THE MYSTERY OF 13 (1920)
(Serial)
Article #1157 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-15-2001
Posting Date: 10-12-2004
Directed by Francis Ford
Featuring Francis Ford, Rosemary Theby, Nigel de Brulier

A man comes by a map that shows the location of a secret treasure, but runs afoul of a criminal organization known as the ’13’.

I don’t know exactly when it was that serials fell into the standardized patterns that makes up so many of the later ones, but I do know that the early silent serials seemed to have a greater vaiety of situations. This serial has some romantic subplots and unexpected plot twists that most likely would never happen in later serials. Nonetheless, I have to admit to finding this obscurity almost unwatchable. This may not be due to the serial itself as much as it is to my copy of it. At least three chapters are missing altogether, and several of the other chapters seem abbreviated. The narrative jumps all over the place, the print is far enough down the dupe scale that it’s hard to tell one character from another, and after the first episode I spent a lot of my time just scratching my head. I’m not sure about the fantastic aspects, either; the most notable one is that the evil organization dresses up in black robes and hoods, and it gives the movie a slight horror atmosphere at times. So to some extent, commentary is useless; THE MYSTERY OF 13 remains to me something of a mystery.

THE MIRACLE RIDER (1935)
(Serial)
Article #1144 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-2-2004
Posting Date: 9-29-2004
Directed by B. Reeves Eason and Armand Schaefer
Featuring Tom Mix, Joan Gale, Charles Middleton

A Texas Ranger tries to protect the indians of a reservation from the machinations of an industrialist trying to scare them off of their lands.

As of yet, I haven’t covered any of the many western serials that were made, but the reason for this is that the western serials were the ones least likely to have any fantastic elements. There are exceptions, of course; one of the more famous serials is THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, which is chock full of both western and science fiction elements. This lesser-known serial also has definite science fiction elements; the possession of a powerful element known as X-94 is the drivng force behind the plot, and the first few episodes feature a remote-control flying mini-plane used to scare the indians. This would be the last film of silent western star Tom Mix, who was well into his fifties when this was made, but he still seemed pretty energetic. He wore a big hat, and furthermore, he knew how to use it; there are a few times here where it serves as a decoy to draw fire. The serial itself is not bad, but then I also just enjoyed the novelty of watching something a little different from the usual serials I’ve watched. Some of the cliffhangers go beyond cheating to outright lying; a cliffhanger that shows him about to be trampled by horses is so completely redone in the following episode that the peril vanishes altogether.

THE MASKED MARVEL (1943)
(Serial)
Article #1128 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-16-2004
Posting Date: 9-13-2004
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Featuring William Forrest, Louise Currie, Johnny Arthur

A masked hero known as the Masked Marvel takes on a Japanese saboteur named Sakima.

A good deal of this serial is concerned with Sakima trying to discover the identity of the Masked Marvel (who is, incidentally, the spiffiest dresser of all the masked heroes I know of); the only thing he (or we) know is that he is one of four agents investigating the case. Actually, I don’t know why it matters; he could just kill off all four agents and assume his job is done in that regard. For me, it really didn’t make much of a difference; the four agents are so blandly interchangeable that I could have gone into this one knowing his identity and it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference. On the other hand, I’m not as clever as Sakima; I wouldn’t have placed my hideout in the room directly below the one in which the four agents make their plans, so what do I know?

All right, I’ll admit I’m poking a little fun at this serial, but it is a little bit silly. It’s also a Republic serial that is done surprisingly well; some of the cliffhangers are done so cleverly that I’m quite impressed (particularly one in which the Marvel is locked inside an armored truck careening down a winding road without a driver). This is definitely one of the better serials out there, and for those interested in trying them out, it might serve as a good place to start. However, fans of fantastic cinema should know that the science fiction elements are very slight.

THE MYSTERIOUS DR. FU MANCHU (1929)
Article #1072 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-20-2004
Posting Date: 7-19-2004
Directed by Rowland V. Lee
Featuring Warner Oland, Neil Hamilton, Jean Arthur

Dr. Fu Manchu swears revenge on the British regiment that fired upon his home during the Boxer rebellion and killed his wife and child.

This was the first of a series of Fu Manchu movies with Warner (Charlie Chan) Oland playing the evil genius. I’ve seen several Fu Manchu movies over the years, but this is the first one I’ve seen that gives us some of the backstory of Fu Manchu’s life, and explains why he wishes revenge. As you might expect from the year of release, this is an early talkie, and consequently fairly creaky with bad sound, but it’s well written, and fairly engaging throughout. Jean Arthur plays a white woman who was left under Fu Manchu’s care as a child, and which he uses as an instrument of his revenge. Nayland Smith is played by O.P. Heggie, who is best known for playing the blind hermit in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Noble Johnson is also on hand playing a Chinaman; I, for one, would love to see a list of all the various nationalities this man played during his long career. The comic relief is provided by William Austin, whose prissy, effeminate butler is definitely a matter of taste, though I will have to admit at giggling a little at his plaintive pondering as to whether he would live long enough to taste tomorrow’s marmalade.

MY BROTHER TALKS TO HORSES (1947)
Article #1021 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-31-2003
Posting Date: 5-29-2004
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Featuring Jackie ‘Butch’ Jenkins, Peter Lawford, Beverly Tyler

A bank teller deals with his eccentric family, in particular with his younger brother who is able to understand the language of horses.

It’s hard to make plot summaries of movies that are essentially dramas, as this one is; this is true even if the drama revolves around a fantastic premise. In fact, the movie’s fantastic premise seems just one element in the story, which is equal parts “You Can’t Take It With You” (the eccentric family with Spring Byington), the boy-and-his-dog story (substitute horse, though dogs play into it as well), and a subplot in which the boy’s ability (which allows him to figure out who will win at the horse races) garners the attention of some men interested in making a killing at the race track. Unfortunately, these three story elements never really mesh into a satisfying whole. It’s the boy’s relationship with the horses that make for the most effective moments, particularly during a traumatic horse race which is the best sequence of the movie. The basic message of the story is pretty simplistic (whatever happens is for the best no matter how bad it may seem at the time), and the kid (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mortimer Snerd with his buck teeth and freckles) looks almost like a parody of what a cute little boy is supposed to look like; nonetheless, he was a very good actor and what success this movie has is in good part attributable to his performance, as well as to that of the animals and the character actors that populate the cast.

THE MAD DOCTOR (1941)
Article #1014 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-24-2003
Posting Date: 5-22-2003
Directed by Tim Whelan
Featuring Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, John Howard

A psychiatrist who marries women for their money and then murders them decides to turn over a new leaf, but his past catches up with him.

Despite the title, this isn’t a horror movie in the usual sense, though it nudges up against the genre due to its use of the theme of madness and the appearance of a graveyard scene. It has a good cast, with Basil Rathbone, Ralph Morgan and Martin Kosleck all up to their usual standards, and it works up a decent amount of suspense in the second half. However, it tries a little too hard to turn the murderer into something of a sympathetic character, which doesn’t quite work here because it’s hard to find sympathy with a serial murderer who seems to know precisely what he’s doing and why, and though Rathbone is a fine actor, his character always seems far too much in control of himself to really lead us to believe that he can’t help what he’s doing. Consequently, there are some parts of the movie that don’t work very well; the middle section gets a little too drawn out, and the very ending is rather unsatisfying. This one is largely worth catching for the familiar faces.

MAN MADE MONSTER (1941)
Article #1012 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-22-2003
Posting Date: 5-20-2003
Directed by George Waggner
Featuring Lon Chaney Jr., Lionel Atwill, Anne Nagel

When a man miraculously survives being electrocuted in an automobile accident, scientists experiment to discover why he is immune to electricity. One scientist begins to experiment on him with high doses of electricity to test a theory.

In some ways, this is the real introduction of Lon Chaney Jr. to the realm of horror, and he makes good use of it by giving a strong performance as the unfortunate Dynamo Dan, the Electric Man. Oddly enough, though, this remains one of the more obscure of the Universal horrors; it isn’t unknown, by any means, but in comparison to some of the other output of the studio, it’s rarely discussed. This is probably because the movie isn’t quite as effective as the other Universal horrors; the fact that the monster is really just a man in a rubber suit may have something to do with this. His death is also a little disappointing, and I’m not sure it really makes much sense considering he spends a goodly part of the movie walking around without the protection of the rubber suit. Lionel Atwill does all right as the mad scientist, though he seems a little too cliched in the way his madness manifests itself; there was no real reason for him to reveal himself to the heroine near the end of the movie at all. Chaney and the director would reunite shortly for their breakthrough horror movie THE WOLF MAN.

MADONNA OF THE SEVEN MOONS (1945)
Article #1006 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-16-2003
Posting Date: 5-14-2004
Directed by Arthur Crabtree
Featuring Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc

A free-spirited woman returns home to see if she can brighten the life of her somewhat repressed mother. She discovers that her mother has been suffering from some mysterious illness that is being kept a mystery. Then when her mother disappears one night, she decides to find the truth for herself.

Without giving too much away, the fantastic aspects of this movie are tied to the nature of the mother’s illness, that the illness is mental in nature, and that it really remains on the marginal side as far as fantastic movies are concerned. The exact nature of the illness is kept secret for a goodly portion of the first part of the movie, and up to this point, the movie is a talky drama; things don’t really begin to move until the mother disappears, and the movie becomes more of a melodrama/thriller. It’s quite effective at times, though it occasionally flirts with campiness; even though certain individual reactions come across as more comic than dramatic, it never really becomes a parody of itself. Also, at an hour and forty-five minutes, it runs on a bit too long, but the ending is effective, and it’s a satisfying movie for those patient enough to endure the talky first third.

MAN IN THE MIRROR (1936)
Article #1002 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-12-2003
Posting Date: 5-10-2004
Directed by Maurice Elvey
Featuring Edward Everett Horton, Renee Gadd, Stafford Hilliard

A meek business partner finds his life complicated when his reflection walks out of a mirror and meddles with his life.

This obscure and somewhat minor British comedy is fairly well acted, and it holds the attention well enough, though I did find it somewhat short on laughs. The most interesting thing about it is that it gives Edward Everett Horton a chance to play two roles. Actually, this isn’t strictly true, because he and his reflection are the same person; however, they are opposite halfs of the same person, and are different enough in character that they could be thought of as different people, and there’s certainly no problem throughout in differentiating them. The special effects are also very good indeed; the scenes of the man and the reflection talking together are some of the most convincing of that sort I’ve seen. I just wish the movie were a little more amusing, though it is nice to see Horton play someone a little different from his usual persona.