Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

A different way of telling a story

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This one is about a Native American Vietnam vet who is suffering from post-traumatic stress. He lives alone in the middle of the Florida Everglades with a collection of pet snakes. Soon, he and his favoured pet Stanley start biting back at local undesirables who have wronged him.Stanley is another product from b-movie producers Crown International Pictures. It's one of those films from the period that focuses on the horror of animals attacking people, although admittedly in this case it's more a case of a disturbed human actively encouraging his creatures to attack. Whatever the case, it's the snakes which are the main draw here with plenty of interesting footage throughout; although be warned that there is one scene where it looked to me at least like a snake was battered to death off the floor by our protagonist, while on another occasion we are treated to a snake slowly eating a mouse which wasn't exactly very pleasant. Yet, despite these shock scenes, this is not really the scariest of films unless, or course, you have a phobia of snakes, in which case I'm sure it'll be unbearable.It's not a bad film, although it's too long for what it is, clocking in at over 100 minutes. Consequently, it drags a bit in places. If it wasn't for this it would be more effective for sure. The central idea is distinctive enough to be memorable though and it does have occasional bizarre sequences such as a strip-tease act where the climax has the woman biting the head off a snake! Then there is Alex Rocco's character's demise in a swimming pool, which is to say the least memorably hilarious. On the whole, not a bad film; almost good in fact but it just falls short.

Tim (Robinson), a returned service man clearly affected by his experiences in the Vietnam war elects to separate from his American Indian tribe and reside in a remote part of the Florida Everglades along with his slithering companions, Stanley (the snake) and Stanley's partner. Former TV actor Robinson and tough guy Rocco are perhaps the only recognizable faces in this cheap schlock horror, but while the supporting cast might be amateurish, they're committed performances. Avery is fantastically whacky as a pill-popping psychedelic poacher who goes crazy in Robinson's cabin, while buxom blonde Carroll offers mild excitement as Rocco's recalcitrant daughter and part-time rebellious tramp.Director Grefe remade "Stanley" just four years later as "The Jaws of Death" with Richard Jaeckel in the Chris Robinson role, to cash-in on the success of "Jaws" at the time. Much of the cast and crew from this movie was transported into the remake. But where Jaeckel's character in the subsequent rendition imbued a sense of sympathy from the audience, Robinson's occasionally manic veteran is less likable. When he abducts Rocco's daughter (Carroll) she exposes his exploitative relationship and shambolic conservationist pretense as nothing more than a quirky condition of his mental instability.Sets and location work is fitting, and there's plenty of eye catching scenery and quirky time pieces of the era that will emote a reminiscent gesture or two. Marcie Knight's washed-out exotic dance routine is a prominent plot diversion depicting the lurid struggles of the exotic cabaret business. Tim lends her snakes to use in her routines (she was a friend of his late father), but the friendship turns sour after he discovers her new "act". The "act" is quite shocking and unexpected and sure to become the immortal moment of this film. Despite some rather heavy handed moments, there is the occasional joke; the scene in which Tim describes the death of Stanley's 'partner' and the 'babies' to a shocked stage manager who thinks he's talking about people, is classic dry humour.It's patently obvious that several creatures were harmed in the making of this picture, so it might offend.

1971's "Stanley" is one of director Wiiliam Grefe's better known titles, others include "Sting of Death" in 1965, "Death Curse of Tartu" in 1966, "Impulse" in 1973 (a rare starring role for William Shatner), and "Mako: The Jaws of Death" in 1975, all of which were shot on location in Florida. I found myself captivated by the two pop songs on the soundtrack, both written and performed by Jack Vino, and produced by Steve Alaimo, who appears on screen as the villainous henchman Crail (former singer and host of WHERE THE ACTION IS). The opening credits are accompanied by the beautiful "Sparrow," which is briefly reprised during the end credits, while the other tune, "Start a New World," features late in the film, as Tim drives Susie in a boat to his swamp hideaway. Lyrically, both tracks are odes to the environment and they lend a kind of stature to a film populated with unsympathetic characters and a clichéd storyline in which Tim Ochopee (Chris Robinson), a half-breed Vietnam veteran, turns his back on his tribe and the rest of society to live in isolation with a family of rattlesnakes in the Everglades. Shortly after completing "The Godfather," Alex Rocco returns to his exploitation roots ("Blood Mania") by playing the lead villain, making belts out of reptile skins, and is also responsible for the shooting death of Tim's father. He also shows an unfatherly and creepy incestuous desire for his gorgeous blonde daughter Susie, played in her one and only film by Susan Carroll (even the distracted director calls attention to her bikini clad assets by focusing on her perfect ass from her opening scene). Television veteran Chris Robinson made his movie debut in the title role of Roger Corman's 1959 "Beast from Haunted Cave," creating the beast himself. A native of West Palm Beach, now residing in Miami, Robinson proved easily available for this rare leading role, working very well with his dangerous co-stars. The recent DVD release makes up for the numerous truncated VHS issues, none of which were intact at a full 106 minutes. "Stanley" made four appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, on Nov 6 1976 (followed by Lugosi's original 1931 "Dracula"), and three more solo: Apr 28 1979, Dec 13 1980, and Jan 16 1982. As a footnote, I also have great fondness for another Chiller Theater classic with a terrific theme song, 1973's Texas-filmed "Horror High" aka "Twisted Brain," its song titled "Vernon's Theme," performed by Jerry Coward.

When broadcast TV stations actually showed movies other than re-runs, infomercials and syndicated TV shows this film always seemed to in on every couple of weeks. the plot has an ex-vet named Tim living out in the Everglades because society doesn't take kindly to his being an Indian. Keeping pretty much to himself he makes fiends with the wildlife, particularly the rattle snakes including one he names Stanley. When he feels pressured he uses his snakes to get revenge on the people he feels have wronged him.Good thriller isn't really scary. To be certain your feelings toward snakes will determine the amount of squirming you'll do since this film is full of snakes from start to finish. Well acted the film has a nice feeling of believability to it even as it hits all of the right exploitation high notes. Watching the film again for the first time in at least a decade I was shocked at how well the film has stood up. While no classic it does what it does nicely and then gets off the screen.Definitely recommended. I'm rating it 6 out of 10 because I'm not sure what a fair rating is. My feelings toward the film are higher than that, but I'm not sure its not purely surprise that the film holds up as well as it does.