Man from UNCLE Archives : Sixties Cinema

Carol Lynley Front/Back Covers Unveiling

September 30, 2020 by Tom Lisanti

Soon to be released from BearManor Media. More details to follow in coming weeks.

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2 weeks ago

Includes my interviews with castmates Gil Peterson and James E Hibbard talking about The Cool Ones (1967). ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

2 weeks ago

I stopped being Catholic in the 7th grade while in Catholic school, but I love pope stuff and religious epics. Now that the conclave to vote for a new pope begins, if you want an alternative film to watch other than the obvious Conclave (2024), I would recommend Otto Preminger's Golden Globe Award winner for Best Motion Picture - Drama, The Cardinal (1963). Tom Tryon stars as a priest who rises to cardinal and spans from the turn of the century to the 1930s.

There is a great subplot involving the wonderful John Huston in his Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated performance as gruff Cardinal Glennon who is furious that when the pope dies the Italian cardinals, trying to fix the race, do not give cardinals outside of Italy enough to time to make the conclave in the days before commercial air travel.

If that does not float your boat, there is Carol Lynley giving a standout performance too as Tryon's sweet younger sister who, after her bigoted family runs off her Jewish finance, becomes a bitter tango-dancing prostitute and then gets pregnant. Dumped by her partner and found needing emergency medical attention, her priest brother needs to make the horrible choice to save the unwed mother or the baby.

Read more in my Carol Lynley tribute book from BearManor Media. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

3 weeks ago

I follow Robert Hooks and he recently posted about starring on the TV series, N.Y.P.D. I never saw that but commented that I so liked his 1971 TV-movie Crosscurrent a.k.a. The Cable Car Murder that was a pilot for a proposed series. He responded and it made me watch the movie all over again.

Hooks played a San Francisco detective, who with his partner Jeremy Slate, investigate the murder of a hippie on a cable car. He turns out to be the son of wealthy industrialist, John Randolph, whose eldest son had recently died under mysterious circumstances while boating. Carol Lynley is Randolph’s estranged daughter, who has rejected his money, and works with autistic children. Robert Wagner is the ambitious friend of the dead brothers who works in their family business and once dated Lynley. The great supporting cast also includes Simon Oakland as Hooks and Slate’s demanding captain; Don Pedro Calley as a drug lord; Jose Ferrer as a crooked doctor; and a very young Mario Van Peebles as young boy hired to create a diversion on the cable car when the guy was killed.

Crosscurrent (wonderfully directed by Jerry Jameson from a teleplay by Herman Miller) is one of my favorite TV-movies. It has such a gritty seventies feel to it shot on location all over San Francisco and reminds me a bit of The French Connection, West Coast style. The underbelly of the city becomes another character thanks to cinematographer Fred K. Koenekamp. He expertly shoots scenes around the city from cables car rumbling up and down the hilly streets to some very unglamorous sections of San Francisco. This is all underscored by composer Jerry Goldsmith’s exciting music.
Hooks is tough and determined as the detective who at first thinks the murder was drug related, until he learns more and more about the victim’s family and their dynamics. He and Slate made an excellent pair. Folks who follow me know I am a diehard Carol Lynley fan, and bias aside, she is at her best here. In her pre-Poseidon Adventure hippie period, with her long straight blonde hair, she is poignant as the counterculture Kathy (her opening scene when she tries to get a little Asian boy to say one word is touching) sucked back into the chaotic world of her wealthy father. Lynley had the perfect look and demeanor to play these types of fragile women, baffled by the unexpected predicaments in which they find themselves. Grieving the loss of her brother so close after the death of the other, she stumbles onto the truth and is marked as the next victim to be disposed of. Can Det. Hooks figure it all out before it is too late?

Crosscurrent remains popular with fans of detective films. They were happy for a time when the two-hour version was released into syndication and ran for years before disappearing. The film to this day has a strong following who have clamored for it to be released on DVD or online streaming. As of 2025, it is still sitting in the studio’s vaults as are many made-for-TV movies from the sixties and seventies. However, you can watch it now on YouTube. And you can read more about Carol Lynley in my BearManor tribute book. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

4 weeks ago

My new article on the making of the swinging 1967 teenage musical The Cool Ones, including new interviews with costars Gil Peterson and James Hibbard, is now available in the current edition of Films of the Golden Age. It can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, some newsstands, and via mail order directly from the magazine. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

2 months ago

Great article and agree with Tuesday that this feud was manufactured by the press. Surprised Carol Lynley was not dragged into it. She modeled with both of them as teenagers. She was friendly with Sandra but was life long buddies with Tuesday. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

2 months ago

Cannot wait to read this book due out in April. I have been in contact with Juliet the author for about two years, offering advice with this long overdue bio about her aunt, the legendary Juliet Prowse. The cover is stunning. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sixties Cinema Books

2 months ago

Eleven years ago today I lost a dear friend, former 1960s beach and Elvis movie starlet Gail Gerber. Ernie and I lived a few blocks from her in upstate Manhattan and we would hang out a lot. She was a frequent dinner guest (always arriving a half hour to 45 minutes early) and we would meet her at the former New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park to listen to live jazz on Friday nights. My favorite memory was sitting at the bar with her and a guy from Australia sat down next to me and mentioned that he had come from a lounge nearby that was showing TCM on the monitors. They were playing an Elvis movie (Harum Scarum) with pretty dancing gypsies. I said to him, "Meet Sapphire" and turned to Gail who raised her glass. He practically fell off the bar stool. Gail would always end our nights, after we walked/staggered her home, saying, "What fun!" It always was and I miss her to this day. We also co-wrote her award-winning memoir, Trippin' with Terry Southern, about her career and life with the popular novelist/screenwriter. ... See MoreSee Less

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