MAN ON THE PROWL

James Best and Mala Powers

MAN ON THE PROWL (1957). Director: Art Napoleon. 

Living with his horrible mother (Vivi Janiss), Doug Gerhardt (James Best of Killer Shrews) has developed a positive hatred for women. He beats one poor gal who resists his advances to death with his fists. Then Doug accidentally encounters Marian Wood (Mala Powers), who is married to car dealer Woody (Jerry Paris) and has two cute little boys (Josh and Jeff Freeman).  Arrogant and attracted to Marian -- one senses she is drawn to Doug despite her love for her husband --  Doug does his best to court her, but she will only agree to having a beer with him because he tells her they went to the same school. This only makes Doug obsess more over Marian, putting both her husband and her children in mortal danger. 

Man on the Prowl may have been the only starring role for James Best, who gives a strong performance as the psychopath, with good work from Mala Powers and Jerry Paris as well. Ted de Corsia is fine as the detective on the case, and Vivi Janiss makes an impression as Doug's monster mother. The film features a tense and suspenseful climax. Art Napoleon directed only two other films, the Diana Barrymore biopic, Too Much, Too Soon, starring Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn, and The Activist ten years later. 

Verdict: Worthwhile minor suspense film ***. 

THE KNIFE SLIPPED Erle Stanley Gardner

THE KNIFE SLIPPED. A Cool and Lam novel by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner). Written 1939. Hard Case Crime/Titan; 2016.

NOTE: On occasion B Movie Nightmare will review genre books as well as movies. 

Erle Stanley Gardner is most famous as the creator of Perry Mason, but he also wrote many books in a crime series devoted to the exploits of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Cool is a obese but solid middle-aged woman who has a tough, no-nonsense approach and is primarily concerned with making money for herself through her small detective agency that takes cases other agencies won't touch, such as divorces and political assignments. Her chief operative is the much younger and smaller Donald Cool, a twenty-something who may be short but is still good-looking enough to attract many of the ladies he encounters. He, however, is not that much good in a fight and "the little runt," as Bertha calls him, takes a beating more than once. 

The Knife Slipped was originally to be published as the second in the series, but the publisher rejected it, finding Cool's depiction too mercenary and sordid, among other things. The book was not published (posthumously) until many years later. The Knife Slipped has Cool and Lam taking on a woman client who feels that her son-in-law is cheating on her daughter with a blond. This son-in-law is later murdered, and there are numerous suspects, including a switchboard operator at his apartment house that Donald becomes stuck on. Lam has an almost 21st century attitude toward women and their sexuality, and Cool is cynical (or realistic) about certain aspects of life and love. The Knife Slipped is entertaining and well-written, but frankly it seems a cut below similar books by, say, Raymond Chandler. I've read only one other Cool and Lam book and felt the same way -- good but forgettable. 

However, if you're crazy about private detective fiction, I must say that Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are unusual operatives and highly interesting characters. That alone makes their stories of interest. And one of these days I may pick up another one in the series.

Verdict: Perry Mason might be appalled by these two. **3/4. 

SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH

Mark Famiglietti as Henry

SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH (2015.) Director: Bert. I Gordon. 

Henry (Mark Famiglietti) lives with his sister, Katherine (Kari Wuhrer), in their large family home. Apparently the only woman Henry can have sex with successfully is his sister, but he makes attempts with other women he meets on the internet and at the movies. He has gone so far as to get engaged to Grace (Mary Anthony), whom he has also met online. But when Grace shows up at the house to tie the knot, she finds a jealous future sister-in-law  waiting, and discovers she is in the midst of a deadly and frightening situation ... 

Secrets of a Psychopath is a comeback of sorts for Mr. BIG, aka Bert I. Gordon, who worked on so many fun creature features in the fifties through seventies such as Earth vs the Spider, The Magic Sword, The Food of the Gods and The Cyclops. Gordon even managed to snare no less than Orson Welles to star in one of his minor B productions, Necromancy. At the ripe young age of 93 Gordon directed this, his last feature to date -- no mean achievement. Unfortunately, while I'd like to report that this is Gordon's masterpiece, it's not that great a movie, and certainly much, much less fun than Mr. BIG's flicks on giant spiders, grasshoppers and Amazing Colossal Men. 

Wuhrer, Anthony and Famiglietti

The shame of it is that Secrets of a Psychopath has some damn good things going for it. There's the attractive lensing by Brett A. Hart which gives the picture a clean and polished look, and an effective score by Scott Glascow (although it generally tends to be a bit too languid, unfortunately, along with the film's pacing). Then there's an excellent lead performance by the appealing Mark Famiglietti, who makes Henry another charming if no-less-deadly sociopath. Although I have never heard of her, apparently Kari Wuhrer has achieved some kind of minor fame in little-known B horror flicks, and she is good as Henry's sensual sister, Katherine. Mary Anthony is also very good as the ill-fated Grace. However, most of the rest of the cast, including Henry's other victims, are played by amateurs who lower the whole tone of the movie.

The film's premise is workable, but Gordon's script is full of holes and moments of illogic  -- Henry buries one body in broad daylight, and there's this whole incredible business with two children improbably drowning in a small plastic lawn pool and the apparent lack of repercussions to this. As mentioned, the pace of the film at times seems glacial and there's only a decent spurt of energy at the very end. Gordon's direction betrays none of the flair that would make this psycho-thriller really sing. Too bad. 

Verdict: Psychologically dubious and not much fun but it's still Mr. BIG! **. 

HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS

Yvonne Lime and Brett Halsey

HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS (1958). Director: Edward L. Bernds. 

Joyce Martin (Yvonne Lime) is the new girl in town, and she's a decent kid, even if her father (Don Shelton) thinks she wears too much lipstick. On her first day in high school she meets Connie Harris (Jana Lund), who tells her in no uncertain terms that she's the head of an all-female gang called the Hellcats, and if Joyce doesn't pass the initiation, she might as well just kill herself. Trying to fit in, she complies with what Connie and her friends wish, while also dating the soda jerk Mike (Brett Halsey, his name misspelled "Bret" in the credits). Mike worries that his girlfriend is getting in with the wrong crowd, but she goes to a party and after the lights go out, someone dies ... 

A moment of teenage angst

High School Hellcats is an entertaining teen movie with effective enough performances from the leads. However, the best acting comes from Jana Lund as the incredibly bitchy Connie, and especially from Susanne Sidney as her chubby, conspiratorial pal, Dolly, who has some sterling moments at the climax. Rhoda Williams is fine as a sympathetic teacher, Miss Davis; she had more credits than the other ladies combined. The executive producer for this film was Charles "Buddy" Rogers, husband of Mary Pickford and an actor himself. 

Verdict: Fun if you're in the mood for a silly fifties teen flick. **1/4,  

BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER

The giant behemoth invades London

BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER (1958/original UK version of The Giant Behemoth). Directors: Eugene Lourie and Douglas Hickox. 

Atomic testing has revivified a sleeping, gigantic, and electrically-charged dinosaur -- a fictional paliosaurus -- that has become dangerously radioactive. In addition to stomping across the coastal areas, it leaves tens of thousands of dead fish in its wake, causing decided consternation for Cornish fishermen such as John Duncan (John Turner). While American Steven Karns (Gene Evans) of the Atomic Energy Commission tries to convince Professor James Bickford (Andre Morell) of the existence of this strange "behemoth," it attacks a ferry boat and then smashes into London itself. How can they destroy the beast without blowing all of its radioactive pieces into every part of the city? 

Gene Evans and Andre Morrell

This is the original UK version of The Giant Behemoth, and to my surprise, there are a number of differences. For one thing, the British version is eleven minutes shorter, which tightens up the picture and eliminates some unnecessary sequences -- all of the dinosaur scenes appear to be intact, however. The American version puts back some crowd-panic scenes and some stock footage. In the original version, when the behemoth struts through London, the music stops abruptly so that all you can hear, besides screaming pedestrians, is the ominous thud thudding of the monster's footsteps as well as its breathing and the occasional snarl or roar. Somehow it makes the sequence more chilling. (In addition to the music, the American version puts in the sound of an unseen man screaming as the monster's foot smashes down on his car, and also adds more screeches of soldiers as they are burned to death by the behemoth's terrible radioactive glare.) The announcement made on the radio at the very end of the film is slightly different in each version. 

Leigh Madison and John Turner

During the ferry-attack sequence, the monster is portrayed by a rubber model which looks good but has decidedly limited mobility (reportedly it had more mobility until it broke down just before filming). However, when the creature attacks London, Willis O'Brien's fluid stop-motion effects take over, and while the rampage is comparatively crude and low-budget (particularly as compared to today's FX work), the animation is still well-done and the sequence exciting. Edwin Astley's musical score adds to the generally eerie tone of the picture. Jack MacGowran is fun as a paleontologist who hopes to track down the monster, and Leigh Madison plays the daughter of a fisherman who becomes one of the behemoth's first victims. 

Verdict: Grim and absorbing. ***.

WHILE I LIVE

Audrey Fildes and Sonia Dresdel

WHILE I LIVE (aka The Dream of Olwyn/1947). Director: John Harlow. 

On the Cornish coast, young composer Olwyn (Audrey Fildes) lives with her older sister, Julia (Sonia Dresdel) while she tries to put the finishing touches to a composition entitled "The Dream of Olwyn." Unfortunately, Olwyn sleepwalks one night and winds up taking a header off of a cliff. Twenty-five years later Julia lives in the same house with her young cousin Peter (Clifford Evans), whom she raised, and his more practical wife, Christine (Patricia Burke). One evening into the household comes an unexpected visitor (Carol Raye), who claims she has no memory but has a connection to Cornwall and the family. Julia is convinced that this young lady is the reincarnation of her dead sister, but Christine is a little suspicious, leading to conflicts between her, her husband, and his somewhat domineering aunt. 

Clifford Evans and Patricia Burke

While I Live could have gone in several different directions -- oddly, no one wonders if this woman might be a con artist when you consider that Julia appears to be quite wealthy -- but what it offers the viewer (very little, in fact) is like a mild, forgettable episode of One Step Beyond stretched to 80 minutes! I won't give away any more of the film's flimsy secrets in case there are masochistic viewers who have a need to see virtually every bad British movie ever made (apparently I'm one of them!), but this has to be classified as a time-waster. You keep hoping something of real dramatic interest will occur but it never quite does. The acting is professional at least, with Tom Walls making the best impression as the house man Nehemiah. As for Olwyn's pleasantly romantic musical composition, it sounds like warmed-over Rachmaninoff but was composed by Charles Williams. 

Verdict: Based on a stage play that must have been equally dull. *1/2. 

ACCOMPLICE

Richard Arlen and Veda Ann Borg

ACCOMPLICE (1946). Director: Walter Colmes.

Private eye Simon Lash (Richard Arlen) gets a surprise visitor, Joyce (Veda Ann Borg), the woman who left him at the altar years before to marry a wealthy man. Now her husband is missing and Joyce wants Simon to track him down, although he is wary that this is merely a divorce case, which he wants no part of. Simon's investigation takes him to a mink farm, where he encounters the suspicious Sheriff Rucker (Archie Twitchell), along with a couple of bodies. Eventually the trail leads Lash to a mysterious castle in the desert (not to be confused with the Charlie Chan film of that name) where elderly men with shotguns have got an operation running that might put Lash in a bit of difficulty.

Accomplice is a fast-moving, interesting PI story, although towards the end it does get a little ridiculous. However, the acting is sharp, there are certainly interesting settings, and the action is all resolved in a satisfactory and exciting manner. Although Arlen makes a more than credible private eye, he was never to play Lash again. 

Verdict: Entertaining PI flick from the forties. **3/4. 

SWIMFAN

Erika Christensen

SWIMFAN (2002). Director: John Polson. 

Rhode Island high school senior Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) is a bright light on the swim team, and he has a cute and charming girlfriend in Amy (Shiri Appleby). One afternoon he helps the new girl in school, Madison Bell (Erika Christensen), when her locker door gets stuck, and the two strike up a friendship. Ben winds up sleeping with Madison and both agree it should not happen again and remain their secret. Unfortunately, Madison doesn't keep her end of the bargain, and considers Ben her new boyfriend, come hell or high water. And she's perfectly willing to kill to keep him. 

Jesse Bradford and Shiri Appleby

A teenage version of Fatal Attraction, Swimfan is a modestly entertaining little thriller with good performances from the three leads, who are appealing actors, especially Bradford and Appleby. The best-known member of the cast is Dan Hedaya, who plays the coach of the swimming team. James DeBello makes an impression as Madison's weird cousin Christopher, and some of the students are well-portrayed. In the long run Swimfan suffers from the fact that most of the characters aren't that dimensional, and I've no doubt some teenagers were disappointed by the movie's complete lack of gore. There's a fairly exciting climax in the high school swimming pool, however. Too bad Madison is such a psycho, as her interest in classical music already gives her a certain, more positive distinction over most of her classmates. 

Verdict: There have been worse ... **1/2. 

DANGEROUS YOUTH

Carole Lesley and Frankie Vaughan

DANGEROUS YOUTH (aka These Dangerous Years/1957.) Director: Herbert Wilcox. 

In Liverpool there is a spot known as Dingle Point, and the young male residents, prone to getting into trouble, are known as "Dingle Boys." One of these boys, Dave (Frankie Vaughan), wins a singing contest after beautiful Dinah (Carole Lesley) does a lovely rendition of "Isn't This a Lovely Evening?" and figures she is a shoo-in. Dinah is not a gracious loser -- frankly she's much better than Dave, who does a hokey Presley imitation --  and throws a shoe at him. Later on Dave and his buddies are drafted and a number of melodramatic situations ensue -- one boy is killed when a mine explodes and there is a fight involving fists, a knife, and a gun -- after which Dave goes on the run accused of murder, and winds up hiding out in Dinah's apartment. Can these two singers actually fall in love?

Frankie Vaughan

Dangerous Youth is full of incident but is still dull. Vaughan was a British pop star whose most famous moment was performing with Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love. He is adequate as an actor but only had a few credits, having a much bigger career as a vocalist. Carole Lesley, who has winning looks and personality, managed about twice as many credits as Vaughan. George Baker plays an army chaplain or "padre" who tries to help Dave. 

Verdict: Nothing much in this cheapie. *. 

CHILD'S PLAY 2

Chucky on the attack! 

CHILD'S PLAY 2 (1990). Director: John Lafia.

Two years after the events of Child's Play, little Andy (Alex Vincent) has been placed in foster care while his mother is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. His foster mother (Jenny Agutter) is more understanding of Andy and the trauma he underwent, but his foster father (Gerrit Graham) is not certain he even wants the boy in his home. None of them realize that the crazy Chucky doll has  been (improbably) reconstructed and that it is still infested with the spirit of a serial killer (Brad Dourif) whose goal remains the same: to transfer his consciousness into Andy's body.

Andy overhears his foster parents 

Child's Play 2 is an acceptable sequel to the original, but it does have some problems. Alex Vincent is still a cute kid but he's called upon to be a little more emotional in this and isn't quite up to the challenge. As fellow foster child Kyle, Christine Elise is too perfunctory in key moments. The musical score is so overdone that at times you get the impression you're supposed to be watching a space epic with a huge budget. There are at least as many anti-climaxes in this as in the original. On the other hand, there are some inventive killings, such as one interesting bit with a terrified old lady teacher and a copy machine. One can't quite get over the feeling -- unlike the original -- that this is essentially a moron movie.

NOTE: This was followed by Child's Play 3 in which Andy is now a teen at a military academy and Chucky comes a'callin but picks out a new victim to place his soul into. 

Verdict: Entertaining if imperfect sequel. **3/4. 

IRRESISTIBLE

Susan Sarandon and Sam Neill

IRRESISTIBLE (2006). Written and directed by Ann Turner. 

Sophie (Susan Sarandon) is an illustrator of children's books who lives in Australia with her husband, an advertising exec named Craig (Sam Neill). Craig has a special computer assistant named Mara (Emily Blunt), but Sophie finds the younger woman a little bit creepy. When things -- including one of her favorite dresses that Mara later shows up wearing -- start disappearing from the house, a paranoid Sophie is convinced that Mara is behind the strange thefts. Or is she losing her mind? Other weird things begin happening as well. 

Emily Blunt

Irresistible is a strange, suspenseful and intriguing movie that keeps you wondering what's going on and eventually provides a reasonably satisfying conclusion along with at least one extra twist. The three leads are excellent, and the couples' children are adorable. However, Irresistible nearly derails a couple of times due to some utterly illogical moments. (I can't imagine a person actually taking their boss's spouse to court, for instance, and that the work situation wouldn't become extremely awkward afterward). Some of the characters' actions may have you scratching your head as well. 

Verdict: Pretty good if flawed suspense film. ***. 

CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA

Robert Bean and Betsy Jones-Moreland

CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (1961). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. NOTE: This is the colorized version. 

Undercover agent "Sparks" Moran (Robert Towne) has become part of the gang run by Renzo Capetto (Antony Carbone). Renzo has taken some gold from Cuba with the help of a bunch of Cuban soldiers, and is heading toward Puerto Rico in his boat. Accompanying him are his moll Mary-Belle (Betsy Jones Moreland), her brother Happy Jack (Robert Bean), and an idiot named Pete (Beach Dickerson) who can do uncanny imitations of animals. Wanting the loot for himself, Renzo plans to kill off the soldiers and blame it on a sea monster, which turns out to actually exist. 

Carbone, Jomes-Moreland, and the monster

This black comedy was filmed back to back with Corman's Last Woman on Earth and reuses the three leads from that film, Carbone, Jones-Moreland, and Towne, who became better known as a screenwriter. Creature has a couple of chuckles, but its mostly lame, although Corman keeps it moving so fast you never get as bored as you might have (although you probably won't want to ever see it again). The monster, which seems to consist mostly of seaweed with two pop-out white eyes like out-sized golf balls and claws, is about eight feet tall. Other characters include fat Rosina (Esther Sandoval) and her daughter, Mango (Sonia Noemi Gonzalez), and Carmelita (Blanquita Romero), who develops a yen for Sparks.  

Romero, Towne, bit players, Carbone

The odd thing about Creature is how well photographed it is, with each shot well-composed as to how characters and objects are situated in relation to one another and within the frame (see photo at left). You expect this (but don't always get it) in some well-known, expensive movies, but not in crap like Creature. The cinematographer was Jacques (or Jack) Marquette, but while I've seen other films he's shot -- such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman -- nothing he's done has ever struck me the same way in the photographic sense. (Wow -- I get to look at 50 Foot Woman one more time !) Marquette seemed to photograph anything that came his way, from Corman films to Elvis Presley movies to TV shows and had a very long career.

The screenplay was written by Charles B. Griffith, who turned in better work for Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters and some others. Inexplicably, this was actually remade in 2019. 

Verdict: Sixty minutes of silliness with some spirited performances. **. 

EARTH VS THE SPIDER

The spider saunters past sheriff's office

EARTH VS THE SPIDER (1958). Director: Bert I. Gordon. 

A gigantic bird spider of unknown origin wakes up in a cave and begins eating the locals. One of the first victims is Jack Flynn (Merritt Stone), whose daughter Carol (June Kenney) and boyfriend Mike (Eugene Persson) find his desiccated corpse. Initially put down by gallons of DDT, the spider is presumed dead and put in the gymnasium, until a band's practicing wakes it up and off it goes on a rampage. Now the town has to figure out a way to destroy the monster for good, but are science teacher Art Kingman (Ed Kemmer) and Sheriff Cagle (Gene Roth) up to the challenge?

The deputy: pitiful victim of the giant spider

Earth vs the Spider, clearly inspired by the superior Tarantula, is another of Burt I. Gordon's  (Mr. BIG) monster movies with its usual attempts at characterization, variable special effects work, and a few grisly touches that might have provided shocks for teens in the fifties. The picture has some suspense, a few disturbing moments, and is a lot of fun. Like normal-sized spiders, this monster immobilizes its victims and sucks all the juice out of them, although this business is never actually depicted; we only see the results. The film was supposedly filmed in the famous Carlsbad caverns. The "teens" in this movie were mostly played by adults. Joe the bandleader, is played by Troy Patterson, who was thirty-five at the time! 

NOTE: You can read more about this film and others like it in Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: You can't go completely wrong with Mr. BIG! **1/2. 

THE UNBORN (1991)

Jeff Hayenga, Brooke Adams, Kathy Griffin

THE UNBORN (1991). Director: Rodman Flender. 

Virginia Marshall's (Brooke Adams) last hope to conceive a child lies with fertility specialist Dr. Meyerling (James Karen). Although Virginia, along with her husband Brad (Jeff Hayenga), is delighted when she gets pregnant, she comes to think that there's something unnatural growing inside of her. And that Meyerling, a geneticist by trade, has something to do with it. She has a breakdown on a national television show and is convinced her baby is a monster. Is she as nutty as a fruitcake, or is Meyerling implanting super-babies in women's wombs? 

It's Alive! 

The Unborn is utter schlock that is an embarrassment for all concerned. The movie becomes more ludicrous with every moment, eventually turning into a complete burlesque, and good performances from Adams and Hayenga are completely wasted. The derivative plot combines everything from It's Alive to Children of the Damned with a dose of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the remake of which starred Adams) thrown in for good measure. 

Jeff Hayenga

If that's not bad enough we're introduced to a lesbian couple (one of whom is played by comic Kathy Griffin) at the fertility clinic, and while at first they are treated sympathetically, it later develops that they are a little crazy. They even have negative feelings about males (the incredibly old and tired "lesbians hate men" stereotype), wanting to exclude husbands from birthing classes because they are "outsiders" -- huh? When Kathy Griffin is hammered to death by her girlfriend (don't ask) she keeps screaming at Adams over the phone to call the police and Adams just keeps asking "what's wrong" instead of simply hanging up and calling the police! This is only one of several dumb sequences in the movie, which is, in a word, awful. People who insist there's something profound going on in  this flick need to crack a book sometime.

Verdict: You could call this, say, an examination of baby hatred but the movie has absolutely nothing on its mind. *. 

CASE 39

Jodelle Ferland and Renee Zellweger

CASE 39 (2009). Director: Christian Alvart.  NOTE: This review gives away some plot points. 

Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger) is a social worker who gets involved in the case of two parents who seem to hate their young daughter, Lily (Jodelle Ferland). After the couple literally try to murder their daughter in an oven, they are arrested and Lily is taken away from them. Lily begs Emily to let her live with her even as her parents continue to warn her that the child is evil. And then people start dying ... 

Ian McShane

Case 39 is well-directed and well-acted by Zellweger, an amazing young Ferland, and Ian McShane as a slightly grizzled cop. If there had never been any other horror films with demonic children, it might have been a contender, but to say this is staggeringly unoriginal is a major understatement. While not as "epic" as The Omen and its sequels and imitations, it is basically a rip-off of earlier films (and apparently many consider it a copy of a similar film entitled Orphan, which I have not yet seen). This is too bad, because the film is slick, well-photographed by Hagen Bogdanski, and has some effectively ghoulish sequences, such as when Emily's good-natured friend Doug (Bradley Cooper) is attacked and killed by wasps or hornets. Emily, and especially the hardened detective played by McShane, accept the supernatural explanation for the goings-on much, much too quickly to be believable. 

A more recent and better film entitled The Prodigy featured a devious youngster but that was about a possessed child, not a child who was demonic or Satanic, and it also had some interesting twists to the plot. 

Verdict: Entertaining enough, but you've seen it all before -- many times. **1/4. 

THE HORROR OF IT ALL

Erica Rogers and Pat Boone

THE HORROR OF IT ALL (1964). Director: Terence Fisher. 

American Jack Robinson (Pat Boone) comes to the isolated mansion of his British fiancee, Cynthia (Erica Rogers), only to discover that his timing is off. It seems that cousin Creighton has passed away and is laid out in the parlor. Soon Jack learns that one of Cynthia's relatives -- spirited Cornwallis (Dennis Price); spooky Natalia (Andree Melly); somber Reginald (Valentine Dyall); mad inventor Percival (Jack Blight); senile Grandpa (Eric Chitty); and crazy Muldoon (Archie Duncan) -- has begun murdering off the others for an inheritance. 

Dennis Price and Pat Boone

The Horror of It All is a silly black comedy that bears a striking and suspicious resemblance to William Castle's remake of The Old Dark House, which came out the year before. There are so many similarities that I've no doubt many viewers have confused the two pictures over the years. (Adding to the confusion is that a later film, No Place Like Homicide aka What a Carve Up! also has a similar plot.) The Horror of It All was written by Ray Russell, who worked with Castle on Mr. Sardonicus (from Russell's novel). The Old Dark House was written by Robert Dillon, and both Dillon and Russell worked on the screenplay for the Ray Milland film, X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes. 

Boone in a death trap

In any case, The Old Dark House is somewhat better than Horror. Although no one would ever confuse him with Cary Grant, Boone gives a perfectly good comic performance in this. Dennis Price and the other cast members play with enthusiasm as well. This will never go down as one of Hammer horror specialist Terence Fisher's [The Gorgon] more memorable movies, unfortunately. A scene when Boone is nearly crushed in a locked room with a descending ceiling is only mildly exciting for instance. Boone sings the acceptable title tune halfway through the movie. The best scene has Price describing to Boone the various awful ways in which his ancestors died. "A blighted people, a family accursed," says he. Interestingly, The Addams Family TV showed debuted this same year. 

Verdict: Watchable sort-of remake of Old Dark House. **1/4. 

A SISTER'S SECRET

Dany Boaz and Margaret Anne Florence

A SISTER'S SECRET (2018). A Lifetime telefilm. Director: D. J. Viola. 

Twin sisters Elizabeth and Callie (Margaret Anne Florence) have different lives, with Callie married with two children, and Elizabeth with a successful career, but neither of them feels fulfilled. On a lark they decide upon the really stupid idea of changing places for a week, but when one of them is murdered the other keeps her mouth shut -- even more stupid -- and tries to solve the crime. But Detective Tucker (Paula Abdul!) is on the case.

Florence with Paula Abdul

A Sister's Secret is a flaccid suspense item that only touches upon some provocative subjects -- at one point one sister even goes so far as to sleep with her dead sister's husband! If the movie gets points for anything it's that the whole identical twin business is handled so seamlessly that I actually thought that they had cast twins in the role. Which makes their choice of lead actress even stranger, as Margaret Anne Florence has such annoying and unfortunate vocal tics and mannerisms that it almost ruins her otherwise credible performance. Danny Boaz is a bit more on the mark as Callie's husband, Grady, and Catherine Dyer -- whom I kept thinking was Bonnie Bedelia --- scores as the twins' practical Aunt Rose. I'm not at all certain what Paula Abdul is doing in this -- the former vocalist and American Idol judge is fairly competent as an actress but I don't see producers signing her up for major projects any time soon. 

Verdict: Two irritating characters for the price of one! **. 

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH

Zohra Lampert

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1971). Co-written and directed by John D. Hancock. 

Jessica (Zohra Lampert) has been released from an institution after having some kind of nervous breakdown wherein she apparently had delusions. She and her husband, Duncan (Barton Heyman), decide to get away from the pressures of city life and take up farming, and they bring along pal Woody (Kevin O'Connor) to help out. In the house to which they've moved they discover Emily (Mariclare Costello), a squatter, but they encourage her to stay with them anyway, despite the fact that Jessica senses Duncan is attracted to her. The town seems to consist of strange and unfriendly old men, and Emily resembles a woman who once lived in the house and drowned before her wedding day. When Jessica starts having visions, we are uncertain if she is once again going mad or if someone is actually out to get her ... 

Barton Heyman

Jessica has many admirers, although most of them are viewers who are in love with ambiguity, which could be the film's middle name. I don't necessarily mind a little ambiguity now and then, but the screenwriters seem to be making up things as they go along, trying every possible avenue without offering any real solution. Jessica's mental state is paramount, but Jessica also hints at being a ghost story, a psychological marital drama, an ineffective vampire tale, and so on, with the result that it mostly comes off as a mess -- a mess that is oddly compelling at times, but a mess nevertheless. There's a lot of intriguing stuff buried in there but it is never mined in any dramatically viable fashion. 

Mariclare Costello

So we're left with performances from a cast that does not consist of young beauties or hunks but average-looking people who do the best they can with underwritten characterizations. The ever-weird Lampert is good, but the suggestion that her work is Oscar-worthy is ridiculous. There are some eerie moments (although I find it hard to believe some people were that scared by this flick) and the movie is moody and atmospheric enough. The film briefly takes a homoerotic detour when Emily seems to be coming on to Jessica, but this is never satisfactorily explored. Considering Jessica's mental state, it's bizarre that the family auto she and Duncan drive around in is a hearse, a strange touch that ultimately means little. The score is quirky but often inappropriate and overly noisy. If some viewers want to find deep meaning in this movie, be my guest, but I don't buy it. Director Hancock's most famous film is Bang the Drum Slowly. 

Verdict: Like both the heroine and the lead actress, this is odd -- too odd. **1/4. 

BORN TO SPEED

Vivian Austin and Johnny Sands 

BORN TO SPEED (1947). Director: Edward L. Cahn. 

Johnny Randall (Johnny Sands) is the son of a race car driver who was killed on the track. His mother, Mrs. Randall (Geraldine Wall), is horrified at the prospect of her son following in his father's footsteps and tries to get the help of her late husband's old colleague, Breezy Bradley (Frank Orth) to dissuade him. But Breezy feels Johnny has the makings of a great midget-car racer and things get more complicated when Johnny falls for Breezy's niece, Toni (Vivian Austin billed as Terry Austin), who already has a sort-of boyfriend in rival driver Mike Conroy (Don Castle). Johnny winds up on the track in the guise of the Masked Racer. 

Johnny Sands and Geraldine Wall

Born to Speed is a fast-paced PRC programmer that benefits from some pretty good racing footage, but to say the movie is cliched and mindless is a major understatement.  The performances help a lot, with handsome Sands quite appealing as Johnny and Vivian Austin displaying sauciness if not a lot of sex appeal as Toni. Geraldine Wall had several flavorful appearances on Perry Mason some years later, and likable and adept Frank Orth had nearly 200 credits in his long career. Don Castle had quite a few credits as well, one of them being Roses Are Red. If anything Born to Speed makes clear that racing is perhaps one of the stupidest ways to make a living! 

Verdict: Another PRC non-winner. **. 

THE MASKS: TWILIGHT ZONE

Robert Keith

THE TWILIGHT ZONE Season Five, Episode twenty-five. The Masks (1964). Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Ida Lupino. 

Although "The Masks," written by Rod Serling, is hardly one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, it does have several points of interest. The plot has to do with a wealthy and grumpy man named Jason Foster (Robert Keith) who is on his death bed. His greedy, unloving relatives -- daughter Emily (Virginia Gregg), her husband Wilfred (Milton Selzer) and their adult children Paula (Brooke Hayward) and Wilfred Jr. (Alan Sues) -- arrive in Jason's New Orleans mansion during Mardi Gras, and he insists that all four of them put on and wear these grotesque masks until midnight -- or they will be cut out of the will. 

Brooke Hayward as the vain Paula

Okay, let's assume that this will and Jason's edict is enforceable, which is extremely unlikely, or that a dying man would even have time to change his will in the first place, I have always had other problems with this episode. Even an eight-year-old will realize that when the relatives take off their masks at midnight, their faces will be as hideous as the masks. But do these people, as greedy and frivolous as they may be, really deserve permanent disfigurement? They aren't child murderers, for heaven's sake. And one has to wonder exactly what kind of father Jason was in the first place, as he seems distinctly unpleasant from the beginning (admittedly, people on their death beds will probably not be happy campers, but still ... ) One can't imagine any kind of loving father wanting to impose such a cruel fate on his own daughter and grandchildren; disinheriting them would have been more than enough. Serling's teleplay lacks any kind of final twist that would give the nasty old fart his due. 

The masks come off at midnight

Still, whatever its obvious flaws, The Masks features excellent ensemble acting from the entire cast. Keith was a fine actor who never quite became famous but graced many productions with his talent, as did Virginia Gregg and Milton Selzer. Although I was never a particular fan of Alan Sues of Laugh-In, in this he is nearly unrecognizable and gives a very good account of himself. Brooke Hayward was the daughter of the great Margaret Sullavan and proves that she inherited a lot of her mother's ability. There are people who think this is one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, but with its stereotypes and lopsided morality I would have to rank it as a well-acted failure. As she does with this episode, Ida Lupino generally proved a better director of TV episodes than she did of feature films. 

Verdict: Stay away from awful old men with money. **1/4. 

JENNIFER

Lisa Pelican

JENNIFER (1978). Director: Brice Mack. 

Jennifer Baylor (Lisa Pelikan) lives with her father, Luke (Jeff Corey), who runs a pet shop and is a borderline religious fanatic. Years ago Jennifer had the "gift," a power over snakes, which she seems to have lost. Jennifer attends an exclusive girls school on a scholarship, and innocently provokes the enmity of some of her classmates, especially a blond sociopath named Sandra (Amy Johnstone), whose camp follower is a chubby gal named Jane (Louise Hoven). When Sandra and her friends go too far with Jennifer, she unleashes her powers against them to exact revenge. 

Amy Johnstone and Louise Hoven

Jennifer is clearly modeled on the far superior Carrie, with many of the same elements from that more successful and original picture. However, this movie still retains a bit of power in its depiction of the sheer loathsomeness of some of the antagonists, the evils of peer pressure, and the reckless and entitled, even criminal attitude, of teenagers with too much money and little common sense or compassion. In fact, there's so much nastiness on hand that at times it seems like overkill. One effective sequence shows a trembling Jane on the phone with her tired, uncaring mother after the former has been sexually assaulted. (She and Jennifer eventually become allies.) Sequences like this have a certain power, and Jennifer might have worked as a dramatic film if it had stuck to that. 

Nina Foch, Amy Johnstone, John Gavin

Unfortunately, Jennifer is a horror film, and when it comes time to deliver the vengeance a la Carrie, the movie becomes laughably bad. Poor Lisa Pelikan is forced to adopt an attitude like a super-villainess casting spells, and the whole sequence is shot so poorly that you can hardly make out what's happening in any case. This insured that even if audiences liked the rest of the film, they went home sorely disappointed, although there is some catharsis in watching a few of the participants get their comeuppance. This includes the horrible, money-hungry headmistress, Mrs. Calley (Nina Foch), whose death isn't nearly miserable enough to suit most viewers. 

Nina Foch in outsized glasses

As for the acting, Lisa Pelikan -- while no Sissy Spacek in terms of presence -- gives a good enough performance, although in her uncompromising portrait of the unsavory Mrs. Calley Nina Foch walks off with the acting honors. Next is Amy Johnstone, who is blond viciousness personified, and Louise Hoven as the chubby girl who wants acceptance but finds she has made a deal with the devil. Jeff Corey is okay as the father, and John Gavin has a couple of scenes as Sandra's clueless and essentially uncaring father, Senator Tremayne. Burt Convy is amiable as the pleasant teacher, Mr. Reed, who tries to befriend Jennifer, and Ray Underwood is effective as Dayton, the venomous Sandra's equally psychopathic boyfriend. A small role is played by Cher's younger sister, Georganne LaPiere. The film holds the attention but its deliberate pacing may have some viewers hitting the stop button long before it's over.

Verdict: Another Carrie clone which has good scenes and acting but doesn't deliver in the long run. **1/4.