Man in the Mirror (1936)

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.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Hercules and the Captive Women (1961)

HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1961)
Article #1001 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-11-2003
Posting Date: 5-9-2004
Directed by Vittorio Cottafavi
Featuring Reg Park, Fay Spain, Ettore Manni

Hercules accompanies Androcles on an expedition to discover the source of a threat to the safety of Greece, and ends up in Atlantis, the domain of Uranus.

If you think about it, the attraction that Hercules seems to have for evil queens makes it only logical that he would eventually end up in Atlantis and deal with Antinea, that most evil of queens. This is actually one of the best of the non-Steve Reeves Hercules movies, with some great sets and an exciting (if sometimes strange and confusing) story. Of course, there are a number of distractions here; the occasional use of stock music from CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON calls undue attention to itself (and it does so no matter which movie they use it in), the movie is packed with bizarre, dreamlike sequences that leave you scratching your head, the constant reference to the god Uranus conjures up punny visions that makes you wish they worshipped Neptune instead, and Reg Park’s neck. Especially Reg Park’s neck. In fact, Reg Park would be a lot of fun to watch if it weren’t for that neck. And it all goes to show that when it comes to body-building, there are some muscles that should just be ignored.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

On Borrowed Time (1939)

ON BORROWED TIME (1939)
Article #1000 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-10-2003
Posting Date: 5-8-2004
Directed by Harold S. Bucquet
Featuring Lionel Barrymore, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Bealah Bondi

A crusty old man tries to save his grandson from being taken away from him by a scheming relative, and in order to stave off his own demise, traps Death (by the name of Mr. Brink) in an apple tree.

This movie racks up a few strikes against it fairly early on; Lionel Barrymore overplays his part somewhat in the first half of the movie (it is possible to be too cantankerous and crusty), the child actor who plays the grandson becomes actively annoying fairly early in the proceedings, and it takes far too long to set up its central moment when Grandpa traps Mr. Brinks in the apple tree. However, once this point is reached, the movie really comes into its own, and is helped immensely by the appearance of familiar faces such as Henry Travers and Nat Pendleton. It’s fascinating to watch the various strategems that Grandpa employs to not only stave off his death, but to save his grandson and keep himself from being committed to an asylum as well. It’s also helped by a quiet but supremely effective performance by Sir Cedric Hardwicke in the role of Mr. Brinks. The ending of the movie is particularly powerful, partially due to its inevitability, and partially due to the fact that it’s one of those endings that hovers in that strange gray area between a tragic ending and a happy one. This one is worth catching, but patience is necessary for the first half.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Naked Witch (1964)

THE NAKED WITCH (1964)
Article #999 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-9-2003
Posting Date: 5-7-2004
Directed by Larry Buchanan
Featuring Libby Hall, Robert Short, Jo Maryman

A student working on a thesis about the history of German settlement in Texas stumbles across the legend of the Luckenbach witch. In his investigation, he accidentally revives the witch. He does not encounter Willie and Waylon and the boys.

Some thoughts on THE NAKED WITCH.

1) There are two versions of this movie out there. One is available on DVD and in color. The other is available on VHS and is in black and white. Though I should probably wait until I acquire the former, all I’ve got at this point is the latter, and that’s what I’m covering here. Under the circumstances, I really don’t think it’s fair to expect me to spend the extra bucks.

2) First, let me give you a walking tour of my experience of watching this movie. Though the tape only runs about an hour, it opens with three trailers. They are for the movies MONSTROSITY, BLOOD OF THE MAN BEAST (a.k.a. HOUSE OF THE BLACK DEATH), and MONSTER-A-GO-GO. I’ve seen all three of these movies, and they’re all at about the same level of quality of this one. This is not a good sign.

3) The movie then treats us to a ten minute documentary about the history of witches in the middle and dark ages, all done to the eerie music usually used in old-time spook show promos. By the time this sequence is through, I am roughly one-quarter a way through the tape. Not a good sign.

4) We have now reached the movie proper. It opens wth a quote from Shakespeare. Unfortunately, the quote prominently features the word “yawn”. Not a good sign.

5) The next thing I notice in the credits is that the movie was written, directed and edited by Larry Buchanan. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

6) By the time we actually see the student entering the town where the allegedly scary incidents take place, the movie is one-third over.

7) This movie has at least one good quality about it; the backdrop of an old German community that serves as the setting for the movie is unusual and gives the movie an unexpected air of authenticity, even if the first interchange we hear between the student and one of the residents prominently uses the word “Weinerschnitzel”. So much for the good things about this movie.

8) If there’s any one thing I can say about the soundtrack, it’s that organists from the era of the silents could still find work as late as 1964.

9) Yes, the witch is naked. Don’t strain your eyes, though; you won’t be able to see past that strange bar that hovers across the middle of the screen during most of her cavorting.

10) As for the rest of the movie, imagine, if you will, the experience of watching a young, inexperienced Larry Buchanan at work before he mastered his craft. “Mastered”, by the way, is a relative term.

As a side note, I would like to point out that, by coincidence, there was another movie called THE NAKED WITCH made during the same year and with a very similar plot. That one was directed by Andy Milligan, and appears to be lost. Is this coincidence or something more sinister? I can’t say, but I will point out this is number 999 of this series of reviews, and if you turn that number upside down…

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Mystery Liner (1934)

MYSTERY LINER (1934)
Article #998 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-8-2003
Posting Date: 5-6-2004
Directed by William Nigh
Featuring Noah Beery, Astrid Allyn, Edwin Maxwell

An ocean liner is the site of experiments involving a robot pilot device called the S-505. Unfortunately, it also becomes the site of murders.

This movie is based on a novel by Edgar Wallace, and consequently, there are some interesting plot elements here; in fact, I’m sure there’s a decent plot in here somewhere. Unfortunately, the whole thing is directed in that static bottom-of-the-barrel early Monogram style in which people stand around, talk and stare at each other, all without the benefit of background music. When the characters are novel enough to catch our attention (Noah Beery’s Captain Hollings or Zeffie Tilbury’s Granny character), you can get by, but almost always these are either minor secondary characters (you don’t see much of Beery after his first scene) or comic relief characters with little relation to the main plot. As a result, the endless scenes of exposition are deadly, so that by the time you get to the exciting sequences you really don’t care much anymore. You might entertain yourself by keeping your eyes open for Gustav von Seyffertitz or a beardless George “Gabby” Hayes, but overall, this is perhaps the weakest Edgar Wallace adaptation I’ve ever seen.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Moon Pilot (1962)

MOON PILOT (1962)
Article #997 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-7-2003
Posting Date: 5-5-2004
Directed by James Neilson
Featuring Tom Tryon, Brian Keith, Edmond O’Brien

A man slated to be the first astronaut to orbit the moon finds himself being followed by a strange woman who knows everything about him.

The surprising thing about this movie is not that it occasionally falls into slapstick comedy; the surprising thing is that it does it as rarely as it does. This is, after all, a shopping cart film (my term for a Disney comedy of this time period), and slapstick humor is part of the package. It’s the satirical edge of the movie that makes it unique for its breed; it takes potshots at the military, national security, and the government (I want a copy of the book, “Simple Science for Senators”). In fact, the movie is probably the most sophisticated of Disney’s many comedies, and generally only stoops to slapstick when a convenient opportunity arises (such as the appearance of monkey or a scene where people try to bust down a door). Brian Keith and Edmond O’Brien are great when they’re not yelling (which they do a lot, which has less to do with bad judgment on their part than it does with the fact that yelling people are a mainstay of shopping cart movies). Dany Saval is also quite good as the mysterious lady, Lyrae, though the descriptions people give of her are highly questionable; they say you can’t tell what kind of accent she has (she sounds French to me) and that she looks like a beatnik (she looks a lot more like Audrey Hepburn than a beatnik). The latter description does lead to the strangest scene of the movie, where witnesses are expected to identify the woman from a line-up of female beatniks picked up for questioning, all of whom are either playing bongos, dancing, or reciting poetry in the line-up.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
Article #996 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-6-2003
Posting Date: 5-4-2004
Directed by George Seaton
Featuring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn

A man hired to play Santa Claus by Macy’s claims to be the real thing.

This Christmas perennial takes aim at two targets; the increasing commercialism of the holiday (a trend which has only gotten worse as time passes) and the underlying cynicism that is the ultimate cause of it. There are many reasons this movie works, though perhaps the strongest is Edmund Gwenn’s gentle and strong performance as Kris Kringle; he is so utterly charming in the role that you find yourself willing to believe that he is the real Santa Claus, particularly during an effective sequence when he addresses a Dutch girl in her native language. Natalie Wood and Gene Lockhart also stand out as respectively the little girl who has the most resistance to believing in Kringle’s identity, and the judge presiding over the case to prove it. I find it quite interesting that two of the biggest factors that come into play in determining the result of the trial include the fear of public and private embarassment on the parts of several individuals, and the passing thought of a postal employee who has hit upon a scheme to decrease his workload. The fantastic aspects of the movie aren’t overt, but they’re there for those who wish to believe. All in all, this is a movie that has definitely earned its place as a Christmas perennial.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Dick Tracy Returns (1938)

DICK TRACY RETURNS (1938)
(Serial)
Article #995 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-5-2003
Posting Date: 5-3-2004
Directed by John English and William Witney
Featuring Ralph Byrd, Lynne Roberts, Charles Middleton

Dick Tracy takes on a gangster known as Pa Stark, who runs a gang with his five sons.

This sequel to the 1937 serial DICK TRACY has a reputation of being better than the original, but I have to admit to having been disappointed with this one. It’s not badly done by any means; it just came across to me as a mostly very ordinary serial, hampered by a lack of really interesting cliffhangers and a shortage of interesting characters. Byrd and Middleton are the only real memorable actors as Tracy and Stark, but Pa Stark just doesn’t seem to me to be a particularly interesting villain, though his sons have some colorful names (“Dude”, “Champ”, “Kid”, etc.). The final episode is very strong, though, which makes up at least a little for the general predicatability of the rest of the serial and the fact that two of the episodes merely rehash footage from earlier in the serial. The fantastic elements are very slight; some of Stark’s crimes involve trying to get his hands on test airplanes and test torpedo boats, and that’s about it. And one of these days I’m going to start keeping scorecards on these things to warn people how many times the cliffhanger involves a vehicular accident which is resolved in the next episode by discovering that the hero saw it coming and jumped out right before the accident; this particular cliffhanger is so pervasive it’s become a major annoyance for me.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Miranda (1948)

MIRANDA (1948)
Article #993 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12/3/2003
Posting Date: 5/1/2004
Directed by Ken Annakin
Featuring Glynis Johns, Googie Withers, Griffith Jones

When a husband out on a fishing trip is held captive by a mermaid, she only allows him to return if he agrees to take her with him.

According to a few sources, this movie runs eighty minutes, but my print only runs about sixty-five; based on some of the jump cuts, I’d say the missing fifteen minutes occur somwhere near the beginning, which might explain the speed with which the movie gets to the encounter with the mermaid. It doesn’t really effect the plot all that much, but that’s because the plot is so slight to begin with; basically, the mermaid causes problems with three different romantic relationships because of her constant flirting with virtually every man she meets. It’s not bad, if not particularly engrossing, and everyone does a good job, though Margaret Rutherford steals the show as the nurse. The movie spawned a sequel, MAD ABOUT MEN.

1 CommentLeave a comment

Mill of the Stone Women (1960)

MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN (1960)
(a.k.a. IL MULINO DELLE DONNE DI PIETRA)
Article #992 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12/2/2003
Posting Date: 4/30/2004
Directed by Giorgio Ferroni
Featuring Pierre Brice, Scilla Gabel, Wolfgang Preiss

A writer has an affair with a sculptor’s daughter who suffers from a mysterious illness. Her death brings on a series of strange events.

You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what one of the horrible secrets of the mill will be; the print ads and trailers actually leave little doubt to the nature of one of the revelations in this story. On the down side, the first half of the movie is very slow, confusing, and the dubbing is very awkward. Things do pick up quite a bit during the second half of the movie, though; once certain key events take place, it becomes a better-than-average Italian-French horror thriller. It also benefits from some truly eerie moments, and a wonderful milieu; it mostly takes place in a mill where the wind causes a parade of stone figures to pass by on a stage, and it makes for an exotic and unusual setting. Unfortunately, the movie opens with some stupid and sexist narration about the perfidy and evil of women that implies that the horrible events perpetrated by the two villains of the piece are really the result of the daughter, who (unavoidably) plays a passive role during much of the proceedings; this isn’t logic, this is trying to pass the buck. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression.

0 CommentsLeave a comment