TERROR-CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE

Barbara Steele and Mirella Maravidi

TERROR-CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (aka 5 tombe per un medium/1965). Director: Massimo Pupillo. Colorized.  

Lawyer Albert Kovak (Walter Brandi) pays a call on widow Cleo Hauff (Barbara Steele) and her stepdaughter Corinne (Mirella Maravidi), and learns that although his partner just received a letter from Dr. Geronimus Hauff (Umberto Raho), the man has been dead for nearly a year! For some reason Hauff, who was a student of the occult, has threatened revenge on five people who were present at his death, and three of them have already died in mysterious circumstances. As Albert investigates with Dr. Nemek (Alfredo Rizzo), more deaths occur. Then it develops that the widow Hauff and Albert's partner, Joseph Morgan (Riccardo Garrone), have been having an affair. The Hauff manor had been built over the ruins of a hospital where hundreds of plague victims died in the 15th century. On the one year anniversary of Dr. Hauff's death, their spirits will run wild!

Walter Brandi and Alfredo Rizzo

Terror-Creatures is an atmospheric Italian horror film which promises a lot but delivers very little. There is some suspense as you wait for the climax, which is criminally brief. Although shots of tombs and graves opening are provocative, we never see the actual ghouls which the audience has been impatiently waiting for. Instead some of the characters break out in a disfiguring plague. An interesting touch has a display case of human arms that were severed centuries before from people who spread the plague. Terror-Creatures has a lot of interesting elements to it, but few of them are realized. This is not one of Ms. Steele's better movies, although she's okay in it. 

Verdict: An Italian horror flick with real potential that is frittered away. **. 

THE SPIDER'S WEB

The Spider goes into action!

THE SPIDER'S WEB (15-chapter Columbia serial/1938). Directors: James W. Horne; Ray Taylor. Colorized. 

Criminologist Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull of A Bride for Henry) leads a dual life as the Spider, a take-no-prisoners crime-fighter. His colleagues are girlfriend, Nita (Iris Meredith), Jackson (Richard Fiske of Flying G-Men), and Ram Singh (Kenne Duncan of The Crimson Ghost). He has two main opponents: the masked Octopus, who is out to take over all of the power companies for his own illicit gain and who may be a member of the board of the Bureau of Power and Light; and Commissioner Kirk (Forbes Murray), who is a friend of Wentworth's but is always out to unmask him as the vigilante Spider. 

Ram Singh and Nita in a deadly water trap!

The Spider's Web is based on a whole slew of pulp novels featuring the character, and does not make many changes to the hero in the transition from page to screen. Hull makes a convincing hero, and is particularly good when he is in disguise as low-level criminal Blinky McQuaid. The other performers play with enthusiasm, especially Marc Lawrence as the hired gun, Steve Harmon. At one point the devilish Octopus uses a deadly ray gun to knock airplanes out of the sky. Cliffhangers include a deadly water trap, a plunging elevator, a trap with hot steam, and a bit when some dangling wires are cut, almost dooming our hero. 

The Octopus!

Although Wentworth is solicitous to a paper boy who is run over by escaping gunsels, it's odd that a young man named Charlie (Dick Durrell) and who helps the Spider, is pretty much forgotten after he is murdered by a confederate of the Octopus. The Spider's Web is an exciting and fast-paced serial with lots of action, its only deficits being a kind of hokey musical score, and a disappointing climax that is much too brief. As well, it perhaps doesn't create enough suspense over the identity of the Octopus as it could have. Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, Gloria Blondell, Nestor Paiva, and Tom Steele, have smaller roles. 

Verdict: As much fun and excitement as the famous pulp novels! ***. 

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK

Robert Hoffman and Irina Demick

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK (aka Raga tutta nuda assassinata nel parco/1972). Director: Alfonso Brescia. 

A man named Wallenberger is found dead coming out of the Tunnel of Terrors in an amusement park in Madrid. Insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman) is assigned to the case to see if he can save the company from a million dollar pay-out. To that end, the handsome fellow romances Wallenberg's daughter, Catherine (Pilar Velazquez of A White Dress for Mariale), then winds up at her estate, where he also sleeps with her sister, Barbara (Patrizia Adiutori), and almost gets it on with their mother, Magda (Irina Demick). Inspector Huber (Adolfo Celi of Who Saw Her Die?) is also on the case, especially when more murders begin to occur. Other characters and suspects include waitress Kirsty (Teresa Gimpera of The Night of the Scorpion), Chris' co-worker Martin (Philippe Leroy of The Possessed) and the rugged and mute stable boy, Gunther (Howard Ross of The Killer Reserved Nine Seats). 

Demick with Adolfo Celi

At one point in this sometimes confusing Italian murder mystery, there is indeed a dead nude woman, although she isn't found in the park. Naked Girl sets up some intriguing situations, even if it doesn't always milk them for all that their worth. Austrian-born Hoffmann makes a cool insurance investigator and unrepentant lover boy, and the ladies are all attractive and competent. The best thing about the modestly suspenseful film, which hasn't much style, is a clever final twist. A nominal giallo film. 

Verdict: Interesting if highly imperfect Italian thriller. **3/4. 

BATMAN: THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN

Tallulah Bankhead faces down Batman

 THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN on Batman. ABC TV. 1967.

"You may be caped and you may be dynamic, but I find you a crashing bore!" -- Black Widow

When the campy Batman TV series hit the airwaves in the late sixties, a number of well-known actors were signed to play guest villains. Definitely the most memorable was talented stage [and screen] actress Tallulah Bankhead, with her trademark gravelly voice and withering, highly amusing delivery. Bankhead had already shown how good she could be in TV comedy when she guest-starred on what was probably the best Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. On this two-part second season episode of Batman, she plays the comically sinister Black Widow, who apparently rode roughshod over Gotham City in the past (but never appeared previously on the show) and now is robbing banks with the aid of several confederates and a machine that saps men's wills. Therefore she sort of hypnotizes the bank officers into simply handing her oodles of cash. The cliffhanger has Bankhead unleashing cat-sized black widow spiders on Batman and Robin ("Batman! They're getting closer!"/ "I know, Robin!"). Arguably the funniest sequence has the Widow dressing up as Robin and growling at police officers, with her voice coming out of Burt Ward's body as the actor does a funny parody of Bankhead. Bolstering the proceedings -- along with Adam West as Batman and Ward as Robin, both excellent as usual (not to mention wonderful Neil Hamilton and Stafford Repp as the police and Alan Napier as Alfred) -- are the appearances of Grady Sutton (The Bank Dick) as a nervous bank teller and Len Felber as the bank manager. The campy approach to Batman is now passe, but I must say this was a very, very funny and clever episode of the often dopey series. Bankhead's most famous movie is Hitchcock's Lifeboat; she starred in Die, Die My Darling two years before doing Batman.

Verdict: Bankhead and Batman are an unbeatable combination. ***.

THE LODGER (2009)

Simon Baker as mysterious Malcolm

THE LODGER (2009). Writer/director: David Ondaatje. Loosely based on the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes.

In West Hollywood Ellen Bunting (Hope Davis) and her husband (Donal Logue) rent a room to a handsome writer named Malcolm (Simon Baker), whom Ellen is strongly drawn to. Meanwhile Detective Chandler Manning (Alfred Molina of Spider-Man 2) and rookie detective Street Wilkinson (Shane West) investigate grisly slayings of prostitutes which first remind them of the work of a convicted and executed killer who may have been innocent, and then seem to be copycat killings of Jack the Ripper. Oddly, the same year this was released British television came out with the superior Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns which also had a copycat Jack the Ripper. Another similarity is that both of these stories pair a grizzled veteran with a new, much younger cop, whom the veteran assumes is gay but turns out (supposedly) not to be (Wilkinson lets Manning's dumb homophobic remarks just slide). Since there are gay cops it might have been more refreshing if Wilkinson had really been gay, and it makes little sense that he allows the obnoxious Manning to think he is without correcting him. What The Lodger has going for it is that it delivers a couple of unexpected and clever twists at the end, but unfortunately it never really delivers the much-needed tension or suspense due to directorial slackness, and the characters aren't that well developed; Manning is unsympathetic as well. The performances are good, however. Tasmanian actor Baker starred as The Mentalist on CBS for several years.

Verdict: Worth a look for the ending if nothing else. **1/2.

OBSESSION (2025)

 OBSESSION (2025). Writer/director: Curry Barker.

Bear (Michael Johnston) is an attractive if nerdy young man who is infatuated with the pretty Nikki (Inde Navarrette). She seems to think of him only as a friend, but one day -- in desperation -- he uses a novelty item called the "One Wish Willow" to make her fall in love with him. Bear never expects it to work, so it's not as if he was using a date rape drug. Nevertheless, the results are not what he expected. Nikki does indeed fall in love with Bear but she begins to act very strangely and obsessively. It's definitely a case of "be careful what you wish for."

Obsession is an obvious play on the notion that a sick infatuation can lead to destruction of both yourself and the object of your affection. Proving that there's nothing new under the sun, the basic premise -- a man uses supernatural means to make someone fall in love with him to his regret --was used in numerous horror comic book stories, and there isn't that much that's terribly original in this picture. The movie is slow, the direction generally uninspired, although the acting by the two leads and others is on the money. 

Although the film is comparatively tasteful for a modern-day horror flick -- of course the film is so underlit you really can't see that much of the more gruesome stuff -- it doesn't resist one moment of slasher-type carnage late in the picture. Bear takes much, much too long to suggest -- if he ever really does -- that Nikki may need psychiatric help, but as the characters in this are pretty one-dimensional it probably doesn't matter. The picture takes a long time to really get going, and the build-up isn't worth it. 

Verdict: A low-energy, over-long, and vastly over-rated horror film with excellent performances. **1/4.  

NINE GIRLS

Ann Harding and Nina Foch

NINE GIRLS (1944). Director: Leigh Jason. 

"That harpy!"

A group of sorority sisters, accompanied by their chaperone Miss Thornton (Ann Harding), go to a spooky old house in the mountains on a dark and stormy night for the initiation of new members. Capt. Brooks (Willard Robertson) and his assistant Cummings (William Demarest) arrive to tell them that late arrival Paula (Anita Louise), whom everyone hated, has been murdered. Although few details are given, the girls immediately begin to suspect one another. The suspects include vivacious Mary (Evelyn Keyes of Before I Hang), whose boyfriend Paula was after; four-eyed Alice (Nina Foch of Jennifer) who owed Paula money; tomboyish "Butch" (Jeff Donnell of The Unknown); Shirley (Marcia Mae Jones of Lady in the Death House); and others. An unknown person is running around the manor indulging in mischief. Will there be another murder?

William Demarest and the gals

Nine Girls is a comedy-mystery with too much emphasis on alleged comedy, none of which is funny. Much of the so-called humor focuses on the bumbling Demarest and Butch. This is too bad, as there is a decent enough plot lost in here and the acting is satisfactory, with Harding giving the best performance. Unfortunately, the identity of the killer -- who has a very convincing motive -- is given away much, much too early -- instead of maximizing suspense as it was probably intended to, it just minimizes it. One of the sorority sisters -- it's hard to tell them apart sometimes -- appears to be doing an imitation of Katharine Hepburn! 

Verdict: Despite its brevity and some points of interest, it becomes boring rather quickly. **. 

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE

William Henry

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE (1946). Director: Philip Ford. Colorized.  

Janet Spencer (Linda Stirling of The Crimson Ghost) runs into trouble when a corpse is thrown in front of the car she's driving and she's accused of a hit and run. Private detective Steve Morgan (William Henry of Nearly Eighteen) comes to Janet's assistance, but he actually gets hired by Rita Armstrong (Barbara Wooddell) to find out who her husband's (Tristram Coffin) girlfriend (Virginia Christine) is. Then the husband, who was the dead man's business partner, is also murdered, and Lt. Milo Jones (Thomas E. Jackson) tells Steve to stick to divorce cases and insurance fraud. But Steve is determined to find out who is pretending to be the "Mysterious Mr. Valentine" who keeps phoning Janet and making blackmail demands no matter how often he gets hit on the head and knocked unconscious. 

Linda Stirling with Henry

The Mysterious Mr. Valentine comes off at first like an especially complicated episode of Perry Mason without the courtroom scenes. Things are a bit convoluted at first with characters and incidents being thrown at you in rapid succession. Henry makes a likable private dick, and although she looks a little odd in this (as if she overdid the dieting) Stirling is spirited and energetic, giving a breezier performance than usual. Tristram Coffin (of King of the Rocket Men) is as interesting as ever, and Virginia Christine makes a sexy and conniving mistress. Thomas E. Jackson is especially notable as the lieutenant, who -- thankfully -- doesn't play it gruff and nasty as actors playing cops often do in these roles. This is perhaps the only private eye film I've seen in which the hero actually has to go to the hospital for stitches after he gets conked on the head, although it happens again to him and others later in the film and apparently no one gets a concussion. Virginia Brissac, who was the realtor Mrs. Hammond on the "Sublease" episode of I Love Lucy, plays Janet's housekeeper. Arthur Space also appears in this, albeit briefly. This was Henry's one and only appearance as Steve Morgan; the actor amassed over 250 credits!

Verdict: Minor mystery film from Republic studios with an interesting plotline and some clever touches. **1/2. 

A STRANGE ADVENTURE

Marla English and Ben Cooper

A STRANGE ADVENTURE (1956). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Harold Norton (Ben Cooper) works in his mother's motel, where he falls under the spell of pretty alleged singer Lynn Novak (Marla English of Voodoo Woman). Two members of her combo arrive in town -- Al (Jan Merlin) and eternally sniffling Phil (Nick Adams) -- but they are actually there to pull off a robbery. Harold innocently winds up driving a getaway car, and the whole group hides out at a snowed-in mountain cabin where a brother and sister team (Joan Evans of The Walking Target and Peter Miller of The Delinquents) stay to do research for the electric company (?) Then it becomes a tense battle of wits between them and Harold on one side, the nasty Al and Phil on the other, with Lynn playing both sides against the middle. 

Nick Adams and Jan Merlin

The performances in A Strange Adventure help put the film over, with Merlin taking top honors as the sociopathic Al. Adams is also good, and Marla English does a more convincing job than usual. Cooper and Evans are reasonably appealing as the couple who seem to fall in love almost overnight. Director William Witney of serial fame keeps things moving, but can't quite overcome a minor-league script. The caper itself only takes a couple of minutes. Paul Smith of the perpetual hangdog expression plays the ill-fated Carl, who drives a payroll truck, and Ken Terrell shows up for a few seconds as a security guard. 

Verdict: Acceptable minor crime film from Republic. **1/4. 

LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE

Edward J. Nugent, William Cagney

LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE (1934). Director: Melville W. Brown. Colorized. 

Tom Cooper (William Cagney) and Richard "Woody" Wood (Edward J. Nugent) are pilots and pals who are often friendly rivals for the various women they encounter. Tom sets up Woody with an obese lady (June Gittelson) and Woody sends soap in Tom's name to officers' wives. But things take a serious turn when Woody's fiancee Evelyn (June Collyer of The Ghost Walks) hides her identity from a smitten Tom and uses the name of her maid, Ida (Hattie McDaniel). Before long Tom and "Ida" are in love and Tom thinks his buddy stole his gal. No longer friends, the two are chosen to take monitoring equipment up into the stratosphere in a balloon. What will happen if things go wrong?

Nugent with June Collyer

Lost in the Stratosphere would have been more interesting if the fellows did indeed get lost in the stratosphere, but nothing of that nature ever happens. Most of the movie deals more with romance than action, and never comes close to being science fiction. William Cagney was the lookalike brother of James Cagney. He had only a few acting roles and became his more famous brother's manager in addition to producing his pictures. Edward J. Nugent was a handsome second lead who amassed 85 credits from the silent era onwards and eventually became a television director. The acting in this is good and Hattie McDaniel as the wise maid Ida is as delightful as ever. 

Verdict: Minor military romance with interesting players. **1/4. 

JUVENILE JUNGLE

Corey Allen and Rebecca Welles

JUVENILE JUNGLE (1958). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Hal McQueen (Corey Allen of The Big Caper) is new in town and attracts the attention of waitress, Glory (Rebecca Welles). She has a jealous sometime boyfriend in Monty (Joe Di Reda), who throws liquor-fueled beach parties with his buddies Tic-Tac (Richard Bakalyan of The Delinquents) and Duke (Joe Conley). Duke also works in a liquor store that has a check-cashing service that takes in an awful lot of loot. Although initially hostile and distrustful of each other, Hal and Monty, along with the latter's buddies and Glory, decide to rob the liquor store and get $40,000. Part of the plan is for Hal to romance Carolyn (Anne Whitfield), the daughter of John Elliot (Walter Coy), the proprietor of the store. This last doesn't sit well with Glory, but she goes along with it for her cut. But as Hal and Carolyn get to know each other, will the young man's conscience get the better of him?   

Corey Allen with Conley and Di Reda

The most amusing thing about Juvenile Jungle is that there isn't a juvenile in sight! Most of the actors appear to be at least in their thirties (Allen was twenty-four). As juvenile delinquency films were big in the fifties, titles often reflected this trend even when it wasn't remotely accurate. The male characters in particular seem like mere loafers with no goals in sight, perpetual adolescents. In spite of this they give solid performances, as do the ladies, Welles in particular. There are also some surprises in store as to which character turns out to be the most vicious. Welles and Whitfield both had busy careers; so did the male players, with Bakalyan amassing the most credits. Allen eventually turned to directing and became a respected acting coach. 

Verdict: Minor but adsorbing crime caper with interesting players. ***. 

NUDE ON THE MOON

Lester Brown

NUDE ON THE MOON (1961). Director: Doris Wishman. 

Dr. Jeff Huntley (Lester Brown) inherits a fortune from an uncle and decides to use it to build a moon rocket although his partner, Professor Nichols (William Mayer), cautions him that he could lose money that could have lasted him his entire life. Their secretary, Cathy (Marietta), is carrying a torch for Jeff, but he only has eyes for science. The two men build the rocket, take off, and land on what they think is the moon, although it does not have the familiar lunar landscape. Instead there are lush gardens and a nudist colony, where virtually everyone is undraped. (The women's breasts are exposed but that's it). These women are not only naked but telepathic. Before long Jeff, formerly cold to women, has fallen in love with the queen! 

lunar astronauts Brown and William Mayer

The odd thing about Nude on the Moon is that the first half is more or less reasonable and seems no different from other very low-budget sci-fi items of the period. However, the moon scenes are pretty dull in spite of the nudity. Lester Brown is an attractive fellow with a pleasant manner and an adequate actor, but he only made this one movie. Director Doris Wishman specialized in low-grade soft core movies centered on nudist camps. There are no sex scenes in the movie, and the two heroes never take their clothes off. The credit song, "Moon Doll," is dreadful!

Verdict: A real oddity with very little entertainment value. *1/2. 

REPENT AT LEISURE

Wendy Barrie and Kent Taylor

REPENT AT LEISURE (1941). Director: Frank Woodruff. 

Wealthy heiress Emily Baldwin (Wendy Barrie) runs off from her wedding to a greedy prince (Rafael Alcayde) and runs into Richard Hughes (Kent Taylor of The Crimson Key) on a bus. The two become instantly smitten, then Emily learns that Richard is a salesman at Baldwin's, her father's department store. She keeps her true identity a secret after they get married when Richard learns that all single men will be let go from the store due to dropping profits. The two go so far as to adopt a baby. Then Emily's father (George Barbier) invites the young man to dinner ... 

George Barbier with Michael Dunaway

Repent at Leisure is a minor but charming comedy that is consistently entertaining in its lightweight way with excellent performances to bolster the proceedings. Barrie and Kent have chemistry and make a good team, Barbier is delightful, and the picture is nearly stolen by the adorable baby (Michael Dunaway) --there's a hair-raising moment when this little charmer wanders off and nearly falls into an elevator shaft. Thurston Hall adds some fun as the owner of the rival department store, Buckingham's, who comes up with some sales strategies that backfire on him. Charles Lane is as dyspeptic as usual as Richard's boss, Cecil Cunningham (of The Hidden Hand) makes an amusing pill of his wife, and "Snowflake" Toones is charged with watching the baby -- big mistake! From RKO. 

Verdict: Adept players and an amusing script work wonders. *** 

SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE

Rivals turned pals: David Durand; Jackie Cooper

SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE (12-chapter Universal serial/1939). Directors: Alan James; Ray Taylor. Colorized. 

Little "Skeets" Scanlon (Bill Cody Jr.), who longs to be a boy scout, finds a map which he thinks leads to treasure. He and the scouts, led by Bruce Scott (Jackie Cooper), go to a Ghost Town, where they find a fortune -- unfortunately it's counterfeit. Skeets' uncle is a crook so G-Man Hal Marvin (William Ruhl), jumps to the conclusion that Skeets' father, Pat (Edwin Stanley), must be involved in criminal activity as well. In actuality there is a gang of counterfeiters run by Turk Mortensen (Ivan Miller) who not only want some special plates the uncle made but to have Pat help them run off the phony bills. If that weren't enough, there are a group of very weird Indians living in the hills near the ghost town -- they not only hate Whites but are prone to human sacrifice!  

Junior Coghlan, Bill Cody Jr., Vondell Darr, and Cooper

Scouts to the Rescue is a busy and fairly entertaining Universal serial with several enthusiastic players. 17-year-old Jackie Cooper is top-billed and is fine as the stalwart leader of the scouts, although there's nothing in the script that would make him break out in a sweat. David Durand, who played Bette Davis' younger brother in Bad Sister, is swell as the good-looking Rip, who gets in with the thieves but whose conscience gets the better of him. Ruhl, Stanley and Miller are all professional enough, and we've also got Junior Coghlan (Frank Coughlan Jr.) as Ken, another scout, and Vondell Darr as Skeets' older sister, Mary. 

Cody and Durand

The serial is pretty fast-paced, with a lively musical score and some decent cliffhangers: an avalanche of boulders; a makeshift wooden elevator that plummets towards the ground; a stampede of rushing horses. The only problem with the serial is that it may seem bland as compared to the wilder super-hero and science fiction serials of Columbia and Republic studios. On its own terms, however, Scouts to the Rescue is a superior Universal serial. 

Verdict: Jackie Cooper -- still a star at 17! **3/4. 

PORTLAND EXPOSE

Edward Binns, unidentified player, Frank Gorshin

PORTLAND EXPOSE (1957). Director: Harold D. Schuster.  Colorized. 

Tavern owner George Madison (Edward Binns) lives with his wife (Virginia Gregg) and two children, including daughter Ruth (Carolyn Craig), in Portland, Oregon. Sleazy criminal elements have moved into the city, and Madison is threatened if he doesn't agree to put in a certain party's juke boxes and slot machines. Fearing for his family's safety, Madison goes along with this, but when one of the creeps (Frank Gorshin of Invasion of the Saucer Men) tries to rape his daughter, he agrees to help the authorities take the whole group down. But what happens if they find out what he's doing? 

Binns with Russ Conway

Portland Expose is an absorbing enough B movie with some good performances. The showiest role goes to Gorshin, who delivers as a psychopathic creep who comes to a bad end on the railway tracks when even his buddies are disgusted by him. Jeanne Carmen (of The Monster of Piedras Blancas) plays a sexy gal who makes a play for George, and is the one who figures out that he's on the side of the angels and isn't really playing ball with them. Russ Conway (of Trapped) is the head bad guy, Phil Jackman, and never chews the scenery, instead exuding quiet menace. Joe Flynn of McHale's Navy and The Big Chase has a small role as one of the good guys working on the case. Carolyn Craig is best-known for her role in House on Haunted Hill. The climax where George and Ruth nearly get acid thrown in their faces is tense and suspenseful. 

Verdict: For something set in Oregon, this isn't too bad. **3/4. 

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Dennis Moore and Linda Stirling

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

A malevolent visitor from Mars who is inexplicably called the "Purple Monster" (Roy Barcroft) kills scientist Cyrus Layton (James Craven), and inhabits his corpse -- when he isn't in his own body -- as he goes about his deadly business. His main goal is to steal an interplanetary jet plane that will get him back to Mars so he can lead a major invasion force. Working against him are Layton's niece, Sheila (Linda Stirling, and agent Craig Foster (Dennis Moore). Working with the Purple Monster are would-be extortionist Hodge Garrett (Bud Geary) and -- briefly -- the Martian witch Marcia (Mary Moore), who tries to throw Sheila off of a cliff. 

Dennis Moore in a death trap

The Purple Monster Strikes is another lively Republic cliffhanger that moves at a breakneck pace, has an exciting musical score that bolsters every scene, action-packed fisticuffs in which every bit of furniture is broken as the antagonists literally hurl themselves at each other, and some memorable cliffhangers. Foster nearly falls to his death when a ladder is toppled in chapter one; a car in a garage plummets down onto the hero in chapter eight; and a clever phone trap has Foster nearly punctured by sharp rods when iron bars come down from the ceiling. Meanwhile Sheila nearly drowns when she falls into a room through a trapdoor, a room that rapidly fills with rushing water. 

Roy Barcroft and Bud Geary

However, if you're expecting logic be warned that it is not in great supply in this serial. For instance, in the aforementioned sequence there is simply no reason why a kindly professor would have such a secret room under the floor in his laboratory. The whole business with Tony (Anthony Warde), a supposedly blind associate of Garrett's, doesn't make much sense. The actors go through their paces with professionalism, although Stirling mostly seems bored. Handsome Moore is a stalwart hero, however. Craven and Barcroft show why they were both much in demand for serial action. John Davidson appears a couple of times as the Emperor of Mars, as does Ken Terrell as another bad guy. Stuntman and actor Bud Geary had nearly 300 credits in serials, westerns, and other types of movies, generally playing nasty gunsels. 

Verdict: Fun cliffhanger from Republic! ***. 

FACES IN THE DARK

Mai Zetterling and John Gregson

FACES IN THE DARK (1960). Director: David Eady. Colorized. 

Richard Hammond (John Gregson of Fright) is a gruff and unpleasant developer who is working on a revolutionary new light bulb called the Apollo. This bulb explodes, blinding Hammond. His wife, Christiane (Mai Zetterling), who was about to divorce Richard, decides to stay and take care of him, and she takes him for a rest stay at their place in Cornwall. Other guests and residents include Richard's mistreated business partner, David (Michael Denison), Richard's irresponsible brother, Max (John Ireland of Gunslinger), the chauffeur Clem (Tony Wright of The House in Marsh Road), and the maid Janet (Nanette Newman of The Painted Smile). Richard actually seems to be adjusting to his vision loss rather well, but then he gets the notion that things in the household just aren't right. Is he being paranoid or mentally unstable, as his wife suggests, or is he truly the victim of a diabolical plot?

Gregson with Tony Wright

Faces in the Dark is based on a novel by the authors of the source material for Les Diaboliques and Vertigo. It is also a tricky suspense tale that will keep you wondering exactly what is going on in the background. Gregson gives an excellent performance, perfectly convincing in his blindness, and remaining true to his grumpy characterization throughout, although he eventually becomes pitiful. Zetterling, Denison and the others are all on target, with the exception of Ireland, who gives a surprisingly  perfunctory performance. Although the film lacks the slick quality and pacing of other British thrillers of the period, it's great in its depiction of the harrowing struggle of Richard to uncover the truth, whatever it may be, and survive. The movie makes clear, as Richard states, that a blind person is easily fooled by his enemies. 

Verdict: Solid lead and supporting performances help bolster this interesting suspense film. ***. 

COLD PREY

COLD PREY (aka Fritt Vilt/2006). Director: Roar Uthaug.

Five young people in Norway go off on a ski weekend, but the trouble begins when one of them, Morten (Rolf Kristian Larsen), breaks his leg. The group seeks shelter in what turns out to be an abandoned ski resort, which happens to have one unfortunate, and homicidal, occupant in the basement. It isn't long [actually it's rather long] before the skiers are fighting for their lives against this menacing stranger. The main problem with Cold Prey  -- which might be considered Norway's answer to the Friday the 13th mad slasher franchise  -- is that the first half is staggeringly tedious, showing us these standard horny teens in much too much detail. On the other hand, all that detail does let us distinguish one from the other, which helps you care a bit about [or at least know] who's being fricasseed when the slaughter begins. What saves the movie is a fairly solid second half, which is exciting and well-directed and greatly abetted by the performances of the talented cast, with Larsen and Ingrid Borsal Berdal (as Jannicke) taking top honors. There's a striking and suspenseful climax near a crevasse as well. The movie does feature some by-now very familiar elements, including a lone female survivor taking care of the killer a la all those American slasher films. Gore-geeks will be disappointed as the film doesn't rely too much on sickening graphic details. The movie has had two sequels so far.

Verdict: You've seen it all before, but once it gets going it's quite well done. ***.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Part One/Part Two

Senior Batman vs eternally young Superman

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Part One/Part Two (/Video/2012 - 2013). Director: Jay Oliva.

Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, this two-part animated feature looks at the dark side and older years of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Batman has not appeared in Gotham city for a decade, but the threat of a homicidal gang that calls itself the Mutants, and whose activities are becoming more and more violent, bring him out of retirement. Eventually this brings him into conflict with the Gotham police department, which gets a new female commissioner in part two, and then with Superman in the final sequences. Taking care of the Mutants with blunt brutality, something the police were not able to do, makes the now-senior Batman a hero in the eyes of some Gothamites, and a fascist in others, such as the Joker's nutty psychiatrist, who thinks Batman is the real sociopath and is responsible for villains like the Joker. This is all played out before a backdrop of social and political commentary. A new, very young female Robin named Carrie at first seems like a frivolous character, as she comes out of nowhere and seems to have had absolutely no training, but she grows on you after awhile. There's more than one suggestion that the Joker in this might be gay -- his final confrontation with Batman is in a Tunnel of Love! -- as well as other sexually ambiguous characters, but whether this is to give them added color or is mere LGBT exploitation is debatable. [One villainess has a butch haircut and swastikas painted on her naked, substantial breasts!] Peter Weller makes a fine Batman, with David Selby also notable as Commissioner Gordon, and other voice roles are well cast.The animation is fluid and Oliva's direction is fast-paced and cinematic. This is not your father's Batman.

Verdict: Sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes childish, but it holds the attention. ***.

THE CARD PLAYER

THE CARD PLAYER (aka Il cartaio/2004). Director: Dario Argento.

A maniac who kidnaps women wants to play poker with the police with the stakes being the life of the woman he holds captive, all played out over the Internet. Rome police inspector Anna Mari (Stefania Rocca) and John Brennan (Liam Cunningham) from Interpol are the team trying to find the women and stop the "card player;" they enlist the aid of a young poker expert named Remo (Silvio Muccino). The Card Player is different from a lot of Argento's shockers in that it's a fairly straight-forward crime thriller, which boasts a tense, exciting climax on the train tracks. It is also a lot better than some of the other films Argento made during this later period. Some Argento fans -- gore geeks -- hated it because it wasn't gruesome enough.

Verdict: Absorbing and suspenseful for the most part. ***.

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH

The little Ymir with Joan Taylor and Frank Puglia

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957). Director: Nathan Juran. 

An expedition from Venus crash lands on earth off the coast of Sicily and dislodges a life form indigenous to that planet, a tiny lizard-like creature with claws and a tail, and a taste for sulfur. Exposed to our environment, the creature quickly grows larger and larger until it is captured, then escapes from a lab to wreak havoc in Rome. The expedition's only survivor, Colonel Robert Calder (William Hopper), sets out to re-capture or kill the beast, although he hopes it can be studied so that future astronauts can survive Venus' deadly environment. 

The Venusian beast advances ... 

20 Million Miles to Earth is special effects man Ray Harryhausen's show all the way, as the lively and well-animated stop-motion monster is the true star of the movie and gets a great deal of footage. Its battle with a dog and a farmer in a barn is notable, as is its escape from the lab in Rome, its fight with an angry elephant, and its exciting and destructive pathway through Rome. The film makes very good use of such locations as the Coliseum, which figures in the finale. 

The ymir gets real big 

While this doesn't diminish the film's entertainment value very much, one might wish it had a better score, and that William Hopper -- although he was fine as Paul Drake on Perry Mason -- was a bit more interesting and dramatic as the leading man. As the female lead, a budding lady doctor named Marisa, Joan Taylor is a bit more peppery. Perhaps the acting honors should go to Frank Puglia, who plays her zoologist grandfather, and to little Bart Braverman as Pepe, who finds the creature when it is still inside its gelatinous sheath, and gets enough money from Marisa's grandpop to buy himself a cowboy hat. Don Orlando also makes an impression as Pepe's father, Mondello. Thomas Browne Henry is on hand as a major-general. If you missed Arthur Space it's probably because he plays a doctor on the expedition who has a disfiguring disease and dies early on in the story. 

Ymir vs elephant

At one point a scientist explains that the beast from Venus has no heart or lungs, but there is no explanation for why it appears to be clearly breathing with its chest rising and falling. One supposes it has a completely different inner structure. Ray Harryhausen, who has a silent cameo in the film, always referred to the Venusian monster as a "ymir," although it is never referred to that way in the film. I watched the colorized, remastered version of the movie, and I must say it was a treat to see it in that format. 

Verdict: Monster vs Rome with the Army intervening. ***. 

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X

Gaby Andre trapped by a big bug!

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X (aka The Cosmic Monster/1958). Director: Gilbert Gunn. Colorized.  

In a small British town, the egocentric Dr. Laird (Alec Mango) -- aided by the American Gil Graham (Forrest Tucker of The Crawling Eye) -- is using a machine to transform the properties of elements, a machine that produces a magnetic field that may be expanding far beyond the confines of the laboratory. The beautiful new French assistant, Michelle (Gaby Andre),  seemingly falls in love with the gruff, barely-attractive Gil within five minutes, and vice versa. An outer space visitor who calls himself "Smith" (Martin Benson) warns the both of them that the machine has caused a rift in the ionosphere that has let in cosmic rays that will not only drive some men crazy, but negatively effect the fast breeders, such as insects. On this he is quite correct, as it isn't long before the nearby Briarly Woods is full of giant, hungry, chomping, voracious bugs of all kinds!

Hugh Latimer, Martin Benson, Forrest Tucker

The Strange World of Planet X (Planet X actually turns out to be Earth, as our visitor tells us) is a riot of gruesome close-up bug footage, UFOs, maniacs wandering in the woods, little girls finding huge insect eggs and being told to "boil" them, and a great climax where both Michelle and the new school teacher, Helen (Patricia Sinclair) are trapped in the woods at the same time by huge insects, with Michelle caught in a spider's web and waiting her turn as the arachnid devours a writhing beetle, and Helen caught inside the school house as bugs try to crash through the door and windows. 

Andre and Tucker

At the halfway point, Strange World transforms from a talky if interesting look at a dangerous scientific experiment into, I believe, England's only entry in the big bug sweepstakes that was begun with Them. The actors are all quite professional, spouting the pseudo-scientific talk with utter conviction, and even Tucker sounds as if he has a brain. Others in the cast include Hugh Latimer and Geoffrey Chater as officials who are concerned about Laird's experiments and his lack of concern over what could -- and does -- go wrong. The movie was very loosely based on a novel by Rene Ray (it was also turned into a British TV serial that is now lost) that apparently did not have any giant insects in it. The movie is crude and low-budget, but effective, and the big bugs are even more disgusting in color. You can read about this film and others like it in my tome Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Perhaps the most gruesome of the giant insect movies. ***. 

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON

Mark Forest as Goliath

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (aka La vendetta di ercole/1960). Director: Vittorio Cattafavi.

King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford of Adventures of Nick Carter) covets the kingdom of Thebes and hopes to get it away from the heroic Emilius, who is popularly known as Goliath (Mark Forest of Goliath and the Sins of Babylon). Goliath objects to his brother Illo's (Sandro Moretti) romantic relationship with Thea (Federica Ranchi) because he believes her parents murdered his own. But Illo is convined that Goliath is in love with Thea despite the fact that the muscle man is  married to Dejanira (Leonora Ruffo). In Eurystheus' court there is a sinisterly conspiring courtier, Tindaro (Giancarlo Sbragia), and an equally conspiratorial slave girl named Alcinoe (Wandisa Guida). Before the soap opera can get too thick, there are brief appearances by a phony, fire-breathing three-headed dog, a kind of winged bat-creature in a costume, and a pitiful stuffed bear that doesn't even appear to be alive. And more.

Broderick Crawford and Giancarlo Sbragia

Goliath must enter the Cave of Horror on two occasions: to get back a blood diamond given to him by the Gods, and to rescue his wife from a dragon. This pathetic dragon, which appears on two occasions, is strictly of the Beanie and Cecil variety, with a couple of brief, crude stop-motion shots that would have had Ray Harryhausen crying "foul!" and a big mock-up of its cranium with limited mobility. An interesting sequence has the king using elephants to crush the heads of his enemies (not shown graphically) and Goliath arriving not only to save his brother -- the next victim -- but to lift up the elephant's leg and topple it to the ground (this actually seems to be done by the muscular Forest without the aid of camera trickery). It's hard to judge the acting in this due to the dubbing -- we don't get to hear Crawford's trademark gravelly voice, nor Forest's Brooklyn-born intonations (he looks great in a beard) -- but everyone seems enthusiastic enough, especially Sbragia. The score for the American version is a real hodge-podge. Gaby Andre of The Strange World of Planet X has a very small role. The original title for this was Hercules' Revenge. 

Verdict: If you're looking for decent monsters in this peplum film, look elsewhere. **. 

PHANTOMS

Ben Affleck as the sheriff

PHANTOMS (1998). Director: Joe Chappelle.  

Dr. Jennifer Pailey (Joanna Going) and her younger sister, Lisa (Rose McGowan), arrive in Snowfield where Jennifer has her practice, and discover that the residents are either dead or missing. Sheriff Hammond (Ben Affleck), Deputy Wargle (Liev Schreiber), and others come to investigate, and eventually there are a team of scientists, military personnel, and Timothy Flyte (Peter O'Toole), a writer for a supermarket tabloid who has also penned a tome entitled "The Ancient Enemy." Flyte's theory, which increasingly seems to be true, is that a centuries-old intelligent being that periodically ingests vanished colonies and even civilizations (like the Mayans), has devoured most of the town and is now sadistically playing with those who remain, pretending to be Satan. 

Rose McGowan and Joanna Going

Dean Koontz adapted his own novel, and had to scrap some characters and notions (although the movie could have used another half hour or worked better as a mini-series). Viewers who have never read the chilling novel may like this better, but those familiar with the book will probably be disappointed. Although there are some well-handled scenes, the movie actually becomes a bit boring. The climax lacks the impact of the book, and the movie has even more of a problem than the novel disguising the fact that this is just another variation on The Blob, Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, and -- especially true of the cinematic adaptation -- John Carpenter's version of The Thing. Affleck does okay as the sheriff, while the ladies aren't always convincing trying to react with fear or shock to the variety of horrors. Schreiber probably comes off best as the sleazy deputy who comes back from the dead. O'Toole does what he can with the material. 

Verdict: Has good moments, but the ultimate result is ... meh. **1/2.