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| Joyce Taylor and Mark Damon |
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1962). Diretor: Edward L. Cahn.
Althea (Joyce Taylor) travels with her father, Count Roderick (Dayton Lummis), to a kingdom presided over by the young and recently coronated
King Eduardo ( Mark Damon of
The Young Racers). Althea, who is affianced to Eduardo, expects a warm greeting but discovers that her fiance is "indisposed" and there is hardly any staff in the castle aside from his chief aide Orsini (Eduard Franz). Althea sees the handsome Eduardo in the morning, but he tells her that their wedding may have to be postponed. It's worse than that -- a curse was placed upon Eduardo by a alchemist who was sentenced to death by Eduardo's father when he refused to share his secrets. Now each night Eduardo grows fur, claws and fangs and becomes a benign if tormented werewolf (of sorts). If Eduardo's nasty Uncle Bruno (Michael Pate) finds out, his regime may come to a decidedly violent conclusion.
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| Anders, Pate and Burrke |
Beauty and the Beast is a rarity in that it's probably the only TechniColor film directed by B Movie maestro Edward L. Cahn. (This was Cahn's last film, as he died the following year.) Mercilessly skewered for its low-budget and a comparison to Cocteau's 1946 film of the same name, on its own terms
Beauty and the Beast is a minor but entertaining film that probably works best for young viewers. Taylor and Damon, especially the latter, give good enough performances; Pate and Merry Anders as his gal pal, Sybil, are fine; Franz and Lummis are credible; and Walter Burke gives the most notable performance as the slimy and scheming Grimaldi, servant to Bruno.
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| Mark Damon. |
The werewolf design is by Ernie Young and the famous Jack P. Pierce. It doesn't look bad, although an unfortunate side effect of the big teeth is that it comically affects Damon's speech. Hugo Friedhofer's musical score is a plus, especially the theme music. A former pop singer and Howard Hughes discovery, Joyce Taylor appeared in
Atlantis the Lost Continent and other genre films; her last feature was in 1971. Mark Damon starred in Roger Corman's
House of Usher, did many films overseas, and became a producer. Merry Anders was in
Hear Me Good and Ib Melchior's
The Time Travelers, among others.
Beauty and the Beast has a notable climax when the couple race to get married with Bruno's hate-filled followers in rabid pursuit. Edward L. Cahn directed
Zombies of Mora Tau and about a zillion others.
Verdict: More than acceptable children's fantasy film. ***.
5 comments:
Have never seen this version. My favorite is the little known one starring George C. Scott and his wife Trish Van Devere. I must admit I have never seen the Disney versions either.
- Chris
I think I saw the famous Cocteau version many moons ago but I haven't seen the Disney version and never heard of the Scott/Van Devere version. That sounds intriguing!
The Disney film is actually pretty solid and I would recommended if you're into that type of fair it's definitely a musical and it's pretty much what you would expect from a Disney movie but it's pretty good despite straying from the Fairy Tail
The Disney film is very good very different from the French film from 1946 though it does pay homage in some ways like taking the concept of the castle being Enchanted but rather than just having disembodied arms and in faces you have actual Enchanted objects like a clock and a candle who can talk so it takes it a step further. And the Beast is giving someone of a different backstory where an old woman appears at the castle an offer sent a single rose and return from Shelter From the bitter cold repulsed by her appearance he turns her away and the old woman reveals herself to be a beautiful enchantress the prince tries to apologize but it's too late and she places a powerful curse on the castle and all who live there. The rose she offered was an enchanted Rose and if he wants to love another and earn her love in return before the last Petal Falls the spell is broken.
Thanks for your comments and all the information about these versions!
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