HOLD THAT GHOST

Joan Davis and Lou Costello

HOLD THAT GHOST (1941). Director: Arthur Lubin. Colorized. 

Chuck (Bud Abbott) and Ferdy (Lou Costello) discover that a dead gangster has left them all of his loot, if they can only find it in the crumbling old mansion where it is hidden. The two fellows travel by auto to the place, whereupon other passengers in the car are stranded along with them due to a storm. These passengers include professional radio screamer, Camille (Joan Davis), pretty Norma (Evelyn Ankers of Captive Wild Woman), Dr. Jackson (Richard Carlson of Tormented), and some uninvited ghosts -- or guests. Some of the gangster's associates want the dough for themselves and won't stop at murder to get it!

Those teeth! Patti Andews sings "Aurora"

A cut below the Abbott and Costello classic, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this is still an amusing if often very silly movie. Some of the gags -- such as a bit with a bedroom transforming into a mini-casino  and vice versa -- go on ad nauseam, but there are also funny scenes such as a dance routine between Davis and Costello, who make an amusing team. Others in the cast include Mischa Auer as a dyspeptic club manager, Ted Lewis as a singer and master of ceremonies, Marc Lawrence as a hood, and the Andrews Sisters doing a couple of snappy numbers, including "Aurora."  

Verdict: Amiable nonsense with the lovable comedy team -- and the Andrews Sisters! **3/4. 

TORMENTED

Richard Carlson and Lugene Sanders

TORMENTED (1960). Director: Bert I. Gordon. Colorized.  

Artist Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) wants to marry into a wealthy family and has gotten engaged to Meg Hubbard (Lugene Sanders). But what to do about his girlfriend, Vi (Juli Reding of Why Must I Die?), who objects to his plans and tries to blackmail him? Fortunately for him the railing gives way on the balcony outside of an abandoned lighthouse where they have secret rendezvous, and Vi finds herself falling to the rocks below. Tom could have reached out and saved her, but chooses not to. Soon Tom is seeing images of the dead woman and hearing her voice everywhere he goes. Her ghost is determined to keep him from going through with the wedding plans ... 

Carlson at the lighthouse

Bert Gordon didn't just direct movies about big people and creatures, but also helmed a few thrillers of varying types. While the premise may not be terribly original, Tormented has a good plot, more than decent performances -- Carlson is especially good -- and is quite entertaining. One especially good sequence has Carlson's blind landlady (Lillian Adams) trying to communicate with the ghost -- which she definitely believes in -- in the aforementioned spooky lighthouse. A bit with the ghost's disembodied head showing up isn't quite as effective. This was the last credit (of four) for Hubbard, who is not classically beautiful but is nevertheless appealing and talented. Susan Gordon, who plays her younger sister, was the director's daughter, and is fine. Another notable cast member is Joe Turkel, who plays a sleazy blackmailer. As usual, the contributions of composer Albert Glasser and cinematographer Ernest Laszlo are not to be discounted. 

Verdict: No giant monsters but the flick is still fun. ***. 

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

Stunning portrait of the Gill Man

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954). Director: Jack Arnold. Colorized.  

A group of scientists go the Amazon to search for more fossils from a presumably extinct creature, possibly the missing link. Dr. Reed (Richard Carlson), his girlfriend, Kay (Julie Adams) Dr, Maia (Antonio Moreno), Dr. Thompson (Whit Bissell), and the ambitious project head Dr. Williams (Richard Denning) should have known something was up after they find the torn bodies of Maia's crew, but they proceed to the "black lagoon" where this creature hangs out anyway, upon the advice of ship's captain, Lucas (Nestor Paiva). Williams wants to capture the creature and bring it back to civilization for study, but as this clawed and dangerous animal begins to decimate the members of the party, this seems more and more unlikely ... 

the gill man is fascinated by Kay swimming above

Creature from the Black Lagoon gets points for being something decidedly different from the other Universal monsters. Although at times the creature looks perhaps more comical than frightening, he is still a formidable figure. Creature is often illogical -- and forget about the "science" of the piece -- but that doesn't matter up against the tension and atmosphere that the film often generates. The best scene has the lonely gill man (why does no one wonder if he has a mate or if there are others of its kind in the vicinity?) swimming underneath Kay and reaching out to nearly touch her, a strangely erotic moment. 

Denning, Paiva, Adams, Carlson

The acting is credible even if no one in the film has much of a reaction to the horrible deaths of the hired men, and the characters only seem to show emotion towards the end when one of their number is mauled. The colorization process is generally good on the version I watched, giving the film a new dimension, and helping with the often murky underwater scenes. The blasting musical score, from a variety of sources, helps put over some of the slower sequences. There were two sequels to this film, although neither were as good, and a projected remake never materialized. Originally shown in 3-D.

Verdict: Entertaining classic horror flick with a very lively and unusual monster. ***. 

THREE FOR JAMIE DAWN

Thankless role: Marilyn Simms

THREE FOR JAMIE DAWN (1956). Director: Thomas Carr.

In New York City socialite Jamie Dawn (Marilyn Simms) loses her temper -- to put it mildly -- and puts about as many bullets into her man as Bette Davis did in The Letter. Before long Jamie is being represented by defense lawyer Martin Random (Richard Carlson of The Magnetic Monster), who decides the only thing he can do to get dear Jamie off is to bribe as many witnesses as he can. He and his associate Murph (Regis Toomey) zero in one three especially vulnerable individuals: George Lorenz (Ricardo Montalban of Mystery Street), who has a wife, Sue (Laraine Day) and children as well as severe financial troubles; Lorrie Delacourt (June Havoc), an out-of-work actress who is desperate for a new part in a hit play; and Anton Karek (Eduard Franz of Sins of Jezebel), a Czech with a wife, Julia (Maria Palmer), and a young son who is still behind the iron curtain. Which if any of these needy people will succumb to Murph's entreaties and bribery? And will they be worse or better off it they do?

June Havoc and Tristram Coffin

One can only imagine what actress Marilyn Simms might have thought when she was told she had the title role in Three for Jamie Dawn, but then read the script and saw she had not a single line of dialogue. No wonder the poor woman only had two credits despite her distinctive appearance. As for the other actors, Carlson is effective if a little too obvious as the sleazy lawyer, but the other performances cannot be faulted. June Havoc scores as the flamboyant and desperate actress -- Tristram Coffin who essays a playwright, is also notable  -- Montalban proves again that he was more than a Latin Lover boy; Day is lovely as his wife; and Franz and Palmer are perfect as the couple who are dying to see their little boy again. Regis Toomey gives one of his best performances as the equally sleazy Murph, all surface charm and heartless bravado. Dorothy Adams has a good turn as an associate of the defendant. The picture is absorbing and suspenseful, it not quite top-notch. Nice theme music by Walter Scharf. Thomas Carr also directed The Daltons' Women.

Verdict: Good story line, interesting characters, and some fine performances in this. **3/4. 

WHISPERING SMITH VS. SCOTLAND YARD

WHISPERING SMITH VS. SCOTLAND YARD (aka Whispering Smith Hits London/1952). Director: Francis Searle. 

Famous American detective Steve "Whispering" Smith (Richard Carlson) comes to England for a Welsch vacation but is immediately importuned to solve a murder in London. A young woman named Sylvia has been found drowned, an apparent suicide, but her father is convinced it was murder. His secretary, Ann Carter (Rona Anderson of The Flaw), begs Smith to take the case but at first he seems more interested in romancing her. Smith goes about interviewing several people who knew Sylvia: her lawyer, Hector Reith (Alan Wheatley); her fiance, a puppeteer named Roger Ford (Herbert Lom of Mysterious Island); and one of her best friends, Louise Balfour (Greta Gynt). When someone tries to run over Smith and Ann it's clear that somebody is violently opposed to his investigation. 

Richard Carlson and Greta Gynt

Whispering Smith, a character first introduced in a novel and then in movies, was actually a 19th century railroad detective known for being rather quiet, hence "whispering." Alan Ladd played the part in a 1942 western. In this one-shot movie starring Richard Carlson the character has been updated to the 20th century, but he doesn't seem very quiet, but rather brash in the way of most American private eyes. Carlson gives a very good performance, Rona  Anderson is cute and charming, Greta Gynt radiates a certain sensuality and menace, and Wheatley and Lom make convincing antagonists; Lom is especially effective, as usual. Reginald Beckwith [Doctor in Love] is cast as a man who was a victim of vicious blackmail. Usually a comic figure, he gives a good, if brief, dramatic performance in this. An interesting element has to do with a sinister nursing home called Star Opaque, which is actually a mayhem-for-hire outfit run by the creepy Dr. Taren (Daniel Wherry). An early production from Hammer studios, this is better than their usual mysteries, well-acted, with an interesting plot (even if the ending is not that big a surprise) and characters and a swift pace. Nice score by Fred Spencer.

Verdict: Some more Whispering Smith films with Carlson would have been welcome. ***. 

THE MAGNETIC MONSTER

THE MAGNETIC MONSTER (1953). Director: Curt Siodmak. Produced and co-written by Siodmak and Ivan Tors. 

Dr. Jeffrey Stewart (Richard Carlson) is an "A-Man" or investigator for the Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI). He and his partner Dan Forbes (King Donovan of Invasion of the Body Snatchers) are called in when a store owner (Byron Foulger) complains about weird magnetic disturbances terrifying his salespeople. The magnetic disruption is traced to an office upstairs where a dead man is found. Stewart discovers that scientist Harold Decker (Leonard Mudie) has somehow created a strange new element that needs massive amounts of electricity to keep it from imploding, causing mass destruction. Stewart manages to get the element from a dying Decker and off of an airplane before it can cause it to crash, but just when he thinks the danger is over there is a disaster at the facility where it is being stored. Growing in size (although never to gigantic proportions) the element will implode every eleven hours, eventually changing the earth's very orbit and boiling away the seas. Can anything destroy this "monster" before it destroys the world? 

The Magnetic Monster may not have giant spiders munching on mankind but it's horrifying enough in its own way, adeptly building up tension and suspense until the final nail-biting moments in a cyclotron deep in a mineshaft. Richard Carlson is the perfect lead for this kind of picture, radiating efficiency and concern in equal measure, and he gets good support from Donovan and Jean Byron as his wife. Others in the cast include Michael Fox as Dr. Semy, who consults with Stewart, and Kathleen Freeman, of all people, as a switchboard operator at the OSI. Billy Benedict of Blonde Dynamite is amusing, as usual, as one of the salesclerks in Foulger's store, and Foulger himself always strikes the right note. Siodmak directs at a swift pace. He was also responsible, unfortunately, for Bride of the Gorilla. 

Verdict: Surprisingly creepy and absorbing, and not a dull moment. ***1/4.