Ronald Reagan

WillKill4Food

New member
Montana Smith said:
Why was Ronnie billed as 'Regan' in that Hong Kong poster? I looked quickly at imdb.com but didn't see a reference to him going under another spelling of his surname.
Probably a fluke.
6TmWWhYleqFqWlw.jpg
 

James Byrne

New member
More Reagan coincidences

Ronald Reagan's final movie was THE KILLERS, which was supposed to be a tv-movie, but was deemed to be too violent for television screens and was later given a cinema release. I noticed an amazing coincidence when viewing this movie. Most of it was filmed before the JFK assassination, and the plot of the movie-

JOHNNY (John Cassavetes) is shot by LEE (Clu Galager) who is then shot by JACK (Ronald Reagan) was eerily recreated during the later stages of the production.

The movies filming had to be suspended for a few days because JOHN Kennedy was shot by LEE Oswald who was later shot by JACK Ruby.

Angie Dickinson, one of Kennedy's numerous lovers ("The most exciting twenty seconds of my life!") was apparently in a terrible state when she heard the news of JFK being shot.

Rhonda Fleming, Reagan's co-star in HONG KONG, has been romantically linked with JFK, but lets face it ... whose name HASN'T been linked with Kennedy?
 
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Stoo

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Why was Ronnie billed as 'Regan' in that Hong Kong poster?
The artist must have gone to the same school as Nurhachi1991.:p
Nurhachi1991 said:
Reganomics!
Nurhachi1991 said:
Mr. Mola Ram Tear Down this wall!!! Tear it down!! Regan Smash
@James Byrne: Very interesting story about the Secret Service guy and I've never heard about the Brass Bancroft character before. Plus, the coincidence you related about "The Killers" is quite freaky. Thanks for the info, James.

On the day that Reagan was shot, I remember coming home from school and EVERY channel was covering the news, endlessly replaying the same footage over & over. Being too young to really care, the thing that upset me the most was the fact that I couldn't watch a re-run of "I Dream of Jeannie"!:eek::eek:
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
This photograph is from the 1964 film "The Killers":

post_reagan_killers_50.jpg


Some fan of Ronald Reagan saw the picture and asked that Reagan be put on the $50 bill.
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James Byrne

New member
There are several sites which show Reagan as Brass Bancroft. Visit them and I think you'll agree with me that there is certainly a link with Indy in some of the photos and posters.
 
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Indy's brother

New member
Watching "Hong Kong" right now.....turns out it's available to stream on Netflix. I gotta be honest, I'm 25 minutes in and it's putting me to sleep. Aside from the novelty of seeing The Gipper dressed as Indy with a much smarter Wille, and a much dopier Short-Round, I'm not feelin' it.
 

James Byrne

New member
Not made in HONG KONG!

The trouble with HONG KONG is the cheap looking sets and the lack of action. But I am still pleased I bought the movie because its such a novelty - Reagan as Indy!
 

Stephen Jared

New member
Watched Hong Kong. Thanks so much for recommending it, James. You discovered a real gem I think. You're absolutely right that it must have been an influence on Indiana Jones. The movie itself is pretty entertaining I thought. It slows down about two-thirds of the way through, but then picks up again. I liked it.
 

James Byrne

New member
I'm pleased you liked HONG KONG, Stephen, the quality of my dvd left a lot to be desired, but the movie itself is quite enjoyable. Its certainly a precursor to Indiana Jones and deserves more publicity.:)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Indy's brother said:
Watching "Hong Kong" right now.....turns out it's available to stream on Netflix. I gotta be honest, I'm 25 minutes in and it's putting me to sleep. Aside from the novelty of seeing The Gipper dressed as Indy with a much smarter Wille, and a much dopier Short-Round, I'm not feelin' it.
I hope you stuck it out until the end because it gets better. It's not really an Indy flick, per se, but it does have certain, similar sensiblities.
Stephen Jared said:
Watched Hong Kong. Thanks so much for recommending it, James. You discovered a real gem I think. You're absolutely right that it must have been an influence on Indiana Jones. The movie itself is pretty entertaining I thought. It slows down about two-thirds of the way through, but then picks up again. I liked it.
Glad you could appreciate it, Stephen. I actually enjoyed the middle part where Reagan is trying to get rid of the kid. What a heartless scoundrel, he was!:eek:
 

James Byrne

New member
Just bought the Ronald Reagan dvd with all his B-movie Brass Bancroft movies on it. I really enjoyed it ... he's a cross between Indy Jones and Jimmy Bond. Stoo would really get a kick out of it, I'm sure.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
James Byrne said:
Just bought the Ronald Reagan dvd with all his B-movie Brass Bancroft movies on it. I really enjoyed it ... he's a cross between Indy Jones and Jimmy Bond. Stoo would really get a kick out of it, I'm sure.
Upon your recommendation, James, I am now on the hunt for them!:) It's unfortunate that more Indy fans aren't into these types of films.:( (If Reagan wore a mask, a cape & faerie boots in a movie, maybe they'd be interested!:p)

Speaking of Ronnie Reagan/Brass Bancroft/U.S. Secret Service, there's more to follow the story you wrote about in post #56:
James Byrne said:
There is an amazing story about Reagan as Brass Bancroft. The movies were very popular with the kids of the day and the series had a fan base, the "Junior Secret Service Club" which could be joined. One of those kids was called Jerry Parr who loved the second movie in the series, CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE, and made his dad take him to see it on numerous occassions. That movie inspired Parr to become a real Secret Service agent and he went to to save Ronald Reagan's life during an assassination attempt on his life on 30 March 1981.
Afterwards Parr told Reagan about his boyhood idolatry of Brass Bancroft, and how much he loved CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE. "Why that was the worst movie I ever made!" retorted Reagan. Parr explained, "Well, Mr. President, for a kid like me, that movie made the life of an agent seem exciting and worthwhile. You know, when you made that movie you determined your own destiny".
I love stories like that, and it kind of proves the power of movies on the general public. Its ironic that it was a movie called TAXI DRIVER that shockingly inspired John Hinckley to shoot Reagan, and marvellous that it was one of his own movies which inspired a guy to join the Secret Service and save his life.
Reagan's politics aside...

A 2009 book by Ronald Kessler, "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect", talks about Reagan's two terms as The Prez and says that he was a real-life gentleman. Apparently, Ronnie & Nancy had the utmost respect towards the Secret Service and treated them with dignity (unlike some other U.S. presidents).

It also tells a story which has been circulating amongst the inner sanctum since the '80s. Supposedly, an on-duty agent saw Reagan leaving his room with a handgun. When asked why he had it, Ronnie replied with (something along the lines of), "If you boys aren't able to do the job, I can help.":gun: According to Kessler, Reagan often carried a handgun and even had one in his briefcase when he met with Gorbachev!

One can imagine how much, "Spitting Image", could have made fun of that...had they known back then!:p

ReaganGorbachev.jpg
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Indy's brother said:
Watching "Hong Kong" right now.....turns out it's available to stream on Netflix. I gotta be honest, I'm 25 minutes in and it's putting me to sleep. Aside from the novelty of seeing The Gipper dressed as Indy with a much smarter Wille, and a much dopier Short-Round, I'm not feelin' it.

Just finished it and I more or less agree with this. It was fun seeing all the precursors to Temple Of Doom(the airplane scene to be specific), not to mention the historical relevence it has regarding its main star, but overall it was ok at best. I understand its a product of its time, I guess I was too hopeful of it having a little more action, or at the very least the precursor to Short Round being more of a side-kick and less a child needing parental guidance.

Overall I had more fun watching Secret of the Incas.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
monkey said:
...he "won the Cold War without ever firing a shot".
People should watch the documentary, "1983 - The Brink of the Apocalypse". A bunch of former intelligence agents, both American & Russian, speak out to tell how frighteningly close a nuclear WW3 came between NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations due to Reagan's foreign policy during his 1st term. Scary stuff and the ones who are to be applauded for averting it are the 'spies', themselves, not Reagan.
James Byrne said:
Indy fans might enjoy a Ronald Reagan - Errol Flynn boy's own war adventure called DESPERATE JOURNEY.
It's a hoot!
James Byrne said:
Ronald Reagan is the image of Indiana Jones in the 1952 film HONG KONG and was involved in Indy-like histrionics a decade earlier in DESPERATE JOURNEY.
I recently had a mini-marathon of WW2 Errol Flynn movies in this order: "Edge of Darkness" (1943), "Northern Pursuit" (1943) and "DESPERATE JOURNEY" (1942).

James, you are so right about "Desperate Journey"!(y) It's a cracking, WW2 adventure yarn which I can't believe had slipped by me until now. (The great Raoul Walsh directed it and he also did "Northern Pursuit" so it was a double-whammy, back-to-back.)

For those who are curious:
An RAF bomber crashes in Germany and the survivors struggle to escape the country while eluding & clobbering the enemy every step of the way. They even take time out for some sabotage. The main characters are an Australian, an American and a Canadian. Guess who plays the Yank, folks?

Some Indy-esque moments include:
- travelling line across a map to show the movement of the heroes.
- German soldier flipping over on a bike after someone shoves a bayonet through the spokes.
- Spectacular chase involving a Mercedes convertible & German soldiers on motorbikes.
- Someone machine-gunning German troops from the turret of a grounded plane.

At one point, Ronald Reagan says:
"Why do you always wake me up when I'm on a date with Ann Sheridan?"
I thought this was pretty funny considering that Reagan had just starred with her earlier that same year in "King's Row" and Errol Flynn starred with her a year later in the aforementioned, "Edge of Darkness".

"Desperate Journey" is a fast-paced, action flick and well worth checking out!:gun:
 

James Byrne

New member
What was the picture quality like on your copy of DESPERATE JOURNEY, Stoo?

It's totally lousy on my dvd, in fact it looks like its been copied from an ancient VHS video.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
A friend of mine recorded it from the Turner Classic Movies channel, TCM (which you would LOVE, by the way). The print, itself, is very good but unfortunately he used a low-res recording setting so a few parts look rather crappy. This only happens in a couple of places where there's a lot of camera movement in a detailed shot, like the forest of bare trees at the end. Overall, though I can't complain.

I think Ronnie's best scene in "Desperate Journey" is when he is alone with the German officer.

Reagan: "It's a therma-throckle amfilated through a daligalitor. Of course this is made possible because the dirnadine is a fryna coupling."

Anyway, I just love that car & motorcycle chase, especially when it goes off-road! Really great stuff. (Will definitely be using some of those shots in my next "Raiders of the Lost Archives" video.:))
 

James Byrne

New member
Its funny, but I can't seem to buy a decent copy of this movie, Stoo. It has been released by two cheapo outfits in the U.K. and I stupidly bought it each time. DESPERATE JOURNEY used to be on the telly quite a lot when I was a kid in the late 50's and early 60's and I really loved it - particularly Errol Flynn's last line - "Now to Australia and a crack at those japs!"
 
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