Monster of the Day #3073

Updated on July 28, 2020 By Ken Begg 14 Comments

Horrible day. The last standing member of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Olivia De Havilland, has passed at the age of 104. A generation older than even the recently deceased Kirk Douglas, her death truly marks the end of an era.

Also gone is John Saxon, one of cinema’s most reliable B-movie actors. Unlike career heavies like Henry Silva, Saxon was given the opportunity to play leads as well as villains. It’s no masterpiece, and like many Brit flicks from that era could be shockingly grim compared to similar fare in the States, but the Saxon-starring Night Caller from Outer Space is available via a nice print on YouTube.

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  • Gamera977

    Mrs. De Havilland had come up in discussions I’d listened to recently. Sad to hear of her passing.

    Of Saxon, weirdly I always associate him with the Gene Roddenberry pilot for ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Genesis II’. I forget which he was in, Alex Cord was the lead in the other. Will give ‘Night Caller’ a look, never seen it.

  • Every film could have been better with more John Saxon in it. Now no film will be as good as it could have been.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    OT, but the mention of Alex Cord led me to Wikipedia and the entry for Uninvited. Apparently, Uninvited has been remastered in 4K and released on Blu-Ray!

  • Rock Baker

    It was a shock to hear. I’ve always been a Saxon fan.

  • NathanShumate

    I’ve always wondered how different Saxon’s career would have been if he’d just gone with a toupee instead of a combover.

  • bgbear_rnh

    Back in the 70s i did not know the difference between Sam Elliot and Alex Cord. Tom Selleck only made it worse.

  • bgbear_rnh

    A generation older than Kirk? Maybe a few months different in age. Or, do you mean she was a star several years earlier than Kirk?

    Norman Lloyd is still hanging there clutching to miss liberty for life

  • Eric Hinkle

    Fare thee well, Ms. DeHavilland. They say only the good die young, but obviously they were wrong in your case.

  • zombiewhacker

    Enter the Dragon?

  • zombiewhacker

    Margaret O’Brien and Jane Withers were still alive, last I checked. But, yeah, the major stars from the Golden Age are all gone.

  • Gamera977

    Personally I liked the comb-over. It’s the ‘I’m going bald- so what? You got a problem with it!?!’ that seems pretty badass to me.

  • Gamera977

    ‘The Uninvited’ on Blu-Ray- now that’s seriously polishing a turd.

    I always liked Cord on ‘Airwolf’. So I thought Ken was being a little hyper-critical saying he couldn’t act in his review of ‘The Uninvited’. Until I saw ‘The Uninvited’ and Cord was friggin’ horrible. To be fair I think even George Kennedy was awful in this movie though.

  • maggiesmith

    It’s not a bad little movie considering it probably had a shooting budget of $1.98. It benefits from the fact that it was made in England, where you can get good actors really cheap.

  • Ken_Begg

    Yes, the hilariously sleazy set-up makes it sound like a much goofier movie than the one you get. And as you say, good acting (which generally means underacting) always helps carry a dodgy premise.