THE SINS OF DORIAN GRAY (1983)
TV-Movie
Article 3303 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date 7-14-2010
Posting Date: 8-30-2010
Directed by Tony Maylam
Featuring Anthony Perkins, Belinda Bauer, Joseph Bottoms
Country: USA
What it is: Wilde novel reinterpreted

An aspiring actress wishes her screen test footage would age instead of her. Her wish is granted, but her seeming agelessness corrupts her and makes her cruel.

This version of the Oscar Wilde novel made me consider what I liked best about the 1945 movie version. I realized that it was the character of Lord Henry Wotton I liked best; as the libertine who corrupts Dorian Gray, he is given the wittiest lines in the story. This later version of the story switches genders on the title character, updates the time to the present, and moves the action from England to America, and somewhere in the transition the wittiness is lost. There’s an equivalent character, of course; entrepreneur Henry Lord is this movie’s substitution, but the character has been so thoroughly redone that there’s very little left of the original. Maybe it’s just as well; it’s hard to imagine Anthony Perkins playing the same character that was such a good fit for George Sanders. But the movie really has no substitution for the loss of wit, and I found Belinda Bauer singularly unconvincing as Dorian Gray, and to my mind, the movie degenerates into strident soap opera. And, given that it was a TV movie, it couldn’t even really turn to sleaziness to up the interest factor. For me, the oddest thing about this production is that it’s from Rankin/Bass; personally, I liked them better when they stuck to holiday specials.

SPOOKS! (1953)
Article 3291 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-29-2010
Posting Date: 8-18-2010
Directed by Jules White
Featuring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard
Country: USA
What it is: Three Stooges short

Three detectives are hired to find a missing girl, and they pose as bakers giving away pies to do it. They encounter the girl in a spooky old house where a mad scientist is planning to put her brain inside the body of a gorilla.

I don’t think this is one of the best of the Stooges’ shorts, but I am taken with the fact that they decided to shoot this one in 3-D and decided to make some fun use of the gimmick. My only wish is that I had seen it in 3-D, but even flat, I can appreciate the comic possibilities of seeing Moe’s two fingers come right out of the screen at my eyes. Choosing the horror theme is a natural as well; we get to see knives, fountain pens, cleavers, and hypodermic needles all come right out at ya, as well as a bat with the face of Shemp. There’s a mad scientist, his ugly assistant, and, of course, the gorilla. And if the idea of detectives going from house to house to give away free pies seems contrived, you’ll quickly figure out why they do this; I mean, what else would you choose as your weapon of choice for the climax of a slapstick comedy?

SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)
Article 3290 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-27-2010
Posting Date: 8-17-2010
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Featuring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
Country: USA
What it is: Political thriller

The United States is in turmoil after the president signs an unpopular peace treaty with the Soviet Union. An aide to an extremely popular general (who opposes the treaty and has political ambitions) begins stumbling across clues that make him suspect that there may be an attempted military coup to take over the country. What will he do… and will he be believed?

Compared to the other genre movies by John Frankenheimer during this period (to wit, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and SECONDS), this one is less audacious and certainly less flamboyant. On the other hand, it doesn’t need to be; the subject matter is gripping enough that it doesn’t need extra cinematic prodding, and the straightforward technique combined with the excellent performances from a stellar cast are what make this one fly. I couldn’t help but notice how well the story works as an ensemble; along with those mentioned above, the cast also featues Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Martin Balsam, Whit Bissell and George Macready, and all of these actors are used just to the extent the story needs them. Just for example, Kirk Douglas dominates the first half of the movie as the driving force behind the plot, but once events move out of his hands, he is used sparingly, meaning that the story is the focus here, not the star power. I couldn’t also help but notice the scarcity of overt violence on the screen, which is very striking for a movie that can be described as a thriller; once again, it is the story that thrills rather than the action sequences. Several of the actors won awards for their performances here, as did Rod Serling for his script based on the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II. The concept of a military polical coup in the U.S. is what makes it political science fiction, though I could understand why some might contest that classification; nevertheless, it’s an excellent and highly recommended movie.

THE SECRET OF THE WHISTLER (1946)
Article 3289 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-26-2010
Posting Date: 8-16-2010
Directed by George Sherman
Featuring Richard Dix, Leslie Brooks, Michael Duane
Country: USA
What it is: Mystery, Whistler style

An artist, married to an ailing rich woman, becomes enamored with one of his models, and hopes to marry her when his wife passes away. However, when the wife recovers, he finds himself tempted to make sure she has a relapse…

As is often the case with this series, the only fantastic content is the Whistler himself, who is more of a narrator than an actual element of the story. This is one of the weaker entries in the series; it’s very well acted and opts for subtlety over histrionics, but the story itself is a little too ordinary to be really satisfying. There are some striking moments, though; I in particular like the opening scene in which a woman purchases a tombstone… for herself. There’s also a certain irony in the fact that a certain page in a diary would have the effect of both incriminating the husband as well as clearing him. And I do admire the way that the characters are defined by their actions rather than by what they say; we have a good idea of the model’s intentions without her ever having to say them because we see what she’s doing with the knowledge she has. All in all, the Whistler series was very well done, and even at its weakest, it has its points of interest.

SEASON OF THE WITCH (1972)
aka Hungry Wives
Article 3263 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-26-2010
Posting Date: 7-21-2010
Directed by George A. Romero
Featuring Jan White, Raymond Laine, Ann Muffly
Country: USA
What it is: Unusual witchcraft tale

An unhappy wife with a neglectful and sometimes abusive husband finds herself drawn to the occult.

Strange as it may seem, this is only the third film I’ve ever seen from George Romero, and only the second for this series. Reportedly, it’s George’s favorite of his first four movies, and I can see why. Granted, anyone expecting horror on the level of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is going to walk away from this one annoyed and frustrated, but I found its character-driven story and deliberately paced buildup to be rather fascinating. It’s also one of those movies where the dream sequences feel authentic and convincing, and the creative use of a recurring dream (where the housewife is being stalked and assaulted by a masked attacker) really adds to the tension. The version I saw, by the way, was the shortened 89 minute version, apparently cut from a 130 minute version by a distributor, and though I’d be curious to see the complete version, I do find myself wondering if the movie would be able to sustain itself for that length. Nevertheless, I quite like this one, though I can understand why it is considered a failure by many.

***NOTE My supposition about this being one of Romero’s favorite of his own movies may be incorrect; I’ve heard from another source that he roundly hates the movie because of its failure to turn a profit.

SCRAPPY’S GHOST STORY (1935)
Cartoon
Article 3258 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-21-2010
Posting Date: 7-16-2010
Directed by Manny Gould and Ben Harrison
Voice actors unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Animated ghost musical

Scrappy tries to scare his little brother by telling a ghost story. They soon find themselves haunted by ghosts in a spooky forest.

This is an okay, very mildly scary musical cartoon from the Charles Mintz studio; it’s something like the various skeleton cartoons, only with ghosts. It’s emphasizing the music more than the scares, but it’s well animated, though it isn’t particularly funny. I found this one on Youtube, which has of late proved to be a source for a number of things I’ve found.

SUPERMAN II (1980)
Article 3250 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-13-2010
Posting Date: 7-8-2010
Directed by Rchard Lester and Richard Donner
Featuring Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty
Country: UK
What it is: Superhero sequel

Superman must contend with the plottings of Lex Luthor as well as a trio of criminals who come from the planet Krypton, meaning they have the same superpowers as he does.

As I remember it, this movie had a very high reputation at the time it came out, and I think a lot of critics considered it superior to the first movie. I was more than a little surprised to see its rating on IMDB at 6.7; that’s not a bad rating, mind you, but it’s rather low for a movie that had the reputation of being a real classic. This was one I remember going to see in theaters when it was out (I never saw the original movie until many years later) in the hope that it would prove to be as fun and memorable as STAR WARS had been for me. I remember walking out of the theater disappointed; for me, the magic just wasn’t there.

Watching it again after all these years, I feel better able to express why I was disappointed. I wanted a serious take on the character and the story, not the part camp/part comic take that this movie mostly aspires to. I wanted a Lex Luthor that would prove an intimidating and real menace to the man of steel, not the egotistical buffoon we get here. There are some things I like in this movie; Christopher Reeve does a fine job, especially in the role of Clark Kent. Terence Stamp practically steals the movie as General Zod, though it should be pointed that he has one advantage in that he’s playing a character that I had no preconceptions about. I also find the performances very good, including Gene Hackman’s if I consider that he was playing the part as written rather than I would have liked it to have been written. My problems are with the script; I dislike the general air of campiness that undermines my ability to take the movie seriously. The plot moments I dislike the most are the petty revenge at the diner near the end of the movie, and (especially) the contrived situation whereby Superman is supposed to lose his powers permanently; you know this type of plot point is going to prove to be a cheat, and sure enough, it does.

For me, the saddest thing about my first viewing experience with this movie is that I mistook my dislike for this movie in particular to mean that I disliked the whole superhero genre in general. I now know that is not true, but it took me years to discover that. Fortunately, there’s still time give the whole genre that second chance.

SOYLENT GREEN (1973)
Article 3249 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-12-2010
Posting Date: 7-7-2010
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Featuring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors
Country: USA
What it is: Seventies dystopian science fiction

In the overpopulated future, a policeman investigates the murder of a rich businessman. The policeman believes the murder was an assassination by a gang of conspirators who considered the businessman an undependable risk who might reveal secrets about a food manufacturing plant.

In one sense, this movie reminds me of PSYCHO; both movies are somewhat compromised by the fact that practically everybody knows what the big plot twists are, so the movies can’t really surprise you in that regard anymore. Still, the big end revelation is merely the movie at its most melodramatic and sensational; the movie also makes its points in much subtler ways, and for me, the real heart of the movie is that it uses the basic conspiracy investigation plot structure as a springboard for scenes in which we explore the impact of overpopulation. The movie is a touchstone for seventies dystopian SF, and it marks the third of the three science fiction movies for which Charlton Heston is most remembered for, the other two being PLANET OF THE APES and THE OMEGA MAN. Though Heston may be the protagonist here, the movie is stolen by Edward G. Robinson as the aging book who assists Heston and who remembers the good old days before overpopulation; Robinson’s reactions to rediscovering the pleasures of eating real food are priceless. The movie’s high point is the scene where Robinson “goes home”; this was Robinson’s last movie, and I can’t think of a single actor whose final scene was as immensely moving as Robinson’s is here. The movie also features a Whit Bissell in a cameo as the governor who has a hand in the conspiracy.

SATAN’S SLAVE (1976)
aka Evil Heritage
Article 3248 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-11-2010
Posting Date: 7-6-2010
Directed by Norman J. Warren
Featuring Michael Gough, Martin Potter, Candace Glendenning
Country: UK
What it is: Devil worship/terrorized woman movie

A woman goes with her parents to visit an uncle she hasn’t seen in ages. When the parents die in a mysterious car accident, she is taken care of by the uncle and his son. Unfortunately, they have ulterior designs on the woman…

The first scene establishes there’s some devil worship going on. The second establishes that the son is a sadistic sexual deviant. The strange car accident establishes that something mysterious is going on. After these three scenes, we pretty much have the central situation set up, and, truth to tell, there’s not a whole lot of mystery about what sort of horror the woman is going to have to face before it’s all through. Still, there’s an awful lot of running time to fill up, so how does the movie fill it? Well, like so many bad movies of this sort, it fills it up with vagueness; we get lots of dropped hints about what’s going on, a romantic triangle subplot involving one of those characters who only exists in a movie like this to give the villains someone to kill, and lots of uninteresting chatter. If the goings-on were truly mysterious, this might work; unfortunately, since you have a good idea early on where the movie is going, the vagueness becomes more infuriating than compelling. Combine this with deliberate pacing, a misplaced emphasis on subtlety, dull direction, and an unexciting score, and you have one of the duller stretches of cinema that I’ve sat through. Even the scenes of gore and sex that pop up feel too detached to have any real power. Good touches here and there help, but even these don’t really lead anywhere new. All in all, this is one dull exercise in horror.

DAS SCHLOSS IN FLANDERN (1936)
aka Castle in Flanders
Article 3227 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-19-2010
Posting Date: 6-15-2010
Directed by Geza von Bolvary
Featuring Martha Eggerth, Paul Hartmann, Georg Alexander
Country: Germany
What it is: Love story

During World War I, six soldiers are bound together by repeated listenings to a phonograph from a beautiful singer. Years later the singer, while trying to evade a host of suitors, takes refuge in a castle in Flanders where she meets and falls in love with one of the soldiers. However, she loses him again, and discovers that there may be some dark secret about him…

IMDB classifies it as a romance, and the plot description at All Movies doesn’t give any info about fantastic content. My copy is in German with French subtitles, and for the longest time I was wondering if I would ever grasp what I assumed was going to be some very marginal fantastic content. Because of the language difficulties, the plot was very hard to follow, but I was able to piece together at least one crucial bit of info that makes it seem that the woman may have actually encountered a ghost. Even though further developments give a different interpretation of certain events, the possibility does seem to exist at one point, so that does give us a certain degree of fantastic content. However, another element exists; the singer’s last big musical number in the movie involves a machine that churns out robots, given an unexpected science fiction angle to the song; science fiction fans might like to hunt up the movie for this scene alone, as it’s quite impressive in its way. As for the movie itself, the language barrier really prevents me from making any meaningful overall judgment, but there are some striking visual moments; my favorite involves a scene at a concert where the singer notices the soldier in the audience, and breaks into the number that was on the phonograph, and the movie gives a nice suggestion visually that she is doing the song for him and him alone.