Stanley (1972)

People are voting emotionally.

Just so...so bad

It is a performances centric movie

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This movie was included in a recent "Gorehouse Greats" 12 movie pack collection which I picked up for about $5. Stuff in these collections tend to be public domain movies that no one cares about keeping the rights to anymore, so I wasn't expecting "good" movies, in the sense that the movies had budgets, or name actors, or even good writing and screenplays. But you always hope to find a hidden diamond-in-the-rough, or a minor "classic" that you'd never heard of before, or something to take you back to the drive-in/grindhouse/late-night TV movies of your youth.Well, "Stanley" is about as good as this collection gets. There's a halfway decent, if somewhat derivative, film trying to get out from under the cheap film stock, the bad costumes, the crappy sets and the terrible,clichéd dialog and by-the-numbers plot. There's some very nice nature photography that someone must have spent a lot of time and effort to get right. There's a theme about ecology and respecting nature that never made it into "Willard" (either version). The lead actor has some charisma and manages to actually make some of the one-sided dialogs he has with his snake pal "Stanley" sort of work sometimes. The, er,snake wrangling was well done and the actors and reptile wranglers did a good job keeping the interactions between humans and snakes believable. The chief "villain" was kind of amusing to watch. And there were three very effective scenes - one where Tim (the "hero") throws snakes into the quicksand where a couple of the bad guys are trapped, one where the boss jumps into his pool only to realize, too late, that there are water moccasins in it, and the final shot of Tim's house burning down when his final breakdown leads to his personal Armageddon.As for the rest, well...it's strictly drive-in filler. The screenplay tries to play the "Vietnam Vet" card to give the movie some depth, but in my book, you can't just use that as an all purpose cover story. You have to provide specific examples or flesh the character out better with personal tics and stories the character can relate to the rest of the cast. Tim just kind of looks generically broody and sad.Also, Tim's main "opposition", the bad guys who work for the boss are the lamest caricatures you can imagine. They don't say or do anything that interests the viewer or surprises them - they're just there to be bitten by Stanley. Still, as I said, there's some decent stuff in here. If you can't get enough of "Willard" themed movies, here's another one for you.

1971's "Stanley" is one of director Wiiliam Grefe's better known titles, others include "Sting of Death" in 1965, "Death Curse of Tartu" in 1966, "Impulse" in 1973 (a rare starring role for William Shatner), and "Mako: The Jaws of Death" in 1975, all of which were shot on location in Florida. I found myself captivated by the two pop songs on the soundtrack, both written and performed by Jack Vino, and produced by Steve Alaimo, who appears on screen as the villainous henchman Crail (former singer and host of WHERE THE ACTION IS). The opening credits are accompanied by the beautiful "Sparrow," which is briefly reprised during the end credits, while the other tune, "Start a New World," features late in the film, as Tim drives Susie in a boat to his swamp hideaway. Lyrically, both tracks are odes to the environment and they lend a kind of stature to a film populated with unsympathetic characters and a clichéd storyline in which Tim Ochopee (Chris Robinson), a half-breed Vietnam veteran, turns his back on his tribe and the rest of society to live in isolation with a family of rattlesnakes in the Everglades. Shortly after completing "The Godfather," Alex Rocco returns to his exploitation roots ("Blood Mania") by playing the lead villain, making belts out of reptile skins, and is also responsible for the shooting death of Tim's father. He also shows an unfatherly and creepy incestuous desire for his gorgeous blonde daughter Susie, played in her one and only film by Susan Carroll (even the distracted director calls attention to her bikini clad assets by focusing on her perfect ass from her opening scene). Television veteran Chris Robinson made his movie debut in the title role of Roger Corman's 1959 "Beast from Haunted Cave," creating the beast himself. A native of West Palm Beach, now residing in Miami, Robinson proved easily available for this rare leading role, working very well with his dangerous co-stars. The recent DVD release makes up for the numerous truncated VHS issues, none of which were intact at a full 106 minutes. "Stanley" made four appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, on Nov 6 1976 (followed by Lugosi's original 1931 "Dracula"), and three more solo: Apr 28 1979, Dec 13 1980, and Jan 16 1982. As a footnote, I also have great fondness for another Chiller Theater classic with a terrific theme song, 1973's Texas-filmed "Horror High" aka "Twisted Brain," its song titled "Vernon's Theme," performed by Jerry Coward.

When broadcast TV stations actually showed movies other than re-runs, infomercials and syndicated TV shows this film always seemed to in on every couple of weeks. the plot has an ex-vet named Tim living out in the Everglades because society doesn't take kindly to his being an Indian. Keeping pretty much to himself he makes fiends with the wildlife, particularly the rattle snakes including one he names Stanley. When he feels pressured he uses his snakes to get revenge on the people he feels have wronged him.Good thriller isn't really scary. To be certain your feelings toward snakes will determine the amount of squirming you'll do since this film is full of snakes from start to finish. Well acted the film has a nice feeling of believability to it even as it hits all of the right exploitation high notes. Watching the film again for the first time in at least a decade I was shocked at how well the film has stood up. While no classic it does what it does nicely and then gets off the screen.Definitely recommended. I'm rating it 6 out of 10 because I'm not sure what a fair rating is. My feelings toward the film are higher than that, but I'm not sure its not purely surprise that the film holds up as well as it does.

I saw this film when it first came out in the early 1970s riding the coat-tails of the highly successful movie, Ben. Filmed in the South Florida Everglades, the film stars two sunshine state film "idols", Chris Robinson and Steve Alaimo. Robinson was best known to die-hard fans for his uncredited role as the "lisp" speaking Melvin in Frank Sinatra's, Lady in Cement. Alaimo known more for his singing career, made a name for himself as the singing drag racer in the Wild Rebels. The two play off each other very well, and for nothing more than a "B" film, it's surprisingly entertaining. Surely not their best acting roles, yet any fans of Robinson or Alaimo, or snakes named Stantley should see this film. Above average entertainment.