THE CLIMAX (1944)
Article #394 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 4-13-2002
Posting date: 9-6-2002

An opera singer loses her voice when she becomes involved with a doctor who believes her voice belonged to the woman he loved and which he is intent on silencing.

This movie marked Karloff’s return to Universal in the forties, and I have no doubt they thought they were doing him a favor by putting him in such a classy production, what with the color and the opera and everything. It’s a pity they didn’t come up with a better story; this largely comes across as a blatant attempt by Universal to repeat the success of their earlier PHANTOM OF THE OPERA rather than to produce a good horror movie. So we have lots of pretty colors, lots of beautiful scenery, lots and lots of opera, Karloff and Gale Sondergaard both wasted, and a story which ends up revolving around an opera singer being obsessed with an atomizer. Altogether, it is easy to see why this was perhaps the least of the movies Karloff made for the studio, despite the budget.

CHAMBER OF HORRORS (1940)
(a.k.a. THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS)
Article #393 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 4-12-2002
Posting date: 9-5-2002

Strange events surround the death of a rich man and his burial with his jewels in a tomb with a door with seven locks.

I find this Edgar Wallace mystery interesting enough, though sometimes a little confusing, and I’m not yet quite sure if the whole story hangs together. There is an entertaining array of characters involved in the story, but it is one of those that may require a checklist to keep everyone straight. Leslie Banks plays the evil Dr. Manetti, and when he gives a tour of the items in his collection of torture devices, you have a pretty good idea of where the last scenes of the movie will be taking place. It’s worth a watch, though it does get a little too cute at times and a little dull at others.

CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN (1955)
Article #379 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 3-29-2002
Posting date: 8-22-2002

A gangster uses the talents of a scientist to animate dead bodies and cause them to commit murders of vengeance.

This science fiction/horror thriller isn’t a great movie, but it’s quite entertaining if you’re in the right mood for it. Edward L. Cahn wasn’t really a great director, but he could do all right if he was given the right story, and I think this one was right for him; the movie manages to deliver some thrills despite the general cheapness of the production and a sense that it was made mostly by people primarily interested in pulling in a paycheck. Still, I think I was in the right mood for it, and in its own way, it actually might be another of those films like INVISIBLE INVADERS that set the scene for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. This is a good one for a slow Sunday afternoon.

CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN (1958)
Article #350 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 3-2-2002
Posting date: 7-17-2002

A stone-covered body is discovered in the ruins of Pompeii which turn out to be the remains of Quintilus Aurelius. However, the body is not dead, and returns to life to commit murder.

Though he’s covered with stone, it might as well be bandages, as this is really nothing but a mummy movie when you get down to it. Not a good one, either; like the title character, it’s dull and slow-moving. The dialogue started driving me crazy early on; it seems as if almost a quarter of the lines are on the order of “I’m sorry, but it’s been scientifically proven that dead men from two thousand years ago don’t stand up and walk around.” (Not an actual quote from the movie, but it might as well be.) And like too many mummy movies where the monster could be easily outrun, characters have to make immensely stupid decisions like standing stock still when the faceless man is coming at them, or running into a dead end where they can be cornered; I never find this kind of thing effective. It’s directed by Edward L. Cahn, written by Jerome Bixby, and stars Richard Anderson; all three have done monementally better work elsewhere. This one is a waste of time.

THE CROOKED CIRCLE (1932)
Article #349 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 3-1-2002
Posting date: 7-16-2002

A secret society bent on evil vows to take revenge on an amateur detection society that sent one of their members to prison.

This forgotten horror is one of the old dark house variety, as the action eventually moves into a mansion that is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a violinist. It is a supremely silly movie, creaky and edited with a hatchet, but it throws so many creepy suspicious characters at you and rounds it out with several comic relief characters (two of which are James Gleason and Zasu Pitts) that it keeps you diverted, even if the comic bits are wildly uneven. You have to be in the mood for this sort of thing, but if you are, this is one of the better ones I’ve found.

Incidentally, the company that put this out is called World Wide Pictures. Their logo consisted of a pretty woman holding two big globes out in front of her chest. Uhh, yeah. I wonder if this logo was still around after the Hays office went into effect.

CONQUEST OF THE POLE (1912)
(a.k.a. LA CONQUETE DU POLE)
Article #348 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 2-28-2002
Posting date: 7-15-2002

A journey to the polar regions is depicted, in which adventurers encounter a fierce snow giant.

This is perhaps the second most famous film by Melies, and ironically, it’s a landmark in almost exactly the opposite way as A TRIP TO THE MOON; it was a flop rather than a hit, and marked Melies’ farewell to moviemaking and descent into obscurity where the earlier film marked his rise to fame. It’s easy to see why; though the movie is quite fun in its own right, it doesn’t show any real advance over the earlier film; it’s full of tricks, but by this time, they were no longer fresh. Still, it holds up quite well, and is quite entertaining, and his sense of humor is very much intact throughout. It’s definitely one of Melies’ most entertaining films.

CHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT (1935)
Article #347 by Dave Sindelar
Posting date: 7-14-2002
Viewing date: 2-25-2002

Charlie Chan investigates the murder of a professor who was found sealed in an Egyptian sarcophagus.

Mysteries have always been aligned somewhat with the horror genre, especially when a specific story lends itself to a horror setting. In this case, the possiblity of an Egyptian curse and the anger of the Egyptian gods lend an element of fantastic to the proceedings; however, since it is a mystery, you can rest assured that the denoument is more mundane. Warner Oland is fun as Chan as always, but I could never stand Stepin Fetchit’s mush-mouthed barely human characters, and he remains an annoyance.

THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1939)
Article #344 by Dave Sindelar
Posting date: 7-11-2002
Viewing date: 2-22-2002

A woman inherits an estate as long as she doesn’t die or isn’t proven insane. However, someone is trying to kill her or drive her crazy.

This is a remake of the 1927 movie with Bob Hope thrown in for comic relief, and he does well enough; I really have never acquired a taste for him, but he’s fairly solid throughout and does get a few laughs. What I do like about his forays into horror is that they didn’t stint on the atmosphere; both this and THE GHOST BREAKERS have real scares and tension in them. This one in particular builds up to a nice horror climax, and is quite enjoyable. And, to round things out, we have George Zucco and Gale Sondergaard to keep things lively. This one is quite fun.

CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1962)
(a.k.a. THE DOCTOR OF SEVEN DIALS)
Article #341 by Dave Sindelar
Posting date: 7-8-2002
Viewing date: 2-19-2002

A nineteenth century surgeon experiments with methods of anesthetizing patients, and ends up becoming an addict to his drugs.

This movie sat on the shelf for four years while arguments about the title, changes in management, and a change in the credits to take into account Christopher Lee’s rise to fame held the movie from release. Despite many horrific elements, it’s not a horror movie; it’s a drama in which the doctor pays a very high price to pursue his goal. Karloff is excellent, as usual, and Lee does extremely well in a very small part. The surgery scenes are quite harrowing in their way, but the movie is a little dull at times.

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (1944)
Article #339 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 2-17-2002
Posting date: 7-4-2002

A ghost will only be freed from his curse if one of his kinsman will perform a brave act in his name; unfortunately, he belongs to a clan of cowards. His hopes arise when an American nephew shows up during World War II.

This comedy was based on a story by Oscar Wilde, but the presence of American GIs fighting Nazis show that changes were made to cause it to fit in with the tenor of the period. This kind of fluff role must have been a little disappointment to Charles Laughton after some of his classier roles during the thirties; in fact, he had wanted to make a film about Beethoven, but the powers that be deemed this idea to be more commercial. He does well enough, though, as do Margaret O’Brien and Robert Young in their roles. The movie lapses into slapstick at times, and there’s a little too much dwelling on the differences between Yanks and Brits for my taste, but it works quite well overall. Nothing fantastic, but entertaining nonetheless.