THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

We return to Eureka's TERROR IN THE FOG Blu-ray set, this time to cover THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY, a 1964 German Krimi that is heavily influenced by the legend of Jack the Ripper. 

In modern London, a number of prostitutes are being savagely murdered within the same vicinity that a successful play about Jack the Ripper is being performed. The actor who portrays the killer in the story, Richard Sand (Hansjorg Felmy) is getting burned out in the role after so many performances, and he's also facing pressure from those who think the play might be influencing the real-life murders. Sand has had personal issues in the past, and the actor starts to wonder if he himself might be the killer without even realizing it. As the play gets more notoriety, the killings continue, and Sand gets caught up in the investigation. 

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY is an above-average Krimi that goes against the grain in a few ways. Instead of a leading man-type detective being the main character, the major suspect takes center stage, and the audience isn't too sure whether he's guilty or not. The idea of whether violent entertainment influences actual crime has been a major debate for the past few decades, but it's unusual to see it referenced in a movie which revels in atmospheric scenes of beautiful young women being stalked and killed. (These striking scenes, by the way, have a decidedly Mario Bavaesque feel to them.) Marianne Koch (who would next appear in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) plays Sand's sympathetic girlfriend, while Peer Schmidt and Chariklia Baxevanos are a couple of Tommy & Tuppence-like private eyes who decide to find the killer on their own so they can claim the reward and get married. Some viewers might find the amateur detectives annoying, but they do provide some levity among all the morbid goings-on. 

The black & white visuals of THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY look very crisp and fine on this 2.35:1 print which Eureka has furnished with its own disc. As with the rest of the films in this set, the movie is uncut, with the original main titles (which are in color), and German and English voice tracks are provided, with English subtitles. 

The extras include a video essay entitled PASSING THE KNIFE, by Alexandra Heller-Nichols. She discusses how the German Krimi was a major precursor to the slasher films of later decades, and yes, she talks about the gender politics of the genres. Tim Lucas provides another introduction, in which he points out the similarities between this film and THE PHANTOM OF SOHO. Lucas also compares THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY with the 1971 version of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, which also deals with a violent play being performed while a real madman is going around killing people. 

There's also a new audio commentary, once again with Kim Newman, but this time he's joined by Stephen Jones. It's a lively one, although Newman does repeat some of the things he's mentioned in his other talks included in this set. The duo discuss why very little is known about Bryan Edgar Wallace, and what actual writing he might have done, and once again we get a talk about how the German Krimi version of London has no relation to the actual location. 

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY feels more like a modern-day Jack the Ripper tale instead of a basic Krimi, but this is a positive. For those who have not seen it, the killer's identity, and the way in which he is revealed, will be a surprise. There's just one more movie to go in this fine box set from Eureka. 

Book Review: BECOMING NICK & NORA

 

BECOMING NICK & NORA: THE THIN MAN and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy, is a fairly recent volume dealing with one of the greatest onscreen couples in Hollywood history. 

William Powell & Myrna Loy appeared together in feature films an astounding 14 different times. Powell & Loy will always be known as Nick and Nora Charles from THE THIN MAN series, but their chemistry together was so great they were teamed up in many other types of movies. Author Rob Kozlowski examines the Powell-Loy pairing and delves into why the duo worked so well with each other. (One main reason--they were so effortlessly natural in their interactions many moviegoers of the 1930s and 1940s took it for granted that they actually were a romantic couple in real life....which they weren't.) 

Kozlowski also provides a mini-bio for both Powell and Loy, charting their struggles to make it as movie actors in the silent era of the 1920s, and how they both achieved success in the early 1930s. Powell spent most of his time in silents cast as a villain, while Loy was constantly given roles as a foreign exotic type. The talkies enhanced the duo's careers, and after the major splash of THE THIN MAN, Powell & Loy stayed big stars for years afterward. 

BECOMING NICK & NORA is less than 250 pages long, but Rob Kozlowski provides plenty of concise insight and analysis as he covers all of the features Powell & Loy co-starred in, and their individual triumphs as well. The author knows his Hollywood history, and he is able to present it in a basic, matter of fact way (you don't need to be a hardcore film geek to enjoy this book). One of the perceptive points Kozlowski makes is that Powell & Loy benefited greatly from the Hollywood studio system--because the film companies of the time cranked out so many features, Powell & Loy got plenty of opportunity to define and hone their respective screen personas. 

Kozlowski also discusses the duo's private lives when applicable, but the main focus is on the pair's acting careers--this isn't (thankfully) a gossip-filled tome. The author doesn't give kudos to everything that the two performers did--he believes that THE THIN MAN series started to wane in the 1940s, and he's not a fan of LIFE WITH FATHER, one of William Powell's biggest hits. A few stills of Powell & Loy are sprinkled throughout the book. 

I greatly enjoyed reading this book, and finding out the author's opinions on various films starring Powell & Loy and his look at how the various studios dealt with the two of them. If anything, I wish this book was even more detailed than it is. (I noticed the author did not cover Powell in NEVADA or Loy in STAMBOUL QUEST, mainly because I've written blog posts on those features.) Rob Kozlowski is certainly conversant in 1930s Hollywood history, and I hope it is a subject he chooses to revisit in further volumes. 

THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE On Blu-ray From Kino

 

On the various extras and audio commentaries contained in Eureka's MABUSE LIVES! Blu-ray set, mention is made of THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE, a 1972 film directed by Jess Franco and co-produced by Artur Brauner, the man who initiated the series of German Dr. Mabuse movies in the 1960s. In an example of fortuitous timing, THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE gets its first official North American home video release courtesy of Kino Lorber. 

Any discussion of VENGEANCE has to start out on whether it is a "true" Mabuse film in the first place. The version of the movie on this disc is the German one, which is titled DR. M SCHLAGT ZU, and the mad mastermind featured in the story (played by Franco veteran Jack Taylor) is referred to as Dr. Cranko. In the Spanish version of the film, which is discussed in this disc's audio commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, the character is Mabuse, but he's going under an alias. I personally don't think this is an "official" Mabuse film (I'll get into that later). The movie has more to do with Jess Franco's eccentricities than the activities of the famed super villain. 

Being that this is a Jess Franco film, one can expect all sorts of bizarre ideas, and there's plenty in store here. Weird camera angles, abrupt switches from day to night, sultry Euro babes, a plot that has plenty of info missing, and a music score that is rather incessant--if you're familiar with the cinematic world of Jess Franco, you'll recognize all these elements. VENGEANCE isn't as lurid or exploitative as most of Franco's work--whether you consider that a plus or a minus depends on your overall opinion of the director's output. (There are a few brief shots of nudity.) 

The plot, such as it is, has Dr. Cranko and his hand full of associates attempting to steal plans from a top-secret facility. Their schemes are overly complicated, and usually involve putting beautiful women in danger. Those opposing the Doctor include a small-town sheriff (Fred Williams) and a stripper (this is a Jess Franco film, after all). The movie is apparently set somewhere in the southwestern United States, presumably near Mexico....but considering that this was helmed by Jess Franco, it could be set on Mars for all one knows. 

The Doctor has a hulking, scarred henchman who looks like a close relative of the monster in LADY FRANKENSTEIN, and one of the scientists who works at the top-secret facility is named Orloff, immediately calling to mind Jess Franco's most famous film. (Most of the info one can find online about THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE mentions that it is basically a remake of THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF.) 

As to the question of whether the main character here is or isn't Dr. Mabuse--I prefer to believe he isn't. Jack Taylor is no Rudolf Klein-Rogge (or Wolfgang Preiss, for that matter). The bearded Taylor looks more like a hippie guru instead of a criminal genius, and his Doctor speaks with trepidation about a mysterious organization that he works for. As I see it, the actual Mabuse wouldn't be working for someone else, and he certainly wouldn't be afraid of them. If it had been revealed that the leader of this organization was Mabuse, that would have made more sense (not that Jess Franco was worried about that). 

THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE is certainly not a great film, or even one of Jess Franco's best efforts (however one defines that), but Kino deserves credit for giving it a major home video release. (My interest in seeing this film was piqued by the MABUSE LIVES! set, although I kind of knew what to expect.) Packaged under the "Kino Cult" line, this is the German version of the film, with German credits and voice track (English subtitles are provided). The film is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, and the image is soft at times, with colors that look pale for the most part...but the most important thing here is that the movie is getting a proper Region A release period. 

The only extra here is the aforementioned new audio commentary, by Euro cult experts Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. The duo have a lot of ground to cover, and they do it admirably, going into the Spanish version of this film and discussing how this production fits into Franco's overall career. They also discuss Franco's relationship with Artur Brauner, which wasn't good (no surprises there). The two men are Franco fans, but even they admit that this is a "ramshackle" production (which is a bit of an understatement). 

Whether or not you believe that this is a true Dr. Mabuse film, or even if you are or are not a Jess Franco aficionado, this is a welcome release just for its rarity alone. If you want to watch something different and unusual, you can't go wrong with THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE. 

 

INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE: KEY OF KEYS

 

INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE: KEY OF KEYS is a 1965 Toho Japanese spy caper. originally titled KOKUSAI HIMITSU KEISATSU: KAGI NO KAGI. It is best known for most of its scenes being re-edited and re-dubbed and used in Woody Allen's spoof WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? 

I recently found out from the Cinema Savant website that the original uncut version of KEY OF KEYS is available on the Internet Archive, in the proper widescreen format, and with English subtitles, no less. (It was on the Internet Archive that I found another entry in the International Secret Police series: THE KILLING BOTTLE, which starred Kumi Mizuno and Nick Adams, and which I wrote a blog post on a couple years ago.) 

KEY OF KEYS once again features series regular Tatsuya Mihashi as Agent Kitani, and once again, he's involved with goings-on in a fictional country. The monarchy which rules the Asian nation of Tonwan is being threatened by a group of revolutionaries, and the country's intelligence chief convinces Kitani to help their cause. Kitani, a Tonwan agent (Akiko Wakabayashi) and a sultry crook (Mie Hama) are assigned to crack the safe of Gegen, a rebel leader who is holding $10 million in funds for combat activities. Kitani and his two lovely associates are aided by a gang chieftain who is angry that Gegen is encroaching on his turf--the rebel leader raises cash by running a casino/bordello in the bowels of what appears to be an ordinary freighter ship. Kitani and his crew break into the safe, only to find a single piece of paper which contains a code--the "Key of Keys"--which explains how the $10 million can be obtained. As expected, the gangster double-crosses Kitani, and the agent has to go up against two rival factions. 

The International Secret Police movies were certainly inspired by the James Bond franchise, but they have a more lighthearted and easy-going vibe to them. Tatsuya Mihashi's Kitani tries to be a ladies man, but the big running gag here is that he's never able to score. Mihashi is a likable, if lightweight hero, although most of the time he comes off as an amiable goofball instead of an expert in espionage and intrigue. 

The main reason cult movie geeks will want to watch KEY OF KEYS is due to the two leading ladies: Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama. Both ladies were Toho Kaiju veterans by this time, and they would both appear in the James Bond film YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (one has to guess that someone on the Bond production team viewed KEY OF KEYS). The two bring a lot of glamour and pizzazz to the story. 

Mie Hama, Akiko Wakabayashi, and Kumi Mizuno

(Mizuno did not appear in KEY OF KEYS, but footage of her was used in WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?)

KEY OF KEYS is a decent. well-made adventure tale, but it's not on the expansive (or expensive) level of the 007 series. There's not all that much action, but there is a flash of nudity, and Agent Kitani is literally beaten in the face with a rubber hose at one point. The humor isn't too ridiculous, but the subplot of the revolutionaries (who happen to be a minority group) gets lost in the shuffle. 

Those who enjoy Eurospy flicks and James Bond knockoffs will appreciate KEY OF KEYS. It's not a movie that will blow you away, but it is above-average entertainment. 

*A note about the photo used in this blog post. Kumi Mizuno does not appear in KEY OF KEYS, but footage of her from another International Secret Police film, A KEG OF POWDER, was also used in WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? Besides, I couldn't pass up using such a great picture of three Toho Kaiju queens. 

THE PHANTOM OF SOHO On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

It's back to Eureka's TERROR IN THE FOG Krimi Blu-ray set with THE PHANTOM OF SOHO, originally released in 1964. 

This entry is one of the better Krimis overall, with a well-constructed script and a setting making use of the shady (if somewhat fanciful) environs of Soho, a notorious suburb of London. A number of murders have taken place in the vicinity of a tawdry nightspot, and once again Scotland Yard is on the case. The killings have been committed as an act of revenge for a horrid event that took place years ago, and there are plenty of surprises along the way before all is revealed. 

THE PHANTOM OF SOHO has a lurid, noirish aspect to it--it's the type of movie that is best seen late at night. The film even has a title tune (sung in German of course)--a bluesy torch song that immediately establishes the story's milieu, and the atmospheric score by Martin Bottcher follows the same pattern. Despite all the seedy elements of the featured nightclub (including some brief nudity from the exotic dancers performing there), THE PHANTOM OF SOHO could still actually play almost uncut on prime time TV today. 

The movie does have a knife-wielding killer who wears a fright mask and shiny, spangly gloves, which obviously brings up many Giallo conventions--but this murderer isn't after gorgeous young women. THE PHANTOM OF SOHO also goes against the grain but not having a leading-man type of investigator--the two main police officials involved in the case (Dieter Borsche and Hans Sohnker) are middle-aged men, and they also happen to be suspects themselves. Barbara Rutting gets the best role as a best-selling mystery author who makes a great impact on the proceedings. 

THE PHANTOM OF SOHO is the only film in the TERROR IN THE FOG set that is presented in SD (it is listed as a "bonus feature" on the disc case). Despite that, the overall black & white 2.35:1 widescreen transfer looks excellent. This is the original uncut German version of the film, with the main credits in color. The credits have a cameo by none other than Bryan Edgar Wallace himself, although according to the extras, the story wasn't really based on anything he wrote (the movie's screenplay was by Ladislas Fodor). The movie has, like the others in this set, German and English voice dubs, and English subtitles. (The English dub is missing some dialogue, which is filled in by the German track with subtitles.) 

The extras include another introduction by Tim Lucas, who surmises that the film might have influenced Dario Argento. Lucas also discusses the movie's director, Franz Josef Gottlieb. The new audio commentary features Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman. The duo drift into a number of subjects, such as the differences between the actual Soho of the 1960s and the one portrayed in the film. Three trailers for THE PHANTOM OF SOHO are provided--German, International, and American. 

The American version of THE PHANTOM OF SOHO made its way to a DVD from Retromedia which I owned, but this one released by Eureka is the definitive version, despite not being in HD. I'm glad that its SD status did not prevent Eureka from including it on this set, since it is one of the better Krimis made in the early 1960s. 

Book Review: FROM PAGE TO SILVER SCREAM

 

Classic horror/sci-fi movie historian Tom Weaver's latest book is FROM PAGE TO SILVER SCREAM: 21 Novels That Became Horror and Sci-Fi Movie Favorites. I purchased this from the author personally at this June's Monster Bash Conference in Mars, Pennsylvania. 

The subtitle explains the volume very well. Tom Weaver gives succinct chapter-by-chapter summations of 21 novels that were the source material for various horror and science fiction movies. As Weaver explains in his introduction, nearly every element has been discussed or analyzed when it comes to the making of most classic genre films, but the novels on which these titles were based on get very little coverage, if any at all. The author attempts to correct this by bringing to light a number of books that have been either forgotten or have gone out of print. Weaver also covers a few that are still well known, such as THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, DONOVAN'S BRAIN by Curt Siodmak, and THE MASK OF FU MANCHU by Sax Rohmer. 

What the summations of the novels reveal is that most of them are very different from their cinematic adaptations. This shouldn't be much of a surprise, since novels and films are two quite separate forms of storytelling--what works well in one wouldn't necessarily carry over to the other. A novel can contain far more denser and elaborate material, while a movie has to get to the point and make more of an immediate effect. This is especially true for horror and science-fiction films, particularly the classic ones, where running times (and budgets) were for the most part rather limited. 

Some of the novels chosen by Weaver were adapted rather closely, such as BENIGHTED, the J.B. Priestley book that became James Whale's THE OLD DARK HOUSE (the major difference between the two is the fate of a major character). Others have almost nothing in common with the resulting films, which makes one wonder why the producers even used the books in the first place. 

One major reason for the differences between the novels and the films based on them is censorship issues. Weaver covers Richard Matheson's THE SHRINKING MAN, made into one of the best 1950s science-fiction films by Universal. In Matheson's novel, one subplot discusses the main character's sexual urges--that's certainly something that wouldn't be dealt with by an American genre movie made in 1957. 

Weaver provides a number of sidebars and photos dealing with the movies based on the novels. In the chapter on THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, 21 pages of 20th Century Fox memos are reprinted, showing how much time and care studio executives used to shape the 1939 adaptation starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. These memos show that these men were much more perceptive than the usual Hollywood front office type from the classic period is given credit for. 

I do wish that the author had gone into a bit more detail on the differences between the novels featured and their cinematic offspring, but one has to realize that this book is already 300 pages long, and if Weaver had done that for all 21 entries (and their sequels and remakes), the project would be twice as long, and invariably twice as expensive. The point of the book, after all, is the original novels, not the films made from them. (I also believe that Weaver feels most monster movie geeks know the movies like the back of their hands.) 

FROM PAGE TO SILVER SCREAM has plenty of surprises, such as the fact that even the notorious THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS was based on a novel, and there's even stills from the original long-lost trailer for the 1932 THE OLD DARK HOUSE. (Tom Weaver, by the way, showed this trailer at Monster Bash, a very welcome and pleasant treat.) 

I highly enjoyed FROM PAGE TO SILVER SCREAM, and I think Tom Weaver's idea of going back to the original novels that certain famed horror and sci-fi features were based on is a great one. In the book the author hints that he might turn this idea into a series of books, which I would be looking forward to. Finding out what the original versions of well-known films were, and what those films could have been, is a fascinating exercise, and, in a age where reading something off of a page instead of a screen makes one almost a social pariah, you've got to love a book that is about other books. FROM PAGE TO SILVER SCREAM is published by Bear Manor Media. 

STOLEN HOLIDAY

 

The month of August is when Turner Classic Movies presents their "Summer Under The Stars" series, in which a different actor is featured each day. Earlier this week the great Claude Rains was honored, and among the films shown in which he appeared in was one I had not seen, STOLEN HOLIDAY, a 1937 Warner Bros. production directed by the one and only Michael Curtiz. 

STOLEN HOLIDAY veers uneasily between the romantic entanglements of fashion maven Nicole Picot (Kay Francis) and the con artist shenanigans of Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains). The movie begins in 1931, where Nicole, a model working in Paris, is chosen by a mysterious man for a personal fashion show. Nicole learns that the man, Stefan Orloff, really wants her to pose as his companion so he can impress a potential client. The ruse works, and as Orloff becomes more and more successful, he helps Nicole in her quest to run her very own fashion house. Five years later, the two are at the top of their fields, but their relationship is more close friends than anything else. The French police are closing in on Orloff's shady activities, and in order to fend off any potential trouble, he asks Nicole to marry him. Orloff believes that the wedding will be a social highlight, and due to the many important guests he intends to invite, he assumes that the authorities will quit bothering him. Nicole surprisingly accepts Orloff's proposal, despite the fact that she's fallen in love with a British diplomat (Ian Hunter). 

Despite the fact that it was directed by Michael Curtiz, and produced by Hal B. Wallis, STOLEN HOLIDAY is a very middling film that has a very disjointed screenplay. It's meant to be a Kay Francis vehicle--she wears a different expensive outfit in every scene she is in, and she also has plenty of different hairdos--but it's Claude Rains and his financial dealings that the viewer is interested in. It's as if two films were mashed together. The overall relationship between the characters played by Francis and Rains is not developed very well, or even properly defined--are they lovers? Friends? Do they feel they owe each other something? Francis and Rains have no chemistry (according to David J. Skal's biography of Rains, the actor wasn't impressed with Francis), and while watching this film, you might notice than in the long shots, Francis in her high heels towers over Rains, while in the close shots she and he are about the same height. When Nicole agrees to marry Orloff, you just don't buy it--it feels like something that was put into the script to set up a climatic problem. (There's a very short montage sequence showing how Nicole and Orloff rise to the top, but it doesn't explain why the two have a connection to one another.) 

Kay Francis and Claude Rains in STOLEN HOLIDAY

As for Francis herself, while she definitely gets plenty of attention and glamour shots in this film, she also appears bored at times. She was a big star at Warners during the early 1930s, but at this point she was having problems with the studio. She had to have realized that Claude Rains got the better role in this film, and Ian Hunter as the romantic lead was no Clark Gable. 

Claude Rains doesn't get the amount of screen time that he deserves, but when he does show up, the movie shifts into a different gear. There's something dynamic and intriguing about Rains' Orloff--the entire movie should have been about him, and we should have gotten more info on his background and psychology. (Apparently the role of Stefan Orloff was based on a real-life Russian who caused a scandal in France, despite the fact that before STOLEN HOLIDAY begins we are shown a message trying to convince us that this film is not based on any real person or actual incident.) 

While watching STOLEN HOLIDAY you get the sense that Michael Curtiz wasn't that thrilled in making it. It's not a bad film, and it's not badly made, but it doesn't have that certain something to make it memorable. Michael Curtiz and Claude Rains would go on to work together for a total of 11 different times, and some of those pictures were among the greatest ever made in Hollywood history. As they encountered each other on the set over the years, I doubt the duo gave all that much thought to STOLEN HOLIDAY. 

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

It's back to the Krimis again, as I return to Eureka's TERROR IN THE FOG Blu-ray box set. This time I'll be covering THE MAD EXECUTIONERS (1963), originally titled DER HENKER VON LONDON. 

In this one a group of black-hooded and robed men are rounding up criminals who have managed to evade the law, and punishing them with a lethal form of justice. John Hillier, the police inspector investigating the case (Hansjorg Felmy) has plenty of reasons to admire these vigilantes--Hillier's sister was killed and decapitated by a mad scientist who is still on the loose committing similar murders. The executioners of London and the scientist's horrible activities come together in a very surprising climax. 

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS was supposedly based on a Bryan Edgar Wallace novel, but the author's name was more important to the resulting film than anything he might have written. The movie has plenty of Gothic chiller elements--the executioners ride around in a horse-drawn hearse during the middle of the night, and they try their picked defendants in an eerie underground crypt. (They also hang the guilty parties with a rope stolen from Scotland Yard's Black Museum.) Standing alongside these classic horror tropes is the wild sci-fi subplot of the mad doctor murdering gorgeous young women in his quest to attach a living head onto a mechanical body. THE MAD EXECUTIONERS may be confusing at times--every main character is a suspect, and most of them are hiding something--but it certainly isn't boring. 

Among the supporting cast members are Euro-cult actress Maria Perschy as Inspector Hillier's girlfriend, who gets more than she bargained for when she volunteers to help lure out the mad scientist; Wolfgang Preiss, taking time out from playing Dr. Mabuse by appearing as a Scotland Yard official; and Chris Howland, a British-born entertainer who provides comic relief and plays a major role in the unexpected finale. 

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS looks magnificent in this Eureka Blu-ray presentation. The film is uncut, and shown in its 2.35:1 original aspect ratio, showing off the fine black & white shot compositions and cinematography by Richard Angst. German and English voice tracks are included, with English subtitles available. This movie shares a disc with THE PHANTOM OF SOHO. 

The film has an introduction by Tim Lucas, in which he discusses the development of the story, the career of director Edwin Zbonek, and the excellent work of Richard Angst. A brand new audio commentary features Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby once again, and it's another lively, fast-paced talk. The duo point out how this Krimi is a bit more gruesome than the usual entries in this genre, and they make the point that the CCC company that made this picture operated very much like Hammer Films in England. 

An 10 minute interview with Alice Brauner is also included on this disc, in which she talks about how her father, producer Artur Brauner, chose the association with Bryan Edgar Wallace as a way to start his own Krimi series. Original German and American trailers for the film are also provided, with the latter one being in very bad shape and being much more lurid and exploitative. 

THE MAD EXECUTIONERS has plenty of the "Everything but the kitchen sink" aspects that the better Krimis feature. It also has a truly jarring climax that even the most veteran movie mystery fans won't see coming. It's just one of the delights to be found in the TERROR IN THE FOG box set. 

EASY LIVING (1937)

 

This was a first-time viewing for me, and I really should have seen this a long time ago. Jean Arthur is one of my favorite actresses, and EASY LIVING is one of her best showcases. This 1937 Paramount production is one of the best screwball comedies of its era, with a crackling script by Preston Sturges and fast-paced, snappy direction by Mitchell Leisen. 

Powerful banker J.B. Ball (Edward Arnold) is so fed up with his wife's spendthrift ways, he throws one of her expensive fur coats off the roof of their New York City townhouse. The coat lands on regular working-class girl Mary Smith (Jean Arthur), ruining her hat in the process. Mary tries to give the coat back, but Ball insists that she keep it, and even gets her a new chic hat for her trouble. Soon almost everyone in NYC assumes that Mary is Ball's mistress, and she's treated like royalty by those who hope that, in return, Ball will do something for them. Mary gets an entire suite at a ritzy hotel, a new car with a chauffeur, and a new wardrobe. She also gets a new beau in Ball's son (Ray Milland), who's trying to prove he's more than just a rich man's offspring. 

Jean Arthur truly shines in EASY LIVING. She's a bewildered Cinderella, trying to deal with her newfound fortune, yet she doesn't let her elevated status change her down to earth nature (it never occurs to Mary to try and take advantage of her situation). Everything Arthur says and does seem natural and real, a talent that made her perfect for comedies such as this one. She's backed up by a fine cast of supporting players such as Franklin Pangborn, Luis Alberni, William Demarest, and Robert Grieg. Edward Arnold gets one of his best roles as the hard-charging Ball, a man whose bark is much worse than he bite. A very young Ray Milland is still able to keep up with all the wild goings-on. 

Such wild goings-on include a food fight at an automat, and enough slapstick and pratfalls to fill out a couple of Three Stooges shorts. (Speaking of the Stooges, one of Ball's financial partners is played by none other than Vernon Dent.) EASY LIVING is a great classic comedy, and another example of why I believe the 1930s was Hollywood's best overall decade.