From Beyond Television: Ultraman Episode #5

Episode 5: SECRET OF THE MIROGANDA (MIROGANDA NO HIMITSU) ***

Directed by Toshihiro Iijima

Two men are found dead, one of which is famous botanist, Dr. Hiroshi Yamada. At the crime scene a strange substance is found. After Dr. Iwamoto inspects the viscous, sticky liquid, he uncovers both Chlorophyll and Mucin in the green slime. The mystery thickens when the Science Patrol learn that Yamada had been experimenting with exotic plant life; one in particular being a Miroganda found on Oirisu Island. More attacks occur, and each victim turns out to have been members of the Oirisu Island expedition. Only one remains, the beautiful photographer, Setsuko Hamaguchi. The Science Patrol offer protection, and end up battling the killer plant, only to witness it grow to giant size after it absorbs the energy from their laser gun blasts.

What could have been a four star episode about a killer plant ends up wilting and dying by the time it's over. The storyline by Keisuke Fujikawa is initially a strong piece of work, beginning with an air of horror; but the more we see of the beast, the less interesting, and sillier it gets. The creature doesn't attack at random; this particular bit of raging plant life has a vendetta against the exploratory team for drinking the special water found on Oirisu Island. Possibly the writers of JAWS: THE REVENGE (1987) were inspired by this episode? No explanation is given as to how the thing got to civilization to track down its victims, yet the monsters "evolution" is at least intriguing. The Miroganda flower (Miloganda in the dubbed version) is actually its adult stage. Dr. Yamada's experiments (which include growing enormous carrots) cause the flower he brought back to revert to its aggressive larval stage. As for the monster itself....

The yellow-eyed, one-armed, poison-spewing vegetation looks like a cross between the people-eating, walking alien carpet in THE CREEPING TERROR (1964), and a potato that's gone bad. It also recalls Hedorah from GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER (1971). Despite limited mobility, Greenmons possesses the unique ability to deflate its body and slither under thin surfaces to get at its victims. Allegedly the work of monster suit modeler Ryosaku Takayama, it's not one of his best works.

What lets this one down is not just the monster suit design, but the climactic duel between Greenmons and Ultraman. It really isn't much of a battle, and is over rather quickly. Ultraman drop-kicks it into a building. Greenmons blinds Ultraman with its poison spray. Ultraman sets the monster on fire with his Specium Ray. Crispy bits of Greenmons scatter in the wind. Plant monsters have been seen elsewhere in the alien superhero canon (and previously in ULTRA Q), but Greenmons is among the least impressive. 

Suit actors at Tsuburaya warehouse L to R: Yamamura Tetsuo, Teruo Aragaki, Haruyoshi Nakamura, Kunio Suzuki, Minami Akira

Haruyoshi Nakamura (above in middle) was inside the Greenmon suit. Nakamura first became a suit actor on the ULTRA Q series debuting as the rock monster Gorgos from episode seven. This was his first job on ULTRA MAN. He would later play one of the bat men in LATITUDE ZERO (1969) and also Kameba, the giant turtle in Ishiro Honda's flimsy YOG, MONSTER FROM SPACE (1970). 

The nighttime in-studio photography sets a nice mood and Matoba Toru's SPX direction has a couple nice shots tucked away in there. Some innovation is present in a number of scenes where green slime slides down the screen leading into the next scene. The use of B/W film for a flashback sequence adds some variety. The mystery angle in Keisuke Fujikawa's script creates a nice atmosphere for about half the episode. Fujikawa was a prolific writer of dozens of novels, anime, and tokusatsu television. This was his first of five scripts written for ULTRAMAN. Some of his work for the series would go unrealized. 

Akiko Wakabayashi guest stars as photographer, Setsuko Hamaguchi. She's the sole surviving member of the team that succumbed to Greenmons rampage. Wakabayashi starred in a few of Toho's SciFi-Monster movies, most notably in GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1965). She also starred in Toho's spy film, KEY OF KEYS in 1965, and became a Bond girl in 1967 in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

A recurring character on ULTRAMAN is that of Dr. Iwamoto. Essaying him is Dr. Serizawa himself, Akihiko Hirata. A familiar face in many of the best Toho monster movies, Hirata appeared in countless Japanese television shows in regular roles, or guest spots. 

Toshihiro Iijima's third (of six) directed program is the least of his Ultra work thus far. As the Science Patrol inventor and clown, Ide's comic shenanigans subdue some of the seriousness, but it's a kids show, after all. As specified, there's ideas here, but the episode as a whole doesn't sufficiently bloom. 'Secret of the Miroganda' had the lowest rating of the entire series run. But at 29%, that's not a bad showing.

MONSTERS: Greenmons

WEAPONS: Jet V-TOL; Spider Shot

To be continued in Episode 6: THE COAST GUARD COMMAND!!!

The Zebra Force (1976) review

THE ZEBRA FORCE 1976

Mike Lane (Carmine Longo), Richard X. Slattery (Charlie DeSantis), Rockne Tarkington (Earl Lovington), Glenn Wilder (Lieutenant Johnson), Anthony Caruso (Salvatore Moreno), Stafford Morgan (Sgt. Stangman), Clay Tanner (Lt. Dan Claymore), Timothy Brown (John)

Directed by Joe Tornatore

The Short Version: 70s actioner mixes mafiosi with the black action genre, and injects them both with a wild storyline only found in the whirlpool of creativity that graced low budget movies of the time period. The uniqueness of the script is punctuated by a laundry list of familiar genre players and one helluva cool twist in the tail. Another unexpected turn is that the title vigilante force nearly snafu their own movie via poorly written characters and exasperatingly bad acting. The Zebra Force feel like an afterthought in their own movie. Very entertaining, but average at best; only diehard 70s Drive-in specialists need apply.

White Vietnam vets disguised as black men guided by a maimed former commander lead an assault against the mafia to rid the city of its criminal element. After a number of double crosses between rival mob factions, one of the Zebra Force is captured and tortured for information. Their identities revealed, a showdown between the gangsters, the vigilante group and the cops takes place in and around the commando units hideout.

Cinema everyman Joe Tornatore writes, produces, and directs his first effort behind the camera; an intriguing low budget hybrid pairing the black action style and a gangster thriller while making the 'Disturbed Nam Vet' angle as the films narrative thrust. Tornatore got the film done in three weeks and for an amazingly low $185,000. The results are more than adequate, if not entirely effective. Rated PG, the violence level would equate to a PG-13 nowadays. Tornatore's script has some clever touches in it, including a fantastic swerve at the end. Still, some things nearly derail the picture, and this too is a bit of a bombshell. 

The films major handicap is, surprisingly enough, in its title strike force. We're introduced to this eight-man team during a well-staged assault on a mob casino spread out before and after the opening credits. A few minutes later, the group is revealed to be an all-white band of former Vietnam veterans wearing black masks to make their targets think it's black gunmen pulling off the hits. Led by Lt. Johnson (who is missing an arm, most of his face, and communicates through a voice box), their motivation is somewhat vague, aside from being a band of vigilantes fighting crime in ways the law can't. They do clean up in mob money during their raids, which alludes to the retirement plan the government denied them for serving their country.

What makes this group of specialists a detriment to their own movie is that little time is spent getting to know them. Any of them. It wouldn't much matter as their acting is unremittingly poor. Their dialog is likewise weak. It's like the Zebra Force lines were written in a rush and the best were reserved for the experienced cast members. The scenes involving the squad often feel intrusive. They remain largely unknown and never feel like they are the main characters they should be. You do learn they like RC Cola and Budweiser, though. More time is spent on the gangsters. They are the better actors, and far more engaging than the Zebra crew; who, for the most part, are about as appealing as goat cheese. 

The lackluster Zebra Force aside, they are at least surrounded by far more capable character actors to make the proceedings more interesting. Outside of some good, if sporadic stunt work (high falls, car stunts, etc), these thespians are the main saving grace of the picture, and arguably the main reason to watch this movie. They include....

Mike Lane has had a healthy career in films and television. He guested on numerous western, fantasy, and action shows; and even got to play Hercules in the mildly entertaining ULYSSES AGAINST HERCULES (1962) from director Mario Caiano. Other genre roles include the underrated thriller THE NO MERCY MAN (1973), the torturously plodding THE MASTER GUNFIGHTER (1975), and the post nuke favorite STRYKER (1983). 

Another TV veteran, Rockne Tarkington (third from left) had a healthy film career as well. He played the main heavy in THE NO MERCY MAN (1973), and the flamboyant hero with the pet lion in the under-appreciated black action thriller BLACK SAMSON (1974). As one of the mob bosses in ZEBRA FORCE, Tarkington gets one of the best sequences, and throws around some of the best lines.

Anthony Caruso made a mint off playing Indians and gangsters throughout his illustrious career. He did very little film work in comparison to his TV resume. According to director Tornatore, Caruso (like some of the other actors) approached him about getting a part in the movie. The same year Caruso would also appear in one of Fred Williamson's worst movies, MEAN JOHNNY BARROWS (1976).

Italian born Mario Milano was, like Mike Lane, a professional wrestler, and was active during the 1960s working angles with some of the big names in the NWA during that decade. Milano (above emptying trunk) did only a handful of movies in minor roles. He's just a driver in ZEBRA FORCE, but likely his most substantial role was as a Russian fighter in Chang Cheh's classic THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972).

A regular in the films of the great Jack Starrett (who directed one scene in the picture), Clay Tanner plays the chief cop on the case. Tanner isn't given a whole lot to do, but it's nice seeing him amongst the other familiar faces. He made a more memorable impression as one of the devil worshipers in RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975), and the abusive father in FINAL CHAPTER: WALKING TALL (1977). 

Of the squad, Timothy Brown had the healthiest exploitation career, and is the only member of the Nam'sters who stands out, despite having limited screen time; which is saying quite a bit considering little is done with the characters the film is built around. You'll just have to see the flick to see how the exploitation veteran figures into the mix. You can find Brown in related fare like SWEET SUGAR (1972), BONNIE'S KIDS (1973), GIRLS ARE FOR LOVING (1973), and DYNAMITE BROTHERS (1974). 

As for this widescreen DVD release, it looks fantastic. But like the films lacking qualities, there's a bit of violence missing from the finale. In it, one of the main villains is gunned down by police. On the DVD all we see is Carmine exit his car, and then there's a jarring cut to an aerial shot of him already on the ground. The option of seeing this bit of footage is listed on the main menu as 'Original Ending (1st test theatrical release)'. That footage is of lesser quality and fullscreen, but it's great to see it, and a shame this final bit of just desserts is missing from a fairly immaculate looking print.

As a piece of escapist 70s cinema, THE ZEBRA FORCE will leave its mark mostly with hardcore fans of that decades bountiful number of exploitation pictures. Few others will find much of interest here, particularly if you're not familiar with the well known faces of the cast. It was a popular enough title that Joe Tornatore got the squad back together again for the 1987 sequel, CODE NAME: ZEBRA FORCE. For its budget, Tornatore's first time helming a motion picture isn't bad at all, but ultimately feels like having a juicy steak without the potatoes to complete the meal.

This review is representative of the Code Red DVD. Extras and specs: Interview with director Joe Tornatore; original uncut ending; ZEBRA FORCE trailer; trailers for EQUALIZER 2000, WHEELS OF FIRE, MANIAC (THE RANSOM), INN OF THE DAMNED, FAMILY HONOR; 16x9 widescreen 2.35:1 (box mistakenly states 1.85); running time minus PG end card: 1:30:22 (box states 96 minutes).