Starring Gerald Mohr, Cathy O'Donnell, William Ching, John Qualen, Barry Bernard
Directed by Harold Daniels
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A man takes his new bride, who's suffered from horrific nightmares of an old house, to a house that exactly resembles it, and she feels she will die if she tries to enter the attic.
This film is best known for its marketing gimmick of Psycho-Rama, a practice by which messages and images were inserted in between frames of the film, supposedly having the subliminal effect of causing the audience to scream. In reality they go by so fast, that it's doubtful they would even be detectable, even by the subconscious mind, but the element of fun is still there, and with today's DVD technology you can freeze frame them to see what they actually say. The movie however, a low budget small-scale psychological thriller, for me stands on its own without the gimmick. I really enjoy it, despite its cheap trappings, and feel it's cleverly written, by prolific television writer Robert C. Dennis. O'Donnell was a good choice for the haunted young bride, and I've always enjoyed Mohr's performances.
Showing posts with label Cathy O'Donnell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cathy O'Donnell. Show all posts
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Monday, November 20, 2017
The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
Starring Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell, Richard Carlson, Donald Curtis
Directed by Bernard Vorhaus
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A grieving widow thinks she is ready to move on two years after her husband's death, but then meets a spiritualist who promises to put her in contact with his spirit.
This independent film, also known as The Spiritualist, which has elements of mystery, suspense, and horror, features many familiar faces in the cast, and I found it to be an effective small scale chiller with many memorable atmospheric moments. Bey, better known for his parts for Universal in the early 1940s, is charming and mysterious as the film's spiritualist, whose act is revealed to us fairly early, before we discover there's more to the story than we expected. Bari is fine as the young widow ready to give up on her new beau for a chance to reconnect with the old one, and has an independent spirit to her character rare in films of this period. O'Donnell is a hoot as her younger sister, who tries initially to protect Bari from Bey but quickly falls for the dashing young man. John Alton's photography is dark and moody, making fine use of shadow, and Alexander Laszlo's score smartly showcases Chopin's Prelude No. 4, providing an eerie complement to the visuals. The film has fallen into the public domain and I've only seen it in scratchy prints, but believe there's a Columbia MOD disc out there that should be far sharper, and definitely worth checking out.
Directed by Bernard Vorhaus
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A grieving widow thinks she is ready to move on two years after her husband's death, but then meets a spiritualist who promises to put her in contact with his spirit.
This independent film, also known as The Spiritualist, which has elements of mystery, suspense, and horror, features many familiar faces in the cast, and I found it to be an effective small scale chiller with many memorable atmospheric moments. Bey, better known for his parts for Universal in the early 1940s, is charming and mysterious as the film's spiritualist, whose act is revealed to us fairly early, before we discover there's more to the story than we expected. Bari is fine as the young widow ready to give up on her new beau for a chance to reconnect with the old one, and has an independent spirit to her character rare in films of this period. O'Donnell is a hoot as her younger sister, who tries initially to protect Bari from Bey but quickly falls for the dashing young man. John Alton's photography is dark and moody, making fine use of shadow, and Alexander Laszlo's score smartly showcases Chopin's Prelude No. 4, providing an eerie complement to the visuals. The film has fallen into the public domain and I've only seen it in scratchy prints, but believe there's a Columbia MOD disc out there that should be far sharper, and definitely worth checking out.
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