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Sorry, I kind of had to. Watched I Was a Teenage Werewolf again. |
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THE HAUNTING (1963). Seems I wasn't alone in watching this...truly one of the best and scariest films ever. has given the heebie jeebies to everyone I've shown it to. Saw this in 1975 in the Panama Canal Zone at a big old fashioned movie theater with a balcony and a huge lobby full of posters of upcoming films. Every Friday, there was an "Owl Show" starting at 10 which usually showed horror flicks (Lots of Hammers viewed). Went to check it out and the crowd was really into it, although problems arose as the print we were watching slipped into Spanish whenever Julie Harris is thinking ( usually the films had Spanish subtitles) and we had a hard time figuring what was going. Still liked it and don't think I've ever heard such screams as the part close to the end...and if You've seen it, You know what I'm talking about. ***** Avoid the horrid 1999 remake at all costs...even Lily Taylor and Liam Neeson couldn't save it. |
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FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956). Saw this in the 90's and thought it was incredibly overrated, almost as big a Sacred Cow as THE THING (1951). Re-watched this and found it has aged better and quite enjoyed it this time. Would love my own Robby The Robot (made Me think of LOST IN SPACE) and it reminded me very much of episodes of STAR TREK. Good special effects and a hoot watching a serious Leslie Nielsen. ***1/2
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Just watched The Sadist for the fourth time. It just gets better and better. |
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FANTASIA !940). Superlative Disney film with top notch animation and classical music. "The Rites of Spring" and "Night on Bald Mountain" are both excellent...have heard they based the Demon on Bela Lugosi::confused:: not sure about that.
This was a big flop in its initial release and BAMBI/DUMBO had to be made on the cheap. A big hit when re-released in the late 60's, no doubt to many of the audience having injested various chemical agents::big grin::. ***** |
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...Wait you watched Teenage Werewolf... Nevermind I'll let this one slide. But I'm watching youuuuuu. Quote:
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I reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaally wish Nostalgia Critic would do House on Haunted Hill. If he doesn't I will. |
NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER (1960). When Hammer is mentioned, usually the colorful Gothics are thought of, but their BW suspense films are worth a look, like CASH ON DEMAND, THE SNORKEL, NIGHTMARE and MANIAC. However, I consider this the BEST of the "Mini Hitchcocks" with an incredibly ballsy premise for the time (Still hard hitting today) good work by MANY Hammer and assorted cast/crew and >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SPOILER>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> almost unbearable tension by the Lake. Felix Aylmer, so kindly in THE MUMMY is terrifying here, making Christopher Lee's bloody red Eyed Count Dracula look like a purring Pussycat. ****1/2
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The Birds
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Psycho
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MURDERS IN THE ZOO 91933). Very audacious in parts with Lionel Atwill marvelously fiendish, but top billed Charles Ruggles just sinks this with unfunny "comedy relief". **
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The Ghost & Mr. Chicken
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Totally
Love this scene... Knotts, the-second-Darrin... And Skip Homeier http://www.startrek.com/uploads/asse...nset-obit1.jpg |
The Mad Ghoul
Evelyn Ankers ::love:: |
Mark of the Vampire-1935
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HORROR OF DRACULA (1958). SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Certainly the best of the earlier epics and probably most of my affection is remembering the first time I saw it, on a BIG movie screen on Halloween. Scared s---less when Chris bursts into the library to chastise incredibly lush Valerie Gaunt, the extremely vivid staking of Carol Marsh-at least compared to what I had seen-and the Jaw dropping finale when Drac and Van Helsing go Mano a Mano and the glorious scene when the Sun does its work! Just too cool! Really do have a lot of love for this...so good on so many counts and Peter Cushing was just an absolute treasure. ALWAYS so twitchy and couldn't keep his hands empty and ALWAYS gave 110%. **** |
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Blood and Black Lace (1964)
6/10 With an inquisitive Inspector on the case of a murdered fashion model, the deceased's fashion colleagues are most anxious about the diary she left behind. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C227uPPUkAAfn6e.jpg As you can see in the film photo clip, cinematography school is in session for Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace. Magenta, aquamarine and red lighting gels stage depthful composition shots. (Reminds me to the rich color palettes used for the sets on the Star Trek Original TV Series.) And the flourishing sets, costumes and camera movements are not far behind. But lagging far behind the cinematography are the shallow characters, the unfluffed plot, and most of all, there's lack of genuine mystery and suspense. |
THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964). Seems not to be much love for this, but enjoyable little flick. Had heard Hammer/Universal agreed to play nice and it seems this has the most Karloffian Monster as well as scenes that reminded me of past Frank flicks....THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, HOUSE OF DRACULA and even CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN! ***
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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
9/10 Dr Jekyll seeks to evolve humankind by separating the evil person from the good person. Somehow a potion that produces the evil man... um... well, as long as we got the evil man, if you use up all the evil man time, we'll be left with the good man... I don't know, let's just go with it and see what happens. Couldn't have been better unless it had some other things to say. Still not a correct replication of the short novel (which I read, and highly recommend), but it's the closest film adaptation to the book that I've yet seen, but of course entirely inadequate to the book. In fact, check out the book "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" from the library for free, because there is no substitute, it's a good book, and it's a short book too (64 pages). Then we can talk about the book. Anyway, the film... the shot direction is full tilt! The director, Rouben Mamoulian, uses first person, lot's of movement... it's really exciting direction. Fredric March, playing the lead, Dr Jekyll, won the Academy Award for Best Actor, playing an American in London... that is, he's the only one with an American accent, but nobody talks about it... The script dialogue is definitely bold, no holds barred... Quote:
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CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965). In an effort to harness more energy, a missle is driven into the Earth and starts off a string of disasters. This was better than I thought with Dana Andrews-always good; check out LAURA (1944) , THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) and NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1958) turning in a measured performance and pretty nifty special effects for the time too. ***1/2 |
THE BODY SNATCHER (1945). Boris and Henry Danniel are both superb in this one, my favorite Lewton after CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. Some extremely tense scenes, especially the one with Karloff and Bela; really good acting by both of them. ****1/2
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6/10 Yes, Henry Daniell, as Doddy, was good, but Boris Karloff was 100% John Gray, a tour de force performance. On the other foot, Russell Wade, as med student Donald Fettes, was usually clunky, delivering some lines like a 6 year-old, hanging on non-contracted words like it was his second language. I think the story of the little girl wanting to walk was even duller than it was sappy, sucking the life out of the film, mostly due to the simple lines delivered doe-eyed by the trio of Fettes, mom and young lame daughter. Actually, the little girl was pretty good, making the most of the lines she had, which actually had a measure of character depth to them. If they were going to spend that much time on this trio, they should have made it a passionate love affair (maybe Wade would have a knack for that). The story of Gray and Doddy really had some momentum, and would have been a much better film had it been flushed out more. Ultimately, I found the film much too static for the talent that director Robert Wise was. I read the budget was low, but this story didn't require a big budget, just a re-write. |
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943). Good Lewton, but I find it quite overrated. Annoying characters and story just seems stuck in neutral. Some good atmosphere and Darby Jones is quite striking. ***
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The Fearless Vampire Killers - probably my favorite Roman Polanski film
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Last night, I caught 'The Black Sleep'. Never saw this one before. It looked like a vehicle for Basil Rathbone, perhaps in his waning years. I think I enjoyed it. (too much Absinthe and laudanum) The descriptor on my old CRT, via over the air digital read something like "Victorian Sir Joel prepares for his wife's brain surgery by practicing on locals supplied by a Gypsy". Wow. Even if it sucked, I'd watch just based on the description.
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049013/?ref_=nv_sr_1 |
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I see it on YouTube, but it's a zoom in with gritty quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J61MxXDdkGM |
Yeah I love The Black Sleep.
I also love Karloff in The Black Room (1935), which is hard to find these days and hardly ever shown on TV. |
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960). Still enjoy this with good turns by Barbara Shelly, George Sanders and Michael Gwynn. ***1/2
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Dementia 13, 1963. 8/10
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