Starring Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Duke Moore, Tom Keene, Carl Anthony
Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A small California town is beset by the reanimated dead, brought back to life by space aliens as part of a plan to get the world's governments to notice them.
Ed Wood's most famous production, and yes, it is extremely cheaply made, and deserves its reputation as a landmark of bad cinema. Stock footage of the departed Bela Lugosi is awkwardly edited into the film, and bridged with scenes involving an obviously much younger performer trying to disguise himself and pass for Lugosi in a Dracula cape. The flying saucer models are moved about by visible wires and would not convince anyone. Several members in the cast deliver flat-sounding dialogue, and the quality of Wood's screenplay is of course lacking, with plenty of redundancy and silliness in Criswell's narration. Tor Johnson and Vampira after their death scenes are supposed to be stalking and killing visitors to the cemetery, but the film's editing doesn't allow us to view them actually attacking cast members. The latter half of the film gets weighed down with an alien description of a future deadly weapon that doesn't relate much to the plot. Despite everything I've said, because we know Wood's earnestness, I was entertained in waiting to see what the notorious director would try next and how he would try to tie together the disparate details of the plot. Dudley Manlove, as alien operative Eros, has a strong presence and voice, and may give the best performance in the movie, although at times the actor descends into camp, and describes plans that don't always make sense. Music supervisor Gordon Zahler assembles a number of memorable cues, including some I recognized from 1950s television, into a score that's just about as memorable as the movie is. The picture may be be reviled by some, laughed at by others, but I still think it's enjoyable.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Shock (1946)
Starring Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Frank Latimore, Anabel Shaw, Michael Dunne
Directed by Alfred Werker
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young wife waiting for the return of her husband in a hotel room, witnesses a murder and falls into shock, but is sent for treatment to the sanitarium run by the murderer she witnessed.
A young Vincent Price is showcased in this suspense thriller, playing the murderer but giving a sympathetic performance as a man pushed too far by his less scrupulous lover (Bari, in an unusual role). The film has some interesting camerawork, particularly a dream sequence where Shaw struggles to open an oversized-door with a tremendous knob to reunite with her husband, and a very creepy sequence in the middle of a thunderstorm where Shaw's room at the sanitarium is invaded by another patient, (chillingly portrayed by a mute but scary John Davidson). The script, while setting up a nefarious scheme by Price & Bari to keep Shaw silent, throws various wrenches in their path as you might expect, leading to a somewhat predictable ending, but Price is ever watchable, adding another memorable characterization to his filmography.
Directed by Alfred Werker
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young wife waiting for the return of her husband in a hotel room, witnesses a murder and falls into shock, but is sent for treatment to the sanitarium run by the murderer she witnessed.
A young Vincent Price is showcased in this suspense thriller, playing the murderer but giving a sympathetic performance as a man pushed too far by his less scrupulous lover (Bari, in an unusual role). The film has some interesting camerawork, particularly a dream sequence where Shaw struggles to open an oversized-door with a tremendous knob to reunite with her husband, and a very creepy sequence in the middle of a thunderstorm where Shaw's room at the sanitarium is invaded by another patient, (chillingly portrayed by a mute but scary John Davidson). The script, while setting up a nefarious scheme by Price & Bari to keep Shaw silent, throws various wrenches in their path as you might expect, leading to a somewhat predictable ending, but Price is ever watchable, adding another memorable characterization to his filmography.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Abbott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1953)
Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, Helen Westcott
Directed by Charles Lamont
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A pair of bumbling policemen in 19th century London are kicked off the force, and try to get their jobs back by catching the murdering monster on the loose, actually Dr. Jekyll's gruesome alter ego.
This entry in the "Abbott & Costello Meet The Monsters" series of films pulls its villain not from the Universal horror library, but the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story of good and evil, although there's not much of Stevenson's tale that makes it to the screen. Karloff is welcome as Jekyll, but isn't given the opportunity to give a layered performance to Hyde as well, with a stuntman (Eddie Parker, according to IMDB) in a grotesque mask, playing all the Hyde scenes as a mute brute in topcoat and hat. Most of the gags and routines for Abbott & Costello are ones we've seen before, and none really elicit any laughter on my part today, but the film is lively paced and the sets and costumes convincing of the period. I still had fun with it, even if it's not one of the better A & C monster outings.
Directed by Charles Lamont
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A pair of bumbling policemen in 19th century London are kicked off the force, and try to get their jobs back by catching the murdering monster on the loose, actually Dr. Jekyll's gruesome alter ego.
This entry in the "Abbott & Costello Meet The Monsters" series of films pulls its villain not from the Universal horror library, but the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story of good and evil, although there's not much of Stevenson's tale that makes it to the screen. Karloff is welcome as Jekyll, but isn't given the opportunity to give a layered performance to Hyde as well, with a stuntman (Eddie Parker, according to IMDB) in a grotesque mask, playing all the Hyde scenes as a mute brute in topcoat and hat. Most of the gags and routines for Abbott & Costello are ones we've seen before, and none really elicit any laughter on my part today, but the film is lively paced and the sets and costumes convincing of the period. I still had fun with it, even if it's not one of the better A & C monster outings.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
The Ghost (1963)
Starring Barbara Steele, Peter Baldwin, Elio Jotta, Harriet Medin, Carol Bennet
Directed by Riccardo Freda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
While a scientist is being treated for his paralysis, his wife has an affair with his doctor and convinces him to kill the scientist, but they're both haunted by his apparent ghost afterward.
We have here an interesting psychological thriller from Italian director Freda, although curiously set in Scotland, fronted by gothic horror star Barbara Steele. Freda and his cameraman Raffaele Masciocchi exquisitely frame Steele's face and eyes in closeups to great effect and the screenplay makes clever use of the ghost's appearances. Sometimes objects move on their own, sometimes we see manifestations of the scientist's decaying body, and sometimes he communicates to Steele and Baldwin in his own voice through his mansion's maid who is also a medium. There are also twists and turns as the lovers find their future plans not as easy to achieve at first thought. Film historian Troy Howarth pointed out to me that despite the return of actors from Steele's and Freda's The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, as well as the use of the surname Hitchcock in this film, it's not related to the earlier picture, but it's certainly worthy of standing on its own merits, which are many.
Directed by Riccardo Freda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
While a scientist is being treated for his paralysis, his wife has an affair with his doctor and convinces him to kill the scientist, but they're both haunted by his apparent ghost afterward.
We have here an interesting psychological thriller from Italian director Freda, although curiously set in Scotland, fronted by gothic horror star Barbara Steele. Freda and his cameraman Raffaele Masciocchi exquisitely frame Steele's face and eyes in closeups to great effect and the screenplay makes clever use of the ghost's appearances. Sometimes objects move on their own, sometimes we see manifestations of the scientist's decaying body, and sometimes he communicates to Steele and Baldwin in his own voice through his mansion's maid who is also a medium. There are also twists and turns as the lovers find their future plans not as easy to achieve at first thought. Film historian Troy Howarth pointed out to me that despite the return of actors from Steele's and Freda's The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, as well as the use of the surname Hitchcock in this film, it's not related to the earlier picture, but it's certainly worthy of standing on its own merits, which are many.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Day The World Ended (1955)
Starring Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Touch Connors, Paul Birch
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Atomic fallout brings seven lone survivors together in a shielded house, but with limited food and the threat of rain that will irradiate them, they face an uncertain future.
This early Roger Corman production has a screenplay that borrows character types and tropes from numerous past films, but it still has some worthwhile ideas and is fronted by a good cast, particularly Denning and Birch, whose serious performances make the more fantastic elements believable. Birch in particular as a former military captain who prepared his home for the end of the world but not for all the strangers that ended coming his way, anchors the picture, asserting his control with a stentorian tone and manner. Connors' violent thug who provides the chief conflict among the characters is little more than a stereotype, as is Jergens as his boozy moll, who could have both stepped right out of Key Largo, but Paul Dubov's irradiated victim who mysteriously survives his apparent death is an intriguing addition, setting up the story's logical development of men mutated into monsters. Ronald Stein provides an effective score, and Paul Blaisdell's creature suit is cheap but still has a fearsome countenance. I enjoyed the picture for what it was, an early attempt by Corman to mine thrills on a low budget, and think it works on that level.
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Atomic fallout brings seven lone survivors together in a shielded house, but with limited food and the threat of rain that will irradiate them, they face an uncertain future.
This early Roger Corman production has a screenplay that borrows character types and tropes from numerous past films, but it still has some worthwhile ideas and is fronted by a good cast, particularly Denning and Birch, whose serious performances make the more fantastic elements believable. Birch in particular as a former military captain who prepared his home for the end of the world but not for all the strangers that ended coming his way, anchors the picture, asserting his control with a stentorian tone and manner. Connors' violent thug who provides the chief conflict among the characters is little more than a stereotype, as is Jergens as his boozy moll, who could have both stepped right out of Key Largo, but Paul Dubov's irradiated victim who mysteriously survives his apparent death is an intriguing addition, setting up the story's logical development of men mutated into monsters. Ronald Stein provides an effective score, and Paul Blaisdell's creature suit is cheap but still has a fearsome countenance. I enjoyed the picture for what it was, an early attempt by Corman to mine thrills on a low budget, and think it works on that level.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
The Curse Of The Werewolf (1961)
Starring Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Feller, Anthony Dawson
Directed by Terence Fisher
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young boy grows up cursed to transform into a werewolf, which his adoptive father is able to combat with love, but when he reaches manhood, the beast is again unleashed.
Hammer's only werewolf film, to the best of my knowledge, it's a very good one, well-directed by Fisher, and with an exceptional performance by Reed in the title role. Based on Guy Endore's Werewolf Of Paris, but very loosely by Anthony Hinds, writing under his pen name of John Elder, Hinds provides a different setting and backstory. Wikipedia credits the film as being set in Spain, and production designer Bernard Robinson's set decorations and Molly Arbuthnot's costumes really add flavor to the film, and make it seem a unique world far away from Hammer's British studio. Roy Ashton's creature makeup for Reed is also exceptional, and packs a wallop when it's finally exposed to the audience at the film's climax. I've never really cared for the violent prologue in which an innocent beggar is imprisoned and turned into a beastly man who eventually becomes father to the werewolf, as it seems largely unnecessary but once the boy is adopted by the kindly Evans and his nurturing servant played by Hira Talfrey, and we see their relationship and their struggles with his curse, the film starts to take off for me. I found Benjamin Frankel's score, which features many sequences of cascading notes, a bit too busy for me, but it does convey the proper dark themes for the story. Overall, it's still a wonderful production from Hammer and a very memorable film.
Directed by Terence Fisher
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young boy grows up cursed to transform into a werewolf, which his adoptive father is able to combat with love, but when he reaches manhood, the beast is again unleashed.
Hammer's only werewolf film, to the best of my knowledge, it's a very good one, well-directed by Fisher, and with an exceptional performance by Reed in the title role. Based on Guy Endore's Werewolf Of Paris, but very loosely by Anthony Hinds, writing under his pen name of John Elder, Hinds provides a different setting and backstory. Wikipedia credits the film as being set in Spain, and production designer Bernard Robinson's set decorations and Molly Arbuthnot's costumes really add flavor to the film, and make it seem a unique world far away from Hammer's British studio. Roy Ashton's creature makeup for Reed is also exceptional, and packs a wallop when it's finally exposed to the audience at the film's climax. I've never really cared for the violent prologue in which an innocent beggar is imprisoned and turned into a beastly man who eventually becomes father to the werewolf, as it seems largely unnecessary but once the boy is adopted by the kindly Evans and his nurturing servant played by Hira Talfrey, and we see their relationship and their struggles with his curse, the film starts to take off for me. I found Benjamin Frankel's score, which features many sequences of cascading notes, a bit too busy for me, but it does convey the proper dark themes for the story. Overall, it's still a wonderful production from Hammer and a very memorable film.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Sherlock Holmes In Washington (1943)
Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell, George Zucco
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Holmes and Watson are sent to Washington D.C. when a courier carrying a valuable document is kidnapped, and it's up to them to track down the kidnappers and find the document before they do.
This was the last of the Universal Holmes films to feature wartime propaganda in any real sense, although most of it is confined to Holmes' admiration of American national monuments, as the story focuses on the search for a McGuffin, which cleverly passes unknown from one person to another again and again, followed amusingly by the camera of Lester White. It also affords us a chance to see Rathbone and Zucco, as Holmes' primary nemesis, verbally spar once more after Zucco's turn as Moriarty in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. Zucco would have been a welcome presence in several more outings involving the great detective, but sadly this was his last appearance in the series. Overall, the story's a little slight, but the film's still an entertaining time passer.
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Holmes and Watson are sent to Washington D.C. when a courier carrying a valuable document is kidnapped, and it's up to them to track down the kidnappers and find the document before they do.
This was the last of the Universal Holmes films to feature wartime propaganda in any real sense, although most of it is confined to Holmes' admiration of American national monuments, as the story focuses on the search for a McGuffin, which cleverly passes unknown from one person to another again and again, followed amusingly by the camera of Lester White. It also affords us a chance to see Rathbone and Zucco, as Holmes' primary nemesis, verbally spar once more after Zucco's turn as Moriarty in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. Zucco would have been a welcome presence in several more outings involving the great detective, but sadly this was his last appearance in the series. Overall, the story's a little slight, but the film's still an entertaining time passer.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
The Premature Burial (1962)
Starring Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Richard Ney, Heather Angel, Alan Napier
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A man becomes obsessed with the fear that he will be buried alive, and leads a sheltered existence consumed by that fear, ignoring the pleas of his wife and his friends to seek help.
Corman delivers another Edgar Allan Poe adaptation for American International Pictures, with many of his usual cast and crew contributing, but this one's missing his familiar star, Vincent Price. Although the screenplay (fleshing out Poe's short story) is written with the same beats and elements as Corman's primary Poe productions, and Price certainly could have played the part rather comfortably, Milland is more than acceptable and makes the role his own. Sumptuous color is a hallmark of the film, with deep reds highlighted above all in the interior production design, the costumes, and Court's makeup, and it looks beautiful. The exteriors, composed of endless green vegetation and encroaching white fog set off the interior design, creating two distinct worlds in an interesting contrast. I do think it's regrettable that screenwriters Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell chose to echo what Corman had done before in their climax to the film, rather than try something new, but with Milland's presence and a unique look for the castle and grounds, it feels like a different film, which I found a welcome approach. It might not be one of Corman's best Poe adaptations, but it's certainly very striking and watchable.
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A man becomes obsessed with the fear that he will be buried alive, and leads a sheltered existence consumed by that fear, ignoring the pleas of his wife and his friends to seek help.
Corman delivers another Edgar Allan Poe adaptation for American International Pictures, with many of his usual cast and crew contributing, but this one's missing his familiar star, Vincent Price. Although the screenplay (fleshing out Poe's short story) is written with the same beats and elements as Corman's primary Poe productions, and Price certainly could have played the part rather comfortably, Milland is more than acceptable and makes the role his own. Sumptuous color is a hallmark of the film, with deep reds highlighted above all in the interior production design, the costumes, and Court's makeup, and it looks beautiful. The exteriors, composed of endless green vegetation and encroaching white fog set off the interior design, creating two distinct worlds in an interesting contrast. I do think it's regrettable that screenwriters Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell chose to echo what Corman had done before in their climax to the film, rather than try something new, but with Milland's presence and a unique look for the castle and grounds, it feels like a different film, which I found a welcome approach. It might not be one of Corman's best Poe adaptations, but it's certainly very striking and watchable.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
The Fury Of The Wolfman (1972)
Starring Paul Naschy, Perla Cristal, Veronica Lujan, Miguel de la Riva, Jose Marco
Directed by Jose Maria Zabalza
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After returning from Tibet with a bite that's transformed him into a werewolf, a scientist seeks help from a colleague who's been performing secret brain experiments and plans to dominate his will.
Another Paul Naschy vehicle in which he plays the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, and also wrote the screenplay, much of the film transpires within a gloomy castle, where Daninsky finds himself trapped with Cristal's many human experiments and her sympathetic young assistant (played by Lujan). Cristal gives a good performance as the cool calculating Ilona Ellman, and there's plenty of action with Daninsky transforming several times, and wielding an axe when trying to break out of the castle and deal with those in his way. However, what the picture lacks is atmosphere, without any eerie staging, memorable photography, or any special quality to the score by Angel Arteaga and Ana Satrova. There are some shocks, particularly when Daninsky demolishes a wall and finds half-eaten bodies behind it, and a showdown between Daninsky and another monster at the climax was welcome, but would not call this one a favorite.
Directed by Jose Maria Zabalza
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After returning from Tibet with a bite that's transformed him into a werewolf, a scientist seeks help from a colleague who's been performing secret brain experiments and plans to dominate his will.
Another Paul Naschy vehicle in which he plays the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, and also wrote the screenplay, much of the film transpires within a gloomy castle, where Daninsky finds himself trapped with Cristal's many human experiments and her sympathetic young assistant (played by Lujan). Cristal gives a good performance as the cool calculating Ilona Ellman, and there's plenty of action with Daninsky transforming several times, and wielding an axe when trying to break out of the castle and deal with those in his way. However, what the picture lacks is atmosphere, without any eerie staging, memorable photography, or any special quality to the score by Angel Arteaga and Ana Satrova. There are some shocks, particularly when Daninsky demolishes a wall and finds half-eaten bodies behind it, and a showdown between Daninsky and another monster at the climax was welcome, but would not call this one a favorite.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Lightning Bolt (1966)
Starring Anthony Eisley, Wandisa Guida, Diana Lorys, Luisa Rivelli, Francisco Sanz
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A secret agent is sent to Florida to discover why missiles to the moon are continually sabotaged, and discovers a plot by a megalomaniacal villain to control the world.
A Eurospy film from the prolific Italian director Antonio Margheriti, also known by the Italian title Operazione Goldman, the production imports American Eisley to play the lead, better known for headlining low budget sci-fi movies in the States. He's no James Bond, but acquits himself rather well, particularly when battling minions of the villain with karate chops and fisticuffs in a vast undersea complex. The screenplay sets himself up rather uniquely for these films as the subordinate of Lorys, although there's plenty of sexist innuendo and Eisley and Lorys are canoodling before too long. The set pieces aren't quite equal to a Bond film, but the art direction for the picture is pretty good, and the photography, score, editing, and special effects (minus some grainy stock footage of missile launches), are more than adequate, with the entire production well-directed by Margheriti. I haven't seen enough Eurospy entries to rate this among the better ones, but it certainly held my interest.
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A secret agent is sent to Florida to discover why missiles to the moon are continually sabotaged, and discovers a plot by a megalomaniacal villain to control the world.
A Eurospy film from the prolific Italian director Antonio Margheriti, also known by the Italian title Operazione Goldman, the production imports American Eisley to play the lead, better known for headlining low budget sci-fi movies in the States. He's no James Bond, but acquits himself rather well, particularly when battling minions of the villain with karate chops and fisticuffs in a vast undersea complex. The screenplay sets himself up rather uniquely for these films as the subordinate of Lorys, although there's plenty of sexist innuendo and Eisley and Lorys are canoodling before too long. The set pieces aren't quite equal to a Bond film, but the art direction for the picture is pretty good, and the photography, score, editing, and special effects (minus some grainy stock footage of missile launches), are more than adequate, with the entire production well-directed by Margheriti. I haven't seen enough Eurospy entries to rate this among the better ones, but it certainly held my interest.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
I Saw What You Did (1965)
Starring Joan Crawford, John Ireland, Leif Erickson, Sara Lane, Andi Garrett
Directed by William Castle
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Two teenage girls spend a night home alone making prank calls, but when they tell an actual murderer they saw what he did, and know who he is, they put themselves in danger.
One of Castle's harder to find films until recently, more of a suspense thriller than his better known horror pictures, it's far from a great picture, but is a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. Crawford rather surprisingly isn't the main focus of the film, and disappears about midway through, playing a part she's really too old for. Garrett is the primary character, playing one of the teens, and she probably gives the best performance in the movie, relishing the mischief she's creating through smiling teeth and wide eyes, as she pushes her luck further and further. She also has a good rapport with Sharyl Locke, playing her adorable free-spirited younger sister. Ireland is menacing enough as the villain, although he's a little bland, and we don't really get a feel for his motives, having most of them explained to us by Crawford. A bouncy music score by Van Alexander helps propel the story along, keeping things light for the most part despite Ireland's crimes, although some foggy backgrounds heighten suspense near the climax. It's not one of Castle's best, but still has the fun feeling that highlighted his better films.
Directed by William Castle
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Two teenage girls spend a night home alone making prank calls, but when they tell an actual murderer they saw what he did, and know who he is, they put themselves in danger.
One of Castle's harder to find films until recently, more of a suspense thriller than his better known horror pictures, it's far from a great picture, but is a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. Crawford rather surprisingly isn't the main focus of the film, and disappears about midway through, playing a part she's really too old for. Garrett is the primary character, playing one of the teens, and she probably gives the best performance in the movie, relishing the mischief she's creating through smiling teeth and wide eyes, as she pushes her luck further and further. She also has a good rapport with Sharyl Locke, playing her adorable free-spirited younger sister. Ireland is menacing enough as the villain, although he's a little bland, and we don't really get a feel for his motives, having most of them explained to us by Crawford. A bouncy music score by Van Alexander helps propel the story along, keeping things light for the most part despite Ireland's crimes, although some foggy backgrounds heighten suspense near the climax. It's not one of Castle's best, but still has the fun feeling that highlighted his better films.
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