Starring Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger
Directed by James Whale
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After being caught in a terrible thunderstorm, a quintet of characters seek shelter at the Femm house, whose residents range from eccentric to downright dangerous.
Director James Whale and his star Boris Karloff follow up Frankenstein with this tale of the bizarre Femm family who inhabit a gloomy manor with a fearsome butler (Karloff) and terrible secrets locked away upstairs. However, it's not just a horror movie, although it has its share of screams and shocks, but also possesses romance, quirky humor, and commentary on society and the pursuit of happiness. I've seen the film twice, perhaps three times, and each time discover something new I failed to notice before. This time I was captivated by the visual sequence in which actress Gloria Stuart is tormented by mirror images of the characters she's met that have frightened her most, conveyed by Arthur Edeson's photography and Clarence Kolster's editing. Those coming to the film to see Karloff as another monster will find that, but be left with so much more, and truthfully the picture's most terrifying sequence may be Douglas's climactic meeting with Saul Femm (played by Brember Wills), whose initial meekness hides something far more sinister.
Showing posts with label Charles Laughton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charles Laughton. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The Strange Door (1951)
Starring Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Sally Forrest, Richard Stapley, William Cottrell
Directed by Joseph Pevney
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A cruel French lord holds a young scoundrel in his castle with a vengeful scheme in mind to marry him to the daughter of the brother he despises.
Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, this is something of a curious relic, a costume drama with horror elements, produced by Universal Pictures five years after ending their famous series of horror films. If nothing else, it's a fabulous showcase for Laughton, who is perfectly cast as the vile Sire de Maletroit, and seems to relish the evil character, although the film doesn't quite follow through on a number of opportunities to make him really depraved. I've read the short story, and there's a beauty in its language that isn't successfully captured in Jerry Sackheim's screenplay, and the sequence in which its young people fall in love, although intact in the film, is not particularly well acted or presented. Nevertheless, the movie does offer a fun adventure with some worthy dark moments and fine character turns by Alan Napier and Paul Cavanagh, although Karloff seems miscast as an aged knife-brandishing servant, a role unworthy of his talents.
Directed by Joseph Pevney
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A cruel French lord holds a young scoundrel in his castle with a vengeful scheme in mind to marry him to the daughter of the brother he despises.
Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, this is something of a curious relic, a costume drama with horror elements, produced by Universal Pictures five years after ending their famous series of horror films. If nothing else, it's a fabulous showcase for Laughton, who is perfectly cast as the vile Sire de Maletroit, and seems to relish the evil character, although the film doesn't quite follow through on a number of opportunities to make him really depraved. I've read the short story, and there's a beauty in its language that isn't successfully captured in Jerry Sackheim's screenplay, and the sequence in which its young people fall in love, although intact in the film, is not particularly well acted or presented. Nevertheless, the movie does offer a fun adventure with some worthy dark moments and fine character turns by Alan Napier and Paul Cavanagh, although Karloff seems miscast as an aged knife-brandishing servant, a role unworthy of his talents.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Island Of Lost Souls (1932)
Starring Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi, Kathleen Burke
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A shipwreck survivor ends up on the island of Dr. Moreau, a cruel scientist who has transformed the beasts of the jungle into half human creatures.
A still potent shocker, adapted from H.G. Wells' Island Of Dr. Moreau, the film is highlighted by some very impressive "manimal" makeups, each different from one another, and quite convincing, despite the picture's fantastic plot. I've heard Wells was not enamored of the film or Laughton's performance, but I think the actor makes a marvelous villain, displaying his own bestial side, cracking a whip to keep the beast-men at bay, and threatening them with a return to "The House Of Pain," if they do not obey his laws. Horror icon Lugosi is among the most fearsome looking of the creatures, his penetrating stare a fine compliment to his frightening bushy makeup, but each of the made up actors surely unnerved audience members in the 1930s.
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A shipwreck survivor ends up on the island of Dr. Moreau, a cruel scientist who has transformed the beasts of the jungle into half human creatures.
A still potent shocker, adapted from H.G. Wells' Island Of Dr. Moreau, the film is highlighted by some very impressive "manimal" makeups, each different from one another, and quite convincing, despite the picture's fantastic plot. I've heard Wells was not enamored of the film or Laughton's performance, but I think the actor makes a marvelous villain, displaying his own bestial side, cracking a whip to keep the beast-men at bay, and threatening them with a return to "The House Of Pain," if they do not obey his laws. Horror icon Lugosi is among the most fearsome looking of the creatures, his penetrating stare a fine compliment to his frightening bushy makeup, but each of the made up actors surely unnerved audience members in the 1930s.
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