DONOVAN’S BRAIN (1953)
Article #182 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-14-2001
Posting date: 1-28-2002

When a millionaire dies in a plane crash near the home of a scientist experimenting with brains, his brain is removed and kept alive by artificial means. However, the brain gains the ability to take over the will of the scientist when he tries to communicate with it.

This is the second of three versions of the Curt Siodmak novel, and my favorite one. The basic premise is a little far-fetched, but the wealth of detail and a strong performance by Lew Ayres make the movie quite convincing. I like the fact that Ayres is not playing a mad scientist, but rather a well-intentioned one who finds himself in a position where an opportunity to extend his research drops into his lap, even though making use of the opportunity is illegal. I also like the fact that Donovan walked with a limp, so that whenever Dr. Cory is taken over by the brain, you can tell without a word being said. Also, the decision to hook up a machine that responds audibly to the changes of Donovan’s brainwaves is a clever and effective use of sound to convey tension and suspense. It’s the accumulation of details of this sort that show the care that can be taken with movies like this. The movie also features Gene Evans, Nancy Davis, and Steve Brodie.

DR. STRANGELOVE, OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)
Article #180 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-12-2001
Posting date: 1-26-2002

An Air Force general uses an emergency plan to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.

The only reason I don’t wholeheartedly pick 2001 as my faovrite Kubrick movie is because he also made this one, which I like equally well. Based on a novel called “Red Alert”, it was changed from a serious drama to a comedy, and this was a wise move; the story relies on an enormous amount of coincidence that would have made it more difficult to accept as a drama. That General Ripper would launch his attack during the short period of time after which the Russians had activated the Doomsday Device but before they announced it to the world is just one example; others would require giving away the whole movie, which I don’t wish to do. As a kid, I remember catching the movie, but only laughing when Keenan Wynn was squirted in the face; as an adult, I laughed throughout. Great performances abound, especially from Peter Sellers in three roles, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Sterling Hayden and Keenan Wynn as Colonel “Bat” Guano (if that really is his name). My favorite moment; the president’s telephone conversation to the drunk Russian premier Dimitri. Then there’s a whole slew of great comic lines, with such favorites as “You can’t fight here; this is the War Room!” and “All right, I’ll get your money for you, but if you don’t get through, you’ll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company!”

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1920/I)
(with John Barrymore)
Article #179 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-11-2001
Posting date: 1-25-2002

Dr. Jekyll tries to separate his bad self from his good and creates a monstrous fiend called Mr. Hyde.

The IMDB lists three movies called DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE as belonging to the year 1920. I’ve already covered the Sheldon Lewis version, and the third is an alternate title to DER JANUSKOPF (which is lost). This is the best of the silent versions of this story, at least of those that are extant; more than ten different versions were known to have existed. John Barrymore is very good in both roles, looking especially depraved as the long-fingered Mr. Hyde. There’s a memorable scene where Dr. Jekyll suffers nightmares of Mr. Hyde in the form of a giant spider, making this an early entry into the giant bug sub-genre of science fiction. It pretty much follows the same story as the other versions, but there is at least one intriguing aspect of this one, and that lies in the character of his betrothed’s father, Sir George Carew (played by Brandon Hurst); in this movie, the character is a variation on the Lord Henry Wotton character in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. He is the one who tempts Dr. Jekyll into his experiments while at the same time standing in the way of his marriage to his daughter. This makes for a fascinating relationship between the characters, and I think it’s a shame that none of the remakes of this movie that I have seen have borrowed this relationship.

DINOSAURUS! (1960)
Article #178 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-10-2001
Posting date: 1-24-2002

A construction crew on an island pulls the bodies of two dinosaurs and a caveman out of the ocean. When lightning strikes them, they revive and begin roaming the island.

The third collaboration between Jack H. Harris and Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. was a major disappointment. Neither THE BLOB nor THE 4D MAN were perfect, but they fleshed out their stories with some well-developed and interesting characters; in this movie, almost all the characters are one-dimensional, dull or annoying. Also, the dinosaur special effects are subpar, though it is nice that they used stop-motion rather than going the slurpasaur route. It would have been really nice to see what Harryhausen would have done with the final setpiece of the movie, where a man fights a T-rex with one of the vehicles on the construction site. I did find one performance I really liked in this movie, though: Gregg Martell gives a wonderful little performance as the cave man. I especially like the sequence in the house, where he is quite convincing as a man dealing with a world and a technology unfamiliar to him; for me, this scene is the highlight of the film.

THE DEVIL COMMANDS (1941)
Article #177 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-9-2001
Posting date: 1-23-2002

A scientist experimenting with brain patterns loses his wife in a car accident. When his machine registers her brain pattern after her death, he becomes obsessed with trying to communicate with her from the world beyond.

This Boris Karloff vehicle has one of the most intriguing premises I’ve encountered, and represents one of the most interesting blends of science fiction and horror. It’s also one of the best illustrations on how an obsession can take over and destroy a man’s life, as we see the gradual deterioration of character as he at first alienates his family and friends, then accidentally destroys the mind of his assistant, going from there to grave-robbing and murder, and finally risking the life of his own daughter for his experiment. The seance sequences in the latter half of the movie are very striking, with their use of science fiction paraphernalia and horror elements, with skeletons taking part in the seance while dressed in what look like diving outfits, and a miniature tornado being created as a result of the experiments. Karloff’s performance is great, but there are times when I feel the structure of the story is a little clumsy, and I find myself wishing that a little more time and money had been invested in the movie. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating film.

DEMENTIA 13 (1963)
Article #176 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-8-2001
Posting date: 1-22-2002

A woman trying to bilk an inheritance out of a Scottish family is unexpectedly murdered.

Francis Ford Coppola’s early horror film is at least partially modeled off of PSYCHO, especially in that the movie begins with one plot (about the woman trying to cover up her husband’s death in order to get an inheritance) which is derailed at the halfway point to make room for the real plot (about a madman in the castle). The initial murder is a truly shocking and totally unexpected scene, as it oocurs just at a moment when the initial story is starting to take shape, and you don’t see it coming. There are other shocking scenes in the second half of the movie, but I don’t find that half quite as engaging overall; it’s almost as if the makers didn’t really know what they wanted to do with the investigation rather than have another murder and a final revelation. Still, the movie has a lot of atmosphere, and is certainly worth a look for anyone interested in Coppola’s early work. The movie features Luana Anders, William Campbell, and Patrick Magee, and features some truly eerie music by Ronald Stein.

DEAD OF NIGHT (1945)
Article #175 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-7-2001
Posting date: 1-21-2002

An architect looking for work at a country home discovers that he recognizes the faces of everyone there from a dream he had. He doesn’t remember the dream clearly, but he knows that it ends with him killing someone.

This British film isn’t the first horror anthology movie, but it’s probably the most famous early one. Four different directors handled the five stories (and the linking story), but they’re all smoothly integrated with each other. When it was first released in the U.S., the golfing story was cut to make the film shorter, and it was probably the only segment that could have been removed without damaging the story, as it was probably the only one (within the framework of the movie) that was apocryphal, and plays no part in the final nightmarish sequence in the linking story. I’m really not a big fan of anthology movies; generally, I like to have the horror built up over the length of one complete story, but this one is very good, especially the ventriloquist dummy sequence starring Michael Redgrave, which is one of my favorite takes on the theme. In fact, I quite like all the stories, even the golfing one. And even though the ending is one of those that would usually garner a Rubber Brick award from me, in this case, it’s probably the best and most logical ending that this movie could have. The movie also features Mervyn John as the architect.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
Article #173 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 9-5-2001
Posting date: 1-19-2002

An emissary from outer space and his robot visit Earth in order to deliver a message. The hostile reception he receives and lack of cooperation from the government causes him to go undercover to deliver his message.

This is one of those movies that I’ve seen so many times that I’m a little bored with it anymore. But if I’ve overwatched, I can only remind myself that was because of the pleasure I received from my earlier viewings of it. I still consider it a great film, with fine direction by Robert Wise, and good performances by Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe and the rest. It’s filled with memorable scenes and stunning images; the saucer landing in Washington D.C., the ramp sliding out of the saucer, the first appearances of both Klastu and Gort, Gort’s destruction of the army’s weapons, Klaatu’s first appearance at the boarding house, the visit to the study of Dr. Bernhardt during which Klaatu corrects his calculations, Helen’s delivery of the message “Klaatu barada nikto” to Gort, and the final speech. I can understand the concern some people have with the fascistic undertones in the speech, and in truth, some of Klaatu’s actions do indeed increase the sense of dread rather than allay it, but ultimately I find the other elements of the movie more compelling. The movie levels some nice critiques on the small-mindedness of government, the sensationalism of the media, and the way fear can rule the lives of those who let it control them—critiques that are both timely and timeless. There’s definitely a lot of food for thought in this movie.