TIME IS MY ENEMY

 

 

It's back to Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION IV, and the movie is TIME IS MY ENEMY. It's a very taut (running only a little over an hour) 1954 suspense tale starring Dennis Price and Renee Asherson. 

Barbara Everton (Renee Asherson) has a happy life and marriage, but her world is shattered when he first husband Martin Radley (Dennis Price) shows up. Martin was supposed to have been killed during Blitz, but he's very much alive and he needs money as soon as possible since he's on the run from having committed murder during a jewel robbery. Martin starts blackmailing Barbara, and the woman hopes she can pay him off and not have to go through any scandal. Martin, however, keeps pressuring her, and Barbara starts to take things in her own hands. 

TIME IS MY ENEMY is one of those stories where if the leading lady had just told the right person what was going on immediately, there wouldn't have been any trouble whatsoever. Renee Asherson does a fine job as Barbara, but she's such an upstanding Britisher she's more worried about looking bad than taking the proper steps to get out of her situation. One has to take into account the period in which this film was made, but it's frustrating to see Asherson get herself into more and more trouble. 

Dennis Price gives another of his sarcastic, sardonic cad performances, and he's particularly nasty here. Just like in THE TECKMAN MYSTERY, the first film from this set that I covered, Duncan Lamont plays a police inspector, but this time his role is bigger and more important. His investigator is actually an old friend of Barbara's, and he appears to have feelings for her, an element that doesn't get enough attention. 

The ending of the film contains a major twist that I felt was more miraculous intervention than clever scripting. It's an ending that magically clears up all loose ends, and in some ways feels like a cop out. Until that climax, director Don Chaffey does a decent job in putting the leading lady into an untenable situation, but the story feels very much like a play at times. 

How one feels about the ending will determine how one feels about TIME IS MY ENEMY overall. 

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY

 

Kino is back again with the BRIT NOIR COLLECTION IV Blu-ray set. Once again three lesser-known black & white British crime dramas are featured on two discs. 

The first film in this set that I viewed was THE TECKMAN MYSTERY, a 1954 story written by thriller author Francis Durbridge. Mystery writer Phillip Chance (John Justin) is tasked to write a biography of a pilot named Martin Teckman, who supposedly was killed in a crash involving an experimental aircraft. Chance soon finds out that some one, or some group, does not want Teckman's story told. Chance joins forces with Teckman's sister Helen (Margaret Leighton) to find out why he is being pressured not to write the book, and if Teckman himself may still be alive. 

It took awhile for THE TECKMAN MYSTERY to get going. The first part of the film is very talky, and despite this title being placed in a Noir set, most of the scenes take place in brightly lit rooms. The story perks up toward the end, with a sequence taking place outside the Tower of London, and a climax that in a way anticipates the ending of VERTIGO. 

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY also has another major Hitchcock element--it feels very much like one of the movies made by the Master of the Suspense in England during the 1930s, with its somewhat lighthearted attitude and quirky characters. John Justin's Phillip Chance is a sardonic fellow who at times borders on being annoying. (He even has a manservant that he trades quips with.) The revelation of the person behind all the dastardly doings is a big surprise (I certainly didn't guess it), and the experimental plane subplot adds a Cold War aspect to the proceedings. 

Margaret Leighton does very well in the important role of Helen (after watching the film you'll know why she deserves first billing). Hammer fans will spot among the supporting cast Raymond Huntley (THE MUMMY) and Duncan Lamont (THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN), while Michael Medwin plays almost the exact type of role he essayed in THE INTRUDER, which was included in Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION II set. 

One other unique fact about THE TECKMAN MYSTERY: it was directed by Wendy Toye, one of the very few women who got to direct any sort of theatrical film in Britain during the 1950s. 

Kino presents THE TECKMAN MYSTERY in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, and as expected, the print is very sharp and clear. The main extras on the BRIT NOIR COLLECTION IV set are new commentaries for each feature. (The other two films on this set are TIME IS MY ENEMY and THEY CAN'T HANG ME, and yes, I plan on eventually writing blogs on both.) 

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY is more light Hitchcock than by-the-book Noir, but I found it to be an inventive puzzler that was certainly worth seeing. The great thing about Kino's BRIT NOIR COLLECTION sets is that they provide film buffs with a number of worthy titles that they wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise. 

KIM NOVAK'S VERTIGO

 

This is a documentary that I've been pining to see since I first heard about it last year. KIM NOVAK'S VERTIGO has just been released on DVD by Kino Lorber. (For whatever reason, this film is not on Blu-ray yet.) 

Producer/Director Alexandre O. Philippe somehow managed to gain the trust of the reclusive legendary actress Kim Novak, and the result is a free-flowing conversation (mostly at Novak's Oregon retreat) that goes into various aspects of her life and film career. The talk is non-linear, with Philippe keeping mostly off to the side and letting Novak reveal her thoughts and feelings at her own pace, and on her own terms. Because of this unique setup, the viewer feels as if Novak is in the room with you, providing rare insights and reflections. 

Plenty of rare private footage and scenes from Novak's films are included, sometimes almost at random, sometimes as a way to back up what Novak is expressing at the moment. Novak's striking and ethereal artwork gets plenty of screen time as well. 

As one expects from the title, VERTIGO plays a major role in this documentary. Novak and Philippe go back to it again and again, and it appears that the actress has finally accepted how the movie has defined her life and career. At one point it is revealed that Novak has the famed grey suit she wore in VERTIGO safely packed away in storage at her home--and she is shown unpacking and examining it for the first time in years, a jaw-dropping moment for any film geek. (Novak is brought to tears during this sequence.) 

Some may feel that KIM NOVAK'S VERTIGO is unfocused, and that it leaves more questions than answers. The documentary is only 76 minutes long, and many basic facts about Novak and her films are either not acknowledged or only alluded to. One must remember Novak's solitary nature (she has far more affection for animals than people) and the fact that much of her star status was built upon her mysterious qualities. (It's no coincidence that many of Novak's characters on screen were pretending to be something they were not.) KIM NOVAK'S VERTIGO doesn't "explain" its subject (as if any documentary about a complex personality actually could), but it shows that this is a woman who chose to live her life her own way, and that she has managed to reach her Nineties and still be able to reflect on her life and work in a articulate and perceptive manner. KIM NOVAK'S VERTIGO is a poignant, unusual documentary about a woman who lived an unusual life, but was still able to thrive and survive on her own terms. 

DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST On Blu-ray From Kino

 

DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST(1966), one of the many Euro Westerns with the name "Django" in the title, has just been released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. 

Whoever this Django is, he's decidedly not the one portrayed by Franco Nero. This Django is played by Dutch actor Glenn Saxon, and he's far more affable and talkative than most iterations of the character, and he has a sense of humor to boot. This Django discovers that his father has been killed by a bounty hunter after escaping jail from a town near the border called Silver Creek. Django also finds out that his father was set up by the town bigwig, who happens to run the local bank. Django sets out to make things right, while romancing a pretty saloonkeeper (Erika Blanc) and avoiding the machinations of the bigwig's deceitful coldhearted wife (Evelyn Stewart). 

DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST was directed by Alberto De Martino, who made all sorts of pictures in various genres. De Martino's style changed depending on what type of story he was making, and DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST has a much more lighthearted tone than one would expect. Glenn Saxon's Django isn't seething with revenge--he seems more amused by the whole situation than anything else. The pacing here is a bit slower than the usual spaghetti western, and instead of the story ending after the final confrontation, the focus switches back to a saloon brawl that keeps going on....and on. There's even a bit of a twist at the end that makes one wonder if the whole thing was supposed to be a spoof. 

Nevertheless, De Martino knew how to make solid adventures, and DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST is diverting enough, although hardcore Euro Western fans might prefer something more brutal and edgy. Evelyn Stewart steals the film as the darkly ambitious femme fatale, and she and Erika Blanc even come to blows at one point, which might be some Euro Cult fanboy's idea of a wet dream. 

Alberto Lupo plays a mysterious well-dressed fellow known as "Doc" who takes it upon himself to help Django. Doc is very reminiscent of Lee Van Cleef's Colonel Mortimer--Doc even provides info on an incident from the past that gives a major reason for all the goings-on. Euro Western veteran Fernando Sancho, usually a bad guy, here plays Django's confidant. The fine score is by Bruno Nicolai. 

Kino provides an excellent-looking print of DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST on this disc, in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. English and Italian dub tracks are included, along with English subtitles. 

The extras include a 15 minute program in which Glenn Saxon provides memories of making the film, along with some info on his life and career. (Unfortunately Saxon is never actually shown--only his voice is heard.) There's also an audio commentary by Alex Cox, which I have not listened to yet. (I have nothing against Cox, but it seems that whenever Kino releases a Euro Western on Blu-ray, by default he does the audio commentary. I'd like to see some other film buffs and historians get the chance to discuss these types of films.) 

DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST is not as dark or as stylized as most renowned spaghetti westerns, but it does have enough entertaining elements in it, and it does feature two striking Euro Cult performers: Evelyn Stewart and Erika Blanc. Any time a lesser-known Euro Western gets a proper official home video release is a good thing. 

ROCKETSHIP X-M

 

The extras on Film Masters' DESTINATION MOON/FLIGHT TO MARS special edition Blu-ray make numerous mentions of ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950). This was another "First flight into space" movie that was made mainly to take advantage of the production publicity of DESTINATION MOON. (As a matter of fact, ROCKETSHIP X-M made it into theaters just before DESTINATION MOON.) 

ROCKETSHIP X-M, DESTINATION MOON, and FLIGHT TO MARS form a loose trilogy of films with the same basic storyline. Of the three, DESTINATION MOON is the most technically proficient, FLIGHT TO MARS is the most adventurous, and ROCKETSHIP X-M is by far the one with the darker mood. 

The crew of ROCKETSHIP X-M consists of Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr., and Hugh O'Brian, with soon-to-be science fiction veteran Morris Ankrum as the point man for the journey, keeping track of things back on Earth. The explorers are planning to go to the Moon (X-M stands for "Expedition Moon"), but mistakes and an accident along the way somehow propel the crew all the way to Mars. Mission leader Emery decides that they might as well land and take advantage of a situation that any scientist would dream of. The dream becomes a nightmare, however, as the crew is attacked by the remnants of a Martian civilization that has devolved into savagery. 

I had never seen ROCKETSHIP X-M --I had always assumed it was nothing more than a cheap knockoff of DESTINATION MOON. Technically, that's what it is, but it doesn't feel cheap, or look as if it was quickly put together. Co-prodcuer/co-writer/director Kurt Neumann tries to keep things low-key for the first part of the film. Until the rocket ship lands on Mars at about the 50 minute mark, most of the story takes place in the cramped crew cabin, and a sense of claustrophobia hangs heavy. 

When the crew is on Mars, the movie switches from black & white to what appears to me to be a sepia-tinted picture (at least that's what it looked to me on the version of this film shown on Tubi). The Mars sequences were filmed at remote locations in Southern California, and here the Red Planet is a barren, desolate place that displays no sense of wonder. The crew find ruins that are radioactive, and they determine that the Martians wiped themselves out through an atomic war. They also find what is left of the Martians, a group of caveman-like creatures who are decidedly not more advanced than the people of Earth. 

The sequence of the crew fighting off the Martians is the best thing in the film. The pitiful natives are for the most part kept at a distance, a shadowy but deadly presence. The sequence shows that the crew are way over their heads, which, considering how they screwed up the mission, doesn't surprise the viewer. It's notable to watch an older science fiction film in which the aliens are not advanced in intelligence and/or technology. (The "Everything on this planet is deadly" element would be taken to a higher level in THE ANGRY RED PLANET and many other similar movies.) 

The movie's ending extends the dark tone, and makes ROCKETSHIP X-M stick out even more. There's even a hint of the climax of THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT in that Morris Ankrum, just like Brian Donlevy's no-nonsense scientist, is determined to start planning a new mission, despite the setbacks of the first. 

ROCKETSHIP X-M was much more interesting than I thought it would be. It shows that there's a very dangerous side to the wonders and optimism of space exploration.....or, to put it another way, it's a sci-fi movie in which the entire crew can be called Red Shirts. 

FLIGHT TO MARS On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

Film Masters' recent Blu-ray release of DESTINATION MOON contains a bonus disc featuring the 1951 science fiction movie FLIGHT TO MARS. A very low-budget follow up to DESTINATION MOON, FLIGHT TO MARS is as different from its inspiration as you can get....but it also establishes the template for many other sci-fi flicks for the rest of the Fifties. 

FLIGHT TO MARS starts out in a DESTINATION MOON type of mode, as a crew of four scientists (Marguerite Chapman, Arthur Franz, John Litel, Richard Gaines) and a reporter (Cameron Mitchell) plan a rocket trip to the Red Planet. Once the crew crash lands on Mars, the story goes off on a very different course, as the party from Earth discover that the planet is inhabited by a race of humanoids that live in advanced underground cities. (Despite their "advanced" civilization, the Martians have not been able to develop space travel, nor can they directly contact Earth, even though they are able to listen to our radio and TV broadcasts.) The Martians agree to help the Earth crew repair their rocket ship, but the leaders of the Red Planet really want to steal the technology for their own nefarious purposes. 

The technical accuracy of DESTINATION MOON gets pushed to the side fairly quickly in FLIGHT TO MARS. One reason for that is the latter film's low budget, which doesn't enable the story's ideas to fully develop. We don't get a proper idea of the scope or size of the Martian society, but the viewer is shown that all the Martian women appear to look and dress like Las Vegas showgirls, while the Martian men, mostly middle-aged and elderly, wear robes and come off as weak or duplicitous. The attributes of the Martian men and women in this film would appear again and again in depictions of futuristic or alien societies throughout the next decade of science fiction cinema. In some ways, FLIGHT TO MARS was more influential than DESTINATION MOON. (Actors Arthur Franz and Morris Ankrum, who plays the Martian leader, would show up in plenty of sci-fi movies for the rest of their careers.) 

FLIGHT TO MARS also injects a very old-fashioned story element with a love triangle between Cameron Mitchell, Marguerite Chapman, and Arthur Franz. This element just bogs down the main plot (and it was also a major factor in Fritz Lang's WOMAN IN THE MOON). Overall, FLIGHT TO MARS is a diverting slice of sci-fi pulp, despite its being very quaint in a lot of areas. 

Film Masters' restored scan of FLIGHT TO MARS looks great, even though the movie uses the Cinecolor process, which (fittingly for this film) is dominated by the color red. The movie looks so good on this Blu-ray that it's hard to believe it was produced by Monogram (and directed by Lesley Selander, who ironically helmed a film a wrote about last weekend, THE FATAL WITNESS). 

The FLIGHT TO MARS Blu-ray also contains a number of extras, such as a restored original trailer for the film, and a fine new audio commentary by Justin Humphreys. Humphreys gives out all the info needed on the production, and while he points out the movie's various flaws, he also appreciates what it was able to do despite its lack of budget.  

Also on the Blu-ray are two featurettes. One, by Ballyhoo Pictures, discusses the development of the "Trip to Space" movie genre, and how important WOMAN IN THE MOON was to it. The other program looks at the life and early career of producer Walter Mirisch, and the movies that he was involved in during the early 1950s, such as FLIGHT TO MARS. 

I had never seen FLIGHT TO MARS, and while it certainly isn't on the same level as DESTINATION MOON, it can't help but bring a smile to the face of any classic horror/sci-fi fan. Film Masters has done its usual magnificent job in restoring FLIGHT TO MARS and giving it the deluxe home video treatment. 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE is the second of two American TV network movies that were filmed in England and based on novels written by Hammer Films veteran Jimmy Sangster. As with its predecessor, THE SPY KILLER, FOREIGN EXCHANGE was directed by Roy Ward Baker, with many other Hammer veterans filling roles behind the camera. This movie was first broadcast on American TV in 1970.

The main cast of THE SPY KILLER returns for this entry, with Robert Horton in the lead role as John Smith, Jill St. John as his girlfriend, and Sebastian Cabot as Max, a shady British Intelligence operative. Once again John Smith reluctantly re-enters the world of espionage when Max threatens to deport his girlfriend. Smith gets involved in a plot to undermine a Soviet spy network, which requires him to travel to Russia. A number of convoluted double-dealings ensue, driving Smith to attempt to outwit both the British and the Soviets. 

I wasn't all that impressed with THE SPY KILLER (which I covered a few weeks ago), and FOREIGN EXCHANGE is even more lackluster. There's very little action, and the plot is confusing at times. (Needless to say, no one on this production got anywhere close to actually filming in Russia.) One big drawback is Robert Horton, an actor who in his performances always seemed to be annoyed by something. He's really annoyed here--his John Smith is a cynical guy with a chip on his shoulder who is constantly moaning about the situation he is in. If the lead character of a story is disaffected by what is going on, then the viewer will more than likely be disaffected watching what he is doing. Jill St. John has even less to do here than in THE SPY KILLER, and the only supporting player of note is Eric Pohlman, who plays a Russian colonel. 

I haven't read the Jimmy Sangster novels upon which THE SPY KILLER and FOREIGN EXCHANGE are based, and I doubt that what was on the written page was any more interesting than what wound up on screen. Sangster was trying to make John Smith as anti-007 as possible, but he overdid it, with the result that John Smith's "adventures" are as dull and dreary as he is. Considering what the state of American television was in the late 1960s--early 1970s, I'm surprised some network executive didn't demand that these movies be juiced up in some way. 

If you are interested in Jimmy Sangster's overall work as a screenwriter, especially outside Hammer, these two TV movies are available on YouTube, but I wouldn't place them among Sangster's best efforts.