Month: July 2018

The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971)
Article 2751 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-17-2008
Posting Date: 2-23-2009
Directed by Bob Kelljan
Featuring Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry
Country: USA

Count Yorga the vampire falls in love with a woman who works in an orphanage. He kidnaps her and embarks on a reign of terror.

I always used to wonder why there was even a Count Yorga to begin with; it seems to me that if you had a vampire who was a Count, you had a familiar and easy-to-market character named Dracula in the public domain that was ripe and ready for use. This movie did answer that question for me at least a little. The character of Dracula carries with it a certain amount of baggage that you can dispense with if you’re playing a different character; for one thing, you don’t have to work on the accent. This allows Robert Quarry to come up with his own character, and he does a fine job with it; he adds his own wit to the mix, feels at ease in the role, and doesn’t come across as a pale imitation of Dracula. I like the beginning of the movie best; it makes subtle but effective use of sound in the opening scenes, and the costume party in which Count Yorga appears (in which the winner of the best costume is another person dressed up as a vampire) is highly amusing. There’s also a nice low-key feel to the movie, which is underlined by the absence of background music in most of the scenes. Unfortunately, the script is undernourished, for each scene that works there’s one that falls flat, and the low-key vibes give way to aimlessness and listlessness on occasion. After a while, the attempts at humor become embarrassing, especially towards the end of the movie in which far too much time is spent with a couple of comic-relief cops. In other words, it’s a mixed bag, but memorable moments abound, including one in which we get to see Count Yorga watching a vampire movie in Spanish. This movie also features George Macready’s final screen performance; his son, Micheal Macready, was the producer.

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Rattlers (1976)

RATTLERS (1976)
Article 2750 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-16-2008
Posting Date: 2-22-2009
Directed by John McCauley
Featuring Sam Chew Jr., Elisabeth Chauvet, Dan Priest
Country: USA

When a series of unusual rattlesnake attacks occur in the Mojave desert, a herpatologist begins to suspect that the cause may be something that is kept secret at a nearby military base.

Sometimes with a low-budget movie like this, you just have to appreciate what it does right. In this case, I found myself enjoying the little character touches that helped flesh out some of the secondary characters; a number of movies have tried this kind of thing and fallen flat on their faces, but this one somehow makes the characters more realistic and accessible. This helped me to enjoy the movie a bit more than I might otherwise have. The rest is pretty uneven; the acting is merely adequate, the plot is pretty standard but gets weaker as it goes along, and some parts of it are horribly cliched. The scare scenes are only so-so as well. Still, even with this, you get to like the characters enough that it helps you get through it. It does have one moment that really stretches belief, though; I find it impossible to believe that a snake would be able to stop a jeep moving at full speed by biting through the tire.

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Prophecy (1979)

PROPHECY (1979)
Article 2749 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-15-2008
Posting Date: 2-21-2009
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Featuring Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire, Armand Assante
Country: USA

Pollution has resulted in a giant mutant killer bear terrorizing the forests of Maine.

Had I been old enough to see and appreciate the sixties works of John Frankenheimer at the time they were made, I would have considered him one of the finest directors at work and anticipated an illustrious career. And how I would have been disappointed at how forgettable much of his later work would turn out to be. For me, the biggest disappointment of this movie was in seeing how ordinary it was in comparison with THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE; here, it seems like he is doing little more than pulling in a paycheck. It’s far from his worst movie (remember THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN?), but he does little to redeem the weak script, the obvious story (which overreaches by trying to cram too much social conscience into a story that doesn’t support it) and the cliched dialogue. The movie is almost entirely lacking in surprises, and when it should be kicking into high gear, it gets listless and tired. This is the second time I’ve seen the movie, and the only scene I remembered from the first time was when one character sticks his head out a tunnel to see if the monster is still there.

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The Phantom of Soho (1964)

THE PHANTOM OF SOHO (1964)
aka Das Phantom von Soho
Article 2748 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-14-2008
Posting Date: 2-20-2009
Directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb
Featuring Dieter Borsche, Barbara Rutting, Hans Sohnker
Country: West Germany

A knife-wielding maniac is killing patrons of a sleazy nightclub. However, the victims have more in common than just they’re having frequented the place…

Though my print isn’t in the best of quality, it’s properly letterboxed, surprisingly well-dubbed, and quite coherent. Considering this is one of the Edgar Wallace krimis West Germany was churning out in the early sixties, this is all quite surprising. It even has a plus in that the comic relief character is actually quite amusing and managed to get a few laughs out of me, also rare for the form. As a mystery, it’s not particularly challenging; you’ll quickly figure out the red herring and notice the character whose sole purpose in the story is to be unmasked at the end; I certainly wasn’t surprised. Nevertheless, this is one of the more entertaining and enjoyable krimis out there, and it even has a few effective stylistic touches to add to the mix. This is another good place to start for those who want to try out the form.

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The Omega Man (1971)

THE OMEGA MAN (1971)
Article 2747 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-13-2008
Posting Date: 2-19-2009
Directed by Boris Sagal
Featuring Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash
Country: USA

The sole survivor of a world-decimating plague finds himself in a one-man war against a gang of surviving mutants bent on his destruction. However, his life changes when he discovers he may not be the only survivor…

This is the third version of Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend”; there appears to be a Spanish short version made a few years earlier which I’ve not seen. I’ve also not seen the recent Will Smith remake, so all I’ve got to compare it with is the Vincent Price version called THE LAST MAN ON EARTH from the early sixties. This one is certainly better made, and was a great deal more popular. I myself quite like some parts of this one; I was always charmed by the scene where Charlton Heston’s character goes to a movie theater to see WOODSTOCK, a movie he’s seen so many times he can mouth the words. I’ve also never forgotten the climax of the movie in the fountain outside of the mansion. Still, taken as a whole, I prefer the earlier version; there’s something about the weariness and stark bleakness of the earlier movie that fires my imagination more than the standard action setpieces that drive this one. This is not to say that this is a bad movie; it’s quite entertaining in its way, though it does get a little slow at times. It just doesn’t have the same impact on me, especially in the closing scenes. On a side note, I wish I had known that craggy-faced John Dierkes was one of the members of the Family in this movie; I would have kept my eyes open for him.

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The Mummy’s Shroud (1967)

THE MUMMY’S SHROUD (1967)
Article 2746 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-12-2008
Posting Date: 2-18-2009
Directed by John Gilling
Featuring Andre Morell, John Phillips, David Buck
Country: UK

Archaelogists invade the tomb of Kah-to-Bey, and find themselves subject to the vengeful wrath of his mummified guardian Prem.

When I first saw this movie about twenty years ago, I found it utterly boring and thoroughly predictable. I like it a little better on reviewing; some of the characters and performers are interesting, and the disintegration scene at the end of the movie is nicely done. Still, it doesn’t change my feeling that the movie is routine; it takes way too long to get going, and the story is standard mummy’s curse fare. Furthermore, the mummy makeup is particularly weak in this one. Perhaps more than any of the other Hammer horrors I’ve seen, this one feels churned out.

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The Mouse on the Moon (1963)

THE MOUSE ON THE MOON (1963)
Article 2745 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-11-2008
Posting Date: 2-17-2009
Directed by Richard Lester
Featuring Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins
Country: UK

A miniscule country in Europe decides to get money for plumbing by asking the United States for money for rocket research, a grant that is given under the belief that this small country provides no real threat to the space race. However, when it is discovered that the local wine contains properties that make it a powerful rocket fuel, the country acquires a rocket from Russia and plans a trip to the moon.

This sequel to THE MOUSE THAT ROARED could well have been disastrous; after all, the absence of Peter Sellers from this sequel must have seemed like a real setback. At worst, though, the movie is merely uneven; the three performers who more or less replace Peter Sellers in his respective roles (Bernard Cribbins as a bumbling ne’er-do-well, Ron Moody as a wily Prime Minister, and Margaret Rutherford as the dotty queen) are all well cast, and the satirical aspects of the story (in which the governments of various concerned countries all play diplomatic games to make the best of the situation) are a lot of fun. It’s an early movie for Richard Lester, who would really come into his own with his next film, A HARD DAY’S NIGHT. The script is a little clumsy in the more overt comedy, but the movie is far from an embarrassment. My favorite laugh: a joke about the privy council.

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Santo contra el cerebro diabolico (1963)

SANTO CONTRA EL CEREBRO DIABOLICO (1963)
aka Santo vs. the Diabolical Brain
Article 2744 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-10-2008
Posting Date: 2-16-2009
Directed by Federico Curiel
Featuring Santo, Fernanado Casanova, Ana Berthe Lepe
Country: Mexico

Santo and friends take on some sadistic criminals in a western town.

That’s about all I was able to figure out of the plot based on watching it, and Robert Cotter’s “The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography”, which I usually turn to for help in cases like this, is of little help. Apparently, this makes the third in a trilogy of films that includes SANTO VS. THE KING OF CRIME and SANTO AT THE HOTEL OF THE DEAD. I’ve seen both of the latter, and they’re sorely lacking in fantastic content, as is this one; about the only thing I could spot is that there’s a wristwatch that can be used to contact Santo, and the wrestler has some gadgetry in his lair. Other than that, this one mostly plays like a western, with horses, fistfights in saloons, etc. There’s some interesting moments; there’s a scene in which two women have a heartfelt and emotional conversation while a singer croons a sad song in the background. This scene definitely feels out of place in a Santo movie, but then, Santo himself doesn’t appear in it much either. He does have the best scene, though, in which he singlehandedly prevents a small plane from taking off. This is not to be confused with Santo’s first movie, SANTO CONTA CEREBRO DEL MAL, or SANTO VS. THE EVIL BRAIN. Incidentally, despite the title, the brain remains firmly in the head of the main villain.

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Secret Agent X-9 (1937)

SECRET AGENT X-9 (1937)
Serial
Article 2743 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-9-2008
Posting Date: 2-15-2009
Directed by Ford Beebe and Clifford Smith
Featuring Scott Kolk, Jean Rogers, David Oliver
Country: USA

Secret Agent X-9 must track down a master thief who has stolen the Belgravian crown jewels.

This rather average serial was listed in the Willis guide as having fantastic elements on the strength of the title of its second chapter: THE RAY THAT BLINDS. I can understand that deduction; given the ubiquity of death rays in the era and the fact that the title of the serial implies spy action, I’d expect a weapon-ray of some sort myself. However, on inspection, the “ray that blinds” turns out to be nothing more than an ordinary light shined into the eyes of a driver; I remember it being referred to as an ‘x-ray’ of sorts, but I don’t remember whether it’s in the serial itself or some writing referring to it. Its primary use in the movie is to shine through some paintings in the hopes of finding a concealed receipt that leads to the stolen jewels. This doesn’t quite cut it as science fiction content, in my humble opinion. However, the movie may also be borderline fantasy; the existence of Belgravian crown jewels implies that there is a country called Belgravia out there, which goes under the classification of mythical kingdoms, even if the movie doesn’t spend any time there.

As I said before, this serial struck me as pretty average. The story is passable, but hardly great. Of the things I noticed most, there are moments when it has the most atrocious dubbing that I’ve ever seen in an English-language film; apparently, they tried to add voices from some of the silent stock footage they used. It also has more than its fair shares of lying-cliffhangers; for those who need to be refreshed as to the difference between cheating cliffhangers and lying cliffhangers, the former edit in new footage between the pieces of footage you saw in the previous episode, whereas the latter completely omits footage that was part of the cliffhanger, such as moments when the hero clutches his chest after a gun goes off, and falls to the ground. And seeing Lon Chaney Jr. in this one as a henchman, I can’t help but feel how fortunate he was that his career took off like it did; I’ve known a few serial heroes whose careers took them on to greater things, but I know very few serial henchmen who were that fortunate.

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The Beach Girls and the Monster (1965)

THE BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER (1965)
aka Monster from the Surf
Article 2742 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-8-2008
Posting Date: 2-14-2008
Directed by Jon Hall
Featuring Jon Hall, Sue Casey, Arnold Lessing
Country: USA

A monster is killing teens on the beach. Police investigate. Meanwhile, one teen’s father (who has an unfaithful wife) is trying to get him to give up his beach life and go back to work.

If you need a companion piece for a beach/monster double feature with HORROR OF PARTY BEACH, you could do worse than this one. Wait, I take that back; maybe you couldn’t do worse than this one. Apparently, this isn’t actor Jon Hall’s only directorial work; he did some uncredited direction on THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS. It is his last acting performance, and he couldn’t have gone out on a worse note. This is one of those movies where the padding and stock footage (girls dancing, surfing footage, etc.) is more entertaining than the hackneyed and annoying plot, with Jon Hall’s character constantly grousing, Sue Casey’s character acting bitchy, and Arnold Lessing’s character just wishing everyone would let him alone and let him hang out on the beach. The monster costume is lame, but so is the script and the acting. Quite frankly, this movie is so dead in the water that it makes HORROR OF PARTY BEACH look intelligent and innovative, and I’ll take the song “Zombie Stomp” over the “Monster in the Surf” song here. On a side note, I find it interesting that Jon Hall is a cousin to Ben Chapman, who is most famous for having played the Creature from the Black Lagoon during the land scenes; this movie certainly gave them something in common. Incidentally, Kingsley the Lion is played by himself.

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