CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972)
Article #254 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-25-2001
Posting date: 4-10-2002

A troupe of actors try to raise the dead in a cemetery; when they think they failed, they take a corpse to a nearby house for a party. Unfortunately, they didn’t fail, and the dead come to life.

It’s fairly obvious to tell that this is a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD rip-off, and the payoff in this movie isn’t too bad; the scenes of the dead coming out of their graves are very good. However, to get to that, you have spend an hour with some of the most annoying characters you’ve ever endured, and…

SPOILER

…when the tentative hero and heroine are the first two to bite the dust, you pretty much know how it’s all going to end. Most of the actors have the same name as they characters they play; let’s hope they weren’t playing themselves. This was directed by Benjamin Clark a.k.a. Bob Clark, who would later give us a couple of really good movies and a whole slew of awful ones.

COBRA WOMAN (1944)
Article #174 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-6-2001
Posting date: 1-20-2002

A woman about to be married is kidnapped. Her husband-to-be tracks her to a south seas island where her evil twin sister holds sway.

It has Maria Montez. It has Jon Hall. It has Sabu. Put those three names together, and you should know just the type of hokum you’re in for when you watch this movie. It also features Lon Chaney, Jr. as a big blind deaf-mute (who’s not really blind, but then, Maria Montez wasn’t really an actress, was she?). It also has a chimpanzee when you get tired of looking at the human performers. It’s also directed by Robert Siodmak, and shot in beautiful color. There’s also a sequence where Montez (who has a dual role; one for each of her emotions) does a dance around a cobra. Sabu probably gives the most memorable performance, but I’ve always found myself that a little Sabu goes a long way.

Since this whole series of Musings & Ramblings revolves around an attempt of mine to see as many classic science fiction/fantasy/horror movies as I can, I end up watching stuff like this. I’d better get used to it; there’s a lot of silly movies out there in the Fantasy category, and I’ve barely scratched the surface.

CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957)
(a.k.a. NIGHT OF THE DEMON)
Article #171 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-3-2001
Posting date: 1-17-2002

A psychologist intent on debunking and exposing a devil worship cult headed by a man named Julian Karswell finds himself the victim of a curse that will end with his destruction by a demon.

This is far and away my favorite horror movie from the fifties and is a real triumph from Lewton alumnus Jacques Tourneur. Since every discussion of this movie eventually centers on whether they should have shown the demon or not, I’ll get that particular issue out of the way first by saying that the child in me loves to see the monster and is very satisfied with this one, as it does manage to be quite scary. However, whether the movie NEEDS to show the monster is another question, and in my opinion, it doesn’t; this movie works because the buildup of tension throughout is so well-done that the ending would have been just as satisfying without the monster, and it would have added an extral dollop of Lewton-like ambiguity to the proceedings.

There’s so much I like about this movie; the solid work from both Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins, the fascinating performance by Niall MacGinnis as Karswell (one of the most interesting characters in horror cinema), and the wealth of memorable character roles throughout, such as Karswell’s mother, the medium in the seance sequence, and the psychologist from India also attending the seminar who openly admits to believing in demons. Then there’s so many great scenes in this movie: the first encounter with Karswell in the library; the seance sequence with the eccentric medium; the tense sequence where Dana Andrews breaks into Karswell’s mansion and then leaves through the woods nearby; the ending scenes, in which the roar of the trains adds a jarring note to the proceedings; and my favorite scene, the psychologist visiting Karswell at his mansion, and meeting him dressed as a clown, followed by a demonstration of his power by the summoning of a storm.

CONQUEST OF SPACE (1955)
Article #170 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-2-2001
Posting date: 1-16-2002

Despite their differences, the son of a space veteran accompanies him on the trip to Mars of which his father is the commander. When a crew member dies en route, the commander becomes a religious fanatic and tries to sabotage the expedition; when his son is forced to kill him, he gains the enmity of Sergeant Mahoney, a long-time friend of the commander.

This outer space epic reminds me of George Pal’s earlier voyage into space, DESTINATION MOON, and it shares some of that movie’s flaws; it’s peopled with cliched characters, and isn’t particularly well acted. It didn’t matter all that much in the earlier movie, as the focus of that one was on the scientific side of the expedition; here, the story is character oriented, and the movie suffers tremendously. The movie was based on a non-fiction science book with illustrations by Chesley Bonestall, and so the makers had to come up with their own story. Three scripts were rejected before this one was chosen, and this one is certainly no gem; it feels to me like a compendium of war-movie cliches. Worst of all, the story hinges on a completely unconvincing change of character on the part of the general in charge of the expedition from a hardened space veteran to a religious fanatic intent on sabotage; neither the script nor the actor (Walter Brooke) were able to make this change of character plausible, and the whole movie suffers for it. This is a shame; I can’t help but feel some affection for a science fiction movie that aspires toward human drama rather than just spectacle or action, but you still need a good convincing story to make it work, and that is just what this film does not have.

On the plus side, it’s nice to see Ross Martin in another movie, but like in THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK, he dies far too early in the proceedings for my taste.

THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1955)
(a.k.a. THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT)
Article #168 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 8-31-2001
Posting date: 1-14-2002

When a rocket returning from outer space crashes into the earth, two of the astronauts have vanished while one has contracted a strange illness. Dr. Quatermass tries to solve the mystery.

Though general opinion tends to choose either QUATERMASS 2 or QUATERMASS AND THE PIT as the best in the series, I have to opt for this one, which is partially nostalgia, as it was the only one I saw as a kid. However, it still holds up well, and every time I watch it I find myself totally caught up in the proceedings. There are several reasons; I think the story by Nigel Kneale is tense, exciting and intelligent, for one thing. Then there’s Richard Wordsworth’s performance as the surviving astronaut Victor Caroon, which is powerfully convincing in its depiction of a man going through a painful and truly inhuman transformation. Then there’s the taut direction of Val Guest, especially in the opening sequences when the firemen, police, and onlookers are at the site of the rocket crash; I’m always fascinated at how well this scene moves, and how it sets the atmosphere of tension that permeates the whole film. Then there’s the fine cast of character actors that fill out the film; the only name I recognize right offhand is Lionel Jeffries, but they all do a good job. And finally, there’s Brian Donlevy; from what I hear, Kneale didn’t care for him, and he had a drinking problem, but in this role I can’t take my eyes off of him. His Quatermass is not a likeable character, but he is an imposing presence and a force to be reckoned with, and you can’t help but respect him. He provides the movie with my favorite moment…

SPOILER

…at the very end of the movie, as he leaves the cathedral without saying a word to anyone, until the last person he meets asks him what he’s going to do now, and he reveals he plans to build another rocket, and walks off into the darkness. For me, this is one of the most chillingly powerful moments in science fiction cinema, and as a character, Quatermass is a far cry from the rather bland scientists that permeated much of the American science fiction cinema of the period.

THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958)
Article #166 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 8-29-2001
Posting date: 1-12-2002

When a noted scientist/humanitarian is hit by a truck and dies, his brain is saved and installed in the casing of a robot, so he can continue his research. However, he begins to lose his sense of humanity when this happens.

This movie has some truly intriguing ideas behind it, and the idea that a humanitarian would lose his sense of attachment to the human race if he resided in a non-human body would make for a great movie if it were handled well. Unfortunately, this movie is really clumsy in handling this idea, and its attempt to be a kiddy movie at the same time seriously undermines the whole affair. The scientists seem overly far-seeing at one moment, and utterly short-sighted the next; they consider the issue that he may lose his humanity, and then treat him without compassion and with some cruelty themselves, thereby making matters worse. They install in him a lever that will destroy him that he can’t reach, and also make him so powerful that he’s capable of massive destruction. Ultimately, this movie has some of the same problems as THE CATMAN OF PARIS; it doesn’t really hang together or make sense when you think about it.

SPOILER

The ending where he goes off to the United Nations and begins killing people, and then asks the little boy to turn him off is just plain unconvincing. This is one of those movies I’d like to see remade, simply to give someone an opportunity to explore the questions involved without fumbling the whole enterprise, as this movie does. Still, as an old fan of “The Wild, Wild West” (the TV show, not the movie), it is nice to see Ross Martin, even if it is only for the first few minutes of the movie.

THE CATMAN OF PARIS (1946)
Article #165 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 8-28-2001
Posting date: 1-11-2002

A French writer at odds with the government is suffering bizarre blackouts, during which a catlike killer goes on the prowl and kills people.

When boiled down to its essentials, this poverty row flick is a werewolf movie, filtered somewhat through SHE-WOLF OF LONDON and with a title that bears more than a little resemblance to THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON. However, the details with which the story is fleshed out are pretty elaborate; the mythology surrounding the catman is one of the damnedest things I’ve ever heard (it’s somehow concerned with the alignment of Jupiter), and there’s an elaborate subplot involving the author’s book bearing a remarkable resemblance to a real-life criminal case about which the government is up in arms tied in with the proceedings. Unfortunately, it’s not handled all that well; the whole subplot leads nowhere, and despite having a high interest potential, it is a crushing bore (making it most similar to REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES).

The movie isn’t altogether without interest, though. For one thing, there are some very striking shots of what looks like a giant cat roaming about in the streets of Paris (it’s an illusion revealed in the movie itself, but it does make for an arresting visual moment). The movie also comes from Republic, and when I see the name Republic, I think westerns. This is interesting because there’s a couple of scenes in this movie that look for all the world like they came from a western, specifically, a carriage chase with guns and a fight scene in a restaurant; change the carriage to a stagecoach in the one and the restaurant to a saloon in the other, and you have two scenes that wouldn’t seem out of place in a western (though they do feel a little out of place here). Carl Esmond plays the writer, with familiar faces Lenore Aubert, Douglass Dumbrille, and a young John Dehner also appearing.

CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS (1960)
Article #160 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 8-23-2001
Posting date: 1-6-2002

Aliens take over the bodies of two earth people and use a giant bazooka to sabotage the space program. Two teens come to Earth’s rescue.

Phil “ROBOT MONSTER” Tucker was responsible for this low-budget science fiction thriller, and even though it is quite awful, I can’t help but wonder about it a little bit. It’s a lot nastier in many ways than other SF fare of the time, what with the dead people that were taken over having been victims of a car crash (and they don’t look good), plus a running joke (if it is a joke) about the man’s arm (it keeps falling off). In fact, I wonder whether the movie might not actually be a comedy; an extremely dark comedy, but a comedy nonetheless. Some of the dialogue gives me that impression, particularly a scene where the alien tells his prisoner exactly what he needs to know to escape. Also, it has one of those dark twist endings that became pretty common during the seventies, but was pretty rare at this point of time. I wonder if Phil Tucker may actually have been a little bit ahead of his time.

On a side note, two actors that appear in this movie are Katherine Victor (a regular of Jerry Warren’s) and Al Adamson himself (as Lyle Felisse). So we have a movie here that connects the dots between Phil Tucker, Jerry Warren and Al Adamson.

I think it’s time to lie down for a while.

CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959)
Article #159 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 8-22-2001
Posting date: 1-5-2002

Archaelogists investigating a Mayan temple discover an ancient bloblike monster known as Caltiki.

The second half of this movie gets somewhat tiresome when it begins concentrating on the bitter psychotic man injured by Caltiki, a grating, unpleasant character that was made even worse bu the harsh voice given to him by the substandard dubbing. However, there is always the great first half of the movie, with some incredibly atmospheric scenes in the Mayan temple, especially the incredible underwater sequence that takes place in the lake in the temple; this scene more than makes up for any of the movie’s flaws. Direction is credited to Robert Hampton, but it seems to be the work of up to three directors according to one source, two of which are Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava (who also handled the cinematography). In many ways, this qualifies as another Blob movie of the fifties, along with X THE UNKNOWN, THE BLOB, and THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT; the amazing thing is how such an unpromising idea as a killer blob has resulted in so many great movies.

CRY OF THE WEREWOLF (1944)
Article #91 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 6-15-2001
Posting date: 10-29-2001
The daughter of a well-known werewolf has inherited the curse, and is knocking off people who are doing research on the family legend.

This is not my favorite werewolf movie by a long shot. Though it has a different werewolf mythology than that of THE WOLFMAN, it is not an interesting one, and despite some novel ways of handling low-budget werewolf transformation scenes, I was mostly bored by the movie. The things that most caught my interest were the presence of character actor Fritz Lieber (father of the noted SF author who himself appeared in EQUINOX), and Osa Massen, who I initially mistook for Simone Simon, and then recognized her as the actress who played Lisa Van Horn in ROCKETSHIP X-M.