Thursday November 19, 2009 at 17:46

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THE LOST SCRAPBOOK OF CADAVRA TOO

Once again, The Doomed Farmer has reached way back into his agricultural archives (which nestle between the Cathedral of Lost Soap and Forgetful Milkman’s Quadrangle) to bring you more yellowed newspaper ads and ancient magazine clippings from a bygone era; mainly, The Sixties.

Comedy of Terrors

In the early Sixties, nobody flooded the “nabes” (as variety liked to call them) with more psychotronic films than American International Pictures. With their beach movies, biker films, and both home-grown and imported horror and sci-fi, AIP was the Saturday matinee studio of choice. This ad for A COMEDY OF TERRORS emphasizes its comedic nature, and proved to be a rare flop for them. So —

Comedy of Terrors

AIP reworked their ad campaign to emphasize the words EVIL, SINISTER and TERRORS, but by then it was too late. Still, I’d go to see anything that starred Karloff, Price, Rathbone and Lorre — wouldn’t you?



This ad for Corman’s THE HAUNTED PALACE, (despite the tacked-on Poe title, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward”) features humorous copy distinctly out of tune with the film’s somber tone. Since PALACE was released a year before COMEDY OF TERRORS, maybe they thought a light touch was a good idea?



Even with a successful film, it was standard for a press book to have several different promotional concepts for the same movie, as evidenced by these two ads for Roger Corman’s final entry in his hugely successful Edgar Allan Poe series.



This smaller ad features a stylish drawing of the black cat that was a significant presence in the film. Does anyone out there know if the great Reynold Brown, who painted so many of AIP’s impressive posters, also did these black and white drawings?



Double and even triple bills were standard fare at the second run houses and drive-ins. Since TALES OF TERROR featured three Poe short stories, this double bill essentially gave you four movies for the price of one!



Finally, here’s a montage of five ads for four Massachusetts drive-ins that lumped together whatever sci-fi or horror films they could grab and labeled them “Giant 4 Unit Horror Rama” and “Giant 4 Unit Space-O-Rama”. From dusk till midnight, guaranteed to make your eyes fall out of your head. I had fun coloring these in with colored pencils, back when I was about ten or eleven years old.

— Robert Deveau,
The Doomed Farmer

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Tuesday November 17, 2009 at 14:42

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A LOOK AT THE WISE-EYE GUYSAbout a trillion years ago—eleven to be exact—before LOST SKELETON (the time known as BLS) I created THE WISE-EYE GUYS for an internet company known as Bali Hai Entertainment. WISE-EYE GUYS was a nonlinear, interactive adventure in retro style for kids and their adult counterparts. It followed the adventures of four odd superheroes of vague and indeterminate powers as they worked on their latest mystery on their home base, Weg Island. The user could choose any of the four and follow him/her along, looking for rollover clues and suspects along the way in this somewhat surreal world where seemingly anything could happen.Besides writing it and designing the characters, I created hundreds of drawings, first on paper, then on a Wacom tablet. This was animation done in the purely traditional way, which seemed to fit the whole retro feel of the piece (black and white of course). The voices were done by two people; wild and wacky Jennifer Blaire did all female voices while that irrepressible madcap Cortney Skinner did all the male voices (well, I did one, but you’ll have to guess).By the time we’d completed chapter two Bali Hai had become victim of the internet crash of 2000. So two chapters are all that exist of the WISE-EYE GUYS’ first adventure “The Secret of Brozen Floke”.Recently, that clever dp/filmmaker extraordinaire AJ Rickert-Epstein, just for grins, taped a screen as he played Chapter 2, giving some idea of the look and feel of the piece (linked below). In the future I’ll post some more WISE-EYE GUYS artifacts.—Larry Blamirehttp://www.cobprofilms.com/pages/larry/LARRYCARTOON.mov

A LOOK AT THE WISE-EYE GUYS

About a trillion years ago—eleven to be exact—before LOST SKELETON (the time known as BLS) I created THE WISE-EYE GUYS for an internet company known as Bali Hai Entertainment. WISE-EYE GUYS was a nonlinear, interactive adventure in retro style for kids and their adult counterparts. It followed the adventures of four odd superheroes of vague and indeterminate powers as they worked on their latest mystery on their home base, Weg Island. The user could choose any of the four and follow him/her along, looking for rollover clues and suspects along the way in this somewhat surreal world where seemingly anything could happen.

Besides writing it and designing the characters, I created hundreds of drawings, first on paper, then on a Wacom tablet. This was animation done in the purely traditional way, which seemed to fit the whole retro feel of the piece (black and white of course). The voices were done by two people; wild and wacky Jennifer Blaire did all female voices while that irrepressible madcap Cortney Skinner did all the male voices (well, I did one, but you’ll have to guess).

By the time we’d completed chapter two Bali Hai had become victim of the internet crash of 2000. So two chapters are all that exist of the WISE-EYE GUYS’ first adventure “The Secret of Brozen Floke”.

Recently, that clever dp/filmmaker extraordinaire AJ Rickert-Epstein, just for grins, taped a screen as he played Chapter 2, giving some idea of the look and feel of the piece (linked below). In the future I’ll post some more WISE-EYE GUYS artifacts.
—Larry Blamire

http://www.cobprofilms.com/pages/larry/LARRYCARTOON.mov

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Sunday November 15, 2009 at 11:55

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When Christopher Lee began his acting career in 1948, he was told repeatedly by producers that he would never get anywhere. He was too tall, too “Italian” looking, altogether something no one was looking for. The fact that he could act, fence, sing, speak multiple languages, had a commanding presence with a deep, resonant voice, and could handle physical action with gracefully expressive movement meant nothing. He was too tall, too Italian. Sixty years later, the actor nobody wanted is still working, still making movies, still proving those long forgotten experts wrong.RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK (1966)Written by Anthony Hinds Directed by Don SharpExpelled from a monastery for lewd behavior, Gregori Rasputin works his way into the court of the Czar of Russia, increasingly gaining power until a plot is hatched to end his influence - and his life, the latter proving exceedingly difficult. Though the film pays little attention to the political realities of the times, its depiction of Rasputin’s career is, in its broad strokes, historically accurate. Lee gives a convincingly magnetic portrayal in the title role and Barbara Shelley is very good as a noblewoman in his thrall. I saw this on its initial theatrical release way back in ‘66, and have seen it a number of times over the years. The reason I watched it again recently was to listen to the commentary track, recorded a few years ago for its laser disc release, which I’d missed — laser discs were so much more expensive than DVDs. The commentary is a reunion of the principal members of the cast: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews and Suzan Farmer. I’d read a highly enthusiastic review of this commentary in Video Watchdog, and was looking forward to listening to it — they’d described it at the time as one of the main contributions laser discs had made to the fan world. It doesn’t disappoint: the four actors reminiscence about working at Hammer (the execs, the sets and locations, the set designers, cinematographers and makeup men) , talk about nearly every actor who appears on screen (Shelley: “Oh, that’s dear Dickie Pasco!” Lee: “Yes, I saw him recently in a Shakespeare; but which one…?”) and even a few who don’t (brief but warm memories of Michael Ripper),  Lee is brimming over with details about the historical Rasputin, Shelley and Lee talk about how unusual it was for them to do a love scene - a semi-nude one, at that — and so much more. I watched it on Anchor Bay’s double disc set with THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, which also has a commentary with Lee and that film’s female lead, and is worth every penny.TERROR OF THE TONGS (1961)Written by Jimmy Sangster Directed by Anthony BushellEssentially the same plot as STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, but with better character motivation. Captain Sales (Geoffrey Toone), doesn’t give a hoot about the Red Dragon Tong in turn of the century Shanghai, until they murder his daughter, after which he goes after them with less finesse than which Guy Rolfe pursued the Thugs in STRANGLERS, but with a great deal more vigor. The typically lavish production design of Bernard Robinson and the cinematography and lighting of Arthur Grant combine with Bushell’s swift direction of Jimmy Sangster’s tightly focused script to produce another enjoyable Hammer programmer that looks much more expensive than it was. The only aspect of this film that rings totally false is its unfortunate tendency, so prevalent at the time, to cast English actors as Chinese, some of them quite ludicrously - the actor who plays the Tong doctor, for example. Burt Kwouk is the only Asian with a substantial speaking role, and he is killed off in the film’s first eight minutes. Christopher Lee as head Tong Chung King is essentially Fu Manchu a year or so before he actually played that role - which means that he’s good but retroactively rather familiar, Roger Delgado (The Master of “Dr. Who”) is his second in command, and the delectable Yvonne Monlaur is outrageously miscast as “half caste” Lee. Toone is a decent though somewhat soft looking hero. The most memorable performances are given by Marne Maitland as an anti-Tong agent in disguise and an uncredited bikinied dancer. Despite its shortcomings in verisimilitude, TONGS is another fun, pulpy Hammer action picture, which, of course, looks terrific on Sony’s “Icons of Adventure” DVD.THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (1960)Written by Wolf Mankowitz Directed by Terence FisherThe main problem with this ugly Jekyll/handsome Hyde film is that Mr. Hyde doesn’t do much that’s very awful until about 20 minutes before the film is over. Before that, he gets drunk, leers at women and lusts after his own wife. Paul Massie does a decent job in the dual role, convincingly talking to himself (literally), Christopher Lee is a fine cad and bounder, and Dawn Addams joins Hammer’s other intelligent redhead heroines Hazel Court and Barbara Shelley as Jekyll’s adulterous wife, managing to make the character sympathetic. Oliver Reed has a tiny role as a toff who, in attempting to defend the honor of a whore, gets beat up by Hyde, John Hollingsworth contributes a lush, romantic score, Terence Fisher directs Wolf Mankowitz’s good script briskly, but the real heroes here are, once again, cinematographer Jack Asher and the costume and scenic department, whose combination of rich colors and lush fabrics contribute enormously to the viewing experience. Particularly striking are the dance sequences, including a scantily clad snake charmer and a can-can as good as anything in the movie of that title. Sony’s “Icons of Horror” DVD is, like the others on this and its “Adventure” set, stunningly beautiful.— Robert Deveau,The Doomed Farmer

When Christopher Lee began his acting career in 1948, he was told repeatedly by producers that he would never get anywhere. He was too tall, too “Italian” looking, altogether something no one was looking for. The fact that he could act, fence, sing, speak multiple languages, had a commanding presence with a deep, resonant voice, and could handle physical action with gracefully expressive movement meant nothing. He was too tall, too Italian. Sixty years later, the actor nobody wanted is still working, still making movies, still proving those long forgotten experts wrong.

RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK (1966)
Written by Anthony Hinds Directed by Don Sharp
Expelled from a monastery for lewd behavior, Gregori Rasputin works his way into the court of the Czar of Russia, increasingly gaining power until a plot is hatched to end his influence - and his life, the latter proving exceedingly difficult. Though the film pays little attention to the political realities of the times, its depiction of Rasputin’s career is, in its broad strokes, historically accurate. Lee gives a convincingly magnetic portrayal in the title role and Barbara Shelley is very good as a noblewoman in his thrall. I saw this on its initial theatrical release way back in ‘66, and have seen it a number of times over the years. The reason I watched it again recently was to listen to the commentary track, recorded a few years ago for its laser disc release, which I’d missed — laser discs were so much more expensive than DVDs. The commentary is a reunion of the principal members of the cast: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews and Suzan Farmer. I’d read a highly enthusiastic review of this commentary in Video Watchdog, and was looking forward to listening to it — they’d described it at the time as one of the main contributions laser discs had made to the fan world. It doesn’t disappoint: the four actors reminiscence about working at Hammer (the execs, the sets and locations, the set designers, cinematographers and makeup men) , talk about nearly every actor who appears on screen (Shelley: “Oh, that’s dear Dickie Pasco!” Lee: “Yes, I saw him recently in a Shakespeare; but which one…?”) and even a few who don’t (brief but warm memories of Michael Ripper),  Lee is brimming over with details about the historical Rasputin, Shelley and Lee talk about how unusual it was for them to do a love scene - a semi-nude one, at that — and so much more. I watched it on Anchor Bay’s double disc set with THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, which also has a commentary with Lee and that film’s female lead, and is worth every penny.


TERROR OF THE TONGS (1961)
Written by Jimmy Sangster Directed by Anthony Bushell

Essentially the same plot as STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, but with better character motivation. Captain Sales (Geoffrey Toone), doesn’t give a hoot about the Red Dragon Tong in turn of the century Shanghai, until they murder his daughter, after which he goes after them with less finesse than which Guy Rolfe pursued the Thugs in STRANGLERS, but with a great deal more vigor. The typically lavish production design of Bernard Robinson and the cinematography and lighting of Arthur Grant combine with Bushell’s swift direction of Jimmy Sangster’s tightly focused script to produce another enjoyable Hammer programmer that looks much more expensive than it was. The only aspect of this film that rings totally false is its unfortunate tendency, so prevalent at the time, to cast English actors as Chinese, some of them quite ludicrously - the actor who plays the Tong doctor, for example. Burt Kwouk is the only Asian with a substantial speaking role, and he is killed off in the film’s first eight minutes. Christopher Lee as head Tong Chung King is essentially Fu Manchu a year or so before he actually played that role - which means that he’s good but retroactively rather familiar, Roger Delgado (The Master of “Dr. Who”) is his second in command, and the delectable Yvonne Monlaur is outrageously miscast as “half caste” Lee. Toone is a decent though somewhat soft looking hero. The most memorable performances are given by Marne Maitland as an anti-Tong agent in disguise and an uncredited bikinied dancer. Despite its shortcomings in verisimilitude, TONGS is another fun, pulpy Hammer action picture, which, of course, looks terrific on Sony’s “Icons of Adventure” DVD.


THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (1960)
Written by Wolf Mankowitz Directed by Terence Fisher

The main problem with this ugly Jekyll/handsome Hyde film is that Mr. Hyde doesn’t do much that’s very awful until about 20 minutes before the film is over. Before that, he gets drunk, leers at women and lusts after his own wife. Paul Massie does a decent job in the dual role, convincingly talking to himself (literally), Christopher Lee is a fine cad and bounder, and Dawn Addams joins Hammer’s other intelligent redhead heroines Hazel Court and Barbara Shelley as Jekyll’s adulterous wife, managing to make the character sympathetic. Oliver Reed has a tiny role as a toff who, in attempting to defend the honor of a whore, gets beat up by Hyde, John Hollingsworth contributes a lush, romantic score, Terence Fisher directs Wolf Mankowitz’s good script briskly, but the real heroes here are, once again, cinematographer Jack Asher and the costume and scenic department, whose combination of rich colors and lush fabrics contribute enormously to the viewing experience. Particularly striking are the dance sequences, including a scantily clad snake charmer and a can-can as good as anything in the movie of that title. Sony’s “Icons of Horror” DVD is, like the others on this and its “Adventure” set, stunningly beautiful.
— Robert Deveau,
The Doomed Farmer

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Wednesday November 11, 2009 at 19:02

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THE 2010 STEAM WARS WALL CALENDARMade especially for walls.Well, since the 2009 STEAM WARS calendar actually came out after 2009 had already begun, and thus after everyone had already purchased their yearly wall calendars in that inevitable frenzy of wall calendar-buying madness that grips the wall calendar-buying world in a veritable storm of wall calendar-buying insanity, I decided to reissue the calendar, this time in advance of 2010 (the coming year—no dummy, me) with the addition of the new, recently completed, STEAM WARS art on the cover.I have learned that when it comes to purchasing calendars, the more current the better.  There seems almost no market for the “old” or “past” calendar and I can well understand why few companies thrive in the “old calendar market”, many even failing miserably.As opposed to failing cheerily, or gaily, or happily, which just seldom seems to happen.Except in THE PRODUCERS.  But those guys are insane.So, here it is.  If you’re needing a calendar for 2010 so you’ll know when to do things, and when things are coming up and stuff, and you’d like it to have STEAM WARS art, and you held off buying last year’s cause it came out this year (?) well, look no farther.Well, you can, you just won’t find much.  Follow this link for all kinds of 2010 STEAM WARS wall calendar goodness.  Also—makes a great Christmas present.But only this year.http://www.cafepress.com/larryblamire.362251745

THE 2010 STEAM WARS WALL CALENDAR

Made especially for walls.

Well, since the 2009 STEAM WARS calendar actually came out after 2009 had already begun, and thus after everyone had already purchased their yearly wall calendars in that inevitable frenzy of wall calendar-buying madness that grips the wall calendar-buying world in a veritable storm of wall calendar-buying insanity, I decided to reissue the calendar, this time in advance of 2010 (the coming year—no dummy, me) with the addition of the new, recently completed, STEAM WARS art on the cover.

I have learned that when it comes to purchasing calendars, the more current the better.  There seems almost no market for the “old” or “past” calendar and I can well understand why few companies thrive in the “old calendar market”, many even failing miserably.

As opposed to failing cheerily, or gaily, or happily, which just seldom seems to happen.

Except in THE PRODUCERS.  But those guys are insane.

So, here it is.  If you’re needing a calendar for 2010 so you’ll know when to do things, and when things are coming up and stuff, and you’d like it to have STEAM WARS art, and you held off buying last year’s cause it came out this year (?) well, look no farther.

Well, you can, you just won’t find much.  Follow this link for all kinds of 2010 STEAM WARS wall calendar goodness.  Also—makes a great Christmas present.

But only this year.

http://www.cafepress.com/larryblamire.362251745

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Sunday November 08, 2009 at 17:50

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Three low budget, black and white mysteries: one from the Thirties, one from the Forties, and one from the Sixties. Can you guess which of these three suspects is the best film before we arrive at the conclusion of this week’s Doomed Farmer reviews?RETURN OF MR. MOTO (1965)Written by Fred Eggers Directed by Ernest MorrisUpdating Mr. Moto in the midst of the secret agent boom wasn’t a bad idea, but this lackluster film wasn’t the way to do it. Henry Silva plays Moto as a tough New Yorker, an agent for Interpol; nothing wrong with that, except it’s not Moto. The film opens nicely with an extended scene of murder and cat and mouse on the dark and deserted streets of London, but never recaptures this feeling for atmosphere and suspense. The climactic scene in an empty nightclub, in which Moto unnerves a stone cold ex-Nazi killer by speaking via a microphone from a hiding place, is an illogical and risible idea. Too bad, as Silva would have made a good secret agent character in another series with another concept - and a bigger budget. (Viewed on Vol. 2 of Fox’s excellent Moto DVD sets, this “extra” is as beautifully transferred as the main Lorre movies. By the way, if you’ve never read any of J. P. Marquand’s original Moto novels, give one a try; they are jam packed with atmosphere, mystery, action and international intrigue. You’ll probably get hooked on them like I did and gobble ‘em up.)MYSTERY LINER (1934)Written by Wellyn Totman from a novel by Edgar Wallace Directed by William NighProf. Grimson (Ralph Lewis) has invented a device by which an ocean liner can be remotely controlled, but Capt. Holling (Noah Beery) goes mad before it can be tested. The Prof is attacked and nearly strangled to death - with a sailor’s knot. Is the murderer Capt. Holling, who has escaped from the asylum, or Capt. Downey (Boothe Howard), eager to take command of the ship, or is it mysterious European Von Kessling (Gustav von Seyffertitz), or someone else? Major Pope (Edwin Maxwell), private investigator, investigates as the ship sails. Nurse Lila Kane (Astrid Allwyn) is menaced by a mysterious, shadowy figure. This is a good Monogram film with nicely atmospheric cinematography from Archie Stout and what looks like Kenneth Strickfaden electrical effects. Look for George Hayes (minus the “Gabby” whiskers) as Joe the steward. At a brisk 63 minutes, this is one Monogram film that doesn’t sag in the middle and is entertaining throughout. (Viewed on TCM.)SLEEPERS WEST (1941)Written by Lou Breslow & Stanley Rauh  Directed by Eugene FordeMichael Shayne, private detective (Lloyd Nolan) attempts to escort surprise trial witness Helen Carlson (Mary Beth Hughes) undercover from Denver to San Francisco aboard a sleeping car (hence the title). The testimony of this witness can topple a governor; with so much at stake, her presence doesn’t remain a secret for long, as reporter Kay Bentley (Lynn Bari), her fiance, lawyer Tom Linscott (Donald Douglas), mobster Carl Izzard (Don Costello), railroad dick George Trautwein (Ed Brophy), and a stranger with mysterious motives (Louis Jean Heydt) are soon hot on her trail. A train speeding through the night is always a good location for suspense and mystery; no matter how often the film may pause for extended dialog, that locomotive is always hurtling toward its destination. In this case, the train is hurtling more rapidly than usual, as cranky old engineer Mack (Oscar O’Shea) is determined to make up for time lost waiting for late-coming passengers, and the dialog is wittier than usual for a B movie. One example, as reporter Kay chastises frequently tardy ex-boyfriend Shayne: Kay: “I waited for you through a wedding, a christening and a funeral!” Shayne: “Hey, wait a minute. It wasn’t all for the same person!” Rounding out this finely tuned little programmer is a cast of good supporting actors who are given more detailed characterizations than is often the case: Mantan Moreland and real-life nightclub partner Ben Carter as porters, O’Shea as the aforementioned conductor, Heydt as the mysterious stranger, Costello as mobster Izzard (Izzard: “How’d you know my name?”  Shayne: “You looked like someone who’d have a name like that.”), Hughes as the reluctant witness, Bari as the reporter, Ferike Beros as a kindly old farm woman and George Chandler as a driver unjustly proud of his elderly car. Twentieth Century Fox’s print on their Michael Shayne Mysteries DVD set is flawless.— Robert DeveauThe Doomed Farmer

Three low budget, black and white mysteries: one from the Thirties, one from the Forties, and one from the Sixties. Can you guess which of these three suspects is the best film before we arrive at the conclusion of this week’s Doomed Farmer reviews?

RETURN OF MR. MOTO (1965)
Written by Fred Eggers Directed by Ernest Morris

Updating Mr. Moto in the midst of the secret agent boom wasn’t a bad idea, but this lackluster film wasn’t the way to do it. Henry Silva plays Moto as a tough New Yorker, an agent for Interpol; nothing wrong with that, except it’s not Moto. The film opens nicely with an extended scene of murder and cat and mouse on the dark and deserted streets of London, but never recaptures this feeling for atmosphere and suspense. The climactic scene in an empty nightclub, in which Moto unnerves a stone cold ex-Nazi killer by speaking via a microphone from a hiding place, is an illogical and risible idea. Too bad, as Silva would have made a good secret agent character in another series with another concept - and a bigger budget. (Viewed on Vol. 2 of Fox’s excellent Moto DVD sets, this “extra” is as beautifully transferred as the main Lorre movies. By the way, if you’ve never read any of J. P. Marquand’s original Moto novels, give one a try; they are jam packed with atmosphere, mystery, action and international intrigue. You’ll probably get hooked on them like I did and gobble ‘em up.)


MYSTERY LINER (1934)
Written by Wellyn Totman from a novel by Edgar Wallace Directed by William Nigh

Prof. Grimson (Ralph Lewis) has invented a device by which an ocean liner can be remotely controlled, but Capt. Holling (Noah Beery) goes mad before it can be tested. The Prof is attacked and nearly strangled to death - with a sailor’s knot. Is the murderer Capt. Holling, who has escaped from the asylum, or Capt. Downey (Boothe Howard), eager to take command of the ship, or is it mysterious European Von Kessling (Gustav von Seyffertitz), or someone else? Major Pope (Edwin Maxwell), private investigator, investigates as the ship sails. Nurse Lila Kane (Astrid Allwyn) is menaced by a mysterious, shadowy figure. This is a good Monogram film with nicely atmospheric cinematography from Archie Stout and what looks like Kenneth Strickfaden electrical effects. Look for George Hayes (minus the “Gabby” whiskers) as Joe the steward. At a brisk 63 minutes, this is one Monogram film that doesn’t sag in the middle and is entertaining throughout. (Viewed on TCM.)


SLEEPERS WEST (1941)
Written by Lou Breslow & Stanley Rauh  Directed by Eugene Forde

Michael Shayne, private detective (Lloyd Nolan) attempts to escort surprise trial witness Helen Carlson (Mary Beth Hughes) undercover from Denver to San Francisco aboard a sleeping car (hence the title). The testimony of this witness can topple a governor; with so much at stake, her presence doesn’t remain a secret for long, as reporter Kay Bentley (Lynn Bari), her fiance, lawyer Tom Linscott (Donald Douglas), mobster Carl Izzard (Don Costello), railroad dick George Trautwein (Ed Brophy), and a stranger with mysterious motives (Louis Jean Heydt) are soon hot on her trail. A train speeding through the night is always a good location for suspense and mystery; no matter how often the film may pause for extended dialog, that locomotive is always hurtling toward its destination. In this case, the train is hurtling more rapidly than usual, as cranky old engineer Mack (Oscar O’Shea) is determined to make up for time lost waiting for late-coming passengers, and the dialog is wittier than usual for a B movie. One example, as reporter Kay chastises frequently tardy ex-boyfriend Shayne: Kay: “I waited for you through a wedding, a christening and a funeral!” Shayne: “Hey, wait a minute. It wasn’t all for the same person!” Rounding out this finely tuned little programmer is a cast of good supporting actors who are given more detailed characterizations than is often the case: Mantan Moreland and real-life nightclub partner Ben Carter as porters, O’Shea as the aforementioned conductor, Heydt as the mysterious stranger, Costello as mobster Izzard (Izzard: “How’d you know my name?”  Shayne: “You looked like someone who’d have a name like that.”), Hughes as the reluctant witness, Bari as the reporter, Ferike Beros as a kindly old farm woman and George Chandler as a driver unjustly proud of his elderly car. Twentieth Century Fox’s print on their Michael Shayne Mysteries DVD set is flawless.
— Robert Deveau
The Doomed Farmer

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Thursday November 05, 2009 at 13:04

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SHOUT! ACQUIRES LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN AND DARK AND STORMY NIGHTWe are happy and pleased and also excited and pleased to announce that Shout! Factory has just acquired North American DVD and digital rights to THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN and DARK AND STORMY NIGHT. Both Shout! and Bantam Street are thrilled about the teaming and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.I’ve been a big fan of Shout! since they started releasing box sets of SCTV some years back, and their sensibility is right up our alley (if we have an alley—I think we do—somewhere). As you can see, they release some very cool and eclectic stuff (I have recently been enjoying HIYA KIDS, their compilation of vintage 50s TV kids shows).http://www.shoutfactory.com/THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN and DARK AND STORMY NIGHT DVDs will be launched at Comic-Con in July. Both will be loaded with extras in typical Shout! fashion.But wait, there’s more.Our own Mike Schlesinger is masterminding a theatrical release of not only those two films, but also TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD (which he’s dubbed “The Thrillogy”). This will be in March, in support of the DVD release, and the films will piggyback around the country to select cities. And, yes, they’re family friendly, so bring the kids.From the moment we met with Shout! we had a mutual feeling that this was an ideal partnership, and we couldn’t be happier about it—particularly in the current tough market.—Larry Blamire

SHOUT! ACQUIRES LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN AND DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

We are happy and pleased and also excited and pleased to announce that Shout! Factory has just acquired North American DVD and digital rights to THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN and DARK AND STORMY NIGHT. Both Shout! and Bantam Street are thrilled about the teaming and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.

I’ve been a big fan of Shout! since they started releasing box sets of SCTV some years back, and their sensibility is right up our alley (if we have an alley—I think we do—somewhere). As you can see, they release some very cool and eclectic stuff (I have recently been enjoying HIYA KIDS, their compilation of vintage 50s TV kids shows).

http://www.shoutfactory.com/

THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN and DARK AND STORMY NIGHT DVDs will be launched at Comic-Con in July. Both will be loaded with extras in typical Shout! fashion.

But wait, there’s more.

Our own Mike Schlesinger is masterminding a theatrical release of not only those two films, but also TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD (which he’s dubbed “The Thrillogy”). This will be in March, in support of the DVD release, and the films will piggyback around the country to select cities. And, yes, they’re family friendly, so bring the kids.

From the moment we met with Shout! we had a mutual feeling that this was an ideal partnership, and we couldn’t be happier about it—particularly in the current tough market.
—Larry Blamire

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Monday November 02, 2009 at 8:22

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UNCLE SILASSomeone forgot to tell director Charles Frank that UNCLE SILAS, released in the US in 1947 as THE INHERITANCE, wasn’t a horror film.  The script, from a story by Sheridan Le Fanu, is full flown gothic melodrama.  Helpless young Victorian lass Jean Simmons finds herself at the mercy of her very—and I mean VERY—strange Uncle Silas, played by Derrick De Marney.Typical gothic stuff, yes?  But Frank conspires with cinematographer Robert Krasker (yes, the man who shot THE THIRD MAN, ODD MAN OUT and BRIEF ENCOUNTER) to create a twisted masterpiece teeming with thinly veiled malevolence and the most memorable kettle of grotesques I’ve seen in quite some time.  Katina Paxinou alone is a force to reckon with here.  There are many wonderfully startling moments and staggering visuals, and I won’t ruin them.  Besides De Marney (known to most as the lead in Hitchcock’s YOUNG AND INNOCENT) and Paxinou, additional creepiness is provided by Manning Whiley (big time), John Laurie and Guy Rolfe as Sepulchre Hawkes(!).  Top it off with a fine, evocative score by the excellent Alan Rawsthorne.Director Charles Frank is something of a mystery himself.  Belgian born with a tiny handful of credits there seems little information about him available.  I read somewhere that William K. Everson did confirm with several of his contemporaries that he was indeed real and not a psuedonym.I discovered UNCLE SILAS on TCM quite by accident and, for my money, I think it’s both an unheralded masterpiece in any cinematic terms and a neglected horror film disguised as melodrama.  Others may disagree (as do varying opinions of what exactly defines horror), but I think most will enjoy it.  It ain’t the story that’s any great shakes here.  It’s how it’s told.—Larry Blamire

UNCLE SILAS

Someone forgot to tell director Charles Frank that UNCLE SILAS, released in the US in 1947 as THE INHERITANCE, wasn’t a horror film.  The script, from a story by Sheridan Le Fanu, is full flown gothic melodrama.  Helpless young Victorian lass Jean Simmons finds herself at the mercy of her very—and I mean VERY—strange Uncle Silas, played by Derrick De Marney.

Typical gothic stuff, yes?  But Frank conspires with cinematographer Robert Krasker (yes, the man who shot THE THIRD MAN, ODD MAN OUT and BRIEF ENCOUNTER) to create a twisted masterpiece teeming with thinly veiled malevolence and the most memorable kettle of grotesques I’ve seen in quite some time.  Katina Paxinou alone is a force to reckon with here.  There are many wonderfully startling moments and staggering visuals, and I won’t ruin them.  Besides De Marney (known to most as the lead in Hitchcock’s YOUNG AND INNOCENT) and Paxinou, additional creepiness is provided by Manning Whiley (big time), John Laurie and Guy Rolfe as Sepulchre Hawkes(!).  Top it off with a fine, evocative score by the excellent Alan Rawsthorne.

Director Charles Frank is something of a mystery himself.  Belgian born with a tiny handful of credits there seems little information about him available.  I read somewhere that William K. Everson did confirm with several of his contemporaries that he was indeed real and not a psuedonym.

I discovered UNCLE SILAS on TCM quite by accident and, for my money, I think it’s both an unheralded masterpiece in any cinematic terms and a neglected horror film disguised as melodrama.  Others may disagree (as do varying opinions of what exactly defines horror), but I think most will enjoy it.  It ain’t the story that’s any great shakes here.  It’s how it’s told.
—Larry Blamire

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Saturday October 31, 2009 at 10:54

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In the beginning, there was nothing. Nothing, that is, as far as the American Horror Film was concerned. Despite a few German films (most significantly NOSFERATU and THE GOLEM) which subsequently proved influential, the genres of American film consisted of the western, the comedy, romance and mystery. The horror film didn’t exist. (Yes, its true that Edison’s company had made a short of FRANKENSTEIN in 1910, but that was one among thousands of nickelodeon attractions that quickly sank into obscurity.)  Until Universal made DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, neither the supernatural nor the scientifically based horror film as we know it today didn’t exist.  In celebration of Halloween, The Doomed Farmer looks again at the two films that gave birth to the American horror film.DRACULA (1931)Written by Garrett Fort, from the play by Hamilton Deane and John BalderstonA coach travels swiftly on a mountain road.  One of its passengers is a dapper young American (Dwight Frye) who is on his way to Borgo Pass, where he will be met — at midnight — by a carriage sent from Count Dracula.  The local innkeeper warns him off going there, telling him that the Count and his wives are vampires who feed on the blood of the living.  At exactly six minutes into the film, Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and his three vampire brides are seen slowly emerging from their coffins, and the film begins its best, most cinematic sequence, in which the young American is met by Dracula’s coach, driven by the thinly disguised Count, on the fog shrouded Borgo Pass. Once inside the cavernous castle, the Count slowly descends the huge staircase and introduces himself: “I am… Dracula.” With these immortal words, Bela Lugosi forever fixed his image in the minds of moviegoers around the world.  Tod Browning’s approach to his material seems to take its cue from the slow, deliberate cadence of Lugosi’s careful delivery, exactly the opposite of the manner in which James Whale would film Universal’s follow-up feature FRANKENSTEIN.  The pace is so slow that when Mr. Renfield cuts his finger on a paper clip and the camera suddenly dollies into a medium shot of the Count, the speed is startlingly effective.  Unfortunately, nothing in the film will ever move that fast again, and once we arrive at Dr. Seward’s London sanitarium, after the brief but effective sequence on board the Vesta where Renfield’s madness is revealed, and the equally effective scene in the symphony hall, the film’s theatrical origins alter it’s slow rhythm from atmospheric and mysterious to merely ponderous.  Mina (Helen Chandler) is a silly ingenue with a callow beau, Jonathan Harker (David Manners), both early 20th Century theatrical stereotypes, neither of them capable of engaging our interest, and Dr. Seward is a blind fool slow to grasp whats going on around him.  Browning shoots far too many scenes in static long shot as if we were observing a play from orchestra seats.  The script itself is oddly elliptical, with Dracula given no reason for making the trip from his native land to London, so that his attacks on Lucy and Mina seem to happen merely because they are now conveniently his neighbors, and Dr. Seward appears to have no knowledge that his fly-eating patient had recently visited Transylvania where he arranged for the sale of nearby Carfax Abbey to the Count.  In fact, madman Renfield is totally disconnected from the dapper young man we first met, probably because the opening scenes in Transylvania were created for the film, Renfield being already mad when he is introduced in the play.  Far too many events that would have made dramatic moments occur off screen, described in dialog as they were required to be when the play was performed on stage, such as Lucy Westin’s re-emergence as the “Bloofer Lady”, whom Van Helsing promises to lay to rest, a situation that is briefly brought up then quickly dropped.  Yet, the vigorous madness of Dwight Frye’s Renfield and Edward Van Sloan’s stolid, capable Van Helsing manage to carry the film through the moments when Lugosi is absent, and the two meetings between Van Helsing and Dracula, though indifferently shot, are strongly played by the two stage veterans.  Unlike in the novel, Van Helsing never devises a deliberate campaign to combat Dracula, and the film saunters toward its conclusion when it should race, with the Count’s staking by Van Helsing occurring, as so many other important events before it, off camera.  Its Lugosi’s strange, arresting charisma and his complete identification with his role that anchors the film, that makes it worth watching and re-watching.  Though the film in which he appears is far from perfect, Bela Lugosi is, and always will be, Dracula.  (Viewed on Universal’s Legacy Collection DVD, whose print is scratchy, with ancient, unrestored audio, and is missing the coda in which Van Sloan appears before a theatrical curtain to warn us to beware of vampires on our way home from the theatre.)FRANKENSTEIN (1931)Based on the novel by Mary Shelley and the play by Peggy Webling, adapted by John Balderston  Screenplay by Garrett Fort and Francis Edwards FarragohDirected by James WhaleFollowing Edward Van Sloan’s friendly warning and the brief opening credits, we go to a sound stage cemetery to witness the conclusion of burial services. Our first glimpse of Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) affords an instant snapshot of Frankenstein’s intense focus on the task at hand: retrieving the newly buried corpse from its grave, after which the two travel by cart to a roadside gallows to cut down a second corpse, whose brain is, much to Frankenstein’s chagrin, damaged and therefore useless.  Fritz immediately goes to Goldstadt Medical College where he clumsily steals an abnormal brain from its study hall.  A mere eight minutes after its beginning, FRANKENSTEIN has set up the parameters of its drama: Frankenstein’s zeal combined with Fritz’s incompetence will produce the tragic figure of the Monster.  When that Monster haltingly backs into view for the first time 30 minutes into the film and turns around to face us, it still sends a chill down my spine.  Nearly 80 years after its release, its impossible to imagine a world in which the now classic elements of this film didn’t exist, but somebody had to create them: Mary Shelley’s novel and a subsequent play by Peggy Webling provided the basic framework upon which Robert Florey, John Balderston, Garrett Fort and others built a script that James Whale brought to vibrant life, with the able assistance of set designer Charles Hall, cinematographer Arthur Edeson and the brilliant, perfectly cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff.  The figure of the Monster is now familiar and degraded, but with each viewing I am struck anew by how other-worldly Karloff is.  His now familiar visage still looks today as it must have to audiences of 1931: like a re-animated corpse, simultaneously inhuman and pitiable.  No other actor has ever come close to matching Karloff’s balance of innocence and brute force, as no other actor has ever matched Clive’s focus, drive and intensity. When we first see Clive in the cemetery, no back story is needed: we know that Henry is imbalanced, driven and unstoppable. His delivery of “Crazy? We’ll see whether I’m crazy or not” reveals a man whose ego poses a danger to himself and the world.  Whale and his editor Clarence Kolster keep the story moving at a fast, modern pace, Whale having a particular genius for eliminating all but the most essential scenes and shots; there are no longueurs in his FRANKENSTEIN, the film that gave birth to the modern horror film.  Nearly 80 years later, no one — not Hammer and Cushing, not Kenneth Brannagh and Deniro — has significantly improved upon anything Whale, Balderston, Clive and Karloff created in this movie that justly deserves its status as a classic, and continues to reward the modern audience.  (Viewed on Universal’s fine looking Legacy Collection DVD.)—Robert DeveauThe Doomed Farmer

In the beginning, there was nothing. Nothing, that is, as far as the American Horror Film was concerned. Despite a few German films (most significantly NOSFERATU and THE GOLEM) which subsequently proved influential, the genres of American film consisted of the western, the comedy, romance and mystery. The horror film didn’t exist. (Yes, its true that Edison’s company had made a short of FRANKENSTEIN in 1910, but that was one among thousands of nickelodeon attractions that quickly sank into obscurity.)  Until Universal made DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, neither the supernatural nor the scientifically based horror film as we know it today didn’t exist.  In celebration of Halloween, The Doomed Farmer looks again at the two films that gave birth to the American horror film.


DRACULA (1931)
Written by Garrett Fort, from the play by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston

A coach travels swiftly on a mountain road.  One of its passengers is a dapper young American (Dwight Frye) who is on his way to Borgo Pass, where he will be met — at midnight — by a carriage sent from Count Dracula.  The local innkeeper warns him off going there, telling him that the Count and his wives are vampires who feed on the blood of the living.  At exactly six minutes into the film, Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and his three vampire brides are seen slowly emerging from their coffins, and the film begins its best, most cinematic sequence, in which the young American is met by Dracula’s coach, driven by the thinly disguised Count, on the fog shrouded Borgo Pass. Once inside the cavernous castle, the Count slowly descends the huge staircase and introduces himself: “I am… Dracula.” With these immortal words, Bela Lugosi forever fixed his image in the minds of moviegoers around the world.  Tod Browning’s approach to his material seems to take its cue from the slow, deliberate cadence of Lugosi’s careful delivery, exactly the opposite of the manner in which James Whale would film Universal’s follow-up feature FRANKENSTEIN.  The pace is so slow that when Mr. Renfield cuts his finger on a paper clip and the camera suddenly dollies into a medium shot of the Count, the speed is startlingly effective.  Unfortunately, nothing in the film will ever move that fast again, and once we arrive at Dr. Seward’s London sanitarium, after the brief but effective sequence on board the Vesta where Renfield’s madness is revealed, and the equally effective scene in the symphony hall, the film’s theatrical origins alter it’s slow rhythm from atmospheric and mysterious to merely ponderous.  Mina (Helen Chandler) is a silly ingenue with a callow beau, Jonathan Harker (David Manners), both early 20th Century theatrical stereotypes, neither of them capable of engaging our interest, and Dr. Seward is a blind fool slow to grasp whats going on around him.  Browning shoots far too many scenes in static long shot as if we were observing a play from orchestra seats.  The script itself is oddly elliptical, with Dracula given no reason for making the trip from his native land to London, so that his attacks on Lucy and Mina seem to happen merely because they are now conveniently his neighbors, and Dr. Seward appears to have no knowledge that his fly-eating patient had recently visited Transylvania where he arranged for the sale of nearby Carfax Abbey to the Count.  In fact, madman Renfield is totally disconnected from the dapper young man we first met, probably because the opening scenes in Transylvania were created for the film, Renfield being already mad when he is introduced in the play.  Far too many events that would have made dramatic moments occur off screen, described in dialog as they were required to be when the play was performed on stage, such as Lucy Westin’s re-emergence as the “Bloofer Lady”, whom Van Helsing promises to lay to rest, a situation that is briefly brought up then quickly dropped.  Yet, the vigorous madness of Dwight Frye’s Renfield and Edward Van Sloan’s stolid, capable Van Helsing manage to carry the film through the moments when Lugosi is absent, and the two meetings between Van Helsing and Dracula, though indifferently shot, are strongly played by the two stage veterans.  Unlike in the novel, Van Helsing never devises a deliberate campaign to combat Dracula, and the film saunters toward its conclusion when it should race, with the Count’s staking by Van Helsing occurring, as so many other important events before it, off camera.  Its Lugosi’s strange, arresting charisma and his complete identification with his role that anchors the film, that makes it worth watching and re-watching.  Though the film in which he appears is far from perfect, Bela Lugosi is, and always will be, Dracula.  (Viewed on Universal’s Legacy Collection DVD, whose print is scratchy, with ancient, unrestored audio, and is missing the coda in which Van Sloan appears before a theatrical curtain to warn us to beware of vampires on our way home from the theatre.)


FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
Based on the novel by Mary Shelley and the play by Peggy Webling, adapted by John Balderston  Screenplay by Garrett Fort and Francis Edwards Farragoh
Directed by James Whale

Following Edward Van Sloan’s friendly warning and the brief opening credits, we go to a sound stage cemetery to witness the conclusion of burial services. Our first glimpse of Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) affords an instant snapshot of Frankenstein’s intense focus on the task at hand: retrieving the newly buried corpse from its grave, after which the two travel by cart to a roadside gallows to cut down a second corpse, whose brain is, much to Frankenstein’s chagrin, damaged and therefore useless.  Fritz immediately goes to Goldstadt Medical College where he clumsily steals an abnormal brain from its study hall.  A mere eight minutes after its beginning, FRANKENSTEIN has set up the parameters of its drama: Frankenstein’s zeal combined with Fritz’s incompetence will produce the tragic figure of the Monster.  When that Monster haltingly backs into view for the first time 30 minutes into the film and turns around to face us, it still sends a chill down my spine.  Nearly 80 years after its release, its impossible to imagine a world in which the now classic elements of this film didn’t exist, but somebody had to create them: Mary Shelley’s novel and a subsequent play by Peggy Webling provided the basic framework upon which Robert Florey, John Balderston, Garrett Fort and others built a script that James Whale brought to vibrant life, with the able assistance of set designer Charles Hall, cinematographer Arthur Edeson and the brilliant, perfectly cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff.  The figure of the Monster is now familiar and degraded, but with each viewing I am struck anew by how other-worldly Karloff is.  His now familiar visage still looks today as it must have to audiences of 1931: like a re-animated corpse, simultaneously inhuman and pitiable.  No other actor has ever come close to matching Karloff’s balance of innocence and brute force, as no other actor has ever matched Clive’s focus, drive and intensity. When we first see Clive in the cemetery, no back story is needed: we know that Henry is imbalanced, driven and unstoppable. His delivery of “Crazy? We’ll see whether I’m crazy or not” reveals a man whose ego poses a danger to himself and the world.  Whale and his editor Clarence Kolster keep the story moving at a fast, modern pace, Whale having a particular genius for eliminating all but the most essential scenes and shots; there are no longueurs in his FRANKENSTEIN, the film that gave birth to the modern horror film.  Nearly 80 years later, no one — not Hammer and Cushing, not Kenneth Brannagh and Deniro — has significantly improved upon anything Whale, Balderston, Clive and Karloff created in this movie that justly deserves its status as a classic, and continues to reward the modern audience.  (Viewed on Universal’s fine looking Legacy Collection DVD.)
—Robert Deveau
The Doomed Farmer

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Thursday October 29, 2009 at 19:13

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HALLOWEEN VIEWING REPORT IIEVIL DEAD II (1987) It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s masterful. So many bravura sequences, the whole film’s a bravura sequence. Bruce Campbell gives one of the great performances in the history of horror. When you think, so much of what he/his character is doing is essentially alone. Twisted comic brilliance. Sam Raimi shows why watching the Three Stooges is important.STRANGE INVADERS (1983) Wow. What happened? Was 1983 the right time and place for this? Does this mean you can’t go home again? Was I just so tickled to see Ken Tobey in an ‘83 film? Really liked it then, but man what tough sledding today. Eesh.UNEARTHED(2007) Truly truly dreadful. Full disclosure: couldn’t make it through, we fastforwarded to see the monster better. Wasn’t worth it. The promising premise of people trapped at desert gas station was gunned down in its prime.THE MISSING JUROR (1944) Mystery with horrorish vibe—jurors of old murder case getting mysteriously bumped off—runs into mind numbingly transparent “they’ve got to be kidding” obvious solution at midpoint, that a 2 year old could spot—but not the characters in this film.THE GREAT YOKAI WAR (2005) We enjoyed the Yokai Monsters trilogy several years ago and were blown away by Miike’s new addition. Enough imagination for 20 fantasy films. In a blog not too long ago I was wondering where the wonder went from the screen. Between this and Miyazaki, apparently a lot of it’s in Japan. Only caveat, towards the end, some stuff that soured us. Meantime, hundreds of the wildest monsters you’ve even seen.LES DIABOLIQUE (1955) The classic. Finally saw it. Now, I can read the Doomed Farmer’s review. Brilliant piece of suspense, sterling filmmaking in every department.RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) Bert, Ernie, Frank and Freddie contend with the walking dead down at the plant. It’s funny, it’s scary. Sounds like EVIL DEAD II. our pal Jimmy Karen of course steals the first half of the film, but really Clu Gulager, Thom Mathews and Don Calfa are also fantastic. And Linnea Quigley’s nude dance is legend. Written and directed beatifully by Dan O’Bannon.SCARECROWS (1988) Bankrobbers parachute into field, and farm, that are lousy with killer scarecrows. Some good things here, but kind of meanders, keeps running out of steam. By the end, unsatisfying.Best horror find this year? Unheralded 40’s British gothic masterpiece UNCLE SILAS repeating on TCM in next few days (see above pic). Do yourself a favor and catch it.—Larry Blamire

HALLOWEEN VIEWING REPORT II

EVIL DEAD II (1987) It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s masterful. So many bravura sequences, the whole film’s a bravura sequence. Bruce Campbell gives one of the great performances in the history of horror. When you think, so much of what he/his character is doing is essentially alone. Twisted comic brilliance. Sam Raimi shows why watching the Three Stooges is important.

STRANGE INVADERS (1983) Wow. What happened? Was 1983 the right time and place for this? Does this mean you can’t go home again? Was I just so tickled to see Ken Tobey in an ‘83 film? Really liked it then, but man what tough sledding today. Eesh.

UNEARTHED(2007) Truly truly dreadful. Full disclosure: couldn’t make it through, we fastforwarded to see the monster better. Wasn’t worth it. The promising premise of people trapped at desert gas station was gunned down in its prime.

THE MISSING JUROR (1944) Mystery with horrorish vibe—jurors of old murder case getting mysteriously bumped off—runs into mind numbingly transparent “they’ve got to be kidding” obvious solution at midpoint, that a 2 year old could spot—but not the characters in this film.

THE GREAT YOKAI WAR (2005) We enjoyed the Yokai Monsters trilogy several years ago and were blown away by Miike’s new addition. Enough imagination for 20 fantasy films. In a blog not too long ago I was wondering where the wonder went from the screen. Between this and Miyazaki, apparently a lot of it’s in Japan. Only caveat, towards the end, some stuff that soured us. Meantime, hundreds of the wildest monsters you’ve even seen.

LES DIABOLIQUE (1955) The classic. Finally saw it. Now, I can read the Doomed Farmer’s review. Brilliant piece of suspense, sterling filmmaking in every department.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) Bert, Ernie, Frank and Freddie contend with the walking dead down at the plant. It’s funny, it’s scary. Sounds like EVIL DEAD II. our pal Jimmy Karen of course steals the first half of the film, but really Clu Gulager, Thom Mathews and Don Calfa are also fantastic. And Linnea Quigley’s nude dance is legend. Written and directed beatifully by Dan O’Bannon.

SCARECROWS (1988) Bankrobbers parachute into field, and farm, that are lousy with killer scarecrows. Some good things here, but kind of meanders, keeps running out of steam. By the end, unsatisfying.

Best horror find this year? Unheralded 40’s British gothic masterpiece UNCLE SILAS repeating on TCM in next few days (see above pic). Do yourself a favor and catch it.
—Larry Blamire

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Saturday October 24, 2009 at 13:29

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Nothing says Halloween like classic British monsters.  Unless maybe its classic Universal monsters – we’ll get to them next week.  Meanwhile, what better way to usher in the season of ghoulies and ghosties than two films from Hammer and one from Amicus.THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1964)Written and Directed by Michael CarrerasSir Giles (Jack Gwillim), his colleague’s daughter Annette (Jeanne Roland), local government rep Hashmi Bey (George Pastell) and colleague John Bray (Ronald Howard) open a cursed tomb.  The financier of their expedition is Barnum-like American showman Alexander King (Fred Clark), who takes the mummy on tour.  But someone knows the ancient Words of Life…  Until the Mummy wakes up at the 54 minute mark, this film is dull and talky, with two (count ‘em: two) flashbacks to ancient Egypt; with the exception of the first two of three hand amputations, it barely feels like a Hammer film at all, as almost none of their regular actors are on screen (except for supporting actor Pastell and Michael Ripper in a two-line role), and few of their regulars are behind the camera.  When the Mummy appears at the top of a fog-shrouded flight of stairs to toss Clark down them, the movie finally starts moving and is quite satisfying until its unusual conclusion.  Under the bandages, Dickie Owen attempts a credible imitation of Christopher Lee’s Mummy in Hammer’s first film in this unrelated series, and though he doesn’t possess Lee’s physical eloquence, he is a powerful presence.  The film looks terrific and Sony’s transfer does justice to Otto Heller’s cinematography and Hammer’s typically fastidious set and costume departments.  Carlo Martelli’s score is a fine departure from James Bernard’s usual (and effective) percussive hammering (excuse the pun).  Ronald Howard is a dull hero, Jeanne Roland is not one of Hammer’s more memorable heroines, Terence Morgan makes an acceptable Gig Young-like bad boy, Pastell is allowed to play a good guy (unusual for a foreign character in a British film of this period),  and Gwillim’s Sir Giles is an interesting character who sinks into alcoholism when his find is taken away from him by Clark, who aptly fills his role as the brash American entrepreneur.  If only the first two thirds were as good as the final third, this would be a worthy sequel to Hammer’s first Mummy movie.THE GORGON (1964)Written by John Gilling  Directed by Terence FisherIn 1910, the German village of Vandorf is terrorized by a series of full moon murders in which the victims are turned to stone.  The authorities, including Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing) and the chief of police (Patrick Troughton) do their best to cover things up, but when both a young artist, his model and the artist’s father are murdered, the artist’s brother (Richard Pasco) enlists Prof. Meister (Christopher Lee) to help him investigate, finding a surprise ally in the beautiful Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley), Namaroff’s assistant.  I saw this when it was originally released on a double bill with CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (when the theatre gave away “Black Stamps”, little postage stamps with monsters on ‘em), again when it was released as a difficult-to-track extended play pan and scan VHS 20 years ago, and not since.  This gorgeous print on Sony/Columbia’s new “Icons of Horror” set allows the viewer to fully enjoy the rich lighting and cinematography of Michael Reed and the production design of Bernard Robinson.  Terence Fisher gets maximum atmosphere and dread out of John Gilling’s good script, eliciting nuances of characterization from bad guy Cushing and encouraging good guy (for a change) Lee to energetically go all-out as the hero.  Some beautifully done matte paintings enhance the production considerably, as does James Bernard’s typically vigorous score.  Though the most effective Gorgon on film is undoubtedly Harryhausen’s creation in CLASH OF THE TITANS, Prudence Hyman’s hideous green clad vision is a strikingly effective image, though the same cannot be said for her prop decapitated head.  Of all Hammer’s one-off monster movies (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, THE REPTILE), this may be the most entertaining.THE SKULL (1965)Written by Milton Subotsky  Directed by Freddie FrancisI had seen this Amicus film only once before, and it’s pan/screen UHF image with commercial interruption did no service to it’s delicate mood, atmosphere, cinematography and scene design, all of which are strongly evident in this beautiful letterboxed DVD from Legend Films.  I’ve read that the original script was only 58 pages long, forcing director Francis and his collaborators to flesh the film out to feature length with visual ingenuity and imagination.  The slender plot involves supernatural esoterica collector Peter Cushing’s purchase of the skull of the Marquis de Sade, much against the advice of fellow collector Christopher Lee.  Cushing is soon possessed by the evil spirit of the skull.  Though Francis has said in numerous interviews that he never had any particular feel for horror films, (and all his other films I’ve seen bear this out), this is his best film as a director; he elicits strong, subdued performances from Lee, supporting actors Michael Gough, Nigel Green, and Patrick Magee, and an emotional tour de force from Cushing, who spends vast amounts of screen time reacting to the immobile skull and convinces you of its evil life.  Francis uses every visual means at his disposal to inform the thin story with visual information: in the initial auction house scene, for example, he places Lee and Cushing in bright white light that pushes everyone else in the room into the three-dimensional background; and he uses the colors of the various libraries, hallways and stairwells in which the film is set to highlight the mental conditions of the characters.  Cushing’s nightmare sequence, which starts unobtrusively and builds to surreality, is bolstered by decor, light, silence, and the strong music score of Elizabeth Lutyens.  The plot of this movie could easily fit into a 25 minute Twilight Zone, but its use of all the tools of the color wide-screen movie makes it the shadowy, entertaining film it is.— Robert Deveau The Jack-O-Lantern Farmer

Nothing says Halloween like classic British monsters.  Unless maybe its classic Universal monsters – we’ll get to them next week.  Meanwhile, what better way to usher in the season of ghoulies and ghosties than two films from Hammer and one from Amicus.


THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1964)
Written and Directed by Michael Carreras

Sir Giles (Jack Gwillim), his colleague’s daughter Annette (Jeanne Roland), local government rep Hashmi Bey (George Pastell) and colleague John Bray (Ronald Howard) open a cursed tomb.  The financier of their expedition is Barnum-like American showman Alexander King (Fred Clark), who takes the mummy on tour.  But someone knows the ancient Words of Life…  Until the Mummy wakes up at the 54 minute mark, this film is dull and talky, with two (count ‘em: two) flashbacks to ancient Egypt; with the exception of the first two of three hand amputations, it barely feels like a Hammer film at all, as almost none of their regular actors are on screen (except for supporting actor Pastell and Michael Ripper in a two-line role), and few of their regulars are behind the camera.  When the Mummy appears at the top of a fog-shrouded flight of stairs to toss Clark down them, the movie finally starts moving and is quite satisfying until its unusual conclusion.  Under the bandages, Dickie Owen attempts a credible imitation of Christopher Lee’s Mummy in Hammer’s first film in this unrelated series, and though he doesn’t possess Lee’s physical eloquence, he is a powerful presence.  The film looks terrific and Sony’s transfer does justice to Otto Heller’s cinematography and Hammer’s typically fastidious set and costume departments.  Carlo Martelli’s score is a fine departure from James Bernard’s usual (and effective) percussive hammering (excuse the pun).  Ronald Howard is a dull hero, Jeanne Roland is not one of Hammer’s more memorable heroines, Terence Morgan makes an acceptable Gig Young-like bad boy, Pastell is allowed to play a good guy (unusual for a foreign character in a British film of this period),  and Gwillim’s Sir Giles is an interesting character who sinks into alcoholism when his find is taken away from him by Clark, who aptly fills his role as the brash American entrepreneur.  If only the first two thirds were as good as the final third, this would be a worthy sequel to Hammer’s first Mummy movie.


THE GORGON (1964)
Written by John Gilling  Directed by Terence Fisher

In 1910, the German village of Vandorf is terrorized by a series of full moon murders in which the victims are turned to stone.  The authorities, including Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing) and the chief of police (Patrick Troughton) do their best to cover things up, but when both a young artist, his model and the artist’s father are murdered, the artist’s brother (Richard Pasco) enlists Prof. Meister (Christopher Lee) to help him investigate, finding a surprise ally in the beautiful Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley), Namaroff’s assistant.  I saw this when it was originally released on a double bill with CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (when the theatre gave away “Black Stamps”, little postage stamps with monsters on ‘em), again when it was released as a difficult-to-track extended play pan and scan VHS 20 years ago, and not since.  This gorgeous print on Sony/Columbia’s new “Icons of Horror” set allows the viewer to fully enjoy the rich lighting and cinematography of Michael Reed and the production design of Bernard Robinson.  Terence Fisher gets maximum atmosphere and dread out of John Gilling’s good script, eliciting nuances of characterization from bad guy Cushing and encouraging good guy (for a change) Lee to energetically go all-out as the hero.  Some beautifully done matte paintings enhance the production considerably, as does James Bernard’s typically vigorous score.  Though the most effective Gorgon on film is undoubtedly Harryhausen’s creation in CLASH OF THE TITANS, Prudence Hyman’s hideous green clad vision is a strikingly effective image, though the same cannot be said for her prop decapitated head.  Of all Hammer’s one-off monster movies (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, THE REPTILE), this may be the most entertaining.


THE SKULL (1965)
Written by Milton Subotsky  Directed by Freddie Francis

I had seen this Amicus film only once before, and it’s pan/screen UHF image with commercial interruption did no service to it’s delicate mood, atmosphere, cinematography and scene design, all of which are strongly evident in this beautiful letterboxed DVD from Legend Films.  I’ve read that the original script was only 58 pages long, forcing director Francis and his collaborators to flesh the film out to feature length with visual ingenuity and imagination.  The slender plot involves supernatural esoterica collector Peter Cushing’s purchase of the skull of the Marquis de Sade, much against the advice of fellow collector Christopher Lee.  Cushing is soon possessed by the evil spirit of the skull.  Though Francis has said in numerous interviews that he never had any particular feel for horror films, (and all his other films I’ve seen bear this out), this is his best film as a director; he elicits strong, subdued performances from Lee, supporting actors Michael Gough, Nigel Green, and Patrick Magee, and an emotional tour de force from Cushing, who spends vast amounts of screen time reacting to the immobile skull and convinces you of its evil life.  Francis uses every visual means at his disposal to inform the thin story with visual information: in the initial auction house scene, for example, he places Lee and Cushing in bright white light that pushes everyone else in the room into the three-dimensional background; and he uses the colors of the various libraries, hallways and stairwells in which the film is set to highlight the mental conditions of the characters.  Cushing’s nightmare sequence, which starts unobtrusively and builds to surreality, is bolstered by decor, light, silence, and the strong music score of Elizabeth Lutyens.  The plot of this movie could easily fit into a 25 minute Twilight Zone, but its use of all the tools of the color wide-screen movie makes it the shadowy, entertaining film it is.

— Robert Deveau
The Jack-O-Lantern Farmer

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