I Just Watched...

[Lorna]

I also have THIS COMPULSION where, even though I own them all on DVD- whenever any of the UNIVERSAL MONSTER FILMS become available on any format I have access to- I WILL WATCH.

I dunno WHY but DRACULA (31), FRANKENSTEIN (31), THE WOLF MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE MUMMY (1933) are all on youtube (like, officially sanctioned, not as bootlegs)- and in their PRISTINE RESTORATIONS (FRANKENSTEIN in particular GLOWS now) and I've watched them all for the kajillionth time each. i have youtube premium so i watches without commercials- no LUME LADY to interrupt one moment of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA'S SCREEN TIME.

my only takeaway this time involves THE MUMMY, which is a film that is visually interesting as Hell- camera movements, sets. costumes, lighting etc.- but DULL AS DISHWATER in the story and ACTING DEPARTMENTS- even KARLOFF THE UNCANNY doesn't seem to be able to UNCAN much or infuse his lines with much inflection, maybe it's all the ELMER'S GLUE slathered in his face. he and ZITA JOHANN have this wild final scene together where it's like they're trying to out-not-act each another and I honestly can't say who the winner is.

THIS MOVIE TRIES SO HARD TO BE DRACULA AND DAMNED IF I KNOW WHY. DAVID MANNERS is supercute though, his strong powerbottom energy radiates from the screen after all these decades still.

I will note that ZITA JOHANN'S character passes out in the presence of KARLOFF (THE TITULAR MUMMY, AKA ARDATH BAY) wearing a simple day frock and wakes up dressed like this in the Cairo Museum:



which means- one is left to assume- that BORIS did her hair and make-up and put her in this kiki little ensemble.

i wonder if he put the fingerwave ringlets in the wig, and while I salute embracing a flat chest, those two paisley whales slapped over her sternum do NOTHING for ZITA.

[Allhallowsday]

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED - I poked around and found a review I wrote over 15 years ago (the movie is even worse than I remembered) :

Title: THE EAGLE HAS LANDED ~ DUMB FILM Post by: Allhallowsday on June 03, 2008, 08:44:56 PM

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (1976) is the latest dumb film that I sweated through. I call this one dumb, but not so much for the quality of the film, there are great sets, costumes and big name actors... but it all seems to be pointless. We know where it's headed, and I avoid spoilers, but the idea is to kidnap Winston Churchill when a set of circumstances offers an opportunity, a plan including spies and airdrops. I think we know this story would not work if they succeeded.

MICHAEL CAINE (the English actor) portrays Oberst Kurt Steiner who doesn’t bother with affecting a German accent, but in the English village and in disguise, he readily shows his skill doing a Toff English officer… Near the beginning of the film, and after not-really saving a Jewish girl's life, he proclaims his indignation at a General involved with transporting Jews to concentration camps and states: "I have nothing for or against the Jews..." presumably to make this nearly sympathetic character one of the good guys...??

ROBERT DUVAL (the American actor) portrays Oberst Radl complete with eye patch and cigarette, slipping in and out of his “German” accent with quite a helpful sidekick who is here primarily to lend credibility to an absurd performance that seems more informed by reruns of "Hogans Heroes" than commitment.

DONALD SUTHERLAND (the Canadian actor) portrays Liam Devlin, IRA rep to the Nazis, as a caricature of the over-grand Irish ne'er-do-well vagabond with an accent that can only be described as blarney... we do see him imbibing quite often, though. :drink: :lookingup: Didn't we sort of see this goof before in KELLY'S HEROES or was it THE DIRTY DOZEN...? Lovely JENNY AGUTTER gets to fall in love with and murder for this turd (don't worry, she gets away with it...)

LARRY HAGMAN is here, primarily for comic relief, as cartoon southerner Col. Pitts, the typical Hollywood version of Army br' Ass (HAGMAN was born in Texas which makes his moronic portrayal all the more ironic and puzzling.) Col. Pitts meets traitor Joanna Gray (JEAN MARSH) only briefly... :lookingup: ...in a jaw-droppingly pointed scene, that though violent, must have been played for larfs.

With all the real historic battlefields in Europe, this flick gives us a battle in an English village with quite a number of explosions, battle fire, and honorable German paratroopers who don't shoot hostages but do play the pipe organ, give their lives to save little girls, and don't hesitate to alter plans to include assasination... The cast also includes DONALD PLEASANCE (perhaps the best casting as Himmler) ANTHONY QUAYLE (who as ever looks ruddily tweaked, English, burdened and annoyed, playing a German admiral) and TREAT WILLIAMS (reliably American; very lucky guy).
I think the “shocker” of an ending is there to cover up a fluke, and apparently no real twist. Probably was a fast page-turner... I can imagine this all worked well in JACK HIGGINS' novel. On screen, however, who cares? We want LARRY HAGMAN to kick some ass!!!

[Hibi]

I also have THIS COMPULSION where, even though I own them all on DVD- whenever any of the UNIVERSAL MONSTER FILMS become available on any format I have access to- I WILL WATCH.

I dunno WHY but DRACULA (31), FRANKENSTEIN (31), THE WOLF MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE MUMMY (1933) are all on youtube (like, officially sanctioned, not as bootlegs)- and in their PRISTINE RESTORATIONS (FRANKENSTEIN in particular GLOWS now) and I've watched them all for the kajillionth time each. i have youtube premium so i watches without commercials- no LUME LADY to interrupt one moment of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA'S SCREEN TIME.

my only takeaway this time involves THE MUMMY, which is a film that is visually interesting as Hell- camera movements, sets. costumes, lighting etc.- but DULL AS DISHWATER in the story and ACTING DEPARTMENTS- even KARLOFF THE UNCANNY doesn't seem to be able to UNCAN much or infuse his lines with much inflection, maybe it's all the ELMER'S GLUE slathered in his face. he and ZITA JOHANN have this wild final scene together where it's like they're trying to out-not-act each another and I honestly can't say who the winner is.

THIS MOVIE TRIES SO HARD TO BE DRACULA AND DAMNED IF I KNOW WHY. DAVID MANNERS is supercute though, his strong powerbottom energy radiates from the screen after all these decades still.

I will note that ZITA JOHANN'S character passes out in the presence of KARLOFF (THE TITULAR MUMMY, AKA ARDATH BAY) wearing a simple day frock and wakes up dressed like this in the Cairo Museum:



which means- one is left to assume- that BORIS did her hair and make-up and put her in this kiki little ensemble.

i wonder if he put the fingerwave ringlets in the wig, and while I salute embracing a flat chest, those two paisley whales slapped over her sternum do NOTHING for ZITA.

David Manners, POWER BOTTOM! WHO KNEW????? LMREO!

[Allhallowsday]

I also have THIS COMPULSION where, even though I own them all on DVD- whenever any of the UNIVERSAL MONSTER FILMS become available on any format I have access to- I WILL WATCH.
;;;
THIS MOVIE TRIES SO HARD TO BE DRACULA AND DAMNED IF I KNOW WHY. DAVID MANNERS is supercute though, his strong powerbottom energy radiates from the screen after all these decades still...

THE MUMMY is notoriously dull as dishwated indeed... "powerbottom energy" ...?

[Hibi]

David Manners was an interesting person. He left Hollywood in the 30s and never looked back. He became an author in his later years and lived to be 97!

I disagree about The Mummy. I like it a lot.

[Lorna]

I DIDN'T mean to be harsh about THE MUMMY, it was one of my favorites when I was a kid and I certainly don't hate it, keep in mind also that I have seen it at least 30 times or more (seriously), so at this point, I might be really nitpicky.

it's just that, like DRACULA (which I also love even though it is lacking in many respects) there is SUCH POTENTIAL with THE MUMMY, and such A STRONG OPENING and camerawork and production values- the story (and acting- even from KARLOFF) just isn't on the HIGH level that they are, and it leaves some viewers with a perpetually unfulfilled feeling- wanting more and knowing that is but a dream to be always unfulfilled.

also also, the ENDING, where we just see a STILL PHOTO OF KARLOFF get aged and then there's a cut to MANNERS AND VAN SLOAN reacting as there is a TERRIFIC SOUND EFFECT of the MUMMY CRUMBLING- I JUST REALLY WISH THEY HAD LEARNED THEIR LESSON FROM 'DRACULA' AND GIVEN THE AUDIENCE A BIT MORE "BANG" AT THE FINALE.

(Honestly, I wonder if they could have constructed a DUMMY modeled on KARLOFF that was filled with dust and ash and sand to use at the destruction scene)

[Lorna]

on that note, I watched THE GHOUL (1933)- also a PRISTINE PRINT and also on YOUTUBE- this is a BRITISH HORROR MOVIE that featured KARLOFF and is A LOT like both THE MUMMY and THE OLD DARK HOUSE- only really surprisingly violent (despite a low-to-none body count) and some weird comic relief scenes that are DRY AS HELL, but had me laughing here and there, even if it was over how WEIRD the interractions are.

although KARLOFF's role is not large (maybe the same size as his part in THE OLD DARK HOUSE)- he DOMINATES his every scene and it's a bit as if he was getting some of the dust out of his hinges after having to be so restrained in movement in THE MUMMY AND FRANKENSTEIN.



ERNEST THESIGER is also in this as A KOOKY SCOTSMAN!!!!!

I have seen this movie a few times before, and even though it is truly unique, i always forget everything about it about two days later.

[Hibi]

I came across this article about David Manners. Very strange his star was removed. Has that ever happened before? I know some have been removed over the years at the Chinese, but they have limited space, while the Walk of Fame does not.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hollywoo ... _b_4254602

[txfilmfan]

I came across this article about David Manners. Very strange his star was removed. Has that ever happened before? I know some have been removed over the years at the Chinese, but they have limited space, while the Walk of Fame does not.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hollywoo ... _b_4254602

Odd, because the Hollywood Walk of Fame didn't even start until 1960, as an attempt to revive what was fast becoming a derelict neighborhood. Manners had been out of the Hollywood spotlight for a quarter century by then.

According to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which manages the scheme, stars cannot be removed. They may be vandalized, however, or stolen. I believe they attempt to replace these. I wonder if this is confusing some earlier "star" award with the current one started in the 1960s?

The star "honor" is a pay-for-play operation. Someone has to pay a fee to have one installed. It's currently $75K.

[Bronxgirl48]

I love the dialogue in THE MUMMY.

"Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?"

Karloff: "I regret I am too occupied to accept invitations"(the mummy is so polite)

"Good Heavens, what a terrible curse!"

"My love has lasted longer than the temples of our gods"

"I cannot speak before a boy. Come out, Sir Joseph, under the stars of Egypt"

and the ever popular "He--he went for a little walk!"

[HoldenIsHere]

I also have THIS COMPULSION where, even though I own them all on DVD- whenever any of the UNIVERSAL MONSTER FILMS become available on any format I have access to- I WILL WATCH.

I dunno WHY but DRACULA (31), FRANKENSTEIN (31), THE WOLF MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE MUMMY (1933) are all on youtube (like, officially sanctioned, not as bootlegs)- and in their PRISTINE RESTORATIONS (FRANKENSTEIN in particular GLOWS now) and I've watched them all for the kajillionth time each. i have youtube premium so i watches without commercials- no LUME LADY to interrupt one moment of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA'S SCREEN TIME.

LHF, do you (or does anyone for that matter) know why the story was changed in the 1931 movie DRACULA to have Renfield visit Count Dracula's castle at the beginning rather than Jonathan Harker (as happens in Bram Stoker's source novel)?

[Allhallowsday]

David Manners was an interesting person. He left Hollywood in the 30s and never looked back. He became an author in his later years and lived to be 97!

I disagree about The Mummy. I like it a lot.

One thing I know we all agree on is how stunningly beautiful it all is.

[kingrat]

A comparison of the 1960 (Sidney Lumet, TV) and 1973 (John Frankenheimer, AFT series of filmed plays for movies) versions of The Iceman Cometh. Both are highly recommended. The 1960, on YouTube, has starts and stops, but this isn't too distracting. I rather prefer the black & white to the 1973 dark brown version. Lumet uses more camera movement, a plus. Both do some trimming of the text, fine by me. 1973 eliminates the character of Ed Mosher, Harry Hope's brother-in-law.

Supporting cast: 1960 has the advantage. Harrison Dowd brings a delicate touch to Jimmy Tomorrow, quite moving as he explains why his wife was justified in having an affair because he would rather drink with his friends. Joan Copeland, not an actress I would ever think of casting as a tart, is wonderful, as is Julie Bovasso. If, like me, you've only known her marvelous performances in The Verdict and Moonstruck, you'll find it hard to believe that Bovasso was ever this slender. Tom Pedi, as Rocky the bartender, and Sorrell Booke, as Hugo the German anarchist, are in both, but Pedi has much more variety in 1960, although the deadpan approach in 1973 works, too, and Booke doesn't yell nearly as much in 1960 and also offers more variety of approach. Ronald Radd and Roland Winters even make the Boer War ex-combatants interesting. 1973 scores with Bradford Dillman as Willie Oban, the ex-Harvard man, a character who gets lost in 1960 but seems almost like a major role in 1973, thanks to Dillman.

Harry Hope, the saloon keeper: 1973's Fredric March is the clear winner. Farrell Pelly in 1960 rises to the occasion with his big scene, but March's movie star charisma counts for a lot.

Larry Slade, the ex-anarchist: Myron McCormick (1960) and Robert Ryan (1973) are both great. Ryan, literally a dying man, seems to bring a lifetime of experience to every look, every shot. I couldn't take my eyes off him. For Robert Ryan and Fredric March to end their careers with these great performances should make any classic film fan happy. However, Myron McCormick brings a somewhat lighter touch and greater variety of tone and expression, yet with the necessary depth of experience. Amazingly, McCormick was the original Luther Billis in Broadway's South Pacific, and was Andy Griffith's sergeant in No Time for Sergeants. And he's perfect as an alcoholic ex-anarchist?

Don Perritt, the young anarchist: This part is the hardest to play and make believable. The young Jeff Bridges (1973) does a good job, but the revelation is 1960's Robert Redford, a working actor who had not yet become a star. Redford may seem a little too middle-class in appearance, but Perritt has just come into some money. Redford digs more deeply into the character and finds a greater range of emotion. Could this be his finest work as an actor? Crafting his star persona, as he would do once given the chance, meant limiting some of his expressive possibilities.

Hickey, the great salesman, the Iceman himself: Really, you need to see both Jason Robards, Jr. (1960) and Lee Marvin (1973). Apparently the play failed because the original Hickey didn't have the measure of the role, and Robards in the first revival made it a success. Robards plays guilt and self-loathing like no one else. His approach to Hickey may have seemed like the only way. However, Lee Marvin has the charisma, the automatic alpha male authority, beyond what Robards can convey. In the crucial long confession scene Marvin uses some repetitious gestures; Robards, with the greater stage experience, is perhaps technically better, though with the occasional Method mannerism. Each does a fine job in his way with this long and difficult scene. The main difference is that Robards plays Hickey as being crazy, whereas Marvin clearly plays him as sane but then pretending to be crazy to allow his friends to drift back into their pipe dreams.

We are fortunate to have two versions this fine of one of the best American plays.

[Bronxgirl48]

ScreenPix has been airing the 1943 REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES, such a delightful follow-up to 1941's comedy-horror low-budget classic KING OF THE ZOMBIES.

The zombie cry: "Ahhhhhhh-ooooooo!" (try it and see who or what comes forward)

Mantan Moreland reprises his original role but Madame Sul-te-wan is now Mammy Beulah, cackling as she stirs up good Southern fare for Nazi mad scientist John Carradine, no doubt pining for weinerschnitzel and large steins of German beer.

An Axis zombie army is Carradine's goal -- his shambling undead would conquer the world. Right.

John's wife has other ideas, which is interesting since she has supposedly shuffled off this mortal coil....at least for the moment.

Mantan's lady love (the African-American maid, who else) tries to warn him: "Things walking that ain't supposed to be walking"

Robert Lowery's remark upon opening a door where a skeleton resides: "Mmmm, Meatless Tuesday"

And just whose side is Bob Steele on? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

A word of warning for villains who tell zombies to bind and gag an enemy: don't let them, since Lowery is able to untie himself in about two minutes.

[Fedya]

Altered States (1980).

Apparently, somebody gave Paddy Chayefsky an odd idea: write a darkly comic version of the third act of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

William Hurt plays a college professor who as a student was interested in sensory deprivation tanks and what the experience is like. Years later as a professor he learns about a tribe in Mexico that uses magic mushrooms to induce hallucinations. He gets the brilliant idea to combine that with the sensory deprivation tank.

The result is a trip that leaves him in what he thinks may be a de-evolutionary ape-like state. As his de-evolution happens, so the movie devolves from an interesting concept piece into unintentional comedy. Hurt comes up with the even more brilliant idea of: having a longer trip in the sensory deprivation tank!

The movie winds up being a misfire, but a fun misfire. 6/10