Quatermass 2 (1957)

Starring Brian Donlevy, John Longden, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn
Directed by Val Guest
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Professor Quatermass stumbles upon a factory protected by armed guards which he discovers is connected to projectiles descending to Earth, and hiding a secret that could menace the world.

The second of Hammer's adaptations of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass serials brings back Brian Donlevy as the driven rocket scientist.  Although Donlevy's been criticized for turning Quatermass into a more forceful bully than his portrayers on television, in my opinion, he provides the dramatic thrust the film needs, enlivening the tale, particularly with most of the filming taking place in routine settings, such as an oil refinery.  James Bernard's eerie music helps as well.  Kneale and director Guest collaborated on the script, and it's a great story, with special effects that hold up pretty well in the terror-fraught climax.  With most of the film involving largely faceless villains, I don't think it fares quite as well as the earlier The Quatermass Xperiment, with Richard Wordsworth's transforming menace, but it's certainly another work of quality, thanks to Donlevy, Kneale, Guest, and the Hammer cast and crew.

Pillow Of Death (1945)

Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Brenda Joyce, J. Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan, Clara Blandick
Directed by Wallace Fox
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After the wife of an attorney is murdered, his secretary's wealthy family is quick to suspect him, and turn to a medium for help in exposing him using the ghosts in their own mansion.

Here's the final film in Universal's Inner Sanctum series starring Chaney and adapted from the popular radio series, and I thought this picture didn't flow as well as the others.  Despite its share of spooky sights and eerie music cues, I also thought it could have been much more atmospheric and suspenseful.  The house of the film's Kincaid family, despite secret passages and mysterious murders taking place within, is more gloomy than frightening, with us never really seeing any of the spectres said to be haunting the grounds.  Chaney is joined by a supporting cast which is capable enough, and I particularly liked Wilton Graff's smooth-speaking detective, but the story and direction just aren't of enough quality to make this a worthwhile thriller.

War Of The Colossal Beast (1958)

Starring Sally Fraser, Roger Pace, Dean Parkin, Russ Bender, Rico Alaniz
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The sister of Glenn Manning, the Army colonel who grew to a height of 60 feet after being exposed to an atomic explosion, traces him to Mexico, and urges the army to find a way to help him.

Bert I. Gordon's sequel to his own The Amazing Colossal Man, strangely returns none of the cast from the original picture, with Fraser stepping in as a new character and Parkin replacing Glen Langan as the titular monster, disguised by a skull-like makeup over half his face, to avoid confusion with the footage of Langan from the first film.  That makeup and the special effects in this followup are a bit more accomplished than in the previous entry, although the story's pretty thin, and the plot point of giving the giant amnesia and making him mute doesn't help to flesh things out any.  I did enjoy the buildup to the Colossal Man's reveal, with the mystery of a young boy in shock and Rico Alaniz's memorable appearance as a Mexican police official something of quality.  However after the giant is captured, it's pretty much a rehash of the first film, including a lengthy flashback to the footage with Langan.  Still, there's some entertainment to be had, and the 1950s atmosphere and production values were welcome to me.

Slaughter Of The Vampires (1962)

Starring Walter Brandi, Graziella Granata, Luigi Batzella, Dieter Eppler, Edda Ferronao
Directed by Roberto Mauri
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A count and his bride move into an old castle, unaware that it still remains the home of an ancient vampire, who has eyes for the countess.

An Italian vampire film, also released under it's original title La strage dei vampiri as well as Curse Of The Blood Ghouls in America, per Wikipedia, the picture is a solid night's entertainment for vampire film fans, although it doesn't offer a whole lot that's new or different.  All the stock characters from the Dracula films are here, from the virginal beauty to her supportive husband to the undead count and the vampire hunter imported to battle the fiend, and essentially retells the same story.  What the film does offer is impressive sets, filmed at a real castle in Italy, according to IMDB, and a moving camera well used by cinematographer Ugo Brunelli to create suspense in the nighttime scenes.  Granata is breathtakingly gorgeous as the countess and the vampire's primary victim, and has a real screen presence, dominating the scenes she's in, while Brandi is fairly bland as her husband.  Eppler, as the vampire is okay but not distinctive or memorable enough to rank with other classic portrayals of bloodsuckers.  I enjoyed Aldo Piga's driving score and the way it incorporated the countess' moody piano waltz, which apparently everyone in the castle knows how to play!  It's a great looking film, and a fun enough diversion, but for me, it was really just stepping in the same footprints of earlier classics.

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962)

Starring Barbara Steele, Robert Flemyng, Silvano Tranquilli, Maria Teresa Vianello, Harriet Medin
Directed by Riccardo Freda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Twelve years after the accidental death of his wife, an acclaimed surgeon returns to his mansion with a new bride, who soon becomes convinced the house is haunted.

I viewed the American release of this Italian chiller, which according to film historian Troy Howarth has had scenes cut from the original, which likely explains why I found some of the film's subtexts a little difficult to understand.  The film however is a well-photographed and paced gem, with fine direction by Freda, which keeps the audience guessing as to what is going on.  This isn't one of Steele's greatest roles, playing the victimized second wife, but she's fine in the part, and gives the audience its entryway into the story and central character to follow.  Roman Vlad's music score, although at times a bit simplistic and at others a bit over the top, gives the thriller a worthy musical setting that helped sustain my interest.  I look forward to seeking out the Italian release in hopes of an even richer cinema experience.

The Flesh Eaters (1964)

Starring Martin Kosleck, Byron Sanders, Barbara Wilkin, Rita Morley, Ray Tudor
Directed by Jack Curtis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An alcoholic actress, her assistant, and their pilot find themselves stranded on an island where a scientist is performing secret experiments on flesh eating bugs that soon threaten them all.

Curtis delivers an impressively mounted independent horror film, notable for some gory special effects, some of which hold up better than others.  However, the anchor of the film is Kosleck, the familiar 1940s Universal contract player, who makes a marvelous villain, even when pretending to be benevolent, delivering his lines in his sinister European accent.  The rest of the cast aren't in Kosleck's class, but Sanders, Wilkin, and Morley fill their roles relatively well.  The film's creature design is also unique, and Julian Stein's music is memorable, adding to the creepy atmosphere.  I wouldn't say the story is the strongest, incorporating a lot of character stereotypes pulled from other films, but Curtis' direction is more than capable, balancing the shocks with some human drama.  It's a film to be appreciated even with some drawbacks.

The Evil Of Frankenstein (1964)

Starring Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont, Sandor Eles, Katy Wild
Directed by Freddie Francis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Victor Frankenstein returns home to his ancestral castle, to find it looted and left in ruins, but when he discovers his creature has been preserved, he seeks to return it to conscious life.

Although this, the second sequel to Hammer's The Curse Of Frankenstein, has Cushing return in the lead role, as well as to the castle featured in Curse, Anthony Hinds' screenplay changes many story elements from the original film.  Frankenstein was never sent to the gallows, but merely exiled, he had no partner in the creation of the creature, and the creature never killed a human being, but animals alone.  In addition to these changes, the film's release by Universal Pictures allowed for the monster's makeup to be tailored more closely to Universal's classic design, and electricity from lightning plays a more prevalent role in the Creature's resurrection.  Although some of the production design harkens back to the earlier Hammer film, there are no other holdovers from the original cast, or from the previous sequel, and Kiwi Kingston replaces Christopher Lee in the role of the monster.  Among the film's assets are a driving title theme by composer Don Banks, although I didn't find his other cues as memorable, and fine photography by John Wilcox, who showcases Roy Ashton's creature makeup dynamically in a number of sequences.  The story, which concerns Frankenstein turning to Woodthorpe's reprobate hypnotist in order to spark the creature's brain activity, I found less interesting than those of the other Frankenstein pictures, and hoped for more continuity with the earlier picture.  However Cushing, Woodthorpe, and the supporting cast are all fine, with Hammer's craftsmen providing convincing settings for the Baron's castle and the Germanic village it shadows over.

Beyond Atlantis (1973)

Starring Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian, Sid Haig, Lenore Stevens
Directed by Eddie Romero
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A band of men and a lady archaeologist visit a Greek island seeking a fortune in pearls, and find evidence the bug-eyed natives may be descendants of the residents of Atlantis.

Like a number of Filipino filmmaker Romero's productions with American stars, this isn't a good film, and those interested in the Atlantis angle won't find much to satisfy them here.  The movie is largely made up of lengthy underwater sequences featuring the skimpily attired Christian leading Wayne and Ashley in searches for the pearls.  Although there are hints of more fascinating story elements, such as the natives' ability to survive underwater without oxygen, a temple containing Atlantean artifacts which is kept off limits by the natives, and a pressing need for Christian's princess to become pregnant by one of the outsiders, those elements are mentioned but frustratingly never explained.  It was good to see Sid Haig have a meaty role as the cruel leader of the men, but few others in the cast stood out, although Ashley had a way different appearance than his clean-cut appearance in the 50s, with a mop of curly hair and a grizzled unshaven face for most of the film.  George Nader, best known for his part in the ridiculed 1950s film Robot Monster, plays the leader of the island, but not memorably so.  The story culminates in a violent confrontation between the natives and the outsiders but rather than providing a satisfying payoff for the film, I found it rather lackluster.

Earth Vs. The Spider (1958)

Starring Ed Kemmer, June Kenney, Gene Persson, Gene Roth, Hal Torey
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young woman and her boyfriend go in search of her missing father, and find his remains in a cavern inhabited by a giant spider, which soon threatens their small town.

Although it's not quite the equal of the other giant spider film of the 1950s, Tarantula, this is a fun outing by Gordon and crew, with an appealing cast, and a convincing portrait of small-town America.    Not all of the special effects hold up well, but the spider scenes that probably come off best are the sequences filmed in Carlsbad Caverns, with its eerie craggy scenery making a proper home for the giant insect, where it can easily trap its human prey.  Kemmer, the likable protagonist of Edward Cunha's Giant From The Unknown, who also brings along his love interest Sally Fraser from that film, is again likable, and fills a perfect need in the story as the believable scientific expert who devises the spider's downfall.  Familiar '50s character actor Gene Roth is welcome as the local sheriff who laughs at the notion of a giant spider at first, but soon receives his comeuppance.  Albert Glasser provides the proper notes of menace in his music score, according to IMDB, including the decade's ubiquitous theremin instrument among his orchestra.  As for Gordon's direction, it keeps things moving along well enough, making this I think one of his better films.

Dressed To Kill (1946)

Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Edmund Breon, Frederick Worlock
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Sherlock Holmes becomes fascinated by the theft of a musical box from a friend of Watson's, and discovers it ties in with a top secret crime that has stymied Scotland Yard.

The last of the fourteen cinematic pairings of Rathbone and Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson certainly offers enough to entertain fans of the actors and their series.  The story, though somewhat derivative of "The Dancing Men" as adapted in Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon, is a compelling tale, and welcomely ties in elements from a Holmes classic, "A Scandal In Bohemia."  Morison is a lovely but skilled femme fatale, and there's plenty of flavorful atmosphere in the settings.  Unfortunately the familiar Universal musical cues are curtailed a bit, but that allows us to focus on the unusual tune of the musical box.  Rathbone is sharp as the great detective, and Bruce plays his typical comic relief, charming the audience, with Breon, Worlock, and Ian Wolfe also delivering distinguished portrayals. The picture's not one of the best of the series, but it is enjoyable, and although there's no closure for Rathbone and Bruce in the context of the script of this swan song, it gives us one last chance to appreciate the pair in their most famous roles.

Nightmare (1964)

Starring David Knight, Moira Redmond, Jennie Linden, Brenda Bruce, George A. Cooper
Directed by Freddie Francis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After being shaken by dreams of her mother, imprisoned in an asylum for insanity and murder, a young girl returns home from her boarding school, where she's haunted by new dreams of violence.

Another of the psychological thrillers writer/producer Jimmy Sangster made for Hammer Films in the 1960s, the picture certainly looks great, with shadowy photography from John Wilcox well suited to the dark story.  Instead of populating the film with familiar Hammer regulars, the cast was largely unknown to me, but were quite professional, and I thought acquitted themselves well for the most part.  Linden, as the young girl who fears she may be inheriting her mother's insanity, was believable to me, whether screaming in anguished terror, or questioning whether insanity can explain her experiences.  Redmond, very good as a supportive nurse comforting Linden's character in the early going, has the difficult task of taking her character in the complete opposite direction later in the film, and think she overplays it a bit.  The film's finale is also rather drawn out after we experience what we thought was to be the picture's climax, and could have been edited down or more tightly paced.  I'd say the film is competently assembled and directed, but could have benefitted from a more established actor or actress in the cast, as well as tightening up of the finale.

The Vampire And The Ballerina (1960)

Starring Helene Remy, Tina Gloriani, Walter Brandi, Isarco Ravaioli, Gino Turini
Directed by Renato Polselli
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a grotesque vampire assaults a ballerina exploring his ancient castle, her fellow dancer tries to get their troupe to believe that she's been victimized, and becomes a new target for the vampire.

This Italian horror effort has some style and interesting ideas to impart, chief of which is the vampire and his consort not only suck blood for sustenance, but to maintain their youth.  Otherwise they appear in gruesome creature makeup with bulbous head and fingers.  Brandi is okay in the title role of the vampire, but is more a cruel monster than a stately count, and is not given much opportunity in the screenplay to give his character much depth.  The dancers, who are ballet-trained, but work out most often to jazz music, are lovely and the focus is entirely on Remy and Gloriani as the vampire's victim and her friend, the only one to suspect what's happened to Remy.  Gloriani really has the central part, but Remy probably gives the better performance, using a cool voice and nuanced stare once she's been bitten.  The film looks to have been highly influenced by Hammer's Horror Of Dracula, using Peter Cushing's ingenuity with a pair of candlesticks as the chief weapon against its own vampire, and utilizing a similar ending.  The photography is well-done, with some effective scenes in shadow, and I enjoyed Aldo Piga's music which is most effective at the climax, although a sequence in which the leading ladies stalk each other accompanied by a jazz piece didn't really work for me.  I also found the first half of the picture to flow better than the second, which slows pace and drags somewhat, before finding its energy for the climax.

The Fungus Among Us (2018)

Starring Gabriela Pedraza, Jamie Trevino, Stephanie Marie Baggett, Stefanie Jo Saenz, Natalie Wise
Directed by Joshua Kennedy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An all-girl gang kidnap a young woman and hide out in an abandoned house south of the Mexican border, unaware that a deadly supernatural creature will soon be stalking them.

Young auteur Joshua Kennedy delivers a mashup of classic horror and exploitation in his latest production, filmed in black and white, and full of classic movie references, apparently most inspired by Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill.  I've never seen Meyer's film, but with plenty of attractive ladies in the cast, and a full-fledged catfight, other reviewers have made the connection.

Although the picture's black and white photography is part of Kennedy's homage to the period he's paying tribute to, it certainly works well within the boundaries of the film, adding mystery and mystique particularly during the driving sequences in which we only see bright headlight beams penetrating the darkness.  It also adds some monochromatic spice to the appearance of the feisty ladies in the cast, setting off blonde Stephanie Marie Baggett against the other brunettes visually, as well in the story when it's revealed she's made a major mistake.

While the action's going on, the ladies are watching the classic B-movie Horrors Of Spider Island on the television, which thematically with its cast of ladies being stalked by a spider monster has similarities with the plot of this picture, a nice addition that foreshadows on the TV what's to come in Kennedy's movie, in another sly tribute by the director.

Kennedy regular Marco Munoz also makes an appearance as the scruffy and uncouth male leader of the gang who has had relations with more than one of the ladies, leading to more tension and struggles between the women.  Saenz, as the gang's victim, and the heroine of the piece, subtly shows off her smarts and resources in a nice performance.  Pedraza and Trevino square off over Munoz in the well-choreographed catfight with convincing determination by both actresses, and Wise, brandishing an imposing serrated knife, makes a fearsome impression.

The appearance of the fungus, often showcased in green-tinted sequences, is effectively used in the film, quite similar to the alien growth in the '60s sci-fi flick Mutiny In Outer Space.  Sound effects and makeup on its victims heighten the menace of the fungus, that moves under its own power and goes from slight movement towards its first victims, to a rapid expansion and spread near the climax.

Tom Milligan provides some eerie musical themes to set the film's early tone, and classical hits are also excerpted for maximum effect as the tension builds.  The combination is not as effective as a full score would have been, but Kennedy also uses the silence on the soundtrack in between to the film's advantage in some key moments.

Clocking in at a brisk 45 minutes, I felt the movie started a little slow with its focus on the bickering characters, but once the fungus shows up, things pick up rather nicely and it becomes a taut suspenseful work.  Kennedy's love for the material shows, I think the photography is first rate, and his cast does a nice job of selling a seamy story, making the picture seem just like the kinds of movies they used to show on late night television.

The Monster And The Ape (1945)

Starring Robert Lowery, George Macready, Ralph Morgan, Carole Mathews, Willie Best
Directed by Howard Bretherton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist hires an industrial agent to mass produce his remote controlled robot, but his former colleague is out to steal the robot and make an army of them for more nefarious purposes.

An okay chapter play from Columbia Pictures, the serial stars Lowery as the heroic agent, who survives more fisticuffs and accidents than many a serial hero, opposed by Macready, whose sinister voice and delivery make him a capable villain.  The drawing power of the serial however is its two "monsters," including the robot known as "The Metallogen Man," whose strength is displayed in some nifty effects, including picking up Lowery like a rag doll, and later effortlessly knocking down support beams in a factory setting.  The Ape, according to IMDB, played by Ray Corrigan in a gorilla suit, is a zoo gorilla which Macready and his cohorts continually smuggle out of a local zoo, in order to murder and commit mayhem.  Corrigan really gives an excellent performance, making the beast convincing and continually resisting being led anywhere, reacting to the smells around him.  Although both monsters are used well enough, the rest of the serial is average fare, not helped by comic relief from Willie Best, playing his usual timid stereotype in scenes that are at best unfunny and at worst offensive.

Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy (1955)

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Dan Seymour
Directed by Charles Lamont
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Bud and Lou finds themselves caught in ancient Egypt between a gang eager to loot a mummy's tomb for treasure, and the followers of the mummy, not to mention the ancient living mummy itself.

The last of the "Abbott and Costello Meet The Monsters" series doesn't have much of a connection to Universal's Mummy films of the past, changing the name of the mummy from Kharis to Klaris, and costuming him in a fairly routine outfit, played by a growling stuntman.  That's too bad in many respects, but the film is still quite enjoyable and entertaining, with some clever gags concocted out of the Egyptian setting, and it showcases one of the comedy duo's best routines, in which the two try to hide a cursed medallion in the hamburgers they are eating.  The music selections are atmospheric, and the supporting cast good- Windsor as the leader of the gang is enjoyable, and Richard Deacon, playing it straight as Klaris' cult leader, cuts a different figure than we're used to from his appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, where he was invariably the butt of the joke.  Despite the fun and merriment, one wishes for more of the trappings of the earlier Mummy films, but it had to be clear by the time they made this that the classic monsters days at Universal were long since past.

Dinosaurus! (1960)

Starring Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson, Alan Roberts, Fred Engelberg
Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Two frozen dinosaurs are discovered off the coast of a tropical island, and after they melt and are struck by lightning, they return to life and stalk the island, along with a Neanderthal Man.

This a really fun picture from the creators of The Blob and 4D Man, and if the dinosaurs aren't quite as fluid as those of Ray Harryhausen, the stop motion-animation and practical special effects are still well done for the era.  The film's screenplay borrows a bit from past sci-fi efforts notably with the presence of Roberts as a young dinosaur-loving boy who gets into danger, and Engelberg as the boy's uncaring guardian, with evil intent for amassing a fortune from the creatures.  Although the perils the island faces from the creatures are quite dire, the tone is kept light, especially with some comical scenes where the caveman explores a contemporary house.  I think it's my favorite of the three classic sci-fi films directed by Yeaworth, standing out with its fun factor, a very good score from Ronald Stein, and quality color photography by Stanley Cortez.

Hercules In The Haunted World (1961)

Starring Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo, George Ardisson, Marisa Belli
Directed by Mario Bava
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

In order to save his love from a hypnotic spell placed on her, Hercules and his friend Theseus must journey into the underworld, brave perilous terrain, and do battle with monsters.

One of the best Italian sword-and-sandal films is augmented by the work of Mario Bava, who not only directed and contributed to the screenplay and the film's special effects, but served as the director of photography, creating many vivid scenes of color to illustrate Hercules' supernatural voyage.  British horror star Lee is brought in to play the demigod's nemesis, a political usurper who calls on the supernatural to bewitch Hercules' princess and although it's not one of his most dynamic roles, the actor is more than effective in the part.  Unlike a number of sword-and-sandal efforts, the film never drags, with a great number of perils for Hercules and Theseus to face, including scaling a tree for the golden apple of the Hesperides, battling a stone monster, crossing a pit of bubbling lava, and fending off zombies rising from their underground coffins.  Armando Trovajoli's musical score is well-suited to the action, and the special effects are cleverly done.  The script is action-packed and smart enough to even not let Franco Giacobini's comic relief character overstay his welcome.

The Kiss Of The Vampire (1963)

Starring Clifford Evans, Edward de Souza, Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Barry Warren
Directed by Don Sharp
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A honeymooning couple, after being stranded in a small village, welcome the dinner invitation of a doctor from a nearby castle, unaware that he's the head of a cult of vampires.

With sumptuous color photography and costuming, a good cast, and a driving pace from director Sharp, this is a fine vampire film from Hammer, set apart from their Dracula pictures, although with a similar look and feel.  For example, James Bernard doesn't repeat any material from his Dracula scores, and incorporates a macabre piano piece into his main title that becomes a key musical interlude in the film.  However, the themes still build maniacally to loud crescendoes in the same unsettling effect we've come to know from the composer.  Set in a similar Bavarian Germanic locale as to a number of Hammer films, the art direction again features beautiful scenery belying the evil its innocent characters will soon encounter.  Evans, the movie's vampire hunter, is not a copy of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, but brings to life an oft-drunk if still determined man with a personal connection to one of Willman's victims.  Willman is a fascinating vampire, wielding a haughty air, not about to hide his superiority complex in public company, even as he lures his victims.  The highlight of the film may be a masquerade ball, perhaps influenced by Roger Vadim's earlier film Blood And Roses, with the men all outfitted in gruesome masks, as part of a plot to abduct Daniel from de Souza.  Even more famous is the picture's ending, utilizing a rejected finale from Hammer's Brides Of Dracula, which despite the limitations of the special effects is remarkably choreographed and comes off very well. 

The She-Creature (1956)

Starring Chester Morris, Tom Conway, Cathy Downs, Lance Fuller, Marla English
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A mentalist runs a sideshow attraction in which he mentally regresses a young woman to her past lives, but one of those is a prehistoric monster that commits murders in the seaside community.

We have here one of the early films distributed by American Releasing/American International Pictures and notably one in which Roger Corman was not involved, but plenty of his past and future collaborators were.  It also is worthy of attention for starring Chester Morris, a familiar 1930s and 1940s leading man in a slew of detective pictures.  I read that producer Alex Gordon had wanted to get John Carradine for the role, and Carradine would have been excellent, and an improvement on Morris, but Morris is capable enough playing the role with a creepy visage highlighted by bags under his eyes and a sinister mustache.  Paul Blaisdell provides and acts in the monster outfit, which is structurally similar to several of his other monster costumes, but has some unique twists.  The picture's certainly low-budget, but I think it has a number of problems beyond financial limitations, starting with Fuller's extremely low key leading man, whose romance with English is relegated to scenes of them talking with the sound removed, and several unexplained developments in the script, including why Morris is using English to kill in the first place.  Still, the movie's not unwatchable, and it's fun to spot all the familiar 1950s actors in the cast.

Captain Sindbad (1963)

Starring Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, Pedro Armendariz, Abraham Sofaer, Bernie Hamilton
Directed by Byron Haskin
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The kingdom of Baristan is conquered by the evil El Kerim, who makes plans to do away with Captain Sindbad, who loves the kingdom's princess and aims to set its people free.

A sword and sorcery film mixing several legends and filmed in a German studio, standing in for Arabia, the picture has some inventive practical special effects, but no stop-motion creatures, so I wouldn't put it up against the best works of Ray Harryhausen in the genre.  However, it's still entertaining, with Williams of TV's Zorro and Lost In Space cutting a fine hero, Bruhl impressing as the princess with her delivery behind a beautiful face and memorably arched eyebrows, and Sofaer admirably yukking it up as the kingdom's magician.  There's plenty of creatures as well from giant birds of prey and savage crocodiles, to a many-headed Hydra, and an invisible beast Sindbad must fight in the arena.  The costumes and art direction are quite good, and its clear a healthy budget was invested in the production, even if it's a notch below Harryhausen's triumphs.

Crow Hollow (1952)

Starring Donald Houston, Natasha Parry, Patricia Owens, Esma Cannon, Nora Nicholson
Directed by Michael McCarthy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A new bride takes up residence in her husband's family estate, where his three aunts live, but she soon becomes suspicious that the ladies are trying to kill her.

A British psychological drama, the picture is well-acted, but not overly atmospheric, relying on the screenplay and Parry's performance to convey the idea she may be in danger in an otherwise pleasant setting.  Although the return of the crows that abandoned the estate years ago adds a foreboding element, the aunts and their servant Willow, although they are sometimes brusque and short with her,  aren't really sinister, playing up the idea that Parry could be imagining this all.  To that extent I thought the film was well done, and Parry carried us through it ably enough, but some subtle allusions to darkness would have been appreciated.

Paranoiac (1963)

Starring Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, Maurice Denham, Alexander Davion
Directed by Freddie Francis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young woman on the verge of a breakdown due to her brother's suicide eight years before is overjoyed when a man resembling him rescues her, but her family suspects he's an imposter.

One of Hammer Films' suspense thrillers, the picture is well photographed and directed, with a twisting screenplay by Jimmy Sangster.  Scott and Davion make a good screen couple, but Reed makes the most impact as Scott's drunkard brother, prone to screaming fits and acts of violence.  It's a difficult role to play without going over the top, but I think Reed succeeds, and adds a legitimately fearsome character to his filmography.  There's some good suspenseful scenes, particularly one involving an automobile falling over a crumbling cliff, which is well-staged by Francis.  I think that this production ranks well among the other thrillers Hammer produced, and has some memorably eerie and disturbing moments building up to the climax.

Project Moon Base (1953)

Starring Donna Martell, Hayden Rorke, Ross Ford, Larry Johns, Herb Jacobs
Directed by Richard Talmadge
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A space flight from an American space station on a mission to orbit the moon goes awry when an enemy agent on board is discovered.

Despite the fact that there's some gender role reversal in this film, I've always been a little unsure as to whether it's a progressive picture or not.  Martell gets to play the hot shot pilot, but is not positioned in the script as the character to root for, and comes off as overconfident and arrogant.  That is not to say that a woman can't play that role, as plenty of men have.  However, the film makes a point of casting her bravado as hollow, and making her character defer to her male co-pilot for most of the command decisions, which doesn't seem progressive to me.  Despite the fact that the film was co-written by famed science fiction author Robert Heinlein, this is a low-budget production, which was per Wikipedia shot in 10 days, pooling sets and costumes with Cat-Women Of The Moon.  All of this doesn't mean it's not a fun picture, with elementary but clever special effects, well-photographed by William C. Thompson, and possessing Herschel Burke Gilbert's score, highlighted by eerie themes for the moon sequences.  

Pursuit To Algiers (1945)

Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Riordan, Rosalind Ivan, Morton Lowry
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Sherlock Holmes takes the assignment of escorting a foreign prince to his democratic country, but enemy assassins are soon on their trail.

This entry is less of a mystery than the other films in the Universal Holmes series, but it's still an engaging picture, with a featured spotlight on Nigel Bruce, who gets to show off his fine singing voice in a rendition of "Loch Loman."  There's much to enjoy and we get a trio of villains played by actors who hadn't yet appeared in the series, in a refreshing change of pace.  Rex Evans, probably best known for playing the outraged bartender Vazec in Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, shows his range by playing Gregor, the leader of the three and a more patient and calculating mastermind who gets to verbally spar with Rathbone.  Martin Kosleck, the sinister villain of films like The Mummy's Curse and House Of Horrors, plays Mirko the expert knife-thrower who's eager to do away with Sherlock Holmes.  And playing the mute but imposing Gubec, William "Wee Willie" Davis is effective as the strongman of the group.  They may not be the quality of other foes for Holmes and Watson in the series, but I still enjoyed their performances as well as the steamship setting for their skullduggery.  It's not one of the best of the series, but I certainly enjoyed it.

The Cat And The Canary (1927)

Starring Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall, Gertrude Astor
Directed by Paul Leni
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a wealthy man dies, he stipulates that his will may not be read until 20 years later, and when that time arrives, his relatives show up at the dreary mansion said to be haunted by his ghost.

One of the earliest "old dark house" mystery films that became ubiquitous, particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, this silent picture was directed by Paul Leni, a German immigrant who brought some unique expressionistic ideas to his American films.  These are prevalent early on as a mobile camera takes us through the mansion, and superimposed shots combine separate images into one, in an interesting effect.  The story, with La Plante being named the sole heir, but having to contend with a secret second heir trying to drive her insane, is highlighted by mysterious disappearances and sinister hands reaching out from secret passages.  Unfortunately, I think the film overdoes the comic relief, largely featuring Creighton Hale as a timid relative and love interest for La Plante in comic bits that don't really hold up that well today.  Nonetheless, this is still an entertaining picture worth seeing for Leni's direction and Gilbert Warrenton's camerawork.

Glen Or Glenda (1953)

Starring Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, Dolores Fuller, Tommy Haynes
Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The suicide of a transvestite leads a police inspector and a doctor to discuss other such cases, including that of a young man trying to get up the courage to tell his fiancee he likes to wear women's clothes.

Ed Wood's feature film debut is a bizarre concoction, an attempt by the writer/director to humanize transvestites, including himself, to the extent that he appears in an acting role as the central character of Glen.  He actually doesn't give a bad performance, but his script leaves much to be desired, featuring a non-sensical dream sequence, and strange dialogue delivered by horror icon Bela Lugosi, often with laughable facial expressions, while seated in a mad scientist's laboratory with stuffed fearsome creatures on display.  Wood is certainly earnest in his role, and some of the statements he's trying to make are not without profundity, especially at the time this was released, but that's outweighed in the film by plenty of ridiculous content.  

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)

Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffre, Luigi Pistilli
Directed by Sergio Leone
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

During the Civil War, three violent men make their way across the battle lines in search of a hidden fortune in gold, leading to an inevitable showdown. 

Leone's third and last film in the trilogy featuring Eastwood as "The Man With No Name," the picture is one of the great westerns, with great visuals featuring panning and intercutting closeups that have become a trademark, as well as Ennio Morricone's iconic musical score.  Like some others, I do find the film at nearly three hours to be a little lengthier than it had to be, but was never bored, with the action on the screen, the excellent production values, and Leone's first-rate visual storytelling more than compensating.  This film and its predecessors in the series established the persona Eastwood probably is still best known for, and he's perfect as the bounty hunter who helps his prey escape execution so he can collect additional reward money.  Van Cleef is fine in another villainous and sadistic role in which he always fulfills a contract even those paid by his victims.  Wallach's profane and revenge-minded criminal gets the bulk of the film's dialogue and screen time, and seems to revel in his character's degradations.  This is a very violent film and from reading Wikipedia, was controversially so at its time, although there's not a great deal of blood spilled on screen.  Regardless, it's a classic and a triumph for Leone and all involved.  

The Phantom Of The Opera (1962)

Starring Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Edward de Souza, Thorley Walters, Michael Gough
Directed by Terence Fisher
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A grand opera production is delayed by acts of sabotage and murder within the opera house, and when a young ingenue singer is cast, a mysterious masked stranger reaches out to her. 

Hammer Films' version of the popular Gaston LeRoux novel, casting Herbert Lom as the notorious Phantom, features a script by Anthony Hinds (writing as John Elder) which is a definite departure from the novel and the previous film adaptations.  While the Phantom has always been portrayed as something of a sympathetic figure due to his disfigurement, Lom's Phantom is probably the most sympathetic I've seen, with Gough played up as the true villain in an oily performance as the opera's supposed composer, and the murders committed not by the Phantom but his dwarf assistant.  This was probably due to stories I've heard that the script was written for Cary Grant to play the Phantom as a nobler character before he backed out of the picture.  The opera scenes are staged well, with lots of bright colors utilized in the costume design and cinematography, but per IMDB, Sears as lead singer Christine was dubbed by a professional singer for her solos.  She's beautiful and expressive but lacks any powerful scenes, and does not have a chance to unmask the Phantom as in the 1925 silent adaptation. I wouldn't rank the picture as on a par with the 1925 classic, showcasing Lon Chaney's memorable performance and makeup, but think it's well-directed by Fisher, enjoyed Lom's and Gough's performances, and thought De Souza was capable as the opera's producer and Christine's paramour.

Frankenstein Conquers The World (1965)

Starring Tadao Takashima, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Koji Furuhata
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The ever-beating heart of Frankenstein's monster grows a new body around it which swells to gigantic size, and while scientists and the military pursue it, a new monster emerges to threaten Japan. 

Although the film culminates in the expected giant monster fight, this is still a bit of a departure among Toho's kaiju productions, and a bit moodier and darker than I was expecting, but all for the good I think.  I loved the film's prologue, which traces the path of the preserved heart of the Frankenstein monster from a Nazi laboratory to a Japanese laboratory in Hiroshima, just before the city is bombed, which sets up the radioactive rebirth and growth of the monster.  This sequence is really well done, with a nicely designed German castle set, and good special effects for the dangers faced by the German and Japanese submarines transporting the heart.  Nick Adams, paired again with the lovely Kumi Mizuno, provides another stalwart lead, although he doesn't quite get to show as much emotion or personality as in Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero.  I liked Furuhata's characterization of Frankenstein's monster as he grows from a young boy to an immense giant, and freed from the need for a monster suit, the actor brings some lithe energy to his wrestling of the creature Baragon.  Many of Toho's best craftsmen worked on the film, from director Honda to composer Akira Ifukube, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, and it shows.

Radar Men From The Moon (1952)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.    

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Woman Eater (1958)

Starring George Coulouris, Robert MacKenzie, Norman Claridge, Marpessa Dawn, Jimmy Vaughn
Directed by Charles Saunders
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist brings back from Africa a mammoth plant that consumes young women and dispenses a life-giving fluid, with aims on using it to become master of life and death.

Coulouris, familiar to most audiences from his role in Citizen Kane, is really slumming here in a slow-moving sci-fi thriller that focuses mostly on his character's abduction of women and throwing them to the plant again and again.  There's a housekeeper character he's given up any affection for, as well as a young maid (Quatermass 2's Vera Day) he eventually targets for a new relationship, but not much meaningful is done with them, or his native assistant.  I enjoyed Edwin Astley's music score, which has some eerie highlights for the experiments, but goes silent a bit too often.  The film overall isn't terrible, but could use a lot more elements of interest to keep the viewer engaged, as my friend Dan Day Jr. also indicated he had a hard time getting through it.

Blue, White And Perfect (1942)

Starring Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, Helene Reynolds, George Reeves, Steven Geray
Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Michael Shayne promises his fiancee he'll give up detective work for a less dangerous career, but after starting a job at an aircraft plant, he stumbles across a diamond-smuggling plot.

We have here another enjoyable entry in the Michael Shayne series of films for Fox, with a good balance of humor and grim goings-on.  Nolan is as always fun to watch, and Hughes returns as his long-suffering girlfriend, ready to hurl breakables at him when he uses her for his own ends.  Among the guest cast this time around is future TV Superman, George Reeves, who pours on the charm as a man with mysterious motives aboard a ship Shayne pursues the smugglers aboard.  It's a shame that the talented Reeves was typecast and met with such an unfortunate end, as he's quite enjoyable here.  Reynolds and Henry Victor admirably round out the principals, along with plenty of familiar character actors in small parts, including Mary Gordon taking a break from playing Sherlock Holmes' Mrs. Hudson to essay Shayne's landlady.  The mystery is well-concocted, combining Shayne's domestic investigations with some international intrigue, making the film well worth your time.

Flash Gordon (1936)

Starring Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson, Frank Shannon
Directed by Frederick Stephani
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Young hero Flash Gordon and beauteous Dale Arden travel aboard Dr. Zarkov's experimental rocket ship to the planet Mongo, where they encounter Mongo's tyrannical leader, Ming the Merciless.

The first screen adaptation of Alex Raymond's popular comic strip, a 13-chapter movie serial, the production can't come close to matching Raymond's fantastic visuals, but director Stephani sure gives it one heck of a try, with rear-projected giant lizards, subterranean monsters, cities underneath the sea and suspended in the sky, and flying hawk-men and rocketships.  He's aided by a cast that fits the material well, with Crabbe a strong man of action, looking great engaging in swordplay and wrestling his opponents.  Rogers has strong chemistry with Crabbe, and is probably Arden's most beautiful portrayer on film, although her screams and faints and dependence on Crabbe to rescue her would not go over well with modern feminists.  Middleton is a masterfully evil Ming, and Lawson has a meaty role as Ming's attractive but conniving daughter, lying and scheming to win Flash for herself.  There's also good turns by Shannon as the brilliant Dr. Zarkov and Jack Lipson as the boisterous King Vultan.  The music score, mostly assembled from stock cues from the Universal library, is a fun and spirited one, which also well-describes the serial itself, one of the most entertaining in the genre.

Dragonwyck (1946)

Starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Vincent Price, Glenn Langan, Anne Revere
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A farmer's daughter in 1800s Connecticut is invited by her wealthy cousin to live at his ancestral estate and take care of his daughter, but after falling for him, she learns the wicked truth about him. 

Based on a novel by Anya Seton, Mankiewicz and 20th Century Fox turn the property into an impressive film drama, led by ravishing actress Tierney and excellent cinematography by Arthur Miller, and a fine supporting cast, with Huston and Langan definite standouts.  However, the film's chief showcase is Price, portraying a dual nature with genteel manners and dialogue, as well as selfish and cruel caddish behavior, which my friend Troy Howarth points out mirrored his later horror roles for American International Pictures.  There's even a bit of a foreshadowing towards those roles in a brief supernatural subplot in the film.  The clash between Price's character Nicholas Van Ryn, a Dutch patroon lording over farmers in early New York, and his settlers, as well as the cruelty shown by Van Ryn to his wife who copes by devouring sweets, and his daughter, who hardly knows her father, give us all the evidence that Van Ryn is not to be trusted, and it's a little surprising that Tierney's Miranda never catches on despite plenty of warnings.  Nevertheless Tierney is convincing as an innocent too captivated by her new lifestyle to notice.  Other elements worthy of notice are a featured role for the famed Jessica Tandy as a handicapped and outspoken personal maid for Miranda who draws Van Ryn's ire, and the disappearance of a couple of characters without explanation in Mankiewicz's screenplay.  Still, this is a fine production and a clear stepping stone in Price's career towards his later successes.

Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

Starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset
Directed by Sidney Lumet
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, traveling aboard the Orient Express, is called upon to solve the murder of a man also aboard, who's connected to a famed kidnapping five years earlier.

A fascinating and entertaining adaptation of Agatha Christie's famed novel, the picture is brought to life by an all-star cast in a high-class production.  In addition to the famed actors listed above, there's appearances by Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Michael York, George Coulouris and more.  Such a large number of famed principals, and egos on the set, can backfire on a film like this, but Finney, playing Poirot with a boisterous energy, dominates the film and maintains our interest in the mystery, despite the picture's long running time.  Lumet also keeps things moving briskly, and Geoffrey Unsworth's photography is convincing in taking us back to a vintage time, as does Richard Rodney Bennett's waltz-like score.  I enjoyed the film very much, and the entire cast and crew acquit themselves well.

The Brides Of Dracula (1960)

Starring Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur, Freda Jackson, David Peel
Directed by Terence Fisher
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After she unknowingly frees a vampire from his mother's chateau, a French student-teacher accidentally unleashes him on her school, but an intrepid vampire hunter is on his trail.

We have here a sequel in name only for the most part to 1958's Horror Of Dracula, as while Cushing most welcomely returns as Dr. Van Helsing, Christopher Lee's Dracula is replaced by Peel, presumably a vampiric victim of the undead Count.  So although we don't have the clash of Cushing and Lee to look forward to again, Peel acquits himself admirably, even if he won't make anyone forget Christopher Lee.  However, there's still plenty of action for Cushing's vampire hunter to engage in, and Monlaur makes a lovely victim for Peel's Baron Meinster, with a sweet persona, an attractive accent, and vivid wide-open eyes of fright when captured in closeup.  Malcolm Williamson's score doesn't compare with James Bernard's in the previous film, but it is still finely structured, and offers a rousing noble theme for Cushing's Van Helsing I very much enjoyed.  Between cinematographer Jack Asher and production designer Bernard Robinson, there's a striking color scheme on display, also making this film wonderful to look at.  Director Fisher balances the action and suspense marvelously, and gets good performances out of his actors.  Lee's presence is definitely missed, but this film is still a favorite of mine.

The Astounding She-Monster (1957)

Starring Robert Clarke, Kenne Duncan, Marilyn Harvey, Jeanne Tatum, Shirley Kilpatrick
Directed by Ronnie Ashcroft
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Gangsters holding a debutante and a geologist hostage in a mountain cabin have their plans upset by a female from outer space, who's invulnerable and has a lethal radioactive touch.

Ashcroft, who worked on some of Ed Wood's films and according to IMDB was assisted by Wood on this one as an uncredited consultant, delivers a film that's not very good, but is not completely unwatchable, thanks to Clarke being solid enough as the geologist and Gene Kauer's music having an eerie quality.  Detriments include poor sound recording in a number of scenes, probably necessitating the creepy narration of an also uncredited Scott Douglas.  Also, most of the plot line (minus the alien) is lifted from the classic Humphrey Bogart film Key Largo, with Duncan playing a cruel gangster toting around a boozy moll while trying to cash in on the kidnapping of a wealthy young woman.  Outside of Clarke and perhaps Duncan, no one really resonates in their roles, and as the alien, Kilpatrick never speaks.  The filmmakers try to make the most of her presence by clothing her in a very skintight outfit and double exposing the film to make her appear part energy, but for the majority of the film, she's captured in unimaginative scenes walking through the woods.  To top it off, the ending of the picture, where the alien's purpose on Earth is revealed, doesn't really jibe with the rest of the movie.  Still, I find things to enjoy about this movie every time I watch it, even if it is a turkey.

House Of The Gorgon (2019)

Starring Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke, Veronica Carlson, Christopher Neame, Georgina Dugdale
Directed by Joshua Kennedy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young woman travels with her mother and her best friend to the village of Carlsdadt to reunite with her fiancee, but the village is beset with mysterious killings by a pair of legendary monsters.

Joshua Kennedy's ultimate tribute to Hammer horror is one of his best films, and in my opinion his masterpiece, enhanced by the casting of a quartet of thespians who originally appeared in films for the legendary British studio: Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke, Veronica Carlson, and Christopher Neame.  Munro's daughter, Georgina Dugdale, also impresses as Isobel, the virginal young woman facing a horrific fate, who refuses to give up and leave despite multiple warnings.

The production, funded by an Indiegogo campaign, is Kennedy's most impressively mounted, with a Texas banquet facility lushly decorated to stand in for the environs of Carlsdadt, including a train station, a tavern, and the castle where most of the action takes place, enhanced by paintings of actors from the past productions of Hammer and other classic horror films.  Exteriors of the village and the castle (using the same building that stood in for Dark Shadows' Collinwood) are superb and help support the imagery of the film's world.

I do not think it would be a major spoiler to reveal that Munro and Beswicke are the film's villains, playing the Gorgon sisters, whose characters are wonderfully reimagined from Greek mythology, as not simply creatures turning their victims to stone, but predatory monsters stalking their prey.  It's never really explained what drives the sisters to seek out victims, but this is a fresh and unique take on the classic legends.  Both actresses are excellent, with a meaty role Munro sinks her teeth into, and Beswicke's vamping recalls her roles in a number of past Hammer productions, which I know are among Kennedy's favorite films.

At this point, I should offer full disclosure as I was a backer of the Indiegogo campaign, and have a friendship with Kennedy and a number of other people involved in the production, and also contributed a background voice to the film.  However, I truly believe in everything I'm professing about the movie, and how it stands out not just from Kennedy's past releases, but also compared to other films of the genre.

Veronica Carlson, playing Isobel's mother, a clearly long suffering grand dame leaning on an unfortunate drinking habit, has some wonderfully acted scenes etching out her character, and becomes the driving force in the film standing up to the fearsome villainesses, and she is wonderful, a nice reversal on her past performances as victims of Dracula and Frankenstein in the Hammer classics.

Christopher Neame, co-star of Hammer's Dracula A.D. 1972 as the vampire's acolyte Johnny Alucard, portrays Father Llewellyn, the priest driven by fear into hiding from the evil that threatens his parish, but who regains his courage and joins the battle against the evil sisters.  He gives a layered and textured performance in the role, showing the audience his torment as well as the vestiges of the pride his character has largely sacrificed.

Georgina Dugdale is charming and a definite asset to the production as Isobel, who is no shrinking violet, but a strong young woman ready to help her fiancee overcome the evil influences he's under, and ready to right matters to preserve her future happiness.

Kennedy himself plays her fiancee, in another fine brooding performance of his own, but never stealing the limelight from his wonderful cast, who has a standout scene watching a funeral from a rooftop, clad in black cape and hat, as well as a memorably tense encounter with Isobel when overcome by the power of the dark sisters.

Supporting roles are filled in by many past Kennedy regulars, including his father Gus as a drunken tavern patron shaken by the loss of his daughter, Marco Munoz as the hunchbacked bartender, Jamie Trevino as Isobel's friend and traveling companion, Tom Pearson as a kindly Gorgon victim, and Dan Day Jr., Mark Holmes, and many others as villagers of Carlsdadt.  There may not be many British accents among them, but they play their roles effectively and efficiently.

Mitch Gonzales provides some cinema magic in animating the snakes of the Gorgons, but before we get to see them, there are many well-staged attack sequences in which the victims are effectively bathed in a frightening green light, courtesy of the production's lighting designer, Rosa Cano.  She efficiently adds in a number of other hues as well throughout the film that set a horrific tone, and mask absent scenery.

One of the production's strongest assets is the original score composed by Reber Clark, which recalls moments from James Bernard's scores for Hammer and adds tension and suspense at key times throughout the film.  I believe this is the first fully-realized score for one of Kennedy's films, and it's a  very strong piece of work that uplifts the picture whenever needed, and I positively love the main title.  The photography by Martin Torres and Joshua Kennedy is also very well done, as is Derek Koch's sound mixing.

I haven't mentioned any of the Hammer references in the film, and there are a plenty from the swirling leaves familiar to those with Terence Fisher's Hammer work, Dugdale's wearing of a brown cloak with a fur-lined hood, echoing Barbara Shelley's raiment in a sequence in The Gorgon, and the inclusion of lines of dialogue and visual cues and shot selection recalling past Hammer pictures.  There are undoubtedly many more.

Do I have any criticisms of the film?  At times, I hoped for something that would bring us as an audience more into the village of Carlsdadt, perhaps a sequence with our main characters walking through the city streets and having people shut and bolt their windows.  Such a scene would probably have been beyond Kennedy's financial means however.  I would have also liked to see more exploration of  what drove the Gorgons' predatory attacks.

Nevertheless, on a limited budget, Kennedy has worked wonders, even more amazingly when you consider the fact that he completed principal photography for the film within seven days.  He's not only created a tribute and a testament to Hammer horror, he's provided a worthy showcase for some of the studio's talent that we're lucky to have still with us, and most of all, given us an entertaining film worth revisiting again and again.

Buried Alive (1939)

Starring Beverly Roberts, Robert Wilcox, Paul McVey, Ted Osborne, George Pembroke
Directed by Victor Halperin
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A convict coming up for parole finds his chances ruined when he comes to the rescue of a trustee of the prison in a bar fight and is railroaded by a shady reporter at the scene.

Despite the film's title, it's not a horror film, nor is anyone buried alive, but what it is is a taut prison story with some melodramatics, well directed by White Zombie's Victor Halperin.  It has the look and feel of a poverty row production, although a high class one, and has the cast and crew one would expect from such a studio, and was released by the forerunner of PRC.  The story is jam packed with characters and subplots before we even meet Wilcox, our principal hero, with no less then three of the prison trustees in love with the nurse, the man who throws the execution switch torn by his nightmarish duty, and a brutish inmate modeled after Lenny from Of Mice And Men threatening a violent escape.  Halperin does an admirable job of keeping things balanced, and gets good performances from his cast, especially Pembroke as the tormented executioner, and Wheeler Oakman as the hissable villain of the film.  Although Wilcox, as the privileged prisoner who finds his hopes dashed, gives a fairly one-dimensional performance, I found the movie as a whole a very worthwhile watch for me.