Ju jin yuki otoka (1955)

Ju jin yuki otoko (1955)
aka Half Human
Article 5893 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-30-2929
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Featuring Akira Takarada, Akemi Negishi, Momoko Kochi
Country: Japan
What it is: Yeti movie

The destruction of an expedition causes a search atop Mount Fuji for a yeti.

Those who have followed this series for a long time will know I’ve already covered the American version of this movie, HALF HUMAN. However, that version of the movie is different enough from the original that IMDB lists the two films as separate entities, hence my review of both. Being familiar with the American version helped with understanding this one, despite the fact that my copy of this one is in Japanese without English subtitles. It’s a tough picture to find; because of a politically incorrect portrayal of a Japanese ethnic subgroup in the movie, it is rarely revived or discussed. Oddly enough, most of the politically incorrect footage was in the thirty minutes not included in the American version. The Japanese version feels more organic, and it explains some obscurities to be found in the American version. Despite a strong beginning, the movie gets rather dull in its midsection until the Yeti physically manifests itself. I rather like this version; it treats the Yeti as a wronged character rather than just a monster.

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Journey to the Moon (1959)

Journey to the Moon (1959)
aka Rehla ilal kamar
Article 5892 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-29-2020
Directed by Hamada Abdel Wahab
Featuring Rushdi Abazah, Souad Tharwat, Edmond Tulma
Country: Egypt
What it is: Science fiction comedy

A rocket is accidentally launched to the moon when an idiot falls on the controls. Hilarity ensues.

This marks the first movie I’ve covered for this series that comes from Egypt, and though it’s always an adventure to embark on a journey through a new nation’s cinema, it’s somewhat problematic when my initial encounter is with a comedy. If it’s not funny, who do I blame? Is it those in charge of the translation? Humor that doesn’t translate from one culture to another? Or could it be that it’s just not funny? That it’s a comedy is obvious, and that Ismail Yassin is the primary comic personality here is apparent. But I find myself not laughing. The translation may be part of the problem; the subtitles are slapdash (the word is “shoot”, not “shout”) to the point that they may actually impede projecting a sense of humor. But on a certain level beyond that, I just find Yassin painful; his main shtick seems to be that he does something stupid and then whines about it. It’s no surprise everyone describes him as an idiot.

As for the movie itself, it seems largely inspired by ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS, though not slavishly; certain elements of the movie, though not exactly original, aren’t borrowed from its model, such as the existence of a robot and a jarring anti-nuclear message involving a number of malformed men; the latter is somewhat effective but out of place will all the clowning. The special effects are inconsistent, but better than I would have expected. But for the most part, this falls flat. However, I did have one laugh when one of the characters says something like “Come out and see the damn thing we landed on”.

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Jasper and the Haunted House (1942)

Jasper and the Haunted House (1942)
Article 5891 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-24-2020
Directed by George Pal
Featuring the voices of Alvin Childress and Glenn Leedy
Country: USA
What it is: Politically incorrect puppet animation

Jasper is tricked into delivering a gooseberry pie to a haunted house by Professor Scarecrow, who wants the pie for himself. However, there’s a resident haunt in the haunted house who’s willing to claim the pie as his own…

I covered the Jasper series as a single review many years ago, but I decided shortly after that that I wouldn’t review whole series anymore. I’m pretty sure I mentioned at the time that prior to his fame as a producer of sci-fi extravaganzas, George Pal directed a selection of puppet animation shorts, some of which featured a stereotypical black boy named Jasper. This is one of those. It’s an amusing and well-animated short, though not as wild as a fully animated cartoon would be. However, the stereotypes do make the short rather questionable for modern audiences.

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Jack the Giant Killer (1925)

Jack the Giant Killer (1925)
Article 5890 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-23-2020
Directed by Herbert M. Dawley
No cast
Country: USA
What it is: Silhouette fairy tale

Jack must battle a giant to save the countryside.

Herbert M. Dawley is the animator that gave us such dinosaur shorts as THE GHOST OF SLUMBER MOUNTAIN and ALONG THE MOONBEAM TRAIL. He also made a series of silhouette-style animated shorts, many of which are still extant. He’s no Lotte Reiniger, but nor is he a slouch; his animation has energy and wit, and this little short is enjoyable. It’s also shorter than expected; IMDB times it at 6 minutes, but my print only runs three. Granted, the story is quite rushed, as you might expect, but it’s effective nonetheless.

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Jack Frost (1979)

Jack Frost (1979)
Article 5889 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-23-2020
Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.
Featuring the voices of Buddy Hackett, Robert Morse, Paul Frees
Country: USA
What it is: Holiday special, Rankin-Bass style

Jack Frost falls in love with a beautiful girl, and asks to be made human so he can woo her. However, he has to defeat a local tyrant, Kubla Krause.

Though I’ve covered a few of their feature films, Rankin-Bass is mostly famous for their holiday TV specials; in particular, two of their Christmas offerings have become perennial favorites. Though this one could have been lumped in with them, it’s more obscure; in fact, if it’s geared to any holiday, it would be Groundhogs Day, which, in terms of cultural holiday heft, can’t compare with Christmas. It’s entertaining enough; it’s pretty much modeled after their other holiday specials, only the characters aren’t quite as memorable; the hero isn’t quite as engaging, the villain isn’t quite as fun, and the music doesn’t quite stick in the memory. Still, it does have a few inventive touches. Its relative obscurity is probably due to the fact that it doesn’t quite attach itself as memorably to its holiday as the other specials did.

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It’s All in the Stars (1945)

It’s All in the Stars (1945)
Article 5888 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-21-2020
Directed by Connie Rasinski
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Gandy Goose/Sourpuss dream cartoon

Gandy Goose and Sourpuss share a dream about the planets and stars, but for Sourpuss, it turns into a nightmare.

Apparently, there was a whole series of Gandy Goose/Sourpuss dream sharing cartoons; I know I’ve encountered a couple of them before. And I must admit that it is an interesting concept, and I rather like the first half of this cartoon, which mostly takes place in the vastness of the universe in outer space; it’s more like a space documentary than a cartoon. Unfortunately, the second half of the cartoon takes place on Earth, and Sourpuss’s dream turns into a nightmare when he releases a canary from his cage only to be accused of eating the canary. The rest of the cartoon consists of various characters beating the crap out of Sourpuss, and it’s just not funny to see him terrorized for having been accused of a crime he did not commit, and the cartoon becomes distinctly unpleasant. Considering how I liked the first half, this is a real disappointment.
You know, I’ve been ragging on Terrytoons quite a bit recently, and I was hoping this would turn out to be one that I liked so I wouldn’t do it again. Sadly, that is not the case.

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It’s a Greek Life (1936)

It’s a Greek Life (1936)
Article 5887 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-21-2020
Directed by Dan Gordon
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Cartoon about Greek mythology

A centaur cobbler dreams of flying like Pegasus, so when Mercury leaves his winged boots at his shop for repair, the centaur can’t resist trying them out on himself.

This one really isn’t all that good, but I rather like it. Part of it is that it’s just a rather weird cartoon by any standard, but the second is that it chooses mythology for its inspiration rather than, say, fairy tales. It also gets away with a surprising amount of near nudity, especially for a cartoon that was made while the Hays office was in effect; I guess the fact that the Greek statues were nude didn’t bother them. Most of the humor is supposed to come from the centaur’s relationship with a pair of ducks who ultimately are responsible for most of the centaur’s problems. Still, this cartoon isn’t really like any other one in its era, and that’s rather refreshing.

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Is My Palm Read (1933)

Is My Palm Read (1933)
Article 5886 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-20-2020
Directed by Dave Fleischer and Dave Tendlar
Featuring the voices of Billy Murray and Mae Questel
Country: USA
What it is: Betty Boop cartoon

Betty visits a medium and has her fortune read on the crystal ball.

On top of the spiritualism inherent in the plot, the cartoon also features a gaggle of ghosts pursuing Betty and Bimbo. The cartoon itself is okay, but it’s certainly not one of the better Betty Boop cartoons. It has its share of bizarre moments, but in comparison to titles like BIMBO’S INITIATION, it’s very mild. My favorite moment involves the sinking of a ship at the beginning of the crystal ball gazing.

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The Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (1957)

The Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (1957)
aka Tomei ningen to hae otoko
Article 5885 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-15-2020
Directed by Mitsuo Murayama
Featuring Ryuji Shinagawa, Yoshiro Kitahara, Junko Cano
Country: Japan
What it is: Strange Japanese Sci-fi

A rash of murders is being committed in which people are being murdered in broad daylight but no killer is seen. Could they be caused by an invisible man? And if not, will it take an invisible man to solve the case?

One of the theories that serves as a linchpin for this movie is that if a human being is reduced to the size of a fly, he will be able to fly. If you buy into this theory, you’ll have no trouble accepting the rest of the movie without being beset by logic sinkholes; me, I keep asking myself questions like: are there any other animals the size of flies that can’t fly?, or; even if a human the size of a fly could fly, would he necessarily buzz? Granted, given the title of the movie, I didn’t necessarily expect it to be believable going into it; I just wanted it to be entertaining and even a bit silly. Still, I have to admit that when a large part of the movie involves a police investigation (as it does here), I do find myself put in a more logical and skeptical state of mind, and the plot holes and logical errors are a little bit more glaring. On a side note, there are invisibility special effects here, but they’re pretty bare bones, though I don’t buy the moment where one character gets worked over by the invisible man. In the end, the movie is somewhat entertaining, but not as wild or bizarre as the title made me feel it would be.

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In Possession (1984)

In Possession (1984)
Feature length episode of “Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense”
Article 5884 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-8-2020
Directed by Val Guest
Featuring Carol Lynley, Christopher Cazenove, David Healy
Country: UK
What it is: An intriguing enigma that turns irritating

A married couple find themselves having visions of an event involving an old woman, her husband, her daughter and murder.

At the heart of this story there is an intriguing enigma. Both members of a married couple are seeing visions of events that overlay the places in their current life, and unraveling the nature of why they’re seeing what they’re seeing is where most of the fun of this one should be. It even has a decent final twist. So why am I not quite satisfied with this one? It’s because the script makes what I feel is a tactical mistake; instead of making the unraveling of the enigma the center of the story, it chooses to emphasize how scary it is. And when you get right down to it, though what happens is distinctly unsettling, it’s not out and out terrifying. Yet the second half of the movie mostly consists of these two characters running back and forth all over the place, screaming, and being generally panicky. After awhile it simply gets irritating; I’m much more interested in finding out what’s going on than I am in how scared these two are. It appears this is one of the two highest-rated episodes of this uneven TV series, and I’m willing to say that it earns that distinction. Nevertheless, I feel it would be a lot better if it was focus was on other aspects of the story than the ones it does emphasize.

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