CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH: THE LATE SILENTS 1927

 

Kit Parker Films and The Sprocket Vault continue their wonderful series of home video releases featuring comedy two-reelers made by the Hal Roach Studios. The latest one is CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH: THE LATE SILENTS 1927, a three-disc set containing 15 shorts starring (who else) Charley Chase. The set also includes three bonus shorts. (I purchased the DVD version of the set--it is also available on Blu-ray.) 

On his audio commentaries for this set Richard M. Roberts states that 1927 was the apex of Charley Chase's time working for Hal Roach. All the shorts on this set are consistently funny, and most of them are directed by Charley's brother, James Parrott. Among the supporting players in them are Roach mainstays Oliver Hardy and Anita Garvin, Eugene Pallette, Bull Montana, and Lupe Velez. BIGGER AND BETTER BLONDES has Jean Arthur, in her only appearance in a Hal Roach production, and A ONE MAMA MAN has Three Stooges foil Vernon Dent, in his only role for Hal Roach. A ONE MAMA MAN also got my attention for the fact that Charley's character in the short hails from my hometown of South Bend, Indiana. 

Among the more notable shorts in the set are WHAT WOMEN DID FOR ME, a risque tale in which Charley is a very bashful teacher who winds up working in a girls school, where all the nubile young ladies are more than willing to make him feel more comfortable. This short has a number of expressionistic visual montages. THE STING OF STINGS, which has Charley treating a bunch of orphans to an outing at a carnival, has plenty of wild stunts & gags, including a Model T winding up on top of a Ferris wheel. ARE BRUNETTES SAFE? has a charming dance routine with Charley and Polly Moran. (Despite the fact that all these shorts are silent, Chase still found ways to incorporate his love and dancing & music into many of them.) NOW I'LL TELL ONE, which only exists in an incomplete form, is also on this set--it also is included on Flicker Alley's LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO. 

The bonus shorts include two in which Charley has cameo appearances, and one which is a remake of NOW I'LL TELL ONE. 

A lot of time and effort went into getting the best quality and the most complete versions of these shorts on this set. Some of the shorts look better than others, and a few of them have some scenes missing, but as I always say, the important thing is that these films are available on home video from a reputable company. 

As he usually does on these Sprocket Vault Hal Roach releases, Richard M. Roberts provides an audio commentary for each short. Roberts' knowledge of this era of film comedy is astounding, and while he obviously loves the Hal Roach output, he isn't afraid to point out whatever weaknesses some of the titles here may have. Roberts' talks add much to the viewer's appreciation of these shorts. Each short in this set has music provided by Andrew E. Simpson, and his work complements what is happening onscreen, instead of drawing attention to itself. An image gallery is also included. 

I'm a huge fan of the Hal Roach releases by The Sprocket Vault, and I've always written positive blog posts about them. The reason I do this is because I want people to know about these sets.....there's plenty of great and rare material in them, and they prove that the movie buff's best friend will always be physical media. 

LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO On Blu-ray From Flicker Alley

 

Last year Flicker Alley's LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR ONE Blu-ray set made my 2023 top five video releases list. This year brings LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO from the same company, and it's sure to make my top five list as well. This two-disc set presents 10 Laurel & Hardy silent two-reelers made by the Hal Roach Studio in 1928, along with bonus shorts and plenty of extra material. 

By 1928 Laurel & Hardy were a fully-fledged team, and most of their familiar mannerisms and character traits were on display. It does need to be pointed out that Stan Laurel is much more aggressive here, and he acts with more assurance than he would during L & H's classic sound period. In one of the shorts on this set, EARLY TO BED, Ollie inherits a fortune, and becomes a playboy, while Stan winds up being his butler and has to put up with his partner's antics, instead of the other way around. 

One thing about the 1928 series of shorts is that most of them feature a climax that resembles THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY, where a number of folks who happen to be in the area get caught up in a wild melee due to L & H's antics. My favorite of the shorts in this set is THE FINISHING TOUCH, where Stan & Ollie are hired to "finish" a yet-to-be completed house--and they most emphatically do so. 

Four bonus shorts are also included, with one of them being the surviving footage of a Charley Chase entry called NOW I'LL TELL ONE,  in which Laurel and Hardy make solo appearances. One other bonus short is A PAIR OF TIGHTS, which features Anita Garvin and Marion Byron, who were briefly a team for Hal Roach. This short was supposed to have a guest appearance by Laurel & Hardy, but the completed film didn't need them, for it's one of the funniest two-reel comedies ever made, as Anita, Marion, and their dates Edgar Kennedy and Stuart Erwin vainly attempt to buy some ice cream cones. (I do wish that in his audio commentary for this short, Randy Skretvedt had revealed at the end how many total cones were ruined and what the equivalent price for them would be today.) 

Before each of the shorts starts in this set there is an onscreen text detailing how each production was restored and reconstructed. As in LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR ONE, a tremendous amount of work was put into this set, and film buffs should be very thankful for that. Some of the shorts look better than others, but having them all restored as best as possible, and included all together, in the order in which they were shot, is the most important thing. 

The numerous extras include a 36-page booklet, heavily illustrated, that gives info and cast & crew credits for each short in the set. The booklet also has an article written by Imogen Sara Smith which details the efforts and the talents of the men and women who worked in front of and behind the camera at Hal Roach when these shorts were filmed. Randy Skretvedt contributes to the booklet with an examination of how the Hal Roach Studio made the transition to sound. 

Skretvedt also handles most of the audio commentaries for each short, with the remainder being handled by Richard W. Bann. The commentaries are very informative and full of insight about Laurel & Hardy and what was going on at the Hal Roach Studio in 1928. Each short has an image gallery, and some of these have dozens of pictures. Some of the shorts have multiple music tracks, and two of them have the original 1928 Vitaphone tracks created specifically for them (these include some sound effects). Also included are vintage audio interviews with Hal Roach, Anita Garvin, Thomas Benton Roberts, and Stan Laurel. 

Rounding out the extras is one of John Bengston's fascinating programs examining the locations used for some of the shorts in this set, and a home movie shot by George Mann during the making of SHOULD MARRIED MEN GO HOME?, showing Laurel & Hardy behind the scenes, with a cameo by Charley Chase on the Hal Roach lot. This set is Region-Free. 

This set is simply an amazing collection, brimming with all sorts of detail about Laurel & Hardy and how these shorts were made and received by the general public. Just a set with the restored shorts alone would be welcome, but Flicker Alley and Blackhawk Films have gone out of their way to make this a full-course viewing meal with all the worthy extras. Putting all the historical background on this set aside, the shorts themselves are very funny (especially for those who appreciate and are used to classic screen comedy), and these discs showcase how talented Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy were as performers. After these two sets there's not many more Laurel & Hardy silents left to be covered, but I'm fervently hoping for a LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR THREE from Flicker Alley. 

REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES On Blu-ray From Kino

 

I wrote a blog post on REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES in 2023, but I felt I needed to point out that this new Kino Blu-ray of the movie is the best I've ever seen any feature made by Monogram look. The black & white image doesn't look as razor sharp as, say, something released by Criterion, but the transfer on this disc reveals plenty of detail, especially in the scenes which take place outside John Carradine's Louisiana outpost (which now come off as looking fairly atmospheric). The complete main titles are presented as well (a rare thing for any public domain film made in the 30s and 40s), along with a war bond advertisement after the end credits. 

Now....does the excellent visual quality make the film seem better?? As I pointed out in my original post on it, REVENGE is basically a semi-remake of another Monogram production, KING OF THE ZOMBIES. It's a tossup over which of the two films is better. Both have almost the same plot--a haughty scientist is trying to create unbeatable zombies for the Third Reich--and they both have the same deficiencies--the zombies in either movie are not very threatening or memorable. REVENGE does have John Carradine in the mad scientist role, but he plays it very low-key here. The best element that both REVENGE and KING share is the antics of Mantan Moreland, but plenty of Old Monster Movie geeks would say that isn't much of a plus. 

The main extra on this disc (other than a few trailers for other films released by Kino) is a brand new commentary by Tom Weaver. He discusses the relationship between REVENGE and KING, and he also talks about John Carradine's somewhat lackluster performance. Weaver also gets into the various issues the original script of REVENGE had with the censors and even the Office of War Information (one would think those folks had more important things to worry about in 1943). Gary D. Rhodes pops up twice in the commentary to offer a few insights. 

Personally I love the idea of Kino putting a title like this out on Blu-ray.....but one could question the idea of giving a mediocre low-budget black & white movie that is only an hour long a Blu-ray release. At least Kino has offered up a new audio commentary. If the company is planning on putting out more Poverty Row product, I would suggest having multiple titles on any future releases, and coming up with some worthy extras. The wild and wacky genre movies made by the likes of Monogram and PRC are entertaining in a crazy type of way, but it's often more fun to talk about them than actually watch them over and over again. 

DIRTY ANGELS

 

DIRTY ANGELS reunites Eva Green with her CASINO ROYALE director, Martin Campbell. The new movie belongs to the "Impossible Mission attempted by a motley crew" genre, this time set in the all too-real world of Middle Eastern conflict. 

Eva Green plays Jake, a U.S. Army special operative who has a Mt. Everest-sized chip on her shoulder due to a botched mission in Afghanistan which led to the deaths of her team. Jake takes up a chance for redemption when she joins a mission to save a number of young schoolgirls who have been kidnapped by ISIS forces. The military group which will partake in the mission is to be made up mostly of women, and the plan is to disguise themselves as medical aid workers. The terrorist who killed Jake's team before is the one who has masterminded the kidnapping, and this makes Jake even more determined to succeed--but her truculent attitude may tear the whole plan apart. 

The main reason I watched DIRTY ANGELS is that it starred Eva Green. She gives a totally non-glamorous performance as Jake, a woman who makes the phrase "strong bad-ass independent female" seem like an understatement. Jake is so filled with anger and determination that she borders on being unbelievable (in real life a person like her probably wouldn't have been allowed to go on any more missions). Green does have enough presence to prevent the viewer from not caring what happens to her, but Jake seems more interested in getting a chance to kill people than rescue a group of innocent girls. (Due to the film's main element being young women rescuing other young women, one expects a member of the military team to make a grand speech about how important it is to stop girls from being victimized....but it never happens.) 

As expected in an Impossible Mission scenario, there's plenty of conflict between Jake and the other members of the team. Those other members, however, are barely defined, and none of them sticks out. 

DIRTY ANGELS tries to be a realistic action thriller, and it is quite brutal. It doesn't spare much when it comes to detailing what happens to those who are caught up in the actions of ISIS and the Taliban. Director Martin Campbell (who is also credited with working on the script) is an expert at portraying action, and the battle scenes are the movie's best element, although there's a lot of dodgy CGI explosions. Campbell keeps things moving, and he makes the film's budget seem more than what it probably was (much of the production was shot in Morocco and Greece). 

I thought DIRTY ANGELS was a decent enough action film, but due to its topical brutality it isn't the type of film one wants to watch over and over again. The movie is in an in-between mode--it isn't outlandish enough to be a wild, entertaining violent flick, and it doesn't have enough depth to accurately portray the many complications and issues that make up the current state of Afghanistan. 

JUROR #2

 

I would have loved to have seen JUROR #2 in a theater, but Warners decided it didn't deserve a nationwide release, despite the fact that it could potentially be the last film directed by Clint Eastwood. One would think that Warners would take this opportunity to celebrate and promote their 50+ years relationship with a cinematic legend, but apparently that isn't trendy enough. JUROR #2 isn't all that trendy either--it's not based on an existing intellectual property, or a comic book, or a musical, and it isn't jam-packed with all sorts of CGI. 

What JUROR #2 happens to be is a good, solid contemporary drama, with a thought-provoking screenplay by Jonathan Abrams. The story contains the type of material that one usually finds in the best films Eastwood has directed. It's about everyday Americans facing the consequences of their actions, and the movie examines the thin line between what is supposedly considered right and wrong. The story also has plenty of ambiguity, an element that has attracted Eastwood all the way back when he was in his prime as a major movie star. 

In Savannah, Georgia, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) has been chosen for jury duty on a murder trial. Kemp doesn't relish this assignment--his wife is due to give birth any day now. The case seems cut-and-dried--a man with a violent past is accused of killing his girlfriend, and dumping her body in a ravine. During the trial Kemp remembers that he was in the exact area the same night as the woman was killed. That night Kemp thought he hit a deer....but he now starts to realize that he may have struck the woman. Kemp tries to sway his fellow jurors that the accused may not be guilty, while at the same time avoiding telling the authorities about his role in the incident. 

If you are familiar with Clint Eastwood's directorial style, you'll know what to expect from JUROR #2. Eastwood lets the story and the actors do most of the work, and he avoids flashy camera or editing techniques. The overall cast does very well, especially Hoult, Toni Collette as the ambitious district attorney, and J.K. Simmons as a juror who happens to be a retired police officer. What's most effective about JUROR #2 is that it offers up no easy answers, just like in real life. 

If this film had been made ten years ago, it would have absolutely gotten a major theatrical release, and it might even have been up for a few awards as well. The fact that JUROR #2 seems to have been passed over by Warners says more about the state of the entertainment industry than it does the actual merits of the film. If JUROR #2 is Clint Eastwood's last directorial effort, he's going out riding high. 

BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS On Blu-ray From Kino

 

BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS (1969) is considered a "Macaroni War" picture--that is, a film about World War II that was made or produced by Italians and shot in Spain. It stars Jack Palance and it was directed by cult filmmaker Umberto Lenzi. 

Just before the Allied invasion of Normandy, a tempestuous Scottish colonel named Charley MacPherson (Jack Palance) is tasked with secretly landing on the French coast and making a path for other British commandos to follow. MacPherson's bad attitude gets worse when he finds out he has to use a group of misfits for the mission. The dirty half-dozen make it to France and perform their duties, but the British commandos are wiped out before they make it to shore, so MacPherson decides to destroy their intended target--a giant cannon which is transported by rail. What makes the colonel even more eager to take on the assignment is his discovery that a German colonel named Ackerman (Wolfgang Preiss) is in the vicinity--a man MacPherson has tangled with before. 

I've written a few posts on Macaroni War films. They have a lot in common with their Spaghetti Western cousins. They both share many of the same actors and directors, and they both have a tendency to tweak the conventions of the main genres they belong to. BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS is one of the better entries that I've seen of Italian WWII flicks. It moves along at a pretty good clip, and the action scenes are well staged. The movie obviously didn't have a large budget, but Umberto Lenzi made the most of what he had, and the giant railway gun is actually quite impressive. (One of the credited screenwriters is none other than Dario Argento.) Of course the story takes several aspects from the likes of THE DIRTY DOZEN and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, but it least it doesn't spend a bunch of time on a "Getting to know and train the recruits" sequence. 

Jack Palance made a number of Euro Westerns, and he hammed it up big-time in all of them. Here, he's more determined than outrageous, and his attempt at a Scottish accent is....unique, to say the least. The rest of the cast has plenty of spaghetti Western veterans, including Thomas Hunter, Gerard Herter as the obligatory strutting SS officer, and Aldo Sambrell as MacPherson's right-hand man, a Sergeant from India. (If you think that the fact Sambrell is on the side of the Allies means he'll be able to survive to the final credits.....guess again.) Euro cult star Wolfgang Preiss once again almost steals a film from the bigger stars as Ackerman, a professional German soldier and a man of principle who realizes that the Nazi regime is doomed. Curd Jurgens has a cameo as (what else??) a German general. 

Kino presents BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS uncut in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It's a fine transfer, although the color looks a bit faded at times. Umberto Lenzi expert Troy Howarth (who is on the audio commentary) states that it's the best version of the film he has ever seen. The dialogue track is the English dub, in which Jack Palance and Curd Jurgens provide their own voices. 

The main extra is the aforementioned new audio commentary, which features Steve Mitchell, Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth (who has written a book on director Umberto Lenzi). The three men interact well together, and they provide an engaging and informative talk, where they discuss such things as the historical & military aspects of the Macaroni War genre and the use of the zoom lens in Euro cult cinema. 

BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS doesn't rank among the greatest WWII movies ever made, and it certainly isn't one of the most historically accurate (the Spanish locations look nothing like the area around Normandy), but it is an entertaining action movie that does what it is supposed to do. Kino has given plenty of spaghetti westerns nice treatments on home video, and perhaps they'll be covering other Macaroni War titles in the future. 

THE BAT (1926) On Blu-ray From Undercrank

 

This September I wrote a review of a special edition Blu-ray release featuring THE BAT WHISPERS. That film was a sound remake of the 1926 silent THE BAT--and now the original gets a restored Blu-ray, courtesy of Undercrank Productions. 

THE BAT has long been considered one of the best of the many mystery-thrillers made during the silent era, but due to the terrible condition of most available versions of the movie, it has been hard to fully appreciate it. This new restoration presented by Undercrank looks amazing, and it enables one to examine the atmospheric art direction by William Cameron Menzies and the striking photography by Arthur Edeson and Gregg Toland. 

The story elements in both THE BAT and THE BAT WHISPERS (1930) are nearly exactly the same--Roland West (who directed both features) uses many of the same shot compositions and dialogue lines in each. I believe that THE BAT is the much better film--the story seems to flow much better in the silent version, and the comedic elements are not as intrusive without sound. THE BAT is also enhanced by a new rollicking musical score by Ben Model. 

One notable point about THE BAT is the way that the title character is shown. The silent Bat wears a big-eared headpiece that at first glance seems to resemble a cheap Halloween costume, but it is so flamboyant it genuinely becomes unnerving. Roland West doesn't engage in as much camera trickery in THE BAT as he would in the remake, but the overall story comes off much better. The main manor setting is also far more extravagant in the original--the place looks more like a cathedral than an actual home where people would live in on a day-to-day basis. 

This release is actually a BD-R, but the quality is excellent. There are two extras on the disc. One is a 9 minute program detailing the life and movie career of Roland West. One wishes it had been longer and more detailed, but it does give the basic info on the man (and yes, it mentions his connection with Thelma Todd). The other is a 1926 comedy short called A FRATERNITY MIXUP. It's more frantic than funny, but it does name drop Lon Chaney and there is a guy running around in a gorilla suit. (This disc is Region-Free.)

An informative audio commentary for this would have been most welcome, and it might be something Undercrank may want to think about for future releases. 

One of the great things about physical media--and one of the things that makes me spend way too much money on it--is the amount of wonderful restorations of silent classics that a number of companies have released on home video in the 21st Century. The average person would never have a chance to watch so many great silents in uncut, restored conditions if it wasn't for these Blu-rays and DVDs. The original THE BAT has long needed and deserved a top-notch presentation, and Undercrank Productions has provided it. 

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

The main feature of Film Masters' recent Blu-ray double-bill consisting of two Roger Corman-produced late 50s monster movies is NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST (1959). 

An astronaut named John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) has been launched into space, but he crashes upon his return to Earth. He lands near a tracking station, and its crew goes out to the crash site, finding the astronaut apparently dead. Bringing his body back to the station, it turns out that Corcoran is very much alive, and he has a connection with an alien being that somehow attached itself to his ship. The being has injected Corcoran's body with a number of embryos, and it wants its race to unite with mankind. The tracking station crew are not very excited about this plan, while Corcoran tries to convince them to understand the creature and avoid harming it. 

I thought NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST wasn't as entertaining as ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES. The latter's swamp setting, cracker characters, and Yvette Vickers makes it memorable, while NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST is a mediocre rehash of other movies such as THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT and the original THE THING. Much of NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST takes place in the nondescript interiors of the tracking station, and the alien suit (also used in TEENAGE CAVEMAN) doesn't impress upon close scrutiny. The suit's appearances should have been kept to fleeting glances, but it gets plenty of close-ups under daylight conditions. The suit's bulky and cumbersome nature also detracts from the scenes where the alien is trying to communicate with the human cast. It's obvious that Roger Corman and his brother Gene as producers didn't want the suit damaged, as during the confrontation scenes the actors appear to do everything they can to avoid hurting it. 

That being said, Martin Varno's script for BLOOD BEAST does offer up some thoughtful concepts, but the finished film doesn't have the budget or the running time to properly explore them. Varno hints that the alien might be more sympathetic than one thinks, and Michael Emmet's reaction to being brought back from the dead to serve as an incubator is certainly unusual. Emmet doesn't portray the post-crash Corcoran as a madman under the influence--instead the man is low-key and articulate while attempting to give the alien's side of the situation. The rest of the roles in the story are very bland--the two female leads don't get to do much other than stand around and scream a lot. Director Bernard Kowalski does provide a lot of interesting shot compositions to give NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST some visual vitality. 

Film Masters states that the print used for this release of NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST comes from a newly restored 4K scan, and it is a very clear and sharp presentation. The movie is available on this disc in two formats: 1.85:1 and 1.37:1. 

The extras include an 8mm version of the film. It's silent, but the sound of a clicking projector has been added to it. (I understand why this was done but I thought the effect was annoying.) The MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 episode featuring NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST is here, along with a reconstructed trailer, a restoration comparison, and a image gallery for both BLOOD BEAST and THE GIANT LEECHES. 

Tom Weaver once again provides the audio commentary here. He starts out by telling the story of the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets in the late 1950s, and how that event affected the low-budget horror/sci-fi movie genre. Weaver points out the movie's many similarities to THE THING, and he goes into detail about the film's screenwriter, Martin Varno, and Varno's issues with the Corman brothers over pay and billing. Varno's involvement with the film are also the basis of an article by Weaver which appears in the booklet accompanying this release. 

As I stated in my blog post on ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, Film Masters has done a great job in taking public domain cult material and giving such movies brand name home video releases. NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST has its faults, but, as with any product associated with Roger Corman, it has enough unique elements to make it stand out. 

ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

Film Masters continues its releases of lower-budget Roger Corman productions with a double feature consisting of NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST and ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES. Today I'll be focusing on the latter. 

ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, produced by Roger and Gene Corman, and directed by Bernard Kowalski, holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of bad movie fans. What makes it stand out is its slimy, seamy, sweaty atmosphere. The story is set in a remote Florida swamp, and while the title creatures won't impress many, the peckerwood passions on display put it above the typical cheap monster flick. The victims of the giant leeches are a collection of poor rural folk who one might find in a Tennessee Williams tale. Chief among them is Yvette Vickers as Liz, the young white trash tease who happens to be married to the slovenly local storekeeper (Bruno Ve Sota). Ken Clark (who in the 1960s would go to Italy and work with Mario Bava) plays the stalwart game warden who is ill at ease in dealing with not only the monsters, but the local rednecks as well. 

ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES didn't have much of a budget (the swamp scenes were filmed in a Pasadena arboretum, and the costumes for the leeches appear to have been made out of rain slickers) but director Kowalski and screenwriter Leo Gordon get much more out of the setup than one would expect. The sequences set in an underwater grotto, where the leeches store their victims to keep feeding on them, are quite disturbing. The characters might be lower-class caricatures, but they're still more memorable than the nondescript folks one finds in the dozens of quickly made Fifties horror/sci-fi features. Yvette Vickers became a genre legend mainly due to her role here, and while she certainly is sexy in a trashy way, she also makes Liz more than just a one-dimensional skank. 

This release by Film Masters gives each of the films its own disc, and it is Region Free. ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and while the packaging says that LEECHES comes from a new HD print, the visual quality looks dark and murky at times. It still is better than the tons of public domain versions of the film that have circulated through the years. 

The extras on the GIANT LEECHES disc include a program on Bernard Kowalski, presented by C. Courtney Joyner, which focuses on the director's television work. There's also a new commentary from Tom Weaver (with a little help from his friends). If you listened to Weaver's talks, you know what you are in for. As expected, he has plenty of sarcastic comments on the movie's plot, but he also offers up a lot of inside info on the making of the film and the people involved in it. Weaver also discusses his friendship with Yvette Vickers and the tragic conclusion of her life, along with giving a mini-tribute to the late Roger Corman. There's also a re-created trailer for the film, a slideshow featuring Yvette Vickers, and the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 episode that focused on GIANT LEECHES (I might as well point out that I am not a MYST3K fan). 

A 22-page booklet is included in this release, and Tom Weaver has an article about GIANT LEECHES in it, where he makes some cogent insights on how the film is looked upon by monster fans today. 

Film Masters has been doing an exemplary job lately of rescuing low-budget genre outings from public domain purgatory and giving them impressive presentations with worthy extras. ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES is not a great film but any stretch, but it has had a longer shelf life than most of the "important" mainstream big-budget movies made during the same period. I'm looking forward to what Film Masters has planned for the future. 

EL VAMPIRO: Two Bloodsucking Tales From Mexico On Blu-ray From Indicator

 

Last year Indicator released a four-film Blu-ray set entitled MEXICO MACABRE. The set contained a quartet of some of the best classic horror films made in Mexico during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was an impressive release, filled with extras, and each of the four features looked magnificent. For whatever reason, I never got around to writing a blog post on it. 

Indicator has followed up that set with two more Mexican monster classics, both featuring "El Vampiro", aka Count Lavud, played by the Spanish actor German Robles. The 1957 EL VAMPIRO (THE VAMPIRE) and its 1958 direct sequel, EL ATAUD DEL VAMPIRO (THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN) both get a deluxe treatment here, with each film remastered and plenty of extras included. 

THE VAMPIRE takes place in the Mexican countryside, where a young woman named Marta (Ariadna Welter) goes to visit her aunts at a lonely large hacienda. Accompanied by a Dr. Enrique (Abel Salazar), Marta finds out that her Aunt Eloisa (Carmen Montejo) has fallen under the spell of the mysterious Count Lavud (German Robles), a Hungarian who has plans to bring the entire household under his undead thrall. 

THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN takes place in an urban setting, but it opens with the remains of Count Lavud being taken from his resting place to the hospital that Dr. Enrique works at. A colleague of Enrique intends to experiment with the remnants of Lavud, but, as one would expect, the vampire is resurrected, and once again Marta's life is in peril. 

THE VAMPIRE was actually made before HORROR OF DRACULA. It has atmospheric black & white photography by Rosalio Solano, and excellent art direction by Gunther Gerszo. THE VAMPIRE, like most of the Mexican horror films made during this period, was heavily influenced by the classic Universal monster movies. But the Mexican horrors had a number of quirky plot elements that made them notable and interesting. 

THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN isn't as effective as THE VAMPIRE, but it still has plenty of memorable moments. Victor Herrera is responsible for the shadowy cinematography here, with Gunther Gerszo returning on the art direction. Both the THE VAMPIRE and THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN were directed by Fernando Mendez, written by Ramon Obon, and produced by Abel Salazar. What helps both features is that they are played mostly straight--there are some light comedic moments from Abel Salazar in each, but they don't overwhelm the overall tone. Ariadna Welter makes a fine south-of-the-border scream queen, and Carmen Montejo nearly steals THE VAMPIRE as the treacherous Aunt. The vampire myth works quite well in the Mexican countryside. 

The real standout for each film is German Robles as El Vampiro. The actor wasn't even 30 years old when he started work on THE VAMPIRE, but he's outstanding as the coolly aristocratic Count Lavud. One thing a performer needs when playing a vampire is a major screen presence, and Robles had that in each of these films. He was able to understand that playing a vampire requires doing a lot by not doing much at all. Robles was also one of the first screen vampires to actually show fangs. As many of the extras in this set detail, a third El Vampiro story was in the works but Robles decided not to play the character again. The actor didn't want to be typecast, but ironically Count Lavud was by far the role he became remembered for. 

Both THE VAMPIRE and THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN get their own disc in this set, and both films look fantastic. Each film has the original Spanish soundtrack, with newly translated English subtitles, and an English dialogue track. Both features also come with their original Mexican trailers and an image gallery. THE VAMPIRE is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, while THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN has a ratio of 1.75:1. This is a Region-Free set. 

THE VAMPIRE has a 22-minute program featuring two of Abel Salazar's daughters, who discuss life with their father and his legacy in the Mexican film industry. There's also a half-hour program on the acting career of Carmen Montejo. A 2007 audio commentary by German Robles is also included, in which the actor talks about the challenges of playing a vampire, his acceptance of being known as El Vampiro, and how much he enjoys watching the film again. 

THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN has short programs on screenwriter Ramon Obon and artist and production designer Gunther Gerszo, and a discussion of how German Robles affected the representation of vampires in Mexican horror cinema. There are also images from a French photonovel of the movie. All the programs on the two discs present plenty of detail and insight into the making of the films and the main talent involved in them. 

The set also comes with an 80-page booklet, heavily illustrated, that has essays on various aspects of the features and vintage interviews with Carmen Montejo and Ariadna Welter. 

The Classic Mexican horror films from the 1950s and 60s have a reputation for being cheap and cheesy, due to their mediocre showings on late-night American television. If one is able to view them uncut, with impressive transfers, and with the original Spanish voice tracks, one realizes how well crafted these films are, and how unusual and notable their storylines can be. Indicator's EL VAMPIRO and MEXICO MACABRE box sets will be a revelation to horror film fans who have not delved into Mexican Gothic territory. 

SUPERMAN RETURNS

 

So why in the heck would I write a post on a comic book movie from over 15 years ago? The impetus for this entry was another of my discount purchases from Edward R. Hamilton. 

Last month I got a three-disc set of Superman movies for about $7. The main reason I bought it was to have the first two Superman films on Blu-ray. I had no interest in SUPERMAN RETURNS--I had seen it only once, when it was theatrically released in 2006, and I hadn't watched it since. I didn't think it was terrible, but it didn't make a huge impression on me, and I never felt any reason to see it again. 

I figured, though, that since I have this set, I might as well view SUPERMAN RETURNS and see how it holds up in 2024, after literally dozens and dozens of superhero movies have been churned out. Would I feel different about it, seeing it again so many years later? 

My opinions on it have not changed. A lot of money and effort was put into SUPERMAN RETURNS, but it never rises above an okay level. 

Back in 2006 a lot of hype was behind SUPERMAN RETURNS. It was the first Superman theatrical film since the disastrous SUPERMAN IV back in the 1980s. It also was directed by Bryan Singer, who at the time was known for his successful helming of the first two X-MEN movies. It was felt that Singer could do for DC what he had done for Marvel--blazing a new trail of comic book adaptations that were loyal to the original issues and characters while still being entertaining to a mainstream audience. 

One also has to factor in the critical and box office success of BATMAN BEGINS, which had come out the year before. It appeared that with SUPERMAN RETURNS, an entire new era of movies based on DC Comics could be possible, one in which the legendary heroes of the company could interact with each other. (No one used the term "multiverse" back in those days.) 

SUPERMAN RETURNS made a lot of money during its initial release, but the reaction among the fans and the critics was somewhat tepid. It didn't rate a sequel, or any sort of follow-up, and it is almost forgotten among the plethora of comic book productions that have been made in the 21st Century. (Some of the reasons for that I'll get into later.) 

The plot of the movie begins with Superman (Brandon Routh) returning to Earth after five years of being away. The Man of Steel had left after learning that scientists had found remains of his home planet of Krypton. After coming home to his mother in Kansas, Superman assumes his Clark Kent persona, and goes back to work as a reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He discovers that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on from her Superman obsession, and she now has a child, and she's living with another man. Meanwhile Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) has wormed his way out of prison and, armed with a fortune he scammed from an elderly woman, is plotting to get his revenge using the very crystals that power Superman's Fortress of Solitude. 

My main issue with SUPERMAN RETURNS is the idea that the title character would leave Earth for five years. (Have you ever noticed how many superhero movies have a plot where the main character avoids being a hero??) Because he has been gone for so long, Superman has a lot of catching up to do, which prevents the story from gaining any momentum. It takes a long time for Superman to actually act like Superman in this story, and when he does, it doesn't engage the audience as it should. (One big reason for that is the 2006 CGI, which has not aged very well. I'll even say the FX in the first two Superman films are way more effective than what was done in SUPERMAN RETURNS.) The movie is two and a half hours long, and it seems even longer. 

The plot (based on Bryan Singer's original story) carries on from the first two Superman films, but it is set in a more "realistic" world. Because of this there's an uncertain tone. A lot of moments (and dialogue) remind the viewer of the Christopher Reeve era, but the film overall lacks the snap and the energy of Richard Donner's work. I believe that if Bryan Singer had wanted to make a more grounded Superman film, he should have gone all the way, and avoided any references to the earlier movies about the character. (SUPERMAN RETURNS got some attention for using Marlon Brando's image and voice, but these scenes just remind you how much better SUPERMAN-THE MOVIE was.) 

Brandon Routh got some flack for his Superman, but I felt he did a good job, considering he had to live up to Christopher Reeve's portrayal. At times, Routh acts eerily like Reeve--he has the speech pattern and body language down--but he isn't as strong of a screen personality as Reeve was. Throughout the story Roush seems detached from what is going on around him--I think that wasn't as much on the actor as it was on Bryan Singer, who was trying to focus on the "lonely alien" aspect of the Superman character. The result is that the Superman shown here is unsure of himself, not the type of thing an audience wants to see. 

Much of SUPERMAN RETURNS focuses on the relationship between the Man of Steel and Lois Lane. Unfortunately Brandon Roush and Kate Bosworth have very little chemistry. Bosworth also comes off as too refined to be the feisty, tough-girl Lois one comes to expect. The movie carries over the running gag of Lois not knowing how to spell certain words, but while that trait was perfect for Margot Kidder, it doesn't work for Bosworth--she seems like the type of person that would lecture someone about their spelling. 

A big deal was made at the time about Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Spacey underplays the character, while at the same time it appears he's trying to channel aspects of Gene Hackman's portrayal. Spacey is at his best when he's showing his rage at Superman, but this Luthor doesn't seem to be a major threat. Spacey's Luthor is saddled with a female accomplice (Parkey Posey) who is essentially a retread of the character that Valerie Perrine played in the early Superman films, which begs the question--if Luthor is such a diabolical criminal genius, why does he surround himself with so many idiots??

If you're going to talk about SUPERMAN RETURNS, you have to mention the plot element involving Superman's son. The fact that Lois' little boy was a product of the Man of Steel wasn't a surprise to me when I first saw the movie--it's pretty obvious. It's also something the plot didn't need, as it makes both Superman and Lois look weak (why didn't he know about this, and why didn't she tell him??). I've never understood why so many big-time franchises go down the "Main hero has an annoying offspring that he doesn't know about" route (Kirk's son, Indiana Jones' son....even James Bond wound up having a kid). If the SUPERMAN RETURNS storyline had carried on, the kid would have had to be dealt with one way or another, and it wouldn't have been to the benefit of the series. 

There were plans for a sequel to SUPERMAN RETURNS, but for one reason for another they never panned out. The idea of Bryan Singer leading a DC Comics movie renaissance didn't pan out either. Warners would reboot Superman again with Henry Cavill a few years later, and that take on the character has plenty of issues as well. (It appears that Superman has fared much better on TV than in the movies.) 

Another reason SUPERMAN RETURNS hasn't had much of a lasting legacy is due to the personal issues of Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey, which I'm not going to get into. But even taking that element away, SUPERMAN RETURNS has an underwhelming feel to it. It just doesn't capture the majesty and the power of the Man of Steel. In fairness I have to say that description could also be used for all the other Superman movies, with the exception of the first one directed by Richard Donner. 

COME LIVE WITH ME

 

COME LIVE WITH ME (1941) is one of the few James Stewart films I had never seen. It's a (very) light romantic comedy, an MGM production that was helmed by Clarence Brown, one of the studio's top directors. 

Stewart plays Bill Smith, an unsuccessful writer struggling to make ends meet in New York City. Bill encounters a gorgeous Austrian refugee who goes by the name of Johnny Jones (Hedy Lamarr). Johnny is in danger of being deported, so she makes a deal with Bill--if he marries her, she will pay his living expenses. Bill accepts her offer, and starts to write a fictional version of the agreement. He also starts to fall for his wife-in-name-only--but she is the mistress of Barton Kendrick (Ian Hunter) a major publisher who happens to be a married man. In one of those incredible old movie coincidences, Bill takes his manuscript to Kendrick, whose wife loves the story. Bill gets a big advance, so he hopes now he can impress Johnny into taking him seriously. But after reading the manuscript Kendrick realizes who the story is actually based on, and he decides to win Johnny once and for all. Meanwhile Bill maneuvers Johnny into going with him to his childhood home in the country, hoping to charm her his own way. 

COME LIVE WITH ME is a decent enough film, but it's very predictable. (Whenever you see a couple engaging in a "marriage of convenience" during a movie or a TV show, you know they're going to wind up falling for each other.) James Stewart's personality makes the story work, but it's more amusing than genuinely funny. 

The exotic Hedy Lamarr would seem a mismatch with Jimmy Stewart, but she's much more down to earth here than she would be throughout most of her acting career, and she and Stewart have a nice rapport. Despite being a refugee from the Nazis in Europe, she still looks glamorous, and the tragic circumstances concerning her situation are barely touched upon (her father was killed due to his beliefs, and if she has to go back to Europe she will more than likely be harmed as well). 

The climatic sequence in which Bill takes Johnny to the country to show her what the "regular life" is like is the most predictable sequence of all--of course Johnny is going to love the rustic setting, and of course she's going to adore Bill's feisty grandmother. It's movie magic, after all, and MGM was one of the best factories putting out that magic and making audiences buy into it. Besides, there's no way Jimmy Stewart is going to lose the leading lady to a middle-aged character actor like Ian Hunter. 

COME LIVE WITH ME is okay enough entertainment for about 90 minutes, especially if you're not asking for a lot, but if it didn't have James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr, there would be almost nothing to it. After starring in such films as MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, James Stewart deserved a lot better than COME LIVE WITH ME--but I'm sure he wasn't complaining about acting alongside Hedy Lamarr. 

I VAMPIRI On Blu-ray From Radiance

 

2024 has become a big year for Italian Gothic Horror on home video, and now what is considered the very first modern sound Italian Gothic gets a major release from Radiance Films. I VAMPIRI (1957) was co-directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, two of the most important names in the genre of Euro Gothic. 

It's ironic that I VAMPIRI is considered the first major Italian Gothic, when one realizes that its story was set in Paris, in contemporary times. A number of young Parisian women have been found murdered and drained of blood. Newspaper reporter Pierre Lantin (Dario Michaelis) is determined to track down the killer, while fending off the advances of a beautiful young aristocrat named Giselle (Gianna Maria Canale). Pierre's instincts about the woman are more correct than he knows--Giselle is actually her elderly aunt, the Countess du Grand, and a brilliant scientist has been using the blood of the murdered girls to reinvigorate the aged lady and make her appear decades younger. The problem is, the process hasn't been perfected. 

I VAMPIRI isn't a traditional vampire tale--it's more like a cross between the Bela Lugosi potboiler THE CORPSE VANISHES and Hammer's COUNTESS DRACULA. The story also reminded me of many of the Krimi thrillers coming out of West Germany in the 1960s. The majority of the film was directed by Riccardo Freda, but he left after a couple weeks, and Mario Bava (who was cinematographer on the film) finished up the shooting. Freda might have shot more footage but Bava's imaginative touch resonates all throughout. Bava makes full use of the Cinemascope frame, and his atmospheric black & white photography, along with Beni Montresor's striking production design, is the real highlight of I VAMPIRI. The Countess du Grand's castle, with its baroque halls, crypts, and secret passages, is far more interesting than any character in the movie. 

Gianna Maria Canale (who was married to Riccardo Freda during production) does have the right haughty glamour for the role of the vain Countess/Giselle, but there's the feeling that more could have been made out of the character. (The plot point of Giselle actually being the aged Countess is given away rather early in the running time.) Obviously the various complications inherent in the making of the film prevented the story from being fleshed out--the extras on this disc detail how Freda's script concepts where different than how the movie wound up. Dario Michaelis is a somewhat bland and pushy hero, and Wandisa Guida as the damsel in distress doesn't get enough screen time to make a connection with the viewer. Euro Cult legend Paul Muller gets a prime role as one of the Countess' underlings. 

Radiance presents three different versions of I VAMPIRI on this region-free Blu-ray. There's the original uncut Italian version, taken from a 2K restoration, with an Italian audio track and available English subtitles. The visual aspect of this print is simply spectacular. There is a SD presentation of the American cut of the film, titled THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT. This is a much shorter version even though it has added inserts and a different opening sequence. These additions are rather crude, and they certainly don't help the story. (One of the actors used in these scenes is none other than Grandpa Munster himself, Al Lewis.) What really hurts the American version is the English voice track, which is filled with lame dialogue and off-putting line readings. The British version of I VAMPIRI is also included--this is titled LUST OF THE VAMPIRE. It's the shortest version of all, and it also looks the worst. This too is also saddled with the mediocre English voice track. All three versions are in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. 

Among the extras is a 20 page illustrated booklet with a main article by Roberto Curti. He discusses how most postwar Italians would have had no experience with the now accepted Gothic definition of the vampire as a supernatural creature, and he goes into the making of the film, and how it shaped Mario Bava's future. Three short programs are on this disc, one with Fabio Melelli that has some very rare TV footage of Mario Bava himself showing an example of his special effects work. There's also a short interview with Bava's son Lamberto, and a talk by Leon Hunt, discussing the film's place in genre history. All three programs give one more insight into the movie, Bava, and Riccardo Freda. 

This disc also has a new audio commentary by Bava expert Tim Lucas. He points out that I VAMPIRI was made before THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and he delves into which scenes may have been specifically directed by Mario Bava. It's an informative and interesting talk. 

Finally, there's a very rough-looking trailer for the American version of the film, and the disc sleeve artwork is reversible. 

I VAMPIRI is a film that has long deserved a major home video release, especially for English-speaking audiences. I had not actually seen this movie before, and while I wouldn't rate it as one of the best Italian Gothics, it's certainly among the most important, and it has plenty of atmospheric and intriguing moments. Once again Mario Bava used his cinematic genius to take a very rushed, low-budget production and make it something much more than what it should have been. This Radiance Blu-ray is one of the best home video releases of 2024. 

ALGOL

 

ALGOL is a 1920 silent German film with plenty of expressionist & science fiction/fantasy elements, staring Emil Jannings. 

The film's prologue establishes that Algol is the name of a distant star, and then details the life of miner Robert Herne (Emil Jannings) who toils away in an unnamed country. An impish, strange fellow who calls himself Algol (John Gottowt) arrives at the mining community, posing as a replacement worker. Algol presents Herne with a bizarre contraption, and tells the miner he has one year to use the device to gain power and riches. A year later, Herne has used the secrets of the device to build what he calls a bio-factory that can offer clean and effective power to countries all over the world. The catch is Herne sells this power, and he receives money and influence in return. Herne soon has the world in his pocket, but the situation breaks up his family and causes some to rebel against him. 

ALGOL is a weird film, even by 1920s German Expressionist standards. The story has a lot of ambiguity to it--is Algol an alien, or is he some demonic figure? (One scene seems to suggest that Algol was somehow trapped in the mine that Herne is working in.) It's never explained why Algol offers Herne such power, or what exactly this power is. (In the second half of the film, Algol shows up at random intervals to affect events, in a negative way.) If Algol is doing this to sow discord all over the Earth, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason why he should. 

The movie's message is very skewed as well. It appears the film is saying that "absolute power corrupts absolutely", but while Herne does become more and more important, he certainly doesn't act like a vicious tyrant. (Emil Jannings is quite subtle as Herne--at least, he's subtle compared to most of his performances.) Herne does become wealthy and influential due to his bio-factory, but he is also providing clean efficient energy to the world, and making the ordinary person's life better. (The story takes pains to show how depressing the miners' lives are, but when Herne's bio-factory makes coal obsolete, the workers complain that they're going to lose their jobs.) At the end, an elderly Herne is being pressured by his playboy son to share the secret of his power, and he destroys the machine instead. The movie then abruptly ends, without detailing the result of how the world would be affected by Herne's decision. 

What makes ALGOL notable is some of the production design and shot compositions follow the mode of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (artist Walter Reimann worked on both pictures). The CALIGARI-like visuals are not used throughout the film, however.....the mining community is portrayed in a realistic manner. The result is that the movie is mixed up visually as it is script-wise. 

Some have suggested that ALGOL was an influence on Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS. There are some similarities between the two. When he becomes rich and powerful Robert Herne has a lot in common with Joh Fredersen--Herne's spacious office even resembles the one Fredersen has. There's also a scene where the young heiress who inherits the mine goes down into it to see what the workers' lives are really like--a scene very much like the one in METROPOLIS where Fredersen's son goes down among the machines to learn more about the lower classes. There's also the ongoing tension between labor and the upper class that both movies share. One can easily assume that Fritz Lang, and/or his wife/scenarist Thea von Harbou viewed ALGOL. There's also a heavy FAUST element to ALGOL--Herne basically sells his soul to an alien machine and gains riches and power, but causes trouble for those around him. (Ironically Emil Jannings would play the tempter in F.W. Murnau's adaptation of FAUST.) 

The director of ALGOL was one Hans Werckmeister, who doesn't get a lot of mention in the books on German Expressionist cinema. ALGOL was meant to be an important epic--one can tell that a lot of money was spent on it--but Werckmeister was no Fritz Lang. The movie has a sluggish pace, and is heavy going at times. One expects the major set-pieces one would see in a Lang film, but they never happen, and the ending is very disappointing from a dramatic standpoint. 

ALGOL can be viewed on YouTube in various versions. I expect that one day Kino Lorber or a similar company will release it on Blu-ray. It has a lot of elements that will attract the attention of silent film buffs, but I wouldn't rate it among the best titles of the German Expressionist period. 

THE WALKING DEAD On Blu-ray From Warner Archive

 

The Warner Archive continues its series of great Blu-ray releases of 1930s horror films with THE WALKING DEAD, a 1936 production starring Boris Karloff and directed by Michael Curtiz. 

This THE WALKING DEAD has nothing to do with that TV show. It's a unique tale from Warner Bros., part gangster melodrama, part back-from-the-dead Karloff vehicle that is surprisingly moving and poignant. Boris plays John Elman, a poor sap who is framed by racketeers for the murder of a crusading judge. Elman is resurrected by pioneering scientist Edmund Gwenn, and the reborn victim goes on to confront the mobsters who set him up. But Karloff isn't an undead fiend thirsting for revenge--he's a tragic instrument of divine retribution. 

John Elman is one of Karloff's best performances. In very little time Boris shows how downtrodden and put-upon Elman is, making him the perfect patsy for the schemes of the big-city crooks. In his return-from-the-dead state, Elman's makeup, and Karloff's acting, is subtle but effective, with Boris using nothing more than his body language and a penetrating gaze to scare his tormentors into finishing themselves off. 

THE WALKING DEAD wasn't supposed to have been an A list picture--it only runs 66 minutes--but director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Hal Mohr treated it like a major production, bringing style and atmosphere to nearly every shot. Karloff is backed by a number of fine character actors, such as Gwenn, Barton MacLane, Henry O'Neill, and Marguerite Churchill (DRACULA'S DAUGHTER) as a nurse sympathetic to Elman. Ricardo Cortez is the true villain of the piece, a shyster lawyer who is the ultimate smoothie. THE WALKING DEAD shows how effective a major Hollywood studio could be during the Golden Age of American movies. 

The Warner Archive showcases THE WALKING DEAD with a razor-sharp print that looks fantastic. They also provide some worthy extras, including a documentary on Michael Curtiz that runs about 40 minutes. It provides the basics on the life of this consummate filmmaker, although it must be said that Curtiz deserves a much longer and much more comprehensive onscreen biography. For some reason this documentary does not have any captions to tell who the people interviewed for it are, but film geeks will easily know such faces as Steven Spielberg and Ben Burtt. 

Greg Mank's excellent audio commentary from the original DVD release of THE WALKING DEAD is carried over here. Greg's talk focuses on Karloff's time at Warners, the development of the script, and the spiritual aspects of the story. A brand new commentary from Michael Curtiz biographer Alan K. Rode is also on the disc, and it's a good one, as he discusses Curtiz's life and career, and the Warner Bros. hierarchy. An original theatrical trailer and a couple of 1930s cartoons are also included. 

Nearly all the 1930s horror films made by Warners and MGM have been given Blu-ray upgrades from the Warner Archive. THE WALKING DEAD is the latest in the line of those fine releases, and hopefully this new Blu-ray will bring some attention to one of Boris Karloff's standout performances. 

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.