KING KONG (2005).

KING KONG (2005). Director: Peter Jackson.

Although better by far than the first remake that starred Jessica Lange, this isn't as good as the 1933 original, despite some exciting sequences and outstanding visual effects work. The movie has a slow and tedious opening that borders on the campy approach of the Lange version. The leads are all miscast as well. Jack Black might be fine for a Saturday Night Live parody of the movie, but as a leading man in a serious motion picture he's completely ludicrous and even amateurish. Adrien Brody is a better actor but really adds nothing to the movie. Lead actress Naomi Watts , who plays Ann, is a bit of a lightweight. The movie picks up a bit once our voyagers arrive at Kong's island, although the first appearance of Kong is muffed, much less dramatic than in the original picture. Once the action starts, however, it rarely stops, and some of the sequences are astounding: a harrowing stampede of brontosauri (or apatosauri); Ann and a Tyrannosaurus Rex swinging past one another on vines as the dinosaur repeatedly attempts to snatch her into its jaws; the nightmarish scenes in the pit where the sailors are gruesomely dispatched by monstrous prehistoric insects. 

As in the Lange version, more of a rapport is developed between Ann and the Big Ape, which leads to a lot of nonsense that was not in the original. Kong may not have asked to have been shanghaied to New York but it's hard to feel sorry for him when so many innocent people have been killed during his rampage (including not one but three helpless blonds that he tosses aside to their presumed deaths). This dopey “animal rights” undertone gives the movie a pretentious and airy ambiance in its final moments. Fay Wray was just glad to get away from the monster; she didn't get all upset when it died! The musical scoring is bland and inept, only reminding one of the masterful work of Max Steiner for the original.

Verdict: Watch the 1933 version instead. **1/2.

NOW OUT IN PAPERBACK -- JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY

Joan Crawford in Strait-Jacket

Just released is a spanking new trade paperback edition of JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY, which I co-authored with Lawrence J. Quirk.        

I mention the book on B Movie Nightmare because Joan appeared in a number of horror films, chief among them What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? She almost appeared in Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, but couldn't deal with Bette Davis (and vice versa). She instead did William Castle's zesty Strait-Jacket and I Saw What You Did, then wound up in Herman Cohen's productions of Berserk and the awful Trog. She was quite good in some of these movies, not as good in others. She really didn't think much of her horror period -- far from the glamorous days of her Hollywood past -- although she did want to do Baby Jane and even went to Davis to ask if she'd do it with her. 

As the publisher, University Press of Kentucky, puts it: 

"Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography explores the life and career of one of Hollywood's great dames. She was a leading film personality for more than fifty years, from her beginnings as a dancer in silent films of the 1920s, to her portrayals of working-class shop girls in the Depression thirties, to her Oscar-winning performances in classic films such as Mildred Pierce. Crawford's legacy, however, has become somewhat tarnished in the wake of her daughter Christina's memoir, Mommie Dearest, which turned her into a national joke. Today, many picture Crawford only as a wire-hanger-wielding shrew rather than the personification of Hollywood glamour. 

"This new biography of Crawford sets the record straight, going beyond the gossip to find the truth about the legendary actress. The authors knew Crawford well and conducted scores of interviews with her and many of her friends and co-stars, including Frank Capra, George Cukor, Nicholas Ray, and Sidney Greenstreet. Far from a whitewash―Crawford was indeed a colorful and difficult character― Joan Crawford corrects many lies and tells the story of one of Hollywood's most influential stars, complete with on-set anecdotes and other movie lore.

"Through extensive interviews, in-depth analysis, and evaluation of her films and performances―both successes and failures―Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell present Crawford's story as both an appreciation and a reevaluation of her extraordinary life and career. This fascinating book tells the behind-the-scenes story of one of Hollywood's great dames."

You can buy a copy on amazon or elsewhere.  

DRACULA (2006)

 

DRACULA (2006). Director: Bill Eagles. Presented on Masterpiece Theatre.

Although this adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel takes a great many liberties, it is still a very well-done and entertaining version of the classic story. In this a Lord Holmwood (Dan Stevens) is engaged to Lucy Westenra (Sophia Myles) when he discovers that he was born with syphilis due to his infected parents. His far-fetched, if intriguing (and never really fully explained) solution is to bring Dracula to England from Transylvania because he believes the evil being can somehow cure his infected blood. Dracula, of course, has other ideas. 

In this generally fast-moving, somewhat sexed-up version of the story (see photo), Marc Warren makes an interesting alternative Dracula (very different from both Lugosi and Christopher Lee, and younger than either), while Dan Stevens and Stephanie Leonidas (as Mina Murray) play with great passion and conviction. Rafe Spall and Tom Burke also score as, respectively, Jonathan Harker (it is he who embarks on the journey to Dracula's castle) and Dr. John Seward, a friend of Holmwood's and Lucy's. David Suchet, who brilliantly played Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, offers another of his incisive characterizations as Abraham Van Helsing. While the definitive version of Stoker's novel has never been made, this is -- as heretical as it sounds -- much more entertaining that the Lugosi version. 

Verdict: Very creditable. ***.

THE PERFECT ASSISTANT

THE PERFECT ASSISTANT (2008 telefilm). Director: Douglas Jackson. 

Rachel Partson (Josie Davis) is an excellent assistant to ad exec David Westcott (Chris Potter) but she's harboring a secret. She is so pathologically in love with the man that she's willing to resort to anything, including murder, to have him for herself. This quite entertaining teleflick gets across the anguish, hope and delusional state of unrequited love so strongly that you almost find yourself feeling sorry for a woman who is otherwise not very sympathetic. It doesn't hurt that Josie Davis gives a terrific performance as the sociopathic assistant. The premise of a deranged woman out to get a man by any means necessary is a popular and familiar one, but The Perfect Assistant is one of the better films on the subject. Rachel Hunter plays one of Westcott's associates. 

 Verdict: Absorbing and suspenseful. ***.

THIRTEEN FRIGHTENED GIRLS

 13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS (1963). Director: William Castle.

Candace Hull (Kathy Dunn) is an American diplomat's daughter who attends Miss Pittford's Academy for Young Ladies along with many other diplomats' daughters. Her best friend is Mai-Ling (Lynne Sue Moon), whose father is Red Chinese. Candy has a big crush on Wally Sanders (Murray Hamilton of Jaws fame), who works for the state department and may soon be out of a job. When a murder occurs while Candy is visiting Mai-Ling in the Chinese embassy, Candy decides to become a spy -- code-named "Kitten" -- so that she can help Wally out of his career problems. If it all sounds pretty awful, believe me it is -- but not bad enough to be good. This is one of the few William Castle films that has virtually no entertainment value. Kathy Dunn is so shrill and whiny at times that you want to slap her; Lynne Sue Moon is cute and charming, however. Candy's obsession with Wally is inexplicable when there are handsome guys closer to her own age in the movie, with whom she flirts -- but only as part of her spy activities. Hugh Marlowe of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers plays Candy's dad. Joyce Taylor of Atlantis the Lost Continent and who also (badly) played "Rappaccini's Daughter" in Twice-Told Tales, plays Wally's fiancee. Alexandra Bastedo and Judy Pace are two of the girls who became somewhat better known years later. Khigh Dhiegh plays Kang, Mei-Ling's uncle. 90 minutes of your life you can never get back. 

Verdict: Read a Nancy Drew book instead. *.

THROUGH NAKED EYES

 

David Soul

THROUGH NAKED EYES (1983 telefilm). Director: John Llewellyn Moxey. 

In an apartment complex in Chicago, an unknown murderer is killing both men and women. One of the chief suspects is flautist William Parrish (David Soul), who uses binoculars to watch a neighbor, Anne (Pam Dawber), across the way and discovers that she is looking at him with a telescope. Eventually the two meet, even as obnoxious Sgt. Scopetta (Gerald Castillo) follows Parrish' every move and even warns Anne about him. Anne is convinced that William is just a nice, lonely guy with artistic abilities but then she discovers some photographs in his possession ... 

Pam Dawber and David Soul

Through Naked Eyes, written by Jeffrey Bloom, is a better-than-average TV movie with some good performances and a considerable amount of suspense. The biggest problem with the film is that it has no style, even though it somewhat apes Brian De Palma (although De Palma's Body Double did not come out until a year later) and Dario Argento -- minus the gore. Soul never gives away whether he is guilty or not, Dawber is bland but effective, and William Schallert steals the film as Parrish' father, who is given a very affecting, well-delivered speech in which he tries to address the gap between the two men and the lonely life that he, too, is living. The telefilm is capped by an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Supporting and bit roles are played by Rod McCary, Dennis Farina, John Mahoney, and Ted Levine. The plot of this film has some similarities to the Italian film The Case of the Bloody Iris. 

Verdict: Absorbing thriller with an interesting storyline. ***. 

UNDERSEA GIRL

Florence Marly and the gang

UNDERSEA GIRL (1957). Director: John Peyser.  

Members of a gang led by Sam Marvin (Ralph Clanton) are after loot that comes from a sunken Navy ship. Reporter Valerie Hudson (Mara Corday of Tarantula) is trying to get info for her story from Lt. Mike Travis (Dan Seymour) and Naval investigator Brad Chase (Pat Conway), Val's on again/off again boyfriend. Apparently Brad wants Val to stop this foolishness and just shut up and marry him. Meanwhile Sam's girlfriend, Leila (Florence Marly) seems to be playing him against nasty Eric Nelson (Myron Healey of Panther Girl of the Kongo), who has his own plans for the money hidden in an underwater cave.

Pat Conway and Mara Corday

Well I won't quite say that watching Undersea Girl is like watching paint dry, but it's not all that much better. You would think a movie with gangs, hidden treasure, underwater attacks and murder, a gun moll and a brash lady reporter would be a lot more interesting than it is. Corday gives her usual spirited performance; Florence Marley is as odd as ever; Pat Conway -- son of director Jack Conway -- is okay as the hero; he was also in Deadly Mantis but had mostly television credits. Myron Healey actually does some of his best work as the sociopathic and slimy Nelson. Undersea Girl plays like a low-budget and uninspired TV production, which comes as no great surprise as director John Peyser mostly helmed episodes of TV shows. 

Verdict: Even Florence Marley  of Queen of Blood can't save this one! **. 

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY

John Rockwell as Superboy

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY (1961 TV pilot). Director: George Blair. 

In Smallville, Clark Kent goes to school with friends Lana Lang (Bunny Henning) and Jimmy Drake (Jimmy Bates). Jimmy is embarrassed to tell the class that his father, Mr. Drake (Ross Elliott), is only the doorman at the local bijou. No one is aware that the mild-mannered Clark, who keeps disappearing, is secretly the dynamic Superboy. For a movie premiere in Smallville (one of the cast members comes from there), some real diamonds worth $200,000 are exhibited in front of the theater, and stolen. Superboy asks for Mr. Drake's help in capturing the criminals and getting the jewels back, and his son develops an even greater appreciation of his dad. 

John Rockwell and Ross Elliott

Produced, I believe, by the same people who did George Reeves' The Adventures of Superman, this series -- had it gone beyond the pilot episode -- is similarly earthbound, with few of the elements that made the Superboy comic book run for so many years. Instead we have a human interest story with some mild special effects and a heart-warming quality that is typical of fifties television. John Rockwell is handsome and reasonably impressive as Superboy, and seems uncomfortable playing his alter ego. Bunny Henning doesn't really have much of a chance to get across the somewhat obnoxious qualities of Lana Lang. Bates is fine as young Jimmy and Ross Elliott, forgoing his hairpiece, also makes an impression as his likable and admirable father. George Blair also directed Exposed. Decades later, when FX capabilities had greatly improved, Superboy finally became a series. 

Verdict: Probably would have made a pleasant if unmemorable series. **1/2. 

SON OF DR. JEKYLL

SON OF DR. JEKYLL (1951). Director: Seymour Friedman. 

Edward Jekyll (Louis Hayward) discovers that he is the son of the notorious Dr. Jekyll of Jekyll/Hyde notoriety. He finds his father's note books and for reasons that are never explained, decides to continue his experiments, even down to drinking the dangerous formula. (Apparently brains don't run in the Jekyll family.) Meanwhile Dr. Lanyon (Alexander Knox), a friend of the late Dr. Jekyll, hovers about looking ominous. Although Edward does briefly turn into Mr. Hyde, this is less a horror film than a mystery. When the secret is revealed, it occurs to the viewer that everything could have been avoided if only a certain party hadn't stupidly told Edward who he really was. In any case, a somewhat similar premise was used for the superior Daughter of Dr. Jekyll six years later; although Son itself does hold the attention, has atmosphere, and is not without entertainment value. Well-acted by Hayward and the rest of the cast, which includes Paul Cavanagh [Bride of the Gorilla] as an inspector. Paul Sawtell contributed a nice score. 

Verdict: Has its moments but Daughter is more fun. **1/2.

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1943)

Talbot, Lowery and Duncan

BATMAN AND ROBIN (15 chapter Columbia serial/1943). Director: Spencer Bennet. 

An unknown enemy called the Wizard (voice of Gerald Mohr, I believe)  employs a device that can take over control of any moving vehicle from afar. Later he develops the ability to turn invisible and can really get up to mischief! The Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (Johnny Duncan) find there are a number of suspects who could be the nefarious Wizard: Professor Hammil (William Fawcett), who may not be stuck in a wheelchair as he pretends; his houseman Carter (Leonard Penn); the inventor Morton (Marshall Bradford); radio announcer Barry Brown (Rick Vallin), who seems to know a lot more about the Wizard's activities than he should; and others.

The Wizard plots

Suspenseful, exciting, and quite well-done in all departments, Batman and Robin is one of the best-ever Columbia serials, and one of the best cliffhangers ever made period. Lowery and Duncan impersonate the Dark Knight and his ward to near-perfection; Jane Adams and George Offerman Jr. are notable as reporter Vicki Vale and her ill-fated brother, Jimmy; and even Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon is better than usual. There is no batmobile in this serial, but we do have the batcave and its entrance through a grandfather clock. Cliffhanger sequences include Batman being forced to shoot Robin; a room that rapidly fills with a deadly gas, trapping our heroes; and Batman falling off of a cliff after being electrofried. The serial also has terrific theme music, although the composer is uncredited. 

Verdict: Far superior to and a lot more fun than the sixties TV show and many of the movies that followed. ***1/2. 

THUNDER IN CAROLINA

Rory Calhoun at the wheel

THUNDER IN CAROLINA (1960). Director: Paul Helmick. 

Race car driver Mitch Cooper (Rory Calhoun) has an accident on the track, breaks his foot, and smashes his auto. He decides to cool his heels for awhile and looks up an old friend but discovers that he's passed away. The garage that friend used to own is now owned by Les York (Race Gentry) and his wife Rene (Connie Hines), who invite him to stay. Les helps Mitch fix his car and importunes him to let him race it as well, although Rene is not crazy about having to become the camp follower of a race car driver. Still she goes along with the idea, becoming as worried about other women as she is about Les being injured or killed. 

Race Gentry, Calhoun, Connie Hines

Despite the title, Thunder in Carolina is an awfully dull picture. Even the climax which employs real footage from a race track is put together in such a way as to minimize thrills. This was the second of only two films helmed by Paul Helmick, who isn't able to do much to save the film. The occasional provocative sequence -- Mitch thinking a woman in the motel shower is an old girlfriend when it's really Rene and an catfight that never really materializes -- are too minor to amount to much. Supposed to be a hell-raiser and lover boy, Mitch basically takes a back seat to Les York's activities, which would scarcely raise an eyebrow. Race Gentry was a handsome if limited actor who had a few credits, mostly on television; he makes a favorable impression in this. Connie Hines was introduced in this film but she had over a dozen television credits beforehand. This was her only theatrical feature and she is much better known for the TV series Mr. Ed. Alan Hale Jr. is fine as a mechanic on the track and a friend of Mitch's. Many of the cast members only appeared in this one movie. 

Verdict: Even an attractive cast can't save this stinker. **.

THE EVIL DEAD

THE EVIL DEAD (1981). Written and directed by Sam Raimi. 

Ashley (Bruce Campbell) and four friends travel to an isolated cabin in the woods where they discover and play a tape recording of incantations from the "Book of the Dead" which can resurrect demons. Which is exactly what happens. Before long -- and after one woman has apparently been raped by malevolent, moving roots -- the women in the party are possessed one by one by demonic forces that transform them and turn them into murderous, cackling hags that only dismemberment can kill. This is another in a long line of Exorcist-inspired films, and in its own way was also a bit influential, though it's much less impressive now than it seemed nearly thirty years ago. The movie, full of comic book gruesomeness, is like a nightmare come to life, and is sometimes effective and sometimes clumsy, often employing shock techniques that were old-fashioned even in 1981. Some feel the direction and camera work of the film are "masterful." Well ... not quite. Raimi's screenplay fails to provide three-dimensional characters. The true stars of the film are the FX people and the make up artists, whose work is excellent. Some of the acting is awkward, although Campbell isn't bad. The best scene has a paranoid Ash all alone in the cabin wondering what on earth is going to happen next. Raimi would go on to direct much better films. 

Verdict: Lively, once it gets going, but perhaps not lively enough. **1/2.

GARGOYLES

Cornel Wilde, Grayson Hall, Jennifer Salt

GARGOYLES (1972 telefilm). Director: Bill Norton. 

Dr. Mercer Boley (Cornel Wilde) and his daughter, Diana (Jennifer Salt), drive into the desert to seek out an old man (Woody Chambliss) who runs a museum of strange artifacts and has found a very weird skeleton. Just as Boley thinks the old man has put together a phony artifact, his home is attacked by a barely-seen creature that sets fire to the place and runs off. A motorcycle gang run by James Reeger (Scott Glenn) is accused of the crime, but Mercer and Diana know that there's something monstrous out there in the desert, or more to the point, in the caverns nearby. Boley has uncovered a nest of gargoyles, a demonic race that are intent on taking over the world. When Diana is kidnapped by the head gargoyle (a dubbed Bernie Casey), Mercer and the police track her to the caverns ... 

Scott Glenn protests his innocence

Gargoyles is pretty bad, which is a shame because it has some atmosphere in the beginning, as well as a workable plot, but it's just unconvincing and kind of cheapjack. Wilde and Salt do the best they can with the material, and Grayson Hall is fun as a slatternly motel owner who hopes to get a date with Wilde -- fat chance! Scott Glenn makes an impression as the motorbike guy who joins in the hunt for the gargoyles. The prologue to the film makes it sound as if this will be some kind of epic good vs. evil battle -- apparently the gargoyles were thrown down from Heaven and try to take over the world every several hundred years or so -- but this doesn't have the required budget to make it work. The overuse of slow-motion to depict action is a tiresome device that doesn't work at all. Director Bill Norton did a better job with False Arrest some years later.

Verdict: Another crappy 1970's made-for-TV horror flick that wastes its potential. **. 

CHILLERS

CHILLERS (1990 TV series). 

This French-English TV series with a foolish title is based on the work of novelist Patricia Highsmith of Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train fame. The title makes one imagine that this will be a series of scary stories, but while there are a few creepy moments, that is not exactly the case. The main trouble is that not all of Highsmith's short stories translate well to the screen, and when I looked up some of the stories that had been adapted, I didn't find the originals all that great, either. Flat wind-ups do not make for compelling episodes. Perhaps Highsmith worked better in the longer form, although there are many who might disagree. While none of the 12 episodes of this short-lived series -- hosted amiably by Anthony Perkins -- are outstanding, there are a few that are notable. "A Curious Suicide" has a man killing an old friend, now a widower, who married the woman he loved; Nicole Willamson and Barry Foster are excellent as the two principals. "Old Folks at Home" finds a middle-aged couple regretting it after they take in an elderly couple who at first seem sweet but then become more and more demanding. In "Sauce for the Goose" a woman murders her husband to be with a younger man, a singer, then winds up fearing for her own life. Ian Holm stars in "The Stuff of Madness" in which a woman has numerous pets stuffed and spread throughout her garden while her husband obsesses over an old flame. In "Under a Dark Angel's Eyes" a man isn't told that his hateful mother has died so he can keep paying the bills for the couple supposedly looking after her -- Ian Richardson and Peter Vaughn offer exemplary performances in this. 

Stephane Freiss in "Puzzle"

One episode, "The Thrill Seeker," I found too poor  to even finish. Two others are notable for vastly different reasons. "Puzzle" offers a fine performance by Stephane Freiss as Harry, a handsome executive who is caught between two attractive girlfriends who don't know about each other. Like many other episodes, this is entertaining but is not at all a "chiller" and also has a flat resolution. "The Day of Reckoning" is notable if only for the fact that it was helmed by well-known director Samuel Fuller. But the plot, a weird one about tensions between both humans and poultry at an automated chicken farm, is evocative but goes nowhere, becoming rather silly all told. I can only imagine what Fuller thought when he was handed the script!

Verdict: Some very good premises that initially stir the imagination but don't quite hold up for the most part. **1/2. 

TWINS OF EVIL

Madeleine and Mary Collinson

TWINS OF EVIL (1971). John Hough. 

Gustav Weil (pronounced "vile") -- played by Peter Cushing  of The Beast Must Die -- is a witch hunter who cares nothing about putting innocent women to death by burning. He has his hands full when his two nieces -- Maria and Freida (Madeleine and Mary Collinson) -- become his wards, as at least one of them has no intention of staying pure and virginal. Indeed she is fascinated by the decadent Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), who is not only a vampire but offers sacrifices to Satan. The choirmaster, Anton (David Warbeck), intervenes when the wrong twin is accused of being in league with Karnstein. Two sides of the same coin, Weil confronts Karnstein in the climax, but it's a question as to which of these loathsome creatures will ultimately win. 

Damien Thomas as Karnstein

Twins of Evil is a highly entertaining and well-mounted Hammer horror film. Peter Cushing offers his customary excellent performance, but while he gets away with being overwrought, the same is not true of some of the actors playing the church elders. The Collinson twins, who I believe posed for Playboy years ago and go bare-breasted in this, are certainly attractive and deliver adequate performances, although all of their dialogue was dubbed by unknown British actors. Damien Thomas is strikingly effective and simply wonderful as Count Karnstein, but although he had many other subsequent credits and is still working today, he never did another horror film, more's the pity. Warbeck, Kathleen Byron [Profile] as Weil's wife, Dennis Price [The Horror of It All] as Karnstein's associate Dietrich, are all notable as well. It's never explained how Karnstein, whose image can't be seen in a mirror, can walk about in broad daylight. This is the final film in the trilogy consisting of The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, and Twins.

Verdict: Blood, vampires, witch hunters, and boobs! ***. 

JESSE JAMES' WOMEN

Don "Red" Barry

JESSE JAMES' WOMEN (1954). Director: Don Barry. 

Jesse James (Don 'Red" Barry) and his gang are hiding out in a small western community where Jesse calls himself Mr. Woodsen. Jesse has an amazing ability to charm the ladies, but he also fleeces and cheats on them with abandon. This time he's juggling several gals: Waco Gans (Peggie Castle of Beginning of the End), who co-owns a saloon; the sexy singer, Delta (Lita Baron of High School Hero); Cattle Kate Kennedy (Betty Brueck), who wants money for her herd but may have a hard time keeping it away from Jesse; and Caprice Clark (Joyce Barrett), the daughter of the banker whose establishment Jesse robs with her complicity. While his brothers and fellow gang members argue with him and amongst themselves, Jesse may have trouble keeping all the ladies from killing each other and himself. 

Lita Baron, Barry, Peggie Castle

Jesse James' Women is actually a fun movie if you don't take it seriously. It borders on the edges of comedy and occasionally steps over, but that's perfectly okay in a movie of this nature. Barry doesn't exactly look like a lover boy, but he's fine in the role, and Peggie Castle makes her mark as the tough saloon gal who doesn't want any other women encroaching into her territory. Michael Carr and Jack Buetel score as, respectively, gang members Bob Ford and Frank James. An interesting aspect of the film is the fact that the protracted fight scene between Waco and Delta, which rivals the one in Destry, is longer than any of the fights between the guys. Waco and Cattle Kate even have a gun dual -- however, brief -- which is something the men never do. Lita Baron warbles a couple of tunes, including "Careless Love" by George Antheil!

Verdict: Surprisingly flavorful comedy-western-musical. ***. 

IN A DOOR, INTO A FIGHT, OUT A DOOR, INTO A CHASE

IN A DOOR, INTO A FIGHT, OUT A DOOR, INTO A CHASE: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door. William Witney. McFarland; 1996.

This generally pleasant if unspectacular memoir of director William Witney looks back at the early days of filmmaking and also covers his output for Republic Pictures in the forties. Witney directed or co-directed such classic cliffhangers as Dick Tracy, Zorro's Fighting Legion, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Drums of Fu Manchu, Spy Smasher, and many, many others. He hit upon the idea of having the stunt men choreograph their fights instead of simply swinging at each other with no forethought, resulting in much more exciting fight sequences. Witney describes what it was like working on the serials, the fast pace, getting around a low budget, assorted mishaps and near-accidents, and his opinion -- generally favorable but not always -- of some of the actors who starred in these cliffhangers. The book ends when the U.S. entered WW2, so there is no discussion of later projects Witney worked on, such as The Bonnie Parker Story, which in my opinion was better than the more famous Bonnie and Clyde. 

Verdict: Worth a read if a bit disappointing. **3/4. 

FALSE ARREST

Robert Wagner and Donna Mills

FALSE ARREST (2 part telefilm/1991). Director: Bill Norton. 

In Scottsdale, Joyce Lukezic (Donna Mills) is married to her husband Ron (Robert Wagner), who is stepfather to her two children. One night Ron's business partner is murdered, along with his mother-in-law; his wife is severely injured. At first it seems like a simple home invasion, but the authorities, led by Detective Dan Ryan (Steven Bauer), begin to focus in on Joyce, feeling she had the most to gain from the murders and may have hired the killers. Arrested, she faces nasty fellow inmates, and is even raped. Meanwhile Ron hands her pills in her hospital bed, suggesting that suicide might be the best way out for her! If possible, things get even worse for Joyce after she's convicted and sent to prison, with not a soul helping her but moral support from Nadine (Mimi Kuzyk), a sympathetic lesbian who falls for her. 

Mimi Kuzyk and Mills

False Arrest is a riveting true-crime telefilm with a good, if non-revelatory, lead performance from Mills. Robert Wagner gives one of the best performances of his career as the very slimy Ron, who basically runs off and leaves his step kids on their own. There is also very good work from Kuzyk, Bauer, George Hearn as a lawyer,  Dennis Christopher as a coke-addicted co-worker, and Lewis Van Bergen as Joyce's brother, Arnie, among others. Although Joyce was eventually acquitted in a second trial, she was never fully exonerated. This is based on her book about her trials and tribulations. 

Verdict: Absorbing true crime story with some on-target performances. ***.  

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. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE will be back in the New Year. 

Let's all hope 2021 is better than 2020! 

Get vaccinated! 

INTRUDERS

 

INTRUDERS (1992 two-part mini-series). Produced and directed by Dan Curtis. 

"Half the time you think you're going crazy. Half the time everyone thinks you are." 

Psychologist Dr. Neil Chase (Richard Crenna) encounters people who have had weird and frightening experiences that they can't explain or clearly remember, but it seems to point to alien abductions. The story focuses on Mary Wilkes (Mare Winningham), who is afraid the aliens might also have an interest in her young son, Timmy (Joseph and Christian Cousins); and Lesley Hahn (Daphne Ashbrook), who is at first thrilled at her pregnancy but then horrified after the aliens apparently take her baby. Chase learns that the government knows about the aliens but is denying everything until they know exactly what and who they're dealing with while the abductees suffer horribly. Chase risks his professional reputation by going public with what he knows. 

Marie Winningham

Many of the stories of alien abductions have been successfully debunked by now, with scientific explanations for much of what happens to the "victims," but this telefilm proceeds with the premise that the aliens and their experiments on humans are real. One man in a survivor's group hates the aliens and is sick of being treated like a guinea pig, while Mary, incredibly, comes to see the aliens -- who kidnap and experiment on people without their consent and steal their babies -- as having benign intent! Intruders examines all the usual conspiracy theories and folklore about alien abductions, and does a fairly good job of dramatizing them. The acting is more than adequate. Other cast members include everyone from Jason Beghe to Ben Vereen. The aliens themselves are strictly by way of Close Encounters. A sappy "happy" ending doesn't help. 

Verdict: All you need to know about alleged alien abductions. **1/2. 

TRICK

Omar Epps and Ellen Adair

TRICK (2019). Directed and co-written by Patrick Lussier. 

At a high school Halloween party one of the guests, Patrick Weaver (Thom Niemann), suddenly goes berserk, hacking and slashing at everyone and killing several people. Cheryl (Kristina Reyes) manages to subdue him and he is brought to the hospital, where he escapes after falling out of a window. Detective Mike Denver (Omar Epps) is convinced that Patrick -- known as "Trick" -- managed to survive a hail of bullets and a three-story fall, but Sheriff Lisa Jayne (Ellen Adair) isn't so certain. The police determine that "Patrick Weaver" never existed but have no clue as to who he really is. Each year on Halloween more murders occur, with Denver assuming "Trick" is behind them and Jayne thinking it has to be a copycat. After the grisly death of two FBI agents at the hands of Trick, Epps loses his job. but on the next Halloween night he is importuned to get involved again with the maniac he has now been pursuing for several years. Will he survive long enough to get the answers he seeks?

Trick at first seems to be an attempt to duplicate the success of Halloween and Michael Myers, with suggestions of the supernatural, but instead comes up with a reasonably clever -- if rather far-fetched -- explanation for the gruesome goings-on. The trouble with Trick isn't necessarily the screenplay but the mediocre direction, with the film at times seeming disjointed, a slow pace, and moments that are genuinely boring when you should actually be at the edge of your seat. The acting is okay, but my favorite performance is by little Melody Hurd as a cute black girl who quite sensibly wants to get out of a scary Halloween maze that her big sister keeps dragging her into. The only name actors in the film are Jamie Kennedy as a doctor and Tom Atkins as the owner of the local diner. The film goes on too long with a silly coda that adds nothing to the picture but tries to set up an unlikely sequel. The movie could have been an excellent thriller but its sensibilities turn it into just another mediocre slasher film. 

Verdict: Another hoary Halloween horror with some tricks if not treats. **1/4. 

THE CORPSE VANISHES

 

THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942). Director: Wallace Fox.

A series of young brides collapse and apparently die in front of the altar on their wedding days, and then their bodies -- taken away by a hearse -- completely disappear. Could Dr. Lorenz (Bela Lugosi) be the culprit? A reporter named Patricia Hunter (Luana Walters) discovers that each woman was wearing a special kind of orchid at her wedding. Patricia's editor is so stupid that he doesn't seem to think this is any kind of a clue! Tristram Coffin (billed as Tris Coffin), the King of the Rocket Men himself, plays the Lorenz' family doctor, while Elizabeth Russell from The Seventh Victim, Weird Woman, and others, plays Lorenz' aged wife who needs, shall we say, frequent beauty treatments. This holds the attention but it isn't one of Bela's better latter-day features. An interesting idea isn't well developed. Lugosi is good, as usual.

Verdict: Hold the orchids if you dare. **.

FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD, INC.

Dale, La Planche and Alyn

FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD, INC. (12 chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

Professor Clayton (James Craven), the curator of the National Museum of Arts and Sciences, is kidnapped. Inspector David Worth (Kirk Alyn) and Laura Keith (Rosemary La Planche) investigate, unaware that another professor, Williams (Bruce Edwards), is in league with a foreign villainess named Nila (Carol Forman). Nila comes from the country of Abisthan, and covets a pair of solid gold hands with which she hopes to influence her followers; Williams already has one of those hands. She also intends to unite the American underworld into one group, Underworld Inc., that will rival the FBI for efficiency. To that end Nila has joined forces with gangster Spade Gordon (Roy Barcroft). The missing Professor Clayton may have his own agenda as well.

Carol Forman as the nasty Nila

Although some sequences could have used a little more oomph, Federal Agents is another fast-paced and entertaining Republic serial. Kirk Alyn plays the hero with a little more humor instead of square-jawed intensity. Craven, Barcroft and Forman are their usual evil selves, playing this kind of material with aplomb. Outfitted with a scar at one point, a burnoose at another, top stunt man Tom Steele plays multiple roles. Tristram Coffin [King of the Rocket Men] shows up as a shady lawyer, and Marshall Reed is also in the cast. Agent Steve Evans is played by James Dale; he had only a few credits, mostly in serials. This was the last theatrical work for former "Miss America" [1941] Rosemary La Planche, who was Devil Bat's Daughter, and had two TV credits, 12 years later.

James Dale and Kirk Alyn

Highlights of the serial include cliffhangers involving fires and collapsing ceilings; the hero nearly running over the heroine in chapter seven; and an exciting sequence in chapter ten involving two planes, a fire on board, and a mid-air collision. An odd moment occurs in chapter nine when the couple realize there's a bomb on the road ahead, but instead of simply applying the brakes to avoid disaster, they both jump out of the car! Oh, well! 

Verdict: Another fun and fast-paced Republic serial. ***

PRIME SUSPECT

Cartwright and Farrell

PRIME SUSPECT (1982 telefilm). Director: Noel Black.

Frank Staplin buys a couple of boxes of cookies from a cute little girl scout, Sharon (Elizabeth Hoy), who later goes missing. A series of little girls have been kidnapped and murdered by an unknown suspect, but Frank becomes high on the list as far as detectives are concerned and simply can't prove his alibi. Frank is eventually let go due to lack of evidence -- although he is still the prime suspect --  but feels he was tried and convicted by the media, especially reporter Amy McCleary (Teri Garr), of one "happy news" broadcast. His boss (Charles Aidman) suggests that he transfer to another office and change his name! Eventually a repentant Amy tries to help Frank with his alibi and comes into conflict with her boss (James Sloyan) because of it. 

Farrell and Cartwright

Prime Suspect focuses solely on Frank and his family, including wife Janice (Veronica Cartwright) and eventually Amy, but there is no attempt to create any suspense over the identity of the true murderer. Farrell and Garr give acceptable performances, although Cartwright, who always seems angry whether the script calls for it or not, is just plain odd. There is virtually no attempt to generate any pathos over the missing and murdered children and for all you know Frank and Amy could be discussing his being accused of, say, embezzlement. Prime Suspect enters a twilight zone territory of unreality when Frank simply decides that he's not going to let this get to him and everyone warmly and happily welcomes him back into the office despite the fact that at that point he is still the prime suspect. The ending is a mere anti-climax as by this time you don't really care about Frank -- who never really expresses much feeling over the children -- or anyone else. Noel Black also directed Pretty Poison. 

Verdict: Minor and insubstantial telefilm with some insufficient acting. **. 

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE

Our villain prepares a shrunken head

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE (1959). Director: Edward L. Cahn. 

Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz), an anthropologist, has been frightened of a family curse that strikes male members when they hit sixty years of age. When the Jivaro Indians in South America kidnapped and beheaded a Swiss agent who worked with Drake's great-grandfather, the retaliation -- the murder of all the male Jivaros, including children -- was decided overkill. Now Drake's ancestors are paying the price. The latest victim is Kenneth Drake (Paul Cavanagh of Bride of the Gorilla), whose head is found missing when his coffin is opened at his funeral! When Jonathan himself is attacked, Lt. Jeff Rowan (Grant Richards of You Have to Run Fast) looks into the matter as Drake's daughter, Alison (Valerie French) wrings her hands and worries. 

Henry Daniell pontificates

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake is not one of prolific director Edward L. Cahn's better efforts, as a film with this plot should certainly be rich with atmosphere, which this isn't. However Orville H. Hampton's gleefully ghoulish screenplay makes this nifty horror film a contender. We not only have beheadings, shrunken heads, a mute Jivaro Indian with his lips sewn shut who runs about with a cleaver and a basket and wears sandals made of human skin, but there's his master, who has a white man's head sewn onto an ancient Indian's body. And we mustn't forget Henry Daniell, light years from Camille, who makes the most of his sinister role as Dr. Emil Zurich. Four Skulls is a lot of grotesque fun. 

Verdict: Delightfully gruesome horror flick. ***. 

THE FLAME BARRIER

Arthur Franz and Kathleen Crowley

THE FLAME BARRIER (1958). Director: Paul Landres.

Carol Dahlmann (Kathleen Crowley of The Rebel Set) is on a hunt for her husband, who disappeared while on an expedition in the jungle. A rocket that crashed to earth and may have important scientific information is considered irretrievably lost, but Dahlmann (Dan Gachman), a chemical magnate, used his own funds to try to find it -- he never came back. Now his wife importunes two brothers, Matt (Robert Brown) and Dave Hollister (Arthur Franz of New Orleans Uncensored), to guide her into the same territory where he disappeared before the rains come. Matt is handsome, charming and solicitous, while Dave -- whose ex-wife ran out on him -- is rude, obnoxious and hostile -- guess which brother Carol falls for? Dave wonders if Carol really loved her husband or if she just needs proof of his death so she can proceed with probate. 

Crowley with Robert Brown

The Flame Barrier is an interesting low-budget science fiction movie with an unusual monster, a lifeform that the rocket brought back to earth and which radiates a deadly destructive field that causes victims to burst into flame. If it isn't destroyed in time the entire world could be in trouble. The trek through the jungle is suspenseful and at times deliberately humorous and there is good interplay between the three main characters. With her sexy whiskey voice Kathleen Crowley, always a solid actress, makes the most of her confused but likable character, while Franz and Brown also score as two siblings with very different personalities. Although the production values generally remind one of a TV show, the film still manages to work up atmosphere, and there are effective moments concerning the somewhat shapeless, expanding lifeform and the fate of Dahlmann. There are illogical moments, but the screenplay offers some interesting concepts as well. Gerald Fried's music is a decided plus, offering a more flavorful background than the typical generic score. Brown and Crowley both did a lot of TV work in the fifties and sixties. 

Verdict: Entertaining and well-acted enough so that you don't miss the usual giant bugs or lizards. ***.