Colossus And The Amazon Queen (1960)

Starring Dorian Gray, Rod Taylor, Gianna Maria Canale, Ed Fury, Alberto Farnese
Directed by Vittorio Sala
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After they fall for a ruse that makes them slaves of the Amazons, a Greek strongman and his deceitful cohort try to make the best of the situation, and fall in love with two warriors vying to become Queen.

An Italian blend of sword and sandal and comedic satire, I wouldn't call it a great film in either area, although some of the gender role reversal humor hits the mark, but not enough.  What it does have is Rod Taylor, on the cusp of some of his best films in the years to come.  My friend Dan Day Jr. wisely pointed out when I questioned why Taylor was in this movie with a quote from Christopher Lee that read "Actors need to eat."  Nevertheless, the film is watchable as it's clear there was some care put into the costuming, the fight and dance choreography and Roberto Nicolosi's jazzy soundtrack.  It's just not enough of a spectacle or a comedy, the two things it's trying to be, to merit a recommendation from me.

Asylum (1972)

Starring Peter Cushing, Britt Ekland, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Barry Morse
Directed by Roy Ward Baker
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young doctor applies for a position at an insane asylum, and is given the test of listening to the inmates' stories to determine which of them is the asylum's director, who has become a patient.

Another Amicus horror anthology film, it's rather well-done compared to some others, although there are moments where you have to suspend your disbelief.  Although Douglas Gamley is credited with the film's score, most of the framing story's soundtrack comes from uncredited classical selections composed by Modest Mussorgsky, including his A Night On Bald Mountain playing over the opening credits, which makes more of an impact than anything Gamley wrote.  My favorite among the tales was Cushing's and Morse's, which recounts a tailor's creation of a unique suit for an astrologer who turns out to have dark motives for the suit.  Morse gives an excellent performance, although nearly unrecognizable hidden under thick spectacles, gray facial hair, and a Germanic accent, and Cushing is always worth watching.  A supernatural revenge for murder story with Richard Todd and Sylvia Syms is a bit predictable but well-executed, as is Charlotte Rampling and Britt Ekland's tale of a released mental patient who may or may not be able to see her sister in real life.  The final tale, with Herbert Lom and his character's miniature robot creations may be the most difficult to take seriously, but somehow Lom's presence and the tale's dark tone won me over a bit, if not completely.

Matango (1963)

Starring Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, Hiroshi Tachikawa
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a yacht is wrecked by a storm, the passengers and crew make it to an island where they learn the mushrooms are radioactive, and may have transformed other people on the island into creatures.

An impressive film from Ishiro Honda, very different from his kaiju productions, offers an interesting mystery story among the drama of the castaways looking for a way to survive, and although there are indeed mushroom creatures to behold, their reality within the plot line falls under doubt, with hallucinations or dream visions also taking place.  Honda and his writers use the castaways in the familiar but effective structure of a microcosm of humanity, with the conflict exposing which characters are pure of heart and which are driven by greed or antagonism.  The special effects and suit actors, although employed less than in a kaiju film, are well-presented, but I found the film's creepiest moment to be the eerie laughter that accompanies the growth of the mushrooms in the island's rain.

The Phantom Of 42nd Street (1945)

Starring Dave O'Brien, Kay Aldridge, Alan Mowbray, Frank Jenks, Edythe Elliott
Directed by Albert Herman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

At the urging of his editor, a newspaper drama critic turns investigative reporter to solve murders connected to a theater showing classical plays, mounted by a wealthy family. 

A low budget production from PRC, the film lacks any particularly well-known stars, although O'Brien is a more than competent lead as the newspaper critic, and Mowbray had been a reliable character actor for decades, as he is here.  They're surrounded by familar faces from many a poverty row production, including Jenks, Stanley Price, Robert Strange, Milton Kibbee, and Jack Mulhall as the predictably flustered detective.  Although the identity of the murderer won't come as a big shock to anyone, the picture is efficiently directed and the screenplay presents a wealth of suspects while distinguishing them well enough from the other actors.  However, although O'Brien and Aldridge's characters are definitely interested in each other, their romance is given short shrift in favor of comic relief scenes with Jenks and his dimwitted girlfriend, played by Vera Marshe.

Gargoyles (1972)

Starring Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey, Scott Glenn
Directed by Bill Norton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An author and professor in the study of demons travels with his daughter into rural New Mexico, where they find the skeleton of a gargoyle, but its living brethren are soon after them. 

Probably most notable as one of special effects wizard Stan Winston's earliest credits, as one of the men behind the gargoyle makeup, this production was a TV movie with a limited run time that might have been better  off with more time devoted to a fuller exploration of the gargoyles' backstory.  There's still some good shocks and thrills and the makeup is really extraordinary for a telefilm.  Bernie Casey is cast as the lead gargoyle and although the actor gives the creature presence within the suit, it's a shame his fine voice wasn't used, instead dubbed over by Vic Perrin according to IMDB.  Also in the cast is Scott Glenn, a familiar character actor in blockbuster movies decades later.  Stephen and Elinor Karpf's screenplay is probably a bit too simplistic, but I enjoyed Robert Prince's score, and it was good to see favorite filming location Carlsbad Caverns standing in for the gargoyles' lair.

Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

Starring Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe, Oscar Homolka, Vladimir Sokoloff
Directed by William Castle
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A doctor is invited by his former love to visit the castle of her husband Baron Sardonicus, in order to treat the Baron's affliction, that keeps his face hidden behind an expressionless mask. 

William Castle's film adaptation of the horror tale by Ray Russell is probably best known for the gimmick Castle employed in his advertising, and in the film itself, encouraging audiences to vote for punishment of Sardonicus via thumbs-up, thumbs-down cards provided in the theaters.  It was also a phony gimmick as only one ending truly exists, according to most film historians.  However, its period setting and distinguished cast make the film itself worthwhile.  My friend Dan Day Jr. has pointed out that this was likely Castle's attempt to emulate the British horror popularized by the Hammer studio, ironic since Hammer and Castle would soon team up for the production of The Old Dark House a short time later.  I enjoy the film quite a bit, although one senses we don't get to quite see all the depravities committed by Sardonicus in Russell's original story.  Lewis is fine as the doctor, as is Rolfe as Sardonicus, and Dalton is a lovely damsel with a lot to play off in her dialogue, but I really appreciated the colorful characters added by Homolka and Sokoloff, who both added an old-world feel to the film that fit in well with the sets and art direction.

The Scarlet Claw (1944)

Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gerald Hamer, Paul Cavanagh, Arthur Hohl
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigate the death of a reputed British actress in Canada, and learn a local legend of a monster may be connected to the crime. 

One of the most highly regarded films in the Universal Holmes series, the picture has some wonderful atmosphere, including creepy exterior scenes of boggy terrain, highlighted by the appearance of a glowing creature animated by Universal's ace special effects man, John P. Fulton.  Friend and film historian Troy Howarth points out that George Robinson, who photographed several of the Universal horror films, lensed this entry and his skills would have been appreciated on other Holmes pictures.  Along with the fine visuals, there's an equally fine mystery at back of this one, with plenty of suspects for the viewer to guess between, and well-scripted revelations of clues one by one.  The cast is quite fine as well, with Hamer as a charming but mild-mannered postman, Cavanagh as a proponent of belief in the supernatural who may have secrets he's hiding, Ian Wolfe as Cavanagh's former butler, eager to head out of town, and Miles Mander as a crippled former judge who's paranoid of being a future victim.  It's a well-polished production worthy of the acclaim it's received.

The Phantom Planet (1961)

Starring Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Anthony Dexter, Francis X. Bushman, Richard Weber
Directed by William Marshall
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

In the distant future, an Earth astronaut is stranded on a mobile asteroid, home to a tiny race with advanced technology who are in a war with the fearsome Solarites.

An independent science fiction film impressively mounted on a limited budget, the picture presents some unique visuals against the background of an eerie and otherworldly musical score.  Although per IMDB the score was assembled from stock music, it seems integrated and well-suited to the picture.  The visuals include rocket ships, Fredericks shrinking within his space suit, an unusual alien makeup for giant actor Richard Kiel in one of his earlier roles, spaceships encased in a fiery exterior, a pre-Star Trek detention cell with a powerful forcefield, gravity plates that disintegrate whatever touches them, and more.  Fredericks makes a fine leading man for this adventure, and Bushman, a prolific actor with work going back to the silent era, is distinguished as Sessom, the leader of the tiny aliens.  It may not stand on the same level with the more polished sci-fi productions of the era, but it does bring a unique new tale to the screen and one that's entertainingly presented.

The Giant Claw (1957)

Starring Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum, Louis Merrill, Edgar Barrier
Directed by Fred F. Sears
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Attacks by a gigantic bird creature from outer space stymie the military who have no defense against it, but an electronics engineer who was first to sight the creature has a plan that might work.

This picture has been long reviled for its key special effect, a puppet mockup of the creature dependent on wires to make it move, which to be fair just doesn't come off very well, and has encouraged laughter from many audience members.  I still love the film, and the creature, who is quite fearsome in extreme closeup, and admittedly less effective in longer shots, as it's certainly unique among movie monsters.  Samuel Newman & Paul Gangelin's screenplay has lofty science fiction ideas to express, and the cast are completely earnest and serious in their roles, with no evidence of anyone trying to ham it up, other than perhaps Louis Merrill's French-Canadian stereotype.  I won't say that Morrow, Corday, Ankrum, and Robert Shayne bring credibility to the film with their performances- that's probably beyond their abilities, but they give sincere portrayals that don't embarrass themselves, even if the movie may have later embarrassed them.  The film needs better effects, and probably makes too much use of military stock footage, but I remain charmed by it.

I Bury The Living (1958)

Starring Richard Boone, Theodore Bikel, Peggy Maurer, Howard Smith, Herbert Anderson
Directed by Albert Band
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A department store executive is charged with overseeing the town's cemetery, and becomes shocked to discover black pins he inserts into the cemetery's map seem to make people die. 

This is a compelling film assembled on a modest budget, and benefits from Louis Garfinkle's fascinating screenplay, Gerald Fried's dark music score, and memorable visual imagery from Edward Vorkapich.   There's no big stars other than Richard Boone, who had just started starring in TV's Have Gun Will Travel, and he's more than believable as the man who comes to believe a supernatural power within himself is causing the deaths, despite all those trying to convince him otherwise.  The first time I saw this film I was kept guessing until near the climax, and even knowing how it turns out now, subsequent viewings have revealed how well the picture is assembled and directed, and it stands up today for those reasons.  

The Old Dark House (1932)

Starring Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger
Directed by James Whale
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After being caught in a terrible thunderstorm, a quintet of characters seek shelter at the Femm house, whose residents range from eccentric to downright dangerous. 

Director James Whale and his star Boris Karloff follow up Frankenstein with this tale of the bizarre Femm family who inhabit a gloomy manor with a fearsome butler (Karloff) and terrible secrets locked away upstairs.  However, it's not just a horror movie, although it has its share of screams and shocks, but also possesses romance, quirky humor, and commentary on society and the pursuit of happiness.  I've seen the film twice, perhaps three times, and each time discover something new I failed to notice before.  This time I was captivated by the visual sequence in which actress Gloria Stuart is tormented by mirror images of the characters she's met that have frightened her most,  conveyed by Arthur Edeson's photography and Clarence Kolster's editing.  Those coming to the film to see Karloff as another monster will find that, but be left with so much more, and truthfully the picture's most terrifying sequence may be Douglas's climactic meeting with Saul Femm (played by Brember Wills), whose initial meekness hides something far more sinister.