Month: January 2019

The Black Cat (1966)

THE BLACK CAT (1966)
Article 3234 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-27-2010
Posting Date: 6-22-2010
Directed by Harold Hoffman
Featuring Robert Frost, Robyn Baker, Sadie French
Country: USA
What it is: Low-budget Poe adaptation

If this movie seems to be famous for anything, I’m guessing it would be the effectively gory axe murder sequence; I remember seeing stills of that one. And since the axe murder does take place in the original Poe story, we can’t really call it gratuitous. In fact, I do have to credit the makers of this movie for attempting a certain type of fidelity to the original story; it’s updated to the present, and fleshes out the characters and situations, but it manages to be true to the story as written. Still, it doesn’t quite flesh things out enough to hold the interest level high throughout the running time of the movie, and some of the additions are obvious (let’s have lots of scenes of him drinking, let’s have lots of scenes of him talking like a loony, let’s have a car chase, etc.). Fortunately, some of the touches are nice; I like that our main character has other pets around as well as the cat, I like the bizarre sequence where he his serenaded by a rock band of one-eyed men, and I like his startled attack on a black purse. Let’s face it; for a movie made on an extreme low budget, this one works pretty well. I just wish they had taken extra care with spelling Edgar Allan Poe’s name correctly. Incidentally, I suspect the Robert Frost of this movie is not the well known poet, despite his opening lines of poetry.

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Alien Warrior (1985)

ALIEN WARRIOR (1985)
Article 3233 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-26-2010
Posting Date: 6-21-2010
Directed by Ed Hunt
Featuring Brett Baxter Clark, Pamela Saunders, Reggie De Morton
Country: Canada
What it is: Liberal Christ fantasy/violent exploitation flick

A visitor from outer space comes to Earth to prove his worth by defeating a Great Evil, which comes in the form of a violent drug dealer. However, the visitor has a limitation; the use of violence on his part causes him to weaken.

Liberal do-gooder fantasy or sex-and-violence exploitation flick? Take your pick; the movie is obviously trying to have it both ways. Unfortunately, rather than achieving an amazing amalgamation of diverse genres, it comes across as merely split-personality goofiness, probably because it does neither one well, though it’s obviously more at home with the sex and violence. Our visitor arrives on Earth naked (someone has seen THE TERMINATOR), but, thanks to a friendly wino who just happens to have an extra set of clothes, he is soon ready to look for Great Evil. On the way he saves a woman from a gang of rapists, and then reforms the gang by getting the leader to face his shame over being called “stupid”, and then getting the boy to read “Alice in Wonderland” while he himself peruses a complete set of encyclopedias. With the help of the wino and his reformed-gang friends, he builds a really cool car that he uses to impress and reform the members of a protection racket so they can come to the reading center and break-dance, and then he… well, I could go on, but suffice it to say that interspersed between these moments are scenes where the “Great Evil” takes voyeuristic movies of his harem making love to members of the local police force or doing away with rivals in as violent a way as possible. It’s rating on IMDB is 4.3, but don’t let that fool you; the user comments are split between those who think the movie is godawful and those who think it is a hilarious camp classic, which, if you do find yourself watching it, is perhaps the best way to approach it.

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Torticola contre Frankensberg (1952)

TORTICOLA CONTRE FRANKENSBERG (1952)
aka Twisted Neck vs Frankensberg

Short
Article 3232 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-25-2010
Posting Date: 6-20-2010
Directed by Paul Paviot
Featuring Michel Piccoli, Roger Blin, Daniel Gelin
Country: France
What it is: French art film as parody of creaky horror movie in the form of a silent serial

The sinister Dr. Frankensberg plans to experiment on a beautiful woman, but will the monster that loves the girl object?

The first hint I had that this was meant to be comic was during an eerie scene when hooded monks make their way around a Stonehenge-style rock arrangement; one of them obviously trips, breaking the mood completely, and the fact that the scene was left in on purpose clearly stated the intention of the short. Given that it’s in unsubtitled French, I can’t say I understand the film completely, but I was consistently amused, especially in the way it plays with horror style; I’ve never seen a coffee-sweetening scene with as much foreboding as I did here. On top of Frankensberg and Torticola (think of Frankenstein and his monster), we have an assistant with an agenda of his own, an old woman who sharpens scalpels on an old whetstone, a man who thinks he’s a cat, a cat who speaks English, the maiden in distress, and the ever-present procession of chanting monks (if you want a few extra laughs, listen carefully to the melodies they chant). I’d love to see it English; in particular, I’d like to figure out the references to Freud. Though it’s a classier film in every way, I couldn’t help but be reminded of two other horror-themed shorts I’ve seen; MONSTERS CRASH THE PAJAMA PARTY and THE PROFESSOR.

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Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975)

MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY (1975)
Article 3231 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-24-2010
Posting Date: 6-19-2010
Directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma
Featuring Cristina Ferrare, David Young, and John Carradine
Country: Mexico / USA
What it is: Non-traditional vampire tale

A successful female artist is also a vampire; she drugs her victims, cuts their throats with a knife, and drinks their blood. The police follow the trail of murders and suspect the artist’s boyfriend. Meanwhile, an unknown person who also commits the same type of murders is stalking the artist.

Those drawn to this movie by the third word in the title will probably be satisfied by the blood-drenched finale to the movie, though the first half will probably be a bit of a drag. Those drawn to it by the presence of John Carradine need to know that he left partway through the production and was replaced by a double for the remaining scenes; however, since most of his character’s scenes are action sequences of one sort or another that would have been a big strain on a man pushing 70, I think we would have seen a lot of the double even if he’d stayed on board. At any rate, his appearance is little more than a cameo. Those hoping for a satisfying explanation of the non-traditional vampirism here (they don’t sprout fangs, they aren’t afraid of sunlight, they don’t have to be killed in a special way, etc.) will not get one. Those hoping for some sort of intelligence on the part of the police will be appalled. Those expecting characters to act sensibly should feel free to walk away from this one any time they want to. Those who like zoom shots and bizarre editing will be happy enough. Me, I like a few of the characters, but overall, this one just didn’t trip my trigger. I do like the surreal paintings, though.

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Logan’s Run (1976)

LOGAN’S RUN (1976)
Article 3230 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-22-2010
Posting Date: 6-18-2010
Directed by Michael Anderson
Featuring Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter
Country: USA
What it is: Dystopian science fiction

In the future, humanity lives in domed cities isolated from the rest of the world. People are only allowed to live to the age of 30, when they are “reborn” through a process known as “carousel”. Those who try to evade “carousel” are known as “runners”, and a group of men known as sandmen have the job of chasing down runners and terminating them. One sandman is chosen for a special mission; some runners have escaped to a place known as Sanctuary, and he must find the place. But what will he really find…?

It’s certainly one of the more ambitious science fiction movies of the seventies, and at its best, it does tap into a real sense of wonder; the opening “carousel” sequences are particularly interesting. Overall, however, I didn’t find the movie particularly satisfying. One problem is that the movie as a whole never builds a sense of tension and urgency; we seem to saunter from one scene to the next, and this leaves the movie feeling a bit aimless. The ending of the movie also feels contrived and convenient, which certainly adds to my lack of satisfaction. There is a nice sense of fun at moments, though; I like the scenes in the overgrown Washington D.C. settings, and Peter Ustinov seems to be having a lot of fun as an old man, so much so I found myself wondering if much of his dialogue was ad-libbed. Overall, it seems more of a triumph of production design over script, and I would like to read the original novel some time to see just what has been changed.

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The Last Dinosaur (1977)

THE LAST DINOSAUR (1977)
Article 3229 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-21-2010
Posting Date: 6-17-2010
Directed by Alexander Grasshoff and Tsugonobu Kotani
Featuring Richard Boone, Joan Van Ark, Steven Keats
Country: Japan / USA
What it is: Dinosaur movie

A big game hunter forms an expedition to explore a hidden area in the Arctic regions that is said to harbor dinosaurs. Though he claims he’s doing it for the sake of science, the question remains – is he actually going there to hunt it?

What we have here is a cross between THE LOST WORLD and “Moby Dick”. Like KING KONG ESCAPES, it’s a Japanese/American co-production with Rankin/Bass and a Japanese film company, in this case Tsuburaya Productions. The dinosaurs are, like most Japanese monsters, men in suits, and are acceptable enough (to these eyes, anyway). I like the movie, but wish I liked it more. It starts out looking fairly interesting; Richard Boone’s performance is odd enough that it caught my attention, and Joan Van Ark looks at first like she’s going to be a fairly feisty female addition to the expedition. However, once they get to this lost world, they become less interesting, especially Van Ark as she quickly becomes the typical screaming female in distress. The movie is hoodwinked by a weak script that often belabors cliches, leaves the potentially interesting character of Bunta undeveloped, and makes the character of the employee who first spotted the dinosaur an unlikable, abrasive man. Furthermore, the score doesn’t know when it should leave well enough alone and constantly tries to underline moments that would be best left in silence. Still, when it does work (which is sporadically), it is entertaining enough. I saw the complete version which runs about 11 minutes longer than the version that was released to TV in this country; I suspect that the footage that was cut involves the expedition’s encounter with a tribe of caveman. This one is a real mixed bag.

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It’s Alive! (1969)

IT’S ALIVE! (1969)
TV-Movie
Article 3228 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-20-2010
Posting Date: 6-16-2010
Directed by Larry Buchanan
Featuring Tommy Kirk, Shirley Bonne, Bill Thurman
Country: USA
What it is: Horror in Buchananland

Two vacationers get lost in the backwoods of the Ozarks and encounter a man who maintains a makeshift zoo. He locks the vacationers (along with a visiting paleontologist) in a cavern in the hopes they will serve as food for a prehistoric monster dwelling there.

Larry Buchanan’s best fantastically-themed movie? Well, I wouldn’t go that far; there’s something that just doesn’t sit right with me to put “Larry Buchanan” and the word “best” in the same sentence. It is, however, one of the rare times that I do have something good to say about one of his movies, and that is that the performance of Buchanan regular Bill Thurman is rather effective; he does a decent job of portraying a character that seems friendly on the surface but turns out to be an abusive madman underneath. Granted, his performance is uneven; it falters whenever he’s required to maniacally overact. The movie also has the advantage of not being a remake of a better AIP movie, so you can’t compare it to a better version of the story; still, this was because the script was not pursued at the time. Thurman’s performance aside, however, the movie is a stinker, with too many dull stretches and a particularly ill-conceived monster. The latter uses the same outfit that Buchanan used for CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION; it was a lousy monster suit to begin with, but at least in that movie it made a little sense. Here, it’s supposed to be a giant dinosaur, but it never once conveys any sense of real size, and it looks not the least bit dinosaurish. Still, the movie does make me want to see the movie AIP had originally planned to make with the script; it would have featured Elsa Lanchester and Peter Lorre. I’m assuming Lorre would have had the Thurman role, and I would love to see what he would have done with it; furthermore, he would have made the maniacal overacting scenes a lot more fun.

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Das Schloss in Flandern (1936)

DAS SCHLOSS IN FLANDERN (1936)
aka Castle in Flanders
Article 3227 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-19-2010
Posting Date: 6-15-2010
Directed by Geza von Bolvary
Featuring Martha Eggerth, Paul Hartmann, Georg Alexander
Country: Germany
What it is: Love story

During World War I, six soldiers are bound together by repeated listenings to a phonograph from a beautiful singer. Years later the singer, while trying to evade a host of suitors, takes refuge in a castle in Flanders where she meets and falls in love with one of the soldiers. However, she loses him again, and discovers that there may be some dark secret about him…

IMDB classifies it as a romance, and the plot description at All Movies doesn’t give any info about fantastic content. My copy is in German with French subtitles, and for the longest time I was wondering if I would ever grasp what I assumed was going to be some very marginal fantastic content. Because of the language difficulties, the plot was very hard to follow, but I was able to piece together at least one crucial bit of info that makes it seem that the woman may have actually encountered a ghost. Even though further developments give a different interpretation of certain events, the possibility does seem to exist at one point, so that does give us a certain degree of fantastic content. However, another element exists; the singer’s last big musical number in the movie involves a machine that churns out robots, given an unexpected science fiction angle to the song; science fiction fans might like to hunt up the movie for this scene alone, as it’s quite impressive in its way. As for the movie itself, the language barrier really prevents me from making any meaningful overall judgment, but there are some striking visual moments; my favorite involves a scene at a concert where the singer notices the soldier in the audience, and breaks into the number that was on the phonograph, and the movie gives a nice suggestion visually that she is doing the song for him and him alone.

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Umorismo in nero (1965)

UMORISMO IN NERO (1965)
aka Death Travels Too Much
Article 3226 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-18-2010
Posting Date: 6-14-2010
Directed by Claude Autant-Lara, Jose Maria Forque, Giancarlo Zagni
Country: Italy / France / Spain
What it is: Black comedy anthology

Three comic tales involving death are told. In the first, an old woman believes the pain in her head is caused by a bug in her ear, and she visits a healer. In the second, a circus performer attempts to frame her assistant for the murder of a romantic rival. In the third, a hunter believes the beautiful woman he has encountered is actually Death.

This anthology film features three separate stories directed by three different directors in three different languages; in whichever country you saw it, at least two-thirds of the dialogue was dubbed. This was the one released in Spain, and since I saw it without subtitles, it was a bit difficult to follow. However, I could tell it was lightly comic more than darkly satirical, and it looks like a lot of fun. The first tale does feature a healer who dresses up like a personification of Death at one point, and this gives it a certain fantastic content. The second story climaxes with scenes involving a magician’s act, which adds a bit of fantastic content to that one as well. However, the massive amount of fantastic content is in the third story. This one is the most difficult to follow, but it looks fun; there’s a scene in a crypt involving a man coming out of a burial place with a skull strapped to his head, various attempts to murder Death (who survives and reappears with ease), and some other horror imagery; nonetheless, it’s played for laughs. This is one I wish I could see with subtitles.

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I, Monster (1971)

I, MONSTER (1971)
Article 3225 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-17-2010
Posting Date: 6-13-2010
Directed by Stephen Weeks
Featuring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mike Raven
Country: UK
What it is: Jekyll and Hyde by another name

A psychiatrist develops a drug that is capable of suppressing the superego. His experiments on himself begin to turn him into an increasingly ugly psychopath.

There are some interesting changes to the Jekyll and Hyde story in this version. I do like the fact that in this one, the Jekyll character (here named Marlowe; for some reason they change the names of the title characters but leave the names of the others untouched) is an early follower of Freud, which underlines the psychological subtexts of the story. They’ve also increased and fleshed out the character of Utterson, making him more prominent and less of a literary device; in the original novel, he was telling the story. The movie is enhanced by very good performances from Christopher Lee (as Marlowe/Blake) and Peter Cushing (as Utterson), and the movie itself keeps fairly close to the original story. The biggest problem with the movie is the lifeless direction; if the performances were less accomplished, this movie would have been a major snoozefest. The movie came from Amicus, and was originally intended to be viewable in 3D through the use of the Pulfrich effect, which requires careful choreography and camera movement in order for it to work; that may explain why some of the scenes seem so oddly directed, particularly a tavern scene in which the movement really calls attention to itself.

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