Sudden Death (1977) review

SUDDEN DEATH 1975 (released in 1977)

Robert Conrad (Harrison "Duke" Smith), Don Stroud (Dominic Elba), Felton Perry (Wyatt Spain), John Ashley (John Shaw), Nancy Conrad (Melissa Smith), Vic Diaz (street show peddlar)

Directed by Eddie Romero

The Short Version: Not to be confused with the 1995 Van Damme flick, this is a US-Filipino co-produced actioner from the man responsible for the BLOOD ISLAND trilogy and a slew of other low budget Drive In favorites. Eddie Romero's movie is modestly sloppy in places, but loaded with fights, gun battles, splattery blood squibs and a few scenes of outright nasty violence. The script by Oscar Williams is peppered with expletives and an almost non-stop barrage of memorable one-liners. It's arguably the manliest Filipino exploitation movie ever made with its bare, hairy chests and endless tough guy dialog. SUDDEN DEATH is essential 70s exploitation for lovers of the most wildly, lovingly uncouth decade in cinema history.



A board of ruthless shipping company executives hires assassins to take out Ed Nielson, the American corporate president and his family. Unfortunately for them, their main intended victim survives. He asks the aid of former covert operative Duke Smith to help him. Initially he refuses, but after Nielson is killed, he and his Karate fighting colleague team up to take on a corrupt syndicate, renegade agents and deadly assassins.

Eddie Romero (who passed away Tuesday, May 28th of 2013) is best known on these shores for an entertaining string of quick-fix exploitation movies that ran the gamut from bloody monster movies to violent action pictures. His films (whether as a producer or director) were prime examples of Drive In fare at its finest. SUDDEN DEATH (1977) is his last such passion pit flick of significance and one of the most fun examples of the buddy movie.



While many Philippine set exploitation movies focused a good deal of attention on women and their bodies, SUDDEN DEATH puts men at the forefront; and surprisingly, features very little female flesh. Bare hairy chests, dollops of testosterone and bad guys who rarely remove their sunglasses take center stage here. Compared with Hong Kong films, the martial arts moments (those with the participation of Felton Perry) fail to convince. However, Robert Conrad, who was no stranger to stunts and fighting, looks good in his scenes. His fight at the end against Don Stroud is somewhat brief, but bloody and brutal. 



The package is topped off by one of those patented 70s 'wa-wa' soundtracks and kung fu movie sound effects. Romero's movie gets additional bonus points for some added local flavor with some scenes showcasing Filipino festivals and a street barker (played by perennial banana republic bad guy, Vic Diaz) huckstering a burly wrestler.

The streamlined script by Oscar Williams draws some gruff, aggressive good guys and sadistic, cold-blooded bad guys. This goes a long way in making an enjoyable movie. Even when the film gets wobbly with some strange, almost intrusive goofball moments, the characters are so likable or despicable, you can't help but be entertained. There's a slight political theme running through Romero's movie involving corruption in corporations and government, but it eventually drowns in a sea of fist fights and gun battles. The dialog is highly quotable and the many great lines are fired off as quickly as a machine gun clip.



Robert Conrad was a major player on American television, but did very few movies. He was never a great actor (and admitted to this, himself), but he did good enough in roles that rarely (if ever) demanded a whole lot of emoting. His most famous role is arguably as the Bond style Secret Service agent James West in the amazing, innovative THE WILD, WILD WEST television series that ran for four seasons between 1965 and 1969. What he lacked in thespian skills he made up for in a vigorous determination to outdo himself in action sequences. He was notorious for doing his own stunts on that series (as well as being a wild card offscreen, too) till a serious injury shooting a season three episode (later moved to season four) got him a regular stunt double for the more dangerous stunts the remainder of the series.

Conrad retains that vigor in SUDDEN DEATH, and shows more life in the fight scenes than in the exposition. However, his line deliveries of some of the more obscene exchanges are pretty damn funny.



Felton Perry will be best remembered by some for his recurring role in the ROBOCOP trilogy. But others will know him better as Buford Pusser's deputy in the violent Southern crime drama, the original WALKING TALL (1973). Perry was no stranger to exploitation movies, either. You'll find him as one of the crazed soldiers in the obscure BRUTE CORPS (1971), New World's NIGHT CALL NURSES (1972) and Ivan Dixon's superlative TROUBLE MAN (1972).

Like everyone else in the cast, Perry seems to be having a grand time playing a trigger happy, Karate fightin', lady lovin' former agent. He gets his share of great lines, and these moments go a long way in allowing the viewer to overlook his painful attempts at performing martial arts. He gets in there and puts his all into it, but it comes off badly. The filmmakers edit his fight scenes in such a way to salvage what they can, but one can clearly see that Perry is no Karate master. 



Don Stroud is one of the big screens best loved tough guys. He could play either good guys or bad guys, but when he was a villain, he was one mean bastard. You'll find him as one of Ma Barker's youngins in BLOODY MAMA (1970), a racist deputy in ...TICK... TICK... TICK (1970), the good guy biker in ANGEL UNCHAINED (1970), one of the villains after Clint Eastwood in JOE KIDD (1972), an evil hitman in SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF (1973), a psychotic rapist-murderer in DEATH WEEKEND (1976) and a kung fu killing machine in SEARCH AND DESTROY (1979). He also appeared with his friend, Robert Conrad again in LIVE A LITTLE, STEAL A LOT (1975) aka MURPH THE SURF. He worked in dozens of television shows throughout the 1980s and mixed up his repertoire between TV and low budget movies in the 1990s. He was MIA at the dawn of the new millennium, but has appeared in movies sporadically in the last several years.

Stroud's role as Dominic is, in this reviewers opinion, one of his best bad guy roles. He doesn't appear in the film till nearly an hour into the movie, but he makes his scenes count. His introduction (where we don't see his face while he holds a white cat in his lap!) exudes a Bond villain level of calculating evil. His accent and speech is as meticulous as his character is in pulling off his hits. He's given some meaty lines as well; a highlight of which is a scene where he and Duke (Conrad) meet in a public place. They walk down a hallway, their eyes never leaving each others face as they converse. His fight at the end against Conrad takes place in an ice warehouse and is well choreographed with a gory finish.



John Ashley was a Jack-of-all-trades in the film industry. He was something of a heartthrob in the late 50s and early 1960s and was, like Stroud, a close friend of Robert Conrad. Ashley also took a role in a WILD, WILD WEST episode from season two, 'The Night of the Watery Death'. He was also a singer and movie producer, later finding success in the Philippines acting in, and producing movies there and becoming friends with Eddie Romero in the process. Despite initially looking like an Elvis impersonator in this movie, his role as a crooked US agent/hired killer was a departure for him. He wasn't that great of an actor, but he had charisma to spare.



There's much to recommend in SUDDEN DEATH for exploitation fans. The cast alone holds a great deal of marquee power for this sort of picture. It benefits from plentiful (if not always successfully realized) action, splashes of sleaze and bloody violence, and is capped off with the sort of shocker ending that was indigenous to 70s cinema. If you're a fan of exploitation movies, and especially those with a Filipino flavor, Eddie Romero's star-studded action thriller provides an entertaining 90 minutes worth of popcorn and Coke escapism.

This DVD is representative of the Inception Media Group double feature DVD paired with MURPH THE SURF.

Cult Film Faves Not On DVD: Sweet Sugar (1972) review

SWEET SUGAR 1972

Phyllis Davis (Sugar Bowman), Ella Edwards (Simone), Timothy Brown (Mojo), Angus Duncan (Dr. John), Pamela Collins (Dolores), Jackie Giroux (Fara), Cliff Osmond (Burgos), James Whitworth (Mario), Darl Severns (Carlos), Albert Cole (Max), James Houghton (Rick)

Directed by Michel Levesque

***WARNING! This review contains images of nudity***

The Short Version: The man who brought you WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS (1973) pours some sugar on the exploitation audience with this sweet and savage Drive In trash obscurity that is crying out for a legitimate DVD release. New World rival Dimension Pictures knew well the market their opposition catered to, and they could churn out equally entertaining clones, such as this picture that apes Corman's WIP flicks. The abundance of sleaze substitutes nicely for a plot and its many underdeveloped characters -- most of whom are never overdressed. The ultimate Phyllis Davis showcase, SWEET SUGAR satisfies. 



After being set up and arrested for drug possession, the sexy Sugar is given an option to avoid a drawn out trial -- spend two years in a Central American prison working the vast sugar cane fields. She agrees and and it isn't long before her libidinous ways get her and her fellow inmates into serious trouble. Torture, rape, cannibalism and death ensue when the girls are at the mercy of the sadistic Dr. John and his bizarre sexual experiments.



Before Jack Hill's THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1970) incarcerated the contents of paying customers wallets, WIP pictures were few and far between. At one time the biggest moneymaking independent picture of that time, the Jack Hill directed, Corman produced, Philippine lensed exploitationer gave birth to a slew of clones including the classicks THE BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS (1973) and ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS (1974). Dimension Pictures (New World's rival), did their own version with SWEET SUGAR (1972).



Michel Levesque's movie is an amalgamation of Corman's trashy trinity of banana republic travesties -- THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1970), WOMEN IN CAGES (1971) and THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972). The one major difference is that those movies took place in the Philippines and Dimension's picture is located somewhere in Central America. Incidentally, both SUGAR and DOLL HOUSE share the same scriptwriter in Don Spencer. 

 

As portrayed by the incredible Phyllis Davis, Sugar Bowman is essentially Anitra Ford's character from THE BIG BIRD CAGE. She's perpetually horny and repeatedly tries to escape, albeit unsuccessfully. Her libido and dedication to busting out (haha) lead to all sorts of harrowing and nasty situations that do little to endear Sugar to her fellow captives. 



In typical 70s exploitation fashion, the picture has a bevy of funny lines, and Davis gets a lot of them. She carries the entire movie on her bosom and sports one helluva 'come hither' look when she's feeling frisky (which is often).

Davis's Drive In career was short-lived, but she did lend her talents to numerous television programs such as her role on VEGA$ (1978-1981), and frequent guest spots on THE LOVE BOAT (1979-1984) and FANTASY ISLAND (1979-1983). BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970) and Dimension's TERMINAL ISLAND (1973) are among her handful of big screen credits.



Since these jungle sleaze movies garnered a share of their attention because of the talents of Pam Grier, this one invokes her memory in the form of Ella Edwards. Sadly, Edwards never manages to exude enough charisma to rival the presence of Davis. Still, she has a few memorable moments. Edwards can also be seen in Arthur Marks's excellent cop thriller DETROIT 9000 (1973).



Fans of THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977) will welcome the appearance of James 'Papa Jupiter' Whitworth as Mario, one of the nasty prison guards. He appeared in a similar capacity in Dimension's TERMINAL ISLAND the following year in 1973. If you ever wanted to see him play a good guy, he has a co-starring role in the SciFi monster movie PLANET OF DINOSAURS (1978).



One of SWEET SUGAR's novel additions that deviates from the New World WIP template is the inclusion of a voodoo practitioner in the form of the muscular Timothy Brown. Like his colleagues Jim Brown and Fred Williamson, Timothy was a former football player. Unfortunately, he never quite achieved the level of big screen stardom of those two. If you're a fan of the innovative THE WILD, WILD WEST television program, you may remember Brown in the season three opener, 'The Night of the Bubbling Death'. He was more muscular in that show, but slimmed down a bit by the time he got around to SWEET SUGAR. He appeared alongside Alex Rocco as Digger, one of two hitmen in another Arthur Marks classic, BONNIE'S KIDS (1973). The third 'Ginger' movie, GIRLS ARE FOR LOVING (1973) and Al Adamson's THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS (1974) featured Brown as well.

Outside of the inclusion of voodoo rites, SWEET SUGAR goes deeper into the depths of derangement with the character of Dr. John. Initially, the acting of Angus Duncan never once clues you in on the mans lunatic potential till it flares up later in the movie. His sexual experiments masquerading as scientific research become increasingly bizarre as the film progresses. His first faux scientific breakthrough involves using the women as guinea pigs; injecting them with some tribal aphrodisiac -- their reaction being recorded on a mechanical device. Of course, Sugar is sent into an orgiastic frenzy that literally overloads the little machine. The picture is likewise injected with comical moments such as this from time to time and mostly revolve around two bumbling, but likable prison guards, Max and Ricky.

Towards the end, the lighter bits vanish completely. Dr. John becomes more creepy and even more disturbing. He's seen cackling gleefully when an unruly guard is shot some 9 times and kicked half a dozen times afterward(!). 

Another of the bad doctors experiments sees him get the women back in line by tossing drugged up felines at them that bite, rip and tear at their flesh! Although it's obvious the cats are definitely not ripping the girls up, the scene is edited just well enough to be sufficiently believable. 



Dr. John really goes off the deep end during the finale. Apparently the bump on his head he gets from Sugar's machete handle loosens a screw or two. Duncan's acting style radically changes turning into a full blown wacko laughing uncontrollably and vociferously uttering such lines in third person as "Dr. John is indestructible!" and "Dr. John is immortal!" It's really something to behold. This burst of unintentional hilarity complements the half-baked, but energetic mass gun battle that ends the picture.



Despite some sloppy moments here and there, SWEET SUGAR flies across the finish line with a multitude of nude scenes and sex that, others in the cast notwithstanding, showcases Davis's fabulous frame. There's also a high trash quotient that keeps things moving along at a relatively brisk pace. The film stumbles a bit till about 30 minutes in, but after that, it's an all access pass to depravity. Killer cats, cannibalism, torture and some lesbianism supplement the fact that there is zero plot holding it all together. The music is made up of library tracks familiar to fans of kung fu movies and low budget 'lake monster' flicks such as BOG (1978).

If you're hypoglycemic where pure exploitation and Drive In sleaze are concerned, than SWEET SUGAR is just the dose of lowbrow entertainment you're looking for.

You can buy the DVD HERE.