Starring Rory Calhoun, Rhonda Fleming, Paul Kelly, John Abbott, Alan Napier
Directed by Sam Newfield
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Three men whose bad choices have left them stranded and hungry in an exotic port land a second chance aboard a cargo ship, but greed and alcohol send them down another road to ruin.
For the most part this is a routine melodrama aboard a sailing ship, with Kelly as a failed captain whose surrender to his temptations squander his second chance for a decent life. He's joined by Abbott, affecting a cockney accent, whose perpetual drunkeness doesn't help, and Calhoun, who's the straight arrow of the bunch, but won't challenge Kelly due to owing him his life. Fleming is the beauty and part-owner aboard ship who tries to stand up to the men but fails. However, the film improves considerably when they go ashore on an uncharted island where the fine British character actor Alan Napier provides excellent villainy. Using the superstitions of the natives, he has amassed a position of power as their "god" and punishes any crime by sentencing the accused to a deadly snake pit. Unfortunately, most of the island night scenes are badly lit, robbing the more horrific moments of their effectiveness. It's not a bad film, but would have benefitted from spending more of its running time on the island and giving Napier a bigger role.
Showing posts with label Paul Kelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Kelly. Show all posts
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Dead Man's Eyes (1944)
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez, Jonathan Hale
Directed by Reginald LeBorg
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After an artist is accidentally blinded, he's motivated to give up his career and beautiful fiancee, while his friends want him to hope for an eye transplant, someone badly enough to murder.
Another entry in the Inner Sanctum series of movies headlining Chaney, he plays the artist in this one, and I wouldn't call it a great performance, but it's less morose than his previous turns in the series, and he does a decent job of portraying a fall from being on the top of the world to a ruined life. Acquanetta, in the role of his model who pines for Chaney despite Kelly's pursuit of her, doesn't fare quite as well. She has striking features but lacks the talent of a professional actress, and can't carry across the emotional makeup of her character particularly well. The rest of the cast is filled with familiar faces and some fine actors among them which help to carry the film, despite its flaws. This was my second viewing of the film, and I liked it better this time around, focusing more on Dwight Babcock's script, and its build up of multiple suspects. It also has that 1940s Universal atmosphere that I love so much.
Directed by Reginald LeBorg
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After an artist is accidentally blinded, he's motivated to give up his career and beautiful fiancee, while his friends want him to hope for an eye transplant, someone badly enough to murder.
Another entry in the Inner Sanctum series of movies headlining Chaney, he plays the artist in this one, and I wouldn't call it a great performance, but it's less morose than his previous turns in the series, and he does a decent job of portraying a fall from being on the top of the world to a ruined life. Acquanetta, in the role of his model who pines for Chaney despite Kelly's pursuit of her, doesn't fare quite as well. She has striking features but lacks the talent of a professional actress, and can't carry across the emotional makeup of her character particularly well. The rest of the cast is filled with familiar faces and some fine actors among them which help to carry the film, despite its flaws. This was my second viewing of the film, and I liked it better this time around, focusing more on Dwight Babcock's script, and its build up of multiple suspects. It also has that 1940s Universal atmosphere that I love so much.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Fear In The Night (1947)
Starring Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran, Kay Scott, Charles Victor
Directed by Maxwell Shane
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A mild-mannered bank teller dreams of committing a murder, and becomes shaken after awakening when he finds evidence from the crime in his room.
A low budget film noir of sorts, it's nonetheless a very good one, with an interesting role for a young Kelley, twenty years before being cast as the irascible Dr. McCoy on the classic Star Trek TV series. For those who haven't seen him as anything but McCoy, this is a very different role, and he's earnest and believable as a meek but shaken young man who thinks his life is over. I'm a person of the same temperament, so I really identified with his character. Paul Kelly is very good as his detective brother-in-law who's character is cut more from the hard-boiled characters of film noir, and he and Kelley have a compelling on-screen relationship that I found fairly unique. Maxwell Shane adapted Cornell Woolrich's story and also directed, and employs some interesting visual transitions that echo some higher-budgeted noirs but also make it distinctive on its own.
Directed by Maxwell Shane
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A mild-mannered bank teller dreams of committing a murder, and becomes shaken after awakening when he finds evidence from the crime in his room.
A low budget film noir of sorts, it's nonetheless a very good one, with an interesting role for a young Kelley, twenty years before being cast as the irascible Dr. McCoy on the classic Star Trek TV series. For those who haven't seen him as anything but McCoy, this is a very different role, and he's earnest and believable as a meek but shaken young man who thinks his life is over. I'm a person of the same temperament, so I really identified with his character. Paul Kelly is very good as his detective brother-in-law who's character is cut more from the hard-boiled characters of film noir, and he and Kelley have a compelling on-screen relationship that I found fairly unique. Maxwell Shane adapted Cornell Woolrich's story and also directed, and employs some interesting visual transitions that echo some higher-budgeted noirs but also make it distinctive on its own.
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