Mark at the movies No .9

 

Mutiny on The Buses

Released (9 June 1972).

Stan Butler (Reg Varney), a bus driver for the Town & District bus company, is so enamoured with a clippie from his company called Susy (Janet Mahoney), that he agrees to marry her. While Jack (Bob Grant), his close friend and colleague, welcomes the news, his family do not share the same view, with Stan's Mum (Doris Hare) unhappy that he will want to move out of the Butler's house. Although Stan is eager to get married and to find Susy a flat for them to live in, he is forced to put things on hold when he becomes the main money earner for the Butler household, after Arthur (Michael Robbins) loses his job. While trying to find his brother-in-law employment, Jack reveals news, overheard from Blakey (Stephen Lewis), the company's Bus Inspector, that a new manager by the name of Mr Jenkins (Kevin Brennan) has been installed into the depot, who seeks to make the buses profitable and has intentions to make reforms at the depot to ensure its staff work harder, much to the dislike of Stan and Jack who enjoy their current layabout lifestyle.

When Jenkins decides to stop the staff wearing casual, scruffy clothing under their uniform, Stan and Jack instigate a mutiny by having the male and female bus crews wear only the company's uniform that they are provided with, and nothing else. While this has little effect in stopping them from having to wear smarter clothing with their uniforms, the stunt embarrasses Blakey and annoys Jenkins, who blames the Inspector for letting the staff get away with their prank. A few days later, Stan discovers that Jenkins is hiring new drivers and realises that this will provide the needed work for Arthur that can allow him to proceed with marrying Susy. To ensure this, Stan decides to teach Arthur how to drive a bus. However, his plans to get him properly trained soon become threatened when Jenkins has a new radio control system installed in all the buses, allowing Blakey to ensure that the buses are running on time while keeping the pair working hard. Seeking to stop management from interfering with how they want to work, Jack tampers with the system so that it crosses over into other radio frequencies, effectively leading to several misunderstandings involving the police and airliners before the police promptly order its discontinuation.

Soon after the radio system is removed, Jenkins issues Blakey with a new van, to help him monitor the bus routes more effectively. However, when Stan and Jack accidentally cause a fire at the depot, the staff quickly find that the fire-fighting equipment is woefully inadequate, resulting in the chaos that leads to the Inspector's new van being crushed between two buses whilst they are being moved out of the building. In the aftermath of the incident, Jenkins has the fire-fighting equipment upgraded and orders the Inspector to stage a fire drill, but this only leads to mayhem when Stan and Jack flood the depot after breaking the depot's new foam machine. At the same time, Arthur, who secured a job at the company, is horrified when Olive (Anna Karen) arrives at the depot during the mayhem, and crashes the motorbike in the flooded maintenance pit, after believing that her husband had lied about the fire drill.

Despite Arthur now having a job, Stan discovers that he cannot afford a flat with the money he is earning unless he can make more, and so is thrilled when Jenkins reveals to the bus crews that he is planning to arrange for the company to run safari tours to Windsor Safari Park, whereupon the driver selected by him to drive the special bus for the tour will receive a larger wage and keep any tips they earn. However, any hope of Stan getting the job is dashed when Blakey informs him that, because both he and the depot manager agree that he is accountable for the mayhem with the fire drill, he will never be allowed to get the job. Later that evening, attending the company's dart competition in the busmen's canteen while debating on how to secure the safari job, trouble arises when he, Jack and Mum are forced to take Olive home, after she starts a fight with Arthur's clippie, Norah (Pat Ashton), for trying to flirt with her husband and getting more attention than herself. A couple of nights later, when they are in the depot after hours, Stan and Jack witness Jenkins having an affair with Norah and use the information to blackmail him into giving Stan the safari job, much to Blakey's shock.

A few days later, Stan prepares for the first run - a trial run to determine if the safari park will accept buses on its ground. While Stan is delighted with the new uniform he is provided with, and the special safari bus he will be driving, he accidentally damages the bus' rear emergency exit, resulting in the trial run being a complete disaster when it leaves him and Blakey, assigned to supervise the run, at the mercy of lions and monkeys. With their engagement on the rocks following the incident, Stan persuades Susy to come to his family's house for tea the following night to talk things over. But when it is announced that Olive is pregnant again, an annoyed Susy realises that she will never be married and storms out of the Butler household, giving back her engagement ring to Stan in the process. The next day, Stan finds out from Jack that Jenkins' wife learnt of his affair with Norah and had him transferred to another depot as a result, while also learning that his friend is no longer on his bus. Instead, he is shocked to discover that Blakey will be joining him, after being demoted to a conductor for all the trouble caused recently, but is delighted to learn that three new, attractive clippies have arrived at the depot, one of whom, Gloria (Jan Rennison), is being put on Stan's bus. The story ends with Blakey preventing passengers from getting on Stan's bus, much like Jack did at the beginning, while Stan gets a feeling of Deja Vu when he finds himself agreeing to marry Gloria.

This is one of the series of films based on the popular television series starring Reg Varney who was the first man to use an ATM.

One of the best sets of films based on television made in my opinion.

I like this one of the series because of the scene involving Windsor Safari Park which includes a lion going on the bus and a chimpanzee looking like it's driving the bus.

The humour is very much of the 70, S but it still holds its own in today's more woke world we live in today.

The spin-off films were produced by Hammer Film Productions. They are On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), and Holiday on the Buses (1973), set in a holiday camp. On the Buses became Britain's top box office film of 1971.

Running Time (1hr 29 minutes)

Rated (A).

4 of 4 

Always a pleasure to go on a bus journey with the cast

Frankenstein

Released(November 21, 1931).

Plot 

In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz, a hunchback, piece together a human body. Some of the parts are from freshly buried bodies, and some are from the bodies of recently hanged criminals. In a laboratory he's built inside a watchtower, Henry desires to create a human, giving this body life through electrical devices. He still needs a brain for his creation. At a nearby school, Henry's former teacher Dr Waldman shows his class the brain of an average human being and the corrupted brain of a criminal for comparison. Henry sends Fritz to steal the healthy brain from Waldman's class. Fritz accidentally damages it, and so brings Henry the corrupt brain.

Henry's fiancée Elizabeth speaks with their friend Victor about the scientist's peculiar actions and his seclusion. Elizabeth and Victor ask Waldman for help understanding Henry's behaviour, and Waldman reveals he is aware Henry wishes to create life. Concerned for Henry, they arrive at the lab just as he makes his final preparations, the lifeless body on an operating table. As a storm rages, Henry invites Elizabeth and the others to watch. Henry and Fritz raise the operating table toward an opening at the top of the tower. The creature and Henry's equipment are exposed to the lightning storm and empowered, bringing the creature to life.

Frankenstein's Monster, despite its grotesque form, seems to be an innocent, childlike creation. Henry welcomes it into his laboratory and asks it to sit, which it does. He opens up the roof, causing the Monster to reach out towards the sunlight. Fritz enters with a flaming torch, which frightens the Monster. Its fright is mistaken by Henry and Waldman for an attempt to attack them, and it is chained in the dungeon, where Fritz antagonizes it with a torch. Hearing Fritz shriek in the dungeon, Henry and Waldman run down, finding that the Monster has strangled and hanged Fritz. The Monster lunges at the two but they lock the Monster inside. Realizing the Monster must be destroyed, Henry prepares an injection of a powerful drug and the two conspire to release the Monster and inject it as it attacks. When the door is unlocked the Monster lunges at Henry as Waldman injects the drug into the Monster's back. The Monster falls to the floor unconscious.

Henry collapses from exhaustion, and Elizabeth and Henry's father take him home. Henry is worried about the Monster, but Waldman reassures him that he will destroy it. While Henry is at home, recovering and preparing for his wedding, Waldman examines the Monster. As he prepares to vivisect it, the Monster strangles him. It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape, encountering a farmer's young daughter, Maria. She asks him to play a game with her in which they toss flowers onto a lake. The Monster enjoys the game, but when they run out of flowers he throws Maria into the lake, where she disappears beneath the surface. The Monster runs away. 

With preparations for the wedding completed, Henry is happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Waldman arrives. Victor rushes in, saying that Waldman has been found strangled. Henry suspects the Monster. The Monster enters Elizabeth's room, causing her to scream. When the searchers arrive, they find Elizabeth unconscious. The Monster has escaped.

Maria's father arrives, carrying his drowned daughter's body. He says she was murdered, and the villagers form a search party to capture the Monster. During the search, Henry is attacked by the Monster. The Monster knocks Henry unconscious and carries him to an old mill. The peasants hear his cries and find the Monster has climbed to the top, dragging Henry with him. The Monster hurls the scientist to the ground. His fall is broken by the vanes of the windmill, saving his life. Some of the villagers bring him home while the rest of the mob set the windmill ablaze, with the Monster trapped inside.

At Castle Frankenstein, Henry's father celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild.

This is the first version I watched of Frankenstein and the monster played by Boris Karoff is one of the best portrayals in the realm of the Horror genre.

This film contains still to this day a scene that sends chills down my spine and for a while was excluded from the film due to its subject talking of It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape, encountering a farmer's young daughter, Maria. She asks him to play a game with her in which they toss flowers onto a lake. The Monster enjoys the game, but when they run out of flowers he throws Maria into the lake, where she disappears beneath the surface. The Monster runs away.

It is eerie when you hear the splash of the water and the almost bit where the monster seems to be human.

Running Time(71 minutes)

Rated(12A).

Still scary today.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks 

(October 7, 1971).

Plot.

In August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, three children named Charlie, Carrie, and Paul Rawlins are evacuated from London to Pepperinge Eye, near the Dorset coast, where they are placed in the reluctant care of Miss Eglantine Price. The children discover Miss Price is learning witchcraft through a correspondence school with hopes of using her spells in the British war effort against the Nzis and offering the children a transportation spell in exchange for their silence. She casts the spell on a bedknob.

Miss Price receives a letter from her school announcing its closure, thus preventing her from learning the final spell. She convinces Paul to use the enchanted bed to return the group to London, and locate the headmaster, Professor Emelius Browne. Browne turns out to be a common street magician who created the course from an old ook and is shocked to learn the spell work. He reveals his real reason for closing the school: the book is damaged and the final spelSubstitutionaryiary Locomotion", is missing. The group travels to Portobello Road to locate the rest of the book. After an exchange with an old bookseller, Miss Price learns that the spell is engraved on a magical medallion called the Star of Astaroth. The bookseller explains that Astaroth used the medallion to anthropomorphise a pack of wild animals, who then killed him and took the Star to a remote island called Naboombu.

The group travels to Naboombu. The bed goes underwater, where Mr Browne and Miss Price enter a dance contest and win first prize. The bed is fished out of the sea by a bear, who brings the group before the island's ruler, King Leonidas the lion, who is wearing the Star of Astaroth. Leonidas invites Mr Browne to act as a referee in a football match. The chaotic match ends in Leonidas' self-proclaimed victory, where Mr Browne swaps the medallion with his referee whistle as he leaves.

Back home, Miss Price casts the spell, which imbues inanimate objects with life. When Miss Price is informed that the children can be moved to another home, she decides to let them stay, realizing she has come to love them and vice versa. The children declare they war Mr Browne to be their father, Mr Browne, wary of commitment, bids goodbye to the group and attempts to take a train back to London. A platoon of Nazi German commandos land on the coast via U-boat as part of an exercise and invade Miss Price's house, imprisoning her and the children in the local museum. At the train stator, Mr Browne fends off two Germans cutting phone lines and heads back to Miss Price's house, using a spell that he taught Miss Price to disguise himself and avoid the Germans. He inspires Miss Price to use the spell to enchant the museum's exhibits into an army. The army of knigharmourrmor and military unifochaseases the Germans away, but as they retreat, they destroy Miss Price's workshop, ending her career as a witch. Though disappointed her career is over, she is happy she played a small part in the war effort.

Shortly afterwards Mr Browne enlists in the army and departs with the local Home Guard escorting him, promising the children he will return soon. Paul reveals he still has the enchanted bedknob, hinting they can continue with their adventures.

This a full-on family entertainment film in the senses, it is full of song, fun, animation, drama, and a sprinkle of magic and the end scenes of ancient armour coming alive to take on the invading Nazis is a great watch as it is very funny, I like to dedicate this to the late Dame Angela Angela Lansbury who is marvellous in this film.

Worth a watch for children of all ages.

Running Time(117 minutes (1971 original version)

139 minutes (1996 reconstruction version).

Rated (PG).

4 out of 4.

For the magic, it gives in my childhood memories.

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile(2022).

Plot

In New York City, a charismatic magician named Hector P. Valenti wants to try out on a national talent show but is constantly rejected. One day after a failed audition he wanders into an exotic pet store and finds a singing baby crocodile and names him Lyle. Seeing Lyle as an opportunity to strike it rich in the talent business, he places his 3-story Victorian brownstone home as collateral for their performance, but Lyle gets stage fright during the premiere and Valenti loses the home. Valenti is forced to move out and reluctantly leaves Lyle to fend for himself while he tries to make more money.

Eighteen months later, the Primm family moves into the house. Josh is initially terrified of moving into his new home and struggles to make friends at school. One night, he discovers Lylefull-grown grown) living in the attic, and the two become friends when Lyle saves Josh from a mugger and demonstrates his singing talent. Josh's stepmother and father eventually find out about Lyle. Though they are initially terrified of him, they bond with Lyle over their favourite writing hobbies. One day, Valenti returns to the house to visit Lyle, as an agreement states he can live in the house fifteen of a year. He makes another attempt to get Lyle to perform on stage, but it fails as Lyle still has stage fright.

Meanwhile, Mr Grumps, the Primm family's unfriendly downsneighbourighbor, becomes annoyed by the loud activity caused by Lyle, Valenti, and the Primms. Determined to put an end to it, he has cameras installed to find out what is going on but manages to achieve his goal by bribing Valenti to sell out Lyle in exchange for money to pay his debts. Lyle is unable to convince the authorities of his benevolent nature because of his stage fright and is locked up at the zoo. Feeling guilty for what he did to Lyle, Valenti goes to break him out of the zoo with Josh's help. Valenti and Lyle reconcile with each other before Lyle escapes with Josh to the talent show while Valenti distracts the authorities. On stage, Lyle manages to overcome his stage fright with help from Josh, and his singing talent is well-received by the audience and viewers.

One month later, a trial is held to determine whether or not Lyle may be free. The judge ultimately decides to rule over Mr Grumfavour favour of Lyle when Valenti reveals that the deed to his house was written out to his grandmother - who built the house and founded the New York City Zoo where Lyle was previously kept - allowing her to keep exotic animals as pets. After the trial, the Primm family celebrates Lyle's freedom by taking him on vacation, while Valenti becomes acquainted with a new talented animal: A beatboxing rattlesnake owned by Josh's friend, Trudy.

This film is based on the bestselling Children's  Book which is set at a fast pace and has many touching moments you will fall in love with the New York skyline but it suffers from trying to pack too many in and as a film made for children it can come across slightly plain dumb plus it lacks great gags and the songs are forgettable.

Running time(106 Minutes).

Rated(PG).

Halloween Ends(2022)

Plot

In 2019, Corey Cunningham is babysitting a young kid named Jeremy, who pulls a prank by locking him inside the attic. Just as Jeremy’s parents come home, Corey kicks the door open and accidentally knocks Jeremy off the balcony to his death, and Corey is accused of intentionally killing Jeremy.

Three years later, the town of Haddonfield, Illinois is still reeling from the aftermath of Michael Myers' latest killing spree,[a], while Michael has vanished. Laurie Strode is writing a memoir, having bought a new house and living with Allyson, her granddaughter. The town has turned on Laurie, blaming her for Michael's rampage and accusing her of encouraging him.

Meanwhile, Corey is now working at his father's salvage yard, still hated by the suspicious town. On his way home on the day he is taunted by high school bullies and injures himself in the process while observing Laurie later brings him to the doctor's office where Allyson works. The two begin developing a relationship and attend a Halloween party, but Corey is confronted by Jeremy's mother, leaves the party, and is confronted by the high schoolers. He ends up getting thrown off a bridge, and Corey is dragged into the sewers by an unknown figure.

Corey wakes up in the sewers and is confronted by Michael, who has been living in the sewers for the past four years. After holding him by the throat, Michael elects to let Corey go.

Corey and Allyson make up and go on a dinner date, but Allyson's ex, who is a police officer, shows up and harasses them both. This leads Corey to later lure the cop into the sewers, where Michael kills him. Allyson finds out she was passed over for a promotion in favour of a fellow nurse who is having an affair with the doctor. Corey and Michael team up and murder the doctor and nurse at the doctor's home.

Allyson and Corey plan to leave Haddonfield because of the past trauma and have an unpleasant encounter with a radio DJ, who insults both of them. Corey goes home, where his mother is cruel to him and slaps him, so he leaves and sleeps in the house where Jeremy died. Meanwhile, Laurie has become increasingly suspicious of Corey after he begins mimicking Michael's behaviour and hunts him down at Jeremy's house, where she forbids him to leave with Allyson. Corey retorts by blaming her for the events that have occurred in Haddonfield and says if he cannot have Allyson, no one will.

On Halloween day, Corey returns to the sewers and successfully fights Michael for his mask. Meanwhile, Laurie and Allyson argue as she plans to leave and Allyson, too, blames Laurie for Michael's actions. That night, Corey embarks on a rampage, murdering the high schoolers at the salvage yard. In the confusion, Corey's father is also accidentally killed. He then goes to kill his mother, as well as the DJ and receptionist at the radio station. Back at the Strode house, Laurie faux-attempts suicide to lure Corey to her, whom she shoots down the stairs. Corey then stabs himself in the neck to frame Laurie for his death in front of the arriving Allyson. Michael suddenly appears and kills Corey, and after a struggle, Laurie finally kills Michael by pinning him to the counter slitting his throat and wrists.

With Michael finally dead, Laurie takes his body to the salvage yard, attracting the residents of Haddonfield, who follow her in a procession. She takes his body to an industrial shredder at Corey's father's scrapyard. In the ensuing days, Laurie finishes her memoir and rediscovers her romance with Officer Hawkins.

I am afraid this latest in a long line of films lacks jumps, and twists, but has acting performances, throwback references and laughs.

But I think this is made for fans like myself and I think this is the end of our anti-hero no, wait a few years another Halloween will come along.

Running time(110 minutes)

Rated (18)

3 out 4