DESTINATION MOON On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

Film Masters continues its series of home video releases of neglected classic genre films with a sparkling Blu-ray of George Pal's 1950 space exploration saga DESTINATION MOON. This release also comes with a bonus disc featuring the 1951 sci-fi adventure FLIGHT TO MARS, a movie about as different from DESTINATION MOON as you can get. (I will be covering FLIGHT TO MARS in a future blog post.) 

DESTINATION MOON was meant to be a serious and earnest attempt to dramatize a realistic trip to the moon, based upon what was known at the time. I'm sure that for many viewers today DESTINATION MOON comes off as quaint and old-fashioned, but one can't deny the honesty and integrity that producer Pal, artist Chesley Bonestell, and writer Robert A. Heinlein applied to the project. 

What needs to be realized is how far-sighted DESTINATION MOON actually was. The main plot details how a group of industrialists and businessmen band together to plan and implement a trip to the moon, despite the fact that the American government--and shadowy forces--are not too keen on the endeavor. That plot description has a very 21st Century feel to it. There are some elements of DESTINATION MOON that seem creaky--Dick Wesson's wisecracking "regular guy" crew member in particular--but the overall production holds up very well if one places it in the proper context. 

What's most important is how great DESTINATION MOON looks on this Blu-ray. The transfer was taken from a new 4K scan of 35mm elements, and it is colorful and clear, bringing out all sorts of detail. The sound quality is excellent as well. 

As usual, Film Masters provides plenty of nice extras. This release comes with an illustrated 15-page booklet that has an essay on the film's production history by Sloan De Forest. The disc has a 23 minute featurette which also details the movie's background and history, along with a gallery of pictures from the film's pressbook. There's also a 40 minute audio reading of an article written by Bob Burns detailing how he actually visited the set of DESTINATION MOON, and his long friendship with George Pal. This extra is presented by Tom Weaver, and it is set up to run along with the last half of the movie. An original restored trailer for the film is also included. 

The main extra is a new audio commentary by George Pal biographer Justin Humphreys. It is an excellent talk that is well-paced, insightful, and informative. Humphreys provides the listener with everything they need to know about DESTINATION MOON, and he rightfully goes out of his way to explain why the movie is one of the most important American genre films ever made. 

For some reason DESTINATION MOON very rarely gets shown on TV anymore, so hopefully this magnificent release gives the film some much-needed attention. A 75 year old movie about a trip to the moon may seem totally outdated to most, but it had a major impact on the cinematic science fiction boom of the 1950s, even though most of its brethren were not in any way as well crafted or as well thought out. Film Masters has been coming out with some impressive products recently, and this Blu-ray of DESTINATION MOON is one of their best releases yet. 

THE DEATH KISS

 

A few weeks ago I took advantage of Kino's summer sale to purchase a few items. One of the Blu-rays I picked up was THE DEATH KISS, a 1932 murder mystery that has become a public domain staple. 

THE DEATH KISS has had a multitude of home video releases over the years, mainly due to the fact that it features three performers from Universal's 1931 DRACULA: Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan. Despite this, THE DEATH KISS is not a horror film--its main novelty comes from the story being set in a minor Hollywood studio. 

The movie starts out with a very clever double twist. We see a well-dressed man exiting what appears to be a nightclub, and a sultry woman proceeds to walk up to him and give him a kiss. The man is then gunned down in a very early cinematic example of a drive-by shooting. It is revealed, however, that this is a scene being staged for a film....and then it is revealed that the actor really was shot and killed. 

This sequence is the best thing in the movie, and it also provides the reason for the title (the man in the scene was given "the death kiss"). The murdered actor is Myles Brent, who despite being the leading man of Tonart Studios has a very bad reputation. Screenwriter Franklyn Drew (David Manners) takes it upon himself to investigate the crime, even though he's hampered by a sarcastic police inspector (John Wray) and the studio manager (Bela Lugosi). 

THE DEATH KISS is what I would call a nifty little feature. There's nothing outstanding about it, but it does provide 70 minutes of decent entertainment, especially if you are an old movie geek. Seeing the behind the camera aspects of a 1930s production company is one major highlight (the story was shot at the Tiffany Studios). There's also the bonus of seeing David Manners, Lugosi, and Edward Van Sloan playing different types of characters. I've always found David Manners to be lightweight and annoying, but he comes off more personable in this picture, even though I have to agree with the police inspector that the screenwriter is a bit of a noisy pain in the neck. Edward Van Sloan plays film director Tom Avery. Usually in a movie that is about movies, directors are portrayed as cartoonish dictatorial types, but Van Sloan's Avery is shown as someone who is trying to get a job done (in more ways than one). The only major female role, that of Tonart Studios' main leading lady, is played by Adrienne Ames, whose character appears to have some sort of involvement with every man in the story. 

Bela Lugosi fans have always been disappointed in THE DEATH KISS, for he really doesn't get all that much to do in it. Bela is once again a red herring, but this time he doesn't even act all that suspicious. At least in this film Lugosi got to play a "normal" role, and he looks quite sharp wearing early 1930s-era suits. A number of misleading publicity stills (see below) were taken for this movie in which it appears that Bela is some sort of diabolical menace, which he assuredly is not. 

The mystery aspects of THE DEATH KISS are quite good, and the methods of murder are quite inventive. The movie can't be called an all-out thriller due to its excess of comedic scenes. There's a dopey studio cop (Vincent Barnett) who gets way too much screen time, and there's also the studio president (Alexander Carr) who constantly mangles the English language, and a prissy production assistant. The movie is enlivened with some brief color hand-tinting, which was restored for this Kino Blu-ray. The hand tinting is striking, but there's very little of it. 

THE DEATH KISS was the directorial debut of Edwin L. Marin, who went on to become a solid Hollywood filmmaker. Like most early 1930s pictures, the story zips along, and it's fun to see a studio from the inside, so to speak. (This movie continues a cliche that I've seen over and over again--whenever a film or TV show is set on a studio lot, we always see cowboys and chorus girls wandering around in the background. The next time you watch a show or movie with studio scenes, look out for this--you could play a drinking game with this cliche.) 

I wouldn't call this Kino Blu-ray of THE DEATH KISS a brilliant restoration, but it is better looking than the usual versions one sees of this film. If you can get over the fact that Bela Lugosi doesn't have anything major to do in it, you'll find that THE DEATH KISS is a nice example of entertaining low-budget 1930s movie making. 

Bela Lugosi and Adrienne Ames in a very misleading publicity still for THE DEATH KISS 

HORROR OF DRACULA On 35mm!

 

Last night I had the rare opportunity to see a 35mm Technicolor print of HORROR OF DRACULA in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The showing was part of the Chicago Film Society's "Technicolor Weekend" series, in which a number of classic features were shown in their original color prints--a unusual treat in today's digital age. 

A lady from the Chicago Film Society gave an introduction before the showing, and she explained that this print of HORROR OF DRACULA came from a private collector, who couldn't remember where it came from. It was the real deal--it opened with the Universal-International logo, and it was the full version of the movie, or at least the full American version of the film. 

The print had not been restored or remastered in any way--it had some scratches on it, and there were times when the focus wavered a bit, and it had some wear--but it was a glorious experience to see one of my favorite movies shown in this manner. 

One thing I noticed in particular was how deep and vivid the colors were. if you've seen HORROR OF DRACULA you know that the main titles are in red--and this was a very rich red. The settings and the costumes came off magnificently. The sound was very clear and direct--James Bernard's fabulous punctuation of a score came out wonderfully. 

Once again, this wasn't the version that the present-day Hammer is preparing to put out on home video soon. This was the 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA, shown to American audiences....and I can assure you, there was absolutely no blue tint!!!!

Now....I have to cover the audience reaction, which was notable, to say the least. 

First of all, the seating accommodation in the theater in which it was shown wasn't large, but nearly every seat was filled. I assumed there might be plenty of other Hammer fans in the audience....but as the movie was rolling along, there were plenty of snickers and laughs. There were even some laughs during the climax!

I certainly didn't expect people to worship this film, but some in the theater were laughing at it most of the time. I thought maybe a big-city audience made up of cineastes would put HORROR OF DRACULA in the proper context, but maybe I was expecting too much. (Michael Gough's performance as Arthur Holmwood really got blasted--the audience laughed at nearly everything he said and did.) 

And to top it off, I wore my Peter Cushing shirt to the event.....and no one acknowledged it. Maybe it was because I was also wearing a White Sox hat, or maybe I'm just weird to begin with--heck, I don't know. 

Even though the audience didn't react the way I thought it should, I don't regret driving all the way out to Chicago and dealing with tolls and bad traffic--when are you going to be able to see a Peter Cushing-Christopher Lee film in original 35mm Technicolor? Seeing HORROR OF DRACULA on the big screen in an actual theater was truly tremendous. 

THE MAN UPSTAIRS

 

The final film that I will be covering in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION III Blu-ray set is THE MAN UPSTAIRS, a 1958 film released by British Lion. 

The entire story of THE MAN UPSTAIRS takes place in a dingy apartment building. The man of the title is played by Richard Attenborough, who one cold night goes out of his way to annoy nearly everyone else in the building he is staying at, causing one of the tenants to call the police. When the police arrive, the situation takes a turn for the worse. The mysterious man (who goes by the name of Wilson) barricades himself in his upstairs room, while various authorities and the other tenants debate how to deal with him.

One would expect THE MAN UPSTAIRS to be all about Attenborough's character and his problems, but he doesn't have as much screen time as one would think. Much of the story is devoted to how numerous officials react to the situation, and how the other tenants feel about Wilson in the context of their own lives. The other tenants are a bickering lot, and they become so annoying that one wonders if they are the ones who have driven Attenborough over the brink. 

The movie tries hard to create sympathy for Attenborough's character and his plight, but it doesn't give the viewer much to go on. Attenborough is edgy, nervy, and temperamental, and eventually we learn he was somehow involved in some sort of accident which caused the death of his fiancee's brother, but this incident isn't established enough. The result is that while watching this movie I kept thinking "Is someone finally going to go up there and deal with this guy??" (I kept expecting a flashback explaining what set off Attenborough, or at least one showing what his character was like when he was "normal", but it never comes.) 

The supporting cast does what they can with some very one-note roles. Bernard Lee is a tough police inspector who just wants to go up and end the situation once and for all (and I can't say I blame him), while Donald Houston is a welfare officer who bends over backward to try and help Attenborough. Patricia Jessel (from CITY OF THE DEAD) is the building's brash landlady, while Kenneth Griffith is a milquetoast tenant and a young Edward Judd plays a constable. 

THE MAN UPSTAIRS was directed by Don Chaffey, who is best known now for helming such colorful fantasy adventures as JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS and ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. Those movies are about as far away from THE MAN UPSTAIRS as you can get. THE MAN UPSTAIRS is in black & white, very talky, and very claustrophobic. Chaffey and cinematographer Gerald Gibbs do throw in a few unusual shots here and there, and the pace does go up a bit as the story goes along....but just when it seems things are coming to a boil we get another sequence where various people stand around and debate what to do. THE MAN UPSTAIRS might have been better if the focus was squarely on Attenborough and the viewer had more info and insight into his character. 

As in the other BRIT NOIR COLLECTION sets, the visual and audio quality in the third one is excellent. Once again new audio commentaries are provided for each film. In my opinion PAYROLL is the best movie in the third set......and yes, Kino has a BRIT NOIR COLLECTION IV set coming soon. 

If Hammer Films Had Made THE ODYSSEY

 

I know what you are thinking....."Hammer Films would have never had enough money to make a version of THE ODYSSEY!!!" Your thoughts are correct--they would have never even attempted such an epic and highbrow concept. 

But let's say that Hammer's 1965 version of SHE became a huge mainstream success, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, their partner in that production, decided that they wanted to use the British company to make even more ancient spectacles. So....MGM gives Hammer more money than they are used to working with, and they suggest an adaptation of Homer's classic tale. 

Let's imagine that the movie starts out with Peter Cushing as Homer, telling the story to a rapt audience. The film then fades into the main action, with Cushing's voice periodically narrating parts of the story and filling in gaps (such as describing scenes that Hammer didn't have the money or the wherewithal to shoot). 

The cast & crew of this non-existent spectacular is listed below. I know one thing--no matter how it would have turned out, it wouldn't have taken more than three hours of your time to watch it! 

MGM and Hammer Films Presents THE ODYSSEY 

Starring 

Stanley Baker as Odysseus

Oliver Reed as Telemachus

Barbara Shelley as Penelope

Ursula Andress as Helen of Troy

Christopher Lee as Agamemnon

Michael Gough as Antinous 

Michael Ripper as Eumaeus

Martine Beswicke as Athena

Hazel Court as Calypso

Francis Matthews as Menelaus

Andrew Keir as Eurylochus 

Milton Reid as the Cyclops

Richard Pasco, Patrick Troughton, Duncan Lamont, Marne Maitland and George Pastell as members of Odysseus' crew

With special guest star Barbara Steele as Circe and Peter Cushing as Homer 

Special Effects by Ray Harryhausen 

Music by Bernard Herrmann

Screenplay by Richard Matheson 

Produced by Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson Keys

Directed by Don Chaffey 

THE ODYSSEY

 

I realize that this movie is the major trending topic right now, but personally I wasn't impressed with it. Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's ancient epic is a lumbering, dreary affair that has a murky, overcast look to it. 

Nolan tries to make the story "realistic", which results in a lot of awkward dialogue and awkward performances. None of the main actors seem comfortable with what they are doing--things might have worked better if Nolan used a cast of unknowns, but if he did he wouldn't have gotten the clickbait he received from the trendy people he did use. 

There's a lot of flashbacks and flash-forwards in THE ODYSSEY, which is a Nolan staple, but here it just seems to drag things out more. As with all of Nolan's work, there's a remoteness and coldness here that prevents a viewer from being all that engaged with what is going on. 

Plenty of folks are absolutely gushing over this film, so what do I know? For whatever reason, I just wasn't able to get into it. If someone had given Mario Bava about $200,000, a cast of European cult actors, and about 90 minutes of screen time, and told him to do a version of THE ODYSSEY, he no doubt would have a much more entertaining--and much more interesting--film. 

THE MAVERICK QUEEN On Blu-ray From Kino

 

This is a 1956 Republic Western that I had never seen, despite the fact that it stars one of my favorites, Barbara Stanwyck. 

Stanwyck plays the title role, a hard-edged woman named Kit Banion. Kit has managed to make herself a bigwig in the Wyoming town she resides in, mostly due to her association with Butch Cassidy (Howard Petrie) and the Sundance Kid (Scott Brady). A drifter named Jeff (Barry Sullivan) rides into town, convincing Kit he's one of the Younger gang....but he's actually an undercover Pinkerton agent who is trying to infiltrate the Wild Bunch. Kit starts to fall for Jeff, but he has an interest in local cattle rancher Lucy (Mary Murphy). 

THE MAVERICK QUEEN was based on a Zane Grey novel, but its most notable quality is that it was shot on some spectacular locations in Colorado. There's some stunning scenery here, all rendered in a widescreen process that Republic called "Naturama" and a technique the studio referred to as "Trucolor". Director Joe Kane makes great use of the outdoor locations, and the result is one of the best looking Westerns of the 1950s. 

The story is rather predictable--Stanwyck had already played a number of roles just like Kit, and there isn't much surprise in how the ending comes out (especially considering that Mary Murphy, who gets as much screen time as Stanwyck, is the "Good Girl" equivalent to Kit). The main notable aspect of the plot is that it involves Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, over a decade before their famous big-screen portrayals by Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Here Butch and Sundance are about as far away from Newman and Redford as you can get. Howard Petrie and Scott Brady are scruffy, ornery, and violent....and in this movie they are most assuredly not good buddies. 

Like most Westerns of the 1950s, THE MAVERICK QUEEN has plenty of recognizable actors, such as Jim Davis, Wallace Ford, and John Doucette. Mary Murphy is very good as the spunky Lucy, and of course it's a treat to watch Barbara Stanwyck in anything. Barry Sullivan may not be most people's choice as a formidable Western hero, but he and Stanwyck work well together (the two would reunite in Sam Fuller's FORTY GUNS). Being that this is a Republic film, the stunt work is as excellent as expected. 

Kino's presentation of THE MAVERICK QUEEN on this Blu-ray is simply astounding. The movie is shown in the 2.35;1 aspect ratio, and the colorful transfer looks gorgeous. Other than some trailers for some similar films, the only extra is a new audio commentary by Dwayne Epstein, a somewhat ragged talk in which he spends most of the time reciting personal details about many of those involved in the production. 

THE MAVERICK QUEEN isn't what I would call a game-changing Western, but it is an entertaining one, and it is one of the best-looking 1950s movies I've seen on Blu-ray. 

NOWHERE TO GO

 

It's back to Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION III Blu-ray set, with NOWHERE TO GO, a 1958 Man-On-The-Run story from Ealing Studios. 

The movie opens with an impressive sequence detailing a man breaking into a prison to break another man out. The escapee is Paul Gregory (George Nader) a Canadian who conned an older woman out of her rare coin collection. Gregory sold the coins, then put the money in a safe deposit box, while allowing the law to put him away. Gregory's overall goal is to get out of prison, get the money, and get out of England--but of course, things don't go as planned, as the felon gets himself into more and more trouble. 

NOWHERE TO GO reminded me of the 1950s low budget crime stories made by Hammer Films, mainly due to the fact that it has an underwhelming American-born leading man trying to get out of a desperate situation. The director of NOWHERE TO GO, Seth Holt, would even go on to work for Hammer a number of times. This was Holt's feature film directorial debut (he had mostly worked as an editor), and he brings plenty of style and panache to a very simple tale. Holt probably felt he had to do this, because George Nader shows no charisma, or even likability, as Gregory. If the story had Gregory set up for the crime, or a victim of mitigating circumstances, the viewer might have had more sympathy for his plight, but he's a criminal through and through, and he doesn't seem a very bright one at that. 

This film's supporting cast has several notable names, such as Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Lionel Jeffries, Andree Melly (THE BRIDES OF DRACULA), and Howard Marion-Crawford (Dr. Petrie in the Christopher Lee Fu Manchu series). Silent film star Bessie Love plays the woman fleeced by Gregory in the beginning of the story, and Maggie Smith gets her first major film role as an upper-class young woman who tries to help Gregory (her character readily admits to having a thing for hard cases). 

NOWHERE TO GO is a very apt title, because with such a dour personality as George Nader in the lead, the movie literally has nowhere to go. It is Seth Holt's direction and the supporting cast that makes NOWHERE TO GO notable. 

PAYROLL

 

It's time to delve into Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION III Blu-ray set, which as in the first two sets features three black & white British crime films from the 1950s and 60s. Today I'll be discussing PAYROLL, a 1961 armored car robbery story that made a big impression on me. 

The first part of PAYROLL details the planning and implementation of the robbery, and the second half of the story deals with the repercussions of the crime, as a downward spiral of greed and mistrust causes those involved in the plot to destroy themselves. 

The main man behind the robbery, Johnny Mellors (Michael Craig), is a cold-blooded and calculating fellow who thinks he can figure a way out of any situation--but he gets upended by a couple of females who can be as cold-blooded and calculating as he is. One of them is the wife (Francoise Prevost) of the weak accountant (William Lucas) who acts as the "inside man" for the heist by providing the robbers with plans to the armored car. Johnny is having an affair with this woman. The other lady is the widow (Billie Whitelaw) of the armored car driver, who was killed during the robbery. The widow doesn't become a grieving victim--she takes it upon herself to find out who was behind it, and she's very clever in how she helps instigate the downfall of the gang responsible. 

PAYROLL was excellently directed by Sidney Hayers, and its fine script was written by George Baxt. The movie plays out as a sort of working-class, low-budget version of HEAT. Much of the film was shot at locations in and around Newcastle, and the story has a realistic, gritty look to it. (It's notable to have a British movie involving a big heist not taking place in London.) PAYROLL is filled with plenty of suspenseful sequences, and all sorts of twists and turns. The production is backed by a really snazzy music score by Reg Owen, a score I'd love to find on CD or LP. 

The acting in PAYROLL is top-notch all across the board. The lack of big names is actually a plus in a story like this one. Michael Craig's Johnny has handsome looks and a surface charm, but he's also someone who won't hesitate to stab anyone in the back to get what he wants. The members of Johnny's gang are played by Tom Bell, Kenneth Griffith, and Barry Keegan. Francoise Prevost and Billie Whitelaw (who is particularly memorable here) are two women determined to get the results they desire, while William Lucas plays a role that no doubt would have been essayed by Elisha Cook Jr. had this movie been made in America. 

Kino presents PAYROLL in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, and the visual quality is very sharp. I had never seen this film before --I had not even heard of it--and I have to say I was quite taken with it. It's fast-paced, well-edited, and it keeps the viewer hooked. I believe it holds up to any American crime thrillers made during the same period, and I'd even go so far to say that out of all the features I have watched on all of Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION sets so far, this is the best one overall. 

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS

 

This is a 1973 British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis.....but it does not come from Amicus. World Film Services was so impressed with THE CREEPING FLESH that they allowed Francis to develop this project from a script by Jennifer Jayne, an actress who had worked for the director in a few of his other features. (For this movie Jayne was billed on-screen as Jay Fairbank.) 

The film features four tales, and the opening linking segment takes place at a mysterious clinic. A VIP (Jack Hawkins, dubbed by Charles Gray) arrives at the clinic to investigate the findings of a doctor (Donald Pleasence) who is working to verify the "reality" of truth. The doctor shows the VIP four different patients, and tells the reasons why they have been committed. 

The first tale is "Mr. Tiger". A young boy (Russell Lewis) is stuck with very argumentative parents (Georgia Brown & Donald Houston). The boy's only friend is a tiger, which only he can see....but the animal soon makes its presence known quite firmly. The next story is "Penny Farthing", which concerns an antique dealer (Peter McEnery) who receives an inheritance from an aunt that includes a penny farthing cycle and a framed picture of a ancestor called Uncle Albert. The portrait exerts a strange power over the dealer, forcing him to mount the penny farthing and go back in time when Uncle Albert was a young man. The dealer and his girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) try to fight this power. 

The third tale is "Mel". The leading character in this one (Michael Jayston) finds an unusual-looking tree in the forest, and proceeds to bring it into his ultra-modern home and set it up in his living room. His high-class wife (Joan Collins) isn't thrilled with the idea, especially since the tree has a bit of a resemblance to a human female. The wife grows jealous over the tree....but the hunk of wood isn't impressed with her, either. 

The final story "Luau", won't gain any accolades from Pacific Islander groups. A Hawaiian author (Michael Petrovitch) is charged by his dying mother to complete a pagan sacrificial ceremony in order to prevent his family from being cursed. The author's agent (Kim Novak) happens to have a teenage daughter (Mary Tamm) who is technically still a maiden, so......

I recently obtained a cheap DVD of TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS. I had never seen it, mainly due to the fact that I had never read anything positive about it. In tone and style it feels very much like one of the Amicus anthologies, and it has a fine cast, but none of the stories is all that noteworthy. The ending of each tale is very predictable, and the characters in them are not memorable. 

The one notable part of TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS is the tree segment. What makes the segment work is the idea that Joan Collins--one of the most blatant man-eaters in movies and TV--has to compete with a tree. That very idea is ridiculous, and Collins plays it as if she can't believe it either. At one point in the tale there's a dream sequence in which Collins is trapped in an expressionistic forest, as all sorts of branches and limbs reach out to attack her. The sequence is enlivened by some colored lighting effects, and it has a very Mario Bava-type of feel to it. What makes the sequence stand out even more is that, from my understanding, it is the tree that is having the dream! Unfortunately very little in the rest of the film stands out. 

In his book THE MEN WHO MADE THE MONSTERS, Paul Jensen included a chapter on Freddie Francis. In that chapter, Jensen states that Francis didn't even think that TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS was a horror film when he was making it, and that he also thought the movie was more of a dark comedy. According to Jensen, Francis added some retakes after the producers thought it didn't have enough of a horror element. TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS isn't all that scary--the viewer knows basically how each story is going to end--and it doesn't come off as comedic, sardonic, or ironic. (If those were the vibes Francis was reaching for, he missed by a mile.) 

The overall acting does veer toward hammy at times (was that part of the dark comedic element?). Seeing Kim Novak in a film like this is certainly unique (her role was originally going to be played by Rita Hayworth), but, like all the other characters in this movie, her part is underdeveloped. 

The linking story gets rather confusing at the end--there's even a suggestion that the stories didn't actually happen. Donald Pleasence does just enough to put over the idea that his doctor is probably crazier than his patients. 

I've no doubt that someday TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS will get the super-duper home video 4K treatment, with loads of extras trying to convince that this is an overlooked classic (there's plenty of other Golden Age of British Horror features that already have). Freddie Francis had already made a couple of the best British horror anthologies when he helmed this, but a lackluster air hangs over the entire proceedings. TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS is mainly for those who have the need to see every English Gothic film, and those who are fans of either Freddie Francis or Kim Novak. 

CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN

 

On the surface, the 2024 documentary CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN is an examination of the making of a 1973 folk horror movie that has gained massive critical acclaim. It is more accurate, however, to point out that it's really about two brothers (from different mothers) struggling to come to grips with how they feel about their father. 

The brothers are Justin and Dominic Hardy, and their father was Robin Hardy, the man who directed THE WICKER MAN, a picture now considered one of the greatest horror films ever made. Justin and Dominic Hardy, along with Chris Nunn, are credited as directors of CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN. 

The brothers were inspired to make this film after getting access to a large collection of their father's personal papers. The brothers delve into the papers to trace the production history of THE WICKER MAN and they also venture to Scotland to visit many of the movie's shooting locations. They also interview several people who worked on the film. Their findings establish that it was a chaotic production with all sorts of financial difficulties and egos getting in the way. (In later life Robin Hardy was celebrated at various festivals and screenings for his direction of THE WICKER MAN, but CHILDREN shows that many who worked alongside him during the shoot thought he was in over his head--even though Hardy had plenty of experience on commercials he had never helmed a feature film before.) The documentary also goes into THE WICKER MAN's original reception (or lack thereof), and how it grew into a cult item. 

CHILDREN really shines when it focuses on the Hardy family drama. There's no doubt Robin Hardy had a complicated personal life--he was married five times and he had eight children. He also had numerous financial issues that affected his family and friends. As the documentary goes along, we see how Justin and Dominic Hardy try to come to some sort of mental resolution over their feelings about their father and his cinematic legacy. 

My take on THE WICKER MAN is that it certainly is a unique and unsettling film, especially when one watches it for the very first time, but I wouldn't give it the oft-used label "the CITIZEN KANE of horror movies". The human dynamics behind THE WICKER MAN take center stage in this documentary. At the end of it Robin Hardy remains an enigma, much like the film that he is best known for. CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN shows that behind any creative endeavor there are real people, and how these people interact with and treat one another has far more repercussions than any movie's legacy. 

THE LONG ARM

 

The last film in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II Blu-ray set I need to cover is THE LONG ARM, released in America as THE THIRD KEY. It was produced by Ealing Studios, and released in 1956. The movie reunites director Charles Frend and actor Jack Hawkins, who worked together on the fine WWII picture THE CRUEL SEA. 

THE LONG ARM is more of a police procedural than a all-out noir, but it does have a number of nighttime set sequences with lonely rain-slicked streets, and it uses plenty of actual locations, giving it a gritty and down-to-earth feel. The story revolves around Scotland Yard Superintendent Tom Halliday (Jack Hawkins), who is engaged on an investigation of a spate of safe robberies. Halliday is resolutely determined to catch the culprits behind the thefts, especially when a man is killed in a hit & run by the vandals after one of the robberies. 

Jack Hawkins brings his solid, no-nonsense bearing to the role of Halliday. The Superintendent is shown to be a dogged investigator, but we are also introduced to his wife and young son, and we see him breaking in a new Detective Sergeant (John Stratton). Halliday is a thorough professional, but Hawkins gives the viewer a glimpse into his human side. Much screen time is devoted to all the various procedures used by Scotland Yard to track down criminals, and Hawkins spends so much time and effort in catching his quarry that the viewer can't help but want to see him succeed. 

Halliday encounters several character types during his investigation, and they are all enacted by a solid cast including Ursula Howells, Geoffrey Keen, and Ian Bannen. None of the supporting players particularly stand out, but I think this was due to the story being presented in a more realistic manner. There's nothing really unbelievable or over-the-top in THE LONG ARM. Halliday is no Dirty Harry, but he does take part in a mini-action sequence at the end which fits in well with the movie's overall tone. Gerard Schurmann's music score adds greatly to the drama. 

Out of all the three movies in the BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II set, THE LONG ARM is the best. It is also the best looking overall--the black & white visuals are very sharp here. The BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II set has audio commentaries for each film, and the set has two discs. 

Kino has already announced BRIT NOIR COLLECTION III and IV (they must have rights to a bunch of 1950s and 60s British films). As in the first set, I believe the definition of noir is used rather loosely here, but for Region A folks we're getting introduced to a number of well-made rare British films that are filled with fine acting talent. 

THE INTRUDER (1953)

 

It's back to Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II Blu-ray set with a look at 1953's THE INTRUDER, produced by British Lion and directed by Guy Hamilton. 

Once again I have to question the classification of a movie as noir. THE INTRUDER is more of a melodrama dealing with how war and military service affects individuals. The story begins with a stockbroker named Merton (Jack Hawkins) coming home from a golf outing to find that there's a burglar on the premises. Merton is shocked when he recognizes the perpetrator as Ginger Edwards (Michael Medwin), a man who served under him during World War II. Edwards runs away before he can be caught, and Merton decides to track him down on his own, hoping to find out why such a fine soldier has been reduced to theft. 

THE INTRUDER takes on an almost anthology feel as Merton encounters a number of men from his former brigade and asks them about Edwards. There are a number of flashbacks to WWII throughout the film, and each is almost a mini-story in its own--there's even a comic vignette. When we finally get to the sequence explaining what has happened to Edwards since he came home from the war, it comes off too abruptly--the fellow's entire life falls apart literally in a few scenes. I believe the story would have worked better if more time had been spent setting up and detailing Edwards' plight. 

Jack Hawkins provides his usual stalwart presence, and he's backed up by a typically commendable British supporting cast of the period, featuring the likes of Dennis Price and George Cole. (Hammer fans will recognize Michael Ripper and Duncan Lamont in small roles.) 

This was Guy Hamilton's second feature as a director. (Ironically his first one, THE RINGER, is included in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION I set.) He does well juggling all the flashbacks and the present day scenes. The golf course shown at the beginning of this movie would be used by Hamilton again for a famous sequence in GOLDFINGER. 

One would assume that THE INTRUDER is a dark, brooding tale about one man's downfall, but it winds up being an ensemble piece dealing with a group of men who served together during WWII. This film's climax in particular is much more positive than that of most American noirs made around the same time. 

Book Review: METRO-GOLDWYN-VAMPIRE

 

Greg Mank gives readers another fast-paced ride down the dark corridors of classic Hollywood with his third novel METRO-GOLDWYN-VAMPIRE. 

The story is set in late 1934. MGM is getting ready to shoot director Tod Browning's latest thriller, a remake of his silent-era production LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. Recent events off the set, however, are far more horrifying than anything Browning could dream up. A number of young women are being savagely murdered--and the victims have one major thing in common: they all auditioned for a part in Browning's new opus...the role of "Luna the Bat Girl". 

Against his better judgement, private investigator Porter Down gets involved in the case (he has a problematic relationship with the movie industry, particularly the folks at MGM). Down has faced danger many times in his adventurous life, but what he experiences in METRO-GOLDWYN-VAMPIRE literally brings him to the edge of madness. 

Once again the author puts his massive knowledge of Hollywood history and his vivid imagination to excellent use in fashioning a 1930s Gothic horror mystery that is decidedly creepy. METRO-GOLDWYN-VAMPIRE features an exceedingly nasty occultist and his "creation", a blasphemous being that just might be the most loathsome thing Porter Down has ever faced off against. 

This novel also gives film buffs plenty to geek over, with appearances by historical figures such as Browning, Bela Lugosi, Elizabeth Allan, Guy Endore, William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies, and Thelma Todd. 

METRO-GOLDWYN-VAMPIRE is over 400 pages, but once you start reading it, you'll find it hard to put down. If you are an old movie buff willing to delve into the ghoulish and the gruesome, this book is perfect summer reading. 

Book Review: VAMPIRE OVER LONDON--Bela Lugosi In Britain

 

I purchased this volume a couple weeks ago at the 2026 Summer Monster Bash Conference. 

Perhaps no other actor's profile has been affected by various myths and legends as that of Bela Lugosi. Many of these fables are still all over the internet, to the point where one must be very wary when reading something about Lugosi on social media. 

VAMPIRE OVER LONDON--Bela Lugosi In Britain, is a heavily researched, minutely detailed book that deals in facts, not legend. Written by Frank Dello Stritto and Andi Brooks, the volume takes a deep dive into the 1951 British stage tour of DRACULA starring Lugosi, and the three films the actor made in England (MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE, THE DARK EYES OF LONDON, and MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE). 

Legend says that the 1951 DRACULA tour was so unsuccessful that Bela and his wife Lillian went broke and were basically stranded in England, forcing Lugosi to take part in the terrible MOTHER RILEY movie just to raise enough money to get home. The authors reveal that Lugosi spent nearly six months touring on stage in the U.K as the Count, giving 229 performances despite physical travails and worries over his career. 

A number of people that were actually involved in the tour, either on stage or off, have been interviewed for this book, along with many folks who were blessed to witness one of Bela's performances. They state that despite Bela being in his late 60s, he was still a compelling and captivating figure on stage. 

The book also gives an almost day-by-day portrait of Lugosi during a tumultuous period in his life. Bela was a complicated individual, but he still had plenty of Old World European charm, and despite his frustrations over typecasting, he could easily slip into his Dracula persona when he needed publicity. 

VAMPIRE OVER LONDON also shines a much-needed spotlight on Lillian Lugosi. Out of all of Lugosi's wives, Lillian lasted the longest, and this book shows that she was Bela's one-woman entourage, taking care of him and watching over him at all times. It's no coincidence that after Bela and Lillian split up the actor's life went downhill. 

VAMPIRE OVER LONDON is nearly 500 pages long, and it is jammed packed with material and heavily illustrated, with many rare photos of Lugosi. The book has a number of appendices that give even more knowledge on Lugosi's overall appearances on stage as the Count, and how critics at the time reacted to the 1951 British stage tour. 

This volume is an absolute must for Bela Lugosi fans. We will never know what it must have been like to see Lugosi play Dracula on stage, but VAMPIRE OVER LONDON gives the reader as close of an approximation of that experience as one could have. It also gives us a much better idea of what Bela was like as a human being. The book is published by Cult Movie Press. 

THE SPACE CHILDREN

 

The title of this film is somewhat of a misnomer--there are no space children in it, and no children in it actually go out in space. THE SPACE CHILDREN is a 1958 science-fiction tale produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. Alland and Arnold together made some of the most notable genre films in the 1950s for Universal, but on this one they were working under the auspices of Paramount. 

THE SPACE CHILDREN takes place at a top secret military base on the California coast. An important launch is being prepared there of a satellite that will be carrying advanced weaponry. During the run up to the launch, a number of strange occurrences take place. A being from outer space, a being that resembles a glowing, growing, pulsating brain, has been making contact with a group of children of the civilian workers on the base. The point of this contact is to stop the weapon from being launched into orbit. 

THE SPACE CHILDREN has a few things in common with another William Alland-Jack Arnold film, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and it also calls to mind VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, even though the children in that film are far more lethal. The 'being" is using innocent humans to achieve its goal, but it isn't overtly threatening or dangerous (except in one instance). There's very little FX in THE SPACE CHILDREN, and the expected clash between the military and the being never comes to pass. 

In the science-fiction films he directed Jack Arnold usually made much use of the terrain the stories were located in, and he does this plenty in THE SPACE CHILDREN. There's plenty of scenes showing characters going back and forth over the rocky shore, and the sound of the pounding surf is a constant throughout. Arnold even trots out one of his favorite tricks, the "character being unexpectedly grabbed from off-screen" jump scare. Arnold's use of the environment is rather pronounced here, probably due to the fact that there isn't much to the plot. The movie only lasts about 68 minutes, and it could have easily been turned into a half-hour TV show. 

Due to the short length of the film we never get to really know any of the kids--they're a generic group of bright-eyed youngsters, but none of them stands out. (Michel Ray as Bud, the sort-of-leader of the kids, does show an unusual maturity.) None of the adult characters stand out either--the parents of the kids are overly emotional and argumentative, another way of reminding us that only innocent children would be able to understand an alien force that just wants us to stop destroying ourselves. (It is mentioned that there are children all over the world who are in the same situation, but due to this film's low budget, we are never shown any of this.) 

The cast is notable for the presence of four performers best known for their roles in classic TV shows: Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale on THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES), Russell Johnson (The Professor on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND), Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester on THE ADDAMS FAMILY) and Johnny Crawford (the son of THE RIFLEMAN). Russell Johnson plays against type as the parent who is a drunken lout (he's also the only character killed by the being in order to stop him from beating his stepson). Johnson's part is such an obvious jerk that one wonders how in the heck he has a job at a top-secret military base. 

It's fairly accurate to say that William Alland and Jack Arnold were trying to make a gentler kind of 1950s sci-fi story, with an anti-nuclear weapons message. It's a decent effort, but it's not on the same level as the earlier sci-fi tales made by Alland and Arnold. The budget is too low, and there's just not enough going on in the story to make it memorable. 

HOME AT SEVEN

 

Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II is now available, and like the first set, it contains three black & white British films from the 1950s and 60s whose stories involve crime and murder. Today I'll be discussing 1952's HOME AT SEVEN (also known as MURDER ON MONDAY), a London Films production based on a R.C. Sherriff play, starring Ralph Richardson, who also directed. (HOME AT SEVEN was the only theatrical feature the esteemed actor ever helmed.) 

HOME AT SEVEN gets things going right off the bat, as bank clerk David Preston arrives home from work at 7 pm, as he usually does. He finds his wife Janet (Margaret Leighton) in a state of hysterics, however--she hasn't seen him since he left for work Monday morning, and this is Tuesday. The befuddled Preston comes to the realization that he has no memory of what happened to him the last 24 hours--and neither, apparently, does anyone else. To make matters worse, a large amount of money was stolen from Preston's club, an organization in which he was the treasurer, and a member of the club--a man Preston despised--has been found murdered. Preston struggles to find out what exactly happened, with help from Janet and his Doctor (Jack Hawkins). 

HOME AT SEVEN is more of a suburban mystery story than a full-fledged noir, although there is a psychological element to Preston's mental block. The story's origins as a stage play are quite evident, with many dialogue-heavy scenes and events being described instead of dramatized visually. (The important character of the murdered man is never even shown.) 

Ralph Richardson played the role of David Preston on stage, and it fits him well. Richardson always brought a quirky aspect to whatever part he played, and while Preston appears to be a straightforward unassuming white-collar man, the viewer gets the feeling that he's hiding something. Richardson gets good support from Margaret Leighton as his loyal wife and Jack Hawkins as the trustworthy doctor. Many of the other roles in this film were played by actors who, like Richardson, also appeared in the stage version of the story. 

HOME AT SEVEN sets up a very intriguing premise, but the climax is a bit of a disappointment. Ralph Richardson is always entertaining to watch, and he directed this film capably enough, but if this story were remade again I've no doubt a few extra plot twists would be added. Ironically enough a BBC TV adaptation of HOME AT SEVEN was made in 1957, starring my favorite actor Peter Cushing in the lead role. I'd certainly love to see that, but it appears no copies of it exist. 

THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA

 

What better way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America than to watch a movie that revolves around the War for Independence? Now, what if I told you the movie stars Cary Grant, of all people, as a rugged Colonial frontiersman? 

That movie happens to be THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA, a 1940 Columbia release that was produced and directed by Frank Lloyd. I recently purchased it on DVD at a discount from Edward R. Hamilton. 

Cary Grant stars as Matt Howard, a brash fellow in 1760s Virginia who wants nothing more than to travel to the untamed Ohio territory to carve out a place for himself. Matt starts to do some surveying for various upper class Virginia families, and he falls in love with the daughter of one esteemed household--Jane Peyton (Martha Scott). In true old movie fashion, Matt annoys the prim and proper Jane until she agrees to marry him. The couple starts to build a new life together, but the tensions between the Colonies and England affects their happiness, as Matt chooses to fight for an independent country while Jane wants her family to avoid conflict altogether. 

The main topic when it comes to THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA is the casting--or miscasting--of Cary Grant in the lead role. Why anyone at Columbia thought having Grant in this movie is beyond me. There were plenty of other leading men in 1940 Hollywood that would have been much more suitable, such as Randolph Scott (who actually was a native Virginian), Joel McCrea, and John Wayne. Grant looks distinctly uncomfortable in 18th Century colonial garb, and his performance is uncomfortable as well. Grant overplays the role, yelling most of his dialogue and using what at times sounds like an Irish-Scottish accent. Grant's Matt Howard is so brash and demonstrative that one wonders if he's under the influence of colonial-era uppers. 

Martha Scott's Jane is so prim & proper that she comes off as strident, and she and Grant are not much of a romantic couple. The first part of THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA deals with Matt and Jane trying to get used to one another during the early years of their marriage (at one point Matt takes part in a rambunctious hoedown). In the second part of the film the story gets away from the soap opera elements and starts to follow the historical events leading up to the Revolution, as Matt is elected to the House of Burgesses and starts to be more of a firebrand. This bothers his wife and her disdainful, snooty brother (Cedric Hardwicke), a dyed-in-the-wool Tory who never wanted his sister to marry Matt in the first place. 

Eventually, Matt joins the Continental Army, and his two sons (who seemingly have grown into teenagers overnight) visit their father at Valley Forge to join up as well. The entire Howard family is finally happily reunited just before the Battle of Yorktown. 

Among the major historical characters who have "cameos" in THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA are George Washington, Patrick Henry, Baron von Stuben, and the Marquis de Lafayette. One founding father actually has a major supporting role: Thomas Jefferson, as played by Richard Carlson. Jefferson happens to be Matt's best friend (Howard calls him "Tom"). Thomas Jefferson is one of the most intriguing figures in American history, but here he's just the main character's sidekick. 

(I need to point out that my favorite actor, Peter Cushing, is in this film for one scene. If you're looking for him, he shows up right after the beginning sequence, when Thomas Jefferson introduces Matt to a number of prominent Virginians at a tavern.) 

Frank Lloyd directed a number of historical epics in his career, including the 1935 version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. He keeps the story moving here but so many incidents go by so quickly that it's hard at times to remember how many years have passed from one scene to another. THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA has more than a few things in common with DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, but that John Ford epic was a much better film, and it was in color. 

If THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA had a different leading man and leading lady, and if it had spent more time and effort detailing history, it would have come out more successfully. The Revolutionary War is filled with all sorts of amazing figures and amazing incidents, but the entertainment industry has never really been able to capture it in a dramatic and interesting fashion. 

UNEARTHLY STRANGER On Blu-ray From Kino

 

How do you make a science fiction film with no special effects? The 1963 British movie UNEARTHLY STRANGER managed to pull it off. A black & white low-budget feature with no major stars and no major FX sequences might not seem very promising, but this is a creative and imaginative tale that is ahead of its time in some ways. Kino Lorber has recently released it on Blu-ray. 

John Neville (who played Sherlock Holmes in A STUDY IN TERROR) plays British scientist Mark Davidson, who is working on a top secret project involving the use of concentrated thought to allow humans to project themselves into outer space. Mark is troubled by the fact that a number of other scientists around the world working on the same idea have been killed--their brains have been literally blasted by an overwhelming force. Mark starts to suspect that there is some sort of conspiracy to stop the project from coming to fruition, and he's also worried about his beautiful young wife Julie (Gabriella Licudi), a woman he recently married despite barely knowing her only a few days. Julie has a number of strange attributes. 

UNEARTHLY STRANGER is a quite underrated movie that has an X-FILES "everything is a conspiracy" feel to it. (John Neville would go on to play a small but important role in the original THE X-FILES TV series.) Director John Krish and cinematographer Reg Wyer make up for the lack of FX by giving the story a disorienting feel, with all sorts of unusual shot setups and plenty of dramatic closeups. John Neville gives the story a solid foundation with his fine portrayal of the lead character, making the viewer buy into his plight. 

The small supporting cast includes Kubrick regular Phillip Stone as Mark's fellow scientist and friend, Patrick Newell (who played "Mother" on THE AVENGERS TV series) as a quirky security officer, and Jean Marsh as a secretary at the research center Mark works at. Gabriella Licudi does well with the notable part of Julie. It's obvious from the start that Julie is connected in some way with Mark's research, but Licudi gains the viewer's sympathy with her vulnerability. 

I won't discuss the climax of this film too much, so first-time viewers can appreciate it more, but the ending fits right in with the 21st Century vibe of "we're all being controlled no matter what we choose". 

Kino presents UNEARTHLY STRANGER in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The picture quality is very clear, but I have to say that the sound is underwhelming. The movie comes with a disc sleeve that has different promotional art than that of the actual disc cover (see above). Neither cover actually presents the film accurately, but any artwork would be hard-pressed to define the movie's ideas. 

This disc contains two different audio commentaries, one by Gary Gerani and the other by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry. I haven't had a chance to listen to either of them. The disc also contains original trailers for UNEARTHLY STRANGER and a few other films released by Kino. 

I liked UNEARTHLY STRANGER a lot. It isn't overwhelmingly great, but it's a nice little sci-fi feature that feels as if it was made for today's times instead of the 1960s. It is a genre film than should get more attention. 

MAGIC TOWN

 

This is a 1947 RKO release that was produced & written by Robert Riskin, and directed by William Wellman. It stars James Stewart and Jane Wyman. With a roster of talent like that, most of you reading this may be wondering why you haven't heard of this film. It wasn't a success when it originally came out, and it almost never plays on TV. I watched it once, years ago, and I recently bought it on Blu-ray from Edward R. Hamilton. 

MAGIC TOWN was Robert Riskin's attempt to make a comedic-dramatic look at American life like the ones he collaborated on as a writer with Frank Capra in the 1930s. The title refers to a small Midwestern town called Grandview, a place whose residents accurately reflect the opinions of most Americans. Pollster Rip Smith (James Stewart) discovers this, and he and his associates (Donald Meek and Ned Sparks) immediately set up shop in the town as insurance agents. Smith's plan is to covertly access the citizens thoughts while supposedly trying to sell insurance, and selling the findings to various companies. Smith knows that any major changes to Grandview will throw off his scheme, so he keeps an eye on the local newspaper editor, a woman named Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman) who believes the town should stretch out and grow. 

Rip and Mary grow attracted to one another, and Smith starts coaching the local school basketball team. Just as Rip is becoming a trusted member of the community, and he and Mary are becoming more and more serious about each other, she discovers his scheme (a development one knew was going to happen). Mary prints a story in her newspaper detailing how Grandview is the perfect American city, which draws all sorts of attention to the town. Grandview becomes a national sensation, while Rip sullenly goes back to New York City. The first official poll the citizens of Grandview take on their own winds up way off of what the majority of Americans think, causing the town to go bust. A chastened Rip and Mary try to figure out a way to bring the town back to its senses. 

The idea of a town reflecting the majority of the average American's opinions is a good one, but one can tell from the above synopsis that Robert Riskin wasn't able to properly figure out how to use it. MAGIC TOWN tries very hard to be a classic Capra comedy that also reflects contemporary social issues, but there's something about it that just doesn't jell. The folksy elements so beloved in Frank Capra's work come off as forced and obvious in MAGIC TOWN. William Wellman was an excellent director--he's one of the most underrated filmmakers that worked during the Golden Age of Hollywood--but one gets the feeling this wasn't his type of material. 

James Stewart is fine as always, but his Rip Smith is more of an antagonist instead of a protagonist. Rip constantly wavers back and forth between being a hard-boiled cynic about what he is doing and someone who truly loves Grandview and its citizens. The movie has a lot of scenes detailing Rip and Mary's relationship, but Stewart and Wyman just don't seem to click. Jane Wyman's Mary is too severe, and in my opinion the actress is stuck with an unflattering hairstyle. 

MAGIC TOWN is filled with plenty of character actors who play the type of "regular people" roles that Frank Capra loved so well--actors like Donald Meek, Ned Sparks, Wallace Ford, and Ann Doran and Regis Toomey, who play almost exactly the same type of roles that they did in Capra and Riskin's MEET JOHN DOE. The "ordinary folks" antics in this movie seem a bit contrived. 

The best sequence in the film shows how Grandview changes after getting national attention. While watching this last night I first thought that the presentation of the town going from bucolic to booming to bust happened way too fast, but considering how in today's world yesterday's trending topic becomes forgotten a few days later, Robert Riskin was onto something here. The sequence also has an energy and a drive that reminds one of the Capra touch. 

The biggest issue I have with MAGIC TOWN is the ending. To revitalize the citizenry of Grandview, Rip and Mary come up with the idea of shaming the populace into building a new high school and civics center, even though the town is now broke. Most of the great Capra-Riskin films deal with an individual facing huge odds. MAGIC TOWN deals with a city instead of a leading character, something that is much harder to dramatize. The climax of MAGIC TOWN involves a discussion about city planning issues, which isn't exactly the type of thing to get an audience excited about. (During the sequence, the citizens--which are all gathered together in the best Capra tradition--swear that if they have to they will build everything themselves, which seems very hard to believe.) 

James Stewart is one of my all-time favorite actors, and I really wanted to enjoy MAGIC TOWN, but it just didn't work for me. It would be intriguing if someone took the main idea of MAGIC TOWN and did a different spin on it--but in today's world society is so fragmented that a town that reflects what the majority of Americans think seems something out of a science-fiction tale. 

THE HOUSE OF HAMMER--VOLUME ONE

 

The current Hammer Films company has been churning out plenty of product in the last few years--so much product that you'd have to be Elon Musk to buy it all. I've been very carefully picking & choosing when it comes to the latest Hammer home video box sets, but I took the plunge with THE HOUSE OF HAMMER--VOLUME ONE. It is a two-disc region free Blu-ray set that also includes a 120-page booklet. 

The discs and the booklet contain a number of programs, documentaries, and articles that examine not only various facets of Hammer history, but the entire English Gothic genre overall. 

Some online have commented that this set is a group of extras looking for a feature, while others have suggested that the release should have been called THE HOUSE OF NON-HAMMER. (As you can see in the photo of the front of the set case above, Vincent Price takes prominence, and yes, I'm well aware he never appeared in a Hammer film.) I've actually watched all the programs on both discs, and I've read the entire booklet, and I will say that there is plenty of material here relating to Hammer. 

The highlight on Disc One is a nearly two-hour documentary on American-International Pictures--and this is just part one of the entire program. Titled MASQUES, MONSTERS AND MADMEN, the program covers the beginnings of AIP, how it took advantage of the entertainment industry conditions of the 1950s, and the company's relationship with filmmaker Roger Corman. The documentary mostly focuses on the British horror and sci-fi films AIP was involved in or at least distributed in the U.S. (It doesn't cover the Beach Party movies.) It goes up to about the end of the 1960s. Overall it is an extensive examination of some of the most famous horror films made in the 1950s and 60s. 

Disc One also contains an entertaining look at the life and acting career of Michael Gough by Jonathan Rigby, which runs about 45 minutes. There's also a program discussing the connection between Cornwall (an area of southwest England) and Birtish horror, which actually spends a lot of time talking about movies that don't have anything to do with Cornwall. 

Filling out Disc One is a short film made by Hammer in 1959 called TICKET TO HAPPINESS. Running about a half an hour, this is a lighthearted tale involving an industrialist trying to obtain land in a small British town. This short is so obscure, it's not even listed on IMDB! The most notable thing about it are the names involved in it that will be familiar to Hammer fans, such as director Peter Bryan, cinematographer Michael Reed, and actors Michael Goodliffe, Jeremy Longhurst, and Charles Lloyd Pack. 

Disc Two contains a feature documentary called DEEP CUTS, which examines the history of censorship in American and British cinema, and a program on makeup artists Lou and Dave Elsey, two full-on Hammer fans who have made their mark in plenty of big-time movie franchises. There's also a deep examination of various Hammer music soundtracks by David Huckvale, who is the ultimate expert in such matters. 

Disc Two also has footage of Roger Corman from a 1995 Festival of Fantastic Films convention, and, finally, a Q & A held after the premier screening of the 4K restoration of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in London in October 2025. The panelists include Kim Newman, Wayne Kinsey, Lucy Bolton, David Pirie, and actor Melvyn Hayes, the last surviving member of the COF cast, who steals the show. 

Now....I have to talk about the booklet!! That contains a look at the making of the AIP British film CRY OF THE BANSHEE, written by English Gothic expert John Hamilton. There's also articles on the British companies other than Hammer that delved into horror features, an appreciation of AIP's Edgar Allan Poe series, a look at Caralan, the production company that made DOCTOR BLOOD'S COFFIN and THE SNAKE WOMAN, and an essay by Wayne Kinsey showcasing the non-horror films made by Hammer. 

One article I need to point out is Dick Klemensen's look back at the beginnings of his fantastic magazine LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS, a publication which has played a major part in Hammer history. In that article Mr. K points out that no other film company has had nearly every aspect of its history as thoroughly examined as that of Hammer Films--and he's absolutely right, with this set being a perfect example. 

Needless to say, this set is jam-packed with material, and it comes in a slipcase with impressively-designed packaging. The booklet is well-illustrated, and the documentaries contain plenty of talking heads that are true Hammer and English Gothic experts, such as John Hamilton, Jonathan Rigby, David Pirie, John Logan, Wayne Kinsey, and Richard Klemensen. 

This is a hardcore set for hardcore fans. You'll certainly learn about Hammer and English Gothic history, but if you are not a major fan of the subject to begin with, you're going to be a bit lost. I personally loved it--there are some times in the programs where things jump about a bit, and the focus wavers, but all in all there's plenty of entertaining and informative material here, and this is a set that is made specifically for English Gothic enthusiasts. I've no doubt there will be multiple volumes of THE HOUSE OF HAMMER in the future, and I can only wonder what will be contained in them. (By the way, if Hammer and John Gore want to talk to someone who has spent some time with some of the Hammer ladies, I do know a guy....) 

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU

 

I finally saw this movie last night. The immediate reaction to it has been underwhelming, but I have to say that I found it to be a good, solid, enjoyable action-packed adventure. 

Taking place in the post-RETURN OF THE JEDI Star Wars Universe, THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU presents the title characters dealing with various warlords and coming to the rescue of Rotta the Hutt. Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) is the son of the notorious Jabba the Hutt, and his fate causes Mando (Pedro Pascal) to go against his New Republic employers to do what he feels is the right thing. 

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU starts out with a very well-executed action sequence, and things don't slow down very much from there. Along with disposing of several ex-Imperial operatives and goons, Mando also fights off a menagerie of CGI monsters. The numerous battle scenes might be repetitive to some, but director/co-writer Jon Favreau stages them skillfully and efficiently, and let's face it, this is a summer blockbuster popcorn movie, so....what else would you expect? 

I was worried that the Rotta the Hutt subplot would turn out silly, but it actually comes off very well, even though it is a bit disconcerting to hear a Hutt speak perfect Galactic Standard. 

There's nothing in this story that makes a major impact on the Star Wars Universe, which to my mind is a good thing. Mando still has his quiet swagger and deadpan sense of humor, while Grogu still eats a lot and does cute things. (The green tyke even gets a chance to save Mando during the film's latter moments.) 

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU might have made a bigger impact in the marketplace if it had been released about five years ago, during the height of Grogunmania. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable and fun romp that more than delivers the goods action-wise. 

THE RINGER (1952)

 

For the last few years, I've been writing plenty of posts on German Krimi films based on the writings of British author Edgar Wallace. Here's a Wallace movie adaptation that was actually made in England. It is THE RINGER, made in 1952, and included in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION I set. 

THE RINGER is one of Edgar Wallace's most famous works. First written in novel form, the story was later adapted into a successful play, and it was made into a film several times. In this version "The Ringer" is Henry Milton, a notorious vigilante who supposedly fled to Australia and died there. The Ringer comes back into the news when it is rumored that he is threatening corrupt lawyer Maurice Meister (Herbert Lom). The Ringer's sister worked for Meister before apparently committing suicide. Scotland Yard tries to protect Meister, but no one knows what the Ringer looks like, not even his wife, who hasn't seen her husband in years. Plenty of suspects crop up, but it's the threat of the Ringer that causes more consternation than the man himself. 

Once again I need to point out that even though this movie appears in a Blu-ray set labeled "Noir', there isn't really all that much connected to that genre showing up in the feature. The 1952 THE RINGER has a lighthearted air about it, and most of the film takes place inside Meister's upscale house--there's no mean rain-slicked streets here. The movie offers up a number of enjoyably broad performances by the likes of Donald Wolfit (BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE), William Hartnell (the very first actor to play Doctor Who), and Greta Gynt as The Ringer's acerbic, glamorous wife. (Gynt had already starred in another famous Edgar Wallace movie adaptation: THE HUMAN MONSTER, with Bela Lugosi.) The cast also features a very young Denholm Elliott and Mai Zetterling. 

Earlier this year I had viewed DER HEXXER, the 1964 German Krimi version of THE RINGER, so I was familiar with most of the aspects of the plot....but the 1952 version still provided some surprises. This film is dialogue-heavy, and it does betray its stage origins, but director Guy Hamilton (whose debut film this was) keeps things barreling along almost like a screwball comedy. THE RINGER is a very different product from the 1960s German Krimis, but it's very entertaining in its own right. 

As for the entire BRIT NOIR COLLECTION I, I would call it very impressive overall. I had never seen the three films included in it, and although one can debate whether or not they are truly "noir", all the movies are very well made, and they look outstanding for their age. (All three are in black & white, and the only one in widescreen is THE FRIGHTENED CITY, with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.) Each film in this set has a brand new audio commentary (I have not yet been able to listen to any of them yet). I would rate THE FRIGHTENED CITY the best movie in the set, with THE RINGER just behind, and the heavy-handed CAGE OF GOLD in the tail position. 

Kino might be taking advantage of the popularity of the "noir" label to package a random set of British crime dramas, but these are movies very few Americans know about, let alone have seen, and any company giving rare films a home video debut is a plus. Kino has two more Brit Noir Collections coming out this year, and I'm already planning on purchasing them. 

CAGE OF GOLD

 

CAGE OF GOLD is one of the three films contained in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION I Blu-ray set. It is a 1950 film from Ealing Studios that is more of a soap opera-style melodrama than what I would call a true noir. 

Set in post-WWII London, the story concerns young Judith (Jean Simmons), who one day encounters former flame Bill Glennan (David Farrar). During the war Judith's family lived near an RAF base, and she had a huge crush on Glennan, who was a fighter pilot. Glennan once again sweeps Judith off her feet, causing her to reject her decent, upstanding doctor boyfriend Alan (James Donald). Judith gets pregnant, and she and Bill marry.....but he leaves her on their wedding night, and later Judith receives word that Bill has died in a plane crash. Judith marries Alan, and they raise her child with Bill as their own.....but Bill is still alive, and he returns to London to harass and blackmail the family. 

CAGE OF GOLD is one of those "Good woman gets involved with a bad relationship" stories that has some very predictable aspects to it. The movie is well-acted, and it is directed by the very capable Basil Dearden, but it lacks a certain spark that would make it very memorable. The main issue for me was David Farrar. He's not bad in the role of Bill, but the character is supposed to be a cad and a bounder who causes all women he meets to throw all caution to the winds, and Farrar seems too stolid and plain to be a conniving bad-boy and untrustworthy ladies man. 

A large amount of the running time of this picture involves Bill's shady doings in a Parisian nightclub (the establishment's name provides the film's title), with Madeleine Lebeau (CASABLANCA) as a nightclub singer who is another of Bill's conquests, and Herbert Lom as the mysterious fellow who runs the place. Lom gives off plenty of Peter Lorre-type vibes in his too-small role, but the nightclub scenes seem just a diversion from Jean Simmons' situation. 

The ending of this film wraps things up way too neatly, but the climax at least has Bernard Lee as a stalwart police inspector. One can't help but feel that if CAGE OF GOLD were made by Americans, the movie would have had more excitement to it. If this movie qualifies as a noir, it is a very mild-mannered, very British example of the genre. 

THE FRIGHTENED CITY

 

Kino Lorber has just released the BRIT NOIR COLLECTION I, a two-disc set containing a trio of British crime thrillers made in the 50s and 60s. The movie I chose to view first was THE FRIGHTENED CITY, a 1961 mob tale starring a pre-Bond Sean Connery. 

The plot of THE FRIGHTENED CITY revolves around corrupt accountant Waldo Zhernikov (Herbert Lom), who comes up with the idea to convince the leaders of six different London criminal gangs to merge all of their protection rackets. To help make sure the blackmail money is collected properly, petty thief Paddy Damion (Sean Connery) is hired, due to the fact that he is tough, but smart. Zhernikov and his shady associates start to rake in the dough, but the accountant gets even more ambitious. Zhernikov uses one of the crime bosses (played by Alfred Marks) to partake in a scheme to put the squeeze on some of London's major companies, which causes consternation among the other mob leaders. The scheme also causes Paddy to question whether his activities are worth doing. 

THE FRIGHTENED CITY is a movie I was not aware of, even though I'm a big Sean Connery fan. It's a decent crime story, with efficient black & white photography by Desmond Dickinson and a jazzy music score by Norrie Paramor (the movie's main theme was successfully covered by The Shadows). The film doesn't have as much action as one would think, and what action there is has a ragged feel to it. This factor does make the story come off as more realistic, even though despite the title, the viewer doesn't believe that London is in a panic mode. (If the production had more of a budget, no doubt we would have seen more criminal violence.) 

I have no idea whether James Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman saw THE FRIGHTENED CITY, but the movie is a great showcase for the talents of a pre-007 Sean Connery. Connery's Paddy isn't a swaggering, brutish enforcer.....he has a quiet self-assurance while still maintaining a "Don't mess with me" vibe. Paddy isn't so much an out-and-out criminal as he is an anti-hero. Paddy also has a belief in "honor among thieves", and his experiences with Zhernikov make him realize that he's working for the wrong people. Paddy also develops a relationship with Zhernikov's nightclub singer mistress (Yvonne Monlaur). As always Monlaur looks stunning, and she and Connery project some major heat together. 

Connery is actually billed behind Herbert Lom and John Gregson, who plays the world-weary Inspector Sayers, a police official determined to find who is behind the city-wide protection scheme. Despite his billing Lom doesn't have all that much screen time--his Zhernikov is a clever (and shady) upper-class type who would rather control things behind the scenes instead of being upfront and getting his hands dirty. Like just about every British film made in the 50s and 60s, THE FRIGHTENED CITY has a fine supporting cast, with the likes of Alfred Marks, George Pastell, and Kenneth Griffiths. 

John Lemont co-wrote and directed THE FRIGHTENED CITY, which may shock some people, since Lemont is probably best known today for making KONGA! Despite the low budget Lemont keeps THE FRIGHTENED CITY rolling along, and he knows enough to keep the focus on Sean Connery. I wouldn't call this movie a hard-boiled noir, but it is an effective and entertaining crime story that proves even before he became James Bond Sean Connery could carry a feature. 

I plan on writing blog posts on the other two films included in this set. Kino also has two other Brit Noir Collections set for release this year. Whether all the movies that will be in them actually qualify as "noir" is debatable, but at least Kino is releasing a number of titles that most Americans (such as myself) have not been exposed to.