House of Usher (1960)

“Is there no end to your horrors?”  13 September 2019

Phillip Winthrop (Mark Damon) arrives at the Usher mansion seeking his fiancé, Madeline (Myrna Fahey).  Instead, he’s met by Madeline’s brother, Roderick (Vincent Price). Roderick informs him that Madeline cannot leave the house as she is suffering from a mysterious affliction related to an Usher family curse.  Phillip has trouble believing that explanation and fears that Roderick is either keeping his beloved imprisoned or, even worse, trying to murder her. 

I have internet “friends” who adore House of Usher.  I, however, do not share their enthusiasm. As far as the Corman-Poe films are concerned, I much prefer Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, or even The Raven.  The problem I have with House of Usher is pacing. I enjoy a good slow-burn horror as much as the next person, but I find the first 2/3 of this movie all but sleep inducing.  The story moves at a snail’s pace. By the time the terrific third act kicks in, it’s too late for me. And that’s a shame because the film’s finale is very entertaining and goes a long way to redeeming the whole thing in my eyes. 

I will also give House of Usher some credit on two other fronts.  First, most of the acting is quite good. Price gives an incredible performance - perhaps one of his best.  He’s amazing. And once Mark Damon warms up, the rest of the cast is almost as strong. Second, House of Usher looks better than it has any right to.  Corman’s budget for the entire production is listed on IMDb at $200,000. Visually, he certainly got a lot of bang for his buck. 

5/10

Nancy Drew (2007)

“Excuse me, I have to defuse this bomb.”  12 September 2019

Nancy Drew promised her dad she wouldn’t get involved in anymore sleuthing.  But when the Drews rent a home that had belonged to a movie star who died under mysterious circumstances, what’s a girl detective to do?  Nancy soon finds herself threatened by baddies, looking for a lost will, and investigating the circumstances behind a decades old adoption.  It’s just a normal day for Nancy Drew!

I realize that there’s no way in the world that I’m part of the target audience that the makers of Nancy Drew were going for.  Despite that, I had a surprisingly good time with the film. Sure, the mystery is paper thin, the comedy is all too obvious, and some of the acting is substandard, but I still found it entertaining.  Emma Roberts is just about perfect as teen Nancy. She might be perky, cute, charming, delightful (pick your adjective), and a bit old fashioned, but she’s a bulldog when she gets on the scent of a mystery.  Run her off the road, kidnap her, put a bomb in her car – she takes it all in stride with a smile on her face. I thoroughly enjoyed the character and Ms Roberts’ performance. The sets are another big plus for Nancy Drew.  The creepy old mansion, complete with hidden passages, is the ideal setting for a mystery. Andrew Fleming’s direction is pretty much spot-on. I found the film’s pacing just about perfect from beginning to end. Finally, I got a real kick out of seeing a few old, familiar faces, like Rachel Leigh Cook and Bruce Willis.   

According to IMDb, Nancy Drew made just over $30 million.  I wish it had made more. I would like to have seen a whole series of Emma Roberts-led Nancy Drew films. 

6/10

It Takes a Thief "The Thingamabob Heist" #2.4 (1968) (TV)

One of my new favorites, 11 September 2019

The Quick Pitch:  Mundy must locate and steal a new type of fuel before it can be sold to America’s enemies.  The problem is that because the fuel can take any form or shape, Mundy has no idea what it looks like. 

I had an absolute blast watching The Thingamabob Heist.  My enjoyment had almost nothing to do with the plot or the shape-shifting fuel.  Instead, the acting in this episode is about as good as I’ve seen in an episode of It Takes a Thief.  Robert Wagner’s work here with co-star Ricardo Montalban is amazing. The two had some truly incredible on-screen chemistry.  Montalban had a way of delivering the most threatening lines without ever losing that twinkle in his eye. A really professional job.  The rest of the cast is solid. Bill Russell (yes, Boston Celtic Bill Russell) is a lot of fun as Monalban’s enforcer. And Sharon Acker did about as good as any actress I can remember playing the “hottie hiding behind the glasses”.  I suppose I should also credit writer Ronald Kibbee for giving Wagner and Montalban such fun dialogue to throw back and forth. I was literally smiling ear-to-ear. Finally, I’ll mention director Jack Arnold. I was shocked to see his name pop-up in the opening credits.  Some of his 50s sci-fi/horror movies are among my favorites. I’m overjoyed to see he directed seven more episodes of It Takes a Thief. 

As I like to do with every series I watch, when I’m finished, I’ll most likely make a list of favorite episodes.  I’ll be shocked if The Thingamabob Heist isn’t on that list. 

8/10

Ringo and His Golden Pistol (1966)

Carlo Savina’s music is the highlight, 10 September 2019

The Quick Pitch:  After bounty hunter Johnny Ringo kills his brothers, a Mexican bandit joins forces with a band of Apaches to seek his revenge. 

Overall, Ringo and His Golden Gun is a good, but not great, Spaghetti Western.  I may have gone in expecting way too much as the movie was directed by the great Sergio Corbucci.  His films Django, The Great Silence, and Companeros are among my favorites of the genre. Ringo and His Golden Gun doesn’t quite measure up to that standard.  Ringo and His Golden Gun is not as dark and brutal with the over-the-top violence found in many of Corbucci’s other films. It almost feels like a standard, run-of-the-mill American Western.  Not that that’s a bad thing, just not what I was hoping for. I found the first third of the film very entertaining – meeting Ringo and getting the basic story of what’s to come. But somewhere in the second act, things started to drag a bit.  The grand gunfight during the film’s finale should have been a highlight, but it lacked that something special to make it memorable. Most of the acting was solid, including Mark Damon as Ringo. Though I must admit that his ridiculous looking mustache and eyeliner made me chuckle a time or two.  Other positives of note include Riccardo Pallottini’s cinematography and, especially, Carlo Savina’s score. Savina’s work on Ringo and His Golden Gun is eerily reminiscent of Ennio Morricone. I’ve often said that if it weren’t for Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci would probably be better known. I’ll add to that by saying that if it weren’t for Morricone, Savina would no doubt be better known. 

6/10

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)

Are there many more movies about shrunken heads?  9 September 2019

The Quick Pitch:  Over 100 years ago, a South American witch-doctor placed a curse on the male members of the Drake family.  Each will die at the age of 60 and each will have his head mysteriously removed prior to burial. Jonathan Drake’s fear of the curse is justified when his brother’s head disappears shortly after death.

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake could easily be dismissed as a low-budget throwaway, except for its rather unique subject matter.  I’m not sure I can remember seeing a film (at least from this time period) with shrunken heads as a central theme. To the film’s credit, it treats the subject seriously without ever getting too silly.  The decapitation scenes, while handled off-screen, are about as gruesome as anything you’ll find in a 1950s era film. And the special effects involving the decapitated and shrunken heads are better than I expected.  The acting is fairly atrocious from the entire cast. Henry Daniell’s overacting as the main baddie might be the lone bright sport - and that’s probably for all the wrong reasons. Budgetary limitations really show up in the sets.  Nothing looks real and it’s painfully obvious everything is stage-bound. I’m guessing the movie was filmed on a set no bigger than my living room. My favorite examples of the low budget nature of the film are the repeated scenes where cars are driven on the small set to the front of the Drake estate.  Each time, the car goes about 10 feet from right-to-left, hard 180 degree turn, through the tiny gate, coming to a stop 5 feet later within touching distance of the front door. This scene occurs so often that it really got amusing. 

5/10