WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS’ DORMITORY (1962)
(a.k.a. THE GHOUL IN SCHOOL / LYCANTHROPUS)
Article #1429 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-11-2005
Posting Date: 7-11-2005
Directed by Paolo Heusch
Featuring Barbara Lass, Carl Schell, Curt Lowens

When a new professor arrives at a girl’s reform school, a series of werewolf attacks begin.

Given the exploitational (and inaccurate—the werewolf never actually shows up in the girls’ dormitory) title, and the semi-comic secondary title (THE GHOUL IN SCHOOL) designed to spotlight a rock song (which only appears during the opening title, lasts ten seconds, and merely repeats the phrase “There’s a ghoul in the school” a couple of times), you might understand why I expected little more from this than a forgettable horror/exploitation movie with maybe a touch of humor and lots of bad dubbing. Actually, it’s better than that; there’s a good sense of mystery to it, it has an assortment of interesting characters, and the subplot about the man having an affair with one of the students is far better than I anticipated (though I did expect it to be a red herring). It does still suffer from horrendous dubbing, though, and it did make me wonder how many foreign movies out there would have a better reputation if it weren’t for this latter circumstance. At any rate, there’s a lot more meat on the bones of this one than I expected. This one is worth a look for those willing to see past the dubbing.

THE WITCH (1966)
(a.k.a. THE WITCH IN LOVE/LA STREGA IN AMORE)
Article #1362 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-6-2005
Posting Date: 5-5-2005
Directed by Damiano Damiani
Featuring Richard Johnson, Rosanna Schiaffino, Gian Maria Volonte

A womanizer becomes curious about an old woman who appears to be following him around. When he tracks her down, she offers him a job translating the erotic literature in her library. He then meets her beautiful daughter, and finds himself embroiled in strange events.

This is supposed to be one of those movies that is alluringly mysterious, that toys with the viewer’s expectations and piques his curiosity by portraying a succession of odd and puzzling events intended to leave the viewer mystified until certain startling revelations bring it all into focus. These types of movies can be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, this one isn’t, largely because it damn near talks your ears off in the process of unfolding. It also doesn’t help much that the one short plot description I read blurted out the primary plot twist; really, if you’re going to write a three line plot-description of a movie, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to avoid major revelations. Not that the revelation is much of a surprise; the movie isn’t exactly subtle in doling out its hints. On the plus side, it does have a bit of an erotic charge to it, certain individual scenes are quite effective, the dubbing is better than average, and the ending isn’t quite what I expected. Still, I found this one a chore to sit through, and it falls short of its aspirations, though it is aiming somewhat higher than your usual horror movie. It’s ambitious, but ultimately, it’s a failure.

THE WORLD WILL SHAKE (1939)
(a.k.a. LE MONDE TREMBLERA)
Article #1341 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-15-2004
Posting Date: 4-14-2005
Directed by Richard Pottier
Featuring Claude Dauphin, Madeleine Sologne, Roger Duchesne

A scientist creates a machine that can predict a man’s moment of death.

I find it quite plausible that the invention of a machine that could predict anyone’s exact moment of death of anyone would have repercussions that would lead to rioting, and I would really like to see a movie that would deal with this subject. However, I find myself once again in that familiar bind; the only print I’ve been able to find of this one is in unsubtitled French, and since the concept requires talk, that’s what fills most of this movie. In short, I found it very difficult to follow; I only got as much out of it as I could glean from short plot summaries in reference books. This being the case, my favorite moments are obviously visual ones, including some comic scenes of a man setting up a booby trap to have himself killed (there does seem to be quite a bit of comedy to this movie), a scene of the scientist finally testing the machine on himself, and any of the scenes with Erich von Stroheim, who not only serves as a familiar face, but he knows how to use a cane as a prop in an entertaining way. Still, this one must be filed away for future reference. There’s also the chance that I may be disappointed; it’s rating on IMDB at the time of this writing (4.1) seems to reflect that the movie isn’t exactly considered a classic. Still, I’d rather decide that for myself.

THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK (1945)
Article #1302 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-7-2004
Posting Date: 3-6-2005
Directed by Walter Colmes
Featuring John Loder, Nancy Kelly, Otto Kruger

A woman returning to her home town meets a strange woman on the bus, and then becomes the only survivor when the bus crashes into a lake. She becomes convinced that she is possessed by the spirit of 300-year old witch.

This movie has some real strengths and some real problems. One of the biggest of the latter is a weak script; it tries to provide a Lewtonian touch to the proceedings, but it lacks the subtlety of a Lewton film and fails to effectively walk that delicate line between the supernatural and psychological; as a result, much of the movie is obvious, clunky and unconvincing, and the ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Still, there are some truly great individual moments here; it opens with a bang, it makes effective use of sound at times, and it does work up a real scare or two. I also like the title, since it’s ambiguous enough to refer to two different women. It also bears a certain surface similarity to CARNIVAL OF SOULS, but I think it would be possible to make too much of this. All in all, it’s worth catching for its good moments, but ultimately it doesn’t quite deliver the goods.

THE WOMAN IN GREEN (1945)
Article #1298 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-3-2004
Posting Date: 3-2-2005
Directed by Roy William Neill
Featuring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hllary Brooke

Sherlock Holmes is called in by Scotland Yard to help investigate a series of murders of women in which the victims’ right forefingers are cut off.

One of my source books for fantastic films includes all of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone because the compiler decided to include all movies of any series which did have fantastic elements in some of the entries. That explains why the book included PURSUIT TO ALGIERS, which has no fantastic elements. This is, however, one of the series which has definite horror elements; the gruesome serial killer element is one, of course, and the other is the role that hypnotism plays in the story. Still, I should point out that the movie doesn’t play up its horror elements, and remains very much a mystery. It’s efficient and highly entertaining, with Henry Daniell well cast as Moriarty, and Rathbone and Bruce up to their usual level. Bruce is particularly buffoonish in this outing, and gets his comeuppance when he tries to prove that hypnotism is a sham. I’d actually seen some of the Rathbone Holmes movies years ago, but I didn’t remember them well enough to know which ones I’ve seen. I did, however, remember a scene involving the ledge of a tall building, and it’s here in this movie.

WHITE PONGO (1945)
Article #1297 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-2-2004
Posting Date: 3-1-2005
Directed by Sam Newfield
Featuring Richard Fraser, Maris Wrixon, Lionel Royce

An expedition searches for a white gorilla that is believed to the the missing link between man and ape.

Years ago, I saw IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD in the theatre, and they showed a scene of a man being mauled by a white gorilla; quite frankly, I thought the scene was hilarious, and since I was unable to catch the title of the film, I spent years looking for it armed only with the knowledge that it was about a white gorilla. When I read the description of WHITE PONGO in a catalog, I purchased it in the hope that this was the movie. I was wrong. Nor was I impressed.

I’m tempted to dismiss this one as another Double-Stuffed Safari-O, but it actually avoids that description; it has some safari in it, but it doesn’t swamp the movie. Still, there’s really not much to it; it’s a fairly ordinary jungle movie with a white gorilla. There’s the usually tired subplots, including a love triangle (which turns into a love quadrangle when a certain simian also becomes enamored with the only woman on the expedition). There are lots and lots of scenes of the white gorilla looking at things through the brush. Other than that, the only real comment I can make is that Pongo is pronounced Pon-guh.

Incidentally, I did finally found the other movie I was looking for. It was called THE WHITE GORILLA of all things, and someday it will get a write-up of its own.

THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980)
Article #1296 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-1-2004
Posting Date: 2-28-2005
Directed by John Hough
Featuring Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards

When a family moves into a secluded mansion in the woods, the daughters begin to have strange experiences involving an unseen presence in the woods.

If you look at this movie from the point of view of its striking out in a new direction from the usual Disney fare, the movie does have a certain success; it manages to avoid the incessant cuteness that infects almost all of the other Disney live-action features up to this point. However, on its own terms, I’m less than impressed. Part of the problem is that the script is poorly written and somewhat muddled. Another problem is that Lynn-Holly Johnson gives a very weak performance; her line deliveries show a distressing lack of variety, so that everything she says sounds the same. The movie also tries a little too hard for big scares when it should be aiming for a Twilight Zonish eeriness; as it is, much of it comes across as shrill and forced. It also doesn’t help that certain elements of the film keep reminding me of THE SHINING. It’s a bit of a shame; there’s some interesting ideas here, and the occasional scene comes off well. Bette Davis gives the best performance here, but even she seems swamped on occasion by the poor script and the lack of equally talented fellow performers with whom she can interact. The best scene involves a church bell; it just barely beats out a scene in a mirrored fun house which I really liked until one jarring camera zoom broke the spell.

THE WRESTLING WOMEN VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY (1964)
(a.k.a. LAS LUCHADORAS CONTRA LA MOMIA)
Article #1278 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-13-2004
Posting Date: 2-10-2005
Directed by Rene Cardona
Featuring Ramon Bugarini, Elizabeth Campbell, Chabela Romero

The Wrestling Women do battle with a super-criminal known as the Black Dragon, and then encounter a mummy.

I could point out what a coincidence it was that I followed up one Aztec Mummy movie with another, but in truth, this one is technically not a part of the Aztec Mummy series. The other three movies are of a piece; they share the same characters and the same backstory, and there is a clear progression in action. This Aztec Mummy has a different backstory, a different name, a different appearance, and radically different powers. In fact, you might think they’ve confused him with a vampire; not only does he have the ability to turn into a bat, but he’s scared of daylight. I will admit that he is somewhat scary-looking, and I like his appearance better than the original Aztec Mummy; he even appears to move a hair faster than the earlier version. Still, you might not guess that by the speed of his appearance in this movie; in fact, he doesn’t appear until the seventy-minute mark, which is longer that the entire length of THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY.

No, most of the movie has to do with the Wrestling Women doing battle with a Fu Manchu-style villain known as the Black Dragon, and most of the plot involves the various machinations being taken to acquire the ancient Aztec codex. Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep from giggling at the constant use of the word “codex”, largely because of its resemblance to the brand name of a certain feminine hygiene item. If that isn’t good for giggles, there’s always the dubbing and lines like “Now watch while I dominate this woman’s will!”. There’s also the obligatory pulchritudinous mat action. Also, if you ever have trouble telling the difference between good guys and bad guys, just observe the difference early on in this one between how a good guy enters a wrestling arena (he pays for his ticket and gives it to the man at the gate) and how a bad guy enters a wrestling arena (he doesn’t buy a ticket and slugs the man at the gate).

WHISPERING GHOSTS (1942)
Article #1250 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-16-2004
Posting Date: 1-13-2005
Directed by Alfred L. Werker
Featuring Milton Berle, Brenda Joyce, John Shelton

A radio detective claims that he can solve a ten-year-old murder, but when his first guess proves incorrect, he must return to the scene of the crime to solve it again.

After the rash of extremely marginal movies I’ve seen lately, it seemed nice to finally see another movie with distinct horror touches. It’s your basic Old Dark House comedy, except it takes place on an Old Dark Houseboat. Despite the fact that Milton Berle is a bit of a legend, I’m really not too familiar with his work, and sad to say, I found this vehicle of his singularly short of laughs. Willie Best is also on hand, but there are just too many jokes made about his cowardice and his color that I just ended up feeling pretty uncomfortable. For me, the biggest laugh came from an unexpected source; if you ever wanted to see John Carradine do an imitation of a frog, this is the movie for you. You also get a chance to see John in his long johns, but that’s neither here nor there. After that, I will admit to a little fondness for Grady Sutton here.

THE WOLF DOG (1933)
(Serial)
Article #1228 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-25-2004
Posting Date: 12-22-2004
Directed by Colbert Clark and Harry L. Fraser
Featuring Rin Tin Tin Jr., Frankie Darro, George J. Lewis

A boy slated to be the heir of the Courtney fortune finds himself constantly in danger due to the machinations of his guardian. The guardian is also after the secret behind a sailor’s invention: a device that can blow up vehicles by igniting the gasoline within.

One of the things I enjoyed about THE ADVENTURES OF REX AND RINTY was that the serial was actually telling their stories; it was only as that serial progressed that the story shifted to that of the humans and the animals became secondary characters. This serial accomplishes that trick halfway through the first episode; top-billed Rin Tin Tin Jr. plays a dog who crashes in the jungle with his owner, and becomes the leader of a pack of wolves. He is then rescued by a young boy who is also on the run, and that pretty much ends his story arc; from then on, he mostly pops up on occasion to defend the boy against those who wish to kill him, and even then he plays second banana to the sailor who is the boy’s primary defender. On its own terms, it’s entertaining enough, and the villain does a good job of convincingly pretending that he’s actually a friend so it’s understandable why it takes a while for everyone to catch on. Unfortunately, the budget constraints shine through; at the top of each episode, a greater than usual amount of footage is used from the previous episode to lead into the cliffhanger, and practically every episode from the fourth one on recycles footage from one of the earlier episodes. Quite frankly, I prefer REX AND RINTY.