Bruce Boxleitner in Bring 'Em Back Alive (1982)

Before he was The Scarecrow in Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983) Bruce Boxleitner played real life game hunter Frank Buck in this adventure series designed to capitalize on the success of Radars of the Lost Ark. Buck was a sensation in the early 20th century as a big game trapper and conservationist who wrote the book this series, and a film in 1932 was named after. Set in 1930's Malaya, the real-life history of Buck has been embellished to make him a matinee idol who defeats bad guys in each hour long episode.

The series has never made it to DVD. You can find full episodes on YouTube, however. Above is the second episode to air - The Seven Keys to Singapore, uploaded by MrDougwarner69.

Obscurity factor: 8 (rarely heard from since it first aired, not on DVD, available on YouTube)

Ryan O'Neal & Omar Sharif in Green Ice (1981)

Ryan O'Neal has been in his share of obscure films. I'm featuring a few of them this week. This one slipped under the radar in 1981. In a strikingly similar scenario to yesterdays film (The Thief Who Came to Dinner) Joseph Wiley (O'Neal) is an electronics expert who travels to Mexico to get over a divorce and meets a sultry beauty, Holbrook (Anne Archer). They embark on a career of purloinery. This time the loot is limited to emeralds owned by underworld kingpin Meno Argenti (Sharif) who has killed Holbrook's sister, despite wanting Holbrook to marry him.

MoviePosterShop.com

Though this film didn't do well critically, there is some fun to be had in it. The opening scene depicts the murder mentioned above and is quite disconcerting, which contrasts with the lighter quality to the rest of the film. Sharif is suitably despicable and Archer is beguiling. Look for John Larroquette in an early role and opening credits done by Maurice Binder of James Bond fame.

This film is available on DVD, but is out of print and copies are expensive. It can also be watched on Amazon on demand. Above is the scene where our protagonists use balloons in their bid for the emeralds featuring Maria - Midnight at the Oasis - Muldaur singing "Floating", uploaded to YouTube by RudyHerak.

Obscurity factor: 8 (on DVD, but hard to find, also available online on Amazon, largely forgotten)