Gammera the Invincible (1966)

With an added “m”, 1 May 2020

Back when I first watched Gamera, I thought I was watching the Americanized version.  I now know that wasn’t the case – I was watching the original Japanese film from 1965.  Regardless, that movie is still a bad movie.  This one, however, with the American shot scenes wedged into the film, dialogue and plot changes, and an added “m” in the title, is a much more enjoyable film.  The 1966 Gammera the Invincible is one whacked-out movie. 

All the problems I had with the original Gamera are still here – bad special effects and miniatures, Kenny, and the ridiculous finale.  But in the 1966 version, it comes off as more entertaining because it’s all so silly.  Of all the scenes and dialogue changes made for this film, my favorite bit has to be the added NORAD (I think it was NORAD) scenes.  I’d like to see an entire movie based on these people.   There’s a fantastic 60s vibe to this part of the film that really worked for me.  And what about the cabinet meetings where Gamera is discussed.  Brian Donlevy is a hoot to watch.  You can tell how silly he thinks the whole thing is.  Good stuff. 

So, while I gave Gamera (1965) a deserved 4/10, I’m rating Gammera the Invincible (1966) a 6/10.  It’s just a more entertaining experience for me. 

6/10

Dangerous Money (1946)

“Hasty man could also drink tea with fork.”  1 May 2020

A US Treasury Agent, hot on the trail of some “hot money”, is murdered aboard a sea liner headed for Samoa.  Conveniently, Charlie Chan is on board.  He naturally takes over the case and is faced with a boat load of suspects to weed through to find a killer. 

I’ll keep this short and sweet because, overall, Dangerous Money is fairly lackluster, below par entry in the long running Charlie Chan series.  This was Sidney Toler’s second to last outing as Chan and he looks tired.  The twinkle in his eye so evident in earlier Chan films is gone.  He looks like someone who’d rather be doing just about anything else than playing the same old character.  As for the film itself, other than the promising ocean liner setting (I always enjoy a mystery on a ship), a few good scenes at the beginning, above average production values for a Monogram film, and Gloria Warren, there’s really not much to recommend.  I’ve always found the mystery in Dangerous Money a muddled mess.  There are no real clues for Chan to follow.  It seems that he does more wild speculating based on no real evidence than any real detective work.  He’s aided by bumbling son Jimmy and sidekick Chattanooga.  They literally stumble into the solution to the mystery.   

I’m not sure how this movie has the rating it does on IMDb.  I can’t see giving it more than a 4/10.

4/10

The 9th Guest (1934)

Who is The 9th Guest?, 30 April 2020

I’m not sure how or why I haven’t seen this one before.  The 9th Guest is an incredibly enjoyable discovery on my part.  As any number of comments online will point out, the movie plays out much like Agatha Christie’s better known And Then There Were None.  Though The 9th Guest isn’t a comedy, I’d be shocked to discover that this film wasn’t at least a partial inspiration behind the wickedly funny Murder by Death and/or Clue. 

In the film, eight guests have been invited to a mysterious party where they are promised a memorable evening.  Each guest has a closet full of skeletons and most are quite vocal in their feelings toward the other members of the party.  We later learn that the titular 9th guest is “Death”.  The party’s host makes his presence known via a radio in the main room.  He promises that throughout the night, one-by-one, each member of the party will be killed.  With no means of escape, who will survive the night?

The acting in The 9th Guest is first rate.  I’m not sure I was overly familiar with most of the cast, but all are outstanding.  The writing is also worth noting.  The dialogue is especially sharp.  But I think the biggest kudos for the success of The 9th Guest have to go to director Roy William Neill (oddly credited as R. William Neill).  It takes a masterful hand to wring this much atmosphere out of a film.  Add to that the fact Neill does this without the usual gothic trappings I generally consider necessary to an atmospheric film.  Instead of an old, dark Victorian mansion or some ancient, crumbling gothic abbey, The 9th Guest features a thoroughly modern (for its time) art deco penthouse setting I wouldn’t normally associate with a film like this.  The movie is only let down by how ridiculous some of the characters act when faced with death.  Had they just kept a level head, more might have survived.  But how fun would that have been?

8/10  

The Hidden Eye (1945)

Not among my favorites, 30 April 2020

After several members of Jean Hampton’s family are murdered, the police begin to suspect her fiancé.  Jean decides to hire a private detective to help find the real killer.  Captain Duncan Maclain comes onto the case.  Being blind, Maclain is a rather unique detective who brings his own methods and skills to the case.  And, as one of the few clues is a distinct perfume left behind at each crime scene, being blind may prove an advantage.  But can he uncover the killer before anyone else is murdered?

Unlike a lot of the older films I’ve watched lately, I’m not really a fan of The Hidden Eye.  My first issue with the film is the way Edward Albert played Maclain.  It just never feels right.  I didn’t care for him as a character.  His deep, hearty laughing response to most every situation really put me off.  He solves a case – laughter.  He uncovers a clue – laughter.  He wrestles a baddie – laughter.  His dog is kidnapped – laughter.  It was so bizarre and I didn’t care for it.  My second issue was how easily the mystery was solved.  One of the biggest clues is a phone number that Maclain overhears being dialed.  How fortunate that of all the phone numbers the bad guy could have called, he dials one that Maclain already knows.  So by happenstance, Maclain comes up with the murderer’s identity.  This also didn’t work for me.

The real highlight and the thing I will remember most about watching The Hidden Eye was seeing Audrey Totter in an all too brief, uncredited performance as a perfume saleslady.   Her 45 seconds of screen time was so amazing that I had to stop the movie to look her up on IMDb. 

4/10

Mystery Broadcast (1943)

Ruth Terry and Mary Treen are fantastic, 29 April 2020

Trying to boost her ratings, a radio show mystery writer, Jan Cornell (Ruth Terry), promises to solve a real life murder on the following week’s program.  With the help of her soundman . . . er, make that soundwoman . . . she sets out to investigate.  When one of her witnesses turns up dead, Jan realizes she’s on the right track.

Despite the poor image and sound quality of the transfer I watched, Mystery Broadcast was still an enjoyable experience.  It’s pretty obvious right from the start that director George Sherman didn’t have much of a budget to work with.  Calling it a “B” is an understatement.  Still, Sherman crafted a funny, suspenseful film that moves at a fantastic pace for its all too brief 63 minute runtime.  There’s a lot packed into just over an hour.  Most of the fun comes from watching Terry and co-star Mary Treen (who steals almost every scene she’s in) navigate the variety of sometimes spooky situations they find themselves in.  The bit with the old, dark house and the crying pines is especially memorable.  Terry and Treen work off each other expertly in these scenes.  The ending is clever, even though there’s no way you can play along and guess the killer’s identity.  The plot has the murderer sort of out themselves.  Overall, a solid little film that should appeal to any fan of old mystery/comedies.  

7/10

The Smiling Ghost (1941)

“Boss, if you hear something whizzing by you, it’ll be me”, 28 April 2020

Lucky Downing is offered a job paying $1,000 if he can act as a young woman’s fiancé for one month. The problem for Lucky is that the young woman, Elinor Bentley Fairchild, is also known as the Kiss-of-Death Girl. It seems she had three previous potential husbands and each met with tragedy before they could be married. Is Lucky to suffer the same fate or can he break the curse?

Bottom line - The Smiling Ghost sure is a lot of fun. Here’s a laundry list of what I liked:

Most of the Cast: Helen Westley, Brenda Marshall, Alexis Smith, and Alan Hale are all absolutely fantastic. In fact, some of the catty scenes with Marshall and Smith are highlights of the movie for me. The two women play off each other perfectly.

The Old, Dark House; The setting in The Smiling Ghost couldn’t be more perfect. I love a big old creepy house, complete with secret passages, a raging thunderstorm, and filled with shifty characters.

Willie Best: I really hate that Best had to play to the stereotypes of the era, because he shows what a comedic genius he was. His comic timing is as good as you’ll find.

Special Effects: I would normally never mention this in a comedy/mystery, but the titular Smiling Ghost make-up is especially creepy. And the decision by director Lewis Seiler to play the Smiling Ghost as a sinister entity and not part of the comedic hi-jinks was brilliant. The fact that the ghost is a credible threat adds to the overall atmosphere.

As for things I didn’t care for, well, there are really only two that stand out. One, Wayne Morris in the lead role didn’t really work for me. In reading other comments, I know a lot of people enjoyed his performance. For me, he was too wishy-washy to be effective. Two, a lot of the plot is horribly predictable. The mystery isn’t really all that mysterious. I think I knew the killer’s identity the moment they appeared on screen. And the plot twists involving the relationships were as obvious as the nose on your face. Still, The Smiling Ghost wasn’t meant to be a thoughtful piece of film. It’s meant to be entertaining and, at that, it’s successful.

7/10

Strange Affair (1944)

Tries hard to be The Thin Man, 27 April 2020

I haven’t actually done any research on this, but I get a sneaky feeling that Strange Affair was an attempt by another studio (Columbia in this case) to cash-in on the success of The Thin Man series.  You can’t help but notice the similarities - a fairly wealthy, thoroughly urban couple with modern (for its time) sensibilities gets mixed-up in solving a murder.  Even the couple’s banter and playful jealousy is straight out of the Nick and Nora playbook.  Allyn Joslyn and Evelyn Keyes are fine as the would-be sleuths, but William Powell and Myrna Loy they aren’t.  Joslyn and Keys just don’t have the same chemistry that Powell and Loy had. 

As for the rest of the film, the murder is okay, but nothing spectacular.  It’s pretty much impossible to play along with other than the old adage about the least suspicious person being the killer.  The comedy can be hit or miss, with the scenes involving Joslyn acting as the doorman being among my favorite.  The movie looks great, but most Columbia pictures from the 40s do.  The supporting cast is fine.  I always love seeing Shemp Howard pop-up in the most unlikely of places.  He does a great bit involving counting shirts for the laundry.    

As much as I’d like to rate Strange Affair higher, it’s really only about average as far as entertainment value goes.  Joslyn and Keyes give it their all, but are let down by a fairly routine script. 

5/10