The Fakers / Smashing the Crime Syndicate (1968) by #AlAdamson
w/#BroderickCrawford #ScottBrady #KentTaylor
A syndicate dealing in counterfeit bills is unaware that a man they are in business with is a double agent for the FBI. Or…
Two agents tracking down Nazi war criminals unite to stop the syndicate from distributing counterfeit U.S. currency.
#Crime #Action
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn
The Fakers (1968) is not a movie that I’d ever heard of before – and I’m an Al Adamson completist. It doesn’t even get it’s own page on the IMDb. It’s simply referred to as an alternate title for Hell’s Bloody Devils (1970). This can’t be true. Al Adamson shot a bunch of footage involving bikers and added it to The Fakers (1968) in order to cash in on the popular biker genre – or so I’ve heard. There isn’t a single biker to be found in The Fakers (1968), so how can it be the same movie?
I suppose I will find out when I watch Hell’s Bloody Devils (1970) on an upcoming #FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn. I’m sure I saw it years ago, but I can’t remember it at all. Watching The Fakers last week, it seemed like a whole new movie to me, so it will be interesting to compare the two. Perhaps I will decide that it IS in fact the same movie…
As such, I don’t think I will discuss The Fakers at length tonight. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would compare it to Al Adamson’s first feature, Psycho a Go Go (1965). Both are pretty straight up crime films (both later had footage added to them and became “new” movies), and both are oddly effective. Almost too good to be Al Adamson films (and I say that as a true fan of Al Adamson). They lack the truly insane, campy qualities that we’ve come to expect in Adamson’s films.
Don’t get me wrong. There is still some campy humour, to be sure. But the films are almost mainstream – almost. This might sound like a criticism, but it’s not. I like both of these movies. And although each subsequent version of Psycho a Go Go gets a little more insane, I still feel that the original version is my favourite. I predict that the same will be true for The Fakers – but I guess we’ll find out soon…
Until then, go ahead and screen The Fakers (1968) at your next #FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn. It’s #NotQuiteClassicCinema that seems to have fallen through the cracks, but deserves to be seen.
The Fakers / Smashing the Crime Syndicate (1968) by #AlAdamson
w/#BroderickCrawford #ScottBrady #KentTaylor
A syndicate dealing in counterfeit bills is unaware that their man is a double agent for the FBI.#Crime #Action#NotQuiteClassicCinema pic.twitter.com/P909Jdl3s7
— Angus Kohm (@AngusKohm) June 4, 2022
