"Once a man has dipped his fingers in blood, sooner or later he'll feel the urge to kill again.", 30 July 2006
As Sherlock Holmes' puts it, the members of group of older gentlemen known as The Good Comrades have only one thing in common – they're all worth more dead than alive. One by one, the members of The Good Comrades are bumped-off in horrifying ways after receiving an envelope containing orange pips (seeds to us Yanks). Holmes discovers that the members of the group have made each other beneficiaries on their insurance policies. Could one of The Good Comrades be behind the string of mysterious deaths? It sure looks to be the case.
The House of Fear is near the top of my favorites list when it comes to the Rathbone/Holmes films. It's a wonderfully entertaining mystery with a nice old dark house for a setting. My favorite of the Holmes films are those with a touch of horror. When you combine horror and mystery successfully as in The House of Fear, you've got a winner as far as I'm concerned. I've seen comments on the internet on how easy it is to figure this one out. Sure, but it's a lot of fun watching Holmes and Watson get to the answer. As I'm learning as I watch these Holmes films, Watson again is given the opportunity to steal some quality time from Holmes. His late night shoot-out is wonderfully funny.
Roy William Neil is probably one of the best things that happened to Universal's Holmes series. His entries in the series have a tone and look to them that makes them stand out. For what ever reason, I hardly ever see him mentioned when people discuss the great directors of the 30s and 40s. He's easily someone I consider under-appreciated.
8/10
Another winner from Preminger, 21 June 2006
Stella (Linda Darnell) is the kind of woman men fall for. And Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) has fallen very hard. Unfortunately for Eric, Stella wants two things that he cannot immediately give her – a ring and money. Eric hatches an elaborate plan to come up with both through wooing, marrying, and stealing from June Mills (Alice Faye), the town's rich, young, unmarried woman. But shortly after their married, Stella is murdered. Eric quickly become suspect #1. Can Eric prove his innocence?
I've seen several of Otto Preminger's noirs for the first time recently and Fallen Angel is one of the best. It's got everything you could ask for in a noir. Atmosphere you can cut with a knife, terrific performances from the entire cast, an intriguing plot, interesting cinematography and lighting, and just about everything else you could name are as good as you'll find. Fallen Angel also has some very nice mystery elements. The final reveal really caught me off guard. I would have never guessed the real killer's identity. It's just a wonderful movie.
9/10
It pains me to say that I'm not a fan of this installment in the Chan series, 28 September 2005
When I was little, my brother and I would stay up late at night any time Charlie Chan was on the midnight movie schedule on one of the local television stations. So I've been a fan for 35 years. And even though there are a few moments I enjoy, The Scarlet Clue has always been among my least favorite of the Chan series. Far too much time is spent on Number 3 Son and Birmingham Brown and not enough is spent on Charlie interviewing suspects and gathering clues. What clues Chan does find are so obvious that any detective should have been able to piece the mystery together. The script gives the killer too much leeway in the rigging of intricate electric devices used for murder. Surely someone would have noticed a trap door being installed in the elevator. And the whole Chan working for the government against the Nazis in WWII is not my cup of tea. Give me a big old house full of suspicious looking suspects, each with a motive for murder.
To each his own though. I'm sure that my list of favorite Chan films would include some that fans of The Scarlet Clue would consider among the worst.
4/10
Too many problems for me to call it great, 14 May 2005
After reading the plot description and a few reviews, I felt certain that Leave Her to Heaven would be one of those movies I would immediately fall in love with. Gene Tierney's presence alone should have been enough to make it a sure fire winner with me. While it's not bad, I can't give it a full endorsement. As much as I hate doing this, I'll focus on two of the problems that stand out.
1. The Plot - I realize that this is a movie and not necessarily a reflection of real life, but the plot was just too unrealistic. We are supposed to believe that this woman was so evil and self-obsessed that she killed herself just to make others miserable. How silly is that? A woman like that would want to be around to see what effect her actions were having.
2. Cornel Wilde - My biggest problem with the movie was the casting of Cornel Wilde. He is so utterly dry and vanilla that watching grass grow is more exciting. Rarely have I been treated to a more lackluster performance. Are we really supposed to believe that a character like the one played by Gene Tierney would fall for this guy? I didn't buy it for a second.
With little tinkering on the plot and casting, this could have been an outstanding movie.
6/10
