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HORROR OF DRACULA (1958). SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Certainly the best of the earlier epics and probably most of my affection is remembering the first time I saw it, on a BIG movie screen on Halloween. Scared s---less when Chris bursts into the library to chastise incredibly lush Valerie Gaunt, the extremely vivid staking of Carol Marsh-at least compared to what I had seen-and the Jaw dropping finale when Drac and Van Helsing go Mano a Mano and the glorious scene when the Sun does its work! Just too cool! Really do have a lot of love for this...so good on so many counts and Peter Cushing was just an absolute treasure. ALWAYS so twitchy and couldn't keep his hands empty and ALWAYS gave 110%. **** |
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Blood and Black Lace (1964)
6/10 With an inquisitive Inspector on the case of a murdered fashion model, the deceased's fashion colleagues are most anxious about the diary she left behind. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C227uPPUkAAfn6e.jpg As you can see in the film photo clip, cinematography school is in session for Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace. Magenta, aquamarine and red lighting gels stage depthful composition shots. (Reminds me to the rich color palettes used for the sets on the Star Trek Original TV Series.) And the flourishing sets, costumes and camera movements are not far behind. But lagging far behind the cinematography are the shallow characters, the unfluffed plot, and most of all, there's lack of genuine mystery and suspense. |
THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964). Seems not to be much love for this, but enjoyable little flick. Had heard Hammer/Universal agreed to play nice and it seems this has the most Karloffian Monster as well as scenes that reminded me of past Frank flicks....THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, HOUSE OF DRACULA and even CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN! ***
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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
9/10 Dr Jekyll seeks to evolve humankind by separating the evil person from the good person. Somehow a potion that produces the evil man... um... well, as long as we got the evil man, if you use up all the evil man time, we'll be left with the good man... I don't know, let's just go with it and see what happens. Couldn't have been better unless it had some other things to say. Still not a correct replication of the short novel (which I read, and highly recommend), but it's the closest film adaptation to the book that I've yet seen, but of course entirely inadequate to the book. In fact, check out the book "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" from the library for free, because there is no substitute, it's a good book, and it's a short book too (64 pages). Then we can talk about the book. Anyway, the film... the shot direction is full tilt! The director, Rouben Mamoulian, uses first person, lot's of movement... it's really exciting direction. Fredric March, playing the lead, Dr Jekyll, won the Academy Award for Best Actor, playing an American in London... that is, he's the only one with an American accent, but nobody talks about it... The script dialogue is definitely bold, no holds barred... Quote:
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CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965). In an effort to harness more energy, a missle is driven into the Earth and starts off a string of disasters. This was better than I thought with Dana Andrews-always good; check out LAURA (1944) , THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) and NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1958) turning in a measured performance and pretty nifty special effects for the time too. ***1/2 |
THE BODY SNATCHER (1945). Boris and Henry Danniel are both superb in this one, my favorite Lewton after CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. Some extremely tense scenes, especially the one with Karloff and Bela; really good acting by both of them. ****1/2
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6/10 Yes, Henry Daniell, as Doddy, was good, but Boris Karloff was 100% John Gray, a tour de force performance. On the other foot, Russell Wade, as med student Donald Fettes, was usually clunky, delivering some lines like a 6 year-old, hanging on non-contracted words like it was his second language. I think the story of the little girl wanting to walk was even duller than it was sappy, sucking the life out of the film, mostly due to the simple lines delivered doe-eyed by the trio of Fettes, mom and young lame daughter. Actually, the little girl was pretty good, making the most of the lines she had, which actually had a measure of character depth to them. If they were going to spend that much time on this trio, they should have made it a passionate love affair (maybe Wade would have a knack for that). The story of Gray and Doddy really had some momentum, and would have been a much better film had it been flushed out more. Ultimately, I found the film much too static for the talent that director Robert Wise was. I read the budget was low, but this story didn't require a big budget, just a re-write. |
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943). Good Lewton, but I find it quite overrated. Annoying characters and story just seems stuck in neutral. Some good atmosphere and Darby Jones is quite striking. ***
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The Fearless Vampire Killers - probably my favorite Roman Polanski film
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