THE DIAMOND (1954)
aka The Diamond Wizard

Article 3635 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-13-2011
Posting Date: 7-28-2011
Directed by Dennis O’Keefe and Montgomery Tully
Featuring Dennis O’Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend
Country: UK
What it is: Crime movie

The robbery of one million dollars from the US Treasury causes a Treasury agent to pair up with an inspector from Scotland Yard. The crime leads them into a mystery about a missing scientist and a plot to create artificial diamonds.

The concept of artificial diamonds was very common during the silent era, and several movies have entered my list that use that very idea. However, unless my memory is faulty, I’ve not been able to find any of those movies, so this may be my first encounter with it in a movie I’ve actually seen. Actually, I don’t consider that a great loss; there’s something about this concept that just screams “Gizmo Maguffin” to me, and sure enough, this movie uses the idea as such for what is mostly a rather dry police procedural. The movies low rating of 3.8 on IMDB made me expect the worst, but I think it’s a little better than that; it’s well acted, works itself up to a good climax, and has at least one very interesting scene involving an escalator. The movie was filmed in 3-D, and though there are a few scenes that look like they make use of the gimmick, it doesn’t look like it really does much with it overall. In the end, the movie is merely passable.

DR. HEIDEGGER’S EXPERIMENT (1954)
Article 3618 by Dave Sindelar

Viewing Date: 6-26-2011

Posting Date: 7-11-2011

Directed by Nathan Zucker

Featuring Monty Woolley, Anne Burr, Leon Janney

Country: USA

What it is: TV adaptation of Hawthorne story

A doctor invites three elderly friends to take part in an experiment involving an elixir of youth.

Here’s another episode from “On Stage with Monty Woolley”. I’ve not read the original Hawthorne story, and am only familiar with it through the adaptation of it in TWICE-TOLD TALES. This version and that one depart radically from each other, so I suspect that this one, a simple lesson on the illusion of youth, is probably much closer to the original work. There’s some simple special effects involving the regeneration of the rose, and I couldn’t help but notice that when the three subjects regain their youth, we only see them in that state as reflections in a mirror; this is a very nice touch. Once again, it’s a bare-bones treatment, but it has a certain elegance to it.

THE DRILLER KILLER (1979)
Article 3612 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-20-2011
Posting Date: 7-5-2011
Directed by Abel Ferrara
Featuring Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day
Country: USA
What it is: Serial killer with a power tool

A disturbed artist, driven over the edge by the events in his life, begins roaming the streets and killing derelicts with a power drill.

Though the movie isn’t very good, it’s better than it could have been. I think it’s because director Abel Ferrara (who also plays the killer) has a good feel for the seedy, gritty, sleazy atmosphere that serves as a backdrop for the story. It’s easy to see how someone living in this sordid and ugly atmosphere would flip out, especially when a punk band moves into the apartment next door and begins practicing at all hours of the night. The problem is that once the killing begins, the movie begins spinning its wheels, and once it starts moving again, it’s in the most obvious of directions. Furthermore, there are some moments that misfire, though the one that most comes to mind may or may not be intentional; if the director was trying for laughs with the killer’s obsession with a Port-a-Pak, he succeeded, but I don’t really think that was his intention. The punk atmosphere feels pretty authentic, and it’s interesting to see a movie of this sort that seems primarily influenced by TAXI DRIVER rather than the usual type of serial killer story. It’s nasty, definitely not for everyone, but not worthless.

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968)
aka The Devil’s Bride

Article 3611 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-19-2011
Posting Date: 7-4-2011
Directed by Terence Fisher
Featuring Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi
Country: UK
What it is: Devil worship movie

A reunion between three old friends takes a dark turn when it is discovered that one of them has taken up with a coven of devil worshipers, and the other two must find a way to save his soul before it is too late.

I’m not quite sure if I consider this my favorite of the Hammer horrors (THE NANNY and a few featuring a character named Quatermass are also in the running), but it’s easily in the top five. It’s not that I don’t see its flaws; the script is a little uneven, the special effects aren’t always up to the challenge, and the ending smacks of deus ex machina, for example. It’s just that its strengths really appeal to me. It’s great to see Christopher Lee as the good guy for once, Charles Gray gives one of the best performances as a master of the black arts since Niall Macginnis in CURSE OF THE DEMON, and there’s something about the way the whole movie plays out through its twists and turns that just sucks me into it. Furthermore, this is one of those rare movies where the existence of skeptical side characters really does the job of creating an environment of audience identification; through them, I really get a sense of being drawn into a situation that I can barely comprehend. There’s a strong and effective emphasis on eyes in this one; the piercing stare of Charles Gray and the weird (possibly crossed) eyes of the countess come to mind. At any rate, I find this one really gripping, so much so that that I even accept the deus ex machina ending, which at least plays itself out in a rather offbeat fashion. This is one I always enjoy.

DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977)
Article 3610 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-18-2011
Posting Date: 7-3-2011
Directed by William Girdler
Featuring Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day George
Country: USA
What it is: Nature runs amok

A group of vacationers takes a hike in the mountains, unaware of the fact that the depleted ozone layer has started to make the animals act hostile.

Director William Girdler had previously given us the JAWS-ripoff GRIZZLY; here he returns once again to the killer animals theme, this time widening the range somewhat to include birds, bears, wolves, dogs, snakes, rats, etc. It doesn’t seem to be borrowing from any one movie in particular; there’s a bit of FROGS, a bit of THE BIRDS, a bit of WILLARD. If anything, it owes more of its structure to the Disaster Movie genre. The movie is fairly predictable and seems to be written to order, but I will give it a little credit for at least venturing into the possibility that the same madness that infected the animals might also infect the humans, but it really doesn’t go far with the idea, nor does it ever really ask why the animals don’t become more vicious to each other rather than just to humans. The ending has the air of the movie trying to have it both ways. All in all, it’s uninspired but mildly entertaining.

DOS COSMONAUTOS A LA FUERZA (1965)
aka 002 operazione Luna

Article 3588 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-26-2011
Posting Date: 6-11-2011
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Featuring Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Monica Randall
Country: Italy / Spain
What it is: Franco and Ciccio comedy

When two Russian cosmonauts are lost in space, the KGB kidnaps two petty thieves who happen to resemble them and try to pass them off as the originals. But then the original cosmonauts are found…

I was amazed at the opening scene of this movie. It features Franco and Ciccio being led to a rocket, and during the whole scene, Franco didn’t mug once. Of course, shortly after that I saw a scene with Franco and Ciccio trying to rob a warehouse where the usual mugging is back, and I was quickly able to deduce from this scene that the first scene must have featured two characters who just looked like the comedy team, which gave me a clue to the plot, which was helpful since my copy of this movie is in unsubtitled Italian. It was also helped me to differentiate the Russian cosmonauts from the comedy team throughout the movie; if Franco goes five seconds without making a weird expression, I knew I was watching the cosmonaut. Like most of the movies by this team, I find that, despite the language barrier, there is at least one scene I find fairly amusing, and that occurs early on here, when the two thieves run into problems while performing a theft because two other thieves keep stealing from them. The rest of the movie is the usual Franco and Ciccio experience, and the ending in which we have the comedy being confused with their lookalikes, is all too predictable. I did notice, though, that if Franco mugs in just the right way, he has more than a passing resemblance to James Brown which, given Ciccio’s resemblance to “Weird Al” Yankovic, gave me a bizarre vision of these two musical personalities teaming up for a concert. That’s what happens when you watch a movie in a language you can’t understand; your mind starts to wander.

DOCTOR FRANKEN (1980)
TV-Movie
Article 3538 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-28-2011
Posting Date: 4-22-2011
Directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and Jeff Lieberman
Featuring Robert Vaughn, Robert Perault, David Selby
Country: USA
What it is: TV-Movie take on the Frankenstein story

A brilliant surgeon experiments with transplants on an unknown man brought to the hospital, much to the chagrin of a fellow doctor who has a secret of his own to hide.

The name that really caught my attention in the opening credits wasn’t that of any of the stars, but co-director/writer Jeff Lieberman, who I’ve liked ever since I saw SQUIRM. His presence gave me hope for something more interesting than just another TV-Movie rehash of the Frankenstein legend, which is what the title alone led me to expect. And I think it does, though the lowly 5.2 rating for this one on IMDB does leave me feeling that I’m somewhat out of step with the tastes of others on this one. I found it an unusual and interesting take on the story; the doctor is not trying to create life, but is trying to trying to develop new transplant techniques, with his guinea pig being a man who is technically dead because of his lack of brain activity; he is as surprised as anybody when the man returns to life. The movie does put forth the questionable premise that memories may exist in other parts of the human body than the mind; within the context of this story, the “creature” that is created has memories that originated from the man whose eyes he has received. The story itself is rather contrived, but the characters are well drawn, and both Robert Vaughn and Robert Perrault give very good performances. It’s not until the end of the movie that the movie gives off the air of a failed TV pilot; I suspect that the series would have involved the creation experiencing memories from any of his other transplanted parts, as well as trying to figure out his own identity. It’s an interesting idea, but in the context of a weekly series, it would have come across as increasingly silly. All in all, it’s a mixed bag, but one I must admit to liking.

DR. BLACK, MR. HYDE (1976)
Article 3527 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-17-2011
Posting Date: 4-11-2011
Directed by William Crain
Featuring Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash, Marie O’Henry
Country: USA
What it is: Blaxploitation horror

A black doctor works on a serum designed to rebuild damaged livers, but is unable to solve the problem of its side effects without human guinea pigs. He tries the serum on himself, and turns into a superhuman crazed white man with a penchant for killing hookers.

Well, the movie is sincere, features some authentic locations, has some good acting moments from Bernie Casey, and has one good jump scene. The script, however, is horribly uneven and inconsistent, particularly in its portrayal of the Mr. Hyde character and the nature of his powers. For one thing, the movie is simply not consistent in just how much in control of himself Hyde is; sometimes he seems coherent and focused, other times he seems like an inarticulate animal. Furthermore, the side effects are way over the top; having him turn white and become a crazed killer is one thing, but endowing him with superpowers really strains credibility. And they aren’t even consistent with that; sometimes he’s invulnerable to bullets, other times not. When the script actually gives Bernie Casey something to play with (such as when he tells the story that explains his desire to cure liver ailments AND his distrust of hookers), he does a fine job, but the script all too often leaves him foundering. Somewhere in here, there’s a better movie waiting to get out, but the script was in need of a few more revisions.

DOOMWATCH (1972)
Article 3513 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-3-2011
Posting Date: 3-28-2011
Directed by Peter Sasdy
Featuring Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, John Paul
Country: UK
What it is: Ecological disaster thriller

A scientist from an environmental research agency known as “Doomwatch” visits a small island to research the effects of an oil spill. The villagers on the island are hostile and suspicious, and it soon becomes apparent that they have something to hide… and that something far worse than an oil spill has happened in the area.

My first reaction on hearing about the group known as Doomwatch here was that it would make a fine concept for a TV series; I then learned that it in fact this movie was based on a TV series of the same name. I went into this one expecting a horror movie, and the first half of the movie certainly gives the sense that that is what it’s going to turn out to be. The movie then suddenly shifts gears and becomes a mystery; the action leaves the island and becomes concerned with finding the causes of the illness suffered by the people, and the movie becomes something of a science fiction drama. For once, the behavior of the villagers is much more than just a way to build suspense; the final scenes of the movie are concerned with the scientist trying to break past the hostility in an effort to urge the villagers to seek the help he is offering. I like this movie enough to wish it was better than it was, the weak direction and uneven acting blunt some of its impact. Still, I think it worked well enough to get by; the ending in particular is very sad. Whatever its flaws, I don’t think I’ll easily forget this movie.

DOC SAVAGE THE MAN OF BRONZE (1975)
Article 3501 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-19-2011
Posting Date: 3-16-2011
Directed by Michael Anderson
Featuring Ron Ely, Paul Gleason, William Lucking
Country: USA
What it is: Pulp hero parody

When an attempt is made on his life and the last communication from his father is destroyed, Doc Savage takes his band of heroes (known as the Fabulous Five) on a mission to the country where his father passed away, where he hopes to unravel the secrets that resulted in his father’s death.

Back when I covered BUCKAROO BANZAI, some of the replies made passing comments to the pulp origins of that type of story, with a special mention of Doc Savage as a prototype for Buckaroo Banzai. I’ve not read any of the Doc Savage books, but having now seen the movie, I can appreciate the influence, and it’s made me quite curious to find some of the Doc Savage novels and get to know the world he lived in. Since I’ve also heard that this movie doesn’t really do him justice, that seems even more like a good idea. There are things I like here much better than in BUCKAROO BANZAI; in particular, I think the Fabulous Five are a much more well-defined group than the Hong Kong Cavaliers. Unfortunately, for this, his last film, George Pal chose a camp approach to the material, and the camp humor is obvious, intrusive, and simply not very good. As a result, the sense of adventure and excitement is muted and compromised; because the movie doesn’t take itself seriously, neither do we. Furthermore, the movie is slow and leisurely when it should be fast-moving, and a poorly conceived musical score only makes things worse. At times, the movie is just pointlessly weird; why does the one villain sleep in a giant rocking crib? There’s enough fantastic content for genre fans, with the eerie phantom snakes being only the most striking example. Still, the movie is a missed opportunity.