Month: November 2019

Le dernier homme (1969)

LE DERNIER HOMME (1969)
aka The Last Man
Article 3982 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-17-2012
Directed by Charles L. Bitsch
Featuring Jean-Claude Bouillon, Sofia Torkeli, Corinne Brill
Country: France
What it is: End of the world drama

A man, his wife, and a female friend emerge from a cave exploring expedition to find that the rest of the world has died from a nuclear disaster. Complications arrive when the man begins to neglect his wife and fall in love with the other woman.

Here’s another that’s finally been retrieved from my “ones that got away” list. My copy is in French without English subtitles, so I’m sure that I missed some subtleties in the dialogue, but the basic premise is pretty clear, and the story isn’t particularly difficult to follow. A few of the critiques of the movie say that it isn’t particularly well acted, and, truth to tell, I often get the sense that the actors seem a little bored with it all; given the situation, everyone seems a little too blase. If there is something about this one that makes it special, then it’s hidden in the dialogue; on the surface, everything seems a little obvious and even a bit shallow. There’s a couple of arty touches here and there, but it mostly feels pretty straightforward.

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Les annees lumiere (1981)

LES ANNEES LUMIERE (1981)
aka Light Years Away
Article 3981 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-16-2012
Directed by Alain Tanner
Featuring Trevor Howard, Mick Ford, Bernice Stegers
Country: Switzerland / France
What it is: Allegorical drama

A young drifter decides to take up working for a possibly crazy old man with a towing business. If he works out, he will learn the secret of the old man’s shed, and start on a path to enlightenment.

Because this is an allegorical drama, I don’t think it’s really a spoiler to let on that the old man believes he has been taught to fly by the birds he keeps captive in his shed; this serves as the fantastic content of this allegory. Exactly what the allegory means in its entirety, I won’t pretend to know, but I will put forth that it probably involves spiritual redemption and that the old man serves as something of a Christ figure. These types of movies tend to be a matter of taste for me, and I quite like this one. Both Trevor Howard and Mick Ford give fine performances, and there are some truly interesting scenes, such as a sequence where the old man asks to be buried in the ground up to his neck for three days to heal wounds he received from a bird attack, and one where the two men bond by watching a storm from the front seat of the tow truck. One odd realization that struck me while I was watching this was, that in certain very basic aspects, the story was quite a bit similar to that Children’s Film Foundation movie I saw recently, THE SKY BIKE; it’s interesting how the same ideas can manifest themselves in two otherwise very different movies. And I will say that, despite the fact that the title and credits were in French, the movie itself was shot in English, and I was able to catch it that way.

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What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971)

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (1971)
Article 3980 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-15-2012
Directed by Curtis Harrington
Featuring Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver
Country: USA
What is it: Horror hag picture

Two women whose sons have been convicted of a notorious murder change their names, move to Hollywood, and open a dance studio for children intent on breaking into the movies. One of them tries to return to a life of normalcy, while the other, fearing the possible wrath of a vengeance-driven stalker, deteriorates mentally.

This movie came near the end of the “horror hag” cycle that began with WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, and is written by Henry Farell, who provided the stories and/or screenplays for both that earlier movie and for HUSH HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE. You can kind of tell that’s the case; there’s definitely a similar vibe that some of the other “horror hag” entries don’t share. In fact, it may be a little too similar; some of the touches feel a little forced; I don’t think there’s any real reason for the Hollywood backdrop, and the Victor Buono character (albeit not played by Buono), though an interesting character in himself, does little more plotwise than scare one of the women every time he appears; it almost seems like the writer is trying to borrow from BABY JANE but to no real purpose. On the plus side, Shelley Winters gives a great performance; she’s careful to underplay whenever she can so that it can contrast with the histrionics when she goes over the edge, and this gives her character an interesting vibe. However, I emerge from the movie not quite satisfied; I’m never quite sure why these two women are hanging around together, and the movie rings a false note in that regard. And the ending doesn’t quite deliver the jolt to make it really effective.

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Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940)

WHO KILLED AUNT MAGGIE? (1940)
Article 3979 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-14-2012
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Featuring John Hubbard, Wendy Barrie, Edgar Kennedy
Country: USA
What it is: Old dark house mystery

A radio advertiser tracks his fiancee to her home, an old dark house in the South. There they encounter murders and mystery.

Yes, we’re in the “old dark house” again; I wonder if we’ll ever get to the bottom of the genre. There’s a number of familiar names in this one, such as Edgar Kennedy, Onslow Stevens, Willie Best and Milton Parsons; the latter, amazingly enough, is NOT playing an undertaker, but a tombstone salesman. It’s amusing enough, and it moves pretty quickly, but that may be because I was watching an edited TV version that runs only 53 minutes; the movie in its entirety runs seventy. If anything sets this one apart, it’s a certain self-referential quality; the movie opens with the hero pooh-poohing an “old dark house” script as unbelievable and ridiculous, only to find himself caught up in one. For the record, my favorite moment is the final joke involving a wedding ceremony. The fantastic content is the usual shtick, though we also have a clock that mysteriously stops every time someone dies in the house.

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The Strange and Deadly Occurrence (1974)

THE STRANGE AND DEADLY OCCURRENCE (1974)
TV-Movie
Article 3978 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-13-2012
Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
Featuring Robert Stack, Vera Miles, L.Q. Jones
Country: USA
What it is: Spooky house story

A family undergoes a number of strange events after they move into an isolated house. Is the place haunted, or is someone trying to scare them off?

I remember reading an analysis of the movie FREAKS once that made the observation that there was something rather absurd about the concept of Prince Randian, the living torso taking part in a chase with a knife clutched in his teeth, but that the absurdity did not detract from the creepiness of the sight. The same could be said about what appears to be the horrific highlight in this one in which a dressmaker’s dummy attacks the teenage daughter; it is an unsettling visual, even though the worst the dummy could probably really do is fall on top of her. It’s certainly scarier than any of the other attempted scares in this movie, especially those that attempt to make gophers(!) scary creatures of evil. Unfortunately, even the dummy scene didn’t really compensate for the fact that I found the movie painfully predictable; once the creepy doctor shows up, I knew the true nature of the hauntings, and once I knew where the doctor practiced, I knew the underlying reason. The trouble is, I don’t think the movie wanted you to figure it out that early. In the end, I think the movie would have worked better if those in charge had decided to play it like a thriller rather than a horror story. The movie does have its fans, of course, but for me, if fell flat.

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The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976)

THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: THE STORY OF CINDERELLA (1976)
Article 3977 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-12-2012
Directed by Bryan Forbes
Featuring Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven, Michael Hordern
Country: UK
What it is: Lavish musical retelling of the Cinderella story

In order to find a wife for the prince, a King holds a ball to invite all the ladies of the land. However, his heart is won by a lowly stepdaughter whose name he doesn’t even know. When she vanishes at midnight, he sets out to find her.

From the year after this one was released, I’ve so far covered two different musical versions of the same story – both of them softcore porn versions. I make this observation for one reason, and that is to illustrate just how much of an anachronism this one is; its lavish, reverent production makes it feel like it belongs at least a decade or two earlier in movie history. And, truth to tell, I can admire a movie that almost willfully swims against the current of the trends of the time. I can also admire what the movie is trying to do, which is to take a classic fairy tale and flesh it out with a number of real-life themes that have a certain relevance to the story, such as class distinctions and the realities of royal betrothals; if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that a lot of thought went into this movie. Nevertheless, I must admit that my admiration mostly comes from a distance; I’m not particularly enchanted with either the classic movie musical or the Cinderella story, the musical numbers aren’t quite breathtaking enough to win me over, and much of the story speculation I find only mildly interesting. About the only time I really emotionally connected with the movie was when the Chamberlain is forced to undertake the delicate and unpleasant task of breaking up the impending marriage, and much of this has to do with the excellence of Kenneth More’s performance; I found the scene intensely moving, even while being aware it was simply setting up one final paper obstacle that would be easily be demolished by the movie’s ace in the hole (Cinderella does have a Fairy Godmother, after all). That the movie is well loved in some circles does not surprise me, but I’m afraid I was most struck with just how long it takes for things to get moving in the this two-and-a-half hour movie. Again, I wouldn’t say it was bad; I’d just say that it was not for me.

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The Shout (1978)

THE SHOUT (1978)
Article 3976 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-10-2012
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Featuring Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt
Country: UK
What it is: Odd horror movie

A musician and his wife find their home invaded by a stranger who claims to wield aboriginal magic, including a shout that is capable of killing people.

This strange, offbeat little horror film is something like a cross between THE LAST WAVE and CUL-DE-SAC, though in truth that doesn’t quite capture the vibe. It’s a difficult movie, and I’m not sure I quite understood all that was happening, but it does have a real sense of dread, and its use of sound to increase tension and build suspense is very striking. Alan Bates gives a great performance as the magic-wielding stranger, though the other performers (which include John Hurt, Susannah York, Tim Curry and Jim Broadbent) all do very well. Whatever its difficulties, the movie does draw me into a world that I haven’t been to before, and that’s always a plus, and this is one I will probably watch again when the opportunity arises.

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The Secret of the Black Widow (1963)

THE SECRET OF THE BLACK WIDOW (1963)
aka Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Witwe
Article 3975 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-10-2012
Directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb
Featuring O.W. Fischer, Karin Dor, Klaus Kinski
Country: West Germany / Spain
What it is: Pseudo-krimi

Years ago, several members of a Mexican expedition came back rich, but with one of their members having died, supposedly due to the bite of a black widow spider. Now someone is picking off the surviving members of the expedition with poison darts shaped like black widow spiders. Could the culprit be the daughter of the man who never returned…?

You know you’ve become pretty familiar with a certain movie genre and style when you can watch an example of it and know that it’s made by other people than the ones you usually see. Granted, I always have to check to make sure; most of the krimis came from Rialto, and this one came from Germania. Despite the presence of some familiar krimi faces (most notably Klaus Kinski in a rare good guy role), the feel is different. For one thing, the plot is noticeably straightforward. Still, it is rather nice not to have to struggle to follow the story, as I have to do with some of the others, and the comic relief character is used rather sparingly. Unfortunately, the dubbing is a little weak, and it runs too long, which is especially noticeable during a somewhat protracted climax. Once again, the fantastic content is rather light; the method of murder has a slight horror feel to it, but that’s about all. This one is a mixed bag.

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The Screaming Skull (1973)

THE SCREAMING SKULL (1973)
TV-Movie
Article 3974 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-9-2012
Directed by Gloria Monty
Featuring Vincent Gardenia, Carrie Nye, David McCallum
Country: USA
What it is: Ghost story

An expert on craniology is estranged from his wife, but he fears to leave her because her money is what pays for his experiments. Then, using an idea given to him by his brother, he decides to do away with her in a way that will leave no evidence. But the spirits of those who die do not always rest easy…

I’ve not read the story by Frances Marion Crawford that serves as the basis for both this and the 1958 movie of the same name (though I should point out that the earlier movie does not officially credit the source), but I’m pretty sure at least one of them took liberties with the original story. However, both of them do deal with a spirit of the dead personified as a screaming skull. Personally, I’m glad to see the GASLIGHT plotline used in the earlier movie absent from this one, but I’m afraid neither one of these versions do much for me. At least part of the problem is that the first half of this movie does such a connect-the-dots job of setting up its story that you get bored waiting around for the scientist to actually kill his wife; you know he’s going to do it, you know how he’s going to do it, and you’re just waiting for him to get on with it. The second half is a little better, though it’s hardly unpredictable, but the whole “vengeance from the grave” story just never comes to life here. Furthermore, I found the contrast between the acting styles employed by David McCallum and Vincent Gardenia to be jarring; it’s hard to believe the characters are in the same movie, much less brothers. In the end, I just found this one rather dull.

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The Keeper (1976)

THE KEEPER (1976)
Article 3973 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-8-2012
Directed by T.Y. Drake
Featuring Christopher Lee, Tell Schreiber, Sally Gray
Country: Canada
What it is: Crime / Horror movie

A private investigator is checking into the doings at an exclusive insane asylum for the rich; the families of the patients have been dying off, leaving the inmates with as the sole heirs.

One of Christopher Lee’s most striking natural traits is his great height; his ability to tower over the other cast members gives him an imposing presence. Therefore, to saddle him with a handicap that forces him to hunch over and walk with a cane, especially when there’s no decent reason dramatically for him to be this way, seems counter-productive. Now I don’t know whether that was a choice of the director, the writer, or Lee himself, but that’s just one of the many problems of this rather plodding and bizarre movie that just might be described as a Canadian krimi. Other problems include the presence of one of the most dimwitted (and worst) comic relief cops in the history of cinema; I’m not sure whether the gusto with which actor Ross Vezarian throws himself into this part is something worthy of admiration or mounting horror. The lackluster direction and general sense of absurdity certainly don’t help. And yet… I can’t quite bring myself to write the movie completely off. There are certain odd touches to the story that keep it interesting (such as the existence of an extraordinarily useful shoeshine boy and a plot point that involves twins with a Corsican-brothers like sensitivity to each other), and even if Lee does seem a little lost here, I never get the sense that he’s just blowing this one off. Make no mistake – the movie is bad, but at least it’s interesting bad.

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