This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[RedRiver]

Do I understand that THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN is on this weekend? That's what Sven posted on Facebook! This one's not bad. It's a Hammer film. Kiwi Kingston as The Creature. Mr. Cushing, of course. Not one of the great horror films, but good for Saturday night popcorn. My brother and I saw this at a theatre in the mid 1960's. It may have been a couple of years old at that time. I liked secret agents and cowboys. But my big brother never missed a monster movie!

[moira finnie]

Do I understand that THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN is on this weekend? That's what Sven posted on Facebook! This one's not bad. It's a Hammer film. Kiwi Kingston as The Creature. Mr. Cushing, of course. Not one of the great horror films, but good for Saturday night popcorn. My brother and I saw this at a theatre in the mid 1960's. It may have been a couple of years old at that time. I liked secret agents and cowboys. But my big brother never missed a monster movie!

That's what the ads on-air saying too. At first I thought that The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) was the one where Peter Cushing plays Baron von Frankenstein as a rogue who isn't above a bit of "slap and tickle" with the maid--[that turns out to be The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)]--but the synopsis suggests that this one is unknown to me. Gosh, those rascals at Hammer threw everything but the kitchen sink into these films--now they add hypnosis as well as re-animation and early research into DNA to the mix. The plot sounds bonkers but engaging, as usual.:

Penniless, Baron Frankenstein, accompanied by his eager assistant Hans, arrives at his family castle near the town of Karlstaad, vowing to continue his experiments in the creation of life. Fortuitously finding the creature he was previously working on, he brings it back to a semblance of life but requires the services of a mesmerist, Zoltan, to successfully animate it.

Check out the buoyancy of the rubber heart (or is it a liver?) that bounces across the floor of the lab in this trailer. Ah, I prefer the quaintly unrealistic effects of these films so much more than present-day awfulness. They have a certain silly charm.

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[RedRiver]

A lot of people consider "Curse" the best of Hammer's Frankenstein tales. They have a point. But I find this one just as entertaining, if a little less serious.

[RedRiver]

I enjoyed this "Christopher Lee lacking" Frankenstein story. The action is consistent. It's scary. The mute lady adds a kind of poetic quality. These people attract the maimed and the disabled. And The Monster looks cool. He has my favorite head of all the Frankensteins. His forehead is flat! If he were lying on his back, you could put a cup of coffee on it! The hypnosis angle is a tad comical. Had they run out of criminal brains to insert? But when a story has been done and varied as many times as this one, I can forgive a far-reaching concept. This is pretty good Hammer horror.

Next week, Bud and Lou meet Frank. Have we seen this recently? I'm not sure. After a while, they all look alike. Except for Kiwi Kingston. Love that head!

[Western Guy]

I grew up with Hammer Films (remember fondly the Saturday afternoon double and sometimes even triple features that played at our Rialto Theatre -- helped me get through another school week). What was fun about the Frankenstein films was never knowing whether Peter Cushing would be playing the Baron more heroically (EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN) or as just a plain evil cad (CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and, particularly, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED) - or more down the middle (REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN and FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL). However way the character went, Peter was always perfect in the role, replete with that wonderful cutting arrogance - which, of course, was not part of the true man. Just a darn fine actor.

[RedRiver]

Well, if you have to watch Bud and Lou meet monsters, this is easily the most palatable. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN features Lugosi as Dracula and Lon, Jr as Wolfie. At the very least, classic fans must appreciate that. Glenn Strange is on board as well, playing the third of the title characters! This one is even a little bit funny. Not DUCK SOUP funny. Not Oscar Wilde. But there are a few gags that don't make you, well, gag!

The story moves well. No time is wasted on exposition or development. What is there to develop? The boys are pretty much always at peril; none of this sitting around a hotel room reviewing the situation. The "Not So Special Effects" are so silly you can't take them seriously. And they were drawn by Walter Lantz, of HA, HA, HA, HA, HA fame! I'm not a fan of these movies. If somebody never sees them, he's not missing much. But if you like the concept of classic film; if that alone is an attraction, you're bound to fall in with these hapless heroes sooner or later. Last night's feature was a good one to be stuck with!

[moira finnie]

I saw the opening scenes and thought that Lon Chaney Jr. had been told he was in a serious film. He seemed completely disconnected from the antics in the scenes with Abbot and Costello. I finally remembered why A & C disturbed me as a child. Too much meanness toward the overgrown child figure of Lou and no rational reason why Abbot should have been so angry all the time. Even Frank Ferguson yelled at Costello.

Naturally, the soporific effect of Svengoolie sent me off to dreamland fairly quickly after this disappointing beginning.

Next week:
The Mummy's Ghost (1944) will be raking up some tana leaves on American soil around Mapleton, Mass. with the help of John Carradine, George Zucco, George Bancroft (ooh, career not going well by then, huh?) and Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Mummy.

Note to CineMaven: Ramsay Ames is in the cast.

Funny, that tana stuff looks a lot like the bay leaves that grow along the Bay State's shore. Hmmmm....
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[RedRiver]

Too much meanness toward the overgrown child figure

Martin and Lewis were more gentle. Jerry's character is very childlike. Almost bizarrely so. But Dean, while frustrated, clearly loves "The Kid." Oliver Hardy delivers a stern lecture to his bumbling partner. Gives a little shove now and then. But he's not downright abusive. You're right, Moira. Bud Abbott is pretty much always angry with Lou. Many real children had fathers like that, especially in those days. It can be uncomfortable to relive it.

Then there's Moe. Forget the psychology. Just bend a crowbar over their heads!

[CineMaven]

Next week:
The Mummy's Ghost (1944) will be raking up some tana leaves on American soil around Mapleton, Mass. with the help of John Carradine, George Zucco, George Bancroft (ooh, career not going well by then, huh?) and Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Mummy.

Note to CineMaven: Ramsay Ames is in the cast.

I don't get Me-TV, but I'll pop in my dvd in solidarity.

Ramsaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

[RedRiver]

You know what? I like "Frank Meets Wolfie"! Last night's offering, this is sincere, unpretentious monster drama. No self parody; no winking at the material. This one plays it straight. "I want to die. I've killed others. Now I must die." The story, while familiar, is intriguing and elegant. These are people with real problems. We feel for them and their plight.

Lon, Jr is in fine form as the hopeless Mr. Talbot. Lugosi pretty much walks through his Frank turn, but that's OK. It allows Chaney to play ringmaster. Most of the action is directed by him. The first half of this creature feature is more exciting than the later part. But we're rewarded with a thrilling dam explosion in the final scene. (How DID they do that without CGI?)

I'm pretty sure "Frank Meets Wolfie" was the first of Universal's team-ups, if you will. I'm QUITE sure it's the best!

[CineMaven]

Gosh, I wish I got SVENGOOLIE.



I haven't seen this movie in years and years.

[RedRiver]

Cine-maguffin! You can't go wrong with "Frank Meets Wolfie"!

[CineMaven]

Cine-maguffin! You can't go wrong with "Frank Meets Wolfie"!

[RedRiver]

Stop the CINE-MADNESS!

[CineMaven]