MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET

Maria Montez as Marie Roget

MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942). Director: Phil Rosen.

Notorious actress Marie Roget (Maria Montez of Arabian Knights) goes missing in Paris, and Inspector Gobelin (Lloyd Corrigan) and the famous Dr. Dupin (Patric Knowles of Five Came Back), who solved the case of the Murders in the Rue Morgue, are called in to investigate. After a few days Marie turns up alive, and her grandmother, Cecile (Maria Ouspenkaya of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman) suspects that Marie's stepsister, Camille (Nell O'Day) may be the subject of a devious murder plot. There is also a faceless corpse of a woman in the river. Dupin accompanies Camille to a party, but when another dead body turns up in the river it may be a surprise to everyone whose it is. Dupin, with the help/interference of the Inspector, uncovers the murderer and his motive. 

Knowles and Corrigan

Mystery of Marie Roget is very loosely based on the famous short story by Edgar Allan Poe, which in turn was inspired by a real murder case -- the first mystery story to do this -- although the murder occurred in New York and not in Paris. One problem with this film adaptation is that there aren't enough suspects, which include John Litel as the family lawyer, and Edward Norris as Camille's shady fiance, and even the old grandmother herself. Although the film still has some suspense in spite of this, the solution doesn't come as much of a surprise. As for the cast, Corrigan is as fun as ever, Knowles makes a credible Dupin, Ouspenkaya is suitably peppery (and borderline bitchy with the Inspector), Montez looks classy and actually gives a perfectly good performance, and Litel and Norris are on-target throughout the proceedings. The film is well-paced under Phil Rosen's direction and well-produced. Rosen directed several Charlie Chan movies and many others. 

Verdict: Not Poe perhaps, but entertaining, atmospheric, and well-made. ***.  

WEB OF THE SPIDER

Klaus Kinski and Anthony Franciosa

WEB OF THE SPIDER (aka Nella stretta morsa del ragno/1971). Director: Antonio Margheriti.

While Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski of Slaughter Hotel) is visiting London, he is approached by an American reporter named Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa of Tenebrae). Lord Blackwood (Enrico Osterman) offers Foster money if he can spend one night in his supposedly haunted estate from which no one has ever returned. Once there, Foster meets two beautiful women: Elisabeth (Michele Mercier) and jealous Julia (Karin Field), who has a hankering for the former. Dr. Carmus (Peter Carsten) appears out of nowhere and shows Foster visions of what transpired in the past: the sexual intrigues of Elisabeth, her husband, William (Silvano Tranquilli), her lover Herbert (Raf Baldassarre), and, of course, the horny Julia. It slowly dawns on Foster that he may be in a house of ghosts, or worse, vampires ... 

Franciosa with Mercier

Web of the Spider begins in an intriguing fashion, but it soon becomes apparent that its mess of a script is a stew of barely coherent cliches that hardly holds together. By the final quarter you're just hoping it will hurry up and end already. The tenuous connection of Poe -- who only appears at the opening and the very end -- is almost insulting, as this has nothing to do with the writer, despite the creepy house and the screwed up family who inhabit it -- this is no Fall of the House of Usher. 

Karin Field

Franciosa gives a decent, if dubbed, performance, the other actors are all fine, and the film can be quite good to look at. The trouble is that the movie is so over-lit that the atmosphere evaporates and it becomes comical how bright everything is when you're in a house at night with a couple of candles (sometimes no candles), and there isn't much moonlight, either. Sure, you want the audience to get a look at the sets, the superior art direction, and the attractive color schemes, but a few realistic shadows wouldn't have hurt that much. For all the ghosts running around the house, the film never works up an especially spooky ambiance. The picture does have a satisfactorily ironic conclusion for those willing to stick around until the end. Antonio Margheriti also directed Battle of the Worlds and many other lousy movies.

Verdict: Watch Tony in Career instead. **. 

HALLOWEEN HORROR -- PART TWO

HALLOWEEN HORROR -- PART TWO.

For the second weekly installment of my two part, two week annual Halloween horror round-up, Great Old Movies looks at a classic Alfred Hitchcock episode; a Roger Corman-Vincent Price-Edgar Allan Poe "collaboration;" a late entry slasher film that doesn't star Jamie Lee Curtis; and a supernatural horror film that doesn't star her, either, although she is in the supporting cast. (Hint: her mother is in it, too.). There's also a certified horror classic, Night/Curse of the Demon with Dana Andrews, and a sequel to that movie with the pumpkin monster that you read about last week.

Have a great Halloween!

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)

Jane Asher and Vincent Price

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

When the loathsome and cruel Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) realizes that the plague of the Red Death is beginning to ravage the countryside, he holes up in his castle with his wealthy sycophants and holds a masked ball. Unwilling participants include Francesca (Jane Asher), her father (Nigel Green) and her beloved, Gino (David Weston of Becket), all of whom are toyed with by the devil-worshiping  Prospero even as the prince tries to mold the pious and faithful Francesca into a wanton more suitable for his needs. This does not sit well with Juliana (Hazel Court of Premature Burial), Prospero's lover, who decides to become a bride of Satan instead and pays the ultimate price. In a sub-plot, the dwarf Hop Toad (Skip Martin) gets a diabolical vengeance on Alfredo (Patrick Magee), who dared to strike Esmeralda (Verina Greenlaw), the lovely little dancer and friend of Hop Toad's. When the masked ball begins, Prospero discovers that he has a very unwelcome guest in his midst ...

Verina Greenlaw and Skip Martin 

The Masque of the Red Death is based on two Edgar Allan Poe short stories, the title story and "Hop-Frog." Enough time has gone by since its release to reassess the film and see its true strengths and weaknesses. No, it is not a masterpiece: the screenplay is hokey and pretentious at times; the falcon attack on Hazel Court sort of falls flat; and a tiresome dream sequence for Court's character stops the film dead in its tracks. Still, it is a wonderfully colorful picture, photographed by Nicolas Roeg and with Daniel Haller as production designer (both men later became directors), and the performances across the board are excellent, with even Price's florid, epicene approach working for the character. David Lee's [The Very Edge] score is effective enough but seems derivative.

Verdict: Doesn't quite hold up as well as expected, but still an entertaining picture. ***,

THE RAVEN

THE RAVEN (1935). Director: Lew Landers. 

The credits should give a thrill to any classic film enthusiast: "Karloff and Lugosi in THE RAVEN!" Unlike such films as Black Friday, The Raven is a highly memorable teaming of the two great horror stars. Lugosi is Dr. Vollin, an Edgar Allan Poe enthusiast, who operates on Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) at the urging of her father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds). Unfortunately, Vollin falls in love with Irene, and her father tries to discourage Vollin, basically telling him he's too old and unsuitable, enraging the doctor. Vollin enlists Edmond Bateman (Karloff), a disfigured man who's come to him for help, in his scheme to get revenge on the Wares and others. Vollin operates on Bateman and makes him even more hideous, telling him that he won't make him look normal unless he helps him carry out his plan. This plan involves descending rooms, chambers whose walls close together to crush those inside, and of course a pendulum that threatens to cleave the judge in two in a bravura climax. Karloff and Lugosi play well together and the movie is delightfully gruesome fun. With the exception of Hinds, the other actors in the cast don't even seem to be on screen whenever the two stars appear. 

Verdict: Not really much to do with Poe, but quite entertaining nonetheless. ***.

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932). Director: Robert Florey.

In this very loose adaptation of Poe's famous short story, Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi), who works in a sideshow with an ape named Erik, kidnaps, binds, and tortures women, ultimately injecting them with the ape's blood, bringing about their deaths. (He callously drops their bodies through a trapdoor into the river.) Mirakle has developed an unhealthy interest in pretty Camille (Sidney Fox), and there is a recreation of a scene from the story when the ape comes into the home of a young woman -- in this case, Camille -- and her mother and attacks them. A disconcerting note is that close-ups of an obvious chimp are intercut with long shots of a man in a gorilla outfit, and they certainly don't match. However, there are some great Parisian sets and shots, and the acting isn't bad. Leon Ames [as Leon Waycoff] plays "Pierre" Dupin, a friend of Camille's who investigates the case when the police get nowhere. Not one of the great Lugosi's better roles or performances.

Verdict: For those who can't tell the difference between a chimp and a gorilla! **.

PREMATURE BURIAL

PREMATURE BURIAL (1962). Director: Roger Corman. 

"I never enjoy myself. I just enjoy greater or lesser degrees of tedium." -- Dr. Gault [Alan Napier]. 

Guy Carrell (Ray Milland) is convinced that his father was buried alive and that he, too, suffers from narcolepsy. He builds an elaborate vault with all manner of safety devices that will enable him to escape from his crypt when he awakens entombed. His wife Emily (Hazel Court) is horrified by Guy's morbidness and unhealthy obsession and convinces him to take drastic action. Then ... This is a very handsome production with some very capable -- if Hollywood style once-removed -- acting. Edgar Allan Poe's short story has been transformed by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell [Mr. Sardonicus, Incubus] into a grim, suspenseful thriller with twists a la Robert Bloch. On that level it works beautifully. Ronald Stein's rich score takes off on the basic theme of "Molly Malone" and goes from there. Richard Ney is Carrell's doctor-friend, and Alan Napier is his waspy father-in-law. 

Verdict: Just misses being really great. ***.

WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP

WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP (aka The City Under the Sea/1965). 

Director: Jacques Torneur. Very, very loosely inspired by a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, this is a weird, half-successful fantasy/sci fi flick with many interesting elements. Jill Tregillis (Susan Hart) is snatched out of her ancestral manor on the coast by gill men who somewhat resemble the Creature from the Black Lagoon. A hidden door behind a bookcase leads into a cavern that leads down into the depths below the house. Hoping to find and rescue Jill, Ben Harris (Tab Hunter) and Harold Tufnell-Jones (David Tomlinson) descend into the caverns and find a kind of water-gate that drops them into the sea. Somehow [as in The Incredible Petrified World the logistics for this are never made clear] they wind up in an underwater city, abandoned by its original occupants, which has been taken over by a band of smugglers who came down there to flee the law a hundred years ago in 1803. Their leader, Captain Hugh, is played by Vincent Price, giving one of his better latter-day performances. Hunter and Tomlinson also get into the light-hearted spirit of the piece. There's even a chicken named Herbert who was probably modeled on the duck Gertrude in Journey to the Center of the Earth [which definitely influenced parts of this movie]; Gertrude was a better actor although Herbert has his moments. An undersea volcano is now threatening the ancient city with destruction, and Hugh and his men don't dare return to the surface or they'll age and die in an instant. Frank White's art direction, such as a drowning chamber with huge statues, is often striking, and Stanley Black's theme music is effective, although the rest of his score is a very mixed bag. The movie is quite entertaining for half its length, but then gets water-logged with a confusing and dull underwater battle. The continuity of the film is absolutely wacky, with the characters escaping from the city only to inexplicably wind up back where they started from. 

Verdict: Despite many flaws, it has its moments. **1/2.

TALES OF TERROR

TALES OF TERROR (1962). Director: Roger Corman.

There really isn't much terror in this light adaptation of several stories by Edgar Allan Poe starring Vincent Price. The dead "Morella" (Leona Gage) blames her infant daughter for causing her death, and when the grown woman, Lenora (Maggie Pierce), shows up to see her father (Price) after many years, Morella seizes the opportunity to take over her body. In "The Black Cat," which also incorporates elements from "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor (Peter Lorre) walls up his wife (Joyce Jameson) and her lover, Fortunato (Price), but is seemingly haunted by their spirits. "The Case of M. Valdemar" has a dying man (Price again) agreeing to allow mesmerist Carmichael (Basil Rathbone) to hypnotize him at the moment of his death, keeping his soul tormented and imprisoned in his dead flesh. Debra Paget and David Frankham play Valdemar's wife and doctor, respectively. It's great fun to watch old pros Price and Lorre (see photo) sparring with each other, especially during a delightful wine-tasting contest between the two, but the movie itself is mediocre and lacks chills. 

Verdict: Watch this, but then read Poe's original stories for the real spirit of the Master. **1/2.

TORTURE GARDEN

TORTURE GARDEN (1967). Director: Freddie Francis. Screenplay by Robert Bloch. 

Several people go backstage at a sideshow exhibit and are given glimpses of their possible futures by Dr. Diabolo (Burgess Meredith.) The first man has his mind taken over by a cat after he murders his wealthy uncle; a blindly ambitious young actress discovers the secret of a handsome, seemingly ageless actor to her regret; a jealous piano -- no, that's not a misprint -- apparently possessed by the spirit of his dead mother torments a woman who's fallen for a famous classical pianist; and -- in the best of the four stories -- Jack Palance and Peter Cushing -- both of whom are terrific -- trade off as collectors of rare and expensive Edgar Allan Poe memorabilia. But Cushing tells Palance that he has the ultimate Poe collector's item in his basement ... With the exception of this final tale most of Robert Bloch's stories are fairly lame, but the film is entertaining in spite of it. 

Verdict: You have to see that piano go on the attack to believe it! **1/2.