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TheCapsuleCritic
I first started doing on air movie reviews in 1979 when I was with a public radio station in Charleston, SC. After moving to Asheville, NC in 1983, I became a classical music announcer with the local NPR affiliate. I retired in 2019 after 36 years. I also recently retired from the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA).
I taught film classes for the OLLI program at UNC Asheville from 2008-2019 and at USC Beaufort from 2019-2020. I started writing about films in 2001. The majority of my 600+ reviews concern either silent movies or B movie horror/sci-fi films. To read them all, visit my blog-thecapsulecritic.com-
Reviews
Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)
Science Fiction Meets Film Noir.
Edward L. Cahn (1899-1963) was an extremely prolific B movie director who cranked out 128 films during the years 1931-1962 (that's an average of 4 films per year). He got his start making several OUR GANG / LITTLE RASCALS comedies for MGM before moving on to B movie features in the 1940s. Cahn covered all the basic B movie genres (Western, Crime/Noir, War, Horror) with the occasional comedy or low rent musical thrown in for good measure. Between 1955 and 1962 he made the 10 Horror/Sci-FI movies (out of 49 total movies during that 7 year period) upon which his reputation primarily rests today. Cahn delivered more bang for the buck thanks to his film editor skills which not only made for some interesting viewing, but with their approximate 70 minutes running time, his films rarely wore out their welcome.
CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN (1955) was the first of two pictures Cahn directed for legendary low budget producer Sam Katzman known throughout Hollywood as "Jungle Sam" because of his JUNGLE JIM series with Johnny Weissmuller and his frequent use of verdant backlot settings. Radioactivity and atomic energy were an ubiquitous theme during the mid 1950s so Katzman, ever the trend follower, decided to make a film mixing this subject matter (no pun intended) into another major staple of B movie filmmaking, the crime picture. This gives ATOM BRAIN the distinction of being the first and possibly only Sci-Fi/Noir movie ever made. It works because its improbable script is played straight with low-key performances and no hint of tongue-in-cheek. Director Cahn moves things along at his usual brisk pace (69 min.) creating some memorable visuals along the way.
The cast is led by B movie veteran and sci-fi specialist Richard Denning who had just finished CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Denning gives his usual solid, if somewhat detached, performance as the hero who tries to solve a series of "impossible" killings which are being committed by dead men with incredible strength. Perhaps the only other familiar face belongs to S. John Launer (one of my wife's favorite actors) who is best remembered for portraying a judge on several episodes of PERRY MASON. The rest of the cast consists of B movie contract players who wound up doing most of their acting work in 1950s and 60s television. The one exception is Russian born actor Gregory Gay who plays the German scientist. He started acting in movies in the 1930s and continued working in film through 1979.
An expatriate mobster, who has illegally returned to the U. S. and the German scientist fabricate a group of atomic powered cadavers to carry out the gangster's obsessive quest for revenge against those who were responsible for his deportation. An intrepid police doctor, his boss, and his cohorts work to stop them before they exterminate the remaining witnesses, take over the city and...perhaps...the world (there's lots of stock footage of disasters occurring on land, sea, and in the air). The doctor must also protect his wife and young daughter when the mobster decides it's time to try get rid of him. Needless to say, and without giving too much away, everything works out well in the end. After all, this is the 1950s and a B movie to boot so good always triumphs over evil, at least in the last 10 minutes. This low budget nonsense is actually great fun...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
Whatever Happened To Orson Welles?
May 6, 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of filmmaker and larger-than-life personality Orson Welles. While there were a number of tributes held throughout the year, including a retrospective at NYC's Film Forum, it is interesting to note what has happened to Welles' reputation as filmmaker and actor since his death. It has been in decline.
It is not unusual for an artist's reputation to take a dip, especially if they haven't done anything in years, or were as self-aggrandizing as Welles was when he was alive. After being number one in SIGHT & SOUND'ss list of top films published every 10 years since 1952, CITIZEN KANE was finally toppled in 2012 by Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO
This is not only an indication of changing tastes among Sight & Sound voters, but of recognition of a film that many more people are familiar with. Outside of cinema enthusiasts, CITIZEN KANE, along with the rest of Welles' movies, are films that are generally unknown to the public at large.
No one back in 1941 would have predicted that. At 25 Orson Welles was on top of the world. Three years earlier he had caused a nationwide panic with his WAR OF THE WORLDS radio broadcast, which was so real, many people believed an alien invasion was actually taking place. Before that he formed the Mercury Theatre to create low-budget, stylized productions of classic plays for the WPA.
After conquering the theatre, and then radio while still in his early 20s, movies were the next logical step for Welles. CiITIZEN KANE, which was shot for a modest amount of money, revolutionized 1940s Hollywood by reminding them of many of the silent film techniques they had forgotten, such as deep focus photography and montage editing.
Unfortunately, the screenplay, which was written primarily by Herman J. Manciewicz, was a very thinly disguised attack on newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, whose papers refused to promote the film. Hollywood even offered to reimburse RKO all the money spent on the film if they would destroy the negative. Contrary to popular myth the film did not lose money, but it really didn't make any either.
Welles had completed his second film, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and had gone to Brazil to make a documentary for Nelson Rockefeller when his string of successes ended. Backed by Hearst and pressure from stockholders, RKO fired the studio head, cancelled Welles' contract, and cut AMBERSONS from 131 minutes to 88. It naturally tanked, and from then on Welles was labeled box office poison as a director.
Between 1944 and 1958 he would direct only four more films in Hollywood. They were THE STRANGER1946), THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1947), MACBETH (1948), and TOUCH OF EVIL (1958). None were released in the versions Welles wanted, and only THE STRANGER made money.
Welles was always in demand as an actor and used money from those appearances to try and finance several independent projects in Europe. Some, like OTHELLO (1952) and FALSTAFF (1965), succeeded critically, while others like MR. ARKADIN (1955) and THE TRIAL (1962) did not. None of these films ever got major releases.
By the 1960s Welles was an expatriate whose size had grown to biblical proportion along with his reputation as the artist ruined by Philistines. This was greatly aided by Welles himself, a natural raconteur, who inflated his contributions to such films as JANE EYRE (1944) and THE THIRD MAN (1949), movies that he did not direct. He continued to appear in movies throughout the 1960s and 70s. Notable appearances included A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1965), I'LL NEVER FORGET WHAT'S 'IS NAME (1967), and CATCH 22 (1970).
To people of my generation, he was the overweight spokesman for Paul Masson wine ("We will sell no wine before it's time"), along with many other products. He was the man in black with the big cigar who made numerous appearances doing magic tricks on THE TONIGHT SHOW - a man who always seemed short of breath. Although occasionally honored by outfits like the American Film Institute, his cinematic achievements were largely neglected except on college campuses.
Welles died of a heart attack, brought on by a crash diet, at the age of 70 on October 10, 1985. His ashes now rest in an abandoned well in Spain. He left behind a number of incomplete projects which some of his friends and colleagues are still trying to finish. Welles loved to say that he started at the top and worked his way down.
UPDATE 2024: THEY'LL LOVE ME WHEN I'M DEAD is one of two recent documentaries on Orson Welles (The other one is MAGICIAN). If you have reached this point in the review, then you pretty much know everything that is covered in this documentary. It is worth seeing just for the film clips alone to go along with the information but the title is misleading. Outside of most critical circles and among certain film aficionados, Orson Welles is still not loved by the general public and he's been dead now for 40 years...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Gojira (1954)
From Metaphor To Icon To Box Office Superstar.
Who would have thought that a radioactive, fire breathing dragon, intended to be a metaphor for the fire bombing of Tokyo during World War II would have turned into a cultural icon known and loved (yes, loved!) the world over. Certainly not the Japanese but that's exactly what happened.
Who also would have guessed that the 1954 Japanese original and its Americanized counterpart would inspire at least 25 sequels and/or remakes up to this point with the newest one having just opened in movie theaters all over the world? This latest installment cost 150 times what the original did and, unlike the original outside of Japan, it's receiving mostly positive reviews.
It all began when Japanese director Inoshiro Honda (no relation to the car company) saw the 1953 American sci-fi flick THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS about a radioactive dinosaur awakened by atomic testing. Honda took this basic idea and turned it not only into a warning of the dangers of atomic testing, but also a direct allegory of the firebombing of Tokyo by the Allies with its appalling number of civilian casualties.
Honda's version featured a highly stylized creature out of Japanese mythology in the form of a dragon that not only had a devastating breath of fire but was also radioactive. Originally called GOJIRA in Japanese, Godzilla was an unparalleled destructive force with no redeeming features. He destroyed ships at sea, flattened cities and villages, and incinerated women and children.
The original's somber tone was carried over into an Americanized version that featured new footage of a pre-PERRY MASON Raymond Burr as reporter Steve Martin. This version was released two years later. Most of the carnage was left in, but references to the firebombing were removed. The creature was also renamed Godzilla for non-Japanese audiences, and his distinctive roar (made by rubbing the strings of a double bass with a leather glove and then altering the pitch) became his trademark. The movie was a worldwide hit.
In the best Hollywood tradition, the Japanese rushed a sequel into production (even though Godzilla had been thoroughly destroyed at the end of the first film) called GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. It took 4 years to reach the U. S where it was renamed GIGANTIS, THE FIRE MONSTER for copyright reasons. This is the first time that Godzilla would do battle with another giant monster which would become a cornerstone of the later sequels.
Within less than a decade Godzilla had been transformed from a fearsome symbol of man's inhumanity into the savior of Japan (and by association the rest of the Free World) by doing battle with various monsters and invaders and always emerging triumphant (except in 1962's GODZILLA-VS-KING KONG where Kong was allowed to win in the American version).
Godzilla's transformation from bad guy to good guy paralleled the rise of the Japanese economy in the 1970s and 80s and with success came formulaic repetition with the movies getting cheaper and cheaper and the character became little more than a live action cartoon with "the man in the rubber suit" origin of the character played strictly for laughs. He even uses kung fu in 1971's GODZILLA-VS-THE SMOG MONSTER.
For his 30th anniversary in 1984 an attempt was made to return the series to its serious roots. For GODZILLA 1985 he doesn't battle anything else and proceeds to destroy much of Tokyo before being lured away and falling into a live volcano. Raymond Burr was even brought in to comment on the action. The film was not a success and Godzilla disappeared from movie screens for over a decade.
After the success of JURASSIC PARK a wholly reinvented Godzilla was launched in 1998 with Matthew Broderick in the lead and New York standing in for Tokyo. The creature looked nothing like the old one and the physical resemblance to Jurassic Park was quite pronounced. The story resembled THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and fans were not pleased.
The Japanese were so offended that they quickly made their own new version GODZILLA 2000 to restore the monster's honor and integrity. While the American version bombed (primarily due to its $100 million budget) the Japanese one was a modest success but it seemed that Godzilla had roared his last roar...until now.
The new Godzilla goes back to the beginning with man's stupidity concerning nuclear power resulting in a disaster of spectacular proportions. Godzilla is now a force of nature needed to save the world (mostly San Francisco) from two rampaging, energy sucking creatures that are updates of the second great Japanese monster, Rodan.
At $150 million it's the most expensive Godzilla movie yet and certainly the most realistic looking although it was the lack of realism that made the original series what it was. Godzilla may be 60 but with an opening weekend of almost $100 million, he still remains a "huge" box office draw.
...UPDATE 2024: The latest installment GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023) which is an updating of the 1954 original was a critical and a financial success. There's also the ongoing GODZILLA/KING KONG series so at 70 , so there's still plenty of life in the old boy yet...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Amanti d'oltretomba (1965)
An Italian Gothic Essential & Then Some.
This 2015 single Blu-Ray from Severin Films contains 3 essential Italian Gothic Horror movies. They are the titular NIGHTMARE CASTLE (Lovers From Beyond The Grave - 1965), CASTLE OF BLOOD (Dance Macabre - 1964) and TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (5 Graves For A Medium - 1965)). I have included the translated Italian titles as they more accurately describe what the movies are about as opposed to the Americanized ones. All three films feature Barbara Steele, the English born "Queen of Italian Horror", are in black and white, and have atmospheric sets and lighting.
The three directors here (Mario Caiano, Antonio Margheriti, Massimo Pupillo) are more than capable of delivering the goods thanks to the other Italian craftsmen involved including the set designers, the cameramen and the lighting directors. Next to Bava, Antonio Margheriti is the most celebrated purveyor of Italian Gothic. The headline feature in this set is NIGHTMARE CASTLE which was directed by Caiano who is billed here as "Allan Grunewald". An amusing fact concerning the Italian Gothics is that, even in their original versions, the names used are English pseudonyms because Italians didn't believe that Italians could make horror films.
NIGHTMARE CASTLE (here called NIGHT OF THE DOOMED its U. K. title) concerns a husband who murders his rich wife and her lover and then encloses their hearts inside a statue. He later marries her cousin (also Steele) and plans to drive her insane so he can inherit the estate. He is aided in this by his faithful old housekeeper whose youth he has restored from his wife's blood. A young doctor, brought to the castle to certify the cousin, discovers their nefarious scheme and recovers the missing hearts. This brings back the spirits of the wife and lover who proceed to wreak a terrible vengeance on the husband and the housekeeper. The print is taken from the original uncut negative and it looks gorgeous.
CASTLE is taken from the edited American print that I saw in a theater in 1964. The opening titles are sketchy but after that the film settles down and looks pretty good for the rest of the way. For my money, this is the top Italian Gothic in this set. It was directed by Antonio Margheretti (under the alias Anthony Dawson) and tells the story of a 19th century journalist who accepts a bet to stay overnight in a haunted castle on October 31st. He meets a variety of people whose deaths he sees re-enacted before realizing that he's next. Immensely atmospheric with a solid performance by Steele as one of the ghosts.
TERROR CREATURES is in somewhat reminiscent of the much later WOMAN IN BLACK, it tells the story of a young solicitor in 1905 who goes to an old villa to settle a will only to realize that it is haunted by the former head of the estate who has summoned the spirits of 1 4th century plague victims to get revenge on the people responsible for his death. These include 4 "friends" and his younger second wife (Steele). While it is the least visually atmospheric of the 3 films, it is still quite creepy in the last third when the plague victims show up and the guilty parties are punished. Two of the deaths are explicit for the time .
Severin is another one of those companies, along with Criterion and Flicker Alley, whose products cost a little more but who give you lots of supplemental extras. In the case of this Blu-Ray, you get 3 movies, one of them beautifully restored, along with a number of supplements that include commentaries on each film, interviews with some of the principal people involved in their making including Barbara Steele herself, and various trailers and featurettes for each movie. This is one of Severin's first Blu-Ray forays into 1960s Italian & European Gothic cinema...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Circus of Horrors (1960)
The Best Of The So-Called "Sadian Trio".
Most people believe that the "modern" horror movie (those without a supernatural or fantasy element and with a contemporary setting) began in 1960 with Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO but in fact modern horror began a year earlier in England and not with a single movie but with 3. All were set in the present (ca. 1959) and feature then graphic depictions of gruesome deaths which are committed by a maniacal killer. They became known as "The Sadian Trio"
This term refers to a series of movies produced by Brit company Anglo-Amalgamated that were in deliberate contrast to the Gothic films being produced at Hammer Films. These films were partially financed by American producer Herman Cohen who specialized in exploitation movies like I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN. Anglo's purpose was to make low budget fare for the British market which then could be exported to America.
The movies were made at 3 different studios and shot by 3 different directors. They were HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, PEEPING TOM and CIRCUS OF HORRORS. CIRCUS was directed by Sidney Hayers (who also did the creepy NIGHT OF THE EAGLE/BURN WITCH, BURN) and is my favorite. Part of this stems from the fact that I love old school circuses and circus pictures and that this film comes with a clever and engaging plot.
After botching an operation on a wealthy socialite, a fugitive plastic surgeon (Anton Diffring) leaves England and hides out in a small European carnival. When the owner is accidentally killed, he takes over the circus and turns it into an international success. He accomplishes this by filling it with disfigured people he has transformed through his surgery. The catch is that those who wish to leave meet with "accidents" while performing.
This leads to even more box office success for the circus as audiences come hoping to witness these calamities which continue to occur. COH even features a song "Look For A Star '' which became a hit on the European pop charts. The ending, in which the socialite gets her revenge, is ironic and appropriate. Joining Diffring in this endeavor are Conrad Phillips (fresh from WILLIAM TELL), Yvonne Muldaur, Kenneth Griffith, and Donald Pleasance.
Over the past 60 years a number of increasingly graphic horror movies have been made and today CIRCUS seems quaint by comparison. However there is a degree of intelligence in the screenplay and in the performances which is missing from most horror films of today. If you enjoy classic Brit horror movies, then you may want to check out CIRCUS OF HORRORS to discover just how far we haven't come...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
The Original PERRY MASON.
My mother was a great fan of mysteries and our home library (back when there was such a thing) was filled with them. Most of these dated from the 1930s and early 1940s because following World War II the taste for mysteries declined. As a child of the 1950s, I grew up with the PERRY MASON TV series starring Raymond Burr but my mother, also a great fan of old movies, told me Burr wasn't the first Perry Mason. That distinction belonged to 1930s character actor Warren William who starred in 4 of the 6 Perry Mason B movies made in 1936 by Warner Brothers. This is back when Erle Stanley Gardner had just begun writing his Perry Mason books and the character was new. In fact, my mother purchased most of the Mason books when they were first published and added them to our library collection.
Warren William's Perry Mason was very different from Raymond Burr's take on the character. Mason was rich, he was cocky, had a mustache, and was somewhat conceited. He was also as much a private detective as a lawyer. This is because rich detectives like Philo Vance and Nick Charles were in vogue at the time. This suited William's screen image perfectly. Gardner was just starting out and didn't have the clout that he would have after becoming famous. As a result, these B movies differed from what Gardner had written although the plots were adhered to. It's an interesting paradox that the plots of the TV show stray even further from Gardner's books than the 1930s movies did even though, by the Fifties, Gardner was well known and should have had more creative control over his material.
The first of the 6 movies, THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG, is narrowly the best of the set. Perry Mason was being introduced to a movie audience and a surprising amount of care was taken with this film. It's well written (much better than the TV version of the same title), well photographed, well acted, and far more serious in tone than the episodes that followed. Up next is THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE which has the distinction of being directed by Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA). More stylish than DOG it ends with a room-gathering revelation rather than in a courtroom. THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS is easily the worst as it's played more as a screwball comedy than a mystery. THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS (Gardner's first PM mystery) has ...SPOILER ALERT...Perry and Della Street getting married!
Warner Brothers then decided to cut the budgets for the remaining two films. Warren William, who was a big name at the time, moved on and so Ricardo Cortez, who played the original Sam Spade, took over the role of Perry in THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT. Despite the cuts, BLACK CAT (misnamed as the cat in the film is gray and white) is a distinct improvement over LUCKY LEGS and VELVET CLAWS as the focus once again shifts to mystery and not comedy. For my money, Cortez was the best Perry Mason but Gardner was not of that opinion so in the final film, THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP, Cortez was replaced by Donald Woods who'd been one of the suspects from CURIOUS BRIDE. Woods also played his Perry straight and was very effective in the courtroom finale. FYI...Della goes back to being unmarried in the last two movies.
The one word to best describe these movies is...uneven. Della Street was portrayed by 5 different actresses and Paul Drake, known as "Spudsy" Drake, was used for comedic relief in the Warren William Perrys. Paul Drake finally shows up as Paul Drake in the last 2 installments as does Hamilton Burger whose last name is pronounced "Bur-jer" in the final film. Both Drake and Burg-jer were played by a different actor in the last 2 films. It should be noted that Gardner did not write any of the screenplays. This bare bones DVD-R set from Warner Archive comes with no extras but is worth acquiring for fans of 1930s mysteries and of Perry Mason...For more reviews Visit The Capsule Critic.
Lonesome (1928)
"A Coney Island of The Mind".
Even though I have been a silent film enthusiast for 50 years now (I started very young) and have read a number of books on the subject as well as having amassed a rather large collection of silent movies on DVD, I can't remember ever having run across the name of Hungarian born director Paul Fejos. I'm sure there must have been something but I simply can't recall it. After watching this Criterion release, it seems unbelievable that his Hollywood films could have been lost for as long as they were. Two of the three films are welcome additions to the silent film catalog while one is a curious early sound offering. All 3 films on this disc were made for Universal so it's only fitting that they reappear in time for the company's 100th anniversary.
The true prize of the collection is LONESOME, a 1929 film that recalls both SUNRISE and 7th HEAVEN in its storyline and in its cinematic expression of that story. Glenn Tryon (who I knew from some Hal Roach comedy shorts) and Barbara Kent (the sister in FLESH & THE DEVIL) play a pair of lonely blue collar workers who discover each other during a visit to Coney Island. They meet, fall in love, and then are separated by a massive rainstorm without knowing their last names. A simple enough story but it's what Fejos does with the material that makes LONESOME so remarkable. Technically this film goes far beyond SUNRISE in its camerawork and editing resulting in an eye opening cinematic experience that the director called a "Coney Island of the mind".
The other two films on an additional DVD make for an interesting evening. THE LAST PERFORMANCE stars Conrad Veidt as a jealous stage magician whose love for his young assistant (Mary Philbin in her best performance) leads to tragedy. Imagine one of the Tod Browning Lon Chaney films as if it had been directed by F. W. Murnau and that will give you some idea of what it's like. The print used here was found in Denmark and still has Danish title cards. While that proves the universality of silent movies, it would have been nice if new title cards could have been made. The film has also not been restored and is occasionally contrasty and shows some print damage. It's not ideal but is quite serviceable and Conrad Veidt is amazing.
BROADWAY was one of Universal's early sound extravaganzas. It not only features dialogue and musical numbers but it also has an early Technicolor finale. Unless you are really into early sound musicals, BROADWAY is more of historical interest. There are some truly remarkable camera shots courtesy of the "BROADWAY crane" which revolutionized camera movement. The influence on later musicals and Busby Berkeley is obvious. Unfortunately the dialog is incredibly stiff ("Where-is-Steve? He's-in-the-next-room.) and slows down the action. Glenn Tryon is on hand once again as the male lead and it's always great to see Evelyn Brent in anything. This is what THE ARTIST would have been like had it been made in 1929. While this release is an absolute must for silent movie fans others will find it to be of limited interest...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Her Night of Romance (1924)
A Rare Opportunity To See Constance Talmadge.
Having recently reviewed the NORMA TALMADGE COLLECTION from Kino, It's time now to say a few words regarding sister Constance. THE CONSTANCE TALMADGE COLLECTION contains the double feature HER NIGHT OF ROMANCE (1924) and HER SISTER FROM PARIS (1925). Both feature Ronald Colman as her leading man already perfecting the look and stylish interplay of the Ronald Colman we all know and love (Colman was also the love interest in sister Norma's KIKI part of the earlier mentioned collection).
What we have are two well made, lightweight vehicles that show off both stars to good advantage. Of the two I prefer HER NIGHT OF ROMANCE where Connie is an heiress who makes herself homely in order to find a man interested in her and not her money. It seems clear to me that the "homely" scenes were definitely seen by Lucille Ball as some of the facial gestures and grimaces are just too similar to what Lucy would do later on. HER SISTER FROM PARIS is the old warhorse about twin sisters, one vivacious, one mousy, who swap places in order to win the latter's husband back.
We are lucky to have these movies at all as both Talmadge sisters had invested wisely and once sound arrived they retired (Norma made 2 talkies, Connie none). That, combined with their own indifference and the fact that their movies were made for First National a company swallowed up by Warner Brothers, resulted in virtually all of their films disappearing from public view and being forgotten in the Warner vaults until recently. As a result both of these films suffer from nitrate decomposition which is readily apparent but not enough to put off a silent film enthusiast.
Both films were directed by Sidney Franklin who would later become an award winning director with THE GOOD EARTH in 1937. The musical accompaniment by Bruce Loeb and Judith Rosenberg is pleasant without ever being intrusive. A decent introduction to one of the silent screen's most graceful comediennes even if the material is nothing new and the conditions of the prints less than stellar. You can also catch Connie in Douglas Fairbanks' THE MATRIMANIAC and as the Mountain Girl in D. W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Within the Law (1923)
A Rare Opportunity To See Norma Talmadge.
I have been a fan of silent movies since 1962 but not until the release of this DVD have I had a chance to see Norma Talmadge in action. I've known about her for years and have seen numerous pictures of her without ever having seen her pictures. I knew her sister Constance from her role in INTOLERANCE and the Douglas Fairbanks comedy THE MATRIMANIAC and saw other sister Natalie in Buster Keaton's OUR HOSPITALITY but no Norma.
I find it absolutely mindboggling how a star of her magnitude (she was more popular than Mary Pickford in the 1920s) could have so completely disappeared from Hollywood's and the public's collective memory but with only 2 early talkies which are never shown and no effort on her part to preserve her silent legacy, that is precisely what happened. Now Kino has brought her back in two highly regarded films from the mid-1920s that clearly show us why she was once such a big star.
The KIKI storyline I was already familiar with from the 1931 Mary Pickford remake which I thoroughly enjoyed but this version is clearly better. Norma, who was known as a dramatic actress, shines in her comedic role as a French chorus girl out to snag her producer played by a young and dapper Ronald Colman. The most remarkable thing here and in the dramatic second film, WITHIN THE LAW where she plays a falsely imprisoned woman out for revenge, is the sumptuousness of the sets and the quality of the cinematography.
The fact that she had Clarence Brown (FLESH AND THE DEVIL) and Frank Lloyd (MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY) as her directors shows the kind of clout she must have had. WITHIN THE LAW also gives us a rare opportunity to see Lew Cody who would later become Mabel Normand's husband. These Library of Congress preservations look quite good and the musical accompaniment compliments the action nicely. Hopefully more of Norma's films will come to light and we can see more of this shamefully forgotten actress...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
The Ocean Waif (1916)
A Tantalizing Tidbit From Alice Guy-Blache'.
Alice Guy-Blache' (1873-1968) was not only the world's first woman film director but quite possibly the first film director period. Her work as Alice Guy for Gaumont predates Fantasy filmmaker Georges Melies by several months. Her earliest film LA FEE AUX CHOUX/THE CABBAGE FAIRY dates from 1896. After coming to America in 1907 with her husband Herbert Blache', she starts up her own studio in 1910 and opens her major studio called Solax in Fort Lee N. J. in 1912. Among the people who work for her is a young actress/writer named Lois Weber who would also develop into a major director.
THE OCEAN WAIF survives as a fragment of the original. It is a little over 41 minutes long and suffers from nitrate decomposition in many places. However the skill of Alice Guy-Blache' still shines through in the restrained performances from the actors (remember this is 1916) and the strong visual composition of the shots. Sadly this is her only feature film to survive and it's incomplete. There are still several of her short films but for someone so important to film history, it's a sad legacy and a sad comment on how the films of independent producer-directors were treated. As an example of that, the other film on the disc Ruth Ann Baldwin's 49-17 which was made for Universal in 1917, survives in virtually pristine condition. It has the added attraction of an early film appearance from the great Danish born actor and later humanitarian Jean Hersholt.
Thanks are due to producer Jessica Rosner, Kino International, and pianist Jon Mirsalis for putting together and then releasing this FIRST LADIES: EARLY AMERICAN FILMMAKERS series on DVD. They look as good as they possibly can and are indispensable to students of film, people interested in women pioneers, and of course silent film aficionados. Rounding out the series is Dorothy Davenport Reid's THE RED KIMONO. To find out more about Alice Guy-Blache' check out Alison McMahan's thorough biography of her, ALICE GUY-BLACHE': LOST VISIONARY OF THE CINEMA. Kino Lorber has now issued a 3 DVD box set GAUMONT TREASURES 1897-1913 with Disc 1featuring several Alice Guy short films...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
The Red Kimono (1926)
An Important Work From A Forgotten Female Pioneer.
Dorothy Davenport Reid (1895-1977) was one of the most important women producer/directors during the 1920s. She came from a distinguished theatrical family. Her father Harry Davenport is best remembered as Dr. Meade in GONE WITH THE WIND. She was married to early matinee idol Wallace Reid hence her being known as Mrs Wallace Reid. When he died in 1923 of complications from drug addiction, she became an advocate for social causes. Her hard hitting film about drug addiction HUMAN WRECKAGE (1923) with Bessie Love and her next film BROKEN LAWS no longer survive but THE RED KIMON0, a film about prostitution made in 1925, does.
While the real life story of New Orleans prostitute Gabrielle Darley who murders her pimp/lover is melodramatized for the screen, it remains surprisingly effective thanks to the lead performance of Priscilla Bonner (IT, THE STRONG MAN). There are also small parts for silent film regulars Tyrone Power Sr, Virginia Pearson, and George Siegmann. The direction is credited solely to Walter Lang who would become an in-house workhorse at 20th Century Fox for many years but the film was co-directed by Reid. Why she chose to leave her name off is curious. Perhaps as producer and with her appearance as herself, she felt it would be a case of overkill. Who can say. By the early 1930s with the advent of sound and the studio system firmly in place her career was over although she lived another 40+ years.
Today like so many of the women film pioneers she is forgotten but hopefully the release of this film on DVD along with the two others in the FIRST LADIES: EARLY WOMEN FILMMAKERS series from Kino will help to correct that. While not a great film, THE RED KIMONO is an important one and still plays well today. The social criticism of judgmental attitudes and misplaced philanthropy is still relevant to our time. The print from the Library Of Congress looks great and the hand tinted red sequences for certain scenes have been beautifully restored. Robert Israel's piano score is also a plus. The title comes from the article of clothing worn by Gabrielle as a prostitute...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Annie Laurie (1927)
First Class Restoration Of A Once Lost Lillian Gish Movie.
By the time she made ANNIE LAURIE in 1927, Lillian Gish was 33 years old and had appeared in over 20 feature films and more than 40 shorts. It was her third movie for MGM after LA BOHEME & THE SCARLET LETTER, both of which were moderately successful. MGM at that time was the biggest, most powerful studio in Hollywood. Studio head Louis B. Mayer didn't like Gish because she was allowed more autonomy than most female stars (initially she had script approval and could choose her director) but as long as her movies made money, he left her alone. However ANNIE was an expensive flop, and that, coupled with the arrival of Greta Garbo assured Lillian's days at MGM would be numbered. After 3 more poorly performing movies (including the highly acclaimed THE WIND), Gish left Hollywood for 10 years.
It's hard to fathom why ANNIE failed at the box office at the time of its release. The film took its name from a well known ballad and was based on an actual historical event. Joining Gish were popular 1920s leading man Norman Kerry (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) along with silent film veterans Brandon Hurst and Hobart Bosworth as the leaders of the rival clans. Also in the cast, in an atypical role, was Creighton Hale who was known for his comedic roles like in THE CAT AND THE CANARY. Here Hale portrays the chief villain and he's very good. The movie also had lavish production values as can be seen in the massive castle sets and in the hundreds of extras clothed in traditional Scottish dress (lots and lots of kilts representing the different clans).
The plot concerns two warring clans, the Campbells and the MacDonalds in 17th century Scotland. Gish portrays the title character who is the daughter of a diplomat trying to initiate peace between the two families. She commits herself to a Campbell but then falls for a MacDonald. When her jilted boyfriend plans a gruesome revenge upon the opposing family, Annie must risk her life to warn them before it is too late. The circumstances are based on the Glencoe Massacre which occurred February 13, 1692. While this event has been fictionalized and romanticized, it actually did happen. The attack is rousingly staged and is definitely the action highlight of the film. The final scene of the movie was shot in two-strip Technicolor which added to the expense.
After the movie tanked, MGM "forgot" about it (as they did all 4 of Gish's movies made there) and it disappeared for almost 60 years and was considered lost. In the 1980s a print was located in Oregon and turned over to the American Film Institute who sent it to the Library of Congress. The film was in less than pristine condition but at least it was preserved. After a number of years, restoration efforts began and the fully restored version, complete with a brand new full orchestral score, premiered in January of 2024. The music by Robert Israel is a medley of familiar Scottish tunes including the titular one which was the initial inspiration for the movie. It is this restored version that has now been made available on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.
ANNIE LAURIE, while not top drawer Gish, still has lots of things going for it. It's a delight to look at with superbly detailed sets and excellent location shooting beautifully captured by longtime MGM cinematographer Oliver Marsh. The underrated Norman Kerry is both handsome and rugged but, as mentioned earlier, acting honors belong to Creighton Hale. Lillian is good as always but seems less at home in the lighter scenes. She does come to life during the dramatic finale which was more her mien. From my POV, the action sequences have been transferred a trifle fast but the LOC should know what it's doing. The ending Technicolor scenes do look good. While it's great to have ANNIE LAURIE, I'm still waiting for a restored Version of THE WIND...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Der Richter und sein Henker (1975)
Swiss Curio With Jon Voight & Jacqueline Bisset
I saw this 1975 film when it first came out under the English title of END OF THE GAME which literally describes what happens but is not nearly as appropriate as the original title of THE JUDGE & HIS HANGMAN. If you are familiar with Swiss playwright/novelist Friedrich Durrenmatt (THE VISIT, THE PHYSICISTS) then you know what to expect. Durrenmatt is like a Swiss Samuel Beckett with a little of Harold Pinter thrown in for good measure. On the surface this is a standard murder mystery that isn't that hard to figure out. That isn't the point. How it arrives at its solution, the past incident that drives it, and the neatly absurdist dialogue that the major characters exchange are what END OF THE GAME is really about.
Maximillian Schell, who is much better known for his acting, directed a handful of films of which this is undoubtedly the strangest. In fact it is splendidly strange. That is why it plays better today than it did then. Most Americans (certainly the reviewers) didn't get it at all. The scene with Donald Sutherland as a corpse, his rain soaked funeral, and the verbal exchanges between Martin Ritt and Jon Voight and Ritt and Robert Shaw should have tipped them off. This is no ordinary run-of-the-mill mystery even if the murder turns out to have been extremely ordinary.
The movie is one of those international or Continental films that were so popular in the 1970s with a mixed cast of British, American, and European actors. Some of the dubbing leaves a lot to be desired and that is even true of the original German soundtrack but it doesn't really detract from the proceedings. It actually adds to the strangeness as does the Ennio Morricone score. Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw were already well known performers but casting director Martin Ritt (who had acted early in his Actors Studio days) was definitely an eccentric move but Ritt acquits himself well. Schell himself makes a brief cameo appearance (playing the piano for Pinchas Zukerman) and there's another cameo from silent screen star Lil Dagover (CABINET OF DR CALIGARI) as Shaw's mother. Fittingly she doesn't utter a word.
I have waited patiently for years for 20th Century Fox to release this title on home video but had to settle for a DVD-R copied off the Fox Movie Channel until now. As another reviewer pointed out, the lack of subtitles is unfortunate as it is clear there are substantial differences between the German and English soundtracks. I was able to access the special features on my Blu-Ray player but without subtitles I can't understand what Maximillian Schell has to say about the film. Anyway, no matter where it comes from, I am delighted to have this in a more than respectable transfer with good sound. It has its flaws but it remains fascinating to watch...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935)
The Ideal Introduction To Tod Slaughter.
Unless you have a taste for old school, heavy-handed, unashamedly red blooded Victorian melodrama, then I would steer clear of this or any other Tod Slaughter movie that you might run across. However if you enjoy English history and would like to see what the Victorians considered a good time, then you owe it to yourself to check out this double feature starring the inestimable Mister Slaughter (1885-1956). Already well known for touring throughout the country in the 1910s and 20s (with time off to fight in World War I), Slaughter teamed up with "Quota Quickie" producer George King to make film versions of Slaughter's best known and most successful melodramas (FYI a "quota quickie" referred to an English film made for very little money to help offset the rising imports of Hollywood movies).
His signature role was as SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (where do you think the idea for the musical came from?) which is also available but this double feature contains his other signature role, Squire Corder in MURDER IN THE RED BARN as well as his most frightening film THE FACE AT THE WINDOW and in the best quality prints available so far. These 2 movie are the way to go to get a proper introduction to Tod who was to British horror what Karloff & Lugosi were to American horror. There are quality prints out there but they British and therefore Region 2. Avoid You Tube or other streaming copies as they are terrible.
MARIA MARTEN OR MURDER IN THE RED BARN was Slaughter's first film and was made in 1935 when he was already 50 years old and had been barnstorming up and down the U. K. for years. It is based on a stage melodrama which is based on a ballad that was based on actual events that took place in 1827. It would have been well known to British audiences of the time, second only to SWEENEY TODD which Slaughter & King would film after the success of this movie. Slaughter plays William Corder, a local squire who promises country girl Maria Marten that he will marry her only to murder her in the title structure so that he can marry a wealthy spinster. Maria's mother has a dream for several nights running that her daughter was murdered and buried in the barn. When Corder is finally forced to dig in the barn, he cracks up and then breaks down and is taken away to be executed. In classic 19th century style, Slaughter rubs his hands, leers lasciviously, and invites the audience to boo and hiss him which, apparently, they did wholeheartedly. The movie opens in a provincial theater where we are formally introduced to the characters who are about to perform the play and then the movie proper begins. A nice touch.
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW is a rather different affair made 4 years later in 1939. While Slaughter is up to his old tricks, relishing his misdeeds and lusting after the heroine, he is also a serial murderer known as "The Wolf" who is terrorizing all of 19th century Paris. Just before each murder occurs, a hideous face appears outside the window of each victim. This visage is truly disturbing and steers the film toward outright horror. That and a sequence of reanimating a corpse to reveal the true identity of the murderer makes THE FACE AT THE WINDOW the best of Slaughter's "quota quickies". Only THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART made after World War II and based on the exploits of real life grave robbers Burke & Hare can lay claim to being Slaughter's best film.
While I am a huge Tod Slaughter fan, it's hard to recommend him to a modern day audience. If they laugh at the original DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, they should find Tod hysterical. Instead they would probably find him very boring. Old school melodrama was never meant to be taken seriously and today's horror fans want their horror straight and as boringly realistic as possible. So if you enjoy all things British, don't mind some obvious theatricality, and are a fan of old school 1930s horror films, this double bill will be a treat. If you're not, then it's your loss...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
William Tell (1958)
WILLIAM TELL: Not As Good As It Should Have Been.
Having just re-watched and enjoyed Richard Greene's ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD series, my wife and I decided to check out some of the other 1950s British historical adventure shows. As my father's family had immigrated from Switzerland around the turn of the 20th century and established themselves in America, the logical choice was WILLIAM TELL.
I had grown up with Tell memorabilia at home and had read Friedrich Schiller's play which is the best known version of the William Tell story. Because of my familiarity with the story, I was really looking forward to this series. After sitting through all 39 episodes which we watched on a regular basis, my wife and I came away very disappointed. There were many reasons for this.
First up is Conrad Phillips as William Tell. While he wasn't bad, he lacked the charm and the charisma of Richard Greene but it wasn't entirely his fault. Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of the scriptwriters. In the beginning it was Tell and his family and there was a certain lightness and a touch of humor to Phillips' performances. This disappeared as the tone of the series became darker.
In contrast to Phillips, Willoughby Goddard who played Tell's nemesis Gessler went in the opposite direction. Goddard, who resembles Orson Welles in height and girth (Schiller's Gessler is not obese), started off as an intimidating figure but soon became a caricature of Henry VIII including dressing like him in robes and with chains of office. He even devoured his meals like Charles Laughton from the 1933 movie.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the series developed a WW II resistance aura where Tell's family disappears after a few episodes with the occasional appearance of Hedda his wife and a Little John like character known as "The Bear". Tell is constantly referred to in the later episodes as "the leader of the Swiss Resistance". The later episodes also have a sameness to them. Tell goes to other areas of Switzerland, like an avenging angel, to deal with the "Austrian dogs" by killing many of them.
In addition to Phillips and Goddard there's Jennifer Jayne as a feisty Hedda Tell and character actor Nigel Green does his best with the underwritten and underdeveloped role of "The Bear". Most of the reviewers had the opportunity to see WILLIAM TELL as children and carry their fond memories with them. My wife and I did not, which robs the series of any nostalgia value for us. We didn't hate the show but we won't be revisiting it any time soon...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Richard the Lionheart (1962)
Not Bad But Not As Good As Other Historical TV Series Of Its Era.
Let me start off by saying that I am a fan of the Danziger brothers. Edward J.and Harry Lee Danziger were born in New York and moved to England in 1952 where they set up shop as B movie producers. After producing a series of successful low budget films at various studios, they opened their own studio in 1956 which was dubbed New Elstree. It would be the Danziger's home until they decided to leave the motion picture business in 1962 and concentrate on owning and operating hotels in the London area. Between 1956 and 1961 over 60 B movies and 350 half hour TV episodes were shot at New Elstree. RICHARD THE LIONHEART was the last before the studio shut down.
A British film critic once remarked that the Danzigers were not in the movie business for art, they were in it for business and in that regard they were very successful. Historical action-adventure shows were all the rage on British TV in the 1950s and early 1960s led by the long running Richard Greene ROBIN HOOD series. The Danzigers were primarily known for second features and for such contemporary crime shows as SABER and THE CHEATERS but they wanted to cash in on the popularity of ROBIN HOOD and that is how RICHARD THE LIONHEART came about.
The standard 39 episodes for TV were produced in 1961 and aired during the 1962-63 season. LIONHEART starred Irish actor Dermot Walsh as a very chivalrous King Richard and Australian born Trader Faulkner as a nefarious Prince John (in addition to portraying 7 other characters). Sheila Whittingham is a demure Queen Berengaria while a young Iain Gregory got his first big break as Richard's court minstrel Blondel. The 39 half hour shows were shot in 26 weeks with a single episode being completed in either 2 or 3 days. That was the typical Danziger shooting schedule and in several episodes, it shows.
The series presents a whitewashed and simplified picture of Richard which is understandable as this was a TV show designed for the whole family just as ROBIN HOOD, WILLIAM TELL, and other historical shows of the 1950s were. The major difference between those shows and RICHARD can be seen in the writing and the characterizations. The LIONHEART scripts weren't written by blacklisted American writers all and the characters suffered accordingly. The supporting actors were also a mixed bag although there was Francis de Woffe as Leopold of Austria and a few appearances by Conrad Phillips and Nigel Green.
There was a theme song by Bill Le Sage (all the historical shows had theme songs) but this one was not up to the standards of the others. One of the amusing things in this Network 6 DVD set occurs during the theme song if you use the subtitles. One of the verses goes "humble in spite of his victories in war" but the subtitles read "humble as pie in victories at war". With or without pie, LIONHEART is humble which is commendable. Actually this Network set has much to recommend it. It has all 39 episodes on 5 discs and a bonus disc describing the background of the show and the history of the Danzigers. LIONHEART isn't as good as the ITV shows but is still worth seeing if you enjoy vintage Brit TV...For More Reviews Visit The Capsule Critic.
Where the North Begins (1923)
RIN-TIN-TIN: The Dog That Made Warner Brothers Possible.
2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Watner Brothers which today is one of the largest multimedia conglomerates with the ownership of an incredible back catalog of movies from companies that they have outlived (RKO, MGM, United Artists, Allied Artists to name a few of the better known ones). But it was a noble animal that first paid their bills and became the world's first canine superstar. There were dog stars before Rin-Tin-Tin such as Jean the Vitagraph dog, Shep the Thanhouser collie, and another German shepard named Strongheart but none became the worldwide phenomenon that Rinty did.
This Kino Lorber Blu-Ray continues their ongoing partnership with the Library of Congress in restoring and releasing silent movies to home video. It features the first Rin-Tin-Tin vehicle WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS from 1923 and then his very successful later feature CLASH OF THE WOLVES from 1925. It makes for an interesting contrast to see just how much success changed the style of the Rinty movies. Most people prefer the later, flashier CLASH OF THE WOLVES but I found WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS far more engaging. With its smaller budget and no name stars (not to mention the former's irritating comedy relief), NORTH tells its story simply and effectively.
NORTH opens with an introductory title card that gives the back story of Rin-Tin-Tin. He is one of a group of puppies found on a World War I battlefield. A soldier named Lee Duncan kept two puppies, one male the other female, and named them Rin-Tin-Tin and Ninette after two French children's dolls. Nimette died on the way over to America but Rinty thrived and was trained by Duncan for dog shows. His remarkable ability to carry out a wide variety of commands got him noticed by a Hollywood agent who thought that he would compete well against other dog stars. He was signed to a contract and the rest is history.
The plot of NORTH is one that would be recycled many times in later Rin-Tin-Tin movies. It is inspired by Jack London's CALL OF THE WILD. A crate containing a puppy falls off a sled and is found by a pack of wolves. They raise it as one of them and once he grows up, he becomes their leader. We then meet the human characters: a Canadian trapper, his fiance', and the villainous trading post boss. He sends the trapper out to sell furs then has him ambushed and left for dead. He is found by Rinty and they form a bond as they make it back to the trading post. Rinty exposes the villains and he and the couple live happily ever after.
In CLASH OF THE WOLVES, Rinty is once again the leader of a wolfpack. Unlike NORTH which uses real wolves, this pack is mostly German shepherds. A fire forces the wolves into a Western town to find food. Rinty is injured on the way and is nursed back to health by a young Charles Farrell (2 years before 7th HEAVEN) who has discovered large deposits of borax. The town surveyor wants it for himself so he ambushes Farrell who is then rescued by Rinty. Together they expose the surveyor and all ends well. Farrell's girlfriend is played by June Marlowe (Miss Crabtree from the OUR GANG series) and the extremely unfunny comic relief is provided by "Heine" Conklin (no kidding).
Like other releases in this Kino Classics / Library of Congress series, it's pretty much a bare bones affair with only a commentary by film historian Anthony Slide on CLASH OF THE WOLVES, the only bonus feature. Nevertheless the transfers are excellent with the prints looking quite remarkable considering their age. I'm a little surprised that Warner Brothers didn't issue a special 100th anniversary commemorative edition to honor the canine star that made Al Jolson, Jimmy Cagney, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, 3D, and now BARBIE possible but then, most success stories don't want to acknowledge their humble origins...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
The Buccaneers (1956)
A Great Family Show & The Start Of Robert Shaw's Career.
My wife and I just finished re-watching THE BUCCANEERS and we enjoyed it even more than we did the first time around. We're big fans of 1950s British historical action-adventure shows and have seen almost all of those currently available. We concur that THE BUCCANEERS is the best of the lot, better even than Richard Greene's more widely known ROBIN HOOD. Both series were produced by Hannah Weinstein for her Sapphire Films productions and were instigated by Lew Grade (years away from becoming entertainment mogul Lord Grade) for his fledgling ITV network. THE BUCCANEERS ran for 39 episodes during 1956-57 and served as the launching pad for Robert Shaw's movie career. It also gave work to a number of blacklisted American writers and technicians banned from working in the U. S.
There are a number of things that distinguish THE BUCCANEERS from other shows of its era. The scripts are consistently above average plot wise which allows for greater character development. The relationship between Robert Shaw as pirate captain Dan Tempest and acting governor Edward Beamish is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the series. Beamish is wonderfully portrayed by Peter Hammond who started out as a comic foil to Shaw but quickly developed into an equal partner though of an entirely different temperament. Unfortunately Hammond left 2/3 of the way through the series (after 26 episodes) to pursue a director's career which was great for him but not so much for the series. As a result TB became more one note with a tiresome love interest for Shaw substituting in his place.
In addition to Hammond, four others among the pirate crew were developed further as the series progressed. Armando, a half Spanish and half Indian character, played by Edwin Richfield in brown make-up and curly wig, Dan Tempest's go to man who was given a central role in over half the episodes. Gaff (Brian Rawlinson) my wife's favorite of the pirates, a big guy with an even bigger heart who acted first and then thought about it later. Taffy (Paul Hansard), a supposed Welshman, the musician of the group who led the crew in rounds of sea shanties (there was always lots of singing) and also joined in the swordplay and fisticuffs present in every episode. And Dickon (Wilfred Downing), a young boy who came of age under the pirates' tutelage. These leading characters interacted with each other excellently and formed a completely likable, believable ensemble.
This series is based on historical fact. It's set in the Bahamas of 1718 where the Governor General was authorized to offer pardons to pirates in exchange for their protection of the islands from the Spanish and other buccaneers like Blackbeard. Like all shows from this time period, THE BUCCANEERS is family oriented. The potential darker sides of the characters are barely hinted at, the violence is bloodless, and it has a catchy theme song ("Let's go a' roving and join the buccaneers") you might find yourself singing along to. Also as with other shows from the 1950s, this series showcases not only up and coming performers like Robert Shaw, Adrienne Corri, Richard Pasco, and Hazel Court but also well known character players like Anthony Dawson, Alex Mango, Sid James, and Roger Delgado.
Like so many of Lew Grade's early ITV / ITC television shows, THE BUCCANEERS, after its initial run in the U. S., existed in substandard second and third generation copies with poor sound and inconsistent video quality. Back in 2006 Mill Creek Entertainment issued all 39 episodes but not in their original order as first shown, which creates a problem with the character development I spoke of earlier. Still the Mill Creek version is to be preferred over the recent several volume set released by public domain specialists Alpha Video, or what's currently available on Amazon streaming. Although more expensive and Region 2, this Network set from 2008 remains THE set to own. All the episodes are on 5 discs and the picture quality and sound are the best available. Just too bad there aren't any subtitles...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Operacija Ticijan (1963)
Welcome To Dubrovnik.
The 1960s and early 1970s were a Golden Age for filmmaking in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to an uptake in the local product, Western European countries and the United States took advantage of cheap labor costs and the welcoming hospitality of the Marshall Tito regime. Several well known movies were shot there including Orson Welles' THE TRIAL, GENGHIS KHAN with Omar Sharif, ISADORA with Vanessa Redgrave, NICHOLAS & ALEXANDRA, Mel Brooks' THE TWELVE CHAIRS, the Viking epic THE LONG SHIPS with Richard Widmark & Sidney Poitier, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. After a considerable dropoff in the 1990s during the Balkan Wars, the area has since rebounded this century, with the highly popular series GAME OF THRONES being filmed there at this time.
One of the many movies made in Yugoslavia during the 1960s, and completely forgotten today, is OPERATION TITIAN (1963). The story of a stolen painting and the people involved was never released in America in its original version, instead appearing as 3 different films. There was PORTRAIT IN TERROR (1965) which was a shortened version shown only on TV. Then that was completely altered, combined with new footage, and released in 1966 to drive-ins as part of a horror/sci-fi double bill. Rechristened BLOOD BATH, we now dealt with an insane painter who murders his models and covers them in wax. Then BATH was revised again with additional footage and sold to TV as TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE with the painter turned into the title character. You can check all of these out on IMDb.
For the purposes of this review, I shall deal only with the original OPERATION TITIAN which has been rarely seen and deserves better as it is a pretty good movie. It all started in 1962 when legendary B movie entrepreneur Roger Corman went to Croatia (then Yugoslavia) to produce a feature film utilizing local performers and filmmakers. This was to be an International crime thriller involving a stolen portrait by Italian Renaissance master Titian. The two principal male roles were to be played by American actor William Campbell and Irish actor Patrick Magee. Both had already worked with Corman on two movies made in Ireland, THE YOUNG RACERS and DEMENTIA 13, both released in 1963 (check them out on IMDb as well). TITIAN was filmed in 6 weeks in the Fall of 1963 right after the other 2 movies.
To economize further, OT would be shot entirely in and around Dubrovnik. According to Campbell "Being in a seaside resort made it a fun shoot and everyone got along just fine. There were very few problems. It was like a vacation". However, once the movie was finished, Corman realized it would be unreleasable in the U. S. There were no big stars to attract an audience and most Americans didn't even know who Titian was (and probably still don't). It was then that he and the film's distributor, American International, decided to alter the movie into something quite different. First a shortened version would be sold to American television, and then Corman hired an American director, Jack Hill, to re-fashion it into a horror picture with a running time of 66 minutes (down from 88 minutes).
The storyline of the original involves a mediocre artist who is descended from an aristocratic Italian family. He makes a deal with an Irish confederate who will steal his uncle's priceless Titian painting, sell it to a collector, and then they will split the proceeds. As so frequently happens with crimes committed in movies, things go terribly wrong. The Irishman kills the uncle while stealing the painting only to discover that it's a fake and the real Titian has vanished. So what has happened to it and who has taken it? The artist, his former girlfriend, the Irishman's overnight acquaintance (an exotic dancer who performed earlier in the movie), or someone else? When the Yugoslavian police become involved because of the murder, things spiral out of control. The ending is something of a surprise.
While OPERATION TITIAN is nothing extraordinary, it is entertaining and, for those who like picturesque locales in their movies because they know they will never travel there, you get to see Dubrovnik as a resort city in all its glory before the Balkan wars of the 1990s and the break-up of Yugoslavia. All of the principal supporting players hailed from Dubrovnik. They spoke English so dubbing isn't an annoyance but their Slavic names were Westernized in the credits. If you enjoy International intrigue and are looking for a little something off the beaten track, then OPERATION TITIAN will fill the bill nicely. It is available on YouTube in the original and TV versions (the latter should be avoided) and as part of a special Blu-ray set from Arrow Video which contains all 4 incarnations...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Decoy (1957)
Comparing DECOY And DRAGNET.
The original DRAGNET TV series ran from 1951 to 1959 until Jack Webb decided to cancel it after 8 seasons despite continued high ratings. DRAGNET became the template for every cop show that followed including a second DRAGNET that ran from 1968-1971. The many police programs in its wake included DECOY which featured a woman as its main character. That choice of character made it the flip side to DRAGNET which was male dominated. DECOY starred Beverly Garland as policewoman Patricia "Casey" Jones and lasted for a single season (39 episodes) between 1957-58. In the majority of those episodes (25 out of 39), Casey went undercover to catch the criminals which accounts for the title of the series. But there are several further differences between the two shows besides the female undercover officer.
To begin, DRAGNET was a West Coast produced show centering around Los Angeles (filmed at Walt Disney Studios) with very little location shooting whereas DECOY was centered in New York City and incorporated lots of location shooting. Interior shots were done in the old Biograph Studios where D. W Griffith once worked. DRAGNET's performers were mostly from the movie industry while those in New York came from television and the NY stage. Jack Webb was already well known in Hollywood and, in addition to being the creator-star, was also the head of production. DECOY's head of production was Stuart Rosenberg, an unknown TV director who would go on to a successful Hollywood career (COOL HAND LUKE, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR).
Each DRAGNET episode opened with "The story you are about to see is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent" DECOY's disclaimer came not at the beginning but at the end of each episode and read "This story is based on actual cases. All names and places are fictitious for obvious reasons" And as Casey Jones was the main character, each DECOY episode opened with "Presented as a Tribute to Bureau of Policewomen, Police Department Of New York City". Also each program opened with a New York locale before the title credit appeared. A celebrated, retired policewoman, Officer Margaret Leonard, who served as the inspiration for the Casey Jones character, was credited as the technical advisor for the show.
However the greatest difference between the two series lay in the storylines. In DRAGNET, each program was your basic "Chase 'Em, Catch 'Em, & Convict 'Em" while DECOY's was "Chase 'Em, Catch Em & And Try To Understand 'Em". Sgt. Joe Friday was just an ordinary, everyday, hardworking cop doing his routine job. Policewoman Casey Jones was given more exciting fare. She got to pose as everything from a high class call girl to a fashion model to a nightclub singer to lure and flush out the bad guys. Once they were duly apprehended, Casey would address the camera to point out how it was the faults of Society that created criminals. DRAGNET on the other hand closed with the criminals being tried, convicted, and sentenced according to the severity of their crime, minus explanations. You do the crime, you do the time.
While Jack Webb was the ideal personification of Joe Friday (as it should be since he created Joe), I can't say the same for Beverly Garland as "Casey" Jones. Garland was a very capable actress as proved in a number of 1950s B movies. She could be really tough when called for as shown in SWAMP WOMEN and GUNSLINGER (both 1956). In DECOY, however, I found her a little too glam to be entirely believable as an undercover cop. Class and charm might work for the occasional high end assignment but not for the majority of the down and out characters she also impersonated, such as a nightclub singer or woman's prison inmate. I blame the producers and 1950s sensibilities for this approach. My choice for the role would have been Ida Lupino, who had more grit.
Having said this, DECOY has two things going for it. 1) New York City locations ca.1957. We are given the rare opportunity to glimpse iconic NYC locations such as Penn Central station, Horn & Hardart Automat, The Stork Club, Charlie Parker's Birdland Jazz Club, Colony Records on Times Square, and Sardi's Restaurant. While shooting on location the cameras were hidden so passersby were unaware of what was going on and didn't stop to stare, lending authenticity. And 2) The secondary performers. While DECOY gives us old pros like Al Lewis, Vincent Gardenia, Albert Dekker, and Frank Silvera, it's the up and coming talent like Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Balsam, Ed Asner, Lois Nettleton, Larry Hagman, Frank Sutton, Suzanne Pleshette, and Peter Falk on the cusp of their careers that are really interesting to see. Almost all of them hailed from the New York stage and would later make their marks in television.
Although inspired by and modeled on DRAGNET, DECOY explored controversial subject matter which DRAGNET expressly avoided. Topics such as obscene phone calls, heroin addiction, gun running, dysfunctional families, spousal abuse, and mental illness. Unlike DRAGNET which had several episodes in the can before it aired, DECOY's shows were shot only two weeks in advance before broadcast. Ultimately the controversial subject matter of some the shows coupled with the social commentary-like endings discouraged would-be advertisers and the series was cancelled after one season due to lack of funds. Now, thanks to Film Chest Media, all 39 episodes are available on 3 CDs with lots of bonus materials for a very good price.... For more reviews see The Capsule Critic.
Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)
Third And Last Movie In The Cinemagic Trilogy.
JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1962) is the third and final offering in the so-called "Cinemagic Trilogy" following THE ANGRY RED PLANET (1960) and REPTILICUS (1961). Cinemagic was a production company founded by producer-director Sidney Pink and Danish born writer and director Ib Melchior. While not the most technically accomplished of the three (that distinction belongs to PLANET), JOURNEY has the most interesting plot. As the title proclaims, it tells the story of a rocket trip to Uranus (here pronounced u-RAH-nus) and what happens to the crew of that spaceship after they arrive. Like its predecessor REPTILICUS, JOURNEY was a Danish-American co-production filmed in Denmark. Unlike the previous movie which had an all Danish cast, American actor John Agar was brought in and given top billing.
The imaginative storyline, which would be copied 10 years later in the big budget Soviet epic SOLARIS, has the astronauts discovering that not only does Uranus look like Earth it contains their collective memories and everything they desired back on Earth. That's because the super intelligence controlling the planet is capable of reading their minds. Each crew member has different experiences. One visualizes the farm he grew up on in Denmark, another an apple orchard, and a third encounters his childhood sweetheart. The John Agar character is introduced to several women all dressed up for a night on the town. Of course they know nothing is real but succumb to it anyway. Just what are the super brain's motives, and how do the astronauts fit into its plans? *NOT A SPOILER ALERT* You'll just have to watch it to find out.
Once again the space crew travels without spacesuits and lounge about in business office furniture interacting with ship's equipment not much changed since the 1950s. Lots of lights and dials plus handles and buttons to push. There's even a porthole. But we don't watch these movies for their technical brilliance, it's the story and the characters that we care about. Right? Of course not. We want a monster. So we get a monster, *PERHAPS A SPOILER ALERT* a giant eye creature which is at the center of it all. Since this movie was distributed and partially financed by American International, we are treated to stock footage from their 1959 opus EARTH-vs-THE SPIDER. The "Cinemagic" effects this time around includes swirling colors, stop motion animation, and stuck-into-the-ground Hobby Lobby style fake plants. Although to be fair, the astronauts are aware of this fakery as they pull one out. "Look! No roots!"
While it's cheesy sci-fi B movie fun, what will stick with you from this movie are the changing psychedelic primary colors and the "I can control your minds" voiceover narration. The last two elements made JTTSP "a trip" to watch circa late 1960s and helped to turn it into a cult favorite. Last but certainly not least is the title song JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET sung by Otto Brandenburg. A 1960s Europop classic if ever there was one. Be sure you watch the ending credits all the way through to experience it. It's worth it. JOURNEY has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber who neglected to include subtitles. Your best bet is the older MIDNITE MOVIES DVD which not only features closed captioning but is also in the proper aspect ratio. Someday I would love to have all 3 Cinematic features in one set and with lots of extras.
The Angry Red Planet (1959)
THE ANGRY RED PLANET: Ib Melchior's Magnum Sci-Fi Opus.
Ib Melchior, son of famed Danish Wagnerian tenor Lauritz Melchior, had no desire to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a musical career. After graduating from the University of Copenhagen, he went to England and became involved in the theatre first as an actor and then as a stage manager and later a director. In early 1941 Ib came to the U. S., joined the Armed Forces, and worked as a military intelligence investigator. After World War II he entered into television directing hundreds of New York based shows in a wide variety of genres. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he wrote and occasionally directed low budget sci-fi movies, of which THE ANGRY RED PLANET is the most fondly remembered.
ARP was one of three science fiction features made in collaboration with American B movie producer Sidney Pink. The other two, REPTILICUS (1961) and JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1962), were made in Melchior's native Denmark. All three were distributed by American International and raked in tidy profits which wasn't too difficult as they cost very little to produce. ANGRY RED PLANET, the first in the series and filmed in America, had the biggest budget. It was shot in 9 days and cost 200K. ARP was the first film to utilize the process Melchior and Pink dubbed "Cinemagic," the magic here consisting primarily of tinting and colorizing black & white drawings during the Martian sequences. The rest of the movie was shot using standard color film stock.
PLANET tells the story of a rocket flight to Mars made by 4 astronauts, 3 men and 1 woman. Like most Fifties sci-fi films, no one wears space suits, they don't experience weightlessness, and sit in modified desk chairs. Radio contact with Earth is as simple as flipping a switch on the console. The female scientist is is nicknamed "Irish" and given flaming too-red hair which obviously is not hers, nor anyone's, natural color. One astronaut, a professor, smokes a pipe, another, the rocket's mechanic, is a mensch from Brooklyn, and the Captain is your typical he-man with chest hair and an eye for his red-headed colleague. After stock footage taken from a 1950's Space Center, they blast off and have a smooth, uneventful trip to Mars. Then the fun begins.
The surface of Mars is where "Cinemagic" kicks in. Although patently unrealistic, the red tint and solarized drawings are definitely surrealistic and imbues ARP with a unique, and undeniably angry red appearance. The astronauts encounter hostile vegetation, the infamous "Bat/Rat/Crab/Spider" creature which is a puppet with the strings matted out, a giant one-eyes amoeba, and finally a 3 eyed Martian. As for how things go from there, you'll just have to watch to see for yourself. ARP concludes with a 1950s moral warning, which was typical of the era.. Actors Gerald Mohr, Les Tremayne, and Jack Kruschen, all B movie veterans who had been there and done that before, know how to handle this type of material. Actress Nora Hayden gives it her best, but one can understand why her career was a short one.
There are numerous versions of ARP available on home video including a recent Blu-ray from Shout Factory. You can also find it free on the internet, but as is usually the case with free vintage films on the internet, the visual and sonic quality cannot compare with actual physical media. My personal favorite ARP is the original 2001 Midnight Movie DVD edition. While a little older, it does present the movie in its original aspect ratio. It is not enhanced for widescreen TV which slightly stretches the picture. ARP also comes in a double DVD MIDNIGHT MOVIES set with three other movies which are THE MAN FROM PLANET X, the aptly less than stellar MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE and ALIEN FROM L. A. Avoid the Timeless Media foursome which doesn't come with any extras...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
No abras nunca esa puerta (1952)
Argentinian Film Noir Packs A One-Two Punch.
Flicker Alley continues their series of Argentinian film noir with NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR, a 1952 film of two stories based on works by Cornell Woolrich, the Arthur Conan Doyle of Noir, under his pen name of William Irish. The two stories 1) SOMEBODY'S ON THE PHONE and 2) THE HUMMINGBIRD COMES HOME were written in the late 1940s. The "door" referenced in the title is a metaphor for separating "good" from "evil". One must never open this "door" without suffering serious "anguish" and "pain"
The first story ("anguish") concerns a well-to-do man and his younger sister. The sister is involved with an individual who treats her very badly. When the brother tries to help her, she commits suicide leaving him bereft and angry. He becomes obsessed with avenging her death. The only clue he has to that person's identity is a signal determined by how many times a telephone rings along with briefly sighting her in a night club accompanied by an older man. He slowly gathers more details then sets out for revenge.
The second story ("pain") involves an impoverished blind mother devoted to a son she hasn't been in contact with in years. She always thinks the best of him without knowing that he's turned to a life of crime. When her son returns home with friends, she's overjoyed until she discovers they're planning a bank heist. She must then find a way to prevent the heist and save her son. How she goes about it makes for a tense unfolding which leads to a final confrontation and truly bittersweet ending.
The movie was originally intended to have a third story, IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE which is about a young schoolboy who feels compelled to keep a classmate's secret even though it resulted in the classmate's brutal death. Making it worse is that his father is a police inspector who is considering resigning because he can't solve the murder. Time passes and another classmate seems headed for the identical fate. Can the boy prevent her from being killed without breaking his vow of silence?
However, the third story would have put the movie at over two hours which was considered too long for an Argentinian feature of the day and so WAKE, being the longest of the three stories, was released as a separate short film, and is included as one of the special features on this Blu-ray release. All three stories have the look of classic film noir with lots of dark lighting, restless camerawork, and crisp editing. NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR has been fully restored while WAKE is taken from the best surviving material.
This is the fourth in Flicker Alley's ongoing series of Argentinian film noir following THE BEAST MUST DIE, THE BITTER STEMS, and THE BLACK VAMPIRE. All have been restored with the help of the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Film Noir Foundation. Not being subject to the American Production Code, the movies are darker in tone and in their subject material. They aptly show that the look and feel of film noir wasn't just confined to the United States. While all are worth seeing, DOOR is the finest of the bunch so far...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
Zaza (1923)
A Chance To See Gloria Swanson Long Before SUNSET BOULEVARD.
Silent movies of Gloria Swanson that were not directed by Cecil B. DeMille are very hard to come by although Gloria was a fairly prolific silent film actress. Allan Dwan was a prolific director whose career lasted 50 years (1911-1961). It featured movies with Douglas Fairbanks (ROBIN HOOD) as well as John Wayne (SANDS OF IWO JIMA) yet he remains virtually unrecognized today. Despite her long association with DeMille, Swanson said that Dwan was her favorite director so the combination of the two is definitely worth a look. Their other collaborations are currently unavailable.
ZAZA is based on a once popular play about a provincial French showgirl who begins an affair with a French diplomat only to discover that he has a wife and child that he never told her about. When he leaves her to return to them, she is devastated and goes to Paris where she becomes a big star. They then meet again many years later. The diplomat is portrayed by H. M. Warner in a rather solemn performance. He became famous later for playing Jesus in the original KING OF KINGS (1927) and as Mr Gower, the druggist, in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. He is also one of the "waxworks" in SUNSET BOULEVARD. Swanson's dipsomaniac aunt is played by character actress Lucille La Verne who would later voice the Wicked Queen in Disney's SNOW WHITE
ZAZA gives Swanson the opportunity to go from one emotional extreme to the other. In the beginning she is all unbridled raw energy as the small town headliner in a local cabaret who bedevils her maid and her co-workers while trying to catch the eye of the diplomat. Once they become involved with each other, she settles into being the perfect partner until her lover goes back to his family. After the scene where she discovers that the diplomat has a wife and child, we get a sadder, more subdued Swanson. The later scene where she meets the child as a young girl is a dramatic highlight. The ending had ladies of the day reaching for their handkerchiefs..
Allan Dwan was one of many Hollywood directors who were derided by a later generation of critics as company men who submerged their personalities to turn out the typical Hollywood product. The most notable director in this category is Michael Curtiz, the man behind CASABLANCA. While I admire the movies of auteurs like Orson Welles, Ken Russell, and Stanley Kubrick. I prefer the work of so called "company men" who could adapt themselves to any genre and who focused on storytelling rather than style. Directors like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford managed to be both.
This new DVD/Blu-Ray of ZAZA looks great with excellent image quality throughout. There is some wonderful camera work in the early cabaret scenes. The bucolic quality of the cottage scenes is also noteworthy. This print was obviously well cared for as it looks as if it did not require major restoration. The piano score by Jeff Rapsis is well performed and is taken from the original 1923 cue sheet. While not a great movie, ZAZA is worth seeing as a star vehicle for Gloria Swanson and as a typical product of its era. Thanks to Paramount and to Kino for making it available...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
You Never Know Women (1926)
An Ideal Introduction To Silent Movies.
Kino Lorber in partnership with Paramount has just released another title in an ongoing series of silent movies from the Paramount vaults which started back in 2017 with THE COVERED WAGON and BEGGARS OF LIFE. This time it's William Wellman's YOU NEVER KNOW WOMEN, an engaging comedy-drama that was his penultimate film before the monumental WWI epic WINGS which made his reputation. Clocking in at a tight 71 minutes WOMEN tells the story of an unlikely love triangle between a Russian acrobat (Florence Vidor), her associate (Clive Brook) and a wealthy man about town (Lowell Sherman).
A rich cad falsely takes credit for saving a young woman from a falling girder at a construction site. He then follows her to a theater where she is performing with a troupe of Russian acrobats. The troop is led by a magician who is clearly patterned after Harry Houdini. He loves her but is too shy to express it. The cad is not. She responds to the cad's attention which depresses the magician. All this takes place on the eve of a very dangerous stunt involving handcuffs and a locked box dropped into the NYC harbor. The trick goes awry, the cad shows his true colors, and it all leads to a satisfying conclusion.
WOMEN was Wellman's 10th film and he is already showing what he could do with a camera and with the imaginative staging of scenes that carry the story without distracting from it. The performances from the 3 principals keep us engaged and there is wonderful comic support from vaudeville veteran El Brendel and a performing goose. The story may be old hat but the treatment of it is not. While the title is taken from one of the title cards, it is very misleading along with the original poster art which is replicated on the cover. In the story it is the woman being manipulated, not the two men.
This restoration is taken from a copy of an original 35mm print in the Paramount archives and it looks very good. You can tell it's original by the title cards which are all of a piece and suffer from very minor print deterioration. The new music score from Donald Sosin has a slightly Russian flavor that adds to the overall enjoyment one experiences. Not a major film from one of classic Hollywood's legendary directors but one that would be an ideal introduction to silent movies for a modern audience. The background commentary provided as an extra from the director's son is very informative...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.