#felix silla
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The Addams Family - Season 1 Episode 32 (1965) Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor
#the addams family#addamsfamilyedit#theaddamsfamilyedit#retrotvblr#classichorrorblog#tvedit#my gifs#mine: addams family#cousin itt and the vocational counselor#richard deacon#felix silla#cousin itt#john astin#gomez addams#carolyn jones#morticia addams#gifs with words#1960s#b&w#comedy#television
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Twiki - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
#buck rogers in the 25th century gif#twiki gif#felix silla#mel blanc#70s sci-fi#70s tv series#life is tough#seventies#1979#gif#chronoscaph gif
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#buck rogers#Buck Rogers in the 25th Century#Gil Gerard#erin gray#Felix Silla#Wilfrid Hyde-White#mel blanc#sci fi#tv series#1979
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Gil Gerard and Felix Silla from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
#gil gerard#felix silla#buck rogers#buck rogers in the 25th century#1979#1970s#vintage#television#vintage television
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"The Black Bird" (1975)
The stuff dreams are made of.
The kind of dreams you have when you pass out on the sofa after O.D.-ing on Cheetos, Mike's, and unrelated movies from wildly different eras.
If you're a fan of the film noir classic "the Maltese Falcon" from 1941, you may have heard about 1975's failed attempt at a comedy sequel, called "the Black Bird." Well, it's on YouTube for free, I watched it on Friday, and I actually enjoyed it.
Before you let this change your opinion, you should probably know that I also enjoyed "Meet the Feebles," "Leprechaun in Space," and "Lord of the G-Strings."
It's a '70s exploitation film (whether intentionally or not)
If you want a truly funny comedy worthy of Mel Brooks, you'll probably hate this movie. If you want a serious tribute to "the Maltese Falcon," you'll definitely hate it. But if you enjoy bad '70s exploitation flicks, you might actually find "the Black Bird" amusing.
If you're unfamiliar with the term, "exploitation films" were a genre from the '70s and '80s. Usually over the top (for the time) in violence and vulgarity, exploitation films pandered to things like shock value, or revenge fantasies for minorities (leading to the "Blaxploitation" genre).
"The Black Bird" is not a particularly violent movie. Instead of exploiting violence, sex or any minority group, "the Black Bird" exploits a famous classic. While there's no nudity and almost no blood, it has many other staples of a classic '70s exploitation flick: mismatched buddy-cop relationships, bad acting, awkward sound dubbing, face-palming racial humor, vaguely Disco-ish music (when there is any music), funky '70s fashion, and a Nazi dwarf (Felix Silla).
Lest you forget that this is a '70s movie.
If you're entertained by "Blackula," "Lisztomania," "They Saved Hitler's Brain," "Gums," or any of Ralph Bakshi's earlier films, "the Black Bird" might be up your alley.
The Plot:
34 years after the events of "The Maltese Falcon," Kasper Gutman is shot dead, after apparently living to be around 100 (and at his weight!). His dying words: "It's black, and long as your arm." Frankly, I can think of no better sentence to illustrate the transition from classic '40s noir to the new lowbrow grit of the 70s.
On the case is Sam Spade Jr. (George Segal), whose surname is the source of many a racial punchline. To be fair, Sam Jr. says in-universe that he's tired of hearing that joke every five minutes. Junior has herited his father's name, job and secretary. Lee Patrick revises her role as Effie, who Spade Jr. calls "Godzilla."
Her character is possibly the only thing that is unironically great about this movie. The sassy young Effie aging into a draconian old lady would be believable and wonderful even in a serious sequel.
Elisha Cook Jr. also returns as Wilmer, but only for one scene.
If you wanted Wilmer to live to a ripe old age....well he did. But if you wanted him to die in a cabin in the woods surrounded by birds, after having gone straight for the last 30 years of his life, this might disappoint you. But it's probably closer to how a gunslinger like Wilmer would've wanted to go.
The new femme fatale is Anna Kemindov (Stéphane Audran), daughter of the unseen general from the first movie. I can't say that her character's motivations made much sense, but she does sport some funky 70s fashion and one sweet-ass hideout.
The Good
Much of the dumb humor made me laugh, even when I saw it coming a mile away. The running gag about Spade Jr.'s old car entertained the Muppet fan in me, and the "stand up Spade" moment was worthy of "Blazing Saddles." The final ending gag was the most predictable and unoriginal joke in the entire film, but something about the shark's face and how it moved was just hilarious.
One thing I unironically really liked was how in the dark Spade Jr. was regarding the Maltese Falcon. He knows it was his dad's biggest case, but doesn't care. He isn't familiar with the names Wilmer Cook, Kasper Gutman or Admiral Kemindov, and can't keep them straight. And he doesn't recognize any of the Easter eggs Wilmer, Anna or Effie drop into their dialogue.
Missed Opportunites:
I would really have liked at least one reference to Joel Cairo, and can't believe a movie of this type passed up the opportunity to have someone do a bad Peter Lorre impression while recounting past events.
There's also no mention of Brigid O'Shaughnessy, nor who Spade Jr.'s mother is. Having Brigid give birth to Jr. in prison and then more or less discard him would have fit perfectly into Spade Jr.'s backstory, and the movie's style of black comedy.
With the movie's vulgar humor, I'm also stunned that the word "gunsel" never came up when Spade Jr. was dealing with Wilmer. On that subject, more than one cameos from Wilmer would've been appreciated. But maybe Elisha Cook Jr. was only available for one scene.
Cannon?
The literal events onscreen are too ridiculous to truly take place in the same universe as "the Maltese Falcon." But I could imagine that a caper similar to this occurred, and is being recounted by a very sardonic, bitter, and drunk Spade Jr., who is embellishing and maybe misremembering.
Like, maybe the villain was really just a very short man with a Nazi history, who Spade Jr. is sarcastically remimagning as a literal dwarf in an S.S. uniform. Maybe Anna Kemindov just seemed a bit off to Jr, and his drunk mind is exaggerating her antics. Maybe when the jailer said "Get up Spade," Spade's Black cell mates just gave the jailer a look until realizing in awkward silence that it was the white guy's name. "The Black Bird" certainly seems like the story a bitter drunkard would be spinning.
The one thing Spade Jr. is not embellishing or misremembering though is "Godzilla." Effie is every bit the firey old lady portrayed onscreen. That, in my head, is 100% canon.
#the black bird#the maltese falcon#sam spade#sam spade jr#effie perine#humphrey bogart#wilmer cook#kasper gutman#the fat man#sequel#spoof#parody#anna kemindov#general kemindov#peter lorre#elisha cook jr.#noir#film noir#exploitation film#1970s#weird movies#movie review#screenshots#screencaps#george segal#stéphane audran#signe hasso#felix silla
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Remembering Italian-born American film and television actor, stuntman, and circus performer Felix Silla on his birthday (January 11, 1937 – April 16, 2021). Known for his roles behind the mask as Cousin Itt on The Addams Family and Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Silla's other credits include Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Towering Inferno, The Hindenburg, Battlestar Galactica, and Return of the Jedi.
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She Freak (1967)
"There are only two kinds of freaks, ladies and gentlemen: those created by God and those made by men. I guess both of them had a hand in what you see here."
#she freak#american cinema#exploitation film#asylum of the insane#1967#david f. friedman#byron mabe#donn davison#claire brennen#lee raymond#lynn courtney#bill mckinney#claude earl jones#ben moore#vanteen#madame lee#marsha drake#felix silla#william bagdad#sandra holcomb#william allen castleman#cheap schlock unofficial remake of Tod Browning's Freaks for the gaudy technicolor 60s#it certainly looks quite striking and has a pleasantly vibrant aesthetic to its scenes of carnival hijinks and melodramatic affairs#but the film spends most of its run time on the day to day of carnie life and on star Brennen's journey from diner waitress to femme fatale#and wicked queen of the carnivals misfits (god forbid a woman have ambition 😏) and the actual horror element appears only in the final 5#mins. theyre 5 good mins! but i wish the film had found a little of that energy earlier in its run bc this is something of a slog tbh#a different director shot inserts and this was rereleased as Asylum of the Insane but those inserts were a special feature on the disc i#watched and somehow they achieve the impossible by being more dull than the og film.#a bit of a meh watch but it does look intermittently groovy
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Black Hawk Down
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Morticia and Cousin Itt rehearse Gomez's Shakespeare-inspired play written for Wednesday's birthday
"My Fair Cousin Itt" (1965) The Addams Family (1964-1966) directed by Sydney Lanfield written by Phil Leslie
#my fair cousin itt#the addams family#sydney lanfield#phil leslie#romeo and juliet#tennessee addams#gomez addams#morticia addams#cousin itt#felix silla#william shakespeare#claude and mabel#john astin#carolyn jones
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On the set of ‘Planet of the Apes’ (Dennis Stock, 1967)
#planet of the apes#colorized#arthur levain#go-go girls#maurice evans#felix silla#james whitmore#buck kartalian#bob lombardo
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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a made-for-television horror film that originally aired on ABC on October 10th 1973. Directed by John Newland and written by Nigel McKeand, this film has become a cult classic over the decades, known for its creepy atmosphere and unforgettable premise. The film’s eerie tone and subtle, psychological horror set it apart from many of the more overtly violent horror…
#Don&039;t Be Afraid of the Dark#Felix Silla#John Newland#Nigel McKeand#Patty Maloney#Tamara De Treaux
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The Addams Family - Season 1 Episode 32 (1965) Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor
#the addams family#addamsfamilyedit#theaddamsfamilyedit#tvedit#retrotvblr#classichorrorblog#horroredit#my gifs#mine: addams family#cousin itt#cousin itt and the vocational counselor#richard deacon#felix silla#1960s#b&w#comedy#tv gifs#television
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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
#buck rogers in the 25th century#70s sci-fi#gil gerard#twiki#felix silla#70s tv series#seventies#1979
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16 aprile … ricordiamo …
16 aprile … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic
2022: Gloria Sevilla, attrice filippina. Il primo marito fu l’attore Mat Ranillo Jr., vedova sposò l’attore e regista Amado Cortez. Era madre delle attrici Suzette Ranillo e Lilibeth Ranillo, dell’attore Mat Ranillo III e del cantante-compositore Dandin Ranillo. (n.1932) 2021: Felix Silla, Felix Anthony Silla, nato Felice Antonio Silla, attore, stuntman e circense italiano naturalizzato…
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#16 aprile#Alfred Jacob Corn#Alfred Ryder#Anthony Powell#Eleonora Ricci#Eunice Fay McKenzie#Fay McKenzie#Felice Antonio Silla#Felix Anthony Silla#Felix Silla#Gerard Kenneth Tierney#Giandomenico Boncompagni#Gianni Boncompagni#Gloria Sevilla#Helen McCrory#Irasema Dilian#Liam Scarlett#Nora Ricci#Pamela Catherine Gidley#Pamela Gidley#Ricordando ..#Ricordiamo#Robert Michael Urich#Robert Urich#Scott Brady
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Cousin It
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