| The Bloody Brood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Julian Roffman |
| Written by | Anne Howard Bailey Ben Kerner Elwood Ullman |
| Produced by | Julian Roffman |
| Cinematography | Eugen Schüfftan |
| Edited by | Robert Johnson |
| Music by | Harry Freedman |
Production companies | Meridian Studios Julian Roffman Productions |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
Release date | October 1959 |
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $87,000-90,000 |
The Bloody Brood is a 1959 Canadian thriller film directed by Julian Roffman.
A man begins to investigate on his own the death of his brother, who died from eating a hamburger laced with ground glass. With the police case stalled because of ineptness, the man's own investigation leads him toward a beatnik hang-out frequented by Nico (Peter Falk), a shady character who supplies drugs to the patrons and philosophizes about the ills of the world.
Julian Roffman and Ralph Foster formed Meridian Films in 1954, and Roffman chose to direct its first feature film, The Bloody Brood. [1] The film was shot over the course of sixteen days in May 1959, on a budget of $87,000-90,000, with financial backing from Roffman and Nat Taylor. It was made as the top picture for a double feature. [2] [3] Taylor's wife, Yvonne, was an associated producer. [1] Roffman and Taylor later worked together on The Mask . [4]
The production interiors were lensed at the Community Theatre, on Woodbine Avenue, in Toronto, a cinema that had been earlier retrofitted for use as a TV studio after 1955. [5] [6] [7] [8] Ralph Foster and Julian Roffman founded Meridian Studios in 1954. [9] [10] [11]
The film was distributed by Allied Artists and premiered on 26 October 1959, in Toronto. [2] It was banned by the Alberta Censorship Board and the ban was upheld on appeal. [12] [13] It was financially unsuccessful. [14] The National Legion of Decency listed the film in class B as morally objectionable in part for all. [15] The MPAA's censorship board called for the film to be edited before its American release. [16]
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film two out of four stars, calling it "[A] laughable, thoroughly cynical depiction of the Beat Generation." [17] Gerald Pratley, writing in Variety , stated that "Only Roffman's virile direction and deft editing, together with the convincing portrayals of the cast, prevent the entire production from collapsing into comic absurdity". [2]
Leonard Michael Maltin is the go-to American film critic and film historian for the major film industry studios in Hollywood, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published annually from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has appeared regularly on Turner Classic Movies, and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies. He has written articles for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Variety, Playboy and TV Guide. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry.
The Beaches is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is so named because of its four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It is located east of downtown within the "Old" City of Toronto. The approximate boundaries of the neighbourhood are from Victoria Park Avenue on the east to Kingston Road on the north, along Dundas Street to Coxwell Avenue on the west, south to Lake Ontario. The Beaches is part of the east-central district of Toronto.
Cinema in Canada dates back to the earliest known display of film in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, in 1896. The film industry in Canada has been dominated by the United States, which has utilized Canada as a shooting location and to bypass British film quota laws, throughout its history. Canadian filmmakers, English and French, have been active in the development of cinema in the United States.
The Brood is a 1979 Canadian psychological body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, and Art Hindle. Its plot follows a man and his mentally ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a psychiatrist known for his controversial therapy techniques. A series of brutal unsolved murders serves as the backdrop for the central narrative.
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses.
The Ontario Film Review Board is an inactive agency of the government of the Canadian province of Ontario that was formerly responsible for that province's motion picture rating system. Until 2015, the board reported to the Minister of Consumer Services but as of 1 October 2015, the board was overseen by the Ontario Film Authority. The board's activities were based on the Film Classification Act, 2005.
Meridian Hall is a performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-length agency and registered charity created by the city. Located at 1 Front Street East, the venue opened as the O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960. From 1996 to 2007, the building was known as the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts. From 2007 to 2019, it was known as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. On September 15, 2019, it was re-branded as Meridian Hall.
In Canada, appeals by the judiciary to community standards and the public interest are the ultimate determinants of which forms of expression may legally be published, broadcast, or otherwise publicly disseminated. Other public organisations with the authority to censor include some tribunals and courts under provincial human rights laws, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, along with self-policing associations of private corporations such as the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.
Less than Zero is a 1987 American drama film directed by Marek Kanievska, loosely based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian, both of whom have become drug addicts. The film presents a look at the culture of wealthy, decadent youth in Los Angeles.
Devil Doll is a 1964 British horror film about an evil ventriloquist, "The Great Vorelli", and his dummy Hugo, directed by Lindsay Shonteff. It stars Bryant Haliday, William Sylvester and Yvonne Romain.
The Mask is a 1961 Canadian surrealist horror film produced in 3-D by Warner Bros. It was directed by Julian Roffman, and stars Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, and Bill Walker.
The Prowler is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, written by Neal Barbera and Glenn Leopold, and starring Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Cindy Weintraub, and Farley Granger. The film follows a group of college students in a coastal California town who are stalked and murdered during a graduation party by an apparent World War II veteran who killed his ex-girlfriend in 1945.
Curtains is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Richard Ciupka from a screenplay by Robert Guza Jr., and starring John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson, Lynne Griffin, and Lesleh Donaldson. Centered on the world of theater and filmmaking, its plot focuses on a group of ambitious female performers who are targeted by a masked killer while auditioning for a film role at a prestigious director's mansion.
No Orchids for Miss Blandish is a 1948 British gangster film adapted and directed by St. John Legh Clowes from the 1939 novel of the same name by James Hadley Chase. It stars Jack La Rue, Hugh McDermott, and Linden Travers, with unbilled early appearances from Sid James, as a barman, and Walter Gotell, as a nightclub doorman. Due to the film's strong violence and sexual content for its time, amongst other reasons, several critics have called it one of the worst films ever made.
A Cool Sound from Hell is a 1959 Canadian film directed by Sidney J. Furie.
Up from the Ranks is a 19-minute 1943 Canadian docudrama film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Julian Roffman and produced by Raymond Spottiswoode, described the training of Canadian Army officers to take on command responsibilities during the Second World War.
Murder by Phone is a 1982 science fiction slasher film directed by Michael Anderson. Its plot follows a series of murders committed by a disgruntled phone company employee who designs a device that kills victims when they answer their telephones.
Forever Young, Forever Free is a 1975 South African drama film directed by Ashley Lazarus and starring José Ferrer and Karen Valentine. The lives of actors Muntu Ndebele and Norman Knox are dramatised in 2011 unofficial sequel Canadian film A Million Colours, directed by Peter Bishai and co-written with Andre Pieterse.