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Showing posts from January, 2014

Murder by Television (1935) - Clifford Sanforth

With a plot just as muddled as the audio. This forgettable film can stay that way. A mystery movie with horror overtones and starring Bela Lugosi. On paper the movie looks like its going to be fantastic! However, the product is sub par even for it's time. Not that this movie is great but it still deserves it's day in the sun. Swallowed by time and overshadowed by true classics like The Bride of Frankenstein, Mad Love, and Werewolf of London.  Television hadn't been widely distributed by the time this movie was made. It actually features a concept of a home television that was being developed in Hollywood. Although interesting. The praise ends there. This movie is in no way a benchmark for Lugosi and serves as a lukewarm achievement in his career. June Collyer returns to the horror genre in a usual role as the daughter of the late James Houghland, a television inventor invested in a vicious feud with a rival TV inventor. Not even the humor from Hattie McDaniel and th

Mark of the Vampire (1935) - Tod Browning

1927 saw London After Midnight,  a movie starring Lon Chaney as a Vampire that's actually a detective in heavy disguise. This movie follows along the same path and is considered to be a remake of that long, lost, horror classic.This version stars Bela Lugosi and Lionel Berrymore, both turn in a usually decent performance that gets overshadowed by the fun and corniness that is packaged along with it. After finding a few victims with bite marks on their necks, a rumor of a vampire starts to circulate. They instantly blame the weird ghoulish family Count Mora (Bela) and his daughter Luna (Caroll Borland) who are a bit close... if you get my drift. Apparently this caused a rift with the studio, MGM, which cut the movie down to a very shortened version. The movie is chock full of campy humor some of which still carries over  for today's audiences.  No doubt this movie had really heavy cuts. Some ideas just seem to pop out of nowhere. Certain things don't make sense but

The Phantom Ship (1935) - Denison Clift

This historical mystery piece thats brought to us from Hammer films is based on a true story. The story of the Mary Celeste, a ship that was found with the entire crew missing. Bela Lugosi, note the credit on the poster as Dracula, brings the best performance of his career. Aside, of course, from Dracula.  The crew of the Mary Celeste find themselves stuck on board their vessel with a murderer about. The film does a good job of trying to build suspense by putting certain crew members in baited situations. The horror in the movie is really subtle and is laying groundwork for similar films in the future. Nothing really "scary" happens other than the uneasy feeling you get from being stuck on that ship. This isn't that fantastic of a film. It isn't the worst either. It serves best as a catalyst for some pretty decent character acting. The lead crew members of the ship, including the Captain did a great job. Lugosi, however, takes the cake. His part is so good

Werewolf of London (1935) - Stuart Walker

I am not a big fan of animals in horror movies. You may have noticed how I get really pissy when there is a killer gorilla on the loose. Werewolves really take the cake, I hate werewolves. I don't like movies like Underworld or the Wolfman . Hell, I hate that Werewolves have to be weaved into TV shows now and teeny bopper movies. There are exceptions though, I am a big fan of American Werewolf in London. Funny side note, that movie is a sort of tribute/remake of this movie. So i guess in turn, I like this movie.  The movie is about a doctor that is attacked by a werewolf, and yes you guessed it, he turns into one. He can't control it. He knows that every month on the full moon he will turn. Another doctor, that goes by the name of Yogami, finds out that there is a flower that can cure him... The doctor is well to-do in some pretty bourgeois circles.  He even hosts a few parties to try and hold up appearances, so that no one will find out his hairy secret. There are

The Raven (1935) - Lew Landers

I have been notified by a few people that I need to re-watch this movie. Give it another day in court as a man once said. I don't think I paid much attention when watching it the first time. I will re-watch it and write something again but below is my original review.  In the 1930's, Boris Karloff seemed to be making a bunch of Edgar Allan Poe pictures. Poe has popped up numerous times throughout the Silver and Golden Age of horror. There have been countless remakes of his work. This one in particular takes the Poe story in a completely different direction. This movie deals with a mad scientist that is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe type torture devices. Some of the performances are really hard and make me cringe. However, I enjoyed this movie. I wouldn't suggest watching it though unless you are a hardcore Karloff or Lugosi fan. The coolest thing about this movie would have to be the doctor's torture room; He devised a pretty incredible torture chamber w

Condemned To Live (1935) - Frank Strayer

Haphazardly thrown together horror movies have been dripping out of Grindhouse theaters for decades; movies like this one which was shot in about a week and pushed out to make a quick buck. The acting is horrible and the actors look as if they are wearing found clothing; the picture is extra blurry and cuts in weird places as if they were filming it on scraps of reel tape. All of these quirks make it beautiful in its own way. When examining Condemned to Live it is apparent that Frank Strayer came right off of the success of Vampire Bat (1933) and decided to repackage the movie and put it out again. The movie has no real "Monster" to speak of, in fact the villain (known as "the Fiend" in this picture) is more of a repackaging of a psychotic with vampiristic overtones; Professor Kristen doesn't ever actually drink the blood of his victims but he does gnaw on their necks. The village in the movie is taken right out of "The Bride of Frankenstein" an

The Black Room (1935) - Roy William Neill

The Black Room is a magnificent little movie from 1935 starring one Boris Karloff. He really hits a home run with his performance in this one. He plays the treacherous Gregor and even-keeled Anton, twin brothers prophesied to bring about the end of their lineage through murdering each-other. The story is set in the eighteenth century and has amazing design. The shots are vivid and beautiful for such an early production. I am so used to watching these low budget productions I sort of forget what a mainstream picture actually looks like.  Like I said above, this movie is all about Boris Karloff's performance. It's perfect for anyone studying film or anyone that's curious about Karloff's work away from his usual fare. Acting as a twin isn't something that's that fantastical. However, it is something that is butchered a lot. No one beats Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. Karloff does a great job of keeping the same essence with the characters but having little

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - James Whale

One of the biggest films that James Whale ever directed was 1931's Frankenstein. The movie was so big that Universal Pictures asked Whale to come back and helm a sequel; thus The Bride of Frankenstein was born. This film is filled with suspense and terror, cheers and jeers. The Bride of Frankenstein is a rare type of movie; this is a sequel that actually holds its own when it goes toe to toe with its predecessor.  I have been watching a lot of James Whale horror movies lately; he must have been one of the hardest working horror directors in the 30's. This movie is very special and acts as sort of a platform for Whale to express his sexuality. Although not outlandishly displayed it is speculated that the movie has huge homosexual overtones: The relationship between the hermit and the monster, and the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Pretorius are two overt examples. This movie has been torn apart by modern film scholars.  The movie starts right where t

Chloe, Love is Calling You! (1934) - Marshall Neilan

This movie was wrongly presented to me as a horror feature. Reviews and synopsis' of the film promised Voodoo Zombies. I was hoping for a movie a-la White Zombie and  unfortunately I was left with this racist piece of garbage. The movie is about a young mixed-race girl named Chloe, that returns to the bayou with her mother. Her mother is a voodoo witch named Mandy that has come back to take her revenge on the white plantation owner that killed her husband Sam some years back. Chloe, is being pined after by her handler Jim. A white guy that seems to be employed by Mandy or, for some reason, is just accompanying them on their journey. When Chloe runs into other white men in the movie they portray her as unclean and not pure. The movie has that certain eugenic flair that plagued a ton of American releases from this time.  I waited for the horror to start throughout the entire movie and it never came. I feel like this was nothing more than a racist romantic comedy that trie

The Ghost Walks (1934) - Frank R. Strayer

Predictable and over the top. It's another old dark house movie that throws the crowd for a loop with... gasp! Twists! Actually a ton of twists with a lot of shill screaming! That doesn't necessarily equal a thrilling feature that can keep you on the edge of your seat. The playwright Prescott Ames, his secretary, and Producer get into a car accident and need to find shelter for the night. They come upon Dr. Kent's house and he gladly takes them in. While at the house, Prescott Ames discovers his fiancee there already along with Terry Grey and his psychic sister Beatrice. The latter being treated by Doctor Kent for hysterics. However, something appears to be in the house with the group and it is killing people off left and right. Or is it all an elaborate hoax?   This movie blends right in with all of the other horror movies released in the twenties and thirties. The old dark house storyline is tried and true. At least to this point in time. I have to hand it to