More rampaging gorilla, someone other than Acquanetta playing the gorilla woman, more Carradine, something for Ankers to do, and less lion taming – that's what Captive Wild Woman needed.
4/10
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Captive Wild Woman (1943)
One of Universal's poorer efforts, 5 October 2007
Captive Wild Woman is proof that not all of the Universal horror movies of the 30s and 40s should be considered "classics". I've seen worse movies, but this is certainly one of the poorer Universal efforts I've thus far run across. The plot description on IMDb ("A mad scientist transplants human glands into a gorilla, turning the ape into a beautiful young woman (Acquanetta). However, a severe emotional jolt soon reverts her back into her primitive self with disastrous consequences.") only describes about half the movie. Seriously, the story of the gorilla turned to woman and back again doesn't take up half the movie's already short 61 minute runtime. The other half is made up of scene after seemingly endless scene of lion taming. It gets dull pretty quickly and zaps whatever energy the movie might have otherwise had going for it. Ape-turned-woman Acquanetta doesn't do much of anything other than stand mutely outside the cage and stare at the lions. How exciting is that? But if you've seen any of her other movies, having her stand like a statue is probably the extent of her acting ability. Milburn Stone is alright as the lion tamer. He also has the enviable task of man-handling Evelyn Ankers at every opportunity. Speaking of Ankers, she's wasted in a "do nothing" role. Finally, there's John Carradine. While he's actually very good, his screen time is too limited what with all the lion taming going on.
More rampaging gorilla, someone other than Acquanetta playing the gorilla woman, more Carradine, something for Ankers to do, and less lion taming – that's what Captive Wild Woman needed.
4/10
More rampaging gorilla, someone other than Acquanetta playing the gorilla woman, more Carradine, something for Ankers to do, and less lion taming – that's what Captive Wild Woman needed.
4/10
The Black Cat (1941)
"He must think he's Sherlock Holmes", 4 October 2007
The family of Henrietta Winslow gathers in her old rambling house for the reading of her will. Problem is, Henrietta's not dead. But this greedy bunch will soon see to that. Before you can say "Watch out Granny!", she's been murdered. And Henrietta won't be the only person murdered this night as greed takes hold of everyone involved.
Based on what I've read over the years about the 1941 version of The Black Cat, I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it now that I finally had the opportunity to see it. No, it's not the best thing that Universal put out, but it is an enjoyable little mystery/thriller with a great setting and a strong cast. On its face, The Black Cat would seem to be a movie tailor-made for me – a creepy dark old house filled with hidden rooms and secret passages, a dark and stormy night, Basil Rathbone, multiple murders with multiple suspects, Bela Lugosi, and no escape because of a washed-out bridge. What's not to love about the set-up? The Black Cat successfully mixes comedy with the chills – something that can be difficult to successfully do. There's a scene with Lugosi doing his best impersonation of a cat-wrangler that had me laughing out loud. Or the scene where one character condescendingly remarks that Rathbone's character must think he's Sherlock Holmes – good stuff! I found the ending to be very satisfying. After a delightful series of red herrings, it's always a treat to discover the killer is the absolute last person you would have considered. And while I mentioned Rathbone and Lugosi, the entire cast is great. Even Broderick Crawford, seemingly terribly miscast as the films unlikely hero, is a lot fun.
Overall, I'm very happy to have finally "discovered" The Black Cat. It's one I'm already looking forward to revisiting.
7/10
Based on what I've read over the years about the 1941 version of The Black Cat, I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it now that I finally had the opportunity to see it. No, it's not the best thing that Universal put out, but it is an enjoyable little mystery/thriller with a great setting and a strong cast. On its face, The Black Cat would seem to be a movie tailor-made for me – a creepy dark old house filled with hidden rooms and secret passages, a dark and stormy night, Basil Rathbone, multiple murders with multiple suspects, Bela Lugosi, and no escape because of a washed-out bridge. What's not to love about the set-up? The Black Cat successfully mixes comedy with the chills – something that can be difficult to successfully do. There's a scene with Lugosi doing his best impersonation of a cat-wrangler that had me laughing out loud. Or the scene where one character condescendingly remarks that Rathbone's character must think he's Sherlock Holmes – good stuff! I found the ending to be very satisfying. After a delightful series of red herrings, it's always a treat to discover the killer is the absolute last person you would have considered. And while I mentioned Rathbone and Lugosi, the entire cast is great. Even Broderick Crawford, seemingly terribly miscast as the films unlikely hero, is a lot fun.
Overall, I'm very happy to have finally "discovered" The Black Cat. It's one I'm already looking forward to revisiting.
7/10
The She-Creature (1956)
Not much to recommend here, 3 October 2007
With the assistance of hypnotist Dr. Carlo Lambardi (Chester Morris), Andrea Talbott (Marla English) is capable of regressing through a series of past lives. Some, like English maiden Elizabeth Wetherby, are quite innocuous. But Dr. Lambardi takes Andrea even further back – back to a time before humans existed. He takes her back to an amphibious creature that would someday become Andrea. But there are consequences. When Andrea regresses to this She-Creature, somehow it's capable of making the journey back to the present with her. A series of murders up and down the coast are proof. Andrea wants to escape from Lambardi and his powerful control over her. But is his control as powerful as the She-Creature?
What an uneventful way to spend 77 minutes. The She-Creature is dull all the way through. I can't think of anything much duller than watching someone being hypnotized over and over and over. The cast doesn't help much. Chester Morris isn't much of a threat as the baddie. Lance Fuller makes for the most "do nothing" lead I've seen – unless you call staring blankly into space doing something. Finally, while I've always enjoyed Tom Conway's work, The She-Creature gives him little to do and Conway makes the most of it, sleepwalking his way to a paycheck. The only two positives worth noting are the creature special effects (very nicely done and far better than anything you would expect to find in a movie like The She-Creature) and the sight of Marla English in a sweater.
Unless you're able to catch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of The She-Creature, my advice would be steer clear of this one.
2/10
What an uneventful way to spend 77 minutes. The She-Creature is dull all the way through. I can't think of anything much duller than watching someone being hypnotized over and over and over. The cast doesn't help much. Chester Morris isn't much of a threat as the baddie. Lance Fuller makes for the most "do nothing" lead I've seen – unless you call staring blankly into space doing something. Finally, while I've always enjoyed Tom Conway's work, The She-Creature gives him little to do and Conway makes the most of it, sleepwalking his way to a paycheck. The only two positives worth noting are the creature special effects (very nicely done and far better than anything you would expect to find in a movie like The She-Creature) and the sight of Marla English in a sweater.
Unless you're able to catch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of The She-Creature, my advice would be steer clear of this one.
2/10
Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967)
Deathly Dull, 2 October 2007
Two country singers and their manager are on their way to Nashville when they decide to find a place to stop and spend the night. They find a deserted mansion that seems to nicely fit the bill. But this mansion may be haunted. And if it's not, it certainly is the hideout of a group of baddies up to no good. Will the country crooners make through the night to live their dreams in Music City?
What do you get when you mix a supposed haunted house, loads of country music, aging horror icons, and some ridiculous attempts at humor? In the case of Hillbillys in a Haunted House, you get this mess of a movie. To begin with, the "haunted house" is about as threatening looking as my neighbor's house. And by the time the spooks show up, who cares? I know I had lost interest long before any ghost made an appearance. And could the country music be any more dull? If I weren't already a non-fan of country music, I certainly would be after watching this movie. As I watched, I really felt sorry for Carradine, Chaney, and especially Rathbone. To have to appear in a disaster like this. If it weren't for Joi Lansing, I would have turned Hillbillys in a Haunted House off about halfway through. It's that bad!
1/10
What do you get when you mix a supposed haunted house, loads of country music, aging horror icons, and some ridiculous attempts at humor? In the case of Hillbillys in a Haunted House, you get this mess of a movie. To begin with, the "haunted house" is about as threatening looking as my neighbor's house. And by the time the spooks show up, who cares? I know I had lost interest long before any ghost made an appearance. And could the country music be any more dull? If I weren't already a non-fan of country music, I certainly would be after watching this movie. As I watched, I really felt sorry for Carradine, Chaney, and especially Rathbone. To have to appear in a disaster like this. If it weren't for Joi Lansing, I would have turned Hillbillys in a Haunted House off about halfway through. It's that bad!
1/10
Halloween (1978)
"I met him, fifteen years ago.", 30 September 2007
The plot of Halloween is so simple and so well known that I hardly see much point in revisiting it here. What person with even a passing interest in horror does not know who Michael Myers is and his story? He is one of the true iconic characters is recent horror history. And who with even the slightest interest in either John Carpenter or Jamie Lee Curtis isn't aware of what Halloween meant to their careers? And finally, while it may not have been the first movie of its kind or even the first to churn out a sequel, there's little debate about Halloween's influence on horror for more than a decade. For an independently made movie with a shoe-string budget, Halloween is quite the remarkable movie.
Halloween works because John Carpenter was smart enough to realize something that most of the imitators fail to realize. That is, for a horror movie to be effective, it's not about the kill scenes - it's about the moments leading up to the murder. It's about creating atmosphere and tension rather than a geek show filled with blood and gore. Carpenter shows us Michael lurking in the shadows just waiting to strike, but he doesn't go into detail on what happens when Michael kills. It's a simple concept and I'm continually amazed that more filmmakers don't get it. Thank goodness Carpenter got it!
9/10
Halloween works because John Carpenter was smart enough to realize something that most of the imitators fail to realize. That is, for a horror movie to be effective, it's not about the kill scenes - it's about the moments leading up to the murder. It's about creating atmosphere and tension rather than a geek show filled with blood and gore. Carpenter shows us Michael lurking in the shadows just waiting to strike, but he doesn't go into detail on what happens when Michael kills. It's a simple concept and I'm continually amazed that more filmmakers don't get it. Thank goodness Carpenter got it!
9/10
Alligator (1980)
Little Ramon is all grown-up, 20 September 2007
A young girl brings a baby alligator home to Chicago from Florida. Her father doesn't care about Ramon the alligator and promptly flushes him down the toilet. After 12 years of a diet that includes the waste from a growth hormone lab, little Ramon is all grown-up. In fact, he's now a 36 foot mutant giant of an alligator. When people start going missing and random body parts start showing up, the police correctly suspect that something is going on in Chicago's sewer system. A disgraced cop named David Madison (Robert Forster) and reptile expert Marisa Kendall (Robin Riker) team up to track down the killer before more lives are lost.
I think I've asked this before, but I'll do it again – how many "Man vs. Nature" movies did the success of Jaws inspire? Almost every animal I can think of took its turn stalking and killing man. Some of these Jaws-inspired movies, like Piranha for example, are at the very least entertaining movies. Others, like Devil Fish, are complete garbage. Alligator falls into the "entertaining" category with me. That shouldn't come as a surprise as the script was written by John Sayles, who was also responsible for Piranha. Sure, Alligator might not be the kind of movie to win an award or change the world, but it is a very fun way to spend about 90 minutes. Part of the reason is that Alligator doesn't try to pretend to be anything other than it is – a simple story that attempts to cash-in on the success of Jaws. Everything from the similar music cues to the POV alligator shots as it attacks its prey to the way the alligator comes busting out of the sewer is eerily similar and reminiscent of Jaws. But can you really blame the people behind Alligator?" It worked with a shark – why not an alligator?
But Alligator has more going for it than its unabashed Jaws inspiration that other similar movies often lack. Two that I'll mention are the acting and the special effects. Both Robert Forster and Robin Riker give nice performances. Forster, in particular, plays his character with a sense of reality often missing in these kinds of movies. I particularly appreciated the very human and real touches like mentioning his receding hairline. Nicely done! As for the special effects, the alligator looks as good as a mechanical alligator in 1980 could look. It's obvious that efforts were made to present a realistic creature. Lesser movies would have probably done it "on the cheap" and the end result wouldn't have been nearly as pleasing. Again, nicely done!
7/10
I think I've asked this before, but I'll do it again – how many "Man vs. Nature" movies did the success of Jaws inspire? Almost every animal I can think of took its turn stalking and killing man. Some of these Jaws-inspired movies, like Piranha for example, are at the very least entertaining movies. Others, like Devil Fish, are complete garbage. Alligator falls into the "entertaining" category with me. That shouldn't come as a surprise as the script was written by John Sayles, who was also responsible for Piranha. Sure, Alligator might not be the kind of movie to win an award or change the world, but it is a very fun way to spend about 90 minutes. Part of the reason is that Alligator doesn't try to pretend to be anything other than it is – a simple story that attempts to cash-in on the success of Jaws. Everything from the similar music cues to the POV alligator shots as it attacks its prey to the way the alligator comes busting out of the sewer is eerily similar and reminiscent of Jaws. But can you really blame the people behind Alligator?" It worked with a shark – why not an alligator?
But Alligator has more going for it than its unabashed Jaws inspiration that other similar movies often lack. Two that I'll mention are the acting and the special effects. Both Robert Forster and Robin Riker give nice performances. Forster, in particular, plays his character with a sense of reality often missing in these kinds of movies. I particularly appreciated the very human and real touches like mentioning his receding hairline. Nicely done! As for the special effects, the alligator looks as good as a mechanical alligator in 1980 could look. It's obvious that efforts were made to present a realistic creature. Lesser movies would have probably done it "on the cheap" and the end result wouldn't have been nearly as pleasing. Again, nicely done!
7/10
12 to the Moon (1960)
Haven't I seen this before?, 16 September 2007
Twelve scientists from around the world are selected to be part of the crew that will be the first to land on the moon. Once there, they begin their work, but it doesn't take long before they realize they are not alone. A mysterious underground race of beings kidnaps two of the crew members and demands the others leave at once. In their haste to get away, another scientist is lost in an accident. As they near Earth on their return, they discover the inhabitants of the moon have frozen all of North America. They come up with a plan to use the heat of a volcano to reverse the freezing process. But this will require the sacrifice of two members of their party to fly the ship into a volcanic crater. Will their plan work?
I would be willing to overlook a lot of 12 to the Moon's shortcomings if the movie had any originality. Many of the plot points and set-pieces seem to be almost identical to those found in First Spaceship on Venus. While IMDb lists a release date of 1962 for First Spaceship on Venus, that's the North American release date. The film was released in early 1960 in West Germany. It would have been more than possible for someone to have seen that movie before making 12 to the Moon. I have no idea if I'm right about this, but if you've seen both movies, you undoubtedly noticed the similarities as I did.
Beyond the films lack of originality, 12 to the Moon is pretty much a mess. Visible scaffolding and crew members, cheap looking sets, and an unnecessary Nazi subplot are among the many problems found in the movie. I'm not including the poor special effects in this list because, as bad as they are, I've seen far worse in other movies of this type. And besides, who doesn't expect to find problems with the special effects in a movie like 12 to the Moon – that's part of the charm of sci-fi films from the 50s and early 60s.
3/10
I would be willing to overlook a lot of 12 to the Moon's shortcomings if the movie had any originality. Many of the plot points and set-pieces seem to be almost identical to those found in First Spaceship on Venus. While IMDb lists a release date of 1962 for First Spaceship on Venus, that's the North American release date. The film was released in early 1960 in West Germany. It would have been more than possible for someone to have seen that movie before making 12 to the Moon. I have no idea if I'm right about this, but if you've seen both movies, you undoubtedly noticed the similarities as I did.
Beyond the films lack of originality, 12 to the Moon is pretty much a mess. Visible scaffolding and crew members, cheap looking sets, and an unnecessary Nazi subplot are among the many problems found in the movie. I'm not including the poor special effects in this list because, as bad as they are, I've seen far worse in other movies of this type. And besides, who doesn't expect to find problems with the special effects in a movie like 12 to the Moon – that's part of the charm of sci-fi films from the 50s and early 60s.
3/10
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