I recently became aware of Alex Cord while watching The Dead are Alive aka The Etruscan Kills Again (which is a terribly unscary title) but named so because a series of bloody murders in an Italian town are assumed to be committed by an angered Etruscan demon that Cord, as a violent-tempered and alcoholic archaeologist, releases from an ancient tomb.
That's how together the characters in this movie are, they have to be convinced that the murderer is a man rather than a legendary demon. Though the police think Cord could be guilty, because he's just such a jerk. He is almost indescribably awesome here, getting grumpy and yelling constantly and accentuating the word “No!” with “God Dammit!”
The DVD cover of this refutable gem is spectacular – a screaming head with half it's skin peeled off revealing airbrushed brains, bones, and dripping eyeballs. It has next to nothing to do with the movie. No, a much better indication of what you are about to watch if you stick this in the dvd player is the photo on back of Cord wearing an exquisite mustache, a tight blue polo shirt, even tighter jean shorts, strangling an old man.
After fast forwarding through to scenes that featured the angry Cord, my crush was solidified. I love this man. And to my absolute surprise, information about him is not that hard to come by. Turns out he was a big(ish) star in an Ernest Borgnine TV show called Airwolf. He wore an eye patch and his character was named Archangel. I know, it sounds beyond amazing. But it's not exactly.
Still, Cord continues to keep the mustache going and currently writes horse books for men. He also seems like a very likable guy.
But what do you think?