Starring Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan
Directed by Robert Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The owner of a private zoo uses his big animals for murder and revenge against those who threaten the control he's established over the zoo and his personal life.
The third of Michael Gough's horror films for producer Herman Cohen (after Horrors Of The Black Museum and Konga), moved production to the United States, and figures many familiar American faces in the cast. In my opinion, it's the least of the three, but Gough's characterization again carries the film, masking a character filled with depravity and sadism under a genteel facade. The animals Gough's Michael Conrad uses for his dirty work, including lions, tigers, cheetahs, and the like, are very well-trained and memorably share the screen with the actor in scenes where he plays the organ like Jules Verne's Captain Nemo. Further fleshing out Conrad's villainy are Cooper (as Conrad's wife), and Lauren (as his mute teen assistant), who provide the film's human characters for Gough to dominate and subjugate to his will. The performances are good, the film's color photography is lush, and the animals look great, but for me the film doesn't do enough to distinguish itself from its predecessors. Still, fans looking for another Gough/Cohen collaboration should find something of interest here.
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
The New Invisible Man (1958)
Starring Arturo de Cordova, Ana Luisa Peluffo, Raul Meraz, Augusto Benedico, Nestor de Barbosa
Directed by Alfredo B. Crevenna
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When an innocent man is framed for a murder he didn't commit, his brother gives him an invisibility formula he's developed to escape prison and try to find the real killer.
This film from Mexico has a plot line that closely follows Universal's 1940 production The Invisible Man Returns, and also has several scenes reminiscent of 1933's The Invisible Man, although lacking the high quality of their production values and special effects. It's still a game effort though, with the invisibility effects well-rendered, despite the fact they're nothing we haven't seen before. Although set in a modern timeline, the core story elements are the same as in H.G. Wells' classic novel and the original film, as the Invisible Man's mind begins to become deranged, only calmed by the love for his fiancee, while his brother searches for a way to reverse the condition. I can't really recommend the picture as it's definitely inferior to its American cousins, but it's interesting to see how the Mexican cast and crew approach the material, and I enjoyed Antonio Diaz Conde's score, featuring an eerie title theme.
Directed by Alfredo B. Crevenna
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When an innocent man is framed for a murder he didn't commit, his brother gives him an invisibility formula he's developed to escape prison and try to find the real killer.
This film from Mexico has a plot line that closely follows Universal's 1940 production The Invisible Man Returns, and also has several scenes reminiscent of 1933's The Invisible Man, although lacking the high quality of their production values and special effects. It's still a game effort though, with the invisibility effects well-rendered, despite the fact they're nothing we haven't seen before. Although set in a modern timeline, the core story elements are the same as in H.G. Wells' classic novel and the original film, as the Invisible Man's mind begins to become deranged, only calmed by the love for his fiancee, while his brother searches for a way to reverse the condition. I can't really recommend the picture as it's definitely inferior to its American cousins, but it's interesting to see how the Mexican cast and crew approach the material, and I enjoyed Antonio Diaz Conde's score, featuring an eerie title theme.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Masters Of Venus (1962)
Starring Norman Wooland, Mandy Harper, Robin Stewart, Robin Hunter, Patrick Kavanagh
Directed by Ernest Morris
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When enemy agents attack a British rocket planned for a trip to Venus, the son and daughter of the project leader foil their attempt, but end up launched aboard the rocket themselves.
A fun short (8-chapter) British movie serial, made by that nation's Children Foundation, takes us into outer space, and to the planet Venus, whose residents are planning to foil a visit from the Earth. Because this was made for kids, it's largely up to a couple of the younger set (Harper & Stewart) to save the day and foil the villains among the Venusian government, played by familiar character actors George Pastell and Ferdy Mayne. There's ray guns, robots, poison gas, and secret tunnels, and I found it all very enjoyable, with a dynamic action theme from composer Eric Rogers, and crisp photography by Reginald Wyer.
Directed by Ernest Morris
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When enemy agents attack a British rocket planned for a trip to Venus, the son and daughter of the project leader foil their attempt, but end up launched aboard the rocket themselves.
A fun short (8-chapter) British movie serial, made by that nation's Children Foundation, takes us into outer space, and to the planet Venus, whose residents are planning to foil a visit from the Earth. Because this was made for kids, it's largely up to a couple of the younger set (Harper & Stewart) to save the day and foil the villains among the Venusian government, played by familiar character actors George Pastell and Ferdy Mayne. There's ray guns, robots, poison gas, and secret tunnels, and I found it all very enjoyable, with a dynamic action theme from composer Eric Rogers, and crisp photography by Reginald Wyer.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
The Patient In Room 18 (1938)
Starring Patric Knowles, Ann Sheridan, Eric Stanley, John Ridgely, Rosella Towne
Directed by Bobby Connolly & Crane Wilbur
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Private detective Lance O'Leary, after a nervous breakdown, ends up in a hospital, where he's soon pressed into service after a man is murdered for a fortune in radium.
Knowles headlines this murder mystery from Warner Brothers, paired with Sheridan as the sarcastic nurse determined to give him a hard time, although she loves him as well. There's a good supporting cast, with Stanley as Knowles' manservant, Charles Trowbridge as one of the chief doctors, and Ralph Sanford as the typical ornery cigar-chomping police detective. The script has a solid plot behind it, setting up plenty of suspects, but there's lots of comic relief as well, with Knowles constantly poking fun at Sanford, and Sheridan giving Knowles the business just as much. I enjoyed the film, and was glad to see the studio did follow through with a sequel with Sheridan, Mystery House, although Knowles was replaced in the lead.
Directed by Bobby Connolly & Crane Wilbur
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Private detective Lance O'Leary, after a nervous breakdown, ends up in a hospital, where he's soon pressed into service after a man is murdered for a fortune in radium.
Knowles headlines this murder mystery from Warner Brothers, paired with Sheridan as the sarcastic nurse determined to give him a hard time, although she loves him as well. There's a good supporting cast, with Stanley as Knowles' manservant, Charles Trowbridge as one of the chief doctors, and Ralph Sanford as the typical ornery cigar-chomping police detective. The script has a solid plot behind it, setting up plenty of suspects, but there's lots of comic relief as well, with Knowles constantly poking fun at Sanford, and Sheridan giving Knowles the business just as much. I enjoyed the film, and was glad to see the studio did follow through with a sequel with Sheridan, Mystery House, although Knowles was replaced in the lead.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Destination Moon (1950)
Starring John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson, Erin O'Brien-Moore
Directed by Irving Pichel
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Unable to launch a successful space rocket through a military program, a determined general gets private industry to fund a manned rocket to the moon, although the project becomes beset by a number of problems.
Producer George Pal's first science fiction film is notable for its prescient script and art direction which foresees pretty accurately what a voyage to the moon and the lunar conditions would be like. Noted sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein contributed to the script, and veteran art director Ernst Fegte created the rocky lunar surface, enhanced by matte paintings by Chesley Bonestell. Leith Steven's majestic score is just about perfect for the film, and the cast is all fine, with Wesson standing out as the first of many cinematic Brooklynites who make it into space. The film also showcases a Woody Woodpecker animated sequence, presented to investors to explain the science behind the rocket, which may have influenced a similar sequence in 1993's Jurassic Park. The friendship between Pal and Woody's creator Walter Lantz would lead to future cameos by the cartoon character in a number of Pal's films.
Directed by Irving Pichel
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Unable to launch a successful space rocket through a military program, a determined general gets private industry to fund a manned rocket to the moon, although the project becomes beset by a number of problems.
Producer George Pal's first science fiction film is notable for its prescient script and art direction which foresees pretty accurately what a voyage to the moon and the lunar conditions would be like. Noted sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein contributed to the script, and veteran art director Ernst Fegte created the rocky lunar surface, enhanced by matte paintings by Chesley Bonestell. Leith Steven's majestic score is just about perfect for the film, and the cast is all fine, with Wesson standing out as the first of many cinematic Brooklynites who make it into space. The film also showcases a Woody Woodpecker animated sequence, presented to investors to explain the science behind the rocket, which may have influenced a similar sequence in 1993's Jurassic Park. The friendship between Pal and Woody's creator Walter Lantz would lead to future cameos by the cartoon character in a number of Pal's films.
Saturday, August 8, 2020
The Mouse On The Moon (1963)
Starring Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins, David Kossoff, Terry-Thomas
Directed by Richard Lester
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The prime minister of the tiny nation of Grand Fenwick requests a loan from the United States for space research, intending to use the money instead on indoor plumbing, but his son and the nation's chief scientist have other ideas.
A sequel to the British comedy, The Mouse That Roared, this film is based on a different Leonard Wibberly satirical novel, but unlike the original film, it's missing Peter Sellers, who played three different roles in the original. There's still numerous attempts at comedy, this time with the Fenwickians trying to launch the rocket, relying on the rather explosive tendencies of their wine supply. However, Sellers would have been an added enhancement who absence is felt. Nonetheless Cribbins and Kossoff make a nice pair through who play off well, Moody is fine as the duplicitous prime minister, and Terry-Thomas has some enjoyable shtick as a visiting British spy. I also enjoyed Ron Grainer's light-hearted score, and the special effects of launching for the moon and reaching it at last are well done for the period.
Directed by Richard Lester
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The prime minister of the tiny nation of Grand Fenwick requests a loan from the United States for space research, intending to use the money instead on indoor plumbing, but his son and the nation's chief scientist have other ideas.
A sequel to the British comedy, The Mouse That Roared, this film is based on a different Leonard Wibberly satirical novel, but unlike the original film, it's missing Peter Sellers, who played three different roles in the original. There's still numerous attempts at comedy, this time with the Fenwickians trying to launch the rocket, relying on the rather explosive tendencies of their wine supply. However, Sellers would have been an added enhancement who absence is felt. Nonetheless Cribbins and Kossoff make a nice pair through who play off well, Moody is fine as the duplicitous prime minister, and Terry-Thomas has some enjoyable shtick as a visiting British spy. I also enjoyed Ron Grainer's light-hearted score, and the special effects of launching for the moon and reaching it at last are well done for the period.
Thursday, August 6, 2020
The Shadow Of The Cat (1961)
Starring Andre Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Freda Jackson, Conrad Phillips
Directed by John Gilling
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
An elderly woman's heirs scheme to murder her for her fortune, but once they've killed her off, they become paranoid that the lady's favored cat is after them for revenge.
One of the harder to find Hammer films, and it's credits don't mention the famed British studio, but from cast, to director, to the other men and women behind the camera, the involvement of Hammer veterans is unmistakable. Arthur Grant is the cinematographer, the production design is by Bernard Robinson, Roy Ashton provides the makeup, Don Weeks is the production manager, and there are several other familiar names among the crew list. Although IMDB credits The Rank Organization as the distributor, it also identifies the production having been filmed at Hammer's home and hearth, Bray Studios. The cast is excellent, with Shelley particularly fetching, at her most beautiful in my opinion as lensed by the black-and-white photography. Gilling builds some noteworthy suspense with a number of sequences where the heirs try to kill the cat in close quarters, and others where they chase after him, only to be quickly outmatched. A technique is used, to create a "cat's eye view", where it looks like they have closed in or created a tighter view of a shot from the daily rushes, but I really didn't care for this, and found it less than effective. Nonetheless, this is worthwhile find from Hammer's archives, and an enjoyable one to watch, with a worthy score from Mikis Theodorakis and the actors certainly sell their fear of the cat well.
Directed by John Gilling
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
An elderly woman's heirs scheme to murder her for her fortune, but once they've killed her off, they become paranoid that the lady's favored cat is after them for revenge.
One of the harder to find Hammer films, and it's credits don't mention the famed British studio, but from cast, to director, to the other men and women behind the camera, the involvement of Hammer veterans is unmistakable. Arthur Grant is the cinematographer, the production design is by Bernard Robinson, Roy Ashton provides the makeup, Don Weeks is the production manager, and there are several other familiar names among the crew list. Although IMDB credits The Rank Organization as the distributor, it also identifies the production having been filmed at Hammer's home and hearth, Bray Studios. The cast is excellent, with Shelley particularly fetching, at her most beautiful in my opinion as lensed by the black-and-white photography. Gilling builds some noteworthy suspense with a number of sequences where the heirs try to kill the cat in close quarters, and others where they chase after him, only to be quickly outmatched. A technique is used, to create a "cat's eye view", where it looks like they have closed in or created a tighter view of a shot from the daily rushes, but I really didn't care for this, and found it less than effective. Nonetheless, this is worthwhile find from Hammer's archives, and an enjoyable one to watch, with a worthy score from Mikis Theodorakis and the actors certainly sell their fear of the cat well.
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