Month: August 2015

Mr. Wu (1927)

MR. WU (1927)
Article #790 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-14-2003
Posting Date: 10-11-2003
Directed by William Nigh
Featuring Lon Chaney, Louis Dressler, Renee Adoree

Troubles arise when an American boy romances the only daughter of a chinese Mandarin.

Title check: No problem here; there is a character called Wu, (though I don’t know if he’s ever referred to as “Mr.” Wu.)

Lon Chaney does a wonderful job in two roles (he essentially plays the main character and his grandfather), and the movie is quite entertaining, but as I was watching the movie, I really began wondering why it was included in a book that listed fantastic movies, despite the fact that the plot takes some dark turns in the last third of the movie. Actually, it does qualify in the last moments, primarily due to some ghost-like figures. Still, this does remain marginal, if entertaining, and Chaney gives one of his most restrained performances, one that emphasizes subtlety rather than grotesque makeup; no one has a physical deformity in this one.

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Heaven Only Knows (1947)

HEAVEN ONLY KNOWS (1947)
(a.k.a. MONTANA MIKE)
Article #789 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-13-2003
Posting Date: 10-10-2003
Directed by Albert S. Rogell
Featuring Robert Cummings, Brian Donlevy, Jurja Curtright

Title check: Since the phrase is used at certain key moments in the film, it’s an appropriate title, a little better than it’s alternate title of MONTANA MIKE (IMHO).

An angel makes a bookkeeping error that causes a man to live a life without a soul. He then must go to Earth to get that man back on the path to his proper destiny.

Yep, it’s another angel movie. Angels are such potentially corny figures that I’m actually surprised how many very good movies were made about them. It might be that Hollywood knew how corny they were, and found ways around that problem by emphasizing their human qualities rather than the harps, halos and wings. They also knew who to cast in these roles, going for charming rather than saintly actors, and though Robert Cummings isn’t Cary Grant, he does all right. The real acting kudos here goes to Brian Donlevy as the man without a soul; his conflicts seem genuine and he never comes across as cliched. Actually, there is a rather powerful charm to this one, and it’s rather unusual for this type of movie in that it takes place in the old west. There are some memorable and surprisingly powerful moments here, at least one wonderful and subtle revelation as to the identity of one of Brian’s henchmen, and there are some memorable quotes here, in particular a wonderful line about death near the end of the movie that made me want to grab a pencil and paper to write it down. It’s not perfect, but it’s worth a look.

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Satan’s Satellites (1958)

SATAN’S SATELLITES (1958)
Article #788 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-12-2003
Posting Date: 10-9-2003
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
Featuring Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, Wilson Wood

Martian “Zombies” plan to destroy the Earth so they can move Mars into Earth’s orbit. The Rocketman tries to prevent them.

Title check: Though it could be argued that Mars and Earth are indeed satellites (of the sun), Satan is nowhere to be found.

One phenomenon that I have never touched upon yet is that of motion pictures edited from serials; in general, if a serial is listed, I opt for the full serial version. However, my book specified this one by title, so here it is (I plan to cover ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE as a separate entity). Now, if you’re the type of person who thinks that a feature movie made up of nothing but the action sequences from a serial sounds like a neat idea, you’re welcome to this one. Me, I find the end results to be dreadfully repetitive, because the story never builds to anything and it’s just one “thrill” after another. Sure, it’s got Leonard Nimoy and the Rocket Man commonly known as Commando Cody, but so does the serial itself, which is much easier to watch. All in all, this movie is a good argument against cutting corners.

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The Evil Brain from Outer Space (1964)

THE EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE (1964)
Article #787 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-11-2003
Posting Date: 10-8-2003
Directed by Chogi Akasaka
Featuring Ken Utsui, Junko Ikeuchi, Reiko Seto

An Evil Brain from outer space threatens to take over the Earth, but not if Starman can prevent it.

Some thoughts on this one.

1. This movie has given me the brainstorm to include a new feature to my MOTD; the Title Check, where I check to see if the movie actually delivers what the title promises. In this case, yes, it does; the plot does include an Evil Brain from Outer Space.

2. The main character is called Starman. There is also a 1984 movie called STARMAN. That movie has a coherent plot; this one has an atomic mime.

3. This movie was culled from a Japanese TV series (I think) called “Super Giant.” Since Starman is approximately the size of all the other cast members, I’m led to believe one of the following, either 1) it doesn’t take much to be a giant in Japan, or 2) he’s only a giant in the metaphorical sense, or 3) something was horribly lost in translation.

4. Starman has a costume. He also wears a three piece suit. He changes costumes by cleverly ducking out of the frame and reappearing in his other garb.

5. Starman’s costume features tights, and I mean that in both the literal and descriptive sense; in other words, there isn’t a whole lot left to the imagination.

6. One of Starman’s foes is a really skinny guy with long teeth, long fingernails, a lacrosse racket around his head, and an eye in his stomach. The costume may seem overdone, but it does manage to upstage both Starman and the atomic mime.

7. The evil scientist in the wheelchair has a pet falcon who lives on his shoulder. I hope he changes his clothes often.

8. There’s lots of rotating masonry in this movie.

9. The fight scenes in this movie may appeal to humanitarians; you can watch them with real confidence that no one is getting hurt.

10. There is a point in this movie where we are supposed to be startled and amazed by the identity of an Arab leader. It was only long after seeing the movie that I realized this was supposed to be a plot twist. Unfortunately, in order for a plot twist to work, you need one special ingredient; a plot.

All in all, I enjoyed it much more than INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN.

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Encounter with the Unknown (1973)

ENCOUNTER WITH THE UNKNOWN (1973)
Article #786 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-10-2003
Posting Date: 10-7-2003
Directed by Harry Thomason
Featuring Rod Serling, Gene Ross, Rosie Holotik

A trilogy of three horror tales based on actual events.

Don’t let the presence of Rod Serling fool you; his only creative involvement with this was providing narration (voice-over only) to each of the three tales; since these narrations are much better-written than anything else in the movie, I’m also guessing that he may have written these himself. As for the trio of lethargically paced purportedly-true stories, don’t expect anything that would have passed muster on “The Twilight Zone” (or, for that matter, “Night Gallery”). The first and the third stories are utterly predictable; the first involves a prophecy which you know will come true (after all, no one would bother telling the story if it didn’t turn out to be true), though at least one plot element (involving a gun that goes off accidentally) is such an odd, unexpected event that it does make the story a bit more convincing. The third story is one of the most common urban legends around; I call this segment “Encounter with the All Too Well-Known”. It’s the second story that is the most interesting, as it leaves its mystery unresolved, and generates a fair amount of atmosphere. The most annoying aspect of this movie is its constant recycling of its own footage over and over again (the event happens; someone tells somebody else about the event, and we see the footage again; that person tells a third person about the event, and we see it again, etc.) as if constant reviewing of the footage will give it a documentary feel; instead it made the movie irritating (I didn’t NEED (or want) to see the scene of the woman making the prediction at the funeral five or six times). Incidentally, the movie is essentially over fifteen minutes before it’s over; the last part of the movie includes a mushy romantic interlude with a love song and lovers walking through fields and doing cutesy lovey-dovey stuff, and then a ten-minute commentary on the events in the movie (using, you guessed it, footage we’ve already seen).

P.S. – Don’t try to check up on the events in these stories; the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

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Satanik (1968)

SATANIK (1968)
(a.k.a. SATANIC)
Article #785 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-9-2003
Posting Date: 10-6-2003
Directed by Piero Vivarelli
Featuring Magda Konopka, Julio Pena, Armando Calvo

An ugly scarred woman drinks a potion to make herself beautiful and becomes a criminal.

Half Italian horror movie, half Italian super-criminal movie—wait a second, let me adjust that—one-eighth Italian horror movie, seven-eighths Italian super criminal movie. Let’s face it; the ugly woman turning into a beautiful woman is largely a gimmick and isn’t really used well. The fact that the potion turns people violent doesn’t really come through in the script; she commits her first murder before she takes the potion, and most of the other murders take place when the potion wears off. Her ugly face makeup is awful; it doesn’t look like she was scarred for years but rather like she was scarred about ten minutes ago (actually, it looks like she’s wearing makeup to make her ugly), and when she drinks the potion, it not only rejuvenates her and heals her scars, it doubles the length of her hair, changes its color, gives her a great new ‘do, does a complete makover on her face (eyeshadow, mascara, fake eyelashes, lipstick, the works), and shortens the length of her skirt; pretty potent stuff. Ultimately, the movie tries to get by on three things; sex, violence and swinging-sixties style camerawork; the plot is dull and the characters are nonentities. I’ve heard it was based on a comic book, much like either BARBARELLA or DIABOLIK was, but if this movie does anything, it makes me appreciate how classy and witty those other two movies are in comparison; this one is a complete waste of time.

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The 27th Day (1957)

THE 27TH DAY (1957)
Article #784 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-8-2003
Posting Date: 10-5-2003
Directed by William Asher
Featuring Gene Barry, Valerie French, George Voskovec

An alien gives five people from around the world capsules with which they can destroy all life on the planet Earth.

The situation at the center of this movie is pretty contrived, but I have to admit that I found myself quite intrigued on the “What would I do if I were in their shoes” level, and the first half of the movie, which focuses on the reactions of these five very different and interesting characters to their situation makes for fascinating viewing. The second half is less satisfying; it eventually settles into a much more conventional cold war good-guys-vs-bad-guys scenario that I found far less interesting, though it was hardly a surprise that the movie would go in this direction given the time and place it was made. Still, the fact that the fate of the world lies in the hand of any one of the characters does maintain my interest. The ending itself was a real disappointment and pushes the whole movie into the realm of pure fantasy as far as I’m concerned, but I could see how others might find it compelling; nonetheless, this is one movie whose central ideas are a bit more interesting than its execution. And incidentally, Gene Barry really does look quite different with a moustache.

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The Legend of Doom House (1971)

THE LEGEND OF DOOM HOUSE (1971)
(a.k.a. MALPERTUIS)
Article #783 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-7-2003
Posting Date: 10-4-2003
Directed by Harry Kumel
Featuring Orson Welles, Susan Hampshire, Michel Bouquet

A dying man wills his fortune to several heirs, provided they all agree never to leave the house of Malpertuis; the survivors will be allowed to keep the money.

Now that you’ve read the above plot description (which makes it sound for all the world like a latter-day variation of the Old Dark House type of movie), throw it out of your mind; this movie is something else entirely, and the above description is merely a representation of the most familiar plot element in the story. Despite some very definite horror elements (some grotesque murders, and a strong atmosphere of dread and decay), this is really an art movie with a fantasy premise masquerading as a horror movie, one that will leave you scratching your head for a good deal of the running time. Still, it is fun to see Orson Welles as the bed-ridden uncle, and the movie has a unique visual sense about it. Still, it is an art movie, and if you don’t like art movies, you might want to pass this one by; if you do, you might want to take a peek at this disorienting, slightly disturbing and sometimes infuriating movie. You may want to avoid reading too much about it beforehand; most of the descriptions I’ve seen give away one of the final revelations of the movie, and it’s more fascinating if you aren’t prepared for it; then again, whether you like the revelation may be a different matter entirely.

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From the Earth to the Moon (1958)

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON (1958)
Article #782 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-6-2003
Posting Date: 10-3-2003
Directed by Byron Haskin
Featuring Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget

An inventor of a new explosive plans to use this power for a trip to the moon.

I’ve covered several of the Jules Verne adaptations from the fifties and sixties, and though I haven’t always been particularly enthusiastic about them, they all look pretty good when compared to this one. For one thing, the characters, conflicts and situations in the other movies seem clear and understandable; this movie is plagued with a rather turgid vagueness that leaves me wondering as to the whys and wherefores about what is going on at any particular moment. Also, these other movies didn’t waste time in getting to the meat of their story (though JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is a little slow out of the gate); this one is a good hour into the film before we reach the launch countdown, and that first hour isn’t particularly interesting. Even the countdown itself starts with the number seventy rather than the conventional ten (and they do hit every number down the line) as an example of the overly leisurely pace of the movie. On the plus side, there are a number of familiar faces; along with the ones listed above, there is also Henry Daniell and Morris Ankrum (as President Grant). It also has some quite amusing nineteenth-century science fiction devices. Nonetheless, the movie as a whole just seemed vague and unfocused; it never really comes to life, despite a cast that could have easily made it more engaging and situations that had a real potential for some strong drama. All in all, one of the least satisfying of the Verne adaptations.

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The Doomsday Machine (1967)

THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE (1967)
(a.k.a. ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH)
Article #781 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-5-2003
Posting Date: 10-2-2003
Directed by Lee Sholem and Harry Hope
Featuring Bobby Van, Ruta Lee, Henry Wilcoxon

When China sets off a doomsday machine to destroy the Earth, a rocketship is sent to Venus manned by four men and three women.

Within the first ten minutes of the movie, I was given two plot points. 1) There was an ominous machine in China that had only seventy-two hours before it went off, and 2) an expedition to Venus was suddenly pushed ahead in time, and three men of the all-man crew were unexpectedly replaced with women. With these two facts, I was quickly able to piece together that almost all the rest of the movie would be about seven people interacting with each other in a spaceship. The special effects are subpar, and the dialogue is hackneyed and hopeless. The movie does have a few small surprises after this point; one of the characters is even more of a jerk than you might expect, a death scene in an airlock is a little nastier than you might have anticipated, and the thoroughly unsatisfying ending comes out of left field, and leaves me suspecting that the reason that the movie ends this way is to save money by sparing the crew from either finding a new location or building a new set for the last scene. You might like this if you’re partial to talky space journey movies; as for me, it reminded me of an eight-hour drive I once took on the interstate through South Dakota, where the monotonous sameness of the scenery almost lulled me into a slumber, which can be pleasant in its own way, but is not to be recommended when you’re the one driving.

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