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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- #docsavage #thingsdontgosowell
Stam Fine Reviews looks at an attempt to bring the pulp novel character of Doc Savage to live action in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Ron Ely stars as Doc Savage, a brilliant guy who can do almost anything. Produced by George Pal, Directed by Michael Anderson. Also stars Pamela Hensley, Paul Wexler, William Lucking, Paul Gleason.
It works some of the time, and at other times, the film needs to be yelled at to get off the couch and mow the lawn.
"Clark Savage, the Man of Bronze with his Fortress of Solitude" all appeared in print from 1933, years before Clark Kent, Man of Steel with his identically named Fortress of Solitude, saw print. This pulp hero also inspired *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* which you have already covered, but at least the creators of that movie readily acknowledged the fact. Buckaroo's team, The Hong Kong Cavaliers were also a nod to Doc's band of followers, sometimes referred to as the Fabulous Five.
Wow. Never knew Fortress of Solitude was originally a Doc Savage thing. Thanks.
You put your finger on the main problem. It tries for 60's atman camp but it does it badly. Leaving only a mediocre film.
Thanks Stam Fine, you're an absolute legend. You solved a mystery of my childhood. I remember being about 4 or 5 and seeing a guy dressed in white on a ship lying on a bed with green vapourlike snakes coming under the door....freaked me the hell out and gave me nightmares😅. At least I now know 40odd years later what that crazy crap was.😅
I saw this at the cinema back in '75 and thought it was highly original and pretty darned good. I was surprised there was no sequel as the movie was perfect for one. As a young kid in the 70's I wasn't familiar with the old radio show which _Doc Savage_ was based upon nor the pulp books, but I feel this movie was aimed at me due to my age---meaning the tongue-in-cheek humour didn't bother me so much as it reminded me of TV's _Batman_
This makes me appreciate the Rocketeer. The Rocketeer felt like it was in the correct time period. Doc Savage was a mess
Doc Savage, and Ron Ely are peak nostalgia for a 60s kid. 5 stars!
Ron Ely: a popular Tarzan, and somehow manages to out-Roger Moore Roger Moore as Doc Savage!
70s too
You can call him the Feast Unknown as he portrayed Tarzan and Clark Savage Jr.
@@digipeeper lol, I wonder if anyone is shopping that script around.
you forgot ..Paul Gleason - The principal in "The Breakfast Club" - Discuss
My dad bought all the reprints back in the 1960s, the ones with the James Bama covers, when he was in the Air Force in Vietnam and I inherited the lot of them, including a neat poster showcasing Doc Savage that hangs on my bedroom door now. 😎
You’ve got a great inheritance/gift from your dad, I’m still trying to find the paperbacks or the reprints and the film.
@@ajclements4627 I have over one thousand Doc Savage paperbacks. I usually sell them at the annual Paperback Exchange in North Hills, California but have not attended for a few years.
Like it or not, 1960s Batman was the source of many bad decisions to camp up films and TV which would have been far better without. I only recently discovered that it was also the reason that the later, sillier, episodes of Man from UNCLE differed so much from the more dramatic first series. The edict came down from above that because Batman was so successful UNCLE had to emulate it.
Oh yes, I was immediately reminded of the campy sillyness of the '60s Batman. And yes, I remember now that Man from UNCLE really deteriorated in the last season or so, and became completely ludicrous. Not even adorable Illya (the Russian Scotsman) with his blonde bangs could redeem it
As a teen I read the books over and over again.
My grandfather left me a bunch of the original pulp novels and a handful of the paperback reprints when he passed away in 1971. I think collected everything Doc Savage and I am the proud owner of all of the novels, many of the pulps, and all of the comics and magazines. I once spent 50 bucks on one novel because it was a double and very hard to find. It is now worth over 500 bucks but I won't sell mine. I was so excited in 1975 when this movie came out and while I didn't mind it being so campy, it is hard to rewatch today. I wish someone had done a proper movie with a serious tone like the books. I still own this on DVD and watch it every few years but I find that I watch The Phantom with Billy Zane much more than Doc Savage.
"Only Alloys". For such a brief, throwaway joke, that tickled me.
In the original comic book version of Moore and Gibbons's Watchmen, Ozymandias was deliberately based on Doc Savage. There's even a Gibbons illustration of a photograph of Ozy that explicitly shows him as looking exactly like Ron Ely! 👍
He lobotomizes his enemies.. this Doc is Savage.
Would have worked better as an Republic Serial in the 30s - this just looks like an over lit TV movie, there is nothing cinematic about it at all.
It’s buckaroo Banzai 1930’s style !!! Love this movie - just appeared on Apple TV as well so now can get my fix of Stam Fine and the Doc 👍
The folks behind BB have said they had Doc firmly in mind while making the film. Manages to be a gentle parody and an homage at the same time, which is a nice touch.
If you're only familiar with the movie, reading (or listening - there are audiobooks of most of the series on youtube free) the books is an eye-opener. The tone is much more serious and quite a bit more grim, with Doc and his Fabulous Five killing a *lot* of even more vicious bad guys. Much more typical of pulp stories in that era, which were not written as camp for kids.
Doc Savage is Buckaroo Banzai's grand-pa
@@richmcgee434 I’ll have a look - i imagine they would be a bit more boys own due to the time they were written - anywhere particular you’d recommend to start ?
@@carlh-thehermitwithwi-fi679I buy that - Ely and Peter Weller do look a fair bit alike.
This was a disappointment when it came on the telly back in the late 70s, I didn't really know what to think as a kid. I do remember there being frequent large ads in the back of film mags/comics for a Doc Savage bronze figurine. This was in the early 80s, years after the film's release so I'm guessing someone had a warehouse full of them, anyone else remember that?😄
I enjoyed this film in the 70s! Still makes me smile today. Now Pamela Hensley is probably better remembered for Buck Rogers! By me anyway but I was a teenager at the time😊
Grew up with watching reruns of him as Tarzan.
I had no clue that we almost had the Rifleman as Doc in a TV series; as a fan of both, I'd have loved it! I remember seeing this movie back in the 70s. Personally, I loved it. What a time to be a Doc Savage fan. He was in the comics (including a sort of team up with the Thing. Which placed him in the Marvel universe and had us hoping he'd show up in an Invaders special or at in a Captain America flashback. His old pulps were rereleased and some new ones, all with great painted covers. Such a shame the Savage wave was so short-lived and that this movie flopped. For a moment we were hopeful of an actual Shadow v Savage movie. But not even a single action figure (not that that stopped me from turning my Mego Aquaman into a suitable stand-in). Sigh. Oh well. Thanks for covering this, even if bittter-sweet.
A Mego Aquaman as a Doc Savage figure? I think I’ll try to find an Aquaman.
I remember this stupid movie. My favorite line was "Mona, you're a brick." I think it's time for a reboot, this time with Alan Ritchson as The Man of Bronze.
I had a Doc Savage action figure when I was a kid.
I have no idea why.
The source material (all 181 novella-length stories) was MUCH darker in tone. This film was such a disappointment!
Being a Doc Savage fan since the 70s I loved that movie.
Have it downloaded on one of SD card.
Even Lester Dent's (real name of writer) widow liked it. (there was an interview with her in one of the issue of Marvel's B&W Doc Savage magazine) magazine.
And they got most so on point. Johnny's long words. Monk and Ham good natured bickering. Ham's sword cane. Renny's Holy Cow. Doc riding outside the car.
Even got Johnny's glasses right. (He's mostly blind in one eye, so the lens to that eye is used as a magnified glass)
Again, loved it. And glad I have it saved so I can watch it whenever I want.
Recommend Buckaroo Banzai for a modern version of Doc and his Amazing Five.
Me: Doc Savage, kind of a silly name
Stam Fine: then the doc lobotomizes the movies bad guy at the end of the film
Me: i stand corrected. He is pretty darn savage😂
George Pal failed with this film, I think, because he didn't have the insight that helped make Star Wars and Superman from the similar era so successful: no matter how fantastical the premise, play it straight. Don't try to chuckle away the fantasy elements, or tell the audience they're not supposed to take it seriously.
This film was on frequent rotation in HBO's very early days. My siblings and I loved it, especially the cheesy dialogue. "Mona, you're a brick," was our comedic catchphrase for a long time.
I saw this movie during its original theatrical release, and that was the one part I could remember. My aunt and my sister, who saw the movie with me, got a hoot from that line, and would repeat it parodically for a time.
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze was like Movie Crack to me as a kid. I had a VHS recording of it in the late 90's and always had a blast with it. Not seen it for 25 years and the adult me would probably find it very cheesy but it'll still hold a place in my movie heart for just being fun escapism.
I know the character but never heard of this movie.
But I suddenly have a better understanding and appreciation for The Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai.
I remember going to see Buckaroo Banzai the week it came out and being the only person in the group i went with who'd ever read a Doc Savage novel. To put it mildly, my experience with the film was a lot different than theirs. They missed so many references...
Buckeroo Banzai is an homage to Doc Savage
Kind of surprised this hasnt been remade. It was an amusing movie
I saw this movie in 1975. It was much too campy as compared to the source material. Steve Reeves, who starred in the 1958 movie "Hercules", turned this film down because he found it much too silly. I agree. Read the books and see if you agree. And there was no Captain Seas in any of the novels. George Pal was a better producer than writer.
Y'know, this could have been good if they hadn't played it as pure camp (which it is - I know deliberate absurdism when I see it, and this ain't it). The novel they're sort of using here was a solid Indiana Jones style story with plenty of action, some okay mystery elements, and plenty of interesting settings to visit, not least of which being 1930s NYC. It's all played written dead straight and the stakes and dangers are real and a lot more plausible than the film's idiotic vapor snakes.
I'll give it this much, of all the odd scifi/fantasy elements randomly added into the film, the brain operations to "fix" criminals? Straight out of the books. It was a big part of Doc's lore that tied in with period discussions about reform and the role of the prison system, so very topical in its day. It's also why Buckaroo Banzai is specifically shown to be a brain surgeon when they made the film. Direct homage to Doc, which makes sense because BB is an 80s spin on the character, both a gentle parody and a loving homage at the same time.
Much better film, too.
I read the books, as a teen, I was a bit disapointed by that TV-movie. I didn't know it was a George Pal movie.
My Grandfather wrote some of these, back in the original print form. He did not get rich, as it was a normal-paying job for most back then. Neither did it bring any real fame or accolade. But I think it's pretty cool, nevertheless. I have a few copies that will be framed, eventually.
Under the name Lester dent?
@jmen4ever257 His nom de plume was "Kenneth Robeson". He also wrote the Johnny Saxon detective novels.
Edit add.- my brother said he and Dent co-wrote several together.
I feel like Trump watched this movie and decided he wanted to be Doc Savage but then forgot to become smart, strong and good.
This was a solid movie and Doc Savage is still one of the most iconic characters ever written.
is this your career? just watching old media and commenting? awesome
Read as many of the books I could lay my hand on - compared to them the film came out a bit flat - but then again, I already had my imagination rolling the film in my head :)
6:54 Just a heads up for those who don't have the closed captions on, when Savage tells the love interest "you're a brick"... that's not what the closed captions say! Lol. I will leave it at that. Check it out for yourself!
Hello StamFine and thank you for your work! I come from France and "Doc Savage" was rediscovered by people who liked bad movies, and the reason is very interesting. In the French dub, Ron Ely is voiced by George Aminel (the voice of Charlton Heston, Yul Bryner, and even Darth Vader), and for some strange reason Aminel spoke with a Dylslalia when he voiced Ely! And the whole song was also dub in French, which sounded like the group "Les Compagnons de la Chanson".
This is an good exemple : th-cam.com/video/KKOM9mu-puI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=VincentWelshman
Your channel is great and you got me interested in Doctor Who!
Well I'll be Superamalgamated😎
The only thing I remember about this was the snakes, which scared the bejesus out of me as a kid 😅
Thanks for this review! I loved the Doc Savage pulps and was looking forward to a film franchise. My brother and I saw this when it was released... the two of us were the only people in the theater. Didn't do well at the box office is an understatement.
Marvel Comics produced a full-color comic-book adaptation of the film that threw out all the camp elements, as well as a short-lived black-and-white magazine in association with Curtis Publications. These adventures hewed closer to the pulp novels, reprints of which at the time could be found on paperback spinner racks that populated stores in the days before home video. The Curtis mags were reprinted in an omnibus a few years ago. Several attempts have been made since to resurrect Doc and his fellow pulp heroes in comics or film, but nothing really hits. Like _Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze,_ Russell Mulcahy's _The Shadow_ from 1994 has a phenomenal cast and crew, but its director couldn't stop bobbing between genuine tribute and goofball clownshow.
See Giant-size Doc Savage #1. It follows the story of the movie. I remember following along live during the broadcast in 1975. I was so excited.
Brought both the Marvel colored and B&W comics. The color comics adapted the Robinson's stories, the B&W magazine had new stories.
There's even was a team up with Doc and The Five with The Thing from FF (also Spidey but that was indirectly)
10 year old me loved this film.
in 1975, new films played theaters for months. Doc Savage was gone in two weeks. It ended George Pal's career. Pal believed that such pulp style adventures could not be played straight, but only tongue in cheek. Six years later he was proven wrong with Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the most popular films of all time. Had George Pal taken a serious approach to Doc Savage like he had with The Time Machine, it would have been a classic. Even the studio didn't like the end product so that most of the music in the film was public domain John Philip Sousa music. There was once a rumor that a more serious cut of the film existed but I spoke to someone at Warner Brothers in the 1980s who said that it wasn't the case.
I kept waiting for the movie to show up at my local theater. Never happened. The first time I saw it was on TV (did an audio recording)
Whitman Publication did hard covered illustrated reprints of some of the pulp stories at the time of the movie.
Loved the books..Hated the movie..
To this day, I own 5 sword canes, all because of "Ham" Brooks.
They were going to revive the project with a new movie in 2016 starring The Rock, but that got shelved in favor of a TV series in 2020, and it''s been in development hell ever since..
The rock would have been a good fit for a serious adpatation. Easily my favorite modern meathead action-adventure star.
Will you please cover the films of the immortal Neil Breen?
Should of been more serious and PG rated.
Damn good book series.
It was my staple as a kid, along with Mack Bolen, The Three Investigators, and Remo Williams The Destroyer Series.
Most interesting thing is Superman totally ripped off Doc Savages Fortress of Solitude
Indeed -- as well as his name ("Clark") and the "Man of Tomorrow" moniker sometimes used. Doc Savage & the Philip Wylie novel "Gladiator" were the main inspirations for Superman.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark was everything Doc Savage wasn’t sadly.
That's an excellent analogy..well played! 👍
Pretty much, yeah.
I got to see this movie in the theatre when it came out. Although it was high camp rather than serious I enjoyed it, and wish that they had gone ahead with the promised sequel.
For knowing the comics i'm livin' on the wrong side of the ocean and am not old enough, but i love this movie for so many reasons. Doc Savage is an ideal hero, like Billy Zane in "The Phantom". Like the Alan Quartermain movies with Richard Chamberlain it's kinda light hearted, easy to rewatch movies, cause it's not so dark. The humor is well dosed, so the audience know that the movie doesn't took itselve too serious, but enough to tell an nice upto thrilling story with a villian that was more on the harmless end of the scale, compared to someone like Tharnos, Sauron or Voldemort. The Fab Five represents the spirit of progress and professionality with an optimistic view towards the future. Compare this to the Avengers or the Justice League. This movie feels refreshing, stylish and well entertaining and i wish that some filmmakers will find the guts to bring that kind of movies back to life. It seems to be necessary.
This PRE-Indiana Jones film probably looked great on-paper to the studio heads.
Too bad that it did poorly and if I'm mistaken...George Pal's swan song.
But alas, it's a slightly higher than average budgeted TV-Movie-esque movie that for me, was just silly enough to make it enjoyable at the theater.
With all the reboots these days, a more thoughtful reimagining of Doc Savage might be a possibility???
Big, muscular, lantern jawed guy who could actually act?
WHY DIDN'T THEY USE THIS GUY!
Always remember the special angled glass in his apartment, out by about 4 inches or something just incase someone was trying to shoot you, Bahahahaha
It's straight out of the books. He gets sniped at pretty regularly throughout the series, it's a perfectly reasonable precaution for him. Pretty sure something very like it ("diffraction glass" IIRC) was a real thing that some bigwigs in the 30s used in their offices, so not even a wholly original idea.
As a pulp mag DS lasted from 1933 to 1949. His revival lasted pretty much from 1965 to 75, with four or five later new paperback efforts. Some later comic book Attempts. As is the film crippled the characters revival.
Just like the 1960's Batman, this film was a pathetic excuse for the subject mafter. Some day they will do justice to Doc Savage and Flash Gordon and we'll all realize these "Camp" directors were incredible idiots.
I like the movie.
I only wish I would have seen it when I was a kid. I knew about the books becuase they were at the newsstand at the market. But only enjoyed the fantastic cover art and never really read them.
Now need to watch it again as an adult . I loved this as a child. Fantastic review, thank you
until you realize that Doc Savage is Buckaroo Banzai's grandpa.......
Yep.
I was eleven when I saw this at the Peckham Odeon and I felt rather disappointed by it. I liked Ron Ely from all the Tarzan tv show I watched and thought he'd be perfect in the role of Doc Savage and, to be fair, he was pretty good, but the whole tone of the film was wrong. It wasn't until 1981 that I saw the film Doc Savage should've been, Raiders of the Lost Ark. As it was it was too cheap and campy to really succeed.
I never saw this movie back in the day. I've tried watching it and I still haven't been able to make it through the movie. Doc Savage is just too perfect. If you're going to have a movie with a character portrayed like this then you need to kick the plot way up and make an epic challenge with only Doc and his amigos to try to resolve the problem. It feels way too small of a scale. It seems like something made for television. It's too bad, I'm an affectionado of all things 1930s, and I want to get into Doc Savage, but there's just nothing that's helped get me onboard.
Think Ron Ely would have made a superb Batman - Got the physique and sounds like Kevin Conroy - or Superman
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, is just another version/clone of Doc Savage…
Kind of like the Phantom film of the 90s; good idea but did not translate well.
I kinda like the Phantom. Kristy Swanson and Catherine Zeta-Jones were smoking hot, Treat Williams gloriously hammed it up as Xander Drax and location shooting in Thailand looked great. Biggest problem is the weak third act and the fact that feared Singh Brotherhood looked more like Pirates of Penzance.
This review of Doc Savage was entertaining. I liked it when it was first run in theaters (I was a Marine when I saw it first). Two flaws--the Five were a waste of screen time, and the movie attempted to be both comedy and drama and failed to be either. Doc Savage would have been better off doing things alone--since Doc Savage did do most everything. I still enjoy it, but now achieving that "willing suspension of disbelief" is more difficult than before.
Ahh, the Doc Savage movie… an extremely guilty pleasure 😅 Would love to hear your take on the other notable pulpy-type Hollywood outings, both good and bad 😁
I saw it twice the year it came out; as an 11 year old I really enjoyed it, and reading some of the novels a few years later, I thought the actors in all the main roles really brought the characters to life.
Now that I'm nearly 60, I can see the movie in a different light. I would have preferred the movie to have been played more straight, and would like to see a remake with new actors. The only thing is, is that Doc Savage seems similar in some ways to Indiana Jones, and I wonder if a Doc Savage franchise would be seen to be trying to compete?
I have not seen this since the 80s I enjoyed it. It is a very old cartoon strip tho. The Superman and Batman comics both nicked things from the Doc like the fortress of solitude for Superman and the worlds greatest detective with his own crime lab for Batman. I half would like to track down a copy and see it again. Those snakes were creepy as a kid :)
I believe this film is a failure because it can't make up it's mind what it wants to be. There are times where it wants to be campy like the 60s Batman TV series, and other times it's holding back too much. If you want to make a campy movie, you have to swing for the fences.
I never heard of this film. It seems like it may be worth watching while high. Seems like the 90s Shadow movie unintentionally recreated the some of the same problems this Doc Savage movie has.
*this film is so much fun to watch...have this on video (yes, i'm that old)...a personal favorite*
Read the books back in the early 70s forgot all about how he would lobotomize the bad guys.
The biggest problem with the film other than its limited budget was that it was not shot in Anamorphic Panavision. The photography is tightly framed making it look like a TV movie . Too bad that Pal could not muster up a bigger budget.
I hope one day you have a fan get-together with Aunt Beryl and Dickhead Dave as special guests.
Why have I never heard of this??
I saw this as a kid in the theater. I thought it was great then but its of it's time. Maybe Raiders of the Lost Ark took some inspiration from Doc Savage and improved on the weaker aspects of it.
I also loved this movie when I was a kid! Might have been my introduction to the character.
Ron Ely reminds me of Adam West, They could even be related in my mind. Would have been interesting to see Ron as Batman.
This would make a fun spoof comedy, If done by Will Farrell
This movie basically killed George Pal's career. A sad end to a legend.
Another film I saw when it opened and felt bad for. I remember the novels with those distinctive covers and George Pal always rocked. I even watched the Ron Ely TV "Tarzan" and hoped the film of Doc Savage would be more like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (not yet a concept). Instead we got a spoof. Very disappointed, and I loved Anderson's "Logan's Run". Maybe they can bring it back with "The Rock" after the "Black Adam" debacle. LOL.
Agree with you, although I can't think of a WORSE person to play Doc Savage than Dwayne Johnson. It's my understanding that Chris Hemsworth was extremely interested in playing him a few years ago, but the project never got off the ground. That's unfortunate, as there are some stills/publicity shots of Hemsworth that show him to be a perfect choice.
Believe the 1950s tv flash Gordon was the model for those covers.
I remember seeing this in the cinema and feeling disappointed, it was not as good as the books, not even close.
Madre de dios I have spent about 4 decades trying to remember what this film is saw as a kid was and I watched this is felt it may be it then saw the green snake things and finally I know...thanks
For the last time Dwayne Robinson was not an antagonist
He was a cop in over his head like john mcclane
Saw this years ago on TV and absolutely loved it, good clean, if a bit campy boys own adventure tale (think 60's Batman) and I so wish they'd made a sequel.
I would love to have a copy of this on DVD or MP4 but I've never seen it available in the UK or even on TV in years. I noticed the similarities to Superman with his Fortress of Solitude etc but I think Doc was created before Kal-El iirc.
Great video for all Savage fans.
Still love to read the novels; as a kid I liked the movie, haven't seen it since.
Long Tom: "You mess with the Bull, you get the horns!"
this film is a guilty pleasure of mine. Thank you for this.
Watching Doc Savage as an adult it seemed like the film really came together in the last ten minutes or so with that turntable answering machine the perfect combination of humor and seriousness the whole film had been going for but never managed. Maybe if they'd had a sequel they would have finally gotten it right.
Never heard of it, didn't know it existed, and a George Pal film i have not seen, where has it been all my life. Thanks Stam Fine you have delivered gold (or bronze) once again.
I didn't even know it was a George Pal movie - if you like his other work from the 50s, this is not a movie that you *must* see, for sure. But it's a free world (n some countries at least).
Loved this movie when I saw it years ago.
Saw this on TV in the early 80s, Christmas time I think and thought it was funny, but then again I had been out for a few pints at dinner time. I sat down to watch it again a year or so later and thought it was crap, this time I hadn't been out drinking. By the way, is it just me or does the character Monk resemble Pigsy from the TV series Monkey?
By Jiminee! Excellent work, Stam Fine.I would have to 'ditto' your critique of this movie. I remember thoroughly enjoying it when I watched it as a kid. Seeing it again in adulthood only highlighted how heavily it relies on Ron Ely's screen presence and grasp of the character. It left me feeling they may have been better adapting the comic strip character 'Garth' instead which ran for years in one of the red-top papers here in the UK. It would have capitalised on Ely's 'Tarzan' credentials without the encumberment of the 'Feeblous Five'. Sadly, Doc Savage probably had a more established profile in the USA though, I'm guessing.
_Garth_ would have had no appeal in the U.S. which was the only market Hollywood cared about back then. I do feel Ron Ely's talents were completely wasted over the years, being reduced to appearing multiple times on _Fantasy Island_ and _The Love Boat_ for a paycheck.
@@SmartCookie2022 I'll second that.
@@SmartCookie2022 Too true. Man deserved a film worthy of him, and never really got it.
You described perfectly my remembrance of this movie. I loved it on tv as a kid then found it almost unwatchable several years ago. Thanks for reviewing it.
THIS would be a bade ass cartoon series.
The movie was not good, the review of it was great.
Monk was horribly miscast.