GENIUS AT WORK

 

The 1946 RKO comedy-mystery GENIUS AT WORK is a vehicle for the studio's slapstick team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney, but the main reason anyone would discuss it now is that it also stars Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi. 

Wally Brown & Alan Carney were RKO's attempt at an Abbott & Costello-like comedic duo. The two were each ex-vaudevillians, but they were paired by the studio for the big screen. If Brown & Carney are remembered or even mentioned today, it's due to GENIUS AT WORK and ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, another film that also featured Bela Lugosi. The duo made 8 movies together as a team at RKO, but I've never seen any of the ones that don't feature Bela....I don't think any of those films ever get presented on cable TV stations, even TCM. 

Brown & Carney were no Abbott & Costello. The two men didn't have distinct personalities--they're both clumsy dolts, and you can't call one of them the leader or the boss. They insult each other equally, and they're both practically useless in any important situation. They react to everything in a very hammy way, as if being as outlandish as possible is a sure way to be funny. Alan Carney is the chubby one, and at times it feels as if he's trying to be a Lou Costello-type, but he's nowhere near as entertaining. 

In GENIUS AT WORK, Brown & Carney work as radio performers on a program that focuses on real life crimes. (How do the friends and loved ones of various crime victims feel about a couple of dopey comics discussing the tragic circumstances?) Their writer is Ellen (Anne Jeffreys), and the trio are advised by a famed criminologist named Latimer Marsh (Lionel Atwill). Ellen and the boys are determined to find out the identity of The Cobra, a murderous fiend who has been terrorizing the city. The thing is, Marsh is the Cobra, and he's assisted in his nefarious activities by his servant Stone (Bela Lugosi). The Cobra believes that Ellen and her silly co-workers are getting too close to his secret, so he plots against them, while they in turn investigate him. 

The plot of goofy radio detectives solving crimes was used far better in Abbott & Costello's WHO DONE IT? and a series of Red Skelton movies at MGM. Those films are on a far better level than GENIUS AT WORK, with the result being that the RKO feature comes off as a cheap knock-off of superior material. GENIUS is only a little over an hour, so it moves decently enough, but all the plot elements are very familiar, and the presumed comedy falls far short of what the Three Stooges could pull off. 

The ultimate reason to watch GENIUS AT WORK is to see Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi. Sadly Atwill died of cancer before GENIUS was even released, but here he looks hale and hearty. Atwill also doesn't play Marsh as sinister and suspicious--he's charming and affable, even after his cover has been blown. Atwill even gets to disguise himself in drag! Whatever troubles the actor may have had during filming, he seems to be enjoying himself immensely (although why a person as intelligent and as cultured as the Cobra would want to randomly commit major crimes is never explained). 

As for Bela Lugosi, he's very much in Atwill's shadow here, constantly calling him "Sir". It's another one of Bela's way-too-many sneaky servant roles. Lugosi does get to do the old routine of trying to scare the comics in a spooky house, but overall he's sadly underused. (He does get to give a Moe Howard-type of reaction when an antique weapon is dropped on his foot.) Anne Jeffreys worked with Brown & Carney numerous times, but she's so attractive, bright, and personable that one wonders why a woman like her would waste her time with such dummies. 

Brown, Carney, Lugosi, and Anne Jeffreys fared much better in ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, a more entertaining film which happens to be a clever satire on the RKO Val Lewton series. GENIUS AT WORK happened to be the last official Brown & Carney teaming, which isn't surprising. (The movie was directed by Leslie Goodwins, who ironically also helmed Universal's THE MUMMY'S CURSE, one of the better entries in that series.) 

GENIUS AT WORK does remind one that Bela Lugosi had a long history of interacting with numerous comedians in films and on television. Bela worked alongside Joe E. Brown, W. C. Fields, the Ritz Brothers, Kay Kyser, the East Side Kids, Old Mother Riley, Red Skelton, and of course Abbott & Costello.....and for the most part he held his own with them. Despite the urban legend that Bela didn't understand American comedy (a legend perpetrated by Tim Burton's otherwise excellent ED WOOD), whenever one sees Lugosi in a humorous scene, his timing is spot on, and he appears to know exactly how to react. Lionel Atwill was also quite good at humor as well--consider his scene-stealing role in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. Perhaps RKO should have teamed Lugosi and Atwill instead of Brown and Carney. 

WEB OF THE SPIDER On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

My last blog post was on a Blu-ray of Antonio Margheriti's CASTLE OF BLOOD, so I might as well follow that up with a look at a special edition release of the remake of that film: WEB OF THE SPIDER. This 1971 feature was also helmed by Margheriti, and it is included on a two-disc Blu-ray set from Film Masters along with the 1967 German Krimi CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND. Each film gets its own disc. (I'll be covering CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND on a future post.) 

One wonders why Margheriti and the producers of CASTLE OF BLOOD decided to remake that film at all. WEB OF THE SPIDER was made only seven years after its predecessor, and while it is in color (the original was in black & white), the storyline is almost exactly the same, and many of the shot compositions and lines of dialogue are the same as well. The major difference (other than the casting) is that the opening sequence with Edgar Allan Poe has been expanded. WEB OF THE SPIDER shows a disheveled, dazed Poe (now played by the infamous Klaus Kinski) stumbling about an underground crypt, and then madly unearthing a grave. The movie then shifts to Poe telling the story of this incident in an English pub, and the rest of the film follows the basic structure of CASTLE OF BLOOD. This opening gets the viewer's attention, but unfortunately nothing else in WEB OF THE SPIDER lives up to it. 

WEB OF THE SPIDER does offer up a few subtle differences, such as a too-obvious hint about the climatic twist, but anyone familiar with CASTLE OF BLOOD will feel that they are watching a lesser version of the same film. CASTLE OF BLOOD, as I see it, is far more atmospheric and visually arresting, and the black & white image works much better for this type of story. There's nothing wrong with the color in WEB OF THE SPIDER, but it feels as if it lacks vitality. (One can only imagine what Jack Asher or Mario Bava could have brought to this production.) The production design and costumes of WEB are stylish enough, but overall I feel that the movie just doesn't have that certain something that would put it in the top tier of Euro Gothics. 

Anthony Franciosa plays the role of Alan Foster in WEB, and while there's nothing terrible about his performance, the actor comes off as too modern to be a man of the 19th Century. Michele Mercier (BLACK SABBATH) gets the thankless task of playing the role of Elisabeth, which was filled so memorably by Barbara Steele in CASTLE OF BLOOD. Mercier is capable enough, but she doesn't have Steele's unsettling, iconic quality....but then again, how many other actresses would have that? Ironically, Silvano Tranquili, who played Poe in CASTLE OF BLOOD, gets the role of one of the specters from the past in WEB. Klaus Kinski once again makes the biggest impression in a very small role. 

There's nothing wrong with Film Masters' presentation of WEB OF THE SPIDER on Blu-ray. The American version of the film is presented here, in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and the print is very nice. This version has an English voice track and main titles, which means the director is credited as Anthony M. Dawson. An Independent-International logo appears before the start of the film. 

Film Masters has provided a new audio commentary for WEB, featuring genre experts Kim Newman and Stephen Jones. The duo give one of their usual enthusiastic talks, as they discuss the careers of the actors involved, make comparisons between the original and the remake, and point out how the original Italian version of WEB differs from the English one (both men believe the latter is the cut of the movie that works best). It's a fast-moving discussion (the duo go from one subject to another very quickly). An American trailer for CASTLE OF BLOOD is included, along with a new trailer for WEB OF THE SPIDER prepared by Film Masters. This is a Region A release. 

There's also a 22-page booklet inside the disc case, with two essays and a few stills from each film. The essay dealing with WEB OF THE SPIDER is called "Cobwebs and Castles", and it is written by Christopher Stewardson. The author compares the two features, and discusses how WEB fits into the shifting state of early 70s Italian horror cinema. He also points out that one reason WEB doesn't seem to be as atmospheric as CASTLE OF BLOOD is due to the fact that the interior lighting is too bright, a view I agree with. 

WEB OF THE SPIDER isn't on the same level as CASTLE OF BLOOD, and even Antonio Margheriti would say later in life that a color remake was not a good idea. Nevertheless, if one had not been aware of CASTLE OF BLOOD, that person might be more apt to appreciate WEB OF THE SPIDER. It's not a terrible remake, and Film Masters has presented it very well on this Blu-ray. Besides, how many times is one able to watch a remake that is helmed by the same director, using the same script? 

CASTLE OF BLOOD (AKA DANZA MACABRA) On Blu-ray From Severin

 

One of the greatest representations of big-screen Italian Gothic Horror gets a special edition Blu-ray showcase courtesy of Severin. CASTLE OF BLOOD (1963) is the English version of DANZA MACABRA, and both cuts are featured on this two-disc set. (Severin also has a 4K version of the movie available, and it was originally included on the company's DANZA MACABRA Vol. 2 box set.) 

CASTLE OF BLOOD is set in the 19th Century, and concerns a journalist named Alan Foster (Georges Riviere) who is based in London. Foster is attempting to interview the famed author Edgar Allan Poe (Silvano Tranquili) who is also in the city. Foster finds the scribe reciting one of his tales in a pub, and afterwards Poe tells the reporter that his stories are based on fact. Foster disputes this, and this causes a Lord Blackwood to make a wager that Alan will not be able to spend one night in the untenanted and supposedly haunted Blackwood country estate. Foster takes up the challenge, and he is taken to the lonely spot, where he spends a very long and eventful evening. 

CASTLE OF BLOOD contains all the requisite elements beloved by fans of the Italian Gothic, such as adultery, sexual obsession, beautiful women wandering around in nightgowns, candelabras, underground crypts, etc. This was director Antonio Margheriti's first foray into Gothic horror, but one would assume he'd been making such productions for years, considering how assured and atmospheric the production is. It certainly helped having the iconic Barbara Steele as Lord Blackwood's sister Elisabeth, who is Alan Foster's alluring guide into the various spectral happenings. Foster views the ghostly goings-on much in the same way we are watching the film, except that he can't leave, and the final result of his bet is darkly ironic. 

This film had been released years ago on DVD by Synapse Films, and their version focused on the original international cut. Severin included the English cut as a bonus on their NIGHTMARE CASTLE Barbara Steele special Blu-ray, but the quality of the print was not very good. This time around Severin has included both the international and English cuts, and each version gets its own disc. The film looks fantastic, with a razor sharp black & white image and better overall sound quality. The international version has an Italian voice track, with English subtitles, while the English cut is shorter, with the main credits created for that version. Both versions have a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. 

Each disc has its own set of extras. The DANZA MACABRA disc has a 45 minute program featuring Stephen Thrower, who goes into various aspects of the film, and also analyzes certain elements of it. Thrower spends a lot of time on when the picture was actually shot, and how Antonio Margheriti became involved in the production. (Sergio Corbucci was originally supposed to direct it, and his brother Bruno was one of the writers.) There's a full audio commentary by Rodney Barnett and Adrian Smith. The duo go over much of the same material that Stephen Thrower does (they also spend time speculating when the movie started shooting). They also discuss Margheriti's career, the 1971 color remake WEB OF THE SPIDER, how the Woolner brothers acquired the film for American release, and they give out plenty of bouquets to Barbara Steele. 

Speaking of Steele, she is featured on another commentary with Russ Lanier. The thing is, this commentary is only about 17 minutes long, and Lanier spends more time talking than Steele does. 

The CASTLE OF BLOOD disc has a 30 minute video essay by Rachel Nisbet focusing on Barbara Steele's legacy in Italian Gothic cinema. It's a decent program, but due to Nisbet's accent and her rapid speaking style, it's hard to understand her at times. The other quibble I have with the essay is that it does not mention Steele's appearance in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM. Of course that is an American film, but it was a huge influence on the Italian Gothic genre overall and how Steele was cast in her horror roles. There's also a 14 minute interview with Edoardor Margheriti, son of Antonio, who discusses the making of CASTLE OF BLOOD, and a vintage talk with Antonio Margheriti himself, who also talks about the film's production and his feelings about Barbara Steele. A trailer and a TV spot for CASTLE OF BLOOD is included as well. Last but not least is a 22 minute location featurette, which goes back to the actual Italian estate used for the Blackwood castle, and the viewer gets to see the infamous gates that were so important to the film's climax. This program includes some of the people who were working on the estate at the time, and their memories of the shoot. This was my favorite extra of all. Collectively all the extras are worth seeing and/or listening to, but there is a lot of overlap of info contained in them. This Blu-ray release is Region A. 

2024 has been a big year for classic Italian genre cinema on home video, and this release is a major reason why. CASTLE OF BLOOD/DANZA MACABRA is not just an important title in the realm of the Euro Gothic, it's a prime moment in the careers of Barbara Steele and Antonio Margheriti. Severin gets extra credit for providing the ultimate editions of both versions of the film. 

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD

 

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968) is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe tales, but it has little in common with the Roger Corman/Vincent Price/AIP series featuring that author's work. The film can also be defined as a horror anthology, but it isn't in the class of the Amicus productions of multi-story chillers. SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (original French title HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES) is a perfect definition of 1960s art house cinema, with three acclaimed directors (Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Federico Fellini), and an international main cast made up of trendy, beautiful young stars (Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Brigitte Bardot, and Jane & Peter Fonda). 

The first story, "Metzengerstein", directed by Roger Vadim, stars Jane Fonda as the cruel and capricious Countess Frederique Metzengerstein, a gorgeous and powerful young aristocrat who spends her time pursuing pain and pleasure with her debauched followers. The Countess becomes obsessed with her estranged cousin Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda), even more so after he rejects her advances. In revenge, the Countess orders a servant to burn down the Baron's barn, which contains his beloved horses. The Baron dies in the blaze, while at the same time a wild, untamed black stallion finds its way onto the Countess' estate. The woman transfers her obsession to the animal, and she rides it to a fitting end. 

"Metzengerstein" is a very simple tale--the symbolism of the horse is very obvious--and its best attributes are Claude Renoir's cinematography and Jane Fonda's outrageous costumes (despite the story being set sometime in the Middle Ages, the Countess seems to have had access to Barbarella's wardrobe). Jane Fonda is quite sexy (in a lethal way) as the Countess, but the story is one-dimensional, and it goes on too long. (One could make that same observation about the other two tales in this picture.) 

"William Wilson" (directed by Louis Malle) deals with a sadistic man (Alain Delon) who is constantly thwarted in his depravities by a mysterious double. Wilson eventually learns that the double is far closer to him than he thinks. 

This story is highlighted by the malevolent handsome looks of Alain Delon, who ably portrays Wilson, a man who can hurt and torture others without so much as a flicker of movement upon his attractive face. Brigitte Bardot appears in this tale as a desirable woman Wilson plays a mammoth card game with, in order to take all her money and force her under his control. The card game isn't as exciting as it should have been, and it is too lengthy. What makes "William Wilson" stand out is that it is an "evil twin" story in which the evil twin has actually been the main character all along. With cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli. 

"Toby Dammit" (directed by Federico Fellini) has Terence Stamp as a famous British actor taking a nightmarish trip to Italy, and sitting through a surrealistic awards ceremony. The troubled actor (who looks as if he's mentally & physically ill, or on drugs) escapes by driving away in a new Ferrari, given to him by the producers of a "Catholic Western" that he has agreed to star in. No matter how fast Toby speeds away, he can't escape the image of a creepy little girl who carries a white ball--an image that ends the actor's troubles. 

The "Toby Dammit" segment is the most famous part of SPIRITS OF THE DEAD, due to Fellini's typical bizarre imagery and use of discordant editing techniques and disturbing faces. The whole thing comes off as an alcoholic or drug-addled hazy dream of Toby's, while also serving as a satire on the Italian film industry. One way of looking at it is to assume that the plane bringing Toby to Italy has crashed, and the actor is now in Hell or purgatory. (More literal-minded viewers will see the episode as being pretentious.) The creepy girl with the ball is an image taken straight from Mario Bava's KILL BABY KILL, and one wonders what Bava himself could have done with this story (heck, one wonders what the film would have been like if Bava had directed the whole thing--it probably would have turned out a lot better). The music for this episode was provided by Nino Rota. 

The version I watched of SPIRITS OF THE DEAD had a French voice track, with English subtitles. AIP obtained the American distribution rights to the film, slapped on a short voice over of Vincent Price reciting a few lines of Poe, and made a few cuts to it. (The international trailer for SPIRITS goes out of its way to mention the three cult directors involved in it, while the American trailer doesn't mention the trio at all!)

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD feels like three different short films attached to each other, but the trio of stories do have some similarities. The title characters of each tale are all arrogant and misanthropic, and they all get exactly what they deserve (in this way SPIRITS does recall the Amicus anthologies). The trio are also all physically attractive, while at the same time spiritually dead inside. SPIRITS is beloved by a number of astute film experts whose opinion I respect, but its languid pacing and unsympathetic characters will put many off. All three stories have some arresting moments, but there's also a lot of shots that go out of their way to say "This Means Something". If you're looking for something off-beat to watch for Halloween, SPIRITS OF THE DEAD is an apt choice, particularly for those who haven't seen it before. While I didn't dislike the movie, when it comes to horror film anthologies my tastes run toward something like THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. 

CALL HER SAVAGE

 

Last night Turner Classic Movies showed the notorious 1932 Fox Pre-Code film CALL HER SAVAGE, starring Clara Bow and Hitless Wonder Movie Blog favorite Thelma Todd. It was a first-time viewing for me. 

CALL HER SAVAGE starts out with a Native American attack on a wagon train, and that's one of the more routine things in this movie. The attack takes place in the Old West, and the wagon master is caught off guard, because the married man is busy fooling around with another woman. This sequence sets up the idea that the sins of the wagon master will be visited upon his heirs, namely his future granddaughter Nasa Springer (Clara Bow). 

Nasa grows up rich and spoiled on a large Texas ranch, and among the things she gets away with are: taking a whip to a rattlesnake, and then using the same whip on a part-Native American part-white man named Moonglow (Gilbert Roland), who has a crush on Nasa. (He has such a crush on her that he stands absolutely still and takes it while the young woman violently strikes him over and over again--in a too-obvious metaphor, he's literally her whipping boy.) Less than a minute after the attack on Moonglow, she's coyly flirting with him, but soon she's smashing a guitar over the head of a ranch hand. She's sent to a special school in Chicago by her disappointed father, but Nasa disobeys him and marries dissolute rich playboy Larry Crosby (Monroe Owsley). Nasa soon finds out that Larry married her just to get back at his mistress (Thelma Todd), so she decides to live it up and spend as much of Larry's money as possible. The money runs out, and Nasa discovers she's pregnant, and her problems get worse and worse.....but her biggest obstacle is her tempestuous nature. 

CALL HER SAVAGE was considered a comeback of sorts for Clara Bow. The "It Girl" had been away from acting for a while due to her many personal problems. The Fox Corporation signed Bow to a big contract, and they went all out to make the story stand out. The movie is now considered one of the prime examples of the Pre-Code era, but what hurts the picture is that it tries to be so salacious it winds up bordering on the absurd. Nearly every scene deals with a major issue or problem that Nasa has to deal with, and among the things that come up are catfights, a sexual assault by her estranged (and deranged) husband, and an attempt at prostitution in New Orleans after she winds up broke and her baby needs medicine. 

There's all sorts of urban legends about how Clara Bow's film career turned out when talkies arrived. All I can say is in CALL HER SAVAGE her voice sounds perfectly fine, and her line readings are natural and unaffected. Her best moments as Nasa are those without dialogue, as she ably shows how behind the woman's tough exterior there's a deep well of pain and sadness (no doubt the actress' own personal life had an impact on how she played the role). Bow looks great, and she gets to wear plenty of outfits that show off her figure and her cleavage. The main explanation for Nasa's outlandish antics is that she is the result of a fling between her mother and a Native American--an idea that is of course patently ridiculous, and doesn't take into account the fact that Moonglow, who has a similar racial background, is kind and gentle. (If anything, Nasa's actions make one believe that she's very likely bipolar.) 

Thelma Todd and Clara Bow in CALL HER SAVAGE

Thelma Todd once again plays the "other woman" role, and she once again makes such an impression in such a short time that one wishes she had more to do. (The catfight between Thelma and Clara is one of the big highlights of the entire Pre-Code era.) Monroe Owsley is a true Pre-Code villain--his Larry Crosby is such an arrogant jerk that one wonders what any woman would see in him, no matter how rich he might be. (Not only does Larry assault Nasa, he shoves Thelma Todd straight over a chair--luckily Thelma had plenty of experience in falling down due to her association with Hal Roach.) Film geeks will notice among the supporting cast Mary Gordon, Bert Roach, Three Stooges veteran Symona Boniface, and Mischa Auer, who starts a brawl in a Greenwich Village eatery that Nasa and her escort happen to be visiting. (Said eatery also features a couple of flamboyantly gay singing waiters--this is a Pre-Code film, after all.) 

Fox put a lot of effort into CALL HER SAVAGE, and director John Francis Dillon provides a few expressionistic touches. Pre-Code fans consider most movies made during that era as wild & crazy romps--but I wouldn't put CALL HER SAVAGE in that category. It's very gruesome at times, and while Clara Bow does very well in a difficult role, Nasa Springer isn't the type of person you want to spend a lot of time with. This film also has a dark undercurrent to it when one realizes how many emotional & mental issues Clara Bow dealt with. The actress made only one more film after CALL HER SAVAGE, and then she retired from the screen for good. When one thinks about how the role of Nasa Springer might have affected Bow's fragile mind, that decision was probably for the best. 

TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

 

A Tarzan movie?? The main reason for this blog post is that TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN (1949) stars Evelyn Ankers, the lovely Universal scream queen of the 1940s. 

Ankers plays Gloria James, a famous aviatrix who has been presumed dead since she disappeared while flying over Africa 20 years ago. Gloria is still alive--after bailing out of her plane, she stumbled onto a secret valley which contains a village of white-skinned natives who, due to the powers of a nearby fountain of youth, never age. Tarzan (Lex Barker) knows about the valley, and guards its secrets. But Jane (Brenda Joyce) comes upon a newspaper article stating that Gloria's fiancee might beat a murder charge if the aviatrix was alive to give testimony. Tarzan travels to the lost valley, brings Gloria back, and she travels to England to help the man she loves. Gloria's arrival at a local trading post attracts the attention of a couple of nefarious characters (played by Albert Dekker and Charles Drake), who want to know the reason why the woman has not aged. Gloria soon returns, with her now-husband (Alan Napier). Being away from the valley has caused Gloria to return to her natural age, but she wants to go back to the spot with her husband to regain the years they were apart. Tarzan reluctantly takes her to the valley, but the goons from the trading post intervene, causing trouble for everyone. 

I haven't seen a lot of Tarzan films, but the ones I have mostly follow the same basic pattern--a group of white interlopers, greedy for a treasure, or some sort of element, take advantage of Tarzan and Jane's good natures and create havoc in the jungle. TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN uses this pattern, but the subplot involving Gloria James and the lost valley makes it stand out. Actually, the story of the missing aviatrix and the village containing a fountain of youth would have been enough for a whole movie on its own, and it might have been better without all the Tarzan trappings. Gloria James' story is far more interesting than whatever Tarzan and Jane are up to, and the supposed zany antics of Cheeta the chimp just slow the movie down. 

By the time this film was made, the Tarzan series had moved from MGM to RKO, and the entries had more of a lower-budget B picture aspect to them. TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN was Lex Barker's debut as the King of the Jungle (he was the first actor to succeed Johnny Weissmuller in the role). Barker is a decent Tarzan, but he's not all that charismatic. While this was Barker's first time in the series, this was also Brenda Joyce's last outing as Jane, and both Barker and Joyce are unable to make as much of an impression as Evelyn Ankers and the bad guys. 

Ankers gets one of the better roles in her screen career as Gloria James. She gives a fine, understated performance as the lost aviatrix (and the makeup she sports for her natural age is understated and effective as well). She pleads to Tarzan to return her to the hidden valley, but she's not a vain woman desperate to regain her youth--she just wants to be able to finally spend time with the man she loves. Albert Dekker and Charles Drake make a dangerous pair (Dekker even gets a very dramatic close-up during his death scene), and Henry Brandon (who played Scar in THE SEARCHERS) plays an antagonistic native of the lost valley who mistrusts Tarzan. The original movie Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln, has a small cameo. 

Lee Sholem directed TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN, and the story was co-written by Curt Siodmak, who wrote many of the Universal horror films Evelyn Ankers starred in. The film works best when it deals with the lost valley--there are several impressive matte shots as the characters travel to and from there--but the scenes with Tarzan, Jane, and Cheeta are dull. The result is that this is a Tarzan film where the main character is overshadowed by a story that will remind viewers of both Amelia Earhart and Frank Capra's LOST HORIZON. 

BARNACLE BILL

 

BARNACLE BILL (1957) was one of the last of the famed Ealing comedies made in England, and the last Ealing film that Alec Guinness appeared in. It's another very light comedy involving a naval theme, quite similar to THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, the subject of my last blog post. (In America the movie was titled ALL AT SEA.) 

Alec Guinness plays Captain William Horatio Ambrose, a man who is descended from a long line of British naval heroes. This Ambrose, however, starts to get queasy as soon as he even sees water. Because of his affliction, Ambrose's military career has been rather limited. Ambrose has always wanted a command of his own, and he gets it as a civilian by buying a rundown amusement pier. The Captain starts to build the place back up, but the local town council is against him--they have plans to tear the place down. Ambrose comes up with a out-of-left-field idea--he registers the pier as a sea-going vessel, and attracts customers to stay on it by advertising that it's the only cruise ship that is not affected by the ocean waves. The new "ship" is a big success, but Ambrose must confront his seasickness problems to save his command from being sunk by conniving local politicians. 

BARNACLE BILL was directed by Charles Frend, who made a number of fine films (such as THE CRUEL SEA), and written by T.E.B. Clarke, who penned many of the best Ealing comedies. Despite this, and the fact that it has a superior cast, the movie feels more on the level of a TV sitcom story instead of a witty British classic. The humor is more silly than truly funny, and the quirkiness of the characters and the situation seems forced. Due to his seasickness, one expects Alec Guinness to be playing a timid, Don Knotts type of fellow, but Captain Ambrose is a tried and true military man, and a stickler for efficiency, so one never gets the feeling that the odds are all that against him. 

Where BARNACLE BILL really shines is in its cast. Film buffs and Hammer fans will recognize plenty of notable character actors: Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Victor Maddern, Maurice Denham, Charles Lloyd Pack, George Rose, Lionel Jeffries, Miles Malleson, and Sam Kydd. Jackie Collins (sister of Joan and future novelist) has a small role, and smaller roles are filled by Joan Hickson (who gained fame for playing Miss Marple on TV in the 1980s) and Donald Pleasence. (Pleasence's role is so small that one wonders why such a striking performer was put into it.) It appears that Alec Guinness was trying to make Captain Ambrose more than just the typical strange nerdy comedic leading character type who fights against the system. (According to multiple sources, Guinness didn't think much of the movie, and he only appeared in it as a favor to the director.) As in THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, Guinness gets a chance to show his stuff on the dance floor. 

BARNACLE BILL is well-done technically. The cinematographer (working in black & white) was Douglas Slocombe, and most of the story was filmed on an actual pier in Norfolk, England. (The pier is established a few times by some effective miniatures and special effects.) The overall production just doesn't grab you the way THE LAVENDER HILL MOB or THE LADYKILLERS would. As I mentioned in my last post about THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, I got the Kino DVD that contains both films at a discount, and I have to say I wouldn't buy it at full price. BARNACLE BILL and THE LADYKILLERS are certainly not bad films, but they are not standout entries in Alec Guinness' big-screen career. 

THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE

 

Among my recent purchases from Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers was a $6 DVD, a Kino double feature of two 1950s British comedies starring Alec Guinness, one of my favorite actors. Today I'll be discussing THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, a 1953 film produced & directed by Anthony Kimmins. 

THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE concerns Henry St. James (Alec Guinness), who is in charge of a ferry ship running back and forth from Gibraltar to Kalik in Morocco. The Captain believes he has found the key to a perfect life. In Gibraltar he's married to Maud (Celia Johnson), a gentle Englishwoman who is dedicated to being the ultimate housewife. In Kalik, the Captain is married to Nita (Yvonne De Carlo), an exotic Spanish nightclub dancer who enables James to live out his wild side. Of course, the situation is too good to last, and the Captain realizes he doesn't know his two loves as much as he thought he did. 

One can assume all sorts of wild complications when reading a plot description of THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, and if the movie had been made in America, it probably would have fulfilled them. But this is an English film, and the tone is more down-to-earth and subtle. While watching this a viewer will react with chuckles rather than long laughs. Alec Guinness plays the Captain as a cool customer rather than a screwball type, and he does it very well. Guinness does get to show off his dancing chops with Yvonne De Carlo, and he also gets to speak multiple languages in a few scenes. Guinness also prevents the Captain from coming off as self-absorbed and arrogant (which in some ways the character is). 

The real highlight of this movie is Yvonne De Carlo as Nita. She's definitely alluring, but she makes the woman more than just an obvious sexpot. There's more to Nita than meets the eye, something that the Captain (to his regret) learns too late. De Carlo and Guinness might seem one of the strangest romantic couples in screen history, but the two of them have a great rapport here, and they're impressive on the dance floor as well. (If you've ever wanted to see Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lily Munster cut a mean rug together, this is your chance.) De Carlo also gets some dance numbers of her own. 

Celia Johnson gets the less showier role of Maud, the domesticated lady (the Captain buys her presents such as a vacuum cleaner and a sewing machine, while he buys Nita lingerie). As expected, Maud and Nita wind up meeting each other, while being unaware of the other's status. Their meeting doesn't precipitate the ending of the Captain's paradise....it's the Captain taking the women for granted that causes problems. (Maud wants to go out and get more out of life, while Nita wants to stay home and be a "normal" wife.) The plot of the film, and the Captain's treatment of his two wives and his expectations for each of them will offer plenty of material for 21st Century gender studies types....but I just see the movie as a lighthearted comedy. 

The film is enlivened by actual location shooting at Gibraltar, although it appears that none of the main cast actually went there. The supporting players are decent enough, but they lack the cult names that one finds in English movies made during this period (Miles Malleson does have a small role). THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE is in full frame and black & white. 

I liked THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE, but while watching it I kept thinking how different the presentation would have been if it was made by Americans, and had starred American comic actors. I discovered that Alec Coppel's story for this film was nominated for an Academy Award, and the basic idea of a man with two happy marriages at the same time is a good one--but I felt that this idea could have been developed a bit more. The main virtues of THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE are Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo.