5/5
Hunk (1987) - 2.5/5
Coach (1978) - 2.5/5

Fair

Pick-up (1975) - 2/5
The Van (1977) - 2/5
Las Vegas Lady (1975) - 2/5
The Devil's Hand (1961) - 2/5
Hot Target (1985) - 2/5
Separate Ways (1981) - 2/5
Trip with the Teacher (1975) - 2/5
Stanley (1972) - 2/5
Wild Riders (1971) - 2/5
Terrified (1963) - 2/5
Scorpion (1986) - 2/5
Killpoint (1984) - 2/5
Fleshburn (1984) - 2/5
The Devil's Men (1976) - 2/5
Blue Money (1972) - 2/5
Lurkers (1988) - 2/5

Barely Sufficient

The Silencer (1992) - 1.5/5
Blood Mania (1970) - 1.5/5
Prime Evil (1988) - 1.5/5
Low Blow (1986) - 1.5/5
Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985) - 1.5/5
Weekend Pass (1984) - 1.5/5
Point of Terror (1971) - 1.5/5
Jocks (1986) - 1.5/5
Nightmare in Wax (1969) - 1.5/5
Galaxina (1980) - 1.5/5

Poor

The Crater Lake Monster (1977) - 1/5
Superchick (1973) - 1/5
Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) - 1/5
Night Club (1989) - 1/5

Very Poor

The Dirty Half Dozen (1975) - 0.5/5
Click: The Calendar Girl Killer (1990) - 0.5/5

Terror (1978), Policewomen (1974) and The Hearse (1980) are definitely my favorites. Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985) is unintentional funny. The Silencer (1992) is dull but worthy a look because the film seems inspired by Madonna's early 1990s looks, and her Like a Prayer music video. The Crater Lake Monster (1977) is a true guilty pleasure. Double Exposure (1982) also has its unintentional hilarious moments.

Trivia: Weekend Pass (1984) was a $20m box office smash  :buggedout: Jocks (1986) was filmed in 1983 I think, but not released until 1986.

and yeah, no matter how you sugar coat it, Galaxina (1980) is not a good movie. They are doing a TV remake though.

Great post! Oddly enough I just watched the first film you mentioned yesterday, My Chauffeur. I also watched Malibu Beach for a fun double feature  :smile:

RCMerchant

#3
Crown International films I have seen-

.ORGY OF THE DEAD (1965) stupid but fun.
.SATAN'S SLAVE (1976) It has Micheal Gough; I liked it.
.DRACULA'S DOG (1977) This movie is a hoot!
.CINDY AND DONNA (197) Eh.
.BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE (1969) Al Adamson- nuff sed.
.CRATER LAKE MONSTER (1977) Great fun.
.The CREEPING TERROR (1964) BAD! I loved it!
.TRIP WITH THE TEACHER (1975) Better than it has any right to be.
.the DEVIL'S HAND (1961) So-so horror outing.
.STANLEY (19772) WILLARD with snakes.
.SUPERCHICK (1973) Dumb as hell, but it has Uschi Digart! In a lesbian scene!  :thumbup:
.BLOOD LUST! (1961) Z Budget the MOST DANGEROUS GAME remake.
.FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS (1960) Ho-hum space opera.
.CHAIN GANG WOMEN (1971) No chain gang women in sight.
.WELCOME HOME, BROTHER CHARLES (1975) Ex con strangles people with his dick. Not joking.
.POLICEWOMEN (1974) Love this movie!
.NIGHTMARE IN WAX (1966) Cameron Mitchell!
.the WILD REBELS (1967) A four member motorcycle gang. And stupid as hell! The bikers and the film!
.SINGLE ROOM FURNISHED (1966) AHHHH!
.VARAN THE UNBILEVABLE (1962) Run of the mill Japanese monster flick.
.MADMEN OF MANDORAS (1963) aka THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN
.GALAXINA (1989) Garbage.

You can find the whole list of thier films here:

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0077329
Supernatural?...perhaps. Baloney?...Perhaps not!" Bela Lugosi-the BLACK CAT (1934)
Interviewer-"Does Dracula ever end for you?
Lugosi-"No. Dracula-never ends."
Slobber, Drool, Drip!
https://www.tumblr.com/ronmerchant

dcj2112

I did a triple feature tonight of Crown International sex comedies. Here are some thoughts on them.

Tomboy: This movie has so many gratuitous boobs in it that it rivals the unrated version of Sex Drive. You just know some super un-PC 1980's movie exec saw this title and said, "We can't call this movie Tomboy. If we do no one is going to see it because they'll think all the women look like men. Well maybe if we just fill it with boobs." All this despite the movie starring Betsy Russell who anyone would be hard pressed to confuse with a man.

Weekend Pass: This was my favorite of the three. It's a great concept for a movie and I can see why it was a sleeper hit as Claws mentioned. Four navy men fresh out of basic training get a weekend pass in Los Angeles before they ship out to their assignments. It's like The Last Detail but a lot more light hearted and a lot more 1980s. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Phil Hartman had a small role in this too.

The Pom Pom Girls: This is made from the same mold as the later shot Malibu Beach which I watched yesterday. The plot of both films can simply be described as high schoolers screwing around in Southern California in the 1970s. Really the plots are so similar some of the scenes are more just alternate versions of each other than anything new. Malibu Beach is the funner movie because the villain is more dorky and memorable, but this one has a much better ending. Also, both feature Susan Player who wasn't in nearly enough movies.

All these I watched on the Mills Creek 200 Drive-In Cult Cinema 200 Classics Collection. I highly recommend that set as it is going for just over $50 some places online now. It pads out the 200 number with some of those recycled public domain movies that pop up everywhere. But the Crown International stuff many of which have really great visual and audio quality with some even presented in original aspect ratios make it worth it.

pacman000

I've seen "Crater Lake Monster," "First Spaceship on Venus," &  "The Creeping Terror."

Crater Lake has some good FX work, & little else of note.

Venus I enjoyed, tho there are 1,000,000 similar movies.

Creeping Terror was on an MST3K VHS. Just an average monster movie, w/a below average monster. Only one joke was funny, "Help! I'm being attacked by a point of view shot!" But I'm not an MST3K fan, so perhaps I shouldn't speak on that.

dcj2112

Quote from: pacman000 on November 17, 2020, 11:14:24 PM
I've seen "Crater Lake Monster," "First Spaceship on Venus," &  "The Creeping Terror."

Crater Lake has some good FX work, & little else of note.

Venus I enjoyed, tho there are 1,000,000 similar movies.

Creeping Terror was on an MST3K VHS. Just an average monster movie, w/a below average monster. Only one joke was funny, "Help! I'm being attacked by a point of view shot!" But I'm not an MST3K fan, so perhaps I shouldn't speak on that.

Haha that Creeping Terror movie is actually one of my favorite MST3K episodes. I believe it was released in one of the first sets along with the non-MST3K movie. It is also on that Mills Creek set I mentioned but I haven't had a strong desire to rewatch it.

I believe I watched First Spaceship on Venus on MST3K and by itself, but not for 20+ years. So I really don't have much memory of it.

Crater Lake Monster is one I still think I have to see and is on that Mills Creek set. Since it's one Claws listed as poor and the plot doesn't sound that fun I'm not too keen to see it. I will at some point, but it might have to wait until next October when I try to just watch nothing but horror movies. For as fun as the Mills Creek 200 set is the bad horror movies on it are REAL bad.

Dr. Whom

Is 'First Spaceship on Venus' the East German one?

Also Galaxina is a slog. I get that they were going for parody, but it is painfully unfunny.
"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor."

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! ... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.

RCMerchant

Supernatural?...perhaps. Baloney?...Perhaps not!" Bela Lugosi-the BLACK CAT (1934)
Interviewer-"Does Dracula ever end for you?
Lugosi-"No. Dracula-never ends."
Slobber, Drool, Drip!
https://www.tumblr.com/ronmerchant

zombie no.one

Quote from: RCMerchant on November 17, 2020, 12:32:24 PM

.DRACULA'S DOG (1977) This movie is a hoot!

TRIP WITH THE TEACHER (1975) Better than it has any right to be


big fan of these two
Quotethe movie was cringe, corny, cheesy and "what the biscuits" is with this atrocious acting and childish corny thing of a movie???

RCMerchant

Quote from: zombie no.one on November 18, 2020, 09:18:36 AM
Quote from: RCMerchant on November 17, 2020, 12:32:24 PM



TRIP WITH THE TEACHER (1975) Better than it has any right to be



For a z-budget movie, that was brutal! It helped it had the Original BORN LOSER Zalman King!

http://youtu.be/16yyh_z7ApU
Supernatural?...perhaps. Baloney?...Perhaps not!" Bela Lugosi-the BLACK CAT (1934)
Interviewer-"Does Dracula ever end for you?
Lugosi-"No. Dracula-never ends."
Slobber, Drool, Drip!
https://www.tumblr.com/ronmerchant

zombie no.one

I'd never actually heard of zalman king before watching it

I picked up the new vinegar syndrome bluray release and there's a commentary track with the director. he said he made most of the movie by himself and invented a bunch of crew names on the credits. which is why the key grip is called...
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6097432/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cr2
Quotethe movie was cringe, corny, cheesy and "what the biscuits" is with this atrocious acting and childish corny thing of a movie???

RCMerchant

#12
^ I don't know if you ever seen the 1st Billy Jack movie BORN LOSERS (1967), but he was the lead of the biker gang in that one. Even wore the same sunglasses!  :buggedout:

http://youtu.be/4mlSyNZrmFY
Supernatural?...perhaps. Baloney?...Perhaps not!" Bela Lugosi-the BLACK CAT (1934)
Interviewer-"Does Dracula ever end for you?
Lugosi-"No. Dracula-never ends."
Slobber, Drool, Drip!
https://www.tumblr.com/ronmerchant

kornula

There are aspects I love about CRATER LAKE MONSTER.  First and foremost is the main character ("hero") is sent by the evil corporate HQ from the US of A to be a Union buster essentially.   He turns out to save the town by killing the monster in the lake.   Now that is a twist I don't expect

Oh yeah, they don't resolve the pesky workers uprising by the end.  I find that bit funny when the towns folk cheer the corporate guy who wants to sack them all and replace them with even cheaper labor.

claws

I must admit the only reason I watch Crater Lake Monster occasionally is because it looks amazing on blu-ray  :thumbup: