Orgy Of The Dead

1965
Directed By Stephen C. Apostolof

SYNOPSIS

A couple (William Bates + Pat Barrington) drive to a cemetery late at night. They crash their car. When they regain consciousness, weird music attracts them to the cemetery. The couple spies a series of undead women stripping for The Emperor of the Night (Criswell) Soon, a mummy and a wolf-man capture the two,  tie them up, and force them to... watch more undead strippers do their thing.

MY THOUGHTS

The film marked a new low in Ed Wood's flagging career.

Though he did not direct the film, many of his hallmarks are all over the Orgy Of The Dead.

Ed Wood wrote the screenplay. It features many deathless lines ( "Torture, torture! It pleasures me!"
"A pussycat is born to be whipped," etc.) but doesn't feature any badly circular dialogue (like "future events such as these will affect you in the future" from Plan Nine From Outer Space) Maybe he had time to do a second draft. The screenplay was based off a book he wrote of the same title. I hope much of the plot of the novel was cut from the script because I don't know how he would have been able to even fill 20 pages of a book.


Wood regular (and bogus psychic) Criswell stars as The Emperor, as well as narrates the film much like he did in Plan Nine. He delivers dialogue like no other...

Another Wood trademark... we get two noticeably bad out of focus stock footage shots of a rattlesnake inserted into the film. A plastic snake filmed on-set would be less jarring.

Lastly, the overwhelming ineptness surrounding the production. The acting is atrocious from everyone involved. The first few strippers dance like they were just released after being chained to the wall of a dungeon for 10 years... and learning to use their leg and arm muscles again. Very un-sexy. Thankfully, it seems they were arranged from worst to best in dancing ability. So each one seems to get better.... though it doesn't look like any of them bothered to choreograph a routine. The cameraman tries to follow them the best he can.



The film does differ from Ed's 'classic' 1950's output.

First, it's in color. The film's only set is lit like, and resembles, a second-rate alien planet set from the original  Star Trek series. It lacks any moody atmosphere that would add to the 'horror' like his older films.

Second, tits. The 1960s helped to destroy the old standards of 'decency" in place since Victorian England. Fringe films such as this helped...but there are so many boobs on display for minutes on end that the audience (even in 1965) would be desensitized to them by the end of the film. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Orgy Of The Dead is truly a terrible film... but it would be highly enjoyable and a hilarious time mixed with good friends and copious amounts of alcohol.

In A Lonely Place

1950 - Columbia Pictures
Directed By Nicholas Ray


SYNOPSIS

Down-on-his-luck screenwriter Dix Steele (Humphrey Bogart) invites a coat-check girl back to his place. She later turns up dead and he's suspected... given the history of his violent temper. His new next door neighbor (Gloria Grahame) gives an alibi for him to the cops. The two meet and fall in love, but his temper begins to make her suspect he did kill the woman... and she wants to get away!

MY THOUGHTS

A somewhat overlooked classic.

In A Lonely Place is a film noir, but it is a far different animal than other Bogart noirs like The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Key Largo. The look of noir is present with the film's beautiful photography. The high contrast shadowy looks amazing. But crime usually plays an important role in noir, but here it exists only on the periphery... in how the characters react to it. This helps to focus the story more on the two main characters.

Bogart is great in the role. At the same time, you both sympathize with him as a lonely man trying to conquer his demons and find love AND you feel the same fear of him that Gloria Grahame does. both likable and detestable at the same time. It's a masterful performance and ranks as one of his best. Grahame is also great and gives a very realistic performance. She was in a deteriorating romance with director Nicholas Ray at the time of making this film, which probably added much to her understanding of the role.

The story also exists as a Hollywood tale. It's not as sharply bitter of a story as Sunset Boulevard (released the same year) but it does take many potshots at the 'money vs. art' conundrum that is the essence of Hollywood film-making (for some anyway!)

In A Lonely Place is an outstanding film and should be better-known than it is.

The Awful Truth

1937 - Columbia Pictures
Directed By Leo McCarey


SYNOPSIS

A married couple (Irene Dunne + Cary Grant) accuse each other of infidelity and decide they must divorce. In the 90 days it takes for the divorce to become final, they both seek out new romances... only to have their soon-to-be-ex foil their chances at love.

MY THOUGHTS

One of the very best screwball comedies.

Irene Dunne is the highlight of the film. Her hilarious performance deservedly got her an Oscar nomination. She is top-billed over Cary Grant (whose star was still rising) and steals every scene they share. I've never seen her in anything before and will definitely seek her out in the future. Her character balances high-class elegance with a much lower wickedness.

Cary Grant excelled at screwball comedies, here especially, and appeared in many of the greats like Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, and His Girl Friday. Friday also teamed him up with Ralph Bellamy who plays a remarkably similar role here as the new man in Grant's ex's life. Here, Grant is given a chance to shine with many pratfalls and many moments of general silliness.

Leo McCarey won an Oscar for his direction. Though the film's plot is very implausible, his direction keeps the film moving at a fast pace so you'd never get a second to stop and think. The humor also builds throughout and culminates in the hilarious scene where Dunne's character (as Grant's sister) meets his fiancee and family. That scene is THE highlight of the film (though there are many other memorable moments.)

If you've never seen a classic screwball comedy, The Awful Truth is a great jumping off point. You can't go wrong... and that's the awful truth!

Nancy Drew, Reporter

1939 - Warner Brothers
Directed By William Clemens



SYNOPSIS

Nancy Drew (Bonita Granville) enters a newspaper contest for student reporters. She switches her story assignment with a 'real' one... a woman (Betty Amann) on trial for murder. Nancy believes the woman is innocent and drags her neighbor Ted (Frankie Thomas) into the search for a missing piece of evidence that can exonorate the woman.

MY THOUGHTS

A fun, fast-moving classic.

'Reporter' is the second in a four film series cranked out in 1938-39. It is a B-movie with a run-time of roughly an hour and 8 minutes, but has enough plot to fill at least 90 minutes. Warner Brothers knew how to make fast-paced films and this is a perfect example. There's no fluff, everything exists to move the plot along.



Unlike the fairly serious book series that inspired it, Nancy Drew, Reporter is a comedy. It has the same light breezy tone of MGM's Thin Man series (without the booze!) and is a great mix of laughs and detective work.

Nancy Drew could easily come off as a pushy, annoying know-it-all, but Bonita Granville adds oodles of charm to make her more than bearable. She is always outsmarting all the adults around her but not rubbing their faces in it.
Granville has great chemistry with her neighbor/desired boyfriend Ted played by Frankie Thomas. Thomas is responsible for much of the humor and has great goofy appeal that makes him a perfect sidekick. Ted's tag-along sister and her friend are annoying, but are not in the film enough to get on anyone's nerves.

Because of the fast pace and short running time a possible budding romance between Nancy and Ted is only hinted at, thankfully, because it would likely have slowed down the pace of the film.

Nancy Drew, Reporter is a fun romp filled with much humor, suspense, intrigue, and even a silly musical number and is highly recommended

Topaz

1969 - Universal Pictures
Directed By Alfred Hitchcock



SYNOPSIS

Just before the Cuban Missile Crisis erupts, a high-ranking Russian KGB officer (Per-Axel Arosenius) defects to the United States. The defector details a large international spy ring run by the Russians that involves several high-ranking people in the French government. An American agent (John Forsythe) secures some help from his friend, French agent Andre Devereaux (Fredrick Stafford) to help expose the spies.

MY THOUGHTS

One of Alfred Hitchcock's weakest American films.

Topaz is lacking much of what made Alfred Hitchcock's films great.
First, The characters are bland. The lead is not an out-of-his-element everyman that the audience can relate to, but a professional who doesn't emote. Frederick Stafford is no Cary Grant or James Stewart.
The standard 'Hitchcock blond' has little to no bearing on the story and is forgettable.
There's no sign of the trademark gallows humor (nor much of any humor at all) in Topaz.
The music score also lacks any impact. Bernard Herrman's music is sorely missed here.

And most importantly, apart from one or two scenes, Hitchcock's famous ability to create suspense via editing and camera angles is absent.

I suppose you could make an argument that Hitch was trying to do something different, but the film is remarkable similar to his previous film. The Cold War globe-trotting espionage thriller Torn Curtain contains all the elements that made his films succeed and is FAR stronger and more entertaining. His other 'departure' films like The Trouble With Harry are still identifiably Hitchcock (and watchable.)

Topaz film can be divided into three parts. 1-New York/Washington, 2- Cuba, 3-France. It starts off strong and each part becomes duller than the last. The further the film goes along, the action subsides and the film just devolves into characters sitting around and talking. You should get a prize if you're still awake during the third segment!

Though it does have its moments, Topaz is recommended for completists only. If you want to see Hitchcock weave his magic with Cold War intrigue, see Torn Curtain.

Scream Blacula Scream

1973 - American International
Directed By Bob Kelljan


SYNOPSIS

Police suspect a voodoo cult after several blood-less bodies turn up with puncture wounds on their neck. The recently-revived Blacula (William Marshall) is the real culprit and he needs a voodoo master (Pam Grier) to help extricate the demon inside of him so he can become human again and die peacefully.

MY THOUGHTS

This sequel is far superior to the original, not that that's saying much...

Scream Blacula Scream is uneven and has tone problems. Is it camp or is it horror? It seems to be wrestling with itself the entire way. The suspense of several chilling vampire attack scenes is deflated by many cheesy or downright ludicrous moments that occur way too frequently. (Blacula turning into a clearly animated bat, among others)


Those are not the film's only problems.There is little to no action and the makeup effects and the biting/gore are kept to a minimum (likely because of the tiny budget.)
Then there's the ending. It just ends. There's no resolution to the plot. Do the cops get Blacula? Does Blacula get de-vampired? Does Blacula become Pee Wee Herman's King of Cartoons? We'll never know.

William Marshall shows more dimension to the Blacula role here than in the first. He has a great screen presence and stands almost equal to the best of the big screen's vampires. The screenplay helps by almost making him a sympathetic monster like a King Kong. The little humanity left in him wants to extricate the demon inside so he can die and find peace. The inner battle of human vs. monster of the vampire was rarely touched-upon until this film (and later perfected on TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer.)

Pam Grier showed boatloads of charisma in her star-making blaxploitation classics Coffy and Foxy Brown (made around this time.) Here, she's leaden and dull. But there's not much to her character. She's an expert in voodoo. That's about all we learn. But Marshall and Grier play off each other well.

Scream Blacula Scream is far from the perfect vampire film, but it is still good enough to hold interest for fans of the genre.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

1934 - England
Directed By Harold Young



SYNOPSIS

The French king has been deposed and the new government is rounding up aristocrats and executing them. A dashing, mysterious figure known as the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues as many as he can and leads them to safety, while maintaining his secret identity. But no one would expect a (seemingly) foppish British playboy (Leslie Howard) to be the rugged hero.... except his loving wife (Merle Oberon) who may have just ratted him out!


MY THOUGHTS


The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of the (literally) hundreds of novels put into production within the first decade of sound. Like many of those, Pimpernel is a bit dated and VERY dry.

For a film that could be very action-oriented, it is not, and it certainly could have used some of the bravado of an Errol Flynn film. That would have picked up the pace and made for an exciting story. Long talking scenes are implemented to tell the story instead of action, making it very dull.

This is the film that made Leslie Howard a star. He's adequate as the hero, and gets some good lines and the all the scant humor in the film... but later films Gone with The Wind and The Petrified Forest better show off his range as an actor.

The Scarlet Pimpernel seems to be an ideal story for retelling... and knowing Hollywood... that's why it hasn't been remade. It's easier to redo a horror film from a few years ago that was already done perfectly and has name recognition... then to remake a film based on a classic novel.