Month: June 2016

Federal Agents Vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949)

FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD INC. (1949)
(Serial)
Article #1271 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-6-2004
Posting Date: 2-3-2005
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
Featuring Kirk Alyn, Rosemary La Planche, Roy Barcroft

David Worth, Federal Agent, tries to discover who kidnapped an archaelogist name Clayton, and finds himself dealing with a crime organization intent on acquiring a golden hand unearthed in the country of Abistahn.

I usually find the strength of the Republic serials to lie in the production values they put into their serials, and in the excellent fight choreography. However, this one leaves me cold, and I suspect the reason is that the fight choreography here looks fairly ordinary. It’s a bit of a shame; the basic premise is rather unusual, and there is at least one interesting twist to the proceedings. Nevertheless, this one lost my interest, and having at least one cliffhanger that looks like footage from another serial (I think I’ve seen the “bomb on the bridge” sequence several times) and an episode consisting mostly of flashback material certainly doesn’t help the proceedings. The main fantastic content appears to be that of the fictional country of Abistahn.

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Riding On Air (1937)

RIDING ON AIR (1937)
Article #1270 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-5-2004
Posting Date: 2-2-2005
Directed by Edward Sedgwick
Featuring Joe E. Brown, Guy Kibbee, Florence Rice

A small-town reporter becomes the target of a crooked financier when he wins $5000.

I’m tempted some time to start keeping a list of fantastic concepts that become trendy enough for a while to have several movies made about them. This movie includes one of them; I’m sure I’ve seen several movies dealing with the concept of radio-controlled airplanes. It’s a minor concept here; except for a handful of gag moments, the concept is largely used as a Macguffin to drive the swindling aspect of the plot. On its own terms, this is another Joe E. Brown vehicle, and though I like him well enough, he’s usually more effective in smaller roles; his own vehicles seem to be rather ordinary, and this one is no exception.

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Repulsion (1965)

REPULSION (1965)
Article #1269 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-4-2004
Posting Date: 2-1-2005
Directed by Roman Polanski
Featuring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser

A disturbed young woman finds herself unable to cope with the departure of her sister on a holiday, and begins to sink into madness.

As a result of the popularity of PSYCHO at the beginning of the decade, many of the horror films of the sixties were about mad killers. This movie differs from many of those in one main respect; whereas most of those were focused on the threat they presented to their victims, this one is almost totally focused on the disturbed killer herself. The movie is unsettling, but fascinating. The two things I like best are Catherine Deneuve’s fantastic performance and Roman Polanski’s ability to zero in on imagery that gives you a sense of her madness. The repeated shots of the slowly rotting rabbit on the plate, the sudden appearance of cracks in the woodwork, and the jarring sound of the telephone and the doorbell every time they invade the woman’s solitude have a way of really putting you on edge. It’s not really a horror film so much as a drama about madness, but horror fans will find plenty here to hold their interest. This is one of my favorite of Polanski’s films.

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