Worse than I could have imagined, 10 March 2010
Fearing his father will have his nightclub closed down, club owner and singer Danny Warren (Phil Regan) goes to extremes to ensure no one is able to serve papers on him. In an effort to have the papers served, Papa Warren hires an attractive young woman named Carol Lawrence (Gale Storm) who might have more luck getting close to Danny. But Carol's more interested in pursuing her music – and love – than any old papers.
Deathly dull, Swing Parade of 1946 isn't so much a movie as it is a series of set-pieces and musical numbers held together by the most minimal plot thread imaginable. What little plot there is wouldn't fill 10 minutes of the movie's runtime. Instead, the film goes something like this – a little plot followed a bit from the Three Stooges followed by an excruciating, painfully long music number. Just repeat this pattern for 74 minutes. The Stooges are wasted and out-of-place repeating bits most fans will have seen a number of times previous. Regan and Storm are both too uninteresting to carry the film themselves. I know that, at least in the case of Gale Storm, she would go on to have a long career in entertainment, but it's difficult to imagine that after watching this movie. I never thought I would say this, but Edward Brophy actually comes out of Swing Parade of 1946 looking better than anyone else – well, anyone other than Louis Jordan. Jordan and his band are the film's real highlight. As for the rest, it's all 'lowlights". Unless you're just a fan of really bad musicals from the mid-1940s, I'd say skip this one altogether.
3/10
"Attention all cars, attention all cars", 24 July 2007
Horribly disfigured in a lab accident, Hal Moffat (Rondo Hatton) seeks revenge against all those he blames for his condition. The police seem to be unable to put a stop to the killer they've dubbed the "Creeper". During one of his escapes from the police, the Creeper hides out in an apartment occupied by a blind woman. The pair strike up an unlikely relationship that lasts until the woman discovers her new friend's true identity. Now her life is in danger!
It's difficult to discuss The Brute Man without discussing Rondo Hatton, but that's exactly what I want to do for a moment. The biggest problem with the movie is that it's pretty much a bore. Scene after scene of watching the Creeper . . . uhh . . . creep (for the lack of a better word) does not make for the most exciting of movie experiences. He's too slow – too slow to hold my interest. And it doesn't help matters that the Creeper's relationship with the blind woman is so predictable. From the moment the pair met, I was waiting for the woman to say that there was a surgery that might cure her, but it cost too much. And I just knew the Creeper was going to try to help her out by killing someone to get the money she needed. No surprises here.
As for Rondo, I wish I knew more about him. He seems to have been a tragic, yet interesting fellow. In the few movies I've seen him in, he was never asked to do much. His acromegaly seems to be all that the studios were interested in. I doubt it, but I sincerely hope that he was able to exploit the movie studios just as they were exploiting him. And even though Rondo wasn't the world's greatest actor, there's something oddly compelling about his performance and The Brute Man in general. The Creeper is such a tragic character that it's difficult to fear him when you have such compassion for him and his predicament. While I cannot condone his actions, I certainly understand what drove him to commit his crimes. I've just got to give the movie an extra point based on Rondo.
The Brute Man was featured in Episode #702 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Overall, it's not particularly good. Too often, the guys resort to making fun of Rondo's medical condition – not a very humorous topic. There are a few moments that do work, but overall, I'm disappointed. This episode of MST3K gets a 2/5 on my rating scale.
4/10
An average, but unoriginal, little mystery, 19 May 2006
Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) is about to be wed. But a series of murders in a park nearby the Allenby estate attributed to a werewolf have her rethinking her plans. Phyllis is sick over the thought that she may be responsible for the grisly deaths. Muddy shoes, wet clothes, and blood on her hands found in Phyllis' bedroom led her to believe that she may be the werewolf. Is Phyllis a werewolf, prowling the night looking for her next victim?
Other than the title, I'm not sure why Universal decided to include this one on their Wolf Man Legacy Set. She-Wolf of London has nothing in common with The Wolf Man. It's not a horror film. There is no werewolf (or she-wolf for that matter). Instead, She-Wolf of London is an average, but unoriginal, little mystery. For the film to work, you have to believe that Phyllis Allenby is a murderer. Unfortunately, I never once bought into the notion that Phyllis was the killer, let alone a snarling werewolf.
My real problem with She-Wolf of London is in the casting. While there are some nice performances from Sara Haden as the overprotective Aunt and Lloyd Corrigan as the bumbling Detective Latham, June Lockhart is horrible as the film's heroine. She is terribly miscast. Maybe it's just that I've seen her in too many roles as the caring, All-American mother, but she's not a believable killer.
4/10
"I can be framed easier than 'Whistler's Mother'.", 16 February 2006
The Dark Corner is the story of a P.I. framed for the murder of his ex-partner. Not only does he appear to have had the opportunity to commit the crime, he also has a very good motive. The partner was responsible for the P.I.'s two-year stay in prison. But who's the real murderer? With the help of his plucky girlfriend, the P.I. has to get to the bottom of this case before the police find the dead body and send him back to prison.
I've seen several wonderful noirs lately that have become "new" favorites, but I can't include The Dark Corner on this list. It's good, but it's just not great. Much of the blame has to be put on the P.I. as played by Mark Stevens. He is one of the most un-charismatic characters of this type I've seen. For the movie to work, you have to care about his plight and I just couldn't feel anything for him. If it weren't for his secretary/girlfriend, I doubt he would have ever been able to clear himself. He's just doesn't seem that bright or ambitious enough to pull it off on his own. I'm not that familiar with him, but if this is the way Stevens played characters in his other films, it's no wonder he never became a big star.
The rest of the cast is generally good with a real standout performance from Lucille Ball (yes, the same Lucy who would go on to eat chocolate off a conveyor belt and stomp grapes with her bare feet). I had no idea Lucy could "play it straight". She's wonderful. I'll have to track down some of her other early film roles. Other cast members include William Bendix as a big bruising heavy and Clifton Webb basically reprising his role from Laura. But as good as each of these actors are, they never felt like more than actors. The roles were too stereotypical to be as believable as I would have preferred.
One of the highlights for me is the feel and look of The Dark Corner. The film has a dark, gritty feel to it that adds to the characters' desperation. Lighting and cinematography are more than adequate. Director Henry Hathaway has given The Dark Corner a mood and atmosphere second to none. And, as a bonus, The Dark Corner includes some wonderful on-location shots of New York City in the 40s. Forget about studio sets when you can film in the real thing.
6/10
A nice little poverty row thriller, 4 February 2005
Strangler of the Swamp is a surprisingly nice little poverty row thriller from PRC. While many of today's horror fans would find little to frighten, it's a wonderful example of creating atmosphere on a VERY limited budget.
The movie concerns the ghost of a ferryman, seeking revenge for being unjustly hanged. He's out to get those who 'done him wrong'. My biggest problem with the story is that it gets away from the spooky swamp too often in favor of a love story. Had the movie concentrated more on the Strangler and the creepy swamp and less on the love story, Strangler of the Swamp would have been much better. The direction of Frank Wisbar is tight and he gets the most out of the limited funding he was given. One final note, the movie stars Blake Edwards (of Pink Panther fame) in an early role.
Not the best, but better than many of the films PRC was cranking out in the 40s.
6/10
Considering it's Beaudine and Monogram - it's not that bad, 4 February 2005
While The Face of Marble will never be confused with a great horror film, it is a decent little movie from the infamously cheap Monogram Pictures and director William Beaudine. John Carradine plays a doctor intent on discovering the secret to bringing the dead back to life. In most scenes, he rises above the material given and delivers a first class performance. The less said about the rest of the cast the better. They can generously be described as wooden and unemotional.
The movie begins with Carradine and his assistant attempting to bring a dead man back to life. After this fails, he tries the procedure on his wife's dog (Carradine's character kills the dog with little or no remorse or care for his wife's feelings). And finally, his wife gets the opportunity to experience the whizzing and sparking machines in his lab. There's also a housekeeper who practices voodoo and has some sort of control over the dog and wife. The housekeeper uses her power to have the dog and wife do her bidding. Under the housekeeper's control, the wife kills Carradine and attempts to kill everyone else in the cast.
For the limited budget, there are actually some good special effects. Some of the scenes where the dog walks through the walls are especially effective. Also, much of the budget appears to have been spent on fancy lab equipment. Carradine has a room full of electronic gadgets similar to those in Frankenstein. The marble effect (from which the movies title comes) is, however, not especially good or memorable.
If you can get past the lackluster supporting performances and the obvious budget constraints, The Face of Marble can be a somewhat fun little film. Not the best, but watchable.
5/10
