The Human Duplicators (1965)

THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS (1965)
Article 1902 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-30-2006
Posting Date: 10-27-2006
Directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce
Featuring George Nader, Dolores Faith, Richard Kiel

Noted scientists are going crazy and robbing vital parts from government institutions, and then they turn up dead. Meanwhile, a brilliant scientist has been visited by an alien and is now acting strangely. A government agent investigates.

You know, this is the kind of bad movie I dread covering. Bad movies usually give me ample material for writing these MOTDs; even directors such as Jerry Warren can fascinate me enough that I feel a little inspired when I write about them, and even a movie that is mind-crushingly boring gives me a good starting point.

This movie, however, is one of those that I watch without ever having any real recognizable emotion come to the fore. It’s never so awful as to inspire me to have some fun with it, but it never really engages my attention in any way. It’s one of those movies where event blandly follows event, affecting the lives of characters that never really interest me, and by the time it’s all over, I don’t feel like I’ve really watched anything. Probably the weakest thing about the movie is Richard Kiel’s performance; at this point in his career, he was most effective as a menacing physical manifestation, but this movie gives him a character that was too complex for his abilities and lots of dialogue, and the only good thing I can say about his delivery of the latter is that he’s better at it than Tor Johnson. This is a shame; Kiel has a strong screen presence, and I hate to see him miscast. Even the usually reliable George Macready doesn’t help, though he’s certainly competent in his role. All in all, this is one utterly forgettable movie. On a side note, this would be the last movie role for TV dad Hugh Beaumont.

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Whistling in the Dark (1941)

WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1941)
Article 1901 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-29-2006
Posting Date: 10-26-2006
Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Featuring Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford

Whan a moon worship cult discovers that it may lose an inheritance to an unexpected nephew of one of its members, it decides to murder the nephew. In order to avoid drawing the police to its activities, it decides that the murder must be fullproof. They kidnap a radio personality who specializes in clever crime stories to write a scenario for the perfect murder.

Fantastic content: The horror content in this mystery/comedy consists of some horror touches, particularly during a sequence when the prisoners of the cult try to make their escape via a secret passage in their room to a place filled with mummies and Egyptian artifacts.

I’ve always found Red Skelton to be likable and charming, though I rarely find myself laughing as much as I would with other comedians. This is one of his early comedies, and the first of a series of three where he plays a radio entertainer known as “The Fox”. I didn’t find it extremely funny, but it was quite spirited, and the story is very clever at times. I was surprised to see Conrad Veidt in the cast, as I usually don’t see him as someone playing the heavy in comedies, but his presence adds a sense of danger to the proceedings. Probably having the most fun with Red is former boxer Rags Ragland as the strong-arm man and chauffeur of the cult, and he has a lot of fun during the best scene in the movie, in which Red and the other prisoners try to juryrig a radio to use it in lieu of a telephone to call for help, and they convince Sylvester (Ragland’s character) that they’re just rehearsing for a new show and get him to reveal important information over the airwaves.

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War-Gods of the Deep (1965)

WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP (1965)
aka The City Under the Sea
Article 1900 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-28-2006
Posting Date: 10-25-2006
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Featuring Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, Herbert the Rooster

When a woman vanishes from her room, a man and his chicken-toting friend discover a secret passage that takes them to a hidden city under the sea.

Sometimes it’s hard to say exactly why it is that a movie falls flat, but I’m afraid that’s what this one does. It’s certainly not the performances; with the exception of the dull Tab Hunter, everyone does a fine job. The special effects also aren’t bad for what was no doubt a low-budget affair. I think the real problem is a story that doesn’t know where to go once we reach the underwater city, and so we’re stuck with people talking to each other repeatedly, and it feels like we’re caught in endless exposition. The movie certainly spends more time establishing the peril of the deadly volcano than was really necessary; after a while, you’re just left twiddling your thumbs waiting for the big destruction scene that you know won’t come until the end of the movie. It also doesn’t help that most of the big chase scene takes place underwater, where it’s impossible to tell who is in what diving outfit, and where the constant cut shots of close-ups of faces in the diving helmets does absolutely nothing to help. In the end, the most memorable thing about this movie is Herbert the chicken, and outside of escaping from his owner a few times and peaking his head out of a basket, he doesn’t do anything. The end result is a disappointment; it’s not awful by any means, but it’s tired and uninspired. This is probably the least interesting of the AIP Poe movies.

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Murder in the Blue Room (1944)

MURDER IN THE BLUE ROOM (1944)
Article 1899 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-27-2006
Posting Date: 10-24-2006
Directed by Leslie Goodwins
Featuring Anne Gwynne, Donald Cook, John Litel

A man decides to spend the night in the Blue Room in a supposedly haunted mansion. When the room is found empty the next day and locked from the inside, police are called in to investigate.

If you’ve ever watched THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM or THE MISSING GUEST and said, “Hey, I’d really like to see a version of this movie starring a novelty song-and-dance act consisting of three wise-cracking women”, then you’re in paradise here. If not, well, here it is anyway. The fantastic elements are more prominent here; they throw in a ghost in a white derby to enhance the comedy relief, and since no explanation is tendered for the ghost, I’m assuming he’s a real supernatural manifestation. The musical group is called the Three Jazzybelles, and I think they were put together for this movie; the music is peppy and amusing, the dancing athletic, and the jokes are obvious and lame. Still, they come off better than the Ritz Brothers (who were originally intended to appear in this) in THE GORILLA . As for the mystery, it’s a throwaway, especially if you’ve seen SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM or THE MISSING GUEST. Still, this one is pretty watchable.

Oh, and that creepy chauffeur? Though he isn’t credited, he’s played by none other than perennial undertaker Milton Parsons.

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Jungle Girl (1941)

JUNGLE GIRL (1941)
Serial
Article 1898 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-26-2006
Posting Date: 10-23-2006
Directed by John English and William Witney
Featuring Frances Gifford, Tom Neal, Trevor Bardette

The father of a woman who was born and raised in the jungle returns to civilization to tend to his ailing twin brother. However, his twin brother is not ailing, and the doctor is killed. The twin brother then impersonates the doctor and goes to Africa. It’s all part of a scheme to get hold of a fortune of diamonds. However, the doctor’s daughter, Nyoka, begins to suspect something is up…

One of the main reasons I was disappointed with VOODOO TIGER yesterday had little to do with the movie itself. When watching serials, I watch an episode as a predecessor to the actual movie of a given day, and on the day I watch the last episode of the serial, that becomes my Movie of the Day, and part of this series. It was an episode of this serial that I watched immediately prior to my viewing of VOODOO TIGER.

Now, a blurb on back of the DVD case for this serial has someone claiming that this is the best jungle serial of them all. I’m inclined to agree with him. I’m not surprised that Frances Gifford was chosen as a substitute Jane figure in TARZAN TRIUMPHS ; with her role as Nyoka here, she had already proved that she was quite adept at jungle movies and Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations. She is fun and engaging here; she’s one of those serial heroines that does a lot more than wait to be rescued.

I like a lot of things about this serial. Unlike most serials, the villainy isn’t the work of a single mastermind and a series of interchangeable henchman. There are at least three main villains, and even though the fake doctor (Trevor Bardette) is something of an underling to Latimer (Gerald Mohr), he doesn’t really have much loyalty to him and is apt to play his own game. Furthermore, the witch doctor Shamba (well played by Frank Lackteen) has his own agenda which sometimes puts him in cahoots with Latimer, and at other times at odds with him. Tom Neal does a fine job as the heroic pilot, and even the comic relief sidekick (Eddie Acuff) and the little kid (Kimbu) are handled well and prove heroic on occasion. The natives are an unpredictable lot, and there are three sets of them; Shamba’s men, Chief Lutembi’s tribe and lion men in the cave of Nacross, and with the exception of Shamba’s men, you never know whose side they’ll be on at any given moment. It’s this type of unpredictability that can go a long ways towards making a serial enjoyable to me. Furthermore, chapter nine is one of those great episodes which actually manages to deliver non-stop excitement.

And that’s why I was so disappointed with VOODOO TIGER; this serial quite frankly puts it to shame.

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Voodoo Tiger (1952)

VOODOO TIGER (1952)
Article 1897 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-25-2006
Posting Date: 10-22-2006
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Featuring Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Byron, James Seay

Jungle Jim has to contend with headhunters who worship tigers, a Nazi in hiding with a large stash of art, some greedy white men, and a tiger that escaped from a crashed airplane.

Why are the natives in Africa worshiping a tiger? Well, the movie may be smart enough to ask the question, and it may be smart enough to bring in a tiger from outside, but it’s really not smart enough to answer the question. Not that it really matters that much; maybe it’s just me, but, despite the fact that the movie tries to throw everything it can at me jungle-wise, my only impression was one of enduring another routine jungle movie. It’s the kind of movie that cuts away from a potentially exciting scene (Jungle Jim fighting a lion in a cage) to show us what antics Cheeta (pardon me, Tamba) is getting into. Quite frankly, I’ve been here before, and I’ve been here under much more interesting circumstances. A few exciting scenes stand out here and there, but not enough to compensate for the overall dreariness of this one.

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Le Corbeau (1943)

LE CORBEAU (1943)
aka The Raven
Article 1896 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-24-2006
Posting Date: 10-21-2006
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Featuring Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Micheline Francey

A small town is plagued by an onslaught of poison pen letters signed by someone called The Raven, most of which target a doctor who is suspected of performing abortions.

Try as I might, I can’t really bring myself to classify this mystery / drama as belonging to any of the fantastic genres. Yes, it deals with the theme of madness, and one character is slightly crippled (deformities are often used in horror films), but neither of these aspects of the story are used in any way to suggest horror. Of the sources I have been using to compile my hunt list, only the Lentz guide lists this movie, and I suspect he may have been taken in by its translated title. After all, I’ve covered three other films also called THE RAVEN, and though all three are quite different (Universal horror Lugosi/Karloff vehicle , AIP fantasy comedy , and silent Poe biopic ), all of them do use the Poe poem as a source of inspiration. This one has nothing to do with Poe, but I can understand how someone seeing the title THE RAVEN on something would automatically assume a connection.

Nonetheless, this is a very good movie. It was made during the German occupation of France, and the film was condemned both by the Nazis and the French, as well as the Catholic church. Clouzot would be banned from the film industry for two years for making movies under the Nazi regime, though this movie is hardly pro-Nazi. In fact, one of the political interpretations of the film is that the fear caused by the poison-pen letters was very similar to the fear of being under Nazi control during this period. The movie will leave you guessing as to the identity of the title character, and I was able to notice a certain similarity to LES DIABOLIQUES , which should come as no surprise, as Clouzot also directed that movie. All in all, a sad, powerful and fascinating film.

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Lash of the Penitentes (1937)

LASH OF THE PENITENTES (1937)
aka The Penitente Murder Case
Article 1895 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-23-2006
Posting Date: 10-20-2006
Directed by Roland Price and Harry Revier
Featuring Marie DeForrest, William Marcos, Victor Justi

A writer investigates a cult of Penitentes in New Mexico.

The cast list above is questionable; though they may have appeared in the movie as it originally appeared, only about half of the footage survives, and what does survive does not include a nude scene that was rare for that time. Still, exploitation fans will probably have a use for this one; it mostly consists of documentary footage of the Penitente self-flagellation cult going about their business, and some of the footage is quite bloody. Still, I’m not sure that this really qualifies as a horror movie; if it does, than I’ll probably be covering stuff like MONDO CANE sometime in the future. It’s quite possible; at least one of the goals of horror is to shock, and there’s no doubt that to most of us, this is pretty shocking. Still, it does make you wonder just what kind of frame of mind you’d have to be in to be a member of this cult.

Incidentally, the Penitentes don’t treat chickens all that well either.

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Bombs Over London (1937)

BOMBS OVER LONDON (1937)
aka Midnight Menace
Article 1894 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-22-2006
Posting Date: 10-19-2006
Directed by Sinclair Hill
Featuring Charles Farrell, Margaret Vyner, Fritz Kortner

Whan a political reporter dies in what may or may not be an accident, the politcal cartoonist of his paper begins investigating on his own. He plants his only clue (the word SASKA) in a political cartoon, and then begins to suspect that one of the members of a Peace Conference may be up to something shady.

The fantastic content of this movie is that certain people have developed a way to remotely pilot airplanes. I’ve run into this concept before; it’s almost invariably used in the standard spy plot, where the allies develop the weapon, claim it will guarantee peace, and then the rest of the movie is about them trying to keep the secrets out of the hands of spies. That is, in fact, what I expected when I went into this. Fortunately, nothing like that is going on here. Instead, we get a fairly clever political thriller in which a man, angry at the abuses he underwent during the last war, is trying to start another one by manipulating the outcome of a peace conference and staging a bombing attack on London. It’s quite clever at times; in particular, I like the fact that our hero gets his information by planting clues in his political cartoons designed to flush out the enemies. The movie is a bit confusing at times, but it really is a unique thriller, and very enjoyable. Fritz Kortner makes for a great villain, and he even garners a bit of sympathy when he tells about the events that brought him to this pass. The remote control planes are used in the final sequence in the movie where London is bombed, and if the special effects are a little on the weak side here, it does well to remember that this was before England had access to all that stock footage from the Blitz; in this sense, the movie itself was just a little prophetic. I was quite pleased with this one.

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Liliom (1934)

LILIOM (1934)
Article 1893 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-21-2006
Posting Date: 10-18-2006
Directed by Fritz Lang
Featuring Charles Boyer, Madeleine Ozeray, Florelle

A young woman falls in love with a charismatic but brutish carnival man.

Forget CAROUSEL and the 1930 version of this movie; when I want to experience this one, I’m going with this version, even if my copy is in unsubtitled French. Why? Two words: Fritz Lang. With him at the helm, the story is a rich cinematic experience; many of the scenes are fascinating even if you don’t know understand the language, and some of them tell their parts of the story so well, language is unnecessary. The opening scene is just an example; the visuals, acting, body language and facial expressions are so vivid and informative you know exactly what’s going on in the scene. Another plus is Charles Boyer; to date, he is the only person I’ve seen in the Liliom role who brings it to life; just watching his reactions to various events makes the movie a joy, especially the scene where he learns that he’s going to be a father (which, I must admit, I was only able to figure out because I’ve seen other versions of the story). Lang doesn’t stint on the darkness of the story, which is a good thing, but he also pays attention to the romantic underpinnings of it all. He also remains the only director who has handled the movie with such aplomb that I’m willing to overlook my main objection to the story, which is that it comes a little too close romanticizing abusive behavior for my liking. It helps that we see Liliom’s own reaction to seeing himself slap Julie in flashback (during the afterlife sequence, the reason this movie qualifies for this series), and it also helps that when they get to the “slap that felt like a kiss” line, it’s in French so I don’t really know what’s being said. Maybe this is my way of saying that ignorance is bliss, and if it is, so be it. Still, I think I’d like this version of the movie with subtitles just as well. And the scene with the lawyer trying to stamp the papers is hilarious in any language.

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