Arch Hall, Jr.


Who here thinks Arch Hall, Jr. is the worst male lead in history? This is the only movie I've seen him in, and it was almost physically painful to watch. Crow's comment on MST3K was priceless: "I've figured it out. He's a cyst with teeth and hair."

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

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"Roxey! Roxey! Where are ya?!"

Hall looks WAY too much like the Pillsbury Doughboy in this film to even begin to take seriously as a romantic, to say nothing of action, lead. He doesn't look fat so much as underdefined. Well, baby-fat, maybe. He looks as if a girl in 7th grade could have beaten the stuffing out of him. And where did he get that hair-as-sun-visor hairdo?

Another thing is his face: contrary to what some people say, he wasn't (IMHO) physically hideous. He just looks plain. In fact he doesn't look bad in profile shots at all.

His acting is another thing. He's whiney throughout, and he KNEW that he couldn't sing.

I've read that he had an extremely nice personality and was very friendly, however.

"An Archer is known for his aim, not by his arrows."
-Li Chen-Sung (Richard Loo,) The Outer Limits

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Hall was a combat pilot in Vietnam and was decorated for his wartime service. Evidently, he had plenty of raw courage. Later he flew for Flying Tiger Airlines (a small airline in California.) He retired, is a grandfather, and lives in Florida.

If you're interested in the Line, its page for its former pilots is at

http://www.flyingtigerline.org/Default.htm

There is some mention of him there in the message boards. You can find more about him at

http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/archhalljr.html

And he's written a book entitled APSARA JET, which is available from Amazon.com. He wrote it under the psuedonym of "Nicholas Merriwether," a name his father sometimes used in his own film credits.

"An Archer is known for his aim, not by his arrows."
-Li Chen-Sung (Richard Loo,) The Outer Limits

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In the flying tiger webpage Arch talks about how he came into the airline and even includes what looks like a recent photo. definetly does not look doughy and shapeless anymore.

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To be fair, his hairdo was in style at the time...the British Invasion hadn't taken place yet LOL

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I bought a cheap DVD copy of 'The Sadist' about six months ago, and I still haven't worked up the guts to watch it. I actually got as far as putting it into the player, once, but I didn't follow through. I can just think of so many bad things it could be...

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"The Sadist" is a hell of a movie. Hall, Jr., excels as a dangerous psychopath and the movie creates a kind of raw-edged reality that the filmmakers could only generate on an ultra-low budget. Since the entire epic takes place in a junkyard, it combines the three dramatic unities of space, time, and action. Think of "Wait Until Dark" in the middle of the desert at high noon and everybody can see, but the villains have effectively cut the heroes off from help. Hall and his whacked out girlfriend take three teachers hostage who were driving across the desert to Los Angeles to see a football game. This is a minor, rough-hewn gem that features a sniveling, homicidal villain and the heroes have a tough time with him.

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I agree. Is a very good film.

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WEEEEEE!!!!!!!
WOWWEE WOW WOW!!!!!
I couldn't stop laughing when he was singing.

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If you look at the photo of him now, you would never guess how strange he looked when he was young. I am glad to read he is a nice guy and was successful in other arenas.

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Arch Hall Jr. is more like a Garbage Pail Elvis.

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Evidently he only got into show business because his father talked him into it. He had a realistic view of his limitations, quit while he was "ahead", and went on to a rather adventurous career as a pilot.

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Him saying "Wowwee wow wow!!!" was the best thing I have ever seen.

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Arch Hall, Jr. = Cabbage Patch Elvis


"Sorry about my face!"



"You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel."---Homer Simpson

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I've seen much worse acting than Hall in Eegah. You also have to take into account what sort of a film this is -- for instance, if one were to base Jack Nicholson's acting capabilities solely on his appearance in the original "Little Shop of Horrors," it could easily be said that he's a terrible actor too. Same could be said of many actors who took parts in b-movies like this.

Hall's excellent as the menacing Charlie Tibbs in the critically acclaimed "The Sadist" (a TCM reviewer declared the film a masterpiece; Leonard Maltin said "Hall is distressingly believable as the psycho"). If he hadn't switched careers, Hall could have easily gone on to become a household name.

Here's "The Sadist;" the opening's cheesy and it takes a little bit to get going (the film plays out in real time), but for classic/b-movie fans, it's a worthwhile way to spend 90 minutes:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7898373332979192586&hl=en

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C'mon folks...Arch was like 15 years old when he appeared in Eegah.He appears to have led a pretty neat,adventurous life afterward.If I end up as well,I'll be thrilled.And,yeah...he was great in the Sadist!

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blasphemy!!!

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I've got it, he looks like the bat from FernGully!

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Crow: "Jonny Quest."

And an ugly Jonny Quest at that.

He performed with the Archers recently in New Orleans at some 50's festival there, so he hasn't totally retired from the "music business". I'm glad that he achieved success in other areas of life. I have a vintage Fender Jazzmaster with the same white finish as Arch's "Eegah" guitar! It sounds just awesome, especially through a vintage blackface Fender Twin Reverb. Not quite an L series Strat, but still a great vintage guitar. Worth a small fortune these days.

Life's too short to waste my time on someone who'll just throw it away.

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Jazzmasters were a great guitar and the Twin Reverb was a great amp. Super tone. I wish I had that set. I love the old doo wop music even done badly it was still cool. I'd like to hear the Archers play now, I'm sure they have gotten better after 50 years practice. ;)

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More like Beavis from Beavis & Butthead.

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He looks like a Pillsbury Leonardo DiCaprio.

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I have never actually wanted to physically assault an actor/character in a film before, so yeah... he's definitely a first. An annoying little ugly twerp!

Even MST3K couldn't rip this movie apart enough for me....

Horrible.

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He had no idea of how to act but then, neither did anyone else in this film. As far as looks go he reminds me a bit of Michael J. Pollard in Bonnie & Clyde.

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I really enjoyed him in this but my favorite Arch Hall, Jr. movie is still WILD GUITAR. It's a real showcase for his talents.

hkfilmnews.blogspot.com
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lol I kept thinking of Michael J. Pollard too.
Although I don't think the acting was anything special, he had the 60s beach boy look.
His singing wasn't all that great either.

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