Thursday, October 10, 2024

Announcing the John Saxon Blogathon

 

The John Saxon Blogathon

Yours Truly and Gill from Realweegiemidget Reviews proudly present the John Saxon Blogathon! In the world of character actors, there are a select few who stand out. Mr. Saxon (born Carmine Orrico in 1936) left an indelible mark on cinema and television, commanding attention whenever he was onscreen. The Italian-American actor often played his roles with intensity and conviction. Often typecast in authority figure roles (frequently as a police detective), there was never a doubt about whom you were watching. He played numerous villain roles to sneering perfection, but could play protagonists with equal aplomb. He was a fixture in American films and television, however, being fluent in Italian, he worked overseas in many Italian productions as well. Sadly, Mr. Saxon passed away on July 25th, 2020, but his many performances live on.

John Saxon - Fast Company

With nearly 200 film and television roles (including an Oscar nomination) to his credit, even if you didn’t know his name, you couldn’t forget his face. The possibilities are almost endless. You could write about Saxon’s many television appearances, his sole directorial effort (Death House, 1988), his early career, or Italian movies. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but some of his most memorable roles are: 

·       Roper – Enter the Dragon (1973)

·       Chuy Medina – The Appaloosa (1966)

·       Lt. Thompson – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

·       Lt. Ken Fuller – Black Christmas (1974)

·       Sador – Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

·       Marco Polo – Time Tunnel (1967)

·       FBI Agent Stanley Chase – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

·       Multiple Roles – Fantasy Island (1978-1984) 

You can find a complete list of his many credits here.   

Sador - Battle Beyond the Stars


What: The John Saxon Blogathon

Who: Hosted by Yours Truly (Barry P.) and Gill Jacob

Where: Cinematic Catharsis and Realweegiemidget Reviews

When: December 6-8, 2024

How: Please read the rules below, and send me your post request (review, podcast, etc…) via email (barry_cinematic@yahoo.com), Twitter (@barry_cinematic), Instagram (barry_cinematic), or by commenting below. You may also contact Gill by commenting on her post, or through her blog’s Contact Me page (Be sure to include a link to your blog, your blog’s title, and your preferred name).

Roper - Enter the Dragon

The Rules…

  1. You may review ANY of John Saxon’s film or TV appearances. Or if you want to review books or topics about him that’s fine with us as well.
  2. Because John Saxon has such a large number of appearances in his filmography, NO DUPLICATE MOVIE OR TV SHOW TITLES WILL BE ALLOWED. If a specific title has already been claimed, you may only include that title if it’s part of a list or retrospective review. If you choose to write about John Saxon, tell us what your topic will be.
  3. Review choices may be requested as a comment on this page or you may contact me through the methods listed above.
  4. Add your Twitter/X or Instagram username so I can promote your post. If you’re on BlueSky or Mastodon, please let Gill know.
  5. A full list of blogs and review choices will be posted on a separate page, and updated regularly.
  6. Only original, never-before-published posts will be accepted.
  7. Limit TWO blog posts per participant, please.
  8. Send a link of your post(s) to me or Gill on one of the days of the blogathon. Note: We will be publishing all links on both blogs. 
  9. Please also note: Gill and I have already claimed the following titles below:

 Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews – The Electric Horseman (1979)

 Barry at Cinematic Catharsis – Tenebrae (1982) 

 

Lt. Ken Fuller - Black Christmas

One more thing… If you will be participating in the blogathon, be sure to grab a banner below, and display it on your website.

John Saxon Banner 1


John Saxon Banner 2


John Saxon Banner 3


John Saxon Banner 4

 

Happy writing, and we’ll see you in December!

 

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

The City of the Dead

 

The City of the Dead Poster

(1960) Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey; Written by George Baxt; Story by Milton Subotsky; Starring: Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Venetia Stevenson, Tom Naylor, Valentine Dyall, Betta St. John and Norman MacOwan; Available on Blu-ray and DVD. 

Rating: ***½

“People have said, ‘When you made these sort of films, did you think of Hammer?’ …To tell you the truth, when I directed City of the Dead, I hadn’t seen a Hammer film. I knew about them and what sort of films they made, but I hadn’t really seen one. So, when people say, ‘Did Hammer influence your style?’ I can honestly say no, because I had not seen a Hammer film before I directed City of the Dead.” – John Llewellyn Moxey (from DVD interview)

Elizabeth Selwyn Sentenced to Death

When we think of gothic horror films, Hammer is the name most people associate with the subgenre, but Hammer was far from the only game in town. Business partners Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky formed rival company Amicus Productions* to muscle in on Hammer’s territory. While not an official Amicus film, The City of the Dead would help set the tone for future projects from Rosenberg and Subotsky. Produced for the miserly sum of £45,000 and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey** (in his feature film debut), The City of the Dead was shot at Shepperton Studios, featuring a cast and crew predominately from the UK (with the notable exception of American actors Venetia Stevenson, Betta St. John, and James Dyrenforth). 

* Fun Fact #1: Subotsky created a production company, Vulcan Productions, specifically for this film. Even after Amicus was founded, Vulcan Productions lingered around for almost a dozen years before it was eventually dissolved. 

** Fun Fact #2: Among Moxey’s many directorial credits is the landmark TV movie, The Night Stalker (1972).

A Shocking Discovery

In the prologue, set in Whitewood, Massachusetts (circa 1692), Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) is sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft. Even as she burns at the stake, she mocks the jeering crowd of onlookers, while her cohort Jethro Keane (Valentine Dyall) invokes Lucifer to protect her. The story shifts to the present day, with Professor Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee) recounting the events depicted in the opening scene. Captivated by his lecture, Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson)* is eager to learn more about Whitewood (coincidentally, Driscoll’s hometown) and its curse. Driscoll encourages her desire to continue her studies independently, referring her to the Raven’s Inn. Her boyfriend Bill Maitland** (Tom Naylor) doesn’t share her enthusiasm for the subject, attempting to discourage her from leaving. When his efforts fail to dissuade Nan, Bill appeals to her brother, Richard Barlow (Dennis Lotis), but to no avail. Nan heads off without their blessing, probably relieved to leave them behind for a few days. she picks up a ghostly hitchhiker (Valentine Dyall, again) along the way to the perpetually fog-immersed village of Whitewood. Despite an ominous warning from a blind reverend (Norman MacOwan) to leave while she can, she checks in at Raven’s Inn, where she meets the proprietor, Mrs. Newless, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Elizabeth Selwyn. The fact that it’s Candlemas Eve (February 1st) doesn’t bode well for her, as she soon discovers. When she fails to return home after a couple of weeks, Bill and Richard spring into action to retrace her steps (Okay, in all fairness her brother and boyfriend’s misgivings prove to be correct, but did they have to be such chauvinistic jerks about it?). Can the curse of Whitewood be stopped? I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to find out. 

* Fun Fact #3: While correctly listed in the end credits, Venetia Stevenson’s name was misspelled in the opening credits as “Venetia Stephenson.” 

** Fun Fact #4: The surname “Maitland” became an in-joke for Subotsky, recycling it in seven subsequent Amicus productions.

Mrs. Newless and Alan Driscoll

Surprisingly, neither Patricia Jessel nor Christopher Lee was considered the main draw for City of the Dead. Dennis Lotis, a successful recording artist of the time, who played Nan’s brother Richard was the big star of the moment. While Lotis does a serviceable job, he’s overshadowed by the formidable acting talents of Jessel and Lee. As Selwyn/Newless, Jessel is appropriately imperious and intimidating, with a sardonic sense of humor that suggests she just heard the funniest joke but is forbidden to tell it. Lee doesn’t have a great deal of screen time as Professor Driscoll, but (always the consummate professional) he makes the minutes count.* After he’s introduced early in the film, he disappears for a significant period, but rest assured, we’ll see more of him. We can feel his barely contained irritation, bristling at Bill for mocking his lecture, and Richard, an empiricist, who questions the veracity of his statements. 

* Fun Fact #5: Lee was fond of repeating Konstantin Stanislavski’s adage, “There are no small parts, only small actors.”

A Figure in the Fog

The film’s atmosphere qualifies as its own character, enhanced immeasurably by, the perpetual fog that blankets the village like a death shroud.* The fog helps to conceal the limited sets, depicting a town that seems to consist of a few decrepit buildings and an old church. The Raven’s Inn, shadowy inside and out, is Whitewood’s black heart, harboring an accumulated centuries’ worth of secrets (sure, it’s quaint and all, but perhaps Nan should have checked to see if the hotel had an Automobile Club rating). Desmond Dickinson’s moody black and white cinematography alternately conceals and reveals the details of Whitewood and its shadowy denizens.   

* Fun Fact #6: According to Moxey, the extensive use of heated paraffin for the fog had the unfortunate side effect of making some of the cast and crew vomit.

The Residents of Whitewood

Reviews for The City of the Dead in its native UK were tepid, at best. The distributor didn’t have much faith in the film, placing it on a second bill with Roger Corman’s The Mobster (1959). The City of the Dead didn’t fare much better in the U.S., where distributor Trans-Lux trimmed six minutes from its 78-minute running time, retitling it as Horror Hotel. Time has looked favorably upon the film as an atmospheric, tightly paced gothic horror, which has outlived the negative, short-sighted reception of the time. Christopher Lee described The City of the Dead as “an American gothic with a Lovecraftian flavor.” I can think of no finer endorsement.

 

Sources for this article: DVD commentary by Christopher Lee; DVD commentary by Jonathan Rigby; Interview with John Llewellyn Moxey

 

 

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Silent September Quick Picks and Pans

Within Our Gates Poster

Within Our Gates (1920) Writer/director Oscar Micheaux brought to light racial inequities and concerns that were overlooked by mainstream Hollywood. One prime example, Within Our Gates exposes the myriad ways racism continued to shape and define American society in the early 20th century. Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer) a young African American woman, travels from the South (the location is never specified) to Boston in search of funding for a school for disadvantaged black youths. She finds support from an unlikely source. Micheaux strips bare the injustices inherent in a system designed to keep white people on top, but ends his film with hope for a better future. 

Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray and DVD (in the Pioneers of African-American Cinema box set) and Kanopy

 

The Kid Brother Poster

The Kid Brother (1927) Harold Lloyd stars as Harold Hickory, the diminutive youngest sibling in a household of lawmen. He discovers a golden opportunity to prove himself when a medicine show rolls into town, and money for a much-needed community project goes missing. While he’s in pursuit of the culprits, he finds the love of his life (Jobyna Ralston), while fending off his mean-spirited archrival (Frank Lanning). The Kid Brother is loaded with gags from start to finish, and features some nifty action sequences (including a confrontation with the crooks on a stranded sailing vessel). 

Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

The Ace of Hearts Poster

The Ace of Hearts (1921) Lon Chaney stars as Farralone, a member of a secret anarchist group, intent on assassinating a prominent industrialist. Chaney plays yet another character who experiences unrequited love (but he does it so well). Farralone almost lets his jealousy get the best of him when Lilith (Leatrice Joy), the object of his affections, falls for another co-conspirator (John Bowers). He must reconcile his conflicted emotions over the woman he loves and his fealty to the group. This low-key thriller/romance stands on the strength of Chaney’s sympathetic performance and a tense restaurant scene. 

Rating: ***½. Available on DVD (included in the Lon Chaney Collection)

The Cameraman Poster

The Cameraman (1928) Buster (Buster Keaton) makes a meager living, selling photos on the street corner. His career aspirations change when he meets Sally (Marceline Day) a young woman who works for a newsreel company. Trading in his portrait equipment for a movie camera, he decides to prove his worth as a reporter. Filled with gags aplenty, The Cameraman showcases Keaton’s gift for physical comedy (especially in a scene where he loses his swimsuit in a public pool). 

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

 

The Star Prince Poster

The Star Prince (1918) In this charming/creepy fantasy film from writer/director Madeline Brandeis (who was only 21 when she directed the film) The Star Prince (Zoe Ray) arrives on Earth, where he’s raised by a poor family. After he callously sends his birth mother away, a fairy turns the once handsome lad into an ugly wretch. He subsequently embarks on a quest to find his mother and make amends. In the midst of his adventure, he encounters a lonely princess (Dorphia Brown) and a hateful dwarf (John Dorland). One of the unique aspects of this production is that all the characters were played by children, lending to the film’s fairytale quality. Location shots and real animals add to the film’s ambitious scope, although I could have done without the “humorous” scenes featuring some baby bears tethered to a rope. 

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD (included in the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers box set)

The Mystic Poster

The Mystic (1925) In this little-seen Tod Browning film, an American con-man (Conway Tearle) convinces a Hungarian traveling medium act, led by the lovely Zara (Aileen Pringle) to travel back with him to the United States. He concocts an elaborate scheme, using props and misdirection to hold phony seances to “reunite” wealthy people with their deceased loved ones. Predictably, his plan eventually backfires. An otherwise fascinating movie is only marred by a disingenuous happy ending. 

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD (part of the Criterion box set, Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers)

 

 

Saturday, September 28, 2024

The Phantom Carriage

 

The Phantom Carriage Poster

(1921) Directed by Victor Sjöström; Written by Victor Sjöström; Based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf; Starring: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg, Astrid Holm and Concordia Selander; Available on Blu ray and DVD 

Rating: ****½ stars 

“No living soul rides in that carriage. By the time I arrive, it’s too late for a doctor. You know full well that I am no longer among the living. But worst of all, you must face the consequences of the evil you have wrought during your lifetime.” – Georges (Tore Svennberg)

The Phantom Carriage

What sort of legacy will we leave behind for our loved ones? Will they think of us with reverence or disdain? We’ve all done things we’re not proud of, but at the end of our lives, when the scales are measured, ideally, the good we’ve accomplished should outweigh the questionable deeds. Director/screenwriter/star Victor Sjöström addresses these questions and more in The Phantom Carriage, based on Selma Lagerlöf’s 1912 novel Körkarlen (aka: Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!), part of a collaboration between Sjöström and the author that would span five films.

Edit's Deathbed

In the opening scene, Edit (Astrid Holm) lies on her deathbed on New Year’s Eve, asking for David Holm (Victor Sjöström) to visit. In the following scene, Holm drunkenly celebrates with his companions in a graveyard, telling stories to keep warm. He relates the tale that sets the rest of the plot in motion – whoever dies at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve is destined to drive Death’s ghostly carriage, armed with a scythe to reap the souls of the dead, for the following year, with no reprieve or days off. After a scuffle with one of his friends, David perishes at midnight, coming face to face with the legendary carriage and its driver, Georges (Tore Svennberg), who passed away the previous New Year’s Eve. Before Holm takes his place, Georges makes his bewildered replacement re-experience three pivotal moments (told in flashback) when his life took a wrong turn. In the first flashback, we see how Holm turned away from his family and embraced alcoholism.* After being jailed for public drunkenness, he’ released, only to return to an empty house. Instead of reflecting on his wretched behavior, he vows revenge against his wife (Hilda Borgström) for abandoning him. Thus follows Holm’s personal journey, running the gamut of emotion from anger, disgust, guilt, self-loathing, and ultimately redemption. 

* Fun Fact #1: The Phantom Carriage was co-opted by proponents of the temperance movement in several countries, to illustrate the evils of alcohol abuse.

Holm Leaves His Body Behind

At the heart of The Phantom Carriage is Sjöström’s nuanced performance. Seemingly bereft of the capacity for self-reflection, Holm blames his sorrows on his wife. He descends into an abyss of bitterness and hatred, immune to others’ overtures of compassion and charity. In the second flashback, set during the previous New Year’s Eve, he visits a Salvation Army shelter, where he captures the eye of Sister Edit (Astrid Holm). While he sleeps, she thoughtfully repairs his tattered coat, despite warnings from her colleague that it’s covered in germs and filth (a decision that will ultimately cause her death). She cheerfully returns the repaired garment to Holm, only for him to callously render it apart. She later visits him in a bar, where he’s only grown more bitter with time (“Why turn away so carefully? I’m a consumptive, myself, but I cough in people’s faces in hopes of finishing them off. Why should they be better off than us?”). When he discovers the whereabouts of his wife and children, their reunion is less than conciliatory (while she appears ready to pick up where they left off, he fiercely holds on to his wife’s perceived betrayal). When she attempts to lock herself and the children away from Holm, he hacks through the door with an axe* (In an act of spitefulness, he subsequently attempts to infect his own children). Eventually faced with his own mortality, David begs the carriage driver for forgiveness and a second chance. While it’s difficult to excuse his antisocial behavior, our portrait of David Holm is far from one-sided. We also witness his capacity for love and kindness in a flashback with his family, and when he returns as a spirit to comfort Edit in her final moments. 

* Fun Fact #2: Film historian Casper Tybjerg claims this memorable scene (copied years later by Stanley Kubrick in his version of The Shining) may have been influenced by a similar sequence in Broken Blossoms (1919).

Edit and David Holm

If David Holm personifies selfishness, then Sister Edit* represents his polar opposite. Rather than seeing Holm’s rejection of her charity as an irredeemable act, she views him as a challenge. Despite all indications to the contrary, she never gives up faith in his ability to find redemption. While there are indications that her motivations are not completely selfless, her feelings for him give way to seeing that his marriage is repaired. In an act of misguided good intentions, she reunites David with his family, with disastrous results.   

* Her deathbed scenes seem to prefigure Harriet Andersson’s scenes as Agnes in Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers (1972).

The Phantom Carriage

The ghostly image* of the carriage rolling through the city streets, pulled by a skeletal horse, ranks among some of the most haunting imagery of silent (and talkie) cinema. A particularly indelible sequence depicts the driver retrieving a soul from a drowned sailor on the ocean floor (A possible influence for a scene in Night of the Hunter?). It’s a testament to the skill of the filmmakers** that more than 100 years later, we remain mesmerized by these images. Another factor that contributes heavily to the gloomy atmosphere is that most of the film takes place in the evening. Despite the inherent lighting challenge with film equipment of the time, Sjöström insisted on night-for-night shooting. 

* Fun Fact #3: Although commonly referred to as “double exposure” some of the in-camera effects shots required the film to pass through the camera as many as four times. 

** Fun Fact #4: Writing about the production at the time (specifically Julius Jaenzon’s cinematography) Sjöström commented, “We were proud of the ghosts’ consistency. They were actually not flat and misty. As a result of artful lighting, they had become three-dimensional in their spirituality.”

Holm's Family Discovers Him Passed Out in the Street

Is David Holm beyond redemption? It depends on your point of view. Nothing could undo the damage he inflicted on several lives, but it’s significant that he comes to a realization of his culpability at the moment of his death. Whether he’s virtuous or evil (or somewhere in-between, like most of us), Holm is still doomed to drive the phantom carriage. Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective – to be resigned to one’s fate instead of feeling shackled by it. While The Phantom Carriage received glowing reviews upon its release (Charlie Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman ranked among its many fans) it fell out of favor with critics in the ‘30s, with some accusing the film as being too naïve and moralistic, and its double-exposure shots as passé, time has vindicated Victor Sjöström and his remarkable film. Sjöström used every tool available to tell his story, and it shows. The Phantom Carriage encourages the viewer to turn inward and confront their virtues and failings. If we see a little of ourselves in each of the film’s characters, the resemblance is far from incidental.  

 

Sources for this article: Criterion Blu-ray commentary by Casper Tybjerg; Victor Sjöström: His Life and His Work, by Bengt Forslund (1988)  

 

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Short Take: Waxworks

 

Waxworks Poster

(1924) Directed by Paul Leni; Written by Henrik Galeen; Starring: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle and Olga Belajoff; Available on Blu-ray and DVD 

Rating: ***½

“Ivan was a blood-crazed monster on a throne, who turned cities into cemeteries. His crown was a tiara of mouldering bones, his sceptre an axe. His council-room was a torture chamber, with the Devil and Death as chief ministers.” – Intertitle for "Ivan the Terrible" Segment 

Wax figures of Harun Al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible, Jack the Ripper and Rinaldo Rinaldini

Horror anthologies (and omnibus movies in general) are a special breed of film, providing several complete segments, linked by a branching story. As a result of their episodic nature, they’re often a mixed bag to watch, frequently varying in tone and quality. The beauty of the format, however, is that if you don’t like one story, you usually don’t have to wait too long for the next. Amicus productions arguably perfected the horror portmanteau in the ‘60s and ‘70s, with a string of macabre offerings, starting with Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), which was directly influenced by Dead of Night (1945). If Dead of Night was the father of the format, then the grandad was 1924’s Waxworks (aka: Das Wachsfigurenkabinett)* from director Paul Leni (The Man Who Laughs, The Cat and the Canary) and writer Henrik Galeen (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror). Leni, who worked in many aspects of filmmaking, brought his signature visual flair to the film, before moving to Hollywood for the remainder of his all-too-brief career.*/** 

* Not-So-Fun-Fact #1: The original negative burned in 1925. The reconstructed 82-minute version that exists today is derived mainly from a British print, and is 25 minutes shorter than the version that premiered in Germany. 

** Not-So-Fun-Fact #2: Leni’s career was tragically cut short when he died of blood poisoning in 1929, only a couple of years after moving to Hollywood.

The Writer and His Muse

 In the framing story, a young writer (William Dieterle) visits a carnival sideshow featuring wax figures of some of history’s most notorious individuals: Harun Al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible, Jack the Ripper and Rinaldo Rinaldini. After catching the eye of the proprietor’s daughter (Olga Belajoff), he’s hired to write their checkered backstories, which follow in a trio of segments. */** 

* Fun Fact #1: Why only three segments? Plans for a fourth story, concerning the Italian gentleman thief Rinaldo Rinaldini, were scuttled when the filmmakers ran out of funds. 

** Fun Fact #2: when the film premiered in its native Germany the order of the stories was completely different, starting with Ivan the Terrible, followed by Jack the Ripper, and concluding with Harun Al-Rashid.

The Streets of Bagdad

The first (and best) story concerns Harun Al-Rashid (Emil Jannings), the capricious Caliph of Bagdad. When Assad, a lowly baker (William Dieterle, in a second role), inadvertently raises the ire of the Caliph, the ruler sends his Grand Vizier (Paul Biensfeldt) to dispatch the offending baker. After hearing a description of the baker’s wife Zarah (Olga Belaioff, also in a second role) from his vizier, the Caliph decides to roam the city incognito to catch a glimpse of her for himself. Meanwhile, in an effort to prove his worth, the baker schemes to steal the Caliph’s “Wishing Ring,” a magical ring that can grant any wish by the turn of its jewel. This segment is a visual delight, featuring a fanciful, expressionistic version of Bagdad that appears almost organic, with no straight lines or right angles.

Ivan the Terrible and His Hourglass

Compared to the lighter tone of the first segment, the second, with Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), is noticeably darker. The focal point of the story is Ivan’s hourglass, which marks the time a poisoned victim has to live – it’s fittingly ironic that the device becomes the instrument of his eventual comeuppance. Veidt shines as the Russian despot, who keeps the population ensnared in a web of fear. Despite Veidt’s imposing performance and unique set design, the pacing is inconsistent in the second story, making it seem subjectively longer than the preceding (and objectively longer) segment.   

Jack the Ripper

The third segment, by far the shortest,* focuses on Jack the Ripper (or “Spring-Heeled Jack” in the English-language version). It’s not big on story or plot, but a nightmare come to life. The writer falls asleep, dreaming he’s relentlessly pursued through the back streets and alleys by the ignominious killer (played by Werner Krauss, who also appeared as the titular Dr. Caligari).   

* Fun Fact #3: According to Julia Walmüller, who was involved with the film’s restoration, the Jack the Ripper story was always the shortest segment.

Jewel on the Caliph's Ring

Waxworks isn’t easily classified into one genre – not exactly horror, but horror-adjacent.  While largely an exercise in style over substance (the superior Harun Al-Rashid segment notwithstanding), it’s undeniably gorgeous to look at. Although the sum is less than it could have been, Waxworks deserves its place as a revered classic that belongs on anyone’s list of must-see silent films. 

 

Sources for this article: Flicker Alley Blu-ray commentary by Adrian Martin; “In Search of the Original Version of Paul Leni’s Das Wachsfigurenkabinett: Interview with Julia Walmüller (Deutsche Kinomathek)” (2020)


Sunday, September 1, 2024

Dead & Buried

 

Dead & Buried Poster

(1981) Directed by: Gary Sherman; Written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon; Story by Jeff Millar and Alex Stern; Based on the novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro; Starring: James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, Dennis Redfield, Nancy Locke, Lisa Blount and Robert Englund; Available on Blu ray and DVD 

Rating: ****

Welcome to Potters Bluff - A New Way of Life

“…We went for as much strangeness in the picture as we could.” – Gary Sherman (from DVD commentary)

“…I replace missing eyeballs with sawdust, glue the lids together. I’ve used bent aluminum combs for dentures. I’ve used the back part of the scalp when there was no front part, and I’ve folded one hand over wadded-up newspapers when the other hand had no fingers You find all this obscene, sheriff? You know what is really obscene? Look at this. Look at the work I’ve done. This is an art and I am the artist. What can you remember about a sealed box, a sealed casket? That is obscene. That is the death of memory. A cosmetologist gives birth. I make souvenirs.” – William G. Dobbs (Jack Albertson)

Ambushed on the Beach

The word of the day is “scopophobia,” or the fear of being watched. As a big-city kind of guy, I can’t help but be suspicious of small towns (no offense intended to anyone living in one), where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Whether I’m simply passing through or visiting, I have the uncanny feeling that my every move is being tracked and catalogued by the locals, especially if I happen to step into a local establishment such as a store or restaurant. However absurd it may seem, I often expect to be greeted by blank stares the moment I walk in the door. Following the success of Alien (1979), the writing team of Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon set their sights on Earth-bound terrors. Set in the fictional New England seaside village of Potters Bluff, Maine,* Dead & Buried reinforces our fears about venturing where we’re not wanted. 

* Fun Fact #1: Filming actually took place on the opposite coast, in Mendocino, California.

 

Sheriff Gillis and Dobbs

George Le Moyne (Christopher Allport), a vacationing photographer, arrives in Potters Bluff to take some shots of the beach. He’s approached by an alluring young woman in red (Lisa Blount), who lures him into a grisly trap. Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) discovers the tourist’s severely burned, barely alive body inside his van. George is subsequently rushed to the hospital, but before he can be questioned, he meets his demise. Dan’s investigation leads him to the town’s hotel, where the photographer was staying. The hotel’s proprietor suggests a link between George and Gillis’ school teacher wife, Janet (Melody Anderson). Although Janet contends her meeting with the now deceased photographer was innocent (purchasing photographic equipment for her school), the sheriff suspects she may know more than she’s telling. He plays a verbal game of cat and mouse with the town’s eccentric mortician/coroner, William G. Dobbs (Jack Albertson), who also seems less than forthcoming. As Gillis attempts to piece together the mystery of the photographer and other strange occurrences, signs lead to a conspiracy between Potters Bluff’s residents; the answer may lie within a tiny reel of film.

William G. Dobbs

Jack Albertson (in his final motion picture role), steals the show as William G. Dobbs, who apparently has his finger on the town’s pulse. Much like the rest of Potters Bluff, he’s a throwback to an earlier era, driving a ‘50s era Cadillac ambulance/hearse, and listening to big band music on an ancient Victrola while he works. Albertson imbues his character with a sardonic sense of humor, complementing the moribund tone of the film. There’s a twinkle in his eye when he discusses his profession, taking pride in his handiwork, but lamenting the fact that it gets buried. Albertson’s performance is especially poignant considering that the actor himself was dying of cancer at the time of filming. Despite the morbid nature of the subject matter, he brings life and a much-needed sense of levity to the character. (SPOILER ALERT). Much to the sheriff’s horror, he learns that Dobbs has found a way to reanimate the dead. They go about their pre-programmed daily rituals in a perverse mimicry of life, like over-glorified Disney automatons. We never see what miraculous process Dobbs has perfected (“Call it black magic. Call it a medical breakthrough. I'll take my secret to the grave.”), which is wisely left to our collective imaginations.

Dan and Janet Gillis

James Farentino plays his role as Sheriff Gillis with intensity. His building frustration with Dobbs and the rest of the townspeople is palpable. Farentino’s performance occasionally lapses into histrionics, but it sells the more unpalatable moments. Melody Anderson (fresh off filming 1980’s Flash Gordon) brings a playful aspect to her character, Janet, evident in the scenes when she coyly sidesteps her husband’s questioning, or gleefully talks to her class about witchcraft.

Burn Victim

The superior makeup effects by Stan Winston are appropriately stomach turning* – while not easy to look at, it’s easy to admire the care and artistry that he brings to his gruesome creations. In one scene, a murdered hitchhiker’s (Lisa Marie) mutilated face is meticulously reconstructed, layer by layer. In another sequence, Sheriff Gillis hits a town resident with his truck, leaving their severed but still twitching arm in the grill. At the behest of the distributors, the filmmakers reluctantly added additional gore sequences, but the absence of Winston’s involvement is conspicuous. When acid is pumped into an unfortunate victim’s nostrils, the melting face effect, while ghastly, isn’t nearly as convincing as Winston’s work.    

* Fun Fact #2: In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, a burn victim is stabbed in the eyeball by a syringe. Instead of a live actor, the figure wrapped in bandages was an elaborate, fully articulated dummy.

 

The Townspeople

The murky visuals, often seen through a brownish haze, somehow work for the film (bright colors and sunny skies wouldn’t have done the story any justice), conveying an unrelenting sense of dread throughout. Sherman commented that he purposely desaturated the colors. With the exception of the opening scene (along with some distributor-mandated gore inserts) with the mystery woman, the filmmakers avoided reds. Like a fading photograph, Potters Bluff and its residents are lost in another era. 

* Fun Fact #3: Prior to filming, Sherman drew a map of Mendocino to plan his shots. He purposely filmed the town at different angles, to make it appear more claustrophobic and disorienting.

William G. Dobbs

One of the primary challenges of the $3 million production was that the film changed hands with three different distributors,* each with a different vision. According to Sherman, Dead & Buried originally started as a dark comedy, but the final distributor wanted any comic scenes removed and a greater emphasis on shocks. Regrettably, the director’s cut of the film no longer exists, as the third distributor ordered all versions of Sherman’s cut destroyed. Considering the creative differences, Dead & Buried works remarkably well. Bits of dark comedy remain intact, especially the scenes with Jack Albertson. The film’s overall tone is somber, with an underlying sense of dread, deftly exploiting our fears and mystery surrounding death. It rewards upon repeated viewings, scattering many clues along the way. Despite the film’s many strengths, it wasn’t a box office success, failing to connect with audiences or some critics at the time (notably Roger Ebert). As with many cult horror films, Dead & Buried has proved to be much more enduring than once anticipated, gaining a small but ardent fandom. Much like Dobbs’ zombie creations, the movie has taken on a second life of its own. 

* Fun Fact #4: The first distribution company was Guinness (yes, the brewery), during their brief foray into the movie business.

 

Sources for this article: Blue Underground DVD commentary by Gary Sherman; Blue Underground DVD commentary by Ronald Shusett and Linda Turley (Shusett)

 

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Small Town Secrets Month Quick Picks and Pans

Kyrsya Poster

Kyrsyä -Tuftland (2017) After a devastating breakup with her boyfriend, textile manufacturing student Irina (Veera W. Vilo) looks for summer work to pay her bills and clear her head. She answers an ad to work in the backwoods Finnish village of Kyrsyä, where she’ll gain experience making hand-woven items. She arrives at a cult-like community seemingly frozen in time, where men and women live separately. Director/writer Roope Olenius’ slow-burn folk horror film (based on a play by Neea Viitamäki) takes its time building suspense, until things get truly disturbing by the final third.   

Rating: ***½. Available on DVD 

 

The Endless Poster

The Endless (2017) Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s (who also appear as the lead characters) semi-sequel to their 2012 film, Resolution,* takes a lo-fi approach to science fiction, with a focus on characters, rather than flashy special effects. Two brothers, Aaron and Justin, who escaped a doomsday cult as teens, decide to revisit the secluded cult compound as adults to arrive at some closure in their fractured lives. They’re faced with a mystery when they discover the same people, seemingly unchanged after 20 years. While they piece together their hazy memories of growing up in the compound, they begin to question their grip on reality. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I was entranced by its deliberate pace and challenging story. 

* Note: You may want to watch their earlier film first, for reference. 

Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD 

 

The People Poster

The People (1972) A young teacher (Kim Darby) moves to an isolated Amish-like desert community led by the staunch Sol Diemus (Dan O’Herlihy). She takes it upon herself to discover why the children seem so joyless and repressed, while uncovering their town’s tightly held secret. William Shater plays a local doctor who holds a strange fascination and reverence for the townspeople and their unusual ways. The People plays a bit like an overlong Twilight Zone episode, albeit with an ending that just fizzles out. One of the highlights in this otherwise serious movie is one of the goofiest scenes in recent memory involving a trunkload of floating kazoos. 

Rating: ***. Available on DVD (Out of Print) and Prime Video 

Invitation to Hell Poster

Invitation to Hell (1984) In this loopy TV movie by director Wes Craven, Matt and Patricia Winslow (Robert Urich and Joanna Cassidy) relocate to a new neighborhood in the suburbs where all may not be as innocuous and idyllic as it seems. Matt and his family are encouraged to join an exclusive country club, run by Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci), the Mephistophelean director. While the rest of his family succumb to the club and its apparent charms, Matt can’t shake the feeling that there’s a sinister agenda at work. Despite pressure from his boss Mr. Thompson (Kevin McCarthy), he’s resolved to learn the club’s secret, and why everyone at his job seems to be getting ahead. The surprises are obvious, and it’s undeniably silly and heavy-handed, but an oddly entertaining experience. 

Rating: ***. Available on DVD, Tubi and Prime Video

 

Population 436 Poster

Population 436 (2006) Census-taker Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto) travels to the tiny backwoods town of Rockwell Falls to solve a century-long mystery – somehow, the population has consistently remained at 436. He’s greeted by locals who seem a little too friendly, but once he’s learned their sinister secret, it’s too late. He gets cozy with the dim deputy sheriff’s (Fred Durst) fiancée Courtney (Charlotte Sullivan), who’s eager to leave the town behind, if she can only find a way out. The film raises many answers, but answers little, leaving you to reach your own conclusions. 

Rating: ***. Available on DVD

They're Watching Poster

They’re Watching (2016) The crew of a home improvement show travel to rural Moldova (it was actually filmed in Romania) to feature an American expatriate (Brigid Brannah) and the old cottage that she restored. The film crew gain the attention and ire of the superstitious townsfolk after one faux pas follows another. An intriguing premise is mostly squandered because of the mostly unsympathetic leads (SPOILER ALERT: one of the most obnoxious characters survives), and the plot falling into the trap of most found footage movies (specifically, someone is there to film every awkward moment). It’s a comedy/horror that’s not funny enough to be a comedy, nor scary enough to be a proper horror film, leading to an overblown, unsatisfying climax. 

Rating: **½. Available on DVD and Tubi

The Bubble Poster

The Bubble (1966) Writer/director Arch Oboler, who co-created the pioneering 3D movie Bwana Devil (1952), made this oddity (also originally shown in 3D). A young married couple, Mark and Catherine (Michael Cole and Deborah Walley), force their charter plane pilot to land after choppy weather causes Catherine to go into labor. They land on the outskirts of a strange town that resembles a movie set (obviously a cost-conscious choice on the part of the filmmakers). The residents speak in loops, as if they’re pre-programmed, wandering about in a daze. They soon learn that they’re trapped like zoo animals by an invisible bubble which surrounds the town. It’s an interesting premise that sadly goes nowhere (just like the town’s inhabitants), slowly crawling to a tepid ending. Skip it. 

Rating: **. Available on Blu-ray and DVD