Starring George Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft, William Bakewell, Clayton Moore
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Scientist and government agent Commando Cody discovers a plot by aliens on the moon to invade the Earth, and uses his flying suit to combat them and their agents on Earth.
We have here the second of the "Rocket Man" serials, with a new actor and character in the flying suit, George Wallace as Commando Cody, but plenty of the same thrills (and stock footage) from the previous serial, King Of The Rocket Men. The special effects depicting Cody flying through the air, a dummy on wires as first used in Adventures Of Captain Marvel still look great, enhanced with the sound effects of the character's Rocket pack, and solid take off and landing sequences. Effects men Howard and Theodore Lydecker use a similar effect for Cody's rocket ship, which also looks impressive for the time, although the interior shots of the cockpit are compromised by the use of ordinary desk chairs. Although there's plenty of adventure throughout the serial, much of the cliffhangers and set pieces are ones we've seen before, and some are cribbed from past serial footage, but they're staged well enough and a musical action theme effectively underscores the central conflict in each episode. Unless I'm mistaken from looking at the filming locations on IMDB, it's Vasquez Rocks standing in for the craggy surface of the moon, which probably wouldn't fool too many fans of old westerns, but provides the caves and rough terrain required by the story. As Cody, Wallace is a solid hero, and Barcroft, with his aggressive tone, is tapped once again by the Republic studio to play the villain, in this case, Retik, the leader of the moon. Peter Brocco in alien makeup plays Retik's lieutenant on Earth, Krog, and future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore is welcome as Krog's chief human henchman. I wouldn't call it a great serial, but it's fun and worth revisiting from time to time.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
El Camino de los Espantos (1967)
Starring Marco Antonio Campos, Gaspar Henaine, Elsa Cardenas, Salome, Crox Alvarado
Directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a train doesn't show up at the station, a pair of cargo drivers offer to take the passengers to the city in their truck, but are forced to take a road supposedly haunted by all kinds of ghosts.
Campos and Henaine, a Mexican comedy team with similarities to Abbott & Costello, were according to Wikipedia just as prolific as their American counterparts, appearing in 26 films together. Watching this installment in the series, a horror-comedy, I can't say I laughed a lot, but there were some amusing routines and sight gags consistent with their long run as box office attractions. The supporting cast is peppered with a pair of lovely young ladies, a police captain escorting a murderer to prison, and a young man and his middle-aged parents, all of whom get bonked over the head several times before the film is over. The ghost makeups and production design aren't anything special compared to Hollywood standards, but serve their purpose well enough. I wouldn't say it's a great film, but among the Mexican monster movies I've seen, it stands out pretty well, with a plot that flows along without any dull patches.
Directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a train doesn't show up at the station, a pair of cargo drivers offer to take the passengers to the city in their truck, but are forced to take a road supposedly haunted by all kinds of ghosts.
Campos and Henaine, a Mexican comedy team with similarities to Abbott & Costello, were according to Wikipedia just as prolific as their American counterparts, appearing in 26 films together. Watching this installment in the series, a horror-comedy, I can't say I laughed a lot, but there were some amusing routines and sight gags consistent with their long run as box office attractions. The supporting cast is peppered with a pair of lovely young ladies, a police captain escorting a murderer to prison, and a young man and his middle-aged parents, all of whom get bonked over the head several times before the film is over. The ghost makeups and production design aren't anything special compared to Hollywood standards, but serve their purpose well enough. I wouldn't say it's a great film, but among the Mexican monster movies I've seen, it stands out pretty well, with a plot that flows along without any dull patches.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Arthur Margetson, Hillary Brooke
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Violence at the spooky Musgrave Manor leads Doctor Watson to bring Holmes in to investigate, who finds the Musgrave family are being targeted by a killer with motives connected to an ancient ritual.
Loosely based on a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this adventure in the Universal Holmes series was per film historian Troy Howarth, the first of the series to dismiss the wartime propaganda plots of its predecessors and focus on atmospheric tales of mystery. The filmmakers certainly lay on the atmosphere in the opening minutes with a bloodthirsty raven introducing us to a tracking shot of the windswept manor, an old dark house, with warring kin inside, along with possibly unstable convalescing soldiers. Several past and future guest stars in the series are to be found in this installment including Hillary Brooke, Gavin Muir, Gerald Hamer, and Frederick Worlock. IMDB also credits a young Peter Lawford as appearing in a brief role as a sailor at the community tavern. I thought the film was a good effort, although it could have used more music throughout, and agree with Troy the lack of a more dynamic villain is unfortunate. Rathbone and Bruce nevertheless still entertain, and more solid followups would be forthcoming from director Neill and his crew.
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Violence at the spooky Musgrave Manor leads Doctor Watson to bring Holmes in to investigate, who finds the Musgrave family are being targeted by a killer with motives connected to an ancient ritual.
Loosely based on a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this adventure in the Universal Holmes series was per film historian Troy Howarth, the first of the series to dismiss the wartime propaganda plots of its predecessors and focus on atmospheric tales of mystery. The filmmakers certainly lay on the atmosphere in the opening minutes with a bloodthirsty raven introducing us to a tracking shot of the windswept manor, an old dark house, with warring kin inside, along with possibly unstable convalescing soldiers. Several past and future guest stars in the series are to be found in this installment including Hillary Brooke, Gavin Muir, Gerald Hamer, and Frederick Worlock. IMDB also credits a young Peter Lawford as appearing in a brief role as a sailor at the community tavern. I thought the film was a good effort, although it could have used more music throughout, and agree with Troy the lack of a more dynamic villain is unfortunate. Rathbone and Bruce nevertheless still entertain, and more solid followups would be forthcoming from director Neill and his crew.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Lady Frankenstein (1971)
Starring Joseph Cotten, Rosalba Neri, Paul Muller, Peter Whiteman, Herbert Fux
Directed by Mel Welles
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Doctor Frankenstein welcomes home his medically trained daughter just as he is attempting to bring a re-assembled corpse back to life, and she is eager to follow in his experiments.
Welles, and his uncredited co-director Aureliano Luppi, per IMDB, bring more sex and gore to the screen in their Frankenstein adaptation, which borrows more from James Whale's 1931 film than Mary Shelley's novel. I would have liked for the film to delve more into Cotten's portrayal of Frankenstein, but this is Neri's movie all the way, with the stunning raven-haired actress making a decided impact both clothed and unclothed once Cotten is dispatched fairly early in the film. The monster's design is fairly simplistic but effective, which includes a grotesque disfigured face, ruined when the lightning that is supposed to revive him sets his face on fire, but there's not much imagination, staging or photography wise put into his attacks. The screenplay is at its best in the interviews of Neri and her partner Muller by Mickey Hargitay's police captain Harris, who quickly establishes their guilt. I liked his character very much, and thought he kept things interesting. Alessandro Alessandroni's score is repetitive at times but has some lovely cues for the beautiful Neri. Overall, I wouldn't say it's a particularly accomplished film, and find it almost more of a slasher picture than a gothic horror, with a good bit of female nudity to titillate the audience, but it's certainly memorable.
Directed by Mel Welles
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Doctor Frankenstein welcomes home his medically trained daughter just as he is attempting to bring a re-assembled corpse back to life, and she is eager to follow in his experiments.
Welles, and his uncredited co-director Aureliano Luppi, per IMDB, bring more sex and gore to the screen in their Frankenstein adaptation, which borrows more from James Whale's 1931 film than Mary Shelley's novel. I would have liked for the film to delve more into Cotten's portrayal of Frankenstein, but this is Neri's movie all the way, with the stunning raven-haired actress making a decided impact both clothed and unclothed once Cotten is dispatched fairly early in the film. The monster's design is fairly simplistic but effective, which includes a grotesque disfigured face, ruined when the lightning that is supposed to revive him sets his face on fire, but there's not much imagination, staging or photography wise put into his attacks. The screenplay is at its best in the interviews of Neri and her partner Muller by Mickey Hargitay's police captain Harris, who quickly establishes their guilt. I liked his character very much, and thought he kept things interesting. Alessandro Alessandroni's score is repetitive at times but has some lovely cues for the beautiful Neri. Overall, I wouldn't say it's a particularly accomplished film, and find it almost more of a slasher picture than a gothic horror, with a good bit of female nudity to titillate the audience, but it's certainly memorable.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Terror In The Midnight Sun (1959)
Starring Barbara Wilson, Sten Gester, Robert Burton, Bengt Blomgren, Ake Gronberg
Directed by Virgil W. Vogel
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a meteor lands in Sweden, a team of scientists is sent to investigate, but they discover it is actually a spacecraft that has carried a 20 foot alien creature to the Earth.
All in all, this is a pretty decent science fiction drama from Sweden, that imported some American talent to pull it together, including writer Arthur C. Pierce, actors Barbara Wilson and Robert Burton, and director Virgil Vogel, who previously helmed The Mole People. The special effects are serviceable if not impressive, and there's some nice scale work to make the film's furry monster look imposing. However, despite its short running time, the picture is rather slow moving with a rather lengthy prologue setting up Wilson and Gester's romance before we even get to see the creature. Nevertheless it's competently produced, with some eerie visuals, effective music, and has a unique flavor to it.
Directed by Virgil W. Vogel
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a meteor lands in Sweden, a team of scientists is sent to investigate, but they discover it is actually a spacecraft that has carried a 20 foot alien creature to the Earth.
All in all, this is a pretty decent science fiction drama from Sweden, that imported some American talent to pull it together, including writer Arthur C. Pierce, actors Barbara Wilson and Robert Burton, and director Virgil Vogel, who previously helmed The Mole People. The special effects are serviceable if not impressive, and there's some nice scale work to make the film's furry monster look imposing. However, despite its short running time, the picture is rather slow moving with a rather lengthy prologue setting up Wilson and Gester's romance before we even get to see the creature. Nevertheless it's competently produced, with some eerie visuals, effective music, and has a unique flavor to it.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Night Creatures (1962)
Starring Peter Cushing, Yvonne Romain, Patrick Allen, Oliver Reed, Michael Ripper
Directed by Peter Graham Scott
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
In the late 1700s, the King of England sends the Navy to investigate reports of smuggling out of the small coastal town of Dymchurch, where the local reverend is secretly leading the operations.
Hammer Films offers a slice of historical fiction in their adaptation of Russell Thorndike's Doctor Syn novels, and Cushing excels in the lead role (renamed to Dr. Blyss), stern and steely-eyed when instructing his smugglers, and charming and mellifluous when acting as the priest, and dealing with the Royal Navy's Captain Collyer (played by Patrick Allen). As my friend Dan Day Jr. has pointed out, Allen had a deep resonant voice which makes him perfectly cast here as the authoritative and determined Collyer, who resorts to sometime brutal methods to search out the truth. Hammer stalwart Michael Ripper is also very good as the coffin-maker who loyally uses his craft to assist Blyss in his operations. The film was named Captain Clegg for it's British release, referring to the notorious pirate buried in Dymchurch, and perhaps related to the secret past of one of the film's characters. It was renamed for U.S. audiences Night Creatures, likely to promote the picture as a horror film, due to the skeletal phantoms that haunt Romney Marsh, which are actually only a minor part of the story's thrust. Scott does a fine job of directing, and Don Banks' score works well with the setting and the smugglers' clandestine operations.
Directed by Peter Graham Scott
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
In the late 1700s, the King of England sends the Navy to investigate reports of smuggling out of the small coastal town of Dymchurch, where the local reverend is secretly leading the operations.
Hammer Films offers a slice of historical fiction in their adaptation of Russell Thorndike's Doctor Syn novels, and Cushing excels in the lead role (renamed to Dr. Blyss), stern and steely-eyed when instructing his smugglers, and charming and mellifluous when acting as the priest, and dealing with the Royal Navy's Captain Collyer (played by Patrick Allen). As my friend Dan Day Jr. has pointed out, Allen had a deep resonant voice which makes him perfectly cast here as the authoritative and determined Collyer, who resorts to sometime brutal methods to search out the truth. Hammer stalwart Michael Ripper is also very good as the coffin-maker who loyally uses his craft to assist Blyss in his operations. The film was named Captain Clegg for it's British release, referring to the notorious pirate buried in Dymchurch, and perhaps related to the secret past of one of the film's characters. It was renamed for U.S. audiences Night Creatures, likely to promote the picture as a horror film, due to the skeletal phantoms that haunt Romney Marsh, which are actually only a minor part of the story's thrust. Scott does a fine job of directing, and Don Banks' score works well with the setting and the smugglers' clandestine operations.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Eye Of The Cat (1969)
Starring Michael Sarrazin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Eleanor Parker, Tim Henry, Laurence Naismith
Directed by David Lowell Rich
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young woman makes a proposition to a drifter who's left his wealthy aunt's home, to return and get placed in her will so she can murder her and share in his fortune, but they don't account for his paralyzing fear of her cats.
This film has an interesting pedigree with longtime actress Parker as the suffering aunt, a script by Joseph Stefano of Psycho and The Outer Limits, and colorful photography by Russell Metty and Ellsworth Fredericks. There's also an eclectic score by Lalo Schifrin, and good performances by Sarrazin and Hunnicutt, as the fun-loving bohemian Wylie and the young woman who propositions him, a completely cutthroat female villain. I think how effective the film is at suspense and horror is largely dependent on whether you're a cat lover or the reverse. As a cat lover myself, I never really bought that the cats on screen were all that menacing, even though the filmmakers play up Wylie's fear from a childhood trauma, and jack up growling and savage screeching sound effects when the cats are fed from a giant bowl of raw meat. There is a rather shocking scene for cat lovers to endure when Wylie accidentally flings a cat into an electric contraption. On the other hand, if you're the type that's always been unnerved by cats, I can see you being much more unsettled by the film, although it's a bit tamer than later gorefests involving aggressive felines. I think it's a well put together film- it's just the kind that would be most effective on a certain type of audience.
Directed by David Lowell Rich
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young woman makes a proposition to a drifter who's left his wealthy aunt's home, to return and get placed in her will so she can murder her and share in his fortune, but they don't account for his paralyzing fear of her cats.
This film has an interesting pedigree with longtime actress Parker as the suffering aunt, a script by Joseph Stefano of Psycho and The Outer Limits, and colorful photography by Russell Metty and Ellsworth Fredericks. There's also an eclectic score by Lalo Schifrin, and good performances by Sarrazin and Hunnicutt, as the fun-loving bohemian Wylie and the young woman who propositions him, a completely cutthroat female villain. I think how effective the film is at suspense and horror is largely dependent on whether you're a cat lover or the reverse. As a cat lover myself, I never really bought that the cats on screen were all that menacing, even though the filmmakers play up Wylie's fear from a childhood trauma, and jack up growling and savage screeching sound effects when the cats are fed from a giant bowl of raw meat. There is a rather shocking scene for cat lovers to endure when Wylie accidentally flings a cat into an electric contraption. On the other hand, if you're the type that's always been unnerved by cats, I can see you being much more unsettled by the film, although it's a bit tamer than later gorefests involving aggressive felines. I think it's a well put together film- it's just the kind that would be most effective on a certain type of audience.
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