LISA AND THE DEVIL (1973)
aka House of Exorcism, Lisa e il diavolo
Article 4329 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-7-2013
Directed by Mario Bava and Alfredo Leone
Featuring Telly Savalas, Elke Sommer, Sylva Koscina
Country: Italy / West Germany / Spain
What it is: Tale of the supernatural

A woman gets lost in a foreign city, and ends up staying with a strange family in a creepy home. And this family has its share of skeletons in its closet…

This movie came into my list under the alternate title THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM. I was originally going to watch a copy of the movie under that title that I had, but the print was in such poor shape that I opted to watch a streaming rental of it instead, and because I’d heard in advance of the compromises made to the movie in its initial release, I opted for the original version titled LISA AND THE DEVIL. For the record, the original movie was unable to find a distributor, and so footage was added to turn it into a “possession by the devil” movie similar to THE EXORCIST; it was that version that was released as THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM. For the record, I’m glad that I did; I don’t see how possession footage added to his movie would have done anything more than render it a piece of tripe.

Not that I find the original movie to be perfect; after a creepy opening section, I find much of the first half of the movie to be a little on the dull side, and the title character (Lisa, not the devil) is one of those characters whose sole purpose seems to scream when necessary; if her situation wasn’t nightmarishly captivating and she wasn’t easy on the eyes, I’d have no interest in her at all. However, the nightmare she is going through is indeed fascinating; some of the secrets and events are truly grotesque and even perverse. Then there’s an amazing performance from Telly Savalas, who, though on the surface appears as the family’s manservant, is probably the other title character (the devil, not Lisa). His reactions are unexpected, often humorous, and quite unsettling. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from him. The whole story itself is made from some very familiar elements, but they’re assembled in a creative way, and I like the movie enough that I’ll even forgive it’s rather pat final twist. I’m really glad I opted for this original version.

LES LUNATIQUES (1908)
aka The Whimsical People
Article 4308 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-11-2013
Directed by Segundo de Chomon
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Bizarre trick film

A woman on the moon plucks stars out of the skies to create clowns, but when she overloads the moon, they fall to earth and turn into dancing girls… and then things start to get weird.

Here’s another of Segundo de Chomon’s forays into the world of the surreal, though its extensive use of blackface in the final scenes renders it politically incorrect by today’s tastes. It’s also a bit reminiscent of Melies’s OFF TO BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM in some ways, but it’s not the first time Chomon has borrowed from Melies. It’s only mildly amusing, but I do have to admit I was surprised to discover that when I checked the the French title in a translator online, it was identical to the English title; I would have expected it to translate as THE MADMEN.

LAW AND ORDER (1950)
Article 4294 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 8-22-2013
Directed by Eddie Donnelly
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Mighty Mouse cartoon

A gang of cats is capturing mice and turning them into mousicles for sale. Can Mighty Mouse come to their rescue?

This is one of the non-operatic Mighty Mouse cartoons, which means it’s mostly about Mighty Mouse fighting some evil cats to save a bunch of mice. This is one of those cartoons that illustrates why Terrytoons remained a second-tier animation company. It has plenty of gags, but executes them weakly and without imagination. It also wastes opportunities; though the cartoon is framed in the device of being presented as a radio show, the cartoon does absolutely nothing with the idea. This one feels as if it was churned out with very little care to fill a quota. It may be one of the weakest Mighty Mouse cartoons I’ve seen.

A LITTLE GIRL WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS (1907)
Article 4238 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-29-2013
Directed by J. Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter
Featuring Gitchner Hartman, Mr. Lehapman, Bessie Schrednecky
Country: USA
What it is: Christmas fantasy

A young boy from a well-to-do family befriends a young girl from a poverty-stricken household, and discovers that the girl does not believe in Santa Claus because the latter has never visited her at Christmas. The boy decides to fix that problem by taking Santa prisoner and forcing him to deliver presents to the young girl.

You know, underneath the fantasy veneer of this silent short, there is a real attempt to generate compassion for the poor and down-trodden, which I find commendable. However, the way this particular short addresses the issue is rather problematic. The fact that a poverty-stricken young girl might have a much bigger problem believing in that generous supernatural entity than a young boy who grows up in prosperous surroundings makes a certain amount of sense, but only if you ground it in the assumption that said supernatural entity indeed does not exist. That is counter to the assumption this short makes that he does exist, and the central question that arises from this assumption – namely, why does Santa ignore the young girl in his annual gift delivery? – is never addressed. Is the girl naughty? If not (and the short gives us no reason to believe that she is naughty), why does he ignore her? The short gives no answer to this question. Yes, I may be over-analyzing the one a bit, but nonetheless, these are the thoughts that popped into my mind while watching it, and they did cloud my enjoyment of the short. Yet I do have to give the short some credit for having enough of a plot to lend itself to this analysis; after all, I’ve seen quite a few silent shorts from the period that offer me far less material for any such consideration.

THE LITTLE MATCH SELLER (1902)
Article 4211 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-24-2013
Directed by James Williamson
Cast unknown
Country: UK
What it is: Christmas tear-jerker

A young girl who sells matches is left alone and freezing outside of a shop window. She lights the matches and sees visions of Christmas in the window.

I don’t remember ever seeing any versions of this story during the Christmas season when I was a kid. But then, I think there’s a reason for that; this is easily the most depressing Christmas story I know of. Yes, it could be argued that it does have a happy ending, but it’s not one that leaves you with one shred of warmth to your fellow man in this world. The special effects consist of mostly the visions of Christmas in the window, and they’re pretty basic. However, my favorite effect is towards the end of the story, when a policeman shines a flashlight; it’s obvious that the light projected is a special effect rather than an emanation from the flashlight, and gives the movie an interesting texture. It’s effective enough, but, by the very nature of the story, it’s certainly not very cheery.

THE LOVE MAGNET (1916)
Article 4210 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-23-2013
Directed by Lloyd Hamilton
Featuring Lloyd Hamilton, Bud Duncan, Ethel Teare
Country: USA
What it is: Slapstick antics

When his best friend Ham steals his girl, Bud visits a scientist who has created a love magnet, which is capable of causing women to fall in love with the one who points it.

Here’s another foray into the silent slapstick world of Ham and Bud. They’re about their usual type of business; stealing a prime newspaper-selling location from a child, short-changing customers, etc. Once the love magnets show up, the movie turns into a variation of one of the oldest cinematic routines, the chase scene; it turns out that you can get too much of a good thing. On top of the magnets themselves, the fantastic content is augmented by the appearance of a couple of women that may be sirens or mermaids, though that’s a bit ambiguous. It’s mildly amusing at best.

THE LUNY MUSICIAN (1906)
aka Le maestro Do-mi-sol-do
Article 4192 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-31-2013
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Comic trick short

A composer attempts to play a piece he has written, but finds that the various pieces of musical paraphernalia he has handy aren’t being cooperative.

The said musical paraphernalia includes music stands that change heights, instruments that turn into other instruments, pianos that move around of their own accord; in other words, they do the sorts of things that you expect of objects in a Melies film. One would feel sorry for the poor composer if it weren’t for the fact that he seems to be crazy; he assaults anyone who enters his studio, for example. Of course, his problem could be that he is a clown, which could explain the heavy make-up job. At any rate, this is one of Melies’s more frantic shorts, and it’s a bit more desperate than funny. However, I was amused by one touch; anyone who knows what a spit valve is for will appreciate a gag involving a bucket and a tuba, and I also liked that the bucket comes back into play in a later gag when the piano is on fire.

LOVE BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON (1901)
Article 4186 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-24-2013
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
Cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Comic trick short

A couple goes outside to spoon in the moonlight, but find that they’re being watched…

What we have here is your basic one-gag comic short. Outside of the two lovers, there’s a third character, and he’s listed in the title, and the fact that he appears as a character at all is where the fantastic content lies. It’s mildly amusing, but hardly essential; it’s the type of silent short not really worth hunting up specifically, but if you should stumble upon it, it’s worth a peek.

THE LIVING PLAYING CARDS (1904)
aka Les cartes vivantes
Article 4182 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-20-2013
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Georges Melies
Country: France
What it is: Magic short

A magician performs some tricks with a giant playing card that can change its pattern.

The title is derived from the fact that the face cards end up emerging as real people. Yes, this is another of Melies’s magic trick shorts, and in some ways is pretty ordinary. He does, however, do a particularly nice job of staging this one, especially in the way he sets up some of the humorous bits, such as the opening part where he becomes frustrated at trying to get the audience to tell which card from an ordinary size deck he’s holding, requiring him to magically increase its size. This is one of the better examples of this particular type of short.

LITTLE NEMO (1911)
aka Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics
Article 4181 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-19-2013
Directed by Winsor McCay and J. Stuart Blackton
Featuring Winsor McCay, John Bunny, George McManus
Country: USA
What it is: Live action/animation

A cartoonist makes a promise that he will make some of his comic characters move through animation.

In the history of motion pictures, Winsor McCay is primarily known for giving us one of the great early animated shorts, GERTIE THE DINOSAUR. This one predates it, and serves as something of a warm-up for that one. The structure is basically the same; the live action sequences begin with McCay stating his goal to a group of people. We then have a few scenes of him at work, usually with the addition of some comic pratfalls (usually involving lots of pieces of paper falling onto the floor). The movie concludes with the presentation of the animation. This one isn’t quite at the level of the Gertie short, largely because the animation, though well done, is rather aimless; it lacks the characterization and the interaction that add to the charm of the later movie. Still, as a warm-up, it’s interesting, and part of the animation features two characters sitting on thrones in a dragon’s mouth, so there is some fantastic content.