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.