Unlike the last few entries, this Moviedrome Monday will not feature a youtube video link to presenter Alex Cox’s introduction to Robert Aldrich’s 1971 period gangster film The Grissom Gang. The reason for this is because I could not find a youtube video link to it, so my readers will have to rely on his transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was July 16, 1989 (read here). Although Cox calls the film efficient, he is not as crazy about it when compared to my reaction. Whereas Cox subtly criticizes it’s use of color, for me, Aldrich and screenwriter Leon Griffiths decision to depict the title characters more as caricatures was more than offset by the vibe that it (and in this case a rarity) came off as fascinating. Interesting pieces of trivia: this is the second Aldrich film to premiere on Moviedrome (the first was …All the Marbles – a.k.a. The California Dolls). This is also the second film adaptation of James Hadley Chase’s 1939 novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish – the previous version (a British production btw) came out in 1948 from director St. John Legh Clowes under that aforementioned name. In case you readers missed it, here is a link to my list of my favorite Robert Aldrich films (read here).

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer