THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932)
Article #251 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-22-2001
Posting date: 4-7-2002

A hunter’s yacht sinks near an island, and he is the only survivor. He finds the island inhabited by Count Zoroff, who has dedicated his life to hunting “the most dangerous game”—man.

At least two other official versions of this story exist; this one is easily the best. Helmed by the same people who gave us KING KONG, and shot on some of the same sets as that movie (you might recognize the log), this was released earlier even though it was shot afterwards; KONG’s release was held up by the animation. Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Noble Johnson are all on hand from the cast of KONG, along with Joel McCrea and Leslie Banks. The movie starts off with a bang, but then slows down a little before building up steam again as it progresses. There are some great little moments here and there; Count Zoroff ordering his servant to smile, Count Zoroff offering a cigarette to the hunter and snubbing the drunk brother of the heroine, and the hunt itself. The final shot is stunning.

THE MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954)
Article #250 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-21-2001
Posting date: 4-6-2002

A woman hears legends of a strange monster that lives in a cove nearby. She begins to believe the stories and investigates.

This cheap little movie has so-so acting, stodgy direction, problems with sound, and a script that is clumsy both in dialogue and in construction. Still, I can’t help but have a little affection for what was essentially Corman’s first movie. Wyott Ordung (who penned the script for ROBOT MONSTER and directed this one) appears as Pablo, the man who keeps trying to knock off the heroine in the movie’s poorly-handled subplot. Roger Corman produced; he would definitely go on to better things. Still, the underwater photography was ambitious for a movie of this budget and the submarine looks nifty. And did you know that protozoa looked like cyclopic octopi? The ending is lifted from OEDIPUS REX (and yes, that is a joke).

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949)
Article #249 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-20-2001
Posting date: 4-5-2002

An entrepreneur discovers a giant gorilla and the girl who owns him in the wilds of Africa. He brings them back to star in his nightclub, but things go awry when some drunkards harass the beast, who goes on a frenzy of destruction.

John Ford was originally supposed to be a co-producer of this movie along with the masterminds behind the original KING KONG, but he pulled out of it, though his name still appears on the credits. This is another triumph for Willis O’Brien, who seemed to just love giving the title character a whole range of emotions and movements; it also feature Ray Harryhausen as one of his technicians. In many ways, this is another reworking of the ideas behind KING KONG, with Robert Armstrong playing a variation of Carl Denham, though I can’t help but notice that with each succeeding giant ape movie made by this time, they backed off from the savagery of the original. It is probably the closest that O’Brien ever got to making his Gwangi story, what with the cowboys taking on Joe in one of the early scenes. This is the only one of the three ape movies where the ape is allowed to survive at the end. As was always the case with Cooper and Schoedsack, this is roaring good fun, especially during the great nightclub sequences. And I love the tug-of-war!

THE MAZE (1953)
Article #248 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-19-2001
Posting date: 4-4-2002

When a woman’s fiance is called back to the castle of his family in Scotland, and he mysteriously breaks off their engagement, she goes to the castle along with her aunt to find him harboring a deep dark secret.

I have a lot of affection for this eerie horror/SF movie, though it took me a couple of viewings. The first time I saw the movie, I did get caught up in the eerie mood and the atmospheric sense of dread and tragedy that pervaded the castle, but the revelation concerning the nature of the true lord of the castle caused me to break out in laughter rather than to rear back in horror, and it ruined the movie for me. The second time I saw it, I was prepared, and was able to see beyond this flaw and appreciate how touching and sad the ending of the movie was. Part of the credit must go to Richard Carlson’s excellent performance, one of the best of his I’ve seen. This was originally shot in 3D, but I’ve never seen it that way. This one is worth a look.

THE MANSTER (1960)
Article #246 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-17-2001
Posting date: 4-2-2002

A scientist experimenting with mutations experiments on an unsuspecting reporter, who undergoes a change of personality, becomes homicidal, and eventually grows a second head.

As silly-sounding as the premise is, I think this is a highly effective horror movie; it certainly is the best two-headed man movie I’ve seen. I think the exotic oriental atmosphere helps immensely; the movie was an American/Japanese collaboration and takes place in Tokyo. Sure, the two-headed effects look fake, but they put some work into them, giving the second head a little independent movement that can be quite eye-catching at times. It also does a good job of having the man’s physical transformations synch up with events in his life, and some of the imagery in this film is unforgettable; if you remember nothing else about this movie, you will remember the eye on the shoulder sequence, and the scene that takes place behind a tree towards the end. This is one of those movies that scared me as a kid, and I still think it works today.

Tom Weaver made a comment about the lead in this movie resembling Lon Chaney, Jr., and that was something I’d never noticed before. I definitely agree with his comment that it would have been very interesting to have seen the movie made ten years earlier with Lon Chaney, Jr. in the lead role, as I think the part would have been a very good one for Chaney; I think it would have played to his strengths as an actor.

MAN BEAST (1956)
Article #245 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-16-2001
Posting date: 4-1-2002

A woman is searching for her brother who is on an expedition in the Himalayas to discover the Yeti.

This is actually pretty amazing—a coherent Jerry Warren film. It’s still badly acted and the script is pretty clumsy at times, but he does a much better job of using footage from another film to augment this one than he usually does, probably because he only uses the long shots and landscape footage rather than trying to incorporate any of the plot into the film. There’s also some interesting ideas in the screenplay. especially when you learn the history of a certain mysterious character; in fact, I’ve found that abominable snowman movies tend to be more interesting than movies about Bigfoot. This is by no means a classic, but it’s probably the best thing Jerry Warren ever did and is actually worth a watch.

In reality, I do have to admit to a certain fondness for this guy’s work, but that has a lot to do with my love of puzzles. I just like the challenge of taking a movie like THE FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF (which is made up of two different Mexican movies and original footage by Warren) and sorting out which scene belongs with which group of footage.