Month: August 2015

Gildersleeve’s Ghost (1944)

GILDERSLEEVE’S GHOST (1944)
Article #820 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-13-2003
Posting Date: 11-10-2003
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Featuring Harold Peary, Marion Martin, Frank Reicher

Gildersleeve is running for police commissioner, but finds his credibility is strained when he claims to see a gorilla that no one else believes exists.

Title check: I’m not quite sure. It runs sixty-four minutes, but my print is only forty-eight minutes. Harold Peary also is credited with appearing as a couple of ghosts that don’t appear in my print, which makes me suspect that I have an incomplete print.

This movie asks the cinematic question: just how many times can you try to pull off the old gorilla gag. You know the gag I mean: 1) man dresses up in gorilla suit, 2) real gorilla shows up, 3) confusion and hilarity ensues. I swear, this setup has been used so many times over the years that if someone had taken out a patent on the idea, they’d be rich by now. This movie tries it three times in forty-eight minutes, and this would be at least two times too many if it weren’t for the fact that Charlie Gemora is in the gorilla costume, and quite frankly, I get more laughs from his reactions than I do from the rest of the cast (and he isn’t even billed). Gildersleeve was a popular radio character of the time, but I would never have heard of him myself if it hadn’t been for a parody of the character that appeared in a Bugs Bunny cartoon from the forties in which Bugs tussles with Gildersleeve who is a clerk in a department store; it makes me wonder how many comedians and character actors from the thirties and forties are primarily remembered nowadays by their appearances in cartoons. In fact, Richard LeGrand’s catchphrase (“Well, now, I wouldn’t say that!”) was used constantly in these cartoons. As for Harold Peary, I’m afraid he’s an acquired taste I don’t quite share.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Ghost Goes West (1935)

THE GHOST GOES WEST (1935)
Article #819 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-12-2003
Posting Date: 11-9-2003
Directed by Rene Clair
Featuring Ronald Donat, Eugene Pallette, Jean Parker

When a Scottish nobleman dies hiding from members of another clan, his ghost is condemned to haunt the halls of his castle until he can find a descendant of the rival family to apologize for the insult.

Title check: Well, from the vantage point of Scotland, I would agree that Florida is indeed to the west, but the title tends to make me think of cowboys and indians, and there are none in this film. Technically correct.

This movie has an attractive and likeable cast, is directed by a master of light comedy, and has a number of great plot points and interesting ideas; I particularly like how it answered one question I had, and that was how you could get a ghost who was doomed to walk the halls of his ancestral home to move to a new location. However, once the movie finishes with its backstory (which is quite similar to the one in THE CANTERVILLE GHOST) and turns its action to the present, it becomes somewhat disappointing. Part of the problem is that Robert Donat’s two characters (he plays both the ghost and the current owner of the castle) are really not all that interesting; the owner of the castle tends to be somewhat shy and for the most part merely floats along with the action, while the ghost (who was a lot of fun in the backstory before he dies) seems rather glum and depressed for the most part, and I find it hard to get involved in their stories. So I end up waiting for the great character actor Eugene Pallette to brighten the proceedings, and he is far and away the most interesting character in the latter part of the story. The movie is only sporadically funny, and it seems to get most of its mileage with the racial stereotype that Scots are penny-pinching, though my favorite gag along this line has a servant answering a guest’s question as to what the difference is between grouse and duck. Not a bad movie, but it falls somewhat short of what it could have been.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Faust (1926)

FAUST (1926)
Article #818 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-11-2003
Posting Date: 11-8-2003
Directed by F. W. Murnau
Featuring Emil Jannings, William Dieterle, Eric Barclay

Mephistopheles makes a bet with an archangel that he can turn Faust away from God, and thereby gain possession of the earth.

Title check: No complaint; it IS the guy’s name, after all.

I read Goethe’s play years ago, but I will come flat out and admit that I found it pretty boring back then. If this movie had done nothing more than recreate the play, I would have had little use for it. Murnau, however, uses the story as a springboard for some of the most amazing fantasy/horror images I have ever seen in my life, featuring hordes of winged devils, three of the horsemen of the apocalypse, and my favorite sequence in which a giant devil towers over a city before setting loose a plague on it. In fact, the first third of this movie is so breathtaking, that the somewhat prosaic middle section of the movie (where Faust tries to use his new-gained youth to seduce a beautiful but religious woman) disappoints me merely because it can’t maintain the imaginatve imagery of the opening third, though it in itself is quite strong; however, the whole thing regains that power towards the end, and the movie ends strongly. So far, this is the only Murnau movie I’ve seen other than NOSFERATU, and I have to admit I’m really looking forward to catching more of his work. As it is, this may well be the most powerful silent fantasy of them all.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Un Dia con el Diablo (1945)

UN DIA CON EL DIABLO (1945)
(a.k.a. A DAY WITH THE DEVIL)
Article #817 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-10-2003
Posting Date: 11-7-2003
Directed by Miguel M. Delgado
Featuring Cantinflas, Susana Cora, Andres Soler

A newspaperboy is mistakenly taken into the army. He dies on a special mission, and visits the afterlife.

Title check: Actually, he only spends about ten minutes with the personage in question, but time is relative, isn’t it?

Arrggh! For two days in a row I find myself trying to puzzle my way through another movie entirely in a foreign language; in this case, Spanish. Fortunately, this one relies much more on visuals that LE NOTTI DELLA VIOLENZA, so I wasn’t quite as lost; the basic plot framework is easy enough to follow, the first five minutes is purely visual, and being a comedy, it also features some sight gags that translate well enough. Nonetheless, a lot of the humor appears to be verbal. Cantinflas definitely shows comic timing, and he talks a mile a minute, but I really wish I knew what he was saying. As it is, I suspect it’s a fairly decent film and someday I’ll watch it with a someone who can speak Spanish and get more out of it. Another one to file under “Further Research Necessary”.

1 CommentLeave a comment

Night of Violence (1966)

NIGHT OF VIOLENCE (1966)
(a.k.a. LE NOTTI DELLA VIOLENZA)
Article #816 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-9-2003
Posting Date: 11-6-2003
Directed by Robert Mauri
Featuring Alberto Lupo, Marilu Tolo, Lisa Gastoni

A strange masked man is stalking and murdering women; police investigate.

Title check: The violence does happen at night, so it’s appropriate in that regard. However, it also happens over several nights rather than one.

Well, here I am, once again, staring at a foreign language movie (Italian, this time) that I could only find in an undubbed, unsubtitled version. Now, for some movies this isn’t a problem; for those that largely use visuals to tell their story, it really doesn’t matter. However, if there’s one thing this movie has, it’s talk, and lots of it. I was able to figure out that we were dealing with a masked murderer attacking women, but the whole middle section is a real question mark to me. It does look somewhat interesting, and maybe someday I’ll come by a more English-friendly version (or learn Italian). Until then, this is another one that will have to wait for further consideration.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Le Golem (1936)

LE GOLEM (1936)
(a.k.a. THE GOLEM)
Article #815 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-8-2003
Posting Date: 11-5-2003
Directed by Julien Duvivier
Featuring Harry Bauer, Germaine Aussey, Roger Karl

The inhabitants of the Jewish ghetto in Prague are hoping that the Golem will come to life and save them from their oppressors, but the emperor wants to get hold of the Golem himself.

Title check: Simple. Q: Is there a Golem in the movie? A: Yes.

This movie is neither a sequel nor a remake of the 1920 movie, THE GOLEM; it’s more like a sequel to the story that inspired that version. Those expecting the usual stone monster machinations of that movie may be disappointed; we don’t see the Golem until almost two-thirds of the way into the movie, and it doesn’t really do anything until near the end. This is not to say that it’s a minor character; the whole movie revolves around it, and there is constant talk among all parties about the creature. In fact, the movie seems a lot more interested in the political significance of the creature (as a freer of slaves) than the 1920 version, and a great deal of the movie involves the attempts of several people to get a hold of the statue for their own purposes. What really holds the movie together, though, is Harry Bauer as Emperor Rudolf II, a desperate, paranoid and possibly insane man who ultimately can’t tell his friends from his enemies; he even tries to befriend the statue at one point. His performance is ultimately the movie’s strength, which in other respects I find a little reminiscent of the Sword and Sandal movies so prevalent in the sixties, (only with a mobile statue rather than Hercules). It’s definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in the legend.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Before Dawn (1933)

BEFORE DAWN (1933)
Article #814 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-7-2003
Posting Date: 11-4-2003
Directed by Irving Pichel
Featuring Warner Oland, Stuart Irwin, Dorothy Wilson

When a bank robber dies in the hospital, several people set their sights on the one million dollars he stole from a bank; however, it appears his ghost is guarding the money.

Title check: Accurate enough; the last scenes do take place during the night. However, it’s a little too vague to be a really effective title.

There are some effective moments in this little chiller, particularly in the way certain scenes are staged, and there is one surprising moment involving a staircase at one point (watch out for that last step!). It’s also interesting that one of the characters is indeed truly psychic. Other than that, this one is pretty predictable. You should be able to figure out the villain two minutes into the movie, though I will say that the role was effectively cast. Minor, fun, but merely okay.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1963)

THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES!!? (1963)
Article #813 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-6-2003
Posting Date: 11-3-2003
Directed by Ray Dennis Steckler
Featuring Cash Flagg, Carolyn Brandt, Toni Camel

A teenager falls under the hypnotic spell of an evil fortune teller who uses him to commit murders.

Title check: As this is a movie in which you can’t avoid talking about the title, I’ve included all title comments in the commentary below.

A few thoughts on THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES!!?

1) I’ve had to type out the title twice now. I don’t want to do it again. Therefore, I’ve decided to shorten it from here on in. Since it’s still fairly lenghty to shorten it to THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES and to type in the initials (TISCWSLABM-UZ??!) is clumsy, I’ve decided to refer to it from here on out as THE!!?.

2) By the way, you have no doubt noticed the !!? at the end of THE!!?, whereas most referrals to the title of the movie have merely referred to it as THE. Believe it or not, the !!? actually appears on the movie itself, but nobody seems to have realized yet that it is part of the actual title. I have now amended this problem.

3) As far as the title goes, the makers either spent too little time on the title of the movie, or way too much time.

4) Why is the title so long? My guess is someone figured it would have to be a second feature to something, so they wanted to make sure it crowded out the title of the main feature. This would work for everything but THE SAGA OF THE VIKING WOMEN AND THEIR VOYAGE TO THE WATERS OF THE GREAT SEA SERPENT (a title I will not bother to shorten since it will not appear again in this write-up).

5) I don’t know what you might expect of a movie with a title like THE!!?, but I would expect it to be pretty weird, though not necessarily very good. Believe it or not, the movie actually lives up to the title. Not so much in the plot (which is pretty ordinary) but in the characters and the execution it certainly goes off the deep end.

6) It’s billed as “The First Monster Musical”, which is a nice way of coming up with an excuse as to why the movie is cram-packed with musical padding. It even had a soundtrack album. Do you have it?

7) Trivia everybody knows time: Cash Flagg is actually Ray Dennis Steckler.

8) Some of the camerawork is actually a little impressive in this cheap little movie, as it actually does leave you with a dizzy, world-out-of-kilter sense that is appropriate to the story. Unfortunately, there are definite problems here; the sound is worse than anything this side of a Herschell Gordon Lewis movie, and Steckler never knew when a scene was going on for too long.

9) When the make-up is as bad as it is in this movie, you shouldn’t have as many close-ups as this movie has.

10) Actually, even though the movie is called THE!!?, I think it should be called THE!??. I really think the question marks should outnumber the exclamation points.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Perils of Pauline (1914)

THE PERILS OF PAULINE (1914)
(Serial)
Article #812 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-5-2003
Posting Date: 11-2-2003
Directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Donald McKenzie
Featuring Pearl White, Crane Wilbur, Paul Panzer

An heiress finds herself being put into hazardous situations by her ward, who has designs on her fortune.

Title check: Yes, the heroine is name Pauline, and she does indeed face perils.

If Walt Lee’s REFERENCE GUIDE TO FANTASTIC FILMS can be trusted on this point, then there are indeed fantastic elements in this, the most famous of the silent serials and the one that made Pearl White a star. However, he’s most likely referring to the original serial in its complete form; my copy is an edited version that cuts the twenty chapters down to nine and since the episodes were more distinct stories in their own right rather than one long narrative, it looks like the stories that had the fantastic elements aren’t present here. I don’t know if the serial exists in its entirety, but these nine episodes seem to be the longest chunk of them still in existence. It’s fun in it’s way; Pearl White is quite appealing, and they come up with a good variety of perils for her to undergo, but those who desire fantastic elements would be better off waiting for a more complete version of the serial to manifest itself.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935)

THE PASSING OF THE THIRD FLOOR BACK (1935)
Article #811 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-4-2003
Posting Date: 11-1-2003
Directed by Berthold Viertel
Featuring Conrad Veidt, Anna Lee, Frank Cellier

A strange man comes to live at a boarding house and has a profound effect on the lives of its residents.

Title check: It’s a British movie, and I’m not sure whether “Passing” is a British slang or not; to these ears, it makes for a somewhat odd title, though I’m wondering if it has something to do with the fact that the stranger is not a permanent resident, but just “passing through.”

A look at the plot description above may well clue you in that we’re in “angel” territory again, though the movie does not make this explicit. Though the character played by Conrad Veidt doesn’t have any obvious powers, things do seem to happen when he’s around, and his dark stare certainly leaves a deep impression on you; Conrad Veidt was very well cast in the role. The characters are pretty unlikeable at the beginning, but the stranger’s presence allows us to see the whys and wherefores of their behaviors, and also their potentials for redemption. The movie has the good sense to enhance its power at the halfway point by having one of the characters manifest himself as the real antagonist; after all, it’s only fitting that a movie about an angel (even a vague one) should end up pitting him against a devil. The ending feels a little convenient, but it is satisfying nonetheless. Good performances abound.

0 CommentsLeave a comment