13 GHOSTS

Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods, Martin Milner

13 GHOSTS (1960). Produced and directed by William Castle. Colorized. 

Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods of The Black Doll), who works in a museum, inherits a house from his late uncle, a researcher in spirits. Cyrus movies his wife and two children into the spooky manor, then learns that his uncle actually collected ghosts and they are haunting the place! A special viewer that resembles weird binoculars enables Cyrus to see the ghosts, which include a headless lion tamer, the lion, an axe murderer, and others. But Cyrus may have more problems besides ghosts -- the uncle left a fortune in the house and a certain individual will stop at nothing to get his hands on it, including murder!

Martin Milner and Jo Morrow

13 Ghosts is a fun movie that may, at times, be sillier than it needs to be even if it occasionally has a darker tone to it as well. Woods is fine as the hapless Cyrus, and he gets good support from Rosemary DeCamp as his wife, Jo Morrow as his daughter, and Charles Herbert as his little boy, Buck, not to mention Martin Milner as an amiable lawyer who dates Morrow and befriends her brother. John Van Dreelen (of The Leech Woman) is Wood's boss -- smooth as ever -- and Margaret Hamilton is adequate as the crusty housekeeper.  Jo Morrow, a very appealing actress, also co-starred in The Three Worlds of Gulliver. 

Verdict: One of Castle's better movies. ***. 

THE BLACK DOLL

Donald Woods

THE BLACK DOLL (1938). Director: Otis Garrett.

Nelson Rood (C. Henry Gordon) discovers a sinister black doll in his study and figures it has something to do with a man he murdered many years ago. He calls his former partners to his lavish estate where he lives with his daughter, Marian (Nan Grey), his sister Laura (Doris Lloyd), her son, Rex (William Lundigan), and the maid Rosita and butler Esteban (Fred Malatesta and Inez Palange). Rood's former partners include Mallison (Addison Richards) and the highly nervous, near-hysterical Walling (John Wray). When Rudd gets a knife thrown in his back, Sheriff Renick (Edgar Kennedy) takes charge of the investigation, but the one who solves the case will be Marion's boyfriend and former private eye, Nick Halstead (Donald Woods of The Lost Volcano).

Nan Grey in a tense moment

The Black Doll is a typical thirties murder mystery with bodies dropping out of closets and the like, stereotypes like the ne-er-do-well nephew who cashes bad checks and the idiotic, dyspeptic police officer, helpless, dumb deputy and so on. As leading man, Donald Woods is pleasant if a trifle bland, but the other performances are all adept enough. I suppose Edgar Kennedy does his comic schtick quite well but it just isn't that funny. Nick seems to come to conclusions without their being a shred of supporting evidence. I confess when the killer is revealed I hadn't the vaguest idea of why he done it. Based on a Crime Club novel that is even more forgotten than this movie.

Verdict: You really won't care who done it. **. 

THE LOST VOLCANO

Johnny Sheffield as Bomba

THE LOST VOLCANO (1950). Director: Ford Beebe. 

Paul and Ruth Gordon (Donald Woods and Marjorie Lord) are troubled by reports that their young son, David (Tommy Ivo), has an "imaginary" friend named Bomba (Johnny Sheffield). David argues that Bomba actually exists, and his friend, the maid Nona (Elena Verdugo) concurs. The Gordons aren't crazy about their son running around the jungle in a loincloth accompanied by Bomba, but they quickly change their tune once David is kidnapped. Previously Bomba had taken David to a secret location, an extinct -- or "lost" -- volcano inside which is hidden treasure, and now two hunters, Barton (John Ridgely) and Higgins (Don C. Harvey), want David to take them there -- or else. As his parents and Nona search frantically for the missing boy, Bomba comes to the rescue, but an earthquake and bullets may cause a problem ... 

Tommy Ivo and Donald Woods

The Lost Volcano is an entertaining Bomba programmer with Sheffield appealing as the jungle "boy" and a climax that has lots of action. The movie judiciously uses lots of stock footage, although there are times when one can't quite place the actors in true relationship to their surroundings, a typical problem with low-budget movies. Despite this, the movie is fun due to its fast pace and generally spirited cast. There is a humungous python that wraps itself around one of the villains, tunnels and caverns full of skeletons and jewels, and an unexpected eruption with lava flows, adding up to an effective climax. Little Tommy Ivo amassed 85 credits, and then retired to become a professional race car driver. 

Verdict: Not bad Bomba feature with pleasant players. **3/4.