Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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LiamCasey
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Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019) - Tubi

Directed by David Gregory, the subject of this documentary is the life and times of (obviously) Al Adamson, the director (and, in many cases, the remix artist) of whatever was selling at the time: horror (e.g. Blood of Dracula's Castle (1967) w/ John Carradine), biker movies (e.g. Satan's Sadists (1969) w/ Russ Tamblyn), westerns (e.g. Five Bloody Graves (1969)), blaxploitation (e.g. Black Heat (1976)), martial arts (e.g. Black Samurai (1976) w/ Jim Kelly) and, inevitably, softcore porn (e.g. The Naughty Stewardesses (1973)). And which ends like something out of a movie he would have made: his murder at the hands of his live-in contractor.

Now, I came across this documentary while idly browsing through what was available for viewing on Tubi. And, since the only movie of Mr. Adamson's that I've ever seen is Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) w/ J. Carrol Naish and Lon Chaney Jr., I thought this might point me in the direction of something else of his I should put on my watch list.

However, although I found the documentary interesting from a historical point-of view regarding the making of exploitation films during the 1960s and 1970s, it did not trigger in me any urge to seek out other films of his. As a matter of fact, it made me a bit sad seeing how far down the ladder some actors had fallen. Yes, Mr. Crawford, we are a long way away from All The King's Men (1949).

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EP Millstone
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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LiamCasey wrote: February 25th, 2023, 4:40 pm Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019) - Tubi
IMO, Al Adamson was to Lon Chaney, Jr. what Ed Wood was to Bela Lugosi: a mixed blessing. Kudos to Al for providing Lon with work . . . but (bleccchh!) what work!

Another Al Adamson "classic" that features LCJ, Russ Tamblyn, and "Freak Out Girl" Regina Carrol (AKA Mrs. Al Adamson) and also airing on Tubi: The Female Bunch.

Image
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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LiamCasey wrote: February 25th, 2023, 4:40 pm Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019) - Tubi
Now, I came across this documentary while idly browsing through what was available for viewing on Tubi.
I think we're all discovering streaming has opened the doors for viewing all those "bad, indie, C grade" movies we've always wanted to see but don't want to pay for. These un-Hollywood curiosities are often one time views only but often have interesting elements, some even showing talent.

The studios would hold these hostage or only offer them on DVDs-expensive if you don't have a local library. Now, we can finally seek them out & see some of them FREE, which is actually fair value, imho.
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

Post by Detective Jim McLeod »

IMO, Al Adamson was to Lon Chaney, Jr. what Ed Wood was to Bela Lugosi: a mixed blessing. Kudos to Al for providing Lon with work . . . but (bleccchh!) what work!

Another Al Adamson "classic" that features LCJ, Russ Tamblyn, and "Freak Out Girl" Regina Carrol (AKA Mrs. Al Adamson) and also airing on Tubi: The Female Bunch.

Image [/quote]

I saw Female Bunch years ago, can't recall too much, Chaney got some lines but his voice was in bad shape. It's strange seeing Russ Tamblyn with a cross on his forehead, around this time the Manson family put "X"'s on theirs. Plus some of this film was shot around Spahn Ranch where the Manson family lived for awhile.
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EP Millstone
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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Here's the story of several badass bitches
Who for violence had a powerful yen
They liked bikin', boozin', ballin', 'n ball-bustin'
But they did not like men

Here's the story of a gang of bikers
For whom mayhem was a powerful fix
They liked bikin', boozin', ballin', specially ballin'
Because they really dug chicks

Then one day the bitches met the bikers
Who learned the gals could really pack a punch
They got their butts licked and not in a good way
By the girl gang known as The Female Bunch

The Female Bunch
They'll eat your lunch
If you dare mess with the badass Female Bunch!

Last edited by EP Millstone on February 27th, 2023, 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LiamCasey
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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Detective Jim McLeod wrote: February 27th, 2023, 1:26 pm I saw Female Bunch years ago, can't recall too much, Chaney got some lines but his voice was in bad shape. It's strange seeing Russ Tamblyn with a cross on his forehead, around this time the Manson family put "X"'s on theirs. Plus some of this film was shot around Spahn Ranch where the Manson family lived for awhile.
This documentary includes footage of the Spahn Ranch, Charles Manson and three of his female cohorts (Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel). Not often you get a documentary that includes both a murder and that quartet with none of the latter being the guilty party.
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Re: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)

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I just saw this, it was a good documentary about bad B movies. I have seen Dracula VS Frankenstein years ago, one of the worst films ever. Adamson makes Ed Wood look like Ingmar Bergman.

I liked hearing the stories from his actors and crew. It was fun hearing Russ Tamblyn talk about his experiences, he knew these were awful films but had a good time making them anyway. Despite the quality of his films being so bad, it appears Adamson was a nice guy, most had kind words for him. The scum that killed him is still in prison, thankfully being denied parole a few times.

I also want to add that Michael J Weldon, a film historian on exploitation and B movies has some comments on Adamson's films. Weldon's book "The Psychotronic Video Guide" which he had autographed for me years ago, sits proudly on my coffee table, right beside Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
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