The Grab Bag Conspiracy! Mystery Photos #91-95!

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Welcome back to the ol' Arcana for another round of Grab Bag Goodies!

As outlined in previous installments, I purchased a few hundred promotional stills that have had their title captions trimmed off. Some I recognize, most I don't. It's up to my faithful readership to help me decipher what they're promoting. Hell, solve enough of 'em and maybe I'll send you some of the duplicates I received!

For those not familiar with promo stills, they occasionally carry a helpful hint or two. Some are branded with a cataloging code of letters and numbers which usually signify an abbreviation of the title (sometimes a retitling) and, if you're especially lucky, maybe the year of release (not to be confused with year of production). And that's pretty much all we have to go on...

The nineteenth batch is below; let's see what you've got!

#91: No Markings!

#92: 384-12

Both Naschy.com's Mirek Lipinski and comic artist Neil Vokes recognized Howard Hawks' Land of the Pharaohs (1955), an old-style Hollywood Cinemascope epic chronicling the build of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Stars Jack Hawkins and a 22-year-old Joan Collins headline a literal cast of thousands, with supporting turns from Sydney Chaplin and Dewey Martin. Long unseen in its original ratio, Warner finally released a nice DVD as part of their condescendingly-titled Cult Camp Classics: Historical Epics box, packaged with Sergio Leone's The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) and Richard Thorpe's The Prodigal (1955).

#93: CP-ASP-43 © 1971 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Thanks to Oh, The Horror's Josh Gratton for finding Henry Jaglom's A Safe Place (1971)! Tuesday Weld stars in this experimental "New Hollywood" effort, searching for a way to keep her hippie roots true in a world that's changing around her. Jack Nicholson shows up as a new love interest, and Orson Welles is apparently a magician from her youth. Criterion have issued it as part of their America Lost & Found: The BBS Story collection, alongside its studio-mates Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show, The Monkees' Head, The King of Marvin Gardens, and Drive He Said. I think it's the singular film included I haven't watched yet!

#94: VER-8

#95: HK-19

Turns out this photo belongs to (the other) Franco Prosperi's Hired Killer (1966)! Originally titled Tecnica di un omicidio (Murder Technique), the film follows Robert Webber as a professional hit-man who flies from New York to Paris to eliminate some mob competition -- and kill the man who murdered his brother. Soon there's twists and turns, mistaken identities, mistrust and more. This actually sounds like a pretty good flick; a shame the only available source seems to be the expensive Japanese DVD from First Trading. (See also: #97.)

Like what you see? Be sure and check out our previous Grab Bag Photos, some of which are still unidentified. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and pre-order some cool stuff!

© 2012 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.