C I N E B E A T S :: John Phillip Law 1937-2008 :: May

FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

John Phillip Law 1937-2008

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 14, 2008

Categories | News, Actors, John Phillip Law

John Phillip Law as the sexy silent super thief, Diabolik.

One of my favorite actors and one of the most beautiful men to ever appear in movies has passed away at the age of 70. It’s mind-boggling to consider how many terrific and entertaining films that John Philip Law appeared in. He may not be a household name and if imdb.com is to be believed, I don’t think he ever won any acting awards but he was always fun to watch and I never get tired of looking at him. He’s really one of cinema’s great male beauties and an important counterculture figure. I will miss him but I’m thankful that I got to enjoy the man in so many wonderful movies.

My Top 10 favorite John Phillip Law films
(numerical order subject to change at anytime!):

1. Diabolik (1968) (Diabolik made my list of 10 Favorite Eurotrash films that I compiled last year.)
2. Barbarella (1968)

John Phillip Law as the blind angel Pygar in Roger Vadim’s surreal and sexy sci-fi fantasy Barbarella (1968)

3. Death Rides a Horse (1967) (This film made my list of Top 10 Spaghetti Westerns)
4. The Love Machine (1971)
5. The Sergeant (1968)
6. Whisper in the Dark (1976)

Dyan Cannon and John Phillip Law having some fun
in the sex-charged Jack Haley Jr. film The Love Machine (1971)

7. The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) (I wrote about this film in-depth last year after revisiting it)
8. Skidoo (1968)
9. The Last Movie (1971)
10. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

John Phillip Law must deal with Rod Steiger’s unwanted advances in The Sergeant (1968). A fascinating film about a gay military man struggling with his emotions.

Honorable Mention:
The unforgettable ’80s horror fantasy Night Train to Terror (1985)

It’s really a shame that The Love Machine, The Sergeant and Skidoo are not available on DVD yet. Some studios will probably try to cash in on the actor’s death so we may see these films finally find there way onto DVD soon. Skidoo seems to be getting a lot of attention lately so I suspect that it will be released in the near future.

Finally… a must see video clip for The Swinging Lust World of John Phillip Law. This wonderful psychedelic video tribute to John Phillip Law contains brief action clips from many of his best films accompanied by the title song from Ennio Morricone’s brilliant soundtrack for Diabolik. It appears to be a trailer for a longer upcoming film:

UPDATE: The very nice Chris Casey was kind enough to leave a comment on my Myspace Blog letting me know that John Phillip Law had been suffering the effects of terminal cancer, which led to his sudden death. You can find Chris’ comments here.

14 Comments »

Adam R says; May 15, 2008 @ 4:15 am

Sad to see him go, Diabolik is one of my favorite movies. I just hope he was able to go peacefully, and not encased in molten gold.
Keith says; May 15, 2008 @ 7:04 am

OMG. I didn’t know he had passed away until I saw your blog. I’m so heartbroken now. I’m a big fan of his. I’ve seen pretty much most of those films that you named. Danger: Diabolik is one of my favorite films. I saw him not that long ago when I watched CQ. Not sure how I never saw that film until a few months back. So how did he die? R.I.P. John Phillip Law
Tenebrous Kate says; May 15, 2008 @ 8:00 am

Oh no! This is incredibly sad news. Your tribute is lovely and I’ll be linking over to this. Couldn’t say anything more than you’ve said here.
Jeremy says; May 15, 2008 @ 10:17 am

This is just terrible news…I really hate to think of him gone. I posted my own ten favorites over at Moon In The Gutter and am now kicking myself even more that I missed TCMs showing of Skidoo.

He was amazing and will be missed…
cinebeats says; May 15, 2008 @ 11:38 am

Adam - I’m obviously with ya bout Diabolik! It’s one of my favorite films too and I never get tired of watching it. I have to disagree about death by gold though. I think being encased in gold would be a pretty nifty way to leave this world… maybe.

Keith - I’m not sure how he died since the L.A. Times obit is vague, but I suspect that it was probably health problems associated with aging or cancer.

Kate - I’m glad you liked it. Law will always be young and sexy in my minds eye. He may have aged but I always saw him as one of the ’60s and ’70s most gorgeous actors.

Jeremy - Tahnks and I’m gald you shared your favorite Law films as well. Skidoo is a funny and smart film but I personally find The Love Machine and The Sergeant more compelling so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they get released on DVD before Skidoo.
christian says; May 15, 2008 @ 3:31 pm

It is sad. I got to know John the past few years due to my SKIDOO screenings, and he was always ready to show up. I posted my tribute up at my blog and you can see an interview I did with him focusing on SKIDOO. Diabolik!
Vanwall says; May 16, 2008 @ 11:06 am

That’s too bad, like so many others here, I loved “Danger: Diabolik”. :(
ichabod says; May 17, 2008 @ 9:21 am

What a wonderful write up honoring one of the most beautiful men to grace the silver screen (hold your ears, Kier Dullea!) He may have been flexing his cinematic muscle while I was still in the crib, but I still count Sinbad, Diabolik and, of course, Pygar, as some of my very favorite hunky Hollywood heroes. I hope “The Swinging Lust World of John Phillip Law” film becomes a reality (and that the finished work is amazing as that trailer).

Rest in peace, good sir.
ARBOGAST says; May 17, 2008 @ 9:56 am

It was always a bit hard to watch Diabolik capering with Eva Kant and knowing that Marisa Mell died so young; now it will be doubly hard with the understanding that both actors are no longer with us. They were so cool, so effortlessly cool, and so into each other - they were the Billy Bob and Angelina of their day and they never broke up.
Robert Monell says; May 17, 2008 @ 2:06 pm

I just found out about his passing this morning from THE MOON IN THE GUTTER. I’ve added my own tribute on my blog. My own personal favorite of his is the over the top BLOOD DELIRIUM, which I discuss there. I’m also looking for his obscure 1977 Italian thriller L’OCCHIO DIETRO LA PARETE. Thanks for the tribute, Kimberly.
Javier says; May 20, 2008 @ 12:05 pm

A sad news for me ,this man has work in some of my favourites movies like Diabolik ,barbarella ,the golden voyage of sinbad.He was not considered as a star but to me he was a great actor, and looks as if he was a good and simple person who never wanted to be a part of that “hollywood star system”.
Hasta siempre john.
Terry says; July 17, 2008 @ 1:09 am

He was one of the great offbeat male beauties like Jack Beutel in ‘The Outlaw’. And his Pygar in ‘Barbarella’ was one of the iconic images of late ’60s glamour and camp; the image of him flying with Jane Fonda in his arms shooting her enormous raygun was indelible to my twelve-year-old eyes when I saw the film in a San Francisco revival house on Market Street in the early ’80s. Pretty good actor too. Thanks for this tribute to an underrated performer.
Mady Maguire says; December 6, 2008 @ 1:38 am

John also co-starred with Brando in “Reflections in a Golden Eye.” I’ve got a great photo of us in a fan magazine taken when John was at the top of his career and I was trying to break into show biz. I never got any good movie roles, but John was amused by the exploitation films I did and always told me I was his favorite actress. We ran into each other about ten years ago at a San Diego health spa and had a week to reminisce … John was still such fun, the picture of good health, charming and as handsome as ever. Gather ye rosebuds…
Mady Maguire says; January 6, 2009 @ 9:11 pm

My bad…it was John’s role in “The Sergeant” instead of “Reflections in a Golden Eye” that I was thinking of…I confused the two because both films addressed homosexuality and came out (no pun intended) only about a year apart.

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