THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (2024)

 

This is a film that I hoped would be shown in a theater near my area, but no such luck. (Considering that it's a three hour movie made in France, I'm not surprised it didn't get a major release in America--perhaps the production should have cast a rapper in the lead role??) I became interested in this recent adaptation of Dumas' THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO when I found out that the directors and writers of it, Alexandre de La Patelliere & Matthieu Delaporte, were associate producers and writers on the two-part  THE THREE MUSKETEERS that was made a couple years ago, a version that impressed me a great deal. 

The latest THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is grand storytelling in the classic tradition, a film that is authentic to the characters and the period in which it is set. In 1815, French sailor Edmund Dantes (Pierre Niney) has his whole future ahead of him. He's recently been promoted to captain, and he's about to marry his true love. In the middle of the wedding ceremony, however, Dantes is arrested and charged with treason. Totally innocent of the charges, Dantes spends 14 years in prison, where he befriends a mysterious fellow inmate who helps him escape. The inmate also reveals to Dantes the location of a fantastic treasure on the island of Monte Cristo--a treasure that will enable the wronged man to instigate a lengthy and complicated plot of revenge against those who took away his future. 

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is an opulent and sweeping production, with impressive sets and costumes. The cinematography and editing are lively, but they don't overwhelm the narrative (there's no CGI-fueled video-game style sequences here). Thankfully this version doesn't try to be trendy or topical by inserting 21st Century style issues in the storyline or the casting. There's no attempts at modern humor, and, even better, there's no desaturated color schemes. 

Pierre Niney ably shows how Dantes is transformed from an openhearted positive young man to a cunning and calculating larger than life figure. While watching this film I realized how much the character of Edmund Dantes has influenced adventure stories ever since--in a way Dantes is an early 19th Century Bruce Wayne. You could even say that Dantes is one of the first superheroes--but he also could be looked upon as a supervillain as well. This new version doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of Dumas' tale. 

I need to point out once again that this is a French production, with mostly French actors playing the major roles. For me this made the film work even better--not knowing who any of the cast were meant that I was able to better believe them as the characters. I bought this movie on Blu-ray, and the disc does have an English language option, but by all means the French audio track (with English subtitles) is the best way to view the film. 

Some on the internet have quibbled about the changes made from the original Dumas novel, but overall I felt this was an excellent adaptation, featuring a classic epic film-making style that I have a preference for. The 2024 THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is now out on Blu-ray and streaming, and it's a film that should have gotten more attention in North America. 

STOOGE O-RAMA

 

This came out a couple years ago, but I didn't get it until recently because it was (you guessed it) at a discount. STOOGE O-RAMA is a 3 disc grab bag of odds & ends involving the Funky Trio, available on DVD and Blu-ray. (I bought the DVD version--considering the less-than-pristine quality of the clips featured on this set, I doubt the Blu-ray would be all that much better.) 

The first disc on the set presents an hour-long documentary program on the Stooges entitled "The Men Behind the Mayhem". It's a decent look at the history of the group, sticking to the basics. The other two discs contain trailers for Stooges films, TV appearances, commercials, audio interviews, home movie footage, radio spots, etc. 

As a life-long Three Stooges fan I would say that there's nothing earth-shattering or revelatory about this material--it's the type of stuff that one can find on YouTube or gets shared on social media sites. One does notice in the behind-the-scenes footage how short of stature all the Stooges were, and how much older they looked when they were sporting their "civilian" hairstyles (one must remember that when the Stooges gained their second wind in the late 1950s-early 60s, they were all well past middle-age). 

The audio interviews show that Moe Howard was a very astute, articulate man who definitely was the leader of the group. (One wishes that Moe was around today, mainly because of all the info he could provide for film geeks.) 

There is a certain randomness to this collection, but I believe the folks behind it wanted to get as many things as they could in the set to make it more attractive to fans. It needs to be mentioned that the set features all the Stooges: Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Joe, and Curly Joe. If you are expecting a Curly-fest you're going to be disappointed. Curly quit performing in 1946 due to health issues, and he died in 1952, so there isn't as much behind-the-scenes footage of him available as there is of his Stooge comrades. 

This is a set that is more for hardcore Stooges fanatics than those who watch the boys on MeTV from time to time. The footage is more unique than entertaining, and if you're not aware of Stooges history you may wonder what's going on in these clips. (An audio commentary giving context on some of the footage might have helped.) This is still a nice set overall, especially if you can get it at the discount I did. STOOGE O-RAMA is from Kit Parker Films, a company that has been doing excellent work over the years releasing rare product from the Hal Roach Studios. 

THE DEADLY BEES

 

THE DEADLY BEES (1967) is one of the lesser entries in the Amicus catalog, despite being directed by Freddie Francis. I purchased it on Blu-ray at a discount (what did you expect?). 

Pop music star Vicky Robbins (Suzanna Leigh) suffers a nervous breakdown while performing on a TV show. Her doctor sends her out to a remote farm on Seagull Island for some rest and recuperation. The couple who own the farm, the Hargroves, are not the most welcoming people in the world--Mr. Hargrove (Guy Doleman) is dour and mysterious, while his wife (Catherine Finn) spends her time sitting around smoking cigarettes and looking depressed. Hargrove is a beekeeper, as is the quirky Manfred (Frank Finlay), a neighbor who takes an interest in Vicky. Soon both Hargrove's dog and his wife are killed due to bee attacks, and Vicky fears she may be next. 

All the information one can find about THE DEADLY BEES on the internet and in print points out that the movie had major script problems. Famed horror writer Robert Bloch wrote the original script (based on a novel called A TASTE OF HONEY by H.F. Heard), but it didn't impress Freddie Francis, who had it rewritten by Anthony Marriott. The result is a slow and at times confusing plot that appears to be missing valuable story points. In interviews Amicus producer Milton Subotsky always claimed to have re-edited most of the films he was attached to in order to make them "work". I don't think THE DEADLY BEES works, but I do believe that this time Subotsky did do some major tinkering. A number of sequences in this film end abruptly, and one gets the sense that there are certain scenes that were cut out. At one point it appears that a character has been killed off, but it is later revealed, in an off-hand manner, that the person survived after all, even though they are never shown again. 

The very idea of being inundated by huge swarms of bees is inherently nasty, but the actual bee attacks here are underwhelming. They mainly consist of bees haphazardly superimposed over footage of actors flailing about. The matte work is mediocre, and one never believes that any of the characters are in danger. I certainly don't believe that performers on a movie set should be put at any risk, but if you make a movie titled THE DEADLY BEES, and the result is that one doesn't get a charge out of the bees attacking anybody, there isn't much of a point to it. 

Freddie Francis always stated that he didn't like horror films to begin with, and in THE DEADLY BEES he seemed more interested in the desultory married life of the Hargroves than in any shocking thrills. In some ways the movie tries to be a murder mystery, but there isn't much suspense--there's only two beekeepers on the island, and both of them act suspicious. When the man behind it all is finally revealed, and he goes into a lengthy explanation of how he did it, I immediately started to wonder why the other beekeeper didn't do certain things in the beginning to stop all this from happening. 

Suzanna Leigh handles the attractive damsel in distress role well, but she doesn't have much to work with, and she has to fight off bees at one point while in her underwear. (There's an attempt to try and use Vicky's breakdown as an excuse to belittle her suspicions, but this isn't fully developed.) Guy Doleman is so brooding and disagreeable as Mr. Hargrove that he becomes too much of a suspect, and Frank Finlay is such a milquetoast you just know that he's hiding something. 

The supporting cast is filled with faces known to Hammer/Amicus/English Gothic fans. Michael Ripper plays (of course) the man who runs the island's pub, and his daughter is played by Katy Wild, who was the mute beggar girl in THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. (There's a hint that Wild's character is having an affair with Mr. Hargrove, but this isn't fully developed either.) Someone else from THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (also directed by Freddie Francis) shows up here--Caron Gardner, who was the Burgomaster's sexy wife in the earlier film, has a cameo as Vicky's manager's secretary. Michael Gwynn, who was in a number of Hammers, is Vicky's doctor, and Alister Williamson (the man behind the mask in THE OBLONG BOX) is a police official. 

The most notable thing about THE DEADLY BEES is that it predates the Killer Bee craze of the latter part of the 1970s, which spawned a set of other below average "insects on the rampage" flicks. When one thinks about it, has there ever been a decent killer bee movie?? 

IRON MAN (1931)

 

Robert Downey Jr. does not appear in this film. This is a 1931 production from Universal, directed by Tod Browning. I was inspired to seek it out by my recent reading of DARK CARNIVAL, a biography of Browning. IRON MAN was made between DRACULA and FREAKS, and, as one would expect, it doesn't come anywhere near matching the notable aspects of those two features. 

Lew Ayres plays lightweight boxer Kid Mason, who has lost his most recent bout due to his refusal to listen to the advice of his manager/mentor George (Robert Armstrong). After hearing of his latest defeat, Kid's sultry & ambitious wife Rose (Jean Harlow) leaves him. The Kid then goes on a winning streak, and he gets a shot at the world title. Rose pops back into his life, sensing that he's going to make the big time. The Kid wins the title, and he and Rose move into a swanky apartment and start living the high life. George tries to warn Kid that his wife is unreliable and untrustworthy, but the young boxer has to find out things the hard way. 

In DARK CARNIVAL, authors David J. Skal and Elias Savada state that IRON MAN "is the most perfunctory of Browning's talkies" and that is a very apt assessment. The picture was the last in a three-film contract Browning had with Universal, and it appears he was just going through the motions. IRON MAN is ostensibly a story about boxing, but there's very little in-ring action, and what there is of that is mostly made up of stock footage. The movie is very talky, and very static, and there's not much energy to it. 

At this time Universal was building up Lew Ayres to be a big star, due to his leading role in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, but the studio did him no favors when it came to IRON MAN. Ayres is totally miscast as a supposedly tough boxing champion. His Kid Mason is a very lightweight fighter--he looks as if he couldn't last a round with anyone--and the character acts hesitant and unsure throughout most of the film. It's hard to take Ayres seriously in the role when Jean Harlow looks better built than he does. 

Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow in IRON MAN

Speaking of Harlow, her cleavage is the most standout part of this film. Her Rose is the typical bad girl who is greedy, cynical, and caustic. As soon as she shows up, you just know she's going to cause the Kid trouble. Harlow more than fills the requirements of the part, but you get the feeling she wasn't too happy playing someone who was so cheap and disagreeable. 

Robert Armstrong comes off way better than either Ayres and Harlow. He carries the film, and he has so much charisma one wonders why he isn't doing the boxing instead of Ayres. 

There isn't much of a supporting cast in IRON MAN, but I do need to point out Mike Donlin, who plays a small role. Donlin was a well-known Major League baseball player in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and he got into the entertainment industry after marrying a stage actress. Tod Browning had a major baseball connection of his own--his uncle was Pete Browning, a legendary 19th Century batting champion. 

IRON MAN will be of interest to film geeks due to its combination of Lew Ayres, Jean Harlow, and Tod Browning, but it isn't very entertaining. The print I watched of the film appeared to be edited slightly. According to DARK CARNIVAL, there was a scene which showed Jean Harlow getting punched in the mouth by the man she's having an affair with--but that wasn't in the version I saw. My guess is that IRON MAN was cut after the Production Code was strengthened to allow it to be re-released. Might an uncut version of this movie be released on home video someday?? Maybe, but I have a feeling that Disney/Marvel might have something to say about that. 

SONNY AND JED

 

SONNY AND JED (also known as LA BANDA J. & S., among a number of other alternate titles) is a bizarre 1972 Euro Western directed and co-written by Sergio Corbucci. I would describe the movie as a combination of BONNIE AND CLYDE and the TRINITY films. 

Naive prairie girl Sonny (Susan George) becomes infatuated with the vulgar and brazen bandit Jed Trigado (Tomas Milian). The two maintain a chaotic relationship while committing crimes and avoiding the reach of a vindictive lawman named Franciscus (Telly Savalas). 

Once again Tomas Milian plays a crazy peasant bandito, but this one is on a different level than the actor's other performances. Jed Trigado is as vicious, uncouth, foul, and unappealing as you can get. The man has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, other than protecting and feeding a poor Mexican village from time to time. If it wasn't for Milian's considerable screen presence Jed would be very hard to take, but the wide-eyed Sonny is absolutely smitten with him, even though Jed treats her worse than an disobedient pet. 

Susan George was one of the most put-upon actresses of her generation, when one considers what she went through in movies like FRIGHT, STRAW DOGS, and this one. Sergio Corbucci does not (surprisingly) take advantage of George's enticing looks--as Sonny she spends almost all the film dressed in ragged men's clothes that are far too big for her. (There is one scene in which Sonny is taking a bath, but she's discreetly covered in suds.) Not only is George de-glamorized here, she's also knocked around more than Curly Howard in a typical Three Stooges short. Jed physically (and verbally) assaults Sonny multiple times, and she's also beaten up by Telly Savalas and a group of prostitutes. Despite this level of degradation, Sonny carries on regardless, refusing to back down to anyone almost out of spite. 

Needless to say, 21st Century viewers of SONNY AND JED would find the leading lady's predicament problematic, to say the least. (I can only imagine what those audio commentators who go on about "gender norms" and "agency" would say about this movie.) I assume that Sergio Corbucci thought the audience would be amused by Sonny and Jed's antics, or at least come to understand why they can't get away from each other, but I for one didn't think the couple was very appealing. Instead of being rebellious, the pair come off as lazy reprobates. (Case in point: after Sonny and Jed get married, they rob the priest, and then take off with the collection box.) 

Telly Savalas brings his usual bravado and his own considerable screen presence to the role of Franciscus. This could have been just another quirky spaghetti western villain, but Telly makes the man stand out, and he even makes the viewer understand why he's so determined to catch Jed. (I have to admit I was kind of rooting for Franciscus to succeed.) About halfway through the story Franciscus is blinded, but this actually makes him even more menacing. 

Among the supporting cast are such Euro Cult figures as Herbert Fux (LADY FRANKENSTEIN) and Eduardo Fajardo (DJANGO). Mention must be made of a couple of actors who appear in this film that had connections with Telly Savalas. Gene Collins fought alongside Telly in KELLY'S HEROES, and Victor Israel was the train baggage man who lets loose the creature in HORROR EXPRESS. 

I also need to mention Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for SONNY AND JED. The music is reflective and melancholic, at odds with the goofiness onscreen. Morricone gives more dignity and depth to Sonny and Jed than the actors or the situations do. 

Sergio Corbucci made some of the best Euro Westerns of all time, but SONNY AND JED is one of his lesser efforts. It's hard to appreciate the dopey criminality of the title pair, and the Old West presented here is muddy, cold, and depressing. I had seen SONNY AND JED a couple of times, but the visual quality was terrible for each viewing. The movie is now available on Tubi, and their version is at least much more watchable. SONNY AND JED needs a proper Region A home video release. 

Book Review--DARK CARNIVAL: The Secret World Of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master Of The Macabre (Revised Edition)

 

DARK CARNIVAL is the revised edition of a 1995 biography on American film director Tod Browning, written by David J. Skal and Elias Savada. The book was published by the University of Minnesota Press, and I purchased the more affordable paperback version. 

Tod Browning is a name well-known to film geeks and old monster movie lovers. He directed the original THE UNHOLY THREE, THE UNKNOWN, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, DRACULA, FREAKS, and many other movies involving the weird, the morbid, and the uncanny. Browning's life was as strange as many of the stories he put onscreen, and even after the first edition of this book came out in the 1990s, bizarre rumors about his personal habits still persist to this day. 

In the years since the first edition of their biography was released, the authors discovered new material and information about their subject. This DARK CARNIVAL doesn't contain what I would call any earth-shattering revelations, but it does shine as much light as possible on an off-beat filmmaker who managed to create some of the darkest visions released during the 1920s-30s era of Hollywood. 

It's amazing that Browning was able to make the films that he did, especially considering he wasn't working on the low-budget margins of the American movie industry. Browning spent most of his career at MGM, a studio proud of its prestigious reputation. DARK CARNIVAL charts how Browning fell in and out of favor from MGM (and Universal) during his checkered years as a director. 

The book also details (as well as it can) Browning's early life, which is where most of the wild rumors about him originate. (The authors point out that a lot of these "facts" about Browning's youthful days working in carnivals and fairs cannot be verified.) The problem with any book or article dealing with Tod Browning is that the man himself never gave what would now be called a complete all-inclusive interview, and his one-on-one interactions with individuals were complicated, to say the least. Browning's alcoholism is also dealt with, an affliction which haunted his life and work constantly. 

Nevertheless, over the years the authors managed to interview a number of folks who either worked with Browning or had personal knowledge of him. The book contains a full filmography of Browning's work, including the movies in which he appeared as an actor. DARK CARNIVAL is heavily illustrated, with full-page photos featuring the likes of Browning, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi. 

As expected, the more notable of Browning's films--his collaborations with Lon Chaney, the 1931 DRACULA, and of course FREAKS--get plenty of coverage. There is also a chapter on how Browning's work has influenced pop culture over the years. One could say that Browning's cinematic output has had far more lasting effect than those of his more mainstream (and more respected) contemporary filmmakers. 

DARK CARNIVAL is the ultimate source when it comes to Tod Browning, yet it must be said that even after I finished reading it, the man was still something of a mystery. If Browning were alive today, fanboys would be crowding all over him, but during his long retirement from Hollywood he wound up basically forgotten (he appears to have spent most of his time by himself drinking beer). The fact that Browning never really opened up about himself and his films makes him all the more intriguing. DARK CARNIVAL is a must for the bookshelf of any classic horror film fan, and it is also a great biography about an early Hollywood figure. 

DOUBLE FACE

 

DOUBLE FACE is a 1969 Italian-West German co-production, a mystery thriller also known as A DOPPIA FACCIA and DAS GESICHT IM DUNKLEN. The movie was promoted as an Edgar Wallace Krimi in Germany, and it is listed as an official part of the Rialto Krimi series in a few sources, although it has nothing to do with anything Wallace wrote. 

Klaus Kinski stars as John Alexander, a well-to-do English businessman whose marriage to wife Helen (Margaret Lee) is on the rocks. Helen goes off on a trip by herself, but her car is destroyed in an explosion. Devastated by his wife's death, John takes a much-needed vacation. Upon his return, Alexander is bedeviled by a young woman named Christine (Christine Kruger), who shows him an adult film she appears in. John is convinced that the other woman in the stag reel is his wife, and as he tries to find out the truth behind what really happened to Helen, he deals with a set of weird occurrences and characters. 

DOUBLE FACE was directed by Riccardo Freda (THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK), and one of its many credited writers was Lucio Fulci. This is one of the reasons why the movie is a favorite of a number of Euro Cult experts. DOUBLE FACE has plenty of Hitchcock-style elements to it, and it is also regarded as a giallo story, despite the fact that it doesn't feature any stylized gory murders. The film even has some Italian Gothic aspects to it (at one point Klaus Kinski roams around his empty house holding a candelabra). 

John Alexander is an unusual role for Klaus Kinski. Alexander is a nattily-dressed member of the upper class (Kinski probably never had a better wardrobe selection onscreen than he did here), and he's trying to solve a desperate situation instead of causing one. Alexander is still considered a major suspect in his wife's death (this is Klaus Kinski we're dealing with, after all), and there's a suggestion that everything the man is experiencing is all part of some dream or nightmare. Much of the film consists of Kinski wandering around and looking pensive, and the viewer is as frustrated as his character, due to a confusing narrative. 

Riccardo Freda does inject a sense of jet-set European decadence, although one never believes for a second that this story takes place in England, despite the many insert shots of downtown London. At one point Kinski finds himself in the middle of a Swinging London style rave that isn't all that swinging, and goes on for so long that it appears to have been an attempt to pad out the running time. 

As in most European genre productions made around this time, DOUBLE FACE is filled with gorgeous women: Margaret Lee, Christine Kruger, Annabella Incontrera, and Barbara Nelli. All these ladies also go topless at one point during the story. This certainly kept my attention, but the film's pace drags at times, and from my perspective the final explanation for all the goings-on is way too simple. 

I viewed DOUBLE FACE on the Tubi streaming channel, and it was an uncut, colorful and sharp widescreen presentation. This version had an English voice dub, with English title credits (Riccardo Freda is listed under his "Robert Hampton" moniker). Once again Klaus Kinski is given a voice that doesn't match up to his attitude and style. 

DOUBLE FACE will be of interest to fans of Euro Cult cinema, but I felt it wasn't one of the better entries in that genre.